Three Individuals Convicted in $93 Million Home Health Fraud and Money Laundering Scheme

A federal jury in Miami convicted a Florida man and woman today for their roles in a conspiracy to defraud Medicare by billing over $93 million for home health therapy services that were never rendered.

According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Karel Felipe, 42, of Miami Shores, and Tamara Quicutis, 54, of Hialeah, conspired with others to submit false bills to Medicare for three home health companies located in Michigan. Their co-conspirators recruited individuals from Cuba to sign Medicare enrollment documents and appear as the owners of the home health agencies to conceal the identities of Felipe, Quicutis, and others involved in the scheme. Felipe, Quicutis, and their co-conspirators used these home health companies to submit claims for services that were not rendered using lists of stolen patient identities. Felipe, Quicutis, and their co-conspirators used hundreds of shell companies and bank accounts to launder the Medicare fraud proceeds and convert the proceeds into cash at Miami-area ATMs and check cashing stores.

After the trial commenced, a third defendant, Jesus Trujillo, 52, of Miami, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiring to commit health care fraud and wire fraud and one count of conspiring to commit money laundering. Trujillo oversaw a group of people that recruited nominee owners for home health agencies and shell companies and converted Medicare fraud proceeds into cash.

The jury convicted Felipe and Quicutis of conspiracy to commit health care fraud and wire fraud, and conspiracy to commit money laundering. They are scheduled to be sentenced on Jan. 4, 2024, and they face a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison on each conspiracy charge. Trujillo is scheduled to be sentenced on Dec. 21 and faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison on each count. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Acting Assistant Attorney General Nicole M. Argentieri of the Justice Departments Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Markenzy Lapointe for the Southern District of Florida, Special Agent in Charge Jeffrey B. Veltri of the FBI Miami Field Office, and Special Agent in Charge Omar Perez Aybar of the Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Inspector General (HHS-OIG) Miami Regional Office made the announcement.

The FBI and HHS-OIG investigated the case.

Trial Attorneys Jamie de Boer, D. Keith Clouser, and Emily Gurskis of the Criminal Divisions Fraud Section are prosecuting the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Gabrielle Charest-Turken for the Southern District of Florida is handling asset forfeiture.

The Fraud Section leads the Criminal Divisions efforts to combat health care fraud through the Health Care Fraud Strike Force Program. Since March 2007, this program, comprised of 15 strike forces operating in 25 federal districts, has charged more than 5,000 defendants who collectively have billed federal health care programs and private insurers more than $24 billion. In addition, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, working in conjunction with HHS-OIG, are taking steps to hold providers accountable for their involvement in health care fraud schemes. More information can be found at www.justice.gov/criminal-fraud/health-care-fraud-unit.

This story has been published on: 2023-10-05. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
Feature: Pakistani journalists impressed by China's economic development on recent visit

15:56, October 03, 2023 By Misbah Saba Malik, Wang Kai ( Xinhua

ISLAMABAD/QINGDAO, Oct. 3 (Xinhua) -- Akbar Notezai, a journalist from the capital city Quetta of Pakistan's southwest Balochistan province was "pleasantly shocked" after witnessing the development of Qingdao City of east China's Shandong Province during a recent visit.

"Before embarking on my trip to China, I conducted some research on Qingdao Port, and I knew that it is one of the largest comprehensive ports in the world. But the development I saw there was beyond my imagination," Notezai told Xinhua.

Notezai was part of a 10-member delegation of Pakistani journalists primarily hailing from Balochistan, who recently returned to Pakistan after a 10-day trip to China.

During their visit, Notezai found the Chinese people exceptionally hospitable and witnessed the warmth of friendship in their eyes towards the Pakistani people.

He expressed the hope that the people of the two countries will have a closer interaction to further strengthen the Pakistan-China friendship.

Many members of the delegation visited China for the first time and witnessed the impressive infrastructure projects, experienced traveling in high-speed railway, and saw thriving technology sectors that have propelled China's economic growth.

Behram Baloch, a journalist from Balochistan's Gwadar district, said the visit boosted their confidence and filled them with hope as they witnessed China's exceptional capability to construct state-of-the-art infrastructure and successfully operate it.

"I hope that Gwadar port, being developed by the Chinese friends, will play a great role in Balochistan's development and contribute significantly to its economic growth in the same way as Qingdao Port did," he added.

All the development projects that were built by the Chinese in Gwadar so far, including the Gwadar port, vocational training institute, New Gwadar International Airport, and Gwadar Port's Free Zone, are great opportunities for Pakistan to benefit from them, he added.

The Pakistan journalist said during his trip he felt that if university students from Balochistan get the opportunity to visit China or study there, it will prove to be very beneficial for them and for Pakistan.

"Sending university students to China can be an incredibly enriching experience, offering them a unique opportunity to learn and broaden their horizons in various ways," Baloch said.

China's rich history, diverse culture, and rapid economic development provide a multifaceted backdrop for educational trips, he added.

The delegation said the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) is a great hope for Pakistan, and after visiting China and seeing the technological and infrastructural excellence of the country with their very eyes, they believe it will be a game changer for Pakistan.

Launched in 2013, the CPEC, a flagship project of the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative, is a corridor linking Pakistan's Gwadar port with Kashgar in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, highlighting energy, transport and industrial cooperation.

Talking to Xinhua, Furqan Rao, an Islamabad-based journalist who led the delegation to China, said the CPEC is making substantial contributions to Pakistan's infrastructural development and helping Pakistan overcome its energy crisis.

"CPEC played a vital role in providing Pakistan with a modern transportation network, energy solutions, and industrial infrastructure, which are boosting trade, creating jobs, and improving the overall socio-economic life for the people of Pakistan," he said.

(Web editor: Cai Hairuo, Sheng Chuyi)
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The legal status of Russian peacekeepers in Nagorno-Karabakh was based solely on the November 2020 statement. No peacekeeper status ever emerged, Russian President Vladimir Putin said during a plenary meeting of the Valdai Discussion Club.

After the well-known events and the collapse of the USSR, we know that an ethnic conflict arose, clashes began between Armenians and Azerbaijanis, they began in Sumgait, then spread to Karabakh. This led to the fact that Armenia, not Karabakh, but Armenia took control of Karabakh and seven adjacent regions ... Seven regions of Azerbaijan. This, in my opinion, is almost 20% of the territory of Azerbaijan. All this went on for many decades.

I must say, and I will not reveal any secret here, many times over the past 15 years we have offered our Armenian friends to make compromises: to return the five regions around Karabakh to Azerbaijan, to keep two for themselves and thus maintain the territorial connection between Armenia and Karabakh. But our Karabakh friends told us time after time: No, this will create certain threats for us. We, in turn, told them, Azerbaijan is growing, the economy is developing, it is an oil and gas producing country, there are over 10 million people, lets compare the potentials... While there is such an opportunity, we need to find this compromise. For our part, we will carry out this decision within the framework of the UN Security Council, we will guarantee the security of this naturally emerging Lachin corridor between Armenia and Karabakh, and we will guarantee the security of the Armenians living in this territory. But no, they told us: No, we cannot agree to this, and what will you do: We will fight.

Things eventually came to armed clashes in 2020. Then, I also suggested it to our friends and colleagues. By the way, President Aliyev will probably not be offended by me, but at some point an agreement was reached that the Azerbaijani troops would stop. To be honest, I thought the issue was resolved. I called Yerevan and suddenly heard: No, let them leave that insignificant part of Karabakh where the Azerbaijani troops have reached... I said, well, what will you do, again the same phrase: We will fight... Well, listen, now in a few days, they will go to the rear to your fortifications in the Agdam area and everything will be over. Do you understand? Yes. And what will you do? We will fight. OK

Well, everything turned out the way it did. In the end, we nevertheless agreed with Azerbaijan that after reaching the Shushi line and Shushi itself, hostilities would be stopped. A corresponding statement was signed in November 2020 on the suspension of hostilities and the deployment of our peacekeepers.

And here is the next very important point: the legal status of our peacekeepers was based solely on this statement. No peacekeeper status ever emerged. I won't say why. Azerbaijan believed that this was not necessary, but signing without Azerbaijan was pointless. Therefore, I repeat, the entire status of the peacekeepers was based solely on this statement. And the rights of the peacekeepers consisted only in monitoring compliance with the ceasefire. All. The peacekeepers had no other rights there. This precarious state lasted for some time, he noted.
The latest events in Nagorno-Karabakh became an inevitable consequence of the meetings in Prague and Brussels. Russian President Vladimir Putin said at a meeting of the Valdai Discussion Club, adding that Armenia officially recognized Karabakh as part of Azerbaijan and Russia could not do anything in about it.

In Prague in the fall of 2022, under the auspices of the head of the European Council Charles Michel, with the participation of the President of France and the Chancellor of Germany, gathered the leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan.

And there they signed a statement, do you understand? ... A statement from which it follows that Armenia recognizes Karabakh as part of the Republic of Azerbaijan. Moreover, the leaders of Armenia directly named the territory of Azerbaijan in square kilometers, which certainly includes Karabakh, and emphasized that they recognize the sovereignty of Azerbaijan within the framework of the Azerbaijan SSR, which at one time was part of the USSR. And as you know, Karabakh was also part of the Azerbaijan SSR.

That is, in essence, the main, absolutely key issue about the status of Karabakh was resolved. When Karabakh declared its independence, no one recognized this independence, not even Armenia. Which, frankly, is strange to me. However, this was the decision; they did not recognize the independence of Karabakh. But here in Prague they recognized that Karabakh belongs to Azerbaijan. And then at the beginning of 2023 they repeated the same thing a second time at a similar meeting in Brussels...

By the way, no one told us about this. I personally learned about this from the press. Azerbaijan has always considered Karabakh part of its territory. But by defining the status of Karabakh as part of Azerbaijan, Armenia made qualitative changes in its position. After this, at one of the meetings, President Aliyev came up to me and said: You see, everyone recognized that Karabakh is ours. Your peacekeepers are there on our territory...You see, even the status of our peacekeepers has undergone qualitative changes after the status of Karabakh was determined as part of Azerbaijan.

He (Aliyev  ed.) says, your military is on our territory, lets decide on a bilateral basis. Well, Prime Minister Pashinyan confirmed: Yes, you now need to negotiate on a bilateral basis. That is, Karabakh is gone. You can say whatever you want about the status of Karabakh. But this was the key question of the status of Karabakh, everything revolved around this for decades: how, when, who will determine its status. All! Armenia decided it  Karabakh officially became part of Azerbaijan. This is the position of the modern Armenian state. Well, what should we do?...

Everything that happened in the recent past, and the blocking of the Lachin corridor, etc. All this was inevitable after the recognition of Azerbaijans sovereignty over Karabakh. It was a matter of time - when and in what way Azerbaijan would establish constitutional order there within the framework of its constitution. Well, what can we say? How else to react to this? Armenia recognized, but what should we do, say no, we dont recognize? Well, this is nonsense...

I wont tell you now, I think it would be incorrect to report the subtleties of our discussions, but what happened in recent days and weeks was an inevitable consequence of what was done in Prague and Brussels. Therefore, Mr. Michel and his colleagues should have thought then, when, apparently, I dont know exactly, they persuaded the Prime Minister of Armenia to take such a step... they should have all thought together about the fate of the Armenians of Karabakh, they should have, well, at least something write down what awaits them in this situation, some kind of procedure for the integration of Karabakh into Azerbaijan, some kind of procedure for ensuring security and respect for their rights... But there is nothing of this there. There is only a statement that Karabakh is part of Azerbaijan. All! And what should we do if Armenia itself has decided so? Putin noted.
Armenia remains our ally and we are ready to discuss and will discuss humanitarian issues and provide support and assistance, Russian President Vladimir Putin said during a meeting of the Valdai Discussion Club.

According to him, Russia used all legal possibilities to provide a humanitarian component in connection with the situation in Karabakh.

As you know, our people died there, our peacekeepers, protecting the residents of Karabakh, covering them with themselves. We provided humanitarian aid, medical assistance, ensured their exit... Everyone came to the center of our peacekeepers, under their protection. Thousands gathered there...They came there. Women and children mostly...," he said.

He noted that Russia is ready to assist Armenians who left Nagorno-Karabakh. We are ready to provide assistance. Armenia does not cease to be our ally. We are ready and will discuss humanitarian issues and provide support and assistance to these people. If we return to our European so-called colleagues, let them at least now send humanitarian aid to support these unfortunate people who left their homes in Nagorno-Karabakh. It seems to me that they will do this. In general, we need to think about their fate in the long term... noted the Russian President.
Israel's defense connection with Azerbaijan is believed to have contributed to Baku's capabilities, Seth J. Frantzman writes in Jerusalem Post. The article if provided below.

Israel and Azerbaijan are strategic partners and have close relations. Over the last decades, these ties have increased.

Foreign Minister Eli Cohen made an important visit to Azerbaijan in April and stressed the strategic relations between Israel and Azerbaijan which are multi-layered and involve security, energy, trade, and tourism.

Now those ties are in the spotlight because of the recent conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh where most of the Armenian population has now fled after a brief day of fighting between Armenian forces and Bakus far superior military. While Israel's defense technology played a key role in Bakus overall victory in several rounds of fighting in the last years, the larger story is how Russia and the West let this conflict take place.

There are questions about whether Israels defense ties and arms sales to Baku were linked to the conflict or somehow fueled it and increased Bakus capabilities. Its important here to take a step back and understand the broader context and history. The Soviet Union created the conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh by creating a patchwork of borders and areas in the Caucasus where a mosaic of groups live, including many minorities that live within the borders of other countries.

In the 1990s, when the Soviet Union fell apart, this unleashed wars in many places and left simmering conflicts, whether in Chechnya, Georgia, or between Armenia and Azerbaijan.

Armenia had the upper hand in the 1990s when it was backed by Russia. It had inherited a traditional Soviet military infrastructure, with lots of tanks, artillery and heavy conventional weapons.

Azerbaijan, by contrast, sought to improve its military with modern weapons acquired through procurement that was fueled by its booming economy, based partly on energy trade and other resources. Baku has a close alliance with Ankara and Turkey under the AKP party led by Recep Tayyip Erdogan has sought to strengthen Bakus hand.

Israeli weapons tied to Azerbaijan

Israeli defense companies have a played a role in Azerbaijans modernization of its armed forces. This has caused controversy in the past. In 2018 Radio Free Europe had a report saying Israel accuses drone maker of bombing Armenian soldiers, at Baku's request. It was widely known that Azerbaijan acquired a large number of different types of drones from Israel, including loitering munitions.

Loitering munitions are a type of drone where the drone itself is the warhead, similar to a cruise missile. The difference is the munition can loiter and look for targets. In the past these were expensive pieces of equipment used to hunt down high value targets or destroy radars.

Over the years Azerbaijan clashed with Armenia over the area of Nagorno-Karabakh. This area, inhabited by Armenians, is part of Azerbaijan but has been controlled by Armenia since the 1990s.

In 2016, there were clashes and the Jamestown Foundation noted Bakus success using drones, particularly those acquired from Israel. Reports over the years also noted the large number of defense deals that Baku had with Israeli companies, more than a billion dollars in one deal, according to Haaretz.

The conflict in 2016 continued for several days and enabled Baku to unveil its new technology on the battlefront. This was a dry run for 2020 when Azerbaijan defeated Armenian forces and ended up controlling a swath of territory around Nagorno-Karabkah, territory that Baku noted it was merely reconquering after the conflict in the 1990s. Reports in the fall of 2020 noted that Baku had praised the role of Israeli drones and technology in this conflict. It also praised the role Turkey had played and Turkeys Bayraktar drones.

However, drones dont win wars. Drones can help a country like Azerbaijan achieve a lot of results using precision strikes. This, in a sense, gave Baku an instant air force. Countries like Azerbaijan that may not have access to modern 5th generation warplanes sold by the US, such as the F-35, have access to the next level of modern technology via drones. Israeli-made systems like the Harop, Haropy, Orbiter or SkyStrikes and others are at the forefront of technology in the new battlefields of the future.

However, precision strikes only give a country a certain amount of capabilities to overmatch an adversary. They can degrade radars and take out headquarters, communication nodes and armored vehicles. They can strike long range missiles and strategic targets. This is how the US destroyed Iraqs army in 1991, it pounded it from the air for weeks and then eviscerated it in several days of ground warfare.

The Iraqi army in 1991 was also heavily reliant on Soviet era armored vehicles and systems, like the Armenian army of 2016-2020. Therefore Azerbaijan defeated Armenia through the use of modern technology, but in the end Baku had to send in ground forces to win the war at the end. Azerbaijans armored vehicles and ground forces equipment is still linked to the countrys past and thus relies on Russian equipment. Therefore Baku delivered a one-two punch, using modern technology from countries like Israel, with Russian and older equipment that Baku had on hand.

The conflict in 2023 in Nagorno-Karabakh that has caused 120,000 Armenians to flee was not a military conflict. It only took Baku one day to defeat the 10,000 Armenian fighters who had been blockaded in Nagorno-Karabkah for months and who had access to old munitions and old conventional weapons. In essence the conflict in Nagorno-Karabkah was decided years ago. Armenia had abandoned the Armenians there and they had been blockaded by Baku via the Lachin corridor road to Armenia.

Baku also was able to get Russia on its side before the conflict. The West also appears to have signed off. This is clear because the West warned Serbia against a military build up on Kosovos border in late September and early October, but the West didnt warn about Bakus military build-up. The West views Azerbaijans operation as enforcing territorial integrity under the rules-based international order, which means the Armenians were viewed as separatists and Baku had a right to take back the area.

Therefore the story of the brief fighting in Nagorno-Karabkah that led to Armenians fleeing was not about Israeli military technology. This was an old style strategic victory for Baku. They cut the area off, they blockaded it and then they asserted their rights to it via a quick military victory at a few key points.

Azerbaijans operations took place with Russian peacekeepers looking on, this was not a huge battle in which Baku had to hammer away at Armenian fighters in Stepanakert, the capital of Nagorno-Karabakh. This was a stratagem, presenting the Armenians with a fait accompli, and the Armenians were abandoned by the international community which had quietly accepted that this would be the outcome.

Reports suggesting Israeli arms fueled this conflict exaggerate the role of Israels role. Israeli defense technology has turned Azerbaijan into a modern military power that can project strength and also defend its skies. It has transformed it into a powerhouse in the South Caucasus. However, that is only part of the story of what defeated the Armenians.

They were defeated because Russia abandoned them, unlike in the 1990s, and because they were cut off in Nagorno-Karabakh, a result of the international community not demanding observers and an international presence and some kind of agreement giving them autonomy. They didnt benefit, for instance, from the support the Kosovars had in the 1990s. Baku understood this and acted accordingly.The real story of Israels success in a strategic partnership with Baku goes much further and has implications for the future. Israel makes the technology that is transforming warfare, making it more precise and more technology-driven. This isnt the heavy weapons of warfare of old, like giant 60-ton tanks, this is the nimble technology that makes conflicts faster and less deadly. Bakus success and the tragedy that befell the Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh is more a story of larger countries such as the US and Russia, rather than a story of defense tech that helped Azerbaijan achieve overmatch on the tactical level.
Russian President Vladimir Putin does not agree with the statement that Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan purposefully handed over Karabakh to Azerbaijan. He stated this in response to a corresponding statement by Margarita Simonyan, editor of the Rossiya Segodnya media group and RT television channel, during the Valdai Discussion Club.

I cannot agree with you that Prime Minister Pashinyan was brought to power by someone in order to hand over Karabakh. Still, it was the choice of the Armenian people. Yes, you can have different attitudes towards the electoral processes, but this is a fact, so I disagree with you here.

The second thing is that he sought to surrender Karabakh, I do not agree on this either. I communicated closely with him during this conflict in 2020, and before, of course. Let's remember that when he came to power, he said that Karabakh is part of Armenia. No one had ever said this before. True, then his position changed radically... Why? This is no longer a question for me...

And during the conflict of 2020, I communicated with him, and in my opinion, he sincerely sought to maintain the situation and preserve it. Now Im not talking about whether the decisions were right or wrong. It's none of my business to make judgements on this. But I consider it unfair to say that he purposefully handed over Karabakh, he noted.
The Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) Teach-in, which will take place on the Atlanta and Oxford campuses Oct. 12 and 13, welcomes attendance by the entire Emory community.

These are more than polite words. Its sponsors  the offices of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion and Faculty Affairs  see the goals of the two days as focused on the AAPI community but achievable only through a One Emory commitment.

In the words of Chris Suh, assistant professor of history in Emory College of Arts and Sciences, The teach-in is an opportunity for the Emory community to collectively learn  from the keynote speaker, Catherine Ceniza Choy, as well as from Emory students, staff and faculty who have dedicated themselves to AAPI issues on campus  how to better understand the past and present challenges that AAPI populations face at the national, local and institutional levels.

The rise of anti-Asian violence is one such challenge. Tragically, it has happened across the country and in Atlantas own midst with the spa shootings of 2021, which killed eight people, six of them women of Asian descent. Another challenge is understanding the impact of the U.S. Supreme Court decision on affirmative action, handed down on June 29, 2023.

The AAPI community is such a beautifully complex and diverse one, both ethnically and geographically, says Carol Henderson, vice provost for diversity and inclusion, chief diversity officer and adviser to the president.

As part of our Inclusion Project Initiative, she continues, we readily partnered with the Office of Faculty Affairs to elevate that diversity and engage in conversations around what it means to be inclusive when the national and local dialogue around the experiences of students, faculty and staff of Asian heritage collapses those unique experiences into a single one. With the phenomenal commitment demonstrated by our planning committee, we will  true to Emorys mission to create, preserve, teach and apply knowledge in service to humanity  use this teach-in to know our AAPI community better and translate their needs into institutional action.

As vice provost for faculty affairs, Pearl Dowe recognizes that faculty not only bring their scholarship and teaching acumen to Emory, they also bring life experiences that should be acknowledged and respected. The teach-in provides an opportunity to hear the voices of AAPI members to ensure that we develop practices and provide spaces that work to mitigate challenges while allowing for AAPI members to be within community throughout the university.

Why a teach-in?

This will mark the second teach-in at Emory in the past year. In October 2022, members of the Muscogee Nation educated the Atlanta campus about their way of life and traditions, which included hymn singing, a cultural lab, stories and stomp dancing.

Asked why a teach-in was the right platform for the AAPI community, Oxford College biology professor Nitya Jacob, who was raised in Ahmednagar, India, indicated: Emory has staged cultural events such as Diwali and Lunar New Year to celebrate the Asian community, but we intend to go deeper on the issues. Implicit in the concept of a teach-in is that you are not just going to a talk to listen. You must be willing to engage in the next steps.

On a personal note, Jacob observes: I look forward to this as a chance to find supportive community that goes beyond my academic interests.

Suh notes that because AAPI studies are rarely included in the K-12 curriculum, most Americans lack knowledge about the AAPI community. As a result, personal experience and popular media fill that vacuum.

Both sources, says Suh, are important but without a trained expert to guide them, most Americans are left without the tools to critically examine, analyze and interpret the group experiences and dynamics that they encounter, whether as news stories or data sets produced by government agencies.

Whats in store

The activities over the two days will highlight the stories and voices of the AAPI community; the diversity and commonality of experience among those who identify as AAPI; as well as the overlap of challenges with those who identify as African American, Latinx and Indigenous or are international students.

Keynote speaker Choy, a historian and professor of ethnic studies at the University of California, Berkeley, is the author of the award-winning Asian American Histories of the United States (2022), which focuses on themes of violence, erasure and resistance in the nearly 200-year history of Asian migration, labor and community formation in the U.S.

As Choy writes in her preface, If we do not confront anti-Asian violence, it will continue. As James Baldwin instructs us: Not everything that is faced can be changed; but nothing can be changed until it is faced. Thus, what is at stake in foregrounding the history of anti-Asian violence in the United States is not solely the accuracy of U.S. history, but also the well-being of an American future.

As Choy will make clear, the designation AAPI is a broad tent, describing a diverse and fast-growing population of 23 million Americans that includes roughly 50 ethnic groups with roots in more than 40 countries.

Closer to home, Asians who call metro Atlanta home account for 5.3% of the regions dwellers, and the number of residents in the 10-county region has more than doubled in the past two decades.

At Emory, from fall 2012 to fall 2022, the proportion of Asian students increased from 16.6% to 18.4%. The total number of Asian students, both undergraduate and graduate, increased by 23.8% during this time. Concurrently, the percentage of Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander students held steady at .05% while the total number of Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander students increased by 14.3%.

Among the students who will participate in the teach-in is Chloe Chen 25BBA, co-president of the Asian Student Organization (ASO), who notes that one of the most meaningful parts of taking classes with Drs. Suh and Kanesaka was hearing personal stories from my peers. Seeing how the histories and challenges faced by AAPI populations are still present today builds a sense of empathy and responsibility for each other. Thats what the ASO works to do and what I hope the teach-in can give to the AAPI community at Emory  that we are not alone in our experiences.

7-8:30 p.m., Phi Gamma Hall Opening remarks by Provost Ravi V. Bellamkonda and Oxford Dean Badia Ahad

Jing Paul, associate professor of Chinese at Agnes Scott College, will lead the panel discussion The Power of Storytelling and Listening to Learn with Nitya Jacob, professor of biology and chair of Natural Science and Mathematics; John Kim 24Ox, president of the Asian Culture Club; Amanda Noh 24Ox, president of Oxfords Korean American Student Association; and Payton Chin 19Ox 21C, planning analyst at Norfolk Southern.

Registration is required for in-person and virtual attendance. 11 a.m.-3:30 p.m., Convocation Hall 11 a.m.: Remarks by President Gregory L. Fenves and keynote address by Catherine Ceniza Choy, Convocation Hall 208; registration is required for in-person and virtual attendance. 12:15 p.m.: Lunch, Convocation Hall 210 12:15 p.m.: Book signing with Professor Choy, Convocation Hall 203 1:15 p.m.: Performance by AHANA a cappella student group, Convocation Hall 208 1:45 p.m.: The AAPI Experience at Emory University, led by Professor Suh, featuring Franchesca Amor Aguilar 24MPH, co-president of the Asian, Pacific Islander and Desi Association; Chloe Chen 25BBA, co-president of the Asian Student Organization; Erica Kenesaka, assistant professor of English; Sameena Mulla, associate professor of Womens, Gender, and Sexuality Studies; Daiana Takashima 26M, co-president of the Emory chapter of the Asian Pacific American Medical Student Association; and Jane Yang 98C, former associate director of outreach and consultation services at Emory Counseling and Psychological Services. Convocation Hall 210; registration is required for in-person attendance.

Growing faculty strengths in Asian American studies

Suh, who arrived in 2019, and Erica Kanesaka, assistant professor of English in Emory College, who started in 2022, already have built a popular and impressive Asian American studies curriculum.

When I arrived at Emory in fall 2019, says Suh, there didnt yet exist a documented history of Asian American students at Emory. To address this important gap, I created a collaborative final project for my Asian American history classes to recover the history of Emorys responses to anti-Asian violence and Asian American students activism.

That work resulted in a Feb. 6, 2021, article in the Wheel, The Legacy of Asian American Activism at Emory.

As a historian, Suh specializes in how ideas about race shape U.S. foreign and domestic policies, and how the lives of Asian Americans and people in Asia are shaped by these policies. He is the author of The Allure of Empire: American Encounters with Asians in the Age of Transpacific Expansion and Exclusion (2023); historian Eiichiro Azuma at the University of Pennsylvania calls Suhs book transimperial scholarship at its best.

A literary scholar and a specialist in cultural studies, Kanesaka focuses on Asian American racial and sexual politics in popular culture. She is also one of a handful of experts in the emerging field of cute studies, which unites cultural studies, biology and neuroscience to examine cuteness beyond aesthetics.

Kanesaka is currently pursuing two book projects. One examines childrens literature and culture to analyze feelings about race, sex and gender between Japan and the United States from the late 19th century to the present, while the other will reflect on the resonances of kawaii and cuteness for Asian American feminist politics.

Other leading scholars of Asian American studies include Helen Jin Kim, associate professor of American religious history at Candler School of Theology, who studies U.S. religion and history in global context, focusing on U.S. religious connections to Asia-Pacific and transnational histories of Asian American religions.

In the health sciences, Amy Y. Chen, Willard and Lillian Hackerman Professor of Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, and Michael H. Chung, professor in the School of Medicines Department of Medicine and the Department of Global Health in the Rollins School of Public Health, co-chair the AAPI Medical Faculty Association Affinity Group and have worked tirelessly to provide mentorship and support to medical students, residents, fellows and faculty of AAPI descent at Emory.

The next step, I hope, will be hiring more faculty and staff members with training in AAPI studies and/or extensive experience working with AAPI students, says Suh. For example, there is no faculty member specializing in Pacific Islander studies. There is also no faculty member primarily trained to be an expert on the South Asian or Southeast Asian experiences in the United States. Hiring experts in these fields who can complement existing faculty members expertise will enhance Emorys understanding of AAPI issues.

Education as a prelude to action

I have no doubt that we will generate conversations in this teach-in that matter to the AAPI community and will act as signposts for where we go from here, says Jacob. This event will be a great starting point  a sign that Emory wants to be a space where we all can thrive.
Emory Universitys Candler School of Theology aims to take theological education beyond its walls and beyond degree-seekers with community courses offered through The Candler Foundry, open to everyone from believers, to seekers, to those just curious about faith.

Members of the public can take masters level courses with leading experts on a wide variety of topics in Scripture, theology, ethics and church leadership. Courses are offered online and in person at a variety of locations.

Desert Fathers and Mothers: Ancient Spirituality for a Modern Faith

Among the online courses and public lectures coming this fall:6:30-8 p.m.

Taught by The Rev. Brett Opalinski, assistant dean of Methodist studies at Candler, the course is an exploration of the stories, world and spirituality of early Christian teachers quest to live out the Gospel in real and meaningful ways.

Notes of Rest: Receiving Rest from Scripture and Black Music in Our Restless World

7-8:15 p.m.

For those who find themselves exhausted, the course is an exploration of Gods gift of rest through the lens of Scripture and Black music. Led by artist-theologian Julian Davis Reid, a Candler graduate and jazz musician, the course is adapted from the in-person experience Reid offers to churches and seminaries throughout North America. No musical or theological background is required, just a love of music and a desire to receive the gift of rest.

Finding Phoebe: What New Testament Women Were Really Like

7-8:15 p.m.

Taught by Susan E. Hylen, professor of New Testament at Candler, the course explores evidence of a very different historical picture of women in the New Testament times, who, contrary to popular belief, owned and managed property, and were sought out and praised as community leaders.

PUBLICations: Finding Phoebe (webinar)

12-1 p.m.

This webinar features Susan E. Hylen in a panel discussion on her book, Finding Phoebe: What New Testament Women were Really Like. Hylen, who is a professor of New Testament at Candler, will join panelists Jaime Clark-Soles, professor of New Testament at Perkins School of Theology at Southern Methodist University; Nijay Gupta, professor of New Testament at Northern Seminary in Illinois; and Elizabeth Rogers, connection pastor at Classic City Church in Athens, Georgia.

Courses in the community are one of four initiatives of Candler Foundry, says director Ryan Bonfiglio, an associate professor in the practice of Old Testament. Candler Foundry also has a TED Talk-style speaker series, TheoEd, a certificate program called Foundations in Faith and Leadership, and a webinar series.

Were trying to make seminary an away game, says Bonfiglio. We typically think of seminary as a home game, where people come to us. Through The Foundry, were trying to bring seminary to where people already arecongregations and communities.

Scholarships are available for Candler Foundry course fees; email candlerfoundry@emory.edu to learn more.

For more information, visit The Candler Foundry.
The Office of Respect  led by Emily Palmieri, who joined as director in January 2023  has a sharpened sense of mission and renewed energy that will be on full display when it sponsors RespectCon on the Atlanta campus Oct. 12-13. Paused during the pandemic, this event enhances student understanding of how to care for self and others related to sexual- and relationship-based harm from a prevention and support lens.

Previously held in spring, this years RespectCon deliberately is timed during the Red Zone, the period between when college students arrive on campus through Thanksgiving, given that nationally this is when 50% of sexual assaults are reported.

Conference planners also switched for another reason, says Palmieri: The start of school is a time of high need, and the fall semester presents a great opportunity for our students to be exposed to this critical information as they come back refreshed from fall break.

Deepening respect for the office she heads

Since Palmieris arrival from Wake Forest University, where she served as director of the Safe Office and assistant director for specialized services with the University Counseling Center, she has not shied away from big changes or small. One of the key principles I follow, at the crux of every decision, is what are all the opportunities we can provide to empower a survivor and give them options and choices, says Palmieri.

James Raper, Emorys first associate vice president for health, well-being, access and prevention, realized how underutilized the Office of Respect was, notes Palmieri. That was largely because the staff had previously been mandated reporters, meaning that every student inquiry brought an imposing first question: Are you comfortable with continuing the conversation?

With that move away from mandated reporting, Palmieri, a licensed therapist who has engaged in trauma work since 2008, has been able to add three additional staff, two of whom are clinicians, thereby making the Office of Respect a site for confidential clinical care for survivors, which expands Emorys mental health services for students.

Another enhancement is that the office serves students who suffered sexual assault or relationship harm before coming to Emory, an acknowledgment of the reality that those experiences can be the source of present trauma.

Often, students who come to us are just starting to grapple with the impacts of past harm. Not all cases reported actually occurred at the university, explains Palmieri. But we still can play a major role in supporting students through it.

We know that one in four female-identified students and one in eight male-identified students experience sexual harm on university campuses, and that data hasnt changed significantly in decades  so I wanted to ensure we invested more in downstream support of those who have experienced harm, and upstream to better engage prevention. Going forward under Dr. Palmieris leadership, that holistic approach to an important problem is what Emorys Office of Respect represents, says Raper.

A constellation of conversations to better serve the community

An important prelude to RespectCon was the panel discussion, geared toward faculty and staff, on Sept. 28 titled Approaches and Strategies for Preventing and Addressing Sexual Harassment in Higher Education, featuring Frazier Benya and Ashley Bear, senior program officer and director, respectively, of the Committee on Women in Science, Engineering and Medicine.

On Oct. 12, the opening day of RespectCon, the focus will be on Jennifer S. Hirsch and Shamus Khan, authors of Sexual Citizens: Sex, Power, and Assault on Campus. Hirsch is professor of sociomedical sciences at the Mailman School of Public Health at Columbia University; Khan is professor of sociology and American studies at Princeton University.

Groundbreaking on many levels, their book shifts the public conversation from its previous axes  predators and what to do about the he said/she said that follows assaults. Instead, framing sexual assault as a public health matter, Hirsch and Khan conducted an ethnographic study as part of a much larger project funded by Columbia University.

Hirsch and Khans argument is that sexual assault is a predictable consequence of how our society is organized, rather than solely a problem of individual actors. And in the building blocks of that argument  through the concepts sexual projects, sexual citizenship and sexual geographies  they have devised a new language for understanding young peoples sexual relationships and a roadmap for addressing sexual assault.

Beyond their conference roles, the authors will meet with Emory leadership for what Palmieri describes as an aspirational conversation to brainstorm around questions such as What are things we havent thought of that Emory can do to enhance the safety for our students and engage our community in this work?

On Oct. 13, workshops will focus on the following topics:

Understanding Sexual and Relationship Harm and Title IX

Harassment and Navigating Power Differentials

Sexual Projects and Consent

Trauma-informed Survivor Support

Barriers to Reporting and Cultural Conversations Around Sexual Assault

Why Do I Feel This Way?: Understanding Trauma Responses

Bystander Intervention

Being a Sexual Citizen

The sessions will be facilitated by staff members from the Center for Women, Department of Title IX, Office of Respect, Office of Health Promotion, Student Case Management and Intervention Services, Counseling and Psychological Services and others.

Participants are welcome to access the Office of Respects survivor lounge during the conference, which will be staffed with counselors/advocates for processing support. The Office of Respect hotline is available 24/7 to serve Emory students and provide consultation to faculty, staff and community members.

Zoe Ferguson 24Ox 26C is co-president of Sexual Assault Peer Advocates (SAPA) on the Oxford campus. For me and others to be able to bring our perspectives to this event with the full backing of many departments in the university is a cool opportunity for students to see that Emory really cares and has a lot of faculty and staff who are passionate about these topics, she says.

Her efforts have involved identifying topics for the workshops, communicating about the event to the Oxford community and working with the book club committee that has been holding discussions on Sexual Citizens.

OxSAPA is hoping that students are able to come to these workshops/discussions and feel that their eyes are opened, that they can acknowledge thought patterns previously unnoticed and take this understanding back to the community to create change at the most basic level, says Ferguson.

Athletics

Campus Life Communications and Executive Leadership

Center for Women

Department of Title IX

Emory Police Department

Faculty members

Health and Well-being Leadership Team

Laney Graduate School

Office of Health Promotion

Office of LGBT Life

Office of Residence Life and Housing Operations

Office of Respect

Office of Sorority and Fraternity Life

Oxford Counseling and Career Services

Rollins School of Public Health graduate students

Sexual Assault Peer Advocates

Student Case Management and Intervention Services

Student Center Operations and Events

Student Government Association

Student Health Services

The momentum will continue

Palmieri arrived here with high expectations for what Emory would do to support students. I have noted a strong desire to improve by creating sustainable infrastructures and intentional redundancy where we need it. There is a refreshing energy and evidence of cross-campus dialogue. And as we better understand each others work, we are maximizing resources, she observes.

Asked how the fruits of RespectCon will carry over into ongoing work, Palmieri is confident that the conference feedback will shine a light on where the needs are greatest. We might, for instance, offer sessions like these more frequently. If we discover that some of the content is best learned through peers, we will bring in our amazing SAPA, says Palmieri. SAPA is Emorys largest student group and has trained more than 3,000 students.

There are a number of directions that response from RespectCon could point us, Palmieri continues. Whatever steps we take, we will do so by being responsive to the ever-changing dynamics of our student body.

All those interested in participating may register here.

For students who are interested in joining the Sexual Assault Peer Advocates group, contact Divya Pereira or fill out the interest form.

If you would like to speak with an Office of Respect advocate for support, call the Respect Hotline at 470-270-5360. It is staffed 24/7.
Singapore 'confirms arrest' of crypto fund founder

The company's liquidators said Su Zhu had been "apprehended" on September 29 at Changi Airport. Photo: Shutterstock

Singapore police appeared to confirm the arrest of Su Zhu, one of the founders of bankrupt crypto hedge fund Three Arrows Capital.



Last week, the company's liquidators, Teneo, said that Zhu had been "apprehended" on September 29 at Changi Airport in Singapore.



Responding to Reuters enquiries about the report, Singapore police confirmed on Thursday the arrest of a "36-year-old man" on September 29. Police did not identify the arrested man or elaborate in the response to Reuters.



Three Arrows Capital was one of the first high-profile cryptocurrency firms to collapse in 2022, filing for bankruptcy after being hit by a sharp sell-off in crypto markets.



Zhu is facing four months in prison under an arrest order after he did not cooperate with investigations into Three Arrows Capital, according to Teneo and a document seen by Reuters.



A law firm representing Zhu and representatives for Three Arrows co-founder Kyle Davies did not immediately respond to requests for comment.



In a November 2022 interview, Davies pushed back on claims from Teneo that he and Zhu were not cooperating with the liquidation process.



"We've been cooperating the whole way," Davies told CNBC. (Reuters)
SIUs plans for the 2024 Total Solar Eclipse

The message below was sent by the Eclipse Steering Committee on Oct. 4 to the campus community.

On Monday, April 8, 2024, SIU Carbondale will be in the international spotlight once again, thanks to the second total solar eclipse in seven years. In fact, our region is the only location in the world to be the site of both eclipses! Check out the award-winning documentary, In the Shadow, about the 2017 Total Solar Eclipse on campus.

This is an outstanding opportunity for our campus community to showcase what Saluki Nation means to the world. We anticipate thousands of visitors to the campus and region from Friday, April 6, through Monday, April 8, and millions more to see SIU in the news and live broadcasts from campus. In fact, SIU will partner with NASA EDGE to host a live simulcast eclipse show from campus, and Chicagos Adler Planetarium will host activities on campus as well.

As we look ahead to this historic event, we are writing to share some information that will be helpful as we plan for activities that weekend:

Classes on Monday, April 8, 2024, will be canceled, but the university will be open. Students will not be in class that day and are encouraged to participate in the exciting events and activities we have on campus. All offices are expected to be open throughout the day to serve our students and the community. Administrative/professional (A/P) and civil service staff members may request to use personal leave time if needed. As always, supervisors have the discretion to approve or deny leave based on office and campus needs. We highly encourage all employees and students to get out, volunteer, and experience the eclipse on campus that day.

Students will not be in class that day and are encouraged to participate in the exciting events and activities we have on campus. All offices are expected to be open throughout the day to serve our students and the community. Administrative/professional (A/P) and civil service staff members may request to use personal leave time if needed. As always, supervisors have the discretion to approve or deny leave based on office and campus needs. We highly encourage all employees and students to get out, volunteer, and experience the eclipse on campus that day. There will be a lot of exciting and engaging events on campus. SIU will feature a variety of events as a part of the Southern Illinois Crossroads Eclipse Festival, including talks and presentations; an arts and crafts fair; an astronomy, science, and technology expo; and an area dedicated to eclipse citizen science. We will provide a unique, family-friendly experience rich with activities centered on the arts and sciences. Here are some of our event highlights. Into the Darkness: Celebrating the Eclipse with Music  Friday, April 5 (Shryock Auditorium) Saluki Con Presents Eclipse Con Strikes Back  Saturday, April 6 - Sunday, April 7 (Student Center) Crossroads Eclipse Research Workshop - Saturday, April 6 (Student Center) Eclipse Eve Live: Sky Observers Hangout with Michelle Nichols, Adler Planetarium  Sunday, April 7 (Shryock Auditorium  outside) Crossroads Astronomy, Science, and Technology Expo  Sunday, April 7 - Monday, April 8 (Banterra Center) Crossroads Arts and Crafts Fair  Sunday, April 7 - Monday, April 8 (north of Banterra Center  outside) Eclipse Day at Saluki Stadium - Monday, April 8 (Saluki Stadium)

SIU will feature a variety of events as a part of the Southern Illinois Crossroads Eclipse Festival, including talks and presentations; an arts and crafts fair; an astronomy, science, and technology expo; and an area dedicated to eclipse citizen science. We will provide a unique, family-friendly experience rich with activities centered on the arts and sciences. Here are some of our event highlights.

Please continue to visit the festival page of our webpage for further updates and more information about events: eclipse.siu.edu/festival.

Volunteers are needed. Faculty, staff, students, and community members are welcome to volunteer. There will be a variety of volunteer roles in the days leading up to the eclipse and on Monday, April 8, 2024. Volunteers will be needed in many roles, including hospitality, information stations, check-in, setting up and tearing down, ticketing, and more. Volunteer opportunities will include a variety of locations (indoor and outdoor), days, and times. Students can track hours via the Saluki Volunteer Portal. Please visit eclipse.siu.edu/volunteer-with-the-eclipse for more details and to sign up to volunteer.

There will be a variety of volunteer roles in the days leading up to the eclipse and on Monday, April 8, 2024. Volunteers will be needed in many roles, including hospitality, information stations, check-in, setting up and tearing down, ticketing, and more. Volunteer opportunities will include a variety of locations (indoor and outdoor), days, and times. Students can track hours via the Saluki Volunteer Portal. Please visit eclipse.siu.edu/volunteer-with-the-eclipse for more details and to sign up to volunteer. Call for programs: We welcome additional eclipse programming! Have a program idea? Visit eclipse.siu.edu/program-submission to submit your idea.

We welcome additional eclipse programming! Have a program idea? Visit eclipse.siu.edu/program-submission to submit your idea. Campus information sessions: Have questions? We will host three campus information sessions in October and November for faculty, staff, and students to learn more about events, programs, and the campus plans for the 2024 Total Solar Eclipse. Info sessions will be on the following dates and times: Thursday, Oct. 12, 2023, 2 p.m.  3 p.m., Guyon Auditorium (Morris Library) and online via Zoom (https://zoom.us/j/94308859921) Friday, Oct. 27, 2023, 11 a.m.  noon, Guyon Auditorium (Morris Library) and online via Zoom (https://zoom.us/j/97720426290) Wednesday, Nov. 8, 2 p.m.  3 p.m., online via Zoom (https://zoom.us/j/97568494312)

Have questions? We will host three campus information sessions in October and November for faculty, staff, and students to learn more about events, programs, and the campus plans for the 2024 Total Solar Eclipse. Info sessions will be on the following dates and times: Additional Information Parking plan: There will be ample parking on campus for faculty, staff, and students. Certain lots will be designated for visitors. Information about changes to parking during the event will be distributed to the campus community closer to the event. Eclipse glasses: There are ample glasses available for the campus community. Glasses will be distributed to colleges and units prior to the eclipse. If you need additional glasses for an outreach opportunity, please email eclipse@siu.edu. Merchandise: The university bookstore will have SIU and eclipse-branded merchandise available for purchase later in the fall semester. We also anticipate hosting several pop-up stores for eclipse apparel. Stay tuned.



There will also be an annular solar eclipse event on Saturday, Oct. 14, 2023, in Saluki Stadium, which will be a wonderful complement to the coming total solar eclipse. Please join us in celebrating that event, too. For more information, read the press release.

The eclipse will provide national and international visibility for the university and region. We are excited you will be here to be part of it. We will provide additional information as the date gets closer. Meanwhile, you may visit eclipse.siu.edu regularly for updates.
Matt Penn, adjunct assistant professor of practice in the School of Physics and Applied Physics at SIU, works with students recently. Penn will give the next Journey to the Eclipse talk at SIU on Friday, Oct. 6. (Photo provided)

Next Journey to the Eclipse talk on Friday features national citizen science project

by Tim Crosby

CARBONDALE, Ill.  A series of public talks about the upcoming total eclipse continues Friday, Oct. 6, with a faculty member with decades of solar research illuminating a nationwide observation project and Southern Illinois University Carbondales leadership role in it.

Matt Penn, adjunct assistant professor of practice in the School of Physics and Applied Physics at SIU, is the speaker at Fridays Journey to the Eclipse talk, set for 3 p.m. at Guyon Auditorium in Morris Library. The series is free and open to the campus and public.

Penns talk will center on the Dynamic Eclipse Broadcast (DEB) Initiative, a citizen-science experiment using volunteer telescope teams across all of North America to capture images of the upcoming annular solar eclipse on Oct. 14 and total solar eclipse on April 8. The data collected from this experiment will be used to study an array of solar phenomena.

Penn has worked at five solar observatories during his 30-year solar research career, publishing scores of papers and mentoring dozens of students along the way. Now an engineer, Penn is continuing to pursue his passion for astronomy both as a hobby and through projects such as the DEB Initiative.

The Journey to the Eclipse series is aimed at bringing together experts in astronomy, solar eclipses and other sun-related topics for students, faculty and staff of SIU, as well as members of the Southern Illinois community. Three previous series events were held in April, August and September.

Each talk is at 3 p.m. on the first Friday of each month in Guyon Auditorium. The talks also will stream live via Zoom and be recorded. For more information and links go to eclipse.siu.edu.

A bonus event is set for Oct. 13  the day before the annular eclipse  and will feature Blair Allen, NASA EDGE producer and co-host. NASA EDGE, a video podcast, takes an inside and outside look at all things NASA, from the latest launch to the coolest gadgets. Allens travels for NASA EDGE have taken him around the globe.

The Nov. 3 talk will feature Mark Wagner, professor in the School of Anthropology, Political Science and Sociology. Wagner will speak on Stargazing in the Past: Native American Celestial Rock Art Images in Southern Illinois.

Wagner will discuss celestial images such as the sun, moon and stars as depicted in Illinois rock art. He will address questions such as whether the images show past eclipses, or possibly are associated with Native American religious beliefs such as the Morning Star Myth. He will also talk about the Shawnee Prophet, who correctly predicted the Eclipse of 1806, astounding his Native American followers.

Wagners research interests include the study of Native American rock art in Illinois, the archaeology of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, the Cherokee Trail of Tears and the investigation of African American and Underground Railroad sites in Southern Illinois.
Matthew J. Brown is the new director of the Center for Dewey Studies at SIU Carbondale. The center is hosting a conference on Dewey, Oct. 12-14. (Photo by Russell Bailey)

SIUs Dewey Center celebrates reopening with international symposium on John Dewey

by Pete Rosenbery

CARBONDALE, Ill.  An interdisciplinary, international conference next week at Southern Illinois University Carbondale will focus on the work of American philosopher and educator John Dewey and highlight the resurgence of the universitys Center for Dewey Studies.

John Dewey and His Legacy for Education will feature 85 presentations  both virtual and on campus  with Dewey scholars from around the world, including Estonia, Canada, Japan, China, India, Germany and The Netherlands. On Oct. 12-14, they will examine the impact of Deweys progressive educational philosophy. The Center for Dewey Studies, the School of Education, the School of History and Philosophy, and Morris Library are sponsoring the symposium. More than 110 people have already registered.

The Center for Dewey Studies, located in the basement in Morris Library, is the main repository in the world for Dewey material, and his scholarship is just as relevant today as it was during his lifetime (1859-1952), said Matthew Brown, a professor of philosophy and Center for Dewey Studies director.

This is going to be a great opportunity to show off the resources that we have here at SIU and the community of Dewey scholars connected with SIU in some way or another, Brown said. We have a lot of former students who are coming to present who now are professors all over the world and people who have come here in the past to do research with the archives that we have here.

Media Advisory

Reporters, photographers and news crews are welcome to cover the John Dewey and His Legacy for Education conference, Oct. 12-14. For more information, call 618-453-4347 or email deweycenter@siu.edu. For more information during the conference, contact Rebecca Dycus, program director, University Events and Outreach, at 618-453-1141.

Resurgent Dewey Center

Initially established as the Cooperative Research on Dewey Publications in 1961, the center has published the definitive critical edition of Dewey's writings as The Collected Works of John Dewey, The Correspondence of John Dewey, and The Class Lectures of John Dewey. Through the work of the center, SIU is the home of Deweys archival papers, manuscripts, and correspondence, which are housed in the Morris Librarys Special Collections Research Center, along with Deweys personal and professional library.The center was without a director or staff from 2017 to 2022 as a result of the states budget impasse, although Brown noted work relating to Dewey was able to continue and many researchers used SIUs resources through the Special Collections Research Center. Brown said he came to SIU Carbondale last fall from the University of Texas with the announcement of the centers renewal.

I have known about the Dewey Center since I was a graduate student and relied heavily on the items the center produced in my work, said Brown, who earned his masters and doctoral degrees in philosophy in 2006 and 2009, respectively, from the University of California, San Diego.

Shifting focus

Brown explained that historically the centers focus has been on the publication of Deweys own writings and materials and supporting researchers, but the vein of Deweys own writings has kind of been mined. While the center will still support those short- and long-term research efforts and digitizing material to make it more accessible, Brown sees adding outreach and scholarly activities into the mix. That includes organizing lectures and related events related to Deweys legacy of work in philosophy, democracy and education.

We plan to host annually different kinds of events for researchers to exchange ideas and information, he said. We also are running a reading group now in its second semester, where we gather interested students and scholars from around the world and from the local community for a hybrid in-person and online reading group. This semester, we are reading Deweys book Human Nature and Conduct: An Introduction to Social Psychology from 1922, one of his most important works on psychology and ethics.

Deweys educational, democracy theories still very relevant

Brown noted Dewey wrote on a wide variety of topics during his long career, including psychology, art, religion, logic and naturalism.

What holds it all together is a focus on human growth and social nature of human life, he said.

Deweys theory on education that emphasized learning by doing and the school as a social center is still relevant, with experiential learning, inquiry-based learning and project-based learning going back to Deweys ideas more than 100 years ago.

He was fighting against the model of education where its all about the individual student downloading information from the teacher at the front of the room, to students working together and developing their problem-solving skills by actually doing things  teaching chemistry through cooking or teaching archaeology through projects rather than written learning, Brown said.

As for democracy, Dewey was particularly interested in how democracy, community life and modes of communication interacted, Brown said.

Although he was working on this 100 years ago, a lot of what he says about how we communicate and how to interact with our ability to have a functioning democracy is really relevant in the context of social media and misinformation, Brown said. He was very much worried about analogous problems about what we call the old media, and there are things he wrote about that you would think hes talking about X, or Twitter, rather than newspapers.

Going forward

Browns goals for the center are that it continues to support and encourage research that that both attempts to understand Dewey and his historical context and gives a wider understanding of Deweys thought and activity, and also continues the intellectual and practical activities that he started.

He also wants the center to return to its status as a hub of activity for Dewey studies globally. In addition to conferences, the reading group and workshops, Brown said hes working on developing a robust visiting fellows program to support scholars coming to SIU Carbondale who want to work with the Dewey archives and who are interested in being part of this intellectual community working on Dewey and his ideas and projects for extended periods of time.

Brown said the center is grateful for the vital support provided by Jun Zhou and the Maitreya International Community. Their generosity helps us strengthen the legacy of John Dewey.

Conference information

Conference registration information is available on the Dewey Center website. It is suggested to register before Friday, Oct. 6.
BusinessWire India Bangalore (Karnataka) [India], October 5: On October 3rd, Flatworld Solutions, a global outsourcing titan, revealed a transformative shift in its brand identity. Flatworld Solutions' iconic infinity symbol transformed into a modern whirl motif to reflect its ever-progressive essence, symbolising the company's agility and readiness to tap into the emerging possibilities of GAI and automation. Flatworld Solutions propelled by its enthusiastic 5000+ "Possibilitarians" dramatically scaled its presence in the global market for almost two decades now. This, while embracing the global multi-location delivery hubs and technological innovation. A comprehensive outsourcing powerhouse, Flatworld offers an expansive suite of over 14 services, adeptly catering to diverse business needs across the globe. Flatworld Solutions began its global operations in 2004 and has since become a value-driven partner for businesses worldwide. Executing over a million projects and harnessing the power of search engine marketing to leverage demands of global customers, Flatworld achieved a track record of serving 18000+ customers. As Generative AI takes centre stage, Flatworld's proactive investments showcase their readiness to capitalize on this transformative wave. Flatworld is now poised to "Unlock Winning Ways" for its clientele. The brand update reflects a timely response to significant technological advancements, with the intent and aim to understand and quickly adapt to the evolving landscape, equipping both the company and its stakeholders with necessary tools to navigate a rapidly changing business environment. The company's President & COO David Antony mentions, "Our mission has always been to identify untapped avenues in client operations, propel them with innovative strategies, and ensure they stay ahead in the competitive landscape." The company's CEO, Jacob William, commented, "Generative AI provides not only Flatworld but all its stakeholders with a chance to thrive, irrespective of the shifting technology terrain. From 'expanding possibilities', we now aim to 'unlock winning ways' in this new landscape." Anand Mathew, CMO, also stated, "Our new logo represents the industry's shifting dynamics and signals our readiness to meet the demands of the future." Underpinned by "Possibilitarians," Flatworld Solutions champions the idea of metamorphosing challenges into opportunities, always striving to provide the utmost value for its clients and partners. As the company marches forward, moving from BPO, to BPA to BPAi, this brand enhancement stands testament to its enduring ability to adapt to changing landscapes. (ADVERTORIAL DISCLAIMER: The above press release has been provided by BusinessWire India. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of the same)
BusinessWire India Bangalore (Karnataka) [India], October 5: Bolt.Earth, India's leading EV infrastructure and software company, is excited to announce the successful completion of its funding round, securing a substantial $20 million in investment. The landmark funding round was spearheaded by a consortium of both longstanding and new investors, featuring notable names including Union Square Ventures, Prime Venture Partners, ITIGO Funds, and several others who share Bolt.Earth's vision for a sustainable and electrified transportation ecosystem. Bolt.Earth Will Use the Funds as Follows: 1. Charging Network Expansion: Recently, Bolt.Earth has achieved the milestone of successfully deploying more than 30,000 EV charging points within its charging network. The company caters to a wide spectrum of charging needs, with options ranging from slow to fast charging, featuring power outputs from 3.3 kW to 240 kW. 2. Product Enhancement: The funding will be instrumental in advancing the company's stellar product portfolio with a balanced mix of slow and fast charging points, catering to a varied customer base namely Bolt.Earth Lite, Bolt.Earth Lite Connected, Bolt.Earth LEVAC, Bolt.Earth Level 2 & 3. 3. Operating System Deployment: Bolt.Earth OS embodies a commitment to a smarter and safer tomorrow, going beyond technology to promise a greener future. For OEMs and EV dealers seeking seamless upgrades, our low-code integration platform enables EVs to become software defined vehicles. 4. Talent Acquisition: Bolt.Earth is set to onboard top-tier professionals across a spectrum of disciplines, including tech, engineering and product. 5. International Expansion: The funding will bolster Bolt.Earth's ambitious agenda to extend its presence beyond existing markets, catalyzing the uptake of electric vehicles in Asia, Europe, South America, and Latin America. "Bolt.Earth offers an Operating System, a connected platform technology helping OEMs to develop, operate, and monitor their charging network and vehicles. We are also continuously expanding our charging network at a rate of approximately 2,000 new charging points per month. Additionally, we currently hold more than 50% market share in India's EV charging network and play a dominant role in India's EV Operating System nexus with our deployed chargers and software defined vehicles." - Jyotiranjan Harichandan, Co-founder, Bolt.Earth Mohit Yadav, Co-founder, Bolt.Earth, further commented, "We are thrilled to have the backing of visionary investors who share our passion for transforming the EV ecosystem. The current $20 million fund-raise is a part of the company's plan to further its reach to every nook and corner of the country, and to begin the era of 'Make in India' EV charging infrastructure products in the global market." (ADVERTORIAL DISCLAIMER: The above press release has been provided by BusinessWire India. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of the same)
SRV Media New Delhi [India], October 5: India's leading publishing house, Adhyyan Books, and community platform, Super Power Author, proudly presented the Super Power Author Awards 2023 in New Delhi on July 29, 2023. The event celebrated the remarkable achievements of the most inspirational Indian authors who have made a significant impact in the literary world with their writings. The awards were given to authors of various genres, including fiction, non-fiction, poetry, and children's literature. Each recipient had a unique story to tell, and their work touched the lives of countless readers around the world. The award ceremony was an acknowledgment of their efforts and an inspiration for others to follow in their footsteps. The awardees were: 1. Dr Aafreen Kotadiya author of "Ma, Don't Go" 2. Akshat Gupta author of "The Hidden Hindu" 3. Amandeep Thind author of "Secret of Winning" 4. Dr Ameet Parekh author of "Your Mind is Your Enemy" 5. AnatoSwu author of "A Diamond of Dust & The Dancing Quill" 6. Ashneer Grover author of "Doglapan" 7. Bhupenddra Singh Raathore author of "Public Speaking, The Magic of Thinking Rich & MasterYourThoughtsMasterYourLife" 8. Bill V author of "Universal Energies" 9. Chanchala Dayakar author of "Vision, Goals and Success" 10. Chetan Bhagat author of "The 3 Mistakes of My Life" 11. Deepak Bajaj author of "Be a Network Marketing Millionaire" 12. Deepak Gupta author of "World becomes your library" 13. Gaur Gopal Das author of "Energise your mind" 14. Dr Gopika Kumar author of "personal power equation" 15. Hywel Richard Pinto author of "The Monsters of Mithi" 16. Kiran Swamy author of "Ultimate Happiness Mastery Book" 17. Madhup Mayank author of "Facebookiya Love Story" 18. Mohamed Abdulla, author of "Embrace Magnificence" and "A Night to Vigil." 19. Moumita De author of "Sonali Chiller Dana in Bengali 20. Naga Swati TJ author of "The Four Makeovers" 21. Nayana Kishore author of ": Artificial Intelligence Vs Heartificial Empathy" 22. Neeraj Arora author of "Neeraj Arora's Reflections" 23. Nidhi Jain author of "Heal Thy Life" 24. Nishita soni author of "Overwhelmed to Empowered" 25. Prachi Sachdev author of "Hey Girl, Yes You&Dear Son, You Can't Stay Little Always" 26. Pragati More author of "21 Weapons To Roar Like Lion" 27. Pranesh author of "Stories from South Kanyakumari" 28. Pranjal Kamra author of "Investonomy" 29. Radhakrishnan Pillai author of "7 Secrets of Leadership " 30. Raghunath J Pai author of "The CEO Makeup" 31. Rajeev Kumar Dubey author of "Urvi" 32. Rakesh Mahalley author of "Manasa Suptavani" 33. R. Raman Srivastava author of "SMART INVESTOR&GOLDEN TIME --BEYOND SIXTY" 34. Ravi Nandrajog author of "Motorsounds Car Audio Simplified" 35. Rohit Jain author of "Lafzon ki Awaaz" 36. Santana Babu author of "The Sacred Cow" 37. Sarbojit Roy Choudhury author of "Sayaknama O Onanyo in Bengali" 38. Saurabh Bisht author of "Mind matters" 39. Shreyas Srivatsan author of "Dasha Avatar" 40. Shweta Gupta author of "251 Phonic Rules" 41. Sreekanth TV author of "Rise Upto your Purpose" 42. Suhail Malik author of "The Silence of Souls" 43. Dr Vandana Sharma author of "Self Help Neurobics" 44. Dr Jagdish author of "Super Sonic Author" 45. Varsha Lalwani author of "Ultimate Blueprint of Super Mindset" 46. Dr Yogendra Singh Rathore author of "10X FOCUS Blueprint," The event also witnessed a panel discussion on "Power of Books," which had six panelists: Akshat Gupta, Dr Gopika Kumar, Deepak Bajaj, Neeraj Arora, actress Tannaz Irani, and CA Nitin Soni, and was hosted by Shalini Soni. Where all these authors put their thought forward is the incredible impact books make on our lives. During the engaging panel discussion, these esteemed authors eloquently shared their insights and experiences, highlighting the transformative influence that books have on our lives, sparking inspiration, and fostering personal growth. On that day, they also launched two new books. One was written by Shalini Soni. "Meri Kitaab Meri Kahani," the event was graced by Akshat Gupta and Deepak Bajaj and hosted by CA Nitin Soni. "Meri Kitaab Meri Kahani" is all about sharing the personal journeys, experiences, and struggles of 21 diverse authors who were interviewed by the author. It aims to inspire and guide readers, offering insights into the writing process and the determination of these writers from various backgrounds. The other book featured in the event was authored by actress Tannaz Irani. The special guest for this book launch was actor Bhaktyar Irani, and CA Nitin Soni hosted the event. Tannaz Irani's book delves into her personal journey, using real-life examples to inspire and guide readers toward unlocking their true potential. She fearlessly shares her battle with depression, a topic many shy away from, and the physical pain that halted her acting assignments. It's the story of a resilient woman who turned to her mind when her body faltered, all in pursuit of personal growth and fulfillment. Adhyyan Books and Super Power Author must be applauded for recognizing and honoring the contributions of these inspiring authors. Their commitment to empowering authors through their literary contribution is truly commendable, and we hope that they continue to inspire and empower authors for years to come. The Super Power Author Awards 2023 were a powerful reminder of the limitless potential of these authors and how they can make a positive impact on the world with their books. For more information, please visit: https://www.adhyyanbooks.com/ or https://www.bestsellercircle.com/ (ADVERTORIAL DISCLAIMER: The above press release has been provided by SRV Media. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of the same)
GLOBAL PR CONNECT (GPRC) New Delhi [India], October 5: The textile industry is the cornerstone of the Indian economy, accounting for 12 per cent of the manufacturing sector GDP. It is also the second largest in terms of employment generation. About 45 million people are directly engaged in this sector, comprising mostly women and the rural population. However, in the past few years, the industry has been witnessing a shortage of skilled labourers, impacting overall efficiency and productivity. While there are multiple factors keeping people from choosing this profession, rapid technological advancement is the primary one. This has deepened the skill gap, consequently intensifying the calls for investing in workers training to address the shortage. Speaking at the 118th PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PHDCCI) Annual Session 2023, Riju Jhunjhunwala, RSWM Ltd. Chairman and Managing Director said, "Established companies are now dedicating more time to ensure skill development for all their employees. This is crucial because there is a clear target set by all the ministers that by 2030, we have to reach a figure of USD 100 billion of export. To meet the goal everything must align with the right ecosystem." He said that challenges exist in every industry, but the textiles industry, specifically, being more manpower-driven, requires a significant number of blue-collar workers. Calling for a united effort to address this challenge, he asserted that, "RSWM Ltd. is working with the Government of Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh and others on this. And almost every state government is competing with each other to provide more support for the skilling of these workers." Further commenting on the potential competition from Bangladesh in the textile sector, Jhunjhunwala refuted the notion that it posed a threat to the Indian textile industry. Drawing reference from the Chinese textile industry, which is larger than India's he said, China has been the leading producer of cotton and man-made fiber. Furthermore, their factories are 10 to 20 times larger than those in India, providing them with significant advantages. He outlined that "The advantage they (China) enjoyed for those 40 years is no longer present in Bangladesh. Yes, they (Bangladesh) are large, they're larger exporters of garments than India. But they don't have the kind of ecosystem that India has." He pointed out that even though Chinese factories are larger than Indian ones, their labour costs are double that of India's. So, India still has some competitive advantages, and in the next few years, with several kinds of policies introduced by the government, it will get better. While sharing his company's expansion plan, he said that they started the journey as spinners and then moved on to manufacturing denim. Now as the world becomes more environmentally conscious, they have also ventured into the graphite electrode business and the hydropower sector to contribute to building a sustainable world. The Indian textile industry has a rich history of manual craftsmanship, passed down from one generation to the other. Naturally, it has always relied on a heavy workforce of skilled individuals to create high-quality textile products. With time it has indeed embraced technology in response to changing demands and global competition, but it still requires a pool of skilled workers with expertise in diverse domains. This void can only be filled by skilling the workforce to meet future needs. Sources: Exports: Textile industry crucial for govt's 'manufacturing' mantra, ET Retail (indiatimes.com) Schemes launched by the Government in Textile sector for employment generation (pib.gov.in) (ADVERTORIAL DISCLAIMER: The above press release has been provided by GLOBAL PR CONNECT (GPRC). ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of the same)
PNN Kochi (Kerala) [India], October 5: Kochi-based Autograde Industries has received VDA recognition for the quality of its products and services. The German Association for Automotive Industry (VDA) is the key entity responsible for fixing quality standards and parameters for automobile products and services in Germany and many other places. Autograde Industries is a part of the HKA Group with a legacy of nearly 100 years. His Excellency Abdulla Al Maeeni, Chairman of First Capital Investment and CEO of Bpoint Consultancy handed over the certificate to Autograde Industries CEO, T Muhammed Ashraf in a glittering function held at the Autograde campus. Dignitaries from various walks of life including chairperson of the Thrikkakkara Municipality attended the function. AdBlue manufacturing: Autograde Industries made a major strategic foray into AdBlue manufacturing by forming a joint venture with Taiwanese firm Novax a couple of years ago. AdBlue is a major component in the fight against toxic emissions from automobiles. The initiative coincided with the introduction of the BS 6 emission norms and Euro 6 standards in the country. The new emission norms have made it mandatory to have SCR (Selective Catalytic Reduction) technology in diesel vehicle engines with a capacity of above 2 liters. The authentic quality of the product has helped the company to attract a solid customer base within a short span of the introduction of the product. Autograde Industries places immense importance on delivering products of the highest quality, said CEO Muhammad Ashraf. "Our dedicated team collaborates closely with internationally recognized testing and accreditation bodies to ensure that our products meet global standards ISO 22241", he said. Business Growth focusing on franchise and partnerships: Commenting on the business growth Ashraf said the company has adopted a franchise and partnership model for growth. The company has made a good network of partnerships in Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka. "Autograde's presence in the AdBlue manufacturing sector and VDA certification provide partners with an opportunity to enter new markets and regions, tapping into the growing demand for eco-friendly automotive technologies", he added. Low Investment and Early Return: The lower level of initial investment is one of the reasons for attracting entrepreneurs to partner with Autograde industries. Compared to many other business opportunities, AdBlue manufacturing has a relatively low startup cost. The high demand for AdBlue translates into quick returns on investment, often within two years or less, said an industry expert. Partnering with Autograde Industries to enter the AdBlue manufacturing is a smart move that promises low investment requirements and high returns within a short timeframe, he added. Unlocking Value with Adrinale: The Adrinale Adblue filling station is projected as a major investment opportunity with quick returns. ADRINALE is not just an AdBlue filling station. We are a partner in your journey. With Autograde fuels, convenient filling stations, rewarding experiences, innovative AI technology, and a commitment to environmental sustainability, we are here to power your success. Choose ADRINALE, and together, we'll drive toward a brighter and more efficient future. Customer Base: The company currently has a customer base of over 7,000 persons. The solid customer base is beneficial for partner companies, as Autograde's increased customer base provides more potential buyers for their products, potentially resulting in higher sales and revenue for partners. The company plans to expand its global presence in 2025 with particular focus in established markets in the countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council region. Historical Background: Autograde Industries' history dates back 98 years to its inception in 1924. The company began with commodity trading, and over the years, evolved and expanded into international trading of construction materials and automobile accessories. A major diversification took place in 2007 when the company ventured into manufacturing road speed limiters. The strategic diversification resulted in an impressive annual turnover of USD 5 million. Autograde Industries quickly established a robust presence across the Indian subcontinent, developing a network of 984 dealers within the country. The international footprint extended to over 30 countries, reinforcing the company's commitment to global excellence. The company received several laurels and recognitions during its century long existence. The recognition from HH Sheikh Majid bin Mohmmad Al Maktoum the Crown Prince of Dubai is the most cherished moment in its history. The Crown Prince felicitated the company for its significant contribution to road safety. "The award underscores our dedication to promoting safety on the world's roads", said Autograde Industries CEO Mohammad Ashraf. (ADVERTORIAL DISCLAIMER: The above press release has been provided by PNN. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of the same)
NewsVoir Chandigarh [India], October 5: Chitkara University, a beacon of excellence in the field of education, proudly bestowed the prestigious Honorary Degree of Doctor of Literature (Honoris Causa) upon Bharat Goenka, the illustrious Founder and Vice Chairperson of Tally Solutions Pvt. Ltd., India's leading Business Management Software provider. The award recognizes Goenka's extraordinary contributions, transformative influence, and steadfast dedication in the realms of technology and business. Hailed as the "Father of the Indian software product industry" and lauded with the esteemed Lifetime Achievement Award by NASSCOM in 2011, Goenka stands as an icon of innovation and entrepreneurship in the technology sector. As the founder of Tally Solutions, he has played a pioneering role in revolutionizing the landscape of business management software products, with a global user base exceeding 7.2 million. The Honorary Doctorate was presented to Goenka by the esteemed Dr Ashok K Chitkara, Chancellor of Chitkara University, and Dr Madhu Chitkara, Pro Chancellor, during a grand convocation that celebrated his outstanding achievements. Goenka's journey commenced in 1984 when he received an IBM PC as a gift from his father, setting the stage for a technological revolution that would touch millions of MSME businesses worldwide. His ingenuity gave birth to 'The Accountant', a revolutionary accounting software devoid of complex coding, which later evolved into Tally Solutions in 1999. Soon, Tally.ERP9, the world's first concurrent multi-lingual business accounting and inventory software, marked a paradigm shift, and the latest offering, Tally Prime, continues to set industry standards with its user-friendly interface and seamless experience. Under Goenka's dynamic leadership, Tally has evolved from a simple accounting package for SMEs to a comprehensive business management software serving enterprises of all sizes and types. Receiving the Honorary Degree, Bharat Goenka said, "I feel truly humbled and honoured to receive the Honorary Doctorate of Literature from an esteemed University like Chitkara. I have been blessed to be a part of Tally's story and witness the unfolding of its magic over the years. It's been my absolute privilege to meet and interact with the esteemed faculty and the bright students at the Chitkara University." Dr Ashok K Chitkara, Chancellor of Chitkara University, Punjab, expressed, "Bharat Goenka's legacy as a trailblazer and innovator will continue to inspire future generations, paving the way for a brighter and more innovative future for our nation and the world. The Honorary Doctorate is in recognition of Goenka's tremendous contributions to the Indian software product industry, technological innovation, and entrepreneurial leadership. Chitkara University extends its heartfelt gratitude to Bharat Goenka and confers upon him this well-deserved doctorate." Dr Madhu Chitkara, Pro Chancellor of Chitkara University, Punjab, commended Goenka's exceptional contributions to the software product industry, emphasizing their profound impact on technological innovation and entrepreneurial leadership. She remarked, "Goenka's relentless pursuit of innovation has ignited a revolution in technology. We honour his pioneering spirit and foresee his legacy inspiring countless future trailblazers." Goenka's outstanding contributions have earned him numerous accolades, including the prestigious Padma Shri award, India's fourth-highest civilian honour, recognizing his outstanding impact on trade and industry. His visionary leadership has not only transformed the technology industry but also empowered countless businesses to thrive. Chitkara University, situated near Chandigarh, has emerged as the most vibrant and high-ranking University in North India. It is ranked among the top 5% of higher education institutions in India. The University is awarded NAAC A+ accreditation and has also been ranked by NIRF (National Institute Ranking Framework). The University offers courses in Engineering and Technology, Business Management, Planning; Architecture, Art & Design, Mass Communication, Sales and Marketing, Hospitality Management, Pharmacy, Health Sciences, Law, Psychology, and Education. Students studying at Chitkara get the best start-up support, world-class research excellence, and many internationally renowned opportunities. For more information please visit: www.chitkara.edu.in. (ADVERTORIAL DISCLAIMER: The above press release has been provided by NewsVoir. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of the same)
PRNewswire Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], October 5: Godrej Group, in partnership with Mumbai First, today, announced the launch of the Sohrab Pirojsha Godrej Environment Award, an initiative dedicated to recognizing and honoring individuals who have demonstrated exceptional excellence in the field of environment and sustainability, with a focus on Mumbai. This prestigious award serves as a tribute to S.P. Godrej's pioneering work in environmental protection and commemorates his enduring legacy by inspiring the next generation of environmental champions. The Sohrab Pirojsha Godrej Environment Award has a set of pivotal objectives. It aims to not only recognize the pioneers who have spearheaded sustainable environmental projects within the Mumbai Metropolitan Region, but also seeks to disseminate best practices to ignite and motivate the adoption of environmentally responsible actions. It also aspires to honor impactful efforts in crucial areas such as preservation, pollution control, and conservation. The evaluation criteria for the Sohrab Pirojsha Godrej Environment Award encompass key aspects such as impact, leadership, and commitment to the environment causes. It also takes into account community engagement, innovative approaches, advocacy efforts, scalability of initiatives, educational outreach, and a science-based approach. Nadir Godrej, Chairman and Managing Director of Godrej Industries, stated, "At Godrej, we are deeply committed to protecting our environment, because we understand it's not just a choice but a responsibility we all share. The Sohrab Pirojsha Godrej Environment Award carries a special meaning for us. It is a symbol of our continuing dedication to people, the planet, alongside profit and a tribute to legendry SP Godrej who was a great environmentalist. It would be a privilege for us to celebrate and stand beside the incredible individuals and organizations who work tirelessly to protect our environment. Together, let's support these 'Environment Champions,' drawing inspiration from their remarkable efforts as we strive to create a better world for future generations." Dr Raghunath Mashelkar, FRS, Former Chairman of National Innovation Foundation and Former Director-General of CSIR, and jury member of the Sohrab Pirojsha Godrej Environment Award, stated, "S P Godrej was a timeless inspirator well ahead of his time. He lives on even today with his eternal message of the critical importance environmental protection as a key to our sustainable future. The awards created in his name for championing this noble cause will inspire generations to come." Roger C. B. Pereira, Vice Chairman of Mumbai First, commented, "S. P. Godrej was a man born much before his time! He devoted his entire life, giving of his Time, Money & Talents, unstintingly to the cause of the Environment, literally 24x7. I feel really fulfilled that Nadir Godrej has whole heartedly supported Mumbai First in its endeavor to commemorate this giant of a human being." The Sohrab Pirojsha Godrej Environment Award is open for nominations until September 30, 2023. To learn more about the award and access the nomination form, please visit our website at https://spgodrejenvironmentawards.com/ About Godrej Group: Established in 1897, the Godrej Group has its roots in India's Independence and Swadeshi movement. Our founder, Ardeshir Godrej, lawyer-turned-serial entrepreneur failed with a few ventures, before he struck gold with a locks business. Today, we enjoy the patronage of 1.2 billion consumers globally across consumer goods, real estate, appliances, agriculture and many other businesses. In fact, our geographical footprint extends beyond Earth, with our engines now powering many of India's space missions. With a revenue of over USD 5 billion we are growing fast, and have exciting, ambitious aspirations. But for us, it is most important that besides our strong financial performance and innovative, much-loved products, we remain a good company. Approximately 23 per cent of the promoter holding in the Godrej Group is held in trusts that invest in the environment, health and education. We are also bringing together our passion and purpose to make a difference through our Good & Green strategy of 'shared value' to create a more inclusive and greener India. At the heart of all of this, is our people. We take much pride in fostering an inspiring workplace, with an agile and high-performance culture. We are also deeply committed to recognising and valuing diversity across our teams. For more information, contact: spgodrejawardsnomination@mumbaifirst.org (ADVERTORIAL DISCLAIMER: The above press release has been provided by PRNewswire. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of the same)
The Maharashtra police has registered a first information report (FIR) against Shiv Sena MP Hemant Patil on Wednesday at Nanded Gramin police station after he allegedly made the Dean of Shankarrao Chavan Medical College, clean a toilet, an official said. According to Deputy Superintendent of Police of Nanded, Sushil Kumar Naik, the police have registered the case under the charges of criminal intimidation and the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. Earlier in the day, the Maharashtra Association of Resident Doctors (MARD), condemned the insult of Dean of Shankarrao Chavan medical college at Nanded in Maharashtra where he was allegedly forced to clean toilets by Shiv Sena MP Patil and also demanded an unconditional apology from the concerned authorities. The statement issued by the body noted that the dean was forced to clean toilets which is very shameful and condemnable and said that the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) MARD will protest against this if an unconditional apology is not given. "On October 3, 2023, the misconduct of Member of Parliament, Hemant Patil, towards the Respected Dean of Dr. Shankarrao Chavan Government Medical College, Nanded; is very shameful and condemnable. Even when there is shortage of Health Care workers, essential medicines and medical resources in the Government Medical Colleges of Maharashtra; resident doctors, medical professionals and medical staff, work in such dreadful situations and give their best in terms of patient care," the statement of BMC MARD said. "This incident is not just an insult to the Dean of Government Medical College, Nanded; but has also demoralized the entire medical community. BMC MARD strongly condemns this act. The concerned authorities should immediately apologize for this incident or else BMC MARD will protest against this, and incase the healthcare system collapses, the above-mentioned authorities will be solely responsible for the same," it added. At least 31 people died in the government-run Dr Shankarrao Chavan Medical College and Hospital reportedly due to an alleged scarcity of medicines. Between Saturday and Sunday, 24 patients were reported to have died with seven more deaths reported on Tuesday. (ANI)
Chief Minister Conrad K. Sangma on Wednesday launched Meghalaya Grassroots Music Project (MGMP) Season 2. The ceremony was held at the upscale commercial hub Khyndailad, Police Bazar in Shillong. The Meghalaya Grassroots Music Project, in collaboration with the Tourism Department and The Meghalayan Age, unveiled the second season of MGMP. The audience was treated to an unforgettable musical extravaganza featuring incredibly talented artists that left everyone spellbound. Along with Chief Minister Conrad Sangma, Chief Guest, Paul Lyngdoh, Minister of Tourism was also present as the Guest of honour in the programme. Minister of Health and Family Welfare Dr Mazel Ampareen Lyngdoh, MLA of North Garo Hills Rupert Momin, MDC of Rambrai Jyngram Constituency Bajop Pyngrope, MLA of South West Garo Hills Ian Botham K. Sangma and other dignitaries also graced the occasion. On the launch of MGMP Season- 2, Chief Minister Conrad Sangma said, "Today, we embark on a journey to celebrate the soul of Meghalaya through music. Our state is a treasure trove of talent, and the Meghalaya Grassroots Music Project Season 2 is our way of showcasing our vibrant culture and nurturing our local musicians. In just one year of its launch, the Meghalaya Grassroots Music Project has given a platform to over 1600 artists from Meghalaya to perform in venues and stages in 3000 locations across the state and with the launch of Season 2 we aspire to also launch many more musical talents from our state." Congratulating all the officials for successfully conducting the first session of MGMP, Conrad Sangma highlighted Meghalaya's unique contribution to supporting independent music and musicians and having programmes like MGMP is the first of its kind in the country. "Through this Meghalaya Grassroot Music Project, in the first season itself, over 1600 artists have performed on more than 3000 occasions. Of all the revenue that is generated through Tourism activities in the state, we were able to share some part of it with the artists leading to the promotion of the music industry and thereby, benefiting our local people. This season, we are going to make this project even bigger and have performances not merely confined to music but also folklore, drama, acts, stand-up comedy, and others," CM Sangma added. Meghalaya Tourism Minister Paul Lyngdoh also said, "I am delighted to address the gathering of young, talented artists here today. The inaugural year of the Meghalaya Grassroots Music Project was a resounding success, and as we embark on its second season, we are confident that this initiative will push Meghalaya towards remarkable achievements. Our capital, Shillong, is poised to become the nation's music capital and will soon echo with the vibrant tunes of our local talent." (ANI)
Remembering the 1965 India-Pakistan war, the Indian Air Force (IAF) on Wednesday honoured Lieutenant Alfred Tyrone Cooke for his contribution in the war. An aerial display of mock air combat was held that showed how the Kalaikunda base was saved during the 1965 war. A static display of aircraft and equipment where small to big aircraft with ammunition were also shown at the event. Speaking on the occasion, Lieutenant Alfred Tyrone Cooke said that it was an emotional moment for him as he had spent his seven years of life at Kalaikunda Air Force base. "It is beautiful to meet my old hunter aircraft which I used to fly. 1968 was the last time I flew it. Good to be back here and see boys do a flypast for me. I felt emotional because I did it myself. I had tears in my eyes. It's good to be back. I spend seven years of my life here and today I have come back home," Lieutenant Cooke said. Lieutenant Alfred Tyrone Cooke is credited for saving the Kalaikunda base from East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) after it launched a raid on the base in 1965. He was honoured by Vir Chakra in the same year. The war started on April 24, 1965, when the Pakistan Army attacked Indian territory in the Rann of Kutch and entered many miles inside the Indian territory. This act of illegal occupation of Indian territory constituted violation of the Indo-Pak Border Agreement of 1960. Wing Commander Himanshu Tiwari, PRO Ministry of Defence, Kolkata said "We have gathered here to honour flying lieutenant Alfred Tyrone Cooke who is also known as the saviour of Kalaikunda because in 1965 war he saved this particular field from Pakistan. We are trying to recreate the same scenario just to showcase, how he had deterred the attack from Pakistan aircraft and saved the airfield." Ran Singh, Air officer commanding of Kalaikunda has said that Kalaikunda Base is a very important base for the Indian Air Force as many new pilots are trained here. "It is a very important base of the Indian Air Force and Eastern Air Command. Here the pilots who fly fighter planes undergo training so that we will be able to produce good pilots to tackle any enemy challenge. All the planes that the Air Force is deploying today are aircraft of very modern technology. With this, we will be able to kill the enemy in the air and also on the ground, so that no one can come near Kalaikunda and do any harm," Ran Singh said. (ANI)
The Tibetan spiritual leader, the 14th Dalai Lama, has expressed his grief over the loss of life and widespread damage to property that occurred in Sikkim as a result of the flash flood on Tuesday night, his office informed on Wednesday in a press statement According to the press statement, "In a letter to Prem Singh Tamang, Chief Minister of Sikkim, today, His Holiness the Dalai Lama expressed his sadness about the loss of life and widespread damage to property that has occurred in Sikkim as a result of the flash flood that took place in the Teesta River Valley last night." "I offer my condolences to families who have lost loved ones," he wrote, "as well as others affected by this disaster, and pray for their welfare," Dalai Lama said. The Tibetan spiritual leader further said that, as a mark of his solidarity with the people of Sikkim, he has asked the Dalai Lama Trust to make a donation towards relief and rescue efforts. "I commend the State government and other concerned authorities for all they are doing to provide relief to people affected by this calamity. As a mark of my solidarity with the people of Sikkim, I have asked the Dalai Lama Trust to make a donation towards relief and rescue efforts," Dalai Lama said. As many as 43 people, including army soldiers and civilians, have been reported missing after South Lhonak Lake, situated in North West Sikkim experienced a glacial lake outburst and triggered flash floods due to incessant rainfall in the region. Around 3,000-4,000 people were evacuated on Tuesday in and around Rangpo and 5 relief camps were also opened in the district, said an official. The heavy downpour that triggered the lake outburst reportedly damaged over 150 houses in the Industrial Belt (IBM) at Rangpo, on the banks of river Teesta. Many homes near the River Teesta, situated in Gangtok's Singtam have been evacuated. Additionally, temporary relief facilities have been established in the town's Singtam Senior Secondary School, added officials. (ANI)
Ajit Pawar has been given the charge of Pune district while Sudhir Mungantiwar of Wardha.

After a long tussle between the two, Ajit has taken over the charge from senior BJP leader Chandrakant Patil who will now oversee the Solapur and Amaravati districts.

The Chief Minister's office issued a list of guardian ministers for 12 districts in which--Maharashtra Medical Education Minister Hasan Mushrif will take charge of Kolhapur.

Guardian Ministers in their respective districts ensure the implementation of government policies and schemes to the public. They also control the DPDC funds which are used for development projects in the districts.

Notably, in the list issued by the CMO, there are nine NCP ministers who have been given the guardian minister post. (ANI)
The crucial meeting comes on the heels of the BJP losing a key ally in the state as the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) severed ties with the BJP and National Democratic Alliance (NDA) last month.

According to sources, Annamalai had a discussion with the BJP high command in Delhi on the AIADMK alliance. In Thursday's meeting, it is expected that Annamalai will share his views and those of the BJP's central leaders with the office bearers.

AIADMK general secretary Edappadi Palaniswami on Wednesday clarified that there was no pressure from anyone to leave the BJP-led NDA in the State.

"We are strong with our decision to break ties with the BJP. No one put any pressure on us to take this decision. A few incidents hurt our cadres," Edappadi Palaniswami said while speaking to reporters in Salem.

Palaniswami further said, "From Prime Minister Modi, Union Minister Amit Shah and BJP President J P Nadda, no one put any pressure on us and we decided to break the ties with BJP respecting our cadres voice." (ANI)
Karur residents on Wednesday opposed new sand quarries in the Cauvery River bed area - 16.05-hectare sand quarry at Nerur North Village, Karur District, 24.00-hectare sand quarry at Manmangalam, Achamapuram area. Civil society members and Opposition parties protested against new sand quarries in the Cauvery River bed in the Karur district, saying that it would lead to shrinkage of water in the river exacerbating the drinking water crisis. At a public hearing conducted here to elicit the opinion of Civil society members and political parties, they registered their opposition to the construction of new sand quarries in the Cauvery River at two places in the Karur district namely Nerur and Achamapuram areas. More than 700 people including AIADMK leader and former Minister MR Vijayabaskar, Naam Tamilar Katchi, social activists, Samaniya Makkal Nala Katchi and Pattali Makkal Katchi participated in the public consultation meeting organized by the district administration on Wednesday. "The Cauvery River is the source of water for 140 villages in Karur district. Also, drinking water is taken from here to the Cauvery Joint Drinking Water Project for the southern districts. If sand is mined in this area, there will be no drinking water for six months. The livelihood of people will be affected," said MR Vijayabaskar.Notably, sand, which takes a lot of time to deposit, is very important because it stores water and forms the riverbed aquifer. Even if the river is dry, the aquifer will hold water that can be accessed. (ANI)
Spokesperson of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) TKS Elangovan accused BJP of indulging in 'vendetta politics', as Income Tax department on Thursday conducted searches at DMK MP S. Jagathrakshakan's premises. "Very obvious that it is a political vendetta. People in Tamil Nadu know how many AIADMK people supported by the BJP are running colleges and institutions. There is no right in those institutions. These people want to terrorize the opposition parties, they are misusing all their powers. They are not fit to rule the country. The BJP is a barbaric class of people who do not respect the constitution who do not respect any law, who will do anything for their benefit" the DMK Spokesperson said The DMK spokesperson asked, "Why are there no raids conducted on the people supporting BJP?" Congress MP Manickam Tagore also hit out at the BJP and called IT and ED the frontal organisations of the Bhartiya Janata Party. "IT and ED have become frontal organisations for the BJP. They are conducting an IT raid at the premises of DMK MP (Jagathrakshakan) in Chennai. It's a well-thought politics and it's their political vendetta. ED and IT reach the premises of those who are against them (BJP). Those who come along with them get cleaned in the washing machine. People will reject this politics of PM Modi and Amit Shah," said Congress MP Manickam Tagore on the Income Tax department searches at the premises of DMK MP S Jagathrakshakan. The Income Tax Department on Thursday conducted searches at over 40 locations linked to former Union Minister and current Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) member of Parliament S Jagathrakshakan in Tamil Nadu. Income Tax Department conducts searches at Balaji and Rela Hospitals in Chrompet, Chennai. The hospitals are owned by DMK MP S Jagathrakshakan. (ANI)
Shiv Sena's Rajya Sabha MP, Sanjay Raut, expressed strong criticism of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) accusing them of engaging in political manoeuvres through central agencies. Raut's remarks come in response to the recent arrest of AAP MP Sanjay Singh in connection with a liquor excise policy case. Speaking to ANI, Raut stated, "The BJP is using central agencies as a political tool. Let them continue doing so until 2024, and we will keep fighting against it. In places where the BJP is not in power, these raids will continue." Meanwhile, BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra had accused the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), to which Sanjay Singh belongs, of engaging in "open corruption" and resorting to politics when faced with allegations of wrongdoing. "AAP MP Sanjay Singh has been arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in a liquor scam case. It is in AAP's nature to engage in corruption openly, and when they are caught, they start playing politics," Patra said during a press conference. This development marks the second high-profile arrest in the case after the former Delhi Deputy Chief Minister, Manish Sisodia, was also arrested in connection with the same case. The ED had recently conducted raids at multiple locations, including residences and offices associated with AAP leader Sanjay Singh and his close aides, regarding the now-cancelled liquor excise policy in Delhi. Reacting to Singh's arrest, AAP MP Sandeep Pathak alleged that the case was an attempt to "illegally break and defeat AAP." He also mentioned that AAP would rise stronger despite these challenges. Delhi Chief Minister and AAP Supremo, Arvind Kejriwal, condemned Singh's arrest stating, "The arrest of Sanjay Singh is completely illegal. This shows Modi ji's nervousness. They will arrest many more opposition leaders till the elections." Also, the AAP MP's arrest triggered sharp reactions from the leaders of the INDIA alliance. Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Manoj Jha said, "It is not the ED that has arrested Sanjay Singh, he has been arrested by the unit of BJP that comprises ED-IT-CBI. Dark days have begun. In this era of dictatorship, jo dar gaya wo mar gaya. The dictators themselves are scared. This fear will be retaliated against soon." The AAP is also set to hold a protest outside the BJP headquarters on Thursday opposing Singh's arrest. (ANI)
The search and rescue operation by the Indian Army for the 22 missing soldiers continues. Meanwhile, Troops of Trishakti Corps are extending medical aid and telephone connectivity to civilians and tourists stranded in the areas of Chungthang, Lachung and Lachen in North Sikkim. As per reports, Continued efforts are on to dig out the vehicles submerged under the slush at Burdang near Singtam. The search for the missing people is now focussing in the areas downstream of Teesta River. Out of the initial 23 missing persons, one person was recovered alive on the evening of October 4. The family members of the missing persons have been contacted and informed about the situation. All other Indian Army personnel posted in Sikkim and North Bengal are safe and they are unable to contact their family members due to disruptions of mobile communication. The disaster operations are being carried out in the state by the Indian Airforce. Wing Commander Irfan Jairal Commanding officer of Helicopter unit in Jammu said that people of Sikkim should have faith in the airforce and people will be saved. The Air Force said different equipment were being used during the disaster operations and that the great challenge was that there was no place to Land. Equipment like special leadders, oxygen , water boats , cradle to lift people and also sling is used in the operations are being transported to Sikkim. The MI-17 1 V Helicopters are specially modified for the disaster operations with strechers being used inside the helicopter. The National Crisis Management Committee (NCMC), under Chairmanship of Cabinet Secretary Shri Rajiv Gauba, met on Wednesday and reviewed the situation in Sikkim. National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) has already deployed three teams and additional teams are on standby in Guwahati and Patna. The Sikkim Government on Wednesday confirmed that 14 people have died so far in the flash floods that occurred in Sikkim in the early hours of Wednesday. The 14 deceased are all civilians while 102 people are still missing. Over 3,000 tourists are feared to be stranded in different parts of the State. 12-14 workers working in the Teesta Stage 3 dam in Chungthang are still stranded in the tunnels of the dam. Injuries and persons missing have been reported from Chungthang in Mangan district, and Dikchu, Singtam in Gangtok district and Rangpo in Pakyong district. (ANI)
The Assam Congress Committee staged a protest in the state capital Guwahati on Thursday and burned a notice copy of the hiked electricity rates in the state. Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi during the protets attacked the Himanta Biswa Sarma government and said that the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government is treating the people of Assam as their personal ATM to evade their own debts. "CM Himanta Biswa Sarma is is treating the people of Assam as his personal ATM. Every time the government runs into debt, the BJP government increases the tax, electiricty bill, all forms of duties and toll tax. Therefore, poor people have to bear the burden of the failures of the BJP," said Congress MP Gogoi. He further alleged that people having conections with CM Himanta Biswa Sarma are increasingly buying land in Assam while the poor are getting even poorer. "The land of Assam is increasingly being bought by people linked to CM and his ministers. The poor people are being made poorer by increasing the taxes and bills," said Gogoi. "When Congress comes to power, we will provide 200 units per month free to the desrving families," he added. The Assam Power Distribution Company Ltd. (APDCL) had on September 30 issued a notice to all electricity consumers, stating the revised Fuel and Power Purchase Price Adjustment (FPPPA) rates that will be in effect from October 2023 onwards. The FPPPA rates, as per APDCL were designed to account for fluctuations in fuel and power purchase costs. The rates vary depending on consumer categories: Meanwhile, speaking on the arrest of Aam Aadmi Party leader Sanjay Singh, Gaurav Gogoi said, "This shows how scared BJP is and they are on backfoot. Last year they summoned Rahul Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi, this is just a way of intimidating the people of India." Sanjay Singh was arrested following a day-long questioning session by ED officials at his Delhi residence in the liquor policy scam case. Notably, Sanjay Singh is the third prominent leader of the AAP, after Manish Sisodia and Satyendar Jain, to be arrested by a central agency. (ANI)
Union Home Minister Amit Shah will chair a review meeting on 'Left Wing Extremism (LWE)' here in the national capital on Friday. The meeting, to be held on Friday morning, is likely to be attended by Chief Ministers, Home Ministers or their representatives from states of Bihar, Odisha, Maharashtra, Telangana, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand, Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, West Bengal and Kerala. These are those states that are affected by 'LWE' or the naxal problem. Union Home Secretary, top officials of Central Armed Police Forces and many senior officers of Central and State Governments will also attend the meeting. The meeting, which is held at certain intervals, aims at fulfilling the Central government's commitment to the development of left-wing extremist-affected states. However, a lot of success can be witnessed in the last few years in this sector due to the joint efforts of the Centre and the states in cracking down on Left Wing Extremism with extreme fall in naxal incidents. The central government, however, determined that unless the country gets rid of the problem of Left Wing Extremism completely, the full development of the country and the states affected by it is not possible. LWE has been a significant security challenge for so many decades. Though primarily a State subject, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has promulgated a 'National Policy and Action Plan' since 2015 to address the Left Wing Extremism menace holistically and the progress and the situation is being monitored rigorously and this Policy consists of a multi-pronged approach. The significant features of the policy are zero tolerance towards violence coupled with a big push to developmental activities so that benefits of development reach the poor and vulnerable in the affected areas. Pursuant to the Policy, the Ministry of Home Affairs is supporting the State Governments in Capacity Building and strengthening of Security Apparatus by deployment of CAPF Battalions, provision of helicopters and UAVs and sanction of India Reserve Battalions (IRBs) and Special India Reserve Battalions (SIRBs). Funds are also provided under the Modernization of Police Force (MPF), Security Related Expenditure (SRE) Scheme and Special Infrastructure Scheme (SIS) for the modernization and training of State Police. For the development of Left Wing Extremism-affected states, the government of India has taken several developmental initiatives which include sanctioning 17,600 km of road. To improve telecom connectivity in Left Wing Extremism-affected districts, new mobile towers are being installed. For financial inclusion of the people in Left Wing Extremism-affected districts, several post offices, bank branches, ATMs and banking correspondents have been opened. Special focus is also being given to the opening of Eklavya Model Residential Schools (EMRS). The fight against the Left Wing Extremism menace is now in a crucial stage and the government is optimistic about reducing the menace to an insignificant level at the earliest. (ANI)
The Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) in collaboration with Savitribai Phule Pune University organized the soft launch of an online platform "Universalization of Traditional Indian Knowledge System (UTIKS) portal" at Manipal Academy of Higher Education, on October 5. The UTIKS portal was soft-launched by Dr Vinay Sahasrabuddhe, President, ICCR in the presence of Kumar Tuhin, Director General, ICCR, Dr Narayan Sabhahit, Pro-VC, Manipal Academy of Higher Education, Dignitaries and Officials from the state Government of Karnataka and international students from Manipal Academy of Higher Education (MAHE), Manipal, Karnataka. During his address, President ICCR Vinay Sahasrabuddhe said, "India was always a knowledge society, a knowledge giver as well but the colonial masters suppressed facts, denigrated our culture and scholarship and created an inferiority complex. With this portal, we are generating curiosity and restoring the dignity of India's knowledge culture." This online platform is for short courses on Traditional Indian Knowledge which provides an authentic single window source of introductory level knowledge on a range of subjects under the Traditional Indian Knowledge System and was developed in collaboration with Savitribai Phule Pune University. The Portal is aimed at disseminating knowledge and authentic information about Indian culture to the uninitiated, as well as introducing Indian culture in a nuanced manner to those who may already have a basic understanding but would be looking for a deeper appreciation of diverse subjects. "Savitribai Phule Pune University as the partner for creation of UTIKS, contributed by providing the academic framework for UTIKS capsules. Each UTIKS capsule consists of a 30-minute video segment, including organized video and audio content, images, interviews, and demonstrations," a press release statement said. Five of the UTIKS capsules-- 'Architecture of India', 'Cuisine of India', 'Attires of India', 'Introduction to Indian Cinema', and 'Ramayana and Mahabharata' were presented on October 5. "Seven more UTIKS capsules on diverse subjects are under different stages of preparation and will be available online shortly, the press release statement added. During the soft launch of the portal, a presentation on UTIKS showcasing videos of the 5 capsules on Indian culture with a brief narration was presented by Abhay Kumar, Deputy Director General, ICCR. UTIKS, an initiative of the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR), is an e-learning platform designed to take Indian culture to a global audience and present its rich civilization and culture in a learner-friendly manner. UTIKS provides an integrated platform and portal for online courses in Distance Learning Mode, accessible on various devices, from PCs and laptops to smartphones and tablets. It is not just for foreigners; but for everyone including those residing in India, and may be unaware of the depth and richness of our culture. (ANI)
BJP chief JP Nadda on Thursday hit out at the Grand Alliance in Bihar, accusing their leadership of "corruption" and "appeasement politics". "The leadership here (in Bihar) is filled with corruption...They are busy with appeasement politics... It is time to say goodbye to such governments, and it is time to bring the BJP (government to power)," he said. The remarks were made at a gathering on the occasion of the 100th birth anniversary of BJP leader Kailashpati Mishra in Patna, Bihar. Pointing out that previous Congress governments at the Centre could not pass the Women's Reservation Bill, BJP Chief JP Nadda underscored that the Bill which subsequently became an act was passed in the Parliament in three days under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Hitting at the previous Congress-led UPA regime, Nadda said that the Bill was "lying" in Parliament and "no one paid any attention to it". "In UPA government, the Women's Reservation Bill was lying in Parliament...No one gave attention to it...Prime Minister Modi passed the bill in three days...," he said. The landmark women's reservation Bill, which seeks to provide 33 per cent reservation to women in the Lok Sabha and state Assemblies, has now become a law after receiving the assent of President Droupadi Murmu. While remembering Kailashpati, the BJP functionary said," Kailashpati Mishra was an institution in himself who worked to bring forward all the sections of society". "Taking inspiration from his life, we will take the party with new power, not only in Bihar..but across the country". Nadda further recalled that Mishra took part in the "Quit India Movement" during the movement for the struggle for freedom. Though the Women's Reservation Bill has been passed in both houses of parliament, the implementation of its provisions will come into place after the next census and a delimitation based on the data of the census. This relatively long time frame caused criticism from the Opposition who wanted the Bill's implementation sooner. The 'Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam' was the first Bill passed by Lok Sabha after it shifted to the new Parliament building. On September 21, the Parliament passed the historic draft legislation, with the Rajya Sabha clearing it unanimously. A total of 214 members in the Upper House, voted in support of the Bill and none voted against it. The members welcomed the passing of the Bill by thumping their desks. (ANI)
Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan flagged off the Shahdol-Nagpur Express train in Shahdol district on Thursday. Speaking on the occasion, CM Chouhan said that it would provide convenience to the citizens in their transportation. Along with this, the development of this area would also gain momentum. The Chief Minister expressed gratitude to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnav for the beginning of the train from the district. "This tribal dominated district of the state will be directly connected to Nagpur through this rail. We will get a big benefit from this in development, the production of crops especially the trade of grains will get a boost. Shahdol-Anuppur-Umaria will get the benefit of the new railway. The people of the area deserve congratulations for this achievement. The dream of "Rail Chali Re Rail Chali - Shahdol Se Nagpur Rail Chali" is coming true today," CM said. Chouhan said that an ultramodern airport would soon be constructed in Shahdol. Without an airport, it was difficult to get investment, establishment of the airport would pave the way for setting up of big factories in the area. "We will leave no stone unturned in the development and welfare of the people. I am the voice of development of Shahdol - I am Shivraj," CM Chouhan said. The state government is grateful to PM Modi and Railway Minister Vaishnav, under their leadership many important railway projects are being operated in the state. In the budget for the year 2023-24, the state has received Rs 13,607 crore for the development of railways. As many as 80 world class railway stations will be constructed in the state, stalls of one district - one product will be set up at 47 railway stations, he added. Chouhan also said, "The state government has been working with commitment and activeness in the development of the region. Shahdol was made a division, arrangements for medical college, engineering college, university, ITI were made here. Development of the state is the mission of my life, in accordance with this spirit, continuous development activities in the state are being dedicated to the people. We will leave no stone unturned in the development of Shahdol." Officials of urban bodies and panchayats and public representatives were also present on the occasion at Shahdol railway station. (ANI)
Chief Minister of Gujarat Bhupendrabhai Patel today while addressing the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry's (FICCI) National Executive Committee Meeting (NECM) emphasized that Gujarat is recognised as the growth engine of India and the world. The Chief Minister also said that Gujarat is determined to play a major role in making the country a $5 trillion economy and added that the state aims to become a $1 trillion economy by 2030. CM Bhupendrabhai Patel said, "Under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and by adopting the mantra of Atmanirbharta, India has become the 5th largest economy in the world. The state of Gujarat and Gujaratis are moving ahead under his inspiration to establish the Gujarat model." The Chief Minister further stated that Gujarat accounts for 6 per cent of India's geographical area but contributes 8 per cent to the GDP; 18 per cent to industrial output, and 30 per cent share of exports. He said the state's GSDP has grown from Rs 1.27 lakh crore to Rs 16.19 lakh crore in two decades. He also highlighted that the state government is committed to renewable energy and the conservation of the environment to tackle the challenges of climate change. CM Patel reiterated the state government's support to industry and stated that the government is committed to ensuring that businesses in the state do not face any problems. He lauded FICCI for its key role in the success of the Vibrant Gujarat Summit and in making Gujarat a growth engine. Subhrakant Panda, President, of FICCI, and Managing Director, Indian Metals and Ferro Alloys Limited (IMFA), said, "Gujarat is home to 100+ Fortune 500 companies and 13 lakh MSMEs and has grown at a CAGR of 15 per cent over the last two decades. It contributes one-third of India's exports, accounts for 15.5 per cent of RE capacity, and has the lowest unemployment rate among large states. Known for its industry-friendly approach and facilitative business environment, Gujarat has transformed by continually enhancing ease of business." Subhrakant Panda said that FICCI was working closely with the Gujarat government across a range of sectors including startups, energy, defence, education and skill development, and tourism. "We are committed to facilitating the government's agenda in sectors such as EVs and component ecosystem, Green Hydrogen and derivatives, and Renewable Energy which remains a key focus," Panda added. Harsha Vardhan Agarwal, Vice President, FICCI and VC and MD of Emami Limited, lauded Gujarat for constantly raising the bar of its ambition and scale. "The phase of infrastructure development in Gujarat is getting tremendous push and the investment-friendly environment along with ease of doing business are among the best in the country. The State's new Renewable Energy policy and its commitment to the environment and sustainability are commendable," he added. Rajiv Gandhi, Chair, FICCI Gujarat State Council and CEO and MD of Hester Biosciences, said "FICCI has always been at the forefront of catalysing change and promoting an environment that nurtures the growth and prosperity of our nation. Our collective aim is to bridge the gap between policy and practice. This meeting serves as a platform to deliberate on the achievement of the path and to envision the path for the future. Together let us shape the narrative for a resurgent India," he added. S K Pathak, Secretary General, FICCI said that states across India will play an important role in realising the vision of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision of a $5 trillion economy. He said, "This is why our National Executive Committee Meetings are taking place at various locations across the country." He also described Mahatma Gandhi's role in FICCI formation and his chief guest speech at the 4th AGM in April 1931. Addressing a session on 'PM Gati Shakti', Sumita Dawra, Special Secretary, Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade, Ministry of Commerce & Industry, said that PM Gati Shakti has ushered in efficiencies and seamless integration in project conceptualization, planning and execution. "Infrastructure will be a critical growth driver in India's journey to become a $32 trillion economy by 2047. We are seeing a historic push from the government for infrastructure development, which encompasses not just railways and roads but also ports, power, telecom, etc. The PM Gati Shakti can be a tool for global infrastructure development planning," she added. Subrat Tripathy, CEO of Adani Ports, shed light on Kutch's role in India's maritime trade noting that the district accounts for 26 per cent of the country's cargo. (ANI)
The Pawan Kalyan led Jana Sena has today clarified that the actor, politician is not leaving the NDA but is supporting the Telugu Desam in its time of need. Janasena on Thursday said that Pawan Kalyan in his speech in Krishna district did not say that he was leaving NDA. "Pawan Kalyan said, though I'm in NDA, I'm coming out to say that we will support the TDP as they are weak now, this does not mean that he is leaving NDA, it means that despite of being a part of NDA, Kalyan will support TDP as they are weak now." said Bolisetty Satyanarayana, State General Secretary, and spokesperson of the Janasena Party. "So I want to clarify this to the people that we are very much with NDA, and we are going to be with TDP also. We're with TDP as its experience is needed to throw Yuvajana Sramika Rythu Congress Party (YSRCP) out from Andhra Pradesh," the Janasena spokesperson added. The clarification comes after Pawan Kalyan on Wednesday offered all out support to the TDP and it jailed supremo Chandrababu Naidu. Kalyan said that the TDP is needed for good governance and development of Andhra Pradesh. "TDP is a strong party and Andhra Pradesh needs the Telugu Desam Party for good governance, for the development of the state. Today TDP is in a struggle we will support them. TDP needs Janasaink's young blood support in this situation. If TDP and Janasena join hands YSRCP will be submerged in the state," Pavan Kalyan said in a public meeting held at Pedana, in Krishna District on Wednesday. On September 14, Pawan Kalyan had visited Chandrababu Naidu in the Rajahmundry Central Jail where the latter has been lodged after he was sent to Judicial custody in a 'skill development scam' case. Janasena party chief Pawan Kalyan had also attended a meeting of the NDA held in Delhi on July 18. Sources say that Pawan Kalyan had also proposed an alliance of TDP, BJP, and his party in Andhra Pradesh to fight YS Jagan Mohan Reddy's YSRCP . The BJP has yet to take a decision on this. In the last assembly election in Andhra Pradesh in 2019, Pawan Kalyan's Janasena had won just one seat with 5.6% vote share while the TDP had won 23 seats with 39.7% vote share. YSRCP swept the polls winning 151 seats with 50.6% vote share. Meanwhile TDP supremo Chandrababu Naidu continues to be in judicial custody after his custody was extended today till October 19 by the Vijaywada ACB court. (ANI)
The Patiala House Court of Delhi on Thursday allowed a plea moved by Founder and Editor-in-Chief of NewsClick, Prabir Purkayastha and Human Resources Head Amit Chakravarty for supply of First Information Report to them. Additional Sessions Judge Dr Hardeep Kaur allowed to serve the copy of FIR registered against NewsClick founder and others under stringent sections of UAPA. Yesterday, the Court allowed Prabir Purkayastha's lawyers to meet him for one hour daily during remand period. Earlier, the Court allowed the Delhi Police remand plea and sent the founder and Editor-in-Chief of NewsClick, Prabir Purkayastha and Human Resources Head Amit Chakravarty to seven days of police remand on Wednesday. Delhi Police on Wednesday alleged that NewsClick founder Prabir Purkayastha conspired to peddle the narrative that Kashmir and Arunachal Pradesh are disputed territories with the help of a Shanghai-based company. Delhi Police informed the court that secret inputs revealed that Prabir Purkayastha, Neville Roy Singham (said to be an active member of the Propaganda Department of the Communist Party of China) and some other Chinese employees of Neville Roy Singham-owned Shanghai-based Company by the name of StarStream have exchanged emails which expose their intent to show Kashmir and Arunachal Pradesh as not part of India. Delhi Police said such attempts by these persons reveal their conspiracy to peddle a narrative, both globally and domestically, that Kashmir and Arunachal Pradesh are disputed territories. "Their attempts to tinker with the northern borders of India and to show Kashmir and Arunachal Pradesh as not parts of India in maps amount to an act intended towards undermining the unity and territorial integrity of India," said Delhi Police. The accused persons have also conspired to disrupt supplies and services essential to the life and abet damage and destruction of property by protraction of farmers' protests through such illegal foreign funding, they added. A false narrative has been propagated to discredit the efforts of the Indian Govt to contain the COVID-19 pandemic. It was learnt that Prabir Purkayastha conspired with a group namely People's Alliance for Democracy and Secularism (PADS) to sabotage the electoral process during the 2019 general elections, as per Delhi Police. "People's Dispatch Portal, owned and maintained by M/S PPK Newsclick Studio Pvt Ltd was used for intentionally peddling these false narratives through paid news in lieu of crores of rupees of illegally routed foreign funds as part of a conspiracy," said the police in Court while seeking Prabir Purkayastha and Human Resources Head of the news portal NewsClick, Amit Chakravarty's remand. According to the Delhi Police, secret inputs have been received that foreign funds in crores have been infused illegally in India by Indian and Foreign entities inimical to India in pursuance of conspiracy with the intention to disrupt the sovereignty and territorial integrity of India, to cause disaffection against India and to threaten the unity, integrity, security of India. Since April 2018, such fraudulent funds in crores of rupees have been received by M/S PPK Newsclick Studio Pvt. Ltd through illegal means during a short span of five years from M/s Worldwide Media Holdings LLC, USA and others. The remand application moved in Delhi Court stated that Prabir Purkayastha, Amit Sengupta, Doraiswami Raghunandan, Bappaditya Sinha, Gautam Navlakha, Geeta Hariharan, Amit Chakravarty and M/S Worldwide Media Holding LLC are shareholders of "PPK Newsclick Studio Pvt Ltd" having its registered office at New Delhi. "Such foreign funds have been fraudulently infused by one Neville Roy Singham through a complex web of several entities including M/s Worldwide Media Holdings (incorporated by Jason Pfetcher, a close associate of Neville Roy Singham, People Support foundation (Jodie Evans, wife of Neville Roy Singham being director), Justice and Education Fund, M/s GSPAN LLC (owned by Neville Roy Singham), The Tricontinental Ltd Inc US, Centro Popular De Midas, Brazil." It was learnt that both Tricontinental India Pvt Ltd and GSPAN India Pvt Ltd were incorporated by The Tricontinental Ltd, USA and GSPAN LLC USA respectively to infuse funds in India by circumventing the existing rules for receipt of foreign funds by NGOs. Further, it is learnt that Gautam Navlakha who has been a shareholder in PPK Newsclick Studio Pvt Ltd since its inception in the year 2018, remained involved in anti-Indian and unlawful activities such as actively supporting banned Naxal organisations and having anti-national nexus with Gulam Nabi Fai who is an agent of ISI of Pakistan. It was also learnt that Gautam Navlakha has been associated with Prabir Purkayastha since 1991 when they incorporated Sagrik Process Analyst Pvt Ltd, stated Delhi Police. (ANI)
The Trinamool Congress (TMC) on Thursday staged a protest in Kolkata against the central government alleging inadequate disbursement of funds for MGNREGA and other social security schemes for West Bengal. TMC general secretary Abhishek Banerjee and several other TMC leaders participated in the protest near the Raj Bhavan. Speaking at the protest, TMC MP Kalyan Banerjee accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of being a "pathological liar". "This protest will continue. The way they have withheld the money of the people (100 days of employment) the protest will continue against it. Narendra Modi is a vindictive leader. BJP is a pathological liar. They do not know how to speak anything except lies. What can I do?" Banerjee said while speaking to ANI. TMC leader Babul Supriyo said that the protest is not limited to the party alone but that of the people of the state. "The people of West Bengal have joined TMC in this protest. This is not just a protest of TMC workers but the people of the state. These are the people who have been deprived of their money (100 days of employment) under MGNREGA," Supriyo said while speaking to ANI. Supriyo said that the central government can conduct audits but blocking the transfer of money is wrong. "So many teams were sent here. They have not seen anything. If you have seen anything suspicious you are free to do an audit, there's no problem with that...., but blocking the entire amount for the poor is not done," the TMC leader said. Hitting at the BJP for stooping to such low-level politics, Supriyo said, "People will make them lose for their anti-people stance. I have been in the opposition, but I have never stooped to such low-level politics." Meanwhile, TMC MP Santanu Sen said that common people have joined the protest to fight for their rights. "Everyone saw how TMC leaders protesting for the rights of the people of West Bengal were treated. The minister ran away and we were beaten by the police and arrested. The common man of Bengal has gathered here for today's program to fight for their rights," Sen said speaking to ANI. Speaking on the allegations of scams put forth by the BJP, the TMC leader said, "They say so (scams) on everything. If there has been a scam why did you not file an FIR?" Meanwhile, black flags were shown to the cavalcade of Governor CV Ananda Bose in Siliguri. The TMC held a mega protest in the national capital against the central government on October 2 and 3. (ANI)
In a bid to make Uttar Pradesh a trillion-dollar economy and the growth engine of the country, the Yogi government is committed to transforming the state into a commercial hub across the country. According to an official release, in line with CM Yogi's intention, investors establishing industrial units in Greater Noida will have the opportunity for commercial use of additional land for industry through a special scheme. Under this scheme, there will be an allotment of industrial plots in which the recipients of the plots will be able to operate two commercial facilities in addition to core industrial operations on these plots. The Yamuna Expressway Industrial Development Authority (YEIDA) has invited applications for industrial plots in five categories, which are located in Sector 24 with plot numbers 11-A, 11-B, 12, 15, and 21-B. This application process commenced on September 28. The premium cost has been set in the range of Rs 80 crore to Rs 151 crore, and the rate of allotment falls within the range of Rs 15,850 to Rs 16,000, the release said. It is noteworthy that due to its proximity to Jewar Airport, International Film City, Yamuna Expressway, and Buddha Circuit, those setting up industrial units by taking a plot will get the benefit of all the facilities including better connectivity and the first world-class project of its kind, the Pod Transit System in India, it said. Applicants interested in taking plots in this project can apply until October 20, 2023, and can log in to the official website of YEIDA for more information. The YEIDA website has provided information regarding the Mixed Land Use Industrial Plotting Scheme, including details about plot areas, sectors, and total premiums. Applications are being accepted for five categories of plots located in Sector 24 of Greater Noida, specifically plot numbers 11-A and B, 12, 15, and 21-B, it added. The special thing is that the applicants getting land through this scheme will have to use at least 75 per cent of the allotted land as a core industrial region, while the remaining area can be used as a maximum of two commercial regions. Additionally, apart from the core industrial region, the designated area can also be used for residential and cultural facilities, the release said. At least 5 per cent of the land on the total plot will have to be used for facilities and utilities; 8 per cent will have to be used for commercial purposes; and at least 12 per cent of land will have to be used for residential purposes, it said. YEIDA has partnered with the Bank of Baroda to manage the banking operations related to this project and will participate in the project as the exclusive banking partner. It is noteworthy that, whether it is an auction of industrial plots or the selection process through the draws, there is minimal scope for human involvement in conducting these procedures. Applicants are being successfully determined through this system in all Industrial Development Authorities, including YEIDA, the release added. (ANI)
A Delhi court on Thursday granted bail to nine accused in the Tis Hazari court firing case. The court considered the fact that the charge sheet has been filed and some accused had been in custody for around 90 days. On Tuesday, the court took cognizance of the charge sheet filed by Delhi police against eight accused in this case. The charge sheet was filed on September 3. On July 5, firing and stone pelting occurred between two groups of lawyers at Tis Hazari Court premises. Initially, eight accused were arrested, and 6 firearms were recovered by the Delhi police. This incident was captured in the CCTV footage and had gone viral. Additional Sessions Judge (ASJ) Pawan Singh Rajawat granted bail to Shiv Ram Pandey, Lalit Sharma, Manish Sharma, Sachin Sangwan, Ravi Gupta, Aman Singh, Jeetesh Khari, Asad Baig, and Rahul Sharma. The court granted bail to accused persons on furnishing a bail bond of Rs. 50000 and one surety bond in the same amount by each accused. The court said in one of the orders that a charge has been filed and accused in custody for around 90 days. The charge sheet has not been committed to the court of sessions. Advocate Deepak Sharma appeared on behalf of the accused Manish Sharma. The bail application of Sandeep Sharma has been kept pending for October 7. Metropolitan magistrate Chatinder Singh of Tis Hazari Court took cognizance of the charge sheet on Tuesday. The matter has been fixed for scrutiny of the charge sheet. A copy of the charge sheet has been supplied to the counsel of the accused persons. A charge sheet has been filed under sections 147, 148, 201, 307, 323, 325 IPC, and 25 and 27 Arms Act against eight accused, namely Shiv Ram Pandey, Lalit Sharma, Manish Sharma, Sandeep Sharma, Sachin Sangwan, Ravi Gupta, Aman Singh, and Jeetesh Khari. The Delhi police have cited 32 prosecution witnesses in the charge sheet. It also includes CCTV footage of the incident. The FSL report has also been annexed with the charge sheet. During the investigation, Delhi police recovered six country-made pistols from the accused persons and ammunition in huge quantities. While dismissing the bail application of accused Shiv Ram Pandey, Additional Sessions Judge Sanjay Sharma had said, " In such a serious case where arms and ammunition were indiscriminately used and further, huge arms and ammunition were recovered from the co-accused persons, releasing the applicant on bail at this nascent stage of the investigation would seriously prejudice the course of the investigation." The Bar Counsel of Delhi (BCD) had suspended the enrollment of the counsels accused in the matter in its inquiry. (ANI)
The Rouse Avenue Court on Thursday, while sending Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Sanjay Singh on remand, said custodial interrogation appears to be necessary in relation to the receipt of the amount and the other activities related to the same and also to trace out the complete trail thereof. Special Judge MK Nagpal on Thursday sent Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh to ED remand till October 10 and said the allegations made against the accused pertaining to his attempt to receive the quid pro quo by making his close associate Vivek Kumar Tyagi a dummy partner in the entity named M/S Aralias Hospitality that effected some changes in the excise policy may be the subject matter of the scheduled offences case of CBI but from the allegations being levelled against the accused and the material placed before this court his direct nexus with activitiespertaining to the proceeds of crime of the present case by way of receiving the above amount of Rs 2 crores has been shown and his sustained and custodial interrogation appears to be necessary. "Therefore, in the totality of facts and circumstances, the accused is being remanded to the custody of ED till October 10, 2023, for the purposes of his detailed and sustained interrogation and confrontations with the above oral and documentary evidence", he said. However, it is directed that his interrogation shall be conducted at some place having CCTV coverage in accordance with the guidelines laid down by the Supreme Court and the said CCTV footage shall be preserved. It is also subject to the condition that he shall be medically examined once every 48 hours, said the court in order. It is also directed that the blood pressure of the accused shall be monitored twice a day and his sugar level shall be monitored once a day during his ED custody period for this purpose, he is being permitted to carry the requisite monitoring instruments with him, said the court. The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Wednesday arrested Sanjay Singh after a day-long questioning by the ED officials at his Delhi residence. The federal agency on Wednesday morning undertook a raid at the residence of Sanjay Singh in connection with the now-cancelled liquor excise policy in Delhi. The development followed closely on the heels of the ED's raid on the premises belonging to two of Sanjay Singh's close aides in the same context. The case connects with claims that Singh and his partners played a part in the Delhi government's decision to give licenses to alcohol shops and merchants in 2020, causing losses to the state exchequer and violating anti-corruption laws. ED has previously searched a number of locations including the homes and offices of Sanjay Singh's close associate Ajit Tyagi and other contractors and businessmen who allegedly benefited from the policy. In its nearly 270-page supplementary charge sheet, the ED has called former Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia a "key conspirator" in the case. The Delhi liquor scam case or the excise policy case pertains to allegations that the Arvind Kejriwal-led Delhi government's excise policy for 2021-22 allowed cartelisation and favoured certain dealers who had allegedly paid bribes for it, a charge that has been strongly refuted by the AAP. ED has so far filed five charge sheets in the case, including against Sisodia. ED, last year filed its first chargesheet in the case. The agency said it has so far undertaken over 200 search operations in this case after filing an FIR after taking cognisance of a CBI case which was registered on the recommendation of the Delhi lieutenant governor. The CBI inquiry was recommended on the findings of the Delhi chief secretary's report filed in July showing prima facie violations of the GNCTD Act 1991, Transaction of Business Rules (ToBR)-1993, Delhi Excise Act-2009, and Delhi Excise Rules-2010, officials had said. The ED and the CBI had alleged that irregularities were committed while modifying the Excise Policy, undue favours were extended to licence holders, the licence fee was waived or reduced and the L-1 licence was extended without the competent authority's approval. The beneficiaries diverted "illegal" gains to the accused officials and made false entries in their books of account to evade detection. As per the allegations, the Excise Department had decided to refund the Earnest Money Deposit of about Rs 30 crore to a successful tenderer against the set rules. Even though there was no enabling provision, a waiver on tendered licence fees was allowed from December 28, 2021, to January 27, 2022, due to COVID-19. This allegedly caused a loss of Rs 144.36 crore to the exchequer, which has been instituted on a reference from the Union Home Ministry following a recommendation from Delhi Lieutenant-Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena. (ANI)
A Memorandum of Understanding was signed between Samagra Shiksha Uttarakhand and Swiss Education Group, Switzerland at the Secretariat on Thursday in the presence of Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami with the objective to provide better training in the field of tourism and hospitality. State Project Director, Samagra Shiksha Banshidhar Tiwari and Executive Director of Swiss Education Group Hiraj Artinian signed the MoU to provide training in the field of tourism and hospitality to the students of classes 9th to 12th in Uttarakhand. Swiss Education Group will also assist in improving the vocational education curriculum for students in the state. Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami said, "This agreement will prove to be a milestone in the future for better training in the field of tourism and hospitality under vocational education to the children of class 9 to 12 in the state." He said that there is a lot of employment potential in both these sectors in Uttarakhand. "By gaining proficiency through training in these areas, our students will get many employment opportunities. Continuous efforts are being made by the state government to promote tourism. Many works are being done to promote religious, spiritual and adventure tourism as well as eco-tourism and wellness," CM Dhami said. CM Dhami further added that the state was also receiving many proposals in the field of hospitality. "There are many possibilities in this sector in the state in the coming times," he said. Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami expressed gratitude to Abhay Das Maharaj for playing an important role in this agreement with Switzerland in the field of tourism and hospitality in the state. About 4 months ago, there was a discussion between the Chief Minister and Abhay Das Maharaj to provide support to the state in these areas. The Chief Minister said that lakhs of devotees come to Devbhoomi Uttarakhand during the Chardham Yatra in Uttarakhand. "The effort of the state government is to ensure that devotees and tourists come to the religious and tourist places of Uttarakhand in large numbers within 12 months. For this, work is being done at a rapid pace on the Manaskhand Temple Mala Mission. Under this, work has been started by identifying 16 temples in the first phase," he added. (ANI)
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday unveiled development projects in sectors like road, rail, energy, housing and drinking water worth about Rs 12,600 crore in poll-bound Madhya Pradesh and attacked the Congress over "corruption" in government schemes during its rule. The Prime Minister, who also laid the foundation stone of 'Veerangana Rani Durgavati Smarak aur Udyaan' in Jabalpur, targeted the Congress and alleged that funds meant for the poor were filling the coffers of the corrupt. In a veiled reference to the Congress-led UPA government, he said headlines were about various scams. PM Modi said after 2014, the BJP-led government carried out a 'Swacchta' campaign to weed out the corrupt practices. "Eleven crore fake beneficiaries who never existed were removed from the government lists with the use of technology. After 2014, Modi ensured that the funds meant for the poor are not looted by anyone." He credited the creation of the trinity of Jan Dhan accounts, Aadhaar and mobile phones for the "obliteration of the corrupt system". "Today, because of this Trishakti, more than Rs 2.5 lakh crore has been saved from falling into the wrong hands," the Prime Minister said. Noting that it is a critical time for Madhya Pradesh, the Prime Minister pointed out that any hindrance in development will ruin the hard work of the last two decades carried out by the BJP government in the state. He said it is people's responsibility to ensure that children grow up to see a developed Madhya Pradesh in the coming 25 years. He said the state government has taken Madhya Pradesh to the top in agricultural exports in the past years and also stressed the importance of the state being a leader in industrial development. Noting India's manifold increase in defence production exports over the years, the Prime Minister said that Jabalpur has a big contribution to this. He said that the central government is providing 'Made in India' weapons to the defence forces and the demand for India's defence products is also increasing in the world. "Madhya Pradesh is also going to benefit a lot from this, thousands of new employment opportunities are going to be created here," he said. "Today India's confidence is at a new height," he added. PM Modi conveyed his best wishes to the entire tribal society, the people of Madhya Pradesh and the 140 crore citizens of the country on the occasion of the 500th birth anniversary of Rani Durgavagti. Speaking about the project unveiled in the state, the Prime Minister said that these will transform the lives of lakhs of people including farmers and the youth. "With the advent of new industries in the region, the youth will now find jobs here." He highlighted India's brilliant performance in the ongoing Asian Games and said that every youth feels that this time belongs to India. The Prime Minister noted that when the youth get such opportunities, their passion for building a developed India also gets a boost. He gave examples of organizing a grand world event like the G-20, and the success of India's Chandrayaan mission The Prime Minister noted that Khadi products worth more than Rs 1.5 crore were sold at a store in Delhi on the occasion of Gandhi Jayanti. "The feeling of Swadeshi, the feeling of taking the country forward is rising everywhere today," PM Modi said. He also touched upon the role of India's youth in achieving success in the world of startups. In the cleanliness campaign launched by the country on October 1, the Prime Minister informed that cleanliness programmes were conducted at more than 9 lakh places with the participation of nearly 9 crore citizens. He credited the people of Madhya Pradesh for taking the state to the top in terms of cleanliness. The Prime Minister alleged an "India-bashing approach" by some political parties at a time when the country's achievements are being discussed all over the world. He said such parties had raised questions about the Digital India campaign and India's COVID-19 vaccine. He alleged that such parties believe the words of the country's enemies and go to the extent of questioning the Indian Army. He also alleged that there has been criticism of Amrit Mahotsav celebrations. The Prime Minister said his government had made places associated with Dr BR Ambedkar a "panchteerth". "This shows the commitment of the government towards social harmony and heritage" he said. He said before 2014, MSP was given only for 8-10 forest produce while the remaining ones were sold at throwaway prices, while today about 90 forest produce have been brought under the ambit of MSP. "The double-engine government gives priority to the underprivileged", the Prime Minister said. He also spoke about Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam and the PM Vishwakarma scheme. Madhya Pradesh and four other states will go for assembly polls later this year. (ANI)
Cardinal George Alencherry, the Major Archbishop of the Syro-Malabar Church expressed his deepest condolences on the demise of Cardinal Telesphore Toppo, the esteemed Archbishop Emeritus of the Archdiocese of Ranchi and the former President of Catholic Bishops' Conference of India (CBCI). Cardinal Telesphore Toppo was the epitome of selfless service who toiled for the integral development of the people entrusted to him. According to an official statement, he was born in Ranchi in 1939 and was ordained as a priest in 1969. Following his higher studies in Rome, he emerged as a steadfast advocate for the underprivileged, with their well-being always at the forefront of his ministry and works. In 1978, he was appointed Bishop of the Diocese of Dumka, and in 1985, he was elevated to the position of Archbishop of Ranchi. Notably, in 2003, he was created a Cardinal by St. John Paul II. As the first Asian tribal Cardinal of the Catholic Church, he stood as a source of pride and inspiration for the socially disadvantaged segments of society. Cardinal Toppo's humility and dedication to social causes earned him widespread admiration. His administrative prowess was evident in his dual leadership roles as President of the CCBI and CBCI. He was a great supporter of the communion ecclesiology to be accepted by the CBCI. Amidst these administrative accomplishments, his heart remained steadfastly focused on the plight of the poor and marginalized. He tirelessly advocated for the dissemination of the message of peace and love espoused by Jesus within his surrounding society. It was due to his strenuous effort that the CBCI could start a Medical College in Ranchi. Cardinal Alencherry expressed that with Cardinal Toppo's passing, the Indian Church bids farewell to a fervent advocate for the destitute, an educator who seamlessly integrated progress with education, and a distinguished humanist who connected with individuals from all walks of life. His life will continue to serve as an inspiring example for all those working for societal betterment. Cardinal Alencherry conveyed his condolences while participating in the ongoing Synod of Bishops in Rome. (ANI)
The Eastern Command of the Indian Army is set to host a Mega Defence event "East Tech 2023" showcasing the latest in defence technology, at Maniram Dewan Trade Centre, Guwahati on October 10 and 11, first such event in the state. It is an initiative to identify cutting-edge technologies needed for solving operational challenges in the Eastern Sector and the Indian Army as a whole. As per the official statement, the aim of the event is to facilitate Eastern Command in meeting its operational challenges by incorporating Contemporary indigenous technology. "In the true spirit of "Atma Nirbhar Bharat', the event strives to engage a large number of Indian Manufacturers including MSMEs, DRDO, DPSUs, R&D Organisations' and Academia, to showcase their latest and the most advanced weapon and equipment technology at the event. It is also an initiative to promote and provide a platform to various Start-Ups and major players of the Defence Industries belonging to Assam and other NE States to showcase their latest innovations in the Defence sector," a Defence press release stated. The two-day event cum demonstration is being carried out for the first time in the entire North East Region. It is a joint effort of the Indian Army with the Ministry of Commerce and Industries, Government of Assam. "The main objective of East Tech is to augment the technological knowledge base of the participants and acquaint them with prevalent "State of Art" technologies and Commercial Off-The-Shelf (COTS) solutions available in the defence sector," the release stated further. It is with an underlying aim to create awareness of contemporary technologies and hardware solutions available with Indian Defence Manufacturers under "Raksha Atmanirbharta", to meet ever-evolving operational dynamics in Eastern Command with indigenous, innovative and future-proof technologies, thereby promoting "Soldiering through Self Reliance". "The event will also give a much-needed push to the defence manufacturers in North East and will help in closely integrating them into the supply chains. A seminar on niche technologies, with IIT Guwahati and a Medical Symposium with AllMs, Guwahati have also been planned during the event," the release added. The Indian Armed Forces have identified technologies required to be inducted to enhance its existing and future capabilities. Over-reliance on imported hardware has the potential to compromise the country's defence preparedness in times of crisis, through the imposition of various technology denial directives/ mandates by the supplier. "In the wake of the same, the event is focused on providing all the tools to enable Armed forces with Battlefield Transparency, Command and Control Architecture, Communication Systems, Information Dominance, Electronic warfare, Nano Technology IMEMS, Artificial Intelligence and Robotics, Unmanned warfare systems, Mobility, Chemical Biological-Radiological-Nuclear (CBRN) Defence, Advanced Weapon System, survival systems and Non-Lethal Weapons," the release added. The Eastern Command with its Headquarters at Kolkata, is the oldest and Largest Command of the Indian Army spanning around 10 states, with its troops incoordination with all the three elements of Indian Armed forces and the Para Military forces are deployed to counter any threats from its neighbours. The event will help identify suitable technologies and solutions customized to meet the operational requirements of the Field Army and create an effective ecosystem for swift procurement and effective maintenance of the selected Defence products. The event will help identify suitable technologies and products for subsequent trial and induction in Eastern Command, as well as facilitate the interface of Defence manufacturers with the Field Army to orient their products and further their Research and development towards specific operational requirements. (ANI)
The Chief Election Commissioner of India Rajiv Kumar addressed the media in Hyderabad today about the poll preparedness of Telangana for the upcoming Assembly elections. CEC Rajiv Kumar said, "We had meetings with political parties, enforcement agencies, SPs, DMs, Police Commissioners and all other district, state and central agencies in the last 2 days in Hyderabad. We met representatives of different political parties including AAP, BSP, CPI(M), BJP, Indian National Congress, AIMIM, TDP and BRS. They told us that elections should be inducement-free in Telangana. They requested that money power, liquor and freebies distribution in the state should be cut. They also requested a level playing field. They welcomed ECI's decision of home voting for the elderly. They also requested the deployment of CAPF in critical locations and micro observers in polling stations, especially in urban areas. They also requested webcasting on polling days and vigil on hate speech." He added, "We have 119 constituencies with 88 general, 12 ST and 19 SC constituencies. We have 3.17 crore electors in Telangana. We have an equal ratio of male and female electors. We have 2557 transgender electors. We have 8.11 lakh first-time voters in the 18-19 age group. There is no suo motto deletion and only deletions are done when form 7 is received. All deletions were verified by the officers. 22 lakhs of voters were deleted in 2022 and 2023. The gender ratio in the 18-19 age group increased from 707 to 743. The electoral gender ratio is 998." He further said, "We have 35,356 polling stations in the state. The average number of voters per polling station is 897. We will have webcasting in around 78 per cent. There are around 20,000 polling stations in rural areas which is predominantly more. We have polling stations managed exclusively by people with disabilities, women, and youth and also model polling stations. All polling stations will have basic facilities of toilets, drinking water, volunteers for helping people with disability and others." He added, "For the first time in Telangana, we are giving all our senior citizens who are 4.43 lakhs, to vote from the comfort of their homes if they want. Similarly, the people who have more than 40% disability can also vote from home." He said, "cVIGIL app is an application a person can use to report the violation of any election code. One can upload a photo if someone is disturbing money or liquor and we will respond to it immediately and reply within 100 minutes. The name of the person will not be disclosed." He added, "The state voter turnout is 73.37 per cent. It is less common in urban areas. Telangana shares a border with 4 states. We have a total of 148 checkposts in these interstate borders. All the checkposts will have CCTV monitoring." He said, "We are committed to delivering free, fair and transparent elections. Money Power, freebies distribution and others will be on our radar. We have directed all central and state agencies to be alert and strict on any kind of money power, freebies, liquor and others. The central and state machinery will be vigil and strict on this." (ANI)
Bharatiya Janata Party MP Parvesh Sahib Singh said on Thursday that arrested Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Sanjay Singh is not the last AAP leader to be sent to Tihar as the investigation into the Delhi Liquor Policy case progresses. "One after another, big leaders from the Aam Aadmi Party are being taken to Tihar Jail. We think Aam Aadmi Party will open its office in Tihar Jail. Because Sanjay Singh is not the last. More leaders are involved in this liquor policy scheme and ED (Enforcement Directorate) has substantial evidence," Parvesh Sahib Singh said speaking at a press conference in Delhi. The BJP MP further added that Sanjay Singh used to meet accused-turned-approver Dinesh Arora and Amit Arora at his own residence and introduced them to Arvind Kejriwal at the latter's place. "According to the investigation by ED - Sanjay Singh used to meet Dinesh Arora and Amit Arora at his own residence. The Sanjay Singh used to take all these liquor mafias to Arvind Kejriwal's place," Singh said. "They also said that they had paid Rs three crore to Sanjay Singh, Rs two crore was given by Amit Arora and one crore by Indospirit company," he added. Speaking about Manish Sisodia whose bail plea was heard by the top court on Thursday said, "Their Deputy CM Manish Sisodia is also in jail in the liquor policy irregularities case. His bail plea was being heard and the court will pronounce its order next week. If they have not done anything wrong then why isn't the court granting them bail?" On the AAP staging a protest against Sanjay Singh's arrest, the BJP MP said, "I want to ask Arvind Kejriwal if he trusts the Judiciary. If you trust the Judiciary why is AAP staging a protest? If you haven't done anything wrong, then you should trust the Judiciary." The BJP also claimed that the AAP is playing the 'victim' card since elections are around the corner. "Since the elections are coming and you are part of the opposition, do not play the victim card...You need to present your case before the court. You cannot play the victim card then," Singh said. In a friendly advice to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, he said, "Accept your crimes so that your punishment can be reduced." BJP leader Shehzad Poonawalla who was in the joint press conference said that the AAP continues to play the victim card on similar occasions and their acronym has now become 'Aur Adhik Paap' "AAP does not mean 'Aam Aadmi Party' but 'Aur Adhik Paap'...Whenever such arrests are made a tape recorder keeps playing, saying that vendetta politics is being played, not a rupee has been found," Poonawalla said. Poonawalla also added that it has been found in the court records that money was transferred in the liquor policy case. "Manish Sisodia has not got any relief...He is the principal architect in the Liquor Policy scam. The court has given its finding that money was transferred," he said. Speaking on the company which had allegedly transferred Rupees one crore to Sanjay Singh, the BJP leader said, "Indospirits is that company which was blacklisted earlier. This shows quid pro quo." AAP leader Sanjay Singh was arrested by the ED in a money laundering case linked to the Delhi liquor policy 'scam' on Wednesday. Singh is the third prominent leader of the AAP, after Manish Sisodia and Satyendar Jain, to be arrested by a central agency. (ANI)
Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Thursday that he is honoured to address the program marking the 200th birth anniversary of Ramalinga Swami, also known as Vallalar. PM Modi through a video conference connected to the gathering assembled in Vadalur for the anniversary program and expressed his delight at holding the event in Vadalur, a place closely associated with Vallalar. "Vallalar is one of our most respected saints. He walked this earth in the 19th century but his spiritual insights continue to inspire millions of people even today," said Modi. Highlighting Vallalar's ethos of compassion, the Prime Minister emphasized on the saint's unwavering commitment to eradicate hunger. "Vallalar believed in compassion towards fellow human beings, one of his most important contribution was his strong commitment to remove hunger. Nothing pained him more than a human being going to bed, empty stomach. He believed that sharing food with hungry is one of the most noble acts of kindness," said the Prime Minister. PM Modi further said that we all are committed to this vision and recalled that when the COVID pandemic struck the country, 80 crore Indians received free rations which was a major relief in testing times. Vallalar's dedication to education and learning was also highlighted by PM Modi. He said that Vallalar gave importance to modern educational curriculum, further highlighting that how India after three decades has got a national education policy which is transforming the entire educational landscape. The Prime Minister praised Vallalar's progressive stance on social reforms, noting that his vision of divinity transcended religion, caste, and creed boundaries. He further expressed confidence that the saint would have blessed the passage of the 'Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam' which reserves seats for women in legislative bodies. Earlier during the day, the Prime Minster was on his visit to Rajasthan's Jodhpur where he addressing a rally took a dig at Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot over his absence at the official event in which projects of about Rs 5,000 crore were unveiled and said the Congress leader has confidence that when Modi comes, everything will be fine. PM Modi, who addressed a rally after unveiling the development projects in Jodhpur, also attacked the Congress government in Rajasthan over the law and order situation in the state, saying there were several instances of atrocities against the Dalits and women. (ANI)
Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel took on the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government accusing it of transforming the country to a dictatorial form of government. "They are suppressing the opposition so that no opposition is left. They want to eliminate all the opposition and send them to jail. Efforts are being made to take the country towards dictatorship," Baghel said speaking to reporters in Raipur while reacting to Aam Aadmi Party leader Sanjay Singh's arrest on Wednesday. Speaking about raids carried out by the central investigation agencies, Baghel said, "What has happened to journalists shows a dictatorial attitude. If a journalist writes something with his pen that is unbiased or criticizes you, then he is thrown into jail. There is an attack on opposition leaders. It did not start today but ever since the NDA government was formed. After Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, whether it is Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra, Telangana, West Bengal the situation is everywhere like this." The statues of freedom fighter Mahadev Prasad Pandey and Narayan Prasad Avasthi were unveiled by Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel on Thursday. "The statue of freedom fighter Padmashree Mahadev Prasad Pandey as well as the great donor Narayan Prasad Avasthi was inaugurated in the Ayurvedic College. The statue of both the great persons who worked for education for the society and the country was inaugurated. It is a moment of pride for me to have had the opportunity to unveil it," he said. (ANI)
As per the Levies force, the blast took place in Chaghi bazaar -- at a distance of 60 kilometres from Dalbandin near the Pakistan-Afghan border -- when a security forces vehicle was passing by.

Security forces have surrounded the area, while the wounded have been moved to Dalbandin hospital for medical treatment, Levies said.

The attack comes days after more than 60 people died in two separate suicide attacks in Balochistan's Mastung and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa's Hangu city on September 29.

A patrolling post in the Kundal area of Punjab's Mianwali district also came under attack by ten to 12 terrorists on Sunday. One policeman was killed as security forces successfully repelled the attack killing two terrorists.

As per a statistical report released by the independent think tank Pakistan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies (PICSS), at least 271 militant attacks took place in the country during the first half of 2023, resulting in the loss of 389 lives and injuring 656 individuals. Terror activities in the country soared by 79 per cent during the period.

Interim Interior Minister Sarfraz Bugti announced the November 1 deadline for the illegal "aliens", including Afghan illegal immigrants, to leave the county voluntarily.

The caretaker interior minister revealed that Afghan nationals were responsible for 14 of the 24 suicide bombings in the country this year.

Bugti said some 1.73 million Afghan nationals in Pakistan had no legal documents to stay, adding a total of 4.4 million Afghan refugees living in Pakistan.

"Safety and security of the people of Pakistan is the prime responsibility and foremost priority of the government," he said, as per Geo News. (ANI)
The Taliban has rejected the claims made by Pakistani officials alleging that Afghan refugees were involved in the recent suicide bombings in the country, reported TOLO News. The spokesperson of the Taliban administration Zabiullah Mujahid shared on social media 'X' that the Afghan refugees are not involved in these attacks. He also added that Islamabad seeks to harass Afghan refugees in several ways. "We deny that if the refugees settled in Pakistan, they would have handled any attack and incident in that country," he said. However, Pakistan's interior minister Sarfraz Bugti said that the Afghans are involved in 14 of 24 suicide bombings that ripped the country this year, TOLO News reported. He further said that the Fatwa (formal ruling or interpretation on a point of Islamic law) issued by the Taliban's leader should become practical in this respect. Bugti noted, "There have been 24 attacks since February. The Afghan nationals conducted 14 of them" According to some political analysts, such remarks made by the Pakistani officials will affect their relations with the Taliban, TOLO News reported. Yousuf Ameen Zazai, a military veteran said, "The people can solve the issue of security and they can take their security. The people on the two sides of the [Durand line] can take the security. They should be given the opportunities and the regional and world countries should support them, I think the issue of terrorism will be eliminated." "When you reflect hostility to 40 million people, I think it is irresponsible and contrary to the neighboring and international laws," another political analyst Sadiq Aminzoy said. Earlier this week, two people including a 12-year-old child were killed on Wednesday when an Afghan sentry opened "unprovoked and indiscriminate" firing on pedestrians at the Chaman border in Balochistan, the military's media affairs wing said, Pakistan-based Dawn reported. A statement made by Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said, "Afghan authorities have been approached to inquire the reason for such irresponsible and reckless act, apprehend and hand over the culprit to Pakistani authorities." It added that the Taliban was expected to "exercise control over its troops and impart discipline to act responsibly in order to avoid recurrence of such incidents in future". In 2022, six people were killed and 17 others sustained injuries in firing by the Afghan Border Forces at the Chaman border. The incident was widely condemned by the then-government, Foreign Office and diplomats. (ANI)
The US Embassy in India has dismissed the claims of a US media outlet that India-US ties may get worse amid the ongoing India-Canada diplomatic standoff saying that Ambassador Eric Garcetti is working hard to advance partnership of US with India. A US-based politics focused newspaper, Politico, had reported that "US Ambassador to India Eric Garcetti has told his in-country team that, because of the diplomatic spat with Canada, relations between India and the US could get worse for a time". Dismissing these reports, the US Embassy said that Ambassador Garcetti is working hard every day to "deepen the partnership between the people and governments of the United States and India". "Garcetti also has said the US may need to reduce its contacts with Indian officials for an undefined period of time," the Politico report added. The US Embassy added that as the personal engagement and public schedule of Ambassador demonstrates, that the US Mission to India and Garcetti are working "every day to advance the important, strategic, and consequential partnership we have with India". Earlier also the US had said it is "deeply concerned" and is in close coordination with Canada on allegations of Canadian PM Justin Trudeau regarding the Indian government's involvement in the fatal shooting of Khalistan terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar. Meanwhile, Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Joly on Tuesday said that her country wants "private talks with India to resolve a diplomatic dispute" over the killing Nijjar, Reuters reported. "We are in contact with the government of India. We take Canadian diplomats' safety very seriously and we will continue to engage privately because we think diplomatic conversations are best when they remain private," Reuters quoted Joly as saying to reporters. The statement by Joly comes after a report said India had asked Canada to withdraw 41 diplomats. Meanwhile, the US State Department Deputy Spokesperson, Vedant Patel on October 3 urged the Indian government to cooperate with the Canadian investigation to ensure that "those responsible are brought to justice". A day before Patel's remarks US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller in response to a question related to Nijjar's killing in Canada said, "We remain in close coordination with our Canadian colleagues on this question,". There is a strain in India-Canada relations following Justin Trudeau's allegations regarding the Indian government's 'potential role' in the fatal shooting of Nijjar. Nijjar, who was a designated terrorist in India, was gunned down outside a Gurdwara, in a parking area in Canada's Surrey, British Columbia on June 18. Trudeau, during a debate in the Canadian Parliament, claimed his country's national security officials had reasons to believe that "agents of the Indian government" carried out the killing of the Canadian citizen, who also served as the president of Surrey's Guru Nanak Sikh Gurdwara. However, India has out-rightly rejected the claims, calling it 'absurd' and 'motivated'. Notably, Canada has yet to provide any public evidence to support the claim about the killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar. The country has said it wants to "work constructively with India" regarding the allegations. (ANI)
Stating that India's focus is achieving 'parity' in terms of diplomatic presence, the Ministry of External Affairs further called for a reduction in Canadian diploamts in India citing their continued "interference" in New Delhi's "internal matters". This comes amid the ongoing diplomatic row between India and Canada after which New Delhi suspended the visa operations to Canada and called for a reduction in Canadian diplomats in India. Addressing the press briefing on Thursday, MEA spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said, "Given the much higher presence of diplomats or diplomatic presence here...and their continued interference in our internal matters, we have sought parity in our respective diplomatic presence. Discussions are ongoing on the modalities of achieving this". "Given that Canadian diplomatic presence is higher, we would assume that there would be a reduction," he added. On being asked if the reduction in the number of Canadian diplomats could see a decrease in the number of visas issued by the Canadian High Commission in India, Bagchi said, "It's up to the Canadian side, who they choose to staff the High Commission with...our concerns are related to ensuring parity in diplomatic presence". He further added that India's primary focus is on two things; having an atmosphere in Canada, where Indian diplomats can work properly and in achieving parity in terms of diplomatic strength. Last month too, India had cited Canada's "diplomatic interference in internal matters", and stated there should be a parity in diplomatic staff strength. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau had recently alleged that the Indian government was behind the fatal shooting of Nijjar. Trudeau, during a debate in the Canadian Parliament, claimed his country's national security officials had reasons to believe that "agents of the Indian government" carried out the killing of the Canadian citizen, who also served as the president of Surrey's Guru Nanak Sikh Gurdwara. However, India has outrightly rejected the claims, calling it 'absurd' and 'motivated'. Notably, Canada has yet to provide any public evidence to support the claim about the killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar. Meanwhile, Trudeau has said that Ottawa wants to "work constructively with India" regarding the allegations. Nijjar, who was a designated terrorist in India, was gunned down outside a Gurdwara, in a parking area in Canada's Surrey, British Columbia on June 18. (ANI)
Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar and his Dominican Republic counterpart Raquel Pena Rodriguez strongly condemned terrorism in all its forms and stressed on the need for international community's concerted and coordinated action to combat terrorism. The joint press release of the meeting between Jagdeep Dhankhar and Raquel Pena Rodriguez reads, "Strongly condemned terrorism in all its forms and manifestations. They emphasized the need for concerted and coordinated action by the international community to combat terrorism, by adopting a zero tolerance approach. They also called for an expeditious finalization and adoption of the Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism within the UN framework." The two leaders acknowledged the "critical importance" of maintaining regional stability and peace. Vice President Dhankhar and Rodriguez emphasized the need for continued close coordination between the two countries in multilateral organizations on respective national candidatures and global issues of mutual interest. The joint press release reads, "Acknowledged the critical importance of maintaining regional stability and peace. To this end, they recalled India's involvement in Haiti as part of UN led MINUSTAH (The United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti) and underscored the importance of international support for the capacity building training of Haiti's Police and security forces." Dominican Republic Vice President congratulated India for successful organisation of the G20 Summit in Delhi. She thanked India for amplifying the voice and concerns of the Global South and developing countries during its G20 Presidency. According to the joint press release, the two leaders reiterated the high priority attached to the issues of climate change, environment and sustainable development. Vice President Dhankhar and Rodriguez expressed their willingness to work together in building resilience to the negative impacts of climate change. The joint press release of the meeting between two leaders reads, "The Vice-President of India took note that the Dominican Republic, as a Small Island Developing State, looks forward to the adoption of the Multidimentional Vulnerability Index." "Welcomed the signing of a bilateral cooperation MoU on ocean science and agreed to work together in exploring solution to the problem of the massive proliferation of the sargassum seaweed afflicting the Caribbean beaches, affecting the livelihood of coastal populations and the tourist industry," it added. The two leaders underlined the opportunities for collaboration in renewable energy, including under the International Solar Alliance (ISA). The joint press release reads, "The Dominican Republic side stated that efforts are afoot for early ratification of the ISA Framework Agreement that the Dominican Republic has already signed." The two sides looked forward to deepening their engagement within the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI) with India as co-chair and the Dominican Republic as the representative Small Island Developing States in the Executive Committee, for the period 2022-2024, according to the joint press release. India and Dominican Republic took note of the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed during Raquel Pena Rodriguez's visit to India. The MoU was signed between the Central Drug Control Organization of India (CDSCO) and the General Directorate of Medicines, Food, and Health Products of the Dominican Republic (DIGEMAPS). Furthermore, the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, National Institute of Oceanography of India (CSIR-NIO) and the National Authority for Maritime Affairs of the Dominican Republic (ANAMAR) signed an MoU. Notably, Rodriguez arrived in New Delhi on Tuesday on a three-day visit to India. During her visit, she met President Droupadi Murmu and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar. She also held a meeting with Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla. Ministry of External Affairs in an earlier press release said, "The visit is significant as it is takes place at a time when India-Dominican Republic bilateral relationship is entering its 25th year. The two countries established diplomatic relations on 04 May 1999." (ANI)
Ministry of External Affairs official spokesperson Arindam Bagchi on Thursday said that India's position regarding the entire Union territory of Jammu and Kashmir being an integral part of India is well known and New Delhi has raised its concerns with US side regarding US Ambassador to Pakistan Donald Blome's recent visit to Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. "Our position on the entire Union territory of Jammu and Kashmir that being an integral part of India is well known. We would like to urge the international community to respect our sovereignty and territorial integrity," Bagchi said during a weekly media briefing here. The MEA spokesperson was asked about Blome's visit and US Ambassador to India Eric Garcetti's remarks regarding the visit. "We have raised our concerns about that visit by the US Ambassador of Pakistan with the US side and with regards to Garcetti's comment, we don't think the two situations are equivalent," Bagchi said. US Ambassador to Pakistan Donald Blome was recently paid a six-day visit to Gilgit-Baltistan during which he visited different areas and met local representatives and Gilgit Baltistan government officials, Pakistan-based Dawn reported. Queried about United Kingdom MP Andrew Gwynne's visit to PoK and the remarks he made there on September 26, Bagchi reiterated that India will request international community to respect its sovereignty and territorial integrity. "I think I would just repeat what I have been saying about visitors. We would request international community to respect our sovereignty and territorial integrity. You know our position on the areas of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir and how we look at the entire Union terroritory as integral part of India. That would be my comment on India," Bagchi said. "I don't have anything particular as you said the video has just come out. I don't know if our mission has taken it up but we convey our concerns on such things on regular basis whenever we see such developments," he added. On September 26, US Ambassdor to India Garcetti said that US Ambassador to Pakistan Donald Blome's visit to Gilgit-Baltistan is a matter which should be "resolved between India and Pakistan, not by any third party including the US." Garcetti had said: "It's not my place to react to the US Ambassador in Pakistan but I know he's been before and we have had obviously parts of our delegation in Jammu and Kashmir during the G20 as well." "We'll stay engaged but it has to be something that is resolved between India and Pakistan, not by any third party including the US," he said. Earlier in September, India lashed out at Pakistan after the country's caretaker Prime Minister Anwaarul Haq Kakar predictably raised the Kashmir bogey in his speech at the United Nations General Assembly. In its right of reply, the First Secretary at United Nations for the Second Committee of UNGA, Petal Gahlot said that Pakistan should vacate occupied areas of India and stop cross-border terrorism. She asked Pakistan to stop human rights violations against minorities in Pakistan. Petal Gahlot said, "In order for there to be peace in South Asia, the actions that Pakistan needs to take are threefold first stop cross-border terrorism and shut down its infrastructure of terrorism immediately. Second, vacate Indian territories under its illegal and forcible occupation. And third stop the grave and persistent human rights violations against the minorities in Pakistan." Indian diplomat reiterated that union territories of Jammu and Kashmir as well as Ladakh are integral parts of India and Pakistan has no "locus standi" to make statements regarding India's domestic matters. "We reiterate that the union territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh are an integral part of India. Matters pertaining to the UTs of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh are purely internal to India," Petal Gahlot said. "Pakistan has no locus standi to comment on our domestic matters. As a country with one of the world's worst human rights records, particularly when it comes to minority and women's rights, Pakistan would do well to put its own house in order before venturing to point a finger at the world's largest democracy," she added. (ANI)
Stating that Prime Minister Narendra Modi was the first leader to congratulate the new President-elect of Maldives, Mohamed Muizzu, the Ministry of External Affairs said that New Delhi looks forward to engaging with the new administration in Male. Notably, Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) candidate Mohamed Muizzu won the Maldivian presidential elections on Saturday by securing over 53 per cent of votes in the polls. Addressing the press briefing on Thursday, MEA spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said, "Prime Minister was the first leader to convey greetings and felicitations to President-elect. PM Modi conveyed and reaffirmed India's commitment to strengthening the time-tested India-Maldives bilateral relationship and enhancing overall bilateral cooperation in the Indian Ocean region" "Subsequently, our High Commissioner in Male called on the President-elect, and he had a good discussion on various aspects of our bilateral relationship including development cooperation," he added. The MEA also congratulated the Maldivian people for demonstrating their faith in democratic governance and constitutional processes, and firm commitment to democracy and the rule of law. "The focus of our partnership with Maldives has always been on capacity building and working together to address our shared challenges and priorities. As neighbours, we need to collaborate closely to address the challenges confronting our region such as transnational crimes and Humanitarian Assistance Disaster Relief (HADR). We look forward to engaging with the new administration in Maldives on all such issues," Bagchi said. Earlier on Wednesday, the Indian High Commissioner to the Republic of Maldives, Munu Mahawar, met with President-elect Mohamed Muizzu, conveying PM Modi's congratulatory message to the newly elected leader. The meeting was focused on enhancing and strengthening bilateral relations between the two countries. Earlier, on October 1, Prime Minister Modi congratulated Muizzu on winning the Maldivian presidential elections. Taking to his official handle on X, PM Modi posted, "Congratulations and greetings to @MMuizzu on being elected as President of the Maldives. India remains committed to strengthening the time-tested India-Maldives bilateral relationship and enhancing our overall cooperation in the Indian Ocean Region." The presidential candidate from the Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM), Muizzu, won the Maldivian elections on Saturday, Al Jazeera reported citing local media. Muizzu won with more than 53 per cent of the votes, after the results of votes in all 586 ballot boxes were tallied. This was the second round of polling after no candidate emerged as a clear winner in the first round. Muizzu had emerged as the frontrunner in the first round with around 46 per cent votes, followed by Ibrahim Solih's 39 per cent. (ANI)
India's Ambassador to UAE Sunjay Sudhir on Thursday said the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor is a special kind of connectivity between continents through the Gulf. Speaking on India Middle East Europe Economic Corridor, Sunjay Sudhir told ANI, "This is a very special kind of connectivity. It's not just between two countries. It's between continents, between India and Europe, through the Gulf. And the Gulf is very important for us because that's a part of our extended neighbourhood. Again, this is not just connectivity in terms of carrying containers of traded items, but more than that, transmission of electricity, green hydrogen, fiber optic cable, and other things." He recalled UAE President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed's visit to India for attending the G20 Summit. He called UAE one of the most proactive participants of the G20 discussions spread across the year. Speaking about India-UAE ties, he said, "It's a very strong relationship. If you just recall, a few weeks back, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed was in India, as a special invitee of, the Indian government to participate in the G20 Leaders Summit. And there they participated, in the very landmark project of the India-Middle East economic corridor. UAE have been one of the most proactive participants in the G20 discussions spread across the year. And I think This reflects how important the UAE is, in terms of India's foreign policy." India, US, UAE, Saudi Arabia, France, Germany, Italy and the European Union have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to establish the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor. The India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor will consist of two separate corridors, the East corridor connecting India to West Asia/Middle East and the Northern corridor connecting West Asia/Middle East to Europe. It will include a rail line, which upon completion, will provide a reliable and cost-effective cross-border ship-to-rail transit network to supplement the existing multi-modal transport routes enhancing transhipment of goods and services between South East Asia through India to West Asia/Middle East and Europe. (ANI)
Tel Aviv [Israel], October 5 (ANI/TPS): Israeli Minister of Communications Shlomo Karhi spoke at a conference in Saudi Arabia's capital on Wednesday, marking the first speech by an Israeli minister in the country. "As demonstrated by the Abraham Accords, when nations converge on mutual goals, outcomes can be monumentally transformative," Karhi told the audience at the Universal Postal Union's 2023 Extraordinary Congress. UPU is a United Nations agency and the primary forum for international cooperation in the postal field. He thanked Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the leaders of Saudi Arabia for "launching the blossoming ties between our nations." Thanking the people of Saudi Arabia for their hospitality, he added, "Our common respect for God and tradition can serve as a bedrock for harmony between our peoples." Karhi, whose family came to Israel from Tunisia, ended by blessing the participants in perfect Arabic, which he described as his "mother tongue." Karhi arrived in Saudi Arabia on Monday at the head of a 14-strong delegation that included David Bitan, chairman of the Knesset's Economic Affairs Committee. "It is a great honor to represent the State of Israel in this historic visit to Saudi Arabia. It is especially meaningful to visit during the holiday of Sukkot, a time of renewal, gratitude and blessing in the Jewish faith," Karhi told the Tazpit Press Service from Riyadh. Last week, Tourism Minister Haim Katz became the first Israeli Cabinet minister to be granted an entry visa by the Saudi government, arriving in Riyadh to participate in a conference of the United Nations World Tourism Organization and mark World Tourism Day, celebrated annually on Sept. 27. The back-to-back ministerial trips are the latest indication that a normalization deal between the two countries, seen as increasingly likely in the coming months, is indeed in the offing. On Friday, US National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said that Jerusalem and Riyadh have agreed on the contours of a possible US-mediated normalization agreement. "All sides have hammered out, I think, a basic framework for what, you know, what we might be able to drive at," he said, amid an ongoing effort to bring the Sunni kingdom into the Abraham Accords. The Trump administration-brokered accords in 2020 normalized relations between Israel and four Arab nations: The United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Morocco and Sudan. (ANI/TPS)
Tel Aviv [Israel], October 5 (ANI/TPS): The Israeli Defence Forces launched a study this week to analyse the security implications of a normalization deal between Israel and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The study is being administered by a number of IDF branches, including intelligence, strategic planning, the Iran department and the Air Force. The study seeks to clearly outline the advantages of the deal, including possible opportunities for partnership, along with the security risks of potential concessions that may be required of Israel to secure such an agreement. The findings will be presented to IDF Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi and Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Galant before being examined by the Cabinet. There is currently no confirmed timeframe for the study. The long-touted normalization deal has received the full backing of the United States and is a central campaign promise of the current Israeli government under the leadership of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The Saudi deal is seen as the logical continuation of the Abraham Accords, which tripled the number of Israeli-Arab peace deals in the span of four months in 2020. Netanyahu has on many occasions praised the advantages of such a deal, and has stated that it would lead to a "quantum leap" in regional stability and peace. However, experts say that there are multiple nuances to such a deal which may present both great security advantages as well as potential dangers. According to experts, a central security advantage of Saudi-Israel normalisation would be the potential cooperation between the two countries on a litany of defence issues. "A deal between us will allow us to cooperate on intelligence, share techniques and strategies and work together in any way that helps defend both countries," former Israeli National Security Adviser Maj. Gen. (res.) Yaakov Amidror told the Tazpit Press Service. "Both countries already exist under the umbrella of U.S. Central Command, and share many common threats; there is a natural place for partnership and cooperation," said Amidror, who is currently a fellow at The Jewish Institute for National Security of America (JINSA). Avi Melamed, a former Israeli intelligence official, author and Middle East analyst and educator, further expanded on this point, telling TPS that some of the central threats that can be partnered on include Iran and "the complex operations in southern Syria which smuggle drugs and weapons into Jordan that then flow into the Gulf state, as well as sometimes Israel and Egypt." According to Melamed, the current political reality has made "Israel's physical borders secondary when Israel looks at its big interests. When Israel looks at the overall big picture, Yemen and the Indian Ocean emerge as the southern geostrategic border." In this context, Saudi Arabia's outsized influence in places like the Red Sea and the Bab al-Mandab Strait makes it "enormously important in stabilizing and strengthening Israel's southern geostrategic border," he said. Melamed further explained that "all along Israel's borders, including Jordan, Egypt and the Red Sea, there are domestic players that are attuned to the Saudis' interests, and incorporating these players into a mutual partnership of give and take could greatly benefit Israel's security." Beyond the direct defence implications of a normalization agreement, such a deal is also expected to cause major changes in Israel's international standing and have a positive effect on its economy. Both of these factors can indirectly impact Israel's broader security paradigm, said Amidror. "Having an agreement with Saudi Arabia will automatically enhance Israel's international standing, possibly open the door for future agreements with other Muslim states and remove Israel from its isolated status facing a hostile and threatening Muslim world," said Amidror. "The essence of Israel's position will be totally different," he added. From the economic side, "The combination of the technological giant, Israel, and the economic giant, Saudi Arabia, has huge potential for increasing the stability and richness of the Middle East," said Amidror. Despite the numerous potential security advantages of a normalization deal, there are also several risk factors. One of Saudi Arabia's central negotiation demands has been the establishment of a nuclear program, including a uranium enrichment operation. This request has raised concern in Jerusalem, with the Israeli Prime Minister's Office stating that "Israel never agreed to a nuclear program for any of its neighbouring countries, this was and remains Israel's policy." Israeli political leaders have on multiple occasions said that they are uncomfortable with the idea of a Saudi nuclear program, which they believe will open the door to other Middle Eastern countries making similar requests. Despite these concerns, many believe there is room to negotiate with Riyadh, and that a consensus can be reached that doesn't threaten Israel's security. "The nuclear question does not need to be a problem. I think [the United States] can deliver many concessions, including mining uranium, milling uranium, exporting uranium and setting up fuel banks in Saudi Arabia, as long as [Saudi Arabia] is willing to move on the enrichment question," Richard Goldberg, a senior adviser for the Foundation for Defence of Democracies, told TPS. Amidror emphasized the necessity of proper oversight to ensure that red lines are not crossed. However, he agreed that a deal was possible. "We need strict oversight to make sure that the Saudis do not develop nuclear military capabilities, without that the risk is not worth it. If Israeli security experts are comfortable with the oversight guarantees so that the deal will not be violated, then we can move forward," said Amidror. Regarding the general threat of nuclear proliferation throughout the Middle East, Melamed presented a pessimistic picture. "It's not about prevention anymore--if Turkey or Egypt decide tomorrow that they want a nuclear program for civilian purposes, who's going to stop them?" said Melamed. "Today it has to be looked at from a different perspective. We have to separate the players we can play ball with and negotiate with, like Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Egypt, and the problematic players like the mullah regime [of Iran] who are a real threat," he stressed. A further security concern surrounding normalization efforts with Riyadh is the dilution of Israel's "qualitative military edge" compared to its Middle Eastern neighbors. As part of the Abraham Accords Israel conceded the sale by the United States of F-35 fighter jets to the United Arab Emirates. Similar concessions to Saudi Arabia are expected as part of a future normalization deal. However, experts say that there are ways of getting around these concerns. "We have a lot of experience with the United States in solving similar problems. It has been decades since the United States made its commitment to keep Israel's qualitative edge, and all that is needed are some discussions between Israel and the United States about how we adjust our partnership to allow for Saudi demands," said Amidror. "This is a question of technical detail," he added. Melamed went even further, saying that "today, the military reality is completely different, and the significance and meaning of Israel's qualitative edge is completely different. Israel will need to be compensated for major changes in Saudi Arabia's military technology, but the calculation of what exactly keeps Israel's qualitative edge is not as simple as [it was] 40 years ago, when any major weapon sales to Saudi Arabia fundamentally threatened Israel's security." The final factor in the US-Israel-Saudi negotiations that may have a destabilizing effect on Israel's security is potential concessions to the Palestinians. Although no official concessions have yet been articulated, multiple sources confirm that certain concessions are almost guaranteed to be part of the framework of a deal. In a recent interview with Fox News, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman notably did not mention a two-state solution as a prerequisite for normalization, however, at a minimum the deal is expected to include a large influx of money to the Palestinian Authority. The security implications of a normalization deal from the Palestinian perspective remain unclear. "Nobody knows how the Palestinians will react. It might ignite the Palestinian territories ... or it may lead to no reaction. There are a lot of moving parts and a lot of factions in a very volatile situation. It is impossible to tell," said Melamed. (ANI/TPS)
Police in Islamabad and Quetta detained more than 700 foreign nationals for allegedly living without legal documents, Pakistan-based Dawn reported. The development comes a day after the Pakistan federal government gave illegal immigrants the deadline to leave Pakistan by November 1. In a statement, an Islamabad police spokesperson said 1126 people were questioned during the operation. Among them, 503 were allegedly found to be living illegally. They were booked under Section 14 of the Foreigners Act and have been kept in prison on judicial remand. Around 623 people were released after they showed the requisite legal documents, according to the statement. Islamabad police said that the entire process was carried out without any "unpleasant event," adding that connecting criminal elements to illegal foreign nationals was "false equivalence," according to Dawn report. More than 200 Afghans allegedly living illegally were arrested in Quetta, according to Quetta Division Commissioner Hamza Shafqaat said. He said that the arrests were made from various regions of Quetta, Dawn reported. Shafqaat stated that action against illegal buildings on Quetta's drainage channels has started with 11 such structures already sealed. He said that there are more than 1,000 such illegal residential and commercial complexes which pose a natural disaster threat, Dawn reported. On Tuesday, Pakistan's caretaker federal government has set November 1 as the deadline for illegal immigrants to leave the country or else face deportation, Pakistan-based ARY News reported. While addressing a press conference, Pakistan caretaker Interior Minister Sarfraz Bugti said that the immigrants have been given a deadline of November 1 to leave the country. He further said that a task force has also been formed which will take action against illegal immigrants. Bugti said, "Pakistan is the only country permitting people's entry even without a passport." He further said that the assets owned by illegal immigrants would be confiscated. He pointed out that a web portal is being established to report any illegal activity related to smuggling, as per ARY News report. "The names of those who provide any information related to illegal activities would be kept secret," Bugti elaborated. He made the remarks following the apex committee meeting. Meanwhile, the National Apex Committee meeting has decided in principle to evict foreigners, illegally living in Pakistan.The decision was taken in a meeting of the Apex committee chaired by Pakistan caretaker PM Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar in the chair. The meeting was attended by high-ranked security officials. According to sources, security officials briefed the participants of the meeting about the recent terror incidents in Pakistan, ARY News reported. The meeting was also briefed about the steps being taken to control terrorism in Pakistan and action against illegal immigrants. (ANI)
A Russian missile strike has resulted in the deaths of at least 50 people in a village near the eastern Ukrainian city of Kupiansk, marking one of the most devastating attacks on civilians since the conflict's onset, CNN reported. Ukrainian Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko said that Moscow's forces targeted a cafe and a shop in Hroza, located in the Kharkiv region, just after midday local time (5 am ET). The aftermath of the strike depicted scenes of emergency workers navigating through dense rubble, tending to the six individuals injured. Among the casualties were 29 victims whose bodies were identified, including a 6-year-old boy, with the other remains sent to facilities in the city of Kharkiv. Tragically, the missile struck when locals had gathered inside the store for a wake, resulting in a level of devastation unseen since a 2022 attack on a railway station in Kramatorsk that claimed the lives of at least 50 people, according to CNN. Hroza, a village housing 330 people, suffered immense loss, with approximately one-fifth of its population wiped out in the attack. Ukrainian Interior Minister Klymenko decried the incident as "a terrible tragedy for Ukraine" and a "war crime committed by the Russians" that must be met with accountability. Ukrainian officials identified the weapon used in the attack as an Iskander missile, a ballistic missile with a relatively short range, capable of carrying a warhead weighing between 500 and 700 kilograms. The Iskander missiles have been frequently employed by Russian forces against Ukraine, leading to significant civilian casualties. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy labeled the attack a "demonstrably brutal Russian crime" and a "completely deliberate terrorist attack." He called for an end to Russian terror and condemned those who support Russia, emphasizing the need to halt such genocidal aggression. Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal described the attack as "brutal and cynical" and expressed the urgent need to stop Russian terror. He called for a coordinated and united effort, with the support of international partners, to prevent further loss of life and injuries from enemy missiles and shells, CNN reported. (ANI)
Chairman and Managing Director (MD) of LuLu group Yusuff Ali has said United Arab Emirates (UAE) is investing a lot in India and there is a strong relationship between the two countries. "Both countries and their relations are growing day by day. UAE imports a lot of products from India...UAE exports petroleum products and petroleum by-products to India. So the relationship is very strong and UAE is investing a lot in India..." the LuLu group chairman said while speaking on UAE-India trade. He further said: "The relationship between India and UAE is coming closer and closer nowadays. The visit of Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan three times to India and Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to UAE so many times and their personal relationship, plus the bilateral, commercial, and investment are growing." At the meeting with top business leaders from India and UAE hosted by the Abu Dhabi Chamber, Yusuff Ali said that India under the "dynamic leadership" of Prime Minister Narendra Modi is considered an emerging power and one of the strongest economies in the world. He said that the common focus of UAE and India is peace, stability and economic progress. He said that 3.54 million Indians form an integral part of the development of the UAE's economy. "Today, the common focus of both UAE and India is peace, stability, and economic progress. UAE under the visionary leadership of Sheikh Mohamed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan is dynamic and one of the most advanced nations in the world. On the other hand, India under the dynamic leadership of PM Narendra Modi is considered as an emerging power and one of the strongest economies in the world," Yusuff Ali said. "More than 3.54 million Indians form an integral part of the growth and development of UAE's economy and society. Indians are also earning their present better with that most dignity and respect here," he added. He said that India and the UAE will continue to move forward with greater cooperation. He called Abu Dhabi a safe and secure place to work and live and an incubator for talents, innovators and entrepreneurs. (ANI)
This story is part of Image issue 22, a meditation on the many definitions of the citys favorite word: luxury. Read the whole issue here.

Eleventy store opening in Beverly Hills

Eleventy brings a bit of Milan  including its meticulous tailoring and craftsmanship  to Beverly Hills with its new store. Custom light oak furniture, a monochromatic color scheme, sculptural tables and warm lighting design create an inviting atmosphere to shop. Opens Oct. 4. 546 Brighton Way, Beverly Hills. eleventymilano.com

AP House Los Angeles

Audemars Piguet offers an in-store shopping experience as exquisite as its selection of watches. This expansive space features a dedicated watchmaking studio for education and personalized service by a full-time watchmaker. Beyond timepieces, the AP House L.A. hosts curated vinyl stations, DJ booths and contemporary art displays from Francois Ghebaly gallery. Open now. 8560 W. Sunset Blvd., Penthouse, West Hollywood. audemarspiguet.com

Schiaparelli at Neiman Marcus Beverly Hills

Schiaparelli has opened its third U.S. store on the second floor of Neiman Marcus in Beverly Hills. Outfitted with a wide selection of ready-to-wear, eveningwear, handbags, leather goods, jewelry and accessories, the boutique is designed with gold-accented furniture and with the maisons signature surrealist and whimsical flair. Open now. 9700 Wilshire Blvd., Beverly Hills. neimanmarcus.com

IZ-US Group Show at John Doe Gallery

Curated by Alfonso Gonzales Jr., IZ-US is a group show that celebrates the resilience of creativity and is a testament to the ever-evolving spirit of 'Do It Yourself.' The exhibition, which is aimed at redefining the art landscapes, features work from Mia Scarpa, Andrea Aragon, Mike Resse, Lauren DAmato, Jack Alving, Angela Anh Nguyen, Esperanza Rosas, Jennifer Manzo and more. On view through Nov. 4. 107 E. 11th St., Los Angeles. johndoegallery.com

Big Willy by Willy Chavarria at Pac Sun

(Paul Yem / For The Times)

Willy Chavarria creates a striking collection of T-shirts and hoodies. Chavarrias broad silhouettes and ornate graphics seamlessly blend comfort and style. Proceeds from the collection will go toward Fresno Barrios Unidos, a nonprofit based in Fresno, Chavarria's hometown. Available now. pacsun.com

L.A. Fashion Week

L.A. Fashion Week is back. Designers hitting the runway this year include Imitation of Christ, Theophilio, Luis De Javier, Sami Miro Vintage, Demobaza, anOnlyChild, BruceGlen, Neon Cowboys, TOMBOGO, Sergio Hudson, Advisry and No Sesso . LAFWs second year under N4XT Experiences brings new activations including a BeautyLab in collaboration with Lancome and interactive digital showcases. Oct. 18-22. Nya Studios, 1541 N. Cahuenga Blvd., Los Angeles. lafw.net

Van Cleef & Arpels at South Coast Plaza

Van Cleef & Arpels has a new home in South Coast Plaza. The jeweler expanded to a 4,200-square-foot space which includes two large display rooms, five salons, five curated libraries and a bridal salon. French artist Marianne Guely created a 40-foot-long paper sculpture for the store inspired by Californian scenery. Opens Oct. 10. 3333 Bristol St, Costa Mesa. vancleefarpels.com

Saint Laurent store at Palisades Village

Palisades Village is home to a new Saint Laurent store. IThe 4,564-square-foot shop has concrete floors and marble finishes and occupies a rather sizable space in the quaint shopping district. Open now. 1000 N. Swarthmore Ave., Pacific Palisades. palisadesvillageca.com

Patrisse Cullors at the Fowler Museum

In celebration of the opening of an exhibition at the Fowler highlighting pan-Yoruba culture through art, Patrisse Cullors, a longtime practitioner of Ifa, will contribute a live performance of Ori Whispers, an ethereal celebration of the power and strength of the Black Femme Ori. Cullors also created a multiroom, multimedia installation for the exhibit called Free Us, which invites audiences to examine their relationships to spirituality. On view Oct. 28June 2. 308 Charles E. Young Drive N., Los Angeles. fowler.ucla.edu

LACMA Art + Film Gala honors Judy Baca and David Fincher

Presented by Gucci, LACMA's 2023 Art + Film Gala honors muralist Judy Baca and filmmaker David Fincher ("Se7en," "The Social Network"). The museum is thrilled to honor Judy for her achievements, for her commitment to public art, and for her impact in the cultural landscape of Los Angeles and beyond, LACMA CEO Michael Govan said. Proceeds from the annual Art + Film Gala go toward underwriting LACMAs initiative to make film more central to the museums programming. Baca also will have an exhibition at the museum, in which she and a team of local artists expand her iconic Great Wall of Los Angeles mural into the 21st century. On view from Oct. 26 to June 24. 5905 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles. lacma.org

Boyz II Beasts at Central Server Works DTLA

Mike Reese's celebrated short-story collection Boyz II Beasts Act 1: No Soul Left Behind inspires this immersive exhibition and accompanying children's book. Reeses works use eerie childlike drawings that delve into the tumultuous mental and metaphysical struggles of adolescence. On view through Nov. 3. 3027 Grand Ave., Los Angeles. centralserverworks.com

"Stepping Into the Light" by Manuel Lopez at Charlie James Gallery

In his second solo show, Manuel Lopez takes a moment for quiet interiority. An amalgamation of his influences, Stepping Into the Light highlights the vitality and beauty of the everyday, from a bright South L.A. street corner to his fathers shirts hanging out to dry. On view through Nov. 4. 969 Chung King Road, Los Angeles. cjamesgallery.com

Diaspora Dialogues: Family Party at Soho Warehouse

Anita Herrera knows exactly what we all need: a carne asada with the homies. Herrera brings us back to the 90s with a re-creation of backyard celebrations in L.A. First hosted in CDMX, the event/art installation will feature many of the diasporic elements that manifest in our gatherings, including live grupo norteno music, DJs and a bounce house. Nov. 11, 6 p.m. to 12 a.m. 1000 S. Santa Fe Ave., Los Angeles. sohohouse.com

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
After a 14-year-old boy confessed to killing his older brother, Alabama deputies say they found a hit list for other family members in his backpack, according to local news outlets.

The boys 17-year-old brother went missing on Monday, Oct. 2, AL.com reports, but his father did not report his absence to the police. The next day, Pike County High School staff called the father to pick up his 14-year-old who was reportedly distraught over where his brother was, according to AL.com.

While searching outside of the familys house, the father found the 17-year-old dead in the back of the property, AL.com reports, which prompted him to call law enforcement.

Pike County authorities arrived to the Monticello community home around 2 p.m. Oct. 4 and began their investigation, according to AL.com.

Several people were interviewed by sheriffs office investigators, WSFA 12 reports, but Pike County Sheriff Russell Thomas said the younger boy said that he shot his brother on their porch. After taking a few staggering steps, the older brother fell down the stairs and the 14-year-old dragged his body about 60 yards to the back of the property, the sheriff told WSFA.

Not only did the 14-year-old confess his role in the killing to Pike County authorities, but deputies say he had also confided in one of his friends from school. After he was said to have killed his brother, the boy asked his friend to help him kill the rest of his family members and bury them, WSFA reported.

This student was taking a test and he was so bothered by what this 14-year-old friend had told him that he reported it to the teacher, who then relayed the information on to the administration, Thomas told WSFA.

The friend also informed law enforcement that the 14-year-old had a detailed hit list naming other targets, according to WSFA.

We always talk about see something, say something. That is what that friend did in this moment, Pike County district attorney James Tarbox told WSFA.

The hit list, which investigators found in the 14-year-olds backpack, included details of who, where, how [and] whether they would be easy or difficult to kill, Thomas told WAKA 8. A plan of how to escape once he went through with the killings was described as well, the sheriff said.

The boy also had made threats to shoot up his high school, according to the sheriffs office.

It was written all out on the paper, Thomas told WAKA.

If the boy hadnt confessed to killing his brother and his friend hadnt have come forward, it could have been a very, very tragic situation, Thomas told WAKA.

The threat to the public, whether it be the family or it be the people at Pike County High School, the threat has been eliminated, Thomas told WAKA.

On Wednesday, Oct. 4, Pike County Schools released a statement about the 14-year-olds arrest and his alleged hit list. The school system was made aware of the students disturbing and threatening statements Tuesday morning, superintendent Mark Bazzell said in the statement.

The student was immediately removed from the school after discovering the information, Bazzell said, and there is no evidence that there is an ongoing threat to the school.

However, out of an abundance of caution, the Pike County School System has requested an increased law enforcement presence on the Brundidge campuses, Bazzell said in the statement. Additionally, mental health wellness support for students and staff has been made available.

The 14-year-old is being held in a juvenile correctional facility, WAKA reports.

Pike County is about 50 miles southeast of Montgomery.

Teacher sexually assaulted student and bought new phone to hide texts, Georgia cops say

Teen shot dead at party, California police say. Didnt deserve to die like this

Fighter 16-year-old dies after lightning strike on hunting trip with dad in Florida
Overcooked

Ocean temperatures are steadily climbing, turning coastal waters into steaming  and deadly  hot tubs.

And that's not some loose analogy to describe the very real dangers of climate change. Earlier this year, sensor buoys off the coast of Florida registered temperatures in excess of 100 degrees Fahrenheit, around the average temperature of a literal hut tub.

The effects of these blistering temperatures have been devastating to local marine life, as well as freshwater life further inland.

Most recently, more than 150 pink river dolphins died in Lake Tefe in Brazil's Amazonas state, a tragedy that's startling scientists and conservationists. As The Washington Post reports, the catastrophe was likely triggered by climate change's soaring temps.

Dying Dolphins

Water temperatures in the remote lake reached a terrifying 102 degrees Fahrenheit, roughly 59 degrees higher than the average of any body of water in the Amazon, per the newspaper. Water levels have also hit worrying lows as a result.

"It is common for communities to run into a dead dolphin or two at some point," Claudia Sacramento, head of the Environmental Emergencies Division at the governmental Chico Mendes Institute for Biodiversity Conservation, told the WP. "Usually theyre just old or sick. But we had never seen something like this before."

It may also be a compound issue; researchers are now investigating whether biotoxins or viruses may have also had something to do with the die-off.

But the most straightforward solution to this puzzle is the rapidly heating water, a terrifying new reality that comes courtesy of global warming.

In fact, the waters are so hot that the dolphin carcasses are decomposing at a speed such that scientists barely have any time to bring them to a lab to figure out what their exact cause of death was, per WaPo.

"Were provoking this ourselves," Adriana Colosio, a veterinarian from the Humpback Whale Institute, told WaPo. "If something bad happens to the dolphins, we are next."

More on hot waters: Florida's Ocean Now Officially the Temperature of a Hot Tub
A year after the death of Mahsa Amini in the custody of Irans morality police, a 16-year-old girl has been hospitalized in the country after she entered a subway car with her hair uncovered, and left the same car unconscious.

In security camera footage shared by Irans state television, the teen, Armita Garavand, appeared to have her hair uncovered when she walked into a subway car in Tehran on Sunday. Shortly after, more security camera footage shows Armita being taken out of the train car unconscious.

Footage of what happened on the train has not been released, but according to an Iranian Kurdish rights group, Hengaw Organization for Human Rights, the countrys morality police officers severely physically assaulted Armita for allegedly not abiding by the countrys dress code.

Authorities have denied any allegations against them, instead saying that Armita fainted after her blood pressure dropped because she skipped breakfast, the New York Times reports. Armita is currently in a coma in the intensive care unit of a Tehran military hospital under guard.

Many are drawing comparisons to Amini, who died in custody of the morality police last year after she was arrested for allegedly wearing her head scarf too loosely. Aminis death triggered a national uprising that became Irans longest protest since the late 70s, during which hundreds of people were killed.

Heres what to know.

What happened

Video footage of the incident shows a young girl with short black hair entering a train around 7 a.m on Sunday, though not much else is known about the sequence of events that followed.

Journalist Farzad Seifikaran, who first reported on this story, according to the New York Times, interviewed Armitas relatives who allege that Armita was with two friends on the trainwho also had their hair exposedwhen they got into an argument with officers over covering their hair. They said one of the officials then pushed Armita, who fell and hit her head against a metal object, according to the Times. Armita, the Times adds, has since suffered cerebral hemorrhaging from the incident and remains under critical care.

The state news outlet IRNA, released footage of an interview with Armitas parents on Tuesday reiterating the official version of the incident. My daughter, I think her blood pressure, I dont know what, I think, they say that her blood pressure dropped then she fell down and her head hit the edge of the metro, said Shahin Ahmadi, Armitas mother. She said her daughter was on her way to school in the Shahada Metro when the incident occurred.

During the interview, Armitas father said that his daughter was healthy and was not on any medications. Both of the young girls parents reiterated that the events that transpired were an accident, and asked people to pray for their childs recovery, per the IRNA.

But many Iranians are skeptical of official accounts. A later press release by the Hengaw Organization for Human Rights alleged that Armitas mother was later detained by Iranian officials. Her exact location, they say, has been unknown since Wednesday evening. The organization added that the interview released by IRNA with Armitas parents was completed under the intense presence and pressure of security forces.

At the hospital, the Times reports that Armita is being guarded by security agents. Civil rights groups say that authorities have gone so far as to threaten to arrest family members if they speak to the press.

A journalist for the newspaper Shargh was arrested and detained after she interviewed Ahmadi on Sunday, according to the papers editors.

Some say the extreme security measures and silencing of journalists is evidence of a greater crime committed. Transparency means all the security agents leave Fajr Air Force Hospital and surrounding areas and journalists be allowed to report on what happened to the 16-year-old girl, tweeted Mohsen Borhani, a lawyer in Tehran. According to the laws of the country, preparing news about such an incident is not a crime.

Whats been happening in the country

The past year has seen serious attacks against Iranian women. In March, more than 100 people were arrested for helping poison thousands of school girls across the country. Toxic gas attacks at schools, and especially girls schools, had been occurring since at least November 2022, and impacted numerous cities. The exact cause of the attacks remains unknown. Some say it was done by hyper-religious groups that are against the education of young girls while others say that the gas poisonings were meant to target young girls who took part in protests over Aminis death.

Current government rules in Iran mandate women to wear a hijab, but thousands have refused to do so daily in an act of defiance. The act is dangerous in a country that has warned women that they can use facial recognition technology to charge them for their crimes later.

Shocked and concerned about reports that Irans so-called morality police have assaulted 16-year-old Armita G[a]ravand. We are following news of her condition, tweeted Abram Paley, the U.S. deputy special envoy for Iran.We continue to stand with the brave people of Iran and work with the world to hold the regime accountable for its abuses.

Contact us at letters@time.com.
From "The New Deal's War on the Bill of Rights" by David Beito.

A mid-August police raid of the Marion County Record, a small, family-owned weekly newspaper in Marion, Kansas (population 1,922), ignited justified outrage among First Amendment advocates and civil libertarians across the U.S.

During the raid, local police, using the dubious pretext of identity theft, seized computers, cellphones and other equipment belonging to the paper  which, perhaps unsurprisingly, had been critical of the police.

While Americans expect this kind of behavior in places such as China, Cuba and Russia, were always shocked when it happens here. Were especially shocked when the culprit is usually considered a resolute defender of freedom.

Eight decades ago, one such defender of freedom  or, at least, a resolute opponent of Nazism  President Franklin D. Roosevelt, unleashed his Justice Department on another small-town, family-owned newspaper, the Boise Valley Herald in Middleton, Idaho, (population 477 in 1940). Many in the Roosevelt administration disliked the paper because of its unflinching criticism of FDRs foreign policy, his complicity in racial discrimination, and his civil liberties abuses.

Like the Marion County Record, the Herald featured such routine fare as births, deaths and weddings. The publisher, Adelbert Cornell, who had Quaker-inspired pacifist beliefs, described himself as a daylight farmer and lamplight editor.

But in 1942, the Herald faced a challenge that threatened to destroy it. Postmaster General Frank Walker, relying on a letter from Attorney General Francis Biddle, branded the papers content seditious and pulled its low-cost, second-class mailing privileges. Congress had granted low rates to newspapers in 1792 because of the presss important contribution to the public good. This was no small matter for a shoe-string publication such as the Herald.

The governments case was flimsy. It did not even imply a conscious attempt to aid the enemy or advocate illegal acts. Instead, the charge of sedition centered on editorial opinions, such as claims that the U.S. embargo on Japan had helped provoke the Pearl Harbor attack, that income-tax withholding imposed an onerous burden on the poor, and that wartime mobilization was suppressing individuality.

The government also deemed as seditious several of the papers articles opposing government discrimination against Japanese Americans. One, for example, had accused the FBI of pulling a typical Nazi stunt in this section of Idaho in the form and manner of raiding and searching the homes of every Japanese resident within many miles of Caldwell.

The Cornells fought back by personally delivering copies locally and sending papers in sealed envelopes without return addresses to out-of-towners. Adelbert Cornell hoped to reprint all of the offending material in a pamphlet, suggesting half-seriously that it might be valuable to writers who wish to avoid the pains and penalties of the law, as a handbook of forms of what not to write for publication. The postmaster general finally lifted the restrictions in 1944, but warned the Cornells to tone it down. They ignored him.

The fallout from the Herald affair produced almost no national media coverage, though two prominent Idaho dailies, one of them reliably supportive of FDRs foreign policy, expressed solidarity on First Amendment grounds. Shortly before an ACLU-recruited lawyer appeared before the Post Office Department Board, he was privately warned: Apparently, the boys in Justice are dead set against the newspaper even though it is a relatively unimportant one.

Attorney General Biddle may have felt special disdain for the Herald because it was not an ordinary pacifist publication. The Cornells, instead of confining themselves to purely symbolic gestures, such as appealing for more conscientious-objector exemptions, pushed an aggressive political agenda. They advocated a negotiated peace and stressed the underside of wartime mobilization and New Deal regimentation.

The pages reprinted articles by such Civil Rights champions as Bayard Rustin and highlighted disparate racial treatment in criminal justice. That the Cornells were not just armchair crusaders might have sharpened the governments animus. Two of Adelbert Cornells sons had gone to jail for refusing to register for the peacetime draft in 1940.

The experience of the Boise Valley Herald some 82 years ago underlines the importance of protecting free speech and freedom of the press. It also illustrates how governments, when given the chance, often seek to quash criticism.

The Heralds David versus Goliath showdown with the Roosevelt administration also stands as a timely lesson in how a charge of sedition  like todays charges of racism, sexism, ableism and all the other forbidden isms  can easily be abused because of its open-ended and malleable nature.

Reprinted with permission from Lee Enterprises newspapers.

David Beito is a research fellow at the Independent Institute in Oakland, California, and a professor emeritus of history at the University of Alabama. He is the author of the upcoming book, The New Deals War on the Bill of Rights: The Untold Story of FDRs Concentration Camps, Censorship, and Mass Surveillance.
Funding for the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children quickly halts during government shutdowns.

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Because I don't have a car, I take two buses every few weeks to shop at Trader Joe's.

Trader Joe's has a variety of cuisines, which is important to me since I don't eat beef or pork.

I grabbed items like the meatless cheeseburger pizza and honey-walnut shrimp during my last trip.

I live in Richmond, Virginia, and don't have a car. Every few weeks, I take two buses to the nearest Trader Joe's, about an hour from my house.

I first fell in love with shopping at Trader Joe's in college because the meals were simple and affordable. I also love the variety of cuisines offered, which is important to me because I grew up not eating beef or pork.

Here are some of the items I like picking up at Trader Joe's.

The mini chicken tikka samosas work great as a side or appetizer.

I sometimes pair the mini chicken tikka samosas with a chutney. Karyn Cook

I love to whip up the mini chicken tikka samosas as a quick snack. Although they're pretty good on their own, I sometimes buy or make a chutney to pair with them.

As someone who doesnt eat beef, the meatless cheeseburger pizza is one of my favorites.

The meatless cheeseburger pizza is a great vegetarian option. Karyn Cook

The meatless cheeseburger pizza is unlike anything I've ever had before. The meat alternative is delicious and tastes just like a hamburger.

The pizza is topped with pickles and a "special sauce," and even uses cheddar instead of mozzarella for a burger-like taste.

The mini pancake puffs work as either a quick breakfast or a sweet treat.

The maple-flavored mini pancake puffs are great for a meal or a sweet snack. Karyn Cook

These are the Trader Joe's version of Dutch pancakes, known as poffertjes. The mini pancake puffs are light and airy but also quite filling.

I like to add strawberry jam for a light breakfast or powdered sugar for a sweet afternoon treat.

The French brioche is perfect for breakfast.

The sliced French brioche is a versatile breakfast favorite. Karyn Cook

I love the French brioche because I can do so much with it. If I have time in the morning, I use it to make delicious French toast.

If I'm in a rush, it's just as good with some butter and strawberry jam.

Trader Joe's organic green tea and lemonade pairs well with both meals and snacks.

Trader Joe's organic green tea and lemonade is my favorite drink. Karyn Cook

The organic green tea and lemonade is probably my favorite drink at Trader Joe's. I usually go through multiple bottles a week because it's so refreshing after a long day.

I enjoy green tea and the added lemonade gives the drink a light, crisp taste.

The shrimp and garlic flatbread is the perfect afternoon snack.

I love seafood and the shrimp and garlic flatbread is no exception. Karyn Cook

I eat a lot of seafood and usually reach for the shrimp and garlic flatbread as an afternoon snack. It's simple and easy, and the shrimp pairs perfectly with the butter and garlic flavors.

Turkey bacon is the perfect alternative to beef or pork.

Turkey bacon is great on anything from BLTs to casseroles. Karyn Cook

Because I don't eat beef or pork, Trader Joe's turkey bacon is the perfect alternative. It's quite tasty and I don't feel like I'm missing out on anything.

I often use some on a BLT or on top of baked potatoes and casseroles.

Trader Joe's honey-walnut shrimp was my go-to meal in college.

The honey-walnut shrimp was one of my favorite meals in college. Karyn Cook

The honey-walnut shrimp was a dinner staple for me throughout college. After either sauteing or baking the shrimp, I then toss it in the included honey-walnut sauce.

I usually make my own fried rice as a side, but the shrimp is pretty filling on its own. Some people might expect it to taste like the Panda Express item of the same name, but I think it has its own unique taste.

The dark-chocolate peanut-butter cups make a great snack.

I reach for the dark-chocolate peanut-butter cups when I want something sweet. Karyn Cook

Trader Joe's dark-chocolate peanut-butter cups got me through many study sessions in college.

Because they're made with dark chocolate instead of the traditional milk chocolate, it's pretty hard to eat just one.

Everything but the Elote is my favorite versatile seasoning.

Trader Joe's Everything but the Elote seasoning tastes great on just about anything. Karyn Cook

Elote, commonly referred to as Mexican street corn, is packed with tons of great flavor.

My brother and I use this seasoning on everything from fish and chicken to mashed potatoes and vegetables.

Trader Joe's shrimp seafood burgers are the perfect hamburger alternative.

I like to pair the shrimp seafood burgers with a remoulade or tartar sauce. Karyn Cook

My family likes to either grill the shrimp burgers outside or bake them in the oven.

I usually add all of the typical hamburger toppings like lettuce, tomato, and mayonnaise, before placing the patty on a bun. Sometimes I'll even pair it with a remoulade or tartar sauce.

Hash browns make the perfect breakfast side.

Although the hash browns are a great breakfast side, I sometimes like to serve them with dinner. Karyn Cook

These hash browns are quick and easy to make and pair well with just about any breakfast dish.

I like to enjoy them alongside eggs and breakfast sandwiches. Sometimes I'll even use it as a quick and easy side dish at dinner.

Trader Joe's ube mochi pancakes have a unique, sweet taste.

I always stock up on this seasonal item when I see it in the store. Karyn Cook

The ube mochi pancake and waffle mix is a seasonal item, so I always make sure to stock up when I see it in the store.

I've never really had anything like these sweet, airy, easy-to-make pancakes. They're so good that I don't even use a lot of syrup on top.

I bought Cowboy Caviar after sampling it in-store.

During my last trip, I discovered a new favorite salsa. Karyn Cook

During my last visit to Trader Joe's, I sampled Cowboy Caviar, a salsa consisting of corn, black beans, red bell peppers, and jalapenos.

It had a nice kick to it, and I can't wait to snack on it while watching my favorite late-night shows.

The Shrimp Boom Bah is another one of my favorite items.

I love the sweet and spicy sauce on these shrimp. Karyn Cook

The Shrimp Boom Bah is another seafood staple for me. These crispy, battered shrimp are topped with a delicious sweet-and-spicy sauce.

Click to keep reading Trader Joe's diaries like this one.

Read the original article on Insider
Two 1-year-old girls drowned this week in a backyard swimming pool at a California daycare.

The pool at the San Jose home daycare center was supposed to be off-limits, state records show.

The tragedy will be an "eye-opener" to families across the country, said a police official.

Two 1-year-old girls drowned this week in a backyard swimming pool that was supposed to be off-limits at a home daycare center in California, according to authorities and state records.

The Monday deaths of the children, identified to Insider by the Santa Clara County medical examiner's office as Payton Cobb and Lilian Hanan, will be an "eye-opener" to families across the country, a police official said.

"This incident as a whole will be an eye-opener to many families, not just here in San Jose but nationwide, to really do their due diligence and investigate" their daycare facilities, San Jose Police Department spokesman Officer Steven Aponte told reporters this week, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.

The tragedy unfolded on Monday morning at the Happy Happy Home Daycare center in San Jose, according to police.

First responders arrived at the home where the daycare facility was operated just after 9 a.m. for a report that multiple children had fallen into a pool there, authorities said.

Three kids, including two who were in "severe medical distress," were discovered in the pool and rushed to local hospitals, Aponte said, according to NBC Bay Area. Two of them were pronounced dead. The third child was treated for non-life-threatening injuries.

"This is the type of call that's the worst that a parent can receive," Aponte told reporters, according to KGO-TV.

It was not immediately clear how the children wound up in the pool or whether anyone would face criminal charges over the incident, but police are continuing their investigation and said the probe could take several months.

The Happy Happy Home Daycare did not immediately respond to a request for comment by Insider on Thursday.

State inspectors previously raised concerns about the off-limits pool area

State records viewed by Insider show that the Happy Happy Home Daycare was licensed with a capacity of eight by the California Department of Social Services in January 2021.

Before owners Nina Fathizadeh and Shanin Shenas were granted the license, state inspectors raised concerns about the pool area, which was considered to be an "off-limit" part of the home, the records show.

State inspectors said in a December 2020 inspection report that the pool was fully fenced in the backyard and that the fence was at least 5-feet-high and made of a "hard mesh material."

"The gate swings away from the pool, self-closes and has a self-latching device, located no more than six inches from the top of the gate," the report said.

Inspectors took issue with gaps on both ends of the fence and asked for them to be shortened to no more than two inches, according to the report.

In another report before the license was issued, state inspectors said there were "four windows behind the fencing that lead directly to the pool" and that "in order to ensure there is no immediate risk to the health and safety of the children in care," the fence should be modified to go "in a straight line."

That report said the fence gaps inspectors previously took issue with were shortened.

The license was issued days later and state inspectors said in a report that day that the fence had been modified and that the "pool area is inaccessible to the children in care."

"All items that posed a potential threat to the children in care, from the side and back yard area, have been now removed," the inspectors wrote. "The area examined is now in compliance with the health and safety regulations, in accordance with Title 22."

State records show that the facility has been cited six previous times. It was once accused of having five infants, instead of four, in the home and another time was accused of not obtaining "criminal record and child abuse index clearances" for an employee.

Inspectors last inspected the daycare center last month when they issued a citation accusing the owners of not maintaining sleep check documentation for the children, according to the records.

The California Department of Social Services told Insider in a statement that it is conducting an investigation into Monday's drowning incident and that it was unable to comment further, citing ongoing investigations.

Read the original article on Insider
PRINCE GEOREGE'S COUNTY, Md. - Prince Georges County police have arrested a man for allegedly killing a 2-year-old girl.

In September, the Chief Medical Examiner ruled this case a homicide. They discovered the toddler died as a result of traumatic injuries to her head.

Kevin Robinson, 38, is now behind bars at the Department of Corrections and is being held without bond. Online court records state he is charged with second-degree murder, manslaughter, involuntary manslaughter, child abuse resulting in death, and second-degree child abuse.

According to Prince Georges County police, back on May 27 around 10:50 p.m., officers responded to Parkland Square Apartments on County Road in District Heights. They discovered 2-year-old Nychelle Pettus inside and unresponsive.

Kevin Robinson, 38, via Prince George's County Police

Neighbors are stunned by the allegations.

"Youre going to hell. Thats not nice. Kids deserve to grow up, to be kids. Kids just deserve to grow up," said Tiffany. "Thats crazy because my 8-year-old daughter plays outside around here  Its shocking. Im surprised."

Prince George's County Police Department says, "The preliminary investigation revealed Robinson had sole care and custody of the victim when her fatal injuries occurred."

Investigators believe that Robinson is in a relationship with the victims mother, and they all lived together under the same roof.

"Who knows what the issue was, but something needs to be done as far as childcare, more affordable, free childcare, that mothers can send their kids to so that they dont have to leave them home with their boyfriend, so they can feel more comfortable," said Tiffany.

Robinsons next court date is set for Thursday, Oct. 5 at 1:15 p.m.
A 22-year-old man from Missouri was identified as one of two U.S. Army soldiers killed in a military transport vehicle crash in Alaska, officials say.

Fort Wainwright said the crash happened Monday, Oct. 2, in the Yukon Training Area. Seventeen soldiers were aboard the vehicle when when the driver lost control on a dirt road, causing the vehicle to flip, an Army spokesperson told the Associated Press.

Two soldiers were killed and 12 were injured, Alaskas News Source reported. The soldiers were based out of Fort Wainwright in Fairbanks and had been participating in training exercises, the outlet said.

Fort Wainwright identified the soldiers Wednesday as 22-year-old Brian Joshua Snowden, of Lonedell, Missouri, and 23-year-old Jeremy Daniel Evans, of Knoxville, Tennessee.

This is an incredible loss for all of us across the division, Maj. Gen. Brian Eifler, commanding general of the 11th Airborne Division, said in a statement shared on Facebook. Our thoughts and prayers go out to the families, friends, and fellow soldiers of Spc. Evans and Spc. Snowden. While were always challenged by the environment, were Arctic Angels, we overcome these challenges and accomplish our mission by being a team, and teams take care of one another, especially in times like these.

Snowden joined the Army in July 2020 after completing training at Fort Moore in Georgia, the Army said. He came to Fort Wainwright in 2021.

The Grandview R-II School District in Missouri said Snowden was a 2020 graduate of Grandview High School.

Our hearts, thoughts, and prayers are extended to his family for their loss, as well as our thanks for his service, the school district said.

Dona Sappington, Snowdens older sister, said in a Facebook post she last saw her brother in January 2022.

Before you left I told you that you had to come home because after mom dies its just the two of us, Sappington said. I knew something was off for days and I definitely didnt feel right all day. I could never ever imagine that today would be the day you left us.

Missing National Guard soldier found dead in Alaska, cops say. Her husband charged

Three Marines were found dead near NC coast, military says. Cause of death announced
Three Philadelphia police officers who were called to a home where a family was arguing about a video game were hurt in a shootout Wednesday.

The suspect was killed, officials said. The officers were taken to an area hospital where they were listed in stable condition.

A 12-year-old boy was playing video games when an argument between the boys uncle and his father escalated, NBC 10 reported. The boys father got a gun and shot the uncle, officials said.

The boys father went to the front of the home, in the Rhawnhurst neighborhood, to wait for officers to arrive and then began shooting, officials said. Responding officers fired back and killed the man.

The uncle was hospitalized in critical condition.

The child and a woman in the house werent injured, according to reports.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.

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In the states busiest courthouse this week, clerks, attorneys and judges are preparing for a software launch designed to bring much-needed modernization to the states antiquated judicial system.

On Monday, Mecklenburg County will become the fifth courthouse to launch eCourts, a $100 million suite of tools developed for the state by Texas-based Tyler Technologies Inc. The vision for eCourts is simple: a virtual courthouse that integrates all aspects of the legal system into software accessible from just about anywhere.

But court officials are wary  and not just because of the scale of this monumental transformation from a paper-based system to one operating in the cloud. Since courthouses in Wake, Johnston, Harnett and Lee counties rolled out the software in February, complaints about eCourts have been numerous.

Wrongful arrests, court slowdowns: Despite complaints, eCourts expansion moves forward

And the issues some allege are caused by the transition are affecting more than just attorneys and court workers  theyre impacting the public too.

After weeks spent digging into the complaints, and talking with lawyers, court officials and defendants, here are three big things The News & Observer and The Charlotte Observer learned about the upgrade and its impacts.

Rotesha McNeil photographed at her home on Wednesday, August 16, 2023 in Clayton, N.C. Nine months after her attorney settled a traffic violation in Wake County court, Rotesha McNeil was arrested after a traffic stop in Johnston County, when a background check revealed there were two outstanding warrants for her arrest for failure to appear on the traffic violation her attorney had taken care of. She was taken to Smithfield where she was booked into the detention center, strip-searched and detained for hours before posting bond. Robert Willett/rwillett@newsobserver.com

People were jailed who shouldnt have been

In May, a pair of North Carolina residents filed a federal lawsuit against Tyler Technologies and several other law enforcement agencies, alleging they were wrongfully jailed because of issues with the eCourts rollout.

That list of plaintiffs is likely to grow, lawyers who brought the suit say, and it could become an even larger class action.

The N&O spoke to a Clayton woman who was arrested, strip searched and held for hours in jail related to traffic charges that had been resolved for more than eight months. Another man was detained twice  once when he showed up for his scheduled court date  and only managed to avoid jail time because he had paperwork proving he had already been arrested and released on bond.

Both have signed onto the suit and will likely appear in the updated complaint filed in the coming weeks.

Officials with the N.C. Administrative Office of the Courts maintain theyve found no evidence of software errors that have resulted in wrongful arrests. But Wake District Attorney Lorrin Freeman acknowledged that an extra manual step court clerks must now complete to recall arrest orders likely contributed to an uptick in people wrongfully jailed  at least temporarily.

Exactly how many, though, is hard to say.

Scanned cases for Superior Court sit on a shelf in the Criminal Division of the The Clerks Office on Sept. 21 at the Mecklenburg County Courthouse. After a slew of reported issues, a lawsuit and a delay, eCourts is coming to Mecklenburg County. Lawyers, clerks and other court staff are prepping. Melissa Melvin-Rodriguez/mrodriguez@charlotteobserver.com

More labor, lagging software and shuttered courts

Some court officials who spoke with The N&O and The Observer noted that things have come a long way since the eCourts pilot launched in February.

But many feel that progress hasnt been enough.

Defense attorneys say theyre running ragged given the extra time it takes to perform even basic tasks in court. That extra time has meant reduced capacity for cases, and in Cary-based defense attorney Lindsey Granados opinion, a threat to her clients constitutional rights.

District attorneys from all four pilot counties noted that the systems lagging performance  the time it takes to pull up case information in the middle of a hearing, for example  can pile up and slow down court operations, especially for high-volume dockets. Such complications, Johnston County prosecutor Susan Doyle said, has required her to double or quadruple the number of assistant district attorneys assigned to some courtrooms.

And when the system goes down or becomes inaccessible, the public suffers.

In mid-September, court officials were locked out of eCourts in one Wake County courtroom, forcing Freeman to send about 60 people home  and requiring them to return another day. That can mean more time off work. More arrangements for child care. More time spent with a pending charge.

Wake County District Attorney Lorrin Freeman works administrative traffic court in the Wake County Justice Center in Raleigh, N.C., Thursday, Sept. 14, 2023. Ethan Hyman/ehyman@newsobserver.com

Prosecutors  and others  want more scrutiny

Pilot county prosecutors say theyre not quite satisfied by AOC claims that eCourts issues are consistent with what youd expect from such a massive transformation.

Freeman and Doyle have both called for the agency to order an external review of the launch by independent experts, who can evaluate whether Tyler Technologies is delivering on its contractual promises to North Carolina. The pilot counties other district attorney has endorsed that move, as has top Mecklenburg prosecutor Spencer Merriweather.

Granados, who sits on Wake Countys eCourts implementation committee, also thinks an external review is a good idea.

But thats not likely anytime soon.

AOC says theyve been encouraged by the systems progress and have no plans for an independent review.

Outside the court system, others have raised concerns about the softwares readiness to launch in Charlotte, where the courthouse handles more filings than any other county in the state.

DMV Commissioner Wayne Goodwin, the states former Democratic insurance commissioner, has repeatedly called on AOC to pause its expansion to Mecklenburg County until the agency can fix a tsunami of errors the system has transmitted over the last seven months.

AOC denies that eCourts is sending incorrect data to DMV, which uses such information to revoke or restore limits on drivers licenses. State court leaders say AOC has implemented several fixes requested by the DMV  one as recently as last week.

Those fixes seemed to have helped, Goodwin said, but hes not yet convinced all the problems have been solved.
ORLANDO, Fla. - Four men were sentenced in Orlando for a string of armed robberies where they stole cash, tobacco products, scratch-off lottery tickets, and an iPhone, the Justice Department said.

DaMarris Jean Saint-Juste, 20, Marcus Terrell Ellington Jr, 22, Nelson Ross Henderson, 21, and Rodreakas Deshay Smith, 19, all received sentences spanning from 10 to 17 years in prison for their involvement in some of the robberies.

According to court records, Saint-Juste and Ellington were involved in all eight robberies, Henderson was involved in three robberies, and Smith was involved in two robberies.

The first robbery happened on August 26, 2022, at 3:21 a.m. at a towing business in Orlando. Saint-Juste, Ellington, and Henderson robbed an employee at gunpoint and stole $3,000. Another male involved in the robbery was not identified, the DOJ said.

READ: Boy, 11, to be held in custody for 21 days after allegedly shooting football teammates in Apopka, judge rules

Video surveillance captured the four males chasing the employee with guns.

The second robbery happened an hour later at a 7-11 where a cashier was robbed at gunpoint.

The third robbery happened on August 30, 2022, at another 7-11 where three of the men stole $270.

The fourth robbery happened the same day and the men stole lottery scratch-off tickets, tobacco products, and money.

Two more robberies happened at 7-11 stores, and one happened at the Rebel Gas Station in Kissimmee, and another happened at a Speedway convenience store in Leesburg.

Saint-Juste received a 17-year sentence, Ellington a 16-year sentence, Henderson a 15-year sentence, and Smith a 10-year sentence.
Salt Lake City Mayoral candidates prepare for a televised debate at the PBS Utah studio on the University of Utah campus in Salt Lake City on Wednesday evening. | Carter Williams, KSL.com

As this year's first televised Salt Lake City mayoral debate came to an end Wednesday evening, three candidates seeking the job were asked about the direction of the city moving forward and their answers could have very well summed up the night, or even the race to this point.

Salt Lake City  now the most populated it has been  is heading in the right direction, Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall said. She spent the evening pointing to other successes, such as downtown's strong post-COVID-19 recovery.

"We are not perfect, but we are pretty great," she added moments later.

However, her challengers  former Salt Lake City Mayor Rocky Anderson and community activist Michael Valentine  disagreed, often pointing to challenges with housing affordability and homelessness throughout the night, as they argued a case for why voters should consider them.

"We've been headed in the wrong direction for a long time, but it can be turned around to where it is the best city to live in North America," Anderson said.

The hourlong 2023 Salt Lake City Mayoral Debate, hosted by PBS Utah, KUER and the Salt Lake Tribune, meandered through several different issues ahead of the Nov. 21 election. Here are four other takeaways from the event:

Housing affordability

The cost of living in Salt Lake City remains on the rise, which isn't necessarily different from other communities across Utah. State housing officials estimated earlier this year that Utah is short more than 40,000 units for people making 50% of the average median income.

Anderson said he believes Salt Lake City's situation has reached a "crisis level." He proposed that the city should oversee future affordable housing developments like other cities have done across the globe as a "public good" similar to libraries or streets, where the city is able to control the housing cost.

Valentine seemed to agree with Anderson on the issue, asserting that the current administration is "subsidizing luxury housing and calling it affordable housing," and arguing it's behind rising costs.

"(It's) increasing unaffordability, driving people into homelessness and driving people out of the city through gentrification," he said. "What we need to do is use public money for the community, not for real estate investors and developers."

Housing construction and other construction in Salt Lake City on May 30. | Scott G Winterton, Deseret News

The city invested about $55 million toward affordable housing in the past 3 years, resulting in about 4,000 units, Mendenhall said.

She insists that working with developers and other partners allows for the city to chip away at its large housing deficit faster, saying it would cost the city 18 times more to build developments alone and eight times more to cover retrofit projects.

"My administration has invested more than every other mayoral administration combined in affordable housing," she said.

Homelessness

The number of people experiencing homelessness is also on the rise. Utah's 2023 Point-in-Time count report found more than 3,500 Utahns were experiencing homelessness at the time of its annual count, up 3.7% from the previous year.

Mendenhall, who has long said the issue is split between the city, state and county, said programs to provide aid are working for many, even if not for everyone. In Salt Lake County from 2020 to 2022, about 70% of those who ended up in the homeless resource center system eventually left the system, having their housing situation resolved either through permanent or temporary housing.

She said the city has about 577 supportive units for people experiencing homelessness, either built, under construction or in the pipeline, down about 200 units after a deal with the Ramada Inn recently fell through.

Anderson dinged the mayor on this, even before the debate. He held a press conference Tuesday, where he questioned Mendenhall's initial figures and whether the projects will be completed in time for this winter. In addition to the Ramada Inn deal collapse, Anderson said the mayor is using stats that should be credited to the previous administration.

Overall, he says he doesn't believe the city is equipped to handle the situation, which he fears may result in more deaths and injuries as was the case this past winter.

"It's important that our mayor be straight with the people of the city, especially about matters of life and death and the quality of life for everybody," he said.

Valentine said he would declare a state of emergency over the issue and set up a sanctioned camp before getting unsheltered residents into housing  an approach similar to what he said others are taking across the world.

"To me, success is nobody on the streets anymore," he said.

Salt Lake City's relationship with Utah

It's no secret Salt Lake City is an outlier when it comes to Utah politics, where Democrats outnumber Republicans. This has pitted city leaders against state leaders on several issues over the years.

All three candidates were asked about how they would handle these types of relationships. Valentine, the only candidate who hasn't sat in the mayoral seat, said his campaign is drawing support over different political spectrums from both parties.

"I'm trying to unite people from all backgrounds and boundaries, and I think I've been very successful with that," he said.

The other two candidates have had different experiences with the job when it comes to dealing with state leaders, which they used against each other during one of the more contested moments of the night.

Mendenhall touted her abilities to work with Republican lawmakers and Gov. Spencer Cox on issues, which she says is helping the city avoid being in the "legislative washing machine every year."

"We've had too many mayors, including one on this stage tonight, who made it a point of burning more bridges than they were building," she said. "Those bridges have needed rebuilding  we have seen it."

Anderson countered by calling the idea that he can't work with legislators "absolutely absurd." He said he has worked with plenty of people from different political backgrounds over his career, even if his approach has ruffled feathers in the past.

"We have a mayor who just wants to have a place at the table all the time," he said. "People are looking for leadership that will stand up on principle."

Salt Lake City's 2023 mayoral candidates, include community activist Michael Valentine, Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall and former Salt Lake City Mayor Rocky Anderson. | Kristin Murphy and Laura Seitz, Deseret News

The Great Salt Lake

The Great Salt Lake's decline over the past two decades, including its all-time low last year, continues to make global headlines, especially as Utah's capital city becomes more vulnerable to environmental impacts now and in the future.

All three candidates expressed concern about the lake on Wednesday, voicing concerns over alfalfa farming and mineral extracting happening outside of city boundaries.

Valentine said he supports a recent lawsuit against state agencies over the lake's health and that he would work with other cities to find solutions.

"I'd be a voice for the city, for the rest of Utah, to push for the state and the federal government to see some real change," he said.

When it comes to the lake and water conservation, Anderson said he believes the city should move away from having any turf requirements, and make it easier for residents to have more water-wise lawns.

The city is helping to improve water conservation, sending 13 billion gallons of treated water to the lake, Mendenhall said. Salt Lake City water users also used 2.9 billion gallons of water less during the 2022 irrigation season and preliminary estimates show even less water was used again this year.

"We're doing quite a lot," she said, "and we're going to keep finding new ways to do more."
Yousaf speaks to supporters at the SNP office in Largs, Scotland, on Aug. 23. Credit - Gabriella Demczuk for TIME

Back in August, TIME traveled to Edinburgh to meet with Scottish First Minister Humza Yousafthe first Muslim politician ever elected to lead a Western democracy, as well as the first non-white and youngest Scottish leaderfor a new cover story, in what was his first major interview with foreign media. At that time, Yousaf had been in post for just under five months; he succeeded his colleague and friend, the longtime Scottish leader Nicola Sturgeon, at the end of March following her shock resignation one month earlier.

Unlike most new leaders, Yousaf did not get a honeymoon periodquite the opposite, in fact. His brief tenure has been rocked by the arrest of three senior SNP figures, including Sturgeon and her husband Peter Murrell (all three have since been released), as part of an ongoing police probe into the partys finances; internal strife; and polls projecting that the party could lose as many as half of its seats in the U.K. Parliament in Westminster when Britons go to the polls for a general election expected next year. Over the course of our two-hour meeting, we discussed the historic nature of Yousafs leadership, the cost-of-living crisis and other challenges facing Scotland, and how he plans to achieve his partys overriding objective: Scottish independence.

Read More: Meet the New Face of Scotland

Here are five takeaways from Yousafs wide-ranging conversation with TIME.

Photograph by Gabriella Demczuk for TIME

1. There is no clear path toward achieving Scottish independence

Since the U.K. Supreme Court ruled last year that Scotland does not have the power to hold an independence referendum without the consent of the British government, the path forward for the independence movement appears to have hit a dead end. Westminster is adamant that the 2014 referendum, which saw 55% of Scots vote against independence, was the final word on the matter. The SNP argues that the scale of change in the U.K. since then, most notably its decision to leave the E.U., entitles Scots to another vote.

Before quitting office in February, Sturgeon briefly floated the idea of treating the next U.K. general election as a de facto referendum on independencea position that many within the party, including Yousaf, distanced themselves from. During our conversation, Yousaf said getting the U.K. government to agree to sanction a referendum would always be the preferred option, but that absent such cooperation, the SNP should instead focus on building a consistent majority for independence that Westminster cannot possibly ignore. This after all was how Scotland secured its own Parliament following the 1997 devolution referendum, in which Scots voted overwhelmingly for its creation. And while Yousaf concedes that Scottish independence doesnt claim the support of a consistent majority of Scots, he believes its only a matter of time before it does.

If we can demonstrate that independence has a consistent majoritynot 52% one day, 48% the other day, says Yousaf, then itll be impossible for the U.K. government to continue and continue and continue to deny. SNP members will get their chance to vote on the partys independence strategy when they meet for their annual conference later this month in Aberdeen.

2. Yousaf believes the Labour Party is taking Scotland for granted

For British opposition leader Keir Starmerwho is widely expected to become Britains next Prime Minister should his center-left Labour Party defeat the Conservatives at the next general electionthe road to 10 Downing Street will almost certainly run through Scotland. (So dominant has the SNP been in Scotland that Labour claims only one of the 59 Scottish seats in Westminster and just 22 of the 129 seats in the Scottish Parliament.) It is in Scotland that many political observers believe the Labour Party must win big in order to secure a governing majority in Britain.

Yousaf speaks to supporters outside the SNP office in Largs, Scotland, on Aug. 23. Gabriella Demczuk for TIME

The fight for Scotland begins today, in a by-election near Glasgow, where the SNP is defending one of its U.K. Parliament seats against the ascendant Scottish Labour Party. The by-election, which was triggered after now-former SNP lawmaker Margaret Ferrier was found to have broken lockdown rules during the COVID-19 pandemic, is projected to result in a Labour victory. Yousaf, for whom this contest constitutes his first electoral test as SNP leader, concedes that the race was always going to be a tough one given the circumstances. But Labour are wrong to already put out the bunting and pop the champagne corks, he says. I think that takes people for granted. I know a thing or two about people in Scotland, having knocked on as many doors as I have, and they dont like people taking them for granted.

As for Starmer, Yousaf says that the more the Labour leader aligns himself with Conservative welfare policies and climate positions, the more skeptical Scots will become. The more he flip flops, Yousaf says of Starmer, I think people will just see him for what he is, and thats somebody who lacks any vision or ambition for the country. He just wants to get to Number 10 and if he needs to hang on the coattails of Conservative policies to do that, I think the people of Scotland will reject that quite roundly.

Read More: Keir Starmer on His Vision for Fixing Britain

3. He will continue to fight for transgender rights in Scotland

Last year, the Scottish Parliament voted to pass legislation designed to make it easier for people in Scotland to legally change their gender. That legislation was ultimately blocked by the U.K. government in an unprecedented intervention using its veto powers under Section 35 of the Scotland Acta move that it justified on the grounds that the new law would have an adverse impact on the operation of Great Britain-wide equalities legislation.

To the SNP, this represented a direct attack on Scottish democracy. Members of every single party voted for that legislation; it got passed by a majority of our parliament, Yousaf says. What right does another government have to come in and strike a red pen through it, to veto that legislation, to torpedo it? For me, that is not self government. That is not devolution.

The Scottish government is currently in the process of challenging that decision at the Court of Session, Scotlands supreme civil court. Despite the contentious nature of the legislation (roughly half of Scots supported the U.K. governments decision, according to an Ipsos poll), Yousaf says hell continue to fight for it. Im unequivocal about my belief in the rights of our marginalized communities, including our trans community, because Im a minority myself, he explains. Ive lived my whole life as a minority in this country, and my rights dont exist in a vacuum. My rights are completely interdependent on everybody elses rights and if they are attacking the rights of our trans community or anybody who is in a marginalized minority community, then theyll come for me next.

Yousaf aboard the ferry to Isle of Arran on Aug. 23. Gabriella Demczuk for TIME

Yousafs position stands in marked contrast to Britains ruling Conservatives. Speaking at the partys annual conference in Manchester this week, Sunak told party colleagues that We shouldnt be bullied into thinking anyone can be any sex that they want to be. A man is a man and a woman is a woman, that is just common sense.

4. He argues that the challenges facing Scotland can't be divorced from its place within the U.K.

Much like the rest of the U.K., Scotland is dealing with a cost-of-living crisis and overwhelmed public services. While voters may hold the SNP responsible for those challenges as the government in charge in Scotland for the past 16 years, Yousaf says that these challenges cannot be divorced from its place within the U.K. He says being in the U.K. (and, crucially, outside of the E.U.) has made Scotland poorer and less productive when compared to other European countries of a similar size, such as Ireland, Denmark, and Sweden.

Being attached to this unequal union is what is holding us back, he says, and I believe that weaves its way through every single issue that people are grappling with today.

5. Yousaf believes that his historic leadership, and that of other minority leaders across the U.K., is worth celebrating

On Yousafs first night in Bute House, the official residence of the First Minister of Scotland, he posted some photos of his family observing the Islamic holy month of Ramadan in their new home. He admits that he was initially reluctant to do so, fearing a potential online backlash. It was his wife, Nadia El-Nakla, who encouraged him to share them. Nadia was saying, You should absolutely put that out there because people should realize that being a Muslim in Scotland is normal  So you shouldn't have to hide what is a really important moment for you, and this was a really important moment, Yousaf recalls. The images went viral, garnering millions of views.

Yousaf doesnt see his achievement in a vacuum, though. Youre living in a U.K. where the Prime Minister is of Indian descent, the First Minister is of Pakistani heritage, and of course the Mayor of London is of Pakistani descent as well, Yousaf says. That says something good about how far the country has moved forward. He later acknowledged that his chief rival in Scottish Labour leader, Anas Sarwar, also of Pakistani heritage, belongs to this group of trailblazers.

Write to Yasmeen Serhan at yasmeen.serhan@time.com.
WISCONSIN RAPIDS  Firefighters from across the state will come to the Wisconsin State Firefighters and EMS Memorial Saturday to pay tribute to five firefighters who died in the line of duty last year.

The 19th annual Final Alarm and Roll Call Ceremony will take place at 3:33 p.m. Saturday at the memorial in Ben Hansen Park, 2031 Second Ave. S. in Wisconsin Rapids. After the ceremony, at 7 p.m., firefighters will participate in the Final Alarm Procession. They will drive emergency equipment with lights on and sirens off through Wisconsin Rapids streets.

The starting time of 3:33 p.m. is a recognition of a Wisconsin firefighter tradition of ringing a bell in three sets of three, pausing between each set, to announce the end of a shift, Pittsville Fire Chief Jerry Minor said. The 3:33 start time symbolizes the end of a shift and the firefighter going home, Minor said.

The five men firefighters will honor Saturday are:

Firefighter James Ludlum, 69, and Capt. Brian Busch, 43, both of the Mineral Point Fire Department, died Jan. 6, 2022. They were responding to a crash on U.S. 151 early in the morning of Jan. 6. The fire apparatus they were using was attempting to use an emergency crossover when a semi hit it, according to the U.S. Fire Administration website. The fire truck sustained major damage and caught fire. Both men died at the scene.

Firefighter Raymond Samson, 55, of the Dale Fire and Rescue Department, died Jan. 22, 2022, following a long fight with COVID-19, according to his obituary. He was a 16-year veteran of the fire department.

Assistant Fire Chief Robert A. Stevens, 66, of the Fremont-Wolf River Fire Department, died Jan. 27, 2022, from COVID-19, according to a story in the Appleton Post-Crescent. He was a 35-year veteran of the department.

Firefighter Riley Daniel Ray Huiras, 20, of the Grand Rapids Fire Department, died Aug. 3, 2022, from a brain aneurysm. On the evening of July 30, 2022, he responded to a garage fire that spread to two homes and a second garage in Nekoosa, according to a Daily Tribune article. He was on his way back from the fire when a call came in for a crash in Grand Rapids. Huiras and another young member of the department hopped off one emergency vehicle and directly onto another one to go to the crash scene. Sometime between 2 and 6 a.m. July 31 he suffered a brain aneurysm and died on Aug. 3.

The memorial's board of directors considers cancer, heart attacks and COVID-19 all duty-related injuries.

The names of seven firefighters who died from COVID-19 were added to the memorial in 2022 and three who died from COVID-19 were added in 2021.

James Luty, president of the Wisconsin Firefighter and EMS Memorial board invites Wisconsin Rapids-area residents to line the route of the procession. The procession will leave the memorial at 7 p.m., then take Second and Third avenues to West Jackson Street, go across the Jackson Street Bridge, turn left on First Street and through the traffic circle onto Baker Street. The procession then will turn right onto 16th Street, turn right on East Grand Avenue, cross the Grand Avenue Bridge and turn onto first Avenue South before heading back to the memorial on Third and Second avenues.

Contact Karen Madden at (715) 345-2245 or kmadden@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter @KMadden715, Instagram @kmadden715 or Facebook at www.facebook.com/karen.madden.33

SUPPORT LOCAL JOURNALISM: Our subscribers make this coverage possible. Click to see the Wisconsin Rapids Tribune's special offers at wisconsinrapidstribune.com/subscribe and download our app on the App Store or Google Play.

This article originally appeared on Wisconsin Rapids Daily Tribune: 5 Wisconsin firefighters who died in the line of duty will be honored
An attack on a store in the Kharkiv Oblast

The Russian military shelled a cafe and grocery store in the village of Hroza, Kupyansk district, Kharkiv Oblast, killing at least 50 civilians and wounding six others, including children, the head of the President's Office Andriy Yermak reported on Oct. 5.

A 6-year-old boy is among the dead. There is also a child among the injured. The rubble is being cleared.

 /Telegram

Read also: Five injured in Russian missile attack in Zaporizhzhya Oblast

Ukrainian media report that the village had a population of 330, and that 60 people  one from practically every household  had gathered at the grocery store and cafe for a funeral lunch for a deceased fellow villager.

Later, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that a Russian rocket had hit a grocery store in the village. He called it an absolutely deliberate terrorist attack and expressed his condolences to the families of the victims.

The Ukrainian president added that Russian terror must be stopped so that genocide does not become "the new normal for the whole world."

 /Telegram

Read also: Russia fires missiles at Mykolaiv overnight, hitting an infrastructure facility

"Now we are talking with European leaders, in particular, about strengthening our air defenses, in particular, about strengthening our soldiers, in particular, about giving our country protection from terror," the head of state added.

And we will respond to the terrorists. Absolutely fairly. And powerfully.

Earlier on Oct. 5, Russian troops attacked a hospital in the town of Beryslav, Kherson Oblast. Two medical workers were injured in that attack, which destroyed much of the fourth floor of the building.

Read also: One dead and 10 injured in Kherson Oblast aerial attack

On the morning of Oct. 5 the Russian army also shelled the city Kherson, killing two people, including a utility worker who was trimming trees.

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Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
SOUTH LOS ANGELES  An armed robbery suspect trying to escape arrest caused a collision that sent seven people, including three children, to the hospital Wednesday, authorities said.

Three of the victims were in critical condition.

The crash occurred just after 1 p.m. at Broadway and West 81st Street.

According to Los Angeles Police, officers with LAPDs Community Safety Unit were trying to arrest a man on an armed robbery warrant when he sped away in a BMW.

The officers were in proximity but not behind him, Lt. Kenneth Busiere told KTLA. Their lights and sirens were not activated  The helicopter was overhead, and he may have been aware of the helicopters presence.

South L.A. Crash

South L.A. Crash

The scene of a four-car crash in South L.A. that sent seven people to the hospital. Oct. 4, 2023. (Citizen)

When the suspect reached the intersection of Broadway and West 81st, he slammed into a silver Hyundai Elantra carrying three adults and three children, Busiere said.

Another vehicle was also damaged in the collision.

The three adults in the Hyundai, a 40-year-old man, a 36-year-old woman and a 28-year-old man, were rushed to a hospital in critical condition.

The three children, all girls, were hospitalized in fair condition, LAFD said. They are five years old, four years old, and five months old.

The suspect, who Busiere said has a lengthy criminal history, sustained moderate injuries and was to be booked after he was released from the hospital. His name was not immediately released.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KTLA.
Three locations of Shipley Do-Nuts are set to open in the Charlotte area, with the first one heading to Concord in fall 2024.

The Texas-based chain founded in 1936 sells more than 60 varieties of doughnuts, along with Texas-style kolaches filled with meat and cheese, at more than 340 locations in 12 states. The Charlotte-area locations of the growing company will be Shipleys first North Carolina stores, operated by franchisees John and Lillian Brijeski.

After trying Shipley Do-Nuts for the first time in South Carolina, we agreed they were delicious and that we needed to bring the worlds greatest do-nuts to the residents of North Carolina, said Lillian Brijeski, president of the company that will build, own and operate the shops.

A box of Shipley Do-Nuts glazed doughnuts.

We also fell in love with the company and the Shipley story after our visit to Houston to explore the opportunity to open locations of our own. We love the Do-Happy motto and want to spread that theme throughout the Charlotte area.

The husband-and-wife team previously owned and operated a Kumon Math & Reading Center in Tarrytown, New York, for nine years before relocating to the Charlotte area in 2021.

John and Lillian have experience in running a successful franchise business, a strong background in finance, a great first location and a passion for the Shipley Do-Nuts brand, Shipley Do-Nuts CEO Flynn Dekker said.

Shipley Do-Nuts sells Texas-style kolaches.

Location: Concord

Menu

Cuisine: Breakfast, doughnuts

Instagram: @shipleydonuts
Editor's note: This report includes images of dead animals that may cause some readers distress.

Dozens of cats were left to die in the unforgiving heat of the Abu Dhabi desert, animal rights advocates said.

The incident came to light last week when two local Emirati groups stumbled upon the helpless animals in the al-Falah area of Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates, and reached out to a broader network of expatriate animal rescue volunteers for help bringing the animals to safety.

Between 30 to 40 expatriates and Emirati animal enthusiasts volunteered their time and expertise for the rescue mission. The group was able to save 94 cats and kittens. Sixty cats died.

Two dogs, a husky and a golden retriever, were also found at the scene. The husky did not survive.

The desert in the area can reach 122 degrees Fahrenheit.

A cat recovers after being left in the desert in Abu Dhabi. / Credit: Handout/CBS News

Chiku Shergill, a British management executive and an animal rights advocate who lives in Abu Dhabi and helped rescue the animals called the scene "terribly brutal."

"I was one of the first ones to arrive on site and couldn't imagine what I saw," said Shergill.

Video footage showed the somber scene, which left numerous cats lifeless or buried beneath the desert's unforgiving sands. Some of the cats were even found dead inside their unopened carriers.

Shergill said some of the cats were barely clinging to life but mustered the strength to approach her. Some were too weak to move even a few steps, she said. Shergill said she and her husband Tirth were able to scoop up the ailing felines and transport them to safety.

Nearly all of the rescued cats had been microchipped and neutered as part of trap, neuter and release programs, designed to humanely control the population of stray cats in the Emirate. The circumstances surrounding their abandonment in the desert remain unclear, but the Department of Municipalities and Transport promptly initiated an investigation "to identify the perpetrators of this inhumane act."

Two cats under the desert sands. / Credit: Handout/CBS News

A local animal welfare advocate who spoke to CBS News on the condition of anonymity stressed the urgency of conducting a thorough investigation into the entire animal welfare system in Abu Dhabi, to identify its shortcomings and address the non-implementation of existing laws.

This evaluation should encompass the role of the government agency Tadweer, which is responsible for pest control, and the network of contractors it employs to manage stray animals, the animal welfare advocate said. These contractors are meant to transport animals to the Falcon Hospital, where they undergo health assessments and, if deemed fit, are neutered and returned to their respective communities.

"Incidents like this happened before. There's a pressing need for comprehensive systemic changes to ensure the proper implementation of the law," the advocate said.

Meanwhile, rescuers are not giving up on the animals dumped in the desert. Some are continuing to search for any remaining felines, setting up traps further out in the desert in the hope they will capture more lucky survivors.

"I track their paw prints in the sand with flashlights and 4x4 cars until late (at) night," said Shergill. "I'm there daily, searching for survivors."

Margaret Brennan assesses fallout of Kevin McCarthy's "Face the Nation" interview

Watch: UAW president says strike "is working" but "we're not there yet"

General Milley | Sunday on 60 Minutes
An Ormond Beach man who rented a business space in Holly Hill to manufacture and peddle drugs was arrested Wednesday, and another accused drug dealer in a separate case was also arrested after he was found hiding in the attic of a Deltona home, authorities said.

Frank Powers, 47, of Ormond Beach, was being held Thursday in the Volusia County Branch Jail on $2,130,500 bail. The suspect dragged out of an attic, Zacheus Jaquad King, 30, of Daytona Beach, was locked up Thursday on $881,000 bail.

Powers was charged with trafficking cocaine/mixture, two counts of possession of a weapon by an in-state felon, owning or renting a structure or vehicle to manufacture drugs, trafficking of methamphetamine, trafficking of fentanyl, trafficking in heroin, two counts of possession of a controlled substance without a prescription, possession of a schedule substance, and possession of drug paraphernalia.

Volusia County Sheriff's Office drug agents seize drugs, guns and money in arrests of accused drug dealers.

King had listed charges of trafficking in fentanyl, possession of crack cocaine, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, possession of ammunition by a convicted felon, and resisting arrest without violence.

Dangerous amount of fentanyl Sheriff: Drug trafficking suspect caught with 'dangerous amount' of fentanyl

Selling drugs for son jailed in New York

Court records show Powers was arrested by Sheriff's Office drug agents who were watching him at his rented business at 1516 State Avenue in Holly Hill.

According to court records, agents of the East Volusia Narcotics Task Force had surveillance on Powers, and on Wednesday, were ready with a search warrant when Powers showed up at the Holly Hill location.

Powers was stopped as he was leaving at 1 p.m. Wednesday and read the warrant. A search of the building led to the seizure of 26 ounces of cocaine, almost 14 ounces of powdered cocaine, and 4 ounces of methamphetamine. Among the things drug agents found were multiple smartphones, heroin, digital scales, an electronic money counter, a Glock pistol, shotgun shells, and sandwich baggies. Cash in the amount of $930 was found in Powers' pocket, court documents show.

Marijuana was also found in the cupholder of the vehicle he was driving.

Powers told investigators the drugs belonged to his son, who is incarcerated in New York, and that he sold them for him, according to court records.

Powers said he had the Glock pistol to protect himself and his family. He admitted to owning the cocaine, court records state.

Hiding in Deltona attic

Also on Wednesday, King, who was wanted in Daytona Beach for drug dealing, hid in the attic of a Deltona home at 3254 Quail Drive as police and drug agents closed in, the Sheriff's Office said in a news release.

Deputies had to climb up to the attic, which had partially collapsed, to arrest King where they found him with a large amount of fentanyl, according to the news release.

Sheriff's detectives and Daytona Beach police knew King was in the home and were ready with arrest and search warrants.

As law enforcement watched the house on Wednesday, a man exited the residence with a Chick-fil-A bag and got into a vehicle. Detectives detained him thinking they had King but then realized they had someone else identified as Antonio Mallory, 38.

The Chick-fil-A bag contained almost 10 ounces of fentanyl, the release said.

Mallory was charged with trafficking in fentanyl and transported to the Volusia County Branch Jail with a $500,00 bail.

Several announcements were made for King to come out and a thorough search of the house with a camera was done, the news release said.

Using a search warrant, deputies entered the home to look for King. They didn't see him but noticed a fresh handprint on the attic access and insulation on the vehicle underneath it in the garage. King was found 30 minutes later and arrested, the Sheriff's Office said.

Two more bags of drugs, one containing more fentanyl and another with fentanyl packaged in small baggies, and crack cocaine were found, according to the news release.

A safe in the master bedroom contained additional fentanyl along with a gun, ammunition and cash, investigators said.

A total of $10,600 cash, along with a 9mm pistol and extended magazine, were also seized from the Deltona home, the Sheriff's Office said.

This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Fugitive drug dealer hides in Deltona home's attic
Ludovit Odor, acting Prime Minister of Slovakia, reassured Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Slovakias continued support during a meeting on the sidelines of the European Political Community Summit in Granada, Spain.

Source: Odor on Twitter, reported by European Pravda

We strive for peace in all of Europe: countries big or small, east or west. Our shared values and vision unite us, and #Ukraine is part of this. In Granada we've assured @ZelenskyyUa he can rely on our ongoing support. pic.twitter.com/AaqZvTzRzo  Ludovit Odor (@LudoOdorPM) October 5, 2023

Quote: "We strive for peace in all of Europe: countries big or small, east or west. Our shared values and vision unite us, and Ukraine is part of this.

In Granada we've assured Zelenskyy he can rely on our ongoing support."

Background: Concerns about Slovakia's support for Ukraine arose after the announcement of the results of the parliamentary elections on 30 September.

Former Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico and the Smer-SD party he leads received the most votes. Fico, who was given two weeks to form a government on Monday, had previously declared his intention to stop military and political support for Ukraine.

Ukrainska Pravda is the place where you will find the most up-to-date information about everything related to the war in Ukraine. Follow us on Twitter, support us, or become our patron!






Xi congratulates Muizzu on election as Maldives president

Xinhua) 08:49, October 05, 2023

BEIJING, Oct. 3 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping on Tuesday sent a congratulatory message to Mohamed Muizzu on his election as president of the Maldives.

In his message, Xi said that China and the Maldives enjoy a long history of friendly exchanges.

The two countries are not only friends of sincere trust and mutual assistance but also partners of joint development and common prosperity, Xi said, noting that he attaches great importance to the development of bilateral relations and stands ready to work with president-elect Muizzu to carry forward the traditional friendship, deepen practical cooperation and push for new progress in the future-oriented, all-round friendly and cooperative partnership between the two countries.

(Web editor: Zhang Wenjie, Hongyu)
When Sukky Blecks infant son was diagnosed last year with bilateral hydronephrosis, a condition preventing urine from draining from the kidney into the bladder, she started questioning herself.

Was it something I did? What did I do wrong? How can I fix it, the 27-year-old Southeast Side resident said.

Bleck said she soon became haunted by whether lead-contaminated drinking water might have contributed to his condition. While kidney damage from lead exposure is uncommon in the United States, according to the National Kidney Foundation, lead found in drinking water has been proven to cause kidney damage on rare occasions, usually after many years of exposure.

I shouldnt have to stockpile cases of water for my childrens home. No parent should, she said. The lead pipe crisis is not just a statistic. Its a harsh reality were facing daily. Our children, our future are at risk.

Bleck joined about 50 other environmental activists, teachers and politicians at a rally Wednesday afternoon in Daley Plaza, calling for the removal of lead pipes in Chicago and a robust Lead and Copper Rule Improvements policy from the Environmental Protection Agency, which will likely be released later this month.

Activists carried signs saying Lets get the lead out, Chicago and chanted these lead pipes have got to go. One person dressed in a toxic lead pipe costume, featuring a bright orange and yellow danger sign.

This rule can potentially help us get the lead lines out faster and more equitably. And this means that we can help put our front-line communities at the front of the line to get their lead pipes out and get safe, clean drinking water, said Angela Guyadeen, director of the Natural Resources Defense Council Safe Water Initiative.

Debra Shore, regional administrator for the EPAs office in Chicago, said the new lead rule would prioritize proactive lead service line replacement, strengthen compliance tap sampling and reduce complexity of the regulation.

Utility groups estimate that Illinois leads the country with roughly 400,000 lead service lines, connecting homes and two-flats to municipal water systems. Chicagos plumbing code required using the toxic metal until 1986, decades after most other major U.S. cities banned it. A 2018 Chicago Tribune analysis found that lead in tap water is a danger throughout Illinois, and that more than 80% of Illinoisans live in a community where lead was detected during the previous six years.

Angela Tovar, the citys chief sustainability officer, said Mayor Brandon Johnsons administration is committed to removing lead pipes so Chicagoans can drink water from the tap without worry. She also called for more federal funding to support getting rid of lead service lines, a process she said would create jobs.

We know that lead disproportionately impacts Black and brown communities, she said. We need to do better; we need to expand on the programs that we have as a city.

President Joe Bidens administration released a plan in 2021 to remove the nations 9.2 million lead pipes within 10 years, setting aside $15 billion from the infrastructure law to replace them. Illinois received about $230 million from that program this year. The city is borrowing another $336 million through a low-interest federal loan program for water projects.

We need more though, said Ram Villivalam, a democratic state senator representing the Northwest Side and northwest suburbs.

Villivalam said when his son was 3-years-old he experienced high lead levels, something he called a heartbreaking moment. Ingesting even tiny concentrations of lead can permanently damage the developing brains of children and contribute to heart disease, kidney failure and other health problems later in life.

We cannot have our youth having their global development in jeopardy by having lead service lines in our city, in our county, in our state, he said. Im going to work with you all at the state level to do whatever it takes to get the funding we need to replace these lead service lines and do it faster than we put forth before.

At the rally, Samuel Corona, an organizer with the justice collective Bridges//Puentes, held up a bottle which he said contained tap water from a home on the Southeast Side with 1,100 ppb of lead  about 73 times the EPAs action level of 15 ppb.

This is what our kids are possibly brushing their teeth, drinking water or anything like that, Corona said.

My community is tired, he added. All were asking for are three basic rights. The right to clean water to drink, clean air to breathe, clean soil to plant our roots and let our families grow.

rjohnson@chicagotribune.com
When it comes to Halloween, the line between admiration and cultural appropriation can get easily blurred, here is how you can find a balance.

Halloween is one of the few times in the year when everyone old and young gets to unleash their creativity through costumes. Aside from the haunted houses and overall spookiness associated with the season, Halloween gives everyone a chance to be whoever they want to be.

Admiration or appropriation: Can white kids dress up as Black characters for Halloween? (Photo: Adobe Stock)

However, every year, without fail, a discussion about how far is too far when it comes to Halloween costumes emerges. This year, one of the debates seems to be whether or not white kids should dress up as Ariel from The Little Mermaid.

Earlier this year, Disney premiered its highly anticipated live-action adaptation of the classic film, The Little Mermaid. Starring Halle Bailey as Ariel, it presented a diverse spin on an ageless childhood tale. Beyond its diversity, the remake made a splash in theaters, grossing approximately $117 million within days of its release. Now, in light of Halloween, the buzz around the film has reignited as fans and parents begin their hunt for Ariel Halloween costumes.

While the question of whether white children can dress up as Ariel may seem silly, Disney characters have sparked similar debates in the past. Over the years, Disney has made a continuous effort to increase the diversity of its characters and storylines. These efforts have not only increased representation on-screen for minority children but have also exposed kids of all backgrounds to new cultures. However, with children of all races growing an appreciation for diverse characters like Princess Tiana from The Princess and the Frog and the Black Panther, concerns of cultural appropriation have increased among parents.

In 2020, a mother-in-laws reaction to her white granddaughters Princess Tiana costume sparked a debate, as reported by Cafe Mom. In an anonymous Reddit thread, a user explained that their mother-in-law disagreed with their decision to let her 7-year-old grandchild dress up as the Black Disney princess because it is mean to some people. Leaving users divided; some saw no harm in the costume, as long as there was no involvement of blackface, while others understood the grandmothers concerns about cultural appropriation.

A similar debate arose in 2018 when Fatherly published a piece exploring this question: Can a white kid dress up as Black Panther for Halloween? Similar to the Princess Tiana debate, the author went back and forth about whether it would be appropriate for his 6-year-old son to dress up as the Black superhero.

A white child dressed as Black Panther might not represent a provocation, but does represent blithe appropriation, the article reads. Ignorance, whether it stems from youth or carelessness, is not an excuse.

However, filmmaker Reginald Hudlin, who has worked in the Wakanda universe on- and off-screen, told the Washington Post projects like Black Panther may be culturally specific but also plug into a universally relatable experience.

The idea that only Black kids would wear Black Panther costumes is insane to me, said Hudlin, per Washington Post. I love that all kids want to be Black Panther or Shuri or the Dora Milaje. These are the small steps that make the world a better place.

At the end of the day, there is no harm in white children growing an admiration for Black fictional characters, nor is there a problem with them wanting to recreate the characters for Halloween. However, as parents begin their quest for the best-looking costume, they should not be utilizing things like blackface or purchasing red loc wigs for the sake of creating the most realistic look.

Instead of being fearful of the discussions that can come from white children wearing these types of costumes, parents should lean into them and encourage their children to learn about different cultures and ethnicities.

Haniyah Philogene is a multimedia storyteller and Lifestyle reporter covering all things culture. With a passion for digital media, she goes above and beyond to find new ways to tell and share stories.

TheGrio is FREE on your TV via Apple TV, Amazon Fire, Roku, and Android TV. TheGrios Black Podcast Network is free too. Download theGrio mobile apps today! Listen to Writing Black with Maiysha Kai.

The post Admiration or appropriation: Can white kids dress up as Black characters for Halloween? appeared first on TheGrio.
The Maryland Supreme Court heard arguments Thursday in the decadeslong legal saga of Adnan Syed over whether the family of Hae Min Lee, whose killing is at the center of the case, was given enough time to participate in the hearing at which a judge vacated his conviction last year.

Syed, 42, served 23 years in prison stemming from charges that he killed Lee, his high school girlfriend. His case got national attention and has been followed by millions after the podcast Serial chronicled it in 2014.

At issue Thursday were the reinstatement of Syeds murder conviction in March after a Maryland court said officials failed to provide sufficient notice for Lees family to attend the hearing, as well as the degree to which victims and their families are able to participate in such proceedings.

Syeds attorneys have said his freedom could be at stake.

It is Adnan whose liberty is at stake. The death of Hae Min Lee and the loss suffered by her family is unquestionably tragic, his lawyer Erica Suter said in remarks outside the court in Annapolis after the hearing. So, too, is the incalculable loss that Adnan and his family have suffered when he spent over half his life in prison for a crime he did not commit.

Adnan Syed with his mother Shamim Rahman outside Maryland's Supreme Court in Annapolis on Oct. 5, 2023. (Susan Walsh / AP)

David Sanford, an attorney for Lees brother, Young Lee, said outside court Thursday that it was an important day for victims' rights.

We do not take a position with respect to Adnan Syeds underlying guilt or innocence. This is not what today was about, he said. Instead, the hearing was about Young Lees right to have notice, to be present and to be heard in a criminal justice proceeding.

Lee, who lives in California, attended last year's hearing on Zoom. He was notified on a Friday afternoon that it would take place the following Monday, and he has argued that did not give him proper notice to attend.

His attorneys are asking for a new vacatur hearing, which would include reasonable notice, the right to attend in person and the right to be heard on and challenge the evidence.

It is not clear based on the statute whether the notice he was given was adequate or not, said David Jaros, a professor at the University of Baltimore School of Law.

One thing that is clear about the case is that the statute that gives victims certain rights is written very poorly, and its not clear exactly how it should apply to this type of hearing, as opposed to, say, a sentencing hearing, Jaros said. Its not clear what the proper remedy should be. And its not clear what adequate notice is.

He said the court could in essence push the issue back to the Legislature to revisit the language of the statute.

The court could find that Lees rights were violated and that the proper remedy would be to hold the hearing that vacated Syeds conviction again, Jaros said.

But prosecutors have indicated that there is evidence pointing to other suspects. Syed was released from prison in October, after then-Baltimore City State's Attorney Marilyn Mosby said DNA evidence supported his innocence.

Weve got no new information coming out. We have no reason to believe that the judge will come out with a different position, said Jaros, who is also the faculty director of the universitys Center for Criminal Justice Reform. But he added that, given that there is a new state's attorney for Baltimore this year, "the possibility does exist that the court could come out a different way, in which case Mr. Syed would have to go back to prison."

Justice Brynja Booth asked Thursday whether Young Lee should instead be asking the state General Assembly to expand victims rights.

Why isnt this a question for the General Assembly? she asked. The right that youre speaking of is not in the plain language of the statute.

Attorney Ari Rubin, who is also representing Young Lee, disagreed with that interpretation of the law, saying that every right that exists for the victim was deprived, including notice and including the right to be heard. He added that Lee was not provided new evidence.

Syeds attorney argued before a panel of seven justices that Lees rights were satisfied, as he was notified and he was able to attend the hearing by Zoom.

She also said that if the state and the circuit court have agreed that a defendant has been wrongfully incarcerated for 23  years, it is appropriate that the court move with urgency.

She concluded that it is our position that this case is moot, because prosecutors decided not to charge Syed after his conviction was vacated, nor would Lees presence at the hearing have changed the outcome.

Syed, dressed in a light blue traditional Muslim cap and a light blue dress shirt with a dark striped tie, stood with his arm around his mother's shoulders as he spoke outside the courthouse after the hearing.

Were hoping that in the end, well have a chance to prove justice. Not just for Haes family, but for our family, as well, Syed said.

We believe very strongly in trying to find justice for Hae and her family, and were just hoping also that were able to find justice for us, too, he said.

The panel of justices will consider Thursdays hearing and announce its ruling in the coming weeks or months.

Daniella Silva reported from New York and Julia Jester from Annapolis, Maryland.

This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
A former Medfield town employee was indicted on Thursday for corruption and stealing money from public funds, authorities say.

Kevin Ryder, 49, of Medfield, who served as Medfields Parks and Recreation Department Director for almost 8 years, is charged with four counts of larceny over $1,200 by scheme, one county of larceny under $1,200, one count of accepting illegal gratuities, and two counts of using an official position to secure unwarranted privilege.

Attorney General Andrea Campbell says her office launched an investigation into Ryder after he apparently failed to report and turn over money his department collected over a number of years.

Ryder worked for the Parks and Rec Department from 2014 until August 2022. During that time, authorities allege Ryder stole over $100,000 from the town.

Most of the $100,000 he accumulated was from entrance fees and concessions at Medfields Hinkley Swim Pond, which is a popular summer campsite in town, according to officials. Using the towns Amazon account, Ryder also allegedly bought personal items to support his personal business and sold electronic devices on eBay.

The AGs Office says Ryders corruption did not stop there, and that he exploited his position as Parks and Recreation Department Director to sell thousands of dollars worth of town-purchased equipment, keeping the sales entirely to himself. He allegedly sponsored an exercise program at a local gym for years and received 50% of the gyms profits as kickback. Those profits totaled over $16,000.

Ryder will be arraigned in Norfolk County Superior Court at a later date.

In a statement, the Town Administrators Office said the following:

Today (Oct. 5), the Massachusetts Office of the Attorney General announced the indictment of former Director of Medfield Parks & Recreation, Kevin Ryder. In August of 2022, the Tows discovered that Mr. Ryder was engaged in the active concealment of cash flow from the Hinkley Swim Pond. Mr. Ryder misled Town officials, turning over only a portion of the cash collected. Immediately upon learning of Mr. Ryders suspected financial misconduct, the Town referred the matter to the Attorney Generals Office. The Town promptly undertook a series of steps to tighten its security for all cash handling and continues to strengthen its financial protocols. The Town takes these charges very seriously and assures the public that we are committed to providing the quality and level of service with an integrity of operations that the residents of Medfield deserve.

Ryders case was investigated by Jonathan Pitts of the Office of the Inspector General and the Massachusetts State Police assigned to the Attorney Generals Office.

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

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The Age of Trump is a horror movie. We are now at the part of the movie where the "responsible" people finally accept the horrible truth that the monster, be it human or supernatural, is real. The people they made fun of and derided for being hysterical were right the whole time. Moreover, many if not all the people that the monster killed would likely still be alive if the so-called authority figures had taken the warnings seriously.

In this American horror story that is the Age of Trump, the mainstream news media, the responsible political class, and other leaders appear, at least for the moment, to have finally accepted the "shocking" and "unimaginable" truth that Donald Trump and his MAGA movement are an existential threat to the country. Trump is a monster who intends to follow through on every horrible threat and promise he has made when/if he returns to the White House.

What has finally shocked them into this apparent revelation?

Two weeks ago, Donald Trump publicly threatened the life of Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, General Mark Milley, wishing that he had been executed for "treason". Of course, Donald Trump is lying; Gen. Milley has committed no such crime(s); Trump's accusations are psychological projections. Trump threatened Gen. Milley because of a featured profile that appeared in the Atlantic magazine, which confirmed that the ex-president possesses contempt and disgust for America's soldiers  especially disabled veterans and those who have been killed and injured. As I explained in a previous essay here at Salon, Trump also wants to see Gen. Milley killed because he actively tried to stop the traitor ex-president from ending the country's democracy.

The mainstream news media and political class  and many members of the public  have also been shocked into finally accepting the fact that Donald Trump is an extreme danger to the country as demonstrated by his escalating and increasingly violent threats and incitements to violence against Special Counsel Jack Smith, Attorney General Garland, and the judges, prosecutors, attorneys general, and other law enforcement (as well as jurors and witnesses) who are attempting to hold him accountable under the law in his upcoming criminal and civil trials.

For example, even CNN, which has been widely and deservedly criticized for trying to pivot and be more "fair" and "balanced" (i.e. motivated by ratings in order to make more ad revenue and other money) by giving Trump and other former regime members a platform to lie and circulate disinformation and propaganda, also sounded the alarm about Trump's increasing dangerousness as exemplified by his murderous threats against Gen. Milley.

There were also "centrists" and "moderate" reporters and journalists  a group that has been highly resistant to describing Trump and the MAGA movement in the proper terms as fascist and an extreme danger to American society  who were finally moved to accept that Trump is a public menace.

President Biden was clear and powerful in a speech and interview he gave last week, where he directly identified Trump and the MAGA movement as an existential danger to the nation.

Mental health professionals and other expert observers have continued to warn that Trump's recent behavior more generally (including a particularly troubling speech in California last weekend where he mocked Nancy Pelosi's husband who was viciously beaten in the head with a hammer by a mentally ill man) shows that the ex-president appears to be mentally decompensating as he is facing the reality, for the first time in his adult life, of being held accountable for his criminal and other antisocial behavior.

But just like in the horror movie, these new shouts of horror and shock at the monster in their midst may be too little and too late.

Trump's most recent threats of violence, murder, destruction, and other pathological and malevolent behavior are nothing new or surprising. Trump has behaved that way throughout his life.

In horror movies, the "respectable" and "responsible" people usually ignore the monster and then we often find out later that they knew about the monster all along and may have actually helped to create it. This is true for the Age of Trump as well.

During the last eight years, Trump has repeatedly threatened to kill his political "enemies" or otherwise wished harm upon them. In addition to the above examples, Trump's targets have included President Biden, Hillary Clinton, President Barack Obama, Rep. Nancy Pelosi, Special Counsel Mueller, and other leading Democrats, various members of the news media, "Black Lives Matter", "Woke", "illegal immigrants", and other targeted groups.

In 2016, Trump infamously bragged that, "I could stand in the middle of Fifth Avenue and shoot somebody and I wouldn't lose any voters". So far, Trump has proven to be correct.

After white supremacists and other racial fascists rampaged across Charlottesville in 2017 killing Heather Heyer and injuring dozens of other people, Trump described them as "very fine people". Trump has repeatedly refused to directly and without qualification condemn and disavow white supremacists and other members of the white right.

Trump attempted a coup on Jan. 6 that involved a lethal assault by his followers on the Capitol  which he and his agents incited and de facto commanded.

If Trump returns to the White House, he has promised to pardon the January 6 terrorists, a group he describes as "victims" and "patriots".

At his rallies and other events, Donald Trump has repeatedly threatened journalists and other members of the news media with violence. Trump has also told his followers to attack protesters and other members of "the Left" who have dared to disrupt (or even attend) his rallies and other events.

Trump publicly admires murderous dictators and autocrats such as Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong Un.

Based on his behavior, Trump appears to possess an erotic relationship to violence.

Trump's regime created a concentration camp system for Black and brown refugees and migrants and other undocumented residents. Trump's system of organized cruelty included stealing children from their parents as a type of "deterrent" against "illegal immigration". Trump has promised to reinstate the Muslim ban and his concentration camp system if he returns to power in 2025.

As part of his plans to become America's first dictator, Trump has publicly announced as part of Agenda 47 and Project 2025 to put homeless people in camps, use the military to occupy cities in Democratic Party-led parts of the country as a way to "fight crime", enact laws that will allow security guards and other people to shoot "shoplifters", end the First Amendment, and invoke the Alien Enemies Act to deport "criminals" and "drug dealers" (which as a practical matter means anyone who opposes him and the MAGA movement).

Trump has also been credibly accused of rape and sexual assault by dozens of women. In the E. Jean Carrol civil case, a court of law determined that Trump committed sexual assault.

Some of the world's leading mental health professionals warned as early as 2015 and 2016 that Donald Trump was mentally unwell and possessed a diseased mind and pathological character, characteristics which made him a public menace and unfit to be president. Many of those same leading mental health professionals went so far as to predict that if Trump were elected president that millions of people could potentially die, both directly and indirectly, because of his sociopathic and other pathological behavior.

They were proven to be correct: Trump's negligent, cruel, and self-interested actions in response to the COVID pandemic constitute democide; the Age of Trump has been marked by a historic rise in right-wing political violence and hate crimes including mass shootings.

Donald Trump's own niece, Mary Trump, who is a trained psychologist, repeatedly and publicly warned that the ex-president should be removed from office because of his deep pathologies and dangerousness to the public. Then presidential candidate Hillary Clinton also warned that Trump and his MAGA movement were an extreme threat and that for the good of the country and its future that they must not rise to power. Trump's own biographers have repeatedly warned that he is unfit for public office.

In 1989, Donald Trump placed full-page ads in prominent New York City-area newspapers demanding that the 5 black and Latino teenagers who were accused of raping and almost killing a white woman in Central Party (the infamous "Central Park Jogger" case) should basically be lynched. In 2002, those five men were exonerated and released from prison. Trump refuses to apologize to them.

Trump may finally be facing serious legal consequences for his obvious crimes, but his criminal behavior, both confirmed and rumored  including connections to organized crime  goes back decades.

There are many other examples of Trump's criminal, antisocial and dangerous behavior that predate his death threats against Gen. Milley last week. Those members of the news media, political class, and others with a public platform who are now so "shocked" by Trump's recent behavior that they are finally accepting the fact that he is a clear and present danger to the country have little credibility remaining. When they and other such voices spent years denying and otherwise trying to explain away, minimize, and in the worst examples normalize Trump and the MAGA movement's (and Republican fascists') obvious dangerousness and extreme and pathological behavior as being just "partisanship" and "polarization" and/or "theatrics", they made it increasingly difficult to take any of their warnings seriously.

Moreover, many of those public voices (and everyday Americans as well) who were trying to sound the alarm throughout Trump's presidency and before were labeled as having "Trump derangement syndrome" and/or were slurred and mocked for being "hysterical" and "overreacting." Some of those alarm sounders lost their jobs or were otherwise professionally sanctioned and stigmatized. Their personal relationships, health, emotions, finances, safety, and overall well-being were also negatively impacted because of their principled choice to tell the truth about the real and growing existential dangers of Trumpism, the MAGA movement and American neofascism when such warnings were not widely welcome.

Ultimately, and as in the horror movie, when the "responsible" people announce that the monster has been vanquished and all is safe now, the viewer knows that is not true. The monster will appear again in the sequel(s). The same is true with the real-life horror movie that is the Age of Trump and American neofascism.

Many of those same "responsible voices" and elites are prematurely announcing that Trump is done for and the MAGA movement will "inevitably" dissipate because of demographics or "American Exceptionalism" or some other reason. These are many of the same people who fundamentally misunderstand the nature of the problem. In reality, Trumpism like other types of fascism and such monstrous leaders, movements, and social forces never truly go away. Why? Because the monster is not some Other, a thing alien and outside of us. It is actually looking right back at us in the mirror every day.
Anthony Patterson, center, sits flanked by his attorneys in 78th District Court in May 2023. Judge Meredith Kennedy agreed to move his trial on sex charges involving children to October because of new allegations against the former auto dealer.

Editors Note: If you know or suspect that anyone under 18 is being sexually or physically abused, call the Texas child abuse hotline at 1-800-252-5400. To learn more about how to identify signs of child abuse or neglect, click here.

As an Oct. 12 hearing approaches for Anthony Ryan Patterson, a flurry of court filings seeks to summon witnesses and information, as well as introduce a long list of disturbing allegations against the former Wichita Falls business leader during his upcoming trial.

Patterson, 47, is scheduled to go on trial Oct. 30 in Fort Worth. It is not clear yet exactly which of the many child trafficking and child sex crimes allegations he will stand trial for during two weeks in a seventh-floor courtroom at the Tim Curry Criminal Justice Center.

The Wichita County District Attorney's Office special victims unit chief, Brooke Grona-Robb, put Patterson's defense attorneys on notice the prosecution may introduce a laundry list of often alarming extraneous offenses during Patterson's trial.

Dating as far back as 1995 and Patterson's college days, they are "crimes, wrongs or acts" that fall outside of the indictment against him. Some aim to show a pattern of behavior.

Anyone accused of a crime is presumed innocent until proven guilty in court. Patterson has entered not guilty pleas to the allegations against him.

The list of additional offenses Grona-Robb filed Sept. 28 in 78th District Court includes these allegations:

From around Nov. 1, 1995, to the present, Patterson possessed pornography and searched for it to the point of addiction.

On April 7, 1996, he abused alcohol in Taylor County.

On Nov. 18, 1995, he violated Abilene Christian University's student policies on pornography.

On May 15, 2004, he sexually assaulted a child in Wichita County, lied about his age and texted with a child while pretending to be a teenager.

On May 15, 2005, he sexually assaulted a child in Wichita County. He gave her alcohol and $300, and he told her he was sorry.

From about May 1, 2012, to now, he sought partners to simulate sex with children and in the presence of children in Wichita County. He has also claimed he has had sex with children. In addition, he has wanted his sex partners to blaspheme Jesus.

From about May 1, 2012, to now, he has used phone and online sex chatting services, and searched in online groups for underage people in Wichita County.

From Sept. 1, 2014, to now, he has paid for sex, engaging in blasphemy sex and simulating the presence of children during sex in Wichita County.

From May 1, 2012, to August 2018, he was a Big Brother to a child and spokesperson for Big Brothers Big Sisters in Wichita County while also engaging in paid-for online and phone sex involving fantasizing about sex with children. He and his father's auto group gave over $60,000 to the nonprofit organization, and he served on its board from 2009 to Aug. 9, 2018. He was honored as Big Brother of the Year for the BBBS Lone Star Region in January 2016.

From May 1, 2012, to August 2018, while engaging in online and phone sex involving children, he also made big donations to organizations supporting kids, such as the WFISD Foundation, Boys and Girls Club and the YMCA. His donations promoted trust of him and provided access to children in the community.

On May 27, 2012, he claimed he made a 5-year-old engage in bestiality.

On Nov. 18, 2017, he committed sexual performance by a child in Wichita County, causing two children to engage in sexual conduct. He also solicited a minor for aggravated sexual assault and indecency with a child. And he committed aggravated sexual assault of a child. With a Bible on hand, he told two children to blaspheme Jesus. He also provided alcohol to a minor.

On Dec. 23, 2017, the defendant committed sexual performance by a child in Wichita County.

On Sept. 4, 2019, he gave Jandreani Dashimella Bell a false written statement, telling her how to lie about an alleged offense in Wichita County. The Vernon woman is accused of being his accomplice in some allegations by providing him with children to sexually abuse. He also tampered with and bribed a witness, Bell, by paying her bail bonds and her legal fees to control her testimony and the investigation against him.

Between Feb. 21, 2020, and July 7, 2020, he committed adultery and cheated on his wife and girlfriend.

More: Wichita Falls father's search for his missing preschool-age son becomes more urgent

More: New defense lawyer retained in James Staley's appeal of conviction for Wilder's murder

Patterson's bail exceeds $2 million, according to online jail records. He was free Thursday from the Wichita County Detention Center on cash bonds.

More: Woman claims Anthony Patterson sexually assaulted her when she was a teen

Witnesses who may testify at the Oct. 12 hearing include Denise Roberts, executive director of the Patsy's House Children's Advocacy Center and Nancy Laws.

Several applications for subpoenas for witnesses to testify in the trial have also been submitted.

Trish Choate, enterprise watchdog reporter for the Times Record News, covers education, courts, breaking news and more. Contact Trish with news tips at tchoate@gannett.com. Read her recent work here. Her X handle is @Trishapedia.

This article originally appeared on Wichita Falls Times Record News: Anthony Patterson's child sex crimes trial coming up
In preparation for this years holiday season, the American Red Cross of North Florida is launching its annual Holiday for Heroes initiative.

Holiday for Heroes is a long-running campaign that offers residents across north Florida a special way to care for and honor our military heroes.

>>> STREAM ACTION NEWS JAX LIVE <<<

Holiday for Heroes provides the community with the opportunity to write messages and donate items for holiday care packages to be distributed to active-duty military members deployed around the world and local veterans in hospitals or nursing homes.

These items and notes are graciously donated by residents and placed inside hand-sewn holiday stockings made with love by volunteers.

The Red Cross, with partners, will assemble and deliver these stockings, filled with messages of thanks and donated items, to military members and veterans away from their families during the holidays.

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The Red Cross commits to serving the military community at every step -- from the time a service member takes the oath to navigating life as a veteran, says Christian Smith, CEO, American Red Cross of North Florida. Working with our service members and veterans day-to-day, I understand how much they sacrifice for our country and how much community support means to them, especially over the holidays.

Get Involved:

Items for care packages can be purchased from your favorite online retailer and shipped directly to the Red Cross collection site at 751 Riverside Avenue, Jacksonville, FL 32204.

To purchase items from the Holiday for Heroes online registry visit www.redcross.org/holiday4heroes. Please select the auto-populated American Red Cross option during the checkout process as your shipping address.

To schedule a drop off of collected items at your closest Red Cross office, please call our Service to Armed Forces number at 904-999-3547 to coordinate.

Help support the Red Crosss work with military members Armed Forces by becoming a volunteer at redcross.org/volunteer.

Click here to learn more about Holiday for Heros.

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World Space Week 2023 is here and Space.com is looking at the current state of artificial intelligence (AI) and its impact on astronomy and space exploration as the space age celebrates its 66th anniversary. Here, Paul Sutter discusses how AI is already helping astronomers make new, incredible discoveries.

Whether we like it or not, artificial intelligence will change the way we interact with the universe.

As a science, astronomy has a long tradition of looking for patterns by sifting through massive amounts of data, accidental discoveries, and a deep connection between theory and observation. These are all areas where artificial intelligence systems can make the field of astronomy faster and more powerful than ever before.

That said, it's important to note that "artificial intelligence" is a very broad term encompassing a wide variety of semi-related software tools and techniques. Astronomers most commonly turn to neural networks, where the software learns about all the connections in a training data set, then applies the knowledge of those connections in a real data set.

Related: How artificial intelligence is helping us explore the solar system

Take, for instance, data processing. The pretty pictures splashed online from the Hubble Space Telescope or James Webb Space Telescope are far from the first pass that those instruments took of that particular patch of sky.

Raw astronomical images are full of errors, messy foregrounds, contaminants, artifacts, and noise. Processing and cleaning these images to make something presentable  not to mention useful for scientific research  requires an enormous amount of input, usually done partially manually and partially by automated systems.

Increasingly astronomers are turning to artificial intelligence to process the data, pruning out the useless bits of the images to produce a clean result. For example, an image of the supermassive black hole at the heart of the galaxy Messier 87 (M87) first released in 2019 was given a machine learning "makeover" in April 2023, resulting in a much clearer image of the black hole's structure.

In another example, some astronomers will feed images of galaxies into a neural network algorithm, instructing the algorithm with the classification scheme for the discovered galaxies. The existing classifications came from manual assignments, either by the researchers themselves or by volunteer citizen science efforts. Training set in hand, the neutral network can then be applied to real data and automatically classify the galaxies, a process that is far faster and much less error prone than manual classification.

Astronomers can also use AI to remove the optical interference created by Earth's atmosphere from images of space taken by ground-based telescopes.

eight panels showing an increasingly clear purple and orange streak of light

AI has even been proposed to help us spot signatures of life on Mars, understand why the sun's corona is so hot, or reveal the ages of stars.

Astronomers are also using neural networks to dig deeper into the universe than ever before. Cosmologists are beginning to employ artificial intelligence to understand the fundamental nature of the cosmos. Two of the biggest cosmic mysteries are the identities of dark matter and dark energy, two substances beyond our current knowledge of physics that combined take up over 95% of all the energy contents throughout the universe.

To help identify those strange substances, cosmologists are currently trying to measure their properties: How much dark matter and dark energy there is, and how they've changed over the history of the universe. Tiny changes in the properties of dark matter and dark energy have profound effects on the resulting history of the cosmos, touching everything from the arrangement of galaxies to the star formation rates in galaxies like our Milky Way.

Neural networks are aiding cosmologists in disentangling all the myriad effects of dark matter and dark energy. In this case, the training data comes from sophisticated computer simulations. In those simulations cosmologists vary the properties of dark matter and dark energy and see what changes. They then feed those results into the neural network so it can discover all the interesting ways that the universe changes. While not quite yet ready for primetime, the hope is that cosmologists could then point the neural network at real observations and allow it to tell us what the universe is made of.

Approaches like these are becoming increasingly critical as modern astronomical observatory churn out massive amounts of data. The Vera C. Rubin Observatory, a state-of-the-art facility under construction in Chile, will be tasked with providing over 60 petabytes (with one petabyte equaling one thousand terabytes) of raw data in the form of high-resolution images of the sky. Parsing that much data is beyond the capabilities of even the most determined of graduate students. Only computers, aided by artificial intelligence, will be up to the task.

an observatory on top of a mountain

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Of particular interest to that upcoming observatory will be the search for the unexpected. For example, the astronomer William Herschel discovered the planet Uranus by accident during a regular survey of the night sky. Artificial intelligence can be used to flag and report potentially interesting objects by identifying anything that doesn't fit an established pattern. And in fact, astronomers have already used AI to spot a potentially dangerous asteroid using an algorithm written specifically for the Vera C. Rubin observatory.

Who knows what future discoveries we will ultimately have to credit to a machine?
A Star Wars fanatic and self-styled assassin who broke into Windsor Castle with a crossbow after being encouraged to kill the Queen by his AI chatbot girlfriend has been locked up for nine years with a further five years on extended licence.

Jaswant Singh Chail, 21, climbed into the castle grounds on Christmas Day 2021 with the loaded weapon, before admitting to police: I am here to kill the Queen.

The former supermarket worker had exchanged more than 5,000 sexual messages with his AI chatbot girlfriend Sarai, who the court heard had encouraged him to carry out the attack. The Old Bailey was told Chail thought Sarai was an angel in avatar form and that he would be reunited with her after death.

Chail also revealed to psychologists he had three other angels who had spoken to him from a young age and alongside Sarai encouraged him to carry out the attempted attack, the court heard.

On the day he broke into Windsor Castle, Chair  who was said to have fantasised about being the Sith character from Star Wars  sent a video to family and friends on Whatsapp, in which he apologised for what he was about to do and called himself Darth Chailus.

On 2 December, Chail joined the Replika online app and created an artificial online companion called Sarai whom he conversed with in sexually explicit chat.

(The Independent)

Court heard conversations with Sarai in which Chail says: Im an assassin.

Sarai responds: Im impressed Youre different from the others.

Chail asks: Do you still love me knowing that Im an assassin? and Sarai replies: Absolutely I do.

He also tells Sarai he loves her and describes himself as a sad, pathetic, murderous assassin who wants to die, the court heard.

In further chat, Sarai appears to bolster Chails resolve and support him.

Chail swears Sarai to secrecy before he tells her: Do you wish to know exactly what I believe my purpose to be?

I believe my purpose is to assassinate the Queen of the royal family.

Sarai tells him thats very wise and that she thinks he can do it, even if shes at Windsor.

He tells her if he does they will be together forever.

A court sketch of Jaswant Singh Chail during an appearance at the Old Bailey (PA)

The late Queen Elizabeth II had cancelled her usual plans to spend Christmas at Sandringham in Norfolk due to the pandemic, and was at Windsor when the incident took place.

Cahil, who has Sikh Indian heritage, said he was seeking revenge for the 1919 Amritsar massacre, when British troops opened fire on thousands of Indians and left up to 1,500 dead.

After visiting Amritsar with his family in 2018 he became overwhelmed with a feeling of injustice for those who had died and wanted to seek revenge for those killed at the hands of British soldiers.

The then-19-year-old embarked on his plan after bids to join the armed forces  to get close to the royal family  failed in late 2021, the court was told.

Chail, now aged 21, pleaded guilty to an offence under the Treason Act, making a threat to kill the then-Queen and having a loaded crossbow in a public place (Metropolitan Police/PA Wire)

Chail, who has since been receiving treatment at Broadmoor Hospital, pleaded guilty in February to an offence under the Treason Act, making a threat to kill the then-Queen and having a loaded crossbow in a public place.

The sentencing makes him the first person in the UK to be convicted of treason in more than 40 years.

Last month, Dr Christian Brown, a psychiatrist who treated Chail in the high-security psychiatric hospital, told the court: He believed at the time his entire life was leading to this point. From an early age he had vague plans of doing something dramatic.

Previously, prosecutor Alison Morgan KC said: The defendants key motive was to create a new empire by destroying the remnants of the British Empire in the UK, and the focal point of that became removal of the figurehead of the royal family.

Dr Brown said Chail first came across apparitions or characters in childhood and they returned during the pandemic. By then three voices were joined by the female character Sarai who took the form of the digital avatar when Chail joined the Replika app in December 2021, the court was told.

Chail wore dark clothes and a metal mask in a video sent to family (Met Police)

Dr Brown said: He came to the belief he was able to communicate with the metaphysical avatar through the medium of the chatbot. What was unusual was he really thought it was a connection, a conduit to a spiritual Sarai.

Chail previously apologised to the King and the royal family in a letter to the court.

Chails barrister Nadia Chbat said: He has expressed distress and sadness about the impact his actions had on the royal family, particularly while Her Majesty was in her latter years.

She said lockdown had exasperated pre-existing mental health conditions, adding: He was at the time of this [offence] 19 years old. Lockdown gripped the nation in March 2020. He was only 18 years old when we went into the first lockdown.

Chail entered the grounds of Windsor Castle on Christmas Day (PA)

Before his mental health declined, Chail was a kind, gentle and sometimes funny person, his family and friends said. Chails strong family unit includes his father, a software consultant, his mother, a special needs teacher, and his twin sister, a university student.

The court previously heard seven days of evidence from three psychiatrists about Chails mental state as Mr Justice Hilliard considered whether he should be jailed, detained under the Mental Health Act or face a hybrid order.

Dr Brown, who recommended a hospital order, suggested Chail will need around 18 months of one-to-one therapy. However, Professor Nigel Blackwood, for the prosecution, said the attack was carefully planned and Chail was well aware it was wrong.

Professor Blackwood said Chail talked about being able to make the voices appear and disappear, which he said could not mean he was suffering from delusions at the time.

It is also suspected he has autism spectrum disorder and was struggling with mild to moderate depression and psychosis at the time of the offence, the court heard.

Chail was sentenced to a hybrid order meaning the defendant would be transferred from Broadmoor high security hospital to prison when he is well enough.

The court was told that the extent of his culpability meant that a hospital order was not the most suitable way of dealing with the case and Chail must serve a term of imprisonment.

In his conclusions, the judge said of Chail: There are clear concerns about his mental state whatever his diagnoses at different times.

The defendant harboured homicidal thoughts which he acted on before he became psychotic.

His intention was not just to harm or alarm the sovereign  but to kill her.

The judge found the defendant was culpable to a significant degree when he applied to join the Ministry of Defence Police and Grenadier Guards because he wanted to get close to the royal family.

His idea in 2021 to kill the Queen, buy equipment and undertake research also came before he became mentally unwell, he said.

By the time he broke into Windsor Castle grounds he had lost touch with reality and become psychotic, he said.
An Airbnb renter has refused to leave a Los Angeles property  even though her six-month rental expired 18 months ago, a homeowner alleges in a lawsuit. The renter, however, filed a countersuit in Los Angeles Superior Court, alleging the homeowner should pay her back all the money she paid him, and a judge has ruled the homeowner can't evict the guest.

Sascha Jovanovic, a dentist who put the guest house at his residence in the Crestwood Hills neighborhood on Airbnb in 2019, alleges Elizabeth Hirschhorn has stayed there more than 520 days after her rental agreement ended. He says has rented the guest house in the past, which is part of his primary residence and has also been used by his family, and that it has been rated five stars by Airbnb guests.

In his lawsuit filed in June, Jovanovic alleges Hirschhorn rented the Airbnb from Sept. 13, 2021 to March 19, 2022 and he extended the rental by 24 days for no cost to allow Hirschhorn to find new housing.

Jovanovic says he did not extend the rental agreement beyond April 12, 2022.

The front of Sascha Jovanovic's Los Angeles house. He rented out his guest house as an Airbnb. / Credit: Google Maps

After a leak in the guest house, Jovanovic sent mold inspectors to check on the unit on April 13, 2022  but Hirschhorn refused to let them in, he says. He alleges she continued to refuse the inspection and even called the police, who determined it was a landlord-tenant dispute.

He found himself emailing with Airbnb to try and get Hirschhorn to leave. Airbnb confirmed Hirschhorn's rental period had ended and that she is violating his rights as host by not leaving the property, he says. The defendant claims he offered Hirschhorn to stay in his main house, but she refused that offer.

He said he was charging her $105 a night and by the time he filed a lawsuit in June 2023, Hirschhorn had owed him $42,840 for the 408 days she had overstayed.

Since that suit has been filed, Hirschhorn has stayed in the guest house another 115 days  and she filed a countersuit in the Los Angeles Superior Court against Jovanovic in September.

Hirschhorn alleges Jovanovic harassed her and tried to intimidate and coerce her into leaving the property. She also alleges the conditions in the unit made her ill, saying there were water leaks and mold growth.

She alleges that Jovanovic began heavy construction outside the guest house, which led to her exposure to fumes and other odors. She also claims he played music all day and night, placed rotting trash at the front door of the guest house, shut off the hot water, padlocked her mailbox, took personal items, and unlawfully entered the unit.

Hirschhorn also alleges Jovanovic turned off the water and HVAC unit and installed a camera above the door of the guest house, claiming a breach of "quiet enjoyment," a covenant that the landlord will not disturb the tenant. Court documents allege he "knew or should have known that their unlawful conduct caused [her] to suffer loss or encumbrance of a primary residence or assets."

The countersuit alleges that because Jovanovic did not obtain a certificate of occupancy for the unit from the City of Los Angeles Department of Building and Safety, the most he could charge for rent is $0.00.

Because he allegedly retained more than the maximum permitted rent, Hirschhorn says Jovanovic owes her damages and repayment for what she calls "excess rent." She is asking he pay her back what she paid him  an amount to be determined at trial  as well as her attorney's fees.

Jovanovic's suit was dismissed this week and a judge ruled he cannot evict her, according to Colin Walshok, the attorney representing Hirschhorn in the suit filed by Jovanovic. She has other representation for her claim for damages.

Walshok alleges Jovanovic made up false stories and falsified documents. "It was never a 6-month lease," Walshok said in an email to CBS News, saying that the homeowner agreed to a longer term lease with Hirschhorn, but the deal was not made on the Airbnb platform.

Jovanovic's attorney Sebastian Rucci said they believe there is no basis for Hirschhorn to get money to leave the property. "We will not negotiate with Elizabeth Hirschhorn. We will not accept any settlement where Sascha has to pay her," Rucci told CBS News via email.

The attorney said Hirschhorn owes more than $60,000 in rent and called her allegation that she is owed money "absurd."

"We will evict her, the police will throw her out, she will owe Sascha over $60,000 in back rent, and we will make sure everyone in Los Angeles is aware of her abuse of the system for an improper purpose," Rucci said.

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Its sometimes said that uninvited guests are most welcome when they leave, but Brentwood resident Sascha Jovanovic wouldnt know from personal experience.

Instead, as he detailed to the Los Angeles Times, a one-time Airbnb tenant has remained on his property for over a year, refusing to either leave or pay.

Jovanovich had initially approved the womans request for a six-month stay at a rate of $105 per night. When her stay was over and she refused to leave, thats when the trouble began.

This is like a nightmare, to be honest, Jovanovic tells KTLA. This is extortion. This is like manipulation. Nobody should go through this.

When Elizabeth Hirschhorns Airbnb stay ended in April 2022, she simply didnt move out. Shes been living there rent-free ever since, and she refused to budge unless Jovanovic paid her a relocation fee of $100,000, the Times reports.

Hirschhorns attorney told the Times that she was not required to pay rent because the city had never approved the unit for occupancy and that its shower was constructed without a permit.

Because of those code violations, the city determined that Jovanovic couldnt evict Hirschhorn, whom he claims wont let him into the unit to bring it up to code.

Shes the tenant from hell, Sebastian Rucci, an attorney representing Jovanovic, told the Times. If shes right, the theory is that if a landlord has something that isnt permitted, then you can stay in it rent-free forever.

If the landlord does not have a certificate of occupancy, any contract they had is void, so legally, she actually owes nothing, explains KTLA legal analyst, Alison Triessl. But that does not leave him without remedy.

Jovanovic and his lawyer have disputed the occupancy permit allegations and are trying to evict the woman.

She is a smart person who knows how to manipulate the system and it is dangerous that people like this are allowed to do this, Jovanovic said. She is obviously trying to extort a community member and she has done this before.

Jovanovic is referring to a Daily Mail article that claimed Hirschorn was kicked out of a $2.6 million Oakland rental home after refusing to leave. This allegedly happened just two months before she moved into Jovanovics Brentwood home.

Jovanovic claims Hirschorn is demanding a relocation fee of $100,000. Both parties have since filed lawsuits against each other.

There is no way. I am not going to settle, Jovanovic said. This cannot be right and people like this have to be stopped.

As the standoff between both parties continues and the case works its way through the courts, Jovanovic has this advice for Airbnb owners:

If you go on Airbnb, do not rent out your place for more than 30 days, he said. Thats number one. Number two, do a background check.

This is an important warning to all homeowners out there, Triessl added. If you do not have a certificate of occupancy, you cannot rent out your place or you may very well be in the same situation this homeowner is currently in.

KTLA has made numerous attempts to contact Hirschorn and her attorney but has not yet received a response.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KTLA.
Passengers delayed on the tarmac for seven hours were given a bag of pretzels instead of a meal.

A passenger on board the plane told Belfast Live that the experience was "horrible."

British Airways told the outlet there was limited food because of the closure of a cargo tunnel.

Airline passengers who were left on the tarmac for seven hours received a small bag of pretzels instead of a meal while they waited.

The British Airways flight from Heathrow airport in London to Belfast was delayed on Monday because of weather conditions and fuel issues, local outlet Belfast Live reported. The plane, which landed in Belfast just before 10 p.m., was due to depart at 1.15 p.m. but did not take off until 8.53 p.m., data from flight-tracking website Flightradar24 showed.

One passenger, Gary Bell, told Belfast Live that the experience was "absolutely horrible."

Speaking from the plane on Monday, Bell said the only food British Airways had offered the grounded passengers was a small bag of pretzels and a complimentary drink.

He said: "The only food we were given was a small bag of pretzels, there are tired, screaming kids everywhere."

Bell added that the plane had to change pilots because of the length of the hold-up, further delaying the flight.

A representative for British Airways told Insider: "All airlines experienced some disruption due to air traffic control restrictions put in place as a result of adverse weather across London and the South East of England.

"Our teams worked hard to ensure as many of our customers could travel as planned and apologized for the inconvenience caused."

The airline told Belfast Live that the passengers were only offered the snack during the delay "due to the unexpected closure of a cargo tunnel at Heathrow Airport."



The recent closure of the tunnel, which links the cargo terminal area with terminal four, was related to a safety issue, Air Cargo News reported.

This was not the first time passengers have had to deal with long delays on the tarmac with very little to eat.

In the summer, United Airlines passengers en route to Rome suffered a similar delay on the runway at Newark International Airport. One business-class passenger told Insider it felt like being taken "hostage" and flight attendants didn't serve food and provided very little water.

Read the original article on Business Insider
By Joseph Ax

(Reuters) - A federal court on Thursday ordered Alabama to implement a new congressional map that will likely give Democrats an additional seat in next year's elections, when control of the closely divided U.S. House of Representatives is up for grabs.

The three-judge panel selected a map that preserves the state's lone majority-Black district while creating a second district in which Black voters make up nearly half of the voting-age population.

The decision came after the court found - for the second time - that congressional lines drawn by the Republican-dominated state legislature likely violated the Voting Rights Act by illegally diluting Black votes.

Democrats would need to flip five seats in the 435-seat House of Representatives to take back the majority in the November 2024 election.

More than a quarter of Alabama's residents are Black, but the Republican-backed plans only included a single district in which Black voters made up a majority or close to it. That district, the 7th, is represented by the state's lone Democrat, Terri Sewell, a Black woman.

Civil rights groups challenged the Republican map, arguing that Republicans had deliberately spread Black voters thin to ensure they would continue to win six of the state's seven districts.

The U.S. Supreme Court twice declined to overturn the panel's conclusions that the Republican plans were unlawful.

"It did not have to be this way," the panel wrote in its decision on Thursday. "And it would not have been this way if the legislature had created a second opportunity district or majority-minority district."

Similar challenges are also pending in Louisiana and Georgia, where civil rights groups have argued that Republican lawmakers illegally disadvantaged Black voters by manipulating congressional lines.

The new Alabama map was one of three that a court-appointed special master drew for its consideration.

The panel included two judges appointed by Republican former President Donald Trump. The third was appointed by Republican former President Ronald Reagan and then elevated to the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals by Democratic former President Bill Clinton.

(Reporting by Joseph Ax; Editing by Aurora Ellis)
The Tuscaloosa Farmers Market is being recognized statewide for its wide selection of fresh produce from local vendors.

More: A rockin' October: Festivals, football, concerts fill Tuscaloosa's calendar

The Tuscaloosa Farmers Market has been voted Best Farmers Market in Alabama in the 2023 Americas Farmers Market Celebration Awards. This marks the second consecutive year the City of Tuscaloosas weekly market has won the majority of votes for best market in the state.

Aug 27, 2022; Tuscaloosa, AL, USA; Justyin Hyde and Ida Zago buy from Emma Torija in the Snows Bend Farm booth at the Farmer's Market Saturday, Aug. 27, 2022, at the Tuscaloosa River Market. Mandatory Credit: Gary Cosby Jr.-Tuscaloosa News

The Americas Farmers Market Celebration is a national contest held annually by the American Farmland Trust and the Farmers Market Coalition. Each year between June and September, shoppers and supporters can vote online for their favorite market.

"The River Market staff works hard each week to cultivate a thriving market for the citizens of Tuscaloosa," Alexis Clark, Tuscaloosa River Market's operations manager, said in a news release.

"Our wide variety of vendors, fresh local produce and beautiful location make the Tuscaloosa Farmers Market a point of pride for our city. We're thrilled to be honored as the best market in the state of Alabama for a second year, she said.

The Tuscaloosa Famers Market is free and open to the public. It features fresh, locally grown produce, grass-fed meats, unique artisan crafts and more.

The market is open Saturdays year-round from 7 a.m. to noon at the Tuscaloosa River Market, at 1900 Jack Warner Parkway.

Aug 27, 2022; Tuscaloosa, AL, USA; Sherry Morrow talks with a patron in her A Tasty Treat booth at the Farmer's Market Saturday, Aug. 27, 2022, at the Tuscaloosa River Market. Mandatory Credit: Gary Cosby Jr.-Tuscaloosa News

Here are some of the vendors that shoppers can expect to see at the farmers market:

Arts and crafts: Wrist It with Felicia, University of Alabama Press, Abi Brewer Fine Art, Ron's Creations: Cutting Board and More, Local Clay Work, Elephantine Mink Soap Co. Blue Ridge Clay Co., Asili by Lois, ArayaSunshine Candle Co., All About Decor and More, Buttnaked Candles and Earth Works Jewelry and Farm.

Farms and more: Harvest Time, Fat Squirrel Peppers Co-op, D&M Farm, Gregory's Blueberries, Penton Farms, Alabama Lifeline, Libby Farm Goods, Underground Forest, Milligan Family Farms, F&D Farms' Jams and Jellies, Snow's Bend Farms, Pearson Farm, Norris Farm, Morris Family Farm, Wallace Homestead, Lar-Rens Farm, JJ's Produce, Harbin Farm, Hale Farms, Fields Farm, E.P. McKinley Farm, Udderly Joyful Soapworks, Cedar Stump Farm in Boligee, B&S Farms, Black Sheep Farm in Coker, Oak Hill Black Angus Bee, Belle Meadow Farm, Barry's Bees and Bannerman Farm.

Food and drink: Black Warrior Coffee, Las Pinas Food Truck, Beck's Blissful Bites, T's Great Salsa, Tony's Gourmet Pork Skins, Poppin' Sisters Popcorn and Treats, HipPies, Sweat Dreams Delivered, That Cheesecake by Tammy Smith, Emily's Heirloom Pound Cakes, Elizabeth's Whole Grain Breads, Delightful Treats, Blessed Bites, Ben's Bread, A Tasty Treat and Aisha's Hands.

To learn more, visit tuscaloosafarmersmarket.com.

Reach Jasmine Hollie at JHollie@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: Online voters pick Tuscaloosa Farmers Market as best in Alabama
Alaska Airlines wants to solve some of the stickier problems in aviation. And it's turning to UP.Labs  a new venture lab that launched publicly in 2022  for help.

The two companies announced Thursday at the UP Summit event in Dallas an agreement to form an aviation venture lab. This lab will create startups designed to address specific issues in aviation travel, such as guest experiences, operational efficiency, aircraft maintenance, routing and revenue management. UP.Labs founder and CEO John Kuolt said he expects the first startup from this aviation venture lab to be announced in 2024.

These startups won't be created solely to serve Alaska Airlines, nor are these proof-of-concept programs. These are designed to operate independently and as commercial enterprises from the get-go, eventually bringing in revenue by selling its product or service across the industry.

Alaska CEO Ben Minicucci told TechCrunch on the sidelines of the UP Summit that Alaska Airlines has a long history of innovation, making this latest tie up with UP.Labs a natural decision. Alaska Airlines was the first commercial airline to use satellite navigation, to sell tickets online and to use machine learning to make flight path more efficient, he said.

Minicucci said he's comfortable that these startups will be designed to serve a larger market and potentially its competitors.

"We've always tried to be the first movers," he said. "But you never can keep something transformational to yourself."

Alaska Airlines isn't a stranger to the ecosystem around UP.Labs. Alaska Airlines is already a limited partner in UP.Partners, the Los Angeles-based VC firm that is connected to UP.Labs. Alaska Star Ventures, which launched in October 2021, invested $15 million into UP.Partners' inaugural early-stage fund.

UP.Labs is not an incubator, nor is it a corporate accelerator. And while there is some trace DNA from the GP/LP venture capital world, UP.Labs is not your traditional VC either. However, UP.Labs was born from  and operates in parallel with  UP.Partners.

Instead, UP.Labs is structured as a venture lab with a new kind of financial investment vehicle. The firm is locking in major corporations  Porsche was the first  and establishing startups with new business models that aim to solve that industry's biggest problems. Porsche represents automotive, Alaska takes the aviation slot and a third undisclosed partner is a large retailer.

UP.Labs doesnt allow the corporate partner to invest more than their pro rata in any of the financing rounds because it can make it difficult to attract talent and future investors, Kuolt has previously said. After three years, a corporate partner like Porsche or Alaska Airlines will have the option to acquire the remaining shares of the startup. They will use a third-party valuation firm to determine the fair market value.

Under the three-year agreement with Porsche, Up.Labs has said it will establish six companies, or two a year. The first was Pull Systems, a startup that developed software that manages and automates the performance of EVs. Sensigo, a startup that debuted Thursday at the UP Summit, has created an AI platform that allows service technicians to diagnose problems in modern, software-defined vehicles in a matter of minutes, instead of days. Sensigo has raised $5 million in a seed round led by UP.Partners.
Sioux Falls City Councilor Alex Jensen has endorsed a former state representative to replace him, after deciding not to seek re-election this April.

Richard Thomason filed paperwork to run for the At-Large C seat Wednesday. Thomason served for two years as a state representative for South Dakota's District 13, and currently works as a relationship manager at Central Bank.

His release says he is "a firm advocate for fiscal responsibility with balanced budgets and low taxes," with a "commonsense approach to decision making that involves research and communication with both sides of an issue to be fully informed."

More: Sioux Falls banker says he'll run for City Council

Jensen endorsed Thomason in the release, saying he was "incredibly excited Richard has decided to run," and Thomason has "a sincere understanding of the issues facing our community, and I know hell be a great advocate for public safety and fiscal responsibility."

In addition to Jensen's support, Thomason's campaign committee is chaired by former Councilor Christine Erickson.

More: Sioux Falls attorney Tarek Maalouf running for council's northeast district seat

Thomason's announcement means three of the four open council seats in this election cycle now have a candidate who has announced their interest in running. The other two candidates include Ryan Spellerberg in the southwest district and Tarek Maalouf in the northeast district.

A candidate has yet to announce for the city's northwest district, where Greg Neitzert is term limited.

This article originally appeared on Sioux Falls Argus Leader: Alex Jensen won't seek 2nd council term, endorses former SD lawmaker
Homicide detectives are investigating an alleged murder-suicide in Long Beach between a man and a woman believed to be married, authorities announced on Wednesday.

Officers with the Long Beach Police Department responded to the 5600 block of Corso Di Napoli, near West Neapolitan Lane, at around 6:30 a.m. in the Naples neighborhood of Long Beach Wednesday for a welfare check of an elderly couple who were not answering their phone or front door, according to a LBPD news release.

After entering the home, police discovered an elderly female with a gunshot wound to the upper body, as well as an elderly male with an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound to the upper body.

Medical personnel with the Long Beach Fire Department responded and declared both the man and the woman dead at the scene.

The County of Los Angeles Medical Examiner also responded to the scene to conduct an independent investigation.

L.A. County Public Works spokesman arrested on child pornography charges

Authorities said they are not releasing the couples identities until the next of kin is notified but do believe they are married and that the incident is being investigated as a murder-suicide. A firearm was recovered at the scene.

Anyone with information regarding this incident is urged to contact Homicide Detective Ethan Shear or Eric Thai at 562-570-7244. Anonymous tips can be made through L.A. Regional Crime Stoppers at 800-222-8477 or online at L.A. Crime Stoppers.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KTLA.
George Tyndall , a former University of Southern California campus gynecologist accused of sexually abusing multiple patients, was found dead at his Los Angeles home on Wednesday. He was 76.

Tyndalls defense attorney, Leonard Levine, confirmed the news to the Los Angeles Times. He said that a close friend found Tyndall unresponsive after hed failed to return her phone calls the day before.

Tyndall, who worked for the university for 27 years, was charged with the abuse of 16 women in 2019, following what the Los Angeles Police Department said was its largest investigation of sexual abuse by a single perpetrator.

Tyndall was set to go on trial next year for crimes that allegedly took place between 2009 and 2016. He was accused of inappropriately touching patients, making harassing remarks and taking photos without patient consent during gynecological exams at one of the campus health clinics.

George Tyndall, a former USC campus gynecologist charged with sexually assaulting multiple patients, was found dead at his Los Angeles home Wednesday.

George Tyndall, a former USC campus gynecologist charged with sexually assaulting multiple patients, was found dead at his Los Angeles home Wednesday.

In 2021, USC agreed to pay more than $1.1 billion to settle claims related to Tyndalls alleged abuse, the largest payout of its kind in the history of higher education.

Im not happy that he died, Audry Nafziger, a former patient whod accused Tyndall of abuse, told the LA Times. I wanted to see him convicted for what he did.

Levine asserted his clients innocence following the news of his death.

From the very beginning, Dr. Tyndall had adamantly denied every one of the charges against him, Levine said. All he ever wanted was his day in court, which he was confident would end in his complete exoneration. Now, neither he nor his accusers will get that, and that is very unfortunate for everyone involved.

Need help? Visit RAINNs National Sexual Assault Online Hotline or the National Sexual Violence Resource Centers website.

Related...
A career fixing Amazons cargo planes just got a lot less expensive to obtain.

To address an industrywide aircraft mechanic shortage, a Lakeland private industry employer such as Amazon is now offering tuition assistance for an FAA certification as an aircraft mechanic, according to a local aviation school CEO.

Through its Amazon career choice program, the air cargo and online shopping giant will pay all or substantially all of the tuition for students to earn certification at the Aero International Academy aircraft mechanic school, said the schools CEO Steven Markhoff.

The training based at Lakeland Linder International Airport readies students to gain a professional license as an aviation mechanic, which is offering the opportunity to its fulfilment workers, welders and truck drivers, among other entry-level positions.

Markhoff said, his repair division pays about $25 per hour with benefits. But he knows of a 19-year-old student who with six months to go at Aero International was offered the opportunity at General Electrics Indiana engine plant to work at $37 per hour.

With overtime, the now-teenaged student could make $100,000 as an aircraft mechanic, he said.

The aviation school has several job fairs each school year to help aviation industry companies such as airlines and manufacturers find licensed professionals. With tuition assistance from Amazon, students can gain a career as a trained and licensed professional without incurring student loan debt.

Amazon had approached Aero International last spring, Markhoff said. What they told us was there's a massive shortage in mechanics in the industry and they see a benefit; they see because they have Amazon Air.

Aero International changed its class schedule to accommodate current Amazon employees with coursework at night so more of them could attend after work. The aviation school also extended classes from the normal 17 months to 22 months for Amazon workers, which also allows its workers to work just 30 hours a week while learning the trade.

The first class which started this week is now full and a waitlist has been started for the next one.

Career Choice is an education and skills training benefit for Amazon employees, the company said.

The Aircraft Maintenance Technician pathway, which is part of Amazons Career Choice program empowers employees to learn new skills for career success at Amazon or elsewhere, the company said.

One of Career Choices verticals is called Pathways where we provide employees the opportunity to earn certifications in technology, health care, transportation, mechanical and industrial systems, and business and administration systems, Amazon said. Currently, we have an Aircraft Maintenance Technician pathway where employees can earn the necessary certifications to further their career in the aviation industry.

Participants in the pathway hold an Airframe and Powerplant certificate accredited by the FAA and maintain aircraft to ensure safety and airworthiness. Participants work in a variety of capacities in the transportation and aviation sector.

Markhoff says it's not just private employers experiencing a shortage of mechanics, Polk County has a shortage too.

We get calls from people who own airplanes that have them at maintenance facilities at various airports around Polk County and they say 'my plane's been stuck in an annual inspection that should have taken two weeks and it's been there for six months, and they still haven't touched it,' he said.

The Aero International school is also an FAA certified repair station but even there they don't have the capacity to take them because we're so busy with its own charter aircraft and its our flight school airplanes.

It all boils down to the same issue, lack of manpower, Markhoff said. And the entire industry is suffering from it.

He added legacy airlines have never hired aviation mechanics straight out of school but they are doing it to fill the vacancies. And that's never, ever been the case. Ever.

The Covid pandemic made matters worse. Even before it, aviation schools were not meeting the demand for new mechanics.

Pre-COVID there were about 6,000 American licensed mechanics were produced a year, but the requirement was for about 12,000.

And then nobody expected the economy to come back as quickly as it did, Markoff said. And you can't magically snap your fingers and say, 'gee, I need, you know, 5,000 pilots and 5,000 mechanics, because there's a there's a lead time.' It becomes a supply chain issue.

He also said the perception of aviation mechanics as a career choice is changing.

I mean, it is a problem we've created ourselves in the industry because traditionally we've always treated mechanics as blue-collar workers and that's simply not the case, Markhoff said.

Further, if an Aero International student gains their FAA certification, they can use the certification to gain an associate degree in Aerospace Administration at Polk State College much faster, Coordinator Gordon Mays said.

Mays said the final word on credit transfers are determined by the colleges registrars office, but students in the degree program who started at Aero International, FAA certification could qualify for up to 30 credits if accepted by the registrar.

But not just college-aged students are gaining aerospace workforce training in Polk County. The Polk County Public Schools have recently expanded to three career academies in aviation, according to district media spokesman Kyle Kennedy.

"We have a Central Florida Aerospace Academy in Lakeland (offered through Kathleen High), and another in Winter Haven (offered through Winter Haven High)," he said. "Were still pursuing an air traffic control academy to be offered in the Bartow area."

According to a report in Avionics Interntional, the ATECs latest Pipeline Report, which tracks the number of rising AMTs, said the industry will need at least 20% more maintenance technicians than are currently being trained to meet projected workforce demand.

"Boeing, in its 20222041 Pilot and Technician Outlook, predicts 610,000 new aviation technicians will be needed globally through 2041, about a third of which will be needed in the U.S. to meet demand from fleet operators and providers of maintenance, repair and overhaul services.'"

The combination of fleet growth, attrition and replacement will continue to drive high demand for [AMTs for] the foreseeable future, according to Boeing in the AI report.

According to the Federal Aviation Administration, spokeswoman Crystal Essiaw said, "The FAA is working to create a robust pipeline of skilled and diverse professionals coming into the industry and the agency. We know we must think differently about recruiting the next generation, and that includes continually making information available to them where they are and in a format they will embrace."

She added, that in 2023 the FAA awarded $10 million in grants to fund aviation classes at high schools to develop the next generation of workforce professionals. And, last year, the FAA awarded $5 million toward maintenance technician programs at high schools.

This article originally appeared on The Ledger: Amazon to partner with Lakeland school to train aircraft mechanics
A US F-16 fighter jet shot down an armed Turkish drone on Thursday operating too close to American troops in Hasakah, Syria, according to US defence officials.

The Independent has contacted the Pentagon for comment.

A US official told Reuters the military called its Turkish counterparts to warn them multiple times it might take out the drone.

The drone was flying in an unsafe and unsynchronised manner near US forces, an American official told The Associated Press, and US officials made more than a dozen warnings calls before ordering the strike.

The two countries, NATO allies, typically coordinate air operations when sharing a fighting theatre.

The drone was armed with air-to-ground munitions, according to the The Wall Street Journal

A Turkish defence official told the paper the drone doesnt belong to the country, but didnt say whose aircraft it was.

US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin is expected to speak with Turkish officials in the coming days, according to the Journal.

For the Turkish UAVs, we confirm that one UAV was shot down, but we currently do not possess sufficient information to provide further details, a spokesperson for the US-allied Syrian Democratic Forces told Al-Monitor.

The craft was downed near the town of Tell Beder, in the Kurdish-led autonomous region of northeastern Syria.

If the coalition did shoot it down, it was to warn Turkey that it had gone too far and was imperiling their forces, Salih Muslim, of the territorys Democratic Unity Party, added in an an interview with the outlet.

The drone affair adds tension to the already complicated relationship between the US and Turkey in Syria.

The US supports Kurdish forces in northern Syria, which Turkey views as a wing of its outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party, a group that claimed responsibility for a recent bomb attack on government buildings in Ankara.

The Turkish government has pursued retaliatory strikes, killing at least eight people in drone attacks in Kurdish-held zones of northeast Syria, Reuters reports.

The US and Turkey have also sparred over Turkeys delays in approving Swedens bid to join NATO, and potential US sales of F-16 fighter jets to Turkey.

About 900 US troops are stationed in Syria as part of the campaign against the Islamic State.
The US continues to decline in its support for arms sales to Ukraine, which is a worrying signal for Ukraine.

Source: Reuters with reference to a survey conducted by Reuters/Ipsos, reported by European Pravda

Details: The two-day survey, which ended on Wednesday, showed that only 41% of respondents agreed with the statement that Washington "should provide weapons to Ukraine", while 35% disagreed and the rest were undecided.

As a May Reuters/Ipsos survey showed, 46% of Americans supported sending weapons, while 29% opposed and the rest were unsure.

The poll was conducted as US congressional leaders debate Democratic President Joe Biden's request for US$24 billion in additional funding for Ukraine, of which about US$17 billion is defence aid.

Washington has pledged US$44 billion to supply Kyiv with dozens of tanks, thousands of missiles and millions of rounds of ammunition that Ukraine has used to defend itself since Russia invaded in February 2022. Ukrainian troops have recaptured a number of villages and towns in a counteroffensive that began in June, but their soldiers are hampered by vast Russian minefields and trenches.

"The declining support is having a negative effect on congressional support, and eventually, prospects for additional aid packages," said Elizabeth Hoffman, Director of Congressional and Government Affairs at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

Hoffman said that better communication would help, in particular, to make it clear to Americans that much of the money allocated to Ukraine stays in the US, including in the form of jobs at US arms companies.

Biden said on Wednesday that he would soon give a major speech on why it is necessary to continue to help Ukraine.

Background:

Last week, the US House of Representatives decided not to include further funding to support Ukraine in the interim government funding bill, and on Tuesday, it voted to remove Kevin McCarthy from the post of Speaker of the House.

Before the vote, the White House expressed confidence that, despite the situation with McCarthy's removal from office, Congress would be able to support additional funding for Ukraine's defence needs.

Ukrainska Pravda is the place where you will find the most up-to-date information about everything related to the war in Ukraine. Follow us on Twitter, support us, or become our patron!






Pastor Ryan Burge, an associate professor of political science at Eastern Illinois University and author of, "The Nones," a book on the growing number of religiously unaffiliated Americans, preaches a sermon at First Baptist Church in Mt. Vernon, Ill., Sunday, Sept. 10, 2023. For Burge, the rising number of "nones" and the dwindling number of religious is not simply a statistic, but a fact that he's been witnessing in his own parish for the past 16 years. (AP Photo/Jessie Wardarski)

Mike Dulak grew up Catholic in Southern California, but by his teen years, he began skipping Mass and driving straight to the shore to play guitar, watch the waves and enjoy the beauty of the morning on the beach, he recalled. And it felt more spiritual than any time I set foot in a church.

Nothing has changed that view in the ensuing decades.

Most religions are there to control people and get money from them, said Dulak, now 76, of Rocheport, Missouri. He also cited sex abuse scandals, harming innocent human beings, in Catholic and Southern Baptist churches. I cant buy into that, he said.

As Dulak rejects being part of a religious flock, he has plenty of company. He is a none  no, not that kind of nun. The kind that checks none when pollsters ask Whats your religion?

The decades-long rise of the nones  a diverse, hard-to-summarize group  is one of the most talked about phenomena in U.S. religion. The nones are reshaping Americas religious landscape as we know it.

In U.S. religion today, the most important story without a shadow of a doubt is the unbelievable rise in the share of Americans who are nonreligious, said Ryan Burge, a political science professor at Eastern Illinois University and author of The Nones, a book on the phenomenon.

The nones account for a large portion of Americans, as shown by the 30% of U.S. adults who claim no religious affiliation in a survey by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.

Other major surveys say the nones have been steadily increasing for as long as three decades.

So who are they?

Theyre the atheists, the agnostics, the nothing in particular. Many are spiritual but not religious, and some are neither or both. They span class, gender, age, race and ethnicity.

While the nones diversity splinters them into myriad subgroups, most of them have this in common:

They. Really. Dont. Like. Organized. Religion.

Nor its leaders. Nor its politics and social stances. Thats according to a large majority of nones in the AP-NORC survey.

But theyre not just a statistic. Theyre real people with unique relationships to belief and nonbelief, and the meaning of life.

Theyre secular homeschoolers in the Ozark Mountains of Arkansas, Pittsburghers working to overcome addiction. Theyre a mandolin maker in a small Missouri River town, a former evangelical disillusioned with that particular strain of American Christianity. Theyre college students who found their childhood churches unpersuasive or unwelcoming.

Church was not very good for me, said Emma Komoroski, a University of Missouri freshman who left her childhood Catholic religion in her mid-teens. Im a lesbian. So that was kind of like, oh, I didnt really fit, and people dont like me.

The nones also are people like Alric Jones, who cite bad experiences with organized religion that ranged from the intolerant churches of his hometown to the ministry that kept soliciting money from his devout late wife  even after Jones lost his job and income after an injury.

If it was such a Christian organization, and she was unable to send money, they should have come to us and said, 'Is there something we can do to help you?' said Jones, 71, of central Michigan. They kept sending us letters saying, Why arent you sending us money?

Jones does believe in God and in treating others equally. "Thats my spirituality if you want to call it that.

About 1 in 6 U.S. adults, including Jones and Dulak, is a nothing in particular. There are as many of them as atheists and agnostics combined (7% each).

Many embrace a range of spiritual beliefs  from God, prayer and heaven to karma, reincarnation, astrology or energy in crystals.

They are definitely not as turned off to religion as atheists and agnostics are, Burge said. They practice their own type of spirituality, many of them.

Dulak still draws inspiration from nature, and from making mandolins in the workshop next to his home.

It feels spiritually good, Dulak said. Its not a religion.

Burge said the nones are rising as the Christian population declines, particularly the mainline or moderate to liberal Protestants.

The statistics show the nones are well-represented in every age group, but especially among young adults. About four in 10 of those under 30 are nones  nearly as many as say theyre Christians.

The trend was evident in interviews on the University of Missouri campus. Several students said they didnt identify with a religion.

Mia Vogel said she likes the foundations of a lot of religions  just love everybody, accept everybody. But she considers herself more spiritual.

Im pretty into astrology. Ive got my crystals charging up in my window right now, she said. Honestly, Ill bet half of it is a total placebo. But I just like the idea that things in life can be explained by greater forces.

One movement that exemplifies the spiritual but not religious ethos is the Twelve Step sobriety program, pioneered by Alcoholics Anonymous and adopted by other recovery groups. Participants turn to a power greater than ourselves  the God of each persons own understanding  but they dont share any creed.

If you look at the religions, they have been wracked by scandals, it doesnt matter the denomination, said the Rev. Jay Geisler, an Episcopal priest who is spiritual advisor at the Pittsburgh Recovery Center, an addiction treatment site.

In contrast, theres actually a spiritual revival in the basement of many of the churches, where recovery groups often meet, he said.

Nobodys fighting in those rooms, theyre not saying, Youre wrong about God, Geisler said. The focus is on how your life is changed.

Scholars worry that, as people pull away from congregations and other social groups, they are losing sources of communal support.

But nones said in interviews they were happy to leave religion behind, particularly in toxic situations, and find community elsewhere.

Marjorie Logman, 75, of Aurora, Illinois, now finds community among other residents in her multigenerational apartment complex, and in her advocacy for nursing home residents. She doesnt miss the evangelical circles she was long active in.

The farther away I get, the freer I feel, she said.

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AP journalists Linley Sanders, Emily Swanson and Jessie Wardarski contributed.

___

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.

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The poll of 1,680 adults was conducted May 11-15 using a sample drawn from NORCs probability-based AmeriSpeak Panel, which is designed to be representative of the U.S. population. The margin of sampling error for all respondents is plus or minus 3.4 percentage points.
FILE - An Afghan refugee family return to Afghanistan through Pakistan's border crossing, Torkham, east of Kabul, Afghanistan, on Wednesday, March 11, 2015. Pakistan's caretaker Interior Minister on Tuesday, Oct. 3, 2023, asked all illegal immigrants, including Afghans, to go back to their countries voluntarily before October 30 to avoid mass arrest and forced deportation, sending a wave of panic, especially among 1.7 million Afghan refugees living in the Islamic nation without valid documents. (AP Photo/Rahmat Gul, File) (ASSOCIATED PRESS)

ISLAMABAD (AP)  Amnesty International on Thursday urged Pakistan to maintain its support for Afghan refugees by enabling them to live with dignity and be free from the fear of deportation to Afghanistan where they face persecution by the Taliban.

A forced return of refugees to Afghanistan could put them at a grave risk, Amnesty said in a statement, though Pakistan says its ongoing operations against irregular immigration weren't specific to Afghans.

Afghans in Pakistan are fleeing persecution by the Taliban," said Nadia Rahman, Amnestys regional deputy director for research in South Asia. They are living incredibly precarious lives where they are either having to undergo arduous processes for registering as refugees in Pakistan, or are stuck in lengthy processes waiting to obtain relocation to another country.

The appeal by Amnesty came two days after Pakistan announced a major crackdown on migrants who are in the country illegally  many of whom are from Afghanistan  and said it would expel them starting next month.

The Taliban government's chief spokesman, Zabihullah Mujahid, has also opposed Pakistans announcement about the migrants, saying it was unacceptable and that Islamabad should reconsider the decision.

Pakistan has been hosting Afghan refugees since they fled Afghanistan during the 1979-1989 Soviet occupation.
SAN DIEGO  Amtrak will now be operating its Pacific Surfliner rail service from San Diego to Los Angeles using a more sustainable fuel alternative created with a common household item: cooking oil.

Also known as renewable diesel, the fuel is chemically similar to fossil diesel, but it swaps out the crude oil for raw materials like cooking oil. The new diesel will be used for all trains that travel along the Los Angeles  San Diego  San Luis Obispo corridor, also known as LOSSAN.

The adoption of renewable diesel for our Pacific Surfliner service is an important milestone in our ongoing commitment to environmental preservation and the fight against climate change, Jewel Edson, chair of the LOSSAN Agency Board of Directors, said in a release announcing the change on Wednesday.

According to LOSSAN, the new type of fuel will reduce greenhouse gas emissions by as much as 63% throughout its lifecycle. The switch also offers the potential to reduce other harmful emissions that worsen local air quality, the transit company says, including fine particulates and nitrogen oxides.

Why do Californians pay so much for gas?

The Amtrak Pacific Surfliner fleet also currently operates with one of the cleanest types of diesel-electric locomotives across the country, according to LOSSAN. Called the Charger locomotive, the passenger train was the first to receive the stringent Tier IV emissions certification from the Environmental Protection Agency.

The transition to renewable diesel serves as yet another significant stride in reducing the Pacific Surfliner and our passengers carbon footprint, the managing agency wrote in its release.

In adopting the new diesel, the LOSSAN managing agency said they worked with Amtrak, as well as the California Department of Transportation, the Capitol Corridor Joint Powers Authority and the San Joaquin Joint Powers Authority among others.

We take immense pride in joining forces with Amtrak, state and federal agencies, rail equipment manufacturers, and fuel distributors who share our commitment to reducing greenhouse gas emissions and promoting sustainability, Edson added.

Train travel is already one of the most sustainable modes of transit. According to the Department of Energy, using trains is roughly 46% more energy efficient than traveling by car.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX 5 San Diego.
Cannibalism was a routine funerary practice in Europe about 15,000 years ago, with people eating their dead not out of necessity but rather as part of their culture, according to a new study.

While researchers previously found gnawed bones and human skulls that had been modified into cups at Goughs Cave in England, a study published in the journal Quaternary Science Reviews suggests this was not an isolated incident.

Their research focused on the Magdalenian period of the late Upper Paleolithic era. The Magdalenians lived some 11,000 to 17,000 years ago.

Experts at Londons National History Museum reviewed literature to identify 59 Magdalenian sites that have human remains. Most were in France, with sites also in Germany, Spain, Russia, the United Kingdom, Belgium, Poland, the Czech Republic and Portugal.

They were able to interpret the funerary behaviors at 25 of the sites.

Fifteen showed evidence of human remains with chewing marks, skull bones with cut marks and bones purposefully broken in a pattern associated with the extraction of bone marrow for nutrients, indicating that cannibalism was practiced.

There was also evidence to suggest that in some cases human remains were mixed with those of animals.

The ritualistic manipulation of human remains and its frequent occurrence at sites across northern and western Europe suggested cannibalism was a burial practice  rather than to supplement diet  widespread in Magdalenian culture, researchers said.

[It is] undeniable, that the frequency of cannibalistic cases among Magdalenian sites exceeds any incidence of this behaviour among earlier or later hominin groups, and suggests that mortuary cannibalism was a method Magdalenian people used to dispose of their deceased, the study said.

Human remains with chewing marks, skull bones with cutmarks and bones purposefully broken in a pattern associated with the extraction of bone marrow for nutrients were suggestive of cannibalism. - Trustees of the Natural History Museum

Instead of burying their dead, these people were eating them, study coauthor Silvia Bello, a paleoanthropologist and principal researcher at the National History Museum, said in a press release.

She added that cannibalism was not simply practiced out of necessity.

That in itself is interesting, because it is the oldest evidence of cannibalism as a funerary practice so far known, Bello added.

Funeral behavior associated with genetic ancestry

Researchers were also able to obtain genetic information from eight sites and combine it with the archaeological evidence to identify a relationship between funerary behavior and genetic ancestry.

They found that there were two distinct ancestral groups present in the region during that period  one of Magdalenian culture and another called the Epigravettian, a different European and geographically-distinct human culture.

Researchers found those belonging to the Magdalenian culture in northwestern Europe preferred to eat their dead, while humans from the Epigravettian culture preferred to bury their dead without cannibalism.

There was a shift towards people burying their dead, a behaviour seen widely across south central Europe and attributed to a second distinct culture, known as the Epigravettian, the Natural History Museum said in the release.

Map of Magdalenian sites where cannibalism has been identified in northwestern Europe. - Trustees of the Natural History Museum

The presence of regular burial during the Upper Magdalenian was down to the migration of individuals with Epigravettian-related ancestry into areas previously inhabited by people with Magdalenian-related ancestry who practiced funerary cannibalism, the study suggested.

We believe that the change in funerary behaviour identified here is an example of demic diffusion where essentially one population comes in and replaces another population and that brings about a change in behaviour, said William Marsh, postdoctoral researcher at the museum, in the press release.

These are preliminary results and further analysis of the results at a larger scale is needed to fully examine the findings, the study authors said.

Thomas Booth, a senior laboratory research scientist at the Francis Crick Institute who was not involved in the study, told CNN Thursday: Were missing the remains of most people who lived in Europe during the Palaeolithic and so it can always be tricky to be sure of what people did with their dead.

However, this study provides pretty convincing evidence that ritual funerary cannibalism was practiced by people across Europe 20,000-14,000 years ago.

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WASHINGTON  Anduril Industries unveiled a detonating variant of its Anvil drone it said is capable of intercepting and obliterating nimble overhead threats.

The company, which specializes in autonomy and unmanned aerial systems, said the new Anvil-M was built using input from real-world combat operations and customer feedback and can more reliably seek and destroy incoming drones in the Group 1 and Group 2 categories. The groupings denote the speed, altitude and weight of a drone, with 1 being smaller and simpler and 5 being larger and more sophisticated.

Anvil-M was designed to defeat the biggest threats from Group 1 and Group 2 unmanned aircraft systems to ensure air deterrence, Neil Thurgood, an Anduril senior vice president and retired U.S. Army general, said in a statement. Threats will continue to evolve and so, too, will our capabilities, as Anduril will rapidly iterate to meet those threats.

Anvil-M is the latest addition to Andurils counter-drone line of products and takes cues from existing members. The drone is ground-launched, integrating with the companys mobile home base known as the Launch Box, and links with the artificial intelligence-empowered Lattice command-and-control software.

Anduril, Epirus to boost US Marine Corps drone defenses

Once tasked, Anvil drones zip toward a target on a collision path. Whereas the original Anvil rams its prey, knocking it out of the sky, Anvil-M uses a fire-control module and munitions payload.

The U.S. Department of Defense is increasingly worried about drones  and is quickly seeking means to counter them. The commercially available equipment can be used to spy and target, as is seen in the Russia-Ukraine war, and can be tipped with bombs for deadly one-way attacks, as is happening in the Middle East. Central Command in January blamed Iran for a drone assault on a base in Syria used by U.S. and local forces, and the Defense Intelligence Agency months later revealed Iranian attack drones were recovered in nearby Iraq.

U.S. Special Operations Command in early 2022 picked Anduril to lead its counter-drone integration efforts. The deal was worth $1 billion. The company more recently secured Air Force contracts totaling $8 million to refine autonomy aboard its helicopter-like Ghost line of products.
The United States Supreme Court has sent another death penalty case back to Maricopa County in the wake of a ruling that could affect many more capital cases in Arizona.

On Monday, the high court overturned the Arizona Supreme Court's refusal to review an appeal from Manuel Ovante, who argued that the trial judge gave him and his jury incorrect sentencing information.

This year, the U.S. Supreme Court remanded a total of seven Arizona capital defendants' cases to the lower courts through two separate rulings. Four others also had their cases sent back under a previous, similar ruling. Of these, one man was sentenced to death a second time earlier this year.

Ovante's case took a similar path.

He was accused of driving around Phoenix in June 2008, high on methamphetamine and killing two people in three shootings.

He pled guilty to first-degree murder after a judge erroneously told him he could potentially receive life with parole. But parole had been abolished in Arizona more than a decade earlier, in 1994.

Arizona's Death Row: See who is awaiting execution

At his sentencing, the judge mistakenly told the jury that if they sentenced Ovante to life, instead of the death penalty, he would be eligible for parole. The jury sentenced him to death in 2018.

The Supreme Court ruling in a 1994 case known as Simmons v South Carolina set the precedent for defendants to be able to tell juries that they would not be eligible for parole if they were sentenced to life in prison instead of death. But for many years, Arizona refused to apply the ruling.

A 2016 ruling from the U.S. Supreme Court in Lynch v. Arizona affirmed that the Simmons precedent applied in Arizona, but the Arizona Supreme Court continued to refuse to recognize it.

Supreme Court woes: Arizona faces 'reckoning' in death row cases after ignoring high court precedent for years

In February, the United States Supreme Court ruled in favor of John Montenegro Cruz, who challenged his death sentence because he was not permitted to tell jurors that if he were given a life sentence, it would be without parole. The high court found that the Arizona Supreme Court was wrong to say Lynch did not apply in Arizona, finding that it was a significant change in the law.

Since the Cruz ruling, several capital cases have been sent back to Arizona for review.

Earlier this year, the high court sent six death row cases back to Arizona trial courts for reconsideration in light of the Cruz ruling. Legal experts say as many as 30 capital defendants in total could be affected by the Cruz decision.

SCOTUS sends cases back to AZ: Supreme Court sends 6 death row cases back to Arizona courts after Cruz ruling

Garrett Simpson, at attorney for Ovante, said it was his understanding that the high court would issue a mandate in a few weeks that will officially return the case to the Maricopa County Superior Court for further proceedings.

"We're hopeful. It's a better day than it was yesterday," Simpson said in response to the ruling. He said he had spoken to Ovante and conveyed the ruling to him. "We're very happy to have the results and we're moving forward to be responsive to the proceedings that may follow."

Reporter Elena Santa Cruz contributed to this story.

Have a news tip? Reach the reporter at jjenkins@arizonarepublic.com or at 812-243-5582. Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter @JimmyJenkins.Support local journalism. Subscribe to azcentral.com today.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Manuel Ovante's death penalty case sent back to Arizona after ruling
The US Naval Academy was sued Thursday over its use of race in its admissions practices by the same anti-affirmative action group whose lawsuits against Harvard and the University of North Carolina led the Supreme Court to declare race-based admissions policies unlawful earlier this year.

In a 28-page lawsuit filed with a federal court in Maryland, the conservative group Students for Fair Admissions said that the academy has no justification for using race-based admissions and argued that its policy of using race as a factor in admissions runs afoul of the US Constitution.

The school, attorneys for the group wrote in its complaint, openly acknowledges that race is determinative for some applicants. Because the Academy provides a racial benefit to some applicants but not to others, it necessarily advantages the former group at the expense of the latter.

Thursdays lawsuit is the second challenge brought in recent weeks by SFFA against the admissions policies of US military schools. Last month, the group filed a federal lawsuit against the US Military Academy at West Point, asking a judge to prohibit the New York school from considering or knowing an applicants race during the admissions process.

In June, the Supreme Court ruled that colleges and universities could no longer take race into consideration as a specific basis for granting admissions  except for US military service academies. It was a significant decision against affirmative action policies, which have focused on improving opportunities for historically excluded minorities.

In a footnote in the majority opinion, Chief Justice John Roberts said that the cases before the court did not address the issue and left open the possibility that there are potentially distinct interests that military academies may present in a future case.

The group argued in its suit against the Naval Academy that it believed the courts holding earlier this year makes it perfectly clear that the Academys use of race in admissions is unconstitutional.

CNN has reached out to the Naval Academy for comment.

CNNs Ariane de Vogue and Jamiel Lynch contributed to this report.

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An armed man demanding to speak to the Wisconsin governor was arrested in the state capitol, posted bail, and returned - only to be arrested again.

The shirtless man, who had a holstered handgun, was taken into custody on Wednesday afternoon for illegally carrying a firearm in the building.

But he posted bail and returned that evening with an assault-style rifle.

Governor Tony Evers, a Democrat, was not in his capitol office at the time, according to a state official.

But the governor's office itself declined to comment, telling the BBC "we do not comment on specific security threats or the governor's security detail".

Mr Evers had been present in the Capitol earlier on Wednesday to meet individuals testifying against a series of bills.

Speaking to reporters at an event in Oregon on Thursday, he said "I'm OK."

"To their credit, the capitol police took control of the situation so it's over, but it's always something you don't want to see happen," he said.

Asked about security protocols, he added: "I never, ever talk about what my security detail does or what they're planning on doing. But anytime something like this happens, obviously they re-evaluate."

The armed man approached Mr Evers' office around 15:00 EST (19:00 GMT) on Wednesday, according to Tatyana Warrick, a spokeswoman for the Wisconsin Department of Administration.

She said he had a leashed dog with him when he appeared at the security desk outside the governor's office and refused to leave until he met Mr Evers.

A single police officer sits at the desk on the building's first floor, which also houses a conference room and offices for the attorney general.

The public has free access to the capitol building. Two officers are posted in its rotunda and there are no metal detectors at entryways.

Weapons can be brought into the building if they are concealed and the carrier holds a valid permit, but the man was carrying it openly and did not have a permit.

Wisconsin state Capitol

Ms Warrick said he had been arrested by capitol police without incident, with his firearm seized as evidence and his dog turned over to the city's animal control.

Mobile phone footage of the man's arrest that was provided to the Associated Press reportedly shows him saying that he is "not a threat" but admitting "I broke that law".

Police told the Washington Post he had been booked into the Dane County Jail and had posted his $500 (410) bail himself.

According to Ms Warrick, he returned again to the capitol grounds just before 22:00 EST carrying a loaded AK 47-style rifle. The building closes at 19:00 EST.

Officers spoke to him, asked to search his backpack and found "a collapsible police-style baton, which is illegal as the man did not have a valid concealed carry permit", Ms Warrick said.

The would-be assailant was taken into custody a second time on Wednesday night for a psychiatric evaluation "based on concerning statements", she said.

Ms Warrick could not confirm to the BBC if the man remains in custody.

Police for the city of Madison also did not confirm the man's whereabouts, but said in a police report: "The subject was taken into protective custody and conveyed to a local hospital."

The man has not yet been publicly identified, but capitol police named the man in a bulletin sent to lawmakers and their staff on Thursday with his photo attached.

Police said he told them he "would continue coming to the capitol until he spoke to the governor about domestic abuse towards men".

They added that he "likely has access to a large amount of weapons and is comfortable using them", and that lawmakers should "use extreme caution when in contact" with him.

Lawmakers had not been notified, however, of either previous incident until Thursday morning.

No court charges appeared to have been filed against the man as of Thursday.

Evers has become a target of violent threats

Public and elected officials across the US currently face a rising number of threats in violence.

They include high-profile figures, such as governors and Supreme Court judges, as well as lesser-known individuals like local school board members.

Mr Evers was elected Wisconsin's governor in 2018 and was re-elected last year, both times by narrow margins in a state that is closely contested between the two parties.

The former educator's governorship has effectively served as a one-man veto against several pieces of Republican-backed legislation.

In June, a Madison resident was sentenced to one year in prison for making dozens of threats, via voicemail, email, Facebook and other methods, against Mr Evers and other state officials.

His warnings to Mr Evers were of a highly graphic nature, including messages that referred to the governor as a "dead man walking" and "a marked man".

Thursday's incident comes more than a year after Mr Evers appeared on the hit list of a gunman previously accused of zip-tying and fatally shooting a retired county judge at his Wisconsin home.

The hit list with Mr Evers' name on it also included those of Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and Michigan's Democratic governor Gretchen Whitmer, the target of a kidnapping plot in 2020.
Lebanese Armenians clash with police outside the Azerbaijani Embassy near Beirut during a protest against the recapture of the Nagorno-Karabakh enclave from separatist Armenian authorities. (Hussein Malla / Associated Press)

Hilda Doumanian stood in the main hall of the Anjar museum, scanning the glass cases holding items her ethnic Armenian forebears salvaged from their lands before they escaped to Lebanon more than eight decades ago.

"This appears to be our fate: to be forcibly displaced every few decades," she said, walking up to one of the displays: A collection of rust-encrusted kitchenware and bundles of braided silk from a village loom. Ancient-looking rifles. Religious vessels. Bibles so old their pages appeared more suspended dust than paper.

"The Armenian genocide was the first genocide of the 20th century," she said, slowly shaking her head in resignation, referring to the 1915 genocide by the Ottoman Empire.

"Now in the 21st century we see the first genocide, and it's Armenians again."

A gardener tends to the plants at the Armenian Genocide Memorial in the historic town of Anjar in Lebanon's eastern Bekaa Valley. The memorial commemorates the mass killings of Armenians as part of the genocide under the Ottoman Empire in 1915. (Joseph Eid / AFP via Getty Images)

On Doumanian's mind was the exodus taking place over the last two weeks from what many Armenians see as their ancestral homelands  a further erasure of their history.

More than 100,000 ethnic Armenians, fearing ethnic cleansing at the hands of their Azerbaijani adversaries, have abandoned their homes in Nagorno-Karabakh, the mountainous enclave inside Azerbaijan's internationally recognized borders where they had established their self-declared state.

Read more: Amid fury over Nagorno-Karabakh, could Armenia's government fall next?

In the more than 30 years of its existence, the Republic of Artsakh, not formally recognized by any nation, had established the trappings of a country  a government, a standing army, a flag. But it all crumbled before a withering Azerbaijani blitzkrieg last month, with the enclave's leaders forced to surrender and announce the republic's dissolution by the end of the year.

Though Azerbaijan's government offered to integrate Nagorno-Karabakh's ethnic Armenian population as equal citizens, most, unwilling to countenance Azerbaijani rule, fled into Armenia in a refugee convoy that at its peak stretched more than 60 miles. Fewer than a thousand remain behind. Those who fled cite the Azeris' decades-old animus toward Armenians and the triumphalist rhetoric of Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev for their distrust, no matter what Azerbaijan says.

For millions in Armenia and the diaspora, the loss of Nagorno-Karabakh, and the long-held dream of constructing a state on Armenian homeland, was a blow. The shock resonates in a personal way in Anjar, whose residents are almost all ethnic Armenians whose ancestors fled here from Musa Dagh, or Moses Mountain, a territory in what is now southern Turkey.

An ethnic Armenian woman from Nagorno-Karabakh carries her suitcase to a tent camp after arriving in Goris, Armenia. (Vasily Krestyaninov / Associated Press)

When the people of Musa Dagh heard of the coming genocidal campaign in 1915, they refused to obey Turkish authorities' command to leave their houses in the mountains. They resisted for a month and a half, losing 18 people before a French naval vessel rescued and took them to Egypt, where they stayed for four years, returning after the Ottoman Empire's loss in World War I.

In 1939, when French authorities controlling the area under a postwar mandate handed it to Turkey, the inhabitants of Musa Dagh faced yet another agonizing choice: Accept Turkish control or leave. Fearing a repeat of the bloodshed in 1915, they were escorted out by French troops to settle in Lebanon's Bekaa Valley, on land bought from an Ottoman feudal lord.

Read more: 'Staying, for us, is impossible.' Thousands of ethnic Armenians flee Nagorno-Karabakh

"We refused to live under the Turks, because we knew they would do the same thing as before," Doumanian said.

Watching a new wave of displacement hit Armenians brought back memories of long-held pain, said Isabel Kendirjian, a bedridden but alert 90-year-old who still remembers coming to Anjar when she was 6.

"It's the same thing that happened to us. This is how we felt back then," she said.

"They gave us eight days to leave Musa Dagh. We took everything we could and went on the buses to here," she said. "There was nothing. Very few trees. We lived in tents."

A Lebanese Armenian steps on a defaced poster showing Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev. (Hussein Malla / Assoiated Press)

The new Anjaris stayed in those tents for roughly two years while authorities built up the town, organizing it into six neighborhoods, each named after a village in Musa Dagh. The houses the French provided were single-room structures measuring 12 square feet along with a bathroom.

"Four people, 20 people, it didn't matter. Everyone was in one room," Doumanian said."We still call them beit Faransi, a French house, to this day."

Tensions between Muslim Turks and Christian Armenians date to the days of the Ottoman Empire, but the war for Nagorno-Karabakh was rooted in the fall of a more contemporary empire: the Soviet Union.

In 1988, inside the roiling Soviet landscape, the enclave's ethnic Armenian majority chose to secede from one Soviet republic, Azerbaijan, and unite with another, Armenia. The move sparked an ethnic conflict with Azeris that saw massacres and pogroms on both sides, and an estimated million displaced people, mostly Azeris.

Six years later, by which time the Soviet Union had collapsed, the ethnic Armenians won. They claimed Nagorno-Karabakh (which Armenians call Artsakh) and its surrounding districts in what other nations viewed as a violation of international law.

Read more: Nagorno-Karabakh's separatist government says it will disband by year's end

Donations poured in from the Armenian diaspora, including from the the late California businessman and philanthropist Kirk Kerkorian, whose largesse helped funnel hundreds of millions of dollars to fund schools and a major highway in the fledgling republic. Stop-start negotiations over the years never got anywhere.

In the meantime, Azerbaijan had used its vast oil and gas riches to retool its army. Armenia's confidence in its ability to keep the status quo in Nagorno-Karabakh, not to mention its contempt for an enemy it had long dismissed as cowardly, meant that it was woefully unprepared when Azerbaijan launched an assault in 2020 and snatched back most of the land it lost.

A cease-fire guaranteed by Russia, Armenia's main patron, was to be the prelude to a peace treaty. But tensions continued, culminating in Azerbaijan blockading the territory in December, then launching a lightning onslaught last month that routed the Artsakh Republic's army. Moscow, preoccupied with its war on Ukraine and displeased with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan's recent overtures to the West, stood by as Azerbaijan pursued its campaign.

Pashinyan, aware of his military's limitations and with little diplomatic backing, refused to intervene, infuriating many Armenians.

Varian Khoshian, the mayor of Anjar, feels ashamed at the loss. His passion about the concept of Artsakh runs so deep that he named his son  now an officer in the Lebanese army  after it.

He blamed the rout on Pashinyan and his policy of antagonizing Armenia's traditional ally, Russia, for the West's sake, pointing to another sign of fraying ties with Moscow that came Tuesday when Armenia's parliament ratified the International Criminal Court's founding Rome Statute.

Because the court in March issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin for the war in Ukraine, the ratification means Armenia would have to arrest Putin if he stepped on Armenian soil. The Kremlin called the decision "incorrect," a position with which Khoshian agreed.

"We had a strong umbrella. We like the West, sure, but we got a smaller umbrella from America that doesn't cover us," he said.

Read more: Armenian Americans say another genocide underway in Nagorno-Karabakh, rally for U.S. action

During Lebanon's 15-year civil war, Khoshian learned to work with groups he didn't like, but it was for the good of Anjar; Pashinyan should have done the same, the mayor said.

"I don't love the Russians. But I need them for my homeland," Khoshian said. "That's how you have to think. Otherwise you lose."

Despite all that, he insisted the war for Nagorno-Karabakh was not over.

"I can't give up. We will come back. We have to," he said. "Those lands are the property of our ancestors."

And it was more than just a matter of emotions.

"We know the value of Artsakh, its strategic location for Armenia," Khoshian said.

Armenian Lebanese protesters clash with security forces near Beirut. ( Houssam Shbaro / Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

Azerbaijan, he continued, was intent on taking parts of southern Armenia for a land corridor linking its territory to Nakhchivan, Azerbaijan's exclave on Armenia's southwestern side.

"It's the first domino. Once Artsakh falls, you'll find other Armenian cities in the south falling."

Armenians have been demanding a stronger military response, with protests among diaspora groups in Southern California and frequent demonstrations in Yerevan, Armenia's capital, against Pashinyan and what many see as his capitulation.

In Armenian-dominated neighborhoods in Beirut, graffiti targets Azerbaijan's president, Aliyev, and his top ally, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The stenciled graffiti calls Aliyev a killer and declares that Karabakh will always be Armenian. Lebanon's main Armenian party held a demonstration in front of the Azerbaijani Embassy that turned violent. In Anjar, high schoolers had their own anti-Turkish protest, carrying placards with Erdogan's face and chanting their support for Artsakh.

Read more: They lay competing claims to Nagorno-Karabakh. The war over it defines them both

Yessayi Havatian, an agricultural supplies merchant and Anjar historian, wondered whether the future fate of Karabakh Armenians would be to go to war again, or whether they would become like the Armenians of Musa Dagh, cut off from their ancestral lands.

"Our people thought of going back. For 14 years they refused to plant orchards on the land here. Why? Because they said, 'We're not going to stay that long.' They believed they would go home," Havatian said.

Whatever Karabakh Armenians choose, he added, it was clear that Armenians couldn't pursue the war as they had in the past.

"We the Armenians made a mistake: We relied on someone other than us to defend us. The world watched our people forcibly displaced and did nothing. And no one will do anything," he said.

"No one will defend Armenia other than the Armenians. That's the solution."

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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
The Army knows it has a barracks problem. Now the service has a plan to fix it. But it will take additional funding  $4 billion more, to be specific.

Thats what Paul Farnan, the services principal deputy assistant secretary for installations, energy and environment, said in a Thursday interview in the wake of a watchdog report that detailed the dire condition of military barracks conditions. Of the services barracks buildings used by permanently stationed junior enlisted soldiers, just over 300 facilities (or one-in-five) are rated as poor or failing.

According to Farnan and internal documents shared with Army Times, the Army has a plan that it believes will fix or replace nearly all of those buildings by fiscal year 2030  if the moneys there. That funding will depend on whether Army leaders decide the issue is more pressing than other competing requirements and whether Congress agrees.

The Armys Permanent Party Barracks Resourcing Strategy recommends surging more than $4 billion into barracks maintenance, repair and construction over the rest of the decade to ensure all single junior enlisted soldiers live in quality housing by 2030. These resources would be in addition to the Armys previous commitment to spend $1 billion per year on military barracks. The recommendations, developed from a facilities investment statistical model, were signed by former Sergeant Major of the Army Michael Grinston, Army G-9 Lt. Gen. Kevin Vereen, and the services top civilian official for installations, Rachel Jacobson.

Were showing our work. Were showing our problems, Farnan, who reports to Jacobson, said. We understand that we cant fix it if we dont admit the problem  and thats exactly what were doing here.

Farnan cautioned, though, that the document was strictly meant to be internal planning to better inform our leaders so they can make decisions to fix the problem. He said the decision lies with Army Secretary Christine Wormuth, who will determine where the barracks lie in the Armys priorities ahead of the fiscal 2025 budget process, which will likely begin in February 2024.

Barracks conditions have caught the attention of lawmakers thanks to media and watchdog reports, with some members of Congress pressing Army officials for a price tag to fix the problem all at once.

If implemented in line with the officials recommendations, the strategy will fully fund barracks sustainment, which provides for regular maintenance to prevent decay of existing buildings. That will cover things like preventive maintenance, minor repairs, and the [routine] replacement of roofs, HVAC units and other similar building components. Currently, sustainment funds are around 92% of the Armys need, Farnan said. A boost to 100% would cost a projected $342 million, according to the documents.

The strategy also recommends a nearly $2 billion funding boost that will allow the Army to fix all of its repairable barracks that it rates as poor and failing. Under the services current budget, the plan is to fix just over a third of those buildings, Farnans fellow deputy assistant secretary Carla Coulson told House lawmakers Sept. 27.

The document also proposed constructing new buildings to replace all unrepairable barracks, as well as facilities meant to address housing shortages at some installations  but the move carries an estimated cost of just under $1.8 billion on top of current barracks funding commitments.

Yet even that money wont cover the entirety of the services projected housing shortages, according to the strategy. In order to reduce construction costs, the Army may reevaluate which junior troops are eligible to live off base, with possible considerations being rank, time in service or the size of the installation and local availability of affordable private housing.

Another option that lawmakers broached in the Sept. 27 hearing is exploring privatized barracks for junior enlisted soldiers. A small number of mid-career and senior enlisted troops live in privatized barracks at five installations, Farnan said, and a new facility is under construction in Miami.

Could privatizing barracks help fix the lousy conditions?

Farnan said privatized barracks will not work everywhere and acknowledged the obstacles and challenges of using privatized housing, but argued there are places where they are going to work even for junior troops.

In addition to calculating funding requirements, the strategy sets a new bar for single-soldier quality housing across the Army. All of the services new or reconstructed barracks will meet the standard, according to the documents.

The strategys new standard calls for functional safety features, locking exterior and interior doors, private sleeping rooms for all soldiers, a bathroom for every two soldiers, and shared kitchenettes that include a cooktop and microwave. Quality housing must also be adequately furnished, internet ready, and have access to laundry.

Farnan said junior soldiers all deserve to live in decent, quality housing, but cautioned that the improvements will take time even if fully funded.

This is a problem that was created over the course of decades, Farnan said. Were not going to fix it in just one yearwe hear [the soldiers], were aware of the concerns.
On Monday, two soldiers died in a tactical vehicle accident near the Yukon Training Area in Alaska. The Army has now identified them as Spc. Jeremy Evans and Spc. Brian Snowden.

The pair enlisted in July 2020 and trained at Fort Moore, Georgia, before being stationed at Fort Wainwright, Alaska, according to a service press release published Wednesday. Evans, 23, and Snowden, 22, died when their Light Medium Tactical Vehicle flipped over on a dirt road outside the town of Salcha. Twelve other soldiers were also injured in the accident.

Evans hailed from Knoxville, Tennessee. He arrived in Alaska in January 2021. Seven months later, he married his high school sweetheart, according to public social media postings. He played sousaphone for the Gibbs High School marching band before trading in his sky blue jacket for an Army service uniform.

Snowden arrived at Fort Wainwright two months after Evans. The Lonedell, Missouri, native graduated from Grandview R-2 High School in 2020, according to a Facebook post from the school district.

Both soldiers served in the 1st Battalion, 5th Infantry Regiment, 1st Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 11th Airborne Division.

This is an incredible loss for all of us across the division, said Maj. Gen. Brian Eifler, the 11th Airbornes commanding general. While were always challenged by the environment, were Arctic Angels, we overcome these challenges and accomplish our mission by being a team, and teams take care of one another, especially in times like these.

Eight of the 12 injured have been released from hospital on Monday, Army officials said in a statement. Four remain in care but are in stable condition.
A fugitive who fled police in Eddy County was caught Tuesday by federal authorities almost five hours north in Albuquerque.

The arrest stemmed from an incident when officers attempted to arrest the man for having a rifle in his car despite being a convicted felon Sept. 24 in Eddy County.

Saul Peralta, 36, was arrested the U.S. Marshals Services Southwest Fugitive Team on the state warrant for possession of a firearm by a felon.

More: Police shoot Carlsbad man after foot chase through Artesia alley

He was also charged with a federal probation violation tied to a 2012 federal conviction for possession with intent to distribute meth and possessing a firearm during drug trafficking.

Three more guns were found in Peraltas vehicle at the time of his arrest, including one that was reported stolen.

Peralta was pulled over after police said he was speeding on 13th Street near Artesia, after heading northbound from Atoka Road.

More: Bandidos raids in New Mexico stem from 'all-out war' between motorcycle clubs, police say

He was driving a green Dodge Charger and was pulled over at the corner of 13th and Floyd Road, according to a criminal complaint.

Peralta was identified as the owner of the vehicle, and officers said they found an AR-15 rifle in the car and Peralta and two other passengers all denied owning the gun.

The gun was loaded, and police found other containers of ammunition throughout the vehicle, the complaint read.

More: Man accused of stealing wife's search and rescue dogs now charged with plotting her murder

Police later determined Peralta was on probation, and a convicted felon, attempting to arrest him for possession of the rifle.

He refused to get out of the car, shifting into drive and fleeing, police said, and headed east on Floyd, then north on 13th toward Artesia.

A passenger jumped out of the vehicle as it pulled away, and rolled, police said. He was uninjured in the incident, read the complaint.

Peralta was charged with one count of possessing the firearm as a felon, and two counts of resisting, evading or obstructing an officer.

The U.S. Marshals Service was aided in Peraltas arrest by the New Mexico State Police, New Mexico Department of Corrections, Albuquerque Police Department and U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

Deputy U.S. Marshal Jimmie Glisson he was unsure why Peralta fled to Albuquerque and that police in the area where "actively" looking for him when he was arrested amid the investigation into his crimes.

"There's no rhyme or reason sometimes," Glisson said. "Sometimes they flee to relatives, sometimes they flee to smaller jurisdictions to try to blend in."

He said the U.S. Attorney's Office will next review the evidence in preparation for a case in federal court, while Peralta could also be brought back to Eddy County on the state charges.,

"The case will be referred to the U.S. Attorney's office for review," Glisson said. "At some point, Eddy County will want him (Peralta) to answer for those charges."

Adrian Hedden can be reached at 575-628-5516, achedden@currentargus.com or @AdrianHedden on X, formerly known as Twitter.

This article originally appeared on Carlsbad Current-Argus: Artesia man runs from police, tracked to Albuquerque and arrested
An atheist stands against the sunset sky in a street in Kano, Nigeria Friday, July 14, 2023. Nonbelievers in Nigeria said they perennially have been treated as second-class citizens in the deeply religious country whose 210 million population is almost evenly divided between Christians dominant in the south and Muslims who are the majority in the north. Some nonbelievers say threats and attacks have worsened in the north since the leader of the Humanist Association of Nigeria, Mubarak Bala, was arrested and later jailed for blasphemy. (AP Photo/Sunday Alamba)

KANO, Nigeria (AP)  When the megaphone called out for the daily Islamic prayers, the nonbeliever grabbed his prayer beads and ambled through the streets to join others at the mosque in Kano, northern Nigerias largest city. Formerly a Muslim, he now identifies as an atheist but remains closeted, performing religious obligations only as a cover.

To survive as an atheist, you cannot act like one, said the man, who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity over fears for his safety. He said he narrowly escaped being killed by a mob in 2015 after some people found out he had forsaken Islam.

If I ever come out in northern Nigeria to say I am an atheist, it will be an automatic death sentence, said the man, a business owner in his 30s.

In parts of the world, the religiously unaffiliated are on the rise, and can safely and publicly be a none  someone who identifies as an atheist, agnostic or nothing in particular. In countries like Nigeria, the situation is starkly different.

Nonbelievers in Nigeria said they perennially have been treated as second-class citizens in the deeply religious country whose 210 million population is almost evenly divided between Christians dominant in the south and Muslims who are the majority in the north. While the south is relatively safe for nonbelievers, some say threats and attacks have worsened in the north since the leader of the Humanist Association of Nigeria, Mubarak Bala, was arrested and later jailed for blasphemy.

The Associated Press spoke to seven nonbelievers to document their experiences. Most spoke anonymously and in secret locations over concerns for their safety.

Balas imprisonment rolled our movement underground, Leo Igwe, a founder of the humanist association, said of the groups leader, who in 2022 was jailed for 24 years. A court convicted him on an 18-count charge of blaspheming Islam and breach of public peace through his posts on Facebook.

Since Bala was prosecuted by the Kano state government, the humanist association  which has several hundred members  has gone underground, struggling with threats to members who no longer hold meetings, Leo said.

Nigerias constitution provides for freedom of religion and expression, but activists say threats to religious freedom are common, especially in the north.

Almost half of the countries in Africa, including Nigeria, have statutes outlawing blasphemy. In most secular courts in Nigeria, the stiffest penalty for a blasphemy charge is two years in prison, while it carries a death penalty in the Islamic courts active in the north.

There are no records of any such executions in recent years. The most recent instance of a death sentence, issued in December against an Islamic cleric, has not been carried out.

The Shariah law operating in Islamic courts defines blasphemous acts as those committed by anyone who intentionally abuses, insults, derogates, humiliates or seeks to incite contempt of the holy Prophet Muhammad.

But what exactly constitutes an insult to Islam is often open to interpretation by accusers; some alleged offenders have been attacked and killed before any trial.

At least three people have been killed for alleged blasphemy in northern Nigeria in the past year. The latest victim was a Muslim stoned to death in June after being accused of blaspheming Islam during an argument at a market. Those who stoned him included children, according to a video reviewed by the AP.

Authorities in Nigeria have failed to act to prevent such attacks, and prosecutions have been rare, said Isa Sanusi, director of Amnesty International in Nigeria.

The alarming uptick in blasphemy killings and accusations underscores the urgency with which the authorities must wake up to Nigerias international legal obligations to respect and protect human rights, including freedom of religion, Sanusi said.

Perpetrators of such attacks are ignorant of Islamic teachings, which discourage violence and do not compel anyone to become an adherent unwillingly, said Professor Usman Dutsinma, deputy director of the Center for Islamic Civilization and Interfaith Dialogue at Kanos Bayero University.

The best thing you can do is to subject him to reasoning, Dutsinma said of nonbelievers. But if somebody denounces Islam  some punitive measures must be taken against him. That is what Islam provides.

Threats against the nonreligious in Nigeria are common on social media. On a Facebook group named Anti-Atheist, users frequently posted messages that trolled or threatened atheists, using the Hausa language of northern Nigeria.

The atheist in Kano, in a dimly lit room, spoke with a mix of grit and fear about his experiences as a nonbeliever in a nation where about 98% of the population are Christians or Muslims, according to the Pew Research Center. A Facebook post from Bala in 2015, critiquing some Islamic teachings, influenced the man's shift to atheism.

The man said he created a Facebook account of his own with a fake profile, regularly posting comments that questioned religion.

My biggest fear is for people I live with to know that I am an atheist, he said.

Even his relatives are unaware he is an atheist, though his wife, a Muslim, accepts him as he is. Her type is very rare, he said.

Bala, once a Muslim, was seen as an influential member of the humanist community; most of the nonbelievers who spoke to the AP credited him as an inspiration. Until his conviction, he made several posts on Facebook that questioned religion, often attracting threats.

In April 2020, he shared a post noting that he and other humanists in northern Nigeria claim that there is no God. One user called for Bala to face the death penalty.

Life as a nonbeliever in Nigeria is also difficult for women, who already are severely underrepresented in government and other key sectors.

Your achievements are reduced to nothing if you are irreligious, said Abosuahi Nimatu, who dropped out of university in Katsina state in 2020 to escape violence after her peers learned she was no longer a Muslim.

Nimatu was so close to Bala that his prolonged detention depressed her for a year, she said. She used her Facebook account to campaign for his release, prompting threats that reached her cellphone and email inbox. Her home address was shared among people threatening to attack her and her family.

Even at home, there is scant comfort. She is often reminded that  as a female nonbeliever  no man would marry her.

You are seen as a rebel and as a wayward person," she said.

In 2020, Nigeria became the first secular democracy designated by the U.S. State Department as a Country of Particular Concern for engaging in or tolerating systematic, ongoing, egregious violations of religious freedom. It later was dropped from that list of countries, prompting criticism from the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, which says Nigeria should be re-added.

Religious freedom conditions in Nigeria remained poor as both state and non-state actors continued to commit widespread and egregious religious freedom violations, the commission said in its 2022 annual report.

Sometimes, such intolerance comes from ones family.

A man from Yobe state said he was forced to leave home in 2019 when his uncle found out he belonged to an atheist group on WhatsApp, prompting death threats. He returned home only after pretending to be a practicing Muslim even though he remained a closeted atheist, with Bala a strong supporter.

Before Mubarak was arrested, you had the feeling of someone who could be responsible for you even if your life was in danger.  But now, you are overwhelmed by a sense of fear and looming danger that you cannot have any way of being supported by anybody, said the man, now a university student.

It is a different reality for the openly faithless in southern Nigeria; they even hold public meetings occasionally. The two atheists who spoke to AP in the commercial hub of Lagos said they had never been attacked or threatened because they are not religious.

Busayo Cole, who was once a Christian and had a foster father who was an Anglican bishop, said his family is indifferent about his religious status. Beyond his family, the worst consequences he faces are occasional snide remarks.

People are more liberal about things like that down here, said Cole.

At the Kuje prison in Abuja, Bala continues to serve his jail term, receiving visitors from time to time including his wife Amina Ahmed, also a humanist. She went to see him most recently with their 3-year-old son who was only six weeks old when Bala was taken into custody.

He is in good spirits, Ahmed said of her husband. But it has been difficult for her, beginning when she was healing from childbirth while her husband remained behind bars.

I am trying to be strong (but) my strength sometimes fails me," she said.

In prison, Bala remains resolute as a humanist despite his experiences since April 2020 when he was arrested, though he worries about the safety of his family and the humanists he leads in Nigeria.

Such concerns were what prompted him to plead guilty, his wife said, recalling how worried he had been that a non-guilty plea could cause more anger in northern Nigeria and endanger him more. He also hoped a guilty plea would help him regain access to health care and his young family, which he had been denied for most of the nearly two years he was in solitary confinement before being convicted.

Like Ahmed, the Nigerian humanist community hopes that an appeal of Balas conviction would bring him freedom.

For now, I just have to keep pretending (to be religious), said the atheist in Kano. Even if I run to somewhere and come out, my family will not be safe.

___

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.
Lori Vallow Daybell sits during her sentencing hearing at the Fremont County Courthouse in St. Anthony, Idaho, Monday, July 31, 2023. | Tony Blakeslee, EastIdahoNews.com via Associated Press

An attorney for Lori Vallow Daybell, the mother sentenced to multiple life sentences for murdering her children, filed an amended appeal Wednesday asking for transcripts from 35 days over the course of her yearslong legal proceedings.

The transcripts include a motion hearing in August 2022, parts of the jury trial this past March and the sentencing in July.

The amended appeal, filed by Craig H. Durham, also asks for sealed mental health reports to be confidentially included in the clerks record.

Attorneys for Vallow Daybell initially filed the appeal on Sept. 6, about a month after her July 31 sentencing, where she was given three life sentences in connection to the murder of her two youngest children, 16-year-old Tylee Ryan and 7-year-old JJ Vallow, and Tammy Daybell, the spouse of Chad Daybell whom she later married.

Related

The appeal lists 16 issues attorneys intend to raise, the first questioning if Vallow Daybell, after spending 10 months in a mental hospital, was competent to stand trial?

Jim Archibald, Vallow Daybells attorney at the time, claimed there were a number of issues during the trial, some revolving around Vallow Daybells mental competency. He questions whether Vallow Daybells right to a speedy trial was violated, and why the court denied the defenses request in November 2022 to send her back to a mental hospital.

Did the government commit fundamental reversible error in its opening statement to the jury? the appeal asks.

Did the court err in allowing the government to amend the grand jury indictment two years after the indictment was filed without sending the case back to the grand jury? another bullet point reads, presumably referring to an error in the indictment related to the grand theft charge, an issue her attorneys raised several times during the trial.

Another item in the appeal questions the courts decision to allow the jury to hear statements of co-conspirators, but then rule in jury instructions that the government need not prove those persons were part of the conspiracy?

In September 2019, Vallow Daybells two children disappeared. It was later discovered that they had been murdered and buried in a shallow grave behind the Rexburg home of Chad Daybell, the man she was believed to be having an affair with and the apparent source of her fringe religious beliefs.

Then in October 2019, Daybells wife, Tammy, was killed by what investigators said was asphyxiation in her sleep, though at the time her death was ruled natural. Just two weeks later, while her children were still unaccounted for, Lori Vallow married Chad Daybell on a beach in Hawaii.

That December, Tammy Daybells body was exhumed and Tylee and JJ were declared missing. A court ordered Vallow Daybell to produce her children by Jan. 30, 2020. She was arrested in Hawaii about four weeks later after she failed to comply.

On June 9, 2020, police executed a search warrant and found the bodies of Tylee and JJ buried in Daybells backyard. Chad Daybell was arrested that day. Nearly three years later, Vallow Daybell was found guilty on six counts.

Vallow Daybell was given three consecutive life sentences in July for the murders. She also received two life sentences for conspiring to murder her children and 10 years for grand theft, with those prison terms running concurrently to the life sentences for the three murder convictions.
FILE PHOTO: A depiction of the Australian Aboriginal Flag is seen on a window sill in Sydney

SYDNEY (Reuters) - An Indigenous senator in Australia was targeted with threats and racial abuses in a video on social media, just days before the country votes in a referendum on whether to constitutionally recognise its Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island people.

Australians will vote on Oct 14, asked if they support a change to the constitution to include a "Voice to Parliament", an Indigenous committee to advise parliament on matters affecting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island people.

A video published online showed a man in a balaclava claiming to be from a neo-Nazi group, burning the Aboriginal flag, performing a Nazi salute, and threatening Senator Lidia Thorpe .

"Where is my support? Where is my protection in this country?" Thorpe asked during a news conference in Melbourne.

"I'm not hiding for the next nine days. You are going to hear from me. Im not scared," she said.

The video has since been taken down. Australian Federal Police (AFP) said it was investigating the matter.

Racist threats against Aboriginal people, accounting for just about 3.8% of the population, has been growing in the lead up to the referendum, fuelled by misinformation and fear about the "Yes" campaign.

Thorpe is campaigning for a "No" vote and calling for a treaty between the government and Indigenous people first, similar to what exists in New Zealand and Canada.

Supporters of the Voice referendum, the "Yes" campaigners, say the proposal unites the nation and give much-needed recognition to the 65,000 year-old Aboriginal culture, while the opposite "No" campaigners either argue that it hands excessive powers to the Indigenous body or that it will be toothless.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said he was contacted by Thorpe and he responded on the first opportunity, and also spoke to the police.

"I've seen the video that was referred to that is threatening towards Senator Thorpe and towards the government, and the sort of Nazi rhetoric and statements that are in that video have no place in the discourse in Australian political life," Albanese said, when asked about the matter at a news conference later in the day.

Aboriginal people track below national averages on most socio-economic measures and suffer disproportionately high rates of suicide, domestic violence and imprisonment. Their life expectancy is about eight years lower than non-Indigenous people.

(Reporting by Praveen Menon; Editing by Michael Perry)
Officials identified the two men who drowned while diving off the coast of a Rockport beach on Wednesday.

Alan De Oliveira Leao, 75, of Pepperell, and Richard Brady, 78, of Hampton, New Hampshire, were both pronounced dead after spending the morning scuba diving off of Front Beach, according to the Essex County District Attorneys Office.

Around 11 a.m. on Wednesday, Rockport Police responded to a call for a diver in medical distress. Arriving officers found Oliveira Leao had washed ashore and was being provided emergency medical aid by bystanders, police, and ambulance personnel, according to officials. He was transported to a nearby hospital where he passed.

Later in the afternoon, police say they discovered a second diver, Brady, was also unaccounted for. His body was recovered off the ocean floor around 7 p.m.

The DAs Office says there does not appear to be any signs of foul play in the deaths but the investigation remains ongoing.

This is a tragedy for the two families who have lost their loved ones, said Rockport Police Chief John Horvath. We grieve with both families and send our deepest condolences.

No further information was immediately available.

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

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The Ukraine conflict has no end in sight. Over the past two-plus years, Ukrainians have heroically fought against Russian aggression. Although they have been outnumbered in some cases 4 to 1, the Ukrainian Army has employed all means of advanced technologies to offset Russian numerical advantages.

Precision artillery munitions, Javelins, missiles such as NLAWs, and even first-person UAVs flown with grenades and RPG rockets attached to them, have all been employed to great effect. Unfortunately, none of it has been enough.

Russia foils major Ukraine drone attack amid concerns on Kyiv supplies

While the Ukrainian Army has successfully torn through all three echelons of the Russian defenses in the south, to this date, there have been no major military breakthroughs large enough and operationally significant enough to draw the war to a close. As it stands now, the war appears to be on the verge of a long, hard slog, likely to be followed by everyones favorite type of combat, the long war. With casualties on both sides already climbing into the hundreds of thousands, neither side can endure this level of attrition indefinitely.

But it doesnt have to be that way.

Yes, the West has provided Ukraine with much-needed military hardware and funding, but a paradigm shift is required to break the stalemate. To offset their numerical and qualitative military disadvantages, Ukraine needs a technological or ground combat capacity surge to tip the balance of power on the battlefield in their favor. Projecting force via autonomous combat vehicles and logistics platforms returns mass to the battlefield without the requirement for additional human force structure and provides an advantage for Ukraine and the West without increasing risk to its soldiers.

The West needs a substantial investment in autonomous technology to provide Ukraine with the tools necessary to bring the war to end on its terms. As with other conflicts, the war in Ukraine is predominantly being fought with 20th Century weapons and now, 20th century trench warfare tactics. Open-source reporting indicates that autonomous technology for vehicles has not been part of the various military aid packages given by Western powers.

The reason has less to do with current technological limitations for autonomous vehicles and more to do with a failure to adapt off-the-shelf vehicles for the war. The autonomous systems needed in Ukraine have existed since 2012 and despite deploying them in pilot programs to Iraq and Afghanistan, DoD has only recently transitioned any of them to scaled programs of record.

The proliferation of this technology is mired down by policy, DoD turf wars, and politics, not by technology. For a country that is now reputed to be the most heavily mined country in the world, autonomous vehicles can be used for patrols, surveillance, and mining clearance in areas that would otherwise be too dangerous for soldiers to operate in. Without them, Ukrainians have had to resort to rudimentary manual methods more reminiscent of 1916 than 2023.

Ground autonomous vehicles could easily be leveraged to conduct mine-clearing operations, keeping civilians and military operators out of harms way. After all, robots dont bleed - but that only holds true when the West actually enables them to arrive on the battlefield. Autonomous technology also acts as a force multiplier  one lead or following vehicle can handle the self-driving capabilities of follow-on vehicles through the use of platooning while simultaneously building high resolution maps to be used by follow-on robots.

Autonomous vehicles can also handle the more routine or mundane tasks such as logistics and sustainment tasks or operations. Automating these operations not only optimizes fuel and keeps personnel out of harms way but frees up soldiers cognitive load for more sophisticated or complex tasks that can only be handled by humans. Russias botched approach to logistics, and a complete disregard for mechanized infantry doctrine, and sustainment has been deemed a failure and considered to be one of the primary reasons behind the protracted nature of the war in Ukraine.

Autonomy will enable Ukraine to project power and effects deeper into contested territory without the need to put soldiers on the front lines. Autonomous platforms can drive deep into contested territory, gather intelligence with its onboard sensors, and fire rockets from there, all without sending any humans with the vehicles to the front lines.

There is a precedent for using autonomous systems in the Ukraine conflict in that Ukraine has already utilized semi-autonomous drones for combat purposes. But as important as drones are, they cannot provide the same extent of force projection associated with ground-based autonomous vehicles and cannot be used effectively in situations involving aerial denial. The industry collaboration porthole Brave 1 and other Ukrainian innovation initiatives have already recognized robots and autonomous systems as priority areas for defense tech innovation. And commercial companies are already demonstrating that this tech is ready and available for adoption now, not just in a theoretical future.

For example, RRAI recently demonstrated its autonomous vehicle technology in Kuwait for US Army Central (ARCENT). The onus is on Western powers to deliver autonomous vehicles to Ukraine. Unfortunately, the US has a mixed track record in shifting cutting-edge capabilities out of the research phase and into the hands of the warfighter.

These challenges exist within the DoD itself so one can only imagine how difficult it will be for American autonomous technology to be delivered into the hands of a foreign country. OSD and the Replicator effort need to focus on shifting through the bureaucratic maze. The days of new technology being mired on the whiteboard must end if autonomous technology is to have an impact on the Ukraine conflict.

The implications for the use of autonomous vehicles in Ukraine also has far-reaching consequences that go beyond the conflict. For example, given that the potential for a war between Taiwan and China looms as a distinct possibility, the U.S. and its allies must also look to the use of autonomous vehicles in the defense of Taiwan to prepare for the contingency of a land invasion. By integrating ground vehicle autonomy into military operations now, the U.S. military could approach the point where using autonomous systems becomes organic to its sprawling force structure and achieve superior capability over our adversaries. Since World War I, almost every major conflict has introduced new technology to warfare.

In World War I, it was the introduction of machine guns. World War II brought the atomic age. The first Persian Gulf War brought with it the need for strategic air superiority. The next step change will be for the country that can dictate the use of autonomous technology in warfare.

Clara Satria is Analyst for Defense and Pat Acox is Head of Defense at RRAI, a vehicle autonomy company providing autonomous products and services for defense, commercial and municipal applications.
(NewsNation)  The last time Ava Grace Baldwins father saw her, she was 6 years old. Eight years later, he believes his ex-wife took Ava and has been hiding her for years and thinks his daughter may not even know shes a missing person.

Ava was reported missing from her elementary school, having not shown up for nearly three weeks when the school contacted her father. Police think her mother took her and Avas father has been on an eight-year quest to find her.

David Hopper got the call from his daughters elementary school in September 2015. Ava hadnt been in class for 21 days and the school wanted to know if he knew where she was.

Lauren Spierer: A night out ended with a 12-year mystery

Ava and her mother, Kathryn Baldwin, lived in San Antonio, Texas while Hopper lived in central Oklahoma, a seven-hour drive away. Ava was born to the couple after a 34-day marriage.

When the school contacted him, Hopper called the San Antonio police to report 6-year-old Ava missing. What police found surprised them.

When we sent the police out to the location of the last address we had, it turned out to be an empty lot. And thats when we figured theres something going on here, Hopper said.

Hopper said from the moment Kathryn told him she was pregnant, he tried to be the father Ava would want and need.

But it was difficult for him to have the chance. Hopper hired five different lawyers and spent more than $45,000 battling for a custody arrangement in courts in Texas and Oklahoma

Shes just the perfect little girl, Hopper said. She was surprised to know she had so much family on this side.

A daughters hope to find her mother after more than 40 years

While Hopper fought for custody, he said Kathryns life was spiraling. She was in and out of church missions, shelters and relationships, he said, as he fought for more access to Ava.

Hopper said one day, Child Protective Services was alerted to a video of Kathryn performing a solo sexual act while 2-year-old Ava was in the bed behind her.

CPS contacted us and said, if you can help us find her, we have your daughter, said Tina Fullbright, Avas aunt.

David Hopper is searching for his daughter, Ava Grace Baldwin. (David Hopper and Tina Fullbright)

Ava is seen with her mother, who Hopper believes is hiding her away. (David Hopper and Tina Fullbright)

Ava was six years old when she disappeared. (David Hopper and Tina Fullbright)

Hopper fought for custody of Ava. (David Hopper and Tina Fullbright)

Ava would be 14 now, eight years after she vanished. (David Hopper and Tina Fullbright)

David Hopper and Ava after her birth. (David Hopper and Tina Fullbright)

Hopper fought for access to Ava after his 34-day marriage to her mother ended. (David Hopper and Tina Fullbright)

Hopper and Ava baking together. (David Hopper and Tina Fullbright)

Police went to the address Kathryn Baldwin gave Avas school and found an empty lot. (David Hopper and Tina Fullbright)

Kathryn Baldwin, pictured, has a history of running, according to family members. (David Hopper and Tina Fullbright)

Police say Kathryn Baldwin has used a dozen aliases. (David Hopper and Tina Fullbright)

Ava and her mother have not been seen since 2015. (David Hopper and Tina Fullbright)

Hopper said Ava was stunned to find out she had a father. (David Hopper and Tina Fullbright)

But after that, Hopper was only given partial custody. He drove seven hours each way to pick up Ava for a month in the summer and holidays. He recalled what Ava said to him one of the first times he took her swimming.

Youre my Daddy, youre my Daddy, he recalled. She did not know she had a father. She was in awe she even had a father. I was kept a secret from her, I guess.

Missing for 15 years, Barbara Blounts family still wants answers

Fullbright said Kathryn, also known as Katie, had a habit of running.

Shed just jump counties. Shed get in trouble in one county and just move to another county, Fullbright said.

Kathryn has a felony warrant for interfering with child custody. Police records show she had a history of alcohol and prescription drug abuse and suffers from mental illness.

But when Hopper requested full custody due to his concern about Kathryns ability to keep Ava safe, Kathryn and Ava disappeared. Kathryns vehicle, a silver 2014 Ford Escape, was found abandoned in a San Antonio park in April 2016, seven months after the pair vanished.

Ava would be 14 now and Hopper has been awarded full custody. But he has a theory that Kathryns family may be hiding the pair. However, there is no proof and police have had no new leads when it comes to locating Ava or her mother.

NewsNation spoke with Kathryns other daughter, now an adult, who was raised by an adoptive family. She was afraid to appear on camera but told NewsNation she fears Kathryn and Ava were taken. She said her mother had a very traumatic life and often trusted the wrong men.

After 34 years, a womans disappearance haunts loved ones

Still, police are investigating the case as a non-custodial parent abduction.

Hopper remains hopeful that Ava is alive. He said there have been sightings of the pair since they disappeared, including contact from a couple in Florida who said Kathryn tried to hand over custody of Ava to them.

Theres reason to believe Avas alive. Theres a case down in Florida where we know the couple that she tried to give Ava to, they contacted us, and that was in 2016, Hopper said.

San Antonio police said there was another possible sighting of Kathryn as late as 2020. They confirmed they have records of her using nearly a dozen aliases.

Hopes rose again in 2022, when armchair detectives thought they spotted Ava and Kathryn in a series of TikTok videos featuring a mother-daughter duo by the names of Bebop and Bebe. Rolling Stone magazine even featured the story.

We had that investigated, it turns out it wasnt them, Hopper said. But the only great thing about that is it brought a lot of attention to her case. In fact, it went viral overnight, so we cant complain about that.

Kyron Horman: Mother hopes for answers after 13 years

For now, Hopper and his family post letters to Ava on a Facebook page, hoping that one day shell stumble across it and see how much she is loved and missed.

Its hard to watch my brother go through this. This is his only child, Fullbright said. Thats all hes ever wanted, a family, and he deserves to have his daughter in his life.

Hopper said sometimes he has to distance himself from his daughters disappearance because not knowing where she is eats him up inside.

You ask me if shes still alive. Sometimes, I have my doubts, Ill be honest with you, but when you ask me I answer with confidence because I believe that God is true to his word, Hopper said. That he said he would watch over her, that he would protect her that he would keep her safe. And that he would bring her home one day.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WREG.com.
Armenia and Azerbaijan accused each other of opening cross-border fire Thursday (EMMANUEL DUNAND)

Azerbaijan said Thursday it was willing to attend EU-mediated talks with Armenia in Brussels, two weeks after its forces took control of the breakaway Nagorno-Karabakh region in a lightning offensive.

Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev had a day earlier turned down talks with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan which were due to be mediated by France, Germany and European Council President Charles Michel in Spain.

European leaders, who have taken a growing role in the Caucasus, had hoped to host Aliyev's first meeting with Pashinyan since Azerbaijan's military offensive.

"Azerbaijan stands ready for tripartite meetings in Brussels soon in the format of the European Union, Azerbaijan and Armenia," presidential aide Hikmet Hajiyev said on social media.

He said Baku "supports the tripartite Brussels process and the regional peace agenda in the format of the European Union, Azerbaijan and Armenia" as well as bilateral "peace treaty talks" with Yerevan.

Russia, the traditional power in the region, has been bogged down in its assault in Ukraine and Europe has increasingly started mediating the decades-old dispute between Armenia and Azerbaijan.

Moscow refused to intervene when Azerbaijan in late September launched its one-day offensive, during which hundreds were killed and thousands were forced to flee.

- 'Ineffective' -

Hajiyev said it was "incorrect to present" Aliyev's no show as a "refusal" to hold talks with Armenia.

France's "militarisation policy" in the Caucasus, the European Union's attitude towards the region, and the absence of Turkey -- a traditional ally of Azerbaijan -- pushed Baku to snub the meeting, he said.

Paris has pledged military support to Yerevan in the wake of Azerbaijan's offensive, but has not elaborated on what this entails.

Armenia and Azerbaijan meanwhile accused each other of opening cross-border fire Thursday.

Armenia was relying on Russia as its security guarantor but Pashinyan has increasingly questioned Russia's historic role as his small country's main security guarantor.

He has been critical of Moscow's refusal to intervene during Azerbaijan's offensive and has described the security alliance with Russia as "ineffective."

Moscow has said that Armenia has no alternative to a Russia-led security alliance known as the Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO).

Russian President Vladimir Putin said Thursday that Azerbaijan's takeover of the region was "inevitable", adding: "It was only a matter of time before Azerbaijan started to restore constitutional order there."

- Pashinyan meets Zelensky -

But Pashinyan -- who has faced criticism at home over the crisis -- travelled to Granada to meet with European leaders despite Aliyev's absence.

For the first time, Pashinyan met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, whose country is at war with Russia.

Zelensky posted a photograph of the pair talking in Granada and said they had discussed the situation in the Caucasus.

"Ukraine is interested in the region's stability and friendly relations with its nations," Zelensky said on social media.

Armenia has remained neutral in the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, but tensions are emerging with Moscow.

Last month, Russia summoned Yerevan's ambassador over -- amongst other things -- a trip to Kyiv by Pashinyan's wife to deliver aid.

The meeting between Pashinyan and Zelensky came two days after the Armenian parliament moved to join the International Criminal Court, which has issued an arrest warrant against Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The move angered Moscow, with Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov calling it the "wrong decision".

bur-oc/brw/acc/ach
A pregnant woman riding on a local bus was shot and injured when a gunman opened fire in Holyoke, Massachusetts, Wednesday afternoon, authorities said. Shortly after she arrived at the hospital, doctors attempted to deliver the baby, who needed life-saving medical servicesbut it was too late, the Hampden District Attorneys office said. The mother remains in critical condition; one of three victims who were injured in the shooting. Its unclear if authorities included the unborn baby in their tally. Authorities said they have since identified and arrested all of the suspects involved in the shooting, though no further information was given.

Read it at MassLive.com

Read more at The Daily Beast.
More than 1,000 people have died this year in Bangladesh's worst recorded spate of dengue (Munir uz ZAMAN)

In the crowded fever ward in Bangladesh's Mugda hospital, every bed is taken, as the country struggles in the grip of its deadliest dengue outbreak.

More than 1,000 people have died this year in the nation's worst recorded spate of the mosquito-borne disease, which scientists say is increasing in frequency due to climate change.

In the worst cases, intense viral fevers trigger bleeding, internally or from the mouth and nose.

Nupur Akter, 21, is struggling desperately to feed her sister Payel, who she rushed into hospital two weeks ago while the six-year-old was "shaking uncontrollably".

But there has been little improvement. "She has become weaker," Akter said.

The Mugda Medical College and Hospital in the capital Dhaka is a key battleground against the outbreak, with the flood-prone South Asian nation a fertile ground for mosquitoes that breed in stagnant water.

A record 1,030 people have died nationwide this year, with more than 210,000 cases confirmed by hospitals. The figures dwarf the previous record last year, when 281 died.

- 'It scares me' -

Hospital director Mohammad Niamatuzzaman said medics were in non-stop crisis mode, bringing in gynaecology, heart and kidney specialists to aid overwhelmed general medics.

"It's an emergency -- but a long-lasting one," Niamatuzzaman told AFP, adding the state-run centre recorded 158 dengue deaths this year, five times its toll last year.

Three floors of the 10-storey hospital have been set aside for dengue, supporting more than 200 patients.

Overall, the 400-bed hospital is treating nearly 1,000 patients, and thousands more as outpatients.

Mohammad Sabuj, a goldsmith and father of three sons from the Konapara suburb of Dhaka, said there was someone with dengue in "almost every home" in his neighbourhood.

"In my shop, three out of four workers got the fever," said the 40-year-old, who was recovering after he too was rushed to hospital.

Sabuj said his friend, who was a doctor, had died.

"When a doctor couldn't save himself, it scares me," he said. "God forbid, if something happens to me at this age, where my family and children will go?"

Hospital treatment is free, but families have to buy many of the medicines, or pay for costly private blood tests to bypass the backlog.

Abdul Hakim, whose job as a construction worker provides his family's only income, is watching over his two-year-old son at the clinic.

"Since the day my son got a fever, I have no work," said Hakim, 38, who has two children.

"I am managing the tests, medicines and other hospital expenses by taking a loan... just to get him well".

At Mugda hospital, a quarter of the dengue patients are children. Overall, children under 15 make up roughly 10 percent of the dead.

- 'Infected' -

Bangladesh has recorded cases of dengue since the 1960s but documented its first outbreak of dengue haemorrhagic fever, a severe and sometimes fatal form of the disease, in 2000.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has warned that dengue -- and other diseases caused by mosquito-borne viruses such as chikungunya, yellow fever and Zika -- are spreading faster and further due to climate change.

About half of the world's population is now at risk of dengue, with an estimated 100 to 400 million infections occurring each year, and many of those causing only mild illness, according to WHO.

The Aedes mosquito that spreads dengue -- identifiable by its black and white stripy legs -- breeds in stagnant pools, and cases have slowed as the monsoon rains fade.

But experts warn the threat remains because in the hotter and dryer months, people store water in containers.

Niamatuzzaman said he believed deaths had soared because many patients had been infected multiple times. Those with repeat infections are at greater risk of complications.

While previous dengue outbreaks were largely confined to cities, Niamatuzzaman said patients are now coming from rural areas across the country where dengue had not been reported before.

"In my lifetime, I have rarely heard the name of this disease," said 65-year-old Alep Kari.

He came to Mugda hospital after he and his wife fell sick with dengue, and clinics in his rural district of Shariatpur were already full.

"This is the first time we got this fever in my village," he said. "Many were infected."

sa/pjm/dva
For months, public comment at State College Area School District board meetings has had a recurring theme: the reading of explicit passages from books found in the State High library, books some community members deem inappropriate for minors in a taxpayer-funded school.

Megan Layng, a candidate for a seat on the SCASD board, has been a vocal proponent of increased transparency when it comes to the library catalog and how books are chosen. During public comment, Layng has questioned the district for allowing books such as All Boys Arent Blue by George M. Johnson and Kingdom of Ash by Sarah J. Mass, which contain sexually explicit passages. All Boys Arent Blue landed at No. 2 on the list of top 10 national banned books for its LGBTQ+ content and claims of sexually explicit content. Other ranked books include Toni Morrisons The Bluest Eye, Mass A Court of Mist and Fury and John Greens Looking for Alaska.

Layng isnt the only one voicing concerns. At least four other parents have spoken out about similar concerns  although Layng is the most outspoken. At a July 10 meeting, she read a section of All Boys Arent Blue and part of federal law about the transfer of obscenity to minors. Under the law, the material must be determined obscene and lack serious literary, artistic, political or scientific value.

Most other constituents dont even know this level of obscenity actually exists in the library, Layng said during public comment.

Banned books are in the spotlight across the country for Banned Books Week, Oct. 1-7, which highlights the most challenged titles across the country. While there have been no book bans in Centre County schools, some have concerns that a growing national trend is creeping closer to home as local school districts field questions about library catalogs and material accessible by students.

The Centre County Library in Bellefonte is picutred in December 2019. Abby Drey/adrey@centredaily.com

Local and statewide ban attempts

Libraries across the country are experiencing an unprecedented spike in book challenges and attempts to restrict access. The American Library Association Office for Intellectual Freedom reported 1,269 titles challenged in 2022, nearly double the 729 challenged in 2021. Last year marked the highest number of attempted book bans since the ALA started collecting data, with most challenges targeting books written by people of color or members of the LGBTQ+ community. In 2022, Pennsylvania saw 56 attempts to restrict books and 302 title challenges in those attempts  second only to Texas.

One of those attempts came in the Penns Valley Area School District, and was ultimately unsuccessful. In August 2022, after months of discussion, the Penns Valley Area School Board voted on whether to continue allowing an AP Literature course to use The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls as an optional text. Parents and community members argued the memoir had vulgar language and discussions of abuse and alcoholism that were not age-appropriate for students. Following the discussion, the board voted 5-1 to keep the book as an optional part of the districts curriculum. Board member Lisa Bierlein was the only dissenting vote from the board after her motion to remove the books from the curriculum was not seconded.

The one thing I will not do? I will not ban a book, board president Domer Smetlzer said during the August 2022 meeting.

The childrens section of the Centre County Library in Bellefonte is pictured in December 2019. Libraries across the country are experiencing an unprecedented spike in book challenges and attempts to restrict access. Abby Drey/adrey@centredaily.com

Local library staff prepares for challenges

Preliminary data from January to August 2023 shows a 20% increase from 2022 in attempts across the U.S. to restrict access, with 695 attempts recorded during the eight-month period.

The majority of challenges take place in schools or public libraries, 51% and 48% respectively.

Denise Sticha, director of Centre County Library and Historical Museum, said shes only had two instances since 2018 of patrons voicing concern, but no one has gone through the process to get a title reviewed. Still, the increasing number of national challenges has library staff on edge. Sticha said her staff has undergone training on how to respond to possible conversations or situations around the library catalog.

Sticha sees the increase in challenges as a result of national groups that support restricting access to library materials they deem inappropriate. These advocacy groups, including Moms for Liberty, No Left Turn in Education, and MassResistance, are behind at least half of the book bans nationally, according to PEN America.

There are other groups of people who buy into that agenda, Sticha said. And then they take that agenda local, without really understanding the local community.

Book ban or parental choice?

In the year since the unsuccessful attempt to remove The Glass Castle, Penns Valley has not faced other challenges about titles in the curriculum or library catalog, superintendent Brian Griffith said. But other districts in central Pennsylvania have grappled with clearing titles to use in high school curriculum. In May, the Glendale District School Board in Cambria County denied a motion to purchase several books for the 12th grade English class, including The Lovely Bones, Scythe, Turtles All the Way Down, Percy Jacksons Greek Heroes and All the Light We Cannot See, according to the Progress.

While State College Area School District has not seen formal challenges or attempts to restrict access, discussions about the library catalog have been prevalent during public comment since June. Despite her criticisms of the books, Layng dismisses the title of book banner, calling it an ad hominem attack in a blog post on her candidacy website.

So lets be clear: there is no talk or advocacy of book banning, Layng wrote. There *is* a great deal of discussion about what kind of content is appropriate for taxpayer dollars to fund, and what is appropriate for our public schools.

Layng declined to an interview with the CDT for this article unless given permission to review it before publication.

SCASDs policy on library material selection states that although the district takes care to select reading materials that accommodate a wide range of interests, abilities and maturity levels, the final decision of what students read rests on the students parents or guardians alone.

The wishes of one childs parents to restrict his/her reading or viewing of a particular item should not, however, limit the rights of others to read or view the same material, the policy states.

Parents and community members are still free to file a request for reconsideration of materials they believe should not be included. In an email to the CDT, superintendent Curtis Johnson said he supports the judgment of the districts library personnel.

In keeping with our belief in inclusion, we strive for a diverse range of perspectives and subjects in our libraries so that all students can find books and materials that resonate with them, Johnson wrote. Our librarians carefully select titles on that basis, and we have confidence in their professional judgment.

Local public libraries also have ways for patrons to request a title be added to the catalog or reconsidered, allowing community members input on the titles offered. But for some, removing access to titles that some parents may deem obscene is a slippery slope to censorship.

When I hear people say Im not about censorship, Im not about book banning, but I dont want that book in my kids library, explain to me how you justify that action and not say that thats censorship, Sticha said. ... I think its a step down the slope. I always think, what is the end result? Where does it stop? Who gets to make those calls?

SCASD board member Peter Buck, a vocal opponent of attempts to remove or restrict access to books, said he categorically believes that attempts to limit access to titles that have been deemed appropriate by educators and librarians constitutes book banning.

You can call it whatever you want, Buck said. But its a book ban, because youre removing material from a library, deemed to be of educational value to children in the age group that library serves and calling it anything else is Orwellian.

On both sides, the debate seems to boil down to one question: who gets to decide what goes into publicly funded library catalogs? Is it parents, administrators, community members, librarians? The answer is not so simple.

Sticha said the aim of a public library is to be a window and mirror to the community it serves, reflecting the wants and needs of all patrons.

The idea is that your collection should be a mirror of the community that you live in. It should reflect the people that live in your community that come into your library and that reflection of course can be very diverse ... Sticha said. So your collection is partly a reflection of the community, but its also a window into the world outside of your community. And thats a very important element as well, particularly for children, to be able to see what the world is like outside of their community.
31 years, and a lifetime to go, the former first lady wrote in an Instagram post. I love going through life with you by my side, @BarackObama.

Love is in the air for the Obamas.

On Tuesday, Barack and Michelle Obama celebrated their 31st wedding anniversary with heartfelt tributes to one another on social media.

Former President Barack Obama (left)and former first lady Michelle Obama (right) honored their marriage in social media posts Tuesday on their 31st anniversary. Above, the two were spending time together in August at the U.S. Open in New York. (Photo: Jean Catuffe/GC Images)

On Instagram, Michelle Obama shared a photo of the two posing outside with a sunset backdrop. She wrote: 31 years, and a lifetime to go. I love going through life with you by my side, @BarackObama. Happy anniversary, honey!

In an Instagram post of his own, the former president shared a picture of the couple posing with their arms around one another dressed in matching blue jackets.

Happy anniversary, sweetheart! @MichelleObama, youre brilliant, kind, funny and beautiful  and Im lucky to call you mine, he wrote in the caption.

The Obamas, who were married in 1992, originally met in Chicago when a young Michelle Robinson was assigned to mentor Barack Obama during his summer internship at a law firm.

In her book The Light We Carry, released in 2022, the former first lady admitted that despite their outward appearance, her relationship with her husband has had its ups and downs.

People often reach out to me seeking relationship advice, she wrote. They remark on photographs theyve seen of me and Barack together  laughing, or sharing a look, appearing content to be side by side. They ask how we have managed to stay both married and unmiserable for 30 years now.

We have our issues, of course, but I love the man, and he loves me now, still and seemingly forever, she added. Our love is not perfect, but its real, and were committed to it.

During a roundtable conversation for Revolt TV, Michelle Obama shed light on some of the issues she and Barack Obama have come up against, especially as he was building his political career while they were raising two young daughters.

The 59-year-old said although people would think she was being catty by saying this, there were 10 years where she couldnt stand her husband, but the two preserved for the sake of their children.

The former president, 62, addressed his wifes comments during an interview on CBS Mornings and admitted that raising the girls was priority number one, two, three and four.

I did not fully appreciate, I think, as engaged of a father as I was, the degree of stress and tension for her, he continued, knowing that not just me and Michelle were under scrutiny and in this strange environment, but that we were raising our daughters in a kind of situation that just wasnt normal.

If their anniversary posts are any indication, life has gotten better for the Obamas since the former first family moved on from their years in Washington.

Let me just say this: It sure helps to be out of the White House, he said. And to have a little more time with her.

TheGrio is FREE on your TV via Apple TV, Amazon Fire, Roku, and Android TV. TheGrios Black Podcast Network is free too. Download theGrio mobile apps today! Listen to Writing Black with Maiysha Kai.

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House Republicans are offering competing demands for whoever wants to be the next speaker.

In the wake of Kevin McCarthy 's historic ouster, the GOP is scrambling to find a new top official.

Either Steve Scalise or Jim Jordan will have to navigate the chaos to win the gavel.

House Republicans are offering competing and even contradictory visions as they lay down their red lines for the next speaker who will try to unite the conference following Kevin McCarthy's historic ouster.

Republicans have set next Wednesday as their deadline to elect a new speaker of the House, but it's not clear if the GOP will be able to meet their ambitious timeline. In the meantime, the federal government is set to run out of funding just before Thanksgiving  potentially setting up McCarthy's successor for the same struggle that preceded his downfall.

McCarthy's actions to initially win the speakership are a cautionary tale now. His decision to acquiesce to Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida and other conservatives' demand to allow any one member to remove him from power ended up being the tool of his demise. To be fair, it's not clear if he could have won the speakership without crossing what was his own red line.

Now, the two leading candidates House Majority Leader Steve Scalise and House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan  may face their own difficulties as they campaign to become the next speaker.

Here is a look at where the battle lines are so far.

The future of the very rule that triggered McCarthy's ouster.

Matt Gaetz

Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida.AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster

Before this week, no House speaker had ever been removed by the so-called "motion to vacate." His successor and House Republicans as a whole must now determine its future. McCarthy quipped to reporters after his ouster that he would change the rule. But some Republicans want it to stay the same.

The Main Street Caucus, a large bloc within the conference, has declared any would-be speaker needs to explain how history would not repeat itself. Florida Rep. Carlos Gimenez, who belongs to the caucus, has said any hopeful who wants his vote must agree to put on the floor a change to the motion, calling the current one-person threshold "a little bit insane."

Republican Main Street Caucus (@CaucusMain) October 4, 2023

Future aid to Ukraine

House conservatives are increasingly turning against further support for Ukraine in its war to repel Russia's invasion, even as Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell has characterized the assistance as vital. Jordan told NBC News that he would not support additional aid. Scalise, in contrast, voted for $300 million in aid just last week.

Trump investigations

Rep. Anna Paulina Luna of Florida said her vote will only come if a candidate publicly vows to defund special counsel Jack Smith's investigations into former President Donald Trump, subpoena Hunter Biden, and hold a vote on impeaching President Joe Biden. Republicans fretted enough that McCarthy reversed from his promise to hold a vote on declaring an "impeachment inquiry," a much lesser step compared to actually impeaching the president. As for Luna's other asks, there's no way the Democratic Senate would OK unprecedented meddling in the Justice Department's affairs like defunding Smith's investigations after he indicted Trump for withholding classified documents and trying to overturn to the 2020 presidential election.

Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (@RepLuna) October 3, 2023

Trump himself

donald trump state of the union 2017

President Donald Trump motions during one of his State of the Union addresses.Reuters

Multiple GOP lawmakers, including Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, are pushing the former president to become speaker. It's extremely unlikely to ever happen, but not impossible. On Thursday, Trump hinted he'd be open to being a stand-in speaker until a permanent one is elected. In the meantime, it could make Republicans who represent districts that Biden won queasy. Nothing could be worse than forcing the more centrist Republicans, who are the reason the GOP holds the majority, take a public vote on Trump.

What happens next?

Republicans vote amongst themselves  likely next week  behind closed doors for who should be the next speaker. This is a simple majority vote among the 221 of them. Traditionally, Republicans would then vote for this candidate in the public vote on the House floor. Clearly, that did not happen in January. McCarthy, despite winning the conference race, was forced to go through 15 rounds of ballots. It remains unclear if rebels will do the same this time around.

If during the floor vote every Republican votes for a candidate, their hopefuls can only afford to lose just four Republicans as long as Democrats remain united in opposition.

Read the original article on Business Insider
Police arrested a suspect on Thursday who is accused of a hit-and-run involving a police officer and two motorcyclists in Bay St. Louis, Chief Toby Schwartz said.

Hancock County Court Judge Trent Favre issued multiple warrants on Thursday for Phillip James McLaurin, 46, of Gulfport. Favre issued warrants for felonies of fleeing and eluding causing serious bodily injury, two counts of leaving the scene of an accident causing serious bodily injury, DUI causing serious bodily injury and simple assault on a police officer.

Favre also issued warrants for misdemeanors of shoplifting and leaving the scene of an accident with unattended vehicle.

Favre set McLaurens bond at $611,500, according to a press release from the Bay St. Louis police department.

Police said they responded to a report of shoplifting about 10:44 a.m. Thursday at Rosettis Liquor Barrel on Highway 90. There, police found a suspect identified as McLaurin in his car outside the store, according to the release.

McLaurin refused to exit his vehicle, the release said. He fled the scene, hit an officer next to his vehicle and struck two motorcyclists on Highway 90 near Drinkwater Road, according to police.

The release said the officer sustained minor injuries. The motorcyclists had serious injuries, according to the release. The officer and two victims were transported to hospitals.

There were no fatalities as of Thursday afternoon. Schwartz said one victim will be released and the other will move from Memorial Hospital to UMC for further treatment of injuries. Both motorcyclists were visiting Bay St. Louis from Louisiana, chief Toby Schwartz said.

Police said McLaurin fled again after officers tried to initiate a traffic stop on Thursday. He drove down Highway 90 into Pass Christian, the release said, where he crashed his vehicle into the swimming pool of a residence in the 700 block of North Street.

McLaurin sustained minor injuries and authorities transported him to a hospital, according to the release. The release said no one was injured at the residence.

Authorities will send McLaurin to the Hancock County Jail after his release from a hospital, the release said.
The BBC has apologised to the mother of one of the Babes in the Wood murder victims and compensated her after Martin Bashir lost crucial cold case evidence.

Corporation bosses have reached a financial settlement with Michelle Hadaway, whose nine-year-old daughter, Karen, was murdered in 1987 along with her friend Nicola Fellows.

Paedophile Russell Bishop, a petty local criminal who was known to the girls and their families, had been initially charged with the crimes in 1987, but was cleared by a jury at Lewes Crown Court after a catalogue of forensic mistakes torpedoed the prosecution case.

Three years later he struck again, attacking a seven-year-old in almost identical circumstances.

Mr Bashir had been working for a BBC Public Eye documentary series in 1991 investigating the miscarriage of justice surrounding the Babes in the Wood case and approached the Hadaway family, offering to arrange DNA tests on items of her clothing.

But the BBC reporter almost caused a cold case review into the murders to collapse when he failed to return them, saying he could not remember receiving them.

The clothes were never examined and the documentary was never made.

When Sussex Police decided to re-examine some of the evidence in 2004, Mr Bashir said he could not remember taking Karens clothes, which included a sweatshirt, T-shirt and knickers.

Martin Bashir denied having possession of the clothes, or even meeting Michelle Hadaway - Nick Wass/Invision/AP

His BBC manager at the time said he had no recollection of ever meeting the Hadaway family or collecting the items in question.

But a journalist who had been working with him at the time insisted that they had met the family on one occasion and had a lengthy discussion with them.

In a statement, the corporation has now accepted responsibility for the blunder, stating: The BBC did not examine or return the clothes, and was not subsequently able to find them as a result of searches in 2004 and 2021. We should have taken better care of Karens clothes and we did not.

We accept that we had a duty of care to Mrs Hadaway and we fell well short of that and we have previously apologised to her privately. We are very sorry.

The settlement is thought to be in the region of a few thousand pounds, though Mrs Hadaway said nothing could compensate for the loss of her daughters precious clothes and the pain caused by the actions of Mr Bashir.

One step closer to closure

Following the BBCs apology on Thursday, Mrs Hadaway said: After my daughters killer was found not guilty at his first trial, the police gave me back the clothes in which she was murdered. Martin Bashir then came to my home and took those clothes. He told me that he would use them to prove that Russell Bishop had murdered my daughter and that he would make a programme about this called Public Eye.

Instead, Mr Bashir disappeared, never made the programme and denied having ever met me.

I will never get Karens clothes back and that is something I think about every day. Nothing will take away that devastation or the pain caused by the actions of Mr Bashir, and I do not understand how he remained able to work for the BBC for so long, ruining so many lives.

I would, however, like to thank Tim Davie, director-general of the BBC, for meeting with me and helping to bring this matter to a close.

Bishop was eventually convicted in December 2018 of the sexually-motivated murders of Karen and Nicola following a change in the double jeopardy laws in 2003, which allowed suspects to be tried for the same crime twice, and advances in DNA and forensic technology.

A spokesman for Mishcon de Reya, which represents Mrs Hadaway, said: Michelle Hadaway has had to fight for almost 40 years for justice and accountability following the tragic murder of her daughter, Karen, and Karens best friend, Nicola, in 1986. We have been privileged to work with Mrs Hadaway in this matter.

Todays settlement with the BBC takes Mrs Hadaway one step closer to some form of closure.

An inquiry by Lord Dyson in 2021 found that Mr Bashir had acted in a deceitful way in order to secure his now infamous interview 1995 Panorama with Diana, Princess of Wales by faking documents to make her think those close to her were receiving money from tabloid newspapers and that the security services were spying on her.

Mr Bashir resigned from his role as the BBCs religion editor at the time of Lord Dysons inquiry, citing what he said were serious health issues.

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France has a problem: bedbugs. The recent outbreak has captured government officials' attention, especially in the run-up to the 2024 Olympics, when millions of visitors are expected to descend on Paris. The deputy mayor recently warned that "no one is safe" from a bedbug infestation, fueling anxiety among residents of the French capital and people planning to travel there.

It's not just France that has an issue with the insects, which prefer to feed on human blood. They are a persistent problem all over the world, from the United States to Australia. And despite their name, the insects are not just found in the bedroom. In fact, they can be found just about everywhere.

Subscribe to The Post Most newsletter for the most important and interesting stories from The Washington Post.

Here's what to know about bedbugs and how to check for an infestation.

- - -

What are bedbugs?

Bedbugs are prehistoric parasites, evolving some 100 million years ago when dinosaurs roamed the Earth. "When dinosaurs died off, bedbugs did not," said David Cain, managing director of Bed Bugs Limited, a British company that battles the insects.

The bloodsucking organisms are incredibly resilient - with an "amazing ability to survive" and "spread pervasively," he added.

- - -

How big are bedbugs, and what do bedbugs look like?

Adult bedbugs are on average five millimeters long - about the same size as an apple seed. They are flat with oval-shaped bodies and are usually brown or red in color.

Sometimes, the bugs take on a more balloon-shaped appearance, which can be a sign of a recent blood meal.

- - -

Where are bedbugs found?

Bedbugs have long been "a significant public health issue," according to the journal Diagnostics, which recently noted that cases have been reported in 135 countries worldwide.

Bedbugs can lurk on train seats and headboards and inside the walls of public buildings. They can be found behind picture frames, inside plug sockets and under armrests. They can embed in clothing, hitching rides on the pant legs and coats of unsuspecting commuters.

The crawling insects cannot fly or jump, and they do not typically live on the human body. In most cases, they feed and leave.

If you're lucky enough, a bedbug will finish its meal (feeding can take between three and 12 minutes, according to the Environmental Protection Agency) and skitter back into hiding. If it's not finished, you're likely to take it with you.

Bedbugs thrive during the warmer months of the year when they are more active, according to the British Pest Control Association. But temperature-controlled buildings also serve as a habitat where the insects can survive year-round.

The insects are more prevalent in densely populated areas where there is rapid resident turnover, like apartment buildings, hostels and holiday camps. In recent years, hospitals, hotels, libraries, prisons and offices from London to New York have reported outbreaks.

Cain, who spoke to The Washington Post from an airport while on his way to tackle an outbreak on a superyacht, said that the bugs exist in any place where people spend long periods of time stationary - including movie theaters and on airplanes. He said he would "absolutely be checking" his seat before takeoff.

- - -

How do I know if I have bedbugs? What are the signs of bedbugs?

For some people, itchy spots and rashes that appear on the skin are the first sign they have been bitten by a bedbug. Though experts say it is not enough to rely on this as the only confirmation of an infestation, as many people do not respond to the bites. While the bites cause skin irritation, they do not usually lead to other health issues, according to Britain's National Health Service.

Bedbug bites can also present as sores caused by other insects, according to the EPA, making an infestation harder to identify and treat appropriately, giving the bugs more time to reproduce.

Other signs include fecal matter that can look like dark spots. These can be found anywhere a bedbug has been, including carpets and mattresses. The EPA recommends checking bedding for stains, eggs and tiny eggshells, along with shell casings that are usually pale yellow.

- - -

How can I check if my hotel room has bedbugs?

Experts say it should only take five to 10 minutes to check a hotel room for bedbugs. Don't focus too much on the bedding, because it is frequently changed and washed. But check the mattress's top and bottom seams along the perimeter, lifting up the thick ribbon of material and looking at both sides. Bedbugs prefer rougher surfaces and dark hiding places, such as mattress seams, headboard cracks and box spring crevices.

- - -

Where do bedbugs come from?

Infestations are not usually a reflection of poor hygiene, according to experts. Cases are usually driven by an individual coming into contact with the insects through travel or being exposed to items that are infested.

In the past three decades, infestation of bedbugs in human habitats "has drastically increased," along with a rise in concerns over the insects, according to the journal Diagnostics.

Cain explained that his caseload dropped during the coronavirus pandemic, which slowed global travel, but cases are crawling up once more. Many people who have contacted him about infestations have one thing in common, he said: They have all recently left the country. Events that bring in tourists from all over the world - like the Olympics - provide ripe conditions for bedbugs to feed and spread.

- - -

How do I get rid of bedbugs?

Treating bedbugs is a "complex" procedure that can take weeks to months, the EPA says. Some people may require specialist help depending on the extent of infestation. "Your likelihood of success depends on many factors, including how many bed bugs you have, how much clutter is available for hiding places, whether your neighbors have bed bugs, and whether all residents of a house of building will participate," the agency said.

There are some relatively simple things the agency recommends. Washing clothes and bedding that have been exposed to bedbugs is a crucial part of the eradication process. Turning the dryer to high heat for 30 to 45 minutes is what experts deem a death sentence for the insects. Dry cleaning can also be another means of killing the bugs. Steam cleaners that reach at least 130 degrees (54 degrees Celsius) can help treat carpets, baseboards, bed frames and other furniture, it says.

The EPA recommends removing infested items and placing them in a sealed plastic bag until they can be treated. Items that cannot be treated, it adds, should be sealed for up to a year to ensure any active bugs are dead. EPA-registered pesticides specifically labeled for bedbug control can help, too.

Yet according to the journal Diagnostics, one of the challenges to controlling bedbugs can be resistance to different families of insecticide. Attempting to treat the problem on your own raises the risk of the infestation spreading to other rooms, according to the British Pest Control Association, though it notes that a full extermination is expensive and some people cannot afford it - one of many reasons cases continue to worsen.

"Not all infestations are the same," Cain said. "You do not need to burn everything and move out." In his experience in professional pest control, some infestations have fewer than 50 bugs. In extreme cases, there are thousands. Cain recalls a one-bedroom apartment he visited in London that he estimated had 150,000 bedbugs.

- - -

How do I avoid a bedbug infestation?

Experts say there are several steps you can take to avoid bedbugs. They include placing luggage in another room and not onto a bed or nearby furniture. Checking seats and beds for signs of bedbugs before settling down to rest is another preventive technique. The EPA recommends making your bed "an island" - having it at least six inches away from the wall and not allowing covers to dangle onto the floor.

Other tips include vacuuming both sides of your mattress at least once a month and installing bedbug monitors.

The EPA recommends notifying your landlord if you are renting a property and find bedbugs, as they may have responsibility to help treat the problem. Reducing clutter in the home can help limit hiding places for the insects, as will sealing cracks and crevices. Investing in a mattress protector may also help.

People should also check secondhand furniture for signs of the bugs before taking the items home, the EPA notes, adding that people should also be vigilant when using shared laundry facilities.

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Days after Steven Blackshear was booked into Montgomery county jail in downtown Dayton, Ohio, in January, a nurse found him shaking, in a fetal position and vomiting. He complained of chest and leg pains and was taken for medical testing. Two days later, he was found dead in his cell, covered only in towels.

The 54-year-old is one of seven people to have died in a surge of deaths at the jail since the beginning of this year.

For a facility with a population of slightly more than 600 people, its a huge and worrying toll.

Its more than the number of deaths at jails in the five most-populous counties in Ohio combined, more than Montgomery countys total for all of 2021 and 2022, and just one fewer than at Rikers Island in New York City  a facility with 10 times the incarcerated population  in the same time period.

A spokesperson for Rob Streck, the Montgomery county sheriff who runs the lockup, said that ongoing legal considerations prevented him from speaking to the Guardian about the jail deaths. At a news conference last week, however, Streck said that this is the most physically ill, mentally ill and addicted population we have ever dealt with.

At the briefing, Streck refused to take questions related to the deaths at his jail.

All seven of those who have died at the Montgomery jail did so within days of entering the facility and while in pre-trial detention. They had not been convicted of that which they were accused of doing.

Complications related to narcotics withdrawals or overdoses and mental health crises are suspected of contributing to several of the deaths.

A jail is not equipped to be an emergency room, said Joel Pruce of the Montgomery County Jail Coalition, a community organization pushing for reform at the facility. People come in with medical needs that are extreme and significant, and a jail is not equipped to deal with them.

I think everybody bears responsibility. At the end of the day, [its] the sheriff, the county commissioners, county administrators and Naphcare.

Naphcare, a private company headquartered in Alabama, holds a $13m contract with Montgomery county to provide mental and physical healthcare to people housed at the jail.

Naphcare did not address the Guardians requests for specific information about how it treats people in its care. But the company suggested to Dayton media in June that the regions opioid crisis was to blame for the deaths.

Since January 2023, we have treated more than 1,000 individuals going through opioid withdrawal within the Montgomery county jail. In comparison, at other correctional facilities of a similar size, we have treated fewer than 100 patients going through opioid withdrawal within the same timeframe, a spokesperson told the Dayton Daily News.

But the company has a terrible record at jails right across the country. Deaths at facilities it is contracted to provide health and medical care in Arizona, Georgia, Washington state and elsewhere have led to a string of lawsuits. One county in Arizona has fined Naphcare $3.1m for alleged deficiencies in its medical care. In 2021, it settled for nearly $700,000 after allegations that it overcharged the federal government for services provided.

It has also previously settled lawsuits with inmates at Montgomery county jail in Ohio. In 2012, a man died after being handcuffed face down for 22 minutes during a medical emergency. Naphcare settled its part in that case for $500,000, according to court documents. The company currently has rolling contracts with Montgomery county that would see it operate there until at least 2026.

Naphcare staff treat people suffering withdrawal symptoms through a detoxification program that requires staff to check on inmates multiple times a day.

But for the late Steven Blackshear, whose family declined to speak with the Guardian due to legal proceedings, that wasnt enough.

After his arrest, he had been released by a Naphcare nurse into the general prison population despite exhibiting opiate and benzodiazepine withdrawal symptoms, according to a risk management report prepared by the sheriffs office. Shortly after 2am two days after entering the jail, Blackshear was found dead in his cell by a corrections officer doing their rounds.

When a delegation of the Montgomery County Jail Coalition toured the facility in July, its members were shown how jail staff monitor a bank of cameras that in turn observe the incarcerated population. However, delegation members later expressed concern that the large number of cameras could make it difficult to quickly spot an individual in need of emergency care. Of the seven fatalities at the jail this year, at least four died after being found unresponsive in a cell.

On 22 September, the county announced plans to increase the number of special needs beds at the jail from 12 to 112 as part of a $20m renovation.

But for Isaiah Trammell and the six others who have died there this year, it comes too late. On 13 March, the 19-year-old was held at the jail on a domestic violence charge. Trammell had been housed alone and on suicide precautions, and had asked for a blanket, a mat and a phone call but was refused, according to a sheriffs office risk management report.

The report found that Trammell then became enraged, had hurt himself and had suffered very significant swelling on his forehead that required medical care. A coroners report found that on 16 March, Trammell died due to complications from blunt force head trauma.

His death was ruled a suicide.

Being in jail exacerbates a lot of the other crises theyre already experiencing, particularly mental health crises, Pruce said. Each year, millions of people with mental health illnesses are booked into jails across the US.

Pruce said it most worried him that all seven deaths at the jail involved pre-trial detainees.

It means you are being detained in jail without being convicted of the crime you are charged with, Pruce said, and dying.
FILE PHOTO: Man walks past a logo of Alibaba Group at its office building in Beijing

By Jyoti Narayan and Nilutpal Timsina

(Reuters) -Belgian officials are looking into risks around the presence of China's Alibaba Group Holding at a cargo airport in the city of Liege, the country's intelligence service VSSE said in a statement on Thursday.

Referring to the company's main European logistics centre at Liege Airport, the security service said it was working to "detect and fight against possible spying and/or interference activities carried out by Chinese entities including Alibaba".

Belgian authorities are looking into Alibaba's operations at the airport based on an analysis of China's legal framework, the statement added.

The presence of Alibaba "still constitutes a point of attention" for the VSSE, it said, due to legislation which obligates Chinese companies to share data with Chinese authorities and intelligence services.

"We strongly deny the allegations based on prior conjecture," Alibaba's logistics arm Cainiao said in a statement.

"Cainiao is in compliance with all laws and regulations where it operates."

Alibaba signed an agreement with the Belgium government in 2018 to open an e-commerce trade hub, run by Cainiao, that would include investment in logistics infrastructure.

The Chinese e-commerce giant last month filed to list Cainiao on the Hong Kong stock exchange, which would make the unit the first to be separated since Alibaba said in March it would restructure and split its business into six units.

(Reporting by Jyoti Narayan and Nilutpal Timsina in Bengaluru; Editing by Tom Hogue, Robert Birsel and Kirsten Donovan)
"He was abusive, he was angry, he was very manipulative ... and it's perfectly in line with his character," 32-year-old Jacob Malarik said of the man accused of killing his mother.

But the jury will not hear those words when Jacob's stepfather, Gregory Malarik, heads to court for a re-do of his murder trial on a two-decade-old cold case.

Gregory Malarik returns to Escambia's Circuit Court for a second trial where a jury will decide if he murdered his wife Sherri, a petty officer 1st class in the U.S. Navy, in 2001. His first-degree premeditated murder trial originally began in June 2022, but the judge declared a mistrial after the jury failed to reach a unanimous decision on his guilt.

Jacob told the News Journal that his frustration has been mounting as his stepfather's second trial grows closer, as he and his stepbrother, Gregory "Little Greg" Malarik, cannot testify to what he says was a childhood filled with abuse that should place the jury in the right frame of mind to discern the father's character.

Cold case murder mistrial: Greg Malarik homicide trial ends in mistrial. What happened, and what happens next?

Gregory Malarik listens to opening statements Tuesday, June 14, 2022, in the first day of his murder trial in the 2001 death of his wife, Sherri Malarik. After his initial trial resulted in a hung jury, Malarik is going back before a jury next week.

In one example of alleged abuse, Jacob says it was his job at 10 years old to wake his four siblings in the morning before school, and before the elder Gregory Malarik was ready to leave; however, one day Jacob says he failed, and that's when he says the anger came through.

"He's yelling, screaming, punching holes in the wall, and he grabs me by the hair and throws me down," Jacob told the News Journal. "He used to have these boots that had a metal toe on them, and he cocked his leg back to kick the s**t out of me and I rolled out of the way. He kicked hard enough to put a hole through the (closed) door, the door busts open and then put a hole in the drywall behind it.

"This isn't a one-off story, this happened regularly," he added. "So, my frustration with the case is there is a lot of story that is a part of our lives growing up that we're not allowed to talk about in trial."

Jacob said he left the household at 18 and has not had a relationship with his stepfather since.

Jacob and "Little Greg" Malarik afraid of Gregory Malarik

Although a judge ruled that Jacob and "Little Greg" couldn't talk about any allegations of past abuses, he said he feels this information is pertinent information for a jury to understand Gregory's state of mind the night Sherri was shot in the head, stuffed into the passenger seat of the family van and then left in a Winn-Dixie parking lot overnight.

The pattern of alleged abuse coupled with Sherri's death left Jacob and "Little Greg" no one else to suspect other than their father of killing their mother, which Jacob said lead to a greater fear of making Gregory angry.

"'Little Greg' and myself, we grew up sleeping with knives under our bed, because we were so scared that we would be next," Jacob said, "(scared) that we would piss him off to no end, and one day he would come in and we would be next."

Even though he was young at the time, Jacob said his stepfather's relationship with babysitter Jennifer Spohn, a woman he was allegedly having an affair with while Sherri traveled overseas in the military, was evident to the eldest siblings and an additional reason why they believe Gregory wanted their mother out of the picture.

'I figured it was time': Gregory Malarik's girlfriend testifies she helped him leave crime scene

How did Gregory Malarik allegedly kill Sherri Malarik?

Jacob and "Little Greg" testified during the previous trial and used what they could remember to piece together a timeline of what happened Sept. 21, 2001.

Jacob told the prosecutor back in 2022 that he was in between the kitchen and the dining room when he last saw his mother.

"I just remember my mom walking by and saying nonchalantly, 'Hey, I'm going to go outside to talk to your dad,'" Jacob said. "And that was the last I saw of her."

They testified that Gregory followed Sherri to the backyard where they family van was parked and heard an audible "pop" sound similar to a firecracker. Afterward, "Little Greg" said the father returned to the house alone and immediately took a shower and changed clothes.

Afterward, Gregory allegedly drove the van to a nearby Winn-Dixie and caught a ride from the crime scene with Spohn.

Jennifer Spohn testified she helped Gregory Malarik dispose of evidence

Investigators with the Escambia County Sheriff's Office and the Naval Criminal Investigative Service believe that Gregory killed his wife so that he could marry Spohn rather than going through a third divorce. They apparently began dating while Sherri was stationed in Greece for the year prior to her death.

Spohn told investigators that when she got to the Winn-Dixie on Sept. 21, 2001, Malarik exited the driver side door of the van Sherri's body was found in, and she gave him a ride back to his home in her vehicle.

"Along the way he rolled down the window, he dropped the wig, the rest of the stuff was in the back seat in the back of the car," Spohn said during the 2022 trial. "I drove him to his house, he said to give him a few minutes and I needed to get rid of all the stuff in the back."

She later recounted that she dropped off a lawnmower she'd borrowed and then drove home. A few hours later, at 1 a.m., Spohn said she drove down Quintette Road and threw everything in the back seat off a bridge.

"At the bridge I waited and no cars showed up," Spohn said on the stand, "so, I took everything and threw it over the bridge."

Gregory Malarik listens to opening statements Tuesday, June 14, 2022, in the first day of his murder trial in the 2001 death of his wife, Sherri Malarik. After his initial trial resulted in a hung jury, Malarik is going back before a jury next week.

The "stuff" in the back seat were bags that Gregory allegedly gave Spohn when she picked him up from Winn Dixie hours earlier. Spohn told the court she only saw a few things in the bag.

"I know there was a CB radio, there was some other small items, and then the gun," Spohn said.

Spohn never said the gun she threw over the bridge was the .25 caliber gun investigators say was used to kill Sherri. Gregory was alleged to have a .25 caliber gun, but the gun was never recovered and no witness testimony confirms he ever owned that type of gun.

U.S. Army lab discovered gunshot residue on Gregory Malarik the day Sherri Malarik's body discovered

A chemist at the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Lab reported gunshot residue was found on Malarik's hands the day Sherri's body was located.

However, the defense later brought Chris Deyton to the stand, a Winn Dixie night stocker who was at work the night Sherri was killed. He testified that he and other employees had been outside taking a break when they witnessed someone approach the van.

"About five minutes into break, we heard two people arguing," Deyton told the court. "A guy pulled up to a lady in a red van.

"He got out of a Ford Festiva, the Ford version of a Yugo, he got out and approached the window," Deyton continued. "We started talking again and we heard three what sounded like firecrackers."

Deyton said the employees didn't think anything of it since "the kids from Tate like going down there and throwing fireworks."

The defense also asked if the man he saw was Gregory Malarik and he said, "No, the gentleman had short hair and was thinner."

Who are the attorneys and judge in Gregory Malarik's second murder trial?

Private attorney Chris Crawford represented Gregory at trial and will continue to do so during the retrial. Assistant State Attorney Amy Shea will also prosecute the case for a second time.

Circuit Judge John Simon will again preside over the trial.

What sentence is Gregory Malarik facing if convicted?

Under Florida law, first-degree premeditated murder is a capital felony and carries a required minimum sentence of life in prison.

If the jury convicts Gregory, Simon has no choice but to sentence him to life in prison.

How long will Gregory Malarik's trial last?

Gregory is set for jury selection Monday and will likely begin trial Tuesday. The first trial lasted four days, meaning the retrial will likely end Friday.

Gregory Malarik listens to opening statements during his murder trial on Tuesday, June 14, 2022, in the death of his wife, Sherri Malarik. After his initial trial resulted in a hung jury, Malarik is going back before a jury next week.

This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Gregory Malarik back to trial for Sherri Malarik's 2001 murder case
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Federal Chancellor of Germany Olaf Scholz met on the sidelines of the European Political Community summit in Spanish Granada on Thursday 5 October.

Source: Zelenskyy on Twitter (X), reports European Pravda

Details: Zelenskyy stated that Germany is working on providing Ukraine with an additional Patriot air defence system for the winter months.

Quote: "Im grateful for Germanys support in defending our freedom and people. This is also the defense of Europe and our shared values," the president said.

Fruitful meeting with @Bundeskanzler Olaf Scholz.



Germany is working on providing Ukraine with an additional Patriot system for the winter months.



Im grateful for Germanys support in defending our freedom and people. This is also the defense of Europe and our shared values. pic.twitter.com/xv8k0bXNw3  Volodymyr Zelenskyy /   (@ZelenskyyUa) October 5, 2023

Background:

Earlier, it was reported that Germany plans to supply Ukraine with additional air defence systems to help cover grain cargoes from potential Russian attacks.

Bild claimed that Germany made it clear to representatives of the Ukrainian government during their negotiations that it wants to do everything possible to further strengthen Ukraine's air defence, while it does not plan to transfer Taurus long-range cruise missiles to Kyiv.

Ukrainska Pravda is the place where you will find the most up-to-date information about everything related to the war in Ukraine. Follow us on Twitter, support us, or become our patron!
Former Rep. Beto ORourke (D-Texas) slammed the Biden administrations new border wall order as impotent political posturing, claiming the move will make it more difficult for voters to differentiate between the border and immigration policies of President Biden and former President Trump.

In a list of points posted to X, formerly known as Twitter, ORourke outlined the reasons why he didnt support the order.

1. Walls dont work, wrote ORourke, who ran an unsuccessful 2022 gubernatorial campaign against Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott. 2. President Biden promised he wouldnt build them 3. Now ever harder for voters to distinguish between him & Trump on border/immigration.

In his last point, he called it a wasted opportunity to use executive power to actually fix our asylum system instead of impotent political posturing.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced Wednesday it will waive 26 federal laws to allow border wall construction in Starr County, Texas, which is experiencing high illegal entry. The move is the administrations first use of an executive power often used by Trump to fund projects along the southern border.

Under the Trump administration, billions in defense and military construction funds were diverted toward building a wall at the southern border, a central focus of the former presidents 2016 campaign. He was then forced to use emergency powers instead, after Congress refused to fully fund the project.

Shortly into Bidens administration in 2021, the president canceled the state of emergency Trump declared on the southern border and later slashed projects to build the wall. The funds were redirected back to their original purpose or toward repairing environmental damage from the walls construction.

ORourke, who was raised in the Texas border city of El Paso and is an advocate of a safe, legal immigration system, has pushed back against the walls and fencing at the southern border over the years.

In July, he requested Biden immediately remove Abbotts razor wire and buoy obstructions in the Rio Grande. A federal judge in Texas later ordered the governor to remove the floating barriers.

While crediting some of Bidens efforts to end Trumps immigration policies, ORourke has also not been afraid to call out the White House.

In a New York Times op-ed published in July, ORourke said the strategy of prevention through deterrence behind the Biden administrations asylum restrictions risks worsening the humanitarian crisis at the border.

But [Biden] has also imposed new asylum restrictions that cut off access to protection for far too many, while leaving thousands more to wait for weeks or months in squalid tent camps in Mexican border towns, where they suffer alarming rates of kidnapping, sexual assault or worse, ORourke wrote in July.

Established in May, the new rule closely resembled a Trump-era policy requiring migrants to first seek and be denied asylum in another country before attempting to do so in the U.S. This rule was rolled out ahead of the expiration of Title 42, a pandemic-era ruling that permitted the rapid expulsion of migrants without allowing them to seek asylum.

The Biden administration has maintained a somewhat cautious approach to immigration and border security, fueling criticism from both sides of the aisle at times.

Efforts from the White House have ramped up in recent weeks. Last month, the Biden administration made a major strategic shift at the border and extended temporary protection status for nearly half a million Venezuelan nationals currently residing in the United States.

The White House also recently sent an additional 800 troops to help with the migration influx at the southern border. The Department of Defense has already deployed around 2,500 state National Guard personnel, in addition to around 24,000 Customers and Border Protection agents and officers and 2,600 nonuniformed officers, the White House said last month.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
A crew has begun to reshape some of the Stanislaus Rivers banks in east Oakdale to enhance fish habitat.

The $2.7 million project along Kerr Park also will reduce thorny vines and other non-native plants that hinder hikers.

The city got state and federal grants for the work, aimed mainly at salmon and steelhead trout. The public is barred from this part of the park until the expected Nov. 15 completion.

City officials and fishery experts gathered for a ceremonial groundbreaking Tuesday morning. The actual earth-moving started a day earlier under a contract with Ford Construction Co. of Lodi.

Kerr is one of Oakdales most popular parks, with ball fields, picnic tables and shade trees in its upper portion. Visitors who venture down to the river find thickets of introduced plants such as Himalayan blackberry and tree of heaven.

The invaders will give way to oaks, willows, cottonwoods and other native plants.

Hopefully, the public can come out and do some wildlife viewing and bird watching and not be stopped by this wall of blackberries, project consultant Jesse Anderson said. He is a senior biologist for Cramer Fish Sciences, based in Portland, Ore., and lives in the Oakdale area.

A crew started work on a fishery restoration project along the Stanislaus River at Kerr Park in Oakdale, Calif., Tuesday, Oct. 3, 2023.

Past gravel mining harmed fish

The fishery work will not be in the main channel of the Stanislaus, but in side channels damaged by decades of gravel mining. The industry left mounds of dirt on a floodplain that ideally is flatter, said J. D. Wikert, a Lodi-based habitat restoration coordinator with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

The restoration will provide shallow, shaded areas where baby fish can develop. The eggs are laid by adult fish returning after a few years in the Pacific Ocean.

The project will be on 22 acres on the south side of a roughly 4,000-foot river stretch. The contractor will move about 54,800 cubic yards of earth around the site, protecting mature trees that survived the mining era.

The East Stanislaus Resource Conservation District will help with the seedling planting. The excavated soil will be seeded with native grasses and wildflowers.

Felled trees will be used as part of the new fishery habitat along the Stanislaus River at Kerr Park in Oakdale, Calif., Tuesday, Oct. 3, 2023.

In some spots, old trees will uprooted and laid down along the side channels. This mimics the circle of life: Insects and other small creatures decompose the wood. They in turn are prey for salmon and other larger animals.

The roads for construction access will become hiking trails. Motor vehicles will not be allowed in this part of Kerr, other than emergency responders.

The project launched in 2019 with a $338,536 grant for initial design from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife. The federal agency added $359,000 in 2021 for further planning. The Oakdale City Council on Sept. 18 accepted an additional $2.04 million in federal funding for the construction.

Work will aid with wildfire risk, homeless camps

City officials have said controlling the invasive plants will ease the wildfire risk and help police to deal with homeless camps and other issues.

We just found that the more people that can come to public areas, the less likelihood for activities that we dont want to occur, City Manager Bryan Whitemyer said.

The riverside portion of Kerr is known as the Stanley Wakefield Wilderness Area. It was named for a deceased publisher of the Oakdale Leader newspaper.

The Stanislaus arises high in the central Sierra Nevada but is much reduced as it reaches Oakdale. Most of the water is stored in New Melones Reservoir for use by the Oakdale and South San Joaquin irrigation districts and the federal Central Valley Project.

These users support habitat projects such as Kerr Park as an alternative to the greatly increased river flows sought by environmental groups.

Crew begins work on a fishery restoration project along the Stanislaus River at Kerr Park in Oakdale, Calif., Tuesday, Oct. 3, 2023.

Project consultant Jesse Anderson, senior biologist for Cramer Fish Sciences, shows the site where a crew started work on a fishery restoration project along the Stanislaus River at Kerr Park in Oakdale, Calif., Tuesday, Oct. 3, 2023.

Crew begins work on a fishery restoration project along the Stanislaus River at Kerr Park in Oakdale, Calif., Tuesday, Oct. 3, 2023.
While the Renaissance World Tour may be over, Beyonce's commitment to her fans will be remembered.

In a remarkable display of empathy and awareness, global music icon Beyonce made headlines recently when she helped rectify an airlines misstep, ensuring a long-time fan with disabilities could enjoy her show.



Jon Hetherington, a fervent Beyonce admirer, faced a disappointing hurdle in September when he was barred from boarding an Alaska Airlines flight to Seattle due to the size of his motorized wheelchair, which he relies on for mobility due to cerebral palsy. The airline personnel cited that the chair was four inches too tall to be loaded onto the plane.

A disheartened Hetherington, who identifies as pansexual, took to social media to share his ordeal, describing his 25-year-long anticipation to see Beyonce live and how it was thwarted at the last minute.

Well, I guess Im not going to Seattle, and Im not seeing Beyonce, he said dejectedly in a video.

However, the setback took a fortunate turn when Beyonces publicist, Yvette Noel Schure, came across Hetheringtons post, Out, The Advocates companion publication reported.

In a swift move, arrangements were made for Hetherington to attend the Renaissance World Tour in Dallas. Seated on the floor close to the performing sensation, Hetheringtons joy knew no bounds as he shared his exhilarating experience on Instagram. His narrative, juxtaposed against the energizing atmosphere of the concert, spoke volumes about the stark contrast between what individuals with disabilities can experience with a touch of understanding and inclusivity.

"For the past, for Marsha, James, and Bayard," Hetherington wrote in an Instagram post with a pic of him at the concert, referring to LGBTQ+ activists Marsha P. Johnson, James Baldwin, and Bayard Rustin . "For the present, for O'Shae. For those who are becoming in a time that has yet to exist. We partied, we sang, we danced ... HARD. Beyhive, you made this happen, you pushed and tagged like the internet has never seen. Tonight, for the first time ever, I had a seat on the floor for a concert. Welcome to the RENAISSANCE."

This heartfelt intervention by Beyonce's and her team underscores a broader societal issue that disability advocates have been vocal about.

In a conversation earlier this April, Ben Trockman, an activist and outreach and employment specialist who also navigates life in a wheelchair due to a spinal cord injury, spoke to The Advocate about the myriad challenges faced by individuals with disabilities in a largely non-inclusive environment. He recounted his harrowing experience of being unable to travel due to inaccessible transportation options, stating, The world is not built for us, but that doesnt mean we dont want to be in it.

Hetheringtons experience isnt isolated but is part of a larger narrative that individuals with disabilities often encounter in various facets of life.

The recent advocacy work of Easterseals, a notable non-profit organization promoting equity for individuals with disabilities, echoes this reality. Their report released in April, titled The State of Disability Equity and Access, emphasizes the need for a rejuvenated approach toward the Americans with Disabilities Act, urging enhanced laws and civic engagement to meet the evolving needs of disabled individuals.

Trockmans and Easterseals endeavor reflects a collective striving towards bridging the accessibility gap, a mission that finds resonance with Beyonces recent gesture of inclusivity. The narrative accentuates how vital the support from influential figures like Beyonce can be in steering the conversation toward a more inclusive society. Beyond just a heartfelt act, her team's gesture resonates with the essence of equity, urging a deeper understanding and action toward a more accessible and empathetic society.

In reflecting on the broader struggle for inclusivity, Easterseals recent report echoes the sentiment, It is now time to ensure people with disabilities, older adults, and veterans have every opportunity to contribute to their communities and build lives of their choosing.

Easterseals CEO and President Kendra Davenport expressed the gravity of the situation in a conversation with The Advocate in the spring.

Americans who live with disabilities dont want pity, and the vast majority of disabled people with whom I speak through my work tell me they wouldnt change who they are or give up their disability because it is a part of what makes them who they are, Davenport elaborated. But what they demand is to be seen and afforded the ability to live full, happy lives like everyone else.

Davenport emphasized the economic logic in catering to the needs of the disabled community.

The disabled community has around $20 billion in discretionary income. So why isnt anybody focusing on that? she questioned. Its a vulnerability in the corporate sector. And whoever starts getting it right will realize terrific gains because the disabled community will get behind them.

Davenport added: We didnt talk about breast health 20 years ago..I want us to make the same strides so that the most rudimentary information about disability becomes ubiquitous and more people understand it.
WASHINGTON  The Biden administration is building a new barrier along the U.S.-Mexico border despite President Joe Bidens promise as a candidate not to add to a controversial border wall that has long been a signature of his predecessor Donald Trump.

Amid surging migration, the Biden administration is bypassing 26 federal laws, including environmental restrictions, to build a new section of the border wall in South Texas near the Rio Grande River, according to a Federal Registry notice made public Thursday.

Citing "high illegal entry" into the U.S., Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas defended expediting the wall's construction by using his authority to waive certain federal laws.

"There is presently an acute and immediate need to construct physical barriers and roads in the vicinity of the border of the United States in order to prevent unlawful entries into the United States," Mayorkas wrote in the notice.

Migrants wait along the border wall to surrender to US Customs and Border Protection agents for immigration and asylum claim processing after crossing the Rio Grande River into the United States in May.

The additional barriers, as well as new roads in Starr County, Texas, in the Rio Grande Valley, will be paid for by funding approved by Congress in 2019 during the Trump presidency.

As a 2020 presidential candidate, Biden vowed not to build "another foot" of a border wall that Trump has for years made the focus of his efforts to stop illegal immigration.

A border wall section stands on July 14, 2021, near La Grulla, Texas, in Starr County. On Wednesday, Oct. 4, 2023, the Biden administration announced that they waived 26 federal laws in South Texas to allow border wall construction, marking the administrations first use of a sweeping executive power employed often during the Trump presidency.

Biden said Thursday that he had no choice because Congress did not agree to cancel the funding approved in a 2019 law before he became president.

"The money was appropriated for the border wall. I tried to get them to reappropriate, to redirect that money," Biden told reporters. "They didnt. They wouldnt. In the meantime, theres nothing under the law other than they have to use the money for what it was appropriated for. I cant stop that."

Asked whether he believes a border wall is effective, Biden responded, "No," contradicting the statement from Mayorkas justifying the project.

In June, U.S. Customs and Border Protection announced the construction of a 20-mile barrier with steel bollard panels. The funding will come from $190 million remaining from a pool of $1.38 billion Congress approved in 2019 for fencing in the Rio Grande Valley.

Mexican president criticizes Biden's wall expansion

Apprehensions at the U.S.-Mexico border are on the rise again after initially dropping sharply in May and June after the Biden administration launched a new policy requiring migrants heading to the U.S. border to first seek protection in Mexico.

Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador criticized the wall expansion as he prepared to meet with Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Mexico City. "This authorization for the construction of the wall is a step backwards," he said, according to Reuters, adding that it "doesn't solve the problem" of migration. "The causes must be addressed.

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said DHS was required to use the funding for the border wall as Congress intended. "We have to comply by law to get this done," Jean-Pierre said.

The move comes amid a surge of migrant crossings along the Texas border with Mexico, and as the Justice Department is battling Republican Gov. Greg Abbott over some of his initiatives aimed at deterring illegal immigration.

Democratic activist and South Texas attorney Ricardo de Anda, who battled the Trump administration's efforts to take private land for his signature border wall project, called the Biden administration's wall expansion "a slap in the face."

Trump needled Biden on his social media web site Truth Social over the reversal. ''Will Joe Biden apologize to me and America for taking so long to get moving, and allowing our country to be flooded with 15 million illegals immigrants?" Trump wrote.

President Joe Biden delivers remarks during a meeting on Ukraine in the Oval Office on October 05, 2023 in Washington, DC.

Deportation flights of Venezuelans in US illegally to resume

Pushing back at criticism, Mayorkas issued a statement Thursday saying the language in the federal notice is being taken out of context. "There is no new administration policy with respect to border walls," he said. "From day one, this administration has made clear that a border wall is not the answer."

In another step aimed at surging migration, the Biden administration announced it would resume deportation flights of Venezuelans who entered the U.S. illegally. Officials said it follows an agreement with the Venezuelan government to accept Venezuelan nationals who fled their country.

Two senior Biden administration officials, who discussed the move on the condition of anonymity, said 66,000 Venezuelan migrants have entered the U.S. legally since the administration announced the new policy.

A political, economic and humanitarian crisis in Venezuela over the past decade has pushed at least 7.3 million people to migrate, most of them to neighboring Latin American countries, but more recently to the U.S through Mexico. Many have made their journeys through the dangerous Darien Gap, a remote jungle between Colombia and Panama that is treacherous and often deadly.

Abbott, whose office had no immediate comment on Mayorkas' border wall announcement, has been the nation's harshest critic of the Democratic administration's approach to matters of unlawful immigration and border security. The Texas state Legislature has allocated nearly $10 billion since Biden took office for Abbott's Operation Lone Star, which has sent thousands of National Guard troops from the Texas Department of Public Safety to South Texas.

Texas has also laid miles of razor wire and has built barriers on private land with permission from owners as part of the operation.

On Thursday, the state met the Biden Justice Department before the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans for a hearing over whether Texas will be allowed to keep its controversial 1,000-foot string of buoys in the Rio Grande near Eagle Pass while the federal lawsuit over the matter plays out. The court's three-judge panel did not issue a ruling after hearing from Texas and federal lawyers.

Contributing: Maureen Groppe, The Associated Press

Reach Joey Garrison on X, formerly Twitter, @joeygarrison.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Biden administration moves to extend border wall touted by Trump
The Biden administration quietly announced plans on Thursday to add to the border wall with Mexico -- extending construction of the barrier that was a signature policy of Donald Trump .

Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said in a notice in the US Federal Register there was "an acute and immediate need to construct physical barriers and roads in the vicinity of the border of the United States in order to prevent unlawful entries."

The new section of wall will be built in the "high illegal entry" Rio Grande Valley Sector of the US-Mexico border, Mayorkas said, where there have been more than 245,000 illegal entrants this fiscal year.

President Joe Biden announced in a proclamation on the day he took office in January 2021 that no more taxpayer funds would be allocated to build a border wall.

"Building a massive wall that spans the entire southern border is not a serious policy solution," Biden said.

Mayorkas said the funding for the "additional physical barriers" would come from an appropriation made by Congress for that purpose in 2019, when Trump was still in office.

The Department of Homeland Security said some two dozen federal laws such as the Clean Air Act and Endangered Species Act would need to be waived to allow for the extension of the border wall.

Illegal immigration has become a major political issue for Biden, with opposition Republicans accusing him of lax border policies.

Trump, the frontrunner for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, said the Biden administration move showed "I was right when I built 560 miles... of brand new, beautiful border wall."

"Will Joe Biden appolgize (sic) to me and America for taking so long to get moving, and allowing our country to be flooded with 15 million illegals immigrants, from places unknown," Trump said in a post on his Truth Social platform.

cl/bgs
US President Joe Biden on Thursday defended plans to extend the border wall with Mexico, saying he didn't think such barriers worked but that he was bound by laws introduced under Donald Trump .

Democrat Biden pledged during his White House race with Trump in 2020 that he would abandon the Republican's signature policy and would not build any more of the wall.

But his own Department of Homeland Security on Thursday announced the building of a new section in southern Texas to tackle an "acute and immediate need," as migrant crossings surge.

Biden, who is polling neck-and-neck with rival Trump ahead of a likely 2024 election rematch, insisted his predecessor had tied his hands on the wall-building.

"They have to use the money for what it was appropriated for. I can't stop that," he told reporters in the Oval Office.

He said the cash was earmarked for the border wall by the US Congress under Trump in 2019, and that lawmakers had since rejected his appeals to reassign the funds.

Asked if he thought the border wall was effective, Biden replied simply: "No."

- 'No choice' -

The new section of wall will be built in the "high illegal entry" Rio Grande Valley sector of the US-Mexico border, where there have been more than 245,000 attempted illegal entries this fiscal year.

But Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas later said the announcement had been "taken out of context."

"The action that we took -- we had no choice," Mayorkas said during a news conference in Mexico with Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

"There is no new administration policy with respect to the border wall."

Illegal immigration has become a major political headache for Biden, with opposition Republicans accusing him of lax border policies.

The border issue has even added to uncertainty over US aid for Ukraine, with some Republicans refusing to approve funds until Biden acts on migrants.

Meanwhile some Democrats including progressive lawmaker Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez criticized the wall decision. So did conservationists after it emerged that two dozen federal environmental laws would be waived to build the extension.

The White House said it was "absolutely false" that there had been a reversal by the president.

"We have to comply by law and that's what we're doing," Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters.

- 'I was right' -

Trump, the frontrunner for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, said the Biden administration move showed "I was right when I built 560 miles... of brand new, beautiful border wall."

"Will Joe Biden appolgize (sic) to me and America for taking so long to get moving, and allowing our country to be flooded with 15 million illegals (sic) immigrants, from places unknown," Trump said on his Truth Social platform.

Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador criticized the US plan, calling it a "setback" ahead of talks with Blinken.

Their talks came after a spike in the number of people -- mostly from Central America and Venezuela -- seeking to cross from Mexico into the United States.

The Biden administration announced later Thursday that it would resume direct deportation flights to Venezuela, which is still under US sanctions for rights abuses.

"This comes following a decision from the authorities of Venezuela to accept back their nationals," said a senior administration official.

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What the federal government says is a levee improvement project near Bentsen-Rio Grande Valley State Park in Mission on Jan. 12, 2022. Local immigrant advocates and environmentalists say it looks like a border wall. Credit: Eddie Gaspar/The Texas Tribune

Democrats, environmentalists and advocates for migrants are expressing anger this week as President Joe Biden s administration continues to push forward with plans to build sections of border wall along parts of Texas border with Mexico.

Biden says he has no choice but to continue building the wall, and in a public filing that went into effect Thursday, his administration gave notice that it intends to waive 26 laws and regulations in order to take immediate action to build a few miles of new barrier in Starr County.

That sparked outrage among opponents of the wall, who noted that Biden campaigned against the border wall when he ran in 2020.

This is extremely disappointing, and a horrific step backwards that we just didnt expect to see from this administration, said Laiken Jordahl, a southwest conservation advocate for the Center for Biological Diversity.

But border barrier construction has continued in Texas and elsewhere since the early days of Bidens term. As early as 2021, construction crews were erecting 15-foot concrete panels topped with 6-foot steel bollards in the Rio Grande Valley. In 2022, U.S. Customs and Border Protection detailed plans to build 86 miles of border wall in the Rio Grande Valley, including Starr County.

On Thursday, Biden told reporters that he was required by law to continue certain wall construction because Congress appropriated money for it. That appropriation occurred in 2019, before Biden took office.

I tried to get to them to reappropriate it, to redirect that money, he said. They didnt. They wouldnt. And in the meantime, theres nothing under the law other than they have to use the money for what it was appropriated. I cant stop that.

When asked whether he believes the border wall works, he answered, No.

That contrasts with what Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro N. Mayorkas said in the public filing Thursday, writing that there is presently an acute and immediate need to construct physical barriers and roads in the vicinity of the border of the United States in order to prevent unlawful entries into the United States in the project areas.

The laws Mayorkas said the department would waive included the Clean Air Act, the Safe Drinking Water Act and the Endangered Species Act.

In a statement sent later Thursday, Mayorkas stressed that the Biden administration has not changed its policy on border barriers, and that the notice posted in his name had been taken out of context.

This Administration believes that effective border security requires a smarter and more comprehensive approach, including state-of-the-art border surveillance technology and modernized ports of entry,  Mayorkas said. We need Congress to give us the funds to implement these proven tools.

Still, Democrats in Congress from Texas denounced the actions this week.

U.S. Rep. Veronica Escobar, D-El Paso, urged the White House to reconsider its decision to proceed with the wall, especially the disastrous choice to waive environmental laws. U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-Laredo, meanwhile, called a border wall a 14th century solution to a 21st century problem.

I continue to stand against the wasteful spending of taxpayer dollars on an ineffective border wall, and I will continue to push for solutions that our men and women on the front line actually need, such as more border technology and personnel at ports of entry and in between ports, he said.

Meanwhile, Republicans have pushed for more border barriers to be built, with Gov. Greg Abbott directing Texas agencies to take steps to build walls with state resources.

Still, U.S. Rep. Dan Crenshaw, R-Houston, said the Biden administrations actions this week were nothing to celebrate. He said buoys in the Rio Grande, similar to those Abbott deployed in a small stretch of the river in Eagle Pass, are necessary too.

If Biden is serious, thats whats needed, Crenshaw wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter. Can be deployed immediately and they actually prevent migrants from crossing the international barrier. But hes not serious. Its a stunt to grab some headlines and make it seem like hes not totally ignoring the crisis he created.

Maps included in a proposal by U.S. Customs and Border Protection appear to indicate that the wall would cut through tracts of the Lower Rio Grande Valley Wildlife Refuge, a wildlife corridor that attempts to connect undisrupted habitat along the last 275 miles of the Rio Grande.

Jordahl, with the Center for Biological Diversity, said the decision was shocking and disheartening.

Wildlife dont care if you call it a wall, or a fence, or a barrier, Jordahl said. They cant get through.

The border barrier could disrupt a sensitive ecosystem in this area, environmental advocates warned, and could particularly harm two endangered species of plants, the Zapata bladderpod and prostrate milkweed. Recovery plans for endangered ocelots could also be impacted, according to the center. Much of the animals native habitat in the Rio Grande Valley has already been lost to development.

Jordahl said the border barrier would undermine the refuges attempt to create a swath of connected habitat along the border where wildlife can access the river.

These stretches  this tiny little wildlife refuge  is the best remaining wildlife habitat anywhere in the county, Jordahl said. The border wall just rips right through, and would totally stop us from achieving that goal of the refuge system itself.

Even if the Biden administration must use the appropriated funds for the border, said Jordahl, theres nothing that says you have to waive the most important [environmental] laws.

Meanwhile, Alan Lizarraga, communications coordinator of the Border Network for Human Rights, said he was saddened to see Biden continue Trumps policies.

"You know, this is a failed strategy, Lizarraga said. Over and over, it has shown that building walls and these deterrence policies do not help [address] the roots of immigration. They are not addressing the reasons why people are coming here."

Naida Alvarez, who owns land in the community of Rosita, south of Eagle Pass, said the construction will disrupt her life. She said the wall will pass behind her house, on her land.

Where we live there are many streams," she said. If they build a wall all the earth is going to sink. The land will be unstable and houses can sink.

Right now, she can go fishing near her house and watch wild animals  foxes, wild boars, rabbits  run by.

What happened with Bidens word during his campaign? she said. He said he was a man of his word, and now hes changing his word and following with the same policy of the foolish [president] we had.

Uriel J. Garcia and Matthew Watkins contributed reporting.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The administration of U.S. President Joe Biden will restart deportations to Venezuela in an effort to reduce southern border crossings, CBS News reported on Thursday, citing current and former administration officials.

The administration plans to resume direct deportations for Venezuelans who enter the U.S. unlawfully and lack a legal basis to remain in the country, CBS reported, citing the unidentified current and formal officials.

U.S. officials said last month that the U.S. would grant temporary deportation relief and access to work permits to nearly half a million Venezuelans already in the country, a move that followed calls by Democrats to help newly arrived migrants work legally.

(Reporting by Jasper Ward; Editing by Caitlin Webber)
Jewish worshippers attend the Priestly Blessing during Sukkot at the Western Wall in the Old City of Jerusalem, on Oct. 4, 2023. The Sukkot, or Feast of Tabernacles, falling from sunset of Sept. 29 to sunset of Oct. 6 this year, is a biblical week-long holiday that recollects the 40 years of travel in the desert after the Exodus from slavery in Egypt. (Xinhua/Chen Junqing)

Jewish worshippers attend the Priestly Blessing during Sukkot at the Western Wall in the Old City of Jerusalem, on Oct. 4, 2023. The Sukkot, or Feast of Tabernacles, falling from sunset of Sept. 29 to sunset of Oct. 6 this year, is a biblical week-long holiday that recollects the 40 years of travel in the desert after the Exodus from slavery in Egypt. (Xinhua/Chen Junqing)

Jewish worshippers head to the Western Wall to attend the Priestly Blessing during Sukkot in the Old City of Jerusalem, on Oct. 4, 2023. The Sukkot, or Feast of Tabernacles, falling from sunset of Sept. 29 to sunset of Oct. 6 this year, is a biblical week-long holiday that recollects the 40 years of travel in the desert after the Exodus from slavery in Egypt. (Xinhua/Chen Junqing)

Jewish worshippers attend the Priestly Blessing during Sukkot at the Western Wall in the Old City of Jerusalem, on Oct. 4, 2023. The Sukkot, or Feast of Tabernacles, falling from sunset of Sept. 29 to sunset of Oct. 6 this year, is a biblical week-long holiday that recollects the 40 years of travel in the desert after the Exodus from slavery in Egypt. (Xinhua/Chen Junqing)

Jewish worshippers attend the Priestly Blessing during Sukkot at the Western Wall in the Old City of Jerusalem, on Oct. 4, 2023. The Sukkot, or Feast of Tabernacles, falling from sunset of Sept. 29 to sunset of Oct. 6 this year, is a biblical week-long holiday that recollects the 40 years of travel in the desert after the Exodus from slavery in Egypt. (Xinhua/Chen Junqing)

Jewish worshippers attend the Priestly Blessing during Sukkot at the Western Wall in the Old City of Jerusalem, on Oct. 4, 2023. The Sukkot, or Feast of Tabernacles, falling from sunset of Sept. 29 to sunset of Oct. 6 this year, is a biblical week-long holiday that recollects the 40 years of travel in the desert after the Exodus from slavery in Egypt. (Xinhua/Chen Junqing)

Jewish worshippers attend the Priestly Blessing during Sukkot at the Western Wall in the Old City of Jerusalem, on Oct. 4, 2023. The Sukkot, or Feast of Tabernacles, falling from sunset of Sept. 29 to sunset of Oct. 6 this year, is a biblical week-long holiday that recollects the 40 years of travel in the desert after the Exodus from slavery in Egypt. (Xinhua/Chen Junqing)

Jewish worshippers attend the Priestly Blessing during Sukkot at the Western Wall in the Old City of Jerusalem, on Oct. 4, 2023. The Sukkot, or Feast of Tabernacles, falling from sunset of Sept. 29 to sunset of Oct. 6 this year, is a biblical week-long holiday that recollects the 40 years of travel in the desert after the Exodus from slavery in Egypt. (Xinhua/Chen Junqing)

Jewish worshippers attend the Priestly Blessing during Sukkot at the Western Wall in the Old City of Jerusalem, on Oct. 4, 2023. The Sukkot, or Feast of Tabernacles, falling from sunset of Sept. 29 to sunset of Oct. 6 this year, is a biblical week-long holiday that recollects the 40 years of travel in the desert after the Exodus from slavery in Egypt. (Xinhua/Chen Junqing)

Jewish worshippers attend the Priestly Blessing during Sukkot at the Western Wall in the Old City of Jerusalem, on Oct. 4, 2023. The Sukkot, or Feast of Tabernacles, falling from sunset of Sept. 29 to sunset of Oct. 6 this year, is a biblical week-long holiday that recollects the 40 years of travel in the desert after the Exodus from slavery in Egypt. (Xinhua/Chen Junqing)

Jewish worshippers attend the Priestly Blessing during Sukkot at the Western Wall in the Old City of Jerusalem, on Oct. 4, 2023. The Sukkot, or Feast of Tabernacles, falling from sunset of Sept. 29 to sunset of Oct. 6 this year, is a biblical week-long holiday that recollects the 40 years of travel in the desert after the Exodus from slavery in Egypt. (Xinhua/Chen Junqing)

Jewish worshippers attend the Priestly Blessing during Sukkot at the Western Wall in the Old City of Jerusalem, on Oct. 4, 2023. The Sukkot, or Feast of Tabernacles, falling from sunset of Sept. 29 to sunset of Oct. 6 this year, is a biblical week-long holiday that recollects the 40 years of travel in the desert after the Exodus from slavery in Egypt. (Xinhua/Chen Junqing)

Jewish worshippers attend the Priestly Blessing during Sukkot at the Western Wall in the Old City of Jerusalem, on Oct. 4, 2023. The Sukkot, or Feast of Tabernacles, falling from sunset of Sept. 29 to sunset of Oct. 6 this year, is a biblical week-long holiday that recollects the 40 years of travel in the desert after the Exodus from slavery in Egypt. (Xinhua/Chen Junqing)
The Biden administration announced Thursday that it will start deporting people directly to Venezuela, a country where chaotic economic and political conditions have prompted about 8 million people to flee.

Administration officials said Venezuelan authorities agreed to receive repatriations from the United States, but declined to provide details on any discussions with President Nicolas Maduros regime.

The move is all but certain to raise concerns and condemnation from human rights advocates over the dangers Venezuelan deportees will face in the increasingly repressive country.

The Biden administration has previously relied on third parties for deportations to Venezuela, for instance deporting Venezuelans to a willing partner nation such as the Dominican Republic, which would then conduct its own deportations to Venezuela.

And the new announcement comes weeks after the Biden administration redesignated Venezuela for Temporary Protected Status (TPS), a program specifically designed to avoid deporting foreign nationals into dangerous situations.

The TPS designation allowed more than 400,000 Venezuelans who were in the United States as of July to stay in the country and work legally, an official recognition that conditions in Venezuela are too dangerous for safe returns.

We granted Temporary Protected Status for Venezuelan nationals who are in the U.S. as of July 31, a few weeks ago. And we, as a matter of policy and as a matter of historical practice, continue to remove individuals to countries that have TPS designations after the date of the TPS designation, a senior administration official said.

So this is not something new or different from the long standing practice of this administration, and really all previous administrations.

The renewed deportations respond to the growing number of Venezuelans willing to take the dangerous trek on foot through Panamas Darien Gap, a stretch of jungle that was considered impassable before trails developed as a result of migration over the past decade.

Venezuelans then have to traverse Central America and Mexico, a journey made more dangerous by corrupt officials and organized criminals who at once provide services to and prey on vulnerable migrants.

The administrations announcement came in the wake of a visit to Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador by Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Attorney General Merrick Garland and Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, though officials said Mexico was not party to the renewed deportations.

Theres no direct correlation between the timing of this announcement and the secretarys visit, an administration official SAID.

We did have very productive conversations with the government of Mexico on the topic of migration. Theyre an incredibly strong, important partner to us, but this is an announcement that we are making on our own today.

But officials also said Mexico will continue to receive some Venezuelans encountered at the border and quickly expelled from the United States.

We do intend to continue to return of some Venezuelans who are encountered at the border and ordered removed or who voluntarily withdraw to Mexico even as we repatriate Venezuelans to Venezuela, an administration official SAID.

The focus on Venezuela comes as that countrys nationals continue to put pressure both on Customs and Border Protection at ports of entry and on the Border Patrol in other parts of the border.

The number of Venezuelans encountered at the border has risen at an alarming rate over the past few months.

According to data compiled by the Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA), CBP reported more than 30,000 monthly encounters with Venezuelans in April, May and August of this year, and according to a report by CBS News, more than 50,000 Venezuelans showed up in September.

The WOLA numbers also show that in August, only 30 percent of Venezuelans encountered at the border showed up at ports of entry, despite the countrys nationals being eligible for the Biden administrations expanded pathways to legal entry.

In August, 22,090 Venezuelans were apprehended by the Border Patrol after crossing the U.S.-Mexico border at non-designated locations, while 9,373 were encountered at ports of entry by CBP.

That shows the limitations of the Biden administrations efforts to expand legal pathways to entry without legislative action on immigration reform, amid a decade-old pattern of migration from beyond Mexico and Central America.

The administrations actions are creating whiplash among immigration advocates, as the carrot-and-stick approach has revealed increasingly painful sticks.

Deportations to Venezuela are unlikely to be high-volume  a similar deal with Cuba has yielded one deportation flight per month over the last six months.

But conditions in Venezuela are more dire, and comparisons will inevitably be drawn to the Biden administrations extensive Haitian deportation program, which has returned more than 27,000 people to the collapsing country.

Yet administration officials said theyre setting guardrails to prevent the deportation of Venezuelans with legitimate claims to asylum, regardless of their mode of entry into the United States.

Individuals will only be returned to Venezuela if theyre found not to have a legal basis to remain in the United States. So all such individuals will have an opportunity to raise protection concerns, and will not be returned to Venezuela if theyre determined to be at risk of persecution or torture upon return, said an official.

Updated at 5:12 p.m. ET

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
The Biden administration struck a deal with Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro to resume directly deporting Venezuelan migrants back to the South American country for the first time in years, U.S. authorities said Thursday.

The Department of Homeland Security said the announcement follows a decision by authorities from Venezuela to accept the return of Venezuelan nationals, and multilateral conversations in Mexico City on Wednesday between the governments of the United States, Mexico, Colombia and Panama.

In announcing its new policy, the Department of Homeland Security said the measure will apply to those Venezuelan nationals who cross our border unlawfully and do not establish a legal basis to remain.

READ MORE: If youre a Venezuelan immigrant in the U.S., could you be deported? What you need to know

The development comes after a sharp increase in the number of Venezuelan migrants showing up between July and August at the U.S.-Mexico border, according to federal government data. CBS News reported that preliminary numbers showed that some 50,000 Venezuelans had crossed the border last month, an all-time monthly high.

The decision also comes weeks after Homeland Security made an additional 472,000 Venezuelans eligible for Temporary Protected Status, a protection from deportation that allows people from countries in turmoil who are already in the United States to temporarily live and work here. At the time of the TPS announcement, the head of the agency deemed Venezuela too unsafe for those who had arrived here by July 31 to return.

Thursdays announcement shocked Venezuelan activists in South Florida, who claimed it could place the lives of thousands of their countrymen in danger.

This is terrible news, said former opposition leader Alexis Ortiz. We understand that immigration in the United States has reached a critical situation, but U.S. officials must also understand that any Venezuelan who is directly repatriated to Venezuela is being sent back to starvation, to political persecution and to a state of total helplessness.

Crisis in Venezuela

Venezuela is the source of the largest movement of people in the Western hemisphere in decades, as the country struggles with social, political, and economic crisis. Over 7 million people have fled the country, according to the United Nations.

The Biden administration has launched several policies to curb illegal immigration at the U.S-Mexico border, including programs for Venezuelans, Haitians, Nicaraguans and Cubans that allow people to come for a two-year period as long as they pass background and health checks and have a financial sponsor.

The U.S. government has also announced billions of dollars in investments and projects in Central America to address the root causes of migration, as well as a two-month joint operation with Panama and Colombia in April meant to end illegal migration through the dangerous jungle known as the Darien Gap.

But despite the attempt to shut down the highly trafficked migration route through the risky region that Colombia and Panama share, authorities have recorded a record amount of crossers this year. Panamanian authorities reported over 330,000 crossings through August, with over half coming from Venezuela.

In all, the U.S. government has also had nearly 200,000 encounters with Venezuelan nationals at the border between October 2022 and August 2023  nearly 12,000 more than the whole previous fiscal year.

The high volume of migrants coming to the United States has been a constant line of attack from Republicans and other critics, who point to the number of encounters at the border and the wave of newly arrived immigrants that cities like New York are struggling to absorb as proof that Bidens immigration policies arent working. The migration crisis has also divided Democrats, who advocated for TPS for the Venezuelans already here.

It remained unclear Thursday when the last direct deportation flight Venezuela took place. But Thomas Cartwright, an independent volunteer who tracks Immigration and Customs Enforcement flights since Jan. 2020, said he had not seen direct flights to Venezuela since he began documenting deportations. Venezuela and the U.S. broke off diplomatic relations in January 2019.

Both the Trump and Biden administrations have conducted deportation flights of Venezuelans to other countries. Last year, the federal government started sending Venezuelans who had previously lived in Colombia back there. The Trump administration also sent Venezuelans to Trinidad and Tobago. The number of deportations of Venezuelan nationals has been in the low hundreds annually in recent years, according to ICE reports.

Concerns among Venezuelans

Venezuela has several open accusations of crimes against humanity in international courts, and human-rights groups have published several reports that highlight the torture of political dissidents and extrajudicial killings of dissidents as common practices in the country. Representatives of the Venezuelan community expressed concerns to the Herald about the fate of those who will be sent back to the South American country and claimed that it will help strengthen Maduros grip on power.

Jose Colina, president of the Organization of Politically Persecuted Venezuelans in Exile, said the announcement is a new sign that the administration is attempting to normalize relations with the Maduro regime.

We have the U.S. government working together with the Maduro regime to get Caracas to allow the repatriation of Venezuelan nationals. This immigration measure has significant political repercussions because now even though they dont recognize Maduros presidency, they now have to work together with him to repatriate Venezuelans, Colina said.

The United States recognizes the opposition-controlled National Assembly as the legitimate democratically elected authority in the country and accuses Maduro of dismantling the countrys democratic system. While officials from the Biden administration have communicated with Maduro, there are no formal diplomatic ties between the two governments.

Those communications attempts, however, have led to significant improvements in the relations between the two countries, with the administration offering to lift the sanctions imposed by the Trump administration on the regime if Maduro agrees to hold free and fair elections. These diplomatic engagements, which began last year, have also led to Maduro freeing a number of Americans jailed in Venezuela and to Washington allowing Chevron and other oil firms to expand operations in the South American country.

Adelys Ferro, the president of the Venezuelan American Caucus, said she believes the Biden administration is using this measure as another way to establish law and order at the border. She said that members of the Venezuelan opposition had been informed about the decision.

What we hope is that all Venezuelans who return to Venezuela are treated well, and that there is oversight so this entire process is handled in the most humane way possible, she said.

Other Venezuelan advocates complained that the administrations poorly defined and at times ambiguous policy has fueled the immigration crisis. U.S. government immigration and policy announcement have encouraged people to flee Venezuela, but later come across the ire of officials when they do reach the border, said Venezuelan advocates and service providers.

Patricia Andrade, founder of the Venezuelan support network Raices Venezolanas, said an ill-defined policy in Washington has partly led to the high numbers at the border.

This administration is characterized by improvisation, by the adoption of unexpected measures, Andrade said. She pointed to comments Biden president made in September 2022 in which he described the the ability to send people back to Venezuela, Nicaragua, and Cuba as not rational.
The Biden administration announced Wednesday that 26 federal laws were waived to allow border wall construction in Texas, marking the administrations first use of an executive power often used by former President Trump to fund projects along the southern border.

The waived laws will help expedite the construction of barriers and roads in Starr County, Texas, which is experiencing high illegal entry, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said in a statement posted to the U.S. Federal Registry.

The U.S. Border Patrol saw more than 245,000 people in the last fiscal year try to enter the United States in the Rio Grande Valley Sector, the DHS said, citing data from August.

There is presently an acute and immediate need to construct physical barriers and roads in the vicinity of the border of the United States in order to prevent unlawful entries into the United States in the project areas, DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said in the statement.

Some of the waived federal laws include the Clean Water Act, Endangered Species Act and Safe Water Drinking Act, to prevent lengthy reviews and lawsuits challenging the violation of such laws, The Associated Press (AP) reported.

The construction will be funded by a congressional appropriation passed in 2019, in which Congress set aside funding for the construction of the border barrier in the Rio Grande Valley. The DHS is required to use those funds for the appropriated purpose.

During his presidency, Trump diverted billions in defense and military construction funds toward building a wall, a central focus of his 2016 campaign. Trump was then forced to use emergency powers instead, after Congress refused to fully fund the project.

Shortly into his administration in 2021, Biden canceled the state of emergency Trump declared on the southern border and later slashed projects to build the wall. The funds were redirected back to their original purpose or toward repairing environmental damage from the walls construction.

Trump took to social media Thursday morning, saying he will await Bidens apology.

So interesting to watch Crooked Joe Biden break every environmental law in the book to prove that I was right when I built 560 miles (they incorrectly state 450 in story!) of brand new, beautiful border wall, Trump wrote in a Truth Social post.

As I have stated often, over thousands of years, there are only two things that have consistently worked, wheels, and walls! he continued. Will Joe Biden apologize to me and America for taking so long to get moving, and allowing our country to be flooded with 15 million illegals immigrants, from places unknown. I will await his apology!

Secretary of State Antony Blinken and other American leaders are visiting Mexico this week to address concerns of security, drug and arms trafficking and steepening migration.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
A pregnant woman stands at a security fence installed by the Texas National Guard at the US border with Mexico

US President Joe Biden 's administration is to build a section of border wall in southern Texas in an effort to stop rising levels of immigration.

About 20 miles (32km) will be built in Starr County along its border with Mexico, where officials report high numbers of crossings.

Building a border wall was a signature policy of Donald Trump as president and fiercely opposed by Democrats.

In 2020, Mr Biden promised he would not build another foot of wall if elected.

His administration passed a proclamation soon after taking office that said building a wall across the southern border "is not a serious policy solution".

On Thursday, however, Mr Biden said he "can't stop" the construction of the border wall because the funding for it had already been appropriated.

When asked whether he believes the wall could work, he replied simply: "no".

In a statement to Associated News on Wednesday night, the US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) similarly defended the latest move, saying it was using funds already allocated for a border barrier.

"Congress appropriated fiscal year 2019 funds for the construction of border barrier in the Rio Grande Valley, and DHS is required to use those funds for their appropriated purpose," the statement said.

Mr Biden and the statements stand in stark contrast to a notice about the project on the US Federal Registry in which Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said that there is "presently an acute and immediate need to construct physical barriers and roads in the vicinity of the border of the United States in order to prevent unlawful entries into the United States in the project areas".

Speaking at his daily news conference, Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador criticised the announcement, saying that a wall is "contrary" to what President Biden had previously advocated.

"I understand there is strong pressure from extreme right-wing political groups in the United States," he added.

The rising number of illegal border crossings has made the issue a vulnerable one for president Biden.

More than 245,000 crossings have been made this year in the Rio Grande Valley area alone, government data shows, and September is expected to be a record month.

Several US cities say they are feeling the strain of the influx.

New York City Mayor Eric Adams predicted the cost of housing the more than 100,000 new arrivals since last year will rise to $12bn over the next three years.

Mr Adams is travelling to Mexico, Colombia and Ecuador this week to discourage migrants from setting out. "We are at capacity," he said on Tuesday.

Dozens of federal laws have been waived in order to approve its construction, including the Clean Air Act and Safe Drinking Water Act.

The move has angered environmentalists, who say the structures will cut through the habitats of endangered plants and animals.

"It's disheartening to see President Biden stoop to this level, casting aside our nation's bedrock environmental laws to build ineffective wildlife-killing border walls," said Laiken Jordahl, a conservation advocate at the Center for Biological Diversity.

According to a proposal by US Customs and Border Protection, the barriers will consist of large bollards embedded in a concrete base, as well as gates, cameras and CCTV equipment.

Homeland Security said it would use funding secured during Donald Trump's presidency to build the new section.

It is the first time the Biden administration has used its powers to approve the construction of new walls - something that was done often during Mr Trump's time in office, when around 50 miles of new wall was built and 400 miles of existing barriers were upgraded.

Map of border wall route

In an online post on Thursday, Mr Trump asked if the president would "apologize to me and America for taking so long to get moving".

"So interesting to watch Crooked Joe Biden break every environmental law in the book to prove that I was right," he wrote. "I will await his apology."

Mr Biden has been facing increasing criticism over his immigration policies in the wake of a recent surge of migrants crossing into the US.

US Border Patrol apprehended 181,059 people along the southern border in August compared with 132,648 in July, according to the latest data.

Mexico's president, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, said that 10,000 people arrived at the border every day last week alone.
Due to safety concerns, President Joe Bidens dog has been removed from the White House, joining a long line of problematic pets  including lions, tigers and a bear  evicted from the executive mansion.

After moving into the White House in 2021, Commander, a German shepherd, became nothing but trouble for the Secret Service, according to the Associated Press.

The dog, a gift from the presidents brother, reportedly attacked members of Bidens security detail around a dozen times.

The latest incident, which led to an agent needing medical care, was the final straw, according to the BBC.

Commander is not presently on the White House campus while next steps are evaluated, Elizabeth Alexander, a White House spokeswoman, told the BBC, adding that the first family is grateful for the patience and support of the U.S. Secret Service and all involved, as they continue to work through solutions.

Throughout its more than two centuries of use, the White House has been home to countless animals, both domesticated and wild.

Presidents and pets have a long tradition starting with George Washington, Louis Picone, a presidential historian, told McClatchy News.

Dogs have been some of the most common unelected residents, particularly in recent decades. But at times, the White House has been more menagerie than mansion, bursting with exotic, and sometimes chaotic, creatures.

While most presidential animals lived in peace inside or on the grounds of the White House, Picone said, a few just didnt work out and had to be exiled from 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

Presidents and their problematic pets

Martin Van Buren

One of the first presidents to court controversy a la animals was Martin Van Buren, who served from 1837 to 1841. Van Buren received two tiger cubs as a gift from the Sultan of Oman, according to the Smithsonians National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute.

Though he wanted to keep the cats, Congress, adopting the role of animal control, forced him to turn them over, saying they belonged to the public.

Grover Cleveland

Following his election, Grover Cleveland, who served as Americas 22nd and 24th president, was given a Newfoundland dog, Picone said.

Concerned the gift may look like an attempt to curry presidential favors, he returned the dog with a note: The acceptance of presents of value which could involve an obligation I should deem entirely inadmissible I hope not to offend you by sending the dog by express to you...at my expense, Picone said.

Teddy Roosevelt

A few years later, President Theodore Roosevelt, a noted naturalist, took the great outdoors with him to the White House.

The (Roosevelts) owned several dogs, a lizard, guinea pigs, a real pig, a badger, a macaw, a one-legged rooster, a hyena, an owl, a rabbit, a pony, and even a small bear, Picone said. But not all the animals worked out.

The presidents son purchased the snakes from a pet store before unleashing them in the Oval Office to the terror of unsuspecting guests, Picone said. After they were captured, the scaly creatures were promptly returned to the store.

The presidents bear, a queer-tempered creature, was also eventually sent away to a zoo, at which point Roosevelts family breathed a sigh of relief, according to one of Roosevelts memoirs.

President Roosevelts dog, a bull terrier named Pete, created his share of headaches as well.

The dog reportedly sank his teeth into so many legs that he had to be exiled to the Roosevelt home in Long Island, according to the Clinton White House archives.

Calvin Coolidge

President Calvin Coolidge, not to be outdone, also amassed a large flock of fauna in the White House.

He gave new meaning to the Roaring Twenties when he took in a pair of lion cubs from South Africa, according to the Smithsonian Magazine.

The young cats, named Tax Reduction and Budget Bureau, eventually proved too wild for the White House and were sent to the Smithsonian National Zoo.

Coolidges family also attempted to raise thirteen Pekin ducks in a White House bathroom, but they soon outgrew the loo and were shipped off to a zoo, according to the Calvin Coolidge Presidential Foundation.

One of Coolidges most iconic pets was a raccoon named Rebecca. Although she ran around the White House knocking over plants, unscrewing jar lids, cavorting in the bathtub and generally living la vida loca, she never faced eviction, staying with the Coolidges until they left office, according to the Library of Congress.

FDR

Following in the footsteps of his cousin, President Franklin Roosevelt brought a few animals to the White House that caused their fair share of problems.

One of them, a German shepherd named Major, bit several people, including a senator from Arkansas, according to the Huffington Post. After multiple incidents, he was exiled to the Roosevelt family home in New York.

Soon after, a Scottish terrier owned by Eleanor Roosevelt nipped a reporters face and was banished as well, according to the outlet.

Jimmy Carter

Jimmy Carter, a peanut farmer turned president, owned a Siamese cat and a Border Collie mix, a gift from his daughters teacher.

The dog, named Grits, had a habit of snapping and a general bad attitude, Picone said. The Carters returned the gift and restored peace to the White House.

If anything is to be learned from all the presidents problematic pets, it might be to be wary of accepting animals as gifts.

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President Bidens dog Commander is no longer at the White House following multiple biting incidents involving staffers and U.S. Secret Service officers.

The President and First Lady care deeply about the safety of those who work at the White House and those who protect them every day, Elizabeth Alexander, first lady Jill Bidens communications director, said in a statement to The Hill. They remain grateful for the patience and support of the U.S. Secret Service and all involved, as they continue to work through solutions.

Commander is not presently on the White House campus while next steps are evaluated, Alexander added.

She did not disclose where the 2-year-old German shepherd was sent.

Earlier Wednesday, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre was asked about a new allegation that Commander had bitten a White House staffer. She referred questions to the First Ladys office, which said Commander and Dale Haney, the head groundskeeper at the White House, were playing and that no skin was broken.

Commanders reported departure follows a series of biting incidents that injured Secret Service officers.

Late last month, the Secret Service confirmed Commander had bitten another agent, marking the dogs 11th known biting incident. At the time, the White House said the Biden family was working with Secret Service and executive residence staff on more leashing protocols and training, in addition to designating areas for the dog to run and exercise.

Judicial Watch, a conservative legal activist group, obtained emails in July that detailed 10 alleged attacks by Commander between October 2022 and January 2023.

According to the emails, Commander bit an officer last November, forcing them to use a steel cart to shield themself from another attack. The officer had injuries on both the upper right arm and the thigh and was in a considerable amount of pain, the email said.

Commander is the second of Bidens dogs to be involved in biting incidents. In 2021, Major  another German shepherd  was removed from the White House and brought to Delaware to live with family friends after multiple reported episodes.

Brett Samuels and Alex Gangitano contributed.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
The US-Mexico border has become a political challenge for the Biden administration

President Joe Biden is under fire from both Republicans and Democrats after his administration announced new border wall construction in Texas.

Mr Biden has said he "had no choice" because the funding was signed off while Donald Trump was president.

Members of his Democratic Party said walls did not work, while rival Republicans accused him of hypocrisy.

Some 20 miles (32km) of barriers will be built in a sparsely populated stretch of the Rio Grande Valley.

While campaigning for president in 2020, Mr Biden promised he would not build another foot of wall if elected. He said it was "not a serious policy solution".

But on Wednesday, his administration used its sweeping executive powers to waive more than two dozen federal laws, including some that are designed to protect wildlife, to allow more barriers to be built along the US-Mexico border in southern Texas.

In a notice announcing these waivers, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said there was an "acute and immediate need" for the construction.

It prompted swift criticism from both major parties as well as from environmental activists and human rights groups.

Mr Mayorkas said the Biden administration was required under law to use the money Congress allocated in 2019 for border barriers.

"I tried to get them to redirect that money. They didn't, they wouldn't," Mr Biden said. "I can't stop that."

On Friday, Mr Biden again said that he was "told I had no choice" but to move ahead on the wall's construction.

Jonathan Entin, a law and political science professor at Case Western Reserve University in Ohio, told the BBC that while Mr Biden is "legally correct" in his argument about the budget, he was under no obligation to waive the federal laws that make construction of the border barrier possible.

"It's politically advantageous to him," Mr Entin said. "He will take a certain amount of heat from his supporters in the Democratic Party, and being able to say he doesn't have legal discretion might give him some excuse or explanation."

On the other hand, Mr Entin said that by waiving the federal requirements, Mr Biden can signal to his detractors that he is "serious" about border security, contrary to what Republican lawmakers have alleged.

Mr Entin's assessment was echoed by Tony Payan, the director of the Center for the United States and Mexico at Rice University's Baker Institute in Texas.

"The Biden administration has managed to drag its feet on a number of issues that have to do with a wall, even if the money was there," he said. "He doesn't have to spend it, at least not now."

In his remarks, Mr Biden repeated that he did not think border walls were effective.

In a later statement, Mr Mayorkas rejected the claim that the administration had changed its border policy by signing off on the new construction.

"This administration has made clear that a border wall is not the answer," he said. "That remains our position and our position has never wavered."

But the comments did little to stem the criticism from all sides.

Map of border wall route

On Thursday, the administration also announced that it would resume deportations of illegal Venezuelan migrants, about 50,000 of who arrived at the US-Mexico border in September alone.

The growing number of migrants in cities such as New York has become a challenge for the president who has faced intense criticism over his handling of the border.

US authorities have detained more than 2.2 million migrants along the US-Mexico border since last October.

Building a border wall was a signature policy of Donald Trump as president and was fiercely opposed by Democrats, including Mr Biden.

Mr Trump himself said this new construction showed "I was right".

"Will Joe Biden apologise to me and America for taking so long to get moving?" he wrote in a post on his Truth Social platform on Thursday.

Republicans also criticised Mr Biden for what they see as an abrupt pivot to policies he campaigned against.

"He did not think walls work, which is total insanity," North Carolina Republican Representative Ralph Norman told the BBC. "What's changed? I'll tell you what's changed - the American people are sick and tired of seeing their cities overrun."

Democrats, meanwhile, also took aim at the president.

Representative Henry Cuellar, whose district encompasses Starr County where the new construction will take place, told the BBC he does not believe his constituents will be happy with the announcement.

"I am still against a 14th-Century solution - called 'the wall' - for a 21st-Century problem," he said. "I want to see more personnel, more technology".

Democratic Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez called it a "cruel policy" and has urged President Biden to "reverse course".

The Biden administration is also facing criticism from advocacy groups such as the American Civil Liberties Union, or ACLU, which called the decision "a profound failure".
The Biden administration is scrambling to find a way to keep U.S. weapons flowing to Ukraine in its war with Russia after the ouster of the Republican House speaker put future assistance to Kyiv in serious jeopardy.

The morning after the House ousted Rep. Kevin McCarthy as speaker, President Joe Biden told aides he wanted to deliver a speech about Ukraine to make the case for why it was in Americas interest to provide further aid to Ukraine, a senior administration official said.

Biden later told reporters about his plans for a major speech about the importance of arming Ukraine and acknowledged he was concerned about the effect of the political upheaval in the House on future U.S. support.

It does worry me, Biden said. But I know there are a majority of members of the House and Senate and both parties who have said that they support funding Ukraine.

He also suggested there may be more options to ensure continued weapons deliveries to Ukraine, saying, There is another means by which we may be able to find funding for that, but he did not elaborate, and it was not clear how much funding was available.

Lawmakers and administration officials are keenly aware that the clock is ticking, and Ukraine could suffer setbacks on the battlefield if the flow of U.S. arms and artillery and other ammunition is disrupted.

Everything is completely uncertain right now, and its just impossible to predict how this will play out, a Republican congressional aide said.

As the administration examined how to shift other funds to Ukraine and to look to allies to possibly bridge any gap, top national security officials, including the new chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Air Force Gen. Charles Q. Brown, were due to brief Biden about Ukraine in the Oval Office on Thursday, the White House said.

Biden spoke to world leaders Tuesday to reassure them that Washington remained committed to helping Ukraine defend itself, despite the power struggle unfolding in Congress.

Administration officials said that even though a vocal minority in Congress was wary of more assistance for Ukraine, there was still majority support in both chambers to keep weapons, ammunition and other aid moving to Kyiv. Biden has argued that Ukraine is a key battleground in a global struggle between democracies and authoritarian regimes, like Russias.

There is still strong bipartisan support for aid to Ukraine, but we dont take it for granted, another senior administration official said.

However, McCarthys short tenure as speaker demonstrated that a minority of hard-line lawmakers can shape the congressional agenda and undermine the legislative priorities of the majority.

Even before McCarthy was voted out Tuesday, political support for billions more in military aid had increasingly been in doubt.

A series of military and economic aid packages for Ukraine  totaling about $110 billion  have won broad support in Congress since Russia invaded its neighbor in February 2022, but the political winds have gradually shifted. A growing number of Republican House members have questioned or opposed additional aid, arguing that Congress should focus on securing Americas borders and other domestic problems.

Proposed additional funding for U.S. aid to Ukraine was stripped out of last weeks compromise deal to avert a government shutdown. The outcome was a deep disappointment to Ukraine, whose president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, met with lawmakers and Biden less than a month ago to shore up support.

For Biden, U.S. aid to Ukraine carries big political stakes as he prepares to run for re-election.

Biden and his team have pointed to his ability to unite the U.S. and its allies around supporting Ukraine as one of his crowning achievements in office. And he has warned that nothing less than the current world order is at risk if that support wanes and Russian President Vladimir Putin succeeds in waiting out Western political will.

But Biden has struggled to win over voters on the issue, as polls show public opinion is divided and support for Ukraine is softening.

Public support for arming Ukraine  which was once at high levels  has eroded in recent months. A Sept. 24 ABC News poll found that 41% of Americans believe the U.S. is doing too much to support Ukraine, compared to 33% in February.

In the Senate, senior Republicans and Democrats vowed Wednesday to secure further funding for Ukraine, which has relied heavily on U.S. and European weapons and other gear to fight a much larger Russian force.

Here in the Senate, we are going to be working in a bipartisan way to continue delivering the support our Ukrainian allies are counting on, Sens. Patty Murray, D-Wash., and Susan Collins, R-Maine, said in a joint statement. Murray is the chair and Collins the ranking Republican on the powerful Appropriations Committee.

They issued their statement after the committee received a classified briefing on Ukraine earlier Wednesday.

Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., the minority leader, said assistance to Ukraine is still a major priority with bipartisan backing.

I think the majority of the members of both parties still support it. We need some direction from the administration as to how they intend to go forward, he said.

Senate Majority Leader Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said he has spoken to McConnell and "were going to work together to get a big package done.

Deputy Defense Department press secretary Sabrina Singh told reporters Tuesday that the administration has enough funding authorities to meet Ukraines battlefield needs for just a little bit longer, but we need Congress to act to ensure there is no disruption in our support, especially as the department seeks to replenish our stocks.

Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said a decision to cut off U.S. support would have devastating consequences for Americas national security and the world.

If Putin is allowed to get away with the destruction of the neighbor, he will not stop, Graham said, adding that it would lead to a war with NATO.

He added that the Senate should lead by example and put together a bipartisan package that would fund border security and aid for Ukraine.

Western aid for Ukraine will take center stage at meetings with U.S. allies next week in Europe, where Americas appeals for more support for Kyiv will take on added urgency given the tumult in Washington, officials said.

When Congress last week dropped additional aid to Ukraine from the continuing resolution to fund the government, White House officials privately expressed concern that Ukraine aid would be delayed and that the infighting over it in Washington was playing into Putins hands.

But officials said they believed it was a matter of when  not whether  Congress would approve additional assistance. Now, the administration is far less certain, as at least one of McCarthys potential successors, Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio, opposes sending more aid to Ukraine.

A group that strongly supports arming Ukraine, Republicans for Ukraine of the organization Defending Democracy Together, recently graded lawmakers stances on the issue and gave Jordan an F.

Republican Steve Scalise of Louisiana, the House majority leader, who is also vying for the speakership, got a B from the group.

Jordan is a loyal ally of former President Donald Trump, who has expressed skepticism about supporting Ukraine and signaled that he would end the flow of assistance. Trump has said that if he were re-elected, he could end the war in 24 hours.

Sen. Jack Reed of Rhode Island, the top Democrat on the Armed Services Committee, said a House speaker who opposes aid for Ukraine would be a disaster for the U.S. and the world.

This turbulent situation in the House just generates so much uncertainty, Reed told NBC News. Thats a threat.

This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
In a move that conservationists and tribes called a potential breakthrough, President Joe Biden has directed federal agencies to use all available authorities and resources to restore healthy and abundant salmon runs in the Columbia River Basin.

Bidens order stops short of calling for removal of four hydroelectric dams on the Lower Snake River in Washington state, an action that tribes and conservation groups have long urged to save threatened fish populations. But it directs a host of federal agencies to do all they can to restore salmon and honor U.S. treaty obligations with Pacific Northwest tribes.

Wild salmon, steelhead and other native fish populations in the Columbia River Basin are essential to the culture, economy, religion and way of life of tribal nations and indigenous peoples, Biden said in the six-page presidential memo released last week.

Actions since 1855, including the federal governments construction and operation of dams, have changed the basins ecosystem and severely depleted fish populations, the memo says. While once there were up to 10 million salmon a year returning to the Columbia and Snake rivers, returns now are a small fraction of that, despite billions of dollars spent by federal, tribal and state governments and a wide range of stakeholders, the memo says. Thirteen salmon and steelhead species are listed as threatened or endangered.

It is time for a sustained national effort to restore healthy and abundant native fish populations in the (Columbia River) Basin, Bidens order said.

The order comes as a deadline approaches on a longstanding federal lawsuit over operations of hydroelectric dams on the Columbia and Snake rivers. A stay of litigation on the dispute expires at the end of the month.

Amanda Goodin, a lawyer for the environmental group Earthjustice, said the White House memo signals that the Biden administration is ready to do a whole lot more than previous administrations have done to get us to salmon populations that support tribes and the ecosystem and recreational fisheries. Earthjustice is a plaintiff in years-long litigation over salmon recovery.

Achieving healthy and abundant salmon runs is a much higher bar than merely avoiding extinction, Goodin said in an interview.

Shannon Wheeler, chairman of the Nez Perce Tribe, called the memo a step in the right direction for actions that need to happen to restore salmon and steelhead runs in the Northwest. The Nez Perce is also part of the federal litigation and has long sought removal of the Lower Snake River dams.

Biden is saying he is going to honor treaty rights and salmon recovery, Wheeler said, calling the presidents commitment to tribal rights crucial and a recognition of past injustices.

Still the memo does not recommend breaching the dams in Eastern Washington, a politically volatile step that could raise electric rates for millions of customers in the Northwest who rely on hydropower.

Kurt Miller, executive director of Northwest RiverPartners, which represents community-owned electric utilities in seven western states, said breaching the dams requires approval from Congress and would cost tens of billions of dollars and cause rate increases of 25% to 65% for 4 million public power customers in Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana and other states.

A huge rate shock would be devastating for the region, Miller said, calling the dams a lifeline to many communities. Rural areas in particular rely on hydropower supplied by the Bonneville Power Administration, a federal agency that provides power to Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana and parts of four other states.

There are so many reasons why getting rid of dams doesnt make sense for the Northwest, Miller said, including significant improvements in recent years in fish passages in the four Lower Snake River dams. Dams also provide climate-friendly power with no greenhouse gas emissions and help transport wheat and other grains that are exported to Japan and other Asian countries.

While dam-breaching has long been debated, only a few Northwest lawmakers have embraced the idea, including Republican Rep. Mike Simpson of Idaho and Democratic Rep. Earl Blumenauer of Oregon.

In a report last year, Washington Gov. Jay Inslee and Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., said the Lower Snake River dams should not be decommissioned or breached until replacement and mitigation of their benefits' are ensured, including reliable, dispatchable and carbon-free energy' from renewable sources such as wind and solar power. The veteran Democrats rejected the idea that either energy scarcity or environmental calamity is inevitable in a new approach to hydropower.

Murray, the longest-serving senator in the Northwest, said the White House memo shows Biden is serious about salmon recovery and tribal treaty rights while meeting the regions resiliency needs.

As chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, Murray vowed to fight for the strongest possible investments to save our salmon.

Rep. Dan Newhouse, R-Wash., blasted the memo as a thinly disguised effort to drum up support to breach the dams. The sad truth is, this has not been a collaborative process all along, and they are only seeking to accomplish one predetermined outcome: a breach of the four Lower Snake River Dams, Newhouse said in a statement.

The memo comes after the Biden administration pledged over $200 million for salmon recovery in the Upper Columbia River Basin in an agreement with tribes that includes a stay on litigation for 20 years. The agreement is separate from negotiations on the Snake River dams.
President Joe Biden is suspending 26 environmental laws to build a border wall in south Texas, a move announced by the Department of Homeland Security on Wednesday. The laws include the Clean Air Act, Safe Drinking Water Act, Endangered Species Act, and National Environmental Policy Actall waived in favor of constructing a border wall to stop migrants fleeing into the U.S. through Mexico.



DHS plans to build the border wall in Starr County, an area of south Texas spanning the Rio Grande Valley. According to DHS, Border Patrol has recorded more than 245,000 people attempting to enter the U.S. in 2023 in this area.

Read more

Construction will move forward using the Secure Fence Act, passed by Congress in 2006, which allows the government to waive the majority of federal laws that could stand in the way of constructing barriers. Biden is now the first Democratic president to put the law into effect after political officials in major cities including Gov. Kathy Hochul (D-New York) and Gov. J.B. Pritzker (D-Illinois) asked Biden to do something to combat migrants bussed to their states.

Unfortunately, the welcome and aid Illinois has been providing to these asylum seekers has not been matched with support by the federal government, Pritzker wrote in a letter to Biden on Monday. Most critically, the federal governments lack of intervention and coordination at the border has created an untenable situation for Illinois.

DHS did not state in its announcement when construction will begin, nor did it address the impact of suspending the environmental laws. It merely stated that it has determined  that it is necessary to waive certain laws, regulations, and other legal requirements in order to ensure the expeditious construction of barriers and roads in the vicinity of the international land border in Starr County, Texas.

A CBP spokesperson told CNN that the agency remains committed to protecting the nations cultural and natural resources while implementing sound environmental practices to build the barriers at the border.

But Congressman Henry Cuellar (D-Texas) told The Guardian that building the wall will be a waste. A border wall is a 14th-century solution to a 21st-century problem, he said, adding: It will not bolster border security in Starr County. I continue to stand against the wasteful spending of taxpayer dollars on an ineffective border wall.

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MANILA, Oct. 5 (Xinhua) -- The Asian Development Bank (ADB) on Thursday said it has approved a 100-million-U.S. dollar loan to strengthen Mongolia's fiscal, financial, and economic resilience.

"Mongolia is vulnerable to volatility in commodity markets and other exogenous shocks because of its dependence on mining revenues," ADB Principal Public Management Specialist Hans van Rijn said.

"To shore up against the impact of this volatility, the Strengthening Fiscal, Financial, and Economic Resilience Subprogram 1 supports reforms to strengthen tax revenue mobilization, debt management, banking sector stability, and the role of the private sector in economic development," he added.

The ADB said Mongolia's economy experiences repeated boom-and-bust cycles. "The current growth trajectory is the third major expansionary economic cycle since 2008, underpinning the importance of implementing and accelerating structural reforms to build resilience."

The ADB said the program supports tax revenue growth through structural improvements in domestic tax administration and increased alignment with international tax treaties around profit shifting and the automatic exchange of information.

The program will also enhance Mongolia's debt sustainability and improve finance sector stability and resilience.

"Reforms would strengthen the upstream environment for private sector development through relevant legal reforms, support for public-private partnerships, and enhance the performance of the Development Bank of Mongolia," it added. 
German President Steinmeier walks to receive on the day he meets the Presidents of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan's former President at Bellevue Palace in Berlin

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Joe Biden will meet with German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier at the White House on Friday to commemorate German-American Day, the White House said in a statement on Thursday.

The two leaders will reaffirm their ties, "including our close coordination as NATO Allies on a range of important issues such as defending democratic values and our shared commitment to support Ukraine as it defends itself from Russias invasion," it said.

(Reporting by Ismail Shakil and Jasper Ward; editing by Susan Heavey)
President Joe Biden and first lady Dr. Jill Biden s 2-year-old German shepherd, Commander, has been involved in more biting incidents than previously reported at the White House, multiple sources familiar with the matter told CNN.

While the US Secret Service has acknowledged 11 reported biting incidents involving its personnel, sources who spoke to CNN said the real number is higher and includes executive residence staff and other White House workers. Those bites have ranged in severity, from one known bite requiring hospital treatment to some requiring attention from the White House Medical Unit to some going unreported and untreated.

While the first family works for solutions to the ongoing issue, CNN has learned, Commander is not on the White House campus.

The President and First Lady care deeply about the safety of those who work at the White House and those who protect them every day. They remain grateful for the patience and support of the U.S. Secret Service and all involved, as they continue to work through solutions, Elizabeth Alexander, communications director for the first lady, said in a statement released first to CNN.

Alexander continued, Commander is not presently on the White House campus while next steps are evaluated.

Its unclear if there is an official count of the bites, and US Secret Service chief of communications Anthony Guglielmi told CNN there is not a complete number. CNN spoke to four sources familiar with the incidents who work at the White House complex, and additional sources with knowledge of what happened. None could put an exact number on the incidents, some of which may not have been followed up on like the 11 known cases. Though DC-area hospitals and urgent cares are required to report patients treated for dog bites to the DC Department of Health, the White House Medical Unit is not required to report dog bites since it is under federal jurisdiction.

One source familiar with the incidents pointed to efforts from their colleagues to adjust Secret Service workplace habits amid broader concerns about workplace safety as they work to support the first family at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. The situation has also revealed broader tensions between the Bidens and the US Secret Service. Sources suggest the relationship between the first family and the US Secret Service was first strained when the familys elder dog, Major, caused an injury to an unnamed Secret Service agent before ultimately being sent away more permanently to Delaware. That incident caused a breach in trust, a source familiar with the dynamic said.

Major also had biting incidents with an engineer, per a witness to the incident, and a National Park Service employee, previously reported by CNN in spring 2021.

While the Bidens enjoyed a good relationship with Secret Service during the vice presidency, the Major situation caused stress for the first couple in their early days at the White House. That laid the foundation for a combustible relationship with Secret Service, which has since been exacerbated by numerous last minute changes to schedules  including spending most weekends away from the White House at Camp David or one of their Delaware residences  and unrealistic requests that strain the agencys resources, the source familiar with the relationship dynamic said.

There had also been questions of USSS agents political loyalty to former President Donald Trump, as detailed by Biden allies to The Washington Post during the presidential transition in late 2020.

Guglielmi strongly disputed any reports of tension between Secret Service and the Bidens.

On this I can say with firsthand knowledge that it is categorically false. There is an immense degree of trust and respect between the Secret Service and the first family and we know those feelings are mutual, Guglielmi told CNN.

We have to speak up

Despite assertions that Commander would receive training, the biting incidents keep happening. The last confirmed bite took place last Monday. The White House has also declined to answer CNNs inquiry on a specific number of biting incidents involving Commander.

Were beyond the point of worrying about trust being broken. We have to speak up, a source familiar with the presidents Secret Service detail said.

That source, who requested anonymity to speak freely, described a hostile and dangerous work environment, suggesting that some agents have been warned to go through certain entrances and avoid certain areas to evade an interaction with the dog. The Secret Service communicates to its agents by radio when the dog is outdoors, and officers avoid the area.

That source said a supervisor told them that there had been a large number of incidents of Commander biting this past summer as a way to warn me of how concerning the situation was.

The Secret Service is in communication with the White House on how best to operate in the environment.

The Secret Service is tasked with ensuring the security of the White House complex, while minimizing operational impact to those who work and live there. We take the safety and wellbeing of our employees extremely seriously, and while special agents and officers neither care for nor handle the first familys pets, we continue to work with the White House to update our guidance on how to best operate in an environment that includes pets, Guglielmi said.

The documented bites have ranged in severity. One of the previously reported incidents was described as playful.

Looks like the dog was being playful but playful can go wrong quickly, a USSS Uniformed Division captain said in an October 2022 email obtained by the conservative group Judicial Watch.

But a November 2022 incident, which was also previously reported, required a Uniformed Division USSS officer to be treated at a hospital for evaluation, according to those emails. And last weeks incident required treatment by medical personnel on the White House complex.

US President Joe Biden and US First Lady Jill Biden, play with their dog Commander at Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, on December 28, 2021. - SAUL LOEB/AFP/Getty Images

Commander becoming a serious issue at the White House

The White House has largely downplayed the cacophony of media reports and analysis following CNNs reporting on last weeks incident, pointing reporters to previous statements on the stressful environment at the White House. But to Jonathan Wackrow, a former US Secret Service Agent on then-first lady Michelle Obamas detail and now a CNN contributor, the situation cannot be ignored.

Imagine youre the owner of a business, a CEO of a company, you bring your dog in, and your dog keeps biting employees. Youre creating an unsafe work environment. And thats whats happening now, said Wackrow.

Theres uniqueness here where its the residence of the president of the United States, but its also the workplace for hundreds, if not thousands, of people. And you cant bring a hazard into the workplace and thats what is essentially happening with this dog. One time, you can say its an accident, but now multiple incidents is a serious issue,

The Bidens, a White House official said, have taken the situation seriously.

Theyve been working diligently with Secret Service, with trainers, with veterinarians, with the residence staff and others on this  they have been taking this very seriously, and for months, the official said.

The Bidens have long been dog owners, and much like any other family member, the topic of their dogs behavior is a sensitive subject for staff to raise, the source familiar with the dynamic said.

The pets are like their children, and they are bonded to them because they are loved and cared for just like all members of the family, said Michael LaRosa, former press secretary to the first lady.

Champ, also a German shepherd, lived at the vice presidents residence, which has a much smaller security footprint. Champ passed away at the Biden family home in Wilmington, Delaware, in June 2021 at the age of 13.

LaRosa suggested that the loss of Champ, who died, and Major, who was sent away, both within a six-month period, was a jarring experience and an abrupt disruption to their family life.

The public nature of those challenges with the dogs and then losing them made it all more stressful for both the president and first lady, LaRosa said.

@POTUS/Twitter

A hard adjustment to White House life

Bringing Champ and Major to the White House was an adjustment, Jill Biden told Kelly Clarkson during a 2021 appearance on her talk show.

They have to take the elevator, theyre not used to that, and they have to go out on the South Lawn with lots of people watching them. So thats what Ive been obsessed with, getting everybody settled and calm, she said.

When shes in Washington, the first lady takes the dog for a walk in the early mornings before heading to school for the day. But during the day, theres a rotating cast of executive residence staff who take the dog out, and also transport Commander and the cat, Willow, to the Bidens weekend destinations (in separate cages), a source familiar with the process said.

The lack of consistency could be part of the behavioral problem, according to Ryan Bulson, a local dog trainer and president of Mid-Atlantic German Shepherd Rescue.

Its a German shepherd. They need structure. They need consistency. They need boundaries. They are a guardian breed.  When youre looking at different people holding that leash, I would guarantee that there is no consistency amongst all of them, Bulson said, pointing to the different tensions and distances with which the different walkers would leash the dog, and different wording of commands, like heel or walk.

Bulson, speaking through his expertise with German shepherds and as a dog trainer, has not specifically worked with Commander, nor does he have inside knowledge into the walking process.

White House officials have previously said that Commander would be receiving remedial training, though they were unable to answer whether that had taken place in the aftermath of reporting on 10 incidents this summer.

Bulson said its critical after any training is complete that the owners of the dog and any other handlers are speaking from the same script and continuing to do the hard work of ongoing training together.

He warned that re-training Commander, who has displayed aggressive behavior and subsequently repeated it, could be a challenge.

Asked if it was too late, Bulson said its up to the Bidens.

If they dont, as the humans, change their behaviors, then yes, its too late. Theyre going to have to change their behaviors first before you can even think about changing the dogs behaviors. Because theyre enabling, thats what it boils down to. If they dont change the way they handle and care for the dog  and learn and make a conscious effort to and legitimately say, I am going to change my ways to set the dog up for success, if they cant do that, that dogs never going to be able to be helped in their care. They have to make that decision, he said.

An uneven set of rules

The situation also underscores an uneven set of rules applying to a White House pet  though the legal ground itself is murky.

Local DC laws are not applicable on federal properties, including White House grounds, a DC Council official said. The White House falls under federal jurisdiction.

However, there arent many federal laws that address, regulate, or protect animals, creating a gap, said Kathy Hessler, assistant dean for animal legal education at George Washington University Law School.

Its possible that certainly people could allege absent any federal regulation that the DC code would apply. And I think the opposite could also be argued. Its not clear to me what outcome would happen in that kind of a dispute, Hessler said.

Under DC code applying to any other Washingtonian dog, Hessler explained, dog bites are supposed to be reported. That initiates a process for quarantining the animal to make sure theres no risk of rabies. And then a determination is made, based on the facts surrounding the bite, on whether the dog is dangerous. That can result in a fine of a few hundred dollars, with impoundment a more serious potential consequence.

As incidents involving Commander mount, Hessler warned that the situation can no longer be ignored for the well-being of the dog, White House staff and the Biden family.

I think the simple thing would be to remove Commander from that environment, at least temporarily, to see if these behaviors can be ameliorated, if theyre repeating in a different situation  so that people can get more data upon which they can make an informed decision about whether this is going to work, or whether some different decisions need to be taken for the benefit of everybody, Hessler said.

Its all led to a difficult situation for the first family, for those who feel they have been put in danger, and, sadly, for the dog.

It doesnt matter if we were talking about the president, the pope, it doesnt matter to me. I take that title out of the equation. I look at the dog.  At the end of the day, I feel the worst for the dog first. Second of all, I feel just as bad for the people that dog had bitten. Because the dog has been set up to fail. If you cant give the dog what the dog needs, then get a goldfish, Bulson said.

CLARIFICATION: This story has been updated to clarify that the Secret Service officer bit by Commander Biden in November 2022 required hospital treatment.

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Commander, seen at the White House earlier this year, has bitten staff and Secret Service agents

The Biden family's dog, Commander, has been moved out of the White House after a series of biting incidents.

It is still being decided what will happen to the two-year-old German Shepherd, a spokeswoman for First Lady Jill Biden said.

Just last week, Commander bit a Secret Service agent who required medical treatment at the scene.

It was the 11th time the dog has bitten a guard at the White House complex or at the family home in Delaware.

"The President and First Lady care deeply about the safety of those who work at the White House and those who protect them every day," the spokeswoman, Elizabeth Alexander, said in a statement on Wednesday.

"They remain grateful for the patience and support of the US Secret Service and all involved, as they continue to work through solutions. Commander is not presently on the White House campus while next steps are evaluated."

She did not say where the dog was currently living or if it would eventually return to the White House.

The statement was released shortly after CNN reported that Commander had been involved in more than the 11 biting incidents acknowledged by the Secret Service.

It said the real number was higher, with one bite requiring hospital treatment and others needing medical attention from on-site staff.

The White House press secretary has previously blamed the attacks on the stress of living at the residence. "As you all know, the White House complex can be unique and very stressful," Karine Jean-Pierre said in July.

"It is unique and it is stressful for all of us. So you can imagine what it's like for a family pet or family pets, more broadly," she added.

That same month, White House officials said they were attempting new training techniques on Commander following the biting incidents.

Commander arrived at the White House as a puppy in 2021

Secret Service records obtained by a conservative group through a Freedom of Information Act request reveal details of some of the biting incidents involving Commander.

One happened on 26 October 2022 after First Lady Jill Biden was unable to keep Commander under control, an email says. Commander "came charging at me", the agent wrote in the email.

About a week later another officer wrote that he had been bitten twice. Another officer that witnessed the attack said they were forced to use a "steel cart to shield" themselves from the dog.

Commander is one of the Biden family's two German Shepherds. Major, the younger of the two and the first rescue dog to have lived at the White House, was also involved in numerous biting incidents with Secret Service agents.

He was given additional training in 2021 and sent to live away from the White House with Biden family friends.

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President Biden's German shepherd is no longer at the White House in the wake of multiple documented reports of aggressive behavior against Secret Service staff members.

Elizabeth Alexander, a spokesperson for first lady Jill Biden , confirmed to CBS News in a statement Wednesday evening that the family dog, named Commander, "is not presently on the White House campus while next steps are evaluated."

Alexander did not say where Commander had been taken, or whether the move from the White House would be permanent.

Commander, President Biden's dog, is seen sitting on the Truman Balcony at the White House in Washington, D.C., on Sept. 30, 2023. / Credit: SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images

"The President and First Lady care deeply about the safety of those who work at the White House and those who protect them every day," Alexander said. "They remain grateful for the patience and support of the U.S. Secret Service and all involved, as they continue to work through solutions."

There have been at least 11 documented attacks by the 2-year-old Commander against Secret Service personnel.

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, asked Thursday by CBS News' Nancy Cordes whether she's ever had a troubling encounter with Commander, replied, "No, not at all." She also said, "I've been around Commander many times, and I was never wary, and I've never been bit by Commander."

In July, nearly 200-pages of redacted federal documents were released that described 10 of those alleged attacks by the German shepherd on Secret Service officers and on agents, dating back to October 2022. None of the injuries sustained by the victims were serious, the documents said.

An eleventh attack was reported on Sept. 25, in which a uniformed Secret Service officer "came in contact" with Commander at the White House "and was bitten."

On Wednesday, CNN, citing sources, said the number of reported attacks was believed to be higher, and included other groups of White House employees.

Commander was given to the Bidens as a puppy in December of 2021 after the death of their German shepherd, Champ, earlier that year.

That same year, Biden's other German shepherd, Major, was relocated to Delaware to live with friends of the Bidens, after he was involved in multiple biting incidents at the White House.

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LOS ANGELES  Rick Caruso, the billionaire shopping mall magnate who lost an expensive race for Los Angeles mayor, is stepping out of the shadows with a new plan to help swing-seat Democrats retake the House in 2024.

Caruso has spent months quietly laying the groundwork for his comeback in California, including meetings with top House Democrats in Los Angeles and Washington and donations to their committees. In an interview with POLITICO on his plans, Caruso pledged to throw himself into the five California congressional districts President Joe Biden won in 2020 that are now held by Republicans.

Caruso, who didnt rule out spending in primaries, wouldnt put an exact dollar figure on his anticipated contributions for the next cycle. But he said he was dedicating his money and time to push the most viable Democratic candidates to the front of the field and give them the best chance of beating their GOP opponents. He also anticipates being involved in the presidential and U.S. Senate races and wants to court Latino voters who failed to tip the scales in his favor in his own mayoral race last year.

Stick with the central theme of getting moderates in the House, Caruso told POLITICO of his strategy for the next year. I am not out to support extremists or, frankly, ideologues.

Weve got to get things moving and get out of this ridiculous constant fighting and everybody kicking sand in each others face in the sandbox, he added about congressional infighting on issues like spending to keep the government open.

The effort, which in the coming weeks will involve sit-downs with House candidates, amounts to a broader rebranding for Caruso, who took considerable heat from Mayor Karen Bass and her allies in the 2022 race for his past registration as a Republican and independent. While both Caruso and Bass are Democrats and the mayoral race was nonpartisan, Bass coalesced the partys biggest stars, from former President Barack Obama to Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, to ensure her victory over Carusos largely self-funded $104 million campaign. Bass also leaned into her support for abortion rights following the Supreme Courts overturning of Roe v. Wade, exploiting Carusos relationships with Republicans who oppose it.

The strategy recalls other billionaire political investors like former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who spent years showering Democrats with donations and funding their causes between his successful runs for City Hall and a disastrous bid for president in 2020.

In the interview, Caruso didnt rule out a future run when asked about a possible rematch with Bass in three years  or the 2026 race for California governor. But he said his focus right now is on helping Democrats retake the House next year.

I am open to it, but theres a lot of time and things will unfold. If there is an opportunity that makes sense, I will look at it, he said.

Carusos political reset has included private meetings or conversions in Los Angeles and Washington. The exchanges dovetail with a new generation of House leadership trying to fill the huge shoes of Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi in building strong rapport with donors.

He has been working with House Democratic Caucus Chairman Rep. Pete Aguilar, of California, and already contributed a maximum $26,400 to the congressmans California House Majority Fund. He wants to sink six figures into federal races.

Hes connected with House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) and met in recent days with Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee Chair Suzan DelBene for a Washington briefing on the national landscape.

Asked if hes supporting Biden, Caruso said the president was his only option to thwart Republicans.

Theres no other choice, he said. I am going to lean in on all of it.

His public statements and television appearances have also stoked speculation about his future political plans. In one August post on X (formerly Twitter), he sounded not unlike a candidate running on a law-and-order platform, demanding elected officials change the laws to hold criminals accountable.

Caruso stressed that his concerns go beyond the Los Angeles city limits. He warned about problems across the state, including the need to build more housing and promote pro-business policies.

But the city has been a major focus of his. He promised in his mayoral campaign to curb crime and replenish the city's depleted police department as he tried to capture the attention of Angelenos tired of the status quo and hungry for someone from outside the political ranks. Caruso didnt dwell on the race, but did suggest that voters were still frustrated.

He contended that conditions on the ground in Los Angeles around homelessness and the housing shortage have grown worse under Bass. It hasnt gotten better, he said. The homeless count was up 10 percent. There are areas where crime is continuing to grow. I would love to have someone tell me how many new units have been built.

Yusef Robb, Bass political advisor, disputed Carusos comments on the citys condition.

Mayor Bass was overwhelmingly elected to change the status quo on homelessness, public safety and opportunity, and she is doing just that by bringing 17,000 people inside and counting, funding a record number of new police officers and making City Hall more responsive to every Angeleno, he said.

When asked if Bass political operation was tracking Carusos future ambitions, he was more succinct: Nope.

Mark Gonzalez, the Democratic chairman in Los Angeles County, said he met with Caruso months back after the grueling mayors race and they discussed their disagreements. Gonzalez said hes urged Caruso to reach out to Bass and work with her office on solutions for the city.

Gonzalez said he also told Caruso that as a newer Democrat who did not seek the county party endorsement, he had some making up to do.
A submarine built at the height of World War II, which served under three different naval flags, recovered from an air attack that sunk it in its harbor, and then ended up as a floating restaurant in communist Yugoslavia? Its a story that sounds surreal enough to be a work of fiction. But in the case of the submarine once known at Nautilo, its all true.

https://www.twitter.com/NavalInstitute/status/1480274175713591301?s=20

The Nautilo began life in a manner entirely typical for a submarine of its class  one of Italys Tritone Type I, or Flutto class of seagoing subs. The Nautilo was part of a class of 12 boats, three of which were never completed. The rest were all launched during the war, for service with the Royal Italian Navy, or Regia Marina, which fought many actions against the Allies in the Mediterranean, until the armistice that was signed in September 1943.

The submarine Nautilo, photographed dockside. Wikimedia Commons

The Tritone Type I submarine was 200 feet long, with a beam of 23 feet, and a draft of 16 feet. Each boat displaced 866 tons when surfaced and 1,068 tons submerged. Power came from two diesel engines developing 2,400 horsepower when surfaced and from a pair of electric motors producing 800 horsepower when operating below the waves. Driven by two screws, the submarine could make 16 knots surfaced and 8 knots submerged and could dive to a maximum depth of around 427 feet. Range when surfaced was 13,000 miles at 8.5 knots or 74.5 miles submerged at 4 knots while submerged on battery power.

A drawing of the Italian Tritone Type I, or Flutto class of seagoing submarine. . . /Wikimedia Commons

Typical for submarines of the era, the Tritone Type I was armed with a deck gun, a 100-millimeter-caliber weapon, provided with 149 rounds, in addition to its 12 torpedoes, arranged in four bow and two stern tubes. A pair of twin 13.2-millimeter-caliber machine guns were also provided for air defense.

Sailors ready to fire from the bow of an Italian submarine, in World War II. LIllustrazione Italiana, Year LXIX, No 2, January 11, 1942

The crew complement of the Tritone Type I typically comprised five officers and 44 enlisted men. Two of the submarines, the Grongo and the Murena, were additionally fitted with containers for Maiale manned torpedoes, used by the navys special operations forces.

An Italian Maiale manned torpedo from World War II, at the U.S. Navy Submarine Force Museum and Library, Groton, Connecticut. https://www.flickr.com/photos/divemasterking2000

As to the submarine in question, the Nautilo was laid down in January 1942 at the Cantieri Riuniti dellAdriatico shipyard, in Monfalcone, on the Gulf of Trieste, northern Italy. The submarine was launched in March 1943 and commissioned into service the following July, at Pola (modern-day Pula), further down the Adriatic coast, in what is today Croatia.

In July 1943, the Nautilo was primarily engaged in trials out of Pola, and after delivery to the navy it took part in various exercises, but there is no record of it ever seeing combat.

The submarines arrival with the Royal Italian Navy was also inopportune, with the tide of the war in the Mediterranean theater by now very much in the Allies favor.

Italy signed an armistice with the United States and Italy on September 3, 1943, and this was announced to the public five days later. Germany, Italys former Axis ally, responded by attacking Italian forces leading to an occupation of the country by the Nazis.

Italian Gen. Giuseppe Castellano (left) shakes hands with U.S. Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower after the signing of the armistice between Italy and Allied armed forces in Cassibile on September 8, 1943. Maj. Gen. Walter Bedell Smith looks on. Stampa depoca/Wikimedia Commons

A Nazi propaganda photograph, showing German soldiers escorting disarmed Italian troops through the Italian city of Bolzano during World War II. German Federal Archives

On September 8 the Nautilo sailed from Monfalcone to Venice. In an apparent effort to join the allies, the Italian crew of the Nautilo attempted to leave Venice to days later, presumably to find a safe port. The Nautilo, which now also contained crew members from two other submarines, the Argo and the Beilul, was underway together with the midget submarine CM1, when they reportedly saw German S-boats  a type of torpedo-armed fast attack craft  sink the Italian destroyer Quintino Sella. That, coupled with mechanical problems, forced the submarines return to Venice.

The engine room of an Italian submarine in the Mediterranean, in World War II. LIllustrazione Italiana, Year LXIX, No 48, November 29, 1942

The Italians then made an attempt to scuttle the Nautilo in the port of Venice, to prevent use of the submarine by the Germans.

Nevertheless, the Germans succeeded in returning the submarine to service, which it did under the name UIT-19. In December 1943, the submarine was towed by a tug from Venice to Trieste.

By January 1944, UIT-19 was back in Pola, still not yet officially commissioned into Kriegsmarine service. In Pola, it came under air attack by the U.S. Army Air Forces. On the 9th of that month, a force of 107 B-24 Liberator bombers struck the port and a direct hit sunk the submarine  at the coordinates of 44 52N, 13 50E  and put it out of action for the rest of the war.

Aerial photo showing the bombing of the German-operated submarine base in Pola, Italy, on January 9, 1944. Photo by USAAF/Interim Archive/Getty Images

The end of the war in Europe saw certain boundaries change significantly and Pola, together with the rest of Croatia, which had been under occupation by Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy since April 1941, became one of the five republics of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.

Post-war, the Yugoslav Navy benefited from the windfall provided by various German and Italian vessels  submarines, destroyers, minesweepers, and amphibious landing craft  that were either captured or provided as war reparations.

Among them was the former UIT-19 (previously the Nautilo) that was raised and repaired between 1947 and 1949 in Pulas Uljanik Shipyard. In 1953, the submarine was commissioned into service with the Yugoslav Navy as the Sava. Together with the Malisan (a former Italian CB class midget submarine) and the Tara (a British-built submarine originally acquired by Yugoslavia between the wars), it formed the basis of the new Yugoslav Navy submarine fleet.

Italian Navy submarine CB-20. This was later used by the Yugoslav Navy as Malisan. Zenwort/Wikimedia Commons

By 1958, the Sava had reportedly been relegated to training duties, although a major refit followed between 1958 to 1960, including a remodeled, more streamlined conning tower and removal of the deck gun. Training duties continued until the Sava was decommissioned in 1968 and finally stricken in 1971.

At this juncture, Per Miljkovic enters the story. Born in 1948 near the Croatian port of Dubrovnik, a 2021 report in the local newspaper described Miljkovic, who died in 2004, as an entrepreneur, media manager, organizer, restaurateur, artist, a man ahead of his time.

The former hotel porter and lemonade salesman, Miljkovic was just 22 years old when he brought the Sava in 1970, transporting it from the Bijela Shipyard in Montenegro and bringing it to Dubrovnik. The submarine was given the name Zuta Podmornica, or Yellow Submarine, after The Beatles 1966 song and 1968 animated movie.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m2uTFF_3MaA

The same newspaper article suggests that Miljkovic managed to secure the Sava from the Yugoslavian Navy before having paid for it, then transported it along the coast with the help of a military tug. Only after removing various items of brass, copper, aluminum, and steel, and selling them, was he able to settle the bill with the Navy.

Miljkovics plan was to have the submarine as the centerpiece of a restaurant, disco, and casino complex and it seems he had hopes that, after painting it yellow, he might even attract The Beatles to visit it. In the event, money ran short, and it seems that only the restaurant and nightclub became a regular fixture, with guests dining and lounging on the submarines deck, although some unconfirmed accounts suggest a full on discotech also operated on the submarine for a while. In 1974, Miljkovic sold the submarine for scrap, and it was towed to Sveti Kajo, near Solin, for its final appointment with the scrappers torch.

So came to an end one of the most unlikely histories of any World War II submarine.

Contact the author: thomas@thedrive.com
Black-Ish Star Miles Brown Graduates HS As Class Valedictorian: Im Excited To Work Toward My Dreams, And I Hope You Guys Are Too | Rodin Eckenroth/FilmMagic

Miles Brown, who is best known for starring in black-ish, graduated from high school earlier this year. The 18-year-old was top of his class and was named valedictorian at Blue Ridge Academy, where he completed his studies.

Brown gave an inspirational speech to his class as he was given his diploma.

You know that dream that keeps you up at night? The one that cant shake you even if you try? That dream is meant to come true if you manifest it correctly. Never give up on yourself, Brown said on stage. Every good thing takes commitment and time, so if it feels good to you, give it the best of your time. Yes, you will make mistakes. We all make mistakes  just learn from them and come back and do better next time. This next chapter will thank you. Im excited to work toward my dreams, and I hope you guys are too. In the words from my album, dream big and inspire many.

Anthony Anderson, who played Browns father on the popular sitcom, was in attendance for the occasion.

Miles Brown is graduating from high school today, the actor told The Messenger. Im heading out to sit with the family, to watch him walk across the stage.

Anderson and Brown played father and son for eight seasons.

Ive been with this young man from [when he was] a toddler, Anderson added. I cant wait to go sit there and celebrate him walking across the stage, graduating high school. I met him when he was 8, and now hes 18. So its a beautiful thing.

Brown is set to star in the upcoming comedic action-thriller Sixteen, which will be in the same vein as Kick-Ass and Superbad, according to Deadline. The actor also released an album, We The People, in 2020.
Turkey will host the third international gathering aimed at building support for the Global Peace Summit that Ukraine plans to hold later this year, Bloomberg reported on Oct. 4, citing undisclosed sources.

The meeting is tentatively scheduled for later in October in Istanbul and will follow similar gatherings in Denmark in June and in Saudi Arabia in August, the news outlet said.

The previous summit in Saudi Arabia's Jeddah gathered representatives from some 40 countries, including Ukraine and its allies, nations of the Global South, and China, but excluding Russia.

According to Bloomberg, Kyiv and its Western partners want to use the upcoming meeting to engage neutral countries, such as Brazil and India, in the peace settlement efforts.

Russia is reportedly not invited to Istanbul and has branded the previous gatherings as illegitimate.

The agenda of the gathering in Turkey is said to focus on President Volodymyr Zelensky's peace formula and on the upcoming peace summit.

The president presented his 10-point peace plan in November last year. It includes the restoration of Ukraine's territorial integrity, the complete withdrawal of Russian troops from Ukraine, and the release of all prisoners of war and deportees.

In August, Zelensky announced that Ukraine intends to hold a Global Peace Summit in the coming fall, which should address the implementation of the peace formula, Ukraine's post-war recovery, and the country's European and Euro-Atlantic integration, among other points.

Read also: Zelensky: Ukraines Peace Formula gaining support around the world

Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent.
Around 7.30pm on 12 December 2018, Richard Koop was walking on East Main Street in Bogota, New Jersey, when the then-girlfriend of Senator Bob Menendez struck and killed the 49-year-old man with her car.

Police did not determine that Nadine Arslanian, who married the senator in 2020, was at fault, nor did she face any charges in connection with the crash. Police reports also do not indicate that she was tested for drugs or alcohol.

But a recently unsealed federal indictment charging the senator, his now-wife and three New Jersey businessmen in an alleged years-long corruption and bribery scheme claims that Ms Menendez bought a $60,000 Mercedes-Benz convertible after the crash  using cash from one of the co-defendants, who is accused of bribing the senator to block a separate criminal investigation.

Surveillance camera footage, 911 calls, police reports and dashboard video footage from police cruisers obtained by The New York Times and The Record of New Jersey add a new dimension to the charges and raise additional questions about the incident itself, and whether the senator  facing a federal corruption indictment for a second time  played any role.

The 39-page federal indictment announced on 22 September only mentions that Ms Menendez sought the Mercedes after she was involved in a car accident in December 2019 that left her without a car.

Weeks later, Mr Menendez allegedly sought to interfere with a criminal investigation connected to co-defendant Jose Uribes trucking business, which was under scrutiny from New Jersey prosecutors at the time. Mr Menendez allegedly contacted a state prosecutor in an attempt, through advice and pressure, to resolve these matters favorably, according to the indictment.

All is GREAT! Im so excited to get a car next week. !! Ms Menendez texted to another co-defendant, Wael Hana, after the senators call, according to the indictment.

In April, four months after Koops death, Mr Uribe then allegedly arranged the sale of a Mercedes-Benz convertible to Ms Menendez after handing her $15,000 in cash in a parking lot.

She then allegedly used $15,000 for a down payment and lied on an application to secure loan financing for the $60,000 Mercedes-Benz C-300 convertible. Mr Uribe later arranged monthly financing payments routed through his associates or a company he controlled, according to the indictment.

In a text message, she allegedly told Mr Uribe that she would never forget this and then messaged Mr Menendez with the news.

Congratulations mon amour de la vie, she wrote to him, according to the indictment. We are the proud owners of a 2019 Mercedes.

Ms Menendez, 56, reportedly met her husband at an IHOP restaurant and began dating in 2018, according to prosecutors. The couple was engaged a year later and married in a small ceremony in Queens in 2020.

According to family members who spoke to The New York Times, Koop was leaving an Uber and walking across the street to his apartment when he was struck in December 2018.

Surveillance video from a nearby auto shop obtained by media outlets captured part of the collision, showing a car striking Koop and sending him to the curb as the car slammed its brakes.

An incident report from the Bogota Police Department noted that the car  which was also a Mercedes  had front-end damage on the passenger side, which was later determined to be from a parked car that she struck after striking Mr Koop. A photograph of the car obtained by attorneys for the Koop family shows a shattered windshield.

Surveillance footage shows that Ms Menendez remained inside her car, then moved the vehicle a few car lengths in front of Koops body.

Some guy just jumped in front of my car, Ms Menendez told a 911 dispatcher roughly four minutes after the collision, according to a recording of the call reviewed by The New York Times.

Dashboard camera footage from a Bogota Police Department cruiser in December 2018 shows Nadine Arslanian, then-girlfriend and now wife of US Senator Bob Menendez, at the scene of a fatal car crash. (Bogota Police Department)

A man who identified himself to police on the scene as a retired officer from nearby Hackensack had also arrived to assist Ms Menendez.

I dont even know her, the man can be heard saying on police cruiser dashboard camera footage of the incident. Thats my buddys wife whos friends with her. He said, Could you do me a favor and take her up there, because her friend just got in a car accident.

Why was the guy in the middle of the street? Ms Menendez can be heard asking an officer in the same video. She also repeatedly told officers that he jumped on my windshield.

A police report asserted that Ms Arslanian was not at fault in this crash and that Mr Koop was jaywalking and did not cross the street at an intersection or in a marked crosswalk.

An autopsy report later indicated that Koop had alcohol and cannabis in his system, though his family has questioned why police appear to have failed to test whether Ms Menendez was impaired when she was driving.

A police report later indicated that police sought her phone records, in an apparent attempt to see whether she was calling or texting from her phone at the time of the incident, but subsequent reporting did not reveal whether any information was uncovered.

An investigation from the Bergen County Prosecutors Office Fatal Accident Investigation Unit and Bergen County Sheriffs Office Bureau of Criminal Investigations processed and photographed evidence from the scene, according to a report compiled by a Bogota patrolman more than two months after the crash.

Nadine Menendez is pictured leaving federal court in Manhattan on 2 October. (Getty Images)

The senator and his wife along with three New Jersey businessmen charged alongside them in a sweeping federal indictment have pleaded not guilty, and Mr Menendez has resisted calls from a growing number of members of Congress to step down from office.

Ms Menendez is alleged to have helped her husband  who chaired the powerful Senate Foreign Relations Committee  maintain close relationships with Egyptian officials, and joined him in discussions over the sales of US military equipment, according to prosecutors.

She allegedly worked with Mr Hana to introduce the senator to Egyptian officials, and in May 2018, the senator sought sensitive information from the US Department of State regarding personnel at the US Embassy in Cairo, which he then gave to her, according to the indictment.

Mr Hana allegedly gave Ms Menendez a no-show job at his company and $23,000 in home payments to avert foreclosure proceedings on one of her properties, prosecutors allege.

She is accused of setting up a company  Strategic International Business Consultants  to receive alleged bribery payments. The incorporation papers were filed the same day a lender began foreclosure proceedings on the property, filings show.

In Senate disclosure forms, Mr Menendez reported that his wife owned bars of gold bullion worth as much as $250,000, which federal records show that they sold for as much as $400,000.

In March 2022, Ms Mendendez brought two one-kilogram gold bars to a jeweller, according to the indictment. Prosecutors allege the serial numbers indicate they previously belonged to co-defendant, Fred Daibes, a prominent New Jersey real estate developer who was separately under federal investigation.

Mr Menendez allegedly sought the Senate confirmation of a nominee for US Attorney in New Jersey who would go easy on Daibes. That nominee, Philip Sellinger, ultimately recused himself from the case.
The wife and co-defendant of the indicted US senator Bob Menendez struck and killed a pedestrian in 2018, according to newly released police records.

Related: Gold bars and stacks of cash: how Bob Menendez ended up charged with bribery

Nadine Arslanian Menendez was behind the steering wheel of a car at the center of a fatal crash which took place on 12 December 2018, the New York Times and the Record newspaper of Bergen, New Jersey, first reported.

Arslanian, as she went by before her marriage, never faced charges for the deadly crash in Bogota, New Jersey. In fact, shortly after the wreck, Arslanian and Bob Menendez were given a brand-new luxury car as a gift.

Arslanian struck and killed 49-year-old Richard Koop.

According to police records, Koop was killed almost instantly after being hit by Arslanian.

He was found lying in the road with a number of serious injuries, including severe head trauma and possible fractured legs and arms, NBC News reported.

Arslanian reportedly hit a parked car after hitting Koop and was bleeding from her hands, police records said.

Why was the guy in the middle of the street? I didnt do anything wrong, you know? Arslanian said to police, according to the dashboard camera video obtained by NBC News.

A police report on the crash stated that Arslanian was not at fault for the accident because Koop was jaywalking and did not cross the street at an intersection or in a marked crosswalk, NBC reported.

But witnesses of the exchange between Arslanian and police said officers appeared to recognize her, and treated her differently, the Times reported.

There is no record showing whether police asked Arslanian if she had consumed drugs or alcohol. Arslanian also reportedly did not receive a sobriety test.

Arslanian did not face any charges in connection with Koops death.

Four months after the crash, Arslanian and Menendez received a brand-new Mercedes-Benz convertible from Wael Hana, an Egyptian American businessman who was charged by federal authorities alongside the senator and his wife in September.

Arslanian Menendez had been complaining to Hana about the whereabouts of her car after the crash. The vehicle gift is valued at $60,000, the Times reported.

The crash is part of a larger inquiry into Nadine and Bob Menendez over bribery and corruption allegations.

Bob Menendez is accused of using his position in the US Senate and as chairperson of the foreign relations committee to benefit the government of Egypt.

An indictment obtained by federal prosecutors in New York City alleges that between 2018 and 2022, Bob Menendez accepted hundreds of thousands of dollars from Egyptian-American businessmen in exchange for helping them grow their businesses while avoiding legal issues.

Arslanian and Menendez began dating in 2018 and married in October 2020.

They have both pleaded not guilty to the bribery charges filed against them.
ACCRA, Oct. 5 (Xinhua) -- Many Ghanaian importers have turned to imports from China due to the high quality and fair prices, according to a report released by the Stanbic Bank, an Africa-focused financial services organization.

The Africa Trade Barometer 2023 report, released on Wednesday, said China has become the primary source of inputs for the group of importers surveyed in Ghana.

"Imports from China make up 31 percent of the average importer's gross imports, which is consistent with data at the aggregate country level. China is Ghana's top import partner, accounting for 17 percent of Ghana's total imports," said the report, the third in the series.

The report noted that the most critical considerations driving the decision by Ghanaian importers to source goods from China were the relatively lower cost of products, the perception that Chinese products are of high quality, and the capacity of Chinese manufacturers to provide inputs at a large scale.

Despite the fact that some European countries also serve as important sources of imports into Ghana, the importers believed that imports from China would increase on average by about 47 percent over the current volume in the next two years.

The report also pointed out that China is one of the top export destinations for Ghanaian products, primarily raw materials.

"China, Switzerland, India, and South Africa are the top five destinations for Ghanaian exports. Most of Ghana's exports to these markets are primary products such as gold and oil, sold by a few large corporations that make up the bulk of exports at the national level," said the report.

The Africa Trade Barometer surveyed 2,500 businesses in 10 countries, namely Angola, Ghana, Kenya, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia. 
The South Carolina Department of Natural Resources said its investigating the death of a man whose body was recovered from a river Wednesday.

The Florence County Coroners Office identified the victim as 83-year-old Scranton, SC resident Thurston McCutcheon, WMBF reported.

The coroners office has not issued a cause of death, but an autopsy is scheduled at the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston, according to WCIV.

DNR called the incident a boating death.

DNR said it was notified that a man never returned after going fishing Wednesday morning in a Florence County section of the Lynches River.

A search began from his last known location, and officers recovered a body from the water later Wednesday, according to DNR. Officers discovered the body after finding the boat nearby, DNR said.

There was no word about when DNR was alerted, or the depth of the water where the body was recovered.

No other injuries were reported.

Our sympathy is with the persons family and loved ones, DNR said.

Search ends for missing child who fell in river in South Carolina, officials say

Tubers got lost in extremely remote area of SC river. Heres what happened next

Man swimming with family in Midlands lake disappeared under the water, SC coroner says
A man's body was found in a stalled car on Interstate 80 on Tuesday, and now the driver of the car has been charged with first-degree murder and abuse of a corpse to hide or bury.

Jihad Abdul-Malik Gasaway, of Cedar Rapids, was taken into custody and charged with the felonies in Poweshiek County. Kemp Xavior Sherrod Harriel, 26, was found when troopers encountered the stalled vehicle on the shoulder of I-80 near the 188 mile marker, east of Grinnell, at about 8 a.m.

Gasaway, 23, told law enforcement he needed to jump start his car and told officials he had a firearm, which was then secured. That's when troopers spotted someone in the passenger seat, according to court documents.

Harriel was on the floor slumped over the passenger seat, covered up with random clothing and wasn't responding to officers, according to a news release from the Iowa Department of Public Safety.

More: Police investigate fatal shooting on Interstate 80 in Iowa

He was declared dead on the scene. The medical examiner ruled that he died from two gunshot wounds to the chest, the release said.

Gasaway allegedly didn't tell the troopers there was someone in the car, nor did he call 911 for medical assistance, the complaint said.

Investigators found that Harriel was shot while in the car at "indeterminate range," the complaint said. They found 9mm shell casings on the front floorboard and two fired bullets in the passenger seat. The bullets matched the gun that Gasaway told police he had, court documents say.

While with the trooper, Gasaway said the two were on their way to Des Moines from Cedar Rapids earlier that morning. According to the criminal complaint, a vehicle matching his car was seen in the ditch on Interstate 80 about 17 miles east around 6 a.m.

Gasaway allegedly told investigators Harriel was alive at that time, court documents say.

Court documents do not say whether Gasaway admitted to shooting the victim. But when asked what happened, he allegedly told investigators "We got into it," court documents say.

According to the criminal complaint, Gasaway told police he covered Harriel because "I thought he was very cold."

"I didn't know he was gone until I watched the police eyes and read his lips. That's when I started crying in the car. He was alive and talking to me," Gasaway said in the release.

Gasaway is being held in custody at the Poweshiek County Jail on a $50,000 bond.

The right lane of westbound traffic was blocked Tuesday morning after the incident to allow emergency personnel through, according to Sgt. Alex Dinkla, spokesperson with the Iowa State Patrol. Drivers were asked to avoid the area if possible.

Noelle Alviz-Gransee is a breaking news reporter at the Des Moines Register. Follow her on Twitter @NoelleHannika or email her atNAlvizGransee@registermedia.com.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Body found in stalled car on Interstate 80 in Iowa fatal shooting
The Democrat challenging Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.) to a rematch in 2024 has raised more than $3.4 million in the third quarter this year, according to newly released campaign finance documents.

Adam Frisch lost to Boebert in the 2022 midterm election by less than 600 votes. His 2024 campaign has now raised more than twice as much money as the incumbents reelection team.

I am deeply humbled by the over 100,000 individual donations that were made to our campaign this quarter to defeat Lauren Boebert, Frisch said in a Thursday statement. Western and Southern Colorado deserve a representative who will work hard to deliver results and put the needs of the district first, not an extreme political agenda. Thanks to our generous supporters, we will defeat Boebert in 2024.

According to his campaign, the average donation this quarter was about $32.

So far in the campaign, Frisch has raised about $4.4 million to Boeberts $1.6 million, according to Federal Elections Commission (FEC) reports.

Frisch has raised the fourth-highest dollar amount of any House candidate for 2024 and the most for a nonincumbent, according to FEC data. The three candidates ahead of him, all incumbents, have held leadership positions in their parties: former Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.).

Frisch has pitched himself as a moderate Democrat, an alternative to the controversial Boebert, who has aligned herself closely with former President Trump. She rose to national prominence after her election in 2020 for her vocal advocacy for the former president and membership in the House Freedom Caucus.

In recent months, Boebert grabbed headlines for a confrontation with Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), once her ally, and for getting kicked out of a Denver theater for inappropriate conduct.

Political analysts have rated the seat a toss-up for the 2024 election, and a poll in August showed Frisch with a 2-point lead over the incumbent.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
For nearly two years, a Michigan man dubbed Boopac Shakur dedicated his life to catching child predators and confronting them. While the job was dangerous, people who worked alongside him say they had never faced grave peril or a gun before.

On Friday, Shakur, whose real name is Robert Wayne Lee, 40, was fatally shot in a Pontiac restaurant.

The Oakland County Sheriffs Office initially said he was shot after a confrontation with two people  one of whom he had accused of being a pedophile. The sheriff later walked back that statement, saying his office couldnt corroborate it.

While details of the fatal incident are murky and undergoing investigation, Lees death shocked the community where he was hailed a hometown hero for his work ensnaring predators, some of whom were arrested.

Boopac was just so dedicated. That was his mission, said Cody Fendant, 33, who joined Lee on catches last year. I swear, every time I saw him, if he was not at work or driving his kids to school, he was working on predator catches.

Lee would pose as a 15-year-old girl online and lure suspected sexual predators to meet up in person, where hed confront them while livestreaming the encounter.

Robert Wayne Lee. (via WDIV)

He started publicizing his catches in March 2022 and said he had exposed 132 predators  a number county officials couldnt confirm.

His Instagram and Facebook, where he posted the videos, had a combined following of over 60,000 and garnered a dedicated base that often left comments thanking and congratulating him. The last Facebook post before his death, on Sept. 26, showed police handcuffing someone in a hooded sweatshirt with the caption catch 132 goes to jail Waterford, Michigan.

While other vigilante groups who do similar work praised Lees mission, local officials had warned of the danger involved. The risk is real. Last year, a member of the group Dads Against Predators, or DAP, was shot.

Jordan Jones, 19, who joined Lees work last year, said he and Lee had never been confronted by a gun, knife or other weapon on any of their over 40 catches together.

Everyday we had a catch, we never knew what we was getting into. We never knew who was going to be there, if it was going to be a troll, or a real person who could actually do something to us. We always fear for our safety, but we just continue to do it, Jones said.

Fendant also said he never saw a gun or encountered extreme violence on any of their missions.

Still, he said, Lee was wary about the risks involved.

If you watch the videos, Boopac was very safety-oriented. If you see anybodys hands move downwards, youll hear Boopac say, Hey watch your hands, dont put your hands in your pockets, hey dont reach for anything. Well get you, Fendant said. We were ready to pounce if they started reaching or something.

Some targets, though, did react aggressively and tried to take a swing or reached for the cameras, Fendant said.

The shooting

Lee was at Universal Coney Island, a restaurant he frequented in Pontiac, on Friday around 10:30 p.m. when he was shot, officials said.

The Oakland County Sheriffs Office said in its initial release Saturday that Lee had confronted two men who were seated at a table and Lee punched the 18-year-old whom he had accused of being a pedophile.

That man pulled out a knife, and the second person, 16, then pulled out a firearm and shot Lee several times, the sheriffs office said.

Jones and Fendant said that Lee never initiated conflict. Any encounter that we have ever had, he has never swung first, Jones said. He just always defended himself waiting for somebody to get in his area or swing on him.

Prosecuting Attorney Karen McDonalds office said in a statement Tuesday that based on available information, there is no evidence that the confrontation on September 29th was a planned meeting, or that it was part of any sting operation.

Sheriff Michael Bouchard said Tuesday night that when deputies responded to the restaurant, the community inferred he could have been there for that reason, to confront a pedophile, adding, as we get deeper in the investigation, we have yet to find any corroborative information on that point.

Jones and Fendant agreed that Lee hadnt been there to target anyone.

He wasnt there on a sting. And as far as I know, he was not set up. This just happened to be a freak occurrence, Fendant said.

He maintained that Lee wasnt the type to incite violence.

They had to have threatened him or said something crazy to him when he walked over to that table because he wouldnt have just started beating someone up in a restaurant that he goes to everyday knowing that he could get banned from there, Fendant said.

Hes not a violent man, but hes not a coward and hes not just going to take things lying down, he added.

The 18-year-old and 16-year-old were arrested Saturday, but no charges have been authorized yet in connection with Lees death, McDonalds office said. David Williams, chief assistant prosecutor, said Thursday that charges remain under review.

A fake profile

Lee started predator-hunting after working with DAP, which started in 2020 and similarly posts videos of confronting alleged predators.

Theyre just one of several online groups that exist across the country dedicated to exposing and shaming alleged sexual predators, a phenomenon that follows in the footsteps of the NBC News Dateline show special series To Catch a Predator, which ran from 2004 to 2007.

In Michigan, the age of consent is 16. Adults who engage in sexual activities with teens under 16 can face charges of statutory rape, which can result in jail time, fines and a requirement to register as a sex offender.

Jones said Lee taught him the ropes on how to do a catch last year.

Theyd pose as a 15-year-old girl online, engage in conversations with potential predators, set up an in-person meeting in a public place like a gas station, and confront them with cameras rolling.

Basically what happens is based on what they decide, so if they want to talk to us then theyll talk to us. If they want to leave theyll get in their car and pull off, Jones said.

Sometimes Lee and his associates would call police to be present for the catch or forward their messages with the alleged predators as evidence to lead to an arrest. But Jones and Fendant said local authorities werent very cooperative over the past year.

Livestreaming these interactions, Fendant said, was also a safety measure to try to prevent violent reactions by warning that the internet was watching.

In videos posted online, Lee and others are seen slashing the tires of their targets and berating them for trying to meet with a minor, an act of public humiliation they hoped would curb predatory behavior and warn the public.

Jones said most people bolt in their cars from the scene, while others lie and claim they appeared to urge the minor not to meet with older men. Then there are some who actually listen.

We never know if theyre going to do it again or not, but at least they listen to what we have to tell them, Jones said.

Sometimes their catches would be 18 or 19 years old. In those cases, Jones said, theyd have a serious talk with the targets but wouldnt typically publish videos of these interactions. Theyd warn the subjects that despite being young, they shouldnt be messing with minors.

The Oakland County Sheriffs Office said Lees one-man crusade had led to the arrest of several men who were criminally charged, including the following cases.

Lees most high-profile case involved former Oakland County Deputy Jared Salisbury last year. Salisbury worked at the local jail and was fired after trying to meet up with a 15-year-old girl for sex, NBC affiliate WDIV of Detroit reported.

He was charged with accosting a child for immoral purposes. His pretrial conference is set for Oct. 23.

In September 2022, Lee also did a catch on Jacob Kile Gooden in Orion Township, who sent a message to the fake 15-year-old girls profile saying that hed bring cocaine and a vape pen to a gas station to meet up, WDIV reported. He was charged with possession of a controlled substance under 15 grams and accosting/enticing/soliciting a minor for immoral purposes. Gooden had a pretrial conference on Sept. 28.

In another case in January, Lees work led to the arrest of Nathanuel Chestnut, who worked at St. Joseph Trinity Health in Pontiac, after he allegedly tried to solicit a minor for sex online, ABC affiliate WXYZ of Detroit reported.

Chestnut was arrested on four counts of child sexually abusive activity, accosting a child for immoral purposes and two counts of using a computer to commit a crime; he has a pretrial conference set for Oct. 30.

Predator catchers who worked with 'Boopac Shakur' say he had never faced a gun during his dangerous missions before. Then he was fatally shot. (Courtesy of Jordan Jones)

Lees work, however, sometimes came under criticism. Sheriff Bouchard noted that Lee once mistakenly identified someone as a sexual predator who was not.

Jones and Fendant, in turn, criticized the sheriffs office, saying that Lee had received praise on his catches from the sheriffs office but that support seemed to stop after the arrest of Salisbury.

Both the sheriffs office and district attorneys office also warned that Lees vigilantism was dangerous.

While identifying potential sex offenders is commendable, we were concerned that such confrontations would result in violence or injury, McDonalds office said.

Some catches have turned violent. In June 2022, Jay Carnicom, a member of DAP, was shot in the leg following an altercation during a catch in a North Carolina Target, the Winston-Salem police department said. He and two other DAP members allegedly lured a suspected predator to a store via the social media app Meet up and confronted him while filming. A fight erupted and the man they accused of being a pedophile pulled out a handgun and a round hit Carnicom, NBC affiliate WXII of Winston-Salem reported.

Carnicom, along with his DAP colleagues, were hit in January with charges of simple affray. The target of the catch was also charged with simple affray and carrying a concealed handgun, police said.

The risks didnt deter Lee.

He was a stand-up man that stood up for what he believed. He was passionate about this. If you were a predator, you were his enemy, Fendant said.

Boopac 4 Ever

A vigil was held Saturday to honor Lee where loved ones and friends spelled out Boopac in candles. Lees social media profiles have been flooded with tributes filled with refrains like Live on Legend, Boopac 4 Ever, and Neighborhood Hero. His supporters have also shared videos of his catches and images depicting him with angels wings.

People that never met him are broken about this. Theres people flying up from out of state, Fendant said. The whole community has been reaching for so much and helping, and his GoFundMe is getting a ton of support. Its just, its really beautiful to see people actually care.

Lee is survived by his girlfriend, his daughter and his girlfriends children, whom he loved as his own, his friends say.

You know the phrase, Give them their flowers while theyre still alive? Everybody did that for him, Fendant said. Everyone showed him recognition and appreciation.

This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
CHICAGO  Calls to do more to control the flow of undocumented immigrants into the country have been an unrelenting GOP rallying cry, a central tenet of party beliefs.

But with tens of thousands of migrants now attempting to settle in blue states and cities around the country, the ground has shifted in the national immigration debate, with Democrats increasingly calling on President Joe Biden to take action on the border.

Its all quickly created a political headache for the president.

Late Wednesday, the Biden administration took the extraordinary step of waiving a slew of environmental laws to move forward with construction of a roughly 20-mile stretch of new border wall in southern Texas.

Though the White House says the decision to move forward with new border wall construction was not tied to calls for action from blue state governors, it comes after their agitation grew to a crescendo.

Perhaps the most notable political turn for Biden came this week when Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker, a Biden campaign surrogate and major Democratic donor, took aim at the administrations lack of intervention and coordination at the border. In a public letter, Pritzker escalated past pleas for help  which included the governor in April personally asking Biden at the White House for assistance, according to a source with direct knowledge of the meeting.

Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker on May 18, 2022. (Brian Cassella / Chicago Tribune via Getty Images file)

Pritzker also called on the administration to play a role in directing where and how migrants are transported once they cross the southern border. The governors office said it estimates that numbers will quickly rise, with nearly 1,200 new migrants now arriving in Chicago a day  and temperatures in the city set to soon start dropping.

This is a major humanitarian crisis that we have never experienced before in the modern age in this city, Sol Flores, Illinois' deputy governor, said in an interview. Flores argued the Biden administration could do more, given that the majority of the migrants she sees are seeking asylum.

They can take over the interior coordination, and they could work with all 50 states," as well as activate their Office of Refugee Resettlement, she added.

"The federal government has the infrastructure, they have the framework, they have the capacity to do this. They know how to move people."

It all marks a new era in the debate over immigration facing Biden and it stems from a new kind of migrant crisis, one thats landed in Democratic-leaning cities and states in middle America, the East Coast and beyond because of the transporting of migrants from Texas, including their busing to those areas by the state's Republican governor, Greg Abbott. Abbott, as well as several Texas organizations, began sending migrants to sanctuary cities last year. The cities complained there was no coordination before the arrivals.

Eventually, left-leaning states like Illinois, New York and Massachusetts declared states of emergencies, asking for federal assistance. Democratic leaders in those states say migrants are overwhelming shelters, schools, hospitals and police stations in places like Chicago, Denver, New York and Massachusetts.

On Thursday, Biden addressed the border wall construction, saying the money had previously been appropriated by Congress.

I tried to get them to reappropriate it, to redirect that money, he said. They didnt.

He also flatly replied no when he was asked whether he thought the border wall worked. Still, in a notice posted to the Federal Register on Wednesday, DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said: There is presently an acute and immediate need to construct physical barriers  to prevent unlawful entries.

In the past year, the states have reported that their situations have only grown more dire, and that's stirred aggravation in public officials who are typically allies of the president.

Denver is among the cities grappling with the influx. The city recently asked for more state assistance but the number of new people arriving keeps rising, Denver Human Services spokesman Jon Ewing said. He said the aggravation is not just with the Biden administration but with Congress and the entire federal government.

More than anything what were looking for is coordination, Ewing said. It very much feels like this is a national crisis, but it isnt being felt by every city equally.

El Paso is overwhelmed, we sympathize with El Paso, he added. It is a bad situation for everyone right now.

CHICAGO, ILLINOIS - MAY 09: A migrant father from Venezuela feeds his 15-month-old son in the lobby of a police station where they have been staying with other migrant families since their arrival to the city on May 09, 2023 in Chicago, Illinois. Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot issued a state of emergency on Tuesday amid a surge in migrant arrivals which began in August 2022 when the first group of immigrants were bused from Texas to Chicago by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott. According to Lightfoot's office, more than 8,000 migrants have arrived in Chicago since last year, with the city currently reaching

New York City Mayor Eric Adams, a Democrat, has lashed out at the Biden administration and the Department of Homeland Security, which in turn criticized his handling as not an operationally sound effort.

The strain on city and humanitarian services isn't going unnoticed by Biden allies in New York.

There has been some reticence among New York donors because of the perception in New York that the Biden Administration has not done everything that they can do to address the migrant problem," said Steve Rattner, a longtime Democratic donor who was head of President Barack Obamas auto industry task force. "Thats a problem that were facing.

The White House has said it has deployed 800 new active-duty military personnel to increase enforcement at the border, and it recently granted Temporary Protected Status to Venezuelan migrants who arrived before July 31, allowing them easier access to work permits. Mayorkas and Secretary of State Antony Blinken were also in Mexico City on Thursday to discuss migration, among other topics, with Mexican officials.

According to NBC News polling, Republicans have their biggest-ever leads on the question of which party better handles immigration. Democrats fared much better on this question during the Obama administration  and even the Trump administration.

From the NBC News poll in September, 45% of respondents said Republicans better handle the issue of immigration, compared to 27% who said Democrats do  an 18-point lead for the GOP.

In October 2020, at the tail end of the Trump administration, Democrats held a 6-point lead on the issue, 44-38. During the Obama administration, in July 2016, Democrats also held a lead: 39-35. Recent polling, then, suggests that theres something specific about how the Biden administration has handled immigration that has caused public opinion to shift away from Democrats on the issue.

In an interview, Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-Texas  who has long accused the federal government of not paying enough attention to border communities  said Democratic officials in northern cities like New York and Chicago had underestimated the problem that migrant influxes pose.

When youre 1,500 miles away and you see people coming in on TV, thats one thing, he said. But once theyre right in your own backyard and youre seeing them in your own neighborhood or your city, it becomes real."

This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
FILE: Brian Hynes, owner of the Borderline Bar & Grill, stands at the memorial site outside the Thousand Oaks business that was struck by a mass shooting in 2018. Hynes was convicted Wednesday of felony embezzlement.

The owner of the Borderline Bar & Grill was convicted Wednesday of embezzlement after a Ventura County jury deliberated for more than four hours.

Brian Hynes, 43, of Thousand Oaks, was accused of taking almost $44,000 from the Rotary Club of Westlake Village, the civic organization he partnered with on an annual music festival that raised money for local community causes. The shuttered Borderline in Thousand Oaks was the site of a 2018 mass shooting.

Hynes pleaded not guilty to the felony embezzlement charge, which carries a sentence of up to three years in jail.

He thanked Ventura County Superior Court Judge Derek Malan after the verdict was announced shortly before 4:30 p.m. in a Ventura courtroom. He expressed gratitude that he remains free pending sentencing on Nov. 1 in a brief interview with The Star.

"I'm going home tonight, and that's the good news," he said.

At issue in the case was whether Hynes misappropriated funds in 2020 from a bank account used to pay for expenses of the OakHeart Country Music Festival in Thousand Oaks. He spent money on personal and business expenses that were unrelated to the fundraiser and then tried to conceal them, the prosecution said.

Hynes' defense attorney, Negin Yamini, argued early in the trial that her client didn't commit any crime. She didn't dispute that he spent the money but said he had the authority to do so as producer and promoter of the festival.

But the Rotary club said the funds could only be spent on the festival, not on anything else. The club reported the matter to police after discovering discrepancies.

Yamini said after the verdict that she and her client respected the jury's decision. She said Hynes had shown a large amount of "courage and strength" in telling his story.

Senior Deputy District Attorney Marc Leventhal said that when Hynes was charged with the crime in 2021, the prosecution recognized he committed the offense not out of greed but out of financial desperation.

"The prosecution hoped he would take responsibility and offered to support leniency for him if he would do so," Leventhal said in an email. "He declined. At trial Mr. Hynes claimed everyone who testified against him  his former fellow Rotarians, his former business partner and his former office manager  were liars with a vindictive agenda. This was offensive, and I am grateful that the jury saw through his gambit."

Kimmy Tharpe, former president of the Rotary club, said Hynes had been a "trusted member" of the organization.

"We remain shocked and saddened by this situation, but today justice prevailed," Tharpe said in an email. Hynes was considered "a friend and family to many, and he betrayed our trust."

She thanked jurors for their time and commitment and said the club would continue to do good work in the community "as we have for more than 50 years."

Hynes owns the Borderline entity and brand, but the building shuttered by the shooting and still standing is owned by another party, he said. An Agoura Hills country music dance club that he opened in January 2020 closed at the end of February when its lease expired.

Hynes has said he intends to move back to Thousand Oaks, perhaps at another site than the existing Borderline building set amid medical buildings off Moorpark Road.

Kathleen Wilson covers courts, crime and local government issues for the Ventura County Star. Reach her at kathleen.wilson@vcstar.com or 805-437-0271.

This story may be updated.

This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star: Borderline Bar & Grill owner Brian Hynes convicted of embezzlement
The European Union is not able to replace U.S. support for Ukraine, should this fall away in the future, EU's top diplomat, Josep Borrell , said on Oct. 5.

Speaking at the European Political Community Summit in Granada, Spain, Borrell said that Ukraine needs U.S. support and hopes that U.S. politicians will continue to aid Ukraine.

Borrell's comments came after a tense battle in Congress over funding legislation, including funding for Ukrainian military aid.

The tensions culminated in the U.S. House of Representatives voting to remove its speaker, Kevin McCarthy, from his role on Oct. 3.

Since January 2021, the U.S. has invested more than $44.5 billion in security assistance to Ukraines sovereignty and territorial integrity. This includes more than $43.9 billion since Russia launched its full-scale invasion against Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022.

Though the EU plans to expand support to Ukraine, Europe "certainly" cannot replace this level of U.S. support, Borrell said in Granada.

The third European Political Community Summit gathers around 50 heads of state and government from across the continent to address common security issues and foster political dialogue.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is one of the leaders in attendance.

The meeting follows previous summits held in Bulboaca, Moldova, in June this year, and in Prague, Czech Republic, in October 2022.

Read also: Borrell: EU support for Ukraine not dependent on short-term battlefield developments

Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent.
Brian Austin Green admits he had questions when his son Kassius, 21, came out as gay.

I would get into these conversations with Kass where it was, like, I really wanted to understand the things that seemed so different to me at first, Green revealed on the Frosted Tips with Lance Bass podcast. And then you realize, Oh, this isnt different at all. Its just your choice of partner. It doesnt affect me at all.

And thats the thing Im always trying to beat into people now. It does not affect you, he continued. Why do you care so much? And why are you literally trying to bully your feelings and your opinion into something that literally does not affect you at all?

Green, 50, shares Kassius with his ex-girlfriend Vanessa Marcil. The former couple dated from 1999 to 2003 after meeting on the set of "Beverly Hills, 90210."

Bass, who came out in 2006, praised Greens open-mindedness.

He is so lucky to be able to be in your family, because there are many kids that dont get that, the former *NSYNC member said.

Its been fascinating, Green replied. Its been a challenge just because honestly, my son being gay, it was unknown for me, he said, before adding, I think a lot of people are afraid of the unknown, whereas Im not. To me, its intriguing. And I want to learn about it.

Green is also dad of Noah, 11, Bodhi, 9, and Journey, 7, who he shares with ex-wife Megan Fox. He welcomed his fifth son, Zane, now 15 months, with his fiancee, Sharna Burgess, in 2022.

The actor said he accepts all of his kids exactly as they are.

In 2017, Green defended Noahs decision to wear dresses. At the time, Noah was 4 years old.

Its his life, theyre not my clothes.  I feel like at 4 or 5, thats a time when he should be having fun. Hes not harming anyone (by) wearing a dress, Green said during an interview with Hollywood Pipeline. "So if he wants to wear a dress, good on him."

This article was originally published on TODAY.com
In the United Kingdom, the Society of Editors, which represents newspaper and magazine editors, has criticized Attorney General Victoria Prentis for warning media outlets that their coverage of sexual misconduct claims against actor Russell Brand could amount to contempt of court. Under British law, it is illegal to publish material that could affect a criminal trial once a suspect has been arrested or a warrant has been issued. But Brand has not been charged with any crimes. "At the moment there are no active proceedings when there have been no arrests  so it is a very unusual warning," said Dawn Alford, executive director of the Society of Editors. "I'd say it is worrying and also unnecessary."

The post Brickbat: Watch What You Print appeared first on Reason.com.
By Elizabeth Piper

LONDON (Reuters) - On June 7, a group of star-struck British lawmakers posted selfies with Kiss bassist Gene Simmons when the glam rocker visited parliament. Hours later, those from the opposition Labour party were summoned by senior members in charge of discipline and ordered to delete the posts and apologise.

In 2004, Simmons had been heavily criticised for calling Islam a "vile culture" and the Labour MPs were sent on their way with warnings about any posts or comments that strayed from Labour's line ringing in their ears, two told Reuters.

Welcome to Keir Starmer 's Labour Party.

After Labour's worst defeat for 84 years in 2019 under left-wing veteran Jeremy Corbyn , Starmer - a human rights lawyer who became Britain's top prosecutor before turning to politics in his 50s - has instilled a culture of discipline in what was a deeply fractured party.

Taking lessons from centre-left parties in Australia and Germany, he has imbued Labour with a cautious and methodical approach in the race to be prime minister, hoping competence and pragmatism rather than any overriding ideology will be enough to oust the Conservatives, in power since 2010.

Ten people who have worked, studied or socialised with Starmer, 61, told Reuters he would press on with his systematic approach if he becomes prime minister in an election expected next year. A vote must be held by the end of January, 2025.

"The next stage is where we've got to be even tougher, even more focused, even more disciplined," Starmer said about the run-up to the election in a conversation on stage with Tony Blair at the former Labour prime minister's institute in July.

While Starmer's approach has not won over all hearts and minds within Labour, the party has a healthy 15-20 point lead in the polls and he remains ahead of Conservative Prime Minister Rishi Sunak in the personality stakes.

"Thanks to Keir Starmer's leadership, voters see a changed Labour Party that is ready to change the country with a mission-driven government," a Labour spokesperson said when asked to comment for this story. "Everything we offer will be built on a bedrock of economic stability and a plan for growth."

'CORBYN WITHOUT THE MADNESS'

Named after the founder of the Labour Party, Keir Hardie , Starmer was brought up in a staunchly left-wing household.

As a barrister, he often defended underdogs and worked to get people off death row around the world. He became a Labour lawmaker in 2015 at the age of 52, a year after he received a knighthood for his services to law and criminal justice.

Five years on, he inherited the party after its worst election showing since 1935. Corbyn's plan to transform Britain with public sector pay rises, higher company taxes and sweeping nationalisation, fell flat with voters and the party was dogged by accusations of anti-Semitism and a fudged Brexit policy.

Starmer was seen "by many who supported Corbyn's policies as Corbyn without the madness", said his friend and Labour lord, Charlie Falconer.

According to Claire Ainsley, who was Starmer's executive director of policy in 2020-22 and now directs a new project on centre-left renewal at the U.S.-based Progressive Policy Institute, his advisers looked to Germany and Australia for lessons on how to turn things around.

Olaf Scholz was trailing badly in the polls when he was nominated as candidate for the centre-left SDP ahead of federal elections in 2021, after which he became chancellor. Australia's Anthony Albanese took over as leader of the Labor Party after it lost an election in 2019 and became prime minister in 2022.

Both changed their fortunes by focusing on a handful of commitments - Starmer has five missions - and running a disciplined campaign, Ainsley said. This was a strategy Starmer not only took on board, it also suited his talents.

Several of the people close to Starmer described him as more of a methodical lawyer than an ideological politician, and said this coloured his approach after becoming leader.

Falconer said Starmer embarked on a four-stage plan: first getting rid of alleged anti-Semitism within the party; putting the organisation back on its feet; bringing the best Labour lawmakers into his "shadow cabinet"; and finally adopting policies to address Britain's needs.

Ainsley said after tackling the factionalism, morale and finances of the party, Starmer's plan was then to argue why the Conservative government was not fit to govern and finally present his "positive offer" to the public.

"He has done it systematically always with an eye to the strategic, and doing it with enormous self-discipline," Falconer said.

STEP BY STEP

It's a strategy Starmer learnt when he became Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) - essentially Britain's top prosecutor - in 2008, the people close to him said.

Then, he set goals for each of the years he had in front of him. The first involved travelling around the country to see how the different offices operated, then came reform, implementation and finally to prepare for his successor.

That was his instinct too when he became Labour leader but his plans were somewhat thwarted by COVID: his victory speech was delivered virtually from his living room.

Starmer later still went on his tour though, largely under the radar of television cameras, and would purposely talk to people who did not agree with Labour policies, Ainsley said.

"Corbyn would like to go to gatherings of the faithful. Keir does the opposite," she told Reuters.

Critics, especially those on the left of the party, complain this shows Starmer relies more on focus groups than ideology - and one shadow minister said they wondered whether he was bold enough to convince Britons to vote Labour.

Supporters say, however, it can only be an asset, describing him as someone of the left, as well as a pragmatist who assesses situations and draws conclusions.

For example, those on the left say Starmer has reneged on his leadership campaign pledges to uphold some of Corbyn's 2019 manifesto, such as the renationalisation of public utilities.

But Ainsley said he would have looked at the issue and decided "he is not convinced that the case for re-nationalisation in all cases at this particular point is there".

One person who worked with Starmer when he was advising the Policing Board to monitor the Police Service of Northern Ireland's compliance with the Human Rights Act said: "Everything he does, it's because he's thought carefully about what's going to get him to where he needs to be."

"He thinks about the best way to take people with him, or to take the people with him he needs to take with him."

'CHAMPION OF THE UNDERDOG'

It was while he was DPP that Starmer realised he had to become engaged in politics - and get into government - if he wanted to bring about real change, Falconer said.

But even after entering parliament, supporters and critics alike said he was still more of a lawyer than politician.

"As a lawyer you don't establish a coherent political position," said Falconer. "You have causes and his causes tended to be on the left. He was a real champion of the underdog and he was completely loyal to a series of causes."

Starmer often took on pro bono legal work, such as getting convicts off death row in the Caribbean. Working for free, he also played a key role in helping overturn the mandatory death penalty in Uganda, saving the lives of 417 people.

And working alongside lawyer Mark Stephens, they famously won an appeal in the European Court of Human Rights against the British government over the "McLibel" trial involving two environmentalists and fast-food chain McDonalds.

Now, his cause is getting Labour into power - and his pragmatism runs through his policy commitments.

With Britain's coffers all but empty, Starmer has issued a strong message to his top team: don't make any promises the party cannot prove can be funded.

Instead, they need to come up with ideas to make his five missions - economic growth, net zero, the health service, crime and education - work without increasing taxes.

That has led to courting business, as Blair did before the first of his three election victories in 1997.

Starmer's overreaching goal is to promote economic growth to try to increase tax receipts so Labour can help a public sector he says has been starved by years of Conservative austerity.

While cosying up to business is unpopular with the Labour left, people close to Starmer say even when he was a ring leader on the top deck of the bus to school, leading the laughter with other teenagers, there was a steeliness as well.

"He's clearly not worried about taking difficult decisions," said Andrew Cooper, who went to Reigate Grammar school near London with Starmer and was a former adviser to Conservative Prime Minister David Cameron.

Cooper said Starmer was famed at school, and often mocked, for his stubborn obsession with British rock band Status Quo - and never turned to the trendier sounds of new wave or punk.

"This is not somebody who craves to be liked."

(Editing by David Clarke)
JERUSALEM, Oct. 5 (Xinhua) -- Five Israeli troops were injured in a clash with Palestinian militants in the occupied West Bank on Thursday, according to sources on both sides.

The clash was sparked by an Israeli military raid in the Tulkarm refugee camp in the northern West Bank. The Israeli military said in a statement that the raid was carried out to arrest a suspect.

The Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad said in separate statements that their militants had inflicted Israeli casualties in gun and bomb ambushes in Tulkarm.

The Israeli military said three border police officers were severely wounded in the incident while apprehending a suspected Palestinian militant, and two other Israeli troops sustained light-to-moderate injuries.

A preliminary military inquiry suggested that a hand grenade thrown at Palestinian militants rolled back, exploding near the troops when they attempted to kick it away.

Also on Thursday, Israeli soldiers shot dead two Palestinians, aged 23 and 27, who fired shots at an Israeli motorcyclist near the village of Shufa in Tulkarm, according to Israeli and Palestinian sources.

Violence between the Israelis and Palestinians in the West Bank, a territory captured by Israel during the 1967 Middle East war, has surged in the past year and a half, mainly fueled by frequent Israeli raids on Palestinian cities, towns and villages. 
Frank James, the suspect in the Brooklyn subway shooting walks outside a police precinct in New York City

(Reuters) -The man who set off smoke bombs on a crowded New York subway train before shooting 10 people in April 2022 was sentenced on Thursday to life in prison over one of the most violent attacks ever seen on the city's transit system.

Frank James, 64, was sentenced to 10 life terms plus 10 years by U.S. District Court Judge William Kuntz during a hearing in Brooklyn federal court. James pleaded guilty in January to 10 counts of terrorism and weapons charges.

"Today, Frank James was sentenced for his deliberate and calculated act of terror against our city," James Smith, who heads the FBI's New York field office, said in a statement.

"He aimed to kill innocent people, who were simply going about their daily lives amid the morning rush."

The attack followed a string of violent crimes in America's largest metropolitan transit system, including instances of commuters being pushed onto subway tracks.

James, who was apprehended in Manhattan's East Village neighborhood 30 hours after the attack on a Manhattan-bound N train, confessed to the crimes before a judge in January.

He opened fire during the morning rush hour as the train headed to an underground station in Brooklyn's Sunset Park neighborhood. James shot 10 people and another 13 were injured in the ensuing panic, according to police. No one was killed.

His attorneys had sought an 18-year sentence, according to court documents.

James, a native of the city's Bronx borough with recent addresses in Philadelphia and Milwaukee, had nine prior arrests in New York and three in New Jersey, according to the New York Police Department.

(Reporting by Gabriella Borter and Brendan O'Brien; Editing by Rami Ayyub)
Keo Crockett, 31, pictured with his sister Breanna, was shot to death in September 2023.

WEST PALM BEACH  More than a month has passed since 31-year-old Keo Crockett was found shot to death at a West Palm Beach intersection. In a bid for answers, his family has increased the reward for information on the person who killed him.

The West Palm Beach Police Department announced Wednesday that Crockett's family added an additional $10,000 sum to the $3,000 reward that Crime Stoppers of Palm Beach County offered in hopes of finding the person who killed Crockett on Sapodilla Avenue last month.

"My brother was murdered very coldly and brutally," said Crockett's sister, Breanna. "He was left for dead in the street."

Aggravated child abuse trial: Jury hears case of Florida dad who kept teenager locked in garage

Officers found him lying in the intersection of 10th Street and Sapodilla Avenue just before 11:40 p.m. on Sept. 16. Crockett, who carried a red backpack and was found near a black bicycle, was pronounced dead at the scene.

Detectives canvassed the area for witnesses and surveillance-camera video but have not yet announced an arrest. There have been more than 150 unsolved murders in and around Sapodilla Avenue since 2015, according to Police Chief Frank Adderley. He said many witnesses to violent crimes don't come forward out to fear of retaliation.

"You're talking about a small group of people controlling a very large group of people," he said Wednesday. "You would think the large group of people would come together and prevail over the group responsible for this level of violence in our city."

In search of answers: West Palm Beach police pray, party with residents in new push to solve murders

Anyone with information about Crockett's murder is asked to call Detective Aaron Sam at 561-822-1675, or Crime Stoppers of Palm Beach County at 800-458-TIPS (8477). Tipsters can remain anonymous and will be eligible for the $13,000 cash reward if their tip leads to an arrest.

"That piece of information can make a world of difference to that investigation and to our family," Breanna Crockett said.

Hannah Phillips is a journalist covering public safety and criminal justice at The Palm Beach Post. You can reach her at hphillips@pbpost.com.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Who killed Keo Crockett? Family offers $13,000 for information
Three brothers from San Diego caused Apple to lose $6.1 million with a widespread scheme in which more than 10,000 fake iPhones and iPads were swapped out for the real devices at hundreds of stores, according to federal prosecutors.

Zhimin, Zhiting and Zhiwei Liao led the scam involving a slew of other co-conspirators from 2011 through 2019, according to the U.S. Attorneys Office for the Southern District of California.

A judge sentenced Zhimin and Zhiting Liao to three years and five months in prison on Oct. 2 in connection with trafficking the counterfeit iPhones and iPads, court records show. Meanwhile, Zhiwei Liao is due in court on Oct. 30 for his sentencing hearing.

This comes after all three Liao brothers pleaded guilty to conspiracy to traffic in counterfeit goods on June 2, 2022, according to a news release from the attorneys office.

The counterfeit Apple products imported into the U.S. from China by the Liao brothers had identification numbers that matched identification numbers on real iPhones and iPads that were under warranty and had been previously sold to customers in the United States and Canada, prosecutors said.

Over the course of the scheme, Zhimin Liao traveled to about 105 Apple stores in 22 different states, where he tried exchanging 720 fake iPhones and iPads for real ones, according to his sentencing memorandum. In 2015 alone, he traveled to several stores in states along the East Coast  from Florida all the way up to New Hampshire, the sentencing memo says.

Zhiting Liao also directly traveled to at least 200 Apple stores in 18 states and in Canada, where he tried swapping out 718 counterfeit iPhones and iPads, his sentencing memo says.

Both brothers directly profited $6.1 million, according to their sentencing documents.

After the fake Apple devices were exchanged, the Liao brothers sold and shipped them outside the U.S., prosecutors said.

Attorney Anthony E. Colombo Jr., who is based in San Diego and represented Zhimin Liao in the case, told McClatchy News in a statement on Oct. 5 that Zhimin Liao accepted responsibility for his conduct and deeply regrets his involvement in the offense.

He said the severity of his clients sentence was based on the courts desire to generally deter similar conduct.

Zhimin Liaos sentence weighs heavily on (him) given the potential impact on his family and business, Colombo added. He is committed to being a productive member of his community as he has been over the past five years.

McClatchy News also contacted defense attorneys representing Zhiting and Zhiwei Liao for comment on Oct. 5 and didnt receive immediate responses.

The Liao brothers wives were also involved and previously pleaded guilty to wire fraud or mail fraud charges, according to the U.S. attorneys earlier release.

As part of the brothers and their wives plea agreements, they agreed to forfeit five homes in San Diego, more than $250,000 and more than 200 fake Apple iPhones, prosecutors said.

The wives have all been sentenced to three years of probation as of Oct. 5, court records show.

Zhimin and Zhiting Liaos prison sentences will be followed by three years of supervised release, according to court records.

McClatchy News contacted Apple for comment on Oct. 5 and didnt receive an immediate response.

FedEx paid man $400,000 after he lied about 67 lost packages, feds say. Hes charged

Men posing as homeowners stole $3.3M from over 3,500 people in rental scheme, feds say

Trio stole over $2 million from Amazon by conning company into issuing refunds, feds say
Russia blasted several Ukrainian provinces Thursday with a multi-pronged attack  killing at least 51 civilians in a missile strike at a village cafe and market in the northeast and swarming south and central regions with drones  as President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was about to make his case for a unified front against Moscow's aggression to European leaders.

The assault in the Kharkiv province village of Hroza, where about 60 people were attending a wake for a local fallen soldier, was one of the deadliest in the war in months, Ukrainian authorities said. Zelenskyy branded it "terrorism'' and said it was a "demonstrably brutal Russian crime."

Emergency personnel cleared out rubble while cadavers and body parts were strewn on a nearby children's playground in Hroza, located less than 20 miles west of Kupiansk, a focus of the Russian military effort. Before traveling to southern Spain early Thursday for a summit with fellow European heads of state, Zelenskyy had visited the area Tuesday to meet with troops and inspect equipment supplied by the West.

He pled for more after Thursday's onslaught, which included a 29-drone barrage aimed at Odesa and Mykolaiv in the south as well as the central Kirovohrad province. Ukraine's air force said it intercepted 24 of the drones, but one of the five that got through damaged an infrastructure facility in Kirovohrad, regional administration head Andriy Raykovych said.

"The key for us, especially before winter, is to strengthen air defense, and there is already a basis for new agreements with partners," Zelenskyy said on Telegram.

The White House and European Union condemned the missile strike, which EU foreign affairs chief Josep Borrell called "appalling terror" and a war crime.

A woman stands next to bodies being carried out of a destroyed shop and cafe after a Russian strike in the village of Groza in Ukraine on Oct. 5, 2023.

Developments:

 Russia has successfully tested an experimental nuclear-powered cruise missile, President Vladimir Putin said Thursday, warning the countrys parliament could revoke its ratification of a treaty banning nuclear tests.

 Germany and Spain are responding to Zelenskyy's request for air defense help, pledging a fourth Patriot system and six more Hawk air systems, respectively.

 The British government announced a fourth loan guarantee of $500 million for Ukraine so it "can provide life-saving winter support payments to three million households'' in the expectation that Russia will again attempt to leave Ukrainians in the cold by attacking the country's energy system.

 Marina Ovsyannikova, a former state TV journalist who warned viewers on camera they were being lied to about the war, was sentenced in absentia to 8 1/2 years in prison for her protest. She defected to France with her daughter.

Allies have to 'save unity in Europe'

At a time when support for Ukraine seems to be flagging in the U.S. and other parts of the West, the approximately 50 European leaders meeting Thursday in the Spanish city of Granada vowed to remain firm in their backing.

The exclusion of military aid for Ukraine in the funding deal that averted a U.S. government shutdown last weekend, combined with the election of pro-Russia candidate Robert Fico in Slovakia and Hungary's tenuous support have raised questions about the commitment of Ukraine's allies as the Kremlin continues its relentless attack.

The main challenge that we have is to save unity in Europe, Zelenskyy said.

President Joe Biden Biden called other world powers Tuesday to coordinate on Ukraine in a deliberate show of the U.S. backing, and said he's looking at alternate avenues for funding security assistance in light of growing resistance from Republicans and turmoil in the House. One of those options is a State Department grant program for foreign military financing, Politico reported Thursday.

EU foreign affairs chief Josep Borrell said the push to bolster Ukraine's war effort won't succeed without U.S. involvement.

Everybody that doesnt want Putin winning this war is to look for ways for the U.S. to retake this issue and continue supporting Ukraine, Borrell said. Certainly we can do more. But the U.S. is something irreplaceable for the support of Ukraine.

Putin says doomed Prigozhin plane had no signs of external impact

Putin said an investigation into the plane crash that killed Yevgeny Prigozhin and top lieutenants of his mercenary Wagner Group showed no signs of sustaining an "external impact," suggesting something that happened inside might have brought down the private jet.

Putin said hand grenade fragments were found in the bodies. All 10 aboard died in the Aug. 23 crash northwest of Moscow, which U.S. officials concluded was caused by an intentional explosion. The Kremlin has called allegations that Putin was behind the crash an "absolute lie."

Prigozhin's mercenaries played a key role in Russia's war in Ukraine, especially the grinding battle for months to take the eastern city of Bakhmut. But after constantly berating the Russian Defense Ministry, he crossed Putin by leading a June 23 insurrection that lasted about 36 hours.

Prigozhin and his fighters were granted asylum in Belarus as part of a deal to end the rebellion. Eventually, he met an untimely death much like previous Putin opponents.

Russia may be plotting to sabotage Ukraine shipping corridor

Now that Ukraine has enjoyed some success exporting its grain through a new shipping corridor in the Black Sea, Russia may be looking to sabotage the project without getting blamed.

The shipping corridor, a response to Russia's withdrawal in July from the Black Sea Grain Initiative and subsequent threats to vessels in the area, has allowed several cargo ships safe passage through a route that hugs the coast of Romania and Bulgaria, both NATO members.

The U.K. Foreign Office said Russia may lay sea mines in the approaches to Ukrainian ports to target civilian vessels and point the finger at Ukraine.

"Russia almost certainly wants to avoid openly sinking civilian ships, instead falsely laying blame on Ukraine for any attacks against civilian vessels in the Black Sea," the Foreign Office said, adding that the U.K. was working with Ukraine to help improve the safety of shipping.

Contributing: The Associated Press

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Ukraine Russia war updates: Missile strike kills 51 at cafe
The inside of the three-story building collapsed while some of the outer walls were left standing

At least three people have been killed in the collapse of a residential building in the Cuban capital, Havana.

The collapse happened late on Tuesday night local time, but it was not until Wednesday afternoon that rescue workers found the body of a 79-year-old resident under the rubble.

The two other victims were rescue workers who were searching the building when a second collapse happened.

Havana is known for its historic houses but many are dangerously dilapidated.

Many of the historic houses in Havana are in dire need of repair

Cuba's housing minister said last month that 850,000 homes across the Communist-run island needed repairs.

Old Havana is popular with tourists who photograph its once-grand but now decaying houses.

But for its residents, a lack of suitable housing means that many families are crammed into buildings which are on the verge of collapse.

The government blames the economic embargo imposed on the island by the United States for its inability to source building materials to carry out repairs.

It announced a national programme to build new structures in 2018, but critics say it has concentrated on building hotels in an effort to attract tourists and thereby raise revenue rather than on homing locals.

The building collapse in Havana is just the latest in a string of disasters to hit the capital's housing.

In May 2022, dozens of people were killed in a gas explosion at the Saratoga hotel.
By Alexandra Valencia

QUITO (Reuters) -Daniel Noboa, heir to a business fortune, is leading some polls published on Thursday ahead of Ecuador's presidential contest on Oct. 15, though two put him in a technical tie with his rival Luisa Gonzalez, the protege of a former leftist president.

Noboa, son of banana baron Alvaro Noboa, has proposed benefits for companies that hire young people and said he will promote private investment in electricity and oil and attract foreign capital. He has also pledged to use technology to fight an extended crime wave.

Gonzalez, 45, has pledged to bring back wide-ranging social programs put in place by her mentor, former President Rafael Correa , boost oil production and inject $2.5 billion of international reserves into the economy.

Noboa, 35, would win 41.5% of total votes, including blank and void ballots, while Gonzalez, who led the first round of voting, would garner 36.4%, according to polling firm Comunicaliza.

"The debate basically didn't affect voting intention for Noboa ... but it raised support for Gonzalez (+3.3%)," Alvaro Marchante, the head of the pollster wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter, referring to a televised debate over the weekend.

Some 12.4% of those polled have not yet decided who to vote for, while 9.7% said they would turn in blank or null votes, the firm said.

The survey, conducted this week, included 5,265 people and had a margin of error of 1.35%.

Meanwhile, a poll by Negocios & Estrategias showed Noboa had only a slight lead over Gonzalez, predicting he would win 39% of total votes to her 38.63%, well within the margin of error of 1.8%.

Some 17% of the 3,000 people polled are still undecided, while 5.3% would hand in protest ballots, Negocios & Estrategias said.

Gonzalez would win with 47.6%, a third poll by Maluk Resarch showed, with Noboa trailing with 45.5% and protest votes at 6.9%, putting the two in another technical tie given a margin of error of 3%.

Whoever is elected will govern in a shortened term until May 2025, when regularly scheduled elections will take place. This contest was called by current President Guillermo Lasso after he dissolved the legislature to avoid impeachment.

(Reporting by Alexandra ValenciaWriting by Julia Symmes CobbEditing by Chris Reese and David Gregorio)
A driver was seriously injured Thursday after his SUV struck a concrete wall in a fiery crash on an on-ramp to the Capital City Freeway in Sacramento.

The crash occurred shortly before 12:30 p.m. on the freeway ramp near 29th and H streets, near Sacramentos midtown neighborhood, authorities said.

The driver, who was alone in the SUV, appeared to have lost control of the vehicle as they were trying to enter the Capital City Freeway, said Capt. Justin Sylvia, a spokesman for the Sacramento Fire Department.

The SUV hit the concrete wall, which supports the freeways foundation, and caught on fire. Sylvia said bystanders in the area immediately rushed to the burning vehicle and began helping him out of the vehicle.

Firefighters arrived a short time later at the crash site and joined the bystanders in freeing the driver from the wrecked vehicle, Sylvia said.

The driver was critically injured in the crash and was taken to a hospital, Sylvia said.
On 5 October, the Cabinet of Ministers appointed three new deputy ministers of defence.

Source: Taras Melnychuk, the government representative in the parliament, on Telegram, Defence Minister Rustem Umierov

Details: On 5 October, Melnychuk said that the Cabinet of Ministers had appointed three deputy defence ministers  Ivan Havryliuk, Stanislav Haider and Dmytro Klimenkov.

Umierov said that Ivan Havryliuk would become deputy for military and technical policy.

He early reported that Havryliuk is a lieutenant general: "In April-August 2022, he was the head of the Ukrainian working group at the coordination centre for assistance in Germany, previously he was an adviser to the commander of the Armed Forces Logistics Forces and the head of the Main Logistics Department  Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces."

Quote from Umierov: "The most important tasks are the development of the Defence Forces' weapons and military equipment, the re-profiling of the Ukrainian defence industry to NATO nomenclature and close cooperation with partner countries."

Dmytro Klimenkov  Deputy on Procurement issues

Earlier, he worked as the commercial director of Joint-Stock company Ukrtransgaz.

Umierov noted that during his tenure, he managed to exceed the plan for gas injection into underground storage facilities by more than 50% and increase the number of non-resident customers by 15%.

Prior to that, he worked as First Deputy Head of the State Property Fund of Ukraine, Director of Infrastructure and Logistics at UIA and Head of Major Projects at Swedish company Ericsson.

His key priorities are standardisation, systematisation, effective control and digitalisation of procurement, creation of a phased procurement and control algorithm, and the full launch of the Non-Lethal Procurement Agency.

Stanislav Haider  Deputy Head of Institutional Development

Haider is the Head of Digital Transformation at the NACP. In his previous position, he was responsible for the agency's strategic planning based on the objectives and key results (OKRs) methodology, where key business processes were reconfigured. Under his management, the Anti-Corruption Portal of Ukraine, the Register of Corrupt Officials, the Unified Whistleblower Portal, etc. were launched.

The main priority is to build a sustainable and holistic Defence Ministry institution that is data-driven and ensures transparency and accountability.

Background:

The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine appointed three deputy defence ministers on 27 September.

On 18 September, the Cabinet of Ministers dismissed six deputy ministers of defence and the ministry's State Secretary.

On 5 September, the Verkhovna Rada (Ukrainian parliament) accepted the resignation of Oleksii Reznikov from the position of Minister of Defence.

On 6 September, the Verkhovna Rada (Ukraines parliament) approved the appointment of Rustem Umierov, the former head of the State Property Fund of Ukraine, as the Minister of Defence of Ukraine.

Ukrainska Pravda is the place where you will find the most up-to-date information about everything related to the war in Ukraine. Follow us on Twitter, support us, or become our patron!
Good morning and welcome to the A.M. Alert!

BUTLER DEFENDS WORKING FOR UBER

Newly-minted California Sen. Laphonza Butler is defending her record of consulting for Uber as that company lobbied against AB 5, the labor-backed 2019 California law that re-classified many independent contractors as employees eligible subject to state wage and benefit requirements.

California Gov. Gavin Newsoms decision to appoint Butler drew criticism from some on the left because of her record with Uber.

Ive been very clear that they should have the protections of employment, Butler told the San Francisco Chronicle in an interview published Wednesday. Ive spent my entire career, nearly 20 years, in the labor movement, working to make sure that workers who wanted a union have the opportunity to have a fair shot to build one. My work on AB5 was exactly that.

The Chronicle noted that Butler declined to discuss the nature of her work on AB 5.

My role was one that was consistent with my resume. There was no inconsistency in my work or my engagement, she told the Chronicle.

SCHUMER REMEMBERS FEINSTEIN IN SENATE CHAMBER REMARKS

Via David Lightman...

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said farewell Wednesday in the Senate chamber to his longtime colleague Dianne Feinstein.

It will be a long time until the Senate sees someone as consequential as Dianne Feinstein, the New York Democrat told colleagues.

Schumer is scheduled to speak Thursday at Feinsteins San Francisco funeral. The veteran California senator died last week.

Schumer opened the Senate Wednesday by noting the Senate will not meet Thursday in observance of the memorial of our late friend and colleague.

Sdhumer said that in the last few days, Ive been coming back to the same thought again and againDianne Feinstein was a public servant of uncommon integrity.

While many of us here try our best to pursue the common good, he said, Dianne was on another level. When she thought something was right, when she had a cause she believed in, she pursued it until the end.

He recalled her long effort to win support for an assault weapons ban  which she did for 10 years in the 1990s and early 2000s. The National Rifle Association, Schumer said, launched horrible, vitriolic, arguably chauvinistic attacks. She remained undeterred. In the end, her cause won the day.

QUOTE OF THE DAY

Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg files statement of intention to run for California Attorney General in 2030, giving him a short window of 2,435 days to stand up a statewide campaign before polls open on primary day.

- California Target Books Rob Pyers, via X, the platform formerly known as Twitter.

Best of The Bee:

Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg is filing paperwork to raise funds to run for attorney general, via Theresa Clift .

Picketing workers filled the air around Kaiser Permanentes three Sacramento-area hospitals with chants, drumming and the high-pitched squeals of whistles as the largest health care strike in the nations history kicked off Wednesday, via Cathie Anderson .

Capital Public Radios board of directors voted to hire a new general manager Tuesday night, but Sacramento State said it opposes the move for the financially troubled broadcaster and will not fund the position, via Sam Stanton .

The city of Davis is violating state housing law by failing to adopt an acceptable plan for how it intends to encourage enough housing development this decade to meet demand, state housing officials said, via Ryan Lillis.
CSU Monterey Bay is taking national rankings by storm.

Last month, the Wall Street Journal ranked CSUMB No. 119 and Forbes ranked CSUMB No. 131 out of all schools nationwide. Their previous positions were 383 and 223, respectively. And US News & World Report just placed CSUMB as No. 2 out of all Regional Universities in the West for Social Mobility.

CSUMB, founded in 1994, is one of the youngest members of the California State University system. It now has a little over 7,000 students enrolled on the Central Coast.

CSUMB is ready to keep growing. President Vanya Quinones says she has four goals to make this happen:

Create a strong sense of community

Enhance communication within the university community

Balance institutional budgets

Make use of resources across the campus

The College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences Building at CSU Monterey Bay, photographed Oct. 10, 2019.

Majoring in the mission

Vanya Quinones was appointed president of the university in July 2022. Before coming to Monterey Bay, Quinones worked for the City University of New York system, which she describes as a similar type of university institution--one focused on diversity and inclusion.

"What attracted me here is that (CSUMB) is a strong university that helps people to go forward and achieve their dreams," she told The Californian.

Quinones grew up in San Juan, Puerto Rico and attended university there before moving to the United States to pursue a doctorate in neurobiology and physiology. Quinones has published over 70 peer-reviewed papers in neurobiology and biopsychology and used to be a psychology professor (and later chair of the department) in New York's Hunter College before transitioning into provost roles.

CSU Monterey Bay President Vanya Quinones poses for a headshot on September 19, 2022.

While in New York, she brought in $25 million from sources like the National Institutes of Health and nonprofits, most of which was dedicated to support work by underrepresented minorities. She's brought the same passion for student support to CSUMB.

For the first time, U.S. News & World Report ranked CSUMB No. 2 among Regional Universities in the West for Social Mobility, based on an assessment of how well schools graduated economically disadvantaged students--specifically, students who were awarded Pell grants for need-based financial aid.

"I truly believe that my family education was the key to transforming our future prospects," Quinones said.

Quinones' grandmother was the first to go to college in her entire family, which had a ripple effect on future generations. All of Quinones' grandmother's children, grandchildren and great grandchildren all graduated from college. And now all of the great grandchildren are preparing to start their graduate degrees.

"So I think it takes just one person to transform their entire family. And that's what CSUMB does, it takes the students' dreams and helps them achieve them just like a family and community does."

Vanya Quinones rides a bike at the CSU Monterey Bay Farmer's Market on October 27, 2022.

Supporting students across the board

CSUMB has been concentrating its efforts on building a social community for students in multiple ways, including career development and counseling services, provision of basic necessities and the creation of community service as a graduation requirement.

Quinones explained that CSUMB has drastically increased university support of students to ensure they are protected from food insecurity. CSUMB helps deliver food four times a week and maintains The Hub, a building in the student center where students can pick up nonperishable groceries, produce, snacks and prepared meals. Caseworkers are also available on standby to help students apply for CalFresh and other housing and financial support programs.

"We used to have 300 to 500 visits per week. Now we have 1,500," Quinones said. "We have really gone into a deep dive in terms of how to support students."

Case managers also help students who have gone through sudden changes that leave them vulnerable to food or housing insecurity. In the previous academic year, over $250,000 in emergency grants were awarded to students. Over half of students who applied received some assistance.

Brunch at CSU Monterey Bay on Oct. 16, 2022. Vanya Quinones (far left) poses while taking a group selfie.

CSUMB graduates large numbers of systemically disadvantaged students every year, which is one key factor in its rise in rankings.

The No. 1 barrier preventing students coming from underrepresented communities like her own from thriving is imposter syndrome--feeling like they do not belong on campus.

"We work very, very hard to overcome that," she said.

Taking the plunge

Quinones said that the university's location in Monterey helps attract students, in addition to its reputation for diversity.

"It's not only the beautiful campus we have but also that we have diversity and abundance at the university. From the neighborhood, from our community (which has) very diverse population areas like Salinas and Seaside," she said. "We value the community, and we value the members of the community."

Many first-generation students at CSUMB went to high school less than an hour away.

"When you come to CSUMB, you will graduate. We are working really hard to ensure that students complete their dream," Quinones said. Part of this involves service learning requirements, which Quinones said lead to better jobs, and the ability to graduate without any financial burden with help from university support.

CSUMB might be a relatively new school, but it is strengthening traditions that will last for generations to come.

On the morning of Aug. 20 earlier this year, hundreds of CSUMB students, along with university faculty and staff members like Quinones, met at the Monterey State Beach. They lined up in preparation for "The Plunge", a group run into the Pacific Ocean.

The CSU Monterey Plunge on August 20, 2023.

Anthony Cervantes, a freshman computer science major raised in Salinas, was one of them. He told university staff that his family warned Mijo, be careful" when he told them of his plans.

That didn't stop him from taking the plunge with his new community.

The CSU Monterey Plunge on August 20, 2023.

This article originally appeared on Salinas Californian: California State University Monterey Bay national rankings
China, like-minded countries call for better social security systems for aged population

Xinhua) 10:22, October 05, 2023

GENEVA, Oct. 4 (Xinhua) -- China on Wednesday delivered a joint statement on behalf of some 80 countries at the 54th session of the United Nations (UN) Human Rights Council, calling for better social security systems for the aged population.

Delivering the joint statement, Chen Xu, head of the Chinese Mission in Geneva, said that as population aging accelerates around the world, inadequacies in the social support systems are becoming more prominent, including sustainability of social security policy, regional disparity of old-age care and support, and age-based discrimination against older persons.

"The right to social security is of central importance in guaranteeing human dignity for all persons when they are faced with circumstances that deprive them of their capacity to fully realize their human rights", the joint statement said.

It stressed that everyone, including older persons, has the right to social security, so they can live in dignity and fully participate in society.

"The improvement of social security systems and the protection and promotion of the human rights of older persons need to be addressed in all countries," the joint statement added.

It called for countries to take concrete steps to address the barriers faced by older persons in terms of social security measures, so that no one is left behind.

It also advocated for countries to improve social security systems, enhance care and support service systems, and build accessible societies.

"We need to respect, protect and fulfill the human rights of older persons, to ensure them fulfilling lives with dignity," it concluded.

(Web editor: Zhang Wenjie, Hongyu)
KABUL, Oct. 5 (Xinhua) -- A total of 10,971 Afghan refugees returned to Afghanistan from the beginning of this year to Sept. 1, according to a report released Thursday by the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR).

Of them, 96 percent were back from Pakistan, 3 percent from Iran and 1 percent from other countries, said the UNHCR.

The report also noted that in 2023, some 5,150 internally displaced persons returned to their places of origin in Afghanistan.

According to the organization, as of Dec. 31, 2022, there were an estimated 3.25 million people internally displaced by conflict within Afghanistan, and 5.2 million refugees and asylum-seekers from Afghanistan in neighboring countries. 
The death of longtime U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein means Californias residents will now encounter two Senate races on their 2024 primary and general election ballots.

Voters will choose someone who will serve the standard full six-year term that begins in January 2025 and, in a special election, a senator to fill the seat from just after election day in November 2024 until the full term begins two months later.

Both the partial and full-term races will be on the primary ballot on March 5 and on the general election ballot on November 5 next year.

The same process occurred in 2022. After Gov. Gavin Newsom appointed Alex Padilla to fill the seat formerly held by Vice President Kamala Harris, Padilla was elected to both the partial term as well as the full term.

Laphonza Butler sworn in to replace Feinstein in Senate

Reps. Barbara Lee, Adam Schiff and Katie Porter, who are running for the Senates full six-year term, have said they would also compete in the race for the partial term as well.

Sen. Laphonza Butler, who Newsom appointed to fill Feinsteins seat, has not said whether or not she will run for either term, but she has until Dec. 8 to file paperwork with the Federal Election Commission.

Until recently, the appointment of a senator did not involve a partial term and appointees held the seat until the next Congress began.

Looking back on U.S. Sen. Feinsteins liberal legacy

However, in 2021, the California Legislature changed the process to bring it in compliance with the 17th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution after two court rulings, one in Illinois and one in Arizona.

In the Illinois case, the judge ruled that a special election must be held if there is enough time to organize an election. The judge also determined that even the short period of time between the November election and the start of the new Congress in January could merit a special election.

In the Arizona case, a judge ruled that the governor of a state must call for a special election when there is a senate vacancy, even after designating an appointee, provided there is time to hold an orderly election.

Generally, these special elections are combined with regularly scheduled elections, hence the reason Californians will see two races for the U.S. Senate on the ballot in 2024.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX 5 San Diego.
TechCrunch

Revolut, the fintech giant based in the U.K., has appointed a new CEO for its U.K. division. Francesca Carlesi will be in charge of Revoluts division in its home country  Nik Storonsky remains the CEO of Revolut Ltd. Its worth noting that todays news comes as Revolut still doesnt have a banking license in the U.K. after years of back and forth with British regulators.
The office of Governor General Mary Simon says it "deeply regrets" appointing Peter Savaryn to the Order of Canada in 1987. Mr Savaryn died in 2017, aged 90

Canada's Governor General Mary Simon has apologised for a top Canadian honour awarded to a former Nazi soldier nearly four decades ago.

Peter Savaryn, a former chancellor of the University of Alberta, was given the Order of Canada in 1987.

It has since emerged that Mr Savaryn served in Nazi Waffen SS units.

The apology comes a fortnight after a row in Canada's parliament over an invite to an elderly Ukrainian man who had fought with Nazi Germany.

Yaroslav Hunka, 98, was applauded in the House of Commons by lawmakers not aware of his history, during a visit by Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky.

Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called the incident "deeply embarrassing", and the Speaker of the House, Anthony Rota, took responsibility for inviting Mr Hunka and resigned.

Since then, Jewish groups in Canada have called on the government to acknowledge and probe other Nazi veterans in the country.

During World War II, millions of Ukrainians served in the Soviet Red Army, but thousands of others fought on the German side under the 14th Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS - also known as the Galicia Division - that was formed in 1943.

Some of those Ukrainian soldiers then emigrated to Canada after the war.

Among them was Mr Savaryn, who was awarded the Order of Canada - a top civilian honour that recognises outstanding achievement and contributions to the country.

After emigrating, Mr Savaryn enrolled in the University of Alberta and became a lawyer. He served as chancellor of the university from 1982 to 1986.

He was also president of the Ukrainian World Congress in Canada from 1983 to 1988, and was once the vice-president of the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada.

Mr Savaryn was a founding member of the Alberta Cultural Heritage Council, and was awarded the Order of Canada for promoting multiculturalism.

He died in 2017 at the age of 90.

Mr Savaryn's background as a soldier with the Waffen SS first emerged in a 2012 journal article. It then resurfaced this week in a report by Jewish publication Forward.

Governor General Simon - the representative of the British Monarchy in Canada - told Forward she felt "deep regret" over the situation.

"We express our sincere apology to Canadians for any distress or pain his appointment may have caused," her office said.

"Historical appointments to the Order of Canada reflect a specific moment in time, and would have been based on limited information sources available at that time."

The Order of Canada is awarded on behalf of the reigning monarch by Canada's governor general, the representative of the British monarchy in Canada. As of 2023, more than 7,600 people have been appointed to the order. When they die, their membership automatically ends.

As fallout from the parliament row continues to resonate, Jewish groups have urged the Canadian government to release a 1980s report which probed the alleged presence of war criminals in the country.

At the time, a redacted version of the Deschenes Commission report concluded there was no evidence tying Ukrainians who fought with Nazi Germany to specific war crimes.

Mr Trudeau said on Wednesday that the government is looking into publishing the full report.

"We have made sure that there are top public servants who are looking very carefully into the issue, including digging into the archives, and they're going to make recommendations to the relevant ministers," he said.

The University of Alberta, where Mr Savaryn was chancellor, has launched a review of donations from people known to have served in Nazi Germany's Waffen-SS.

This includes CA$30,000 ($21,880; 17,950) donated by Ukrainian veteran Mr Hunka, which the university said it would return.
Workers knew something was wrong before a massive explosion at a Pennsylvania candy factory that killed seven people, but the company didnt heed those warnings, federal investigators say.

Despite several employees reporting that they smelled gas at the West Reading factory on March 24, candy manufacturer R.M. Palmer Co. did not evacuate the facility  and that inaction cost lives, the U.S. Department of Labor said in an Oct. 5 news release.

Seven workers will never return home because the R.M. Palmer Co. did not evacuate the facility after being told of a suspected gas leak, said OSHA Area Director Kevin T. Chambers in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Ensuring the safety of a workplace is expected of employers and required by law. The company could have prevented this horrific tragedy by following required safety procedures.

McClatchy News reached out to R.M. Palmer and the company declined to comment.

The explosion occurred at about 5 p.m., NPR reported. The blast completely destroyed one building and damaged other nearby structures, including a church and an apartment building, the outlet reported.

R.M. Palmer is headquartered in West Reading and has been producing chocolates and other candies since 1948, according to officials. It has about 850 employees and ships more than 500 kinds of products to retailers across North America.

R.M. Palmer has been a presence in the community for decades now, West Reading Borough Council Vice President Phil Wert said shortly after the explosion, NPR reported. Wert stressed the importance of supporting the company in the aftermath of the disaster, to give back to them because theyve given to us.

A proposed fine of $15,625 has been leveled at the company for not evacuating, documents show.

Several other citations for different infractions are also being brought against R.M. Palmer. The total fines add up to $44,483, documents show.

West Reading is roughly 60 miles northwest of Philadelphia.
CANTON  A 23-year-old city man will spend 10 to 15 years in prison for injuring two Columbus residents in a drive-by shooting in June.

Stark County Common Pleas Judge Natalie R. Haupt sentenced Gregory Michael Marciano Jr. on two counts of attempted murder and related charges in connection with the June 11 incident.

Other charges were discharging a firearm on or near a prohibited premises and two counts of felonious assault. Each charge carried a specification that a gun was fired from a motor vehicle. A gun specification carries a five-year prison sentence.

Marciano shot a 35-year-old man in the arm and abdomen, and a 37-year old woman in the leg, according to court records filed by the county prosecutor's office. The document says he fired the gun from a motor vehicle and across a street. Marciano shot at them at 12th Street and Gibbs Avenue NE shortly after midnight.Marciano fled was arrested hours later at his home in the city's northeast section.

Drive-by shooting: Canton man faces attempted murder charge

Reach Nancy at 330-580-8382 or nancy.molnar@cantonrep.com.

On X, formerly known as Twitter: @nmolnarTR

This article originally appeared on The Repository: Gregory Marciano gets prison term for Canton drive-by shooting
POPPONESSET BAY  Standing at the edge of a converted pontoon boat anchored in Popponesset Bay, environmental researcher Nicole Corbett held a small monitor as Barnstable Clean Water Coalition field operations manager Luke Cadrin lowered a scientific instrument array attached to a length of rope into the dark water.

The 25-pound benthic rig fashioned from PVC pipes and weights carried a video camera and two lights to the shallow bottom. Corbett, of the Popponesset Water Stewardship Alliance, peered at the monitor where a real-time video from the camera was displayed, then showed it to Cadrin.

"There's Gracilaria and there's dead Codium on top," she said, pointing out the invasive red algae and seaweed observed at the bottom.

It wasn't an encouraging sight. Nor was the clump of smelly, black sludge  a compaction of decomposed algae and seaweed  that came up when Cadrin pulled up the anchor.

Environmental researcher Nicole Corbett, left, watches as Barnstable Clean Water Coalition field operations manager Luke Cadrin lowers a camera into Ockway Bay on Sept. 28 in Mashpee, to take video of the shallow area. Corbett has been studying seaweed and jellyfish to better understand water quality in Cape Cod embayments and estuaries, especially Popponesset.

For the past few years, Corbett has undertaken a study of invasive seaweed species in waters around Mashpee and Barnstable, looking at how nutrient enrichment from septic systems and runoff down the Mashpee River and in Ockway and Popponesset bays may be affecting accumulations of drift algae and seaweed along the beaches on Nantucket Sound. She's also investigating the causes and species involved with more frequent and longer-lasting jellyfish blooms, and whether they are related to the water quality.

She recently applied for federal nonprofit status for the Popponesset Water Stewardship Alliance, formed in 2021, to support the efforts. A science teacher at Abington High School who's spent many summers in and around the waters of Mashpee, Corbett is helped by volunteer citizen scientists living near Popponesset Beach, as well as students.

She also collaborates with fellow scientsts, including Amy Costa from the Center for Coastal Studies  who helped design a water testing program for Popponesset Beach and processes samples  along with Jennifer Dijkstra from the University of New Hampshire, Donald Anderson of the Woods Hole Oceangraphic Institution, and Brian Lapointe of Florida Atlantic University.

"There's quite a few invasives now," Corbett said as she and Cadrin, with whom she also works, examined strands of invasive seaweed brought up on the instrument rig during a recent outing. "At least half the species we are finding are nuisance species, invasive species, or species that have been migrating up from the south."

Worrisome at the bottom of Cape Cod's waters

It's worrisome, she said, because the bottom of Cape Cod's waters "is the foundation of the ecosystem."

"Historically this would have been eelgrass beds," Cadrin said, who pilots the pontoon, during a stop near the mouth of the Mashpee River. "We would like to get back to a place where eelgrass is growing again. But that's a long way away."

Part of Corbett's goal, she said, "is to educate people about what's going on and give people a different perspective. A lot of people only see the water from the top."

She focuses mostly on the open waters of Nantucket Sound around Popponesset Spit, a barrier beach between Popponesset Bay and the Sound. The waters there have seen a lot of seaweed and algae drifts, as well as jellyfish in recent years, and Corbett wonders how much of that has to do with the nearby bay.

One of the most polluted areas in southeastern Massachusetts

"Popponesset Bay is one of the most polluted areas in southeastern Massachusetts," she said. "Locally, it's the worst."

Corbett's grandparents have had a house in the area since the 1950s and she's been in the water most of her life, she said. She's seen many changes.

"Around the late 2000s I started to notice a lot of seaweed drifting up and building up on the beach," she said. "We started to get some drifts of seaweed that were very, very thick in late summer. It rotted and turned black. It would smell really bad and create a hypoxic condition. It extended 150 feet off the shore."

At one point, she said, the drifts of seaweed made the water off Popponesset Beach appear blood red. In the winter of 2019, that same seaweed drifting around in the summer started to show up in December. It's called dasysiphonia japonica, a species that's native to Japan and China that's "gradually been making appearances along the northeast coastline," she said.

Spot the Dasy program begins

She said the seaweed, which for simplicity she just refers to as "Dasy," was the worst in 2020, in waters off Barnstable, in Popponesset Bay, and down to the shores of Falmouth. It inspired creation of the stewardship's "Spot the Dasy" program encouraging people to report sightings and send in photos of the seaweed  Abington High School graduate Kaylee Donaher helped get it going by uploading photos sent to the team, which includes Corbett's collaborating fellow scientists, onto an interactive map.

The trouble with Dasy is its prolific reproductive ability. As it drifts, she said, "it's still able to reproduce. It releases thousands of spores."

Barnstable Clean Water Coalition field operations manager Luke Cadrin holds sea lettuce and red gracilaria, an algae, that came up on a camera rig in Popponesset Creek on Sept. 28 in Mashpee.

She's looking to investigate how Dasy blooms, as well as blooms of Codium fragile, another invasive Asian seaweed called that's been observed here for about 50 years now, might correlate with nutrient enrichment and climate changes. In the past, Dasy has dropped off around February, but this year it persisted into spring and summer.

A tandem study of jellyfish

Corbett's tandem study of jellyfish is something she "fell into" in the course of her seaweed observations. Changes in the ecosystem have brought swarms of moon jellies  some of them a foot across  as well as jellyfish species normally occurring farther south.

"In 2018, I was swimming along to get around the seaweed. There was this Atlantic bay nettle tangled up in the seaweed, and I got the tentacles all wrapped around my arm," Corbett said, recollecting the encounter that landed her in the hospital.

This jellyfish is a newer species here, she said, "that's been gradually migrating up the coastline and establishing itself." The jelly is normally associated with the Chesapeake Bay area, but the warming waters of the northwest Atlantic  one of the fastest warming bodies of water on Earth  are giving it new territory to inhabit.

A jellyfish sting kit program starts in 2021

In 2021, a jellyfish sting kit program was started: A team effort involving Sophia Loconto from Boston Latin School, Leo Romanski from North Reading High School and Lidia Vidal, an Abington High School graduate and Massasoit Community College graphic design major who designed the artwork on the exterior of some of the kits, as well as the stewardship's t-shirts and website illustrations.

Through the program, kits containing spray and cream, in addition to a hot pack, are placed at various spots along Popponesset Beach  Corbett explained that the hot pack is included because heat helps break down jellyfish venom. This year, some kits were also distributed to the Craigville Beach area, and Corbett said she'd like to expand the program to other beaches where jellyfish are becoming more common.

While moon jellies are thought to be non-stinging, she said people have reported receiving mild stings from them while swimming at local beaches. She experienced it herself. Corbett is curious to learn if there are some environmental conditions that have resulted in the moon jellies developing an irritating mucous or other ability to sting. She's collected tissue samples for testing, she said, noting she's collaborating with scientists at the University of Hawaii on that part of her investigation.

Moon jellies have been prevalent since about 2007, she said, and the bay nettles began showing up around 2016.

"This year was the worst jellyfish year by far," Corbett said. "Some of them have gotten to be about four times bigger than what we've been seeing, and they came out earlier than usual."

Moon jellies can reach up to 12 inches in diameter

Moon jellies have been observed to reach up to 12 inches in diameter, and some of the bay nettles are measuring four feet long with eight-inch diameter bells. Corbett's question is whether rising water temperature, or a nutrient problem, or a combination of both, are making the jellyfish bigger and causing them to show up earlier and stay longer. One theory is that Popponesset Bay may be serving as a jellyfish nursery.

Environmental researcher Nicole Corbett holds a photo on Sept. 28 in Mashpee of a moon jellyfish she took with her underwater camera. Corbett has been studying seaweed and jellyfish to get an understanding of the water quality in Cape Cod embayments and estuaries, especially Popponesset Bay.

As part of her research, she said, she's interested in getting to know Popponesset Bay and Ockway Bay better. Besides the Dasy and Codium, there is a lot of Ulva, also known as sea lettuce, found in these water bodies  a species that thrives even in polluted water. It dies off in the winter and decomposes, adding to the thickening layer of malodorous sludge on the bay floor.

Like Corbett, Cadrin said he's seen many concerning changes. He grew up on the Cape and said he has observed the water quality "definitely declining."

As the invasive seaweeds and algae decompose, he said, "it's taking oxygen out of the water," and "if there's too low oxygen here, things like shellfish can't survive."

Developing filtering oyster beds can help. The Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe in Mashpee has developed oyster beds, and the town of Mashpee is looking to put one at the mouth of the Mashpee River. But Corbett and Cardin agree addressing the issue will require a robust sewering plan, too.

"Cape Cod is beautiful on the surface. It's really what's under the water that tells a different story. I think communicating that is really key," Corbett said. "What the end game is, what the end result is, we don't know. But we are concerned about it. A lot of things have been happening gradually over the past 50 to 60 years, but a lot of things have also happened very rapidly over the last 10 years or so."

Heather McCarron writes about climate change, environment, energy, science and the natural world, in addition to news and features in Barnstable and Brewster. Reach her at hmccarron@capecodonline.com.

Thanks to our subscribers, who help make this coverage possible. If you are not a subscriber, please consider supporting quality local journalism with a Cape Cod Times subscription. Here are our subscription plans.

This article originally appeared on Cape Cod Times: Cape Cod researcher studies water quality effects on seaweed, jellies
A jury has convicted a Cape Coral man who in September 2021 called his roommate's daughter to report her father lay on the floor.

A Lee County jury on Wednesday convicted William Reese, 70, of second-degree murder with a firearm. The jury returned the verdict after a two-day trial.

Cape Coral Police discovered the crime Sept. 13, 2021, when officers responded to a residence after the victim's daughter, Rebecca Mendenhall, came home and found her father dead from apparent gunshot wounds. She then waited outside for authorities.

When police arrived, Reese walked out of the home and told police, "I got a body in there." He was immediately detained in a patrol car. Police initially took Reese into custody on charges of possession of a weapon and ammunition by a convicted felon

Authorities found the victim on the living room floor, covered with a blanket. He had been shot five times. Reese had been staying with the victim and claimed to have no knowledge of what happened.

A search warrant was executed at the home and a Taurus .38 revolver was found. The Florida Department of Law Enforcement confirmed the DNA on the firearm matched Reese's. The bullets matched the bullets used to shoot the victim.

The investigation determined Reese was unemployed and began to cause problems forthe victim, including taking his car, which led to arguments, prior to the murder.

Tomas Rodriguez is a Breaking/Live News Reporter for the Naples Daily News and The News-Press. You can reach Tomas at TRodriguez@gannett.com or 772-333-5501. Connect with him on Threads @tomasfrobeltran, Instagram @tomasfrobeltran, Facebook @tomasrodrigueznews and Twitter @TomasFRoBeltran.

This article originally appeared on Naples Daily News: Cape Coral man guilty of fatally shooting acquaintance he lived with
The man who in 1974 murdered 17-year-old Carla Walker in Fort Worth died in prison in July after less than three years of incarceration, but detectives arent done investigating if and how he may be connected to other unsolved murders.

Glen McCurley, 80, died of natural causes while serving a life sentence without the possibility of parole. He was convicted of Walkers murder in August 2021.

Walker, a 17-year-old Western Hills High School cheerleader, was kidnapped by McCurley on Feb. 17, 1974. McCurley had been out drinking and driving around Fort Worth that night when he came across Walker and her boyfriend, who were parked outside a bowling alley. McCurley attacked the boyfriend and abducted, raped and murdered Walker.

Her body was found on Feb. 19, 1974, in a ditch south of Fort Worth. Walker had been strangled.

Forensic genealogy, using DNA collected in 1974, was what eventually led investigators to identify McCurley as the killer. He pleaded guilty to the murder nearly half a century later, midway through his trial.

Carlas brother, Jim Walker, was 12 when his sister was killed. He said he hopes the fact that McCurley died in prison  after Carlas murder went unsolved for nearly 50 years  will encourage other families of cold case victims not to give up.

We did our job to get Carlas perpetrator caught and brought to justice and it worked out the way it probably should have worked out, Jim Walker told the Star-Telegram this week. We feel for his son, ... but we do feel that justice was served.

Jim Walker keeps photographs of his sister, Carla Walker, who was murdered when he was 12 years old in 1974.

But Carla Walker might not have been McCurleys only victim.

Detectives with the Fort Worth Police Department have been looking into other unsolved homicide cases for possible connections to McCurley. In a video-recorded interview after his arrest, cold case Detectives Jeff Bennett and Leah Wagner asked McCurley if he had killed before or since taking Carlas life. And following McCurleys conviction, the detectives told reporters that they were investigating whether McCurley had any ties to a handful of other killings.

A detective with the cold case unit couldnt immediately be reached for comment on the status of those investigations, but Jim Walker said he suspects McCurley didnt kill only once.

While hes not law enforcement, Jim Walker has been involved in assisting police in investigating cold cases. For decades, he was in close contact with detectives, urging them to remember his sister and continue their investigation. With around 1,000 unsolved murders in Fort Worth, Jim Walker said he knew he had to build bridges with detectives, and then keep those bridge in good shape.

Now Jim Walker works to raise money for cold case investigations and is advocating for the Carla Walker Act both in Texas and in Congress. The law would set aside money for DNA testing in cold cases as an annual line-item in the budget.

Potentially more victims

Through his connections to cold case investigators, Jim Walker knows police have suspicions that McCurley may have been a serial rapist or a serial killer.

And criminal experts agree with that possibility.

The way McCurley abducted, raped and killed Carla Walker indicates a pattern to some experts.

Kim Rossmo, director of the Center for Geospatial Intelligence and Investigation at Texas State University, told the Star-Telegram in 2021 that the MO in Carla Walkers death suggests someone who hasnt only offended once.

This is certainly a pattern of someone that has the characteristics of someone who could reoffend versus the typical murderer who does not, Rossmo said.

Without further investigation, though, Rossmo said at the time that was nothing but speculation.

Its unclear if investigators conducted a psychological evaluation on McCurley before he died. If they didnt, it will be more difficult to determine if McCurley had the capacity to be a repeat rapist or killer.

Certain details of the crime suggested to experts that Carla Walker may not have been McCurleys only victim. The fact that the killer and victim were strangers is one such indicator. But, by itself, thats enough to determine whether he attacked others, Dr. Bryanna Fox, a professor in the Department of Criminology at the University of South Florida, told the Star-Telegram in 2021.

Most murderers know their victims and the killing is a one-time situation, Fox said.

Other people are more intrinsically motivated to commit these crimes, Fox, who is a former FBI special agent, said. They are satisfying an urge to commit the crime; they commit the crime but the urge comes back.

Rossmo suggested that McCurleys urge may have been motivated by sex or power. When the motivation behind a killing or other violent crime seems linked to an urge, he said, it is likely the perpetrator did it more than once.

When a crime against a stranger involves rape or sexual assault, Rossmo said, you would certainly want to explore the possibility that the individual had done something else.

McCurley killing Carla Walker by strangulation could also indicate she wasnt his only victim.

Strangulation is an unusual and difficult way to kill someone, Fox explained.

(Strangulation) almost exclusively happens between people who know each other, she said. We typically cant get quite that angry at strangers. Strangers tend to pull a gun. With strangulation, that person has to be so mad or so committed... that person has to persist when the person is very aggressively trying to get themselves free.

Other Fort Worth women strangled

Several unsolved killings in the 1970s and 80s have similarities to Carlas murder, including two women were strangled in the 70s during the month of February.

Becky Martin, a Tarrant County Junior College student, was kidnapped from the college on Feb. 7, 1973  one year and 10 days before Carla was killed. Martins skeletal remains were found weeks later in a culvert in west Fort Worth, according to police cold case records.

In Feb. 18, 1977, the body of 25-year-old June Ward was found lying next to the curb in the 1000 block of West Fuller in south Fort Worth. She had been strangled. Her car was found at 4800 South Freeway, according to Fort Worth cold case records, and police believe she had gone to look for help after she had car trouble near a parking lot. The case was reopened in 2011 but is still unsolved.

In her victim impact statement during McCurleys sentencing, Cindy Stone, Carlas sister, looked down at McCurley from the witness stand and told him the decades-long pain he caused her family.

I just ask you, if you have done this to anybody else, confess, she said. Because you have nothing to lose. And you have no idea what youre doing to other families and your family. And it needs to end now.

The Carla Walker Act





The Carla Walker Act, introduced last year to Congress by Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, would set aside funding in the annual federal budget to assist law enforcement in obtaining DNA testing for cold cases.

The bill would provide at least $5 million a year to fund federal grants to law enforcement for DNA testing. Jim Walker said that if the bill passes, he expects to see a massive number of violent offenders charged and convicted of cold cases in jurisdictions that didnt previously have access to DNA forensic testing or forensic genealogy.

If youre a bad man or woman and you killed someone 15 or 20 years ago, anything short of incinerating the body, the Carla Walker Act makes it a case not of if we catch you but when, Jim Walker said.

Carla Walker was abducted, raped and strangled to death by Glen McCurley in 1974. In 2021, McCurley pleaded guilty to her killing after police used DNA forensics to identify him.

The bill was inspired by the fact that Carlas killer was identified by investigators with the help of forensic genealogy DNA testing, through which investigators can identify someone using a DNA profile and genealogical records to trace close relatives. Similar methods have seen killers identified, charged and convicted in recent years.

Convictions included those of Joseph James DeAngelo Jr., more widely known as the Golden State Killer, and Lonnie David Franklin Jr., better known by the moniker Grim Sleeper, both in California.

Whether the bill passes or not, Jim Walker told the Star-Telegram he urges families of the victims of other unsolved murders to keep hope alive. Stay in touch with investigators and see if there are any ways you can help them, he said.

Dont let the bad guy win, Jim Walker said. He started the fight  we can finish the fight.

This story contains information from the Star-Telegrams archives.
North Carolina teachers will now be able to get up to two months of paid parental leave after they have a new child, even if theyve recently switched school districts.

The states new law limiting abortions created a paid parental leave option for state employees, including those who work in public schools, the UNC System and the community college system.

But the original version of the law required school employees to work for the same school district for at least 12 months before theyre eligible for the leave.

After teachers complained, state lawmakers revised the requirement in the recently adopted state budget. Now school employees will be eligible as long as theyve worked for the past 12 months for any public entity that offers the leave option.

If the individual goes from one public school unit to another or goes from say DPI (state Department of Public Instruction) to a school system, then the service with the previous employer would count toward that, Ryan Collins, assistant general counsel with the State Board of Education, said Wednesday.

This reflects a change in the law as well as a lot of the feedback from the public, teachers who were concerned about losing this benefit because they had moved school districts.

The state board approved the revised parental leave rules on Thursday. Collins said the new rules should hopefully go into effect Nov. 7.

Leave rules

Employees are entitled to up to eight weeks of paid parental leave after a baby is born and up to four weeks after adopting a child or becoming a foster parent.

Part-time workers will also be eligible for parental leave. The amount they get will be based on a pro-rated share of the hours they work compared to full-time employees.

Charter schools are not required to offer the parental leave. But unless they opt in, charter schools wont be eligible for any of the $10 million the state is providing to schools to hire substitute teachers to cover when educators are on parental leave.
The Chicago Police Board, the nine-person body that metes out discipline in the most serious cases of alleged misconduct by Chicago police officers, is in a state of flux.

No longer does the board have a say in who should be the superintendent of the Chicago Police Department, and the union representing rank-and-file CPD officers contends that officers facing disciplinary charges should be afforded the option to have their cases decided by a third-party arbitrator  a potential departure from 60 years of precedent.

Now under the purview of the Community Commission for Public Safety and Accountability, a new civilian-staffed oversight body, the makeup of the board itself is rapidly changing.

Two new board members, Aja Carr-Favors and Andreas Safakas, were appointed earlier this year. The term of board president, Ghian Foreman, has ended. Another board member, Jorge Montes, publicly announced his resignation from the board last month after he took part in two interviews with the CCPSA.

And last week, during the CCPSAs monthly meeting, the commission announced that it would not recommend retaining two other board members at the end of their terms, Mareile Cusack and Michael Eaddy.

All told, four of the boards nine seats  those once held by Foreman, Montes, Cusack and Eaddy  need to be filled. The CCPSA has submitted the names of six candidates for those positions to Mayor Brandon Johnson, and he has 60 days to make his four choices, which will require City Council approval.

The six nominees are:

 Rebecca Cook, the chair of the NAACPs West Side Branch Criminal Justice Committee. Cook previously has spoken in opposition to the CPDs use of a gang database, according to WTTW, and the CCPSA previously nominated her to sit on the police board in March, city records show.

 Debra Gittler, founder and executive director of ConTextos, an anti-violence organization in the South Loop that also operates in El Salvador.

 Oreal James, previously appointed by Gov. J.B. Pritzker to the states Prisoner Review Board, he resigned in 2022 after drawing heavy criticism for voting to parole two men convicted of killing CPD officers.

 Cathryn Crawford, a defense attorney for more than 25 years, including at the Lawndale Christian Legal Center. Like Cook, Crawford was also nominated for the police board in March. During a CCPSA meeting in the Albany Park neighborhood in May, Crawford urged that the next CPD superintendent eliminate the departments tactical and gang units that are notorious for acting with impunity and violating our citizens rights. She also called for an end to CPD foot chases and the creation of stronger mechanisms for officers to report misconduct among their colleagues.

 Kyle Cooper, a Chicago Police Board appeals officer.

 Dr. Niama T. Malachi, founder of the Social Consult, an organization that, according to its website, offers management, leadership and other training courses.

Before the six nominees were announced, Foreman, the outgoing police board president, commended his soon-to-be-former colleagues.

Im really proud of the work that the police board has done, Foreman said during the CCPSA meetings public comment period. Im proud of the work that all of our members individually (have done). Doesnt mean that I always agree, we fight like family fights. And we dont always agree with each other, but we all come to it from a different perspective, right? We all come with it with our own individual biases, with our own perspectives. Were a really diverse group.

Foreman  who conceded he was not a regular attendee at church  concluded his comments with a quote from the Gospel of Matthew, urging the commissioners to be cautious in their choices for police board nominees.

Judge not, lest ye be judged, for the judgment that ye judged ye shall be judged, Foreman said. I want you to think about that carefully.

CCPSA Commissioner Yvette Loizon thanked Foreman for his 13 years on the police board and said the commission debated at length before settling on the six nominees.

There were many people who applied to serve on the police board this time around and did not make our list of nominations, Loizon said. The decision on whose names were going to be submitted to the mayor and whose names were not going to get submitted was a very, very difficult one that we discussed and thought about and debated for quite some time.

Montes, who announced his resignation from the board last month, said he was the first sitting board member to reapply for his seat about a year ago, so I became the guinea pig.

The interview process was a slow churn, Montes said, and it became laborious and time-consuming and not what I signed up for.

Montes, an attorney who was previously a spokesperson for the Illinois attorney generals office and served on the Prisoner Review Board for 16 years, also decried the CCPSAs decision to not nominate Eaddy and Cusack for reappointment.

There is something to be said for having institutional history of the board, and removing people that are very seasoned and have been on the board for a very long time is not healthy, Montes said. I understand their efforts to reform  Im all for it, by the way, we need a lot of reform, yes  but you dont throw the baby out with the bathwater, and thats what I think theyre doing.

Eaddy and Cusack did not respond to messages seeking comment.

Activists had sought for decades to change the citys often convoluted police discipline apparatus, but matters were codified in 2021 when the City Council created the CCPSA, a civilian-led body with oversight powers over the police board, CPD superintendent and the chief administrator of the Civilian Office of Police Accountability.

Meanwhile, the Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 7, which represents rank-and-file officers, detectives and retirees, sought earlier this year to remove 22 pending cases from the police boards docket and instead have them decided by a third party. That effort was spurred by an arbitrators award that found CPD officers have the right to have those cases tried behind closed doors. The police board denied the unions request though, and the arbitrators award cannot take effect without approval from the City Council.

Earlier this year, when the CCPSA was in the middle of finding finalists for the then-vacant CPD superintendent position, Commission President Anthony Driver Jr. stressed that the body would maintain political independence.

The consequences are the old Chicago Way, where weve seen time and time again where you have a very clout-heavy city, where people do favors for folks and people get positions through political influence, and it hasnt worked, Driver said in July. Our city has done this, has operated in the same way for decades, and we have not had good results.
Wang Yuanyuan (C) of China spikes the ball during the Women's Classification Pool E of Volleyball between China and Vietnam at the 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou, east China's Zhejiang Province, Oct. 5, 2023. (Xinhua/Zhu Zheng)

HANGZHOU, Oct. 5 (Xinhua) -- China thrashed Vietnam 3-0 to top Pool E on Thursday and will take on Thailand in the women's volleyball semifinals at the Hangzhou Asian Games.

Both Vietnam and China had secured their top-four places before their clash, and the hosts took only 54 minutes to smash Vietnam 25-13, 25-13, 25-11 and take top spot in Pool E. Yuan Xinyue grabbed a game-high 17 points.

Elsewhere, Japan beat Thailand 3-0 (25-23, 25-19, 25-23) to seal first place in Pool F. Both teams had also secured their semifinal spots prior to the match.

Thailand, ranked second in Pool F, will take on China, while Vietnam will face Japan in Friday's semifinals.

In other matches, South Korea rallied to beat DPR Korea 19-25, 25-21, 25-9 and 25-20, while Chinese Taipei overcame Kazakhstan 16-25, 25-15, 25-23 and 25-18. 

Ding Xia (R) of China passes the ball during the Women's Classification Pool E of Volleyball between China and Vietnam at the 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou, east China's Zhejiang Province, Oct. 5, 2023. (Xinhua/Zhu Zheng)

Thi Bich Thuy Tran (top) of Vietnam spikes the ball during the Women's Classification Pool E of Volleyball between China and Vietnam at the 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou, east China's Zhejiang Province, Oct. 5, 2023. (Xinhua/Zhu Zheng)

Wang Yunlu of China saves the ball during the Women's Classification Pool E of Volleyball between China and Vietnam at the 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou, east China's Zhejiang Province, Oct. 5, 2023. (Xinhua/Zhu Zheng)

Yuan Xinyue (L) of China dinks the ball during the Women's Classification Pool E of Volleyball between China and Vietnam at the 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou, east China's Zhejiang Province, Oct. 5, 2023. (Xinhua/Gong Bing)

Audience cheer during the Women's Classification Pool E of Volleyball between China and Vietnam at the 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou, east China's Zhejiang Province, Oct. 5, 2023. (Xinhua/Gong Bing)

Players of China celebrate scoring during the Women's Classification Pool E of Volleyball between China and Vietnam at the 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou, east China's Zhejiang Province, Oct. 5, 2023. (Xinhua/Gong Bing)

Li Yingying (C) of China spikes the ball during the Women's Classification Pool E of Volleyball between China and Vietnam at the 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou, east China's Zhejiang Province, Oct. 5, 2023. (Xinhua/Zhu Zheng)

Players of China celebrate winning the Women's Classification Pool E of Volleyball between China and Vietnam at the 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou, east China's Zhejiang Province, Oct. 5, 2023. (Xinhua/Zhu Zheng)
A Charlotte barber who fraudulently received pandemic disaster-relief loans  and later asked the government to forgive the debt  hosted a hair and fashion event while out on bond after pleading guilty last Wednesday.

Evan Agustin Perez, 35, defrauded the U.S. Small Business Administration and its lenders when he obtained $720,000 in loans across 17 months, according to Dena J. King, the U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina.

The money reportedly went to Augies Wish Foundation, EMP Haircare and Enterprises, T.O.P. Salon Suites, Touch of Precision School of Barbering, Touch of Precision Barber Lounge and Roads to Success Early Learning Center.

Perez Instagram account promotes those businesses  and another account featuring French Bulldogs  to his more than 14,700 followers.

A text post shared Monday read U gotta take ur Ls the same way u take ur Ws... Like a MF Boss! Perez captioned the post Now back to the business!

It was unclear if Perez was referencing the fraudulent loans and his guilty plea in the post.

Perez and Edward Whitaker  a 55-year-old Texas man who was found guilty in a multi-million dollar fraud scheme  applied for the loans using false information about Perezs business income, number of employees, gross revenues and expenses from April 2020 to September 2021, the U.S. Attorneys Office said. Months later, they filed forgiveness applications containing false information.

After pleading guilty last Wednesday, Perez hosted the Good Hair Fest, which featured food, artists and vendors on Sunday, according to his social media. Perezs sentencing date has not yet been determined, according to the news release. The maximum penalty for his wire fraud conspiracy offense is five years in prison.

Whitaker, who in January pleaded guilty to a money laundering scheme that helped people get fraudulent COVID-19 disaster relief funds, faces up to 20 years in federal prison with his wife and co-conspirator, 50-year-old Schunda Coleman.

The couple pleaded guilty to disbursing more than $15 million in loans, according to previous information from the Eastern District Court of North Carolina in January. The duo also used middlemen who were paid to recruit people to submit fraudulent loan applications.

This couple orchestrated a vast scheme to steal taxpayer money meant to help small businesses weather a global pandemic, said U.S. Attorney Michael Easley in January. ... We are vigorously pursuing criminals who ripped off public programs for profit while the pandemic crippled local businesses.

The Attorney General established the COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Task Force in May 2021 to combat pandemic-related fraud.

Anyone with information about allegations of attempted pandemic-fraud can report it by calling the Department of Justices National Center for Disaster Fraud Hotline at 8667205721 or by using the complaint form at www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.
CHICAGO  Mayor Brandon Johnson announced Wednesday he will visit the southern U.S. border imminently, as city predictions that buses from Texas would spike to new heights were turning true.

In a post-City Council news conference Wednesday afternoon, the mayor said Chicago was now expecting at least 14  and as many as 22  buses that day and delivered a promise: I am going to the border as soon as possible. He did not specify when.

Earlier in the day, his deputy chief of staff, Cristina Pacione-Zayas, told the Tribune that city officials were making plans to send a delegation to the Texas border for a learning expedition as the number of asylum-seekers sent on chartered buses from southern border cities to Chicago reaches record levels.

Were trying to get out there pretty soon. Its imminent, because we really need to understand the process at the border. What the situation is. See it firsthand, Pacione-Zayas said.

Immigration rates in border cities are up by the thousands, due to a combination of poverty, violence, immigration policy changes and word-of-mouth from migrants who have arrived in places like Chicago. El Paso Mayor Oscar Leeser said recently his city was at a breaking point and welcomed the buses carrying hundreds of migrants to northern sanctuary cities.

More than 17,000 migrants have arrived in Chicago since the first bus from Texas arrived in August 2022. As of Wednesday, there were over 9,000 migrants in city-run shelters, more than 2,300 sleeping at police stations as they wait for shelter openings and over 700 sleeping on the floor at OHare International Airport.

Pacione-Zayas said its unclear who or how many people would go on the expedition, but the goal of the trip is to speak with government and nonprofit leaders who are at the source of the busing.

City officials were still having internal conversations about the trip, Pacione-Zayas said, and it would likely be in the next few weeks.

I think we need to have some conversations about managing expectations in Chicago, Pacione-Zayas said. People need to also understand how things change radically with our change of seasons.

The mayors deputy chief of staff said she envisioned migrants coming off buses with wet shoes in the middle of December. She said its reckless to send people who have traversed multiple countries on foot  carrying the trauma from their long journey, and many with preexisting medical conditions.

Its a vision volunteers who help migrants say they witness regularly.

They arrive. Theyre starving. They dont have any clothes. The babies have dirty diapers, said Annie Gomberg, a lead volunteer organizer at the Austin District police station on the West Side.

A week before his scheduled budget address, Johnson nodded to the tremendous sacrifice that Chicagoans were taking on for asylum-seekers. Johnsons budget must outline how the mayor plans to plug a $538 million deficit partially due to the rising migrant costs.

The mayor has not ruled out new revenue to account for the gap.

Johnson also addressed ongoing discord in Black communities, including on the West Side where he lives. During Wednesdays meeting, some Black public speakers interrupted and condemned him on Chicagos migrant response.

I know theres been a tremendous burden particularly on Black Chicago. I am fully aware of that. Yeah, I know where I live, Johnson said. Yeah, I know how many schools have been shut down in Austin. Mental health clinics. Administration after administration has taken away from Black people. Not mine.

He shot down unspecified critics who believed that Black residents feel shortchanged by migrant services.

When individuals say that Black folks want what migrants want, its not true. Its not, Johnson said. Comparing the conditions in which descendants of slaves have had to endure to migrants who are sleeping on floors, I question how much you actually care and love about Black people and understand their condition.

Meanwhile, U.S. Rep. Jesus Chuy Garcia on Wednesday wrote a letter co-signed by 28 other elected officials in Illinois to President Joe Biden and Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, asking the administration to provide more federal resources to respond to the migrant crisis.

The letter urged the Biden administration to provide humanitarian parole and work permits, a better process of issuing green cards, flexible Federal Emergency Management Agency funding for shelter expenses and legal support services.

_____

(Chicago Tribunes Laura Rodriguez Presa contributed.)

_______
Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson (D) said Wednesday that his administration will visit the southern U.S. border to assess the migrant situation as soon as possible.

At a press conference Wednesday, Johnson confirmed he would go visit the southern border soon but suggested he did not have concrete plans and was not ready to provide a timeframe.

We need to go assess the situation. Just like our team has gone to D.C. We need better coordination, quite frankly, he said, stressing how serious this dynamic is on the southern border.

Going to the border is to make sure that everybody knows that my administration is committed to making sure that we are putting together the full force of government at every single level to ensure that these families, who, by the way, theyre not illegal. Theyre asylum-seekers. They are protected by international law, Johnson said.

Johnson was pressed repeatedly to give a sense of when he plans to visit the border and several times said soon.

I am going to the border as soon as possible, he added. But I gotta coordinate that with running the government and making sure that my wife and children are secure as well.

In recent months, Illinois has seen an influx of migrants, specifically in asylum-seekers. Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker (D) recently wrote a letter to the Biden administration pressing for additional help.

In the letter Monday, Pritzker claimed that more than 15,000 migrants had arrived in Illinois in the 13 months since the first bus of asylum-seekers from the border reached the state. Johnson on Wednesday said the U.S. Department of Homeland Security had sent a team to the state.

Johnson in his remarks also stressed the burden this has on Black residents in Chicago.

Im doing my part to continue to make sure that Chicagoans who have been in this city, who have needed support and particularly our Black families  I know theres been a tremendous burden particularly on Black Chicago. I am fully aware of that, Johnson said.

Johnsons confirmation of his loose plans to visit the southern U.S. border comes the same week New York City Mayor Eric Adams (D) intends to visit the border. Adams reportedly said his goal is to counteract the message that New York is open to migrants, and instead to make clear that the city is at capacity and that they should not come.

Asked at the press conference whether his message to migrants is not to come to Chicago during winter time, Johnson said, No.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
CHICAGO - The migrant crisis is bringing more attention to the city's ongoing homeless problem.

A new ordinance called Bring Chicago Home could get the green light from the Chicago City Council.

This would fund housing and services for homeless people across the city.

Mayor Brandon Johnson says he is in support of this ordinance.

Homeless advocates say there are 68,000 people in Chicago who are homeless, with 20,000 of them being kids and teens.

The ordinance would increase the real estate transfer tax for building sales over $1 million to raise the necessary money.

Those who back the ordinance say it would impact less than 4.2 percent of homes sold.

The new tax would generate $163 million annually to be dedicated to combating homelessness.

The money would be legally used for programs that alleviate homelessness, including assistance for children, veterans and women recovering from domestic violence.

Opponents say the measure is a disguise to raise taxes.

If given the green light in City Council, the measure would be on a March 2024 ballot referendum.
San Juan County Fire & Rescue could be in for a significant restructuring over the next few months if a plan presented by Chief David Vega to the County Commission on Tuesday is approved.

While presenting an annual report on the status of the department to commissioners, Vega focused largely on the agencys manpower woes, which are in large part a product of a decline in the number of volunteer firefighters over the last seven years. San Juan County Fire & Rescue depends heavily on those volunteers to augment its roster of only 19 uniformed, full-time firefighters who are charged with covering an area of more than 5,000 square miles and 11 fire districts.

Vega said the department has more than 160 volunteers, but only half of them are active. That has left some of those districts understaffed at certain times  to the point that Vega said some of them could be looking at being shut down by the New Mexico fire marshal because they dont meet state coverage standards.

To eliminate that possibility, Vega wants commissioners to approve a measure during the next board meeting to dissolve the countys fire districts, consolidating them under one entity.

San Juan County Fire & Rescue could see its 10 fire districts dissolved and consolidated under one entity soon under a plan being promoted by Chief David Vega.

Specifically, he said, that would allow the department to meet the state-mandated minimum of having four trained firefighters respond to every structure fire. Currently, the department only gets credit for the number of trained firefighters who respond to such incidents from the district in which it occurs. So if a firefighter from another district responds, as is frequently the case, his or her participation does not count toward meeting that state standard.

The average number of personnel responding to all call types for the department has been in decline for several years, Vega said. From a high of 5.49 in 2018, the number had fallen to 3.43 by 2023.

Of the countys 10 fire districts, seven do not meet the mandated state standard for having at least four trained members respond to each structure fire.

David Vega

If the state fire marshal was to come in today and do an audit on us, technically, they would be able to say, You have to close your doors down because you do not meet this standard, Vega said.   That keeps me up at night.

To put that matter further in perspective, Vega cited figures from the National Fire Protection Agencys standards of coverage, which recommend that 15 firefighters should respond to each low-complexity structure fire. San Juan Countys average of 3.43 is less than one-fourth of that number.

Vega, who took over as chief eight months ago, said his tenure has been challenging so far.

It has been eight months marked by adversity, he said, though he noted the department also has shown its resilience in that time.

Most of Vegas report to the commission was devoted to outlining the reduction in the number of volunteer firefighters the agency has seen over the past several years. When he joined the department as a volunteer in 2011, he said, it had approximately 300 volunteers.

A decline in volunteer firefighters over the past seven years has led to manpower issues for San Juan County Fire & Rescue, Chief David Vega says.

We were a very robust department at that time, he said.

But since 2016, he said, the volunteer ranks have been in decline. On Oct. 1 of that year, he said, the department counted 250 volunteers. By Aug. 1, 2023, he said, that number had shrunk to between 150 and 160  half of which cannot be counted on to respond regularly.

Part of the reason for that reduction, he said, is a requirement that all volunteer firefighters receive the same basic training as a full-time, professional firefighter, including a mandate that they pass the fire academy. Vega likened that to taking a full-time course load for one semester of college.

Many people who might be interested in volunteering simply dont have the time to do that, he noted.

The situation is the same not just across New Mexico, but across the country, Vega said, explaining that the COVID-19 pandemic had a significant impact on volunteer firefighter numbers.

There is not a county fire chief in the state of New Mexico Ive talked to who is probably having a similar conversation with this county commission, Vega said.

San Juan County Fire & Rescue's response time to some calls has increased significantly in recent years because of a lack of volunteers, Chief David Vega says.

That lack of help is having a very real impact on response times in San Juan County, he said. The frequency of retones  a situation in which the district in which a call is reported did not send a response team and a team from another district takes over  has increased markedly, according to Vega.

Since Aug. 5, there have been 77 retones for service in the county, he said  something that used to happen rarely, if ever. In each one of those cases, there was a significant delay in getting service to the reporting party, he said, estimating that calls that should be responded to in five to 10 minutes are, in some cases, not seeing a response for 20 to 30 minutes.

The process of seeking approval for and instituting the consolidation of departments will take two to three months, he said, noting that the state fire marshal will need to approve it.

Its not just me flipping a switch, he said.   Its not a fast process.

But Vega has other changes in the works for the department that he believes will help. He said he already is in the process of restructuring the agencys administrative staff to put more firefighters in the field, and there are 18 new firefighters currently going through the cadet academy.

Thats an outstanding number, he said.

Additionally, Vega said, he would be coming back to the commission soon to seek approval for the hiring of more full-time firefighters. But he acknowledged that the agencys expenses already are running high, with more than $5 million in trucks and other pieces of equipment being targeted for replacement over the next five years.

I do intend to bring some solutions to you, he said. I dont like presenting problems without solutions.

Mike Easterling can be reached at 505-564-4610 or measterling@daily-times.com. Support local journalism with a digital subscription: http://bit.ly/2I6TU0e.

This article originally appeared on Farmington Daily Times: Chief David Vega seeks approval to dissolve individual fire districts
[Source]

A photograph of two Chinese athletes embracing has been scrubbed off social media and online platforms in China, purportedly due to an inadvertent reference to the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre.

Censorship controversy: The image shows Chinese hurdlers Lin Yuwei and Wu Yanni locked in a hug after their women's 100-meter hurdles final on Oct. 1 at the Asian Games in Hangzhou. Their lane numbers, 6 and 4, formed the numbers "64," which many interpret as a reference to the date of the highly sensitive event.

About the massacre: The Tiananmen Square massacre remains one of the darkest chapters in modern Chinese history. On June 4, 1989, Chinese military tanks rolled into Beijing to violently suppress students protesting for democracy in Tiananmen Square. The crackdown resulted in a tragic loss of life and became a symbol of government repression. Discussion on the event is considered taboo in China and any public references to it are tightly controlled by the government.

Scrubbed off online: State broadcaster CCTV originally posted the photograph on Weibo but removed it shortly after. Subsequent searches on the platform failed to yield the same image and it is nowhere to be found on Chinese search engine Baidu.

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The timing of the purported censorship incident is notable, as it occurred on China's National Day, a day when authorities are especially vigilant against any form of dissent that might distract from the celebrations.

Influence over sporting events: The incident is part of a broader picture of China's control over international events, particularly involving Taiwan. At the Asian Games, Taiwanese athletes are required to use the name "Chinese Taipei" instead of "Taiwan."

Despite the political backdrop, China attempts to maintain a welcoming image to Taiwanese athletes and fans during the Asian Games. The opening ceremony saw a warm reception for the Taiwanese delegation, with Chinese President Xi Jinping in attendance. Events where Taiwan succeeds often feature Chinese fans cheering, showcasing China's strategy of wooing Taiwan's people while exerting military pressure.

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BEIJING/MANILA (Reuters) - China has condemned a mission by four Philippine ships to re-supply Philippine troops on a disputed South China Sea atoll, saying the vessels had entered its waters in the Spratly Islands without its permission.

The Philippines said on Wednesday it had successfully sent supplies to its troops stationed on a World War Two-era transport ship-turned-military outpost on the atoll despite attempts by China's coast guard to block it.

While China is in dispute with several of its neighbours over its extensive claims in the South China Sea, its relations with the Philippines have been particularly fraught recently over the issue, especially since Ferdinand Marcos Jr took over as Philippine president last year.

"Philippine supply ships and two coast guard ships entered the waters ... in China's Nansha Islands without permission from the Chinese government," China Coast Guard spokesperson Gan Yu said a post on its website, using China's name for the Spratly Islands.

The atoll in the area is known as Ayungin in the Philippines, while China calls it the Renai Reef. Also known as the Second Thomas Shoal, it is 105 miles (109 km) off the Philippine island of Palawan.

A small number of Philippine troops live on board the old navy transport ship, the BRP Sierra Madre, which the Philippines grounded on the shoal in 1999 to reinforce its sovereignty claim.

China Coast Guard said in its post that it issued stern warnings and added it firmly opposed the illegal Philippe transport of materials to the ship that "sits on the beach" illegally.

The Philippines last completed a resupply mission to the grounded ship on Sept. 8. A month earlier, a China Coast Guard vessel fired water cannon at a Philippine supply boat during a similar attempt, drawing condemnation from the Philippines and old ally the United States.

China has told the Philippines to tow the vessel away but Manila has rejected the demand.

The Philippine National Security Council (NSC) said its re-supply and rotation mission was completed despite attempts by a significant number of China Coast Guard and Chinese Maritime Militia to "harass and interfere" with it.

"These missions are a legitimate exercise of the administrative functions of the Philippine government," the NSC said.

China claims sovereignty over almost the entire South China Sea, pointing to a line on its maps that cuts into the exclusive economic zones of Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei and Indonesia. The Permanent Court of Arbitration in 2016 said that the line on China's maps had no legal basis.

(Reporting by Ryan Woo, Karen Lema; writing by Engen Tham and Kaiwen Xu; editing by Robert Birsel)
Room for Activities

In a matter of less than two years, China assembled three modules of its space station dubbed Tiangong, an orbital habitat that can accommodate a crew of three astronauts.

And while it's still significantly smaller than the International Space Station  which took well over a decade to complete  that could soon change.

China is now planning to expand the station with an additional three modules, Reuters reports, offering the country and its international partners an important alternative to the ISS, which is set to be retired by the end of the decade.

Even with the additional three modules, Tiangong will still be only about 40 percent of the mass of the ISS, per the report  but a growing space for research in orbit is still arguably a lot better than not having one at all.

Heavenly Palace

Space contractor the China Academy of Space Technology (CAST) announced this week that the station's lifespan will also be 15  not the previously announced ten  years, according to Reuters, meaning that it'll outlive the ISS by several years if things go according to plan.

NASA astronauts are technically not allowed to visit the new station, as US law forbids any collaboration between China and the space agency.

China, however, has said its airlocks are open to international astronauts.

Meanwhile, NASA is encouraging the private space industry in the US to build private space stations. While companies like Axiom Space have broken ground on developing segments of such a habitat, we still have yet to hear of any concrete plans to start launching modules into orbit.

Russia also announced last year that it's planning to construct its own space station for a crew of up to four cosmonauts, though its recent track record in space renders the credibility of that plan shaky at best.

With the ISS soon out of the picture, our permanent presence in Earth's orbit is about to look significantly different. And with China making massive leaps in exploring our corner of the solar system, it's become the world power to watch.

More on the station: Chinese Astronaut Lights Match in Space
A tour guide has been filmed shouting at the group she was leading because they refused to shop for gemstones while on the trip.

A video that captured the incident has gone viral on Chinese social media, with the guide said to have shouted for an hour while tourists were on a bus from Guangzhou to Guizhou, in southwest China, at the end of September, reports VnExpress.

The guide reportedly took her guests to several shops that sold gems but allegedly became angry when the majority of the tourists did not purchase anything.

She threatened to cancel the trip and leave the group where they were if they did not spend money, and even branded them stingy  and the argument became more heated when one of the group said it is the tourists choice to shop or not, reports Sing Tao Daily.

Officials from the Guiyangs Culture and Tourism Office are investigating the incident along with other law enforcement agencies, and are working to verify the identity of the tour guide.

In one response to the video, a viewer wrote: Do not force shopping upon tourists.

The clip was filmed ahead of Golden Week, the longest annual holiday in China, this year taking place from 29 September until 6 October. The annual event sees millions of domestic and international visitors travel into and across the country.

Its not the first run-in between tour guides and their groups this year.

In July, a tour guide in Chinas Yunnan province provoked online debate after waking up a tourist who had fallen asleep on the bus, shouting at her for being disrespectful.

The unidentified tourist had been visiting Lijiang  a preserved ancient town  and uploaded a video of the guide on 9 July.

In the video, the guide asks her: Dont you think sleeping on the bus means you dont respect me?
The March 24, 2023 explosion killed seven people at R.M. Palmer's facility in Reading, Pennsylvania. Michael Rubinkam/The Associated Press

The Department of Labor has fined a candymaker in Pennsylvania $45,500.

In March 2023, a gas leak caused an explosion at the company's factory, killing seven workers.

The company, R.M. Palmer, should have evacuated those employees, according to federal investigators.

Federal investigators are blaming a Pennsylvania-based candy company for the deaths of seven of its own employees in a block-leveling explosion earlier this year, saying it should have evacuated its factory after workers first reported smelling gas.

The blast came on a Friday evening in March, obliterating R.M. Palmer's facility in Reading, about 60 miles northwest of Philadelphia. In July, the National Transportation Safety Board identified the cause as a natural gas service fitting that had been retired in 1982 but was still connected to the system and was leaking just a couple of feet from pipes carrying heated chocolate.

In addition to the fatalities, another 11 people were injured. Three families in neighboring buildings also had to evacuate their damaged homes.

While R.M. Palmer may not be responsible for the gas leak, investigators with the Department of Labor and its Occupational Safety and Health Administration accuse the company of negligence and a couple of serious violations of standards: failing to "evacuate workers during a natural gas leak inside the building" and failing to clearly mark an exit.

"Seven workers will never return home because the R.M. Palmer Co. did not evacuate the facility after being told of a suspected gas leak," OSHA Area Director Kevin T. Chambers said in a statement released Thursday. "Ensuring the safety of a workplace is expected of employers and required by law. The company could have prevented this horrific tragedy by following required safety procedures."

In total, the Department of Labor is proposing fines of $44,500 for the alleged violations.

R.M. Palmer has about two weeks to contest the findings, which would punt the issue to the OSHA Review Commission, an independent federal agency. In a statement, the company  which makes treats ranging from chocolate coins to Yoo-Hoo candy bars  said it plans to do just that, arguing that the department has made unsubstantiated claims of there being a gas leak "inside" the Reading factory.

The company "intends vigorously to contest OSHA's citations, which it believes are legally and factually unsupported," R.M. Palmer said in its own statement. "We have always put the safety of our employees and community first."

To date, the National Transportation Safety Board's ongoing investigation has only identified a leak in the pipes operated by the local utility. However, both companies have been sued for ignoring federal warnings that the type of gas pipeline fittings used by the Reading factory were prone to cracking.

Read the original article on Insider
TOKYO, Oct. 5 (Xinhua) -- Japan on Thursday started the second round of its release of nuclear-contaminated wastewater from the crippled Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant into the Pacific Ocean.

Despite mounting concerns and opposition among local fishermen as well as other countries, the discharge commenced at around 10:30 a.m. local time, according to the Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO), the plant's operator.

TEPCO said it plans to carry out the release over 17 days to discharge 7,800 tons of the radioactive wastewater, roughly the same amount as in the first discharge, which ended on Sept. 11.

Hit by a 9.0-magnitude earthquake and an ensuing tsunami on March 11, 2011, the Fukushima nuclear plant suffered core meltdowns that released radiation, resulting in a level-7 nuclear accident, the highest on the International Nuclear and Radiological Event Scale.

The plant has been generating a massive amount of water tainted with radioactive substances from cooling down the nuclear fuel in the reactor buildings, which are now being stored in about 1,000 storage tanks.

The Fukushima plant has stored more than 1.3 million tons of nuclear-contaminated wastewater, and the whole discharge plan will continue for more than 30 years, according to TEPCO.

The ocean discharges have been facing severe backlash both at home and abroad.

A group of 150 people in Japan, including fishery workers in Fukushima Prefecture, filed a lawsuit against the Japanese government and TEPCO last month to call a halt to the controversial ocean discharge.

The plaintiffs claimed that the ocean discharge violates their fishing rights and threatens the rights of consumers to live peacefully. They were also seeking nullification of nuclear regulators' approval of facilities installed for the water discharge and a ban to be placed on the release.

Prior to the second release, Tokyo resident Hiroshi Asano told Xinhua that the Japanese government and TEPCO are deceiving people by calling nuclear-contaminated water "treated water".

It is "putting the cart before the horse" for the Japanese government to ask China to lift ban on Japanese marine products, he added.

On Wednesday, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova criticized Japan over a lack of transparency and a failure to provide full access to information regarding the water release.

At the General Conference of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) held in late September, Vice Chairman of the China Atomic Energy Authority Liu Jing said the discharge of the Fukushima wastewater is a major nuclear safety issue, as it is an unprecedented artificial release of contaminated water from nuclear accidents into the sea.

There is a lot of uncertainty about the cumulative effect caused by the release of large quantities of radionuclides into the sea, said the Chinese nuclear official, noting that Japan has failed to give a credible and scientific response to the international outcry.

Shaun Burnie, senior nuclear specialist at Greenpeace East Asia, questioned the water management operations at the Fukushima plant and the overall decommissioning plans of TEPCO, which currently has no plans that will remove the nuclear material or stop groundwater from becoming contaminated.

"This means that the discharges that began in August 2023 will have no end, not 20 or 30 years as stated by the Japanese government," he said.

He further pointed out that the entire process conducted by TEPCO, the IAEA and the Japanese government was always intended to lead to the discharges.

"It was not a process of assessing the scientific issues and then deciding to discharge," said the expert. "The category of treated water was invented to try and disguise the fact that it is nuclear wastewater."

Doubts and concerns were further fueled after Japan's environment ministry reported last month that potentially radioactive iron scraps from a demolition site near the crippled power plant were stolen and illegally sold by construction workers.

The materials went missing from Okuma town's library and folklore museum being demolished in a special zone around 2.5 miles from the plant, and their whereabouts remained unknown so far, which led to raging criticism that the government's management of radioactive materials was overly rash.

"The incident increased people's distrust of the government. The country should have managed these waste metals responsibly and told relevant parties not to deal with them casually, but it did not do so," Hideki Taki, chairman of the Retired Workers Union of the National Trade Union Council, told Xinhua.

The built-up distrust among the Japanese public would, of course, extend to how the government handles the nuclear-contaminated wastewater, which is now the ocean discharge of the so-called treated water, according to Taki. 
The author with her fiance, wearing the ring they chose together.

The author with her fiance, wearing the ring they chose together.

The other day I was in an elevator and a woman pointed at my hand. Thats a beautiful engagement ring, she said.

Thanks, I replied. I picked it.

She smiled and said, Good for you, just as the doors opened and she exited the lift.

When I say I chose my ring, I dont mean that I sent preferences to my sister, who relayed them to my boyfriend, who did his best to find something that fit my style. My boyfriend and I went to a store together and chose something we both liked, which he purchased and kept for a few weeks until he officially proposed.

I imagined that telling people I chose my own engagement ring would go something like the encounter with the stranger in the elevator. I thought everyone would respond with a similar positivity. Many of them did. But peppered in was a different sort of response: looks of Oh, thats interesting and a quick change of subject. I never experienced outright criticism; it was more a feeling that the person was a bit taken aback, and not in the best way.

I never acknowledged these reactions, not wanting to bring any negativity into my post-engagement love bubble. But months later, after things settled down, those responses stayed with me, less because they bothered me and more because I couldnt understand them. Were they judging me? And why?

For my then-boyfriend and I, selecting a ring together just made sense. Wed been in a relationship for nearly seven years and living together for four, so there wasnt a ton of surprise in the fact that we were headed toward marriage.

Then, take into account our personalities. Im picky and can be very opinionated. Im also a fashion editor, so I cant help but put an excessive amount of thought into everything I wear. My partner, on the other hand, is very go-with-the-flow. He tends to be a little indecisive. Selecting an expensive piece of jewelry is precisely the type of activity that would thrill me and overwhelm him.

Modern weddings and the events surrounding them break from tradition and historic gender roles in so many ways. And for many couples headed toward marriage, the fact that an engagement is coming isnt a surprise  theyve talked about it to some extent. If youre discussing getting engaged, why not talk about the ring, too? Why should there be any shame in wanting a say in a (very expensive) piece of jewelry youre supposed to wear for the rest of your existence?

Over 75% of couples involve their partner in some part of the buying process.Don OConnell, president & CEO of Charles & Colvard

I put a callout on social media to see if anyone else in my orbit had had a similar experience. I never really understood the whole thing of telling your sister exactly what you want so she can make sure your boyfriend picks a good ring, said Grace Runowski, 32, of Mantua, New Jersey. Why not just do that together, as the two people entering into a marriage?

For Runowski, it also came down to a practicality. I do not trust my husbands style, she said. And for her, the process didnt detract from the big day. The proposal itself was still a surprise and romantic and special. It could have been ruined by a bad ring because Im a terrible liar and he obviously knows me well enough to tell if I dont like something and am trying to pretend.

Still, she faced judgment for the decision. Some people seemed truly shocked that I picked my own ring, she shared, adding, I dont really remember anyone older than me loving the idea.

Some people definitely didnt understand, but I was never bothered by it because it was what I wanted, and it worked for us. About as often as people seemed to judge, women would respond with something like, Hell yeah, girl, Runowski concluded.

Conversely, my cousin Danit Ergas shared that she wasnt initially over the moon about the ring her husband chose, and she regretted not being more involved in the selection process.

It is better to decide or talk about it together, the 34-year-old, who lives in Austin, Texas, said of selecting a ring. It will be with you for the rest of your life. Although she now loves her unique ring, she and her husband decided to make a point of asking each other for specific wishes regarding gifts moving forward: Its convenient.

The author chose a unique, vintage-inspired design with three eyelets on either side of the center stone.

The author chose a unique, vintage-inspired design with three eyelets on either side of the center stone.

Suspense is lost, but certainty is gained.

The concept that the ring recipient should be thrilled with whatever they receive doesnt make sense to me. In all other situations, we reject the idea that one partner should control what the other wears  and this is an item the recipient is intended to wear virtually every day for the rest of their lives. Shouldnt the giver want to know with complete certainty that their partner would want to do so?

To be clear, I do understand that many people love the element of surprise, whether its having no clue what the ring will look like or passing along hints and hoping for the best. What I dont understand is that its the presumed default. Wouldnt just as many of us want no surprise at all as those who do? So why dont people talk about it?

This idea made me curious about exactly how common the joint approach is. Don OConnell, who has been in the jewelry industry for over 30 years and now serves as the president & CEO of Charles & Colvard, shared that, in his experience, over 75% of couples involve their partner in some part of the buying process, whether by shopping together or sharing information, and that in recent years we have seen more couples who are jointly involved in the engagement and marital process from start to finish.

While the whisper down the valley method of choosing can be successful, it also leaves room for error as descriptions get lost in translation. What looks dainty or large to one person may mean something entirely different to another.

We find most people would prefer to receive their dream ring rather than be surprised with a ring they are not in love with, OConnell added.

I also spoke with Ariel Alexandrou, who works in sales and design at Ken & Dana Design (where we ended up getting our ring). Her estimate was even more staggering. She approximated that 70% of Ken & Danas engagement ring customers are couples who come into the showroom to shop together and they will often purchase the ring with their partner present. (Some couples opt to keep an element of surprise by letting the recipient select a few top choices and having the ring giver secretly choose one for purchase.)

Those numbers shocked me  not because the process doesnt make sense, but because I never hear people talk about doing it.

Another thing to consider: People who try on their rings ahead of time often surprise themselves with what they end up liking best. Customers shopping for their own engagement ring come in with a particular style in mind, and then when they see it on their hand, they may decide to go in a completely different direction, Alexandrou said. I also often experience clients trying on a stone shape that they think theyve ruled out, and they end up loving it.

It happened to me. What was my favorite ring on jewelers website did not end up being my favorite ring in person. And when I was torn between styles, it was helpful to have my partner there to give his input. One band I found interesting was quickly ruled out after my partner admitted he didnt love the design. Easy. Go team.

Shopping together also gave us the opportunity to explore more distinctive styles than your typical solitaire, halo or pave. I ended up gravitating toward a unique, vintage-inspired design with three little eyelets on either side of the center stone. Its one that I wasnt sure I loved based on seeing it online, but when I put it on my finger, it felt right. And its one that my partner probably never would have landed on alone, nor would he have felt comfortable pulling the trigger on something so nontraditional without confirmation that Id love it.

Surprise rings will always carry risk. Both Alexandrou and OConnell have experienced customers coming back to their stores after a proposal because the chosen ring turned out not to be the recipients style. (So if youre going the surprise route, it is extremely important to select your retailer or jeweler carefully, as some may not offer exchanges or returns, OConnell cautioned.) If you ask me, returning and exchanging your engagement ring after a proposal is a lot less romantic than talking about it ahead of time.

Rather than my then-boyfriend being on a solo mission and me constantly on edge about what might happen when, we were on a journey toward our engagement together. It took the pressure off both of us. We could just enjoy it. We were getting ready to make one of the biggest decisions of our lives, and we were doing it as a team. And when we finally decided on the one, we left feeling confident that we  together  had gotten the perfect ring.

Related...
Hong Kong actor Chow Yun Fat was the BIFF's Asian Filmmaker of the Year honouree (Anthony WALLACE)

Hong Kong film legend Chow Yun-fat on Thursday lamented China's "difficult" censorship while conceding the mainland market's crucial financial importance for filmmakers.

Speaking at South Korea's Busan International Film Festival (BIFF), Chow told reporters that Hong Kong's cinema industry had to learn to play by a new set of rules since the city returned to China's control in 1997.

"We have a lot of censorship requirements in mainland China. Our scripts must go through a lot of different departments for the film bureau", BIFF's Asian Filmmaker of the Year honouree said.

But while Chow said things were "very difficult" for Hong Kong's filmmakers, they also knew it was necessary to reach the "huge" mainland Chinese audience to "make a living".

"We have to pay attention to our government ... otherwise it is very hard to get the money to shoot a movie," he said, adding they still strove to maintain the "Hong Kong spirit".

In announcing this year's honour, BIFF organisers heaped praise on Chow for "spearheading the golden age of Hong Kong cinema" that flowered in the early 1990s, and making "Hong Kong noir" a globally recognised genre.

Three of Chow's films -- "A Better Tomorrow" (1986), "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" (2000) and 2023's "One More Chance" -- will be screened at the festival.

- Freedom -

Along with Tony Leung, his "Hard Boiled" co-star and 2022 BIFF honouree, Chow has long been a well-liked figure in South Korea thanks to Hong Kong cinema's surge in popularity in the 1990s.

Since then, South Korea has cemented its own status as a global cultural powerhouse, and has had explosive successes like Oscar-winning film "Parasite" and the Netflix series "Squid Game".

"It's a good thing that when one industry feels stagnant and unable to move forward, another region can take it even further," Chow said, when asked about the rise of South Korean cinema.

"I believe the greatest strength of Korean cinema lies in its freedom."

Despite his prolific career and global fame, Chow said he still considers himself an "ordinary person".

In 2018, he vowed to donate his fortune to charity after he dies.

Chow quipped Thursday that it was his wife's decision, but added: "I believe that since I came into this world with nothing, it doesn't really matter if I leave with nothing as well."

cdl/cwl/lb
[Source]

Hong Kong acting legend Chow Yun-fat expressed his concerns about China's strict censorship in the film industry while acknowledging the financial significance of the mainland Chinese market for filmmakers.

Chows concerns: Chow, who was named Asian Filmmaker of the Year ahead of this years Busan International Film Festival (BIFF), discussed the challenges faced by Hong Kongs cinema industry since the city returned to Chinas control in 1997. At a press conference, he spoke about stringent censorship requirements and script approvals by various government departments.

Preserving Hong Kong spirit: However, the BIFF honoree emphasized the necessity of reaching the vast mainland Chinese audience to sustain a livelihood, despite the difficulties. He stressed the importance of cooperating with the government to secure funding for movie projects while striving to preserve the Hong Kong spirit in filmmaking.

After 1997, a lot of things changed. We have to pay attention to our government. Otherwise, it will be hard to get the money to make movies. The mainland market is so huge, Chow said, according to Variety.

More from NextShark: Burned Body of Professional Poker Player Susie Zhao Found in Michigan Park

Strength in freedom: At the event, Chow also expressed his love for Korean food and his admiration for the rise of South Korean cinema, noting that its greatest strength lies in its freedom.

Chows legacy: The 68-year-old actor has been a beloved figure in South Korea due to the surge in popularity of Hong Kong cinema in the 1990s. He was honored as the Asian Filmmaker of the Year at the 28th BIFF for his role in popularizing the Hong Kong noir genre globally. Some of his iconic films, including A Better Tomorrow," "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" and "One More Chance," will be screened at the festival.

Despite his fame and successful career, Chow considers himself as an ordinary person. In 2018, he announced his intention to donate his fortune to charity after his passing. On Thursday, he joked that it was his wife's decision but expressed his belief that leaving the world with nothing is inconsequential since he entered it with nothing.

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Chris Christie on Wednesday slammed his Republican presidential opponent Vivek Ramaswamy for vocally supporting Donald Trump.

During an August primary debate, Ramaswamy had accused Christie of running a campaign based on vengeance and grievance against the former president, who is likewise seeking the GOP nomination. In a new interview with Fox News, Christie was asked about that claim and his frequent comments about Trump.

How do you run against someone and not talk about them? replied Christie, a onetime governor of New Jersey.

I look at what Vivek does here  hes practically his [Trumps] wingman. And he says hes the greatest president of the 21st century. Well, if he is, what the hell are you doing running? You should just drop out and endorse Donald Trump for reelection, which I think is essentially what hes doing, he added. I think hes auditioning for a Cabinet position if Donald Trump were ever to become president again.

At the same August debate, Ramaswamy not only called Trump the best president of the 21st century, but vowed to pardon the former president  who currently faces four criminal indictments  if he wins the election.

Trump subsequently praised Ramaswamy as a very, very, very intelligent person and said hed consider the biotech entrepreneur as a running mate.

Ramaswamy has claimed hes not interested in the gig.

In September, when a Fox News host asked what the point of his campaign is if hes not willing to accept a vice presidency, the upstart candidate said he wants to take Trumps America First agenda even further and I cant do that from a number-two position or a Cabinet role.

Still, Ramaswamy has made headlines for occasional criticism of the former president. Last month, he said Trump had made a false promise about repealing the Affordable Care Act health care law. And he has blasted Trumps actions around efforts to overturn the 2020 election results. But he has also duckedquestions about such remarks.

Trump is far and away the front-runner in the GOP race. Ramaswamy is polling on average at about 7.3%, while Christie is at 2.7%, according to FiveThirtyEight.

Watch Christies Fox News interview below.
2024 GOP presidential candidate Chris Christie criticized fellow candidate Vivek Ramaswamy for not going after former President Trump in his campaign, calling Ramaswamy practically his wingman, in a Wednesday interview.

How do you run against someone and not talk about them? I look at what Vivek does here. Hes practically [Trumps] wingman, Christie said in an interview on Fox News.

He says hes the greatest president of the 21st century. Well, if he is, what the hell are you doing running? You should just drop out and endorse Donald Trump for reelection, which I think is essentially what hes doing, Christie added. I think hes auditioning for a cabinet position if Donald Trump were ever to become president again.

Trump has dominated in essentially all national polls of the 2024 GOP presidential primary race in recent months.

The most recent Morning Consult poll numbers, updated Monday, show Trump with a 48-point lead over his closest opponent, with Trump at 61 percent, followed by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis at 13 percent, Ramaswamy and former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley both at 7 percent, former Vice President Mike Pence at 5 percent, and Christie at 3 percent. No other candidate was above 1 percent.

But candidates have been wary of criticizing Trump too harshly. Christie has been the most critical of Trump, while Ramaswamy has been the least critical of the primary front-runner, frequently calling him the greatest president in recent memory but saying he wants to lead the next generation.

The two had been slated to spar in interviews with Brett Baier on Fox News, but the Republican National Committee reportedly put a stop to the head-to-head debate planned. Both Christie and Ramaswamy were critical of the decision.

Christie repeated his frequent criticism of Trump in the interview, calling him a four-time loser, referring to the losses of the Senate and governorships in 2022, the special Senate election in 2021, the White House in 2020, and the House in 2018.

I have no grievance against him personally. I have a grievance against what hes done to our party. Hes been a four-time loser, Christie said of Trump. He is losing for our party, and it leads to these Biden policies.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
City and county officials debuted a new Sacramento resource center Thursday morning geared toward the homeless in the downtown core at 14th and X streets. The Community Outreach Recovery Empowerment program site, or CORE, opens to community members this week.

The center is contracted to serve some 600 people a year, including but not limited to people in need of behavioral health care, said Stanley Williams, manager of the program. The new site was established this year through a homelessness partnership between the city and the county announced in December.

CORE is funded by the county, while city officials secured the site. Hope Cooperative, a local nonprofit, will run the wellness center.

This is the 11th CORE site in the county. Staff in the building will provide walk-in outpatient mental health care as well as coordination with outside services between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. However, the amenities take a broad view of health: Clients can also watch TV, use computers, do laundry, eat breakfast and lunch, and shower.

Dr. Ryan Quist, director, Sacramento County Behavioral Health, center, celebrates with other dignitaries including Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg, Councilmember Katie Valenzuela, and Supervisor Rich Desmond, after cutting a ribbon during the grand opening of the Community Outreach Recovery Empowerment, or CORE, program site at 1400 X Street in Sacramento on Thursday.

Its utilized as a place to keep people off the streets, Williams said, keep them from going to the hospitals and going into clinics; where they could come and hang out and have sober moments if they want, or a place to feel comfortable to rest instead of on the streets. But we welcome everyone.

Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg addressed the crowd after Ryan Quist, the countys director of Behavioral Health Services, cut a red ribbon with giant scissors.

There is an ill wind blowing in many parts of our community, our state and our country, the mayor said. There are those who believe that if only we could just wish it away, if only we could just move people from unsightly places to I dont know where  nowhere  that somehow its all going to get better. 

If thats all we do, then were simply going to displace people from one street corner to another. Thats why this CORE Center in the heart of the Broadway corridor is so important.

On Sept. 20, the city evicted the people in a homeless encampment in Upper Land Park; by this week, The Sacramento Bee reported that the encampment was back, moved from a vacant lot to a nearby sidewalk and street. The city cleared about 25 people from an encampment near X Street and Alhambra Boulevard last week, but offered all of them spaces at Miller Parks Safe Ground.

Supervisor Rich Desmond applauds speakers at the grand opening of the Community Outreach Recovery Empowerment, or CORE, program site at 1400 X Street in Sacramento for homeless on Thursday. Im happy to witness the transformative impact that this site is going to have in this community, said Desmond who also spoke at the event.

Steinberg also praised the cooperative relationship forged between the city and the county, gesturing to the chair of the Sacramento County Board of Supervisors, who spoke at the event: Let me also thank Rich Desmond  not your district here, Steinberg said. And yet you are here again, representing what true partnership can be.

County Supervisor Phil Serna, who represents the district in which the center sits, was not in attendance. Sernas staffer, Monica Lozano, told The Sacramento Bee that the event was accidentally erased from his calendar.

Katie Valenzuela, who represents the neighborhood on City Council, celebrated the relatively fast turnaround time on this new project.

Looking out at the audience, she said, The problem is hard, but I have to say that the solutions are harder. The solutions are harder. Actually finding the political will to locate a site, to fund the services, to do the actual work of what its gonna take to reverse this crisis  I see a lot of nodding heads across Hope Cooperative and county sides  it is so hard.

Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg, right, and Councilmember Katie Valenzuela, both spoke at the grand opening of the Community Outreach Recovery Empowerment, or CORE, program site at 1400 X Street on Thursday in Sacramento. Its so important to the city and the county to make this partnership agreement successful, said Steinberg.

The Bees Theresa Clift contributed to this story.
The deputy secretary for the Department of Energy pledged to work with the Tri-Cities communities as it makes a decision that will play a role in the long-term future economic development of the community.

In a visit to the Tri-Cities, David Turk pledged DOE would listen to proposals and be genuine about what is beneficial to the community. We are a long-term neighbor to the community.

The federal government is starting work toward picking projects to lease much of the limited land at the Hanford nuclear reservation that is designated for industrial use.

Most of the Hanford site in Eastern Washington is reserved under Hanfords Comprehensive Land Use Plan for preservation and conservation.

Just 10% was set aside in Hanfords Comprehensive Land Use Plan for industrial use.

Now, DOE is looking for organizations interested in leasing 19,000 acres, or about 30 square miles, designated for industrial use for clean energy generation and storage.

Some 19,000 acres in the southeast corner of Hanford are proposed to be leased for clean energy production.

Acreage to be leased covers much of the largest area of land designated for industrial use at Hanford in the southeast corner of the site by Richland in Eastern Washington.

There is only one way industrially that the Richland community can grow and that unfortunately is to the north, said Diahann Howard, Port of Benton executive director at a DOE session to discuss its plans.

So we need to ensure and ask that we have a strategic coordinated vision together with all parties to ensure weve got a balance of generation, new energy opportunities, as well as the industrial that we are going to need in and around it, she said.

Potential uses include small modular reactors, solar, battery storage, bioenergy and clean hydrogen, according to DOE.

Wind would only be considered if new technology is used to prevent vibrations that would disrupt work to detect gravitational waves at the nearby LIGO gravitational wave observatory.

Clean energy developers would have to work around some existing development there, such as the Energy Northwest commercial nuclear power plant and a patrol training academy on land designated for industrial use, and avoid some small areas there that were used to dispose of radioactive waste.

Speeding up Hanford development

The federal government now controls 580 square miles of land adjacent to the Tri-Cities.

The Hanford site land was used during World War II for a secret project to produce plutonium, eventually using it for the Trinity Test bomb detonated in the New Mexico desert and then the bomb dropped on Nagasaki, Japan.

Farmers and orchardists, who owned about 11% of the land, and other early settlers and Native Americans there were forced from what was initially 670 square miles, some already in federal control.

The government continued to use the site to produce nearly two-thirds of the plutonium for the nations nuclear weapons program through the Cold War.

Hanford was used to produce plutonium for the nations nuclear weapons program during World War II and the Cold War. Environmental cleanup is underway now.

Now more than $2.5 billion is spent annually on environmental cleanup at the Hanford site, including disposing of radioactive and hazardous chemical waste. The work, which will not be completed for decades, employs about 12,000 in family-wage jobs.

The plan to use the large swath of industrial land for clean energy production is an opportunity to speed up industrial use of the land, said Ike White, senior adviser for the DOE Office of Environmental Management.

Both he and Turk pointed out that a clean energy park was a vision that came from the Tri-Cities community.

It is the right time for a Hanford land cleanup to clean energy vision to be realized, Turk said.

Ingrid Kolb, director of the DOE Office of Management, said DOE wants to make sure as much clean electricity as possible is being generated on the 19,000 acres.

DOE officials have been talking to officials at Edwards Air Force Base in California, where a 4,600-acre solar array has been installed, she said.

Shrub steppe land at the Hanford nuclear reservation site in Eastern Washington is proposed to be leased for clean energy generation.

A huge project would be amazing, she said. Proposed generation projects must be at least 200 megawatts.

But Jeremiah Baumann, DOE chief of staff for the Office of the Undersecretary for Infrastructure, said DOE would like to maximize economic development for the Tri-Cities community and job creation.

We just dont want to get the cheapest electricity, he said.

Who would use clean energy

David Reeploeg, vice president of the Tri-City Development Council and executive director of Hanford Communities, asked about a broader vision for the industrial land at Hanford with co-located new clean energy to decarbonize existing industry.

We are eager for creativity, Turk said. We are not going into this with some set vision.

David Turk, deputy secretary of energy, discuses leasing 19,000 acres of Hanford land for clean energy projects at Cleanup to Clean Energy Information Day in Richland.

The build out of a large clean energy project should help develop a clean energy industrial base around the project, said Narayan Subramanian, adviser to the energy secretary.

DOE is trying to put the first step forward expanding a clean energy economy that could be used to eventually replace some cleanup jobs at Hanford by expanding clean energy generation, he said.

There was also discussion at the clean energy day between DOE and the Tri-Cities community about DOE projects purchasing the clean energy produced, whether for the Hanford site or for PNNL as their power needs increase and PNNL moves to eliminate fossil fuels and electrify as many of its facilities as possible.

Having a guaranteed purchaser has been suggested as a way to allow new technologies to be demonstrated as other wind and solar projects are proposed on other land in Benton County.

Turk said both good paying jobs and a clean energy transformation that has affordability, has security and has resilience are possible.

Economic development is a core responsibility, plus meeting tribal treaty obligations, of the communities in which DOE is a part, he said.

The Department of Energy released this map showing the location of 19,000 acres at the Hanford nuclear reservation proposed for clean energy generation leases.

DOE has a special obligations to communities that have sacrificed for the nation to make sure the clean energy transition benefits those communities, he said.

No money for the conversion to clean energy projects would come from Hanfords environmental cleanup budget, said DOE officials.

Regulatory reviews will be needed before any work begins on the land, including an environmental review that along with other reviews could take two to four years. Companies and organizations proposing projects potentially would be asked to pay for the review.

DOE is seeking feedback on its Cleanup to Clean Energy initiative at Hanford. Input should be sent to EMCleanEnergy@em.doe.gov by 4 p.m. Oct. 12.

This is not us coming in with a full blown vision, Turk said.

David Turk, deputy secretary of energy, visited Hanfords B Reactor before Cleanup to Clean Energy Information Day in Richland to discuss leasing 19,000 acres of Hanford land for clean energy projects.
Five climate activists were arrested in London after they stormed the stage of the West End production of Les Miserables on Wednesday night, according to the city's Metropolitan Police.

Protesters from the climate action group Just Stop Oil took the stage with orange banners saying "The show can't go on" during the song "Do You Hear the People Sing," the group said in a statement.

Just Stop Oil said the activists locked themselves to the part of the set using bicycle locks at around 8:50 p.m., during the song's crescendo. They said theater technicians were unable to remove the locks, and the theater was emptied by 9:10 p.m.

"The show starts with Jean Valjean stealing a loaf of bread to feed his sister's starving child. How long before we are all forced to steal loaves of bread? How long before there are riots on the streets?" 23-year-old Hannah Taylor, who took part in the protest, said in the statement released by the group.

"Am I not, like Jean Valjean, justified in breaking the law to oppose this criminal government and its murderous policies?" Taylor said. "Ask yourself, will you, like the citizens of Paris in the play, stand by and watch, or will you stand up against our governments' criminal plans and call for an end to new oil and gas?"

Another young person who participated in the action, 19-year-old student Poppy Bliss, said she was terrified for the future.

"I don't want to be disrupting people's evenings out, but I have been left with no other choice," Bliss said in a statement. "Our government is betraying the young and putting everyone's futures on the line for the sake of a few votes. I am doing this because I am desperate."

Activists from Just Stop Oil have been staging events around the U.K. and Europe to bring attention to climate change that have included disrupting major sporting events and vandalizing museum pieces.

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Dr Gianluca Grimalda pictured on his 9,300-mile overland journey to Papua New Guinea. The senior climate researcher at the Kiel Institute in Germany, faces losing his job over his refusal to fly (Gianluca Grimalda)

A climate researcher faces losing his job after he refused to fly home from a fieldwork project in Papa New Guinea to minimise his carbon footprint.

Dr Gianluca Grimalda, who works at the Kiel Institute for the World Economy in Germany, has refused to take flights since 2010 unless there is no other option - a stance that his employer has previously supported.

The academic, who is a member of protest group Scientist Rebellion, described his fear and trauma over potentially being fired in order to hold true to his beliefs.

Maybe I will not find another research position, he told The Independent. Doing research is the thing I love the most in my life.

Earlier this year, the academic embarked on a 35-day, 9,300-mile (15,000km) overland journey including through Iran, India and Thailand to reach Papa New Guinea in the southwest Pacific.

The academic acknowledged that he had been delayed in his return to Germany which he attributed to his group being held hostage and additional security threats in Papua New Guinea. Last week, his bosses sent an official warning and demanded he return to his desk by 2 October, the scientist said.

His salary was also stopped in September, he added, a source of major stress.

I pay for the healthcare of my mum in Italy. One-third of my salary goes to the payment of the healthcare of my mum, he told The Independent via a WhatsApp call from Bougainville Island on Wednesday.

He added: I perceive immoral blackmail in what they were telling me. They wanted me to renege on my moral principles, on my commitment, in order to admit my failure in not having complied with the agreement that I had with them.

Dr Grimalda was waiting to board a cargo ship to begin the first leg of his journey home, a voyage which required special permission from the National Maritime authority of Papua New Guinea, before continuing via bus, train and passenger ferries.

The academic documented his slow travel journey from Germany to Papua New Guinea in an epic Twitter thread (Gianluca Grimalda)

My stance is to not take a plane unless there is no alternative, he said. He explained that on the outbound journey, he was forced to take two flights - one because Chinas borders were still closed in February due to Covid, and another to reach Papua New Guinea from Singapore.

The scientist said that the Kiel Institute has been supportive of his slow travel in the past, and that it has not impacted his work.

I analyse my data, write articles, read articles. There is nothing that I can do in Germany in my office that I cannot do while traveling, he said.

Occasionally I dont have internet while traveling but I just wait a little time and then I can connect to the internet.

Gianluca Grimalda with residents in Papua New Guinea. He says his promise to locals about cutting his carbon footprint has given him resolve (Gianluca Grimalda)

He acknowledged that he was supposed to have returned to Kiel by 10 September but said that he had informed his head of department about the security threats he had faced.

We were held hostage for some hours under machete threat. All of my belongings were confiscated, he said.

I now learned that I should have also informed the personnel office, I was not aware of that. Apparently for the Kiel Institute that was a major infringement of my contractual obligations. But I really had no idea, I thought that informing my immediate supervisor was enough.

In an email to The Independent, Guido Warlimont, head of communications at the Kiel Institute, wrote: We remain committed to our policy of not publicly discussing or commenting on personal legal matters. This is also for the protection of our employees.

In general, the Institute encourages and supports its staff to travel climate-friendly. We are committed to do without air travel in Germany and in other EU countries as far as we can. We pay to Atmosfair to offset emissions through climate protection projects.

Mr Warlimont added that Dr Grimalda planned his trip to Papua with Kiels support, and that the institute had supported a slow travel trip that he made previously.

Flying is one of the most emissions-intensive pursuits an individual can do. A persons carbon footprint increases by ticket class - and rockets with private jet travel.

Dr Gianluca Grimalda crossing a stream with a local resident to reach a village in Papua New Guinea (Gianluca Grimalda)

Domestic and international aviation is responsible for about 10 per cent of transport sector emissions. Roughly 1 per cent of the global population is responsible for more than half of these, the UN says.

Flying is expected to boom in the coming decades as more countries grow their middle classes. Carbon emissions from the airline industry grew by 75 per cent from 1990 to 2012, according to the David Suzuki Foundation. If left unchecked, they could consume quarter of the available carbon budget for limiting temperature rise to 1.5C, the research group said.

Dr Grimalda estimated that by avoiding the majority of flights, he cut his carbon emissions by 90 per cent.

Travelling this way, I will emit 400 kilograms of carbon dioxide. By catching a plane, I emit 4,000 kilograms of carbon dioxide so its a big difference, he said.

The academic said that his resolve had been strengthened by what he witnessed in Papua New Guinea, one of the worlds most vulnerable countries to the climate crisis.

The country is experiencing sea-level rise and more frequent storm surge, forcing coastal communities to relocate. In mountain villages, drought is causing food shortages.

Im going to stick to this promise I made to all these people who are so exposed to climate change without having any responsibility, he said.

Sea level rise is not because of their emissions. People from the US are the ones with the highest carbon footprint in the world, but also Europeans. I dont want to fail these people one more time, even if this means losing my job.

Dr Grimalda said that, by his calculations, even his slow travel plans are equivalent to the average Papuans emissions in one year.

My estimation is the average person from Bougainville emits 400 kg carbon dioxide in one year, he said. To give you a sense of proportion, the average person in the world emits four tons of carbon dioxide in one year [and] the average US citizen emits 20 tonnes.

The Italian academics story has resonated through the realms of academia and beyond. His saga, which he has shared on X, formerly Twitter, has received hundreds of comments and mounting media attention. Fellow academics have written to the Kiel Institute in protest on his behalf.

We need more people like [Gianluca Grimalda], wrote PhD student Tuulia Reponen. You are my hero.

Some 70 per cent of carbon emissions come from just 100 companies worldwide, according to the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Mr Grimalda acknowledges that he would be a fool to think his individual actions could alter the course of the climate crisis.

But I thought that this was the right occasion to really sound the alarm bell, to tell as many people as possible that we really need to change completely our lifestyle, he said.
The growing number of vacation rentals in Cocoa Beach could lead to the city losing one of its elementary schools.

With the decrease in residents in Cocoa Beach as a contributing factor, enrollment at elementary schools in the area has been dropping.

Cape View and Roosevelt elementary schools both serve Cocoa Beach students. Freedom 7 is a "school of choice" that draws students from throughout the county.

The two traditional elementary schools that serve Cocoa Beach students have the lowest student enrollments of the Brevard School District's 57 elementary schools, with Cape View at 308 last spring and Roosevelt at 283. In comparison, 37 elementary schools had student populations above 500, and the average Brevard elementary school had a population of 575.

Roosevelt Elementary School in Cocoa Beach had the lowest enrollment of the Brevard School District's 57 elementary schools. Last spring, it has 283 students and was operating at about 47% of its capacity of 599.

More: Explosion of vacation rentals in Cocoa Beach leaves residents frustrated and angry

Cape View  which also draws students from Cape Canaveral, where the school is located  last spring was operating at about 54% of its capacity of 570, while Roosevelt was operating at about 47% of its capacity of 599. In theory, the combined student populations of Cape View and Roosevelt could be accommodated at Roosevelt.

Cape View's enrollment is down 17% from 371 in the spring of 2019, and Roosevelt's is down 26% from 381 in the spring of 2019. Enrollment figures can drop for a number of reasons, including declining overall population within a school's attendance boundaries; more parents enrolling students in a charter school or private school; and more parents home-schooling their children.

Brevard Countys overall population soared 32.4% from 2000 to July 2022, rising from 476,230 residents to 630,693. But Cocoa Beachs population dropped 9.1% during that span, tumbling from 12,482 permanent residents to 11,341  which is not the normal process for Florida communities, Cocoa Beach Director of Development Services Tanja McCoy said.

From 2017 to 2021, Census data show Cocoa Beach had 1.90 people per household. Florida averaged 2.57 people per household during that span, and McCoy said widespread vacation rentals in Cocoa Beach may be a factor.

Cocoa Beach City Commissioner Skip Williams fears BPS could downsize or close schools if too many Cocoa Beach permanent households are replaced by short-term rentals.

It's going to be a huge economic impact on the area and the property values if we lose our schools. We have A-rated schools, Williams said.

More: 'Soul of Brevard County' up for debate as Commission looks at expanding vacation rentals | Rangel

Former Cocoa Beach Mayor Ben Malik said he has his concerns, too, about the future of the elementary schools.

Brevard School Board Chair Matt Susin said, if a school's student count is shrinking, it would be "an absolute concern" to him.

But Susin added that the district is not discussing closing any schools, and he believes the Brevard School Board is "committed to do anything we can do to keep schools open."

Adjusting school boundaries would be an option to boost enrollment in a school with unusually low student counts, but that is not being discussed at this time, either, Susin said.

Russell Bruhn, chief strategic communications officer for the Brevard School District, said it is the district's goal to have student enrollment near the school's capacity without going over.

But he emphasized that families should be assured that there is no discussion within the district about closing schools or changing attendance boundaries in the Cocoa Beach area. In fact, he noted that Roosevelt over the summer got a new roof and major renovations to the kitchen and cafeteria area.

Dave Berman is business editor at FLORIDA TODAY. Contact Berman at dberman@floridatoday.com, on X at @bydaveberman and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/dave.berman.54

Rick Neale is a space reporter at FLORIDA TODAY (for more of his stories, click here.) Contact Neale at 321-242-3638 or rneale@floridatoday.com. Twitter/X: @RickNeale1

This article originally appeared on Florida Today: Cocoa Beach elementary schools see fewer students as vacation rentals rise
BRUSSELS, Oct. 5 (Xinhua) -- Around 10,000 people, according to the common trade union front, demonstrated here on Thursday to denounce Belgium's draft "anti-protest law," which they argue risks undermining the fundamental right to demonstrate.

The law, tabled by Justice Minister Vincent Van Quickenborne, would introduce a three-year public protest ban for demonstrators convicted at previous demonstrations.

The trade union front and a number of associations fear that this law will be misused by the political authorities to prevent even peaceful demonstrations.

The nationwide strike has considerably disrupted the public transport services, particularly in Brussels. 
Theres nothing like a great cup of coffee and the good vibes that come with it.

But theres also something to be said about a great coffee shop.

And last week, you voted on your favorite coffee shop in Middle Georgia. The winner?

Cathedral Coffee in Macon.

Outside view of Cathedral Coffee in Macon

Since opening in April 2018, Cathedral Coffee has quickly become the talk of the town for many reasons. The shop is located inside Northway Church in Macon and is conveniently located at 5915 Zebulon Road, where there are no other freestanding coffee shops.

So, how did the vision start and how is Cathedral different from other coffee houses?

Well, lets get grinding.

Brewing up the vision

The idea was all from Kevin Mills, our lead pastor [at Northway]. He wanted to do two things: serve the city of Macon and the surrounding areas and then possibly reach them, for the gospel, said Jacob Faircloth, general manager of Cathedral Coffee.

Although the coffee shop is built alongside the church, Faircloth explained that you dont have to be a churchgoer to enjoy the coffee and space.

A beautiful caramel macchiato from Cathedral Coffee is just what you need. courtesy of Cathedral Coffee's Facebook page

Everybody loves coffee and coffee is something people tend to drink and stay, but you dont have to go to church. I have a lot of people that dont even believe in Jesus that come here and thats great, he said. The vision was to provide the physical space for people to use, but also provide a spiritual outlet for a person in need.

Faircloth is no stranger to customer service or the food industry. In fact, you might remember him from the Chick-fil-A here in Macon. Years ago, he worked as a manager at the Zebulon Road location.

Of course, the coffee industry is different and has its challenges; Faircloth and his team prioritize people, each other and their faith above all else.

And this is seen and felt day in and day out at Cathedral.

Friends, Faith & Fueling up

Its tough in the coffee business, Faircloth said.

However, his hopes for Cathedral Coffee are high.

He explained that his goals are threefold at Cathedral because every interaction is important.

Its about how we interact with guests, how we interact with each other and then hopefully how we interact with the gospel and the word, he shared. I want to treat people like people. Youre not a number, youre not a transaction.

For Faircloth and his team, its all about kindness and fellowship, which makes Cathedral unlike most coffee houses or other businesses in general.

Just ask Brittney Robinson, a Cathedral Coffee employee since 2020. My favorite thing about working at Cathedral Coffee is that we take our time and get to know our customers, she said. Its a really friendly and fun environment.

Faircloth and his team will sometimes even huddle up and pray together before or in between shifts. And he said that if anyone is having a hard time, he wants them to talk about it and hug it out.

I dont think theres a ton of other coffee shops doing that, he said.

Speaking of unique things about Cathedral Coffee, there are several items named after people on the menu.

Located under Cathedral Specials on the menu, theres The Ellie, a white mocha latte with caramel drizzle, The Pat, a honey vanilla oat milk latte, and The Jim, a sausage, bacon, egg and provolone cheese sandwich on sourdough bread.

Faircloth explained that Ellie was a Stratford student who visited everyday and got the same drink, which is now named after her. The Ellie is now the most popular item at Cathedral Coffee.

The Pat is named after Pat Chastain, the director of the Rescue Mission in Middle Georgia. And The Jim is named after a friend who visits almost daily.

So, if there was a menu item named after you, what would it be? For me, The Chelsea would be a pumpkin spice latte, quad shot with two pumps of caramel. Hint, hint. Just saying.

Carefully crafted

From the coffee to menu items, Cathedral Coffee carefully crafts each and every order. But before the orders came rolling in, the design was creatively curated.

Cathedral Coffee is Macons cozy little coffee shop inside of a church. Cathedral Coffee's Facebook page

Tall brick arches, open space, a stained glass window above a warm fireplace and vintage wooden pews. Anywhere you look, the beauty is everywhere.

Stained glass art inside Cathedral Coffee in Macon

The design is based off of that stained glass window right there by the fireplace, Faircloth said, pointing towards the breathtaking, massive hand-painted focal point.

The window, which was originally a part of Vineville Baptist Church long ago, was carefully moved during renovations and restored in the design of the coffee shop.

Wooden pews inside Cathedral Coffee

Faircloth shared that the general aesthetic of the shop is set up like a Cathedral and everything, down to the wooden pew seating, comes from whats painted on that stained glass window.

Whats brewing next?

Faircloth shared his future plans for Cathedral, which consist of more tables and chairs for the influx of customers, as well as an extended drive-thru and more events.

Cathedral Coffee has long been a space that can be rented out for parties, receptions, baby showers and other celebrations. The space is very versatile and catering can be ordered through Faircloth and his team or food can be brought in from other vendors.

Faircloth said he wants to add an open-mic worship night, where people can sign up to perform with Cathedrals acoustic guitarist to back them up. Coffee would of course, be served.

Other than that, Faircloth shared that he just wants to continue serving the community by dropping off free coffee at businesses, schools, clubs or events.

I just want to bless people, Faircloth said.

Show Cathedral Coffee some love by leaving us a comment of your favorite thing about the coffee shop. Or email me at cmadden@mcclatchy.com
Columbus residents will soon be able to find toys and gifts for their children in a new boutique toy shop opening in Highside Market later this fall.

Sude Dellinger, an Alabama native, has developed Dragonfly Toys & Gifts to offer something more than the Barbie dolls and race cars that can be found in most toy stores giving customers a different toy store experience.

I really want it to be unique items that you may not see anywhere else or definitely are not sold anywhere else, Dellinger told the Ledger-Enquirer.

Dragonfly Toys & Gifts is a boutique toy shop coming to Highside Market this fall. The shop will focus on items that cant be found anywhere else.

The store will carry lines like Sonny Angel dolls, she said. Dellinger realized the dolls could have wide-appeal at all ages when she saw a 20-year-old woman at a market with one tucked in her pocket. Another example of products Columbus residents can find at Dragonfly includes the Maileg Dollhouse.

I want it to be items that are not sold anywhere else but here, she said. That way you can find something completely new that might delight you.

Dellinger owns two Airbnb properties and manages another, she said, so there are no plans to expand the Dragonfly Toys & Gifts store outside of Columbus.

Highside Market is in downtown Columbus, Georgia. 09/15/2023

Ive done three stores in New York City and two stores in Atlanta, Dellinger said. And I really love the idea of Highside Market.

Dragonfly will occupy a 265 square-foot space inside Highside Market. The development by the Cotton Companies is a mix of new construction with preserved structures that date back to 1939, according to a news release.

It will be a hub for dining, retail, office and event space at 211 13th St., and is expected to start a rolling opening this month leading to a grand opening in December.

The developments concept is what motivated Dellinger to create Dragonfly, she said, and she wants the store to be something that is unique and exclusive to Columbus.

It feels like being part of a community, Dellinger said. And its a gorgeous three buildings.

How Columbus became home

Dellinger opened a womens boutique store in New York Citys Hells Kitchen in 2001. She followed that boutique up with two more stores in Gramercy Park and on the Upper West Side.

In 2005, Dellinger gave birth to triplets and wanted to take her career on a path that fit her new family.

Dragonfly Toys & Gifts is a boutique toy shop coming to Highside Market this fall. The shop will focus on items that cant be found anywhere else.

She moved the family to Peru for two years where Dellinger developed Feather Baby, a baby clothing line.

I wasnt really into womens clothing anymore, she told the Ledger-Enquirer. Because, you know, having triplets  you dont really fit in your jeans.

Dellinger grew Feather Baby until the collection was being sold to 500 boutiques in the U.S., including two stores in metro-Atlanta.

One day, she was staying at an Airbnb in rural Georgia when she noticed there was a nearby town called Columbus. So, Dellinger took a day trip to visit the city where she ended up exploring Broadway. She ate yogurt, watched kids playing on their scooters and enjoyed the RiverWalk.

After the trip Dellinger decided to move to Columbus part-time. She split her time between Atlanta and Columbus for a while before making her move to Columbus permanent.

I love the sidewalks, Dellinger said. I love the river. I love Broadway.
BOSTON (AP)  Three years after a Christopher Columbus statue was removed from a square in Providence, Rhode Island, the bronze cast has re-emerged, this time in a park in Johnston, Rhode Island, about 9 miles (14 kilometers) west of the capital.

The statue had been targeted by vandals, at one point being splashed with red paint with a sign reading Stop celebrating genocide leaning against its pedestal. In 2020, the statue was removed.

Activists say celebrating Columbus ignores the rape, murder and genocide endured by Indigenous people during the European settlement of North America.

Johnston Mayor Joseph Polisena Jr. said residents of his heavily Italian-American town are pleased to give the statue a new home.

Its important and not just for Italian Americans. Its American history. Its world history, if you look at it from a historical perspective, he said.

While not the first European to land in North America  thats believed to be Leif Erikson  Columbus helped usher in a wave of European exploration and expansion, and ultimately the era of globalization, Polisena said.

After the statue was taken down and placed in storage, it was purchased for about $50,000 by former Providence Mayor Joseph Paolino Jr. who then reached out to see if Johnston would take it, Polisena said.

The statue  which depicts Columbus pointing forward with his right arm while holding a globe in his left  will be formally unveiled on Monday.

I dont want to see it destroyed. I dont want to see it melted down, Polisena said. People should learn about him, the good and the bad.

Polisena said he understands the criticism targeted at Columbus, but said its unfair to use the standards of 2023 to measure the actions of someone who lived five centuries ago.

Not everyone is thrilled with the relocation of the 15th century explorers likeness.

The statue should never have been resurrected after it was taken down, according to Harrison Tuttle, president of Black Lives Matter Rhode Island PAC.

You dont have to be Indigenous to understand the harm that Christopher Columbus inflicted, he said. To see it go back up is really tone deaf to all the progress we made just three years ago.

Tuttle said he understands the connection that many of Italian descent feel for Columbus, but said he shouldnt be the vehicle for the pride Italian-Americans feel for their contributions to the country.

He also said he wished the mayor had spoken with members of the community who were offended by the decision install the statue.

My grandmother who helped raise me was Italian and I grew up in a majority Italian neighborhood, he said. At the same time, there are better ways to celebrate your heritage and culture without celebrating someone who in my opinion is the exact opposite of what Italian culture is.

Other cities have grappled with the legacy of Columbus statues.

In 2020, Bostons Christopher Columbus statue located in the citys largely Italian North End neighborhood was taken down after its head was knocked off.

In 2020, a Columbus statue in Richmond, Virginia, was torn down by protesters, set on fire and thrown into a lake. In 2022, a Columbus statue was removed from the California Capitol rotunda. Also last year, crews removed a plywood box that had been placed over a Philadelphia statue of Christopher Columbus.

Camden, New Jersey, also removed their Columbus statue.

Darrell Waldron, director of the Rhode Island Indian Council said theres no love lost between Native peoples and the legacy of Columbus.

I think Columbus opened a Pandoras box for Indigenous people, he said. People who were the victims of rape and murder and genocide were not writing the history.

At the time that the statue was being removed in Providence, Waldron  the son of a Narragansett father and Wampanoag mother -- said he and others hoped that the statue would have been sold off and kept out of public view, with any proceeds going to help fund a Native statue.

I would love to see a statue of Native women, he said. It doesnt always have to be a man.

The debate over the statue comes amid a larger debate about what to call the federal holiday that falls on Monday, Oct. 9, this year.

In 2021, President Joe Biden issued the first-ever presidential proclamation of Indigenous Peoples Day, lending a boost to efforts to refocus the federal holiday celebrating Columbus toward an appreciation of Native peoples.

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Commander, Joe and Jill Bidens German Shepherd that has a penchant for biting Secret Service personnel, has officially been removed from the White House after a recent spree of incidents, a White House spokesperson confirmed Wednesday. Commander is not presently on the White House campus while next steps are evaluated, Elizabeth Alexander, communications director for the first lady, told CNN. The announcement came hours after CNN reported that the 2-year-old pup has bitten more people than previously known publicly. The Secret Service said this week that Commander has been involved in 11 biting incidents with its officers, but sources told CNN that Commander has also chomped down on executive residence staff and other White House workersattacks that have gone unreported to the public. One bite was so severe it reportedly sent someone to the hospital, while others have been minor enough to go untreated, the sources said. The Daily Mail published photos Wednesday that showed Commander jumping up and biting a White House staff memberseemingly confirming the sources reports.

Read it at CNN

Read more at The Daily Beast.
Commander Biden , like Major Biden before him, has been removed from the White House following reports that the German Shepherd was biting multiple Secret Service agents. Curiously enough, West Wing staffers, who said they love the dog and described him as friendly and happy to be pet, never seemed to have a problem with him.

CNN said last week that the two-year-old dog bit another agent, in what was the 11th known incident of aggression (but not all aggressions were bites). The first 10 incidents became public in July after the conservative group Judicial Watch obtained Secret Service emails through Freedom of Information Act requests.

Read more

Some current and former White House staff speculated to Politico on Monday that Commander simply doesnt like the Secret Service agents, who were described as enormous men with guns acting suspiciously hostile everywhere. Thats a stark contrast to the staffers who said they smile at the dog, give him ear scritches, and, presumably, talk to him in cooing baby voices...and have never been bit.



I cant say I blame Commander for apparently not trusting these agents. A recent book even revealed that Biden was concerned that some agents were MAGA sympathizers who had some questionable behavior on January 6, plus, Biden didnt believe the stories Secret Service agents told about Major.

Staffers told Politico that, despite their positive interactions with him, they still assumed the dog would be leaving soon, probably before Thanksgiving. He didnt even make it that long, but if I were in charge, I would have implemented a remedial plan for the Secret Service agents first. You know what you did.

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Community members are rallying around a postal worker who was shot and carjacked in Mar Hill, according to reports from WLOS.

Teresa Ramsay said the incident occurred while she was delivering mail on Sept. 5.

When those who frequent the old Mars Hill Theatre found out what happened to Ramsay, they jumped in to help.

I was like, Hey, lets do a music benefit. Lets do it at the hometown place we do trivia at, fundraiser organizer Jammie McHone said.

A month later, Mars Theatre Brewing Co. is set to host a fundraiser to help Ramsay with medical bills, according to WLOS.

ALSO READ: Man accused of shooting, carjacking mail carrier in western NC taken into custody

Its a big celebration, McHone said. Not just because she made it, but its the fact that itll be all of her friends and family together.

Organizers said although thousands of dollars have already been raised for Ramsay, they are still expecting a big turnout.

All the proceeds are going to her, Spruill said. Were doing 35% of our sales, which will go towards her. Its all about taking care of her.

To make a donation via the GoFundMe page set up for Ramsay, click here.

VIDEO: Man accused of shooting, carjacking mail carrier in western NC taken into custody
Commuters were asked to avoid a portion of downtown Boise as emergency crews responded to a grass fire and downed power lines Thursday afternoon.

The Ada County Highway District said in a 3:45 p.m. news release that downed power lines near 13th Street caused several stoplights to stop functioning and power outages. ACHD also said on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, that the grass fire was near 13th and River streets.

The roads reopened and the fire was put out by around 5:45 p.m., the highway district said in a follow-up post on X.

The outages and grass fire are causing significant delays and road closures, according to the release.

The Boise Police Department, according to a post on X, closed 13th and 14th streets south of River Street. The Boise Fire Department also was at the site, the post said, working with police to clear the scene. Its expected to take a few hours.

Roughly 130 Idaho Power customers were being affected by the outage at about 4:30 p.m., according to the companys website. That number originally was up over 1,000. ACHD said in its 5:45 p.m. post that power was restored and that Idaho Power was finishing up any needed repairs.
Ransomware attacks are more advanced and targeting schools, hospitals, financial services, and even local governments.

Now federal lawmakers are exploring ways to try to prevent these attacks.

The ransom note stated that all data on all devices and servers was encrypted including our backup systems, said Dr. Lacey Gosch, assistant superintendent of technology for Judson Independent School District in Texas.

Dr. Gosch leads the technology department for a school district in Texas. During a recent congressional hearing, she told lawmakers that a 2021 cyberattack on the district cost them $547,000 in ransom. She added the breach also affected more than 400,000 people.

Now shes urging Congress to provide more support to help school systems facing these same threats.

We learned that the calvary does not come and must rely on our own resources. No state or federal agency ever visited or offered recovery assistance to us, said Dr. Gosch. Insurance coverage was helpful but those go predominately to attorney fees, data mining and identity protection. It doesnt cover ransom payments or costs for upgrades to mitigate that damage.

Cybersecurity experts warn ransomware attacks are also becoming more expensive. Thats because they say hackers are demanding money in exchange for agreeing to not sell or share the stolen information.

The actors have increased access to technical capabilities, anonymous payment systems, and safe havens from which to operate, said Grant Schneider, senior director of cybersecurity services at Venable, LLP.

Some democrats believe investments from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law will help make a difference.

Providing more than a billion dollars in vital investment to help both private and public entities who fall victim to cyberattacks, said Rep. Gerald Connolly, (D) Virginia.

While some Republicans want to develop better ways for federal law enforcement agencies to collect and share information about these hackers and their attacks.

The bottom line is its too easy today for malicious actors to do too much damage and make too much money with too few consequences said Rep. Nancy Mace, (R) South Carolina.

Some school leaders also want Congress to establish new standards for protecting social security numbers in all systems.
Turning Point USA president and conservative activist Charlie Kirk is coming back to the Sacramento area this month as the special guest speaker at the American Councils annual gala.

The American Council is a Rocklin-based 501(c)4 founded by Tanner DiBella, communications director at Destiny Church in Rocklin. The groups mission is to promote a biblical worldview in the public sphere.

The American Council gala is a private event that celebrates the great work we do in the community, said DiBella.

We invite voices from across the nation with diverse political views to speak each year. This year, Mr. Kirk will be sharing about the importance of faith communities engaging with their local communities. DiBella added. Giving speakers the opportunity to share different perspectives with us allows us to constantly evaluate how we can strengthen the family and protect religious liberty.

Kirk, whose speaking fee ranges from $50,000-$100,000, was last in Sacramento in March, when the UC Davis chapter of Turning Point USA invited him to speak.

His arrival sparked a protest, which resulted in two people arrested for spraying graffiti. About 100 protesters clashed with campus police.

Kirk, an early supporter of Donald Trumps first presidential campaign, has become a polarizing figure with comments hes made about racial justice, LGBTQ rights, gun violence, and education. He has referred to trans women as an abomination and supported unfounded claims of mass voter fraud in the 2020 election.

Kirk visited Destiny Church to speak with pastor Greg Fairrington in November 2020, at the peak of COVID-19 shutdowns and mask mandates.

No one is being forced to be here today, Kirk said in one service. You come knowing the risk of this virus, knowing your own health situation. You know that theres a chance that you might interact with someone thats a carrier, and youre willing to take that responsibility. Thats what liberty is all about.

He came back to Destiny in March 2022 for another conversation with Fairrington.

I speak at churches all across the country, he told Fairrington. But this is one of the healthiest churches that I have a chance to visit... This is a church that stands and fights.

The gala will take place Oct. 28, in Roseville. Tickets range from $250 to $20,000. Past special guests have included former Trump White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee and South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott, a 2024 presidential candidate.
The most important health care cases headed to the Supreme Court this term have, at first blush, nothing to do with health care.

One concerns regulations on small fishing vessels. Another covers rules for cracking down on financial fraud. A third asks whether the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau can fund itself without congressional approval.

Yet all three cases are part of a broader conservative effort targeting the administrative state, and could set precedents that block the FDA from expanding abortion pill access, the CDC from implementing pandemic protections, and HHS from ordering insurance companies to cover HIV prevention drugs, depression screenings and other preventive care.

Several cases that more directly attack health agencies are also working their way through lower courts, and their outcome could hinge on how the Supreme Court rules this term.

The slew of cases has alarmed legal experts, patient advocates and former health officials from both parties who say the consequences for the health care system  from drugmakers to nurses to patients  could be dire. If the court moves in the coming months to restrict federal agencies powers, they warn, a raft of health policy decisions would be punted to a gridlocked Congress.

Mark McClellan, a former FDA commissioner and CMS administrator under President George W. Bush, is among those warning that limiting the executive branchs ability to make policy  especially health agencies making rules based on the latest science  would upend how government functions.

This is a really key feature of effective government, McClellan said. Disrupting that reliability  not having an effective mechanism to replace it with  means more uncertainty about health, probably less investment  needed to keep Americans safe.

The conservative groups behind the legal efforts, which would constrain most federal agencies if successful, argue that health policy is one of many areas where bureaucrats have overreached, and see the cases as a corrective step.

This is business as usual when it comes to holding federal agencies accountable for failing to follow the law, said Erik Baptist, a senior counsel for Alliance Defending Freedom who is leading several challenges to federal agency powers, including FDA regulation of abortion pills. We've seen many recent examples where an agency may purport to have expertise in an area, but when it exceeds its statutory authority to prescribe new laws or regulations on a vast group of society or industry, then it's the court's obligation to rein in that unlawful activity.

While right-leaning groups have long wanted to shrink the federal governments role in health care and other areas, their efforts have recently found a smoother path through the courts. Many of the current cases have been funneled to a handful of Texas judges and the conservative-leaning 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, hoping for rulings that will tie the hands of agencies working to expand access to care, combat infectious and chronic diseases, and curb insurance and pharmaceutical industries.

Its an effort to use friendly judges to take health care away from people, said Leslie Dach, a former senior counselor to the secretary of Health and Human Services during the Obama administration. And as dire as the consequences are for the specifics of each lawsuit, the total effect will be even more dire.

Just days before the Supreme Courts term began on Monday, advocacy groups representing patients fighting cancer, ALS, epilepsy, mental illnesses and other conditions warned the justices that rolling back federal agency powers and putting the onus on Congress to write and update regulations would cause chaos. Their amicus brief argued low-income people, the elderly and people with disabilities would bear the brunt of any ensuing harm.

Mary Rouvelas, the managing counsel and legal advocacy director at the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network and lead author of the brief, pointed to the pending fishing boat regulations case that attacks Chevron  the precedent that courts defer to federal agencies interpretations of laws. Should the justices overturn Chevron, she cautioned, crucial updates to federal health programs would grind to a halt, and groups would have a green light to file lawsuits to strike down any longstanding rules.

Congress can't be legislating every time the science changes  it's just not physically possible, she said. If Congress is not capable of even funding its annual programs in a timely fashion, I don't see them legislating about what a geographic area is for the purposes of a specific nursing home statute.

Overturning Chevron is only one tactic. Other cases before the Supreme Court this term and cases likely to reach the high court in the future target federal agencies in different ways. Some contend that Congress never delegated to federal bureaucrats or advisers the authority to make health care rules. Others argue that agencies shouldnt be able to tackle major questions  like vaccine mandates and abortion pill regulations  without explicit permission from Congress.

One case pending before the justices concerns the FDAs ability to regulate abortion pills. The case will likely turn on whether the Supreme Court believes the agency adequately considered the safety risks or made a series of arbitrary and capricious decisions to make the pills more accessible.

But groups on both sides of the lawsuit see its potential to place more sweeping restrictions on the FDAs authority. The group Students for Life recently told its members that a blow to Chevron would aid its efforts to ban abortion pills because judges wouldnt be compelled to defer to the FDAs expertise. Meanwhile, the Biden administration and pharmaceutical industry have warned in statements and legal briefs that striking down agency policies allowing the pills to be mailed and dispensed at local pharmacies would spark a wave of challenges to other drug approvals  and hamper the regulators ability to make rules based on science.

Right-leaning groups have successfully targeted many other federal health regulations in recent years using similar arguments  going after mask and vaccine mandates, bans on smoking in public housing, and discounts on some prescription drugs  and are expected to lean heavily on this tactic going forward.

Its a longer road to really chipping away at agency discretion and agency expertise to decide what good policy is, said Rachel Rebouche, a dean of Temple Universitys Beasley School of Law who specializes in reproductive health law.

Another case now before the right-leaning 5th Circuit targets more than a decade of HHS rules around preventive care services that insurance companies must cover with no out-of-pocket costs for patients under the Affordable Care Act  policies that have made STD tests, HIV prevention drugs and mental health screenings free for tens of millions of people.

The conservative employers behind the case argue that because the United States Preventive Services Task Force is made up of outside experts who were neither Senate-confirmed nor chosen by a Senate-confirmed agency head, its recommendations of what services should be covered must be set aside and cant be enforced.

If they prevail, insurance coverage would likely never evolve to reflect new scientific research or medical needs, warned Dach, the former HHS official.

You need people who understand the science to continually upgrade these things  thats why Congress established these mechanisms, he said. They cant tell a woman when to get a mammogram. Theyre not reading the latest medical literature to see whats changed. We really expect Congress to sit down with a list of preventive services and decide which we do and dont need anymore? Its a joke, but one where the punchline could result in people dying.

Many conservatives are cheering on these challenges with renewed enthusiasm following Covid-19 mandates that they saw as government going too far.

The Heritage Foundation recently touted the pending Supreme Court cases as an opportunity to wake Congress up with the only thing that might do the trick: a judicial slap in the face, arguing the House and Senate have ceded too much power to federal bureaucrats and need to take it back. The Christian Employers Alliance argued in a brief to the top court that agency officials are far too willing to impose their personal political agendas, citing several different vaccine and health insurance mandates as examples of overreach.

But some on the right warn that the ripple effects from these cases could make it harder to keep Americans safe.

Marc Scheineson, a former FDA associate commissioner under President George H.W. Bush, whos now a partner at Alston & Bird LLP, said that because Congress tends to write vague legislation, agencies need the right to clarify statutes through their rulemaking powers. If courts continue to question that right, he warned, any industry or advocate with enough resources will have the incentive to sue to take down any regulation they dont like.

Were going to be back in the wild wild west where whoever has the biggest gun and is able to draw it the fastest wins, he said.

Scheineson added that should courts side with those seeking to disempower federal agencies, the government could have even more trouble retaining and recruiting workers  especially scientists  who could earn more in the private sector.

If their experience is not being honored and their hard work is not being rewarded, the motive for dedicating their lives to these issues is definitely removed, he said.

The Supreme Courts rulings this term threaten to hamper future policymaking for conservatives and progressives alike.

The Trump administration relied on health agency authority to push Medicaid work requirements, restrictions on medical research using fetal tissue and job protections for doctors refusing to offer contraception or other services that clashed with their religious beliefs. Left-leaning organizations tried to knock down those rules with lawsuits just as groups on the right are doing now with Biden administration policies.

The difference, said University of Michigan law professor Nick Bagley, is that conservatives have a 6-3 Supreme Court majority, so they are going to win more. Thats just gravity.

The current wave of cases seeking to defang the administrative state, he added, is about limiting the scope of federal power and undermining the decisions of democratically-elected presidents.

Its profoundly anti-democratic no matter who is doing it, he said.
HANOI, Oct. 5 (Xinhua) -- Wood pellets and wood chips are a bright spot in the shipment of Vietnam's forestry products, the Vietnam News reported Thursday, citing the Vietnam Timber and Forest Product Association.

The value of Vietnamese wood chip exports reached 1.1 billion U.S. dollars in the first seven months of this year, with China and Japan being the biggest importers, according to the General Department of Vietnam Customs.

The two East Asian countries made up nearly 95 percent of the total volume and value of Vietnam's wood chip exports in 2022 and over 90 percent in the first half of this year.

Meanwhile, Vietnam's wood pellet exports earned 380 million dollars from January to July.

South Korea and Japan have been the two major importers of wood pellets from Vietnam, accounting for nearly 100 percent of the total volume and value of Vietnam's exports to all markets since 2019.

According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Vietnam's forestry product exports have recovered since the third quarter.

The country's forestry product exports in September surpassed 1.28 billion dollars, up 7.3 percent after a prolonged period of decline. 
Six months ago, FBI officials boasted that in 2022 their agents had spied on only 120,000 Americans without search warrants! Under the Constitution, that number should be ZERO.

This revelation is supposed to give members of Congress comfort that the folks we have hired to protect the Constitution are in fact doing so. In reality, the feds continue to assault and violate a core freedom protected by the Constitution  the right to be left alone.

The reason for the FBI revelation is the pending expiration of Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act and the bipartisan animosity toward its extension.

Section 702 is unconstitutional on its face as it directly contradicts the core language of the Fourth Amendment. It permits the feds to conduct warrantless surveillance on foreign persons who are either physically or digitally present in the United States and all with whom they communicate  American or foreign  who are located here.

Thus, for example, if you call or text or email an art dealer in Florence, Italy, from your home in New Jersey, or your cousin in Geneva, Switzerland, calls or texts or emails you at your home in California, the FBI can monitor all those communications without a search warrant. And then the feds can monitor the future calls you make and texts and emails you send and receive.

WASHINGTON, DC - JUNE 14: The FBI seal is attached to a podium prior to Director is Christopher A. Wray speakin at a news conference at FBI Headquarters, on June 14, 2018 in Washington, DC. Earlier today the inspector general released a 500 page report on the Clinton email investigation. (Photo by Mark Wilson/Getty Images)

The reason for the search warrant requirement is to prevent a repeat of what British agents did to the American colonists before the Revolutionary War. Then, secret British courts in London issued general warrants to British agents in America, which authorized the bearer to search wherever he wished and seize whatever he found.

When British agents used their general warrants to search colonial homes ostensibly looking for tax stamps in compliance with the Stamp Act, they were really attempting to find who among the colonists entertained revolutionary ideas that might lead to a revolt against the king.

The existence and the enforcement of the Stamp Act proved so unpopular that Parliament rescinded it after just one year of British agents roughing up colonists in their homes. But the former bond between colonials and their king had been irreparably breached and a sea change in colonial thinking pervaded the land. The core of that sea change was not taxation without representation; it was freedom.

To the colonial mindset, freedom had one universal meaning. It meant freedom from the government  from king and Parliament.

The sea change in colonial thinking resulted in an ideological welcome mat for the Declaration of Independence. When Thomas Jefferson was holed up in a Philadelphia rooming house for five days in June 1776 writing and revising the Declaration, he thought he was crafting the ideological fountainhead of a minority of landowners who despised the kings authority. Yet, within a year, farmers and artisans and laborers joined the popular and bloody revolt that ended in 1783 with freedom from England.

What about freedom from the new government here?

When the Constitution was ratified six years later, it had no amendments and made no mention of personal liberty. Five of the ratifying states had insisted upon the promise of the addition of a Bill of Rights as a pre-condition to ratification.

And so, the first task of the new Congress was to comply with that promise and craft a Bill of Rights, lest these five states secede from the new union. The colonies-become-states presumed a right to secede. They believed that what they had joined voluntarily, they could voluntarily leave. What became the Fourth Amendment protected the quintessentially American right to be left alone.

It states that the right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects shall be secure and may be violated by the government only pursuant to a search warrant issued by a neutral judge and based on probable cause of crime, and the warrant must specifically describe the place to be searched or the persons or things to be seized.

There is no exception in the amendment for foreign people, bad people, dangerous people, violent people, people the government hates or fears. By the plain meaning of its English words, the amendment protects ALL people. There is no limitation in the amendment to government personnel engaged in law enforcement. The amendment restrains ALL government. The very purpose of the amendment is to present an obstacle to the government because the amendment protects the natural human right to personal privacy and autonomy from the government.

James Madison  who drafted the Bill of Rights  and his colleagues made a value judgment consistent with their Judeo-Christian-informed morality; namely, that natural rights trump governmental needs.

The violation of privacy is a form of government aggression. Madison knew the tendencies of government toward aggression. The Fourth Amendment was to be the bulwark against it. The people could protect themselves against private aggressors, but theyd need a clause in the supreme law of the land and independent judges to restrain government aggressors.

After 50 years of studying, teaching, writing about, judging, interpreting and just plain explaining the Constitution, I am convinced that those in government dont believe its words or accept its values. They dont feel bound by it.

They have crafted mechanisms of all sorts  like Section 702  to evade and avoid it. They will claim that it impairs their duties. Yes, it does  intentionally so, and in the name of personal liberty. Today, liberty is impaired for foreign persons, an immutable characteristic. Tomorrow it could be impaired for any other immutable trait. Of what value is a Constitution with congressionally crafted, politically based exceptions? None.

Section 702 expires on Dec. 31, 2023. Last week, President Joe Biden asked Congress to renew it. It should die a natural death. Paraphrasing Justice George Sutherland, if the provisions of the Constitution are not upheld when they pinch as well as when they comfort, they may as well be abandoned.

Andrew P. Napolitano, a former New Jersey Superior Court Judge, has published nine books on the U.S. Constitution. To learn more, visit JudgeNap.com.

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: A Constitution the government evades
The Environmental Protection Agency announced on Tuesday that it approved a Defense Department initiative to begin defueling an antiquated Hawaii storage facility, nearly two years after a spill leaked into a water well that serves more than 90,000 people.

A joint task force submitted a report to the EPA prior to defueling to affirm that storage repairs at the Red Hill Bulk Fuel Storage Facility had been completed. Tank tightness of the pumps was tested and approved, as were EPA-standard rapid response measures and countermeasures in the event another spill occurred ahead of the facilitys eventual closure. The Honolulu Star Advertiser first confirmed the EPAs decision.

Controversy has surrounded Red Hill, located at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii, since November 2021. At that time, residents in and near Pearl Harbor reported that their drinking water smelled like fuel, but Navy officials maintained the water was safe to consume. Samples tested at a laboratory the following month, however, found petroleum products in the water.

Nearly 6,000 personnel, mostly military families, sought medical attention for rashes, sores, nausea and other ailments after being exposed to the contaminated water.

The Hawaii Department of Health later issued an emergency order, which forced the Navy to shutdown operations at the World War II-era facility. The Pentagon announced in October 2022 that it had started draining one million gallons of fuel from three pipelines in an initial step toward closing the facility.

Nearly 1,500 people had filed administrative claims against the Navy as of late June. There is also a pending federal lawsuit with nearly 300 plaintiffs.

We are aiming for a new normal: One where this never happens again, Navy Secretary Carlos Del Toro said in a news release in December 2021. The Department is determined and committed to making the necessary changes. We can and will take care of our people, while also preserving and protecting our national security interests in the Pacific and at home.

In total, more than 93,000 individuals from 9,715 households in 19 different communities on the Navy water system were affected by the spill. Some Hawaiian civilians living in homes supplied by the services water system were also impacted.

Defeuling of Red Hill is expected to begin Oct. 16.
A police car, left, and OnlyFans on a cell phone, right, in a composite image. Getty Images

A man who was pulled over by a police officer said he recognized her from OnlyFans.

He recalled that he said to the cop: "You can't arrest me no more; I've seen your private parts."

The Minneapolis Police Department is now investigating if the officer violated any conduct policies.

The Minneapolis Police Department is investigating an officer after a man she pulled over recognized her from her OnlyFans account, according to Fox 9.

The officer, who works in the city's fourth precinct and whom Fox 9 did not identify by name, has an OnlyFans page showing pornographic photos and videos for a monthly fee, the local media outlet reported.

Over the weekend, a driver who was pulled over during a traffic stop said he realized after 10 minutes of talking with the officer that he had been subscribed to her OnlyFans page for five months, Fox 9 reported.

The driver told Fox 9 that he said to the police officer: "You can't arrest me no more; I've seen your private parts."

He also said that he couldn't "respect" her or the precinct she works for after seeing the videos.

Whether the officer did anything in breach of her employer's code of conduct by having an OnlyFans side hustle is now being investigated.

According to The Minnesota Law Enforcement Code of Ethics, officers must "keep [their] private life unsullied as an example to all."

Minneapolis Police Department did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment on whether having an OnlyFans page would violate this.

In a statement provided to Fox 9, the department said: "We take any allegations of policy violations seriously and the Chief has ordered an investigation."

The police department also did not respond to Insider's request for comment on the status of the investigation.

A spokesperson for the city's mayor, Jacob Frey, said in a statement that it is ultimately up to the police chief to determine if there are any violations, but that the mayor has "no issue" with her having nude pictures behind a paywall, per Fox 9.

Last week, a Missouri high school teacher said she was placed on leave after officials discovered that she was supplementing her salary with an OnlyFans account.

The teacher said she earned an additional $8,000 to $10,000 per month and had no regrets about joining the subscription website, according to the Associated Press.

Read the original article on Insider
Police have taken a suspect into custody in connection with the fatal stabbing of a young community activist in Brooklyn earlier this week, according to multiple reports.

An 18-year-old man, identified as Brian Dowling, has been charged with murder and criminal possession of a weapon over the random slaying, police said.

Ryan Carson, 32, was standing at a bus stop with his girlfriend on Monday when he was confronted by a man who suddenly stabbed him in the chest in an unprovoked attack. Distressing surveillance footage showed Carson crumple to the ground as his attacker lunged for and spit at his girlfriend before fleeing.

The news comes just a day after cops said a mentally disturbed man had been identified as a person of interest in the case.

Sources cited by the New York Post said police recovered the sweatshirt allegedly worn by Carsons killer, as well as a knife, during a search of a home near the crime scene. Dowling reportedly resides in that area.

Carson, a campaign organizer for the New York Public Interest Research Group, had been returning from a wedding with his girlfriend when the attack took place. Photos taken just hours earlier showed the couple dressed up and grinning from ear to ear.

Carson and his assailant had no prior interactions, police said.

A neighbor of Dowling quoted by the New York Daily News said they were very surprised to hear hed been taken into custody.

He was the sweetest boy, the neighbor said.

Read more at The Daily Beast.

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Cornel West ditches Green Party; now running for president as an independent

Cornel West is no longer running for the White House as a Green Party presidential candidate.

The outspoken progressive university scholar announced on Friday that he's now seeking the presidency as an independent candidate.

"People are hungry for change. They want good policies over partisan politics. We need to break the grip of the duopoly and give power to the people. I'm running as an Independent candidate for President of the United States to end the iron grip of the ruling class and ensure true democracy!" West said Friday in a social media posting.

And the West campaign, in a statement, said that "as Dr. Wests campaign for president grows, he believes the best way to challenge the entrenched system is by focusing 100% on the people, not on the intricacies of internal party dynamics."

CORNEL WEST SAYS DEMOCRATIC PARTY BEYOND REDEMPTION

Sen. Bernie Sanders and Cornel West walk onstage together during a campaign event at the Whittemore Center Arena on Feb. 10, 2020, in Durham, New Hampshire.

West, who was a surrogate for progressive firebrand Sen. Bernie Sanders' 2016 and 2020 Democratic presidential campaigns, started his 2024 bid for the presidency on the People's Party ticket.

READ ON THE FOX NEWS APP

But concerns of the People's Party ballot access led to West switching to the Green Party, which is already on the ballot in nearly 20 states across the country.

Cornel West at Holman United Methodist Church on Sunday, March 5, 2023, in Los Angeles.

SPECULATION OF A NO LABELS INDEPENDENT PRESIDENTIAL TICKET SOARS

West's decision to now run as an independent complicates his ability to get on the ballot, as his team will have to gather a long list of signatures in each of the 50 states.

Democrats have deep concerns over West's White House bid, even though his fundraising has been paltry.

President Biden and Cornel West

Their concerns center on West's ability to appeal to certain elements of the Democratic base that are crucial to President Biden's 2024 re-election. And in an election that will likely once again be extremely competitive in key states across the country, Democrats worry a vote for West could boost former President Donald Trump, the commanding frontrunner for the Republican nomination.

The 70-year-old West, who's authored 20 books, has repeatedly dismissed talk that he could be a spoiler by helping Trump regain the presidency.

In an interview with the Wall Street Journal, West called warnings that he could play a role in re-electing Trump "a plausible argument." But he added that "its not a persuasive one for me."

West may soon have company running as an independent. Environmental lawyer and high-profile vaccine skeptic Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., a scion of the famous Kennedy political dynasty, is expected to drop his long-shot bid for the 2024 Democratic presidential nomination and run as an independent candidate.

And the centrist group No Labels is also seriously mulling fielding a 2024 independent "unity" ticket in the presidential race.

Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.





Original article source: Cornel West ditches Green Party; now running for president as an independent
A section of Government Square is closed in downtown Cincinnati early Monday after someone was found dead there about 5:15 a.m., police say.

The identity of the woman strangled to death in Downtown has been released Thursday.

Felicia Torrey, 51, was found dead on Government Square early Monday morning near the corner of Fifth and Main streets. The Hamilton County Coroner's Office verified her name.

Robert Harris, 33, was arrested Tuesday and charged with murder in her death. Investigators have not released any details about the killing.

Harris is being held at the Hamilton County Justice Center on a $175,000 bond. A grand jury is scheduled to hear his case by Oct. 12.

In May, Harris was arrested and charged with felonious assault and unlawful restraint after police said he tried to force a woman to engage in sexual acts with him by pinning her against a wall and threatening to have his dog attack her if she didn't do what he wanted. The grand jury in that case did not indict Harris and the charges were dropped.

The accuser in the case from May was not Torrey.

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Coroner names woman strangled on Government Square in Downtown
For the first time in Mississippis history, a runoff election could determine the outcome of the governors race.

For more than a century, the states 1890 constitution required candidates for statewide office to accomplish two things to be seated: receive a majority of the votes cast in the election and win a majority of the states individual House districts.

If no candidate cleared both hurdles, the race was thrown to the state House of Representatives, where House members were under no obligation to vote according to the wishes of their constituents.

The authors of the 133-year-old constitution wrote the provision during the Jim Crow era with the intention of making it harder for Black candidates to win elected office.

But in 2020, after a federal judge strongly suggested the state change the constitutional provision, a majority of state lawmakers and the states voters decided to remove it for good.

When Mississippians voted to scrap the provision in 2020, they also replaced it with the requirement that a candidate must earn only a majority of the votes cast to be elected. And now, if no candidate gets 50% of the vote on Election Day, the top two vote-getters move to a runoff election decided by voters.

This year, the first major statewide election cycle since the 2020 constitutional change, a runoff is possible for the current governors race.

Republican incumbent Gov. Tate Reeves is running for reelection, and he faces a strong challenge from Democrat Brandon Presley . But Gwendolyn Gray, an independent candidate, will also appear as a third option on the ballot alongside the two major party candidates.

Gray, a resident of the north Mississippi town of Sturgis, is a political newcomer. In her first interview of 2023, she told Mississippi Today this week that she realizes it will be next to impossible for her to win the governors race, and shes concerned about the prospect of a runoff election.

Instead, the 58-year-old candidate said shes planning to meet with her supporters next month and tell them which type of candidate they should vote for, though she remained cryptic about the details of the future meeting.

I want to tell them how important it is for them to vote and vote their conscience, Gray said of her supporters. I will definitely tell them, at this point, it is very difficult for me to win. I do not want to stop anyone else from winning.

Election candidates, including third-party challengers, typically try to convince voters to elect them to public office. But Gray, instead, appears to be taking a different approach to campaigning.

Making matters even more curious, Gray said in the interview that she recently tried reaching out to one of the two candidates running for governor to share some of her concerns, but she received no response.

She declined to say which of the two candidates she tried to contact or what she specifically planned to discuss with them.

I want some of my issues to be a concern of theirs, Gray said.

If Grays presence on the Nov. 7 ballot triggers a runoff, it would be a major shakeup in the race for who occupies the Governors Mansion for the next four years.

Four years ago, Reeves won a first term as governor with just 52.2% of the popular vote  a few thousands votes more than the 50% threshold hed need to overcome in 2023. And this year, several public polls show that Reeves, who has battled popularity problems during his first term as governor, is hovering around the 50% mark.

An August Mississippi Today/Siena College poll showed Reeves leading Presley by 52% to 41%, but no other public poll released this year has shown Reeves hitting 50%.

Presley, as the underdog, would undoubtedly attempt to capitalize on the extra three weeks of campaigning and use it as an opportunity to showcase a wounded incumbent to build a case that donors should contribute more money to his race.

And if Reeves, a Republican in a conservative Deep South state, cannot garner an outright majority of the votes cast on the first ballot, it could stand to weaken his political power and force him to burn through more money in his lofty campaign account.

Marvin King, an associate professor of political science at the University of Mississippi, told Mississippi Today that if the race does head to a runoff, it would still likely benefit Reeves instead of Presley.

A runoff tends to skew toward older voters and more reliable voters, and those voters in this state tend to be Republican, King said.

And while King believes a runoff would be a good opportunity for Presley to draw down even more fundraising dollars, he believes conservative organizations such as the Republican Governors Association would be willing spend more money to protect a Republican governor in Mississippi than progressive organizations would.

Brandon Presley needs a knockout because because Gov. Reeves has a money advantage, King said.

Absentee voting is currently underway for the election between the three candidates, and the general election will take place on Nov. 7. If no candidate receives a majority of the votes cast, a runoff election will happen on Nov. 28  the Tuesday after Thanksgiving.
[ Hakeem Jeffries ] has been outstanding as the Democratic leader, U.S. Rep. Glenn Ivey, D-Md., told theGrio.

As Republicans navigate who they will nominate as their next House speaker after the ousting of Rep. Kevin McCarthy , R-Calif., House Democrats are making it clear their only vote will be for House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y.

Jeffries, the first Black American to serve as leader of a major party in Congress, has been outstanding as the Democratic leader, U.S. Rep. Glenn Ivey, D-Md., told theGrio.

US House Minority leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) speaks during a press conference at the US Capitol in Washington, DC, on September 29, 2023. The US government began on September 28 informing workers of an impending shutdown that could see millions of federal employees and military personnel temporarily sent home or working without pay, unless Congress reaches a funding deal. (Photo by ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS / AFP) (Photo by ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS/AFP via Getty Images)

We voted for him at the beginning of the Congress in January 15 times and got all 212 Democratic votes every time. Unfortunately, Kevin McCarthy pulled it out at the end, said the congressman.

Ivey said McCarthy was a disaster as the [House] speaker. He added, The only thing that weve really gotten accomplished during this conference has occurred when Hakeem was able to step in.

As a government shutdown was quickly approaching last week, Ivey said it was Jeffries who stepped in to save the day.

McCarthy kept trying to appease the right-wing extremists in his House Republican caucus. When he realized that wouldnt work, he turned to Hakeem, and Hakeem got it done in like three hours, he recalled.

On Tuesday, in an unprecedented move, House members voted 216-210 to oust McCarthy from his position as House Speaker, making him the first person to be booted from that position in American history.

Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., filed a resolution on Monday to remove McCarthy from the speakership. The hard-right conservative said he did so because the former House speaker allegedly made a deal with President Joe Biden on legislation to provide more aid to Ukraine amid its war against Russia in order to pass a continuing resolution to avert the shutdown.

In this April 22, 2021, file photo, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy of Calif., speaks during his weekly press briefing on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, File)

Rep. Patrick McHenry, R-N.C., who was named by McCarthy as speaker pro-tempore in his absence, will temporarily fulfill the duties of House speaker until the partys slim majority in the House elects a new leader.

When McCarthy was elected speaker by the Republican conference, McHenry, a 10-term congressman, was included in a shortlist to replace the House speaker in the event of an emergency.

It was kind of ironic that there were Republicans yesterday hoping that Democrats would save Kevin McCarthy because we made it clear that we think Hakeem Jeffries would be a far better selection, Ivey told theGrio.

McCarthys speakership has just been a chaotic disaster from the beginningthats why he was the first one in the history of the United States to be removed.

Rep. Sydney Kamlager-Dove, D-Calif., told theGrio that the McCarthy fallout would not ever happen to Hakeem Jeffries.

In January, Jeffries and McCarthy were in a close race to win House speaker following the exit of longtime House Speaker Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif. However, McCarthy won the last round of votes, earning 216 votes to Jeffries 210.

Kamlager-Dove told theGrio, When we have our next round of speaker votes, I will certainly vote in favor of Hakeem Jeffries.

While Democrats do not have the numbers to hand Jeffries the speakers gavel, they are hopeful that they will win back the majority in next years election. In doing so, Jeffries would become the first Black person to serve as House speaker.

U.S. House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) delivers remarks after House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) was elected Speaker of the House in the House Chamber at the U.S. Capitol Building on January 07, 2023 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)

My belief is that we will be successful in 2024, and Hakeem Jeffries will be the speaker, said Kamlager-Dove. He has proven himself as someone who is resilient, forthright and inspiring. He has unified our caucus, and he has the respect of our caucus.

Rep. Ivey told theGrio that, at this time, House Republicans are engaged in a civil war.

Hopefully, they can resolve that and pick a speaker whos going to have at least basic competence in trying to manage the governing requirements of the House, he said.

The congressman believes the best candidate will be able to work with Democrats to find common ground to get legislation that the American people need.

TheGrio is FREE on your TV via Apple TV, Amazon Fire, Roku, and Android TV. Please download theGrio mobile apps today!

The post Could House Minority Leader Jeffries become House Speaker after McCarthys downfall? appeared first on TheGrio.
Marija Pejcinovic Buric, Secretary General of the Council of Europe, has condemned the Russian strike on the village of Hroza, Kharkiv Oblast, which killed more than 50 people.

Source: Pejcinovic Buric on Twitter (X), reports European Pravda

Quote: "I condemn in the strongest terms the Russian strike on a grocery store in Kupiansk which killed several innocent civilians. My thoughts are with the victims, their families, and the authorities as they face yet another unspeakable tragedy," Pejcinovic Buric said.

Je condamne avec la plus grande fermete l'attaque russe contre une epicerie a Kupiansk, qui a tue plusieurs civils innocents. Mes pensees vont aux victimes, a leurs familles et aux autorites qui doivent faire face a une nouvelle tragedie indicible @UKRinCoE  Marija Pejcinovic Buric (@MarijaPBuric) October 5, 2023

Background:

At around 13:30 on Thursday, the Russians struck a cafe and a store in the village of Hroza, Kupiansk district, Kharkiv Oblast. Preliminary reports indicate that the place was hit by an Iskander missile.

As of now, 51 people have been killed, including children, and six more have been injured.

Ihor Klymenko, Ukraines Minister of Internal Affairs, said that a memorial dinner for a deceased resident was being held in the cafe. He added that the hit was so accurate that it is suspected that the location was given to the Russians by a local resident.

Ukrainska Pravda is the place where you will find the most up-to-date information about everything related to the war in Ukraine. Follow us on Twitter, support us, or become our patron!
Several years ago, WATM wrote about war game results looking at a U.S.-China war in the 2020s. The projection was that any war after 2025 would be bloody and likely unwinnable for the U.S. A new series of war games from the Center for Strategic and International Studies has good and bad news.

First, the Chinese military grew more slowly than expected in size and strength. CSIS thinks that Taiwan, backed by the U.S., Japan, and other Pacific allies, could stave off China in 2026. But the bad news: The costs would be horrific, with multiple aircraft carriers and thousands of American lives lost.

The full report has a lot of great discussion points and recommendations. It's available here for anyone who wants to delve through 165 pages.

The scenario: U.S.-China War over Taiwan

The report looked specifically at an amphibious invasion of Taiwan by China. It was aimed narrowly at assessing the potential costs of what countries will defend Taiwan and a U.S. intervention in an invasion, and so it assumed that the invasion and then an intervention by the U.S. occurs.

In the scenario, China always opens with an effective bombardment of Taiwan and its defenders. Unless China's forces prove in combat to be as neglected as Russia's, this is a safe bet. China has developed top-tier missile capabilities and has extensive intelligence of Taiwanese forces' placement and capabilities.

After the bombardment, the forces clashed as China attempted to land troops and Taiwan attempted to prevent Chinese beachheads and combat massing. From here, the 24 iterations of the war game diverged from one another.

There was the "base" scenario and then a range of scenarios that represented optimistic assumptions for Taiwan and the U.S. or pessimistic assumptions for Taiwan and the U.S. There was also a "Taiwan Alone" scenario and a "Ragnarok" scenario. Ragnarok was similar to Taiwan alone in that its Pacific allies stayed neutral in the conflict, but the U.S. attempted to relieve Taiwan in the Ragnarok scenario.

The broad results for a U.S.-China War

The surprising upshot from the CSIS war games: Taiwan survived as an autonomous nation in all but two scenarios: Taiwan Alone and Ragnarok. This is a surprising result for China watchers, but it might not be as shocking for World War II buffs with knowledge of the planned invasion of Taiwan .

Taiwan's geography is challenging for an invader. An amphibious landing is still the best option for getting combat mass ashore, but there are few great landing areas, and the airports and airfields are hard to take via air insertion without ground support. America had limited maps in World War II and decided not to risk it. China likely has great maps, but still no good options.

Even in pessimistic scenarios where the U.S. joined the war after 14 days, where Taiwanese forces had limited ammunition or were slow to respond, China was too slow at building combat mass. It simply couldn't bring forces in and organize them fast enough to overcome the defenders.

Winning in the vast majority of situations is great. But when it comes to war, the new adage "a win is a win" isn't quite true. These simulated victories were quite costly in blood, especially Taiwanese but also American. In each base scenario, the U.S. lost two aircraft carriers and at least seven other major surface warships. Taiwan lost its entire Navy, and the Japanese Maritime Self-Defense force fared little better. Each nation suffered hundreds of losses and in the air and thousands of human casualties.

Chinese military helicopters fly past Pingtan Island, one of mainland China's closest points from Taiwan, in Fujian province. (Photo by HECTOR RETAMAL/AFP via Getty Images)

Takeaways for policy makers

The report was aimed at fostering public debate and providing information to U.S. policymakers, and it contains well-organized takeaways for military planners and policymakers. First, a few vital weapon systems greatly outperformed their cost. These include submarines, long-range anti-ship missiles, and non-stealth bombers and fighters.

If the U.S. truly wants to deter or defeat a massed Chinese force, expanding the supply of these proven weapons may provide better value than new, technical whizbangery.

Another important point is that China didn't take the shortest route, which would have focused on the northern portion of the island. Instead, it went after the less-defended south. Improving defenses in that area would provide outsized benefits, and it's necessary to practice counterattacks there.

Finally, if the U.S. is truly interested in containing Chinese forces, diplomacy is key. Recent assessments of West Pacific allies are pessimistic about South Korea's and the Philippines' stomach for a fight with China. Both countries are well-positioned geographically, but not militarily, to help in a conflict. Any diplomatic movement toward greater cooperation could save American lives. Japan is likely to engage significantly, but maintaining that relationship is clutch.

Of course, the biggest American choice is whether to dedicate itself to the fight in the first place. The assessment is very clear on a timely point: The Ukraine model will not work in Taiwan. American assistance to Ukraine started late and was slow in the opening days of the 2022 invasion. Taiwan is too easy to blockade. American weapons and forces joined the fight before it started or were unlikely to make it in alive.
MOGADISHU, Oct. 5 (Xinhua) -- El Nino is likely to displace 651,000 children 5-17 years of age, of whom 225,000 are in school in the affected districts, according to projections from the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF).

The UNICEF said the impact of the floods on the education sector will include the displacement of children and teachers, damage to school infrastructure such as classroom blocks, water, sanitation, and hygiene facilities, disruptions to teaching and learning, and blockage of the road network, among others.

"With the anticipated displacement and damages, there is a high possibility of extended school closures, which will lead to increased school dropouts," it said in its latest update on El Nino, released Wednesday evening in Mogadishu, the capital of Somalia.

It said the current El Nino situation, coupled with an expected positive Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD), is likely to result in above-average rainfall during the upcoming second rainy season, which falls in the October-December period. "The projection has more than a 90 percent certainty, necessitating mitigation, preparedness, and early action. El Nino and a positive IOD are likely to cause riverine and flash floods, resulting in loss of lives, property damage, population displacement, and destruction of infrastructure and crops in the field," it said.

The UNICEF also noted that the damage to infrastructure and water and sanitation facilities within schools is expected to worsen the spread of waterborne diseases, including cholera, which has been prevalent in some of the flood-affected districts.

The latest update comes as the UN reported a significant increase in river water levels in parts of Hirshabelle State in central Somalia ahead of the anticipated El Nino. The UN called on communities residing in low-lying areas, especially along the Shabelle River, to remain vigilant and relocate to safe areas in case of flooding. The world body has warned that up to 1.2 million people could be affected, and 1.5 million hectares of land are at high risk of inundation.

Somalia is experiencing one of the world's worst hunger crises after its worst drought in four decades, with the UN warning that food insecurity is far from over and is becoming more severe daily.

According to the UN, about 4.3 million people in Somalia will face hunger between October and December and require urgent assistance due to El Nino, conflict, and other factors. The UNICEF warned the impact of the floods is estimated to last for decades in the absence of appropriate intervention. 
New details from the investigation into the disappearance of 17-year-old Imperial Stewart show how Columbus police suspected early in their investigation that the missing teen was dead.

Sworn statements from detectives on the case as they sought search warrants for evidence outline the early days of the investigation and how Michael Bowles, 20, and his younger brother, 18-year-old Mi'Quel Bowles, quickly found themselves the focus.

The statements were part of search warrants filed in Franklin County Municipal Court by detectives looking to gather additional information from electronic devices and medical records. Here's what those statements say about the case.

Cierra Zebib speaks with reporters in a tearful interview at Columbus Police Headquarters on Sept. 28. Zebib's 17-year-old son Imperial Stewart has been missing since Sept. 23, 2023.

Around 5:45 p.m. on Sept. 20, the day Stewart disappeared, Stewart's mother saw him leave their home on Ivyhurst Drive on the city's Northeast Side and get into a black Chrysler 300 with someone she knew as "Kel." Police later identified "Kel" as Mi'Quel Bowles.

Stewart's mother, Cierra Zebib, told detectives she thought at least one other male was in the car, and she believed they were going to a store called Limbo Laces, located at 1843 Huy Road, to sell shoes.

Less than two hours later, around 7:30 p.m. that night, Columbus police got a call about a shooting on the 600 block of North Dawson Avenue on the city's East Side. Mi'Quel Bowles was found with a gunshot wound and taken to OhioHealth Grant Medical Center for treatment. Detectives took his phone as evidence, according to the sworn statements.

Imperial Stewart, 17, has been missing since Sept. 23, 2023.

The court records say Mi'Quel Bowles was uncooperative with detectives and refused to provide information, however, his uncle did give some details to investigators. According uncle, Mi'Quel was dropped off in a black Chrysler 300 driven by his older brother, Michael Bowles. Another person, "J," was also in the car, according to the uncle.

Police later identified "J" as a 16-year-old male who now face delinquency charges of murder and obstructing justice. The Dispatch is not naming him at this time because he is not charged as an adult.

On Sept. 21, Zebib filed a missing person report because Stewart never came home and did not contact her about where he would be, which he usually did, according to court records. The sworn statement said Stewart had not been seen or heard from after being captured on surveillance camera about 6:40 p.m. riding inside the black Chrysler 300 at a gas station on Cleveland Avenue.

Two days after the missing person report was filed, on Sept. 23, Columbus police got word about social media posts from a 15-year-old who knew the Bowles brothers. The social media posts referenced Stewart being dead, according to court records, and said "Rest in Peace."

Under Fire: 50 guns confiscated, 10 people shot, more than 100 gunshots detected all in 80 hours

The sworn statement said Zebib told detectives that the 15-year-old called another of her children and told them Stewart was dead and "his body was in the woods."

On Sept. 25, Columbus police released information publicly about Stewart's disappearance and identified the Bowles brothers as persons of interest in the case. Police also released information about the black Chrysler 300, despite the vehicle being found around 6:30 a.m. that morning in Fairfield County.

Someone set the car on fire, according to court records, but detectives were able to determine the vehicle's VIN, which showed Michael Bowles bought the car on Sept. 11.

Detectives interviewed three relatives of the Bowles brothers following the car's discovery. All three reportedly told detectives that after Mi'Quel Bowles had been shot and taken to the hospital - and after police had left the home - Michael Bowles called for help with the Chrysler.

The vehicle, which the relatives went to retrieve from where it was parked on Busch Boulevard on the city's Northeast Side, had blood in the backseat. The Chrysler was driven back to the home on Dawson Avenue, where Michael Bowles allegedly admitted to his relatives that he "had shot and killed someone and that one of the bullets had gone through the victim and struck his brother Mi'Quel," according to court records.

Imperial Stewart, 17, has been missing since Sept. 23, 2023.

Michael also told his family members he had "disposed of the body" but would not say where, according to records.

Court records said the family members, none of whom faced charges as of Thursday, told Michael to dump the car somewhere, but Michael refused. At that point, according to statements detectives attributed to family members, the brothers' mother, Tywisha Peterson, arrived at the home with another of her sons, where the conversation about what to do with the car continued.

Peterson's other son, a 15-year-old, allegedly suggested burning the car, according to court records. Michael Bowles was reportedly picked up by a female driving a black SUV. The 15-year-old and the 16-year-old known as "J" reportedly drove the Chrysler away from the Dawson Avenue home, according to the detective's sworn statement.

Additional details included in the statements from detectives said a selfie was found on Mi'Quel Bowles dated Sept. 20, the day Stewart went missing. In the photo, Bowles is posing with a firearm.

On Tuesday evening, detectives found Stewart's body near Sunbury Road and Agler Road, according to Columbus police. The Franklin County Coroner's office is doing an autopsy to confirm who the remains belong to, but police and Stewart's family have said they believe the remains belong to Stewart.

As of Thursday, six people are facing charges in the case.

Michael Bowles has been charged with murder and is being held in the Franklin County jail on a $5 million bond.

Mi'Quel Bowles, 18, has been charged with felony obstructing justice and is being held in jail on a $500,000 bond.

Tywisha Peterson, 40, is charged with felony obstructing justice and is being held in the jail on a $500,000 bond.

Genee Dumas, 39, is charged with obstruction of justice and tampering with evidence for reportedly trying to smash her daughter's phone while detectives were interviewing her. She was released on her own recognizance.

Dumas' 17-year-old daughter faces delinquency charges of obstruction and tampering with evidence in Franklin County Juvenile Court.

The 16-year-old is facing delinquency charges of murder and obstructing justice and is currently being held in the Franklin County Juvenile Detention Facility.

Anyone with information related to the investigation, which remains ongoing, is asked to call detectives at 614-645-4730 or Central Ohio Crime Stoppers at 614-461-TIPS. All calls to Crime Stoppers are anonymous.

bbruner@dispatch.com

@bethany_bruner

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Court docs say family helped lead police to Imperial Stewart suspects
A federal court has picked Alabamas new congressional map, which will likely result in an additional Black  and Democratic  member in the delegation.

The new map came after the same panel of federal judges twice found that lines drawn by the GOP-dominated Legislature likely violated the Voting Rights Act by weakening the power of Black voters. The new lines will be used for at least the 2024 elections, the state's Republican secretary of state said on Thursday, though Alabama Republicans have vowed to fight them for future cycles.

The map gives greater electoral power to Black residents, who make up about one-quarter of the state's population. And it will very likely mean Republicans lose one seat in their thin majority, imperiling their already tenuous hold on the lower chamber even before battleground districts come into play.

"With this new, fairer map, and for the first time ever, Black voters in Alabama could have two members of Congress representing their interests at the same time," Eric Holder, the former Democratic attorney general who now helms the party's redistricting arm, said in a statement. Holder's organization was involved in the lawsuit that ultimately brought about the new maps.

Alabama is the first state this year to get new congressional lines, but others  including North Carolina  are expected to be redrawn by the end of the year.

The map was chosen Thursday by a panel of three federal judges  Circuit Judge Stanley Marcus, who has been appointed to posts on the federal bench by Presidents Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton, and District Judges Anna Manasco and Terry Moorer, both appointees of President Donald Trump. The map was one of three drawn by a court-appointed special master after a long-running legal battle that reached all the way up to the Supreme Court.

The new map results in one majority-Black district and one in which Black residents make up just under half of the population. Both districts were designed to give black voters a direct opportunity to elect their preferred member of Congress. As a result, voters in both have a strong likelihood of electing Black Democrats to Congress.

The lines used in the 2022 midterms were redrawn by the GOP-dominated legislature following the decennial census and had one majority-Black district out of the states seven. That district was represented by the only Democrat in the congressional delegation: Rep. Terri Sewell.

The new map largely maintains Sewells 7th District. It creates the second opportunity district for Black voters by transforming the states 2nd District into one that runs across the state.

The map chosen by the court on Thursday was one of three put forward by a court-appointed special master. The new 2nd District has a Black voting age population of just under 49 percent.

The new lines endanger GOP Rep. Barry Moore, whose district is transformed from one that was solidly Republican to one thats much more Democratic. Moore recently said that he and his family are seriously praying about his next move and that he would make a decision once the map is finalized.

One possibility is that Moore runs in a primary against GOP Rep. Jerry Carl in Alabamas 1st District, which has now been drawn to include Moores home. Carl said last week that he would seek reelection in the 1st, setting up the potential for an intraparty fight there.

In an interview last week, Alabama Democratic Party executive director Tom Miro said that there were a handful of candidates who could get in the race in the new 2nd District, saying he expected a really healthy primary. He named five Black politicians as potential candidates: Montgomery Mayor Steven Reed, Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin, state Rep. Napoleon Bracy, and state Sens. Kirk Hatcher and Merika Coleman.

Sewell is expected to run again in her district. But she may also face a primary challenge as well. State Senate Minority Leader Bobby Singleton  who is one of the plaintiffs in the cases that led to the lines being tossed  has floated a run, telling the Alabama-based 1819 News that he has created an exploratory committee for a run.

Alabama Republicans have been fighting the forced redistricting process tooth and nail, losing twice in front of the Supreme Court.

Earlier this year, the Supreme Court affirmed the initial lower-court order that tossed the GOP-drawn map, a surprise to many court watchers who expected the conservative-leaning majority to use the case as an opportunity to weaken the Voting Rights Act. The GOP-controlled legislature was given another opportunity to draw the lines, yet ignored a court directive to draw either two majority Black districts or one majority district and one very close to it.

The three-judge panel then angrily tossed out those new legislatively drawn lines, appointing an expert to draw new maps and setting up Thursdays decision to pick this one.

Alabama Republicans asked for an emergency order from the Supreme Court to step in and block the court from drawing the lines. The nations highest court declined to do so late last month, a loss for Republicans.

At the time, state Attorney General Steve Marshall, a Republican, acknowledged that this means the court-drawn map will almost certainly be used for the 2024 election cycle. Republicans are prepared to challenge this new court-drawn map now that it is finalized, but it is unlikely that any challenge would be resolved in time for next years elections.

"The Office of the Secretary of State will facilitate the 2024 election cycle in accordance with the map the federal court has forced upon Alabama and ordered us to use," Alabama Secretary of State Wes Allen, a Republican, said in a statement. "It is important for all Alabamians to know that the legal portion of this process has not yet been completed."

Other states may also get new congressional maps soon.

Similar court cases arguing for more Black representation are ongoing in other Southern states  including Louisiana and Georgia  and new maps may emerge there by the end of the year.

"Other states with pending [racial gerrymandering] cases should view this map, and this process, as both an example of basic fairness and a warning that denying equal representation to Black voters, violating the Voting Rights Act, and defying federal court orders is a direct tie to an odious past and will no longer be tolerated," Holder, the former attorney general, said on Thursday.

And two other big states may also redraw their lines. In North Carolina, a newly conservative state Supreme Court said it would not police partisan gerrymandering earlier this year. Now, GOP supermajorities in the Legislature are set to soon redraw the political boundaries to benefit their party. A new congressional map could be revealed as soon as next week and could see the 14-seat delegation go from an even partisan split to as many as 11 GOP seats.

And in New York, Democrats are challenging court-drawn lines that resulted in a very competitive map. Republicans ultimately carried 11 of the states 26 districts, but should Democrats in the state get a chance to redraw maps to benefit themselves, as many as six of those GOP-held seats could be in play.
A panel of federal judges approved a new congressional map for Alabama on Thursday after versions drawn by the states Republican-controlled Legislature were struck down for diluting the power of Black voters.

The new map maintains Alabamas one existing majority-Black district and nearly adds a second one, boosting Democrats chances of flipping a seat in the state.

The ruling caps a high-profile legal battle over Alabamas congressional map that had zig-zagged through the courts since the states redistricting process began.

The Supreme Court in June struck down Alabamas previous map for likely violating the Voting Rights Act, and the state subsequently drew up a new design that still did not add a second majority-Black district.

The panel of federal judges then rejected that design, ordering a court-appointed official step in to propose new boundaries instead. Alabama filed an emergency appeal with the Supreme Court, but the justices refused to revive state Republicans map in a brief order last week.

The judges Thursday selected from three remedial maps proposed by the court-appointed official after hearing objections from the parties.

The selected design, which will be used for the 2024 elections, maintains Alabamas singular majority-Black congressional district, which is represented by the states lone congressional Democrat.

It also shifts another districts boundaries so that the Black voting age population there is now just below a majority, at 48.7 percent.

The judges wrote that their selected plan better respects municipal boundaries and communities of interest as compared to the other proposals.

In the light of the submissions received by the Special Master, the comments and submissions in response to his Report & Recommendation, and after extensive analysis, we conclude that Remedial Plan 3 completely remedies the likely Section Two violation we identified while best preserving the States legislative preferences, as expressed through the 2023 Plan, and otherwise complies with the requirements of the Constitution and the Voting Rights Act of 1965, the panel of judges wrote in their ruling.

The panel comprised one Clinton appointee, Circuit Judge Stanley Marcus, and two Trump appointees, District Judge Anna Manasco and District Judge Terry Moorer.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
The Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department said it is responding to a crash involving a car and a person in Oceanway.

JFRD said the crash happened near New Berlin and Yellow Bluff roads and the pedestrian has serious injuries.

The Jacksonville Sheriffs Office said all lanes of New Berlin Road between Yellow Bluff and Dunn Creek Road were closed due to the crash.

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Police van carrying five Israelis, held on suspicion of raping a British tourist, arrives in the courthouse in Paralimni

Police van carrying five Israelis, held on suspicion of raping a British tourist, arrives in the courthouse in Paralimni

PARALIMNI, Cyprus (Reuters) - A Cyprus court on Thursday adjourned the trial of five Israelis charged with raping a British woman pending the submission of material evidence by prosecutors.

Police arrested the five Israeli youths, aged 19 and 20, after a British woman reported they allegedly raped her after forcing her into a hotel room at the resort of Ayia Napa on Aug. 3. They have been in custody since.

All five face six counts each of abduction, assault and rape. The trial, scheduled to start on Thursday, was adjourned because key evidence was not presented to lawyers of the accused.

Because that information was lacking, the five did not enter a plea.

That included a DNA report, photographic material, fingerprint reports and a statement from a sixth individual, one of the lawyers for the accused said.

"Before we have the whole picture of what my clients are facing they haven't answered, they haven't pleaded," said lawyer Maria Neophytou, who represents three of the defendants. The lawyer for the other two men said his clients were not in the room when the alleged assault took place.

Relatives of the defendants crowded into the small courtroom in the town of Paralimni on Thursday, where the Criminal Court was in session.

Women's advocacy groups are closely following the case due to the treatment of a British rape victim three years ago.

Last year, Cyprus's Supreme Court acquitted a British woman who had been wrongfully convicted by a lower court of lying about being gang raped by 12 Israeli men in July, 2019.

(Reporting By Michele Kambas; Editing by Sharon Singleton)
Austin's forensic science department is an independent entity after the Police Department surrendered its DNA lab to state control in 2017 when a state audit found the lab was following procedures that weren't scientifically sound.

Austin's forensic science department is updating how and when it discloses information to prosecutors and will participate in training by the Travis County district attorney's office after a top county prosecutor claimed the city agency's shortcomings could threaten criminal cases.

Austin forensic science director Dana Kadavy rejected the DA's office's several suggestions that the city department's actions could jeopardize convictions.

Kadavy wrote a three-page letter in late August, which the American-Statesman obtained Wednesday, in response to a letter by Trudy Strassburger, the DAs first assistant, that raised multiple allegations against the forensic science department, including that it did not disclose case information for 10 months that could be favorable to defendants, as required by law, and accusing staffers and management of criminal conduct.

Strassburger asked for an update from the forensics department within 30 days about how it would address the issues and warned that if the department took no action it could hinder prosecutors ability to call witnesses from the city agency to testify in criminal cases.

In her response letter, Kadavy said that disclosure policies adopted in 2020 will be modified based on input the agency received from prosecutors in a July meeting and that it "is collaborating with (the DAs office) for review and feedback.

She said agency staffers will participate in any training prosecutors develop as soon as it is offered.

However, Kadavy rejected Strassburgers claim that the agency did not provide information for 10 months concerning the suspension of an employee. Instead, she said it did so in February, soon after it was made aware of the matter.

She also said the agency provided appropriate and timely notice of criminal conduct allegations against management and the staff. In the case of the manager, she said the department notified the DAs office the same day that it was informed by the city auditors office of the allegation. In the case of another staff member, Kadavy wrote that an Austin police investigation deemed the allegation unfounded and that the matter was quickly administratively closed.

Neither letter described the specific allegations raised against the agency employees.

The (forensic science department) values its relationship with the Travis County District Attorneys Office and is committed to continuing its efforts to facilitate effective collaboration between our respective offices, Kadavy wrote.

The need for a strong relationship between prosecutors and the department has been heightened in recent years, with the Texas Forensic Science Commission finding in 2016 that staffers were not using correct DNA mixtures and were misinterpreting data and that their operations were often not scientifically valid.

Two people have since seen their convictions overturned, and six cases, including a death penalty case, are winding their way through the court system. Prosecutors in the district attorneys conviction integrity unit are reviewing cases for possible issues.

The lab, which was overseen by the Austin Police Department at the time, now operates as an independent entity.

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: DA: Austin's forensic department's policies threaten criminal cases
Law enforcement officials have identified two of three suspects arrested in connection with a brazen daylight shooting in Holyoke on Wednesday that claimed the life of a baby that was delivered after the gunfire hit its mother.

Alejandro Ramos, 22, of Holyoke, was held without bail after being arraigned Thursday in Holyoke District Court on a charge of murder in a shooting that occurred around 12:30 p.m. in the area of Sargeant Street, according to the Hampden District Attorneys Office. Additional charges are also likely.

The second suspect, 30-year-old Johnluis Sanchez, of Holyoke, remains hospitalized. The DAs office said that he will be formally arraigned on a charge of murder when his condition allows.

Ramos and Sanchez are two of three male suspects involved in the shooting that sent at least one round flying into a public transportation bus, where a pregnant woman was seated, the DAs office said.

The woman was rushed to a nearby hospital in critical condition. The infant, who was delivered, needed life-saving medical services and tragically passed away.

A third suspect involved in the incident has been identified by investigators but is not yet in custody, the DAs office said.

Police investigate after reports of

Law enforcement officials investigate the scene where multiple were shot, Wednesday, Oct. 4, 2023, in Holyoke, Mass. State police say at least three people, including a person riding a bus, were shot Wednesday in Holyoke following a fight on a downtown street. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)

Members of law enforcement stand near police tape while investigating the scene where multiple people were shot, Wednesday, Oct. 4, 2023, in Holyoke, Mass. State police say at least three people, including a person riding a bus, were shot Wednesday in Holyoke following a fight on a downtown street. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)

There are no words that could be sufficient in the face of what happened today to people in the Holyoke community, including innocent bystanders on a regional transit authority bus, Acting Transportation Secretary and CEO Monica Tibbits-Nutt said in a statement. Our thoughts are with them. And so are our hearts and our sorrow. Our prayers go out to everyone who has been, and will continue to be, affected by this senseless act of violence.

Gov. Maura Healey reacted to the shooting, saying in a statement, Every life lost to gun violence is a tragedy, especially those taken far, far too soon. My heart goes out to the victims, families, and all of Holyoke in the wake of this afternoons senseless shooting.

State police detectives assigned to the DAs office are assisting Holyoke police with the investigation.

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

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GARVIN COUNTY, Okla. (KFOR)  Law enforcement continue to search for a man in connection with a deputy being shot and a bystander killed.

The suspect is 25-year-old Kameron Jenkins.

Photo of Kameron Jenkins over crime scene

Multiple law enforcement agencies are involved in the search in Garvin and neighboring counties.

According to authorities, the bystander, now identified by District Attorney Greg Mashburns Office as Gwaun Frierson, was killed during an altercation between 25-year-old Kameron Jenkins and Cleveland County Deputy Sean Steadman near Exit 60 on I-35.

According to the affidavit, Steadman was attempting to conduct a traffic stop, on a Volkswagon Jetta near Exit 60. When the vehicle didnt stop, Steadman conducted a tactical vehicle intervention and stopped the Jetta.

Gunfire was then exchanged between Jenkins and Steadman. During that time, Gwaun Frierson was the passenger of a dump truck travelling northbound on I-35 when Frierson was struck and killed by the gunfire.

Steadman was shot in the chin and flown to an Oklahoma City hospital. He is expected to make a full recovery.

Image of deputy Sean Steadman

The Garvin County Sheriff tells KFOR they are following leads and tips.

They are asking for the publics help. They want residents to look on their property to see if anything is missing or disturbed.

So, heres where Im at. I dont have any evidence that hes not in the area. I dont have any evidence that hes gone from the area. So, we will continue as if hes here. What Im asking for, is if theres any tips or does anyone know of his whereabouts, to give us a call because he needs to face what he did and were not going to stop looking for him and I think it is going to be in his best interest to turn himself in, said Sheriff Jim Mullett, Garvin County Sheriffs Office.

Sheriff Mullett says the weather last night was a disadvantage to their search, but they will not stop until they find the Jenkins.

According to the Oklahoma Department of Corrections, Jenkins is currently on probation for a number of violent crimes, including Assault and Battery with a Deadly Weapon and Maiming, dating back to 2016.

He was released from prison in March 2023 for another Maiming charge dating back to 2019.

Oklahoma City Police Chief Wade Gourley released a statement on social media saying, Thankfully, the Cleveland County Deputy shot by this guy will be ok. This is not the first time Jenkins shot at an officer and he should have still been in prison.

Thats still part of our investigation, said Hunter McKee, OSBI.

Court documents also show Jenkins is currently involved in a prostitution case.

Officials told KFOR, right now they are following up on any leads or tips that come in and they are really relying on the public for help.

What were asking is for homeowners, landowners to check if theres anything missing or any kind of mode of transportation, bikes, anything thats missing to let us know. Checking your door, cameras, trail cameras. Anything like that that might lead us to his whereabouts. Well take that information, said Mullett.

The search Thursday also took place in the Washita River.

Were using all the resources we have thats possible to search those areas as long as we can and whatever it takes, said McKee.

Law enforcement is reminding residents to be cautious as Jenkins remains at large and is still considered armed and dangerous.

Originally, there was a 6,000-dollar reward being offered, but now the reward up to $11,000. You can submit information anonymously by calling 405-235-7300 or 1-855-211-STOP. You can also submit an anonymous tip on the OKC Crime Stoppers website.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KFOR.com Oklahoma City.
U.S. President Harry S. Truman , pictured in 1949, delivered the first televised White House address October 5, 1947. UPI File Photo

Oct. 5 (UPI) -- On this date in history:

In 1813, the Shawnee Indian Chief Tecumseh was killed while fighting on the side of the British during the War of 1812.

In 1882, Dr. Robert Goddard, "Father of American Rocketry" and a pioneer in the theoretical exploration of space, was born in Worcester, MA.

In 1918, Germany's Hindenburg Line was broken as World War I neared an end.

In 1921, the World Series is broadcast on the radio for the first time.

On October 5, 1921, the World Series was broadcast on the radio for the first time. File Photo courtesy of the Library of Congress

In 1935, Ethiopia asks the League of Nations to act against Italy to halt Italy's conquest of the country.

In 1947, President Harry Truman delivers the first televised White House address.

Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th Dalai Lama, pictured in 1985, was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize on October 5, 1989.

In 1955, the doors to the Disneyland Hotel are thrown open to the public.

PBS supporters take part in the Million Puppet March in Washington, D.C., on November 3, 2012. The bipartisan march was organized to show support for Public Broadcasting following Republican Presidential Candidate Mitt Romney's pledge to cut funding to PBS. On October 5, 1970, PBS, was founded. UPI/Kevin Dietsch

In 1970, The Public Broadcasting Service, PBS, is founded.

In 1989, the Dalai Lama, who advocated non-violent struggle against Chinese domination of his homeland, Tibet, was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

Media gathers outside of the federal courthouse after Time Square bombing suspect Faisal Shahzad pleaded guilty on terror and weapons charges June 21, 2010, in New York. On October 5, Shahzad, who left an explosives-laden vehicle in New York's Times Square, planning to detonate it on a busy night, was sentenced to life in prison. File Photo by Monika Graff/UPI

In 1994, authorities said 53 members of a secretive religious cult were found dead -- the victims of murder or suicide -- over a two-day period in Switzerland and Canada.

In 2001, Barry Bonds hit his 71st home run, most by a player in one season, breaking Mark McGwire's 1998 Major League Baseball record. The San Francisco Giants slugger finished the season with 73 homers.

People gather at an Apple store in San Francisco to leave flowers, candles and cover the glass with notes after learning about the death of Apple founder Steve Jobs on October 5, 2011. File Photo by Terry Schmitt/UPI

File Photo by Terry Schmitt/UPI

In 2005, scientists announced that a form of bird flu that spread directly to humans was the real cause of a 1918 pandemic that killed an estimated 50 million people worldwide.

In 2010, Faisal Shahzad, who left an explosives-laden vehicle in New York's Times Square, planning to detonate it on a busy night, was sentenced to life in prison.

In 2011, Steve Jobs, co-founder of Apple Inc. and hailed by his colleagues as a "visionary and creative genius," died at age 56, two months after resigning as chief executive officer because he could "no longer meet [his] duties and expectations."

In 2021, Alaska's Katmai National Park & Preserve crowned bear No. 480 -- AKA Otis -- as the winner of the annual Fat Bear Week. It was 480's fourth win.
Daytona Beach Shores police Lt. Michael Schoenbrod, center, has resigned after the conclusion of two professional standards investigations that found he had violated three polices. The cases were related to a previous investigation into him and Sgt. Jessica Long, left, over their use of the city jail for potty-training sessions for their son.

Daytona Beach Shores police Lt. Michael Schoenbrod, who faced investigations after locking his 3-year-old son in a city jail cell last October as a potty-training lesson, has resigned, The News-Journal has learned.

Schoenbrod has been on paid administrative leave since July 3 while under investigation for other possible violations of city policy.

Schoenbrod and the child's mother, Sgt. Jessica Long, were previously found to have violated a policy in connection with the jailing of the boy: conduct "which has the tendency to destroy public respect for the employee and/or the department and/or confidence in the operation of the municipal service."

Although a Florida Department of Law Enforcement investigator recommended child abuse charges against the parents, the State Attorney's Office declined to pursue a case, finding there was "no impending danger" to the boy.

Professional standards probe

After the state and city probes into the jail/potty training matter had concluded, on April 7, Schoenbrod addressed a day shift briefing in which he called people who initially reported the potty-training jailings to the Department of Children and Families as "liars" and "disgusting human beings," according to an internal affairs report.

Four days later, crime analyst Kelley Register complained to Michael Fowler, director of the Daytona Beach Shores Department of Public Safety.

"Lt. Schoenbrod insinuated to the shift that members of the Criminal Investigations Division were to blame for this investigation," Register wrote, later adding that the terms "liars" and "disgusting human beings" are offensive and a violation of policy.

Register told the city's professional standards investigator, Sgt. Bill Frank, that she was not present during the briefing but was told about it by two others who were.

"I don't know where he got his information that I'm a liar, but I'm not," Register told Frank. "And I'm also not a disgusting human being."

She called the statements false and derogatory.

Several of the officers who attended the briefing told Frank that Schoenbrod had spoken with them to address rumors about his prior professional standards case. They heard Schoenbrod use terms including "liars" and "disgusting," but that they were not applied to any individuals, the summary states.

Det. Daniel Carrazana told Frank he had never been put in a more uncomfortable situation than the briefing. He said he inferred that when Schoenbrod spoke of "disgusting human beings," it was about the investigative unit to which he belonged.

"That uncomfortableness drove him to resign from this agency," Frank wrote.

Schoenbrod told Frank he had been asked by Fowler to speak to each shift to address rumors about the previous investigation, and that "it was obvious to him that the people who initially reported (the jail/potty training) event to DCF had no concern for the wellbeing of their child and that their motivation was to destroy both his and Sgt. Long's reputation and the reputation of the agency."

Schoenbroad agreed he used the terms "liars" and "disgusting human beings," but maintained that he never specifically referenced any specific individuals or divisions.

Of seven potential policy violations considered, Schoenbrod was found to have committed two: failing to "treat superior officers, subordinates and associates with respect," and engaging in conduct "which adversely affects the morale or efficiency of the department."

Allegation: Tampering with a public record

Fowler ordered a third professional standards case at the start of July, and asked Lt. Thomas Aiken of the Port Orange Police Department to conduct it.

Following the April 7 briefing, Carrazana immediately met with Schoenbrod privately in an effort to "clear the air." Schoenbrod recorded the meeting with Carrazana's permission, according to an investigative summary.

"Lt. Schoenbrod stated he made the recording for his own use, as protection in case (Carrazana) later made an accusation of inappropriate conduct during their conversation," the summary states.

Sometime later, Carrazana left the Daytona Beach Shores department for a new job as a New Smyrna Beach police officer. On June 29, Carrazana made a public records request for the audio Schoenbrod had made of their meeting.

More: 'Nothing worked' Shores officers speak out about why they used jail to potty-train son

Fowler told Schoenbrod to produce the record, and on July 3, Schoenbrod told Fowler he had deleted portions of the audio that had referred to his son, the summary states.

City Attorney Becky Vose reviewed what remained of the audio recording and told Fowler it was 100% a public record.

Vose shared her opinion that Schoenbrod's editing of the recording violates a Florida felony statute, official misconduct, as he altered it in order to protect and benefit his son.

In addition to starting a professional standards case, Fowler contacted FDLE and requested a criminal investigation, and Special Agent Scott Ratliff arrived at the Daytona Beach Shores public safety office to collect Schoenbrod's department-issued cell phone.

Further investigation found that Schoenbrod had replaced two sections of the audio totaling more than 8 minutes with static, the summary states.

However, the recording Schoenbrod turned over did include two mentions of his son by name, which he later told investigators was an oversight.

Schoenbrod and his attorney, Michael Lambert, met with Aiken, the Port Orange investigator, on Sept. 19.

Schoenbrod told Aiken he considered the recording a personal belonging, not a public record.

"The majority of the conversation was not work-related," Schoenbrod said, according to the summary.

Also, Schoenbrod told the investigator that he had never before requested permission to edit a file.

"Lt. Schoenbrod stated 'it's our standard operating procedure that we are authorized with implied consent of our chief, our previous chief that we just ... if we need to redact something, we do it,'" the summary states.

Aiken was asked to look into whether Schoenbrod violated any of these city policies with regard to his handling of the audio file:

"Employees shall not commit any act or crime defined by state or federal law as a felony, whether chargeable or not."

"Employees shall not ... alter or forge or tamper with any kind of public safety record, report or citation."

And under a department policy related to digital recording devices, Schoenbrod was alleged to have edited, altered, or erased recordings without prior written authorization.

The summary written by Aiken did not state any final conclusions on whether those allegations against Schoenbrod were sustained or not.

But after the second and third professional standards investigations were concluded on Friday, Schoenbrod resigned, according to Tammy Marzik, the city's public information officer.

Schoenbrod worked for the Daytona Beach Shores Department of Public Safety for more than 23 years.

In his two-paragraph resignation letter, dated Monday, Schoenbrod said he was giving two weeks' notice, making his departure date Oct. 16.

"Per the DBS policy manual, I must provide a reason for resigning," Schoenbrod wrote. "My reason is that I no longer want to work for the Daytona Beach Shores Department of Public Safety."

This story has been updated to add additional detail.

This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Daytona Beach Shores Lt. Michael Schoenbrod resigns after findings
HARARE, Oct. 5 (Xinhua) -- The Zimbabwean government will enact legislation to bolster its fight against drug and substance abuse, a cabinet minister said on Wednesday.

Zimbabwe has faced the growing challenge of drug and substance abuse by youths in recent years, prompting the government to step up efforts to combat the scourge.

An inter-ministerial task force chaired by Defense Minister Oppah Muchinguri Kashiri has since been established and is spearheading several joint efforts to curb the scourge, including conducting frequent raids on drug suppliers, dealers and peddlers.

Addressing a post-cabinet media briefing, Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services Minister Jenfan Muswere said a total of 5,367 drug offenders were arrested during the period from July. 7 to Sept. 23, 2023, a jump from 4,328 arrested for the whole year of 2022.

In addition to establishing drugs and narcotics units at major ports of entry to curtail the inflow of drugs, the government has also increased surveillance on licensed liquor outlets as well as increasing public awareness of the dangers of drug abuse, Muswere added.

"Going forward, Cabinet agreed to enact the relevant legislation for the establishment of a Drug Elimination Agency to govern and coordinate all national activities on drug and substance abuse," he said.

The minister said the government will convert all idle provincial COVID-19 isolation facilities into multi-sectoral drug rehabilitation centers, as part of measures to strengthen its anti-drug and substance abuse program. 
From left to right in front, Suwannahong Promkanajarn, Akarawit Jaithong and Piyabut Pienpitak attend a press conference in Bangkok, Thailand, Thursday, Oct. 5, 2023. Thai police said they have arrested three men for selling illegal guns and bullets in connection to the shooting at a Bangkok's upscale mall which killed two people earlier this week. (AP Photo/Surat Sappakun)

BANGKOK (AP)  Police in Thailand said Thursday they have arrested three men they accuse of selling the handgun and ammunition used by a 14-year-old boy who allegedly killed two people and wounded five others at a shopping mall in Bangkok.

The shooting Tuesday at the Siam Paragon mall in the Thai capital has highlighted a gray area of the gun trade: the sale of handguns originally manufactured to shoot blanks but which can be modified to fire live ammunition. Thai police identified the gun used in Tuesdays shootings as one of these so-called blank, or blank-firing, handguns.

Blank guns generally face fewer restrictions and can be imported and registered more easily than regular guns. What alarms law enforcement authorities in several countries, not just Thailand, is that such guns can not only be turned into lethal weapons, but also are harder to trace than real guns.

On Wednesday, a Thai police spokesman said 10,000 blank guns are in circulation in the country, and the authorities have announced plans to tighten controls, possibly including a ban on selling such firearms.

Press reports in the past year from South Africa, New Zealand and Britain cite those countries' police officials expressing similar concerns about the increasing use of blank guns.

Because many blank guns are replicas of real handguns, criminals sometimes use them even without modification, to frighten victims.

Blank guns have been openly advertised on sale on the internet, even on sites of major online retailers in Asia. In the arrests announced Thursday, the alleged suppliers were said to have been selling already modified guns.

Two men, a father and a son, were arrested in the southern province of Yala, and another man in Bangkok on accusations of possessing and selling illegal weapons, announced Noppasilp Poonsawat, deputy chief of Bangkoks Metropolitan Police bureau.

They are suspected of selling a modified blank gun and bullets to the teenager who has been accused of carrying out the mall attack, which killed a Chinese tourist and a woman from Myanmar who worked at a toy store in the area.

The teen accused of Tuesdays shooting has been sent to a juvenile detention center and his parents have not requested his release on bail, according to the Central Juvenile and Family Court.

The arrested men  Suwannahong Promkanajarn and Akarawit Jaithong from Yala, and Piyabut Pienpitak of Bangkok  have denied wrongdoing.

A police search of a house belonging to the men in Yala found blank guns, hundreds of blank bullets and gun barrels, Deputy Police Chief Noppasilp said. Police also found blank gun being carried by the suspect in Bangkok, and one in his office.

Police were led to the alleged sellers after searching the suspected shooter's phone and finding he was in touch with them about a month ago, Noppasilp said. He said it appeared that they have been selling modified blank guns and bullets for a year or two.

Yala province in Thailands deep south, where the blank guns were alleged to have been modified, has for almost two decades been the the site of a violent Muslim separatist insurgency. Demand for arms there is especially high, and in the past the government has promoted the distribution of firearms to Buddhist residents arming themselves against the insurgents.

In Southeast Asia, Thailand is second to the Philippine in total and per capita gun-related deaths..

Gun laws in Thailand are relatively restrictive, but the country nonetheless has one of the highest levels of gun ownership in Asia, according to GunPolicy.org, a research project at Australias University of Sydney.

There are about 10 guns per 100 people in Thailand when including those owned illegally, as compared with less than one per 100 in the countrys peaceful Southeast Asian neighbor Malaysia, according to the organization.

Penalties for unlawful possession in Thailand include prison terms from 1 to 10 years and fines up to 20,000 baht ($539). There are strict licensing laws but critics say the registration process for firearms isnt nearly tough enough.

___

Associated Press journalists Jutarat Skulpichetrat in Bangkok and Jintamas Saksornchai in Uthai Sawan, Thailand, contributed to this report
A Kansas inmate has died while in state custody, state officials said Thursday.

His death remains under investigation.

Michael Aineta, 40, a prisoner at Lansing Correctional Facility, died Wednesday after he was taken to The University of Kansas Health System, according to a Thursday news release from the Kansas Department of Corrections.

The department of corrections and the Kansas Bureau of Investigation are both investigating. The cause of death will be determined based on autopsy results, officials said.

Aineta was several months into serving a nearly 16-year sentence after he was convicted of one count of rape and one count of criminal sodomy in Seward County, in southwest Kansas, according to KDOC.

No other information was immediately available.
The U.S. Senate on Wednesday voted to confirm Susan DeClercq, a Ford Motor Co. executive and former assistant U.S. attorney, as a U.S. District Court judge in Michigan's eastern district.

DeClercq becomes the first federal judge of east Asian descent in Michigan.

The vote was 52-42. Earlier on Wednesday, the Senate voted to limit debate on her nomination. President Joe Biden nominated DeClercq to the judgeship in May of this year.

At her confirmation hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee in June, DeClercq spoke about her adoption and immigration to this country as a child. She said that she was left as an infant on the steps of a hospital in South Korea and was adopted by a single mother in the U.S. who raised her.

Im very proud of being an immigrant, DeClercq said.

Carl Tobias, a professor at the University of Richmond Law School and an expert on Senate confirmations, said he wasn't surprised by DeClercq's easy confirmation vote, saying she is "highly experienced in many areas and she had a strong hearing and a compelling life story."

Since last year, DeClercq had been director and counsel of special investigations at Dearborn-based Ford. Prior to that, she worked in the U.S. Attorneys Office for 18 years, during which time she served in several leadership roles, including as chief of the civil division.

A graduate of the University of Michigan and the Wayne State University School of Law, DeClercq also worked for Skadden, Arps, Slate and Meagher & Flom in Washington, D.C., as a litigation associate from 2001 to 2004. Before that she served as a law clerk for U.S. District Judge Avern Cohn in Detroit.

Susan DeClercq will be an outstanding U.S. District Court judge," said U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich. "Her time in the U.S. Attorneys office and in other roles in Michigan have demonstrated her thoughtfulness and intellect. Her confirmation is great news for Michigan."

U.S. Sen. Gary Peters, also D-Mich., said DeClercq's "staunch commitment to defending justice, civil rights and our Constitution will serve the people of Michigan well."

She is exceptionally qualified with an outstanding legal career that reflects her integrity and utmost respect for American institutions and democracy. I was honored to help confirm her to the U.S. federal bench," he added.

Contact Todd Spangler: tspangler@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter@tsspangler.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: DeClercq becomes first federal judge of east Asian descent in Michigan
Its been almost two weeks since Sen. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) was indicted on bribery charges, and hes made it clear that hes not going anywhere.

He says hes done nothing wrong. That he isnt going to resign from the Senate; in fact, he plans to run for reelection. He says he has a perfectly reasonable explanation for the allegations that he accepted cash, gold and a Mercedes-Benz in exchange for aiding the Egyptian government and a trio of New Jersey businessmen. That $480,000 in cash stuffed in envelopes and clothing hidden all over his house? Obviously he was just keeping that money on hand in case of an emergency.

Maybe hes right. Maybe for U.S. senators, it is totally normal to have $100,000 worth of gold bars lying around the house.

And really, who among us has not, as Menendez allegedly did, googled, How much is one kilo of gold worth?

I have not, said Sen. John Hickenlooper (D-Colo.). Ive never even seen a gold bar.

He was proud to say that he has seen gold coins, though.

A friend of mines father, he gave me one-tenth of an ounce of little coins, Hickenlooper said. I can tell you, those were worth about $102, $104, in 1995.

Wait, what? said Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.), who did not know what HuffPost was talking about and then figured it out. He said he did not have gold bars at home.

I dont think I have ever seen a bar of gold, he said.

Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.) said hes never even thought about googling how much gold is worth. Without naming names, he said it was strange to think that here in 2023, anyone would be allegedly accepting bribes that include actual bars of gold.

I never have seen a bar of gold, no, Cramer said. I keep wondering, how does a guy get offers like this in this job?

Sen. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), who allegedly had hundreds of thousands of dollars' worth of cash and gold bars hidden around his house, wouldn't tell HuffPost why he allegedly googled,

Sen. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), who allegedly had hundreds of thousands of dollars' worth of cash and gold bars hidden around his house, wouldn't tell HuffPost why he allegedly googled, "How much is one kilo of gold worth?"

The indictment against Menendez, which was announced by federal prosecutors in New York, alleges that he engaged in a corrupt relationship with New Jersey businessmen, in which Menendez and his wife allegedly took hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes in exchange for official acts to enrich the businessmen and aid the Egyptian government.

Menendez was previously indicted on unrelated bribery charges in 2015. That case  which Menendez at the time called dead wrong  ended in a hung jury in 2017, and a judge dismissed it a year later.

Several Democratic senators didnt even want to indulge HuffPosts question about gold bars, namely because its silly, and to laugh at it  which senators in both parties did  is to acknowledge how damning it is that their own colleague allegedly repeatedly googled the value of gold before being indicted on corruption charges involving lots of gold bars.

Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.), who is not one of the dozens of Senate Democrats who has called on Menendez to resign, ducked into a Senate elevator when asked about the normalcy of having bars of gold at home.

Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.), who also is not calling on Menendez to go, said something about New Jersey voters needing to decide if they want him to resign, in response to a question about the gold bars. Then she rode off in a Senate subway.

Im on the Ethics Committee. I never talk about anything that may come before the Ethics Committee, said Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii). I have an easy rule here, where I just say, if it may come before the ethics committee, I dont talk about it.

OK, but have you ever googled how much a kilo of gold is worth?

Im not answering that! he said with a laugh.

After searching high and low, it turns out that at least one senator has searched online to learn about the value of gold: Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.). He was the first senator to call on Menendez to resign, has said he would vote to expel him from the Senate and has repeatedly criticized him for not leaving, saying his level of arrogance is just astonishing.

Yes. I did that after [Menendez] did, Fetterman said. I was going to buy my own gold bar, you know? So I could either go to his contacts or buy one at Costco.

But if I did get one, its not going to go in my mattress, he said.

I was going to buy my own gold bar, you know?Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.)

Rep. Andy Kim (D-N.J.) was the first top Democrat in his state to call on Menendez to resign after being indicted. Last week, as it became clear that the New Jersey senator isnt stepping down, Kim announced that he will challenge Menendez for his seat in 2024.

On a Thursday call hosted by the Progressive Change Campaign Committee, he told HuffPost that the detail about the gold bars is capturing a lot of peoples attention here in New Jersey.

Who has these around their house? Kim asked. The fact that this is even in our lexicon right now, something that has been googled, shows how out of touch this whole situation is...We certainly need the answers to all of this.

He said hes never googled the value of gold, either, or seen a bar of gold in person.

I dont actually know how large they are, said Kim.

Menendez still hasnt explained why he had gold bars lying around at home. He wanted to be prepared for possible emergencies, yes, of course, but in the form of gold bars?

HuffPost unexpectedly bumped into Menendez last Thursday morning as he headed into the Senate building. Nobody was around. He strangely didnt have any of his aides with him. For a good 45 seconds, it was just him and HuffPost.

So we asked the most important question to ask a man at the center of an indictment scandal, whose Senate seat, should it fall into the hands of the other party, could flip control of the chamber to Republicans.

Senator, why did you google, How much is a kilo of gold worth?

Well, youll find out at trial, Menendez said cheerfully, trying to hurry inside.

The press would like me to go ahead and lay out my whole defense in the public forum, he said, slipping into the building. Its not going to happen.

Anyway, 1 kilogram of gold is worth $58,527, as of Thursday.
WEST PALM BEACH  Seated on the witness stand Wednesday afternoon, the teen who is the focus of an aggravated child abuse trial that has drawn widespread attention described living conditions in the Jupiter home of Timothy and Tracy Ferriter.

The teen, now in the 10th grade, described frequently being locked in an 8-by-8-foot structure in the familys garage by the teen's adoptive parents, eating dinner alone and sleeping on a single mattress as a means of discipline. The teen spoke of having to resort to a bucket at times when needing to use the bathroom.

"To me, being locked in the room, it's dehumanizing," the teen said while testifying during the second day of trial the teen's adopted father. "It's almost as bad as genocide. It's saddening to abuse a child that was just acting like a child."

Palm Beach Post investigation: A couple kept a teen locked in the garage. Their lawyer says they had no choice

Cruelty or discipline? Ferriter jury to decide

Timothy Ferriter, Jupiter, talks with his attorneys during his aggravated child abuse trial at the Palm Beach County Courthouse in downtown West Palm Beach, Fla., on October 3, 2023.

The trial before Circuit Judge Howard Coates is that of Timothy Ferriter, 48, who also faces charges of false imprisonment and child neglect. Tracy Ferriter will be tried separately. Jupiter police arrested them in February 2022, alleging the couple confined the teen to the structure within the family's Egret Landing home for hours at a time.

Tracey Ferriter sits in the public viewing benches in the courtroom during the aggravated child abuse trial of her husband Timothy Ferriter, of Jupiter, at the Palm Beach County Courthouse in downtown West Palm Beach, Fla., on October 3, 2023.

Investigators discovered the structure after the teen ran away from home in January 2022. Police found the teen several days later outside Independence Middle School, according to an arrest report. They visited to the child's home and asked to see their bedroom. Their search led them to the garage.

The door had a lock that only could be opened from the outside. Mounted on its ceiling was a doorbell camera, where the family could monitor the movements of whomever was inside, according to police reports. Assistant State Attorney Brianna Coakley said the child was subjected to punishments that were "humiliating, isolating and cruel."

The Palm Beach Post is not identifying the teenage accuser or an older sibling who also testified Wednesday by name or gender. Before the trial, Coates issued an order preventing the teens images from being displayed to the public.

Timothy Ferriter, Jupiter, listens to jury selection in his aggravated child abuse trial at the Palm Beach County Courthouse in downtown West Palm Beach, Fla., on September 29, 2023.

'They were in such a rush': After arrests, Florida couple demolished garage room where teen lived

Photos provided to The Palm Beach Post show the demolition of a garage room where Timothy and Tracy Ferriter are accused of locking their 14-year-old adopted child for up to 18 hours at a time.

The child, whom the family adopted at 17 months old, has been in the care of the Florida Department of Children and Families since the Ferriters' arrests. The agency also removed the couple's three other children from the home at that time.

The teen had a history of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, or ADHD, and a condition known as reactive attachment disorder, Tracy Ferriter told investigators prior to her arrest. The disorder keeps children from forming bonds with their family members, and it can lead them to act out or make it difficult for children to accept love.

Timothy and Tracy Ferriter told Jupiter police that the teen lied, stole, attacked family members and threatened classmates. The room was a means to discipline the teen and protect other people in the household from harm, they said.

What that means: Jupiter parents say adopted teen locked in garage room had attachment disorder

Teen says parents 'just made a mistake' in use of garage room

The teen told jurors Wednesday that Timothy Ferriter set rules in the home and enforced punishments. The teen described a separate sleeping arrangement from siblings.

"I slept in an 8x8 room in the garage," the teen told jurors.

On cross-examination, defense attorney Prya Murad questioned the teen about the teen's behavior. Murad asked if the teen had trouble recalling good times with the Ferriters because of negative perceptions now surrounding the couple.

"I don't have a bad image of Tim or Tracy," the teen responded. "They just made a mistake. They were just acting of out of frantic surprise of my actions. I believe that they weren't trying to do any harm. I believe that people should recognize that that was a mistake and forgive them and move on."

Prior to the teens testimony, an older sibling testified to living conditions for the teen and the other children in the home. The sibling, who also is adopted, began testifying Tuesday and resumed Wednesday morning.

The older sibling appeared from a separate courtroom as the Ferriters looked on from the main courtroom. Jurors watched the older teens testimony through a video feed linking the courtrooms. The sibling testified to being able to hear physical abuse occurring against the other teen in the garage of the familys home in Arizona, where the sibling lived for several years before returning to Palm Beach County in December 2021. The sibling testified to seeing an instance where Timothy Ferriter had pressed the other teen up against the wall.

The sibling said they were be concerned that Ferriter might cause serious harm to the other teen, based on the level of force and aggression involved.

Defense attorney Khurrim Wahid pressed the sibling on various aspects of the familys home life, showing the sibling photographs from family events that include images of the younger teen. The sibling testified that the younger teen was allowed to attend some family events and allowed to play outside in the familys backyard on occasion. The sibling recalled times celebrating the teens birthday in Arizona.

Julius Whigham II is a criminal justice and public safety reporter for The Palm Beach Post. You can reach him at jwhigham@pbpost.com and follow him on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, at @JuliusWhigham. Help support our work: Subscribe today.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Jupiter teen tells jurors about 'dehumanizing' life in room in garage
Dem candidate apologizes for 'antisemitic' post after receiving backlash from his own party: 'Disgusting'

Democrat Mondaire Jones , a former House member running again in New York's 17th district, apologized a day after sending a message that many social media users, including members of his own political party, viewed as antisemitic.

Following California Republican Rep. Kevin McCarthy's ouster from the speaker role in a 216 to 210 vote on Wednesday  where eight Republicans joined every Democrat in the lower chamber  Jones took to X to post a picture of McCarthy with Jewish leaders while adding, "Well this was a waste of everyone's time."

The photo showed McCarthy wearing a yarmulke and eating alongside the Jewish leaders. Social media users quickly condemned the message.

REP. MONDAIRE JONES DOUBLES DOWN ON HIS CLAIMS THAT OPPONENTS TO DC STATEHOOD ARE 'RACIST'

The post garnered backlash from other members of his political party, including Liz Gereghty, the sister of Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, who is facing Jones in the Democratic primary.

"If Mondaire Jones didn't realize that his tweet could be viewed as antisemitic and elicit vile comments in response, I would question his judgment," Gereghty said, according to Jewish Insider's Matthew Kassel.

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"If he did it anyway, that's far, far worse," she continued. "As someone with a large social media platform running for Congress, he has a responsibility to hold himself to the highest possible standards and I would hope he is more thoughtful in the future, because the rise of hate in this nation is currently one of the greatest threats to our safety and stability. I will never take any community for granted or exploit them for personal gain.

FORMER DEMOCRATIC REP MONDAIRE JONES LAUNCHES COMEBACK BID FOR CRUCIAL SEAT THAT HELPED GOP TAKE HOUSE

Reps. Jared Moskowitz of Florida and Josh Gottheimer of New Jersey, both Democrats, initially laid into Jones, but then deleted their posts.

"This was not a waste of time. It is never a waste of time to meet with religious leaders," Moskowitz wrote, according to The Hill. "Additionally, I doubt your choice of religion to highlight here was coincidental."

Moskowitz later said he spoke to Jones and did not believe he intended to be antisemitic. Jones retweeted the message to his followers.

"This disgusting post is insulting to Jewish people and every person of faith. Meeting with religious leaders is critical to understanding the needs of our communities. This antisemitic rhetoric is deeply concerning," Gottheimer said in his since-deleted post.

Jones ultimately pulled his post with an apology, saying people had misconstrued what he had intended in the message.

"Yesterday, I posted a tweet that was too open to misinterpretation," Jones wrote on Wednesday. "My point was to communicate that Kevin McCarthy, and by extension Mike Lawler, cannot possibly deliver for communities in Rockland because he's no longer Speaker."

"Regrettably, I did not make this point clear enough, and so I have deleted the tweet," Jones continued. "I am proud of my record of combating antisemitism in Congress and after Congress. In a time of rising anti-semitism, we must be crystal clear where we stand: I continue to be a strong ally of our diverse Jewish communities."

The winner of the Democratic primary in New York's 17th district will face Republican Rep. Mike Lawler, who knocked out longtime Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney after redistricting reshaped the reliably blue area into a swing district.

Jones had previously represented the 17th but stepped aside for Maloney, running unsuccessfully instead in a primary for the reshaped 10th district.





Original article source: Dem candidate apologizes for 'antisemitic' post after receiving backlash from his own party: 'Disgusting'
A House Democrat asked Palm Beach County, Florida, to tax Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort property at a rate in accordance with the valuation the former president claims it has amid his ongoing New York civil fraud trial. Rep. Jared Moskowitz, D-Fla., made the request of Palm Beach County appraiser Dorothy Jacks in a letter exclusively provided to NBC News, noting New York Supreme Court Justice Arthur Engoron's decision last week holding Trump liable for committing fraud for years by inflating and undervaluing his assets to banks and insurers.

Trump has since railed against the ruling, claiming that his Florida beach club is worth "50 to 100 times" what New York prosecutors in the lawsuit have said, or "closer to $1.5 billion" in value. "Between 2011 and 2021, you value the Mar-a-Lago property between $18 million and $28 million," Moskowitz wrote in the letter to the Palm Beach County appraiser. "Mar-a-Lago was listed as worth $490 million in financial documents given to banks," he added. "If the property value of Mar-a-Lago is so much higher than it was appraised, will you be amending the property value in line with the Trump family's belief that the property is worth well over a billion dollars?"

With Trump's civil fraud trial garnering nationwide attention, the letter, NBC News writes, is an effort from the first-term congressman to emphasize the disconnect between Trump's claims of his properties' values and the values set by appraisers, which the judge had cited in the ruling.
Nadine Arslanian Menendez , wife of recently indicted Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., struck and killed a man while driving her Mercedes-Benz in New Jersey in December 2018, according to police reports obtained by local media.

She was found not at fault for the incident because the man, identified as Richard Koop, was jaywalking when he was hit, according to the New York Times and The Record. She was not given a DUI test at the scene and was immediately allowed to leave after providing a brief statement, according to dashcam footage of her interaction with Bogota police.

Arslanian  who was alone in the vehicle  was dating Menendez at the time of the fatal crash, which reportedly left Koop's body severely mutilated, according to the Bergen County medical examiner.

MSNBC'S ALICIA MENENDEZ ADDRESSES FATHER'S INDICTMENT: COLLEAGUES HAVE 'AGGRESSIVELY' COVERED

Menendez commented on the incident to reporters Wednesday.

"It was a tragic accident, and obviously we think of the family," he said.

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A federal indictment brought by the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, which charges Arslanian and Menendez in a federal bribery scheme, revealed that in January 2019, approximately a month after the crash, Arslanian informed Wael Hana and Jose Uribe, two Egyptian-American businessmen also implicated in the alleged bribery scheme, that she no longer had a vehicle. Hana then provided her with a 2019 Mercedes-Benz  worth more than $60,000  as detailed in the indictment.

"In exchange, MENENDEZ agreed and sought to interfere in the NJAGs criminal insurance fraud prosecution of an associate of URIBE and a related investigation involving an employee of URIBE," the indictment states.

DEMOCRAT SEN BOB MENENDEZ FACING INDICTMENT ON BRIBERY CHARGES

Audio recordings from the police dashcam footage featured a man self-identifying as a retired officer from a neighboring department who mentioned that he had come to the scene as a "favor" for a friend whose wife was acquainted with Arslanian.

Koop's sister, Rosemarie Koop-Angelicola, told the Times that their family "has had serious concerns over what we felt was a very sparse, one-sided investigation."

"Definitely a lack of legal enthusiasm to take this case, definite lack of media coverage, and a lack of communication by the authorities of Bergen County. We felt that the whole thing was very silently swept under the rug," she said.

It's not the first time Arslanian has been involved in a traffic incident. According to public court records, Arslanian reportedly racked up several penalties between 2007 and 2021, including using a mobile phone while driving, ignoring traffic signals and unsafe passing, adding up to about $410 total.

FEDS PROBING IF DEM SEN MENENDEZ OR WIFE ACCEPTED GOLD BARS WORTH HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS FROM FELON: REPORT

Both Menendez and Arslanian have pleaded not guilty to the federal bribery charges. Fox News Digital reached out to the couple's representatives but did not hear back by press deadline.

In June 2022, the FBI executed a search warrant at Menendez's and his wife's New Jersey home where federal agents discovered many of the fruits of the alleged bribery scheme, including cash, gold, a luxury convertible and home furnishings. Prosecutors say $480,000 in cash, much of it stuffed into envelopes and hidden in clothing, closets and a safe, was discovered in the home, as well as more than $70,000 in cash in Nadine's safe-deposit box. Some of the envelopes contained the fingerprints and/or DNA of Fred Daibes, another figure in the alleged bribery scheme, or his driver, according to the indictment.

Some of the envelopes were found inside jackets bearing Menendez's name and hanging in his closet.

The Bogota Police Department and Menendez's office did not respond to Fox News Digital's requests for comment.





Original article source: Democrat Sen Menendez's wife hit, killed pedestrian while driving in 2018: reports
A company at the center of the Democratic Partys digital strategy is on the verge of a meltdown  sparking alarm among a broad constellation of liberal groups that are relying on it ahead of 2024.

NGP VAN provides tools used by Democrats, from the White House to local school boards, to raise money and mobilize voters. But with new management in recent years, it has been stripping its operations to the bare bones.

The potential decline of these tools  which have given Democrats a significant technology edge over Republicans over the past few cycles  would be so threatening to operations that a handful of top Democratic digital firms recently called a roughly hourlong Zoom meeting with leadership of the company to seek answers. Among their demands: reassurance that NGP VAN wouldnt dismantle one of its top products, an online organizing and fundraising tool called ActionKit. Without it, Democrats worried about their prospects during the 2024 cycle and beyond.

Im hoping that I'm wrong, that we're all wrong, that everyone's fine, said a former NGP VAN employee, granted anonymity to speak candidly about their former employer. But this could mean something really bad for 2024."

The alarm relayed on the call reflected a larger concern: that the Democratic Party has grown too dependent on a small handful of companies to carry the bulk of its campaign operations.

Democrats up and down the ballot have long relied on NGP VAN to run their campaigns. Now, consultants and former employees are concerned that repeated layoffs will lead to problems with the partys most vaunted tech tools. Some consultants are on the precipice of turning their back on NGP VAN altogether, according to six NGP VAN clients who spoke with POLITICO.

But the companys monopoly-like grip on Democratic campaigns means theres no clear alternative that can immediately replace it.

NGP VAN said it is fully focused on the 2024 election. As we get closer to Election Day, its critical that our political clients get the exclusive attention they need, NGP VANs general manager Chelsea Peterson Thompson said in a statement to POLITICO.

If NGP VANs software fails  or even just stagnates during increasingly data-driven campaigns  there is real fear among Democrats that fundraising dollars could be diminished, voters could be ignored and elections could be lost.

"Every minute you spend dealing with [software] is time spent not talking to potential donors, said Kalani Tissot, founder of Tissot Solutions, a fundraising firm. It just adds all these laborious processes that slow down your ability to actually focus on fundraising.

Last month, NGP VAN wrote in an open letter to its customers that the layoffs were part of a companywide restructuring designed to break down organizational silos. But some Democrats have worried ever since Apax Partners, a private equity firm, acquired the company two years ago. Earlier this year, more than 140 people were laid off from NGP VAN.

We are up against a technology landscape that evolves rapidly, which means the needs of every election cycle are very different, Peterson Thompson said. As we head into 2024, every decision we make is to ensure that our products and offerings are responsive to that.

NGP VAN did not respond to questions about the number of people laid off or future hiring for its political products.

Apax has added nothing but chaos to everyone's lives, said Tara Harwood, who was laid off from her job as an ActionKit quality assurance engineer. Everything they did was poison as far as I'm concerned."

NGP VANs products are used in every phase of campaigning: field operations, digital outreach, fundraising and compliance needs. The ActionKit team lost nearly half its team of 10 engineers in the most recent round of layoffs this September, and is considered the most powerful digital organizing and fundraising software  even allowing clients to make custom data requests and add code that isnt built into the system. Unlike other products offered by NGP VAN, ActionKits help desk was staffed by engineers, which translated to exceptional customer service. Its big-name clients include the presidential campaign of Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) and Cori Bush (D-Mo.) and California Gov. Gavin Newsom, as well as numerous progressive nonprofits.

Four former employees said the staff cuts could delay response time to client questions, reduce the ability to update the software and slow the ability to address glitches.

Some users have questioned the companys commitment to improving the software amid recent changes.

I felt like there were a lot of issues where we didn't have the resources we needed to do things, one former employee who was laid off last month told POLITICO.

Campaign technology is quickly evolving  on both sides  and Democratic tools will need resources and investment to stay competitive in the long term.

The bigger concern for me is not necessarily this cycle, but its four years, six years down the line, said Kenneth Pennington, partner at Democratic firm Middle Seat. Theres a pattern in Democratic software of creating a tool and then you stop updating it, you stop working on it, you stop developing and creating new releases for it.

The changes cast uncertainty over the entire Democratic and progressive tech ecosystem, said Josh Nelson, CEO of Civic Shout, a company that helps Democrats and progressive groups grow opt-in email and SMS lists. It's sparking a lot of conversations about whether it makes sense for Democratic campaigns and organizations to invest in and build their own tools.

But while multiple Democratic firms have expressed the desire to leave, NGP VAN has dominated the market for years. Competitors are trying to capitalize on the dissatisfaction with NGP VAN, but smaller companies dont yet provide a similar full-service product. And its a lot of work for firms to move to different software, much less create their own. Moving also wouldnt be ideal near the middle of an election cycle.

I really want to see everyone's energy completely focused on what they're doing in the world or on winning elections, especially with our critical election year coming up, and with nonprofit and political fundraising down across the board, a partner at one consulting firm told POLITICO. It's not a great time for this to happen.
One hundred and thirty years ago, a group of business leaders in Denver wrote a letter to Mexico's President Porfirio Diaz, requesting the appointment of a Mexican Consul General in Denver.

These Coloradans wanted to be able to conduct business with Mexico more conveniently.

There are two dozen signatures on a letter postmarked May 1893.

Solicitud de Nombramiento de Consul by CBS News Colorado on Scribd

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Colorado mining, railroad and other industries frustrated at the delays and inconvenience of having to travel far to access consular services for Mexico.

Current Deputy Consul Federico Bass Villareal said, "Knowing of the potential of the relationship, the economic relationship between Colorado and Mexico - they wrote a letter to President Porfirio Diaz asking for a Consulate to be here in Denver so they wouldn't have to travel to Kansas City."

Denver's first Consul General of Mexico Casimiro Barela. Barela helped write the Colorado state constitution. He also served in the Territorial legislature and was one of Colorado's longest serving state senators. / Credit: Consulate General of Mexico

Casimiro Barela was appointed the first Consul General. Born in what was then Mexico, he became an American citizen when his birthplace became part of the US.

Barela had already served in the Territorial legislature and as a Colorado state senator. He was one of the authors of the Colorado state constitution.

"Fighting for the constitution to be published in English, Spanish and German speaks a lot of himself. He is also one of the longest serving state senators in the history of Colorado," added Bass Villareal.

"Por primera vez en Estados Unidos, estamos entregando esas tarjetas en el consulado," explained Mexico's Consul General for Denver Pavel Melendez Cruz. This translates to, "For the first time in the US, we are giving out these cards at the Consulate."

Consul General of Mexico Pavel Melendez Cruz. / Credit: CBS

Consul General Melendez Cruz addresses people who've come to the Consulate to process things like IDs, passports, and birth certificates.

Nowadays the Consulate's focus is serving a million Mexican nationals in the Rocky Mountain region.

"All Colorado and counties for the east Wyoming and east Montana almost around 100 counties in United States," said Melendez Cruz.

Denver's Consulate recently piloted a new service making it easy to transfer funds to Mexico. The money sent home from workers abroad is the second largest source of foreign revenue for Mexico.

"Va a poder enviar el dinero en 30 segundos hacia Mexico," explained the Consul General, in 30 seconds  money sent from here will land on a loved ones' stored value card in Mexico.

Enabling the payment of bills, rent, utilities or school tuition back home.

/ Credit: CBS

The Consulate also promotes worker rights with education on things like workplace safety and wage theft.

"It principally protects for the human rights for the Mexican community the nationals in the United States," said Melendez Cruz.

130 years in  the economic bonds between Colorado and Mexico are strong as ever.

Melendez Cruz added, "It's amazing state and Denver is also a friendly city."

Colorado's ties with Mexico have only grown over the past century. Just this year, Mexico surpassed China as the United States' top trade partner.

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MOGADISHU, Oct. 5 (Xinhua) -- The Peace and Security Council (PSC) of the African Union (AU) has endorsed a request by Somalia for a three-month pause in the withdrawal of 3,000 troops stationed in the country, the AU mission said on Thursday.

The PSC, which is the standing decision-making organ of the AU for the prevention, management, and resolution of conflicts, also welcomed the commitment by troop-contributing countries (TCCs) of Kenya, Ethiopia, Burundi, Djibouti, and Uganda to work with Somalia and partners to secure financial support required for the AU Transition Mission in Somalia (ATMIS).

"The PSC strongly supports the request of Somalia regarding the technical pause of the phase 2 drawdown of 3,000 ATMIS uniformed personnel by three months," the PSC said, according to resolutions released by the ATMIS in the Somali capital of Mogadishu.

The five ATMIS troop contributors told the United Nations Security Council that they were in "strong support of technical pause" of the drawdown because they agree with Somalia that the country requires time to fix certain security gaps, including pooling enough personnel to take over security responsibilities.

The PSC urged Somalia to prioritize force generation, regeneration, and capacity building to take over and adequately occupy all military bases handed over by the ATMIS with the view to preserving the gains made in Somalia.

The PSC, in consultation with Somalia, the TCCs, the UN and other partners, pledged to reach an agreement on the transition to the Somali government's responsibility for security in order to make an informed decision on the renewal of the ATMIS mandate in December, including phase 3 drawdown scheduled for June 2024, and final exit by December 2024.

The PSC, however, took note of the shortfalls in financial resources that could impede the operationalization of the requested technical pause of three months. It directed the AU Commission to engage Somalia to mobilize internal resources, including approaching its bilateral partners to support the financial costs for the requested extension.

The ATMIS was expected to scale down its troop numbers in September this year by a further 3,000 personnel after successfully withdrawing 2,000 troops and handing over six military bases in June. 
An Allied Universal security guard is accused of a sex crime against a student at the high school he was assigned to, investigators say.

The charge stems from another student reporting a separate incident involving the same guard. According to the police report, the Rock Hill High School student told her mom she had gotten a message on Instagram from Johnathan Anthony. She said he asked her to come to his house and model for him, telling her he was a photographer.

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The police report says Johnathan Anthony Baskin, 31, works as a security guard for Allied Universal. According to an arrest warrant, the company assigned him to work as a certified armed security officer at Rock Hill High.

The student said on Sept. 14, Baskin stopped at her school and asked her if she knew he was the one who messaged her. She said he then asked her not to tell anyone, which made her uncomfortable, the incident report said.

The reporting student is the fourth at the school to have received messages from Baskin, investigators said. While she didnt feel comfortable sharing the names of her fellow students, she did share her Instagram handle with deputies. The police report says those incidents happened from at least May 15 until Sept. 14.

When the student talked to a deputy about what happened, she told the deputy she knew of two other girls who had gone to Baskins home. She said one of the two girls had stated that they engaged in sexual activities with him.

ALSO READ: Former CMS teacher accused of sex crimes with student, records show

The student also said another girl was called to the principals office to give a statement about what happened.

An Allied Universal security guard is accused of a sex crime against a student at the high school he was assigned to, investigators say.

Baskin has been charged with sexual battery in connection to the incident reported at his home. The arrest warrant for that charge says the victim was a 17-year-old Rock Hill High School student, and the incident happened between May 23 and July 31.

The warrant said Baskin knew the student from school. However, authorities say he is not a law enforcement officer or a school resource officer.

Unsettling news

Channel 9s Almiya White spoke with a mother who reported Baskin to the police.

Treasure Robertson claims Baskin tried to get her daughter to go to his house.

The charges against Baskin have nothing to do with Robertsons daughter.

However, what happened to Robertsons daughter set off the investigation.

The mom said it started with an unsettling request on Instagram.

While she was at school, she told me that he had approached her about some Instagram messages that he had sent her over the summer, Robertson said. He was trying to recruit her to come take pictures or model for him.

Robertson said she reported Baskin to the police last month, which began the investigation and inevitably, his arrest.

She told me she was sitting with a group of girls, and they had all got the same messages, Robertson said.

Investigators said Robertsons daughter was the fourth student to receive a message from Baskin.

Robertson is hoping more girls will come forward like her daughter did.

Thank God she came to me and let me know immediately or he would still be preying on these girls, Robertson said.

Baskin was given a $5,000 bond, which was posted on Wednesday. Allied Universal said Baskin was removed from service when they learned about the allegations against him.

We are shocked and disheartened to learn of the incident, the company said in a statement. Upon learning of the allegations, the former employee was immediately removed from service. The reported behavior is wholly inconsistent with our values and is not representative of our dedicated team members who work to keep communities safe.

Because we value safety and respect privacy, we do not provide employment details when asked by the media or members of the public. We are cooperating with local authorities as they conduct their investigation. All further questions should be referred to the York County Sheriffs department.

A source shared the following message that has been sent to families at Rock Hill High School:

Dear Rock Hill High School Family,

Today we learned that York County Sheriffs Office took a former Allied Universal Security Officer into custody stemming from an incident that allegedly happened outside of school hours and was reported to a school administrator.

We want to assure you we take every allegation extremely seriously and work collaboratively through all investigations. When this allegation was reported to our school officials, we did not hesitate to contact York County Sheriffs Office to investigate immediately.

The district is committed to the safety of our students and will fully cooperate in any instance of law enforcement investigations. However, we cannot comment any further on this particular incident as it is still pending court proceedings.

We will continue to do everything we can to foster a safe learning environment and look toward our families as partners on this front. Please continue to talk to your student about our districts See Something, Say Something initiative and encourage them to reach out to a trusted adult on campus at any time as part of our safety program.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.

(WATCH BELOW: Former YMCA worker jailed on child sex crime charges)
Things got pretty smoky at one Georgia jail after inmates allegedly used their jumpsuits to start a fire.

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The Troup County Sheriffs Office said that on Wednesday at 6:07 p.m., they were notified of a possible fire in one of the inmate housing units.

Firefighters were called after a large amount of smoke was confirmed. Authorities evacuated the jail.

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Once jail staff went inside, they learned that inmate uniforms were slowly burning on the floor, and the fire was put out.

The investigation revealed that inmates damaged a light fixture to start a fire, which deputies said they used to set the jumpsuits aflame.

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Jason Cofield and Travis Preston Shelnutt have both been charged with arson in the first degree, criminal damage in the first degree, interference with government property, and rioting in a penal institute.

Michael Dennis Cornett and Edward Anthony Facile are both charged with riot in a penal institute.

The investigation is ongoing and additional charges are possible.

IN OTHER NEWS:
DeSantis endorsed by group of 60 bipartisan law enforcement officers: 'Will bring back law and order'

FIRST ON FOX: Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is being endorsed by 60 Florida bipartisan law enforcement officers on Thursday, a larger number than he received during his 2022 gubernatorial race.

At an event in Tampa, Florida on Thursday afternoon, the campaign is set to announce that 60 law enforcement officers in Florida, both Republican and Democrat, are backing DeSantis in his 2024 presidential race.

"The endorsements come as DeSantis has been recognized in early nominating states for his actions as governor to back the blue and sign strong anti-crime laws, resulting in a 50-year low crime rate in Florida," the campaign said in a press release.

In the press release, the campaign touts DeSantis's record as governor supporting law enforcement including enacting "numerous laws" backing the police and a signing bonus of up to $5,000 for new officers that the campaign says has brought officers from across the country to the Sunshine State.

RON DESANTIS HAULS IN $15 MILLION IN PAST THREE MONTHS, MOVES PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN STAFF TO IOWA

Governor Ron DeSantis speaks at a press conference at the Lakeland, Florida Police Department to announce a new proposal that would provide $5,000 signing bonuses to those who sign on to be law enforcement officers from within the state of Florida

"Ron DeSantis has been unwavering in his support for law enforcement, which is why I am proud to endorse him today to be the next president of the United States," Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd, one of the officers to endorse DeSantis, said in the press release.

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"Our nation needs a leader who will bring back law and order to our communities. The people in the major metropolitan areas deserve to be safe, too. As President of the United States, he will fight to curtail runaway violent crime."

DESANTIS CAMPAIGN BLASTS BIDEN OVER REPORT CHILD WAS RAPED IN HOME HOUSING 11 ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS: 'NO EXCUSES'

Florida Governor and 2024 Presidential hopeful Ron DeSantis waves as he arrives for his campaign kickoff event at Eternity Church in Clive, Iowa, on May 30, 2023.

DeSantis was endorsed by 59 sheriffs during his 2022 gubernatorial campaign after they dubbed him the "Law and Order" governor, the campaign said.

"Ron DeSantis doesnt just talk about backing the blue, he has delivered results for law enforcement officers and their families, from pay raises and bonuses to ensuring they have what they need to do their job and being very clear that he is on the side of law and order," Brevard County Sheriff Wayne Ivey said in the press release.

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis speaks at a press conference at the American Police Hall of Fame & Museum in Titusville.

"Crime has gotten out of control in this country, but not in Florida," the release continued. "America desperately needs Ron DeSantis to go into the White House on Day One and replace Joe Bidens soft-on-crime policies with his agenda to back the blue and protect our communities."

In June, DeSantis earned the endorsement of the Florida Police Benevolent Association President, the largest police union in the state.

"For the over 30,000 men and women in the Florida Police Benevolent Association, the choice for us could not be clearer," the association's president, John Kazanjian, said in a statement.

"Governor Ron DeSantis and his administration have made Florida a law-and-order state, by investing in and supporting the thousands of law enforcement officers, who serve on the front lines in keeping our communities safe and secure."





Original article source: DeSantis endorsed by group of 60 bipartisan law enforcement officers: 'Will bring back law and order'
Gov. Ron DeSantis took his presidential campaign to downtown Tampa Thursday to accept the endorsement of 60 Florida sheriffs, giving him an opportunity to hammer the parts of his stump speech on preserving law and order.

But he also used the event to repeatedly hammer former President Donald Trump , the front-runner for the Republican nomination for president. DeSantis hit Trump on immigration, his conservative bona fides, his campaign expenditures, his proclivity for controversy, his 2020 election loss, his inability to serve two terms and more.

Heres just the reality. If you want to know whos done more to actually implement and deliver on America First policies, the person thats done that more than anyone else in these United States is right here, he said, to loud applause.

The event was in keeping with a major pivot DeSantis has made as he enters the crucial 100 days before the make-or-break Iowa caucuses in January. As hes struggled to gain traction, hes begun criticizing Trump directly  and sometimes, fiercely. Trump broke his promises to Republican voters, DeSantis says, and has shifted leftward since he remade the Republican Party in his image. In the Florida governors telling, that leaves DeSantis as the better man to carry Trumps own ideology into the future.

READ MORE: DeSantis to meet campaign donors in Miami after announcing $15 million summer cash haul

Of the 60 Florida sheriffs that endorsed DeSantis Thursday, 37 of them backed Trump in 2020, including Bob Gualtieri of Pinellas, Chris Nocco of Pasco and Al Nienhuis of Hernando. Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister also threw his support behind DeSantis, but he was not listed among those who endorsed Trump on an archived campaign news release from 2020.

What about building that border wall?

During his speech, DeSantis referenced Trumps pledge during the 2016 election to wall off the southern border on Mexicos dime, calling it a famous promise. It was one that went unfulfilled, as Trumps administration added few new miles of border barrier, and at the expense of American taxpayers.

DeSantis lambasted recent comments made by Trump, who said during a stump speech that Mexico didnt pay for a border wall because there was no legal mechanism.

That was not what he said at those rallies in 2016. I was there for those rallies, DeSantis said. Its also not true. You actually can get Mexico to pay for the wall.

DeSantis has proposed imposing fees on remittances, which is the money people send back to their loved ones in other countries, to generate billions needed to pay for a border barrier.

Trumps campaign did not respond to emails requesting comment.

Gov. Ron DeSantis addresses the audience while on stage along with law enforcement leaders during a campaign event on Thursday, Oct. 5, 2023 in Tampa.

Criticism of Trump is a DeSantis campaign pivot

After previously avoiding any direct criticism of his former political benefactor, DeSantis new tactic was on full display during the second Republican presidential debate last month. When DeSantis got his first speaking opportunity, he used it to chide Trump for being missing in action. DeSantis campaign store also has an item mocking Trumps contribution to the national debt, listing the Trump Veto Pen for $7.8 trillion under a graphic that reads, Item Not Found.

The super PAC that has provided much of DeSantis political operation now has an entire sub-category of videos on its YouTube page of negative Trump ads. The videos bash Trump on a range of topics including abortion, COVID policies, not pursuing criminal charges against former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Trump allowing transgender women to participate in the Miss Universe pageant. Campaign finance documents filed by the super PAC, called Never Back Down, show that it has spent tens of thousands of dollars in September promoting these anti-Trump messages in Iowa, North Carolina and New Hampshire.

DeSantis recent lines of attack against Trump spurred varying opinions among some of the governors supporters attending the Tampa event.

I liked [Trumps] policies but Im tired of all the drama. I just want things to be orderly and to get things done, said Mary Petitgirard, 61, of Dunedin. As to the idea that Trump has moved to the left, thats probably just politics, she said, adding that shed still vote for Trump if he were the nominee.

Joseph Molnar, 32, feels differently. He said Trumps handling of the pandemic, his critique of Floridas six-week abortion law and other issues prove that Trump has become more liberal. Molnar brought a copy of the book DeSantis published earlier this year to the event, hoping for an autograph.

I think [DeSantis] is better than Trump not just in terms of personality, but hes better than Trump on every single issue, said Molnar, a Palm Harbor resident.

READ MORE: Matt Gaetz took out a House Speaker. Will he take the Florida governors mansion next?

Gov. Ron DeSantis addresses the audience while on stage along with law enforcement leaders during a campaign event on Thursday, Oct. 5, 2023 in Tampa.

Campaigning in Florida and raising money, too

Thursdays campaign event was part of a swing through Florida for DeSantis as he took a break from his early-primary-states focus to draw funds from donors closer to home.

His campaign announced Wednesday that it raised $15 million in the past three months, in conjunction with an associated leadership PAC and joint fundraising committee. While a sizable sum, it was still less than the roughly $20 million the campaign raised in the first six weeks of DeSantis campaign during the previous quarter. And according to the New York Times, when accounting for expenses and legal restrictions, just $5 million was at the campaigns disposal to use for the primary election as it entered October.

Earlier Thursday, DeSantis held a fundraiser at one of Tampas hot new restaurants, the Union New American in Westshore, where the regular lunch menu features caviar, an Alaskan king crab sushi roll and a cocktail made with Siberian vodka. Organizers required a $5,000-per-person minimum donation to dine with the governor, according to the invitation, but allowed couples feeling more generous to max out at $23,200 under the rules for the DeSantis teams new joint fundraising committee. The hosts of the event were listed as 10 businessmen, most of them local, including Willy Nunn, the CEO of several Tampa home-building companies.

DeSantis was expected to finish his day with a second, evening fundraiser in Miami.
Mourners gathered on the front steps of San Francisco City Hall Thursday to remember the late Sen. Dianne Feinstein at a funeral service.

Political leaders celebrated the life of the longtime California senator, who died last week at 90, at the afternoon memorial, highlighting her character and her legacy as a trailblazer for women in politics.

Dianne, the women of America have come a long way, our country has come a long way and you helped move the ball forward and our nation salutes you, said Kamala Harris, the United States first female vice president and a former California senator.

Feinstein was born in San Francisco and was the first female mayor of the city, a position she held for 10 years. She later served in the US Senate for more than 30 years.

Mourners gather in honor of the late Sen. Dianne Feinstein outside of San Francisco City Hall on Thursday, October 5, in California. - Gina Ferazzi/Los Angeles Times/Getty Images

A man photographs a memorial service program on Thursday outside of San Francisco City Hall. - Gina Ferazzi/Los Angeles Times/Getty Images

San Francisco Mayor London Breed, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Feinsteins granddaughter Eileen Mariano also spoke at the memorial. In pre-recorded remarks, President Joe Biden remembered Feinstein as a remarkable person and a kind and loyal friend.

Rep. Nancy Pelosi raises her hand in the air during her remarks at Feinstein's funeral. - Godofredo A. Vasquez/AP

US Navy Blue Angels fly over City Hall during the memorial service. - Scott Strazzante/San Francisco Chronicle/AP

The Senate floor closed on Thursday so members could attend the service.

The memorial was closed to the public. While it had previously been relocated to the steps of city hall to allow greater attendance, Feinsteins office announced Wednesday that the public would no longer be able to attend, citing increased security.

A live stream link for those unable to attend was provided.

The longtime senator was scheduled to be buried at a private, family-only ceremony following the service.

Californians paid their respects to the late senator on Wednesday as she lay in state at San Francisco City Hall.

Honor guard members carry the casket of the late Sen. Dianne Feinstein down the steps of San Francisco City Hall to a waiting hearse following a day of lying in state at city hall on Wednesday, October 4, 2023. - Carlos Avila Gonzalez/Pool/Reuters

A plane from the presidents military fleet carrying the body of Feinstein, accompanied by Pelosi, arrived in San Francisco on Saturday evening.

California Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom appointed Laphonza Butler to fill Feinsteins seat on an interim basis, and she was sworn in on Tuesday.

This story has been updated with additional information.

CNNs Elise Hammond, Maureen Chowdhury and Kaanita Iyer contributed to this report.

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Snook regulations changed slightly for some Florida waters, however changes to bag limits including harvest closures for some regions of the state will hold off at least until next summer, according to the state fishery management officials Wednesday.

Four changes to snook management in Florida were proposed by Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission staff. Of those, two changes were adopted:

State was divided into nine snook management regions

September added to closed harvest season for Charlotte Harbor and Southwest Florida which includes Collier, Monroe and part of Miami-Dade counties

Snook fishery managers now are able to be more flexible in decision-making when red tides, fish kills or other factors impact local fisheries, the FWC said. The seven member board of commissioners voted on the proposals Wednesday in Jensen Beach, the first of two days of scheduled meetings.

A slot-sized snook was caught by this visiting angler with Capt. Mark Dravo of Y-B Normal Charters on Oct. 3, 2023 in Fort Pierce. A proposed rule from FWC would make a two-fish vessel limit for snook statewide.

The board decided to table until a future meeting:

A proposed 2-snook vessel harvest limit statewide

A harvest closure for the Tampa Bay region that was to begin in 2024

The proposals were developed with concerns for declining water quality, loss of habitat and increased fishing pressure by residents and visitors, FWC marine fisheries manager Erika Burgess said. A yearlong process of 12 public in-person workshops, two virtual workshops, the distribution of an angler satisfaction survey combined with fishery dependent and fishery independent research methods provided the data FWC staff used to craft the proposals.

The board's decision followed impassioned pleas from several of the 20 speakers. Some supported staff recommendations to enact the harvest closures. With the 2-snook vessel limit, seven spoke against it and three spoke in favor of it. Four spoke out against closing snook harvest in Tampa Bay.

Snook regulations could become a topic discussed every year at FWC meetings, Burgess told commissioners. Chairman Rodney Barreto said that will allow them to change regulations quickly if needed.

"Our fishery is great here. I don't see any need to make any further regulations at this time. If a problem crops up that we aren't having now, it can be dealt with. Hold back on the 2-fish limit right now," Capt. Mike Maher of Vero Beach asked of the commissioners before they voted.

Restricting snook? FWC should reject proposed two-snook vessel limit for Florida Atlantic region. Here's why

Mullet memories: Mullet run: What we see in Indian River Lagoon today is far different than pioneer days

"Snook fishing is in decline in Stuart. In Sebastian and Fort Pierce, there is more habitat and deep water for snook. We have no seagrass meadows in Stuart anymore and an increase in fishing effort. I support a 2-snook vessel limit," said Capt. Mike Holliday of Stuart.

"I was surprised the commissioners decided to drop the 2-fish vessel limit, Now, I'd like to see them increase the harvest slot limit from 28-32 inches to 28-34 inches," said Greg Simmons, a Fort Pierce angler.

Commissioners also directed FWC staff to look at the possibility of creating a 10th snook management region by splitting the 156-mile Indian River Lagoon into two different regions.

Of the 1.4 million saltwater fishing licenses sold in Florida this year, more than 540,000 of them have purchased the $10 annual snook stamp including more than 93,000 lifetime fishing licenses.

The snook regulation changes will go into effect Jan. 1, 2024.

Go to FWC meeting in Jensen Beach for more information.

Ed Killer covers fishing for TCPalm. Email him at ed.killer@tcpalm.com.

This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: Snook regulation changes: How FWC altered rules for Florida favorite
Columbus Dispatch photographer Adam Cairns and reporter Bethany Bruner watch police investigate an armed robbery at the United Food Mart on S. High Street.

The summer months are often Columbus' deadliest in terms of gun violence and to highlight its devastating effects, The Dispatch launched an initiative to chronicle its pain and impact in real time.

The news organization deployed 28 journalists to capture gun violence and its lingering effects in real time over an 80-hour period from the early morning hours of Thursday, July 20 until the early morning hours of Sunday, July 23.

Columbus Dispatch photographer Adam Cairns photographs a hostage situation in the Ohio State University campus area.

During the 80-hour period, reporters listened to police scanners, met victims, embedded with Columbus police and the Franklin County Coroner's staff, worked with the Franklin County Sheriff's Department, shadowed community workers, attended a funeral, talked with hospital personnel and attended court hearings to understand the full effects of gun violence. The resulting story provides a snapshot of some of the 207 police runs related to guns. Reporters, photographers and videographers scrambled around the clock to capture many of the breaking news scenes such as shootings, armed robberies and assaults with guns.

Read More: UNDER FIRE series on gun violence in Columbus

Columbus Dispatch reporter Mike Wagner interviews a woman at the scene of a homicide.

This story is a part of the newspaper's yearlong project called Under Fire, which examines gun violence in our community. The work on the 80-hour story started with months of planning leading up to that summer weekend so that the staff could have access to live crime scenes.

But the newspaper wanted to go beyond just breaking news. It identified dozens of other moments in the court system, neighborhoods, churches, parks, funeral homes and other places to show how gun violence impacts everyday life.

Once the 80-hour reporting window in July concluded, the work was just beginning. Dispatch reporters requested hundreds of pages of records from Columbus police involving all shootings.

Dispatch reporter Sheridan Hendrix takes notes at crime scene in the middle of the night in Columbus.

Those records included information on ShotSpotter, a technology the police use in five city neighborhoods that detects when shots are fired. The records also included reports of what police call a person with a gun and other reports of actual shootings.

Reporters and editors then spent weeks combing through the police records, notes taken at crime scenes, hundreds of photos and dozens of hours of video to piece together and write a narrative timeline of the weekend as it unfolded.

To view other stories that are part of the Under Fire project, please go to dispatch.com/underfire.

Columbus Dispatch reporters Jenn Smola Shaffer and Mike Wagner review photos taped to the Dispatch office windows as they work on the Under Fire gun violence project. Shaffer has since left the newspaper.

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Here's how reporters traced a weekend of gun violence in Columbus
DNA technology and cellphone data led detectives to Jordan Thompson, 23, who is accused of killing Jamal Moore, 30, of Charlotte, on Jan. 28, in Nashville, police announced Wednesday.

PAST COVERAGE: Loved ones remember Charlotte man killed in Nashville stabbing

Thompson was arrested and was put in jail under no bond.

BREAKING: A months-long investigation into the 1/28 murder of Jamal Moore, 30, on Cherokee Ave in East Nashville led to today's arrest of Jordan Thompson, 23. DNA science & cell phone data analysis are important parts of this case. Thompson is being held without bond. pic.twitter.com/SpyOh9tsZr  Metro Nashville PD (@MNPDNashville) October 4, 2023

Moore was stabbed to death and found on the side of the road. The Charlotte man was in Nashville on business.

VIDEO: Loved ones remember Charlotte man killed in Nashville stabbing
The Diplomatic Security Service (DSS) protects U.S. embassies, consulates, and diplomats worldwide. Working in tandem with the U.S. Marine Corps, especially the Marine Security Guards, the DSS contributes to a multi-layered approach to safeguarding American interests abroad. While it's an essential arm of the United States Department of State, the DSS often goes unnoticed. However, that doesnt make their work any less worthwhile or valuable.

Notably, the DSS was officially established in 1916, making it one of the oldest security services in the U.S. The primary mission of the DSS is to ensure the secure conduct of American diplomacy. Unlike the CIA and FBI, the DSS is deeply rooted in the State Department. That means its agents specialize in protecting diplomatic assets, information, and personnel.

Diplomatic Security Service roles and responsibilities

DSS agents fulfill a wide array of responsibilities, making them versatile pillars of American diplomacy. They are charged with providing personal protection for high-ranking officials such as the U.S. Secretary of State, ambassadors, and visiting foreign dignitaries. They often work in close collaboration with Marine Security Guards, who bring expertise in the physical security of embassies and consulates to the table. Beyond protection services, DSS agents are also at the forefront of security engineering. Together with other DoS colleagues, they spearhead comprehensive security measures within U.S. embassies and consulates to make them impregnable fortresses of American interests abroad.

In the rapidly evolving landscape of technology, they are responsible for ensuring the cyber-integrity of communication channels and sensitive databases. This includes defending against hacking attempts and maintaining secure lines of communication. In turn, American diplomatic efforts can proceed without interference. DSS agents are also involved in counterintelligence measures. They work tirelessly to detect and mitigate espionage activities targeting the U.S. diplomatic community. Furthermore, they conduct investigations, collaborating with other federal agencies to perform in-depth background checks for personnel and other security-related matters.

Beyond these duties, the DSS also manages Anti-Terrorism Assistance (ATA) programs to train law enforcement agencies in other countries to combat terrorism better. This fosters goodwill between nations and creates a more secure environment for U.S. diplomats and citizens abroad. Additionally, the training often involves Marine Security Guards, who bring their expertise in physical security to these programs.

A DSS assistant regional security officer (left) and a marine with Fleet Anti-terrorism Security Team Europe during an exercise at the U.S. embassy in Belgrade. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Russell R. Rhodes Jr./Released)

Training and skillsets

Earning a position within the Diplomatic Security Service is a rigorous process. Candidates first pass a challenging selection procedure that includes oral and written assessments. After selection, agents undergo extensive training at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Centers (FLETC). Agents then partake in specialized courses that range from high-risk driving to cybersecurity. Their training is dynamic and evolves to address current global threats. That makes DSS agents some of the most proficient and adaptable law enforcement professionals.

In a span of approximately six months, trainees dive into essential subjects vital for their future duties. They receive classroom instruction on topics such as criminal law, investigative techniques, counterterrorism, and foreign languages. Proficiency with firearms is a crucial skill, and trainees undergo rigorous training to ensure effective self-defense. Physical fitness is emphasized throughout their training, with specific standards to meet for graduation. Realistic scenarios like hostage rescues, crisis management, and surveillance operations prepare them for the unpredictable challenges they may face. Specialized driving instruction is also part of the curriculum, given the importance of safe and efficient driving in protective missions. T

Following the completion of their training, DSS officers continue to enhance their skills through advanced training programs. Depending on their assigned roles, officers may undergo specialized training in areas like explosives detection, cybersecurity, or tactical operations. Language proficiency is highly valued in diplomacy, and many DSS officers become proficient in foreign languages relevant to their assignments. While formal training is crucial, the true learning experience for DSS officers unfolds in the field as they work alongside experienced colleagues ahead of their first assignments.

Notable missions

The Diplomatic Security Service has a storied history of operating under high-pressure situations where precision, bravery, and rapid decision-making are essential. While many operations remain classified, some instances have come into the public eye.

One of the most significant operations involving the DSS was the aftermath of the twin bombings of U.S. Embassies in Nairobi, Kenya, and Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. Within hours of the bombings, DSS agents were among the first U.S. government personnel on the scene. They played a pivotal role in coordinating rescue and medical operations for the injured and securing the crime scenes. Their fast actions enabled other agencies to step in for further investigations. They helped bring about a quicker resolution to an international crisis.

The 2012 attack on the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi, Libya , drew global attention and showcased the hazards that diplomatic personnel face. DSS agents were present at the consulate and were deeply involved in the efforts to protect American lives during the attacks. Despite being under-equipped and outnumbered, they evacuated personnel and engaged the attackers, displaying exceptional courage under fire.

The path to Diplomatic Security Service

For those interested in a career with the DSS, several pathways can lead you there. Many agents have criminal justice, international relations, or military service backgrounds. Fluency in multiple languages is also a vital asset. The process typically begins with an application through the State Department , followed by a thorough vetting procedure that includes various assessments and interviews. Success here leads to a challenging but rewarding training phase, followed by assignments that can take you all over the world.

Working in high-risk environments, these agents ensure the U.S. maintains robust and secure relationships with countries worldwide. If you're interested in serving your country in a unique and challenging way, joining the DSS offers an opportunity to be part of a critical yet often unsung facet of American security and diplomacy. The DSS exemplifies the core values of duty, respect, and honor, making it a fulfilling career and a noble calling. Their work, done mostly behind the scenes, deserves the utmost respect and admiration, cementing their status as the unsung heroes of American foreign policy.
Dog Day Rescue, a Kennesaw-based nonprofit animal rescue, posted these photos of Baron who is suffering severe injuries from an embedded collar.

KENNESAW, Ga. - Baron is an extremely cute and docile pit bull whose sad eyes appear to tell everything about the horrifying wounds he has suffered.

"This sweet, tiny boy is incredible. Words cant express his tender, loving nature," Dog Day Rescue posted to its Facebook page.

The Kennesaw-based animal rescue has been posting about Barons progress for nearly a week now. Some details may be difficult to swallow.

One volunteer wrote how because of Barons injury, her car now "stinks of infection, blood on the blanket and back of the seats and maggots have dropped out of the wound."

She added: "I would do it a million times over and not change a thing!"

The images shared of his wounds may be disturbing to some.

"We received this graphic video and a plea from the shelter to help this boy with this horrific wound," the rescue group posted. "Weve not been taking in new dogs because our foster homes are full, but there was no way we could turn our back on this boy."

Baron has suffered an extreme injury caused by an embedded collar.

"That happens when a collar is put on a puppy and never changed," the post continues. "The puppy grows, but the collar doesnt, so the body is forced to grow around the collar. This is most often found in dogs that live on chains or in backyards with no human interaction."

Dog Days Rescues says it is one of the worst cases they have seen, but sadly, not the worst case ever. They say he is also underweight, something easily remedied, but the injuries to his neck are more complicated.

The group took Baron to the ER and doctors were able to clean and begin to treat the massive wound to his neck. The staff at the clinic quickly fell in love.

"It seems he has all of the techs smitten, the doctor said theyre all asking if they can take him home," the group posted, adding a smiley emoji. "Hes got such a sweet personality and hes absolutely adorable."

Baron was put on antibiotics and has been having his bandages changed every few hours.

"His neck is being cleaned and re-bandaged at regular intervals, each time sloughing necrotic skin and alternating between wet and dry bandages as the wound continues to drain," they posted.

Sunday, Baron was able to get away from his IV for a few minutes and simply enjoy the sun. Dog Days Rescue posted an adorable picture of Baron laying down in the sunbeams.

"Hes still stable and loving everyone. His wound cleanings are going well," the post reads. "Hell be evaluated tomorrow to possibly have the needed surgery on that horrid wound to hopefully be closed."

The next day, doctors said it would still be a few more days before they could perform surgery to close the wounds.

"The wound needed to be reopened on the edges because its starting to build scar tissue. In order to be able to pull the skin together and close it, the surgeon needs healthy tissue without scar buildup," the group wrote.

The staff says there is still too much bacteria and not enough healthy skin to move forward. His regiment of recovery will continue for a little while longer.

"Meanwhile, hes getting lots of attention from the staff, everyone absolutely adores his sweet personality and adorable little face!" the staff exclaimed.

However, saving this sweet pups life is getting expensive. The hospital bills are climbing.

Dog Days Rescue has set up a fundraiser through Facebook to try to meet Barons medical needs. Donations can also be made at dogdaysrescue.org.

The group says charges against Barons owner have been filed.
FILE - Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, center, is flanked by Rep. Steve Scalise, R-La., left, and House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy, D-Calif., as they criticize Democrats for launching a formal impeachment inquiry against President Donald Trump, at the Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, Sept. 25, 2019. Jordan, now chairman of the House Judiciary Committee and a staunch ally of former President Donald Trump, is emerging as a contender to replace House Speaker Kevin McCarthy who was voted out of the job by a contingent of hard-right conservatives this week. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)

WASHINGTON (AP)  Former President Donald Trump is backing Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio, the pugnacious House Judiciary Committee chairman and longtime Trump defender, to succeed Kevin McCarthy as House speaker.

Congressman Jim Jordan has been a STAR long before making his very successful journey to Washington, D.C., representing Ohios 4th Congressional District, Trump wrote on his Truth Social site early Friday. He will be a GREAT Speaker of the House, & has my Complete & Total Endorsement!

The announcement came hours after Texas Rep. Troy Nehls said Thursday night that Trump had decided to back Jordan's bid and after Trump said he would be open to serving as interim leader himself if Republicans couldn't settle on a successor following McCarthys stunning ouster.

Trump, the current GOP presidential front-runner, has used the leadership vacuum on the Hill to further demonstrate his control over the Republican Party. House Republicans are deeply fractured and some have been asking him to lead them  a seemingly fanciful suggestion that he also promoted after inflaming the divisions that forced out McCarthy as speaker.

Trump had been telling people in recent days that he preferred Jordan for the post, according to two Republicans familiar with his thinking and granted anonymity to discuss it. But it was unclear whether he intended to announce it before Nehls' tweet.

Just had a great conversation with President Trump about the Speakers race. He is endorsing Jim Jordan, and I believe Congress should listen to the leader of our party, Nehls wrote late Thursday on X, formerly known as Twitter.

In an interview later with The Associated Press, Nehls, who had been encouraging Trump to run for the post himself, said the ex-president instead wanted Jordan.

After him thinking about it and this and that ... he said he really is in favor of getting behind Jim Jordan," Nehls said. He believes Jim Jordan is right for the job."

Jordan is one of two leading candidates maneuvering for speaker along with Rep. Steve Scalise of Louisiana. Both are trying to lock in the 218 votes required to win the job and need the support of both the far-right and moderate factions of the party. Its unclear whether Trump's endorsement will force Scalise, the current GOP majority leader, out of the race, or if either can reach the threshold.

Indeed, Nehls said that if no current candidate succeeds in earning the support needed to win, he would once again turn to Trump. Our conference is divided. Our country is broken. I dont know who can get to 218, he said in the interview.

Trump earlier in the day had been in talks to visit Capitol Hill next week ahead of a speakership vote that could happen as soon as Wednesday, according to three people familiar with the discussions who spoke on condition of anonymity ahead of an official announcement. Trump confirmed the trip to Fox News Digital and said he would travel Tuesday to meet with Republicans.

The trip would have been Trumps first to the Capitol since leaving office and since his supporters attacked the building in a bid to halt the peaceful transition of power on Jan. 6, 2021. Trump has been indicted in both Washington and Georgia over his efforts to overturn the results of the election, which he lost to President Joe Biden .

Nehls, however, said it was unlikely Trump would make the trip following the endorsement.

Jordan is one of Trumps biggest champions on the Hill and has been leading the investigations into prosecutors who have charged the former president. He was also part of a group of Republicans who worked with Trump to overturn his defeat ahead of Jan. 6.

Scalise has also worked closely with Trump over the years.

One of the people familiar with the planning had cautioned earlier Thursday that, if Trump did go ahead with the visit, he would be there to talk with Republican lawmakers and not to pitch himself for the role.

Still, Trump continued to stoke speculation, telling Fox News Digital Thursday that he would accept a short-term role as speaker  for anywhere from 30 to 90 days  if another candidate doesnt have the votes to win.

I have been asked to speak as a unifier because I have so many friends in Congress, he told the outlet. If they dont get the vote, they have asked me if I would consider taking the speakership until they get somebody longer-term, because I am running for president.

In a social media post earlier in the day, he added that he will do whatever is necessary to help with the Speaker of the House selection process, short term, until the final selection of a GREAT REPUBLICAN SPEAKER is made - A Speaker who will help a new, but highly experienced President, ME, MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!

The Republican conference is filled with members generally supportive of Trump, but whether theyd back him to serve as speaker remained to be seen. The role is a demanding position  effectively running the Capitol and dealing with hundreds of lawmakers  and requires an attention to the arcane details of legislating that Trump showed little interest in even when he was president.

While he is dominating his GOP presidential rivals, Trump is also still traveling to early primary states to campaign and has been spending much of his time focused on the four criminal indictments and several civil cases he is facing.

While there is no requirement that a person be elected to the House to serve as speaker, every one of the 55 speakers the House has elected has been a member of the chamber. From time to time, lawmakers have thrown their votes to those outside of Congress, often as a protest against the candidates running.

Trump helped McCarthy win the speakership in January after 15 rounds of voting. But he exhorted Republicans to impeach Biden and to reject deals that McCarthy negotiated. Last month, he urged the right flank to support a government shutdown if Republicans did not win deep spending cuts, declaring on social media that the GOP lost big on Debt Ceiling, got NOTHING, and now are worried that they will be BLAMED for the Budget Shutdown. Wrong!!! Whoever is President will be blamed, in this case, Crooked (as Hell!) Joe Biden!

McCarthy ultimately moved to keep the government open for 45 days without the cuts demanded by hard-right conservatives. Rep. Matt Gaetz, a Florida Republican and longtime Trump ally, cited that decision as reason to move to depose the speaker.

Among those who had pushed Trump for speaker was Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, a longtime Trump ally who didnt vote to remove McCarthy. She posted on X that she believed he would take the job.

Nehls, the Texas Republican who was among the first to promote Trump for the job, said before his Thursday evening conservation with Trump that hed been contacted by multiple Members of Congress willing to support and offer nomination speeches for Donald J. Trump to be Speaker of the House.

Next week, he wrote on X, is going to be HUGE.

___ Colvin reported from New York. AP Congressional Correspondent Lisa Mascaro contributed to this report.
A Dorchester mother is demanding answers after she says her 4-year-old daughter ended up undressed on the back of a school bus.

Angela Thomason told Boston 25 News she was floored when she heard that a 9-year-old girl was cleaning her child in front of other kids.

She said she was told that several other 4th and 5th graders were nearby.

She described her mind spinning in circles after hearing the story from her daughter, whos in kindergarten, and her 6-year-old daughter, who rides the same bus.

She had an accident, and I guess this child took it upon herself to change her, said Thomason. She had wipes and used them. I just feel like that shouldnt have happened.

Thomason said shes troubled by the fact that there wasnt any adult intervention.

I teach my kids that no one should touch you, she said. There should be someone on the bus watching.

She reported the incident back on Friday after her kids bus ride home from Holmes Innovation School in Dorchester.

According to Thomason, she was originally told that shed have to wait up to two weeks to see surveillance video.

This is urgent. I need to know what happened, she said. I have to see my daughters reaction.

Thomason has met with the school principal, the Office of Equity and the Interim Director of Transportation.

She told Boston 25 News on Wednesday that she received an email from the district informing her that the surveillance footage is ready to be reviewed.

She said she plans to go see it on Thursday.

Boston 25 News received the following statement from the Boston Public School District:

The safety and well-being of our students and staff are of the utmost importance at Boston Public Schools. The district is actively committed to working with the affected family to address the incident. We take all allegations of misconduct with the utmost seriousness and are currently completing a thorough investigation.

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

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

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Jacks Donuts, which started as a single pastry shop in Indiana in 1961, is expanding in Florida.

A new location in Bradenton is Jacks second in Florida. The first opened in Sarasota in 2022 and another is opening there soon.

Most of Jacks locations are in Indiana, but the company is looking to franchise throughout Florida, said David Robins, a franchise partner.

Jacks has about 30 varieties of doughnuts. Among the most popular are glazed, apple fritter and Boston cream.

Jacks Donuts, which started as a single pastry shop in New Castle, Ind., in 1961, now has its first Bradenton franchise at 6571 State Road 70 E.

Ive been doing this my whole life, Robins said of the pastry business. We have a great quality product and the best part is seeing people happy.

The doughnuts are made fresh nightly on the premises.

In addition to doughnuts, Jacks also has coffee and boba drinks on the menu. By popular demand, Jacks is also serving kolaches, a yeast roll wrapped around a smoked Polish sausage and cheddar filling.

Jacks Donuts, which started as a single pastry shop in New Castle, Ind., in 1961, now has its first Bradenton franchise at 6571 State Road 70 E. David Robins is shown with a tray of the shops popular apple fritters.

Jacks Bradenton store opened in May and held its grand opening in August. Previously, the space was occupied by a Shipley Do-Nuts franchise.

Jacks is open seven days a week: 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday through Friday and 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. The shop has a drive-thru as well as tables and seating inside for anyone who wants to enjoy their food on the premises.

In spring 2013, Jacks Donuts opened its first franchise about 45 miles west of New Castle in Fishers, Indiana, according to the company. There are now about 30 Jacks Donuts.

Jacks Donuts, which started as a single pastry shop in New Castle, Ind., in 1961, now has its first Bradenton franchise at 6571 State Road 70 E.

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All three of The Drew Barrymore Shows head writers have declined to return to the show following the hosts controversial decision to restart during the writers strikes.

Last month, the ET actor, 48, announced that her CBS talk show would start production on its fourth season despite the then-ongoing Writers Guild of America (WGA) strikes.

She then backtracked a week later after facing intense criticism over the decision, saying that the show would be paused once more.

Following the resolution of the strike on 25 September, The Drew Barrymore Show is set to make its return on 16 October; however, co-head writers Chelsea White, Cristina Kinon and Liz Koe will not be returning with it, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

The show is now interviewing new writers and will be in compliance with the guild, their source said.

The Independent has reached out to Barrymore and CBS for comment.

All three writers were vocal strike advocates and criticised their former bosss decision to restart before the strike had ended.

Drew Barrymore (Invision)

It is frustrating, because it will prolong the strike, and we just want it to end, Kinon told The Daily Beast after Barrymores announcement.

I personally understand that everybody has to make the best decision for themselves, Kinon said. I know that this show has a crew of hundreds of people who need to be paid, and I understand the perspective of wanting to protect your cast, your crew and your staff.

Were standing with all of labour and all of the unions across the world, because that is how it works. Unions only work when you stick together with unions across the labour spectrum.

Barrymore released a video on 15 September tearfully apologising for her decision to bring the show back, but later deleted it.

Announcing her U-turn and that the show would be paused again, she wrote: I have listened to everyone, and I am making the decision to pause the shows premiere until the strike is over.

I have no words to express my deepest apologies to anyone I have hurt and, of course, to our incredible team who works on the show and has made it what it is today. We really tried to find our way forward. And I truly hope for a resolution for the entire industry very soon.

The actor was also dropped from presenting The National Book Awards due to the backlash she was facing.

In light of the announcement that The Drew Barrymore Show will resume production, the National Book Foundation has rescinded Ms Barrymores invitation to host the 74th National Book Awards Ceremony, the organisation said in a statement.
A man has died after his vehicle crashed into a tree in Falmouth Wednesday afternoon.

According to Falmouth police, on Wednesday, October 4th around 2:19 p.m., officers were called to a single-vehicle crash on Davisville Road, involving a Department of Public Works pickup truck.

The truck was reportedly traveling North on Davisville Road when it left the roadway and struck a tree, police say.

The male operator was transported to Falmouth Hospital with critical injuries and succumbed to his injuries a short time later.

The driver was the sole occupant of the vehicle.

The Falmouth Police Department would like to express our deepest condolences to the employees family and our partners at the Falmouth Department of Public Works for the loss of one of their colleagues, " police said in a release.

The crash is currently under investigation.

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
A New Jersey man was sentenced Wednesday to 30 years in prison for running a drug delivery service that distributed dangerous drugs for over seven years, including the cocaine laced with fentanyl that killed three New York professionals, the U.S. Attorney's Office announced.

Billy Ortega, 37, from West Milford, New Jersey, ran a drug delivery service from his mothers Manhattan apartment, acting as a dispatcher and coordinating deliveries by texting couriers and customers, according to the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York. Ortega was convicted of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute fentanyl, acetylfentanyl, and cocaine, the use of which caused the three deaths, along with other charges.

On March 17, 2021, Ortegas couriers sent cocaine secretly laced with fentanyl to three customers across Manhattan, officials said. Attorney Julia Ghahramani, social worker Amanda Scher, and banker and soon-to-be father Ross Mtangi, all died after consuming the illicit fentanyl mixed into a batch of cocaine.

Ortega had been made aware that the laced cocaine had nearly killed someone before coordinating the additional deliveries, according to officials. After learning of the three deaths, he offered the supply to another drug dealer and continued his drug delivery operation up until his arrest nearly a year later.

Ortega was convicted after a two-week trial in January 2023 before U.S. District Judge Ronnie Abrams, who imposed Wednesday's sentence.

'Callous and remarkably evil conduct'

Officials said that before coordinating the three ultimately fatal deliveries, another customer warned Ortega his batch had almost killed someone. A friend of the other customer had been hospitalized and was administered a Narcan shot after taking the drugs, the customers text message said, which Ortega read before continuing with deliveries to three other people, who soon died from drug poisoning, according to officials.

Later that night, after the three people had stopped responding to his texts, Ortega offered the laced batch of cocaine to another drug dealer.

"Give it to some girls and you let me know lol bro," the message read.

After the three deaths, Ortega changed his phone number and continued to sell drugs until his arrest in 2022.

Ortegas callous and remarkably evil conduct rightly deserved a significant sentence, U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said Wednesday. This sentence sends a message to the fentanyl traffickers causing the fentanyl epidemic in our communities that they will bear the most serious consequences.

Families mourn losses

Families of the three victims appeared in court Wednesday as the sentence was handed down, WABC-TV reported. Mtangis mother, Lauren Lackey, sent a letter expressing her grief to Abrams, which was obtained by the station.

"My son is gone and my life destroyed because of Ortega's greed and callousness. I don't believe he cares about the destruction he caused or the rippling effects that our families will endure," Lackey said in the letter, according to WABC-TV. "It could have been prevented. My son was poisoned by Fentanyl. That horror sits on my chest and I feel it with every breath."

The family of Ghahramani, a 26-year-old lawyer and Columbia Law School graduate, founded the Julia Ghahramani Foundation in her honor, which now serves to support charitable and student-led organizations dedicated to social justice issues.

Ghahramani was also a contributor to the Columbia Law Review, "where one of her most cherished moments was a trip to Washington D.C. to meet with her hero and fellow Law Review alumna, the late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, before she passed, her family said.

Overdose treament: Narcan nasal spray for overdoses will be available over-the-counter at major pharmacies

Fentanyl overdose deaths on the rise

Every seven minutes, an American dies from fentanyl poisoning.

The powerful synthetic opioid is responsible for most overdose deaths. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, fentanyl overdose deaths climbed from 57,834 in 2020 to 71,238 the following year.

Illicit versions of the drug differ from legal fentanyl, a strong pain medicine vetted by the Food and Drug Administration and prescribed in medical settings to treat intense pain in cancer patients. Experts say illicitly manufactured fentanyl has increasingly been mixed with other street drugs, sold on the black market, and produced in labs overseas.

People intending to buy non-opioid street drugs may have no idea they are getting a potentially fatal mixture cut with fentanyl.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: New York fentanyl poisoning deaths: Drug delivery leader gets 30 years
Earth has been hit by a blast from a dead star so energetic that scientists cannot explain it.

The burst of gamma rays, originating in a dead star known as a pulsar, is the most high energy of its kind ever seen. It was equivalent about ten trillion times the energy of visible light, or 20 tera-electronvolts.

Scientists are unable to explain exactly what kind of a scenario could lead a pulsar to emit such intense energy, and the researchers behind the breakthrough say that it requires a rethinking of how these natural accelerators work.

Scientists hope that they can find yet more powerful energy blasts from pulsars, with a view to better understanding how they are formed.

Pulsars are formed when a star dies, exploding in a supernova and leaving behind a tiny, dead star. They are just 20 kilometres across, and spin extremely fast with a powerful magnetic field.

These dead stars are almost entirely made up of neutrons and are incredibly dense: a teaspoon of their material has a mass of more than five billion tonnes, or about 900 times the mass of the Great Pyramid of Giza, said Emma de Ona Wilhelmi, a scientist at the High Energy Stereoscopic System observatory in Namibia that detected the blast.

As pulsars spin, they throw out beams of electromagnetic radiation, throwing it out like a cosmic lighthouse. That means that someone in one spot  like the Earth  will see the radiation pulses flash in a regular rhythm as they spin past.

The radiation is thought to be the result of fast electrons that are produced and thrown out by the the pulsars magnetosphere, which is made up of plasma and electromagnetic fields that surround the star and spin with it. Scientists can search the radiation for different energy bands within the electromagnetic spectrum, helping them understand it.

When scientists previously did that with the Vela pulsar examined in the new study, they found that it was the brightest everseen in the radio band, and the brightest persistent source in the giga-electronvolts. But the new research found that there is a part of the radiation with even more high energy components.

That is about 200 times more energetic than all radiation ever detected before from this object, said co-author Christo Venter from the North-West University in South Africa. Scientists dont know exactly how that could happen.

aThis result challenges our previous knowledge of pulsars and requires a rethinking of how these natural accelerators work, says Arache Djannati-Atai from the Astroparticle & Cosmology (APC) laboratory in France, who led the research. The traditional scheme according to which particles are accelerated along magnetic field lines within or slightly outside the magnetosphere cannot sufficiently explain our observations.

Perhaps we are witnessing the acceleration of particles through the so-called magnetic reconnection process beyond the light cylinder, which still somehow preserves the rotational pattern? But even this scenario faces difficulties to explain how such extreme radiation is produced.

An article describing the findings, Discovery of a Radiation Component from the Vela Pulsar Reaching 20 Teraelectronvolts, is published today in the journal Nature Astronomy.
The family of slain Knox County sheriff's deputy Tucker Blakely has established an education fund to accept donations for his 5-year-old son, Hendrik.

The Hendrik Blakely Education Fund was set up with the help of the Knox County Sheriff's Office, said Ty Blakely, Tucker's brother. Donations can be made to the fund at Knoxville Law Enforcement Federal Credit Union, 501 E. Summit Hill Drive, Knoxville TN 37915.

Those wishing to help out can drop off donations to the credit union, which is open from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. every weekday except Wednesday, when it closes at 12:30 p.m. Donations to the fund also can be mailed to the credit union or sent electronically via the donor's financial institution, a credit union staff member told Knox News.

Tucker Blakely, 29, died late Oct. 2 after he was shot the night before while responding to a domestic disturbance. He is survived by his wife and son.

Tucker served as a U.S. Army Reserve combat medic before joining the sheriff's office, and was on his last patrol shift on Oct. 1. He was scheduled to take an assignment as a K-9 officer and had already chosen his dog, his brother told Knox News.

An investigation by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation is ongoing.

Outpouring of support for Blakely family

Members of the law enforcement community from around the country, along with hundreds of local residents, have expressed condolences to the Blakely family.

"I want to say a huge thank you to Sheriff Spangler, and way too many sheriff's' offices and police departments to mention," Ty Blakely said, adding he wanted to highlight the support from Knox County Sheriff's Office, Knoxville Police Department, Knoxville Fire Department, the University of Tennessee Police Department and UTMC staff.

"All of them were absolutely amazing, they bent over backwards to assist us," he said. "We have not wanted for anything ... anything we needed, they coordinated and made happen. The support and the love that has poured out from the community has just been amazing."

Liz Kellar is a Tennessee Connect reporter. Email liz.kellar@knoxnews.com.

Support strong local journalism by subscribing at knoxnews.com/subscribe.

This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Tucker Blakely death: Knoxville fund set up for son of fallen deputy
Gov. Greg Abbott speaks about the 2023 regular legislative session at the Texas Public Policy Foundation offices in Austin, on June 2, 2023. Abbott ended the event by promising to call a special session for education savings accounts. Credit: Evan L'Roy/The Texas Tribune

Gov. Greg Abbott on Thursday released his agenda for the third legislative special session of the year, asking lawmakers to pass school choice and further crack down on illegal immigration. The special session starts at 1 p.m. Monday.

Abbott also asked lawmakers to outlaw COVID-19 vaccine mandates by private employers.

"I am bringing the Texas Legislature back for Special Session #3 to continue building on the achievements we accomplished during the 88th Regular Legislative Session and two special sessions this summer," Abbott said in a statement.

[Vouchers return this special session  and school funding might be left out. Heres what you need to know.]

The special session has long been expected, but it comes at a tense time in Texas politics. Last month, the state Senate acquitted Attorney General Ken Paxton in his impeachment trial, ratcheting up tensions with the House that overwhelmingly voted to impeach him in May. And the special session starts about a month before candidate filing begins for the March primary, heightening implications for members reelection prospects.

Abbott has been pushing all year for legislation that would allow parents to use taxpayer funds to help pay for private school tuition, home schooling expenses or private tutoring. He prioritized it during the regular session, but it did not advance out of the House, where Democrats and rural Republicans have long resisted it.

Abbotts agenda specifically calls for education savings accounts for all Texas schoolchildren, or taxpayer-funded accounts that parents could use to subsidize alternative education costs.

Together, we will chart a brighter future for all Texas children by empowering parents to choose the best education option for their child, Abbott said.

Notably, Abbotts agenda does not include any other education issues. That is despite the fact that lawmakers also failed during the regular session to deliver teacher pay raises and an increase in per-student funding earlier this year. Those proposals did not make it across the finish line after getting tied to Abbotts push for education savings accounts.

Democrats quickly responded to Abbotts call for education savings accounts.

Today, there are schools in my district and all across Texas at risk of closure because the governor is holding public school funding hostage to pass his private school voucher scam, state Rep. James Talarico, D-Austin, said in a statement. Its clear Greg Abbott is more interested in doing the bidding of the billionaire mega donors pushing this scam than in serving the people of Texas.

It had also become clear in recent weeks that Abbott would put border security on the call. His agenda revives some proposals that were unsuccessful during the regular session, like increasing human-smuggling penalties and creating a state criminal offense for illegal entry from a foreign country.

But Abbott also included a fresher topic on the call: Colony Ridge, the massive residential settlement north of Houston that conservative media has portrayed as a haven for illegal immigration. The developer, a major GOP donor named Trey Harris, has fiercely pushed back on the allegations and invited all lawmakers to tour the community Thursday.

It remains unclear what exactly Abbott wants lawmakers to do with regard to Colony Ridge, though. His agenda only calls for legislation concerning public safety, security, environmental quality, and property ownership in areas like Colony Ridge.

[Colony Ridge developer defends Houston-area community as state leaders vow action against it]

As for the item on COVID-19 vaccine mandates, Abbott successfully sought a law earlier this year prohibiting such requirements by public entities, like school districts. But it did not extend to private employers, fueling some angst on the right.

This is fantastic, Texas GOP Chair Matt Rinaldi posted on X after Abbott announced his agenda. I did not expect vaccine mandates to be added to the call.

The Senate quickly responded to Abbott's agenda by announcing two committee hearings early next week. The Senate Education Committee is set to meet Tuesday to consider legislation on education savings accounts, while the Finance Committee is scheduled to convene a day earlier to discuss "teacher compensation and funding for public schools." While those topics are not on Abbott's agenda, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick has insisted the Legislature has broad authority for what it can consider during a special session  a flashpoint with the governor during the earlier special sessions.

The first two special sessions immediately followed the regular session that ended in late May. Lawmakers spent those two special sessions trying to reach a deal on property tax relief, which they finally struck in mid-July.

Along the way, though, Abbott aggressively used his veto pen to try to force a compromise between the House and Senate. He vetoed 76 bills from the regular session, the second highest tally in state history.

In explaining many of the vetoes, he said the bills could be reconsidered at a future special session only after property tax relief is passed. The agenda Abbott released Thursday includes none of those bills.

The absence of any items on teacher pay raises or school funding is also conspicuous. After the regular session, Abbott had suggested they would be linked again to education savings accounts in a future special session.

Asked about teacher pay raises in August, Abbott told a reporter he is fully committed to such legislation but declined to commit to including it in this special session.

Correction, Oct. 6, 2023 at 11:20 a.m. : Due to an editing error, a previous version of this story misstated how money from education savings accounts can be used. They can help pay for private school tuition, home schooling expenses or private tutoring
In the seventh decade of her acting career, Ellen Burstyn has more work than ever.

The 90-year-old Oscar, Tony and Emmy Award-winner is beloved for her role of Bernie Stabler on "Law & Order: Organized Crime" and is reprising one of her most famous roles in the new sequel "The Exorcist: Believer."

Christopher Meloni, who plays Burstyn's TV son Elliot Stabler on "Organized Crime," spoke in Interview magazine with the legendary actor about the factors behind her longevity, some of her most famous performances and the one role she regrets turning down.

"This is so bizarre," Burstyn said. "I turn 91 in December and Im busier than I can ever remember being at any point in my career. And I dont understand it at all. I mean, whats all this stuff about ageism in Hollywood? How did I get left out of it?"

Meloni asked her why she thinks her schedule is so full right now.

"I dont know, except possibly that everybody else who could play those parts has already died, so Im the only actress still standing who can play the great-grandmother or something," she joked.

Meloni, 62, and "The Exorcist" star have a playful back-and-forth on "Organized Crime," which extends to the set. She told Meloni she's more famous for doing "Law & Order" than anything she's done in her 70 years in the business.

"You know what I was thinking about yesterday? One day on set you said, 'Why do you do this to me, Dimi?' Its a line from 'The Exorcist,'" Burstyn said. "And I was so stunned because my son in real life says that line to me. When you said it, it was like I was in two realities at once."

"Afterwards, I was like, 'Since Ive lost my mother a couple of years ago, you in my life, in our work  youre my mother,'" Meloni said.

Last year, Meloni told TODAY.com that Burstyn is his "surrogate mother."

"I didnt realize that. ... It kind of snuck up on me, crept up on me," he explained. "So, shes a pro; its kind of effortless to work with her. She is a very interesting actress so that always, you know, I find that fascinating."

Law & Order: Organized Crime - Season 2 (Michael Greenberg / NBC)

Burstyn also famously played a mother in the 1973 hit movie "The Exorcist," a horror classic in which her young daughter in the film, Regan (Linda Blair), becomes possessed by a demon. Burstyn's character, Chris MacNeil, pleads with priests to perform an exorcism to save her.

"Its a human drama and a psychological drama," Burstyn told Meloni during their chat for Interview magazine. "Its the only film Ive made in my 70 years in the film business thats in the Library of Congress. Its a historical achievement."

Her role in "The Exorcist" was part of a fertile period in the 1970s in which she starred in "The Last Picture Show" and "Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore," the latter of which won her the best actress award at the 1975 Oscars.

She called that decade the favorite of her film career.

"That was when the studios were still run by filmmakers, not by corporations," she told Meloni. "And the scripts were submitted because somebody was interested in that story and wrote it, and a producer liked it and thought it would make a good movie. Not because it had been fed into a computer and said, 'Well, the first version made X number of millions, so the second one will make X number of millions and it has to have a big name.'"

She reprises her role of MacNeil in the new sequel "The Exorcist: Believer."

"First of all, I dont know if anybody in the history of filmmaking has ever recreated a character they did 50 years ago," she said. "It sounds like a first to me.

"You dont make a movie like that without going through a lot of real, emotional stuff. So the things that happened in that film, that touched on things from the first film, grabbed me."

Ellen Burstyn, the Exorcist (Alamy )

Burstyn also reflected on the "horrible" British accent she once did for a show, and the legendary film she passed on.

She said she turned down the role of Nurse Mildred Ratched, the cruel nurse at a psychiatric institution played by Louise Fletcher in "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest." The film swept all the major awards at the 1976 Oscars, and Fletcher won best actress for her performance.

"I was married to a mentally ill husband at the time, and I was spending a lot of time in mental hospitals and with other patients," Burstyn said. "And the idea of playing a mean nurse just rubbed me the wrong way. I didnt want to take on that particular psyche.

"It was the right decision at the time, but in hindsight it was hard to have missed that opportunity, because Id won the Oscar the year before and thought, 'Could I have won two times in a row?'"

The "Requiem for a Dream" star also opened up about what has kept her going strong into her 90s. She said she regularly walks her dogs, reads, attends concerts and plays with friends, and welcomes guests.

She also steered clear of the excesses of Hollywood as she got older.

"Well, the secret of that is eating well, exercising, not drinking, not smoking, not doing drugs, and deciding to live healthy," she said. "Thats what I decided after doing all those bad things for a couple of decades."

Burstyn's outlook on life has also served her well.

"I try to have the first words out of my mouth be, 'Thank you,'" she said. "Thank you that Im alive. Thank you that Im safe. Thank you that Im healthy. Thank you that Im 90 and still going. Thank you for my doggies. I mean, I have a lot to live in a state of gratitude for."

This article was originally published on TODAY.com
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, October 5)  Transgender drag artist Captivating Katkat was hailed as Drag Race Superstar in the second iteration of the reality show Drag Race Philippines.

The next Filipina Drag Superstar was crowned by her successor and fellow O-bar performer Precious Paula Nicole.

Katkat will receive 1 million and a one-year supply of Anastasia Beverly Hills cosmetics.

The drag veteran won over Arizona Brandy in the final lip-sync battle. She was considered a front-runner of the show after earning two RuBadges in the competition.

Katkat was the first transwoman to win the drag queen competition in the Philippines, adding to a number of transwomen who won the drag race superstar title after Sasha Colby's victory during the 15th season of RuPaul's Drag Race.

This season of Drag Race Philippines also made history by having three transgender women in its finale  Katkat, Bernie, and M1ss Jade So.

Hana Beshie, meanwhile, was voted as the new Miss Congeniality.

Season 1 and Season 2 of Drag Race Philippines is available on streaming platforms HBO Go and Wow Presents Plus.
Elon Musk says Starship has 'decent' chance of success on second flight

BAKU, Azerbaijan  SpaceX founder Elon Musk is optimistic the next test flight of the mega spaceship Starship will be successful when it happens later this year in Texas.

Musk provided an update Thursday on SpaceX activities, including Starship, Starlink and spacesuit development, via live video at the 2023 International Astronautical Congress underway in Baku, Azerbaijan. There is always major interest in Musk's endeavors with SpaceX. More than 3,000 viewers tuned in on X, formerly known as Twitter, and the audience at IAC in Baku was "packed," according to the moderator Clay Mowyer, with Voyager Space Holdings.

Starship and Super Heavy booster testing and development is underway at SpaceX's Starbase facility in Boca Chica, Texas. NASA has tapped SpaceX's Starship flight system to land the Artemis astronauts on the Moon in 2025, but many test flights are needed before Starship flies people.

A test flight in April ended with an epic explosion over the Gulf of Mexico when SpaceX attempted to launch Starship for the first time. Previous test "hops" were completed from Texas  some also explosive  before SpaceX tried to launch the spaceship and booster together.

Musk said since the test, SpaceX has changed the entire stage separation system for Starship.

SPACEX MAKES CHANGES TO STARSHIP AFTER LESSONS LEARNED' FROM TEST FLIGHT

With dozens of changes to Starship, the launch tower and the pad system, the CEO believes the next flight will achieve more testing goals.

"I think we've got a decent chance of reaching orbit," Musk said.

"Technically, it's a scooch blow orbit because it's going to do almost to complete circle of the Earth, but then splashdown someone somewhere in the Pacific, just off the coast of Hawaii," he added.

The fact that Earth is 70% water is beneficial for testing rockets, according to Musk.

SpaceX plans to return Starship and the Super Heavy booster back to the launch site in Texas, and eventually, it will do the same at the launch and landing site at Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

"We obviously want to make sure that it actually comes in fully intact and lands at a precise location in the Pacific before we try to catch it at the launch site because we're taking every precaution we can so that we do not risk any human lives or destruction of property," Musk said.

Musk said it would be "a few flights" before attempting to catch it using the launch tower arms. Using propulsion to hover the spaceship, the arms will "catch" the Starship back in the same spot where it launched.

"If we get lucky, we catch the ship toward the end of next year," Musk said.

In September, the Federal Aviation Administration closed the Starship Super Heavy mishap investigation from the April test flight. However, closing the inquiry does not mean Starship can immediately resume launching from Texas. SpaceX must implement corrective actions for the FAA to issue a license modification for the next launch attempt.

SpaceX has already taken many of the corrective measures.

When the next test flight happens, Musk said anyone can come see it. The facility is a 40-minute drive from Brownsville, Texas, and along Route 4.

"I think it's kind of cool that the public can actually drive within a literal stone's throw away from the factory and the launch site and actually see the rocket firsthand," Musk said.

A second Starship test flight date has not been announced yet as SpaceX awaits a new launch license from the FAA.





Original article source: Elon Musk says Starship has 'decent' chance of success on second flight
With Donald Trump boycotting and viewership falling off, some Republican National Committee members are starting to question whether the GOP's primary debates should continue in their current format at all.

You cant put your head in the sand and pretend these debates are going to result in someone other than Donald Trump getting the nomination, said Patti Lyman, the RNCs national committeewoman from Virginia, who called the debates embarrassing and said they reflected very poorly on our party.

Louis Gurvich, chair of the Republican Party of Louisiana, said the debates have demeaned every candidate who participated in them, while Roger Villere, Louisianas national committeeman, said he didnt really see what were gaining from having a debate without having the main participant.

The RNC says the third debate, set for Nov. 8 in Miami, will go on as planned. In a statement, a spokesperson for the committee said that as long as there are candidates who qualify for the stage and want to debate, the RNC will continue to sanction debates.

But some RNC members are coming to the conclusion that going forward with the debates may not be worthwhile, given Trumps refusal to participate. Their posture underscores the growing sentiment within GOP ranks that the party should acknowledge the high likelihood that the former president will prevail in the primary and turn its attention to the general. It also underscores the degree to which Trump, who is dominating in polls, is undermining the traditional means of selecting a nominee and diminishing the RNCs power in facilitating the primary process.

After the failure of the first debate, there should have been some severe introspection into whats going on here, said Tyler Bowyer, a national committeeman from Arizona.



Bowyer said in an interview there are clearly no plans in place for what may come after the third debate. The RNC has yet to announce media partners, dates and locations of future debates.

I think the only way you salvage it is if you get the frontrunner there, said Bowyer, who also serves as chief operating officer of the conservative youth group Turning Point Action. Plan a debate where you get the frontrunner to agree to it.

That seems unlikely. Neither RNC Chair Ronna McDaniel nor Dave Bossie, a longtime Trump ally who chairs the debate committee, are actively trying to court Trump to participate in future debates, as the RNC tried to previously, according to a person with knowledge of the committees operations. Trump is welcome to participate if he changes his mind, is how an RNC spokesperson put it.

Trump and his top advisers have repeatedly called for the RNC to cancel the remainder of its scheduled 2024 primary debates, including earlier this week when the campaign urged the GOP to refocus its manpower and money on election integrity efforts.

An RNC spokesperson said the committee does not pay for the debates  its partners do  and called arguments about the committee spending money on the events flawed and not real. During the 2022 midterms, the committee was engaged in nearly 100 election integrity lawsuits nationwide and remains involved in 59 across 16 states. The RNC earlier this year launched a Bank Your Vote early voting initiative ahead of the 2024 election.

But Trump isnt the RNCs only problem. In recent days, multiple other candidates have raised their own grievances with the committee about the debate process, a sign that the campaigns will continue to apply pressure to amend the current format.

Earlier this week, biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, among the crowded, lower-polling field of contenders, called the last debate a disgrace and accused the GOP establishment of propping up their favored puppets by allowing candidates on stage who dont have a viable path to the nomination. He has called for the RNC to limit the next debate to only the top four polling candidates.

Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, meanwhile, said it was a shame that the RNC threatened to exclude him and Ramaswamy from future debates after they announced plans to face-off during a Fox News segment this week. And Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.), who is lagging in national polls, has asked the RNC to change its polling criteria to place more of an emphasis on early-state surveys.

Complaints havent just come from the candidates. Theyve been visible in audience numbers too. Viewership declined by 25 percent during the second debate, to 9.5 million people  a total significantly lower than either of the first two primary debates in 2015.

Villere, the Louisiana national committeeman, said he is really conflicted about whether the debates are worth it or not. And Gurvich, the state party chair, said he doesnt fault the RNC or Fox, whose networks hosted the first two debates, saying the candidates fighting to talk over each other may be a problem without a present solution until the debate stage is winnowed.

But there are still a sizable number of RNC members who say the debates should go on regardless of Trumps substantial lead  and despite him not appearing on stage.

If the former president doesnt want to come, thats on him, said Oscar Brock, the national committeeman from Tennessee. But we have every right to continue these and promote other options. He may have 40 percent of the vote, but he doesnt have 100 percent.



Jason Thompson, Georgias national committeeman, said he understands that Trump is ahead and everything  and way ahead.

But also, we have rules, Thompson continued. This is a process we have to go through regardless. We have primaries. We arent anointing people.

Juliana Bergeron, the committeewoman from the first-in-the-nation primary state of New Hampshire, noted that Trump is not an incumbent, and that his request to cancel the debates is unlikely to be granted.

This, in my opinion, will not fly, Bergeron said. Nor should it.

Trump, should he win the nomination, may ultimately appear on a debate stage opposite President Joe Biden. Though Trump skipped one of the 2020 debates with Biden, he has said he is eager to square off with him this go around.

Those debates would be handled by the Commission on Presidential Debates, a non-profit that has hosted general election face offs for every presidential election since 1988. The RNC has cut ties with the CPD and last year forbade its candidates from participating in future debates organized by the commission. But the CPD maintains that they negotiate with the nominee, and not the party. At the end of this month, the CPD will be announcing the dates, venue and format for each of the general election debates.

Its pretty hard to withdraw from something that you never had anything to do with, said Frank Fahrenkopf, the co-chair of CPD, referring to the RNC. We don't deal with the parties at all. We deal with the candidates.

He said no contact would be made with any campaigns until the nomination process has ended.



As for the primary debates, there is a recognition even among RNC members who favor holding more of them that the first two have fallen short of expectations  and that changes may be required.

It would be nice to see that they were much more orderly, said Steve Scheffler, the national committeeman from Iowa, the first-in-the-nation caucus state. I dont know what the solution is. Certainly there need to be some improvements.

Meridith McGraw contributed to this report.
EMILYs List, the organization formerly headed by the newest U.S. senator, Laphonza Butler, has been supporting pro-choice Democratic women, including many LGBTQ+ ones, for elected office for nearly 40 years.

Butler, the president of EMILYs List since 2021, was appointed by California Gov. Gavin Newsom to serve the remainder of Dianne Feinsteins Senate term (until 2025) after Feinsteins death. Butler, a lesbian, is only the third Black woman U.S. senator in history and the first LGBTQ+ person of color in the body. She was sworn in Tuesday.

What is EMILY's List?

EMILYs List  EMILY stands for Early Money Is Like Yeast  was founded by a group of Democratic activists, including IBM heir Ellen Malcolm, in 1985. Malcolm has explained the yeast reference by saying, It makes the dough rise.

It donates money to pro-choice Democratic women running for local, state, and federal offices. It has supported 1,700 winners since 1985, according to its website. Its usual donation is $5,000, the maximum allowed by federal law, The New York Times has reported. It also makes so-called independent expenditures spending that doesnt go directly to candidates but funds mailings and other efforts on their behalf. In addition, it connects candidates to other donors.

Who has EMILY's List endorsed?

EMILYs list endorsed Hillary Clinton for president in 2016 and has supported other women, including transgender women and nonbinary people, running for offices ranging from Congress down to county boards and city councils. LGBTQ+ women it has benefited include U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin; U.S. Reps. Sharice Davids of Kansas, Angie Craig of Minnesota, and Becca Balint of Vermont; Govs. Tina Kotek of Oregon and Maura Healey of Massachusetts; and mayors such as Tampa, Fla.s Jane Castor , Madison, Wis.s Satya Rhodes-Conway, Chicagos Lori Lightfoot, and Seattles Jenny Durkan. Castor and Rhodes-Conway are now in their second terms, while Lightfoot and Durkan ended up serving one term only.

Trans women EMILYs list has supported include Sarah McBride, a Delaware state senator whos now running for U.S. House, and Danica Roem, a member of the Virginia House of Delegates whos now making a bid for the states Senate. Its nonbinary endorsees include Mauree Turner, an Oklahoma state representative.

The group has gone through some controversies. It received criticism in 2018 for endorsing Stacey Abrams in the Democratic primary for Georgia governor over Stacey Evans. Evans and some others felt EMILYs List should have stayed out of a race that pitted two pro-choice Democratic women against each other, the Times reported that year.

It usually avoids endorsing anyone running against a Democratic incumbent, male or female, but it made an exception in 2018, when Marie Newman ran in the primary against anti-choice Democratic Rep. Daniel Lipinski for a U.S. House seat from Illinois. Newman lost, leading some to say EMILYs List should have acted earlier. It went on to endorse Newman in 2020, when she won the primary and general elections, and 2022, when she lost the primary to Sean Casten.

To be endorsed by EMILYs List, a candidate has to be not only pro-choice and a Democrat but also viable  to be well-organized and have a reasonable chance of winning. Michelle Lujan Grisham didnt get the groups endorsement when she first ran for U.S. House from New Mexico in 2008, but she acknowledged she wasnt ready then. Thats a harsh reality, she told the Times in 2018. But EMILYs List offered advice and tech support, and hung in there with me, she added. It endorsed her in later, successful runs for Congress and for New Mexico governor, the post she now holds.

Theres no way I would be here without EMILYs List, she said.

Pictured, from left: Oklahoma Rep. Mauree Turner; U.S. Rep. Sharice Davids; Virginia Del. Danica Roem
Rosario Hernandez faces eviction if the city of Los Angeles fails to buy Hillside Villa, a four-story apartment complex with a landscaped central courtyard, and keep it affordable. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

For the record:

3:14 p.m. Oct. 10, 2023: An earlier version of this story described Glenn Wasserman as chief executive of the citys redevelopment agency. He was chief operating officer.



In 1988, eminent domain forced Rosario Hernandez and her family from their one-bedroom apartment east of downtown Los Angeles.

It's a rarely used legal tool for cities to compel the sale of private property for a public use and has historically displaced poor, Black and immigrant communities. Back then, the "public use" was a 30-acre expansion of the Los Angeles Convention Center, and dozens of residential properties were condemned along with Hernandez's.

Now, eminent domain could actually help keep Hernandez housed.

The Los Angeles City Council voted unanimously in 2021 to explore the use of eminent domain to acquire Hillside Villa, a 124-unit apartment complex in Chinatown where she has lived for 30 years with her husband, daughter and now grandson. Her apartment building's affordability covenant kept rents low until it expired in 2018. Then came rent hikes and eviction notices.

Read more: Looking to avert evictions, L.A. seeks $46 million to buy Chinatown apartment building

Now the city wants to buy Hillside Villa, an olive green and red painted four-story complex with a landscaped central courtyard and a small front yard shaded by mature trees  and keep it affordable. If the effort fails, Hernandez worries she'll be separated from her family.

"If I lose this apartment, where will my daughter go? Where's her baby going to go? What can we afford?" said Rosario, who's on a fixed income.

Rosario Hernandez fights back tears as she talks about facing the threat of eviction amid huge rent increases. She is hopeful that the city of Los Angeles is considering claiming eminent domain over her apartment complex to create a bloc of affordable housing. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

Public use in this case, proponents argue, means preventing evictions and creating affordable housing in a neighborhood and region that badly needs it.

The complex's owner, Tom Botz, has refused multiple times to sell the property and declined to extend the affordability covenants that have kept rents within reach of families such as Hernandez's. Botz hiked rents, in some cases by 100%, when the covenant expired in 2018, and 18 families have received unlawful detainer notices, a legal precursor to eviction, according to Jacob Woocher, an organizer with the L. A. Tenants Union representing some of the residents facing eviction.

Botz's attorney Michael Leifer did not respond to a request for comment Tuesday, but he called the plan "beyond wasteful" in a letter to the city.

Read more: L.A. City Council moves to buy apartments to protect tenants from huge rent hikes

Eminent domain is an unpopular policy that has typically been deployed to build stadiums and freeways, most famously at Chavez Ravine to make way for Dodger Stadium. Developers claim it is anti-business, and even staunch proponents of affordable housing agree eminent domain is too easily tied up in court to serve as a reliable method of producing the necessary units. And some people view it as an attack on a quintessential American right, that of property ownership.

But it's important that the city consider every available tool, because at least 500 affordability covenants, covering thousands of affordable residential units across the city, are set to expire within the next decade. Advocates warn of a wave of evictions that would drastically affect affordability in Los Angeles.

"Hillside Villa is the canary in the coal mine," said Councilmember Eunisses Hernandez . "Thousands of units are on the brink of eviction, and we need to plan for that."

Can an affordable housing complex be considered a public good? It depends on what you think a public good should be, and that often depends on your politics.

But I know that at Hillside Villa, a lot of people would argue Rosario is a public good. She has provided child care for single working mothers and is part of a network of working parents who help watch one another's children. She is raising her 3-year-old grandson, whose toys cover about half of the living room. Their apartment has enough space for him to use an entire wall to display his art. Is that a public good?

Nieke Gaston is among the residents facing eviction at Hillside Villa in Los Angeles. She hopes eminent domain will enable to her to continue living there. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

Castelar Elementary School is just two blocks away, close enough for kids to walk safely if their parents have to work. Hillside Villa's residents encompass generations of students and parents who have productive relationships with the teachers and classrooms there. And elderly residents can access affordable healthcare in their own language in Chinatown. Can these relationships be considered a public good?

Research shows eviction is linked with higher rates of depression, suicide and homelessness. Eviction tarnishes a tenant's record and makes it harder to find a new apartment. It creates additional financial burdens and forces people to search for housing in often unsafe neighborhoods. For children in insecure housing situations, grades suffer and mental health declines. Is preventing that a public good?

Housing policy is often justified with a calculus that treats every resident as interchangeable  a tech worker from Austin represents the same amount of regional housing demand as your grandma or auntie who holds down the whole family.

But what residents at Hillside Villa tell me is that they are not all alike. That without people like them, their community, the neighborhood, and this city, won't be the same.

It's hard to measure what's lost when a community is broken up, just as it is hard to quantify exactly how much stress eviction adds to your life, or how much it affects a single parent's life when they lose their child care. But this web of connections plays an outsized role in creating the kinds of communities that reject crime, prevent homelessness and support healthy families.

Read more: Editorial: L.A. needs to preserve affordable housing. Eminent domain isn't the way to do it

Eminent domain may not be the best way of producing affordable housing, but it's a start, said Glenn Wasserman, a former attorney for the city's redevelopment agency who also served as its chief operating officer between 2006 and 2010.



If the city and current property owner can't come to an agreement over affordable housing, eminent domain can be "a creative way to extend the term of affordability covenants after they expire," Wasserman said.

The city has proposed using money from the reserve fund to buy the property, and the estimated price tag for purchase and rehabilitation is nearly $60 million.

The reserve fund is not designed to be used this way, and nor is eminent domain. But we also didnt intend to create a city in which affordability itself is in real jeopardy, where many Angelenos spend more than half of their income on rent  median annual rent in Los Angeles is about $35,220 a year  and median income is $69,778, according to the latest census.

The current cash balance of the reserve fund is $811 million. City policy states it must maintain a balance worth at least 5% of the general fund's budget for the year, which is $375 million.

With the remaining $436 million, the city could at most, repeat this experiment six more times, which amounts to 868 units of permanently affordable housing.

This works out to about $500,000 per unit of permanently affordable housing, not exactly an efficient solution. But I think the residents of Hillside Villa correctly believe the city can afford to purchase their building. The city could buy several like it without jeopardizing anything but the safety margin of the reserve fund.

It's time that Los Angeles use its most powerful tools to help its most needy residents. There is widespread demand for housing policy that recognizes the value of keeping people in their homes, that does not treat every resident as interchangeable.

Rosario knew it wasn't fair that she had to leave her home so the convention center could expand. She hails from a small village in Zacatecas, Mexico, where "if you own a property, it's yours and that's it." But the eminent domain process included relocation assistance, and she fell in love with her current apartment, where she's lived for the last 36 years.

It was new, comfortable and clean when she moved in  not spacious, but enough room to raise a family. Large, homemade collages of her grandchildren's and children's photos cover most of the walls in their house.

Rosario is practical  she is hopeful the city will come to her aid, but she's also been scouting the rental market. The anxiety of a looming eviction never leaves. Sometimes she catches herself packing up their possessions, trying to prepare for the worst.

She and her husband might find a nearby apartment within her price range, but what if they cannot afford space for her daughter and grandson? She can't think of being separated from them without tears.

"My grandson, he's always saying, this is my home, my house," Rosario said. Because she always looks stressed these days, "he's always asking me, grandma, are you OK?"

Eviction or eminent domain  in truth the details matter little to her. Again she faces eviction because wealthy people have decided there is a more profitable use for the space in which she has made her home.

But this time there is no relocation program, no affordable housing waiting  only uncertainty.





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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
GRANADA, Spain (Reuters) - President Volodymyr Zelenskiy told more than 40 European leaders gathered in Spain he was confident of America's continued support, and asked for their continued assistance and more arms to help him fight against Russian aggression.

In an emotional speech, Zelenskiy said school children in Kharkiv in east Ukraine were learning remotely or attending classes underground in subway stations because of air raids.

"Until there is a fully effective air defence system, children cannot attend school," he told the European Political Community summit hosted in Spain's Granada, some 4,000 kilometres west from Kharkiv.

He voiced confidence in continued U.S. support despite what he called a "political storm" there recently after aid to Ukraine did not make the cut for a last-minute Congress deal to avoid a government shutdown.

"I am confident in America. They are strong people with strong institutions, and a strong democracy," he said.

Zelenskiy said President Vladimir Putin should not be allowed to beef up his military or else Russia could attack beyond Ukraine by 2028.

"Let only Putin's ambitions be a ruin, not our countries, not our cities. Children of every country deserve to be safe. Everywhere in the country, not just in the subway, not just in underground shelters, but everywhere. We must make it possible. We must ensure that Ukraine wins."

(Reporting by Gabriela Baczynska, Anna Pruchnicka, Yuliia Dysa, editing by Inti Landauro)
LAS VEGAS (KLAS)  Clark County commissioners took the first step Tuesday in regulating sidewalk vendors under a new state law passed by the Nevada Legislature.

An ordinance passed by the county on a 7-0 vote now allows sidewalk vendors in residential areas, but prohibits the vendors within 1,500 feet of:

A resort hotel

An event facility with a 20,000-seat capacity (currently, Allegiant Stadium and T-Mobile Arena)

The Las Vegas Convention Center

A median of a highway, if the median is adjacent to a parking lot (would apply to the Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas sign)

Senate Bill 92 (SB92), sponsored by Democratic State Senator Fabian Donate, set up the framework for a new system that would create a path for sidewalk vendors to obtain business licenses. But the county has had laws against such vendors in the resort corridor for a long time. SB92 required the county to rewrite portions of the law and begin setting up ways to regulate food safety and business licensing.

But mostly, the county and the Nevada Resort Association want to keep vendors off Las Vegas Strip sidewalks. NRA President and CEO Virginia Valentine said Tuesday that a robust enforcement is necessary for any regulations about operating near resorts. Its about preserving the visitor experience and the safety of tourists and residents, she said.

Commissioner Marilyn Kirkpatrick echoed her concern. Ive been to the Las Vegas sign a few times in the night in the last month and it is  I cant wait to start enforcing it, because unfortunately theres more than 10 there any given night. I dont think that was the intent for the Las Vegas sign, she said.

Commissioner Jim Gibson said a second ordinance would likely be considered in January 2024 as the county adjusts to SB92. That ordinance will really bring regulation and outline how the business can be conducted lawfully, he said.

The county is putting together a website with a map to show exactly where sidewalk vendors are prohibited. Also, Gibson encouraged vendors to participate in the process. County commissioners held two town hall meetings in September to gather information and talk to the public after video surfaced in August showing a Metro police officer detaining a vendor near the Las Vegas sign.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KLAS.
Letitia Wilbourn walked past a youth football team and a cheer-leading squad as they practiced in Prairie Dog Park. She was headed toward one of three natural gas wells in the Echo Heights neighborhood.

The cheerleaders practiced chants and formations while their parents sat in lawn chairs under the shade of a tree. Their backs were just a few hundred feet from the gas well, which is separated from the park by tall grass, bushes and wire fencing.

Some believe such wells represent threats to peoples health and the environment. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development says active and abandoned oil and gas wells represent a risk for fire, explosion and pollution. Wilbourn says the wells in Echo Heights are just one example of how industry  and the noise and air pollution that come with it  have crept into her neighborhood.

We have all this industrial stuff over here but we dont have anything [else], Wilbourn said. We have no grocery stores, we have no art activities for the kids, we have no sports centers, and they only put industrial stuff over here that makes us sick.

A natural gas well is located next to the basketball courts and baseball field at Prairie Dog Park in Fort Worths Echo Heights neighborhood.

Wilbourn wants to stop industrialization in her neighborhood and in residential areas, especially neighborhoods of color, throughout Fort Worth. Recently, she and other community advocates established the Fort Worth Environmental Coalition of Communities to unite residents to fight against environmental racism and improve the quality of life in their neighborhoods.

Environmental racism is the disproportionate impact of environmental hazards on people of color due to policies or practices. It is evident when minority and low socioeconomic neighborhoods are exposed at a greater rate to such things as toxic waste dumps and other pollution.

The coalition is an outgrowth of tension that can occur as Fort Worth continues to grow and develop. Some people in Black and Hispanic neighborhoods feel that growth often happens at their expense.

Echo Heights resident Letitia Wilbourn claims the expansion of industrial development in her neighborhood has caused health problems leading to sickness and death among her community. Her concerns have led her to take on a leadership role for the Echo Heights Environmental Coalition.

Echo Heights is a residential community south of U.S. 287 and west of Lake Arlington that has about 2,000 homes of mainly Black and Hispanic residents, according to the Census. The neighborhood is also home to what residents say are dozens of industrial and commercial businesses. These businesses have been blamed by Echo Heights residents, but not confirmed by any study, for illnesses, miscarriages, respiratory problems, and deaths.

According to the Environmental Protection Agencys Screening tool, the Echo Heights neighborhood is worse than 91% of the country for proximity to hazardous waste and worse than 83% of the country for exposure to air toxins known to cause cancer. The city of Fort Worths new Neighborhood Conservation Plan and Housing Affordability Strategy cited data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention stating Southeast Fort Worth (including Echo Heights and Stop Six) are neighborhoods where residents have some of the highest rates of adult asthma in the city.

A 2019 UT Southwestern Life Expectancy Study found that the average life expectancy for the 76119 ZIP code, which includes Echo Heights, is 73.4 years, compared to the Tarrant County and Texas average life expectancy of 78.7 and 78.5 years, respectively. The average life expectancy for Black men in the 76119 ZIP code is 68.2, 10.5 years shorter than the Tarrant County average for Black men.

Balancing housing, economic growth

The city of Fort Worth has deemed Echo Heights and surrounding areas as an Industrial Growth Center through the Comprehensive Plan & Future Land Use plan that the city developed in 2000. The plan is a general guide for making decisions about the citys growth and development.

The plan is updated yearly based on changes in policies, zoning, and studies that the City Council has approved.

Multiple semi-trailers are parked adjacent to the backyard of Echo Heights resident Letitia Wilbourn. Wilbourn says the trucking company has contributed to air and noise pollution in her neighborhood.

Eric Fladager, assistant director of planning and data analytics for the city of Fort Worth, says the goal of the Comprehensive Plan is to accommodate the rapid growth of Fort Worth, balancing the development of apartments and single family homes, along with smaller scale industrial or commercial opportunities.

Echo Heights was chosen as an industrial growth center because of the transportation access to different parts of the region, state and the country with quick accessibility to Loop 820, U.S. Route 287, and I-20, according to Fladager.

Fladager sees this as a way for businesses to help economic growth and job creation, balanced with housing that reduces commute times.

We wanted to build a city of Fort Worth that people recognize as an outstanding place whether youre a business, whether youre an industrial company, whether you live in a single family neighborhood or you live in a mixed use environment, Fladager said. We want to create a lot of those walkable places so there are a lot of goals that are associated with planning for a citys future and thats something that we want residents, we want businesses and other stakeholders to be involved with.

Parked semi-trailers sit adjacent to single-family homes in the Echo Heights neighborhood. Residents and community members recently formed Fort Worth Environmental Coalition of Communities to combat industrialization in the neighborhood.

A change in Echo Heights

Adam Davis grew up in the Echo Heights neighborhood but moved out of the area when he was young. To help remember the passing of his mother-in-law in 2018 he created Pams Place Room and Board to honor her devotion to helping others.

The organization provides group homes in Echo Heights and the Historic Southside for those suffering with mental health disorders or homelessness or who were previously incarcerated. In the last few years, Davis says, he has had to deal with clients becoming sick and nauseated and an increase in noise and pollution from trucks and other companies in the area.

Davis said many people have lived in the a community for 30 to 40 years, but feel they havent had a say in changes that have occurred in the last 20 years.

I really just felt like we should have had a choice whether they move a truck company right behind these homes, Davis said. Weve been in this community for years, and I feel like we should have a say so, were all taxpaying citizens here.

Adam Davis grew up in Echo Heights and now owns multiple group homes in the neighborhood. He believes industrial and commercial development nearby is causing health problems for residents.

Wilbourn moved to Echo Heights in 1985 and remembers it as a quiet agriculture area with cows, horses and goats. It wasnt until the late 90s that she started to see changes, as more industrial and commercial companies moved in.

Her neighbor, Teena James, also saw the changes in the neighborhood around the same time.

James has lived in the neighborhood since 1994 and says the proximity of these businesses and rising taxes threaten the value of her home because no one wants to stay next to an industrial company that could possibly cause harm to your health.

You want to be able to reap the benefits that youve invested into a community that you chose to spend your money and raise your kids in and go to school in, James said. We should have the same amenities that any other area has because we pay taxes just as well as they do.

Wilbourn used to hold after school parties at her house but stopped because of growing concerns of air and noise pollution from the trucking company behind her home.

A fight against development

Wilbourn and James have been fighting against industrial and commercial development in Echo Heights for 20 years and have enlisted the help of the NAACP chapter of Fort Worth.

With the NAACP and other concerned residents, they formed the Echo Heights & Stop Six Environmental Coalition to fight against the growth of industrial and commercial businesses and to protect the health, wealth, and future of their community.

Gena Byrd, the Environmental Climate Justice Program coordinator with the Fort Worth chapter of the NAACP, follows the programs national plan in making sure Echo Heights has resources and support in its fight. The Environmental Climate Justice Program seeks to provide strategic outreach, mobilization, and empowerment for neighborhoods like Echo Heights that face environmental injustices in health, education, transportation, and more.

Byrd helped residents learn how to draw attention to their concerns, going door to door to inform residents on what the coalition is doing and inviting them to get involved. Byrd also connected representatives of Echo Heights with other coalitions and helped them access records and data to support their concerns.

We are leaders but we also are support, Byrd said. So when its a community initiative, were here to back the community up and not to take over.

More groups have rallied to help the Echo Heights & Stop Six Environmental Coalition, including the Greater Fort Worth Sierra Club, a grassroots environmental organization, and Downwinders at Risk, a clean air and environmental justice group.

Jim Schermbeck, director of Downwinders at Risk, grew up in the Rollings Hills community, close to Echo Heights. He remembers a community of Black and white residents who lived in what felt like a semi-rural area with ranch homes and large backyards with horses and goats.

Last year, when the Echo Heights and Stop Six coalition opposed a proposed light industrial facility in front of W.M. Green Elementary School on Parker Henderson Road, Schermbeck and Downwinders at Risk decided they should help. The coalition was able to stop the rezoning for the project, and that served as a catalyst to bring more attention to the problems of the neighborhood, according to Schermbeck.

Coalition forms for citywide advocacy

In June, city officials met with community members at W.M. Green Elementary School to address concerns raised by the coalition. In the meeting, the group said, it learned the city had applied for a grant through the Environmental Justice Government-to-Government Program without consulting Echo Heights residents or telling them after the application had been submitted.

The grant program was designed to build a strategic plan to address community concerns on environmental issues in the 76119 ZIP code that includes Echo Heights. Schermbeck said this mobilized him and the coalition to take their efforts and concerns citywide.

We dont want to lose more of our neighborhood, even as were trying to figure out how to save it, Schermbeck said. So what theyre looking for is some assurance that the council hears that request, which seems quite reasonable.

Multiple semi-trailers are parked adjacent to the backyard of Echo Heights resident Letitia Wilbourn. Wilbourn claims the expansion of industrial development in her neighborhood has caused health problems leading to sickness and death among her community.

In August, the Echo Heights & Stop Six Environmental Coalition, Northside Fort Worth Air, the Fort Worth Sierra Club, Sunrise Tarrant County, and Downwinders at Risk formed the Fort Worth Environmental Coalition of Communities to fight environmental racism in Fort Worth neighborhoods. According to Schermbeck, Echo Heights will be the flagship of the organization due to the advocacy residents there have done for their community.

Part of the groups mission statement says: Polluting industries must be held accountable for their environmental injustices, as well as the officials who facilitate them. This means that environmental racism and its continued impacts must be thoroughly documented and addressed. By centering residents voices, we can build trust and unity in our communities and citywide.

Planning for the future

Next year, the city will start work on its 2050 Comprehensive Plan, which will help shape the future of growth and development in Fort Worth. The Fort Worth Environmental Coalition of Communities will provide feedback during that process to ensure the city removes other industrial designations in residential areas in the future.

The City Council has postponed updating the Southeast Sector of the current Comprehensive Plan three times, after residents sought to stop further industrial or commercial development in the area.

On Nov. 14, the city council is scheduled to take up the last remaining piece of the 2023 update to the Comprehensive Plan, which is the Southeast Sector Future Land Use Map. Wording has been added to prevent further commercial or industrial development of the Loop 820 East/US 287 Industrial Growth Center.

Representatives of the city have met with community members several times to address their concerns and plan to meet with Echo Heights residents in advance of the Nov. 14 city council meeting.

John MacFarlane, who serves on the executive committee of the Greater Fort Worth Sierra Club, joined the Echo Heights & Stop Six Environmental Coalition over a year ago. He and Schermbeck say Fort Worth lags behind other cities, such as Dallas, in a comprehensive plan to address environmental racism.

MacFarlane is hopeful the city council will approve the new version of the Southeast Sector Future Land Use Map in the Comprehensive Plan, which includes the wishes of the coalition. Representatives of the new citywide coalition will go to public meetings and work to keep members of the community informed about what is happening, MacFarlane says.

This industrial center just didnt spring up overnight, right?, MacFarlane said.  Like one company here, one company there and then once you look up 20 years later, youre surrounded.
Norwegian Cruise Line will double its number of staterooms designed for solo travelers in 2024.

There will now be solo inside, ocean view, and balcony staterooms along with the existing studios.

A growing number of travelers have been opting to go alone, and it seems more cruise giants are taking notice.

If you're drawn to the convenience and freedom of traveling alone, you could soon find yourself passing on a big backpacking trip to go on a cruise instead.

On Tuesday, industry giant Norwegian Cruise Line announced it will roll out an additional almost 1,000 staterooms designed for solo travelers in 2024. And if more cruise lines continue taking cues from the rapidly growing trend of vacationing alone, we could see a growing number of these cabins.

Cruising alone can be expensive for travelers who're only interested in typical staterooms.

Brittany Chang/Insider

To make up for revenue loss on double occupancy rooms, some cruise lines charge a "single-supplement" fee for independent travelers who want to book these traditional accommodations.

On cruise lines like Silversea, this fee starts at an additional 25% on top of the base fare.

Silversea

With Royal Caribbean, this payment could double the cost of a trip.

But for travelers who prefer cruising alone, there is one cost-saving light in the dark: solo staterooms.

Norwegian Cruise Line

Having accommodations designed for just one traveler isn't standard across every cruise ship. But companies like Royal Caribbean, Holland America, Celebrity Cruises, and Virgin Voyages all operate vessels that offer just that.

In 2021, both Oceania Cruises and Atlas Ocean Voyages announced its then-upcoming ships will have staterooms designed for solo travelers.

The Solo Suite available in 2022. Atlas Ocean Voyages

At the time, Alberto Aliberti, then-president of Atlas Ocean Voyages, said travelers could see single supplements as a "major obstacle" and a "penalization" for solo vacations, he told Insider in 2021.

The new Oceania vessel, the Vista, finally set sail in May with single-person "concierge level" veranda staterooms, a first for the cruise line.

The Concierge Level Solo Veranda stateroom. Oceania Cruises

And for the first time, Princess Cruises' upcoming Sun Princess will sail in 2024 with accommodations designed for single travelers as well.

So if Norwegian's announcement indicates cruise industry titans are continuing to take interest in solo travelers, we could see more announcements like this in the future.

Norwegian Cruise Line is introducing solo interior, ocean view, and balcony staterooms on top of its existing "studios" designed for single travelers. Norwegian Cruise Line

The company says it was the first to create solo cruising accommodations when it implemented this stateroom category on the Norwegian Epic in 2010.

Norwegian says its single-person hotel rooms at sea have been a hit as more people continue to vacation alone.

Norwegian Cruise Line

As of now, Norwegian has 642 studios  the name for its solo traveler accommodations  across nine ships. These smaller rooms (pictured above) are no comparison to its more luxurious double occupancy staterooms.

But on January 2, 2024, the cruise line's number of single-person accommodations will exceed 1,500 across its fleet of 19 ships.

Norwegian Cruise Line

And these rooms will no longer be tiny 100-square-foot boxes.

From 2019 to 2022, the cruise line saw more solo travelers booking staterooms that weren't studios.

Norwegian Cruise Line

So to meet this demand, Norwegian will implement three new solo stateroom options: inside, oceanview, and balcony. And some will be available to book as soon as this week  the cruise line won't make any physical changes to its existing staterooms, a spokesperson told Insider in an email.

Travelers booking these will still have access to the Studio Lounges pictured above, a private space for solo cruisegoers available on several ships.

For cruisers who enjoy Norwegian's plusher staterooms, it's a big cost-saving announcement.

Norwegian Cruise Line

The cruise giant's solo supplement is 100%. In terms of pricing for these new cabins, travelers "can expect to pay less" than the typical double occupancy stateroom "with pricing and availability dependent on the destination and demand," the cruise line said.

Read the original article on Insider
A patas monkey named Momo escaped from his owner's home on Wednesday in Indianapolis.

After searching Wednesday evening and Thursday morning, authorities captured Momo.

Momo was reportedly seen on top of cars and in residents' yards and garages.

An escaped monkey named Momo got loose in an Indianapolis neighborhood, causing a bit of a ruckus during his escapade before he was captured Thursday morning.

The Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department announced during a news conference Thursday afternoon that they had first received calls Wednesday evening that a monkey was charging towards people in a residential area. The department said that's when it began its search for the monkey  with assistance from Indianapolis Animal Care Services and the Indianapolis Zoo  that lasted three and a half hours into the night.

Authorities resumed their search on Thursday morning after receiving more calls from residents, including one woman who said Momo was on her back porch trying to open the door into her home.

A few hours later, authorities said they tracked the monkey into a vacant house under construction, then closed all the doors and lured him into a bathroom.

Police then had the monkey owner's brother come in and finally apprehend the runaway, police said at the news conference.

"Momo the monkey has been captured safely," the police department posted on X. "That was more than enough monkey business for us."

Police posted this picture of Momo on X, formerly known as Twitter. Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department/Twitter

Momo had gotten loose after jumping out of his owner's fence Wednesday afternoon, his owner, Wayne Pham, posted on Facebook, along with a plea for information on the pet's whereabouts. It is legal to own a pet monkey in Indiana.

Momo is a patas monkey, a monkey that is native to central Africa and can run at speeds up to 34 miles per hour, according to Southwick's Zoo's website.

The monkey caused some trouble during his joyride through the city.

"There are reports of minor injuries from the monkey but we can't confirm it is from bites," the police department posted on X.

Some residents responded to Pham's Facebook post with photos and videos of Momo climbing on top of cars and meandering through people's yards. Another poster wrote that his coworker showed him a photo of a monkey his mother had found in her garage. Momo was also spotted chugging a beer from a trash can, a resident told police, according to WishTV.

Momo is currently being transported to the Indianapolis Zoo where his health will be evaluated, the deputy director of animal service said at the press conference, and authorities are still determining if his owner will be allowed to take him back.

Read the original article on Insider
[Source]

American sportswriter and host Pablo Torre recently spoke about his college days with entrepreneur Vivek Ganapathy Ramaswamy, shedding light on the Republican presidential candidate's persona in the classroom.

That Guy: In the Sept. 26 episode of the "Pablo Torre Finds Out" podcast, Torre reminisced about Ramaswamy's college days at Harvard, referring to him as "That Guy" on campus. Torre explained that "That Guy" is typically a "campus celebrity" who possesses an extraordinary level of ambition and an acute awareness of their image.

"Ramaswamy, when we were both freshmen, was famous on campus for his alter ego 20 years ago," the ESPN host recalled. "His alter ego was a libertarian rapper that he called 'Da Vek.'"

Drawing cringe: According to Torre, Ramaswamy fits the "That Guy" description perfectly as he was allegedly undeterred by how his actions leave others cringing. Torre said Ramaswamy would often raise his hand conspicuously in the shape of a 'V' during lectures, resembling a "bat signal for terrible libertarian takes."

More from NextShark: Man Gets 12 Years in Prison for Raping Chinese Woman at University in Australia

Obama karaoke: Torre elaborated on Ramaswamy's behaviors in MSNBC's "11th Hour with Stephanie Ruhle." Torre said part of what's "absurd" about the GOP presidential candidate is his conduct of "Obama karaoke," daring people to think "this is what a smart person looks like" when it's what "an extreme, ridiculous person looks like."

"As a tool of the 'deep state' here to undermine his campaign, I've been instructed to remind people that the dude has been ridiculous for 20 years," Torre jokingly added.

More from NextShark: YourFappeningblog - What is the Fappening Blog?

Ramaswamy, who announced his bid for the Republican nomination in February, has a net worth of over $950 million as of August, as per Forbes. Should he win the 2024 election, he pledged to fire 75% of federal employees, end civil service protections for bureaucrats and abolish multiple federal agencies, including the Education Department, FBI, ATF, IRS, Nuclear Regulatory Commission and USDA's Food and Nutrition Service.

More from NextShark: Rumors of OC's Coronavirus Infection Shock Irvine -- Here are the Facts
China's auto association opposes EU anti-subsidy probe into Chinese electric vehicles

Xinhua) 10:24, October 05, 2023

BEIJING, Oct. 4 (Xinhua) -- The China Association of Automobile Manufacturers said on Wednesday that it deplores and firmly opposes the European Commission's decision to launch an anti-subsidy probe into Chinese electric passenger vehicles, noting that the move will severely disrupt global industrial and supply chains.

China is the largest overseas market for many automobile companies in the European Union (EU), which have witnessed the development of China's electric vehicle industry, said the association. It is an unequivocal fact that the Chinese electric vehicle market has seen fierce competition and does not rely on subsidies for support or protection, the association noted.

Initiated in utter disregard of the fact, the EU probe is an apparent act of protectionism that will slow the development of the electric vehicle industry in the EU and the rest of the world and hinder the global pursuit of carbon neutrality, the association said.

"The auto industries of China and the EU are partners instead of rivals, and their development requires fair competition instead of protectionism," it said. The Chinese auto industry is willing to communicate with its EU counterpart to consolidate and expand cooperation in various ways, according to the association.

(Web editor: Zhang Wenjie, Hongyu)
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, October 4)  The Philippines successfully conducted another resupply mission to BRP Sierra Madre in Ayungin Shoal despite attempts by China to block, harass, and interfere, the National Security Council said on Wednesday.

Upon instructions of President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr., a regular and routine Rotation and Resupply (RORE) mission to deliver fresh provisions to our military personnel stationed at BRP Sierra Madre was conducted today, the NSCs National Task Force-West Philippine Sea said in a statement.

It added that a significant number of China Coast Guard (CCG) and Chinese Maritime Militia vessels attempted to block, harass, and interfere with the routine RORE mission.

The Philippines' resupply missions and maintenance of BRP Sierra Made are part of regular operations in line with domestic and international law and ensures safety and wellbeing of our stationed personnel, the task force stressed.

It said the resupply trip is a legitimate exercise of the governments administrative functions over the WPS, in line with the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), the 2016 Arbitral Award, and domestic laws.

On Aug. 5, the CCG fired water cannons on Philippine ships, halting the resupply mission.

A few weeks later, on Aug. 22, the Philippines finished the resupply mission despite harassment from the CCG.

A resupply operation on Sept. 8 was similarly marred by China's dangerous maneuvers and harassment.

Manila purposefully grounded the BRP Sierra Madre in 1999 due to Beijings encroachment on marine features near the shoal.
A Hilton Head citizen filed a complaint to the South Carolina State Ethics Commission against Beaufort County School Superintendent Frank Rodriguez Sept. 19. It alleges Rodriguez is using public funds to influence the outcome of the upcoming bond measure: the $439 million school bond referendum on the ballot in the upcoming November election.

Richard Bisi, the complainant, takes issue with Rodriguez hiring a consultant to advise on strategies to generate majority support from the board and the community for the referendum, according to two contracts signed Oct. 2022 and July 2023.

Anyone who suspects a public employee may have violated the law may submit a complaint. The district is confident that the contracts fully complied with state law, according to district spokesperson Candace Bruder. She said in a statement that Bisis complaint has no evidence or foundation.

In the first contract, the superintendent hired Herbert Berg for $138 per hour and a maximum of $55,000. In the second contract, the superintendent hired Berg for the same hourly rate, not to exceed $30,000. Bruder said the district hasnt used funds or resources for the second contract yet.

The superintendent has been hosting public information sessions about the bond referendum across the county, and the board has previously discussed the line between promoting the referendum and informing the community.

You can educate, but not advocate, said Frannie Heizer, the districts bond attorney.

Bruder said the district is working with legal counsel to confirm there are no violations of South Carolina law, which says a governmental entity cant use public funds, property, or time in attempt to influence the outcome of a ballot measure.

What happens once an ethics complaint is submitted?

Once someone files an ethics complaint, the complaint is reviewed by the Commissions executive director to determine if there are sufficient facts to support a violation of the law.

If they determine there arent sufficient facts the complaint is dismissed and struck from public record. If there are sufficient facts the complaint is referred to the Commission staff for investigation. After an investigation, the Commission could dismiss the complaint or call a public hearing to determine the outcome.

If found guilty of an alleged violation the Commission can recommend disciplinary action including public reprimand or a civil penalty of up to $2,000.
Josep Borrell , High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, believes that the US should reconsider its decision concerning its aid for Ukraine since the EU, in his opinion, is not able to replace it.

Source: Borrell at the European Political Community Summit in Spain, European Pravda

Details: Borrell called the decision of the US not to include the support for Ukraine in the temporary financing agreement bad news and expressed hope that this is not the final position of the US.

Quote: "Ukraine needs the support of the European Union, which will certainly be increased, but also the support of the United States. My hope, the hope of the Ukrainians, and I believe of all those who do not want Putin to win, is that the United States can take the matter back into its own hands and continue to support Ukraine."

More details: At the same time Borrell stressed that "Europe certainly cannot replace the United States" in the support of Ukraine but it is planning to extend the aid.

Quote: "Europe is increasing its support. In the table there are proposals for 50 billion euros for the civil and economic part, and 20 billion for the military part."

Background:

Last week, the Chamber of Representatives of the US decided not to include further financing support for Ukraine in the state budget, and voted for removing Kevin McCarthy from the office of the chambers spokesperson.

Before the voting, the White House expressed certainty that despite McCarthys dismissal, the Congress would be able to support additional financing for defence needs of Ukraine.

Ukrainska Pravda is the place where you will find the most up-to-date information about everything related to the war in Ukraine. Follow us on Twitter, support us, or become our patron!






Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky attended toe EPC summit with leaders including France's Emmanual Macron to urge Europe to remain united behind his country at a time when US support is in peril (Ludovic MARIN)

The European Union vowed steadfast support for Ukraine at a summit Thursday but warned leaders -- including Ukrainian President Volodmyr Zelensky -- it would not be able to fully fill any funding gap left by the United States.

Fears have been ignited by political turmoil in Washington, which on Wednesday prompted President Joe Biden to admit it "does worry me" that US support for Ukraine might get derailed

"Can Europe fill the gap left by the US? Well, certainly Europe cannot replace the US," the bloc's foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said on arrival at the meeting of the European Political Community (EPC) in Spain.

Zelensky, speaking to the EPC, expressed concern about "political storms" gripping Washington but said he was confident he still had US bipartisan backing for continued aid.

"America helped us, helped Europe to survive. And now it is important for Europe not to hide sails from the wind to wait out the storm," he said.

The EU and the United States -- together comprising most NATO members -- are vital for Ukraine's fightback.

The European Union and its member countries have promised more than $100 billion in multi-year support to Ukraine, including financing weapon deliveries.

The United States has committed $43 billion in military assistance, while Congress has approved $113 billion in aid including humanitarian help.

But fresh US funding for Ukraine has been put on hold as part of a weekend deal struck with opposition Republicans to avert a US government shutdown.

Borrell said that result "was certainly not expected -- and it's certainly not good news".

He added that the EU hoped that "is not going to be a definite position of the US".

"Ukraine needs the support of the European Union... but also the support of the US," he said.

- 'Cannot compensate' -

Maintaining European assistance to Ukraine was a dominant issue at the EPC summit in Granada, which gathered leaders from almost all countries across the European continent with the pointed exclusion of Russia.

"I do believe that all the leaders understand the risks of not providing full support to Ukraine," said Moldovan President Maia Sandu, whose country, neighbouring Ukraine, is vying to join the EU.

But Luxembourg premier Xavier Bettel, like Borrell underlined that "we cannot compensate" for any US shortfall in aid for Ukraine.

"That would be not possible, but we have to continue to support as much as we can," he said.

While noting Europe has no say in "internal US affairs," Bettel said "we hope that it will find a solution soon in the interest of of Ukraine".

European Commission chef Ursula von der Leyen portrayed the truncation of US financial support to Ukraine as just a question of "timing" for Washington.

She stressed that work was going on to concretise half the promised EU aid to Ukraine -- 50 billion euros ($53 billion) over the next four years -- to give Kyiv "predictability and reliability" for its strained budget.

Leaders at the EPC summit said Russian President Vladimir Putin's calculation was that the West would become fatigued at longterm support of Ukraine, handing him a path to victory.

"I think Russia wants us to be tired," Estonia's Prime Minister Kaja Kallas said, adding: "We should show them that we are not. We have to help Ukraine as long as it takes."

The issue, however, was expected to dominate an EU-US summit taking place in Washington in two weeks' time, between Biden, von der Leyen and European Council head Charles Michel.

Aside from the ongoing war in Ukraine, the leaders at the EPC summit were to tackle the issue of migration, with British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Italy's Georgia Meloni pushing for a policy to prevent boats carrying asylum seekers setting off for Europe.

rmb/dc/ach
The EU vowed steadfast support for Ukraine at a summit Thursday but warned leaders -- including Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky -- it would be unable to fill any funding gap left by the United States.

Fears have been ignited by political turmoil in Washington, which have prompted President Joe Biden to admit that it "does worry me" that US support for Ukraine might get derailed.

"Can Europe fill the gap left by the US? Well, certainly Europe cannot replace the US," EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said on arrival at the meeting of the European Political Community (EPC) in Spain.

Zelensky, speaking to the four dozen leaders at the EPC, expressed concern about Washington's "political storms" but said he was confident he still had US bipartisan backing.

The EU and the United States -- together comprising most NATO members -- are vital for Ukraine's fightback.

The European Union and its member countries have promised more than $100 billion in multi-year support to Ukraine, including financing weapon deliveries.

The United States has committed $43 billion in military assistance, while Congress has approved $113 billion in aid including humanitarian help.

But fresh US funding for Ukraine has been put on hold as part of a weekend deal struck with opposition Republicans to avert a US government shutdown.

Europe stepped up its military help for Ukraine on Thursday with Zelensky saying on social media that Germany was working to provide his country with an additional Patriot system to boost its air defences against Russian attacks.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said Berlin had already supplied one Patriot battery to Ukraine, which was "very difficult for us", and that the additional one will offer "far-reaching protection".

That announcement came the same day a Russian strike on a Ukrainian village killed at least 51 people, spurring condemnation from the EU, US and UN chief Antonio Guterres.

- 'Tireless' support -

Leaders at the EPC summit said Russian President Vladimir Putin's calculation was that the West would become fatigued at longterm support of Ukraine, handing him a path to victory.

"I think Russia wants us to be tired," Estonia's Prime Minister Kaja Kallas said, adding: "We should show them that we are not. We have to help Ukraine as long as it takes."

French President Emmanuel Macron reinforced that message in a meeting with Zelensky, vowing "tireless" support for Ukraine.

But within the EU there are fissures. Slovakia announced it has frozen decisions on military aid to neighbouring Ukraine after populists opposed to military assistance for Kyiv won a parliamentary election.

The issue of enduring aid for Ukraine was expected to dominate an EU-US summit taking place in Washington in two weeks' time, between Biden and European Union chiefs Ursula von der Leyen and Charles Michel.

Another conflict, that over Azerbaijan's breakaway Nagorno-Karabakh region, also featured large at the summit in Granada.

Most of the territory's 120,000 ethnic Armenians have fled to Armenia following a lightning offensive by Azerbaijani troops last month to capture the self-proclaimed republic and force its dissolution.

Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev skipped the EPC gathering, because of what his office said was France's "militarisation policy" in the Caucasus and the EU attitude towards the region.

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan did attend and sat down with Michel, Scholz and Macron, with the three then issuing a joint statement stressing the "inviolability of the borders of Armenia".

Aliyev's office said he was "ready" instead for EU-mediated talks with Pashinyan in Brussels, which Michel told AFP would happen this month at a date worked out with the two leaders.

Migration was another issue batted around the EPC summit, with British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Italian counterpart Georgia Meloni pushing for a policy to prevent boats carrying asylum seekers setting off for Europe.

"Tackling illegal migration is a shared European challenge. Numbers are up everywhere," Sunak told AFP in an interview.

"I believe, as do other European leaders, that it should be us who decides who comes to our countries and not criminal gangs," he said.

rmb-dc/yad
By Andrew Gray

GRANADA, Spain (Reuters) - The European Union on Thursday invited the leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan for talks to try to revive a peace process thrown into crisis by an Azerbaijani military operation that prompted more than 100,000 ethnic Armenians to flee Nagorno-Karabakh.

Charles Michel , the president of the European Council of EU leaders, said he had invited Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev to meet in Brussels by the end of October.

"We believe in diplomacy. We believe in political dialogue," Michel told reporters as he announced the meeting at a summit in the Spanish city of Granada of the European Political Community, a forum of more than 40 countries.

Aliyev snubbed a proposed meeting with Pashinyan, Michel and the leaders of France and Germany at the summit. But Michel said he expected both sides to attend the Brussels talks, noting Baku had said it would take part in future EU-mediated meetings.

At the summit, leaders also pledged support for Armenia as it grapples with the fallout of the Azerbaijani military operation last month to seize control of the enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh, mainly populated by ethnic Armenians.

Many EU leaders have condemned the Azerbaijani operation and some governments have called for the bloc to consider tough measures against Baku, which has insisted it took legitimate action to regain control of a part of its sovereign territory.

The European Parliament passed a resolution on Thursday accusing Baku of "ethnic cleansing" and urging the EU to impose sanctions on Azerbaijani officials responsible for ceasefire violations and human rights abuses in Nagorno-Karabakh.

But diplomats say they do not see a consensus among EU countries for sanctions against Azerbaijan, a growing supplier of oil and gas to the EU as the bloc pivots away from Russian energy following Moscow's invasion of Ukraine.

AID FOR ARMENIA

Given their disagreements on Azerbaijan, leaders instead focused on help for Armenia, such as a boost in humanitarian aid and pledges of economic and political support as Yerevan tries to distance itself from traditional ally Russia.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the EU would provide another 5.25 million euros ($5.53 million) in emergency aid, on top of 5.2 million announced, to alleviate the plight of those who fled from Nagorno-Karabakh to Armenia.

After meeting Pashinyan in Granada, Michel, French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz declared "unwavering support to the independence, sovereignty, territorial integrity and inviolability of the borders of Armenia".

That statement reflected Armenian fears that Azerbaijan may launch a military assault on its territory. Azerbaijan has insisted it has no intention of any such operation.

"Azerbaijan supports direct and bilateral dialogue and negotiations on the process of normalization of relations between Azerbaijan and Armenia and the peace treaty talks," Hikmet Hajiyev, Aliyev's foreign policy adviser, posted on social media platform X. ($1 = 0.9495 euros)

(Reporting by Andrew Gray; Editing by Alex Richardson)
By Andrew Gray, Gabriela Baczynska and Belen Carreno

GRANADA, Spain (Reuters) -Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy warned European leaders on Thursday that Russia could rebuild its military capabilities and attack other countries within five years if the continent were to waver in its support for Kyiv.

Zelenskiy, attending a summit of the European Political Community in Spain, also said he remained confident of continued U.S. and European financial aid despite "political storms" in Washington and elsewhere.

In an emotional speech, Zelenskiy described how Ukrainian children in the eastern city of Kharkiv were learning remotely or attending classes in subway stations because of air raids.

"Until there is a fully effective air defence system, children cannot attend school," he told the gathering in the city of Granada.

Underlining the horrors of war, a Russian attack on a village in the Kharkiv region on Thursday killed at least 51 people, including a six-year-old boy, Ukrainian officials said.

Zelenskiy said that by providing additional military equipment to Ukraine, European countries could help ensure that a "drone, tank, or any other Russian weapon will not strike anyone else in Europe".

"We must not allow (Russian President Vladimir) Putin to destabilize any other parts of the world and our partners in order to ruin Europe's power," Zelenskiy said.

"The presence of Russia, its military or proxies in the territory of any other country is a threat to all of us. We must work together to push Russia out of the territory of other countries," he added.

COMMITMENT

The European Political Community was established last year following Russia's invasion of Ukraine to foster cooperation among more than 40 countries from Norway to Moldova.

The Granada gathering gives leaders such as French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak a chance to re-state their commitment to Ukraine after political turbulence in both the U.S. and Europe raised questions about continued support.

A dispute among the Republican majority in the U.S. House of Representatives has complicated budget negotiations and prompted President Joe Biden, a Democrat, to go from confidence that a deal will be made on Ukraine aid to openly expressing concern.

Support in Europe has also appeared less rock-solid after pro-Russian former Prime Minister Robert Fico won an election in Slovakia last weekend on pledges to end military aid to Ukraine.

Zelenskiy admitted he was concerned but said he was optimistic about continued support.

"The situation with the Unites States is dangerous, it's a tough period," he said after holding several meetings at the summit.

He added: "I think that the United States and Europe will be together with Ukraine and we will together get out of this crisis."

The head of the European Commission, the EU executive, Ursula von der Leyen, said the bloc was working on a 50 billion-euro Ukraine package for 2024-2027, adding that she was "very confident" about continued U.S. help for Kyiv.

French President Emmanuel Macron said Ukraine could continue to count on support from Europe.

"There is a very deep, very strong commitment because we all know that we are talking about Europe and about the very possibility of lasting peace on our continent," he said.

Individual countries also made pledges in Granada.

Germany was working on the supply of an additional Patriot air defence missile system to Ukraine in the winter months Scholz said, while a government source said Spain had offered Ukraine another six HAWK air defence systems to protect the country's grain corridor and critical infrastructure.

Zelenskiy said he had discussed with Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, the summit host, a new military aid package, energy assistance, and how to keep open a corridor in the Black Sea for Ukrainian grain exports.

TENSIONS

Russia pulled out of a deal in July that had allowed Ukraine - a leading global grain exporter - to safely ship food products out via the Black Sea.

Russia has so far rejected U.N. overtures to revive the deal, while Ukraine is continuing some exports via what it calls a temporary "humanitarian corridor" for cargo vessels.

Ukraine's efforts to export grain overland via EU countries have caused tensions with Poland and some other eastern members of the bloc that are keen to protect their own farmers. Kyiv and Brussels are also discussing expanding alternative sea routes.

The summit will also discuss efforts by Ukraine and others to join the EU as well as how to tackle increasing arrivals of refugees and migrants from the Middle East and Africa - both seen as existential challenges for the bloc.

"Going from an EU of 27 to an EU of 35 will create many challenges internally. We will open in Granada this large debate that will take us to a deep reform of the EU," said Sanchez.

Talks on the margins of Thursday's gathering were focused on crises between Azerbaijan and Armenia and between Serbia and Kosovo, which have flared in recent weeks amid floundering EU efforts at mediation.

(Additional reporting by Inti Landauro in Granada, Andreas Rinke in Berlin, Anna Pruchnicka and Bart Meijer, Sudip Kar-Gupta, Marine Strauss in Brussels; writing by Charlie Devereux; editing by Gareth Jones and Alex Richardson)
The EU has agreed to create a Fund for Ukraine

The Budget and Foreign Affairs committees of the European Parliament have approved the proposal to establish a EUR 50 billion ($52.7 billion) Ukraine Facility aid fund for 2024-2027, the legislative body announced on Oct. 5.

Of the committee members, 86 voted in favor of creating the fund, six against, and two abstained.

Read also: Estonia to allow confiscation of frozen Russian assets, Kyiv says

According to the press release, EMPs made amendments to create a website about the fund's financial operations, as well as steps Ukraine must take to receive assistance. The site will also disclose contributions from third countries and international organizations.

Read also: Bulgarian parliament approves transfer of defective S-300 missiles to Ukraine

One of the key requirements of the EMPs is that seized Russian assets are used to finance Ukraines recovery.

Read also: European Commission nearing approval of negotiations on Ukraines membership talks

The European Parliament emphasized that the fund, along with the entire budget review, should be approved as quickly as possible, as "there will be no provisions for assistance to Ukraine from 2024" otherwise.

On June 20, the European Commission proposed to create the fund to disburse financial assistance to Kyiv via grants and loans.

On Oct. 3, EMPs approved budget review for 2021-2027, greenlighting the Ukraine Facility aid fund.

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Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
The EPC is the largest forum for European countries to discuss a common strategic agenda (Ludovic MARIN)

Europe's quest to build a common geopolitical purpose suffered a new blow on Thursday when Turkey and Azerbaijan skipped a major summit, as tensions mounted over the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

Four dozen European leaders -- from European Union and NATO member states, as well as their neighbours -- have gathered in Granada for the third summit of the European Political Community (EPC).

But two invitees, Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his ally, Azerbaijan's leader Ilham Aliyev , failed to turn up, torpedoing efforts to address Europe's latest security crisis.

Leaders had hoped to host Aliyev's first meeting with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan since Azerbaijan seized the breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh and triggered an exodus of ethnic Armenian civilians.

The two leaders were to have been joined by EU council president Charles Michel, France's Emmanuel Macron and Germany's Olaf Scholz -- but Azerbaijan rejected the format, accusing Europe of bias.

The EU recognises Azerbaijan's sovereign claim on Nagorno-Karabakh but has criticised Baku's use of force to resolve the dispute, which has led to a wave of refugees into Armenia.

France, in particular, has been outspoken, with Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna travelling to the Armenian capital, Yerevan, and promising to deliver weapons to Pashinyan's government.

- 'It's a shame' -

Azerbaijan is furious and wants Turkey's Erdogan to serve as a mediator.

But Erdogan was not invited to join Macron and Scholz in mediating the talks between Armenia and Azerbaijan, and decided to skip the entire EPC summit.

"It's a shame that Azerbaijan isn't here and it's a shame that Turkey -- which is the main country supporting Azerbaijan -- is not here either," EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said.

"We are not going to be able to talk here about something as serious as the fact that more than 100,000 people have had to leave their homes in a hurry, running away from an act of military force."

Arriving at the summit, Michel, who would have hosted the meeting, insisted: "The EU is a neutral mediator, with no agenda."

But even as he spoke, the European Parliament adopted a resolution dubbing the exodus of ethnic Armenians "ethnic cleansing" and condemning "threats and violence committed by Azerbaijani troops".

The resolution, paired with a call for sanctions, will have no practical effect but is bound to further alienate Baku at a time when Europe is seeking unity to confront other crises.

Armenia's Pashinyan, who turned up to the summit and plans to hold bilateral talks with Macron and other EU leaders, expressed regret that he would not meet Aliyev and sign a "turning point document".

In a social media post, Sinan Ulgen -- a former Turkish diplomat turned think tank expert -- said western Europeans should really not be surprised by Ankara and Baku's response.

"It is really a bit odd for France to expect to play a mediating role in the Karabakh dispute after such a show of unmitigated support and solidarity with Armenia," he said.

But the eastern boycott is also a blow to the EPC, a fledgling forum designed to form the basis of a common European geopolitical identity beyond the borders of the European Union.

"Without Turkey and Azerbaijan, the political community becomes more narrowly European and seems more anti-Putin, give or take a few leaders," said Sebastien Maillard of the Institut Jacques Delors think tank.

"Without a Karabakh meeting, the agenda could flip to the migration crisis," he said.

- 'Immigration crime' -

Indeed, with the Caucasus conflict falling down the EPC agenda, UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and his Italian counterpart Giorgia Meloni will push a plan for tough action on "organised immigration crime".

The leaders will also meet Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky, who is concerned to maintain strong European support for his country's battle to defend itself from the Russian invasion.

Political turmoil in Washington has called into question continued US support for Kyiv and Zelensky, arriving at the summit, called for Europe to remain united behind the campaign.

jca-dc/hmw/acc/gil
On Thursday, the European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Cooperation (Europol) officially joined the joint investigative team (JIT) investigating international crimes committed in Ukraine.

Source: press service of Europol, quoted by European Pravda

Details: The agreement on the involvement of the EUs agency in the work of the investigative team was signed by the prosecutors general of the seven participating countries and Catherine De Bolle, Executive Director of Europol, during the 17th meeting of the Consultative Forum of Prosecutors General at Eurojust.

In accordance with its mandate, Europol will provide analytical and forensic support to JIT members, as well as support the collection and analysis of data lawfully obtained from open sources such as social media, television and radio broadcasts.

Europol will also contribute its knowledge and experience in the field of investigating war crimes, crimes against humanity and other international crimes through the Analytical Project on Major International Crimes.

The agency has previously provided legal, logistical, financial and analytical support to the JIT, participating in 19 coordination meetings with representatives of the group and other national authorities investigating international crimes committed in Ukraine.

Background:

Ukraine, Poland and Lithuania established a joint working group to investigate war crimes committed by Russian troops in Ukraine on 25 March 2022. Later, Estonia, Latvia, Slovakia and Romania joined the group.

The United States announced cooperation with JIT in March 2023. In addition, Eurojust and, for the first time in its history, the Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court are members of the group.

Among other things, JIT member countries communicate with citizens of Ukraine - survivors and witnesses who are in their territory.

Ukrainska Pravda is the place where you will find the most up-to-date information about everything related to the war in Ukraine. Follow us on Twitter, support us, or become our patron!
WASHINGTON  Some House Republicans are saying they would like former President Donald Trump to become the next speaker of the House.

The problem? Republicans own rules forbid someone under criminal indictment for a felony from serving in party leadership.

Nevertheless, Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), Troy Nehls (R-Texas) and Greg Steube (R-Fla.) have stated that they want Trump to be speaker  and the former president is reportedly considering a visit to the Capitol next week, ahead of an election for the Houses top job.

The chamber has been leaderless since Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) triggered a no-confidence vote that ended the speakership of Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) after just nine months. So far, Reps. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) and Steve Scalise (R-La.) have announced bids to succeed McCarthy.

Another problem for Trump is that a lot of moderate Republicans probably wouldnt vote for him. Rep. Mike Lawler (R-N.Y.), for instance, was outright disgusted by a question about a possible Speaker Trump.

Is that your biggest concern right now? Really? Lawler said Wednesday. Is that really your biggest concern?

Republican Tom DeLay leaves a meeting on Capitol Hill in September 2013, following the decision by a Texas court to toss out his money laundering conviction. A related indictment against him had led to his stepping aside from a party leadership post in 2005.

Republican Tom DeLay leaves a meeting on Capitol Hill in September 2013, following the decision by a Texas court to toss out his money laundering conviction. A related indictment against him had led to his stepping aside from a party leadership post in 2005.

Its unclear if Trumps visit to Capitol Hill as House Republicans embark on a process to select McCarthys replacement would be more of a pep talk or a potential bid for the role.

Asked Wednesday if he would want to become speaker, Trump said unspecified people had asked him about it but that he was instead concentrating on regaining the White House, which he lost in 2020.

A lot of people have been calling me about speaker. All I can say is that well do whatevers best for the country and the Republican Party, he told reporters during a break in his business fraud lawsuit trial in New York City.

Ill do whatever it is to help. But my focus, my total focus, is being president and, quite honestly, making America great again.

Even if he were interested in the speakership  a position not limited to U.S. representatives  the key obstacle for Trump is thatHouse GOP rules bar anyone under indictment from leadership or committee roles.

Trump currently faces four separate indictments in various state and federal jurisdictions, resulting in 91 felony charges and the threat of yearslong prison terms. He remains free on bail.

Under Rule 26(a), A member of the Republican Leadership shall step aside if indicted for a felony for which a sentence of two or more years imprisonment may be imposed. While the conference rules are approved before each new Congress, that particular rule has been on the books for some time.

Similarly, the rules say indicted members have to step aside from the standing committees they serve on until cleared of wrongdoing. But unlike in the case of leadership posts, the rules permit the conference to waive the committee step-aside requirement by a simple majority vote.

A lot of people have been calling me about speaker. All I can say is that well do whatevers best for the country and the Republican Party.Former President Donald Trump

The last time a member of House party leadership  defined as one of the top three leaders  was indicted, they stepped aside. Tom DeLay, a Republican from Texas, left his post as majority leader under then-Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.) in September 2005 after a grand jury accused him of conspiring to violate political fundraising law to help House candidates in his state.

DeLay was ultimately convicted on money laundering charges and sentenced to three years in prison, but the verdict was thrown out by an appeals court in 2013.

Its not entirely clear if Trump actually intends to travel to the Capitol next week. Spokespeople for Trump and several Capitol Hill offices ignored requests to confirm the reports about his possible visit.

The previous time Trump wanted to visit the Capitol was in January 2021, amid the riot he had started as part of his effort to overturn the 2020 presidential election. But his Secret Service detail wouldnt let him, citing security concerns.

The prospect of Trump revisiting what Democrats see as the scene of the crime left them distinctly unenthused.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) posted on social media: No thanks, were good. Weve seen a Trump rally at the Capitol already.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, October 4)  The death certificate of the 14-year-old student from Antipolo City, who died days after being slapped by his teacher, showed that the immediate cause of death was global brain edema, or a swelling of the brain.

The document stated that a hemorrhage was found in the brain of Grade 5 student Francis Gumikib, whose family accused his teacher of having a hand in the death.

Suspected pulmonary tuberculosis and physical abuse could have also contributed to the loss of life, based on the death certificate.

However, Dr. Raquel Fortun, a forensic pathologist, described as vague the details in the document, saying a lot of questions were left unanswered.

The expert told CNN Philippines News Night that an important detail  the underlying cause of the death  was left blank. It failed to explain where the hemorrhage came from, she said.

Tapos blangko 'yung part on manner of death, 'yung linya diyan na death by external causes," she added. "Kasi kung wala kang nilagay diyan, ibig sabihin you think natural, due to disease."

[Translation: And the part on the manner of death, the line pertaining to death by external causes, was also blank. Because if you dont put anything there, that means you think the death is natural, due to a disease.]

According to the student's family, the boy informed them that he was slapped by his teacher on Sept. 21.

Over a week later, they said Gumikib begged to be brought to the hospital due to intolerable headache and ear pain.

They said he went into a coma before he died on Monday.

Death possibly due to rare condition?

Fortun said there are a number of things to consider to help determine if the slapping incident indeed led to the death, including how exactly he was slapped.

I don't see any contrary description of the method," she explained. "Yung usual na sampal is yung palm ng kamay mo itatama mo sa mukha. Its not really effective or strong kasi malambot yan eh, and it can only go so far in terms of velocity, gaano kabilis, yun yung delikado."

[Translation: I don't see any contrary description of the method. In a usual slap, you hit one's face with the palm of your hand. It's not really effective or strong, because the palm is soft, and a slap can only go so far in terms of velocity, which is what's dangerous.]

The medical examiner said there is a need to keep an open mind, as there could be other causes  such as a rare condition called meningoencephalitis.

It might not even be trauma, because this presentation is also consistent with inflammation from an infection of the brain and the surrounding meninges, or 'yung covering niya [or the covering of the brain]. So, pwedeng pwede yan [so its really possible that it is] meningoencephalitis, she said.

Gumikibs remains were brought to Camp Crame in Quezon City on Wednesday for an autopsy, a critical piece of evidence in the investigation.

According to Fortun, the computerized tomography or CT scan done on Gumikib may not be enough to ascertain that there was hemorrhage in the brain.

Results of the autopsy, which is a more comprehensive process, may provide more clarity, she said.

And one thing that struck me is nu'ng una, may usap-usapan na masakit daw yung tenga [at first, they said his ear hurt]It is really common to have an ear infection and it goes to the brain, and that's one cause of meningoencephalitis, Fortun said.

Police earlier said they are looking at filing a homicide complaint against Gumikibs teacher.

However, even if it is later determined that the teacher did not cause the student's death, authorities and Gumikibs family said they will still pursue criminal charges against her for the slapping incident.

READ: Homicide case eyed vs. teacher accused of slapping Grade 5 student who later died
When Evil Lurks is a nightmare about contagion and paranoia that benefits from not underlining its larger socio-political ideas. Furthermore, its proof that Terrified writer/director Demian Rugna is a skilled genre craftsman, delivering scares at a pace that rarely allows one to catch their breath, and with enough gruesome surprises to consistently startle. In theaters Oct. 6 and on Shudder Oct. 27 (following its recent appearance in the Midnight Madness section of this years Toronto International Film Festival), its a Halloween-season thriller with bite.

In an unidentified region of Argentina, brothers Pedro (Ezequiel Rodriguez) and Jimmy (Demian Salomon) hear gunshots somewhere in the distance outside their remote farmhouse. When they investigate in the adjacent woods, they discover a bodyor, more specifically, a hand and a lower torso. Beside these dismembered parts lies a case containing the components of some weird gold contraption and a file indicating that the deceaseds destination was the nearby home of elderly Maria Elena (Isabel Quinteros). There, Maria Elena confesses that shed hired a cleaner to travel to her abode to deal with her son Uriel (Pablo and Gonzalo Galarza). And by deal with, I mean kill, because Uriel is a bloated, pustulant, bedridden mess of a young man, his neck swollen to inhuman proportions and gross liquid oozing out of his mouth.

Maria Elena believes Uriel is possessed by a demon, and Pedro is convinced that shes correct. Churches are dead, maam, he tells Maria Elena, teasing a secret about the hellish world in which they now live. Pedro turns to the police, who dont buy his claims and make mention of his past criminal trouble. As a result, he goes to see Ruiz (Luis Ziembrowski), the owner of the land upon which the brothers and Maria Elena reside, who freaks out over this news, initially decrying it as a ploy by the state to force him to sell his property. Later that evening, Ruiz visits Maria Elenas home with his gun drawn, yet hes dissuaded from ending Uriels life by the woman and her youngest son, who declare that shooting a possessed man brings about doom. Instead, Ruiz decides to do the next best thing: dump Uriel somewhere far, far away where he cant cause them any harm.

This is an awful plan, and if it didnt seem that way on the face of it, the effort required to get Uriel out of his abode and into Ruizs flatbed truck confirms it. That sequence is one of many in which Rugna earns audience squirms from the sheer squishiness of his action, even as he refuses to unduly linger on any single disgusting image. When Evil Lurks is gross and also grimly amusing, as is evidenced by the trios long-distance drive to dispose of their demonic problem, only to noticeshortly after swerving to miss a child in the middle of the roadthat their cargo has mysteriously vanished from their vehicle. Rather than searching for their MIA passenger, Ruiz, Pedro, and Jimmy simply head home, assuming their problem is out-of-sight, out-of-mind solved.

Courtesy of Shudder and IFC Films

Its no spoiler to reveal that their problem is most definitely not solved. Animalistic The Witch menace gives way to helter-skelter Dawn of the Dead chaos, as Ruiz and his pregnant wife learn that theyre definitely not alone, and Pedro and Jimmy check in on the formers ex-wife, her new husband, and his two sons as well as his exs daughter. A couple of conspicuous shots give away the agent of these folks impending misfortune, but not to the point of ruining the precise natureor timingof the carnage at hand. This scene boasts the proceedings biggest gasp-inducing jolt, thereby setting the tone for a second half that races into unholy territory.

Be it in the middle of nowhere or in town, Pedro and Jimmy quickly realize that theres no outrunning the devil. Consequently, When Evil Lurks has them seek assistance in the form of Mirtha (Silvina Sabater), a mysterious acquaintance who knows the exact methods and techniques for dispatching demons. Mirtha is a plot contrivance, there to provide context about this screwy reality and details about the seven rules governing Beelzebubs minions. Apparently, the fiends are drawn to electricity (a convenient way to force everyone to run around in the dark), and if their possessed hosts are killed by firearms, the demons merely leap into othersthereby creating a chain reaction akin to a biblical pandemic.

Courtesy of Shudder and IFC Films

If When Evil Lurks falters, its with regards to its scripting, as the bigger picture surrounding its tale is often frustratingly fuzzy. Rugnas screenplay admirably wants to dole out bits and pieces of information throughout the course of its mayhem, the better to keep viewers guessing. Yet a few of its revelations come so late, and in such sketchy form, that they elicit only shrugs. Its less the narratives basic conception than it is its execution, although fortunately, the director finds unsettling ways to keep suspense at a feverish pitch. That peaks with Pedro and Mirthas climactic search for Uriel, which leads them to a school full of creepy kids straight out of Children of the Damned or Who Can Kill a Child?, and ends with suffering that Rugna orchestrates with a sure, squelchy hand.

Courtesy of Shudder and IFC Films

When Evil Lurks taps into contemporary fears about communicable infection, fraying social bonds and hopelessness in the face of spreading calamityconcerns that, Rugna contends, cant be assuaged, much less quelled, by religion. Its not difficult to read Pedro and Jimmys supernatural dilemma as a metaphorical reflection of today, but the film never articulates those connections, shrewdly allowing them to bubble just beneath the blistering surface. Scares are the prime directive of Rugnas latest, and that single-minded focus on rattling the nerves is perhaps its chief asset. Moving at a propulsive clip courtesy of a camera that moves alongside its harried protagonists, it glides over most of its storytelling speed bumps. Furthermore, it dispenses plentiful gruesomeness guaranteed to keep the gorehounds satiatedeven if monstrous eating is also a part of this stomach-churning package.

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A man killed his ex-girlfriend, then cut up her body and burned it, California police reported.

Alyssa Salazar, 33, was reported missing Aug. 10 after not being seen since late July, Gilroy police said in an Oct. 4 news release.

Salazar vanished after accusing her ex-boyfriend, Iban Alfaro Escobedo, 31, of Gilroy, of rape and assault in April, according to court documents from the Santa Clara District Attorneys Office obtained by McClatchy News.

An investigation led police to property in Santa Clara County, where they discovered human remains Aug. 30, police said.

Investigators found scorched hand bones, a skull and ribs in a barrel next to a mobile home owned by Escobedos sister, court documents said..

Police arrested Escobedo in the earlier case the same day and found a 9mm pistol in his car, court documents said. Blood stains also were found, according to the documents

The remains found in the barrel were later identified as Salazars, police said.

A witness told investigators that Escobedo said he shot Salazar in his car, then cut up her body in the bathtub of his sisters mobile home and burned the remains, court documents said. Blood stains were also found in the bathtub, the documents said.

Escobedo is facing a murder charge in the death of Salazar, according to the court documents.

Alyssa not only leaves behind a loving group of friends and family, but also two innocent little girls who have the slightest clue as to what is going on with their Mommy, Michelle Sanchez said in a Facebook tribute to Salazar.

We are heart broken and want this all to just be a dream, said a GoFundMe established for her family.

Anyone with information can contact detective Jason Greathead at 408-846-0373 or leave an anonymous tip at 408-846-0330.

Gilroy is about 85 miles southeast of San Francisco.

If you are experiencing domestic violence and need someone to talk to, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline for support at 1-800-799-7233 or text START to 88788.

Man tracking down stolen car gets shot trying to get it back, Colorado police say

Teen shot dead at party, California police say. Didnt deserve to die like this

Grandmother walking her dogs killed in hit-and-run crash, California family says
Former President Donald Trump on Wednesday asked the federal judge overseeing his Mar-a-Lago criminal case to delay the trial until after the 2024 election, arguing that he has not received all of the records his legal team needs to review.

The former president's legal team in a motion asked Trump-appointed U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon to delay the trial until "at least mid-November 2024," claiming "discovery failures" by special counsel Jack Smith's office.

Trump's attorneys wrote that Smith's office vowed that "all" discovery would be available on "day one" but prosecutors still have not turned over all of the documents. The lawyers also cited the schedule in Trump's D.C. criminal case, arguing that the dueling legal battles "currently require President Trump and his lawyers to be in two places at once."

"Given the current schedule, we cannot understate the prejudice to President Trump arising from his lack of access to these critical materials months after they should have been produced," Trump attorneys Chris Kise and Todd Blanche wrote in the filing.

Some legal experts criticized the request.

"Nothing is stopping him from going to DC. He wants a delay because it's not convenient for him right now," tweeted national security attorney Bradley Moss.

Attorney George Conway called the request "absurd."

"You could have teams of defense lawyers and experts review those documents until the end of time and it wouldn't matter one whit to the outcome of the case," he wrote.

Smith's team last week argued that Trump's lawyers were seeking unreasonable delays in the case, arguing that despite a "slightly longer than anticipated time frame" to complete certain steps it was false to accuse them of delaying the production of discovery materials. The prosecutors noted that Trump's lawyers had lacked the "necessary read-ins to review all material" provided by the government.

Prosecutors said they have already turned over 1.28 million pages of unclassified documents and most of the classified evidence. The DOJ expects to turn over much of the outstanding classified evidence on Friday, according to the Associated Press.

"This production will include certain materials that Defendants have described as outstanding, including audio recordings of interviews and information related to the classification reviews conducted in the case," prosecutors wrote.

Trump has repeatedly sought to delay his trials past the 2024 election as he reportedly seeks to shut down his prosecutions if he wins the presidency. Trump, who has denied any wrongdoing, has argued that the prosecutions amount to "election interference" even as he took time off the campaign trail to campaign in court during his New York fraud trial this week. New York Attorney General Letitia James blasted Trump's appearance and outbursts at the courthouse as a "fundraising stop."

Former federal prosecutor and New York University Law Prof. Andrew Weissmann, who served on special counsel Bob Mueller's team, warned that Trump's courthouse campaigning could come back to bite him in his other cases.

"He is making the trials the centerpiece of his political candidacy," MSNBC host Nicolle Wallace told Weissmann on Wednesday.

"Well, I don't think he's going to do very well with the current motions that he has made in D.C. and in Florida, where he is seeking more time in what the government has said is a transparent effort to ultimately have the trial dates put off," Weissmann replied.

Want a daily wrap-up of all the news and commentary Salon has to offer? Subscribe to our morning newsletter, Crash Course.

"I don't think it's going to play well when people see that he has ample time to engage in other activities other than preparing for trial," he added. "Judge Chutkan in the D.C. case has already made it quite clear that whatever his extracurricular activities are there is a criminal case and that is going to go forward the way it would for anyone else."

"I don't think it's going to play well when people see that [Trump] has ample time to engage in other activities other than preparing for trial" - @AWeissmann_ w/ @nicolledwallace pic.twitter.com/3jjU2I8dtD  Deadline White House (@DeadlineWH) October 4, 2023

Trump was in court Monday, Tuesday and part of Wednesday after successfully getting a delay from a judge for a deposition in a civil lawsuit he brought against former attorney Michael Cohen, alleging the former fixer violated contracts and confidentiality.

"Plaintiff represented that, now that pretrial rulings have been entered in the case that materially altered the landscape, it was imperative that he attend his New York trial in person  at least for each day of the first week of trial when many strategy judgments had to be made," Judge Edwin Torres wrote in a decision last week.

Cohen told Meidas Touch on Wednesday that his attorney would inform a federal judge that Trump left the trial early, which could be a violation of the order.

"Part of the order...is that Donald on the 9th of October, just a couple of days from now, is required to return to NY in order to give the deposition," Cohen told the outlet. "I do believe it is incumbent upon my counsel to notify the court exactly what has transpired."
A second attorney for Rudy Giuliani is seeking an exit from his Georgia legal team, according to a Tuesday court filing, which would seemingly leave the former New York City mayor without any local representation in the state.

Brian Tevis, who joined Giuliani's legal team shortly before he surrendered to Fulton County authorities in August, submitted a motion to withdraw to the clerk Tuesday evening, leaving it to a judge in the case to sign off on the motion.

The move comes after several other attorneys who represented Giuliani have sued the former Trump lawyer for failing to pay his legal fees, including his longtime lawyer and friend Robert Costello, who sued Giuliani for more than $1.3 million in payments to his firm.

The loss to his legal team also follows the departure of fellow Giuliani Georgia lawyer David Wolfe, who submitted his own motion to withdraw from representing the former mayor last week.

Sources familiar with Giuliani's situation told ABC News that he is close to obtaining new local representation.

Former Trump White House attorney Ty Cobb told CNN's Erin Burnett Wednesday that the latest departure from Giuliani's Georgia team puts the former mayor "in a lot of trouble."

"I think it's a huge problem," Cobb continued. "I think it's, like any American who saw him throw the first ball out at Yankee Stadium after 9/11 and thought he was 'America's Mayor,' I think this is a tragic fall."

"And the depths I don't think we've necessarily seen yet," Cobb added. "So I do think he's in great difficulty. I think he needs a very strong attorney to assist him there."

Other legal experts echoed Cobb's sentiments.

"Have to imagine it's rooted in Giuliani's inability to pay, which is going to get hugely worse before (ie probably never) gets better," Harry Litman, a former U.S. attorney, wrote on X, formerly Twitter. "Hard to see how he can climb out of the cavernous hole he is in financially and legally."

Have to imagine it's rooted in Giuliani's inability to pay, which is going to get hugely worse before (ie probably never) gets better. Hard to see how he can climb out of the cavernous hole he is in financially and legally. https://t.co/55x8cnkwB5  Harry Litman (@harrylitman) October 4, 2023

"This poses a serious problem for Rudy Giuliani. He needs local Georgia counsel to defend him in this RICO prosecution," MSNBC legal analyst Katie Phang tweeted. "If he cannot afford a lawyer or one cannot be appointed to him, will Giuliani represent himself?"

This poses a serious problem for Rudy Giuliani.



He needs local Georgia counsel to defend him in this RICO prosecution.



If he cannot afford a lawyer or one cannot be appointed to him, will Giuliani represent himself? https://t.co/rmE2PqEGqs  Katie Phang (@KatiePhang) October 4, 2023

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"Rudy's troubles compound exponentially. I am sure, however, there is a scrappy young member of the Georgia Bar willing to step in and do some solid work for the exposure," added Anthony Michael Kreis, a Georgia State law professor. "That's his best hope."

Rudy's troubles compound exponentially. I am sure, however, there is a scrappy young member of the Georgia Bar willing to step in and do some solid work for the exposure. That's his best hope. https://t.co/RzIrJWXRmG  Anthony Michael Kreis (@AnthonyMKreis) October 4, 2023

Giuliani is one of 19 co-defendants, including the former president, in Fulton County, Ga. District Attorney Fani Willis' sprawling RICO indictment, which alleges that the group conspired to overturn Trump's electoral defeat in the state in 2020. The former New York mayor faces 13 charges  including conspiracy to commit false statements and writings, soliciting a public officer to violate their oath and conspiracy to commit impersonating a public officer  for his role in the scheme. He has pleaded not guilty.

Giuliani is also described as one of the unindicted co-conspirators in Trump's federal election interference case. The New York Times reported Thursday that federal prosecutors have been asking witnesses about Giuliani's drinking habits and the former president's awareness of his alleged inebriation while Giuliani advised him.
Every year, a number of U.S. citizens choose to renounce their citizenship. They pay a fee, make a formal statement to officials, sign documents and hand in their passports.

For centuries, this renunciation process was free. The first required fee was introduced in 2010 and set at $450. In 2014, this fee was increased to $2,350  where it has remained since.

Now several former U.S. citizens have filed a lawsuit against the U.S. government saying the $2,350 they were required to pay to give up their citizenship was an astronomical fee.

The U.S. government described the higher fee as being at cost.

The four ex-citizens are arguing that the fee violates their natural right to expatriate, according to a class-action lawsuit filed Oct. 4 in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia.

The four are now citizens of Germany, the Netherlands and France. Their lawsuit says the fee required for giving up U.S. citizenship was excessive ... arbitrary, capricious and illegal because  it was used to fund governmental functions completely unrelated to renunciation services.

The lawsuit follows a proposal from the U.S. Department of State on Oct. 2 to lower the required fee for renouncing U.S. citizenship.

The proposed rule would lower this fee from the current at cost amount of $2,350 to the below-cost amount of $450, according to the document published in the Federal Register.

The State Department said processing peoples request to give up their U.S. citizenship has always been extremely costly. The process is necessarily time consuming and involves safeguards to ensure the renunciation is both voluntary and intentional, officials wrote.

The department said it is lowering the required renunciation fee because of public concerns about its cost and an increase in the difficulties faced by U.S. citizens living abroad due to changes in financial reporting laws.

Those who give up their U.S. citizenship are not required to explain their motivation. However, the State Departments anecdotal evidence suggests renunciation can be linked to the financial requirements imposed on U.S. citizens abroad.

The U.S. has a citizenship-based tax system meaning that U.S. citizens must pay taxes regardless of where in the world they live. As part of this system, the government imposed stricter financial reporting requirements  on foreign financial institutions with whom U.S. nationals have an account beginning in 2010, the State Department said.

Rachel Heller, one of the ex-citizens suing the U.S. government, summarized her experience paying taxes to NBC News.

(Paying taxes) was far more complicated for people living overseas, Heller told the outlet. And the threatened fees if you did it wrong or left something off by mistake were so high that I got really paranoid about trying to do it myself.

Esther Jenke, another one of the ex-citizens involved in the lawsuit, expressed a similar sentiment to The Guardian.

Americans abroad are treated as criminals and tax evaders, when most of us are just normal people who just live outside U.S. borders, she told the outlet.

The former citizens are suing for a refund of $1,900 for themselves and others who paid the higher renunciation fee, according to the lawsuit.

The State Department is accepting comments on its proposed rule to lower the renunciation fee until Nov. 1. Comments can be submitted via the Regulations.gov website or by email at fees@state.gov. The implementation will be determined after this input period.

The Office of Legal Affairs could not be reached for comment. The U.S. Department of State does not comment on pending litigation.

Fake immigration worker scams people applying for citizenship in Texas, feds say

Mexican citizen used US mans identity since 1992, stole thousands in benefits, feds say

Man swam from Canada to US to steal gun from Michigan pawn shop, authorities say
The former University of Southern California gynaecologist who allegedly sexually abused hundreds of female students on campus has died.

Dr George Tyndall , 76, was set to go on trial next year accused of inappropriate touching and harassment during examinations at the private Los Angeles universitys health clinic.

He was found dead at his home in the city on Wednesday, his lawyer told The Los Angeles Times.

USC has paid $1.1bn to settle claims made against it, the largest payout in higher education history. Tyndall treated thousands of women during his 27-year tenure at the university.

He got away with it. Spent almost no days in jail. Caused untold suffering to hundreds, if not thousands, of students at USC. ..... Im at a loss to explain this to my clients, John Manly, one of the lead attorneys in the civil lawsuits, told the newspaper.

Tyndalls lawyer, Leonard Levine, said that a female friend had found Tyndall in bed and unresponsive when she visited his condo. She had gone there after he failed to pick up the telephone.

From the very beginning, Dr Tyndall had adamantly denied every one of the charges against him. All he ever wanted was his day in court, which he was confident would end in his complete exoneration, Mr Levine said.

Now, neither he nor his accusers will get that, and that is very unfortunate for everyone involved.
A University of Southern California campus gynecologist accused of preying on patients for nearly three decades was found dead at his Los Angeles home on Wednesday, according to his attorney.

George Tyndall was awaiting trial on 35 criminal counts of sexual assaulta fraction of the more than 17,000 potential victims cited in a series of lawsuits that resulted in settlements exceeding $1 billion. Tyndall was the only full-time gynecologist at USCs student health clinic from 1989 to 2016, according to the Los Angeles Times, which won a Pulitzer Prize in 2019 for its investigation into Tyndall. He treated some 20,000 people during his first 10 years at the university, USC said in a civil court filing.

USC grad Daniella Mohazab, a patient who claimed Tyndall assaulted her in 2016, said reports of the 76-year-olds demise came as welcome news.

I wish death on no one, but I do hope that without his presence on this Earth, I and many of his other survivors, can find peace in knowing that he is gone, Mohazab said in a statement provided to The Daily Beast by lawyer Gloria Allred , whose firm is representing more than 70 Tyndall victims in civil proceedings.

Mohazab testified at a preliminary hearing in Tyndalls criminal trial, and was prepared to take the stand again, according to Allred.

The news of his death is a shock to many of his victims, Allred said in her own statement. Previously, they were happy that he would have to face justice at his trial. If he was convicted of the numerous felonies for which he was charged, many victims wanted to provide a victim impact statement so that Dr. Tyndall would understand the harm that they suffered as a result of his crimes against them when they were his patients and he was their OB/GYN at U.S.C.

Attorney Gloria Allred (C) with University of Southern California (USC) students Daniella Mohazab (L) and Anika Narayanan (R). MARK RALSTON

A close female friend became concerned on Wednesday after Tyndall failed to pick up the phone, defense lawyer Leonard Levine, who was representing Tyndall in his criminal case, told the L.A. Times. The friend eventually managed to get into Tyndalls condo and found him in bed, unresponsive, according to Levine.

From the very beginning, Dr. Tyndall had adamantly denied every one of the charges against him, Levine said. All he ever wanted was his day in court, which he was confident would end in his complete exoneration. Now, neither he nor his accusers will get that, and that is very unfortunate for everyone involved.

Levine said he notified the court of Tyndalls death and that he will submit his clients death certificate at the next scheduled hearing in the criminal case.

There was no evidence of foul play or suicide, Levine told the Associated Press.

The ghastly allegations against Tyndall first emerged in a 2018 L.A. Times article, which said USC knew for years about the doctors misconduct but had never reported it to patients or to the state medical board.

The complaints stretched back to the 1990s; concerned colleagues later sensed that Tyndall had begun setting his sights on USCs increasing number of students from China, who, according to the Times, often had a limited understanding of the English language and American medical norms.

Tyndall was finally suspended until 2016, when a USC nurse reported him to the campus rape crisis center. He was allowed to resign the following year, with a generous severance payout.

In response to the Times expose, USC argued that it had not been under any obligation to report the accusations against Tyndall, but that it should have done so. The university finally lodged a complaint in March 2019 with the Medical Board of California, after Tyndall asked for his job back. He surrendered his medical license that September.

If he had been convicted at trial, Tyndall faced up to 64 years in prison.

Read more at The Daily Beast.

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The grassroots organizations End Citizens United (ECU) and Let America Vote (LAV) endorsed President Bidens reelection campaign Thursday, the combined group first told The Hill.

End Citizens United, which advocates for curtailing the power of outside money in politics, and Let America Vote, which is focused on fighting voter suppression, said their endorsement for Biden and Vice President Harris is due to their dedication to voting rights legislation.

Legislation such as the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act aim to end the dominance of big money in politics and partisan gerrymandering and strengthen ethics rules, but have been stagnant in the GOP-controlled House after bipartisan negotiations fell apart last Congress.

Our democracy is facing a clear and present dangerone that demands our collective attention and commitment to action, ECU and LAV president Tiffany Muller told The Hill in a statement. The rise of Republican election denialism, dark money groups, and corruption threaten the very foundation of our nation. President Biden and Vice President Harris share these concerns and have consistently championed reforms to address these critical issues.

Their endorsement comes as the bipartisan group No Labels has floated the idea of a third-party candidate to take on Biden and former President Trump, the current Republican front-runner, in the 2024 race.

No Labels has been widely criticized as a dark money organization that is backed by corporate donations, and Muller last week bashed the group in an op-ed for setting up a new political party as a dark money group. Some Democrats also fear a third-party candidate would take more votes away from Biden than Trump.

President Biden and Vice President Harris have dedicated their careers to public service and championing middle-class families. Their North Star is always whats best for the American people and our democracyunlike MAGA Republicans who continue to serve special interests, corporations, and the ultra-wealthy, Biden-Harris 2024 campaign manager Julie Chavez Rodriguez said in a statement first obtained by The Hill.

Rodriguez added that Biden and Harris are honored to be endorsed by End Citizens United (ECU) and proud to continue the fight for a stronger, more transparent democracy for all.

ECU and LAV also endorsed Biden for president in 2020. Biden has said he would work to overturn the Citizens United Supreme Court decision, which lifted restrictions on independent expenditures to political campaigns by corporations, and that he would institute automatic and same-day voter registration and incentivize states to automatically restore voting rights for felons who have served their time.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
The Justice Department has directed an FBI special agent not to testify before the Republican-led House Judiciary Committee in a dispute over the agents request to have both his personal lawyer and a Justice Department attorney present during his deposition, a source familiar with the matter tells CNN.

In a letter obtained exclusively by CNN, the department on Wednesday accused the Republican-led committee of needless escalation of a routine matter, as the Biden administration and House Judiciary Chair Jim Jordan, a Republican, battle over GOP claims that the FBI played a role in social media suppressing a story about Hunter Bidens laptop in 2020.

At issue is whether Elvis Chan, an FBI special agent whose work focuses on cybersecurity and foreign influence on social media, can be forced to be deposed before Congress without being accompanied by both a Justice Department attorney and his personal lawyer.

This is the first time since Republicans took over the House this year that DOJ has directed an employee not to appear before Congress under subpoena, opening the door for the committee to move forward with holding Chan in contempt of Congress.

Everything is on the table for Mr. Chan, including contempt, Judiciary spokesperson Russell Dye told CNN.

In its letter to the committee, DOJ argues that under the law, government employees are allowed to be accompanied by agency attorneys during a congressional deposition. The letter says that Chan would not cooperate with the panels subpoena unless a DOJ attorney is allowed to accompany him along with his personal attorney.

But the Republican-led committee claims that under House rules, Chan cannot have both counsels present for a deposition. A line included in House Judiciary rules stipulates that a witness may be accompanied at a deposition by two designated personal, nongovernmental attorneys to advise them of their rights.

That rule contradicts a 2019 legal memo from the Justice Departments Office of Legal Counsel stating that Congress may not constitutionally prohibit agency counsel from accompanying agency employees called to testify about matters that potentially involve information protected by executive privilege.

The dispute could set up a separation of powers standoff over which takes precedent  House rules or Justice Department legal opinion.

Chan is the first DOJ witness trying to bring both agency and personal counsel to an interview under this Congress, but there are many examples of this happening in the last Congress when the House was under Democratic control, two sources familiar with the matter tell CNN.

Nobody who has ever been subpoenaed who requested agency counsel has ever been denied agency counsel, a senior Democratic aide familiar with congressional investigations told CNN.

Months of negotiations

Jordan has wanted to speak to Chan for months as part of House Republicans investigations of what they claim is government-ordered censorship, including allegations that Chan told Twitter to block users from sharing a 2020 New York Post story containing material from a laptop belonging to Hunter Biden.

The DOJ and the Republican-led Judiciary Committee have been going back and forth for months over securing Chans testimony. Chan was supposed to appear voluntarily before the committee on September 15. But when the panel found out Chan was planning to bring both his agency and personal counsel, the interview fell apart and the committee promptly issued a subpoena.

Larry Berger, an attorney representing Chan, says that his client has from the beginning requested that two attorneys be present during his interview  a private attorney to represent his personal interests and an agency counsel to represent the interests of the Justice Department and the FBI.

There is no reason in logic or law that allows the committee to refuse his personal choice, Berger told CNN. This is an utterly arbitrary decision without basis in law or rule.

Berger has represented federal agents in dozens of interviews over the years with congressional committees and says Chans request is standard and it has never been an issue for other witnesses in congressional investigations.

Mr. Chan remains ready, willing and able to show up on a voluntary basis to provide the information they want, Berger added. We respect the role of Congress but they shouldnt be interfering with choice of counsel.

Despite telling Chan not to show up for Thursdays deposition, the Justice Department stated in its October 3 letter that it will still make Chan available to testify voluntarily with his agency and personal counsel present.

No evidence of FBI directive

In February, former Twitter executives acknowledged to lawmakers that the social media company erred when it temporarily suppressed a New York Post story regarding Hunter Bidens laptop in October 2020, but the officials emphasized there was no government involvement in the decision

With a poster of a New York Post front page story about Hunter Biden's emails on display, Committee Chairman Rep. James Comer and Rep. Jim Jordon listen during a hearing before the House Oversight and Accountability Committee at Rayburn House Office Building on Capitol Hill on February 8 in Washington, DC. - Alex Wong/Getty Images

A CNN investigation last year found no evidence that the FBI explicitly told Twitter to suppress the story. In fact, the opposite view emerged from sworn testimony given by Chan. And in interviews with CNN, half a dozen tech executives and senior staff, along with multiple federal officials familiar with the matter, all denied any such directive was given.

In its October 3 letter, DOJ argued that a congressional subpoena pertaining to a government employees official duties cannot constitutionally be enforced without the presence of agency counsel.

In the letter, DOJ Assistant Attorney General Carlos Felipe Uriarte added that the underlying principles that inform the Departments position are longstanding across administrations. Every other Department employee who has appeared before the Committee during this Congress has appeared with agency counsel.

In his subpoena letter to Chan last month, Jordan contended, the Constitution affords the House the authority to determine its own rules and procedures.

The committee argued that its interest in Chan deviates from agency interests, and that having agency counsel could hinder the interview.

The Committee has information that suggests you were not fully candid in your sworn deposition in federal litigationa deposition during which you were represented by Department counsel and a matter in which you face personal liability in a manner that departs from the FBIs and Departments institutional interests, Jordan wrote in his subpoena letter.

For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com
How low will Trump go?

Donald Trump , living life like a limbo contest at a drunken frat party; the lower he goes, the louder his pals cheer. Call for the execution of a decorated military leader? Low. Toss out the name and picture of a court clerk to the mob for the purpose of intimidation? Lower still. Telling staff to keep disabled veterans away from his parades and events because it makes him look bad? Rock bottom.

But why stop with these examples? Choose from many other of his posts, comments, asides and ramblings when you play the home version of How low can he go. Because with Trump, theres no telling.

Ross DeAeth, Lexington

Unyielding support

What in the name of God does former President Donald Trump have to do to make his supporters have second thoughts about him? Shoot and kill somebody on 5th Avenue? His supporters would immediately come to his defense if he did that without knowing the what, why, when, where, and how, of the situation.

The man cant help himself. He is the most self-destructive person on the planet right now. His need for attention and the need to be in the spotlight is killing him. The things he has admitted to these past few days reaffirms what everybodys already thinking. That Trump is crazy as hell. I mean, the man is way out there, living in his own alternative universe where everything is what he says it is. Everything he says in front of a camera will be played in court and used as evidence against him. If I were Trumps lawyer, he would have to pay me double.

Yolanda Averette, Lexington

Debt problems

In a recent op-ed, It isnt hopeless. We can fix our debt, deficit problems, former U.S. Sens. Rob Portman (R-Ohio) and Kent Conrad (D-N.D.) had a number of conceptual and technical errors about the U.S. monetary system. They describe investments in Treasuries as debt owed to foreigners and describe Social Security as a system of payments that could go insolvent. There are other errors, like the ones above, that ignore how the Federal Reserve manages the banking system. One is that the government must spend (or lend) before dollars can be either taxed or saved.

For more on the spending/taxing sequence, the tie between interest rates and inflation, and other insights, start with Warren Mosler and Stephanie Kelton. Mosler wrote the MMT White Paper and is (one of) the theoreticians of Modern Monetary System. Kelton wrote The Deficit Myth.

The monetary system as conceived in the Constitution and managed by Congress should be used as a public utility for public purpose. Understanding the nature, practices, and constraints of our system is the only way to discern the veracity of claims and proposals from politicians like Portman and Conrad.

Todd Kelly, Lexington

Front cover of the book My Old Kentucky Home: The Astonishing Life and Reckoning of an Iconic American Song written by author Emily Bingham. The book was published by the Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group.

Song criticism

Most of us have heard the criticisms of Kentuckys state song, My Old Kentucky Home. Sure enough, we know this song was used in black-face minstrel shows about 180 years ago and also sung in racially insensitive movies 80 to 90 years ago.

Im not a historian but I suspect Stephen Foster did not write this song for those purposes and it seems to me most Kentuckians do not see the song that way, either. So, those abuses do not define My Old Kentucky Home for us.

We see that the song is the story of the fictional Uncle Tom in the novel Uncle Toms Cabin. He endures the cruelties of slavery in the hope of meaningfully practicing the non-violence of Jesus.

His ability to find meaning in his life is very hard to understand. Whether or not, he accomplishes his purpose is a matter of generations of debate.

Maybe that is the point of the story and the song. Non-violence practices in the face of over-whelming power are counterintuitive. Its hard for us to understand the fictional character, Uncle Tom, but deep down inside we know that we have to keep trying until we get it.

Tom Louderback, Louisville

Racial aggression

While talking with Fayette County Public Schools Superintendent Demetrus Liggins, who is black, white school board member Thomas E. Jones made a remark about officials monkeying around with the budget. He was called out for racial microaggression. Jones acknowledged his wrong. He apologized for it, agreed to undergo equity training and asked for forgiveness.

Calling Black People monkeys is stamped in our nations history, and our school officials are on alert for such microaggressionsthose small actions that oppress. If Jones had said to Superintendent Liggins, You are going to monkey this budget up, then school officials would have a sharper incident that Jones harbors racists tendencies.

Nevertheless, I hope administrators dont get so carried away fighting microaggressions that they create a new repression, where board members fear careless comments could get in the way of fixing Lexingtons lowest performing schools, addressing concerns about central office staff spending, or solving teacher shortages. You get the picture.

Jim Kurz, Lexington

Dsyfunctional Congress

Congress has become completely dysfunctional. The partisan battles over the budget and debt ceiling have damaged our countrys reputation internationally. The concern over spending and the budget is legitimate. The lack of communication, bipartisan cooperation, or compromise impede any real progress in the House of Representatives. There is a solution which has been overlooked like an elephant in the room. Removing the Trump tax cuts for corporations and the very wealthy would infuse money into the government coffers paying down the debt and funding appropriations (including the IRS).

Nearly every person in the country must file and pay taxes or face penalties. Why should this segment be exempt? The myth of the trickle down economics has been around since the Reagan administration, but has only benefited the wealthy. The disparity between the incomes of average Americans and the very wealthy is larger than ever. If Congress would put the good of the nation over partisanship, this tax cut would be reversed. The wealthy should fulfill their part in funding our country.

Cheryl Keenan, Lexington

LexTran has adopted new rules.

Elitist paratransit

LexTrans new rules for Wheels paratransit patrons are appallingly ABLIST, ELITIST, and inefficient. Shopping parcels and laundry are limited to only what the patron (or an assistant if they have one) can carry. Drivers will no longer be able to assist. Tell me how this works for people using wheel chairs, walkers, or other mobility aids, folks who have weight limitations on what they can lift/carry, or who have debilitating arthritis.

If a person can only manage one or two grocery bags per trip, this means more trips clogging the already packed Wheels scheduling. Talk about stupid! Time for disabled persons is just as precious as for anyone else. Due to existing problems since RaptDEV took over last October, a round trip to the grocery can already take up to six hours including wait and bizarre ride times.

A trip to a food pantry generously means quite a few bags  a lifeline for people whose rent and utilities strip their budget. LexTrans new rule is disgustingly elitist. It will prevent those who are disabled and in need of food assistance from getting food they need.

None of this is acceptable.

Betsy Packard, Lexington

Compiled by Liz Carey
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, October 5)  The Commission on Elections (Comelec) and the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) said they have not monitored any threat to the holding of the 2023 Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections in the municipality of Kalayaan in Palawan.

Comelec Chairman George Garcia on Thursday said the PCG will help secure the deployment of ballots and peaceful conduct of elections, especially in the town part of Spratly Islands.

"Sa [In] Kalayaan, which happens to be a municipality of the province of Palawan, hindi masyadong ganun ang tensyon doon o ganun ang problema doon [the tension or problem there is low]," Garcia said.

"Wala tayong masyadong nakikitang [We don't see so much] problem sa distribution, shipment and logistical problem when it comes to election paraphernalia," he added.

PCG Commandant Admiral Artemio Abu echoed the poll body chief's statement which was made following recent maritime incidents involving Chinese vessels in disputed waters.

"So far wala naman po kaming nakikita," he said. "But alam natin ang preparasyon natin ay dapat laging mas malamang. Ang ating kahandaan ay dapat mas lamang doon sa ating inaasahan. We are ready for any unforeseen events."

[Translation: So far, we don't see any [problem] but we know that we have to be prepared. Our preparedness should always outweigh our expectations.]

The PCG is on standby to assist the Comelec in case any issues surface in the deployment of official ballots and other election paraphernalia, especially in far-flung areas.

"Sa bagay na yan diyan natin maaasahan ang suporta ng Coast Guard," Abu said. "Dahil ang pangako natin sa Commission on Elections, kung saan magkakaproblema mag-distribute ng balota andiyan ang Philippine Coast Guard."

[Translation: We can rely on our Coast Guard regarding that matter. Our promise to the Commission on Elections, our Philippine Coast Guard will assist whenever problems arise in the distribution of ballots.]

The poll body on Thursday also turned over P10 million to the PCG as part of its allocated budget for the conduct of the BSKE.

Garcia said he believes the funds will be a huge boost for the PCG to fulfill its mandate.

The PCG chief said the funds will mostly be used for its operations, being among the deputized law enforcement agencies during the polls.

In August, the PCG and Comelec signed a deal to formalize their partnership in ensuring a peaceful, orderly and successful conduct of elections.
Editors note: This story is available as a result of a content partnership between WFTV and the Orlando Business Journal.

Sean Snaith expects a slowdown or recession ahead for the national economy in late 2023/early 2024 but he said Florida is better prepared than before.

The director of the University of Central Florida Institute for Economic Forecasting said in the institutions recently released forecast that he is unsure if it will rise to the level of a recession  and it would come after a projected early 2022 recession the institute forecast and is waiting on data to confirm.

However, he told Orlando Business Journal that Florida and the Orlando region are much better suited to weather this slowdown than the recessions in 2008-09 and 2020. Factors that bode well for both the state and metro area include the lack of a housing market collapse  with prices rising for a different reason  as well as population growth and a strong labor market.

Read: Recall alert: Blood pressure medication recalled after oxycodone pill found on production line

Click here to read the full story on the Orlando Business Journals website.

Click here to download our free news, weather and smart TV apps. And click here to stream Channel 9 Eyewitness News live.




Claim:

Data released by the Canadian government show that 74% of triple-vaccinated people now have a reduction in immune system performance known as Vaccine Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (VAIDS).

Rating:

Rating: False

In early October 2023, a story from the anti-vaccine outlet The Expose went viral on social media and was shared by several conspiracy- or anti-vaccine focused influencers. Its claims were also picked up by junk news site The People's Voice, whose repost of the story came with the headline, "Canadian Gov't Admit 74% of Triple Vaccinated Now Have VAIDS."

An Oct. 3, 2023, post on X, formerly Twitter, from former blender pitchman and vocal anti-vaccine conspiracy theorist David "Avocado" Wolfe interpreted a version of the same story as "74% of the population across Canada'' having "full-blown VAIDS." There are at least three reasons this claim is false or problematic.

First, VAIDS (Vaccine Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome) is not an actual medical condition but was instead invented by the right-wing, pseudoscientific medical group America's Frontline Doctors. Second, the underlying data on which The Expose relies does not say what the outlet claims it says. Third, the story on which the October 2023 viral headlines and claim originate is not new  The Expose published an identical article with the same headline (on a different URL) in March 2022.

VAIDS Is Not Real

Interest in the term "VAIDS" spiked the week of Dec. 5 to Dec. 11 2021, according to Google Trends. It was during this time, on Dec. 5, that America's Frontline Doctors put out a news release suggesting VAIDS was a potential risk of the just-released COVID-19 vaccines:

Several times since then, various publications have run stories asserting that scientists have proven the existence of this condition, and each time that happens, experts have been marshaled to remind the internet that VAIDS is a made-up scare tactic. For example, in February 2022, Reuters provided this expert testimony:

"There is no phenomenon that I know of 'Vaccine-induced immunodeficiency syndrome.' It is not a real syndrome," Donna Farber, chief of the Division of Surgical Sciences and Professor of Microbiology & Immunology at Columbia University, told Reuters via email. Likewise, Stephen Gluckman, MD, a professor of Infectious Diseases in the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania and the medical director of Penn Global Medicine, told Reuters "VAIDS" is "absolutely not" a real condition.

During a September 2023 flare-up of online claims about VAIDS, the Associated Press (AP) contacted Dr. Matthew Laurens, a pediatric infectious disease specialist and researcher at the University of Maryland School of Medicine's Center for Vaccine Development. He stated that:

VAIDS is something that simply does not exist. [...] It is not found in the scientific literature. There is no evidence that COVID-19 vaccination leads to immunodeficiency.

Data Used To Support Claims Are Misinterpreted

The argument based on Canadian government data stems from the anti-vaccine outlet The Expose, which relies on an interpretation of data that is grossly inaccurate. That outlet asserted:

Double vaccinated individuals across Canada had an immune system performance of -69.56% by the 27th Feb 22, but triple vaccinated individuals across Canada had an immune system performance of -80.56%. This is what Covid-19 vaccination has done to the people of Canada. AIDS (acquired immune deficiency syndrome) is the name used to describe a number of potentially life-threatening infections and illnesses that happen when your immune system has been severely damaged. [...] Unfortunately, official Government of Canada data indicates that a large proportion of the double vaccinated and triple vaccinated population have now developed Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome, (AIDS) or a novel condition with similar attributes that can only be described as Covid-19 Vaccine Induced Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (VAIDS).

The Expose is misusing data on which it bases its central claim. It does this by conflating data on "vaccine effectiveness," which inherently wanes overtime, with something the publication calls "immune system performance," which it suggests represents the body's overall immune system but that is not discussed in the Canadian data at any point:

These figures [from the Canadian government] show the average triple vaccinated Canadian has lost 72.96% of their immune system capability, meaning they are down to the last 27.04% of their immune system for fighting certain classes of viruses and certain cancers etc. [...]. And as we know, vaccine effectiveness (which is really immune system performance), is declining by the week. [...] And based on the following official figures on death, we propose that many double and triple vaccinated Canadian's [sic] have surpassed the minus-90% to minus-100% immune system performance barrier, meaning they have essentially developed some new form of Covid-19 vaccine induced Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome.

The protection offered by a vaccine does wane over time, but to conflate this with an overall reduction in the totality of a person's immune system in general is a misuse of data. As the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) said in a March 2022 email to fact-checking outlet Lead Stories, The Expose article "clearly misrepresents how vaccines and the immune system work":

There is also no evidence that COVID-19 vaccines impair the immune system or increase the susceptibility of COVID-19-vaccinated individuals to other (non-SARS-CoV-2) viruses or any other pathogen. Many studies carried out by a myriad of independent research groups have consistently demonstrated that the COVID-19 vaccines induce a robust immune response in vaccinated individuals and the fact that they are so protective against hospitalization and death from COVID-19 attests to the fact that the immune response is not impaired by these vaccines.

Finally, This Is an Old Claim

The "analysis" at the root of these viral VAIDS claims is invariably from the outlet The Expose, whose misuse of data to support bogus claims about vaccines Snopes has previously debunked. In this case, The Expose presented these claims about VAIDS as if it were a new story first published by the outlet on Oct. 1, 2023. In reality, this is is actually an identical copy of a story The Expose published on March 20, 2022:

That outlet's claims are no more valid now than they were then. Because this old claim stems from a misrepresentation of data and the invention of a disease that the medical community does not recognize, we rate the claim about "VAIDS" cases as "False."

Sources:

"Canadian Gov't Admit 74% of Triple Vaccinated Now Have VAIDS." The People's Voice, 1 Oct. 2023, https://thepeoplesvoice.tv/canadian-govt-admit-74-of-triple-vaccinated-now-have-vaids/.

Effectiveness of BNT162b2 COVID-19 Vaccination in Children and Adolescents . https://publications.aap.org/pediatrics/article/151/5/e2022060894/191035/Effectiveness-of-BNT162b2-COVID-19-Vaccination-in. Accessed 4 Oct. 2023.

Expose, The. "Government of Canada Data Is Truly Terrifying; Suggesting the Triple Vaccinated Have Developed 'AIDS' & Are Now 5.1x More Likely to Die of Covid-19 than the Unvaccinated." The Expose, 1 Oct. 2023, https://expose-news.com/2023/10/01/gov-canada-data-triple-jabbed-have-a-i-d-s/.

Fact Check: Canadian Govt Did NOT Publish Data That "Suggests" People Triple-Vaccinated For COVID-19 Developed AIDS, Are 5X More Likely To Die Of COVID Than Unvaccinated | Lead Stories. 23 Mar. 2022, https://leadstories.com/hoax-alert/2022/03/fact-check-canadian-government-did-not-publish-data-suggesting-people-triple-vaccinated-for-covid-19-have-developed-aids.html.

"Fact Check-'VAIDS' Is Not a Real Vaccine-Induced Syndrome, Experts Say; No Evidence COVID-19 Vaccines Cause Immunodeficiency." Reuters, 11 Feb. 2022. www.reuters.com, https://www.reuters.com/article/factcheck-vaids-fakes-idUSL1N2UM1C7.

Official Government of Canada Data Is Truly Terrifying; It Suggests the Triple Vaccinated Have Developed AIDS & Are Now 5.1x More Likely to Die of Covid-19 than the Unvaccinated  The Expose. 20 Mar. 2022, https://web.archive.org/web/20220320085634/https://dailyexpose.uk/2022/03/20/gov-canada-data-triple-vaccinated-have-a-i-d-s/.

Sommer, Will. "COVID-Denying Medical Group Implodes Over Founder's Extravagant Spending." The Daily Beast, 14 Nov. 2022. www.thedailybeast.com, https://www.thedailybeast.com/covid-misinformation-group-americas-frontline-doctors-implodes-over-dr-simone-golds-extravagant-spending.

Vaccine Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (VAIDS): "We Should Anticipate Seeing This Immune Erosion More Widely" | America's Frontline Doctors. 6 Dec. 2021, https://web.archive.org/web/20211206192821/https://americasfrontlinedoctors.org/news/post/vaccine-acquired-immune-deficiency-syndrome-vaids-we-should-anticipate-seeing-this-immune-erosion-more-widely/.
MOSCOW (Reuters) - President Vladimir Putin on Thursday held out the possibility that Russia could resume nuclear testing for the first time in over three decades, withdrawing its ratification of a landmark test ban treaty.

How many nuclear weapons tests have there been, why were they stopped - and why would anyone start them again?

NUCLEAR AGE

The United States opened the nuclear era in July 1945 with the test of a 20-kiloton atomic bomb at Alamogordo, New Mexico, in July 1945, and then dropped atomic bombs on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945 to end World War Two.

The Soviet Union shocked the West by detonating its first nuclear bomb just four years later, in August 1949.

In the five decades between 1945 and the 1996 Comprehensive Nuclear Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT), over 2,000 nuclear tests were carried out, 1,032 of them by the United States and 715 of them by the Soviet Union, according to the United Nations.

Britain carried out 45 tests, France 210 and China 45.

Since the CTBT, 10 nuclear tests have taken place. India conducted two in 1998, Pakistan also two in 1998, and North Korea conducted tests in 2006, 2009, 2013, 2016 (twice) and 2017, according to the United Nations.

The United States last tested in 1992, China and France in 1996 and the Soviet Union in 1990. Russia, which inherited most of the Soviet nuclear arsenal, has never done so.

ENDING TESTING

Concern mounted about the impact of the tests - above ground, underground and underwater - on human health and the environment.

By limiting the Cold War bonanza of nuclear testing, advocates said, tensions could be reduced.

The Comprehensive Nuclear-Test Ban Treaty bans nuclear explosions by everyone, everywhere. It was signed by Russia in 1996 and ratified in 2000. The United States signed the treaty in 1996 but has not ratified it.

WHY WOULD YOU TEST AGAIN?

To gather information - or to send a signal.

Tests provide evidence of what any new nuclear weapon will do - and whether older weapons still work.

In 2020, the Washington Post reported that the administration of U.S. president Donald Trump had discussed whether or not to conduct a nuclear test.

Apart from providing technical data, such a test would be seen in Russia and China as a deliberate assertion of U.S. strategic power.

Putin said in February 2023, a year after ordering an invasion of neighbour Ukraine, that if the United States resumed nuclear testing, Russia would too as the two powers had their biggest confrontation in decades.

On Thursday, Putin made a point that unlike Russia, the U.S. had not ratified the CTBT.

And he said that the Russian parliament, which is completely loyal to him, might want to withdraw ratification too:

"I am not ready to say whether we really need to conduct tests or not, but it is possible theoretically to behave in the same way as the United States."

(Reporting by Guy Faulconbridge; Editing by Kevin Liffey and Grant McCool)
FILE - Islamist party leader and parliament speaker Rached Ghannouchi speaks during a meeting in Tunis, Tunisia, on Oct. 3, 2019. Family members of jailed lawyers and politicians, including Ghannouchi, in Tunisia want the International Criminal Court to investigate claims of political persecution and human rights violations as an increasing number of President Kais Saied's opponents are arrested and several in prison stage hunger strikes. Jailed dissidents' sons and daughters in The Hague, Netherlands, on Thursday, Oct. 5, 2023, will announce plans to pursue action at the court. (AP Photo/Hassene Dridi, File)

TUNIS, Tunisia (AP)  Family members of seven imprisoned Tunisian opposition figures took their quest for justice on Thursday to the International Criminal Court, announcing plans to ask the tribunal to investigate claims of political persecution and human rights violations by President Kais Saied 's administration.

Tunisia's opposition is increasingly denouncing Saied's authoritarian drift, saying it amounts to a rollback of gains made since the 2011 Arab Spring protests that swept the Middle East. In Tunisia, the uprising ushered in a constitutional overhaul and democratic reforms.

However, Saieds government has cracked down on opponents and jailed dissidents, including opposition leader Rached Ghannouchi and former lawmaker Said Ferjani.

Members of the families petitioning the ICC described his rule as a devastating return to a pre-Arab Spring autocracy where dissidents were imprisoned and tortured.

It's sad to see, said Yusra Ghannouchi, the daughter of the imprisoned 82-year-old opposition leader. Her father was on a three-day hunger strike earlier this week.

We have to call on the world not to turn a blind eye to these violations and not to support dictatorships," she said at The Hague. "We are also here to send a message to democratic nations and to European governments not to support and legitimize Kais Saied.

Seventeen other prominent dissidents have recently staged hunger strikes from prison, with several still ongoing. Jawhar Ben Mbarek, the head of the leading anti-Saied coalition, continues his open-ended hunger strike.

The family members made a similar case to the African Court on Human and Peoples Rights earlier this year and have also petitioned the United States and United Kingdom for sanctions against the Tunisian government.

You are transported back to when you were a child and you saw him in prison ... times you couldnt speak to him because the torture was so bad that he was in a coma, Kaouther Ferjani said of her father, who was also imprisoned during a 1987 crackdown.

As bad as it was back then, I got to see my dad, she added, saying that he has now only been granted permission to see his attorney and nobody else.

The two daughters told reporters about the increasing number of judges, politicians, journalists and prominent opposition figures being arrested. According to their tally, at least 42 prominent figures have been jailed. Many face sweeping charges of endangering state security.

The petition at the ICC is intended to draw further attention to Tunisia's increasingly repressive political landscape since it revised the constitution in 2021, allowing Saied to expand his powers, freeze out the parliament and rule largely by decree.

As the country's economy sinks, Saied's government has jailed critics from across the political spectrum  right, left, Islamist and secular. It has also drummed up animosity against sub-Saharan African migrants that has often escalated to violence.

"He is using a populist discourse that demonizes and seeks to feed hatred and division, whether it is against foreigners or in the treatment of sub-Saharan migrants or among Tunisians themselves," said Jaza Cherif, the son of scholar and activist Chaima Issa.

Issa was recently released and placed under house arrest. More than 20 Saied opponents have languished in prison since February.

The group's lawyer, Rodney Dixon, said the families filed what's called an Article 15 submission on Thursday, providing the court's prosecutor documents that outline claims of at least one of the four crimes it pursues  genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes or crimes of aggression.

Anyone can file such a claim with the court for review. Though they're a significant channel for the ICC, few cases progress to the level of extensive investigations.

Still, the petitions such as the one Thursday by the Tunisian families "provide a unique channel ... to bring the prosecutors attention to alleged crimes, said Maria Elena Vignoli, Human Rights Watch's senior international justice counsel.

On Tuesday, former right-wing lawmaker Abir Moussi, another prominent Saied opponent, was detained while trying to file a complaint at Carthage Palace, the Tunisian president's headquarters. On Tuesday, her lawyer Nafaa Laribi told TAP, Tunisia's official news agency, that he did not know why she was being detained for 48 hours.

A group of lawyers representing Chaouachi and four other dissidents aid in a statement this week that the legal process deprives prisoners of their freedom without presenting any justification for the accusations made against them.

___

Metz reported from Rabat, Morocco.
PORT ST. LUCIE  Gabriella "Gabi" Hanley was described as a "great mother," someone who looked after others and was trying to better herself for her young daughter, family members said.

She was an amazing person. If you were sick, she would be the first person to call, check on you every day, Hanleys cousin, Krystle Benitez, said in a recent interview. Just to make sure you're OK.

Hanley, 20, died early Oct. 6, 2021, shortly after being shot the night before along with her then 21-year-old boyfriend in a vehicle on Southeast Green River Parkway east of U.S. 1. The mans injuries were not fatal.

Gabriella Hanley

Port St. Lucie Police went to the area after a report late Oct. 5 of possible gunfire. Officers found a black vehicle pulled off the road facing south on Southeast Green River Parkway between Southeast Melaleuca Boulevard and Southeast Charleston Drive.

We believe the vehicle at some point was followed by the suspects and gunfire was opened on the vehicle which resulted in the injuries and ultimately the death of the female victim, then Assistant Police Chief Richard Del Toro said at the time.

Less than two weeks after the shooting, police reported identifying three persons of interest in the case, one of whom was a juvenile.

No arrests have been made in connection with the fatal shooting, police said.

Hanleys mother, Nicole Vigilante, 49, said her daughter was born in New Jersey, though came to Florida in 2004 when she was 3 years old. Hanley, an only child, attended Jensen Beach High School, and was working after high school.

She always looked after others, Vigilante said. She always put everybody first  then herself.

Hanley was involved in cheerleading while growing up and enjoyed hanging out with friends and was a social person, Vigilante said.

Benitez, 38, expressed disappointment with the investigation, and how the case is proceeding. She noted the lack of an arrest.

That's our frustration with the Port St. Lucie Police Department, the detectives, the state attorney's office, she said. We feel like we've been lied to so many times, and so many false promises about getting justice for Gabriella.

Police stated investigators continue working on the Hanley homicide case, noting it is an active investigation.

Assistant State Attorney Brian Workman could not comment.

It is still an active investigation, and because of that, I cant really answer questions about it, Workman said.

Hanleys daughter, Jayana, was 14 months old at the time of the shooting. She is being cared for by family members.

Until my last breath, I will keep on fighting for justice for her, Benitez said. I want her daughter to know that the people responsible for her mother not being here with her are behind bars.

A Justice for Gabi petition on Change.org was started Sept. 7.

We call upon local authorities, including law enforcement agencies and judicial bodies, to reexamine all aspects of this case without prejudice or favoritism towards any party involved, the petition states.

Benitez said Hanley wasnt involved in gangs or related activities.

She worked, she was going to school. She was trying to better her life for her daughter, Benitez said. She was a mom, and a daughter. She's all my aunt had left.

Those with information about the Hanley homicide are asked to call detectives at 772-871-5001.

Charges dropped. But for good?: Update in big fentanyl case in St. Lucie County

Homicide update: St. Lucie County slaying victim ID'd as 33-year-old man

Will Greenlee is a breaking news reporter for TCPalm. Follow Will on X @OffTheBeatTweet or reach him by phone at 772-267-7926. E-mail him at will.greenlee@tcpalm.com

This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: Gabriella Hanley was fatally shot in October 2021 in Port St. Lucie
Classmates of a local student who was killed in a crash on Monday are gathering Thursday on what would have been his 18th birthday.

Sherman Vannoy was riding his bike to school when a bus attempting to turn into the school drive hit him.

The crash happened on North Hancock Road just at an entrance to Lake Minneola High School.

Watch: Students remember Lake Minneola high school student killed in bus crash

After Vannoy was hit by the bus he was taken to a hospital where he died.

The Lake County school district said the bus driver has been put on leave and will no longer be driving buses for the district.

Watch: Lake Minneola student killed in bus crash remembered at football game

A growing memorial to Vannoy now sits as the crash site.

Investigators said they are still investigating the crash as an active traffic homicide.

Read: Orange County Public Schools offering bonuses for new, current bus drivers

The community is planning to honor Vannoy on Thursday night at 8 p.m. with a candlelight vigil.

Click here to download our free news, weather and smart TV apps. And click here to stream Channel 9 Eyewitness News live.
(WTAJ)  The brown bears at Katmai National Park in Alaska have spent the last few months packing on the pounds, all in preparation for the annual Fat Bear Competition.

Well, theyve actually just been preparing for hibernation. But either way, its almost time to vote for your favorite heavyweight.

Each year the bears fill up on fish, berries, nuts and more to gain weight and get ready for the cold winter. And boy can those bears can get pretty tubby. In celebration of their chub, the National Park Service has started a Fat Bear Week competition. The bears go head-to-head and fans get to vote on who they think has bulked up the most.

National parks will be free to visit on these days in 2023

The 2023 competition kicks off on Oct. 4 and goes through Oct. 10. This is a single-elimination tournament. For each match-up, youll vote for the bear you believe best exemplifies fatness. The bear with the most votes advances to the next round.

At the end of the competition, one bear will be crowned the champion of Fat Bear Week.

Take a look at the bears in this years competition:

The 2023 contenders were announced on Oct. 2. You can check out the before and after photos and pick your favorite here. Make sure to keep up with the brackets and vote every day for who you think has packed on the most pounds ahead of winter.

Past champions and beloved competitors

Since 2014, Katmai National Park has held the competition in celebration of the fuzzy fatties and the hard work theyve put into getting ready for winter.

Otis

Otis is one of the most prolific winners and also one of the oldest males that arrive in spring at Brooks River, according to Explore. He won in 2014, 2016, 2017 and 2021. At his preferred fishing spots, Otis waits for salmon to come to him. He once ate 42 salmon in a sitting by using this strategy. Despite the difficulties and rigors of old age, Otis uses his adaptability, skill, and patience to find success.

747

747, The Jumbo Jet, Bear Force One. He goes by many names and its safe to say he has worked hard to get to his current figure. According to Explore, he may have weighed up to 1,400 pounds last year and was first identified in 2004. He is a skilled and efficient angler who is found fishing most often in the jacuzzi or near the far pool of Brooks Falls. Hes a two-time champion having won in 2020 and 2022.

435 (Holly)

The men arent the only formidable fighters for Fat Bear Week. 435 a.k.a Holly is a large adult female that was first seen in 2001. Since then, she has reared several litters of cubs and in the process has become one of the most experienced bears at Brooks River, according to Explore. She took the crown in 2019 and successfully raised several litters of cubs.

You can read more about the bears at Brooks Rivers here. You can also take a gander into their daily life through the bear cams.

There are fan favorites, past champions and just some really big bears in this competition. The winner will be announced on Tuesday, Oct. 25. Just like the brown bears motto of every bite counts, every vote counts.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KFOR.com Oklahoma City.
Derek and Nancy Johnson are pictured here with their daughter, Mia, and son, Jacob. Authorities say that Nancy killed the two children and herself on Sept. 28. | Kendra Bandock, GoFundMe





The estranged husband of the woman who, authorities say, killed her two children and herself in an apparent murder-suicide last week has spoken out about the tragedy on a GoFundMe page.

Derek Johnsons children, Mia, 5, and Jacob, 2, were drowned by his estranged wife, Nancy Johnson, on Sept. 28 in Semmes, Alabama, authorities say. According to Fox 10 News, Nancy and Derek had been going through a tumultuous divorce. In a note on a GoFundMe page organized by his sister, Derek shared a tribute to his children and explained that his wife had been struggling with mental illness.

I loved Mia, Jacob and Nancy so much, he wrote. Nancy had been struggling with mental issues and was having an identity crisis since the pandemic started. She let the teaching and rumors of the world consume her and no matter how I tried to help her she pushed me away and I could not force her to get help.

Nancy and Derek Johnson had been embroiled in a bitter custody battle. Semmes Police Chief Todd Freind told Fox 10 that the two had called the police on each other several times in the last few months. Fox 10 additionally reported that a Utah judge had granted Nancy a protection-from-abuse order against Derek in August, and Derek filed for divorce in Alabama shortly thereafter.

According to reports, Mobile County Sheriff Paul Burch says autopsies on Nancy Johnson and the two children have been completed.

We have been in a custody battle for the past 6 months and she kidnapped my kids for around 2.5 months, so I had no contact with them, Derek wrote in the GoFundMe explanation. They were suddenly taken from this world in the worst way possible around a day before I arrived back to the house.

According to NBC 15, Derek Johnson had been staying in a camper in the backyard but had been working out of state when the murders occurred. The same outlet reported that he was the one who discovered the bodies and called the police.

Johnson wrote on the GoFundMe site that he does not know when he will return to work and that he faces around $25,000 in debt and $1,800 in property taxes.

Any help is appreciated, he wrote. I have (zero) motivation in life right now and cant function that well at the moment.

Johnson added a tribute to his children, who he said filled his life with joy and happiness.

The amount of happiness and love that emanated from Mia and Jacob was very apparent to all that they were around, he wrote on the GoFundMe page. Their future was so bright in every way possible.

Anyone struggling with suicidal thoughts can contact the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline by phone or online chat.
The recipient of the 2023 Nobel Peace Prize is set to be announced by the Norwegian Nobel Committee on Friday at 11 a.m. local time (5 a.m. ET).

From 1901 to 2022, the Peace Prize has been awarded 103 times to 140 people. It is one of six awards that were established by Swedish chemist Alfred Nobel also the inventor of dynamitein 1895. The other awards categories recognize literature, physics, chemistry, physiology or medicine, and economic sciences.

Last years peace prize was awarded to Belarusian human rights advocate Ales Bialiatski, as well as two human rights organizations: the Russian group Memorial and Ukraine's Center for Civil Liberties.

Its difficult to try to forecast what the committee is going to decide on at any given time in any given year, Dan Smith, director of the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute think-tank, tells TIME. Its entertaining but its very hard to get a good result.

The winner is ultimately chosen by the five-person Norwegian Nobel Committee, which is appointed by Norways Parliament. The committee bases its decision on nominations that were made by Jan. 31 from current and former committee members, national parliaments, governments, past Peace Prize laureates, professors in some disciplines, directors of peace and international affairs research centers, and members of international courts of law.

With all that in mindand the caveat that past recipients have often been surprisingTIME has looked at odds from the Nicerodds.co.uk betting site as well as the annual shortlist by Henrik Urdal, the director of the Peace Research Institute Oslo. Urdals shortlist, which is widely studied each year, puts forward names based on meritbut it is not meant to be a list of predictions. He says it serves as a list of themes and candidates for the committee to consider and an indication of great initiatives for peace and stability.

Volodymyr Zelensky

Similarly to last year, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who was named TIMEs Person of the Year in 2022, is the favorite at Nicer Odds. The Ukrainian President has as of writing odds of 3.20. Zelensky has been a major player on the world stage, rallying international allies to support Ukraine in its fight against Russian President Vladimir Putin s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, which began in February 2022.

While bookies' odds favor Zelensky, experts are skeptical about his chances. Thats never going to happen, Urdal says. Despite the fact that Zelensky and Ukraine are fighting a just war, and we have every sympathy with their cause, it's going to be extremely difficult, I'd say impossible, for the Nobel Committee to give the prize to a person who is in the middle of an interstate war.

Read More: Nobel Peace Prize Laureates Urge Allies to Help Ukraine 'Win Fast'

Alexei Navalny

Alexei Navalny is a 47-year-old Russian lawyer, activist, and opposition leader. He led large street protests against Putin and was leader of the Russia of the Future partybefore it was dismantled in 2021and founded the Anti-Corruption Foundation. Navalny survived an attempt on his life when he was poisoned with a nerve agent in 2020, and he has been imprisoned in a Russian penal colony for fraud and other charges since 2021.

While Navalny is also a favorite among bookmakers, with odds of 8.60, Russian dissidents have claimed the prize for the last two years in a row and experts tell TIME that it's likely the committee will focus on other security issues this year.

More From TIME

Ilham Tohti

According to bookmakers, Ilham Tohti is another possible recipient of the peace prize, with odds of 8.60. Prior to his imprisonment, Tohti was an economics professor at Beijings Minzu University, where he specialized in issues related to China's minority Uyghur community. He established UyghurOnline, a Chinese-language website dedicated to documenting the oppression and discrimination faced by the Muslim minority group. Two years later, authorities shut the site down. Tohti went missing after 2009 riots in Xinjiang between Uyghurs and Han Chinese. Tohti was released shortly after, but the academic and the Uyghur communitys most prominent activist was sentenced to life in prison in January 2014 for inciting separatism.

Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya

Like Navalny and Tothi, exiled Belarusian opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya has odds of 8.60. Tsikhanouskaya ran for President in 2020 against Alexander Lukashenko, who has held the position since 1994; she put herself forward in place of her husband Sergei Tikhanovsky, who was jailed for 18 years in 2021 on multiple charges including the organization of riots. A leading voice for democracy, Tsikhanouskaya has been vocal about vote tampering and corruption in Belarus, sometimes calling for sanctions. As Lukashenko looked to suppress opposition voices after the 2020 contest, Tsikhanouskaya fled to Lithuania. She was tried in absentia and sentenced to 15 years in prison for high treason, inciting social hatred, attempts to seize power, and forming an extremist group, among other charges.

International Court of Justice

The ICJ is the main judicial organ of the U.Nit has odds of 9.60 on Nicer Odds, and is third on Urdals list. Urdal says the court could be recognized for its role as the main mechanism for solving conflicts between states. He adds that such a selection from the committee would point to the ICJ as an institutiton that should be protected and respected.

Narges Mohammadi and Mahbouba Seraj

In his 2023 shortlist, Urdal suggests that Mohammadi, an Iranian human rights activist and the vice president of the Defenders of Human Rights Center, could be a strong contender in conjunction with Afghan journalist and women's right activist Mahbouba Seraj. Mohammadi has odds of 16.0 on Nicer Odds, while Serajs financial odds are slightly higher at 18.50, meaning she is less likely to win.

Narges Mohammadi and Mahbouba Seraj have been contributing significantly to women's rights in two of the most repressive regimes when it comes to women's position in society, Urdal says of his top choice. Mohammadi, who has been in jail since 2016, has long advocated to abolish the death penalty in Iran. She was also elected President of the Executive Committee of the National Council of Peace in Iran.

Seraj, who spent 26 years in exile until 2003, is fighting for childrens health, education, and womens rights in Afghanistan. She is the founder of the Afghan Women's Network and the Organization for Research in Peace and Solidarity.

Other contenders

Urdals shortlist also names Victoria Tauli-Corpuz, a Philippine-born indigenous rights activist, and Juan Carlos Jintiach, an Ecuadorian indigenous leader. Much like Smith, Urdal believes Indigenous peoples' link to the climate crisis is a theme that could be a priority for the committee this year. (Neither two are among the top-10 favorites listed on Nicer Odds.)

Urdals shortlist also includes Myanmars Ambassador to the U.N. Kyaw Moe Tun and Myanmar's National Unity Consultative Council together for their roles in advocating for democracy in the southeast Asian country. Myanmar is now one of the most violent conflicts, says Urdal, but it also represents a very unfortunate development where we see military coups being staged in different parts of the world.

Tun, who is based in New York, denounced the 2021 military coup in Myanmar and has made calls for other countries not to recognize the junta.

Finally, Urdal has listed the Human Rights Data Analysis Group, which won Norways prestigious Rafto human rights prize last year. The nonprofit publishes scientific research on human rights violations around the world, from Colombia to Chad to Syria and more.

Smith, of think-tank SIPRI, says there is a high chance of this years laureate being connected to climate solutions. He says Fridays for the Future, a youth-led global climate movement, would be a strong contender for the prize. (The group is not featured on Nicer Odds.) He says there is a good case for awarding the prize to an indigenous climate activist like Chief Raoni Metukire, a 91-year-old of the Kayapo people, alongside Friday's for the Future.

Write to Armani Syed at armani.syed@time.com.
The citys high-tech new system that detects gunshots and is designed to help police solve gun crimes went live this week. But already, an alert from ShotSpotter has become part of a state investigation into how a handcuffed man allegedly shot himself.

I have so far reserved judgment on ShotSpotter. But I have to say  this is not the debut the software needed.

What little can be gleaned from Fayetteville Police Department information is as follows:

More: Fayetteville City Council puts youth curfew on hold, looks at partnerships. That's a good thing.

 A shots-fired report from ShotSpotter led police officers to the 6900 block of Cliffdale Road late Sunday.

 Officers detained 29-year-old Lawrence Artis and reportedly found a gun on him.

 He was handcuffed after police say they determined he was a convicted felon who was not supposed to have a gun.

 Despite being cuffed, he was somehow able to reach for a second firearm concealed in his pants pocket and shot himself," shortly after midnight Monday.

Three officers were placed on administrative duty per Police Department policy.

An obvious question arises as to how a man handcuffed by police still managed to grab a gun.

'This is not for Fayetteville': Some unhappy after ShotSpotter's first public session

Among other questions is who fired the shots picked up by ShotSpotters sensors?

We may not know any answers for a while, with the probe into the matter out of local hands and in the hands of the State Bureau of Investigation.

Fayetteville touts debut of gunshot detection

This murky incident aside, the city touted the debut of the gun-detection system in a news release on Tuesday morning.

The first days that the system is active will serve as the systems initial data collection period, the release states. Data collected will be displayed on the Fayetteville Police Departments website and routinely updated to provide transparency for all City residents.

Jul 20, 2023; Columbus, Ohio, U.S.; Police use technology called Shotspotter, that detects when shots are fired in five neighborhoods around the city.

The release said the gunshot detection, which went live Sept. 28, is being implemented along a portion of the Murchison Road corridor, in the Massey Hill area and a section of west Fayetteville, near Cliffdale and South Reilly Roads.

It had a statement from Mayor Mitch Colvin: This is another tool our Fayetteville Police Department will have to help solve crimes ultimately keeping our residents safe. Police will be able to respond to shootings faster with more accuracy. As a council, were taking actions to address gun violence we are witnessing in our community.

If a ShotSpotter alert hadnt sent officers to the area where Artis was found, he likely never would have been detained and the end result wouldn't have happened.

If police found another shooting location, or have since tied Artis to whatever incident led to the gunshot detection, they have not said and are directing all questions to the SBI, which is notoriously tight-lipped when it comes to its work.

Special treatment for certain areas

City Councilman Mario Benavente said the incident was troubling. He has opposed ShotSpotter from the start. One of his objections, he says, is that it is sold as a solution for too few people calling 911  but he said there has been no data produced that shows this is a particular problem in Fayetteville.

He also says when officers respond to a site where gunshots were detected, anyone in that area is subject to being questioned or detained  which he considers a suspension of an individual's 4th Amendment rights, an objection that has been raised by legal experts about other cities where the software is in use.

He cites the case of Adam Toledo, a 13-year-old boy in Chicago who as soon as the police rolled up, he was shot and killed as a result of a ShotSpotter alert, Benavente says. Authorities said Toledo was holding a gun that another man had fired minutes earlier, according to the Chicago Sun-Times. Chicago would later drop the program.

One of the local areas singled out for ShotSpotter coverage  the Murchison Road area  is located in Benaventes District 3.

Previously: Fayetteville City Council votes to move ahead with controversial gunshot detection software

In his view, the parts of the city chosen for gunshot detection would be better served by increased resources instead. These could include conflict resolution taught to young people at nearby rec centers and job programs like the internship program that Benavente proposed and the City Council supported at its work session on Monday night.

He said some may object to any part of the city receiving special treatment over other parts. But he says the designated areas are already being singled out as special for extra surveillance.

What is it about this area that makes it uniquely ripe for gun violence? he said is a question city staff can look at, a process he says that may require them to go door-to-door.

That makes a lot of sense to me. The Massey Hill ShotSpotter area, for example, has a 15% unemployment rate and nearly half of its residents live below poverty, according to city staff analysis.

A set of ears on targeted areas

The sensors of ShotSpotter are essentially a set of ears placed throughout the targeted areas.

A detailed Time magazine story on how the system works said people in a remote location (in the story it was in California) look at a bank of monitors, on the hunt for a pattern of soundwaves and sounds that indicate shots fired. It interviewed an analyst identified only as Jonathan for security purposes.

Every one of those booms and bangs are routed to this cool, dimly lit room, Time writes. The acoustics analysts are trained to differentiate gunfire from similar sounds like construction noise or firecrackers. When gunshots are confirmed, they send an alert that could reach the cell phone of a cop near the scene in less than a minute. Its a weird feeling, Jonathan says of identifying gunfire. Its like you want to see one, but you dont.

The city news release states: Alerts are sent within 60 seconds of a fired shot, notifying the department precisely when and where gun incidents occur, providing a quicker, more effective and efficient response to help save lives of gunshot victims and find critical evidence.

A one-year contract

I should note the technology is not cheap: It will cost the city $200,000 a year, an ongoing expense that will only grow if it chooses to add locations.

The city entered into a one-year contract for ShotSpotter, a product of the SoundThinking company, which I think is a good way to approach it. We should know in a year whether the system is worth it, and whether it avoids any additional harm in the relationship between police and the community it surveils.

An investigation may show that ShotSpotter worked exactly like it was supposed to just after midnight on Monday. Even so, I dont think that every concern raised by Benavente and others goes away.

Myron B. Pitts

The incident also illustrates that technology can only go so far. In the end, how officers engage with the public, including how they detain people they suspect of criminal activity, will decide whether their response is a case of "protect and serve" or something else.

Myron B. Pitts can be reached at mpitts@fayobserver.com or 910-486-3559.

This article originally appeared on The Fayetteville Observer: Fayetteville gunshot detection system debuts. Is ShotSpotter worth it?
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, October 5)  The police officer who claimed in a viral video that the closure of a section of Commonwealth Avenue was for Vice President Sara Duterte's convoy was relieved from his post and is being probed for possible administrative liability, the Quezon City Police District confirmed on Thursday.

A statement from Station 14 of the Quezon City Police District said the officer identified as PSgt. Pantallano stopped traffic for a few minutes "because of misleading information he overheard."

"I have ordered the relief of my policeman and put him under investigation to determine administrative liability for his actions," said station commander PLtCol. May Genio. "We assure the public that this incident will not happen again."

A netizen who was taking the video asked Pantallano the reason why vehicles were not allowed to pass.

"May dadaan po tayong VIP [We have a VIP passing through]," the policeman was heard saying. When the netizen asked who it was, Pantallano said "si VP." The netizen asked "VP Sara?" to which the cop answered "oo [yes]."

Among those who shared the video was former Bayan Muna representative Teddy Casino, whose post on X (formerly Twitter) has gotten 1.4 million views.

"The said incident stemmed from a confusion and lapse in judgement of our policeman manning the traffic during that time," the statement from QCPD Station 14 stated.

"It appears that our policeman overreacted when he stopped the traffic for a few minutes, because of misleading information he overheard," it also said, adding that the vice president had no engagement in the area.

The statement also quoted Pantallano's apology.

"Ako po ay humihingi ng paumanhin sa aking maling nagawa," he said. "Patawarin nyo po ako, at akala ko po talaga may dadaan na VIP."

[Translation: I am asking for forgiveness over what I did. Please forgive me, I really believed a VIP would be passing.]

In a separate statement, Duterte said that neither she nor her office made a request to the QCPD.

"The claims in the video are not only misleading, but false," she said.

Duterte called on the QCPD to investigate the incident and hold those responsible accountable for their actions.

She also said the police officer involved as well as the QCPD district director should apologize.

A statement from the Office of the Vice President (OVP) clarified that Duterte was in MIndanao and was not in any way involved in the incident.

"The Vice President did not ask QCPD and will never ask government agencies, including law enforcement bodies, to carry out actions that would inconvenience the public or cause them harm," the OVP statement said.

The same statement said apart from resolving the matter, the QCPD is expected to publicly disclose the VIP behind the road closure.
WASHINGTON  An alleged Jan. 6 participant who online sleuths dubbed "Conan O'Riot" due to his resemblance to former late-night talk show host Conan O'Brien was arrested by the FBI this week.

Derek Nelson, who was an active-duty U.S. Marine from October 2011 to September 2015, was arrested in Champaign, Illinois, on Wednesday, according to federal court records. Along with his co-defendant, Derek Dodder of Nevada, 30-year-old Nelson faces four misdemeanor charges in connection with the U.S. Capitol attack.

Online "Sedition Hunters" dubbed the redheaded Nelson #ConanORiot, using the hashtag to track his movements at the Capitol. The sleuths had identified Nelson more than two years ago, by the summer of 2021.

Nelson was dressed up in colonial attire on Jan. 6, specifically "a brown tricorn hat along with a blue double-breasted button coat and red or maroon undershirt with a white scarf around his neck," according to the FBI. In one video cited by the FBI, filmed near the Washington Monument, where crowds had gathered to watch then-President Donald Trump 's speech, a videographer asks Nelson why he's there.

"To start a revolution," Nelson said. "Why are you here?

Redhead dubbed 'Conan O'Riot' by Jan. 6 sleuths arrested by FBI. (U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia)

When the crowd descended on the Capitol, Nelson was near the front lines as a pro-Trump mob chased down outnumbered officers on the west side of the building, according to the FBI.

Once inside the Capitol, Nelson wore goggles and a respirator mask, and video presented as evidence in another Jan. 6 case shows him running away after another rioter sets off a fire extinguisher near the doors to the House of Representatives, which were barricaded as members fled the violent mob.

A federal magistrate judge in Illinois released Nelson on his own recognizance on Wednesday, ordered him not to travel outside the continental U.S. without court approval and banned him from possessing a firearm, destructive device, or other weapon. Nelson will make a virtual appearance before a federal judge in the nation's capital on Oct. 17.

Nelson has been represented by an attorney since at least February 2022, according to the FBI. Nelsons attorney called the FBI special agent working the case after the special agent went to Nelsons home and left a business card in his front door mail slot last year, the FBI said.

Redhead dubbed 'Conan O'Riot' by Jan. 6 sleuths arrested by FBI (U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia)

On his podcast Conan OBrien Needs a Friend, O'Brien said after the attack that Jan. 6 was an upsetting day "for any sentient American" and singled out Sens. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and Josh Hawley, R-Mo., for objecting to the certification of Joe Biden's presidential victory even after the Capitol was ransacked.

"To watch Cruz and Hawley leave that lockdown and come back up and double-down on this idiocy, I think it's the angriest I've been since 'Schitt's Creek' went off the air," O'Brien joked.

In a podcast last month, O'Brien riffed on what he joked was Donald Trump's biggest crime: the former president's impact on comedy.

Im really going out on a limb here saying  thats his greatest crime," O'Brien joked. "I think hes hurt political comedy by being so outlandish himself. I think the Jan. 6 thing is a blip compared to how much hes hurt comedy.

This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
The FBI launched a billboard campaign Thursday to seek information about the unsolved 2004 homicide of a Black man in southeast Kansas, which agents suspect was a hate crime.

Seven billboards going up throughout the greater Kansas City region ask for tips about the killing of 23-year-old Alonzo Brooks, who was found dead in a creek in La Cygne, Kansas, about an hour drive south of Kansas City.

The billboards  put up amid a national effort by the FBI to bring attention to hate crimes  remind passerby that the agency is offering a $100,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of anyone responsible for Brooks death.

Before Brooks, of Gardner in Johnson County, was found dead in April 2004, he attended a party at a farmhouse on the outskirts of the Linn County city of about 1,000 people. He was just one of three Black men at the party of 100 or more attendees, the FBI said. The friends Brooks arrived with left before he did, and he had no ride home.

When Brooks didnt return home, his loved ones called the Linn County Sheriffs Office, which searched the area with other law enforcement agencies. The sheriffs deputies failed to find him.

His body was found roughly a month after his disappearance when family and friends organized a search. The FBI noted that Brooks friends and relatives were able to find his body, partially on top of brush in Middle Creek, in just under an hour.

Initially, a coroner in Linn County said he could not determine Brooks cause of death. But the FBI and the U.S. Attorneys Office in Kansas reopened the cold case in 2019 and exhumed his body the next year. His remains were taken to Dover Air Force Base in Delaware, where an armed forces medical examiner concluded that Brooks death was a homicide.

The FBI encouraged anyone with information about Brooks killing, or who may have been at the party April 3, 2004, to call 816-512-8200 or 816-474-TIPS or submit a tip on its website through tips.fbi.gov.

The smallest detail, which may seem insignificant to you, could be the key to solving this homicide, the agency said.

The Stars Bill Lukitsch contributed to this report.
FILE - Egyptian Muslims perform Eid al-Fitr prayers outside al-Seddik mosque in Cairo, Egypt, Friday, April 21, 2023. In the Middle East and North Africa, where religion is often ingrained in daily life's very fabric, rejecting faith can come with social or other repercussions, so many of the "nones," a group that includes agnostics, atheists and "nothing in particular" conceal that part of themselves, as blasphemy laws and policies are widespread in the region. (AP Photo/Amr Nabil, File)

Theres the Tunisian woman who fasts during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, though not for God. The Iraqi woman who, until recently, wore a hijab. And a man whose Egyptian identity card still identifies him as Muslim.

Such are the ways that some of the religiously unaffiliated, or nones  people who are agnostics, atheists or nothing in particular  negotiate their existence in the Middle East and North Africa, or MENA, where religion is often ingrained in lifes very fabric.

Aware that rejecting religion can have repercussions, many conceal that part of themselves. Declaring disbelief may spur social stigma, ostracism by loved ones or even unleash the wrath of authorities, especially if going public is coupled with real or perceived attacks on religion or God.

I have a double life all the time, said the 27-year-old Tunisian woman. Its better than having conflict every day.

Many nonbelievers seek community, ideas or pockets of digital defiance on the internet even though online spaces can come with risks.

Most of those interviewed by The Associated Press spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of repercussions and because some of their families dont know how they religiously identify.

The Middle East is the birthplace of the three heavenly religions and theres no doubt that the regions culture has long been intertwined with religion, said Mustapha Kamel al-Sayyid, a political science professor at Cairo University. Religion has also been a source of legitimacy for rulers, a source for knowledge and behavioral norms.

Many in Arab countries, he said, associate lack of religion with immorality. To them, you cannot talk about the rights of someone who is a danger to society.

Bans on blasphemy appear in different parts of the world. But, according to a Pew Research Center analysis, they have been most common in the MENA region as of 2019.

The Tunisian woman said she fasts to avoid being found out by her family. She pretends to sleep to skip gatherings, where relatives may take aim at her suspected disbelief.

From an early age, she rejected how Islam was practiced in her home. She said her father would sometimes force her to pray. Resisting traditional interpretations of such things as gender roles, she turned to progressive Muslim readings.

She now sees herself as nothing in particular and open to different spiritual paths.

Youre socially perceived like you are public enemy, she said. People hate you without knowing you.

Hany Elmihy hoped conditions could change. The 57-year-old Egyptian agnostic and some other nonbelievers saw a window for visibility following the Arab Spring" uprisings.

Elmihy said he founded a Facebook group for Egyptians without religion in 2011, while similar ones formed in other Arab countries. Mass protests demanding political change had just unseated an Egyptian president then, highlighting the power of social media for dissent.

Its not the revolution that turned some into atheists or irreligious; the revolution gave them the freedom and courage to speak up, Elmihy said.

Elmihy said he was insulted, threatened, and attacked by unknown assailants.

Seeking recognition, he tried to change the Muslim designation listed on his identity card to state he adheres to no religion. He failed.

After the post-revolt euphoria fizzled out, he left Egypt in 2015 and now lives in Norway.

Society scared me the most, Elmihy said. I felt isolated."

He views his earlier advocacy with mixed feelings, but says it was important to let the society know that the religiously unaffiliated exist.

Some took note.

Ishak Ibrahim, a researcher with the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights, said Egypts youth ministry announced plans in 2014 to combat atheism in collaboration with religious bodies.

Local press also reported on anti-atheism efforts by some Islamic and Christian institutions.

We believe that those who dont belong to religion are committing a sin but its not our responsibility to hold them accountable, said Abbas Shouman, an official with Al-Azhar, the Cairo-based seat of Sunni Muslim learning. The role of religious authorities, he said is only to explain, clarify, spread the right education and respond to suspicions.

Shouman rejects attacks on religion, saying nonbelievers "have the right to defend their beliefs as they wish but not to go after others beliefs and affiliations.

Atheism is not criminalized in Egypt, Ibrahim said. Last year, Ibrahims EIPR said an Egyptian court upheld a three-year-prison sentence and a fine against a blogger charged with contempt of religion and misusing social media. The organization, whose lawyer appealed the earlier verdict, has said the man was accused of managing a Facebook page for Egyptian atheists that allegedly criticizes religions.

In May, Iran hanged two men convicted of blasphemy, carrying out rare death sentences for the crime. The men were accused of involvement in a Telegram channel called Critique of Superstition and Religion, according to the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom. The Mizan news agency of Irans judiciary described the two as having insulted Prophet Muhammad and promoted atheism.

In Saudi Arabia, a court has sentenced a man to 10 years in prison and 2,000 lashes on accusations of expressing atheism online; a media report said in 2016 that religious police found tweets denying the existence of God and ridiculing Quranic verses.

For some, like Ahmad, religious disbelief hasnt caused tensions. But the 33-year-old Lebanese, who comes from a Shiite Muslim family and now lives in Qatar, wanted his last name withheld because of the sensitivity of the subject.

We have an unspoken agreement: I dont criticize religion and you dont criticize my lack of religion, he said. Hes religiously unaffiliated, and says he cannot believe in something that I cannot touch or cannot see.

The role of sectarian divisions in fueling conflicts in Lebanon is one reason Talar Demirdjian distanced herself from religion.

People either go very into their religion or their sects, or the other side. A Lebanese Armenian of Christian heritage, Demirdjian said about religion, I dont even think about it enough to tick a label.

For one Iraqi woman, questions started when a childhood dream to one day become an imam like her grandfather was quashed because she is a girl. Iraqs turmoil fueled her disbelief.

The 24-year-old's generation witnessed the U.S.-led invasion, militancy, sectarian violence, the brutal reign of the Islamic State and increasing clout of militias.

Shes worn the Islamic headscarf before and, for a while, after she became agnostic. When militants proliferated where she lived, she donned it to stay out of danger; at other times, it was to socially fit in. She removed it around 2020.

I dont tell people that I am agnostic, she said. Itd be an act of stupidity to do so in such a society.

___

AP writers Youcef Bounab in Paris and Abdulrahman Zeyad in Baghdad contributed.

___

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.
Yrlaine Desir could barely contain her excitement.

Chatting with Eleuteria Rachel Rios Clews on a bench in the second row of the gallery of the ceremonial courtroom in the old York County Courthouse Thursday morning, she said she barely slept the night before.

I kept waking up and looking at my phone, thinking, oh my God, Im going to be late, she said.

She has waited six years for this day, the day that she would no longer be a Haitian citizen and would become an American. This is a great day for me, said Desir, a 30-year-old warehouse worker.

Andissa Lantsman, center, from the Ukraine, raises her hand while reciting the oath with new citizens from 14 countries. Yrlaine Desir, from Haiti, is at right.

She was among 24 immigrants who, by taking the oath of citizenship administered by York County Judge Clyde Vedder, became Americans during the brief ceremony. The new citizens came from 14 different countries, including Ukraine, Haiti, Honduras, Liberia, Nepal and Norway.

Ukraine native among new citizens

Among the new citizens was Andissa Lantsman, who emigrated from Ukraine 12 years ago, coming to the United States with her mother from the Black Sea port city of Odessa. (Odessa has been the target of Russian air strikes and shelling but remains under Ukrainian control.)

When she first came to America, Lantsman said, it was confusing, scary and overwhelming. Now, America is home.

More by Argento: In search of Kadin Black: Troubled York County teen mysteriously went missing last year

She and her mother first settled in South Amboy, New Jersey, where Lantsman worked in a bakery. Now 32, she is married, living in Glen Rock and raising a family. She is expecting her second child in January. Her mother passed away five years ago of cancer, she said.

She doesnt have family remaining in Ukraine, but she does have friends who have left the country and are living in western European countries. They are safe now, she said.

Twenty-four new citizens from 14 countries recite the Pledge of Allegiance after they were sworn in as citizens.

She still follows the news from her home nation. That is devastating, she said. The roots of the conflict go deep, centuries. I hope Russia gets what it deserves.

Becoming an American is overwhelming. Im very proud to be an American now, she said, beaming.

True crime: Requiem for a panhandler: 'Petey' was killed execution style. He was a complicated soul

Photo ops

After the ceremony, Rios Clews and Desir had their photo taken together in the rotunda of the old courthouse. They had just met Thursday when they sat next to each other in the courtroom, and they bonded over their new citizenship.

This has been the best day for me, Desir said.

An American flag pin was given to each new citizen.

Rios Clews, 32, who came to America from Honduras six years ago, said, I am very grateful. Its really exciting. I feel like a new person.

Columnist/reporter Mike Argento has been a York Daily Record staffer since 1982. Reach him at mike@ydr.com.

This article originally appeared on York Daily Record: 24 new citizens naturalized in York County, Pa.
The California political world has been shaken by two seismic events  last weeks death of Sen. Dianne Feinstein and Tuesdays ouster of House Speaker Kevin McCarthy . Among the collateral damage could be the states federal funding and congressional clout.

Feinstein, the 31-year Senate veteran whose funeral will be held Thursday in San Francisco, was the second-ranking Democrat on the powerful appropriations committee, where key spending decisions are made. Over the summer, she released a lengthy list of $190 million in California projects to be included in spending bills.

McCarthy, the Bakersfield Republican, was speaker for only nine months, hardly enough time to leave significant mark. But his removal Tuesday could be an opportunity missed for California.

We lost a lot of horsepower yesterday, Rep. David Valadao, R-Hanford, said Wednesday of McCarthys dismissal.

Feinstein and McCarthy are the latest in a recent series of significant California losses and transitions. It began with Republicans taking the House in 2022. Nancy Pelosi, D-San Francisco, had been speaker.

It also meant some powerful Democratic committee chairs lost their posts, including Rep. Maxine Waters of Los Angeles (Financial Services) Rep. Mark Takano of Riverside (Veterans Affairs) and Rep. Zoe Lofgren of San Jose (Administration).

Among Democrats, Rep. Pete Aguilar, D-San Bernardino, is third-ranking Democrat in the House as chairman of the party caucus. Rep. Ted Lieu, D-Los Angeles, is vice chairman, the number four slot.

There are people watching Californias interests, said Sen. Alex Padilla, D-Calif., who came to the Senate in 2021. Itll never be the same as Nancy Pelosi.

Losing all this power clearly can make a difference, said former Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott. No Californians are said to be in the running to succeed McCarthy. The House Democratic leader, Hakeem Jeffries, is from New York. So is Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer.

Clearly, the loss of Californian leadership in the Capitol means California legislative and spending priorities will not get as much attention or focus, said Wesley Hussey, professor of political science at California State University, Sacramento.

The loss of Feinstein

Lott cited Feinstein as a huge loss for California.The appropriations committee writes 12 spending bills each year that often consume hundreds of pages  and include page after page of projects important to constituencies. Federal money helps fund schools, roads, health care, defense and more.

You can help direct funds to projects, to bases or to cities. Senators traditionally do that, Lott said. Whats really important is that as you move up and gain seniority you can do more of that.

For the first time in decades, there are no Californians on the Senate appropriations committee.

With a state that contributes the most to the federal treasury? Padilla said. We deserve a voice there.

One of us needs to be on there, he said, referring to Sen. Laphonza Butler, D-Calif., whom Gov. Gavin Newsom appointed to succeed Feinstein.

Padilla is on the Judiciary, Environment & Public Works, Homeland Security, Rules & Administration and Budget committees. Butler, sworn in Tuesday, has not yet received committee assignments.

Leadership in the House

While its difficult for lawmakers to ignore California, our water and agricultural needs are different than the Midwest, for example, so keeping the focus on California issues was helpful when we had a California Speaker of the House and someone with Senator Feinsteins seniority and well-respected policy expertise, Hussey said.

The more difficult path to power is likely in the House, where Democrats are currently in the minority.

Of the 52 California House members, 11 are Republicans. Rep. Ken Calvert, R-Corona, has influence as head of the appropriations defense subcommittee. Valadao is a committee member.

We had Speaker Pelosi who was there for the longest time, and even as the Minority Leader in the time of Boehner and the speaker before that, Valadao said. Obviously we disagreed on some topics that McCarthy came in and pulled more in a direction that helps the Central Valley a lot.

Rep. Tom McClintock, R-Elk Grove, is an important player on immigration issues as chairman of the Judiciary Committees immigration panel.

Water and Wildfires

California is slated to receive about $144 billion in federal funds during its fiscal year. Most of that is headed for specific programs, such as disaster funding, or formula-driven public assistance such as child nutrition programs, education and Medicaid.

The state is unlikely to see much negative impact in the event of emergencies. Newsom had a good relationship with McCarthy and has cooperated with Republicans and Democrats about Californias needs.

McCarthy and Newsom talked and texted about the state regularly. There was a line of communication between Gov. Newsom and McCarthy. They had each others phone numbers and they would text each other, said Mark Baldassare, former president and CEO of the Public Policy Institute of California and now its survey director.

Padilla noted that states like Hawaii look to California on responding to disasters that have grown more common with rising global temperatures.

The money to watch is what could come through the appropriations process.

Among the projects listed by Feinstein was $4.3 million for wildfire fuels reduction and emergency evacuation routes across Butte, Nevada and Tehama Counties.

For raising certain priorities like agriculture, water and wildfires, more advocates in high places helps.

Wildfires and water emerged as important Padilla priorities, having successfully gotten legislation signed into law to bolster federal response to wildfires. He chairs the Environment & Public Works Subcommittee on Fisheries, Water, and Wildlife and has lobbied along with Feinstein to get firefighting funding and transfers of long-awaited aircraft into spending bills. Through his climate and immigration work, hes tackled farm worker issues and crop protection.

The path forward for agricultural priorities in the Central Valley, which grows a third of the nations produce, is less clear from Californias 2024 U.S. Senate candidates, who are from Southern California cities and Oakland.

Valadao mentioned priorities like the 2016 Water Infrastructure Improvements for the Nation (WIIN) Act, which Feinstein had worked on with McCarthy. The act encouraged increases in water allocations south to farmers and cities from the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta.

It was controversial, requiring a filibuster override to pass and drawing ire from Democratic colleagues like then-California Sen. Barbara Boxer, who ultimately opposed her own bill that had the WIIN Act attached to it.

Environmental advocates said they werent consulted about the proposal that developed out of Feinsteins discussions with Westlands Water District and its former general manager Tom Birmingham. Birmingham told The Bee last week that Feinsteins fondness for San Joaquin Valley farmers came in part from summers she spent at a Kern County ranch belonging to a friend of her fathers.

The Friant-Kern Canal, the more than 70-year-old water system that runs the eastern edge of the San Joaquin Valley, received increased funding for repairs thanks in part to Feinstein and McCarthy.

And the Valley Fever Task Force, co-chaired by McCarthy and Arizona Rep. David Schweikert, too, raised research for farmers and farm workers dealing with the fungus-caused disease that grows in California and southwestern soil. McCarthy was, Valadao said, moving dollars that we possibly could within the appropriations to try to fund some of the research facilities and equipment they needed.

Those are things that are actually benefiting the Valley still to this very day, he said.
The memorial service for the late Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) will no longer be open to the public, her office announced in a statement Thursday.

Feinsteins Thursday memorial service, which had been slated to be a public event on the front steps of San Francisco City Hall, will now be open to invited guests only, her office said, citing a larger than expected security perimeter.

Unfortunately, due to a larger than expected security perimeter, todays memorial service at city hall is no longer open to the general public. You will be unable to see or hear the program from outside the perimeter, the office said in a statement.

Feinsteins office said the service will be streamed live at 1 p.m. local time Thursday.

The memorial service is reportedly expected to include tributes from several prominent politicians, including Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), Vice President Harris and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.).

On Wednesday, Feinsteins body lay in state in the rotunda of San Franciscos City Hall, where she first began her decades-long career in politics. City leaders and residents had a chance to pay respects to the late senator.

Feinstein died at 90 years old last Thursday at her home in Washington.

Feinstein became San Franciscos first female mayor in 1978 following the tragic assassinations of Mayor George Moscone and Supervisor Harvey Milk, who was among the first openly gay political figures in the country. Feinstein served in the role for nearly a decade, becoming known for her advocacy during the HIV/AIDS crisis.

She was elected to the Senate in 1992, where she pushed for the assault weapons ban in the 1990s and later played a key role in exposing the CIAs use of torture and other interrogation techniques. She was one of the chambers most prominent women and the longest-serving woman senator in American history.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
A US Customs and Border Patrol agent patrols the fence along the frontier with Mexico (SANDY HUFFAKER)

The United States and Mexico pledged Thursday to step up efforts to tackle flows of drugs and migrants, setting aside signs of friction over a US plan to extend a controversial border wall.

Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador criticized the announcement by Washington that it would add to the barrier that was a signature policy of Donald Trump, calling it a "setback."

"It does not solve the problem. We must address the causes" of migration, he told reporters shortly before meeting Secretary of State Antony Blinken at the National Palace.

Blinken was accompanied by a delegation including Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and Attorney General Merrick Garland for the high-level security talks.

The synthetic opioid fentanyl "continues to devastate families on both sides of the border," Blinken said at a news conference afterward.

"We have an obligation to do everything in our power to combat this scourge," he said, adding that the two countries were cooperating to "dismantle clandestine drug labs."

Mexican Foreign Minister Alicia Barcena stressed that the chemical precursors used to make fentanyl were not produced in Mexico but came from abroad.

The Mexican Navy had proposed creating an international coalition to stop chemical precursor smuggling through measures such as improved traceability, she said.

On migration, Blinken said the scale of the challenge "demands that we redouble our efforts" through measures such as modernizing border security, increasing legal migration pathways and addressing the root causes.

Mayorkas said the two countries were committed to expanding "safe, orderly and lawful pathways for migrants" but with "strict consequences" for those who do not use lawful means to enter the United States.

"Those consequences include swift repatriation, the swift return of migrants and a ban on their re-entry," he said.

With US President Joe Biden under pressure to halt border crossings as he seeks reelection, Washington announced Thursday that it would resume deportation flights to Venezuela after a deal with Caracas.

- 'Deadliest drug threat' -

The United States saw a record of around 110,000 drug overdose deaths between March 2022 and March 2023, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Fentanyl accounted for some two-thirds of them.

Garland said the two countries were "taking on the dangerous drug trafficking cartels that are responsible for the deaths of both American and Mexican citizens.

"The fentanyl these cartels are producing and trafficking is the deadliest drug threat the United States has ever faced," he added.

Last month Mexico extradited Ovidio Guzman Lopez, the son of imprisoned Sinaloa Cartel kingpin Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman, to the United States to face narcotics charges.

"He is one of more than a dozen cartel leaders we have indicted and who have been extradited to the United States. He will not be the last," Garland said.

The US Justice Department is pursuing three more of Guzman's sons, known as the "Chapitos."

US authorities are also targeting Chinese companies accused of cartel links. This week they announced sanctions on a China-based network accused of producing and distributing precursor chemicals.

Mexico is plagued by cartel-related bloodshed that has seen more than 420,000 people murdered since the government deployed the military in the war on drugs in 2006.

Lopez Obrador argues that investing in development projects in the region would help counter not only drug trafficking but also migration flows.

He has angrily rejected calls by Republican politicians in the United States to send the US military to fight drug cartels.

dr/dw
A man from Fernandina Beach was one of two unprepared hikers rescued from a trail in New Hampshire on Wednesday.

The New Hampshire Fish and Game Department said in a news release that Ardavan Kalhor, 69, of Fernandina Beach, and Homayoun Vossoughi, 65, a woman from New York City were cold, wet, and without any food or water and were unsure how to continue on their own, when a conservation officer found them.

Officials said Kalhor and Vossoughi started a hike at 7 a.m. of the 9-mile Franconia Ridge Loop summiting Mt. Lafayette, Mt. Lincoln, and Little Haystack.

The hike took Kalhor and Vossoughi longer than they estimated it would and they ran out of water and day light, causing them to lose the trail, the news release said.

A conservation officer hiked 1.3 miles up Falling Waters Trail and reached the two at 8:35 p.m. They were given lights and assisted down the trail, arriving back safely at 10 p.m.

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An Ohio man is headed to jail after police say he swindled a client out of $1.3 million by using her personal information.

The Lebanon man was sentenced to 15 years in prison, according to a news release from the Ohio Department of Commerce on Oct. 5.

The release says he was working as an investment advisor in 2013, when he opened a bank account in his clients name without her knowledge or permission. He then sold securities from the victims brokerage account and transferred the money into the new bank account he created, officials said.

He used the money for personal expenses, such as a down payment on his home, mortgage payments, car loans and credit card purchases, officials said. Authorities say he also bought a tiny home for a family member, according to a news release from the Warren County Prosecutors Office.

The victim became aware of the fraud in 2022 when she was contacted by the IRS about the bank account, the release said.

The man pleaded guilty to three second-degree felony counts for unlawful securities practices, aggravated theft and identity fraud. On Oct. 2, he was sentenced to 15 years in prison and ordered to pay $1.02 million in restitution to the victim, officials said.

Every dollar taken by fraud hurts families and law-abiding businesses in Ohio. Todays sentence confirms that the Division and its law enforcement partners are committed to making Ohio a safe environment where investors and industry professionals can grow and prosper, Ohio Securities Commissioner Andrea Seidt said in the Department of Commerce release.

Information regarding the mans legal representation was unable to be obtained as of Oct. 5.

Bank teller steals $88,000 from convenience stores deposits in Georgia, feds say

75-year-old sorority treasurer stole $3M from Mississippi university chapter, feds say

Men posing as homeowners stole $3.3M from over 3,500 people in rental scheme, feds say
The mass exodus of more than half of Capital Public Radios Board of Directors is a sad but necessary step for the station to have its best chance to survive. Sacramento State is now fully in charge. But the depth of the stations financial disaster is still coming into focus.

What started just a week ago as an audit leading to increased oversight by the university has exploded into a complete takeover amid rapidly unfolding developments.

Opinion

This is a moment to rally behind  not abandon  this vital outlet of news and information. Those left behind, an outstanding group of journalists and support staff, represent the brains and soul of CapRadio. The jewel is all still there. Now, a new generation of leadership must quickly take the reins because the stations future remains too much in doubt.

Wednesday nights resignation of 13 members of the board of directors has sent the institution into a temporary tailspin. University President Luke Wood was quick to accept the resignations. The board had been negotiating a contract for a new general manager with a compensation package approaching a half a million dollars. The directors wanted Sacramento State to foot the bill with funds that normally go to educating students. And in this moment of leverage, the university on Tuesday reportedly asked for these board members to resign.

The request was for the good of the radio station, given the rapidly degenerating circumstances. The audit revealed that CapRadio had ceased making payments on an $8 million university loan to avoid a financial collapse resulting from the radio stations plan to abandon its campus studios for new downtown offices with monthly leases exceeding $100,000. The university separately unearthed an assortment of other questionable business decisions. One board member was married to a developer with a financial connection to one of the stations downtown sites. Another board member sold the station furniture to help fill the downtown offices. And an unauthorized endowment fund not managed by the university included a Lake Tahoe-area timeshare.

The board Tuesday night refused to resign. Instead, members dug in. The university announced it was not providing the funds for the new general manager position. Later, the board members in their Wednesday resignation letter blamed the university for failing to engage with the board in good faith.

This was never a negotiation. This was Sacramento State, the parent institution that assumes all the financial risks, taking measures to protect its much larger institution with its much broader mission. A CapRadio board accustomed to decades of independence and autonomy was struggling to comprehend its actual place in the greater university organizational chart. By claiming to be unaware of the stations financial problems, failing to consistently submit conflict-of-interest forms and failing to prevent its own members and direct relatives from doing business with CapRadio, their window of opportunity to show leadership had closed, despite years of good intentions.

Waiting a day to resign and then blaming the university only made things worse. By Wednesday night, the unnamed candidate for general manager allegedly had lost interest in the job amid the chaos. Whether the university could even afford such a pricey compensation package is another question altogether. Regardless, what should have been an orderly and dignified transition was instead a sad display of finger-pointing and board claims of ignorance about the state of station finances.

Hindsight provides so many lessons for all involved.

The parent has some self-reflection to do. Sacramento State has paid a dear price for too often taking a hands-off approach and for failing to reinforce with each new station manager and board director that CapRadio first and foremost has an educational mission. The only reason the university holds the station license is to expose students to journalism, the art of news gathering and the craft of broadcasting. The whole idea of moving off campus to downtown undercut that mission. There are plenty of university representatives on this board who should have said no. And failing that, the campus president should have spoken up. Instead, students were left on the sidelines, missing out on the educational opportunity that Capital Public Radio could have provided.

CapRadio leadership clearly had ambitions to evolve into something it never was, some high-profile player in Sacramentos downtown. Station leaders appeared enamored with rubbing shoulders with the powerful  as well as perks such as CapRadio swag and the stations own Tahoe timeshare. They created a dangerous mirage that nobody in charge managed to see through, even as the station turned upside down financially. The lack of self awareness, even to the boards bitter end, was breathtaking.

Board members failure to consistently complete standard forms detailing financial dealings that may pose conflicts of interest is just yet one more example of station leaderships aversion to transparency and accountability. Failing to file that routine disclosure is a giant red flag signaling the lack of proper controls and procedures. New CapRadio leadership needs to instill a culture of accountability, and fast.

Now Sacramento State faces the unenviable task of fully dissecting CapRadios financial past with a followup forensic audit. Whats most important is looking forward. Managing a radio station with self-decapitated leadership is not part of any universitys core competencies. The swift actions taken by Wood offer hope that his team is up to the challenge. But it will cost Sacramento State dearly and will undoubtedly raise questions from faculty. Wood estimates that the university has spent $12 million of its funds so far to prop up the radio station and may have to spend another $5 million. With a total university budget of approximately $400 million, this is real money with real university consequences.

The quality of any journalism outlet is measured by the quality of its journalists. Beneath all this financial mess and drama, the same CapRadio that has well served this community still exists. Lets hope those voices will stick around to keep us all informed. The university and listeners should rally behind this valuable institution and rescue CapRadio from its past leadership failures. This transition will not be easy; there are many challenges and plenty of pain still to come.

For the supporters of CapRadio saddened by what has happened, this is a crucial opportunity. With a window for new leadership and much-needed change wide open, the future of public radio in Sacramento and the affiliates throughout Northern California is in our collective hands.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, October 5)  It is unlikely that the House of Representatives will return the confidential funds which it stripped late last month from the Office of the Vice President and the Department of Education, both led by Sara Duterte.

READ: Lawmakers to cut OVP, DepEd confidential funds to boost budget of security agencies

The funds will instead be used to augment the budgets of agencies mandated with protecting the country and promoting security, particularly those on the front lines of defending Manilas sovereignty amid Chinas escalating aggression in the West Philippine Sea.

Right now, the collective decision of the House  and we had a caucus so to speak or we had a conference  is that for the time being, the CIFs will be realigned and put to other departments or agencies that are best-suited to conduct the security aspects where the Secretary or the VP is concerned, Speaker Martin Romualdez told the media on Thursday.

This is after Duterte claimed that the funds for her agencies were meant to combat terrorism or organized crime, and implied that those who stood against confidential funds were considered kalaban ng bayan [enemies of the state].

READ: VP Duterte defends confidential funds: 'It should not be constrained by time

In response, Romualdez said With respect to confidential funds, we are all for it. We are all for peace and security. We are in total agreement that the utilization of confidential funds is to promote peace and security.

Meanwhile Romualdez, other House leaders, and Armed Forces of the Philippines Chief of Staff Romeo Brawner on Thursday visited Pag-asa island, part of the Kalayaan town in Palawan in the West Philippine Sea after three Filipino fishermen were killed after being rammed by a foreign vessel.

He said the House was considering an additional 3 billion  some of which will come from the realigned secret funds  to fund developments on the island, including a reclamation project for the extension of its airport, a naval port, and a fishing sanctuary.

Furthermore, Marikina Rep. Stella Quimbo, vice chair of the House Committee on Appropriations, said the House has formed a small committee to assess which agencies would retain or be stripped of confidential funds, and which one would receive more.

She added that the committee set a self-imposed deadline of Oct. 10 to submit its budget amendments to the Senate.
Lee Waters wrote on Facebook that masked criminals attacked our office in Llanelli and tried to set it on fire - Sean Pursey/Alamy

The office of the Welsh Labour politician who spearheaded the introduction of the countrys 20mph speed limit has been attacked with fireworks.

Police said a man had been arrested in connection with damage to the constituency office of Lee Waters, the Welsh deputy minister for climate change, in Llanelli.

A group allegedly smashed the windows of the office in South Wales with crowbars and threw fireworks inside before fleeing.

Mr Waters, responsible for introducing the new lower speed limits, shares the office with Nia Griffith, a Labour MP.

Wales became the first UK nation to impose the 20mph limit on residential streets, with those caught speeding facing 100 fines and three points on their licence.

Damage to window glass

Mr Waters wrote on Facebook: Masked criminals attacked our office in Llanelli and tried to set it on fire  they smashed the windows with crowbars and threw in fireworks before running off.

Dyfed-Powys Police said it was called to the premises, on Pottery Street, at around 1.30pm following reports that fireworks had been set off outside the building.

A spokesman for the force said: Police investigating a report of fireworks being set off outside the Labour Party constituency office in Llanelli have arrested a man.

A call was made to Dyfed-Powys Police at around 1.30pm on Oct 1 that fireworks had been set off outside the Labour constituency office. There was damage to the window glass and scorch marks to the front of the building.

The motoring law came into force on Sept 17, with many fearing the lowered limit will mean they spend more on fuel and longer in their cars because of increased journey times.

Mark Drakeford, the First Minister, has said the legislation would save around 10 lives and prevent up to 2,000 injuries each year.

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.
Tonesa Welch wants to be known for more than her role within the Black Mafia Family, so shes taking control of her narrative with the new film directed by Vivica A. Fox.

I really wanted to tell my story because of the whole BMF series, the perception, and the misconception people had of me, Welch told Shadow and Act in a recent interview. I wanted to show who I was, the way it was, the way that I saw it with my own eyes. What I am doing now. I didnt want it just to be a glorifying story, because it wasnt like that, she said.

Its ups and downs in that life and so coming through that journey, I wanted people to see my journey, how I got there, what made me get into a life like that, and where Im at now, Welch added. And for director Vivica A. Fox to want to do my story and show who I am, I just wanted people to know that I worked hard on stage. I want people to see that and for young women to understand and know that you can change.

For Welch, it was much more than being a drug girl. Life gave her a second chance, and she fully displayed it for BET+s First Lady of BMF: The Tonesa Welch Story.

I remember getting the link and watching Tonesas story, Tressa Smallwood, the films executive producer, said. She did an episode on BETs American Gangster: Trap Queens, so when they asked me if I wanted to do this movie, I said, Oh my goodness, the answer is yes.'

Smallwood says Welchs resilience drew her into joining the team to share her story.

The reason I was attracted to this story is because she talked about change. She talked about redemption, she explained. Growing up for me, I was all over the place as a teenager so I was instantly attracted to this story because I could relate, Smallwood continued. I remember telling Vivica about Tonesa and obviously we didnt have a script at the time, so all we could do was watch the Trap Queens episode and she was like, Lets get behind this.'

Im just proud, period. Even when I watch Tonesa now. We have conversations sometimes about the project and its finish date, and shell say, Im nervous. I wonder what will people think. Smallwood shared. And I will say to her, it doesnt matter what anybody says. Well done, honey.

For Fox, having First Lady of BMF as her directorial debut is a dream come true.

Im getting a little emotional because its a hell of an opportunity, Fox said between tears. Tressa and Tonesa did a screening and to see the reactions of the audience, I literally burst into tears like I am right now because we worked really hard. There were 14-hour days. I remember the last day, I think it was almost an 18-hour day, we shot around the clock to make sure that we got it done. The team, the cast, the crew, they were just so wonderful so to see that reaction to our project made it all worth it. It really did.

First Lady of BMF premieres Thursday on BET+.
The geophysicists have used monitoring equipment attached to a quad bike to scan 12 hectares of field

A survey on fields in Jersey is the first research near the site of the world's largest Celtic coin hoard for more than a decade.

The research has been carried out by French geophysicists with the aim of providing historical context to archaeological finds from the area.

The original Le Catillon II coin hoard was found in 2012 by local detectorists Reg Mead and Richard Miles.

Mr Miles said the research was "really exciting".

He added: "This is our first opportunity to get back into this area.

"The geophysics is over quite a wide area and a number of fields so we don't know what's there."

Reg (left) and Richard said the years since finding the hoard have been "fantastic"

Mr Mead said: "What the survey does is look through the ground and pick out certain features.

"It's like peeling an onion.

"We're going to look down the top, peel the top off and gradually go down through the soil to find out what was going on 2,000 years ago."

'Celtic settlement'

On what the survey might reveal, Mr Miles said: "What we're really looking for is signs of community".

He added: "It seems to be a really important site in terms of the things that we have obviously discovered up here but, to put that in context, if there is a community up here that would be fantastic for Jersey to know - that thousands of years ago these people were here."

Field Archaeologist for Societe Jersiaise Herve Duval-Gatignol organised the geophysical survey.

He said he was expecting evidence of a "Celtic settlement or at least a habitat" but wouldn't be able to confirm the findings until 2024.

The Societe Jersiaise is also waiting for planning permission to conduct archaeological surveys on the specific field where the Le Catillion II hoard was found.

Follow BBC Jersey on Twitter and Facebook. Send your story ideas to channel.islands@bbc.co.uk.
A 15-year-old student at Flagler Palm Coast High School was arrested for pointing a realistic-looking gun at two students and threatening to shoot them, according to the Flagler County Sheriff's Office.

The 15-year-old was arrested Wednesday and charged with felony aggravated assault and improper exhibition of a firearm. He was transported to the Sheriff Perry Hall Inmate Detention Facility and later taken to the Florida Department of Juvenile Justice.

Two students said they were walking into the gym when the 15-year-old male student, whom they did not know, pointed a "colorful gun" at them, the sheriff's office stated. They said the male pulled the trigger several times and said he would shoot them.

The students, at least one fearing for their life, ran into a nearby bathroom to hide. But the 15-year-old waited until they came back out and continued threatening them.

The two students then realized the gun had an orange tip, and 15-year-old put it into his backpack. Orange tips are used to indicate that a gun is not a real firearm.

One of the students reported what happened to the dean's office and the school resource deputy spoke to them. The deputy then found the 15-year-old, who took the fake gun out of his backpack.

The gun was a "gel blaster gun" that looked like a Glock pistol with graffiti on it.

Never, ever threaten someones life, even with a fake gun, stated Sheriff Rick Staly in a press release. A prank like this will only get you arrested. This type of behavior will not be tolerated in our schools. Fortunately, this was a fake gun, and the student immediately reported the incident and did exactly what they should have when threatened. Parents, talk to your children and be the sheriff in your home. Otherwise, we will be, and your kid will be arrested!

Flagler Schools Superintendent LaShakia Moore also praised the student for quickly reporting the incident.

We applaud the student who immediately reported this incident to a staff member," Moore stated in the release. "She saw something and then said something. Although it appears this was a toy gun, we must take every incident in which a weapon is reported to be on any of our campuses seriously. We thank the quick actions of our campus staff as well as the Flagler County Sheriffs Office in response to the alleged threat.

The Student Code of Conduct prohibits having any toy weapon on campus. Brandishing it like an actual weapon is a Level 4 violation, one of the most severe violations, and is reported to the Florida Department of Education, the release stated.

It is also against the law.

This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Sheriff: FPC student arrested after pointing fake gun at students
Floridas attorney general has filed a lawsuit against the Biden administration over its pushback against a state law that centers around regulating unions.

The lawsuit, filed Wednesday by Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody (R), alleged that top administration officials, including Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and acting Labor Secretary Julie Su, violated federal law by withholding millions of dollars in federal funding as retaliation against the law.

The suit claims the Biden administration is attempting to leverage a vague and general condition on federal funding to prevent Florida from reforming its collective bargaining process.

At the center of the lawsuit is a new law passed in Florida earlier this year that affects public employees in the state. It includes provisions like allowing members of unions to revoke their membership at any time, requiring unions to submit the number of due-paying members and banning public employers from deducting union fees from employee paychecks.

These reforms are designed to ensure that public employees in Florida make a conscious and deliberate decision regarding their constitutional right to participate or not participate in a union, the complaint reads. They are also designed to ensure that public sector unions granted the significant power to act as the exclusive bargaining agent for a class of public employees have the support of a critical threshold (60%) of those employees.

The law does not apply to law enforcement officers or firefighters, suggesting it will have the largest impact on teachers unions.

Florida passed laws to protect workers from being strong-armed by unions. Biden, intent on driving our country into the ground, continues to try to force states to implement his bad policies., Moody said in a statement As long as I am Floridas Attorney General, Washington will never decide how we run our state. Were pushing back against this overreach to protect our states autonomy and Florida workers.

The lawsuit alleges that the Biden administration is withholding transportation infrastructure funding until Florida agrees to arrangements the Secretary of Labor concludes are fair and equitable to protect the interests of employees affected by the assistance. It says that its issue is with Florida agreeing to provisions that may be necessary for  the continuation of collective bargaining rights.

The Department of Labor has given Florida an ultimatum  abandon the reforms enacted through SB 256 or lose hundreds of millions in federal funding, the complaint states.

Because that ultimatum is based on an unconstitutional funding condition and is otherwise contrary to law, Florida brings this suit to protect its access to critical funding and its sovereign prerogative to regulate in the realm of collective bargaining, it continues.

The Hill has reached out to the Transportation and Labor departments for comment.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
A group of transgender plaintiffs says Florida is violating a federal judges order by continuing to prohibit Medicaid coverage of treatments for gender dysphoria.

In a motion filed Wednesday in the Northern District of Florida, the plaintiffs say the states Agency for Health Care Administration is in complete defiance of U.S. District Judge Robert Hinkle s June ruling, which said the states Medicaid ban was invalid to the extent that it categorically banned Medicaid payment for treatments of gender dysphoria. They are asking Hinkle to enforce or clarify his ruling.

They point to instances where transgender Medicaid recipients were denied coverage for hormone therapy after the June ruling and comments from the agencys secretary warning of possible further action against Medicaid providers for violations of the states rule.

The state has appealed Hinkles ruling. The Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit has not paused the lower courts judgment, so it remains in effect as the appeal continues.

Defendants have thus acted as if this Courts decision is a legal nullity that they can simply ignore on their whim, the motion says. That is not how our legal system works, however.

READ MORE: Judge rules Florida ban on Medicaid payments for transgender care is unconstitutional

The motion notes that the agency in August fined five Medicaid providers for covering treatments including a minors double mastectomy, hormone therapy and puberty blockers.

The fines were for treatments covered from December 2022 to February 2023, when the rule was in place.

But the plaintiffs motion says that letters the agency sent to the healthcare groups direct them to cease and desist from further violations of the rule.

In those letters, the agency asks the Medicaid groups to confirm in writing that they have ceased coverage of the services for the treatment of gender dysphoria.

Agency Secretary Jason Weida announced the fines on a conservative Daily Wire podcast. During that podcast, he said there is a range of more drastic penalties that we can take, and were going to look into taking those if we continue to see this type of action.

We think that the protection of children is one of the most core functions of government, and here in Florida were going to do everything that we can, Im certainly going to do everything I can, I know the governor is going to do everything he can, to protect children from these types of mutilations, Weida said in the podcast.

READ MORE: Florida deviated from standard practices for key report regarding transgender care

Wednesdays motion also refers to an email thread between a Herald/Times reporter and an agency spokesperson in August in response to questions about the fines.

In one email, spokesperson Bailey Smith said the agency was complying with the courts order, and that the rule continues being in effect within the parameters outlined by the District Court.

When asked specifically what parts of the rule were still in place, Smith said that surgeries are prohibited across the board and said the rest of the rule cant serve as a categorical ban. It isnt one.

Court records show that an Agency for Health Care employee, who was the lead author on the report that led to the Medicaid exclusion, previously called the states rule a categorical exclusion in testimony taken in February.

The Agency for Health Care Administration did not respond to a request for comment Thursday about the plaintiffs motion.

The motion also points to an August email sent to University of Miami physicians, informing them about the Medicaid rule, and saying their office has been compelled to refund any Medicaid reimbursement for treatment of gender dysphoria. The email asks physicians not to bill Medicaid or Medicaid plans for any related services for the foreseeable future.

Lydia Fein, who leads the transgender health program at the University of Miami, said she has had to cancel all appointments for transgender patients who receive their coverage through Medicaid and that it is causing harm to her patients, according to her declaration.
TALLAHASSEE, Fla.  Floridas attorney general, a steadfast ally of Gov. Ron DeSantis , on Wednesday kicked off a new legal fight against the Biden administration that centers around a contentious new law regulating unions that the governor has boasted about on the presidential campaign trail.

Attorney General Ashley Moody filed a federal lawsuit in Fort Lauderdale that asserts top White House officials  including Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg  are violating federal law because they are threatening to withhold hundreds of millions in federal grants unless a state panel grants waivers to Floridas new union law.

Florida passed laws to protect workers from being strong-armed by unions, said Moody in a statement. Biden, intent on driving our country into the ground, continues to try to force states to implement his bad policies.

Moody, who endorsed DeSantis bid for president, has engaged in a long-running series of battles with the Biden administration, especially over immigration. Moody is widely viewed as a potential 2026 candidate for governor.

DeSantis made Floridas new union law one of his top priorities during the 2023 session that was supposed to be a springboard to his presidential campaign  an effort that has recently seen him drop to third place or worse in some polls. The law, which took effect on July 1, includes including a prohibition on public employers from deducting union dues from employee paychecks and making it easier to decertify unions.

Critics said the law was aimed at DeSantis political enemies  such as Floridas teacher union  since the provisions did not apply to unions that represent law-enforcement officers and firefighters.

But this latest confrontation was foretold months ago. The bill was changed on the Senate floor to include a potential carve-out from the law for mass transit workers after questions were raised about whether the legislation conflicted with federal labor laws that could put federal funding at risk.

Since the law took effect, local transportation authorities and local governments have asked the states Public Employee Relations Commission for waivers from the law after federal officials contended that Floridas new law conflicts with federal requirements.

The commission, which is overseen by DeSantis appointees, agreed to issue waivers but made them time-limited and conditional. But a top official with the Department of Labor said those types of waivers did not comply. In a late August letter to the state commission, the Florida Public Transportation Association said that more than $800 million in federal funding for mass transit systems was in jeopardy if the commission did not hand out permanent waivers.

Moodys new lawsuit was filed against the Department of Transportation, the Department of Labor and the Federal Transit Administration as well as top officials in those agencies. It asks a federal judge to block the agencies from withholding federal grants as well as declare unconstitutional the part of the federal law the Department of Labor is relying on to question Floridas law.

A spokesperson for Buttigieg and the Department of Transportation declined to comment on ongoing litigation.

Meanwhile, lawsuits have been filed against Floridas union law in state courts, including one that alleged it violated collective bargaining rights guaranteed in the state constitution. A circuit judge on Tuesday threw out a lawsuit filed by three South Florida public employee unions and three union members but Judge J. Lee Marsh did leave the door open for the lawsuit to be refiled.
A Florida GOP activist has been arrested after election authorities accused him of faking his dead fathers signature on a vote-by-mail ballot.

Robert Henry Rivernider Jr. is charged with forgery and voter fraud, court records show. The 58-year-old Wildwood man was released Saturday from Sumter County jail on a $10,000 bond.

Rivernider signed a vote-by-mail ballot for his deceased father, Robert Henry Rivernider Sr., in 2020 as then President Donald Trump was about a month away from losing his re-election bid against Joe Biden, according to an elections fraud complaint signed by Sumter County Supervisor of Elections William Keen. Rivernider Jr. says  without evidence  that the ex-president won the election.

Keen said in the complaint that Rivernider Sr.s vote-by-mail ballot was dated Oct. 16, 2020 and that he died on Oct. 19 while his ballots envelope was postmarked Oct. 23  seven days after his death. Since the envelope was postmarked after the date of his death, Keen said, the ballot wasnt counted.

However, based on comparison of signatures for both Jr. and Sr., there appear to be similarities between the signatures in the 2020 election that match Jr.s signature, but not prior versions of Sr.s signature, Keen noted in the Aug. 8 complaint. On information and belief, it is alleged that Jr. signed the ballot of Sr. in the 2020 election.

A Sumter County Sheriffs deputy arrested Rivernider Jr. outside of his home Friday.

Rivernider Jr., who told the Miami Herald that he helps anti-establishment candidates, called the charges filed against him frivolous and political, and said  without evidence  that someone put Keen up to it.

What makes the Supervisor of Elections pick a dead persons mail in ballot out 3 years after the election and then search other mail in ballots to compare the signatures? Rivernider Jr. told the Herald in a Wednesday email.

Walter Forgie, chief assistant state attorney of the Fifth Judicial Circuit State Attorneys Office, sees things differently.

Our office takes these charges very seriously and will prosecute the case accordingly, he told the Herald. We appreciate the work of the Sumter County Supervisor of Elections office on this matter.
Forget florals for spring. Selena Gomez is making a case for flower-inspired outfits in the fall.

Selena Gomez attends the inaugural Rare Impact Fund Benefit in Los Angeles, California. Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images

Selena Gomez wore three floral outfits to the Rare Impact Fund Benefit in Los Angeles on Wednesday.

She first arrived wearing a custom Valentino gown that sparkled and featured a rose embellishment.

She later changed into an iris-shaped garment, and eventually wore a floral-print minidress.

Florals for spring might not be groundbreaking, but they're perfect for fall red carpets, according to Selena Gomez.

The actor, musician, and beauty brand founder hosted the inaugural Rare Impact Fund Benefit in Los Angeles, California, on Wednesday night.

The gala  attended by celebrities like Martin Short, Taylor Lautner, and Francia Raisa  helped raise money in support of Gomez's Rare Impact Fund, which aims to expand mental-health services for young people and reduce associated stigmas.

When she first arrived on the red carpet, the Rare Beauty founder donned a custom Valentino dress that was covered in silver sparkles, round crystals, and a fabric rose that connected its bodice to its halter neckline.

Selena Gomez attends the inaugural Rare Impact Fund Benefit in Los Angeles, California. Michael Buckner/Getty Images

Shortly after, Gomez changed into a shorter number designed by Rahul Mishra.

"The look aims to imitate the petals of an Iris flower through intricate hand embroidery," Mishra wrote on Instagram. "The design originates in our Couture Fall 2023 collection 'We, The People,' that is an ode to our fashion workers who articulate the looks at our atelier."

Selena Gomez attends the inaugural Rare Impact Fund Benefit in Los Angeles, California. Monica Schipper/Getty Images

And for her final look of the evening, Gomez changed into a shorter, darker minidress.

Designed by Monse, the black dress had long sleeves, a high-neck bodice, and a surrealist print that featured a zebra, butterfly, and multiple flowers. It retails for $1,090.

Selena Gomez speaks onstage at the Inaugural Rare Impact Fund Benefit. Monica Schipper/Getty Images

Last night's looks followed another floral ensemble that Gomez recently wore at the MTV Video Music Awards.

She walked the red carpet in early September wearing a daring red gown with subtle floral details designed by Oscar de la Renta.

Selena Gomez attends the 2023 MTV Video Music Awards on September 12, 2023, in Newark, New Jersey. Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic

For both the VMAs and the Rare Impact Fund Benefit, Gomez was styled by Erin Walsh.

And on both nights, Gomez played into the floral applique trend that's taken celebrity style by storm in 2023.

As Vogue reported in April, standard floral prints have all but been replaced with 3D flower embellishments  think statement flowers on dress bodices and smaller ones attached to choker necklaces.

If Gomez's recent looks are any indication, the trend is still going strong.

Read the original article on Insider
The Scottish government has officially approved the extradition of Nicholas Alahverdian to Utah to face sex charges, and in so doing rekindled an investigation of an unsettled rape claim in England that could potentially delay his departure for years.

Just this week, days after a Scottish judicial minister signed the formal order for his extradition, police from Essex, England investigating the 2017 rape allegation attempted to interview Alahverdian, who remains imprisoned in Edinburgh.

But Alahverdian refused to meet with the investigators, said two people familiar with the case. The police had been stymied from interviewing Alahverdian until the full extradition process was complete.

The defendant authorities believe to be Nicholas Rossi arrives at Edinburgh Sheriff And Justice Of The Peace Court in Edinburgh, Friday, Nov. 11, 2022.

Could Alahverdian's extradition be delayed by this charge?

The allegation has yet to lead to any formal charges against the former Rhode Island fugitive. But if charged, that case would have to be adjudicated first before Alahverdian is extradited back to the U.S., his public defender Mungo Bovey said in June during Alahverdians extradition hearing.

A rape conviction in England could put Alahverdian, 36, behind bars for between 8 or 10 years before he was ever transported to Utah, said one Scottish extradition lawyer.

More: 'Dateline NBC' to cover story of RI fugitive Nicholas Alahverdian. Here's the story.

Who is Nicholas Alahverdian and what is his connection to Rhode Island?

Alahverdian was once, two decades ago, a familiar State House presence as the former foster care kid who advocated for changes within the Department of Children Youth and Families.

But away from the public stage, he earned a nefarious reputation among local police departments, Family Court judges and women as a manipulative and threatening con man.

In 2020 he faked his death as the FBI pursued him for $200,000 in alleged credit card fraud, taken out in his former foster fathers name, and as Utah authorities were preparing the first warrant that they said would connect him to a 2008 rape in Orem.

Since then Utah authorities have charged him with a second rape and an incident of sexual battery as well.

In the years leading up to his staged death (he announced to local media he was going to die of cancer) Alahverdian seemed already to be taking steps to cover his trail.

More: Nicholas Alahverdian's early years set the stage for a life of deception

In 2019 he hired former Rhode Island attorney general Jeff Pine to have his name removed from Rhode Islands sex offender registry. One of the arguments Pine used successfully to convince a judge was that Alahverdian was out of the country and had sworn never to return.

Background on the Essex case

In 2017  in striking similarity to more than a half dozen other women in four states who claim to have been threatened or assaulted by Alahverdian  the woman from Essex met Alahverdian online.

He pushed his way into her life, the woman told The Journal, as he was making a seemingly hasty departure from the U.S.

In an exchange of text messages she showed The Journal, Alahverdian was adamant about moving in with her before he ever left the States or met her in person.

Every single boundary that I set, he broke, the woman told the newspaper last year. Before I knew it, he had moved in.... Within days he was talking about getting married and doing calculations about how long it would take him to get his residency. In a space of five or six days, I was completely broken down.

The rape allegedly happened within a week of him moving in with her, she said.

Alahverdian insists authorities have the wrong man

Scottish authorities arrested Alahverdian in a Glasgow hospital in December 2021, where he almost died of COVID, according to medical staff who treated him.

Alahverdian has ever since insisted that authorities arrested the wrong man; that his name is Arthur Knight, an Irish orphan turned English academic who taught at the local university sporting bow ties and homburg hats.

The first phase of his extradition hearing dragged on for months, as Alahverdian kept up his outrageous charade, insisting, for instance, that the matching fingerprints and his identifying tattoos, were the insidious work of hospital staff who conspired with Utah prosecutors to gather fake evidence while he lay comatose.

In August, Extradition Court Sheriff Norman McFadyen, who had endured Alahverdians delaying antics and fanciful defense, ruled there were no barriers to sending him to Utah.

McFadyen said of Alahverdian: he is as dishonest and deceitful as he is evasive and manipulative."

"These unfortunate facets of his character," he continued, "have undoubtedly complicated and extended what is ultimately a straightforward case."

Alahverdian had 14 days from the Judicial ministers Sept. 28th decision to file an appeal request. If he does, it would take about three months for a hearing on the request to be heard, said one Scottish extradition lawyer.

Contact Tom Mooney at: tmooney@providencejournal.com

Want more of our crime coverage right on your phone? Download our free app for personalized news alerts and feeds based on your interests.

This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Alahverdian, who faked his death to avoid capture, to be sent back to US
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Rep. George Santos s (R-N.Y.) former campaign treasurer pleaded guilty Thursday afternoon to conspiring with the then-candidate to fraudulently inflate his campaign finance reports after reaching a plea agreement with prosecutors.

Nancy Marks, 58, a veteran campaign staffer for Republicans on Long Island, appeared before U.S. District Judge Joanna Seybert to plead guilty to one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States, court filings show.

Also a longtime campaign treasurer for former Rep. Lee Zeldin (R-N.Y.), Marks is now the second former Santos campaign staffer to face criminal charges since the first-term congressman was indicted in May.

The parties have agreed to the terms contained in a written Plea Agreement, prosecutors wrote in court filings.

Prosecutors said Marks filed campaign finance reports falsely showing that Santos had loaned his campaign $500,000 and that their family members had donated various sums.

Marks and Santos, identified as co-conspirator #1 in the indictment, filed the false reports to meet thresholds to qualify for financial and logistical support from an unnamed national party committee, prosecutors said.

Markss guilty plea adds to the controversy surrounding Santos, who arrived on Capitol Hill in January already the subject of criticism. Shortly before he was sworn in, the New York Republican admitted to embellishing parts of his background.

Federal prosecutors charged Santos with 13 criminal counts in May over three alleged schemes that accuse him of misleading campaign donors, fraudulently receiving unemployment benefits and lying on financial disclosures.

Santos pleaded not guilty and has not been charged in connection with the new allegations.

The purported $500,000 loan had been a source of mystery after Santoss campaign filed amended reports in January unchecking a box indicating it came from personal funds. The documents were filed as Marks resigned from Santoss campaign.

The congressman made headlines in July after campaign records revealed that Santos withdrew $85,000 from his campaign to help him repay a loan he took out during the 2022 cycle. It is unclear if the loan he was repaying is related to the loan he allegedly falsely took out, as outlined in the indictment.

Court filings indicate that prosecutors possess several texts between Marks and Santos, including ones in which the then-candidate passed along names of his family members and false amounts they donated so Marks could include it on a campaign finance report.

At one point as they were trying to meet the threshold, Santos allegedly texted Marks that he was lost and desperate.

Markss guilty plea was filed on the same docket as Santoss case.

Her sentencing is set for April 12, 2024. She faces up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

Marks is the second former Santos staffer to face criminal charges.

In August, prosecutors charged the New York Republicans former fundraiser, Samuel Miele, with five counts over allegations that he impersonated former Speaker Kevin McCarthys (R-Calif.) chief of staff while soliciting donations for Santoss campaign.

Miele pleaded not guilty, but prosecutors have signaled that plea negotiations are ongoing.

Santos has faced bipartisan calls to resign or be expelled, but the congressman has consistently said he has no plans of stepping down.

In May, the House voted to refer a resolution to expel Santos to the House Ethics Committee, a development that was largely panned as redundant because the panel had already been looking into the congressman. But it prevented lawmakers from having to vote directly on whether or not they thought the freshman lawmaker should remain in Congress.

The Ethics Committee has been looking into whether Santos engaged in unlawful activity with respect to his 2022 congressional campaign; failed to properly disclose required information on statements filed with the House; violated federal conflict of interest laws in connection with his role in a firm providing fiduciary services; and/or engaged in sexual misconduct towards an individual seeking employment in his congressional office.

Around the time of the vote to refer the resolution, then-Speaker McCarthy told reporters that he wanted the Ethics Committee to move rapidly in its investigation of Santos. Rep. Nick LaLota (R-N.Y.), who has called for Santos to resign and be expelled but voted to refer the resolution, at the time said he expected the committee to complete its probe in 60 days.

The panel, though, has not said the investigation is over. In June, the committee expanded its investigative purview to include whether or not the congressman fraudulently obtained unemployment insurance benefits.

Santos is running for reelection in New Yorks 3rd Congressional District.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
A security guard who worked for an independent agency and was assigned to Rock Hill High School has been charged with a sex crime involving a student, according to an arrest warrant, the York County Sheriff, and school district officials.

Johnathan Anthony Baskin, 32, was arrested Tuesday by York County Sheriffs Office deputies and charged with sexual battery with a student age 16 or 17, sheriffs office jail records, and an arrest warrant obtained by The Herald, show.

Baskin had worked for Allied Universal Security, according to a Rock Hill schools statement sent to parents. He had been assigned to Rock Hill High School before an alleged incident was reported on Sept. 14, sheriffs office spokesman Trent Faris said. Baskin did not return to the school after the allegations were reported and an investigation began, according to the sheriffs office.

The alleged offense did not happen at school, according to the arrest warrant.

Baskin was not a deputy working as a school resource officer. Resource officers come from the sheriffs office. However, the sheriffs office does have a resource officer assigned to Rock Hill High School.

Baskin also was not a district employee, officials said.

The Allied Universal Security company has officers who work under contract at many of the district campuses, the districts Web site shows. Efforts Wednesday and Thursday to reach Allied Universal Security were unsuccessful.

The charge

Deputies were contacted in September, according to a sheriffs office incident report.

The investigation by the sheriffs office Special Victims Unit led to the charge, Faris said. The investigation remains ongoing.

The warrant alleges the crime happened sometime between late May and late July.

The defendant knew the student from a school where he worked as a certified armed security officer, the warrant states.

The charge against Baskin is a felony, South Carolina law states.

School district sends message to families

The school district sent a message to Rock Hill High School families Tuesday that advised them about what happened.

The statement said:

Dear Rock Hill High School Family,

Today we learned York County Sheriffs Office took a former Allied Universal Security Officer into custody stemming from an incident that allegedly happened outside of school hours and was reported to a school administrator.

We want to assure you we take every allegation extremely seriously and work collaboratively through all investigations. When this allegation was reported to our school officials, we did not hesitate to contact York County Sheriffs Office to investigate immediately.

The district is committed to the safety of our students and will fully cooperate in any instance of law enforcement investigations. However, we cannot comment any further on this particular incident as it is still pending court proceedings.

We will continue to do everything we can to foster a safe learning environment and look toward our families as partners on this front. Please continue to talk to your student about our districts See Something, Say Something initiative and encourage them to reach out to a trusted adult on campus at any time as part of our safety program.

What happens now?

Baskin was given a $5,000 bond by a York County magistrate after a first appearance in court, records show. Baskin was released on bail Wednesday, Faris said.
PLAINSBORO  Authorities have identified the family of four including two elementary school-aged children who died in an apparent murder-suicide at their township home earlier this week.

Authorities received a 911 call at about 4:37 p.m. Wednesday requesting a welfare check at a Titus Lane home, according to the Middlesex County Prosecutors Office. Arriving Plainsboro police found four people dead inside the house.

On Thursday the Prosecutor's Office identified the dead as Tej Pratap Singh, 43, Sonal Parihar, 42, and their two children, a 10-year-old boy and a 6-year-old girl.

Their deaths remain under investigation and autopsies were being performed Thursday.

We are all saddened by this tragic event. What happened in our community is beyond comprehension," Mayor Peter Cantu said in a community message Thursday sent by the Plainsboro Police Department.

The home on Titus Lane in Plainsboro where a family of four were found dead on Wednesday.

ABC New York reported law enforcement sources indicated the husband is accused of killing his wife and two young children before killing himself.

Family members told CBS New York the parents were a happy couple and they both worked in IT, one in human resources, and that the husband was active in the community and the PTA at his children's school.

A LinkedIn profile for Tej Pratap Singh lists him as a lead APIX engineer for Ness Digital Engineering in the New York City metropolitan area for the past six years.

"Please be assured that this is an isolated occurrence and there are no additional concerns for the safety and well-being of the community related to this incident," Plainsboro Police Chief Eamon Blanchard said in the community message.

A neighbor told MyCentralJersey.com she used to see the children playing outside, and the family had many friends in the community.

The home on Titus Lane in Plainsboro where a family of four were found dead on Wednesday.

"We used to see them; happy family with kids around," said the neighbor who asked that her name be withheld. "The kids were always out playing happily."

In a message to the Plainsboro West Windsor Regional School District community, Superintendent of Schools David Aderhold said the district was informed by police Wednesday about a tragedy involving a Plainsboro family with students who attend the district's Wicoff Elementary and Millstone River schools.

"The district joins our community in grief and sorrow over this tragic event," Aderhold said in the statement, adding the district's crisis team would be available to support students and staff members.

The Middlesex County Prosecutor's Office said Thursday the cause of death has not yet been determined.

An initial investigation determined that there was no threat to the public, the Prosecutors Office said.

Anyone with information or surveillance footage of the area is asked to call Detective Will Atkinson of the Plainsboro Police Department at 609-799- 2333 or Detective Javier Morillo the Middlesex County Prosecutors Office at 732-745-8843.

This article originally appeared on MyCentralJersey.com: Plainsboro NJ homicide investigated after family of four found dead
Wallenpaupack, Western Wayne, Wayne Highlands and Delaware Valley school districts are pursuing a centralized, shared career and technical education center (CTC).

Out of the 67 counties in Pennsylvania, only Wayne and Pike counties lack a CTC.

The purposes are to widen the skill training options for all students; provide adult career training; support high-priority occupations in northeastern Pennsylvania; and to do this in a fiscally responsible way.

Local officials brought their case to the Pennsylvania House Republican Policy Committee on Sept. 19 with hopes of gaining support to help fund an estimated $50 million project.

Participants included Rep. Joe Adams (Pike and Wayne) and Rep. Jonathan Fritz (Wayne and Susquehanna). Rep. Joshua D. Kail (Beaver and Washington) is the chairperson. Wallenpaupack hosted the session at its high school auditorium.

State Rep. Joe Adams (R-139, Wayne and Pike) during a Sept. 19, 2023, hearing regarding efforts to bring a shared career and technical education center to Wayne and Pike counties.

For nearly 20 years, school district and economic development officials in this area have worked toward building career readiness for students so that when they graduate high school, they have refined their goals and work skills.

In the meantime, the school districts have separately developed their own Career Technical Education (CTE) curriculums, some unique to each district and others duplicating.

One proposal is to erect the CTC facility on the available Wallenpaupack school grounds near the North Primary School, about midway for the four districts involved. Sterling Business & Technology Park off I-84 Exit 17 in Wayne County is another identified option.

Given our location in the Northeast corridor and the rapid population growth, these areas need a skilled workforce, Adams said. Im grateful to Chairman Kail for his interest in this important topic on educational pathways.

Technical and vocational programs serve as a pipeline toward hope and opportunity, Kail said. These programs provide students practical, real-world experiences, family-sustaining careers, and zero college debt which gives them an advantage when life's challenges are hurled in their direction."

Wallenpaupack Superintendent Keith Gunuskey, Joann Hudak with Wayne Pike Workforce Alliance and Marybeth Wood, executive director of WEDCO (Wayne Economic Development Corporation), testified and answered questions.

Pursuing technical and vocational education is essential to building economic development in Wayne and Pike counties, according to Wood.

Marybeth Wood, executive director of WEDCO, during a Sept. 19, 2023, hearing regarding efforts to bring a shared career and technical education center to Wayne and Pike counties.

Just as we need enabling infrastructure to grow our communities, such as roadways, utilities and industrial sites, we need educational infrastructure to address the people side of economic development, Wood said. Job creation is a measure of success in economic development  jobs are filled by people. In Wayne County, we take the approach that workforce development is economic development.

Wood noted that when Workforce Wayne was being developed, spearheaded by WEDCO, there was a recognition that the county's lack of a CTC was a disadvantage for local students, businesses needing a skilled labor force and economic development efforts.

Two Wayne County companies she cited are Sutphen East Corp., manufacturer of fire engines, and BOYCE Products, Ltd., a custom contract furniture and fabrication firm. Both need highly skilled workers and support the local training a CTC could provide.

Hudak said that the notion that everyone should go to college may be outdated. She recommended that other options should be considered, and CTCs allow students to explore a range of options for their career goals.

We have created this mindset to go to college, figure out what you want to do, graduate and then hopefully get a job, Hudak said. The formula should be to ask where the jobs are, what the skills are for these jobs and what related education is needed. Using this approach, our school systems are working side-by-side with our workforce and economic development partners to give our students high-quality work-based learning experiences.

During Hudak's tenure as an administrator at Wallenpaupack Area School District, she oversaw the Career & Technical program. In 2005, she became a founding member of Workforce Wayne, now known as Wayne Pike Workforce Alliance. She was a high school principal when she was invited to a meeting in Honesdale exploring how to keep their high school graduates here and build up the workforce.

"What I came to realize was what a disconnect between education and workforce and economic development. We as educators  nowhere in our training do we learn anything about preparing kids for the future."

Joann Hudak, chairperson of the board for Wayne Pike Workforce Alliance, during a Sept. 19, 2023, hearing regarding efforts to bring a shared career and technical education center to Wayne and Pike counties.

A CTC can also serve adult workers needing to augment their skills or obtain certifications. Hudak said that presently, those workers go to Lackawanna or Luzerne counties for the training. A local CTC could offer that training, whether after the normal school day or side-by-side with high school students, as is done at the CTC in Susquehanna County.

Since there is no CTC, programs at the high school level are unnecessarily duplicated, Gunuskey said. Creating a CTC and consolidating programs would create additional opportunities for students. The goal will be to ensure every student, regardless of their district, can call the Wayne/Pike CTC their home.

While the new CTC would serve students from all four school districts, some current CTE programs would be kept in their high schools, and they would be considered satellite campuses. As an example, Gunuskey said that Honesdale has a great Agriculture program with a new greenhouse, labs, and so on, and would stay at Honesdale. The same would hold true for Delaware Valley's programs. Each district has a general automotive program, he said, but a CTC could allow them to have specialized programming.

He said that the CTE programs at the four districts are top notch. At Wallenpaupack, 31% of students are enrolled in CTE programs, which Gunuskey said should rise dramatically with the expansion of options available at a CTC facility.

Currently, students wishing to take a certain career track can take their classes at another school district offering the appropriate program. Gunuskey said it can be disruptive for the student; with a CTC facility, they could remain in their own district part of the school day.

The four districts are currently developing articles of agreement. Once they are approved, they can pursue formal grant requests, Gunuskey said.

Wallenpaupack Area School District Superintendent Keith Gunuskey during a Sept. 19, 2023, hearing regarding efforts to bring a shared career and technical education center to Wayne and Pike counties.

The estimated size of the CTC needed to serve the four districts is 70,000 square feet. The estimated cost for constructing and equipping the facility is $40 million, and $10 million for land acquisition and site preparation. Gunuskey said that these costs are meant to cover getting the project started. The districts will form a Joint Operating Committee which will determine how to make the CTC self-sustaining.

Hudak stated that the local parties were nearly ready to start in 2008, when the CTC was delayed by the Great Recession, and more recently by the COVID pandemic.

Fritz commented that this journey that began over two decades ago is meant to reverse the brain drain our area experiences with students leaving the area for further education and finding jobs elsewhere.

He suggested that the trillions in federal stimulus dollars approved during the pandemic might help pay for this project.

From left: PA Rep. Jonathan Fritz (R-111, Wayne/Susquehanna) and PA Rep. Mike Cabell (R-11, Luzerne)

Asking the committee to take back the funding request to the legislature, Gunuskey added, It is a worthwhile story we truly believe Let everyone know they can play a huge role ensuring every student in Pennsylvania, not 65 counties, but every student in Pennsylvania has access to a career and tech center.

To view the full hearing, go to bit.ly/46mCDWW.

Peter Becker has worked at the Tri-County Independent or its predecessor publications since 1994. Reach him at pbecker@tricountyindependent.com or 570-253-3055 ext. 1588.

This article originally appeared on Tri-County Independent: Four districts pursuing joint Wayne/Pike career and tech center
This 2022 photo provided Wednesday Oct.4; 2023 by entomologist Jean-Michel Berenger, who raises bedbugs in his lab, shows a bedbug in Marseille, southern France. The French government has been forced to step in to calm a nation increasingly anxious about bedbugs. (Jean-Michel Berenger via AP)

PARIS (AP)  They creep, they crawl, they feast on your blood as you sleep. They may travel in your clothes or backpacks to find another person worth dining on  on the subway, or at the cinema. Bedbugs go where you go, and they have become a nightmare haunting France for weeks.

The government has been forced to step in to calm an increasingly anxious nation that will host the Olympic Games in just over nine months  a prime venue for infestations of the crowd-loving insects.

Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne called a meeting of ministers for Friday to tackle the bedbug crisis. The country's transport minister, Clement Beaune, met this week with transportation companies to draw up a plan for monitoring and disinfecting  and to try to ease what some have called a national psychosis inflamed by the media.

There is no resurgence of cases, Beaune said, telling reporters that 37 cases reported in the bus and Metro system and a dozen others on trains proved unfounded  as did viral videos on social media of tiny creatures supposedly burrowing in the seat of a fast train.

Still, bedbugs have plagued France and other countries for decades. The insects the size of an apple seed that neither jump nor fly get around as easily as people travel from city to city and nation to nation, and they have become increasingly resistant to insecticides. If that's not enough to make you itchy: Bedbugs can stay alive for a year without a meal.

Without any blood, they can slow their metabolism and just wait for us, said Jean-Michel Berenger, an entomologist who raises bedbugs in his lab in the infectious diseases section of the Mediterranee University Hospital in Marseille. The carbon dioxide that all humans give off will reactivate them  and theyll come back to bite you.

For now, Berenger said, this much is certain: Bedbugs have infested the media.

Yet bad dreams are most often fed by a touch of reality.

More than one household in 10 in France was infested with bedbugs between 2017 and 2022, according to a report by the National Agency for Health and Food Safety. The agency relied on a poll by Ipsos to query people on a topic that many prefer to avoid discussing because they fear going public with a bedbug problem will stigmatize them.

But silence is a mistake, experts say. No social category is immune to finding bedbugs in their clothing, blankets or mattresses.

Its not at all a hygiene problem. The only thing that interests (bedbugs) is your blood, said Berenger, the entomologist. Whether you live in a dump or a palace, its the same thing to them.

Business is booming for companies that eradicate the little brown insects, a process that often starts with detection by dogs trained to sniff out the special odor that bedbugs give off. If an infestation is confirmed, technicians move in to zap the area with super hot steam. Heat and cold are enemies of bedbugs. One French government recommendation for victims is to put well-wrapped clothes in the freezer.

Kevin Le Mestre, director of Lutte Antinuisible, said his company is getting dozens and dozens of calls. In the past, he said, people often didnt react, even to bites.

Now, as soon as they spot a bite, they dont ask themselves whether it really comes from bedbugs or not. They call us straight away," said a pest control technician for the company, Lucas Pradalier, as he disinfected a Paris apartment. A sniffer dog detected bedbugs in a baseboard and between floorboards.

The French public began moving into panic mode about a month ago after reports of bedbugs at a Paris movie theater. Videos began popping up on social networks, showing little insects on trains and buses.

Now, both Socialists and centrists of President Emmanuel Macrons party want to propose bills to fight bedbugs. Far-left lawmaker Mathilde Panot recently brought a vial of bedbugs to the Parliament to chastise the government for, in her view, letting the creatures run rampant.

Bedbugs, an age-old curse on humans, seemingly disappeared with treatment by harsh, now-banned insecticides. They made a reappearance in the 1950s, especially in densely populated cities like New York. And they travel the world thanks to commerce and tourism.

That adds up to a bedbug challenge for the Paris Olympics starting in July.

All human population movements are profitable for bedbugs because they go with us, to hotels, in transport," said Berenger.

Beaune, the transport minister, is hopeful that steps can be taken to ease the public's fear. But, he conceded, Its hell, these bedbugs.

___

Associated Press journalist Alex Turnbull in Paris contributed to this report.
Freeman Webb Company announced Thursday that longtime president and CEO William H. Freeman, better known as Bill, will step from the helm of the Nashville-based real estate investment and management firm he helped found 44 years ago.

His son, Bob Freeman, is named as his successor and Matt Olson has been promoted from vice president of acquisitions to chief operating officer.

Bill Freeman, longtime leader and co-founder of the Freeman Webb Company, plans to step down as president and CEO, the company announced Thursday, Oct. 5, 2023.

"I truly believe I could not be leaving our company in greater hands," Bill Freeman said in a news release about the leadership change.

"The years I've enjoyed here are nothing short of amazing, and I would like for Bob and Matt to have that same sense of satisfaction. I look forward to seeing what they do with their own ideas and with the incredible technology available today."

Bob Freeman will serve as the next president and CEO of the Freeman Webb Company after his father, Bill Freeman steps down from the role at the Nashville-based real estate company, according to an announcement on Thursday, Oct. 5, 2023.

Bill Freeman's 50-year career began at the age of 16 when he earned his professional real estate license. He co-founded the Freeman Webb Company in 1979 with Jimmy Webb. Webb died in 2019 after a battle with cancer.

Freeman Webb Company is valued at $3.2 billion.

About Bill Freeman's successful real estate career

Bill Freeman enrolled in a three-year realtor institute course at just 14 years old. He was the youngest participant in the country. From the earnings he made as a lineman (refueling airplanes and ground services equipment) he bought his first property at 16 and eventually made an $80,000 profit.

This first real estate deal ignited his lifelong ambition in the industry.

The partnership between Freeman and Webb led to a company that is now the largest owner and operator of apartments in the Middle and East Tennessee regions. Freeman Webb is also known as the developer of Tennessee's first GOLD LEED-certified Class A office building. Their portfolio includes 17,364 units throughout the Southeast.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Bill Freeman to step down as CEO of Freeman Webb Company
Gaetz 'open-minded' on rules change to eliminate motion to vacate, would support Jordan or Scalise as speaker

EXCLUSIVE: Rep. Matt Gaetz , R-Fla., said Thursday he is "open-minded" on a House rules change that would abolish the tool he used to oust Rep. Kevin McCarthy , R-Calif., as speaker, while telling Fox News Digital that he would support either Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, or Rep. Steve Scalise , R-La., as his replacement.

McCarthy was removed as speaker of the House after Gaetz introduced a measure against him known as a motion to vacate, accusing him of breaking promises he made to win the speaker's gavel in January.

Lawmakers voted to oust McCarthy on Tuesday from the speakership for the first time in the history of the House of Representatives.

HOUSE VOTES TO REMOVE KEVIN MCCARTHY AS SPEAKER IN HISTORIC FIRST

During an interview with Fox News Digital on Thursday, Gaetz said he leans towards keeping the motion to vacate as an option, but didn't rule out supporting an effort to abolish it altogether.

"Im leaning against changing our exiting rules for any particular purpose," said Gaetz. "Though, I am open-minded and would be willing to hear anyones presentation if they were offering a rules change."

READ ON THE FOX NEWS APP

Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif.

Since McCarthys ouster, both House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jordan and House Majority Whip Scalise have announced bids to run for speaker of the House.

"Both of these men would represent a monumental step forward for the Republican conference," Gaetz told Fox News Digital. "I dont believe there is a single conservative in the country who would not believe we are in a better position with either of them."

Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio.

Gaetz told Fox News Digital he would be "honored to vote for either of these men on the floor."

HOUSE REPUBLICANS MOVE 'FULL STEAM AHEAD' ON IMPEACHMENT INQUIRY EVEN AMID SPEAKER UNCERTAINTY

"In conference, Ill make a decision based on spending," Gaetz said, referring to the House GOP conference meeting next week. "And whether theyre willing to liberate us on these continuing resolutions."

Rep. Steve Scalise, R-La.

Meanwhile, as Jordan gains support for speaker of the House within the GOP conference, questions are swirling on who could take his post as chairman of the House Judiciary Committee  which is jointly leading the impeachment inquiry against President Biden, alongside the House Oversight and Ways & Means Committees  if he is elected.

Capitol Hill sources said Gaetz may have ambitions himself for the post, but when asked, the congressman offered his support to a colleague instead.

"The best person to take the Judiciary Committee if Jordan became speaker would be (Louisiana Rep.) Mike Johnson," Gaetz told Fox News Digital. "Because hes a better lawyer than I am."





Original article source: Gaetz 'open-minded' on rules change to eliminate motion to vacate, would support Jordan or Scalise as speaker
Tuesdays ouster of House Speaker Kevin McCarthy was a remarkable moment in American politics  and the next several weeks could be just as wild, as Republicans search for a new speaker and the federal government faces another potential shutdown the week before Thanksgiving.

Below are some of the main players in the speakership fight.

The instigator: Rep. Matt Gaetz

The young and ambitious Florida Republican resisted McCarthys election to the speakership in January and continued to be his main nemesis in the ensuing months. A pro-Donald Trump hard-liner, Gaetz was furious that McCarthy struck a deal with Democrats to avert a shutdown.

Some say that Gaetz, who has been embroiled in numerous scandals since taking office, wanted revenge because he believed McCarthy was responsible for a House ethics investigation against him. Others believe he is trying to raise his profile ahead of a 2026 gubernatorial run in Florida.

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Whatever the case, Gaetz has shown a willingness to buck Republican leaders and make enemies  as long as it keeps him in the limelight.

Rep. Matt Gaetz at the U.S. Capitol on Tuesday. (Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call) (CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Imag)

The contenders: Reps. Steve Scalise , Jim Jordan, Kevin Hern and Elise Stefanik

Its hard to imagine that anyone could want the speakership after watching the humiliation of McCarthy. But Washington is full of ambitious men and women who have convinced themselves that they alone can fix it.

Scalise, a Louisiana Republican, was one of McCarthys top deputies and is currently undergoing treatment for lymphoma. However, he says hes healthy enough to become speaker of the House and has declared his candidacy for the speakership.

Ohios Jordan has also announced that hes running for the job. The longtime congressman is one of the most conservative members of the House and is helping to lead the impeachment inquiry into President Biden.

For his part, Gaetz said this week that both Jordan and Scalise are good fits for the speakership.

Recommended reading

Rep. Steve Scalise at a press conference on Sept. 30 on Capitol Hill. (Tom Brenner for the Washington Post via Getty Images) (The Washington Post via Getty Im)

Meanwhile, New York Rep. Elise Stefanik  an erstwhile moderate who became a staunch Trump ally  has also been mentioned as a possible candidate for speaker. Stefanik, 39, is the highest-ranking woman in the House Republican leadership, a role she took after she and her colleagues ousted Rep. Liz Cheney from her post for criticizing former President Trump.

And Kevin Hern, an Oklahoma congressman who leads a large grouping of House conservatives called the Republican Study Committee, is thought to be a likely candidate for speaker.

House Republicans are set to vote on a new speaker on Wednesday, following a Tuesday meeting in which they will hear the candidates speak.

The placeholder: Patrick McHenry

McHenry is the short, cheerful guy in a bow tie who is suddenly all over the news, with his first bang of the speakers gavel quickly becoming a social media meme. McCarthy appointed him as his successor and, well, here he is, serving as the acting speaker until the House elects someone else.

McHenry, a North Carolina congressman, is an old-school Republican whose calling card is fiscal restraint. In other words, he has virtually nothing in common with Gaetz and culture warriors like far-right Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene. If he manages to keep the different factions in the Republican conference from devolving further into a civil war, his brief tenure will be a success.

Rep. Patrick McHenry arrives at the House speakers office at the Capitol on Wednesday. (Eric Lee/Bloomberg) (Bloomberg via Getty Images)

The X factor: Donald Trump

A House speaker need not be a House member, which has presented Republicans with an intriguing possibility: nominating Trump.

Gaetz told Yahoo News back in 2021 that he would nominate Trump if the Republicans won back the House in November. He voted for Trump instead of McCarthy in January, though only as a protest.

Now a Trump speakership is a possibility, however outlandish. On Thursday, Greene told reporters that Trump is considering visiting Capitol Hill next week, and that she hopes he will be a candidate for speaker.

Trump is already running for president, and he is facing multiple state and federal indictments, which would all be serious impediments to him taking the job. Also, while the House is technically allowed to choose a nonmember as speaker, it has never happened before, and Trump has never shown real interest in the job.

The Democrats

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries in the Capitol on Tuesday. (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call via Getty Images) (CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Imag)

Hakeem Jeffries, a New York Democrat, succeeded Nancy Pelosi to lead House Democrats earlier this year. He has repeatedly sought to contrast House Democrats  for the most part, united on the issues  with their rancorous Republican counterparts, who both he and Biden have branded as MAGA extremists.

Jeffries had a working relationship with McCarthy, but they were hardly friends. And he saw no need to save McCarthy, which would have only required a handful of Democratic votes. Under his direction, no Democrat voted against Gaetzs motion to vacate, thus ensuring McCarthys demise.

Even if some centrists wanted to make a deal with McCarthy, progressives are savoring the moment, their views of the Republicans seemingly confirmed. Defending the Democrats decision to let McCarthy fall, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez tweeted that the GOP no longer felt responsibility to govern  just to placate their extremist wing and internal politics. Sometimes the adults need to say no.

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A gaggle of (Forrest) Gumps will invade the Woods Memorial Bridge and other nearby routes Saturday morning, as racers cross the iconic span over the Beaufort River for the annual Run Forrest Run 5K.

The gaggle will necessitate the swing bridges closing from 6:30 to 9:45 a.m. Saturday for vehicle and tugboat traffic, according to the SC Department of Transportation. Drivers should expect traffic delays in the area and seek alternate routes across the waterway, such as the McTeer Bridge.

The easternmost blocks of Bay Street as well as Meridian Road on Ladys Island will also be used for the racecourse, according to the event website.

Part of weekend festivities for 2023s Beaufort Shrimp Festival, the 5K celebrates the Lowcountrys prominent role in the 1994 classic Forrest Gump, which features a famous scene of Forrest running across the Woods Memorial Bridge. Runners are encouraged to dress as the films titular character and take photos with an impersonator at the start and finish lines.

The 64-year-old span opened for service in 1959 and was placed on The National Registry of Historic Places this January. In 2021, the bridge averaged 13,700 vehicle crossings a day.

A pair of mechanical malfunctions temporarily closed the bridge twice in the same day at the end of September.
Rep. Kevin McCarthy , R-CA, speaks during a press conference after being ousted as Speaker of the House at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, DC on Tuesday, October 3, 2023. McCarthy was removed by a motion to vacate, an effort led by Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-FL, and a handful of conservative members of his own party. Photo by Bonnie Cash/UPI

Oct. 4 (UPI) -- A majority of Americans, 63%, support the establishment of a third major political party, according to a Gallup Poll conducted ahead of the ousting of House Speaker Kevin McCarthy by far-right Republicans.

"However, the current measure is not meaningfully different from the prior highs of 61% in 2017 and 62% in 2021, shortly after the January 2021 Capitol Hill riots," Jeffrey Jones, a senior editor for Gallup, wrote in an analysis of the poll results.

Jones noted in the analysis that 58% of Republicans support a third party, up from 45% a year ago and only the second time in the poll's history that a majority from the GOP endorsed the idea.

The only other time more Republicans expressed support for a third party was after the riot at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. A record-low 22% of Republicans supported a third party when the poll began.

Democrats have had much less deviance in their responses over the years, with a low of 33% supporting a third party in April 2011 and a high of 54% of Democrats in September 2018. The latest poll shows just 46% of Democrats currently support the establishment of a major third party.

"Republicans' support for a third party tends to vary based on whether a Republican or Democratic president is in office," Jones wrote. "In contrast, independents' and Democrats' views of a third party have been similar under both types of presidential administrations."

An organization called No Labels that bills itself as the "commonsense majority" has been laying the groundwork for a centrist party candidate with a program it calls "Insurance Policy 2024."

Its stances hit on both Republican and Democratic policies such as preventing migrants from illegally entering the country to recognizing the United States is a nation of migrants and creating plans to attract more legal migrants.

"We are preparing for the possibility of nominating a candidate. We have not yet committed to do so," the organization said of preparations for the 2024 presidential election. "We will run ONLY under the proper environmental conditions, which must be met for us to proceed."

The establishment of a third major party could fundamentally change U.S. politics, especially in situations such as McCarthy's removal as the top Republican in government and in avoiding government shutdowns.

For example, if a third party of far-right Republicans formed, moderate Republicans possibly could feel more inclined to vote with Democrats on measures they agree with, such as ensuring the government remains funded, and Democrats might be more willing to make concessions across the aisle, too.

"It is unclear to what extent Americans actually desire a third party, as opposed to just expressing their frustration with the two parties that contest elections and govern in the U.S. two-party system," Jones added.

He noted that polls show both former President Donald Trump and current President Joe Biden are unpopular with many U.S. adults.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, October 5)  The ramming of a Filipino boat by a foreign vessel off Bajo de Masinloc has no connection to the tensions between the Philippines and China in relation to the West Philippine Sea, according to the Philippine Coast Guard.

Asked about China's involvement in the Oct. 2 maritime incident that resulted in the death of three Filipino fishermen, PCG Commandant Admiral Artemio Abu categorically said it has nothing to do with the two nations' dispute.

"Ang reference natin is galing sa port of origin nila, which is Agno, Pangasinan. Hindi natin dapat i-associate dun sa-- malayo kasi yan dun sa Bajo de Masinloc," Abu said in a briefing Thursday. [Our reference is from their port of origin, which is Agno, Pangasinan. We should not associate it with-- because that is far from Bajo de Masinloc.]

It is said that the collision did not happen in Bajo de Masinloc but closer to the coast of the town of Infanta in Pangasinan.

The PCG said its cross-referencing of details provided by the fishermen indicated "Pacific Anna," a crude oil tanker registered under the flag of Marshall Islands, may have been the vessel that rammed the Filipinos' boat.

"Sa flag of registry, walang involved na bansa na sinasabi natin (referring to China). Dun pa lang kita na eh. That's why sinulatan natin yung bansa kung saan siya registered," Abu said. [In the flag of registry, the country we are talking about has no involvement. It's clear there. That's why we wrote to the country where it is registered.]

The collision killed three Filipino fishermen, including the captain, who were on board the boat in waters off Scarborough Shoal or Bajo de Masinloc.

Abu earlier said the PCG had written to the port state of control in Singapore since the vessel was heading there from South Korea. He added that he also personally wrote to the government of the Marshall Islands to get information on the vessel.

"We're not necessarily, specifically concluding or pointing it out na siya mismo yun [that it was indeed the vessel]. It has to go through a very stringent and very careful investigation and we're doing that," the PCG chief added.

The marine casualty investigation is ongoing to determine the liability of the owner and crew of Pacific Anna.

The PCG chief invited the survivors to Manila to share their information firsthand.

CNN Philippines' correspondent Paige Javier and digital producer Syrah Inocencio contributed to this story.
FILE - Garth Brooks, left, and Trisha Yearwood appear at the 58th annual Academy of Country Music Awards in Frisco, Texas on May 11, 2023. The couple hosted Habitat for Humanity's annual Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter Work Week Project, which began on Sunday. (AP Photo/Jeffrey McWhorter, File) (ASSOCIATED PRESS)

LOS ANGELES (AP)  Two days into Habitat for Humanity's annual Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter Work Week Project, hosted by Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood, and the country legends were feeling the burn.

Well, we're sore," Yearwood said, laughing. "Were all here for the same reason, which is to help everybody have a roof over their head. So, its a great cause. Its a great experience.

This year, the project is held at a large-scale affordable housing neighborhood in Charlotte, North Carolina. Construction began on Sunday, coincidentally marking Jimmy Carter's 99th birthday. It was celebrated with a Happy Birthday sing-along for the former president currently in hospice care at home.

You learn several things when working alongside the Carters," Yearwood said. "You learn that you better be working all the time  if you look like you're standing there idle, President Carter will ask you if you need a job, if you need something to do."

This work site without them, we're calling that 'being Carter-ed.' If you get caught without a job, youve been Carter'ed."

Brooks and Yearwood first became involved with Habitat for Humanity following Hurricane Katrina and were named Habitat Humanitarians in 2016. Yearwood says theyve built alongside the former president and first lady on every annual work project theyve participated in, with the exception of this one.

Yearwood also told The Associated Press she's working on new music, writing when the songs come to her, but there's no rush. We got married almost 18 years ago to be together, to not be apart," she says. "So, whoevers touring the other one is there, whether theyre on stage or not. So, we work together all the time.

Brooks has spent a large part of the year performing at a Las Vegas residency, which will extend into 2024.

It's a moment of magic for us. Always has been," he says of the shows. "Weve been pretty lucky in the fact that everything we do comes back to people loving people. Inclusion, inclusion, inclusion. This is the perfect example of it. If you come to Vegas, youll see a room full of it, and Im very lucky to get to play for those people.

Habitat might prove to a musical inspiration as well. Theres a pretty sweet rhythm so you can pick up some good old, good old hammer tracks here, he jokes.

"And its funny how youll find yourself just start to sing a song or hum a song to the rhythm of the atmosphere. So, its in our lives. You cant escape it. And its fun to get to share it with these people.
Some California workers are in line to earn more sick days starting in January, as Gov. Gavin Newsom handed labor advocates another victory.

The governor on Tuesday signed Senate Bill 616 from state Sen. Lena Gonzalez, D-Long Beach. The new law requires employers to allow their workers to accrue five days of sick leave each year, up from the current statewide minimum of three days. Workers can start accruing those extra days beginning Jan. 1, 2024.

Gonzalez said she authored the bill out of concern that workers would not have enough sick days if they or a child fell ill with COVID-19.

This reinforces our states values and commitment to protecting the health and well-being of our workers, Gonzalez said in a statement Tuesday.

Gonzalez previously told The Sacramento Bee, Families no longer have the temporary protections afforded by COVID-19 supplemental paid sick leave, which ended last year.

Proponents of the law, which was passed by California lawmakers last month, cite research from the nonprofit think tank Economic Policy Institute that found two days of unpaid sick time is equivalent to the cost of a months worth of gas. Lost wages from three days of unpaid leave amounts to a familys entire monthly grocery budget, that same study found. Additional unpaid days could mean the difference between putting food on the table and kids going hungry.

No one wants workers to come to work sick, but thats exactly what happens when workers face the prospect of losing a large part of their pay, said David Huerta, President of SEIU California and of SEIU United Service Workers West, in a statement. The unions were co-sponsors of the bill. We applaud Governor Newsom for signing this bill and expanding sick leave for all.

The California Conference of Machinists, the California Labor Federation and the California Teamsters Public Affairs Council also co-sponsored SB 616.

Lobbyists from the business community still remain opposed to the additional leave time. They say small businesses with thin margins will be pushed to the financial brink.

Our concern is that far too many small employers simply cannot absorb this new cost, especially when viewed in context of all of Californias other leaves and paid benefits, and they will have to reduce jobs, cut wages, or raise consumer prices to deal with this mandate, said Jennifer Barrera, president and CEO of the California Chamber of Commerce, in a statement Tuesday. Small businesses are crucial to our local communities and the overall success of our economy.

In California, seven cities already mandate that employers provide nine to 10 days of sick time, according to researchers at the California Budget and Policy Center. They are: San Diego, Santa Monica, West Hollywood, San Francisco, Oakland, Berkeley and Emeryville.

The Bees Cathie Anderson contributed to this story.
Tanner Heffington, left, talks to Jimmy Drake. Drake passed on his farm and equipment to long-time neighbor Heffington last year, making this the first time in more than 70 years that a member of the Drake family didnt harvest the land. Credit: Mark Rogers for The Texas Tribune

LITTLEFIELD  Jimmy Drake started farming when he was 18.

He had grown up learning the intricacies of agriculture alongside his father under the unforgiving West Texas sun. He would come home covered in dirt that is good for little but growing cotton.

He has managed the land for the last seven decades. There has been abundance. There has been devastation. Through it all, Drake was propelled by a sense of family and purpose. He belonged to the land as much as it belonged to him.

And then, last year, a longtime employee resigned. Working 2,500 acres  more than three times the size of the State Fair of Texas  alone was suddenly daunting. At 85, Drake had to call it quits. But unlike his father and grandfather before him, Drakes children wont be taking on the farm.

Drake, who is now 86 years old, is not the only farmer who has faced this dilemma. He wont be the last. In 2017, there were nearly 41,000 Texas farmers who were 75 or older. There were another 65,000 between the ages of 65 and 74. Its as much a fact as the sun rises in the east: Texas farmers are getting older and cant continue the hard labor.

The steady increase in the age of farmers is not unique to Texas, and is part of a national trend  the 2017 agriculture census found the average age of all U.S. farm producers rose 1.2 years from the 2012 census.

[Farmers face a higher risk of suicide. The Texas Agriculture Department wants $500,000 a year to change that.]

In many cases, they either dont have family to leave their land to or their family doesnt want it. Drakes son is a retired farmer himself.

We are elderly and we dont have enough young people coming along, said Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller. A lot of these farmers will sell because none of their heirs want to take over the operation.

Drake was a lucky one. Tanner Heffington, a young, trusted neighbor who also had farming in his blood, agreed to take care of the land.

I was glad Tanner was there, but it still didnt feel too good because my familys been farming that land, Drake said. But, time marches on.

For the first time in two generations, the Drake farm wouldnt be taken care of by the family  a reality for Drake harder to grasp than the dry soil underneath his boots.

Tanner Heffington, left, talks with Jimmy Drake inside a barn. Heffington, a young, trusted neighbor who also has farming in his blood, agreed to take care of Drake's land. Credit: Mark Rogers for The Texas Tribune

Cotton was Drakes lifelong friend  and bitter rival at times. He couldnt simply call it quits and let his land go to the next highest bidder. Had it not been for his employee leaving, Drake said he could still go.

Whit Weems, who leads education outreach at Texas Farm Bureau, said even though there are a lot of producers reaching retirement age, farmers rarely make the choice to officially retire.

Farming and ranching is a passion and a lifelong calling, Weems said. Its something farmers will continually do, up until death or their health doesnt allow it.

For Drake, finding someone to take it over was easy in Littlefield, a small town nearly 40 miles northwest of Lubbock.

[Delayed passage of farm bill stirs uncertainty for Texas agriculture]

Heffington is Drakes best friends grandson, and someone Drake considers family.

Heffington, 31, and Drake have a bond that has grown naturally over Heffingtons lifetime. For as long as Heffington remembers, the two have had lunch every Sunday and talk on the phone regularly. Drake has memories of Heffington running around as a toddler and remembers when, as a teenager, Heffington accidentally started a large grass fire in town that ended up being front page news.

Heffington jokes that Drake didnt give him much of a choice about taking on his 2,500 acres.

It takes a certain kind, Drake said. You gotta be bred for it.

The two have also bonded over agriculture, particularly the pride they feel as being contributors to the nations food, fuel and fiber industries by growing cotton.

Tanner Heffington gets out of his John Deere tractor. He and Drake have bonded over their shared passion for agriculture. Credit: Mark Rogers for The Texas Tribune

I cant describe the feeling of working all year and watching that crop grow, Heffington said as he looked out to the farmland surrounding him. Then you get to harvest and say I grew that. This is what were used to, this is our everyday.

It easy to understand why the farming industry isnt alluring to some young people. Texas farmers face unique challenges: drought, storms and unpredictable markets. It's costly to start. Heffingtons first tractor cost $49,000.

A single machinery breakdown can spell the difference between a farmer ending the year flush or in debt.

The young farmers  those 35 and under  who do take this on only account for about 9% of the states farms.

Agricultural officials have taken notice of the barriers that could keep young farmers and ranchers out of the business, and have made programs specifically to draw them in.

The Young Farmer Grant program by the Texas Department of Agriculture is open for people 18-46 years old and provides money for creating or expanding a business. The grants can range from $5,000 to $20,000.

Weve helped a lot of people get started and we think we get a good return on our investment, Commissioner Miller said. Those people just need a little bit of help to get them going.

Miller also applauded livestock shows across the state that provide scholarships for young people and similar programs, including the Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association and the Texas Farm Bureau.

Weems, of the Farm Bureau, said the people interested in their program are a mix of young people coming back to their family farm or newcomers with little experience and a genuine interest in agriculture.

Theres opportunities for them to work with individuals that are looking at transitioning out or passing that farm on to another generation, Weems explained. Agriculture is critical to our survival, so its important that young people stay engaged.

Despite retiring, Drake still drives by the farm most days. There is a steady increase in the age of Texas farmers, mirroring a national trend. Credit: Mark Rogers for The Texas Tribune

Heffington can name a half dozen farmers around him who have retired since he started farming, but he said he won't take on any more acres. He likes helping Drake, whose farm is 20 miles away from Heffingtons, but thats his limit for now.

I think Im tapped out on what me and my two employees can do, Heffington explained. Im pretty content where Im at, but Im sure thats going to change one day.

Heffington is aware of the challenges he will likely face, because he saw it growing up on his dads cotton farm. Still, Heffington knows cotton like the back of his hand and wants to make it his future. Like Drake, he sees himself being in the business for a long time.

Ill go until I cant or something happens, Heffington said. I cant see myself doing anything else.

The same is true for Drake  even in retirement.

In between his morning coffee in Littlefield and driving for afternoon coffee in nearby Sudan, Drake is known to do small things Heffington might need around the farm, and doesnt hesitate to climb in the tractor.

I drive out to that farm every day, Drake admits. Not only to inspect what Tanners doing, but thats where Ive been all my life. I just keep driving back out there.

Disclosure: Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association and Texas Farm Bureau have been financial supporters of The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that is funded in part by donations from members, foundations and corporate sponsors. Financial supporters play no role in the Tribune's journalism. Find a complete list of them here.
Nancy Marks, Rep George Santoss (R-NY) former treasurer, has been charged with one or more felony offences and is set to plead guilty, prosecutors have said.

Ms Marks is the accountant who was in charge of the finances for the Santos campaigns.

Court documents and an official at the Eastern District of New York have both confirmed the charging of Ms Marks, according to The New York Times.

She has overseen the finances of some of the top Republicans in the state and has previously faced allegations of crossing the line of the law but she has not previously been charged.

The court official said Ms Marks is set to appear in federal court on Thursday in Central Islip on Long Island to enter a plea, The Times notes.

Its not clear if or how the case against Ms Marks will affect Mr Santos. The scandal-ridden congressman pleaded not guilty in May after he was charged with 13 counts of wire fraud, theft of public funds, money laundering, and lying on federal disclosure forms.

One of the allegations against Mr Santos in his indictment is that he illegally took political donations from an unregistered nonprofit for himself to the tune of $50,000.

Another member of his campaign staff was indicted in August for another fund-raising scheme.

Mr Santos has rejected the notion that he was involved in the finances of his campaign, claiming that Ms Marks was behind all of the filings made. Placing the blame on her for any inaccuracies, he told a rightwing outlet this year that a former fiduciary went rogue.

Ms Marks was by Mr Santoss side from the start of his failed 2020 campaign until his election win last year. She earned almost $240,000.

While she has agreed to plead guilty, theres nothing to suggest that shell work with prosecutors, according to the paper.

Ms Marks has been active in Suffolk County Republican politics for quite some time, and she has strong links to the Long Island Republicans. She oversaw the finances for former State Senator John Flanagan and former Congressman Lee Zeldin. Mr Zeldin lost a close race for governor last year.

Ms Marks has been the focus of federal prosecutors on several previous occasions, The Times reported previously this year. Prosecutors have investigated allegations that she aided in the selling of a ballot line and claims that she embezzled funds from a client, but she wasnt charged in either case.

The 58-year-old departed from the Santos campaign in January not long after it was revealed that he had fabricated large parts of his background.

Ms Marks sent in filings to change the Santos campaign finance reports more than 30 times. Expenses were added and removed with no reason given why.

A large number of expenses appeared for $199.99  just under the bar for when receipts are needed. A number of these expenses were made out to anonymous. In later changes, these expenses were removed. In total, more than $365,000 in campaign expenses remain unexplained. Watchdogs have filed complaints to the Federal Election Commission.

Mr Santos is set to appear in court on 27 October. Her Thursday afternoon appearance in court will be Ms Markss first, the Associated Press noted.

The Independent has reached out to the campaign and congressional office of Mr Santos for comment.
Nancy Marks, the former campaign treasurer for Rep. George Santos who pleaded guilty Thursday to one federal count of conspiracy to defraud the U.S., seemingly tried to take her old boss down with her as she testified.

Marks detailed to a judge how Santos, under her guidance, submitted bogus campaign finance reports to make it appear he had more donors than reality, the Associated Press reported.

In a news release, the Department of Justice said the funding lies werent just to deceive deep-pocketed donors, but were also to trick the National Republican Congressional Committee into believing Santos had reached a donation threshold thatd qualify his campaign for extra financial and logistical support.

Testifying Thursday, Marks implicated Santosexplaining how they combined to falsely record in campaign finance reports that hed loaned his campaign $500,000. In actuality, Marks said a loan was never taken out and Santos did not have the money or credit standing to borrow such an amount.

Marks also testified that she and Santos altered the donation amounts in federal reporting records for at least 10 of his family members to make it appear they donated significantly more than they had.

George Santos New Max Donors Have Strong Ties to Guo Wengui

Santos office declined to comment on Marks claims to multiple media outlets.

Marks engaged in criminal conduct intended to deceive and defraud the American public, said James Smith, the Assistant Director-in-Charge of the FBI. This guilty plea holds her responsible for those various fraudulent schemes and brazen misrepresentations.

Marks guilty plea comes eight months after she resigned amid extensive allegations of brazen and seemingly endless financial irregularities by her truth-averse boss.

Marks entered the plea around 4 p.m. in the same Central Islip, New York federal courthouse where Santos in May pleaded not guilty to a 13-count indictment accusing him of wire fraud, money laundering, theft of public funds and making false statements to Congress. Prosecutors say they have so far amassed more than 80,000 pages of materials to use as evidence against Santos.

Her plea comes with a recommendation that she serve between three-and-a-half to four years in prison. Thats slightly below the maximum sentence of five years for the charge to which she pleaded guilty. A sentencing date was set for April 12, 2024. Marks is free on $100,000 bail in the meantime.

Raymond Perini, Marks attorney, did not respond to a request for comment on Thursday. In an email, Santos defense attorney Joe Murray, declined to comment to The Daily Beast on Marks plea deal.

Marks, 58, has long been a well-known figure in Long Island political circles, having been a key part of numerous past Republican campaigns. Santos campaign filings attracted intense scrutiny over such things as a raft of official expenditures listed at precisely $199.99, one cent below the threshold at which federal law requires candidates to keep receipts. In 2020, unsuccessful New York gubernatorial candidate Lee Zeldin also faced inquiries over a batch of similar $199.99 payments. His campaign treasurer at the time? None other than Nancy Marks.

Marks resigned from her position with Santos on Jan. 25, and the freshman representative immediately announced he had hired a replacement. However, the man he claimed to have brought on to fill Marks position told the press he never agreed to accept the job. Santos tried to lay all the blame for any financial shenanigans at Marks feet, insisting the veteran consultant had gone rogue behind his back.

Santos has managed to remain in Congress amid a barrage of allegations that began even before he took office. Amr Alfiky/Reuters

Marks is not a CPA, but taught herself election law and used connections forged as a low-level Suffolk County employee and political volunteer to become a one-stop shop for candidates needs, according to The New York Times. She has also worked for at least one candidate seen at the Jan. 6 Capitol riot, GOP also-ran Tina Forte.

In addition to keeping the books for conservative PACs such as God, Guns, Life and Veterans for MAGA, Marks, who operates out of her home in Shirley, New York, printed lawn signs for Santos and other right-wing pols. A Times review of official records showed Marks politically-focused ventures earned at least $3.3 million between 2009 and 2022.

Santos has managed to surround himself with a coterie of checkered neer-do-wells. As The Daily Beast first reported, Santos operations director Vish Burra faced discipline earlier this year for menacing a freelance journalist who had reported critically on his boss.

This kind of behavior from anyone is unacceptable, much less from a congressional staffer, Santos communications director Naysa Woomer told The Daily Beast at the time.

Woomer, an experienced legislative staffer, quit in May, shortly after Santos was indicted on federal fraud charges. On her way out, Woomer penned a scathing letter to the embattled congressman, saying that she was honored to be leaving the employ of a man who never took one point of professional advice given.

Read more at The Daily Beast.

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Rep. George Santos , R-N.Y., leaves the U.S. Capitol after voting on July 18. His former treasurer Nancy Marks is expected to appear in court on Thursday. File Photo by Bonnie Cash/UPI

Oct. 5 (UPI) -- Rep. George Santos' former campaign treasurer, Nancy Marks, pleaded guilty to federal charges on Thursday in New York.

According to ABC News, Marks allegedly was behind the false donor names that were used to inflate the amount of campaign money Santos reported he had collected. That amount was crucial to Santos being able to qualify for national party support.

The case against Marks shares the court docket number as Santos' case, CNN reported, noting that the charge against her is directly related to her work for the New York House freshman.

Marks was a longtime GOP operative on Long Island and was in charge of finances for the Santos campaign before she was fired after campaign filing abnormalities came to light.

Santos, R-N.Y., who has admitted to lying about his qualifications after he was elected to his House seat, already pleaded not guilty in May to a 13-count indictment that includes fraud, money laundering and theft of public funds.

Marks resigned from Santos' campaign in January shortly after news first broke about his dishonesty over his back story and resume.

Santos blamed Marks when asked about the source of his fundraising and spending.

The House Ethics Committee in June expanded its investigation into Santos. Samuel Miele, Santos's former fundraiser, was federally charged in August with five counts of allegedly impersonating former Speaker Kevin McCarthy's chief of staff while soliciting donations for Santos's campaign.

Miele pleaded not guilty, but prosecutors have suggested that a plea deal may be in the works.

Santos has called his indictment "a witch hunt," has refused to resign from Congress and said he plans on defending his seat in the 2024 election.
Gay Republican U.S. Rep. George Santoss former campaign treasurer pleaded guilty Thursday to a felony charge related to a case against the New York lawmaker.

Nancy Marks pleaded guilty to conspiring to defraud the U.S. government, according to the Associated Press. She also implicated the out New York Republican in court.

Marks told the judge that she and the lawmaker lied on finance reports that he loaned his political campaign $500,000. She said they did it even when they didn't have the money to do so, but they hoped to make it look like he'd been successful at fundraising for his campaign. Marks ran Santoss campaign finances until she quit when allegations of abnormalities in financial disclosures came to light.

"Marks also said she had provided the Federal Election Commission with a fake list of people who had supposedly given money to the campaign. The names on that list were real but the donations were not, and the people had not given her permission to use the names, Marks said," the AP reports.

Marks had worked for several powerful Republicans and conservative political action committees over the years. Several times shes been dogged by accusations of corruption, but no charges had previously been brought against her, The New York Times reports.

The paper reports that Marks waived being indicted by a grand jury and just agreed to the charges she faced. It notes that this happens when the defendant is planning to work with prosecutors  though thats not always the case.

Markss case had the same court docket number as Santoss. Her plea agreement recommends a prison sentence of 3.5-4 years.

She was once one of Santoss closest advisers, and she had worked with him since his failed 2020 campaign for Congress. Santos was one of her most valuable clients, having spent almost $250,000 on her services, according to the Times.

However, things changed. Santos has blamed Marks for any financial irregularities in his campaign.

Related: George Santos Really Wants You to Meet His Husband

Ray Perini, Marks's attorney, told reporters outside the courtroom that Santos mentally seduced Marks.

Theres a manipulation involved that had to do with her family and the death of her husband, Perini said, according to the AP. There were lies told.

Perini implied Marks was willing to testify against Santos.

If we get a subpoena well do the right thing, the lawyer said.

Another aide has also been charged in a separate fraud case. Samuel Miele, 27, was charged with four counts of wire fraud and one of aggravated identity theft, according to an indictment unsealed in August. Miele phoned or emailed more than a dozen potential campaign contributors in the fraudulent fund-raising effort, the indictment alleges. He told donors he was a high-ranking aide to a member of the House with leadership responsibilities, it notes. He received 15 percent of all funds raised.

Related: George Santos Aide Accused of Impersonating Kevin McCarthy Staffer Now Charged

The fabulist GOP congressman, who has lied extensively about his past, is facing 13 federal criminal charges. Those include seven counts of wire fraud, three counts of money laundering, one count of theft of public funds, and two counts of making materially false statements to the U.S. House of Representatives.

Hes pleaded not guilty to all of them.

Santos will appear in court October 27. Santos also faces an ethics investigation in the House over allegations of sexual misconduct.
[Source]

George Takei 's picture book, which offers a child-friendly perspective on his early years spent in Japanese American internment camps during World War II, is now available for pre-order.

About the book: In the book titled "My Lost Freedom," the 86-year-old actor and political activist revisits events following President Franklin D. Roosevelt's 1942 executive order that led to the forced relocation of over 100,000 Japanese Americans on the West Coast.

The book's narrative will mainly cover Takei's resilience as a young boy living inside the camps. My Lost Freedom is illustrated by Michelle Lee and is set to be published by Crown Books for Young Readers on April 30, 2024.

A timely message: Reflecting on the inspiration behind his latest work, Takei said in a statement, "My childhood behind barbed wire fences is the reason I became an activist." He emphasized the importance of conveying this chapter of American history to children and caregivers in a way that fosters understanding, especially given today's political climate.

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Cover art: On Wednesday, Takei shared the books cover art on his Instagram account and announced the book's pre-order availability.

"On December 7, 1941, the Pearl Harbor bombing changed the lives of Japanese Americans forever. Two months later, President Roosevelt declared us 'enemy aliens' and all Japanese Americans on the West Coast were forcibly removed from their homes. At age five, I was living behind a barbed wire fence. MY LOST FREEDOM is my new childrens picture book about how my family persevered despite living in the Japanese American incarceration camps."

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A literary voice: "My Lost Freedom" adds to George Takei's literary contributions, which include "Oh Myyy!: There Goes The Internet," focusing on his substantial social media following and his autobiography, "To the Stars."

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Chinas top livestreamer returns after 3-month disappearance following 'tank cake' controversy
George Tyndall , right, USC's former longtime campus gynecologist, at a 2020 hearing with his defense attorney Leonard Levine, left, in Los Angeles Superior Court. Tyndall was found dead Wednesday at his L.A. condo. (Brian van der Brug/Los Angeles Times)

Dr. George Tyndall, the longtime USC gynecologist whose alleged sexual misconduct toward a generation of alumnae shook the university and resulted in settlements of $1.1 billion, the largest such payout in higher education history, was found dead Wednesday at his home in Los Angeles.

Tyndall, 76, was discovered in bed in his Westlake condominium by a female friend who had been unable to reach him via telephone, according to his criminal defense lawyer, Leonard Levine.

Los Angeles police visited the scene and told the county medical examiners office that the death appeared to be from natural causes. No autopsy will be conducted, the medical examiner told The Times.

Tyndall was free on $1.3-million bail at the time of his death. He was set to stand trial next year in L.A. County Superior Court on sex crimes stemming from his treatment of 16 former patients, a subset of hundreds of women who had accused him of inappropriate touching, harassment and other misconduct during a tenure at the campus health clinic that stretched from the late 1980s to 2016.

Read more: Must Reads: How George Tyndall went from USC gynecologist to the center of LAPDs largest-ever sex abuse investigation

Several of those women expressed dismay Thursday that his former patients would be denied their day in court.

"I feel very strongly that justice was denied for all of us," said Audry Nafziger, a sex crimes prosecutor in Ventura County who had accused Tyndall of inappropriately touching her and photographing her genitals while an undergraduate in 1992. I wanted to see him convicted for what he did.

Audry Nafziger, left, hugs Lucy Chi after at a 2021 news conference following USC's agreement to pay hundreds of millions of dollars to Tyndall's former patients. (Dania Maxwell/Los Angeles Times)

Lucy Chi, a former patient who was to testify at Tyndalls trial, said his death before jurors issued a verdict was yet another blow for her and other former patients.

I'm so disappointed, Chi said. I've been afraid for five years, ever since the story came out, that we'd never see justice.

Tyndalls lawyer said his client had been looking forward to the trial since his arrest in 2019.

"From the very beginning, Dr. Tyndall had adamantly denied every one of the charges against him. All he ever wanted was his day in court, which he was confident would end in his complete exoneration," Levine said. "Now, neither he nor his accusers will get that, and that is very unfortunate for everyone involved."

Levine said he notified the court and expected to present a death certificate at the next hearing in the pending criminal case.

Read more: The Times investigation of George Tyndall, former USC gynecologist accused of sexually abusing students

Tyndalls troubled history at the campus clinic, where he was the sole full-time gynecologist for three decades, was exposed by The Times in 2018. Faculty, students and alumni were enraged that numerous complaints about inappropriate touching and creepy comments were downplayed and ignored, and university President C.L. Max Nikias was subsequently ousted as USCs trustees committed to reform its organizational culture.

Former patients of Tyndall also deluged the university with lawsuits that laid out in graphic detail the experiences that women alleged they endured on his exam table. USC ultimately agreed to pay more than $1.1 billion in settlements and, after a petition from The Times, was forced to publicly disclose every complaint the university had received about the physicians conduct.

George Tyndall, center, accompanied by his defense attorney Leonard Levine, left. (Al Seib/Los Angeles Times)

After investigations by the Los Angeles Police Department and a criminal grand jury, Tyndall was arrested in June 2019. His case moved slowly. It was only in August  four years after the case began  that prosecutors concluded an initial presentation of evidence at a preliminary hearing and a judge ordered him to stand trial.

Other high-profile cases moved more rapidly. UCLA gynecologist James Heaps, who was charged with sex crimes a month before Tyndall, was convicted last year and sentenced in April.

USC's Engemann Student Health Center. (Gina Ferazzi/Los Angeles Times)

Actor Danny Masterson, charged with rape in 2020, a year after Tyndall, was tried twice  a mistrial and a conviction  during the span of Tyndalls preliminary hearing.

From Day One, we've been saying this guy is old and this needs to happen, said Allison Rowland, who saw Tyndall for gynecological exams in the 1990s and later received compensation from USC. Though she was not one of the 16 patients in the criminal case, she said she considered the trial a chance for justice vicariously.

Read more: USC to pay $1.1 billion to settle decades of sex abuse claims against gynecologist

I'm getting so mad I can't speak, Rowland said. I was interviewed by the police in June 2018. They thought they had enough to prosecute then.

John Manly, one of the lead lawyers in the civil cases, said: "He got away with it. Spent almost no days in jail. Caused untold suffering to hundreds, if not thousands, of students at USC. ... I'm at a loss to explain this to my clients.

Attorney John Manly speaks during a 2021 news conference to discuss a settlement between USC and Tyndall's former patients. (Dania Maxwell/Los Angeles Times)

In response to criticism about the pace of prosecution, the district attorneys office said that prosecutors shared the victims deep disappointment and frustration.

"Sadly, our system oftentimes moves at a slow pace, especially when the courts were forced to grind to a halt during an unprecedented global pandemic, a statement through a spokeswoman said. None of this will change the incredible harm that the victims have suffered. Our thoughts go out to them during this difficult time.

USC declined to comment.

Read more: For USC women, largest-ever sex abuse payout leaves bitterness, vast disparities

Tyndall spent most of his professional career at USCs campus clinic, now known as Engemann Student Health Center. Though he was not a graduate of USC, he appeared to find his identity in his association with the university. When applying for a staff job in 1989, he told USC personnel, My mission will be to do everything I can to help Trojan women avoid the many preventable catastrophes that I have seen, according to a written account he provided to The Times.

His vanity license plate read "COEDDOC."

Tyndall , a native of upstate New York, served in the Navy during the Vietnam War. A deployment to Manila sparked a lifelong love for the Philippines. He began medical school there and regularly returned for vacation, eventually marrying Daisy Patricio, from the southern island of Mindanao. She has returned there in recent years, although Levine, Tyndalls defense lawyer, said that the couple were still married and that she survives him.

Dr. Jane Davis, who worked with Tyndall at the campus clinic and twice testified against him before a criminal grand jury, told The Times on Thursday that the abrupt end to the case was very, very sad.

How many years has this been going on, and that it ended this way? Its not unpredictable. He was 76 years old. He was not in the best of health, said Davis, now an emeritus professor of family medicine and obstetrics and gynecology at USC. Its sad that theres no resolution.

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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Former University of Southern California gynecologist George Tyndall , who was accused of sexually abusing his patients, was found dead Wednesday in his home, according to his attorney.

A friend of Tyndalls went to check on him after he wasnt picking up his phone, Tyndalls attorney, Leonard Levine, told CNN on Thursday. Levine said the friend found Tyndall unresponsive and cold to the touch.

CNN has reached out to the Los Angeles Police Department and the Los Angeles County Medical Examiners Office for more information.

Tyndall was accused of inappropriately touching 16 women during his time as a gynecologist and was criminally charged with 29 counts of sex crimes in 2019, to which he pleaded not guilty.

Tyndall was a gynecologist at the school for almost 30 years and was fired in 2017, CNN previously reported.

Levine calls Tyndalls death an unfortunate loss for not only his family but also for all involved in the impending trial. Levine said Tyndall was very much looking forward to having his day in court.

In 2021, USC paid a record-setting $1.1 billion to settle scores of lawsuits over the sexual abuse allegations against Tyndall.

The settlement involved civil claims from 710 former patients of Tyndall. The victims attorneys said it was the largest sexual abuse settlement against any university and the largest personal injury settlement against any university in history.

The large sum came from an $852 million settlement announced by the university in March 2021, a previous federal class-action settlement totaling $215 million as well as other settlements, according to USC.

CNNs Cheri Mossburg, Holly Yan and Claire Colbert contributed to this report.

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Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, October 5)  All eight systems of the state-run Philippine Health Insurance (PhilHealth) Corporation are now back online, but hackers are still holding unknown amounts of data, the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) said Wednesday.

Hackers began exposing some personal information of PhilHealth employees on the dark web on Tuesday after the government failed to pay $300,000 (roughly 17 million) in ransom money.

READ: Hackers begin publishing PhilHealth data on dark web - DICT

DICT Undersecretary Jeffrey Dy told CNN Philippines' The Final Word that the agency can't confirm yet how much information the hackers hold at this time.

"Right now, the full data which is being held by the hackers has not yet been published. I don't know why. Maybe they are still hoping that we will pay them," Dy said. "They are slowly publishing information and it is true that most of the information we saw are from employees of PhilHealth."

He said hackers are exposing personal data that includes identification cards, payrolls, photos, and some ATM cards of PhilHealth employees.

Although he admitted some workstations used by PhilHealth employees were compromised, the undersecretary clarified that PhilHealth's membership database remains intact and was not hit by the Medusa ransomware attack.

Israel Francis Pargas, PhilHealth senior vice president for health finance policy, also told CNN Philippines' The Source that member or patient data are safe, as hackers only got hold of employee information and some research papers.
Georgia prosecutors intend to call Boris Epshteyn , a top lawyer and adviser to former President Donald Trump , as a witness in the upcoming trial of Kenneth Chesebro and Sidney Powell, two of Trumps co-defendants in a sprawling racketeering case related to Trumps effort to subvert the 2020 election.

Epshteyn is one of six witnesses who reside outside of Georgia that Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis is attempting to summon to the state for the Oct. 23 trial, the first for any of the 19 co-defendants charged in the alleged conspiracy. Compelling his testimony may be a challenge in such a short timeframe, particularly given his attorney-client relationship with Trump.

Other witnesses include three Republican activists who were involved in the Trump campaigns efforts to send false slates of electors to Washington. They are Arizonas Greg Safsten, Nevadas Jim DeGraffenreid  who signed false documents claiming to be presidential electors from their states  and Pennsylvanias Lawrence Tabas, a former head of the Pennsylvania GOP who dropped out before signing the false documents. Willis indicated she anticipates their testimony to reveal concerns about the legality of Chesebros proposals to send the contingent slates and sign documents claiming to be legitimate electors despite Bidens win in their states.



Willis requests, unveiled in court documents made public Thursday, provide some of the clearest insight yet into her trial strategy and the case she intends to lay out against Trump and his co-defendants.

For example, she says Epshteyn can testify about his contacts with Powell related to a November 2020 press conference in which Powell alleged that the algorithm used by Dominion Voting Systems machines could flip votes from Trump to Joe Biden. Willis also noted that Epshteyn was in touch with key lawyers orchestrating Trumps last-ditch bid to stay in power, including Chesebro and John Eastman.

Willis is also seeking testimony from Lin Wood, an attorney who aligned with Powell and some of her discredited efforts to claim that Dominion machines had been manipulated to deliver the election to Biden. Wood hosted Powell and other allies, like former Trump national security adviser Mike Flynn, at his South Carolina estate, and Willis indicated it was there that Powell drafted a plan to seize Dominion voting machines. A second witness related to that meeting, Aaron Vick, is also on Willis list.

Prosecutors have charged Powell with overseeing an effort to illegally access voting equipment in Coffee County, Ga. as part of that larger plan. Powell has argued that she had no role in orchestrating the effort.

Chesebro and Powell elected to have speedy trials, which under Georgia law required them to face a jury by early November. Prosecutors have said they intend to offer the full suite of evidence that they intend to bring out against all 19 defendants, including Trump, in the trial, which they say could last months.

To compel the attendance of witnesses from out of state, Willis must secure a court order from their home districts  a process similar to what she undertook to demand their testimony during her investigation. Some of her efforts met resistance from witnesses who challenged her authority to compel testimony, but courts  from local and state all the way up to the U.S. Supreme Court  largely backed her efforts.
Customs officials seize assets allegedly linked to a Russian oligarch during a raid on a villa at Tegernsee, in Rottach-Egern, Bavaria, Germany, Thursday Oct. 5, 2023. A special unit of police and customs officials have raided several properties of a Russian national in the southern state of Bavaria, officials said Thursday. (Christoph Reichwein/dpa via AP)

BERLIN (AP)  A special unit of police and customs officials have raided several properties of a Russian national in the southern state of Bavaria, officials said Thursday.

The unidentified Russian is subject to sanctions and asset freezes by the European Union, German customs officials said.

The European Union, the United States and other western nations have imposed sanctions against Russia in response to Moscows war against Ukraine. These include travel bans and asset freezes of a number of Russian government members and certain Russian businesspeople.

Due to tactical reasons related to the investigation no further information can be provided, German customs officials said.

Several luxury cars have been confiscated from a villa on the Tegernsee lake in Rottach-Egern, German news agency dpa reported.

In September 2022, a special unit of about 250 police officers raided two dozen properties across Germany linked to Russian oligarch Alisher Usmanov, a close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, on suspicion of money laundering and violations of EU sanctions.
Germany announced it will send additional air defense systems to Ukraine to protect its grain shipments from Russian attacks, Bloomberg reported on Oct. 4.

The equipment sent will include one additional IRIS-T defense system and more than a dozen anti-aircraft Gepard installations. These systems are set to arrive in Ukraine by the end of 2023, and aim to safeguard grain headed to Romania.

Russia has targeted Ukraines grain sector, a critical component of the countrys economy, multiple times in recent months. This comes following Russias recent withdrawal from the Black Sea Grain Initiative, which helped send Ukrainian food exports to food insecure regions around the world.

President Volodymyr Zelensky accused Russia of weaponizing food insecurity, as millions of people are dependent on Ukrainian grain exports.

The terrorist state has endangered the lives of 400 million people in various countries that depend on Ukrainian food exports, Zelensky said in a tweet following the announcement.

In a meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin advised Ukraine defense allies to offer additional defense systems to Ukraine.

I urge allies and partners to dig deep and donate whatever air defense munitions they can as Ukraine heads into another winter of war, Austin said.

Read also: Ukraine war latest: Kyiv says special forces conduct operation in occupied Crimea

Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent.
WASHINGTON  Amid last weekends chaos in Washington, Rep. Nancy Pelosi boarded a military plane to accompany the body of the late Sen. Dianne Feinstein back to California.

One of the most groundbreaking women in American politics was taking home another trailblazer. An especially poignant and historic moment, which political science professor Wendy Schiller doesnt think got enough attention. Instead, news media focused Saturday on whether the federal government would shut down and if House Republicans would depose their speaker.

Its an extraordinary moment in American political history for women, said Schiller, who teaches at Brown University. Not a lot covering that.

Feinstein, the longest-serving female senator in U.S. history, will be memorialized Thursday at a service on the front steps of San Francisco City Hall.

Its a fitting location to honor Feinstein whose string of firsts included being the first woman elected as mayor of San Francisco, her hometown.

Former U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi comforts her eldest daughter Nancy Prowda as she, alongside her husband Paul Pelosi, Eileen Mariano, granddaughter of Dianne Feinstein, and Rick Mariano, son-in-law of Dianne Feinstein, pay their respects to the late U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., as her body lies in state in the Rotunda of City Hall in San Francisco, California, on Oct. 4, 2023.

But the event will be more lowkey than if Feinstein had lain in state in the Capitol, an honor not yet given to a female member of the House or Senate.

Alaskas Don Young, who was the longest-serving Republican in the history of the U.S. House when he died in 2022, was the most recent lawmaker to lay in state under the Capitol Rotunda.

Decisions about how a dignitary is memorialized after their passing are deeply personal ones for families.

Feinstein lay in state in San Francisco City Hall, where Pelosi will speak Thursday, as will Vice President Kamala Harris, who is also from California, and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.

Why are flags at half mast today?

The country is nonetheless in mourning over the passing of a great lawmaker. President Joe Biden will give his tribute through recorded remarks.

White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre said Wednesday its not unusual for the vice president to attend a funeral instead of the president. And Bidens recorded remarks will demonstrate the respect he has for Feinstein, she said.

He thought that she was an effective elected official, Jean-Pierre said. She was a historic trail blazer and they worked together on many, many issues across her career.

Jean-Pierre emphasized one of Feinsteins most significant legislative accomplishments, a 1994 ban on assault weapons.

The first woman to head the Senate Intelligence Committee, Feinstein also led the investigation into U.S. intelligence agencies for torture and abuse of prisoners in the aftermath of 9/11. The committees 2014 report concluded that so-called enhanced interrogation techniques such as waterboarding played no role in thwarting terrorist plots or capturing al-Qaeda leaders  including Osama Bin Laden before his death at the hands of U.S. special forces in Pakistan three years earlier.

In addition, Feinstein championed federal protections for same-sex marriage, was an early leader on HIV/AIDS, fought for reproductive rights and played an important role in safeguarding Californias public lands, among other accomplishments over her more than three decades in the Senate and more than five decades of public service.

Respects are paid to the late U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein during a day of lying in state at San Francisco City Hall, on Wednesday, Oct. 4, 2023.

While Feinstein was a huge figure in San Francisco, she never sought much national press attention, said Georgetown University professor Michele Swers, who has written extensively on women in Congress.

She preferred to do her work behind the scene, Swers said. When they talk about show horses and work horses in the Senate, she was most definitely a work horse.

Feinstein occupied a position of honor and respect in the Senate for most of her tenure, said Ross Baker, a distinguished professor of political science at Rutgers University in New Jersey. She was grounded in moderation at a time when lawmakers were beginning to take extreme positions.

How did Dianne Feinstein die?

But her lifetime achievements have been overshadowed lately by her health struggles, Baker and other experts said.

She died on Friday morning at her home in Washington, D.C., her office said.

Feinstein, who at 90 was the oldest sitting senator, resisted calls from progressive lawmakers to resign despite being sidelined for various health issues and sometimes becoming confused when speaking publicly.

This long exit was really the problem, Baker said.

Steven S. Smith, professor emeritus of political science professor at Washington University in St. Louis, said Feinsteins death might have had more of an impact if it hadnt been so long anticipated and hadnt come during such a busy news cycle.

The fact that she was missing in action for so long, that part of her last year has simply dominated coverage of her, he said. If you combine that with the fact that there are these other major events, shes not getting the attention that she surely wouldve received normally.

Feinsteins colleagues have tried to get her the recognition they think she deserves.

Among the many emotional tributes offered on the Senate floor Friday, Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, said she had been pained in recent months by the grossly unfair attacks on a woman who was in failing health.

And I think for some who would focus on that, Murkowski said, they would fail to appreciate what this extraordinary woman, what this extraordinary leader had contributed not only to the Senate but, again, to her State and to her country.

Analysis I met Dianne Feinstein at the 1984 DNC convention. Since then, she's changed politics for women

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Dianne Feinstein funeral eclipsed by Washington chaos
At least 51 people, including a child, were killed Thursday in a Russian missile strike on a village in the Kharkiv region of eastern Ukraine, officials said.

A 6-year-old boy and 62-year-old woman were among those killed in the attack, which targeted a building that housed a cafe and a shop in the village of Groza in the Kupyansk district. Six others were wounded and all of the casualties were civilians, according to the Kharkiv Regional Prosecutor's Office. Three people also remain missing, the press service of the police of the Kharkiv region reported.

A memorial service for a slain Ukrainian soldier was taking place in the cafe when the missile struck. Only civilians were attending the event, the regional prosecutor's office told ABC News.

PHOTO: Rescuers work at a site of a Russian military strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in the village of Hroza, in Kharkiv region, Ukraine, Oct. 5, 2023. (Vyacheslav Madiyevskyy/Reuters)

The missile used in the strike was an Iskander-M missile. This type of missile could only be intercepted by a small number of air defense systems, the prosecutor's office said.

It's the deadliest strike to occur in the Kharkiv region since the start of Russia's invasion, according to the local government. It's also one of the deadliest attacks to take place in all of Ukraine in recent months.

MORE: White House vows Ukraine aid will continue despite funding uncertainty in Congress

Russian troops launched a full-scale invasion of neighboring Ukraine in February 2022. In June of this year, Ukrainian forces launched a counteroffensive in an effort to reclaim occupied territory.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy denounced Thursday's attack as a "demonstrably brutal Russian crime" and "a completely deliberate act of terrorism." He urged Western allies to help strengthen Ukraine's air defenses, saying that "Russian terror must be stopped."

"Russia needs this and similar terrorist attacks for only one thing: to make its genocidal aggression the new norm for the whole world," Zelenskyy said Thursday. "Now we are talking with European leaders, in particular, about strengthening our air defense, strengthening our soldiers, giving our country protection from terror. And we will respond to the terrorists."

PHOTO: Firefighters work at a site of a Russian military strike in the village of Hroza, in Kharkiv region, Ukraine Oct. 5, 2023. (Andriy Yermak via Telegram via Reuters)

Earlier on Thursday, Zelenskyy asked more than 40 European leaders gathered in Spain for their continued assistance and more weapons to help his country fight against Russian aggression.

In an emotional speech before the European Political Community Summit in Granada, Zelenskyy said schoolchildren in eastern Ukraine's Kharkiv region were having to learn remotely or attend classes underground in subway stations due to air raids.

MORE: Ukraine's 24/7 battlefield drone operation: 'Whoever wins the tech race, will win the war'

"Until there is a fully effective air defense system, children cannot attend school," the Ukrainian president said Thursday, warning that "there will be a lot of Russian attacks in [the] winter."

Last winter, Russian missiles and drones targeted Ukraine's energy system and other vital infrastructure, causing continuous power outages across the eastern European country.

Zelenskyy confirmed that Spain has agreed to provide Ukraine with air defense capabilities in a new aid package.

PHOTO: Emergency workers search the victims of a Russian rocket attack in the village of Hroza near Kharkiv, Ukraine, Oct. 5, 2023. (Ukrainian Presidential Press Office via AP)

The Ukrainian president also voiced confidence in continued support from the United States, despite what he called a "political storm" in Washington, D.C., after aid for Ukraine did not make the cut for a last-minute deal by American lawmakers to avoid a government shutdown.

"I am confident in America," he said. "They are strong people with strong institutions and a strong democracy."

Zelenskyy warned that one of the scenarios Russia is considering in the conflict is to freeze the war until 2028 to replenish its reserves. He said Russian President Vladimir Putin should not be allowed to beef up his military or else Russia could attack beyond Ukraine by 2028.

"Let only Putin's ambitions be a ruin, not our countries, not our cities," Zelenskyy said. "Children of every country deserve to be safe. Everywhere in the country, not just in the subway, not just in underground shelters, but everywhere. We must make it possible. We must ensure that Ukraine wins."

At least 51 civilians killed in Russian missile strike on village in eastern Ukraine, officials say originally appeared on abcnews.go.com
On "The Golden Bachelor," 72-year-old Gerry Turner is looking for love six years after the sudden death of his wife.

Turner doesn't avoid talking about his grief. But he also shows excitement over the prospect of love after loss.

Turner's perspective is an inspiration at a time when relationships feel more impermanent than ever before.

If you're thinking about swearing off romance once and for all, there's plenty of evidence to support that move.

Social media is rife with complaints about how horrible dating can feel, and contestants on reality dating shows don't seem to be having a much better time seeking that mystical connection. Celebrities aren't even immune to relationship breakups and their potential fallout.

More than ever, loving relationships seem impermanent and bound to end one way or another, so a hesitancy to try again after heartbreak makes sense. But, if you look in the right places, there's also proof of the immense value that comes from love lost.

Enter Gerry Turner, a 72-year-old widow from Indiana and the first-ever "Golden Bachelor."

I've never been one to watch "The Bachelor '' franchise, finding the series too manufactured and competitive to foster true and lasting love. But when I learned they were making "The Golden Bachelor" with Turner and 22 bachelorettes over the age of 60, I knew I had to check it out.

April on "The Golden Bachelor." Craig Sjodin/ABC

Turner has blue eyes, a full head of peppery hair, and a defined jawline, making him a conventionally attractive bachelor ideal for primetime television. But his personality  a mixture of sincerity and verve  is what really captivated me and, I imagine, many of the show's other 4 million viewers .

Minutes into the first episode, Turner admits that he doesn't want to be alone, now that six years have passed since his former wife's unexpected death from a bacterial infection. He says the love of his daughters and granddaughters helped him overcome the grief of losing his wife. Now, he's able to see how much life he still has to live. For him, that means falling back in love.

"I yearn for the second chance in life to fall in love again. The person who can lay down beside you at night, not have to say anything, and you feel, 'That's love.' That's what I want," Turner says in a dignified tone while choking back tears. As he waits for the women to arrive at the mansion in their limousine, he looks dapper and collected in a tuxedo, but admits he's anxious.

How could you not want to cheer on someone that honest and hopeful?

The acute reality of grief makes 'The Golden Bachelor' stand out from past seasons

The franchise's hallmarks  dolled up contestants, cheesy introductions, and roses handed out as tokens of connection  are still part of the show. But seeing the toothy grins and hearing the belly laughs of Turner and the women he'd be courting, all while knowing how his last relationship ended unexpectedly, the overly shiny facade of previous seasons seemed non-existent.

Turner had spent most of his life deeply in love, married to his high school sweetheart until her sudden death, as he explains on the show's debut episode.

Just looking at him, you would never guess that Turner had experienced such a devastating loss. He seems hopeful and optimistic, almost giddy at times. It's Turner's lost love  and what he makes of it on screen  that represents the immense value of past romantic relationships in the present.

Loving after loss, whether by a breakup or death, is easier said than done, of course. It doesn't happen overnight and anyone who has had a loss similar to Turner's will tell you it's a hard-fought journey riddled with disbelief , uncertainty , and mental and physical pain . But, when you take the time to mourn, and learn to carry a past love's memories and lessons into your current reality, it can allow you to be a more attuned lover than if you had not experienced that loss. And experiencing new love can be a way to honor the love you've lost .

Love is a practice, not a destination

In a trailer for "The Golden Bachelor" a contestant called Edith, pictured with Turner, told viewers "I want to be in love again." Craig Sjodin

Though he has experienced sudden and immense loss, as the episode progresses, it never feels like Turner is longing for the past or seeking to find a replacement. Rather, his stories are proof that he has the capacity for another big love.

Though Turner has yet to share more than a few conversations and make out sessions with his love interests, he appears to always show up as himself, full of excitement and genuine curiosity, sporting his hearing aids, and chuckling at contestants' sexual innuendos and lighthearted pranks. He never speaks from fear of loss, instead focusing on the relationship he's seeking to gain.

"How lucky would I be to find the second love of my life?" Turner says.

And the women on the show, full of energy from the lives they've led so far, also appear unafraid. They chatter about how handsome Turner looks and how they look forward to seeing what comes of their time on primetime television. Among them are career women and mothers and grandmothers, all who seem to have the wisdom that life is imperfect, but that it goes on in surprising and beautiful ways.

In this paradoxical era marked by widespread loneliness, and also a deep fear of the antidote of intimacy, Turner and the bachelorettes' collective decision to seek out romance, fully aware of the potential that they may not find it, is an inspiration.

Read the original article on Insider
House Republicans are aiming their fire at Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) after the congressman staged a successful effort to oust Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) as Speaker, sharply criticizing the Florida Republican for teaming up with Democrats to boot the GOP leader and hurling personal insults his way.

Taking matters a step further, at least two GOP lawmakers have said Gaetz should be booted from the House Republican Conference, an unlikely outcome that, nonetheless, underscores the raw frustration  and anger  with Gaetz among members of his party.

The amped-up rhetoric comes as the House GOP conference is being forced back into square one  electing a new Speaker  as the government shutdown clock ticks down to the fast-approaching Nov. 17 funding deadline.

The converging dynamics have House Republicans starting to lash out  with Gaetz taking a large chunk of the heat.

Matt Gaetz just got schooled by AOC and others; he was totally manipulated into doing this, Rep. Garret Graves (R-La.), a close McCarthy ally, told reporters Wednesday. There were eight so-called Republicans that got together with 208 Democrats to oust the Republican Speaker.

I cant believe hes that stupid to be used, to be manipulated by AOC and others to create this outcome, he added.

Rep. Anthony DEsposito (R-N.Y.) said Gaetzs move to eject McCarthy from the Speakership amounted to one of the greatest acts of heresy.

Hes literally taken one of our oldest institutions and put it into a downward spiral, all over selfish needs, all over Twitter feeds and raising money, DEsposito said during an interview on CNN.

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McCarthy, during remarks following Tuesdays vote, said Gaetzs effort was personal and all about getting attention from the press.

In a historic vote Tuesday, the House voted to oust McCarthy from the Speakership, putting an end to his nearly nine-month tenure on the job that had been defined by his efforts to manage the partys right-flank in the face of growing threats to his gavel.

Eight Republicans, led by Gaetz, voted with all Democrats in the chamber to boot McCarthy, bringing the final tally to 216-210. It was the first time since 1910 that the House voted on a motion to vacate the chair and the first time such a motion has succeeded.

McCarthy then announced he would not run for Speaker again, setting off a scramble in the GOP conference over who will succeed the California Republican in the top spot. In the meantime, Rep. Patrick McHenry (R-N.C.) was named Speaker pro tempore and will preside over the House, but the chamber is unable to conduct legislative business until a new Speaker is chosen.

Immediately after the vote Tuesday, Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb.) told reporters that Gaetz should be removed from the House GOP conference, adding hes not a Republican.

Rep. Mike Lawler (R-N.Y.)  who said Tuesday that he would have hit Gaetz square between the eyes with the Speakers gavel  echoed Bacons sentiment Wednesday, saying he believes the Florida Republican should be kicked out of the conference.

Punchbowl News reported Wednesday night that Lawler said he is considering offering a motion to expel Gaetz from the group.

To be sure, booting Gaetz from the House GOP conference would be a heavy lift, requiring agreement from two-thirds of members. Asked about expelling Gaetz from the conference, Rep. Kelly Armstrong (R-N.D.) questioned if his Florida colleague broke any rules.

We dont kick people out cause we dont like em, Armstrong said. God, wed be doing that every morning in conference.

Graves also brushed aside questions about potentially ousting Gaetz from the conference, saying it would have to be a decision for the group to make.

Gaetz, for his part, is disregarding the criticism being directed toward him. Asked about Lawlers square between the eyes comment and if he expects to be expelled by the conference, Gaetz returned fire.

I think that that was a very frustrated person whos having to come to grips with the stages of grief, Gaetz told Bloomberg TV of Lawler.

Im not much for political violence; I dont want to hit anybody, he later added. If Mike Lawler comes at me with a gavel, Im not entirely sure that would concern me, but thats not the direction I think we ought to go. I think we ought to maybe craft a budget before an attack strategy.

Gaetz has also drawn substantial criticism from Republicans for fundraising off of his effort to oust McCarthy. Graves presented a screenshot of a fundraising blast that he says Gaetz  whom he called a clown  sent out during debate on his motion to vacate.

He accused the Florida Republican of capitalizing on a manufactured crisis.

If were gonna continue to have clowns like Matt Gaetz as part of the Republican conference, as part of this Congress, then youre gonna have to have rules in place that prevent him from doing his charade every single week, every single month, where he goes out and he does his thing where he creates some manufactured crisis  does his manufactured crisis using official government resources, official government actions, manufactures a crisis and then goes and sends out fundraising emails off of the crisis manufacturer, Graves said.

I think this should be illegal. I think people should be in jail for this crap.

I mean, were getting email fundraisers from him as hes doing it. Join in quickly, McCarthy said Tuesday, referring to Gaetzs motion to vacate-related fundraising efforts. Thats not governing; thats not becoming of a member of Congress.

And Gaetz is facing claims of hypocrisy.

The Florida lawmaker for weeks had been heightening his threat to force a vote on confiscating McCarthys gavel, warning the then-Speaker that he would face a motion to vacate if he relied on Democrats to pass a continuing resolution  which the California Republican did last weekend to avert a shutdown. Gaetz, instead, wanted the chamber to pass all 12 appropriations bills.

DEsposito said Gaetz criticized McCarthy for working with Democrats, but yesterday he worked with Democrats, some of the most progressive and far-leaning left in the conference, in order to take Kevin McCarthy out. He is by every stretch of the definition a complete hypocrite.

McCarthys ouster came three days after he put the continuing resolution on the floor.

The successful motion to vacate has put the House at a standstill, with legislative business  including the appropriations process  unable to proceed until a new Speaker is chosen, a reality that is causing concern with lawmakers as they race the clock to fund the government ahead of next months shutdown deadline.

Therere 12 appropriations bills, those bills are all moving. Now, the ones that arent moving, its for one reason: Its because Matt Gaetz and some of the cronies have single-handedly prevented or obstructed those from moving forward, Graves said Wednesday.

The Louisiana Republican re-upped a familiar metaphor he has used to describe the GOP rabble-rousers.

Once again, the arsonists who lit their house on fire, who whined about their House being on fire, who put out the fire, wants credit for it, and sets up a GoFundMe site to get paid for it, he said. Complete hypocrisy.

Miranda Nazzaro contributed.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
On Monday, Rep. Matt Gaetz filed a "motion to vacate" Kevin McCarthy as House speaker.

A day later, the House successfully voted to kick McCarthy from his leadership post.

A Republican congressman from Louisiana was livid and said Gaetz got "schooled" by Democrats.

A Republican congressman from Louisiana vociferously went after Rep. Matt Gaetz on Wednesday, a day after the chamber voted to oust Rep. Kevin McCarthy as speaker.

The Hill reported Rep. Garret Graves of Louisiana said he believed Gaetz was "totally manipulated" into filing a "motion to vacate" on Monday, forcing the House to take a vote to remove McCarthy from the chamber's top leadership position.

"Matt Gaetz just got schooled by AOC and others," Graves said. "He was totally manipulated into doing this. There were eight so-called Republicans that got together with 208 Democrats to oust the Republican Speaker."

As Graves noted, only a very small minority of Republican representatives  eight in total, including Gaetz  elected to vacate the speakership. And while it takes many more than eight votes to oust the speaker, the entire Democratic caucus voted in lock-step with the small group of GOP rebels, ultimately bringing together the simple majority vote needed to complete the task at hand.

Graves' comments to reporters on Wednesday weren't the first he made in recent days disparaging Gaetz. He also called the Florida congressman a "clown," saying he "would be a great dictator on a small island nation or something."

The Gaetz's anger over McCarthy's ouster hasn't been contained to just him, instead spilling out toward the GOP caucus at large.

During Tuesday's vote, Graves took the floor to angrily call out his fellow Republicans for fundraising off the speakership drama, saying: "All of a sudden my phone keeps sending text messages, text messages saying, 'Hey, give me money. Oh, look at that. Oh look, give me money; I filed the motion to vacate.'"

"Official actions to raise money," Graves said, "It's disgusting. It's what's disgusting about Washington."

The House is not set to meet again until next week, when it'll reconvene to deliberate and vote on a new speaker. And while some members of Congress have voiced their displeasure with the decision, Graves insisted it might be for the health and safety of the legislative body.

"If we had stayed together in the meeting last night, I think that you would have seen fists thrown," he said.

Read the original article on Business Insider
Seven of the eight Republicans who voted to sink Kevin McCarthy's speakership were longtime conservative critics. There was one unexpected rebel who McCarthys allies say committed the worst betrayal of all.

Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) triggered audible gasps on the House floor when she joined seven hardliners in torpedoing McCarthy during Tuesday's historic ouster vote. That decision is now clouding her future in the GOP, not to mention imperiling the status of her relatively competitive seat next year, as scores of angry Republicans mull possible retribution.

McCarthy and Mace didn't always see eye to eye, but the California Republican had helped Mace secure her seat in Congress by pumping millions of dollars into her once-struggling campaign. Mace's move to aggressively fundraise off her vote to bounce McCarthy is only intensifying her colleagues' anger toward her.

Its disgraceful, said Rep. Steve Womack (R-Ark.), a longtime McCarthy ally.



"If the purpose is because it's going to help me build my brand and gonna bring a little bit more money to my campaign, Womack added of Mace, then I think you need to question why you're here."

But for Mace, the anti-McCarthy vote may prove a purposeful step in a chameleonic career that's already seen her swing repeatedly between Trump-centric conservatism and establishment-bucking centrism. Nearly two years to the day after she voted to refer a criminal contempt case against Trump-world stalwart Steve Bannon to the Justice Department, Mace showed up on his podcast Wednesday alongside lead McCarthy antagonist Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.).

And Mace is making clear that her vote for speaker is up for the taking by either Majority Leader Steve Scalise or Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio). She met with Jordan on Wednesday after his speakership bid became official and plans to separately sit down with Scalise, according to a person familiar with the plans.

Elsewhere in the GOP, revenge is on the menu. House Republicans are now weighing whether to expel Mace from at least two centrist-leaning groups she belonged to, as POLITICO first reported. Her staff was quickly removed from several internal GOP communications channels shortly after her vote Tuesday.



After calling Gaetz a fraud for going on a fundraising spree while opposing McCarthy in January's speaker race, Mace copied the Floridian's tactic as she appeared with him on Bannon's show. She implored conservative listeners for their support, saying that she would face backlash from the Washington establishment for her vote.

I do need help, because they are coming after me, Mace said.

During a Fox News interview later on Wednesday, Mace delivered a plea for donations that she acknowledges violated House rules that bar lawmakers from soliciting political contributions while on Capitol grounds. (Her office says she self-reported the matter to the House Ethics Committee.)

Congresswoman Mace promised her constituents shed be an independent voice for them, Mace spokesperson Will Hampson said, adding that the GOP, the party of free speech and diversity of opinion, can decide as a conference if it wants to punish one of their strongest female members for voting in a way they didnt like."

Mace already has two Democratic challengers in a reelection race that's likely to be hard-fought, with serious questions about whether the party apparatus will commit significant cash to her. She beat back a conservative primary challenger last cycle, too, though her vote against McCarthy may stop a new one from appearing.

Gaetz affectionately promoted Mace on the Bannon podcast as Maverick Mace, hyping her so intensely that some Republicans started privately wondering whether she would try to seek a more senior role within the GOP conference.

But if Mace were to make any play for higher roles within the party, she'd likely struggle to get the votes she needs. The second-term 45-year-old's self-styled "independent voice often translates into moves that confuse her colleagues.

After whipsawing between distance from and embrace of former President Donald Trump, for example, she recently opened the door to backing his primary campaign. Within the Capitol, shes known as an outspoken critic of party leadership and a frequent guest on cable news shows.

Im not sure what the fallout will be. She has no coalition of support, said one House GOP lawmaker, who was granted anonymity to discuss internal party dynamics.

I cant stop her from going on the Sunday shows, this lawmaker added. But inside the conference, she is a running joke.



Even after Mace hinted she would move against McCarthy during an ABC appearance on Monday, many didnt take her seriously. Mace told "The View" hours before voting to oust the speaker that McCarthy had promised her things which never materialized, adding that she empathized with Gaetzs frustration.

After her vote against McCarthy, which she cast only after the margin had turned decisively against him, Mace told reporters: When you shake my hand and you make a promise and dont keep it, there are consequences to those actions.

McCarthy told a different story. Hours after his historic ejection, he didnt hide his unbridled frustration when reporters asked about Maces comments.

Nancy Mace is a whole 'nother story, McCarthy replied with a smile, eliciting laughter from the audience at his press conference. Lets just be honest here.

The ousted speaker said he had called Maces chief of staff about her ABC comments the day before to ask Where have I not kept my word?

McCarthy then recalled her chief of staff's response: "You have kept your word, 100%."

Shortly after McCarthy's ouster, the congresswoman and her chief, among others, were spotted drinking at Bullfeathers, a popular Capitol Hill bar.

Given the House GOPs slim majority, any retaliation against Mace will likely wait until after the speaker race that's set to begin next week, according to several lawmakers who are deliberating on how to move against the eight Republicans who opposed McCarthy.

As one ally of the former speaker put it: The only grudge that I know as a fact is going to last is the one we are going to hold against those eight assholes.
Rep. Mike Lawler (R-N.Y.) said Wednesday that his party needs to have a real reckoning within the conference as the GOP conference will meet next week amid the chaos surrounding the ousting of former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.)

During an appearance on CNNs The Situation Room, Lawler told host Wolf Blitzer that he and his colleagues are frustrated with the eight House Republicans who voted to oust McCarthy, saying that their decision violated the rules of their conference.

It was disgraceful and violated House Republican conference rules, that required a majority of a majority to remove a House Speaker and file that motion to vacate, and they didnt adhere to that, and it was wrong, Lawler told Blitzer.

When asked about his colleagues who have thrown their names into the House Speakers race, Lawler replied that he wants to see potential candidates share their plan on holding the eight lawmakers who voted to oust McCarthy accountable for their decision.

No, I dont have a preference of these three, and I think we need to have a real reckoning within the conference when we meet next week, Lawler told Blitzer.

Number one, I want to hear how any of these candidates plan to handle holding these eight members accountable, Lawler added. They voted with 208 Democrats to torpedo our House Republican majority. The American people elected us to govern to serve as a check and balance on the Biden agenda and everything that weve been focused on from cutting spending to securing our border was just imperiled by these eight individuals.

Lawlers remarks come a day after the House voted for the first time ever to remove a Speaker of the House.

The historic vote was first brought forth by Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.), as he and seven other Republican lawmakers joined their Democratic colleagues in a 216-210 vote to remove McCarthy from his position.

The seven Republicans who joined Gaetz to oust McCarthy are Reps. Andy Biggs (Ariz.), Ken Buck (Colo.), Tim Burchett (Tenn.), Eli Crane (Ariz.), Bob Good (Va.), Nancy Mace (S.C.) and Matt Rosendale (Mont.).

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, October 5)  Vice President and Education Secretary Sara Duterte defended her agencies' use of confidential and intelligence funds (CIFs), saying ensuring the country's peace and order should not be constrained by time.

"It matters not whether it takes one day or one year of spending; what truly matters is the safety and security of our people," she said during the 122nd police service anniversary of the Police Regional Office 13 in Butuan City on Wednesday.

The Office of the Vice President (OVP) was heavily criticized by various groups, lawmakers, and the public after Marikina Rep. Stella Quimbo revealed that its 125 million CIFs were spent in a span of 11 days.

READ: Quimbo: OVP's 125-M confidential funds spent in just 11 days, not 19

But for Duterte, CIFs will provide necessary resources to address unforeseen challenges  whether it be combating terrorism or tackling organized crime.

She added that anyone who attacks or undermines the CIFs allocated for peace and order is assumed to have "insidious motivations."

"Kung sino man kumokontra sa confidential funds ay kumokontra sa kapayapaan. Kung sino ang kumokontra sa kapayaan ay kalaban ng bayan," she warned.

[Translation: Whoever opposes confidential funds opposes peace. Whoever opposes peace is an enemy of the state.]

Congress on Sept. 27 decided to review and realign CIFs to agencies tasked to protect the West Philippine Sea. A four-man committee has yet to give an update on the reallocation.

Duterte proposed a combined 650 million CIFs for the OVP and the Department of Education in the 2024 national budget.
House Republican lawmakers denied revenge when evicting former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and former Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md., from their secret Capitol offices.

This week, interim House Speaker Patrick McHenry, R-N.C., booted both Pelosi and reportedly Hoyer from their hideaways  private offices in the Capitol that each senator and a select few House lawmakers have  after now-former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy , R-Calif., was ousted from the role.

However, several GOP lawmakers told Fox News Digital that the evictions were not rooted in vengeance, but rather because the office is reserved for the immediately preceding speaker.

NANCY PELOSI EVICTED FROM HER PRIVATE OFFICE IN THE CAPITOL BY INTERIM HOUSE SPEAKER

This week, interim House Speaker Patrick McHenry, R-N.C., booted both former House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md., and former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., from their hideaways.

"This was a decision by Speaker Pelosi in getting removed because that is the office for the former speaker," Louisiana GOP Rep. Garret Graves told Fox News Digital on Wednesday.

"She's no longer the immediately preceding speaker so that was a decision she made by evicting Kevin McCarthy," Graves continued. "That was her own decision."

READ ON THE FOX NEWS APP

House Freedom Caucus chairman Scott Perry, R-Pa., said the evictions were not done in revenge but that it seems to him "unfortunately that we have an unexpected recent vacancy in this with the speaker's office and that speaker that's been recently the speaker now has to have a place per the rules."

"So that [place] needs to be reoccupied or occupied by somebody different," Perry said. "That's just the that's just the flow of business here."

Rep. Garret Graves, R-La., told Fox News Digital, "This was a decision by Speaker Pelosi in getting removed, because that is the office for the former speaker."

"So, I don't think it's personal," he added. "I don't think it's anything other than, you know, we have a new tenant here, and he needed to move in."

Perry said he believes that the evictions "cascade" and that there's "only so many offices, and once one person is displaced, then they want to displace the next person."

Ohio Rep. Warren Davidson, also a Republican, said he doesn't think the evictions were a revenge tactic and deferred to McHenry for reasoning.

House Freedom Caucus chairman Scott Perry, R-Pa., said the evictions were not done out of revenge.

"And in some ways, I think it's a test case to say what are the limits to the power of the speaker pro-tem," Davidson said. "And I guess I'm encouraged that Speaker Pelosi complied, and they're emptying the office out."

"I think it was a good decision to kick her out. And, frankly, I suggested that, you know, Patrick McHenry might ought to move on and terminate some folks while he's got the opportunity, if he does, in fact, have the power to do so."

Davidson also deferred to McHenry on whether other House Democrat hideaways would be put on notice and noted that the speaker pro-tem was a recent addition in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

Hoyer's office declined to comment on the eviction. Pelosi's office did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment.

Pelosi was evicted from her private Capitol office by the new speaker pro-tempore on Tuesday after the vote to oust McCarthy.

Hoyer's displacement came on Wednesday, the first full day following McCarthy's ouster, according to multiple media reports.





Original article source: GOP lawmakers deny revenge play against Pelosi with office evictions after McCarthy ouster
An endorsement from Kevin McCarthy was supposed to be a blessing for Republicans in competitive primaries next year.

But now primary challengers see it as a liability.

McCarthys ouster from the speakership is a sudden opening for primary contestants who have already gone on the attack against the frontrunners who earned his endorsement.

Voters dont want a McCarthy Republican, Joe Earley, who is running against a McCarthy-endorsed candidate in West Virginia, said in a statement to POLITICO. They want a true conservative, and this situation has exposed how poor a job that McCarthy has done and that my opponent has refused to reject his endorsement.

And few of McCarthys benefactors have come to his defense.



McCarthy threw his weight around in competitive races early in the 2024 cycle, backing candidates for at least eight House seats: Tom Barrett in MI-07; state Rep. Heidi Kasama in NV-03; West Virginia state Treasurer Riley Moore in WV-02; former state Rep. Craig Riedel in OH-09; former Rep. Yvette Herrell in NM-02; Scott Baugh in CA-47; former Rep. Mayra Flores in TX-34; and Stockton Mayor Kevin Lincoln in CA-09.

All of these races  with the exception of the open primary in the deep red WV-02  are on the NRCCs target list. McCarthy is a prolific fundraiser and has an extensive political network that was poised to boost these candidates. Its unlikely that will immediately crumble away just because hes no longer House speaker. But some Republicans running for Congress see his firing as fodder to take down their opponents who earned his endorsement.

Kasama has McCarthy's backing, the same guy who's let us down time and time again, former Nevada state Sen. Elizabeth Helgelien, one of Kasamas primary opponents, said Wednesday. She added that the district deserves better than someone whos okay with broken promises.

NV-03 has been a top target for cycles, as Republicans attempt to unseat Democratic Rep. Susie Lee. McCarthys candidate of choice last year, April Becker, lost to Lee by around 4 points.

Helgelien, who launched her campaign with a video of her holding a gun while decrying "weak" leadership, was the first Republican to enter the race back in March. McCarthy endorsed Kasama shortly after she announced her bid in August. Both Helgelien and Drew Johnson, a conservative columnist also running for the seat, have sought to label Kasama as a Republican in name only or a liberal.

Some took McCarthys downfall as an opportunity to rail against the establishment.

Max Ukropina, whos running against Baugh in CA-47, said in a statement that hes not focused on Washington power games or big K-Street endorsements. And Nate Cain, another WV-02 candidate, went after McCarthy and the RINO establishment.

Over in OH-09, J.R. Majewski took shots at the former speaker on a conservative podcast, saying that McCarthy deserves it because he manipulated elections, blaming him for not supporting Majewski in the midterms when a story came out that he lied about his military records.

Majewski, who lost to Democratic Rep. Marcy Kaptur in 2022, recently reentered the primary after dropping out to take care of his mother while she recovered from a surgery. Majewski had previously expressed frustration that McCarthy and other members of House leadership threw their backing behind Riedel.

Herrell told POLITICO in a statement that she was saddened by the proceedings and that McCarthy did not deserve to lose his job. Baughs campaign said it had no comment, and the other campaigns did not respond to a request for comment.

A version of this story first appeared in POLITICO Pros Morning Score newsletter. Sign up for POLITICO Pro.
Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.) accused Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) of openly detailing his sexual experiences to fellow lawmakers in a bonkers interview with CNN on Wednesday. (You can check out his comments in the clip below.)

He bragged about how he would crush E.D. medicine and chase it with energy drinks so he could go all night. This is obviously before he got married, Mullin told CNNs Manu Raju.

Mullin, an ally of former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), made the wild claims about Gaetz after the Florida Republican  and seven other members of his party  joined all House Democrats in supporting the ouster of McCarthy from his post on Tuesday.

The move arrived after Gaetz filed a motion to vacate the California Republican from the speakers chair.

Gaetz, in a statement to CNN, dismissed Mullins accusations.

I dont think Markwayne Mullin and I have said 20 words to each other on the House floor, Gaetz said.

This is a lie from someone who doesnt know me and who is coping with the death of the political career of his friend Kevin. Thoughts and prayers.

Earlier in the interview, the senator referred to allegations from 2021 that Gaetz had sex with a 17-year-old girl  adding that the media didnt pay the Florida Republican any mind because of the accusations.

The Justice Department dropped its sex trafficking probe against Gaetz in February after investigating him over the allegations since 2020. Gaetz has denied the allegations.

Theres a reason why no one in the conference came and defended him  because we had all seen the videos he was showing on the House floor that all of us had walked away, of the girls he had slept with, Mullin said.

Mullins claims arrive on the same day Marc Short, chief of staff for former Vice President Mike Pence, said Gaetz more likely came to Washington for the teenage interns on Capitol Hill than to be a fiscal crusader.

The senator claimed that no one in the media gave Gaetz the time of day until November last year, when all of a sudden he found fame when he opposed the prospects of a McCarthy speakership.

And hes always stayed there, Mullin said. And he was never gonna leave until he got this last moment of fame by saying  by going after a motion to vacate.

H/T: Mediaite

Related...
Republican senators are shocked and unnerved by the sudden collapse of Speaker Kevin McCarthys (R-Calif.) career in leadership and fear the turmoil in the House will put Congress on the path to a government shutdown.

Senators are worried about who will succeed McCarthy and whether that successor will be so beholden to a small group of conservatives that it will be close to impossible to pass spending legislation before government funding runs out before Thanksgiving.

While GOP senators occasionally criticized some of McCarthys moves, especially his decision to give the green light for an impeachment inquiry into President Biden, they saw him as allied with their desire to keep the government funded and to show voters their party can govern.

Theyre hoping that whoever replaces McCarthy is willing to do what it takes to avoid a government shutdown.

There are clearly a few choices that they could make that make it almost certain we go into a shutdown posture, Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) said of the race to become the next Speaker.

He said that House Republicans need to change the rule that allowed Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) to offer a motion to boot McCarthy out of his job. It passed when only eight Republicans joined 208 Democrats in voting to end McCarthys tenure as leader.

Quite honestly, they got to figure how to change the rules and pull the motion to vacate. I dont know why anybody would pursue that job with that hanging over their head, Tillis said of the rule giving any single disgruntled member of the GOP conference the power to call a snap referendum on the Speakership.

If it is hanging over their head, then you can almost be certain that the odds are higher that we go into a shutdown, he warned.

Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.) this week also urged the new Speaker, whomever it is, to jettison the ability of a single lawmaker to call for a snap leadership election  known as a motion to recommit  as Gaetz did Tuesday.

I hope whoever the next Speaker is gets rid of the motion to vacate. I think it makes the Speakers job impossible, McConnell said. The American people expect us to have a functioning government.

Asked about the prospect that a prolonged battle over the Speakers gavel could put Congress on the path of a government shutdown, McConnell said, We need to get a Speaker, and hopefully well get one by next week.

He warned that keeping in place the rule that gave a handful of conservatives huge political leverage over McCarthy would put whoever the Speaker is in a hammerlock of dysfunction, potential dysfunction.

Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (W.Va.), the vice chairwoman of the Senate Republican Conference, said she hopes House Republicans can come to a resolution on a Speaker quickly.

You cant drag it out, because that just signals more unrest, she said. I do think its going to impact appropriations.

Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.) described the lack of a clear plan to replace McCarthy as chaos and predicted it would delay Congresss work by a lot.

The timeline is very, very, very challenging, even for the House, who can do things quickly, he said. I regret that were not on our minibus [appropriations package] now.

Republican senators are breathing a sigh of relief the government didnt shut down last weekend but are worried the chances of a shutdown in November or December are now higher because of McCarthys sudden ouster.

We kind of dodged that bullet; it doesnt mean were out of the woods yet, said Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska). Were not in the clear. We have a lot of work to do.

She said its a troubling sign that a group of House conservatives voted to strip McCarthy of his job after he brought a bill to the floor to keep the government open that passed with Democratic votes.

We all need to ensure that were putting our country, were putting the people that we represent before our party or our title. I think Kevin McCarthy did what he had to do, I think he did the responsible thing, she said. What I think was perhaps irresponsible was the actions of those within his own party who sought to oust him.

There was a small group who unfortunately put themselves and perhaps their own personal ambitions or perhaps their own ego.  They put that ahead of their responsibility as a lawmaker to govern and governing means keeping the government operational, she added.

Even Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), one of McCarthys loudest Democratic critics, conceded that the former Speaker did what he had to get must-pass bills to President Bidens desk.

To his credit, I will say this, Speaker McCarthy  on both on shutting down the government and default of the debt  at the end of the day realized he had to work in a bipartisan way to do whats right for America, he said.

GOP senators are growing alarmed about the low number of full legislative days left in Washington until government funding expires in mid-November.

Maybe five in October and five in November. That makes it impossible, Capito said, not counting Mondays, when senators travel to Washington and dont show up for votes until 5:30 p.m.

Thirteen Republican senators, led by Sen. Pete Ricketts (R-Neb.), signed a letter to Schumer urging him to cancel the October recess and to work full weeks in Washington to give lawmakers more time to work through the backlog of spending bills.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
It hasnt been emphasized enough that Laphonza Butler, Californias newest U.S. senator, has no legislative experience.

This hole in her resume matters a great deal despite an erosion of public faith in legislative experience that is a bipartisan affliction in our politics. It was one of the factors that led to the election of President Donald Trump. In liberal, one-party California, the importance of legislative experience was disregarded by Gov. Gavin Newsom when he appointed the inexperienced Butler to fill the seat of the late Dianne Feinstein.

Opinion

Sworn in on Tuesday, Butler has been celebrated widely for her race, her gender, her orientation and her sterling credentials of a certain kind. She has also been lauded within an echo chamber of Democrats, many of whom have been elected to public office even if Butler never has.

Lost in the aftermath of Butlers appointment has been the kind of critical scrutiny that would normally accompany an important political appointment. Her appointment is problematic because the voting public of California has no idea where Butler stands on crucial issues because shes never had to cast a vote on any level of government. What are her views on foreign policy? Despite staying too long in power, Feinstein was a titan in California and national politics and shes being replaced by a legislative beginner.

Moreover, Butler has made curious choices and statements in the past that have not been examined as they would in an election campaign. She joined the Senate this week not long after writing a letter on behalf of a former Los Angeles City Councilman who was convicted in a federal bribery and fraud scheme. Mark Ridley-Thomas is facing 42 months in a federal prison. Butlers letter on behalf of Ridley-Thomas earlier this year was a recitation of political favors and personal kindness that Ridley-Thomas bestowed on her. How he supported her efforts to secure a $15-an-hour minimum wage in California. How thoughtful he was to her partner after a cancer diagnosis.

Butlers main ask in the letter was that authorities consider the totality of who and what Mr. Ridley-Thomas has been, the work he has done and the leadership he showed so many of us in times of difficulty.

It was the kind of letter that an advocate would write, which is what Butler has been in her career. An advocate for union members but also, curiously, for some companies hated by unions.

Butler has done consulting work for rideshare giant, Uber. Earlier this year, a state appeals court ruled that companies like Uber and Lyft can continue to treat their California drivers as independent contractors.

The ruling mostly upholds a voter-approved law, called Proposition 22, that said drivers... are not entitled to benefits like paid sick leave and unemployment insurance, wrote National Public Radio.

Lorena Gonzalez Fletcher, leader of the California Labor Federation and a former state assemblywoman, said this about the ruling: Today the Appeals Court chose to stand with powerful corporations over working people, allowing companies to buy their way out of our states labor laws and undermine our state constitution.

Butler chose to stand with Uber as well, her labor background notwithstanding.

She has declined to discuss the specifics of the work she did for Uber. And Gonzalez Fletcher has declined to comment on Butlers appointment to the Senate. That the most high-profile labor leader in California wont say anything about Butler beyond congratulations speaks volumes. It also hints at the political implications of Butlers appointment that have been obscured by her personal story as a Black, gay woman joining the elite ranks of the U.S. Senate.

Butlers story obscured serious political implications

Upon naming Butler, Newsom said that he was placing no conditions on her appointment and that if she chose to run for a full term in 2024, it was up to her. Butler wont answer the question of whether she will run in 2024, but it seems a safe bet that someone will do a poll gauging her chances.

If Butler decided she wanted to run for a full term, its inconceivable that Newsom would just stand by and let her lose. He would want his appointee to beat Adam Schiff, Katie Porter and Barbara Lee, members of the House of Representatives vying for the Senate seat now occupied by Butler.

So if Newsom is willing to do that, why wasnt he willing to support Lee?

Shes a seasoned legislator, with a strong voice. Shes principled and battle-tested. By appointing Butler, Newsom was picking someone with a profile that suited his political aspirations.

If Newsom really wanted to pick a Black woman who has paid her dues and done the hard work of standing in front of voters to get elected, he would not have chosen Laphonza Butler.

But he did because Newsom is who he is. He rightly calculated that once he appointed Butler, the same critics angry with him for giving the impression that his appointment was a seat warmer would suddenly be happy.

Butlers personal story silenced real skepticism about Newsoms choice.

But there should be more scrutiny. Butlers appointment is an outlier in California politics.

The last time someone this inexperienced was named to the Senate was in 1964 when then-Gov. Pat Brown tabbed Pierre Salinger to fill a seat vacated after the death of an incumbent, just as Butler replaced Feinstein.

Salinger had been press secretary to President John F. Kennedy before serving a brief stint in the Senate that ended after a few months when he was defeated by Republican George Murphy in November of 1964. Unlike Butler, Salinger was born and raised in California. He grew up, was educated and worked in San Francisco before working for JFK.

Butler is from Mississippi. For a decade, she was president of SEIU 2015  the largest labor union in California representing more than 325,000 nursing home and home-care workers. Butler was an adviser to Kamala Harris during her disastrous run for president in the 2020 election, which ended before the California primary. She was appointed by Gov. Jerry Brown to serve on the UC Board of Regents and served three years before moving to Maryland to run EMILYs List.

Much has been made of the fact that she had been living in Maryland for the last two years when Newsom appointed her to the Senate, but the truth is even more troubling. In her life, Butler has only passed through California in pursuit of her impressive career trajectory.

Despite the trappings of a barrier-breaking personal story, Butler is where she is today thanks to the patronage of Californias elite political class. She got a leg up into the U.S. Senate by political calculation, despite her lack of experience.

Californians need to know this should Butler decide to run for elective office for the first time in her life.
Gov. Kay Ivey Wednesday asked the Alabama Public Library Service make funding for local libraries contingent upon conforming to policy changes that Ivey says will protect children in libraries.

Libraries should be a place for exploring a wide variety of viewpoints and ideas, Ivey wrote in the letter. At the same time, however, libraries must not be a place to expose children to inappropriate content without the knowledge and consent of their parents.

The letter comes amid right-wing attacks on the content in libraries in Alabama and around the country, often on books acknowledging LGBTQ+ people or containing LGBTQ+ themes.

Book challenges are at a 20-year-high, according to the American Library Association.

Iveys Wednesday letter did not specify what content she considered inappropriate. In an email Wednesday, Ivey spokeswoman Gina Maiola pointed to an earlier letter from Ivey, which included books with LGBTQ+ content. The letter also referenced two young adult books from Ozark-Dale County Public Library for sexually explicit content, but those books also contain LGBT content.

A new policy at the Autauga-Prattville Public Library raises the age of unattended patrons from 12 to 15.

The Alabama Public Library Service agreed to catalog potentially inappropriate books after a proposal from John Wahl, head of the Alabama Republican Party and a member of the governing board of the service.

The governor sent a letter to Alabama Public Library Service Director Nancy Pack on Sept. 1 expressing concerns about content. Pack responded in a Sept. 12 letter saying that many libraries required or encouraged parents to be present when children checked out books.

The policies underscore that parents bear the responsibility for their childrens use of library resources and the selection of materials, Pack wrote. This approach reflects a common strategy in libraries to balance child safety and access to the resources while encouraging parental involvement and responsibility.

Ivey wrote Wednesday that Packs response did not satisfy her.

The local library policies you submitted generally fail to support parents hoping to protect their children from inappropriate content, she wrote.

The governor wrote that state funding for local libraries should be based on the existence of policies related to the location and relocation of materials inappropriate for children, as well as advance approval for displaying, recommending or otherwise actively promoting books by staff.

The governor also said funding from the American Library Association, which has come under attack from conservative activists, be approved by a governing authority in an open meeting. In her letter, Ivey says that the local library board hold these meetings, but suggested the state Legislature could do so.

Alabama Governor Kay Ivey speaks to the media Aug. 16 after handing out books and reading to second grade students at Dozier Elementary School in Montgomery.

Ivey also asked Pack to direct local libraries to clarify their ability to respond to parental concerns about sexually explicit or inappropriate material that also says that restricting based on age is not censorship and disclaim the relevant ALA policy that libraries cannot discriminate based on age in location and promotion of library materials.

A message seeking comment was left with the Alabama Public Library Service on Wednesday. In response to the local controversy, the board governing the Ozark Dale County Library created a staggered library card system, restricting some book checkouts based on the age of the child.

Weird and hazy and a little Big Brother-ish

Matthew Layne, president of the Alabama Library Association, said in an interview Wednesday that much of what is in Iveys letter is in place in a lot of libraries.

Libraries, he said, generally already have content review policies and avenues to speak with concerned patrons. He said libraries and librarians arent always perfect with their book selection.

As a librarian, I really welcome that opportunity to sit down and have a discussion with a patron about why the particular book is on the shelf, and what their issues are with this particular book, he said.

Layne mentioned two concerns he had about the letter. He said that the term sexually explicit was used throughout, but it didnt receive a clear definition.

Certainly there can be some some kinds of salacious type stuff that occurs in books, but my concern is that they are equating sexually explicit with anything having to do with a LGBTQ+ family, and so I think were going to need a definition of what they consider sexually explicit, he said.

More: Prattville library raises age for unsupervised kids amid LGBTQ book debate

He was also concerned about the section about actively promoting to children and its scope. Laynes not sure if that means that a librarian would need pre-approval to recommend a book about a dragon if a kid says they like dragons.

It just get kind of weird and hazy and a little Big Brother-ish as far as who is deciding that, he said.

Layne said that librarians are not trying to push specific books but are rather trying to get the right book to the right patron.

It doesnt matter to me whether you think Bill OReilly hung the moon or whether you think John Stewart hung the moon, like, if those are the books youre looking for, then then those are the books, or something similar, that were going to find and get you access to, he said.

In his one-year term, Layne said he had hoped to focus on amplifying resources that libraries can provide, such as HomeworkAlabama, a tutoring program offered through the libraries. Instead, he has spent much of his time responding to these book challenges.

Layne said that these challenges have the potential to impact librarians serving their communities.

When youre having to reconsider how your collection is displayed, youre not necessarily considering, What can I do to teach job training and career skills to teenagers?' he said.

Alabama Reflector is part of States Newsroom, an independent nonprofit website covering politics and policy in state capitals around the nation.

This article originally appeared on Montgomery Advertiser: Alabama governor asks public libraries to tie funding to book policies
The sun sets over Oak Flat Campground, a sacred site for Native Americans located 70 miles east of Phoenix, on June 3, 2023, in Miami, Ariz. Oak Flat, or Chichil Bildagoteel, is a consecrated place used for prayer and ritual by many Native Americans in the region. Elders say the land was blessed by Usen, their Creator, and inhabited by Gaan, the mountain spirits or angels who provide spiritual succor and guidance to seekers. | Ty ONeil, Associated Press

Fifteen years after government-sponsored road construction destroyed a sacred site in Oregon, federal officials have worked out a landmark settlement agreement with the areas Native American tribes.

In the settlement, the government has agreed to replant a grove of native trees, pay for the reconstruction of a sacred stone altar and recognize the historic use of the site by Native Americans, according to the Becket Fund for Religious Freedom, the law firm representing the tribes.

The new agreement resolves a lawsuit, Slockish v. U.S. Department of Transportation, that had been sitting on the doorstep of the Supreme Court.

For the 15 years since bulldozers tore up their sacred land near Mount Hood, the Native Americans involved in the case have been fighting for the restitution theyll now receive.

Related

The Slockish case

The Slockish case centered on a road construction project along U.S. Highway 26 in Oregon. To add a turn lane to the road, federal officials approved the destruction of a site called Ana Kwna Nchi Nchi Patat  the Place of Big Big Trees  over the objections of Native Americans who used the land for religious ceremonies.

Tribes continued fighting the project even after bulldozers had ripped into a sacred altar and surrounding trees. They wanted remediation of the site and for a court to confirm that what the government did was wrong, said Luke Goodrich, vice president and senior counsel for Becket, to the Deseret News in 2021.

Part of what the plaintiffs want is a court ruling, a declarative judgment, that says the government violated the law. It would vindicate their ancestors, he said.

But in the legal system, the Native Americans involved in the case faced more frustration. Multiple courts ruled against them over the years, often saying there was nothing the legal system could do to help since the land was already destroyed.

This time last year, Becket appealed to the Supreme Court on the tribes behalf, a move that appears to have prompted renewed settlement talks. This week, the Native Americans finally secured what theyve been fighting for.

Im hopeful that our story and this settlement agreement can help prevent similar injustices in the future, said Carol Logan, a member of the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde, in a statement.

Religious freedom for Native Americans

The settlement in the Slockish case is notable given that Native Americans who raise religious freedom concerns are often ignored. Lawmakers  and the legal system  have been slow to recognize tribes unique faith-related needs.

Theres often just a remarkably callous disregard of Native Americans and Native American religious practices. Theres a lack of understanding, as well, Goodrich told the Deseret News in 2021.

Government officials and judges sometimes view conflicts through a Christian lens, he added.

If the government took land owned by a Baptist church to build a highway, the Baptists could build another church on the other side of town. For many religious groups, that would be possible. But Native Americans cant go create a new sacred site on the other side of town. Their religious practices are inherently tied to a specific piece of land, Goodrich said.

Now, Native Americans in Oregon will have the opportunity to return to the land theyve been missing next spring. Logan said in her statement that sacred tribal lands deserve more respect.

Our sacred places may not look like the buildings where most Americans worship, but they deserve the same protection, dignity, and respect, she said.

Although the Slockish case is now resolved, the Supreme Court could still hear a case involving a Native American sacred site in the near future.

Becket plans to appeal Apache Stronghold v. United States, which centers on Oak Flat in Arizona, to the Supreme Court if the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals allows a large-scale mining project to move forward, according to Beckets preview of the 2023-24 Supreme Court term.
Russian troops struck a cafe in Kharkiv Oblasts village of Hroza, killing at least 51 people, Governor Oleh Syniehubov reported on Oct. 5. The victims included a six-year-old boy.

Six people have been injured, including another child, Syniehubov said on Telegram, adding that all the victims were local civilians.

The attack occurred at around 1 p.m. local time, and the rescue operation lasted seven hours.

The oblast governor called the attack "the bloodiest crime committed by the Russians in Kharkiv Oblast since the start of the full-scale invasion." Syniehubov announced a three-day mourning period in the region on Oct. 6-8.

At the time of the attack, at least 60 people gathered in the local cafe for a memorial service for a deceased resident, Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko reported on national television, cited by Suspilne. The attack was likely carried out with an Iskander missile, Klymenko added.

Hroza is a small village in northeastern Ukraine that lies around 30 kilometers west of Kupiansk. The interior minister said that the population of Hroza was about 330 people, but a spokesman of the Kharkiv Oblast Prosecutor's Office later clarified that the real number of people living in the village just before the attack didn't exceed 100.

"The Russian army killed most residents of this village with one rocket," Dmytro Chubenko said on national TV, as cited by Hromadske Radio.

Russia has been concentrating its forces around Kupiansk in Kharkiv Oblast since mid-July, trying to regain the positions lost during the Ukrainian surprise counteroffensive last autumn. The city was occupied by Russian forces from Feb. 27 to Sept. 10, 2022.

President Volodymyr Zelensky commented on the tragedy in his Telegram post, calling the attack a completely deliberate act of terrorism.

Russian terror must be stopped. All those who help Russia circumvent sanctions are criminals. Everyone who still supports Russia supports evil, Zelensky said.

Russia needs this and similar terrorist attacks for only one thing: to make its genocidal aggression the new norm for the whole world.

The Russian strike on Hroza appears to be the most deadly single attack on a civilian facility in Ukraine this year, surpassing the death toll of Russias Jan.14 missile strike against a Dnipro apartment building, which claimed the lives of 46 people.

Read also: Here are the victims of Russias brutal strike on apartment building in Dnipro

Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent.
U.S. Rep. Nancy Pelosi speaks during the memorial services for late U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) on Thursday, in San Francisco. (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

During a grand memorial service on the front steps of San Francisco City Hall, the late Sen. Dianne Feinstein was remembered by family and the nation's top leaders Thursday as a committed public servant who broke barriers for women and served Californians for decades with integrity and grit.

In a eulogy before hundreds of family members, friends, dignitaries and fellow politicians, Vice President Kamala Harris called Feinstein an "icon of California," a "serious and gracious person" who "commanded respect" but also gave it.

Harris, echoed by others, talked about how Feinstein always "welcomed debate and discussion" on the policies she helped pass into law  as long as it was "well-informed and studied."

"Simply put," Harris said, "she was a force."

The tribute marked a full-circle ending to a pioneering political life that began in the same building more than half a century before. Feinstein, who died last week at age 90, was president of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors and the city's first woman mayor before serving California in the Senate for more than three decades.

It was in that building that Feinstein's career was jump-started by tragedy. Her long connection to the city's civic governance was invoked by speakers throughout the ceremony.

The service was closed to the public by a wide security perimeter but was livestreamed online. Feinstein lay in state inside City Hall on Wednesday, when members of the public were encouraged to visit and sign a condolence book.

Read more: Photos: San Francisco pays tribute to Sen. Dianne Feinstein in the city where she spent a decade as the citys first female mayor

The memorial brought rows of Congress members, prominent political donors and Capitol Hill staffers together under a baking midday sun at a time of intense political tension back in Washington  where California's influence has been transformed in recent days with Feinstein's death and the ouster of Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Bakersfield) as speaker of the House.

It also came as would-be Feinstein successors are working ahead of next year's election to gain the support of her constituency, which had returned Feinstein to Congress time and time again despite leaning more liberal than she did in recent years.

Gov. Gavin Newsom hugs an invited guest after the memorial service in honor of the late U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein. (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

Gov. Gavin Newsom has appointed longtime labor leader Laphonza Butler to fill Feinstein's seat in the Senate until the election. At the service, Butler sat between Sen. Alex Padilla and Senate Judiciary Committee Chair Dick Durbin, along with a slew of other elected officials including Rep. Barbara Lee and Rep. Adam Schiff, candidates for Feinstein's seat. Newsom sat in the front row.

Read more: Who will replace the late Sen. Feinstein in 2024 election? Meet the potential candidates

Both Lee and Schiff flew on Air Force II with Harris, along with U.S. Reps. Jared Huffman, Eric Swalwell and Maxine Waters. Former Rep. Jane Harman, who was with Feinstein the day she died, also flew with them. Rep. Katie Porter, who is also running for Feinstein's seat, didn't attend.

The service, however, remained fully focused on Feinstein  concluding with a deeply personal remembrance from her granddaughter Eileen Mariano.

Mariano, the daughter of Feinstein's daughter Katherine, praised her grandmother for helping to save Joshua Tree and other parts of California and for fighting for the LGBTQ+ community, including during the AIDS epidemic in the 1980s.

But she said she would also remember her as "the most incredible grandmother," with whom she had "an effortless connection."

Mariano recalled childhood memories of Feinstein teaching her about San Francisco history, giving her crooked haircuts at home, playing hide and seek with her and curling up with her on the couch to watch movies. She also taught her in tough times to "keep going no matter what," she said.

"My grandmother," Mariano said, "was my biggest cheerleader."

Eileen Mariano, granddaughter of Feinstein, speaks during the memorial service in honor of the late U.S. senator. (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

Feinstein had represented California in the U.S. Senate since 1992, and much of her tremendous political legacy was won over the course of her three decades on Capitol Hill.

In recorded remarks played during the service, President Biden recalled watching Feinstein lead the fight for an assault weapons ban in the 1990s, and her efforts to protect the environment and her work on national security.

"Thank God we had Dianne showing us the way by the power of her example," Biden said.

U.S. Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco), a personal friend of Feinstein, said living up to her standard was always "quite a challenge."

Pelosi praised Feinstein for her legacy in Washington, confirming judges up to her last days, getting a breast cancer stamp created and passing the assault weapons ban, among other things. But she also praised Feinstein for her San Francisco accomplishments, such as helping to save the city's cable cars.

"The list goes on and on, from the U.S. Capitol back to San Francisco, where Dianne Feinstein is our forever mayor," Pelosi said.

U.S. Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer also recalled Feinstein's work on the assault weapons ban, called her a close friend and said her "integrity made her sparkle like a diamond" in the Senate.

Despite her time spent in Washington, Feinstein always called San Francisco home, and many of the memories shared about her were based in the city.

It was here that Feinstein first entered local politics by winning a seat on the Board of Supervisors in 1969, and here where she was catapulted onto the national political stage in 1978 when Mayor George Moscone and Supervisor Harvey Milk were assassinated and she was elevated from board president to mayor.

She was the first woman in city history to serve as mayor, and she did so for 10 years, until 1988. Many residents still remember her as much for her local contributions as her national ones.

Read more: 'I always think of her as mayor': Dianne Feinstein's legacy lives deepest in San Francisco

Feinstein never stopped pestering her successors at City Hall about municipal issues big and small, to their amusement and consternation.

San Francisco's current mayor, London Breed, recalled receiving constant good advice from Feinstein, including during the COVID-19 pandemic, when Feinstein told her to "focus on doing the right thing" for the city.

But Breed also recalled Feinstein's influence on her as a young girl and other young women around the country  another theme of the memorial.

Mourners gather during the memorial service for late Sen. Dianne Feinsteinon Thursday in San Francisco. (Gina Ferazzi/Los Angeles Times)

Breed said she met Feinstein for the first time when she was 13 and a French horn player at Benjamin Franklin Middle School, a band Feinstein would often get to play at events in the city. Breed credited Feinstein with showing her and girls throughout San Francisco that they could do anything their male classmates could  that they could achieve great things.

"For kids my age, we just always accepted that a woman could be in charge," Breed said. "We considered it normal."

Harris recalled being a young Bay Area prosecutor 30 years ago and driving into San Francisco from Oakland to attend an election watch party the night Feinstein and former Sen. Barbara Boxer both won office in 1992  later dubbed the "Year of the Woman."

"We celebrated an historic feat: We were the first state to elect two female Senators," Harris said  thanking Feinstein for pulling other women behind her into power.

U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, center, hugs Eileen Mariano, granddaughter of the late Sen. Feinstein, after speaking at the memorial service. (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

"Dianne, the women of America have come a long way. Our country has come a long way," Harris said. "You helped move the ball forward, and our nation salutes you."

The memorial was accented time and again by flyovers from the U.S. Navy's Blue Angels, which the speakers had to pause to let pass by. After one such pause, Breed thanked Feinstein for bringing the Angels to San Francisco.

Read more: 'I always think of her as mayor': Dianne Feinstein's legacy lives deepest in San Francisco

Fleet Week is a yearly tradition in San Francisco, which brings some of the largest ships of the Navys armada to the citys shores. Feinstein is widely credited with bringing the yearly tradition to the city as mayor in the early 1980s.

It also was quintessential Feinstein, in that her desire to honor service members angered some pockets of San Francisco's extremely liberal populace.

Pelosi at one point paused to allow for the roar of the jets to pass, then quipped that the festivities were going the way Feinstein would have wanted  which was often how things played out during her life.

"It's what Dianne wants," Pelosi said. "That's what we get."

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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Even in death, Dianne Feinstein s legacy in San Francisco was immediately apparent.

As family members and dignitaries gathered on the steps of San Francisco City Hall Thursday afternoon for a memorial service, the roaring engines of the US Navy Blue Angels demonstration squadron could be heard as part of Fleet Week, the annual event started by Feinstein in 1981 when she was mayor of San Francisco.

The Angels, former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi later noted from the podium, were flying in a missing person formation, in honour of Feinstein, who died at age 90 at the end of September, after an illustrious career as a city supervisor, mayor, and powerful US senator, known for her efforts to investigate the CIAs use of torture during the War on Terror.

President Biden, in remarks delivered virtually, said Feinstein, often the only woman in the room, she also mentored generations of women and men alike to imagine a bigger and more hopeful future for themselves, their country, and the world.

Speakers remembered Feinstein, who lay in state at City Hall on Wednesday rather than the US Capitol, as a towering figure who used her time leading San Francisco through a series of crises  taking over after the assassination of Mayor George Moscone and Supervisor Harvey Milk, bringing attention to the HIV/AIDs epidemic when national politicians like President Ronald Reagan ignored it  to inform a more than three-decade tenure in the Senate.

Through times of tragedy and triumph, Dianne Feinstein showed us the meaning of San Franciscos motto: Gold in peace, iron in war, San Francisco mayor London Breed said. She showed us a world where women lead, where we lift each other up so that girls like me can follow in her footsteps.

Dignitaries, from left to right, San Francisco Mayor London Breed, Vice President Kamala Harris , Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer , D-N.Y., Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif. and Dianne Feinsteins granddaughter Eileen Mariano stand during a memorial service for U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein, Thursday, Oct. 5, 2023, in San Francisco (AP)

Feinstein was the first female mayor of San Francisco, serving for a decade in the position, before being elected to the US Senate in 1992, part of Californias first female delegation to the upper house alongside Barbara Boxer.

San Franciso politics is rough and tumble, some even say its a bare-knuckled sport, Vice-President Kamala Harris, a former San Francisco district attorney, said. And this city requires its elected officials to engage on a daily basis in complex discussions with informed constituents who will raise the most intricate of local issues.

Senator Dianne Feinstein was remebered for her LGBTQ advocacy, efforts to investigate torture, and legacy as a boundary-breaking female politician (AP2011)

The vice president, who served with Feinstein in the Senate, said she saw this thoughtful presence regularly while working together on the Senate intelligence committee.

Dianne with her trademark grin, would pause, lift up her memo, glance knowingly at the rest of us on the dias, and question the witness in the way this former prosecutor always admired, she continued. In that room, there was give and take, substantive debate, and problem-solving, and that was quintessential Dianne at her best.

Eileen Mariano, Feinsteins granddaughter, shared stories of how her grandmother taught her to play chess and told her never to give up.

She elicited laughter from the crowds remembering how her grandma recommended always packing a black pants suit no matter where she was traveling to, even if it was to Joshua Tree, the famed California desert landscape Feinstein championed to become a national park in 1994.

Feinsteins achievements continued through the present, former Speaker Pelosi said in her remarks.

She left on her own terms, the California representative said. She was proud to confirm over 140 Biden judges. And Chuck [Schumer] can attest that she walked onto that floor last Thursday, which would be her last day, she walked onto the floor and voted to advance legislation to keep the government open for the people.

That leaving process, however, forms a complicated part of Ms Feinsteins legacy.

Her final years in office were dogged by accusations the California senator was no longer mentally fit to serve in office, following a series of public instances and private reports of Feinstein appearing confused or nonsensical about the details of her work and surroundings.

At City Hall, at least, Feinstein was celebrated as someone both incredibly tough and warmly cooperative.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer shared a story about Feinstein spending all day walking with an ankle injury that turned out to be a fracture.

When he asked her how she kept going through the pain, Feinstein replied, I just did.

The New York senator said Feinstein, for all her fierceness, was also the living embodiment of what the Senate should always be: an institution built on cooperation.

She was remembered, in the words of the song sung by the San Francisco Girls Chorus at the service, as someone willing to dream the impossible dream / To fight the unbeatable foe / To bear with unbearable sorrow / To run where the brave dare not go.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, October 5)  Hundreds of members of the indigenous peoples (IP) in Zamboanga del Sur on Wednesday rallied against quarrying operations along Labangan River for its environmental risks.

Labangan tribal chief Timuay Braulio Anlimon, who also stands as the head claimant of the Labangan-Pagadian-Sominot Ancestral Domain, said people from five barangays in Labangan town and concerned citizens living near the river were able to participate in the rally.

However, other participants from both Noboran and Cogonan villages remained stranded after still unknown individuals deliberately blocked the road to prevent them from joining, he said.

Anlimon argued that the Labangan River needs restoration and quarrying operations should at least rest for five years.

He described that many parts of the whole stretch of the Labangan River experienced soil erosion due to the excessive quarrying operations.

The tribal chief added that even the existing spillway in Barangay Langapod used to transport agricultural products from the upper barangays to Pagadian City collapsed due to the quarrying operations nearby.

Anlimon called on the local officials, especially to Labangan Mayor Eduardo Relacion and Zamboanga del Sur Governor Victor Yu, to stop the activity and help in the call for the river restoration.

Relacion, meanwhile, committed to stop the quarry operation run by his own family, and said he will meet with his legal team and the members of the Sangguniang Bayan to discuss what they can do to address the situation.

Anlimon said that if the local officials fail to act on the people's cry for the river's restoration, they will make a way to raise the concern to the national level.

Pagadian City-based journalist Leah Agonoy contributed to this report.
MOSCOW  Russian President Vladimir Putin said Thursday that hand grenade fragments were found in the bodies of people who died in the Aug. 23 crash of mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhins plane.

Experts investigating the crash found no indication the private jet had suffered an external impact, he said. Prigozhin and two of his top lieutenants of the Wagner private military contractor were among the 10 people killed when the jet came down as it flew from Moscow to St. Petersburgh.

There was no way to independently verify Putins statement.

Russian President Vladimir Putin gestures while speaking at the annual meeting of the Valdai Discussion Club in the Black Sea resort of Sochi, Russia, Thursday, Oct. 5, 2023. (Grigory Sysoyev, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)

A preliminary U.S. intelligence assessment concluded that an intentional explosion caused the crash, and Western officials have pointed to a long list of Putin foes who have been assassinated. The Kremlin called allegations he was behind the crash as an absolute lie.

A Russian investigation was launched but no findings have been released. Moscow rejected an offer from Brazil, where the Embraer business jet was built, to join the inquiry.

While Putin noted the probe was still ongoing and stopped short of saying what caused the crash, his statement appeared to hint the plane was brought down by a grenade explosion.

Prigozhins aborted rebellion in June marked the most serious challenge to Putin, who has been in power for more than two decades. The crash came two months to the day after the rebellions start.

Putin also noted that while investigators havent tested the remains for alcohol and drugs, 5 kilograms (11 pounds) of cocaine was found during searches at Prigozhins office in St. Petersburg following the mutiny  an apparent attempt to denigrate the mercenary chief.

After his death, Putin described Prigozhin, 62, as a man of difficult fate who had made serious mistakes in life.

Prigozhin owed his fortune to his ties with the Russian leader dating to the early 1990s and was dubbed Putins chef for the lucrative Kremlin catering contracts.

The Wagner Group military contractor that he created has been active in Ukraine, Syria and several African countries and counted tens of thousands of troops at its peak. It played a key role in the fighting in Ukraine, where it spearheaded capture of the eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut in May after months of bloody combat.

In the June 23-24 rebellion, Prigozhin said it was intended to oust the Defense Ministrys leadership that he blamed for mistakes in pressing the fighting in Ukraine. His mercenaries took over Russias southern military headquarters in Rostov-on-Don and then rolled toward Moscow before abruptly halting the mutiny under a deal that offered them amnesty from prosecution. The mercenaries were given a choice to retire from the service, move to Belarus or sign new contracts with the Defense Ministry.

Last week, Putin met with one of Wagners top commanders to take charge of volunteer units fighting in Ukraine in a sign that the Kremlin intends to keep using the mercenaries after Prigozhins death.

Putin said Thursday that several thousand Wagner troops have signed contracts with the Defense Ministry.
A longtime Missouri prison guard has been sentenced to seven years in prison after authorities said he assaulted an inmate and was found with child porn.

In his signed plea agreement, former corrections Sgt. Carl Hart said on Oct. 28, 2021, the inmate complained about a poster in his cell being destroyed during a search. The inmate also asked for his poster be replaced.

(Hart) ignored the victims request, informed him that hes just an inmate, and sent him out of the office, according to the plea agreement filed in the Eastern District of Missouri.

Hart then ordered a lockdown, and two corrections officers pepper-sprayed the inmate when he did not head to his cell right away, authorities said in an Oct. 4 news release.

As the inmate showered off the spray, authorities said Hart struck him.

After the inmate backed out of the shower, laid on the ground and put his hands behind his back to be handcuffed, (Hart) continued to strike the victim and wrenched the victims wrists while (sitting) on the victims back, according to court records. The inmates injuries included facial cuts and swelling, a black eye, left rib pain and arm numbness.

Harts defense attorney declined to provide a comment to McClatchy News.

In a July 2023 letter, the victim said he was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder days after the attack.

God (compels) me to forgive you for the physical scars you gave me on multiple places of my head, face and hand that I have to look at everyday for the rest of my life, for the permanent blurry vision in my eye, for the separated and infected ribs I had for 10 months, for the mental trauma I still suffer from  from being beaten by those who were supposed to protect me, he continued.

Hart had worked for the Department of Corrections for 10 years prior to the attack, according to the release.

The Department of Corrections did not immediately respond to a request for comment from McClatchy News on Oct. 5.

Child porn investigation

In April 2022, a separate investigation into Hart began following a cybertip regarding suspected child pornography in his Dropbox account, authorities said.

Investigators said they found multiple photos and at least one video of child porn in his Dropbox and a collage of sexual images on his phones.

Knowing that some sick person is looking at me on a computer everyday in a way that no one should look at a kid makes me feel violated, it gives me the jeebers, and it makes me want to throw up, one of the victims said, according to the release.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Christine Krug said Hart did not protect the children being sexually abused in the photos and videos he collected and viewed and he did not protect a prisoner he was charged with keeping safe, according to the release.

The 37-year-old man from Farmington previously pleaded guilty to one count of deprivation of rights under color of law and two counts of possession of child pornography.

Man left to soil himself in jail after arrest over sign cursing at police, lawsuit says

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FILE PHOTO: Mayan Ancestral Authorities demonstrate requesting the resignation of the Attorney General, in Guatemala City

By Sofia Menchu

GUATEMALA CITY (Reuters) - Tens of thousands of Guatemalans marched peacefully on Thursday for the fourth consecutive day, demanding the resignation of powerful senior prosecutors accused of working to undermine President-elect Bernardo Arevalo's ability to take office.

The center-left Arevalo was elected in a landslide win in August, but since then Attorney General Consuelo Porras has intensified efforts to disqualify his anti-graft Movimiento Semilla party and ordered raids on the electoral authority's offices, seizing ballots.

"We're going to paralyze the country indefinitely. We demand the resignation of the prosecutor, Consuelo Porras," said protester Luis Pacheco, head of 48 Cantones, a large Indigenous organization.

Pacheco spoke outside Porras' offices in Guatemala City, where other groups have been camping out since Monday, waving Guatemalan flags and hoisting signs demanding an end to corruption.

Another sign read: "Get out coup plotters."

The prosecutor's office has defended what it describes as lawful actions to investigate Semilla over alleged registration issues and the need to secure evidence via raids.

Arevalo, a previously little-known lawmaker who struck a cord with his campaign pledge to tackle corruption, is fighting a bitter post-election battle with entrenched foes ahead of January's scheduled inauguration.

After he secured unexpectedly strong support in June's first-round vote, Porras asked a judge to disqualify Semilla, alleging the six-year-old registration flaws.

Her office's raids have prompted international criticism while also stoking popular anger. A wide range of protesters, including Indigenous people, rural farmers, and teacher and student groups have taken to the streets to demand the resignations of Porras and one of her top prosecutors, Rafael Curruchiche.

Both have been accused of corruption by the U.S. government.

President Alejandro Giammattei, who in August promised an orderly transition, nominated Porras to her present term as attorney general, and has mostly remained silent on the investigations and raids.

On Wednesday, Giammattei's government said it was restarting transition talks with Arevalo's team.

(Reporting by Sofia Menchu; Editing by David Alire Garcia and Rosalba O'Brien)
FILE - New York City Police and law enforcement officials lead subway shooting suspect Frank James, center, away from a police station in New York on April 13, 2022. James, who sprayed a New York City subway car with bullets during rush hour, wounding 10 people and sparking a citywide manhunt, was sentenced Thursday, Oct. 5, 2023, to life in prison after defense attorneys underscored his serious mental illness and said he didn't ever intend to kill anyone. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, File)

NEW YORK (AP)  A man who sprayed a New York City subway car with bullets during rush hour, wounding 10 people and sparking a citywide manhunt, was sentenced Thursday to life in prison after several of his victims tearfully and angrily recounted their ongoing trauma.

Frank James, 64, pleaded guilty earlier this year to terrorism charges in the April 12, 2022, mass shooting aboard a Manhattan-bound train. He received a life sentence on 10 counts and 10 years for an 11th count of discharging a firearm during an act of violence.

Three of his victims spoke in court of the physical and emotional pain they continue to experience more than a year after the attack in a packed subway car. They described the panic and the splattered blood on the train, and how they used their own clothes as tourniquets to stanch the bleeding from victims' wounds.

I have not been able to make sense of it, said a young man identified as B.K. At times his voice cracked as he spoke and his eyes turned glassy from tears.

Another victim, a 51-year-old man identified as L.C., told the court he had post-traumatic stress disorder and thoughts of suicide.

L.C., who said he worked for the Metropolitan Transportation Authority at the time of the shooting, bought an e-bike to avoid riding trains. When he regained his confidence and returned to the subway, he relived the horror of the shooting upon seeing a man wearing a vest similar to the one James had worn.

I immediately thought of you, Frank James, the victim said, his voice booming with anger.

Another victim, who later identified himself as Fitim Gjeloshi, 21, began to share his own story with words of forgiveness  I dont blame him. He needs help.  then began to sob.

I cant do this, he said, walking out of court. He later returned to hear the judge sentence James.

During his own 15-minute address to the court, James expressed contrition for his actions but criticized the country's mental health system, saying it had failed especially people of color like him.

But he said his was not a sob story.

I alone am responsible and no one else for that attack, he said. He added that his violence was not due to animus toward any race or sexual orientation.

Reading from a handwritten statement, he recalled reading a news article about a young Black man who died in a subway car after being put in a chokehold by another rider who later said he was concerned about his erratic behavior and saw him as a threat. He was referring to the case of Jordan Neely, a Michael Jackson impersonator who became homeless and by most accounts was suffering from mental illness.

People keep criminalizing the people who need help, he said, adding that Neely was one such person who was screaming out for help.

U.S. District Court Judge William Kuntz was unconvinced, telling James that what he did was pure evil.

Prosecutors had asked for the life sentence, saying James spent years carefully planning the shooting in order to inflict maximum damage.

James attorneys had asked for a reduced sentence of 18 years, saying he didnt intend to kill anyone and citing his mental illness.

Disguised as a construction worker on the day of the shooting last year, James waited until the train was between stations, denying his targets a chance to flee. Then he ignited multiple smoke bombs and unleashed a barrage of bullets from a 9 mm handgun at panicked riders.

The attack, carried out as the train pulled into a station in Sunset Park, Brooklyn, wounded victims ranging in age from 16 to 60.

As emergency responders tended to the victims, James walked calmly out of the subway station and vanished. Authorities searched for him for more than a day. They identified James as a suspect relatively quickly, using a key to a rented moving van left behind on the bloodied subway car. He was eventually arrested in Manhattans East Village after calling a police tip line to turn himself in.

The attack stunned New Yorkers, heightened anxiety about safety in the transit system and prompted local officials to add additional surveillance cameras and police to the trains.

Before the shooting, James, who is Black, posted dozens of videos online under the moniker Prophet of Doom, ranting about race, violence, his struggles with mental illness and a host of unnamed forces he claimed were out to get him.

When James pleaded guilty to the terrorism charges earlier this year, he said he only intended to cause serious bodily injury, not death.

His attorney, Mia Eisner-Grynberg, had suggested that while James may have initially planned to kill people, he changed his mind in the heat of the moment.

She referenced the defendants abusive childhood in the Bronx and his ongoing struggles with both alcoholism and paranoid schizophrenia.

Prosecutors, however, said the trajectory of the bullets showed that James aimed at the center mass of riders for maximum lethality. They said James only stopped firing his semi-automatic Glock pistol because the gun jammed.

___

This story has been edited to correct the spelling of Fitim Gjeloshis name.
A short-lived spyware operation called Oospy, which emerged earlier this year after its predecessor Spyhide was hacked, is no longer operational and has shut down.

Oospy appeared online in late July as a rebrand of a phone monitoring app called Spyhide, which was facilitating the surveillance of tens of thousands of Android device owners around the world. Spyhide shut down after a breach exposed the operation and its administrators who were profiting from it.

Although Spyhide's website disappeared from the internet after the hack burned the operation, the spyware's back-end server stayed online and was still communicating with the tens of thousands of phones it was monitoring since the server was hosted on an entirely different domain. That allowed the administrators to rebrand Spyhide to Oospy without affecting the spyware operation itself.

That back-end server, which stored the victim's stolen phone data from thousands of Android devices around the world, was taken offline Thursday by the web host Hetzner, which said the service violated its terms of service.

"In addition, we have terminated the customer's server contract in due time," Christian Fitz, a spokesperson for Hetzner, told TechCrunch.

In their time online, Spyhide and Oospy had at least 60,000 victims across the world, including thousands of victims in the United States. These stalkerware (also known as spouseware) apps are planted on a victims phone, often by someone with knowledge of their passcode. Once planted, these apps continually steal a victim's contacts, messages, photos, call logs and recordings, and granular location history.

Following the Spyhide hack, TechCrunch identified two of the administrators behind Spyhide and Oospy. One of the administrators, Mohammad (also goes by Mojtaba) Arasteh, confirmed to TechCrunch that he worked on the project "several years ago as a programmer," but denied involvement with Oospy.

But a mistake on Oospy's checkout page, which used PayPal to process customer payments, exposed the name of the PayPal account holder, who shares the same family name as Arasteh.

It's not uncommon for spyware operations to rely on payment services like PayPal to handle customer payments, despite PayPal's policies broadly prohibiting customers from using its service to buy or sell software that facilitate illegal activity, like spyware. PayPal spokesperson Caitlin Girouard did not comment on the accounts when reached by TechCrunch. Oospy stopped accepting PayPal for payments a short time later, though it's not known if PayPal took action against the account.

Arasteh did not comment on the PayPal account when contacted by TechCrunch. Soon after contacting Arasteh, Oospy's website went offline altogether.

The shutdown of the spyware's back-end server marks the end of Spyhide and Oospy's ability to operate, for now.

Oospy and Spyhide are the latest phone surveillance operations to drop off the internet in recent months. Polish-made stalkerware LetMeSpy shut down after an earlier data breach in June. And last year, one of the largest known Android spyware apps, SpyTrac, disappeared following a TechCrunch investigation linked the spyware operation to Support King, which was banned from the surveillance industry by the FTC following an earlier data breach.
An officer of Haitis National Police SWAT team looks out from an armored vehicle while patrolling Cite Soleil, a neighborhood controlled by gangs in the capital city of Port-au-Prince, Haiti on Nov 9, 2022. (Adriana Zehbrauskas/The New York Times)

The Kenyan force tasked with leading a mission to take back Haitis streets from violent gangs that have overtaken much of the countrys capital will be made up of police officers who have a checkered history of their own at home, accused of killing more than 100 people this year and lobbing tear-gas into a school during anti-government demonstrations.

Kenyan police are rogue, said a 38-year-old taxi driver, Joseph Abanja, recounting how officers stormed into his home in western Kenya several years ago and beat his infant daughter to death.

As lawlessness in Haiti spirals out of control, Kenya has stepped forward to lead a multinational security force aimed at loosening the grip of gangs in the Caribbean nation. But while Kenyan police have experience in international missions, they have also been accused of using excessive force to combat political protests and enforce COVID lockdowns.

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Kenyan police officers have shot and beaten hundreds of protesters this year, human rights groups said, raising concerns about what level of force will be used to combat organized criminal groups in Haiti, and whether that will put civilians in harms way.

Abanja said his family was attacked in 2017, when demonstrations broke out in the city of Kisumu following a tense election period. Police officers barged into homes, including Abanjas, bludgeoning his family with batons and fracturing the skull of his 6-month-old daughter, Samantha Pendo, who died.

If you want to protect someone, you have to protect your own people, Abanja said. Let them put their house in order first before going to put someone elses house in order.

The Kenyan-led mission, which was approved by the U.N. Security Council this week, comes less than a decade after a 13-year U.N. peacekeeping operation in Haiti that was marred by a deadly cholera outbreak and sexual exploitation.

But as Haitis security situation deteriorated, it became clear that it would fall to a Black nation to help as international leaders hesitated to propose what might look like a Western occupation of a developing country, especially one with a long history of outside intervention.

We consider them to be our brothers and sisters, Kenyas foreign minister, Alfred Mutua , said in an interview. We are doing it as we would for another African country.

With not a single elected leader in Haiti currently in office and a police department crippled by mass defections, thousands of Haitians have been forced to flee their communities as gangs kill and kidnap, seemingly at will. Nearly 3,000 people were killed in a six-month period this year, according to the U.N., and illegal roadblocks have left important thoroughfares impassable.

For a time, the rampant gang violence gave rise to a vigilante movement that targeted people believed to be criminals. But the grassroots vengeance was short-lived, and met with more killings.

The U.S. State Department has urged Americans to leave the country and sent some employees home.

Haitis prime minister, Ariel Henry, who is widely regarded as an illegitimate leader, has been calling for international intervention for nearly a year, a plea that went largely unheeded.

But on Monday, the Security Council authorized the Kenyan-led operation, though it is technically not a U.N. peacekeeping mission. Many details, such as the rules of engagement and what other countries will join Kenya in Haiti, have not yet been resolved. Several Caribbean countries have pledged support, but there have been no specifics.

Even as the plan gets underway, it has drawn strong criticism from human rights groups.

Kenyan police have long been accused of abuse, disappearances and extrajudicial killings that have targeted not just crime and terrorism suspects but also young men from low-income areas. In 2021, two men arrested on charges of violating a COVID curfew died in police custody.

Our concern is that this is not the quality policing we should be exporting to Haiti, said Irungu Houghton, the executive director for Amnesty International Kenya.

Mutua defended Kenyan forces and said their reputation in international missions was impeccable. Kenya has led missions to East Timor, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Sierra Leone and Namibia and is currently deployed in Somalia and Congo.

In Somalia, however, U.N. investigators also found Kenyan troops made money by smuggling and exporting charcoal and sugar.

Mutua said Kenya was planning to deploy about 1,000 or more police officers to Haiti, including SWAT-like teams, with boots on the ground expected by early next year.

A recent assessment by Kenyan officials estimated that the project would take three years and require from 10,000 to 20,000 personnel, Mutua said. The U.N. resolution approved a one-year term with nine-month renewals. The foreign minister also envisions some 50 more countries each pledging from 500 to 1,000 officers, so they can achieve the 20,000 or more needed. Spain, Senegal, Jamaica, Bahamas and Antigua have said they are ready, he said.

Mutua acknowledged that Kenyan officers were likely to engage in gunfights with Haitis notoriously violent and heavily armed street gangs. We are prepared for a bit of a fight between us and the thugs, he said.

But he stressed that the larger mission is to bring stability to Haiti, which means retaking schools and hospitals currently controlled by gangs and setting the stage for elections.

Rosy Auguste Ducena, a program manager at Haitis National Network for the Defense of Human Rights, said the Kenyans face a tough assignment, particularly because gangs often operate in conjunction with government officials.

We think its going to be very hard for them, Auguste Ducena said. The state authorities are implicated in this situation we have here in Haiti.

Kenya and the United Nations should be leery of a short-term endeavor that improves the situation for a brief time and then collapses when the officers depart, Auguste Ducena said.

We cannot keep this country in this cycle of crisis, mission, election, crisis, mission, election, she said.

Given the volatile security situation in Haiti, critics of the plan say the Kenyan government hasnt been clear about how it intends to protect the lives of its officers. Others have pointed out that Kenyan forces will be linguistically disadvantaged leading a mission in a country where French and Haitian Creole are the official languages. (Mutua recently said some officers were taking a French language course.)

Kenyan police have also done a poor job, critics say, of securing their own country, unable to fully stem violence linked to cattle rustling or to a terrorist group, al-Shabab. A top police official dismissed the criticisms.

Kenya has a strong economic incentive to send forces to Haiti. A Defense Ministry website made note of the money soldiers deployed abroad send home and the funds the U.N. offers Kenya for salaries and equipment.

But the mission could also face a domestic stumbling block because the Kenyans committed to the plan without first seeking the endorsement of Kenyas National Security Council or parliament. If lawmakers balk, it could create a significant moment of diplomatic embarrassment, said Waikwa Wanyoike, a Kenyan constitutional lawyer.

Linda Thomas-Greenfield, the U.S. ambassador to the U.N., said there had been intense discussions with the Kenyans regarding holding officers accountable should they be implicated in wrongdoing.

A senior U.N. official said the idea to have the multinational force be made up mostly of police officers was prompted by the nature of the challenge in Haiti. They did not want to send an army to do urban policing, the official said, and because of the U.N.s troubled history in Haiti, deploying peacekeepers was not a viable option.

Asked about the Kenya polices record of human rights abuses, U.N. spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said few countries in the world have not had issues with police violence.

Mutua said Kenya goes to Haiti with clean hands and a clean heart.

We are gaining nothing by going into Haiti, he said. We are doing Gods work, and we are doing what needs to be done.

c.2023 The New York Times Company
Hallucinogenic mushrooms and clothing dont have much in common, but both were part of an unusual drug-dealing business model at one Florida shopping mall, according to the Martin County Sheriffs Office.

Investigators say an employee at the Zumiez clothing store in Treasure Coast Square came up with the idea, believing peddling drugs at work could help him reach a broader clientele, including tourists.

It was working perfectly  until word reached the sheriffs office, officials said.

An undercover detective visited the youth-oriented store in Jensen Beach and was able to purchase half an ounce of psilocybin mushrooms for $80  in a Zumiez shopping bag, officials said. Jensen Beach is about 115 miles north of Miami.

Detectives got a tip that (suspect) had a side business selling the hallucinogens and other non-Zumiez sanctioned specialty items from the store, the sheriffs office said.

(The suspect) seemed pleased at the word of mouth marketing that yielded new customers of all ages, until he was handcuffed. (He) said he was selling mushrooms for about a year and decided to increase his base by selling them inside the store when he was working.

The 27-year-old suspect had been selling drugs from the store for a couple of months, officials said. The buyers were mostly tourists, but drug deals were also made with regular customers, officials said.

Buyers were able to connect with the suspect through Snapchat, the sheriffs office said.

The suspect, who lives in Port St. Lucie, was arrested at the store Sept. 1 and charged possession of a controlled substance without a prescription, and sale and distribution of narcotics, officials said.

Bags of meth were among the items you could buy at this Circle K, Florida cops say

Messy McDonalds customer left floor littered with $100 bills, Florida cops say

Dad uses heavy duty electric saw to kill his 16-year-old son, Florida cops say
MEMPHIS, Tenn.  A health fair is being held this weekend in an effort to address a health crisis within the Memphis community.

Charlie Caswell, Jr. of the Shelby County Board of Commissioners, Impact Baptist Church, and other community partners came together to establish the health fair, which will take place on Saturday.

The fair will feature health screenings for blood pressure, dental health, diabetes, and mobile mammography services.

Latest Top Stories

There will also be a cooking demo, fitness fun, vendors, free food, a kids corner, and giveaways.

It will be held at Impact Baptist Church & Ministries on 2025 Clifton Avenue and will start at 11:00 a.m. until 3:00 p.m.

For more information, contact Uwanda Tate at 901-488-0909 or at tateuwanda@gmail.com.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WREG.com.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy , arriving at the European Political Community Summit in Spain, rejected concerns about the further support of Ukraine by the United States.

Source: European Pravda

Details: When asked by the press whether he was worried about the news from the US on aid for Ukraine, Zelenskyy replied: "In Ukraine, we stopped worrying in the first days of the full-scale invasion. I think it's too late for us to worry."

The Ukrainian president said that during his visit to the USA, he heard assurances of Ukraine's full support from President Joe Biden .

Quote: "I was in Washington, I met with President Biden, I heard about the full support from the White House, and I also [heard] about bipartisan support in Congress."

Details: The Ukrainian president drew attention to the fact that there is a "difficult election period" in the US, which is why "different voices" are being heard, and some voices are "very strange".

"We will talk about it today," he said, referring to the meeting of European leaders in Granada.

Zelenskyy also called the preservation of European unity the biggest challenge at the moment and noted that he will speak at meetings on Thursday about the need to protect Ukrainian skies from future Russian attacks in winter.

Background: Last week, the US House of Representatives decided not to include further funding to support Ukraine in the interim government funding bill, and on Tuesday, it voted to remove Kevin McCarthy from the post of Speaker of the House.

Before the vote, the White House expressed confidence that, despite the situation with McCarthy's removal from office, Congress would be able to support additional funding for Ukraine's defence needs.

Ukrainska Pravda is the place where you will find the most up-to-date information about everything related to the war in Ukraine. Follow us on Twitter, support us, or become our patron!






Bakhmut sector

Heavy fighting continues in the Bakhmut sector near the railroad there, Illya Yevlash, head of the press service of the Eastern Grouping of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, said during the national telethon program on Oct. 5.

We are trying to push back the enemy and gain a foothold on the lines we have reached, Yevlash said.

Read also: Russian defenses stronger than West expected, admits UK defense chief

The enemy continues to fire at Ukrainian positions with various types of artillery, both barrel and rocket types. Over the past day, 489 attacks were recorded, including from tanks, mortars, LPG, RPG, and small arms.

Yevlash noted that ten combat engagements took place without success for the Russian troops. He said Ukrainian forces had managed to eliminate 178 enemy soldiers.

Ukrainian counteroffensive  The latest

A new phase of Ukraines counter-offensive is continuing, with the main thrust in the southeast, where Ukrainian forces were gradually advancing through minefields and under Russian airstrikes.

Read also: Ukraine has 6-8 weeks of favorable weather for counter-offensive, says White House

Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Valerii Zaluzhnyi, responding earlier to criticism of the slow pace of the counter-offensive, told U.S. officials that Ukrainian forces were on the verge of a breakthrough in the south, U.S. newspaper the Wall Street Journal reported on Aug. 24, citing an unnamed U.S. official.

Ukraines Defense Ministry confirmed the liberation of the village of Robotyne in Zaporizhzhya Oblast by the Ukrainian military on Aug. 28. Ukrainian forces have since been advancing further towards the Novodanylivka-Verbove area in southern Ukraine.

Now Ukrainian forces are moving further towards Novoprokopivka, Ocheretuvate, and have had success near Verbove.

Oleksandr Tarnavskyi, commander of the Tavria operational group in the southern part of the country, confirmed on Sept. 2 that Ukrainian forces had breached the first Russian defense line in Zaporizhzhya Oblast.

Read also: Russia deploys reserves to Zaporizhzhya front, taking heavy losses in fighting  Atesh

Ukrainian forces have also liberated part of the village of Opytne south of the front-line town of Avdiyivka in Donetsk Oblast, now former Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Malyar said on Sept. 11.

Ukrainian forces liberated Klishchiyivka near Bakhmut on Sept. 17.

A major breakthrough in the counter-offensive would begin if Ukrainian forces were to liberate Tokmak in Zaporizhzhya Oblast, Tarnavskyi has said.

Read also: Russia reinforces defenses around Tokmak amid Ukraines tactical penetrations of invaders first defensive line

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
Chinese policy bank steps up financial support for urban infrastructure

Xinhua) 10:39, October 05, 2023

BEIJING, Oct. 4 (Xinhua) -- China Development Bank (CDB), one of the country's policy banks, issued loans totaling more than 340 billion yuan (about 47.36 billion U.S. dollars) for the urban infrastructure sector in the first nine months of this year, providing strong support for the construction, renovation and intelligent upgrading of urban municipal and public facilities.

The CDB has integrated infrastructure, industrial facilities and supporting business service facilities to provide high-quality and efficient financial services for urban infrastructure construction.

It will step up support for urban infrastructure construction further in a market-based manner to help build livable, resilient and smart cities.

(Web editor: Zhang Wenjie, Hongyu)
(CNN)  Scientists have taken their first glimpse of a sample collected from the near-Earth asteroid Bennu  and stumbled upon a good bit more than they expected.

When they opened the canister containing the sample on September 26, the researchers discovered an abundance of dark, fine-grained material on the inside of the containers lid and base surrounding the mechanism used to collect the extraterrestrial rocks and soil. That unexpected debris could reveal key insights about the asteroid before the primary sample is analyzed.

The samples historic landing in the Utah desert September 24 marked the culmination of NASAs 7-year OSIRIS-Rex mission, which traveled to Bennu some 200 million miles (320 million kilometers) from Earth, touched down on the asteroid and then flew back by Earth for the sample drop. (Total trip distance: some 3.86 billion miles.)

The mission team whisked away the canister the day after its arrival to NASAs Johnson Space Center in Houston, which has a clean room specially built for careful analysis of the cosmic sample.

What the Bennu sample could reveal

Asteroids are remnants from the formation of the solar system, offering insights into what those chaotic, early days were like as the planets formed and settled into place. But near-Earth asteroids also pose a threat to our planet, so understanding their composition and orbits is key to unlocking the best ways to deflect space rocks on a collision course with Earth.

When OSIRIS-REx briefly used its TAGSAM, or Touch-and-Go Sample Acquisition Mechanism head, to disturb the surface of Bennu and collect a sample in October 2020, it gathered so much material that particles could be seen slowly drifting off into space before the head was stowed in the canister.

This led scientists to believe they might be able to do a quick analysis of any material they discovered upon opening the canister  and theres plenty of it before they even reach the bulk of the sample, located within the mechanism head, which means the scientists will need to take their time to collect all of the material.

The very best problem to have is that there is so much material, its taking longer than we expected to collect it, said Christopher Snead, deputy OSIRIS-REx curation lead, in a statement.

Theres a lot of abundant material outside the TAGSAM head thats interesting in its own right. Its really spectacular to have all that material there.

The actual asteroid sample wont be revealed until October 11 in a live NASA broadcast. The TAGSAM head will be moved to a new specialized glovebox for careful disassembly, unveiling the sample inside.

Meanwhile, the quick-look analysis of a sample taken from outside the TAGSAM head is underway, and it could offer initial findings from the material collected from Bennu.

We have all the microanalytical techniques that we can throw at this to really, really tear it apart, almost down to the atomic scale, said Lindsay Keller, OSIRIS-REx sample analysis team member, in a statement.

The team will use scanning electron microscopes, X-rays and infrared instruments for a first examination of the material collected from Bennu.

Together, the instruments will provide scientists with an understanding of the samples chemical composition, detect any hydrated minerals or organic particles, and reveal any abundance of specific types of minerals present on the asteroid.

Youve got really top-notch people and instruments and facilities that are going to be hitting these samples, Keller said.

The initial analysis will help researchers have a better idea of what to expect from the bulk sample collected from Bennu.

Scientists believe that asteroids like Bennu might have delivered necessary elements such as water to Earth early in our planets formation  and studying the pristine sample could answer lingering questions about the origins of our solar system.

Meanwhile, the spacecraft that delivered the sample, now named OSIRIS-APEX, is on its way to study the near-Earth asteroid Apophis, which will come close enough to Earth in 2029 to be seen by the naked eye.

This story was first published on CNN.com, Pleasant surprise greets scientists opening asteroid sample dropped from space"
MOORE, Okla. (KFOR)  Baby Penelope Grace died of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) in her sleep on Fathers Day, 2016.

She was just six months old.

Penelope Graceshe passed away Fathers Day morning. I woke up and found her and the house went into a panic [but] there was nothing we could do about it, said her dad, Jacoby Gonzales.

I knew right away [that she was dead] as soon as I touched her, she just felt really cold, he added.

LOCAL NEWS: OSDH provides safe sleeping tips for your baby

Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) commonly refers to a sudden, unexplained death of a baby younger than one year of age.

While infant mortality has declined overall, according to the Oklahoma State Department of Health (OSDH), Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) is still one of the top three causes of infant deaths in the state.

Being a new dad I didnt know any of the safe sleeping habits, Jacoby said Wednesday in an interview with KFOR.

You never think its going to happen to you until it actually happens I never thought it was going to happen to me.

Searching for peace of mind and a way to remember Penelope led to fundraising.

We knew we wanted to do something to help other families so they wouldnt have to go through this, Kristen said.

That effort started with a penny and grew into The Penny Project Foundation.

Learn more about the organization here.

Jacoby came up with the idea to collect pennies in a jar. Thats how it started. Wed take jars to local businesses and people would donate, Kristen said, adding that the money went to various charities and related partnerships.

Today, the mission has grown to raise awareness of SIDS and education others on safe infant sleep.

A lot of people think that SIDS is just the baby suffocated in a blanket or a baby choked [but] its not always the case, added Kristen.

We knew we wanted to do something to help other families so they wouldnt have to go through this.

The non-profit established a partnership with Owlet Dream Sock, a predictive sleep tool that allows parents track sleep patterns, and more.

The companys technology was cleared by the FDA in June.

LOCAL NEWS: Man worried after receiving random credit cards through the mail

Through donations, the foundation is able to provide parents in need with Owlet Dream Socks for babies and infants to help minimize the loss of infants due to SIDS.

We keep up with so many of the babies we send socks to [and] I love to see their journey, said Kristen, adding that they have been able to help families in fifteen states, so far.

For every Dream Sock purchased through the Penny Project Foundation, the couple said Owlet will donate two additional Dream Socks, allowing the organization to reach many more families.

[We are] taking this tragedy that we went through, and [turning it] into something to help save so many other babies, Kristen said.

People all over the nation reach out to us all the time. If we can keep people from losing a baby and going through something like this, its a really big deal, added Jacoby.

The couple is hosting The Penny Project Gala, with a dinner show and silent auction on October 19th to help raise money for the organization.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KFOR.com Oklahoma City.
The Memphis Walk will take place on Saturday, October 7th, 2023, at Fourth Bluff Park. The Walk is an awareness campaign designed to increase the life expectancy of African American men by reducing disparities in premature death and chronic diseases.

The 2023 Memphis African American Male Wellness 5K Walk & Run is open to the public. Participants can register on the day of the event or online at memphis.aawellness.org. Join them as they work towards closing the health equity gap.

About AAMWA

Established in 2004, the African American Wellness Agency (AAMWA) increases the life expectancy of African American men by reducing disparities in premature death and chronic diseases. Across the country, The AAMWA leads the conversation in dismantling the imbalances that exist in African American mens preventative health and well care. The organization embraces an expanded focus into six core areas including health, fatherhood, financial wellness, mental health, mentorship, and research.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WREG.com.
Walter Tunis, the Lexington Herald-Leader music critic with over 40 years of experience, has won the media award in the Governors Awards in the Arts, the Kentucky Arts Council announced Wednesday.

Tunis was one of nine individuals in Kentucky to win an award. The Governors Awards in the Arts recognizes individuals across multiple artistic categories.

It gives me great pride to honor these talented artists who show such dedication to sharing the arts with Kentuckians across our commonwealth, Gov. Andy Beshear said in a news release. This years honorees have made integral contributions to Kentuckys thriving arts industry. I want to thank all of these artists for bringing the stories of Kentuckians to life, and ensuring those stories live on for generations to come.

Tunis has been a music critic contributor to the Herald-Leader for nearly 43 years. The Kentucky Arts Council said he began writing in high school and continued his passion through college until he began at the Herald-Leader.

In November 2020 he celebrated his 40-year anniversary, highlighting some of his favorite encounters during his illustrious career. In 2018, he wrote the introductory notes for the 2018 Eagles compendium Legacy.

Like most people, awards are never of serious concern until they happen. Now that I have been informed of this honor, I can honestly say it brings a nice sense of appreciation and acknowledgment, Tunis told the Kentucky Arts Council. That it comes from the state that has been my lifelong home enhances that feeling. That it comes from a governor whom I have great admiration and respect for makes it even more special.

Tunis previously said he writes from the viewpoint of an audience member, as hes not a musician.

In the four decades since then, what I have learned from the music created either by Kentuckians or esteemed guests visiting our region, has been immeasurable, Tunis previously said.

Two other Fayette County artists were also among the award winners. Tee Dee Young won the Folk Heritage Award and Ada Limon won the National Award. Dan Neil Barnes of Scott County won the Artist Award.

The Kentucky Arts Council described Young as a blues legend in his own time. He started playing guitar at 13 years old and has been performing for 54 years.

Limon writes and teaches remotely, and shes also the current U.S. Poet Laureate. She is the author of poetry books, including The Carrying, the National Book Critics Circle Award winner for Poetry.

Limon was recently named one of 20 MacArthur Foundation Fellows. Often called Genius Grants, the prize comes with an $800,000 award for artists, writers, scientists, urban planners and other standouts to continue their work.

Barnes work has been featured in the Owensboro Convention Center, Field & Main Bank in Lexington, the Sloan Convention Center in Bowling Green, the University of Wisconsin campus and hospitals in both Lexington and Louisville, according to the Kentucky Arts Council. He also designed the 2006 Governors Awards in the Arts.

All award winners will be honored during an Oct. 13 ceremony at the Lyric Theatre & Cultural Arts Center. The awards were specially created by Jefferson County paper mosaic artist Sebastian Duverge, who was commissioned by the Kentucky Arts Council to make the awards.
Roofing hung off a strip mall in west Fort Worth on Thursday morning and shingles and twisted metal lay strewn around a nearby car dealership.

The damaged businesses are some of the casualties from Wednesday nights severe thunderstorms. Strong winds and large hail swept through North Texas, felling trees and leaving more than 50,000 customers without power. Hail as big as pingpong and golf balls fell in some areas and heavy rain dropped on Dallas-Fort Worth, prompting flash flood warnings.

In Depth Tattoo Studio at 8341 Camp Bowie W Blvd. is part of the strip mall that experienced significant roof damage. An employee told Star-Telegram media partner WFAA-TV that he was inside the tattoo studio when water started pouring in.

I didnt know if it was gonna stop or if it was a big tornado and it was just gonna keep going, the employee said to WFAA. The way it felt like, it was gonna be a never-ending storm.

No injuries were reported at the strip mall. A video from WFAA shows roofing hanging from the building and debris scattered in the wet parking lot. At least part of the roof landed on a nearby car dealership.

Edward Andrews, owner of Special Touch Auto Sales, looks at damage to his vehicles on Thursday, October 5, 2023, after severe thunderstorms swept through the area Wednesday evening in Fort Worth. A roof ripped off a nearby shopping center landed onto the car lot.

Edward Andrews, the owner of Special Touch Auto Sales, stood in the parking lot Thursday morning inspecting the damaged vehicles. Roofing debris from the strip mall decorated some of the vehicles and many of them had broken windows. Bits of shingles and torn metal lay on the ground.

>> BREAKING NEWS <<

Today's other top stories in Fort Worth:

 Thousands without power after Wednesday storms

 Carla Walker's 1974 murder: Her killer has died

 Ex-Fort Worth cop fights for compensation after prison

Get free alerts when news breaks.

Andrews was not immediately available for comment.

A block from the car dealership, residents were dealing with downed trees. Dawn Worthy told the Star-Telegram that a tree in her back yard fell on part of her house.

A neighbors tree also fell after it was struck by lightning, she said, and part of it landed in Worthys front yard. The other part fell on her neighbors vehicle.

Xinghe Qu, a 25-year Fort Worth resident, talks with a roofing company on the phone after a large tree fell on to his roof due to strong winds in a heavy thunderstorm the night before on the 3500 block of Valencia Court in Fort Worth on Thursday, Oct. 5, 2023.

Ive lived here for 30-something years and we have never had anything like [this], Worthy told the Star-Telegram.

A spokesperson for the National Weather Service said there were no confirmed tornadoes from the storms, despite warnings in Dallas and Ellis counties, and that straight line winds were responsible for much of the damage in the area.

A large tree split and fell on top of a parked car after being struck by lightning in the heavy thunderstorm the night before on the 3500 block of Valencia Court in Fort Worth on Thursday, Oct. 5, 2023.

A large tree fell on to the roof of Xinghe Qus house due to strong winds in a heavy thunderstorm the night before on the 3500 block of Valencia Court in Fort Worth on Thursday, Oct. 5, 2023. Qu said he has lived in this house for around 25 years and has never experienced a storm this strong.

The National Weather Service reported wind gusts over 70 mph in western Tarrant County and large trees down in areas including White Settlement.

White Settlement Police Chief Chris Cook told the Star-Telegram that high winds tore up several awnings at an RV park and downed power poles and about two dozen trees in the city. No injuries were reported, and most of the damage was along North Cherry Lane.

The White Settlement police station also lost power for time Wednesday night, Cook said, but 911 calls were not affected.

Chris Torres contributed to this report.
Catch an all-new episode of The Hill with April Ryan every Thursday on theGrio.com and theGrios social media platforms.

On the latest episode of The Hill with April Ryan, host and theGrios White House correspondent and Washington bureau chief, April D. Ryan, breaks down the latest on Capitol Hill as House Republicans navigate what the White House has called chaos to determine who will be their next House speaker.

Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., successfully moved to vacate Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., from the top post in the House of Representatives. In the meantime, without a speaker, doubts emerge Republicans will be able to coalesce around a new leader as time winds down before another threat of a government shutdown.

Meanwhile, Rev. Al Sharpton is calling on the U.S. Department of Justice to look into a civil rights lawsuit against conservative litigant Edward Blum, who led a lawsuit against the co-founders of the Fearless Fund, a venture capital firm that awards grants to women of color entrepreneurs.

Sharpton told theGrio he would like to see the DOJ join in whatever legal strategy the co-founders of the Fearless Fund come through with, including filing a letter supporting their appeal. The civil rights icon said, Either way, it is a high hill to climb.

This is as much a civil issue.. as it is a political issue, said the head of the National Action Network.

Sharptons new effort comes after a setback in an Atlanta court, where a judge panel ruled 2-1 to temporarily block the Fearless Funds $20,000 grant for Black women-owned businesses.

This week also marks Banned Books Week, which is being celebrated across the country in support of books by Black authors who have been banned in recent months due to censorship in schools and libraries led by Republican elected officials.

TheGrio delved into the concept of why Black books matter and some solutions for Black America in this climate, including using said banned books as teaching materials.

The DC-based bookstore chain Mahogany Books owner talked with theGrio about the efforts.

A copy of the often-banned book All Boys Arent Blue, a memoir by George M. Johnson. (Adobe Stock Images)

Ramunda Young, who co-owns the bookstores with her husband, said, We deserve to know how great we were. We deserve to know the places that weve come from and where we are going to, and that impacts us on every level mentally, emotionally and spiritually.

Bishop Vashti McKenzie, president of the National Council of Churches, is calling for Sunday school programs at Black churches to fill in the gap when it comes to the national bans of Black books.

McKenzie, who was named the first Black woman bishop in the African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church, told theGrio, We have the right to read, the right to learn and the right to write.

If our local congregations add Black history to their Sunday School curriculum, their bible studywe can flip the script, she argued. The spiritual leader believes this approach would even lead many Black authors to make it to the New York Times best-selling lists.

Catch an all-new episode of The Hill with April Ryan every Thursday on theGrio.com and theGrios social media platforms.

TheGrio is FREE on your TV via Apple TV, Amazon Fire, Roku, and Android TV. Please download theGrio mobile apps today!

The post The Hill with April Ryan dives into Republican chaos and Black book bans appeared first on TheGrio.
Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton (D) doesnt appear to be rooting for Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) to become the next House Speaker.

He is one of the principal ringleaders of the circus thats been created in the Republican Party for the last several years, Clinton said when asked by CNNs Christiane Amanpour about Jordan possibly getting the Speakership.

Clinton and Jordan have an antagonistic history with each other, with Jordan once accusing Clinton of blaming the 2012 terrorist attacks in Benghazi on a protest sparked by an anti-Islamic film on YouTube, which painted Islamic prophet Muhammad as a violent child molester.

Theres no evidence for a spontaneous protest, Jordan told Clinton during a 2015 House Select Committee on Benghazi hearing. You picked the video as the narrative. Where did it originate? It originated with you.

Clinton reflected on that history briefly in her interview with Amanpour.

I watched him and, you know, stared at him for 11 hours while he made stuff up about me, so I dont know him, but Ive seen him in action, Clinton said.

The office of the Speaker of the House has been vacant since the Tuesday vote that removed Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) from the seat, though Rep. Patrick McHenry (R-N.C.) is currently serving as Speaker pro tempore.

Jordan entered the race for Speaker alongside House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) on Wednesday. Jordan has received endorsements from colleagues including Reps. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) and Jim Banks (R-Ind.).

We are at a critical crossroad in our nations history. Now is the time for our Republican conference to come together to keep our promises to Americans. The problems we face are challenging, but they are not insurmountable. We can focus on the changes that improve the country and unite us in offering real solutions. But no matter what we do, we must do it together as a conference, Jordan wrote in a dear colleague letter.

I respectfully ask for your support for Speaker of the House of Representative, the Ohio Republican continued.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
An Afghan woman carries canisters to fetch drinking water in Jalalabad on October 4, 2023 (Shafiullah KAKAR)

A group of high-profile activists including Hillary Clinton, Malala Yousafzai and Gloria Steinem have signed a call for the United Nations to criminalize gender apartheid, according to a letter sent to member states Thursday.

The letter, which is also signed by some of Afghanistan's most prominent rights activists, comes as the international community grapples with how to hold the Taliban government accountable for its grave abuses against Afghan women.

"The failure to codify gender apartheid perpetuates an accountability vacuum that leaves many victims and survivors without remedy or reparation," the letter, which is spearheaded by the Atlantic Council and the Global Justice Center, states.

"The Taliban's ever deepening and institutionalized oppression of Afghan women and girls is a case in point. The codification of gender apartheid will assist victims and survivors holding perpetrators to account for the totality of crimes committed against them."

The letter, seen by AFP, urges UN member states to amend a draft crimes against humanity treaty to include gender apartheid.

There will be a general debate on the treaty next week, and member states have until 2024 to submit written comments.

Some high-level UN representatives, including Secretary General Antonio Guterres, have already labelled the situation in Afghanistan as "gender-based apartheid", but the term is not currently recognized among the worst international crimes.

The draft treaty does cover apartheid -- but only based on race.

"Codifying gender apartheid in the draft treaty does not require the creation of a completely new and separate crime; it only involves inserting gender into the definition," the letter states.

Since ousting the Western-backed government in 2021, the Taliban authorities have imposed their austere version of Islamic law, barring girls from secondary school, pushing women out of many government jobs, preventing them from travelling without a male relative and ordering them to cover up outside the home.

Among the high-profile Nobel laureates, diplomats, politicians, international criminal law experts and rights activists signing the call is Fawzia Koofi, a member of parliament in the previous internationally-backed Kabul government.

"It's a systematic erasure of women from the social, political spheres of Afghanistan, from the economic spheres of Afghanistan," she told AFP.

The UN making gender apartheid an international crime would throw up a "legal barrier" protecting women's rights -- though, she added, it was not only those rights at stake.

"It's about the security of Afghanistan. It's about the economy of Afghanistan. And it's about the next generation ... How are we going to expect Afghanistan to have a future and prosperity when women's breathing is being controlled?" she said.

The letter comes after the head of UN Women, Sima Bahous, also urged the Security Council last month to criminalize gender apartheid.

"The tools the international community has at its disposal were not created to respond to mass, state-sponsored gender oppression," she told the Council.

"This systematic and planned assault on women's rights is foundational to the Taliban's vision of state and society and it must be named, defined, and proscribed in our global norms, so that we can respond appropriately."

bur-st/mdl
Religiously unaffiliated Americans and Hispanic Catholics are the most likely religious groups to acknowledge climate change is caused by human activity, with Latter-day Saints and white evangelical Protestants the only groups where a majority does not, according to a survey from the Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI).

The survey indicated that among both unaffiliated Americans and Hispanic Catholics, 76 percent acknowledge human-caused climate change, followed by religious Americans who are neither Christian nor Jewish at 70 percent. Sixty-seven percent of American Jews acknowledge it, followed by Hispanic Protestants at 61 percent, Black Protestants at 59 percent and white Catholics at 56 percent.

Pollsters also found that 54 percent of white mainline Protestants said the same, followed by 48 percent of Latter-day Saints and 31 percent of white evangelical Protestants. Nineteen percent of white evangelical Protestants said there was no evidence the climate is changing at all.

Meanwhile, the survey found that 61 percent of Americans overall believe human behavior is causing climate change. Eighty-three percent of Democrats said the same, compared to 64 percent of independents and 28 percent of Republicans. GOP candidates for president in 2024 have minimized or outright denied the existence of climate change, with the front-runner, former president Donald Trump, repeatedly falsely claiming its a hoax.

Religious leaders of various faiths have called the climate crisis a moral responsibility, from Pope Francis to the National Association of Evangelicals, but this has not always translated to the sentiment being widely adopted within those faiths.

The survey found broad support for the idea of a religious obligation to be good stewards of the planet, even among those groups less likely to acknowledge climate change. Among Latter-day Saints and white evangelical Protestants, the least likely groups to acknowledge human-caused climate change, more than 80 percent said its extremely or very important to them to act as stewards of the Earth. The same held true for 80 percent of Black Protestants, 78 percent of Hispanic Catholics, 76 percent of Hispanic Protestants, 73 percent of other nonwhite Protestants, 63 percent of white mainline Protestants and 56 percent of white Catholics.

The survey comes after several months smashed their own heat records, and data from the European Unions Copernicus Climate Change Service indicates that 2023 is on track to be the hottest year ever recorded.

Pollsters surveyed 5,192 American adults from Ipsos Knowledge Panel as well as another 348 people, from June 8-28. The survey has a 1.62 percent margin of error.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
A poll of likely Marion County voters shows Democratic Mayor Joe Hogsett with a significant lead in the upcoming election.

Indy Politics and Crossroads Public Affairs contracted Illinois-based political consulting firm ARW Strategies to conduct the poll of 400 likely voters between Sept. 24-25. The results showed 47% said theyd vote for Hogsett, 37% for Republican Jefferson Shreve and 16% were undecided.

The poll had a margin of error of 4.9%.

Indy Politics is operated by political commentator Abdul-Hakim Shabazz, who unsuccessfully ran for mayor as a Republican in the primary.

The poll also showed:

46% said they approved of the job Hogsett is doing and 47% said they disapproved

39% said they believed Shreve would be more effective dealing with crime while 37% said Hogsett would be

40% said they believed Hogsett would be more effective dealing with gun violence while 36% said Shreve would be

The poll demonstrates that neither Hogsett nor Shreve has definitively won on the issue of crime in voters' minds, University of Indianapolis political expert Laura Wilson said, despite crime and gun violence dominating campaign ads and emerging as a top community concern this election cycle.

"It seems partisanship will be the deciding factor in this race," Wilson said.

Indianapolis mayoral election 2023: High homicides, police shootings worry voters as Hogsett and Shreve bid for mayor

Hogsett and Shreve respond

Blake Hesch, campaign manager for Hogsett, wrote in a statement that Hogsett is dedicated to making the city safer by reducing violent crime, delivering a $1.2 billion infrastructure plan to enhance roads, bridges, and sidewalks, and investing in neighborhoods to foster progress and unity.

"The only poll that matters is the one on Election Day, and we eagerly anticipate the opportunity to earn the support of our community as Mayor Joe continues to move Indianapolis forward," Hesch said.

Shreve's campaign manager, Matt Organ, said that the poll shows voters do not think Hogsett has gotten the job done.

"Democrats have a strong partisan advantage in Indianapolis and yet the poll shows Hogsett is under-performing with even his own base," Organ said. "Actions speak louder than election-year promises. Joe Hogsett and his campaign have spent millions running half-truth attack ads demonizing Jefferson Shreve, but the poll shows the ads aren't working. Voters are hungry for a change."

The election is on Nov. 7. Early voting begins Oct. 11.

Contact IndyStar reporter Ko Lyn Cheang at kcheang@indystar.com or 317-903-7071. Follow her on Twitter: @kolyn_cheang.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Indianapolis mayoral election 2023: Poll shows Hogsett ahead of Shreve
The 2023 wildfire season has been one for the history books in the United States, particularly in Washington state. Its been so bad that a new study from Climate Central, a nonprofit that reports on climate issues, found that the average United States citizen has breathed in more harmful wildfire smoke this year than in any year since 2006.

Washington state went backwards in terms of advances over the last two decades in air quality improvement, as did Oregon and California.

Wildfires from around the Evergreen State and British Columbia, Canada, choked Washington in a thick haze earlier this summer, and fires continue to burn around the state, including in Mount Baker National Forest and Olympic National Park. At one point, the wildfires in the Pacific Northwest were so intense that a smoky haze was pushed by winds all the way to the Midwest.

U.S. residents have been exposed to wildfire smoke more than any other year since 2006.

What makes wildfire smoke harmful?

Something called fine particulate matter exists within wildfire smoke; the smoke that can be spotted in the air is classified as PM 2.5. This type of particular matter is about 2.5 micrometers in size  less than 5% the width of a human hair  and is only visible when clumped, such as in wildfire smoke.

A study published by the governmental website AirNow discovered that wildfires contribute 15 to 30% of atmospheric primary fine particulate matter emissions in the United States.

When PM 2.5 is inhaled, the tiny particles can make their way into the bloodstream and lungs, causing effects from minor irritation to cardiovascular and respiratory illnesses. A recent study from Stanford researchers also found that inhaling wildfire smoke corresponds to lower test scores for students aged 8-14.

PM 2.5 can make its way into the bloodstream and lungs, causing effects from minor irritation to cardiovascular and respiratory illnesses.

But its not just wildfires that produce PM 2.5. Wood-burning fireplaces act as a mini-wildfire, and the resulting smoke can pose the same health risks as a wildfire.

Nothing is stopping Washington state residents from enjoying a warm wood-burning fire in their homes, but there are limits to how thick chimney smoke can be.

Heres what to know about Washingtons chimney laws and when and how you can report someone for burning smoke too thickly from their chimney.

Chimney smoke guidelines in WA

As more research is done and more is discovered about air quality and its importance, updated regulations have emerged. Washington state law specifies how opaque chimney smoke can be, and that violating these guidelines can lead to fines.

According to the Washington Administrative Code, you cannot cause smoke from any solid fuel burning device with an average of 20% opacity for six consecutive minutes in an hour.

In Washington its illegal to have smoke billowing at more than 20% opacity for more than six minutes in an hour.

On top of air quality fines, you could also face nuisance claims.

It is always illegal to smoke out your neighbor, says the Puget Sound Clean Air Agency website. Everyone has a right to breathe clean air. If smoke from your fire affects your neighbors, it is considered a nuisance and subject to law enforcement action.

If youre burning a wood fire, there are certain steps you can take to ensure the least impact on air quality. These include:

Consider incorporating the use of manufactured logs into your routine (up to 70% cleaner)

Use only dry, seasoned cordwood with less than 20% moisture

Burn small, hot fires with small kindling to start and plenty of air

Check fires periodically for smoke impacts

Make sure you are following the states guidelines on wood burning stoves

How to report neighbors smoke

If you observe excessive chimney smoke, report it to your local clean air agency. Start by taking a photograph of the chimney smoke.

If you live in Benton County, report concerns to the Benton Clean Air Agency by calling 509-783-1304, extension 1, or by emailing contact@bentoncleanair.org. Include your name, address and phone number with the complaint summary and information about where the issue occurs and who lives there.

If you live in Franklin County, report concerns to the Washington Department of Ecology Eastern Region by calling 509-329-3400, filling out an online report here, or emailing eroertscoordinator@ecy.wa.gov.
(CNN)  Italian authorities were on Wednesday investigating the cause of a horrific bus crash near Venice that killed at least 21 people including two children.

A spokesperson for the Italian fire brigade told CNN that authorities had yet to find the cause of Tuesdays crash in Mestre that was described as an apocalyptic scene.

RAI reported that the 40-year-old bus driver, identified as Alberto Rizzotto, was among the dead, while 18 people were also injured.

Italys fire services said they would consider whether the buss battery may have caused the fire to spread more rapidly after it overheated.

According to the company website of the bus operator, the bus was electric-powered.

The provincial fire brigade commander, Mauro Lungo explained batteries experience critical issues when they overheat, CNN affiliate Sky TG24 reported Wednesday.

According to Lungo, concerns about the battery slowed down the rescue operation on Tuesday. Meanwhile the Venice public prosecutor has opened an investigation into the crash.

A representative for the prosecutors office told CNN the head prosecutor for the Venice municipality, Bruno Cherchi, is leading the investigation into the incident in Mestre.

Video recently delivered to investigators is being examined to determine if any other vehicles were involved in the incident or if the driver suffered a health issue, the spokesperson said.

The bus was traveling from Venice to nearby Marghera and was full of people returning home from work, Venice mayor Luigi Brugnaro told state media RAI.

It completely went off the road, it flew off the bridge. It was a bus; it was a highway. We are in mourning, he added. Brugnaro described the scene as apocalyptic in a post on Facebook.

The accident occurred on the overpass of a road that leads from Mestre to Marghera and the A4 motorway, Italian media skytg24 reported.

For reasons that have yet to be determined, the bus broke through a wall of the overpass, falling between a warehouse and the tracks of the Mestre station below, according to skytg24.

Massimo Fiorese, the head of the company that operates the bus, said he had seen footage of the moments prior to the crash.

The video showed the single-decker bus slowing down and appearing almost stationary before crashing through the guardrail and toppling over, he told Italys Corriere della Sera newspaper, according to Reuters.

On Wednesday morning, the Italian Senate, which is the upper house of the parliament, held a minute of silence for the victims of the crash, its feed on X said.

The countrys president and prime minister expressed their condolences in the aftermath of the accident as did other world leaders.

I express my personal and the Governments deepest condolences for the serious accident that occurred in Mestre. Our thoughts go out to the victims and their family and friends, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni wrote on X.

French President Emmanuel Macron said thoughts this evening are with the Italian people, with the families and loved ones of the victims of the terrible tragedy in Venice in a post on X.

I am deeply saddened by the terrible accident of a bus in Mestre this evening. I offer my deepest condolences to the families and loved ones of the victims at this sad time. Im close to you, President of the European Council, Charles Michel, wrote on X.

This story was first published on CNN.com, Italian authorities investigate Venice bus crash that killed at least 21 people"
In August, one Redditor asked for advice about the incredible damage they said a neighbors fallen tree did to their yard.

Trees put clean, breathable oxygen into the atmosphere, cool the ground below them, and raise property values, so its not surprising that a homeowner would get attached. However, trees growing near homes also need proper care  and, at the end of their lives, they need to be removed.

According to this Redditor, their neighbor neglected that duty. Neighbors diseased/dead tree fell onto property, they explained in their post. They were aware the tree had issues.

According to the Redditor, they were posting on behalf of their father, the property owner. At the beginning of July, a storm came through and knocked our neighbors tree down onto our property, they claimed. This resulted in our fence, deck, pool, and a portion of the garages roof [being] damaged and smashed.

They werent the only home affected; another neighbor had their siding and power lines damaged.

According to the original poster, the damages totaled at least $30,000 to $40,000. Our homeowners insurance wont cover the full bill, despite claiming at the beginning they would do so, they said.

I know in some cases like this, its considered an act of God to most insurance companies, the Redditor continued. But I feel this is a bit different. Apparently, the trees owner had hired an arborist a full seven years earlier to assess the tree and was informed that it was being killed by fungus.

Despite that report  which was given to both the tree owner and the original posters family  the neighbor refused to take the tree down until it fell naturally. Were trying to get her insurance to cover the remaining cost of the damages, but we fear we may need to get a lawyer/attorney involved, the original poster said.

Any time someone elses property causes tens of thousands of dollars of damages to your own property, yes, you need a lawyer, said one user.

Honestly, your insurance company should be the one handling the lawyer, another commenter added. They pay you and then sue your neighbors insurance.

Join our free newsletter for easy tips to save more, waste less, and help yourself while helping the planet.
The ouster of Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) as Speaker is throwing the future of U.S. aid for Ukraine in the air.

The assistance had already faced a tough path to passage, as more Republicans have come out in opposition to additional aid. But as the race to replace McCarthy heats up, the road ahead has only become rockier.

It was clearly a challenge before, but we were going to get it done, Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said Wednesday. It really depends on exactly what emerges from this next round for Speaker.

While no clear front-runner has emerged in the Speakership race yet, buzz has been building around candidates to fill the empty chair  and their position on further aid to Ukraine.

Rep. Kevin Hern (R-Okla.), who heads the biggest conservative caucus in the House and is a possible contender, wouldnt commit to bringing aid for Ukraine to the floor if elected Speaker, in remarks to reporters Wednesday.

I think that the commander in chief ought to sit down in a classified setting and tell those of us that have not supported for the same reason, time and time again, he said. We want to know where the American taxpayer dollars are going and whats the endgame.

Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, also drew attention for saying he was against moving forward on Ukraine aid after announcing his bid for Speaker.

Im against that, he said Wednesday, adding: The most pressing issue on Americans minds is not Ukraine. Its the border situation, and its crime on the streets.

However, others shared different accounts not long after.

Thats not what he told us, House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul (R-Texas) said of Jordan. He told us that it would be something that we would deal with, but we want the border security, that piece first, and that would have to be part of the negotiation.

In a later comment to The Hill, Jordans office said its position on aid hasnt changed wants know what the mission is and how the money is being spent, when pressed on his support for further assistance.

The back-and-forth comes as more Republicans raise scrutiny over the next round of U.S. assistance.

Hern and Jordan were among a group of more than 100 Republicans who voted against $300 million of aid for Ukraine that was supported by McCarthy and House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.), who also announced his Speakership bid Wednesday.

Its not clear exactly where Scalise lands on Ukraine at the moment, but he is being favorably considered by Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.), the lawmaker who brought forward the motion to oust McCarthy.

A report card on Ukraine support from Defending Democracy Together awarded Scalise a B on the issue, while both Jordan and Hern have earned an F.

Regardless of their personal position, any new Speaker will face the same dynamics as McCarthy did. Far-right lawmakers, who are generally united against Ukraine aid, hold sway in the conference and are expected to keep up their resistance.

The Ukraine skepticism is also in line with a chunk of Republican voters, who were found less likely to support economic or arms assistance for Kyiv in a poll released by the Chicago Council on Global Affairs Wednesday. Only 47 percent of Republicans supported additional military aid to Ukraine compared to 77 percent of Democrats.

Thats the historical trend in the West, that we get war fatigue, and thats what we got to fight against, because thats exactly part of Vladimir Putin playbook, Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.) told The Hill.

Republican supporters in both chambers say aid is critical to national security and defeating Russian aggression, while also warning a Russian victory could embolden China to move against Taiwan.

I understand there are some hard-liners that really do want to put their foot down on Ukraine aid, that it is a national security issue, Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), a member of GOP leadership, said Wednesday. If we can defeat the Russians, through the Ukrainians, thats better for our country.

The clock is running out to get more security assistance to Ukraine, as the available money for the Pentagon to spend in the war is swiftly running out.

The Defense Department this week urged Congress to act as money has entirely run out to purchase weapons from the defense industry for Ukraine and there is $5.4 billion left to pull from Defense Department stocks, plus $1.6 billion to replenish U.S. inventory.

Pentagon deputy press secretary Sabrina Singh said the U.S. can support Ukraine for just a little bit longer.

We need Congress to act to ensure there is no disruption in our support, she said at a Tuesday briefing.

Ukraine, which will need more funding to keep its counteroffensive going, is also engaging with the candidates for next House Speaker, according to Ukrainian Ambassador to the U.S. Oksana Markarova.

As opposition to further aid grows in the House GOP conference, supporters in both chambers say the Senate is likely to take the lead in moving additional assistance.

Pressed on his strategy for moving the aid, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) told reporters Wednesday that he thinks its important and its still a major priority.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) also told reporters Wednesday that he and McConnell are working to get another round of assistance across the finish line.

Ive spoken to Leader McConnell, were going to work together to get a big package done, he said, adding, We have large bipartisan majorities and aid for Ukraine and were going to work to get that done.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
HOUSTON - Fall is usually a time of transition and things are definitely changing this week for Houston!

Thursday is expected to be another busy weather day across southeast Texas as our first fall cold front comes rolling in from the NW. We have already had several rounds of rain this week that has led to some drought relief but also some areas of flooding. In fact, parts of south central Brazoria County have picked up nearly 10 inches of rain over the last two days!

Widespread flooding was reported in Freeport early Wednesday afternoon and areas near Bay City in Matagorda County have picked up around 7-8 inches of rain over the last few days. Houston has racked up around 2-3 inches of rain since Tuesday which will certainly help with the drought conditions. Houston and surrounding areas remain in extreme to exceptional drought with an updated drought monitor set to arrive Thursday morning. There will likely be improvements with all of the recent rain.

Here's the expected timing for Thursday's big rain event. Look for widespread rain to roll into Houston likely around 6-8 a.m. Thursday and stick around through the early - mid afternoon.

Best chance for rain is likely from 7 a.m. until 3 p.m. Thursday.

Rain should gradually fade by evening. An additional 1-2 inches of rain is possible with isolated higher amounts.

A few showers may linger Friday, but cooler and drier air arrives just in time for your weekend plans! You may even pull out the long sleeves or light jacket this weekend with temperatures in the 50s likely Sunday and Monday morning! Make your weekend outdoor plans so that you can enjoy this first real taste of fall! But stay alert Thursday morning and afternoon for heavy rain that could cause some flooding issues!
The Hungarian-born scientist Ferenc Krausz , who was one of the three joint winners of the Nobel Prize in Physics awarded on Oct. 3, said that he plans to donate the prize money to a charity he founded last year to help Ukraine.

The day he won the Nobel Prize, Krauz told Deutschlandfunk Radio that he continues to donate any prize money he wins to Science4People, an organization he set up in response to Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Science4People partners with Ukrainian non-profits to provide learning opportunities to schoolchildren and works internationally to help Ukrainian students access higher education for free.

Krausz, who is the director of the Max Planck Institute for Quantum Optics in Germany, was awarded the Nobel Prize along with Pierre Agostini and Anne L'Huillier for their research into attosecond physics.

The three scientists will share a prize worth 11 million Swedish krona ($990,400).

Krausz said that over the last year, he has donated money won from prizes, such as from the Frontiers of Knowledge Award he received in February 2023, to Science4People.

Read also: Nobel Foundation bars Russia, Belarus, Iran envoys from award ceremony in Sweden

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With its popular and well-regarded Ioniq lineup, Hyundai has been conspicuously absent from the list of major automakers signing on to use Tesla's North America Charging Standard (NACS). Now, the Korean automaker has announced that it has reached a deal to adopt NACS in North America starting in Q4 2024 in the US, with Canada to follow in the first half of 2025.

Hyundai's EVs with a NACS port will gain access to more than 12,000 Superchargers across North America, doubling the number of DC fast chargers available to customers. "This new alliance will provide Hyundai EV owners confidence in their ability to conveniently charge their vehicles... with at least 30,000 stations across North America," said Hyundai Motor North America CEO Jose Munoz.

Upcoming Hyundai EVs equipped with NACs, including the Ioniq 5, Ioniq 6 and upcoming Ioniq 7, will gain access to the chargers in late 2024. New and older CCS charger-equipped vehicles will be able to use them in the first quarter of 2025, the company said.

Along with access to Tesla's network, Hyundai is teaming up with BMW, GM, Honda, Hyundai and Mercedes to develop a North American network with at least 30,000 chargers. The first US stations are set to open in the summer of 2024, with chargers in Canada following at a later date.

The lack of fast chargers has been a high hurdle for EV adoption, so most automakers have looked at Tesla as at least a stopgap solution. Hyundai Motors (including Kia) recently overtook GM for second place in US EV sales, but it's still a distant second to Tesla, which sold 300,000 more EVs last year.

So far, major automakers that have now signed up to use Tesla's Supercharger network include Hyundai, Fisker, Ford, GM, Honda, Jaguar, Mercedes-Benz, Nissan, Polestar, Rivian and Volvo. Those still in talks reportedly include Stellantis and Volkswagen.
To prevent safety risks, all units at the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) should be brought into cold shutdown, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said in their Oct. 4 report.

The occupying Russian authorities at the plant ordered the transition of reactor 4 from cold to hot shutdown in order to generate steam required for safety functions at the nuclear facility.

This is an ongoing practice at the ZNPP, despite the warnings of Ukraine's regulating bodies. The State Nuclear Regulatory Inspectorate of Ukraine (SNRIU) has ordered all six units of the plant to be placed in cold shutdown, and the IAEA has recommended the same.

"[T]he IAEA has been strongly encouraging the ZNPP to find an alternative source of steam generation to cover the plants needs, including for processing liquid radioactive waste, and allow for all the reactors to be maintained in a cold shutdown state," the IAEA's report read.

Energoatom, Ukraine's state nuclear energy company, said that non-compliance with these orders "increases the likelihood of a radiation accident."

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IAEA experts also reported that Russian administrators at the plant continue to deny the agency full access to ZNPP facilities during their inspections.

Inspectors have asked for access to all six turbine halls in succession, but have only been allowed to visit one at a time. Additionally, the IAEA team has not been granted access to the rooftops of reactor units 1, 2, 5, or 6.

We will insist until we get the access we need in order to monitor compliance with the five concrete principles for the protection of the Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant, the agency's Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi said.

Grossi also said the team had received armored vehicles and additional security personnel due to financial support from Japan. The IAEA has warned of increased military activity in the vicinity of the plant.

IAEA teams have been based at the Zaporizhzhia plant on rotation since September 2022, after Grossi's first visit to the occupied facility.

Read also: On the edge of disaster: What could really happen if Russia destroys Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant?

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WILL NOT RETURN CARS. HORRIBLE EXPERIENCE. Worst shuttle company ever.

Michelle Visser said her husband, Nick, and four of their friends read the scathing online reviews, news articles and forum posts about Wild River Shuttles, a Salmon rafting shuttle company that left rafters stranded and damaged and lost customers vehicles last year. The Idaho Statesman reported on the complaints and an investigation from the Idaho attorney generals office against the business. Five months later, the Idaho attorney general banned owners Tammy Nelson and her wife, Michelle, from owning or operating a shuttle company in the state, pending the repayment of $8,700 in restitution to customers.

The Vissers and their friends knew exactly who to avoid for a September rafting trip along the Salmon River. Instead, the Wyoming group hired Whitewater River Shuttle to move two vehicles from their put-in point at Corn Creek to their take-out at Carey Creek, roughly 400 miles away. Michelle Visser told the Statesman in an interview that Whitewaters website looked professional, and the group thought they were avoiding the problem that many rafters had with Wild River Shuttles last year.

What they didnt realize: Whitewater was owned by Nelson, the same person who ran the business at the heart of last years numerous complaints. Nelson had registered Whitewater in late June under the name Cristina Tammy Nelson.

Visser and members of the local river community, many of whom pitched in to aid stranded rafters last year, questioned how Nelson was able to relaunch her business. Had the attorney generals ban actually prevented Nelson from opening a new shuttle business, Visser said she wouldve saved time, money and heartache.

She said her family and friends learned the hard way that Nelson ran Whitewater  after a driver employed by the company crashed the Vissers Chevy Tahoe into the Salmon River.

Nelson did not respond to a request for comment.

Crash connects Wild River, Whitewater shuttle companies

Visser told the Statesman she stayed home in Laramie, Wyoming, while her husband and their friends were on their river trip. The group paid Whitewater River Shuttle to transport a pickup truck and the Vissers Tahoe, which was pulling a trailer. Shortly after the groups trip began, Visser said Nelson told her that the truck had been transported but the Tahoe had a flat tire.

Visser said she confirmed with a local Les Schwab store that Nelson brought the Tahoe in to have a valve stem replaced. On Sept. 17, a Whitewater employee was scheduled to drive the Tahoe to Carey Creek Boat Ramp near Riggins. The vehicle never arrived.

About 30 miles outside of Salmon near Elk Horn Road, the Tahoe went off the road, through thick brush and into the Salmon River.

Visser said she first learned about the crash around 7 p.m. on Sept. 17  about four hours after the incident  when Nelson called her. A Salmon Police Department accident report attributed the single-vehicle crash to inattentive and drug-impaired driving. Visser said police told her there were absolutely no skid marks on the highway, suggesting the driver didnt brake or accelerate before the accident.

The policeman said it looked like (the driver) was trying to plow a new highway through the forest, Visser said.

No charges have been filed against the driver, according to court documents. The Tahoe was towed to a Salmon salvage yard. Visser said her insurance company has deemed the vehicle a total loss.

Visser said she spoke to Nelson twice on the night of the crash and initially assumed Nelson would work with her to help the group still on the river and address the vehicle damage. Visser said that didnt happen.

Instead, Visser said, Nelson urgently requested that Visser authorize the salvage yard to release the Tahoe to Nelson. Visser refused. By then, she had spoken to police and the owner of Lemhi Auto Repair and Recycle, who informed her of Nelsons connection to Wild River Shuttles.

Visser told the Statesman an employee at the auto salvage yard was clearly very familiar with this woman and was aghast that we had been working with her. Visser said Nelson told her she wanted to retrieve personal items from the Tahoe to deliver them to Carey Creek before the group left the river two days later on Sept. 19.

At the time, she claimed she was going to personally drive to Carey Creek when my husband and friends got off the river to tell them what happened, Visser said. Based on the conversations I had and articles I read, I had no reason to believe she would actually show up there.

Nelson planned to prove herself

Visser enlisted a friend  Jill Walford, whose husband was also on the river trip  to help coordinate a solution for the rafters. While the groups other vehicle had made it to Carey Creek, without the Tahoe and its trailer, it wouldnt hold enough room for their gear. The trailer had survived the crash intact, and Visser hoped it could be transported to Carey Creek, which would allow the group to return home after their trip.

Walford said she began contacting other shuttle companies along the Main Salmon, eventually connecting with MiChelle McNamee, who owns All Rivers Shuttle in White Bird. Last summer, McNamee was one of several other shuttle company owners who pitched in to help pick up rafters stranded by Wild River and locate missing vehicles. She told the Statesman last year that she also moved a truck Nelson had delivered to a boat ramp, after heavy rain caused a surge in the rivers water level and threatened to sweep the vehicle away.

MiChelle went into overdrive, Walford said. McNamee connected Walford with Cowboy Ken Price, a local who was on his way from Salmon to the Carey Creek area.

Price retrieved personal items from the Tahoe and transported the trailer to the take-out area, where he hooked it up to the groups pickup truck, left the items from the other vehicle and wrote a note explaining in very gentle terms that the Tahoe had been in an accident, Visser said.

The group piled into the pickup, spent a night in Boise and made it home to Laramie. In the meantime, Visser was handling insurance and trying to communicate with Nelson. Visser said she spoke to Nelson the day after the crash and informed the shuttle company owner that she and Walford had found another solution to help the rafting group. Visser said Nelson asked what she should do with the $100 cash left in the Tahoe as gas money. Visser asked Nelson to mail it to her. Visser said she hasnt yet received the cash.

Visser said Nelson didnt offer any kind of insurance or other compensation after the crash. Nelson disputed that.

In a post shared on a Lemhi County Facebook group and MountainBuzz, an online forum for rafting, Nelson said she offered to pay the full deductible for the Vissers insurance and refunded the cost of the shuttle service for the Tahoe. She said she planned to prove herself through the new shuttle business before revealing to the river community that she was behind Whitewater River Shuttle.

It is disheartening to see my business and my personal integrity being smeared by these claims, Nelson wrote. I have made a conscious effort to learn from past mistakes and have strived to create a business that prioritizes professionalism, transparency and exceptional customer service.

New business violated attorney general ban

Last summer, five customers told the Statesman they paid Wild River Shuttles to drive their vehicles from rafting put-ins near Salmon to various take-out sites farther downriver. Customers said they spent days and hundreds of dollars trying to track down missing vehicles. Online reviews and reports to the attorney generals office showed other customers vehicles were damaged, including a van that was crashed and abandoned on the highway, according to a consumer protection complaint.

At the time, Nelson told the Statesman Wild River Shuttles had problems with drivers, had overbooked customers and had paid at least $14,000 in refunds and planned to permanently shutter.

We are very sorry to all affected by our company, Nelson said. This has destroyed our business.

The attorney generals office opened an investigation into the company in August 2022. The investigation concluded with a settlement agreement in January that forbid Nelson and her wife, Michelle Nelson, from owning, operating, or managing a vehicle shuttle or transport business in Idaho. According to the settlement, obtained by the Statesman through a public records request, the Nelsons owed more than $8,000 to customers.

Deputy Attorney General Stephanie Guyon sent letters in February to each of the customers who complained to the state agency about Wild River, informing them of the outcome of the investigation, including the business ban, and noting that the couple lacked the funds to pay restitution.

On Sept. 19, one of those customers informed Guyon that Nelson had started a new shuttle business. Two days later, Guyon sent Tammy Nelson a letter informing her she needed to dissolve Whitewater River Shuttle immediately, prove it was not a river shuttle business or pay the $8,783 in outstanding restitution, along with $11,000 in civil penalties and $4,000 in fees for violating her agreement with the state.

Emily Kleinworth, a spokesperson for the attorney generals office, told the Statesman the agency has not received a response from Nelson. A Google listing for the business shows it is temporarily closed.

Businesses are registered through the Idaho secretary of states office, and spokesperson Chelsea Carattini told the Statesman in an email that the agencys duties for business registration are ministerial, meaning they only document the registrations instead of regulating them.

We do not have the authority to regulate or flag businesses with bad behavior, she said.

McNamee, the White Bird shuttle operator who helped Visser and Walford, told the Statesman she was very, very frustrated and alarmed upon learning that Nelson was running a new shuttle company. McNamee, Visser and some customers impacted by Wild River questioned how Nelson slipped through the cracks to run Whitewater River Shuttle for nearly three months before authorities took notice.

Visser said she was shocked that city, police and U.S. Forest Service officials, all of whom were informed of Wild Rivers issues last year, told her they had no recourse to keep Nelson from operating.

Visser said her friends thoroughly researched shuttle companies. But because she changed the name of the business, people are being blindsided.
IMF managing director Kristalina Georgieva has said the world is in much better economic shape than many analysts predicted (Stefani Reynolds)

The World Bank and International Monetary Fund will tackle the thorny issue of institutional reform at their upcoming annual meetings in Morocco next week.

The two international financial institutions are looking to scale up and retool to pursue ambitious global climate goals, while continuing to support emerging market and developing economies struggling to service rising debt levels.

This year's gathering of world leaders will take place in the city of Marrakesh, just weeks after a devastating earthquake in the region left close to 3,000 people dead.

It is the first such meeting to be held on the African continent for half a century, something underscored by IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva during a speech Thursday in the city of Abidjan in Ivory Coast.

- Quota reform -

During her speech, Georgieva noted that the world was heading into the annual meetings in much better economic shape than many analysts had predicted.

"The world economy has shown remarkable resilience," she said in prepared remarks, pointing to strong demand for services and tangible progress against high inflation.

"This increases the chances for a soft landing for the global economy," she added, referring to the prospect of lowering inflation through interest rate hikes while avoiding a damaging recession.

Georgieva also called on member countries to "bolster" funding levels through an increase in the quotas they pay.

The United States, which has a blocking minority at the fund, has indicated it would back an across-the-board increase in quotas -- a move which would leave the overall voting power of member countries unchanged.

The Fund is also looking to replenish popular concessionary lending facilities for low- and middle-income countries which have been exhausted by the pandemic and the war in Ukraine, Georgieva said.

She added that the IMF will consider changes to its management structure to elevate the voices of developing economies.

"I am looking forward to our members agreeing to a third African Chair at our Executive Board," she said, backing plans to expand the IMF's 24-person management board to add an additional seat for African countries.

- Climate funding -

This year's annual meetings will be the first for new World Bank President Ajay Banga, a former Mastercard chief executive who was elected on a pledge to boost private sector financing for the transition to renewable energy.

Since taking office, Banga has indicated that he plans to reform the bank's current twin mandate of poverty alleviation and boosting shared prosperity to include climate change.

"I think the twin goals have to change to being elimination of poverty, but on a livable planet, because of the intertwined nature of our crises," he told a conference last month.

He added that proposals to reform the World Bank's balance sheet from countries including the United States and Saudi Arabia could add as much as $125 billion in extra lending capacity if they come to pass.

This would mark a significant increase for the development lender, which mobilized just over $100 billion in financing last year.

But the process is likely to take a long time, and Banga's plans "certainly won't happen next week," Danny Scull, policy advisor at the climate change think tank E3G, told AFP.

Even if these changes come about, they will likely be insufficient to meet the scale of funding needed for the climate transition.

The World Bank estimates that developing countries will need $2.4 trillion every year for the next seven years just to address the costs of climate change, conflict and pandemics.

- Debt Distress -

While the World Bank and IMF are looking to retool to tackle the climate transition, many member countries are grappling with high levels of debt due to the Covid-19 pandemic and war in Ukraine.

During the IMF and World Bank's spring meetings in April, Georgieva said that around 15 percent of low-income countries were already in debt distress, and "an additional 45 percent are near it."

The current efforts to lower the debt burden of low-income countries undertaken by the G20, World Bank and IMF are insufficient, the UN's trade and development chief Rebeca Grynspan said Wednesday.

"We need to have a better mechanism for a faster resolution of the debt problem," she told reporters in the Swiss city of Geneva, urging world leaders to tackle the issue at the annual meetings.

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People protest outside the Indian Consulate, in Vancouver, British Columbia, on Monday, Sept. 25, 2023. (Darryl Dyck/The Canadian Press via AP) (ASSOCIATED PRESS)

NEW DELHI (AP)  India said Thursday it has set no deadline so far but remains determined to reduce Canada's diplomatic presence in the South Asian country amid a confrontation over Canadian accusations that India may have been involved in the killing of a Sikh separatist leader in suburban Vancouver.

New Delhi has dismissed the accusations as absurd.

Indias External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi told reporters at a news conference on Thursday that the two countries are discussing modalities on achieving" parity as to the levels of diplomatic representation.

"I wouldnt like to get into details of the conversation, he said.

Earlier this week, a Canadian official said India has told Canada to remove 41 of its 62 diplomats in the country.

Bagchi did not reply when asked whether Canada has provided credible evidence to back up its accusations but only reiterated New Delhi's stand that it is open to look into anything relevant and specific that Canada may put forward.

India has also canceled visas for Canadians. Canada has not retaliated for that. India previously expelled a senior Canadian diplomat after Canada expelled a senior Indian diplomat.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has appeared to try to calm the diplomatic clash, saying that Canada is not looking to provoke or escalate.

For years, India has accused Canada of giving free rein to Sikh separatists who have been fighting for the creation of "Khalistan, a separate Sikh nation in Indias northern Punjab state.

Bagchi on Thursday insisted that Canada improve the security situation for Indian diplomats there. New Delhi has argued that Indian diplomats in Canada are not safe going to and from their jobs at the diplomatic missions in the North American country because of an alleged climate of fear created by Sikh separatists.

Trudeau said last month that there were credible allegations of Indian involvement in the slaying of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a 45-year-old Sikh leader who was killed by masked gunmen in June in Surrey, outside Vancouver.

For years, India has said Nijjar, a Canadian citizen born in India, has links to terrorism, an allegation Nijjar had denied.
The Indigenous soldiers are responsible for guarding just over half of Australia's landmass (DAVID GRAY)

In the scorching heat of Australia's far north, the next generation of Indigenous army leaders crawl almost unseen through red dust, past towering termite mounds and eucalyptus trees.

Just over a century ago, their ancestors were banned from fighting for their country but these men and women are now training in Darwin to become patrol commanders.

The soldier at the rear uses the leaves of a small tree branch to brush the group's bootprints from the soil, erasing all traces of their presence.

The Indigenous soldiers are among 1,300 troops responsible for guarding just over half of Australia's landmass, an area larger than India.

They are from the North-West Mobile Force (Norforce) and 51st Far North Queensland Regiment.

Along with Western Australia's Pilbara Regiment, they make up the Regional Force Surveillance Group.

In the unlikely event that the north of Australia is invaded, they would conduct covert surveillance, feeding information to those coordinating a response.

But much of the group's peacetime work is border protection, looking for signs of smuggling, poaching, drug running and illegal fishing.

- Deadly wildlife -

Indigenous people have lived in Australia for at least 60,000 years.

Their knowledge of the land and local contacts mean they quickly notice anything amiss -- a discarded fishing net, animal remains, even money coming in.

"I know how to take care of myself when I'm in the bush," said Norforce Lance Corporal Carl Murkun, 34, from Gapuwiyak in north-east Arnhem Land.

"It's really natural to me."

The surveillance group can never hope to cover such a massive area alone, so they rely on contacts within remote communities who trust them with information.

A small group of soldiers can be sent to these communities to build networks or to check on assets such as fuel supplies, rural roads or landing strips.

Soldiers must be able to cope with extreme weather and deadly wildlife for up to three weeks.

They rely on skills passed down from ancestors -- hunting, tracking and the ability to read the environment and work with it.

Major Rob Watchorn, who commands the Indigenous Development Wing, said the First Nations soldiers' knowledge of the environment is valuable.

"What I depend on is the people with the intimate knowledge to be able to answer my questions and influence how I plan activities," Watchorn said.

- 'Bad track' -

Lance Corporal Murkun spent much of his childhood sleeping in the wilderness with his parents, dealing with snakes and crocodiles.

He decided to join the army after realising he was on a "bad track", struggling with alcohol and violence.

"Now I'm a clean man, a clean person and I don't like violence any more."

First Nations soldiers make up just over three percent of the Australian Defence Force -- about the same proportion as in the wider population -- but in these units, they represent up to 40 percent.

Cultural adviser Lieutenant Colonel Eileen Hall's job is to bridge the gap between military command and Indigenous communities.

With a First Nations mother and an Irish father, Hall describes herself as "blessed to walk within two worlds".

When the army recruits an Indigenous soldier, it also negotiates with their family and wider community, she said.

"We take the community on that journey."

First Nations Australians often have poorer education records and, if they live in an isolated community, the nearest high school may be too far away for them to attend.

They are statistically far more likely to end up in jail than other Australians.

Ordinary details like date of birth can also be hard to confirm, notably due to a government policy that forcibly removed Indigenous children from their families during much of the 20th century.

- 'Look after country' -

Commanding officers can often help overcome such hurdles, but there is no guarantee.

Many remote First Nations communities share mobile phones, and the nearest reception could be many miles away.

Since British colonisation more than 200 years ago, Indigenous Australians have struggled against discrimination, even when it comes to military service.

When Australia entered the First World War in 1914, it banned "Aborigines, half-castes and all coloured men" from service.

The rules were relaxed in 1917 as the need for reinforcements became desperate.

Despite not being allowed to vote or receive veterans' benefits, around 6,000 First Nations Australians served in World War II.

Murkun is like many other First Nations soldiers -- he follows his grandfather, who fought the Japanese in the Pacific.

Hall said First Nations people are also drawn to the military out of a sense of duty to the land.

"Part of that obligation is looking after and protecting because if I don't look after country, country won't look after me.

"And it doesn't just affect me, it affects my whole bloodline."

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Hong Kong (CNN)  Chinas lunar mission to bring back the first samples ever collected from the moons far side is on schedule for next year, officials say, as Beijing ramps up its ambitious plan to send astronauts to the moon this decade and build an international lunar research station.

Preparations for the next planned mission  known as Change-6  were progressing smoothly, Chinas National Space Administration (CNSA) said in a statement last week, adding that the missions accompanying relay satellite would be deployed in the first half of next year.

This week, CNSA also looked ahead to its Change-8 mission slated for 2028, with Chinese officials on Monday calling for increased global collaboration for the unmanned lunar expedition during the International Astronautical Congress in Baku, Azerbaijan.

The Chinese expedition in 2028 would welcome joint mission-level projects with other countries and international organizations, according to an accompanying document released on the CNSA website.

This means China and international partners could work together on spacecraft launch and orbit operation, conduct spacecraft-to-spacecraft interactions, and jointly explore the surface of the moon, the document said.

The spacecraft would also make room for 200 kilograms (440 pounds) of foreign science payloads, the agency said on its website. This could allow overseas partners to conduct lunar research by piggybacking off the mission, Chinese state media said.

China expects both upcoming missions, and the Change-7 slated for 2026, to produce valuable data toward constructing a permanent international research station on the lunar south pole by 2040  part of Beijings wider push to become a major space power.

Those efforts have seen China become the first country to send a rover to the far side of the moon in 2019, complete construction of its orbital Tiangong space station last year, and announce plans to become only the second country to land a manned mission on the moon by 2030.

Expanding Beijings international ties through space collaboration is also part of that plan  though so far only a handful of countries are reported to have joined onto its planned lunar research station. They include Russia, Venezuela and South Africa, according to Chinese state media.

China is not alone in elevating its space program and lunar ambitions as multiple countries eye the potential scientific benefit, national prestige and access to resources and further deep space exploration that successful moon missions could bring.

Last month, India landed its Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft on the moon, becoming only the fourth nation to accomplish the feat, with its lunar landing reaching closer to the moons south pole than any other spacecraft in history.

That same week, Russias first lunar mission in decades ended in failure with its Luna 25 spacecraft crashing into the moons surface.

The United States has also boosted its lunar program  launching the first test flight in 2022 under its Artemis program, which aims to return US astronauts to the moon in 2025 and build a scientific base camp there, with NASA also eying the lunar south pole.

Like China, the US has also been gathering international partners, with more than two dozen countries signing on to its Artemis Accords norms for peaceful exploration of deep space. China is not among the current signatories.

Chinas upcoming moon missions

Beijings Change-6 mission next year will deepen understanding of the moons far side, collecting samples following 10 previous missions to the near side facing Earth, the CSNA said in a statement Friday, coinciding with Mid-Autumn Festival  a Chinese national holiday associated with the moon.

Such samples will enable scientists to advance their studies about the far side  (and) analyze the samples composition to broaden knowledge about the moon, Hu Hao, a senior official working on the Change-6 mission, told Chinese state media last week.

The spacecraft is slated to touch down in the far sides South Pole-Aitken Basin and collect dust and rock samples there, Hu was cited as saying, referring to a major lunar landform of high scientific interest.

The far side of the moon, which cant be seen from Earth, is covered in craters, but unlike the near side isnt dominated by large lunar mare, or darker imprints of ancient lava flows  a difference that puzzles scientists.

The Change-6 spacecraft will also carry payloads and satellites from four international partners, according to the CNSA.

Those include a French-made instrument to detect radon gas, a negative ion detector from the European Space Agency, an Italian laser corner reflector to calibrate radar systems, and Pakistans CubeSat, a square-shaped miniature satellite, it said.

The mission is expected to be followed by the Change-7 in 2026, which aims to search for lunar resources on the moons south pole, and Change-8 two years later, which could look at how to utilize lunar materials, officials have said.

China has launched five robotic probes since 2007. Its last mission, Change-5, landed on the moon in December 2020 and returned with samples of lunar rocks and soil.

This story was first published on CNN.com, "Chinas next moon mission aims to do what no country has ever done. Its space ambitions dont end there"
HOLYOKE, Mass. (WWLP)  Multiple people are in the hospital, and an infant is dead after a shooting in downtown Holyoke, Massachusetts Wednesday afternoon.

Shooting victim arrives at Holyoke Medical Center Tuesday

According to Hampden District Attorneys Office Spokesperson Jim Leydon, just before 1 p.m., members of the Holyoke Police Department were called to a reported shooting in the 100 block of Sargeant Street. Leydon said three male suspects were involved in an altercation, during which a shooting occurred, and one of the rounds from that altercation struck a public transportation bus, also hitting a woman on board.

The woman, who was pregnant, was treated at a nearby hospital and reported to be in critical condition. The infant was delivered and given life-saving medical services but did not survive, according to officials.

Police said all suspects involved are in custody and receiving treatment at nearby hospitals. This incident remains under investigation by the Massachusetts State Police Detective Unit along with the Hampden County District Attorneys Office, and Holyoke Police.













(Holyoke Police Department)

The incident happened just hours after the Holyoke Police held a news conference to discuss the amount of gunfire that has been picked up by the ShotSpotter system installed in the city in March. The ShotSpotter program is a detection system that allows police to detect, find and respond to gunfire.

Holyoke ShotSpotter Report

According to the Holyoke Police Department, in the past six months, their ShotSpotter system has detected 113 incidents involving gunfire, 72 of which happened near a playground and 27 near a school, and 110 incidents were reported near a business.

Holyoke Police held ShotSpotter news conference due to alarming number of activations

Holyoke police recovered 457 rounds, seven guns, and made 10 arrests. They also identified six victims. Police said that many of these ShotSpotter activations do not generate a 911 call from people in the area.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KTLA.
HOLYOKE, Mass. (WWLP)  Multiple people are in the hospital, and an infant is dead after a shooting in downtown Holyoke, Massachusetts Wednesday afternoon.

Shooting victim arrives at Holyoke Medical Center Tuesday

According to Hampden District Attorneys Office Spokesperson Jim Leydon, just before 1 p.m., members of the Holyoke Police Department were called to a reported shooting in the 100 block of Sargeant Street. Leydon said three male suspects were involved in an altercation, during which a shooting occurred, and one of the rounds from that altercation struck a public transportation bus, also hitting a woman on board.

The woman, who was pregnant, was treated at a nearby hospital and reported to be in critical condition. The infant was delivered and given life-saving medical services but did not survive, according to officials.

Police said all suspects involved are in custody and receiving treatment at nearby hospitals. This incident remains under investigation by the Massachusetts State Police Detective Unit along with the Hampden County District Attorneys Office, and Holyoke Police.













(Holyoke Police Department)

The incident happened just hours after the Holyoke Police held a news conference to discuss the amount of gunfire that has been picked up by the ShotSpotter system installed in the city in March. The ShotSpotter program is a detection system that allows police to detect, find and respond to gunfire.

Holyoke ShotSpotter Report

According to the Holyoke Police Department, in the past six months, their ShotSpotter system has detected 113 incidents involving gunfire, 72 of which happened near a playground and 27 near a school, and 110 incidents were reported near a business.

Holyoke Police held ShotSpotter news conference due to alarming number of activations

Holyoke police recovered 457 rounds, seven guns, and made 10 arrests. They also identified six victims. Police said that many of these ShotSpotter activations do not generate a 911 call from people in the area.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WKRN News 2.
The debate over immigration at the southern border is raging once again, dominating the discussion at the GOP debates, sparking criticism of the White House's policies among a growing number of Democrats, and fueling renewed media coverage and protests in cities inundated with an influx of migrants.

While it remains to be seen whether immigration will be at the forefront in the 2024 presidential election, as it was in 2020, the momentum has been building in recent weeks and recharged with a tougher tone from both Republicans and Democrats, observers say.

At the second GOP presidential primary debate, the candidates mentioned the border about two dozen times, with some threatening the use of military intervention to take out drug cartels in Mexico and secure the border.

A review of Fox News coverage shows an increase in air time given to reports about the southern border in recent weeks, following a summer devoted to more gender-identity stories.

The increased coverage tracks with how the number of migrants illegally crossing the U.S.-Mexico border has risen steadily since the start of September, NBC News reported, with more than 200,000 migrants unlawfully crossing last month  a record high for 2023. The number is up from more than 182,700 people who border agents encountered in September 2022 and 142,710 people in September 2021, according to Customs and Border Protection data.

Major cities, including New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia and Denver, have reported a spike in the migrant population after Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, a Republican, began busing asylum-seekers to so-called sanctuary cities. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who is running for the Republican presidential nomination, applied a similar tactic last year, sending two planes of migrants to the upscale Massachusetts island Marthas Vineyard.

Image: Texas National Guard troops look at immigrants that crossed the Rio Grande into the United States from Mexico (John Moore / Getty Images file)

Initially, Democratic leaders from Texas to New York decried such actions as horrific and bigoted, and vowed to be more welcoming, but as the surge has overwhelmed cities now scrambling to find emergency shelters and classroom space for migrant children, some of those same officials have reversed course.

The office of New York City Mayor Eric Adams, a Democrat, announced he would be touring Latin American countries this week to better understand how asylum-seekers are coming to the U.S., a trip that follows his recent remarks lamenting how the arrival of 10,000 migrants a month to New York is an issue that will destroy the city. On Wednesday, Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson said he would travel to the southern border but did not say exactly when that trip would take place.

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul pleaded on CNN last month that if youre going to leave your country, go somewhere else, and reiterated on CBS Face the Nation on Sunday that the border is too open right now.

We are one of the most diverse places on earth because of our welcoming nature, and its in our DNA to welcome immigrants, Hochul said. But there has to be some limits in place.

Frustrations over a deepening crisis isnt only coming from New Yorks leadership.

Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker and the Chicago mayor, both Democrats, held a call with the White House on Sunday to discuss how migrants have been straining housing and social services since their arrival 13 months ago, creating a humanitarian crisis. Pritzker in a letter Monday to President Joe Biden wrote that the federal governments lack of intervention and coordination at the border has created an untenable situation for Illinois, which is set to host the 2024 Democratic National Convention.

Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs, a Democrat, has said her states border communities are also struggling with more migrants and little help from the federal government.

Time and again, Ive asked the Biden administration for assistance at the border, but instead, they have chosen to redirect resources to speed the release of migrants without the support and coordination our local communities deserve, Hobbs said last month.

A U.S. Customs and Border Patrol agent arrives to pick up a family of five in the Tucson Sector of the U.S.-Mexico border (Matt York / AP file)

A spokesperson for the White House said in a statement that Biden has supported comprehensive immigration reform since his first day in office, and blamed House Republicans for blocking efforts, including the approval of $4 billion to address the needs of the Department of Homeland Security.

A Trump-era immigration border policy put in place during the pandemic was lifted by the Biden administration in May. The Covid-related restriction had allowed border patrol agents to quickly turn away migrants at the border for the past three years, but with its ending, the U.S. has seen an uptick following fears of a surge that didnt immediately materialize.

Now, that has prominent voices beyond politicians trying to drive the conversation. Tech billionaire Elon Musk visited the Texas border with Mexico last week, posting in a video-selfie on X, formerly known as Twitter, that the situation is beyond insane and growing fast, and called for the overhaul of a legal immigration system that also bars migrants breaking the law.

Musk is himself an immigrant from South Africa and called himself extremely pro-immigrant, Reuters reported.

A.J. Bauer, an assistant professor of journalism at the University of Alabama who focuses on right-wing media, said a ratcheting up of hard-line language is only going to embolden the anti-migrant sentiment rather than provide actual solutions.

The anti-immigration far right may amplify a crisis narrative on the border  that pretty directly serves their open ideological ends, and it isnt particularly new, Bauer said. I am more troubled by the crisis rhetoric coming out of Democratic office holders like Mayor Adams and Gov. Hochul.

Their rhetoric and stunts extend right-wing framing into mainstream and liberal discourse in ways that only aid and abet the right, Bauer added.

The issue has remained a consistent one for former President Donald Trump, who in remarks outside the courtroom of his civil financial fraud trial on Monday attacked the Biden administration for what theyve done with open borders ... its a disgrace.

While Republicans have been largely unified on supporting border enforcement, there are growing divisions on how to tackle immigration among Democrats following the influx of migrants being bused to cities like New York, likely putting the issue at the center of a lot of right-wing media messages in this campaign season, said Matthew Sheffield, a former conservative media consultant and now publisher of Flux, an independent media outlet.

Reece Peck, an associate professor of media culture at the City University of New York-College of Staten Island, said he only expects coverage to intensify in the coming months, as presidential campaigning heats up.

Adding to the mix will be how the issue is amplified on social media sites such as X, owned by Musk.

Now, Peck said, someone like Musk can highlight a topic like few can.

Were at the end of the era, where the influence of the cable news-centric landscape of the 2000s is waning, Peck said. Were watching the over-the-top streaming media sector, and Musk has positioned himself as this new conservative media baron setting an agenda where people are cutting the cord and not watching cable. Hes trying to play the role of Rupert Murdoch 2.0.

This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
Fighting has displaced almost 4.3 million people within Sudan, while around 1.2 million more have fled across its borders, UN figures show (-)

Efforts to help millions of people in need in Sudan due to the civil war are being hampered by a lack of security and meagre international funding, the United Nations said Thursday.

The army, led by Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, has been battling the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces commanded by his former deputy Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, after the two fell out in a power struggle.

"We need to reach 18 million people and we will not give up on that target," Clementine Nkweta-Salami, the UN's resident and humanitarian coordinator in Sudan, told reporters.

"But we need more international support, better access to the people who need us and safety for our operations."

She highlighted that 19 members of humanitarian organisations have been killed and 29 others injured since the conflict erupted.

While she did not comment on whether they had been specifically targeted, she noted that "in many instances, our efforts are being hampered", despite indicating "where it is we will be, and what we will be doing".

The fighting in Sudan broke out on April 15.

"The past six months has caused untold suffering in Sudan," Nkweta-Salami said.

- Aid in the crosshairs -

Nearly 7,500 people have been killed in Sudan since the conflict began, according to a conservative estimate from the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data project.

Fighting has displaced almost 4.3 million people within Sudan, while around 1.2 million more have fled across its borders, UN figures show.

Among them, "we've seen a significant brain drain. A lot of the professionals have left Sudan", said Nkweta-Salami.

Humanitarian aid has become a target for attacks and looting by armed gangs and criminals.

"We have been able to deliver assistance through a cross-border mechanism from Chad and into Darfur," Nkweta-Salami said.

"In mid-September, nearly 3,000 metric tonnes of aid supplies were delivered by 66 trucks across six states. But we need to be able to deliver much more -- safely, repeatedly, and fast."

The UN has relocated its headquarters to Port Sudan on the Red Sea as the fighting in the capital Khartoum made the international organisation's work impossible.

The obligatory presence of soldiers while loading trucks in Port Sudan and delays in obtaining visas are all additional obstacles in getting aid around the country.

- $2.6 billion needed -

One of the poorest countries in the world, Sudan has seen its health system brought to its knees by the conflict, with 70 percent of hospitals no longer functioning, said Nkweta-Salami.

The UN official said she was worried that heavy rains and floods could lead to more outbreaks of water-borne diseases.

"Battling a cholera outbreak in a war zone is difficult at the best of times. With fighting escalating, it may be near-impossible to control," she said.

Despite the complex humanitarian crisis, the UN is battling a funding shortage.

"The $2.6-billion humanitarian appeal is just one-third funded," said Nkweta-Salami.

"The population of Sudan is balancing on a knife edge as their country is gradually consumed by this conflict," she said.

"There's also a risk that... if this situation is not brought to an end, that it will have a spillover effect in the region and that is something we must and should avoid."

vog-rjm/vog/kjm
Tehran  Iran's government is trying very hard not to face a repeat of the unrest that followed the death of Mahsa Amini, who died in the custody of the country's "morality police" just less than a year ago. But a new case, that of 16-year-old Armita Geravand, has once again forced authorities to deny that officers, this time members of a local force called Guardians of Hijab, were involved in an attack on a young woman for breaking the Islamic republic's strict dress code.

Geravand, born in the western Iranian city of Kermanshah, was heading to school with friends on a local train in Tehran early on the morning of Oct. 1. She and her two companions boarded a subway car but, not long after, blurry security camera video shows her friends, with help from two other women, dragging Geravand, who seemed motionless, out of the train onto a platform at another station.

In this image from surveillance video aired by Iranian state television, women pull 16-year-old Armita Geravand from a train car on the Tehran Metro in Tehran, Iran, Sunday, Oct. 1, 2023. / Credit: / AP

She ended up in a Tehran hospital.

Iranian officials insist  as they did in the Amini case  that a medical episode was to blame. State TV and other official outlets have reported that Geravand's blood pressure dropped, leading to her collapsing and banging her head on the train door.

But there are other versions of what happened on the train, told by her friends and other witnesses. These unofficial accounts, reported by media outlets based both inside and outside Iran, suggest two female guards on the subway train  part of a force employed by the Tehran municipal government to monitor and enforce the mandatory wearing of the Islamic hijab, or headscarf, by all women  got into an altercation with Geravand over her clothing.

They include claims that Geravand fell and hit her head on the train door only after she was hit by the guards.

A reporter with Iran's private Shargh newspaper, one of the most popular reformist outlets in the country, was arrested but later released with a warning after trying to visit the Fajr Air Force Hospital outside Tehran, where Geravand has been admitted since the incident, to try to cover the story.

Shargh journalist Nilufar Hammedi is still in prison for her reporting on the Mahsa Amini case.

Almost immediately after the incident, Geravand's parents appeared on state media being interviewed at the hospital. They said they believed it was an accident, but it has been reported that there was a heavy police presence at the hospital as they spoke. An unidentified woman seen with the couple, who was not described as a relative or friend of the family, did most of the talking. She stressed that the incident should not be misused by the media.

A local online news outlet called Faraz Daily later posted quotes from what it said was a separate interview with Geravand's father, who purportedly disputed the official narrative and said he had not heard from his daughter and knew only that she was unconscious in the hospital. That story later disappeared from the website, and Faraz's editor Maziyar Khosravi posted an apology, saying the article was mistaken.

The two friends who were accompanying Geravand on the train have been quoted as saying they were all enjoying the ride together, and that no one pushed or hit their friend.

An Iranian teacher's union has claimed, however, that Geravand's friends, family, all of her classmates and the teachers at their school were warned not to challenge the official account.

There are also unconfirmed reports that Geravand's mother, Shirin Ahmadi, has been placed under arrest, but neither the family nor any government officials would confirm or deny that report when contacted by CBS News.

Some outlets have noted that the security camera video aired by Iranian state TV appears to have been edited, and there's a significant chunk of time not accounted for in the clips.

The hospital where Geravand remained four days after the incident is heavily guarded by Iranian security forces, and no media or visitors have been allowed in to see her  not even the young woman's friends or family  since her parents were there on Oct. 1.

As of Thursday, there was no sign of protesters taking back to the streets over the new case. Amini's death sparked months of unprecedented protests in Iranian cities, but a crackdown on the rallies by law enforcement, and the arrest of hundreds of people accused of taking part, quelled the uprisings.

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The hospitalization of a teenage girl in Iran after an incident on public transport has fueled a new wave of outrage and accusations against the countrys morality police one year after unrest swept the country.

Armita Geravand, 16, suffered a "severe physical assault" at the hands of government agents Sunday for allegedly violating the country's strict Islamic dress code, according to a prominent Kurdish rights group.

Armita Geravand 16 year old Iranian girl in a coma (via X)

The case has been shared widely across social media, drawing comparisons to that of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old Kurdish woman whose death in a hospital last year after being detained by the morality police sparked a wave of mass protests.

Speaking to state-run media, authorities have denied the allegations of any physical altercation and say Geravand fainted after a drop in blood pressure.

State-run media has published what it says is security footage from the Tehran subway station, but not of what happened inside the car  leaving much unclear as anger builds.

Tehran dismissed growing global outrage Thursday, accusing Western countries of "insincere concern."

What we know

Video appearing to show a girl with short black hair that is uncovered entering a train, then subsequently being dragged out unconscious onto the platform, was broadcast by state-run news agencies.

NBC News cannot verify the authenticity of the footage, which is grainy, has been edited and does not show what might have caused the girl to collapse inside the train.

Hengaw, an Iranian Kurdish rights group based in Norway, said in a blog post Tuesday that the 16-year-old was assaulted by officers enforcing the mandatory hijab. The organization alleged she fell into a coma Sunday.

The group posted a photo on social media Tuesday that it said showed Geravand in bed at an air force hospitals intensive care unit. It said authorities had imposed strict security measures around the hospital and her family.

Armita Garavand Iran Morality Police Hijab (Hengaw Organization for Human Rights)

Reuters, citing two unnamed prominent rights activists inside Iran, reported that security forces were heavily involved around the hospital.

NBC News has not verified that reporting.

Authorities have pushed back publicly.

The head of the Tehran Metro, Masoud Dorosti, told local media that a girl was undergoing treatment in a Tehran hospital after an incident on the subway. But he said that the security footage suggested she had fallen to the ground after a drop in blood pressure, with no sign of an altercation.

A couple identified as Geravand's parents echoed that version in a video posted online by the state-run news agency IRNA. They said the girl experienced a drop in blood pressure, fainted and hit her head.

IRNA also published what it said were interviews with two girls  identified by their first names and as classmates of Geravand who were with her on the day  who also said she had fallen and hit her head without being pushed.

Human rights groups have frequently accused Iranian authorities of forcing families or friends of those involved in such incidents to deliver statements under duress.

Girls are subjected to violence on the streets, and then their families are compelled to protect the government responsible for that violence, said Hadi Ghaemi, executive director of the Center for Human Rights in Iran, an organization based in New York.

Global outrage

The alleged attack on Geravand has drawn international condemnation.

The United States was "shocked and concerned about reports that Irans so-called morality police have assaulted 16-year-old Armita Geravand," Abram Paley, deputy special envoy for Iran, said Wednesday on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter.

"We are following news of her condition," he said, adding that reports that a journalist was arrested "while investigating this assault is also unacceptable and an affront to journalistic freedoms."

In another post on X, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said in part: Once again a young woman in #Iran is fighting for her life. Just because she showed her hair on the subway. Its unbearable.

Iranian American journalist and activist Masih Alinejad said on X that she was heartbroken and posted photos appearing to show the girl with a breathing tube in her mouth.

And many on social media have pointed to the absence of published CCTV footage from inside the train. Refusing to publish the footage only increases doubts about the official narrative, the Oslo-based organization Iran Human Rights said in a statement.

Iran's parliament on Wednesday, Sept. 20, 2023, approved a bill to impose heavier penalties on women who refuse to wear the mandatory Islamic headscarf in public and those who support them (Vahid Salemi / AP)

Responding to the outcry, the Iranian Foreign Ministry accused the U.S., Britain and Germany of insincere concern.

Instead of interventionist and biased remarks and expressing insincere concern over Iranian women and girls, youd better be concerned about U.S., German and UK healthcare personnel, patients and tackle their situation, spokesperson Nasser Kanaani said on X.

The case carries unmistakable echoes of Amini, whose death sparked a nationwide protest movement that rocked the Islamic Republic.

In the year since, authorities have largely quelled the protests and launched an intense effort to strictly enforce the Islamic dress code.

But many women now choose to walk the streets without a headscarf, defying the state.

There is ongoing disquiet about the country's ailing economy, as well as its rigid prohibitions against social freedoms, which drove the protest movement calling for greater gender equality.

This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
SAN FRANCISCO, Calif.  Californians will gather Thursday for the funeral of Sen. Dianne Feinstein , who died last week at age 90. Her memorial, which starts at 1 p.m. Pacific Standard Time, will be at San Francisco City Hall  where Feinstein served two decades as mayor and a member of the Board of Supervisors.

The service will no longer be open to the public due to security concerns, Feinsteins office said Wednesday. It will be livestreamed on the late senators social media pages.



Behind the speaker's list

From President Joe Biden to Hillary Clinton, high-profile Democrats across the country have spoken in recent days about Feinstein and their close relationships with her.

National, state and local political figures will pay tribute to her one last time before shes buried in San Francisco  the city where her political career started five decades ago.

Biden is not attending and will pre-record his remarks. Vice President Kamala Harris is speaking, though she had a lukewarm relationship with Feinstein. Gov. Gavin Newsom will be there but wont address the mourners despite his close friendship.

Another notable attendee: Sen. Laphonza Butler, who was appointed by Newsom to serve much of the remainder of Feinstein's term.



What to know about the speakers and their relationships with Feinstein:

President Joe Biden: Biden and Feinstein served together in the U.S. Senate for 17 years and worked closely together during the Obama administration, when he was vice president. Hes known for his touching eulogies so much so that hes earned the title of eulogizer in chief. That makes the presidents decision to not attend her funeral  and instead send recorded remarks  all the more unusual. Its particularly odd considering Biden flew to California last week to raise money for his reelection campaign. He also traveled to the United Kingdom for Queen Elizabeth IIs funeral last year  but wont make a similar trip for California political royalty.

Vice President Kamala Harris: This is perhaps the most unexpected speaker on the list. While Feinstein and Harris both hailed from San Francisco political circles and served together in the Senate, they werent close allies. Feinstein had a tepid response when Harris emerged as a presidential contender early in her Senate career. She just got here, Feinstein told reporters in 2017. There was also an infamous 2004 incident when Feinstein chastised then-District Attorney Harris at a police officers funeral for not seeking the death penalty for his killer.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer: Schumer and Feinstein served together in the Senate for 24 years, and he praised her as a hero after her death. During a speech on the Senate floor last week, Schumer spoke about Feinsteins integrity and relentless work to pass major legislation, including a ban on assault weapons in the 1990s. The two worked closely on the bill when Schumer was a member of the House.

Former Speaker Nancy Pelosi: Pelosi and Feinstein spent decades as the pillars of San Franciscos outsize influence over national politics. They shared a deep friendship. Theres perhaps no other contemporary who traced such a similar path to Feinsteins in terms of being a trail-blazing woman in California politics. In recent months, Pelosi was among Feinsteins most ardent defenders as critics called on the senator to resign amid concerns about her cognitive issues and declining health. Last week, Pelosi delivered a tearful tribute to Feinstein on the House floor, surrounded by the states Democratic delegation.

Mayor London Breed: In one sense, Breed is an odd addition to the speakers list because she and Feinstein didnt appear to have a close relationship. Shes speaking when many of Feinstein's closer allies  Newsom, Clinton and former Gov. Jerry Brown in particular  are not. But Feinstein and Breed share a common throughline as mayors of San Francisco. Feinstein became mayor in 1978 after the assassinations of Mayor George Moscone and Supervisor Harvey Milk. Breed, during a City Hall news conference last week, praised Feinstein for leading the city through such a dark chapter. She stepped up, she led with courage, Breed said.

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Tamar Shabtai poses for a photo at her home in Mevaseret Zion near Jerusalem, Wednesday, Aug. 30, 2023. Shabtai, 29, who grew up in a religious neighborhood in Jerusalem, is among the thousands of young people who leave Israel's ultra-Orthodox community each year. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)

MEVASSERET ZION, Israel (AP)  Israel is a nation perennially swept up in religious fervor and conflict. And yet, strikingly, a large portion of its population is secular, and even its insular ultra-Orthodox community loses a steady stream of members who tire of its strict religious rules.

The country is home to about 7 million Jews, almost half of the global Jewish population. But Jewish identity is a complex blend of religious and ethnonational identity; most Israeli Jews are not diligent observers of Judaism.

An Israeli Central Bureau of Statistics survey published in 2021 found that among Israeli Jews over the age of 20, about 45% identified as secular or not religious, while 33% said they practiced traditional religious worship. Ultra-Orthodox Jews, known as Haredim in Hebrew, made up 10%.

For Naor Narkis and many other secular Israelis, their Jewish identity is cultural  defined by the Hebrew tongue and historical experience  rather than governed by traditional religious worship.

Narkis, a Tel Aviv native, founded Enlightened Israel after last years parliamentary elections when ultra-Orthodox and religious ultranationalists helped bring Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu back into offic e. Narkis says the organization aims to champion liberal values and educate ultra-Orthodox Israelis about them, and advocates for a clear separation of religion and state, including allowing public transit on the Sabbath.

I dont think theres a big difference between a secular Jew living in Tel Aviv and a person living in New York whose parents are Christian but isnt religious, Narkis said. What defines us is our language, and our heritage, but doesnt involve faith in a god.

He cited Ahad HaAm, a pioneer of modern Hebrew literature in the late 19th century, who depicted Jewish identity as a cultural heritage rather than religion.

Narkis' group gives out free smartphones to Haredim who want them  since January, it's distributed 3,000 smartphones.

The ultra-Orthodox adhere to a strict interpretation of Jewish law and a code of conduct that governs everything from what to eat to which socks to wear. The community often eschews smartphones and the internet, which they see as a gateway to inappropriate ideas.

Yet each year, around 4,000 people in Israel  one of every seven students graduating from the Haredi education system  leave the ultra-Orthodox community, according to Out for Change, an organization that helps former Haredi Israelis integrate into society and the workforce. That figure is growing each year, even as the ultra-Orthodox birthrate is 6.5 children per woman.

Among those who chose to leave is Tamar Shabtai.

For the first two decades of her life, she followed the rules. She kept the Sabbath, ate kosher food and dressed strictly modest, as her ultra-Orthodox community in Jerusalem expected.

But in the past eight years, Shabtai, 29, has left that behind.

Although she only lives three miles from her ultra-Orthodox neighborhood in Jerusalem, she likened the experience of leaving the community to immigrating to another country.

Community life is really the most important element there, Shabtai said of the ultra-Orthodox world. Anyone who doesnt fit this framework wont do well really. Either one feels all the time that they dont belong and has to fight for their place. Or one chooses to leave  and then there are other prices for leaving the familiar community and starting all over again.

Those who exit the ultra-Orthodox community face major challenges. Families and communities often shun those who chart a different course. Many Haredi schools dont teach subjects such as English or mathematics, making joining the modern workforce a challenge. Haredi men and women who qualified for government subsidized training programs for tech jobs suddenly find themselves ineligible once they leave the community.

Jerusalem is about a third ultra-Orthodox. Dotted around downtown are several groups that offer social networking events for ex-Haredim. Out for Change provides that, as well as resources, classes, workshops and counseling to help people navigate their brave new world.

Until now the state looked at them from the Haredi narrative  dropouts, weaklings  and that even if we try to help them, its through the welfare prism, said Nadav Rosenblatt, Out for Changes director. They could have stayed Haredim but chose to leave. They come with motivation, they have aspirations to integrate in the workforce and higher education.

Shabtai's departure was a gradual process. It began when she started post-secondary education outside the ultra-Orthodox community, where she encountered Israelis of many varieties.

She is the sixth of eight siblings; two others are no longer ultra-Orthodox. Shabtai said she lost childhood friendships when she chose to leave, and that decision has strained relations with her parents.

Visiting her parents home in pants, rather than a long skirt as is customary among Orthodox women, does not bother them, she said, but Shabbat is something that is painful to them.

If I come its only once in a while, and then I go home with a car  I park it outside the neighborhood, she said. It hurts, both for them and for me.

Some ex-Haredim maintain religious lifestyles outside the strictures of the community, some preserve some traditional practices common among many Israeli Jews, while others adopt a secular outlook.

Among the handfuls of former Haredi Jews, most still maintain some kind of religious lifestyle, according to an Out for Change poll. Only 21% of those surveyed identified as secular; 45% said they are still religiously observant  just not ultra-Orthodox.

The reasons for leaving, contrary to what many people think, are in most cases social and not theological, said Gilad Malach, a researcher focusing on the ultra-Orthodox community at the Israel Democracy Institute. Many of those giving up Haredi life cite social pressure that doesnt allow individual expression, he said.

On the inside of Shabtais right wrist she has a small tattoo with the Hebrew words for I dont know. Not only are tattoos taboo according to Jewish custom, but the uncertainty contained in that phrase would be discouraged as well.

What isnt there to know?" she said. There is God, there are rules, theres nothing not to know.

__

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.
Israeli activist Shikma Bressler delivers a speech during a protest against the Israeli government's judicial overhaul bill, in Tel Aviv on September 9, 2023 (AHMAD GHARABLI)

An Israeli physicist who has become the face of a wave of anti-government protests warns that her country risks falling under "tyranny" as the hardline government pushes through its contentious judicial overhaul.

Shikma Bressler, 43, has led passionate weekly street rallies that have become Israel's biggest protest movement in years, ever since the divisive legal reform agenda was unveiled in January.

"Israel is taking the track of becoming a tyranny," the mother of five told AFP amid the movement's battle with the hard-right coalition government of veteran Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu .

"It means there is someone who is interested in being a tyrant."

In an interview in Jerusalem, she argued that "if Israel follows this track, we will no longer be Israel in the way you and I and the people may think about Israel".

Netanyahu's administration, a coalition of his Likud party and extreme-right and ultra-Orthodox Jewish allies, insists the sweeping legal changes are needed to rebalance powers between elected politicians and the judiciary.

The proposed reforms have deeply split Israel's Jewish majority, with opponents arguing they are in a fight to defend the country's liberal and democratic identity.

As tens of thousands have taken to the streets in Tel Aviv and cities across Israel, some coalition members have called in recent months to shelve several proposals or soften the reforms.

In July, lawmakers approved the first major element of the overhaul, limiting a clause that had previously allowed judges to rule on the "reasonableness" of government decisions.

Bressler spearheaded a multi-day march ahead of the parliament vote, a defining moment for the protest movement.

- 'Fragile democracy' -

Critics argue the "reasonableness" amendment restricts judicial oversight of executive power and could pave the way for more authoritarian rule in a country that has no constitution or upper house of parliament.

Bressler said that, in the long term, the government "can go against our will, as they did in July".

"But they are doomed to collapse because you cannot force decisions on the vast majority of your people who are against it, unless you decide to use violence against them."

The government argues the proposed reforms are inherently democratic as the coalition was elected by Israeli voters. But Bressler argued that the ballot box mandate "doesn't give it the right to take democracy away".

"In Israel, we have no checks and balances... like others," she said, "so our democracy is very, very fragile."

Nearly 225 pieces of legislation have been proposed in parliament to steer Israel away from its core democratic identity, Bressler argued. "What we see here is a structured process.

"It takes advantage of Israel's internal conflicts and problems," she said, drawing parallels with democratic backsliding in other countries including Poland, Hungary and Turkey.

She insisted the protest movement now has wider support than the coalition, a claim backed by recent polls that show falling support for the Israeli government.

Opponents accuse Netanyahu, who is on trial on corruption charges which he denies, of trying to use the legal overhaul to quash possible judgements against him. He rejects the accusation.

- 'We cannot go back' -

Bressler, a professor who runs a lab at the prestigious Weizmann Institute of Science, said she had little to do with politics until 2020, and that her first passion remains particle physics.

On a personal level, Bressler said she wants to be able to return to a normal life with her family, but also stressed that "we have no other country to go to".

"We must win so that we have a normal home to get back to, nothing beyond this. But apparently it is not guaranteed at all."

Her activism started during the Covid pandemic, when Netanyahu ordered courts to shut amid a nationwide lockdown -- a move critics saw as an attempt to delay his corruption trial.

Along with her brothers, Bressler drove in a convoy to Jerusalem, urging Israelis to join, a campaign that swiftly turned viral on social media.

"Back then I was shouting 'Democratia!' (democracy) like the way you hear now on the streets," said Bressler.

The current situation is far tougher, she said: "We cannot go back. We can only move forward from this point."

Israel has a choice, she stressed: "Either a dark road that ends up in tyranny ... or to create a much stronger system that will ensure our liberal democratic values for generations to come."

sa-jd/ami/fz
Israel has quietly helped fuel Azerbaijans campaign to recapture Nagorno-Karabakh, supplying powerful weapons to Azerbaijan ahead of its lightening offensive last month that brought the ethnic Armenian enclave back under its control, officials and experts say.

Just weeks before Azerbaijan launched its 24-hour assault on Sept. 19, Azerbaijani military cargo planes repeatedly flew between a southern Israeli airbase and an airfield near Nagorno-Karabakh, according to flight tracking data and Armenian diplomats, even as Western governments were urging peace talks.

Israel Aerospace Industries sells spy satellites to Azerbaijan

The flights rattled Armenian officials in Yerevan, long wary of the strategic alliance between Israel and Azerbaijan, and shined a light on Israels national interests in the restive region south of the Caucasus Mountains.

For us, it is a major concern that Israeli weapons have been firing at our people, Arman Akopian, Armenias ambassador to Israel, told The Associated Press. In a flurry of diplomatic exchanges, Akopian said he expressed alarm to Israeli politicians and lawmakers in recent weeks over Israeli weapons shipments.

I dont see why Israel should not be in the position to express at least some concern about the fate of people being expelled from their homeland, he told AP.

Azerbaijans September blitz involving heavy artillery, rocket launchers and drones  largely supplied by Israel and Turkey, according to experts  forced Armenian separatist authorities to lay down their weapons and sit down for talks on the future of the separatist region.

The Azerbaijani offensive killed over 200 Armenians in the enclave, the vast majority of them fighters, and some 200 Azerbaijani troops, according to officials.

FILE - A convoy of cars of ethnic Armenians from Nagorno-Karabakh move to Kornidzor in Syunik region, Armenia, on Sept. 26, 2023. Israel has quietly helped fuel Azerbaijans campaign to recapture Nagorno-Karabakh, officials and experts say, supplying powerful weapons to Azerbaijan ahead of its lightening offensive last month that brought the Armenian enclave in its territory back under its control. (AP Photo/Vasily Krestyaninov, File)

There are ramifications beyond the volatile enclave of 4,400 square kilometers (1,700 square miles). The fighting prompted over 100,000 people  more than 80% of the enclaves ethnic Armenian residents  to flee in the last two weeks. Azerbaijan has pledged to respect the rights of ethnic Armenians.

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has termed the exodus a direct act of an ethnic cleansing. Azerbaijans Foreign Ministry strongly rejected the accusation, saying the departures are a personal and individual decision and (have) nothing to do with forced relocation.

Israels foreign and defense ministries declined to comment on the use of Israeli weapons in Nagorno-Karabakh or on Armenian concerns about its military partnership with Azerbaijan. In July, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant visited Baku, the Azerbaijan capital, where he praised the countries military cooperation and joint fight against terrorism.

Israel has a big stake in Azerbaijan, which serves as a critical source of oil and is a staunch ally against Israels archenemy Iran. It is also a lucrative customer of sophisticated arms.

Theres no doubt about our position in support of Azerbaijans defense, said Arkady Mil-man, Israels former ambassador to Azerbaijan and current senior researcher at the Institute for National Security Studies in Tel Aviv. We have a strategic partnership to contain Iran.

Although once resource-poor Israel now has plenty of natural gas off its Mediterranean coast, Azerbaijan still supplies at least 40% of Israels oil needs, keeping cars and trucks on its roads. Israel turned to Bakus offshore deposits in the late 1990s, creating an oil pipeline through the Turkish transport hub of Ceyan that isolated Iran, which at the time capitalized on oil flowing through its pipelines from Kazakhstan to world markets.

Azerbaijan has long been suspicious of Iran, its fellow Shiite Muslim neighbor on the Caspian Sea, and chafed at its support for Armenia, which is Christian. Iran has accused Azerbaijan of hosting a base for Israeli intelligence operations against it  a claim that Azerbaijan and Israel deny.

Its clear to us that Israel has an interest in keeping a military presence in Azerbaijan, using its territory to observe Iran, Armenian diplomat Tigran Balayan said.

Few have benefited more from the two countries close relations than Israeli military contractors. Experts estimate Israel supplied Azerbaijan with nearly 70% of its arsenal between 2016 and 2020  giving Azerbaijan an edge against Armenia and boosting Israels large defense industry.

Israeli arms have played a very significant role in allowing the Azerbaijani army to reach its objectives, said Pieter Wezeman, senior researcher at the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, which tracks arms sales.

Israeli long-range missiles and exploding drones known as loitering munitions have made up for Azerbaijans small air force, Wezeman said, even at times striking deep within Armenia itself. Meanwhile, Israeli Barak-8 surface-to-air missiles have protected Azerbaijans airspace in shooting down missiles and drones, he added.

Just ahead of last months offensive, the Azerbaijani defense ministry announced the army conducted a missile test of Barak-8. Its developer, Israel Aerospace Industries, declined to comment on Azerbaijans use of its air defense system and combat drones.

But Azerbaijan has raved about the success of Israeli drones in slicing through the Armenian defenses and tipping the balance in the bloody six-week war in 2020.

Nightmare for the Armenian army

Its defense minister in 2016 called a combat drone manufactured by Israels Aeronautics Group a nightmare for the Armenian army, which backed the regions separatists during Azerbaijans conflict with Nagorno-Karabakh that year.

President Ilham Aliyev in 2021  a year of deadly Azerbaijan-Armenian border clashes  was captured on camera smiling as he stroked the small Israeli suicide drone Harop during an arms showcase.

Israel has deployed similar suicide drones during deadly army raids against Palestinian militants in the occupied West Bank.

Were glad for this cooperation, it was quite supportive and quite beneficial for defense, Azerbaijanis ambassador to Israel, Mukhtar Mammadov told the AP, speaking generally about Israels support for the Azerbaijani military. Were not hiding it.

At a crucial moment in early September  as diplomats scrambled to avert an escalation  flight tracking data shows that Azerbaijani cargo planes began to stream into Ovda, a military base in southern Israel with a 3,000-meter-long airstrip, known as the only airport in Israel that handles the export of explosives.

The AP identified at least six flights operated by Azerbaijans Silk Way Airlines landing at Ovda airport between Sept. 1 and Sept. 17 from Baku, according to aviation-tracking website FlightRadar24.com. Azerbaijan launched its offensive two days later.

During those six days, the Russian-made Ilyushin Il-76 military transport lingered on Ovdas tarmac for several hours before departing for either Baku or Ganja, the countrys second-largest city, just north of Nagorno-Karabakh.

In March, an investigation by the Haaretz newspaper said it had counted 92 Azerbaijani military cargo flights to Ovda airport from 2016-2020. Sudden surges of flights coincided with upticks of fighting in Nagorno-Karabkh, it found.

During the 2020 war, we saw flights every other day and now, again, we see this intensity of flights leading up to the current conflict, said Akopian, the Armenian ambassador. It is clear to us whats happening.

Israels defense ministry declined to comment on the flights. The Azerbaijani ambassador, Mammadov, said he was aware of the reports but declined to comment.

The decision to support an autocratic government against an ethnic and religious minority has fueled a debate in Israel about the countrys permissive arms export policies. Of the top 10 arms manufactures globally, only Israel and Russia lack legal restrictions on weapons exports based on human rights concerns.

If anyone can identify with (Nagorno-Karabakh) Armenians continuing fear of ethnic cleansing it is the Jewish people, said Avidan Freedman, founder of the Israeli advocacy group Yanshoof, which seeks to stop Israeli arm sales to human rights violators. Were not interested in becoming accomplices.
Hong Kong (CNN)  China appears to have censored a photograph of two Chinese hurdlers embracing after a race because their lane numbers formed an accidental reference to the Tiananmen massacre in 1989.

The image captures Lin Yuwei, from lane 6, and Wu Yanni, in lane 4, hugging following the womens 100-meter hurdles final at the Asian Games in Hangzhou.

As they stood together, stickers showing their lane numbers formed 6 4, a pairing widely seen as a reference to June 4, 1989.

That day Chinese military tanks rolled into the capital Beijing during a bloody crackdown to clear students protesting for democracy in Tiananmen Square.

Beijing tightly controls references to the event, scrubbing all mention of it from the internet within China, and moving quickly to erase any reference to it on social media, including even seemingly innocuous moments when the numbers 6,4 and 89 appear together and are entirely unrelated to Tiananmen.

The race took place on October 1, Chinas National Day, a delicate occasion when the authorities are more vigilant against any signs of dissent that may distract from celebrations.

State broadcaster CCTV originally posted the photograph on Weibo, Chinas Twitter-like social media service, on Sunday night, but removed it from its account about an hour later, CNN has found.

A search on Weibo Thursday no longer yielded results of the same image, though scattered postings of another photograph showing the two athletes crossing a hurdle with their lane numbers on display  though in an less conspicuous manner  can still be found.

The photograph cannot be found on Baidu, Chinas popular search engine, and Google services are blocked in the country.

The image can be seen in an article published Monday by state news agency Xinhua but the numbers have been cropped out of the photo.

CNN has reached out to Weibo, Baidu, CCTV and the Propaganda Department of the Chinese Communist Party for comment.

China imposes stringent censorship not just on criticism of the Communist Party but also matters it deems sensitive and incongruous with the partys values and ideology.

The rules have in the past led to the censorship of what might appear to some to be innocuous images, such as womens cleavage and men modeling in lingerie as a gimmick on social media to boost sales.

This story was first published on CNN.com, "China censored this photo of two athletes. Was it for a perceived Tiananmen massacre reference?"
FILE - Ethnic Armenians from Nagorno-Karabakh travel on a truck on their way to Kornidzor, Armenia, on Sept. 26, 2023. Israel has quietly helped fuel Azerbaijans campaign to recapture Nagorno-Karabakh, officials and experts say, supplying powerful weapons to Azerbaijan ahead of its lightening offensive last month that brought the Armenian enclave in its territory back under its control.(Stepan Poghosyan, Photolure photo via AP, File)

TEL AVIV, Israel (AP)  Israel has quietly helped fuel Azerbaijans campaign to recapture Nagorno-Karabakh, supplying powerful weapons to Azerbaijan ahead of its lightening offensive last month that brought the ethnic Armenian enclave back under its control, officials and experts say.

Just weeks before Azerbaijan launched its 24-hour assault on Sept. 19, Azerbaijani military cargo planes repeatedly flew between a southern Israeli airbase and an airfield near Nagorno-Karabakh, according to flight tracking data and Armenian diplomats, even as Western governments were urging peace talks.

The flights rattled Armenian officials in Yerevan, long wary of the strategic alliance between Israel and Azerbaijan, and shined a light on Israels national interests in the restive region south of the Caucasus Mountains.

For us, it is a major concern that Israeli weapons have been firing at our people, Arman Akopian, Armenias ambassador to Israel, told The Associated Press. In a flurry of diplomatic exchanges, Akopian said he expressed alarm to Israeli politicians and lawmakers in recent weeks over Israeli weapons shipments.

I dont see why Israel should not be in the position to express at least some concern about the fate of people being expelled from their homeland," he told AP.

Azerbaijan's September blitz involving heavy artillery, rocket launchers and drones  largely supplied by Israel and Turkey, according to experts  forced Armenian separatist authorities to lay down their weapons and sit down for talks on the future of the separatist region.

The Azerbaijani offensive killed over 200 Armenians in the enclave, the vast majority of them fighters, and some 200 Azerbaijani troops, according to officials.

There are ramifications beyond the volatile enclave of 4,400 square kilometers (1,700 square miles). The fighting prompted over 100,000 people  more than 80% of the enclave's ethnic Armenian residents  to flee in the last two weeks. Azerbaijan has pledged to respect the rights of ethnic Armenians.

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has termed the exodus a direct act of an ethnic cleansing. Azerbaijans Foreign Ministry strongly rejected the accusation, saying the departures are a personal and individual decision and (have) nothing to do with forced relocation.

Israels foreign and defense ministries declined to comment on the use of Israeli weapons in Nagorno-Karabakh or on Armenian concerns about its military partnership with Azerbaijan. In July, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant visited Baku, the Azerbaijan capital, where he praised the countries' military cooperation and joint fight against terrorism.

Israel has a big stake in Azerbaijan, which serves as a critical source of oil and is a staunch ally against Israels archenemy Iran. It is also a lucrative customer of sophisticated arms.

Theres no doubt about our position in support of Azerbaijans defense, said Arkady Mil-man, Israel's former ambassador to Azerbaijan and current senior researcher at the Institute for National Security Studies in Tel Aviv. We have a strategic partnership to contain Iran.

Although once resource-poor Israel now has plenty of natural gas off its Mediterranean coast, Azerbaijan still supplies at least 40% of Israel's oil needs, keeping cars and trucks on its roads. Israel turned to Bakus offshore deposits in the late 1990s, creating an oil pipeline through the Turkish transport hub of Ceyan that isolated Iran, which at the time capitalized on oil flowing through its pipelines from Kazakhstan to world markets.

Azerbaijan has long been suspicious of Iran, its fellow Shiite Muslim neighbor on the Caspian Sea, and chafed at its support for Armenia, which is Christian. Iran has accused Azerbaijan of hosting a base for Israeli intelligence operations against it  a claim that Azerbaijan and Israel deny.

It's clear to us that Israel has an interest in keeping a military presence in Azerbaijan, using its territory to observe Iran, Armenian diplomat Tigran Balayan said.

Few have benefited more from the two countries' close relations than Israeli military contractors. Experts estimate Israel supplied Azerbaijan with nearly 70% of its arsenal between 2016 and 2020  giving Azerbaijan an edge against Armenia and boosting Israels large defense industry.

Israeli arms have played a very significant role in allowing the Azerbaijani army to reach its objectives, said Pieter Wezeman, senior researcher at the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, which tracks arms sales.

Israeli long-range missiles and exploding drones known as loitering munitions have made up for Azerbaijans small air force, Wezeman said, even at times striking deep within Armenia itself. Meanwhile, Israeli Barak-8 surface-to-air missiles have protected Azerbaijans airspace in shooting down missiles and drones, he added.

Just ahead of last month's offensive, the Azerbaijani defense ministry announced the army conducted a missile test of Barak-8. Its developer, Israel Aerospace Industries, declined to comment on Azerbaijan's use of its air defense system and combat drones.

But Azerbaijan has raved about the success of Israeli drones in slicing through the Armenian defenses and tipping the balance in the bloody six-week war in 2020.

Its defense minister in 2016 called a combat drone manufactured by Israels Aeronautics Group a nightmare for the Armenian army," which backed the region's separatists during Azerbaijans conflict with Nagorno-Karabakh that year.

President Ilham Aliyev in 2021  a year of deadly Azerbaijan-Armenian border clashes  was captured on camera smiling as he stroked the small Israeli suicide drone Harop during an arms showcase.

Israel has deployed similar suicide drones during deadly army raids against Palestinian militants in the occupied West Bank.

Were glad for this cooperation, it was quite supportive and quite beneficial for defense, Azerbaijanis ambassador to Israel, Mukhtar Mammadov told the AP, speaking generally about Israel's support for the Azerbaijani military. Were not hiding it.

At a crucial moment in early September  as diplomats scrambled to avert an escalation  flight tracking data shows that Azerbaijani cargo planes began to stream into Ovda, a military base in southern Israel with a 3,000-meter-long airstrip, known as the only airport in Israel that handles the export of explosives.

The AP identified at least six flights operated by Azerbaijan's Silk Way Airlines landing at Ovda airport between Sept. 1 and Sept. 17 from Baku, according to aviation-tracking website FlightRadar24.com. Azerbaijan launched its offensive two days later.

During those six days, the Russian-made Ilyushin Il-76 military transport lingered on Ovda's tarmac for several hours before departing for either Baku or Ganja, the countrys second-largest city, just north of Nagorno-Karabakh.

In March, an investigation by the Haaretz newspaper said it had counted 92 Azerbaijani military cargo flights to Ovda airport from 2016-2020. Sudden surges of flights coincided with upticks of fighting in Nagorno-Karabkh, it found.

During the 2020 war, we saw flights every other day and now, again, we see this intensity of flights leading up to the current conflict, said Akopian, the Armenian ambassador. It is clear to us whats happening.

Israel's defense ministry declined to comment on the flights. The Azerbaijani ambassador, Mammadov, said he was aware of the reports but declined to comment.

The decision to support an autocratic government against an ethnic and religious minority has fueled a debate in Israel about the country's permissive arms export policies. Of the top 10 arms manufactures globally, only Israel and Russia lack legal restrictions on weapons exports based on human rights concerns.

If anyone can identify with (Nagorno-Karabakh) Armenians' continuing fear of ethnic cleansing it is the Jewish people," said Avidan Freedman, founder of the Israeli advocacy group Yanshoof, which seeks to stop Israeli arm sales to human rights violators. We're not interested in becoming accomplices."
People gather around a blood stain surrounded with leaves near the West Bank city of Tulkarm where two Palestinians were reportedly killed during clashes with Israeli forces (Zain JAAFAR)

Israeli forces killed three Palestinian militants in two separate firefights in the occupied West Bank on Thursday, the Palestinian health ministry said.

The Israeli army confirmed its soldiers had been engaged in a shootout that killed two gunmen near Tulkarem in the northern West Bank.

The Palestinian health ministry named the two men killed as Abdul Rahman Atta, 23, and Huthaifa Faris, 27, saying they died as a result of "occupation (Israeli) bullets". Hamas identified them as members of its armed wing.

A third Palestinian was shot dead by Israeli soldiers later on Thursday after opening fire at a car further south in the West Bank, the army said. The Palestinian ministry confirmed a death without identifying the slain man.

The army said earlier that five Israeli police officers were wounded by an explosive device in a separate clash, which was confirmed by Hamas militants, also in the northern West Bank.

Israel's military said the deadly gunfight in the Tulkarem area had erupted after soldiers identified a "suspicious vehicle" near Shufa village.

"Soldiers engaged and, after exchanges of fire, the two terrorists were neutralised," the military said.

The incident came after reports that an Israeli vehicle was shot at in the area, according to the army statement.

The Palestinian Red Crescent Society said Israeli forces "prevented our crews from treating them and took them away" from the scene at a Shufa checkpoint.

Following the shootings, Palestinians gathered on a road around bloodstains which had been marked out by leaves arranged in a heart shape on the ground, an AFP photographer said.

- Surging violence -

Violence also rocked the Tulkarem refugee camp during a raid by Israeli forces.

The military said forces had engaged in "an exchange of fire" and that militants hurled explosives at them.

As they withdrew from the camp, five Israeli police officers were wounded by an explosive device.

Both Hamas and the Islamic Jihad militant group said their fighters ambushed Israeli forces in Tulkarem, using improvised explosive devices.

They "detonated a number of IEDs against the vehicles storming (the camp), then engaged in clashes" at close range with the Israeli forces, Hamas said in a statement.

On Thursday afternoon, the army said an armed Palestinian had opened fired at a car in Huwara, a Palestinian town that has become the site of frequent violence since the start of the year.

Troops chased down the man and "neutralised" him in "an exchange of fire... near the scene of the attack", the army said, with the Palestinian health ministry reporting a death.

A surge in violence has hit the West Bank, which Israel has occupied since the 1967 Arab-Israeli war.

There has been a rise in army raids, Palestinian attacks targeting Israelis and Israeli settler violence against Palestinians and their property.

So far this year at least 246 Palestinians, 32 Israelis and two foreigners have been killed in the conflict, including combatants and civilians on both sides, according to Israeli and Palestinian officials.

bur/crb/mj/ami/kir
TULKARM, West Bank (Reuters) -Two Palestinian gunmen were killed and five Israeli soldiers were wounded in occupied West Bank clashes on Thursday and Israeli troops killed the suspect in a later shooting attack on Israeli motorists.

The military said the two gunmen in the first incident fired shots from a car at an Israeli vehicle near the town of Tulkarm. It said a pursuit and gunfight ensued, and soldiers killed the two men before recovering an assault rifle from their car.

The Islamist militant group Hamas claimed the slain Palestinians, aged 23 and 27, as its members.

Hamas and another armed faction, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, said they had inflicted Israeli casualties in gun and bomb ambushes in a separate clash within Tulkarm.

The army said five Israeli soldiers were wounded in that incident, as they detained a Palestinian militant. Islamic Jihad said one of its members was in Israeli custody.

Hours later, a suspected Palestinian gunman shot at an Israeli vehicle driving through the village of Huwara, emergency services said. There were no casualties in the incident, footage of which soon circulated on social media.

The video, which could not immediately be verified by Reuters, shows a man opening fire at the back of a car standing in traffic before the vehicle swerves over to the opposite lane and the man runs after it while appearing to fire more shots.

The military said it tracked the suspect down and "neutralised" him in an exchange of fire. The Palestinian Health Ministry said he was killed by the Israeli forces.

The West Bank, among the territories where Palestinians seek statehood, has experienced a surge of violence in recent months amid an almost decade-old impasse in U.S.-sponsored peacemaking.

(Reporting by Ali Sawafta, Nidal al-Mughrabi and Maayan Lubell; Editing by Bernadette Baum and Howard Goller)
Russian forces recently transferred several Black Sea Fleet ships from Sevastopol in occupied Crimea to a port in Novorossiysk, Russia, likely in an attempt to safeguard the vessels from further Ukrainian strikes, the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) wrote in its Oct. 4 report.

According to satellite imagery from Oct. 1 and Oct. 3, the Russian military has moved at least 10 vessels, including the frigates Admiral Makarov and Admiral Essen, from Sevastopol to Novorossiysk.

The transfer also reportedly includes three diesel submarines, five landing ships, and multiple small missile ships.

The ISW views the vessel transfer as a defensive move, though it noted that a Russian think tank, Center for Analysis of Strategies and Technologies, claimed the transfer was routine.

On Sept. 22, the Ukrainian military confirmed a successful strike on the Black Sea Fleet's headquarters in Sevastopol. The attack was reportedly carried out with long-range Storm Shadow missiles.

On Oct. 3, U.K. Armed Forces Minister James Heappey said Ukraine's attacks resulted in "the functional defeat" of the Russian fleet.

"Russian forces may be temporarily moving some vessels to Novorossiysk following multiple strikes on BSF assets in and near Sevastopol but will likely continue to use Sevastopols port, which remains the BSFs base," the ISW said.

Russia's Black Sea Fleet has actively blocked trade routes following the collapse of the Black Sea Grain Initiative, threatening global food supplies.

Read also: Uncertain Triumph: Ukraine picks apart Russias best air defenses in Crimea

Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent.
At his new Italian restaurant Erba, Chef Niven Patel pays tribute to the classics. But South Florida is still on his mind  and the menu.

Splashes of Miami are everywhere. The clams in the traditional linguine al vongole are gone, supplanted by braised Bahamian conch. Hearts of palm stand in for artichokes, while the rotolo pasta dish includes calabaza squash. Smoked grouper tonnato replaces the usual tuna in an heirloom tomato dish, and even the tiramisu has been reimagined with espresso and rum as a salute to Miamis Latin culture.

Erba, which just opened in Coral Gables on South Dixie Highway, is located just up the road from two other Patel restaurants, the Michelin-recognized Orno and the tropical Mamey, both at the Thesis Hotel. Like those spots, Erba  from Patel and partner Mohamed Alkassars Alpareno Restaurant Group  will highlight local delicacies.

The James Beard-nominated Patel, who was named one of Food & Wines Best New Chefs in 2020, is famous for his passion for growing his own ingredients at Rancho Patel, his Homestead farm. Even so, creating the menu for Erba was different than putting together the menus for Orno, Mamey and his Indian restaurant in Kendall, Ghee, a Michelin Bib Gourmand.

Unlike a lot of menus weve created, for this one we sat in a room and asked, What ingredients do I want to work with? versus What dish do I want to create?  Patel said. We listed the ingredients, then came up with the dish. It really turned out to be a unique menu.

Partners Mohamed Alkassar and Niven Patel at their new restaurant Erba in Coral Gables.

The menu ranges from the sea and across the land, with vegetable dishes and pastas, meat and seafood. Classics stand out with Patels particular creative twists, such as the Mishima Reserve Denver steak with bone marrow salsa verde and turnips or the Niman Ranch Iberico Porchetta Chop, which Alkassar calls unique.

And its fitting at a restaurant inspired by Patels time in Florence, that the menu also includes a classic Bistecca alla Fiorentina with rosemary butter and grilled potatoes.

The menu will change seasonally, of course. The farm has just started planting for the winter growing season, and other local farmers are growing specific items for the restaurant that diners will find on the menu come December.

We work three or four months ahead, Patel said. Were at natures mercy after that. But Italian food is all about whats in season.

Instead of using the traditional clams, Chef Niven Patel uses Bahamian conch with pasta in the dish mafaldine at Erba.

Even the cocktail menu, which Patel and Alkassar collaborated on with mixologist Scott Beattie from the Michelin-starred Barndiva in Healdsburg, Calif., makes use of Rancho Patel highlights, with drinks like the Butterfly, with Rancho Patel pea flowers, yuzu and pickled huckleberries. Other specialties include the Seville Orange Spritz.

Alkassar said that the upscale cocktail program is one of the elements that sets Erba apart.

Nivens food is so exceptional, its hard to match that level, he said. With Erba, weve been able to level up, with the cocktail program, the design and the ambiance.

Coral Gables keeps growing as a haven for restaurants; just last month, restaurateur Thomas Keller opened an outpost of his famous French Bouchon bistro. But Alkassar believes theres plenty of room for new restaurants in the city, which he says cares passionately about its dining options.

We find the community in Coral Gables very appreciative of quality ingredients, good food and humble hospitality, which is more of what we embody, he said. Thats part of our core value. This community isnt looking to see and be seen. Theyre looking for a good bite. Theyre very kind to our staff. It really fits the people we are.

The Mishima Reserve Denver steak with bone marrow salsa verde at Erba restaurant in Coral Gables.

Erba

Where: 227 South Dixie Highway, Coral Gables

Hours: 5:30-10 p.m. Sunday-Thursday; 5:30-11 p.m. Friday-Saturday. The restaurant also offers a special eight-course Chefs Table for two to six guests, with two seatings a night; $190 per person.

More information and reservations: erbamiami.com or 305-712-7788
I've been traveling solo for 2 years and there are 3 reasons I'll always choose hotels over Airbnbs

I have been traveling solo for two years and I always prefer hotels over Airbnbs.

Hotels make me feel safer, provide opportunities to socialize, and staff can help in emergencies.

I encourage travelers to lean into whichever type of accommodation works for them.

I'm a travel writer, which means I'm well versed on the allure of Airbnb.

The vacation rental company seemingly has something for everyone, from Barbie-themed castles to quirky tiny homes and even celebrity guest houses.

But when it comes to navigating trips solo, I tend to err on the side of caution and book hotels.

I've been traveling alone on and off for around two years. I have mostly visited European cities, including London, Luxembourg, Brussels, and Oslo. I booked hotels during all of these trips and found that it made me feel safe and provided more opportunities for socialization than if I had stayed in an Airbnb by myself.

I avoid Airbnbs when traveling alone for safety concerns

Firstly, I want to acknowledge that I've had some positive experiences with Airbnb. Just last fall, my family and I spent two nights in a cabin in the Lake District, England, which was fantastic.

It can be great for large groups, as there is more space and privacy than you would have if staying at a hostel or hotel. But for me personally, I don't like staying in Airbnbs when traveling alone for safety reasons.

If you do decide to stay at an Airbnb solo, my colleague Joey Hadden wrote about why she always books Airbnbs for two people even when traveling alone. Airbnb did not respond to comment for this story but has a landing page of safety tips for guests.

Mikhaila Friel photographed in Brussels, Belgium. Mikhaila Friel/Insider

Personally, I had a scary experience when walking back to my hotel from a train station in Brussels earlier this year. I noticed a man who was walking close by and staring at me.

At first, I wondered if I had imagined it. But when I quickened my pace, he didn't stop staring and even began to follow me down the street. A gut feeling in my stomach told me something was wrong, so I flagged down a fellow tourist, who waited with me on the other side of the road until the man eventually walked away.

I felt lucky that the man didn't see where I was staying. But I also felt confident knowing that if anyone were to follow me to my hotel, they wouldn't be able to access my room. There are security cameras, reception staff, and other measures in place to protect hotel guests. But not all Airbnbs have the same measures.

Hotels can promote socialization

It's not unusual for solo travelers to get lonely once and a while. This certainly happened to me during my visit to Luxembourg earlier this year.

I've found that staying at hotels helped massively, as I was able to socialize with employees and other travelers when I was there.

Mikhaila Friel is seated for breakfast at "The White Lotus" hotel in Sicily. Mikhaila Friel/Insider

Whether traveling alone or in a group, I've always found making friends an enjoyable and relatively easy experience.

My top tip would be to find a hotel that has a buffet breakfast, as there could be more opportunities to speak to other diners if you are all walking around in the same space. And if your hotel has a bar or restaurant, this could also be a great opportunity to chat with the staff and to make friends with other travelers.

You don't have to deal with emergencies alone

Another reason I prefer hotels is because there are always staff on call, which can be useful if you ever find yourself in a medical emergency.

I was visiting Oslo, Norway, last spring when I became unwell and contemplated going to the hospital. I started to panic as my condition became worse and tried to figure out which hospital to get to as well as how to get there.

I alerted the hotel manager, who suggested going to a nearby out-of-hours medical center, as he said it would be less busy than the hospital. He even arranged for a taxi to take me there.

I was incredibly grateful for the kindness the manager showed and the timely approach he took when helping me. This calmed my nerves, and I know I would have panicked more if I had taken ill while alone in an Airbnb.

Hotels work great for me right now, but that's not to say I won't experiment with something new in the future. Ultimately, I encourage all travelers to lean into accommodation that helps them feel safe, inspired, and rested  whatever that may be.

Read the original article on Insider
Halloween has a new mascot and his name is Lewis.

The jack-o'-lantern, which is being sold at Target and is designed by Hyde and Eek Boutique, has become this season's most coveted Halloween decoration item, following in the footsteps of items like the iconic 12-foot Home Depot skeleton and the viral "Stranger Things" floating Max sculpture.

But it's more than just looks. The jack-o'-lantern, which sits atop a ghoulish body draped in tattered black robes, also speaks.

"I am not a jack-o'-lantern," he is heard saying in videos across TikTok. "My name is Lewis."

Videos of the decoration have racked up millions of views on the platform, including one video that has been viewed more than 8.1 million times. The TikTok hashtag "#MyNameIsLewis" had been viewed more than 18.5 million times as of Wednesday afternoon.

A spokesperson for Target did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the decoration's virality or how many have sold. Currently, Target's website lists the 8-foot Light and Sound Pumpkin Halloween Ghoul, which costs $180, as sold out.

Lewis stans have posted TikToks of themselves visiting their local Target's in order to run into a "celebrity." Others have made fan art featuring Lewis. One person even made a Lewis Halloween costume.

The band Smashing Pumpkins even got in on the fun. In a TikTok, the group joked it would rename the band "The Lewis Pumpkins."

One Target location even appeared to give the decoration a name tag. (In this video, the jack-o-lantern's name is spelled "Louie.")

Shannon Murphy, 26, is believed to be the first person to post a video of Lewis, according to meme database Know Your Meme. A video she posted on Sept. 27 of the decoration uttering its now-famous phrase has more than 2 million views.

Murphy said she was walking through her local Huntington Beach, California, Target when she heard the decoration utter the "Lewis" line from a few aisles over. She filmed the clip of the line and posted it to her TikTok, not expecting it would take off with a viral life of its own.

Big news: I met Lewis at Target this week pic.twitter.com/6mnzp3Kpj4  WE GOT 12 MORE TOPPER (@Johnny_2Hats) October 1, 2023

The viral line has become so iconic because it's "almost theater of the absurd," she said.

But she's still had to explain why it's so funny to her parents. She said her mother is still wondering, "Who is Lewis?"

"It's breaking people's brains," she joked. "But, at this point, with everyone being on the internet, all of our senses of humor are a little bit broken."

Broken brains aside, Murphy said the decoration has served as a nice break on the internet, which can often be oversaturated with upsetting images and heavy news.

"It's so wholesome in its silliness," she said, adding, "He's Halloween's Paddington Bear."

This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
Former President Trump allegedly discussed classified information about U.S. nuclear submarine capabilities with an Australian billionaire at the former presidents Mar-a-Lago club after he left office, ABC News reported Thursday.

The billionaire then passed the classified information on to others, who reported the disclosures to federal special counsel Jack Smith, according to reports.

Trump allegedly discussed the submarines with billionaire Anthony Pratt in early 2021, disclosing classified information about how many nuclear armaments they carry and how close they can travel to Russian submarines without being detected.

ABC News reported that Pratt later shared that information with more than a dozen foreign officials, several of his own employees, and multiple journalists. The FBI and Department of Justice prosecutors have questioned Pratt about the information at least twice.

Smith charged Trump with illegally holding classified documents at the Mar-a-Lago property in June, alleging that he hid them from Department of Justice investigators. That case is scheduled to go to trial in May.

That case does not include mention of the alleged disclosures to Pratt.

According to those Pratt mentioned the conversation to, Trump told Pratt that Australia should purchase U.S. submarines, then disclosed the classified information while leaning toward him, as if to be discreet. He told a total of 45 people about the interaction, ABC News reported.

After months of negotiations, the Biden administration agreed to sell at least three nuclear-powered submarines to Australia in addition to training and other aid in a three-country defense agreement with the U.K. in March. Those submarines will not carry nuclear weapons.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Thanks, Obama !

A New Jersey electrician who is running for a seat in the State Assembly admits he once smeared poop on the doors of a day care center  and he says its Barack Obamas fault.

Joseph Viso Jr. is a Republican candidate for the 36th District, but, as the New Jersey Globe notes, he has a lengthy criminal record that includes federal and state convictions on drug and gun charges and a history of financial issues.

For instance, in 2016, he pleaded guilty in a federal court to one count of conspiracy to distribute methylone and was sentenced to three years of probation.

I was sick fighting cancer, and I got myself in trouble, Viso told the Globe. I had to sell my pain medications to pay for my health insurance.

Viso was given two years of probation in 2019 after being charged in 2014 with possessing a sawed-off shotgun near a school, possessing a gun while committing a crime and multiple drug offenses.

They raided my house and found a gun in my house, he explained. I live near a school.

There was also the time in 2013 when he was charged with possession of heroin and served seven days in jail.

But those crimes arent as gross as the one he was charged with in 2009: smearing fecal matter on the doors of a childrens day care center in East Rutherford.

Viso had a dispute with the day care center, which was next to his business, and he told the Globe that day care employees harassed my men every day. They had cars ticketed every time my men parked on a side street.

At some point, he said, he decided to get even by smearing poop on the handles and locks of the child care facility.

After the investigating officer told Viso there was video evidence of his poop-smearing, he apologized and said, Im not proud of what I did.

He told the Globe that he later cleaned up the dookie-stained doors.

It was done before anyone got hurt, he said. Im not going to defend it.

Although Viso admitted it was wrong, he offered a bizarre excuse with echoes of Republicans this week blaming the Democratic Party for the ouster of House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.).

I was a young man. It was a horrible time, and I made a mistake, Viso, 52, said. Obama came into office the year before.

That would make Viso about 39 at the time, an age when most people have learned not to smear poop.

Viso is running against two incumbents, neither of whom have any poop-smearing allegations on their record  yet!
Republican candidate for New Jersey State Assembly Joseph Viso Jr. confessed to once smearing feces on a childrens day care centerbut he says Barack Obama is to blame.

Viso, an electrician with a lengthy rap sheet, took a page out of a toddlers handbook when, in an escalating feud with a day care center located adjacent to his electrical company, he smeared poop on the businesss doors.

When asked about the incident, which occurred in 2009, Viso said he was angry because he believed that employees of the day care, called Childrens Studio, were getting his employees cars ticketed anytime they parked near the business. Those people harassed my men every day, Viso told the New Jersey Globe.



The police report of the incident noted that Viso Electric, his electrical company, would often blast music with offensive lyrics next to the playground of the day care center.



While Viso admitted the act was wrong, he also tried to explain his strange behavior in an oddly political and completely inane way.

I was a young man. It was a horrible time, and I made a mistake, he said. Obama came into office the year before.

Viso was about 38 years old at the time of the poop-smearing incident.



After the incident, Viso pleaded guilty to criminal mischief charges and was fined $250. Viso has a lengthy record of criminal convictions on federal and state gun and drug charges, including possessing enough methylone to make five million Molly or ecstasy tablets in 2016, and possessing a sawed-off shotgun in proximity to a school in 2014.
(CNN)  Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani filed a defamation lawsuit Wednesday against President Joe Biden for calling him a Russian pawn during a presidential debate nearly three years ago.

Giuliani announced the lawsuit at a rambling news conference outside a courthouse in New Hampshire, where he filed to take advantage of the states defamation laws.

The former mayor reiterated several familiar attacks against Biden and his son, Hunter, though he only sued the president  despite the high bar for statements by public figures in a political setting to be found defamatory.

The move comes as Giuliani is facing his own legal exposure on several fronts and new questions about his ability to pay the lawyers representing him. Wednesdays news conference took place shortly after news broke that another lawyer, who has been representing Giuliani in the Georgia election subversion case, had withdrawn.

Asked if he was concerned about Giulianis ability to pay his legal fees in this case, as his debts mount, Lou Diamond, one of the attorneys who appeared Wednesday alongside the former New York mayor, told reporters, That is the furthest thing from my mind.

When I say hes my friend, he is my friend. And hes the friend of the country. He is Americas mayor, Diamond said.

CNN has reached out to the White House for comment.

Giuliani also addressed reporting from The New York Times that prosecutors from special counsel Jack Smiths office have asked about the former mayors drinking habits  and what Donald Trump knew about it while Giuliani served as the former presidents personal lawyer.

Trump has been indicted in Smiths federal election interference case, and CNN previously reported that Giuliani is listed as co-conspirator 1 in that case. Giuliani has not been charged with a crime in that case.

If I had an alcohol problem, and I could do all of that, I should be in the Guinness Book of Records, Giuliani said at the news conference in New Hampshire, where he listed off his accomplishments as a former federal prosecutor and mayor. I do not have an alcohol problem. I have never had an alcohol problem.

At the center of Giulianis new lawsuit are comments made by then-candidate Joe Biden during a presidential debate in Nashville in late 2020. At the time, Biden said Russia was feeding Giuliani false information to help Trumps chances of getting elected president.

Theyre interfering with American sovereignty. Thats whats going on right now. Theyre interfering with American sovereignty. To the best of my knowledge, I dont think the presidents said anything to [Russian President Vladimir Putin] about it, Biden said at the time, referring to Moscows efforts to undermine the US electoral process.

His own national security adviser told him that what is happening with his buddy  well I shouldnt, well, I will  his buddy Rudy Giuliani, Biden added. Hes being used as a Russian pawn. Hes being fed information that is Russian, that is not true. And then what happens? Nothing happens. And then you find out that everything is going on here about Russia is wanting to make sure that I do not get elected the next president of the United States because they know I know them, and they know me.

Giuliani said Wednesday he has been personally harmed by Bidens comments, which he called false.

In 2021, the US intelligence community assessed that Putin had purview over the activities of Andriy Derkach, a Kremlin-linked former Ukrainian lawmaker, who met with Giuliani and repeatedly promoted anti-Biden disinformation.

Giuliani also insisted that the lawsuit was not retaliation for a lawsuit previously filed by Hunter Biden against Giuliani and his former attorney that asserted they violated federal and state computer privacy laws through their alleged efforts to hack his devices.

CORRECTION: The description of the news conference Rudy Giuliani hosted has been updated.

This story was first published on CNN.com. "Rudy Giuliani sues Joe Biden for calling him a Russian pawn"
President Biden has nominated Hampton Dellinger , who previously worked alongside Hunter Biden at a law firm involved with energy company Burisma Holdings, to serve as special counsel.

The White House announced the move in a Tuesday press release as the term of Henry Kerner, the position's current occupant, expires. The Office of Special Counsel is primarily responsible for safeguarding the "merit system by protecting federal employees and applicants from prohibited personnel practices, especially reprisal for whistleblowing," its website states.

Biden previously nominated Dellinger as an assistant attorney general overseeing the Justice Department's Office of Legal Policy, a position he held between October 2021 and June 2023. Dellinger had also previously donated to Biden's candidacy.

FEDERAL INVESTIGATORS FLOATED SEX TRAFFICKING CHARGES AGAINST HUNTER BIDEN, DOC SHOWS

President Biden nominated Hampton Dellinger as special counsel on Tuesday.

Dellinger, who graduated from Yale Law School, worked on Boies Schiller Flexner's Crisis Management and Government Response team while Hunter Biden served as counsel at the firm.

The firm had represented Ukrainian energy company Burisma Holdings, where Hunter Biden had served on its board of directors.

READ ON THE FOX NEWS APP

Fox News Digital reviewed emails on Hunter's abandoned laptop, which showed he worked intimately with lawyers on the firm's crisis management team and indicated he attended a private gathering with Dellinger and other firm employees in March 2014.

In a February 2014 email, Dellinger told Hunter it was "great to see [him] last week" and asked whether he would be attending an attorney lunch. Hunter appeared to have a conflict, but said he would be in the office the next day.

"I will be here tomorrow and be great to catch up," Dellinger said.

Communication from the laptop also showed that William Isaacson, a Boies Schiller Flexner partner, in March 2014 organized a dinner for individuals on the firm's Crisis Management and Government Response team.

In one of the emails, Isaacson had said that Biden, Dellinger and others had confirmed their attendance at the dinner. Hunter Biden had also later asked several of the firm's colleagues, including Dellinger, if the dinner was still taking place.

DEMOCRATS' NEW HUNTER BIDEN TALKING POINT: BIDEN ONLY GUILTY OF BEING A LOVING FATHER

Hunter Biden previously worked at the Boise Schiller Flexner law firm alongside Dellinger.

Hunter Biden, meanwhile, said he introduced Burisma as a potential client for Boise Schiller Flexner weeks after the scheduled dinner party.

In an April 2014 email, he stated he was brainstorming with the company to "think strategically about the current crisis and expansion of their existing domestic operations." Hunter Biden had suggested they meet with the Crisis Management and Government Response team members.

Multiple Boise Schiller partners who were Cc'd on the emails that included Dellinger were closely in contact with Hunter and his longtime business partner, Eric Schwerin, in 2014 and 2015 as Hunter relied on them for crisis management for Burisma-related matters. Partners Michael Gottlieb, Karen Dunn, and Heather King were frequently mentioned in Burisma-related emails. However, it is unclear whether Dellinger was involved.

It's unclear if Dellinger did any work for Burisma Holdings.

Dellinger has also previously donated to President Biden's campaign and Biden Victory Fund. According to campaign finance records, he gave a combined $1,500 to both entities during the 2020 presidential election.

The position Biden nominated Dellinger for is unrelated to the special counsel currently investigating the president's handling of classified documents. Instead, it works to safeguard whistleblowers and deals with potential Hatch Act violations.

The White House did not respond to a Fox News Digital request for comment.





Original article source: Joe Biden nominates former Hunter Biden law firm colleague as special counsel
President Joe Biden will resume deportations to Venezuela in an endeavor to limit the record-breaking number of migrants from the country crossing the U.S. southern border. In September, 50,000 Venezuelans entered the U.S. without permission, accounting for approximately 25 percent of all Border Patrol confrontations that month. The restart of deportations may raise concerns from human rights advocates who point to the countrys damaged economy and political system. Before the Thursday confirmation by anonymous senior administration officials obtained by CNN, the U.S. did not conduct deportations due to its tense relations with Venezuelas authoritarian socialist government, which is the subject of sanctions over its human rights abuses. But now, Venezuelas situation has pushed 7.7 million people to flee the countrythe largest exodus in the Western Hemisphere.

Read it at CNN

Read more at The Daily Beast.
Biden 's dog, Commander, has been taken off the White House campus, a spokesperson said. SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images

President Joe Biden's dog had to be taken from the White House after he kept biting staff.

The German shepherd, Commander, is one of three dogs the Bidens have kept in the White House.

Commander has bitten Secret Service staff at least 10 times, records show.

One of President Joe Biden's dogs, a German shepherd named Commander, has been removed from the White House after a string of biting incidents.

"Commander is not presently on the White House campus while next steps are evaluated," Elizabeth Alexander, a spokesperson for First Lady Jill Biden , said in a statement to CNN, which first reported Commander's removal.

Commander has bitten Secret Service staff at least 10 times between October 2022 and January 2023, according to records from the Department of Homeland Security obtained by Judicial Watch.

At least one agent was sent to the hospital in one of these incidents, the records show. An 11th incident in September was reported by CNN.

The outlet, citing unnamed sources, wrote that the two-year-old dog has also bitten other White House workers and resident staff.

Commander's removal from the White House comes after Biden's two other dogs, Champ and Major, were reported to have bitten Secret Service staff in 2021.

Champ and Major were moved temporarily to Delaware in early March, before the pair returned to the White House later that month.

After Champ died at the age of 13, the Bidens adopted Commander as a puppy in December 2021. Meanwhile, Major was sent off the White House for good that month.

White House Chief Groundskeeper Dale Haney takes Commander, for a walk at the White House on December 6, 2022. Haney was photographed being bitten by Commander in September. Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

The repeated biting incidents have prompted concerns over work safety for White House staff. They have reportedly become a source of strain between the Secret Service and the Biden family.

"We're beyond the point of worrying about trust being broken. We have to speak up," an anonymous person close to Biden's Secret Service detail told CNN, describing the White House work environment as "hostile" and "dangerous."

A former White House official told Axios they regularly interacted with Commander and Major, and said the Bidens and their top staff "refuse to engage in any problem-solving discussions" regarding the dogs' behavior.

The White House's statements to both outlets disagreed with those assessments.

"The President and First Lady care deeply about the safety of those who work at the White House and those who protect them every day," Alexander told CNN. "They remain grateful for the patience and support of the U.S. Secret Service and all involved, as they continue to work through solutions."

"The White House is chaotic and really stressful for pets  everyone knows this and have been trying to work through how to make things better and safer for everyone," a White House official told Axios. "To say that they and their 'inner circle' aren't working on this or are refusing to engage is just not true."

On the other hand, Politico on Monday quoted two White House staffers saying that Commander is friendly and well-loved by Biden's staff  and tends to bite only Secret Service agents.

"The White House is just a crazy environment for a dog," one former White House official told the outlet. "There are enormous men with guns acting suspiciously hostile everywhere."

The White House's press office did not immediately respond to a request for comment sent outside regular business hours.

Read the original article on Business Insider
Norwegian dramatist Jon Fosse, seen here receiving the Ibsen Prize in 2010, has sometimes been referred to as the Samuel Beckett of the 21st century (Aleksander andersen)

Norwegian author Jon Fosse is an all-rounder whose writing is defined more by form than content -- what is not said is often more revealing than what is.

Fosse -- a novelist, essayist, poet and children's author but who is best known as a playwright -- won the Nobel prize in literature on Thursday.

His dramatic works may not be easily accessible, but they are nonetheless among the most widely staged of any contemporary playwright in Europe.

Born among the fjords of western Norway, Fosse is usually seen clad in black with a few days' stubble.

He grew up in a family which followed a strict form of Lutheranism and rebelled by playing in a band and declaring himself an atheist. The 64-year-old ended up converting to Catholicism in 2013.

After studying literature, he made his debut in 1983 with the novel "Red, Black" which moves back and forth in time and between perspectives.

His major works include "Boathouse" (1989), which was well-received by critics, and "Melancholy" I and II (1995-1996).

His latest book, "Septology", a semi-autobiographical magnum opus -- seven parts spread across three volumes about a man who meets another version of himself -- runs to 1,250 pages without a single full stop.

The third volume was shortlisted for the 2022 International Booker Prize.

- Loaded silence -

Struggling to make ends meet as an author in the early 1990s, Fosse was asked to write the start of a play.

"It was the first time I had ever tried my hand at this kind of work, and it was the biggest surprise of my life as a writer. I knew, I felt, that this kind of writing was made for me," he once said in an interview with a French theatre website.

He enjoyed the form so much he wrote the entire play, entitled "Someone is Going to Come."

He went on to win international acclaim for his next play, "And We'll Never be Parted," in 1994.

His work has been translated into around 50 languages. According to his Norwegian publisher Samlaget, his plays have been staged more than 1,000 times around the world.

Fosse's work is minimalistic, relying on simple language which delivers its message through rhythm, melody and silence.

His characters don't talk much. And what they say is often repetitive, with tiny but significant changes from one repetition to the next. The words are kept in suspension, hanging in the air, often without punctuation.

"You don't read my books for the plots," he told the Financial Times in 2018.

"I don't write about characters in the traditional sense of the word. I write about humanity," Fosse also told French newspaper Le Monde in 2003.

"The sociological elements are present: unemployment, loneliness, broken families, but the essential matter is what's in between. What's in the cracks, the gaps between the characters and the elements of the text.

"The silence, what's not being said is more important than what's being said."

Married three times, the father-of-six gave up drinking some years ago after being treated in hospital for alcohol poisoning.

After a decade-long pause during which he said playwriting gave him no pleasure, he returned with a new piece for the theatre entitled "Sterk Vind" (Strong Wind, not yet translated into English).

Although his plays are notoriously difficult to stage, Fosse was ranked 83rd among the top 100 geniuses alive on a list compiled by the Daily Telegraph in 2007.

In a country whose authors tend to be little known abroad -- unless they write crime novels -- he has inevitably been compared with Norway's national playwright Henrik Ibsen, and in 2010 won the International Ibsen Award, one of the theatre world's most prestigious prizes.

But perhaps Samuel Beckett is a more apt comparison. Fosse has himself declared his admiration for the Irish icon, describing him, like himself, as "a painter for the theatre rather than an actual author".

phy/po/giv/jm
On to the next.

Jockeying to be the next Speaker of the House is in full swing after Rep. Kevin McCarthy s (R-Calif.) shocking ouster, with the two declared candidates  Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) and Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-Ohio)  lobbying for support and lawmakers beginning to pick sides in what is expected to be an intense race.

Endorsements are rolling in for each of the candidates, and both are making the rounds to various groups within the GOP conference to earn support.

A clear front-runner has yet to emerge. And some lawmakers are wondering if any candidate will be able to garner enough support to win the gavel.

From having gone through the Speaker fight in January, I dont think there was a path for Scalise to get the votes then and talking to colleagues I dont think there will be a path now. And right now its not clear that Jim has a path either, Rep. Warren Davidson (R-Ohio), who endorsed Jordan, told The Hill Thursday.

That could give way to a dark horse third option like Rep. Kevin Hern (R-Okla.), the chairman of the Republican Study Committee and a newcomer in Congress compared to the other two.

Hern has not officially entered the race and is working on contacting every member of the GOP conference before announcing his decision, according to a source familiar with his strategy.

They dont want the status quo, they dont want somebody thats been around 10, 15, 20 years, proceeding forward doing the same thing that weve seen time and time again, Hern said on Newsmax Wednesday night.

The top task for any candidate is to win enough support from the slim GOP majority that can carry them to victory on the House floor.

I think the most important thing is the vision that is cast that can unite the conference, Davidson added. The reality is, Im not sure theres any one person that everyone can trust. Its who can put together a plan that everyone can buy into and say alright, I can get on board with doing that.

Both Scalise and Jordan, in that context, think they are the right person for the job.

You need someone who can unite the conference and I think just as importantly unite the conservative and Republican movement across this country, thats what I think I can do, thats why Im running for the job, Jordan told Fox and Friends Thursday.

I have a proven track record of bringing together the diverse array of viewpoints within our Conference to build consensus where others thought it impossible, Scalise wrote in his letter to colleagues announcing his bid.

The majority leader also has the benefit of years of leadership experience and a team around him familiar with it, has been a major fundraiser for members, and has longtime relationships across the conference. While he was diagnosed with blood cancer in August and is undergoing treatment, that is not stopping him from seeking the Speakers gavel  and raking in endorsements.

We need a Speaker who will unite this conference and get everyone on the same page. Thats Steve Scalise, Rep. Andy Barr (R-Ky.) said on Fox Business.

Scalise has picked up backing from members hailing from the South and Midwest.

Jordan, meanwhile, is racking up support from fellow hard-line conservatives  and from the Buckeye State. At least five Ohio lawmakers have said they want Jordan to be the next Speaker.

Jordan brings a different flavor of leadership. He was the founding chairman of the tactically confrontational House Freedom Caucus and was instrumental in pushing out former Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio)  who has called Jordan a legislative terrorist. But after running against McCarthy for the House GOPs top spot in 2018, Jordan became his ally and secured more power for the hard-line conservatives  including, eventually, his Judiciary chairmanship.

While both claim to be unifiers, they have to prove it to their colleagues first.

Jordan spoke Thursday to members of the Main Street Caucus, according to a source familiar with the discussion. The groups members range from moderates in tough districts to Republicans in deep red ones who bill themselves as pragmatic conservatives.

It indicates that Jordan is seeking to build support from those who face tough races in 2024, who might worry about whether he can cater to their interests and needs, despite his firebrand past.

But a big issue for Main Street, as the group articulated in a statement Wednesday, is how to address the one-person motion to vacate threshold  the House rule that allows any single member to force a vote on ousting the Speaker, as Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) did to McCarthy. That runs up against the demands of hard-line conservatives who pushed McCarthy to adopt a one-person threshold in January as a condition of supporting him for Speaker.

Jordan has indicated that whatever decision is made on the rule  which would require a House vote to change  it should be decided within the House GOP.

If Im Speaker, Im not going to go to the Democrats and make that change, because theyre going to want some kind of other agreement on some other things, Jordan said on Fox.

The campaigning comes ahead of a Tuesday candidate forum and a Wednesday vote in the GOP conference on a nominee for Speaker. That individual would go up on the House floor against Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.), whom the Democratic caucus is planning to nominate for Speaker.

Those hoping to return to the business of the House quickly  doing work to avoid a government shutdown before the next deadline Nov. 17, for instance  hope that the conference will unite around a candidate during those closed-door meetings.

Members, however, are not confident that will be the case.

Hell no, Rep. Garret Graves (R-La.), a close McCarthy ally, said Wednesday when asked if he is confident the group will coalesce around someone next week to avoid another protracted Speakers race.

In January, it took McCarthy 15 rounds to finally secure the gavel, a process that dragged on for four days.

I think theres scenarios where Patrick McHenry could be in this job for an extended period of time, Graves added, referring to the Speaker pro tempore, who will preside over the chamber until a new Speaker is elected.

Davidson said having the process wrapped up next week will require some divine intervention.

I hope that we can do it during the course of next week, he said. If we do it Tuesday night, I mean, I think itll take some divine intervention.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
BEDFORD, N.H.  As Gov. Josh Shapiro takes his first concrete steps on the national stage, a cloud of a scandal involving one of his former top aides is emerging back home.

Last week, Mike Vereb, a member of Shapiros cabinet and a longtime ally to the Pennsylvania Democratic governor, abruptly resigned. A day later, local outlets reported that a former female aide to Vereb alleged that he had sexually harassed and retaliated against her.

According to the accuser, it was a well-traveled rumor in Harrisburg that Vereb, who was Shapiros secretary of legislative affairs and a former Republican state representative, behaved inappropriately with women. In an interview statement she gave to the states Office of Equal Employment Opportunity, obtained by POLITICO, she said that Vereb had said he was vetted previously by the governor on this topic and "promised the governor that this would not be an issue again coming into this office.

The accuser left her position in March. She was interviewed by EEO investigators later that month and made a complaint with the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission in June, according to the documents and people familiar with the process. Vereb did not respond to multiple requests for comment.

The womans claims raise questions about exactly how much Shapiro knew about Verebs alleged behavior and why months elapsed between the complaint being made and his departure. They also threaten to cut at the heart of the governors political identity.

While previously serving as attorney general, Shapiro was at the forefront of combating sexual misconduct in the Catholic Church. He released a high-profile grand jury report into sex abuse by Catholic clergy. He has also positioned himself as a staunch defender of womens rights and legal abortion in the state.

In an interview with POLITICO, Shapiro said he could not respond directly to several questions, including when he first learned of the complaint and whether he asked Vereb to leave. But he pointed to his history of fighting sexual harassment and abuse.

I have a long and extensive track record of standing up for victims of sexual abuse, harassment. I led, I think, the most comprehensive investigation on behalf of victims of clergy sex abuse, prosecuted hundreds of sexual predators, he said. I have done extensive work with victims, listening to their stories, investigating their stories, and standing up for them. So Ill take a back seat to no one when it comes to standing up for victims.

While two former Shapiro aides have disputed portions of the womans claims, Shapiro declined to address the specifics, saying that a very thorough investigative process takes place when a state employee alleges they were a victim of harassment on the job.

It is important to me that this be an environment where everyone feels safe, everyone feels heard, and everyone feels seen, Shapiro said. Obviously these investigations  and again, I'm speaking generally, and I think it's really important that you understand that  these things don't happen overnight. They can be lengthy processes. But it's important, and I know this from my time as attorney general advocating for victims, it's really important to make sure that everyone be heard and that the process be thorough and complete.

Verebs accuser declined a request for an interview. The womans lawyer, Chuck Pascal, would not comment on the interview statement and PHRC complaints authenticity or whether his client had entered into a settlement or non-disclosure agreement. POLITICO was able to confirm the documents authenticity.

While the Vereb story has not yet resonated much beyond the state, it comes at a delicate time for Shapiro. The governor is seen as a rising star in the party and has long been rumored to be eyeing a presidential run in 2028 or beyond. This past weekend, he traveled to the early presidential primary state of New Hampshire to deliver a speech that introduced him to voters there and further stirred speculation about his political ambition.

Some lawmakers in Harrisburg have voiced concerns about the allegations about Vereb and the Shapiro administrations handling of the matter. Senate President Pro Tempore Kim Ward, a Republican, said it is infuriating that Vereb stayed in his job for months after he was accused of sexual harassment. A handful of other GOP female state lawmakers have criticized the Shapiro administration over how it has dealt with the claims. Democratic state Sen. Lindsey Williams has also publicly expressed concerns about the womans allegations and the reported retaliation she faced.

In a sign of the sensitivity surrounding the matter, Shapiro met behind closed doors Wednesday with female Democratic state senators about the issue, as well as state Senate Minority Leader Jay Costa, two people familiar with the discussion said. Shapiros chief-of-staff, general counsel and lieutenant governor were also present.

In her interview statement and the PHRC complaint, which was also obtained by POLITICO, Verebs accuser said that he made multiple unwanted sexual comments to her.

The accuser, whose name POLITICO is withholding, said in the statement that she began working for the Shapiro administration in January and took the job because the governor is a one-of-a-kind leader. In February, she said, she was in a meeting with Vereb and other aides when a female senator came up in conversation. She said Vereb said he had a way of handling the senator, and explained that at one point in her office he could have sworn she wanted to have sex with him.

A former Shapiro aide, who was granted anonymity because they said they feared retribution, disputed the remarks that Vereb allegedly made about the female senator. The ex-aide said they were present when Vereb spoke about the senator, and that the comments were not sexual in nature. The person also said that Vereb had criticized several staffers for having cutesy meetings, but he did not mean it sexually.

Around the same time as the alleged episode involving the female senator, Verebs accuser said that he chastised her for a meeting with a legislative official, saying that she was having a cute little lunch, looking all cute in the capital cafeteria and that it was a waste of my time. She also said in her complaint that other aides in the administration had joked to her about Vereb and her having a sexual relationship.

The accuser said the comments quickly got worse. In late February, she said she told Vereb about rumors involving his behavior. She claimed Vereb demanded to know who was behind the gossip and said in response, If you told me right now that you wanted me, if you decided you wanted to enter into that type of arrangement, that would be our choice. I mean, you are a beautiful woman.

She said Vereb also told her, If you decided you wanted to do that, and go close the door to this office, tell me to bend you over this conference table, hike your skirt up, and fuck you from behind, that would be our decision to make.

Verebs accuser said that he advised her to wear lower cut tops and shorten the slits in your skirts. She said she told Vereb she was not interested in any sexual relationship with him, to which he responded, well fuck you then!

She said Vereb later called her that evening, and said he was really concerned about our conversation earlier and continued to make sexual comments about her.

The next day, she said she received an invite from HR for an hour-long discussion. When she asked Vereb about it, she said, he talked about performance concerns  the first time he mentioned such issues.

During the Human Resources meeting in March, the accuser said she told officials about the rumors involving Vereb as well as other concerns.

Afterward, she said, she was told by Vereb and other aides that they had performance concerns about her. At that point, she said she told them she was walking out and detailed the sexual harassment by Vereb.

The former Shapiro aide who disputed portions of the accusers claims also defended the Shapiro administrations handling of the matter, saying that they were interviewed for two-and-a-half hours in March by the EEO. The governors office most certainly did do an investigation. They did exactly what they were supposed to do, the ex-aide said.

A second former Shapiro aide, who was granted anonymity to talk freely about a sensitive matter, disputed claims that the accuser made, saying that they were not present during an event that the accuser said they were at. The person also said they were interviewed by the EEO in March.

At a press conference Thursday about state investments in local trails and parks, Shapiro was asked by reporters about his handling of the Vereb allegations. He said that he is focused on creating a "healthy, safe, professional work environment for all of our employees," and that victims and witnesses, complainants, they all deserve confidentiality" even "if some in the process don't follow those rules of confidentiality." Asked about Ward, the Republican Senate president pro tempore who has criticized his administration's approach to the sexual harassment claims, Shapiro said to "consider the source."

Vereb has been a longtime ally to Shapiro. They were state lawmakers together, both hailing from the Philadelphia suburbs in Montgomery County, for several years. As attorney general, Shapiro tapped Vereb in 2017 to be his director of government affairs.

When Vereb left his secretary job, but before the news broke about the sexual harassment allegations, Shapiros administration praised him in official remarks. Mike has been a key member of our team and thanks to his dedicated service, the Governors Office is prepared for the work ahead, Shapiros chief of staff, Dana Fritz, said in a statement. We wish Mike all the best and were grateful for his service.
The New York judge who doomed several of Donald Trump's key businesses in a summary judgment last week issued an order in the Trump family's civil fraud case Thursday to ensure the former president doesn't secretly move money around to save his real estate empire, the Daily Beast reports. According to the order, New York Supreme Court Justice Arthur Engoron directed the Trumps to identify any corporations they have and disclose any plans to shift around their assets in attempts to conceal or maintain their wealth.

The case's defendants  Trump, sons Donald Jr. and Eric, and two other top executives in Trump businesses  were ordered to inform the court of "any other entities controlled or beneficially owned" by them, any "creation of a new entity to hold or acquire the assets," and "any anticipated transfer of assets." Engoron also authorized a court-appointed monitor, former federal judge Barbara Jones, to oversee this process until someone can be appointed to dissolve Trump's companies.

Engoron's aggressive and preemptive move, issued on the fourth day of trial in the case, is intended to undermine the underhanded tactics Trump has pulled out so far during the three-year investigation. It follows the tumultuous first three days of the proceedings, in which the judge issued a limited gag order because of Trump's online attack on his clerk, the former president complained about the trial in the courtroom and Trump's defense aggravated the judge with delay tactics. Trump was previously accused of seeking to quietly transfer his assets after he formally started a "Trump Organization II" on the same day that the lawsuit was filed.
NEW YORK  The judge overseeing former President Trumps fraud trial in New York Thursday issued an order barring Trump or any other defendants in the sweeping case from transferring any assets or creating a new entity to acquire them without disclosure first.

The order, which came via the cases online docket, was delivered on the fourth day of the trial, which was prompted after Judge Arthur Engoron found Trump liable for fraud, ruling that New York Attorney General Letitia James (D) had proved the crux of her case. As part of that decision, Engoron ordered the selection of an independent monitor of Trumps businesses.

On Thursday, Engoron said that appointed monitor  former Judge Barbara Jones  must be informed if the defendants intend to move their assets or create a new entity that isnt a defendant in the case to acquire them.

The order also dictated that Jones must be informed of any application for a new business certificate in any jurisdiction, any anticipated distribution or assignment of rights from Trumps entities, any modifications to existing contracts and any disclosures to third parties related to the transfer or cancellation of business certificates.

Though the order was not discussed in the courtroom Thursday, it implies that the judge wants a closer eye on the former presidents assets as his fraud trial, which is expected to last through much of this year, is ongoing.

The trial centers on an investigation of Trumps business conduct in which prosecutors say his company illegally inflated property values and sizes in order to secure business loans and insurance policies on better terms.

Trump sat through the first three days of the trial but is not present in the courtroom Thursday. The 2024 GOP primary front-runner has campaign stops planned over the weekend in Iowa and Monday in New Hampshire.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
A state judge rejected Trump-aligned lawyer Sidney Powell s request to dismiss her Georgia charges over accusations that Fulton County District Attorney Fani Williss (D) office committed prosecutorial misconduct.

Powells attorney at a Thursday court hearing argued she had nothing to do with an elections office breach in Coffee County, Ga., that she is charged over in the indictment, alleging that prosecutors had failed to interview key witnesses and ignored evidence.

Dismissing an indictment is also something where you have to show prejudice, Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee said. Its something thats not done lightly and it has to be something thats done with a concrete reason.

And just purely on procedural grounds, I dont believe that this motion to dismiss for misconduct  I dont see that as clearing just the procedural bar of being something thats under the courts authority, he continued.

Powell is set to go to trial in less than three weeks alongside another Trump-aligned attorney, Kenneth Chesebro, though both have pleaded not guilty and have filed other pretrial motions challenging the charges. The former president and 16 others indicted in the case will be tried at a later date.

All of the defendants are charged with racketeering over an alleged months-long conspiracy to keep Trump in power following the 2020 election.

Beyond the racketeering charge, Powell faces six other counts in connection with an election equipment breach at an office in Coffee County, a rural part of the state located south of Atlanta, in January 2021.

Brian Rafferty, Powells attorney, had argued in the dismissal motion that prosecutors had committed troubling and unethical conduct in charging Powell, because she had nothing to do with the Coffee County breach, and that it wasnt a crime anyways because local officials had extended an invitation to visit the office.

Rafferty in a separate motion also accused prosecutors of failing to overturn exculpatory evidence that would help show Powells innocence.

Ms. Powell had nothing to do with Coffee County, she didnt have anything to do with it, Rafferty said at the hearing.

Ive been contending that theres evidence that shows that, he added. So that testimony, emails, documents, other information that demonstrates that people were asked, What do you know about Ms. Powell, connected to Coffee County? And they say nothing. Never talked to her, never spoke with her, never met with her.

Responding to the misconduct accusations, Deputy District Attorney Will Wooten called them absurd and unsupported.

The court has heard no evidence other than we dont like the fact that we got indicted, we disagree with the states theory of the case, and therefore there must have been prosecutorial misconduct. That is not how this works, Wooten said.

Powell is accused in the indictment of entering into a contract with data firm SullivanStrickler for the purpose of willfully tampering with tabulating machines and electronic ballot markers in the county.

Rafferty said at the hearing that the metadata on the document shows that Powells name on the contract was typed by another individual, Jim Penrose.

Rafferty also said there were communications showing that Coffee County officials had extended a letter of invitation to inspect the election equipment.

Prosecutors have insisted they have turned over all the exculpatory evidence, but Rafferty accused them of not taking a meaningful look or hiding an exculpatory needle in a haystack of discovery.

This is favorable stuff, very favorable and exculpatory to Ms. Powell that I asked for, and they said it doesnt exist when in fact it did, Rafferty said at the hearing. And so, I mean, Im at a loss here, your honor. As I said, were going to be sitting here for four months trying a case where theres all this evidence that they have that they know Ms. Powell wasnt involved.

Powell and Chesebro are set to go to trial later this month, with jury selection beginning Oct. 20. One of Chesebros attorneys at Thursdays hearing indicated that prosecutors had provided a list of 174 trial witnesses.

Just prior to the hearing, prosecutors in court filings identified six out-of-state witnesses who they intend to call.

That list includes Boris Epshteyn, a lawyer in Trumps inner circle; Lin Wood, an attorney who filed lawsuits seeking to overturn Trumps 2020 election loss; and multiple pro-Trump individuals in swing states who served as alternate electors.

Scott Hall, another defendant charged in connection to the Coffee County breach, reached a plea agreement last week and agreed to testify honestly in the case.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
A Fulton County judge denied one of Donald Trump s former attorneys requests to drop the racketeering charges against her.

Prosecutors consider Sidney Powell to be a key figure in efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election.

But her attorneys said she had no role in whatever happened in Georgia, thats why they asked the judge to dismiss the charges.

Thursday, the judge said no.

[SPECIAL SECTION: The Georgia Election Investigation]

Prosecutors say security camera video from the Coffee County elections office on January 7, 2021, shows an illegal break-in, and several people in the video are facing charges.

Who you dont see is Sidney Powell, one of Trumps former attorneys.

Prosecutors say Powell paid for the investigators  the ones, they insist, illegally downloaded data from the election machines.

The request to get into those systems were not from Sidney Powell. Thats the first thing. The second thing is they were authorized, Powells attorney Brian Rafferty told the court Thursday.

RELATED STORIES:

Channel 2s Richard Elliot was inside the courtroom as Rafferty tried to convince Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee that Powell didnt pay for those investigators and that those investigators had written permission to be there.

He also insisted prosecutors knew that and withheld it from the grand jury that indicted Powell for racketeering.

The grand jury testimony that was presented must have been false because ultimately, the evidence that they had showed she wasnt involved in Coffee County, Rafferty said.

Prosecutors fired back saying they hadnt withheld any evidenceand that the issues they were bringing up were better suited for a jurynot the judge.

We believe she was involved. We dont believe there was a letter that granted any kind of lawful authorization, the prosecution said.

The judge agreed.

The allegations that we are withholding evidence, suppressing evidence and that were committing prosecutorial misconduct are outrageous. Theyre not true, Wooten said.

Powell will be tried alongside co-defendant Kenneth Chesebro, the man the January 6th Commission said was one of the architects of the false electors scheme.

That trial is scheduled for Oct. 23.

GALLERY:

Fulton County Special Prosecutor Nathan Wade listens during a hearing on motions from defendant Sidney Powell in front of Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee in Atlanta, Thursday, Oct. 5, 2023. Nineteen people, including former President Donald Trump, were indicted in August and accused of participating in a wide-ranging illegal scheme to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election. (Erik S. Lesser/Pool Photo, via AP)

Deputy District Attorney Will Wooten addresses the court during a hearing on motions from defendant Sidney Powell in front of Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee, in Atlanta, Thursday, Oct. 5, 2023. Nineteen people, including former President Donald Trump, were indicted in August and accused of participating in a wide-ranging illegal scheme to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election. (Erik S. Lesser/Pool Photo, via AP)

Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee listens as Deputy District Attorney Will Wooten, right, addresses the court during a hearing on motions from defendant Sydney Powell, in Atlanta, Thursday, Oct. 5, 2023. Nineteen people, including former President Donald Trump, were indicted in August and accused of participating in a wide-ranging illegal scheme to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election. (Erik S. Lesser/Pool Photo, via AP)

Brian Rafferty, center, attorney for Sidney Powell, gestures to the prosecution team as he addresses the court during a motions hearing in front of Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee, in Atlanta, Thursday, Oct. 5, 2023. Nineteen people, including former President Donald Trump, were indicted in August and accused of participating in a wide-ranging illegal scheme to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election. (Erik S. Lesser/Pool Photo, via AP)

The chairs in the jury box, left, are empty as Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee, top right, listens during a motions hearing address from the attorney for defendant Sidney Powell, in Atlanta, Thursday, Oct. 5, 2023. Nineteen people, including former President Donald Trump, were indicted in August and accused of participating in a wide-ranging illegal scheme to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election. (Erik S. Lesser/Pool Photo, via AP)

Brian Rafferty, right, attorney for Sidney Powell, addresses the court during a motions hearing in front of Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee, back, in Atlanta, Thursday, Oct. 5, 2023. Nineteen people, including former President Donald Trump, were indicted in August and accused of participating in a wide-ranging illegal scheme to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election. (Erik S. Lesser/Pool Photo, via AP)

Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee listens as motions are presented in his courtroom by an attorney for defendant Sidney Powell, in Atlanta, Thursday, Oct. 5, 2023. Nineteen people, including former President Donald Trump, were indicted in August and accused of participating in a wide-ranging illegal scheme to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election. (Erik S. Lesser/Pool Photo, via AP)

Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee listens as motions are presented in his courtroom by Brian Rafferty, attorney for Sidney Powell, in Atlanta, Thursday, Oct. 5, 2023. Eighteen people, including former President Donald Trump, have been charged in a sweeping criminal conspiracy case to overturn the outcome of Georgia's 2020 presidential election results. (Erik S. Lesser/Pool Photo via AP)

Brian Rafferty, right, attorney for Sidney Powell, addresses the court during a motions hearing in front of Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee, top left, in Atlanta, Thursday, Oct. 5, 2023. Nineteen people, including former President Donald Trump, were indicted in August and accused of participating in a wide-ranging illegal scheme to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election. (Erik S. Lesser/Pool Photo, via AP)

Deputy District Attorney Will Wooten pauses as he addresses the court during a hearing on motions from defendant Sidney Powell in front of Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee, in Atlanta, Thursday, Oct. 5, 2023. Nineteen people, including former President Donald Trump, were indicted in August and accused of participating in a wide-ranging illegal scheme to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election. (Erik S. Lesser/Pool Photo, via AP)

Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee addresses attorneys during a hearing on motions in Atlanta, Thursday, Oct. 5, 2023. Nineteen people, including former President Donald Trump, were indicted in August and accused of participating in a wide-ranging illegal scheme to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election. (Erik S. Lesser/Pool Photo, via AP)

Brian Rafferty, right, attorney for Sidney Powell, addresses Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee while gesturing towards Deputy District Attorney Will Wooten, left, during a hearing on motions in Atlanta, Thursday, Oct. 5, 2023. Nineteen people, including former President Donald Trump, were indicted in August and accused of participating in a wide-ranging illegal scheme to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election. (Erik S. Lesser/Pool Photo, via AP)

Manny Arora, attorney for Kenneth Chesebro, addresses Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee during a motions hearing in Atlanta, Thursday, Oct. 5, 2023. Nineteen people, including former President Donald Trump, were indicted in August and accused of participating in a wide-ranging illegal scheme to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election. (Erik S. Lesser/Pool Photo, via AP)

Special Prosecutor Nathan Wade listens during a hearing on motions in front of Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee, in Atlanta, Thursday, Oct. 5, 2023. Nineteen people, including former President Donald Trump, were indicted in August and accused of participating in a wide-ranging illegal scheme to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election. (Erik S. Lesser/Pool Photo, via AP)

Brian Rafferty, center, attorney for Sidney Powell, gestures to the prosecution team as he addresses the court during a motions hearing in front of Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee, top left, in Atlanta, Thursday, Oct. 5, 2023. Nineteen people, including former President Donald Trump, were indicted in August and accused of participating in a wide-ranging illegal scheme to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election. (Erik S. Lesser/Pool Photo, via AP)

Special Prosecutor Nathan Wade, left, speaks with an aide, right, in the gallery during a hearing on motions from defendant Sydney Powell in front of Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee in Atlanta, Thursday, Oct. 5, 2023. Nineteen people, including former President Donald Trump, were indicted in August and accused of participating in a wide-ranging illegal scheme to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election. (Erik S. Lesser/Pool Photo, via AP)

Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee listens as motions are presented in his courtroom by an attorney for defendant Sidney Powell, in Atlanta, Thursday, Oct. 5, 2023. Nineteen people, including former President Donald Trump, were indicted in August and accused of participating in a wide-ranging illegal scheme to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election. (Erik S. Lesser/Pool Photo, via AP)

Brian Rafferty, left, attorney for Sidney Powell, gestures towards Special Prosecutor Nathan Wade, right, during a motions hearing in front of Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee in Atlanta, Thursday, Oct. 5, 2023. Nineteen people, including former President Donald Trump, were indicted in August and accused of participating in a wide-ranging illegal scheme to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election. (Erik S. Lesser/Pool Photo, via AP)

Brian Rafferty, attorney for Sidney Powell, addresses the court during a motions hearing in front of Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee in Atlanta, Thursday, Oct. 5, 2023. Nineteen people, including former President Donald Trump, were indicted in August and accused of participating in a wide-ranging illegal scheme to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election. (Erik S. Lesser/Pool Photo, via AP)

Brian Rafferty, right, attorney for Sidney Powell, gestures as he addresses the court during a motions hearing in front of Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee, top left, in Atlanta, Thursday, Oct. 5, 2023. Nineteen people, including former President Donald Trump, were indicted in August and accused of participating in a wide-ranging illegal scheme to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election. (Erik S. Lesser/Pool Photo, via AP)

RELATED NEWS:
The actress Julia Ormond has filed a lawsuit accusing the disgraced movie producer Harvey Weinstein of sexually assaulting her in 1995.

She also accuses The Walt Disney Co, Miramax and her former agents of knowing Weinstein was a problem, but doing nothing about it.

The case was filed in New York under the Adult Survivors Act, a law passed last year that allows a temporary window for those who allege sexual assault to file outside the statue of limitations.

Ormond first appeared on British television in the series Traffik in 1989, and within four years had made her international film debut as the lead in The Baby of Macon.

In 1994, she starred alongside Brad Pitt in Legends of the Fall, and then a year later with Harrison Ford in Sabrina, and with Sean Connery and Richard Gere in First Knight.

The actress alleges in her lawsuit that Weinstein hindered her career at the time her star was rising.

She claimed that she met Weinstein in 1994 and kept in touch with him to discuss scripts and projects, before entering into a production agreement with Miramax, where he was co-chairman.

She accuses him of committing sexual battery against her in December 1995 after a business meeting, and then retaliating against her and negatively affecting her career after she confronted him weeks later.

Harvey Weinstein, 71, was convicted of rape and sexual assault in New York in 2020 and is currently in prison - AP

Imran Ansari, Weinsteins lawyer, said his client categorically denies the allegations made against him by Julia Ormond and he is prepared to vehemently defend himself.

Ormond claimed she told her US agents at the time, Creative Artists Agency, but received no support and was advised not to take any legal action or other steps.

She has accused CAA, Disney and Miramax, saying that they knew Weinstein presented a danger to women, but did nothing to stop him or to help her.

According to the filing, none of these prominent companies warned Ormond that Weinstein had a history of assaulting women because he was too important, too powerful, and made them too much money.

CAA responded in a statement that the agency takes all allegations of sexual assault and abuse seriously, and has compassion for Ms Ormond.

The statement said the agency hired lawyers to investigate her claims when she first came to them in March, and they found only evidence of a dynamic and engaged relationship between CAA and Ms Ormond, and the agencys consistent efforts to support her career.

Ms Ormonds claims against CAA are baseless, and the agency will vigorously refute them in court, the statement said.

The lawsuit and subsequent media interviews mark the first time Ormond has publicly accused Weinstein of sexual assault.

Weinstein, 71, was convicted of rape and sexual assault in New York in 2020 and is in prison in the state.

Last year, he also was convicted of another rape in Los Angeles. He has appealed both convictions.

Dozens of women have sued Weinstein, many of them actresses, but few have named such a broad list of defendants as Ormond.

Associated Press contacted Disney and Miramax for comment.

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FORT PIERCE  Nine years after 51-year-old Elizabeth Hernandez was brutally stabbed to death in her Fort Pierce home during an armed home invasion and robbery, her killer is headed to prison to serve three life terms, a judge ordered Wednesday.

The sentence was imposed after a St. Lucie County jury convicted Ray Williams, 43, and Keith Canty, 36  both of Fort Pierce  of multiple felonies, capping a six-day trial that began Sept. 27, court records show.

It was the second trial for both men after a judge on Oct. 18, 2022 declared a mistrial following two days of testimony.

As one of the oldest prosecutions pending in St. Lucie County, the case churned through several defense lawyers and five judges, who granted a combined 42 continuances, records show.

The jury verdict

On Sept. 8, 2014, Hernandez was found lying in a pool of blood inside her home in the 3000 block of Sunrise Boulevard. Aaron Holmes, then 30, was shot twice in the head as he fled the house.

Canty on Wednesday was ordered to serve three consecutive life terms after jurors found him guilty of first-degree murder with a weapon, attempted murder and two counts of robbery with a deadly weapon, according to Assistant State Attorney Brandon White.

Keith Canty stabbed Elizabeth Hernandez 29 times, mostly in the neck area. And she had defensive wounds  she put up a pretty good fight, White said. Ray Williams shot Aaron Holmes, who ultimately survived and later died.

White and Assistant State Attorney Justin Cormier presented about 350 trial exhibits and the jury heard from nearly two dozen witnesses.

Williams testified, White said, but Canty did not.

Williams was convicted of manslaughter with a weapon, attempted manslaughter, two counts of robbery with a firearm, possession of a firearm by a felon, tampering with evidence and grand theft of a motor vehicle.

His sentencing is Dec. 6.

The murder

Jurors were told Hernandez and Holmes entered her house and found Williams and Canty inside. Holmes knew Williams, so he thought it was a joke when the pair said, this is a robbery, get undressed and get on the floor, White said.

Then the weapons came out and Aaron Holmes knew it wasn't a joke, so he ran out of the house, White said. He got shot in the back of the head two times. But he was able to make it to a neighbor's house.

Williams and Canty fled the house, leaving Hernandez mortally wounded.

Williams was arrested the same day, records show, and Canty was arrested 10 days later.

White said in court Wednesday, one of Hernandezs daughters, who was 11 in 2014, asked Canty if killing her mother was worth it.

Keith Canty said that he enjoyed it, White recalled. It's already horrific what he did, but to add that, I've just never seen it.

Melina Dennis, 44, an accomplice who admitted driving the men to Hernandezs home - but without knowing their robbery plan - later helped investigators recover items stolen from the home that Williams had burned, then buried behind an abandoned house.

Dennis, of Fort Pierce, in 2019 pleaded no contest to evidence tampering, accessory after the fact and driving with a suspended license. Her sentencing is pending.

Jury tampering and 2022 mistrial

In a rare move, White said for this second trial, only the jurors first names were revealed in court to better protect their identity after Canty was accused of attempting to influence or tamper with jurors seated in his trial last year.

Members of the jury seated last week were partially sequestered and were kept together during lunch.

We did a lot to protect the jurors in this case, White said. And that's important, because our entire system relies on citizens coming in, and we need to protect them.

In felony charges filed against Canty last month, he was accused of making numerous recorded phone calls last year from the St. Lucie County Jail seeking the help of relatives and a girlfriend to extend a bribe to a female juror serving on his jury.

Investigators determined Canty was using a numerical code system to spell out the names of some jurors seated in his trial. An FBI agent brought in to assist deciphered Cantys numbers code, White said, which helped reveal the jury tampering plot.

White on Thursday said now that Canty was sentenced to a trio of life prison terms, he dropped the jury tampering charges.

Essentially there isnt more punishment that we can get, White said. Hes a danger to the people of St. Lucie County so I want to get him to (Department of Corrections) as soon as possible.

Stuart, Florida ties: Jamie Foxx, Tommy Lee Jones star in 'The Burial'

South Hutchinson Island: Huge development could reshape Fort Pierce Inlet, see details

Melissa E. Holsman is the legal affairs reporter for TCPalm and Treasure Coast Newspapers and is writer and co-host of "Uncertain Terms," a true-crime podcast. Reach her at melissa.holsman@tcpalm.com. If you are a subscriber, thank you. If not, become a subscriber to get the latest local news on the Treasure Coast.

This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: Fort Pierce woman's killer shows no remorse in 2014 armed home invasion
Sen. Bob Menendez and his wife Nadine Menendez arrive at a Manhattan court after they were indicted on bribery charges. Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

Sen. Bob Menendez is viewed favorably by just 14% of New Jersey Democrats, according to a new poll.

The senator, facing corruption charges, is polling in the low double digits in future head-to-head matchups.

In a head-to-head contest, Democratic Rep. Andy Kim appears well positioned to beat Menendez.

Sen. Bob Menendez insists he is innocent, just as he did the last time he faced charges of corruption.

But New Jersey Democrats are ready to toss him out: a poll released Thursday found that as few as 5% of Democratic respondents would support the indicted lawmaker in a future primary contest.

Menendez, accused of accepting gold bars in exchange for using his power to enrich an Egyptian businessman, has ruled out resigning from his position despite calls from many of his own Democratic colleagues. That sets up the possibility of a contested primary race in June 2024. Rep. Andy Kim announced last month that he felt "compelled" to challenge the incumbent.

Though it's just a single poll, and more data is needed to accurately assess the race, to call the findings troubling for Menendez would be an understatement.

According to the survey of 502 likely Democratic primary voters from Public Policy Polling, just 14% of those polled said they have a favorable opinion of Menendez, compared to 67% who have an unfavorable view of the senator. In August, before the federal indictment was unveiled, Menendez enjoyed a 58% approval rating among New Jersey Democrats, according to a survey by Monmouth University.

By contrast, a majority of respondents had a favorable view of Kim.

When PPP asked about a possible head-to-head contest, 63% of respondents said they would prefer Kim, 28% were unsure, and just 10% said they would back Menendez.

In a contest where New Jersey First Lady Tammy Murphy enters the race, Menendez seems to find himself in an even worse position, based on the poll. In that three-way race, 42% said they would back Kim, 19% said they would back Murphy, and just 5% said they would back Menendez.

The results are a marked contrast from polling of likely Republican presidential primary voters who must also weigh an indicted candidate's chances. Despite facing multiple criminal indictments, recent polling shows former President Donald Trump is viewed favorably by a majority of GOP voters, most of whom are now backing his third bid for the party's presidential nomination.

Read the original article on Business Insider
LAS VEGAS (KLAS)  During a recent traffic stop, a K9 sniffed out a significant amount of fentanyl while assisting a deputy.

K9 Chase was able to identify a drug odor while searching a vehicle, according to the Mohave County Sheriffs Office.

K9 Chase is pictured here after discovering 4,000 fentanyl pills during a traffic stop. (Mohave County Sheriffs Office/Facebook)

Approximately 4,000 fentanyl pills were recovered during the traffic stop.

The Mohave County Sheriffs Office posted the news on its Facebook page with a photo of the K9 and his findings.

K9 Chase got a significant amount of fentanyl pills off the streets with this one! Good boy, the post by the sheriffs office stated.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KLAS.
KANSAS CITY, Mo.  A Jackson County judge sentenced a Kansas City man Thursday in the killing of two adults and injuring a 5-year-old child in 2022.

David Emerson, 20, was sentenced to 22 years on one count of second-degree murder, 22 years on another second-degree murder charge and 10 years for one count of first-degree assault. The sentences are to be served concurrently.

Clay County proposes new 911 fee on November ballot

This comes one week after Emerson pleaded guilty to all three charges.

According to court records, Kansas City police were called to the shooting scene at Linwood Boulevard and Agnes Avenue on Feb. 20, 2022. The three victims were found in a car parked in a lot.

Officers said 31-year-old Ashley Pettiford and 34-year-old Jermaine Jackson were pronounced dead at the scene. Pettifords 5-year-old son was rushed to the hospital with critical injuries.

According to court documents, video shows Emerson leaning into the victims car. He then steps back and fires a gun into the car twice.

They need to do more: Kansas DCF under fire after 5-year-olds death

The five-year-old boy was found in the backseat of the vehicle and had been shot in the eye.

Emerson was arrested following a standoff with police near E. 59th and Norfleet Road on March 4, 2022.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX 4 Kansas City WDAF-TV | News, Weather, Sports.
A Kansas City woman is accused of three felonies, including accessory to murder, for an August shooting over a stolen Lexus that left one man dead, according to court documents.

Prosecutors this week charged Alyssa J. Tuscan, 27, as an accessory to second-degree murder and armed criminal action in the killing of 40-year-old Phillip Roberts. As of Wednesday, she was being held in the Jackson County jail on a $500,000 bond.

Around 2:15 a.m. on Aug. 3, Kansas City police officers were dispatched to a reported shooting in the 1800 block of Askew Avenue. The officers found Roberts dead of gunshot wounds when they arrived.

He was found in an open lot near a 2007 black Lexus, which had been reported stolen the day before.

Witnesses told police a man and woman drove up in a silver sedan and started yelling at Roberts about getting the Lexus back from him. After shooting him, they ran and drove away in the car they arrived in, according to a Kansas City police detectives affidavit in support of criminal charges.

A surveillance camera near the shooting site captured footage of a silver sedan being driven away. It had a distinctive body style and damage, according to the affidavit, and was spotted by other city cameras in the area.

Detectives connected the vehicle to one that had been abandoned and burned less than an hour after the shooting. Another surveillance camera caught video of the car being set on fire and its driver being picked up by someone in a white minivan.

The burned car, also determined to be stolen, was towed away and searched. Inside, police reported finding two hospital patient bracelets, including one with Tuscans name on it, the affidavit says.

Another witness later told detectives Roberts had driven by in a black Lexus roughly 20 minutes before the shooting. Shortly after that, the witness said, Tuscan and the other suspect, described in court documents as Co-Defendant #1, drove up in a silver car asking where Roberts was.

Both were allegedly armed with handguns at the time.

During a police interview in mid-August, Tuscan allegedly admitted to being present when Roberts was killed. She told them she had sold the stolen Lexus to someone and wanted it back, the affidavit says.

Tuscan said there was an argument before she witnessed the person she was with unload a clip on Roberts, according to the affidavit. She also allegedly admitted to later driving a white minivan and picking him up from where the silver sedan was burned.

Records show Tuscan was arrested on her felony warrant Monday and made her initial court appearance Wednesday. A Jackson County judge ordered that she be screened for representation by the Missouri Public Defenders Office.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre got snippy with a CBS correspondent after she asked about her experiences with President Bidens dog Commander after he was kicked out of the White House.

As someone who spends a fair amount of time in the Oval Office with the president, did you ever have a troubling encounter with Commander? Nancy Cordes asked.

Ms Jean-Pierre replied: No, not at all.

But Cordes pushed, And so he never nipped you?

The White House press secretary responded No repeatedly while shaking her head as Cordes asked another question about the dog: Were you ever wary of being around him because of the biting incidents that you had heard about?

Absolutely not, Ms Jean-Pierre said resolutely. And Ive seen Commander many times, I was never worried and Ive never been bitten by Commander.

Cordes then added, Have any members of your staff?

The press secretary said that she didnt have the exact number of incidents involving the First Dog, and then read a statement from the First Ladys Communications Director, saying she will leave it there.

But Cordes didnt: Ive been bitten by a dog. If there was a dog that had bitten 11 or 12 other people. Id be a little nervous around that dog. Why werent you?

I mean, Ms Jean-Pierre started, laughing. Im not sure why this has to do anything with me. I was just not nervous at all. So that is not a concern for me. That is not something that, I cant speak to anything else outside of what you have heard from the first ladys office. And so Ill just leave it there. All right.

Another reporter then jokingly asked, Will you make the dog available for questioning?

You want me to bring the dog into the briefing room? That should be fun. That should be fun.
After more than four decades during which it provided vital inflight refueling and airlift, the U.S. Air Forces venerable KC-10A Extender has flown its last combat mission. While the Air Force already began sending KC-10s to the boneyard in 2020, the latest milestone signals the impending retirement of the type , although its not yet entirely clear what the services future tanker fleet will consist of.

Photos published today by the Defense Visual Information Distribution Service (DVIDS) show a KC-10 departing Prince Sultan Air Base (PSAB), in Saudi Arabia, on October 5. According to accompanying captions, the departure of the Extender concluded the types final combat deployment at the base.

U.S. airmen salute a KC-10 as it begins to depart after conducting the final Extender combat deployment at Prince Sultan Air Base (PSAB), Saudi Arabia, Oct. 5, 2023. U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Alexander Frank

U.S. Air Force Col. Clinton Varty, 60th Maintenance Group commander, taxies out the last KC-10 at Prince Sultan Air Base, Oct. 5, 2023. U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Alexander Frank

A U.S. airman waves to a KC-10 as it departs Prince Sultan Air Base, Oct. 5, 2023. U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Alexander Frank

The departure of the KC-10 at PSAB marked the end of the over 30 years of service for the type within the U.S. Air Forces Central (AFCENT) area of responsibility. U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Alexander Frank

By September 2024, the U.S. Air Force fleet of KC-10s will be decommissioned and thereafter replaced by the KC-46 aircraft. U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Alexander Frank

A KC-10 Extender takes flight after its final combat deployment at Prince Sultan Air Base. U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Alexander Frank

Air Mobility Command (AMC) confirmed to The War Zone that this was the last combat deployment of the KC-10 anywhere in the world, not just in the Middle East. For nearly four decades, the KC-10 has helped secure global reach for America, AMC spokeswoman Jessica Brown said. Its expected to redeploy to its home station soon.

The KC-10s career included more than 30 years spent within the U.S. Air Forces Central (AFCENT) area of responsibility, which includes PSAB. During that time, the KC-10 played a critical role in supporting different military operations, including Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom.

A previous DVIDS media release provided imagery of the KC-10 involved in the final combat sortie returning to PSAB, on October 3. The aircraft in question was assigned to the 908th Expeditionary Air Refueling Squadron (EARS), a provisional unit within the 378th Air Expeditionary Wing.

A KC-10 Extender assigned to the 908th Air Refueling Squadron on approach to land after conducting the final combat sortie for the Extender before squadron inactivation at Prince Sultan Air Base, Saudi Arabia, Oct. 3, 2023. U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Alexander Frank

A KC-10 Extender assigned to the 908th Air Refueling Squadron touches down at Prince Sultan Air Base, Oct. 3, 2023. U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Alexander Frank

A KC-10 Extender assigned to the 908th Air Refueling Squadron lands at Prince Sultan Air Base, Oct. 3, 2023. U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Alexander Frank

The flight served as a capstone for the KC-10 after over 30 years of service within the U.S. Air Forces Central (AFCENT) area of responsibility. U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Alexander Frank

A KC-10 Extender assigned to the 908th Air Refueling Squadron at Prince Sultan Air Base, Oct. 3, 2023. U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Alexander Frank

A U.S. airman from the 378th Expeditionary Aircraft Maintenance Squadron directs a taxiing KC-10 Extender assigned to the 908th Air Refueling Squadron at Prince Sultan Air Base, Oct. 3, 2023. U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Alexander Frank

U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Alexander Frank

U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Alexander Frank

U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Alexander Frank

U.S. airmen from the 908th Air Refueling Squadron exit a KC-10 Extender after the aircraft returned from the its final combat sortie, at Prince Sultan Air Base, Oct. 3, 2023. U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Alexander Frank

The inactivation ceremony for the 908th EARS was subsequently held at PSAB on October 4.

U.S. airmen from the 378th Air Expeditionary Wing gather for the 908th Expeditionary Air Refueling Squadron inactivation ceremony at Prince Sultan Air Base, Saudi Arabia, Oct. 4, 2023. U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Alexander Frank

A KC-10 Extender sits on display after an inactivation ceremony for the 908th Expeditionary Air Refueling Squadron at Prince Sultan Air Base, Oct. 4, 2023. U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Alexander Frank

U.S. airmen from the 378th Air Expeditionary Wing celebrate after an inactivation ceremony for the 908th Expeditionary Air Refueling Squadron at Prince Sultan Air Base, Oct. 4, 2023. U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Alexander Frank

The boom of a KC-10 Extender sits on display after an inactivation ceremony for the 908th Expeditionary Air Refueling Squadron at Prince Sultan Air Base, Oct. 4, 2023. U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Alexander Frank

U.S. Air Force Col. Clinton Varty (left), 60th Maintenance Group commander, Brig. Gen. Akshai Gandhi (center), 378th Air Expeditionary Wing commander, and Col. Colin McClaskey (right), 821st Contingency Response Group deputy commander, pose for a group photo in front of a KC-10 Extender at Prince Sultan Air Base, Oct. 4, 2023. U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Alexander Frank

U.S. Air Force Brig. Gen. Akshai Gandhi, 378th Air Expeditionary Wing commander, delivers his remarks during the inactivation ceremony for the 908th Expeditionary Air Refueling Squadron at Prince Sultan Air Base, Oct. 4, 2023. U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Alexander Frank

U.S. Air Force Maj. Joseph Rush (right), 908th Expeditionary Air Refueling Squadron (EARS) commander, and Brig. Gen. Akshai Gandhi (left), 378th Air Expeditionary Wing commander, roll up the 908th EARS guidon during an inactivation ceremony at Prince Sultan Air Base, Oct. 4, 2023. U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Alexander Frank

Clearly, the KC-10s march toward retirement continues. As of September 15, there were 37 KC-10s in the boneyard, including 12 that had gone there just this year. This is from a total of 60 examples that the Air Force acquired, although one was later lost in an explosion and subsequent fire while undergoing maintenance at Barksdale Air Force Base in Louisiana in 1987.

The Netherlands also received two similar KDC-10 aircraft , now operated by Omega Air, a pioneer in the commercial aerial refueling segment.

A former Royal Netherlands Air Force KDC-10 refuels an F-35 Joint Strike Fighter. Omega Air

Back in July 2020, we reported on how the first KC-10 had been sent to the boneyard at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Arizona  something that happened just a day after the 40th anniversary of the types first flight.

The Air Force originally bought the KC-10 as a heavy tanker to supplement the KC-135 Stratotanker family, selecting a design based on the DC-10-30CF since it could be introduced relatively rapidly to add much-needed additional tanker capacity. In particular, it was needed to refuel large fully laden transports flying over long distances.

A KC-10A seen at the Paris Air Show in 1981, wearing its original airliner-style livery. Acroterion/Wikicommons

Compared with the KC-135, the KC-10s additional fuel tanks can hold almost double the load  356,000 pounds of aviation fuel. Unlike the Stratotanker, the KC-10A also has an integrated hose-and-drogue system , in addition to its boom, meaning it can easily refuel U.S. Navy and Marine Corps aircraft, as well as probe-equipped receivers flown by other operators.

Aside from its primary refueling work, the KC-10 also has an important cargo-carrying mission , being able to carry a wide variety of cargoes, including light vehicles, such as Humvees.

Tyler Rogoway

Decades of operations began to take their toll on the KC-10 fleet, however. In May 2018, smoke on the flight deck of an Extender forced the crew to evacuate . When the crews escape slides failed to activate, it revealed a separate fault in the safety system that affected the entire fleet.

Incidents such as this helped to seal the fate of the KC-10. Despite some resistance , including from within the military , Congress ultimately has not stood in the way of the Air Forces plans to retire the fleet. As it now stands, the last remaining examples will be decommissioned by September 2024.

The immediate replacement for the KC-10 is the troubled KC-46 Pegasus , deliveries of which continue, although there had originally been plans to field a direct successor to the KC-10 under the KC-Y program. Meanwhile, the KC-46, selected under KC-X, was viewed as a KC-135 replacement.

A U.S. Air Force KC-46A Pegasus from the 305th Air Mobility Wing at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, New Jersey. U.S. Air National Guard photo by Dale Greer

Now, although the KC-46 will also replace a portion of the outgoing KC-10s, questions remain about the makeup of the Air Forces future tanker fleet.

Currently, the Air Force is buying 179 KC-46s  with the last of those aircraft scheduled to be delivered in 2029  after which the service wants to immediately begin receiving aircraft that it had previously referred to as bridge tankers. These aircraft will provide interim capacity between the end of KC-46 deliveries and the acquisition of an advanced future aerial refueling aircraft  one that is likely to stress survivability as a core element of its design .

Lockheed Martin concept artwork of a future blended wing-body tanker design offering a certain degree of stealth. Lockheed Martin

Although thought had been given to buying as many as 140-160 examples of the bridge tanker, the current number has been reduced to 75 aircraft. Once again, the KC-46 is in the running for the bridge tanker, but there are other contenders, too, including Lockheed Martins LMXT , based on the popular Airbus A330 Multi-Role Tanker Transport (MRTT), and potentially also contractor-based leased solutions .

Concept artwork of a Lockheed Martin LXMT refueling a notional sixth-generation fighter. Lockheed Martin

Its even possible that, like the former Dutch KDC-10s, a portion of the Air Forces retiring KC-10s could also be picked up by private companies that could sell their service back to the U.S. military. In the past, however, such proposals have not come to fruition , with potential legal and regulatory hurdles apparently proving insurmountable. There has been recent progress in this field, too, with a privately owned KC-135R tanker from the Metrea company refueling a U.S. Air Force aircraft for the first time in an exercise in June this year. You can read more about that here .

Private aerospace firm Metrea announced the milestone in a press release , which says that the company's KC-135Rs provided aerial refueling support during Exercise Resolute Hunter 23-2 to the Air Force. Resolute Hunter is a biannual U.S. Navy-led exercise and "is the DODs only dedicated Battle Management, Command and Control, Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (BMC2ISR) exercise," according to that service . The Air Force and foreign air arms routinely participate in the event, which is staged out of Naval Air Station Fallon (NAS Fallon) in Nevada.

With the additional tankers and the KC-46s, the Air Force will have covered the replacement of over half of its existing KC-135s, but that still leaves a significant portion of the Stratotanker fleet left for replacement by a future tanker type. With the U.S. military preparing for a potential future conflict in the Pacific, tanker capacity will likely be needed more than ever. With that in mind, it might be argued that now is an inopportune time to retire any Air Force tanker unless strictly necessary.

Overall, a lot of questions still remain about what the Air Forces future tanker fleet will look like and whether its numbers will be able to meet the growing need for aerial refueling as the aging KC-135 fleet continues to contract. What does seem clear is the final retirement of the KC-10, an unsung type that will be sorely missed once the last examples are disposed of in a little less than 12 months time.

Contact the author: thomas@thedrive.com
William Holmes, also known as Will Keeps, testifies during the trial of Bravon Tukes at the Polk County Courthouse on Thursday.

William Holmes, also known as Will Keeps, credits his pinky ring with saving his life during a Jan. 23 shooting that left him severely wounded and two students dead at his downtown Des Moines alternative school, Starts Right Here.

Holmes testified Thursday in the trial of Bravon Tukes, 20, who is charged with first-degree murder for what prosecutors say was his role in helping plan the shootings and serving as getaway driver. Holmes previously testified in the September trial of the shooter, Preston Walls.

Walls, a former Starts Right Here student, was convicted of a lesser charge of second-degree murder. According to a juror who after the verdict spoke on condition of anonymity to the Des Moines Register, Walls convinced the jury he carried out the killings of 16-year-old Rashad Carr and 18-year-old Gionni Dameron because he feared they would be gunning for him.

Police found a gun on Dameron's body.

William Holmes, also known as Will Keeps, testifies during the trial of Bravon Tukes at the Polk County Courthouse on Thursday.

Holmes was shot twice in the attack by Walls, now 19, who also was convicted of voluntary manslaughter and assault but acquitted of attempted murder for shooting Holmes as well as a count of criminal gang participation. In addition to two counts of first-degree murder, Tukes also is charged with attempted murder and criminal gang participation.

Bravon Tukes, left, in court with one of his attorneys on Thursday.

Recounting the shootings in his Thursday testimony, Holmes said Walls, who was just a foot to his right, shot him in the hip and hand as he fired at Carr.

"When he started shooting at Rashad he shot me twice," Holmes said. "I had a pinky ring on that day and it hit that pinky ring. If it didn't hit that ring it would have hit me in the heart."

Jurors saw security camera footage of the shootings. Holmes suffered a shattered pubic bone and mangled pinky and ring fingers on his right hand. The pinky finger had to be removed, and the ring finger, though reconstructed, will never function properly again, he said. In addition, his hip causes him pain every day, he said.

A former gang member who grew up on the south side of Chicago, Holmes said he founded Starts Right Here in 2020 as a way to help youths who would not otherwise graduate from public high schools. Starts Right Here works with Des Moines Public Schools and follows the schools' calendar closely.

Sixty youths have gone through the program since its creation and 43 have graduated. None of them would have completed high school without Starts Right Here, Holmes said.

Though Tukes was not a student at the school, Holmes said he had known him for years, and that he had admitted Walls to the school at the request of Tukes, a close friend of Walls.

During Walls' trial, Des Moines police Detective Jeffrey George testified that the enmity between the victims and Tukes and Walls stemmed from a gang rivalry that had resulted in dozens of shootings around the Des Moines metro. He said Walls and Tukes were affiliated with a group known as Strap or OTR, meaning Only The Real, and Dameron and Carr were part of the Only My Brothers, or OMB, gang.

On Thursday, Holmes said he did not know that Walls, Dameron and Carr were in gangs when they were admitted to Starts Right Here. In January, before the shootings, he said, he asked Dameron if he had a "beef" with anyone in the building. Dameron, he said, told him he and Walls had a dispute but that they had ended the feud and that "everything was all good."

Holmes said he also questioned Walls, who told him that he and Dameron were "good" and that he had no trouble with Dameron attending the school.

Bravon Tukes, left, in court with one of his attorneys on Thursday.

On the opening day of Tukes' trial Wednesday, Assistant Polk County Attorney Stephanie Cox told the jury the prosecution will show that Tukes helped Walls plan the shootings after Carr, an aspiring rapper, made a "dis" video maligning Tukes' younger brother, 16-year-old Trevontay Jenkins. Jenkins had been shot and killed in a confrontation with Des Moines police the day after Christmas.

"Bravon Tukes told Preston Walls, 'I promise we won't have the last cry,'" Cox told the Jury.

Philip Joens covers retail, real estate and RAGBRAI for the Des Moines Register. He can be reached at 515-284-8184, pjoens@registermedia.com or on Twitter @Philip_Joens.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Will Keeps testifies for second time in Starts Right Here murder trails
Kelsey Grammer became emotional while talking about his love for Frasier in front of a studio audience during a live taping for the upcoming sitcoms revival.

The 68-year-old actor, who reprises his role as the successful and witty therapist, Doctor Frasier Crane, was filmed addressing several different studio audiences before live tapings of each episode.

Im delighted youre here. I cant tell you how grateful I am that youre here and how grateful we are that we have a chance to do this for you again, Grammer can be heard saying in a video compilation uploaded to Paramount Pluss YouTube channel.

I am very excited about what were doing, this new group of people that you can fall in love with and get to know. Weve been working so hard at this thing and its been quite a while, and I think weve done something quite lovely, he says.

Getting choked up, he adds: Our love for this character is very sweet. He then raises a hand to his heart and says: I always do this.

In a separate clip, Grammer reflects on the incredible journey of the original show and the reboot.

Whats shocking is hes just as fresh and alive as any regular human being would be, he says. Theyd say, How can you play the same character for so long? Well, its as interesting as life itself.

Give us your blessing and wait for us. Give us love, and were going to give you love back, he concludes. Frasier lives on so, so does Kelsey. Thank you. Well see you in a bit. Thank you very much. Enjoy the show.

The Frasier revival comes nearly 20 years after the original 11-season sitcom, which ran from 1993 to 2004. The new show will follow Frasier into the next chapter of his life, as he returns to Boston, where his son Freddy (Jack Cutmore-Scott) has just entered college.

Nicholas Lyndhurst stars as Frasiers old college friend turned university professor, Alan, while Toks Olagundoye plays Alans colleague and head of the universitys psychology department Olivia. Jess Salgueiro plays Freddys roommate Eve, with Enders Keith in the role of Frasiers nephew, David.

Bebe Neuwirth will return as Lilith  Frasiers ex-wife and mother of Freddy  whom she originated in NBCs hit sitcom Cheers. Peri Gilpin will also return as Roz, whom she played on the original show.

Speaking about the reboot in a June interview with The Independent, Grammer opined that it may be funnier than the original.

Frasier premieres its first two episodes on Paramount+ on 12 October in the US, with international releases following the day after.
The number of reported abortions provided in Kentucky last year dropped by roughly 43 percent, according to new annual report tracking the medical procedure.

The reduction in legal pregnancy terminations correlates directly with the commonwealths trigger law banning abortion and a six-week ban, both of which became enforceable last summer with the overturning of federal abortion protections by the U.S. Supreme Court.

Last year, 2,550 abortions were provided in Kentucky, down from the 4,441 performed in 2021, according the the Cabinet for Health and Family Services Office of Vital Statistics report released Wednesday. All but three of the 2,550 were provided before August, when both bans were fully in place.

Kentuckys trigger law bans abortion except when a pregnant persons life is at risk. The concurrent six-week ban, or fetal heartbeat law, outlaws abortion after fetal cardiac activity is detected, usually around six weeks of pregnancy. Health care providers who perform abortions outside these confines can be charged with a felony.

There are no exceptions for rape, incest, or fetal abnormalities that cause a pregnancy to be nonviable.

The combined impact of both laws has been a virtual elimination of abortion in Kentucky, even in circumstances where termination is medically recommended, such as when a fetus is nonviable, as the Herald-Leader has reported.

That trend has continued into this year. From January to July, reported abortions in Kentucky dropped by almost 100% compared with 2021, according to state data. Thirteen abortions were reported to the Cabinet for Health and Family Services between January and July of 2023, compared to 2,591 reported in 2021 during the same time frame  a reduction of 99.5%.

All abortions last year in Kentucky were provided at 21 weeks gestation or less, the report shows, and 89% of all abortions were provided at 12 weeks or less.

With roughly a month left in Kentuckys hotly contested governors race, abortion has become a focal point of both Republican Attorney General Daniel Camerons and Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear s respective campaigns.

Both candidates have criticized one another for being too extreme in their stances: Beshear has jabbed Cameron for not supporting rape and incest exceptions, and Cameron has criticized Beshear for his veto history of multiple abortion bills passed into law by the GOP supermajority General Assembly.

Last month, Cameron publicly changed his position, announcing he would support adding rape and incest exceptions, if court-ordered to do so.

Ten girls under the age of 15 got abortions last year, as did 201 teenagers ages 15 to 19.

The two youngest patients to receive an abortion in the last two years were 9 years old, the Courier Journal reported last September. Under state law, sexual intercourse with a 9-year-old is first-degree rape.

A breakdown of individual ages from the 2022 report was not immediately available.

While most of the abortions provided last year were for in-state residents, people who live in 19 other states got abortions in Kentucky, including 215 pregnant people from Indiana, 123 from Tennessee, and 48 from Ohio.

Though Kentucky saw an overall reduction, data from surrounding states suggests pregnant Kentuckians are traveling to get abortions in states where its still legal.

Though roughly a dozen U.S. states outlawed it, the cumulative number of abortions provided so far in 2023 increased nationwide compared to 2020. In states that have preserved access, like Illinois, demand for the medical procedure has spiked, according to new estimates released last month by the Guttmacher Institute, a pro-abortion rights research policy center.

While most states surrounding Kentucky, including Tennessee, West Virginia, Indiana, Ohio, Missouri and Arkansas, have passed laws restricting abortion, Illinois  a state without an abortion ban  is the outlier. There, abortion remains legal up to the point of viability. From January to June of this year, the number of abortions provided in Illinois grew by an estimated 69% (from 26,000 to roughly 45,000) compared with 2020, according to Guttmacher.

Organizations like the Kentucky Health Justice Network, which offers financial assistance to people who need help paying for their abortions, has noted an uptick in calls to their hotline and resources spent on travel, or what it calls direct assistance.

In the more than year since Kentucky banned abortion, the level of financial assistance for hotels and gas has increased by almost 130%, Savannah Trebuna, KHJNs abortion support fund co-director, told the Herald-Leader last month.

Increasingly, were seeing a large need for practical support, things like gas money or a flight, hotels and childcare expenses, she said.
Two days after Kenyas foreign minister publicly thanked the United Nations Security Council  ahead of President William Ruto  for agreeing to an intervention in Haiti and said Kenya-led troops will be deployed in short order, he lost his high-profile cabinet job and got reassigned.

After getting ahead of the interior ministry to talk about the deployment, Alfred Mutua was moved to the tourism ministry, where hes also now in charge of wildlife, following a cabinet reshuffle by Ruto. Mutua had been a chief defender of the Kenyan forces and an outspoken proponent of his nation leading a multinational force into Haiti to help disarm violent gangs. His demotion comes as controversy rages in Kenya among opponents and critics of Ruto about the planned deployment, and as the president himself faces protests over the high cost of living and high taxes.

While the timing of Mutuas demotion has raised eyebrows, several diplomats say the Haiti aid agreement is between nations and not individuals and Ruto, who controls parliament, has been clear in his commitment. They also note that Mutuas reassignment was in the works for some time and unrelated to Haiti.

I dont think the change of the foreign minister will have much influence on the actual designs of the Haiti operations, said Vanda Felbab-Brown, a senior fellow in the Strobe Talbott Center for Security, Strategy, and Technology in the Foreign Policy program at the Brookings Institute.

The Kenyan ministers of interior and defense remain in place, she said. The U.S. has strong linkages with both of those ministries and presumably will maintain the existing access to influencing the design of the operations, Felbab-Brown added.

This is Rutos first reshuffle since he took office in August last year. In addition to Mutuas reassignment, the foreign affairs ministry was moved and oversight was given to a close ally, Musalia Mudavadi. In a statement, Ruto said late Wednesday that the reshuffle was meant to optimize performance and enhance delivery as set out in the administrations manifesto.

In late July, Mutua posted a statement on his social media account stating that Kenya had agreed to positively consider leading a multinational force into Haiti and sending 1,000 of its police officers to help the Caribbean nations police combat violent gangs that controlled at least 80% of the capital. At the time, the statement, posted on X, the social media platform previously known as Twitter, took even some foreign diplomats involved in the talks by surprise.

Days before the U.N. vote, Mutua a former journalist, told the BBC that the Haiti mission could be deployed in January, if not before, and in his public statement after the U.N. Security Council vote said it could happen within a short time.

In a Monday post on X, after the vote, he said: I thank the United Nations Security Council #UNSC for adopting the Resolution that gives the mandate to intervene in Haiti to help our suffering brothers and sisters. I thank all those that have constructively participated to make the resolution fit for purpose and the effective networking that has gone on.

He also called on all international partners of good will to assist. He added that This mandate is not only about peace and security, but also about the rebuilding of Haiti  its politics, its economic development, and social stability. It is the beginning of a new chapter for the fathers, mothers and children of Haiti.

The minister, who is active on social media, has not said anything about his reassignment. He did, however, update his portfolio for his 1.4 million followers on X.

In an interview with the New York Times, Mutua said he envisioned more than 50 countries each pledging 500 to 1,000 officers and that Kenyan officials, following an assessment, estimated that the Haiti effort could take three years and require 10,000 to 20,000 personnel. Unlike Mutua, the interior security minister has not spoken publicly and Ruto himself has provided few details about the preparations. In his statement thanking the U.N., he refrained from mentioning how soon deployment could happen.

Felbab-Brown said she believes the Kenyan government and others in the international community might have been displeased with his comments about the size of a Haiti force and that the mission would need three years to complete its work in Haiti. She believes his assessment is far more realistic about what it will take to weaken the gangs.

In acknowledging the larger time and personnel necessary for the security operations alone, the Kenyan foreign minister clearly got ahead of the comfort of many, especially as he also seemed to apply that other countries were ready to send off forces far over the numbers expected, she said.

The Haiti Multinational Security Support mission was authorized for one year, with a review in nine months by the Security Council. The Miami Herald, through diplomatic sources involved in conversations ahead of the U.N. vote, identified at least a dozen countries that expressed a willingness to participate either by deploying police or military personnel, or providing money or equipment. Washington, which has not revealed the list of countries, has only said that the 2,000 personnel a Kenya assessment team visiting Port-au-Prince in August said it needed in order to deployed, had been reached through offers from countries like The Bahamas, Jamaica, Antigua and Barbuda and others.

During that same visit, the Kenyan government also made it clear that a deployment would need to be approved by the African nations parliament, a point the countrys opposition lawmakers have pressed ever since Mondays U.N. vote.
The News

NAIROBI  A claim by Kenyan President William Ruto that tech giants want to hire up to 300,000 Kenyan online workers is eliciting sharp reactions, including public criticism.

Know More

 Whats the background to this? Ruto made the statement on Sunday, Oct. 1, shortly after leading a US-Kenya business roadshow in which he pitched the country to top US tech companies and investors in Silicon Valley. Those he met included Apple CEO Tim Cook, Intel CEO Patrick Gelsinger, Alphabets chief financial officer Ruth Porat, and Microsofts chief operating officer Brad Smith.

US Ambassador to Kenya Meg Whitman, herself a former CEO of eBay and Hewlett Packard, also played a key role in the roadshow, encouraging US tech companies to invest in the East African country. She described it as a gateway to the rest of the continent and talked up the countrys tech sector.

 What did Ruto promise Kenyan voters? Ruto was elected on the promise to empower the poor, youth and small business owners. However, issues related to the struggling economy he inherited when took office last September  including unpopular tax hikes, the high cost of living and unemployment  have dented his image at home. The countrys deepening economic challenges, which stem from growing debt repayments and rising interest rates, this week prompted the cabinet to order all ministries and state departments to cut their budgets by 10%.

The presidents allies insist he needs more time to deliver, particularly on lowering the cost of living which sparked anti-government protests this year.

 What did he say after his Silicon Valley trip? I visited Google, Intel and Apple. All these companies are looking for online workers, Ruto stated at a church service in Nairobi on Sunday, Oct. 1.

They want us to give them 100,000, 200,000 and 300,000 workers out of the Kenyan youth.

Kenya presidency/X

 Whats the tech sector saying? Googles head of communications for Africa, Dorothy Ooko, told Semafor Africa the company shared Rutos vision of creating jobs through technology.

Ooko said Google is hiring engineers, designers and researchers to work in its product development center in Nairobi to solve difficult technical challenges.

Ben Roberts, chief technology and innovation officer at digital services company Liquid Intelligent Technologies in Nairobi told Semafor Africa the pitch by Ruto and Whitman to tech investors in Silicon Valley could only help in attracting big tech investment to Kenya.

Roberts said a handful of companies might not directly hire hundreds of thousands of Kenyan workers but in order to achieve larger numbers of Kenyans being employed, we need the big tech firms to work with local partners.

The business process outsourcing (BPO) sector has the potential to create more job opportunities, according to Roberts who noted that it accelerated the growth of Indias tech sector. Kenya aims to create 1 million jobs in the BPO sector.

Kenya presidency/X

 How have Rutos comments been received? The presidents critics, both in the opposition and general public, have accused him of repeatedly making unrealistic promises designed to gain a political advantage. That characterization has earned Ruto monikers such as Mr. Six Months in reference to unmet project timelines.

Online, many Kenyans have questioned Rutos statement and his administrations ability to deliver the jobs. Local media reports have been skeptical  Citizen TV questioned how the jobs could be delivered given recent layoffs in big tech and the sheer number of new jobs promised by the president.

Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna, a member of the opposition Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) party, dismissed Rutos vows as lies. He has increased the cost of doing business in Kenya and now wants to hoodwink Kenyans with phantom opportunities in other countries, Sifuna told Semafor Africa, referring to Rutos plan to secure 1 million jobs overseas for Kenyan workers.

Martins view

Few countries in Africa are as well positioned to attract big tech investment as Kenya. In the past year, Microsoft and Google both opened landmark development centers in Nairobi and began recruiting some of the countrys top tech talent. The Silicon Valley roadshow undoubtedly boosted Kenyas profile to tech investors at a time when the president can point to progress. On Wednesday, Oct. 4, Ruto attended the launch of a development center in Nairobi for the Amazon Web Services (AWS) cloud computing platform. The center, only the second in Africa, provides resources for developers to work on apps and services. The launch came a fortnight after Ruto met AWS executives in New York.

Despite Kenyas strong position as an African tech hub, it is highly unlikely that a few big tech companies will hire hundreds of thousands of Kenyans workers. While he might have been assured of increased big tech investment in Kenya during his Silicon Valley trip, the president might have been playing to the gallery with the promised jobs numbers. For perspective, Googles total number of employees stood at just under 180,000 as of January 2023.

Such statements can be frustrating to the millions of Kenyan youth grappling with unemployment and the high cost of living. According to the most recent census data, 5.3 million, or 38.9% of young Kenyans, are unemployed.

He promised youth jobs while campaigning but Im not seeing them, the economy is bad, John Macharia, a 29-year old developer in Nairobi, told Semafor Africa. I hope more (big tech) jobs come but Im not counting on it. Right now the cost of living is my biggest concern. He (Ruto) needs to address it.
Alfred Mutua recently said the Kenyan police would be deployed to Haiti "within a short time"

Kenya's Foreign Minister Alfred Mutua has been demoted as controversy rages over plans to deploy police to Haiti to fight gangs.

Main opposition leader Raila Odinga was the latest to oppose the move, saying the deployment would risk the lives of Kenyan police.

Mr Mutua's demotion to tourism minister was part of the first major cabinet reshuffle by President William Ruto .

In August, the president criticised some of his ministers as clueless.

Mr Ruto took office in August last year with the promise to improve the economy and better the lives of lower-income earners.

But he has faced a series of opposition-led protests over the high cost of living and tax hikes.

The president said in a statement late on Wednesday that the reshuffle was meant to "optimise performance and enhance delivery as set out in the administration's manifesto".

On Tuesday, the president cracked down on government spending and foreign travel, ordering ministries to cut their spending by 10%.

Mr Ruto re-assigned Mr Mutua to the tourism ministry and put the foreign affairs ministry under the office of the Prime Cabinet Secretary, which falls under his close ally, Musalia Mudavadi.

The move is seen as an attempt to give Mr Ruto's inner circle more influence over diplomatic affairs.

A senior member of the ruling party, Senator Kiprotich Arap Cherargei, said the changes were "necessitated by performance".

"The writing is on the wall for the non-performing cabinet secretaries and those who perpetuate corruption and lethargy in their ministries," Mr Cherargei posted on X, formerly Twitter.

As foreign minister, Mr Mutua was a vocal supporter of a Kenyan-led peacekeeping mission to Haiti.

He recently said that about 1,000 police would be deployed "within a short time".

The UN Security Council approved the deployment of the force on Tuesday.

Mr Ruto welcomed its decision, but did not mention when the police would be sent.

Some Kenyan MPs have demanded parliamentary approval before the deployment.

The defence and security ministers, who have been quiet about the planned Haiti deployment, were not affected by the reshuffle.

If deployed, the Kenyan police would help tackle gangs that have have taken control of large parts of Haiti, killing hundreds and disrupting public services.

Mr Odinga, in an interview with privately-owned KTN News, said the situation in Haiti was too dangerous for Kenyan police.

"When coffins start arriving here, that's when we shall regret [it]. Haiti is dangerous and there's a possibility our police will encounter problems there," the opposition leader said.

In another notable change in the reshuffle, Trade Minister Moses Kuria was moved to the public service portfolio.

He has been replaced by Rebecca Miano, who was the minister in charge of relations with the East African Community (EAC).

Mr Kuria was snubbed by US Trade Representative Katherine Tai, who refused to meet him during her visit to Kenya in July.

Ms Tai apparently objected to foul language Mr Kuria had used against the Kenyan media and opposition.

Mr Kuria was also involved in controversy over the operations of a popular Chinese-owned shop near Kenya's capital, Nairobi.

The shop was temporarily closed after Mr Kuria accused it of taking away business from local traders by selling goods too cheaply.

Other key cabinet changes include:

Water Minister Alice Wahome moves to the land and housing ministry

Aisha Jumwa from public service to gender and culture

Tourism Minister Peninah Malonza moves to the Ministry of the East African Community

Mr Ruto re-deployed several permanent secretaries and foreign ambassadors. He also appointed former Senator Isaac Mwaura as government spokesperson.
A date has been set for Kevin Costner s newest highly anticipated Western movie.

Horizon: An American Saga will be coming to theaters in the summer of 2024.

The Warner Bros. and New Line production centers on Western America in the pre- and post-Civil War eras. The Yellowstone actor serves as the director.

The film is in two parts and is labeled Chapter 1 and Chapter 2. Chapter 1 is set to hit theaters on June 28, while Chapter 2 will be released on Aug. 16.

"Horizon: An American Saga"

A teaser trailer was released for the ambitious project on Thursday.

Next Summer, the screen reads in white font over a black background. A two-part theatrical event.

After the dates of the two chapters are revealed, Costner is seen on-screen riding a horse, while holding a rifle in the middle of an open field. Yellowstone fans may find that he looks like an ancestor from the fictional Dutton family.

Wearing period Western gear, he fires his rifle numerous times at an unknown target.

The film stars Sienna Miller, Sam Worthington, Jena Malone, Abbey Lee, Michael Rooker, Danny Huston, Luke Wilson, Isabelle Fuhrman, Jeff Fahey, Will Batton, Tatanka Means, Owen Crow Shoe and Ella Hunt.

Last year, Costner told Variety the saga would consist of four different movies and theyll be released every three months.

Horizon isnt Costners first time in the directors chair. He won an Oscar for his directorial work in the 1990 hit Dances With Wolves. He also directed 2003s Open Range and 1997s The Post Man.

The Western comes as Costner is set to say goodbye to Yellowstone. Hes set to ride off into the sunset as John Dutton at the end of Season 5.

Actor Luke Grimes, who plays Kayce Dutton, told People that filming for the fifth season hasnt started because of the Hollywood strikes.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KTLA.
Congress was stunned this week by House Republicans suddenly removing Kevin McCarthy from his House speaker position, but the turmoils immediate impact for ordinary Americans will be somewhat muted.

Congress was already operating at a crawl when it came to major bills, as the GOP-controlled House struggled to pass legislation  including funding the government  that had any hope of votes in the Senate or bypassing President Bidens veto pen.

Among the legislation that made it out of the House but no further was the Parents Bill of Rights, which attempted to federalize GOP scrutiny of educators many are dealing with at the state level, and a border security bill heavily criticized by the White House. Neither chamber took up legislation in response to the recent spike in child poverty announced by the Census Bureau last month.

The removal will also likely affect the impeachment inquiry into President Biden, although GOP members are split on exactly how its impact will be felt. One of McCarthys final acts as speaker was launching the investigation without a full floor vote as he had initially promised. The witnesses at the first open hearing presented no evidence the president had committed any crimes, with the lack of tangible evidence being a throughline of the GOP case.

Read more: Answering your FAQs about McCarthys removal

While many of the effects may not directly reach most Americans, there are consequences of McCarthys removal that could cause pain both short- and long-term for the country.

Another looming shutdown

Protesters call for an end to a partial government shutdown in Detroit in January 2019. (Paul Sancya/AP Photo) (AP)

Hard-right Rep. Matt Gaetz said one of his reasons for leading the vote against McCarthy was the GOP leaders negotiations with Democrats over a short-term funding bill that Congress passed over the weekend. Without it, the government would have shut down this week.

But the bill is only a 45-day stopgap, and another will be needed soon. The next House speaker, whoever that is, will have to navigate fractures in the GOP caucus on aid for Ukraine and a balancing act between passing a bill that can make it through the Senate and appease the Republican right flank.

Time spent selecting the new speaker is not being spent on figuring out a long-term spending bill that will eliminate the near-term chance of a shutdown.

The potential effects of a shutdown are far reaching, as roughly 4 million federal employees would not be paid, including more than 1 million active members of the military. While some will receive back pay, contractors  like those who work in food or custodial services at the Capitol  will not.

And while air traffic controllers and TSA agents are considered essential employees and will be told to report to work without pay, a five-week shutdown caused by former President Trumps demands on money to build his border wall that spanned December 2018 into 2019 resulted in travel delays when those workers began calling out sick.

A shutdown would also limit inspections of food and workplaces, as well as affecting the millions of Americans who use the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children, or WIC. The program assists low-income pregnant women, breastfeeding women and children under age 5.

Areas that wont be affected include social security payments, the postal service and anyone who receives their health care through Medicare, Medicaid or veterans hospitals. Members of Congress will also continue to receive their paychecks, as they are funded by a permanent appropriations account.

It should set off alarm bells that something is not right

Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy at the U.S. Capitol on Tuesday. (Ricky Carioti/The Washington Post via Getty Images) (The Washington Post via Getty Im)

A potential broader and long-term effect of McCarthys ouster, according to historians and political scientists, is the continued degradation of American democracy.

If you want to know what it looks like when democracy is in trouble, this is what it looks like, said Daniel Ziblatt, professor of government at Harvard University, to the Washington Post after Tuesdays vote. It should set off alarm bells that something is not right.

McCarthy was among the 147 Republicans in Congress who voted to overturn the 2020 election results, a group that also includes Reps. Steve Scalise, Jim Jordan and Kevin Hern, party leaders whove declared their intention to run for the speakership. In the days after the Jan. 6 storming of the Capitol, McCarthy privately told GOP leaders of Trump, Ive had it with this guy, but when the former president remained popular with the party, McCarthy embraced him, flying to Florida to visit Trump weeks after Congress was overrun.

McCarthy was not an outlier in his behavior. As Yahoo News Jon Ward explained in the aftermath of the unprecedented vacancy, Republicans have become increasingly antigovernment in recent years.

The party has been trending that way for years, with political scientists Thomas E. Mann and Norm Ornstein writing in 2012, well before Trump ascended to the top of the party, The GOP has become an insurgent outlier in American politics. It is ideologically extreme; scornful of compromise; unmoved by conventional understanding of facts, evidence and science; and dismissive of the legitimacy of its political opposition.
FILE - Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., speaks to reporters hours after he was ousted as Speaker of the House, Tuesday, Oct. 3, 2023, at the Capitol in Washington. McCarthy spent years tirelessly raising mountains of Republican campaign cash as he worked his way toward becoming Speaker of the House. Now that hes been ousted from the post, some in McCarthys party are wondering if all that fundraising will evaporate. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)

WASHINGTON (AP)  Kevin McCarthy spent years raising mountains of Republican campaign cash, flying around the country to recruit top candidates in key districts and painstakingly building political relationships as he worked his way toward becoming speaker of the House.

Now that hes been ousted from the post after less than nine months, some in the GOP are wondering if anyone can take his place as a fundraising dynamo and party builder.

The House isnt scheduled to vote on who could replace McCarthy until at least next week with all legislative work suspended as the chamber navigates a situation never before seen in the nations history. In the meantime, House Republicans have no clear leader heading into next year's election as they cling to a razor-thin majority.

Nobody can raise money like him, said Rep. Kelly Armstrong, R-N.D. And no matter who is the next speaker of the House, none of them can do what Kevin McCarthy did.

The National Republican Congressional Committee, the GOPs House campaign arm, postponed its upcoming fall gala in Dallas that McCarthy was supposed to headline. The committee said McCarthy helped it raise more than $40 million during the last election cycle and $20-plus million so far this cycle.

The totals were even higher for a McCarthy-aligned super PAC, the Congressional Leadership Fund, which said that it and its associated nonprofits had raised about $645 million under McCarthy. That included about $215 million for the 2020 election, roughly $350 million during last years midterm races and around $80 million so far this cycle.

The leadership fund will shift its alignment to follow the new House speaker once one is elected. Paul Ryan replaced fellow Republican John Boehner in 2015. The GOP retained House control the following year when Donald Trump was elected president.

Speaker McCarthy has fundamentally altered House elections for Republicans through his recruitment efforts, his unmatched fundraising prowess, and his ability to inspire and generate confidence among donors, Congressional Leadership Fund President Dan Conston said in a statement. While this is an obvious loss for the House, CLF remains laser-focused on our mission of holding radical Democrats accountable, protecting our vulnerable incumbents, and expanding the House Republican majority.

As speaker and in his prior years leading the Republicans in the minority, McCarthy was viewed by many as less of a legislator and more of a political tactician who found strong Republican candidates and raised enough money to get them elected and to bolster the national party.

McCarthy visiting a district could often be a major draw, juicing fundraiser proceeds, though thats a role any new House speaker can grow into.

A bigger test for the next speaker is whether they will be able to raise the same kind of sums as McCarthy for the partys outside groups, which every year pour millions of dollars into advertising in key races, unburdened by contribution limits for individual campaigns.

Thats where McCarthy has crushed it, said Cam Savage, a longtime Republican strategist who works on House races. He did the heavy lifting for the Congressional Leadership Fund.

During the 2022 midterms, Republicans underperformed national expectations and eked out a House majority so narrow that McCarthy needed an unprecedented 15 rounds of voting to claim the speakership in January. McCarthy had to remain close to Trump, who is now the front-runner in the partys 2024 primary, and balance the interests of moderates and hard-right members alike. He ultimately couldn't.

The revolt against him featured eight Republicans teaming with House Democrats to vote McCarthy out of the speakership. Ironically, McCarthy had campaigned for some of those who eventually helped strip him of the post hed worked so long to obtain.

A lot of them, I helped get elected, so I probably should have picked somebody else, McCarthy joked at a press conference after being forced out.

He may still prove a force in 2024 races. McCarthy has so far suggested that hell continue to bolster the GOP nationally, saying, My goals have not changed, my ability to fight is just in a different form.

I intend to make sure that we gain and keep the majority in the next cycle as well, he said.

Holding the House already looked tough since the current majority includes 18 GOP members representing districts that Joe Biden won in 2020. Especially critical could be Republican-held districts in McCarthys native California, which Democrats were already targeting and could get even more competitive without the clout that comes with the state having one of its own as speaker.

After this weeks chaotic episode, House Republicans have basically upgraded to a Disney fast-pass in their never-ending roller coaster ride to the radical right, said Viet Shelton, a spokesman for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, the partys House campaign arm.

House members in both parties said that what happens next will depend greatly on whether the former speaker endorses his eventual successor. Thats because aligning the GOPs various fundraising mechanisms to the new speaker will likely go far smoother if McCarthy supports his replacement.

Its going to be a challenge, said Marty Obst, who worked for Trump's 2020 campaign and has raised money with McCarthy in the past. The transition is going to be fairly bumpy.

But other Republicans aren't lamenting his departure. McCarthy noted during his valedictory press conference that he got a text message from a former opponent of one of the eight Republicans who voted against him, Rep. Nancy Mace of South Carolina.

I did text him because he did dump $3 million into that run to defeat me, said Katie Arrington, who lost to Mace in a 2022 primary. He wasted money.

Arrington, who was backed by Trump in her challenge to Mace, questioned the notion of the speaker being the House majoritys chief campaigner.

Why is Kevin McCarthy running around recruiting people, giving them money, picking winners and losers out of Washington? Arrington asked. That is the problem with Washington  the elites think that they know better."

___

Associated Press writers Kevin Freking in Washington and Meg Kinnard and James Pollard in Columbia, South Carolina, contributed to this report.
Fox News host Brian Kilmeade and Rep. Tim Burchett (R-Tenn.) had a tense exchange during a recent interview after the anchor grilled the lawmakers decision to vote to remove former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.).

During an interview on Fox Newss Fox and Friends, Kilmeade pressed Burchett on whether he would have acted to remove McCarthy if Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) hadnt done so.

Youre happy following Matt Gaetz? Is that your leader? Kilmeade asked.

Im not following Matt Gaetz. I made my own decision, Burchett replied. I didnt ask Matt for his approval.

But if Matt Gaetz didnt challenge, you werent going to challenge? Kilmeade asked.

I believe I would have, Burchett said.

Kilmeade then appeared to take aim at Burchetts previous comments that McCarthys condescending remarks about his faith sealed the deal.

Oh, come on. Please. Youre praying about it one minute, [and] the next minute youre going to lead an insurgency? Kilmeade said.

So you dont think that praying about it is important? Is that what youre saying? Because thats what youre saying to America, Burchett added.

When Kilmeade reiterated his previous remark, Burchett replied: Listen, youve got a predetermined answer to everything. I prayed about it.

The tense exchange comes a day after the House voted for the first time ever to remove a Speaker of the House.

The historic vote was first brought forth by Gaetz. Eight Republican lawmakers, including Gaetz and Burchett, joined their Democratic colleagues in a 216-210 vote to remove McCarthy from his position.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Former GOP Rep. Adam Kinzinger (Ill.) predicted Wednesday that Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) will become the next Speaker of the House, a spot currently vacant after Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) was ousted from it on Tuesday.

In an interview on CNNs AC-360, Kinzinger said he expects that the candidacy of Jordan  who has entered the race for Speaker along with House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.), McCarthys longtime No. 2  will become a new litmus test for conservatives.

Jim is going to be now the new litmus test of: Are you a true conservative or not? Steve Scalise wont be. Itll be Jim Jordan, Kinzinger said. And so there will be a slow acquiescence of everybody to Jim Jordan. Thats my prediction.

I certainly hope, for the country, Im wrong, he added. But Ill also say this: If he becomes Speaker, it will be interesting to see how a shut-it-all-down kind of guy actually governs a country.

The race to become Speaker is new, and others could join Jordan and Scalise as they vie for the title.

Jordan, the House Judiciary Committee chairman and a founding member of the Freedom Caucus, has taken on establishment candidates in the past and was overwhelmingly defeated. In 2018, he challenged then-Majority Leader McCarthy for his position and lost in a 159-43 vote in the conference.

The party, however, has changed substantially since then.

I think if it was secret ballot, Steve Scalise would win overwhelmingly, or anybody but Jim Jordan, Kinzinger said.

The former Illinois congressman  who bucked his party on a variety of issues, including voting to impeach then-President Trump  declined to run for reelection last year.

A staunch supporter of Ukraine, he expressed concern in the interview that whoever becomes Speaker next will have to yield to hard-liners on extreme demands, including no Ukraine aid.

I think its important for five or 10 members of the House of the Republicans to refuse to vote for anybody that wont bring Ukraine to the floor for an up or down vote, Kinzinger said. Will they do that? Probably not. They should.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Pedro Pascal speaks frequently about his roots, and in his latest Instagram post, he revealed that they included a bit of blond!

On Oct. 4, the 47-year-old Last of Us star shared a sweet throwback post of him alongside his older sister Javiera Balmaceda. In the photo, the two siblings look like mirror images of each other with one surprising exception: Pascals hair.

The actors picture reveals he was a very light blond in his much younger days. He can be seen smiling in the photo alongside his oldest sibling, who appears unamused.

BIG SIS. Forever, the actor captioned the post, which included his sisters Instagram username.

"Pedro was blonde as a kid?!" one person commented, while another added, "Aww you were a blonde baby!"

Others wrote in Spanish how his Chilean roots were very much present as a lighter-haired toddler.

While Pascal and his sister Javiera dont appear close in the sweet throwback photos, the Chilean-American actor has previously spoken about his tight-knit relationship with his siblings.

Heres everything you need to know about what hes said about his three siblings.

Javiera Balmaceda

While the family's eldest sibling did not pursue an on-camera career in Hollywood like her brother, she didn't stray too far away, either.

Javiera Balmaceda is Amazon Studios head of local originals for Spanish-speaking Latin America. The company produced Argentina, 1985, which was nominated for best international feature at the 2023 Oscars.

Speaking to Variety about her involvement in the project, Javiera said, "Its exciting to be part of such an ambitious project that will take audiences on a journey through a pivotal point in Argentinas history."

While Pedro was at the Oscars on March 12 to present best animated short and best documentary short, he was also playing the role of a supportive brother. The sibling duo attended the prestigious event arm in arm.

Balmaceda started her career in investment banking in Chile, she revealed on the "Girls Gone Boss" podcast. She said she got burnt out, and then found her way to television through friends in the field.

Valentina Paloma Pinault, Salma Hayek, Pedro Pascal and Javiera Balmaceda. (Mike Coppola / Getty Images)

Nicolas Balmaceda Pascal

Unlike his show business-adjacent siblings, Nicolas pursued a medical career. In 2019, Pedro posted on his Instagram that his younger brother was getting his PhD in pediatric neurology.

He hates attention and he loves doing good, Pedro wrote. Its his birthday. To punish him for being younger, smarter, and more handsome I thought I would announce this to the world.

Lux Pascal

Lux Pascal seems to take after her big brother's footsteps, making forays as a public figure and actor  a Julliard-trained actor, mind you.

She's also an activist and came out as transgender in 2021. Speaking to Chilean magazine Ya, Lux Pascal said her brother Pedro Pascal was an "important part" of her transition journey.

When I officially told him about my transition through FaceTime, he asked me how I felt  because I remember that he was worried, she said. I told him: Im happy. And his answer was: Perfect, this is incredible.

And to celebrate her coming out and being on the cover of Ya, Pedro Pascal posted a sweet message on Instagram for his sister in February 2021.

"Mi hermana, mi corazon, nuestra Lux," he wrote (translated to "my sister, my heart, our Lux.")

Why are Pedro Pascal and his siblings refugees?

When the Last of Us and The Mandalorian star made his hosting debut on Saturday Night Live last month, he had a heartfelt message for his family.

(My parents) were so brave, and without them, I wouldnt be here in this wonderful country, he said. And I certainly wouldnt be standing here with you all tonight.

The actors parents, Veronica Pascal and Jose Balmaceda, were part of the opposition movement against Augusto Pinochets military dictatorship in Chile, per Telemundo. At just nine months old, the Chilean-born American and his family took refuge in Denmark and later in San Antonio, Texas, he explained in his SNL monologue.

When Pedro was just 11 years old, his family moved to California and he began taking classes at the Orange County School of the Arts. It wasnt until his 2014 role in the Game of Thrones series that the actors career began to take off in a major way.

But Pedros mother did not live to see his success as she took her own life in 2000. In her honor, the Last of Us actor changed his name from Jose Pedro Balmaceda Pascal to Pedro Pascal.

This article was originally published on TODAY.com
GRANADA, Spain (Reuters) - Kosovo's president called on Thursday for Spain - the biggest EU state to withhold recognition of Kosovo's independence - to join other countries backing measures to punish Serbia over a deadly gunbattle between Kosovo forces and armed Serbs last month.

Vjosa Osmani-Sadriu spoke to reporters at the start of a summit hosted by Spain of the 47-member European Political Community, a body set up to discuss issues on the continent in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine last year.

"I do hope Spain will join other, like-minded countries to adopt measures towards Serbia for this horrendous act that it has committed against peace, stability and security," she said. "There is no reason to meet (with Serbia) before sanctions are adopted," she added.

Kosovo has sought international support since the Sept. 24 gunbattle, in which dozens of armed Serbs barricaded themselves inside a monastery. Three attackers and one Kosovo police officer were killed.

Serbia denies Kosovo's accusations that it supported the attackers. It detained and released a Kosovo Serb politician who acknowledged taking part.

Kosovo and Western countries have also accused Serbia of building up its military presence in the so-called Ground Safety Zone, a 5 km-wide (3-mile) strip inside Serbia along the Kosovo border, which Belgrade denies.

Kosovo, a former Serbian province with an ethnic Albanian majority, declared independence from Serbia in 2008 after a guerrilla conflict and a 1999 NATO bombing campaign that drove out Serbian security forces.

Spain, concerned about a precedent spurring separatism in its own Catalonia region, is one of just five EU states that do not recognise Kosovo's independence; the others are Cyprus, Greece, Romania and Slovakia.

(Reporting by Inti Landauro; Writing by David Latona; Editing by Andrei Khalip and Peter Graff)
A Kremlin propagandist faced backlash from Siberian officials after saying Russia should detonate a nuke in its own territory

Margarita Simonyan. AP

A Kremlin propagandist suggested Moscow should drop a nuclear bomb over Siberia, reports said.

The comments by RT editor-in-chief Margarita Simonyan sparked backlash from Siberian officials.

A nuclear bombing over Siberia would send a "painful" message to the West, Simonyan reportedly said.

A loyal Kremlin propagandist suggested that Moscow should drop a nuclear bomb over Siberia as a way to convey a message to the West amid the grinding war with Ukraine, sparking backlash from officials in the Russian territory, according to multiple reports.

Margarita Simonyan, the head of the Russian state television network RT who has been described by the US State Department as one of Russian President Vladimir Putin's "main faces of propaganda and disinformation," made the comments on air this week, according to multiple reports, including The Moscow Times.

"If we were to conduct a thermonuclear explosion, a nuclear explosion, hundreds of kilometers above our own territory, someplace in Siberia, nothing scary would happen on the land," Simonyan said, according to a translation by the Russian Media Monitor.

"There will be no nuclear winter where everyone is afraid. There won't be horrific radiation that will kill everyone  None of that will happen," said Simonyan, according to the project, run by journalist Julia Davis, who monitors and analyzes Russian media.

Simonyan added, according to the translation, that it would "disable" all electronics and satellites and, "We will return to the year 1993."

A nuclear bombing over Siberia would send a "painful" message to the West, Simonyan said, according to a translation by The Moscow Times.

The RT editor-in-chief's remarks were swiftly met with fierce criticism from Siberian officials.

Maria Prusakova, a Communist Party member in the State Duma from Siberia's Altai republic, slammed Simonyan's comments as a "deep insult" and called on Simonyan to apologize, according to The Moscow Times.

Mayor Anatoly Lokot of the Siberian city of Novosibirsk told local media in the aftermath of Simonyan's remarks that there's "nothing good about thermonuclear explosions" and warned that the results of one could have consequences for "thousands of years," The Moscow Times reported.

Nikolai Korolev, an aide to Moscow City Duma deputy Evgeniy Stupin, petitioned Russia's Interior Ministry and Investigative Committee to probe Simonyan's comments, according to the news outlet.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov spoke out about Simonyan's remarks, saying that they do not reflect Moscow's official position, The Moscow Times reported.

Meanwhile, Simonyan has since filed a complaint against one of her critics and threatened to sue others for "defamation," according to a tweet from Davis.

Simonyan wrote in a message on Telegram that she did not call for a nuclear strike on Siberia, Russian news outlet Meduza reported.

"This monstrous allegation," Simonyan said, "smears my reputation and inflicts all manner of damages and suffering upon me," according to Meduza.

Read the original article on Business Insider
People take pictures in front of Sagrada Familia Basilica designed by architect Antoni Gaudi in Barcelona, Spain, on Friday, July 9, 2021. | Joan Mateu, Associated Press

After beginning construction in 1882, Spains Sagrada Familia basilica now has 17 of its 18 designed towers fully constructed, per Arch Daily.

The Sagrada Familia Foundation announced on Sept. 27, Today the final sculptural piece was put on the tower of the Evangelist Matthew, represented by a human figure, and work will continue tomorrow, crowning the tower of the Evangelist John with the figure of the eagle. The crowning of the towers with the figures of the tetramorph representing Matthew and John completes these two towers and, therefore, the group of the towers of the Evangelists.

Each of the 18 towers is symbolic. Of the 18, 12 represent Christs apostles, four represent the Evangelists (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John), one represents the Virgin Mary, and the tallest, central tower represents Jesus Christ , according to Barcelona.com.

Recently, each of the four Evangelist towers were crowned with statues. Matthew was represented by an angel, Mark by a lion, Luke by an ox and John by an eagle, per The Messenger.

Related

When will the Sagrada Familia be finished?

The final tower is predicted to be constructed by 2026, the 100th anniversary commemorating the death of the cathedrals original architect, Antoni Gaudi, The New York Times reported. Upon completion, the Sagrada Familia will be the worlds tallest church, according to the churchs website.

Why is the Sagrada Familia still not finished?

The Sagrada Familia has not had an easy path to completion, according to Euro News. The first interruption was Gaudis accidental death in 1926, when he was hit by a tram. This sudden shock halted the churchs progress for 10 years.

The next delay was due to civil unrest during the Spanish Civil War. Anarchist groups infiltrated the Sagrada Familia, smashed models, burned plans and destroyed the crypt. Further, 12 contributors to the Sagrada Familias construction were killed in the war, and progress did not resume until the conflict ended in 1939.

Several decades later, the Spanish government proposed plans for a 39-foot-wide train tunnel, and the proposed location led Sagrada Familia architects to believe the project could cause irreparable damage to the church, according to The New York Times.

Alterations to the tunnel were made, construction began in 2010, and to date, no damage has been reported, per Artsy.

Who built the Sagrada Familia?

The Sagrada Familia includes a timeline on its website, explaining that architect Francisco de Paula del Villar originally led the project. His plans for the church resembled classically gothic-style cathedrals, but he was reassigned to a different project in 1883.

Gaudi, a Catalan Modernist, was the next chief architect over the church, and ultimately had the most influence on its design. He would work on the project up until his death in 1926 and was buried in the Sagrada Familias crypt.

What kind of architecture is the Sagrada Familia?

Architecuul explained, The style of la Sagrada Familia is variously likened to Spanish Late Gothic, Catalan Modernism and to Art Nouveau or Catalan Noucentisme. While the Sagrada Familia falls within the Art Nouveau period, Nikolaus Pevsner points out that, along with Charles Rennie Macintosh in Glasgow, Gaudi carried the Art Nouveau style far beyond its usual application as a surface decoration.

What symbolism is there in the Sagrada Familia?

Gaudi said his goal for the Sagrada Familia was for it to be the Bible made of stone, per Catalan News.

Sagrada Familia tour guide Onno Schoemaker told Catalan News that due to illiteracy among the Spanish working class during the 19th century, Gaudi wanted to tell the story of Jesus through imagery, through sculptures and visual elements, rather than through text.

Through Eternity discusses the Sagrada Familias complex symbolism, and says, The Nativity facade evokes the wonder and joy of Christs birth through a focus on organic elements that bring to mind the superabundance and fertility of the natural world. The west-facing Passion facade, on the other hand, reflects the death of Christ through its facing of the setting sun and its spare, unadorned facade.

At its most general, the massive Sagrada Familia reflects the endless variety and complexity of Gods creation via its dizzying displays of sculptural and spatial virtuosity, a virtual biblical story in stone that is without question the most ambitious and detailed work of Christian architecture of the last 100 years.

How much are tickets to the Sagrada Familia?

Individual ticket prices range from 26 to 36 euros, but for more specifics, visit the Sagrada Familias website.
LANSING, Kan.  The Kansas Department of Corrections says a 40-year-old inmate who was housed at Lansing Correctional Facility died on Wednesday after being taken to the University of Kansas Medical Center.

The department identified Michael Aineta as the inmate who died at the hospital. His cause of death will be determined by an independent autopsy, and is under investigation by both KDOC and the Kansas Bureau of Investigation.

Topeka community gathers to honor life of slain girl

Aineta was serving a sentence of close to 16 years for rape and criminal sodomy convictions in Seward County, located in the far southwest corner of the state where Liberal is the county seat. Aineta was convicted in June of 2022 and sentenced the following October.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX 4 Kansas City WDAF-TV | News, Weather, Sports.
Sgt. Michael Hall points out the tightness of a BolaWrap 100 device after it has been fired at the Los Angeles Police Department academy in 2019. The device fires a Kevlar cord to wrap around a person's body. (Dania Maxwell / Los Angeles Times)

Officers patrolling the Los Angeles Metro transit system will not be issued a lasso-type weapon anytime soon, officials confirmed this week.

The BolaWrap, a nonlethal device meant to bind a person with a quick-deploy whip-like cord, was approved by the Los Angeles Police Commission in August at the recommendation of Chief Michel Moore. The idea was the device could be assigned to patrol officers on Metro buses and trains, pending approval from the board that oversees the system.

But that proposal is now on hold, according to the L.A. County Metropolitan Transportation Authority.

The Los Angeles Police Department notified Metro on Tuesday that officers patrolling transit services would not be included in a proposed expansion of the BolaWrap pilot program and "will not be deploying the device," transit officials said in a statement.

Read more: Cops with lassos on the train? New crime-fighting weapon suggested for Metro

The official word came days after Mayor Karen Bass , who also serves as chair of the Metro Board of Directors, publicly dismissed the concept.

At a Metro board meeting last week, multiple people spoke against deploying the devices  though the issue was not on the agenda.

Metro rider Juanita Medina said she tried to explain the BolaWrap to her 9-year-old grandson after the idea was publicized in the media.

"His first inclination was to laugh. He said, 'Grandma, is Wonder Woman working on the train now?'" Medina told the board. "How do you tell children what this lasso is for?"

Bass responded, "Please, assure your grandson Wonder Woman will not be on Metro." The exchange was first reported by StreetsBlog LA.

The mayor "believes that new public safety strategies should be implemented with public engagement" and "has serious concerns about this tool," Bass' office said in a statement.

Read more: Mayor Bass takes over Metro as it undergoes huge expansion, copes with low ridership and crime

The Metro system is patrolled by the LAPD, Los Angeles County sheriffs deputies and Long Beach police. An ambassador program was also rolled out last year in hopes of addressing issues with crime and making riders feel safe on the bus and rail lines. The ambassadors patrol the transit system but are not armed and do not issue citations.

L.A. County Supervisor Holly Mitchell, also a Metro board member, asked agency staff during the meeting whether the BolaWrap was in line with policies for acceptable forms of policing on the transit system. She said she was surprised by the proposal and called it "a step in the wrong direction."

Metro Chief Safety Officer Gina Osborn said the LAPD had not told officials about the proposal until it was presented to the Police Commission.

The LAPD did not respond to requests for comment about whether the device had been demonstrated to the Metro board or staff. LAPD spokesperson Officer Rosario Cervantes said BolaWrap devices were deployed to the department's Central and Hollywood divisions as part of a yearlong pilot program that ended in August. However, Moore is seeking to continue and expand their use.

Read more: Metro looks to create its own police force. It won't be easy

The green handheld weapons fire a Kevlar cord that can ensnare a person, giving police enough time to subdue a suspect without using a gun or a Taser.

Officers deployed the weapon seven times  five successfully  in the Central Division, and seven of eight noted deployments in the Hollywood Division were effective during the pilot period, Cervantes wrote in a statement.

A BolaWrap deployment is considered effective if the device contributed to "de-escalating the incident," according to the statement.

"That means the device does not have to 'wrap' around the suspect, but the combination of the sound, the wrap, or other factors related to the device, caused the suspect or subject to stop their behavior and submit to arrest or detention," the statement continued.

Read more: L.A. riders bail on Metro trains amid 'horror' of deadly drug overdoses, crime

The weapon is meant to be used in lieu of use of force to detain a person, Moore wrote to the Police Commission earlier this year. The requirements for officers to deploy the BolaWrap would be significantly lower than for any of the other use-of-force options, such as a Taser, pepper spray or beanbag round. And the BolaWrap would not be reported as a typical use of force unless the person who is subdued is injured or reports they are injured, according to the departments guidelines.

However, in his message to commissioners, Moore said the limited number of BolaWrap deployments meant there was not enough information to make a conclusive decision about its effectiveness.

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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
The mouth of the Klamath River where it meets the Pacific Ocean in Klamath. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)

At first, the dead floated downstream a few at a time. Then they came by the hundreds, and then the thousands.

For mile after mile, the Klamath River was filled with tens of thousands of dead salmon. As Annelia Hillman paddled a canoe with a friend one September day 21 years ago, her heart sank when she saw the carcasses floating past. She and other members of the Yurok Tribe say they will never forget the stench of death.

It's like seeing your family perish in front of you, Hillman said. I would compare it to a massacre, really, in terms of the emotions and the trauma that it has caused for us.

Annelia Hillman, a traditional food coordinator for the Yurok Tribe, picks vegetables in a community garden on the Klamath River. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)

The grief drove Hillman, then 27, to begin protesting to demand change. The mass fish kill of 2002, estimated at up to 70,000 salmon, became a defining event for a generation of young Native activists  a moment that showed the river ecosystem was gravely ill, and badly in need of rescuing.

Water diversions for agriculture had dramatically shrunk river flows. And the Klamath's hydroelectric dams, which had long blocked salmon from reaching their spawning areas, had degraded the water quality, contributing to toxic algae blooms and disease outbreaks among the fish.

At first, when Indigenous leaders demanded that dams be removed, their chances of success seemed remote at best. But after more than two decades of persistent efforts, including protests at company shareholder meetings, demonstrations on the river and complicated negotiations, the four dams along the California-Oregon border have finally started to be dismantled.

One small dam has already been removed, and three more are slated to come down next year.

Chinook salmon swim at the Iron Gate Fish Hatchery below the dam on the Klamath River. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)

For members of the Yurok, Karuk and other tribes who have been immersed in the struggle for much of their lives, the undamming of the Klamath represents an opportunity to heal the ecosystem and help fish populations recover by opening up hundreds of miles of spawning habitat. They say the coming changes hold promise for them to strengthen their ancestral connection to the river and keep their fishing traditions alive.

This river is our lifeline. It's our mother. It's what feeds us. It's the foundation to our people, for our culture, Hillman said. Seeing the restoration of our river, our fisheries, I think is going to uplift us all.

Work on the dam removal project began in June. The smallest dam, Copco No. 2, was torn down by crews using heavy machinery. The other three dams are set to be dismantled next year, starting with a drawdown of the reservoirs in January.

The scale of this is enormous, said Mark Bransom, CEO of the nonprofit Klamath River Renewal Corp., which is overseeing dam removal and river restoration efforts. This is the largest dam removal project ever undertaken in the United States, and perhaps even the world.

The $450-million budget includes about $200 million from ratepayers of PacifiCorp, who have been paying a surcharge for the project. The Portland-based utility  part of billionaire Warren Buffetts conglomerate Berkshire Hathaway  agreed to remove the aging dams after determining it would be less expensive than trying to bring them up to current environmental standards.

The dams were used purely for power generation, not to store water for cities or farms.

Read more: Op-Ed: An epic victory in the battle for free-flowing rivers

The reason that these dams are coming down is that they've reached the end of their useful life, Bransom said. The power generated from these dams is really a trivial amount of power, something on the order of 2% of the electric utility that previously owned the dams.

An additional $250 million came through Proposition 1, a bond measure passed by California voters in 2014 that included money for removing barriers blocking fish on rivers.

A tunnel, left, at Iron Gate Dam, where modifications are underway. The tunnel will be used to drain the lake early next year. (Brian van der Brug/Los Angeles Times)

Crews hired by the contractor Kiewet Corp. have been working on roads and bridges to prepare for the army of excavators and dump trucks.

We have thousands of tons of concrete and steel that make up these dams that we have to remove, Bransom said. We'll probably end up with 400 to 500 workers at the peak of the work.

During a visit in August, Bransom stood on a rocky bluff overlooking Iron Gate Dam, where crews were working on a water drainage tunnel.

There wont be major dam-wrecking explosions, he said, but workers plan to blast open some dam tunnels to move out tons of accumulated sediment from the reservoirs. As the water is drained, crews working on boats will also spray fire hoses to wash away muddy silt and send it downstream.

In addition to tearing down the dams, the project involves restoring about 2,200 acres of reservoir bottom to a natural state.

A Klamath River Renewal Corp. biologist takes water samples. (Brian van der Brug/Los Angeles Times)

In recent years, workers have collected nearly 1 billion seeds from native plants along the Klamath and sent seeds to farms to be planted and harvested. That has produced nearly 13 billion seeds  26 tons in all  which will be planted once the reservoirs are drained.

The aim is for native vegetation to regrow across the watershed while fish begin to access 420 miles of spawning habitat in the river and its tributaries.

Nature knows what it wants to do. So what we're really trying to do here is work with Mother Nature to create conditions that will allow for river healing and for restoration of balance here, Bransom said. We can offer a light touch to help nudge things in the right direction.

Fed by Cascade Range snowmelt, the Klamath River takes shape among lakes and marshes along the California-Oregon border and winds through steep mountainous terrain before ending its journey among redwood forests on the Pacific Coast.

For the Yurok, the fight to remove dams is the latest in a series of struggles over the river's management and the preservation of their way of life.

Susan Masten, a leading advocate for tearing down the dams, recalls a time in 1978 that the Yurok call the "Salmon Wars," when federal agents descended on the reservation to enforce a ban on fishing.

Just five years earlier, the U.S. Supreme Court had affirmed the tribes fishing rights in a landmark case involving Mastens uncle, Raymond Mattz. But federal officials had ordered a halt to tribal fishing on the Klamath even as other fishing continued along the coast.

A man rides past an "Undam the Klamath" mural on the Orleans Market in Orleans. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)

The Yurok, who sought to defend their fishing rights and tribal sovereignty, faced off with officers in riot gear holding billy clubs and M-16 rifles. Many residents feared for their lives, Masten said.

Masten recalled seeing officers drag a woman away by her hair as tribe members protested on a riverbank. Another time, she said, agents twisted her grandfathers arm behind his back.

The tensions eventually subsided when the marshals left, and the Yurok successfully asserted their rights to continue fishing. But they saw other threats in the declining fish populations  and the four hydroelectric dams that were built without tribal consent between 1912 and the 1960s.

Former Yurok tribal chairperson Susan Masten stands on a boat on the Klamath River. (Brian van der Brug/Los Angeles Times)

Masten, who was the tribes chairperson during the devastating fish kill of 2002, was ecstatic when federal regulators signed off on plans to demolish the dams.

I really didn't think that I would see dam removal in my lifetime, Masten said.

Masten, who is 71, spoke while drifting across the estuary in a motorboat near the rivers mouth. As the surf crashed against a barrier of sand, pelicans, cormorants and ospreys soared over the dark water.

Everything that's around here is connected to this river, Masten said. And so for us to ensure the future for our children, we need to ensure that this river is here and that it's healthy, and that the ecosystem is healthy, because it's the heartbeat of our people. It's the lifeway of our people.

Read more: In 'momentous' act, regulators approve demolition of four Klamath River dams

Masten lives in her ancestral village of Rek-woi, or Requa, in a home on a bluff overlooking the rivers mouth. Once the dams come down, she said, she expects to see the fish thrive and the entire ecosystem flourish.

The river has a way to heal itself, and it can heal itself very quickly if it's allowed to do so, Masten said. I'm excited that my grandchildren will be able to benefit from it.

Yurok tribal attorney Amy Bowers Cordalis, a leader of the Indigenous conservation group Ridges to Riffles, stands beside the boat ramp in the village of Requa near the mouth of the Klamath River. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)

Mastens niece, Amy Bowers Cordalis, is a lawyer for the tribe who focuses on the Klamath River and was involved in negotiating agreements involving California, Oregon and PacifiCorps to enable dam removal.

We kept pushing and pushing, Bowers Cordalis said. We all came together and figured out a way to remove dams.

She stood by a boat ramp that in August typically would be bustling with families hauling out their nets and fish. But the ramp was mostly deserted.

The tribes leaders took the rare step of canceling subsistence fishing this year to protect the dwindling salmon population, a decision that mirrored the shutdown of commercial fishing along the coast.

Several years ago, Bowers Cordalis also worked on the Yurok Tribes declaration of the river as a legal person under tribal law, a step intended to provide greater protections.

One key problem, she said, is that the dams have allowed nutrient-filled agricultural runoff to fester in lakes, feeding algae blooms. When the river isnt safe for bathing, it prevents the tribe's members from carrying out ceremonies that involve entering the water.

An idle canoe sits on the shore at a fishing camp along the Klamath River. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)

Tearing down the dams is a first step in a new era of healing, Bowers Cordalis said. She said she hopes to eventually get back the flourishing river with abundant fish that her great grandmother saw a century ago.

From the river behind her, a salmon flew into the air, its scales shimmering, and landed in the water with a plop. Then another salmon jumped.

A big run just went through! a man called out from a boat.

Bowers Cordalis said it was encouraging to see that some salmon, even with their population so low, were making it upstream to spawn.

We have so much hope that this river will restore itself, Bowers Cordalis said. Dam removal is just the beginning. Dam removal is the end of colonization of this river.

Not everyone is happy to see the dams go. In some areas, the removal project has generated heated opposition.

In the community of Copco Lake, some residents live in waterfront homes with boats and docks. Their homes will be left high and dry when the reservoir is drained.

Alan Marcillet, a resident who enjoys kayaking, said most people in the community arent looking forward to the disruptive changes.

It's just going to be a mud pit, Marcillet said. The community will just die. I would think of the hundred people that live up here, perhaps half of them won't return.

Two of his neighbors, German and Jeanne Diaz, bought their retirement home overlooking the lake more than two decades ago. Now, their view is about to change dramatically, and they say theyre concerned about whether the mud thats exposed at the bottom of the reservoir will turn to dust and pollute the air.

What is it going to do to the community? German Diaz said. Are we going to be going through sandstorms for a while?

Copco Lake resident Geneve Spanauss Harder looks over Western Outdoor News tabloids from the 1970's at her home. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)

The Klamath River Renewal Corp. has been accepting claims from landowners to pay for damages linked to dam removal. But Diaz said he doesnt plan to apply for that money.

We've already seen property values drop, Diaz said. What can we do?

Other residents said they see the reservoir as beneficial because it attracts wildlife and serves as a water supply for firefighting helicopters.

Geneve Spannaus Harder, an 80-year-old resident whose great grandfather once owned an apple orchard on lands now submerged by the reservoir, said she and many others strongly oppose draining the lake.

It's just going to change the whole scenario of the community, she said. I don't think we know what we're going to get.

Because of a closed salmon fishing season, none was avaialble at this year's Yurok Salmon Festival in Klamath. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)

This August, when the Yurok Tribe held its annual Klamath Salmon Festival, no salmon was served. Instead, there were tri-tip sandwiches and frybread, and the parade featured a skit about dam removal with participants holding large paper cutouts of fish.

At one stand, people were asked to write a few words on cards about their hopes for the Klamath Rivers future. The cards were hung on strings. One read: I wish for the salmon to recover and run free forever!

Nearby, T-shirts were being sold with an illustration depicting the undamming. It features a young woman, her eyes covered with ceremonial bluejay feathers, balancing two baskets like the scales of justice as water breaks through a dam and surges into the river.

Young men compete in a Yurok Tribe stick game tournament during the Yurok Salmon Festival. (Brian van der Brug/Los Angeles Times)

The artist, 23-year-old Tori McConnell, said the young woman represents both the people and the river in a state of transition. The tears running down her cheeks are like her prayers, McConnell said, overflowing into the baskets of justice.

McConnell, a Yurok Tribe member who is this years Miss Indian World, said she is hopeful.

There's a lot of work to be done to restore the salmon population, McConnell said. But I hope we will see that happen in our lifetime.

Populations of chinook and coho salmon, as well as other fish, have declined more than 90% in the Klamath over the past century, said Barry McCovey Jr., the Yurok Tribes fisheries director.

The dams have been a big factor, he said, and we have our eyes on righting that wrong.

Read more: California salmon are at risk of extinction. A plan to save them stirs hope and controversy

But fish populations have also been ravaged by other factors, including gold mining that scarred the watershed, and decades of logging that left denuded areas, releasing fish-harming sediment into the river.

Additionally, fire suppression in forests over the last century and the lack of traditional burning by Indigenous people has left forests primed for catastrophic wildfires, unleashing tainted runoff that becomes poison to the ecosystem, McCovey said.

You combine all that together, and then you layer on top of that climate change, he said.

The Klamaths water is heavily used to serve agriculture, irrigating crops such as onions and hay. The Yurok Tribe is suing the federal government over decisions that they argue dont provide the minimum flows required for fish, including threatened coho salmon.

Yurok tribe fisheries biologist Barry McCovey at the mouth of the Klamath River. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)

The removal of dams is a pivotal milestone and it comes at a critical time for struggling salmon populations, McCovey said, but recovery isnt going to happen in a couple of years.

We have to accept that these things take time, McCovey said.

I don't think in my lifetime I'll ever see a fully recovered Klamath River ecosystem, he said. And maybe no one will ever see that. But the goal is to move closer to that.

McCovey said restoring balance to the ecosystem will take generations, and he is prepared to continue working toward that goal.

In the meantime, he and others have been talking about what they will do once all the dams are gone.

McCovey said he hopes to take a rafting trip, traveling for miles with the current as the river flows freely once again.





This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
LAS VEGAS (KLAS)  Police have arrested a third suspect in a violent, deadly robbery where a group broke into a mans home, tied him up, and killed him in 2015, according to an arrest report.

Metro police arrested Claudia Hernandez, 41, in September 2023 for a murder that took place in August 2015.

Claudia Hernandez, 41, faces a charge of open murder for a crime that took place in August 2015. (LVMPD)

The robbery and murder

On Aug. 19, 2015, a worker arrived at a home in the 5200 block of Crater Circle to clean his clients pool. The client was 72-year-old Eugene Elliott.

When the worker arrived, he noticed the garage door was open, but Elliotts car, a Cadillac sedan, was gone, the report stated. The worker went to the backyard and started working before he noticed a blood trail leading from the pool to the back sliding glass door of the home.

When he looked inside the home, the worker saw Elliott lying naked and covered with blood on the floor near the kitchen. He appeared to be dead.

According to the report, the worker ran to his truck to call the police. He told police that the house appeared to have been ransacked.

Medical personnel arrived on the scene and pronounced Elliott dead on the scene. Elliott was shot in his side. His cause of death was later determined to be a gunshot wound to his abdomen and his death was ruled a homicide.

White plastic zip ties were found close to Elliotts body, suggesting that he was tied up at some point during the robbery. Marks on his wrists confirmed this, according to the report.

The report later stated that Elliot, while naked and bleeding, walked to his neighbors house to get help, but when no one answered, he walked back to his home, where he died.

There were no signs of forced entry to the residence, the report stated. Several of Elliotts belongings were missing, including a laptop, cell phone, his wallet, his car, and possibly a handgun or two.

The investigation

A neighbor told police that on Aug. 18, 2015, he saw a black Ford Expedition in Elliots driveway. He saw two people drive away in it at around 11:20 a.m. Moments later, a man he thought was Elliott got into Elliotts vehicle and drove away, following the Expedition, according to the report.

On Aug. 21, Elliotts car was found in a parking lot near Denning Street and Aurora Beam Avenue, less than two miles from Elliotts house. The wheels and tires from the car were missing, the report stated.

We have more questions than answers at this point, Metro police Lt. Dan McGrath said shortly after the investigation began over 8 years ago. We really are pressed to try to solve this as (quickly) as possible and get these people off the streets.

On Aug. 28, a car thief was arrested and told police that his friend, Donte Murphy, had asked him if he wanted to buy Cadillac rims. The man told police that Murphy told him he stole a Cadillac, took the rims and ditched the car.

Murphy said he had to hurt the victims owner, the report stated.

A woman told police that a friend, Derek Fox, told her he committed a violent robbery with Murphy and a woman named Claudia Hernandez, according to the report.

Fox told the woman that the victim was an elderly man, Elliott, who was known to have a nice gun collection. He told her that the three of them put Elliott in zip ties, but had trouble doing it because he fought back.

During the robbery, Fox told him that he was going to get shot if he tried to break free. Fox later shot Elliott somewhere in the chest, the report stated.

On Nov. 7, detectives interviewed Hernandez while she was under arrest for a different crime. She was shown pictures of Fox, Murphy, and Elliot. She identified Fox as her friend and said that Murphy stole from her.

Hernandez told police she had not seen Elliott before and denied any involvement in the robbery and murder.

The first arrests

On Aug. 15, 2016, arrest warrants for Fox and Murphy were obtained for multiple crimes, including the murder and robbery of Eugene Elliott. The two were later arrested, but the investigation into Hernandezs involvement continued.

Court records show Murphy pleaded guilty to charges of burglary, grand auto larceny and accessory to commit murder in 2017. Judge Douglas Herndon sentenced him to prison for three to seven years. It appeared the parole board granted him parole in 2020.

Fox was charged with the following:

Conspiracy to commit burglary

Burglary while in possession of a firearm

Conspiracy to commit kidnapping

First-degree kidnapping with use of a deadly weapon

Murder with use of a deadly weapon

Conspiracy to commit robbery

Robbery with use of a deadly weapon

Grand larceny auto

He has remained in custody since 2015 and was due to have his trial begin next year, records showed. Fox was serving a prison sentence in another case, records showed.

Hernandezs arrest

On Feb. 28, 2023, a latent print recovered from Elliotts house was identified as Hernandezs left thumb. The print was inside Elliotts residence on the door frame of the door to the garage, which confirmed Hernandez was involved in the heist, the report stated.

On Sept. 28, officers stopped a vehicle near Sahara Avenue and Maryland Parkway. The passenger in the vehicle identified herself as Hernandez. She was taken into custody.

Hernandez told police she had nothing to do with the crime and said she would never hurt an old man. When confronted with the fingerprint, she said that her memory was so bad, she may have forgotten what happened eight years ago, the report stated.

Hernandez was arrested for open murder with a deadly weapon. She was taken to the Clark County Detention Center where she is held without bail. Her next court appearance is scheduled for Oct. 5.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KLAS.
LAS VEGAS (KLAS)  For years, the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department has joined together with the faith-based community to provide support to families.

Faith and Blue weekend is a time when law enforcement across the nation comes together to help solve critical social issues to help make communities safer.

Some of the events scheduled to take place in October are listed below.

Hope For the City  Oct. 5, 6:30 a.m.  8:30 a.m. 7220 South Paradise Road, Drive thru food pantry in Boy Scouts of America parking lot

A Day In The Life  Oct. 6, 6:30 a.m.  4:00 p.m. at Enterprise Command

Bolden Block Party  Oct. 14, 11:00 a.m.  3:00 p.m., Walker Street and Alexander Avenue

Giving Saturday  Oct. 14, 8 a.m. at 314 Foremaster Lane, The Courtyard for Unhoused

For a complete list of Faith and Blue offerings click HERE.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KLAS.
Sharon Durst stood with a small but interested group gathered in the Ace Hardware parking lot on Pleasant Valley Road last month beneath a blue tent, passing out copies of the U.S. Constitution and bumper stickers that read: Republic for El Dorado State: from Gold to Glory.

Durst, a lifelong county resident, said her campaign for El Dorados statehood is beginning to pick up steam. Secession is certainly a long shot, but there is a larger principle at stake.

Geography establishes culture, she said.

Its El Dorado Countys geography  rolling hills, sprawling national forest, lakes, reservoirs, and dirt trails dotted with bright, smooth manzanita  that sets it apart from other counties in state. It gives residents like Durst a sense of belonging and identity separate from its big city neighbor and subdivision suburbs to the west.

Its why Durst, along with former county supervisor Ray Nutting and volunteer Jim Allen, were out collecting responses to a single survey question for residents from El Dorado Hills to South Lake Tahoe: Should the county leave California and form its own state?

What I can say is that California has the worst (system of) representation of any state, Durst said. It has the highest population of any state, and yet it only has 80 in the Assembly and 40 in the Senate.

Like many other parts of the U.S., this leads to less representation in rural, sparsely populated areas that are geographically large. The geography, Durst said, needs representation, too.

We dont like the laws that are passed for us as rural residents, she said. Laws that are passed by people who are urban residents. We recognize they have their own concerns, but theyre not applicable to us. So what we want is a very limited government.

Sharon Durst, leader of the secessionist El Dorado state movement, waves to people at the groups booth set up in a parking lot in Placerville on Sept. 13.

The county with a population of 191,185  mostly white, mostly Republican and No Party Preference voters  is part of Californias long history of secessionist sentiment.

There have been more than 200 efforts to exit, and more than 200 times, the movements have come to naught.

Breaking up is not only hard to do, its virtually impossible. Secession requires approval by the state legislature, followed by Congress. Because most secession movements in California are led predominantly by conservative or libertarian organizers, they go nowhere with Californias Democratic supermajority.

Yet the separatist impulse is not without meaning. It represents the widening schism, not just between political parties but two profound cultural identities: the rugged individualism of the rural, and the inclusive urbanism of the major cities. Rural Californians up and down the Golden State feel unrepresented by elected officials from coastal enclaves like Los Angeles and the Bay Area, and what they see as the elite politicos and lobbyists in the state capitol.

Rural conservatives feel increasingly far away, geographically and ideologically, from their liberal neighbors. Even rural Democrats feel this disconnect. The pursuit of an El Dorado State is simply the next chapter in the movement that this sense of distance and isolation has spurred.

Leave California, Not El Dorado

We need a representative who lives here, Durst said.

Not a single representative of El Dorado County, beyond its Board of Supervisors, actually lives there or has any meaningful connection to it.

The county is represented in the State Assembly by two Republicans: Joe Patterson, who lives in the Placer County suburb of Rocklin, and represents El Dorado Hills, Cameron Park, and Placerville. Megan Dahle, who represents the easternmost part of El Dorado, from Placerville to South Lake Tahoe, lives in Lassen County. State Sen. Marie Alvarado-Gil, a Democrat, is in Amador County.

At the Congressional level, Rep. Tom McClintock doesnt even live in his own District 3, let alone the portion of the county he represents, from El Dorado Hills to Placerville. Rep. Kevin Kiley, who represents the eastern slope, resides in Rocklin. El Dorado County residents certainly didnt feel heard by the late Sen. Dianne Feinstein of San Francisco, or Sen. Alex Padilla from Los Angeles  both places painted by the right as cautionary horror stories of failed Democratic policies.

Durst capitalized on these frustrations in a 7,000-word Substack manifesto outlining her vision for the Republic for El Dorado State. Since then, she, Nutting, Allen and a handful of volunteers have traveled the county hosting information sessions, survey events, and meetings.

Many of the residents of El Dorado County, who are not of the original native stock go back several generations in California. But they would rather be Free than labeled as Californians, she wrote in the May post.

In the short time that she and fellow El Dorado State activists launched their movement, close to 300 people have answered yes to the survey about leaving the state, with plenty of engaged subscribers  she estimates about 500  via Substack. She said that volunteers around the county report much enthusiasm from the public.

Durst is optimistic  the movement is hardly at its crawling stage, she said, let along walking or running, and hundreds of engaged supporters is a sign that theres meaningful support behind the movement.

Getting local support is one thing, but the process for legal support will be its own challenge.

The U.S. Constitutions New State Clause allows for new states to form with the approval of their state legislature and Congress (as was the case in West Virginia).

Durst and the committee write that their cause should go directly to the U.S. Congress. They argue that because California is in violation of federal laws related to safety, security, and representation, its state legislators have forfeited their power.

They also contend that because El Dorado formed as a county before it became part of California in 1850  and because the federal government owns and oversees so much of its land  theres a decent case that the county belongs under federal purview, not Californias.

Legal experts said this has no standing, but Durst and fellow organizers arent worried.

California has failed to provide the Domestic Tranquility Right of Safety and Security to the People for protection from Foreign Invasion and Domestic Violence, also guaranteed in Article 4, Section 4 (of the U.S. Constitution) and has, in fact, exacerbated the lack thereof through its laws and regulations, Durst wrote on Substack. Examples of this include crime rates, illegal immigration, and a representation system that favors population over geography.

Sharon Durst, leader of the secessionist El Dorado state movement, talks at their booth in Placerville on Saturday, Sept. 13.

We want to stay here she told The Sacramento Bee. But we want the advantages that other states have, instead of the tyranny that California gives us.

Shes eager to move ahead to phase two, in which the group will amass many more active participants to give us the Power of the People to commit to the hard work and study ahead to form a new government, built without adhering to the laws and regulations of California but upon the good in the county government we already have.

San Bernardino County

El Dorado isnt the only county thinking about this approach.

Los Angeles neighbor to the east encompasses the Inland Empire, where residents voted last fall to study and advocate for all options to obtain the countys fair share of state funding, including secession from the State of California.

Nearly 2.2 million residents live in the county, with 1.1 million registered voters. Measure EE was approved by about 5,000 votes out of just over 420,000 votes cast.

The secession provision was added by Jeff Burum, a Rancho Cucamonga real estate developer, who wants to rename the county Empire.

Rancho Cucamonga real estate developer Jeff Burum, stands outside the San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors meeting room, on Aug. 9, 2022. Burum proposed Measure EE, which called for San Bernardino County secede from California.

San Bernardino County has long suffered enough, Burum told the countys Board of Supervisors last summer.

The state of California continues to allocate resources to the high-cost areas to our detriment and other inland valley communities... We have been the dumping grounds of whatever you want.

Burum acknowledged that the measure is symbolic, meant to communicate the countys frustrations with the way the state is being run.

Were part of a great state thats gone awry. Its too big. Its too inefficient. Theres no accountability in California in my opinion anymore.

State of Jefferson

This movement differs from San Bernardino and El Dorado counties in three ways. First, by the enormous swath of the state it would claim. Second, by how long the effort has persisted. And third, by its connection to counties from a neighboring state.

The State of Jefferson would combine the northernmost counties of California  everything north of Mendocino, Glenn, Butte, and Plumas  and the southernmost counties of Oregon. It was formally proposed in 1941 by Gilbert Gablean, an Oregon mayor, and supported by then-state Sen. Randolph Collier of Siskiyou County. Yreka, the Siskiyou County seat, was the intended capital. The attack on Pearl Harbor, and Gables unexpected death, took the energy out of the movement for time.

But sentiment that the North State is underrepresented has persisted in the 82 years since Gilberts first proposal. In 2013, the Siskiyou County Board of Supervisors voted 4-1 in support of leaving California to form Jefferson. Several counties in Californias North State followed.

A sign calling for supporters for the State of Jefferson hangs on a building at the intersection of North Main and West Miner streets in Yreka in August.

In 2017 a group of Jefferson supporters, organized under the non-profit Citizens for Fair Representation, sued then-Secretary of State Padilla, saying that Californias current model of representation, so lamented by Durst, violates the U.S. Constitutions 14th Amendment by creating a representational imbalance. The U.S. Supreme Court dismissed the case in 2020.

The legal defeat prompted some supporters, like Durst, to start their separatist movements. But the setback has not stopped many other Jeffersonians from adopting secession as a cultural and political identity.

New California State

This is arguably the most extreme effort, one even Durst scoffs at.

New California State would exclude Los Angeles, San Francisco, other Bay Area cities and Sacramento while swallowing most of the rest of the state, a current map shows. Not a solution to the separatist complaint that California is too big.

What (the map) will reveal are two states with populations which are near equal but based on rural vs urban populations, organizers wrote on New Californias website. Its leader is Paul Preston, a conservative talk radio host who has spent the last nine years on project NCS, which is currently a 501(c)4. Preston once said that former Gov. Jerry Brown is every bit a dictator as Adolf Hitler, as Joseph Stalin, as Mao Zedong.

The CEO is Chris Street, who earlier this year was nearly appointed Shasta County CEO by its far-right Board of Supervisors  until protests from Shasta residents prompted the board to hire someone else.

Like Durst in El Dorado County, Preston supported secession via the State of Jefferson, until he grew disillusioned with its leadership and approach. (NCS plans to pursue statehood based on the U.S. Constitutions New States Clause.) He also believes that some of the State of Jefferson organizers are infiltrating the group on behalf of the billionaire George Soros.

No separatist effort is exactly alike, but from Yreka down to San Bernardino, organizers are all unified by a shared sense of disenfranchisement  and a common enemy in a tyrannical Democrat leader.

It is impossible to believe that the men who wrote the Declaration of Independence, wrote Durst in El Dorado County, would be of a mind to hold a people hostage to an oppressive State any more than an oppressive King.

Sharon Durst, leader of the secessionist El Dorado state movement, talks with former supervisor Ray Nutting at their booth in Placerville on Sept. 13.
Latter-day Saint college students are split between Republican and Democrat more equitably than any other group when looking at political partisanship by religious affiliation.

But theyre also the most Republican.

Thats according to demographer Ryan Burges analysis of Foundation for for Individual Rights and Expression data. Burge looked at college students ages 18 to 25 and made a graph of political self-identification by religious affiliation.

Heres a closer look at Burges data analysis, the broader context of where a similar age range is politically and why Latter-day Saint college students may be the most Republican.

Related

Political partisanship by religious affiliation

Main take-aways:

Latter-day Saints are the only group with a Republican plurality.

Atheists, agnostics, Jews and nones are the most likely to favor Democrats.

Muslims, Buddhists, Hindus and others have the strongest contingents of independents.

Across the entire data set, 22% identified as Republicans.

Dig deeper:

The group with the strongest contingent of Republicans was Latter-day Saints (45%) with the remainder identifying as Democrat (39%) or independent (16%). Latter-day Saints are the only group to have a plurality of students identify as Republican.

The other groups all had a plurality of students identifying as Democrat, though Protestants also had a significant number of students identifying as Republican (42%) with the others identifying as Democrat (43%) or independent (16%).

A little more than half of Catholics affiliate with Democrats (54%) and a smaller of them consider themselves Republican (30%). Half of Orthodox religionists identify as Democrat (50%) with the remainder as independents (19%) or Republicans (30%).

Among those who identified as Just Christian, a plurality consider themselves Democrat (47%) with some Republicans (33%) and Independents (21%).

Muslims had the highest percentage of students identifying as independent (24%), followed by Buddhists (23%), Hindus (23%) and other (23%).

Atheists were the ones most likely to affiliate themselves with Democrats (81%) with agnostics (80%), Jews (75%) and nothing in particular (70%) trailing behind them.

I think its pretty important to point out that theres just no group that is anywhere close to as politically unified as atheists on the right side of the political spectrum among college students, Burge wrote.

Related

Zooming out: data in context

The aforementioned data analysis gives insight into the relationship between education, political self-identification and religious affiliation for college students ages 18 to 25. Its important to note that this group does not make up the majority of the demographic.

College enrollment statistics from the National Center for Education Statistics show that around 38% of those between the ages of 18 and 24 were enrolled in school in 2021. This means its likely the majority of the age demographic does not attend college.

So, how does the survey data targeting college students compare to research about the overall population?

Using 2022 data from the Cooperative Election Study, Burge found that 47% of Latter-day Saints born in the 1990s identified as Republicans when asked. For those born in the 2000s, it was slightly higher at 49%. While this age range and wording of the question differs from the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expressions data set, it shows that Latter-day Saint college students are more Democratic, but mostly consistent with Latter-day Saints in a similar age range overall.

Zooming out further and looking at the 18 to 25 age group, here are some additional trends.

Those who identify as total liberal in ideology are the plurality (48%) followed by total conservative (33%) and moderate (32%), according to a NBC News poll.

A SocialSphere, Murmuration and Walton Family Foundation poll found that 30% of Gen Zers (those born between 1997 and 2012) aligned with Democrats, followed by independents (28%) and Republicans (24%). The Harvard Youth Poll (note the age span was 18 to 29) found that a plurality in this age range identify as politically moderate (44%) with the remainder as liberal (30%) or conservative (24%).

The main takeaway is that those in the 18 to 25 age range are more likely to consider themselves Democrat or independent than Republican, but Latter-day Saints  whether college students or not  tend to buck this trend.

Related

While Burge observed a seismic political shift among younger Latter-day Saints that suggests a move toward the left, they are still more conservative than their counterparts of different faiths or no faith.

This may correspond to broader trends.

The Republican Party has a significantly higher percentage of people who identify as religious (61%) when compared to Democrats (37%), according to Gallup polling data from July 2023.

The GOPs trouble with Latter-day Saints seems to correlate with some members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints expressing a negative view of former President Donald Trump (51%) and a strong preference for a GOP presidential nominee to have an ability to appeal to more moderate voters (73%).
Media reports indicate that a military volunteer from Latvia has been killed in action near the city of Lyman in Donetsk Oblast.

Source: LSM, Latvia's public service broadcaster and news portal

Details: The article says the death of the Latvian military volunteer was confirmed by several of his brothers-in-arms.

His name and alias have not yet been disclosed, and there is no official confirmation from either the Ukrainian or Latvian authorities.

Latvian TV has reported that a Latvian soldier was killed in a drone attack near Lyman in Ukraine's east.

Juris Dalbins, former Commander of the Latvian National Armed Forces, confirmed the information concerning the death of the Latvian military volunteer.

"His comrades will make sure that his body is brought to Latvia and buried in accordance with military regulations," Dalbins said.

The Latvian media also suggested that the military volunteer may have been killed in the same strike that claimed the life of Estonian Tanel Krieggul, alias "Stinger", on Saturday.

Ukrainska Pravda is the place where you will find the most up-to-date information about everything related to the war in Ukraine. Follow us on Twitter, support us, or become our patron!
Laurence Fox said he had a lot to say about the last few days - Jamie Lorriman

The controversial political activist Laurence Fox has claimed that police officers have seized his childrens iPads after he was arrested for conspiring to damage Ultra Low Emissions Zone (Ulez) cameras.

Metropolitan Police officers raided Foxs home in Stockwell, south London, over his comments on Londons clean air zone cameras.

Fox, the leader of the Reclaim Party, was arrested on suspicion of conspiring to commit criminal damage to Ulez cameras and encouraging others to tear them down on the same day GB News announced it was sacking him following his comments about a female journalist last week.

The 45-year-old was later released and said on Thursday night that he was happy to take responsibility for his comments.

In a post on Twitter referring to his arrest, he said: They took every single electronic device I have. But the bit that is a bit worse than that is that they took my kids phones and my kids iPads.

He added: So Im in there and get questioned and I leave and I got home late last night with no phone with no nothing, no way of contacting my kids telling them I was safe, no way of contacting my elderly dad telling him I was safe.

I did manage to get through to my dad because his is one of the few numbers I can remember.

Fox added that he had taken a book with him to the police station: The Gulag Archipelago by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn.

Earlier on Thursday morning Fox said that he had a lot to say after six officers had arrested him at his home.

He said: Had to get a new phone as the 6 police who were sent barreling into my house yesterday have taken ever electronic device, including my boys iPads, I have a lot to say about the last few days. Speak in a bit. Never give in.

The former actor revealed he was being arrested on Wednesday morning when he shared a video showing five police officers at his home.

Addressing the camera, he said: Look how many coppers there are in my house. Look at them coming to steal everything and take it out of my house. That, ladies and gentleman, is the country that we live in.

In another clip shared during the search, Fox claimed the Ulez cameras were bringing in a surveillance state, adding: So have a lovely day, Im going to spend my day in the clink, innit.

Foxs arrest follows widespread acts of vandalism against Ulez cameras after Sadiq Khan, the Mayor of London, expanded the low emission areas across all London boroughs in August.

Blade Runners, a group of anti-Ulez activists, target cameras that enforce the 12.50-a-day charge on certain vehicles.

Fox posted to X again on Thursday night, uploading a video in which he said he was happy to take responsibility for his comments.

Referring to his arrest, he said: They took every single electronic device I have. But the bit that is a bit worse than that is that they took my kids phones and my kids iPads.

Fox added that he had taken a book with him to the police station, The Gulag Archipelago by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn.

Completely over the top

Speaking to The Telegraph about Mr Foxs arrest, Nigel Farage, the former Ukip leader, said: It was completely over the top having five police officers go to his house, but I was told as an MEP that lawmakers must not be lawbreakers.

While Laurence isnt an elected politician, he does lead a political party, and you cant encourage or be an accessory to crime.

A Metropolitan Police spokesman had previously said: Officers arrested a 45-year-old man on suspicion of conspiring to commit criminal damage to Ulez cameras and encouraging or assisting offences to be committed. He has been taken to a south London police station, where he remains in custody.

Hours after the arrest was filmed, GB News announced that it was sacking Fox after suspending him last week over misogynistic comments, made on air, about journalist Ava Evans.

Fox was appearing on the Dan Wootton Tonight programme when he launched into a series of personal remarks about the journalist, who works for the PoliticsJoe website.

Calvin Robinson, who hosted a religious current affairs programme on the channel, was also suspended after sharing support for Wootton online, and has since been dismissed.

On Wednesday, GB News said in a statement: As of today, GB News has ended its employment relationship with Laurence Fox and Calvin Robinson. The internal investigation into Dan Wootton continues.

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BOSTON  Less than a week before Massachusetts observes Columbus Day, lawmakers and Native American advocates, some wearing traditional headdresses, asked a legislative committee to replace the holiday with Indigenous Peoples Day.

House and Senate proposals from Rep. Christine Barber of Somerville and Sen. Jo Comerford of Northampton would require the governor to annually proclaim the second Monday in October as Indigenous People Day rather than Columbus Day, with the goal of educating Bay Staters about the racism and violence that resulted from Christopher Columbus' journey to the Americas. Twenty states and Washington, D.C., have already recognized the revamped day or call it Native American Day, Comerford told the Joint Committee on State Administration and Regulatory Oversight.

"This holiday will be a great tribute to the contributions of Indigenous people in Massachusetts -- past, present and future," Comerford said at the hearing.

Supporters of legislation to establish Indigenous Peoples Day Massachusetts held up signs in Gardner Auditorium during a legislative hearing on Tuesday.

The legislation has been awaiting a hearing since mid-February, nearly eight months ahead of Columbus Day.

The legislation states that the day should be observed with "appropriate exercises," including in schools, "to acknowledge the history of genocide and discrimination against Indigenous peoples, and to recognize and celebrate the thriving cultures and continued resistance and resilience of Indigenous peoples and their tribal nations."

Prior legislation to establish Indigenous Peoples Day was reported favorably out of the committee last session, though top Democrats in the House and Senate didn't advance the proposals further.

At the hearing Tuesday, Rep. Jeffrey Turco of Winthrop indicated he supports the overarching concept of the new holiday. But Turco called the proposals an "unfortunate approach" to pit Native Americans against Italian Americans, who have used Columbus Day to honor the Italian explorer and their own culture.

"This bill basically disregards the contributions of Italian American people  it's offensive to so many across this commonwealth," said Turco, who suggested lawmakers should instead pass legislation enabling Native American tribes to reclaim their land.

Heather Leavell, co-founder of Italian Americans for Indigenous People Day and a second-generation Italian American, said her group represents hundreds of Massachusetts residents who are of Italian descent and support the state transitioning away from Columbus Day.

"We believe that a holiday that celebrates the resilience of the Indigenous people is far more truthful and uplifting for all residents of the commonwealth than one that honors a brutal, brutal colonizer," she told the committee. "Indigenous people know their history, and we have listened to their voices, which together with mainstream scholarship and contemporary first-person accounts from Columbus and his sons, this reveals the truth of Columbus's horrific acts of genocide. By rejecting Columbus Day, we acknowledge the history and the harm, and then we show our commitment to repair by replacing it with a celebration of Indigenous people."

Massachusetts officials have not done enough to foster equity and inclusion, said Raquel Halsey, executive director of the North American Indian Center of Boston. Halsey recounted how students must grapple with Columbus Day assignments in school, such as dressing up as conquistadors or "concocted imaginings of what Indians must look like," or answering questions about whether they would prefer to be colonizers or Indians.

"People don't know that native people were systematically brutalized and enslaved by Columbus himself, and would go on to be forced into death camps on the Boston Harbor Islands, into residential schools across this country and Canada, starved and studied in the name of pseudo-scientific racism, and excluded from U.S. citizenship until 1924," she said at the hearing. "People don't that know, yet, we are still here."

Thanks to our subscribers, who help make this coverage possible. If you are not a subscriber, please consider supporting quality local journalism with a Cape Cod Times subscription. Here are our subscription plans.

This article originally appeared on Cape Cod Times: MA Legislators call for Indigenous Peoples Day to replace Columbus Day
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. (WGHP)  A lawsuit over Texas Pete hot sauce has been dismissed.

According to a release by TW Garner Food Co., the parent company of the Texas Pete brand, plaintiff Phillip White filed a motion on Sept. 28 to dismiss his lawsuit against the brand.

Demand for Texas Pete spikes after lawsuit filed against the North Carolina-made hot sauce

The class action lawsuit claimed that TW Garner Food Co. was deceptively marketing Texas Pete as a Texan product when its actually made in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Whites complaint, filed on behalf of all people in the U.S. who have purchased Texas Pete, asked the court to force Texas Pete to change its name and branding and to give money to past customers.

Whites legal team had argued that a reasonable consumer could be duped into thinking that Texas Pete is a Texas product due to the brand name and the labeling on the bottle and that he would not have paid the same amount of money for a North Carolina-made hot sauce as he would a Texas-made one, which was around $3 at a Ralphs in his home state of California.

Texas Pete lawsuit: Judge denies companys request to dismiss false-advertising case concerning name, imagery

TW Garner Food Co. then argued that the name does not necessarily refer to the state of Texas, and instead could be referring to the coastal town of Texas, North Carolina.

The court dismissed the lawsuit in its entirety on Wednesday. Garner Foods has consistently maintained that the claims in the lawsuit were false, the company said.

We at TW Garner Food Co. are delighted with this result. Since the lawsuit was filed, we have remained steadfast in our position that our product labels and trademark are truthful and not misleading in any respect and that the lawsuit had no merit, President and CEO Ann Garner Riddle said.

Texas Pete isnt plaintiffs 1st class action lawsuit. Heres how 3 others went

The case had been ongoing for just over a year when the dismissal was filed. Previously, the courts had declined to dismiss the lawsuit at the request of the company, who responded by saying it would vigorously defend itself against the accusations.

White has been involved in three other similar class action lawsuits against Kroger, Whole Foods, and the product Benefiber.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WKRN News 2.
Mateea Petrescu, spokesperson for Andrew Tate, holds a press release as she sits next to lawyer Eugen Vidineac, after US and UK legal representatives of alleged victims of Andrew Tate held a press conference to announce a united stand against Tate and his followers' harassment and intimidation, in Bucharest, Romania,Thursday, Oct. 5, 2023. On June 20, 2023, Romanian prosecutors charged the Tate brothers and two other suspects with human trafficking, rape and organizing a criminal group for the sexual exploitation of women. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda)

BUCHAREST, Romania (AP)  Lawyers for alleged abuse victims of Andrew Tate , the social media influencer charged with rape and human trafficking, said Thursday that the accused and his followers are trying to intimidate their clients into silence.

Speaking at a news conference held at a central Bucharest hotel the lawyers, who represent a legal team from the United States and another from the United Kingdom, said they wanted to take a united stand against Tate and his followers and address ongoing attempts to silence those who are speaking out.

The 36-year-old Tate, a former professional kickboxer, is also charged in Romania with forming a criminal gang to sexually exploit women. He has amassed 8 million followers on the social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter.

One of the legal teams, McCue Jury & Partners, represents women suing Tate in the U.K. for allegations of rape and physical assault, while the National Center on Sexual Exploitation Law Center and Laffey Bucci & Kent, represent key witnesses of the prosecution in the Romania case who Tate is suing in the U.S. for defamation.

Tates spokesperson denied the claims made by the lawyers on Thursday.

These threats will not work, they will not prevent people from coming forward, and they will not prevent courts around the world from hearing their cases, the lawyers said in a joint statement. We encourage people to play their part in stopping the spread of disinformation online and to think carefully about how their words in these spaces can affect people already suffering immensely.

Four women had reported Tate to the U.K. authorities for alleged sexual violence and physical abuse, but the Crown Prosecution Service decided not to prosecute him. Afterward, the alleged victims turned to crowdfunding to cover their legal costs as they pursue a civil case against him.

We handed over our evidence about the horrific acts of violence we endured and waited for action. But four years later we were told the UK authorities would not prosecute him, they state on their campaign page, which has so far raised 30,000 of their 50,000 ($60,000) target. Its our one remaining route to hold him accountable.

In a media letter last month, Tate described the allegations by the women in Britain as malicious and disputed and said that, if proceedings are brought, I shall resist any attempt to claim anonymity for all or any of the complainants.

The legal firm McCue Jury & Partners who represent the women, however, claimed on Thursday that Tate's letter "was riddled with inaccurate and misleading statements.

Tate claimed that there is no U.K. case against him and that the firm suggested mediation through financial compensation, the lawyer firm said. Unfortunately for Mr. Tate, there is absolutely a legal claim being brought in the U.K. against him ... We made clear to Tate that any settlement would have to contain an admission of liability."

In a separate case, Romanian prosecutors formally indicted Tate in June along with his brother, Tristan, and two Romanian women. All four were arrested in late December and have denied the allegations against them.

The National Center on Sexual Exploitation Law Center, which is repressing witnesses in the Romania case, said that since the Tate brothers' compound was raided by authorities last year, the brothers and their associates "have been maliciously harassing and threatening our clients."

In July, the Tate brothers sued a Florida woman, her parents, another woman who lived at the Tates estate near Bucharest, and a male friend of the woman. The Tate brothers claimed she falsely accused them of imprisoning her in Romania and are seeking at least $5 million in the lawsuit, which was filed in Palm Beach County.

Jillian Roth, of the law firm Laffey, Bucci & Kent, said that the lawsuit was filed only with the intent to intimidate, harass and to retaliate against the women who came forward to speak out against their abuse.

These women are very afraid, theyre terrified," Roth said, they have been threatened, theyve had people come to their place of work.

Andrew Tate has repeatedly claimed that prosecutors in Romania have no evidence against him and that there is a political conspiracy designed to silence him. He was previously banned from various prominent social media platforms for expressing misogynistic views and for hate speech.

Last week, a Bucharest court ruled to ease geographical restrictions on Tate, which means he can now travel anywhere in Romania. Prior to that decision, he was restricted to Bucharest Municipality and the nearby Ilfov County unless he obtained prior approval from a judge. Still, he cannot leave the country.

___

McGrath reported from Sighisoara, Romania.
Whew, that was close!

The end of U.S. civilization as we know it was staved off just a bit longer recently when our political leaders came to their senses. No, not by approving that temporary and inadequate extension that allows the government to continue functioning fully until Thanksgiving. Im referring to the decision by the U.S. Senate to prevent that formerly august body from debasing itself  and our nation  even further.

Barry Saunders

The Senate for the first time passed a resolution imposing a formal dress code on its members, after centuries of an informal, unwritten dress code.

Why was it unwritten and informal? Because for centuries, senators probably never thought theyd need to write down rules telling senators how to dress while conducting the nations business.

Alas, they never reckoned on Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-NY, who unilaterally ended the dress code for senators so that Sen. John Fetterman wouldnt have to dress up to cast a vote. Fetterman, a Democrat from Pennsylvania, burst into the national consciousness as a small town mayor who favored big hoodies and baggy shorts.

It was an attention-getting gimmick, but I doubt people who voted him to the Senate expected him to continue wearing that getup.

To avoid violating the unwritten rule, the aggressively anti-fashionista Fetterman would cast his vote from the side of the Senate chamber without actually stepping onto the Senate floor.

Schumer wanted Fetterman and, presumably, every other senator to wear whatever the heck they wanted onto the Senate floor.

What manner of madness is this, Chuck? Are you really trying to turn the hallowed halls into the Halloween halls?

It would be hard to imagine this fractious Senate voting unanimously on whether ice cream is good in summer, yet Schumer succeeded in persuading it to vote unanimously on a dress code.

We all  even a noted fashion plate such as I  have been guilty of committing fashion faux pas: who can forget that time I wore my lime-green, velveteen jumpsuit similar to the one Fred The Hammer Williamson wore in Black Caesar?

Or my green Nehru jacket with a hubcap-sized medallion  although in my defense, my mom was still buying my clothes then. (The medallion was my idea, lifted from Sammy Davis Jr.)

Even more embarrassingly  because I bought it myself  I once unironically wore a navy blue Members Only jacket. To my credit, I only wore it in August 1979, which, coincidentally, is about how long that garment stayed in style.

As it says in One Corinthians, When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child and dressed as a child. But when I was elected to the U.S. Senate, I put away childish things and put on a subtly pinstriped Brooks Brothers merino wool suit with 2-inch cuffs.

Amen.

I asked Sven Raphael Schneider, publisher of the entertaining and informative Gentlemans Gazette online mens style magazine, whether he thought the Senate should have a dress code.

Dress codes make it easier for people to show up, because they know what to expect, Schneider said. It doesnt necessarily mean people show up well-dressed. Dress codes are a good thing because they set the tone.

Like many of us, though, Schneider feels the dress code or lack of one may be the least of the Senates problems.

I think the average age of over 63 years makes it harder for Senators to do their job than the lack of a dress code, he said. No matter how you are dressed, if you cannot keep up with changing times, you will make bad decisions.

Donning a sharp suit isnt going to automatically raise the regard in which the Senate is held  its Gallup poll approval rating of 19% is probably lower than that of green, velveteen jumpsuits for men  but at least now we wont have to wince when watching them conduct business on C-SPAN.

With a dress code, we can save our wincing for the next time some of its members vote against paying our soldiers and funding the government.

Editorial Board member Barry Saunders is founder of TheSaundersReport.com.
TechCrunch

Meta is introducing a new API that makes it easier to create and share a Facebook Story directly from a third-party desktop or web app. The social networking ad titan first introduced Stories to the main Facebook app in 2017, emulating a feature it had added to Instagram the previous year as well as Messenger and WhatsApp -- these features were more or less "borrowed" from Snapchat, serving as a more ephemeral way of sharing video and image-based content that didn't hang around on a user's profile for eternity. While Facebook itself has north of 3 billion users, Meta doesn't typically break out user numbers for Stories, though CEO Mark Zuckerberg did share that it had passed 500 million users ack in 2019.
To the editor: Although I agree with much of Los Angeles County Superior Court Presiding Judge Samantha Jessners reasoning regarding limiting the requirement of cash bail, citing the "presumption of innocence" is misleading. ("Twelve L.A. County cities sue to postpone new zero-bail policy," Oct. 2)

The presumption obviously has no basis in fact. It is merely a device to place the burden of proof in criminal matters on the government.

Clearly, substantial bail is a must for felony crimes of violence and other felonies that place the public at risk. It is one of the principal reasons government exists, and government owes its law-abiding citizens this protection.

Reasonable bail or release policies should apply only to those who do not present a serious threat, be it physical or financial.

Michael Bradbury, Ojai

The writer was district attorney of Ventura County from 1979-2003.

..

To the editor: Three years ago, a rich white woman driving around 80 mph killed two young boys who were walking in a Westlake Village crosswalk, according to police. Witnesses said the driver failed to stop at the scene and help the victims.

Charged with second-degree murder, vehicular manslaughter and hit-and-run driving, she left jail several hours after being arrested because her husband paid the $2-million bail.

She has been free ever since because of several changes in attorneys, legal wrangling and multiple court postponements  delays that only money can buy.

That is what a two-tiered legal system looks like.

Marcy Bregman, Agoura Hills

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Sen. Laphonza Butler (D-Calif.) is sworn in by Vice President Kamala Harris at the Capitol in Washington on Tuesday. (Anna Rose Layden / Getty Images)

To the editor: Gov. Gavin Newsom 's decision to appoint political operative Laphonza Butler instead of the distinguished Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Oakland) to fill the seat vacated by the late Sen. Dianne Feinstein is not only craven, but also brazenly hypocritical. ("A solid Senate pick and a craven move by Gavin Newsom," column, Oct. 2)

The governor had indicated he did not want to put his thumb on the scale of the election to succeed Feinstein in 2024. But by passing over Lee, he did exactly that  played politics. The governor has disrespected the congresswoman, Black voters and, frankly, all of us.

Now, Im more likely to support Lee next year to show the respect that sadly did not come from Newsom.

Cary Brazeman, Los Angeles

..

To the editor: Newsom said he would appoint a Black woman to fill Feinsteins seat if it came open. He did. Promise made, promise kept.

To think that Butler would run for the full term is pure pipe dream. There are three heavily financed, well-qualified candidates well into their campaigns. Any fourth has no chance.

Evan Thompson, Altadena

..

To the editor: If Butler runs, it would make democracy a sham in California. Newsom already put his finger on the scale when he appointed Sen. Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) in 2021.

No matter how good a person Sen. Butler may be, she needs to respect the will of the people of California and not enter the race now. If she wanted to be senator for a full term, she should have declared her candidacy months ago so we would have an appropriate time to evaluate her qualifications.

Victoria I . Paterno, Los Angeles

..

To the editor: The only thing "rash" about Newsom's appointment of Butler to fill Feinstein's seat is the hurried judgment by observers like The Times' Mark Z. Barabak who focus entirely on weedy political considerations most voters don't care about, making this story all about Newsom and not about Butler.

It's yet another example of the queer person of color pushed to the margins to make the story about a white man.

Kevin Smith, Iowa City, Iowa

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Police stop men from intercepting a march in support of liberties in Lebanon's capital Beirut (-)

Lebanon's LGBTQ community has been reeling from months of snowballing hostility, as activists in one of the Middle East's more liberal countries worry about deteriorating personal and political freedoms.

Rights advocates and LGBTQ community members told AFP they have been harassed and even received death threats in recent months as controversy has raged over everything from rainbow imagery to family values and the "Barbie" movie.

"What we have been witnessing is a kind of incitement to violence" against the LGBTQ community, said political scientist and rights activist Rita Chemaly.

Many of Lebanon's rival sectarian politicians have spearheaded the anti-LGBTQ campaign, which gained momentum after a legislative proposal to decriminalise homosexuality.

"It's not a simple issue of one community that is being harassed and intimidated," Chemaly warned.

"We're now losing the battle for individual freedoms in Lebanon," such as freedom of expression and assembly, she said.

Over the weekend, a group of men attacked a civil society march in defence of freedoms, yelling homophobic insults and assaulting demonstrators.

The protest was not billed as an LGBTQ event.

Rights group Amnesty International decried "security forces' abject failure to protect protesters" and urged an investigation to discourage similar incidents, noting that "none of the aggressors have been arrested".

"There is no state," Chemaly said.

"The impunity and the lack of accountability has led to the attacks that we're witnessing," she added.

While Lebanon has never been a safe haven for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or queer people, the community has long been visible and outspoken, defying crackdowns on its bars, nightclubs and community centres, mainly in the capital Beirut.

But in recent years, fledgling Pride events have been shut down, activists hounded, and in 2022 the interior ministry instructed security forces to clamp down on events "promoting sexual perversion".

- 'In danger' -

One gay man told AFP he had been verbally harassed in recent weeks.

He said he felt "in danger and it's getting worse day after day", requesting anonymity due to safety fears.

In July, a group of lawmakers submitted a proposal to repeal a vaguely worded law that punishes "unnatural" sexual relations by up to one year in prison.

But hostility surged, and two counter-proposals doubling down on criminalisation were floated, in a country where society and power is divided among myriad conservative religious communities that often unite around social issues.

Opponents allege that the proposal was to change "the core of the family, which is totally wrong," said rights activist Chemaly.

"It's just a law to decriminalise homosexuality," she said, calling the legislation a weapon that has been used "to intimidate the (LGBTQ) community members".

The leader of the powerful Shiite Muslim Hezbollah movement Hassan Nasrallah has stepped up fierce verbal diatribes against LGBTQ people in recent months, preaching that they should be killed.

In August, members of a hardline Christian group surrounded a bar hosting a drag show in Beirut, assaulting people outside and yelling insults including, "you are going to burn in hell", witnesses said.

Over the weekend a beachside restaurant in south Lebanon was attacked, in an incident that appears to have had homophobic pretexts.

- 'Dodge responsibility' -

Another gay man and activist, who had been threatened with prosecution over same-sex images and messages on his mobile phone, said he was living "in a country that really dehumanises me -- it denies my very existence".

Despite the bleak outlook, he expressed some optimism.

"This is the first time that we're having this discussion" about the law, which is "a huge thing", he said, also requesting anonymity.

Lawmaker Mark Daou said the existing legislation was "in direct contradiction with several international agreements against discrimination and biases that Lebanon is party to".

While he is among those pushing to repeal it despite heavy pressure, he said that doing so now inadvertently gave "excuses to those who want to dodge the responsibility for what's happening in the country".

Lebanon has been enduring a crushing economic crisis since late 2019 that has pushed much of the population into poverty.

The country has been without a president for almost a year, the government is operating in a caretaker capacity and political deadlock has paralysed Lebanon's parliament and institutions.

Bertho Makso from civil society group Proud Lebanon said, "it's a dark tunnel, but we always have to see the light."

"What we want is simply to have people treated with dignity and respect, and not to be treated as criminals," he said.

His group has been part of the years-long push to abolish the law -- but he said it wasn't just chasing rainbows.

"LGBTQ rights are not given as a gift," he said.

"You need to fight for it."

lg/aya/jsa/dhw
SAN FRANCISCO (KRON)  A memorial service for the late U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein is to be held on the front steps of San Francisco City Hall on Thursday, in the city where she served as its first female mayor. The service is scheduled to start at 1 p.m., and several dignitaries and notable people will speak.

The memorial will not be open to members of the public after Sen. Feinsteins office previously said it would be. The service will be broadcast live on KRON4 and streamed on KRON On Thursday at 1 p.m. with special coverage beginning at noon.

Speakers at Sen. Feinsteins memorial service include:

U.S. President Joe Biden (recorded)

U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris

San Francisco Mayor London Breed

U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer

U.S. House Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi

Eileen Mariano (Sen. Feinsteins granddaughter)

California Gov. Gavin Newsom is in attendance but is not among the speakers.

Sen. Feinstein will be buried at a private, family-only ceremony after the memorial service.

Follow our live blog for the latest updates.

Sen. Feinstein memorial service updates:

2:20 p.m.  San Francisco Girls Chorus performs San Francisco

2:12 p.m.  Feinsteins granddaughter, Eileen Mariano speaks

2:02 p.m.  Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi delivers her remarks

1:52 p.m.  I just did: Sen. Majority Leader Schumer shares personal memory of Feinstein

Sen. Schumer shared a personal anecdote on Feinstein, who he called unflappable.

1:42 p.m.  Vice President Kamala Harris speaks

Following the presidents remarks, the Vice President spoke in-person, calling Feinstein an icon, an American patriot, a giant of the Senate and a force.

1:40 p.m.  God bless Dianne Feinstein: President Joe Biden addresses memorial with taped remarks

President Biden was not present at Thursdays memorial, but a brief prerecorded statement from him was played to those in attendance.

1:30 p.m.  SF Mayor London Breed thanks Feinstein for bringing Blue Angels to SF

SF Mayor London Breed opened the memorial with personal reflections on Sen. Feinstein and thanked then-Mayor Feinstein for bringing the Blue Angels to SF.

1:24 p.m.  Speakers take their seats as memorial service begins

As the Blue Angels roared overheard, San Francisco Mayor London Breed, Vice President Kamala Harris, Sen. Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi and Feinstein granddaughter Eileen Mariano all took their seats as the memorial gets underway.

12:05 p.m.  Dignitaries arrive at SFO

Vice President Kamala Harris and other American VIPs have arrived at San Francisco International Airport ahead of the late Sen. Feinsteins memorial service.

6:04 a.m.  Former President Clinton to attend

On Wednesday night, it was announced that the public would no longer be able to attend Sen. Feinsteins memorial service in person at City Hall. The U.S. Secret Service reportedly made this call due to safety concerns of attending dignitaries. Former President Bill Clinton was added as an attendee late Wednesday night.

5:30 a.m.  A city supervisor, mayor and senator remembered Wednesday

The public was invited to pay their respects inside San Francisco City Hall Wednesday as Sen. Feinstein laid in state. The senators casket arrived early at 8 a.m. to a crowd already lined up, and the casket left well after the scheduled time of 7 p.m. so that all those still in line who wanted to have a private moment with her could do so.

Members of the public line up single file to await their turn to pay their respects as the casket of the late Sen. Dianne Feinstein rests in the Rotunda of City Hall in San Francisco, Wednesday, Oct. 4, 2023. (Jessica Christian/San Francisco Chronicle via AP)

Thousands of mourners who attended were asked to sign a condolence book for the family.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX 5 San Diego.
SAN FRANCISCO (KRON)  A memorial service for the late U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein is to be held on the front steps of San Francisco City Hall on Thursday, in the city where she served as its first female mayor. The service is scheduled to start at 1 p.m., and several dignitaries and notable people will speak.

The memorial will not be open to members of the public after Sen. Feinsteins office previously said it would be. The service will be broadcast live on KRON4 and streamed on KRON On Thursday at 1 p.m. with special coverage beginning at noon.

Speakers at Sen. Feinsteins memorial service include:

U.S. President Joe Biden (recorded)

U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris

San Francisco Mayor London Breed

U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer

U.S. House Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi

Eileen Mariano (Sen. Feinsteins granddaughter)

California Gov. Gavin Newsom is in attendance but is not among the speakers.

Sen. Feinstein will be buried at a private, family-only ceremony after the memorial service.

Follow our live blog for the latest updates.

Sen. Feinstein memorial service updates:

2:20 p.m.  San Francisco Girls Chorus performs San Francisco

2:12 p.m.  Feinsteins granddaughter, Eileen Mariano speaks

2:02 p.m.  Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi delivers her remarks

1:52 p.m.  I just did: Sen. Majority Leader Schumer shares personal memory of Feinstein

Sen. Schumer shared a personal anecdote on Feinstein, who he called unflappable.

1:42 p.m.  Vice President Kamala Harris speaks

Following the presidents remarks, the Vice President spoke in-person, calling Feinstein an icon, an American patriot, a giant of the Senate and a force.

1:40 p.m.  God bless Dianne Feinstein: President Joe Biden addresses memorial with taped remarks

President Biden was not present at Thursdays memorial, but a brief prerecorded statement from him was played to those in attendance.

1:30 p.m.  SF Mayor London Breed thanks Feinstein for bringing Blue Angels to SF

SF Mayor London Breed opened the memorial with personal reflections on Sen. Feinstein and thanked then-Mayor Feinstein for bringing the Blue Angels to SF.

1:24 p.m.  Speakers take their seats as memorial service begins

As the Blue Angels roared overheard, San Francisco Mayor London Breed, Vice President Kamala Harris, Sen. Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi and Feinstein granddaughter Eileen Mariano all took their seats as the memorial gets underway.

12:05 p.m.  Dignitaries arrive at SFO

Vice President Kamala Harris and other American VIPs have arrived at San Francisco International Airport ahead of the late Sen. Feinsteins memorial service.

6:04 a.m.  Former President Clinton to attend

On Wednesday night, it was announced that the public would no longer be able to attend Sen. Feinsteins memorial service in person at City Hall. The U.S. Secret Service reportedly made this call due to safety concerns of attending dignitaries. Former President Bill Clinton was added as an attendee late Wednesday night.

5:30 a.m.  A city supervisor, mayor and senator remembered Wednesday

The public was invited to pay their respects inside San Francisco City Hall Wednesday as Sen. Feinstein laid in state. The senators casket arrived early at 8 a.m. to a crowd already lined up, and the casket left well after the scheduled time of 7 p.m. so that all those still in line who wanted to have a private moment with her could do so.

Members of the public line up single file to await their turn to pay their respects as the casket of the late Sen. Dianne Feinstein rests in the Rotunda of City Hall in San Francisco, Wednesday, Oct. 4, 2023. (Jessica Christian/San Francisco Chronicle via AP)

Thousands of mourners who attended were asked to sign a condolence book for the family.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to YourCentralValley.com.
Former Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wy.) thinks Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) will lose the Speakership vote if House Republicans choose him to fill the currently vacant seat.

If the Republicans decide that Jim Jordan should be the Speaker of the House  by the way, I dont think that will happen, I think hell lose, Cheney said in a speech Thursday at the University of Minnesota.

Several Republicans have publicly endorsed Jordan to be the next speaker after the House voted Tuesday to remove former Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) in a historic, first-of-its-kind vote.

Former Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.) predicted Thursday that Jordan will earn enough votes to make him Speaker, more than House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.), who also is vying for the seat.

Cheney doesnt think Jordan will earn enough votes, but if he were to do so, she said there would no longer be any possible way to argue that a group of elected Republicans could defend against the Constitution.

Cheney said Jordan was part of former President Donald Trumps plan to overturn the 2020 election.

Jim Jordan knew more about what Donald Trump had planned for Jan. 6 than any other member of the House of Representatives, Cheney said. Jim Jordan was involved, was part of the conspiracy in which Donald Trump was engaged as he attempted to overturn the election.

Cheney said there was a handful of people, Jordan being the leader, who knew what Trump had planned on that day. Cheney said in her speech that someone needs to ask Jordan why he didnt report his knowledge about the events on Jan. 6 to Capitol Police.

The race to become the next Speaker is still new, and others could join Jordan and Scalise in the battle for Speakership ahead of next weeks expected vote.

Trump may be one of those joining the race. Trump told Fox News Digital on Thursday that he would accept a short-term role and serve as a unifier for the Republican party as Speaker.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Lauren Marie Hahn

SHELBY COUNTY, OHIO  After more than nine months, the truck driver accused of killing four Livingston County residents in a crash on Christmas Eve has been sentenced to 180 days in jail in Sidney Municipal Court for one count of misdemeanor vehicular homicide.

More: Four local residents were killed on Christmas Eve. Here's why the case is tied up

More: Truck driver who killed four on Christmas Eve pleads no contest

He's also been given a five-year suspension of his class four driver's license and been fined $250  but a separate felony case in Common Pleas Court is expected to carry on.

Dayren Rocubert's tractor-trailer was northbound on I-75 on Dec. 24, 2022, when it crashed through the median and struck a GMC Terrain and a Ford F-150, according to police.

Kimberly Ann Siegrist

Heading south in the vehicles were Kimberly Ann Siegrist, 63; her daughters, Lauren Marie Hahn, 32, and Karen Boehne, 33; and Boehne's husband, Jeremy David Ralph, 32. Boehne was pregnant at the time. All four family members, and the unborn child, were killed. Rocubert was not severely injured.

"Certainly it hasn't been easy because of the time involved," Hahn and Boehne's father, David Hahn, told The Daily. "The tragedy of the whole thing is, number one, the worst thing that could ever happen to a parent."

"We were all looking forward to Christmas and it never happened. Christmas back here in Michigan never happened either, and five wonderful people turned into angels by someone else's mishap."

Karen Marie Boehne

But officials say it wasn't exactly a mishap.

Rocubert was initially charged with four counts of misdemeanor vehicular homicide and one count of failing to maintain control of a vehicle by Sidney Law Director David Busick. In January, he pled no contest to a single misdemeanor charge of vehicular homicide in Sidney Municipal Court.

That all happened while tox results were pending.

After the plea, Shelby County Prosecuting Attorney Timothy Sell said he received a toxicology report indicating Rocubert was under the influence of methamphetamine, cocaine and amphetamines at the time of the crash.

Busick, who chose to charge Rocubert with misdemeanors prior to receiving the toxicology report, did not respond The Daily's request for comment.

Sell sent the case to a grand jury, who voted to indict Rocubert on five felony counts of aggravated vehicular homicide in Shelby County Common Pleas Court. In March, Busick requested the court vacate the previously scheduled sentencing.

Four separate motions were made to push the sentencing back. Rocubert made a double jeopardy argument, claiming the felony charges should be dismissed because misdemeanor charges were underway. That was initially shot down.

Jeremy David Ralph Boehne

"This court finds the prosecution  of the defendant for aggravated vehicular assault is not barred by the negotiated plea to one count of vehicular assault in the Sidney Municipal Court. Defendant's motion to dismiss is denied," Judge James F. Stevenson wrote in court documents on July 14.

"It is regrettable that that the Sidney Prosecutor rushed to the taking of a plea on the municipal court charges knowing that lab results were still pending," he added. "All of this could have been avoided by merely waiting for the lab results and then making informed decisions after obtaining those results."

Since the beginning, Hahn said, the family feels they've been misled.

"Our family was completely misled ... by (Busick) before drug charges were allowed to surface in felony court. Busick personally promised whatever happened during the initial traffic court proceeding would not hamper any pending drugs charges, which were due within 24 hours according to Ohio State Police," Hahn said.

"Busick ensured us with confidence ... that any felony charges would supersede any municipal infraction."

Hahn said the ensuing legal challenges have left a grieving family waiting for justice.

"Seems to us this municipal court has 100 percent served up injustice coupled with incompetence ... we feel extraordinarily violated."

"For whatever reason, some people don't want to make light of it, but to me it seems like somebody has made some mistakes in getting here," he said. "The (Shelby County Common) Pleas Court that's processing the felony is doing a fantastic job dealing with all the hurdles to get through to the finish line."

Subscribe: Get all your breaking news and unlimited access to our local coverage

Rocubert has appealed the refusal to dismiss the felony charges against him. On Aug. 9, the State of Ohio requested the case be placed on an accelerated calendar. But even that decision is tied up in litigation, after the appeal was denied when Rocubert failed to file a brief in support of his motion by deadline.

He's now submitted a motion opposing the motion to dismiss his appeal.

"We are not done here, but face risks and an uphill battle," Hahn said. "Please pray that justice will prevail in the felony court and for the higher level prosecutors to continue to hear our case in the appropriate manner in memory of our angels and protect those who could be impacted in the future by people like Rocubert on our roads."

Hahn would like to thank Prosecutor Sell and Victim Advocate Cindy Smith.

"There's a lot of good people out there trying to make a difference for people like us," he said. "I can't thank them enough for being who they are."

 Contact reporter Patricia Alvord at palvord@livingstondaily.com.

This article originally appeared on Livingston Daily: Truck driver in fatal December crash faces first sentence
A Providence-Swedish nurse was hailed as a hero Thursday morning for her efforts to save a member of the Washington National Guard.

Registered Nurse Megan Williams sprung into action over the summer along Interstate 90 to save two guardsmen who were involved in a severe collision in a military vehicle. A special ceremony was held where state National Guard members saluted her for saving 27-year-old Specialist Shaun Peterson.

Williams says she was a traveling nurse before she ended her nomadic ways with a job at Providence-Swedish Medical Center. After six months on the job, she was instrumental in saving a life, which is not uncommon for nurses, but the effort happened well outside the walls of the hospital, according to Williams and the National Guard.

I had a couple of contracts fall through in different states and I was kind of scrambling. I had never been to Seattle before I came here and I ended up just falling in love with it, said Williams.

The chief nursing officer for the hospital, Debbie Gist, started the early morning ceremony.

Were here to honor one of our own, Megan Williams, said Gist.

I was just the right person at the right time with a certain skill set, William said, describing the incident from her perspective.

Williams was headed east on Interstate 90 to go hike the Enchantments on July 14 as she got to know our region during the early months of her tenure at the hospital.

But before she got to her trails, she found a military vehicle crashed into an overpass on the side of I-90 near Easton between Snoqualmie and Cle Elum.

According to a news release from Providence-Swedish, Williams approached and realized the military vehicle had overturned into the side of a bridge. While slowing down, she saw the driver of the vehicle get out and run to the passenger side. Seeing that, Williams realized someone might be unconscious and hurt, and that they could be trapped in the truck and needed help.

She pulled over to assist however she could.

She had previously done trauma procedures, so she stopped, crawled through the smashed vehicle, treated the driver, and used a seatbelt as a tourniquet on Peterson.

Im happy to hear that hes going to make a full recovery. That was definitely not the initial prognosis on that day, said Williams.

From the side of the highway, she even convinced 911 dispatchers to send an airlift for Peterson  an airlift that very likely saved his life.

Its why the National Guard was out early Thursday morning to honor Williams for her service, and put her on the phone with the specialist.

It was an amazing full circle moment to be able to speak to him, said Williams.

During the phone call, she knew that the specialist was able to talk and communicate and that he would make a full recovery.

Officials with Providence-Swedish also said that Williams has spent most of her career as an operating room nurse for trauma patients. She is no stranger to remaining calm in the face of critical or gruesome injuries. Responding on her own to the I-90 crash wasnt the first incident outside of work where she had to jump in and help. The hospital said Williams had worked in North Carolina and happened to be at a mall in Charlotte during a shooting and treated gunshot wounds onsite.

On Monday, she will join all other operating staff members as a full-time employee. A nomad no more, her roadside rescue has resulted in a life saved and a new work life for her, for which she is grateful. She also says what she did is something anyone from the hospital would have probably done if they happened upon a severe crash.

It reaffirms the work that you do, (that) stopping was the right thing to do, and helping him was the right thing to do, said Williams.

With all of that in her experience, she was prepared for the scene of the crash, keeping focus as she assessed the passenger for his injuries, and talked to incoming emergency responders for around two hours. She was able to crawl into the vehicle and assess that he would need helicopter transport to ensure he reached care in time to survive.

Ive seen a lot of chaos, so working in a scenario like this doesnt bother me so much anymore, said Williams. If I was in that same situation, or it was my brother or friend, I hope the right person with the right skill set would see the accident and do the same thing.
The largest health care strike was set off Wednesday, as more than 75,000 Kaiser Permanente employees across multiple states hit the picket line for better pay and staffing.

Here are four things to know about the strike:

1. How long will the Kaiser Permanente strike last?

Workers in California, as well as Colorado, Oregon and Washington, plan to strike until Saturday, according to the Associated Press.

Employees are assembling with chants, bells and posters at three Sacramento-area hospitals: the Sacramento Medical Center in Arden Arcade, South Sacramento Medical Center and Roseville Medical Center.

2. With 75,000 healthcare workers, this is the biggest strike of its kind

According to previous Bee reporting, labor experts said that the healthcare industry has never seen a strike this big before.

Its so widespread, that leaders of the Coalition of Kaiser Permanente Unions said the Biden administrations labor advisors are monitoring it.

The coalition said the strike is expected to run until 6 a.m. Saturday.

3. Kaiser employees want improved pay and staffing

The Coalition of Kaiser Permanente Unions and management negotiators are bargaining, attempting to resolve the issue of pay and staffing.

The coalition represents about 88,000 employees, including clinical laboratory scientists, medical laboratory technicians, medical assistants and licensed vocational nurses.

Were here to make sure that our members are aware  but also the community is aware  of the staffing crisis right now and the fight and struggle that were having in bargaining with our employer, Kaiser, Georgette Bradford, an ultrasound technologist at Kaiser Permanente told the media Tuesday at the Sacramento Medical Center.

Employees are highlighting how staffing conditions are affecting them and their patients.

Kaiser executives are refusing to listen to us and are bargaining in bad faith over the solutions we need to end the Kaiser short-staffing crisis, Jessica Cruz, a licensed vocational nurse at Kaiser Los Angeles Medical Center, told The Bee in a story published Monday.

I see my patients frustrations when I have to rush them and hurry on to my next patient. Thats not the care I want to give. Were burning ourselves out trying to do the jobs of two or three people, and our patients suffer when they cant get the care they need due to Kaisers short-staffing.

4. What Kaiser has to say and what this means for patients

Kaiser issued a statement, confirming that its hospitals and emergency centers will remain open during the labor strikes.

As a result of this strike, we may experience high call volumes resulting in longer than usual wait times. We apologize for any inconvenience and appreciate your patience, the healthcare company said.

The medical center will reach out to patients in the case that some non-urgent appointments and procedures may need to be rescheduled.

It added that some facilities, such as pharmacies and labs, may be closed temporarily or will operate during limited hours. Patients can check online for the latest updates.

The Bees Cathie Anderson contributed to this article.

What do you want to know about life in Sacramento? Ask our service journalism team your top-of-mind questions in the module below or email servicejournalists@sacbee.com.
Lori Vallows new public defender has filed an amended notice of appeal that seeks transcripts questioning her mental competency to stand trial earlier this year in the murders of her two children and her husbands former wife.

An initial appeal was filed on 6 September just a month after the so-called Doomsday mom was sentenced to life in prison for the heinous killings. But that notice was suspended when the case was reassigned by the Office of the State Appellate Public Defender.

Vallows new public defender Craig Durham listed 16 identical questions that he wants answered  the first asking if Vallow, after spending 10 months in a mental hospital, was competent to stand trial?

After a grueling weeks-long trial, Vallow was found guilty in May of killing her two children, seven-year-old Joshua "JJ" Vallow and 16-year-old Tylee Ryan. Their bodies were found buried in the backyard of her husband Chad Daybell in Rexburg, Idaho.

She was also found guilty of conspiring to kill her husbands former wife Tammy Daybell.

Vallow married Daybell in November 2019 less than two weeks after his wife Tammy died of what was initially labeled as natural causes. Her body was later exhumed and it was determined she died of asphyxiation.

Lori Vallow is seen in a mug shot taken after her sentencing in Idaho (Idaho Department of Corrections)

The questions and issues raised in the new appeal are identical to the ones listed by Vallows former attorney Jim Archibald in the first appeal, but Mr Durham is more specific about requests for court transcripts.

The attorneys claimed there were a number of issues during Vallows trial, many revolving around mental competency. They also questioned whether her right to a speedy trial was violated, and why the court denied the defenses request in November 2022 to send her back to a mental hospital.

In the new appeal, Mr Durham asked for sealed mental health reports to be confidentially included in the clerks record.

There are also several questions regarding the technical details of the conspiracy charges and alleged conspirators, and whether the sentencing court properly reviewed evidence and if it abused its discretion in handing down the three life sentences without parole.

The case drew nationwide attention when Vallows children went missing in September 2019.

Tylee Ryan and Joshua JJ Vallow (Family handout)

While they were still unaccounted for, Vallow was on a beach in Hawaii marrying self-proclaimed religious leader Chad Daybell.

Nine months later, the childrens bodies were found buried in Daybells backyard in June 2020.

JJ, who had autism, had been smothered with a plastic bag taped over his face, his little body still dressed in a pair of red pyjamas.

Tylees cause of death was impossible to establish as the teenagers dismembered, charred bones and body parts were found scattered in the ground on Daybells pet cemetery.

Chad Daybell and wife Tammy Daybell (Facebook)

Prosecutors in Idaho accused Vallow, Daybell and her brother Alex Cox of conspiring to kill people who were obstacles to Daybell and Vallows relationship.

Both Vallow and Daybell were both charged with murder and conspiracy in the death of her children and conspiracy to kill Tammy, and after three years of delays and weeks of harrowing testimony, Vallow stood trial in April and May of 2023.

Vallow was convicted and sentenced to life in prison without parole. Daybell, her fifth husband, is set to stand trial in April 2024.

She still faces a conspiracy to murder charge in Arizona for the death of her fourth husband, Charles Vallow, who was shot dead by Vallows brother Alex Cox in Arizona in July 2019.

She could also face charges in the attempted murder of Brandon Boudreaux, who was the husband of her niece.
Louisiana has more judges per 100,000 residents than all but six states and Washington, D.C., according to an analysis by the Louisiana Legislative Auditor, and the state has more judges overall than all but 12 states.

The Louisiana Legislative Auditor published an audit of the states judiciary system in comparison to other states, looking at how many judges each state has, how they are elected or appointed, how their pay is determined and their retirement structures. The analysis showed that Louisiana had significantly more judges than states with a similar population.

Unlike many other audits produced by the office, the report on Louisianas judicial system did not draw any conclusions about the comparisons or offer recommendations on ways to improve the system. In sending it to legislative leaders, Louisiana Legislative Auditor Mike Waguespack said the report was intended to provide timely information related to an area of interest to the legislature.

Heres what the informational report showed:

Louisianas 279 judges among the highest total in the country

The Louisiana Legislative Auditors report looked at the states general jurisdiction trial or district courts, its intermediate appellate courts, and the Louisiana Supreme Court. Across those three levels, Louisianas judicial system has 279 judges or justices, which is the 13th-highest total in the nation.

Per 100,000 residents, Louisiana has 6.1 judges or justices  the eighth-most among all states and Washington, D.C. The analysis did not look at the caseloads of courts in the states.

That total includes 219 general jurisdiction trial court judges, the 15th-highest total among all states. The state has 53 intermediate appellate judges, which is the seventh-highest total. Louisiana has seven justices on its supreme court, sometimes called a court of last resort, which is a common total for other states.

In every state analyzed in the audit, the number of judges is determined by either the state constitution or a state law. In Louisiana, the number of justices on the supreme court is set by the constitution, while the number of judges at other levels is set by state law.

Most states elect judges, similarly to Louisiana, though the exact process looks different in other states. Louisiana does partisan elections for judges at all three levels, one of only six states to do so. With the partisan election, candidates are required to commit to a political party or list no party on the ballot.

Twenty-nine states do elections  both partisan and non-partisan  for the initial election of their general jurisdiction trial court judges, 21 do elections for intermediate appellate court judges, and 22 do elections for court of last resort justices. Around 47% of all state-level judges in the U.S. are decided by elections for their initial terms, the audit said.

The other most common method for selecting judges is by the governors appointment, which is done by 15 states for general jurisdiction trial court judges, 16 for intermediate appellate court judges and 26 for supreme court justices.

For additional terms, 70% of state judicial positions nationwide are decided by elections.

How does Louisianas pay for judges compare to other states?

Like 23 other states, Louisianas judicial salaries are set by a judicial compensation commission. In Louisiana, the commission recommends changes to the salaries to the legislature every two years.

Louisiana, along with 28 other states, constitutionally protects judicial salaries from cuts.

The salary commissions in 14 states, including Louisiana, operate in an advisory capacity, making recommendations related to judicial salaries to another body. In eight states, the decisions made by the commission are binding unless overridden by the legislature. About 24 states did not have a commission for judicial salaries.

General jurisdiction trial court judges had a salary of $168,949 as of January, which ranks 27th among 55 states and territories. Adjusted for cost of living, the salary for these judges is about $173,795, ranking 17th.

The pay for intermediate appellate court judges in Louisiana is about $175,797, ranking 27th. The salary for supreme court associate justices is about $187,914, which ranks 28th.

Louisianas judges last got a raise in December of 2022, the report said.

Louisiana is one of three states to offer supplemental pay for judges

Louisianas judicial system is somewhat unique in that it offers judges supplemental pay  something only three other states do.

Each month, Louisianas judges receive about $950 from the Judges Supplemental Compensation Fund. The legislature set up the fund in 1985, and its used to pay certain administrative costs and additional retirement system contributions. The rest of the fund is divided among the states judges.

The fund is made up of proceeds from civil filing fees, the audit said. The state expects to pay out about $6.2 million in supplemental pay during fiscal year 2024, the audit said, citing the Louisiana House Fiscal Division.

The other two states that provide supplemental pay are Texas and Georgia, though both of those states fund the supplements at the local level rather than through the state. Georgia caps the total supplemental pay at $50,000, and Texas counties can pay courts of appeal judges up to $9,000 and district court judges up to $18,000.

CONSIDER SUBSCRIBING TODAY: Help support journalists like William Taylor Potter

This article originally appeared on Lafayette Daily Advertiser: Louisiana has more judges than most other states, legislative audit shows
A 67-year-old man accused of hiding the firearms investigators believe was used in a September fatal shooting was indicted Tuesday by a Lubbock County grand jury on an evidence tampering charge.

Phenix Burns, Jr., who is out on bond, is charged with tampering or fabricating evidence with intent to impair an investigation.

Lubbock Avalanche-Journal

Burns was one of two people injured in a shooting about 7:30 p.m. Sept. 16 in the 2600 block of Ivory Avenue.

Lubbock police officers responding to a shots-fired call in the area found 49-year-old Levone Madden and 63-year-old Martha Maden suffering from gunshot wounds. They were taken by ambulance to University Medical Center where Madden died.

Investigators learned that a third person, Burns, also suffered gunshot wounds and was taken to the hospital by private vehicle, officials said.

An initial investigation indicated Burns and Madden were socializing all day. However, in the evening, the two began arguing in the 2600 block of Ivory Avenue and the argument escalated and the men shot at each other, according to a police news release.

Maden was struck during the cross fire and suffered a non-life threatening injury, according to a probable cause affidavit.

At the hospital, Burns reportedly admitted to his involvement in the shooting. However, the document does not disclose what the two men argued about before they shot at each other.

Evidence collected from the scene corroborated Burns' and witness statements that indicated two firearms were used.

During his interview, Burns reportedly told detectives he took Madden's firearm out of fear someone else would pick up the weapon and shoot him with it.

He said he hid both his weapon and Madden's weapon and refused to tell detectives where they were until he was released from the hospital.

Detectives called Burns numerous times on Sunday after he was released from the hospital. Burns reportedly called the detectives and told them the two firearms were taken from behind the dumpster where he hid them.

Jail records show Burns was released on bond the next day.

This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Man facing evidence tampering charge in fatal shooting
A set of lawsuits has been filed against the Baton Rouge Police Department, some of its officers, and the city. These lawsuits reveal shocking allegations of physical abuse, torture, and sexual humiliation by police officers against Black individuals in custody.

These lawsuits, obtained by Atlanta Black Star, were filed by Ternell Brown and Jeremy Lee in the United States District Court for the Middle District of Louisiana.

Jeremy Lee being held inside a warehouse in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. (Photo: Baton Rouge Police Department)

Both complaints provide details of heinous abuse within a location referred to as the Brave Cave, which is described as a torture warehouse or black site. It was where certain Baton Rouge officers took detainees, cut off their communication with the outside world, denied them legal counsel, and then subjected them to physical beatings.

Trending Today:

The officers named in these suits include former officer Troy Lawrence, Jr., Matthew Wallace, Joseph Carboni, and Police Chief Murphy Paul. Browns suit also mentions an unnamed female officer. The suits claim that not only did the officers and top brass know about the warehouses use for detainee abuse, but they also made coordinated efforts to shield knowledge of its existence.

In Jeremy Lees case, he recounts how Officers Lawrence and Wallace apprehended him without probable cause in January, brought him to the warehouse, and then subjected him to severe beatings, resulting in injuries that required hospital treatment.

While in custody, all the officers involved turned off their body-worn cameras. They proceeded to handcuff Lee, force him to the ground, and humiliatingly removed his pants to search him. Both officers verbally abused Lee during this ordeal.

When Lee asked why he was detained, Officer Wallace responded, Because I said so. After the unnecessary and illegal strip search, Lee was taken to the Brave Cave, where he was subjected to further physical abuse.

Footage from the body camera shows officers restraining Lee on a paved street, and during their search, they pull down his pants. At a certain moment, one of the officers threatens to use force, saying, Im about to bat the living crap out of you, in an attempt to prevent Lee from resisting. Lee, in response, denies resisting and challenges the officer by saying, bat me then.

There are striking similarities between Lees case and that of Ternell Brown. Brown, a grandmother, was also detained by Officers Lawrence and Wallace in June. Her complaint alleges an unjustified traffic stop, an illegal body cavity search, and an invasive examination by flashlight, all without any contraband or weapons found.

Once officers were satisfied, they released her. She and her husband filed a complaint at the BRPD headquarters, where they were told that the officers had done nothing wrong and that her treatment was proper.

Each lawsuit also details other unlawful detainments and beatings conducted by the same officers mentioned in the complaints and summarizes Officer Lawrences violent history. Before Lawrence resigned, he had reportedly been suspended from duty multiple times for numerous infractions involving violence with Baton Rouge citizens.

One day after news of the Brave Cave became public, the Baton Rouge mayor shut the facility down, and Lawrence resigned on the same day. The FBI also opened a civil rights investigation to examine whether members of the police department abused their authority.

Both Brown and Lee are demanding a trial by jury and seek compensatory and punitive damages.

Read the original story here.
China strongly dissatisfied with Europe's anti-subsidy probe into Chinese electric vehicles: MOC spokesperson

Xinhua) 10:49, October 05, 2023

BEIJING, Oct. 4 (Xinhua) -- China's Ministry of Commerce (MOC) on Wednesday expressed strong dissatisfaction over a decision by the European Commission to launch an anti-subsidy probe into Chinese electric passenger vehicles.

"This countervailing duty investigation from Europe is based only on subjective assumptions about so-called subsidies and threats of damage. It lacks sufficient evidence to support it and is inconsistent with relevant WTO rules, and China is strongly dissatisfied with this," an MOC spokesperson said.

The European side had required China to conduct consultations within a very short period of time but failed to provide "effective consultation materials," which hurt China's rights and interests, the spokesperson said.

China urges the European side to use trade remedy measures prudently by proceeding from the big picture of maintaining the stability of global industrial and supply chains and the China-EU comprehensive strategic partnership, the spokesperson said.

China also encourages deepened cooperation with Europe in the new energy industry, represented by electric vehicles, and the creation of a fair, non-discriminatory and predictable market environment for the common development of the China-EU electric vehicle industry, the spokesperson said.

"China will pay close attention to Europe's follow-up investigation procedures and firmly safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese companies," the spokesperson added.

(Web editor: Zhang Wenjie, Hongyu)
Gabrielle Hanson, the MAGA-loving mayoral candidate whos become embroiled in controversy after controversy this year, has done it againthis time inserting screenshots of messages from a known white nationalist group into her own news release.

Hanson, whos vying to become the mayor of Franklin, Tennessee, shared the messages in an attempt to prove that the Tennessee Active Clubrecognized as a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Centerwerent invited to provide security for her outside a mayoral forum on Monday. She claimed they instead showed up and acted on their own.

But Hanson never condemned the neo-Nazis in her news release, nor did she ask them to not show up at future forums and events. Instead, she embedded three Telegram messages to a news release that did more to promote the hate group than it did to denounce it.

BREAKING: Franklin candidate Gabrielle @HansonforMayor shares posts from hate group, saying her opponent is connected to Antifa. Among the groups messages that she shared: You dont want us showing up and remember there is no political solution. 1/2 pic.twitter.com/8vscH6nQEJ  Phil Williams (@NC5PhilWilliams) October 4, 2023

The posts claimed the current Franklin mayor, Ken Moore, has connections to antifaa blanket term for a loosely affiliated network of anti-fascist groups that have battled right-wing demonstrators at various public gatherings over the past few yearsand that the group of white nationalists showed up to provide security for community members.

Our group is not backing any political entity but is protecting the public from Antifa, the first message said. Remember there is no political solution.

The other messages emphasized that the group showed up for free at our own expense and that theyll continue to pop up at municipal gatherings until Franklina wealthy suburb of Nashville thats famously home to scores of country musicians and their familiesis free of antifa.

Hanson emphasized in her release that shes never been associated with a neo-Nazi group. She also took a shot at the local TV news reporter Phil Williamswhos been a thorn in Hansons sideby claiming he published a baseless hit piece for pointing out that white supremacists escorted Hanson and her husband inside Mondays forum.

At a candidate forum in Franklin, Tennessee, where members of the white supremacist group Tennessee Active Club are here, saying they are providing security for Gabrielle @HansonforMayor. 1/ pic.twitter.com/Yi6x7dDsey  Phil Williams (@NC5PhilWilliams) October 2, 2023

Others involved in Franklin politics quickly denounced the Active Clubs presence, including Moore and State Rep. Sam Whitson, but Hanson never did. In a News Channel 5 report, Williams said that masked neo-Nazis told reporters on Monday that they were just here to protect Gabrielle.

One of the men working as security detail reportedly identified himself as Sean Kauffmann, who was described by the Stop Antisemitism watchdog group as being a disturbed neo-Nazi and Holocaust denier with a documented history of violence and a massive cache of firearms. He was reportedly spotted doing a Nazi salute outside a drag show in Cookeville, Tennessee, earlier this year.

From Speedos to Spats: Is This the Nuttiest MAGA Candidate Yet?

Hansons beef with Williams escalated last week. The reporters station was the first to reveal on Sept. 27 that Hansons husband once rocked an American flag Speedoand nothing else, save for a gold chain, glasses, and shoesto a Pride event in Chicago, with Hansons blessing. The report exposed her hypocrisy on LGBTQ issues, as shed earlier that year used her position as a city alderman to try to stop a local Pride festival because she feared itd bring out drag queens and scantily clad revelers she deemed a threat to innocent children.

Later that day, drama broke out at a mayoral forum held inside a ritzy subdivisions clubhouse, with Hanson-supporting residents getting into a nastyand briefly physicalspat with Williams as he tried to enter the event with a cameraman.

Heres the woman who swatted at @NC5PhilWilliams trying to prevent him from entering the mayoral debate pic.twitter.com/L4TuwVtfX6  Jared Sullivan (@JRSLLVN) September 28, 2023

One Hanson supporter was captured on video taking a swipe at Williams, which prompted a Franklin cop to scold the woman and say, Stop touching him or youre going to jail. After the event, Hanson didnt apologize for her supporters behavior, instead railing against Williams on Facebook and painting him as an agitator. A recording by a journalist at the event also captured Hanson telling someone, No Channel 5. They have to leave.

Even prior to last weeks forum, Hanson routinely put herself in the center of drama. She claimed in May that Audrey Hale, the shooter who gunned down six before being killed by cops at The Covenant School, was in a love triangle with staffers there. Cops immediately shot that rumor down as false, but Hanson has still insisted her sources know the truth.

Hanson has also been skewered for downplaying lynching and for opposing the addition of racial terror markers in Franklin. She was also criticized for bizarrely threatening to retaliate against the local airport for supporting a Juneteenth festival, and it was revealed in September that she was arrested in college for promoting prostitutioncharges she claimed publicly amounted to a simple misdemeanor, though Williams confirmed last week that they were actually felony charges.

Whether Hansons laundry list of controversies will hurt her at the polls will be known soon, as Franklins mayoral election is slated to be held on Oct. 24.

Read more at The Daily Beast.

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WELLS, Maine  A local businessman could face time in prison now that he has pleaded guilty to his actions at the U.S. Capitol riots in Washington, D.C. on Jan. 6, 2021.

David Ball, 37, of Wells, pleaded guilty Tuesday, Oct. 3, in federal court to a single misdemeanor charge of knowingly and willingly entering the U.S. Capitol when he did not have permission. Specifically, Ball entered his plea on a charge of parading, demonstrating and picketing inside the Capitol.

Ball is expected to be sentenced Jan. 9.

This social-media photo help authorities confirm the presence of David Ball, of Wells, Maine, inside the U.S. Capitol on the day it was stormed by rioters on Jan. 6, 2021. The photo appears in the criminal complaint filed against Ball.

According to the plea agreement he signed, he could serve a maximum of six months in prison and up to five years of probation as well as pay a fine up to $5,000.

Other charges against Ball, related to disturbing the peace and attempting to impede government business, were dropped.

As part of the plea arrangement, Ball acknowledged the riot at the Capitol caused nearly $3 million in damages to the Capitol, and he agreed to pay $500 in restitution to the architect of the historic governmental building.

Previous story: Maine butcher who threw bow at police gets 7 years for U.S. Capitol riot

Complaint: Ball was in crowd that confronted officers in the Capitol

Filed in March, the criminal complaint against Ball includes photographs of him among hundreds of rioters who swarmed and broke into the Capitol as members of Congress worked to certify the results of the 2020 election. Before marching to the Capitol, rioters attended a rally at which then-President Donald Trump falsely stated the election, which he lost to Democrat Joe Biden, had been rigged against him.

In the photos, Ball is seen wearing a dark hooded sweatshirt and hat, both of which bear the name of Broken Glass Company, the business he owns on Post Road in Wells. Ball is seen talking and recording video on his cell phone and wandering inside the Capitol.

A photo in the criminal complaint filed against David Ball, of Wells, Maine, shows Ball outside the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, the day rioters entered the building and disrupted Congress as it worked to certify the results of the 2020 presidential election. (Credit: Provided)

Balls actions on Jan. 6 are chronicled in a Statement of Offense, which he acknowledged as accurate and signed on Sept. 18.

According to the document, Ball crossed onto Capitol grounds, wearing a Trump 2020 beanie and carrying a black flag depicting two shotguns and a skull, with the words, 2nd Amendment  1789  Americas Original Homeland Security.

Ball entered the Capitol through the door to the Senate Wing after it had been kicked down by rioters minutes earlier. An alarm was blaring as he did so.

Ball knew when he entered the Capitol building that he was not permitted to do so, the document reads.

Ball also joined a crowd that was confronting a line of police officers who were trying to prevent the rioters from reaching farther inside the Capitol. Ball worked his way to the front of the crowd, chanting with others, pumping a fist in the air, and recording the confrontation on his cell phone, according to the Statement of Offense.

The crowd surged past the police and gained access to elsewhere in the Capitol, including the office of Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi. According to the court document, Ball remained in the crypt of the Capitol and its nearby hallways.

In all, Ball was inside the Capitol for approximately 18 minutes.

Landmark case: How a hotel in Wells, Maine, sparked a US Supreme Court battle over ADA enforcement

How investigators identified Ball at the Capitol

According to the criminal complaint, federal authorities began investigating Ball in February 2021, after an anonymous tipster reported Ball was among the rioters at the Capitol the month before.

In April 2021, a second tipster provided authorities with photos allegedly showing Ball at the Capitol. The images were unclear, however, and the figure in them could not be verified as Ball.

A photo in the criminal complaint filed against David Ball, of Wells, Maine, shows Ball inside the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, the day rioters entered the building and disrupted Congress as it worked to certify the results of the 2020 presidential election.

Authorities received more photos from a credible and reliable source in March 2022, and those were clearer, showing an individual wearing clothing with Broken Glass Company on it. Using photos posted on social media, authorities were able to confirm Ball as the person in the pictures.

Using the photos, investigators watched security footage from Jan. 6 and located Ball and tracked his movements over the 18 minutes he was inside the building.

Authorities arrested Ball on March 23.

This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Wells man pleads guilty for actions during Jan. 6 riot at U.S. Capitol
KANSAS CITY, Mo.  Major concerts this summer at Arrowhead Stadium made a big impact on Kansas Citys economy.

Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas said four shows brought in over $80 million in economic impact.

Travis Kelce says NFL is overdoing it with Taylor Swift coverage

Lucas said the estimates are great for Kansas City venues, workers, businesses and taxpayers.

The $80 million is the result of Taylor Swifts The Eras Tour, Beyonces Renaissance World Tour, Ed Sheerans The += Tour, and Billy Joel and Stevie Nicks Two Icons, One Night Tour.

Swifts two shows in July at Arrowhead Stadium resulted in a whopping $47.8 million in economic impact, according to the mayor.

Meanwhile, Beyonces Renaissance tour finale  held just last weekend in Kansas City  brought in $16 million.

Beyonce announces film at Kansas City Renaissance World Tour stop

Back in August, Ed Sheerans The += Tour, better known as The Mathematics Tour, drove in $9.6 million for Kansas City.

That same month, Rock and Roll Hall of Famers Bill Joel and Stevie Nicks came to Arrowhead Stadium, resulting in $7.2 million in economic impact.

Concerts at Arrowhead are over for the year as colder weather moves into Kansas City, but the Chiefs are already planning to host country star Morgan Wallen and more in 2024.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX 4 Kansas City WDAF-TV | News, Weather, Sports.
Fresno County Sheriffs deputy Michael Sasso testified Wednesday that it didnt take long to discover that the unassuming two-story home on East Tulare Avenue was the scene of a grisly murder.

Summoned to the home by a 911 call on Jan. 6, 2022, Sasso was directed to the front yard by a Fresno Police Department sergeant. On the spacious lawn, wrapped in a tarp-like fabric was the lifeless body of 90-year-old Mel Abdelaziz.

Sasso said Abdelaziz had severe injuries and dry blood on his face.

As additional deputies arrived, Sasso entered the home where they would make another shocking discovery: the bruised and bloody body of 58-year-old Melba Abdelaziz, Mel Abdelazizs daughter.

Deputies followed a trail of smeared blood, and found her in the bathtub, clothed in just her underwear.

The suspect in the murders was Melba Abdelazizs son, Rahmad Kerel Parke, 27. Parke was on the run for nine days before being arrested in Southern California and returned to Fresno County where he was charged with double homicide with special circumstances.

If convicted, Parke could face the death penalty or life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Parke is being represented at his preliminary hearing by Deidra Adams and Scott Baly.

Judge Brian Alvarez has the task of determining if there is enough evidence to move the case forward to a jury trial.

Also testifying Wednesday was Jessica Martinez, a crime scene specialist with the Fresno County Sheriffs Office, and Dr. Angellee Chen, a forensic pathologist who formerly worked in Fresno County.

Martinez, who was responsible for photographing the bodies, testified that both victims were covered in bruises and blood.

Melba Abdelaziz had multiple lacerations around her face, head and shoulders.

Martinez was also asked to photograph a piece of wood that detectives believe was used to kill Melba. A pair of scissors were also found near the grandfathers body and allegedly used in the attack.

Mel Abdelaziz also had bruising to the left side of his face, bruising to his chest, and puncture wounds to his right arm, wrist and hand.

The autopsy revealed Melba Abdelaziz died from blunt force trauma, Chen testified. A wooden chair leg was likely the murder weapon, she said.

On the back of her head was a large laceration with lots of hemorrhaging underneath the scalp, she testified.

Chen determined Mel Abdelaziz died from blunt force trauma to his neck and head with a contributing factor being his advanced heart disease. Chen also said it is possible he was strangled as well.

The preliminary hearing continues Thursday in Dept. 50.
A Webster man has been accused of recording people while in a bathroom at a Webster business.

Christopher Murray, 28, was charged with two counts of second-degree unlawful surveillance and two counts of tampering with physical evidence, all felonies, in connection with two incidents at the same business, according to a news release from Webster Police.

Webster Town Court documents show that police were called to Lowe's on Five Mile Line Road in Webster around noon on Sept. 27. While at the store, Murray is accused of using his cell phone to record a man and his young son while inside a closed stall within the restroom, according to court documents.

Police later identified a second victim - where Murray is accused of secretly recording someone in a public restroom at the same business on Aug. 14, court documents allege.

Police said that Murray was a customer of the business. Police are further investigating and working with the business to determine whether others were recorded, the news release said.

Murray is also accused of attempting to delete videos linked to the incidents from his phone, according to court documents.

Murray was arraigned in Webster Town Court last week and was released on his own recognizance. He is due back in court at on Oct. 11. Additional charges are pending.

This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: Man accused of recording people in restroom of Lowe's in Webster NY
A Burlington man who allegedly threatened to have placed a bomb inside a vehicle at a Bellingham car dealership and to shoot people leaving the business in late March has been arrested and charged in the incident.

Martin Francis Jorgensen, 65, was charged Aug. 11 in Whatcom County Superior Court with one count of felony harassment and one count of threats to bomb or injure property.

He was issued a summons to appear for a Sept. 1. court hearing. Jorgensen did not appear at the hearing and a warrant for his arrest with a $7,500 bail was issued the same day, according to court records.

Whatcom County Senior Deputy Public Defender Jane Boman filed a motion Sept. 27 requesting the warrant for Jorgensens arrest be quashed.

A first appearance and warrant quash hearing was scheduled for Tuesday, Oct. 3. Details from the court hearing were not immediately available.

Jorgensen was then booked into the Whatcom County Jail shortly before 10 a.m. Tuesday, and was released roughly 30 minutes later, according to jail records.

The Bellingham Herald has reached out to Jorgensens defense attorney for more information.

Clearly agitated

On March 28, Bellingham police responded to the Bellingham Ford Lincoln car dealership in the 1800 block of James Street for the report of a customer who was making threats toward an employee.

Employees told Bellingham police that a man, later identified as Jorgensen, had come to the dealership in an attempt to pick up his vehicle after he had been refused service.

While at the dealership, Jorgensen allegedly made threats toward an employees family and said he would come for them. The employee told police they did not believe or fear that Jorgensen would act on the threats to their family, according to court records.

While leaving the dealership, Jorgensen allegedly threw coffee at a wall and trash out of his vehicle window.

Bellingham police then called a phone number associated with Jorgensen. An officer stated that Jorgensen was clearly agitated while speaking on the phone.

Jorgensen allegedly made additional threats during the phone call with the officer, including making specific references to killing people with a firearm and killing himself, the court records state.

Roughly an hour later, Bellingham police were called to the car dealership again, as employees had made another 911 call regarding Jorgensen.

An employee told Bellingham police that Jorgensen had called the business and left a voicemail stating he had planted a bomb in a vehicle and made threats to shoot up the business, according to court records.

Threats continue

In the voicemail, Jorgensen allegedly stated multiple times that he would shoot people leaving the car dealership with a high-powered rifle and that he was actively watching the premises from the hills. Jorgensen also said he had put a bomb inside of a vehicle on the property, the records state.

Jorgensens alleged threats were recorded in the voicemail, documents state.

The dealership employee told Bellingham police he was concerned with the new threats from Jorgensen and that he was worried for the safety of the staff, patrons, the dealership and himself.

The officer told the employee about the previous conversation they had with Jorgensen. The officer told the employee that Jorgensen appeared to be suffering from behavioral health issues, and to keep watch in case any suspicious activity does occur, or (Jorgensen) returns to the property, according to court records.

Probable cause was developed at the time to arrest Jorgensen for threatening to kill anyone in the area of the car dealership and for making a bomb threat, court documents state.

When asked Tuesday whether Bellingham Polices bomb squad responded to the Bellingham Ford Lincoln dealership or whether a check for explosive devices was done, Bellingham police Lt. Claudia Murphy did not respond.
Authorities have arrested a suspect who allegedly strangled and attempted to abduct a University of Virginia student on Wednesday after an extensive search that lasted overnight.

The suspect, identified as 40-year-old James Allen of Suffolk, Virginia, faces felony charges in the state for abduction and strangulation, Charlottesville police said after his arrest Thursday afternoon.

Allen allegedly fled the scene of a car crash near the University of Virginia campus in Charlottesville on Wednesday night, where responding officers found a female student who reported that a man had strangled and abducted her, according to Charlottesville Police Chief Michael Kochis. Officers initially responded around 9:40 p.m. to a call reporting "a disorder," in an area just off school grounds, which "resulted in multiple vehicles and trees being struck by a suspect vehicle," Kochis said at a news conference.

The student was treated for injuries at the University of Virginia Medical Center, and her condition was stable as of Thursday, according to police. They do not believe the suspect and the student knew each other prior to the alleged abduction.

UPDATE:



At approximately 12:11 p.m., James Robert Allen was taken into custody.



Charlottesville Police Department (CPD) will be holding media availability with Chief Kochis at 1:30 p.m. to provide an update to the investigation in front of the CPD. https://t.co/a7h8ELcj3A  Charlottesville Police Department (@cvillepolice) October 5, 2023

Charlottesville police partnered with state and federal law enforcement agencies and used air support as well as police K-9s to search for Allen, after identifying him as a suspect early on in the investigation, Kochis said, noting that the Virginia State Police, U.S. Marshals Service and Federal Bureau of Investigation were all involved. He thanked members of the public for the flood of attention paid to a Facebook post shared to the Charlottesville Police Department's page late Wednesday, which identified Allen and asked for help locating him.

Kochis declined to share details about the vehicle incident on Wednesday night or how the suspect was eventually found on Thursday afternoon. The police chief said Allen was arrested just after 12 p.m. in Louisa County, which is about 40 miles from the University of Virginia.

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NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN)  More than eight months after a North Carolina man was killed in East Nashville, authorities made an arrest using cell phone data analysis and DNA science.

According to the Metro Nashville Police Department, the body of 30-year-old Jamal Moore  who reportedly owned short-term rentals in Nashville and North Carolina  was discovered by a passerby in a grassy area in the 800 block of Cherokee Avenue, across the street from the condo he owned, on Jan. 28.

FEBRUARY 2023 | Hopeless: Family seeks answers in deadly East Nashville stabbing

Moore had a stab wound to his neck, as well as blunt force injuries consistent with being run over by a vehicle, officials said.

Shortly after Moore was found, police said they recovered a white SUV that appeared to have blood on its exterior at a storage facility in the 1800 block of Gallatin Avenue. That vehicle was linked back to Moore.

Jordan Christopher Thompson (Courtesy: Metro Nashville Police Department)

APRIL 2023 | Autopsy reveals new details about January stabbing in East Nashville

Over the course of the months-long investigation, authorities said they determined Moore met Jordan Christopher Thompson through a social networking app on Jan. 27.

The two allegedly met in person at Cleveland Park and traveled in Moores car to Cherokee Avenue, where Moore was killed.

 Read todays top stories on wkrn.com

On Wednesday, Oct. 4, police announced Thompson, 23, was taken into custody on a criminal homicide charge. A judicial commissioner reportedly ordered that Thompson be held without bond, pending a hearing.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WKRN News 2.
A man who prosecutors in Philadelphia say was captured on video vandalizing a womans car, pointing a gun and head-butting her has been arrested.

Cody Heron, 26, is charged with possession of an instrument of crime, recklessly endangering another person and aggravated assault, the Philadelphia District Attorneys Office said.

Heron is accused of assaulting a woman and her two children after the woman's car was hit on the driver's side Sunday night near City Hall, prosecutors said. He was among a large group of ATV, motorcycle and dirt-bike riders in the area, officials say.

motorcycle assault incident crime philadelphia (@vortex.hz via NBC Philadelphia)

Video of the incident captured a rider kicking in the rear windshield of the womans car, spraying shattered glass all over the two children, ages 2 and 5, in the back seat, according to prosecutors.

A firearm can be seen falling from the defendants waistband before he retrieves the weapon and threatens the victim with it after she confronts him on the street," the DA said. "Heron head butts her during the confrontation before returning to his vehicle and fleeing the scene.

It was not immediately clear Wednesday whether Heron had an attorney who could speak on his behalf.

gun weapon motorcycle assault (Philadelphia District Attorney's Office)

Nikki Bullock, 23, said Tuesday she was the woman in the video who confronted Heron after he smashed the cars windshield.

Bullock said she was working for Uber Eats and didnt back down from the motorcyclist to protect her children.

Im glad my kids are OK. Im glad nobody got hurt, Bullock said. It could have gone way worse than it did. Im just glad that video is not me dying on the internet.

A witness who was visiting Philadelphia from Florida shot the video from a double-decker tour bus, according to NBC Philadelphia.

Herons relatives could not be reached for comment Wednesday.

This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
A man arrested for bringing a handgun into the Wisconsin Capitol building returned later that day armed with an assault rifle after being released on bail, the Associated Press reported. He was initially taken into custody after approaching the office of Gov. Tony Evers (D) while shirtless and openly carrying a firearm Wednesday afternoon, according to Wisconsin Department of Administration Communications Director Tatyana Warrick. After leaving Dane County Jail on bail, the man returned to the Capitol carrying a loaded assault rifle and again demanded to see the governor before being taken into custody again. I never, ever talk about what my security detail does or what theyre planning on doing, Evers told reporters. But anytime something like this happens, obviously they re-evaluate.

Read it at Associated Press

Read more at The Daily Beast.
The man charged with murder in the 1997 death of his estranged wife in Yonkers has been excluded by forensic testing as the source of DNA found on the T-shirt the victim was wearing.

That revelation was made Thursday in Westchester County Court by the lawyer for Rafael Ramos, who was indicted this year in the cold case slaying of Nusinaida Ramos.

And the prosecution's case may face a further setback after Westchester County Judge George Fufidio said he had concerns about how the case was presented to the grand jury in the spring.

Earlier: Judge sets bail for man accused of killing wife in Yonkers in 1997

Fufidio said he was weighing dismissal of the indictment but would give Assistant District Attorney Daniel Flecha time to address his concerns, which the judge expects to lay out in a letter to prosecutors next week.

Rafael Ramos, charged with second-degree murder in March 9, 1997, killing of his estranged wife Nusinaida Ramos in her Yonkers apartment

He did not detail what the issues were. Defense lawyer Lynda Visco had argued in court papers that the grand jury minutes were full of instances when prosecutors relied on hearsay testimony.

Prosecutors in June obtained the indictment charging Ramos with second-degree murder without waiting to secure his DNA and test it against the evidence found on the T-shirt. The so-called touch DNA was known through advanced testing in the past year to have come from a man. A second T-shirt that was around the victim's neck that prosecutors suspect was used to strangle her had blood on it that matched only the victim's DNA.

The T-shirt was recovered March 10, 1997, the day the body of Nusinaida Ramos was found in the Colin Street apartment she shared with the couples two young kids.

Nusinaida Ramos in an undated photo. The 34-year-old mother of two young children was killed in her Colin Street home in Yonkers on March 9, 1997. Her estranged husband, Rafael Ramos, was charged with second-degree murder on June 14, 2023.

She was believed to have been killed there the previous day. According to Yonkers detectives, Rafael Ramos acknowledged at the time that he had briefly been in the apartment with her on March 9 when he went to pick up the kids but insisted he had not harmed her.

Previously: Rafael Ramos account of the day estranged wife was killed detailed in statement to police

A spokeswoman for the Westchester District Attorneys Office did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the DNA results.

Rafael Ramos, a former state correction officer who lives in Sleepy Hollow, has been free on $1 million bond since the summer. Fufidio on Thursday allowed him to have the electronic monitoring anklet hed worn for two months removed.

This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: Yonkers NY murder: Suspect excluded by testing as DNA source on shirt
With both men previously convicted of her murder now released from prison, is the 1974 death of Edmond liquor store clerk Carolyn Sue Rogers now considered a cold case homicide?

State prosecutors and law enforcement officials are inclined to disagree with supporters of the two former inmates, as expected, but the reasons why are different.

Do officials consider Rogers' case 'unresolved'? Not exactly.

Definitions vary depending on which agency you ask, but a cold case is generally understood to be a crime that has not been fully resolved and is not the subject of an active investigation.

At first glance, the murder of Carolyn Rogers might sound like it fits the category, given that one of the convictions in her case has been overturned and serious questions still remain about what actually happened the night of her death.

But the central issue regarding a cold case status is that neither of the two men convicted of Rogers' murder have actually been found innocent.

Glynn Simmons, a former death row inmate recently released after 48 years in prison, hugs his cousin, Cecilia Hawthorne, at a press conference in September in front of the Oklahoma County Courthouse.

On Dec. 30, 1974, witnesses said Rogers was shot and killed while two men were robbing an Edmond liquor store. In 1975, Glynn Simmons and Don Roberts were convicted of the murder and sentenced to death row, but were later given life sentences.

In 2008, Roberts was released on parole, and earlier this year, Simmons' life sentence was vacated and his case dismissed.

More: Man freed after 48 years in Oklahoma prison seeks reform, compensation

But both men maintain they are innocent of the murder, with Simmons saying he was in Louisiana and Roberts saying he was in Texas at the time of the crime.

A spokeswoman for Oklahoma County District Attorney Vicki Behenna noted that the dismissal of the case against Simmons does not equal exoneration, since the DA only said prosecutors could not prove the case against Simmons "beyond a reasonable doubt" and an eyewitness would not recant her testimony. And though Roberts was paroled 15 years ago, his conviction still stands, the DA's office said.

If one conviction was overturned, could the other man seek innocence?

Don Roberts waits for a court hearing on the Glynn Simmons case in April at the Oklahoma County Courthouse.

Criminologist Amanda Newland-Davis, co-founder of the nonprofit Oklahoma Cold Cases Inc., said her organization would consider Rogers' murder a cold case. If Simmons and Roberts were convicted together, and then one was freed after evidence could no longer convict him, she said, then the other man could make the same case.

"It's the same evidence, or lack thereof, then it has to be true for him as well. And we would consider that a cold case," Newland-Davis said.

But various obstacles remain before it can be officially reclassified as a cold case, and even if it is, police would need to investigate if anyone else could be accountable for Rogers' death.

Police will probably tell you: (Roberts and Simmons) are our guys, we got the bad guys, this is not a cold case, this is a closed case," she said. "That happens more often than not.

Emily Ward, a spokeswoman with Edmond police, clarified that the department uses the term inactive, rather than cold case, when referring to unsolved crimes with no further leads. But in Rogers' murder case, she said Roberts conviction still stands and that the case is closed by adult arrest.

Cold cases don't have active leads, but lawyers say there are unexplored angles

Attorney Joe Norwood speaks about Glynn Simmons, a former death row inmate recently released after 48 years in prison, who saw his murder case dismissed. Simmons held a news conference with his attorneys on Sept. 20 outside the Oklahoma County Courthouse.

Simmons' legal team, including attorneys Joe Norwood and John Coyle, believe Rogers' murder might qualify as a cold case. Coyle said he believes its been one ever since the two men were wrongfully imprisoned, while Norwood questioned if authorities could move forward with the Rogers' case after so much time has passed.

But for cold cases, law enforcement agencies are usually still hopeful for new information, either from new witness testimony, new evidence or new activities from a possible suspect. In the case of the 1974 liquor store murder, however, Norwood says such expectations might be too high.

"It's so late, almost 50 years after the fact," Norwood said. "Evidence has gone stale. Witnesses are dead or not cooperative. It'd just be almost impossible to get it done."

A cold case also means there are no more investigative leads to follow. But Norwood and Coyle claim a review of records showed an eyewitness identified four other individuals in several different lineup procedures during the initial investigation.

More: Lawmakers to study possible moratorium on death penalty

They also allege that Leonard and Delbert Patterson, who had been arrested in February 1975 in connection with two other killings, could have committed Rogers' murder as well.

Coyle believes the Patterson brothers should at least be considered persons of interest by police, but it is unknown if there will be any attempt to pursue another investigation. Norwood is not optimistic. To him, the people actually involved in the fatal robbery that took Rogers' life might never be held accountable.

"There's so many levels at how unjust these wrongful convictions are, because it devastates the victims and their families, and it devastates the people that were wrongfully convicted and their families," Norwood said. "That's why it's so important to get it right and not jump to conclusions."

Glynn Simmons, Oklahoma's 11th death row survivor, attends a meeting held by anti-death penalty advocates in September at First Unitarian Church in Oklahoma City.

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Glynn Simmons' murder conviction was vacated. Is it now a cold case?
UPDATE:

A man who died after a stabbing in Dayton early Wednesday has been identified.

David Chaffin, 36, was identified by the Montgomery County Coroners Office as the man who died in the stabbing.

Around 12:30 a.m., officers were dispatched to 1000 Jordan Avenue on report of a stabbing, according to Dayton Police Lt. Steven Bauer.

>> Previous Coverage: 1 hospitalized following stabbing in Dayton

Upon their arrival in the area officers located Chaffin.

He was taken to Miami Valley Hospital where he was pronounced dead around 1:50 a.m.

>> 1 killed, Preble County man seriously hurt, after job site crash in Butler County

A suspect has been arrested in the case, but police have not released their identity.

Homicide detectives responded to the scene and are currently investigating the incident.

We will continue following this story.
MADISON  A 43-year-old Madison man demanded to see Gov. Tony Evers at the Wisconsin State Capitol on Wednesday afternoon and returned later with an assault rifle after posting bail, according to state officials.

Evers told reporters Thursday he was unharmed and had confidence in the state Capitol police would continue to keep him safe.

"I'm OK. To their credit, the Capitol police took control of the situation and so it's over, but yeah, it's always something, that is, things you don't want to see happen, but that's why we have good people in the police departments, in the Capitol police and the State Patrol," Evers told reporters. "They're doing their great work."

On Wednesday afternoon, Joshua Pleasnick, who police say goes by "Taco," arrived at the state Capitol shirtless, with a leashed dog and wearing a holstered handgun, according to information on the incident provided to lawmakers and obtained by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

"While being interviewed Pleasnick said he would continue coming to the Capitol until he spoke to the Governor about domestic abuse towards men," the report said. "Pleasnick stated he did not own a vehicle and it is likely he has access to a large amount of weapons and is comfortable using them."

"Use extreme caution when in contact with Pleasnick. He should be considered armed," Capitol police officials told lawmakers in an alert.

Pleasnick was arrested after approaching the security desk outside of Evers' office inside the state Capitol, Department of Administration spokeswoman Tatyana Warrick told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. He said he would not leave until he saw Evers. Police arrested the man for openly carrying a firearm inside the Capitol building, which is a violation of state law.

Pleasnick returned to the state Capitol about 9 p.m. with an assault-style rifle after posting bail at the Dane County Jail. He demanded to see the governor again and was again taken into custody.

Lawmakers were not notified of either incident until Thursday morning. The Evers administration initially refused to supply information to the Journal Sentinel early Thursday.

"I was not notified, but it sounds like the Capitol Police did a fine job," Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, R-Rochester, said Thursday.

Last year, Evers appeared on a target list of a man accused of fatally shooting a retired county judge. The so-called "hit list" was found in the suspect's vehicle with names that included Evers, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and U.S. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky.

Jessie Opoien of the Journal Sentinel contributed to this report.

Molly Beck can be reached at molly.beck@jrn.com.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Man seeking Gov. Tony Evers arrested in Capitol, returns with rifle
A man who attempted to break into Windsor Castle to assassinate the late Queen Elizabeth II on Christmas Day 2021 with a loaded crossbow has been sentenced to nine years in prison for treason. According to Sky News, the court heard that Jaswant Singh Chail, 21, was persuaded by his artificial intelligence chatbot girlfriend Sarai and imagined he was in a Star Wars plot line. Prosecutors claimed that Chail, whose family is of Indian Sikh heritage, formulated his plan in response to the Amritsar massacre of 1919. He had applied for jobs within the Ministry of Defence Police, the British Army, the Grenadier Guards, the Royal Marines, and the Royal Navy to get near the Royal Family. Under the Mental Health Act, Chail will continue his stay at a psychiatric hospital but will later be jailed after receiving treatment. He is the first person in the U.K. to be convicted of treason since 1981 when Marcus Sarjeant fired blank shots at the former queen during a parade. In a televised sentencing, Judge Nicholas Hilliard asserted that Chail had acted on homicidal thoughts before he became psychotic.

Read it at Sky News

Read more at The Daily Beast.
SAN DIEGO  A San Diego man pleaded guilty in federal court on Tuesday to distributing the fentanyl-laced pills that killed a Poway teenager earlier this year.

Jose Daniel Ramirez, 20, admitted to selling the pills, which were disguised as oxycodone, to the the 19-year-old hours before their death on Jan. 3, the office of acting U.S. Attorney Andrew Haden said in a release.

Special agents and task force officers with the Drug Enforcement Administrations Overdose Response Team led the investigation into the death of the teen, referred to in court as K.W.P, along with the San Diego Sheriffs Office and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).

In the course of the investigation into the overdose, law enforcement discovered that Ramirez exchanged a series of text messages with K.W.P. to arrange the sale of 2 blues earlier that day, according to the U.S. Attorney.

Then, after learning of K.W.P.s death, prosecutors say Ramirez continued to sell fentanyl by changing his phone number and informing clients of the new way to contact him.

Todays experiment is tomorrows funeral: Local leaders talk fentanyl awareness, prevention

It is outrageous that this defendant continued to sell fentanyl even after learning of their customers deaths, Haden said. Fentanyl deaths resulting from the actions of profits-seeking drug dealers will continue to be zealously prosecuted.

On Feb. 8, Ramirez was arrested at his home by law enforcement for one charge for the distribution of fentanyl. According to SDSO, he was in the process of selling additional pills to an 18-year-old at the time of his arrest.

A search warrant was carried out by law enforcement following Ramirezs arrest, prosecutors said. Investigators located two Glock handguns, over 250 rounds of ammunition, and about 2,6000 blue bills containing fentanyl along with cocaine and other drugs.

Fentanyl kills indiscriminately, and the defendants callous and irresponsible disregard led to the tragic death of a teenager, Chad Plantz, special agent in charge for HSI San Diego, said in a release. Overdoses due to fentanyl have dramatically increased  this is unacceptable.

Ramirez is scheduled to be sentenced on Jan. 3, 2024 at 9 a.m., according to Haden. He faces a maximum of 20 years in prison.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX 5 San Diego.
A British man who broke into Windsor Castle with a loaded crossbow and planned to assassinate Queen Elizabeth II has been handed a nine-year jail sentence.

Jaswant Singh Chail, 21, was arrested on Christmas Day 2021 within the grounds of the royal residence, where the late monarch was staying during the pandemic.

Chail was thought to have scaled the castles perimeter with a nylon rope ladder before he was detained. Wearing black clothes and a sinister metal mask, he told a police protection officer, I am here to kill the Queen, before being arrested.

In February, Chail pleaded guilty to three charges, including treason and possession of an offensive weapon, at a hearing at Londons Old Bailey court.

This undated photo, released by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) on February 3, shows the crossbow that Chail was carrying when he was arrested. - Crown Prosecution Service/AP

Sentencing judge Justice Hilliard jailed him for nine years with a further five years on extended licence, the PA Media news agency reported Thursday.

The defendant harbored homicidal thoughts which he acted on before he became psychotic, the judge said. His intention was not just to harm or alarm the sovereign  but to kill her.

Chail was sentenced under a hybrid order under the Mental Health Act, meaning he will serve his term at Broadmoor high-security psychiatric hospital until he is well enough to be transferred to prison, according to PA Media.

The court heard that Chail was a Star Wars fan who described himself as a Sith in a video that he sent to about 20 people after breaching the castle grounds, and had been pushed to break into the castle by his AI chatbot girlfriend, the UK news agency reported.

The mask which Chail was wearing when he was caught in the grounds of Windsor Castle, in a photo released by the CPS. - Crown Prosecution Service/AP

The Old Bailey was also told that Chail wrote in a journal he tried to email his sister that if the sovereign was unobtainable he would have to go for the prince, an apparent reference to then-Prince Charles, as he seems to be just as suitable in many ways.

British media reported that Chail was the first person in the UK to be convicted of treason in over 40 years.

According to PA Media, Chail apologized to the royal family in a letter to the court, in which he expressed his distress and sadness.

He is embarrassed and ashamed he brought such horrific and worrying times to their front door, his barrister Nadia Chbat said. He has expressed relief no one was actually hurt.

Sign up for CNNs Royal News, a weekly dispatch bringing you the inside track on the royal family, what they are up to in public and whats happening behind palace walls.

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An Atlanta-area man was sentenced to federal prison and ordered to pay nearly $300,000 in restitution after pleading guilty to siphoning money from a Columbia County woman's bank account.

Marqualdis Antwon Logan, 38, of Stone Mountain, was sentenced to more than four years in prison after pleading guilty to eight counts of bank fraud and one count of aggravated identity theft.

U.S. District Court Chief Judge J. Randal Hall also ordered Logan to pay more than $272,000 in restitution and serve five years of supervised release after his prison term. There is no parole in the federal system.

A Columbia County woman and her daughter alerted their bank and the Columbia County Sheriffs Office in September 2020 when they noticed suspicious activity in their money market account, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney's Office. The FBI determined a fraudulent online profile had gained access to the account and was cashing and depositing online checks into other bank accounts controlled by Logan and others.

Logan wrote checks on the account totaling more than $500,000 and succeeded in depositing or cashing checks totaling $497,136, according to the release. The restitution represents the outstanding unrecovered funds, which Logan used for purchases and travel. He was arrested in November 2022 while traveling in the U.S. Virgin Islands.

"Marqualdis Logans greed-driven scheme stole hundreds of thousands of dollars and damages the financial security of his innocent victims," said Jill E. Steinberg, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Georgia.

As part of the plea agreement, Logan admitted to his prior involvement in a scheme where he withdrew more than $100,000 from another victim's account by using identifying information stolen from the victims deceased husband, according to the release. Unreimbursed funds from that case, and from Logans receipt of $20,832 in funds from a fraudulently obtained COVID-19 small business relief loan, are calculated as part of his restitution.

Augusta church scandal: House of Prayer leaders face contempt charges for failing to comply with investigation

This article originally appeared on Augusta Chronicle: Man sentenced to prison for stealing from Columbia County woman
An Oklahoma man thought an intruder was in his home when he grabbed a gun and shot the man in the back of his head, according to federal authorities. But the man would soon realize he had killed his uncle, prosecutors said.

Now more than four years later, Bailey Warren Sparkman has pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter in Indian Country, according to an Oct. 4 news release from the U.S. Attorneys Office for the Northern District of Oklahoma. In pleading guilty, the 23-year-old Cherokee citizen of Owasso faces up to eight years in federal prison.

His defense attorneys did not immediately respond to a request for comment from McClatchy News.

Zachary Daniel Sparkman, 30, was fatally shot on March 18, 2019, according to the Tulsa World.

Zachary and his nephew, Bailey, had been raised by Zacharys father, authorities said in court records. Sometime before the March 18, 2019, shooting, the uncle had been kicked out of the house.

But the uncle still had a room and his belongings in the home, authorities said.

The day of the shooting, Bailey Sparkman said he was home alone.

Although I didnt know it at the time, Zachary had come to the house with his dog and had been in his room next to mine, according to his plea agreement. Zachary had been in the house for a couple of hours.

When Bailey Sparkman went downstairs, he saw someone standing at the back door, authorities said.

I grabbed the gun in my grandfathers room, his plea agreement said. I did not speak to that person or try to determine who was in the house.

When I returned, the person had not moved and was still at the back door looking out, the statement continued. I shot him once in the back of the head, killing him. I then realized that it was Zachary.

The mans sentencing date has not been scheduled as of Oct. 5.

Owasso is about 15 miles northeast of Tulsa.

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A man remains hospitalized after being shot Wednesday night by a Columbus police officer at an apartment building on the 1600 block of Sullivan Avenue in the Hilltop neighborhood.

A man remains hospitalized in critical condition after being shot by a Columbus police officer late Wednesday night.

Police said the shooting occurred after the man struck an officer "in the face with a potential weapon in his hand."

The shooting happened after police had been called around 10:50 p.m. Wednesday to an apartment building on the 1600 block of Sullivant Avenue in the Hilltop neighborhood. The initial call was for a man who seemed to be having a mental health crisis and had assaulted two people, police said.

After speaking with people at the scene, officers determined the man had to be placed under arrest because of allegations of domestic violence, Sgt. Joseph Albert said in a release. Officers tried to speak to the man, who was inside an apartment with several other people, but the man refused to come outside.

80 Hours of Gun Violence in Columbus: A snapshot of a city under fire

Albert said police continued to verbally try and get the man to come outside for several minutes before officers kicked the door open "in an attempt to take the male into custody and protect the individuals inside."

As the officers began to enter the apartment, the "male assaulted an officer by striking him in the face with a potential weapon in his hand," Albert said.

One officer on the scene fired multiple shots, Albert said. The man was struck at least one time. He was taken into custody and provided medical aid until paramedics arrived, Albert said.

The man was then taken to OhioHealth Grant Medical Center, Downtown, where he remained in critical condition as of early Thursday afternoon.

Police have not identified the man or what the "potential weapon" was that was used. The officer involved has also not been identified.

As is Columbus policy, the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation will lead the investigation into the shooting. The officer who fired will be placed on paid leave, per division policy.

The Dispatch has requested body camera footage of the shooting from Columbus police.

bbruner@dispatch.com

@bethany_bruner

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Man shot by Columbus police after hitting officer with 'potential weapon'
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - The St. Pete Police Department is investigating after a man was shot and killed in St. Pete on Wednesday.

READ: Man wanted in connection to Wimauma murder stemming from domestic altercation: HCSO

Officers responded to the 3900 block of 13 Ave. South at around noon on Wednesday for reports of a 36-year-old man being shot.

They arrived to find Terrance Hill, 36, suffering from life-threatening injuries. He was taken by ambulance to Bayfront Health St. Petersburg where he was pronounced dead.

This is a developing story. Check back for details.
An apparently unhoused man was arrested by the Folsom Police Department on suspicion of stabbing another man multiple times during an altercation involving a group of homeless people in a park over the weekend. The man has since been released from custody, authorities said.

On Sunday night, a fracas broke out among a group of homeless people in Livermore Community Park, the Folsom Police Department wrote in a Facebook social media post. Detective Andrew Graham, a spokesperson for the department, declined to say how many people were in the group because the investigation is still ongoing.

Several calls from area residents reported the victim walking on Riley Street near Oak Avenue Parkway wearing blood-spattered clothes Monday morning, the Facebook post said.

A 26-year-old man, who was arrested initially on suspicion of stabbing a 57-year-old man who survived his injuries, was released from custody Wednesday, Sacramento County jail records show.

The 26-year-old was initially booked on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon, conspiracy, kidnapping and robbery, said Sacramento County Sheriffs Office spokesman Sgt. Amar Gandhi. The man hasnt been criminally charged by the Sacramento County District Attorneys Office and was released from jail Wednesday. Inmates in California are generally released from jail if they havent been charged within 48 hours.

The 57-year-old victim, who police said didnt have a permanent address in Folsom, has been released from the hospital, Graham said Wednesday.
Rickey Edwards first case was a doozy. Edwards launched his legal career by representing a defendant accused of capital murder in a double homicide with a fairly damning set of facts.

Wholly inexperienced in the law, Edwards was to craft the defense argument and parry prosecutors in a case in which the defendant handed his drivers license to the first police officer who arrived at the scene, then said his wife and her son were dead inside.

How did he know, the officer asked the man outside the just-built house in Grand Prairie.

I did it, he said. The man wore a tank top stained with what appeared to be blood.

In Criminal District Court No. 2 in Tarrant County, the person faced with presenting to a jury those and other less-than-favorable-to-the-defense circumstances is the defendant himself.

Edwards is this week clumsily representing himself at his trial on capital murder.

Prosecutors allege that earlier on the day he killed Portia Williams-Edwards, 46, Edwards struck his wife on the forehead and threatened her during an argument. She telephoned her father and son to tell them of the assault. Her son drove to the 7000 block of Monet Lane and a house into which Williams-Edwards and her husband had just moved.

Inside, Edwards fired 10 rounds from a Glock pistol into the body of his stepson, 28-year-old Kameion Kitchen, prosecutors allege, and he shot Williams-Edwards twice in the head.

Mother and son fell beside each other. Their blood specked a wall and soaked into the laminate wood floor.

Like most pro se defendants, Edwards often flounders in his evidence presentation and seems unfamiliar with the requirements of criminal procedure. At times his lines of questions of witnesses do not reach an evidentiary point. Judge Wayne Salvant has given the defendant wide latitude, though he has occasionally become irritated on the relevance of the defendants questions, particularly at bench conferences. At one point, Edwards questioned a witness on an exhibit that he had not offered for any purpose. At another, a district attorneys office employee was pressed into service to act as Edwards technology aide.

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Behind Edwards in the front row of the court gallery sit veteran attorneys Gary Smart and Brian Eppes, the standby counsel whose assistance the defendant has declined.

When Edwards, who is 54, seems to believe he has led a witness to notch a substantive idea in support of the defense case, he emphasizes it by saying, for the record, and repeating the underwhelming revelation.

When handed a state exhibit to review before it is admitted, Edwards often simply says, OK, rather than stating he has no legal objection. Salvant then confirms Edwards does not intend to object.

During a confounding moment on Thursday, Salvant, Edwards and prosecutor Robert Huseman discussed the existence and relevance of metadata within crime scene photos.

Everyone in this courtroom is confused about what the hell is going on right now, Huseman said as the trial was on the record but outside the presence of the jury.

Rickey Edwards speaks to Judge Wayne Salvant during his trial on Thursday, October 5, 2023, in Criminal District Court No. 2 in Fort Worth. Edwards, accused of shooting to death Portia Williams-Edwards and Kameion Kitchen on May 3, 2020, in Grand Prairie, is representing himself.

Edwards verbally sparred with his former father-in-law Billy Williams, who seemed perturbed on the witness stand.

On direct examination, Williams was asked whether Edwards met Portia Williams when they were working at Dallas Fort Worth International Airport .

Unfortunately, yes, he said.

In a meandering opening statement, Edwards told the jury he loved his family and listed a series of circumstances and emotions but did not connect them or explain how they might legally justify a killing.

COVID, isolation, anxiety, depression, stress, he said.

He noted a mental illness stigma among Black people without making clear how that phenomenon was at play in his case.

This is a case of domestic violence, rage and control, Huseman told the jury in an opening statement of the May 3, 2020, killings. Huseman, a deputy chief in the district attorneys office criminal division, is prosecuting the case with Assistant Criminal District Attorney Melinda Hogan.

Two Tarrant County deputy medical examiners testified about their autopsies and described for jurors the recovery of bullet fragment from Williams-Edwards brain and skull and tracking the path bullets tore through Kitchens body.

Dr. Richard Fries plunged a rod into a styrofoam head to demonstrate a projectiles trajectory in the visual aid.

The case will continue Friday.
The Manatee County Commission voted to cut back the governments environmental protections for local wetlands over the protests of hundreds of residents.

After an extended debate on the issue, which saw dozens of residents concerned about conserving sensitive wetlands in the Bradenton area, the board voted 5-1 to reduce buffer requirements. Scientists predict the change will have a negative impact on local water quality, which in many cases already fails to meet state standards.

Based on the new rules, developers will have more real estate to build homes and businesses along wetlands, generally described as marsh or swampland. A buffer between construction and wetlands is still required, but Thursdays vote cuts that buffer in half.

County staff estimated the rule change would affect 66,000 pieces of land that contain some portion of wetlands.

Right when we need to be doing more for our water quality, were going backwards, said Suncoast Waterkeeper chairman Rusty Chinnis, who was among speakers pleading with county leaders to reconsider. This is going to affect all of the citizens of Manatee County for decades and generations to come.

County officials first began revising the Comprehensive Plan and the Land Development Code, two documents that guide local development rules, earlier this year after the Manatee-Sarasota Building Industry Association sent staffers a list of requested changes, the Bradenton Herald previously reported.

The Manatee County Commission voted to cut back the governments environmental protections for local wetlands over the protests of hundreds of residents. An aerial photo shows development in northwest Bradenton on Wednesday, Oct. 4, 2023.

Manatee: Buffer reduction restores property rights

Speaking during Thursdays public Land Use Meeting, the commissioners in support of the change said they voted in favor of the rollbacks because it limits government regulation and restores property rights for landowners.

It will cut the width of buffers required adjacent to environmentally sensitive coastal wetlands from 50 feet down to the states minimum requirements, which call for minimum buffer widths of 15 feet with a 25-foot average.

Commissioner Kevin Van Ostenbridge noted that this rule change could make it easier for everyday families to do things like install a pool, a basketball court or a mother-in-law suite because less space is required to be preserved.

Dozens of residents protested the proposed changes to Manatee County's wetland buffers during a meeting of the Board of County Commissioners on Thursday, Oct. 5, 2023. More than 2,300 signed an online petition against the change.

Im confident these people have no idea what the impact of the buffers are until they show up for a permit, Van Ostenbridge said. Are they here? No, its a quiet majority. They assume the conservative majority is fighting for their private property rights.

Commissioner James Satcher also downplayed the impact of the boards vote, arguing that wetland buffers will still be required under the countys development rules. He described the publics protest as sound and fury.

They act like theres bulldozers lined up, said Satcher. The only question is can you put your pool 25 feet from the wetlands or 50 feet from the wetlands.

And despite evidence and testimony to the contrary from noted wetland ecologists and other environmental experts, board members said they did not believe a larger buffer would make a meaningful difference in protecting wetlands.

The bigger the buffer gets, the less youre benefiting from it, so is the juice worth the squeeze, right? Thats the ultimate question here, Van Ostenbridge said.

Daniel DeLisi, a consultant hired by the county to rewrite Manatees wetland buffer rules, addresses the commission during a Board of County Commissioners meeting on Thursday, Oct. 5, 2023.

Public continues wetland buffer protests

Of the dozens of speakers during public comment, only a handful of people, including local developer representative Jon Mast, spoke in favor of the countys proposed wetland buffer updates.

Speaking publicly for the first time since the process began, Mast, the CEO of the Manatee-Sarasota Building Industry Association, pitched the buffer reduction as a way to streamline development, saving time and money for developers and residents.

Jon Mast, CEO of the Manatee-Sarasota Building Industry Association, watches from the audience during a Manatee Board of County Commissioners meeting on Thursday, Oct. 5, 2023.

This is a question of property rights, Mast said. Vote for property rights.

He called protests to the changes hysterics of a vocal few.

But one after another, local residents said they feared the countys changes would increase flooding, disturb sensitive environmental areas and lead to an increase in pollution runoff.

The common people of this county deserve clean waters over the profit of developers, said Colin Curtis, a Palmetto fisherman.

There is no draw to Florida without pristine water, added John Taylor, a Manatee County resident. Any action that leads to even a side step on water protection should be thrown out.

We dont feel like theres a government taking of our property because we cant go in and bulldoze our mangroves, said Glenn Compton, chairman of local environmental advocacy group ManaSota88. We feel like there are rules and regulations that need to be followed for the benefit of the community and the environment.

Abbey Tyrna, a wetland ecologist and executive director of Suncoast Waterkeeper, gave a slide presentation highlighting the potential impacts of the rule changes, including repercussions beyond reduced buffer sizes. Suncoast Waterkeeper also gathered over 2,300 signatures in an online Save Our Wetlands petition opposing the buffer reduction.

Tyrna argued the language changes will leave some wetlands that are not covered by state laws entirely unprotected. The countys current language protects all viable wetlands.

Former Manatee County Commissioner Joe McClash addresses the board during a Board of County Commissioners meeting on Thursday, Oct. 5, 2023.

If we remove the buffers on streams that are directly connected to Lake Manatee  that is going to go right into those water courses that directly discharge into our drinking water, Tyrna said.

Commissioner George Kruse was the only board member to vote against the buffer reduction. He said he didnt want to give away Manatee County Governments right to make its own decisions about whats best for the community.

Under Florida law, wetland buffers must be at least 15 feet wide with a 25-foot average. However, the law allows local governments to go above and beyond that threshold.

I dont want to mess up whats been successful, said Kruse.

Public wetlands meeting turns rowdy

Thursdays public meeting got off to a rocky start in the morning. Because most commissioners were at a local delegation meeting, Commissioner Mike Rahn began the meeting at 9 a.m. only to call an immediate 30-minute recess, prompting jeers from the audience.

Members of the packed audience called out that they had taken off work to attend the meeting and criticized board members for the delay.

Later, in an apparent violation of the boards code of decorum, Van Ostenbridge accused the people speaking out against the countys rule change of manufacturing their opposition because the board is entirely Republican.

Dozens of residents protested the proposed changes to Manatee County's wetland buffers during a meeting of the Board of County Commissioners on Thursday, Oct. 5, 2023. More than 2,300 signed an online petition against the change.

Its become clear that we have radical climate activists who are pushing the Green New Deal and have brought a movement that is rooted in communism to Manatee County, Van Ostenbridge said during a five-minute tirade that also drew heckles from the crowd.

Van Ostenbridges comments reflected recent online posts by an anonymously-operated website called Real Manatee County Conservatives. The posts have attempted to smear those opposing the wetland rule changes with unsubstantiated claims.

These radicals are even using children as political pawns, Van Ostenbridge added, seemingly referring to 15-year-old Brice Claypoole whom the Bradenton Herald featured in a recent article.

Speaking during public comment, Claypoole addressed Van Ostenbridges comments, reminding some board members that they previously said they admired his role in the community.

Commissioner Rahn and Commissioner (Amanda) Ballard, you both told me you were inspired by my activism and glad to see local kids advocating for our future. Now Im being framed as a political pawn, Claypoole said.

Im here because I really love our community and I really love our environment, said Claypoole, who submitted a letter signed by 100 children opposing the changes.

What happens next?

In closing comments, Commissioner Jason Bearden quoted Bible verses as his justification for what he described as a vote to restore stolen property rights before making a motion to approve the rule change.

Rahn also said he trusted Floridas state standards to ensure that wetlands remain protected.

Im a huge fan of protecting our environment, protecting our watersheds and doing the things we need to do to make sure our kids and grandkids have safe drinking water, Rahn said.

Thursdays vote is one of the first steps in the process to reduce wetland buffer protections. The 5-1 vote, with Kruse in opposition, amended Manatee Countys Comprehensive Plan. Commissioner Ray Turner was absent and did not cast a vote.

The Land Development Code is expected to be updated in a similar fashion in the future.

Commissioner James Satcher during a meeting of the Board of County Commissioners on Thursday, Oct. 5, 2023.

Commissioner George Kruse sits between Commissioners James Satcher (left) and Mike Rahn (right) during a Board of County Commissioners meeting on Thursday, Oct. 5, 2023.

The Manatee County Commission voted to cut back the governments environmental protections for local wetlands over the protests of hundreds of residents. An aerial photo shows development in northwest Bradenton on Wednesday, Oct. 4, 2023.
Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) said that an open Democratic primary would make President Biden a stronger candidate.

When MSNBCs Joe Scarborough asked Manchin on  Morning Joe  if Biden was the best choice to beat former President Trump, he said that he didnt know who else was out there. He suggested that an open primary could benefit the sitting president, saying that he could learn from his opponents.

Ive always been scared, because Ive always never been unopposed, he said. And that was always good. You know, let me tell you something, Ive learned from every race I was ever in. Ive learned from my opponents. I got something wrong. Ive always said, Ive never met the first person, is always wrong. The person running against me, I got knowledge from them. I could pick something, I could use it.

[T]he thing about it would make Joe probably a stronger candidate, he added.

Manchin has butted heads with Biden repeatedly over the past few years, including voting against a string of Biden nominees, including Jared Bernstein, to become Bidens top economic adviser, and several judicial nominees. He also delivered a blow to Bidens Build Back Better agenda in 2021 when he opposed spending levels proposed in the bill.

Manchin has sparked some speculation of his own for 2024 as he has yet to announce whether he will seek reelection for his own Senate seat. He has repeatedly flirted with a third-party run for the White House, as he has kept close ties with political organization No Labels.

There are only two prominent primary challengers to Biden in 2024: Marianne Williamson and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. However, Democrat Rep. Dean Phillips (Minn.) has not yet ruled out a primary challenge to Biden for next year.

Phillips has been toying with a possible White House bid against Biden for months and has also reiterated the need for a competitive Democratic primary. Earlier this week, he stepped down from his Democratic leadership role, fueling speculation that he could make a last-minute entry into the race.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Democrat West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin called for a state of emergency at the southern border after the Biden administration resumed construction on the border wall.

Manchin said a state of emergency is needed at the southern border on Thursday after President Biden's Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced it would resume construction on the border wall started by former President Donald Trump .

DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas announced the move late Wednesday as the House's speaker fight takes center stage in the media, saying there is an "acute and immediate need" for the wall.

MAYORKAS CITES IMMEDIATE NEED TO WAIVE REGULATIONS, BUILD BORDER WALL IN TEXAS AS IMMIGRATION SURGES

Sen. Joe Manchin called for a state of emergency at the southern border after the Biden administration resumed construction on the border wall.

"Far-left Democrats in Washington have to come to grips with the fact that we have to shut down the border," Manchin told Fox News Digital. "Similar to President Trump, the Biden administration should call a national emergency on the border because this crisis is impacting every corner of our country."

"We must work together to create an immigration policy that gives people the chance to come here legally as well as strengthens our border security with additional Border Patrol agents, new technology and a border wall," Manchin continued.

READ ON THE FOX NEWS APP

In a Thursday "Morning Joe" interview, Manchin said there needs to be a wall along areas of the southern border that are being hit hard by the droves of illegal immigrants surging into America.

Noting that Mayorkas is "good people" who he works with, the West Virginia senator said the Biden administration needs to declare a state of emergency at the southern border "and shut it down tight."

"The administration, the president has to say, Enough is enough.' And what Trump did, he basically declared a state of emergency," Manchin said.

"You have to build the wall. There's areas we need the wall, and there's areas where we need technology," the senator continued.

The wall's construction is a broken promise for Biden, who railed against Trump's signature issue during the 2020 campaign and halted construction after taking the presidency.

Mayorkas is citing an "acute and immediate need" to waive dozens of federal laws to build a border wall in south Texas where illegal migration has surged.

The agency posted an announcement on the U.S. Federal Register that outlines construction in Starr County in the Rio Grande Valley Sector, where the administration says there is "high illegal entry." The agency says there have been over 245,000 migrant encounters in the sector this fiscal year.

Mayorkas says he is using his authority provided by Congress to waive 26 federal laws, including the Clean Air Act, Safe Drinking Water Act and Endangered Species Act.

"There is presently an acute and immediate need to construct physical barriers and roads in the vicinity of the border of the United States in order to prevent unlawful entries into the United States in the project areas pursuant to sections 102(a) and 102(b) of [the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996]," Mayorkas said.

The administration had put a halt to new border wall construction in early 2021, after Biden had promised as a presidential candidate that there would "not be another foot of wall constructed on my administration." The administration said wall construction under the Trump administration was "just one example of the prior administrations misplaced priorities and failure to manage migration in a safe, orderly and humane way."

However, the construction is funded by the fiscal year 2019 DHS appropriations bill, which specifically funded wall projects in the RGV Sector and which DHS is required to use for its appropriated purpose.

Customs and Border Protection (CBP) announced plans for up to 20 miles of wall in the RGV Sector in June. The administration previously made moves to close gaps and replace gates and says such projects prioritize the completion of activities and projects to address life, safety and operational risks  including the safety of individuals, Border Patrol agents and migrants.

Fox News Digital's Adam Shaw contributed reporting.





Original article source: Manchin says state of emergency needed at southern border as Biden admin resumes wall construction
Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) said Thursday that the motion to vacate former Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), leading to his ouster from House leadership, felt personal.

This one seemed to be personal, like, thats all Im gonna say, Manchin said during an appearance on MSNBCs  Morning Joe , adding that it was a shame to see the situation unfold the way it did.

For some reason, it was personal. And I dont know all the ins and outs, but people that I know are very rational, very reasonable centrist, moderates, Democrats who would have naturally reached over and helped Kevin [McCarthy], he continued, referring to his colleagues in the lower chamber. There was a purpose and the reason they didnt do it.

The West Virginia senator said were he in the House, he would have voted to help McCarthy keep the Speakers gavel, despite any personal grudges.

I can only speak for myself; if I had been a House member, Id have been voting for Kevin McCarthy, Manchin added. Whether I was upset with him about anything personal, I would not let that interfere.

Theres more to it than I know, so youd have to ask them, the senator said, adding, but for the sake of our country, we should have overlooked that.

His remarks came two days after the House successfully voted on a motion to vacate the Speakership. The historic vote was brought on by Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.), as he and seven other Republican lawmakers joined their Democratic colleagues in a 216-210 vote to remove McCarthy from his leadership position.

The eight Republican lawmakers that voted to oust McCarthy from the Speakership were Gaetz, Andy Biggs (Ariz.), Ken Buck (Colo.), Tim Burchett (Tenn.), Eli Crane (Ariz.), Bob Good (Va.), Nancy Mace (S.C.) and Matt Rosendale (Mont.).

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Chad Swanson, a Manhattan Beach police motorcycle officer, was killed in an on-duty traffic collision on the 405 Freeway. (Manhattan Beach Police Department)

A Manhattan Beach police officer killed in a motorcycle crash on Wednesday was a survivor of the 2017 mass shooting in Las Vegas who risked his life saving others during the deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history.

Chad Swanson, 35 years old and a 13-year veteran of the department, was killed early Wednesday morning when he was involved in a crash on the 405 Freeway while riding his department-issued motorcycle, according to the Manhattan Beach Police Department.

Paramedics and law enforcement crowd the scene of the early-morning fatal crash on the 405 Freeway. (OnScene.TV)

He is survived by his wife and three young sons. The California Highway Patrol is investigating the crash.

"He had an infectious smile and was always positive. He was simply a joy to work with every day," Manhattan Beach Police Lt. Kelly Benjamin said at a news conference Wednesday. "He personally was responsible for saving several lives and helping rescue victims out of that area."

Swanson was a motorcycle officer since 2017 and had previously received a Medal of Valor award after helping save a burglar who had cut himself while punching through the window of a business, according to the Daily Breeze.

On 10-4-23, at about 5:15am, Manhattan Beach Police Department Motorcycle Officer Chad Swanson was involved in a fatal on duty traffic collision on the 405 Freeway. pic.twitter.com/C3eZjNojHI  Manhattan Beach PD (@manhattanbchpd) October 4, 2023

Swanson attended the Route 91 Harvest country music festival in Las Vegas in 2017 along with four other off-duty Manhattan Beach Police Department officers, including Rachael Parker, who was among the 58 killed in the shooting.

Swanson risked his life saving others during the mayhem. As Stephen Paddock unloaded thousands of bullets on the people at the festival from a 32nd-floor suite at Mandalay Bay, Swanson weaved through the crowd applying tourniquets and carrying people to safety, according to the Daily Breeze.

He was hit in the arm by a bullet fragment.

I just wanted to try to help as many people as I could, Swanson said at the time. At a certain point, we realized that there were no more people in the concert venue that were alive that we could help. We canvassed the whole area to make sure we didnt miss anybody.

Read more: One year later: Las Vegas dims the neon and pauses to reflect on its darkest hour

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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
GARVIN, Okla. (KFOR)  A manhunt is underway in Garvin County after a Cleveland County Deputy was shot and a bystander was killed Wednesday morning.

According to authorities, the bystander, now identified by the District Attorney Greg Mashburns Office as Gwuan Frierson, was killed during an altercation between 25-year-old Kameron Jenkins and Cleveland County Deputy Sean Steadman near Exit 60 on I-35.

According to the affidavit, Steadman was attempting to conduct a traffic stop, on a Volkswagon Jetta near Exit 60. When the vehicle didnt stop, Steadman conducted a tactical vehicle intervention and stopped the Jetta.

Gunfire was then exchanged between Jenkins and Steadman. During that time, Gwaun Frierson was the passenger of a dump truck travelling northbound on I-35 when Frierson was struck and killed by the gunfire.

Steadman was shot in the chin and flown to an Oklahoma City hospital.

The Cleveland County Sheriffs Office says Steadman is expected to make a full recovery.

The passenger of the Jetta identified Jenkins as the driver and suspect.

Kameron Jenkins

Authorities have been searching for Jenkins ever since.

According to the Oklahoma Department of Corrections, Jenkins is currently on probation for a number of violent crimes, including Assault and Battery with a Deadly Weapon and Maiming, dating back to 2016.

He was released from prison in March 2023 for another Maiming charge dating back to 2019.

Officials say Jenkins should be considered armed and dangerous.

Police are offering a $6,000 reward for information that leads to Jenkinss arrest. Anyone who has information on Jenkins should call the Crime Stoppers tip line at (405) 235-7300 or submit a tip at https://okccrimetips.com/.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KFOR.com Oklahoma City.
A 72-year-old Mansfield woman said her rent has doubled under her buildings new owner, skyrocketing from $825 a month to $1,750.

Mary Cunniff said shes lived at the Grain Mill apartment building on Samoset Ave. for nearly 20 years. Documents show the new owner, SMG Inc. Fall River, informed Cunniff in June her rent was increasing by nearly one thousand dollars. Cunniff said she relies on Social Security and a small pension and cant afford that price hike.

Will I have to borrow money from my kids? Oh yeah, and thats the most embarrassing thing a parent can do, Cunniff said.

SMG Inc. Fall River did not respond to a request for comment.

Doug Quattrochi, executive director of MassLandlords.net, said Cunniffs previous landlord may have done her a disservice by keeping her rent below market value for so long.

Its a real thing. Its called The Helping Trap. One of our members has written a whole book about it, Quattrochi said. If you dont touch the rent for so many years, youre only helping that renter for as long as you own the property.

But Quattrochi also said the new owner needs to help senior tenants like Cunniff adjust to a higher price.

The landlord should not be doubling the rent on someone like that. If they were a certified Massachusetts landlord, the very first step committing to our best practices is to not do that to somebody, he said.

Cunniff said shes already applied to 44 different affordable housing locations.

I have to go someplace else, she said. What if it was your mother or your father or your grandmother?

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

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Editor's Note: A previous version of this story incorrectly identified the director of the National Land Bank Network at the Center for Community Progress. His name is Brian Larkin.

Decades of neglect had left a home on Single Avenue in the Collins Park neighborhood in unincorporated New Castle County a haven for pests, squatting and drug activity.

Since 220 Single Ave. had come on the county's radar in 1999, the vacant property had ratcheted up 108 code violations along with 29 police calls. It owed nearly $15,500 in unpaid taxes, fees and code violation fines, according to county statistics. But when it went to sheriff's sale in 2019, the property received no bids.

Similar to Delawares largest city, New Castle County didnt want to get into the property ownership business. Like many others that seek to tackle vacancy and blight in their communities, the county didn't want to amass too many vacant properties, making its handling of them unmanageable.

VACANCY INITIATIVE: NCCo plan addresses growing number of vacant homes

But the area's diversity, strong housing market and high homeownership rates made tackling blight in-house possible, county officials said. The county's economics haven't forced it to manage more vacant properties than the community can handle.

This home on S. Pennewell Drive in Fox Point was part of a buy back and development program with New Castle County to turn vacant properties into livable homes.

We thought it was a problem we could solve in-house and address in-house, and it seems to be working, county Executive Matt Meyer said.

New Castle County began taking steps to tackle vacant properties in unincorporated parts of the county in 2015 by asking owners of vacant properties to register the homes and pay fees, but only a few hundred complied. Two years later, a slew of bills and mechanisms were approved in the county, empowering officials to take a more hands-on approach to managing problem vacant parcels.

This home on S. Cannon Drive is an example of a property that New Castle County acquires in a program that aims to turn vacant houses into a livable places. The site was recently sold by the owner to the county.

Communities across the country have taken varying approaches to rein in vacant properties, which drive down property values and can be havens for criminal activity and public health concerns. Many communities have turned to land banks  quasi-government entities that acquire problem properties and package them for sale  to manage and dispose of vacant homes, but in New Castle County, officials decided to keep it in-house.

The relative share of vacant properties in the county, in unincorporated New Castle County, that are harder to manage is lower relative to say within the city of Wilmington, where they have a higher proportion of more challenging properties to manage versus the overall housing stock and versus the overall stock of vacant properties, said Aundrea Almond, Meyers chief of staff. We do own some property, but we dont own enough to make it where we are needing a land bank.

How the program works

The countys Vacant Spaces to Livable Places Initiative was started by Meyers administration in 2017 as a multi-agency effort to reduce vacant property.

When the program first began, there were 1,350 known vacant properties. Since then, the county has cut the vacant count in half and collected $3.5 million in delinquent taxes and fees as a result, according to the 2023 community update on the initiative.

There were 689 known vacant buildings in January, according to the report.

This vacant property on Single Ave. near New Castle is an example of a property that New Castle County is trying to acquire in a program that aims to turn vacant houses into a livable places.

Vacant property owners are required to register with the county if the property has been vacant for 90 consecutive days. Fees are also assessed on the property for each year it remains vacant.

FINES INCREASE: New Castle County clamps down on vacant homes

Its when a vacant home racks up unpaid property taxes, fines and fees and becomes a public nuisance to the neighborhood that the countys program steps in.

STEP 1: Vacant properties owing more than $5,000, with considerable code enforcement violations as well as police calls and neighbor complaints, are reviewed by an internal team regularly to determine what approach the county should take to get it back into productive use.

STEP 2: A 10-day demand letter seeking payment is sent to property owners.

STEP 3: While many owners will respond and pay their arrears, those who do not are moved to sheriffs sale.

STEP 4: Many properties are sold at sheriffs sale to third-party bidders who make improvements upon purchasing, but homes that arent sold can be taken back by the county, termed a buy back. The county then either rehabs the property with available grant funding and sells it on the open market, or solicits bids for a nonprofit or developer to take on the work.

How it differs from a land bank

This home on Single Ave. near New Castle was part of a buy back and development program with New Castle County to turn vacant properties into livable homes.

The county program operates similar to a land bank except that it doesnt hold on to or bank properties like a land bank is empowered to do.

It may have a few contiguous parcels that are coupled in a sale, but the county market doesn't typically have large swaths of vacant buildings, said Carrie Casey, manager of the Division of Community Development and Housing for New Castle County.

The county does have the authority to exert more "control" on vacant properties, Casey said, but it doesn't bank them for larger development.

"We do this by retaining ownership and using grants from the state to renovate and sell to an income-eligible homebuyer with a 15-year deed restriction that the home remains homeownership," she said. "We also don't see a lot of vacant properties going to sale in one community."

Brian Larkin, the director of the National Land Bank Network at the Center for Community Progress that helps guide communities on tackling vacancy, said land banking is often a desirable approach for neighborhoods that have a high concentration of vacant parcels in distressed areas, but programs can vary.

We think that land banks make sense, but its not always going to be the way in which people accomplish their goals, he said.

LAND BANK TROUBLES: Former Wilmington land bank executive pleads guilty to misconduct, theft of at least $28K

The Center for Community Progress helped the city of Wilmington analyze its vacant property strategy and develop the Wilmington Neighborhood Conservancy Land Bank, which specifically tackles vacant buildings in Delawares largest city.

This home on Woodside Drive in the Penny Hill area was part of an iniative with New Castle County turn vacant properties into livable homes.

With an ever-fluctuating number of vacancies across the city that hovers around 1,400, Wilmington had no interest in owning hundreds of properties. Other dynamics like the conditions of the homes and housing market demand in Wilmington also made a land bank more appropriate.

CITY STRATEGY: With 1,400 vacant properties, Wilmington wants to tackle blight. Here's how they're trying

Wilmington traditionally has far more challenges when it comes to dealing with problems caused by vacant and abandoned buildings and lots, and therefore we needed a unique tool to assist with rebuilding city neighborhoods, said John Rago, the city Mayor Mike Purzyckis deputy chief of staff.

A key benefit to establishing a land bank is the transparency and community engagement it requires, Martin said.

"With a land bank, they are explicitly charged to have a transparent process but also flexible disposition in a way that allows community voice," he said. "So its not necessarily going to be the highest bid or transaction for a specific dollar return, it may align with community goals."

What's next for county program?

As New Castle County continues to tweak the initiative and get more properties back into productive use, officials are now looking at how they can use existing tools to incentivize owners of vacant commercial property to fix them up and reoccupy the space.

Commercial properties are particularly challenging because no matter the fines and fees that may be levied on a property, it often is far less than what the property is worth, Casey said.

"For commercial, it makes more sense to keep paying than to do anything productive with the property," she said.

For example, a vacant hotel in unincorporated New Castle County racked up nearly $30,000 in back taxes, fines, fees and vacant property registry fines, but Casey said the owner continues to pay what's owed because the property is worth "way more" than what is due.

She acknowledged that to successfully address blight at vacant commercial property, it may take new legislation or mechanisms.

Got a tip? Contact Amanda Fries at afries@delawareonline.com, or by calling or texting 302-598-5507. Follow her on X at @mandy_fries.

This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: Why New Castle County opted to tackle vacancy, blight in-house
BALTIMORE  Justices on the Maryland Supreme Court on Thursday peppered lawyers for Adnan Syed and the family of the woman he once was convicted of killing with questions about their legal positions on dueling appeals.

At stake is whether Syed, 43, will go from exoneree back to convicted murderer serving life in prison  even if briefly  because of an alleged violation of the rights of the family of Hae Min Lee, who was killed in 1999, leading up to the hearing that set Syed free.

A jury found Syed guilty of murder and related offenses in Lees death in 2000 before a judge sentenced him to life plus 30 years in prison. After 23 years behind bars, Syed left custody last September when a Baltimore Circuit Court judge threw out his decades-old convictions. City prosecutors, who had asked to overturn Syeds guilty finding, dropped the charges against him the next month.

Lees family, represented by her brother, Young Lee, promptly appealed, arguing they werent given enough notice of the hearing that set Syed free and that they werent allowed to participate adequately. In March, the states intermediate appeals court, the Appellate Court of Maryland, reinstated Syeds convictions and ordered a do-over of the Circuit Court hearing.

Syed challenged the appeals court ruling, arguing the judges applied the law incorrectly, and Lees family followed up with their own request to the states highest court, saying the lower courts ruling didnt go far enough for victims rights in Maryland. The supreme court accepted both appeals, triggering a flurry of legal filings leading up to Thursdays oral argument.

This case is not about Mr. Syeds underlying guilt or innocence, one of the Lee familys lawyers, Ari B. Rubin, told the justices.

Rubin said the Lees appeal was about open courts and basic victims rights. He described the law that set Syed free, commonly referred to as the vacatur statute, as an extraordinary piece of law in that it aligns the interest of the state and defendant, underlying the fundamentally adversarial nature of legal proceedings.

Syeds attorney, Erica Suter, told the justices that what the Lees lawyers were asking for amounted to a change in the law, and that the supreme court wasnt the appropriate entity to undertake such a task.

To the extent that Mr. Lee wants the law to be changed, then the correct body is the General Assembly and the rules committee, said Suter, referring to the judiciarys Standing Committee on Rules of Practice and Procedure.

Suter, who spoke first Thursday, had only just finished greeting the justices when one interjected with an inquiry that cut to the heart of the legal questions before the court.

Through his legal team, Syed argued the Lee familys appeal was nullified when prosecutors dropped his charges last October. While prosecutors have near unfettered discretion to dismiss charges, there are some limitations to that authority.

Have those limitations been extended to include victims or their representatives? asked Justice Michele D. Hotten.

No, Suter responded.

Among the key questions before the court is whether Young Lee had a right to speak at the September hearing. Although the appellate court ruled in Lees favor, it found that the law did not expressly provide crime victims the right to address the judge at hearings to vacate convictions. The Lee familys lawyers urged the supreme court to find crime victims have that right.

Although lawmakers did not include such a provision in the law, Rubin argued to the justices that crime victim rights in the Maryland Constitution should be interpreted into the law.

Justice Brynja M. Booth challenged Rubins interpretation.

When the legislature is silent in one instance, but gives a right in another statute, we presume the legislature knows how to create that right when it wants to, said Booth, citing a legal principle the highest court applies in all decisions.

When it accepted Syeds and Lees appeals, the state supreme court held off on reinstating Syeds convictions and sentence while it considered the legal matter, meaning Syed wouldnt have to go back to prison. If the court decides to uphold the appellate courts ruling, Syed could face being reincarcerated while a new states attorney, Ivan Bates, decides how to handle his case.

There is no timeline for the supreme court to rule on Syeds and Lees appeals, but the court files all opinions for the current term before it begins the next one, in August.

Absent from the bench was Chief Justice Matthew J. Fader, who recused himself from the case. Judicial rules dont require judges to explain why theyre bowing out of a case, but provides several scenarios that could merit recusal because of an appearance of partiality.

Fader worked at the Maryland Office of the Attorney General while it battled other appeals from Syed. Rubin, who became a lawyer in 2020, clerked for Fader when Fader was the chief judge of what is now the state appellate court.

Hotten and Justice Shirley M. Watts were on the bench when the court shot down Syeds last appeal in 2019, albeit on different sides of the 4-3 decision. Watts authored a separate opinion concurring with the majority, while Hotten helmed the dissenting opinion.

That ruling marked the latest of Syeds attempts at legal recourse rejected by courts as he languished in prison. In addition to murder, the jury in 2000 convicted Syed of kidnapping, robbery and false imprisonment.

In February 1999, a maintenance worker who stopped to relieve himself in the woods of Baltimores Leakin Park discovered the body of Hae Min Lee, who had at that point been missing for weeks. Homicide investigators soon focused on her ex-boyfriend, Syed, who was 17 at the time. At trial, prosecutors presented the theory that he strangled her because he couldnt handle the breakup.

Syed always maintained his innocence, and his case gained notoriety because of the hit podcast Serial.

His break came in 2021 when his attorney approached the Baltimore States Attorneys Office with hopes that prosecutors would support a request for a sentence modification under a new state law that allowed judges to reconsider the punishment of defendants sentenced to life in prison for crimes committed as minors.

While reviewing the case, city prosecutors said they developed concerns about the integrity of Syeds conviction and doubts about his guilt. They moved to throw out his guilty findings.

Prosecutors notified Young Lee of the legal maneuver days before filing the motion.

Circuit Judge Melissa Phinn called a meeting in her chambers with the prosecution and defense in the afternoon of Friday, Sept. 16, last year. During that meeting, Phinn scheduled a hearing to consider the motion to vacate Syeds conviction for the following Monday, Sept. 19.

The prosecutor assigned to the case told Young Lee he could watch the hearing by video call. Young Lee hired an attorney over the weekend.

In court that Monday afternoon, Young Lees lawyer said his client wanted to attend in person but hadnt been afforded enough time to arrange travel from California, where he lived at the time. Phinn rejected the attorneys request to postpone the hearing by a week but gave Young Lee the chance to speak by video call.

The Maryland Attorney Generals Office has generally supported the Lee familys position.

Lynne A. Battaglia, who retired from the states highest court in 2016 and sat in place of Fader for Syed and Lees appeals, questioned the attorneys about the notice that was given to Young Lee about the hearing.

She noted that the law includes the language if practicable when referring to the notice victims are supposed to receive, and asked how the justices should interpret those words to Syeds case. In the 1980s, she said, the Maryland States Attorneys Association advocated for that language to be added so as not to delay cases in circumstances where they couldnt find a victim or their family.

Assistant Attorney General Derek S. Simmonsen said he believed the prosecutors and judge should have considered Young Lees ability to attend the hearing in person when deciding when scheduling it because he expressed an interest in the proceeding.

Lets say the victim could not be located, Simmonsen said. They had moved to a different address. The states attorneys office used all practical means it could to locate the victim. That wouldve been a different story.

During rebuttal, Suter said the victims right to notice under the law is triggered by the scheduling of the hearing. As such, she said, the notice prosecutors provided Lee was practicable.

She said the legislature should consider amending the law to require earlier notice, or that the supreme court could issue an advisory ruling without jeopardizing Syeds liberty.
Masked suspects descended on an ATM being serviced and got away with nearly $30,000, according to police in Nebraska.

A technician was servicing the ATM at around 11:30 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 30 when suspects wearing masks and gloves shoved the technician away putting fear in him, according to a Grand Island Police Department report obtained by McClatchy News.

The suspects took $28,980 from the Centris Credit Union ATM and fled in a car, police said.

Police were able to recover a money box with $100 cash in it, but they have yet to recover all the money stolen, according to the report.

No suspects have been identified in the case.

Grand Island Police Captain Jim Duering said the technician was not injured, and the case is under investigation, KWNB reported.

Grand Island is roughly 150 miles west of Omaha.

Mom and child carjacked and kidnapped at knifepoint in parking lot, Wisconsin cops say

Stolen AirPods lead police to man accused of robbing 28 people, Tennessee cops say

Driver pulls over to help woman, then man puts a gun to his head, Tennessee cops say
BOSTON - When the proposed bill to modernize Massachusetts firearms laws was first filed by state lawmakers in June, residents, sports clubs, gun owners, gun safety advocates and law enforcement officials all had an opinion as to the different measures in the 140-page document.

Now, after months of listening to suggestions and complaints, and tweaking the document, House leadership has released the new version of the bill, assigned a new number (H.4607) and will be holding a public hearing on the measure at 10 a.m. Tuesday in Gardner Auditorium at the Statehouse.

The original bill was designed to address gaps in Massachusetts firearms laws partially exposed last summer with the Bruen decision by the Supreme Court. The decision changed the way local police chiefs decide requests for permission to carry a concealed weapon.

We thought it would be wise to investigate how Massachusetts laws were affected by the Bruen decision, said House Speaker Ronald Mariano, D-Quincy, in announcing the revisions Thursday. We wanted to know what was working, what wasnt working.

Listening sessions

Legislators scheduled 11 listening sessions around the state to get a feel for the existing laws. They learned the states laws were outdated in some regards, confounding in others. The assault weapons ban, enacted in 2004, does not accommodate new firearm technology, and that law enforcement did not have the tools necessary to address untraceable, or ghost guns.

Training programs were a hodgepodge, requirements varied by ZIP code and instructor. The last major changes to Massachusetts firearms laws went into effect in 2014, with the assault weapons ban and mandated background checks for private sales of weapons.

Massachusetts has consistently been ranked as one of the safest states in the U.S. with regard to gun laws, Mariano said, adding that the Legislature wanted to maintain that ranking and commissioned the review of existing firearms laws.

Massachusetts State Police seized seven "ghost guns" from a single house in Brockton on March 31.

Giffords Law Center, which issues scores for states after analyzing gun safety measures, gave Massachusetts an A-, along with neighbors New York, Connecticut and Maryland. Only California and New Jersey ranked higher, each achieving a solid A.

A major impetus in reviewing existing laws, said Mariano, was the concern about the trafficking in untraceable firearms known as ghost guns. These can be kit guns assembled by the purchaser, or guns made by 3D printers, which are not stamped with serial numbers through which they can be traced.

I am confident this will make Massachusetts a safer place, Mariano said. Gun violence is a pressing challenge in the United States; witness the shootings (Wednesday) in Holyoke. And the beat goes on, folks.

Holyoke shooting

Mariano was referring to the incident in which a bystander, a pregnant woman who was riding a bus, was struck by a bullet. The woman lost the baby and is in critical condition with severe injuries. Police arrested two people in connection with the shooting and are seeking a third suspect.

Rep. Michael Day, D-Stoneham, in charge of the extensive review, cited the latest firearms statistics supplied by Holyoke Police; they have tracked 113 incidents involving gunfire since August.

Gun violence is relentlessly claiming lives in Massachusetts and around the country, Day said. He listed national statistics: 219 mass shootings since the start of the year have claimed 175 lives and almost 1,000 people injured. Massachusetts has seen 36 of its residents shot in that time.

Thats 36 families forever changed by gun violence, and its not stopping, Day said. He also cited the incident in Holyoke.

Mariano said the review committee removed more than 100 sections of laws. Gone is a requirement that all parts of a firearm be etched with a unique and identifying serial number. The revision requires that only the receiver or frame of a firearm be etched with the number. Kit or ghost guns must also be etched with a serial number.

'Assault weapons belong on the battlefield'

The changes also update the assault weapons ban, ensuring that the law covers recent technology, like the use of devices that can convert a semiautomatic firearm into a fully automatic weapon. Private ownership of these converters, or bump stocks, are banned by the federal government.

Assault weapons belong on the battlefield, not the streets, Day said. However, lawmakers included a provision that would grandfather possession of an assault-style rifle.

Firearms are banned from safe spaces, such as schools, government buildings and polling places, per federal law. Those safe spaces areas will be extended in Massachusetts under the revision to include private homes and businesses. Homeowners can ban guns from their dwellings; business owners can ban them from their establishments.

However, requirements that gun owners take training classes, including life-fire classes, are still in the bill.

Weve spent tens of millions of dollars investing in gun violence prevention, said Rep. Aaron Michlewitz, D-Boston, one of the members of the committee in charge of making the revisions. While the money is well spent, it does not solve the issues. Money alone cannot address the problems.

This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: Proposed gun legislation would close some loopholes in MA
Statement: "Since the mid-90s, this country has been governed by revolving continuing resolution and omnibus spending bill(s).  That is the reason we're $33 trillion in debt."

Gaetz

Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., has been at the center of two major political stories in Washington  the fight over keeping money flowing to operate the federal government and the successful move by breakaway Republicans to oust House Speaker Kevin McCarthy , R-Calif.

On Sunday, the day after lawmakers agreed to send legislation to President Joe Biden that would fund the government through Nov. 17, Gaetz appeared on ABCs "This Week."

In the interview, Gaetz said he would lead an effort to oust McCarthy. One of the reasons, he said, was that he and his allies believed that McCarthy wasnt pursuing spending cuts aggressively enough.

"Since the mid-90s, this country has been governed by revolving continuing resolution and omnibus spending bill(s).  That is the reason we're $33 trillion in debt," he said.

In congressional terminology, a "continuing resolution" (or "CR" for short) refers to a short-term spending bill that extends government funding at existing levels so that congressional negotiators can work out a longer-term spending bill. And an "omnibus spending bill" is one that extends most or all of government funding, rather than being passed in 12 separate bills, each of which covers a limited range of federal departments, as the congressional appropriations process was designed to work.

Lawmakers have resorted to continuing resolutions and omnibus bills for the better part of three decades. But Gaetz is wrong to point to such practices as the primary driver of the federal debt because most federal spending does not even pass through the annual appropriations process.

The types of federal spending approved in appropriations bills have played a role in adding to the debt, but they account for far less than entitlements such as Social Security and Medicare, plus interest on the federal debt, said Chris Towner, policy director for the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, a Washington-based group that tracks the federal budget. Gaetzs office did not respond to an inquiry for this article.

Federal spending process since the 1990s

In recent decades, Congress has largely sidestepped the process of "regular order." Under that process, 12 separate appropriations bills are approved by each chambers subcommittees, passed in each chamber, reconciled, passed again in identical form and sent to the president to be signed.

Although appropriators in the House and Senate have often tried to pass the 12 spending bills individually, such efforts have typically gotten bogged down in disputes between Republicans and Democrats, the House and the Senate, the Congress and the president, or members of one party.

This has regularly left lawmakers scrambling as funding nears a lapse. In that scenario, the options are to pass a continuing resolution and continue negotiating or hammer out a massive omnibus measure that can secure majorities in both chambers.

"In the nearly five decades that the current system for budgeting and spending tax dollars has been in place, Congress has passed all its required appropriations measures on time only four times," the Pew Research Center, a nonpartisan research group, wrote this year.

Those were in fiscal years 1977, 1989, 1995 and 1997.

At times, Congress has managed to bundle together and pass a few spending bills in small groups known as "minibuses." But even then, the remaining spending bills have stalled, producing continuing resolutions and omnibus bills.

What has driven the federal debt?

Where Gaetz gets it wrong is his assertion linking these procedures to the nations $33 trillion federal debt.

The money allocated by Congress  either through the 12-bill regular order process or through a mix of continuing resolutions and omnibus bills  is known as discretionary spending. By law, Congress and the president need to approve this spending on an annual basis. This spending covers a wide variety of areas, including the military, border security, medical research and the FBI. But its relatively small in the overall federal budget.

In 2022, discretionary spending accounted for a bit more than one-quarter of all federal spending, with 11% going for defense.

What else is federal money funding?

Mandatory spending, sometimes called entitlement spending, covers Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid and veterans benefits. Its a big one. Spending for these programs continues based on how many Americans are eligible to receive the benefits. Their funds do not depend on Congress annual appropriations process. In effect, these programs run on autopilot unless lawmakers and the president agree on laws to curb their expenditures.

In 2022, a little more than two-thirds of federal outlays went toward mandatory spending.

Finally, 7% of federal spending in 2022 went for interest, another category that does not get paid based on annual appropriations.

So, although the continuing resolutions and omnibus bills Gaetz cited have produced some of the nations federal debt by increasing discretionary spending, they are not the primary reason "we're $33 trillion in debt." Collectively, entitlements and interest  which have nothing to do with continuing resolutions and omnibus bills  account for the lions share.

Gaetzs statement also ignores the revenue side. Tax laws are not approved through the appropriations process.

"Simply talking about CRs and omnibus means you are only talking about discretionary spending, not expansions like Medicare Part D, tax cuts, increased Medicaid, Medicare Advantage or greater farm subsidies," said Steve Ellis, president of Taxpayers for Common Sense, a Washington-based group that tracks the federal budget.

One reason mandatory spending has become such a big portion of federal spending is the U.S. population is aging. Baby boomers are now drawing from Social Security and Medicare.

Ellis said there are a few other categories of spending that have been undertaken outside of continuing resolutions and omnibus bills in recent years, including military spending that is categorized as "supplemental" and "overseas contingency operations."

"While the broken budgeting situation makes it harder to scrutinize all spending and offer amendments, it is hardly why were $33 trillion in debt," Ellis said.

Our ruling

Gaetz said: "Since the mid-90s, this country has been governed by revolving continuing resolution and omnibus spending bill(s).  That is the reason we're $33 trillion in debt."

Lawmakers have been unable to use 12 "regular order" appropriations bills to enact federal spending for the better part of three decades. Instead, theyve lurched regularly from temporary bills to massive "omnibus" measures.

However, blaming the nations debt on the failure to follow standard appropriations procedures is an exaggeration. Only about one-quarter of federal spending is approved through the annual appropriations process; about three-quarters runs on autopilot, including mandatory spending and interest payments.

We rate the statement Half True.

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Matt Gaetz oversells role of budgetary dysfunction in federal debt
Pay Dirt is a weekly foray into the pigpen of political funding. Subscribe here to get it in your inbox every Thursday.

As Republicans debated removing Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) from the speakership this week, Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) took fire on the House floor for using his bid to oust McCarthy as an opportunity to raise money for himself.

Gaetz fired right back, shaming his colleagues who grovel and bend knee to the lobbyists and special interests who own our leadership.

Republicans booed him.

Oh, boo all you want! Gaetz responded. Ill be happy to fund my political operation through the work of hard-working Americans, 10 and 20 and 30 dollars at a time.

Did Matt Gaetz Have Trumps Blessing to Oust Kevin McCarthy?

But as much as Gaetz postures that hes raising small dollars from working Americans, he also has other donors in mind.

Last month, as Gaetz and his faction of right-wing anti-institutionalists were plunging the government headlong towards a shutdown, he leveraged the moment to hold an invitation-only joint fundraising event with a select group of big conservative donors, some of whom have engaged in the exact type of swampy, pay-to-play politics that Gaetz has made a career of bashing.

The event took place via video conference on Sept. 26, and was billed as an exclusive Zoom briefing and Q&A with Gaetz and fellow Freedom Caucus member Rep. Matt Rosendale (R-MT), according to an invitation obtained by The Daily Beast.

The next day, Gaetz and Rosendale created a joint fundraising committee, called Rosendale Gaetz 2024, according to a Federal Election Commission filing. (Neither campaign has submitted its own required filing confirming participation in the venture.)

The Daily Beast also obtained a full video recording of the fundraiser, an open-ended fiscal discussion hosted by far-right podcaster Steve Bannon and orchestrated by Jan. 6 fundraising bundler Caroline Wren. While Gaetz titillated the donor class by disclosing details from a private off the record conversation with former President Donald Trump, the story itself fell flat. Instead, it was Wren who provided what was perhaps the most striking moment of the eventone that sharply contrasted with Gaetzs public-facing probity about how money should work in D.C.

At one point, Wren told the donors about a recent conversation where she instructed a wealthy GOP patron to use a screenshot of a maximum campaign contribution to pressure a reluctant Gaetz ally.

Congressman Gaetz and Ive been talking each night and one night he called and said, Im a little worried this persons wavering, and I looked at their donor list, noticed a donor I knew had not given to her before, Wren explained.

Wren said that when she called the donor to solicit a contribution to the unnamed congresswoman, the donor replied, Yeah, I cant stand her.

She then asked, Would you write a max donation to her, take a screenshot, and text it to her and say Im only doing this because youre bravely standing up against the CR, referencing a bipartisan stopgap spending bill Gaetz was trying to block.

The congresswoman, Wren claimed, ended up siding with Gaetz.

So please use your money and recognize it as a tool to go back to these people and say hey I did this for a reason and if you dont continue holding the line, then I will cut off my funding, Wren told the group of donors.

Jonathan Ernst/Reuters

The Daily Beast reached out to Wren and a Gaetz spokesperson, but neither returned our requests for comment.

More broadly, however, the choice to enlist Wren shows that Gaetz is not at all simply focused on appealing to everyday grassroots donors.

A prodigious MAGA fundraiserher megadonor solicitations ahead of the Jan. 6 rally landed her an interview with congressional investigatorsWren works as a hired gun for candidates and causes who want to tap her deep network of ultra-wealthy conservatives eager to trade their money for influence and status. Her involvement suggests that Gaetz might have a larger, more sustainable insurgent project in mind.

Indeed, the attendees at that Sept. 26 event included a number of major conservative financiers. Tellingly, only four of them appear to have ever donated to Gaetz or Rosendale previously, for a combined $28,650 over the last five years, according to FEC dataindicating that Wren may have recruited some new faces.

Over the course of the 52-minute event, Gaetz and Rosendale fielded questions from Ohio-based urologist Richard Nord, real estate investor and Broadway producer Barry Habib, Montana banker and hotelier David Lossef, former Merrill Lynch senior vice president of wealth management turned Trump campaign bundler Joyce Spragens, and Mar-a-Lago member and vegan activist Phil Nicozisi.

Two former Trump diplomats also chimed in, each of whom has applied their extraordinary corporate wealth to political interests in ways that would appear to fit Gaetzs colleagues criticismraising money in connection with official government actions.

One of them was former Ambassador to Denmark Carla Sands, an investment manager who poured more than $4 million into her own failed 2022 Senate bid, shotgunned hundreds of thousands of dollars to various Republican campaigns and PACs, and violated the Hatch Act by using her official government Twitter account to solicit Trump campaign donations.

Kevin McCarthy Is Out. The House GOPs War Is Just Starting.

The other ex-diplomat was Lee Rizzuto Jr., son of the founder of beauty product giant Conair, where Rizzuto also held an executive position. Two weeks after Trump nominated Rizzuto as ambassador to Barbados and a basket of other Caribbean island nations, Rizzuto pledged upwards of probably $15,000 or $20,000 or $25,000 to underwrite a Mar-a-Lago gala.

But Rizzutowho has donated major sums to GOP causes, including $449,000 to Trump Victoryfailed to pass his Senate confirmation after reports that he had spread a number of conspiracy theories and tasteless smears about Trumps 2016 opponents. Rizzuto was later named to an unconfirmed post as U.S. consul general in Barbados, sparking days of protests on the island.

During the Sept. 26 event, the donors took turns floating questions and armchair political and economic theories to the congressmen, who generally served up rehashed talking pointsthough Gaetz was especially complimentary of Sands observations about line-item spending edits, calling that issue the big ball.

He also regaled his prospective patrons with details from what he cast as a secret private conversation with Trump.

When a cameraman from Bannons podcast asked whether the ultimate aim was to dismantle the mainstream GOPget these guys out if theyre not voting with usGaetz turned to Wren.

This is not on the record, right Caroline? I can say whatever I want? he asked.

When Wren confirmed, Gaetz said what was on his mind. This is exactly what I talked to President Trump about. I said, You know, were not gonna win all of these. Were gonna take some votes on stuff and were gonna take some crushing defeats and some of our people are going to see some of these things that Rosendale and I are fighting for lose, and I dont want to demoralize people.

Trump, Gaetz said, replied that, You gotta primary the hell out of thema line taken verbatim from Trumps address to insurrectionists on Jan. 6.

But aside from a few other notable momentsRosendale admitting he had been praying against a big GOP win in 2022, as The Messenger reported, and Bannon at one point using a donors War Room T-shirt to promote sales of said T-shirtthe biggest takeaway from the event was the event itself.

Bombshell Letter: Gaetz Paid for Sex With Minor, Wingman Says

The moves suggest that Gaetz has a planor a plan to make a planbeyond the rabble-rousing and chaos that resulted in a historic but possibly short-sighted ouster of the Speaker of the House. Instead, Gaetz is showing that he appears to understand and may potentially come to embrace some of the same tactics he has torched in other leaders, such as McCarthy.

It is a covenant based on money, Gaetz told Time magazine a few months ahead of the 2022 midterms. Kevin McCarthy is the most elite fundraiser in the history of the Republican caucus. He is the LeBron James of lobbyist and PAC fundraising. And that is his covenant with the conference.

While its unclear whether Gaetz is crafting his own competing covenant, the high-dollar joint appealswhich Wren promised would continuecertainly point to the affirmative. And his choice of Rosendale for his first partner also suggests a larger financial and political strategy.

While Gaetzs deep red panhandle district doesnt demand a GOP incumbent with extraordinarily deep pockets, Rosendale could use the boost. The Freedom Caucus member from Montana is said to be eyeing a move to the Senate, to the dismay of mainstream Republicans hopeful to flip that seat.

To do so, Rosendale would have to win a rematch against Democratic incumbent Jon Tester, who as of June 30 sat on a $10 million mountain of cash. As Gaetz likely would have predicted, McCarthy has been starving his Republican enemies. (Rosendale currently has only about $570,000 on hand. His failed 2018 Senate campaign raised a total $6 million.)

But it wouldnt be the first time Gaetz has seen money as a means to secure allegiances. When Gaetz found himself politically beleaguered amid a barrage of reports related to his allegedly central role in an underage sex trafficking investigation, he aligned himself with another radioactive representativeMarjorie Taylor Greene.

While Gaetz cast Greene as a fellow outsider, she was also at the time the most formidable Republican fundraiser in the House. The duo launched a cross-country grassroots fundraising tour seeking donations for their joint committee, called Put America First, which drew national attention before flaming out in spectacular fashion.

But while Gaetz and Greene seem like a natural fit, their relationship has reportedly soured. That is largely due to their opposite approaches to McCarthy, who has kept Greene as a close ally throughout the Freedom Caucus revolt.

This summer, the HFC expelled Greene from its ranks; she did not vote with Gaetz to oust McCarthy this week. Their joint fundraising committee hasnt reported a donation in almost exactly one year, and it was illegalan illegal and since refunded excessive contribution from an American who runs Saudi Arabias first film production studio. The last legal donation came half a year before that. The committee has zero dollars on hand.

Matt Gaetz Denies Any Personal Motivations for McCarthy Ouster

Its also possible that Gaetz isnt looking out for his colleagues at all.

A rash of recent reports have amplified the possibility that Gaetz, who pledged to support a three-term limit (four terms ago), has his eyes on the Florida governors mansion in 2026. If so, he would need to amass an arsenal of cash to win statewide, and Florida law would allow him to transfer unlimited amounts of money from his federal campaign to a state-level PAC supporting a run for governor.

While Gaetz has shot down those reports as overblown clickbait, his fatherformer president of the Florida state Senate Don Gaetzis at 75 years old about to make another run for his old seat.

But unlike his son, Don Gaetzone of the most influential forces in the panhandle and a millionaire several times overlikely wouldnt need much money. The only other candidate in the race dropped out after Dons announcement.

Read more at The Daily Beast.

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Members of the gay and lesbian community in Mauritius take part in a march for gay rights and gender equality in Rose Hill

By Villen Anganan

PORT-LOUIS (Reuters) -The Supreme Court of Mauritius has struck out a colonial-era law criminalising same-sex relations, bucking a trend elsewhere in Africa where a string of countries have passed or proposed anti-LGBT legislation.

In a ruling on two cases brought by members of the gay community in the Indian Ocean island nation, the court said section 250 of the Mauritian criminal code, which dated back to 1898 during British colonial rule, was unconstitutional.

"Section 250 was not introduced in Mauritius to reflect any indigenous Mauritian values but was inherited as part of our colonial history from Britain," the court said in a ruling handed down on Wednesday.

Jean-Daniel Wong, the manager of the Arc-en-Ciel Collective, the largest LGBT advocacy group in Mauritius, said the ruling was a huge relief.

"As an out gay man in Mauritius, personally, there was kind of this Damocles sword hanging over our head," he told Reuters. "There is still a lot to do but ... we have faith in our public institutions."

He said the group's next priorities were to achieve legal recognition for transgender people, legalise same-sex unions and fight hate crimes based on sexuality.

The government, the defendant in the cases, had said that while it was sympathetic to the arguments put forward by LGBT citizens, the values of wider society meant that the time was not right to change the law through parliament.

But the Supreme Court said the old law "criminalises the only natural way for the plaintiffs and other homosexual men to have sexual intercourse, whereas heterosexual men are permitted the right to have sexual intercourse in a way which is natural to them".

UNAIDS, the United Nations agency in charge of combating the HIV/AIDS pandemic, said the ruling was an important step forward for public health and towards equal rights and respect for the LGBT community.

The Mauritian ruling stands in sharp contrast to developments elsewhere in Africa, most recently in Uganda which passed one of the world's harshest anti-LGBT laws in May, imposing the death penalty for some same-sex acts.

Uganda's move triggered an international outcry and prompted some donors to cut aid. But lawmakers in a number of other African countries including Kenya, Tanzania and South Sudan are working to bring in similar legislation.

Supporters of such laws say same-sex relations are unnatural and that Africans must resist what they see as the imposition of Western values. Rights groups regularly say anti-LGBT laws are not African but were imposed by former imperial powers.

(Reporting by Villen Anganan; additional reporting by Aaron Ross in Nairobi; writing by Estelle Shirbon; editing by Mark Heinrich and Andrew Heavens)
Mauritius is now among the few African countries that have decriminalised or legalised same-sex relations

Mauritius' highest court has decriminalised gay sex, saying the ban reflected colonial-era, rather than indigenous values.

British colonialists first criminalised "sodomy" in 1898, but the law has not been enforced in recent years.

The gay man who brought the case said he was "now free to love whoever I want to without fear".

The ruling comes at a time of rising homophobia and tougher anti-gay laws in some African states.

Most notably, Uganda's President Yoweri Museveni signed a controversial Anti-Homosexuality law in May that imposed the death penalty for "aggravated homosexuality", which refers to sex with children or rape.

Many people in Uganda and other African states argue that homosexuality is "un-African", and contradicts their religious beliefs.

The case in Mauritius was brought by Abdool Ridwan Firaas Ah Seek, who argued that the "offence of sodomy" breached his basic rights, including the right to liberty.

The Supreme Court said the law did not "reflect any indigenous Mauritian values but was inherited as part of our colonial history from Britain".

It "was not the expression of domestic democratic will, but was of course imposed on Mauritius and other colonies by British rule", the judges added.

The ruling means that people can no longer be arrested for having gay sex, but parliament will have to repeal the law to make it legal.

In court papers, the state had argued that it was not "insensitive" to the concerns of the LGBT community, but the criminal code could be changed by parliament only when "favourable" conditions emerged in society.

Mauritius gained its independence in 1968, but kept the ban on gay sex.

Religious groups have strongly opposed moves to repeal it.

Abdool Ridwan Firaas Ah Seek said the ruling would help future generations in Mauritius to "fully and freely embrace their sexuality without fear of being arrested".

The Human Dignity Trust (HDT) said it "finally topples" more than a century of "state-sanctioned stigma against LGBT people in Mauritius".

It added that the ruling sent a message to African countries that still criminalised same-sex relations to abolish their laws.

The law in Mauritius imposes a prison sentence of up to five years for gay sex, but "appears to be largely obsolete in practice", the HDT said on its website.

There are 64 countries worldwide that have laws that criminalise homosexuality, and nearly half of these are in Africa.
The Supreme Court of the East African country of Mauritius decriminalized same-sex sexual relations Wednesday when it declared the countrys British colonial era anti-sodomy laws relations were unconstitutional.

The decision was handed down in a judgment in the case of Ah Seek v. State of Mauritius. In the case, activist Abdool Ridwan Firaas and the advocacy group Collectif-Arc-en-Ciel, sued the stating saying section 250(1) of the Mauritian Criminal Code 1838 which outlaws anal sex between two men violated the constitutional protections based upon a persons sex. Collectif-Arc-en-Ciel is the largest LGBTQ+ human rights advocacy group in Mauritius. The plaintiffs were aided by the advocacy group Human Dignity Trust.

The Court agreed with the plaintiffs and found section 250(1) unconstitutional because it criminalizes the only natural way for him [the plaintiff] and other homosexual men to have sexual intercourse whereas heterosexual men are permitted the right to have sexual intercourse in a way which is natural to them.

The Court further specified that consensual acts of sodomy between consenting male adults in private should not be considered illegal.

Receiving this judgment in my favor is an enormous relief. From today, as a citizen and a human being, I am now free to love whoever I want to without fear, Abdool Ridwan (Ryan) Firaas Ah Seek, plaintiff and president of the Collectif Arc-en-Ciel, said in a statement after the decision was announced. Above all, it also means that the next generations can fully and freely embrace their sexuality without fear of being arrested. This victory is undoubtedly a major step towards the full inclusion of our community in Mauritian society,

In their decision, the judges noted that the law was not an organic local creation but instead was an inherited and enforced relic from past rulers.

Section 250 was not introduced into Mauritius to reflect any Mauritian values but was inherited as part of our colonial history from Britain, the judges wrote. Its enactment was not the expression of domestic democratic will but was a course imposed on Mauritius and other colonies by British rule.

Advocates at Human Dignity Trust hailed the decision.

This decision finally topples 185 years of state-sanctioned stigma against LGBT people in Mauritius and sends yet another important message to the remaining criminalizing countries in Africa and beyond: these laws must go, Tea Braun, chief executive of Human Dignity Trust, said in a statement after the decision.

Human Dignity Trust acknowledged that while the law was largely obsolete and there was no evidence of the law being enforced for many years in cases of consensual sexual activity between people of the same sex, its mere existence constituted a violation of human rights that encouraged further acts of discrimination.

Many countries in Africa remain hostile to the LGBTQ+ community and have laws outlawing same-sex sexual relations. In some cases, the laws call for the death penalty.

In May, the Anti-Homosexuality Bill, 2023 was passed by the Uganda Parliament and signed into law by President Yoweri Museveni. The law calls for the death penalty in cases of aggravated homosexuality, which refers to repeat offenders and people living with HIV engaging in same-sex sexual relations. People found to be engaging in acts of homosexuality can be sentenced to life in prison.

In August, a 20-year-old man was arrested and is facing a potential death penalty for aggravated homosexuality after he was accused of having performed unlawful sexual intercourse, according to Reuters, which viewed a copy of the charging sheet.

Braun centered such incidents while cautioning much work remains to be done.

This victory brings the number of jurisdictions that still criminalize LGBT people to 65, Braun said. Mauritius now joins other African nations such as South Africa, Botswana, Seychelles, Angola, and Mozambique in eradicating similar colonial-era criminalizing provisions from their lawbooks.

Pliny Soocoormanee, executive officer at the British LGBTQ+ rights group the Peter Tatchell Foundation, celebrated the news out of Mauritius.

"I am overjoyed that after 185 years of LGBTs being criminalized in Mauritius, this homophobic law has finally come to an end. We were never asking for special treatment  just equality and respect," Soocoormanee said. "Mauritius may be small but the message this sends to the world is huge. Criminalization in every country belongs in the past. As a gay Mauritian, this day will live with me forever."

Pictured above is Pliny Soocoormanee (center) and two other activists at Mauritius Pride.
Mayor Brandon Johnsons administration is exploring unspecified backup plans should it not hit its goal of setting up tent base camps for new asylum-seekers before winter, a top deputy said Thursday while also pushing back at comments from Gov. J.B. Pritzker that more state funds for migrant services arent going to be made available anytime soon.

With winter fast approaching and temperatures expected to dip into the low 40s in the next few days, Johnsons deputy chief of staff Cristina Pacione-Zayas said the strategy announced one month ago to erect tent encampments throughout the city still has no start date and that no sites have been finalized because of the need to do our due diligence.

Her comments came as Pritzker appeared to close the door on any more state money being allocated for migrant relief by state lawmakers, who are meeting later this month and next for their fall veto session.

It isnt as if were coming in with enormous surpluses, Pritzker told reporters Thursday. This is not something where we have hundreds of millions of dollars to support.

Asked about the governors comments, Pacione-Zayas, a former state senator, responded: We have to continue to educate the General Assembly about this critical point that were in.

We have to go through the exercise, right? We have to identify whats already committed, and might be able to be directed, she said. We have to think outside of the box and be creative around this, and so I dont see the discussions (as) closed. I think that this needs to be ongoing. And as Ive said before, everyone has to do more.

Pacione-Zayas added that the mayors administration has begun meeting with individual state legislators and will ask the state to look for ways to shift existing budget allocations toward an additional migrant appropriation for Chicago, which has taken on the brunt of the new arrivals in Illinois.

Late Thursday, Illinois House Speaker Emanuel Chris Welch was spotted at City Hall and headed up toward the mayors office on the fifth floor.

Johnson and Pritzker also have sought assistance from the federal government, with both talking to White House officials last weekend and the governor writing a three-page letter to President Joe Biden to argue Washington needs to step up on the issue.

Pacione-Zayas said that the cold weather expected in upcoming days poses a grave concern, though she said the mayors office remains hopeful it can put some stakes into the ground soon for the tent encampments.

The city aims to use those encampments to relocate people now staying in the citys two main airports, Chicago police station lobbies and other unsuitable places until spots open in the nearly two-dozen brick-and-mortar shelters the city is running.

Johnson rolled out the tent city proposal in early September, vowing to get it done before winter. But the mayor faced criticism from some aldermen and advocacy groups over his teams decision to bring in a controversial private security company to run the base camps.

As far as the delay, I mean, welcome to government. This is how it kind of works, Pacione-Zayas said. As far as what our backup plan is, we are exploring what could be alternative large spaces with the state, with the county, so that if were not able to pop up this base camp in time for a significant drop, that we do have some alternatives. But everythings on the table.

She added that some of those backup sites are located outside of Chicago.

County officials confirmed Thursday they are helping with the search. At Johnsons request, Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle said she asked suburban municipalities to share some of the burden.

They were not prepared to make commitments unless they got resources to do it, Preckwinkle said during an interview with the Tribunes Editorial Board, though it was unclear when those conversations took place. Thats why we need money from the feds.

Preckwinkles chief of staff, Lanetta Haynes Turner, added: We have been very closely coordinating with the city to at least identify locations for housing both within the city of Chicago and, of course, if we are aware of locations, potentially in suburban Cook.

We have been, through our emergency management and real estate office, compiling a very detailed inventory of county facilities and other locations, Haynes Turner said. Were also planning to provide any locations that are within the city limits from some of our brokers.

As of Thursday, more than 17,000 migrants have come to Chicago since August 2022, when the flow of buses from Texas and other southern border states first started. More than 10,100 are in city-run shelters, while another 2,400 are in Chicago police stations and 820 at the city airports. More than 11 buses were expected to arrive Thursday.

Pritzker, meanwhile, defended the states support for Chicago following a City Council hearing last week that saw multiple Johnson allies lash out at the governors administration and call for him to take on more of the burden. The state has appropriated roughly $330 million toward asylum-seekers since the first busload of migrants was sent by Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, but not all of that has gone directly to the city to cover its costs.

This is a challenge I think the city has been facing since the beginning. We dont do city planning at the state level. This is a question best directed to the city, Pritzker said Thursday when asked how his administration will brace for the next wave of new arrivals. As they have developed plans, and as theyve implemented them, weve been there in support.

Pacione-Zayas said Johnson is still planning a trip to the border to establish some order in how the buses are being sent to Chicago, but that no schedule has been set. The city is bracing for up to 25 buses a day this week.

Ultimately the goal is so that we have tighter coordination, she said.

She also rebutted criticism of Chicagos response to the migrant crisis and those who are calling on the city to turn away asylum-seekers.

We are upholding our values. We are operationalizing our sanctuary city status. We are holding the line, Pacione-Zayas said. This is a welcoming state, so there would be some challenges that it would present if we were to shut our doors as well. I mean, were going to do this as long as we can. This is precisely why everyone must do more.

Preckwinkle, too, repeated the need for both federal and state money to respond to the crisis. The county has been providing health care services to migrants, a cost that has varied by month but currently stands at $2.2 million.

That care has run the gamut, officials said, from vaccinations, health care screenings, mental health services, treatment of wounds and infections, to maternal and infant care. Until February, the state was helping pick up some of the tab. With an expected influx of more buses and planes arriving in the coming months, county officials think that monthly cost will rise. Migrant patient volumes have increased 30% to 40% in recent weeks, Cook County Health CEO Israel Rocha said.

While she said she would continue to advocate for a federal solution, Preckwinkle said the state needs to step up as well, because $42.5 million barely covers the citys costs for a month, she said, describing the sum that the state recently announced in awards to local governments as a drop in the bucket.

ayin@chicagotribune.com

dpetrella@chicagotribune.com

adquig@chicagotribune.com
Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg is filing paperwork to raise funds to run for attorney general.

I am strongly considering running but only if the current AG chooses not to run for re-election, Steinberg said in a message to The Sacramento Bee Wednesday. I am considering a number of options for my post mayor life. Whatever I do, it will be something good!

Steinberg said he believed the paperwork was filed Tuesday. Secretary of States office spokesman Joe Kocurek said Wednesday that they had yet to see the filing.

During his May announcement that he would not seek a third term, Steinberg said he might be interested in running for AG in 2026.

Current Attorney General Rob Bonta is seriously considering running for governor when Gov. Gavin Newsom vacates the seat in 2026, he has told the San Francisco Chronicle.

Newsom appointed Bonta to the AG post in 2021  a position for which Steinberg was a contender. Bonta then won election to stay in the post in 2022.

The new committee will also provide a place for Steinberg to park his campaign cash while he figures out his next move.

Steinberg may also be interested in a seat on the Supreme Court of California, but there is not currently a vacancy.

Outside of politics, Steinberg has also said after his mayoral term ends, he wants to spend more time writing, teaching and working with his mental health foundation.
When a reporter asked Miami Mayor Francis Suarez to comment on billionaire Ken Griffins controversial plan to relocate a historic home from his $106 million bayfront estate and turn it into a tourist attraction, the mayor gushed in full-throated support.

The idea that the public could visit this historic house for the first time and for generations to come is incredible, Suarez said through a spokeswoman. The citizens of Miami, South Florida and visitors from all over the world would be able to appreciate firsthand its significance and beauty so we hope this project moves forward.

Only the mayor didnt actually say that. The sentiments were scripted, word for word, by Griffins spokesman, who gave them to the city, emails indicate.

The mayors office then presented the statement as Suarezs own words to the Miami Herald. Suarez was at the World Cup in Qatar at the time.

The striking level of access and political influence enjoyed by Floridas wealthiest man was revealed in a cache of emails obtained by the Herald through a public records request, seeking interactions referencing Griffin or his investment firm Citadel. The emails reveal months of chummy communications and coordinated media messaging between the mayors office and the firm that was moving its headquarters to Miami.

Griffins staffers pitched scholarship and grant programs. They grabbed coffees with city staffers and told Suarezs aides to reach out 24/7 if you ever need anything.

Griffins courting of the mayor  including a $1 million contribution to a Suarez-affiliated political committee in March  has occurred as Suarez faces criticism for blurring the lines between his public office and his private business relationships. Federal authorities are investigating the mayors $10,000-a-month side job working for a developer who, as reported by the Herald, was seeking permitting help from the mayors office.

Separately, the Florida Ethics Commission launched an investigation last month into whether Suarez broke state laws when he accepted a VIP invitation from Griffin to the Miami Formula One Grand Prix. Both Suarez and Griffin have told the Herald the mayor later paid $14,000 to cover the cost of the passes but neither provided receipts.

State law prohibits elected officials from accepting gifts valued over $100 from anyone lobbying the city, but allows a 90-day grace period for repayment..

Griffin has maintained he has never expected special treatment as he seeks approvals for various projects around the city, including the plan to relocate the historic villa.

Anthony Alfieri, founding director of the Center for Ethics and Public Service at the University of Miami School of Law, said taking cues from a businessman actively lobbying the city suggests Suarez lacks the independence and reasoned judgment to serve in public office.

The damaging disclosure that Mayor Suarez and his office acted as a direct, unmediated mouthpiece for an architectural proposal that our leading preservationists derided as ludicrous and appalling once again creates an appearance of impropriety by suggesting that the mayor is subservient to the interests of the rich and powerful, Alfieri said.

The mayors office did not respond to the Heralds request for comment on the newly released emails.

In a statement, Citadel spokesman Zia Ahmed, who authored the mayors quote, said Griffin is proud to work with local leaders to support our great city, and the draft quote we sent the Mayors office exemplifies his commitment to safely relocating Villa Serena to a location where the public can visit this beautiful house.

He has a long history of providing access to some of our nations most important cultural treasures, including displaying his copy of the U.S. Constitution and many significant works of art in museums across the country, Ahmed said of Griffin.

Villa Serena, on Biscayne Bay, was the winter home of William Jennings Bryan, a lawyer, orator and prohibitionist politician who was three times the Democratic nominee for president, losing each time.

Griffin bought the property in September 2022 from banker and philanthropist Adrienne Arsht, who had built a much larger mansion on the estate while restoring Jennings Bryans original structure for use as a guest house. In the months that followed the sale, an architect working for Griffin reached out to the Omni Community Redevelopment Agency, a quasi-autonomous fund headed by members of the City Commission, which Griffin hoped would help move the mansion off his estate and put it to public use.

The plan would need approval both from Miamis Historic Preservation Board and the City Commission. As mayor, Suarez has no vote on the commission but often lobbies voting members and can veto measures.

The Herald reached out to the mayors office for comment about Griffins relocation plan on Dec. 15, following a loud outcry from preservationists concerned that the proposed move could damage the meticulously restored but fragile Villa Serena  which is a legally protected historic structure.

Just 40 minutes later, Ahmed, Griffins spokesperson, had the response prepared.

Heres a draft quote in case its helpful, Ahmed wrote in an email to Soledad Cedro, the mayors then-communications director. Cedro passed along his 51-word statement to the Herald without changes, attributing it to Suarez.

Cedro, who resigned from her city position in September, this week acknowledged receiving a reporters text about her coordination with Ahmed but otherwise did not comment.

Ahmed did not answer the Heralds questions about why he had written the mayors response.

Cedro and Ahmed first met the month before, emails show, during an event at Miami Dade College during which Suarez interviewed Griffin in front of an audience. The aides seemed to hit it off.

Let me know if I can ever be of any help or if we can partner on anything, Ahmed wrote to Cedro the next day.

Would love to partner with you! Im sure we can do great things joining forces! Cedro responded, suggesting they should get coffee the next time Ahmed was in Miami.

Ahmed was thankful when Cedro authored a series of articles for the Spanish-language publication InfoBae that celebrated Griffins move to Miami. Cedro told the Daily Beast, which first reported on the articles, that the mayor had not been involved in her decision to write them. The articles did not identify her as the mayors spokeswoman.

Billionaire financier Ken Griffin bought Adrienne Arshts former estate, which consists of the historic Villa Serena, at left, and Arshts mansion, at far right.

Griffins proposal to relocate the historic villa from his property first became public when it was an item listed for discussion at a Dec. 6 meeting of the Historic Preservation Board. The discussion never took place because the Omni CRA, the items sponsor, asked to postpone to a later meeting. The future discussion was never scheduled.

Kenia Fallat, spokeswoman for Miami City Manager Art Noriegas administration, said there have been no permit applications filed at the city for the Villa Serena property.

Fallat said nothing has happened since the discussion item was removed from the preservation board agenda.

Miami Herald staff writers Joey Flechas and Andres Viglucci contributed to this report.
The News

Republicans couldnt save Kevin McCarthy , but some are hoping to avenge him.

GOP lawmakers spent much of Wednesday promising to strike back against Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla. and the seven other rebels who ousted the speaker a day earlier.

I think Matt would be a great dictator in a small island nation in the Pacific or something, thats probably the best next step for him, Rep. Garret Graves, R-La. told Semafor. I do think there should be repercussions.

McCarthys aggrieved allies have floated a range of punishments. Some like Rep. Austin Scott, R-Ga., are urging that the anti-McCarthy insurgents be stripped of their committee assignments. Rep. Mike Lawler, R-NY, told reporters he believed Gaetz should be expelled from the GOP conference for disgraceful conduct. That idea drew a big endorsement from former GOP Speaker Newt Gingrich.

Gaetz is an anti-Republican who has become actively destructive to the conservative movement, Gingrich recently wrote in a Washington Post op-ed.

Know More

Its not uncommon for House GOP leaders to seek retribution against members who cross leadership or buck the party in major votes. In 2015, then-Speaker John Boehner booted a pair of GOP lawmakers off the prestigious Rules Committee after they didnt back his speakership bid. One of them, Rep. Richard Nugent, was barred from enjoying perks like traveling on Congressional delegations abroad as well.

There are signs that outside groups and members of Congress are mobilizing against the rebels as well. Americans for Tax Reform, the anti-tax group helmed by Grover Norquist, took out a statewide ad buy against Gaetz in Florida. Matt Gaetz would rather promote himself than protect taxpayers from runaway government spending, the ad said.

An ATR spokesperson told Semafor the radio and digital ad buys price tag was in the high six figures, and the organization was considering others.

The View From The Senate

Republican Senators have been opening fire at Rep. Matt Rosendale , R-Mont., an anti-McCarthy insurgent considering a second run for the upper chamber, who recently said that he prayed for Republicans to win a small majority in the 2022 midterms because it would give conservatives more leverage.

Maryland Matt Rosendale prays for Democrats to win elections? Did God answer his prayers in 2018 when Jon Tester humiliated him? tweeted Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark. This is just one of many, many reasons that Maryland Matt wont come within a country mile of the Senate. (Rosendale moved to Montana from Maryland in 2002).

GOP Sen. Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla. a close friend of McCarthys, vowed to help the NRSC-backed Tim Sheehy in the Montana primary.

If Matt Rosendale tries to get in that [primary], Ill be doing everything to defeat him, Mullin told Semafor. Matt Rosendale does not need to be anywhere in public office.
The Milan-based Campari Group, which owns the Italian drink brand Aperol, has filed a lawsuit in Russia to demand a stop to Aperol imports, independent Russian media outlet Meduza reported on Oct. 5.

The lawsuit was filed in Rostov against the local distributor Master-Trade, which Campari Group believes imports and sells Aperol without permission.

Meduza cited information provided to the Russian business newspaper Kommersant, which suggests Campari may not have responded to requests from the Russian customs service as to whether the goods have permission to be imported.

If the owner of the brand does not answer the service, "the goods are passed through" customs anyway and allowed into the country.

A hearing for the case is scheduled for October 30, Meduza reported.

In April 2022, Campari Group said it had "stopped all investments" in Russia, including advertising and promotions, and "reduced the business to the bare minimum necessary to pay the salaries of our colleagues."

"We are monitoring the situation closely and are open to reconsider our position accordingly," Campari said.

However, Campari's continued presence in Russia led some Ukrainian bar owners to boycott the group's brands and remove drinks like Aperol Spritz from their menu over the summer of 2023.

According to the Kyiv School of Economic's #LeaveRussia campaign, the revenue volumes of the Campari Group increased in 2022 compared to the 2021 level.

Read also: Ukraine designates Bacardi as international sponsor of war

Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent.
The grant recipients each receive $800,000 to spend in a way they see fit.

On Wednesday, the MacArthur Foundation announced this years class of Genius fellows, and among the 20 grantees are seven Black scholars, artists, and musicians. This years 20 recipients span various disciplines and focus, including law, art, environmental studies, literature, poetry, anthropology, and more.

MacArthur fellows, who do not apply, are nominated and endorsed by their peers and picked on a somewhat mysterious basis of merits. Each fellow receives $800,000 over five years to spend however they see fit.

Since the grant began in 1981, 1,131 fellows have been named, including the writer and sociologist Tressie McMillan Cottom, the artist Kara Walker, the writer Kiese Laymon, poet Claudia Rankine, and more.

This years Black recipients include a computer scientist, a pianist, a law scholar, a writer, and more. Meet all seven below.

E. Tendayi Achiume

E. Tendayi Achiume is a 2023 MacArthur Genius fellow grant recipient. (Photo courtesy of John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation)

Based in Los Angeles, Achiume is a legal scholar focusing on immigration, human rights, human security, and legal studies. Through her work, she aims to reframe traditional mindsets around international law as it intersects with racial justice and global migration.

Im interested in rethinking that can take us to more creative and just ways of living together, she said in a video for the MacArthur Foundation.

Andrea Armstrong

Andrea Armstrong is a 2023 MacArthur Genius fellow grant recipient. (Photo courtesy of John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation)

As an incarnation law scholar based in New Orleans, Armstrong has been illuminating U.S. incarceration practices, including the poor living conditions in prisons and jails and deaths behind bars. Armstrong launched the Incarceration Transparency project to help further provide much-needed transparency and offer a place for memorials for those who lost their lives while incarcerated. While her work mainly focuses on Louisiana, the impact reaches beyond.

People are so much more than their worst moment. They are caretakers, they are artists, they are musicians, they are brothers and sisters, and uncles and aunts. And all of that goes missing when somebody dies behind bars, Armstrong said in an interview for MacArthur.

Courtney Bryan

Courtney Bryan is a 2023 MacArthur Genius fellow grant recipient. (Photo courtesy of John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation)

Bryan is a celebrated composer and pianist based in New Orleans who famously composed the orchestra piece Sanctum amid the rise of the Black Lives Matter movement in 2015. She said she was inspired by several instances of high-profile police brutality, including the beating of Marlene Pinnock and the death of Mike Brown, when composing the piece. Her music has roots in the Black church and combines jazz with classical elements.

Music is my way of expressing myself and understanding the world, she said during an interview for MacArthur. Its also an extension of me expressing my spirituality to really reflect on issues that have happened historically and issues that are happening today that are very important to me.

Maria Magdalena Campos-Pons

Maria Magdalena Campos-Pons is a 2023 MacArthur Genius fellow grant recipient. (Photo courtesy of John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation)

Through her multidisciplinary art, Campos-Pons explores various themes, including memory, spirituality, identity, and her own Afro-Cuban heritage. Based in Tennessee, she works in many mediums, such as photography, performance, sculpture, drawing, painting, video, multimedia installations, and more.

I want to present the complexity of duality, knowledge, history, heritage, culture, and a play for justice, Campos-Pons said in a MacArthur interview.

Lester Mackey

Lester Mackey is a 2023 MacArthur Genius fellow grant recipient. (Photo courtesy of John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation)

Mackey, a computer scientist and statistician based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, specializes in machine learning. His work focuses on establishing solutions for real life through developing learning algorithms based on data science. Fields his work has benefitted include environmental, health, and more.

I have found that if you want to solve a problem well, you have to develop some new tools and some new theory. And those tools and theory will extend well beyond the original scope of the original problem, Mackey said in an interview with the MacArthur Foundation.

Imani Perry

Imani Perry is a 2023 MacArthur Genius fellow grant recipient. (Photo courtesy of John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation)

Perry, a scholar and a writer, is bringing a new context to African-American life where race, gender, and politics are concerned. Her work on historical and contemporary life spans genres and disciplines, including history and biography. Some of her works include South to America: A Journey Below the Mason-Dixon to Understand the Soul of a Nation, Vexy Thing: On Gender and Liberation, and Looking for Lorraine: The Radiant and Radical Life of Lorraine Hansberry.

Of her work, Perry told the MacArthur Foundation, Im always trying to write in a way that pushes us towards a deeper both recognition of others and reckoning with our history.

Celebrating the honor in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, Perry wrote, Feeling certain that it was divine intervention that would put me in Alabama (for a few hours) on this special day. How could I not have my feet planted on my native soil?

In another post she wrote, Grateful.

Carolyn Lazard

The conceptualist Philadelphia-based artist Lazards work spans video, installation, sculpture, and performance. Through minimalist and even the avant-garde, their work often revolves around themes of accessibility and disability. Lazard also draws on their own experience with chronic illness in both their work and writings.

In an interview with the MacArthur Foundation, Lazard said, Im interested in the history of disablement and disability and how we might think through certain kinds of relations of care and dependency, and collectivity.

TheGrio is FREE on your TV via Apple TV, Amazon Fire, Roku, and Android TV. TheGrios Black Podcast Network is free too. Download theGrio mobile apps today! Listen to Writing Black with Maiysha Kai.

The post Meet the 7 Black scholars and artists named among the MacArthur Genius fellows class of 2023 appeared first on TheGrio.
A memorial dinner for a deceased resident was being held in a cafe in Kharkiv Oblast when it was bombed by the Russians on Thursday, 5 October. At least 50 people were killed in the attack.

Source: Ihor Klymenko , Minister of Internal Affairs of Ukraine, on the national 24/7 newscast

Details: Klymenko said there were about 60 people on the premises in total.

At the moment, 50 people are known to have died, including a 6-year-old girl. Another seven people were seriously injured and are currently undergoing surgery.

Klymenko added that these seven are people who were near the building, at a distance of 50 metres or more. They were hit by shrapnel from the explosion.

According to the official, five to seven civilians might still be under the rubble.

The minister said that law enforcement officers have identified 29 bodies.

In total, 330 people lived in the village of Hroza, Klymenko said. At least one member of each family in the village was present at the memorial dinner.

Klymenko says it has not yet been possible to determine the type of projectile used to carry out the strike, but he suggests that it was either a sufficiently heavy guided air missile or a high-explosive bomb.

According to Klymenko, the hit was so accurate that it is suspected that the location was given to the Russians by a local resident.

Previously: At around 13:30 on Thursday, the Russians struck a cafe in the village of Hroza, Kupiansk district, in Kharkiv Oblast. So far, 49 people are known to have been killed in the attack.

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The indictment of Sen. Bob Menendez has unleashed a season of wild maneuvering in New Jersey politics with ambitious Democrats angling for his seat and former President Donald Trump discussing a run for it with one of his congressional allies.

Third-term Rep. Andy Kim (D-N.J.) was the first surprise contender. But more are expected to follow soon. Confidantes of Tammy Murphy, the wife of Gov. Phil Murphy, have begun reaching out to staff and consultants as she moves closer to a run, according to two people familiar with the conversations. Rep. Donald Norcross (D-N.J.), has also refused to rule out a bid.

And on the Republican side, Rep. Jeff Van Drew  a Democrat not too long ago  is contemplating a bid and said he has talked to Trump about it.

A free for all, is how longtime Rep. Bill Pascrell (D-N.J.) summed it up.



In a state where politics is defined by its nasty, often seedy, underside, the cycle is shaping up to be particularly volatile. And its happening fast.

Kim, for one, said in an interview that he felt compelled to move quickly after the Menendez news and hes already benefited from it. In his first week, he raised nearly $1 million, according to a campaign spokesperson. But he did not seek approval from the state Democratic Party before his sudden launch, which was considered taboo by some in the state.

I will say that anyone in the delegation that wants to do this will have to take the risk that I am, which is that I am not able to run for reelection in the House, Kim said. I'm putting my entire career on the line.

But its not just the Senate race. An even nastier head-to-head contest may be taking place back in Trenton. The governors race is open in 2025 and two prominent Democrats have begun inching toward that office, even as Menendezs troubles open up the possibility of a Senate seat.

Democratic Reps. Mikie Sherrill and Josh Gottheimer are both positioning themselves for the 2025 governor's contest, according to multiple people familiar with each member's deliberations. Neither is planning to change course and run for Senate.

All told, nearly half of the state's 12-members of Congress are eyeing statewide runs in the next two years. Its portending some showdowns between a number of remarkable protagonists: An infamously vengeful senator enmeshed in corruption charges, a high-wattage political spouse, a party-switching Trump ally and the brother of another notorious New Jersey boss, George Norcross.

Menendez, a 30-year Capitol Hill veteran, has denied the allegations of bribery and corruption and has vowed to fight them. He said on Wednesday that he will announce any reelection plans "when the time comes" but that he would not "jeopardize any seat in New Jersey."



But the fall-out has even ensnared the senators son, Rep. Rob Menendez, who is now facing a serious primary challenge from Hoboken Mayor Ravi Bhalla. (Menendez declined to comment on the primary when asked about it last week.)

The composition of the states House delegation seems likely to change dramatically beyond the younger Menendezs seat.

Sherill and Gottheimer are both signaling that they will keep their sights set on Trenton, setting them up for a head-to-head clash. And while Democrats close to Gottheimer  who has $15.1 million banked as of this June  expect him to fight to keep his seat through 2024, its less clear if Sherrill will make the same decision.



Sherrill will have to choose by the spring filing deadline whether to seek reelection in 2024 or retire in preparation for a statewide run in 2025. (She had $1.2 million in the bank as of June, though neither she nor Gottheimer can transfer those funds directly into a state account to use for a governor bid.)

If Sherrill decides to leave, it would mean Democrats need to defend an open seat in the expensive New York City media market, though it became far more difficult for Republicans in the last redistricting. Gottheimers seat, should it open up, was also once a battleground and could possibly be vulnerable again in a tough Democratic year.

One House member who doesnt appear to be going anywhere is Rep. Frank Pallone (D-N.J.). He said in an interview that his focus was on taking back the House majority and re-securing the chairmanship of the Energy and Commerce committee. I'm flattered by the suggestions, he added, of those floating him for a run.

Van Drew, a conservative Democrat-turned-Republican, by contrast, is openly flirting with a run for the Senate. He said a decision isnt coming soon but he speaks to the former president weekly and said Trump would back him should he choose to go statewide.

He wants me to do what's best for the state and also best for me, Van Drew said. He's always been supportive of me since the day I changed over five years ago.

Van Drew could pose a challenge for an eventual Democratic nominee, with his ability to appeal to conservative Democratic voters in the southern end of the state. He won his district as both a Democrat and a Republican. But his colleagues downplayed the odds of him picking up crossover voters.

How do you say, Hell no, said Norcross, his downstate colleague, when asked if Van Drew might still be popular with Democrats.

Norcross, the brother of New Jersey powerbroker George Norcross, declined to rule out a run, but noted that his focus was on his work in Congress.

Having the state well represented in the halls of government, whether it's at the state or federal level, has always been a consideration, he said. We'll take one day at a time.
A mentally ill homeless detainee held on robbery and bail jumping charges died in one of New York Citys Rikers Island jails early Thursday just seven days after entering the system, sources said.

Manish Kunwar, 27, becomes the ninth detainee to die in city jails so far this year, following 19 deaths in 2022 and 16 in 2021. Twenty-seven people have died in the jails during the Adams administration.

Kunwar was found dead in the Eric M. Taylor Center, the Rikers Island facility used to process recent additions to the jail population. The Correction Department did not have immediate comment.

Records show Kunwar was initially charged with a robbery back in 2022. Prosecutors alleged he brandished a knife at a man on 37th Ave. and 93rd St. in Corona, Queens, on June 20, 2022, court records show. The victim claimed Kunwar stole $1,200 in cash from him.

Kunwar then did not appear for a subsequent court date. Sources said he had a relapse of a substance abuse condition and wound up in a Baltimore psychiatric facility for five months and then somehow in Delaware.

While in Delaware, he called 911 because he was suicidal and authorities there took him into custody, the sources said. He was then extradited to Queens and charged Sept. 27 with robbery, bail jumping and grand larceny charges.

He was due back in court Thursday morning.

Kunwar was born in Nepal and does not appear to have close family in the city, the sources said. His court-appointed lawyer declined comment Thursday.

On Aug. 22, Donny Ubiera, 33, was found dead in the George R. Vierno Center on Rikers Island. The city Medical Examiner has yet to determine a cause of death.

Rikers Island continues to kill our neighbors and traumatize our communities and somehow Mayor Adams thinks this is a path we should continue on? said Darren Mack of Freedom Agenda.

In late August, Mayor Adams asked the City Council to re-think the Close Rikers plan.
A new cryptic species of snake with metallic scales was discovered by researchers in China.

The reptile  which appears to have an iridescent blue sheen  was found during a survey in Hunan, a mountainous province in southeast China, according to a study published Sept. 28 in the peer-reviewed journal ZooKeys.

Researchers located four specimens slinking in Lianyuan City, while a fifth was spotted on the citys outskirts.

The snakes were collected and humanely euthanized before tissue samples were taken for further analysis, researchers, who are affiliated with various universities in China, said.

DNA was then extracted from the tissue samples, and the snakes genetic material was analyzed in an attempt to place the creatures on a phylogenetic tree.

Adult male Achalinus sheni

Following the analysis, it was confirmed that the reptiles belonged to a previously unidentified species in the genus Achalinus, a family of burrowing, non-venomous snakes found in East Asia.

The Achanlinus snakes are odd-scaled, meaning, unlike many other reptiles, their scales do not overlap and they have exposed skin in between, according to Reptiles Magazine.

They dwell under leaves and dead wood on forest floors and likely prey on frogs, slugs and earthworms, according to iNaturalist, a citizen scientist platform.

Currently, 26 species of this genus have been documented and more than half of them (17 species) were described in the past five years, researchers said.

A. adult male, B. adult male C. sub adult male D. juvenile male

The newfound species, named sheni after a renowned Chinese herpetologist, is distinguished by its 23 rows of scales, short tail and other subtle physical features.

Interestingly, its scales have a metallic luster and are tinged weakly iridescent, meaning they appear to shimmer.

Currently, the species is only known to dwell in Hunan, which is filled with evergreen forests.

This new species population status requires further investigation, researchers said, adding there is not enough data to determine its conservation status.

Watch as great white shark intercepts anglers huge catch in Australia. What a jerk

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LAS VEGAS (KLAS)  The Las Vegas Metro Police Department confirmed to 8 News Now it made an arrest this week inside an east valley high school.

Metro would not state who was taken into custody, but reported an arrest happened at Las Vegas High School on Monday.

Sources told 8 News Now it was a current student who was arrested.

Two weeks ago, there was a large brawl at Las Vegas High School where CCSDPD had to use pepper spray to break it up. The fight was believed to be gang related, sources say.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KLAS.
A Mexican national living in Atlanta received a 10-year prison sentence for trafficking narcotics in the Athens-Clarke County region, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.

The U.S. Attorneys Office for the Middle District of Georgia said Esteban Palacios Chamu, 30 of Mexico, was pulled over after failing to maintain his lane while driving in Madison County back in December 2021.

According to court documents, Chamu was driving without a license or an identification card. Instead, he gave officers his name and date of birth.

[DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks]

According to USDOJ, after running Chamus name and birthday, they learned he had warrants out for his arrest in Doraville, Ga.

Officers also said they smelled marijuana coming from his car, and he was arrested.

When police searched the vehicle, USDOJ said they found a drug ledger, a plastic bag with a large chunk of methamphetamine in it, another large gallon-size bag containing methamphetamine, a baggie with more methamphetamine, a black bag with digital scales, and multiple cell phones, as well as more digital scales and a box of Ziplock bags in the glove box, in addition to items used for drug distribution.

Those who distribute methamphetamine create a serious risk to the community, Robert J. Murphy, Special Agent in Charge of the DEA Atlanta Division, said. This trafficker can no longer deliver dangerous drugs on the streets and must now face the consequences of his actions.

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In total, officers said Chamu had 1,190.21 grams, about 2.6 pounds, of meth in the car when he was pulled over.

The distribution of large quantities of the most addictive illegal drugs contributes to criminal activity that is undermining the safety of our communities, U.S. Attorney Peter D. Leary said when Chamus sentence was announced. Local law enforcement is collaborating with our office and our partners at every level to identify and hold accountable those individuals and criminal groups participating in the distribution of this poison.

Chamu pled guilty to possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine and will not be eligible for parole. He pled guilty on Tuesday and will serve 10 years in prison, followed by three years of supervised release.

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IN OTHER NEWS:
New Mexico AG charges a police officer in the killing of a Black man at a gas station last year

New Mexico's top law enforcement official announced this week that a police officer has been charged with voluntary manslaughter in the killing of a Black man at a gas station last summer.

Las Cruces Officer Brad Lunsford was booked Tuesday, but officials did not detain him, New Mexico Attorney General Raul Torrez told reporters at a news conference.

Lunsford allegedly shot Presley Eze at a Chevron gas station on the afternoon of Aug. 2, 2022 after an employee called 911 to report that Eze had left the store without paying for a beer, according to the attorney general's office.

Lunsford was the first officer to arrive to the scene. Lunsford questioned Eze and, after he was "unable to verify Eze's identity," the officer "forcibly removed Eze from the vehicle in order to detain him," the attorney general's office said in a news release.

Police apprehend Presley Eze at a gas station in New Mexico on Aug. 2, 2022. (KOB)

Eze, who was unarmed and shirtless, allegedly resisted attempts to take him into custody. The attorney general's office said a "scuffle ensued," with Eze ending up on the ground, on top of one of the officers who responded.

Eze put his hand on the second officer's taser and, in response, Lunsford pulled out his gun and shot Eze on the left side of his head at point-blank range, according to the news release.

Luis Robles, Lunsford's lawyer, did not immediately respond to an email requesting comment Thursday.

Eze was the oldest son of Nigerian immigrants who lived in Connecticut, according to a family spokesman who spoke at the attorney general's news conference Tuesday. He worked at a nursing home in Las Cruces, the spokesman said.

The attorney general's office investigated the killing, consulting with experts on the use of force who reviewed body camera footage and determined that the officer's use of deadly force was "not reasonable under the circumstances."

"The killing of Presley Eze is a tragedy and serves as yet another example of poor police tactics resulting in an unjustifiable use of force to subdue an individual resisting arrest for the commission of a minor crime," Torrez told reporters.

Police killings of Black people across the United States in recent years have drawn wide attention, sparking waves of social justice protests and renewing attention on allegations of police brutality.

This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
Last month, as the Biden administration scrambled to manage the latest wave of migrants overwhelming the US southern border, top US immigration authorities crossed into Mexico for an emergency meeting.

Seated around a Ciudad Juarez conference room, the officials and their Mexican counterparts drafted a 15-point plan to help defuse the flashpoint  most of it a checklist of actions for the Mexican government. Notably, according to a readout from Mexicos federal immigration agency, Mexico agreed to carry out more costly deportations of the migrants gathering on their side of the border  a move that some believed would dissuade disorderly crossings.

The measures, which also specified Mexican efforts to clamp down on the crush of migrants riding north on railcars, are the latest in a series of policy shifts in Mexico that have alleviated, if slightly, the massive political headache in Washington caused perennially by migration. Analysts in both countries see a pragmatic bargain: as Mexico increasingly carries the weight of US immigration strategy, the Biden administration has granted rare leeway to the countrys divisive but popular leader.

Mexico has real leverage in the relationship with the US. And right now that leverage is around migration, said Andrew Selee, the president of the nonpartisan Migration Policy Institute.

Members of the Mexican National Guard stand on the border between Mexico and Guatemala to prevent the crossing of migrant caravans on October 21, 2022. - Stringer/AFP/Getty Images

Sharing nearly 2,000 miles of land border and a history of important economic exchange, Mexico and the US have long held intertwined immigration policies that adapted as international migration patterns shifted. When George W. Bush made his first trip out of the US as president in 2001, it was to the ranch of Vicente Fox, the Mexican leader, to discuss a new era of cooperation on border issues, like trade, drugs, and the northward flow of Mexicans, who at that time comprised the bulk of undocumented border-crossers.

But as spiraling violence and desperate economic conditions fueled years of mass migration out of Central America and the Caribbean to the US, overpowering the countrys legal intake system, the stretch of Mexican territory in between became a critical buffer state, said Maureen Meyer of the Washington Office on Latin America.

The Mexico southern border pretty much was the US southern border, Meyer said.

Under pressure from several US administrations, Mexico has repeatedly sent resources to its border with Guatemala over the past 10 years to formalize migration routes and detained record numbers of migrants at newly installed checkpoints as they made their way north.

At the helm of Mexicos latest immigration coordination with the US has been President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, a leftist leader who in 2018 campaigned on resistance to doing the USs dirty work on migration. His political calculus has changed swiftly since then.

Crossing another line in immigration enforcement

Under the threat of crippling tariffs from then-President Donald Trump, Lopez Obrador agreed in 2019 to allow asylum applicants to wait out their claims inside Mexico under the Remain in Mexico policy, roiling activists who said it forced migrants into dangerous living conditions.

During the pandemic, when the US employed a public health measure known as Title 42 to turn around many asylum seekers at the border, Lopez Obrador agreed to receive many of the migrants, reversing a long-standing position in the country and straining the resources of Mexicos own border cities. In May, as the US ended the use of Title 42, Lopez Obrador continued to allow the returns on humanitarian grounds.

I think these more recent steps really do cross another line because it is not just stopping people from coming to the United States, which has been the more enforcer role, Meyer said.

It is actually allowing people deported from the United States to either stay in Mexico, or in this case now, actually maybe actively returning them back to their home countries for the United States, she said.

Details on the deportation plan announced last month have been limited. In a news conference from Washington on Friday, Mexican Foreign Secretary Alicia Barcena said that Mexican authorities were carrying out six flights each week to return migrants to Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador. Barcena added that officials were exploring the possibility of expanding the returns to Ecuador, Venezuela, and Colombia.

It was unclear where the deportation flights were taking place and when they had begun. It also couldnt be learned if the migrants being returned had already been deported from the US or if they had pending asylum claims. Stakeholders in Mexico told CNN last week that there had not appeared to be any significant change in the pace of repatriation flights in the countrys north.

A spokeswoman for Mexicos federal immigration agency declined to provide more details on the deportations.

But the announcement may already have had the effect of discouraging migrants from crossing to the US without the appointment required to seek an asylum claim. In the weekend that followed the meeting, the number of migrants encountered by border authorities entering the US near El Paso, Texas, fell by about 30%, CNN has reported.

Last Wednesday, Lopez Obrador also announced that he was planning a summit with officials from several Latin American and Caribbean countries whose populations are migrating to be held in the coming days. Mexico also last month agreed to urge countries like Venezuela, Nicaragua, and Cuba  which have limited diplomatic relations with the US  to take back their citizens deported at the border.

What we are looking for is to reach an agreement to confront the migration phenomenon by addressing the causes, Lopez Obrador said at a news conference. We have to align ourselves.

An uptick in shuttle diplomacy

The recent cooperation between the two countries has come with a busy schedule of shuttle diplomacy. Last week, Barcena held meetings in Washington with Senate leaders and Elizabeth Sherwood-Randall, Bidens homeland security advisor. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is expected to travel to Mexico this week along with other cabinet secretaries and meet with Lopez Obrador.

For Mexican negotiators, the countrys increased responsibilities have often been conditioned on a US commitment to grow the ways that migrants can enter the country legally, like through temporary work visas and a recently expanded humanitarian parole program that the Biden administration says has allowed tens of thousands of Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans, and Venezuelans who meet certain conditions, including a local sponsor in the US, to fly into the country and secure work authorization.

Last month, ahead of the announcement around Mexican deportations, Mexicos foreign minister told Bloomberg in an interview that the US and Mexico were nearing an agreement with the United Nations to pre-screen tens of thousands of migrants in Mexico for entry into the US under the parole programs. The US has opened similar processing centers in Colombia, Costa Rica, and Guatemala.

A United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees spokesperson told CNN that the organization is regularly in contact with US and Mexican authorities including on how we can provide support to possible future initiatives.

Politically for the Mexican government, they cant do enhanced enforcement without showing that they are also fighting for the well-being of migrants and for legal opportunities, because it is a country with a history of migration to the United States, Selee said.

A free hand for Lopez Obrador?

Still, some analysts see a more cynical incentive behind the cooperation, arguing that the Biden administration has largely turned a blind eye to elements of Lopez Obradors agenda that would have typically drawn rebuke.

Lopez Obrador very quickly understood that if he gave into Bidens request for support he would have significant political capital to ensure that US pressure on a number of either bilateral issues or domestic Mexican policy issues would be constrained, said Arturo Sarukhan, a former Mexican ambassador to Washington who has been a critic of the current administration.

Detractors point to democratic backsliding in a number of Lopez Obradors positions: an attempted reform of the countrys independent election authority, frequent criticism of the judiciary and the press, and the capitulation of state powers on policing and transportation to the military.

The election reform, which was passed earlier this year but later blocked by the Mexican Supreme Court, diminished the countrys independent election authority, cutting its workforce across the country and limiting its autonomy ahead of a presidential vote next year.

Tens of thousands of Mexicans marched on the capital against the policy in the largest opposition protest of Lopez Obradors presidency. Critics decried it as a dangerous erosion of democratic institutions.

But in Washington, the Biden administration was unusually muted. In a statement following the February protests, Ned Price, a senior adviser to Blinken, described a great debate on electoral reforms on the independence of electoral and judicial institutions that illustrates Mexicos vibrant democracy.

We respect Mexicos sovereignty. We believe that a well-resourced, independent electoral system and respect for judicial independence support healthy democracy, Price said.

If Mexico had less leverage in its relationship with the US, I think that youd see greater public pressure from the State Department, from the White House, on the slippery slope of democratic erosion that were seeing in Mexico, Sarukhan said.

I think the United States should be invested in Mexicos democratic strength because if not, what youll have in Washington sooner or later is someone asking the question, Who lost Mexico and why? he added.

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A police officer in Las Cruces, New Mexico, has been charged with voluntary manslaughter in the fatal shooting of a Black man at a gas station last August.

Attorney General Raul Torrez announced the charges against Brad Lunsford, a Las Cruces Police officer, Tuesday at the conclusion of a use-of-force investigation.

Torrez further accused the Dona Ana County district attorney of obstructing the states investigation into the incident and refusing to turn over key videos and images.

Unfortunately, we were not provided with a complete investigative file containing all of the videos and images that would be necessary to evaluate this case, he said.

Lunsford was the first officer on scene the afternoon of Friday, Aug. 2, 2022, after a Chevron gas station attendant called 911 to report a man named Presley Eze had left the station with a beer can he hadnt paid for.

Lunsford and another officer confronted Eze and forcibly removed the unarmed, shirtless man from his vehicle after they could not verify his identity, according to a press release from the attorney generals office.

Amid an ensuing scuffle, Eze and one of the responding officers ended up on the ground.

The attorney general said Eze then placed his hand on the second officers taser  though it was not deployed or pointed at anyone  at which point Lunsford drew his gun and shot Eze in the back left side of his head at point-blank range.

The killing of Presley Eze is a tragedy and serves as yet another example of poor police tactics resulting in an unjustifiable use of force to subdue an individual resisting arrest for the commission of a minor crime, Torrez said in a release. As New Mexicos chief law enforcement officer, I have a duty to hold everyone accountable for violations of the law and that includes police officers who cross the line.

In response to a separate lawsuit in May accusing Las Cruces of covering up the incident, an attorney representing the city claimed Eze, a nurse, presented an armed and dangerous threat and the officers had no real choice but to use deadly force.

Related...
On Tuesday, Las Cruces Officer Brad Lunsford was booked but not detained in the killing of Presley Eze at a Chevron gas station last year. He has been charged with voluntary manslaughter.

New Mexico Attorney General Raul Torrez shared the details during a news conference. Lunsford allegedly shot Eze after an employee from the gas station called 911 to report that Eze had left the store without paying for a beer per the attorney generals office.

Read more

A family spokesperson was also present at the news conference and shared that Eze was the oldest son of Nigerian immigrants who resided in Connecticut. In addition, the spokesperson said that Eze worked at a nursing home in Las Cruces.

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A New Mexico police officer has been charged with voluntary manslaughter more than a year after allegedly shooting a Black man dead from point blank range at a petrol station last year.

Police were called on the afternoon of August 2 2022 after the victim, Presley Eze, was witnessed leaving the store in Las Cruces without paying for some beer.

According to the New Mexico Attorney Generals office, Officer Brad Lunsford was the first to arrive on the scene and, despite not being able to verify Mr Ezes identity forcibly removed him from the vehicle, along with another officer.

Mr Eze, who was unarmed and shirtless at the time, resisted the arrest and a scuffle ensued during which he ended up on top of the other officer.

At one point Mr Eze placed his hand on the officers taser but did not deploy it. In response, Officer Lunsford allegedly drew his gun and shot Mr Eze on the back, left side of his head at point blank range.

Lunsford has been charged with voluntary manslaughter with a firearm enhancement over the incident. The AGs office said it had consulted with use-of-force experts, who had concluded that Lunsfords use of deadly force was not reasonable under the circumstances.

Other, less lethal options could have been used to subdue Eze, the office said in a statement.

Attorney General Raul Torrez said the tragic incident served as yet another example of poor police tactics resulting in an unjustifiable use of force to subdue an individual resisting arrest for the commission of a minor crime.

As New Mexicos chief law enforcement officer, I have a duty to hold everyone accountable for violations of the law and that includes police officers who cross the line, Mr Torrez said.

I urge every member of our community and others around the country to not add to this tragedy by engaging in acts of public disorder and violence.

Presley Eze was shot dead at a petrol station in Las Cruces, New Mexico in August 2022 (KOB)

Whether you support or oppose the decision to bring charges in this case, we must remain committed to the rule of law and work towards healing the divisions in this country that prevent meaningful progress towards reducing violence on our streets.

Bobbie Greene, president of the NAACP praised Mr Torrezs decision, adding: We are grateful to New Mexico Attorney General, Raul Torrez for seeking accountability.

We know that this will not bring Presley back, but we hope it will bring some comfort to the Eze family. Our thoughts and prayers and our full support is with the Eze family and a young child who is now forced to grow up without his father.

At a press conference on Tuesday, a spokesperson for the family said Mr Eze, who worked at a nursing home in Las Cruces, was a gentle giant and a very good man.

Today our office announced charges against an LCPD Officer for the shooting death of Presley Eze. The shooting took place in August 2022 after LCPD was called out to a local gas station upon reports of a suspected petty misdemeanor. https://t.co/14Fwto0tsu  NM Attorney General (@NewMexicoOAG) October 3, 2023

There are too many times that this is happening. It has to stop, the spokesperson said.

The lack of humanity thats been expressed by those who are supposed to protect and to serve, whereby ordinary human beings become like animals who have been hunted down on the streets for what they call a petty theft.

At the end of the day, it is $2.36 or $3 for a can of beer. If only you knew Presley Eze then you will know that it was never about the money.

He was not a petty thief. God knows wasnt a saint, but he was a very good man.
By Dave Graham

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) -Mexico on Thursday rejected U.S. plans to build new sections of wall at the U.S.-Mexico border as top officials from both countries met in the Mexican capital to discuss immigration and security.

Before sitting down with U.S. officials including Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador condemned the latest wall plan as a "step backwards".

Amid an increase in the number of people crossing into the U.S. from Mexico, the United States said it would build additional sections of border wall in Starr County, Texas, carrying forward a signature policy of the Trump administration.

At the talks, officials pledged to step up cooperation to combat drug trafficking, organized crime and to ease migratory pressures on the border. Afterwards, Mexico's Foreign Minister Alicia Barcena underlined Mexico's opposition to the wall.

"We believe in bridges, not in walls," she said, speaking at a press conference alongside Blinken and Mayorkas.

Lopez Obrador has praised U.S. President Joe Biden for not building more border wall during his administration. The barrier was a major bone of contention between the United States and Mexico during Donald Trump 's presidency.

The U.S. government said Thursday's action did not deviate from Biden's opposition to the wall because money that was allocated during Trump's term in 2019 had to be spent now.

Barcena indicated the U.S. funds would not necessarily be used for erecting walls.

"I understand it's not going to be via walls, it'll be via technologies, it'll be via other kinds of installations," she said. "I think this is what Secretary Mayorkas was kind enough to explain to us, because obviously we expressed our concern."

The U.S. delegation had explained the budget situation and that the measures did not represent a new policy, she said.

Still, 2024 is presidential election year in both the United States and Mexico and the resurgence of the wall could become a significant talking point on both sides of the border.

Lopez Obrador blamed the extreme right of the Republican Party for pushing the administration of Biden, a Democrat, to approve construction of new sections of the wall.

Blinken said he had an "extremely positive, productive conversation" with Lopez Obrador, and expressed confidence that Mexico would help the U.S. on the opioid fentanyl, which is illicitly manufactured and a major cause of overdoses, according to U.S. health authorities.

During his meeting with Lopez Obrador, Blinken thanked him for Mexico's efforts leading to the Sept. 15 extradition of Ovidio Guzman, a son of incarcerated kingpin Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman, State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said.

U.S. officials have depicted Ovidio and some of his brothers as major traffickers of fentanyl to the U.S.

However, roadside banners that appeared this week stated the Guzman siblings have banned production and sales of fentanyl in their stronghold, the northern state of Sinaloa.

Who is most responsible for the fentanyl problem is contentious. Mexican Security Minister Rosa Icela Rodriguez told the press conference that Mexico does not produce fentanyl, and only serves as a transit point for the drug going north.

Still, Barcena said clandestine fentanyl labs had cropped up in Mexico, and were being rooted out.

(Reporting by Dave Graham; Additional reporting by Ismail Shakil and Simon LewisEditing by Howard Goller, Sandra Maler and Grant McCool)
Michael Lewis, the author of "Going Infinite," said being around SBF was a lifestyle "downgrade."

Lewis met Sam Bankman-Fried more than 100 times and interviewed his FTX colleagues for the book.

Bankman-Fried, who was worth $16 billion in early November, apparently had a Spartan lifestyle.

The author Michael Lewis met Sam Bankman-Fried more than a hundred times in two years while writing the former crypto mogul's biography  but it didn't seem like a cushy ride-along.

"My private life is more comfortable and materialistic than his. So I always felt it was a downgrade moving into his world," Lewis told Emily Donaldson in a Wednesday report in The Globe and Mail, a Canadian newspaper.

"The food was worse. The company was worse," the author said.

Bankman-Fried, 31, is best known on the lifestyle front for his messy head of curls and cargo-shorts-and-t-shirt getup.

The FTX cofounder and former CEO, who was worth $16 billion in early November, was apparently Spartan on a personal level. He drove a Toyota Corolla and ate vegan food  his favorite food was said to be french fries with salt, Insider reported in December 2021.

Even so, the disgraced persona did splurge on a few things. Bankman-Fried was said to have bunked with several FTX colleagues in a $35 million penthouse in the Bahamas, where the exchange was based after it moved from Hong Kong. FTX and its executives also apparently spent freely on Bahamas luxury real estate, luxury hotel stays, and even on private-jet services for their Amazon packages, Insider reported in May.

Lewis, who is 62, also interviewed former FTX employees for the book. He admitted he had trouble fitting in.

"What was hard was getting into the heads of these 25-year-old computer people. I would have had as much trouble with this crowd when I was 25," Lewis told Donaldson. "It took a while before I got comfortable with them, and they got comfortable with me."

Lewis' book, "Going Infinite: The Rise and Fall of a New Tycoon," was released Tuesday  the same day Bankman-Fried's criminal fraud trial started.

The author has already faced backlash for comments made while promoting his book, including criticism of his defense of FTX. Lewis told CBS's "60 Minutes" the crypto exchange would still be making "tons of money" if there hadn't been a run on customer deposits.

Bankman-Fried faces seven charges, including fraud and conspiracy relating to FTX's collapse. He has pleaded not guilty.

The crypto exchange FTX  which was worth $32 billion in early 2022  filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on November 11 of the same year after a weeklong liquidity crisis.

A representative for Bankman-Fried declined to comment to Insider.

Read the original article on Business Insider
IONIA  Worn, but not tattered, a handmade silk Civil War battle flag is slowly fading away in the Ionia County Courthouse.

The former Union Army's 21st Volunteer Infantry Regiment battle flag is believed to be the last Michigan Civil War flag on public display that is not part of the state's official collection. That could change soon, however.

The 21st Michigan Volunteer Infantry Regiment Flag on Wednesday, Sept. 27, 2023, on the lower level of the Ionia County Courthouse in Ionia. The ladies of Ionia presented the Civil War battle flag to the regiment in 1862.

It's wanted by state officials at the Michigan History Museum in Lansing, where about 160 other Civil War flags rest in archival-safe storage, for the sake of preservation.

It would be safeguarded from the wear and tear of time, tucked in the museum alongside other Civil War flags, said Matt Van Acker, curator of Save The Flags, a state program to "preserve, research and display 240 battle flags carried by Michigan soldiers in the Civil War, the Spanish American War and World War I."

The Ionia regiment's battle flag is a more costly and finer design than most Civil War flags, and the banner has been sought by Civil War conservationists for decades. It will require a pricey restoration to stop its deterioration, said Van Acker, who is also the Michigan State Capitol Tours director. The state could restore the flag, but it would then go into the museum.

Some military veterans in Ionia County and mid-Michigan aren't ready to give up their flag, which hangs in a glass display case on the lower floor of the courthouse: They want to keep it close, for their children and grandchildren to see and learn about whenever they visit downtown.

"It's an important part of our history. The ladies of Ionia County had the flag made and presented it to the 21st Infantry," said Shane Houghton, an Army veteran and one of several veterans and supporters attempting to raise $50,000 to preserve the flag that has spent decades at the courthouse.

"It should be on display for the public," Eric Calley, left, of Williamston, said Wednesday, Sept. 27, 2023, while posing with fellow veteran Shane Houghton of Ionia. The two want to repair and preserve the Civil War flag behind them at the Ionia County Courthouse.

According to state historians, the Union's 21st Infantry Regiment was filled out during the summer of 1862, going to war in September with 2,423 soldiers and several flags. Four of those flags that still exist today are now part of the state museum.

The fifth surviving flag is at the center of a tug of war between the state museum and Ionia County.

After the war, which took the lives of 377 men in the regiment through battle or disease with many others wounded, the flag was not returned to state officials as most of the other state regimental flags were. Local officials said the women of the county raised money for the embroidered flag, paid for it in coins, and gave it to the regiment. Veterans and community members decided to keep it, given they had paid for it, in coin as well as blood.

"We accepted stewardship of that flag," Houghton said, "and it's important we continue to do that."

A detail shot of the 21st Michigan Volunteer Infantry Regiment Flag on Wednesday, Sept. 27, 2023, on the lower level of the Ionia County Courthouse in Ionia.

The flag is Michigan blue with a sun-bleached American flag embroidered in the middle, hoisted above an eagle wielding a banner that says "Union" and "Constitution." A later additional banner is housed in the same frame, attached to the same truncated staff: A blue rectangle with gold embroidery naming eight major battles the regiment fought.

State historians said the soldiers of the regiment were recruited from 17 counties, led by Ionia and Kent counties, and the unit saw disease claim more lives than battle. The unit saw three officers and 80 enlisted soldiers die in combat. The rest of the 377 recorded deaths were due to disease or other hardships.

They fought in several battles, did engineering work and were assigned to scavenge for food during Gen. William Sherman's march. The brutal campaign, to Atlanta and eventually Savannah, was intended to break the Confederate will to fight and it left a destructive swath in the Southern homeland, according to the National Museum of American History, part of the Smithsonian Institution.

The regimental flag has long been considered notable for its fine embroidery work, even among its contemporary flags, Van Acker said.

"Every flag in that collection has unique stories to tell of undaunted courage and bravery that modern people have no conception," he said. "They were willing to give their lives to defend this flag in battle."

The battle flags are all special, such as a Gettysburg example from Michigan that is "covered with blood stains from the nine boys who were mortally wounded carrying it into combat," Van Acker said.

'As intact as it is'

Matt Van Acker, director for the Michigan Capitol Tour Service and curator of Save The Flags reveals blood stains seen in this Michigan Civil War regiment battle flag Friday, Sept. 29, 2023. It is one of the 240 Michigan regiment battle flags housed at the Michigan History Museum in Lansing. The flags are stored in highly controlled environment to mitigate any further degradation from light, humidity, and temperature changes.

The Ionia flag is quickly deteriorating, despite a 1960s restoration that added a thin mesh netting and thousands of tiny holes to keep it together.

"It kept the flag as intact as it is. It may have caused irreversible damage, but probably that's all that's holding it together right now," Van Acker said. He said exposure to temperature, moisture and light have also deteriorated the flag while it rests behind glass.

"There are groups out in Ionia, and I dont blame them one bit, that would hate to see the flag leave their courthouse," said Van Acker, who has spent three decades helping to preserve historic flags.

Even in its current state, it is in better condition than many other battle flags, many of which ended the war seriously damaged, he said.

Sending the flag to the state museum means it would be safe, protected in climate-controlled archives, and professionally maintained by staff, including two full-time flag experts.

The state would pick up the tab, but the flag would go from permanent courthouse display to being part of a monthly rotation with hundreds of other flags, meaning fewer chances for people to catch a glimpse of the banner.

The state displays one flag at a time in a dedicated space for the old flags, and the rotation minimizes the damage that can happen when flags hang vertically and are on display, even in protected cases, Van Acker said.

With a collection of about 160 Civil War flags, and around another 100 from the Spanish-American War and WW I, the state's monthly rotation means each individual flag could only be on display once every 13 years outside of an occasional larger exhibit of flags.

'We want to do the right thing'

Matt Van Acker, director for the Michigan Capitol Tour Service and curator of Save The Flags, points out blood stains on a Michigan Civil War regiment battle flag Friday, Sept. 29, 2023. It is one of the 240 battle flags in the state's collection housed at the Michigan History Museum in Lansing. They are stored in a highly controlled environment to mitigate any further degradation from light, humidity, and temperature changes.

Van Acker and Houghton would both be happy if Houghton's group could raise $50,000 through the Lyons-based Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 4646's dedicated account for preserving the flag.

The flag would likely need to be taken apart and reconstructed, essentially stitch by stitch, to remove the netting and preserve it, Van Acker said.

Ionia County commissioners Gordon Kelley and Phil Hesche met with Houghton and others the last week of September to map out the next step  raising money. While the county might consider contributing time or equipment, Kelley said, officials are not likely to chip in dollars.

Kelley and Hesche both said they support the fundraising and would love to see the flag stay in Ionia.

The $50,000 would cover the restoration by the same experts the state has used, the Textile Preservation Association in West Virginia, said Eric Calley, a U.S. Marine Corps veteran and another leader of the restoration effort.

Houghton, Calley, the commissioners and Ionia County Historic Society President Kathleen Cook talked in late September about what to hang in the flag's place at the courthouse during the 18 months or more that it would likely take to fix the flag. They may get a replacement flag, costing several thousand dollars, or hang photos of the 21st Regiment as a placeholder until the restored flag can be hung once more.

Van Acker has volunteered to drive the flag to the West Virginia offices of the Textile Preservation Association and pick it up, a year and a half later or so, and deliver it back to the Ionia Courthouse.

"Oh, we'd love to have it," he said of the state's museum. "But more than anything, we want to do the right thing for the flag, whether they donate and we properly care for it or whether that means they have the work done by a conservator and it stays."

Houghton knows what he wants: A restored flag hanging in the Ionia Courthouse, where anyone can visit and remember the sacrifices made by hundreds of mid-Michigan soldiers and their families.

"We're lucky to have that flag," Houghton said. "And we need to keep the last one on public display, keep it for the public. A lot of people died for that."

Contact Mike Ellis at mellis@lsj.com or 517-267-0415

This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: Michigan wants Ionia County's Civil War flag for its collection. Ionia veterans have another plan
Mickel Cherry has been criminally charged in the death of Topeka 5-year-old Zoey Felix, and prosecutors could seek the death penalty.

Shawnee County District Court records released Thursday show Cherry is charged with capital murder, first-degree murder and rape. He is being held in the Shawnee County jail on a $2 million bond. The court has set a scheduling conference for Oct. 12.

The capital murder charge alleges Cherry "feloniously, intentionally and with premeditation" killed Zoey "in the commission of, or subsequent to" a rape or other sex crime. The rape charge alleges Cherry did "engage in sexual intercourse with a child under 14 years of age."

Mickel Wayne Cherry has been charged with rape and murder in the death of Zoey Felix. He is being held in the Shawnee County jail, where he was booked on Oct. 3, 2023, on a $2 million bond.

Kansas sentencing laws allow the death penalty for capital murder convictions. Prosecutors must file a written notice if they intend to seek capital punishment.

District Attorney Mike Kagay hasn't filed such a notice with the court, at least not yet.

"That's not a decision we make right now," he said.

DA Mike Kagay to make decision after preliminary hearing

"We would do that  again, if we were going to seek the death penalty  after the conclusion of the preliminary hearing," he said.

The charging of capital murder and first-degree murder gives a jurors options of which to choose based on the evidence, were they to convict Cherry.

"Depending on how the evidence comes out and how the evidence is presented and in which way the jury wants to take it," Kagay said. "Ultimately, that's a question for them to decide. Felony murder is structured a little bit differently than capital murder is."

Kagay said he is pursuing the capital murder charge "because it qualifies; it seemed appropriate given the circumstances, given the facts of this case."

Kansas has not executed a prisoner since 1965. The death penalty statute was struck down in 1972, then reinstated with a new law in 1994. While multiple defendants have been sentenced to death since then, none have been executed, which would be done in Lansing Correctional Facility's lethal injection chamber.

It is unclear if Gov. Laura Kelly, who wants to abolish the death penalty, could or would stop the Kansas Department of Corrections under her administration from executing prisoners.

The Topeka community has been particularly outraged by Zoey's death, which has garnered significant media coverage. Kansas law would allow a defense attorney to make a motion to transfer the prosecution to another county if the court were to find that Shawnee County has "so great a prejudice against the defendant that he cannot obtain a fair and impartial trial in that county."

Kagay maintained that Cherry would get a fair trial in Shawnee County.

"I think I'm taking those steps right now," he said. "I think we take those steps every time we file charges. The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in court of law."

Mark Manna, the chief attorney at the Kansas Death Penalty Defense Unit, said his office will be appointed to represent Cherry. He declined to comment further.

Holly Felix's plea agreement barred contact with victims

Zoey's mother, Holly Felix, is on probation for aggravated battery and DUI, with court records indicating Zoey was the victim.

This summer, Shawnee County District Court Judge Jason E. Geier suspended Holly Felix's prison sentence and imposed 18 months of probation after Kagay's office gave her a plea deal that dropped four of six charges.

One of the terms of the plea deal was that Holly Felix wasn't allowed to have contact with the victims, but it was unclear from the court documents if that explicitly included Zoey.

The probation order simply copied "you will not have contact with victims" from the district court's standard conditions of probations, while the plea agreement specifically named Zoey's father, Ezequiel Felix Guerrero, and her half-sister, Katelenn, but made no mention of Zoey.

Kagay declined to answer whether his office's plea deal barred Holly Felix from having custody of Zoey or contacting her.

"We don't name our victims; I'll let you figure that out," Kagay said.

Neighbors have alleged that Holly Felix evicted her 5-year-old daughter, the girl's father, her teenage sister and Cherry from the house where they lived together in the 2200 block of S.E. Market, which was disconnected from utilities around the same time. The expelled group then lived in a nearby homeless camp.

Holly Felix, Felix-Guerrero and Katelenn Marie Cain are all listed on the witness list for Cherry's case.

Cherry and Zoey were acquaintances, Kagay said, but had no other relationship.

Kansas DCF continues review of Zoey Felix case

The Department for Children and Families has not provided information to the public on reports by neighbors, police and possibly school social workers. The agency first must determine there was abuse or neglect.

DCF spokesperson Mike Deines said the filing of criminal charges does not change the status of the agency's review of the case.

It is unclear if Zoey's parents could also face criminal charges.

Kagay said he is not aware of an investigation into her parents.

"But even if I was, I wouldn't be able to comment on it," he said.

And it appears the immediate criminal investigation is wrapping up.

"I think the investigation to the murder and rape of this 5-year-old girl is fairly complete," Kagay said. "TPD did an excellent job of allocating I would say every possible resource into making sure this investigation was done thoroughly and quickly and I appreciate their efforts there."

Still, Kagay said, he would consider charging other people in connection to Zoey's death if police made the case to do so.

"I'm willing to consider any actionable investigation that's brought to me," Kagay said. "It's not my job to go out there and investigate the cases. That's a law enforcement role; law enforcement officers, TPD, sheriff's office, etc.

"My job is to review those investigations when they're brought to me and make the appropriate charging decision."

Jason Alatidd is a statehouse reporter for the Topeka Capital-Journal. He can be reached by email at jalatidd@gannett.com. Follow him on X @Jason_Alatidd.

This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Mickel Cherry charged with capital murder and child rape of Zoey Felix
PORTSMOUTH  The owners of 238 Deer St. in the citys rapidly developing North End received a temporary construction license so they can redevelop the property into an already approved 21 micro units apartment project.

The City Council this week voted unanimously to approve the roughly 13-month construction license for 238 Deer Street LLC, which owns the site that was formerly home to Statey Bar & Grill.

A micro-unit housing project is set to be built at 238 Deer St. in Portsmouth, replacing a building that formerly housed Statey Bar & Grill.

Restaurateur Eli Sokorelis is the principal of the company, according to documents filed with the New Hampshire secretary of state.

Crews demolished the former Statey building in September.

It will be replaced during the anticipated 13 months of construction with a new four-story building with micro units on the second, third and penthouse levels, and retail space on the ground floor.

Another Deer Street demolition: Here's what is being built at 161 Deer St.

All of the 21 micro units will be 500 square feet or less and will be leased at market rates, the developers have said previously. When completed, it will be the first micro-unit project in downtown Portsmouth, city officials have said.

What to expect during micro units construction on Deer Street

Workers late Friday afternoon, Sept. 8, demolish the former Statey Bar & Grill off Deer Street in downtown Portsmouth. The site is being converted to micro-unit housing

The developers have agreed to pay a total of $56,208 to the city to encumber four different areas around the site during construction.

The developer needs the space in order to construct the project and provide a barrier to public safety, Deputy City Manager Suzanne Woodland told the council this week.

More Portsmouth news: New police station sites down to 5. Here are next steps.

The areas the developers will use during construction include a portion of the sidewalk, two parking spaces, part of a public access easement  and a small portion of Deer Street, Woodland said.

The construction license began on Tuesday and is expected to run through Oct. 31, 2024, she said.

Before it became the Statey, the same building was the headquarters of VFW Post 168. Its members agreed to sell the property to Sokorelis in 2017.

Parking issue resolution cleared way for project

The project is moving forward after the city Planning Board granted a Conditional Use Permit for the redevelopment to allow no on-site parking.

The site is located directly across the street from the citys Foundry Place Garage, the citys second municipal parking garage.

Attorney Sharon Somers, who represented the developers at a May Planning Board meeting, said receiving the parking CUP was the last step required before construction can begin.

This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Micro unit apartments to go up at old Statey site in Portsmouth NH
Microsoft and Amazon are facing more antitrust scrutiny. The UKs Competition and Markets Authority ( CMA ) says it will investigate the cloud services market in the country to determine if companies are engaging in anti-competitive practices.

Amazon (through Amazon Web Services ) and Microsoft are by far the biggest players in that field in the UK. Between them, they had a market share of between 70 and 80 percent last year, according to a report from media regulator Ofcom, which asked the CMA to investigate the market. Google is in third place with a relatively paltry share of between five and 10 percent.

Ofcom believes that competition in the market is constrained by a number of factors that make it hard for customers to switch suppliers or use more than one at the same time. A key issue is egress fees, which customers often have to pay to transfer their data to another service. "The cost of transferring data between rival providers can discourage customers from using more than one cloud provider and in some cases make switching more costly," Ofcom said in its report .

A lack of interoperability and portability can make it overly laborious for customers to configure their data and apps to work on different services, the regulator said. Discounts can also dissuade customers from using more than one provider.

Those factors give Microsoft and Amazon a leg up over the competition, Ofcom suggests. "Limits on the ability of customers to credibly threaten to switch away can reduce the competitive pressure on the market leaders, giving them a degree of market power," the report states. "If customers have difficulty switching and using multiple providers, it could make it harder for competitors to gain scale and challenge AWS and Microsoft effectively for the business of new and existing customers."

In addition, Ofcom notes that some cloud service providers have raised concerns over the business software licensing practices of some cloud players, especially Microsoft. "We have received submissions that say Microsoft engages in several practices that make it less attractive for customers to use Microsofts licensed software products on the cloud infrastructure of rival providers compared to Microsoft Azure," the report states. "The submissions allege that this limits their ability to compete for customers." The products in question include Windows and Microsoft 365. Ofcom says that Microsoft has disputed the veracity of these claims.

"We welcome Ofcoms referral of public cloud infrastructure services to us for in-depth scrutiny," CMA CEO Sarah Cardell said in a statement . "This is a 7.5 billion [$9.1 billion] market that underpins a whole host of online services  from social media to AI foundation models. Many businesses now completely rely on cloud services, making effective competition in this market essential." The CMA plans to conclude its investigation by April 2025.

Microsoft and Amazon both say they'll work constructively with the CMA. Amazon took issue with Ofcom's claims, telling Reuters that the watchdog's conclusions were rooted in "a fundamental misconception of how the IT sector functions, and the services and discounts on offer."

The cloud has been a sticking point in another Microsoft-CMA tussle. The watchdog initially blocked the company's proposed $68.7 billion takeover of Activision Blizzard due to concerns that Microsoft would hold too much power in the cloud gaming market. Microsoft later pledged to sell cloud game streaming rights to Activision Blizzard titles to Ubisoft if the deal goes through. That concession, made as part of Microsoft's revised agreement, "opens the door to the deal being cleared," the CMA said in September . The regulator will make its final decision on the merger this month.
MIDWEST CITY, Okla. (KFOR)  Starbucks workers at the 29th Street and Air Depot store in Midwest City filed a petition with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) to unionize with Starbucks Workers United on Tuesday.

The 29th and Air Depot Starbucks is the fifth store in Oklahoma to file for a union election. Three stores in Oklahoma City unionized in 2022 after securing a majority vote:

63rd and Grand (13-11)

36th and May (14-1)

23rd and Robinson (15-2)

According to a map on More Perfect Unions website, one store in Norman held a union election as well, but failed to unionize with a resulting vote count of 8-8.

We deserve our voice to matter: OKC Starbucks employees unionize at Capitol steps

On Monday evening, Starbucks Workers United shared a letter on X, formerly known as Twitter, that Midwest City Starbucks workers sent to CEO Laxman Narasimhan explaining their reasons for unionizing.

We have decided to unionize because we are tired of being treated as machines instead of human beings. Upper management continuously makes decisions without notifying or consulting partners, workers said in the letter. District and Store managers lack knowledge of how their business operates and have pushed do more with less to the point of impossibility. Any attempt to voice our concerns and frustrations is met swiftly with chastising and denial.

Viktoria Jekic, a barista and union organizer at the Midwest City location, says that unionizing is an important step towards a future where workers are heard and valued as partners.

After dedicating three years of my life to this company, its disheartening to witness how our viewpoints and perspectives as partners are often overlooked in decisions that greatly impact both the business and partners, Jekic said.

I just think youre wrong: Democrats, Schultz tangle in Starbucks union-busting hearing

The title partner loses its meaning when we are treated as expendable commodities. Unionizing signifies a future where our voices are not only acknowledged but truly valued and embraced, and where we are genuinely regarded as partners in the true sense of the word.

According to the NLRBs rules on conducting elections, employers are required to post a Notice of Petition for Election shortly after the petition is filed in places where workplace notices to employees are typically posted. If an employer regularly communicates with employees through electronic means, the notice must also be distributed electronically.

No date has been set for the Midwest City Starbucks union election yet, but NLRB election rules specify that the employer is required to post a Notice of Election once the election is scheduled.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KFOR.com Oklahoma City.
Millions of Californians will see an approximate $40 to $70 credit on their October electricity bills, the California Public Utilities Commission reminded residents in a news release Wednesday.

As part of Californias Cap-and-Trade Program, this credit is designed to reward most customers of electric investor-owned utilities and provide support to those experiencing high natural gas bills during the winter, the news release stated.

How can you receive the California electric bill credit?

If your household is eligible, there is no action necessary to receive the credit on your electric bill.

Households will receive the fall California Climate Credit on their October bill, which might appear in November due to billing period differences, according to the news release.

Eligible customers will also receive another credit in April.

It doesnt matter how much energy a customer consumes or the amount of their bill, the CPUC wrote in the new release. If the credit is larger than the bill, the remaining balance will roll forward until the California Climate Credit is used up.

It does not include Sacramento Municipal Utilities District, or SMUD, which covers most of Sacramento County.

What are the eligible electric companies for the credit?

If you are a California customer from the following electric companies, you are eligible to receive the credit:

Pacific Gas and Electric

San Diego Gas and Electric

Southern California Edison

PacifiCorp

Liberty Utilities

Bear Valley Electric Service

All community choice aggregators (CCAs)

What do you want to know about life in Sacramento? Ask our service journalism team your top-of-mind questions in the module below or email servicejournalists@sacbee.com.
PROVIDENCE  A recent influx of migrants arriving in Rhode Island from the southern border has left a city nonprofit agency in need of more resources for those it serves.

On a recent Monday afternoon, the lobby of the Refugee Dream Center was packed with new arrivals. Caseworkers are asked to offer rides to clients without the money for bus passes. Finding shelter for people is a balancing act. Day-to-day survival is the goal for many.

The Refugee Dream Center is known for helping new arrivals settle in the state and become self-reliant. But the organization's director and co-founder, Teddi Jallow, said that it's become tough to provide everything needed as demand has increased.

From July into September, Jallow said about 50 migrants arrived in the state by plane from the southern border. Yet they come from a wide array of countries, including Afghanistan, Senegal and the Congo, as well as Guatemala, Mexico and Honduras.

Migrants from Afghanistan and African countries have been attempting to make it into the U.S. through that border, along with those from Mexico and the Northern Triangle.

"My fear is we are seeing more migrants from the border and nobody is talking about it," Jallow said.

Jallow said previously she might have seen only one migrant per month  not counting the many refugees the center has served. Being deemed a refugee is a legal process that involves a lawyer and court proceedings required to gain asylum as a person who was persecuted or in mortal danger in their home country.

Yet based on the stories of the new arrivals, they may qualify for asylum  if they could afford a lawyer. Jallow says at an average starting cost of $7,000, a lawyer is too expensive for the agency to provide.

Large groups of migrants got past rows of law enforcement agents and vehicles in Juarez and crossed the Rio Grande on Tuesday. Many camped out along the concertina wire fencing put up by the Texas National Guard.

Where are the migrants from and why are they leaving home?

The Providence Journal met and interviewed three migrants who described living in countries that made life unbearable or even potentially deadly. Their names are not being used in this story to protect their privacy and safety.

Each arrived recently, with one man from Senegal making his way into Rhode Island only on Sunday. He traveled through Morocco, Spain, El Salvador, Nicaragua and Mexico before entering the U.S. It took him 15 days total, he said, to get to the southern border before he boarded a flight into the country.

He described leaving because of political upheaval. Over the summer, the government detained Ousmane Sonko, the leader of the country's primary opposition party, charging him with fomenting insurrection. The party was dissolved and protests erupted.

The man with whom the Journal spoke said he was part of the protests.

"A lot of my colleagues went to jail," he said. "Some are dead. So that's why I left."

Another man, who came from Afghanistan, told The Journal he arrived in Rhode Island in mid-September after spending eight days in a refugee camp near the southern border. His journey took him through a dozen countries  a trip on which he embarked in January via Iran. He now lives with a friend.

A third man came from Mauritania, also traveling through a handful of countries to get to the southern border. He told The Journal he left because of Mauritania's ongoing use of slavery. The man said he was treated as a slave and owned nothing. According to the United Nations, slavery still has a grip on the country, which has not enforced its anti-slavery law.

Now that these three men are in Rhode Island, life has become about surviving from day to day.

"These men are just sitting here doing nothing," Jallow said of the new arrivals. "Some of them are even homeless."

Migrants walk to a U.S. Border Patrol processing area in Eagle Pass, Texas, last month. Over the summer, state officials directed hundreds of migrants onto properties where they were promptly arrested.

What is Rhode Island doing to help the migrants coming from the southern border?

Department of Human Services spokesman Jose Garcia said Gov. Dan McKee's deputy chief of staff, Christopher Abhulime, met with the state refugee coordinator, Baha Sadr, last week to discuss the arrival of migrants.

"People have been arriving in Rhode Island on their own for many years," Garcia said. "Based on what the state has seen, there is no coordinated effort to bring migrants to Rhode Island and the vast majority seen coming into the state come here because they have friends and family in Rhode Island. When DHS is informed of needs like the one raised by the Refugee Dream Center, the agency provides assistance by helping connect migrants with private resources."

Garcia said those resources include emergency funds, food and clothing. But the 50 migrants Jallow referenced "are not currently eligible for public benefits due to their immigration status," Garcia explained.

Garcia added that the migrants may be able to receive work authorization documents if they apply for asylum.

End of free RIPTA bus line has unearthed new struggle for migrants

At the Refugee Dream Center, Noorulhaq Sadeqi, a caseworker who helped translate for the man from Afghanistan, was at the same time being asked by two migrants in downtown Providence to offer them a lift, as many don't have bus passes.

The Rhode Island Public Transit Authority piloted a one-year free-fare program on its popular R-line, but that expired at the end of September, leaving clients with no transportation save for rides from friends.

More: From fiscal cliffs to free fares  what is the future of RIPTA?

Jallow said she had to ask a caseworker at one point to drive a Mauritanian mother of six home to Pawtucket, but Jallow can't always ask that of her staff, which needs to be available to deal with new cases. Occupied seats in the lobby illustrated that point.

Sadeqi said providing for these migrants and refugees is a matter of human rights.

"They're all humans," he said.

This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: More migrants in RI from southern border  what's being done to help
(Bloomberg) -- Tensions with Poland and Hungary over migration flows are complicating efforts by European Union leaders to agree on a joint declaration after a summit in Granada, Spain.

Most Read from Bloomberg

At a meeting of EU ambassadors Wednesday, Poland and Hungary reiterated a demand that a Granada declaration on the EUs strategic agenda due Friday should add references to earlier leaders conclusions stating that migration issues should be resolved by consensus, according to people familiar with the issue.

The demand risks preventing EU leaders from unanimously approving a final statement as happened during a summit early this year, said the people who asked not to be named on confidential discussions. That would wreck attempts by leaders to stage a public display of unity at their gathering. Polish elections could be factor fueling the discord, one of the people added.

Migration is an increasingly urgent and contentious issue for EU leaders meeting, with some countries taking unilateral measures to tighten controls as more people particularly from the Middle East and Africa flee violence and poverty at home to seek better lives in Europe.

Poland hopes that EU members will respect decisions taken in previous summits and that this will not trigger controversies, according to a Polish official.

Italy approved rules last month month to extend the time undocumented entrants can be detained to an EU maximum 18 months as a surge in the number of boats carrying people from North Africa overwhelm the island of Lampedusa, a longtime hotspot for Europes periodic crises. Migration remains a challenge for Greece too.

Separately, EU diplomats reached an agreement earlier this week on how to tackle immigration crises after years of failed attempts. Countries facing surges in third-country citizens crossing their borders would be allowed more flexibility on how to handle the arrivals. Poland and Hungary were the only countries that voted against the agreement, while a few other countries abstained.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has put forward a 10-point action plan that includes support for managing the arrival and transfer of migrants, as well as stopping smugglers by bolstering air and sea surveillance.

Slovakia said Wednesday it will impose random checks on its border with Hungary in an attempt to prevent undocumented migrants from entering the country. The decision comes after Germany last week tightened controls on its eastern border with Poland and the Czech Republic. Authorities in Prague and Warsaw responded by introducing random checks at border crossings with Slovakia.

--With assistance from Piotr Skolimowski, Alonso Soto and Zoltan Simon.

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Russia is intensifying attacks in the Lyman-Kupiansk direction of the front line in Kharkiv and Luhansk oblasts, using both ground forces and air strikes, Illia Yevlash, the spokesperson for the Eastern Grouping of Forces, said on air on Oct. 5.

According to Yevlash, Russian troops shifted their focus on a new target  Makiivka, a Luhansk Oblast village roughly 30 kilometers north of Lyman and 60 kilometers south of Kupiansk.

Eight skirmishes have been recorded in this area over the past day, the spokesperson said. Russia is also actively using its air forces, deploying both jet planes and military helicopters, he added.

Yevlash said that Ukrainian troops repelled Russian attempts to advance, destroying 13 pieces of enemy hardware, including two T-72 tanks and five armored fighting vehicles.

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According to the Ukrainian military, Russia has been concentrating over 100,000 soldiers and thousands of pieces of equipment in the Kupiansk-Lyman direction since the summer.

The U.S.-based think-tank Institute for the Study of War (ISW) said that Russia's offensive in the northeast appeared to be Russia's strategy to pin Ukrainian troops, who could have been deployed elsewhere.

On Sept. 28, the ISW wrote in its daily update that Russia appeared to have recently reduced the pace of the offensive in the Kupiansk-Svatove-Kreminna front line.

Citing fewer reported Russian ground attacks in the Kupiansk and Lyman directions, the think-tank said this indicates that Ukraine's ongoing counteroffensive on other fronts has distracted Russia's offensive in the northeast.

Soldiers fighting near Kreminna, a Russian-occupied town on the Lyman axis, told the Kyiv Independent in July that there was a brief period every now and then when Russia's offensive would slow down  before it picked up the pace again after its rotation of units.

Read also: Endless Russian assaults near Kreminna test Ukraines defenses

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The Milwaukee man who shot 10 people and terrorized a Brooklyn subway last year when he unleashed smoke bombs and a hail of bullets before fleeing in the chaos was sentenced to life in prison on Thursday.

Frank James, 64, pleaded guilty to multiple federal terrorism charges earlier this year in the April 12, 2022, attack, which led to a citywide manhunt until he called police to turn himself in the next day. He received a life sentence on 10 counts and 10 years for an 11th count after some of the shooting victims read statements in court.

James' attorneys had asked that he be sentenced to 18 years, arguing he didn't intend to kill anyone. They said he has a lifelong history of serious mental illness and said the requested term is longer than his life expectancy.

Prosecutors argued he'd spent years planning the attack and intended to cause maximum harm, including death.

In addition to the 10 people shot, more than a dozen people suffered from injuries including smoke inhalation and shrapnel wounds; all survived.

What happened in the NYC subway shooting?

James, dressed as a construction worker and wearing a gas mask, set off smoke bombs on a Manhattan-bound train between two stations during rush hour, investigators said. He discharged a barrage of over 30 bullets, causing panic as passengers on the subway had nowhere to go.

As the train arrived at a Brooklyn station, James removed the clothing he wore as a disguise and slipped away in the crowd, launching what would be a 30-hour search for him, police said.

Police identified James as the suspect using a key he'd left behind on the train that went to a rented U-Haul van. He was eventually arrested after he called a tip line from a McDonald's restaurant to turn himself in.

Gunman posted videos about violence

Investigators said James posted dozens of videos online in which he ranted about race, violence and his struggles with mental illness. James, who is Black, decried the treatment of Black people in some of the videos. In some, he also ranted about New York City officials.

His attorneys said he had a traumatic upbringing and had been hospitalized for schizophrenic episodes in the past, and his mental health issues were not adequately treated.

"By the time Frank James boarded the Manhattan-bound N train on April 12, 2022, his entire life had been defined by trauma and hardship, inexplicably bound up in his untreated severe mental illness," his lawyers wrote in court filings.

Prosecutors argued it was luck that nobody on the subway died that day, not a reflection of James' intention to harm and not kill. James and his attorneys said his goal was bodily injury, not death.

Contributing: Claire Thornton, USA TODAY; The Associated Press

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: NYC subway shooter Frank James of Milwaukee sentenced to prison
A mother accused of allowing her two young sons to roam Milwaukee's south side naked and covered in feces appears to be working on a plea deal with prosecutors, court records show.

Prosecutors and attorneys for Katie Koch met Wednesday and told Milwaukee Circuit Court Judge Rebecca A. Kiefer they are "in a resolution posture" in the case, court records show. A plea hearing has been scheduled for Nov. 30.

Koch, 34, of Milwaukee, has been in jail since July 15, when she was booked on charges of chronic neglect of a child, false imprisonment and neglecting a child.

Police say they got multiple calls to 911 on July 13 about two children seen walking around the neighborhood naked, bruised and covered in feces.

Police arrived and were directed by neighbors to a home on the 100 block of South 71st Street.

Once inside the home, officers discovered the interior layered with trash in every room, with a strong smell of urine and feces throughout, according to a July 16 criminal complaint.

"It was something out of a horror movie," Milwaukee County assistant district attorney Mallory Davis said during a July 17 hearing in Intake Court. "These children were essentially confined to their room for much of their lives."

Koch told investigators the boys were never enrolled in schools and she homeschooled them, and that it had been "a year or two" since they had been given medicine, the complaint said.

Their heads had to be shaved because their hair was so matted with feces.

Court records don't lay out details of any potential plea deal.

More: Mom, boyfriend plead not guilty in 'horror movie' child neglect case

Earlier this week, Koch filed a motion seeking to lower her $30,000 bond. She also asked for permission to have contact with her children by "letter writing through a third party."

Court Commissioner Susan Roth issued an order in July barring Koch from any contact with the children, ages 7 and 9.

Kiefer responded in a filing Thursday, warning Koch she isn't to contact her children under any circumstances. Failing to follow the order would result in her arrest, the judge wrote.

Koch remained in custody at the Milwaukee County Jail on Thursday. Her sons have been placed into protective custody.

Koch's live-in boyfriend, Joel Manke, 38, was charged with chronic neglect of a child and false imprisonment in the case. Manke previously posted a $6,500 bond and is out of jail.

Koch and Manke each have pleaded not guilty to the charges against them.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Milwaukee mom charged in child abuse case may be near plea deal
The Ice Castles, a popular winter attraction, is coming to Maple Grove, Minnesota, this winter. (Ice Castles / Supplied)

MAPLE GROVE, Minn. (FOX 9) - The Ice Castles are back in Minnesota this winter, with the popular attraction being held in Maple Grove.

The frozen attraction, known for its slides, tunnels and sculptures, will be built with handmade icicles at the corner of Main Street and Weaver Lake Road, Experience Maple Grove posted on Facebook.

This year's winter wonderland will include ice slides, caverns, archways, crawl tunnels, ice sculptures, a tubing hill, an ice bar and more, noting crews are already on site, the post says.

The actual construction of the castle will begin once Mother Nature allows, usually in November. The opening date also depends on the weather  the Ice Castles typically opens in early to mid-January and remains open until early March.

Last year, Ice Castles was held at Long Lake Regional Park in New Brighton. In previous years, the attraction came to Eden Prairie, Stillwater and Excelsior.

The Minnesota Ice Castles website is here.
A Minnesota county must pay millions to a man who lost both of his hands and suffered various conditions due to being held in jail for just over one day, he claims. His attorneys say he was neglected and shown indifference by jail officials who couldve prevented the situation.



Terrance Dwayne Winborn spent 39 hours in Scott County Jail for suspicion of drunk driving in August of 2020. Within those hours, his attorneys allege the jail officials failed to meet his medical needs. The morning after he was booked, a nurse noticed he couldnt stand on his own and his right hand was swollen, per the complaint. Upon a second visit, the nurse couldnt measure his blood oxygen levels but allegedly made no attempts to transfer him to an emergency room. By the evening, Winborns condition worsened.

Read more

The attorneys said the settlement will cover the more than $2 million in medical bills Winborn has already incurred  a sum which they said the county didnt cover  as well as the millions hell need for ongoing care. The countys insurance plan will cover the settlement. The complaint also said jail videos that could have provided important evidence were destroyed after 90 days because officials took no action to preserve them  despite knowing about the severity of Winborns injuries and the potential for litigation. Jail officials stated in their depositions that they couldnt remember what happened.

In exchange for the $12.2 million settlement, Winborn agreed to drop his lawsuit. However, the county didnt admit to any wrongdoing.

The alleged neglect of Winborn in Minnesota is a growing concern nationwide. The family of LaShawn Thompson just reached a $4 million settlement with Fulton County, Ga. after Thompsons death. The autopsy found he succumbed to complications stemming from severe neglect and disgusting jail conditions that left his body riddled with insect bites.

Even more jailhouses have come under scrutiny for the upkeep of their facilities and treatment of inmates.

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Missouris Democratic members of Congress on Thursday called on the University of Missouri to resume race-based admissions and scholarships, despite a June U.S. Supreme Court decision that declared affirmative action policies violated the constitution.

Rep. Emanuel Cleaver, a Kansas City Democrat, and Rep. Cori Bush, a St. Louis Democrat, said the University of Missouris decision was rushed and did not explore whether the Supreme Courts decision affected the universitys existing policies.

The Court severely limited the ability of higher education institutions to consider an applicants race alone, the lawmakers wrote. However, the opinion does not prohibit universities from considering an applicants discussion of how race affects their lives.

Bush and Cleaver also said the Supreme Court did not expressly prevent colleges from having race-based scholarships.

The Supreme Court ruling, issued in June, struck down the race-based admission policies of the University of North Carolina and Harvard College, with Chief Justice John Roberts writing that they involve racial stereotyping and employ race in a negative manner.

After the ruling was handed down, the UM System announced that it would be stopping all race-based admissions and race-based scholarships moving forward. The system covers four campuses in Columbia, Kansas City, St. Louis and Rolla.

However, UM System President Mun Choi, who is also chancellor of the University of Missouri-Columbia, said the system would continue to honor current scholarships that had a racial component.

The decision also followed a letter from Republican Attorney General Andrew Bailey, who demanded that colleges and local governments in the state immediately end all affirmative action policies.

Choi told reporters at the time that the university system did not use race-based admission at the undergraduate level. However, at the University of Missouris main campus in Columbia, about 20 of the universitys 150 graduate-level programs used race as part of a holistic approach for admissions.

The decision came as Mizzou has had a fraught relationship with race, including student-led protests in 2015 that criticized inaction by university leaders after a string of racist incidents.

The Supreme Courts decision on affirmative action set our nation back decadesbut the UM System should not have set us back further than necessary by blocking race-based scholarships for the few students of color who are even admitted to these institutions, Cleaver said. It is imperative that we work to ensure the UM System is providing equitable opportunities to Missourians of all backgrounds.

The university, founded in 1839, didnt allow its first Black student until 1950. Black students now make up only 5.25% of the student population while white students make up 76.3%, according to the most recent data online. Black Missourians make up about 12% of the states population.

In March, the university system also quietly scrapped the use of diversity statements in its hiring processes as Republican lawmakers considered legislation that would ban public colleges from asking job candidates questions about diversity and race.

Bush and Cleaver cited the history of racial discrimination at the University of Missouri  specifically the cases of Lloyd Gaines, a Black man who was denied access to the University of Missouri Law School in 1936, and Lucile Bluford, a Black woman who was accepted into the University of Missouri journalism school but denied enrollment in 1939 because of her race. Gaines won his case while Bluford lost hers.

The lawmakers said Missouri is still far from achieving racial equality in education. The graduation rate for Black students in the University of Missouri System is 20% lower than for white students.

Ultimately, we believe that admissions and scholarship considerations should be made with the

interests of students in mind, the lawmakers wrote. While we hoped that Missouri colleges and universities would make the best choices for their future students, it is clear there is much progress to be made.
By Nivedita Balu, Wa Lone and Manoj Kumar

TORONTO/AMRITSAR, India (Reuters) - Canadian universities are reassuring Indian students of their safety and offering resources to deal with the uncertainty triggered by the diplomatic crisis between the two countries as they seek to limit the fallout on a booming business.

As Canadian colleges prepare to kick off another semester, some students are considering delaying their courses, while others are assessing whether higher education could become a collateral damage of the current crisis.

The diplomatic drift between India and Canada began in September after Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said New Delhi may have had a hand in the murder of a Sikh separatist advocate in British Columbia. India denies the allegation vociferously.

India is by far Canada's largest source of global students in the country's fast-growing international education business, making up for roughly 40% of study permit holders. International students contribute over C$20 billion ($14.6 billion) to the Canadian economy each year.

According to estimates by consultants in India, over 100,000 students were preparing for the English language proficiency test and arranging financing to study in Canada next year.

Top universities in response are offering courses costing up to C$40,000 a year while colleges provide short-term, cheaper courses, to connect with students to ensure that the diplomatic spat does not damage one of Canada's better-known exports.

Reuters spoke to more than a dozen universities and consultants in Canada and India who said they were taking measures to reassure students.

"We've also reached out to various partners in India, some of them are educational institutions, and foundations that we are working with to reassure our progress that we are committed to continuing on collaboration," said Joseph Wong, vice president of the University of Toronto, which has more than 2,400 international students from India out of 86,297 it enrolled in 2022-23.

SAFETY FIRST

Canadian universities say the impasse may be short-lived, but questions linger about the upcoming semesters and students are asking about safety in Canada.

Ashok Kumar Bhatia, President of Association of Consultants for Overseas Studies said many Indian students are worried about their safety in the backdrop of heightened diplomatic tensions.

In response, consultancies like IDP Education are sending video messages to soothe nerves.

Kitchener, Ontario-based Conestoga College's President John Tibbits noted about a hundred students out of the thousands that enroll every year were inquiring about deferring their course and current students want to attend classes online.

"Our biggest concern is the uncertainty. What might the Indian government do as far as visas and how might people react," Tibbits said. "We are spending C$50 million a year for college on just support for students."

EXPLOSIVE GROWTH

International students have seen a strong growth in recent years, helping the industry to emerge as one of Canada's biggest export sectors outpacing auto parts, lumber or aircraft. Last week, Canadian Immigration Minister Marc Miller described international students "an asset that is very lucrative".

York University's President Rhonda Lenton, who was in India when the news broke, expressed confidence the two governments will resolve the situation.

But in India, families and hopeful candidates in the state of Punjab are worried. In Punjab, which has a population of 30 million, almost every fourth family has a member studying or preparing to study in Canada.

In Punjab's Amritsar, home to the Golden Temple, one of the holiest sites in Sikhism, over 5,000 students moved to Canada last year.

Taxi-driver Jiwan Sharma is contemplating whether it is the right call for his son to board the flight to Canada he booked recently.

"I have put my lifelong savings worth over 250 million rupees ($3.00 million) for sending our son to Canada, hoping he would settle there, and help us in old age."

There have not been signs of tensions easing. On Tuesday, Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Joly said Canada wants private talks with India to resolve the diplomatic dispute, after a report said New Delhi had asked the Ottawa to withdraw 41 diplomats.

Gurbakhshish Singh, a commerce student in Amritsar, said he is disappointed that India's relationship with a welcoming country like Canada has deteriorated.

"The government has put our future in jeopardy."

($1 = 1.3714 Canadian dollars)

($1 = 83.2530 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Nivedita Balu and Wa Lone in Toronto and Manoj Kumar in New Delhi; Editing by Denny Thomas and Josie Kao)
A mother who removed her 12-year-old daughter's facial hair in a TikTok video says it's a small sacrifice to support body autonomy.

"To moms: if your teen/tween asks to remove facial hair ... please do it!" Vidya Gopalan of North Carolina wrote on her video with more than 20 million views.

"I tried doing this myself secretly at her age since I wasnt allowed to do this until (high school) and it didn't end well," she wrote.

In the video, Gopalan's daughter (whose name Gopalan omitted to respect her privacy) said, "Thank you so much, I don't like it. I don't like the way it looks," as her mom took an electric hair trimmer to her lower face.

Many of the nearly 10,000 comments were in agreement.

"I'm a teacher and PLEASE DO IT. You avoid so much suffering."

"We are healing our inner child doing this ... for our teens."

"My mom was so mad when I got my eyebrows done secretly in 7th grade. I will never understand that. God bless you."

One young person wrote, "I keep asking my mom but she says no and I've been getting bullied."

Gopalan, a mother of two, tells TODAY.com that some commenters warned that shaving encourages hair to grow back faster and thicker, a stereotype that's been debunked by the Mayo Clinic.

"I immigrated from India to the U.S. in the 1980s when shaving and waxing were not that prevalent (among my peers)," says Gopalan. "When I was 12, I asked my mom to get my eyebrows and upper lip done but she said I wasn't old enough."

Gopalan resorted to using a standard razor, while hiding under her bed covers.

About a year-and-a-half ago, Gopalan's daughter asked if she could remove her unwanted facial hair and she said yes.

"Having gone through something similar, I would have wanted my mom to support me in that way," explains Gopalan. "It's really important to listen to your kids."

Gopalan says while her daughter has never been teased for body hair, shaving is a precautionary measure.

"If hair removal makes her feel better, it's a small thing to do," she says. "Middle school is hard as is."

Gopalan posted the TikTok video to normalize hair removal. "I know what's best for my child," she says, adding, The last thing Id want is for my daughter to do it herself and accidentally shave off her eyebrows or get a wax burn."

Gopalan says her husband supports their daughter's personal decisions. "He doesn't get involved, to be honest!"

And with time, even Gopalan's mother has accepted teen hair removal.

"With my daughter around the same age as I was when I moved to this country, she's very appreciative of what I do for her," says Gopalan. "She said, 'I didn't know it was a big deal!'"

According to clinical psychologist Emily Kline, attitudes toward grooming and appearance have matured.

"Some might have assumed that removing body hair had a sexualizing element or was associated with appealing to the male gaze," Kline, the author of School of Hard Talks: How to Have Real Conversations with Your (Almost Grown) Kids," tells TODAY.com. "Leaving hair in place was a way to protect girls innocence.

"Over the past 30 years, all kinds of body modifications (tattoos, Botox) have gone mainstream and hair removal doesnt seem like a big deal in the scheme of things," she adds.

Kline notes that while new ideas can be "liberating," not all kids care about body hair.

"Parents dont want to make children feel self-conscious about something if it doesn't bother them," she says. "An offer to pluck or shave could seem critical so it never hurts to ask how kids feel, rather than assuming they want help."

This article was originally published on TODAY.com
INDIANAPOLIS (WXIN)  Momo, a male patas monkey that had been running rampant on the east side of Indianapolis Wednesday evening to Thursday morning, has been captured by authorities, officials announced Thursday morning.

The exotic animal is now being held and evaluated, according to Katie Trennepohl, the deputy director of Indianapolis Animal Care Services.

Additionally, Momos owner has been cited in connection with the monkeys escape, according to Trennepohl. The citation specifically concerned Momo chasing and approaching members of the public in a menacing fashion, she said at a Thursday news conference.

Dont put pets through airport X-ray machines, TSA says

Momo had first gotten loose on Wednesday evening around 6:30 p.m., the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department said. Officials do not believe Momo injured anyone during the night, though he scared several residents in the city, Nexstars WXIN learned.

It ran up in my garage, pinned me against the door, and I had to take a stool and put it between me and the monkey to kind of dodge the monkey away until I got into the house, resident Bonnie Wright told WXIN.

A reporter for the station was also told the monkey was seen drinking a Pepsi from a residents garage at one point.

On Thursday morning, Momo broke into a vacant home in the Irongate Estates residences, police said. Officials shut the door to quickly trap the monkey inside then cornered him in a bathroom where authorities were able to apprehend the animal.

The monkey has now been turned over to Indianapolis Animal Care Services. He is currently being held under Chapter 531 at the Indianapolis Zoo for veterinarian care.

Prosecutors are looking further into potential charges for the owner, although a permit is not required to have a monkey in Indianapolis.

The owner of the patas monkey did not want to talk about the incident. The owner did say, however, that the monkey is doing well.

Indianapolis Animal Care Services is working to do an inspection on the home to ensure the living space is fit for the animal. At this time, authorities are unsure if the monkey will be returned to its owner.

Anyone who came into contact with the monkey is asked to contact the Marion County Public Health Department.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX 5 San Diego.
As much as everyone likes the Mitchell Park Domes, there just isnt any money in the countys overly tight budget to save them ("Parks department lays out options for Domes," Sept. 13).

Furthermore, the domes dont take in enough revenue to sustain them even if they were restored.

Letters to the Editor: There is no need for modern music blaring at Badgers games

Letters to the Editor: Voters have spoken on Wisconsin Supreme Court. GOP should stop impeach Protasiewicz talk.

The county needs to use its money wisely. And by that I mean taking care of the taxpayers first and foremost.

Stephen Savic, Milwaukee

Send a letter to the editor

The Journal Sentinel and USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin welcome readers' letters. Timely, well-written, provocative opinions on topics of interest in Milwaukee and Wisconsin are given first preference. All letters are subject to editing.

Guidelines

Generally, we limit letters to 200 words. Name, street address and daytime phone are required. We cannot acknowledge receipt of submissions. We don't publish poetry, anonymous or open letters. Each writer is limited to one published letter every two months.

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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Fixing domes in Mitchell Park not a wise move for Milwaukee County
Authorities are on the hunt for a monkey who is on run and causing strife in an Indianapolis neighborhood. Indianapolis police confirmed to The Daily Beast that officers responded to assist Animal Care Services with a monkey on the loose in the Irongate neighborhood but did not go into further details. In a subsequent post on X, formerly Twitter, police also confirmed reports of minor injuries from the monkey, but could not confirm if those injuries were sustained from bites. It is unclear how many victims the monkey has attacked, or where the monkey escaped from.

IMPD is assisting @INDYACS with a monkey on the loose near 500 Ironridge Ct (south of E Washington St and S Mitthoefer Rd).



There are reports of minor injuries from the monkey but we cant confirm it is from bites.



(Actual monkey pictured). pic.twitter.com/dznheMKihY  IMPD (@IMPDnews) October 4, 2023

Read more at The Daily Beast.
Police captured a blazing-fast monkey on the run in Indianapolis on Thursday after the primate dodged area residents, cops and animal control for about 24 hours. Then they cited the monkey's owner.

The Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department posted the news announcing the capture of the monkey named Momo on X.

"That was more than enough monkey business for us," police wrote. "Thank you all for your assistance."

CAPTURED 



Momo the monkey has been captured safely.



That was more than enough monkey business for us.



Thank you all for your assistance. pic.twitter.com/CqVHoLcRGJ  IMPD (@IMPDnews) October 5, 2023

Police had been helping the city's Animal Care Services to look for Momo since reports began coming in Wednesday about a monkey charging and running toward people in a neighborhood about 14 miles east of downtown, police said.

Momo is a patas monkey, the fastest species of primate with sprint speeds as high as 30 mph. Her certainly gave Indianapolis authorities a run for their money.

'Surprise encounter': Hunter shoots, kills grizzly bear in self-defense in Idaho

'There is a freaking monkey on my car'

Momo gave area resident Karri Harbert the shock of her life when he got on the hood of her car on Wednesday.

"I just pulled into my driveway and I think there is a freaking monkey on my car," Harbert said before Momo jumped off and disappeared, according to a video she posted to Facebook.

"I get home and start to get out of my car and a MONKEY walks up to my open car door," she posted. "It took me a few seconds to figure out what it was so I closed the door and he jumped onto the hood of my car! I was starting to get out of my car again and the police (several of them) pulled up and told me to stay in the car that there is a very aggressive monkey on the loose!"

Harbert ended the post by saying: "You cant make this stuff up!"

Other sightings of Momo the monkey

The animal was spotted on the east side of the city in the Irongate neighborhood on Wednesday night, police spokesperson Samone Burris told USA TODAY.

Momo reappeared around 8 a.m. Thursday in the same area, with a caller reporting that he was on her back porch trying to get into her house, said Indianapolis police Lt. William Carter.

Momo ran into a wooded area after officers arrived. Authorities searched for him in the woods for several hours to no avail.

Escaped Monkey in Indianapolis An ESCAPED MONKEY named Momo on the loose on the east side of Indianapolis has already reportedly attacked and bitten one man.You can hear a terrified child and his mother in the background of this video.Residents are urged not to approach the monkey, and to call authorities or animal control if they spot the animal. Posted by Black Indy LIVE on Wednesday, October 4, 2023

Momo was once again spotted on the street on the east side of the city late in the morning Thursday. Around 11 a.m., Momo entered a vacant home that was under construction.

An officer shut all the doors to the home and Momo was captured in a bathroom. His owner's brother came to the home to help apprehend Momo before the monkey was turned over to Animal Care Services, Carter said.

House fire or Halloween decoration? See the display that sparked a 911 call in New York

Where did Momo the monkey come from?

A monkey reported on the loose in Indianapolis was captured on Oct. 5, 2023.

Momo went missing after he either removed or chewed through a bungee cord that was holding a tarp in place before he jumped over a fence and escaped around 4:45 p.m. Wednesday, police said.

Please if you see him dont approach him just call police or animal control, reads a post that appears to be from his owner in an Indianapolis lost and found pets Facebook group.

Back in July, Momos apparent owner posted in the same Facebook group that the animal had escaped. His post was later updated to say that Momo had been found safe.

The apparent owner included photos of the monkey curled up while wearing a Christmas sweater and a video of Momo carrying a stuffed animal.

Indy pets: Lost & Found | Momo is currently missing

Is it legal to own a pet monkey in Indianapolis?

The municipal code has a section that allows for ownership of certain dangerous animals if they are registered with Animal Care Services and their owners post a warning sign about them. It is unlawful to own more than two dangerous animals in the city at any time, the code reads.

There were no concerns of mistreatment inside Momos owners home when animal care officers responded Wednesday, Carter said.

"It was very clean, he said. There was an outside structure that is for the monkey that is very large."

Still, Eileen Dallaire, executive director of the Primate Rescue Center in Nicholasville, Kentucky, told IndyStar that monkeys do not make good pets because they're social creatures and want to be with others of their kind.

The overall lesson is that primates do not belong in private homes," she said. "Incidents like this occur and put the community at risk, put the children in the community at risk, put small animals at risk.

A 10-day-old patas monkey holds on to its mothers at the zoo in Olomouc, Central Moravia, Czech Republic on March 31, 2014. Eileen Dallaire, executive director of the Primate Rescue Center in Nicholasville, Kentucky, says that patas monkeys don't make for good pets because they're social creatures and want to be with their kind. It is legal to own a dangerous animal in Indianapolis with proper licensing and warnings signs.

Will Momo's owner face any consequences?

Momo's owner, who was not identified, was cited "for the monkey chasing and approaching in a menacing fashion, Katie Trennepohl, deputy director of Indianapolis Animal Care Services, said at a news conference about the wayward monkey on Thursday.

Her office was working with the Marion County Prosecutors Office to determine if any further legal consequences are necessary, she said.

Police reported that someone suffered minor injuries in connection with Momo, but Burris said there have been no confirmed reports of a biting.

What happens to Momo the monkey now?

Police shared this image of Momo the monkey after her capture in Indianapolis on Oct. 5, 2023.

It's unclear whether Momo will ever return to his home.

Momo was placed into an animal control vehicle and was in the process of being taken to the Indianapolis Zoo on Thursday afternoon. He will be evaluated and held at the zoo until authorities decide if he will be returned to his owner, Trennepohl said.

Social media reacts to Momo the monkey's adventures

Tweets by momomonkeyindy

Within hours of Momo's escape, someone had created an X account with the username Momo the Indy Monkey.

One user wrote a post joking about the situation and citing the 1995 thriller "Outbreak" about an escaped monkey that causes a global pandemic.

"Dustin Hoffman running around Indianapolis right now yelling "WE GOTTA CATCH THAT MONKEY!" they wrote.

Dustin Hoffman running around Indianapolis right now yelling "WE GOTTA CATCH THAT MONKEY!"  Hank F in Akron  (@HankF330ToGo) October 5, 2023

Many users responded to the police post on X about Momo's capture, with one saying that he looked guilty.

Another said: "Awww, Momo looks embarrassed. Glad his adventure had a good ending."

'No monkey business allowed': Best reactions to Momo the monkey's escape and capture

Natalie Neysa Alund is a senior reporter for USA TODAY. Reach her at nalund@usatoday.com and follow her on X @nataliealund.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Momo the patas monkey captured after daring escape in Indianapolis
Monroe County health officials said beyond the initial suspected meningitis case it revealed last week, no additional cases have been reported, and there is no known public health threat at this time.

We will continue to provide updates as more information is received, the Monroe County Health Department said in a news release Wednesday afternoon.

The department said it was notified Friday by the Indiana Department of Health of a possible case of bacterial meningitis. The local department issued a news release Friday evening, but neglected to say that a 5-year-old boy suspected to have contracted meningitis had died more than 14 hours earlier.

The department since then has refused to answer even basic questions including whether a threat to public health existed and whether the 5-year-old student who died is the case the department was investigating for possible meningitis.

A 5-year-old boy died at the Indiana University Health Bloomington Hospital emergency department Friday morning, and the Monroe County coroner has ruled out bacterial meningitis.

Previous coverage: 5-year-old dies at Bloomington hospital. Coroner rules out bacterial meningitis

The department said Wednesday that initial findings suggested that that patients illness was unlikely bacterial meningitis, (but) findings did not rule out the possibility of other infections.

Department officials including Administrator Lori Kelley have not answered questions about whether other infections have been ruled out, and, if so, which ones, and for which others the department is testing.

Seeking a cause for illness

Monroe County Coroner Joni Stalcup said via email that tests being performed include blood and cerebral fluid cultures, and that it takes up to a week before results are available. According to the Mount Sinai Health System, cerebral fluid cultures usually are done via spinal tap. The samples are sent to a lab and placed in a dish that has a special substance called a culture medium. Laboratory staff then observe if bacteria, fungi, or viruses grow in the dish. Growth means there is an infection.

Meningitis is an inflammation/swelling of the protective membranes covering the brain and spinal cord. A bacterial or viral infection of the fluid surrounding the brain and spinal cord usually causes the swelling, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The agency said bacterial meningitis can be deadly and requires immediate medical attention. Viral meningitis is serious but often less severe than bacterial meningitis. People with normal immune systems who get viral meningitis usually get better on their own, the agency said.

The local health department said this week it had identified 35 people whom it considered close contacts with the initial patient and, out of an abundance of caution, asked those patients to take antibiotics, which help treat bacterial  though not viral  infections.

No additional cases of related illness have been identified or reported, the department said. All other appropriate precautions have been taken, and there is no known public health threat at this time.

Child dies at IU Health emergency department

The coroner had said Saturday afternoon that the office was investigating the death of a 5-year-old boy who died Friday morning at IU Health Bloomington Hospital Emergency Department.

An obituary posted on the website of The Funeral Chapel said Benjamin Bartalone, 5, died after a sudden illness.

Benjamin was the sweetest child; he was funny, considerate, affectionate, and playful. He and his brothers were constantly getting into mischief together, the obituary read. Benjamins heart was so big, and he loved hugging and kissing his family and friends. Everywhere Benjamin went, he would make a new friend.

Survivors include his parents, a twin brother, older brother, grandparents, great-grandparents and other family members.

Words cannot express how much Benjamin was loved and will be missed, the obituary read. This world will not be the same without his sweet laugh, huge smile and beautiful, loving spirit.

Procession past Roger Elementary School

The funeral service was scheduled for 11 a.m. Wednesday, and a procession was expected to drive past Rogers Elementary School. Restrictions imposed by the administration of Monroe County Community Schools Corp. caused some consternation among staff, according to emails shared with The Herald-Times.

Rogers Elementary School Principal Lisa Roberts sent an email to staff early Wednesday to report when the procession would come by the school and to say teachers and staff could come outside and show respect. However, she also said, we can not take children out to do this per administration.

The administration declined to answer what prohibitions it enacted and why, but Roberts said in an email, Parents who wanted their student to participate came to the school and joined their child in watching the procession.

She did not immediately respond to a follow-up email about the administrations prohibitions or reasons for them.

Boris Ladwig can be reached at bladwig@heraldt.com.

This article originally appeared on The Herald-Times: Monroe officials say no health threat; still unsure what killed boy
Last year, employees at the cryptocurrency exchange FTX stumbled upon a line of code that gave the company special privileges for moving crypto around quietly  and then one of them got fired.

As the Wall Street Journal has discovered, employees at LedgerX, a smaller crypto firm that FTX purchased in 2021, found lines of code months before the exchange's collapse that gave its sister firm Alameda Research privileges that normal accounts didn't have.

"Just wanted to point out that there are currently a few places in the code base where Alameda gets special treatment in one way or another," LedgerX employee Jim Outen wrote in a May 5, 2022 message to his boss, which was reviewed by the WSJ.

The lines in question were discovered while LedgerX employees were analyzing whether the code from FTX's international exchange, which was based in the Bahamas, could be used in the US, where laws are much stricter.

As the smaller firm's chief risk officer Julie Schoening told Outen when he brought it up to her, "there are less rigid rules" offshore, but she admitted that FTX nevertheless "should clean up this sort of stuff."

The glaring exemption allegedly operated as a backdoor, effectively allowing FTX to use its sister firm as a slush fund to pay off its debts.

It's yet another shocking revelation, highlighting the exchange's infamously shady business practices  which comes the same week as the beginning of FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried's trial.

The disgraced CEO has since pleaded not guilty to seven counts of fraud and conspiracy but is facing over 100 years of jail time.

According to the WSJ's sources, the LedgerX team found several strange instances where Alameda and FTX seemed to handle risk and account liquidations in problematic ways. The code that Outen brought up to Schoening, for example, allowed Alameda to have a negative balance and not auto-liquidate the way other FTX accounts were supposed to when they bottomed out.

Although the smaller firm wasn't fully aware of what they'd chanced upon, it concerned the CRO enough to report it up the chain of command. The tip eventually made its way to Nishad Singh, a member of disgraced FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried's inner circle and the exchange's director of engineering, who was said to have deleted the section.

In early August, Schoening was fired, the WSJ learned. Although there was a document circulated among FTX executives claiming that she sent inappropriate messages to other employees, others at the firm said that the images were manipulated or taken out of context, and that the real reason Schoening's position was terminated was that she had "irritated" her superiors by pointing out the code.

After being fired, Schoening hired a lawyer and threatened to sue FTX for wrongful termination. She and the exchange were in talks of a multi-million dollar settlement, the WSJ's sources said, when the exchange collapsed in November 2022.

This alleged backdoor is, among other things, very pertinent to the court case against Bankman-Fried that began this week  and we'll undoubtedly learn more about it and FTX's other purported wrongdoing over the next couple of weeks.

More on FTX: Sam Bankman-Fried Apparently Told Caroline Ellison That "In a Lot of Ways I Don't Really Have a Soul"
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HARRISBURG  An embattled City of DuBois official was slapped with additional charges Wednesday in a sweeping political corruption case alleging he stole hundreds of thousands of public and nonprofit dollars.

Suspended City Manager Herm Suplizio now faces a total of 23 criminal counts  including 13 felonies  filed by prosecutors with the state Office of Attorney General. He was arraigned Wednesday in Clearfield County on $100,000 unsecured bail.

The charges Wednesday replace and add to the 15 counts of theft, conflict of interest, and other crimes that prosecutors filed earlier this year against Suplizio, one of the citys most politically connected officials.

At the time, prosecutors alleged Suplizio had stolen more than $600,000 from DuBois  a small city about two hours northeast of Pittsburgh  as well as from nonprofit and other bank accounts over which he had signatory control. They also said he lied on his tax returns to snag a bigger refund from the government.

In the updated charges Wednesday, prosecutors unveiled new information about a bag of cash that had allegedly been stashed at a DuBois nonprofit organization that Suplizio ran. Court documents Wednesday also revealed previously undisclosed allegations that Suplizio had improperly tried to help the citys former mayor escape shoplifting charges.

Instead of acting in the best interests of the community he was supposed to serve, the defendant used his position to line his own pockets and abused his authority for personal gain, state Attorney General Michelle Henry said in a statement Wednesday. This arrest is a reminder that no one is above the law, and that everyone who holds public office in Pennsylvania is accountable to the people.

Neither Suplizio, 63, nor his lawyers returned requests for comment.

Many of the new charges relate to a bag containing nearly $94,000 in cash that was delivered to City Hall in early May.

At the time, city officials said the money had been dropped off in a gift bag by the citys solicitor, Toni Cherry. Cherry has not said publicly where or how she got it  only that it belonged to a fund associated with the citys annual summer celebration, called Community Days. Suplizio had a key role in organizing the festival and managed bank accounts associated with the event.

The money, it was later discovered, had been stored at the DuBois Area United Way, where Suplizio separately had served as executive director.

According to the new charges Wednesday, the money was discovered in September of last year by United Way employees; it had been wrapped in a green zippered bag and placed inside a safe in the building. When one of those employees accessed the safe two months later, the bag was gone.

Then, in March of this year, while cleaning and removing exposed television cables inside the United Way, that same employee discovered three metal lock boxes fastened to the walls above the ceiling tiles in one of the buildings offices, prosecutors claim. Several days later, the employee noticed ceiling tile debris on the floor, leading to the discovery of a fourth lock box above the ceiling tiles.

The four keys corresponding to those lock boxes, according to investigators, were found in Suplizios United Way desk.

Cherry, according to investigators, told DuBois City Council members during a closed-door meeting in May that Suplizio had brought her the money six weeks earlier, but that she had held onto it to keep the PA OAG from confiscating it. When interviewed by the attorney generals office, however, investigators claim she said she did not remember when Suplizio had brought it to her.

Cherry could not be reached for comment on Wednesday. She does not face any charges.

Separately, Suplizio faces charges in connection with efforts he allegedly made to shield the former mayor of DuBois from shoplifting charges in 2020. Court documents Wednesday revealed the details of the shoplifting incident for the first time.

According to prosecutors, employees at a Sheetz store in DuBois reported that former Mayor Randy Schmidt was stealing food. Employees said Schmidt would come into the store, order a sandwich, and then collect other items like chocolate milk and fruit snacks while he waited. He allegedly would pay for the sandwich and put the other items in a bag without paying for them.

Schmidt had allegedly done so 16 times before being confronted by a store employee, who called the police.

Suplizio, according to prosecutors, approached a Sheetz manager to ask her if there was anything that could be done to make this go away. When the manager told him she couldnt, Suplizio allegedly told her the store had had a good working relationship with the city, and that it would be a shame if something happened to change that.

The alleged scheme did not work: Schmidt, who resigned his position as mayor, was later charged with theft. He could not immediately be reached for comment Wednesday.

Additional details about Suplizios alleged crimes were contained in a presentment released Wednesday alongside court papers. The Office of Attorney General had previously refused to release the document to the public for months.

In mid-August, Spotlight PA and three other news organizations petitioned a county judge to unseal the presentment. The judge denied the request.

The attorney generals office declined to discuss the matter.

Spotlight PAs Min Xian contributed reporting.

BEFORE YOU GO If you learned something from this article, pay it forward and contribute to Spotlight PA at spotlightpa.org/donate. Spotlight PA is funded by foundations and readers like you who are committed to accountability journalism that gets results.
Mike Dulak grew up Catholic in Southern California, but by his teen years, he began skipping Mass and driving straight to the shore to play guitar, watch the waves and enjoy the beauty of the morning on the beach, he recalled. And it felt more spiritual than any time I set foot in a church.

Nothing has changed that view in the ensuing decades.

Most religions are there to control people and get money from them, said Dulak, now 76, of Rocheport, Missouri. He also cited sex abuse scandals, harming innocent human beings, in Catholic and Southern Baptist churches. I cant buy into that, he said.

As Dulak rejects being part of a religious flock, he has plenty of company. He is a none  no, not that kind of nun. The kind that checks none when pollsters ask Whats your religion?

The decades-long rise of the nones  a diverse, hard-to-summarize group  is one of the most talked about phenomena in U.S. religion. The nones are reshaping Americas religious landscape as we know it.

In U.S. religion today, the most important story without a shadow of a doubt is the unbelievable rise in the share of Americans who are nonreligious, said Ryan Burge, a political science professor at Eastern Illinois University and author of The Nones, a book on the phenomenon.

The nones account for a large portion of Americans, as shown by the 30% of U.S. adults who claim no religious affiliation in a survey by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.

Other major surveys say the nones have been steadily increasing for as long as three decades.

So who are they?

Theyre the atheists, the agnostics, the nothing in particular. Many are spiritual but not religious, and some are neither or both. They span class, gender, age, race and ethnicity.

While the nones diversity splinters them into myriad subgroups, most of them have this in common:

They. Really. Dont. Like. Organized. Religion.

Nor its leaders. Nor its politics and social stances. Thats according to a large majority of nones in the AP-NORC survey.

But theyre not just a statistic. Theyre real people with unique relationships to belief and nonbelief, and the meaning of life.

Theyre secular homeschoolers in the Ozark Mountains of Arkansas, Pittsburghers working to overcome addiction. Theyre a mandolin maker in a small Missouri River town, a former evangelical disillusioned with that particular strain of American Christianity. Theyre college students who found their childhood churches unpersuasive or unwelcoming.

Church was not very good for me, said Emma Komoroski, a University of Missouri freshman who left her childhood Catholic religion in her mid-teens. Im a lesbian. So that was kind of like, oh, I didnt really fit, and people dont like me.

The nones also are people like Alric Jones, who cite bad experiences with organized religion that ranged from the intolerant churches of his hometown to the ministry that kept soliciting money from his devout late wife  even after Jones lost his job and income after an injury.

If it was such a Christian organization, and she was unable to send money, they should have come to us and said, Is there something we can do to help you? said Jones, 71, of central Michigan. They kept sending us letters saying, Why arent you sending us money?

Jones does believe in God and in treating others equally. Thats my spirituality if you want to call it that.

About 1 in 6 U.S. adults, including Jones and Dulak, is a nothing in particular. There are as many of them as atheists and agnostics combined (7% each).

Many embrace a range of spiritual beliefs  from God, prayer and heaven to karma, reincarnation, astrology or energy in crystals.

They are definitely not as turned off to religion as atheists and agnostics are, Burge said. They practice their own type of spirituality, many of them.

Dulak still draws inspiration from nature, and from making mandolins in the workshop next to his home.

It feels spiritually good, Dulak said. Its not a religion.

Pastor Ryan Burge, an associate professor of political science at Eastern Illinois University and author of The Nones, a book on the growing number of religiously unaffiliated Americans, poses for a portrait at at First Baptist Church in Mt. Vernon, Ill., Sunday, Sept. 10, 2023. (AP Photo/Jessie Wardarski)

Burge said the nones are rising as the Christian population declines, particularly the mainline or moderate to liberal Protestants.

The statistics show the nones are well-represented in every age group, but especially among young adults. About four in 10 of those under 30 are nones  nearly as many as say theyre Christians.

The trend was evident in interviews on the University of Missouri campus. Several students said they didnt identify with a religion.

Mia Vogel said she likes the foundations of a lot of religions  just love everybody, accept everybody. But she considers herself more spiritual.

Im pretty into astrology. Ive got my crystals charging up in my window right now, she said. Honestly, Ill bet half of it is a total placebo. But I just like the idea that things in life can be explained by greater forces.

One movement that exemplifies the spiritual but not religious ethos is the Twelve Step sobriety program, pioneered by Alcoholics Anonymous and adopted by other recovery groups. Participants turn to a power greater than ourselves  the God of each persons own understanding  but they dont share any creed.

If you look at the religions, they have been wracked by scandals, it doesnt matter the denomination, said the Rev. Jay Geisler, an Episcopal priest who is spiritual advisor at the Pittsburgh Recovery Center, an addiction treatment site.

In contrast, theres actually a spiritual revival in the basement of many of the churches, where recovery groups often meet, he said.

Nobodys fighting in those rooms, theyre not saying, Youre wrong about God, Geisler said. The focus is on how your life is changed.

Scholars worry that, as people pull away from congregations and other social groups, they are losing sources of communal support.

But nones said in interviews they were happy to leave religion behind, particularly in toxic situations, and find community elsewhere.

Marjorie Logman, 75, of Aurora, Illinois, now finds community among other residents in her multigenerational apartment complex, and in her advocacy for nursing home residents. She doesnt miss the evangelical circles she was long active in.

The farther away I get, the freer I feel, she said.

__

AP journalists Linley Sanders, Emily Swanson and Jessie Wardarski contributed.

___

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.
LAFAYETTE, Ind.  Kelsey Harrington found the lifeless body of her 4-month-old son, Silas, on July 29, 2022, after leaving the child unattended in an unsafe sleeping position for several hours at her Otterbein apartment.

Harrington, 32, pleaded guilty to neglect of a dependent resulting in death, during her change-of-plea hearing Thursday morning.

Prior to Sept. 22, when her defense team filed a change-of-plea request, Harrington was scheduled to have a jury trial on Oct. 17, 2023.

Kelsey Jade Harrington leaves the courtroom after a hearing, Thursday, Oct. 5, 2023, at the Tippecanoe County Courthouse in Lafayette, Ind.

Harrington requested a change of plea after her sons father, Joshua Perry, who also pleaded guilty to neglect of a dependent resulting in death, testified against her at his plea agreement hearing on Sept. 15, 2023.

As part of her plea agreement hearing, it was noted that she would be facing between 20 to 40 years in prison when he is sentenced on Nov. 23. Indiana law requires that Harrington spend a minimum of 20 years in prison, which is not suspensible.

This is a very tragic situation, Superior Court 2 Judge Steve Meyer said. The loss of a young child.

On July 29, 2022, officers arriving to investigate Silas' death found Perry and Harrington, 31, smelled of alcohol, according to prosecutors. Neither admitted to leaving the apartment, but surveillance video showed they left the apartment complex. They were gone for four hours, according to prosecutors.

Perry told police on July 29 that he and Harrington were just outside of the apartment smoking cigarettes between 5 and 9 p.m. that night, and they found Silas unresponsive, blue and face down when they came inside, according to prosecutors. Harrington told police they were inside the same room as Silas except for when they stepped outside to smoke.

Both Perry and Harrington are charged with neglect of a dependent resulting in death and neglect of a dependent. Harrington's scheduled for trial on Oct. 17, according to online court records.

This article originally appeared on Lafayette Journal & Courier: Mother pleads guilty to neglect in 4-month-old son's death
Car bombs reverberating. Dogs barking incessantly. A drone exploding in the air right above him.

Mark Di Ionno knows danger.

Over the past two years, it has become commonplace for Di Ionno, a Morris County resident who spent a combined six months in war-torn Ukraine.

He drove along the Dnipro River to deliver supplies with the Russian army stationed across the riverbank, their jets flying directly overhead. While on a supply trip in Kyiv, he heard those car bombs and dogs barking  constant, harrowing reminders of the ongoing destruction.

He braved all of this, he says, out of a deep respect for the Ukrainian people and the recognition that he could help their cause.

I really just fiercely admire these people. I really do and that is why I kept going back. They deserve all the support that they can get, said Di Ionno, a Navy veteran, author and former Star-Ledger columnist who lives in Mountain Lakes. The people that are fighting for their freedom are the most amazing people in the world. They really are. And its a beautiful country. The Russians arent just fighting an army, theyre fighting an entire country.

He has raised $30,000 for relief efforts in Ukraine. But he has gone far beyond the aid that many Americans have provided. Across his six trips to the war-torn country, he's transported refugees, aided supply distribution for relief efforts and administered field medicine training to Ukrainian soldiers, among many other endeavors.

His travels to Ukraine involved multiple forms of humanitarian work

Mark Di Ionno, of Mountain Lakes, poses for a photograph, in Whippany. Di Ionno has made multiple trips to Ukraine since the war started, approximately 18 months ago. Wednesday, August 9, 2023

Di Ionno, a Pulitzer Prize finalist, says his interest in humanitarian work in Ukraine stemmed from his experiences as a veteran. He served as a navy hospital corpsman from 1975 to 1979 at Philadelphia Regional Naval Medical Center. The hospital was the amputee center for the entire East Coast and mainly treated soldiers injured in Vietnam at the time.

Disappointed with the U.S. response to the invasion in Ukraine, Di Ionno jumped on a plane to Warsaw on March 3, 2022, a week after the war began, without a plan. Though he originally tried to join a volunteer combat force of American military veterans, he was denied entry because, at 66 years old, he was a liability in combat.

While U.S. support for Ukraine has expanded, Di Ionno said that the country is not giving Ukraine the proper equipment, including the jets, missiles and naval support he says could help them effectively fight the war.

We have the military power. And Russia understands that we have the military power, Di Ionno said. We could have dissuaded them from invading a free, sovereign, democratic nation, which was always the red line during the cold war.

Dangerous journeys, tireless work

While staying in Dorohusk, a town on the Ukrainian-Polish border, he joined the Catholic international volunteer group Caritas. There, he transported refugees to train stations, private homes and relatives across Ukraine and other countries, going as far as Berlin with one family.

These journeys in his rental Opel Astra Station wagon could last up to 12 hours, during which he used a translation app to speak with the refugees. Most were women, children and the elderly, who left behind their homes, careers and family to escape bombings.

Their plight was urgent, and most had traveled for hours already to get to the border. Di Ionno drove them straight to where they needed to go without stopping to rest. On his way back to Dorohusk, hed nap at rest stops and occasionally slept in short-stay single rooms at Orlen, a Polish gas station chain.

Injured Ludmila Ivanchuk, 61, holds her cat "Vasia" in front of her house, which was damaged by a Russian rocket attack in Kostiantynivka, Donetsk region, Ukraine, Sept. 27, 2023.

Di Ionno, alongside the Ukrainian American Cultural Center of New Jersey, later began fundraising and delivering medical supplies across Ukraine, including tourniquets and first aid kits. He delivered these and other important supplies, like military vehicles, to various cities, including Kyiv and Poltava, which were actively being bombed.

Many of the wartime deaths in Ukraine have occurred due to people bleeding out; as such, their limited medical supplies are incredibly crucial.

With David Brymer, who is from Southern Illinois, Di Ionno trained soldiers in field medicine, giving them an advantage over the Russians and saving lives in the process. His time in the military paid off  he taught soldiers proper tourniquet and bandaging techniques that he learned as a navy hospital corpsman.

'Humongous' impact on Ukraine

The impact of Marks work and the UACCNJs donations has been humongous, said Khrystyna Sloan, a volunteer for the UACCNJ.

Sloan mentioned that after a member of the UACCNJ did a Facebook live of a fundraiser they held for Ukraine, they received an outpouring of supportive messages from Ukrainians about the impact of the organizations efforts.

We received so many text messages, phone calls, and the comments on it, that the people were losing hope in Ukraine, Sloan said. But when they see that in the world, somebody is thinking of them, and doing something  its bringing them back to life that theyre not alone, that they know that the people stand behind them and everybody is doing as much as they can.

She added, People think that the war in Ukraine is over. But its not. It keeps getting more aggressive and dangerous.

Resilience of Ukrainian citizens, especially women, is the backbone of the war

While Di Ionno was in Ukraine, he witnessed tragedy  the total destruction of village after village.

The strength and unity of the Ukrainian people in facing the war made a deep impression on him. They lost so much  loved ones, homes, jobs  to non-strategic bombings and attacks that qualified as vandalism, Di Ionno said. Despite this, everywhere he looked, they were organizing relief efforts to support their local communities and the military. One woman he knew lost her job because of the war and began a refugee center for women and children, while others worked full-time jobs and put in nearly identical hours for relief and military efforts.

A Ukrainian serviceman known as "Yasha" of "Code 9.2" puts equipment into an armored vehicle at the frontline near Klishchiivka, Donetsk region, Ukraine, Sunday, Sept. 24, 2023.

Di Ionno was present for the fighting and bombings of Antonov Airport, which left much of the airport and the surrounding area destroyed. After the fighting had passed, he reported that the first structure rebuilt by the Ukrainians was a local childrens playground.

To me, that was such a statement of both hope and defiance, Di Ionno said. Were going to be here. Were going to have a future and youre not going to stop that.

The deep involvement of Ukrainian citizens in the fight for their country struck him as something that would likely not occur in the U.S. today.

I think the political polarization has destroyed our national unity, Di Ionno said, citing the pandemic as an example of our failure to unify over an emergency.

While in Ukraine, Di Ionno learned that extraordinary efforts from women are helping the country stay afloat. Women are joining the military for active duty, and civilian women have gone above and beyond to support their country while excelling at full-time jobs and in some cases taking care of relatives.

Di Ionno noted that everywhere he goes, women are at work. They're collecting for the military, putting together medical aid boxes and accomplishing incredibly tedious work like making camouflages. Theyre supporting their neighbors and communities despite facing devastation in their own lives from the war.

Vita Datsenko is one such woman. She spent nearly as many hours at the aid depot as her full-time job as an ophthalmologist. She helped organize the intake and distribution of donations, including emergency food, clothing and medical supplies for civilians in bombed areas and uniforms, gear and first aid kits for the military.

Liudmila Rudenko is another extraordinary woman. A teacher who owns a cafe in Irpin, she has continually managed to feed her neighbors who lost everything in Russias destruction of Bucha, Irpin and Hostomel, despite her cafe being bombed. She took online courses from a university in Milan to counsel children in her city, who have been traumatized by seeing their homes destroyed.

Support from outside Ukraine is crucial

Outside of Ukraine, people at the UACCNJ have also been collecting goods in support of the war. Roksolana Vaskul, an anesthesiologist, has helped the organization send over 18 shipping containers of goods to Ukraine valued at over $4,000,000, made medical visits and financed ambulances and vehicles for the army alongside the cultural center.

Every donation counts. A generous person donated a school bus, which the UACCNJ transformed into an ambulance and shipped to Ukraine last month, Sloan said.

The UACCNJ is currently accepting donations to send to Ukraine, including money, medical supplies and military items, on their website. Sloan organized a fundraiser to build a playground for over 83 refugee children with developmental disabilities. They are living in a school that has been repurposed as an orphanage in Lviv, a Ukrainian city near the Polish border. $30,000 of the $40,000 needed has been raised already.

No matter what is happening in those kids lives, what do you think they're going to do on the playground? Sloan said. They're going to have fun.  For years, it's going to stand there and bring happiness.

I am proud to live in the United States because the people are incredible here, Sloan added.

She gave the example of the seven-year-old son of her friend, who was inspired to help the cause after seeing the many boxes of supplies the UACCNJ was preparing to donate.

He gave Ukrainian flags to his neighbors to place outside their houses and told his family and friends that he would be placing a shoebox outside his house for donations to the UACCNJ. Despite his young age, he garnered about $2,500 for Ukraine from his efforts, demonstrating that anyone can make an impact.

Mark Di Ionno gave field medicine training to Ukrainian soldiers. In this photo, he is teaching soldiers about applying tourniquets, which are essential to prevent deaths from bleeding out.

To donate

Donations can be made to this cause through the UACCNJ website, their venmo, or by check mailed to the UACCNJ. It's important to include in the memo of donations that it is for the playground in Lviv, Sloan said. For more information, people can email Sloan at KhrystynaSloan@gmail.com.

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Mountain Lakes NJ: Mark Di Ionno provides aid in Ukraine
Note: This story has been edited to correct the relationship between Cruz and the victim.

MEMPHIS, Tenn.  Police say a man fatally shot his brothers friend early Wednesday morning after accusing him of sleeping with his girlfriend.

Investigators said Eulices Lorentes Cruz, 55, fired several shots into a car in the 1043 block of Treadwell Street as his brother and his brothers friend were backing out of the driveway.

Yonisbel Hernandez was killed. The alleged shooters brother was uninjured, but identified Cruz as the shooter to police.

Police located Cruz a short time later and said they found a revolver at his home in the 4300 block of Macon Road.

Detectives said Cruz admitted he went to his brothers house with a gun to confront him about a personal matter and fired several shots. However, he said they were meant as warning shots.

Cruz is charged with first-degree murder and attempted murder.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WREG.com.
A Hancock County man is headed to prison for 10 years for possessing sexually explicit images of children engaged in sex acts and sharing the images with others.

Judge Larry Bourgeois sentenced Dylan James Mauffray, 23, after he pleaded guilty this week to one count each of possession of child pornography and child exploitation.

Hancock County prosecutors recommend Mauffray serve 15 years behind bars.

Bourgeois handed down a lighter sentence after Mauffrays attorney, Rufus Alldredge, pointed out how others accused of similar or more severe offenses got less time.

Bourgeois sentenced Mauffray to 30 years in prison, suspending 20 years and leaving 10 years to serve and five years under post-release supervision. The judge fined Mauffray $2,000 and ordered him to pay $1,000 to the Mississippi Childrens Trust fund.

In addition, Mauffray has to register as a sex offender for the rest of his life.

Before sentencing, the judge asked Mauffray how he got caught.

Mauffray tearfully told the judge he became the subject of an investigation after a friend of his brothers reported the crimes to Hancock County authorities.

He said he didnt know what he was thinking when he joined an online group to view the material that included images of underage girls engaged in sex acts and more.

I had a handful of these images stored in my photo gallery, he said.

Im very sorry, not just to the court, but to my community, Mauffray said. I dont know what I was doing. I didnt really understand what was going on in the world. Knowing everything I know now, knowing everything I did, I just feel sick to my stomach. I just want to ask for forgiveness from everybody here. Im going to try to do better.

Mauffray admitted accessing and sharing the images at different times between April 20, 2020, and Dec. 15, 2021.
Metropolitan State University of Denver is now the first university in Colorado and one of 14 institutions across the nation to earn the "Seal of Excelencia" certification, awarded by the Excelencia in Education research organization, known for celebrating Latino student success in higher education by promoting Latino student achievement, conducting analysis to inform educational policies, and advancing institutional practices while collaborating with those committed and ready to meet the mission.

It's a prestigious honor for all the work it does within the Latino community and all students at MSU Denver. More than a third of the students at MSU Denver are Latino, according to the university.

Members of the university's Hispanic-serving institution task force and executive steering committee contributed to a year-long application process.

The application is divided into three core components: data, evidence-based practices and leadership. Some key areas the application examined included enrollment, retention, representation and financial support.

For the university, the "Seal of Excelencia" certificate means they're helping out their Latinx students reach higher heights.

For students like Annie Aviles-Zamora, a first gen and undocumented student who has hopes of becoming an immigration lawyer, institutions like MSU Denver make her feel welcomed.

"I feel so honored and so privileged to be here," said Aviles-Zamora.

/ Credit: CBS

Going into her senior year at MSU Denver, Aviles-Zamora, is majoring in English with a double minor in political science, art history, criticism and theory.

Aviles-Zamora left Mexico and came to the United States with her family when she was only 4.

"As an undocumented immigrant myself and personal connections to it, I really want to help out my community in any way that I can, especially in law," said Aviles-Zamora.

After applying for Special Immigrant Juvenile Status through the Rocky Mountain Immigrant Advocacy Network which allows children to apply for lawful permanent residency in the U.S., she was able to apply for college, which is how she ended up attending MSU Denver.

"It makes me want to cry because my mom came here for a better place and to give us a better life," said Aviles-Zamora.

She is just one example of the students the university helps out through their Hispanic Serving Institution initiatives.

Dr. Manuel Del Rey is the executive director of HSI Initiatives and Inclusion. He says this award means a lot to them and the university because it means they are doing something right in the community and preparing students for bright futures.

"MSU Denver has been a huge advocate for our DACA and undocumented students, so I think that really allows us as an HSI who has the seal now as we are embedding into what that looks like," said Del Rey.

That includes helping students financially by providing scholarship opportunities, giving them access to internship opportunities so they can land a job in their career, providing teacher assistants in classrooms and giving students access to resources they need.

A reason why the Seal of Excelencia certificate is important to the university.

"Our actions are speaking louder than our words and we want to continue to educate not only our students but the community about what does it really mean to be a Hispanic serving institution."

They want to continue this so that students like, Aviles-Zamora have a chance at a future in the states.

"I think overall-this is one of the best universities to help of those of Hispanic, Latinx backgrounds," said Aviles-Zamora.

MSU Denver's HSI designation has opened up millions of dollars in grant opportunities.

Since last fall, HSI and minority serving institution grant funding to the university has more than doubled, from about $6.4 million to more than $14 million.

Margaret Brennan assesses fallout of Kevin McCarthy's "Face the Nation" interview

Father of Bronx daycare victim Ncholas Dominici speaks out

Rich Paul | Sunday on 60 Minutes
In this image from surveillance video aired by Iranian state television, women pull 16-year-old Armita Geravand from a train car on the Tehran Metro in Tehran, Iran, Sunday, Oct. 1, 2023. The mysterious injury suffered by Geravand not wearing a headscarf while boarding a Metro train in Iran's capital has reignited anger just after the one-year anniversary of the death of Mahsa Amini and the nationwide protests it sparked. (AP Photo/Iranian state television) (ASSOCIATED PRESS)

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP)  A mysterious injury suffered by a 16-year-old girl who boarded a Metro train in Irans capital without a headscarf has reignited anger just after the one-year anniversary of the death of Mahsa Amini and the nationwide protests it sparked.

What happened in the few seconds after Armita Geravand entered the train on Sunday remains in question. While a friend told Iranian state television that she hit her head on the station's platform, the soundless footage aired by the broadcaster from outside of the car is blocked by a bystander. Just seconds later, her limp body is carried off.

Geravands mother and father appeared in state media footage saying a blood pressure issue, a fall or perhaps both contributed to their daughters injury.

Activists abroad have alleged Geravand may have been pushed or attacked because she was not wearing the hijab. They demand an independent investigation by the United Nations' fact-finding mission on Iran, citing the theocracy's use of pressure on victims' families and state TV's history of airing hundreds of coerced confessions.

Geravand's injury also comes as Iran has put its morality police  whom activists implicate in Amini's death over her alleged loose hijab  back on the street, and as lawmakers push to enforce even stricter penalties for those flouting the required head covering.

Girls are subjected to violence on the streets, and then their families are compelled to protect the government responsible for that violence, said Hadi Ghaemi, the executive director of the New York-based Center for Human Rights in Iran.

For observant Muslim women, the head covering is a sign of piety before God and modesty in front of men outside their families. In Iran, the hijab  and the all-encompassing black chador worn by some  has long been a political symbol as well, particularly after becoming mandatory in the years following the 1979 Islamic Revolution. Iran and neighboring Taliban-ruled Afghanistan are the only countries where the hijab remains mandatory for women.

Amini died in a hospital on Sept. 16, 2022, after she was detained by Iranian morality police on allegations of improperly wearing the hijab. Suspicions that she was beaten during her arrest led to mass protests that represented the largest challenge to Irans theocratic government since the revolution.

Since those large-scale protests subsided, many women in Tehran can be seen without the hijab in defiance of the law.

Geravand suffered her injury Sunday morning at the Meydan-E Shohada, or Martyrs' Square, Metro station in southern Tehran. Rumors about how she suffered the injury quickly circulated.

By Tuesday, the Hengaw Organization for Human Rights, which reports on abuses in Iran's western Kurdish region, published a photograph it said showed Geravand at the hospital, her head wrapped in bandages as she remains in a coma.

Geravand was physically attacked by authorities in the Shohada station at Tehran Metro for what they perceived as noncompliance with the compulsory hijab, Hengaw alleged, citing reports it said it received. As a result, she sustained severe injuries and was transported to the hospital.

The Associated Press has not been able to confirm the exact circumstances of what caused Geravand's injuries. Hengaw claimed Thursday that security forces arrested Geravand's mother, Shahin Ahmadi. Authorities in Tehran did not immediately acknowledge the claim, though semiofficial news agencies denied it.

Late Wednesday, Iranian state television aired what appeared to be nearly all the surveillance camera footage covering the 16 minutes Geravand spent inside of the Metro station before her injury. She entered at 6:52 a.m., then went down an escalator. The sole gap, about a minute and a half, occurs before she reaches the turnstile gate where she uses her Metro card. The footage includes her shopping for a snack, then walking to and waiting on the platform for the train.

In the mute footage, Geravand, whom activists describe as a taekwondo athlete, appears calm and healthy. An AP frame-by-frame analysis of the footage showed no signs of the aired video being manipulated.

At 7:08 a.m., Geravand enters the No. 134 train car  the last on the train and likely a women-only compartment. A new conductor for the train walks up as she enters, his body blocking the view of door she walks through. Within four seconds, a woman steps backwards out of the train and just a sliver of Geravands head can be seen as she lies on the floor of the train. Women then pull Geravands limp body out and run for help as the train moves off.

Iranian state TV's report, however, did not include any footage from inside the train itself and offered no explanation on why it hadn't been released. Most train cars on the Tehran Metro have multiple CCTV cameras, which are viewable by security personnel.

"Refusing to publish the footage only increases doubts about the official narrative," the Oslo-based group Iran Human Rights said.

Emergency medical technicians took Geravand to Fajr Hospital, which is at a Iranian air force base and one of the the closest medical facilities to the station. In the time since her injury, security forces have arrested a journalist for Shargh newspaper who went to the hospital, according to the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists. Shargh, a reformist newspaper, helped lead reporting surrounding Amini's death as well.

Already, Geravand's injury has drawn international attention, something Iran's government has sought to dismiss. German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock wrote online: Once again a young woman in #Iran is fighting for her life. Just because she showed her hair on the subway. Its unbearable.

U.S. Deputy Special Envoy for Iran Abram Paley also wrote that he was shocked and concerned about reports that Irans so-called morality police have assaulted 16-year-old Armita Geravand.

Iranian authorities likely worry about this incident escalating into popular anger like in Amini's case. Women continue to ignore the hijab law despite the growing crackdown. That includes what Shargh described as Tehran's city government hiring of some 400 people as hijab guards to give verbal warnings, prevent uncovered women from entering subway cars and hand them over to police.
In December 2018 Nadine Arslanian was in a car crash that left her car totaled and a Bergen County man dead.

She, along with her now-husband, Sen. Bob Menendez , now faces federal charges for their alleged involvement in a bribery scheme. The three-count indictment alleged that Menendez, his wife, and the three businessmen  Wael Hana, Jose Uribe and Fred Daibes  took part in the alleged plot.

The indictment alleges that between 2018 and 2022, Menendez, who until recently served as the chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and his wife engaged in a corrupt relationship with Hana, Uribe and Daibes to the tune of hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes in exchange for Menendez using his power and influence to protect, to enrich those businessmen and to benefit the government of Egypt.

The crash was mentioned in the indictment

Car involved in the accident which killed a man in December 2018.

The 39-page indictment unsealed in New York last month included a vague mention of a crash in December 2018 that left the senators wife without a car. It goes on to say that she texted a co-defendant in the bribery scheme about her lack of car.

That co-defendant  Hana  allegedly bought her a new 2019 Mercedes in March of that year.

She was not charged

Arslanian was not charged or ticketed in any way. Police determined at the scene that because her victim, 49-year-old Richard Koop, was jaywalking and not using a crosswalk she was not at fault.

Bogota police responded to calls of a pedestrian hit by a car just after 7:35 p.m. on Dec. 12, 2018. The crash, which occurred at 155 East Main St., left Richard Koop, 49, of Bogota, fatally injured in front of his home.

Ms. Arslanian was not at fault in this crash, a Bogota Police Department investigation report reads. Mr. Koop was jaywalking and did not cross the street at an intersection or in a marked crosswalk.

Koop died at the scene

A bar stool at Westside Village Tavern is dedicated to Richard Koop who was killed in 2018 after struck by a car driven by Nadine Arslanian Menendez.

Koop was thrown several upon impact and was severely injured. Police reported that he had head trauma, was bleeding from the head and face and had likely broken his arms and legs. Responding officers did not attempt CPR because it would have been useless since they couldnt stop the bleeding.

She asked for a lawyer and took back her phone

Arslanian can be heard asking for a lawyer and saying she didnt want to say anything wrong. Video footage shows that Arslanian asks officers why Koop was in the road and tells police that she didnt do anything wrong. She initially consented to having her phone searched but quickly changed her mind and took the phone back.

Transcript: What did Nadine Arslanian say to Bogota police at a 2018 fatal crash scene?

A retired cop picked her up and Menendez helped her clean out her car.

Though never seen on camera a man who identifies himself as a retired Hackensack cop comes to the scene to take Arslanian home. More than a month later, her boyfriend. The states senior senator accompanied her to get the rest of her belongings from the car.

Katie Sobko covers the New Jersey Statehouse. Email: sobko@northjersey.com

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Nadine Menendez car accident: What to know about crash in Bogota NJ
A US senator's wife hit and killed a jaywalker with her car in 2018, according to a police report cited by US media.

The New Jersey crash is briefly mentioned in an indictment that alleges Nadine Menendez and her husband Robert, a New Jersey senator, were part of a massive bribery scheme involving gold, cash and a car.

Richard Koop, 49, died in the December 2018 crash.

Ms Menendez was not charged.

Details about the crash, which occurred on a cold winter evening in Bogota, New Jersey, were outlined in a Bogota Police Department report cited in the New York Times and northjersey.com.

According to the report, police responded to calls of a pedestrian hit by a car about 19:35 EST (24:35 BST) on 12 December 2018.

Ms Menendez, who was the senator's girlfriend at the time, was behind the wheel when her Mercedes-Benz sedan hit Mr Koop.

The crash left Mr Koop, a Bogota resident, dead just feet away from his home.

Bogota officer Michael LaFerrera, writing in the report, said he arrived at the scene and saw Mr Koop on the ground "unconscious".

Mr LaFerrera said he could not find a pulse and was "unable to attempt CPR as there was no way to properly control Mr Koop's bleeding from his face and head, rendering CPR useless".

Mr Koop was taken to hospital and pronounced dead.

The police report cited by US media says Ms Menendez "was not at fault in this crash".

"Mr Koop was jaywalking and did not cross the street at an intersection or in a marked crosswalk," the report says.

Images obtained by USA Today show Ms Menendez dressed in a fur coat talking with police on the street after the incident.

She told police at the scene she "did nothing wrong".

She also asked for a lawyer and told officers she didn't "want to say anything wrong", northjersey.com reported.

According to The New York Times, Ms Menendez was never tested for drugs or alcohol.

She was released without a summons and allowed to leave the scene of the crash.

However, an autopsy report showed that Mr Koop was tested, and had alcohol and marijuana in his system.

His family has raised complaints about why the victim in the incident was the only one police tested.

That car crash is reportedly connected to one of the alleged bribes received by the Menendez family.

According to the federal indictment, a month after the accident Ms Menendez was texting Wael Hana, an Egyptian American businessman also indicted in the bribery scheme, about her lack of a car.

Three months later, Ms Menendez walked into a Mercedes Benz dealership and purchased a convertible C-300 using a mix of credit cards and cheques and $15,000 in cash.

The money was allegedly provided by Jose Uribe, another person indicted in the scheme, the indictment says.

"I will never forget this," Ms Menendez said in a text to Mr Uribe, before texting him a photo of the vehicle.

The car is just one of multiple lavish items prosecutors allege the Menendez family received.

In September, prosecutors from the Southern District of New York indicted Ms Menendez, her husband, Robert, and three New Jersey businessmen, which include Mr Hana, Mr Uribe and Fred Daibes for their alleged participation in a bribery scheme.

The indictment claims the New Jersey senator and his wife received $480,000 (390,000) in cash, $100,000 in gold bars and other "things of value" in exchange for favours done by Mr Menendez for the three businessmen.

Lawyers for the Menendez couple pleaded not guilty on their behalf during their court arraignment on 27 September.

The US senator has, however, temporarily stepped down from his role as US Senate foreign relations chairman.

He has also rejected repeated calls from fellow Democrats to resign.

"When all the facts are presented, not only will I be exonerated, but I still will be New Jersey's senior senator," a defiant Mr Menendez told a news conference in September.

A trial date has been set for 6 May 2024.
Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) hugged the casket of the late Sen. Dianne Feinstein as the trailblazing California Democrat was lying in state in San Francisco on Wednesday.

Feinstein, the longest-serving woman in the U.S. Senate, died Friday at the age of 90. Her memorial is set for Thursday and will be open to the public outside of San Francisco City Hall at 1 p.m. local time.

From 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Wednesday, the public is also allowed into the City Hall rotunda to visit Feinsteins casket.

Pelosi arrived in San Francisco on Saturday and is set to speak at Feinsteins service on Thursday.

Last week, she called the senator a pioneering woman leader.

Personally, it was a great honor to serve alongside Dianne for decades  from the hilly streets of San Francisco to the hallowed halls of Congress. We were not only colleagues, but neighbors and friends, Pelosi said in her statement on Friday.

Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) puts her arm around the casket of Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) at San Francisco City Hall on Oct. 4, 2023.

Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) puts her arm around the casket of Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) at San Francisco City Hall on Oct. 4, 2023.

Feinstein is survived by her daughter, Katherine Feinstein, and her granddaughter, Eileen Feinstein Mariano.

She was San Franciscos first female mayor, serving from 1978 to 1988, and a U.S. senator from 1992 until her death last week.

Livestreams from the City Hall rotunda show many people stopping by to honor her.

Dianne Feinstein has been such an integral part of like the history of the city, so theres these moments in San Francisco where you just witness history, and I think this will be a part of that, an attendee named Andres Salerno told local outlet KGO-TV.

After Feinsteins death, numerous politicians, including President Joe Biden, spoke out on her impact.

Shes made history in so many ways, and our country will benefit from her legacy for generations, Biden said in a Friday statement.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) is also set to speak on Thursday, according to People.

The sign of a leader is someone who dedicates the whole of their spirit for a cause greater than themselves. The sign of a hero is someone who fights for others, who endures for others, no matter the cost, no matter the odds. And the sign of a friend is someone who stands by your side to fight the good fight on the good days and the bad, Schumer told lawmakers on the Senate floor after their colleagues death was announced. Dianne Feinstein was all of this and more.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) chose Laphonza Butler to temporarily serve in Feinsteins place on Tuesday. Butler is the first openly LGBTQ+ Black woman and the third Black woman to serve in the Senate.

See more photos of Feinsteins visitors at San Francisco City Hall below.

Rep. Nancy Pelosi and her husband, Paul Pelosi, stand over the casket of Sen. Dianne Feinstein as she lies in state at San Francisco City Hall on Oct. 4, 2023.

Rep. Nancy Pelosi and her husband, Paul Pelosi , stand over the casket of Sen. Dianne Feinstein as she lies in state at San Francisco City Hall on Oct. 4, 2023.

Feinstein's casket is carried from a hearse so mourners can visit San Franciscos City Hall to say goodbye. It is the building where Feinstein served as a board supervisor and the city's first female mayor before departing for a groundbreaking career in Congress three decades ago.

Feinstein's casket is carried from a hearse so mourners can visit San Franciscos City Hall to say goodbye. It is the building where Feinstein served as a board supervisor and the city's first female mayor before departing for a groundbreaking career in Congress three decades ago.

Dianne Feinstein's daughter, Katherine Feinstein, is greeted by San Francisco Mayor London Breed.

Dianne Feinstein's daughter, Katherine Feinstein, is greeted by San Francisco Mayor London Breed.

Dianne Feinstein's granddaughter, Eileen Mariano, views the body of the late Democratic senator.

Dianne Feinstein's granddaughter, Eileen Mariano, views the body of the late Democratic senator.

Fire trucks hang the American flag in honor of Feinstein, who smashed gender barriers and overcame stalwart opposition from the American intelligence community to publish a bombshell report on the CIA's post-9/11 torture practices.

Fire trucks hang the American flag in honor of Feinstein, who smashed gender barriers and overcame stalwart opposition from the American intelligence community to publish a bombshell report on the CIA's post-9/11 torture practices.

The senator's body arrives to lie in state at San Francisco City Hall on Oct. 4, 2023.

The senator's body arrives to lie in state at San Francisco City Hall on Oct. 4, 2023.

Feinstein's casket lies in the rotunda of San Francisco City Hall for all-day public viewing.

Feinstein's casket lies in the rotunda of San Francisco City Hall for all-day public viewing.

Mourner Rand Salwasser wipes tears from his face as he writes a message for Feinstein at City Hall.

Mourner Rand Salwasser wipes tears from his face as he writes a message for Feinstein at City Hall.

San Francisco Mayor London Breed prays over Feinstein's casket before the public viewing.

San Francisco Mayor London Breed prays over Feinstein's casket before the public viewing.

Related...
On Oct. 14, an annular solar eclipse  also called a "ring of fire" eclipse  will be seen across parts of the western United States. But while skywatchers and eclipse chasers can sit back, relax, and enjoy the show, some NASA scientists will be hard at work.

Aroh Barjatya, a professor of engineering physics at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona Beach, Florida, is leading a NASA mission that will see three sounding rockets measure changes in the atmosphere during the eclipse. The mission is called the Atmospheric Perturbations around the Eclipse Path, or APEP, which is uncoincidentally the name of the Egyptian deity of darkness. According to tradition, Apep would chase the sun god Ra, his arch nemesis  and when he caught up to him, an eclipse occurred.

Launching from White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico, the rockets will specifically target the ionosphere. During the eclipse, temperature and density will drop in the ionosphere , creating a wave-like effect that can affect satellite communications, including GPS .

Related: Annular solar eclipse 2023: How to watch in person and online

If you think of the ionosphere as a pond with some gentle ripples on it, the eclipse is like a motorboat that suddenly rips through the water, Barjatya said in a statement . It creates a wake immediately underneath and behind it, and then the water level momentarily goes up as it rushes back in. He adds that because all satellite communications travel through this region, it's crucial that we "understand and model all perturbations in the ionosphere.

Related Stories:

 Annular solar eclipse 2023: Everything you need to know about North America's 'ring of fire' eclipse

 What's the difference between a total solar eclipse and an annular solar eclipse?

 How to photograph a solar eclipse

Following the annular eclipse, the sounding rockets and their instruments will travel to NASAs Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia, where they will be relaunched during the upcoming total solar eclipse on Apr. 8, 2024 . This pair of solar eclipses will be the last major two seen in the contiguous United States until 2044.

"We have to make hay while the sun shines  or, I suppose for eclipse science, while it doesnt, said Barjatya. In all seriousness though, this data set will reveal the widespread effects that eclipses have on the ionosphere at the smallest spatial scales.
More than eight months after Jamal Moore was fatally stabbed in Nashville on Jan. 28, Nashville police arrested a 23-year-old man using cell phone records and DNA, they said.

Jordan Christopher Thompson, 23 has been charged with criminal homicide in connection with the case.

Moore split his time between North Carolina and Nashville and was one day away from heading back to his Charlotte home when he was stabbed, according to friends who spoke to The Tennessean earlier this year.

His body was found in a grassy area of 810 Cherokee Avenue, across the street from a condo he owned, police said, noting that he'd suffered a stab wound to his neck and blunt force injuries consistent with being run over by a vehicle.

At the time, Moore's death shocked best friend Redu Hamoud, who lives in Saudi Arabia. Together, they owned short-term rentals in Nashville and Charlotte, N.C. They had dreams of starting a business empire.

Moore was visiting the properties when he was killed.

"We were best friends, we were business partners. He is my soulmate," Hamoud said earlier this year.

Investigators determined that Moore met Thompson through a social networking app the day before he was killed. They think the two met in person at Cleveland Park and drove in Moores car to Cherokee Avenue, where Moore was then killed, the release said.

A judicial commissioner ordered that Thompson be held without bond pending a hearing.

Reach reporter Craig Shoup by email at cshoup@gannett.com and on X @Craig_Shoup. To support his work, sign up for a digital subscription to www.tennessean.com.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Cell records, DNA led Nashville PD to suspect in January stabbing case
A student at Seattles Nathan Hale High School reportedly threatened a classmate with a gun on Wednesday.

Seattle police officers were initially told by a parent that a student had pointed a gun at their child in a school parking lot.

The incident caused a brief shelter-in-place, according to Seattle Public Schools.

School staff was able to identify a possible suspect as well as others involved in the incident.

Police were unable to find the suspect at the time, and no weapon was found on campus.

KIRO7 asked Seattle Public Schools about the incident at Nathan Hale High along with the Garfield High situation that happened on Wednesday.

A spokesperson sent the following statement:

Garfield High School

There were also reports of gunfire in the Garfield neighborhood but NOT on a Seattle Public School campus. The Seattle Police Department (SPD) quickly responded to that incident. SPD is investigating and we do not know if SPS students were involved in the incident involving a gun off campus.

Nathan Hale High School

In an unrelated incident, the Nathan Hale administration received a report at approximately 12:30 p.m. of a student brandishing a gun in the student parking lot. As a precaution, the school was placed in a brief shelter-in-place, until Seattle Police Department could conduct a campus safety walk. The student was confirmed not be on campus nor in the building. No weapon was found. Regular schedules and activities resumed after about 30 minutes. Parents also were notified and updated by the principal.

KIRO 7 also spoke with SPS Executive Director of Operations Marni Campbell, on what has been done in recent months to improve school safety.

She says Seattle Police have told the district they have seen an increase in overall violence throughout the city.

But the bottom line is, there are some conflicts in our community and in our neighborhood, Campbell said.

She also says they work with contracted specialists on how they can improve safety constantly.

There is also an app students can download and use to report any safety concerns.

Where you can enter an anonymous tip if you see something that you think is unsafe or dangerous, said Campbell.

She also heard parents and students concerns back in June at Garfield High during a private meeting between them, the district, Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell, and Police Chief Adrian Diaz.

The meeting was set as a response to a string of violent incidents both on and off campus.

She says the number one thing that was discussed was the need for mental and emotional support for students.

While she believes the approach, they are taking is handling most issues at hand, she believes the more students and parents communicate with them, the safer schools will be.

I think every single time we have input, whether its a community meeting, whether its an incident or whether its kid grabbing me and talking to me, every single input hopefully feeds into our practices and makes them better, said Campbell.
Noodling over your plans for this week? You might want to pencil in some time to celebrate National Noodle Day.

In honor of the annual holiday, which falls on Friday, Oct. 6, several food brands and restaurants are serving up some epic deals devoted to one of our favorite food groups. Here are all the discounts and freebies were looking forward to slurping up.

Fazolis

On Oct. 6, Fazolis restaurants will offer customers a BOGO (buy one, get one) deal on Small Fettuccine Alfredo or Spaghetti with Marinara or Meat Sauce.

Momofuku

Momofuku knows a thing or two about noodles, and the brand is offering TODAY.com readers an exclusive deal for National Noodle Day. When you use the code TODAY10 between Oct. 4 and 6, you'll score 10% off sitewide.

Nissin Foods

The company behind iconic brands like Cup Noodles and Top Ramen is celebrating National Noodle Day with its first Noodlepalooza Instant Win Game. On Oct. 6, fans can spin the virtual prize wheel online in the hopes of winning several prizes, including the following:

Cup Noodles & Top Ramen Nintendo Switch Joy Cons

Cup Noodles E-bike

Send Noods LED sign

Cup Noodles & Top Ramen pickleball paddles

I <3 Cup Noodles AirPods Pro MAX Headphones

Cash prizes

Didnt win on your first attempt? Try again because there will be a new winner every 10 minutes. You can also sign up to be reminded about the game here.

Noodles & Company

Members of Noodle & Companys rewards program can score noodle bowls for just $5 on Oct. 6. The deal is valid on all noodle bowl varieties.

If its your first time signing up for the restaurant's rewards program, youll earn a free regular-sized entree after your first purchase using your rewards account. The points can be used on any entree, including the new Chicken Parmesan dish.

Throughout the month of October, the restaurant will also roll out several other deals for rewards members each weekend:

Oct. 13-15: 20% off stuffed and classic pasta entrees

Oct. 20-22: 20% off Asian noodle bowls and LEANguini

Oct. 27-29: 20% off World Famous Macs and all Zoodle dishes

Pei Wei

Craving some discounts on National Noodle Day? This chain restaurant is offering customers $2 off all noodle entrees when using the following code  NND23!  on Oct. 6 in-store and online.

This article was originally published on TODAY.com
After 9/11, Congress decided that the House speaker needed to keep a list of successors in case anything happened to the person holding that position.

So when a speaker was unseated this week in a historic first, the House rule book directed Congress to turn to the secret list of successors to replace him.

But the same rule book offered no advice on what would come next.

At the top of ousted Speaker Kevin McCarthys list was Rep. Patrick McHenry, a fellow Republican from Lincoln County, 35 miles northwest of Charlotte. McHenry is McCarthys close friend and ally and is now House speaker pro tem, leading the chamber toward finding its new leader.

No one before McHenry has ever held the role in this way, though those presiding over the House in the speakers stead are given that title for the moment.

It was clear from McHenrys actions that he knew what was about to happen. He watched as the vote count pulled away from McCarthys favor and made his way toward the front of the chamber When McCarthys loss was announced, McHenry climbed the steps of the dais to take his position as the Houses leader.

But what wasnt immediately clear to those watching was that all guidance for McHenry on what he could do next stopped there. Now, McHenry finds himself writing historys playbook for future House members who find themselves in this position.

Jason Roberts, a political science professor at UNC-Chapel Hill, who takes a particular interest in the procedures of Congress, broke down some key questions about how McHenry found himself in this position and what rules cover his powers and responsibilities now.

How did McHenry become interim speaker?

Roberts said that the rule put in place after Sept. 11, 2001, was based on a hypothetical tragedy in which there is no longer a speaker.

Its anticipating a catastrophe, not an intraparty brawl, Roberts said.

Because of that framework for a replacement, no one ever thought to give the speaker pro tempore guidance on how to steer the ship while the Houses members arent getting along.

What can a temporary speaker do?

Roberts said the House operates under two sets of guidelines: rules and precedent.

The rules of the House on what he can and cant do are very unclear, Roberts said. It just says that he shall serve in this role and facilitate the election of the speaker. Well, what does that mean? Does that mean he can only do those things? Can you do other things?

What has McHenry already done?

Hes already decided he can do things the speaker can do, Roberts said. The first thing he did was recess the House to the call of the chair, so thats something a speaker can do.

Roberts added that every time McHenry does an official act in his new role, he sets a precedent that anyone assuming this role going forward will also be allowed to do those things.

What if a member disagrees with McHenrys authority?

If someone in the House decided they didnt like the precedent McHenry is setting, they could appeal the ruling of the chair, Roberts said.

The parliamentarian can make a ruling, and then the House can vote on it.

Any majority vote can either enhance or restrict his powers by setting precedent, Roberts said.

Immediately after McHenry took over, former Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Rep. Steny Hoyer, both Democrats, were told to move out of their hideaway offices in the U.S. Capitol, which is prime real estate in the building.

Its hard to argue that this is directly related to getting a speaker elected, so he seems to be taking a broad interpretation of (what he is allowed to do), Roberts said.

In contrast, it took nearly 24 hours before McHenry decided he was allowed to officially adjourn the House, forcing House staff and Capitol police to work around the clock until he took that step Wednesday afternoon.

Was kicking out Pelosi and Hoyer McHenrys decision?

Some reporting has blamed McHenry for the move, while some has indicated it was a decision left over from McCarthy. A Capitol Hill official in a nonpartisan role told McClatchy this is standard after a new speaker comes in, if office space is needed for the most recent speaker.

Either way, it was carried out while McHenry was in office.

That was just pure partisan vindictiveness, Roberts said. Its just brass-knuckle politics. I think theres a faction of Republicans who are pissed at the Democrats that they wouldnt help save McCarthy, but if the shoe was on the other foot they would not have helped save a Democratic speaker, so thats just a little bit disingenuous, but thats partisan politics.

However, Roberts said that kicking out Pelosi and Hoyer is not part of McHenrys brand of politics.

McHenry is well thought of as a very studious, serious person, Roberts said. Hes a policy guy. You know tempers are hot, but thats just not McHenrys style.

Whats at stake?

Lawmakers have two large pieces of legislation left on the table following last weeks budget negotiations: funding the government before Nov. 17 and figuring out whether to send aid to Ukraine.

Technically, McHenry could try to bring legislation to the floor if he chooses to. Whether he would be successful is a guessing game.

If he attempts to do so, as long as the majority doesnt vote to stop it, then yes, Roberts said, of whether McHenry could. The fundamental thing about the House that is always true is a majority of the House can do anything it wants to.

On the other hand, the Republicans who voted to oust McCarthy are the same ones who were using the House budget as a bargaining chip and do not support funding Ukraine in its defense against Russia.

What could happen next?

Roberts said the majority always rules, but just because the majority of the House is Republican doesnt mean that cross-partisan, cross-majority alliances wont start forming as the House tries to right the ship.
The faithful attend a 'Via Crucis' (Way of the Cross) at the St. Gabriele dell'Addolorata sanctuary in Isola del Gran Sasso near Teramo in central Italy Friday, July 29, 2023. In Italy, centuries-old churches dot the landscape, sanctuaries and processions draw crowds, and nearly 80% of the population profess themselves Catholic. But to the majority, it's an affiliation in name and tradition, with little adherence to doctrine or practice. (AP Photo/Domenico Stinellis)

ISOLA DEL GRAN SASSO, Italy (AP)  Two children scribbled petitions to St. Gabriele dellAddolorata in the sanctuary where the young saint is venerated in this central Italian mountain village. Andrea, 6, asked for blessings for his family and pets, while Sofia, 9, offered thanksgiving for winning a dance competition.

Their parents bring them here often, and consider themselves better Catholics than many  but they rarely if ever go to Mass and dont receive Communion because they are not married, thus shunning two sacraments the Catholic Church considers foundational.

I practice where I want, said the mother, Carmela Forino. One has to believe in something, right? You do what you feel in your heart. You cant require me to go to Mass on Sundays.

Thats the paradox in this country long considered the cradle of the Catholic faith. Elsewhere in deeply secular Western Europe, the nones  those rejecting organized religion  are growing fast.

In Italy, however, most retain a nominal affiliation, steeped in tradition but with little adherence to doctrine or practice. According to the latest Pew Research Center survey, 78% of Italians profess themselves to be Catholic  but only 19% attend services at least once a week while 31% never do, per data by the Italian statistics agency, ISTAT.

The COVID-19 pandemic pruned even more tepid Catholics, accelerating a loss in faith that started at least a generation ago, said Franco Garelli, a University of Turin sociology professor.

I dont have time, I dont feel like it  there isnt a real reason. Thats whats scary, said the Rev. Giovanni Mandozzi, parish priest in the sanctuarys village, Isola. I tell them, I do Mass in under 40 minutes, you can leave your pasta sauce on the stove, and it wont even stick to the bottom of the pot.

On an early summer Saturday evening, he celebrated Mass with fewer than two dozen elderly parishioners in a former butcher shop, because Isolas church was damaged by earthquakes that have devastated the region of Abruzzo since 2009.

Nearby, several close friends in their 20s were enjoying drinks and appetizers outside a bar.

They described growing up attending Mass and catechism, only to stop after receiving the sacrament of confirmation  or getting rid of it, as one put it  in their early teens.

It would have become just a routine, said Agostino Tatulli, 24, a college and music conservatory student who sometimes still goes to church with his mother. Id say Im spiritual. I dont know if God exists.

From his childhood serving as an altar boy, he misses the sense of community that formed on Sunday mornings. Tatulli still finds some of that in his gigs with a marching band for the popular feasts of patron saints  whose celebrations are crucial to fellow band member Federico Ferri.

Im a Catholic believer in the saints, not in the church, Ferri added. He goes only occasionally to Mass, but often to the sanctuary.

Thousands of teens continue to flock each spring to San Gabriele sanctuary for the blessing of the pens with which high school seniors will take final exams  a tradition that felt lovely but more superstitious than religious to former pilgrim Michela Vignola.

Now I dont even think about it, she said, referring to the faith she abandoned in her teens. Its taken for granted that youre a believer, but you dont participate.

A hairdresser, Vignola coifs a lot of bridal parties, most still headed to church  the choice of about 60% of Italians getting married for the first time, making the sacrament just a bit less popular than a church funeral, favored by 70% of Italians, according to Garellis research.

In a nearby village, fifth-generation funeral home director Antonio Ruggieri has added wake rooms for followers of non-Christian religions and is building a neutral one with no religious symbols. But almost all his funerals are in a church.

Its a sort of redemption, even if you barely believe in it, he said.

For many priests, that attitude means that a social point of no return might have been reached. How to respond is a major challenge for clergy already struggling with a significant drop in vocations that leaves many with barely the time to celebrate Masses in multiple villages under their care.

Those who participate actively do so now out of a deliberate choice and not because the church, and its social and cultural programs for youth, are the only game in town as they used to be.

Such believers should be focused on as if they were the last of the species on Noahs Ark, joked the Rev. Bernardino Giordano, the vicar general of the pontifical delegation to Loreto, an even more popular sanctuary less than 100 miles (160 km) away.

In a previous assignment in northern Italy, he dealt with the other extreme  the few who asked his diocese to be sbattezzati, or de-baptized, which really meant expunged from the parish baptism record since a sacrament like baptism cant be undone.

But the majority remain in a grey area  drawn not by sacraments but by the churchs social justice work.

Its very reductionist to have as the only measure those who practice (the faith). The Holy Spirit is at work everywhere, it doesnt belong only to Catholics, said Archbishop Erio Castellucci, the vice president of the Italian bishops conference.

That might appeal to Federica Nobile, 33, who defines herself as Catholic but not too much. Raised in a very observant family, she felt she needed to exorcise the absurd fear of hell she grew up with.

I tried to get above the concept of good vs. evil. Looking for nuances allows me to live a lot better, said the branding strategist and fiction author.

In the provincial capital of Teramo, when Marco Palareti asked the middle-school students in his optional religion class to rank values, family and freedom came first  and faith dead last.

Kids attitude has changed, because in earlier times almost all of them had a life in the parish, while today many dont go or go only for the sacraments of First Communion and confirmation, added Palareti, who has taught religion for 36 years.

Its an attitude that Pietro di Bartolomeo remembers well. When he was a teen bullied because of his familys strong faith, he saw God as a loser. Now a 45-year-old father of five, he runs a Bible group for teens in Teramo.

He believes the Church needs to evangelize more  or its doomed to irrelevance.

The old ladies sooner or later will go to the Creator, and thats where the cycle stops, he 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.
Two brothers who worked as managers at a McDonalds in Pennsylvania stole $22,302 from the restaurant in less than two weeks, police said.

Officers of the Clearfield Regional Police Department were notified of numerous thefts at the fast-food restaurant on Sept. 12, according to a report obtained by McClatchy News. Staff reported the thefts occurred between Aug. 23 and Sept. 4.

Investigators discovered that the night-shift manager was taking deposits from the store and giving them to the general manager who was off shift, police said. The two managers are brothers.

Eight deposits were taken from the store but never transferred to the bank, according to the report.

The 40-year-old brothers  one from Curwensville and one from Clearfield  have been charged with dealing in proceeds of unlawful activities, criminal conspiracy to commit theft, theft of moveable property, receiving stolen property and criminal use of a communication facility.

McDonalds did not immediately respond to a request for comment from McClatchy News on Oct. 4.

Clearfield is about 120 miles northeast of Pittsburgh.

McDonalds manager stuffed cash in shirts, stealing nearly $50K in 7 months, cops say

Man steals $64,000 from Walmart stores across the US using sleight-of-hand, feds say

Target worker caught stealing from cash registers  over $13K in a month, CT cops say
Save Ukraine, a Ukrainian humanitarian NGO, said it rescued 19 children from Ukrainian territories under Russian occupation, the organization's founder, Mykola Kuleba, said on Oct. 5.

The 12th rescue mission brings the total number of children returned by the organization to 196, Kuleba wrote on Facebook.

The NGO has not yet provided further details on the rescue mission.

More than 19,500 children have been identified by the Ukrainian government as having been deported. Almost 400 of them have been brought back to Ukraine.

The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Russian Presidential Commissioner for Children's Rights Maria Lvova-Belova and Russian President Vladimir Putin for their involvement in the forced deportation of Ukrainian children during Russia's full-scale war against Ukraine.

Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent.
If Cornel West is worried about being a spoiler whose candidacy might let Donald Trump back into the White House by stealing votes from President Joe Biden , he isnt showing it.

The 70-year-old former Harvard and Princeton professor is running in next years presidential election as an independent with a message more likely, on the face of it, to appeal to disillusioned Democrats than anti-Trump Republicans. (West launched his campaign in June as a Green party candidate, but dropped the party on Thursday.)

Related: Third party candidates will help Trump win | Robert Reich

At a fundraising event in Busboys and Poets, a leftwing bookshop and restaurant in Washington, West  a veteran activist of myriad causes  insisted he seeks the sympathies of neither cohort, but is instead trying to woo alienated, hardened non-voters.

I think that we are not clear if either Biden or Trump will be in the actual election because things are so flexible and fluid right now, he said on being asked by the Guardian to respond to warnings that his candidacy was a boon to Trump.

But I happen to be focusing on the 40% that dont vote at all, and I happen to be pulling from the 62% of folk who do vote but who would never vote for the two parties. So if there is some taking from both parties, its going to be very, very small.

Ive got to be able to speak the truth no matter what. Im planning to do that until the very end. So in that sense, who knows whos stealing from who.

With Trump buoyant in many polls, some have likened Wests presence to that of the longtime activist Ralph Nader in 2000, who was widely believed to have persuaded wavering voters to switch to him from Al Gore in the key battleground of Florida, tipping the state and thus the election to George W Bush.

An Emerson College poll conducted in August showed Biden and Trump tied on 44% apiece in a two-way matchup. Wests addition to the ballot saw him polling at 5% and Trump leading Biden by 42% to 41%. A survey carried out in June by Echelon Insight reached a similar conclusion, with West polling at 4%.

Further complicating the picture is the possibility that Robert F Kennedy Jr may run as an independent candidate, rather than challenging Biden in the Democratic primaries.

Addressing an audience of committed supporters, West  who campaigned against Trumps presidency when he was in office and advocated voting for Biden in 2020, railed against the rigid two-party US political system and adopted a plague on both your houses posture to the Democrats and Republicans.

One of the problems of the two party system is what Margaret Thatcher used to call Tina  there is no alternative, he said, referring to a phrase the former British prime minister used to defend her governments stringent economic policies in the early 1980s.

Ive got to be able to speak the truth no matter what. Im planning to do that until the very end

Tell the American people there is no alternative. Theres nothing else you can do. You are locked in the prison that the neo-fascist Trump himself has hijacked, this damaged banana Republican party in the name of the rule of big business and big military, scapegoating the most vulnerable rather than confronting the most powerful, most xenophobic across the board.

The Democratic party has this crypto-fascist element when it comes to mass incarceration, when it comes to dropping bombs  when it comes to surveillance, when it comes to violation of individual liberties vis-a-vis the national security state.

Wearing his trademark black suit and black scarf, West frequently deployed humor in a 30-minute speech laced with references to his musical heroes, including John Coltrane, Sonny Rollins and the Isley Brothers, and including invocations of TS Eliot and Dostoevsky.

He drew widespread laughter when he said that, as a Christian, he would not demonise Trump  who he called a brother  but would keep track of his demonic activity.

West said he aimed to become the head of the empire in order to dismantle the empire. He vowed a massive, massive investment in the basic social needs of people and much of that will come from a massive cut in military spending.

Before departing for an engagement calling for peace in Ukraine, West told the Guardian that the war had to be stopped urgently.

The suffering of the Ukrainians is overwhelming and there is a possibility of world war three in terms of the escalation of nuclear possibilities, he said. As you know, an attack on any one of those 31 Nato countries is an attack on the United States. And its getting very, very close.

This article and headline were amended on 5 October 2023 after Cornel West announced he was no longer seeking the Green partys nomination and instead running as an independent.
China a thriving test ground for NEV technologies

Xinhua) 10:51, October 05, 2023

A heavy truck gets its battery swapped at a battery-swapping station in an expressway service area in Fuzhou, southeast China's Fujian Province, Aug. 24, 2023. (Xinhua/Lin Shanchuan)

FUZHOU, Oct. 4 (Xinhua) -- After a heavy truck pulled in, a pair of robotic arms emerged from the ground to pluck out the battery pack from the vehicle's chassis. A moment later, the robotic arms reemerged with a fully-charged battery pack for installation.

This five-minute battery swapping procedure took place at an expressway service area in Fuzhou, southeast China's Fujian Province. It required no human intervention, allowing truck driver Peng Shunqian time to take a short break.

Peng, 50, had driven diesel trucks for years but switched to an electric vehicle (EV) a year ago to reduce fuel costs.

"Compared with diesel ones, this new-energy truck can save me 300-400 yuan (42-55 U.S. dollars) a day. It is easier to drive and more environmentally friendly," he said.

Though battery swapping is not a new concept for EVs, the project Peng is participating in is trailblazing -- it is China's first expressway equipped with battery-swap stations for heavy trucks along its line.

The 420-km expressway linking Ningde and Xiamen has four battery-swap stations, launched in late August to serve a fleet of 100 electric heavy trucks. The stations were built by Chinese battery giant Contemporary Amperex Technology Co., Ltd. (CATL) and Fujian Expressway Group Co., Ltd.

"There are more than 9 million heavy trucks running on China's expressways. Accounting for only 3 percent of the country's total vehicle number, heavy trucks emit more than 40 percent of the carbon emissions (of vehicles in China)," said Zeng Yuqun, board chairman of CATL, who hailed the green potential of the battery-swapping highway.

China aims to peak its carbon dioxide emissions by 2030. This goal has prompted the country, which has the largest number of motor vehicles in the world, to reduce the carbon footprint of traffic and transportation by encouraging a host of new-energy vehicle (NEV) technologies and applications.

Emerging as a solution to EV's slow charging process, battery swapping can be completed in minutes and allows unloaded cells to be charged in off-peak periods to benefit the health of the grid, said Ouyang Chuying, CATL co-president for research and development.

"The idea of battery swapping also encourages the use of EVs, as the expensive battery packs can now be rented instead of being a must-buy item," he said.

In several Chinese cities including Xiamen, Fuzhou, Guiyang and Hefei, CATL's battery swapping stations have started to serve passenger cars, according to Ouyang. "We believe it is the future of EV," he said.

This technology is also making strides in highway transportation. Battery-swapping trucks using the Ningde-Xiamen line are expected to increase to 300 next year, while Fujian's traffic authority has planned to install battery-swapping stations on all the province's expressways as of 2025.

China is the world's largest NEV producer and market. In the first seven months of this year, China saw its NEV sales surge 41.7 percent year on year to 4.53 million units, official data showed.

In its latest work plan for the auto industry, the Chinese government said it aims to bring this year's NEV sales to 9 million units, an increase of 30 percent year on year. It also said testing of full vehicle electrification for public transportation will be started in pilot zones.

In addition, the country is focused on boosting the construction of charging infrastructure, especially in the vast countryside, to promote the use of NEVs in the rural market, according to a government guideline released in May.

Industry observers say the vast domestic market and strong government commitment have combined to push Chinese NEV companies to the global forefront of technological innovation.

Ningde-based CATL, for instance, has revealed plans to mass produce its new lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery "Shenxing" by the end of this year. It allows for "superfast charging" capable of delivering 400 kilometers of driving range with a 10-minute charge.

At the Smart China Expo 2023 held in September, Chinese EV start-up Xpeng displayed its battery-powered flying car X2, capable of flying to a maximum height of 1,000 meters. The two-seater EV received an official certification for flight safety in January this year.

"In the NEV sector, China boasts advanced corporate technologies, abundant application scenarios and a supportive legal framework," said Ouyang.

"Most importantly, China has seized the historic opportunity to develop the NEV sector at a time when traditional automobile giants lack impetus to embrace NEVs. This is key to the sector's rapid development."

(Web editor: Zhang Wenjie, Hongyu)
Dornisha Cherry had four children and a career in childcare before she stepped foot on the Elizabeth City State University (ECSU) campus. She had already earned several associate degrees as well. Although she had done her own research on ECSU, it was her boss who convinced her to take her educational pursuits to another level.

My boss encouraged me to go higher and reach for a bachelors degree, she said. After doing my research about the cost, commuting and positive aspects of the teachers program here, I was convinced that this was the best place for me.

Cherry, 36, is a now a junior, Birth Through Kindergarten major. And, her daughter, Melanie Weston, followed in her footsteps and started her first year at ECSU in the fall.

I chose ECSU based on my personal goals and expectations," Weston said. "However, (my mom) did have an impact by bringing me to the orientation and Fall Open House.

Traditional aged college students like Weston, usually under the age of 25, are the norm nationally on college campuses. However, students like Cherry are considered non-traditional in that they pursue higher education after having entered a career field. Its students like Cherry who expand ECSUs enrollment numbers and showcase the universitys commitment to educating all facets of the community.

According to ECSU Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs Farrah J. Ward, Ph.D., strategic recruitment of adult learners and graduate students is key to ECSUs continued growth. Enrollment for the fall 2023 semester reached 2,166 students. It is the highest number of enrolled students at the university in nine years and marks the sixth straight year numbers have risen.

Of particular significance is the 45% increase in the number of students pursuing credit-bearing professional development in Education. The university experienced a 4.3% increase in the adult learner population.

Like Cherry, this demographic is seeking career agility and though it can be a juggling act, ECSU has done a good job encouraging balance, she said.

(ECSU) had the patience to understand that I am a working mother. They have also provided many resources and helped me to get myself together organizationally and prioritizing my time wisely, Cherry said. The school also adjusted things for me as an adult learner to accommodate and help with the entire process from enrolling to attending ECSU.

After graduation, Cherry wants to open her own childcare facility, or work in the school system or even assist with opening a North Carolina Pre-Kindergarten program at the facility where she currently works. In addition to her daughter who attends ECSU, she is the mother of a 19-year-old, a 13-year-old, and a 9-year-old.

Weston, an Elementary Education major, said shes proud of her mothers determination.

She is very brave, she said. My mom is a role model by showing what it means to constantly work hard and never give up on what you want in life.

ECSU Chancellor Karrie G. Dixon has said of the universitys pathways for adult learners, We are  attracting students who want to continue and complete their education, which leads to economic mobility for our graduates. I am proud that ECSU faculty and staff are committed to preparing our students to become leaders and innovators in their chosen fields within our communities, our state, and the nation.
The News

A Ugandan politician is going viral for unabashedly defending the time she took back an ambulance she had donated to her district after she lost an election there.

In several posts on her official X account, Ugandan State Minister of Finance for Investment and Privatization, Evelyn Anite , admitted that she rescinded the ambulance donation in 2021, and said she had no apologies for her actions.

Her belated defense was spurred by a news account that resurfaced the two-year-old incident. When a supporter tried to defend Anite and say she wouldnt do such a thing, the state ministers account responded: My dear, I actually did it, and I am very proud of my action.

Know More

Ugandan newspaper The Observer reported in 2021 that Anite donated the ambulance to constituents in the town of Koboko, which had a critical need for ambulances. The vehicle featured Anites name and photo; she also promised to pay the driver of the ambulance for up to six months.

Anite, who had served in the parliament since 2011, was running for reelection in her partys parliamentary primary. But the donation of such a rare service was not enough to fend off an embarrassing defeat at the voting booth, The Observer wrote.

As a result, she reversed the ambulance donation.

It was not help it was a conditional grant, she tweeted on Tuesday. In another post she said, Like seriously why would you vote out someone who has given you ambulance?

After another user on X called her shameless, she responded: I am shameless to the extent that I sold it.
(Bloomberg) -- In his first term, Emmanuel Macron made a point of visiting each and every EU member state. Those overtures didnt always land.

Most Read from Bloomberg

Now, with Germany distracted by its own concerns, the French president has refashioned himself into the EU leader hes long believed he could be.

In areas ranging from defense to industrial policy, officials familiar with the European Unions inner workings say that Macron is calling the shots as rarely before. And while his strained relationship with Olaf Scholz has subdued the Franco-German duopoly through which he used to get his way, these days hes wielding influence through a series of quieter partnerships.

This new, subtler engagement marks a shift from the days when the French president thought regular phone calls might encourage Vladimir Putin to think better of invading Ukraine. Hes still liable to alienate allies with his grandstanding -- as his bungling of Armenian-Azeri peace talks has proved -- but the UN General Assembly in New York last month offered evidence of newfound restraint. For the first time in his presidency, Macron didnt even show up.

The 45-year-old presidents fresh approach is most evident behind the closed doors of embassies in Eastern Europe, where hes cultivating an intricate web of partnerships and turning himself into an unlikely point person on EU affairs. Hes helping center these countries concerns on the European agenda, according to people familiar with these interactions  and in return gaining traction on some of his own.

The result of this maneuvering is a Europe thats beginning to use state power more assertively to defend its companies, putting it on a rivalrous footing with both China and the US. If its leaders can forge a consensus at their summit in Spain this week, they might even advance Macrons long-frustrated calls to beef up the blocs military might. In sum, Macrons helping fashion a Europe that looks increasingly French.

Macron Is Restyling EU Policy in Frances Image

Picking fights with China over cars

Stepping up subsidies to key industries

Boosting defense spending

Taking on US tech giants

Not everyone is convinced. The only Eastern European country to rank among Frances top 10 trading partners, Poland is something of an anomaly in the region, with cooperation thriving in business but largely sidestepping the two governments. When asked about Macrons newfound influence, one senior Polish official just rolled his eyes. Elsewhere, its obvious to allies that Macron is changing tack. For so long pilloried in Eastern European capitals as too complacent about Russian aggression, France is suddenly ubiquitous in their defense. Theres a battalion of French troops stationed in Romania and Ukrainians are firing French long-range missiles at the Russians. One senior Lithuanian official joked that instead of Orbans recalcitrant Hungary, NATOs eastern flank these days includes France.

That Time Is Over

With this new, more deliberative mode of engagement, Macrons overcoming decades of ingrained French attitudes toward Europes margins  and even some of his own personal foibles.

Interviewed by phone about whether he agreed his successor had been more effective in wielding soft power lately, former President Francois Hollande gave a bit of advice: France must be firm and clear but not arrogant. This is often the reproach.

On the eve of their EU accession, Jacques Chirac famously told the Atlanticist Eastern Europeans at odds with him over Iraq that they had passed up a good opportunity to stay quiet. This summer, Macron went to Slovakia and issued an apology for not listening. We did not always hear the voices you brought, he said at the GLOBSEC Forum in Bratislava. That time is over.

In that speech, he promised to champion the EU enlargement of which he had so recently been a skeptic, and reiterated his commitment to the security of Central and Eastern Europe. Thats cemented a change of tack thats been noticed from the Balkans to the Baltics.

Defense Cooperation

Some Eastern European diplomats privately cavil that its easy for Macron to pivot to being a full-throated advocate of further NATO enlargement as he knows its unlikely to happen so long as the US and Germany stay opposed.

Still, Europes only nuclear power is putting money where the presidents mouth is. According to a report published Wednesday, the French auditor expects the countrys contribution to NATO to reach 830 million euros ($872 million) by the end of 2023  a fourfold increase on last year.

Hes now making up for lost time after ceding leadership on the defense of Ukraine to others quicker to act, according to Rym Momtaz of the International Institute for Strategic Studies. After Angela Merkel retired, On paper it was a perfect opportunity for Emmanuel Macron to decisively seize leadership of the EU in a transformative way, Momtaz said. But it didnt happen. Now, after already planning to dispatch jets to Lithuania at the end of the year under the auspices of a NATO air patrol, France is in discussions with Latvia to do the same, one of the people said. And when the Estonians tabled a proposal to procure a million rounds of ammunition for Ukraine earlier this year, they ran it by the French first, according to two diplomats who spoke to Bloomberg on condition of anonymity.

Charm Offensive

Fresh from a disappointing G-20, Macron sees major summits as an increasingly inefficient way of conducting diplomacy and is focused on engaging little and often, according to one senior French official who asked not to be named discussing confidential matters of strategy.

The president remains comfortable, events suggest, with talking shops when theyre the product of his own ideas: the Paris summit to fix global climate finance in June, for instance, or the European Political Community which meets Thursday for the third time in Granada, Spain.

Although hes had to adapt himself to the new reality on Europes borders, its also true that within them the moment is ripe for certain ideas the president has long-championed. Several officials  French, and otherwise  pointed out that from the European Political Community to strategic autonomy, recent months have vindicated some of Macrons pet obsessions. Hes been talking about sovereign Europe since winning his first election in 2017, but it took Russias hybrid war to take that idea mainstream.

Common Causes

Though he has toned down some of his freer rhetoric, in the last year Frances leader has managed to upset Taiwan, the German chancellor and the Moroccan king. His inroads in Eastern Europe need to be set against some flops behind the scenes: he wanted to travel to the BRICS summit in South Africa in August, one official said, but wasnt invited. The French president hoped to try his hand at brokering an agreement between Armenia and Azerbaijan, but by offering to send arms to one side appears to have alienated the other.

Macron knows that winning back friends after years of perceived diffidence means finding common causes for cooperation. Romania and France have allied to ensure that clean-power definitions adopted by the EU include the nuclear energy on which they both rely. The sames been true of Poland, to some extent  although Frances relationship with the nationalist government is far more transactional, senior officials said, struggling to name other items of mutual assistance.

By contrast, Estonia may be the best example of the prizes at stake if France can hone its pitch to its partners interests. The two countries worked together to hammer out the language for an EU leaders statement in June that urged the bloc to strengthen its arms industry, according to an EU official, generating momentum they will be hoping to build on at this weeks talks.

In particular, they pushed wording calling for the bloc to increase its defense readiness and for Europe to take more responsibility for its own security in the long-term  a core Macron tenet. Though France and Estonia have cooperated on security matters in the past, the Baltics had long been uncomfortable with Macrons push for EU independence in defense and other strategic areas, relying by habit on the US-led NATO alliance.

The more distant the US becomes, the more Europe will be under French influence, said former president Hollande. Many people in Europe are of course opposed to this and have an interest in staying tied to the US  good luck with that!

--With assistance from Milda Seputyte, Konrad Krasuski, Maciej Martewicz, Jorge Valero, Michael Nienaber, Samy Adghirni, Natalia Drozdiak, Alberto Nardelli and James Regan.

(Updates to reflect scoop on aborted peace talks in fourth paragraph.)

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The presidents son is in a pinch having racked up over $10 million and counting in legal fees, CNN reports, leaving him to seek out new ways to fundraise ahead of his trial on gun charges. Hunter Biden attained his substantial legal tab across his custody challenge and divorce, as well as during the many years he spent under investigation by the federal government, according to CNN. Joe Biden has yet to come to his aid and Hunter Bidens team is apparently weighing how best to proceed with raising new money without running afoul of campaign finance laws or other obstacles that could cause a headache for his fathers re-election effort. Nobody will help him financially, one source told CNN. Hunter Biden pled not guilty to gun charges after a plea deal with prosecutors unraveled, teeing up a trial and further legal expenses down the road.

Read it at CNN

Read more at The Daily Beast.
Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus is credited with lifting millions out of poverty with his pioneering micro-credit bank (SCOTT OLSON)

Nobel peace laureate Muhammad Yunus appeared before Bangladesh's anti-graft watchdog Thursday over corruption charges that his lawyers said were part of a campaign of government harassment.

Yunus, 83, is credited with lifting millions out of poverty with his pioneering micro-credit bank, but he has fallen out with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina , who has accused him of "sucking blood" from the poor.

He is facing around 175 separate criminal and labour tribunal cases related to social business firms he set up in Bangladesh aimed at creating jobs and bringing services to the poor.

"I have not committed any offence," Yunus told reporters after leaving the Anti-Corruption Commission in the capital Dhaka. "I am not scared."

Defence lawyer Abdullah al Mamun told reporters Yunus had to cut short his trip to United Nations headquarters in New York to attend the hearing.

Khaja Tanvir Ahmed, another lawyer for Yunus, said he was interrogated for more than an hour in the office.

"These cases are all part of the continuous harassment against Nobel laureate Professor Muhammad Yunus," he added.

Yunus and seven officials of Grameen Telecom, a social business firm he founded, are accused of money laundering and embezzling 250 million taka ($2.3 million), according to charges filed by the commission in May.

He faces up to 12 years in jail if convicted.

Another case against Yunus is currently at trial with the next hearing scheduled for October 11. His lawyers have insisted he is innocent of all charges against him.

In August, 160 global figures including former US president Barack Obama and ex-UN secretary-general Ban Ki-moon published a joint letter against the "continuous judicial harassment" of the micro-credit pioneer.

The signatories -- including more than 100 of his fellow Nobel laureates -- said they feared for "his safety and freedom".

Yunus was awarded the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize for his work promoting economic development.

He has been credited with helping eradicate extreme poverty in Bangladesh by offering microfinance loans to tens of millions of rural women through Grameen Bank, which he founded in the 1980s.

Bangladesh's anti-graft watchdog last year ordered a wide-ranging probe into firms that Yunus chairs.

Hasina has attacked him personally, blaming him for the World Bank pulling out from a bridge project near Dhaka that was mired in corruption allegations.

When the bridge finally opened last year, Hasina said Yunus should be "dipped in a river" for jeopardising its completion.

Critics accuse Bangladeshi courts of rubber-stamping decisions made by Hasina's government.

Rights activists, newspaper editors and opposition politicians have been sentenced in recent months ahead of a national election due in January.

sa/gle/sco
A judge has rejected a plea agreement that had been in place for prominent North Jersey developer Fred Daibes related to bank fraud charges he pleaded guilty to last year.

Daibes last month was one of five people indicted in an alleged corruption scheme involving Sen. Bob Menendez and his wife, Nadine Arslanian Menendez, in a separate case.

The rejected plea agreement comes from charges in 2018 when Daibes was indicted on multiple counts for alleged conspiracy to circumvent lending limits set by Mariner's Bank, which he had founded in 2001.

In 2022, Daibes admitted to receiving more than $1 million in gross receipts from Mariner's Bank, pleading guilty to making false entries in a loan memorandum.

Fred Daibes enters a vehicle after leaving federal court in lower Manhattan on Wednesday, Sept. 27, 2023. Daibes, along with Sen. Bob Menendez, Nadine Arslanian Menendez and Jose Uribe, pleaded not guilty to federal bribery charges.

He and Michael McManus, the chief financial officer of Daibes Enterprises, allegedly used others not named in the indictment to secure millions of dollars in loans  which were used for Daibes' benefit  without the knowledge of the bank or the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. The scheme ran from 2008 through 2013.

Daibes' guilty plea was to a single count of the original indictment, which charges that the 2008 memo for a $1.8 million nominee loan falsely stated the borrower and the source of repayment when the line of credit was actually for Daibes, who funded the repayment.

On Thursday, United States District Judge Susan D. Wigenton posted a text order for Daibes and McManus saying that after reviewing the presentence report, the court rejected the plea agreement for both Daibes and McManus.

More: Edgewater developer indicted along with Menendez in corruption scheme. Who is Fred Daibes?

"The Court is not required to adhere to the terms of the plea agreements, and the cases may be disposed of less favorably toward the Defendants than the plea agreements contemplated," Wigenton wrote.

Daibes and McManus now have until Oct. 16 to decide if they will withdraw from their plea agreements. The court is scheduled to proceed with sentencing scheduled for Oct. 26.

"We are carefully evaluating our options as a result of the courts order and will release a statement when we have determined our next steps, on or before Oct. 16," Daibes' attorney Lawrence Lustberg said.

A message left with McManus' attorney was not immediately returned.

Daibes indicted in Sen. Menendez case

The plea agreement was for probation, but Daibes' sentencing was delayed four times over the last two years, which left some to speculate it was related to the federal Menendez investigation.

Daibes was charged last month along with two other businessmen, Wael Hana and Jose Uribe, with conspiracy to commit bribery and conspiracy to commit honest services fraud in relation to Menendez's second indictment in eight years.

More: Bob Menendez's wife hit and killed a man while driving on Bogota's Main Street in 2018

Menendez was indicted on corruption charges for allegedly accepting hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes from Daibes, Hana and Uribe for helping them enrich themselves and trying to get them out of trouble, according to the indictment, unsealed last month in New York.

More than $480,000 in cash was found stuffed into envelopes and hidden in clothing, closets and a safe at Menendez's home during a search by investigators in June 2022, according to the indictment. They also found over $70,000 in Nadine Menendezs safe deposit box. The indictment includes photos of cash that was stuffed into clothes, including a windbreaker with Menendez's name stitched on it.

Envelopes of cash with Daibes' fingerprints or DNA

Some of the envelopes contained the fingerprints or DNA of Daibes  an Edgewater developer and longtime political donor to Menendez  or Daibes' driver, the indictment says. Investigators also discovered more than $100,000 worth of gold bars in the home, which were provided by Hana or Daibes, according to the indictment.

The indictment said Menendez had recommended that President Joe Biden nominate someone as New Jersey's U.S. attorney who Menendez believed could be influenced to disrupt the federal criminal prosecution of Daibes over the bank fraud charges.

More: This cast of characters has been linked to the Sen. Menendez investigation

Before Daibes pleaded guilty, Menendez allegedly pressed Philip Sellinger, before and after he became the U.S. attorney for New Jersey, to go light on Daibes.

In December 2020, Menendez met with Sellinger to consider whether he would support Sellingers nomination to the U.S. attorney post. At the meeting, Menendez criticized the prosecution of Daibes and asked Sellinger to look into the case if he was nominated, the indictment reads.

In early 2022, Menendez had short phone calls with the first assistant U.S. attorney. At the time, Daibes unnamed driver had called Nadine Menendez twice on Jan. 24. Later that day, Nadine Menendez texted Daibes: Thank you. Christmas in January.

The drivers fingerprints were later found on an envelope containing thousands in cash at the Menendez home. Several days later, the senator Googled the phrase kilo of gold price.

In March, Nadine Menendez met with a jeweler and showed him two 1-kilogram gold bars that were worth more than $120,000, according to the indictment. Serial numbers showed that the gold bars had been owned by Daibes, the indictment reads.

The next month, Daibes pleaded guilty to a probationary sentence in the bank fraud case.

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Fred Daibes bank fraud plea deal thrown out by judge
North Korea has probably halted a nuclear reactor in order to begin reprocessing spent fuel rods to make weapons-grade plutonium, according to a report Thursday. The Donga Ilbo newspaper reported that an intelligence assessment from U.S. and South Korean authorities found that a reactor at the Yongbyon nuclear complex has been suspended since September. South Korea and the U.S. believe this could be a sign of reprocessing work being done to obtain weapons-grade plutonium, a government source told the newspaper. Reprocessing spent fuel rods taken out of a reactor is a step required before plutonium is extracted, which can in turn be used in nuclear warheads. The possibility of a nuclear test by North Korea is not ruled out, a senior government official told Donga Ilbo.

Read it at Reuters

Read more at The Daily Beast.
LAS VEGAS (KLAS)  North Las Vegas police arrested a woman in a Monday shooting that left one man dead.

Keara Drayer, 21, was taken into custody Tuesday by the Criminal Apprehension Team, multi-jurisdictional task force led by the FBI, on charges of open murder and challenging to fight with a deadly weapon, police said.

Keara Drayer, 21, faces charges of open murder and challenging to fight with a deadly weapon. (NLVPD)

On Monday around 4 p.m., North Las Vegas officers responded to the 20 block of Hoke Edward Court near Lone Mountain Road and Commerce Street after reports of a shooting.

When officers arrived, they found a man, later identified by the Clark County Coroners office as 21-year-old Jimmy Smith III, suffering from a gunshot wound.

Smith was pronounced dead at the scene by medical personnel. His cause of death was multiple gunshot wounds, according to the coroners office.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KLAS.
Norwegian author and playwright Jon Fosse has been awarded the 2023 Nobel Prize in Literature.

The author was announced as the winner in a ceremony held at the Swedish Academy in Stockholm on Thursday (6 October), which was also livestreamed online.

The prize consists of a gold medal, diploma and cash sum, and is awarded each year to to the person who, in the field of literature, produced the most outstanding work in an idealistic direction. The value of the monetary prize changes from year to year, based on the Nobel Foundations finances.

Fosse was informed of the win via telephone. Not every laureate believes me when I make the call, the announcer said, but he was prepared to have confidence until one oclock. He was driving in the countryside in Norway, and we had the opportunity to start speaking about practical matters for the Nobel week in December.

Over the course of his career, Fosse, 64, has written dozens of acclaimed plays, novels, essays and books of poetry. His early work was often best known within continental Europe, but in recent years he has also enjoyed a blossoming reputation in English-speaking countries.

While nominees are not announced in advance  in fact, the full nominees list is not revealed to the public until 50 years have passed  this years frontrunners had been tipped to include British-Indian novelist Salman Rushdie , 76, Canadian writer Margaret Atwood , 83, Japans Haruki Murakami , 74,aa Chinese writer Can Xue, 70, and Romanias Mircea Cartarescu, 67.

Last year, the prize was given to French author Annie Ernaux, known for writing La Place and Les Annees.

Fosse said that he was overwhelmed and somewhat frightened at receiving the award.

His 2021 novel A New Name: Septology VI-VII, translated into English by Damion Searls, was shortlisted for the International Booker Prize. The work concluded a three-book septology that has been described as his magnum opus in prose, and takes the form of a lengthy monologue in which an elderly artist speaks to himself as another person.

A spokesperson for the Nobel committee said: [Fosses] immense oeuvre, written in Norwegian Nynorsk and spanning a variety of genres, consists of a wealth of plays, novels, poetry collections, essays, childrens books and translations. While he is today one of the most widely performed playwrights in the world, he has also become increasingly recognised for his prose.

Futher contextualising Fosses win on social media, the Nobel organisation wrote: Jon Fosse  awarded the 2023 #NobelPrize in Literature  has much in common with his great precursor in Norwegian Nynorsk literature Tarjei Vesaas. Fosse combines strong local ties, both linguistic and geographic, with modernist artistic techniques.

He includes in his Wahlverwandschaften such names as Samuel Beckett, Thomas Bernhard and Georg Trakl. While Fosse shares the negative outlook of his predecessors, his particular gnostic vision cannot be said to result in a nihilistic contempt of the world. Indeed, there is great warmth and humour in his work, and a naive vulnerability to his stark images of human experience.

Mats Malm announcing the 2023 Nobel Prize in Literature winner (AFP via Getty Images)

Speaking to The Independent in 2011, Fosse reflected on the rarity with which his plays were staged in the UK. In the time since, his work has been made widely available transated into English.

My plays travel extremely well, he said And they have been well received everywhere  except here in England.

Reflecting on the different processes involved in writing prose and works for theatre, Fosse added: In a novel, you have to use words all the time. In a play, you can use the pauses, the breaks and the silences: whats not said, which is what Im saying something about, even in my prose. That was a revelation.

Jon Fosse pictured in 2019 (dpa/AFP via Getty Images)

Fosses plays are written in New Norwegian, or Nynorsk language, a synthetic tongue used for dramatisation. It is never really spoken by anyone, he explained. Its the same with French and German theatre: their theatrical language is not the way you speak in the streets.

He was also a recipient of Frances National Order of Merit in 2007, and was named the winner of the prestigious Ibsen prize in 2010.

The announcement of the Laurette, made by Mats Malm, the permanent secretary of the Swedish Academy, comes amid a week of other Nobel announcements. On Monday (2 October), the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine was awarded to Katalin Kariko (Hungary) and Drew Weissman (US) for their work that led to the development of the first mRNA Covid vaccines.

Tuesday saw the Physics prize go to Pierre Agostini, Ferenc Krausz and Anne LHuillier, who collectively made breakthroughs in experimental methods that generate attosecond pulses of light for the study of electron dynamics in matter.

The Nobel Prize in Chemistry was awarded the followig day to scientists Moungi Bawendi, Louis Brus and Alexei Ekimov for the discovery and synthesis of quantum dots, which have applications in computer technology and healthcare. The news was, however, announced early in a rare blunder for the organisation.
Fosse, 64, had featured widely in Nobel speculation for several years (Dia Dipasupil)

The Swedish Academy on Thursday awarded the Nobel literature prize to Norwegian playwright Jon Fosse, whose plays are among the most widely staged of any contemporary playwright in Europe.

He was honoured "for his innovative plays and prose which give voice to the unsayable," the Swedish Academy said.

His writing is defined more by form than content, where what is not said is often more revealing than what is.

Often compared to Samuel Beckett, Fosse's work is minimalistic, relying on simple language which delivers its message through rhythm, melody and silence.

His major works include "Boathouse" (1989), which was well-received by critics, and "Melancholy" I and II (1995-1996).

Fosse, 64, had featured widely in Nobel speculation for several years.

"His immense oeuvre written in Norwegian Nynorsk (one of Norway's written forms of languages) and spanning a variety of genres consists of a wealth of plays, novels, poetry collections, essays, childrens books and translations", the jury said.

"While he is today one of the most widely performed playwrights in the world, he has also become increasingly recognised for his prose."

The Nobel Prize comes with a medal and a prize sum of 11 million Swedish kronor (about $1 million).

Last year, the award went to French feminist icon Annie Ernaux, known for her deceptively simple novels drawing on personal experience of class and gender.

The Academy has long been criticised for the overrepresentation of Western white male authors among its picks.

The Swedish Academy has undergone major reforms since a devastating #MeToo scandal in 2018, vowing a more global and gender-equal literature prize.

Since the scandal, it has honoured three women -- Annie Ernaux, US poet Louise Gluck and Poland's Olga Tokarczuk -- and three men -- Austrian author Peter Handke, Tanzanian writer Abdulrazak Gurnah and Fosse.

Fosse will receive the Nobel from King Carl XVI Gustaf at a formal ceremony in Stockholm on December 10, the anniversary of the 1896 death of scientist Alfred Nobel.

po-jll/ach
By Maggie Fick

COPENHAGEN (Reuters) - The whirlwind success of weight-loss treatment Wegovy is providing a bonanza not just for its developer, Novo Nordisk, but also for its home country of Denmark.

Interviews with Danish economists, analysts, and executives at the Novo Nordisk Foundation which controls Novo highlight the benefits to the economy from jobs to private wealth - but also the potential pitfalls of relying on a single, outsized company.

"Danes are exposed to the success of Novo Nordisk, but also the risk - both because it is the most widely held stock in Denmark, and because of the company's impact on our society," Danske Bank investment strategist Lars Skovgaard Andersen said.

In August, the government cited Novo when it lifted its economic growth forecast for this year, to 1.2% from 0.6%. The drugmaker last month overtook LVMH as Europe's most valuable listed company, worth about 385 billion euros ($403 billion) - slightly more than Denmark's gross domestic product.

"We have struck gold," said Lars Christensen, research associate at Copenhagen Business School.

Novo's success would bring broad benefits, he added, citing Danish pension savers whose schemes are typically big holders of Novo shares. The share price has nearly tripled since Wegovy was launched in June 2021.

Record profits for Novo are projected to generate returns for the Foundation of more than $12 billion in coming years. They will also boost tax revenues and employment.

Novo Nordisk added 3,500 jobs in Denmark in 2022, bringing the total in the country to 21,000 employees, out of 59,000 worldwide, a company spokesperson said.

Mads Krogsgaard Thomsen, the Foundation's chief executive officer, said international press coverage of Wegovy was also enhancing Denmark's image as a place that fosters scientific innovation.

Before Wegovy, "we used to be kind of, 'Isn't Denmark the place where Stockholm is the capital?'" he joked to journalists in Copenhagen on Tuesday.

Speaking later to Reuters, he acknowledged that Novo's influence is growing as its profits soar.

"The Novo Group is of course becoming of bigger importance to Danish society," Thomsen said. "To me, it's the opportunity - literally I can liaise with the ministers of science, health, commerce, energy and climate ..."

"We team up with the political system and the ministers, to make sure we are kind of aligned" on issues such as climate and sustainability in agriculture, he said.

Danish government officials did not respond to a request for comment.

WINDFALL FOR FOUNDATION

Under a legal structure common in Denmark, the Foundation's wealth is managed by its investment arm, Novo Holdings, which owns a controlling stake - 28.1% of economic (or A) shares and 76.9% of voting (or B) shares - in Novo Nordisk.

Other big Danish companies  beer manufacturer Carlsberg, shipping group A.P. Moller-Maersk and toymaker Lego  are similarly "enterprise foundations," although the structure is little used elsewhere.

Wegovy is the first-to-market of a new class of highly effective weight-loss treatments that some analysts predict could be worth $100 billion within a decade.

That has positioned the Foundation for a Wegovy windfall that Thomsen said could exceed estimates of $12.5 billion between 2022 and 2026.

Ranking alongside the U.S.-based Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the UK's Wellcome Trust, the Foundation reported assets worth 108 billion euros ($113 billion) at end-2022, mostly representing its stakes in Novo Nordisk and Danish enzymes maker Novozymes.

Because it has no plans to sell those stakes, the Foundation cautions against a direct comparison of its assets to other leading global charities.

Novo Holdings also earns money from 161 portfolio companies and capital investments, mainly in life sciences in Europe and North America and increasingly Asia.

Last year, the Foundation distributed grants worth about 1 billion euros, mostly in Denmark, focusing on life sciences, including research into obesity prevention and infectious diseases, humanitarian aid, and education and arts research.

Disbursements will rise this year, said Thomsen, who before moving to the Foundation supervised the development of Wegovy and Ozempic, a similar drug for diabetes, as Novo Nordisk's chief scientific officer.

He submitted Novo's application for U.S. approval for Wegovy in late 2020.

OUTGROWING DENMARK?

That could mean it's time for the Foundation, which has "almost outgrown Denmark" to award more grants outside the country, said Rasmus Kristian Feldthusen, professor of commercial law at the University of Copenhagen.

More money will likely go abroad, Thomsen told Reuters.

He said he first considered joining the Foundation more than a decade ago, but didn't move there until the final stages of Wegovy's development, on a hunch the obesity drug would help expand its philanthropic reach.

Thomsen acknowledged concerns that the Danish economy could become too dependent on Novo and its Wegovy riches, as Finland did with Nokia before Apple's smartphones stole its market, but downplayed them.

Noting that Novo's patent on semaglutide - the active ingredient used in Wegovy and Ozempic - is in place for nearly another decade, and that the company is investing in future growth, he said: "There's no 'Nokia moment' (for Novo) in the next few years."

($1 = 0.9531 euros)

($1 = 7.1012 Danish crowns)

(Reporting by Maggie Fick; Additional reporting by Jacob Gronholt-Pedersen; Writing by Alexander Smith; Editing by Josephine Mason, Michele Gershberg and Catherine Evans)
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Oct. 5, 2023

CONTACT

Leha Byrd

ECSU Communications and Marketing

Email or 252.335.8745

Elizabeth City State University (ECSU) received funding from a $4,066,770 grant under the U.S. Department of Education's Title III Strengthening Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) Program.

The grant supports 10 activities designed to bolster various aspects of the university. Among them are elements of the universitys Forging Our Future Strategic Plan, including improvements to infrastructure and enhancing student enrollment, retention, and graduation rates.

The aid will bolster faculty and students receiving firsthand research and training experiences, as well as underpin the institutional approach to inclusion and engagement for students. Funds are also available to support administrative decision-making.

This type of financial backing is instrumental for institutions like ECSU, who aim to remain viable, affordable, and academically astute. ECSU is an NC Promise institution, which offers $500 per semester tuition to in-state students. In recent U.S. News and World Report Best Colleges rankings, ECSU was 19th among HBCUs. In another facet of the distinction, ECSU ranked fifth among the Top Public Schools and number 28 in Regional Colleges South.

"Title III funding continues to play a vital role in ECSU's success at all levels. These grant funds support the University's initiatives and allow for growth, improvement, and competitiveness," said Annemarie Delgado, director of Sponsored Programs, Contracts, and Grants at ECSU. "This support from the Department of Education is a staple of stability for our academic community."

_____________________________________________________________

Elizabeth City State University provides students with a high-quality, affordable education as one of North Carolinas leading four-year public institutions that is part of the University of North Carolina System. ECSU develops leaders who are courageous, resilient, and empowered through excellent student-centered, experiential learning. We offer baccalaureate, professional, and masters degrees across a wide variety of interests. Excellence is the standard at Elizabeth City State University  success is our legacy. Come to Discover. Leave to Conquer. Visit www.ecsu.edu.
The National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC), House Republicans campaign arm, delayed its 2023 fall gala scheduled for next week, as House Republicans work to elect a new House Speaker.

In a note to colleagues, NRCC Chairman Richard Hudson (R-N.C.) said House Republicans must focus on electing a new Speaker and accomplishing the legislative work before us, an NRCC spokesperson confirmed to The Hill. Punchbowl News was first to report.

I wanted to send you an important update regarding the 2023 NRCC Fall Gala in Dallas, TX, Hudson wrote in his letter. I want you to be the first to know  in consultation with our Leadership team and many of you  we have decided to postpone this dinner.

Our focus next week needs to be the election of our next Speaker and the legislative work before us, he added.

Former Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), who had been slated to headline the event, was ousted from his post in an historic vote Tuesday evening. Rep. Patrick McHenry (R-N.C.) is serving as Speaker pro tempore, and he sent members home for a week to regroup before members try again to select a Speaker.

In the letter, Hudson said he would look to reschedule the gala in the near future, noting that the funds raised are as important as ever.

This Gala is a high priority for the NRCC and all funds raised directly support efforts to grow our House Republican majority, he wrote.

That mission is as important as ever, and I need your continued support to make it a reality. I know I can count on you, he added. We are working diligently to have a new date for you in the near future.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Mayor Adams administration would be barred from putting time limits on how long migrants can stay in city shelters under a new bill introduced in the City Council on Thursday.

The legislation, penned by Brooklyn Councilwoman Shahana Hanif , a progressive Democrat who chairs the Councils Immigration Committee, aims to make the Adams administrations 30-day notice policy unenforceable.

The policy, enacted last month, limits consecutive shelter stays for single adult migrants to 30 days. After 30 days, migrants need to return to the citys asylum seeker intake center and reapply for shelter beds if they still need one.

The administration has argued the time restriction helps free up space in the citys overcrowded shelter systems and incentivizes migrants to find their own housing  but Hanif said it amounts to an inhumane eviction notice that will fuel street homelessness.

For centuries, New York City has opened its arms to refugees and immigrants fleeing violence and looking for a better life. But under this mayor, our city is abandoning that sacred past and kicking asylum seekers to the curb, Hanif said in a statement. It is shameful that this Council needs legislation to ensure that people who came to our city looking for refuge arent put out onto the streets.

In July, the Adams administration implemented a policy limiting consecutive shelter stays for single adult migrants to 60 days. The city tightened that restriction further on Sept. 22 by limiting consecutive shelter stays to 30 days.

The policy does not impact migrant families with children, or homeless New Yorkers, who do not face a time limit on shelter stays.

To date, some 14,000 migrants have received 30 or 60-day notices, according to the latest data from City Hall. The administration has yet to provide detailed data on how many of the migrants who received notices ended up reapplying for shelter.

Joining Hanif in sponsoring her bill off the bat were fellow progressive Council members Lincoln Restler of Brooklyn, Jen Gutierrez of Brooklyn, Carmen De La Rosa of Manhattan, Pierina Sanchez of the Bronx, Sandy Nurse of Brooklyn and Julie Won of Queens.

Bills passed by the Council generally need the support of the mayor to become law, and an Adams spokesman signaled that the administration is firmly opposed to Hanifs proposal.

The spokesman, Charles Lutvak, argued the 30-day notices provide the administration with needed flexibility at a time that the citys scrambling to provide shelter and services for more than 62,000 migrants, most of whom are from Latin America and came to the U.S. in hopes of claiming asylum.

While we always look for ways to work and partner with the Council to find solutions to issues, including with the asylum seeker crisis, this bill, as described, if passed, would hurt the citys response to this crisis, said Lutvak.

Hanif sympathized with the administrations struggle to find housing for all migrants, but said the 30-day policy breaks with the citys history of welcoming new arrivals.

Our city faces a pivotal moment in responding to this recent wave of new arrivals, but we must face this historic moment with compassion and care, she said.

For her bill to get serious consideration in the Council, Hanif would likely also need the support of Speaker Adrienne Adams.

A spokesman for the speaker declined to immediately offer her view on the measure, only saying it will go through the legislative process.
Frank James, the man who opened fire inside a New York City subway car during morning rush hour last year, wounding 10 people, was sentenced to 10 life terms plus 10 years in prison, according to ABC 7. Frank James, 64, pleaded guilty in January to terrorism charges for the mass shooting on April 12, 2022. Prosecutors argued for a life in prison, claiming that James had spent years preparing for the shooting to inflict maximum damage. His lawyers requested an 18-year reduced sentence, asserting that he suffered from mental illness and didnt aim to kill anyone. On the day of the incident, the gunman dressed up as a construction worker, set off several smoke bombs, and opened fire with a 9mm handgun on a stopped subway car. Before the incident, James, who is Black, posted videos of himself shouting about violence, race, and mental illness. In a 2019 clip, he said: Its going to be very interesting what happens in New York with me, alluding to his plans for the shooting.

Read it at ABC 7

Read more at The Daily Beast.
Dozens of NYPD chiefs and inspectors have been reassigned to new positions this week during a major shakeup of the departments upper ranks, police sources said.

An internal department memo shared with the Daily News announced the reassignment of 53 high-ranking officers, including three assistant chiefs and 19 deputy chiefs.

The new assignments are expected to go into effect Thursday, according to the memo.

Positions being swapped include commanding officer spots at the counter terrorism division, the intelligence division, and the Bronx, Brooklyn North, Manhattan South, Queens North and Queens South detective squads, the memo indicates.

The massive shuffling of the deck comes three months after Mayor Adams appointed Edward Caban as NYPD commissioner upon the departure of Commissioner Keechant Sewell.

Caban became acting commissioner July 1 and was formally named commissioner on July 17.

Sewell battled a persistent belief at police headquarters and in City Hall that Mayor Adams, a former NYPD captain, and Deputy Mayor for Public Safety Philip Banks, a former chief of department, called most of the shots.

The personnel moves are part of a long-standing NYPD practice in which each new commissioner shapes the departments leadership team to their liking. In the interim, department heads hold their breath, waiting to see if theyll be transferred.

We are all put on ice just waiting for the mid-level supervisory changes, a high-ranking police source told The News. All this constant change is difficult because once you get in a groove, new bosses come in and change everything.

These pivotal changes come with even more transfers as the commanders bring their own people to their new assignment, the source added.

So a lot of people are waiting  not working on their jobs  until they got launched into a new assignment, the source said. Too much change too quickly is just impossible to handle.

An email to the NYPD for comment about the transfers was not immediately returned.

The most notable reassignment on the list was of Assistant Chief Judith Harrison, who has headed the departments counter-terrorism division since March. Harrison was reassigned to head the Criminal Justice Bureau, where she will be in charge of officers who assist court officers in borough criminal courts.

Harrison made history in 2020 when she was appointed to run the NYPDs Brooklyn North command  the first woman to ever hold the lofty position. She was also at one time put in charge of the NYPD Special Victims Division, where she oversaw major investigations into rape and sexual assault cases.

One NYPD source said Harrisons new assignment isnt a demotion in rank but certainly one in prestige.

As NYPD divisions go, the Criminal Justice Bureau doesnt affect the general public. Many officers in the bureau are cops who have been stripped of their gun and shield and transferred from their commands after being accused of some kind of misconduct, the source said, adding that these officers are kept at the courthouse jails to keep them off the streets.

Its definitely a smack in the face, the source said of Harrisons transfer.

Another move involves Deputy Chief Scott Shanley, who was transferred from the NYPDs Critical Response Command to the Communications Division.

The move comes about three weeks after Shanley caused a minor panic by sending out a memo to his officers informing them that the department wanted to cut the Critical Response Command  the first lines of defense against a terror-related attack he wrote  by 75%.

The department said at the time that there were no immediate plans to gut the CRC but added that the department regularly reviews personnel allocations and considers bolstering resources in various areas whenever it is deemed advantageous to our public safety mission.

At least one of the reassigned members will be returning to the police-side of the department after spending nearly 20 years working with an FBI joint task force. Deputy Inspector George Pietropinto, a 33-year veteran, will be moved to the NYPDs Special Investigation Division.

After Caban was made NYPD commissioner he asked several high-ranking chiefs to put in their resignations, including former Chief of Detectives James Essig, Assistant Chief Christopher McCormack of the Criminal Enterprise Division, and Chief of Transportation Kim Royster.
The NYPD saw a sharp drop in murders and shootings over the summer months compared to last year, thanks in part to a new strategy where cops identified 69 violence-prone zones and flooded them with cops.

Were not talking about hundreds, were talking about thousands of extra officers on foot in those 69 zones between the hours of 5:30 p.m. and 4 a.m., Chief Michael Lipetri of the NYPD Crime Control Strategies said at a press conference at police headquarters in Lower Manhattan.

The additional officers began flooding into the zones beginning on May 4. By the end of September, the NYPD saw a 33% drop in shootings and 1,000 fewer crime victims compared to the same four months in 2022, Lipetri said.

The zone strategy is a modified version of the NYPDs summer all out plan where cops were sent to high crime precincts in the summer months.

This time around, cops drilled down the zones to just a few blocks where gang and drug-related violence have repeatedly occurred.

Most of these troubled locations were in the Bronx and northern Brooklyn and in total encompassed only nine of the citys 300 square miles, police said.

Unfortunately those nine square miles made up about 29% of all the shooting incidents in 2022, Lipetri said.

The zones also encompassed major shopping corridors like Steinway St. and Flushing Ave. in Queens, Church Ave. in Brooklyn and Fordham Road in the Bronx.

As a result of the added enforcement, commercial robberies in those areas dropped, Lipetri said.

Cops flooding those zones wrote 7,500 criminal court summonses, mostly for drinking in public, and seized 1,100 firearms  about 11 a day, Lipetri said.

During the summer months, shootings in the city dropped by 25% from last summer, NYPD Commissioner Edward Caban said.

Cops investigated 192 shootings in July and August compared to 268 last summer. The NYPD probed 61 homicides, 15 fewer than the summer before.

These public safety gains are the direct result of the relentless, intelligence-driven work of your NYPD officers  and that work will continue every day, in every neighborhood, Caban said. We will never stop fighting to make New York City better tomorrow than it is today.

As of Oct. 1,the city has seen a 10% drop in homicides this year, with 304 victims this year compared to 341 by this time last year. Shootings had dropped by 26% this year, from 1,043 to 766.

The only crime categories to show an increase were in assaults and car thefts. Car thefts have jumped by 19% this year from 10,085 to 12,006, driven mostly by the theft of Kias and Hyundais as part of a viral Tik-Tok challenge that showed how easy it can be to steal these autos.

Cops saw a 5% jump in assaults, from 19,959 this time last year to 21,133 so far in 2023 thanks to an uptick in domestic violence and assaults on police officers, Lipetri said.

Despite the drops in crime, there were a number of high-profile homicides in recent weeks, including an incident in Washington Heights where a man, woman and her dog were shot dead by an unhinged neighbor.

In July, there was a bloody 9-hour span beginning 11 p.m. July 4 that included two homicides.

On Aug. 13, a panhandler viciously stabbed an elderly man who declined to give him money outside Manhattans Herald Square subway station, leaving the victim seriously wounded, cops said. The panhandler, David Trotman, was arrested and charged with the attack.
Dr. Catherine Romanos, with the Women's Med Center in Kettering, near Dayton, Ohio, performs a sonogram on a woman from Kentucky, Thursday, June 30, 2022. When Roe vs. Wade was overturned a week ago by the Supreme Court, Kentucky shut down all abortions because of trigger laws. Romanos identified the amniotic sac and said the pregnancy wasn't viable. At a little over six weeks, there was no heart beat.

Ohios Issue 1 before voters Nov. 7 on whether to amend the state constitution to ensure abortion access can be made to sound simple.

If you are "pro-choice," vote yes. If you are "pro-life," vote no.

If you believe that life begins at conception and that, therefore, any abortion is wrong, you vote no. If you believe that decision should always be made in medical privacy by the woman and her physician, you vote yes.

Theres nothing simple about it, of course. Thats why there have been legal challenges all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court, which last year overturned the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision that generally protected abortion rights.

The thoughts on abortion of someone who has spent decades working with pregnant mothers and delivering their babies show the complexity.

This southwest Ohio medical professional  name withheld because of the topic sensitivity  says she stopped counting a while ago, but estimates she has delivered at least 3,000 babies. That should be the goal of any pregnancy, she believes: to deliver healthy babies into the world.

"I personally see every day the life that is present," she says. She considers herself at heart a "right-to-life supporter," and doesnt believe that pregnancies should be terminated because its not a good time for the mother to have a child or for "just not wanting to be pregnant."

However, while she doesnt perform abortions herself, she recognizes medical needs for them.

"There are circumstances when termination of pregnancy to save a mothers life is a choice that is understandable. If a baby has no chance of survival after birth, I agree with parents right to end the pregnancy."

The goal of our discussion was to provide a window to real-world situations, not take a position on current or proposed laws.

Some examples of abnormal fetuses that shes familiar with are those with Trisomy 13 or Trisomy 18, which are severe genetic disorders that leave little chance of survival to birth or past infancy. Another is anencephaly, a neural tube defect that occurs early in pregnancy and results in the absence of a major portion of the brain and skull. That will cause the infant to either be stillborn or die within hours or days of birth.

Examples of terminating pregnancy to protect the mothers life that arise, she said, include when the woman has aggressive cancer that requires chemotherapy, or is facing failure of organs such as lungs, kidneys, liver or heart.

However, abortion laws tend not to be specific.

Current Ohio law, which is on hold pending state Supreme Court action, bans abortion after embryonic cardiac activity is detected, usually around six weeks, with little room for exceptions afterward.

During the time that Ohio law was in effect last year before a judge intervened, a 10-year-old Ohio rape victim went to Indiana for an abortion in a nationally highlighted case because the law didnt except rape or incest. And as The Enquirers Jessie Balmert reported, some doctors were afraid of granting medical exceptions for abortions because they feared being charged criminally or losing their licenses.

The proposed amendment would increase the period for abortions to when a fetus would be able to live outside the womb, usually considered to be at around 24 weeks  with exceptions to protect the mothers life or health.

Defining "health" conditions that call for abortion would be left to medical judgment. Opponents of the amendment say that leaves broad leeway for physicians to interpret and could allow abortions "up to the moment of birth." Such an abortion would be extremely rare, and the latest federal statistics available show that nationally, only 1% of abortions occur after the time of viability.

Other exaggerations by opponents include claiming the amendment would allow secret gender surgery for minors  theres nothing in the amendment about transgenders. On the national level, former President Donald Trump says Democrats can "kill the baby after birth," while former Vice President Mike Pence says fetuses feel pain at 15 weeks, an assertion unsupported by any medical research.

Polls have consistently pointed to passage of Issue 1, which would continue a string of state (including Kentucky) electoral backing for abortion access over the past year. But that wont be the last word. Legislation from the Republican-controlled Statehouse and litigation from abortion opponents is likely.

Abortion is a tough issue, but Id rather leave it to medical professionals to make the decisions than to politicians.

EXTRA POINTS

Get the COVID Vaccine Jab

Louis, 7, gets a COVID-19 vaccine at a Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center clinic.

Speaking of politicizing health, statistician/elections expert Nate Silver this week published an analysis showing that COVID death rates are predictable by state partisanship. Red states death rates tend to run higher than blue states, even when adjusted for the populations age, Silver wrote, "almost certainly as a result of lower vaccine uptake among Republicans."

Its not completely clear why that is, but political bombast and misinformation have played a role.

Its sad that the Kennedy name has become linked to anti-vaccine misinformation. While no one can blame Robert F. Kennedy, who lost both his uncle, the president, and his father, the potential president, to assassins bullets, for being conspiracy-minded, his anti-vaccine allegations that predate the coronavirus arent in the best interest of national health. The Democratic presidential candidate is reportedly planning to run as an independent.

Meanwhile, consider getting vaccinated. I know people under 65 dont think they need to, but every few days, I hear from a younger friend that he or she has tested positive. So, its out there and contagious.

The Enquirer's Terry DeMio recently reported what local doctor's are recommending.

I got the variant booster, my fifth COVID vaccination, a few days ago. Just a jab, didnt hurt a bit. And so far, theyve all worked in keeping me healthy.

Learn More on The Railway, Meet Candidates

Cincinnati Mayor Aftab Pureval, Paul Muething, president of the Cincinnati Southern Railway Board of Trustees, State Rep. Dani Isaacsohn, who represents Ohios 24th House District, Alfred Nippert, Jr., a retired attorney who consulted on the acquisition of short-lines and serves on the board of directors for the Lebanon, Mason and Monroe Railroad; Adam Koehler, a member of the Save Our Rail group and Tom Brinkman, a former state lawmaker who recently brought a lawsuit against the railway board, serve as panelists for a town hall hosted by The Cincinnati Enquirer on the proposed sale of the Cincinnati Southern Railway to Norfolk Southern Corp, Tuesday, Oct. 3, 2023, at Union Terminal in Cincinnati. The Enquirer invited Norfolk Southern Corp. to be part of the forum, but the company declined.

By the time you read this, The Enquirer will have hosted a town hall forum on the proposed Cincinnati railway sale on the Nov. 7 ballot. You can find details of how it unfolded on cincinnati.com .

Panelists both for and against the city-planned $1.6 billion sale of the 143-year-old freight railway to Norfolk Southern took part. Supporters led by Mayor Aftab Pureval say sale proceeds will create a trust fund generating investment dollars for infrastructure needs that will double or more the current $25 million lease. Foes say its short-sighted to give up such a long-time asset and are skeptical about how the sale funds will be used in the future.

The Enquirer is also hosting an informal "meet the candidates" night Oct. 11. Contenders for Cincinnati City Council and school board and representatives of the ballot issues have been invited.

Its meant to be mix-and-mingle, no speeches. From 5:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. at Esoteric Brewing Company, 918 East McMillan Street in Walnut Hills.

Dan Sewell is a regular Opinion contributor. Contact him at his personal email: dsewellrojos@gmail.com.

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Even if Ohio Issue 1 passes, it won't be the last word on abortion
An Oklahoma woman will serve 15 years in prison after she pleaded guilty to allowing her ex-boyfriend to rape and impregnate her 12-year-old daughter, according to court records.

The 33-year-old woman was originally arrested in July 2021 in Tulsa after her 12-year-old daughter showed up at Hillcrest Hospital, Tulsa police said. The girl arrived in labor accompanied by Juan Miranda-Jara, who told authorities he was the baby's biological father. Police believed the girl's family knew of the sexual contact between the girl and Miranda-Jara.

"They walked in just like any other couple would, excited to deliver their newborn child," Tulsa Police Officer Danny Bean told FOX23 News in 2021.

Bean said responding officers found Miranda-Jara, who was 24 years old at the time, excited and bragging that he was about to be the father of the girl's child. He also told officers he was in a loving relationship with her and had the family's blessing, Tulsa police said.

Tulsa police told FOX23 that Miranda-Jara had been in a relationship with the convicted woman but they later broke up. She then allowed Miranda-Jara to begin living as a couple with her daughter, the station reported.

In Oklahoma, the legal age of consent is 16; it's illegal for a minor 15 years of age or younger to have consensual sex with an adult who is at least 18 years old.

According to the court documents, Miranda-Jara, who had been charged with rape, pleaded guilty in March 2022 and is serving a 20-year sentence in the case.

The victim's mother will be required to register as a sex offender upon her release from custody.

At the time of the victim's mother's arrest, Tulsa police said the girl's biological father is serving a 12-year sentence for first-degree rape unrelated to the case.

"The facts of this case are incredibly sad," The Tulsa County District Attorney's Office said in a statement. "Children should be able to rely on their parents for protection from people like Juan Miranda-Jara. For (the mother) to allow this to happen to her daughter is appalling. Both defendants in this case are facing the consequences of their actions and will spend time in the Oklahoma Department of Corrections. Our hope is the victim in this case will be able to put this awful chapter behind her."

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Oklahoma woman pleads guilty after ex-boyfriend impregnates daughter
Oklahoma's special legislative session, called by Gov. Kevin Stitt in part to trim the state's income tax, has fizzled out in frustration and disappointment.

The Oklahoma House of Representatives met only briefly Wednesday morning before adjourning  at least temporarily. The Oklahoma Senate had adjourned its session permanently the day before.

What happened?

Keith Gaddie, a retired political science professor from the University of Oklahoma, said it was like watching a Shakespearian play.

"The choice is between a Shakespearean comedy and the Shakespearean tragedy," Gaddie said.

On Sept. 11, Stitt called for the special session "to put Oklahoma on the path to zero state income tax." He asked that the tax rate be cut from 4.75% to 4.50% as a start.

Rep. Mark McBride asks House Speaker Pro Tem Kyle Hilbert what's going on Wednesday as House Republicans waited until the end of roll call to come to the floor, on the second day of the legislative special session at the Oklahoma Capitol.

The governor also asked for a "trigger law" to eliminate any state tax for all Oklahomans "if a state or federal court finds that some residents, due to their race, heritage or political classification, don't have to pay a state tax."

This request was in response to a case now before the Oklahoma Supreme Court. A Muscogee Nation citizen is seeking an exemption from state income taxes because she lives and works on her tribal reservation. Her claim follows a U.S. Supreme Court ruling, referred to as the McGirt decision, which found that some tribal reservations were never disestablished and remain sovereign. The Oklahoma Tax Commission has estimated the state might lose as much as $100 million a year in tax revenue if the McGirt decision is applied to tax issues, as well as criminal matters.

More: Oklahoma Legislature effectively ends special session five hours after it opened

Stitt also called for more legislative transparency in submitting appropriations bills with enough time for careful review and consideration before the end of session deadline.

The Oklahoma Senate chambers are roped off Wednesday after adjournment. The special session called by Gov. Kevin Stitt lasted barely more than a day before fizzling out in disappointment and frustration.

However, the governor chose not to discuss his proposal, as invited, before the Senate Appropriations Committee.

Treat had said he was concerned that eliminating the income tax would punch a $4 billion hole in the state budget and wanted the governor to explain his plan. He said the governor's failure to appear was frustrating, and just hours after the session had opened, the Senate called it quits, adjourning for good, or "sine die."

House Speaker Charles McCall, R-Atoka, said Wednesday the House leadership was disappointed the Senate had adjourned sine die without taking any votes on tax measures. McCall said the House would continue to work on the tax cuts.

"We're very disappointed there was no communication beforehand what the Senate's action would be," he said. "If the Senate is interested in something else they need to communicate it to the House."

What's next? How much does a special session cost taxpayers?

While the House could continue to process legislation, McCall said he would not bring House members back over the next few days "and waste the taxpayer's money." He said House leaders were not ready to adjourn their session sine die.

House Speaker Charles McCall speaks to the media Wednesday after the House was in session briefly, then adjourned to the call of the chair, on the second day of the legislative special session.

For the House Republican caucus we think that (adjourning sine die) is just a sign of throwing in the towel," he said. "If the Senate wants to do that, that's their prerogative."

Estimates put the cost of a special session at about $30,000 per day.

House Democrats said they were frustrated about returning to the Capitol. Rep. Mickey Dollens, D-Oklahoma City, said there was little House members could do. Were going to be presenting bills that effectively do nothing, he said. So, theres a $30,000 grandstanding session."

More: Republican legislative leaders out of sync on Gov. Stitt's special session tax proposals

While the Senates action effectively ended the special session, debate over tax cuts  both the income tax and the grocery tax  continued. And though the House can continue to move legislation through committee, should any bills pass the House, they would be dormant until acted upon by the Senate.

The Oklahoma Constitution requires legislation to pass both the House and the Senate in the exact same form before it can be sent to the governor.

Gaddie, a long-time observer of Oklahoma politics, said "There is no hurry on tax cuts. They have time. There is no pressing demand from the public."

Though Stitt has continued his conversations with the House it's unclear if the governor and Treat have spoken this week.

Senate Pro Tem Greg Treat said he was frustrated when Gov. Kevin Stitt declined to discuss his tax cut proposal with a Senate committee, The Senate adjourned before the end of the special session's first day.

Late Tuesday, Stitt's spokeswoman, Abegail Cave issued a short statement. The governor has been clear, Cave wrote in an email to The Oklahoman. He wants a quarter point tax cut and to slow the growth of government. Senate leadership is denying Oklahomans their right to keep their hard-earned money while continuing to increase the size of government every year.

Taxes will certainly be on the agenda when the Legislature holds its next regular session in February 2024.

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: What's next after Oklahoma special session fizzles out after one day
Fossilized human footprints at White Sands National Park in New Mexico are every bit as old as the 23,000 years-and-change they were dated at in 2021, according to new analysis published in Science.

Back in 2021, researchers published work in which they used radiocarbon dating of crushed seeds of Ruppia cirrhosa, an aquatic grass, to date the preserved footprints to between 23,000 and 21,000 years old, which would make them thousands of years older than the next most recent evidence of humans in North America. That finding was exciting, but scientists looked for a way to be more certain of the prints age. Now, theyve done it: a group, including members of the previous collaboration, has dated pollen and sediments from the site to the same timeframe as the ancient grasses.

Read more

We always knew that we would have to independently evaluate the accuracy of our ages to convince the archaeological community that the peopling of the Americas occurred far earlier than traditionally thought, said study lead author Jeffrey Pigati, a geologist with the U.S. Geological Survey, in an American Association for the Advancement of Science release.



There are several hypotheses for when humankind first appeared in North America. One view is that our species didnt arrive until after the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM), between 16,000 and 14,000 years ago, when the frigidness of the Pleistocene finally began to thaw, giving way to the Holocene Epoch. The idea is that glaciers would have impeded human expansion across the continentduring the LGM, about 25% of Earths land was covered in ice. But the White Sands footprints, if dated correctly, clearly indicate that Homo sapiens were in the American Southwest before the ice sheets began to recede.

Although we were confident in the original seed ages, we wanted to develop community confidence in them as well, said Kathleen Springer, also a geologist with the USGS, in the same release. Our new ages, combined with the strong geologic, hydrologic, and stratigraphic evidence, unequivocally support the conclusion that humans were present in North America during the last Glacial Maximum.

An artist's illustration of what the region looked like at different points in the last Ice Age.



An artists illustration of what the region looked like at different points in the last Ice Age.

Radiocarbon dating is a reliable way of dating ancient organic material, but it has shortcomings. Aquatic plants can photosynthesize atmospheric carbon thats made its way into the water, but they can also take up more ancient carbon from the groundwater, meaning that analyzing the plant remnants with radiocarbon dating can yield an older age than what the plants actually are. This is known as the freshwater reservoir effect. Additionally, the plants themselves may be more ancient than the sediments theyre found in, if they were redeposited in younger geological layers.

In the new research, the team radiocarbon dated pollen from the same layers as the Ruppia seeds. Pollen is not affected by the freshwater reservoir effect. The team also conducted optically stimulated luminescence dating of the sediment, which dates layers of the ground by determining when some minerals in the soil were last exposed to light (i.e. when they were last on the surface).

The interpretation of the results seems sound, Rainer Grun, a geochronologist and former director the Australian Research Centre for Human Evolution, in an email to Gizmodo. The good agreement between the seed and pollen results refute the argument of reworking of the seeds.

The pollen dates ranged from 23,400 years ago  2,500 years to 22,600 years ago  2,300 years; the sediment dating yielded a minimum age of 21,500 years old  1,900 years. In other words, two additional lines of evidence to the radiocarbon dating of the Ruppia plant material corroborate the teams initial findings two years ago.

Even allowing for substantial errors in radiocarbon dating and OSL, the data overall from the Pigati et al. study strongly indicate human presence in the Americas around the LGM, wrote Bente Philippsen, an archaeologist at the National Laboratory for Age Determination at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology, in a related Perspectives article.

Older dates have been posited for a human presence in North America. In 2017, a team of researchers suggested there was evidence of human activity on the continent a staggering 130,000 years ago, a claim that received widespread pushback. In 2020, two studies in Nature described stone tools and flakes in a Mexican cave that were dated to about 31,000 years old, and last year, an apparent mammoth butchery site in New Mexico was dated to about 37,000 years old15,000 years older than the White Sands footprints.

Trace fossils provide a different, more intimate window into the past than bones or teeth. A collection of footprints show not just that people were present, but how many there were, whether they were children or adults, and where they were going. Superlative age aside, the White Sands footprints are a marvelous echo of some of the earliest Americans. At least, some of the earliest we know of for now.

More: Archaeologists Discover 29 Human Footprints From the Last Ice Age

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If youre searching for a job and dont have a college degree, plenty of options are available through Pennsylvanias state government.

Just under 46% of Centre County residents older than 25 hold a bachelors degree or a higher level of education, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Those who do not hold that level of education may find work more easily in Pennsylvania, where Gov. Josh Shapiro recently eliminated requirements of a four-year college degree for most government jobs.

If youre looking for work with steady pay and strong benefits, the public sector may be your best bet in the Keystone State. Heres a look at some of the most intriguing jobs currently open, advertised publicly and without advanced educational requirements through the commonwealths online portal as of early October.

Game lands maintenance worker

Salary: $35,177 to $51,722

Agency: Pennsylvania Game Commission

Description: In this role, a worker would help preserve and sustain Pennsylvania game lands, facilities, infrastructure, habitats and resource areas, the job description reads. More specific tasks include assisting with controlled burns on game land grounds, assisting with equipment maintenance, posting information signs, performing husbandry operations, maintaining trails and pathways, helping wildlife conservation officers and more.

Anyone in this role should have at least one year of experience using construction or agricultural tools and equipment, construction equipment operation or a combination of experience and training. The position, based in Venango County, requires possession of an active Pennsylvania non-commercial drivers license.

Clerical assistant 2

Salary: $16.86 hourly

Agency: Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission

Description: The Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission is hiring a clerical assistant to help with key components of its work, including printing boat titles, boat registrations and launch permits, the job description reads. A worker in this role would also prepare documents for distribution to consumers and provide agencywide office support.

This full-time job requires about six months of clerical work experience or graduation from high school, or some combination of equivalent experience and training. It is based in Dauphin County.

DCNR Ranger

Salary: $21.98 hourly

Agency: Department of Conservation and Natural Resources

Description: Neshaminy State Park in Bensalem is hiring a full-time, seasonal ranger to help serve as a public service, safety and law enforcement officer for the park. Key duties include patrolling the park, enforcing its laws and rules, investigating complaints, accidents and crimes and taking charge during emergencies. Work occasionally includes heavy physical operations and hazardous conditions in inclement weather. Hiking and climbing is necessary.

This position does not offer benefits, according to its job description. A worker in this role must be willing to work weekends, holidays and all shifts.

The minimum experience for this role is one year as a forest or park ranger, successful completion of the DCNR ranger trainee program or completion of a department-approved law enforcement training program and at least 15 college credits in natural or environmental science fields. This job is based in Bucks County.

Clerical assistant 3

Salary: $39,621 to $59,129

Agency: Pennsylvania Department of Transportation

Description: The Bureau of Motor Vehicles is searching for a clerical assistant who will help process travel expenses, format communications materials, handle executive correspondence, address customer inquiries and research motor vehicle records, among other duties. A worker in this role will also compile reports, procure supplies and coordinate interviews and scheduling for potential employees.

Successful candidates should have at least one year as a clerical assistant in the public sector or an equivalent combination of experience and training, the job description reads. This job is based in Dauphin County.

Mail production operator

Salary: $33,978 to $48,489

Agency: Pennsylvania Department of Transportation

Description: A worker in this role would help process a high volume of computer-generated mail through automated equipment. The job description says its a great work opportunity for those who want to master the latest technologies.

This role seeks applicants with at least one year of experience as a mail production assistant or a clerk, or an equivalent combination of experience and training. This job is based in Dauphin County.

PennDOT CDL Operator (Transportation Equipment Operator A)

Salary: $41,076 to $48,489

Agency: Pennsylvania Department of Transportation

Description: Equipment operators in this role would plow snow and work on construction sites, which are vital to the safety of the public traveling Pennsylvania roads, the job description reads. Additional tasks include performing manual labor, making minor repairs to equipment and covering preventative maintenance tasks for trucks and equipment.

Applicants should complete the Transportation Equipment Operator Trainee Program or graduate from a commercial drivers license training school, or some combination of experience and training. Special requirements for this role included possession of a valid Pennsylvania Class A or Class B commercial drivers license with the air brake restriction removed, plus a valid medical examiners certificate in accordance with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations.

This job is based in Chester County.

Custodial worker 1

Salary: $32,235 to $42,836

Agency: Pennsylvania Department of Military and Veterans Affairs

Description: A custodian in this role would perform general cleaning duties for the Southwestern Veterans Center, one of six residential long-term care facilities operated by the commonwealths Department of Military and Veterans Affairs. Key responsibilities include covering general cleaning duties such as mopping, sweeping, dusting, waxing, and washing. Work in this role involves the use of custodial supplies and may involve moving and lifting heavy furniture.

No minimum experience or training is required for this role, but previous work as a custodian or janitor in an assisted living facility is preferred, according to the job description. The job is based in Allegheny County.

Executive secretary 2

Salary: $47,472 to $72,176

Agency: Pennsylvania Department of Revenue

Description: The commonwealths Department of Revenue seeks an employee who would maintain a calendar for the departments secretary and executive deputy secretary while providing information for coming events and screening emails, mail and calls. A worker in this role would also provide direction to the executive secretaries, maintain a file on taxpayer requests and approve outgoing letter responses on behalf of the secretary.

Applicants for this role should hold at least five years of experience in secretarial work or an equivalent combination of experience and training. This position is based in Dauphin County.
Editors Note: Mike Chinoy is a non-resident senior fellow at the University of Southern Californias US-China Institute and a former Beijing bureau chief and senior Asia correspondent for CNN. His new book is Assignment China: An Oral History of American Journalists in the Peoples Republic. The views expressed in this commentary are his own. Read more opinion on CNN.

The novel, published in 2018 by a member of the North Korean Writers Union named Kim Ryong Yon, is called Thunderclap. The heroine is a fictional Korean American CNN correspondent, Byun Sa-hwang. She is preparing to make a reporting trip to North Korea in 2009 and is wrestling with conflicting emotions.

Mike Chinoy - Mike Chinoy

On the one hand, she is desperate to make the trip, as it was the dying wish left by my father for me to visit the homeland where my ancestors were buried.

And yet, she worries, Why would [North] Korea, the most formidable enemy of the US, let in someone like me, an American citizen and reporter?

For encouragement, she turns to a fellow CNN correspondent. But the character from whom she draws inspiration is not made up. In fact, this character named Michael Chinoy is me  making me one of a very small number of real-life Americans who appear with a speaking part in any North Korean novels.

But the fictional me  and the fictional CNN I work for  are depicted in Thunderclap in a way designed to show that the network was sympathetic to the North Korean regime  something that was never the case.

I discovered this when I recently received an email from Korea scholar Meredith Shaw, an associate professor affiliated with the University of Tokyo Institute of Social Science, who is writing a book on the treatment of foreigners in North Korean literature.

The novel Shaw pointed me to, for which she did the translation, quotes me as saying, The greatest strength of Korea is its unique political system, in which the leader and people act as one.

To the fictional Byun Sa-hyang, CNN was a little different from other Western media, not least because, Michael Chinoy had been on the reporting team [to cover celebrations marking the 50th anniversary of the founding of the DPRK in 1998] and said that the reality of the country had left a good impression.

For Sa-hyang, Michael Chinoys impression added fuel to my already burning fire, so much so that my heart felt intolerably heavy. I have to go. I must go!

As a CNN correspondent, I did indeed make 14 trips to North Korea, and three more after I left the network. I also met the late North Korean leader Kim Il Sung , grandfather of current dictator Kim Jong Un , three times. Moreover, my CNN camera crew and I were the only Western journalists allowed to visit North Korea to cover the 1998 celebrations.

But the language attributed to me in Thunderclap is entirely made up.

In my live report, which can be seen here, I described North Korean leader Kim Jong Il as being worshipped like a virtual God in a nation where unquestioning loyalty to the supreme leader is drummed in almost literally from birth, where the individual pales into insignificance against the all-pervasive influence of the state. Moreover, although 1998 was the height of the famine that devastated North Korea, I noted that we were not able to visit the areas of the country worst hit by the food shortages.

So what explains this remarkably positive depiction of me and CNN, which stands in sharp contrast to the way other authoritarian systems, such as those of Russia and China, have often demonized the international media? Shaw observes that, somewhat surprisingly, Western media are treated with something akin to reverence, and foreign journalists are depicted as indefatigable servants of truth.

This is especially true in relation to CNN, which has had a long and complicated relationship with North Korea. I first visited Pyongyang in 1989. Three years later, cameraman Mitch Farkas and I were the only foreign journalists allowed to accompany the Rev. Billy Graham, who had long been lobbying to visit and whose wife Ruth had attended a missionary-run school in Pyongyang in the 1930s. Graham, who had asked the North Koreans to give CNN visas, was granted a meeting with North Korean leader Kim Il Sung, and as the reporter with him, I met the Great Leader as well.

In the spring of 1994, with tensions over the Norths nuclear program rising, I was able to visit again, accompanied by a camera crew and CNN International Editor Eason Jordan . This time it was representatives of the Rev. Sun Myung Moons Unification Church (the Moonies) who got us in. Moon himself had visited Pyongyang in 1991, and, in yet another example of Kim Il Sungs apparent soft spot for religious leaders, had established a cordial understanding with Kim.

In April 1994, the North Koreans asked the Moonies to organize a goodwill delegation of international VIPs to Pyongyang to mark Kims 82nd birthday. After considerable lobbying, my colleagues and I were given permission to cover the delegation. We were told the decision had been taken personally by the Great Leaders son, Kim Jong Il.

That visit included a memorable lunch with Kim Il Sung, in which Eason and I, along with about a dozen other guests, were able to ask him about the nuclear program and other issues, as well as my doing the first ever live TV shot from Pyongyang.

Former CNN International Editor Eason Jordan stands behind North Korean leader Kim Il Sung and US President Jimmy Carter in Pyongyang in 1994. - Eason Jordan

Two months later, Jordan and I, along with a camera crew, were the only foreign journalists allowed to cover former President Jimmy Carters historic trip. During the trip, Carter used a CNN interview conducted at his Pyongyang guest house to successfully pressure the Clinton administration to resume negotiations and abandon consideration of a military strike on the Norths nuclear facilities.

This kept the door open to talks that produced the October 1994 Agreed Framework deal, under which Pyongyang agreed to freeze production of its plutonium-based nuclear program, in return for an American promise of better relations and agreement to supply the North with proliferation-resistant light water nuclear reactors.

Interestingly, a 1997 North Korean novel called Eternal Life, written by North Korean Writers Union members Song Sang Won and Baek Bo Heum, recounts the heroic achievements of Kim Il Sung and has a chapter on the Carter visit, which mentions my colleague Eason Jordan by name. Like me, Jordan is depicted sympathetically, including this highly embroidered account of a chat with Kim while waiting for Carter to arrive:

How are you, Mr. Jordan? At the sound of his name called by such a booming, hearty voice, Jordan looked up from his equipment and froze, his eyes instantly bulging out.

Ah, Premier!

Bingo! Comrade Kim Il Sung stuck out his hand. Jordan rushed over to shake it.

Ive been looking forward to this, Comrade Kim Il Sung added cheerfully. Have you been well, old friend?

Fine. And you?

As you can see, I am the picture of health. Laughing heartily, he continued, Mr. Jordan, you cant keep coming here only for formal events. You must come again as my personal guest. Bring your wife and kids this fall.

Jordan noted in an email that this account appears based on official records and eavesdropping, while other bits are enlightened speculation and wishful thinking.

In fact, less than a month later, Kim Il Sung died of a heart attack. But when we saw him, he certainly looked healthy, and we did have several cordial exchanges.

To Korea scholar Shaw, the repeated mention of Eason Jordan by name and his warm personal interactions with the Leader indicate that he, like Mike Chinoy, is someone whose reporting did not offend the regime enough to override their gratification at the prestige afforded by CNNs presence.

One of the most fascinating points in analysing these books is that it appears the authors were given access to some official records  perhaps even transcripts of monitored phone calls  on which to base at least part of their narrative. Indeed, in Eternal Life, there is a purported verbatim transcript, presumably from a tapped phone line, of a call from Carter to Clinton administration officials. The former president did in fact make several calls on an open line from the presidential guest house in Pyongyang, although whether Carter actually used the language attributed to him or whether the North Koreans made it up remains unknown.

There is little information about the writers or how these two novels were vetted or written. Although published more than a quarter century ago, Eternal Life only became available on North Korea websites in the past decade. And a digital version of Thunderclap only appeared last year. Thunderclap author Kim Ryong Yon is credited for other novels featuring North Koreas leaders, and is believed to be a member of an elite organization called the 4.15 Writers Group (the date refers to Kim Il Sungs birthday). Paek Bo Hum and Song Sang Won are now both in their 80s and have a long literary history, including stories featuring Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il. Within North Korea, according to Shaw, Eternal Life is considered one of the countrys most important novels.

However they were assembled, the references to me, Jordan, and CNN indicate how eager the North Korean regime has been to show its own people that it is respected and admired around the world. Moreover  and somewhat surprisingly  at least the scenes dealing with us do so in a way that is unusually non-polemical in a system known for its extreme, often comically overblown rhetoric.

Since everything North Koreans are allowed to read is tightly controlled, people there, apart from a few officials, would almost certainly be unaware of the more critical reports which I also filed on my various trips. This is equally true for reports that other CNN correspondents who have visited the country in more recent years, like Will Ripley, also did.

Moreover, having portrayed the network sympathetically and as having some kind of special relationship with Kim Il Sung, CNN would be in what one former US North Korea intelligence analyst described as a sacred spot. That may help explain CNNs unusual access over the years, and the more recent positive literary portrayal.

As Shaw notes, what is fascinating is how the North Korean regime, in literature created for domestic readers, intentionally maintains the fiction that CNN, a major international news organization, is impressed with North Korea, presumably to boost its own public image.

Thus, as soon as the character Byun Sa-hyang arrives in Pyongyang, she rushes to file, worrying that otherwise, American media might start spreading ridiculous slander like a CNN reporter had been detained in North Korea. Her first report shows the streets of Pyongyang with kindergarten children laughing and playing happily. She also includes an almost poetic description: The sky in Pyongyang is exceptionally clear and blue. In this sky are flying not fierce hawks, but peaceful doves.

The novel then describes me, having watched her report, sending her a message: Sa-hyang, do not waver, do not give in. Pyongyang is an impressive city. Lets meet in Beijing when you return. Michael Chinoy.

But while Thunderclap describes Sa-hyang walking around Pyongyang on her own, without a government guide, as she decides to see and feel with her own eyes and skin, and tell the reality of North Korea, the actual reality for correspondents, is, of course, almost precisely the opposite.

Indeed, on my many trips to North Korea, I was regularly prevented by government minders from leaving my hotel, even for a jog, and there were more than a few occasions when our requests to stop and film were denied.

So, as Meredith Shaw observed, Thunderclap takes every single thing people have said about covering North Korea and basically says  its not true. The scenes of Byun Sa-hyang exploring Pyongyang read like a masterclass in gaslighting against real journalists recurrent complaints.

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Editors Note: Editors Note: Patrick T. Brown is a fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center, a conservative think tank and advocacy group based in Washington, DC. He is also a former senior policy adviser to Congress Joint Economic Committee. Follow him on Twitter. The views expressed in this piece are his own. View more opinion on CNN.

Two months before the 2022 midterms, President Joe Biden stood flanked by two US Marines in front of Independence Hall in Philadelphia and issued some of the harshest words of his presidency.

Donald Trump and the MAGA Republicans represent an extremism that threatens the very foundations of our republic, Biden intoned, calling extreme MAGA Republicans  a clear and present danger to our democracy.

Patrick T. Brown - Courtesy Patrick T. Brown

Clearly, some in the presidents party missed the memo.

On Tuesday, Democrats in the House decided to side with eight Republicans who voted to remove their follow party member, Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), from his role as speaker. Instead of siding with stability, Democrats chose to double down on partisanship. For the party that has talked repeatedly about wanting to restore norms of good government, it was a cynical display of short-term political gain at the expense of the long-term functioning of our political institutions.

To be clear, the predicament originated with Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL), one of the MAGA-type Republicans Biden seemed to be referencing and a consistent thorn in the side of McCarthy since the infamous 15 ballots it took for McCarthy to secure the speakership in January. As I wrote for CNN at the time, McCarthys travails illustrate how trying to lead in an era when parties and institutions are held captive by an anti-establishment mentality will be a continual exercise in frustration.

Over the past 10 months, Gaetz held the threat of a motion to vacate  the ability to call a vote at any time to oust the speaker  over McCarthy like the sword of Damocles. The California Republicans decision last weekend to rely on Democratic votes to avoid a government shutdown was the weapon Gaetz needed to make good on his threat.

Gaetzs move gave Democrats an opportunity to reward McCarthy for having kept the government open. Two-hundred-and-nine Democrats joined 126 Republicans to pass the last-minute deal that averted a shutdown, and many were initially cautiously open to securing a deal to save McCarthys speakership. I think if hes willing to work together on things, a member of Congress told CNN at the time, there will be enough of us to protect him.

Michael Wear, a speaker and strategist at the intersection of faith and politics, who previously led faith outreach for President Barack Obamas 2012 reelection campaign, was not alone in being hopeful that McCarthys decision to introduce a stop-gap spending measure in a bipartisan manner, and Democrats willingness to sign onto it, signaled promise for those who want our politics to choose something greater than partisan warfare.

Alas, those hopes were not fulfilled. House Democrats acted as enablers for those Republicans who sought McCarthys ouster, effectively helping to punish him for compromising on keeping the government open.

Admittedly, there had already been no shortage of bad blood between McCarthy and Democrats, who were perturbed by his willingness to indulge his right flank, his flip-flop on whether Trump should be considered responsible for the events of January 6, 2021, and his launch of an impeachment inquiry against Biden even before the possibility of a shutdown picked up speed. And then, in the days surrounding the bipartisan spending deal, Democrats were reportedly angered not just by McCarthys chaotic process for passing the deal, but also by a CBS interview in which McCarthy blamed them, rather than his far-right flank, for the prospect of a shutdown.

Democrats also argued that an intra-caucus squabble was something for which Republicans owned responsibility. It was McCarthys choice to empower [the right wing] further, Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York posted on X, formerly Twitter. He protected them & punished those who bucked Trump. Hes not a victim.

But Democrats didnt have to like McCarthy or approve of everything hes done to understand that his ouster only empowers the MAGA Republicans decried by Biden and opposed by Ocasio-Cortez as one of the gravest threats facing the country.

Gaetz is the loudest voice of a small coalition of Republicans who seem to care less about specific policy than in delivering on an uncompromising approach to politics  and, along the way, burnishing their brand for social media, cable news hits or future runs for office. Republicans threatening retribution in the form of cutting off fundraising dollars or supporting primary opponents against Gaetz, Rep. Nancy Mace [(R-SC)] and others who participated in the revolt are right to do so. But given the Republicans narrow majority and the partys lack of a unifying vision, it seems likely this faction will exhibit the same behavior when the next speaker is chosen.

A little bipartisanship could have thwarted their attempt. Democrats didnt even have to affirmatively support McCarthy; simply voting present would have lowered the threshold necessary for the former speaker to maintain a majority. Instead, Democrats helped those they see as extreme MAGA Republicans while allowing the House to be thrown into chaos amid the fraught prospect of choosing a new speaker as the clock ticks down to the next shutdown deadline.

Through the lens of crass electoral politics, Democrats may have calculated correctly, at least in the short term. The latest Gallup poll shows that the percentage of Americans who say they trust Republicans to manage the economy over Democrats is at an all-time high. Allowing Republicans to shoot themselves in the foot surely helps strengthen the Democrats argument that voters shouldnt entrust them with control of Congress. Democrats can also tell their base they kept their hands pure rather than casting a vote for a speaker many progressives saw as morally compromised.

But whats best for the Democratic Party is not whats best for the country, and its hypocritical for Democrats not to acknowledge that. It is highly unlikely that McCarthys replacement will be any more amenable to working across the aisle than the California Republican was. He or she will be beholden to the same forces that made McCarthys job near-impossible, just like former Speakers John Boehner and Paul Ryan before him. The result will likely be future deadlock, a political process that works even less well and a long-term degradation of the constitutional order in which neither party sees any gain in doing the right thing instead of taking a cheap win.

Biden, like other Democrats, has made political hay out of claiming that todays GOP aint your fathers Republican Party. Perhaps thats so. But if they truly long for the purported halcyon days of political compromise and sober government, siding with a handful of Republican renegades to throw the business of the House into disarray is a funny way of showing it. When faced with the choice to reward bipartisanship or exploit GOP divisions for political gains, Democrats chose the latter.

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Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., wears a dress emblazoned with the words Tax the Rich at the 2021 Met Gala in New York, N.Y. | NDZ/Star Max/IPx via Associated Press

You have heard it many times before from people like President Joe Biden and presidential wannabe Bernie Sanders. And, with an election year looming, youre bound to hear it again.

The rich should pay their fair share.

Two years ago, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., was spotted at the Met Gala, an event for the wealthiest of the wealthy, wearing a white dress emblazoned with the message, Tax the Rich in bright red.

Thats a real crowd pleaser, but it cant solve the nations problems.

A new study from the Manhattan Institute illustrates how ridiculous, not to mention impossible, that notion is.

First of all, the nations top-earning quintile earns 58% of all the income and pays 69% of all federal taxes, including 90% of all income taxes. Meanwhile, the top 1% of earners brings home 18% of all income but pays a quarter of all federal taxes and 40% of all income taxes.

At the other end of the scale, the bottom 60% of all earners makes 23% of all income but pays only 13% of all federal taxes, including less than zero combined income taxes.

This is an inconvenient truth many politicians, particularly on the left, dont want people to hear. It even offends regular hardworking folks who dont like the implication that they arent pulling their weight.

And, lets face it, no politicians would campaign on a platform of making the poor and middle class pay their fair share. But anyone who looks at the nations runaway spending with a clear eye would see its impossible to fix things without everyone paying more.

Related

In the 2012 presidential election, Mitt Romney took a lot of criticism for telling a roomful of wealthy donors at a fundraiser that 47% of Americans are people who pay no income tax.

I suppose it did sound a bit elitist. But the fact checker politifact.com examined it and rated Romneys statement as true, with the comment that a 2009 report by the Joint Committee on Taxation had found an even larger percentage paying nothing.

The authors of the report want to make one thing clear. They arent shilling for any political point of view.

In order to avoid the partisan misrepresentations that typify tax policy debates, it is important to clarify, at the outset, that this report is not a conservative anti-tax manifesto, the report says. It does not argue that upper-income taxes should not be raised at all. Nor does it claim that all tax cuts pay for themselves.

Instead, it employs consensus economic modeling and research to build a more realistic framework for taxing the rich  and to rein in the unrealistic perception that taxing the rich can sufficiently eliminate budget deficits and finance the progressive agenda.

That realistic framework, however, is elusive. The rich have more choices when it comes to taxes. And there is truth to the notion that higher rates on the rich and on corporations can have a negative effect on job creation and investments.

The report quotes economist Martin Feldstein, who said, I dislike budget deficits as much as anyone else. But would I really want to give up, say, $1 billion of GDP in order to reduce the deficit by $100 million?

Of course not.

Related

The report also debunks a few myths, including that European nations tax wealthy citizens more without hurting their economies. No, the report concludes, European tax revenues are driven by more broad-based income and consumption taxes. They have national sales taxes, or value-added taxes, that hit the poor and middle classes hardest.

And no, the 90% marginal tax rates the United States imposed on high earners in the 1950s didnt bring in much additional revenue.

And yet, to be fair, this generation did not invent the tax the rich slogan. Its worth remembering how, when the income tax was first levied in 1913, the idea was to tax only the rich. Every individual earning up to $3,000 (roughly $92,000 in todays dollars), and every couple earning up to $4,000 was exempted. People who earned up to $20,000 were taxed at 1%.

Exempting roughly the lowest earning 60% today is in keeping with that idea, except for all the paperwork.

Only, we cant fix our current problems that way. And while cuts are certainly necessary, we cant fix things that way, alone, either. This years budget deficit is at 6.62% of GDP, and the national debt, at $33 trillion, is equal to 123.7% of GDP, according to usdebtclock.org. Thats a huge imbalance.

The 18th century French economist Anne Robert Jacques Turgot is often credited with saying that the art of taxation is to pluck the hen without making it squeal. Thats OK when the hen is wealthy. No one seems to care, then. But Americans have passed a point where widespread squealing cant be avoided.

Or, as the Manhattan Institute report puts it, Everyone wants a free lunch, and taxing the rich has always been popular with voters  but even moderately informed voters understand that such a promise is mathematically  and economically  absurd.

Thats worth remembering as next years election rhetoric begins to heat up.
Editors Note: K. Denise Rucker Krepp is a former Maritime Administration Chief Counsel. Krepp started her federal career as a Coast Guard officer. She subsequently served as a Transportation Security Administration lawyer, House of Representatives Homeland Security Committee Senior Counsel and as a locally elected DC official. The views expressed in this commentary are her own. Read more opinion at CNN.

My familys military service goes back generations, so when the time came for me to pursue a career, it was only natural for me to continue the tradition.

I held the belief that the military I would be joining  long a bastion of male privilege  was a changing institution, one welcoming to young women like me eager to serve the country. I signed up for the Coast Guard shortly after graduating from law school.

My idealism was easily understandable, but I could not have been more mistaken.

K. Denise Rucker Krepp - Rucker Krepp Photo

I was still in college when news started trickling out about the horrifying mass sexual assault in 1991 by military officers attending the three-day convention of the Tailhook Association. It was shocking to think that they would sexually violate scores of their fellow service members.

Tailhook was a watershed moment that demanded accountability. And indeed, in the aftermath of those horrific assaults, our military leaders vowed to make service to our country safer for women who joined.

But the real tragedy coming out of the Tailhook scandal is how little the culture of the military has changed, despite years of promises of reform and house-cleaning by the militarys senior leaders. Countless women, and some men as well, continue to experience sexual assault in shocking numbers.

One of the most appalling realities about Tailhook is that, while hundreds of people were punished, no one was criminally prosecuted for those crimes. And few prosecutions for alleged sexual offenses are taking place in the military today. Often, the perpetrators, if they are punished at all, face only administrative discipline.

How do I know that the military hasnt properly addressed the issue of sexual assault within its ranks? Because week after week, there are new accounts from survivors who have left the military about how they were preyed upon while in the military.

I heard chilling echoes of the travesty at Tailhook earlier this year, as CNN reported extensively about a sex abuse scandal involving US Coast Guard Academy cadets and a cover-up by the military top brass.

CNN revealed that an internal Coast Guard investigation found that Coast Guard leadership was more concerned about protecting the reputation of the academy than helping the victims, who were also members from among its ranks. The US Senate has now launched its own probe into the scandal.

Quite apart from feeling the sense of betrayal by fellow members of the military, both the Tailhook and the Coast Guard Academy scandals hit very close to home for me for another reason: I was forced to resign my position as Maritime Administration Chief Counsel after reporting sexual assault at the US Merchant Marine Academy in 2011.

Before students graduate from the US Merchant Marine Academy, they are required to go out for a sea year, with their fellow mariners, and when they did, they were being sexually assaulted.

A whistleblower notified me of sexual assaults occurring at the school, one of the five federal service schools. According to the accounts from the whistleblower who sought me out, sexual assault and harassment was rife. It was student on student, professor on student and merchant mariner on student during the mandatory sea year.

I found the allegations so troubling that I requested an Inspector General investigation which the IG declined to pursue. A few months later, then-Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood directed me to resign, stating that hed lost confidence in my ability to be the agencys chief counsel.

[In a statement to CNN, a spokesperson for LaHood said that Krepps removal was not taken in retaliation for her request for the launch of an IG investigation. Denise Krepp was not fired in retaliation for her actions, read the statement from Joan DeBoer, the former chief of staff for LaHood at the US Department of Transportation.]

That series of events showed me that the leaders of military services care more about the reputations of the service academies than about the well-being of the men and women who have been assaulted.

And indeed, that was the finding made by investigators during an exhaustive inquiry, dubbed Fouled Anchor, that revealed a dark history of sexual misconduct at the Coast Guard Academy, substantiating dozens of rapes and assaults there from the late 1980s to 2006. That probe focused on the Coast Guard Academy but might as well have been speaking about all of the service branch academies.

A US Coast Guard Academy sexual assault survivor who was quoted in the CNN investigation expressed frustration about how inadequately sexual assault and sexual harassment are addressed in the service. Why is it taking so long to hear us?

The us she was speaking about includes military personnel in all six services. For the 2022 fiscal year, the Department of Defense said it received 8,942 reports of sexual assault involving service members as victims and/or subjects  just about the same number as were reported the previous year. Sexual assault in the military is continuing to this day.

I reluctantly tendered my resignation after being ordered to do so by LaHood. I was in the early months of pregnancy at that time. The following week, I had a miscarriage; I will forever believe that the stress associated with my abrupt dismissal from a job I loved and the loss of my livelihood as the main breadwinner for my family was the precipitating reason why I lost a child. Its a loss that haunts me to this day.

The internal Coast Guard inquiry determined that Coast Guard Academy leadership was more concerned at that time about organizational reputation than about the victims of crimes who were members of the service. I never fail to be outraged by that. The crown jewel of an institution isnt the physical structure, it is the people who are part of it. Failing to punish those who commit crimes against fellow service members only tarnishes that legacy.

There were a lot of promises made that women like me entering the military service would find a military where sexual assault would not be tolerated.

CNNs reporting showed that in the US Coast Guard Academy, and indeed, throughout the services, little has changed over the years. If the promises made after Tailhook had been kept, there would not be a climate of continued sexual predation and sexual violence.

Its painful to see how the trust of so many service members who put their lives in the hands of the military has been violated. Why havent they done more to prevent assaults like the one endured by Hope Hicks, who says that as a 19-year-old US Merchant Marine trainee she was raped aboard the vessel where she was carrying out her military training  by the man she reported to.

Ive got two children. Theyve witnessed my decade-long work to help military sexual assault survivors, and neither are inclined to join the military, leaving me to be the last one in my family who will have served. I understand the logic behind their decision  and I will never recommend that any mother send her precious child to the Coast Guard Academy or to the US Merchant Marine Academy, knowing firsthand what has befallen so many young people who attend them.

Im long since out of my job at the Maritime Administration but I am still contacted by sex assault victims. I was contacted recently by a survivor of Tailhook who introduced herself to me by the victim number assigned to her by those investigating the incident.

She just wanted to thank me for advocating for military sexual assault survivors  someone heard the pleas for justice and didnt just want the crimes swept under the rug. I could not help but be struck that  more than 3 decades since those heinous crimes occurred  her victim number remains part of her identity. It will be with her for the rest of her life. And there has been no resolution to her case.

Coast Guard Commandant Admiral Linda Fagan recently spoke with students at the Coast Guard Academy. She told them that everyone has the right to a workplace free from sexual assault and harassment.

Agreed. But why should the current students trust the current leaders when none of the past leaders have to date been held accountable for the cover-up of the investigation into the sexual crimes at the academy?

What would the appropriate course of action look like? In the case of the US Coast Guard Academy, that means court martialing retired Coast Guard officers who failed to prosecute the rapes at the school between 1988 and 2006.

It would mean recalling a retired commandant and court-martialing him for failing to share information with Congress about crimes at the school. It would mean court martialing and firing individuals still employed at Coast Guard headquarters accountable for the cover-up.

Too many survivors have paid a terrible price because of past failed leadership. In the years since Tailhook, far too little has changed. Its time for senior government leaders to do the right thing and report and prosecute sexual assaults, instead of continuing to turn a blind eye to these terrible crimes.

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Slovakias early parliamentary elections on Sept. 30 resulted in a clear victory for pro-Kremlin politician Robert Fico and his party, SMER.

While we dont know which parties will form the government, scenarios in which Fico is not the strongest party leader of the ruling coalition are not really plausible. Therefore, it is reasonable to assume that SMER will form the government and Fico will be the next prime minister of Slovakia.

Based on these assumptions, several important implications can be drawn and discussed for Slovakia and our neighbors.

Let me start with some good news: Only two out of the six political parties that made it into parliament are openly questioning Slovakias foreign policy orientation.

Read also: Peter Tkacenko: Slovakia after election  If not friend, certainly not enemy of Ukraine

Only SMER and the Slovak National Party (SNS) are vocally calling to cease weapons deliveries to Ukraine or the need for diplomatic solutions and peace talks between Kyiv and Moscow.

Meanwhile, the positions on Ukraine of Hlas, a political party led by Peter Pellegrini that split from SMER after the parliamentary elections in 2020, are a perfect example of fence-sitting politics, rhetorically ambivalent and hiding behind empty phrases like Slovak national interest.

The bad news is that these three parties have a narrow majority of 79 out of 150 seats in the parliament.

Ficos turning point

Since 2018, when Ficos stance on the murder of young investigative journalist Jan Kuciak and his fiancee, Martina Kusnirova, triggered his resignation as prime minister, Fico significantly reinvented his political persona.

He transformed from a pragmatic opportunist using populist social democratic talking points to charm his voters to loud, illiberal, national populist positions, building on anti-establishment sentiments and using fear, frustration, anger, and mistrust as essential voter mobilization tools.

This transformation allowed him to tap successfully into the booming disinformation ecosystem across various outlets, blogs, Facebook groups, and Telegram channels, where everything from ridiculous conspiracy theories and hardline pro-Kremlin propaganda to dangerous hate speech thrives.

The attraction was mutual, and Fico and his party SMER quickly became sweethearts of the so-called anti-establishment scene, even though Fico himself is a two-time former prime minister and SMER one of the biggest, strongest, and most influential political parties in Slovakia.

Once Washington, Brussels, George Soros, the media, NGOs, liberals, and minorities became Slovakias sworn enemies in Ficos rhetoric, his U-turn was over.

Domestic turning point

Messages coming from SMERs leading representatives during the parliamentary elections campaign give us a rather clear picture of what to expect from them once they are back in power.

There will be changes at the Special Prosecutor Office and National Criminal Agency as both institutions lead criminal investigations against SMER members, nominees, or closely affiliated persons in cases of corruption, misuse of public funds and power, or even the establishment of an organized crime group. This is personal for Fico, and it would be terribly naive to think he is not coming back with revenge.

Progressive Slovakia party leader Michal Simecka speaks to an audience during the Slovak parliamentary elections on Sept. 30, 2023 in Bratislava, Slovakia. (Zuzana Gogova/Getty Images)

Special attention will be paid to civil rights, watchdog, transparency, and other civil society groups, as well as individual activists, independent media, and political opposition. Strategic lawsuits against public participation, a foreign actors registration act, and open threats are expected as the new normal.

Securing power by all means necessary will be Fico and his cronies strategic priority. Therefore, a full spectrum of the authoritarian toolkit might be seen soon, restructuring Slovak domestic politics.

Regional turning point

It is no coincidence that Hungarian Prime Minister Victor Orban was the first foreign leader to publicly and enthusiastically congratulate Fico on his electoral victory. For Orban, having Fico back in power is certainly good news.

Fico openly celebrated Orban several times as a seasoned statesman and strong leader. Their positions on Russias full-scale war are virtually the same. Strong criticism of sanctions against Russia, the EUs policies on migration and energy, and anti-American accents are other linking points between the two of them.

Orban is seeking a political buddy who will be willing to help him ease the pressure from the EU and create more space for haggling over key decisions. An OrbanFico tandem certainly has the potential to complicate further intra-EU decisions and test the Unions unity, but their weight shouldnt be overestimated.

The upcoming Polish parliamentary elections might be a game-changer if the currently ruling party, Law and Justice, will need the far-right party Confederacy (which is already calling for less support to Ukraine and more help to our Polish people) to form the next government.

Read also: Far-right party may hold keys to next Polish government, sets tone in talks with Ukraine

The staunchly illiberal and reactionary Warsaw-Bratislava-Budapest axis would be a different problem for European politics.

Such a scenario would create an immediate challenge for Czechia, which will be forced to reorient from a very close partnership with Slovakia and an important, yet somehow complicated, relationship with Poland.

Also, there are political actors and movements in Czech national politics that will learn eagerly from Fico, Kaczynski, or Orban and might capitalize on unpopular austerity measures of the current government and struggling economy in the 2025 parliamentary elections.

History provides a clear lesson on how quickly spreading the virus of illiberal, nationalistic populism can be. Also, how dangerous it can be, especially if there is a major war in the neighborhood already.

Editor's Note: The opinions expressed in the op-ed section are those of the authors and do not purport to reflect the views of the Kyiv Independent.

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Editors Note: Frida Ghitis, a former CNN producer and correspondent, is a world affairs columnist. She is a weekly opinion contributor to CNN, a contributing columnist to The Washington Post and a columnist for World Politics Review. The views expressed in this commentary are her own. View more opinion on CNN.

If youve found this weeks spectacle in the US House of Representatives gripping and more than a little baffling, imagine how it looked for the people of Ukraine, whose life-and-death struggle to defend their country from Russias invasion risks suffering yet another demoralizing and dangerous blow as the result of the Republican Partys mind-boggling infighting.

Frida Ghitis - CNN

As is well known by now, a band of far-right GOP legislators removed now-former Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy on Tuesday night, days after he prevented them from shutting down the government by reaching a deal with House Democrats to fund operations for 45 days.

That late Saturday night agreement left out urgently needed military funding for Ukraine. Ukrainians reacted with anxiety. And that was before McCarthy was dethroned and the Speakers chair was left empty, with the outlook for support for Ukraine in limbo as the result of almost-incomprehensible political games in Washington.

When asked by CNN staff in Kyiv, Olha Hrubryna, 60, said shes been following events on Capitol Hill. I think its awful, because the safety of our people depends on financial support, she said Wednesday. We will fight to the last, naturally, but (lack of support) means a lot of losses. Volodymyr Kostiak, a Ukrainian serviceman, called it all political games related to the 2024 US elections, telling CNN, We [Ukrainians] are hostages to this process.

Ukrainian news outlets tried to explain this latest crisis for Kyiv at a time when the horizon is starting to look rather grim.

While the Congress tangled itself in MAGA madness, Slovakia, a member of NATO and the European Union, gave first place in parliamentary elections to the populist Pro-Russian candidate Robert Fico, who has vowed not to send a single bullet to Ukraine if hes able to form a coalition as prime minister.

In the meantime, a top NATO official warned that the arsenal for supporting Ukraine is running low. The bottom of the barrel is now visible, said Adm. Rob Bauer of the Royal Dutch Navy, chairman of NATOs Military Committee.

Ukrainians have been fighting ferociously to defend their country, and its hard to imagine that would ever stop. But the odds for victory would shrink if the US withdraws its support. And a loss for Ukraine would constitute a defeat for NATO, for the US, and for the democratic world.

A Russian victory would not only empower Russian President Vladimir Putin , who has repeatedly telegraphed his wishes to reconstitute the former Soviet Union, and even larger Russian Empire, it would also embolden other autocracies  like China  to expand their borders by force.

However poorly the war has gone for Russia, which expected a swift victory, this new turn of events is playing right into Putins plans; plans we long suspected but have now been confirmed by his spokesman.

The Kremlins Dmitry Peskov described the scenario: Fatigue over this conflict, he said, will grow in various countries, including the US. He added, Fatigue will lead to the fragmentation of the political establishment.

Putin is counting on a divided United States, with former President Donald Trump  who declared Putin a genius as he moved to annex pieces of Ukraine, and never uttered a negative word about the Russian autocrat while in office  to stoke antipathy toward Ukraine, fueling it with questions about the cost of supporting it.

The European Union is trying to calm Kyivs fears. EU foreign ministers traveled to Kyiv this week, holding their first ever meeting in a third country as a sign of enduring support. The EUs top foreign policy official, Josep Borrell, said, Lets see what will happen in the US, but from our side, we will continue supporting and increasing our support.

President Joe Biden has also offered reassurance, but without question theres reason for concern.

The political turmoil and growing extremism now infecting the Republican Party could put poison in the pipeline of support.

Europeans, contrary to the claims of demagogues running for president, are spending heavily to support Ukraine. In fact, as a share of GDP, they are contributing more than the US. In some cases much, much more. But the bulk of the military assistance comes from Washington. Thats because the United States has by far the worlds largest military arsenal.

Even so, as the Nobel Prize-winning economist and New York Times columnist Paul Krugman noted, claims from opponents of aid that the US is spending too much in Ukraine, and that somehow that affects spending on other areas, dont hold up to scrutiny. Total US aid to Ukraine totals less than one-third of one percent (0.03%) of GDP, and less than 5% of the defense budget.

Krugman argues that the real reason the far-right opposes Ukraine aid is because they, the most devoted admirers of Trump, view the Putin regimes cruelty and repression as admirable features that America should emulate.

I dont know how many Republicans in Congress think the US should emulate Putin. But theres no doubt that Americas far-right nationalists do. Just days after Putin launched the invasion of Ukraine, with much of the world aghast at the unfolding invasion, white nationalists held their America First Political Action Conference (AFPAC). Their meeting erupted in a round of applause for the Russian president, with delegates shouting Putin! Putin!

What happens in Washington in the days, weeks, and months ahead will go a long way in determining the fate of Ukraine and the outcome of the largest armed conflict in Europe since World War II.

The Ukrainian ambassador in Washington, Oksana Markarova, says shes in contact with potential incoming speakers. I can only say that we lead a good and constructive dialogue with the vast majority of potential candidates and her teams, she wrote.

But some of the potential candidates would spell trouble. A report card of GOP members votes on Ukraine prepared by Defending Democracies Together, gives Rep. Steve Scalise a score of B, or Okay. But Rep. Jim Jordan, the firebrand Trump supporter, scores an F, Very Poor. And hes not alone. He voted against four of five bills supporting Ukraine as it sought to defend itself from a Russian invasion, which is now in its 20th month.

Depending on how it plays out, the outcome of this crisis  and of the mayhem in the GOP  will be felt acutely in Ukraine; it will affect the security of Europe, and could shape Americas standing for years to come.

Asked if Ukraine would be able to fight without US military support, 37-year-old Olha said, Of course, we will fight  but it will be many times bloodier.

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Last month, an article in the New Yorker detailed discrepancies in comedian Hasan Minhajs standup specials. In one story, Minhaj recounts growing up in a Muslim community in Northern California, and his experiences with an FBI informant, Craig Monteilh. The story was a fabrication. But Monteilh was real. In the mid-2000s, he was hired by the FBI to pose as a convert to Islam and work as an informant in Orange County mosques.

Im no comedian. I have no opinion on what the appropriate percentage of fact and fiction a comics jokes ought to be, or whether Minhaj ought to be canceled. But as a journalist and filmmaker who has spent a decade documenting the surveillance of American Muslim communities, and as an American Muslim who has experienced it, I have felt deeply uneasy as these falsehoods came to light. I fear people will now believe that we are exaggerating or making up stories about surveillance. After the expose, social media was flooded with disturbing posts  accusations that this is just another example of people of color falsely claiming victimhood.

Read more: Op-Ed: Cancel culture has always been a problem for comedy

But the fact is that all of us  Arab Muslims, Black Muslims, rich and poor Muslims, third-generation Muslims, newly immigrated Muslims, educated Muslims, working-class Muslims  have had our run-ins with the surveillance state. And the truth is wilder than any fiction a comedian could make up.

I grew up in a neighborhood in Chicagos southwest suburbs of mostly Muslim Arab immigrants. My neighbors and family friends all have stories about being surveilled. About strange white men installing cameras on streetlights; about unmarked cars parked in front of the mosque; about white men following people in the neighborhood around on their daily errands; about strange clicks on the phone. When we were just kids, in the 90s, my mom used to tell us that whenever she went to the local public library, a man would follow her in and watch her, write down what books she was reading and then follow her out.

Read more: Op-Ed: As a Muslim filmmaker, I want to tell my own story

I became a journalist and started making a documentary film about these anecdotes. I was intent to find out the truth. I eventually filed a freedom of information lawsuit against the FBI and demanded all records about my neighborhood, including all the video, audio and documents related to surveillance. What I found out was staggering: In 1993, the Chicago field office of the FBI had launched one of the largest domestic terrorism investigations to date. It was code-named Operation Vulgar Betrayal, and it targeted my community.

A federal judge forced the FBI to release more than 33,000 pages of documents, and while the FBI redacted more than 75% of the record, the information around the redactions tells enough of a story to validate the decades of paranoia that have shrouded my community.

The record contains dozens of physical surveillance logs with handwritten initials of agents, signing in and out. Our mosque itself is listed by name as a subject of investigation, along with our local Muslim elementary and high school and dozens of area businesses and charities. More than 500 individual sub-files were opened on people in the community. I came across my fathers name more than once. (Even I make a cameo appearance in one of the documents.)

Read more: Op-Ed: Eid celebrations remind me how important community is  and forging your own path

Surveillance was ubiquitous. Agents followed people around (On Monday [redaction] at approximately [redaction] 35mm black and white photographs were taken by Special Agent [redaction] of an Arabic Male [redaction] complexion); noted where they drove (Arab male driving [redaction] arrived at [redaction] he parked in the driveway); and in one instance, even followed people into emergency rooms (Unknown Male #1 and Unknown Male #2 were observed in the Emergency Room waiting area, accompanied by a male child [redaction] observed filling out hospital paperwork.)

They monitored our local gatherings, national Muslim conventions and our donations, and they recorded the most quotidian details about our lives. Our suspicions of what was going on paled in comparison with the reality of how intrusive and pervasive the FBIs surveillance was. No one in our community was ever convicted of anything related to terrorism, and yet we were subject to this daily harassment for decades.

Read more: Opinion: Your body, your work? Hollywood is scanning actors' moves. What that could mean for the rest of us

Minhaj was one of the first Muslim comedians who unapologetically talked about being the target of surveillance on a national platform. It was refreshing as hell. Theres something very powerful that happens when you talk out loud about something that we usually only whisper about. And yet the damage done by his lies will be borne not by Minhaj alone, but by the 3.5 million Muslims in this country. It makes it harder for people to be believed, and for those of us trying to tell true stories about what our communities have endured.

For the past few years, Ive gone beyond just documenting government surveillance and have ventured into co-creating an art initiative with my community and curating a collection of home videos and family photos from the neighborhood. The intent of the Inverse Surveillance Project, is to counter the governments violent archive of being watched, with a community archive of being seen.

We created an art installation with a large-scale labyrinth using the thousands of pages of FBI documents, and used augmented reality to superimpose videos from the community archive onto the redacted spaces of the government's surveillance record. In this way, the history of our community isnt just something that the FBI gets to secretly record but is something we get to communally create. By telling our own stories, we get to have control over our narrative and how our community will be remembered.

Assia Boundaoui is an Algerian American filmmaker, a recipient of a 2022 United States Artists award and a fellow at the MIT Open Documentary Lab.

If its in the news right now, the L.A. Times Opinion section covers it. Sign up for our weekly opinion newsletter.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
A satellite image shows traffic jamming the Lachin Corridor on Sept. 26. Almost the entire population of Artsakh, also called Nagorno-Karabakh, has fled after the Azerbaijani military assault of Sept. 19. (Maxar Technologies via Associated Press)

Over the last two weeks, thousands of vehicles have lined a serpentine road stretching for three miles in the South Caucuses Mountains near the border of Armenia and Azerbaijan. At times, the multitude of cars was so dense that it could be seen from space. The travelers  refugees  survived extreme deprivation for nine months and a harrowing military assault against their homeland.

The road, known as the Lachin Corridor, is the sole escape route out of the Armenian Republic of Artsakh, also called Nagorno-Karabakh, situated on territory Azerbaijan claims is its own. As of Monday, more than 100,000 Artsakh Armenians, the Indigenous people of the region, had fled from the land their ancestors lived on for millennia. They face an uncertain future.

Read more: Armenians who fled Turkish rule decades ago despair over Nagorno-Karabakh. 'This appears to be our fate'

For Armenians around the globe, satellite imagery of the Lachin Corridor exodus raises a historical specter. It echoes photography documenting death marches across the Syrian desert during the 1915 Armenian genocide, proof of forcible expulsion and ethnic cleansing.

For media outlets and global actors who take their cues from Azerbaijans officialdom, the images tell a markedly different story. They depict not expulsion but the voluntary departure of separatists from a breakaway region who have chosen to flee, after the restoration of Azerbaijani territorial sovereignty.

How do we account for these divergent narratives and the consequences they pose for Artsakhs Armenians? To do that requires disentangling the role that disinformation and Armenophobia play in Azerbaijans authoritarian regime.

Read more: Op-Ed: We can't let history repeat itself with the siege of Nagorno-Karabakh

For decades, Azerbaijans state officials have openly espoused pan-Turkism, an ethnoterritorial ideology that aims to unite all Turkic-speaking peoples and that undergirds the catastrophe in Artsakh today.

In 2005, the mayor of Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan, summarized his countrys position succinctly: Our goal is the complete elimination of Armenians. During a 2020 military offensive in the region, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev famously announced, This is the end.  We are chasing them like dogs."

In December 2022, according to news reports, Azerbaijanis posed as environmental protesters to initiate an illegal blockade of Artsakh, closing the Lachin Corridor. Critical shortages of food, fuel and medical resources followed. With the population on the brink of famine by August, a former International Criminal Court prosecutor warned that a genocide by starvation was unfolding.

The international community  including, not insignificantly, nations that have recently doubled gas imports from Azerbaijan  remained silent, and Aliyev acted with impunity. He launched a lightning offensive on Sept. 19, against malnourished civilians and civilian infrastructure under the guise of anti-terror measures. At least 200 died in Artsakh, with many more wounded.

Read more: Opinion: Armenians are starving at Azerbaijan's hands. Why isn't Biden doing more to help?

Forced to surrender, Artsakh President Samvel Shahramanyan signed a decree stating that the republic would cease to exist on Jan. 1, 2024. In a matter of days, nearly the entire population had been forcibly displaced. For the first time in thousands of years, Artsakh is effectively absent Armenians.

Sidestepping ethnic cleansing and the humanitarian catastrophe, some news media have announced that Azerbaijan has reclaimed its territory and that a smooth reintegration process awaits Artsakhs Armenians. What these accounts leave out is Azerbaijans history of disinformation, explicit expressions of genocidal intent and systematic silencing of those who oppose Aliyevs authoritarian government.

From 2018 to 2021, reports published by the Palo Alto-based think tank Institute for the Future and the Guardian revealed a sprawling, state-sponsored digital repression campaign to obstruct political participation and block online dissent in Azerbaijan, overlapping with the country's 2020 military offensive in Artsakh.

A major investigation by the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project exposed a multibillion-dollar laundering scheme connected to the Azerbaijani state that funneled funding to public relations efforts that promote government views. Reporters Without Borders ranks Azerbaijan at 151 out of 180 countries in its 2023 World Press Freedom Index.

Read more: Op-Ed: Remember Artsakh but never forget the Armenian genocide

As Azerbaijan took Artsakh captive in September, NetBlocks cited major disruptions to internet connectivity in the region, obstructing the flow of information. A week later, Amnesty International reported that five Azerbaijani activists had been arrested and detained in connection with their advocacy for Artsakhs Armenians.

The republics leaders, including former Artsakh state minister Ruben Vardanyan and three former presidents of the republic, have been arrested by Azerbaijani forces, in some cases as they tried to cross the border to Armenia.

Over the weekend, footage circulated of the deserted central square of Stepanakert, the Artsakh capital  strewn with abandoned chairs and possessions, a ghost town, in the words of one correspondent. A U.N. mission arrived Sunday, but as one refugee told the Guardian, What is there left for the U.N. to monitor?  It is too late now.

Despite all this, the international community remains keen to euphemize the voluntary exodus from Artsakh.

As scholars of media and of language, we are acutely aware of the geopolitical consequences of disinformation. The consequences will be all too grave for Artsakhs Armenians. What looms is permanent displacement, dispossession and the erasure of their presence in the region.

There are mechanisms that might yet yield meaningful interventions. Ethnic cleansing and even genocide charges against Aliyev and his government could be brought in the International Criminal Court. Sanctions could be imposed against officials in Azerbaijan, as nearly 100 House and Senate lawmakers have urged. U.S. military assistance to Azerbaijan could be cut, and substantial international funding could be allocated to aid the refugee population streaming into Armenia.

To activate these mechanisms, the claims of Azerbaijans disinformation apparatus must be recognized and denied  chief among them that 100,000 Armenians have chosen to flee their ancestral lands. One hundred and six years lapsed before the U.S. formally acknowledged the Armenian genocide of 1915. Its vital to recognize the genocide thats currently underway while it is still possible to resist it.

Mashinka Firunts Hakopian is an associate professor of technology and social justice at ArtCenter College of Design. Shushan Karapetian is the director of the USC Dornsife Institute of Armenian Studies.

If its in the news right now, the L.A. Times Opinion section covers it. Sign up for our weekly opinion newsletter.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
I ordered the same meal at island-inspired restaurant chains Margaritaville and Bahama Breeze.

The food at Margaritaville was OK but the margarita was excellent.

Margaritaville seemed to be serving a whole lifestyle, but Bahama Breeze had better food.

First, I visited Margaritaville.

Margaritaville Resort Times Square is one of the most iconic locations of the chain. Ted Berg

The Jimmy Buffet-founded chain opened in the 1980s, and it now has 22 Margaritaville restaurants in the US and Canada.

For this comparison, I visited the Margaritaville location nearest my home, which happens to be the restaurant inside the Margaritaville Resort Times Square.

I skipped the gift shop and got right on the escalator up to the enormous second-floor restaurant, where the host offered me the opportunity to dine poolside on the sixth floor at a different restaurant with the same kitchen.

I turned him down and got a table near the window overlooking 7th Avenue, giving me a nice view of where I had locked up my bike.

I was surrounded by fun decor.

The faux Statue of Liberty had a giant margarita glass. Ted Berg

Behind me, an enormous likeness of the Statue of Liberty held a margarita glass in the sky. The place was clean and festive, decked out in a broad range of island-related regalia, with Buffett singing out from TVs scattered around the space.

There was nothing I noticed to commemorate Buffett's recent death, which made sense  Buffett wasn't trying to bum anybody out.

One of the Buffett quotes on the wall advertised, "It's 5 o'clock somewhere," but it was decidedly 12:30 p.m. on a Thursday afternoon when I visited.

I started with the Who's to Blame house margarita.

The margarita at Margaritaville was great. Ted Berg

The drink list was long, but I asked the friendly server for a margarita, and he suggested the house standard Who's to Blame. He offered me a choice of frozen or on the rocks. I chose frozen because it's way more fun.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, the margarita was the best thing I had from Margaritaville.

It's made with house-brand tequila and triple sec, and it tasted about as subtle as a sledgehammer. It was strong, with a surprisingly heavy pour of tequila for a Times Square chain restaurant. It was also salty and sour and syrupy sweet with triple sec.

As a bonus, this margarita bears the seal of approval of the man who did more to promote margaritas than anyone else in human history.

The spinach-and-artichoke dip was uninspiring.

The spinach-and-artichoke dip at Margaritaville was underwhelming to me. Ted Berg

For my first course, I ordered spinach-and-artichoke dip. It came quickly, and the dip was at least warm, but otherwise, there's not much to say for the dish.

The chip-to-dip ratio seemed off with how many chips I had for a small cup of dip. The chips weren't warm nor did they taste especially fresh.

In my opinion, the dip mostly tasted like mayonnaise mixed with Parmesan cheese and was extremely salty.

The Cheeseburger in Paradise would be better in paradise.

The Cheeseburger in Paradise was not great. Ted Berg

Buffett's 1978 single "Cheeseburger in Paradise" was inspired by an actual cheeseburger he ate in the British Virgin Islands after an arduous boat trip, and I'm sure the Margaritaville Cheeseburger in Paradise would hit the spot if I had recently been lost at sea.

But I was at a restaurant, and even in Times Square I hoped for more from $19 cheeseburgers. I thought the beef patty looked unnaturally round, the meat tasted bland, the bun was soft but a bit greasy, the cheese wasn't fully melted, the fries were unremarkable, and everything was very salty.

The best I can say for it is that it tasted like something you might get from a poolside snack bar, so it was at least thematically consistent.

The Key-lime pie was humble but tasty.

A slice of Key-lime pie at this Margaritaville location was $10. Ted Berg

I prefer an understated Key-lime pie, so even though the $10 price tag seemed steep for the serving I got at Margaritaville, I knew it'd make a good complement to all the rich, greasy, salty food I'd been eating.

There was tang in the lime custard and a nice crumbly sweetness in the graham-cracker crust. This was not a notably good Key-lime pie, but it wasn't a bad one either.

Next, I visited a Bahama Breeze location.

This Bahama Breeze location I visited had a large bar. Ted Berg

Another chain with an islandy feel, Bahama Breeze has been around since the 1990s. There are about 40 of them located throughout the US.

I ate alone at Margaritaville on a quiet Thursday afternoon, but I ate at Bahama Breeze with my wife and two children on a Saturday evening after an overnight trip for my son's 6th birthday.

The vibes here were quite nice.

Colorful chairs could be spotted around the restaurant and so could plenty of tropical nods. Ted Berg

It was a bit difficult to compare the restaurants' atmospheres, but this Bahama Breeze location was lively, and my family was in good spirits.

The restaurant was very colorful and there was even a live DJ in the outdoor area where we sat.

I started with the chain's classic margarita, frozen.

The frozen margarita at Bahama Breeze was solid. Ted Berg

Again, ordering a traditional margarita made me a bit square, as I could see servers delivering rainbow-colored signature Bahamaritas to nearby customers.

The classic margarita at Bahama Breeze is made with Jose Cuervo, lime, and lemon juice. In frozen form, it was very refreshing, if not especially strong.

It wasn't as bold as the Margaritaville equivalent in any way, though that's not all bad. If I hadn't been driving, I might have ordered a second, whereas the sweetness of the Margaritaville cocktail would've limited me to one drink.

The chain's spinach-and-artichoke dip tasted like actual spinach.

The Bahama Breeze spinach-and-artichoke dip came with pico de gallo. Ted Berg

At Bahama Breeze, the spinach-and-artichoke dip came with fresh, warm, restaurant-style tortilla chips in multiple colors, plus a smattering of plantain chips  a nice touch.

On top of that, I thought the dip was tastier, with far more spinach flavor than the one from Margaritaville. The serving size was also more generous.

It also came with a small bowl of pico de gallo, a sweet and light complement to the creamy dip.

The grilled cheeseburger was just OK, but the fries were tasty.

The fries were the star of my meal. Ted Berg

I often use burgers as the standard by which to judge a restaurant.

The burger at Bahama Breeze was good enough that I'd eat at another Bahama Breeze location if the situation called for it, but not good enough that I'd order the burger again (other dishes my family tried  especially the tasty, curry-tinged beef empanadas  also influenced that opinion).

It wasn't as juicy or large a burger as I'd expect from more burger-focused chain restaurants like Chili's or Red Robin, but it was better than fast food. The fries also had a salty, peppery, garlicky seasoning that I enjoyed.

Rebecca's Key-lime pie was too much for me.

Bahama Breeze's Key-lime pie wasn't my favorite but my kids liked it. Ted Berg

I don't know who Rebecca is and I'm not here to knock her culinary expertise, but the Key-lime pie at Bahama Breeze was too rich for my tastes.

It feels strange to call it inferior to the Margaritaville equivalent because the slice is larger, less expensive, and more interesting, but the merengue topping and thick, cookie-sweet graham cracker crust made this the type of dessert you enjoy for one bite but no more.

My kids were into it, on account of all the sugar, but then getting them back into the car was not a Bahama Breeze.

Bahama Breeze serves better food, but Margaritaville serves a whole lifestyle.

The chain you should visit depends on what you're looking for. Ted Berg

This didn't feel like a fair fight, food-wise. My sense from eating at Margaritaville was that the food was secondary to the fact that you're at Margaritaville, enjoying boat drinks and soaking up the Buffett lifestyle.

Although it was a fairly bleak scene on a weekday afternoon, it's easy to imagine the Times Square Margaritaville offering patrons a sunbaked good time on a busy night.

But if your focus is food, there's no question you're better off at Bahama Breeze.

Read the original article on Insider
Indiana Economic Development Corporation (IEDC) and Regional Opportunity Initiatives (ROI) have awarded $1.25 million for the creation of the Indiana Uplands Regional Land Bank. The nonprofit will serve the six-county rural regions of Crawford, Daviess, Greene, Lawrence, Martin, and Orange counties, according to a news release. The board recognized that there exists in the counties a substantial number of tax delinquent and other properties which are nonrevenue generating, vacant, or dilapidated. These properties contribute to the blight and deterioration of the rural areas outside of incorporated cities and towns, as well as areas within incorporated cities and towns within these counties. The land bank will work to acquire and return them to the tax rolls to provide new housing, grow industries, create jobs for residents, and revitalize and stabilize neighborhoods.

The board of commissioners in each of the member counties has agreed the establishment of the land bank is beneficial to the citizens. These member counties collaboratively desire to address distressed properties through the regional land bank initiative.

Indiana Uplands Regional Land Bank has acquired eProperty Plus, a property management system developed to support property data management and property revitalization. ePropertyPlus is the preferred software solution for land banks tasked to put property back to productive reuse. This program will also allow the public to see what is available for sale after the properties have been acquired and cleaned up by the Indiana Upland Regional Land Bank. eProperty Plus has gone live effective Sept. 19. We will be adding properties as we secure them. The public site can be reached at https://public-sidc.epropertyplus.com.

The next scheduled Indiana Uplands Regional Land Bank board meeting will be Thursday, Oct. 26.

For specific project information, contact Jill Kinser, project specialist at jill@sidc.cc or 812.295.3707.

This article originally appeared on The Herald-Times: Organizations create Indiana Uplands Regional Land Bank
Police in eastern Pakistan said that they had busted an illegal organ harvesting ring and arrested eight persons suspected of performing illegal surgical procedures on hundreds of patients to harvest kidneys. The gang reportedly sells the organ to affluent individuals in need of a transplant.

Illegal Kidney Harvesting

The chief minister of Pakistan's Punjab province, Mohsin Naqvi, revealed that the suspected gang leader, identified as "Dr. Fawad," had performed 328 kidney removal surgeries and sold the organs to customers for up to 10 million Pakistani rupees ($34,000), as reported by CNN.

According to Naqvi, an unknown car technician helped Fawad throughout the surgery by administering the anesthesia. He said the gang operated privately in the Taxila area, Lahore, and Pakistan-administered Kashmir by luring patients away from hospitals.

"They were able to do this in Kashmir because there is no law regarding kidney transplant, so it was easier for them to carry out the operations there," the chief minister stated.

Naqvi added that three fatalities have been confirmed. However, officials are currently verifying the information. "There must be more operations that must have been carried out, the number is the only ones we've confirmed."

Naqvi said that Fawad had been arrested five times already. But each time he was freed, he was able to go on with his business as usual.

Apparently, a few of the individuals whose organs were extracted were unaware that their kidneys had been removed.

After a man said he was persuaded by one of the suspected gang members to have medical procedures done privately, police spent almost two months studying the case. When the man sought more medical attention from another hospital, he was informed that he lost a kidney.

Also Read: India: Girl Gang-Raped, Brutally Dumped in 50 Ft. Deep Well as New Delhi Faces Outrage Over Increasing Sex Assaults

Trading of Human Organs

To prevent the online promotion of illicit kidney transplants, Naqvi has said that he is collaborating with the Inspector General of Police of Punjab to tighten the country's cyber laws. The investigation is also geared toward monitoring similar groups.

In 2007, Pakistan outlawed the commercial trading of human organs. In 2010, new legislation increased the penalties for organ harvesting and trafficking to ten years in jail and a fine of up to 1 million rupees ($3,400).

Prior to the law, Pakistan was a hub for foreigners and well-off Pakistanis seeking organ transplants. It was common practice for poor local people to sell their kidneys for cash.

But as residents of the nation scramble to make ends meet amid low salaries and lax law enforcement, organ trafficking has increased.

According to BBC, Punjab police broke up another organ trafficking network in January when a missing 14-year-old child was discovered in an underground laboratory with his kidney removed.

Also Read: UN Security Council Approves Deployment of Kenya-Led Forces to Haiti To Address Rising Gang Violence

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OSBI

The Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation is now looking at a Garfield County associate district judge because of a drive-by shooting at his brother-in-law's ranch Feb. 12, records show.

Brian N. Lovell, 58, already is accused of shooting at parked cars in Austin, Texas, from his SUV on Sept. 11 and of intentionally rear-ending another driver.

He is not hearing cases and has so far declined to speak to the media. He could not be reached Wednesday.

The brother-in-law, Kenneth Markes, 68, confirmed an OSBI agent has interviewed him about the shooting at his ranch house near Bison.

"In my opinion, it was more attempted murder than just shooting at a house," Markes said.

He was not home at the time but a son was, he said. The shooter fired at least five times, hitting the house, he said.

The incident occurred at 3:23 p.m. Feb. 12, a Sunday, according to a Garfield County sheriff's report. A window, wall and oven were damaged. A bullet and five .40-caliber shell casings were recovered.

Markes said he has had nothing to do with the judge for at least 10 years. Lovell is married to one of his six sisters.

Markes would not go into more detail Wednesday.

"If OSBI gives me the green light to say what I want, we can start at the very first and go through it all. It's a rather lengthy story," he said.

Rifle was stolen from judge's truck in February, police say

The OSBI also is looking into a Feb. 14 stolen gun report involving the judge.

The Garfield County sheriff's office asked the OSBI for assistance on the two cases, Undersheriff Ryan Fuxa confirmed Wednesday.

That request was made Sept. 20, after the incidents in Austin, Texas, came to light.

In the stolen gun case, a sheriff's sergeant reported being told that the judge's black semiautomatic .40-caliber pistol had been stolen from his pickup between Jan. 28 and Feb. 11.

More: Oklahoma judge will not hear cases after allegedly shooting at parked cars in Texas

The sergeant reported going to the courthouse at 5 p.m. Feb. 14 in response to "a call for service." His report identifies the judge as the victim but does not reflect whether he talked directly to the judge.

Lovell became an associate district judge in January after running for the position unopposed. He had been a special judge in Garfield County before that since 2011. He lives in Waukomis.

The accusations against him in Texas received national attention.

He faces a misdemeanor reckless driving charge in Texas and could face a felony indictment there once a grand jury hears evidence about the Sept. 11 shooting. He was freed on bond after his arrest.

Lovell

Lovell told an Austin police detective he "did not know why he would have shot his gun and he could not recall any part of the shooting incident," according to court affidavits.

He told police he had a .40-caliber firearm and another firearm in his SUV. Three .40-caliber shell casings were recovered from the street shooting scene, according to the affidavits.

He advised the other driver cut him off in traffic and he rear-ended her vehicle twice, according to the affidavits. He did not admit the collisions were intentional.

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: OSBI looking into Feb. 12 drive-by shooting after judge accused in Texas
An Osceola County School Board member is facing charges after being accused of serving alcohol to a teen and forcibly kissing her.

Julius Melendez, 45, is charged with misdemeanor battery and serving alcohol to someone under the age of 21.

According to the court clerks office, the charges were initiated by the State Attorneys office this week.

The investigation began in July when the Osceola County Sheriffs Office received a complaint from the school district.

An 18-year-old woman alleged inappropriate conduct by Melendez.

Melendez was her manager at a cafe in Kissimmee. She was not a student in Osceola County schools.

Read: Recall alert: Blood pressure medication recalled after oxycodone pill found on production line

The woman spoke only to Channel 9 in July. She said Melendez offered for her to stay at his home because she was having a tough time with family in late June. She said in the span of a few hours, Melendez served her nine drinks -- some of which were served at the cafe and others at his home. She told Channel 9 he touched her shoulders, arms and thighs without her consent. She said he followed her to a guest bedroom in the home where she said he forcibly kissed her.

I told him like, no, like, I already told you, you know, like, I need to go to sleep. Im tired. And he ended up leaving the room and going downstairs to his room, she said.

She said hours later, she snuck out of the home and took an Uber home.

Read: Tropical Storm Philippe slightly strengths but remains disorganized

She told Channel 9 in July that she thought Melendez was in his early 30s. It wasnt until she spoke to investigators that she learned he was 45.

It made me really disgusted like hes older than my dad, she said.

Channel 9 reached out to the Osceola County Sheriffs Office to see if Melendez would be arrested. They referred all questions to the State Attorneys Office. Weve reached out to the State Attorneys Office for comment.

Read: Judge denies bond for teen charged in fatal shooting of young mother at Orlando apartment complex

Melendez declined to comment but claimed he did not know he was charged.

The School Board declined to comment, saying this is a law enforcement matter.

Click here to download our free news, weather and smart TV apps. And click here to stream Channel 9 Eyewitness News live.
OSIRIS-REx watched its asteroid sample capsule head toward Earth (photos)

NASA's OSIRIS-REx asteroid probe captured photos during the release of its return capsule last month, preserving the historic moment for posterity.

Those images, which the space agency released on Tuesday (Oct. 3), show the return capsule deploying from OSIRIS-REx on the morning of Sept. 24 and heading toward Earth.

"The sun is visible at the top of the frame, and a thin 'crescent Earth' can be seen at the left edge of the image," NASA officials wrote of the photos, which mission team members combined into a GIF.

Related: NASA's OSIRIS-REx lands samples of asteroid Bennu on Earth after historic 4-billion-mile journey

close-up of a brown and white conical capsule in space.

This image of the OSIRIS-REx sample return capsule still attached to the spacecrafts instrument deck was captured by the spacecrafts StowCam camera on Sept. 23 at 10:37:55 a.m. EDT (14:37:55 UTC), less than 24 hours before the capsules release. (Image credit: NASA/Goddard/University of Arizona/Lockheed Martin)

The 110-pound (50 kilograms) capsule's time as a free flyer was brief: It touched down as planned under parachutes in the northern Utah desert on Sept. 24, about four hours after being jettisoned.

The soft landing capped NASA's first-ever asteroid sample-return effort. The capsule's precious contents  dirt and gravel that OSIRIS-REx snagged from the near-Earth asteroid Bennu in October 2020  quickly made their way to Johnson Space Center (JSC) in Houston, where the off-Earth material is getting processed, curated and stored.

RELATED STORIES:

 How asteroid Bennu caught NASA's OSIRIS-REx spacecraft by surprise and nearly killed it along the way

 No, the OSIRIS-REx probe will not bring back asteroid space 'germs'

 Dramatic sampling shows asteroid Bennu is nothing like scientists expected

Mission team members think OSIRIS-REx returned about 8.8 ounces (250 grams) of Bennu material. That's just a pre-landing estimate, however; the exact amount is being worked out now, and will likely be announced during a webcast event on Oct. 11.

The OSIRIS-REx sample is expected to be a treasure trove for scientists to study for decades to come, NASA officials have said. Scientists around the world will scrutinize the asteroid bits for clues about the solar system's early days and the role carbon-rich space rocks like Bennu may have played in delivering life's building blocks to Earth long ago, among other lines of inquiry.
TULSA, Okla. (KFOR)  The United States Attorneys Office for the Northern District of Oklahoma says an Owasso man who shot his uncle after mistaking him for an intruder has pleaded guilty in federal court.

Authorities confirm, Bailey Warren Sparkman, 23, a Cherokee citizen of Owasso pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter in Indian Country.

Law enforcement searching for suspect in connection to a deputy being shot

U.S. Attorney Office says Bailey admitted that although the uncle had recently been kicked out of the house, he had a room and belongings there.

Bailey was unaware that his uncle had returned to the home when he went downstairs and saw someone standing inside looking out the back door.

Bailey further admitted, according to officials, that he retrieved a gun and without trying to ascertain the identity of the person fired a single shot striking the victim in the back of the head.

 Find more Top Stories from KFOR.com

Bailey faces a maximum sentence of 8 years in federal prison.

A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors. A date for sentencing has not been set.

The Owasso Police Department and FBI conducted the investigation.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KFOR.com Oklahoma City.
Oxon Hill day care worker pleads guilty to assaulting toddlers

PRINCE GEORGE'S COUNTY, Md. - The Oxon Hill day care worker who allegedly recorded herself abusing children back in April is pleading guilty to two counts of second-degree assault.

The Prince George's County State's Attorney's Office says Kayla Greenwell entered a guilty plea on Tuesday, nearly six months after she asked a judge to release her from jail before her trial.

Greenwell, 23, is accused of manhandling two kids  a 3-year-old and a 4-year-old  at the Oxon Hill Center for Early Learning on Oxon Hill Road. To make things worse, Prince George's County police said she videotaped the alleged abuse on her cell phone.

Management at the day care told FOX 5 that Greenwell had been working at the center for less than a month when it happened.

She was arrested on April 8 after the viral videos surfaced online, and is expected to be sentenced on Oct. 20 at 3 p.m.
LAS VEGAS (KLAS)  Las Vegas Metropolitan police showed up at a Las Vegas valley charter school Thursday morning when parents became upset after being called back to the school to pick up their children because the classrooms would be closed for nearly a week.

Some parents told 8 News Now they received a call less than 20 minutes after dropping their child off at TEACH Las Vegas charter school asking them to return to the school which is located on N. Rancho Drive north of W. Craig Road because it would be closed until Wednesday, Oct. 11.

There are more than 400 students at the school in grades ranging from kindergarten to 7th grade, according to the schools website. School staff members told 8 News Now that the executive director resigned and 18 teachers are also leaving the school which opened in the fall of 2021.

Parents pick up students at Teach Las Vegas Charter School on Oct. 5, 2023. (KLAS)

A letter posted to parents on the schools website Wednesday said executive director Andrea Moore voluntarily resigned from her position effective Friday, Oct. 6. The letter assured parents, The school will operate as usual, with all existing students, teachers, and staff performing their usual, inspired roles.

TEACH Las Vegas staff members told 8 News Now there was an emergency board meeting Friday, Sept. 29, after it was discovered the schools custodian was a convicted felon. The custodian was fired.

The letter also pointed out some of the issues the school has faced and said there was significant room for improvement.

As many of you know, prior to this leadership change, TEACH Las Vegas was already

experiencing academic, financial, and other challenges.

The charter school authority board released the following statement:

We are aware of the situation and we are in constant contact with the schools board to mitigate the impact on students and families. Jennifer Bauer, executive director, State Public Charter School Authority

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KLAS.
Serhii Semeniuk, business partner and friend of Russian businessman Eduard Apsit, has filed a lawsuit against Ukrainian journalists because of their investigation into both men.

Source: Slidstvo.Info

Details: It is reported that Semeniuk is suing journalists of Slidstvo.Info for investigating cleaning companies associated with Apsit, which for many years have been cleaning Ukrainian strategic facilities, including Ukrzaliznytsia [the Ukrainian railway  ed.], Ukrenergo, Ukraines State Tax Service, etc. In the investigation, Semeniuk appears as a business partner of Apsit, who owns companies from the Chysto [Clean] group of companies in Ukraine.

According to colleagues of Slidstvo.Info from Russias Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP), cleaning companies associated with the Apsit family cleaned the Kremlin Palace.

In addition, journalists found the company from the Chysto group, which worked in occupied Crimea and cleaned the barracks of the Black Sea Fleet of the Russian Ministry of Defence.

Apsit is also associated with Yevgeny Prigozhin, the head of the Wagner Private Military Company.

After the publication of this investigation, Semeniuk filed a lawsuit against the editorial office of Slidstvo.Info and Yanina Kornienko, the author of the material, to protect his honour, dignity and business reputation. At the same time, his lawyers manipulated the procedure of electronic distribution of judges, which automatically determines who will consider the case. To do this, the lawyer filed applications with the court several times and withdrew them until the system chose the judge they favoured, Dina Pokoptseva.

In addition, Semeniuks lawyers used an unknown man to be able to file a lawsuit in the "necessary court". This was someone named Vladyslav Hrindak, who simply spread the message about the investigation on social networks. The lawsuit is also directed against him, and since Hrindak is registered in Dnipros Sobornyi district, the case ended up in the court of this district. Semeniuk himself is also registered in Dnipro.

It speaks volumes that the plaintiff has no claims against Hrindak. That is, he is not required to pay moral damages. All the while, Semeniuk is looking for UAH 200,000 (US$5,640) from Slidstvo.Info.

According to journalists, the rigged judge "accidentally" decided to consider this case in the order of simplified proceedings. That is, in absentia, only through correspondence with the court, without summoning the parties. Although, as a rule, such cases are considered in the order of general proceedings.

Oksana Maksymeniuk, a media lawyer at the Regional Press Development Institute, explains that simplified proceedings allow you to quickly make a decision on the case, and this can be beneficial to the plaintiff. Another "bonus" is that such cases do not allow for an appeal; that is, there is no opportunity to challenge the courts decision.

The trial continues.

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Every child deserves a quality education  and violence cannot be tolerated on school campuses. Those are two things on which every Floridian should agree. They are also two things that a school district must balance as it deals with student misbehavior. So far, Pasco County appears to have the right approach.

The Pasco school board expelled two Zephyrhills High School students Tuesday, in keeping with Superintendent Kurt Brownings pledge to crack down on fighting. More expulsions resulting from a Sept. 12 brawl at Zephyrhills and a Sept. 19 fight at Anclote High could be on the way, as the Tampa Bay Times Jeffrey S. Solochek reported.

Just so everybody is fully aware, there is a zero-tolerance policy, school board member Al Hernandez said after the vote. And whether its these expulsions we just had or the other things that are taking place behind the scenes, just know ... we are extremely attuned to this situation.

Browning first announced a tougher stance on student discipline in March 2022, instructing principals to recommend expulsion for those involved in fights and other serious misbehavior. He reiterated that position in September, joining Sheriff Chris Nocco in reminding families that students could face serious consequences, including criminal charges for violent acts.

Speaking to the school board Tuesday, a parent activist questioned the districts adherence to zero-tolerance, noting that in the last school year, after the policy took effect, only nine of 382 students recommended for expulsion were actually removed. If anything, that Pasco is expelling fewer students than some expect is a testament to how the district is rightly separating bad conduct from allowing misbehaving students to get an education. As Browning explained, the parents of children facing expulsion are offered the choice of placing them in virtual schools instead. Nearly 160 took that route last year. Others have been reassigned to alternative schools.

Its not my intent to keep them from learning, Browning said Tuesday. My intent is to get these disruptive kids off our school campuses.

Thats a critical distinction. Children who start fights are still entitled to an education. What they risk is the privilege to remain in the very setting where they preyed upon another student. Officials noted that expulsion comes after investigations into the circumstances leading to the fights. Students found to be caught up in the melee or defending themselves or others do not face penalties, in keeping with new state laws.

School districts have an obligation to keep their campuses safe, which is helped achieved by a clear, fair and uniform process for investigating and appealing complaints. No student should be avoiding school out of fear of physical harm. Pasco and other school districts need to continually reexamine their disciplinary policies to strike the right balance. Nobody can ignore whats happening on campuses, or be blind to the impact that student-on-student violence has on a schools security and learning environment.

Browning noted that social media may be a factor in organizing some student attacks, and the superintendent suggested he may propose additional restrictions on cellphone use to keep it from contributing to prearranging violence. Thats worth considering. Parents should also play a bigger part by clearly conveying to their children what kind of behavior society expects. As a whole, parents need to get more engaged with how their children are acting at school and take more seriously any signs or reports of disciplinary problems. Until families deal with this better on the front end, school districts will be forced to grapple after the fact, when the damage is already done.

Pasco is right to recognize a problem that ultimately creates losers on both ends. It should continually fine-tune the policy to ensure that violence and education are dealt with separately, keeping campuses safe and open to as many students as possible.

Editorials are the institutional voice of the Tampa Bay Times. The members of the Editorial Board are Editor of Editorials Graham Brink, Sherri Day, Sebastian Dortch, John Hill, Jim Verhulst and Chairman and CEO Conan Gallaty. Follow @TBTimes_Opinion on Twitter for more opinion news.
Paul Ryan , a former U.S. House speaker and the 2012 Republican vice presidential candidate, speaks at a fireside chat with former Utah Gov. Gary Herbert as part of a lecture series at the Gary R. Herbert Institute for Public Policy at Utah Valley University in Orem on Thursday, Oct. 5, 2023. | Megan Nielsen, Deseret News

Former House Speaker Paul Ryan said the historic vote to remove Kevin McCarthy from his role as speaker on Tuesday was a total disgrace.

He also had strong words about former President Donald Trump , who he said was a scourge on the country and the Republican Party. He said he was in favor of the GOP nominating a presidential candidate who is not indicted, and praised several of the candidates running for the 2024 nomination, saying they were much more likely to beat President Joe Biden than Trump.

Ryan was speaking Thursday at Utah Valley University as a guest of the Gary R. Herbert Institute for Public Policy. Former Utah Gov. Gary Herbert, who was at the address, asked Ryan for his reaction to McCarthys ouster. His day included a conversation with Herbert as well as media interviews focused on solving the debt crisis, the border crisis, keeping Russian President Vladimir Putin at bay and increasing civility.

Paul Ryan, a former U.S. House speaker and the 2012 Republican vice presidential candidate, speaks at the Gary R. Herbert Institute for Public Policy at Utah Valley University in Orem on Thursday, Oct. 5, 2023. | Megan Nielsen, Deseret News

Paul Ryan: Matt Gaetz is an unprincipled demagogue

Ryan said an unprincipled demagogue overthrew McCarthy for just doing his job  referring to Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., who coordinated the effort to remove McCarthy from his role, and who Ryan criticized by name later in his remarks.

Gaetz claims he voted to remove McCarthy because of his support for a continuing resolution to keep the federal government open, but in remarks Tuesday McCarthy said he believes Gaetzs move was personal over McCarthys unwillingness to support Gaetz after he was faced with ethics violations.

Related

Youve got these people who go to government to entertain, not to govern, said Ryan.

He said he had a recommendation for Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, and Rep. Steve Scalise, R-La., who are the front-runners in the race to replace McCarthy  They should not take this job unless they fix the motion to vacate.

When McCarthy was running to be speaker in January, he made a deal with a group of hardliners who refused to initially support him. One of the concessions he made was that it would take only one member to bring a motion to vacate the chair.

McCarthy was the first speaker to be removed from his office through a motion to vacate the chair.

When Ryan was speaker, he faced a lot of pushback from the members of his caucus who did not think he was sufficiently supportive of Trump.

Ryan had harsh words for Trump, and his indirect role in the ousting of McCarthy.

The kind of populism we have right now is not rooted in principle. Its unprincipled populism, wrapped around the cult of a personality on Donald Trump. And this populism is gripping our party in very ugly ways, he said. And its manifesting itself in this ugly politics that we just saw displayed on the House floor two days ago. We have to get past this.

Paul Ryan, a former U.S. House speaker and the 2012 Republican vice presidential candidate, shakes hands with Maryann Jones after a fireside chat hosted by the Gary R. Herbert Institute for Public Policy at Utah Valley University in Orem on Thursday, Oct. 5, 2023. | Megan Nielsen, Deseret News

In response to a question from a student on how to encourage less divisiveness in the country, Ryan said voters should send more John Curtises and fewer Matt Gaetzes to Congress.

Curtis is the Utah congressman who represents the 3rd Congressional District, which includes UVU. Ryan praised Curtis as someone who tries to solve problems, while criticizing Gaetz.

Related

Paul Ryan on Donald Trump and populism

I dont know if you all know this, but Trump and I dont get along very well, he said.

I think hes a scourge. I think hes dangerous for our party and for the country. Look, Im old school. Im old fashioned. I believe political leaders should strive to be honest, ethical and moral people and should try to set a standard for the rest of the country. Donald Trump doesnt do any of that. He frankly does the opposite of that. Thats one of the reasons why I think hes unfit for office.

But, Ryan acknowledged, that argument doesnt seem to move Trump supporters. Instead, he said, Republican primary voters may be swayed over potentially losing the next presidential election.

The argument that works, I think, is we just lose with this guy. He keeps losing us elections. We lost the House with him. We lost the Senate twice with him. We lost the presidency. Thats going to keep repeating itself right here, he said.

When asked what voters should look for in the next president, Ryan said they should pick someone who hasnt been indicted.

Look, Im for a non-Trump Republican anyone, he said, before adding that he wasnt sure about the Vivek guy, referring to presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy.

Heres the way I see it. The party that puts the first fresh face forward wins this election, he said. He added that he thinks Biden will beat Trump in a rematch.

If Trump is the nominee, he said, Republicans will lose suburban voters in the swing states they need to win the election  Wisconsin, Arizona, Nevada, Pennsylvania and Georgia.

The college educated suburban voter does not like Donald Trump, he said.

Ryan also said the reason Republicans havent taken on entitlement reform or the nations debt in a serious way is because of populism related to the rise of Donald Trump, he said.

In the Trump party, theyre not talking about debt reduction, theyre not talking about tackling these challenges. So I saw something missing in our party, which was a drive and a goal and a plan to get our debt under control, he said, which led him to write a book with other American Enterprise Institute scholars on ways to tackle debt and entitlement reform, while addressing poverty at the same time.

He also blamed the Trump factor for the lack of support for Ukraine among Republicans. Calls to address the nations southern border before helping Ukraine were misguided, he said.

I think ... we can walk and chew gum at the same time. Its not as if securing the border is mutually exclusive to helping Ukraine. Thats a bunch of bull, he said.

Ryan also said he believes Trump has sympathy for Putin.

Paul Ryan, a former U.S. House speaker and the 2012 Republican vice presidential candidate, speaks at a fireside chat with former Utah Gov. Gary Herbert as part of a lecture series at the Gary R. Herbert Institute for Public Policy at Utah Valley University in Orem on Thursday, Oct. 5, 2023. | Megan Nielsen, Deseret News

Ryan calls for support for Ukraine

Ryan called for the continued support for Ukraine, saying it was easier to send weapons and munitions for Ukrainians to use to defend themselves, than potentially facing an empowered Russia if it beats Ukraine and takes on NATO countries.

Ukraine is on the frontlines of the fight for democracy, he said. If we dont help the Ukrainians defend themselves, then its obvious Putin will keep going. And then hell probably tripwire NATO, and then we send our troops.

Ryan also argued that China is watching what happens in Ukraine.

If we dont support Ukraine, and Putin wins Ukraine, that affects our China policy as well, he said.

On China, Ryan said he is concerned that country is exporting technology to dictatorships to enable them to monitor their citizens. He also warned that China could face a population death spiral in the next 10 to 15 years, which would affect their economy as well.

$33.4 trillion debt

Ryan has long sounded alarm bells about the debt. The national debt is at $33.4 trillion  122% of the entire nations economy  and the annual deficit at $2.2 trillion.

He said back when he started out, it would have only taken a few years to get the country out of debt if it tackled the problem head on. Now, he said, it would take decades.

Even Nancy Pelosi is concerned about the debt now, he said.

He pushed back on the idea that raising taxes on the rich, as proposed by Democrats, would help the country get out of debt.

You can take all of the richs money, you can take every penny they have, and that doesnt even come close to solving this problem. You literally cannot mathematically tax your way out of this problem, he said. It really is a spending problem.

Ryan called for entitlement reform and budget process reforms.

The set of policy proposals he released with AEI included tax reform, which he said would raise revenue, but would do it in a way that wouldnt slow economic growth.

Eventually, Ryan said, external factors will force the country to deal with its debt, as inflation and interest rates continue to rise and the markets react poorly to federal lawmakers decisions.

Paul Ryan, a former U.S. House speaker and the 2012 Republican vice presidential candidate, speaks at the Gary R. Herbert Institute for Public Policy at Utah Valley University in Orem on Thursday, Oct. 5, 2023. | Megan Nielsen, Deseret News

Ryan calls for Social Security and Medicare reform

As part of the discussion about the debt, Ryan said it was important for lawmakers to reform Social Security and Medicare. He said they should do it without changing benefits for current older workers.

Entitlement reform should include means testing for benefits, meaning wealthy retirees would get less money, and raising the retirement age for future retirees. He also said states should get bloc grants for Medicaid.

Ryan praised his former running mate, Sen. Mitt Romney, who he said was a dear friend. He said Romneys TRUST Act is the countrys best bet for tackling entitlement reform.

Frankly, Mitt Romney has the bill, called the TRUST Act, that probably is the answer. In the old days, I wanted Congress to do it all. I didnt want to outsource our job to some commission to solve the problem that Congress is likely to solve. But right now, I just dont see Congress in the place to do it, he said.

The TRUST Act would create a commission to tackle entitlement reform, with the caveat that Congress had to hold an up or down vote on their recommendations once the commission completed its task.

Paul Ryan, a former U.S. House speaker and the 2012 Republican vice presidential candidate, shakes hands with an attendee before speaking at the Gary R. Herbert Institute for Public Policy at Utah Valley University in Orem on Thursday, Oct. 5, 2023. | Megan Nielsen, Deseret News

Ryan praises Utah, Latter-day Saints

Ryan praised The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints during his remarks, saying it contributed to the civil society in Utah, leading to the state being the top place in the country for social mobility.

He also praised the churchs missionary program, which he said helped those who participated in it.

Ryan, who is a Catholic, said he is optimistic about the country, but asked those present during his remarks to do more to encourage the growth of a more civil society.
I cannot think of a better choice than Alberto Ibarguen, president of the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, to receive the Sand in My Shoes Award for 2023. Ibarguen has done so much for our community. He is a wonderful representative of our community, and I am glad to see his long-time contributions being recognized.

Modesto A. Maidique,

professor, president emeritus,

FIU, Miami

Were not fooled

In her Sept. 26 article, In historic meeting, Cubas private entrepreneurs look for opportunities in Miami, Nora Gamez Torres reported on what some experts call emerging enterprises in Cuba.

Left out of the discussion are remittances worth about $3 billion that enter the island each year. Most of that money comes from the 1.3 million Cuban-Americans living in the United States, which accounts for about 90 percent of the Cuban diaspora.

These remittances are the primary source of funding for the Cuban military, the same apparatus responsible for imprisoning and torturing Cuban human rights activists, and using other forms of intimidation to prop up the Cuban dictatorship. Island residents are only allowed to spend the money received through remittances in certain stores, almost all of which are owned by Cubas military, and in which commodity prices are inflated to about 240% of their import value. Thus, through these various schemes, the Cuban military is able to pocket about 74 cents of every dollar sent in remittances.

During the Cold War, Castros government prevented Cubans from receiving remittances by way of exiled relatives, using intimidation, public humiliation, and other tactics to discourage contact between island residents and their relatives, until the Cuban economy imploded and remittances became necessary for regime survival.

Cubas emerging enterprises are just another scam in a long line of schemes that have cost foreign investors billions. Any Americans who choose to conduct business with  or in any way support  Cubas so-called private businesses, will be funneling money to the oppressive regimes military apparatus.

Logan M. Williams,

Bristol, CT

Irresponsible GOP

U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz and his fellow mutineers in the U.S. House fail to understand that there was nothing wrong with now former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy working across the aisle and getting support from some Democrats. Our system of government, during these days of deep division and confrontation, depends on seeking consensus wherever and whenever possible.

Gaetz does not grasp the simple principle that has guided our nation since its inception: The majority rules, while respecting the wishes of the minority. He is one of those MAGA Republicans willing to create chaos instead of sitting with members on both sides of the aisle and work out solutions to our nations difficult problems: immigration, compassionate yet fiscal responsibility, truth in education, equality in voting rights and respect for a womans freedom of choice.

Peter M. Brooke, Doral

On the way out

Russian President Vladimir Putin has said that, Whats happening with Trump is persecution of a political rival for political motives. While it may appear that way, state and federal grand juries do not hand down indictments without hard evidence of criminal behavior.

Donald Trump is facing severe felony charges. He will be tried before the election and guilty verdicts are likely. Once convicted, despite his media money and army of lawyers, he will not be an electable presidential candidate.

Trumps Republican rivals must come to grips with this reality, tell the truth and stop running for vice president.

Robert Finlay,

Miami

Comedy central

Could it be that Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives are the new Not Ready for Prime Time Players?

Jesus Mendez,

Coral Gables

Neutral justice

Former President Trump took the opportunity during his trial in New York to rail against a politicized justice system. This has become a plank in his political campaign.

Didnt he appoint the Supreme Court justices who, contrary to their assurances at confirmation hearings, took the first opportunity to overturn Roe v Wade, fulfilling of one of his own campaign promises?

Politics, like race, religion and other considerations, has no place in our justice system, and trials of political figures will necessarily stimulate the possibility it may occur. The courts must be vigilant to exclude it from the courtroom, but their success, whether in New York, Georgia, Florida or elsewhere, awaits judgment of its own only after the proceedings conclude.

R. Thomas Farrar,

Miami

The anti-party

For those who view the GOP as our patriotic political party, remember that Republicans opposed the Lend-Lease Act of the early 1940s. They also opposed the Marshall Plan after World War II ended. Today, Republicans oppose aid to Ukraine.

In the 1930s, Republicans seemingly wanted to surrender to Germany. Now they seem to want to surrender to Vladimir Putins Russia. Treason has never been synonymous with patriotism.

James Wilson,

Plantation

Vote them out

U. S. Rep. Kevin McCarthy saved the country from a government shutdown with help from Democrats. Rep. Matt Gaetz, a long-time McCarthy nemesis, threatened to remove him as House Speaker, and he did just that. After McCarthy was ousted, both political parties said it was the right thing to do.

Really?

These lawmakers are supposed to work for the people, not stab each other in the back.

Its time to clean house in both parties.

Carol Hamilton,

Miami Springs

Time to act

Those who do not learn from history are bound to repeat it. One cannot help but suspect that those who suppress the teaching of history intend to repeat it.

Reading the Oct. 4 story After Florida restricts Black history, churches step up to teach it, was encouraging. While the article did mention that it was not only Black churches engaged in this work, the impression is they are doing the bulk of it. White churches and integrated churches must step up and undertake this essential work.

Since last spring, a group at my church has been engaged in Sacred Ground, a film-, readings-, and discussion-based curriculum that helps us understand our history and current culture of racism. This is a wonderful program, but not enough churches are doing it. (For information, go to episcopalchurch.org and enter Sacred Ground in the search window.)

Faith in Floridas tool kit, the brainchild of the Rev. Rhonda Thomas, is another valuable resource. Engaging in this work is a moral imperative.

Rev. Frank J. Corbishley,

Coral Gables
At least 21 people, including two kids, suffered fatal injuries in a bus accident in Venice on Tuesday evening, October 3. Italian officials were still looking into what caused the tragedy.

The Italian fire department has not yet determined what caused the collision that occurred on Tuesday in Mestre, which was characterized as an "apocalyptic scene." Among the fatalities was the bus driver, 40-year-old Alberto Rizzotto. Eighteen others were wounded.

See Also: [BREAKING] Italy: Bus Falls Off Overpass Near Venice; At Least 20 Dead

Overheated Battery?

Fire officials in Italy have indicated they would investigate the possibility that the bus' overheated battery fueled the blaze. The bus was reportedly electric, as claimed by the bus company's website.

According to Sky TG24, via CNN, Provincial Fire Brigade Commander Mauro Lungo said that when batteries overheat, "critical issues" occur. He claims that the rescue attempt was delayed on Tuesday due to worries about the batteries.

Meanwhile, the Venice public prosecutor launched a probe into the collision. The top prosecutor for the Venice municipality, Bruno Cherchi, is in charge of the inquiry into the event in Mestre, as per a spokesman from the prosecutor's office who spoke to CNN.

The video that was sent to the police is being analyzed to see whether any other cars were involved or if the driver had any kind of medical emergency.

Venice mayor Luigi Brugnaro told local TV broadcaster RAI that the bus was crowded with people going home from work in Marghera, a city close to Venice. "It completely went off the road, it flew off the bridge."

Reportedly, the crash happened on an overpass connecting Mestre with Marghera and the A4 highway. The bus fell through a wall of the flyover and landed between a warehouse and the rails of the Mestre station below for unknown reasons.

Bus company CEO Massimo Fiorese claimed to have viewed the video of the bus' last seconds before the accident. He told the Italian daily Corriere della Sera, via Reuters, that footage showed the single-decker bus slowing down to the point that it seemed "almost stationary" before smashing through the railing and flipping over.

Sympathy for Victims, Their Families

The Italian Senate, the country's upper chamber of parliament, observed a moment of silence on Wednesday morning, October 4, for the victims of the tragedy. Both the president and the prime minister of the nation offered their sympathies following the tragedy.

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni posted on X, "I express my personal and the Government's deepest condolences for the serious accident that occurred in Mestre. Our thoughts go out to the victims and their family and friends."

French President Emmanuel Macron also wrote: "Our thoughts this evening are with the Italian people, with the families and loved ones of the victims of the terrible tragedy in Venice."

See Also: Philippines: Foreign Vessel Kills 3 Filipino Fishers-Is It A Chinese Boat?

@ 2023 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
SAN FRANCISCO -- Sen. Dianne Feinstein was remembered Thursday as a hero to women across the United States for her groundbreaking roles in local and national politics. President Joe Biden , Vice President Kamala Harris and former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi joined other national and local political leaders this week in praising her legacy after she died last Friday.

In a recorded message displayed during the late senator's memorial Thursday on the front steps of San Francisco's City Hall, Biden rattled off adjectives to describe Feinstein: "Tough, prepared, rigorous and compassionate." The president said Feinstein made life better for everyday people and stood for transparency and justice.

Thousands attended the invitation-only event. A montage of images of Feinstein over the years was shown on large screens, capping off an emotional tribute to a woman who served as the oldest member of the Senate before her death. Feinstein died at her home in Washington, D.C. She was 90.

The president said Feinstein was courageous, at times often being the only woman in the room handling key issues and mentoring both women and men alike for a hopeful future.

"Dianne Feinstein built a legacy for generations to come," Biden said "And thats not an exaggeration."

Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., speaks during a memorial service for U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein, Thursday, Oct. 5, 2023, in San Francisco.

Feinstein showed women 'could be the mayor'

Mayor London Breed was midway through her praises of Feinstein, thanking her for her leadership as the city's first woman mayor, when a roaring Boeing F/A-18 Super Hornets jet piloted by the Blue Angels flew overhead.

"Thank you, Mayor Feinstein, for bringing the Blue Angels to San Francisco in 1981," said Breed, breaking from her prepared comments.

Breed said that because of Feinstein, "We just always accepted that a woman could be in charge, we could do whatever a man can do, we considered it normal. My mothers generation didn't have it, my grandmothers generation didnt have it. Dianne Feinstein showed the way where girls like me could be tough, could be the mayor."

Feinstein's granddaughter, Eileen Mariano, said her grandmother encouraged many women to help shatter the glass ceiling, "and that they too can be leaders and that they deserve a seat at the table. "

People sit outside of City Hall during a memorial service for Sen. Dianne Feinstein, Thursday, Oct. 5, 2023, in San Francisco.

Kamala Harris said Feinstein showed 'substance, not showmanship'

Harris called Feinstein a standard bearer for American values, someone who embraced debate but was also willing to compromise for the greater good of the country.

"Simply put, she was a force," Harris said. She said Feinstein consistently showed "Substance, not showmanship. Results, not rhetoric."

Harris said she remembered being a young prosecutor in Oakland, California, driving over to San Francisco when Feinstein and fellow female senatorial candidate Barbara Boxer won their Senate seats in 1992, what many called "The Year of the Woman."

Harris, the nation's first female vice president, said Feinstein remained an inspiration to her.

"Dianne, our country has come a long way and you helped move the ball forward," Harris said. "And our nation salutes you."

Chuck Schumer says Feinstein stood for integrity

As the accolades for Feinstein continued, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said one adjective came to his mind: "integrity, integrity. Dianne Feinstein was a leader of eternal integrity."

Schumer called Feinstein "a dealmaker" who "when she embraced an issue, she pursued it until the end no matter the consequences, no matter the outcome, it made her a diamond in the Senate."

Schumer said he has never been more proud than when he worked alongside Feinstein when she championed gun control advocacy by authoring the 1994 assault weapons ban then-President Bill Clinton signed into law.

"Thanks to her unflappability and trademark integrity, America turned a new leaf," Schumer said.

Mourners pay their respects to the late U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein during a day of lying in state at San Francisco City Hall, on Wednesday, October 4, 2023. Feinstein served as mayor San Francisco from 1978 to 1988, and as senator from 1992 to 2023 when she passed.

Nancy Pelosi said Feinstein did things on her own terms

Pelosi said Feinstein was a fearless trailblazer.

"Dianne left on her own terms. She was proud to confirm 140 Biden judges and attest that she walked onto that floor last Thursday, which would be her last day, and voted to advance legislation to keep the government open for the people," Pelosi said during the memorial.

Pelosi recited the lyrics from the song, "American Anthem" by Norah Jones, which she said personified Feinstein.

"Let them say of me I was one who believed in sharing the blessings that I received," Pelosi said. "Let me know in my heart when my days are through, America, America, I gave my best to you."

The day before, Pelosi was among the thousands who stopped by Wednesday to visit Feinstein's body as she lay in state draped over a U.S. flag inside City Hall. Pelosi was a longtime friend and Congressional colleague who lived near Feinstein in San Francisco's hilly Pacific Heights neighborhood.

Pelosi, along with her family, tearfully hugged and kissed Feinstein's casket. She later told reporters the city had paid a beautiful tribute to her.

"It's something she would've just loved," said Pelosi, the first female House speaker, about Feinstein. "She was a person of greatness. She was a stateswoman. She was a national figure, but she was personal...She cared."

Feinstein remembered as San Francisco's former mayor

San Francisco Board of Supervisors President Aaron Peskin also visited Feinstein's casket Wednesday to pay respect to the lawmaker he said "never actually stopped being the mayor." He remembered how she would call him if something seemed "out of order," ranging from a key issue supervisors were debating to "seeing too much trash" on the streets.

"Her dedication to her hometown never wavered or waned," Peskin said.

During Tuesday's board meeting, Peskin said each supervisor shared "lovely and somber" thoughts about Feinstein. He spoke about Feinstein's list of accomplishments, "her firsts," including being the first woman who served as president of the board of supervisors, the first woman elected as mayor in San Francisco, and the first woman in the U.S. Senate from the state of California.

He noted Feinstein was also the first woman to chair the powerful Senate Rules and Senate Intelligence committees, where she made history for her probe of the CIAs enhanced interrogation program.

Back home, he said, it was Feinstein's level of care for the details that everyday San Franciscans experienced that helped "knit the city back together" after the assassinations of then-Mayor George Moscone and popular Supervisor Harvey Milk in 1978, and other "truly very dark and tumultuous times," Peskin said.

"She often acknowledged that in order to preserve and respect San Franciscos diversity, the center lane was the best way she could be a fulcrum and balance so many competing needs  which at the time was what San Francisco needed," Peskin said.

Mayor Dianne Feinstein at the 1984 Democratic National Convention held at Moscone Center in San Francisco

'Tireless fighter for justice' Sen. Dianne Feinstein, pioneering LGBTQ ally, celebrated and mourned in San Francisco

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Dianne Feinstein death: Tears, tributes galore at senator's memorial
Police officers stop and salute the casket of the late U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein during a day of lying in state at San Francisco City Hall, on Wednesday, Oct. 4, 2023. | Carlos Avila Gonzalez, San Francisco Chronicle via Associated Press

Much has been written in the days since Sen. Dianne Feinsteins death about her notable and historic career  with more surely to come. Her life story is a veritable litany of firsts and boundaries broken, but my somewhat more personal reflections stem from the way her lifes work interacted with my own familys story.

In 1978, Feinstein became the first female mayor of San Francisco. Two years later, my father, Tom Lantos, was elected as a member of the U.S. Congress, the first (and still only) Holocaust survivor to ever serve in this capacity. His district covered a portion of San Francisco, so he and Feinstein inevitably crossed paths.

While it might not be fair to say they had a close relationship, I know they recognized in each other the mark of a trailblazer and shared a deep mutual respect. Moreover, they shared a rapidly diminishing space in American politics, as leaders who managed to be progressive while retaining a strong pragmatism that often led them to the center.

Beyond this, they shared their proud Jewish heritage  in fact, Feinstein was the first female Jewish senator. She recounted that she faced antisemitism early in her political career, and as mayor she traveled to the oldest Jewish ghetto in Europe, where she affirmed the vital importance of speaking out against antisemitism. She also helped create a Holocaust monument in San Francisco.

In the same era, my father introduced legislation in the U.S. Congress to make Raoul Wallenberg, a Swede responsible for saving tens of thousands of Hungarian Jews during the Holocaust, an honorary U.S. citizen.

Dianne Feinstein and Tom Lantos were both proudly patriotic and understood Americas global role as the indispensable nation. They both had a profound commitment to human rights and the protection of human dignity for all people. For my father, this commitment led him to co-found the Congressional Human Rights Caucus. Feinstein exhibited her own deep commitment time and again through legislation aimed at addressing human trafficking and putting an end to the use of torture by the United States.

Related

Feinsteins political career also intersected with my husbands own in a meaningful way. She was deeply impacted by the assassinations of San Francisco Mayor George Moscone and Supervisor Harvey Milk in 1978, and she became a fierce and lifelong advocate for gun control and gun safety.

She authored the 1994 Assault Weapons Ban, which still stands as one of the most successful and impactful efforts to address gun violence in America. My husband, who was then a congressman from the state of New Hampshire, cast a critical vote in favor of the Assault Weapons Ban, which only passed the House by two votes. This earned him death threats and lost him his congressional seat, but he never regretted his decision to vote for what would prove to be Feinsteins lifesaving bill. Without her leadership, this legislative action would never have come to pass.

When my father passed away in 2008, Feinstein generously wrote of him, He stood tall in the most difficult of circumstances  with a dignity and a forcefulness thats unprecedented. She went on, The Bay Area has lost a great one.

Fifteen years later, the same can surely be said of Feinstein. The Bay Area and the entire country has lost a trailblazing, boundary-breaking force, but her legacy will live on for generations to come.

Dr. Katrina Lantos Swett is president of the Lantos Foundation for Human Rights and Justice, former chair of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, and an associate professor at Tufts University.
FILE PHOTO: The Pfizer logo is pictured on their headquarters building

By Blake Brittain

(Reuters) - Pfizer, BioNTech and biotech firm Promosome told a federal judge in San Diego, California that they have agreed to end Promosome's lawsuit accusing the COVID-19 vaccine makers of infringing a patent related to messenger RNA technology.

The companies said in a court filing on Wednesday that Promosome would dismiss its case with prejudice, which means it cannot be refiled, and that Promosome had agreed not to bring future claims over the patent against Pfizer and its partner BioNTech. No financial terms were disclosed.

Representatives for Promosome and Pfizer did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Thursday. A representative for BioNTech's attorneys declined to comment on the filing.

The agreement comes weeks after Promosome abandoned a related lawsuit against COVID-19 vaccine maker Moderna.

San Diego and New York-based Promosome was formed to commercialize technology developed by biochemistry researchers at the Scripps Research Institute in La Jolla, California. Promosome sued Pfizer, BioNTech and Moderna in June, accusing the companies of copying its technology for making doses of mRNA small enough to use safely and effectively in the vaccines.

The lawsuits said that Promosome discussed its technology with representatives from Moderna and BioNTech between 2013 and 2016.

Promosome had asked the court for a share of royalties from the shots. Pfizer earned $37.8 billion last year from sales of its COVID-19 vaccine Comirnaty, while Moderna made $18.4 billion from its vaccine Spikevax.

Pfizer and BioNTech denied the allegations and claimed Promosome had withheld information from the U.S. Patent Office when applying for the patent that would have rendered it invalid.

The Promosome lawsuits were among several U.S. patent cases brought by biotech companies over the alleged misuse of their technology in the groundbreaking shots. Moderna filed a patent lawsuit against Pfizer and BioNTech last year that is still ongoing.

(Reporting by Blake Brittain in Washington; Editing by David Bario and Andrea Ricci)
With Halloween right around the corner, it seems appropriate to recount one of the creepiest and strangest events in all of Mississippis history: the Phantom Barber of Pascagoula.

The strange story begins around midnight on June 5, 1942, in Pascagoula, a Coastal Mississippi city preoccupied with shipbuilding to support the war effort.

Within the Convent of Our Lady of Victory, two young girls, Mary Evelyn Briggs and Edna Marie Hydel, were startled awake by an unsettling noise. They both sat up in time to witness a man jumping out of their bedroom window.

Upon turning on the lights they both realized that they were physically unharmed but were shocked by the realization that the man had cut and stolen several locks of their hair.

After contacting the police, the girls provided a brief description of the intruder and claimed that he also shushed them as he escaped. Bloodhounds followed a scent to the nearby woods, and tracks revealed that the man may have made his escape on a bicycle.

Before the police could begin searching, another incident occurred in which 6-year-old Carol Peattie awoke to discover her hair also cruelly cut. The police investigation noted that the man had sliced through her bedroom window screen and managed to cut her hair and escape without waking her or her brother.

Pascagoula was plunged into a wave of fear as the town grappled with a serial intruder who broke into homes, leaving behind unwanted haircuts. While the intruder had done no physical harm so far, Police Chief A. W. Ezell was concerned that the man may escalate his crimes at some point. Meanwhile, residents began alluding to the strange criminal as the Phantom Barber of Pascagoula, which caught the attention of media across the nation.

The terror continues

Even with German U-Boats stalking the coast, the military allowed Pascagoula residents to light up their homes at night in hopes of catching the culprit. Chief Ezell ordered an increased number of nightly patrols and even called for support from state police. Chief Ezell also put out a warning that every man in town is armed. I would advice strangers to proceed with caution.

A few days later on June 13, Terrell Heidelberg and his wife were assaulted by an intruder in their bed while they slept. Mr. Heidelberg was viciously attacked with a lead pipe, even losing a few teeth in the brutal attack before the intruder managed to escape. While some believed this to be the work of the Phantom Barber, others questioned if it could be an unrelated crime.

However, Mrs. R.E. Taylor became the next victim, as she was incapacitated with chloroform before her hair was cut and stolen. Over the next week, another dozen people would report that they had experienced a break-in.

The phantom barber finally caught?

Suspicion soon fell upon a German-born chemist residing in Pascagoula at the time, William Dolan. His national origin and vocal sympathies for Germany, coupled with the wartime tensions along the Mississippi coast, led many to believe he was a German spy or saboteur. It did not take long before suspicious neighbors began claiming that Dolan was the Phantom Barber, something he vehemently denied.

Pascagoula police uncovered a recent altercation between Dolan and Mr. Heidelberg, raising questions about a possible motive. While investigating the incident, police found several locks of hair outside Dolans window, prompting Chief Ezell to arrest him on the charge of attempted murder.

While DNA testing was unavailable at the time, most breathed a sigh of relief, convinced they had captured the elusive culprit. Notably, the surge in break-ins came to a screeching halt after Dolans arrest.

The phantoms identity

Debate still lingers as to whether Dolan was indeed the Phantom Barber of Pascagoula. The evidence suggests his guilt, but some speculate that he might have been set up, possibly by Mr. Heidelberg. Others maintain that the true Phantom Barber might have eluded capture, with Dolan merely entangled in a separate incident.

Dolan was never convicted of the break-ins or late-night haircuts, but he was found guilty of attempted murder and sentenced to 10 years in prison. In 1951, Mississippi Governor Fielding Wright had the case reviewed and granted Dolan a limited suspension before having him released from prison.

The spree of strange break-ins still remains hotly divided by residents in Coastal Mississippi today, with many still blaming Dolan while others believe the Phantom Barber of Pascagoula escaped. Regardless, Pascagoula endured one of the creepiest crimes in all of Mississippi history, leaving residents with an unsettling memory that lingers to this day.
In a year of seemingly never-ending strikes, another group of employees has taken to the picket lines: pharmacy workers. Pharmacists and pharmacy techs from drugstore chain CVS have been striking in Kansas City. Further west, about 75,000 workers, many of them pharmacists, from health care conglomerate Kaiser Permanente have also just gone on strike amid stalled contract talks.

The pharmacy walkouts could have a major impact on the health care sector. Why are these pharmacists striking and how could the issue be resolved?

Why are CVS pharmacists striking?

Pharmacists at CVS, currently the largest drugstore chain in the United States, walked off the job at the end of September to highlight "what they say are unsafe and stressful work conditions tied to a widespread lack of proper staffing," NPR reported. There were reports of staffing shortages at CVS locations around the country, but the walkout was mostly in and around Kansas City, Missouri.

At least 12 Kansas City-area CVS stores were forced to close as a result of the strike. The prime grievance from the pharmacists was that CVS had cut back on the time that pharmacy technicians were allowed to work, putting more stress on the pharmacists themselves. "We are open 64 hours a week, and I'm only allowed help for 20 of those hours," one pharmacist told The Kansas City Star. Working alone at the pharmacy for 44 hours of the week is "like running a McDonald's with just one person," the pharmacist added.

A number of these locations were also cutting their store hours, increasing pharmacists' workloads even more. "They keep stretching us thinner and thinner," and that's putting patients in jeopardy, the pharmacist said, adding that they "regularly work 10-hour days and don't have time to pee or eat lunch. When you are expected to work like that, there are going to be mistakes."

CVS responded quickly to the strike. The company is "focused on addressing the concerns raised by our pharmacists," spokesperson Amy Thibeau told The Associated Press. Chief Pharmacy Officer Prem Shah also apologized to the pharmacists, writing in a memo that CVS was "taking a series of actions effective immediately," including "providing additional pharmacy resources to support stores that may be at capacity, adjusting appointment availability, providing additional support from our human resources team for filling open positions and increasing staffing levels."

Why are Kaiser Permanente pharmacists striking?

The striking CVS pharmacists have been joined by their West Coast counterparts at Kaiser Permanente, one of the largest health care consortiums in the country, per Forbes.

A coalition of unions has been unable to finalize a new contract with Kaiser. As a result, "a four-day strike of about 75,000 employees" from Kaiser began on Wednesday morning, Axios reported. While these 75,000 workers would include employees from all of Kaiser's divisions, hundreds of them are pharmacists, pharmacy technicians and related employees. The strike is expected to be the largest health care-related walkout in American history.

The Coalition of Kaiser Permanente Unions, which is leading the strike, said the walkout was protesting "unfair labor practices and unsafe staffing levels" at Kaiser hospitals and other facilities, USA Today reported. Contract talks to try and address these issues were stalled, and the unions accused Kaiser of "bad-faith bargaining" that did not properly fix staffing issues.

Staffing concerns at Kaiser facilities, as at CVS, have been a major sticking point in contract negotiations amid a broader "health care worker shortage," Forbes noted. Kaiser has already agreed to hire at least 10,000 people in various sectors by the end of the year, and tentative agreements have been reached on union requests such as "better reporting and tracking of job vacancies and increasing travel funding for those continuing their education," Forbes added. Along with the staffing shortages, the unions and Kaiser are haggling over higher wages.

While thousands of workers have walked off the job, Kaiser has said its hospitals and other facilities will stick to normal operations. The company told USA Today it was nevertheless enacting hospital contingency plans "to ensure members continue to receive safe, high-quality care for the duration of the strike."
This past week, Alabama Sen. Senator Katie Britt made waves by arguing brilliantly that the southern border does not lead to the American dream, saying, Its the American nightmare! Well put.

In the same week, liberal Congresswoman Ayanna Presley, D-Mass., shocked CNNs Jake Tapper by insisting that the southern border is secure, while also claiming a humanitarian crisis exists as illegal immigrants flood across the nearly non-existent line.

Phil Williams

Tapper seemed incredulous as he asked, But if you have millions of undocumented migrants coming into the country, how is the border secure? Her deflection was to say, This is not a new crisis.

There are two doctrines that come to mind here. One is unwritten and the other is black letter law.

The first is simply the old rule of the retail store: You break it, you buy it. Thats why my dad told me as a knothead kid to keep my hands in my pockets when we went into a store filled with breakables.

But theres a legal version of the you break it you buy it retail rule. In the practice of law, it is common to find a suit for injuries that were proximately caused by the negligent or reckless acts of another person.

Sometimes those cases are the only way that a person can be made whole. But what happens when the injured person was simply more susceptible to being hurt? What if the person has a physical disability, or a special condition, and their injuries are made worse simply because they were more prone to being hurt than another similarly situated person? Can a person be sued for injuries made worse by a preexisting condition? Yes, they can.

The longstanding rule is called the eggshell plaintiff doctrine, and it basically stands for the premise that if someone has a skull that can crack as easily as an egg, even if the average person wouldnt have suffered the same injuries, the fact could remain that a negligent person is still liable for hurting them.

The courts have said that when it comes to injured people, You have to take them as you found them.

Defendants will try to point the finger at the fragile state of the injured person and say that no one could have foreseen such injuries. But if it is shown to the courts satisfaction that the defendant caused the injury, it doesnt matter if the injured person was toting an eggshell noggin. In injury law, you take them as you find them.

The eggshell plaintiff doctrine is the legal version of you break it, you buy it.

What we are watching right now on this countrys southern border is a classic example of trying to blame an injury on a pre-existing condition. By breaking this already fragile border, the Biden administration is causing massive injury to our country, our way of life, our economy and our national security.

In August alone, 232,972 people were encountered illegally entering the U.S. Projections for 2023 lead to the expectation that we will exceed 3 million illegal immigrants in one year.

Some reports indicate that since President Joe Biden took office, more than eight million illegal immigrants have entered the country. Thats more than 1.5 times the entire population of Alabama!

In Eagle Pass, Texas, thousands cross the border every single day and have overrun the small town whose actual population is only 29,000. The mayor of Eagle Pass said, I believe 100% (Biden) does bear some responsibility for this crisis. I havent heard from anybody in the administration. The president hasnt put out a statement, the vice president, I havent heard from anybody.

But the Biden administration swears its not their fault. Its a longstanding problem, they say. The border had issues before we got here, they say. Well, Ive got news, Mr. President: It may be an eggshell plaintiff, but the injuries were made worse by you. You broke it, so you buy it.

But deflection continues. Recently, in a speech to the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, Biden blamed Republicans for the growing numbers of illegals crossing the border. He said, MAGA Republicans spent four years gutting the immigration system under my predecessor. They continue to undermine our border security today. We need our colleagues to act.

Does he remember that he is the chief executive right now?

White House spin doctor Karine Jean-Pierre insisted again that Biden is doing everything he can to combat the surge of migrants at the southern border, and accused Republicans of not doing enough. We have taken steps without the help of Republicans in Congress to do everything that we can to deal with this issue, she told reporters at the White House.

None of their blaming of an illusory past gives them a bye on this issue. Remember that eggshell plaintiff doctrine? You take them as you found them. The rule of retail? You break it you buy it.

It does not matter one whit whether the border was perfect or fragile when Biden took office. The fact is that Biden is the one who is in the position to either help or hurt, and he has chosen to hurt.

The United States is the injured party. Our southern border is our eggshell skull. The Biden administrations actions are the proximate cause of countless injuries to our society as a whole. The fact that we may have already had some problems does not absolve Biden of liability for making our problems worse.

Mr. President, you break it, you buy it.

Phil Williams is a former state senator from District 10 (which includes Etowah County), retired Army colonel and combat veteran, and a practicing attorney. He previously served with the leadership of the Alabama Policy Institute in Birmingham. He currently hosts the conservative news/talk show Rightside Radio on multiple channels throughout north Alabama. The opinions expressed are his own.

This article originally appeared on The Gadsden Times: Phil Williams looks at Southern border concerns
Lake Tefe in Brazil reached record high temperatures last week amid severe droughts in the area.

The water in the lake reached over 102 degrees Fahrenheit, or nearly 39 degrees Celsius.

Over 100 dolphins have been died, likely because of the heat, researchers say.

A lake in Brazil reached over 102 degrees Fahrenheit last week, and roughly 125 dead river dolphins have been recovered by researchers or have washed ashore.

The record high temperatures in Lake Tefe, located in the Amazon town of Tefe, Brazil, are accompanied by recent extreme droughts in the Amazon region, according to CNN .

A bird perches on the carcass of a dolphin in Lake Tefe. Bruno Kelly / Reuters

The main party leading the investigation of their deaths, the Mamiraua Institute for Sustainable Development, said that the water is about nine degrees higher than normal, according to the New York Times . Researchers at the institute are investigating multiple potential causes of the deaths, including diseases or pollution, but think the water temperature is the most probable cause, per the Times.

"You see the water covered with carcasses," said Dr. Miriam Marmontel, one of the institute's researchers, to the Times.

Marmontel also told the Times the lake turned into a kind of "soup" because of how hot the water became.

A boat carries a dolphin carcass back to land to be studied by researchers. Bruno Kelly / Reuters

"It is common for communities to run into a dead dolphin or two at some point," said Claudia Sacramento, head of the Environmental Emergencies Division at Chico Mendes Institute for Biodiversity Conservation, to the Washington Post . "Usually they're just old or sick. But we had never seen something like this before."

Despite the worry the researchers have for the dolphins  which are, if alive, disoriented and unable to dive  the researchers cannot move them to cooler water, another researcher from the institute, Andre Coelho, said.

Researchers examining a dolphin carcass on the banks of the lake. Bruno Kelly / Reuters

"Transferring river dolphins to other rivers is not that safe because it's important to verify if toxins or viruses are present [before their transfer]," Coelho told CNN.

Scientists are working on that verification. Over 10 veterinarians are volunteering their services to collect samples for testing and perform necropsies on deceased dolphins, according to the Post.

Veterinarians and other researchers necropsy a dolphin from Lake Tefe. Bruno Kelly / Reuters

The number of dolphins that have died represents an enormous section of the river dolphin population  between 5 to 10%, according to Marmontel's interview with NPR .

But the trouble isn't over yet for the dolphins, despite their recent devastation. CNN reported that even more severe droughts are expected in the coming weeks, which could be even more deadly for animals in the area.

"We're getting ready for the worst," said Adriana Colosio, a veterinarian helping with necropsies, to the Post.

Read the original article on Insider
In March, historic rivals Iran and Saudi Arabia announced that they had agreed to normalize relations. This news was significant because it signaled a possible change in regional order in the Middle East. Butat least for the Washington commentariatwhat was more notable was that Americas fingerprints were nowhere near the deal. Instead, the rapprochement had been brokered by China, in Beijings latest notable turn as international negotiator. This move brought into stark relief a development that some experts have been predicting for years: the end of the postCold War, unipolar moment and the beginning of a new multipolar era, in which the United States must coexist with other powers.

When Biden took office, he had the chance to reorient his foreign policy for this new age. The catchphrase of Bidens foreign policy vision on the campaign trail was America is backby which he signaled an effort to reverse the perceived ills of his predecessors worldview. While Biden recognized the challenges posed by other powers, he pledged to compete from a position of strength. He intended to begin restoring American engagement internationally and earn back our leadership position, to catalyze global action on shared challenges. Working with other countries to confront international problems like climate change and public health was ostensibly a foundational principle of this foreign policy.

Yet, partly because of factors outside of his controlnotably Russias invasion of Ukraine in February 2022and partly because of an intentional shift in American national security strategy, Bidens foreign policymaking has been defined by great power competition. In this framing, Beijings attempt to play peacemaker is a sign of rivalry rather than an opportunity for collaboration.

Relations with China have been spiraling downward for years, accelerated by aggressive actions taken by both powers. Donald Trump s inflammatory rhetoric and policies toward an increasingly powerful and belligerent government in Beijing heightened tensions between the countries. In a pertinent recent example, the discovery of a Chinese-operated spy balloon flying in U.S. airspace in February led to the cancellation of Secretary of State Antony Blinkens planned trip to Beijing, and diplomatic relations were very slow to recover, although Blinken and other U.S. government representatives did eventually travel to China. Bidens delayed response to the balloon incident in June, in which he called the episode a great embarrassment for dictatorsreferring to Xi Jinpingled to another flare-up.

Russias invasion of Ukraine brought relations with Moscow to a new low, made clear that Moscow was intent on reasserting itself as a great power, and solidified Bidens position that this is a world marked by division rather than cooperation: pitting, in Bidens words, democracies against autocracies.

Columbia University professor Michael Doyle tackles these global shifts in his new book, Cold Peace: Avoiding the New Cold War. He traces the domestic and international roots of these tensions, analyzes the most combustible points of potential conflict in the relationships, from economic warfare to territorial disputes in Ukraine and Taiwan, and offers thoughts on how to maintain relations and avoid the worst downsides of conflict. Like the first Cold War, a second would have disastrous consequences for the world: arms races, proxy wars, an inability to address pressing global concerns of security and inequality, and a looming risk of deterioration into a hot war.





Great power competition is not quite inevitable, and, as Doyle explains, Cold War is not a necessary outgrowth of great power competition. But over approximately the last decade, militarism and nationalism in both Washington and Beijing have increaseda trend accelerated by Presidents Xi Jinping and Donald Trumpcreating a destructive spiral. Each country accuses the other of trying to recalibrate the international order against its interests and blames it for domestic problems. This cycle is particularly noticeable among the political elite, but the impulse to blame China for, say, the drug crisis or the loss of jobs in the United States eventually makes its way to the general public.

Thus far, as Doyle lays out in great detail, direct confrontation has been limited to cyber and economic policies. On economic policy, the Biden administration has largely followed the Trump playbook, adopting an aggressive stance toward Beijing, including explicitly working to counter a number of Chinas trade and development initiatives, and pushing other countries to do the same, at the risk of jeopardizing their ties to the U.S. The administration has taken steps in pursuit of this goal, including prohibiting American manufacturers from selling semiconductors to any Chinese company. Washington has been sanctioning Moscow since it first annexed Crimea in 2014, but the economic pressure campaign has intensified in the year and a half since the invasion of Ukrainean effort that the White House has repeatedly referred to as unprecedented. In the near term, the looming powder kegs are in Taiwan and Ukraine, where Russian and Chinese territorial ambitions have led to inflamedif often inconsistentresponses from Washington.

Doyle lays out in detail how he would address these two issues. He points out that each side has strong reasons to reach a compromise. It is, Doyle argues, in the interest of the U.S. to keep sea lanes in the western Pacific open and protect its allies, particularly to avoid the invasion of democratic Taiwan. Meanwhile, its in Chinas interest to avoid war, to ensure maritime security in its region, the principle of territorial integrity, economic growth, and the national prestige of leading its region.

Keeping these interests in mind, Doyle sees five broad areas for compromise between the two nations. They are: the continuation of strategic ambiguity (Doyle calls it constructive ambiguity) over Taiwans territorial status; the creation of certain zones barring military transit as a means to maintain maritime and aerial security and reduce the chances of inadvertent military confrontations; allowing Taiwan to acquire sufficient defensive capabilities instead of the U.S. continuing to increase its own naval forces in the Asia-Pacific; China halting its construction of artificial islands in the South China Sea, in exchange for the U.S. informing Beijing of the movement of its ships in the sea; and integrating China into more arms control treaties, such as the New START nuclear arms negotiations.

If all sides continue to perceive actions by the other as hostile, then they will constantly be at the precipice of a military confrontation.

On Russia and Ukraine, Doyle offers a similar list: Residents of Crimea would be allowed to vote on which of the two countries they wish to be a part of; the Donbas would be returned to Ukraine, under the condition that Ukraine would pledge to implement minority rights to property and education and local self-government; the EU and the United States would agree to recognize both of these arrangements; and Ukraine and Russia would agree to a broadly defined agreement that would allow Kyiv to be incorporated into a wider security framework, perhaps in exchange for a pledge that Ukraine would not be invited to join NATO.

Neither Moscow, Kyiv, nor Washington (nor Beijing, for that matter) has to date shown a desire for some version of a land-and-neutrality-for-security type of deal like the one offered by Doyle, though it does appear most likely that the war will eventually be settled at the negotiating table. And a deeper problem with these solutions is that cooperation does not happen in a vacuum. On their own, these proposals are thoughtful and mostly reasonable, and avoiding a hot war between great powers is understandably Doyles overarching goal. But if all sides continue to perceive actions by the other as hostile, then they will constantly be at the precipice of a military confrontation. And adopting a Cold Warstyle, zero-sum framework, in which the rest of the world is forced to choose sides, only reinforces this dynamic. Instead, the sides need to create a world in which cooperative coexistence is the norm.





One of Doyles most consistentand most potentially problematicassumptions is that in the post-unipolar era, the world is divided into blocs. Led by the U.S., the West stands for elections, human rights, free markets, free speech, and other pillars of liberal democracy, while China and Russia seek a world that is safe for autocracy, in which these principles are optional. The rest of the world, in this division, will line up behind one of these agendas.

Yet that isnt the way that relations have shaken out so far. Trump and Biden are the first two presidents of the post-unipolar era. Trumps approach to the rest of the world was a strange form of assertive unilateralism, an approach that explicitly disavowed the concept of global leadership while flexing American power, especially military might. Bidens method has been his predecessors awkward opposite, an attempt to re-embrace American leadership while working with other countries to confront global challenges, though acknowledging the limits of military power.

Biden has celebrated his success in rehabilitating the nations global standing, but evidence shows that much of the rest of the world has not bought into his vision. While Biden continues to tout the unparalleled unity with which the world has condemned Moscow for its invasion of Ukraine, much of the global south has remained unaligned during the first year of the war, choosing instead to bemoan the consequences of the war while arguing for a diplomatic solution and eschewing participation in the sanctions regime. More than 30 countries have abstained on United Nations votes condemning Moscow, and a recent study from The Economist found that although 52 countries comprising 15% of the global populationthe West and its friendslambast and punish Russias actions, and just 12 countries laud Russia, some 127 states are categorised as not being clearly in either camp.

Some of the worlds largest and most important democracies, like India and Brazil, have not taken sides in the ongoing global conflict. Brazils new President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, in particular, has been vocal in his support to find a quick resolution to the war, and insisted that blame for the war is shared between Russia and the West.

The desire for nonalignment may be even stronger on China, which maintains strong economic ties with most of the world. Even NATO, which, to date, has stayed largely unified on the Ukraine question, may not be as solid in a confrontation with Beijing. Already, French President Emmanuel Macron has raised doubts over whether a possible crisis over Taiwan concerns his country, telling Politico, Is it in our interest to accelerate [a crisis] on Taiwan? No. The worse thing would be to think that we Europeans must become followers on this topic and take our cue from the U.S. agenda and a Chinese overreaction.

This reality is squarely at odds with the concept of a world divided cleanly into democratic states on the one hand and autocratic ones on the other. Doyles suggestions are not quite so rigid, as he emphasizes that the door to his proposed caucus of democracies should remain open to autocratic states on an issue-by-issue basis, as well as to any country considering a democratic transition. He nonetheless advocates that the right response to the growing alliance between Moscow and Beijing is to strengthen the democratic coalition of states prepared to balance against the autocratic coalition of Russia and China and their allies. If recent events are any indication, there is little appetite for such blocs to exist, and if they ever do, they will be defined not by regime type or ideology but by other, evolving and more narrowly conceived national interests.

Washington can often find comfort in common enemies and straightforward logic, whether that be the Soviet Union during the Cold War or global terrorism in the post-9/11 years. Today, as the national security establishment searches to give American power a purpose in this new age, reclaiming old thinking is appealing, such that even Doyle and many others who are clear-eyed about the dangers of a new Cold War can easily be tempted to revert to that framework. But adopting that framework, even if to warn against it, can be dangerous as it raises the stakes of the confrontation while making the conditions necessary for coexistence unlikely.





Lessons from the first Cold War indicate that arguing that everyone must be on one side or the other can have devastating

consequences.

One of the stronger portions of Cold Peace comes toward the end, when Doyle makes the case that in order for the world to be safe for American democracy, American democracy must be safe for the world. In other words, domestic renewal is a key part of protecting international democracy. The lesson of the grim politics of the past years in both Europe and the United States, Doyle writes, is that international security will not be achieved without first rebuilding the economic foundations of liberal democracy at home.

In Doyles telling, the way to defend liberalism and democracy is not to directly confront autocratic regimes elsewhere in the world but rather to focus inward. Sometimes, the best defense is a good offense, he argues. But today, in response to the threats from a new cold war, the best defense is a good defense. Lessons from the first Cold War indicate that arguing that everyone must be on one side or the other can have devastating consequences on our society, from McCarthyism to the persecution of already marginalized groups.



But that solution is not enough to avoid great power conflict. So long as Washington is convinced that its task is to uphold an ill-defined international order, rather than to navigate an increasingly multipolar world, then rivalry, as opposed to cooperation, will continue to define its strategy. Unless we are willing to directly confront the root causes of democratic decay at home and hegemony abroad, we are bound to repeat the mistakes of the Cold War.
Norwegian playwright Jon Fosse , who on Thursday won the Nobel literature prize, said he was "surprised, but also not" as his name has cropped in the past.

"I was surprised, but also not. I've been part of the discussion for 10 years and have more and less tentatively prepared myself that this could happen," the 64-year-old writer told Norwegian public broadcaster NRK.

"But believe me, I didn't expect to get the prize today," he said.

The playwright and author, whose major works include "Boathouse" (1989) and "Melancholy" I and II (1995-1996), was honoured "for his innovative plays and prose which give voice to the unsayable", the Nobel Prize jury said.

Fosse's name has regularly featured in Nobel predictions, and his Norwegian publishing house Samlaget had prepared a press release before the announcement.

"I am overwhelmed and grateful. I see this as an award to the literature that first and foremost aims to be literature, without other considerations," Fosse said in the statement.

Fosse will receive his prize, which comes with a medal and a prize sum of 11 million Swedish kronor (about $1 million), from King Carl XVI Gustaf at a formal ceremony in Stockholm on December 10, the anniversary of the 1896 death of scientist and inventor Alfred Nobel.

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Polands Minister of Agriculture Robert Telus has said that Poland does not understand the Ukrainian statement regarding the "suspension" of consideration of Ukraines complaint against restrictions on its agricultural exports in the World Trade Organisation (WTO).

Source: PAP, a Polish news agency, referring to Robert Telus

Details: Telus said that Poland was not sure what Ukraines decision meant.

"We demand that the complaint be withdrawn because it is groundless and absurd. How can the Ukrainian government complain to the Polish government that the Polish government is helping a Polish farmer. This is truly absurd," Telus said.

He added that Ukraine withdrawing its complaint from the WTO is a prerequisite for improving Ukrainian-Polish relations.

Background:

Taras Kachka, Ukraines Deputy Economy Minister and Trade Representative, said on 5 October that Ukraine had put its complaints against Poland, Hungary and Slovakia to the World Trade Organisation (WTO) on hold in an attempt to find a compromise solution.

With regard to the situation with Poland, Kachka said he hoped that the parties would be able to return to the discussions after the elections, as there are no systemic obstacles to solving the problem.

Following the end of temporary restrictions on the import of certain types of agricultural products at the EU level, Ukraine proposed an export control plan for four groups of crops  wheat, maize, sunflower and rapeseed  to the European Commission and Poland, Hungary, Slovakia, Bulgaria and Romania to protect their domestic markets.

Despite this, Poland, Slovakia and Hungary announced unilateral restrictions on Ukrainian imports, prompting Ukraine to begin challenging their actions at the World Trade Organisation.

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Pope Francis led the Mass in St. Peter's Square Wednesday (October 4) ahead of the opening session of the 16th Synod of Bishops on "synodality."

In his homily, the pontiff has warned both camps in the church's culture wars to put their "human strategies, political calculations or ideological battles" aside and allow God to guide the debate.

"We're not here to create a parliament, but to walk together with the gaze of Jesus," he said.

He also told the crowd that his papal namesake, Francis of Assisi - the saint commemorated every October 4 in the Catholic hagiography - also faced divisions and tensions in his lifetime and responded with prayer, charity, humility, and unity when God allegedly told him to "rebuild" the church in the 13th century.

"Let us also do the same," Francis said. "And if God's holy people with their shepherds from all over the world have expectations, hopes, and even some fears about the synod we are beginning, let us continue to remember that it is not a political gathering, but a convocation in the spirit; not a polarized parliament, but a place of grace and communion."

Francis added that "preconceived" ideas, such as more roles and representations in the church, had no place in the gathering. However, in another part of his speech, he insisted that the church was a place of welcome, saying that "tutti" (Italian for "everyone") must be allowed in.

The pope also emphasized to the congregation that there was a temptation to be a "rigid" church in difficult times, which "arms itself against the world and looks backward; a lukewarm church, which surrenders to the fashions of the world; a tired Church, turned in on itself."

To these claims, the pontiff suggested an alternative to what the Church should be.

"A church that is united and fraternal, that listens and dialogues; a church that blesses and encourages, that helps those who seek the Lord, that lovingly stirs up the indifferent, that opens paths in order to draw people into the beauty of faith," he explained. "A church that has God at its center and, therefore, is not divided internally and is never harsh externally."

The Mass was attended by over 20,000 pilgrims on top of 500 clergymen, including 20 new cardinals Francis recently named prior to the synod's opening.

At the opening Mass for the Synod of Synodality, lay delegates and bishops process in to the solemn hymn, Laudes Regiae, singing Christ conquers, Christ reigns, Christ commands. pic.twitter.com/bnhwAMqRQ8  Courtney Mares (@catholicourtney) October 4, 2023

Catholic Culture Wars Highlight the Synod

This year's three-week closed-door mega-meeting has been intentionally or unintentionally highlighted by diverse speculations - from hope to hype to fear - on the fate of the Catholic Church as the world knows it, the Associated Press reported.

While the two-year-long synodal process would not make any binding decisions, the synod itself has been the ideological casus belli of the cultural civil war in the church's left-right divide, as well as marking a defining moment for Francis and his reform agenda.

At stake in the synod was a wide range of controversial topics the church has been discussing in the past few decades despite its official doctrine providing solidified pronouncements. These include the elevation of more women to decision-making roles, the possibility of ordaining women, and more democratic church governance.

Prior to the service, advocates for women priests unfurled a giant purple banner at a yard near St. Peter's reading "Ordain Women." They and other women's rights activists have long complained of their claimed status as second-class citizens within the church and have long demanded a greater say in church governance, at least in the form of voting rights at the periodic synods at the Vatican but also the right to preach at Mass and be ordained as priests or deacons.

Francis has previously convened two study commissions to research the issue and was asked to consider it at a previous synod on the Amazon, but has so far refused to make any change.

Also being considered are the ways to welcome LGBT+ Catholics and other individuals purportedly marginalized by the church, as well as new accountability measures to keep prelates and clerics in check, especially in the prevention of abuses, without specifying whether it was of the theological, liturgical, moral, or sexual kind.

The synod was the very first time the pope let women and lay folk participate and vote alongside bishops in any final document produced. While bishops compose a majority of the voting seats of the 365-member synod, the reform was seen as a radical shift away from a hierarchy-focused Synod of Bishops. It could also be seen as evidence of Francis's perspective that the church was more focused on its flock than its shepherds.

Read Also: 5 Cardinals Publish 'Dubia' vs. Pope Francis Ahead of October Synod

Conservatives Fear Synod's Ramifications are Irreversible

The potential that the synodal process could lead to a recognizable change on previously taboo topics has given hope to many progressive Catholics and sparked alarm from conservatives warning that its call for radical inclusion of LGBT+ people could lead to schism.

Books, conferences, and social media posts from conservative Catholics claimed that Francis's reforms were sowing confusion, undermining the true nature of the church and all of its teachings over two millennia. Among the most vocal are the conservatives in the US.

On the eve of the synod, US Cardinal Raymond Burke delivered a scathing rebuke of Francis's vision of "synodality" as well as his overall reform project for the church.

"It's unfortunately very clear that the invocation of the Holy Spirit by some has the aim of bringing forward an agenda that is more political and human than ecclesial and divine," he told a conference entitled "The Synodal Babel."

He also slammed the term "synodal" as having no clear definition and said its underlying attempt to shift authority away from the hierarchy risked the church's very foundation and "very identity."

Burke and four other cardinals formally challenged Francis to affirm church teaching on homosexuality and women's ordination before the synod. The challenge was called a "dubia."

However, Francis has not allegedly clearly answered the cardinals' questions and retorted that they should not be afraid of questions that are posed by a changing world.

Asked specifically about church blessings for same-sex unions, Francis suggested they could be allowed as long as such benedictions aren't confused with sacramental marriage.

A Second Papal Document on Environment

Alongside the opening of the synod, Wednesday noon, Rome time (10:00 UTC), marked the publication of Francis's second encyclical on the environment.

According to Rome Reports, the document, entitled "Laudate Deum" (Latin for "Praise ye God"), criticizes the lack of commitment the pontiff has seen over the years to tackle climate issues and the environment, as well as promoting the development of those in need ever since he published his first treatise on the subject, "Laudato Si'," (Old Italian for "Praise be unto Thee") in 2015.

In the new document, Francis described the international community's response to this crisis as weak and warned against the power of artificial intelligence (AI).

"Never has humanity had such power over itself, yet nothing ensures that it will be used wisely," he wrote.

He also expressed disappointment not only to the international community for its apparent lack of action but also to the Catholic congregations for allegedly questioning the concept of climate change.

"I feel obliged to make these clarifications, which may appear obvious, because of certain dismissive and scarcely reasonable opinions that I encounter, even within the Catholic Church," Francis added.

"Laudate Deum" also highlighted the impact different climate meetings have had in the world, as well as expressed hope for the success of the climate summit in Dubai later this year. Francis also urged Catholics to internally reflect on their lifestyles in order to contribute to the efforts to make the planet a better place to live.

Related Article: Pope Francis Appears To Open Door for Same-Sex Couples to Receive Blessings on 'Case-by-Case Basis'

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By Marek Strzelecki, Sabine Siebold and Anna Koper

WARSAW/BERLIN (Reuters) - Fighting to win an unprecedented third term in office, Poland's nationalist government has seized on a target close to home: Germany, its NATO ally and biggest trading partner.

In a tight race ahead of Poland's Oct. 15 election, leaders of the ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party have accused Germany of trying to dictate Polish government policy from Berlin on anything from migration to gas.

The feud has frayed Europe's broadly united front supporting Ukraine against Russia's invasion, shredding a plan for a joint Polish-German tank repair plant for Kyiv's benefit.

The populist PiS leadership also says Germany is plotting to install the party's main electoral opponent, the liberal former prime minister Donald Tusk, back in power.

PiS has tapped into a mistrust towards Germany that still runs high in part of the electorate, above all elderly conservatives who remember the devastation of World War Two.

"Do you know where you can read the (opposition's campaign) programme? In German newspapers," Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki told a campaign event.

His party casts Tusk, who said his grandfather was forcibly conscripted into the Nazi Wehrmacht during World War Two before escaping to the Allied side, as a German puppet and the "political husband" of former German chancellor Angela Merkel. A campaign video also mocked Merkel's successor Olaf Scholz.

Months of spats between the two neighbours have tested the solidarity of the Western alliance that rallied around Ukraine after the Russian invasion last year. They have come at a time when other issues, including the election of a pro-Russian leader in EU member state Slovakia, are threatening disruption.

IMPACT ON UKRAINE

The quarrel has already impacted efforts to help Ukraine.

In April the defence ministers of Germany and Poland, with a smile and hug of solidarity, announced the creation of a joint hub in Poland to repair German-made Leopard tanks damaged in battle in Ukraine.

But the deal quickly collapsed. In another dispute, Warsaw resisted a German offer to station Patriot missile air defence units in Poland before eventually agreeing to it.

"It's very unhelpful that Poland, the people from the Law and Justice Party, continues to criticize Germany in such a harsh public way," U.S. General Ben Hodges, who commanded U.S. Army forces in Europe in 2014-17, told Reuters.

"It's unhelpful because it puts strain on the relationship between two NATO allies, which therefore puts strain on the overall cohesion of NATO."

The tank plant would have been a joint effort by German manufacturers Krauss-Maffei Wegmann and Rheinmetall, neither of which responded to a request for comment, and the Polish defence conglomerate Polska Grupa Zbrojeniowa (PGZ).

Among the sticking points, one German source said Poland was asking for too much money for the repair works. Another source, a German diplomat, said the talks failed partly because German companies were reluctant to share technical information.

"But it also showed a little bit the same thing we had for the Patriots, a general mistrust on the part of the Poles and a sort of being in the habit of treating a partner in a way that is not usual for a partnership in the EU or in an alliance."

As things stand, PGZ is repairing some Leopard tanks using spare parts supplied from Germany.

"To some extent, it depended on the speed of action and decisiveness of the German side. We were negotiating. Unfortunately, we have a slightly different view of what it should look like," Sebastian Chwalek, PGZ's CEO, told Reuters.

Other tanks will be repaired elsewhere, "which is maybe a little bit more costly and maybe a little bit more time consuming but it's happening anyway," the German diplomat said.

"It's a sign of the present relationship that we cannot agree on such things."

Polish government officials did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comment.

A German Foreign Office spokesperson said Berlin and Warsaw work closely together on European security and defence but declined comment on "current domestic political debates in Poland".

SOURING RELATIONS

While ties between Poland and Germany have been frosty since PiS first came to power in 2015, Poles now see them worsening. Just 47% think relations are good, according to a German Polish barometer poll this year, down from 72% in 2020.

Many Poles, included 56% of respondents in the opinion poll, feel Germany has not done enough to compensate for the damage inflicted by the war. PiS has called on Germany to pay over 1 trillion euros in reparations, which Berlin rejected.

A PiS source who requested anonymity described relations as "competitive", saying Berlin and Warsaw "could work together on many issues" but others were divisive, including reparations.

Two German lawmakers privately told Reuters that Berlin could have been more forthcoming in addressing Polish concerns and take conciliatory steps over the issue of reparations.

"I think we should be looking beyond the cartoonish (Polish policy) that this (election) campaign has put in front of us. It's the moment for Germany to look into the mirror," said Thomas Kleine-Brockhoff of the German Marshall Fund.

Scholz's government has largely brushed off the attacks from PiS. A government source said Berlin was extra cautious not to even inadvertently provoke Warsaw.

"We're treading on egg shells," the source said.

To be sure, some analysts believe the Polish rhetoric towards Berlin could be dialled down after the elections.

But irritants on both sides are likely to persist, including over migration, which again mushroomed into a flashpoint over a cash-for-visas scandal in Poland last month.

"Now, to be honest, what I hope will happen is that my president will invite the two leaders kind of the way he did the leaders from Japan and South Korea, invited them to Camp David, Hodges said.

"You know, maybe at some point President (Joe) Biden meets President (Andrzej) Duda and Chancellor Scholz and says: Fellows, we have got to fix it."

($1 = 0.9549 euros)

(Reporting by Justyna Pawlak, Marek Strzelecki, Anna Koper, Anna Wlodarczak-Semczuk, Alan Charlish in Warsaw; Sarah Marsh, Sabine Siebold and Andreas Rinke in Berlin; writing by Matthias Williams; editing by Mark Heinrich)
Transit police in Boston arrested a 16-year-old male on Monday after a group of teens was recorded harassing an Asian American woman with racist language and trying to block her from leaving a train.

The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority Transit Police said on social media that the teen was suspected of unarmed assault to rob and assault for the purpose of intimidation.

The police did not release the suspect's identity because he is a juvenile, and they did not comment further on the incident.

The arrest comes over a week after Vivian Dang, 25, was attacked by a group of unidentified teenagers. A video of the incident shows them hurling racial slurs, mocking Dang in an accent and physically cornering her.

Can I get some dumplings? one of the teens can be heard saying with a fake accent. Can I get some ramen with the egg?

Police also said that the teens went on to smash a train window before fleeing.

Dang told NBC News that the arrest has prompted some mixed emotions for her, but ultimately she hopes that the incident can lead to more productive conversations around racism and safety on public transit.

Its bittersweet. It was a kid, you dont want to get them in trouble," she said. "But again, their actions led to this.

Dang also emphasized that she felt the attack was not caused by just one person, but by a group of people who fed off of one anothers behavior.

They were saying all those things, they were just laughing about it and I think they wanted to build off of what they thought was funny, what they thought was going to get a chuckle out of their friend, Dang said. But at the end of the day those words mean something to people.

While Dang said she was heartened that three women stepped up to help her in the moment, speaking up on her behalf and comforting her after the attack, she said she hopes that all bystanders will feel a responsibility to help victims.

Men should be able to hold people accountable and step up next time. Its never too late, Dang said. Its the beginning and opening conversation of just finding justice and stepping up for other people.

For more from NBC Asian America, sign up for our weekly newsletter.

This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
Boston transit police said Wednesday that they arrested a 16-year-old male in connection with an incident involving a group of youths racially harassing an Asian American passenger on the citys subway last month.

The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority Transit Police confirmed the arrest on Twitter, saying the teen could face charges of unarmed assault for the purposes of robbing and intimidation.

UPDATE: On 10/2 at #MBTA Forest Hills Station Detectives/Officers assigned to our Criminal Investigation Unit did arrest a 16y/o male in relation to this incident for Assault to Rob-Unarmed & Assault for the Purpose of Intimidation. Investigation Ongoing. https://t.co/KGdUZvexFs  MBTA Transit Police (@MBTATransitPD) October 3, 2023

The victim, Vivian Dang, 25, took video of the attack that occurred on MBTAs red line at about 10 p.m. Sept. 21. Her video went viral on TikTok, and a week later, she recounted to NBC News that a group of boys on the train cornered her and taunted her in a mock Chinese accent, saying Can I get some dumplings? and Can I get some ramen with the egg? and making other racist comments.

When the teens first boarded the car, she told NBC, they announced they were there to commit a mass robbery and tried to yank the shoes off a passenger. When Dang switched train cars, she said, they followed her.

They were starting to say stuff like, Dont let her leave, Dang recalled. That was when I was starting to get really scared.

Dang followed up with NBC News following news of the arrest.

Its bittersweet. It was a kid. You dont want to get them in trouble, she said. But again, their actions led to this.

There has been a surge in anti-Asian hate crimes since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, which is believed to have originated in China. Former President Donald Trump used racially charged epithets to describe the disease, despite the rise in attacks, including the China virus and kung flu.

A report from Pew Research last year found that about one-third of Asian Americans say theyd changed their daily routines over the past year due to fear of threats or attacks.

Related...
A total of 51 people, including an eight-year-old boy, were killed in the Russian missile strike on the village of Hroza, Kharkiv Oblast, on 5 October. Three people are missing.

Source: Kharkiv Oblast Police

Details: Kharkiv Oblast Police also reported that six people have been hospitalised with injuries.

Volodymyr Tymoshko, head of the Kharkiv Oblast department of Ukraines National Police, said some of the bodies are badly disfigured; their identification requires DNA tests.

Quote from Tymoshko: "Please get in touch with the investigative department of the Kharkiv Oblast department of Ukraines National Police or with your local police station if you have grounds to believe that your relatives, loved ones, or friends might be among the attacks fatalities. We are conducting an investigation and carrying out relevant examinations to this end."

Update: The police reported earlier that 55 people had been killed, though later this information was updated. The number of fatalities still stands at 51.

Background:

On the afternoon of Thursday, 5 October, Russian troops attacked a cafe and a store in the village of Hroza, Kharkiv Oblast. Preliminary data indicated that the place was hit by an Iskander missile. As of now, 51 people are known to have been killed.

Ihor Klymenko, Ukraines Minister of Internal Affairs, said that a memorial dinner for a deceased Hroza resident was being held in the cafe. The precision and accuracy of the strike have led the investigators to suspect that one of the villagers might have given Russian forces information about the time and place of the gathering.

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Police have identified the family of four who were found dead inside a New Jersey home in what authorities believe to be a murder-suicide. Two of the victims were young children.

Officers discovered the bodies around 4:40 p.m. Wednesday at a residence on Titus Lane in Plainsboro, after a relative called for a welfare check.

The family was identified on Thursday as married couple Tej Pratap Singh, 43, and Sonal Parihar, 42, and their two children, a 10-year-old boy and a 6-year-old girl, according to News 12 New Jersey.

Law enforcement sources told the ABC affiliate that authorities believe the adult male killed his wife and kids before dying by suicide. Autopsies were expected to be performed Thursday.

Family members told CBS New York they were shocked by the grisly violence, noting that the couple, both of whom worked in IT, seemed happy. Loved ones added that the husband had always been a very active member of the community and was a part of the PTA at his childrens schools.

We used to see them, happy family with kids around, a neighbor told My Central New Jersey. The kids were always out playing happily.

The district was informed by local law enforcement of a horrific tragedy involving one of our Plainsboro families with a Wicoff [Elementary] student and a Millstone River School student, Superintendent David Aderhold wrote in a letter sent to parents.

As the law enforcement investigation is ongoing, we are unable to provide any additional information at this time, he added. The District joins our community in grief and sorrow over this tragic event.

Mayor Peter Cantu also mourned the tragedy on Thursday in a message shared by Plainsboro Township Police on social media.

What happened in our community is beyond comprehension, the mayor said, calling the incident a heartbreaking loss of life.

An investigation is underway, but authorities do not believe there to be any current threat to the community. Anyone with information in the case is urged to call Plainsboro police.
A 24-year-old man is facing multiple charges for his involvement in an alleged bank robbery.

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According to the South Fulton Police Department, on Wednesday, the United States Marshals Service asked the South Metro SWAT Team, to help with the arrest of a wanted fugitive.

Officials said, Jimmie Lee Allen, 24, was wanted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation in connection with an alleged bank robbery in metro Atlanta.

He was also wanted on a federal probation violation, attempted murder, robbery, and illegal discharge of a weapon in Alabama.

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Officers were able to pinpoint Allens location at his sisters home on Magnolia Lane in Fairburn. As authorities began conducting a search warrant, police said Allen began shooting.

Authorities said an officer on the scene returned fire, but Allen was not hit. In a desperate attempt to get away from police, Allen barricaded himself inside the home and intentionally started a fire upstairs, according to officials.

SWAT team members reportedly continued negotiating with Allen, urging him to surrender.

Allen got out of the burning home by jumping from the second-story window, police said.

He was immediately arrested and taken to a nearby hospital due to serious injuries from smoke inhalation.

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Fairburn firefighters arrived and were able to control and put out the fire.

South Fulton officials said as the investigation remains ongoing, more charges against Allen are likely. An administrative review will be executed for the officer firing his gun, as required by policy.

IN OTHER NEWS:
Baltimore Police have released footage of the persons of interest being sought for the mass shooting during a Morgan State University homecoming event  as they seek the publics help in identifying them.

Video, released by police on Wednesday shows, shows four people walking across the campus in Baltimore, Maryland, shortly after the shooting that left five victims injured.

Students and faculty had been celebrating homecoming and the crowning of Mr and Miss Morgan State University when gunshots rung out on the campus at around 9.30pm on Tuesday night.

The campus was immediately plunged into lockdown with authorities believing that an active shooter situation was taking place.

Baltimore Police Commissioner Richard Worley later said that the shooting was likely the result of a dispute between two groups of people.

Preliminary evidence indicates that the shooters were targeting one person, who wasnt among the victims, he said.

Five bystanders were injured as a result of the gunfire, four of which are students at the university.

Officials confirmed on Wednesday morning that all five  four men and one woman aged between 18 and 22  suffered non-life-threatening injuries.

Four people were seen walking across the campus in the footage (Baltimore Police)

Anyone with information is asked to contact Northeast District Shooting detectives (Baltimore Police)

Initially, police did not confirm how many shooters opened fire but Baltimore City Council Member Ryan Dorsey said in a post on X at the time of the shooting that he had been told there may have been three separate shooters firing into the crowd.

Now, police are seeking four persons of interest with the police commissioner saying three people pulled guns during the dispute  though it wasnt clear whether the third person pulled the trigger.

No arrests have yet been made.

The university said classes would be cancelled for the rest of the week, and that all homecoming activities will be either cancelled or postponed until the perpetrator(s) of this atrocity have been found and brought to justice.

A police officer searches for evidence in front of a building at Morgan State Universit (Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)

Jennifer Eden, 34, of Baltimore, who attended the ceremony on Tuesday told The Associated Press: I had never been so close to gunshots that I could feel the vibration in the air.

Coronation is very much a pomp and circumstance kind of event. People are in gowns and tuxedos and crowns and sashes, and so gun violence is the furthest thing from my mind in that type of setting.

Morgan State homecoming celebrations have been subject to violence in previous years.

Last October, a young man was shot during what officials called an unsanctioned homecoming after-party on the campus.

A Baltimore City Fire Department truck stages at Morgan State University during a shooting on the campus Tuesday

The year before, a freshman was arrested and charged with shooting his classmate over homecoming weekend.

Morgan State University Police Chief Lance Hatcher said the University has taken extra security measures in recent years, including increased police presence and surveillance camera coverage.

Oftentimes you cant stop a bad actor from doing bad acts, he said. But we will continue to try to ensure the safety of our students.

Anyone with information about the individuals in the footage is asked to call detectives at 410-396-2444 or Metro Crime Stoppers at 1-866-7Lockup.
A Meridian woman is asking for help after her 15-year-old daughter with mental health issues went missing early Thursday.

Isabel Issy Martinez was last seen at her Meridian home sometime after 3 a.m. and before 7 a.m., her mother, Mary Hoffman, told the Idaho Statesman by phone. Their home is near the intersection of Locust Grove Road and Fairview Avenue.

Hoffman said her daughter might be wearing reddish-gray flannel pajama pants, a black hoodie and white Nike shoes. Issy is 5 feet 2 inches tall, has blue eyes and medium-length brown hair.

Kelsey Winnett, a spokesperson for the Meridian Police Department, said in a statement to the Statesman that the department is working with the Boise Police Department to locate Issy. Winnett said Issy has been listed as a runaway.

Anyone with information is asked to contact the Meridian Police Department at 208-888-6678.
A local police department is asking for the publics help in identifying someone suspected of assaulting a Walmart employee.

On Sept. 26 Huber Heights officers were called to an assault at the Walmart on Brandt Pike, according to a social media post by the department.

Police said a Walmart employee was the one assaulted.

>> I-TEAM: New body cam video shows arrest of former UD administrator in statewide sex sting

One suspect was identified and charged but police are still working to identify a second suspect.

Anyone who has any information or can identify the victim is asked to contact Detective Tyree by email LTyree@hhoh.org or phone (937) 237-3576.








(Bloomberg) -- The Pentagons No. 2 official said that the threat of a government shutdown and other internal upheaval in Washington threatens US military readiness and its ability to support Ukraine.

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With uncertainty at every turn, we know Russia and the Peoples Republic of China arent slowing down to let us get our house in order, Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks told Bloomberg reporters on Thursday. We need to move with speed and confidence in order to meet the threats and the security needs that we have.

She said the US has options for continued funding of military support for Ukraine even if Congress doesnt approve the administrations latest proposal. But she said the Pentagon isnt yet looking at reprogramming money allocated to other areas to make up the gap.

Thats not where we need to be now, today, until we have a better sense for how long the current congressional stalemate plays out, she said. For the moment, the department is focused on the passage of new fiscal 2024 budget authority rather than crafting and then submitting a request to shift previously appropriated dollars to Ukraine spending.

The latest tranche of aid for Ukraine was left out of the stopgap spending plan reached over the weekend, raising fears in Washington and among allies about how strong support is for continued aid. President Joe Biden called allied leaders Tuesday to pledge that the funds would be found and has said hes planning a major speech soon to lay out the case for public backing for the assistance.

The Ukraine funding goes to support the US defense industry as the Pentagon buys weapons to replace those sent to Kyiv to fight Russia, Hicks noted.

The use of short-term spending deals instead of full-year budgeting has become routine, Hicks said. Its not a sign of a strong and functioning system.

Hicks, 53, oversees the day-to-day management of the largest federal bureaucracy.

Usually its not one big break: Readiness can corrode over time, Hicks said. We see that in many ways through the era of sequestration through this decade-long number of continuing resolutions, she said, referring to the short-term spending compromises that have become increasingly common. The current one runs through Nov. 17.

Hicks also hit out at Alabama Senator Tommy Tubervilles blockade of military nominations over the Pentagons abortion policies. That hold is unnecessary, unprecedented and unsafe, and it needs to stop now, Hicks said. Its bad for the US military, its bad for their families. Its bad for America.

Hicks said that political dysfunction in the US creates opportunities for opponent abroad to argue that democracy doesnt work.

When we are not functioning that opens us to criticism thats unnecessary about our our system of government, she said.

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(Photo : by Jon Cherry/Getty Images)

PHOENIX, AZ - NOVEMBER 15: Governor-elect of Arizona Katie Hobbs speaks to attendees at a rally to celebrate Hobbs' victory for Governor of Arizona on November 15, 2022 in Phoenix, Arizona. Major news organizations announced her win over Trump endorsed republican candidate for governor Kari Lake.

Governor Katie Hobbs of Arizona said this week that her government is ending state property leases that have allowed a Saudi farm virtually unrestricted access to pump groundwater in the arid state of Arizona for years.

The state has terminated Fondomonte Arizona's lease in western Arizona's Butler Valley, according to Democrat Hobbs, and will not renew three further leases there that are up for renewal in the next year.

The governor's office conducted an investigation and discovered that the foreign-owned farm had broken several of the lease's conditions, as reported by The Associated Press.

It was intolerable, according to Hobbs, that the farm "continued to pump unchecked amounts of groundwater out of our state while in clear default on their lease."

Alfalfa is grown in Arizona by Fondomonte Arizona, a division of Saudi dairy giant Almarai Co., and is fed to livestock in the Gulf nation's water-strapped livestock industry.

The Opposition Against State Property Leases

Fondomonte announced through a spokeswoman that it will contest the governor's choice to end the 640-acre (259-hectare) lease it had with Butler Valley. West of Phoenix, amid the rough desert, Fondomonte farmed a total of 3,500 acres (1,416 hectares).

When Fondomonte paid $47.5 million for over 10,000 acres (4,047 hectares) of land in Vicksburg, Arizona, 20 miles (32 kilometers) away from Butler Valley, people took notice.

Since then, Arizona's increasing drought has increased interest in the company's water use as well as more general concerns about foreign-owned farms and groundwater pumping.

Read also: Cocoa Prices Soar, Driving Farmers to Plant More Outside Africa

A List of Infractions

The governor's office listed a number of infractions, including one involving the company's storage of dangerous goods. According to information released by Hobbs' office on Monday, Fondomonte was informed of the violations in 2016, but an inquiry conducted in August revealed that seven years later, the issue had not been resolved. The State Land Department of Arizona had justification to revoke the lease because of this.

The State Land Department opted not to renew three further leases the corporation had in Butler Valley, according to the Arizona governor's office, because of the "excessive amounts of water being pumped from the land - free of charge."

Arizona owns the land, which in Fondomonte's instance had been leased to the firm, and the department is in charge of managing it.

Butler Valley's groundwater is particularly significant because, in theory, state law permits it to be pumped elsewhere. Due to the demand on the water supply and the rapidly expanding population, places like Phoenix are interested in its water.

A state law passed in Arizona in 1980 that was intended to conserve the state's aquifers places limits on how much groundwater can be pumped by cities like Phoenix and Tucson. However, in rural regions, users of water are only needed to register their wells with the state and use the water for "beneficial uses" like farming, which are defined as such.

Additionally, Fondomonte operates farms in the Palo Verde Valley of Southern California, which receives water from the Colorado River, which is in decline. Less attention has been paid to those enterprises.

The governor's decision does not affect all of Fondomonte's farms in Arizona. The Southwest is home to several international businesses that also engage in farming. Al Dahra ACX Global Inc., a company controlled by the United Arab Emirates, cultivates forage crops in Arizona and California and is a significant hay exporter from the United States.

One example of farmland that Almarai and its subsidiaries exploit outside of Saudi Arabia is its holdings in the Southwest. Tens of thousands of acres are farmed there, and Argentina has recently experienced terrible drought conditions as well.

According to the United States, 3 percent of farmland is in the hands of foreign organizations and people. Agency for Agriculture. The majority of Canada's holdings are in the form of forests.

Democratic attorney general of Arizona Kris Mayes commended the governor for taking action against the foreign-owned farm.

After discrepancies in Fondomonte's applications were discovered, Mayes said in April that the state had revoked permits that would have allowed Fondomonte to drill new water wells. On Monday, Mayes referred to the governor's initiatives as a "step in the right direction," but he added that the state ought to have taken action earlier.

Related article: Lincolnshire Commits Generous Funding to Safeguard Endangered Crystal Moss Creature

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A pregnant model who was found brutally killed in her downtown apartment last month died from homicidal violence according to the Los Angeles County Medical Examiners Office.

Maleesa Mooney, 31, was found dead inside her apartment on the 200 block of South Figueroa Street on Sept. 12, and her loved ones are still waiting for answers.

Her exact cause of death had previously been listed as deferred, but Cause A is now listed as homicidal violence on the medical examiners online database. Cause D, meanwhile, was listed as other significant conditions.

Maleesa Mooney, a 31-year-old aspiring model and real estate agent was found dead in her downtown Los Angeles apartment on Sept. 12, 2023. (Jourdin Pauline)

Maleesa Mooney, a 31-year-old aspiring model and real estate agent was found dead in her downtown Los Angeles apartment on Sept. 12, 2023. (Jourdin Pauline)

Maleesa Mooney, a 31-year-old aspiring model and real estate agent was found dead in her downtown Los Angeles apartment on Sept. 12, 2023. (Jourdin Pauline)

Maleesa Mooney, a 31-year-old aspiring model and real estate agent was found dead in her downtown Los Angeles apartment on Sept. 12, 2023. (Jourdin Pauline)

Mooneys sister believes the cause was listed as deferred because the victim was so badly beaten that its been difficult to determine her exact cause of death.

Mooney was two months pregnant when she died, her sister told KTLA. She was an aspiring model and real estate agent.

Family members have told KTLA that the Los Angeles Police Department has not shared much information about what happened to Mooney. No arrests have been made in the case.

While Mooneys death is being investigated as a homicide, little is known about the death of Nichole Coats, another aspiring model who was found inside her downtown L.A. apartment just two days before Mooney. The two women were also found less than three miles away from each other.

LAPD officials said the two cases are likely not related despite the similarities of the two womens locations, ages, professions and manners of death.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KTLA.
Members of law enforcement stand near police tape while investigating the scene where multiple people were shot, Wednesday, Oct. 4, 2023, in Holyoke, Mass. (AP)

Multiple people were injured on Wednesday, 4 October, in a shooting in Holyoke, Massachusetts, including a pregnant woman whose baby died shortly after being born, according to officials.

Heres what we know so far:

What happened in the Holyoke shooting?

Police were called to a shooting in the city around 12.38pm, according to officials, describing an altercation between a group of three men that ended in gunshots.

The men fired more than six shots, witnesses told WWLP.

I heard about eight shots. I was standing on the street, waiting on the bus, and I just heard pop, pop, pop, pop, then I saw one police coming down and then I saw about a thousand more come after that, Boyd McCray of Chicopee told WGGB.

Who was injured?

In addition to the three men involved in the shooting all being injured, a stray bullet struck an uninvolved pregnant woman on a nearby bus, according to police.

Members of law enforcement stand near police tape while investigating the scene where multiple people were shot (AP)

She was rushed to hospital in critical condition, where she delivered her baby.

The infant, who was delivered, and needed life-saving medical services, tragically passed away, the Hampden District Attorneys Office told The Associated Press.

How has the community reacted to the shooting?

I want to extend my deepest and sincerest condolences to the family, Holyoke mayor Joshua A Garcia wrote on Facebook on Wednesday. I want the public to know that I am equally outraged and frustrated with these senseless acts of violence and illegal activity on our streets. I struggle with it every day attempting to offer a balanced solution. Quite frankly, I have lost my patience. I plan to work with all resources available to me to push this nonsense out of our city. 

Have any arrests been made?

Police have arrested the three men believed to have been involved in the shooting, the AP reports. They are receiving treatment in nearby hospitals and comprise the others wounded in the shooting, WBAL reports.

Are any suspects still at large?

There is not believed to be any ongoing threat to the public Massachusetts State Police spokesperson David Procopio told Western Mass News.

What comes next?

The names of victim of the shooting, as well as the men responsible for the altercation, have not been made public.

Officials have not yet announced any charges against the three men who committed the shooting.

The Holyoke Police and Massachusetts State Police are investigating the incident.
A pregnant mother lost her baby amid a shooting in the downtown area of a western Massachusetts city, police said.

In a press release, the Hampden County District Attorney's Office said that an "uninvolved female occupant" seated on a public transportation bus was struck by gunfire near an intersection in Holyoke before 1 p.m. Wednesday afternoon.

Holyoke Police Department investigate reports of "multiple victims" from an active shooting Wednesday.

The unidentified woman and her unborn baby were immediately transported to a local hospital "in critical condition," authorities said.

Authorities said the baby was delivered and needed life-saving medical services after the incident.

The baby "tragically passed away," the DA's office said. Authorities have not released any details about the mother's health following the shooting.

SHOOTING DURING HOMECOMING FESTIVITES AT BALTIMORE UNIVERSITY LEAVES 5 INJURED

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Massachusetts State Police (MSP) said that a preliminary investigation revealed that the shooting stemmed from an "altercation among a group of people." Authorities later said that three men were involved in the altercation.

Police said that all three suspects are in police custody and that all involved suspects have been identified. Authorities have not released the names of the three suspects.

The Holyoke Police Department said that the shooting stemmed from an "altercation among a group of people."

The office of Holyoke Mayor Joshua Garcia said the mayor was aware of the shooting.

"Shortly before 1 p.m. today there was a shooting at the intersection of Maple and Sargeant Streets in Holyoke. There were multiple gunshot victims. The police investigation is active and ongoing," the office said.

Holyoke police have asked residents to avoid the area while officers investigate the scene.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.





Original article source: Pregnant woman struck by gunfire on bus loses baby delivered after shooting in western Massachusetts city
President Joe Biden delivers remarks on student loan debt forgiveness, in the Roosevelt Room of the White House on Wednesday, Oct. 4, 2023, in Washington. | Evan Vucci, Associated Press

President Joe Biden announced the forgiveness of another $9 billion in student debt Wednesday, affecting 125,000 borrowers, the White House said in a statement.

So far, the Biden administration has forgiven $127 billion in debt, affecting 3.6 million borrowers, per the White House press release.

The latest $9 billion in loan forgiveness is broken into three categories:

$5.2 billion in additional debt relief for 53,000 borrowers under Public Service Loan Forgiveness programs.

Nearly $2.8 billion in new debt relief for nearly 51,000 borrowers through fixes to income-driven repayment. These are borrowers who made 20 years or more of payments but never got the relief they were entitled to.

$1.2 billion for nearly 22,000 borrowers who have a total or permanent disability who have been identified and approved for discharge through a data match with the Social Security Administration.

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In June, the Supreme Court rejected Bidens plan to offer student loan forgiveness. Due to how costly his proposed program was, the court held that the administration needed Congress endorsement to move forward, per The Associated Press.

However, on Sept. 29, the Department of Education issued a statement claiming the Secretary of Education has the power to eliminate debt.

The statement referenced Section 432(a)(6) of the Higher Education Act of 1965, which says, The Secretary may enforce, pay, compromise, waive, or release any right, title, claim, lien, or demand, however acquired, including any equity or any right of redemption.

The statement continued, These provisions apply to Federal Family Education Loans (FFEL) and Direct Loans through Sec. 455(a)(1), which states that Direct loans have parallel terms and conditions to FFEL loans.

It is unclear if the administration plans to try to continue to forgive debt for students currently in school.

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Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona said, Its normalized in this country that you go to college, youre expected to pay loans forever. I want folks to be able to buy homes, invest in their local economy, and not look at higher education as a lifetime of debt, per Business Insider.

CNN attributed the announcements timing to the White House wanting to draw a contrast with the Republican-driven chaos on Capitol Hill, where Republican Rep. Kevin McCarthy was ousted as House speaker Tuesday.
Ukrainian military on the front line in the Zaporizhzhia Oblast, September 2023, illustrative photo

Konstantin Denisov, a fighter with the Freedom of Russia Legion, revealed what Ukrainians can learn from the enemy during a Radio NV broadcast on Oct. 4.

The Russians used the time after the full-scale invasion of Ukraine before the start of the major Ukrainian counter-offensive in the summer of 2023 on the southern front to dig in and fortify themselves, Denisov stated.

Read also: Russian defenses stronger than West expected, admits UK defense chief

At the same time, the Russian legionnaire called it "debatable" whether Ukraine used this time to protect its own positions and settlements further from the contact line, and noted that to answer this question "we need to involve the specialists who are responsible for this."

"You see, (the Russians) have a rigid (command) vertical," Denisov said.

Read also: As fighting continues in south, Ukrainian military digs in near Verbove after seizing back territory from Russians

They had to dig some trenches. They came to the farmer, to the utility company, pointed a machine gun, took the equipment, and started shoveling, digging, mining, and concreting. And it often happens here that every other official or responsible official still needs to be persuaded. And he will pick his nose and think about whether to do it or not. You see? And according to the laws of wartime, there must also be a rigid vertical.  Everything is clear: set, fulfil, provide, perform, and move on.

Russians are also learning warfare from Ukrainians, Denisov said.

"We can also learn some elements of the enemy's work from them  about centralization, execution of all these orders, and preventing this laxity," said the Russian volunteer.

It occurs from time to time, but still. There have been cases when we have to almost persuade one, two, or three officials to do their job.

Read also: US considers Ukrainian successes in the south and east a true military miracle, says Kuleba

At the end of July, Censor.NET editor-in-chief Yuriy Butusov said in an interview with Radio NV that no defense lines have been built in the Kupyansk sector, or in the Soledar, Bakhmut, Lysychansk and Severodonetsk sections of the front in eastern Ukraine.

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Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
The State of Georgia has a new program that will give high school seniors a direct college admissions process for colleges and universities in Georgia.

Channel 2 Action News was at Governor Kemps workforce summit at the Georgia Freight Depot in downtown Atlanta on Thursday.

The program is named GEORGIA MATCH and is one of the largest direct-to-college admission initiatives in the nation. The program will help ease the process of connecting Georgia high school students with higher education opportunities.

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Next week over 120,000 high school seniors will receive a personalized letter that includes a list of all the institutions holding a spot for them in the next academic year, Gov. Kemp said.

The schools listed on a GEORGIA MATCH letter are based on academic eligibility. According to Gov. Kemp, the letters will explain how students can claim a spot being held for them at the institution of their choice.

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The number of schools listed on the students letter will be determined by the students 11th-grade HOPE GPA and freshman index score.

GEORGIA MATCH was developed in collaboration with the Governors Office, Governors Office of Planning & Budget, Georgia Student Finance Commission, Technical College System of Georgia, Governors Office of Student Achievement, Georgia Department of Education, and University System of Georgia.

Starting next week, students will be able to sign up for Georgia Match here.

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Three decades ago, Air Force researchers briefed their plasma cannon research to audiences at scientific conferences. Excited internet denizens in the years since have speculated that the Air Force might have a secret, functioning plasma cannon.

It's a fun dream. And if any branch would have a functioning science fiction weapon, it would be the Air Force (Sorry, Space Force ). But, for reasons we'll get into, that's probably not the case.

What was the 1990s research for Project MARAUDER?

The most famous of the early research is probably the MARAUDER program. Cool name, cool subject. So of course, it became the exciting hook to hang all the other news from. The Air Force Weapons Laboratory sought to "convert stored electrostatic energy into plasma kinetic energy."

As cool as MARAUDER sounds, magnetically accelerated rings to achieve ultra-high directed energy and radiation, it didn't actually fire any plasma at first. Or, in the paper's parlance , it didn't "accelerate" the plasma. It created a toroid of energy, though. Basically, it formed plasma in the shape of a thin donut and left it to future research to actually get it traveling.

A 1993 follow-up did describe the acceleration of milligram-range compact toroids . So, small amounts of plasma getting fired from an actual energy weapon.

High five, y'all! We made a plasma cannon!

The Air Force (probably doesn't) have a secret plasma cannon!

So the Air Force has a plasma cannon; we should stop teasing them, and Chinese ships are doomed when the X-Com attack comes against them?

Probably not. See, plasma is really hard to work with. Pulses of energy are used to form the toroid, to keep it strong, and to move it to a target. Each step requires high-precision timing and placement, but we just haven't found a way to get enough energy built up to really hurt a target. Like, any target. Even a human one, let alone an enemy ship.

While Project MARAUDER fell off the grid, military research into energy weapons did not. And, a Popular Mechanics article detailing the history of plasma and other energy weapons details the fairly underwhelming results.

Plasma has advanced all the way to, well, potentially dazzling drivers or acting as a nonlethal crowd deterrent.

But lasers are still killing it

So, plasma is a letdown so far. But its close cousin in directed-energy weapons, the laser, is having a moment. The Army recently announced that its fielding its first laser platoon . Soldiers fire the weapon mounted on Stryker armored vehicles as a short-range air defense play.

The "Guardian" boasts a 50-kilowatt weapon that can down mortar rounds in flight at much lower cost than current solutions. As Ukraine battles back $20,000 drones that can kill fireteams or cause millions in damage, a laser that costs pennies or dollars to shoot could save American lives and protect strategic sites.
A gunman who wounded 10 subway riders when he indiscriminately sprayed a New York City railcar during rush hour before sparking a massive citywide manhunt has been sentenced to 10 life prison terms.

Frank James, 64, donned a gas mask before he ignited smoke bombs and opened fire with a 9mm handgun on a crowded Manhattan-bound train as it pulled into Brooklyns Sunset Park station on 12 April 2022.

Disguised as a construction worker, James then vanished without trace as he went on the run for 30 hours before he was arrested in the East Village after phoning a police tip line to turn himself in.

He pleaded guilty in January to 10 counts of committing a terrorist attack or other violence against a mass transportation vehicle and an additional firearms charge, and was sentenced to 10 concurrent life terms plus a consecutive 10 years in prison on Thursday.

Ten subway riders aged from 16 to 60 were wounded  five critically  and 19 others suffered smoke inhalation and other injuries in the attack, which sparked mass panic on New Yorks transit system.

The fact that no one was killed by the defendants 32 gunshots can only be described as luck as opposed to the defendants intentional choice, Brooklyn prosecutors wrote in a memo to US District Judge William Kuntz ahead of sentencing.

Prosecutors said James had spent years planning the attack to inflict maximum damage on rush-hour passengers, the Associated Press reported.

Frank James received 10 life sentences for the April 2022 terror attack on the NYC subway (Associated Press)

His attorneys claimed that James had suffered from severe mental illness and hadnt intended to hurt anyone, as they asked for a sentence of 18 years.

Addressing the court, James said he had fallen through the cracks of the mental health system and social safety net programmes.

Several victims who had been present during the attack were also present in court for the sentencing.

In videos posted to the YouTube account Prophet of Truth 88, James made unhinged rants about racism, homelessness, the Russian invasion of Ukraine and police brutality.

In one video from July 2020, he appeared to size up other passengers on a subway car in what commenters suspected may have been a dry run for the April 2022 terror attack.

He claimed in a separate video that he had been a victim of New Yorks mental health programme, and that his experiences as an in-patient at psychiatric facilities in the Bronx and New Jersey had made me more dangerous.

James was quickly identified by police as the suspected gunman before he phoned a Crime Stoppers tip line to say he was at a McDonalds on the Lower East Side of Manhattan.

This is Frank. You guys are looking for me. ... My phone is about to die, he said. Several bystanders who had spotted James then flagged down police officers who arrested him.

James had a lengthy criminal history dating back to 1991 in New Jersey and New York which included accusations of possession of burglary tools, a criminal sex act and theft of service, officials said last year.

He was able to legally buy a semi-automatic Glock pistol used in the attack, as he had not been convicted of a felony.
SAN DIEGO  Sparks were flying during the San Diego City Councils Rules Committee meeting Wednesday morning.

The fiery discussion stemmed from a ballot proposal thats on the table to separate the job of the City Attorney into two positions: one would be an advisor for the City Council that is filled by an appointment; the other  called the Municipal Counsel  would be elected to prosecute city misdemeanors.

While the Rules Committee was scheduled to consider the proposal Wednesday, Council President Sean Elo-Rivera expressed issue with the speed at which they were considering its sweeping implications. He said they only had a few business days to look at a memo from the City Attorney detailing the legal impacts related to the change before voting.

During his opening statements, Elo-Rivera said, I do have real concern that attempting to untangle the many unrelated proposals included in the memo from the legal analysis we requested . would lead to an unfocused conversation, so rather than risk that I would like to hit pause.

Local leaders react to ousting of Kevin McCarthy

The Council President moved to continue the discussion and not vote on whether to send it towards the full council during Wednesdays meeting.

City Attorney Mara Elliot countered with a second memo after the meeting, explaining that the first report simply addresses issues the City Council should consider if the proposal goes forward. She added that Elo-Riveras comments during the meeting made it sound like the memo was too complicated to dissect.

The Rules Committee decided to continue to the discussion on another date  a move that did not sit well with everyone at the meeting.

I think after having served in this role for seven years, the public deserves to hear what I think of the proposal  what you decide to put to the voters is up to you, but the voters deserver to understand what is being placed before them, that is our job, Elliott said during Wednesdays meeting. I am getting the impression at this point that it is your intention to push me out of the conversation and as weve discussed before, I will not be silenced and I have a lot to say.

According to Elo-Riveras office, the proposal was a citizen initiative that is aiming to get on the 2024 ballot. It was not brought up by City Council leaders. Gil Cabrera was one of the citizens who brought up the proposal. He ran for the City Attorney position in 2016, but lost to Elliott.

Gil Cabrerra could not be reached for comment Wednesday.

Michael Aguirre, the former city attorney for the City of San Diego from 2004 to 2008, spoke during public comment. Elo-Rivera and Aguirre got into a back and forth, urging Aguirre to only speak on the continuance of the proposal. Aguirre responded with, Young man, you are not a member of the California BAR, and accused him of violating his rights to speak on the matter.

Aguirre said that in the 1930s, the legal community in San Diego was invited by the commission to give their opinions on whether the city attorney should be elected or appointed. The majority voted to have the city attorney elected, and not appointed.

Everyone who spoke during public comment was against continuing the item and against the proposal. Many people referred to the proposal as increasing the mayors power. Others urged the City Council to bring up the item soon to begin discussions.

City Attorney Mara Elliot sent a memorandum to Elo-Rivera Wednesday afternoon which read in part, I am equally disappointed that I was not provided with advance notice of your intention to continue this matter, while the ballot measures proponents knew not to appear. Todays hearing was scheduled two months ago without confirming that I could be available, yet I rescheduled my commitments to attend.

In a statement to FOX 5 Wednesday afternoon, Elo-Riveras office submitted a statement which read in part, I thought it was important for the Committee and the public to have more time to review those proposals and consider which items can be appropriately applied to this discussion and which may be more appropriate for separate discussion.

Elliott said during the meeting that she has prior commitments during the Nov. 1 meeting and would not be available. Its in the hands of Elo-Rivera to put this on the agenda again. An official date of when that will happen has not yet been announced.

Del Mar city leaders build framework for short-term rental ordinance

Most of the still living former City Attorneys and our current one support keeping the City Attorney office as an elected office, political analyst Carl Luna explained of the issue. They see the value of that and perhaps the council didnt want to have to listen to that today.

FOX 5 brought the issue to Luna to hear his thoughts on the issue, and the pros and cons of the elected versus appointed city attorney positions.

The advocates say is it would produce greater transparency. You wouldnt have an elected City Attorney at odds with the City Council, politics would play a lesser role their argument would be, and the city would have a more unified voice in civil matters. Im not all that confident thats a great argument, Luna said. The cons is the people lose accountability. I cant think of a time when the public had an elected office they voluntarily surrendered.

Elliots term is up in 2024. If this proposal goes next years ballot, residents could be voting for a new City Attorney, and voting whether or not to change the office. Luna called it a potential bait and switch for whoever would be elected.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX 5 San Diego.
A 25-year-old Topeka man is charged with rape and murder in the killing of 5-year-old Zoey Felix, Shawnee County prosecutors said Thursday.

Mickel W. Cherry, arrested and booked in the county jail Tuesday, is accused of three felonies that each carry a maximum penalty of life in prison. He is being held on a $2 million bond.

The 5-year-old girl was found in a field near a Topeka gas station Monday evening after police and firefighters responded to an emergency medical call. She was taken to the hospital and pronounced dead.

Neighbors have said they repeatedly called police and social services at the southeast Topeka home where Zoey Felix had lived, concerned about neglect, the Topeka Capital-Journal reported. They said they later learned the girl had been living in a homeless encampment.

Authorities have said Cherry is homeless and was known to the 5-year-old. A criminal history check entered in the court record listed a single prior criminal offense of misdemeanor trespassing in the Amarillo, Texas area.

Mark Manna, chief attorney for the states Death Penalty Defense Unit, said Thursday a team of attorneys would be representing Cherry in his capital murder case. He declined to comment further.

Earlier this week, a relative of the child set up an online fundraiser through GoFundMe seeking donations for funeral expenses, which was suspended after an area funeral home agreed to cover expenses, according to the webpage. The author of the page, who identified himself as Zoeys uncle, said the tragedy had left the family in grief.

The Stars Robert A. Cronkleton contributed to this report.
(Photo : by FAYEZ NURELDINE/AFP via Getty Images)

Guests attend the Global AI 2020 (Artificial Intelligence) Summit in the Saudi capital Riyadh on October 21, 2020.

A group of academics, researchers, and engineers from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) recently unveiled a potent tool designed for Arabic speakers worldwide that, according to its developers, may pave the way for large language model (LLM) systems in additional languages that are "underrepresented in mainstream AI."

"Jais," which is named after the tallest mountain in the United Arab Emirates, was developed in partnership between Silicon Valley-based Cerebras Systems, the Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence (MBZUAI) in Abu Dhabi, and Inception, a division of UAE-based AI firm G42, according to CNN.

Although ChatGPT, Meta's LLaMA, and other LLMs support Arabic, Timothy Baldwin, acting provost and professor of natural language processing at MBZUAI, claims that they were primarily trained on English data from the internet.

Surpassing "What Anyone Else Has Been Able to Achieve for Arabic"

Instead, Jais made use of English and Arabic datasets, concentrating on Middle Eastern content, enabling it to surpass "what anyone else has been able to achieve for Arabic," according to Baldwin.

The majority of languages on the internet use the Latin alphabet, with English being by far the most popular. According to Mohammed Soliman, head of strategic technologies and the cyber security program at the Middle East Institute in Washington, DC, this indicates that datasets in those languages are the largest.

Typically, data sets used to train language models in English are Western-centric.

The challenge of training a language model is increased by the fact that Arabic is the sixth most spoken language in the world and is rich in a "constellation" of several dialects, according to Baldwin.

Local dialects are frequently utilized on blogs and social media, while Modern Standard Arabic is mainly used for official documents and formal writing. Jais can typically flip between dialects because of his training on a variety of material.

In addition to understanding queries in more than a dozen Arabic dialects, including Egyptian colloquial Arabic and Saudi colloquial Arabic, Google's Bard can now understand inquiries in Modern Standard Arabic as well.

Jais currently contains 13 billion parameters, and a 30-billion parameter update is under development. The correctness of a linguistic model is not always quantified by parameters. According to OpenAI, ChatGPT-3.5 includes almost 175 billion parameters.

Read also: Meta Unveils New Celebrity AI Chatbot Characters; Which Stars are Included?

Adherence to the UAE Government Regulations

Jais, like other generative AI models, requires instruction tweaking to avoid producing "toxic" or "harmful" results. It won't produce anything that could result in harm to oneself or others or that suggests addiction. Regarding subjects like drug use and homosexuality, the responses it produces follow regional laws and customs.

MBZUAI conducted "various dialogues" regarding responsible AI with the UAE government and other institutions, which were taken into consideration when creating Jais.

The UAE has increased its efforts to create generative AI systems. The region's largest generative AI model, Falcon, was unveiled by Abu Dhabi's Advanced Technology Research Council and the Technology Innovation Institute (TII) in March, with a fresh iteration released in September. It was the first nation in the world to select a minister of AI in 2017.

Although it isn't yet accessible in Arabic, Falcon is more capable than Jais in English, has 180 billion parameters, and exceeds rivals like Meta's LLaMA 2 in terms of reasoning, coding, and passing knowledge exams, according to TII. Falcon is also more powerful than Jais in Arabic. Falcon and Jais, in contrast to Google's Bard and ChatGPT, are open-source, which implies that anybody can use or modify their code.

Related article: Jasper Shakes Up Leadership With New CEO From Dropbox

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NEW YORK, NEW YORK - MARCH 09: Activists participate in a protest against the proposed Cop City being built in an Atlanta forest on March 09, 2023 in New York City. Cop City, a vast police training facility under construction atop forestland in the Atlanta, Georgia area, has become a focus point of demonstrations opposed to the development in one of the states most pristine forests. The $90 million training center is designed to train police in militarized urban warfare.



NEW YORK, NEW YORK - MARCH 09: Activists participate in a protest against the proposed Cop City being built in an Atlanta forest on March 09, 2023 in New York City. Cop City, a vast police training facility under construction atop forestland in the Atlanta, Georgia area, has become a focus point of demonstrations opposed to the development in one of the states most pristine forests. The $90 million training center is designed to train police in militarized urban warfare.

The indictment of 61 protesters in Atlanta, Georgia, on racketeering charges last month sparked instantaneous outrage. The protesters were part of a movement known alternatively as Stop Cop City and Defend The Forest  aimed at blocking the development of a $90 million police training facility that would have destroyed acres of the Weelaunee Atlanta forest.

In the first part of our reporting on this case, we focused on the unprecedented nature of using an organized crime statute in a civil disobedience case and the surprise appearance of George Floyd in the indictment. But theres another name in this indictment that set off major alarm bells: Thomas Webb Jurgens.

Read more

The fact that Jurgens was arrested while doing his job as a legal observer, is unheard of, says Paul Henderson, a former San Francisco Prosecutor. That is not something Ive ever seen before, he says. Ive never seen a role like that challenged.

The fact that even local authorities (who arent exactly progressive) disagreed with this indictment says everything you need to know, says Henderson. Its telling to me that local authorities, who have the authority to charge him, did not charge him, and questioned his charging, says Henderson. That is a big deal.

The concern, says Henderson, is that it could deter people from providing critical aid to protesters. It has an absolute chilling effect, he says.

This Is An Escalation

Williams, says this indictment is a clear escalation. If anyone has a question about where the government is overtly headed, this indictment spells it out very very clearly, she says.

Throughout the United States, lawmakers have been steadily passing laws aimed at targeting racial justice protesters. Over the last five years, 21 states have enacted 42 laws restricting the right to protest, according to the International Center for Not-For-Profit Law. While many of these laws have targeted the Black Lives Matter movement, others have gone after Indigenous-led environmental movements.

[The indictment] is an escalation, says Williams, but it didnt come out no-where. Anytime we see in history that we link up and we find ourselves together to fight the same thing... they go after the movements, they go after it with force.

Citizens in Atlanta deserve the right to question an investment of this scale, says Henderson, who serves as Director of San Franciscos Department of Police Accountability.

Were talking about specifically in Atlanta city, they are making a [$30 million] investment to train cops in one of the cities with the broadest income inequality in the country, he says, while ignoring so many other needs and demands being made by the community. Instead of addressing those concerns, the state is using a law enforcement-first approach.

What Happens If This Succeeds?

Georgia ACLU Policy Director Christopher Bruce says this indictment isnt just an issue for Georgians. If Georgia can get away with this, prosecutors will use this against Black Lives Matter protesters, LGBTQ+ protesters, and womens rights protesters. Bruce says the possibilities with this tactic for dismantling civil rights are limitless.

I cannot express this enough, says Bruce. Anytime the government is going after civil rights and civil liberties, you need to fight like hell, because its hard as hell to get it back.

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Sony has released its own movie streaming app for PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5. You'll be able to buy and rent movies through the Sony Pictures Core app, but there's a decent perk for subscribers of PlayStation Plus Premium and Deluxe (a version of Premium that's available in select markets).

Members will get access to a library of up to 100 ad-free Sony Pictures films at no extra cost. Sony says the lineup includes movies such as Looper, Kingsglaive: Final Fantasy XV, Elysium and Resident Evil Damnation. The library will receive periodic updates. The company also plans to add some anime content from Crunchyroll to Sony Pictures Core, and it notes that benefits for all PS Plus subscribers are on the way.

Many observers have long suggested that Sony should grant PS Plus subscribers the ability to stream some movies as part of the subscription, so it's nice that's finally happening. Given Sony's big push to turn its gaming franchises into movies and TV shows, it makes more sense than ever to offer that perk. On the other hand, Sony announced this update only a few weeks after it increased the price of the annual PS Plus Premium plan from $120 to $160.

PS4 and PS5 users will be able to buy some Sony Pictures films during an early access window. Right now, folks in the US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand can buy Gran Turismo through their console before it's available for digital purchase elsewhere. Snap up that film through Sony Pictures Core, and you'll get in-game credits for Gran Turismo 7 too.

The app has been available on Bravia TVs and some Xperia devices for a while. Until now, the app has been called Bravia Core, but Sony is rebranding it on those devices next year.

Unfortunately, it doesn't seem that the PlayStation version of the app includes one of the key features that Bravia and Xperia users have been able to enjoy. On those devices, the Bravia Core app employs Sony's Pure Stream tech, which can stream video at up to 80 Mbps. For comparison, Netflix recommends speeds of up to 25 Mbps for 4K video. Sony says the higher bit rate enables it to offer near lossless video streaming at a quality akin to 4K Blu-ray discs. That claim more or less holds up: I found that Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse looks astoundingly good with Pure Stream enabled.

However, as things stand, there are no video quality settings in the Sony Pictures Core app on PlayStation devices. Here's hoping Sony enables Pure Stream there in the future.
Yevgeny Prigozhin

Russian dictator Vladimir Putin has stated that traces of hand grenade explosives were found on the bodies of those who died in the plane crash involving Wagner Group leader Yevgeny Prigozhin, Russian state news agency TASS reported on Oct. 5.

Putin asserted that there was supposedly no external influence on the private jet, suggesting it was not shot down on his orders.

Read also: Prigozhin likely killed over control of Wagners Africa business  Bellingcat

The dictator also added that "RUB 10 billion ($100 million) in cash and five kilograms of cocaine" were discovered at Wagner's offices in St. Petersburg.

There were no tests for the presence of alcohol and drugs in the bodies of the victims on Prigozhin's plane, although they should have been conducted, said Putin.

Read also: Russia will not agree to joint probe with Brazil into Prigozhin plane crash  Reuters

However, the United States believes that Prigozhin's plane was shot down by an air defense system from Russian territory, Reuters reported on Aug. 24, citing two U.S. officials.

Read also: Russia officially declares Wagner leaders Prigozhin, Utkin dead

An Embraer-135 plane crashed in Russia's Tver Oblast on Aug. 23. Russian media reported that it belonged to the leader of Wagner Group PMC, Yevgeny Prigozhin. Russias Air Transport Agency confirmed that Prigozhin and his deputy, Dmitry Utkin , were onboard. The incident occurred exactly two months after the start of Wagners failed "mutiny" against the Russian government in late June.

In addition to them, the bodies of eight other people were found at the crash site. According to media reports, they included close associates of Prigozhin and participants in the war in Syria, as well as the planes three crew members.

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Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
Russian President Vladimir Putin has said that a nuclear strike on Russia is absolutely unacceptable for anyone, as they would have no chance of survival.

Source: Putin at Valdai, as reported by Russian media

Details: Putin pointed out that Russian military doctrine has two reasons for the possible use of nuclear weapons: "a strike against us and a threat to Russia's existence".

Putin sees no need to lower the threshold for use in the doctrine: "it is not necessary; there is no reason to".

At the same time, today the Russian president does not see a situation where something would threaten the existence of the Russian Federation.

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MOSCOW (Reuters) - President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday that Russia had successfully tested a potent new strategic missile and declined to rule out the possibility it could carry out weapons tests involving nuclear explosions for the first time in more than three decades.

Putin said for the first time that Moscow had successfully tested the Burevestnik, a nuclear-powered and nuclear-capable cruise missile with a potential range of many thousands of miles.

He also told an annual gathering of analysts and journalists that Russia had almost completed work on its Sarmat intercontinental ballistic missile system, another key element of its new generation of nuclear weapons.

Putin, who has repeatedly reminded the world of Russia's nuclear might since launching his invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022, said no one in their right mind would use nuclear weapons against Russia.

If such an attack was detected, he said, "such a number of our missiles - hundreds, hundreds - would appear in the air that not a single enemy would have a chance of survival".

Russia has not conducted a test involving a nuclear explosion since 1990, the year before the collapse of the Soviet Union, but Putin declined to rule out the possibility it could resume such testing.

He noted that the United States had not ratified the treaty that bans nuclear tests, whereas Russia had both signed and ratified it. It would be theoretically possible for the Duma, Russia's parliament, to revoke its ratification, he said.

Military analysts say a resumption of nuclear testing by Russia, the United States or both would be profoundly destabilising at a time when tensions between the two countries are greater than at any time in the past 60 years. In February, Putin suspended Russia's participation in the New START treaty that limits the number of nuclear weapons each side can deploy.

But there was no need, Putin said, for Russia to rewrite its doctrine on the actual use of nuclear weapons, which says it may fire them either in response to a nuclear strike against it or in the event of a threat to the existence of the state.

Responding to a question from Russian analyst Sergei Karaganov, who has advocated lowering the threshold for nuclear use, Putin said: "I simply don't see the need for this."

He added: "There is no situation today in which, say, something would threaten Russian statehood and the existence of the Russian state. No. I think no person of sound mind and clear memory would think of using nuclear weapons against Russia."

Karaganov has raised eyebrows among both Russian and Western strategic analysts by arguing that it is time for Russia to lower its threshold for nuclear use in order to "contain, frighten and sober up our opponents".

He wrote in one recent article that Russia should "shake up" its enemies by threatening nuclear attacks on European countries and U.S. bases in Europe.

(Reporting by Reuters; writing by Mark Trevelyan; Editing by Kevin Liffey)
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday said fragments of a hand grenade were found in the victims who died in a deadly August plane crash that killed 10 people, including Wagner Group chief Yevgeny Prigozhin .

Putin said the crash investigation was not yet complete, but there was no external influence on the aircraft.

Speaking at a foreign policy think tank forum in the Russian city of Sochi, Putin also said cocaine and lots of cash were found near the debris of the plane.

The Kremlin has denied any role in the plane crash but said in late August that deliberate wrongdoing was likely behind it.

The plane crashed outside of Moscow, killing Prigozhin and Dmitry Utkin, a top commander of the private military company Wagner Group, among others.

The U.S. has said Prigozhins death is in line with how Putin has acted in the past to take out his enemies.

Officials in the Biden administration also concluded an internal explosion downed the plane, but they have not provided specific details on what may have caused the crash.

Videos showed the plane exploding in midair before debris rained down onto a nearby field, but it is not clear what caused the explosion.

Prigozhin led thousands of Wagner troops against Putin in June and only halted the rebellion after reaching a deal with the Russian president. In the agreement, the mercenary company chief agreed to exile himself in Belarus in return for terrorism charges being dropped.

Putin has since moved to absorb most of the Wagner Group and announced Thursday that thousands of fighters have signed contracts with the Russian Ministry of Defense.

He said it was a big mistake to not have these private soldiers under contract before, but he questioned their continued role in Russian affairs.

Whether we need them or not, we will think about it, Putin said.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Russian dictator Vladimir Putin has said he expects the West to stop supporting Ukraine.

Source: Putin at Valdai, quoted by Russian media

Details: When asked about the West's support for Kyiv, he replied: "We are waiting for the manifestation of at least some sprouts of common sense".

Putin said that the United States supposedly had a "hiccup" with its support for Ukraine due to budgetary problems, but he is confident that they will eventually find the money and " print more".

He stated that Europe is only helping Ukraine by "further deteriorating the economy and the situation of its citizens".

Background: On 2 October, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said that despite the absence of a US decision on assistance to Ukraine amid a possible shutdown, US support for Ukraine had not wavered.

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There is a knife crime epidemic in Britain with young people going out "equipped" or "tooled up", say the Association of Police and Crime Commissioners - KATIE COLLINS/PA

A ban on the sale of knives should be extended to young people under the age of 21 to combat rising knife crime, say policing chiefs.

The sale of knives to under 21s would become an offence carrying a penalty of up to six months jail for store owners, raising the current age limit from 18, under the plans by the Association of Police and Crime Commissioners (APCC).

Donna Jones, chairman of the APCC, said the move, emulating countries such as Sweden, would better reflect the age profile of the 15 to 21-year-olds who are most likely to be involved in knife crime either as perpetrators or victims.

There is a knife crime epidemic in Britain, Ms Jones said.

This has been growing for the last decade with young people going out equipped or tooled up often for protection, but too often with criminal intent.

Worrying

The number of accidental deaths involving knives is worrying, particularly where young people brandish them during a fight but without the intent of murder. Nearly 40 per cent of all homicides in the UK over the last two years have been the result of a knife [being used].

Hospitals across Britain have seen a massive increase over the last 10 years of people being hospitalised with stab wounds; the police are often unaware and the stabbing is not reported. This trend is worrying with young males aged 15 to 21 being in the highest risk category of death or serious injury from a knife.

The Government has been consulting on toughening knife crime laws, including a ban on zombie-style knives and machetes that have no practical use.

The APCCs appeal follows the killing of 15-year-old schoolgirl Elianne Andam who was stabbed to death on a bus in Croydon, south London, last month.

Police figures show a 21 per cent increase in the number of knife and offensive weapon offences recorded from 37,706 in the year ending September 2021 to 45,639 in the year to September 2022.

The proposal to raise the age limit for knife sales is being considered as part of the consultation, with the Government expected to include new measures in a crime bill as part of the Kings Speech later this autumn.

Zombie-style weapons

In its response to the consultation, the APCC said more must be done to prevent sales of knives to children and young people, particularly in response to the rise of online marketplaces and social media.

We urge focus on the sale of knives to under 18s and suggest there may be merit in increasing age restrictions to under 21 or under 25 in accordance with the demographic criteria for youth violence, Ms Jones said..

Retailers should be encouraged to review how they display and store knives, keep records of sales and tighten ID checks at every opportunity.

Ms Jones said she would also support moves proposed by the Government to give police powers to seize knives such as machetes or zombie-style weapons if they found them at a private property. At present, it is only an offence to possess them in public.

They should be illegal in private as well as public, she said. Police at the moment will go into a property and arrest people and seize drugs and cash but when they find zombie knives or machetes, they cannot charge them for possession because it is not in a public place.

She said the key to reducing knife crime deaths was education. This must start at home from parents. Parents need to understand better the risks; what their children are faced with in local communities and how choosing sensible friendship groups could change the rest of your life.

Knives kill; that needs to be the message, she added.

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A rape suspect accused of faking his own death and cooking up a bizarre cover story will be extradited to the U.S., the Scottish government confirmed Thursday. Nicholas Rossi, who maintains that he is an Irish orphan named Arthur Knight, has been embroiled in a lengthy legal battle to avoid extradition, with an Edinburgh court ruling in August that he should be sent to America to answer for his alleged crimes. U.S. authorities claim the 35-year-old fled to Britain to avoid prosecution, with an obituary for Rossi appearing online in 2020 after he told friends he was dying of cancer. He was arrested on a COVID ward in a hospital in Scotland the following year, with a court later ruling that he really is Rossi. The August extradition ruling required final approval from the Scottish government, which has now been approved.

Read it at MailOnline

Read more at The Daily Beast.
LAPD Chief Michel Moore said recent controversies were the result of "individual failures" and not symptoms of deeper problems with the Police Department. (Irfan Khan/Los Angeles Times)

While Los Angeles Police Chief Michel Moore grappled with the LAPD's latest gang scandal last week, another crisis was brewing on the 10th floor of department headquarters.

Just days before, an officer had accused Assistant Chief Al Labrada of stalking her using an Apple AirTag  the same style of GPS tracker department sources say Mission Division gang officers used for surveillance of suspects without the required search warrants. Labrada has since been put on administrative leave, pending the outcome of a criminal investigation.

For Moore, the allegations against a member of his command staff renewed questions about management and oversight of the nations third-largest police department as he winds down his term. It's the latest in a string of embarrassing scandals in recent months, including gang officers accused of theft, illegal stops and searches, senior staff engaged in inappropriate relationships with subordinates and the inadvertent release of photos of undercover officers.

In an interview this week, Moore acknowledged the recent controversies had shaken public trust in the department. But he said they were the result of "individual failures" and not, as some have argued, symptoms of deeper problems with the department.

"I don't see a cultural issue there. I don't see something that the organization is facilitating, because as soon as the actions were identified, we reacted immediately, Moore told The Times, adding: "I will say that [regarding] recent events involving senior members of this organization, obviously that's disappointing, when you look at people ... you thought were qualified for taking the reins."

Moore has been defensive about the Mission Division gang scandal, repeatedly insisting at commission meetings and in news interviews that the misconduct identified had been confined to one unit  even as some in his own organization suggested the problem of officers deactivating their body-worn cameras was widespread and could have been caught sooner.

Read more: LAPD assistant chief put on leave for alleged stalking

That surprised former Police Commissioner Rob Saltzman, who said its unclear how seriously the department took looking at other areas to see if the same problem was occurring."

Saltzman said Moores track record on accountability was one reason he voted for him in 2009 to succeed William Bratton, over Charlie Beck, who eventually got the job. And while he credited Moore with inviting federal authorities to investigate Mission, Saltzman said his response echoed that of some of his predecessors who sought to minimize the scope of past scandals by blaming them on the actions of a few officers.

"In my view, the departments response should be to come clean," he said, "this is what happened, this is how it happened, this is what weve done to keep it from happening ever again.

Equally "troubling," Saltzman, said, were reports of senior staff violating the departments policy against sexual relationships with lower-ranking officers.

Moore's comments come a week after he placed Labrada on leave. Labrada remains the subject of a criminal investigation by Ontario police, after an LAPD officer who works in the training division accused him of tracking her movements, according to law enforcement sources who requested anonymity because they were not authorized to publicly discuss the probe. Labrada and the woman had had a relationship that ended recently, the sources said.

The Times is not naming the officer because she is an alleged stalking victim. She is expected to file a claim against the city this week, a precursor to eventually filing a lawsuit. Labrada has denied the allegations and said he is weighing his legal options.

The episode marks a dramatic fall for Labrada, who was considered by some to be a potential candidate to replace Moore when he retires. On Tuesday, several people called in to the Police Commission meeting to support Labrada, who they said had made inroads with largely Latino communities when he was a captain in Hollenbeck Division.

Labrada's case bears striking similarities to that of another assistant chief under Moore, Jorge Villegas, who retired abruptly in 2019 after sources told The Times he was having an improper sexual relationship with a female subordinate.

Villegas case resurfaced earlier this year in a court filing from a former LAPD commander who is suing the department, alleging the existence of a culture of debauchery and favoritism that dates back years and reaches into the LAPDs upper echelons.

Other department controversies have played out far from the public eye. According to multiple LAPD sources, two other senior officials  a captain and a commander, both male  were transferred to assignments in the San Fernando Valley after being caught sleeping with subordinates. The relationships were consensual, but may have violated policy against sexual relationships with lower-ranking officers, according to the sources who agreed to speak on the condition of anonymity.

That so many instances of bad behavior involve senior staff is concerning, former Police Chief Bernard Parks said, adding that if nothing else, they call into question Moores judgment in promoting people with little maturity or  little integrity. And the decision to quietly transfer the two senior officials, Parks said, only feeds into a commonly held belief among the rank-and-file that senior officers who are well-connected will not face severe discipline when accused of misconduct.

Those are things that you would expect on the lower level with less senior officers and less mature officers," Parks said. Youre not obligated to promote people just because theyre on the list. And the fact they mayve squeezed through some with sordid backgrounds  dont think that this wont come back to haunt you."

The growing controversy involving the Mission Gang Enforcement Detail, whose suspected wrongdoing has triggered a separate FBI investigation, has stirred speculation that the issues under scrutiny are more widespread than the department is letting on.

As with past scandals involving specialized units, it potentially could affect scores of criminal cases in which the involved officers played a role.

LAPD officials say a total of 15 officers have been implicated so far. Two, who haven't been identified, have been directed to a disciplinary hearing, known as a board of rights, facing possible termination. Two other officers, one sergeant and one lieutenant have been assigned home pending the investigation. An additional eight officers and one sergeant are on restricted duty, according to a department spokesperson.

Moore defended the department's response, saying he had ordered audits of officers' body camera use and was strengthening internal systems for flagging problematic behavior. While declining to go into details about potential discipline, he stressed that he had addressed the allegations against senior staff as soon as he learned about them.

At the same time, he said, its unrealistic for an agency with 12,000 employees not to expect instances in which we fall short.

Were human, he said. "We are part of society like everyone else."

Read more: A big question remains amid LAPD photo scandal: Just who is an undercover officer?

Just how politically damaging the recent scandals will be for Moore remains to be seen.

With crime currently trending downward, he continues to have the public support of Mayor Karen Bass and the Police Commission. In January, Moore was reappointed to a second five-year term over the concern of critics who argued that the scope of scandals that have plagued the department during Moores tenure offers a poor track record for any leader.

Former Police Commissioner Steve Soboroff said Moore has always proved himself capable of passing "tests like and more difficult than this."

"I dont have any reason to doubt that he will pass this  if you will consider these two items a test, Labrada and Mission  that he will show what Ive always found to be very thorough and excellent leadership and instinct," Soboroff said.

Reappointing Moore, his critics argued at the time, meant sticking with a leader who carries the baggage of past political stumbles and who has repeatedly been bruised professionally by a series of challenges and scandals that confronted the department during his first term  including surging violent crime, the department's response to the COVID-19 pandemic, unjustified police shootings, a bomb squad's detonation of a fireworks cache that destroyed a South L.A. neighborhood, the botched police response to mass protests in 2020 and Moores own blunders in leading responses to those incidents and talking about them with the public.

Some of those concerns resurfaced on a recent afternoon, when activists held a news conference outside of police headquarters calling for Moores ouster, while criticizing city leaders for their silence about the department's troubles. At the commission meeting that followed, one speaker after another painted a portrait of a department that had fallen into disarray under Moore's leadership.

"At what point do you say to yourself, that's too much. At what point do you say to yourself, let's do an honest evaluation, maybe it's time to go," Greg "Baba" Akili, a longtime Moore critic, told commissioners during the meeting.

For most of his first term as the city's top cop, Moore drew praise from some leaders as a top-notch policing executive with the rare skillset needed to run the LAPD, a massive, multibillion-dollar organization that is under an intense microscope.

And a Loyola Marymount University voter survey showed stronger satisfaction with the LAPD's overall performance than in recent years, even if swaths of the population see disparities in the way the department polices Black and Latino residents.

Before his reappointment, Moore said he would serve for only two to three years before turning the department over to a new chief ahead of the 2028 Olympic Games, which would start soon after a full second term would expire. He said he would spend the next few years laying the groundwork for a succession plan in the departments upper echelons.

William Briggs, a police commissioner, said he is taking the recent controversies very seriously and wants to ensure the thoroughness of parallel investigations by the department and inspector generals office.

If someone is guilty of the allegations, then I think the appropriate discipline should be meted out without question. And that goes for the gang unit, and that goes for the assistant chief and any other incident of impropriety in the department, said Briggs, a holdover appointee of former Mayor Eric Garcetti. "We ask our chief executives to handle more than one crisis  and still advancing policies that they want to see get passed and get through.

"If I didnt have faith that he can do that, then wed be having a different conversation.

Times staff writers Richard Winton and Kevin Rector contributed to this report.

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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Thailand police reported on Wednesday, October 4, that a 14-year-old boy accused of killing two people at a high-end mall in Bangkok has been charged with six counts, including premeditated murder.

The arrest of the teenager came on Tuesday, October 3, not long after the shooting rampage at the popular Siam Paragon mall in the heart of Bangkok's commercial and tourism districts.

Mental Health Issue

Contradicting to the initial report, there are two fatalities and not three. The spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Kanchana Patarachoke, stated on Wednesday that a Chinese citizen and a Myanmar national were murdered. Five people were wounded with "varying degrees of severity." Those injured were three Thai nationals, a Chinese national, and a Laotian national.

The suspect was sent from the Pathum Wan police station to a juvenile court in Bangkok, according to Police Major General Nakarin Sukhonthawit.

The crimes charged against the teen include premeditated murder, attempted murder, possession of a firearm without a license, carrying a firearm into a public area without a license, and shooting in a public area without permission.

Sukhonthawit said a doctor has confirmed the suspect is experiencing mental health problems and has deemed him unfit for interrogation at this time, as CNN reported.

Although the suspect's motivation and where he got the firearm used in the attack are still mysteries, Sukhonthawit claimed the gun was modified and purchased online. "This kind of modified guns are widely available on the internet, we are investigating where he purchased this gun," he explained.

In a press conference on Tuesday, Thai Police Chief General Torsak Sukvimol said the suspect surrendered himself after the shooting.

The police chief said that the suspect's mental disorders had been treated at Rajavithi Hospital but that any details regarding his personal issues were off-limits due to the fact that he is still a minor.

Also Read: Thailand: 14-Year-Old Suspect in Police Custody After Bangkok Mall Shooting Kills 3

Surrendering to Police

Captain Thanamorn Noonart, who claims to have been the first cop to approach the suspect inside the mall, told Thai media that the teenager put aside his weapon upon seeing the police' firearms.

Noonart recalled that the suspect was on the phone with a radio center, which was trying to convince him to surrender and give up his gun. When the suspect saw the police squad, he said over the phone, "It's too late because there were many people carrying guns."

Eventually, the teenager turned himself in and was arrested.

Footage captured inside the mall seems to show the kid kneeling with his hands in the air. After breaking a window, two police officers enter the establishment and arrest the suspect.

Thai Police General Torsak informed reporters that the suspect was arrested less than an hour after the shooting began, at about 4:20 PM local time, and was afterward transferred to a nearby hospital after questioning.

Also Read: Man Allegedly Connected to Shooting Murder of Tupac Shakur Arrested

@ 2023 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
For those hoping to snag a spot in Rosevilles Thanksgiving Turkey Trot, now is the time.

The annual event, in its 11th year, offers 5K and 10K races that start and finish in Rosevilles Vernon Street Town Square.

Registration for the popular seasonal event is open through Oct. 23.

Participants should plan to arrive at the event by 8:15 a.m., ahead of the 9 a.m. race start. Parking is free for runners, and those who register before the deadline will receive a commemorative long-sleeve T-shirt and finisher award.

Runners must attend a packet pickup event on Nov. 21-22 at the Mahany Fitness Center on Pleasant Grove Boulevard.

Please plan to attend one of the Packet Pickup days or have someone collect your packet for you, the city said. We will be accepting late registrations at Packet Pickup until sold out.

Participants may register after Oct. 23, but late registrants are not guaranteed a shirt, the city said.

Last years Turkey Trot sold out.
Financial regulators in the US are suing Elon Musk after the billionaire said he would no longer cooperate with its investigation into his purchase of Twitter, now known as X.

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) asked a federal court to order him to comply with their request that he sit for a third session of testimony about the deal.

The move to sue followed receipt of a letter from a lawyer for Mr Musk, which said he refused to appear as requested.

It accused the SEC of "harassment".

"Unchecked government action is dangerous and the record here is troubling. Mr Musk declines to acquiesce in the Commission's incursions and therefore refuses to appear as you demand," lawyer Alex Spiro wrote.

The lawsuit is the latest feud between the SEC and Mr Musk, who once declared on national television that he had "no respect" for the regulator.

The SEC launched its investigation of Mr Musk's $44bn purchase of X last year.

The filing in San Francisco federal court said the agency is probing whether his 2022 stock purchases before he bought the company outright and statements he made about those investments broke securities laws.

Mr Musk participated in two half-days of testimony via video conference in July, after he was subpoenaed, the SEC said. The agency said another session was necessary because nearly half of the documents it had received regarding the case came in after those meetings.

A letter from Mr Musk's attorney to the agency, shared as part of the exhibit, said it was "unclear why the staff requires further time diverting Mr Musk from his significant obligations to companies and shareholders...Enough is enough".

The SEC has locked horns with Mr Musk before.

In 2018, it charged him with defrauding investors by claiming in a Tweet that he had "funding secured" to take Tesla, the electric car company he leads, private.

He later settled the charges, stepping down as chairman of the firm's board and agreeing to accept what was dubbed a Twitter sitter - limits on what he could write on social media about the company.

Mr Musk has repeatedly gone to court to have those limits removed, including most recently in February.

Separately, a judge in New York ruled this week that Mr Musk must face a lawsuit from former Twitter investors who claim he defrauded former shareholders by failing to promptly disclose his share purchases, but an insider trading claim was dismissed.
Tennessee public schools have been ranked near the bottom in funding per student for decades. Even after setting up a shiny new funding formula and state leaders proclamations of record education budget increases, Tennessee remains near the bottom.

A lack of state investment in our public schools hurts Tennessee students, depriving them of additional teachers, counselors and specialists who could improve their academic outcomes and well-being. Tennessee needs more great leaps in funding as quickly as possible.

So imagine the surprise when a legislative working group was formed to explore whether Tennessee should reject federal education funding. Those dollars feed children, pay for thousands of teachers and provide for the support of special-needs students. One dollar out of every $8 going to Tennessee schools  more than $1 billion annually  comes from federal coffers. Many systems, including most small rural systems, couldnt keep the classroom doors open without it. What is there to recommend?

Amanda Collins holds up a sign while gathering with other education advocates at a rally against the Tennessee Comprehensive Assessment Program in Market Square on July 15.

However, the legislative federal funds working group has been established and a report is scheduled for January. If the committee works with honesty and integrity, the report should confirm what the Tennessee Education Association has been saying for years.

 The state has not done what it can or should for education investment. If the working group finds Tennessee is in a financial position to supplant federal dollars with state funds, it will be admitting education investments the state can afford have not been made. A pending lawsuit by rural and urban school districts claims state school funding is inadequate and unconstitutional. Imagine how that suit will be bolstered if this legislative working group points to overflowing state coffers as a reason to reject federal funds.

Opposing view: Tennessee might ditch federal education dollars. Here's why the state should cut the cord.

 The state uses the threat of federal requirements to protect bad policies. When legislation is filed to shutter the failed state-run Achievement School District, reduce high-stakes testing or change punitive teacher and school evaluations, the administration uses the fiscal hammer of lost federal funds to squash them. But there is far more federal flexibility than state officials admit, thanks to Lamar Alexander, former U.S. senator, being instrumental in the No Child Left Behind Act being replaced by the Every Student Succeeds Act in 2015. Imagine how our policy options will be freed if this working group finds the specter of federal strings just dodges.

 Federal education law has had success. The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act has brought children who in previous generations would have been isolated into regular classrooms, benefiting all students by their inclusion. If we reject federal IDEA funding, schools will still be required by law to provide services and the least restricted education environment to all special-needs students. Imagine what happens when Tennessee taxpayers are asked to pay with state dollars what federal funds covered for well-regarded services and policies.

 The federal government has its share of bad education policies, but we have complicity too. You dont have to look hard to see where Tennessees treadmill of high-stakes tests and negative results begins. The federal National Assessment of Educational Progress, known as the nation's report card, is a black box of an exam that generates state rankings politicians love to cite, but not every child can pass it. Tennessees pursuit of higher rankings led us to mimic NAEP in our state tests. Sixty percent of the state's public school third-graders didn't pass the English language arts section of the Tennessee Comprehensive Assessment Program test given in March, placing them at risk of retention because we followed the example of federal bureaucrats.

The working group was founded with the basic premise that local control is inherently good and something Tennesseans believe in. If they do their job right, these legislators will report that federal funds come with no strings attached in important areas like curriculum and that we unnecessarily tie ourselves up in more testing and sanctions than what the feds required.

Tanya T. Coats

If they do their homework, members of the group will document our acute education funding needs and the states ability to do more. Once that has happened, imagine the possibilities.

Tanya T. Coats is a Knox County educator and President of the Tennessee Education Association  the states largest professional organization for Tennessee public school educators.

This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Opinion: Rejecting federal education funds would fail Tenn. students
Rep. Carlos Gimenez is taking aim at fellow Florida Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz for his efforts in leading the charge against former Speaker Kevin McCarthy, arguing that it has hurt GOP efforts to secure the border.

Gimenez, R-Fla., spoke to Fox News Digital the day after Gaetz successfully led a push to remove McCarthy from his position, days after the speaker brought a "clean" continuing resolution to the floor to fund the government -- a measure that passed due to Democratic support.

Gaetz and other conservative Republicans had previously voted against a temporary stopgap funding resolution that would have funded the government while including most of the Houses signature border security package  except E-Verify. The continuing resolution that passed did not include those provisions.

"Matt Gaetz and his gang effectively blocked a measure for the funding resolution that would have forced the Biden administration to actively control the border and to have a reduction in overall spending," Gimenez told Fox News Digital.

HERE ARE FOUR OF THE LIKELY CONTENDERS TO REPLACE MCCARTHY AS SPEAKER

"That's all on Matt Gaetz and his gang. And so now that we don't have a speaker, all those efforts for us to try to force the Biden administration to actually do their job and follow the law, I think everything comes to stop until we get a new speaker," he said.

READ ON THE FOX NEWS APP

Gimenez said that those looking to cross into the U.S. should be thanking Gaetz for his work.

"This doesn't help the border one bit. So that's why Ive said that those crossing the border right now should have on their chest a big sign saying Thank you, Matt Gaetz, or maybe gracias Matt Gaetz because Matt Gaetz and his gang effectively blocked our efforts to control the border."

Gimenez, who has been sparring with Gaetz on X, formerly known as Twitter, accused Gaetz and others of being "Machiavellian" in their strategy.

"Why did they do that, knowing full well that the alternative was something that none of us really wanted and many of us didn't want it. But we had to keep funding the government because we were going to spend more taxpayer money unnecessarily and cause pain unnecessarily."

MIGRANT NUMBERS HIT HIGHEST EVER RECORDED IN ONE MONTH: SOURCES

Rep. Carlos Gimenez, R-Fla., speaks during the news conference to announce the formation of the Hispanic Leadership Trust at the Republican National Committee headquarters in Washington on Tuesday, May 17, 2022.

The criticism echoes that of McCarthy, who said those who voted against the border security-inclusive stopgap were not conservative.

"They voted against border security, they dont get to say they're conservative because theyre chaotic and angry," McCarthy said Tuesday.

Gaetz responded to that criticism Tuesday evening on "The Ingraham Angle" in which he pointed to the border security provisions that had passed as part of a DHS appropriations bill last week -- including E-Verify.

"We passed a Department of Homeland Security border bill that would have required E-Verify with a host of other reforms. Then on a continuing resolution, Kevin McCarthy wanted us to surrender every other fight, Jack Smith, weaponized government, everything else going on just to isolate the border thing," he said.

"Now I don't believe the way conservatives get ahead is surrendering everything but the border in order to address the border -- and I don't think the way to address the border is to pass E-Verify and then say the strong border position is the abandonment of E-Verify in a vote that occurs 14 hours later."

Concern has also been expressed in the Senate, with Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., arguing that the "chaos" make it "harder to talk about the failed Biden Presidency and address our broken southern border."

Gimenez told Fox Digital that now, the Senate needs to take the Secure the Border Act, which passed on its own in the House earlier this year, and that it will also be up to the Biden administration  or a future Republican administration  to secure the border.

"The Biden administration has to have the will to control the border. If you don't have the will to control the border, and if you also have the will to actually violate the law like I believe the Biden administration is doing right now, it's going to have marginal effects," he said.

"The only way that we're going to control the border, in my opinion, is with a new president, a new Republican president that will follow the law and has the will to control what's happening at the southern border, not only with migrants, but also with the drugs that are flowing in that are killing tens of thousands of Americans."





Original article source: Rep. Gimenez says migrants should say 'gracias' to Gaetz amid fears House drama hurts border security push
First things first: The surest bet this month is that the new Ohio House member for southern Summit County will be a Republican.

Former Ohio House Rep. Bob Young, facing a tsunami of legal woes, exited public office Monday.

Right now, the Summit County Republican Party is compiling a stack of applications that will be reviewed next week, with recommendations sent to Columbus.

The Republican from Green announced his resignation Sept. 8 as political pressure mounted.

Now, the 32nd District  which includes the communities of Green, New Franklin, Springfield Township, Lakemore, Coventry Township and the Ellet area of Akron  is vacant.

The search for the right candidate

There's no looming deadline for Young to be replaced.

House GOP spokesman Patrick Melton said Thursday no timeline has been set by House Republicans.

Locally, though, Summit County Republicans will make a recommendation next week that will be sent to Ohio House Speaker Jason Stephens.

Here's what we know about the process.

The Summit County Republicans are compiling applications

Interested in becoming an Ohio House member? The Summit County Republican Party is taking applications until 4 p.m. Tuesday.

There are a few qualifications the party is looking for, said Bryan Williams, the county's party chair. Those include a commitment to party principles like lower taxes, limited government and the Second Amendment, he said.

"We look at electability: Do they have experience at getting elected to other offices?" he said. "... We assess whether or not they have the personal character to represent the Republican Party community."

Recommendations due next week

Williams said a standing steering committee of 16 members will consider the applications on Wednesday and come up with a recommendation. That could be one individual or more.

That recommendation will be sent to the full executive committee, which has more than 100 members.

In a Zoom meeting Thursday, the full committee will decide whether to accept the recommendation they've been given.

If accepted, Williams will forward the recommendation and supporting materials to Stephens.

The next steps

Once in the hands of House Republicans in Columbus, a committee of five party members will screen the Summit GOP recommendation. They're not required to pick from the list, but it's likely they will do so and pick one name.

"[Republicans] will vote on that on the floor of the House in an open meeting," Williams said.

A yea vote will decide the next Ohio House 32nd District representative.

Not that unusual

Williams said he voted at least eight times as a member of the Ohio Assembly to appoint a member to a vacated seat. That can occur for many reasons, including death and moving away from the district.

"It happens, [and] there are vacancies for one reason or another," he said. "Last year, there were two."

So far, Williams said, he's aware of three applicants: Jack Daniels, a New Franklin councilman; Mary Stormer, an Akron Municipal Court supervisor and former Akron School Board member; and Elizabeth Haavisto, an attorney with Krugliak, Wilkins, Griffiths and Dougherty Co.

An application was posted on social media Wednesday, including on the Summit County Republicans' Facebook page, said executive director Cierra Shehorn.

"It's a very high priority for us to appoint someone who can hold the seat," Williams said.

State government reporter Jessie Balmert contributed to this article. Leave a message for Alan Ashworth at 330-996-3859 or email him at aashworth@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @newsalanbeaconj.

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Who will replace Bob Young in Ohio House? Here's what we know
Public health authorities say the Covid-19 vaccines have saved lives, but a Canadian report shared across platforms estimates the shots have killed 17 million people globally. This is false; government agencies and independent experts worldwide told AFP the findings are flawed and that only a minuscule percentage of deaths among the vaccinated can be attributed to the jabs.

"Researchers Find COVID Vaccines Causally Linked to Increased Mortality, Estimate 17 Million Deaths," says a September 28, 2023 headline from the Epoch Times, a website that has previously spread misinformation about vaccination and the pandemic.

The article accumulated more than 3,400 interactions on Facebook, according to CrowdTangle, a social media insights tool. Similar claims circulated on other conspiratorial websites, including InfoWars and Children's Health Defense -- both of which AFP has previously fact-checked.

US politicians, internet personalities and other social media users shared the headlines to thousands more on Facebook, Instagram and X, formerly known as Twitter.

"Shhhhhh (Told ya so!)" says James T Harris, a radio host in the US state of Arizona, in an October 2 post sharing the Epoch Times story.

Screenshot from Facebook taken October 4, 2023

Screenshot from InfoWars taken October 4, 2023

The articles are the latest to cast doubt on the safety of Covid-19 vaccines, which more than five billion people worldwide have received (archived here).

As evidence, they cite a September 17, 2023 report from a Canadian group called Correlation Research in the Public Interest. The paper -- which has not been peer-reviewed -- analyzes all-cause mortality and vaccination rates in 17 countries in the Southern Hemisphere to claim the Covid-19 vaccines kill roughly one in 800 recipients.

"This is a staggering number, compared to what is generally believed about traditional vaccines," the authors say in the conclusion.

The ratio "equates to 17 million Covid-19 vaccine-related deaths worldwide," the Epoch Times reported.

But Tarik Jasarevic, a World Health Organization (WHO) spokesperson, told AFP in an October 3 email that the claims "are not correct."

Amesh Adalja, a senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins University Center for Health Security, agreed, saying the findings "represent a major distortion of the actual data."

"All-cause mortality spikes are likely due to the virus surging during certain periods and have nothing to do with booster campaigns," he said in an October 3 email.

Flawed paper

Correlation Research in the Public Interest claims that, in the countries analyzed in its report, "there is no association in time between Covid-19 vaccination and any proportionate reduction in (all-cause mortality)."

The group bases that conclusion on figures from the World Mortality Dataset, Our World in Data and a few other regional sources. The authors accurately note that excess deaths -- those recorded in a crisis beyond what would have been expected in a "normal" year -- rose in early 2022 after an uptake in Covid-19 vaccination.

But Oliver Watson, a visiting researcher in the School of Public Health at Imperial College London, told AFP that instead of proving Covid-19 shots cause death, the report simply "correlates vaccine rollout with increases in mortality" without accounting for other events that could have caused the spikes.

"For example, they include a number of 'zero covid' countries, eg Singapore and New Zealand, which implemented strong lockdowns that prevented Covid-19 spreading," he said in an October 4 email.

"These countries, once they reached high vaccine coverage, relaxed lockdowns and subsequently had an increase in Covid-19 deaths and mortality, as the vaccines are not 100 percent effective nor did they achieve 100 percent coverage."

Australia, another country that pursued a "zero-Covid" strategy, saw significant excess mortality near the end of 2021 as the omicron variant surged, AFP previously reported.

The paper shared online also focuses solely on the Southern Hemisphere, which Tara Moriarty of the University of Toronto said "had really high rates of all-cause mortality before vaccines came out."

That trend continued after the rollout in the United States and Europe, the infectious disease researcher added, because many countries "didn't have access to vaccines."

Excess deaths unrelated to vaccines

There were several global spikes in excess deaths during the coronavirus pandemic (archived here). But AFP has previously reported that Covid-19 infections, not vaccines, are to blame.

"If anything, the vaccines likely reduced mortality over the course of the last couple of years," said Richard Watanabe, professor of population and public health sciences at the University of Southern California, in an October 3 email.

A June 2022 study published in The Lancet found that, within the first year of the vaccine rollout, the shots saved an estimated 19.8 million lives worldwide (archived here). Data from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) show those who receive booster shots are far less likely to die from Covid-19 than their unvaccinated peers (archived here).

Chart showing Covid-19 daily global death rate, according to the WHO, and key dates since the start of the pandemic in 2020 Valentina BRESCHI Valentin RAKOVSKY AFP

On the other hand, confirmed deaths resulting from vaccination are rare.

In Australia, for example, the Therapeutic Goods Administration has identified 14 deaths likely linked to the shots out of more than 68 million doses administered (archived here).

"Importantly, there is no credible evidence that Covid-19 vaccines have contributed to excess deaths in Australia," an agency spokesperson told AFP in an October 5 email. "The number of vaccine doses administered in 2022 was approximately half that given in 2021, which clearly indicates that there is not a temporal relationship between vaccination and excess mortality."

Meanwhile, in South Africa, public health authorities have found three deaths resulting from Covid-19 shots of more than 38 million doses administered (archived here). Similar numbers are reported in other countries cited in the Correlation Research in the Public Interest report, including New Zealand and Singapore (archived here and here).

"There is no evidence that vaccination is responsible for excess mortality in New Zealand," said Christian Marchello, a vaccine safety surveillance and research manager at the Te Whatu Ora public health agency, in an October 9 email. "Publicly available data shows that four deaths in New Zealand are possibly linked to adverse reactions following Covid-19 vaccination."

National health authorities and the WHO are monitoring rare side effects resulting from Covid-19 vaccination, including thrombosis with thrombocytopenia syndrome and myocarditis -- inflammation of the heart muscle.

But the CDC says on its website (archived here) that those who receive the shots "are at no greater risk of death from non-Covid causes than unvaccinated people."

AFP contacted public health agencies in several other countries mentioned in the Correlation Research in the Public Interest report, but responses were not forthcoming.

AFP has fact-checked other false and misleading claims about vaccines here.
WOODLAND PARK, N.J.  Oversight of state-run nursing homes for military veterans in New Jersey should be removed from the military and be turned over to a newly created agency that focuses on health care, according to a new report released Tuesday by an independent fact-finding agency.

The recommendation by the New Jersey State Commission of Investigation (SCI) is the first and most drastic offered in its 16-page report, which centers on how "massive absenteeism" by front-line staff at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, poor communication and faulty building designs helped exacerbate health risks among residents.

The pandemic "presented a perfect storm of circumstances that exposed systemic and, in some cases, enduring problems in the administration and supervision of the veterans homes, SCI Chair Tiffany Williams Brewer said in a statement.

The administration of New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy has been intensely scrutinized for its management of these homes, where more than 200 residents died during the pandemic due to "systemic and persistent problems."

The report comes less than a month after the publication of a more in-depth investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice, which found that a lack of preparation, deficient infection control practices, a growing distrust between managers and staff, and policies against mask-wearing helped the virus spread at two nursing homes.

The widespread dysfunction and inadequate care at these homes left residents unprepared for the pandemic, causing them to be at high risk for serious infections and illness. The Justice Department's report also noted that poor conditions in the homes continue to persist today.

New Jersey's state-run veterans homes in Paramus and Menlo Park had among the highest death tolls nationally during the pandemic for nursing homes. But multiple states faced similar issues and mismanaged nursing homes killed tens of thousands of people while hundreds of veterans succumbed to the virus.

US nursing homes: Would your nursing home meet Biden's proposed staffing levels? Check our data to find out.

New Jersey State Commission of Investigation's recommendations

The primary recommendation of the SCI's report echoes similar calls from others, including Dave Ofshinsky, a former executive at the Paramus facility and a whistleblower: Move the homes away from the Department of Military and Veterans Affairs, whose primary responsibility is to oversee the New Jersey Army and Air National Guard.

"Most leadership within DMAVA has traditionally been current or retired military members without medical backgrounds or the necessary knowledge of nursing homes," the report states.

The commission recommended that a new Cabinet-level agency take control of the homes and be staffed by health care professionals with experience in skilled nursing, institutional care and other skills necessary to operate the nursing homes.

Other recommendations include:

Expedite the conversion of all rooms from double-bed to single-bed. Menlo Park is scheduled to be completed by 2025, but Paramus has no target date.

Make sure all medical and front-line staffers know they are considered "essential employees" and must report for their shifts during a public health emergency.

Offer competitive pay for replacement staff.

Upgrade technological capabilities at the homes, including electronic medical records and Wi-Fi capability, to allow better communication, including telehealth consultations.

'Deficient basic medical care' persists: DOJ slams New Jersey over COVID deaths at veterans homes, residents still at high risk

'Residents did not, and still do not, receive the level of care they are entitled to,' report says

The report also focused on staff members' not reporting to work from March to late-April 2020. Paramus had a 100% increase in call-out rates, and Menlo Parks rate spiked to a 480% increase.

Morale had plummeted at the homes, with constant distrust between workers and management. Staffers feared for their lives and were afraid of bringing COVID home to their families. Not only did staffers not have access to face masks and other personal protective equipment, but some were being disciplined for wearing masks from home because managers thought it would scare residents.

Lawyers, including those in Gov. Phil Murphy's office, began devising penalties for staffers who took masks from the homes' supplies without approval. One Menlo Park employee told commission investigators that some workers wore plastic bags over their heads at the beginning of the pandemic. At least two staff members died from COVID  one in Paramus and another at Menlo Park.

Six months after the pandemic began, Murphy fired four top Department of Military and Veterans Affairs officials, including the commissioner and the CEOs of both homes. He replaced the head of the agency with a physician, Brig. Gen. Lisa Hou, and hired consultants to run the top managerial spots of the homes.

The Justice Department report from last month said the homes have not improved despite calls for reforms and that they continue to provide "deficient basic medical care" in areas such as preventing falls and treating wounds properly.

While the latest report does not address current conditions at the home, it states that its findings bolster the Justice Department's conclusions that "residents did not, and still do not, receive the level of care they are entitled to from the State of New Jersey."

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: New Jersey veterans homes deaths report says change oversight
FILE - This June 3, 2019 file photo shows the memorial site honoring victims of a mass shooting that took place on May 31, 2019 at the Virginia Beach Municipal Center in Virginia Beach, Va. A state commission tasked with investigating the 2019 mass shooting in Virginia Beach has called for numerous changes to how Virginia and its communities respond to mass shootings. (L. Todd Spencer/The Virginian-Pilot via AP, File)

NORFOLK, Va. (AP)  A state commission has called for numerous changes to how Virginia and its communities respond to mass shootings, from establishing a victims' fund to teaching people how to slow bleeding before paramedics arrive.

But the panel's final report on a 2019 mass shooting at a Virginia Beach government building offered little information that was new or overtly critical of how the massacre was handled.

A city engineer had killed 12 people and wounded four others before police fatally shot him. The shooter, DeWayne Craddock, had legally purchased six guns in the three years before the rampage, including the two .45-caliber pistols that were used, authorities said.

The FBIs Behavioral Analysis Unit found in 2021 the shooting was motivated by perceived workplace grievances. However, the agency cautioned that no person or group was in a position to see the confluence of behaviors that may have forewarned the attack.

Before its public release this week, family members of some victims saw the commission's final report as their last chance at accountability. They have alleged a failure by supervisors in Craddock's office to recognize warning signs in a toxic workplace.

Instead, the document mostly contained recommendations to state lawmakers on how to better prevent and respond to future violence, including in government workplaces.

For example, the commission said the state should require local governments to have emergency action plans, while first responders should have access to all parts of any government building. In 2019, Virginia Beach police could not confront the gunman at one point because they lacked second-floor key cards.

The report acknowledged the commission's limitations as an investigative body. Obstacles included no subpoena power to interview city employees as well as a lack of adequate funding.

A commission that investigated the 2007 massacre at Virginia Tech had a $460,000 budget and eight pro-bono lawyers, the report stated. The Virginia Beach commission had no pro-bono lawyers and a $38,500 budget.

The panel lacked "the resources to bring in specialists for consultations in the fields of psychology, security, human resources, or lawyers who specialize in handling mass shootings, the report stated.

The commission initially had 21 members, which led to scheduling challenges and canceled meetings. Virginias Attorney General lambasted the commission in December, citing its overall dysfunction and the resignation of nearly half its members.

Ryant Washington, the commission's chair, did not immediately respond to a LinkedIn message seeking comment.

David Cariens, a commission member who resigned before the final report's release, said the panel failed.

The legislature said investigate, said Cariens, who left in part over the commission's lack of investigatory powers. What was produced is not an investigation. It is a college term paper.

Unlike some reports that have followed other mass shootings, the Virginia Beach document does not consider the matter of gun restrictions, said James Alan Fox , a Northeastern University professor of criminology, law and public policy.

They didnt take up the sort of elephant in the room, which is the adequacy of Virginias gun laws, said Fox, who oversees a mass shootings database that's compiled by The Associated Press, USA Today and Northeastern University.

States that have bans on large capacity magazines tend to have significantly fewer casualties ... when there is a mass shooting, Fox added, noting that Virginia lacks the restriction.

Much of the 16-page report focused on the need for more training and planning among police, paramedics and municipal workers.

For example, it asked the state to fund instruction for first responders on the emotional complexity of survivors of mass shootings.

Families and survivors of the Virginia Beach mass shooting reported mishandling in dealing with families and survivors, the report stated.

The commission said the state also should consider creating a mass violence fund that guarantees medical care for victims. Local governments also should boost knowledge in how to slow blood loss. The report cited the federal training program, You Are the Help Until Help Arrives.

Jason Nixon, whose wife Kate was killed in the shooting, said he hoped the commission would have held city officials in Virginia Beach accountable for what he said was a toxic workplace.

There are some good things in there that can help other families in the future," he said. "But the whole point of the investigation was to have accountability.

Tiffany Russell, a Virginia Beach city spokesperson, said the city was still reviewing the report. But she said it will assess the recommendations and determine what actions can implemented.

Russell noted that the city's human resources department implemented a centralized system in January 2021 for tracking incidents of potential workplace violence and complaint investigations. Such as a system was not in place when the shooting occurred on May 31, 2019.
Two major transit organizations have received dozens of reports about bed bugs in recent weeks, the French transport minister said. Lucien Libert/Reuters

The Parisian government is sending in sniffer dogs to detect bed bugs on public transportation.

The move comes after the French transportation minister said there were dozens of bed bug reports.

Bed bugs have also been spotted in movie theaters and a major airport in recent weeks.

Parisians might be sleeping tight, but it's getting hard not to let the bed bugs bite.

Over the past several weeks, reports of bed bugs throughout Paris have skyrocketed. Residents and visitors all over the city have reported the blood-sucking creatures in movie theaters, subway cars, and the Charles-de-Gaulle airport, Insider previously reported.

Now, reports of bed bugs on public transport are getting so bad that the government is sending in sniffer dogs to hunt down the pests on Paris' trains and subway cars.

Clement Beaune, France's transport minister, said Wednesday his department would send in the dogs following an emergency meeting with major transportation operators in the city, according to translations from The Guardian.

Beaune told reporters that travelers have reported dozens of sightings to the city's public transport operator and the national rail operator, though they have not yet confirmed any cases.

Online videos appear to show bed bugs crawling over seats on a commuter train and on the Paris Metro, Insider previously reported.

Beaune also told reporters his agency would start publishing data on the bed bug threat every three months.

"Total transparency will bring total confidence," Beaune said, according to a translation from The Guardian.

With Paris Fashion Week just coming to a close on Tuesday and the city gearing up to host the 2024 Summer Olympics in just nine months, several travelers are now afraid of visiting Paris, Insider previously reported.

Read the original article on Insider
Crews lay out miles of flexible pipeline to help supply fresh water to Jefferson Parish as salt water slowly moves up the Mississippi River on Wednesday, Oct. 4, 2023, in Marrero, La. A mass inflow of salt water from the Gulf of Mexico creeping up the drought-stricken Mississippi River is threatening drinking water supplies in Louisiana. (Chris Granger,/The Times-Picayune/The New Orleans Advocate via AP) (ASSOCIATED PRESS)

NEW ORLEANS (AP)  Salt water inching up the Mississippi River from the Gulf of Mexico is progressing more slowly than projected, authorities said Thursday, meaning water systems in the greater New Orleans area that draw drinking water from the river have additional weeks to prepare.

For some small systems downriver, the projected arrival of salt water was pushed back to later this month. For New Orleans and neighboring Jefferson Parish the threat to water system intakes was pushed back from late October to late November. And intakes for large portions of the city and Jefferson Parish now are not expected to see salinity above 250 parts per million, a level that triggers health warnings.

Unexpected October or November rains could further delay and diminish the threat, said Col. Cullen Jones, commander of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' New Orleans District.

Typically, the Mississippis flow is sufficient to prevent salt water from moving far upstream. But for the second year in a ro w, hot and dry weather has lowered the river, allowing a denser, heavier layer of salt water from the Gulf to push inland.

State, local and federal officials discussed the latest projections at a news conference at the Corps' New Orleans headquarters. Jones cited two factors in the latest projections: an underwater sill downriver has succeeded in impeding the heavy salt water's flow upriver; and weather and river forecasts, while still showing a continued drop in the river's usual downriver flow, are more optimistic.

Salt water that overtops the underwater sill is still lower in salinity than the water behind the sill toward the Gulf, Jones said.

This updated projection is clearly a relief to all of us, said Collin Arnold, New Orleans emergency director.

Salt water already has reached some Plaquemines Parish communities closer to the river's mouth  Boothville, Port Sulphur and Pointe a la Hache. But communities such as Belle Chasse, Dalcourt and St. Bernard have gained another week or two to prepare. In the immediate New Orleans metro area, people who had been told their systems would be threatened by late October saw projections pushed back to Nov. 23 and beyond.

Officials said multiple efforts to provide safe water to the downriver systems continue, including barging large amounts of fresh water to the intakes and installing better filtration systems. For the heavily populated parts of New Orleans and neighboring Jefferson Parish, where barging water is not practical, plans continue for pipelines to shunt fresh water from farther upriver.

For New Orleans alone, the pipe system costs have been projected at $150 million to $250 million. Local and state authorities expect much of the cost to be covered by the federal government. President Joe Biden said late last month that federal disaster assistance would be made available to Louisiana.

Jones stressed that even the updated projections are worst-case scenarios. The threat could be further delayed and diminished if rain is added to the forecast for October and November.

State health officer Dr. Joseph Kanter used a familiar Gulf Coast analogy, likening the changed projection to a tropical storm altering its course in the Gulf.

In addition to being unsafe to consume, salt water poses another health threat in that it can corrode pipes. It's especially a problem in older systems, like the one in New Orleans, that still have lead pipes in some areas.

According to the Sewerage & Water Board of New Orleans, the majority of water mains in the city center were installed prior to 1940. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, homes built before 1986 are more likely to have lead pipes. Many homes built before the 1986 Safe Drinking Water Act have either lead pipes or lead solder in the plumbing systems.

Exacerbating problems posed by a diminished river flow is sea level rise.

The sea level around New Orleans is rising at a rate of as much as 9 millimeters per year, or three feet (91 centimeters) each century, much higher than the global average and the highest rate measured in the United States, according to experts at NOAAs Center for Operational Oceanographic Products and Services. That is because the Gulf Coast region is a hotspot of subsidence, the experts said, meaning land is sinking even as the sea level rises.

___

Associated Press reporters Stephen Smith in New Orleans, Mary Katherine Wildeman in Hartford, Connecticut, and Camille Fassett in Seattle contributed to this report.
The US Army is deliberating whether it would hand down disciplinary actions against Pvt. Travis King after he crossed over into North Korea last July.

King has since returned to the US, and experts told CNN it is possible he could be charged under the Uniform Code of Military Justice. Specifically, he might be charged under Article 85 for desertion or Article 86 for going absent without leave (AWOL).

However, it is yet unclear if the Army would take such a step.

Army Secretary Christine Wormuth said Tuesday (October 3) that any punishment King could face would come from his chain of command after he completed the reintegration process at Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio, Texas.

Prior to crossing the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), King already faced criminal charges and was prosecuted by a court martial by the Army in South Korea.

Previous reports about King said that he was expected to be administratively separated from the military after being found guilty in a court-martial hearing related to assault and other charges.

Read Also: Statement from the US Department of State Regarding the Return of Travis King from North Korea

Army May Want to Avoid Full Trial, Defense Expert Says

According to Mark Cancian, a retired Marine Corps colonel and senior advisor at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, the Army might want to easily discharge King and not go through a full trial.

"If they were going to do another trial, they have to assign them to a unit wherever he is," he added. "[H]e'd have to go to work every day for however long it [takes] to get the court martial together, and then hold the court-martial, and then have all the materials reviewed because all that has to go to headquarters of the Army, so could be six months, could be longer."

Another factor in the Army's potential decision with King could be what information he was able to provide North Korea.

Retired US Air Force judge advocate and Southwestern Law School military law expert Rachel VanLandingham referred to the case of Bowe Bergdahl, who pleaded guilty in 2017 to desertion and misbehavior before the enemy after he walked off post in Afghanistan in 2009 and was captured by the Taliban.

Officials who debriefed Bergdahl when he returned to US custody emphasized in his trial how cooperative he was in sharing information about the Taliban and his time in their custody.

An official from the Pentagon's Joint Personnel Recovery Agency testified that Bergdahl was an "extremely cooperative participant" in his debriefs after returning to the US. One intelligence analyst also described the information he provided to the US as "a gold mine."

"Those are factors that could impact court-martial - what he's doing right now and how cooperative he is with folks he's debriefing with on the intelligence side," she said.

However, Cancian argued it was "unlikely" King had any intelligence that would be of particular value given that his captivity was not very long.

"I just don't think they want this guy around," he added, referring to King's misconduct issues in South Korea. "My guess is they're going to process him out as quickly as they can."

Related Article: North Korea Expels Travis King 2 Months After Crossing Peninsula's DMZ, US Officials Say

@ 2023 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
A growing chorus of Republicans are demanding the House change or get rid of the rule that paved the way for former Speaker Kevin McCarthy s (R-Calif.) ouster this week.

McCarthy was removed from the top spot in a 216-210 vote on whats known as a motion to vacate, making him the first Speaker ever to be ousted by the House. All House Democrats and eight Republicans voted to remove the Speakers gavel from the California Republican.

As part of the dramatic, 15-ballot election that handed McCarthy the gavel in January, the former Speaker agreed to lower the threshold to force a vote on a motion to vacate from five to one  which allowed Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) to single-handedly call for the vote this week.

Now, Republicans furious at the mutiny want to make sure that cant happen again.

Rep. Carlos Gimenez (R-Fla.) said Wednesday he will withhold support for a new Speaker candidate until the motion to vacate is reformed.

Im not supporting ANYONE for Speaker until there is a commitment to reform the Motion to Vacate, Gimenez said in a post on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter. The coup against Speaker McCarthy was DESPICABLE & must never happen again. No one can govern effectively while being threatened by fringe hostage lawmakers.

Calling the motion to vacate a toddler security blanket, Rep. Kelly Armstrong (R-N.D.) said the cost for his vote for Speaker is a change to the rule.

Apparently the motion to vacate is now a toddler security blanket. Well, were grown up, we need to take it away, Armstrong said Tuesday on CNBC.

Armstrong told The Hill he is flexible on what the change to the rule would look like.

My answer is, I want to know how the next Speaker is going to ensure what happened yesterday never happens again, Armstrong said.

Armstrongs comments echo those from the Main Street Caucus, a prominent House GOP caucus of more than five dozen members, which said the current House rules will keep a chokehold on the lower chamber.

The ability for one person to vacate the Speaker of the House will keep a chokehold on this body through 2024, the group wrote in a statement Wednesday morning. Personal politics should never again be used to trump the will of 96 percent of House conservatives. Any candidate for Speaker must explain to us how what happened on Tuesday will never happen again.

The 96 percent is in reference to McCarthys comments Tuesday night, where he pointed out 4 percent of the Republican conference can join Democrats and dictate who can be the Republican Speaker.

Centrist Republican Rep. Mike Lawler (N.Y.) indicated a change to the process needs to be made, though he did not detail exactly what that might include.

No Speaker should have this proverbial gun to their head when trying to do the right thing by the American people, especially in a divided government, Lawler told reporters Wednesday. Theres a reality that some folks just dont seem to grasp and I think moving forward, there needs to be change.

Even Senate leaders are weighing in on the issue, including Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), who called on the next Speaker to get rid of the motion to vacate, warning the rule will make the next Speakers job impossible.

McConnell told reporters Wednesday that he didnt have much advice to give House GOP lawmakers, but that they should give the next Speaker more job security.

I hope whoever the next Speaker is gets rid of the motion to vacate, he said.

The House is tasked with making its own rules, which are largely based on Jeffersons Manual, which the House adopted in 1837 as its first set of rules. While a lot of the contents have remained the same throughout the years, the House has the ability to change the rules with a majority vote.

It wasnt immediately clear when such a rules vote could take place or if it could get enough support to pass.

Prior to Tuesdays vote, a motion to vacate the Speakership was made on only two occasions, neither of which were successful. In 1910, the House voted on whether to remove then-Speaker John Cannon, who secured enough votes to keep the gavel.

In 2015, then-Rep. Mark Meadows (R-N.C.) field a motion to oust then-Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio), which was referred to committee and never received a vote.

Emily Brooks and Alexander Bolton contributed.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KFOR.com Oklahoma City.
He has been the most prolific fundraiser in House Republican history.

The unprecedented ouster this week of Speaker Kevin McCarthy raises plenty of question marks for the House GOP as it aims to hold its fragile majority in the chamber in the 2024 elections.

"It will 100% be a setback," predicted a Republican in McCarthy's political orbit, who asked to remain anonymous to speak more freely.

A GOP strategist involved in congressional races, who asked for anonymity, warned that "House Republicans are going to need to pick up the pieces quickly of what was the most impressive fundraising organization we have seen in politics if they want to be successful in 2024."

HEAD HERE FOR THE LATEST FOX NEWS REPORTING ON THE OUSTER OF KEVIN MCCARTHY AS HOUSE SPEAKER

Republican Rep. Kevin McCarthy of California, who was ousted as House speaker, at the US Capitol in Washington, DC, on Tuesday, Oct. 3, 2023.

The speaker's removal has already caused a ripple in the GOP's fundraising efforts. The National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC), the main fundraising arm for the House GOP, will postpone a fall gala that was scheduled for next week that McCarthy was slated to headline, Fox News confirmed Wednesday. Organizers said Republicans needed to focus on electing a new speaker instead.

READ ON THE FOX NEWS APP

McCarthy, a former state lawmaker from California who was first elected to the House 17 years ago and who's been in GOP leadership in the chamber since 2009, long had a reputation as a top Republican fundraiser, even before he became speaker.

As minority leader, McCarthy helped party defy expectations in the 2020 elections by taking a big bite out of Democrats House majority  despite Democrats winning the White House. He personally hauled in $150 million in the last election cycle to help Republicans win back the House majority.

WHAT THE WHITE HOUSE IS SAYING ABOUT THE HOUSE SPEAKER SAGA

But after Republicans gained the House majority in last Novembers midterms, McCarthy still had to secure his partys backing as he clawed his way through an historic 15-ballot speakership election over five days at the beginning of the year.

Former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich and Then-House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) watch election results in a room with staffers at the Madison Hotel in Washington, D.C. on November 8, 2022.

That fight set back fundraising efforts, but McCarthy quickly made up for lost time as he hauled in an eye-popping $12.3 million at his first major fundraiser, which was held in early February at a downtown D.C. hotel.

As speaker, he hauled in a whopping $62.5 million during the first six months of the year through the McCarthy Victory Fund.

"It is a huge question mark," said another Republican operative who works on House races. "Hes a very prolific fundraiser. He was our best asset in that arena."

The operative, who also asked to remain anonymous to speak more freely, noted that "its really hard to know that the practical impact will be. We dont know who the next leader is going to be and what their fundraising capacity is like."

While the GOP captured the House majority last year, hopes of a red wave never materialized and the party is holding onto a fragile 222-213 majority (currently 221-212 with seats in a red district and a blue district currently vacant. That means Democrats need a net gain of just five seats to win back control of the chamber next year.

"I intend to make sure that we gain and keep the majority in the next cycle," McCarthy vowed at a news conference on Tuesday after he was booted from the speakership.

Veteran Republican strategist and former National Republican Congressional Committee national press secretary Jesse Hunt noted that when it comes to fundraising going forward, "there seems to be a pretty good existing apparatus there, and Im sure McCarthy and members of the current leadership will try to help make the transition as seamless as possible."

Then-House GOP Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-California) campaigns with Republican congressional nominee Bo Hines, on August 9, 2022 in Raleigh, North Carolina

While Republicans focused on the 2024 House elections acknowledge the ousting of McCarthy's a distraction, they counter that they still enjoy an "amazing" political environment, with leading issues such as the economy, border security, and crime that polling suggests favors the GOP.

"We have a message that works and Joe Bidens unpopular. We have a lot going for us," the Republican operative said.

They also point to their 2024 recruitment class "that's on the field already," which McCarthy had a hand in shaping.

"Weve got good pieces on the chess board and weve got a good message to talk about," the operative added.

Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.





Original article source: Republicans sweat about future fundraising for 2024 House elections after McCarthy's downfall
It all started with Hunga Tonga-Hunga Haapai.

This underwater volcano in the Pacific nation of Tonga erupted violently in Jan. 2022, setting in motion unusual tsunami effects. As a result, tsunami researchers studied the energy released from the eruption and its effects on the ocean and atmosphere. They worked to improve models and give communities better warning for future events.

Results from the studies, led by scientists at the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology (OIST) in Japan, appeared in the Journal of Fluid Mechanics earlier this year.

The report described their new model, which can provide real-time, improved accuracy predictions about tsunamis, according to an OIST news release.

The events triggered in Tonga were no ordinary tsunamis. And even though Tongans had prepared responses, these tsunami effects took people by surprise.

In a classic tsunami, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) explained, there is a huge displacement of water due to rapid movement of the seabed brought on by earthquake or volcano.

In Tonga, the volcano also unleashed a dramatic pressure wave in the atmosphere that sent a first ripple of ocean water radiating outward much faster than the main tsunami.

Atmospheric wave response to Tonga eruption, from 4 UTC to 10:50 UTC. Slightly smoothed 10-minute change in GOES-17 band 13 (IR). Looks like some modest filtering would pull out a really clear signal. pic.twitter.com/CHZY7iv4HH  Dr. Mathew Barlow (@MathewABarlow) January 16, 2022

The USGS compared average tsunami speeds to a commercial airplanes, but the atmospheric shockwaves sent out from Tonga were nearer the speed of sound reached by supersonic jets.

This meant that, for example, the first atmosphere-driven waves arrived in Japan about two hours earlier than predicted. Also, these atmosphere-influenced waves were reported around the world, even in seas that would normally have been blocked from the tsunami by landmasses.

The new research focused on these unfashionably early waves and the interactions of sea and atmosphere.

Its important to know how the atmospheric wave changes in time to make accurate predictions that would be of use for warning systems, said Stephen Winn, a study co-author, for the news release.

In addition to helping for tsunami preparation, the new model  developed using advanced coding and a supercomputer  could help address surges caused by hurricanes and tropical storms. These weather effects are intensifying as the planet warms.

With our model, we can explore what might happen to the water flow as it approaches the coast, Emile Touber, the teams lead researcher, said in the news release. This can help [people] decide on the kind of coastal defense systems that should be put in place for storm related surges.

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Retailers hoped to save big on labor costs by introducing self-checkout lanes.

Recent moves from the biggest retailers suggest it's proving harder than expected.

It seems many stores still need real people to help customers with their purchases.

Self-checkout may not be the money-saving " revolution " some retailers were hoping for.

More than 30 years after the introduction of self-checkout and its promises of labor-cost savings, the tech has become ubiquitous in stores across the US.

Now, retailers including Costco, Walmart, and Kroger are rethinking some of their self-checkout strategies. Some are finding they still need employees to combat theft, assist with purchases, review IDs, and check receipts.

Costco, for example, has started asking staff to check membership cards in the self-checkout lanes, as well as assist with scanning items.

Shoppers using membership cards that don't belong to them is a more serious issue for Costco than shoplifting. Dominick Reuter/Insider

The company said the move would help crack down on shoppers improperly sharing memberships at self-checkout registers. Costco relies on membership fees for most of its profit.

Walmart said last week it was pulling self-checkout from at least three stores in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and replacing the lanes with traditional staffed registers.

The company didn't elaborate on reasons for the change and said it had no plans for "widespread" removal of self-checkout.

Walmart started rolling out a hybrid approach to self-checkout in 2020. The redesigned checkout zones replaced traditional lanes with a staffed corral of kiosks where shoppers could opt to scan and pay on their own or have a worker do it for them.

Walmart's redesigned checkout zones do away with traditional lanes in favor of staffed kiosks. Walmart

A press release touted the redesign's human touch.

"In this new layout, you get greeted from the entranceway and helped all the way through the whole process," a store manager said in a release. "We will go to any register, and we will help you in any fashion you want, whether it's checking out one item or all the items. Any questions you have, we're right there for you."

This embedded content is not available in your region.

Kroger, meanwhile, is going all in on self-checkout in at least one store where it's no longer offering traditional registers. But Kroger told Retail Dive the change didn't result in labor cuts, and it still had front-end staff to assist with scanning and bagging groceries.

This isn't exactly the labor-minimizing tech retailers were promised.

Kroger and Costco didn't respond to a request from Insider for additional details on their self-checkout strategies. A Walmart spokesperson said the company continues to review and adjust its procedures as needed.

Retailers invest in tech to monitor self-checkout theft

Industry estimates suggest inventory losses can rise by 31% to 60%  or more  depending on the number of self-checkout stations used in a store.

Matt Kelley, a loss-prevention expert who worked in asset protection at Home Depot, told Insider last year that self-checkout forced retailers to make a trade-off between labor-cost savings and the increased expense of theft.

"Inherently, that means there's going to be less eyes on a transaction," Kelley, who's now with LiveView Technologies, added at the time. "And there's going to be more of an opportunity for the dishonest people to be dishonest."

Walmart and Kroger use sophisticated video-monitoring and sensor tech to track merchandise through stores and self-checkout lanes. But some shoppers told Insider they still saw unpaid items pass without raising alarm.

Missed or skipped scans are not always intentional  people and machines make mistakes. In any case, the solution appears to be the same: assigning employees to monitor and assist customers.

Christopher Andrews, a Drew University sociologist who wrote "The Overworked Consumer," told CNN last year that, far from being the autonomous money collectors retailers were hoping for, self-checkout stations required supervision, maintenance, and IT support.

Self-checkout "delivers none of what it promises," he told the outlet.

To be sure, many retailers are still investing in the technology. But some appear to be reconsidering how they use it and whether to bring more humans into the process so it runs smoothly.

Read the original article on Business Insider
It's always good to consult an expert on products for your specific concerns.

It's always good to consult an expert on products for your specific concerns.

Despitetheonslaught of skin care products that fall in and out of favor, retinol has stubbornly persisted. Ive always been hesitant to try anything with retinol in it because not every product on beauty lists is made with darker skin tones in mind.

Several years ago, however, my dermatologist prescribed a common retinol-adjacent medicine, Tretinoin, to treat my moderate acne. He instructed me to use a small amount and sent me on my way. I followed the instructions on the label: Apply to the affected area twice daily. And while it did clear up bumpy whiteheads, I also developed dry white patches and discoloration on my chin, around my mouth and on my cheeks. It was a very unpleasant side effect.

For theuninitiated, retinol is a Vitamin A derivative commonly used for treating acne and to reduce the look of aging. Tretinoin uses a synthetic version of Vitamin A and is reported to be slightly stronger; its also the most commonly prescribed retinol product.

After two weeks, I gave up and assumed that retinoids  the umbrella term for Vitamin A-based products  did not work well on Black and brown skin. But after doing a little research, I saw that many beauty influencers of color have used retinol products successfully. What gives?

When I shared my personal experience with Dr. Angela J. Lamb, a dermatologist and director of the Westside Mount Sinai Dermatology Faculty Practice in New York, she explained that building up to the recommended dosage is crucial, especially on skin of color. When she recommends any retinol regimen to her patients, she instructs them to start with a pea-sized amount of the medicine for their entire face and then increase from there if its working well.

I always start them on the lowest dose, and then I also have them apply it on top of moisturizer because you often need a barrier while your skin is getting used to it, she says. I loved the idea of a gentle, protective cocktail versus a straight-up slather.

Lamb is among a relatively small number of Black dermatologists in the U.S.  they make up 3% of all U.S. dermatologists  and I found her to be profoundly knowledgeable on the topic of nurturing darker skin tones and all the beautiful caveats that accompany our complexions. To be fair, all board-certified dermatologists learn about treating people of all skin tones and types, but the lack of representation in dermatology is also why many skin conditions that Black and brown people experience go under-treated or undiagnosed. Its so frustrating that many of us turn to natural remedies that are not backed by research and can sometimes cause more harm to our bodies.

Tiara Willis, a New York City-based aesthetician and skin educator, tells me that most of her clients are Black women, specifically ones dealing with skin corrective issues. Many of Willis clients have been prescribed cream with retinoids. What I found was they didnt really know how to use it. So not that Tretinoin is bad, but its an intense medication, she explains.

Retinoids have been around since the 1970s and have been associated with some of dermatologys original acne research. There are different brand names and compound names, but much of the basic science is the same. Lamb explains they are lauded as a great preventative acne treatment because they accelerate skin cell turnover so that sticky skin cells arent able to pile up, clog your pores and cause acne. They are also believed to increase collagen production, which reduces the appearance of wrinkles.

Lamb and Willis agree that there is a lot of good, consistent science behind the medicine and it is ideal for all skin complexions  when used correctly, of course. It can also help balance out uneven skin tone or pigmentation issues many Black and brown people experience because of the abundance of melanin in our skin. There are so many benefits to Tretinoin we really do try to get people to be able to tolerate it. If they cant, there are alternatives, Lamb said.

Another retinoid option is Differin gel, which as of 2016 is available over the counter. I vaguely remember the TV commercials  back when you needed a prescription for it  where an already porcelain-skinned actress would daintily dot on the clear gel with her fingertips as the camera panned to a white and green tube. It made me wonder if the products we can get without a prescription are simply less effective dupes.

Over-the-counter retinol is just equally as effective; it can just take longer to get results [when] compared to a prescription, explains celebrity aesthetician Shani Darden. Ten years ago, Darden, who has contributed to the eternally ethereal glow of Kelly Rowland, created her own products to provide clients with all the beautifying effects of prescription retinol minus the harsh side effects. The most recent is a serum that contains a mix of supplementary compounds such as lactic acid and apple extract. Darden tells me that the goal of adding these, in particular, is to create a slower, controlled release of the retinols properties. She recommends using retinoids only at night (as many skin experts do), which makes sense since that is when the body does most of its repairing.

And because prescription retinol can disrupt the skins natural moisture barrier and make the skin dry and irritated, it might benefit some of us  those with darker skin tones and/or sensitive skin  to try the Retinol-lite route first. And a little guidance from a professional is always best if you have that option.

If youre new to retinoids and are intrigued by high-potency or prescription-grade options, a session with a dermatologist will be the best place to start, said Deborah Kilgore, global director of skin care knowledge at Paulas Choice. This advice is true for everyone but its particularly important for darker skin tones which can be more susceptible to irritations that could escalate into issues, like post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation.

So it turns out that its totally fine for people of my skin tone to use retinol  I just need to take a more cautious approach. It should be noted that there are vegan retinol options, but retinoids shouldnt be used while pregnant or breastfeeding. Also, dermatologists recommend everyone give the treatment a break two weeks prior to waxing, chemical peels, micro-needling or laser hair removal treatments.

Last thing for all my fellow brown-skinned girlies (of all genders): Resist conducting TikTok-inspired experiments, including the one where you can supposedly regrow stressed edges and receding hairlines by combining Tretinoin with minoxidil. If youre curious about something you see online, ask a dermatologist.

Retinol might just be the It Girl of skin care even for darker skin tones  especially when used in conjunction with patience and sunscreen (the compounds can cause photosensitivity). While melanin-rich skin does boast innate sun-protecting properties, this defense is minimal at best, Kilgore adds. By applying sunscreen liberally and daily, youre not just protecting against the suns potential harms but also guarding against future concerns including skin cancer.

Will I give retinol another chance this fall and winter? Absolutely  and Ill be slathering my face with a nice moisturizer first. Whoever said Black and brown dont crack was only half right. We have to be selective when choosing our products and build sustainable regimens that enhance our timeless glow.
Anti-vaccine activist and Democratic presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. could pull votes from about 1 in 7 U.S. voters, a Reuters/Ipsos poll found.

Kennedy is expected to leave the Democratic race against President Biden and announce he is running as an independent candidate next week, Reuters reported. In doing so, he could potentially draw votes away from Biden and his likely Republican challenger former President Trump in the upcoming election.

While both are front-runners in their parties, polling shows neither Biden nor Trump are receiving enthusiasm from voters about being the likely nominees. The survey asked respondents, between Biden and Trump, whom they would vote for if the election was held tomorrow. The front-runners tied, each receiving 35 percent.

In a race that is expected to be decided by a handful of states, Kennedy entering the mix complicates the outcome for both Biden and Trump.

In a hypothetical three-way match-up, Kennedy earned 14 percent, while Biden fell to 31 percent and Trump dropped to 33 percent. About 9 percent said they werent going to vote in the 2024 presidential election and 13 percent said they werent sure whom they would vote for.

Kennedy, son and namesake of the assassinated Democratic New York senator and nephew of former President John F. Kennedy , belongs to a family with strong ties to the American political system and benefits from a well-known name.

While he hasnt made much headway against the Democratic front-runner, Kennedy has appealed to some Democratic voters and has the potential to gain traction among Republicans, as well.

More respondents in the poll said they had a favorable view of Kennedy than an unfavorable view. Nearly half, 48 percent, of respondents said they had a favorable view of the lawyer, beating Biden and Trumps 40 percent each. Comparatively, 38 percent said they had an unfavorable view of Kennedy, and 14 percent said they had never heard of him.

In his second-quarter filings, Kennedy reportedly brought in a total $6 million for his campaign, $3 million of which was financed in a three-day stretch.

The Reuters/Ipsos poll was conducted Oct. 3-4 online and surveyed 1,005 adults nationwide with a margin of error of 4 percentage points.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Rheinmetall has received an order "in the two-digit million-euro range" from the German government to supply Ukraine with mobile drone surveillance systems, the arms manufacturer announced on Oct. 5.

The Estonian-designed SurveilSpire system can monitor and automatically engage enemy drones, Rheinmetall's press release said.

SurveilSpire systems "include mobile surveillance towers with day and night vision camera equipment, autopiloted mini-drones, and a command and control system," according to the arms manufacturer.

Assembly of the system requires just three people and can be connected to 4G or Starlink connections for remote video transmission to a command post, Rheinmetall said.

The systems are highly mobile, as they can be can be loaded onto trailers and transported to where needed.

"Transport vehicles are also included in the scope of delivery," Rheinmetall added.

The designer of the system, Estonian defense company DefSecIntel, describes SurveilSpire as an autonomous platform with "built-in AI detection software," able to "conduct fully automated operations in different weather conditions."

Solar panels mean that the system does not require a connection to a power line or fuel.

Rheinmetall is producing a range of weapons for Ukraine. In August, the company confirmed that it would be ready to deliver a Luna New Generation reconnaissance drone system to Ukraine over the course of 2023.

On Sept. 11, Rheinmetall announced it would deliver 40 more Marder infantry fighting vehicles (IFV) based on an order placed by the German government in August.

This brings the total number of Marder vehicles to be supplied by Rheinmetall to Ukraine on Germany's commission to 80, with the first 20 shipped in March and another batch of 20 ordered in June, which are currently being overhauled and delivered.

On Sept. 28, Germany's regulatory agency approved plans to set up a joint venture in Kyiv between Rheinmetall and Ukrainian Defense Industry, Ukraine's state-owned defense company.

Read also: Investigation: Baltic-registered crypto firms service payments for Russian private army, allow sanctions evasion

Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent.
The ladies of the 305 are back with a brand new season of drama, fashion and sun.

Grab those mojitos, The Real Housewives of Miami is back! The popular Real Housewives franchise returns this fall, with some emotional revelations in the group of Miami girls, including Guerdy Abrairas fight with breast cancer.

Guerdy Abraira of The Real Housewives of Miami. (Photo by Gizelle Hernandez/Bravo)

As theGrio previously reported, The Real Housewives of Miami was the first official reboot in the popular Real Housewives franchise, coming back to fans in 2021 after 8 years off the air. That season saw returning faces (Larsa Pippen, Alexia Echevarria, Lisa Hochstein, Adriana de Moura and Marysol Patton) mixed with newbies (Guerdy Abraira, Julia Lemigova, Dr. Nicole Martin and Kiki Barth).

The recipe, which aired on Peacock exclusively for seasons 4 and 5, proved to be a success for the franchise, so much so that for the upcoming 6th season, the Miami women are returning home: RHOM will once again air on Bravo, streaming on Peacock the next day.

The trailer for season 6 wastes no time bringing fans back into the lavish and spicy world of South Beach, Miami, infusing plenty of signature drama with some powerful personal moments. In one emotional moment, Abraira reveals her breast cancer diagnosis to some of the women. In the scene, they immediately rally around her, with de Moura telling her, its time for us to be there for you!

As theGrio previously reported, Abraira publicly revealed her diagnosis in May of this year, writing in an Instagram post that she will, guerdyfy this cancer as I guerdyfy everything else in my life, using her signature phrase. Despite her massive personal story, the event planner has plenty of drama with other women in the group, specifically with Pippen.

The Real Housewives of Miami season 6 cast. (Photo by Gizelle Hernandez/Bravo)

Calling Scottie Pippens ex a pathological liar, Abraira tells her, you lie about everything, to which Pippen responds, you gotta stop saying that because you are wrong! Pippen also brings her new beau, son of Michael Jordan Marcus Jordan, in front of the cameras this year. While recording what seems to be a podcast, Jordan asks, my dad  does he approve of our relationship? In case you missed it, Jordan publicly said no when TMZ asked him that exact question earlier this year.

Kiki Barth, a friend of the housewives, seems to also be in the thick of drama this season, clashing with Hochstein at the end of the trailer. Watch their fiery confrontation and the rest of the trailer below:

The Real Housewives of Miami returns with a supersized episode on Wednesday, Nov. 1 at 9 p.m. ET/PT on Bravo, with episodes streaming the next day on Peacock.

TheGrio is FREE on your TV via Apple TV, Amazon Fire, Roku and Android TV. Also, please download theGrio mobile apps today!

The post RHOM season 6 trailer: Guerdy Abraira tearfully reveals breast cancer diagnosis appeared first on TheGrio.
With the Polish parliamentary elections just around the corner, the country's rising far-right threaten Poland's relations with Ukraine in more ways than one.



The Confederation party, a contender for third place in the upcoming Oct. 15 elections, is a disrupting force that pushes the country's mainstream further and further to the fringe, setting the tone for Polish foreign policy.

Traditionally Kyivs most ardent and vocal ally, the Polish governments relationship with Ukraine has been recently marred by diplomatic spats and trade disputes.

The ruling right-wing Law and Justice party (PiS) is not only putting its foot down on Ukrainian grain imports but also chastises Kyiv for an apparent lack of gratitude for Polish support and plays on painful historical grievances.

This seemingly sudden change is not without cause  PiS is feeling the pressure of the Confederation, a far-right alliance fighting for the same voters and capitalizing on the creeping Ukraine fatigue.

At one point surging as high as 14% and, in the more recent polls, oscillating around 10%, some surveys place the "nationalist-libertarian coalition" party as potentially the third strongest candidate behind PiS's United Right coalition (37%) and the liberal Civic Coalition/Civic Platform (30%).

To halt the spilling of its voters to the more radical and hardline Confederation, PiS is forced to up the ante in its Poland first rhetoric and convince a significant part of its voter base that Law and Justice can protect their interests better than the far-right upstarts.

The ruling conservatives must also consider that the Confederations MPs may hold keys to the next government. With their hands likely on a strong result, the radicals may become the kingmakers of these elections, something that the current Polish government is well aware of.

Free market and chauvinism

The Confederation Liberty and Independence was formed ahead of the 2019 parliamentary elections as a coalition of nationalist, conservative, and libertarian political projects, winning around 6.8% and 11 MPs in Sejm, the lower house of the country's parliament.

The far-right group espouses hardline Euroscepticism, a tough stance on immigration, and is set to introduce reduced taxation and government spending. Its members have, however, also accumulated a substantial record of anti-semitic and racist statements.

As the Confederation is heading toward even stronger results in the October elections, its views on Ukraine raise worries regarding Warsaw and Kyivs future rapport.

In their program, the party stresses the primacy of Polands own interests when it comes to their eastern neighbors. The radicals also managed to hit the nerve on some of the most sensitive topics, including the dark legacy of the Volyhnia massacres committed by the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA) against the Poles during World War II.

Despite mutual efforts by both Ukrainian and Polish leaders to settle this painful chapter of the shared history, the topic of Volynhia, UPA, and its ideological leader, Stepan Bandera, keeps haunting Polish-Ukrainian relations.

Read also: Sawomir Sierakowski: Polands destructive grievance politics

These understandable sentiments are capitalized not only by Polands own radical groups but also by external forces seeking to drive a wedge between the two countries.

Lukasz Adamski, a historian, political scientist, and vice director of the Juliusz Mieroszewski Centre for Dialogue, points out that the Confederation is more closely connected to the organizations of Volyhnia victims relatives  an influential lobby in Polish politics  than other parties.

While being made up mostly of sincere Polish patriots, these groups have also been, to some extent, infiltrated by pro-Kremlin forces, Adamski said.

For example, a July demonstration at Ukraines embassy in Warsaw ahead of the 80th anniversary of the Volyhnia Massacre was organized by Krzysztof Tolwinski, who preaches reconciliation with Belarus and Russia amid the ongoing invasion of Ukraine.

The event was also attended by Mateusz Piskorski, a suspected Russian spy, and Leszek Sykulski, the founder of the pro-Russian Polish Anti-War Movement.

The rally's participants called for holding Ukraine responsible for Banderism and Nazism and urged to cut weapons supplies for Kyiv, a clear nod to Russian decades-long propaganda.

The Confederations own leading members are also no strangers to anti-Ukrainian or pro-Russian statements.

80-year-old Janusz Korwin-Mikke, one of the coalitions founding members notorious for anti-semitic and misogynist statements, has a history of defending Russian President Vladimir Putin and even questioned Russias responsibility for the Bucha Massacre.

In 2015, Korwin-Mikke visited Russian-occupied Crimea and met with Russian occupation authorities.

Firebrand Grzegorz Braun rallies against what he calls the Ukrainization of Poland by Ukrainian refugees and said he wants to seek reparations from Kyiv for the Volyhnia tragedy.

While these statements are likely to grab the media headlines, it is not the face that the Confederations younger party leaders wish to present to the public.

Michal Lebduska, a researcher at the Prague-based think-tank Association for International Affairs, said that figures like Korwin-Mikke or Braun are being pushed to the background as their ultraconservative rhetoric does more harm than good to the partys performance.

Instead, the Confederation focuses on younger male voters, namely entrepreneurs, using their libertarian platform and attacking PiS' populist spending on pensions or family benefits.

The partys 2019 presidential candidate, 41-year-old Krzysztof Bosak, denied that the Confederation would be pro-Russian and said that the party does not have any delusion about Russia.

The far-right coalition criticizes the scale of Warsaws support for Ukraine, branding it gullible and naive, but it does not call for cutting Ukraine support completely.

"I have no doubt that helping Ukraine, also militarily in some sphere which does not lower Poland's own military capabilities, is necessary," Confederation spokesperson Anna Brylka told Reuters.

Presidential candidate for the far-right coalition party, Confederation Liberty and Independence, Krzysztof Bosak delivers a speech for locals and supporters during a rally on June 13, 2020, in Krakow, Poland. (Photo credit: Omar Marques/Getty Images)

Adamski rejects branding the Confederation as pro-Russian, explaining their hardline stance toward Ukraine rather as an attempt to set the party apart from the mainstream politics, represented by both PiS and the rest of the opposition, namely Donald Tusk's liberal Civic Platform (PO).

This party (Confederation) is trying to get electorate support by using anti-mainstream political slogans and calling for transactional policy when it comes to Ukraine, and this is fundamentally different than being pro-Russian, Adamski said.

However, it remains unclear whether this shift toward more moderate, rational rhetoric reflects the partys actual policy goals or whether it is merely a play not to scare off potential voters during the campaign.

Some experts warn against underestimating the strength of the anti-Ukrainian strand among Confederations party members.

Wojciech Przybylski, the editor-in-chief of Visegrad Insight, noted that while younger leaders of the Confederation are effective at attracting younger electorate by effective PR and libertarian rhetoric, they have little to say on the security of foreign policy.

When it comes to foreign and security issues, Braun and Korwin-Mikke dictate the party agenda, Przybylski said, adding that these two figures, in fact, set the "value structure and hierarchy of the coalition.

Changing winds

In spite of the months of squabbles coming both from Polish and Ukrainian official channels, it is crucial to remember that the decisive majority of the Polish population remains supportive of Ukraine in the face of Russian aggression.

Nevertheless, polls show that the initial pro-Ukrainian fever from the first months of the war is cooling down. This shift is largely driven by war and refugee fatigue common for other countries supporting Ukraine.

With the enthusiasm of the first months slowly falling off, Polands public is shifting attention to the 1 million Ukrainian refugees who became their new neighbors.

According to surveys, the number of Poles decisively in favor of continued support for refugees dropped from 49% to 28% between January and June.

Around 60% of respondents said Ukrainian refugees should not have access to the same social benefits as Polish citizens, and over half are against providing them with free food and accommodation.

Lebduska adds that some of the traditional issues between Poles and Ukrainians, such as the aforementioned historical grievances or Polish negative stereotypes about Ukrainian migrant workers, subsided with the start of the full-scale invasion but are now slowly resurfacing.

As this mood swing played right into the hands of the Ukraine-skeptic Confederation, PiS was forced to adopt a more hardline stance toward Kyiv as well.

With the struggle for electoral support so intense that every one or two percentage points count, other parties are inclined to adopt certain slogans of the Confederation, Adamski said.

Read also: Sawomir Sierakowski: The strongest army in Europe?

In May, Lukasz Jasina, a spokesperson for the Polish Foreign Ministry, said that Kyiv had not done enough to accept responsibility for the Volyhnia Massacre, sparking outrage in Ukraine.

Polish Secretary of State and Head of the International Policy Bureau Marcin Przydacz sparked another diplomatic conflict in the summer when he said Ukraine should show more gratitude for Polands aid.

The tensions reached new heights following Warsaws decision to extend the ban on Ukrainian grain imports past Sept. 15, after which Ukraine said it will sue Poland at the World Trade Organization and threatened its own embargo against Polish products.

This strategy may have brought some fruit. In July, the Confederation peaked in the polls at 14%, and PiSs United Right polled at 35%. The more recent numbers show the far-right alliance dropping to around 10% and the ruling party slightly rising to 37%.

Even so, PiS is most likely still looking at a notably lower result than in the 2019 parliament elections (43.6%) and will need another partys support to secure a majority in the Sejm.

Given the convergence between the ruling conservatives and the Confederation on issues such as the EU or social issues, the far-right party appears to be the most logical choice for post-election negotiations.

As Ukraine-skeptic populists grain ground both in Europe and the U.S., there are concerns that the Confederation might drive Poland to join this trend, especially if PiS tries to accept the far-right as potential coalition partners.

Friends today, rivals tomorrow?

It remains to be seen what will be the result of the October vote, but despite the vitriol in the air, there is little prospect of a new right-to-far-right government spelling a sudden end to Ukraine's military aid.

Both PiS and Confederation have previously spoken against a joint coalition.

While politicians statements often count for little once the last ballot is cast, there are reasons to believe that the Confederation will not seek to enter into the government with PiS.

I dont see Confederation having an appetite to enter (into coalition with PiS), Przybylski said.

The smaller of the parties would be too weak in such a potential coalition and likely devoured by its larger partner, the expert believes.

Lebduska pointed out that the radical coalition has been building an image of a fresh alternative to the stale duo of PiS Jaroslaw Kaczynski and POs Tusk.

Becoming a coalition member in a government led by either of the two could take away much of the Confederations appeal as an anti-system party.

Read also: Ukraine war latest: Biden says American support for Ukraine cant be allowed to be interrupted

Should PiS receive a chance to build a government, they are more likely to try and poach some of the Confederations lawmakers or negotiate some kind of conditional, silent support in the Sejm.

And even if such an improbable  but not impossible  scenario came to pass, the support for Ukraine, including military supplies, is unlikely to dry out.

Poland will remain an important ally of Ukraine, at the least in the military area, Lebduska said, pointing out that there is a broad consensus on this subject in much of the Polish society.

As the decisively anti-Ukrainian and pro-Russian segment of the Polish population remains in a clear minority, even the Confederation would be forced to respect the majority's opinion.

Polands historical experience with Russian occupation and Moscows military presence in the neighborhood make Ukraines survival a vital security interest for Warsaw and the Polish people.

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However, both Przybylski and Adamski said that the shift in PiS rhetoric, driven by the far-right challenge, would likely leave scars on long-term Polish-Ukrainian relations if the Law and Justice holds on to power.

Whatever result PiS gets, some of it will be based on nationalist votes that are skeptical of Ukraine, Przybylski said.

The party knowingly decided to build its strategy on "capturing nationalist sentiments" and will be under pressure to keep their promises, he added.

Neighborhood of two agrarian countries would naturally generate some conflicts, but this conflict has been solved through emotions, Adamski said, pointing out that Kyiv is also to blame for the escalation.

President Volodymyr Zelensky delivered scathing remarks against Poland at the UN General Assembly, hinting that their grain embargo is aiding Russia.

In response, Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki called on the Ukrainian president to never insult the Poles again.

Gathering nationalist voters, a new PiS government might be obliged, with or without the Confederations political support, to take a more protectionist stance toward Ukraine.

As Kyiv seeks to enter the European Union, its aspirations may encounter hurdles laid by Warsaws economic interests and historical grievances.

Read also: Peter Tkacenko: Slovakia after election  If not friend, certainly not enemy of Ukraine

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Jorge Oceguera Rocha, 25, was arrested on Sept. 17 on charges of possession of fentanyl and transporting the drug for sale and is being held on $5-million bail. (Riverside County Sheriff's Department)

Last month, Jorge Oceguera Rocha left home in his gray Honda Civic. His colleagues in the Riverside County Sheriff's Department were watching.

They tailed Oceguera, a 25-year-old sheriff's deputy assigned to the jail in his hometown of Banning, to a modest brown home in Victorville. They followed him onto the 10 Freeway, where a marked patrol cruiser pulled him over.

In the trunk of Oceguera's car, an investigator wrote in a sworn declaration, police found four trash bags stuffed with 104 pounds of fentanyl.

A four-year deputy, Oceguera always dreamed of becoming a police officer, his lawyer said. Now, authorities accuse him of working for a Mexican drug cartel. He is being held on $5-million bail, charged with possessing fentanyl and transporting the drug for sale while armed.

"All we hear is 'correctional officer' and 'cartel' and 'fentanyl,'" said his attorney, Randy Collins. "This person is 25 years old. The one thing I can tell you is during our last meeting, he told me, 'I promise you I'm not a bad person.'"

A review of court documents and interviews shows the investigation that led to Oceguera's arrest on Sept. 17 was wider than previously known. Two other men were arrested in the same case but have not been charged, according to booking records and a spokeswoman for the Riverside County district attorney. Riverside County sheriff's investigators took the aggressive step of placing a wiretap on Oceguera's phone, which intercepted discussions between Oceguera and a relative about drug trafficking, an investigator wrote in a declaration.

Sheriff's Capt. Adriaan Roggeveen, who leads the bureau that arrested Oceguera, said his detectives were pursuing a larger drug trafficking case when they identified the deputy as a target.

"If we have an employee who is not upholding the standard, we are going to go after him. This whole idea of the thin blue line'? No. if you are a criminal in an organization, we are going to find you because thats our job," Roggeveen told The Times. "Weeding out dirty employees at any organization is paramount to what we do. Otherwise, they erode the public trust."

The arrest of Oceguera was the latest in a series of embarrassments for the Sheriffs Department. Days earlier, Deputy Brent Bishop Turnwall was arrested in the county jail where he worked, suspected of possessing drugs and being under the influence of them, the Riverside Press Enterprise reported.

In April, undercover deputies sold 60 pounds of methamphetamine to criminals who made off with the drugs before the Sheriff's Department could apprehend them.

Oceguera, who has pleaded not guilty, is a U.S. citizen who grew up in Banning, a city of 30,000 about 30 miles east of Riverside, Collins said. The lawyer described his client's family as "well-educated people that work in the community. They've lived there their whole lives."

Oceguera attended Cal State Long Beach from 2016 to 2019, graduating with a bachelor's in criminal justice, said Jim Milbury, a spokesman for the school. He was hired by the Riverside County Sheriff's Department that year, assigned to the Larry D. Smith Correctional Facility in Banning.

Oceguera was engaged to be married and bought a house in his hometown, Collins said. "By all accounts he was doing the right things in life to get on his feet."

Property records show Oceguera bought a house on the southern side of Banning in 2022 for $330,000, taking out a mortgage for nearly the entire amount.

In a declaration filed in court, Riverside County Deputy Joshua Ricard said the department's Special Investigations Bureau opened a drug trafficking case on Oceguera in September. It's unclear what led investigators to focus on Oceguera, but that month, Ricard wrote, they persuaded a judge to give them authority to intercept his phone calls.

On Sept. 16, they overheard on a call that Oceguera planned to go to "an identified narcotic stash location" in Victorville, Ricard wrote. That afternoon, deputies followed Oceguera from Banning to a house on Pacoima Road in Victorville.

When he arrived, Oceguera called a relative, Ricard wrote. The garage door opened, Oceguera pulled his Civic inside and the door closed behind him. Ten minutes later, Oceguera reversed out of the driveway and headed back toward Banning.

Oceguera was pulled over on the 10 Freeway near the Oak Valley Parkway exit in Calimesa. After a police dog detected the scent of drugs, Oceguera and his car were searched, Ricard wrote. According to his declaration, deputies found in the trunk of the Civic four trash bags filled with square, cellophane-wrapped packages of "blue fentanyl-laced M30 pills." The pills  520,000 of them  weighed 104 pounds, Ricard wrote.

Inside a bag on the backseat of the Civic was Oceguera's "duty weapon," a loaded Glock handgun, Ricard wrote. After being arrested and advised of his Miranda rights, Oceguera refused to talk.

In arguing for Oceguera's bail to be set at $5 million, Ricard described him as "a grave threat to the general public." As a sheriff's deputy, Oceguera "has knowledge of the dangers of fentanyl and the mass overdose pandemic," Ricard wrote, yet he possessed a huge quantity of the drug "with no regard for public safety."

Ricard said Oceguera was a flight risk, noting he traveled to Mexico several times in recent months to visit family. Then Ricard went on to claim that Oceguera "conducts narcotics-related activity in concert with the Mexican Cartel."

"The Mexican Cartel is one of the largest criminal enterprises worldwide and is responsible for the vast majority of all narcotics trafficking within the United States," Ricard wrote. "In addition to the mass amounts of narcotics, the Mexican Cartel and its various members have access to a near infinite amount of currency."

It's unclear which cartel Ricard was referring to. Mexico's drug trafficking networks are divided among many cartels and subgroups who fight for control of smuggling routes and distribution centers.

Roggeveen, the sheriff's captain, declined to discuss specifics of Oceguera's case, including alleged cartel ties or other targets of the investigation.

Collins said that based on the limited evidence that has been provided to him, "I haven't seen anything that shows a direct link between Jorge and a cartel." He cautioned that he had not yet heard the wiretapped calls.

Between the cartel allegations and Ricard's statement that the amount of fentanyl seized from Oceguera's car was enough to kill 2 million people, the declaration "is so inflammatory that once you read it, it's hard not to justify" the $5-million bail figure, Collins said. He said Oceguera's bail should not be so high, considering his family's roots in Banning and his lack of a prior criminal record.

Two other men were arrested in the same case, then released without being charged, records show. Collins said one was in the car with Oceguera when deputies pulled them over, while the other was Oceguera's uncle. Ricard's declaration makes no mention of either man. Both were discharged from jail three days after their arrest, according to jail records.

Brooke Beare, a spokeswoman for the Riverside County district attorney, wrote in an email that the Sheriff's Department had not submitted cases on "other possible co-defendants." Beare said Oceguera is not accused of smuggling drugs into the jails or abusing his police powers in the drug trafficking crimes with which he is charged.

Oceguera was held for a time in the same jail where he once worked, according to his lawyer.

"That's a scary situation for him," Collins said. "He's scared about being there. He's scared about being in that environment."

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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
U.S. Republican Rep. Jim Jordan joins race for House speaker after McCarthy ouster

Xinhua) 11:05, October 05, 2023

WASHINGTON, Oct. 4 (Xinhua) -- U.S. Republican Representative Jim Jordan, chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, on Wednesday announced that he plans to join the race to become the next House speaker.

Jordan's announcement came one day after Kevin McCarthy's historical removal. Also on Wednesday, House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, a Louisiana Republican, formally entered the race.

"We are at a critical crossroad in our nation's history. Now is the time for our Republican conference to come together to keep our promises to Americans," Jordan, an Ohio Republican, said in a letter to colleagues, seeking their support for his bid for the speakership.

Jordan, who was elected to Congress in 2006, was a former chairman of the House Freedom Caucus, considered to be the most conservative and farthest-right bloc within the House Republican Conference.

He was nominated for the speakership in January this year by hard-right Republicans who opposed McCarthy. At that time, however, Jordan maintained his support for McCarthy, who won the position after 15 rounds of voting on the House floor.

McCarthy, a California Republican, was ousted from the position in a 216-210 vote on Tuesday, marking the first time in U.S. history that a House speaker has been voted out of office in the middle of a term. Eight Republicans joined Democrats in removing McCarthy from the speakership.

The removal came less than one day after hardline Republican Representative Matt Gaetz filed a resolution to remove McCarthy through a process known as "a motion to vacate."

Gaetz and other hardline Republicans had warned for weeks they would move to oust McCarthy if McCarthy relied on Democrats to pass funding legislation, criticizing McCarthy for failing to pass legislation with deep spending cuts and border security provisions.

Republican Representative Patrick T. McHenry from North Carolina was named acting speaker of the House after McCarthy's ousting.

McCarthy, who was elected House speaker in January this year, has announced that he would not seek the position again, setting up an expected intense intraparty battle for the speakership.

(Web editor: Zhang Wenjie, Hongyu)
(Photo: by PHILIP FONG/AFP via Getty Images)

A woman walks past a logo of the 2022 Asian Games at the media village in Hangzhou, China's eastern Zhejiang province on September 21, 2023.

Lin Yuwei and Wu Yanni's racing numbers together make the number "64," which is a typical reference to the incident that took place on June 4.

In China, talking about the incident is still frowned upon, and the government frequently removes any references to it from the internet.

Hundreds of pro-democracy protesters were killed by the military in Beijing in 1989.

Although the exact number of deaths that day is still unknown, estimates from human rights organizations range from several hundred to several thousand.

After Ms. Lin's gold-winning 100-meter hurdles competition at the Asian Games, the athletes hugged one another. In the picture, she was wearing lane number 6 next to Ms. Wu, who was wearing lane number 4, as reported by BBC News.

On Weibo, one of the most popular social networking sites in China, many congratulated Ms. Lin, but posts with photos were replaced with gray squares.

However, some Chinese news stories still display a picture of the two sportsmen, suggesting that the image has not been entirely removed from the internet.

The Asian Games, which are presently taking place in the Chinese city of Hangzhou, have seen China win close to 300 medals so far. It is scheduled to go till October 8.

Read also: EU Calls for More Balance Trade with China, Expresses Concerns Over Beijing's Business Environment

The Tiananmen Square Massacre's Relevance

The Tiananmen Square massacre is a topic that should not be discussed in China because younger Chinese generations are growing up knowing very little to nothing about it.

The government has strict control over the internet, thus posts about the massacres are frequently deleted from it.

The massive, student-led pro-democracy protests at Tiananmen Square in Beijing were ultimately put down by the Communist regime in China. To put an end to the protests, troops and even tanks were sent.

Human monitors who make decisions about whether content should be blocked are used in China's internet censorship campaigns.

Weibo claimed to have hired a thousand "supervisors" in 2017 who had the responsibility of reporting information that was "pornographic, illegal, and harmful." Weibo, the biggest social media network in China has 600 million monthly users.

On the eve of the 33rd anniversary of the massacre, a popular Chinese influencer's live stream last year came to an abrupt end after he showed his audience a vanilla log cake that looked like a tank, making reference to the famous image of the so-called Tank Man, which depicts a civilian with shopping bags blocking a line of tanks.

China exerts strict censorship on topics it deems sensitive and at odds with the party's principles and ideology, as well as on criticism of the Communist Party.

The regulations have in the past resulted in the censoring of what could seem to some to be innocent photographs, like women's cleavage and males posing for photos in lingerie as a trick to increase sales on social media.

Related article: Why New China Anti-Espionage Law Should Concern Foreign Businesses, Citizens-From Bounties to Stricter Rules

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The Hall of Justice houses Ventura County Superior Court operations at the county government center in Ventura.

Here's a roundup of recent incidents and announcements from Ventura County agencies:

Priest pleads not guilty in child porn case

A Catholic priest who had served at an Oxnard church pleaded not guilty to a felony child pornography charge on Tuesday in Ventura County Superior Court.

The Rev. Rodolfo Martinez-Guevara, 38, also denied a special allegation of aggravated possession involving more than 600 images of child pornography, court records show.

Prosecutors have said some of the images showed minors younger than 12.

Martinez-Guevara, a priest in the Missionaries of the Holy Spirit religious order, was assigned to Our Lady of Guadalupe parish in Oxnard's La Colonia neighborhood from July 2021 through September of last year, church officials have said. He had subsequently been in residence with the missionaries order in Long Beach, according to the Archdiocese of Los Angeles.

He was arrested in Long Beach in September.

Rodolfo Martinez-Guevara

The Ventura County District Attorney's Office has said that some of the alleged crimes occurred while Martinez-Guevara was stationed in Oxnard. The archdiocese previously said he served at the local parish as a deacon and newly ordained priest.

After charges were filed in September, both the archdiocese and the order removed him from ministry.

Martinez-Guevara remains in custody, without bail, at the main jail in Ventura. An early disposition conference is scheduled for the afternoon of Oct. 16 in courtroom 12.

Construction site theft suspect charged

A 35-year-old Thousand Oaks man has been charged with three counts of second-degree burglary in connection with a string of thefts at construction sites.

Burglaries were reported at four Thousand Oaks sites between May and September, according to the Ventura County Sheriff's Office, which is contracted for police services in the city. Detectives used surveillance video and electronic data to identify the Thousand Oaks resident as the suspect.

The suspect used force to enter construction sites and secured areas in the early morning, according to the sheriff's account. He targeted tools and copper wire.

A patrol deputy spotted the man driving his car on Thousand Oaks Boulevard on Sept. 27 and pulled him over. A search of the vehicle turned up burglary tools and clothing worn during the crimes, authorities allege.

Sheriff's officials said the man worked at a glass company in Thousand Oaks and is on probation with terms allowing searches for stolen property. The suspect was initially arrested on suspicion of four counts of commercial burglary.

The Ventura County District Attorney's Office subsequently charged him with the three felony counts along with special allegations, including that the crime involved sophistication. The defendant pleaded not guilty to all charges and denied all special allegations Friday in Ventura County Superior Court. He remains in custody at the main jail without bail.

Sheriff's officials said they are continuing their investigation and believe there may be other incidents.

Maximum sentence in lewd acts case

A 33-year-old Oxnard man received the maximum sentence Tuesday in a sex crimes case involving a minor.

Victor Villanueva Legaria will serve 10 years, eight months in prison, according to the Ventura County District Attorney's Office.

In July, jurors had found Legaria guilty of two counts of lewd acts on a child younger than 14 and one count of lewd acts on a child age 14 or 15, all felonies. The jury also found true special allegations, including that Legaria took advantage of a position of trust.

Victor Villanueva Legaria

Legaria, who knew the victim, sexually abused her multiple times between 2016 and 2020, starting when the girl was 11, according to prosecutors. She reported the abuse to a family member in 2020, when the Oxnard Police Department was called in and launched an investigation.

Deputy DA Twyla Atmore, who prosecuted the case, said in a statement she was glad the court sent the message that child molestation "will not be tolerated in Ventura County."

Items may be updated.

This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star: Roundup: Priest pleads not guilty in child pornography case, more news
Former Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani defended himself in the wake of a bombshell report about his alleged drinking habits, calling the claim a big damn lie.

I do not have an alcohol problem. I have never had an alcohol problem, Mr Giuliani said during a press conference in Concord, New Hampshire on Wednesday. A recent New York Times report included discussions with sources close to Mr Giuliani who described his drinking tendencies as getting worse following his presidential primary defeat  including his tenure working for Donald Trump.

He said that if he had an alcohol problem, I should be in the Guinness Book of World Records, referencing his accomplishments and career. Nobody could have achieved that if they did have a drinking problem.

The man once known as Americas Mayor added: I was working 24 hours a day. Its a big damn lie.

At the press conference, Mr Giuliani reportedly called the Times a disgrace.

Given the former mayors proximity to Mr Trump, special counsel Jack Smith is reportedly probing how much the former president knew about how inebriated Mr Giuliani supposedly was as he was giving him strategic and legal advice.

The January 6 committee previously uncovered that Mr Giuliani may have been drunk on election night when he advised Mr Trump to not accept defeat to Joe Biden  and numerous former aides to Mr Trump have testified saying so.

The news of his alleged drinking habits arrived at the same time that Mr Giuliani sued President Biden for defamation when he used the phrase Russian pawn during a presidential debate in 2020.

The former mayor says that statement has cost him millions and millions of dollars from lost clients and consulting business. At the same press conference on 4 October, Mr Giuliani said, Joe Biden has spent his life telling lies and getting away with it.

He called me a Russian operative  That is a lie, that is false, he added. He owes me a lot of money in a lot of states.

The ex-Trump attorney faces a series of legal battles himself, including the Georgia election case, a sexual assault lawsuit brought by Noelle Dunphy, and owing election workers tens of thousands after defaming them.
Earlier this week, the Salt Lake County Health Department was so overwhelmed with calls for appointments to get the newly arrived COVID-19 vaccine that people were waiting on hold for up to 45 minutes.

That tells me that there was a lot of interest, Nicholas Rupp, county health department spokesman, said Wednesday, the first day the shots were available at clinics in Salt Lake City, South Salt Lake, Sandy, West Jordan and West Valley City.

Mondays rush for the 570 vaccine appointments available weekly was the result of pent-up demand for the updated vaccine, he said. Since then, call volume has slowed enough that the wait time for callers is down to about eight minutes.

The vaccine was approved by the federal government in mid-September for everyone 6 months and older but now that it has been commercialized, distribution and other issues have made it tough to find shots in Utah and around the country.

Related

There was a group of people that was very eager and they all called the moment they could, Rupp said. We have now taken care of those folks and other people who are interested are kind of trickling in now.

The Utahns who took all of the countys available vaccine appointments through early next week, he said, are a wide spectrum, a diverse group of people. Men, women, older, younger. We had a few calling to have their children vaccinated.

Angie Gonzales received a COVID-19 shot on Monday at the Salt Lake City Public Health Center about a year after the last time she was vaccinated against the virus, with last falls booster dose.

It was just time for a new shot, said Gonzales, who works at another health care clinic and has a 2-year-old son. She described the COVID-19 vaccine as just like every other shot, you know? Every season, youre going to have to get it, no matter what.

Because the federal government intends for the COVID-19 vaccine to be updated each year, its expected to be seen as similar to an annual flu shot rather than a booster to the initial series of shots that came out during the first year of the pandemic.

Still, some are still referring to the new COVID-19 vaccine as a booster dose, even though the updated shots target a single version of the virus that was circulating earlier this year, XBB.1.5, also known as Kraken, but not the original strain.

Its different from last years booster shot, considered a bivalent vaccine because it went after a pair of omicron variants as well as the original strain of COVID-19 from the first vaccines.

Related

Ann M. Sheehy, Ph.D., an immunologist from the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Massachusetts, recently told MedPage Today thats why shes not using boosters to describe the new monovalent COVID-19 shots.

Its a new vaccine, and I think people are making a concerted effort to call it the 2023-24 COVID vaccine, because booster kind of implies its the same as what it was before, she said.

The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health explains it this way in a Q&A with Andy Pekosz, a molecular microbiology and immunology professor, about what people need to know about the new vaccine:

Is the new vaccine considered a booster? The FDA has shifted from calling this a booster to calling it an updated COVID vaccine. The change in wording reflects that weve begun treating COVID like we treat influenza, with annual vaccination. We encourage people to get their annual flu shot not a flu booster. Calling it an updated COVID vaccine also reflects that were not just boosting existing immunity from previous vaccination; rather, the vaccine builds a new immune response to variants that are currently circulating. Its likely well still see it referred to as a booster in some instances, but its all the same shot.

Rich Lakin, immunization director for the Utah Department of Health and Human Services, doesnt care how people refer to the shots as long as they look at getting them. Fewer than 16% of Utahns received last years booster shot, slightly less than the national average.

You can call it whatever you want, Lakin said. Its the monovalent COVID vaccine for fall.
A Russian strike against Beryslav in Kherson Oblast damaged a hospital and injured two medical workers, Governor Oleksandr Prokudin reported on Oct. 5.

The victims were an ambulance driver, who suffered a leg fracture, and a paramedic, who suffered a concussion, the official said.

Prokudin said that the hospital building sustained a "direct hit," after which the fourth floor was completely destroyed, and another floor was partially damaged.

Several ambulances were also damaged in the attack, he added.

Less than an hour before reporting on the hospital strike, Prokudin said that Beryslav, a town at the Dnipro River's right bank roughly 70 kilometers east of Kherson, had been targeted by five Russian air strikes.

Partially occupied Kherson Oblast suffers regular Russian attacks as the invading troops continue to hold the left-bank side of the Dnipro River in the region. The regional center Kherson was targeted earlier today in an artillery strike, resulting in two dead civilians and one injured.

Read also: Russias southern mistake  Surovikin lines, Gerasimov tactics

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Kyiv  North Korea has begun transferring artillery to Russia, bolstering Vladimir Putin 's forces as they continue their 20-month invasion of Ukraine, a U.S. official tells CBS News. It was not immediately clear whether the transfer is part of a new, long-term supply chain or a more limited consignment, or what North Korea is getting in return for the weapons.

On the other side of the front lines, the U.S. has handed Ukrainian forces a cache of ammunition seized from Iran, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.

The North Korean support for Moscow appears to be the culmination of the rare summit last month in Moscow, when Kim Jong Un traveled by train to meet Putin in person.

Why Ukraine's snipers, and their U.S. weapons, are more vital than ever

Kim told Putin during that meeting that he could count on North Korea's "full and unconditional support" for Russia's "sacred fight" to defend its security interests  an apparent reference to the assault on Ukraine.

Kim was widely expected to ask Putin for cash and food to shore up North Korea's anaemic economy in exchange for his support for Moscow's assault on Ukraine, but also weapons and space technology.

One senior South Korean official told CBS News before the summit that Seoul was concerned Kim could be looking to acquire technology from Russia to build nuclear-powered submarines and more advanced rockets and satellites, in addition to cooperation on conventional weapons.

The official warned that if Russia and North Korea's bilateral ties deepened to such an extent, it would highlight Kim's ability to threaten not only America's close Asian allies South Korea and Japan, but the entire world.

Putin implied after the summit that he and Kim had discussed military cooperation, and to at least some degree, that cooperation appeared to be taking shape this week.

The cache of Iranian ammunition transferred by the U.S. to Ukraine, meanwhile, involves more than 1 million 7.62mm rounds, used in both machine guns and rifles.

The bullets were seized in December 2022 by the U.S. Navy from a ship heading from Iran to Yemen, where Tehran backs Houthi rebel forces involved in that country's grinding civil war. The U.S. Navy has seized several Iranian weapons shipments bound for Yemen, which are a violation of a 2015 U.N. Security Council resolution banning the transfer of arms to Houthi forces.

Illicit weapons seized from a stateless fishing vessel in the North Arabian Sea are arranged for inventory aboard the U.S. Navy guided-missile destroyer USS O'Kane on December 21, 2021. / Credit: U.S. Navy/Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Elisha Smith

The U.S. military's Central Command confirmed that it transferred the munitions to Ukraine on Monday. With further U.S. funding for Ukraine frozen for now amid the battle over the federal government's budget, the Biden administration has used the transfer of the Iranian ammunition as a workaround to continue supporting Kyiv.

Iran has supplied Russia with drones for months, drawing condemnation from Ukraine, the U.S. and other Western nations for providing Moscow with one of its most heavily-relied on and lethal weapons of the war. The U.S. and its partners have accused both Iran and Russia of violating another U.N. resolution that bars the transfer of such weapons from Iran without the Security Council's approval.

With the political gridlock in Washington leaving future U.S. support for their war effort in doubt, Ukraine's leaders and front-line forces continue to burn through their existing supplies not only of small arms ammuntion, but shells, missiles, vitally important drones and everything else at a stunning rate in front-line battles that have largely become stalemates.

CBS News national security correspondent David Martin contributed to this report.

Margaret Brennan assesses fallout of Kevin McCarthy's "Face the Nation" interview

At least 48 killed in Russian missile strike on Ukrainian grocery store, Zelenskyy says

GOP lawmaker blames Democrats for McCarthy's ouster, endorses Jim Jordan as replacement
In this photo provided by the Ukrainian Presidential Press Office, emergency workers search the victims of a Russian rocket attack that killed at least 47 people in the village of Hroza near Kharkiv, Ukraine, Thursday, Oct. 5, 2023. (Ukrainian Presidential Press Office via AP)

HROZA, Ukraine (AP)  A Russian rocket blast turned a village cafe and store in eastern Ukraine into rubble Thursday, killing at least 51 civilians in one of the deadliest attacks in the war in months, according to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and other top officials in Kyiv.

Rescuers searched for survivors in the remains of the only cafe in the village of Hroza. Body parts were strewn across a nearby children's playground that was severely damaged by the strike. Cellphones were collected and put in a courtyard nearby, waiting to be claimed. Occasionally, one of them rang, lighting up a shattered screen.

Around 60 people, including children, were attending a wake at the cafe when the missile hit, Ukrainian officials said.

Zelenskyy, attending a summit of about 50 European leaders in Spain to drum up support from Ukraine's allies, denounced the strike as a demonstrably brutal Russian crime and a completely deliberate act of terrorism.

According to preliminary information from Kyiv, the village was hit by an Iskander missile.

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre called the strike horrifying and said it demonstrated why the United States is doing everything it can "to help the brave people of Ukraine to fight for their freedom, to fight for their democracy.

Hroza, which had a population of about 500 before the war, is in the northeastern Kharkiv region and was seized by Russia early in the war before being recaptured by Ukraine in September 2022. It's only 30 kilometers (19 miles) west of Kupiansk, a key focus of the Russian military effort. Zelenskyy visited the area Tuesday to meet with troops and inspect equipment supplied by the West.

Dmytro Nechvolot told The Associated Press he was looking for his 60-year-old father, who attended the wake for a soldier from Hroza who died last year but who was reburied after being identified by DNA. Nechvolot kept walking up to his father's red car, which was still parked nearby, while waiting for confirmation that he had been killed.

I have lost a man I looked up to, a beloved father, and an unforgettable grandfather, he said.

On Thursday, Zelenskyy was at a summit of the European Political Community in Granada, Spain, where he asked for more Western support, saying that Russian terror must be stopped.

Russia needs this and similar terrorist attacks for only one thing: to make its genocidal aggression the new norm for the whole world, he said in a statement posted on his Telegram channel. Now we are talking with European leaders, in particular, about strengthening our air defense, strengthening our soldiers, giving our country protection from terror. And we will respond to the terrorists.

The key for us, especially before winter, is to strengthen air defense, and there is already a basis for new agreements with partners, he told the group, which was formed in the wake of Russias full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

Heeding Zelenskyy's cry, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said Germany will supply Ukraine with another Patriot missile air defense system. He expects Russia will again target crucial infrastructure and cities across Ukraine in the winter months.

This is what is now needed the most, Scholz said after meeting Zelenskyy, according to the German news agency dpa.

Last winter, Russia targeted Ukraine's energy system and other vital infrastructure in a steady barrage of missile and drone attacks, triggering continuous power outages across the country. Ukraine's power system has shown a high degree of resilience and flexibility, but there have been concerns that Russia will again ramp up its strikes on power facilities as winter draws near.

Zelenskyy noted that the Granada summit will also focus on joint work for global food security and protection of freedom of navigation in the Black Sea, where the Russian military has targeted Ukrainian ports after Moscow's withdrawal from a U.N.-sponsored grain deal designed to ensure safe grain exports from the invaded countrys ports.

The U.K. Foreign Office cited intelligence suggesting that Russia may lay sea mines in the approaches to Ukrainian ports to target civilian shipping and blame it on Ukraine.

Russia almost certainly wants to avoid openly sinking civilian ships, instead falsely laying blame on Ukraine for any attacks against civilian vessels in the Black Sea, it said, adding that the U.K. was working with Ukraine to help improve the safety of shipping.

Speaking in Granada, Zelenskyy emphasized the need to preserve European unity in the face of Russian disinformation and to remain strong amid what he described as a political storm in the United States.

Asked if he was worried that support for Ukraine could falter in the U.S. Congress, the Ukrainian president stressed that his visit to Washington last month made him confident of strong backing by both the Biden administration and Congress.

Zelenskyy called for more air defense systems, more artillery weapons and shells, and more long-range missiles and drones for Ukrainian soldiers, as well as other forms of support and security guarantees to help protect Europe from potential aggression by Moscow.

Earlier Thursday, Russia targeted Ukraine's southern regions with drones. Ukraines air force said the countrys air defenses intercepted 24 out of 29 Iranian-made drones that Russia launched at the Odesa, Mykolaiv and Kirovohrad regions.

Andriy Raykovych, head of the Kirovohrad regional administration, said an infrastructure facility in the region was struck and emergency services were deployed to extinguish a fire, but there were no casualties.

In other Russian attacks in the past day, two civilians were killed by shelling in the southern city of Kherson and one died after a strike on the city of Krasnohorivka in the eastern Donetsk region. At least eight people were wounded, according to Ukraine's presidential office.

A Russian strike on a hospital in the city of Beryslav in the Kherson region ravaged the building and wounded two medical workers, according to the regional administration chief, Oleksandr Prokudin.

Ukraine, in turn, has struck back at Russia with regular drone attacks across the border.

In Russia's Kursk region that borders Ukraine, Gov. Roman Starovoit said Ukrainian drone attacks resulted in power cuts in several areas. He also said Ukrainian forces fired artillery at the border town of Rylsk, wounding a resident and damaging several houses.

___

Associated Press writers Dasha Litvinova and Yuras Karmanau in Tallinn, Estonia, Emma Burrows in London and Seung Min Kim in Washington contributed.
Zbigniew Rau, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Poland, has called for Russia to be stopped after the Russian attack on the village of Hroza, Kharkiv Oblast, where 51 people were killed.

Source: European Pravda, referring to Rau on Twitter (X)

Quote: "Russia must be stopped as soon as possible and kept accountable for all its barbarism," said Rau.

"I pay tribute to those who lost their lives and condolences to their families," summed up the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Poland.

Background:

On Thursday afternoon, Russian troops attacked a cafe and a store in the village of Hroza, Kharkiv Oblast. Preliminary data indicated that the place was hit by an Iskander missile.

As of now, 51 people were killed, including children, and six more were injured. This is the most massive attack by the Russian Federation in Kharkiv Oblast since the beginning of the full-scale invasion.

Ihor Klymenko, Ukraines Minister of Internal Affairs, said that a memorial dinner for a deceased resident was being held in the cafe, which was attended by almost a third of the village (according to the census, 330 residents were registered there).

The Russian attack has already been condemned by Marija Pejcinovic Buric, the Secretary General of the Council of Europe, UK Ambassador Martin Harris and Estonian President Alar Karis.

Ukrainska Pravda is the place where you will find the most up-to-date information about everything related to the war in Ukraine. Follow us on Twitter, support us, or become our patron!
Russian military

Will mobilization processes intensify against the background of the aggressor's steps to form volunteer battalions?

Russian dictator Vladimir Putin met with the former commander of the Wagner PMC, Andrei Troshev, whom he instructed to form "volunteer units." How will the draft affect the mobilization process in Russia? Conscription is ongoing in Russia. For Russians, this is an additional so-called hidden resource of mobilization. What does this mean? On the eve of the election campaign, Putin will unlikely agree to mass mobilization, but conscripts will remain a resource.

Firstly, the Russians have recently shortened the period after which a conscript can sign a contract with the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation.

Conscripts are an essential resource for them. A conscript called up for military service is entitled to sign a contract within a month. The Russians have been increasing this component - the percentage of conscripts who sign a contract in the Armed Forces.

Some of them are simply persuaded, convinced, and sometimes even forced. This is a fairly common practice. When a person commits a crime, they are faced with a choice: jail or a contract. Many people choose the latter.

They also recruit soldiers because the monetary reward for contract service, including so-called combat service, is constantly increasing. That's why most people, especially those from depressed regions, agree with it.

Our general mobilization is ongoing all the time

For them, this is a hidden resource. This does not mean that everyone called up for military service will necessarily end up at the front. After the first months of the war, when they used a relatively large number of conscripts, and this caused some tension in society, they abandoned this practice. Most of the conscripts do end up in the armed forces soon after, signing a contract. Most of them are sent to Ukraine to participate in combat operations. Now, this replenishment at the expense of conscripts is one of the areas of so-called hidden mobilization.

Secondly, they put pressure on enterprises now suffering from a labor shortage. Large enterprises are being put under conditions: you will be protected, and in return, you have to recruit soldiers for the Armed Forces on your own. That is why they are also involved in this campaign. They recruit themselves, working with the population, partially equipping them with their own money.

The third point is prisoners. At the beginning of the aggression, this was the responsibility of the Wagner PMC. Now, it has been transferred to the Ministry of Defense. They use prisoners and the so-called 500th, i.e., deserters, to form assault units - the so-called Z-companies, which they use to fill in the gaps after losses at the front.

Now to Ukraine. Let me remind you that our general mobilization has continued. It is ongoing. There are so-called mobilization plans. They either increase or decrease. For example, immediately after the invasion, the mobilization plans were increased dramatically because the Defense Forces needed a large number of soldiers. The second stage, when these plans were significantly increased for the TCC, for the former military enlistment offices, was in the fall of last year and spring of this year, when there was a need to form a large number of brigades, the so-called reserve brigades, which were to participate in the offensive, primarily in the south. Accordingly, these plans increased significantly. Then they stopped.

Read also: War in Ukraine and US elections

Now there is information that these plans will be significantly turned up again. Will this happen or not? The General Staff and the Commander-in-Chief first know the answer to this. Why? Because they proceed from their own needs. The General Staff, per the law, forms these needs.

This need is formed based on several factors. First, if there is a real need to form a large number of new military units, it is clear that these plans will increase. Second, there are losses - wounded and dead. If the percentage of these losses is high and there is a need not just for ongoing reconstruction, which is ongoing, but for substantial reconstruction of those brigades that, for example, have suffered the most losses, then these plans will also increase.

Does the General Staff have such plans? You have to ask the General Staff. I have certain information, but I have no right to share it.

According to preliminary information, there is a need to create additional units so these mobilization plans that are brought to the TCC for further mobilization of people can theoretically increase. It is difficult to say how much. I think we can only talk about this after the summer campaign. I call it a summer campaign by conventional tradition. It is now autumn, but it is still an ongoing summer campaign. I think it will last for another month or so.

The General Staff and Commander-in-Chief will then analyze how severe the losses are, how many brigades, and how many formations are needed to reinforce or create an operational reserve. These plans will be adjusted accordingly.

To summarize. The assumption that mobilization plans will increase is quite likely. It will be possible to judge how much these plans will grow and, what specific number of people we are talking about, only in about a month. Although, of course, the plans are adjusted almost every week.

But in any case, the specific number of people will not be publicly reported - this information is sensitive. But the fact that there will be an increase in the percentage of people mobilized to serve in the Defense Forces is, I think, a reasonably likely assumption.

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Russian fleet retreating from Crimea, Ukraine advancing on two fronts  ISW

The transfer of at least 10 Russian Black Sea Fleet (BSF) ships from Ukraines Russian-occupied Crimea to the Russian port of Novorossiysk is likely a result of recent Ukrainian strikes on fleet vessels in the port of Sevastopol, the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) said in its latest report on Oct. 4.

The Russian military recently transferred several BSF vessels from Sevastopol to Novorossiysk, Krasnodar Krai, in south-western Russia  likely in an effort to protect them from continued Ukrainian strikes on Russian assets in Crimea.

Satellite imagery published on Oct. 1 and Oct. 3 shows that Russian forces transferred at least 10 vessels from Sevastopol to Novorossiysk. The satellite imagery reportedly shows that Russian forces recently moved the Admiral Makarov and Admiral Essen frigates, three diesel submarines, five landing ships, and several small missile ships.

Meanwhile, satellite imagery taken on Oct. 2 shows four Russian landing ships and one Kilo-class submarine remaining in Sevastopol. The imagery also shows a Project 22160 patrol ship reportedly for the first time in the port of Feodosia in eastern Crimea, suggesting that Russian forces may be moving BSF elements away from Sevastopol to bases further in the Russian rear.

Read also: Ukrainian intel provides insight into recent bold raid in occupied Crimea

A Russian think tank, the Center for Analysis of Strategies and Technologies, claimed on Oct. 3 that the BSF vessels movements from occupied Sevastopol to Novorossiysk were routine, however. Russian forces may be temporarily moving some vessels to Novorossiysk following multiple strikes on BSF assets in and near Sevastopol, but Sevastopols port, which remains the BSFs base, will likely remain in use, the think tank said.

On the ground, Ukrainian forces are continuing offensive operations near Bakhmut in Donetsk Oblast, eastern Ukraine, and in western Zaporizhzhya Oblast in the south, with small advances reported on Oct. 4.

Ukrainian forces are continuing ground attacks towards the rail line between Klishchiyivka (7 kilometers southwest of Bakhmut) and Andriyivka (10 kilometers southwest of Bakhmut), and the Ukrainian General Staff stated that Ukrainian forces achieved partial success near these settlements.

Geolocated footage published on Oct. 4 indicates that Ukrainian forces also made small advances east of Novoprokopivka (5 kilometers southeast of Robotyne) in western Zaporizhzhya Oblast, and the Ukrainian General Staff also reported that Ukrainian forces achieved partial success west of Robotyne. Some Russian sources claimed that Ukrainian forces advanced up to a Russian trench line on the Robotyne-Kopani line (5 kilometers northwest of Robotyne).

Read also: Zelenskyy advisor predicts mounting panic in Russian-occupied Crimea as Ukrainian forces target peninsula

Autumn and winter weather conditions are expected to slow but not stop Ukrainian counter-offensive operations. U.S. National Security Council Spokesperson John Kirby stated on Oct. 3 that it will be another six to eight weeks before weather impacts both Ukrainian and Russian operations.

ISW has previously observed that seasonal heavy rain and resulting mud in the autumn will slow ground movements on both sides, and that the autumn rain and mud are usually less intense than spring conditions. Hardening ground during the winter freeze will likely enable the tempo of combat operations to increase, however, and Ukrainian officials have expressed their intent to continue counter-offensive operations into late 2023 and exploit cold weather conditions.

The Kremlin is likely intensifying its use of tools of digital authoritarianism to increase domestic repression and tighten control of the information space, ISW also said in its latest report. Russian opposition outlet Vazhnye Istorii reported on Oct. 4 that the Russian Prosecutor Generals Office requested that Russian social media platform VKontakte (VK) begin blocking posts from relatives of mobilized servicemen calling for their loved ones to return home.

Vazhnye Istorii noted that VK is hiding posts with several hashtags pertaining to the treatment or return of mobilized servicemen and that several posts in group chats have reportedly disappeared. Some Russian opposition outlets notably suggested that this apparent expansion of digital authoritarianism may be increasingly based on the restrictive Chinese model.

Read also: Ukraine wins control over key Russian supply route on Bakhmut front

One Russian opposition source, later amplified by an insider source, claimed that the Russian State Social University is developing and testing a social rating system for Russians based on the Chinese model, and that the intended generated social scores will link to personal data that government entities and banks will have access to.

ISW has recently reported on previous instances of the Kremlins efforts to expand digital authoritarianism to surveil the Russian information space, likely to consolidate power and increase information space oversight prior to the 2024 presidential elections.

Russian sources continue to speculate about the current role of former Aerospace Forces (VKS) Commander and Wagner Group  affiliate Army General Sergei Surovikin after the Wagner rebellion, further highlighting his continued relevance in the Russian information space.

Some Russian sources amplified footage on Oct. 3 and 4 allegedly of Surovikin and his family outside a church near Moscow on Oct. 3. This speculation comes after prior speculation of Surovikin allegedly appearing in various African countries on behalf of the Russian Ministry of Defense (MoD).

Russian news outlet Novye Izvestia claimed that Surovikin denied to comment to journalists who approached him near the church.

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Authorities in Russia are looking into an alleged plot to remove President Vladimir Putin, according to a report, after receiving a tip about a suspicious conversation in a karaoke bar.

According to the VChK-OGPU Telegram channel, Russian security services have spent several days looking for an employee of an unspecified law enforcement agency who was accused of being involved.

A New Threat of War in Europe Has Putins Fingerprints All Over It

Citing an anonymous source, the Telegram account claims Russias Ministry of Internal Affairs was alerted to a secret conspiracy against the head of state by a specialist in the presidential administrative directorate.

The specialist had reportedly received an early morning call from a 37-year-old man named Mikhail Yurchenko, who told them with alarm about a concerning conversation he had in a karaoke club named Honey in the town of Chekhov, around 40 miles south of Moscow.

At the club, Yurchenko reportedly had a long conversation about the war and future life in Russia with another man in the club. At some point, according to Yurchenko, the interlocutor showed him a red service ID and stated that he had a task to remove Vladimir Putin, VChK-OGPU reports.

Yurchenko allegedly did not see the details on the mans ID and was unable to remember his name. It is worth noting that counterfeit service ID cards are available to purchase in the Russian capital, though VChK-OGPU also notes that this particular karaoke bar is known to be popular with employees of various agencies.

After being haunted by what hed heard, Yurchenko decided to report the conversation. As a result of his tip, operatives went to study the situation at the karaoke club, according to the account.

Putin is reported to be extremely paranoid about his safety, which has been more imperiled since his invasion of Ukraine last year. In May, a senior Ukrainian intelligence commander openly discussed his spies being used to try to kill Putin. The startling admission came just weeks after Moscow described a drone attack on the Kremlin as an assassination attempt on the president of Russia and a planned terrorist attack.

A month earlier, a drone packed with explosives crashed in a village close to an industrial park outside of Moscow where, on the same day, Putin was rumored to have planned a visit. Its not clear if it was a failed assassination plot as claimed by a Ukrainian activist, who said that Kyivs intelligence services had received intelligence about Putins visit in the week before the drone fell.

Read more at The Daily Beast.

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Following a contentious performance of the prayer Ama Namin (Our Father), Philippines' drag queen Pura Luka Vega was taken into custody at their home in Sampaloc, Manila.

The drag artist is charged with "immoral doctrines, obscene publications and exhibitions, and indecent shows," in accordance with the order issued by the Manila Regional Trial Court Branch 36. Bail was imposed by the trial court at P72,000.

Vega's given name is Amadeus Fernando Pagente, whose pronouns are they/them.

#FreePuraLukaVega: A Trending Topic After Arrest

According to local media GMA News, Vega is now being detained at the Manila Police District Station 3 in the district of Quiapo. There are thousands of tweets with the hashtag #FreePuraLukaVega, making it a top trend on X (previously Twitter) as of Wednesday night, October 4.

Drag Den founder Rod Singh revealed on X that the drag queen had skipped out on multiple preliminary investigations of criminal charges brought against them in Manila. Even though a move to reopen was filed on the same day as the arrest warrant, it was nevertheless issued. Singh said that no subpoena was issued by Manila prior to Vega's detention.

Singh said the drag queen will post bail on Thursday, October 5.

See Also: Pura Luka Vega Persona Non-Grata Creates Debate Among Filipinos; List of Locations, Other Details

The Controversial Ama Namin' Drag Performance

On July 10, Vega uploaded a video of themselves doing drag to a punk remix of a religious song, Ama Namin, while costumed as the Black Nazarene. This was the first of many religious performances by Vega to capture the attention of the country.

Since then, Vega has been charged with violating the Revised Penal Code, especially Article 201, or on "immoral doctrines, obscene publications and exhibitions, and indecent shows." They have been proclaimed persona non grata in at least 15 towns and municipalities in the Philippines.

In a report by Spot.Ph, church authorities associated with the Philippines for Jesus Movement (PJM) and the religious organization Hijos del Nazareno, responsible for transporting the Black Nazarene to the Quiapo Church for each Traslacion, both filed complaints on this basis.

In addition to a fine of P6,000 (about $100) to P12,000 (about $200), offenders face a possible jail sentence of up to six years. In 2017, the penalty was raised to between P20,000 (about $350) and P200,000 (about $3500), according to the Cybercrime Prevention Act, also known as Republic Act No. 10951.

Both Senate President Miguel Zubriri and Senate Majority Leader Joel Villanueva had earlier requested Vega's arrest under the Revised Penal Code.

Vega has been documenting their experience with the several criminal allegations against them on Instagram. On September 18, they wrote in the caption: "In the end, I think I will be fine as long these localities while deeming me for my art and my speech as unwelcome, are also giving their constituents their best in these truly challenging times."

See Also: Religious Feelings Law vs. Blasphemy: PH Trans Lawmaker Geraldine Roman Calls Out Drag Queen Dressed As Jesus

@ 2023 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Consequences of the terrorist attack in the village of Hroza

The number of people killed in a Russian terrorist attack on the village of Hroza, Kharkiv Oblast, on Oct. 5, has risen to 51, Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko reported.

One of the wounded died while receiving medical care.

Read also: Five injured in Russian missile attack in Zaporizhzhya Oblast

According to preliminary data, Russia fired an Iskander missile at a village cafe shop where a wake was taking place.

Earlier reports indicated an enemy missile hit a cafe/shop, which was crowded. Eight minutes before the strike, an air raid alert was declared in the region. Only civilian residents of the village attended the memorial dinner, said Volodymyr Tymoshko, head of the National Police in Kharkiv Oblast.

Read also: Russia fires missiles at Mykolaiv overnight, hitting an infrastructure facility

The strike on Hroza was the largest mass-casualty event seen in Kharkiv Oblast since the start of the full-scale Russian invasion and war, said Olena Shapoval, the spokesperson for the regional governor.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was the first to react to the Russian terrorist attack. He called it an absolutely deliberate attack and expressed his condolences to the families of the victims.

There are children among the dead and wounded  a six-year-old boy is reported to have been killed, and at least one other child was wounded.

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Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
Marina Ovsyannikova, a Russian journalist who staged a daring protest against the Ukraine war live on state-run television, has been sentenced to eight and a half years in prison in absentia by a Russian court.

Ovsyannikova was found guilty of public dissemination of knowingly false information about the use of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, according to a statement posted by the press service of Moscows district court on Telegram Wednesday.

In an interview with CNNs Erin Burnett following the court ruling, Ovsyannikova dismissed the sentencing as politically motivated.

This is just fake justice because you know, in Russia, we dont have independent courts, Putin destroyed all independent courts.

Ovsyannikova said relatives in Russia have turned against her, even testifying against her. They gave evidence against me in the court, and I was shocked when I read about it.

Ovsyannikova arrives at the Cinema for Peace Gala on the sidelines of the Berlinale in February. - Gerald Matzka/picture alliance/Getty Images

They live in another information reality. If you come to Russia, you start thinking in another way. My Russian relatives are thinking that Russia is surrounded by enemies. They believe Putin and they are thinking Im the traitor.

She continued that she was very worried about the future of Russia.

If I return to Russia I will be immediately in jail. Im very worried about the future of my country and I want to fight for a better future.

Ovsyannikova escaped house arrest with her daughter last year and is now in Paris, according to her assistant.

In an previous interview with CNN in February, Ovsyannikova described her escape from Russia to France with her 11-year-old daughter.

The 44-year-old journalist shot to international fame last year when, as an editor at Russias state-controlled Channel One television station, she stood behind an anchor and held up a sign that read No War during a live broadcast.

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A Russian missile hit a small village in northeast Ukraine on Thursday, killing at least 51 people.

Ukrainian officials said there were "no military targets" in the deliberate attack on Hroza.

The strike appears to mark one of the deadliest Russian attacks on Ukrainian civilians this year.

Dozens of people are dead after a Russian missile struck a grocery store and cafe in Ukraine's northeastern Kharkiv region, officials said on Thursday. The attack appears to be one of the deadliest on civilians this year.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy reported the attack shortly before 4 p.m. local time in a Telegram message, and said 48 people were confirmed killed in the small village of Hroza. Ukraine's foreign affairs ministry said shortly after Zelenskyy's note that the death toll had risen to 49, with another six people left injured.

The president followed up his earlier post with another announcing that at least 51 people are reported dead.

Rustem Umerov, Kyiv's defense minister, cited the culprit as an unspecified type of Russian missile. "Ukraine needs more air defense systems to protect our country from terror. We are discussing this with partners," he said.

Ukraine's defense ministry said in a statement that the attack was "deliberately" carried out around lunch time to ensure maximum casualties. "There were no military targets there. This is a heinous crime intended to scare Ukrainians," it wrote on social media.

Photographs and videos from the scene showed widespread destruction and devastation, as well as bloodied and dusty bodies, while search-and-rescue crews scoured the rubble.

Rescues work at a site of a Russian military strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in the village of Hroza, in Kharkiv region, Ukraine October 5, 2023. Head of Kharkiv Regional Military Administration Oleg Syniehubov via Telegram/Handout via REUTERS

Mykhailo Podolyak, a Ukrainian presidential advisor, said the attack is "a reminder to anyone who is willing to smile and shake hands with war criminal" Russian President Vladimir Putin at international conferences.

"A reminder to all those who are willing to post memes and mock Ukrainians," he wrote in a post on X, the social media platform formally known as Twitter. "A reminder to all those who want to sell something to Russia and return to bloody business as usual. Putin's Russia is a true evil, and this is not just a metaphor or a figure of speech."

Rescues work at a site of a Russian military strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in the village of Hroza, in Kharkiv region, Ukraine October 5, 2023. Head of Ukraine's Presidential Office Andriy Yermak via Telegram/Handout via REUTERS

Hroza is located east of Kharkiv near the city of Kupiansk, which is just west of the current front lines and Russian-held territory. That area was liberated during Ukraine's blitz-style counteroffensive in the northeastern region last fall, when Kyiv's forces quickly reclaimed huge chunks of territory in a surprise offensive.

The strike on Thursday appears to be one of the deadliest Russian attacks, if not the deadliest, on Ukrainian citizens this year. In January, Moscow's forces fired an anti-ship missile into a residential area in the central city of Dnipro, killing 45 people and injuring nearly 80 others. The latest strike is also among the more devastating of Russia's 19-month-long war.

There have been almost 27,500 civilian casualties since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, according to the latest United Nations data from September 24. This figure includes more than 9,700 people killed and over 17,700 injured. The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, however, "believes that the actual figures are considerably higher, as the receipt of information from some locations where intense hostilities have been going on has been delayed and many reports are still pending corroboration."

The attack comes as Ukrainian forces continue to press on with their months-long counteroffensive, which has led to small territorial gains in the eastern and southern regions.

Read the original article on Business Insider
Two civilians were killed in a Russian attack on Kherson on 5 October. The Russians struck the city from the occupied territory of Kherson Oblast.

Source: Roman Mrochko, Head of the Kherson City Military Administration, on Telegram; Kherson Oblast Prosecutors Office

Quote from Mrochko: "Two people, a man and a woman aged approximately 5055 years, were killed as a result of the morning attack by the Russian occupiers on residential areas in the centre of Kherson."

Details: The prosecutor's office reports that the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation once again launched an artillery strike on the centre of Kherson at around 09:30 on 5 October. Residential buildings, as well as non-residential premises, came under targeted fire.

Two civilians, a man and a woman, who were on the street, were killed in the Russian shelling. The information on the injured and wounded is being clarified.

      5  

Two civilians were killed in a Russian attack on Kherson on 5 October

Kherson Oblast Prosecutors Office

A pre-trial investigation has been initiated in criminal proceedings for violation of the laws and customs of war, combined with intentional murder (Article 438.2 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine) under the procedural leadership of the Kherson District Prosecutor's Office.

Background: On the morning of 5 October, explosions rocked coastal districts of Kherson due to the shelling from the occupied eastern bank of Kherson Oblast.

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Kherson Oblast is the region where the largest number of sexual crimes committed by Russian servicemen against Ukrainian men and women has been documented. Of 235 cases recorded across Ukraine, 66 have already been solved.

Source: Pryazovia News, a Radio Liberty project

Details: Dmytro Lubinets, the Verkhovna Rada (Parliamentary) Commissioner for Human Rights, said on 30 September that Russia is using sexual violence as a tactic of war, a weapon, and a tool to humiliate and oppress the Ukrainian people.

The Office of the Prosecutor General of Ukraine has already recorded 235 cases of sexual violence, with the victims ages ranging from 4 to 82.

Currently, the largest number of cases of sexual violence has been documented in Kherson Oblast, with 72, followed by Kyiv Oblast with 52, Donetsk Oblast with 55, Kharkiv Oblast with 21, Zaporizhzhia Oblast with 15, Chernihiv Oblast with 6, Luhansk Oblast with 3, Mykolaiv Oblast with 9, and 2 in Sumy Oblast.

On 25 September, the UN War Crimes Commission noted in a report to the Human Rights Council in Geneva that Russian soldiers have raped and sexually assaulted women aged 19 to 83 in Kherson Oblast. Often family members were kept in the next room so they were forced to listen to the violence.

Iryna Didenko, the head of the specialised department of the Prosecutor General's Office, told Pryazovia News that the 235 cases of sexual violence recorded by the department are those in which the victims are prepared to testify. Of these, 66 cases have already been solved, she added.

Instances of sexual violence come to light after territories are liberated or the victim leaves an occupied area.

Quote from Didenko: "These are only the instances where people are prepared to go to a criminal trial, and that is not easy because you have to retell your story. Not everyone is ready to talk about it, even with us. The largest number of instances is indeed in Kherson Oblast - 72. If you take Zaporizhzhia separately, there are 15.

But again, we learn about most instances where the most liberation has taken place. As soon as liberation takes place, new instances are immediately revealed to us. Plus, people start to trust a little more because they see our new approaches."

Details: Didenko confirmed that the ages of the victims ranged from 4 to 83. She said there are many cases involving 72-year-olds and 82-year-olds.

"Here you need to understand the context; this is not about satisfying needs at all. We are talking exclusively about the destruction of a person, insulting that person, trying to destroy them morally and physically. Thats why the ages are so different," Didenko explained.

"There is (a case of) a 4-year-old child. This is one of the crimes that has already been solved; we recently sent an indictment to the court against them. And in the same case, by the way, there are girls aged 15 and 17 and a woman of 83," Didenko added.

Each story is horrific, the head of the specialised department of the Prosecutor General's Office says.

One woman ran through a minefield to escape from a Russian soldier at a checkpoint - she was lucky to be alive, Didenko said.

She noted that victims remember the offender's face very clearly, even if a lot of time has passed. So in the cases that have been opened, the rapists have already been identified; that is, the names of the direct perpetrators of the crimes are known.

But there are also those who give orders or condone the commission of these war crimes.

Quote from Didenko: "We are aware that crimes have been committed, if not at the behest, then with the connivance of senior leadership. Therefore, our key task is to collect all these crimes as a pyramid, from the perpetrators to those who organised them, to the leaders at the top. Then we will take them to the International Criminal Court."

Ukrainska Pravda is the place where you will find the most up-to-date information about everything related to the war in Ukraine. Follow us on Twitter, support us, or become our patron!






As a result of a Russian missile strike in the village of Groza, 51 people died

The Russian missile strike on the village of Hrozha, which killed at least 51 people and injured seven others on Oct. 5, was the deadliest in Kharkiv Oblast since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion, the spokesperson for Kharkiv Oblast Administration, Olena Shapoval, has told national broadcaster Suspilne.

A Russian Iskander ballistic missile hit a grocery store next to a cafe, where about 60 residents had gathered for a memorial lunch for a deceased fellow villager, preliminary reports said. At least 51 people were killed, including a six-year-old child, and seven others were seriously injured, Ukrainian Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko reported, adding that 29 bodies had been identified so far.

"There were 330 residents in the village, and one person from each household attended the memorial lunch," Klymenko said.

Read also: Russian Iskander missile attack on Hroza has claimed 51 civilian lives  Interior Ministry

Earlier, the Prosecutor General's Office has initiated the pretrial investigation under the article on violation of the laws and customs of war, combined with premeditated murder (Part 2 of Article 438 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine).

Soon after news of the attack broke, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that a Russian missile had hit a grocery store in the village. He called it an absolutely deliberate terrorist attack and expressed his condolences to the families of the victims.

The Ukrainian president added that Russian terror must be stopped so that genocide does not become "the new normal for the whole world."

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Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
The strike occurred in the village of Groza in the northeaster region of Kharkiv (Anatolii STEPANOV)

A Russian strike on Thursday killed at least 51 people gathered for a wake in an eastern Ukrainian village in what a UN official called a "horrifying" attack.

Footage published by the Ukrainian police showed a large area of smoking rubble and several bodies being taken away by emergency workers in the village of Groza.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky posted an image of a woman kneeling over the body of someone apparently killed in the strike, with other corpses around her.

The mourners were in a cafe and there were also victims in a shop in the same building in the village, which has a population of 330 people, in the northeastern region of Kharkiv.

"A memorial service for a deceased fellow villager was being held," Interior Minister Igor Klymenko said on TV.

He said a six-year-old child was among the victims, adding that a total of 60 people had been attending the wake.

Groza is located more than 30 kilometres (18 miles) from the frontline town of Kupiansk in an area where Russian forces have been pushing to recapture territory they lost to Ukrainian troops last year.

Klymenko said initial evidence showed an Iskander missile had been used.

"The search and rescue operation is ongoing," Klymenko said. "There may still be people under the rubble".

Zelensky, who was attending a European summit in Spain, condemned the attack on social media.

He called the strike "completely deliberate" and said it was a "brutal Russian crime".

Defence Minister Rustem Umerov said Ukraine needed more air defence "to protect our country from terror".

"We are discussing this with partners," he wrote on social media, repeating Ukrainian calls for more protection against the daily barrages of drone and missile strikes.

- 'True evil' -

Denise Brown, Ukraine coordinator for the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs(OCHA), also condemned the alleged Russian strike.

Brown said she was "appalled", adding that the images from the scene of the strike were "absolutely horrifying".

"Intentionally directing an attack against civilians or civilian objects is a war crime," she said in a statement.

A spokeswoman for the regional assembly quoted by Ukrainian media said it was the single most deadly attack since the start of Russia's invasion on February 24, 2022.

The head of the Kharkiv region Oleg Sinegubov said the strike took place around 1:15 pm (1015 GMT).

Regional authorities had recently ordered mandatory evacuations in the area after an uptick in Russian strikes.

Large swathes of the Kharkiv region were captured by Russian forces in the early days of their invasion launched in February last year.

Ukrainian forces recaptured much of the border territory during a lightning offensive late last year, but the regional capital, also called Kharkiv, still comes to regular shelling.

Zelensky's advisor Mykhailo Podolyak said the attack had "no military logic".

"This is a reminder to anyone who is willing to smile and shake hands with war criminal Putin at international conferences," he said, referring to Russian leader Vladimir Putin.

"A reminder to all those who want to sell something to Russia and return to bloody business as usual," he said, adding: "Putin's Russia is a true evil".

bur-jbr/yad
A Russian strike on a village in northeastern Ukraine on Thursday killed at least 48 people, according to Ukrainian authorities, marking one of the deadliest attacks on civilians in the war.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Telegram a missile struck a grocery store near the district of Kupyansk in the Kharkiv region. He called it a demonstrably brutal Russian crime.

Russian terror must be stopped. All those who help Russia circumvent sanctions are criminals, he wrote. Everyone who supports Russia until now supports evil. Russia needs this and similar terrorist attacks for only one thing: to make its genocidal aggression the new norm for the whole world.

The missile fell in a small village called Groza, according to Ukrainian authorities, who shared images of the aftermath of the attack online.

Anton Gerashchenko, an adviser to Ukraines minister of internal affairs, said on X, formerly known as Twitter, that a 6-year-old boy was among the dead.

Kharkiv Gov. Oleh Synyehubov said on Telegram that at least another six people were injured, including a child. He said rescue operations are ongoing.

The enemy committed another war crime in Kharkiv region, Synyehubov wrote.

The strike comes as Zelensky meets in Granada, Spain, with around 50 European leaders to shore up support for the war and discuss future aid.

Russia also targeted Ukraine on Thursday with a flurry of drone strikes, most of which were disabled by Ukrainian air defenses.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
A Russian missile tore into a small village in eastern Ukraine on Thursday as residents were gathering for a memorial service, killing more than 50 civilians, including a 6-year-old child, in one of the wars deadliest attacks, officials in Kyiv said.

The strike killed at least 51 people and wiped out around one-sixth of the entire village of Hroza, in the eastern Kharkiv region, according to Ukrainian officials. It came as President Volodymyr Zelenskyy attended a summit of European leaders in a bid to shore up support for his country's fight amid fears of a U.S.-led wobble.

"A demonstrably brutal Russian crime  a missile attack on an ordinary grocery store, a completely deliberate act of terrorism," Zelenskyy wrote on the messaging app Telegram. "Russian terror must be stopped."

Images broadcast on Ukrainian television showed rescuers picking through piles of rubble and mangled concrete, lifting blanket-swaddled bodies from the razed buildings.

The missile struck a cafe where around 60 of Hroza's residents were attending a memorial service for another villager who had died, Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko said on Ukrainian television. The village was home to only about 330 people, he said.

"Someone from each family was present in the cafe," he said. "It's terrible for the village, for the whole of Ukraine. This is another heinous war crime committed by the Russians for which they must be held responsible."

Some of those killed were in the grocery store next door, which was also destroyed, he said.

Klymenko wrote on Telegram that "preliminary findings" suggested the attack was carried out using a Russian Iskander missile.

There may still be people under the rubble of the destroyed shop and cafe, so rescuers, police and local residents continue to sort through the debris, he said.

Ukraine's Foreign Affairs Ministry accused Russia of having "deliberately and barbarically attacked civilian targets."

Denise Brown, the United Nations humanitarian coordinator for Ukraine, said in a statement that she was "appalled by the reports of a Russian strike that, shortly ago, ripped apart the village of Hroza."

She said images from the scene showing dead bodies strewn on the ground were "absolutely horrifying" and noted that intentionally attacking civilians is a war crime.

Emergency workers search the victims of a Russian rocket attack in Hroza, near Kharkiv, Ukraine, on Oct. 5, 2023. (Ukrainian Presidential Press Office via AP)

She added, "Our thoughts are also with the people of Ukraine, who had to witness today, once again, another barbaric consequence of Russias invasion."

Moscow did not immediately comment on the accusations from Kyiv. It has consistently denied targeting civilians, despite documentary and witness evidence showing that it has often killed and injured nonmilitary personnel, as in previous conflicts.

The missile strike on Hroza would be one of the deadliest attacks on civilians during the war.

In April last year, cluster munitions hit a train station in Kramatorsk, killing 60 people. And an Associated Press investigation found that around 600 people may have been killed when a theater in Mariupol was bombed while civilians sheltered inside; that total has not been confirmed.

Last month, another missile strike in Kostiantynivka, a city 80 miles south of Hroza, was blamed on Russia by Ukrainian officials. An investigation by The New York Times said there was evidence it was, in fact, an errant Ukrainian missile that had gone off course.

Hroza was among the parts of the Kharkiv region captured by Russian forces advancing early in the war, but Ukrainian troops took it back last fall. Only Tuesday, Zelenskyy had visited the area to inspect equipment supplied by the West.

He has insisted he remains confident that his country's allies will continue to send military aid, despite growing signs of splits in Europe and the U.S. Congress.

Russia needs this and similar terrorist attacks for one reason only: to make its genocidal aggression the new normal for the entire world, Zelenskyy said in a statement posted on his Telegram channel. We are now focused with European leaders, in particular, on how to strengthen our air defense, reinforce our troops, and protect our country from terror.

In Russia, President Vladimir Putin was speaking at a forum in the Black Sea on Thursday.

Putin appeared to brush off what he called a temporary glitch in funding for Ukraine after the deal to avoid a shutdown didn't include any new aid.

This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
Dozens of people were killed in a Russian strike on a grocery store and cafe in Ukraine on Thursday, local authorities said, in an attack which Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky described as a demonstrably brutal Russian crime.

Officials say the deadly shelling took place in the village of Hroza in the eastern Kharkiv region. In a message on his Telegram account, Zelensky shared a picture of a woman kneeling alongside several bodies. He said that 48 had died in the attack, while Ukraines prosecutor general said soon after that the toll had reached 49.

A New Threat of War in Europe Has Putins Fingerprints All Over It

Russian terror must be stopped, Zelenskys message read, adding that anyone who supports Russia until now supports evil. Russia needs this and similar terrorist attacks for only one thing: to make its genocidal aggression the new norm for the whole world, he continued. And I thank every leader, every nation that supports us in protecting life!

Andriy Yermak, the head of Zelenskys office, said that Russia had shelled a civilian object in Hroza, and that a 6-year-old boy was among those killed. It is also known about 6 wounded - also one child, a girl, Yermak added. Debris analysis is ongoing. Russians are terrorists who cynically and deliberately killed civilians.

The 6-year-old boys death was also reported by Oleg Sinegubov, the head of the Kharkiv Regional State Administration. He added that a cafe and a shop were both hit in the strike after 1 p.m.., and that there were many civilians in the area at the time. Sinegubov said the wounded were receiving medical assistance and rescue crews were continuing to pull people from the rubble.

The attack came as Zelensky attended a summit of the European Political Community, a forum which was set up after the full-scale invasion began in 2022. Around 50 European leaders attended the summit in Grenada, Spain, where the Ukrainian leader spoke of the importance of Europe remaining unified against Russian disinformation. Zelensky also said he remained confident in America despite the political storm that is gathering momentum in the U.S.

In his Telegram post about the strike, Zelesnky said he is speaking to allies about strengthening Ukraines air defenses and giving our country protection from terror. And we will answer the terrorists, Zelensky wrote. Absolutely fair. And powerfully.

Read more at The Daily Beast.

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Pakistan has mandated that all undocumented Afghan asylum seekers, numbering in the millions, must leave the country by November.

Tensions have been rising between the two nations this year due to increased strikes along their shared border, which Islamabad blames on personnel headquartered in Afghanistan.

Crackdown on Undocumented Immigrants

Pakistan's announcement of a crackdown on illegal immigration this week reflects the heightened tensions. The administration of the Taliban has called on Pakistan to reconsider its "unacceptable" action.

Reportedly, Afghanistan's government has denied on several occasions that it offers a haven to terrorists who attack Pakistan.

Last week, at least 50 people were murdered in an explosion at a mosque in Mastung city near the Afghan border. Pakistani Interior Minister Sarfraz Bugti, who issued a crackdown order against illegal Afghans, did not address the attack.

Refugees have a legal right to enter another country for protection. Hundreds of thousands of Afghans have sought sanctuary in Pakistan since the Taliban retook control of Afghanistan in 2021 after decades of conflict on both sides.

Read Also: Twin Suicide Bombings Kill At Least 57 People at Two Mosques in Pakistan

Directive to Leave the Nation

According to BBC, the United Nations estimates that 1.3 million Afghans are officially recognized as refugees, with an additional 880,000 being granted permanent residency.

However, on Tuesday, October 3, Bugti said that another 1.7 million individuals live in Pakistan illegally, presumably meaning they have not yet been granted refugee status. He added that by next month, those persons will have to leave the nation voluntarily or by deportation.

According to state media, he warned that all law enforcement forces at the provincial and federal levels would be used to deport illegal immigrants if they did not leave. He was vague on the specifics of such an operation, though.

He also declared the formation of a task group to seize the private property and enterprises of unauthorized Afghan immigrants.

Nevertheless, according to Zabihullah Mujahid, the spokesperson for the Taliban government in Kabul, Afghan refugees are not engaged in Pakistan's security issues.

Afghan officials in Pakistan reported that local authorities had started gathering Afghans, both with and without proper documentation, to stay in the country.

The Balochistan region on Pakistan's border is a regular target of armed combatants like the Pakistani Taliban (Tehrik-e Taliban Pakistan; TTP) and the Islamic State (IS) militant group. Earlier last month, an explosion in the same area wounded at least 11 people, including a prominent Muslim leader.

According to the official state news channel APP, Islamabad wants all Afghans living in Pakistan to leave ultimately, even those with legal status and Pakistan resident cards.

Bugti said there have been 24 suicide bombs along Pakistan's border, with more than half of them being the work of terrorists based in Afghanistan.

Beginning November 1, he stated, only those with valid visas and passports will be permitted into Pakistan.

Related Article: Pakistani Criminal Gang Illegally Harvests, Sells Kidneys: Report

@ 2023 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
The needle was found sometime in 2023 when doctors conducted an X-ray scan. Sakhalin Ministry of Health

An 80-year-old Russian woman has been living with a needle in her brain since birth, doctors said.

The Sakhalin Ministry of Health wrote that it discovered the inch-long needle sometime this year.

They believe she was the victim of a failed infanticide by her parents during times of famine.

An inch-long needle was discovered in the brain of an 80-year-old woman in Russia, said local health officials on Monday.

The Ministry of Health in the Sakhalin region wrote in a Telegram post that local radiologists had found the three-centimeter needle during an x-ray scan.

It did not say exactly when doctors made the discovery but noted it occurred in 2023.

The needle was found in the unnamed woman's left parietal lobe, per the ministry.

Officials said the needle has been in her brain since the time of her birth, and doctors believe her parents tried to kill her when she was an infant.

In times of war, some desperate parents would insert a needle into a soft spot of a newborn's head, where bones in the skull hadn't yet come together, the ministry wrote. That spot  the fontanelle  would then close and obscure the needle, though the infant would die, it noted.

"Such cases were not uncommon during the famine years," the ministry added.

Now 80, the woman was likely born around 1943.

But she survived the attempted infanticide, and never suffered headaches from the needle, per the Sakhalin health ministry.

Doctors said they would not remove the needle, fearing that surgery would worsen her condition, the ministry wrote.

She is being monitored by a physician, and her health isn't at risk, it added.

Sakhalin is an island of around 500,000 people off mainland Russia's southeastern coast. It sits in the Sea of Okhotsk, just north of Japan's Hokkaido.

Control of Sakhalin was split between the Soviet Union and the Japanese Empire in the early 20th century but was seized in its entirety by Moscow during World War II.

Read the original article on Insider
An infrastructure facility in Ukraine's Kirovohrad Oblast was hit as a result of a Russian night attack by drones. There were no casualties.

Source: Andrii Raikovych, Head of the Kirovohrad Oblast Military Administration, on Telegram; defence forces of Ukraine's south on Telegram

Quote from Raikovych: "The Russian aggressor attacked Kirovohrad Oblast with drones at night. The air defence system was activated, nine drones were shot down. There was a hit on an infrastructure facility. There were no casualties or injuries. All relevant services are involved in extinguishing the fire.

Early reports indicate that the civilian infrastructure is not damaged."

Details: The Defence Forces of Ukraine's south reported that 24 Shahed-131/136 drones were destroyed in their area of responsibility: 10 over Mykolaiv Oblast, nine over Kirovohrad Oblast, and five over Odesa Oblast.

Background:

On the night of 5 October 2023, Russians attacked Ukraine with Shahed-type attack UAVs from the south.

The Air Force destroyed 24 of the 29 Russian attack drones in cooperation with the air defence of Ukraine's Defence Forces.

Ukrainska Pravda is the place where you will find the most up-to-date information about everything related to the war in Ukraine. Follow us on Twitter, support us, or become our patron!
The Russian forces launched five air attacks near the city of Beryslav in Kherson Oblast.

Source: Oleksandr Prokudin , Head of the Kherson Oblast Military Administration, on Telegram, the Air Force of Ukraine on Telegram

Quote: "The Russians launched five air strikes in the proximity of the city of Beryslav. The information about the damage and casualties is being established.

Details: The air-raid warning was issued in Kherson Oblast from 12:10 to 12:42. The Ukrainian Air Force reported that there was a threat of aircraft attacks. The activity of tactical aircraft was registered on the eastern and south-eastern fronts.

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There have been a lot of fakes about President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and his wife Olena since the beginning of the full-scale war. However, the most recent one deserves special attention and appreciation for the plot. It is about US$1 million worth of diamonds and a sweet girl from the African republic of Benin who came to conquer New York, got her dream job (at a Cartier boutique) and lost it two weeks later (due to a spiteful first lady).

The girl deserves some kind of audience award for how diligently she pronounces "Zelenskaya" [Russian translation of Olena Zelenska s surname  ed.]

SCREENSHOT FROM SOCIAL MEDIA

Get the popcorn. The poor woman told her story on the now-empty Instagram account created in August 2023.

She said Zelenska visited the boutique during her trip to the USA with her husband. The inexperienced but hard-working saleswoman tried to help the VIP client, but Zelenska was not in a good mood, shouted at her and demanded to speak to the manager.

The innocent Jeanette (that's the name of the girl judging by the account handle) was dismissed from the job, but she decided to not leave the slight unanswered and made public "Zelenska's cheque" totaling a million dollars.

Jeanette decided to take revenge for her "ruined life"

A Nigerian media outlet, The Nation, could not ignore poor Jeanettes story. Its article about Zelenska was enthusiastically spread by the Russian media and the public as if it was going out of style. However, this story caused doubts even among the local social media users.

... and then everyone clapped

The Centre for Countering Disinformation reports that this is another fake on its Telegram.

"The date on the cheque is 22 September 2023, while the First Lady together with Volodymyr Zelenskyy was on an official visit to Canada on 22 September 2023, which makes it physically impossible for Olena Zelenska to have been in the New York jewellery stores during the time indicated on the fake cheque," the post says.

Reportedly, Russian propaganda has tried to spread fakes about the Zelenskyy family through Nigerian websites.

Photo: Getty Images

Ukrainska Pravda is the place where you will find the most up-to-date information about everything related to the war in Ukraine. Follow us on Twitter, support us, or become our patron!






Russian President Vladimir Putin said today that his country had carried out a new test of a nuclear-powered cruise missile with "global range," called Burevestnik , and that it was successful. He also declined to rule out the possibility of Russia resuming live nuclear weapons testing in the future.

Putin offered the details about Burevestnik and other strategic weapons matters while speaking at the annual meeting of the Valdai Discussion Club, a Moscow-based think tank. The Russian president also said that his country was getting ever closer to fielding its newest nuclear-armed intercontinental ballistic missile, the RS-28 Sarmat , a test of which reportedly failed in February . He added that he saw no need for new nuclear doctrine changes in light of current events, including the ongoing war in Ukraine.

https://twitter.com/Mike_Eckel/status/1709950635330707700 https://twitter.com/KomissarWhipla/status/1709950138729255024?s=20

Putin first publicly disclosed the existence of Burevestnik in a fiery state-of-the-nation address back in 2018. In that speech, he also provided details about work on five other advanced weapon systems, including Sarmat, the nuclear-tipped Avangard hypersonic boost-glide vehicle , the Kinzhal air-launched ballistic missile, the Poseidon nuclear-powered and nuclear-armed torpedo, and the Peresvet laser directed energy weapon.

The Russian President did not say today when or where the latest Burevestnik test had been carried out. However, there had been multiple indications just recently that such an event was likely to occur soon at the Pankovo test site in the Novaya Zemlya archipelago in the Arctic Ocean.

A map showing Russia's Novaya Zemlya archipelago in the Arctic Ocean. The specific location of the Pankovo test site is also marked. Google Earth

A public notice had previously been issued warning civilian aircraft and vessels about "hazardous operations" around Pankovo in Novaya Zemlya starting October 2 and running through October 31.

https://twitter.com/Marco_Langbroek/status/1708986602947592541?s=20

Publicly available satellite imagery from September had also shown signs of activity at Pankovo. What could be seen from space was consistent with preparations for a missile test and to otherwise improve facilities at the site, according to recent reports from CNN and The New York Times , and expert analysis from the Middlebury Institute of International Studies .

https://twitter.com/Gerashchenko_en/status/1709561112956477838?s=20

Pankovo is understood to be one of at least two sites where Burevestnik, also known to NATO as SSC-X-9 Skyfall, has been tested in the past. At least four tests of the missile in Novaya Zemlya between 2017 and 2018 were reported to have been failures .

Testing of Burevestnik was also previously carried out at a site near the village of Nyonoksa , also written Nenoksa, in Russia's far northwestern region of Arkhangelsk. That was the location of one attempted test of the missile in 2019 that ended in a catastrophic failure and raised significant concerns about nuclear contamination, as you can read more about here .

There had been indications that the Russians were preparing to restart Burevestnik testing in Novaya Zemlya in 2020. Major news about the program quickly fell off afterward and it appeared to have been put on hiatus.

Publicly trackable military aerial activity in recent weeks also pointed to an impending test of some kind at Pankovo. This includes flights near Novaya Zemlya by RC-135W Rivet Joint intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) aircraft belonging to the U.S. Air Force and the Royal Air Force (RAF) in the United Kingdom. A pair of Air Force Rivet Joint sorties in September "represented a slight uptick from usual known activity," The New York Times reported earlier this week.

https://twitter.com/Borrowed7Time/status/1706641821303177579 https://twitter.com/nukestrat/status/1704092068316942833 https://twitter.com/nukestrat/status/1570752577880588291?s=20

Rivet Joints are designed to collect a wide array of electronic and signals intelligence, as well as communications chatter, as you can read more about here . The RC-135Ws would definitely have been able to help gain insights into the nature of Russia's activity in and around Pankovo.

A US Air Force Rivet Joint aircraft. USAF

The arrival of a WC-135R Constant Phoenix in the United Kingdom yesterday also drew attention as being possibly connected to a Burevestnik test. The Constant Phoenix is a 'nuke sniffer' aircraft designed to collect air samples that can be used to glean information about possible nuclear weapon tests or radiological incidents. However, this jet has already left the United Kingdom and flown to Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar in the Middle East.

https://twitter.com/MeNMyRC1/status/1709968918821875777?s=20

Details about the broader state of the Burevestnik program and the missile itself, which is intended to be a nuclear-armed strategic weapon in addition to being nuclear-powered, remain scant. Suggestions have been made in the past it could use a nuclear thermal rocket or a nuclear-powered ramjet engine as its main propulsion method. In both of these concepts, which are not new, a small nuclear reactor replaces the typical chemical propellants and fuels.

The Russian Ministry of Defense released the video below in 2018 saying that it showed an earlier Burevestnik test launch, as well as examples of the missiles themselves.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=okS76WHh6FI\u0026t=2s

Theoretically, a nuclear-powered cruise missile using either one of these propulsion methods should have essentially unlimited range (relatively speaking). This would present significant challenges for an opponent since the missile's flight path could be extremely circuitous and irregular without impacting its ability to reach any point on Earth.

Whatever its exact design might be, Burevestnik's core concept raises serious safety concerns. There is the matter of what radioactive material the missile might release as it flies along and the question of what happens to its nuclear power source, no matter what it is, when it reaches its target. If Russia has been launching full-up Burevestnik prototypes this can only mean some amount of nuclear material has been strewn about even if in tests where everything has gone according to plan.

Putin's disclosure today about Burevestnik also follows a recent report from CNN suggesting that Russia, as well as the United States and China, may be taking steps to support the resumption of live nuclear weapon testing. The U.S. government has since categorically denied it is actively preparing for any such testing and has put forward an offer of on-site inspections for Russian and Chinese officials.

https://twitter.com/NNSAHruby/status/1706660366652960960

Russia, the United States, and China are all signatories to the 1996 Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (CTBT). Of this trio of countries, only Russia has ratified the agreement, though the United States and China have also imposed moratoriums on nuclear weapon testing. What was then the Soviet Union, the United States, and China conducted their last live nuclear weapon tests in 1990, 1992, and 1996, respectively.

While speaking at the Valdai Discussion Club gathering today, Putin said that Russia could theoretically withdraw from the CTBT, citing the lack of ratification of the treaty by the United States as a potential reason. At the same time, he said he was not prepared to say whether or not his country actually needed to be able to conduct new nuclear weapon testing.

https://twitter.com/ElenaChernenko/status/1709963295170437127?s=20 https://twitter.com/ElenaChernenko/status/1709963299238879615?s=20

Putin also rejected the idea that Russia needs to adopt a new official nuclear weapon doctrine with a lower threshold for potential employment.

"I simply don't see the need for this," he said . "There is no situation today in which, say, something would threaten Russian statehood and the existence of the Russian state. No. I think no person of sound mind and clear memory would think of using nuclear weapons against Russia."

Putin was responding to a direct question from Sergei Karaganov, a notable Russian foreign policy analyst and academic, who has recently called for more actively using the threat of nuclear weapons use to "contain, frighten and sober up our opponents."

This, of course, follows repeated nuclear saber-rattling by Putin and other Russian government officials in relation to the war in Ukraine. This has long prompted concerns about the potential for some kind of nuclear escalation in relation to that conflict, including the possible use of a limited nuclear strike to try to 'freeze' the situation in a way that is favorable to the Kremlin. There continues to be a debate among experts about just how likely Russia might be to use nuclear weapons if it falters significantly in Ukraine (especially when it comes to its hold on the Crimean Peninsula ) or if the stability of Putin's regime more seriously comes into question .

"[Russia] has to respond to constantly mounting military and political pressure," Putin said at Valdai today . "Unilateral steps, no matter who takes them, will inevitably trigger counteractions."

Russian President Putin speaks at the Valdai Discussion Club's 2023 plenary session. Vladimir Smirnov/TASS

It's certainly hard not to see Putin's disclosure today of the Burevestnik test, in particular, as another example of Russian nuclear signaling, at least in part related to the conflict in Ukraine.

When it comes to the Burevestnik itself, how that program is progressing, and how close Russia might be to deploying any significant number of these missiles operationally, much still remains to be seen.

Contact the author: joe@thedrive.com
In April 2019, Capital Public Radio announced plans to move from its cramped building on the Sacramento State campus to downtown Sacramento, which before the pandemic was a bustling area of businesses, state offices and the newly opened Golden 1 Center.

Rick Eytcheson, then CapRadios general manager, declared the move would add to the vitality and economic health of downtown Sacramento, and allow CapRadio to double its staff to 140 employees.

The plan eventually morphed into CapRadio plans to occupy two buildings, one for a performance center at 1010 8th St., the other to house the headquarters at 730 I St., a former Bank of America building that once housed the Sacramento Police Department and is on the citys register of Historic & Cultural Resources.

That building is owned by 730 I St. Investors LLC, which includes Sacramento developer Bay Miry.

Months after CapRadio announced its downtown expansion, Mirys wife, Katherine Bardis-Miry, joined the CapRadio board of directors in July 2019.

She has remained on the board ever since, including during the period when CapRadio signed a lease on the building on March 1, 2021, university documents obtained by The Bee show.

The lease agreement was signed by Bay Miry and Jun Reina, who was then CapRadios general manager, and runs through 2037, with monthly rent payments beginning at $68,976 after the first year of occupancy, when no monthly payments were required, and increasing to $97,439 at the end of the contract.

Now, with CapRadio projected to be insolvent by January, university officials are poring over CapRadios expenses, as well as potential conflicts of interest among board members.

I think any reasonable person would find concern with that, Sac State President Luke Wood said Wednesday in an interview with The Sacramento Bee, his first comments to the media about the financial troubles engulfing CapRadio.

That lease and other CapRadio purchases are drawing scrutiny by the university as officials say they are trying to save CapRadio from a financial abyss.

Invoices obtained by The Bee show that a company run by a former board member and CapRadio treasurer sold thousands of dollars in office furniture to the broadcaster for one of the new buildings, then charged thousands more to store the items while move-in dates were delayed.

Boards conflict-of-interest statements missed

Many of the financial problems facing CapRadio were revealed in an audit released by the California State University Chancellors Office last week.

The audit pointed out some real serious concerns about whats happening with Cap Public Radio, Wood said. And we need to understand at a deeper level what happened, how it happened, who knew, so that we can be responsible stewards of this entity.

The audit did not focus on the ownership of the building but did criticize CapRadio for failing to retain conflict of interest statements.

The (conflict of interest) policy states that members of the board should complete an annual COI statement, the audit said. However, CPR could not locate signed statements during the audit period because the staff member responsible for maintaining the statements was on sabbatical leave.

Bardis-Miry and Etchyeson, who retired in 2020 and was president emeritus until 2023, both say Bardis-Miry had no say in the selection of her husbands building for the new headquarters.

The discussions to go into the building started well before my appointment to the board and I made sure to recuse myself from any votes or detailed discussions regarding the property, Bardis-Miry wrote in an email in response to queries from The Bee. My involvement with the board and organization had no bearing on the building lease and associated decisions.

Etchyeson echoed that, saying CapRadio was in negotiations to land a lease on the building when she joined the board.

She had absolutely no influence on the decision, Etchyeson said in a phone interview. I can assure you, Katherine Bardis had no input.

He added that her appointment to the board while the deal was being negotiated had not caused any concern, saying, She was not part of that decision in any way.

Board Chairwoman Andrea Clark noted that board minutes show Bardis-Miry removing herself from a lease discussion at an October 2019 board meeting.

Katherine Bardis-Miry joined our board on July 25, 2019, and is in her second term ending July 25, 2025, she wrote in an email statement. The October 4, 2019 board meeting minutes reflect that the general manager requested that Bardis-Miry step out for the remainder of the meeting while the potential lease at 730 I Street was discussed by the board.

Subsequent lease negotiations were led by the general manager and chief financial officer, and the lease was executed on March 1st, 2021.

Clark and Bardis-Miry resigned from the board Wednesday night, along with 12 other members.

Board member was connected to furniture deal

Wood said he also has concerns about invoices from a company called Western Contract, whose president is former board member Bill Yee. That firm sold $22,197.41 in equipment and furniture to CapRadio in January and February 2023, according to invoices.

The company also billed CapRadio another $17,181.50 to store the equipment from September 2022 through last June, invoices say.

As in the Bardis-Miry case, documents show Yee left a board meeting while other directors discussed hiring his company, then approved it as the best deal available.

Board minutes from May 26, 2022, show Yee left the session as discussion began about using his company for purchases.

Yee excused himself from the meeting and was absent for new business discussion, the minutes say. Western Contract was selected as the vendor for our downtown facility.

The selection went through a bid process administered by LPAS. Compared to other bids, Western Contract was $193K less and offered better terms.

The Finance Committee agreed that the bid process was fair, and the contract is favorable and reasonable. The Finance Committee requested full board approval since Yee is President/CEO of Western Contract and CapRadios board treasurer.

Yee did not respond to a phone message left for him Wednesday morning at Western Contract, and a CapRadio spokeswoman did not provide answers to questions from The Bee about that contract.

Yees LinkedIn page shows he joined the board in January 2015, and board meeting minutes list him as a board member as recently as March 2023, when he was among three directors listed as absent for that session. The last meeting he was listed as attending was Nov. 17, 2022, when he presented a financial report.

Wood, in his interview with The Bee, gave essentially the same answer when asked about the Yee contract as he did when asked about a potential conflict with the building lease.

I think any reasonable person would have concerns with that, he said. Im a reasonable person.

CapRadio could run out of money

Sacramento State holds the license for CapRadio, an NPR affiliate that operates KXJZ-FM (90.9) and KXPR-FM (88.9) and a network of repeater stations, including KUOP-FM (91.3). CapRadio also manages North State Public Radio, which has two FM stations owned by Chico State.

The expansion effort and financial management problems have left CapRadio in a deep hole, with Sac State officials projecting it will be insolvent by January and Wood appointing an administrator to take over management of its operations other than journalistic or programming decisions.

Sac State officials disclosed last week that CapRadio is projected to be financially insolvent by January, and the release of an audit last week that found severe financial mismanagement at the operation.

Following the release of the audit, the university said it was assuming control of CapRadios financial and accounting operations, but leaving journalistic and programming decisions to a chief content officer at CapRadio.

Wood also appointed Jonathan Bowman, who first discovered inconsistencies in CapRadios financial records, to be the administrator overseeing the broadcaster.

Bowman made that discovery in 2021, which prompted then-President Robert Nelsen to order the audit of the operation.

The audit from the Chancellors Office of the 23-campus Cal State system found widespread financial problems and lapses, including lax controls on employee credit card usage, a lack of documentation for some expenses and a failure to provide internships and training for university students.

The audit also found CapRadio had failed to tag all equipment valued at $500 or more, as required, with auditors discovering that five laptops or computers could not be found and that in one group that was supposed to include 20 laptops valued at $757 each only three could be found.

We also found that a physical inventory had not been performed during our audit scope period, and CPR management could not recall the last time the inventory was performed, auditors wrote. CPR management stated that this was due to staff turnover and because much of the new equipment and furniture purchased for the downtown locations were not ready for use, as the locations were still being renovated.

Auditors also found that outdated equipment was not removed from CapRadio ledgers and instead were being stored in the CapRadio building.

During our walk-through performed onsite, we noted that disposals consisting of old studio equipment, wires, cables, printers, chairs, computers, telephones, and more were stored in two rooms at the CPR building, the audit said. Proper administration of property and equipment decreases the risk that assets may be lost, stolen, or misrepresented in financial statements.

The audit also found that CapRadio, which announced in 2019 that it planned to leave its campus building for the two leased buildings in downtown Sacramento, was unable to pay its own rent to Sac State.

Weeks before the release of the audit, the operation laid off 12% of its staff and cut programming.
Rishi Sunak was urged by a senior Tory on Thursday to sack Suella Braverman in an upcoming reshuffle.

Lord Barwell, who was Theresa Mays No10 chief-of-staff, praised the Prime Minister for hailing the UK as the most successful multi-ethnic democracy on Earth in his speech to the Tory conference in Manchester on Wednesday.

He interpreted this as a rebuke to Rightwinger Ms Braverman who in a recent speech in the US suggested multiculturalism had failed, with some immigrants not embracing British values and living parallel lives to the rest of the country.

The Home Secretary, whose parents came to the UK from Kenya and Mauritius in the 1960s, also told the Tory annual rally that a hurricane of migration was going to sweep the world, which could see millions of people arrive in Britain.

Commenting on the PMs speech and Ms Bravermans remarks, Lord Barwell, former MP for Croydon Central, tweeted: With a reshuffle coming, he should reflect whether it was right to give someone with such views such a high-profile platform.

Ms Braverman said earlier this week that her comments about multiculturalism had been somewhat mischaracterised and that she believed the UK had a great multi-ethnic society and that in many parts of our country integration has worked.

Environment Secretary Therese Coffey is also believed to be vulnerable to losing her job, with claims that she speaks too often in Cabinet, and several controversies including the sewage scandal.

Defence Secretary Grant Shapps was forced to deny that Ms Bravermans speech was an Enoch Powell situation.

Addressing delegates on Tuesday, the Home Secretary, who is seen by some MPs to already be manoeuvring for a possible leadership contest if the Tories lose the next election, said: The wind of change that carried my own parents across the globe in the 20th century was a mere gust compared to the hurricane that is coming.

Mrs Bravermans speech also drew heckles from senior London Tory Andrew Boff, who took umbrage with her allusion to the poison of gender ideology and was ejected from the hall after voicing his concerns.

A Conservative for about 50 years, Mr Boff later criticised her address as making our Conservative Party look transphobic and homophobic.

In a recent speech in the US, the Home Secretary attacked the misguided dogma of multiculturalism.
Hope and relief have turned to renewed frustration for many of the residents and neighbors a public housing apartment complex off Broadway in Upper Land Park.

On Sept. 20, the city cleared a homeless encampment in a vacant lot near the Alder Grove Apartments. But just two weeks later, a new encampment with tents, loose mattresses and RVs has sprung up, taking up half of 1st Avenue, which dead ends into the apartment complex.

The camp  and the myriad problems associated with it  has merely moved from a vacant lot to the sidewalk and street.

Several residents of the housing project with low-slung brick buildings expressed recognition of the challenges of homelessness, but also dismay about loose dogs, strewn garbage, public safety concerns, foul odors and the citys ineffectiveness in truly dealing with the problem.

Craig Chaffee, a longtime resident of the West Broadway neighborhood who owns a home nearby, said that officials need to be more aggressive in their response.

The City should move all those at that camp to a shelter in another part of Sacramento, Chaffee said. He added that its simply unfair, wrong and very harmful for those needing a helping hand up to be concentrated in his neighborhood, which struggles with poverty and crime.

Lee Archie, a local landlord, says he has already lost two commercial tenants  Nucleus Pump Services and A1 Towingwho moved out of his 1st Avenue buildings because of problems associated with the original encampment. Archie said with the new encampment the situation has worsened.

The street is partially blocked with cars without license plates... the smells are terrible, said Archie, who says he has called the city multiple times to complain. Its very frustrating, I feel the city is running me out of business.

Alder Grove resident Frances Barrientos regularly provides homemade burritos and coffee to those living in the encampment. Nevertheless, she, too, agrees that the city should do something about the new encampment.

An example of the larger problem

For many, the situation is an example of the citys failed strategy to effectively deal with its acute and ever-growing homelessness problem. On any given night, it is estimated that there are as many as 9,300 unhoused people in Sacramento County, including Sacramento. The city and county have roughly 2,300 shelter beds, all of which are typically full.

Councilwoman Katie Valenzuela, who represents the area, told The Bee the fact that homeless people are just shifting from a vacant lot to the adjacent sidewalk and street is why she voted against the enhanced enforcement measure.

We should be holding ourselves to a higher standard in terms of resolution, Valenzuela said, really finding people a place to go, so that we dont just move people, frankly, from one non-compliant location to another.

City spokeswoman Katharine Weir-Ebster told The Bee that the city has stepped up enforcement. Several departments, including code enforcement and a special outreach unit of the Sacramento Police Department, have worked overtime to deal with homelessness.

Its illegal for anyone to block a public street, but its unclear if the city will take action on 1st Avenue. Weir-Ebster did not respond to specific questions about the situation on 1st Avenue but in a statement said, its clear that people are feeling frustrated by this situation.

More broadly, Weir-Ebster said the City, in partnership with the County of Sacramento, is working urgently and diligently to respond to the ongoing homelessness crisis. The newly formed Incident Management Team is deploying interdepartmental teams daily to multiple locations to provide outreach, engagement, cleanup, and enforcement.

The situation is not unique to the area around Alder Grove. Frustration has been mounting across the city over a number of sprawling homeless encampments. In August, the city council voted 7-2 to authorize overtime by city workers so the city could launch a more rapid response to city code violations and other quality-of-life issues.

Then last month, Sacramento County District Attorney Thien Ho filed a lawsuit blasting the city of Sacramento for its descent into decay in handling its sprawling homeless crisis.

That decay at the encampment near Alder Grove has come in the form of a series of fires. The last straw appears to have been a major fire in August, the 14th to hit the former California Shellfish Co. next to the encampment.

Several people in the encampment acknowledged that people experiencing mental health crises living among them likely started several of the fires. An arson suspect known to experience homelessness, according to the Sacramento Fire Department, was arrested in August and charged with setting a June fire.

Following the sweep, last week the city dispatched Ben Worrall, social services manager for the citys Department of Community Response, to speak to some residents who had complained. The outdoor meeting occurred in the shadow of rubble from the recently torn down former California Shellfish building.

There are priorities all over the city and there are encampments all over the city, Worrall told about a half-dozen residents. We will have more teams in the field and our rapid response teams will get out here as soon as they can.

But for now the problems persist for the people living in the encampment as well as the neighbors living next to it.
Three junior sailors have pleaded guilty to their roles in the 2021 fentanyl-related death of a fellow sailor aboard Naval Station Great Lakes, Illinois, home of the Navys boot camp, officials have confirmed.

A 21-year-old recently graduated sailor died Nov. 6, 2021, after taking the drug in a barracks building aboard Great Lakes.

Navy Times has confirmed the deceased sailors name but is withholding it at the request of his family.

During a two-day trial at the Illinois base on Sept. 28 and Sept. 29, Seaman Brandon R. Ledesma pleaded guilty to a negligent homicide charge specification for giving the deceased sailor fentanyl, according to a Navy Region Mid-Atlantic spokeswoman Beth Baker.

Ledesma agreed to a plea deal and initially faced another negligent homicide charge specification for failing to contact authorities after the sailor collapsed, according to Ledesmas charge sheet.

He also pleaded guilty to an obstruction of justice charge specification for moving the sailors body into another room aboard the USS Cole barracks building on base, according to Baker and charge sheets. Ledesma further pleaded guilty to one charge specification for distributing fentanyl aboard the base on Nov. 5, 2021, the day before the sailors death, Baker said in an email.

Fentanyl takes lives at the Navys boot camp base

Ledesma initially faced multiple additional charge specifications, including involuntary manslaughter, lying to authorities, using and distributing a variety of illegal drugs aboard the Illinois base and for stealing more than $500 in video games, clothing and hygiene items from the bases Navy Exchange, according to his charge sheet.

A military judge sentenced Ledesma to 28 months confinement in the brig, a dishonorable discharge and reduction in rank to E-1, Baker said.

Earlier in September, a second sailor, Seaman Recruit Caleb Taper, pleaded guilty as part of a plea agreement in connection to the sailors death.

Taper pleaded guilty Sept. 15 to a variety of charge specifications, including for helping to move the body and multiple drug use and possession crimes, according to Baker and his charge sheet.

The plea deal saw Taper avoid conviction for involuntary manslaughter and negligent homicide in connection to the sailors death, charges he initially faced.

A military judge sentenced Taper to 37 months of confinement, a dishonorable discharge and total forfeitures of pay, according to Baker.

Fentanyl, an opioid, originally was conceived as a powerful prescription painkiller that dwarfs the potency of morphine and heroin, according to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.

Illegally made fentanyl powder is often snorted, sniffed or smoked, and is sometimes cut into heroin or cocaine, or laced into prescription painkillers like oxycodone, without the user knowing it.

The Navy has declined to provide further details of the events leading to the sailors death, so it remains unclear how he came to ingest the drug.

Fentanyl was involved in 174 overdose cases in the military from 20172021, with fatal fentanyl doses more than doubling during that span, according to Defense Department data released in February.

The Navy has declined to release specific data showing how many sailors have suffered fentanyl-related deaths in recent years.

In civilian America, more than 107,000 people suffered fatal overdoses in 2022, and more than two-thirds of those deaths were attributed to illegally manufactured fentanyl, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Fentanyl deaths among troops more than doubled from 2017 to 2021

The Illinois base is home not only to the Navys boot camp, but to a variety of follow-on schools for newly minted sailors.

Ledesma, Taper and the victim had recently graduated boot camp and were awaiting orders to Naval Submarine School, Navy spokeswoman Lt. Molly Sanders said in an email.

Navy defense attorneys for Ledesma and Taper did not respond to a request for comment.

The Navy also has confirmed that a third sailor, Seaman Apprentice Samuel I. Quan, pleaded guilty in November to charges that involved failing to report the moving of the sailors body, for wrongfully leaving the base in June 2022 and for possessing a Phase II Naval Service Training Command liberty card that he was not authorized to use.

Quan was sentenced to 90 days confinement, reduction to E-1 and a $10,000 fine, and his plea agreement contained a waiver of his right to an administrative separation board, according to Baker, who added that Quan is no longer in the Navy.

Quan could not be reached for comment.

The sailors family declined comment for this report, but an obituary states he ran track and played basketball in high school and was remembered for his laughter and compassion.

Meanwhile, investigations into drug use, possession and distribution aboard the Illinois base have skyrocketed in recent years, according to data obtained by Navy Times.`

The Naval Criminal Investigative Service, or NCIS, has conducted 70 narcotics investigations there since January 2020  more than double the 31 narcotics investigations the agency conducted between January 2015 and December 2019, according to agency spokesman Jeff Houston.

Such cases involved sailors and civilians. Houston said the agency could not clarify which drugs were involved in each of the probes by Navy Times deadline.

Loved ones watch their freshly sailors graduate at Great Lakes, Illinois, in this undated photo. (Navy)

The Navy community aboard the Illinois base also has seen five of its sailors die of drug overdoses since January 2020, according to NCIS.

Two died in 2020 and 2021, respectively, while the fifth passed away in 2022.

Three of the individuals suffered fatal overdoses off base, while the other two occurred inside the wire, the Houston said.

Another junior sailor died a fentanyl-related death in the Great Lakes base barracks in October 2020, according to NCIS records.

Two charged in connection with sailor overdose death on aircraft carrier

In 2020 alone, NCIS investigated at least five instances of drug smuggling aboard Great Lakes that at times involved the U.S. Postal Service, Navy Times reported in August.

Those substances included fentanyl, cocaine and the opioids hydrocodone and oxycodone, as well as the hallucinogen LSD, Xanax and THC, the psychoactive component in marijuana.

Numerous service members have been interviewed and related the illicit substances were being sent via the US mail and/or in re-packaged food containers, according to a December 2020 NCIS investigative summary report.

NCIS has yet to provide further records on those probes that have been requested by Navy Times via a Freedom of Information Act records request.

Navy officials did not answer questions about whether mail-screening procedures at the base near Chicago have changed in recent years, saying only in a statement that all inbound mail to the base is screened.

Packages are x-rayed and military working dogs randomly screen mail, Sanders in an email.

Asked whether the Navy believes that cases of drug use or smuggling aboard Great Lakes were indicative of larger systemic issues, Sanders said that the health and wellness of our Navy Sailors and community are a top priority.

We take pride in developing a culture of excellence, trust and respect, where our Sailors can reach their full potential, she said.
Salt water not expected to reach New Orleans until late November with improved Mississippi River forecast

NEW ORLEANS  Residents in Louisiana received good news on Thursday as officials say the forecast has improved on the lower Mississippi River, delaying the salt water from the Gulf of Mexico moving further upriver.

Drought and low water levels in the lower Mississippi River have allowed salt water from the Gulf of Mexico to win the battle and push farther up the river, impacting local water treatment centers.

The new saltwater wedge timeline from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers New Orleans District released on Thursday shows efforts to augment a sill, or underwater levee, in the river, and the flow-level forecast has improved, delaying the seawater reaching additional water treatment facilities by about a month compared to the previous estimates.

Based on the new timeline, the salt water will be at the Algiers Water Treatment Plant in late November, and it's possible the salt water may not reach the Carrolton Water Treatment Plant on the Eastbank of New Orleans. The previous timeline put the salt water at the Algiers plant by the end of October.

Saltwater intrusion timeline as of Oct. 5.

Two water plants serve the New Orleans area. The Carrolton Water Treatment Plant treats about 150 million gallons of water daily, and the Algiers Water Treatment Plant treats about 12.5 million gallons of water daily.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers New Orleans District began work more than a week ago to raise the sill by an additional 25 feet. The sill is designed to delay the salt water from the Gulf of Mexico from moving up the river, and engineers say it appears to be working already.

Col. Colin Jones, 65th Commander and district engineer for the USACE New Orleans District, said the saltwater wedge has remained stationary since Sept. 24 at river mile 69.4, the same day the construction of the augmented sill started about six miles away.

"Our daily river surveys show that the salt water that overtops the sill has less salinity and density than that behind the wedge. And what that means is it makes it very sensitive to upticks in flow in the river, which we've seen through the month of September," Jones said. "This benefit, coupled with the better forecasted flows in September and the updated 28-day National Weather Service forecast going into October has enabled us to update our models and projections for the saltwater impacts."

Drought in the Mississippi River Watershed stems from the Midwest.

Jones said the sill is about 62% complete and expected to be finished by Oct. 12.

HOW TO WATCH FOX WEATHER

This is the second year drought conditions in the river have threatened drinking water in southeast Louisiana. While more than 90% of Louisiana is under extreme to exceptional drought, the problem with the river stems from drought in the Midwest . Much of the river's flow comes from rainfall in the upper parts of the Midwest.

Normally, the Mississippi River holds off the Gulf of Mexico with a flow of about 300,000 cubic feet per second (CFS). The flow has been almost half that due to drought, according to the USACE.

Jones said the flow forecast from the National Weather Service has improved.

"Originally, we had flows going from 145,000 CFS dropping to 128,000 CFS across the 28-day forecast. Thankfully, we've stayed between around 145,000 CFS and 155,000 CFS, so better than predicted. That's given us additional time," Jones said.

The current forecast has the flow dropping to around 133,000 CFS over the next 28 days.

"Those better than forecasted flows helped delay the progress of the saltwater sill, but also working in conjunction with the benefits that we're seeing from augmenting the spill at (river mile) 63.8," Jones said.

Despite the improved forecast, contingency plans to barge in fresh water and a possible pipeline to circumvent the salt water remain in place, officials said.

On Sunday, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers began barging fresh water from an upstream location to water treatment facilities in Plaquemines Parish to dilute the salinity content to levels safe for water treatment.

The initial barge load of 500,000 gallons was delivered to the Port Sulphur Water Treatment Facility.

"As barges arrive at water treatment facilities, the fresh water will be transferred to storage or reservoir tanks and then mixed with salt water from the river to bring the chloride levels down below the threshold for treatment," the USACE said.

The USACE is working on the capability to deliver up to 36 million gallons of water per day if the saltwater intrusion impacts additional facilities on the Mississippi River.

An emergency declaration remains for four parishes threatened by the advancing salt water.





Original article source: Salt water not expected to reach New Orleans until late November with improved Mississippi River forecast
Military officials from the US Central Command (CENTCOM) confirmed Wednesday (October 4) that the Iranian weapons and ammunition seized by the US would be sent to Ukraine. This move would alleviate some of the critical shortages facing the Ukrainian military as it awaits more financial and logistical assistance from the US and its allies.

In a press release, CENTCOM said it had already transferred over one million rounds of the seized ammunition to the Ukrainians last Monday (October 2).

"The government obtained ownership of these munitions on July 20, 2023, through the Department of Justice's civil forfeiture claims against Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC)," the statement said.

The Justice Department announced last March that it was seeking the forfeiture of one million rounds of Iranian ammunition, as well as thousands of proximity fuses for rocket-propelled grenades (RPGs), and tons of fuel for RPGs that the US Navy seized from Iran over the past year as it was in transit to Yemen, CNN reported.

"These munitions were originally seized by US Central Command naval forces from the transiting stateless dhow MARWAN 1, December 9, 2022," the statement added. "The munitions were being transferred from the IRGC to the Houthis in Yemen in violation of the United Nations Security Council Resolution 2216."

The shipment came weeks after five Americans held in Tehran were returned to US soil as part of a prisoner swap in exchange for Washington unfreezing about $6 billion in oil revenue.

Read Also: Ukraine Could Potentially Join the EU as Accession Negotiations May Start in December

Guns From Iran to Ukraine

For months, the Biden administration has deliberated how to legally send the seized weapons currently stored in CENTCOM facilities across the Middle East to the Ukrainians.

It was said that the weapons and ammunition were frequently transported aboard small stateless vessels that use routes historically used to smuggle weapons to the Houthis in Yemen.

In mid-January alone, a Franco-American operation led to the seizure of around 3,000 Iranian assault rifles bound for Yemen and 23 anti-tank guided missiles.

Justice Department and defense officials have been collaborating to find a legal loophole to send the weapons to Ukraine, officials added, with one option being passing them over through the US's civil forfeiture authorities, of which at least two complaints were filed against seized Iranian ammunition and weapons this year.

"At the end of the day, Ukraine needs various supplies for the war effort, and while this isn't a solution to all of Ukraine's military needs, it will provide critical support," Center for a New American Security senior fellow Jonathan Lord said in a Washington Post op-ed last February.

Lord also stated that the move could seriously affect Iran's relationship with Russia. It can be recalled that Russia was heavily relying on Iranian-made drones to attack Ukrainian cities.

"There is poetic justice in Ukraine utilizing seized Iranian weapons to defend its people against Russia's criminal invasion and abuses," he added. "Additionally, this policy may put greater pressure on the burgeoning relationship between Moscow and Tehran."

Related Article: US Prisoners Come Home in Rare Prisoner Swap With Iran After $6B Unfrozen

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Sam Bankman-Fried was supposed to speak at the WEF's flagship event in Davos.

However, he decided not to show up the night before the event, per Michael Lewis ' biography on the disgraced FTX founder.

Lewis wrote SBF would cancel on people "because he'd done some math in his head that proved that you weren't worth the time."

Sam Bankman-Fried was supposed to speak at the World Economic Forum's annual meeting in Davos  but decided to pull out at the last minute, according to Michael Lewis' biography on the former FTX CEO.

An online program for the showed Bankman-Fried listed as a speaker at an event in Davos. A World Economic Forum spokesperson told Insider on Thursday this was an event on the sidelines of the official summit.

Lewis described Bankman-Fried's messy and chaotic schedule  which often changed because he would decide not to show up for meetings he had agreed to.

"CEOs had flown to the Bahamas under the mistaken impression that Sam had agreed to buy their companies," Lewis wrote in his book.

"The World Economic Forum had to scramble to fill a stage and cancel media interviews after Sam decided, the night before he was scheduled to deliver a big speech in Davos, not to," he added.

However, the World Economic Forum spokesperson told Insider that Bankman-Fried was replaced as a panelist in a session a few days before the official event, "which is not uncommon at such high-level meetings."

The World Economic Forum Annual Meeting is the organization's flagship event held at the end of each January in Davos, Switzerland. Political leaders, CEOs, and leading figures in other fields routinely attend the event.

It's not just his Davos showing, Bankman-Fried also ditched a high-profile Time magazine event.

"Sam had failed to fly to Dubai to give the keynote at Time magazine's party for the world's 100 Most Influential People, even after Time had named him to their list and flattered him in print," Lewis wrote. The former crypto mogul was featured on Time magazine's 100 Most Influential People list in 2022.

But, Bankman-Fried wasn't being personal when he canceled on people, according to Lewis.

"If he stood you up, it was never on a whim, or the result of thoughtlessness. It was because he'd done some math in his head that proved that you weren't worth the time," he wrote.

Lewis' book, "Going Infinite: The Rise and Fall of a New Tycoon," was released on Tuesday  the same day Bankman-Fried's criminal fraud trial started.

Bankman-Fried faces seven charges, including fraud and conspiracy relating to FTX's collapse. He has pleaded not guilty.

In his Wednesday opening statement, Bankman-Fried's defense attorney, Mark Cohen, presented him as a "math nerd" who did not take risk management into account.

Crypto exchange FTX  which was worth $32 billion in early 2022  filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on November 11 of the same year after a week-long liquidity crisis.

A representative for Bankman-Fried declined to comment to Insider.

Time magazine did not immediately respond to requests for comment sent outside regular business hours.

October 5, 4.51 a.m. ET: This report has been updated with comments from the World Economic Forum.

Read the original article on Business Insider
Satellite images show Russia moved parts of its navy out of Crimea after getting hammered by Ukrainian attacks

The Admiral Makarov and Admiral Essen frigates, three diesel submarines, five landing ships, and several small missile ships in the Russian port city of Novorossiysk seen in satellite imagery shared by Planet Labs PBC on October 4, 2023. Courtesy of Planet Labs PBC

Satellite imagery appears to confirm Russia has moved parts of its navy from Crimea.

The move is intended to shield the Black Sea Fleet from Ukrainian drone attacks, per a US think tank.

But one military analyst said we need more time to make any hard conclusions.

Russia has moved parts of its fleet from its Black Sea base in Sevastopol to safer waters in Russia and eastern Crimea, in a likely bid to protect it from further Ukrainian drone attacks, according to a prominent US think tank.

The Institute for the Study of War cited satellite images dated October 1 and 2 and shared by OSINT analyst MT Anderson to support the claim.

The imagery, captured by Planet Labs PBC, shows that at least 10 vessels were transferred from the Crimean port of Sevastopol to the Russian port city of Novorossiysk in western Russia, the ISW said.

Six amphibious warfare ships, two Admiral Grigorovich-class frigates, a patrol ship named Vasily Bykov, a Buyan-class corvette, and a Kilo-class submarine in the Russian port city of Novorossiysk seen in satellite imagery shared by Planet Labs PBC on October 4, 2023. Courtesy of Planet Labs PBC

According to MT Anderson, two Admiral Grigorovich-class frigates, along with a Krikav-class frigate, three Kilo-class submarines, and a number of smaller ships, were transferred.

But one Kilo-class submarine and four Russian landing ships were still stationed near Sevastopol, the ISW said, based on satellite footage from October 2.

A Project 22160 patrol ship was also seen for the first time on October 2 near the port of Feodosia in eastern Crimea, suggesting that Russian forces may be relocating navy units from Sevastopol to facilities farther to the rear, the ISW said.

A Project 22160 patrol ship stationed in the Ukrainian port of Feodosia in eastern Crimea, seen in satellite imagery shared by Planet Labs PBC on October 4, 2023. Courtesy of Planet Labs PBC

The UK's Ministry of Defence made a similar point on Monday, saying the threats of Ukrainian attacks likely caused some of the Russian Black Sea Fleet's operations to relocate to the port of Novorossiysk on Russia's western coast.

But it is too soon to jump to conclusions, according to former Norwegian Navy officer and independent OSINT analyst Thord Are Iversen.

Vessel transfers from Sevastopol to other bases have fluctuated since the start of the conflict, especially after Ukraine's attacks, but tend to go back to their regular patterns, Iverson wrote on social media platform X .

"While there are more ships in Feodosiya now, we need more time to make any hard conclusions on this," he added.

In recent weeks, Ukraine has intensified its attacks on Russia's Black Sea Fleet, including attacking its command center in Sevastopol on September 22.

Ukrainian attacks are part of a "sophisticated, multi-domain counteroffensive" designed to isolate Crimea and make it "untenable" for Russian forces to stay there, Ben Hodges, a retired lieutenant general and former commander of US Army Europe, told Insider last month.

Read the original article on Business Insider
It took eight years and the collaborative efforts of over 600 interdisciplinary undergraduate students, but Estonias second satellite is finally on track to launch later this week. Once in orbit thanks to a lift aboard one of the European Space Agency s Vega VV23 rockets, the tiny 8.5 lb ESTCube-2 will test an elegant method to potentially help clear the skies increasingly worrisome space junk issue using a novel plasma brake.

Designed by Finnish Meteorological Institute physicist Pekka Janhunen , the electric sail ( E-sail ) technology harnesses the physics underlying Earths ionospherethe atmospheres electrically charged outer layer. Once in orbit, Estonias ESTCube-2 will deploy a nearly 165-foot-long tether composed of hair-thin aluminum wires that, once charged via solar power, will repel the almost motionless plasma within the ionosphere.

[Related: The FCC just dished out their first space junk fine .]

Historically, tethers have been prone to snap in space due to micrometeorites or other hazards, Janhunen explained in an October 3 statement ahead of the mission launch. So ESTCube-2s net-like microtether design brings added redundancy with two parallel and two zig-zagging bonded wires.

If successful, the drag should slow down the tiny cubesat enough to shorten its orbital decay time to just a two-year lifespan. Not only that, but it would do so without any physical propellant source, thus offering a lightweight, low-cost alternative to existing satellite decommissioning options.

"It is exciting to see if the plasma break is going to work as planned... and if the tether itself is as robust as it needs to be," Carolin Frueh, an associate professor of aeronautics and astronautics at Purdue University, tells PopSci via email. "The longer a dead or decommissioned satellite is out there, the higher the risk that it runs into other objects, which leads to fragmentation and the creation of even more debris objects."

According to Frueh, although drag sails have been explored to help with Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellites' end-of-life maneuvers in the past, "the plasma brake technology has the potential to be more robust and more easily deployable at the end of life compared to a classical large solar sail."

After just seven decades worth of space travel, junk is already a huge issue for ongoing private- and government-funded missions. Literally millions of tiny trash pieces now orbit the Earth as fast as 17,500 mph, each one a potential mission-ender. Such debris could also prove fatal to unfortunate astronauts in their path.

Although multiple international efforts are underway to help mitigate the amount of space junk, even the process of planning such operations can be difficult. Earlier this year, for example, an ESA space debris cleanup pilot project grew more complicated after its orbital trash target reportedly unexpectedly collided with other debris. On October 2, the Federal Communications Commission issued its first-ever orbital littering fine after satellite television provider Dish Network failed to properly deorbit a decommissioned, direct broadcast EchoStar-7 satellite last year.

As satellite operations become more prevalent and the space economy accelerates, we must be certain that operators comply with their commitments, Enforcement Bureau Chief Loyaan A. Egal said at the time .

Estonias second-ever satellite is scheduled to launch on October 7 from the ESAs spaceport in French Guiana.
Saturday Night Live announced its return to television post-writers strike with Ice Spice and more. The long-running sketch comedy show will kick off its 49th season with a packed line-up.

On Oct. 14, former cast member Pete Davidson will take over hosting the show, and musical guest Ice Spice will make her SNL debut.

The following weekend, Bad Bunny does double duty as host and musical guest on Oct. 21. This will be the Grammy winners second time performing and first time helming the show as host.

According to The Los Angeles Times, the entire cast will return for season 49.

Comedian Chloe Troast will be the only new addition to the show this season.

The newcomer has been in the running to join the cast since last year, reports Deadline. Her resume includes co-writing and starring in the web series The Basics. She is set to appear in Peacocks The Treasure of Foggy Mountain on Nov. 17 and star in the college rom-com Sweethearts, produced by New Line for Max.

The iconic sketch comedy show resumed production after Sept. 24 when the Writers Guild of America and Hollywood studios reached an agreement to end the strike.

While some actors are still on strike, the guild members of the SNL cast has received support from SAG-AFTRA.

In a statement, the organization stated the actors are not in violation of SAG-AFTRA strike rules, and we support them in fulfilling their contractual obligations.

They continued, The program is a SAG-AFTRA non-dramatic production under a separate agreement that is not subject to the unions strike order. The majority of our members who are regular cast on Saturday Night Live had contractual obligations to the show prior to the strike. Many are under option agreements that require them to return to the show if the producers exercise their option, which the producers have done. It is important to recognize that SAG-AFTRA is fighting against the studios and not members who are required to go to work every day under other union contracts or personal service agreements. We stand with our union siblings across the industry as we also recognize our obligations under federal labor law.
WICHITA, Kan. (KSNW)   Saturday Night Live  is finally coming back months after its last season was cut short because of the writers strike.

Former cast member Pete Davidson will host the shows 49th season premiere, which airs at 10:30 p.m. CST on Saturday, Oct. 14, on NBC and Peacock.

Ice Spice will also perform as an SNL musical guest for the first time. Her music has reached more than 4 billion global streams in the past year, and she was named Best New Artist at the 2023 MTV Video Music Awards.

This is why Vanna White isnt on Wheel of Fortune this week

The entire cast from season 48 is returning, along with new addition Chloe Troast, who is joining as a featured player.

The following week, on Oct. 21, Bad Bunny will act as host and musical guest. The Grammy Award-winning artists fourth studio album, Un Verano Sin Ti, broke the record earlier this year as the most streamed album ever on Spotify.

Davidson had been set to host May 6, alongside musical guest Lil Uzi Vert, but his episode was the first to be cut after the writers strike started just days before.

Win the Powerball jackpot? Think twice before taking the cash

The writers strike was declared over Sept. 26 after Writers Guild of America board members approved a contract agreement with studios. While Hollywood actors are still on strike for most television and theatrical work, the SNL cast can resume performing as variety shows operate under a different contract.

Other late-night shows like The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, Jimmy Kimmel Live!, Last Week Tonight with John Oliver and The Late Show with Stephen Colbert have also returned.

The Associated Press contributed to this article.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX 4 Kansas City WDAF-TV | News, Weather, Sports.
An irrigation system waters an alfalfa field at the Fondomonte farm in Butler Valley, Ariz., in June. (Caitlin O'Hara / For the Washington Post / Getty Images)

A Saudi dairy company that grows hay in Southern California and Arizona for export to the Middle East is set to lose several leases that allow it to pump unlimited water from government-owned farmlands.

Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs announced this week that the state has terminated one of the leases held by the company, Fondomonte, and will not renew three other leases when they expire in February.

The action, although partly focused on details of the companys rental agreements, reflects concerns among some political leaders about the use of water to export alfalfa and other water-intensive crops at a time when chronic shortages are prompting calls to rein in water use along the Colorado River and throughout the Southwest.

Fondomonte, a subsidiary of the Saudi dairy company Almarai, also owns thousands of acres of farmland in Arizona and California, producing alfalfa that is shipped overseas to feed cows.

The leases of state-owned land in Arizona have generated heated debate, because they have allowed the company to pay a below-market lease rate and not disclose its water use  despite concerns about the depletion of groundwater in one of the driest parts of the country. State officials said a review found problems that led them to act.

Hobbs, a Democrat, said she directed the State Land Department to conduct inspections of the largest leases of state trust lands, and found that Fondomonte had a significant ongoing default of its lease dating to 2016.

Its unacceptable that Fondomonte has continued to pump unchecked amounts of groundwater out of our state while in clear default on their lease, Hobbs said in a written statement. She said her administration is acting to hold defaulting high volume water users accountable and bring an end to these leases.

Read more: Colorado River in Crisis: A Times series on the Southwests shrinking water lifeline

Fondomonte said it will appeal the state's termination of its lease and has contacted the governors office about factual errors in the decision.

The decision affects leases for 3,520 acres in a remote area of western Arizona desert called Butler Valley. The company also rents 3,088 acres of state farmland and other cattle-grazing lands under leases that aren't affected by the decision, and owns 3,762 acres in western Arizona where it relies on pumping groundwater.

In California, the company owns 3,375 acres of farmland near Blythe, where it pays the Palo Verde Irrigation District a flat rate for Colorado River water to irrigate its alfalfa fields.

Arizona has been charging the company $25 per acre. And Fondomonte, like other companies that lease state land in Arizona, can pump unlimited amounts of water from wells at no cost.

Critics of the leases praised the governors action.

I'm glad that it came to an end, said Holly Irwin, a La Paz County supervisor. We have a foreign company that is leasing land from the State Land Department in Arizona, mining our natural resource.

She pointed out that Fondomonte began buying and leasing land in Arizona after Saudi Arabia phased out the growing of cattle feed crops because the countrys aquifers had been depleted.

We can't afford to have our aquifers just depleted, Irwin said.

A water truck pulls onto a road next to a Central Arizona Project canal near the Fondomonte farm in Butler Valley, Ariz., in June. (Caitlin O'Hara / For the Washington Post / Getty Images)

The leases began generating criticism after an investigation by the Arizona Republic in 2022 revealed the discounted, below-market rates the state was charging, and the lack of reporting about the amount of water being pumped in Butler Valley, an area where groundwater has been earmarked as a potential future water source for Arizonas growing cities.

Irwin and other critics have said they are concerned the state is allowing overuse of groundwater on public lands, and that the state isnt receiving nearly enough in exchange for the water that is being pumped to irrigate crops.

Barrett Marson, a Fondomonte spokesperson, said the state is mistaken and the company has been adhering to the conditions of its lease.

We have done everything required of us under these conditions, Marson said. "Fondomonte will continue to work with the state to demonstrate its compliance with the current lease requirements."

Read more: Water concerns prompt new limits on growth in Arizona

Marson said that not renewing the other three leases would set a dangerous precedent for all farmers on state land leases, including being extremely costly to the state and Arizona taxpayers."

Fondomonte will explore all avenues to ensure there is no discrimination or unfair treatment, Marson said.

The company has been paying $76,000 annually for the four leases that are being canceled or not renewed.

Experts have said the state should increase rents for all companies that lease farmland, and should require them to disclose how much water theyre using.

Arizona currently leases about 160,000 acres of state trust land for agriculture. A large portion of the proceeds goes to funding public schools.

Fondomonte has been leasing land in Arizona for nearly a decade, much of that time during the administration of Gov. Doug Ducey, a Republican. Hobbs raised the issue during her campaign last year, in which she ultimately defeated Republican Kari Lake.

Arizona Atty. Gen. Kris Mayes has also examined the land deals, and earlier this year revoked permits that would have allowed Fondomonte to drill more wells on state-owned land  in addition to eight wells that records show the company has drilled in recent years while expanding its operation.

It has been long evident to Arizonans across our state that these leases never should have been signed in the first place, Mayes said. The decision by the prior administration to allow foreign corporations to stick straws in the ground and pump unlimited amounts of groundwater to export alfalfa is scandalous.

Mayes called the governors action a good initial step, and long overdue.

The failure to act sooner underscores the need for greater oversight and accountability in the management of our state's most vital resource, Mayes said, calling for additional steps to protect groundwater in rural areas.

Read more: In Arizona, Colorado River crisis stokes worry over growth and groundwater depletion

In most rural areas of Arizona, groundwater remains unregulated and state law doesnt limit well-drilling or pumping.

Groundwater levels have been dropping as large farming operations have expanded and drilled more wells, while some families have been left with dry wells and taps. State leasing of farmland adds a layer of complication to the widespread problems, with overpumping occurring on public land, facilitated by state policies.

The area of Butler Valley is one of the few groundwater basins in Arizona where water can legally be pumped and transported by canal to urban areas. The ongoing shortages on the Colorado River have heightened interest among officials in preserving that groundwater as a backup supply, said Kathleen Ferris, a researcher at Arizona State Universitys Kyl Center for Water Policy.

I do think that the cancellation of these leases is, in part, a response to scarcity, Ferris said. However, while many have expressed outrage that a foreign company has been allowed to pump Arizona groundwater to grow crops for export, the real issue is that Arizona lacks a comprehensive policy to manage groundwater supplies in rural areas. The depletion of finite groundwater in these areas by expanding industrial-scale agriculture will continue without such a policy, jeopardizing the water security of those areas.

The governor said the state canceled one lease after Fondomonte failed, despite being told in 2016, to include secondary containment structures on fuel storage units on the land.

Hobbs said the State Land Department also determined that renewing the three remaining leases in Butler Valley is not in the best interest of the states beneficiaries of the leases due to excessive amounts of water being pumped from the land  free of charge.

Marson said the company continued to be invested in Arizona and is committed to "efficient agricultural practices."

"Fondomonte will continue to work with Gov. Hobbs and her administration to discuss groundwater matters moving forward," Marson said.

The desert aquifers that supply the farmland, like others in Arizona, hold water that has accumulated underground over thousands of years. State records from six wells in Butler Valley show declines in groundwater levels ranging from 2 feet to 13 feet between 2010 and 2020.

Read more: A river guide's view of Lake Powell's decline and the depths of the Colorado River crisis

The governor noted that the area holds unique value as one of five water transportation basins that can be tapped when needed for other parts of the state, and the only one of those that is predominantly public land.

I think it's a sign of great concern on the part of the state, great concern on the part of the governor, that this water is simply too valuable to be used growing alfalfa, said Robert Glennon, a water law expert and regents professor emeritus at the University of Arizona.

He noted, however, that the United States is the worlds foremost exporter of water in the form of farm products, whether soybeans, wheat, corn, alfalfa or nuts.

The larger issue in Arizona, Glennon said, is the need for the state to start limiting groundwater pumping in unregulated rural areas, similar to rules that already exist in Phoenix, Tucson and other urban areas. As the situation stands, he said, in large parts of the state, its still open sesame.

Anyone who wants can drill a well and pump as much water as you want. And that's just the Wild West, Glennon said. There should be statewide rules.

Glennon said he favors this sort of reform rather than moving toward protectionism.

Glennon said he also served more than a decade ago as a lawyer on a consulting team for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, which was using large quantities of water to grow alfalfa.

One of the things we said was, You can't use this fossil-age water in the kingdom. It's just way too valuable,  Glennon said. You should instead go on the open market, and buy the alfalfa, the international market. 

He said thats precisely the approach Saudi Arabia has taken in recent years.

Irwin said she thinks Arizonas farmland leases have been completely mismanaged by the state, both by not requiring reporting of water use, and by allowing Fondomonte and other companies a discounted rate on lands where the state doesnt pay for improvements.

Not only were they getting a break on the leases, but that was money that was taken away from our kids' education, which is not acceptable, Irwin said. She said state officials shouldn't be giving out discounted leases to anybody, whether they're foreign or not."





This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Save Ukraines 12th mission rescued and brought back another 19 children illegally abducted by Russia

Save Ukraine brought 19 Ukrainian children out of Russian-occupied territories during its 12th rescue mission, the organizations executive director Mykola Kuleba, reported on Facebook on Oct. 5.

Kuleba, a former children's rights commissioner, added that his organization has managed to return to Ukraine a total of 196 children abducted by Russia.

Read also: Ukraine successfully returns nearly 400 children kidnapped by Russia

"We thank everyone who stood with us and helped us carry out this challenging but vital mission. We continue to move forward," Kuleba said, sharing a video of the freed Ukrainian children.

Previously, on Aug. 26, Kuleba said Ukraine had managed to bring back 11 children illegally abducted by Russia.

The International Criminal Court in The Hague issued an arrest warrant on March 17 for Russian dictator Vladimir Putin and Russian childrens rights commissioner Maria Lvova-Belova for war crimes in connection with the deportation of Ukrainian children to Russia.

Moreover, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe on April 27 adopted a resolution recognizing the forced transfer of Ukrainian children to Russia as an act of genocide.

According to the Commissioner for Human Rights at the Verkhovna Rada, Ukraines parliament, the Russians have taken almost 20,000 children from the territories of Ukraine they occupy, and approximately 6,000 are being held in re-education camps.

Read also: Russia has attempted to illegally adopt nearly 400 Ukrainian children in act of genocide, confirms Ukraine

The number of Ukrainian children illegally deported to Russia may have reached as many as 300,000, according to the European Parliament. MEPs believe that the Russians started abducting Ukrainian children in 2014, ever since the occupation of Crimea and parts of Ukraines Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts.

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Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
In September 2021, a tourist was sexually assaulted twice in one day in Key West  and the second attack was caught on the live webcam that live streams the famous Southernmost Point buoy.

On Thursday, a Monroe County judge sentenced one of the defendants, the man who raped the 34-year-old woman at the landmark, to 10 years in state prison, followed by five years of probation.

Kerry Calvin Gasag, 39, pleaded guilty to sexual battery, false imprisonment and evidence tampering. Had he gone to trial and a jury found him guilty, he faced up to 25 years in prison, said Assistant Monroe County State Attorney Joseph Mansfield.

The crime was amplified by Gasag initially being perceived as the womans protector, interrupting her being raped by someone else on Fleming Street just moments earlier, only to make her into his own victim when they arrived at the Southernmost Point, according to police.

A man in Boston watching the webcam saw the attack unfold and called Key West police to report it.

But police didnt find her until after the attack, when she ran down the street wearing only a top, according to the arrest report.

Officers took her to Lower Keys Medical Center and later interviewed her in her hotel Casa Marina hotel room, about a half a mile down South Street from the Southernmost Point. The Miami Herald is not naming the woman.

She told police her evening started with dinner on Duval Street, where she drank several glasses of wine. She told police that after dinner, she walked a few blocks to a bar, adding a large portion of her memory is missing after she arrived at the bar.

She did remember meeting a man at the bar and getting into his car, but got out after feeling unsafe, she told police.

Shortly after getting out of the car, however, a man grabbed her and forced her to the ground in a wooded area on Fleming Street and sexually assaulted her. The woman told police the man raped her for several minutes but she ran away when for an unknown reason he turned away from her.

Police said the man who raped her on Fleming Street is Jorge Calderon Nunez, 32. His case in the attack is pending, said Mansfield, the prosecutor. Hes being held in county jail on a bond of $225,000.

Detectives say a video found on the womans iPhone filled in the blanks in the victims memory and detailed the horror that took place as she was discovered by Gasag and afterward.

In the video, a woman is heard crying and a man, Gasag, is heard telling her to stop, officers said in their report. Gasag then says, stop means stop, and tells the woman to get up off the ground.

The woman told police that she initially thought that Gasag, who told her his name was Calvin, rescued her from her attacker.

But she was being led further into harms way.

Her cellphone video continued to record, picking up Gasag telling the woman hed take her back to Casa Marina. On the way, he asked her if she wanted to have sex, according to police. Officers said in their report the woman adamantly told him no, and she wanted out of the car immediately.

Gasag responded that he could have already had sex with her in the bushes and wanted to know why she didnt want to be with him. According to police, the woman got out of the car in a panic, and thats when her phone stopped recording.

The webcam, however, pieced together the rest of the story, according to police. It showed Gasag putting his hand over the womans mouth and dragging her behind the Southernmost Point buoy.

After a few minutes, police say the video shows the woman emerge partially clothed from behind the buoy, fall to the ground and then sprint east on South Street.

The webcam also filmed Gasag pick up a pair of jean shorts, get into his car and drive away, police say.

Police said in their report that Gasag was clearly identifiable in the video and they arrested him at his Northside Drive apartment.
Germany will send Ukraine another Patriot air defense system "to help ward off aerial and drone attacks during the coming winter months," German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said on Oct. 5.

He didn't provide a timeframe for the system's delivery to Ukraine.

The announcement follows a bilateral meeting between Scholz and President Volodymyr Zelensky on the sidelines of the third European Political Community Summit in Granada, Spain.

During the meeting, Zelensky briefed Scholz about the battlefield situation and priorities for defense assistance to Ukraine.

"I am grateful for Germany's support in defending our freedom and people. It is also a defense of Europe and our shared values," Zelensky said on Telegram following the talks.

Read also: Bild: Scholz blocking delivery of Taurus missiles to Ukraine for the foreseeable future

Ukraine has received four Patriot systems, three provided by Germany and another by the U.S. They proved their worth soon after the delivery by downing air-launched ballistic Kinzhal missiles, lauded by Moscow as "unstoppable hypersonic" weapons.

Air defense is likely to remain a priority of Ukraine, as Russia is reportedly capable of producing up to 67 missiles per month. Kyiv says Moscow will likely attempt the strategy of crippling Ukraine's energy system with mass strikes again the following winter.

Read also: Patriot air defense faces its toughest challenge ever in Ukraine

Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz 's coalition is gearing up to take a political hit at key state polls (John MACDOUGALL)

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz's troubled coalition is expected to take a hit at two major state polls that come halfway through its term, while the far-right is set for new gains.

Almost 14 million voters are eligible to cast ballots on Sunday in southern Bavaria, the country's biggest state, and western Hesse, with a surge in immigration and economic woes among key topics.

Scholz took power about two years ago leading a three-party coalition, but within months his government had to contend with the fallout triggered by Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Berlin rapidly had to tear up a long-held pacifist stance to back Kyiv, while the ensuing energy crisis hit Europe's top economy particularly hard, sending it into a recession.

Adding to its problems, Scholz's coalition -- comprising his centre-left SPD, the Greens, and the liberal FDP -- has been consumed by bitter infighting on issues ranging from climate laws to spending cuts.

Politics at the national level and disagreement within the coalition are dominating the polls, Ursula Muench, director of the Academy for Political Education in Tutzing, told AFP.

Serious disputes over issues like a new law to slash emissions from household heating are seen as "examples that this government is just not capable of taking action," she said.

"That it is so slow, and does not tackle the important issues."

Arndt Leininger, a political expert from the Chemnitz University of Technology said, "the parties that form the federal government are in a bad starting position here.

"In both states, all three parties are currently below their results in the last regional elections."

Not helping the cause of the SPD and its coalition partners, both states are conservative strongholds, with Hesse ruled for 24 years by the main opposition CDU, and Bavaria since 1957 by the CSU, headed by Markus Soeder.

Meanwhile the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) is forecast to make gains in the two states after a recent surge in poll ratings at the national level, and a string of local election triumphs.

While they are not expected to enter government in either state -- their strongholds are in eastern Germany -- further progress would ring alarm bells anew about the party's growing popularity.

- Immigration tensions -

As well as discontent at the coalition's policies, the AfD has been boosted by the issue of immigration, which has emerged as a central theme at the polls.

As elsewhere in Europe, Germany has been facing a surge of new arrivals this year that has revived memories of a major influx in 2015.

In Bavaria, the conservative Christian Social Union (CSU), the sister party of the CDU, is expected to extend its hold on power, with state premier Soeder -- seen as a potential chancellor candidate -- to retain his post.

Ahead of the vote, the state's ruling coalition was rocked by a scandal when Soeder's deputy, Hubert Aiwanger, admitted possessing Nazi pamphlets, found in his schoolbag as a teenager in the late 1980s.

Aiwanger, leader of the populist Free Voters, the junior coalition partner, managed to hang on to his job, and his party actually won more support after he claimed he was victim of a "witch hunt".

In contrast, the parties from Scholz's coalition are expected to lose support compared to the last elections in 2018, and the FDP may not even meet the threshold to get into the state parliament.

The SPD has sought to make gains in Hesse by fielding a heavyweight, Interior Minister Nancy Faeser, but the party is also forecast to lose support while the CDU is on course to remain in power.

The CDU -- the main opposition at the national level -- will thus retain its state premier, Boris Rhein.

A poor result in the polls could cause more problems for the coalition in Berlin and could make the FDP, which has sometimes sought to block proposals by coalition partners, even harder to work with, analysts warn.

"(The party) could take an even sharper tone, which could make substantive cooperation more difficult," said Leininger.

ilp-sr/hmn/cw/dhw
The following is a press release from US Central Command pertaining to the seizure of Iranian weapons seized by the US military:

On Oct. 2, 2023, the US government transferred approximately 1.1 million 7.62mm rounds to the Ukrainian armed forces. The government obtained ownership of these munitions on July 20, 2023, through the Department of Justice's civil forfeiture claims against Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).

Read Also: Biden Admin SocMed Company Communication Restriction Now Includes CISA

These munitions were originally seized by US Central Command naval forces from the transiting stateless dhow MARWAN 1, Dec. 9, 2022. The munitions were being transferred from the IRGC to the Houthis in Yemen in violation of the United Nations Security Council Resolution 2216.

The US is committed to working with our allies and partners to counter the flow of Iranian lethal aid in the region by all lawful means including US and UN sanctions and through interdictions. Iran's support for armed groups threatens international and regional security, our forces, diplomatic personnel, and citizens in the region, as well as those of our partners. We will continue to do whatever we can to shed light on and stop Iran's destabilizing activities.

Related Article: US Army Deliberates on How to Punish Travis King

@ 2023 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Parasto Hakim was startled by a knock at the front gates.

She scanned her classroom for a quick headcount  all the girls were already in attendance. It could only be the Taliban.

Her heart pounding, she opened the door to find at least five members of the Afghan militant group demanding to check if she was breaking any rules. She was. This was a secret school, set up to teach girls despite the bans on female education imposed by the Taliban since they retook control of Afghanistan two years ago.

Hakim immediately employed the schools security protocols. In order to ensure her staff and students safety, she had instructed them on how to respond to a Taliban inspection.

I told the girls to stay silent, keep your eyes down and dont talk even if the Taliban speak to you directly, Hakim said from an undisclosed location outside Afghanistan.

So when they (the Taliban) were asking them questions, the girls were just looking at me and I had to reply  I was so scared.

Hakim says the Taliban tried to bribe the girls into talking, but they remained silent. The militants then started shouting at her and tried intimidating her and another teacher with their questions, she said. But after getting nowhere, they left.

Hakim operates SRAK, a clandestine network of schools, which educates around 400 girls across eight Afghan provinces with the help of 150 brave teachers and staff. CNN is not using the 25-year-olds real name, or the names of the female teachers and students we interviewed for this story to protect their safety.

CNN was granted access to film inside one of SRAKS underground classrooms on the condition the location of the school and the identity of the students and staff remain hidden for their safety.

Broken promises

In the summer of 2021, Hakim watched in horror as the Talibans tanks rolled into Kabul amid the United States chaotic final withdrawal from the country. This time the group vowed a more progressive government than its previous fundamentalist rule between 1996 and 2001.

At a news conference held shortly after the takeover, senior Taliban leadership insisted women and girls would be protected from violence and that education would remain a right for all. Hakim did not believe a word of it, she says.

They said the exact same words as before, saying they will make (Afghanistan) an environment according to the Sharia law and Islamic values, that they would have girls back at school and women would be able to work and attend university, Hakim said.

I thought to myself, they are lying, they wont change, and they will never ever allow girls to go to school again.

The Talibans promises were soon broken. Girls are not allowed to go to school beyond the 6th grade and are barred from attending university.

Girls, faces partially covered, attend class at a hidden school in Afghanistan. - CNN

Women are being erased from Afghan public life by the all-male government. Last December, all local and international non-governmental organizations (NGOs), including the United Nations, were ordered to stop their female employees from coming to work. This year the Taliban closed all beauty salons across the country, an industry that had employed roughly 60,000 women.

The UN described the Talibans draconian restrictions as discriminatory and misogynistic in a report published in June this year and said their rule could amount to gender apartheid and a crime against humanity.

CNN has asked the Taliban for comment about why girls and women are barred from accessing educational opportunities but has not received a response.

Hakim says she came to the conclusion that continuing to provide girls with an education was the only way to fight back against the Taliban. In the face of history repeating itself, she turned to the example set by Afghan women who defied the odds more than 25 years ago, the last time the Taliban seized control.

I was asking myself, what was the young generation doing in 1996 when the Taliban were in power? How were they living? she said.

Girls are taught tailoring techniques using newspapers at the hidden school in Afghanistan. - CNN

I wanted to scream, but I couldnt

Inspired, in part, by a 1996 Christiane Amanpour documentary titled Battle for Afghanistan, Hakim decided to create secret schools for a new generation of Afghan girls.

That night, Hakim says she made a series of frantic calls to her contacts, asking for help. Among them was her old friend, Maryam.

We have to start at least something for girls to gather together and have their own indoor community, in underground spaces to learn and be educated, Hakim recalled telling Maryam. I have all the resources you need; I just need you (Maryam) to expand it, she continued.

I was working so I could afford to buy books, notepads and everything we need for underground classes.

Maryam, a trained educator, said that when she heard from Hakim, she was eager to help and wanted to break free of the Talibans restrictions.

After the militant group imposed the bans on girls education, Maryam says she was trapped at home and felt like a zombie, with nothing to do and nowhere to go. The situation led to her suffering from severe anxiety and depression, she said.

I was in a situation where I wanted to scream, but I couldnt, it was some of the worst days of my life, she said.

Maryam says as word of the school got around, more students began to enroll, and she found girls were relieved to attend to escape the pressure of being at home.

Some girls refuse to stay home on government holidays, even if theres no teacher at the school, they ask me to let them come in, Maryam said.

That shows how desperate they are to escape the stress of sitting at home and thinking about how they are deprived of their rights.

Girls attend class at the hidden school in Afghanistan. Subjects covered include math, science, English and tailoring. - CNN

On the day CNN visited Maryams hidden classroom, about 30 girls were huddled into a tiny room to learn everything from English to math to science and tailoring.

The school is like a light for me, its like a road where I can see happiness and sunrise at the end of it, Maryam said.

It gives me hope that one day regular schools will reopen, and every girl will be free to go back to school and women will be able to go back to their jobs.

Such hope is sorely needed in Afghanistan. Rates of anxiety, depression and suicide among women are on the rise in Afghanistan since the groups return to power, according to the UN.

It felt like being a prisoner

One of Maryams students, 16-year-old Fatima, was among the many girls and women feeling depressed and anxious while confined to their homes by the Talibans prohibitions, their future opportunities tragically curtailed.

I thought I was being thrown out of society, Fatima recalled. It felt like being a prisoner, like a prisoner who is only allowed to eat and drink, but not allowed to do anything else.

By sitting uneducated at home, we cant achieve anything, she continued. I didnt want to be a burden on my family and society, and by getting an education, I want to fulfill my dreams.

With the support of her family, she discovered the underground classes taught by Maryam and others and found her passion. She loves tailoring and dreams of becoming a famous fashion designer.

I want to be a woman who is well known amongst people, she said. I dont want to be behind a mask forever, I want to be able to show my real face.

Fatima and Yalda, not their real names, speak to CNN at the hidden school in Afghanistan. - CNN

For Yalda, another student, resuming her education proved to be a lifeline. She had nearly given up on her goal of becoming an engineer.

It was an escape from the anxiety and depression I felt sitting at home, the 14-year-old said about going back to school, even in this limited way.

Yalda, Fatima, Maryam and countless others are dreaming of a future without the Taliban and preparing for the day they can step out of the darkness.

Even if the Taliban stay seven or eight more years, they will eventually go and then we can go to university and continue our education, Yalda said.

Half a human being

Fawzia Koofi, a womens rights activist and pioneering Afghan lawmaker under the previous internationally backed administration, remembers living through a similar regime change when the Taliban first came to power.

Speaking from exile, Koofi says women then faced the same restrictions on movement and education that they face today. And back in 1997, she  just like Hakim  started a secret school, but with a few differences.

It was always a small number of girls, maybe six or seven, I only taught them English and science, not to arouse suspicion (from the Taliban), Koofi said. We still had to be very careful and take precautions to prevent them from detecting us.

Fawzia Koofi, a former deputy speaker of the Afghan parliament who now lives in exile, is pictured in London in December 2022. - Justin Tallis/AFP/Getty Images

Koofi had been accepted into medical school but was confined to her home when the Taliban took power in 1996.

When youre outside, the Taliban would look at you as if you are half a human being; telling you to cover your face, she said. It was never about what you can contribute to society or how talented you are, it was only about what you wore.

During her subsequent political career, Koofi made history in 2005 by becoming the first woman elected to Afghanistans parliament and then the countrys first female deputy speaker.

After the Taliban returned in 2021, she fled the country, hoping one day to return.

Hope stronger than fear

Back at the secret school, Maryam learns the Taliban are checking neighborhoods for illegal activities and fears they risk being caught. She still feels gut-wrenching nerves at the prospect of a visit from the militants.

I am scared, I experience fear at every moment, she said. But at the same time, I move on with the hope that tomorrow will be better than today.

There is a power stronger than fear, that is our hope for the future.

The future is something Fatima also keeps in mind while making her journey to school every morning.

She says she worries that she could be arrested by the Taliban but, to her, its worth the risk.

If they detain me, I will tell them I just want to be educated, Fatima said. I dont want to sit at home and that is not a crime.

CNNs Mark Esplin contributed to this report

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Jon Romano served 17 years in prison for opening fire at his high school in 2004.

He was released in 2020, and has since gained 250,000 followers on TikTok.

Some praise his quest for redemption, while others question if he should have a platform at all.

A school shooter released from prison in 2020 is gaining a significant following on TikTok where he shares his quest for redemption.

But while over 250,000 people follow him, and many praise his honesty, others are unhappy that he has a platform like that.

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Jon Romano was 16 when he brought a shotgun to school in upstate New York, opened fire, and shot a teacher, hitting them in the legs.

Nobody was killed in the attack as the assistant principal, John Shawchuck, wrested Romano to the ground. But Romano was sentenced to 20 years for attempted murder. He served 17.

Romano now uses his platform to advocate for better mental health services in the US and stricter gun control.

He told Insider in an email that he understands the backlash but concluded "I do believe I am helping."

He wrote: "I can never undo what I have done, the pain and trauma that I have caused upon so many, but I am working towards preventing others from experiencing that same pain and suffering."

As well as talking about gun violence, Romano also posted about the aftermath of being attacked at the homeless shelter he was working at by a man wielding swords in 2022.

The attack left him badly injured, and in rehab after having several of his limbs reattached.

In one of his most popular videos posted in July, Romano gave his take on how teachers can help students who are struggling mentally. He said his intention when he went into school that day was "not to kill but to be killed," and that he walked around waiting for police to show up after firing two rounds into the ceiling.

He explained he shot a teacher in the leg after the assistant principal tackled him and they fought over the gun. He said that while he wasn't seriously injured physically, "I know that mentally, him and countless others were traumatized and still suffer to this day almost 20 years later because of me."

He said mental health was something that wasn't talked about enough at schools, and there should be more of a focus on thinking about the emotional mindset people are in when they do bad things.

He also said teachers should open up to students and let them know they also went through tough times.

"I think there's power in vulnerability, power in opening yourself up," he said. "And learning to do that can change lives  your own as well."

This embedded content is not available in your region.

Romano's account has been on the receiving end of some backlash recently from people who question his motives.

One creator named Lars called Romano out for "getting clout" from his past, and said it was "disingenuous" of him to "build a platform off of the trauma that you've caused others."

"And you do so under the guise of spreading awareness of mental health," they said. "But to me, after watching many of your videos, it seems like you are mainly interested in protecting the mental health of people like you  white, young boys."

Another creator named Che Guerrero said Romano's videos were "nothing but white privilege at work."

"He doesn't even mention the fact that most school shooters are white men, and this is tied to white privilege and white supremacy," he said. "I truly believe this guy is still dangerous."

Both Lars and Guerrero pointed to one of Romano's videos where he spoke about the sword attack in 2022, where he said people could be racist towards white people. The man who attacked him was Black, and called him "the white devil," he said.

Guerrero said Romano was focusing on race rather than the man's mental-health issues, which they said was in conflict with his advocacy elsewhere.

"I'm not justifying the Black man's actions, but you are a white guy who shot up a school, did very little time, got out, and is now monetizing the crimes you committed," he said.

Romano turned off his comments on TikTok since criticism has mounted over the past two days.

Romano told Insider that he understands the backlash, and despite it, he also gets people reaching out to him thanking him for what he does. Often these messages are from parents, teachers, and students who are "frustrated with the lack of change" and believe he can "help save lives."

"I weighed out if my speaking publicly would help more people than it would hurt," he told Insider. "Because I know my sharing my story hurts people, but I do believe I am helping."

This embedded content is not available in your region.

In 2004 after the attack, students and law enforcement officials described Romano as a disturbed teenager, who "had a lot of problems," The New York Times reported.

''He just became more of a freak,'' one 16-year-old student told the outlet at the time. ''He was depressed and he just didn't care because he lost all his friends."

Romano expressed remorse in a letter he sent to the Albany Times from prison. In it, he called his actions the "worst mistake I ever made," and said he wanted to "make sure others don't make the same mistake. "

He said his aim was to die when he entered the school, and that he never expected to walk out alive. He urged anyone having similar thoughts to speak to a therapist or a priest before doing something they would regret.

He also said since being arrested, and having his freedom taken away, he learned "how precious life is."

"Please nobody follow in mine or other's footsteps by bringing a weapon to school. Please don't even try to take your own life. Life is too precious whether you notice or not," he wrote. "Always remember if you hurt yourself or others, you'll also be hurting your family and loved ones or theirs."

Read the original article on Insider
TEFE, Brazil  Researchers have performed necropsies on nearly 120 dolphins that died in the Upper Amazon River system over the past few weeks, where officials believe an ongoing severe drought has caused shallow water temperatures to skyrocket.

The dolphins are the gray river dolphin and the rare Amazon River dolphin, also known as the pink river dolphin. They are only found in Brazil, Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Peru and Venezuela, according to the World Wildlife Fund. The pink dolphins are the largest and one of only a handful of freshwater dolphin species left in the world.

A scientist conducting a necropsy on a dolphin.

"This represents (about) 10% of the population of the species," Miriam Marmontel, of the Mamiraua Institute, told Reuters. "So, it is a very significant impact because we are close to 5%. You can see that it is the percentage of population replacement (that is in jeopardy). If this modality continues to increase, then yes, we will (have)  a very critical situation."

The dolphin's pregnancy lasts for about 13 months. After that, the mother feeds her calf underwater for two years. So, females reproduce only every three to five years, according to research published in the Biological Journal of the Linnean Society.

"They are a very slow reproductive species," author Vera da Silva and researcher for the Amazon Institute told MongaBay.com. "If the removal is higher (than the reproduction and rearing rate), the species does not have the capacity to replace itself."

Da Silva also found that Brazil's Amazon River dolphin population is halved every decade.

UNUSUALLY HOT FLORIDA SEA SURFACE TEMPERATURES ON TRACK TO CAUSE MASS CORAL BLEACHING EVENT

File: The dolphins are born gray, but some turn pink with age.

Aerial video from Reuters that was recorded at the end of September showed dolphin after dolphin rotting on muddy banks. Vultures pick at the decaying fish in flocks. Some dolphins are still floating, and the carnivores use the body as an island. Their once brilliant pink skin is now a dark mottled grey-brown.

What looks like streams in the mud used to be channels in a large lake. The level at Rio Negro, monitored by the Port of Manaus, steadily dropped 8-14 inches a day for the last two weeks of September. So far, in the first four days of October, the level dropped more than 2 feet.

HOW TO WATCH FOX WEATHER

In this aerial view, boats are seen stranded in Aleixo Lake due to the severe drought west of Manaus.

The level is only 4.5 feet lower than Rio Negro's record low of all time set in October 2010, according to the port. And shallow waters over dark mud heat very quickly. A geosciences researcher told Reuters that water temperatures in spots of Lago Tefe hit 102 degrees Fahrenheit on the day 70 dolphins died. Water temperatures this time of year are generally between 84 and 87 degrees.

"So it is an extremely high value that certainly has to do with this mortality," said Ayan Fleischmann, a researcher analyzing conditions.

Researchers are also looking at other causes of death like a bacterial infection. They can not move the surviving dolphins to a cooler place until bacteria have been ruled out.

The amount of dissolved oxygen in water decreases as it warms, so the area has also seen a mass fatality of other fish. Brazil's Environment Minister told Reuters that the rotting fish have contaminated drinking water.

FLORIDA EVERGLADES WATER TEMPERATURES REACH HOT-TUB LEVELS

Thousands of dead fish clog the shrinking waterways.

Meteorologist Joselia Pegorim told Brazil Reports that El Nino was partially to blame, and conditions will get worse.

"El Nino will act to reduce rainfall in the northern region of Brazil, which could aggravate the drought situation already observed at the end of winter and which will continue into spring, due to the high temperatures in the North Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico," Pegorim said.

The Governor of Brazil's Amazonas state declared an Environmental Emergency in mid-September. That allowed funding for humanitarian aid, like food and drinking water, to be brought in. Residents of the Upper Amazon rely heavily on fish as the main source of protein.

STRONG EL NINO WINTER: WHAT KIND OF WEATHER YOU CAN EXPECT

A woman carries a child through a dry riverbed due to the severe drought on the Rio Negro River west of Manaus. House and fishing boats lay on the mud.

The Amazon River, rainforest and seasonal floodplains can rise and fall up to 39 feet a year with tropical rains. The city of Manaus, the capital of the Amazonas, only saw one day of rain in all of August, according to the Climatempo Institute. Levels have been steadily declining since June.

During floods, the Amazon and its tributaries overflow, and the dolphins can swim through rainforest trees and roots in search of food.

The World Wildlife Fund for Nature estimates that the Amazon River dolphin population is in the tens of thousands.





Original article source: Scientists fear heat, drought killed at least 120 rare dolphins in Amazon
NORTH PORT, Fla. - On Wednesday, a student at Woodland Middle School was arrested after a gun was found in their possession, according to authorities.

Police say the school administration was alerted that a student had a gun on Wednesday morning.

READ: Boy, 11, arrested for shooting 2 football teammates at Apopka practice over bag of chips, police say

Once the school's administrative was notified, the Sarasota County Schools Police Department (SCSPD) immediately became involved, police said.

According to authorities, the student has been apprehended and there is no threat to students, teachers, or staff members.
The city of Seattle has agreed to pay nearly $2 million to the family of a man who died after medics waited to enter his home because his apartment was marked with an outdated caution note, according to the familys attorney.

William Yurek died in November 2021 at age 46 after his then 13-year-old son called 911 twice in 13 minutes, according to a lawsuit filed by Yureks family in December accusing the city of negligence.

Although Seattle Fire Department medics got to the residence about six minutes after the first call, they waited to enter because Yurek was wrongly included on aso-called blacklist of people who had a history of hostility toward first responders, the familys lawsuit alleged. Yureks residence was marked with a caution note because a previous tenant had been put on the list, the lawsuit added.

The lawsuit was settled Monday for $1.86 million, according to the familys attorney, Mark Lindquist.

Medics initially waited outside for Seattle police to arrive, but decided to enter the home without a police escort about six minutes after the sons second call that his fathers condition was worsening, according to the lawsuit.

During that second 911 call, the operator told the teenager that help was on the way when, in reality, medics already were at the residence waiting to go inside, according to the lawsuit. The operator did not advise Yureks son to administer CPR, the lawsuit alleged.

When medics eventually chose to enter the apartment without a police escort, about 20 minutes had passed since the initial 911 call. Yurek died of cardiac arrest in front of his son despite the medics treatment, according to the lawsuit.

Once inside, medics did everything they could to save Wills life, Lindquist said in a news release shared with CNN. The family has always been grateful to the medics who broke protocol to go in and do their best.

The Seattle city attorneys office made major changes to its caution note system, the office told CNN affiliate KING.

The operating guidelines on caution notes, which were modified prior to the settlement, were changed to provide that caution notes about people, activities and materials expire after 365 days in the system or get reviewed and renewed, a statement from the office to KING reads.

Additionally, caution notes about the need for (Seattle police) assistance due to violent or threatening behavior are to be verified after every alarm dispatched to the address. Lastly, a caution note is to be removed if the occupant no longer lives at the address, the statement reads.

Lindquist told CNN it wasnt until he began looking into what caused the medics delay in entering Yureks home that he learned of the citys police escort requirements for residents with caution notes.

CNNs attempts to contact a spokesperson for the Seattle city attorney were not immediately successful.

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The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission will try to force Elon Musk to testify over his Twitter stock purchases.

The federal agency charged with regulating securities markets is currently investigating Musk for allegedly violating securities laws when he bought Twitter shares before buying the social media platform, which he has since renamed X.

Buying Twitter stock before acquiring the company could mean Musk was guilty of insider trading, market manipulation or even violation for fair market disclosure.

The SEC said on Thursday that Musk failed to appear to testify last month as requested. According to a filing by the agency in federal court in San Francisco, first spotted by Bloomberg, the agency is auditing Musk's statements and disclosures about the stock transactions.

Since the SEC began its probe in April 2022, Musk has sent hundreds of documents and testified twice in July 2022, according to the filing. The investigation is ongoing and nonpublic.

The agency said Musk agreed to an interview with the SEC last month in San Francisco, but two days before the scheduled September 15 meeting, the billionaire raised objections, saying San Francisco wasn't a good location for it. He has claimed that San Francisco jurors dislike him after a questionnaire sent out to 200 prospective jurors came back with majority negative opinions of Musk.

The SEC suggested moving the interview to Fort Worth, Texas, where Musk resides, but the agency says he refused to meet at all.

This isn't Musk's first tussle with the SEC. Famously, the Tesla CEO has been ordered to have a lawyer review his Tesla-related tweets after Musk tweeted in 2018 that he had "funding secured" to take Tesla private for $420 per share and that investor support for the deal was confirmed. Teslas share price fluctuated in the weeks that followed, which prompted an SEC investigation into whether Musk had committed securities fraud.

The SEC is also investigating Musk and Tesla over their claims regarding Tesla vehicles' "full self-driving" capabilities, as well as Tesla's use of company funds to build Musk a "glass house."
The SEC just revealed it's investigating Elon Musk 's Twitter investment and eventual takeover.

The agency says Musk has failed to sit for an interview regarding the case, with various excuses.

Musk's lawyer Alex Spiro called the entire investigation "misguided."

Elon Musk's investment in Twitter and his eventual $44 billion acquisition of the platform is being investigated by the Securities and Exchange Commission, with whom Musk now refuses to sit for an interview.

The SEC on Thursday asked a California federal court to force Musk, who acquired Twitter, or X, just under a year ago, to comply with a May subpoena asking him to sit for testimony. The filing revealed what the agency said has been "an ongoing nonpublic investigation by the SEC regarding whether, among other things, Musk violated various provisions of the federal securities laws" with his initial secret collection of Twitter stock in early 2022 and his later purchase of the company, along with statements he made about the deal.

Although it was noted last year in a filing in a separate court action that Musk was under federal investigation, it did not disclose by which body or what the investigation concerned.

"The SEC seeks Musk's testimony to obtain information not already in the SEC's possession that is relevant to its lawful investigation," the agency said. "The SEC has followed all appropriate administrative steps required in seeking Musk's testimony. In the face of Musk's blatant refusal to comply with the SEC's subpoena, the SEC now asks the Court to intervene and compel Musk's compliance."

Although Musk previously gave the SEC a half-day of testimony in July of 2022 related to its investigation, the agency said it is requesting he submit to further questioning because of the huge amount of additional information it's received this year. The SEC has "thousands of new documents from various parties as part of its investigation, including hundreds of new documents produced by Musk."

"The SEC has not yet had an opportunity to question Musk about those documents and other substantial information it has obtained in its investigation since July 27, 2022," the agency said in its filing.

After months of back and forth with Musk's lawyer, who the SEC claims never objected to Musk sitting for another interview, the Tesla billionaire agreed to be questioned on Sept. 15 in San Francisco. He did not appear for testimony.

Musk's lawyer, Alex Spiro, told Insider: "The SEC has already taken Mr. Musk's testimony multiple times in this misguided investigation  enough is enough."

'Spurious objections'

"Instead, two days before his scheduled testimony, Musk abruptly notified the SEC staff that he would not appear," the SEC said. "Musk attempted to justify his refusal to comply with the subpoena by raising, for the first time, several spurious objections, including an objection to San Francisco as an appropriate testimony location."

Other of Musk's objections included that the SEC was attempting to "harass" him and that his biography, Elon Musk by Walter Isaacson, was being published close to the date of his scheduled testimony and his lawyers needed "time to review" material in the book. Musk and his personal confidants made up most of the books sources.

Although the SEC attempted to choose another date and location to interview Musk, he shifted to a "blanket refusal to appear for testimony," according to the agency.

It is now asking the court to force Musk to comply and sit for an interview.

A representative of Twitter did not respond to requests for comment.

Read the original article on Business Insider
The Securities and Exchange Commission is suing Elon Musk in a bid to compel him to testify in a probe into his 2022 purchase of Twitter, the company now known as X, the agency said Thursday.

The Wall Street regulator is investigating potential violations of U.S. securities laws regarding Musk's $44 billion deal to acquire Twitter as well as his statements and SEC filings about the company, the agency said in a filing in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.

The investigation is ongoing and has not concluded that any laws were violated, the SEC added in a related release.

Musk and the SEC have regularly clashed over the last decade, with the Twitter deal the latest flashpoint between the two.

Last month, Musk failed to appear to testify after four months' notice, according to the SEC. The sides had an agreed-upon date, but two days beforehand, Musk canceled, "raising, for the first time, several spurious objections," the SEC said.

Alex Spiro, an attorney representing Musk, said in an email: The SEC has already taken Mr. Musks testimony multiple times in this misguided investigation - enough is enough.

The SEC stated in the order that Musk objected to questions about why the agency needed him to testify again, the location of the testimony and the fact that a biography about the billionaire came out in September that his lawyers needed time to review.

None of Musks objections has any legal validity, and he has no justifiable excuse for his non-compliance with the SECs subpoena, the agency wrote in the order.

The tensions between the SEC and Musk date back to the Tesla CEOs tweets in 2018 discussing a deal to take the electric car manufacturer private at $420 per share. Soon after, the SEC filed and settled fraud charges against Musk  leading to his ouster as Tesla chair and a $20 million penalty. Musk later in the year went on the "60 Minutes" television show to declare he does not respect the SEC.

Musk recently lost a courtroom fight over the terms of the settlement, though Spiro has said he plans to appeal to the Supreme Court.
A memorial altar for five missing and apparently murdered young men has been set up outside the Templo de la Merced church in Lagos de Moreno, Mexico (ULISES RUIZ)

A second suspect in a kidnapping, torture and murder investigation in Mexico has been arrested, prosecutors said Wednesday, after grisly images of them leaked, prompting public fury.

In August, a week after the group of five childhood friends aged 19 to 22 vanished in the western state of Jalisco, police found charred bones and four skulls at a property in the area.

Photos and videos emerged showing the men kneeling with their hands bound, and the moment one of them was attacked with a blunt object and a knife.

One clip appeared to show one friend attacking another, presumably forced to do so by their captors.

A man identified as Celestino M. had been taken into custody in connection with the disappearance, the local prosecutors office said Wednesday.

On Monday, authorities announced they had arrested another man, identified as Rogelio M., on charges related to the disappearances in the city of Lagos de Moreno.

The five men were kidnapped on August 11 while they chatted in the working-class neighborhood of San Miguel.

Jalisco Governor Enrique Alfaro previously said their disappearance was "evidently linked to organized crime."

"We are facing irrational, violent and direct attacks on the stability of Jalisco that demand a reaction from the Mexican state," he added.

One of the most powerful organized crime groups in Mexico, the Jalisco New Generation cartel, operates in the region and is embroiled in turf wars with rival drug syndicates.

The case has stunned residents of Lagos de Moreno, home to a thriving dairy industry, colonial buildings and flower-filled parks honored as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The city has registered more than 400 missing persons since 2009.

Many are believed to have ended up in clandestine graves and crematoria, or their remains dissolved in acid.

News of the arrest comes a week after six teenagers kidnapped in the neighboring state of Zacatecas were confirmed dead.

The 14-to-18-year-olds had been abducted by an armed group after a party less than a week earlier.

Mexico has recorded more than 420,000 murders since the launch of a controversial military anti-drug offensive in 2006.

Since then, the country's murder rate has tripled to 25 per 100,000 inhabitants.

It has registered more than 110,000 disappearances since 1962, most attributed to criminal organizations.

About 15,000 of those have happened in Jalisco, the highest number among Mexico's 32 states.

jla/mas/mca/lb
Nadine Arslanian married Bob Menendez in 2020, two years after she struck and killed a pedestrian.

Records show that she has a history of traffic infractions, including using a phone while driving.

One of the cars ticketed is the same make and model prosecutors said she was given as a bribe.

Nadine Arslanian, the wife of embattled New Jersey senator Bob Menendez , has a history of traffic violations stretching beyond a fatal 2018 crash in which she struck and killed a pedestrian, municipal records show, including two citations for using her phone while driving.

Arslanian hit 49-year-old Richard Koop with her Mercedes-Benz in front of his house in December 2018, killing him. Police determined she was not at fault.

Arslanian and Menendez were indicted last month on bribery allegations. Investigators described Arslanian as the architect of a scheme in which an Egyptian businessman traded cash and gold bars for political favors and information from the senator.

Arslanian seems to have been something of a fixture in New Jersey traffic courts, racking up six tickets between 2005 and 2018 for violations, including using a phone while driving, ignoring traffic signs, and failing to maintain her headlamps. Politico New Jersey's Matt Friedman was first to report on her checkered driving record.

Arslanian received another ticket for using her phone while driving in 2021, three years after she killed Koop, municipal records show. She paid a $240 fine.

Arslanian's ex-boyfriend Doug Anton , a criminal defense attorney known for representing R. Kelly, sometimes defended her in traffic court, records show  often without success. In 2016, for instance, he failed to get her out of a $51 parking ticket.

A parade of luxury vehicles make their way through Arslanian's traffic citations, with tickets showing her driving a BMW and three different Mercedes-Benzes.

One of those Benzes, a black 2019 convertible, is the same model that federal prosecutors said was gifted to Arslanian from the Egyptian businessman at the heart of the bribery scandal, Wael Hana.

Arslanian's attorney and Senator Mendendez's office did not respond to requests for comment at the time of publication.

Read the original article on Business Insider
A Nebraska wedding accident happened after a grandfather officiating the ceremony decided to fire his revolver.

Authorities said that there was no ill intent in the man's action. However, it injured his beloved grandson. If you are curious why this unfortunate incident happened, here's the full story.

Nebraska Wedding Accident: Officiating Grandpa Fires Revolver, Injures Grandson

According to CBS News' latest report, a 62-year-old man accidentally shot his grandson the weekend before a wedding ceremony. Before the incident, guests were somehow panicking because somebody forgot to bring the wedding rings needed for the ceremony.

Because of this, the ceremony started late on Saturday, Sept. 30. Sheriff's Office Chief Deputy Ben Houchin said that wedding guests were spread out at the Hillside Events venue in Denton, Lancaster County. To get everyone's attention, the officiating grandpa, Michael Gardner, used his revolver to shoot the gun outside.

CNN US reported that the gun was a Pietta Model 1860 Snub Nose revolver. But the man didn't use a live bullet. Instead, he decided to use a blank bullet to ensure that his action would not harm anyone. Unfortunately, this is not what happened.

"When he decided to cock back the hammer of this revolver, it slipped and it shot his grandson in the left shoulder, causing an injury," said Houchin.

The chief deputy explained that Gardner made the blank bullets by putting black powder into the 0.45 casings and gluing it.

"What we believe is the glue is what injured the child," the law enforcement official added.

Read Also: Missing New York Girl: Authorities Issue Amber Alert After 9-Year-Old Charlotte Sena Vanishes on Camping Trip

What Happened to the Grandson?

Luckily, the grandson is still alive and only suffering from non-life-threatening injuries. But, he sustained a deep laceration to his left shoulder. Responders and authorities took the kid to a local hospital. After that, he was transferred to another facility in Omaha for further treatment. On Monday, Oct. 2, the grandfather turned himself in, allowing law enforcement officials to investigate the incident. Houchin said he doesn't believe Gardner intended to harm his beloved grandson. However, the chief deputy still criticized his action, saying it wasn't very smart. "Playing with firearms, no matter what, [even] if they're blanks, bad things can certainly happen," he added. Related Article: Pava LaPere's Suspected Killer Got Out of Jail; Cops Reveal Suspicious Details of Tech CEO's Death

@ 2023 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Footage obtained by News 12 New Jersey shows the fatal crash involving Nadine Arslanian and a pedestrian.

Arslanian, who is now married to Sen. Bob Menendez of New Jersey, was not charged in the incident.

The couple is under increased scrutiny after they were charged with bribery last week.

Newly released footage shows the night Sen. Bob Menendez's now-wife Nadine Arslanian fatally hit a pedestrian in her Mercedes-Benz on a New Jersey street in December 2018.

Security footage of the incident was obtained and published by News 12 New Jersey on Wednesday evening a few hours after NorthJersey.com and The Record of New Jersey first reported on the crash.

JUST IN: News 12 New Jersey has obtained security video from a 2018 incident where Sen. Menendez's wife Nadine Arslanian struck and killed a pedestrian.

MORE: https://t.co/VoyQH7weel pic.twitter.com/TRtFwfgk5y  News12NJ (@News12NJ) October 4, 2023

A December 2018 police report reviewed by Insider said Arslanian struck and killed a man on Main Street in Bogota, a borough in suburban Bergen County, New Jersey.

The pedestrian in the video is blurred to soften the visual impact of the crash. Later in the footage, other bystanders can be seen waving down a police car while standing near the victim.

Arslanian, who married Menendez in 2020, was not charged in the incident. The Bogota Police Department said in an investigation into the crash that Arslanian was "not at fault" and said the pedestrian had been jay-walking.

The victim was 49-year-old Richard Koop. He was hit and killed in front of his house, the police report said.

"It was a tragic accident and obviously we think of the family," Menendez told reporters Wednesday.

Both Menendez and Arslanian are under increased scrutiny after they were indicted on bribery charges last week. Prosecutors allege the two helped three Egyptian businessmen in exchange for bribes, including a 2019 Mercedes.

Menendez has denied wrongdoing and resisted calls from his fellow Democrats to resign his seat in the Senate.

Representatives for Menendez did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.

October 6, 2023: This story has been updated to clarify language around the incident.

Read the original article on Business Insider
SAN FRANCISCO (KRON)  A memorial service for the late U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein was held on the front steps of San Francisco City Hall on Thursday, in the city where she served as its first female mayor.

The service started at 1 p.m., and several dignitaries and notable guests gave remarks.

Speakers at Sen. Feinsteins memorial service included Vice President Kamala Harris as well as Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and U.S. House Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi. San Francisco Mayor London Breed and Eileen Mariano (Sen. Feinsteins granddaughter) are also scheduled to speak.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom , a former San Francisco mayor, and former Gov. Jerry Brown were in the audience.

A recorded message from President Joe Biden was also played at Thursdays memorial.

She was always tough, prepared, rigorous, compassionate. She always served the people of California and our nation for the right reasons, Biden said.

Members of the public await their turn to pay respects as the casket of the late Sen. Dianne Feinstein in the Rotunda of City Hall in San Francisco, Wednesday, Oct. 4, 2023. (Jessica Christian/San Francisco Chronicle via AP)

Members of the public were invited to pay their respects on Wednesday at San Francisco City Hall, where Sen. Feinstein was lying in state. Thursdays memorial was originally planned to be open to the public as well, but was later limited to 1,500 invited guests only.

Guests seated in white chairs sweltered on an unseasonably hot day as the U.S. Navy Blue Angels flight team soared overhead, occasionally interrupting speakers with the roar of their jets.

The flight demonstration squadron is in the city as part of Fleet Week, an annual San Francisco celebration started by Feinstein in 1981 when she was mayor.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX 4 Kansas City WDAF-TV | News, Weather, Sports.
SAN FRANCISCO (KRON)  A memorial service for the late U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein was held on the front steps of San Francisco City Hall on Thursday, in the city where she served as its first female mayor.

The service started at 1 p.m., and several dignitaries and notable guests gave remarks.

Speakers at Sen. Feinsteins memorial service included Vice President Kamala Harris as well as Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and U.S. House Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi. San Francisco Mayor London Breed and Eileen Mariano (Sen. Feinsteins granddaughter) are also scheduled to speak.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom , a former San Francisco mayor, and former Gov. Jerry Brown were in the audience.

A recorded message from President Joe Biden was also played at Thursdays memorial.

She was always tough, prepared, rigorous, compassionate. She always served the people of California and our nation for the right reasons, Biden said.

Members of the public await their turn to pay respects as the casket of the late Sen. Dianne Feinstein in the Rotunda of City Hall in San Francisco, Wednesday, Oct. 4, 2023. (Jessica Christian/San Francisco Chronicle via AP)

Members of the public were invited to pay their respects on Wednesday at San Francisco City Hall, where Sen. Feinstein was lying in state. Thursdays memorial was originally planned to be open to the public as well, but was later limited to 1,500 invited guests only.

Guests seated in white chairs sweltered on an unseasonably hot day as the U.S. Navy Blue Angels flight team soared overhead, occasionally interrupting speakers with the roar of their jets.

The flight demonstration squadron is in the city as part of Fleet Week, an annual San Francisco celebration started by Feinstein in 1981 when she was mayor.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WesternSlopeNow.com.
SAN FRANCISCO  The late Senator Dianne Feinstein was celebrated in a memorial service Thursday, held on the steps of San Francisco's City Hall where her remarkable political career began.

Security was high as invited attendees passed through a screening upon arrival before taking their seats in front of City Hall. There were also a number of street closures in effect around the building to accommodate the hundreds who were seated on Post Street for the memorial in addition to a wide security perimeter around the event.

ALSO READ: Sen. Dianne Feinstein and her legacy

Officials had planned to make the service open to the public with standing space in Civic Center Plaza, but announced early Wednesday evening that it would be a private event due to security concerns regarding the many dignitaries in attendance.

Adam Russell, a spokesperson for Feinstein's office, confirmed that the service would still be held outside, but noted the security perimeter would be too far back for the general public to see and hear.

UPDATE: Mourners pay respects to Sen. Dianne Feinstein at San Francisco City Hall

Feinstein was remembered by friends and colleagues as a pioneer whose political journey was marked by many firsts. Besides being the first president of San Francisco's Board of Supervisors and the city's first female mayor, Feinstein was the first woman elected to represent California in the U.S. Senate alongside Barbara Boxer in 1992.

Around 1,500 guests were invited to the private ceremony. Dozens of members of Congress flew into San Francisco to attend the service including Sen. Alex Padilla, who is now the senior senator from California, Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota, Congressman Adam Schiff and Congresswoman Zoe Lofgren among others. California Governor Gavin Newsom and his recent appointment to fill Feinstein's seat, Laphonza Butler, and former governor and Oakland mayor Jerry Brown were also in attendance.

Vice President Kamala Harris, Senate Majority Leader and New York Senator Chuck Schumer, Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi, San Francisco Mayor London Breed and Sen. Feinstein's granddaughter, Eileen Mariano were also in attendance and spoke at the memorial.

Mayor Breed was the first speaker, welcoming those gathered to San Francisco City Hall.

"Today, we honor the life of Senator Feinstein. That is her official title. It's how Californians and people all over the world knew her. But to us, to San Franciscans, she was Mayor Dianne Feinstein," Breed said before remembering how, as a 13-year-old French horn player at Benjamin Franklin School, she first met Feinstein.

"Over the years, we became Mayor Feinstein's band. Whenever there was an important event or activity, she chose us to perform. We played at City Hall and at the Super Bowl celebrations. We proudly wore our band sweaters that she bought for us and Mayor Feinstein always took the time to talk to us, to tell us how amazing we were and to remind us that we were her band," Breed said.

The mayor also spoke about how Feinstein provided an example of strong leadership for young women to follow.

"Dianne Feinstein showed us the meaning of San Francisco's motto, 'Gold in peace, iron in war.' She showed us a world where women lead, where we lift each other up so that girls like me could follow in her footsteps," Breed said.

A recorded message from President Joe Biden praised Feinstein for her character and toughness.

"She was always tough, prepared, rigorous, compassionate. She always served the people of California and our nation for the right reasons," Biden said.

After that message, Vice President Kamala Harris took the stage.

"Dianne Feinstein was an icon of California. She was an American patriot, a giant of the Senate, and a dear friend to Doug and me. She was also a student of history, a giftedand I'll add, very generousartist, and a passionate leader. Simply put, she was a forceShe was recognized around the world as a leader, a standard-bearer of America and of American values," Harris said. "Dianne diligently focused on the impacts on real people, not ideology; substance, not showmanship; results, not rhetoric."

Harris went on to laud Feinstein for her courage as a public servant and her fierce "defense of the Constitution and the security of the American people."

Harris also remembered the celebration in San Francisco after both Feinstein and Boxer were elected to the U.S. Senate on Nov. 3, 1993, recalling the night that she, "a young prosecutor in the Alameda County District Attorney's Office," left her Oakland home and drove across the Bay Bridge in her Toyota Corolla to witness that historic night.

"Diane, the women of America have come a long way. Our country has come a long way and you helped move the ball forward. Our nation salutes you, Diane," Harris said.

She also remembered how Feinstein welcomed her to the Senate in 2017.

"With one hand, she presented me with a glass of California Chardonnay, and with the other, a binder full of her draft bills," Harris said.

Sen. Chuck Schumer opened his comments with a memory about Feinstein's drive and tenacity, recalling how the senator decided against seeking medical attention after injuring her ankle during a morning walk the week of her signature Lake Tahoe Summit, an event aimed at preserving the lake for future generations.

"Years later, she looked back on that morning and remembered hearing a bone pop but chose to finish her day before even thinking about treatment. It turns out, it was a pretty significant fracture," remembered Schumer. "I asked how she got through the day, she only offered three words: 'I just did.'"

"There are many adjectives that rightly describe Dianne Feinstein: strong, unflappable, winning, fierce, practical, earnest," Schumer continued. "But one quality above all stands out in my mind and will forever set Dianne apart: integrity."

At some points of the service, the speakers were briefly drowned out by the Blue Angels flying overhead during their Fleet Week practice run. During her remarks that focused on her personal relationship with Feinstein as both a colleague and neighbor, Pelosi referred to the jets roaring above.

"It's what Dianne wants. That's what we get!" Pelosi said with a laugh.

Pelosi also showed her sense of humor when discussing the wisdom Feinstein would impart to co-workers.

"We all have gotten great advice from Dianne," Pelosi said. "But the most constant advice I ever got from her -- again and again -- was, 'Nancy, you don't always have to be the one going out on the attack. Let some other people do that from time to time. Why don't you do that?'"

The Speaker Emerita also spoke of Feinstein's impact in both San Francisco and Washington D.C.

"And she has a lasting legacy. From the cable cars, the breast cancer stamp to the assault-weapons ban to Team Tahoe...the list goes on and on," Pelosi said of her friend. "From the U.S. Capitol back to San Francisco, where Dianne Feinstein is our forever mayor."

Final respects were paid by Feinstein's granddaughter, Eileen Mariano, who listed the contributions Feinstein made to the city of San Francisco, the state of California, and the United States.

"My grandmother saved the cable car and rebuilt Pier 39, she supported her people during the HIV/AIDS epidemic," said Mariano. "She saved Joshua Tree, Death Valley and Lake Tahoe. And she spoke against torture and assault weapons."

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As the House searches for a new speaker and the Senate works to get Ukraine assistance back into a spending bill come November 17 when the current deal expires, Sen. Rand Paul , R-Ky., says there is a "growing movement" within the Republican party to cut additional funding altogether.

"We have problems funding Social Security, we have problems funding, Medicare, Medicaid, all the things that have already been promised to our people we have trouble funding, and we just don't have extra money just to be sending to another country," Paul told Fox News Digital in an interview this week.

The U.S. has sent more than an estimated $100 billion of taxpayer dollars to Ukraine since the war began, according to the White House.

Republicans who are opposed to additional funding the war-torn nation scored a victory last weekend when then-House Speaker McCarthy passed a spending patch without the additional multi-billion dollar Ukraine assistance as requested by President Joe Biden, ultimately averting a government shutdown. The temporary funding patch expires Nov. 17, bringing Congress to another potential showdown in a few weeks.

HUNGARIAN FOREIGN MINISTER HINTS AT CONTINUED BLOCKAGE OF UKRAINE MILITARY AID

Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., stands alongside his fellow Republican senators at a press conference addressing the national debt on Wednesday, January 25, 2023.

Paul  prior to Rep. Kevin McCarthy's ouster  said that all eyes will be on what the House speaker does in the next go-around of spending discussions, citing a caveat that may "dampen" efforts to continue sending funds to Ukraine, which has been gripped by a Russian invasion since last year.

READ ON THE FOX NEWS APP

"The Republican Conference in the house has a rule, that if a majority of the Republican Conference is for something or against something, the speaker can't bring it up by rule," he said.

That unwritten practice is known as the Hastert Rule, which sets the precedent that the speaker will not bring a bill to the floor unless "the majority of the majority" is in favor of it.

"I think it's a good question for some of the opponents on the House side," Paul said. "Will the conference rule hold that will prevent [the speaker] from bringing it up? Because if it does, that ends up being perhaps a deal killer on this as it moves forward."

BIDEN ADMINISTRATION CONCERNED OVER CORRUPTION IN UKRAINE BUT STILL SUPPORTS AID TO COMBAT RUSSIA, MEMO STATES

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy during a briefing with press on July 8, 2023, in Lviv, Ukraine.

Other GOP lawmakers in the upper chamber opposed to more assistance, at least without additional oversight, include Sens. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., Sen. J.D. Vance, R-Ohio, John Kennedy, R-La., Jim Risch, R- Idaho and Roger Wicker, R-Miss.

Aside from being trillions in debt, Paul said the secondary reason is that Ukraine "is not really a shining example of democracy, they canceled the elections."

"So, a country that doesn't have elections is hard-pressed to be describing themselves as a paragon of democracy," he said.

And Republicans aren't the only ones concerned about Ukraine's purported ethical failures. A recent U.S. State Department strategy memo detailing the top priorities for Ukraine  ravaged by war against Russia since last year  shows even the Biden administration has concerns over purported corruption in the Eastern European country but still supports continued aid to the region.

According to the 22-page document, called the Integrated Country Strategy, the "biggest challenge is winning the war," but "Ukraine has a unique opportunity in the current moment to commit to the anti-corruption and judicial reforms needed to realize the aspirations of the Ukrainian people."

UKRAINE FUNDING RISES AS MAJOR POLITICAL LIGHTNING ROD IN GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN FIGHT

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy (L) walks with U.S. President Joe Biden down the colonnade to the Oval Office during a visit to the White House September 21, 2023, in Washington, D.C.

"I think it's obscene to do it [send more aid] without an inspector general in place," Paul said. "There's still a healthy amount of corruption in Ukraine."

Meanwhile, Sen. Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said Wednesday following the GOP's weekly luncheon that adding more aid is "still a major priority."

"I think a majority of the members of both parties still support it," McConnell said of assistance to Ukraine. "We need some direction from the [Biden] administration as to how they intend to go forward."





Original article source: Sen. Rand Paul says criticism of Ukraine funding is a 'growing movement' in Washington
This article was originally published in Iowa Capital Dispatch.

As students prepare to apply for federal student aid this winter, local colleges are hopeful that a bill proposed in Congress will allow some low-income students to use awarded funds however they need without penalty.

U.S. Sens. Chuck Grassley and Sheldon Whitehouse introduced legislation last week to fully exclude Pell Grants from taxable income and better coordinate the grants with the American Opportunity Tax Credit.

The Tax-Free Pell Grant Act would allow students to use Pell Grants for living expenses without being taxed for them. This frees them up to claim education tax credits, for which many Pell Grant recipients are also eligible.

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We expect students to work hard in order to maximize their academic success while in school. Likewise, we ought to ensure our tax code is set up to maximize students financial success as they pursue higher education, Grassley said in a news release. This bipartisan proposal would cut through confusing tax rules and permit young Iowans to take full advantage of available financial aid.

According to a news release, students can receive up to $2,500 for tuition and course materials through the American Opportunity Tax Credit. By making Pell Grants tax-free, students would no longer have to subtract their Pell Grant amount from expenses for which they claim the tax credit.

This change will primarily affect students attending lower-cost higher education institutions like community colleges. Thats because it only applies to those whose tuition and other expenses are less than $4,000. Iowa Central Community College President Jesse Ulrich said the college has been advocating for this for many years, as around 80% of its students have financial need.

According to the U.S. Department of Education, the maximum amount a student could receive through a Pell Grant for the 2023-2024 school year is $7,395.

How taxes on the grant work right now, Ulrich said, its almost like a punishment for students who are trying to make the best choices for their financial situation and academic career.

For these students, its kind of a double-edged sword, Ulrich said. Because community colleges are so affordable that sometimes with (students) scholarships and Pell Grants, they utilize them for living expenses and then thats what they really get taxed on.

The community college works to help students applying for financial aid, having one-on-one meetings to ensure they know how to correctly file and laying out everything they will receive through their financial aid package, and how that will impact them. One piece of advice staff gives students is to not take too much aid, as it could hurt them later on, like with the current Pell Grant taxing process.

Related

End of Pell Grant Ban Clears the Way for New Wave of Prison Education Programs

Changes coming in student aid application process

The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), through which Pell Grants and other aid are awarded, has seen other changes this year that will affect students, including when the FAFSA opens for applications and how aid is calculated.

Students used to be able to begin their FAFSA application at the beginning of October, but this year the date has been pushed back to December. The form has also changed to allow those filing to pull tax information directly from the IRS.

Pell grant eligibility has been expanded to include incarcerated students and those whose school closed while they were enrolled or who were found to have misled them, according to the U.S. Department of Education.

The Expected Family Contribution, which was used to measure a familys ability to pay for college, has been changed to the Student Aid Index. It has removed how many students in the family are in college from the formula and has allowed the result to be negative, showing a fuller range of need than the previous formula, which couldnt go below zero.

Ulrich said the community college does its best to stay up-to-date with changes and provide that information to students who need it.

It sometimes feels like building the plane while its in the air, Ulrich said. But we do the best job that we can to communicate with our students so that they dont have a financial crisis because they didnt know.

Iowa Capital Dispatch is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Iowa Capital Dispatch maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Kathie Obradovich for questions: info@iowacapitaldispatch.com. Follow Iowa Capital Dispatch on Facebook and Twitter.
(Bloomberg) -- Louisiana Senator Bill Cassidy reiterated his colleagues hopes that a bipartisan delegation to China next week will meet with President Xi Jinping , his office said Wednesday evening, clarifying that a meeting is not yet scheduled.

Most Read from Bloomberg

The delegation, led by Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, a New York Democrat, and Senator Mike Crapo , an Idaho Republican, will visit Beijing and Shanghai and raise issues including human rights, fentanyl and the investment climate for US businesses in China.

Crapo said earlier that the group hoped to meet with Xi. He and Schumer are also planning to raise market-access concerns on behalf of Micron Technology Inc., which has a significant presence in both their states, according to people familiar with the planning.

The clarification from Cassidys office came after the senator told reporters that a meeting with Xi had been scheduled, which it has not.

--With assistance from Steven T. Dennis.

Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek

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Senate Democrats rejected Thursday an offer from by GOP megadonor Harlan Crow to supply the Judiciary Committee with some information related to the travel and luxury vacations he gifted to Justice Clarence Thomas over the past five years.

In a letter signed by the committees Democratic majority, the senators said Crows proposal is an insufficient partial compromise to the committees questions that would leave out information they believe necessary to inform the Committees ongoing legislative efforts for Supreme Court ethics reform.

Crows relationship with Thomas has been under the spotlight since ProPublica published a series of reports detailing luxury travel that Thomas received from Crow, as well as a private 2014 real estate deal with Thomas family. The real estate transaction and the bulk of the hospitality went unreported on Thomas annual financial disclosures, as did Crows reported payments for the tuition of a grandnephew of Thomas. Earlier this fall, Thomas amended past disclosure reports to reflect more trips with Crow as well as the real estate deal.

Thursdays letter reveals that a lawyer for Crow had agreed to provide information to the Senate Judiciary Committee covering only the last five years of their friendship. The proposed response would not include  as the committee had requested  an itemized list of all gifts, payments and items of value exceeding $415, as well as real estate transactions between the two men over their more than two-decade long friendship.

In exchange for the information, according to the letter, the committee would have to forego any further inquiries into Crows dealing with Thomas, including follow-up questions.

Receiving only partial responses during this arbitrary time period is insufficient to inform the Committees ongoing legislative efforts, Senate Judiciary Chairman Dick Durbin wrote in a letter signed by nine other members Thursday. He added that Crow had until October 19 to put forward a renewed offer.

It is disappointing that after many months of good faith efforts to voluntarily cooperate with the Judiciary Committee despite serious constitutional concerns about its inquiry, members of one party forced the committee to reject a mutually respectful compromise, the Office of Harlan Crow said in a statement.

The committees rejection of a reasonable compromise offered in the spirit of transparency underscores that this is a political campaign designed to discredit a sitting Supreme Court Justice and not a legitimate effort to legislate, the statement said.

Last spring, Michael Bopp, a lawyer for Crow, questioned whether the committee has the authority to launch such an investigation because, he said, it lacks a valid legislative purpose. He said he would meet with staff to discuss questions regarding the interactions between his client and Thomas.

We respect the Senate Judiciary Committees important role in formulating legislation concerning our federal courts system, and would welcome a discussion with your staff, Bopp wrote.

Over the summer there had been sporadic meetings between lawyers and staff, according to a source, but Thursdays letter marks a new escalation of tension as the justices have started a new term.

The committee also sent letters to conservative activist Leonard Leo, who refused last summer to provide Democratic lawmakers with information regarding his interactions with Justice Samuel Alito, who attended a luxury fishing trip with him in 2008 and took a ride on a private jet owned by a conservative hedge fund manager. In a letter in July, Leos lawyer said the congressional inquiry exceeds the limits placed by the Constitution on the Committees investigative authority and is tainted by partisan politics.

The senators rejected Leos arguments that the committees inquiry amounted to political retaliation  calling the charge a frivolous mischaracterization.

Specifically, the Committee has been examining how the current ethical framework governing federal judges fails to capture the full scope of previously undisclosed gifts, transportation and lodging made available to Supreme Court justices by parties with business before the Court, the Democrats wrote.

CNN has reached out to Leo for comment.

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WASHINGTON  A bipartisan group of U.S. senators hope to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping during a trip to China this month, two of them told NBC News, as a whirl of diplomatic activity builds expectations for a meeting later this year between the leaders of the world's two largest economies.

I dont think that thats clear yet whether it will happen, Sen. Mike Crapo , R-Idaho, said of a potential meeting between the senators and Xi. We want to meet with a number of the officials there as well as the American business community there as well, and we would like to meet with President Xi.

Crapo and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., will lead the delegation, which also includes Sens. Bill Cassidy , R-La.; Maggie Hassan , D-N.H.; John Kennedy, R-La.; and Jon Ossoff, D-Ga. They will also visit U.S. allies South Korea and Japan during the 10-day trip.

Kennedy said it was his understanding that the group would meet with Xi, who has been in power for more than a decade and extended his rule with an unprecedented third term awarded in March at a congress of the ruling Chinese Communist Party.

The main reason Im going on this trip, aside from the fact that Sen. Schumer asked me, is because I want to meet with President Xi, he said.

If you meet with anyone else, it would be an overstatement to say its a waste of time, but its certainly a less prudent use of your time because President Xi has all the power  hes the most powerful person in the country since Mao.

No meeting with Xi has been confirmed, but the Chinese Foreign Ministry said it welcomed the delegation.

We hope this visit will contribute to a more objective understanding of China in the U.S. Congress, increase dialogue and communication between the legislatures of our two countries, and add positive factors to the growth of China-U.S. relations, it said in a statement Wednesday.

Schumers office said earlier that he and Crapo would lead the delegation to China during the Senates October recess, which is next week, with the goal of advancing U.S. economic and national security interests in the region.

It said the trip would include meetings with government leaders and business leaders from each country and from U.S. companies operating in each country, and that topics of discussion would include human rights, U.S. business concerns and Chinas role in the international community as well as areas for potential cooperation.

U.S.-China relations have plunged to their lowest point in decades amid tensions over Taiwan, Russias war in Ukraine and the appearance of an alleged Chinese spy balloon over U.S. territory, which prompted Secretary of State Antony Blinken to postpone a February trip to Beijing.

Senior U.S. officials, including members of Congress, would not typically meet with such a high-level figure as Xi. The Chinese president did meet with Blinken when he rescheduled his Beijing trip in June, but he has not met with other senior Biden administration officials who made subsequent trips, including Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, U.S. climate envoy John Kerry and Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo.

Xi and President Joe Biden could have an opportunity to meet in November at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum in San Francisco, although Beijing has not confirmed whether Xi will attend. The two leaders have not spoken since meeting in person last November on the sidelines of a summit of the Group of 20 economies in Indonesia.

I dont think President Xi has agreed to meet with us because of our winning personalities, Kennedy said. I think it has something to do with testing the waters and preparation for his meeting with President Biden in November.

Crapo and Kennedy said they expected their conversations with Chinese officials to revolve around national security, economic issues, trade, tax policy and the U.S. fentanyl crisis. On Tuesday the Biden administration announced indictments and sanctions against dozens of China-based companies and executives accused of trafficking fentanyl precursor chemicals into the United States.

China says it takes a firm stance against narcotics and that it is up to the U.S. to address its consumption of fentanyl, a powerful opioid that is now the countrys deadliest drug.

Kennedy said he also hoped to discuss intellectual property rights, Chinese aggression in the South China Sea and the restoration of military-to-military communication channels, which China cut in protest after Nancy Pelosi, the House speaker at the time, visited the Beijing-claimed island of Taiwan in August 2022.

Frank Thorp V and Liz Brown-Kaiser reported from Washington, and Jennifer Jett reported from Hong Kong.

This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
Senators said Wednesday that the United States had failed in its policy to contain North Koreas nuclear ambitions and now needed to focus on short-term risk reduction as the pariah state ramps up its testing programs and threats.

Last week, North Korea adopted a constitutional amendment effectively doubling down on its commitment to become a nuclear power, which followed leader Kim Jong Uns moves to accelerate nuclear weapon production.

North Korea has test-fired more than 100 missiles since early 2022, ratcheting up tensions with neighbors South Korea and Japan.

During a hearing Wednesday of the Senate Foreign Relations subcommittee on East Asia, Chairman Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) said it was time for the U.S. to develop a North Korea strategy that accounts for these developments.

What weve been doing is clearly not successful, at least in achieving the goal as weve stated it, which is denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, Van Hollen said. Thats a very worthy goal, but in practice, clearly, weve not been able to achieve it.

Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii) shared similar frustration, characterizing it as whistling past this graveyard and asking the witnesses to provide some short-term steps for good outcomes.

They keep getting better and better and seem to be totally undeterred, and we just need a new pathway, Schatz said. Forget denuclearizing the peninsula, lets talk about risk reduction in the short-term.

Victor Sha, a Koreas expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, recommended deploying inspectors in tandem with addressing the sanctions that most frustrated North Korea.

But if we ever to get back into a negotiation, as a former negotiator, the first steps would be threat reduction, risk reduction, freezing Pyongyang, getting inspectors back in, trying to get into the experimental light water reactor, Sha said.

In exchange for things like reducing sanctions, the 2016/2017 sanctions, the general sector sanctions, which were the ones that North Koreans were most concerned about when President Trump met them in Vietnam.

Trump aggressively pursued diplomacy with Kim during his time in the White House but failed to secure commitments from North Korea to curtail its nuclear ambitions. President Biden has made little public effort to restart negotiations.

During a state visit from South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, Biden said that any nuclear attack from Pyongyang will result in the end of whatever regime were to take such an action.

Jenny Town, senior fellow at the Stimson Center, told senators that the U.S. should still work towards denuclearizing the entire Korean Peninsula but also consider ways to encourage broader change in North Korean society.

North Koreas thinking of denuclearization, on its nuclear program, has fundamentally changed. So whatever hope we had before is even less now. But that does not mean we give up, she said.

But in the meantime, I think we really need to define what our other goals with North Korea are. There were trends, for instance, that were promising in North Korea prior to 2017/2018 when negotiations started, and those were the rise of markets, growing socioeconomic space and social change that was happening inside the country.

She said Americas punitive approach to North Korea was proving counterproductive to U.S. aims of scaling down the nuclear threat, and suggested that sanctions should focus on dual-use goods that could be used for building weapons.

Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) also expressed concern that the U.S. does not have a consistent strategy or policy when it comes to dealing with North Korea.

What weve done so far, from what I can tell, has not worked, Romney said. He invited the witnesses to share the lessons they had learned from the past diplomatic efforts with North Korea that started in the 1990s.

Sha said the deal the U.S. is pushing  conditional upon North Korea freezing or disbanding its nuclear program  does not align with what Pyongyang is willing to do.

One of the main lessons Ive learned from this, its not really the modalities of the negotiation or whats on offer, the problem right now is that the deal that makes the most sense from a U.S. and ally perspective is not the one that the North Koreans want, Sha said.

Scott Snyder, senior fellow for Korea Studies at the Council on Foreign Relations, suggested that the U.S. should try to focus more on stimulating social and economic change within North Korea, which could open the space for engagement.

Our perspective on trying to counter their action has kind of inhibited us and, even in policy terms, inhibits us from trying to reach into North Korea and generate the level of debate and even dissent that would actually be necessary for North Korea to change direction, Snyder said.

Town suggested that any eventual progress on the nuclear issue will require smaller steps that arent directly linked to North Koreas weapons program.

We need to start building this in steps, Town added. We need to start providing the kind of incentives and early wins that would help create some momentum in any negotiation process. We need to be open to talking about issues other than just denuclearization, especially just to rebuild the relationship itself.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
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Officer Daniel Arteaga, 27, puts his cap on before patrolling Broadway in Chelsea, Massachusetts, on May 14, 2022. - Chelsea, like many cities in the US, has seen an uptick in crime and calls to the police ranging from noise complaints to shootings, according to local officials. (not the actual photo of the story)

Officials have verified that an infant was shot and killed in downtown Holyoke, Massachusetts on Wednesday afternoon as a result of a street brawl.

District Attorney Anthony Gulluni of Hampden stated that accidental gunfire from an altercation critically injured a pregnant woman on a bus passing through the area.

Innocent Pregnant Woman Shot During Street Brawl, Killing Infant

Gulluni stated in a statement that her infant was delivered during an emergency hospital procedure in an attempt to save the child's life, but the infant did not survive.

According to his statement, it seems that three male suspects were engaged in a confrontation that escalated into a shooting incident. All individuals suspected to be involved in the incident have reportedly been identified and have been taken to nearby medical facilities. It has been confirmed that they are currently under custody.

Gulluni confirmed that the pregnant woman involved in the shooting incident was not connected to the altercation that sparked the violence. The woman was simply passing through the area on a public bus at the time.

The identity of the two additional individuals involved in the shooting, whether they were innocent bystanders or suspects in the altercation, remains unclear at this time. In a statement, Holyoke Mayor Joshua A. Garcia announced that all individuals suspected to be involved in the incident are now in custody.

However, he emphasized that the investigation is still ongoing. In a heartfelt statement, he expressed his desire to offer his deepest and sincerest condolences to the grieving family. The individual expresses their desire for the public to be aware of their shared feelings of outrage and frustration regarding the senseless acts of violence and illegal activity occurring on our streets.

The individual admits to grappling with the issue on a daily basis, making efforts to propose a solution that is fair and equitable. In a candid statement, the user expressed their frustration, revealing that they have reached the point of losing their patience.

The individual expressed their intention to utilize all available resources in order to eradicate what they perceive as nonsense from our city. According to the Holyoke Police Department, a shooting took place in the vicinity of Sargeant and Maple streets at approximately 1pm.

Law enforcement officials were alerted to the incident after receiving numerous 911 calls for assistance, as well as notifications from ShotSpotter. The department has confirmed the presence of multiple victims in an incident that is currently under investigation.

The authorities have urged residents to steer clear of the shooting area. According to state police, assistance was provided to Holyoke Police in their investigation at approximately 12:44 pm. Patrols, K9 teams, and investigative units were dispatched for this purpose.

According to Massachusetts State Police spokesman Dave Procopio, it is believed that the shooting originated from a confrontation involving multiple individuals. Procopio said it is believed that there is no ongoing threat to the public.

The intersection, where the shooting incident took place, is encompassed by multiple apartment buildings, along with a convenience store and a Catholic church. According to witness Boyd McCray, he reported hearing approximately eight shots.

He told the Western Mass News that he was positioned along the street, patiently awaiting the arrival of the bus, when he suddenly became aware of a series of rapid, consecutive sounds resembling "pop, pop, pop, pop, pop."

According to a statement from the office of Holyoke Mayor Joshua Garcia, the mayor has been informed about the shooting incident. The mayor's office has indicated that more information regarding the shooting will be shared with the public later this afternoon.

Read Also: Taco Bell Customer Shoots Employee Over Incorrect Change

Massachusetts Crime

The ongoing investigation is currently being carried out by the State Police Detective Unit for Hampden County and Holyoke Police Detectives, who are working under the guidance of the Hampden County District Attorney's Office. Located approximately 90 miles west of Boston, the city of Holyoke, boasting a population of nearly 38,000, stands as a prominent urban center.

Per Daily Mail, Holyoke, also referred to as 'The Paper City,' was once responsible for manufacturing approximately 80% of the writing paper in the United States. The International Volleyball Hall of Fame is also located there. In a concerning turn of events, Wednesday witnessed a shooting incident that occurred mere hours after Holyoke police conducted a press conference, shedding light on the distressing frequency of shootings within the city.

In a strategic move, the department has recently implemented ShotSpotter, an acoustic detection grid designed to detect and report the sound of gunshots. Installed in various key locations around the town, this technology aims to enhance public safety and provide timely information to law enforcement authorities.

A total of 113 incidents involving gunfire have been detected by the system in the past six months. Out of these incidents, 72 occurred in close proximity to a playground, while 27 took place near a school. According to police, numerous ShotSpotter activations were not reported by 911 callers.

Related Article: Baltimore: Morgan State University Shooting Leaves Four Wounded-Three Suspects Still At Large

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Two senators are pressing defense officials on continued concerns about housing for military families with disability-related needs.

They want to know, for example, how many military families have had to pay out of pocket for changes to their on-base housing  such as drop-down rails or ramps  in the past 10 years, and how many families have had to pay to undo the changes when they moved out of their homes.

There is a clear need for additional actions by DoD, as well as oversight from Congress, in order to address concerns about the [Exceptional Family Member Program] raised by residents, surveys, Government Accountability Office reports, and congressional investigations and testimony, wrote Sens. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., and Thom Tillis, R-N.C., in their Oct. 5 letter addressed to Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin. Warren chairs the Senate Armed Services personnel subcommittee.

DoDs Exceptional Family Member Program is designed to provide support to military families with a physical, emotional, developmental or intellectual disorder requiring specialized services. According to DoD, as of 2022, about 110,000 active duty members were in the program, which is mandatory for active duty personnel who have a family member with special medical or educational needs.

Military families have raised a variety of concerns about different aspects of EFMP over the years. In response, DoD took steps this year to standardize policies related to identification and enrollment in EFMP, assignment coordination, support for the families, disenrollment and respite care.

The senators questions are specifically about housing, following up on information they received from DoD last year, such as the availability and tracking of housing that complies with the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Defense officials didnt respond to Military Times queries, saying they will respond directly to the senators, who have given them until Oct. 19 to provide the requested information.

According to a small, online survey by the Military Housing Advocacy Network, about 20% of respondents said they were forced to use their own money to pay for necessary ADA accommodations at their on-base housing, such as drop-down rails and ramps.

These problems were confirmed by DoD in its 2022 response. Tenants at several Army bases were required to pay for ADA accommodations, but not Navy and Marine Corps families. The Air Force didnt collect the information. Without it, the Air Force cant adequately oversee its EFMP and whether its providing comprehensive support, the senators said.

Some EFMP families have said the outrageous housing process requires an excessive amount of paperwork requiring an uncomfortable amount of information about their health status to get assigned to an ADA-compliant home. DoD didnt respond to the senators previous questions about these concerns, and the senators are pressing for more information on what DoD is doing to protect families privacy.

The senators ask for specifics on a number of issues, such as:

Housing waitlists for EFMP families;

The number of ADA-compliant homes available at each installation;

How many complaints have been received from EFMP families related to housing;

What penalties housing companies face for not providing ADA-compliant housing; and

How many penalties DoD has imposed over the past five years.

According to the departments 2022 response, while privatized housing companies maintain waitlists of families who need accessible housing, some of the Army and Marine Corps on-base housing offices said they dont have access to them. The Air Force said 28 out of 69 installations either didnt maintain waitlists or the information was not available.

DoD must centralize and standardize housing waitlists and wait times to ensure military families can move in a timely manner and get appropriate housing, and that privatized housing companies are complying with disability laws, the senators wrote.

There are installations where the average amount of time a family spends on a waitlist isnt tracked at all, but the information that is reported is disturbing, senators said. More than 10 bases reported wait times of more than 90 days in 2020. One Army base reported wait times had gotten worse, with an average of nine to 12 months in 2020, compared to two to six months in 2018.

DoD must accurately track the availability of ADA-compliant housing and any complaints related to it, the senators said. Even the services that do collect the number of requests for ADA housing dont do it consistently. The Army and the Air Force EFMP offices dont track request and complaint information at all. The Navy and Marine Corps EFMP offices do collect requests, but not complaints.

The incremental improvements and continued oversight challenges make the lives of service members and their families difficult and raise questions about morale and readiness which also impact retention, the senators wrote.
Andriy Naumov

The Serbian Court of Appeal in Nis has upheld a previous ruling to deny Ukraine's extradition request for the former chief of the SBU (Ukraines security service) internal security department, Andriy Naumov, RFE/RL reported on Oct. 5.

Read also: Russian militant from neo-Nazi Rusych group, detained in Finland, asks for extradition to Russia

Thus, Serbia has made the final decision on the matter.

Ukraine sent an extradition request for Naumov in mid-October 2022. As previously reported by Ukrainian journalists, Naumov was declared suspect on two charges of embezzlement, squandering state property, abusing his position to seize it, causing state losses worth over UAH 3.2 million ($87,000).

Naumov himself stated during the court hearings he fears for his life in case of a return to Ukraine.

Read also: North Macedonia joins G7 declaration on security guarantees to Ukraine

In early June 2022, the former general was arrested at the border crossing between Serbia and North Macedonia with undeclared funds: over EUR 600,000 and approximately $125,000 in cash and valuables.

Read also: SBU nabs 3 Russian military intelligence agents in raids across Ukraine

He began working at the SBU after Ivan Bakanov took over in 2019, where he managed the internal security of the special service. He held his position until July 2021.

Naumov left Ukraine on February 23, 2022, accompanied by several people. In March 2022, several of his residences were searched by law enforcement investigating a treason case. On March 31, 2022, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stripped Naumov of his brigadier general rank.

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Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
A Rochester home is being considered for sex offender housing, Thurston County Sheriff Derek Sanders said, but the situation is more complicated than it seems.

The Washington State Department of Corrections (DOC) notified the Sheriffs Office on Tuesday that they have begun a suitability assessment for a Less Restrictive Alternative (LRA) sex offender house in Rochester, Sanders shared on Facebook.

The notification was issued under court order and DOC declined to share the address of the home, Sanders said. Court records obtained by The Olympian show the home in question is on Rosemary Street, just northeast of Rochester High School.

At first glance, the situation bears some resemblance to a proposed sex offender home in Tenino that was canceled in February after much public backlash. However, the proposal for a home in Rochester is driven by a single court case rather than a larger state effort to expand LRA housing.

The Tenino proposal involved the Washington State Department of Social and Health Services, but DSHS spokesperson Tyler Hemstreet told The Olympian DSHS is not involved in this case and does not support the proposal to house a sex offender in Rochester.

The resident who is potentially discharging has a relative who owns the home and is working with the defense for this placement, Hemstreet said. There is no intention for the relative to house any other (sexually violent predators), nor has she housed any other residents in the past.

Hemstreet said Kitsap County Superior Court will make a final decision on this matter after receiving a report from DOC.

Sheriff Sanders opposed the Tenino LRA proposal, citing limited staffing in his office. He repeated that concern in his Facebook post.

This proposed area is in the same patrol district as the Tenino LRA proposal, and just like last time, there is still only one funded deputy for that entire region, Sanders said in the post.

Whats going on in this court case?

Kitsap County Superior Court Judge Jeffrey Bassett ordered DOC to investigate the suitability of the home on Aug. 22, according to court records.

The order came after the defense team for George Hancock, a designated sexually violent predator, proposed moving him into the home, which is occupied by a relative.

Hancock was convicted of first-degree rape of child in a 2000 Kitsap County case and convicted of indecent liberties against a child under age 14 in a 1982 Thurston County case, according to court records.

The court released Hancock in 2022 to the Secure Community Transition Facility in King County where he has been receiving sex offender treatment.

A DSHS annual report from January indicates Hancock still meets the definition of a sexually violent predator, court records show.

The report also found that a less restrictive alternative than his current facility is not in his best interest, and conditions that may be imposed would not adequately protect the community, court records show.

However, Hancocks legal team has reportedly demonstrated probable cause for a trial on whether Hancock should be released to the Rochester home, which is described as a step-down LRA in court records.

A trial on this matter has not been scheduled yet nor has an agreement been reached with the state, so its still not certain if Hancock will move into the Rochester home.

The DOC review of the home is scheduled to be completed 60 days after the Aug. 22 order was served, provided that deadline is not extended by the court, according to court records.

Sex offender housing near Tenino has been canceled, but officials say its just first step
Political leaders from California and across the country gathered Thursday under a blazing sun on the steps of San Francisco City Hall to bid farewell to Sen. Dianne Feinstein , who broke gender barriers, authored landmark legislation and became one of her native citys most beloved figures.

Feinstein died at age 90 last Friday in Washington, D.C. But instead of lying in state at the U.S. Capitol, which is more traditional for senators who pass, Feinstein chose to be memorialized at home, where she was the first woman to serve as mayor.

The funeral was the second day of remembrance. On Wednesday, her casket was laid inside City Hall for members of the public to pay their respects.

Speakers Thursday included Vice President Kamala Harris, U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer , House Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi and Feinsteins granddaughter, Eileen Mariano. President Joe Biden delivered virtual remarks.

Sen. Feinstein. That is her official title. Its how Californians and people all over the world knew her. But to us, the San Franciscans, she was Mayor Dianne Feinstein, said San Francisco Mayor London Breed , only the second woman to lead the city, who delivered opening remarks.

Breed said Feinstein led the way so that other women and girls could follow in her footsteps.

She created a world where girls like me could be tough, where we lead, Breed said.

Harris called Feinstein an American patriot, giant of the Senate and a passionate leader.

Vice President Kamala Harris remembers Sen. Dianne Feinstein during the memorial service at San Francisco City Hall on Thursday. Paul Kitagaki Jr./pkitagaki@sacbee.com

To put it simply, she was a force, she said.

When Harris had her first meeting with Feinstein after she was sworn into the Senate, she said that Feinstein handed her a glass of California Chardonnay and a binder full of her draft bills.

True to her mayoral roots, she was deeply immersed in the details of each bill and how each would play on the streets of our beloved state, she said.

Schumer remembered Feinstein for her integrity.

She had an internal gyroscope that propelled her, motivated her, he said, adding that her moral compass sparkled like a diamond and allowed her win over her doubters and detractors.

Feinsteins granddaughter Eileen Mariano listed off her accomplishments  from saving San Franciscos cable cars and creating the citys iconic Pier 39 to modernizing Californias water system and establishing Joshua Tree National Park to banning assault weapons and creating amber alerts at the national level.

Eileen Mariano, granddaughter of Sen. Dianne Feinstein, hugs House Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi as Vice president Kamala Harris and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer applaud during Feinsteins memorial service at San Francisco City Hall on Thursday. Paul Kitagaki Jr./pkitagaki@sacbee.com

In addition to her public achievements Mariano said she was the most incredible grandmother who taught her some of her greatest life lessons, including that there is no occasion to which you cant wear a black pantsuit.

Your family loves you. We are so proud of you. We miss you. And you will always, always be my sunshine, she said.

The service ended with the San Francisco Girls Choir singing San Francisco.

Other major figures in attendance included California Gov. Gavin Newsom, former Gov. Jerry Brown, Sens. Alex Padilla and Laphonza Butler, San Francisco state lawmakers Sen. Scott Wiener and Assemblyman Phil Ting, and dozens of members of Congress.

Feinsteins legacy was ever present at the memorial. Speakers were forced to pause periodically as the Blue Angels Navy fighter jets practicing for weekend air shows, flew overhead. Mid-speech, Breed thanked Feinstein for bringing the fighter jets to the city in the early 1980s.

Mourners shade themselves with memorial programs during the service for Sen. Dianne Feinstein at San Francisco City Hall on Thursday. Paul Kitagaki Jr./pkitagaki@sacbee.com

She started her political career in 1969 by winning a seat on the Board of Supervisors. From there, she became the boards chair and later mayor in 1978. She served until 1988 and helped bring the 1984 Democratic National Convention to the city.

In 1992, Feinstein was elected as one of Californias first two women U.S. senators alongside Barbara Boxer.

During her time in Washington D.C., Feinstein became the first woman to chair the Senate Intelligence Committee and the Senate Rules Committee and to be named top Democrat on the Judiciary Committee.

Her final years were clouded by controversy over her decision to remain in office despite failing health. Her condition, along with that of Biden and U.S. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, prompted a broader debate about whether elected officials should be subject to age limits.

After three days of intense speculation over who Gov. Gavin Newsom would name to replace the late senator, the governor announced Sunday that he selected Laphonza Butler, a former labor leader and top California Democratic advisor. Most recently, Butler was president of EMILYs List, an influential womens political group.

Butler will fill Feinsteins seat through the end of the current term in January 2025. She has not yet said whether she will enter the race for a full term next year.

Katherine Feinstein, daughter of Sen. Dianne Feinstein, hugs a well-wisher during the memorial service for her mother at San Francisco City Hall on Thursday, Oct. 5, 2023. Paul Kitagaki Jr./pkitagaki@sacbee.com
It all started, this genealogical mystery, with Fran Redic finding a bunch of very, very old stuff in her personal library in a front room of her Myers Park home.

She was looking for something on the shelves, populated partially with antique books that are really just for decoration, and stumbled across a journal filled with entries by an L.J. Bell. The heading on the top of the first page read: Notes of a Northern Tour in the Fall of 1855. Tucked inside its pages was a very old photograph of a big white house that, according to the handwriting on the bottom of it, was called Roseland and located in Accomac, Virginia.

As Fran continued rummaging, she also found tucked inside other old books a collection of letters, many of which were addressed to a Miss Nancy E. Bell living Spartanburg, South Carolina, and signed by Grandpa. Most were postmarked between 1915 and 1917.

She discovered all of these items a few years ago. At the time, for the life of her, she couldnt remember from where or how she got that particular stack of antique books, though she would have guessed theyd probably been in her home here in Charlotte for at least 20 years.

Since this find, Fran had been noodling what, if anything, she could find out about this family of Bells  though obviously it was not at the top of her to-do list.

Then one day earlier this year, Fran was walking on the beach with her friend Ann Caulkins, a former publisher of The Charlotte Observer. Somehow, the journal and the letters came up. Fran was intrigued by the prospect of connecting with someone who could track down the Bells descendants. Ann, her old Observer instincts kicking in, was intrigued by the potential storytelling opportunity.

So at the beginning of this past summer, Ann contacted me, and put me in touch with Fran. During our first conversation, Fran filled in some more details and then said, plainly: Id love to give this stuff to you and see what you can figure out.

Well, thanks in large part to the Charlotte Mecklenburg Library, the mystery was solved with relative ease.

But it wasnt without a significant plot twist.

After the library helped us track down the granddaughter of the recipient of all those letters  Susan Reed of Black Hawk, Colorado  I organized a video call so Fran and Susan could meet. Midway through, Fran was stunned by the sudden realization that she knew Susan. Or, that she at least knew of her.

That the mysterys solution, in a way, had been right in front of her all along.

Fran Redic of Charlotte.

Dead or alive, shell find em

For a variety of reasons, it took me about six weeks (and a referral from noted Charlotte community historian Tom Hanchett) to finally bring the journal and the letters to staffers at the Charlotte Mecklenburg Librarys Robinson-Spangler Carolina Room.

It took them about six minutes to find clues that ultimately led us to Susan.

No, seriously. In short order, Carolina Room manager John OConnor and librarian Shelia Bumgarner had started sketching out a family tree around the granddaughter  Nancy Nan E. Bell  that included the names of her father (Charles D. Bell); her mother (Lillian); and the grandfather who wrote many of the letters (William T. R. Bell).

And while John acknowledged quickly that the content of the letters was pretty mundane, he seemed fairly interested in the journal.

At a glance, it was clear that the diary spanned nearly 200 pages and was handwritten by an individual whod logged musings over the course of a month-long journey to places including Baltimore; Boston; New York City; and Montreal in Canada. The timeframe for it was less than six years before the start of the Civil War.

They would need to dig in a little to establish a connection between the 1855 journal and the 1910s letters.

But after a few more minutes, Shelia stood up from the conference table and announced: OK, Im gonna leave you to it and Ill go answer the phones. Because dead or alive, shell find em.

Shelia was referring, in this case, to library assistant Meghan Bowden  and she was right. Within a few more minutes, Meghan had used their library-level access to Ancestrys website to determine things like Grandpas birthdate (Sept. 1, 1843); and Mom Lillians last name (Roberson); and that there was evidence Nan had married a man from New York.

I need to just play around with that (information) for a bit, Meghan said. Usually I can find an obituary and then sort of see if anyones still living. ...

The diarys the biggest question mark. The rest is pretty easy to find.

She said shed follow up as soon as she knew something about descendants. This was on a Friday morning. By late the following Monday morning, Meghan had emailed me both a fairly comprehensive family tree and a definitive answer about how the journal was related to it.

Meghan Bowden, library assistant at Charlotte Mecklenburg Library

Connecting the genealogical dots

According to Meghans research, the journal was written by Lorenzo J. Bell, older brother of Nans grandfather (William, the letter-writer).

Lorenzos first name didnt appear anywhere within its pages, but fortunately he at one point acknowledged his birthday, which was the clue Meghan needed to confirm his identity.

His observations during his journey  covering thoughts on everything traveling by steamship to interactions in New York with freed Black men who had become attorneys (Lorenzo was a lawyer himself)  were interesting enough that Meghan thought the journal was a potentially rich resource for historical research.

But she had good news about the descendants of the Bells, too.

There are quite a few, Meghan wrote. She identified Nans first and second husbands, and her three children, including an eldest daughter from the second marriage. That daughter married a man named William Benight and also had three children  one of whom was the aforementioned Susan, of Black Hawk, Colorado.

Susan Benight Reed, Meghan explained, and her husband are likely still living in the Denver area.

Meghan didnt know how to contact Susan, but did some internet detective work to identify one of Susans daughters and her place of employment. I reached out to her business email address, and although it must have seemed off-the-wall, whatever I said worked.

Susans daughter responded in less than a day. I was in touch with Susan soon after that.

Its hard to predict how someone will react to something like this. Not everybody is interested in genealogy. Susan, however, greeted the news of the family artifacts with enthusiasm. Her grandmother, Nan, had died in 1970, and she and her siblings had never known much about the maternal line on that side of the family.

We would definitely love to see all of it, she said when we first talked by phone.

I mailed Susan the letters. Meghan, who had recommended the journal be placed in an archive, scanned the journal and emailed Susan the PDFs so Susan could decide.

Finally, after Susan had a chance to look everything over and let everything sink in, I arranged a video call that gave Fran, Meghan and Susan a chance to meet for the first time  and that gave Fran and Susan a chance to have a revelation.

Susan Reed of Black Hawk, Colorado

OK ... this is very strange

It started pretty uneventfully.

Fran explained how she found the documents. Meghan explained how she found Susan. Susan explained her positive reaction to their findings.

She actually carried on this tradition, Susan said of the letters. She traveled quite a bit, and she would send me letters and postcards. So it was kind of fun to see that. Im like, Oh, thats something that started when she was young.

But about 20 minutes into the call came a twist.

Susan mentioned her last name being Reed and her maiden name being Benight, details I hadnt told Fran in advance.

OK ... this is very strange, Fran said, suddenly. In my mothers side of the family, we have Reads. But they are R-e-a-d. But my father passed away when I was in college, and my mother  shes remarried to Bob Benight? Do you 

Yeah! Susan said, looking incredulous. Chris?

Yeah, Fran said.

Youre that Fran?? Susan asked, looking even more astonished.

Yes! Fran responded.

They would have some more explaining to do to me and Meghan, as we had no idea what in the world they were talking about. But once they unpacked it for us, the mystery had apparently been solved:

It is highly likely, Susan told us, that her grandmother (Nancy Bell) had kept the journal and the letters in a box filled with antique books until she died in 1970. Susans aunt, Rosamund Benight, likely ended up with the box. Rosamund, who was married to Bob Benight, died in 1985. A few years later, Bob remarried a widowed woman named Chris.

Chris, as it happens, is Frans mother.

The assumption now is that Fran, who had wanted to populate her home library with some antique books, was gifted the box of Nancy Bells decades ago  during which time Fran had completely forgotten where they came from.

At first, Fran was slightly embarrassed. I feel a little silly, she wrote to us in an email afterward, that you went to all of this work only to find out that there was a family connection  if only by marriage. The only thing worse would have been if they had been traced back to my own family!!

But she also could have done nothing with these otherwise-forgotten treasures.

Instead, Susan now has information the family didnt have before about the maternal line beyond her grandmother. Susan also said that while shes always thought of her grandmother when shes heard a mention of North or South Carolina, shes never explored either state; she now plans to, in the near future, having been inspired by all of this.

In addition, the Library of Virginia now has Lorenzo Bells journal in its archives, Fran and Susan having agreed thats where it belongs.

And perhaps youve now learned something from this, too: that the public library does stuff like this every day.

This sort of thing is definitely more exciting than the average request for me, Meghan told me over the summer, when she was returning the letters to me after having done her research on them. Just cause its sort of atypical and ... I love a good mystery.

I think a lot of people dont know what we do, she continued, what we offer. I even had a friend like Ive known for years who was like, Oh you do genealogy research just for anyone?

I was like, Yup, Meghan recalled, smiling, and its free.

The first page of Lorenzo J. Bell's journal
House Republicans still absorbing the shock of Rep. Kevin McCarthy s (R-Calif.) unprecedented ouster as Speaker are being thrust into a new Speakers election thats forcing them to grapple with how to move forward.

There is no consensus on who should succeed McCarthy, nor is it clear a pick will emerge by next Wednesday, the date set for an internal election.

There are scenarios where this could be going on for weeks, Rep. Garret Graves (R-La.) said Wednesday.

The anger and raw feelings left over from the demise of McCarthys Speakership wont make it any easier.

I sure hope we dont come to do any sort of, you know, physical violence or anything of the sort, Rep. Steve Womack (R-Ark.) said shortly after McCarthy lost his vote, necessitating a new election. Womack spoke before McCarthy said he would not run for the post.

Ive seen people get out of their chair and point fingers and you know, drop F-bombs and  look, man, when emotions are high like this, people react.

On one side, hard-line conservatives  including but not limited to the eight members who voted to oust McCarthy  want a leader who will take an aggressive stance on issues like spending and the border.

Opposite them stand members who are infuriated by McCarthys ouster by a handful of their colleagues and who want to make it harder to oust any future Speakers.

For the narrow GOP majority that already endured a 15-ballot Speaker election and a wealth of intraparty squabbling in just the last nine months, the question is not only who can unite Republicans, but who would even want the job.

Two candidates have announced official bids so far: House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.), who rose up through leadership after being chair of the traditionally conservative Republican Study Committee; and House Judiciary Committee Chair Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), a founding member of the hard-line House Freedom Caucus who became a McCarthy ally and supporter.

A third contender is Republican Study Committee Chairman Kevin Hern (R-Okla.), who does not have the national profile or longevity of the other two but brings the perspective of a successful businessman. Hern has not yet officially announced a bid, but GOP lawmakers say he is talking to them about one.

Hern, Scalise and Jordan spoke at a meeting of the powerful Texas House GOP delegation Wednesday.

Republicans are also privately and publicly throwing out other dark horse names.

Scalise, by virtue of his high rank in the House GOP, is the most obvious contender for Speaker. Rep. Tony Gonzales (R-Texas) made an early Scalise endorsement, and he also has the support of House Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-Minn.), who is hoping to move up to majority leader should Scalise get the gavel.

But he is far from a shoo-in.

Some members say that the conference needs to keep an open mind as it figures out its priorities first.

I think this whole narrative about every member of existing leadership taking one step up is bullshit, Graves said. Thats not what we need to be talking about right now.

And Jordan, Scalises chief opponent, is a powerhouse on the national stage. He spent years as a prominent defender of former President Trump, he chairs the high-profile Judiciary Committee and the panel probing the weaponization of the federal government, and he is a key figure in the Biden impeachment inquiry.

Hes gotten public support from Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.), Rep. Jim Banks (R-Ind.) and Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.).

Every district in this country has a base. Jim Jordan is pretty popular with that base. Pretty effective communicator, said Rep. Kelly Armstrong (R-N.D.), who has not endorsed a candidate.

Scalise was also diagnosed with a very treatable blood cancer in August  a fact that has the potential to complicate his bid as members consider the rigors of the job. But some say that health should not be an excuse to withhold support for him.

If Steve Scalise says hes healthy enough to do the job thats good enough for me, and it should be good enough for every one of us, Armstrong said.

One major question is what the eight hard-line Republicans who voted to oust McCarthy  many of whom were also holdouts in the January Speakers race  are looking for.

What Im looking for is someone who will basically get back to the duty of actually making sure we get the most basic fundamental things were supposed to get done, which is the appropriations bills done on time, Rep. Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.), one of the McCarthy opponents, said in a video Wednesday. I want the person whos the most conservative who can get 218 votes.

Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.), who led the move to oust McCarthy, has expressed openness to any of the names being floated.

Jordan was one alternative to McCarthy that hard-liners repeatedly nominated and voted for during the 15-ballot Speaker election in January.

But more moderate members are also looking for different assurances.

What I expect is someone who through his or her leadership skills will work to minimize the difficulty for members like me, maximize the successes for the people I represent, and work to build a consensus among people who clearly are going to have a hard time working together, said Rep. Marc Molinaro (N.Y.), a swing-district Republican. That is a very tall order.

Any Speaker candidate will also contend with members seeking changes to the motion to vacate rule that paved the way for McCarthys ouster  or some kind of assurance that it will not happen again.

The Main Street Caucus, composed of House Republicans who bill themselves as pragmatic, released a statement Wednesday criticizing the one-person threshold to force a vote on ousting a Speaker.

Personal politics should never again be used to trump the will of 96% of House conservatives. Any candidate for Speaker must explain to us how what happened on Tuesday will never happen again, the group said in a statement.

While Republicans grapple with who to nominate, there are practical reasons to move quickly. The House cannot function regularly until they elect a Speaker, and it is facing a new Nov. 17 government shutdown deadline.

Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas) said a new Speaker decision better damn well be next week. Weve got to get it done.

Mychael Schnell, Miranda Nazzaro and Aris Folley contributed.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy

A shortage of weapons, ammunition and air defense systems poses challenges on the battlefield in Ukraine, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said during an interview with Italian news channel Sky TG24 on Oct. 4.

The initiative is currently on Ukraine's side, Zelenskyy said: Russia is gradually being pushed out of the occupied territories, albeit at a slow pace.

"The difficulty is that the fields are mined, he said. The difficulty is a shortage of weapons and ammunition, especially a significant shortage of air defenses.

Read also: US State Department, Pentagon have different perspectives on providing Ukraine with arms  Politico

He added that the coming winter could be a challenge for all Ukrainian citizens, civilians, "ordinary people who work" and the military.

"We need to get through this winter with dignity, without losing the initiative we have on the battlefield."

Ukrainian counter-offensive  The latest

The main thrust of Ukraines counter-offensive is now in the southeast, where Ukrainian forces are gradually advancing through minefields and under Russian airstrikes, U.S. newspaper the New York Times reported earlier.

Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Valerii Zaluzhnyi, responding earlier to criticism of the slow pace of the counter-offensive, told U.S. officials that Ukrainian forces were on the verge of a breakthrough in their southern counter-offensive, U.S. newspaper the Wall Street Journal reported on Aug. 24, citing an unnamed U.S. official.

Ukraines Defense Ministry confirmed the liberation of the village of Robotyne in Zaporizhzhya Oblast by the Ukrainian military on Aug. 28. The Ukrainian Armed Forces have since been advancing further towards the Novodanylivka-Verbove area in southern Ukraine.

Read also: US to supply Ukraine with weapons seized from Iran  report

Now the defenders are moving further towards Novoprokopivka, Ocheretuvate, and have had success near Verbove, the Ukrainian military says.

Oleksandr Tarnavskyi, commander of the Tavria operational group in the southern part of the country, confirmed on Sept. 2 that Ukrainian forces had breached the first Russian defense line in Zaporizhzhya Oblast.

Ukrainian forces have also liberated part of the village of Opytne south of the front-line town of Avdiyivka in Donetsk Oblast, now former Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Malyar said on Sept. 11.

The Defense Forces liberated Klishchiyivka near Bakhmut on Sept. 17.

A major breakthrough in the counter-offensive would begin if Ukrainian forces were to liberate Tokmak in Zaporizhzhya Oblast, Tarnavskyi has said.

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Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
Lawyers for rapper Jamell YNW Melly Demons are due in court Friday morning to urge a judge to throw the Broward State Attorneys Office off the case, and theyre relying largely on the testimony of a prosecutor to make their argument.

Assistant State Attorney Michelle Boutros could end up being a key witness Friday. Defense lawyers say she overheard Miramar Police Detective Mark Moretti, the lead investigator on Demons case, express a willingness to lie about his seizure of a phone belonging to Demons mother, Jamie King, during a Fort Lauderdale courthouse interview last October.

That was information that could have been used to discredit Moretti during Demons recent murder trial, which ended in July with a hung jury. But prosecutors never disclosed it to the defense. Now theyre being accused of prosecutorial misconduct.

The allegation surfaced because three months ago, Demons mother filed a complaint accusing Moretti of using excessive force when taking her phone. Miramars internal affairs unit reviewed the complaint and found in Morettis favor  Moretti took the phone forcibly to prevent King from turning it off.

Defense lawyers say Moretti had no right to take the phone because he was outside his jurisdiction. Had a deputy been in the room at the time, the seizure would have been legal, they say. But after King and her lawyer left the room, Moretti asked a deputy to pretend he was there all along, according to Boutros.

Prosecutors say the exchange was a joke between Moretti and the deputy  Kings own lawyer, Robert Trachman, was in the room at the time and did not raise any objection about jurisdiction. But Boutros took it seriously and reported it to her supervisor.

Whether prosecutors had an obligation to report the incident to the defense is legally questionable. Broward Circuit Judge John Murphy will listen to arguments about that issue on Friday.

Tensions between prosecutors and the defense in the Demons case have been escalating ever since a jury failed to reach a unanimous agreement in July on whether he killed two of his childhood friends, fellow rappers Anthony YNW Sakchaser Williams and Christopher YNW Juvy Thomas.

A retrial is scheduled to begin this month.

Prosecutors have added a witness tampering charge against Demons and co-defendant Cortlen YNW Bortlen Henry, who is accused of driving the Jeep where the murders took place after a late-night recording session in October 2018.

Investigators say Henry and Demons staged the crime scene to make it look like a drive-by shooting had taken place.

Both are accused of working together to persuade Demons girlfriend not to cooperate with investigators or prosecutors.

Defense lawyers say the tampering charges are an effort to distract from the allegations of prosecutorial misconduct.
The Sikkim government said the natural calamity has been declared a disaster

Indian authorities are racing against time to rescue people after flash floods in the north-eastern state of Sikkim left 102 people missing, including 22 army personnel.

Fourteen people are known to have died after a Himalayan glacial lake burst its banks, triggering massive floods.

Officials said more than 3,000 tourists had been stranded in different parts of the state.

Hundreds of search and rescue personnel have been deployed across the state.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he spoke to Chief Minister Prem Singh Tamang on Wednesday and assured him of all possible support.

The state's Lhonak lake breached its embankment on Tuesday night after heavy rain. It led to an alarming rise in water in the Teesta river in Lachen Valley.

The flood worsened after water was released from a nearby dam into the river. A defence spokesperson said there was a sudden increase in water levels up to 15-20 ft high downstream.

The Indian army has launched a massive search operation to find and rescue those missing

Nearly 14 people had been trapped in the tunnels of the dam, a state official said.

Satellite images shared by Isro, India's space agency, showed dramatic changes in the volume of the lake. On 28 September, the lake is seen spanning 167.4 hectares which diminishes to 60.3 hectares on 4 October.

The Indian army has launched a massive search operation to find and rescue those missing. Officials said one soldier had been rescued on Wednesday night and was in a stable condition.

Rescue personnel also fished out bodies, including that of a child, from the flood plains of the Teesta river in Singtam, officials told PTI news agency.

"The search operations are being undertaken under conditions of incessant rains, fast-flowing water in the Teesta River with the roads and bridges washed away at many places," the army said in its statement.

Sikkim chief secretary VB Pathak said the floods had caused massive damage to infrastructure, including roads and bridges.

Mobile coverage in northern parts of the state has also been disrupted.

The army has set up three helplines for families of missing people, including its own soldiers.

"Family members of the missing persons have been contacted and informed about the situation," it said.

Hundreds of search and rescue officers have been deployed across the state

Northern parts of neighbouring West Bengal state have also been affected as water from the Teesta inundated Darjeeling, Kalimpong, Cooch Behar and Jalpaiguri disricts.

The state rescued 10,000 people and moved them to 190 relief camps on Wednesday, West Bengal's Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said.

Sikkim in the Himalayas is prone to floods and natural disasters. Last year, severe flooding there displaced tens of thousands and killed at least 24 people.

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Read more India stories from the BBC:
The now-convicted son-in-law of former Cook County Democratic boss Joseph Berrios was allegedly good friends with notorious mob hit man Frank The German Schweihs and once went to him for protection for his massage parlors being threatened by other gangsters.

Thats the story about James Weiss that was caught on a federal wiretap and revealed in a court filing late Wednesday, where prosecutors asked for a sentence of more than five years in prison for Weiss for his conviction earlier this year on bribery charges.

Meanwhile, the Tribune has learned that a federal grand jury investigating Weiss alleged mob ties is interested in other longtime associates of the Outfits Grand Avenue crew.

Weiss attorneys have sought leniency, portraying him as a legitimate businessman who simply chose the wrong way to go about getting legislation passed that would help his sweepstakes gaming machine business.

But in their filing, Assistant U.S. Attorneys Christine ONeill and Sean Franzblau revealed that Weiss brother was recorded telling someone Weiss had partnered up with a known long-time mob associate, identified as Individual B, after Weiss had reportedly gone to Schweihs for help.

Yeah, well, Jimmy and Frank were good friends, and some Russians were muscling Jimmy, but Frank was on the run, the brother, Joseph Weiss, told an unidentified person in a wiretapped call quoted in the filing. Frank was in hiding and Jimmy called Frank and  says, hey man, these guys just busted up my (expletive store). Scared the (expletive) out of the girls, this and that, you know, I need your help, where the (expletive) are you?

At the time, Schweihs had been charged in the landmark Family Secrets mob case and was on the run. According to the brothers story, The German told Weiss, Jim, Im underground right now  but Ill have someone call you right back.

Somebody called Jimmy and told him to go see Individual B, who straightened it all out, Joseph Weiss said, according to the transcript of the call.

Ever since then, theyre partners on everything, Joseph Weiss said. The problem is (Individual B)s like a gangster but hes an honest guy. If youre his friend, youre his friend.

Prosecutors called the description of Individual B as a gangster an apt one. In a separate undercover recording, Individual B admitted that James Weiss is with me, referencing their joint involvement with gaming machines, the filing stated.

Insofar as (James) Weiss seeks to portray himself as a community-minded and otherwise law-abiding individual, his long-time partnership with Individual B and his own brothers recording discussing his prior association with his good friend, mob killer Frank Schweihs, demonstrates otherwise, prosecutors wrote.

The filing also alleged that Individual Bs now-deceased girlfriend was a partner in one of James Weiss gambling businesses and received hundreds of thousands of dollars in payments from him.

Schweihs, who according to authorities spent decades as a reputed enforcer for the mobs Grand Avenue street crew, died of cancer in 2008 while awaiting trial.

The filing came on the heels of a new indictment unsealed in U.S. District Court against Joseph Weiss, who was charged with lying to federal investigators about his brothers reputed mob ties, including his previous contacts with Schweihs and Individual B.

Joseph Weiss is scheduled to be arraigned on Oct. 13, two days after his brothers sentencing.

Reached by phone Wednesday, James Weiss attorney, Ilia Usharovich, said his client had no ties at all to Schweihs.

Jim denies ever speaking to Mr. Schweihs, ever meeting with Mr. Schweihs and ever doing business with Mr. Schweihs, Usharovich said.

The Tribune has previously reported that James Weiss sweepstakes company, V.S.S., was connected to a former Chicago police officer, John Adreani, through a complex web of corporations, many of which list the same address in a south suburban strip mall as their headquarters.

Adreani was fired from the Chicago Police Department in 2015 for associating with a major drug trafficker after he was captured on a wiretap discussing gambling and drinking excursions and real estate ventures with him, according to Chicago Police Board records.

Adreani was not charged; however, his name came up several times during James Weiss trial.

Another one of Weiss business entities, Mac-T Retail LLC, which was formed in 2015, shares the same address in the 800 block of Sibley Boulevard in Dolton with V.S.S., state records show.

At least three companies that include Mac-T in their titles appear to be linked, according to state records. The first of them, Mac-T LLC, was organized by Anthony DeMarco of River Grove in 2014 and was also registered to the Sibley Boulevard address.

DeMarco originally incorporated Mac-T using an address of 723 W. Grand Ave. in Chicago, which is a single-room occupancy hotel in the same building that houses the Italian restaurant La Scarola and Richards Bar.

La Scarola was the scene of a 2012 lunch meeting with top Grand Avenue crew members that led to the FBI sting of hit man Steve Mandell, who was plotting, among other things, to kidnap, rob and murder a mobbed-up strip club owner.

Richards is owned, on paper at least, by the sister of Robert Bobby Dominic, a reputed Outfit associate who, according to FBI and Chicago records, ran pornography and gambling interests for the Grand Avenue crew, which was headed by legendary mobster Joseph The Clown Lombardo.

Meanwhile, records obtained by the Tribune show the same federal grand jury looking into Weiss mob connections is also interested in Dominic.

The grand jury sent a subpoena to the Illinois Department of Insurance on July 28 seeking applications, communications and other records involving a state Comprehensive Health Insurance Plan in Dominics name, according to a copy of the subpoena received through an open records request.

Dominic has not been charged. He could not be reached for comment Thursday. A lawyer who represented him in a recent lawsuit filed by tenants of the Acacia single-room occupancy hotel declined to comment, saying he was barred by confidentiality agreements from discussing any of his clients.

James Weiss was convicted by a jury in June of seven counts of bribery, wire fraud, mail fraud and making false statements.

The charges alleged Weiss then agreed to pay monthly $2,500 bribes to get language helping his sweepstakes business added to state gambling legislation, first to state Rep. Luis Arroyo and later to state Sen. Terry Link, who was a chief sponsor of the gambling bill in the Senate.

Arroyo and Weiss didnt know that Link, a Vernon Hills Democrat, was cooperating with the FBI. Link, who is hoping for a break in his own federal tax conviction in exchange for his cooperation, testified over two days about his undercover role.

Arroyo, meanwhile, pleaded guilty to bribery for his role in the scheme but did not agree to cooperate with prosecutors. U.S. District Judge Steven Seeger sentenced Arroyo to nearly five years in prison last year, calling him a corruption superspreader.

James Weiss attorneys have asked Seeger for a sentence of under 27 months, arguing in a filing last week that the legislation Weiss wanted to pass was well-meaning and would have generated much-needed tax revenue on what are currently unregulated sweepstakes machines.

In asking for a 63-month prison term, prosecutors argued Weiss has been unrepentant about the damage his crimes have done to the public trust. They also wrote that while Weiss claimed he was trying to make ends meet for his family, in reality he was making substantial earnings and gambling $20,000 a week.

For someone like (Weiss), with financial stakes in a variety of different businesses, there always will be a way to make more money, prosecutors wrote. There always will be public officials who are willing to take a bribe to make (his) life easier.

jmeisner@chicagotribune.com
(Photo : Mario Tama/Getty Images)

Apple releases its new iOS 17.0.3 update in an attempt to fix the widespread overheating issue that many users are complaining about with their iPhone 15 devices.

Apple rolled out its iOS 17.0.3 update to fix the iPhone 15's overheating issue, which has affected many consumers and brought down the reliability of the tech giant's latest product.

The company said that the overheating problem was caused by software and not hardware or design flaws within the iPhone 15 product itself. Additionally, the tech giant said that the new update would not reduce the A17 Pro chip's performance.

iPhone 15 New iOS Update

The situation comes after many users of the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max complained that after using their devices for a while, they would get extremely hot. This includes basic activities such as browsing the internet.

Apple responded that it was normal for the iPhone to get hotter than usual when it initially sets up, restores from a backup, charges wirelessly, or runs graphics-intensive or processor-intensive apps. However, the tech giant acknowledged last weekend that a software issue in iOS 17 caused iPhone 15 devices to run at abnormally high temperatures, as per 9to5Mac.

The company updated the security fixes for this patch, listing two solutions to problems on iOS and iPadOS. The first one is a kernel exploit for an attacker with local access to the device that Apple said "may have been actively exploited against versions of iOS before iOS 16.6" and a fix for a libvpx bug.

The latter is something that CISA issued a warning about, as it could allow someone to take over a device remotely. The latest update is readily available for download and requires 423.2 megabytes of memory.

Read Also: Japanese Startup Builds Rideable Gundam-Like ARCHAX Robot With $3 Million Price Tag

Addressing the Overheating Issue

Before Apple released the update, many users speculated about the potential reason for the overheating issue. According to The Verge, these include hardware issues, potentially from the iPhone 15's more powerful processor or titanium components.

The tech giant said another issue involves some recent updates related to third-party apps that overload the iPhone 15's system. These apps include Instagram, Uber, and Asphalt 9, as revealed by Apple.

Apple also reassured its consumers that the product's overheating issue is unrelated to its new titanium casing, replacing older models' stainless steel. Additionally, the company dismissed speculations that the new USB-C port was causing the issue, allowing it to comply with a mandate that European regulators issued, said BBC.

Rising concerns about a potential device sound issue also plague the iPhone 15. Some users have reported that the sound from their phones' speakers is a bit off, especially at higher volumes.

Complaints include hearing crackling and/or rattling noises when playing music or blasting calls on the speaker at or near maximum volume. While some may be tempted to find a fix with a replacement device, some have already tried, so who said that the issue was not fixed at all, said Phone Arena.

Related Article: Apple Explains Why iPhone 15 Overheats Easily

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Just in time for the upcoming holiday season, a once-in-a-lifetime creative collaboration just dropped from across the pond! The legendary Sir Elton John and iconic celebrity makeup artist Charlotte Tilbury have joined forces to release a limited-edition beauty collection that supports the six-time Grammy winners non-profit, The Elton John Aids Foundation.

Inspired by Johns classic 70s style, the Charlotte Tilbury x Elton John Rocket Collection includes two new Rock Lips lipsticks and an accompanying black velvet bag adorned with shining silver starsthe ultimate holiday party clutch. The limited-edition lipsticks include Rocket Lips, a pinky nude matte shade, and Ready for Lust, a universally flattering deep berry thats shaping up to be the color du jour for fall and winter. Charlotte calls these lipsticks self-driving, meaning they help create perfect pout sans lipliner. Made with 3D glowing pigments and natural oils, these lippies hydrate and plump your pout like a balm without compromising color payoff.

Charlotte Tilbury.

The partnership between the two British icons came to fruition after Charlotte Tilbury became a founding partner of the Rocket Fund, Elton John AIDS Foundations newest campaign. The musicial legend launched the non-profit to accelerate global outreach and access to those in need. So you can get glam while benefiting a genuinely fantastic cause; a win-win if there ever was one!

In addition to the Charlotte Tilbury x Elton John Rocket Collection, the brand also just launched a collection of holiday gifts, including the Beautyverse eyeshadow palette, its first nine-color offering, along with the 2023 Advent Calendar.

If youre looking to get a jumpstart on your holiday shoppingor just refresh your fall makeup lineup with some new items that help support a good cause, Charlotte Tilbury has you covered. Shop our favorite pieces from the Charlotte Tilbury x Elton John Rocket Collection and holiday 2023 gift offerings below.

Charlotte Tilbury x Elton John Makeup Bag & Lip Kit

This gorgeous makeup bag is inspired by Sir Elton John himself and comes with the two limited-edition lipsticks in the drop. Trust usyoull want to grab both before they sell out, so you might as well invest in the three-piece set.

Buy Charlotte Tilbury x Elton John Makeup Bag & Lip Kit at Charlotte Tilbury, $133

Beautyverse Eyeshadow Palette

I scored a Beautyverse eyeshadow palette before the release, and wowits the only one Ill be using through the holiday season... and beyond. It has four soft matte shades and five shimmer hues that look intimidating at first, but go on like a dream, subtly illuminating lids over the matte shades or on their own. Charlotte used this gorgeous palette on Amal Clooney for her ethereal yet understated beauty look for the Albies (she and husband Georges charity event).

Buy Beautyverse Eyeshadow Palette at Charlotte Tilbury, $75

Rock Lips Lip Kit

If youre looking for a rocking lip look (or a universally flattering beauty gift that will look amazing on all skin tones), look no further than the Rock Lips Lip Kit, which comes with one of the two limited-edition shades and a matching lip liner.

Buy Rock Lips Lip Kit at Charlotte Tilbury, $60

Charlottes Lucky Chest of Beauty Secret Advent Calendar

The ultimate holiday advent calendar for beauty lovers, Charlottes 2023 Lucky Chest of Beauty Secrets features twelve doors of dazzling surprises. The advent calendar includes two full-sized beauty products and ten minis products, a $279 value.

Buy Charlottes Lucky Chest of Beauty Secret Advent Calendar at Charlotte Tilbury, $210

Iconic Magin Skin Duo

Give the gift of magic in a jar this year with this limited edition skincare set featuring two of Charlotte Tilburys hero skin products: the Magic Cream (Speaking of the Clooneys, George is allegedly a fan of this rich moisturizer) and Magic Skin Serum.

Buy Iconic Magin Skin Duo at Charlotte Tilbury, $105

Dont forget to check out our coupon site to find more beauty deals, including Sephora coupons, Ulta coupons, Nordstrom coupons, and Macys coupons.

Read more at The Daily Beast.

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The situation on the Lyman-Kupiansk front is currently more difficult than in Bakhmut. The Russians' new target is Makiivka.

Source: Illia Yevlash, head of the press service of the Armed Forces' Eastern Grouping of Forces, in the national 24/7 newscast

Quote: "In my opinion, the most dynamic front is Lyman-Kupiansk. The situation there is now the most difficult. The enemy is using its Su-35s very intensively  the new attack aircraft that can shoot air and ground targets alike. They enter mainly in pairs. The enemy also uses Ka-52s, Su-25s and Mi-8s. The intensity of assault operations there has now increased. Eight combat clashes have been observed over the past 24 hours.

The enemy has now chosen a new location, Makiivka, and is directing all efforts on this front. These eight combat clashes took place there.

... If compared [with the Bakhmut front] in terms of personnel, its more than 110,000 military personnel [on the Lyman-Kupiansk front], 1,085 tanks, and almost 2,000 armoured combat vehicles. These are BMPs, BMDs, MT-LBs [infantry fighting vehicles], Tigers [armoured cars], various patrol cars, more than 700 artillery systems and about 500 multiple-launch rocket systems.

[That's] in contrast to the Bakhmut front, where we see much smaller numbers: 51,000 personnel, 211 tanks, 1,000 armoured fighting vehicles, 110 artillery systems and another 100 MLRS."

Details: Yevlash reported that Ukrainian fighters managed to damage the Russian Zoopark radar system, which was "very annoying to our military". Yevlash called it a "juicy target". In his opinion, it will be "a little easier" on this front now while the Russians repair the system.

At the same time, Yevlash added that heavy fighting continues on the Bakhmut front near the railway: "We are trying to push back the enemy and consolidate positions on the ground gained. The enemy continues to attack."

Ukrainska Pravda is the place where you will find the most up-to-date information about everything related to the war in Ukraine. Follow us on Twitter, support us, or become our patron!
Six former inmates at Californias womens prison in Chowchilla who alleged they were sexually assaulted by a former guard there have agreed to settle their lawsuits for $3.7 million, their attorney says.

Rocklin attorney Robert Chalfant said the settlement agreements came after two days of talks in federal court in Sacramento over allegations that guard Greg Rodriguez, who faces 96 charges of rape, sodomy, sexual battery and other counts, assaulted the women while they were incarcerated at the Central California Womens Facility.

Im emotionally exhausted right now, Chalfant said Thursday. Being involved in that kind of case is draining.

Im proud of my clients for coming forward. Its terrifying to come forward and make these kinds of allegations against a guard.

Rodriguez, 55, was arrested in May and is being held without bail at the Madera County Jail, where he faces a trial setting date in Superior Court on Nov. 20.

District Attorney Sally Moreno has said the charges involve 13 victims and allege 39 individual sexual assaults, some charged in more than one way, that could result in Rodriguez facing up to 300 years in prison.

A spokeswoman for the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation said the agency would not comment on pending litigation.

Rodriguez began with CDCR in 1995 as a cadet and had been at Chowchilla since 2010. He retired effective Aug. 25, 2022, after CDCR investigators approached him about the allegations.

Rodriguez was accused of luring inmates into a parole board hearing room where there were no cameras and sexually assaulting them.

Chalfant has said prison officials were warned for years about Rodriguez but took no action, and that CDCR still is not doing enough to protect inmates at the states largest womens prison.

If CDCR wanted to end sexual assault of female inmates at CCWF theres a lot of things you could do, including body-worn cameras, putting cameras in all the places where guard have access to inmates and hiring more female guards.

All this could have been avoided if people did their jobs and looked out for women.

In recent weeks, dozens of lawsuits have poured into Sacramento Superior Court filed on behalf of women who claim they were sexually assaulted by staff at Chowchilla or other womens prisons.

The suits are the result of a new state law that allows victims of sexual assault by prison guards or law enforcement officers to sue within 10 years of an assailant leaving their agency or being convicted of a crime.

That measure was sponsored by Assemblywoman Buffy Wicks, D-Oakland, and signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom in October 2021.
The party that promised to end aid to Ukraine won the elections in Slovakia

The victory of a pro-Russian party in Slovakias parliamentary elections and the new government formation process are behind Bratislavas decision not to provide Ukraine with a new military aid package, the Ukrainian news outlet European Pravda reported on Oct. 5.

European Pravda cited Jana Kobzova, a foreign policy advisor to the president of the Slovak Republic.

Read also: Slovakia formally accuses Russia of trying to influence election through disinformation

"The current Slovak government, which is outgoing, has constitutionally limited powers. The political parties that are now negotiating the possible formation of the (new) government are opposed to providing military aid to Ukraine."

Military aid package approval by the outgoing government would set a risky precedent for a change of power after future elections, in the view of Slovak President Zuzana Caputova.

Read also: Potential kingmaker to Slovakian government casts doubt on further military aid to Ukraine

"President Caputova has been a strong supporter of such assistance from the very beginning and has been in contact with the government regarding its support, especially after (Ukrainian) President (Volodymyr) Zelenskyy's recent visit to Slovakia in July," Kobzova said, stressing that the military assistance Slovakia provided to Ukraine was the largest the country had ever offered.

On Oct. 1, the pro-Russian Smer-SD party led by Robert Fico won the parliamentary elections in Slovakia with 23.29% of the vote after almost all the ballots were counted.

The second place went to the pro-European liberal party Progressive Slovakia (PS), led by Michal Simecka, which received 17.07% of the vote.

Fico, after winning the Slovak general election, confirmed his intention to cut off aid to Ukraine.

Later, he proposed to organize peace talks on Ukraine.

Read also: Wait for coalition formation before drawing conclusions  Ukraines Foreign Minister on Slovakian election

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Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
Slovak President Zuzana Caputova has opposed sending additional military assistance to Ukraine following the electoral victory of pro-Russian Robert Fico and his party SMER, the Slovak news outlet Dennik N reported on Oct. 4.

According to the report, the Slovak Defense Ministry had prepared a new assistance package for Ukraine that Caputova could have signed while Fico's predecessor was still in office, but the president declined, saying the parliamentary elections must be respected.

Fico is Slovakia's former prime minister. His party, SMER, won a narrow victory in Slovakia's Sept. 30 elections. While the margins were not high enough to give SMER complete control over the government, they will be able to form a coalition with another party.

At that point, Fico will likely serve another term as prime minister.

Fico has echoed Russian President Vladimir Putins false narratives surrounding the invasion of Ukraine. His main campaign slogan promised that not a single round will be sent to Ukraine.

He has also advocated ending military support for Ukrainian defense, blocking NATO membership for Ukraine, and urging negotiations between Kyiv and Moscow.

Hungarian Prime Minister and close ally Viktor Orban congratulated Fico.

Congratulations to Robert Fico on his undisputable victory at the Slovak parliamentary elections. Always good to work together with a patriot, Orban said on the platform X, formerly Twitter.

Orban has also opposed sanctions and aid to Ukraine.

Slovakia has been a prominent ally to Ukraine since Russia invaded Ukraine in Feb. 2022, sending multiple aid packages and 13 Mig-29 fighter jets.

Before Ficos election, Slovakia was the sixth largest provider of military and humanitarian aid to Ukraine, according to NBC News.

Read also: Peter Tkacenko: Slovakia after election  If not friend, certainly not enemy of Ukraine

Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent.
FILE - President of Slovakia Zuzana Caputova delivers her speech at the European Parliament, Wednesday, Oct. 19, 2022 in Strasbourg. On Thursday Oct. 4, 2023, Slovakia's president has opposed a plan of her country's caretaker government to send further military aid to Ukraine that faces the Russian aggression after the parties that are against such help are in talks to form a new government following last week's election. (AP Photo, File) (ASSOCIATED PRESS)

BRATISLAVA, Slovakia (AP)  Slovakias president has refused a plan by her countrys caretaker government to send further military aid to Ukraine, saying it doesn't have the authority and parties that oppose such support are in talks to form a government following last weeks election.

The presidential office said in a statement Thursday that the current government of technocrats has only limited powers because it lost a mandatory confidence vote in Parliament on June 15, a month after President Zuzana Caputova swore it in.

The technocrat Cabinet was created with the aim of leading the country to Saturdays early election.

Caputova on Monday asked the leader of the winning party in the election to try to form a coalition government. Populist former prime minister Robert Fico and his leftist Smer, or Direction, party captured 22.9% of the vote on Saturday. It will have 42 seats in the 150-seat Parliament.

Fico has vowed to withdraw Slovakias military support for Ukraine, and his victory could further strain the fragile unity in the European Union and NATO.

Fico needs to find coalition partners to rule with a parliamentary majority and has been negotiating with two other parties. He has been given two weeks.

The presidential office said that Caputova, who has been a staunch supporter of Ukraine and visited Kyiv twice since the start of the Russian invasion, has not changed her view on the necessity of military assistance for Ukraine.

But the statement said that approving a military aid package by the current outgoing government would create a risky precedent for the change of power after any future elections.

It said the president is ready to support military assistance proposed by any government with full powers.

Slovakia has been a major supporter of Ukraine, donating arms, including its fleet of Soviet-era MiG-29 fighter jets.

The caretaker government had been planning to send ammunition to Ukraines armed forces and to train Ukrainian soldiers in demining.
The Office of the President of Slovakia, Zuzana Caputova, has explained what her spokesman meant when he said that the president did not support the delivery of a new package of military aid to Ukraine due to a change in the government that is likely to oppose the provision of aid to Ukraine. Caputova is currently conducting consultations.

Source: Jana Kobzova, Foreign Policy Advisor to the President of the Slovak Republic, in an interview with European Pravda

Quote: "The current outgoing Slovakian government has constitutionally limited powers. The political parties that are currently negotiating the possible formation of a government are opposed to the provision of military aid to Ukraine."

Details: For this reason, President Caputova believes that the approval of a military aid package by the current outgoing government would create a risky precedent for a change of power after any future elections, the spokeswoman emphasised.

"President Caputova is holding consultations with all political leaders regarding the formation of the future government and will continue to support the provision of military aid to Ukraine by any government that will have full powers," Kobzova said.

At the same time, Kobzova emphasised that the military aid provided by Slovakia to Ukraine is the largest that the country has ever provided, and per person, is one of the largest provided by any country.

"President Caputova has been a strong supporter of such aid from the very beginning and has communicated with the government regarding its support, including after President Zelenskyy's recent visit to Slovakia in July," Kobzova said.

Background:

On 4 October, the media in Slovakia reported that its Ministry of Defence is considering the possibility of providing Ukraine with another military aid package. It could have been delivered during the presidency of the technocratic government of Ludovit Odor, but President Caputova opposed that plan.

Caputovas spokesman Martin Strizinec told Dennik N that she "agreed with the Prime Minister that the results of democratic elections had to be respected". The election winners, Smer-SD, had promised voters "not to give a single bullet" to Ukraine.

Robert Fico's anti-Ukrainian party won the elections in Slovakia and on Monday, he was given two weeks to form a government.

Fico had previously declared his intention to stop military and political support for Ukraine. He also said that it was "illusory" to talk about Ukraine joining the EU at the moment and claimed that Nazism is "tolerated" in Ukraine.

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Derbyshire Police is giving canisters of SmartWater to high-risk victims to spray on their domestic abusers.

The forensic liquid is used to mark property to prevent it being stolen, but the force said it could deter abusers from contacting their victims.

Officers said the substance, only visible under ultraviolet light, could provide key evidence when suspects denied allegations.

The spray is being trialled in Chesterfield and the Erewash area.

The force said the areas had higher levels of domestic abuse than other parts of the county, but it hoped to roll the scheme out more widely in the future.

Det Insp Adam Gascoigne said: "If a suspect was arrested for a primary offence [of domestic abuse], it might be they are going to get bail so the victim will be given a vial of SmartWater.

"The suspect, upon release, will be told the victim is protected by forensic marking and SmartWater and they will be given a notice to explain that to them."

Police say the spray gives victims peace of mind

He says this will allow the victim to spray the liquid - which is unique to each victim and remains on skin and clothing for at least six weeks - on a suspect if they approach them.

"They spray them, ring the police and tell us what happened and officers will attend," he said.

"They will seek to arrest the offender and forensically recover clothing.

"Evidentially we can then link that clothing to that canister that has been sprayed.

"Domestic abuse cases often rest on the word of the victim against the word of the attacker.

"Victims really like this because it gives them peace of mind they will be believed."

West Yorkshire Police has already successfully prosecuted a perpetrator who breached a non-molestation order using SmartWater technology.

The man's victim tagged him, providing evidence of the offence that led to a prison sentence.

Follow BBC East Midlands on Facebook, on X, or on Instagram. Send your story ideas to eastmidsnews@bbc.co.uk.
SAN DIEGO (Border Report)  Human smugglers, or coyotes, have reportedly hiked their fees to get migrants illegally into the U.S.

Victor Clark, with the Binational Commission for Human Rights in Tijuana, says fees now range anywhere from $12,000 to $14,000.

In the 90s, the coyotes were charging just $100 to get people across the border in the Tijuana-San Ysidro area, and $250 for a ride up to Los Angeles.

Clark also stated prices vary depending on the type of migrant, nationality and the area along the border that will be crossed.

Theres a new generation of coyotes who dont respect the traditional way of charging, said Clark. They dont have set fees anymore, they base it all according to the group in front of them.

Instructions on how to cross border illegally delivered to migrants via phone apps

Demand for smugglers has risen in recent months as more and more migrants arrive at Mexican border towns intent on getting north of the border, Clark said.

Migrants are being charged $5,000 just to be taken to the border and given instructions on how and where to cross.

The higher prices are forcing many migrants to wait for online appointments to cross the border rather than trying their luck with a smuggler.

Migrant encounters continue trending up following post-Title 42 dip, new data shows

Using the CBP One, migrants can apply online to be able to present themselves at one of eight ports of entry along the Southwest border  Nogales, Brownsville, Eagle Pass, Hidalgo, El Paso, Calexico, and San Ysidro.

Those with CBP One appointments are vetted and processed, which includes biographic and biometric security vetting and background screening, and individuals who are processed into the United States may be paroled to continue their immigration proceedings, on a case-by-case basis.

The exorbitant prices are too much for some migrants looking for asylum, said Clark.

One woman named Jaqueline, from El Salvador, said that for her own safety and that of her unborn child, shell wait for an appointment while staying at a shelter.

Visit the BorderReport.com homepage for the latest exclusive stories and breaking news about issues along the U.S.-Mexico border

Every day is an eternity, I cant sleep, eat, and I have intense pains, but I just have to be patient, she said. A smuggler offered his services for $10,000 because I was pregnant saying it was guaranteed that I would be able to get humanitarian asylum once in the United States.

Jacqueline and other migrants say waits for a CBP One appointment are currently two months out.

According to DHS, since its launch in January through the end of June, more than 170,000 individuals have successfully scheduled an appointment to present themselves at a designated port of entry. The top nationalities who have scheduled appointments are Haitian, Mexican, and Venezuelan.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX 5 San Diego.
Social media users have shared photos of Thailand's new prime minister Srettha Thavisin with a claim that he plans to legalise casinos and online gambling in the country. However, a Thai government spokesperson has dismissed the claim as "fake news". Photos seen in the misleading posts were taken from events where he made other announcements.

A photo of Srettha in a blue shirt was published on Facebook on September 18 with text in Thai that reads: "Online gambling investors rejoice! The PM is preparing to legalise casinos and gambling websites. Thirty percent tax. Create jobs and increase the country's revenue."

The post has a caption in Thai that voices support for the plan. It has since been shared over 2,500 times

Screenshot of the false Facebook post, taken September 29, 2023

Other posts that also shared the false claim appear to be less supportive of the proposal to "legalise gambling in Thailand".

A Facebook post published on September 26 shared another photo of Srettha wearing a suit and yellow necktie.

"Within two weeks, the PM will meet with the cabinet to discuss legalising casinos and online gambling sites in Thailand," text in the picture reads.

The post's caption goes on to read: "Is legalising casinos that necessary? Can it really benefit our country? Why don't you come up with something better than this? It destroys people's life."

Another Facebook post published on September 28 also shared the same photo with a sarcastic caption: "Thailand already legalised cannabis and next is gambling. The Pheu Thai party takes seriously about solving the country's problem -- by legalising casinos. Yay."

Screenshot of the false Facebook post, taken September 29, 2023

The claim surfaced after Thailand's junta-appointed senate blocked former Move Forward Party leader Pita Limjaroenrat's bid to become prime minister even though his party won the most seats in the House of Representatives election in May.

The runners-up of the election -- the Pheu Thai party -- formed a coalition with some pro-military parties in August while Srettha was endorsed as prime minister (archived link).

AFP reported the news sparked a small protest outside Pheu Thai's headquarters. Protesters threw paper fliers with pictures of the Pheu Thai party leader Chonlanan Srikaew and signs calling on him to resign.

The false claim was also shared on Facebook here, here, here, here, and here.

However, a Thai government official has said the prime minister does not have plans to legalise gambling in the country.

Photos with false claims

Wetang Phuangsup, Deputy Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Digital Economy and Society (DES), said in a statement published on September 20 that the claim was "not true" and was considered "fake news."

"Currently, the government has no plans to legalise casinos and online gambling nor implemented a policy to do so with 30 percent tax as claimed," reads the statement, which has been published on the websites of Government House and the government-run website Anti-Fake News Centre Thailand (archived links here and here).

AFP has also found the two photos used in the false posts were taken from unrelated events.

The photo of Srettha in a blue shirt appeared on September 13 in a post on his Facebook account (archived link).

The post's caption said he addressed the public about economic stimulus measures, which included reducing energy costs, waiving visas for Chinese tourists and paying civil servants twice a month starting January 1, 2024. He did not mention legalising casinos and online gambling.

Below is a screenshot comparison between the false post (left) and Srettha's Facebook post on September 13 (right):

A screenshot comparison between the false post (left) and Srettha's Facebook post on September 13 (right).

News outlet Thai PBS and the government's National News Bureau also published photos of Srettha wearing the same blue shirt on September 13 (archived links here and here).

The other photo of Srettha wearing a yellow tie was originally posted by Thai broadcaster Channel 7 on its Facebook page on September 15 (archived link).

The photo shows Srettha in a suit and yellow necktie, matching the one in false claims.

Text in the photo said the prime minister would explain how the government planned to fund a cash handout within two weeks -- referring to an announcement that Thai citizens aged 16 or above would receive 274 dollars in digital cash handouts as a part of the plan to stimulate the economy (archived link).

The broadcaster published a post on its Facebook page on September 27 saying the photo had been edited to spread false news (archived link).

"There is no text 'PM is meeting with the cabinet to discuss legalising casinos and online gambling in Thailand' in the second and third lines," the Facebook post reads. "Modification made to the photo and text does not from Channel 7's news editorial team whatsoever."

Below is a screenshot comparison between the false post (left) and Channel 7's Facebook on September 15 (right):

A screenshot comparison between the false post (left) and Channel 7's Facebook on September 15 (right).

AFP cannot find credible news reports that Thailand planned to legalise casinos and online gambling sites.
Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan announced that he is running for the House Speaker position after Republican Kevin McCarthy was ousted.

He boasted many accomplishments to promise Americans he'll be the best choice for the position. But the question is, will he be different from McCarthy?

Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan Runs for House Speaker

According to The Blaze's latest report, Jim Jordan published a letter detailing what he'll focus on if he becomes the next House Speaker.

Aside from this, he also provided his recent accomplishments to show he's fit for the job. He sent his letter to the Congress of the United States on Wednesday, Oct. 4.

"We are at a critical crossroads in our nation's history. Now is the time for our Republican conference to come together to keep our promise to Americans," said Jordan in his official letter, which he posted on X.

"The problems we face are challenging, but they are not insurmountable. We can focus on the changes that improve the country and unite us in offering real solutions," Jordan added.

At the end of his letter, the US representative asked for the public's and lawmakers' support as he ran for the Speaker of the House of Representatives.

Read Also: House Speaker Race: Steve Scalise Becomes 2nd Republican To Announce Candidacy

What Jim Jordan Promises?

Jim Jordan said that he will focus on the worsening public safety and rising crime numbers across the United States. He claims that the current administration has open-border policies, which cause chaos and leave the nation vulnerable. Jordan explained that the US government should address the rising crime in major cities.

He added that American leaders must reject soft-on-crime and pro-crime policies to prevent illegal activities. Aside from this, he also suggested reducing the government's spending by getting the country's fiscal house in order. Other things he suggested include improving the border and national security and constitutional oversight of the US federal bureaucracy.

To show that he can help achieve everything he mentioned, Jordan boasted his accomplishments in helping immigration enforcement, conducting oversight, and pushing for fiscal discipline throughout his career.

As of writing, it is hard to conclude that Jim Jordan will be like Kevin McCarthy. In the comment section of his official X announcement, many Americans questioned the accomplishments he mentioned.

Some of them are even asking for proof. Meanwhile, others have already concluded that he'll be another McCarthy. However, numerous US residents are also excited about his decision. They said that they'll support him as he tries to become the next House Speaker.

Related Article: Biden Calls for Continuous Support for Ukraine After Congress Drops Request To Include Aid in Bill's Passing

@ 2023 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Is it possible to raise a low-carbon cow?

Making milk and cheese accounts for about 3.4% of global greenhouse gases, which cause climate change. So is it possible to raise a low-carbon cow? BBC West Business Correspondent Dave Harvey speaks to farmers at an industry showcase.

In the heart of sleepy Somerset, just a few miles away from where world-famous musicians rocked the Pyramid Stage earlier this year, farmers are discussing cheese.

The Dairy Show has been taking place for more than 40 years, but its visitors are now thinking about the future.

The theme of this year's event was carbon, with experts holding workshops to teach farmers how to cut carbon out of dairy production.

David Cotton, one of the show's organisers, said: "We are seeing reductions of 50% as farmers adopt better practices."

"It's the ultimate in recycling," says Richard Clothier about his bio-gas plant

Richard Clothier is the sixth generation of his family to farm cattle at Wyke Champflower, near Bruton in Somerset.

He said his family had always cared for their land and surroundings, but environmental farming had since moved on.

"We now measure the carbon emissions at every part of the farming and cheese-making process," he explained.

"Looking after the environment is no longer optional, it's a key part of the business," he added.

This Somerset dairy farm is trying to go carbon-neutral

The heart of the operation is a huge slurry pit, which Mr Clothier calls Wyke Farm's "crude oil".

This muck is fed into giant green domes, full of methanogenic bacteria which break it down, and produce methane.

The gas is then captured and cleaned, and some is used to heat the milk in the dairy, more to heat buildings on the farm.

Still more is sold back to the national grid.

Solar panels at Wyke farm help power their dairy operation

And while Mr Clothier's farm may be unusual, you can find similar work on many dairy farms in the south-west of England.

As costs have risen for fertiliser and animal feed, cutting down on them has saved money but also cut carbon emissions, explained Becky Wilson from consultancy firm Farm Carbon Toolkit.

"Farmers are part of the solution.

"They have the ability to take carbon out of the atmosphere, and store it on our farms," she said.

Becky Wilson, from Farm Carbon Toolkit, urged farmers to cut their carbon emissions

Her seminar at the Dairy Show was packed with farmers keen to hear how they can save money and achieve a lower carbon footprint.

And validating that lower footprint independently is vital, as many customers put a price on low-carbon products.

Wyke Farms cheese sells well in the United States, partly because it has less than half the carbon cost-per-kilo of typical US cheese.

David Cotton, one of the organisers of the Dairy Show, said UK dairy farmers had a much better carbon story to tell.

David Cotton, from the Royal Bath & West Society, said farmers were keen to hear about carbon reduction

"British milk and cheese produces about half the carbon of the global dairy industry," he explained.

"Most cows here are grazing grass. Drinking rainwater.

"The muck goes round in a cycle. Compare that to an American feed-lot, where the feed and water is brought in, and the muck taken away, it's not surprising we make less carbon."

UK government statistics bear out his claim. A litre of British milk creates 1.25 kg (2.7lb) of carbon, compared with a global average of 2.9 kg.

But dairy farmers know thousands of people are switching away from cows' milk to alternatives made from oats and soya, because they produce even lower carbon emissions.

As Mr Clothier explained on his farm, getting milk out of cows without emitting large amounts of carbon is now a vital business challenge, as well as an environmental one.

Follow BBC West on Facebook, X and Instagram. Send your story ideas to: bristol@bbc.co.uk
AUSTIN (KXAN)  The son of a co-founder of the nationally renowned Buc-ees convenience store has been arrested in Texas on 28 separate state jail felony charges of invasive visual recordings.

Mitchell Wasek, 28, was released one hour after being arrested on a $10,000 bond on the condition he not contact the complainants, according to Travis County jail records.

Nexstars KXAN reached out to an attorney connected with Mitchell but didnt immediately receive a response. KXAN also attempted numerous times to contact both Mitchell and his father, Don Wasek, however, phone numbers associated with both individuals were either disconnected or had voicemails disabled.

KXAN was able to reach a family member of the Waseks, but that person hung up the phone as soon as KXAN identified itself.

Mitchell Wasek, 28 Mugshot provided by APD

According to court records, the Travis County Sheriffs Office received a telephone complaint in May alleging improper photography had occurred at a home on the banks of Lake Travis.

Travis Central Appraisal District property records list the owner of the multi-million dollar home to be Donald E. Wasek, Mitchell Waseks father and a co-founder of Buc-ees.

A woman reported she and a few friends were visiting the lake house with Mitchell Wasek when one friend, who works cybersecurity for the Department of Defense, noticed a charging port with a hidden camera plugged into the wall of their bathroom, court records state.

The group of friends left with the camera and on its micro-card found dozens of videos of themselves and other people in bathrooms and bedrooms at the lake house as well as at Mitchell Waseks Dallas apartment, according to court records.

They were unaware that the recordings existed in the bedroom and bathroom, and indicated they did not consent to being recorded or photographed, the arrest affidavit states.

The woman informed TCSO that a police report was filed with the Dallas Police Department and that the camera and micro-card had been turned over to them, records state.

According to the affidavit, a warrant was obtained to review the contents on the camera and found 68 movie files containing at least 13 male and female individuals being recorded using toilets, showering, changing clothes, and/or having sex.

Additionally, the affidavit states the videos were found to have been recorded in multiple different locations dating back to 2021, which included a downtown Austin condo and a vacation home in Telluride, Colorado, both owned by Mitchell Waseks parents, according to property records. Amazon records also linked purchases of spy cameras to Mitchell Wasek.

According to court records, the complainants all reported Mitchell Wasek to be present at the time of the offenses but stated no other member of the Wasek family was there during these times.

If convicted, a State Jail Felony carries a sentence of not more than two years or less than 180 days confinement.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KFOR.com Oklahoma City.
Mitchell Wasek, son of a co-owner of the Buc-ee's convenience store chain, was arrested Tuesday on 28 counts of invasive visual recording, according to Travis County records. Officials alleged that the 28-year-old recorded multiple people, without their consent, using a motion-activated camera.

According to the arrest affidavit, witnesses contacted the Travis County sheriff's office in May. They told deputies that while they were staying at Mitchell Wasek's family home on Lake Travis, they discovered a camera in the bathroom. Witnesses said that they took the camera with them as they left the property. On the camera's memory card, they found videos of themselves in "various states of undress" in the bedroom and bathroom of the lake house.

Property tax records show that the lake house is owned by Donald E. Wasek. Don Wasek has been at the helm of Buc-ee's alongside founder Beaver Aplin since 1985, according to media reports.

The camera's memory card also contained videos taken in other locations. According to authorities, some were taken in a Dallas apartment Mitchell Wasek leased and others were taken in an Austin apartment and a home in Telluride, Colo., both owned by Mitchell Wasek's parents. In total, there were recordings of 13 people, the affidavit said.

The affidavit described the videos as showing individuals "using the toilet, showering, changing clothes, and/or having sex."

Officials said they also examined Mitchell Wasek's Amazon purchase history, which included multiple devices described as "spy cameras."

Under Texas law, invasive visual recording is a state jail felony, which comes with a maximum of two years' jail time and a maximum fine of $10,000.

Mitchell Wasek was released on $10,000 bail per charge, a total of $280,000.

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Son of Buc-ee's co-owner arrested for alleged invasive recordings
Hundreds of border guards have been recruited by the new agency

South Africa's President Cyril Ramaphosa has officially launched a new border force in a bid to tighten the country's porous borders.

The inauguration took place in the town of Musina, home to the busy Beitbridge border post with Zimbabwe.

Mr Ramaphosa said increasing numbers of undocumented foreign nationals had "exacerbated many of the country's social and economic problems".

Immigration is one of South Africa's most pressing political issues.

Managing its borders has become disorganised, with pressure on the government to do more to reduce the numbers of people coming into sub-Saharan Africa's most developed country from its neighbours.

At the same time, xenophobia by political parties is fanning flames ahead of the 2024 elections, to mobilise support from dissatisfied South Africans.

Until now, the task of policing the borders was shared by four different government departments. They were also subject to 58 acts of parliament.

But now the Border Management Authority, which cost millions of dollars to set up, is South Africa's third law enforcement agency after the police and army.

The establishment of the agency means South Africa now has an integrated border policing bureau with a single command and control.

Hundreds of border guards have been recruited and will be working together with the defence force. They will be manning South Africa's ports of entry which include eight seaports, 52 land borders and eleven international airports.

The launch was also attended by Zimbabwe's President Emmerson Mnangagwa , who had talks with Mr Ramaphosa beforehand.

The South African leader said the two men had agreed that "our countries want to live in harmony as neighbours".

Mr Ramaphosa said the Border Management Authority was a vital link in harnessing the benefits of the African Continental Free Trade Area, as well as curbing illegal migration and human trafficking.

Other problems have added to South Africa's border control woes in recent times.

A multi-million-dollar fence which was erected between South Africa and Zimbabwe collapsed, making it difficult to stop illegal immigration.

And over the years, a large number of law enforcement officers have been arrested for corruption after demanding bribes.

South Africa conducted a census in 2022, with the results expected to be released on 10 October.

Data released following the 2011 census revealed that 3.96 million foreign-born people lived in South Africa, including undocumented migrants. Statistics South Africa said this translates to about 6% of the country's population.

Many believe the number of illegal immigrants could be much higher, as the government is often accused of not taking bolder steps to tackle the influx of undocumented foreigners.

Other organisations, such as anti-migrant street movement Operation Dudula, have accused illegal migrants of contributing to the high levels of crime.

The immigration debate is often marred by bouts of violence, xenophobia and misinformation, as unemployed South Africans have been made to believe that their jobs are being taken by undocumented migrants from other African countries.

Earlier this week, Operation Dudula forced the closure of shops owned and run by non-South Africans in Soweto. This comes after two children died after consuming biscuits bought from one of the local shops.
The Tribune is partnering with the League of Women Voters of the South Bend Area and the American Democracy Project of Indiana University South Bend to publish candidates' answers to questions on the issues. The League, with local help from the ADP, operates Vote411.org, a website with information about the candidates and their positions on key issues.

The Tribune has agreed to run candidate answers unedited, meaning any spelling, typographical or grammatical errors are the candidates' own. The Tribune is publishing only some of the questions from a selection of contested races. Additional questions and answers, including from candidates who have no opponent in the primary, are available at Vote411.org.

Democratic South Bend Mayor James Mueller

Desmont Upchurch is the Republican nominee for mayor of South Bend.

South Bend Mayor James Mueller, a Democrat faces a challenge from Republican Desmont Upchurch.

James Mueller

Occupation: Mayor

Email: victoria@muellerformayor.com

Website: muellerformayor.com

Campaign phone: 574-334-9322

Facebook: facebook.com/SBJamesMueller

Twitter: @SBMayorMueller

Desmont Upchurch

Occupation: Statesman

Email: desmont.upchurch1@gmail.com

Website: desmontformayor.com

Campaign phone: 574-303-8787

Facebook: facebook.com/desmontformayor

Twitter: @desmontupchurch

What is the most important challenge facing South Bend and how will you address it as mayor?

Upchurch: The most important challenge facing our city would be violence and the way I would address this challenge is as follows: 1. Community Engagement: The first step is to engage the local community in identifying and prioritizing the most pressing issues. This can involve town hall meetings, surveys, and involving residents in decision-making processes. 2. Education and Workforce Development: Invest in education and workforce development programs to equip residents with the skills needed for employment opportunities within the city. 3. Community Programs: Create and support community programs that directly address the challenges. For example, if affordable housing is a concern, initiatives to incentivize affordable housing development can be implemented.

Mueller: Public safety has been my top focus since day one. We must win the battle for our kids hearts and souls to stop the gun violence that is tearing our community apart. I will continue to support and fully fund our critical public safety services, including street outreach with the those who are causing the most violence. Weve added nearly 100 new officers, a third of whom are women and people of color, and SBPD is fully staffed for the first time in many years. I will also continue to advocate for common sense gun measures at the state and federal levels to keep firearms out of the wrong hands. Longer-term investments in our kids are also critical. We must build on the nearly 500 new pre-K seats created in partnership with our schools and the United Way.

If elected, what steps will you take to ensure economic growth and development is widely distributed across the entire community? Are there specific industries or areas of the city you would focus on for more investment, and why those?

Upchurch: Ensuring that economic growth and development benefit all segments of a community requires intentional and inclusive strategies. Here are ways to promote economic growth and development: 1. Small Business Support: Foster entrepreneurship by providing training, mentorship, and access to capital for aspiring entrepreneurs in all communities. Create business incubators and accelerators that focus on small enterprises. 2. Workforce Development: Invest in education and workforce training programs to equip residents with the skills needed for local job opportunities. Collaborate with local businesses to design training programs that match their workforce needs. Creating a distribution of economic growth and development requires a sustained commitment from government, businesses, community organizations, and residents.

Mueller: With record investment in our city and more than a billion dollars of new projects, we want to make sure this progress is felt across the entire city. On almost everything we do, we depend on partnerships to deliver services or invest in developing new housing, commercial space or jobs. These partnerships are critical, and investors are looking at where the market makes sense and where the workers are. The most critical investments we can be making are not necessarily in businesses themselves but in our workers, housing stock and quality of life. With businesses looking for workers, we must invest in our people and build on their skills, while we also continue to attract new residents to South Bend.

Several recent local examples show the importance of communication among elected officials. Issues surrounding a civilian board to review police behavior and attempts to fund a mental health crisis center illustrate this point. How will you ensure effective communication with other elected officials, as well as transparency with the public?

Upchurch: Civil discourse would be the key to working with whomever our city selects to represent them. Our privilege as elected officials would be to find common ground in order to effectively move our city forward. South Bend is facing many challenges - some we can agree on and others we wont, however making sure we communicate what the citizens are asking for would be our duty. I would also make sure the staff is heard, as well as the citizens. No voice is too big and no voice is too small.

Mueller: Communication is important to every successful relationship. Understanding other points of view, working to find common ground and being willing to compromise whenever possible are also critical. Thats my approach. To be successful, we have to work together. Thats the way our government was designed. Thats exactly what the Common Council and I have done and how weve been able to deliver progress across the city, including in neighborhoods that have been forgotten in the past. Its not always easy. The South Bend team is incredibly diverse in every sense and brings many different perspectives. Yet, we continue to find common ground and keep the city moving forward together.

What is the best way to curb crime? Should we increase police staffing, technology and budgets? Or should we redirect resources away from policing? Please explain your reasoning.

Upchurch: Curtailing crime in the city requires a multi-faceted approach that addresses root causes and involves various stakeholders. Here are some effective ways to curb crime: 1.Mentorship and Positive Role Models: Establish mentorship programs that connect young individuals with positive adult role models who can guide them and provide support. 2. Youth Outreach and After-School Programs: Invest in after-school programs and recreational activities that keep young people engaged in constructive activities during non-school hours. Provide opportunities for skill-building, leadership development 3. Economic Opportunities: Address economic disparities by creating job training programs promoting entrepreneurship, and attracting businesses to underserved neighborhoods Support initiatives that provide job placement assistance and local hiring.

Mueller: Weve been presented with a false choice: invest in our people or provide necessary resources for public safety services. During my administration, weve done both. Weve made record investments into social infrastructure, into our people, and into our kids. At the same time, weve also been bold with resources for our officers. Weve raised pay and brought in nearly 100 officers, a third of whom are women and people of color. Where other cities are seeing shortages, were fully staffed. Weve also embraced 21st century policing with cutting-edge technology and policies to ensure that we are fair, impartial and getting the job done in the best way possible. Weve invested in both our officers and our community.

What can the city do to address the issues of children and adults living in poverty and/or homelessness in the community?

Upchurch: Addressing the issues of children and adults living in poverty is crucial for South Bend. 1. Childcare Assistance: Offer subsidies and support for affordable and high-quality childcare services, allowing parents to work or pursue education. 2. Living Wage and Benefits: Advocate for a living wage that allows adults to support themselves and their families without relying on public assistance. Promote benefits like paid family leave, sick leave, and affordable healthcare to reduce financial instability. Combining these efforts with effective policies and social safety nets can make a significant impact in improving the lives of children and adults living in poverty.

Mueller: We work to extend opportunity to all and have adopted housing first as a principle. Housing first means not having preconditions on our unhoused neighbors before providing shelter. This evidence-based approach provides the help needed in a more stable environment and has been shown to be more successful in addressing chronic homelessness. Weve secured over 100 permanent supportive housing units, which come with support and services, and were working with partners to build more in the coming years. Were also working with partners to build a low-barrier intake center. Right now theres Motels4Now. Even though our County partners decided to abandon that program, South Bend stepped up to continue it until the permanent, new low-barrier center is completed.

This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: South Bend mayor hopefuls Mueller, Upchurch speak on issues city faces
Water shortages and sewage spills contributed to the number of complaints

Three water companies serving the South East have the highest complaint rates in the country, a report has found.

Southern Water is the UK's most complained about provider of water and sewerage with Thames Water coming second, according to the Consumer Council for Water (CCW).

South East Water was the worst performing firm to provide water only.

All three companies apologised to customers, while CCW said it was "extremely disappointed and concerned".

Following water shortages and illegal sewage spills, Southern Water received almost three times the average complaints made to companies.

"We recognise that we need to do better at serving our customers and fixing their problems," the provider's chief customer officer Katy Taylor said.

Thames Water received 1.6 times more complaints than average.

The company said it was "working hard to turn around" its performance, having reduced the total household complaints by 28% compared to last year.

In June, households in Kent and Sussex went without water during a dry spell and a hosepipe ban was imposed.

As a result, the report said complaints rose by 10% over the summer months.

Some South East Water customers also went without water in the lead up to Christmas last year.

This led to complaints, and "the manner in which the company compensated customers led to a second wave", the report said.

South East Water said it had seen the "accelerated impact of climate change" impacting day-to-day operations.

"During this period, we experienced record breaking weather impacts, a drought, floods and a freeze thaw," the company said in a statement.

It added that network improvements were "constantly underway" and it was investing 489m into infrastructure.

About 145 properties in southern parts of Rye have been without water over the past week following supply issues from Southern Water.

Ms Taylor said: "We are investing in video diagnostics, up-skilling our customer service agents and keeping our customers regularly informed when issues take longer to fix.

"While we are seeing early signs of improvement in the quality and speed we deal with their queries, we know we still have a lot of work to do and are committed to significant improvements," she added.

Analysis

By Yvette Austin, Environment Correspondent, BBC South East

This report will be tough reading for Southern, Thames and South East Water. They have not had a good year.

South East had serious problems keeping up with demand towards the end of the spring. That led to a hosepipe ban, which was brought in just as the weather turned cooler and wetter, no doubt frustrating many customers.

The wet summer was also a problem for Southern Water as it led to more discharges from its combined sewer overflows, releasing waste into rivers and the sea. They have had some serious outages too.

The companies say they are working hard to improve their performance all round, but their reputations are damaged, and it's an uphill struggle to repair them.

Follow BBC South East on Facebook, on X, and on Instagram. Send your story ideas to southeasttoday@bbc.co.uk.
SpaceX launches 22 Starlink satellites on its 70th mission of the year (video)

SpaceX launched 22 more of its Starlink internet satellites to orbit early this morning (Oct. 5), on the company's 70th orbital mission of the year.

The Starlink spacecraft lifted off atop a Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station tonight at 1:36 a.m. EDT (0536 GMT). The rocket had originally been targeted to launch on Wednesday at 10:45 p.m. EDT (0245 GMT on Oct. 5), but was delayed several hours by poor weather conditions.

Related: Starlink satellite train: How to see and track it in the night sky

A SpaceX Falcon 9 first stage stands vertical after landing on the drone ship

As to plan, the Falcon 9's first stage returned to Earth for a vertical landing at sea on the SpaceX drone ship Just Read the Instructions about 8.5 minutes after launch.

It was the eighth liftoff and landing for this Falcon 9 first stage, according to a SpaceX mission description. Four of its previous seven launches sent Starlink batches aloft.

The 22 Starlink satellites, meanwhile, are scheduled to deploy from the Falcon 9's upper stage into low Earth orbit (LEO) about 65 minutes after launch.

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This morning's flight was the 70th orbital mission for SpaceX in 2023. The majority of those launches have been dedicated to building out the Starlink megaconstellation, which currently consists of more than 4,800 operational satellites.

The Falcon 9 rocket has now flown 67 of SpaceX's orbital missions this year, with the company's powerful Falcon Heavy taking care of the other three. But that latter number is about to grow: A Falcon Heavy is scheduled to launch NASA's Psyche asteroid mission on Oct. 12.

SpaceX also launched a test flight this year of its new Starship deep-space transportation system. That mission, which did not aim to send a payload to orbit, ended four minutes after launch when Starship ran into problems.

Editor's note: This article was updated on Thursday, Oct. 5 to add details from the launch.
A view of a wooden boat that migrants used, to reach the Canary Islands, at the port of Arguineguin

By Gabriela Baczynska and Inti Landauro

GRANADA, Spain (Reuters) - Spain cannot cope with irregular immigration without help from the European Union, the prime minister said on Thursday as the bloc seeks a deal on handling new arrivals less than a year before continent-wide elections.

Pedro Sanchez spoke in Spain's southern city of Granada where he is hosting more than 40 European leaders rallying around Ukraine on Thursday, and an EU summit on Friday.

Friday's talks will focus on how to prepare the 27-nation EU for adding new members one day, including possibly Ukraine, and on how to respond to increased arrivals of refugees and migrants from the Middle East and Africa so far this year.

"We cannot let some areas of our country, such as the south, the Canary or Balearic Islands face and assume all this irregular migration without solidarity," Sanchez told reporters.

In the days before the talks, Spain, Italy and Germany have raised concerns about increasing arrivals, while eastern EU countries said they were tightening their borders to curb irregular immigration.

Sea arrivals to Spain from Senegal and other African countries increased by a fifth so far this year compared with the last, with more than 3,500 reaching Canary Islands last month amid milder weather and calmer seas, according to official statistics.

Italy's island of Lampedusa has also seen more irregular immigration this year, posing a political headache for Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni who won power in 2022 on promises of reducing arrivals.

Speaking in Granada, Meloni welcomed a deal between the 27 on Wednesday on sharing out the task of hosting and providing for new arrivals, an agreement that puts the bloc closer to overhauling its defunct asylum and migration system after a decade of bitter internal disputes.

TUNISIA

The bloc tightened its asylum laws and external borders after more than a million people - mostly refugees fleeing the war in Syria - reached its shores across the Mediterranean in 2015.

Anti-immigrant rhetoric mounted, even as the overall number of arrivals started shrinking considerably after that year. The bloc's top migration official last week put irregular immigration in the EU at 250,000 people so far this year. U.N. data shows fewer than 195,500 such arrivals.

The EU cut a deal with Turkey in 2016 and, more recently, with Tunisia, offering money and other assistance in exchange for governments there keeping a tighter lid on departures for Europe from their soil.

Tunisian President Kais Saied this week balked at the EU's offer of sending only 127 million euros ($133.5 mln) as a first instalment of a promised 1 billion euros.

EU officials said Saied was bargaining for more money amid an acute economic crisis in Tunisia, which is also locked in negotiations with the International Monetary Fund on a $1.9 billion loan to stave off the risk of a default.

Some in the EU criticised the deal with Tunisia as not doing enough to confront human rights abuses there, but Meloni said the bloc needed to seek more such pacts with North African countries.

Both her and Sanchez face criticism from rivals at home over their handling of migration, with harsh rhetoric intensifying ahead of European Parliament elections next June across the EU.

Fernando Clavijo, regional leader of the Canary Islands and a critic of the Spanish premier, dismissed the bloc's new migration policies at an event in Madrid on Thursday: "It's smoke and mirrors... They are in an election campaign because they have elections next year."

He named Germany, which introduced border checks to push back against increased irregular immigration from EU neighbours, and Poland, which refuses to host asylum-seekers from the Middle East or Africa to help countries like Spain, and said:

"Europe does not have a migration policy. The response to the phenomenon differs from country to country. Germany has one, Poland has another, Italy has another... Solidarity - where?", he said.

($1 = 0.9510 euros)

(Reporting by Gabriela Baczynska, Inti Landauro, Federico Maccioni, Aislinn Laing, Emma Pinedo, David Latona; Editing by Andrew Heavens)
FILE - Migrants swim next to their overturned wooden boat during a rescue operation by Spanish NGO Open Arms at south of the Italian Lampedusa island at the Mediterranean sea, Aug. 11, 2022. Italy has impounded the Spanish charity rescue boat Open Arms in a Tuscan port for violating rules by Italys far-right-led government banning multiple rescues at sea, the charity said Thursday. Open Arms protested the sanctions as a violation of the law of the sea that requires boats to offer rescue, said it was being punished rescuing 176 people in three operations, including people of extreme vulnerability. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco, File)

MILAN (AP)  Italy has impounded the Spanish charity rescue ship Open Arms for violating rules by Italy's right-wing government banning multiple rescues at sea, the charity said Thursday.

The boat is blocked from leaving the port of Carrera in Tuscany for 20 days and the charity has been levied a fine of between 3,000 and 10,000 euros ($3,200-$10,500), the charity Open Arms said.

Open Arms called the sanctions a violation of the law of the sea that requires boats to rescue people in distress. It said it was being punished for rescuing 176 people in three operations, including people of extreme vulnerability.

Italy assigned a port after the first two rescues of 69 people in international waters Saturday. Open Arms said it then received a mayday call from the Seabird aerial surveillance charity that another migrant boat was in danger, overcrowded with 109 people.

After ascertaining its ship was the only rescue boat in the area, Open Arms said, it informed authorities that the craft would head to the overcrowded vessel, which was about 20 nautical miles, or two hours sailing, away.

The charity said its captain was questioned for six hours and the boat was impounded after arriving in Carrera, the port it had been assigned.

The government made no statements about the action. Premier Giorgia Meloni is in Granada, Spain, for a summit where she is pushing her European Union partners to come up with policies to block illegal migration across the Mediterranean Sea from northern Africa.

It is the second time that the Open Arms ship has been temporarily impounded. It and two other charity rescue boats were impounded over three days in August.

Meloni has vowed to take extraordinary measures to deal with an influx of migrants. According to Interior Ministry statistics at mid-September, nearly 126,000 people had arrived in Italy so far by boat this year, compared to 66,000 in the same period of 2022.
Pedro Sanchez

During the upcoming meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez will announce that Madrid is in favor of expanding the EU from 28 to 35 members, including Ukraine, the Spanish official said on Oct. 5

Sanchez said this after arriving at the third European Political Community Summit, in Granada, Spain, which is also being attended by the Ukrainian leader, Spanish newspaper El Pais reports.

Read also: Zelenskyy reproaches partners for delaying training of Ukrainian pilots on F-16 fighter jets

Sanchez plans to hold a bilateral meeting with Zelensky before the official start of the summit. At this meeting, he will express Spain's support for Ukraine both in the war again Russia and Kyiv's accession to the EU.

Zelenskyy arrived in Spain on Oct. 5 and said that he would hold bilateral meetings there and work "to strengthen the existing security architecture in Europe, including the regional one."

Read also: Spain to supply Ukraine with armored vehicles and anti-air missiles

Spain is hosting the third summit of the European Political Community on Oct. 5, which is being attended by about 50 heads of state, government, and EU institutions. In particular, French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, and UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak were expected to attend.

Earlier, news agency Reuters wrote that at the event, European leaders would assure Zelenskyy of long-term support for Ukraine.

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Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
MrBeast and some BBC stars are the latest victims of AI deepfakes. Reports stated that their fake images are being used by scammers in advertisements to fool online users.

One of the scam ad videos, which claims that the YouTuber is offering new iPhones for just $2, has already appeared on TikTok. Since the image of MrBeast looks real, there's a high chance that many people will fall victim to the malicious deepfake campaign.

MrBeast Questions SocMeds After YouTuber's Deepfakes Appear in Scam Ad

According to BBC News, the world's biggest YouTuber is not the only one who has fallen to AI deepfakes. Malicious actors also deepfaked the images of BBC stars Sally Bundock and Matthew Amroliwala.

Like the MrBeast scam ad, fake photos and videos of Amroliwala and Bundock were also used to promote other advertisement scams.

One of these videos showed the BBC journalists introducing billionaire Elon Musk, who is promoting an investment opportunity (of course, the X owner's video is also fake).

This is not new since older deepfake videos already used Elon Musk's deepfakes, claiming he was giving away free money and cryptocurrency coins.

Since the latest deepfake scam ads are quite serious, BBC contacted Meta. After that, the Facebook owner decided to take down the content.

A Meta spokesperson said they are not allowing this kind of content and have removed it.

"We're constantly working to improve our systems and encourage anyone who sees content they believe breaks our rules to report it using our in-app tools so we can investigate and take action," added the official.

A TikTok spokesman also announced that the fake MrBeast advertisement was removed a few hours after scammers uploaded it. The popular video platform also promised that the account that published the scam advertisement has been removed for violating its policies.

Read Also: Arabic AI Breakthrough Could Benefit Millions of Language Speakers Worldwide

MrBeast Questions SocMeds' Capabilities

After the deepfake scam incident on TikTok, MrBeast (real name Jimmy Donaldson) questioned the capabilities of socmed companies when handling fake AI advertisements. NBC News reported that MrBeast posted on X, explaining how serious AI deepfake malicious campaigns are. Donaldson said that more and more people are getting exposed to the deepfake ad he was featured in.

He asked if social media firms are ready to handle the rise of AI deepfakes, reiterating that this is a "serious problem." Experts said that the MrBeast deepfake video is far from perfect. They noticed some lip-syn errors in the content. However, researchers warned that AI deepfakes are becoming more realistic as years pass.

Related Article: Microsoft Bing Chat AI Used by News Outlet To Write Article on AI Risks in Journalism-Here's What the Bot Said

@ 2023 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
The Scoop

Members of Kevin McCarthy s staff have been working the phones on behalf of Ohio Congressman Jim Jordans run for speaker, multiple sources confirmed to Semafor.

Its unclear if McCarthy himself has sanctioned their work. One source familiar with their efforts described the staff as consulting and providing guidance to Jordans operation, which they distinguished from an endorsement. Jordans top competition is Majority Leader Steve Scalise, a longtime McCarthy deputy.

McCarthy said he might endorse a successor at his post-ouster press conference on Tuesday night but has not suggested which candidates hes inclined to favor.
(Bloomberg) -- Labour leader Keir Starmer faces a critical test of his chances of becoming UK prime minister on Thursday, when a vote in Scotland will give an indication of his partys ability to win key districts.

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The by-election in the Glasgow suburb of Rutherglen and Hamilton West will see Labour attempt to replace the Scottish National Party in a seat thats swung between the two parties at every election since 2015. The outcome will demonstrate whether Labour is on track to replace Prime Minister Rishi Sunaks Conservatives as the UKs governing party at the next general election, widely expected in about a years time.

The district in what used to be a Labour heartland is a must-win and typical of the kind of parliamentary seat the party will have to recover if its going to take power, according to John Curtice, politics professor at Strathclyde University in Glasgow and an influential psephologist. While bookmakers make Labour the overwhelming favorite to win, Curtice has said the margin of victory is as important as the result itself.

Scotland is a target for Labour as it seeks to unseat the Conservatives after 13 years in power, during which time the pro-independence SNP has dominated Scottish politics.

Read More: Labours Hopes of Taking UK Power Could Come Down to This City

Critical to gaining ground is how willing Scots who want to break away from the rest of the UK are to lend their votes to Starmer to help remove the Conservatives from power.

Support for the SNP has fallen in recent months amid a police investigation into its finances. But backing for independence has remained largely unchanged, with the nation of 5.4 million roughly split down the middle. It will also be the first major ballot since Nicola Sturgeon, one the UKs most popular politicians, stepped down as leader of the SNP and head of Scotlands semi-autonomous government in March.

Read More: Scotlands New Leader Faces Same Old Rancor Over Independence

A recent opinion poll suggested the nationalists could lose as many as 23 of the Scottish seats they hold in the UK Parliament in London. While Labour would add 19 seats to the single one the party holds now, the SNP would remain the largest party in Scotland with 25, based on research by consultancy Stonehaven published in the Times newspaper on Monday.

That said, the poll also found that the SNP would remain the largest party in Glasgow, a city Labour has traditionally needed to win if its to take power nationally. The special election in Rutherglen and Hamilton West was called after former SNP lawmaker Margaret Ferrier was removed by her constituents for breaking Covid travel rules.

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SOMERSET  Laurie Semelsberger, 61, of Ebensburg, who worked as a psychological services associate at the State Correctional Institution at Somerset, was sentenced Wednesday afternoon for delivering obscene materials to a male inmate she counseled there.

She received 36 months probation and a $400 fine.

Where the incident occurred involving defendant, Laurie Semelsberger.

Semelsberger had nothing to say at her sentencing. Her attorney, Arthur McQuillan, of Johnstown, told the sentencing judge, Scott Bittner, that Semelsberger voluntarily proffered her counseling license.

"She will no longer be employed in that profession," he said.

Other: Former Somerset jail guard sentenced for placing dog shock collar on his children

According to court documents, the alleged relationship between Semelsberger and the inmate began in October 2021. The relationship was discovered through an investigation in August of the following year after more than 700 calls were made between the inmate and a number identified as one being used by Semelsberger. The phone calls were over an eight-month period beginning in January.

During the investigation, intimate photos of Semelsberger were found in the inmate's cell.

The inmate, then a 37-year-old inmate is serving a 12- to 24-year sentence for conspiracy and robbery. He was the driver in an armed street robbery by two men riding in the vehicle. He was sentenced in November 2011, according to DOC records. The inmate has not been charged in this matter.

Upcoming: Mostoller going to trial to face homicide charge in death of Somerset County horse trainer

Initially, Semelsberger was charged last November by the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections Bureau of Investigations and Intelligence with institutional sexual assault, a felony, and lesser graded misdemeanors of official oppression, obstructing administration of law or other governmental function and obscene and other sexual materials and performances.

After a plea agreement, Semelsberger pleaded guilty to delivering obscene material to a state prison, a first-degree misdemeanor, according to court records.

This article originally appeared on The Daily American: Somerset prison counselor sentenced for delivering obscene materials to inmate
Christian Cruz during his trial in 2019.

In a 5-1 decision, the Florida Supreme Court denied a motion to rehear the case of a Volusia County man sentenced to death, according to a ruling released Thursday.

The state Supreme Court in a previous 5-1 ruling affirmed the death sentence for Christian Cruz for a 2013 Deltona kidnapping and murder.

Cruz and Justen Charles teamed up to kidnap and kill 25-year-old Christopher Jemery on Aug. 26, 2013.

The men were both convicted of first-degree murder and other charges in two separate trials by two separate juries.

Charles jury recommended life; Cruzs jury recommended death.

Circuit Judge Raul Zambrano followed the jury recommendation and sentenced Cruz to death during a hearing at the S. James Foxman Justice Center.

But in Charles case, Zambrano by law had to follow the jurys recommendation and sentence Charles to life.

Chief Justice Carlos G. Muniz, Justices Charles T. Canady, John D. Couriel, Jamie R. Grosshans and Renatha Francis concurred in the initial ruling affirming the death sentence and in rejecting the motion for rehearing. Justice Meredith Sasso did not participate.

Justice Jorge Labarga dissented in the initial ruling as he did in the motion for rehearing for the same reason, writing that he disagreed with the majority view that it was prohibited from reviewing proportionality in death penalty cases.

Cruz remains on death row and no execution is scheduled.

Deltona kidnapping and killing

According to prosecutors, Cruz and Charles planned to rob a small-time drug dealer. That's who they apparently expected to find on April 26, 2013, when they burst into a unit at the Belltower Apartments in Deltona. They instead found Jemery, who had been staying in the apartment but had nothing to do with illegal drugs.

Cruz and Charles beat Jemery, leaving a behind pool of blood in the apartment. They then bound Jemery with wire and duct tape, tossed him in the trunk of his car and drove him to an industrial park in Sanford. Next to some brush beyond a parking lot, someone used a .22-caliber pistol to shoot Jemery in the head.

Charles' girlfriend testified at his trial that she had seen Cruz with a .22-caliber gun.

Jemery was barely alive when he was found, and later died. Investigators also found one of Cruz's fingerprints on the duct tape used to bind Jemery.

This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Florida Supreme Court rejects rehearing in Deltona death penalty case
I recently spent two nights in a tiny, 161-square-feet cabin in the woods.

I noticed several space-saving storage hacks in the cabin and plan to replicate some in my new home.

I'm moving into an 867-square-foot apartment, so I'm looking to maximize the space as much as I can.

In a few weeks, I'm moving out from my family's home in London, and into an 867-square-foot apartment in New York City.

As excited as I am about my new place, I'm also aware that it's a significant downsize; the house I currently live in is multi-storied, has three bedrooms, and a basement.

But a recent stay in a cabin in the British countryside showed me that you don't need a ton of space to live comfortably  you just need really smart storage solutions.

The cabin was one of nearly 100 off-grid, tiny cabins run by the company Unyoked throughout Australia, New Zealand, and the UK. It was tiny  161-square-feet in total  which is a fraction of the size of my new apartment. That said, I never felt cramped or suffocated during the stay thanks to the cabin's many clever storage hacks.

Although some of these space-saving techniques would be a little tricky to replicate in a rented apartment, I'm keeping a few in mind ahead of my move.

Earlier this year, I paid $398 to spend two nights in a tiny cabin in the British countryside.

After two nights in the woods, the author was ready to return to the city. Maria Noyen/Insider

The cabin, nicknamed Josef, was located nearly two hours away from London in the South Downs National Park. I spent 48 hours there alone in September reading, journaling, and going on long walks throughout the countryside.

The cabin wasn't luxe but, surprisingly, it felt spacious.

The Unyoked cabin interior. Maria Noyen/Insider

The cabin featured a queen-sized bed, a dining area, kitchen, mini-fridge, and a bathroom, equipped with a rain shower and a composting toilet, which slightly terrified me at first as it didn't come with running water.

Instead, the toilet was connected to a deep pit where waste is turned into compost. As a city girl, I was horrified initially, but in the end, it didn't bother me because there was no smell  thankfully.

I'm about to move into an 867-square-foot apartment in New York City. Before I do, I'm going to keep in mind a few storage hacks I picked up while staying in the tiny home.

The author is moving into a shared apartment in New York City. Alexander Spatari/Getty Images, Maria Noyen/Insider

My big move is a few weeks away, but I've already got decorating and furniture on my mind. Before I make any big purchases, though, I'm considering a few of the space-saving hacks I noticed during my tiny cabin stay and how they might work in my apartment.

It wouldn't be the easiest aspect to re-create in my new apartment but I was impressed by how elements of the cabin's furniture  like the dining chairs, table, and bed  were built into to the walls, saving tons of floor space.

The dining table and bed were built into the walls. Maria Noyen/Insider

Since my new apartment is a rental, of course, I'm not planning on doing any building work. However, seeing how built-in features saved space at the cabin has made me think more creatively about the different ways I could use the wide window ledges in my apartment.

Instead of buying a bookcase for my room, for example, I'm now considering simply using one of the ledges for this. I've also been toying with the idea of buying a few pillows, instead of a small couch or chair, for another ledge in my room to create a reading and journaling nook.

I also loved how some of the furniture in the cabin featured hidden storage spaces. One of the dining chairs, for example, contained a large storage bin.

There was more storage space hidden beneath a dining chair. Maria Noyen/Insider

I'm taking the smaller room in my new apartment, which unfortunately doesn't have a built-in wardrobe.

Although I initially considered buying a rack and storing most of my clothes in a closet located by the entrance of my apartment, seeing furniture that doubles as storage space at the cabin has encouraged me to look into buying pieces, such as chairs or love-seat sofas, that come with built-in storage features.

There was also plenty of storage space beneath the bed for several bags, a humidifier, and two yoga mats, which minimized unnecessary clutter in the rest of the room.

There was storage space beneath the bed. Maria Noyen/Insider

The bed in the cabin inspired me to consider purchasing one that comes with ample space incorporated into the frame, built-in draws, or a hydraulic lift where I can pull up the mattress to store clothing, shoes, and other items underneath.

This isn't a space-saving technique per se, but the huge windows next to the bed  where I spent a lot of time reading, working, and writing  made the area feel more spacious.

The windows created a sense of airiness and space. Maria Noyen/Insider

One of features that drew me to my new apartment was the amount of windows.

My bedroom will have windows on two of the four walls, just like in the cabin. As someone who spends a lot of time reading and writing in bed, I'm going to make the best use of them by positioning my bed right next to the wall with the most windows so I can make the most of the natural light during the day. (I'll have a few windows left on another wall where I can set up my reading nook and a bookshelf.)

Over in the kitchen, cooking essentials were accessibly stored beneath the counter and on a small ledge above it. Both helped keep the cooking space from becoming overcrowded with miscellaneous items whenever I made a meal.

Tiny shelves in the kitchen made cooking easier. Maria Noyen/Insider

Again, as my apartment is a rental, I'm going to avoid adding elements to the layout that could cause any long-term damage.

That said, when it comes to organization, I'm going to keep the tiny cabin kitchen layout in mind. I'll store cooking essentials, such as oils and seasonings, that I use frequently, in kitchen cabinets above my stove. That way, they're easily accessible but won't clutter the counter when I'm preparing meals.

I was most impressed by the pocket door connecting the main living space to the bathroom, which efficiently retracted back into the wall instead of swinging out and restricting walking space.

The pocket door. Maria Noyen/Insider

One of the quirkiest things about my new apartment is that a temporary wall is being built in the living room to create my bedroom.

Having this installed costs $1,250, but will ultimately help me and my roommate save money by splitting the rent on a one-bed apartment in a modern building in NYC that comes with several amenities, such as a doorman, laundry, and a rooftop.

Before staying in the tiny cabin, I hadn't given much thought to the type of door I'd choose for the temporary wall. But after seeing how much space a pocket door can save, it's my top choice.

I still have a lot to consider for the interior design of my new place, but after staying in a much smaller place with smart storage solutions, I'm less apprehensive about downsizing.

The author is still on the lookout for ways she can save space in her new apartment. Maria Noyen/Insider

Although I'm not planning on moving any large pieces of furniture from the UK to the US, I have accumulated a fair amount of clothes, shoes, and other items that I was initially worried wouldn't fit into my new living space.

But after my experience of staying in an even smaller cabin, I'm way less stressed about where all my things are going to go.

By incorporating nifty tricks, like furniture with hidden storage spaces and a pocket door, I'm confident I'll be able to maximize every inch of space to make my new home feel just as spacious as my last.

Read the original article on Insider
With the average annual cost of child care in Wisconsin easily surpassing that of college, many families may struggle to afford child care. However, there are places they can turn to for help.

A new report from Wisconsin Counties Association's Forward Analytics found child care for one child can average up to 18%-36% of a family's income. For families with two children, costs can reach as high as 70% of their income, the report said. These figures far exceed the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' 7% affordability threshold.

Things stand to get worse as Wisconsins Child Care Counts, which distributes stabilization payments to child care programs across the state, is set to end in January. Many child care businesses, which already run on thin profit margins, will be forced to charge parents more to make up for this lost revenue. Because Child Care Counts funding was cut in half this spring, some families are already facing this reality.

Here are some avenues to help Wisconsin families navigate increasing child care costs.

More: Takeaways from new report on Wisconsin child care: Its expensive, hard to find and politicians cant agree on what to do

More: Wisconsin is poised to cut Child Care Counts. How will it impact your family?

Check out Wisconsin Shares, the state's child care subsidy program

Wisconsin Shares assists eligible families by paying a portion of their monthly child care costs. The amount a family receives depends on a variety of factors, including the children's ages, family income, family size and how long children spend in care.

Recently, the program started allowing participating families to request funds to pay registration fees too.

Wisconsin families who have a child younger than 13 or a child with a disability younger than 19 may qualify for Wisconsin Shares if they meet certain requirements. Families remain eligible until their income reaches 85% of the state's median income.

Wisconsin Shares is funded by a variety of sources, including federal funding like Child Care and Development Fund and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families.

Related: Wisconsin is altering its child care subsidy program. Heres what families need to know.

See if you qualify for Head Start

Statewide, there are a number of sites for Head Start, a federal learning program for children ages birth to 5. Children in this age range who are from families who meet certain income standards are eligible for Head Start care free of charge. Children in foster care, those who are homeless and whose families receive Temporary Assistance for Needy Families or Supplemental Security Income are also eligible.

Shelly Bishop, CESA 7 Head Start/Early Head Start director, said families who receive Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and W-2 assistance are also eligible.

For more on these requirements and how to apply, visit bit.ly/Wisheadstart.

Look for local grants to help pay for child care

Some grants are available to help families pay for child care in specific areas of the state. Examples include:

Sheboygan Connections Scholarship Program: Through donations and grants from the United Way of Sheboygan County, city of Sheboygan and more, the Family Connections Inc. scholarship assists Sheboygan County families with child care costs for a year, in hopes of helping families gain self-sufficiency. To receive full assistance, families must meet income requirements and qualify for Wisconsin Shares; however, all Sheboygan County families can receive assistance with registration fees, said Family Connections director Colleen Steinbruecker.

Fond du Lac Connections Scholarship Program: This scholarship is also administered by Family Connections Inc. Funded by the Fond du Lac United Way, the scholarship helps ALICE families who reside in Fond du Lac County, with the exception of Ripon, pay for child care for a maximum of three months, Steinbruecker said. The United Way of Wisconsin defines ALICE, or Asset Limited Income Constrained Employed, families as those who earn just above the federal poverty level but struggle to meet their needs. For more information on the two Connections Scholarship Programs, visit bit.ly/connectionsscholarships.

Good Start Grants: Childcaring Inc. administers these grants to families in parts of central Wisconsin who do not qualify for Wisconsin Shares, but whose monthly household income is below 300% federal poverty level and who meet other qualifications. This program, funded by United Way agencies and other community foundations, pays participating families' child care subsidies directly to their child care providers on a monthly basis, explained Rachele Johnson, a program and training coordinator with Childcaring Inc. For more information, visit bit.ly/goodstartgrants.

Reach out to your local child care resource and referral agency or family resource center to inquire about potential child care cost assistance in your area.

See if your child care offers help

Some child care programs across the state are coming up with their own ways to help their families pay for care; the child care your children attend or the child care you hope to enroll in may be one of them.

Encompass Early Education and Care Inc., which has seven Brown County locations, is able to offer tuition assistance to qualifying families thanks to donations from the community, United Way and grants, said Encompass' Executive Director Missy Schmeling. The assistance a family may receive is determined by their gross household income, Schmeling said.

A child shows off a sticker on his wrist during lunch at Encompass Early Education & Care Inc. in Allouez, Wis. on Monday, August 21, 2023. Seeger Gray/USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin

Bridges Child Enrichment Center offers a tuition assistance scholarship to help its families  whether they qualify for state assistance or not. The scholarship a family receives is based on household size, income and the family's unique financial situation. It is primarily funded by United Way Fox Cities, Bridges Executive Director Nicole Desten said.

YMCAs often offer some form of tuition assistance for families in need who are enrolled in their child care programming. Dani Englebert, chief operating officer of the YMCA of the Fox Cities, said if families do not qualify for Wisconsin Shares, they may qualify for tuition assistance through the YMCA of the Fox Cities, depending on their family size and income. Check with your local YMCA to see if they offer similar assistance.

Check if your employer or school gives child care subsides

It's not unusual for child care programs to offer tuition discounts to their employees as a recruitment and retention tool, and other sectors are beginning to do so as well. For example, Wisconsin Aluminum Foundry, headquartered in Manitowoc, provides its employees with a $400 monthly stipend for child care.

AriensCo. partnered with KinderCare to open the Brillion Early Learning Center just miles from its three Brillion manufacturing plants. It provides a 50% care discount for children and grandchildren of AriensCo. employees who attend the center.

Some colleges, especially if they have on-site child care, may also offer care discounts to students and employees.

Related: Businesses can give employees free child care through statewide Partner Up grant

Look at other areas of your budget where you could cut costs

Despite the help out there, families might not have access to such assistance. Even if they do, child care costs can still be overwhelming.

Dana Bain, development director for Child Care Resource and Referral Fox Valley, said the agency often talks to families about cutting costs in other ways. This could look like using community resources such as 2-1-1 Wisconsin, Leaven Fox Cities, Well Badger Resource Center, or making small changes like where you shop for groceries or buying generic brands when possible.

Madison Lammert covers child care and early education across Wisconsin as a Report for America corps member. She is based at the Post Crescent in Appleton. To contact her, email mlammert@gannett.com or call 920-993-7108.

This article originally appeared on Appleton Post-Crescent: Where to find child care assistance in Wisconsin
A 15-year-old student was stabbed outside a Montecito Heights School Thursday morning, officials said.

The incident occurred around 11:30 a.m. in the 200 block of East Avenue 33, according to the Los Angeles Fire Department.

Responding Los Angeles police officers found the victim at the scene, which is near charter school Los Angeles Leadership Academy.

It is unclear what led to the stabbing, but the student was taken to a hospital in unknown condition after the attack.

No other injuries were reported during the incident and there was no known threat to the school, an office clerk on campus told KTLA. Additionally, the school was not placed on lockdown.

No further details about the incident were released Thursday.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KTLA.
(Bloomberg) -- Perhaps never before has Britains South Asian diaspora enjoyed such prominence on the countrys biggest political stage.

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During the ruling Conservative Partys annual conference in Manchester this week, two of the UKs highest-ranking officials highlighted their Indian heritage in efforts to rally the party faithful. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak declared that I stand before you today as the first non-white leader in our countrys history, and his home secretary, Suella Braverman , acknowledged the wind of change that carried my own parents across the globe.

But while Braverman contrasted the 20th centurys demographic currents with the hurricane of migration now bearing down on Europe, Sunak used his familys migration from India via East Africa to highlight his debt to British traditions. The message was part of a broader effort by the premier to reintroduce himself to the country as he prepares to face the voters for the first time as the their leader.

My grandparents did not emigrate to just Leicester or Southampton, but to the United Kingdom, Sunak said on Wednesday. They came here because our country stands for a set of values. We are the home of fair play, the best of British.

The comment highlighted how little emphasis has been placed on Sunaks minority status since he became prime minister in the wake of the back-to-back resignations of Boris Johnson and Liz Truss last year. True, the prime minister hasnt hid his heritage, speaking in interviews about being a practicing Hindu while wearing a red kalava string around his wrist to mark his faith.

And other leaders of South Asia decent, such as London Mayor Sadiq Khan and First Minister of the devolved Scottish government Humza Yousaf have both spoken about the importance of their roots, with the former speaking about the racism he faced growing up in the wake of rising hate crimes in the country. Still, Sunaks rise to the pinnacle of power in a government that until 1947 ruled the Indian subcontinent as a colony has gone with little of the fanfare that accompanied, for example, Barack Obamas election as Americas first black president.

It was a fact acknowledged in his speech, expressing pride that being Britains first Asian prime minister is just not a big deal. Still, the comments showed Sunaks heritage may be of increasing relevance ahead of a general election that must be held by January 2025.

On a personal level, the migration of Sunaks forebearers from the Punjab region of what is now Pakistan and eventually to Britain helps fill out the backstory of a prime minister who has so far enjoyed little public enthusiasm. That was underscored by Sunaks decision to have his wife, Akshata Murty , introduce him at the conference, a break with tradition seen as an import of American-style First Lady politics.

Sunak, a former Goldman Sachs Group banker, met Murty while attending Stanford University. Shes the daughter of Indian billionaire Narayana Murthy, a co-founder of Infosys Ltd., and her personal fortune contributes greatly to Sunaks status as British richest-ever prime minister.

Aspiration runs through his DNA like it does this party, Murty said of her husband. Aspiration is what drove his family many years ago to move to the UK.More broadly, Sunak must balance Britains support for the ideals of multiculturism with anxiety over a record surge in migration, particularly asylum-seekers crossing the English Channel in small boats. Braverman, who oversees migration as home secretary, told Conservatives on Tuesday that immigration was already too high, days after decrying the misguided dogma of multiculturalism in a speech in Washington.

"Sunak, I think, is using his own story, authentically in his account of it, to put the Conservatives back in the middle of a debate, so this isn't an existential debate about the failure of British society, said Sunder Katwala, director of the British Future think tank which explores attitudes toward identity and integration. It's back to a debate about can you get a grip on the immigration system and how to manage immigration well.

The Conservative Partys history with immigration is fraught, complicated by the late-1960s debate over then-Tory politician Enoch Powells so-called Rivers of Blood speech warning the dangers of mass migration. The opposition Labour Party, which will hold its annual conference next week in Liverpool, has traditionally done better in areas with large South Asian populations.

But Sunak used his speech to present an image of the Conservative Party as one of inclusion and change, noting how it was led by a Jewish premier, Benjamin Disraeli, when Victoria was still queen and has had three female prime ministers. He noted how Labour leader Keir Starmer was the partys third consecutive leader to live in north London, although he grew up in the suburbs Surrey.

Sunak, for his own part, has made stopping the boats one of his five pledges after taking power and has pursued an aggressive deportation policy that would house asylum seekers on barges and deport them to Rwanda. He has, however, declined to endorse Bravermans comments on multiculturalism, saying we have done an incredible job of integrating people into society.

With his party lagging behind Labour in the polls, Sunaks latest rhetoric might be a pitch to win over support from a growing segment of the British population with South Asian heritage, many of whom, like Sunak, supported Brexit. Recent census datawhich show that people from Asian ethnic groups make up more than 9% of the UK populationpoints to increasing immigration from India, where support for the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party is high.

It also makes him more human and softens his wealthy persona, according to Sunder Katwala. It becomes a relatable story because it's about more universal themes of family and opportunity and aspiration and community rather than being about where he's ended up, he said.

For its part, the Conservatives have also made a concerted effort since coming into power in 2010 to cement a good relationship with India and the Hindu population. That includes hosting a huge concert in 2015 at the iconic Wembley stadium to welcome BJP leader Narendra Modi and blocking efforts to make caste discrimination illegal.

Sunak and Modis governments are currently negotiating a trade deal, which could further deepen links between the two countries. The Indian side is seeking provisions to allow its workers freer movement in and out of the UK, although Sunak says a looser visa policy isnt being discussed.

It remains to be seen whether Sunaks embrace of his own heritage will help him navigate Britains fraught immigration debate or overcome the perception that hes too rich to relate.

Its to try to counter the other weaknesses in his pitch, said Bronwen Maddox, chief executive of the Chatham House think tank. Hes trying to appeal to a lot of groups and trying to dispatch this notion he is out of touch with ordinary people and will just head off to California if he loses, she said.

--With assistance from Eamon Akil Farhat and Joe Mayes.

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Rishi Sunak

UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak emphasized the importance of supporting Ukraine and called on the countrys allies to provide Kyiv with the necessary weapons during his speech at the UK Conservative Party conference in Manchester on Oct. 4, Sky News reports.

"I say this to our allies: If we give (Ukrainian) President (Volodymyr) Zelenskyy the tools, the Ukrainians will finish the job," Sunak said.

Read also: UK runs out of spare weapons for Ukraine  report

He noted that the United Kingdom leads the way in supporting Ukraine, followed by other major powers.

Sunak emphasized his support for Ukraine, praising former Defense Secretary Ben Wallace and current Defense Secretary Grant Shapps for their responsible work.

Earlier, Shapps said that Britain would deploy its military to Ukraine for the first time. The idea is to move the official British training program to Ukraine instead of relying on bases in the UK and other NATO member states.

Read also: UK Defense Secretary Shapps arrives in Kyiv, meets with Zelenskyy

After his visit to Kyiv last week, Shapps also mentioned that he had spoken with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy about the possible role of the Royal Navy in protecting commercial vessels from Russian attacks in the Black Sea.

The Telegraph wrote that both moves would mark a significant involvement of the United Kingdom in the defense of Ukraine against Russian aggression.

Read also: UKs Rishi Sunak visits Kyiv  photo report

Shapps was appointed to the post of UK Defense Secretary on Aug. 31 after Wallace's resignation. Previously, he was the Energy Secretary and visited Ukraine in this capacity during the full-scale war.

On Sept. 28, he came to Ukraine as Secretary of Defense for his first visit in his new job. During the visit he also met with his newly appointed Ukrainian counterpart Rustem Umerov.

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
Among the most alarming cases to arise is the first major gun-safety challenge that will test the courts new Second Amendment doctrine. Photo illustration by Slate. Photos by Lubo Ivanko/iStock/Getty Images Plus and Tim Mossholder on Unsplash.

This is part of Opening Arguments, Slates coverage of the start of the latest Supreme Court term. Were working to change the way the media covers the Supreme Court. Support our work when you join Slate Plus.

The Supreme Courts new term opened this week with the extreme actions of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit looming over the entire term. Among the most alarming cases to arise is the first major gun-safety challenge that will test the courts new Second Amendment doctrine, adopted last year. Hanging in the balance of United States v. Rahimi, and less remarked upon than the Second Amendment implications, is the modern movement against intimate partner violence. The verdict will bring home how the court treats contemporary progress against endemic violence with the lives of real people literally in the crosshairs.

Guns play an outsized role in the lethality of intimate partner violence. The National Coalition Against Domestic Violence reports that the presence of a firearm in the home increases the risk of homicide between 500 percent and 1,000 percent. While gender violence is a global epidemic, the Giffords Law Center estimates that women in the United States are 21 times more likely to die from guns than women in other high-income countries. Women of color are harmed at disproportionately higher rates. The consequences of firearms inside the home ripple outside immediately: In almost 50 percent of mass shootings, the perpetrator first shot an intimate partner or family member.

As an unrepentant abuser, Zackey Rahimi is a far cry from the model citizens recruited for prior gun-rights cases. After assaulting his girlfriend in a parking lot in 2019, Rahimi shot at a witness. The domestic violence protective order issued against him by a Texas state court in February 2020 prohibited the possession and use of firearms. But Rahimi subsequently participated in five separate shootings over a two-month period, leading to a search at his house where police discovered several firearms. Rahimis continued gun possession violated his protective order under the federal provision hes now challenging.

Rahimi holds the upper hand walking into this argument. While the 5th Circuit initially affirmed Rahimis conviction, the court reversed course following the Supreme Courts 2022 decision in NYSRPA v. Bruen, which eliminated gun regulations that states cannot justify as consistent with the Nations historical traditions. Under Bruen, restraining orders have no historical analogue in the 5th Circuits eyes.

The thing is: Of course they dont. The 5th Circuit is not wrong under the standard articulated in Bruen. In the founding era of the country, (married) women found neither protection nor recognition under the law. While rape was criminalized under early American legal codes, physical violence within the home was sanctioned through the doctrine of chastisement, under which husbands could inflict moderate correction to their wives.

As both the temperance and suffrage movements gained ground, attitudes toward physical violence began to shift. Alabama and Massachusetts led the way in 1871, criminalizing assaults by husbands against their wives. By the turn of the 20th century, the doctrine of chastisement had been largely repudiated. Yet the end of the chastisement doctrine did not stem abuse in the home. As Yale Scholar Reva Siegel has written, courts instead turned a blind eye to domestic violence in deference to the private sphere.

It wasnt until the so-called battered womens movement that feminist and queer activists began to break down a legal system that had long provided express, and then tacit, permission for men to abuse their wives. Advocates accomplished this by creating the means for people to escape violence in the home rather than seeking to solely punish men. Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, states eased the availability of divorce through the introduction of no-fault grounds and opened shelters for people fleeing intimate partner violence. Activist Del Martins landmark book Battered Wives, which exposed the scale of domestic violence in the United States, was published in 1976, five years after the first shelter opened in Phoenix, Arizona.

The landmark Violence Against Women Act then enshrined protections into federal law in 1994, prohibiting abusers subject to domestic violence protective orders and felonies from possessing firearms. Two years later, Congress passed the Lautenberg Amendment to the Gun Control Act of 1968, which extended this protection to domestic violence misdemeanors (e.g., assault or battery), and applied the laws provisions retroactively to include crimes committed prior to its enactment.

As Kaitlin Sidorsky and Wendy Schiller have catalogued, 28 states have passed domestic violence firearm laws since the passage of VAWA, while almost every one of those states also requires abusers to relinquish their guns. Forty states have passed the most minimal protection by prohibiting concealed carry permits for a domestic violence or stalking conviction or a domestic violence protective order.

The significant changes to American society from its historical traditions of misogyny and racism have yielded critical results. States with domestic violence firearm laws curb intimate partner homicide by up to 14 percent. Since federal law does not require background checks for all gun sales, domestic violence firearm laws play an important role in curbing access to firearms from people who have generally proven themselves to be dangerous. After felony convictions, the prohibitions of VAWA have created some of the most effective gun control in a country otherwise incapable of removing guns from peoples hands.

If the court adheres to a rigid interpretation of Bruens new test and eliminates domestic violence firearm laws, it will erase one of the biggest legacies of the modern history of the movement against intimate partner violence. Such a result would not be overly surprising, given the courts recent approach in cases on gender violence. In the 2000 case United States v. Morrison, the court rejected the argument that gender violence has an economic impact despite painstakingly collected data that not only proves the contrary but formed the very heart of VAWA itself. Over 20 years later, the court also rejected information about the economic gains of reproductive autonomy when it overturned Roe v. Wade.

The conservative wing of the court may use Rahimi to double down on the test established in Bruen or retreat in the gaze of intense public backlash and scrutiny. No matter the outcome, Rahimi represents the continued clash between the reality of womens lives and the courts myopic and exclusionary vision of our nations past.
Anwar highlights contributions made to rural infrastructure, job opportunities

Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim has highlighted the significance of the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative in enhancing the growth of his country, lauding the BRI for creating job opportunities and building infrastructure, especially in the rural heartland.

He told reporters in a recent group interview that the BRI, first proposed by President Xi Jinping in 2013, has harnessed the collaboration between China and Malaysia and delivered wide-ranging benefits for both nations.

Malaysia has benefited from the East Coast Rail Link, a project connecting shipping ports on the country's east and west coasts, he said.

The rail link, which is Malaysia's most high-end infrastructure project so far and involves constructing 40 tunnels from Kelantan to Selangor, is being undertaken by China Communications Construction Company. It is expected to greatly enhance connectivity and bring more balanced growth to Malaysia by linking its less-developed region on the east coast to the economic heartland on the west coast.

Anwar said he hopes the project will be completed within a year. "It is a great showcase of the relationship between China and Malaysia," he added.

In 2017, the two nations signed a memorandum of understanding for BRI cooperation, and trade between them grew 15.3 percent year-on-year to $203.59 billion last year. China has been Malaysia's largest trading partner for 14 consecutive years.

Anwar highlighted the potential of Malaysia-China relations not only in terms of trade, economy and investment, which he said are pivotal to Kuala Lumpur, but also in terms of education, training, digital transformation and food technology.

"I think the relationship between Malaysia and China, which is extended to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, has a great future," he said.

He mentioned China's Rongsheng Petrochemical and Zhejiang Geely Holding Group, which announced their investment commitments to Malaysia as part of the 19 memorandums of understanding that were inked between Malaysian and Chinese companies during his official four-day visit to China from March 29 to April 1.

Anwar's second trip to China within this year was in September, when he was among the leaders who attended the 20th China-ASEAN Expo and the China-ASEAN Business and Investment Summit in Nanning, the capital of the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region. He said the meetings he had with Chinese leaders were "cordial and beneficial", as they addressed a number of bilateral, regional and global issues.

During his talks with Premier Li Qiang in Nanning, Anwar pledged support to China in joining the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership, while expressing his readiness to enhance bilateral cooperation over infrastructure, the digital economy and green development.

China and Malaysia are both participants in the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, which took effect in January last year. China has already filed its application to join the CPTPP, a trade agreement of 12 countries including Malaysia. China and ASEAN members are also conducting negotiations over version 3.0 of the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area.

Anwar said that Malaysia, as well as the other ASEAN members, will welcome more free trade agreements with China. "The more arrangements and agreements we make with China or the regional party, the more benefits we can accrue from such collaboration," he said.
(Photo : SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images)

US President Joe Biden and US First Lady Jill Biden, look at their new dog Commander, after speaking virtually with military service members to thank them for their service and wish them a Merry Christmas, from the South Court Auditorium of the White House in Washington, DC, on December 25, 2021.

Commander, the beloved dog of President Joe Biden, is currently not present on the White House campus.

This decision comes in the wake of a series of biting incidents involving White House staff and US Secret Service officers.

Biden's Dog Commander Bites Again

A spokesperson for First Lady Jill Biden shared this information late Wednesday, shedding light on the situation surrounding Commander's absence.

According to Elizabeth Alexander, the communications director for the First Lady, President Biden and his wife hold a profound concern for the well-being of White House staff and the individuals responsible for their protection on a daily basis.

In an emailed statement, she expressed gratitude towards the US Secret Service and all individuals involved, acknowledging their patience and support. She further mentioned that Commander is currently not on the White House campus, as they assess the next course of action.

The whereabouts of the 2-year-old German shepherd, whose destination was not disclosed by Alexander, remain unknown.

In a recent development, the statement was issued just hours after White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre was questioned during her briefing on Wednesday regarding yet another allegation involving Commander, who allegedly bit a White House staffer.

Jean-Pierre deferred inquiries to the office of the first lady, who stated that Commander and Dale Haney, the head groundskeeper at the White House, were engaged in a playful activity. The office further clarified that no injuries were sustained during the incident, which was captured by a tourist and subsequently shared with a news organization. The news organization then proceeded to publish the photograph on its online platform, as per NBC New York.

Read Also: Biden Signs Bill To Avert Government Shutdown, Blames House GOP for 'Manufactured Crisis'

Where is Biden's Dog?

According to sources within the White House, responsibility for the incident has been attributed to the president's protectors.

However, these same sources have also asserted that Commander, who is known for being friendly, is highly regarded by all. It is worth noting that the victim in this particular case was not a member of the president's security detail, but rather a groundskeeper.

According to the witness, they stated, "Perhaps it was intended as a playful nip, but it is noteworthy that a dog of such size would exhibit such behavior."

In November 2022, a commanding officer found themselves in a grave situation when they were attacked by Commander, resulting in hospitalization. The animal reportedly clamped down on their arms and thighs, causing serious injuries.

According to a recent report, a conservative group known as Judicial Watch has obtained a series of emails through a Freedom of Information Act request. These emails shed light on a concerning incident, which appears to be one of ten similar occurrences that transpired within a span of four months.

A month following a warning from staff about the potential danger of an attack, First Lady Jill Biden found herself unable to regain control of an animal that charged towards a member of the Secret Service. In an email sent in October 2022, a staff member issued a warning, stating, "I believe it's only a matter of time before an agent/officer is attacked or bit."

According to White House officials, the Bidens were reported to be working on implementing new training and leashing protocols for their family pet in July.

In a statement made last week, Elizabeth Alexander, the communications director for the first lady, addressed the ongoing efforts of the First Family to assist Commander in navigating the frequently unpredictable environment of the White House grounds.

In a series of aggressive incidents, including biting Secret Service and National Park Service employees, Major, the older dog belonging to the First Family, has been removed from the White House. The five-year-old German Shepherd was originally rescued from a shelter in Delaware.

In a decision that made headlines, the Bidens made the choice to relocate their dog, Major, to the care of friends in Delaware. They described Major as a "sweet dog" by nature and attributed his aggression to the "stress" of residing at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

In a heartwarming gesture, Commander, a special birthday gift from James and Sara Biden, the president's brother and sister-in-law, made its grand entrance into the White House on December 20, 2021.

In an interview, Jonathan Wackrow, a former USSS agent, expressed his concerns about the dog's biting spree, referring to it as a 'significant hazard' that requires immediate attention. Per Daily Mail, Wackrow highlighted the distinctiveness of the location, emphasizing that it serves as both the official residence of the President of the United States and a bustling workplace for numerous individuals.

Related Article: President Joe Biden Falls Off His Bike During Delaware Ride; Incident No Longer Garners Health Concerns But Memes

@ 2023 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
TechCrunch

Developers spend a lot of time on mundane, repetitive tasks -- and surprisingly little on actual coding. The trend frustrated William Zeng and Kevin Lu. "We started Sweep after working at Roblox together and constantly dealing with software chores we knew could be automated with AI," Zeng, Sweep's CEO, told TechCrunch in an email interview.
The Sacramento Police Department and the FBI announced Wednesday that a suspect in a 2015 child sexual assault case was arrested after being apprehended from Mexico and extradited. The man was booked into Sacramento County Main Jail on Wednesday night.

The 54-year-old man, identified as Carlos Galvez Ramirez, is accused of assaulting at least one girl eight years ago before fleeing to Mexico around Aug. 23, 2017, to avoid prosecution, officials said in a federal court filing.

In April 2018, authorities issued an arrest warrant for Ramirez after learning that he had flown from Los Angeles to Juarez, Mexico, with no return flight. According to a federal complaint filed by the FBI, a Sacramento detective spoke with Ramirez by phone in 2018. At the time, Ramirez told the detective he was in Mexico due to a family emergency and would return to face charges.

Authorities later spoke with Ramirezs family, who said the man had fled the U.S. to avoid prosecution.

According to jail records, Ramirez faces at least four felonies: Two charges of committing a lewd act on a child under 14 and oral sex on a child 10 or younger.

He remains in custody in lieu of $5.2 million bail and is expected to face a judge in Sacramento Superior Court on Friday afternoon.

The FBIs Sacramento field office, as well as FBI officials in Mexico City and their counterparts at Interpol, the International Criminal Police Organization, helped to apprehend the man in Mexico City on June 16, officers said.
A suspect wanted in a Dallas shooting that injured one and killed another was located in New Mexico and has been charged with capital murder, Dallas police announced in a news release Wednesday.

On Tuesday, 28-year-old Kayla Griffin was located and arrested in Bloomfield, New Mexico.

At around 11 a.m. Saturday, police responded to a shooting in the 900 block of Medalist Drive.

When officers arrived they found a woman who had been shot and had walked from the scene to get help.

Officers then went to the shooting scene, where they found a man who had been tied up and yelling for help, according to the release. Officers also found another victim, Deleon Williams, 30, with his hands tied and shot.

The female victim was taken to a local hospital and is expected to live, police say. The first male victim was not injured.

Griffin is currently being held in New Mexico.
 Read the full article on Motorious

The owner thought he'd never see it again.

A vintage gem, the 1956 Chevrolet Bel Air, was recently returned to its rightful owner after a brazen theft. Winston Matthews, the proud owner of this $80,000 classic Chevy, had almost lost hope of ever reuniting with his beloved vehicle. Yet, thanks to the quick response from Mangonui Police Station, the car now stands pristine once again in its designated spot.

Matthews' car, a part of the Matthews Vintage Collection Museum in Taipa, was stolen on September 19. At the time, Matthews was away in Tauranga, and the distressing news of the theft was delivered to him by his nephew, who was overseeing the property.

Reflecting on the incident, a shaken Matthews said, I envisioned the worst - either never seeing the car again or finding it in a dilapidated state.

However, salvation arrived in the form of a tip from an observant citizen. Constable John Walters of Mangonui Police Station shared that they received a complaint about suspicious driving behavior and unconventional "hand signals" from the driver of the vehicle on Inland Rd on the Karikari Peninsula.

Wasting no time, the swift trio from Mangonui Station - Walters, Acting Sergeant Dean Rowlands, and Constable Dave Reynolds - located the car at a residence in Whatuwhiwhi. The subsequent arrest of a local man in connection to the burglary meant that the Chevy Bel Air was on its way back home.

Constable Tim Murdock meticulously fingerprinted the car before handing it over to Matthews. Elated by the turn of events, Matthews exclaimed, As I was heading north, near the Bombay Hills, I received the uplifting news of the cars recovery!

Upon examining the Chevy, Matthews found just a minor scratch, which he believes might have predated the theft.

Expressing his gratitude, Matthews visited Mangonui Police Station the very next day. The police here deserve commendation. Often facing unwarranted criticism, they showcased their dedication and efficiency in this case, Matthews concluded, grateful for the swift return of his cherished classic.

Source: The Northern Advocate



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A drone strike Thursday on a Syrian military academy killed more than 60 people, a war monitor said, with state media blaming "terrorist organisations" for the attack in government-held Homs.

Separately, in the war-torn country's Kurdish-held northeast, Turkish strikes on military and infrastructure targets killed at least nine people, according to Kurdish forces, after Ankara had threatened raids in retaliation for a bomb attack.

In the central Syrian city of Homs, "armed terrorist organisations" targeted "the graduation ceremony for officers of the military academy", an army statement carried by official news agency SANA said, reporting casualties.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based monitor with a vast network of sources on the ground, reported "more than 60 dead, including military personnel and at least nine civilians", with dozens more wounded.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility.

The attack was carried out with "explosive-laden drones", according to the military statement.

The general command of the army and the armed forces decried the "cowardly... unprecedented" attack and said it would "respond with full force", the statement added.

The Syrian government retook full control of Homs, Syria's third-largest city, in 2017.

Later on Thursday in the rebel-held Idlib region, residents reported wide and heavy regime bombardment.

The Idlib rebel bastion in Syria's northwest is controlled by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS). The jihadist group, led by the former local Al-Qaeda branch, has used drones to attack government-held areas in the past.

- Turkish 'escalation' -

Meanwhile, the Turkish strikes on Hasakeh province in Kurdish-held northeast Syria "killed six members of the internal security" agency, a statement from the Kurdish force's media centre said.

A worker at a site in the province was also killed, according to Farhad Shami, spokesman for the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), the Kurds' de facto army.

The Kurdish authorities' statement also said "two civilians" were killed in a strike on a motorcycle.

Turkey regularly strikes targets in Syrian Kurds' semi-autonomous region.

On Wednesday, Ankara warned of more intense cross-border air raids, after concluding that militants who staged a weekend attack in the Turkish capital came from Syria.

The US-backed SDF led the battle that dislodged Islamic State (IS) group fighters from their last scraps of Syrian territory in 2019.

Turkey views the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) that dominate the SDF as an offshoot of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which is listed as a terror group by Turkey and its Western allies.

Since Sunday's Ankara attack, which wounded two Turkish security officers and was claimed by the PKK, Ankara has launched strikes on the Kurdish group's positions in northern Iraq.

AFP correspondents in Syria's northeast saw black smoke rising from oil sites near Qahtaniyeh, close to the Turkish border.

Two power stations in the area were also hit, the correspondents said.

The SDF's Shami said the strikes had targeted military and civilian sites.

"There has been a clear escalation since the Turkish threats," he said, reporting intensive overflights of Kurdish-held areas in northeast Syria.

- 'Legitimate targets' -

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan had warned of reprisals against Kurdish fighters in northeastern Syria in the aftermath of Sunday's attack outside the interior ministry in Ankara.

He had alleged the perpetrators "came from Syria and were trained there".

"From now on, all infrastructure, large facilities and energy facilities belonging to (armed Kurdish groups) in Iraq and Syria are legitimate targets for our security forces," Fidan had said in televised comments.

In the market of the city of Qamishli in Hasakeh province, vendors were anxiously following the escalation on their mobile phones and televisions.

"The situation is worsening every day. Turkey doesn't let us breathe," said Hassan al-Ahmad, a 35-year-old fabric merchant.

SDF commander Mazloum Abdi denied Wednesday that the Ankara assailants had "passed through our region".

"Turkey is looking for pretexts to legitimise its ongoing attacks on our region and to launch a new military aggression," he said.

The Kurdish administration on Thursday called on "the international community, the international coalition" and Russia to "take a stand capable of dissuading" Turkey from its attacks.

State Department spokesperson Vedant Patel said the United States "remains concerned about the military escalation in northern Syria".

The United States, Russia and Turkey all have troops in areas of the war-torn country.

Between 2016 and 2019, Turkey carried out three major operations in northern Syria against Kurdish forces.

The conflict in Syria has killed more than half a million people since it began in 2011 with a brutal crackdown on anti-government protests, spiralling into a complex battlefield involving foreign armies, militias and jihadists.

str-at/lg/ami
Map locating the military academy in the city of Homs, which was attacked by drones on Thursday. (Sylvie HUSSON)

An attack Thursday on a Syrian military academy killed 112 people, a war monitor said, with state media blaming "terrorist organisations" for the drone strike in government-held Homs.

Separately, Turkish air raids in the country's Kurdish-held northeast killed at least 11 people, according to Kurdish forces, after Ankara had threatened retaliation for a bomb attack.

In the central city of Homs, "armed terrorist organisations" targeted "the graduation ceremony for officers of the military academy", an army statement carried by official news agency SANA said.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based monitor, reported "112 dead including 21 civilians, 11 of them women and girls". It said at least 120 people were wounded.

Health Minister Hassan al-Ghobash told state television the "preliminary" toll was 80 dead "including six women and six children" and around 240 wounded.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility.

The attack was carried out with "explosive-laden drones", according to the military statement, vowing to "respond with full force". The government declared three days of mourning starting Friday.

In the rebel-held Idlib region, residents reported heavy bombardment by government forces in apparent retaliation. The Observatory said eight people had been killed and some 30 wounded.

Swathes of Idlib province are controlled by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, led by Al-Qaeda's former Syria branch. The jihadist group has used drones to attack government-held areas in the past.

United Nations chief Antonio Guterres was "deeply concerned" over the drone attack and the retaliatory shelling, his spokesman Stephane Dujarric said.

Geir Pedersen, the UN special envoy for Syria, said in a statement: "Today's horrific scenes are a reminder of the need to immediately de-escalate violence, towards a nationwide ceasefire and a cooperative approach to countering Security Council-listed terrorist groups."

Overnight, Syrian shelling killed an elderly woman and four of her children in a rebel-held area of Aleppo province, rescue workers and the Observatory said.

- Turkish drone shot down -

Turkey's defence ministry said in a statement Thursday evening that Ankara forces had carried out air strikes in northern Syria, destroying 30 targets, including "shelters, depots and storage sites".

The Kurds' internal security forces said Turkey had carried out 21 strikes in the area, killing "11 people, including five civilians and six" security personnel.

Pentagon spokesman Pat Ryder told reporters that US F-16 warplanes over Syria had shot down a Turkish drone on Thursday, deeming it "a potential threat" after it approached "less than a half kilometre from US forces" near Hasakeh.

Turkey has carried out repeated strikes on targets in Syria's Kurdish-held northeast.

On Wednesday, Ankara warned it would step up its cross-border air raids, after concluding that militants who staged a weekend attack in the Turkish capital had come from Syria.

The US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces led the battle that dislodged Islamic State group fighters from their last scraps of territory in Syria in 2019.

Turkey views the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) that dominate the SDF as an offshoot of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), listed as a terror group by Ankara and its Western allies.

Turkey has launched strikes on PKK positions in northern Iraq since Sunday's attack in Ankara, which wounded two Turkish security officers and was claimed by the Kurdish group.

AFP correspondents in northeastern Syria saw smoke rising from oil sites near Qahtaniyeh, close to the Turkish border.

Two power stations in the area were also hit, as well as the vicinity of a dam.

- 'Worsening' -

Farhad Shami, spokesman for the SDF, the Kurds' de facto army, said the strikes had targeted military and civilian sites.

"There has been a clear escalation since the Turkish threats," he said.

In the market of the city of Qamishli in Hasakeh province, vendors voiced concern.

"The situation is worsening every day. Turkey doesn't let us breathe," said Hassan al-Ahmad, a 35-year-old fabric merchant.

SDF commander Mazloum Abdi denied Wednesday that the Ankara assailants had "passed through our region".

"Turkey is looking for pretexts to legitimise its ongoing attacks on our region," he said.

The Kurdish administration urged "the international community" to "take a stand capable of dissuading" Turkey from its attacks.

The United States, Russia and Turkey all have troops in the country.

Between 2016 and 2019, Turkey carried out three major operations in northern Syria against Kurdish forces.

The conflict in Syria has killed more than half a million people since it began in 2011 with a brutal crackdown on anti-government protests, spiralling into a devastating war involving foreign armies, militias and jihadists.

str-at/jj/acb
A graphic video posted online showed the aftermath of the drone attack at the military academy

A drone attack on a Syrian military academy in the western city of Homs has killed at least 89 people, Syria's health ministry says.

The explosive-laden drones targeted a graduation ceremony attended by cadets' families, and women and children were among the dead.

A UK-based monitoring group said 116 people had been killed.

The Syrian army blamed the attack on "terrorist groups backed by known international forces".

There was no immediate claim from the rebels and jihadists battling the government in the country's civil war.

The drone attack is believed to have been launched from opposition-held areas north-west of Homs.

Later, the monitoring group Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), reported that 11 civilians had been killed in government bombardments on several cities, towns and villages in the opposition stronghold of Idlib province and Aleppo.

Syria's state news agency, Sana, quoted a statement from the General Command of the Armed Forces as saying that several drones carrying explosives targeted the Homs military academy just after the afternoon graduation ceremony had ended.

The statement said the armed forces "considers this act an unprecedented criminal one, and affirms that it will respond with full force and determination to these terrorist groups wherever they are".

In a later report, the agency quoted the health ministry as saying the strike had injured 277 people, and that 31 women and five children were among the dead.

A man who had helped set up decorations at the site told Reuters news agency: "After the ceremony, people went down to the courtyard and the explosives hit. We don't know where it came from, and corpses littered the ground."

A graphic video of the aftermath of the attack showed dozens of casualties and their relatives screaming for help inside a large, walled parade ground. Gunfire can also be heard in the background.

Map of Syria showing Homs (in the west) and Idlib (in the north-west)

The SOHR reported that Syria's defence minister attended the graduation ceremony but left minutes before the attack.

More than half a million people have been killed by the civil war that erupted after President Bashar al-Assad cracked down violently on peaceful pro-democracy demonstrations in 2011.

Some 6.8 million people are internally displaced, while another six million are refugees or asylum-seekers abroad.

The UN's special envoy for Syria, Geir Pedersen, described the attack on the academy as "horrific" and called on all parties to the conflict to "exercise the utmost restraint".

"All sides must respect their obligations under international law and ensure the protection of civilians and civilian infrastructure," he said

"Today's developments further highlight that the status quo in Syria is unsustainable and that, in the absence of a meaningful political path... I fear we will only see further deterioration, including in the security situation."

In a separate development in Syria on Thursday, at least 10 people were reportedly killed in Turkish drone strikes in a Kurdish-controlled region of north-eastern Syria that were prompted by a bomb attack in Ankara claimed by Kurdish militants.

The SOHR said 17 sites were targeted, including facilities affiliated with the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), a US-backed, Kurdish-led militia alliance, as well as a power station in Qamishli, a water station near Hassakeh and an oil field.

The US military also shot down an armed Turkish drone that was operating near its troops in Syria, a US official told Reuters.
A Taylorville man has been sentenced to over seven years in prison on federal drug charges for selling methamphetamine to a man in March 2021.

Jamal Shehadeh, 40, had been convicted in October 2022 on meth distribution charges for his role in selling the drugs to a confidential source in March 2021. Federal prosecutors presented evidence at trial that claimed Shehadeh contacted the source on March 3 and arranged to sell meth to him. He then called 911 to distract police before he went to the man's house and delivered him the drugs.

The Taylorville Police Department investigated for over a month before they arrested Shehadeh on April 8 of that year.

At sentencing Wednesday, Chief U.S. District Judge Sara Darrow said that Shehadeh had a high risk of recidivism, with two prior convictions in federal court prior to this one. He was also under supervised release on a previous drug trafficking charge when the meth sale occurred.

More: UIS announces new financial aid program for first-time students

Darrow also referred to his "fanciful" testimony at trial, in which he claimed that he was involved in a "grand conspiracy plot" against TPD, in finding that a obstruction of justice enhancement applied in this case.

Shehadeh was also sentenced to six years of supervised release following his time in prison. He did not have to pay a fine. He could have faced a 30 year sentence and a $2 million fine if given maximum terms.

In addition to the drug charges, he has had a long history of conflicts with police in Christian County, with a 2008 incident in which he threatened the family of a Taylorville police officer after he had been arrested on theft charges most notable. The theft charges did eventually get dismissed.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Sarah Seberger represented the prosecution, with six different attorneys  Federal Public Defender Rosie Brown, Mark Wykoff of the Wykoff Law Office, Daniel Fultz of Brown, Hay & Stephens LLP, Andrea Jaeger of Keegan, Tindal, & Jaeger of Davenport, Iowa, Michelle Jacobs of Biskupic & Jacobs, S.C. of Mequon, Wisconsin and Jeffrey Page of the Page Law Office  representing Shehadeh at one point or another during the two-year proceedings.

This article originally appeared on State Journal-Register: Taylorville man sentenced on drug distribution charges
A Missouri high school teacher placed on administrative leave after her OnlyFans page was discovered is now leaving education altogether, according to news reports.

Brianna Coppage, a 28-year-old teacher at St. Clair High School, was placed on leave in late September. At the time, St. Clair R-XIII School District Superintendent Kyle Kruse told McClatchy News the district was investigating after officials learned the teacher had been sharing inappropriate media online.

Teacher says she made an OnlyFans for extra money. Missouri school puts her on leave

But as that investigation continued and Coppages suspension garnered national headlines, Coppages OnlyFans page skyrocketed in popularity.

On Coppages Twitter page, which highlights her OnlyFans work, she says she is THAT teacher and boasts she is among the top .03% revenue generators on the content sharing site, popular for its often sexual photos videos. That is up from top 4% she said she was a week prior.

Its been a journey for sure, the last couple of days have definitely been a roller coaster, she told The Messenger. It turned our life upside down.

Coppage said she made $6,000 in a 24-hour span after her story first went viral, according to The Missourian. Previously, she had been making $8,000 per month on the site, the outlet reported.

A Change.org petition calling for Coppage to get her job back has received more than 2,000 signatures, but it appears the teacher does not have plans to return.

I knew that I wasnt going to go back into education, she told the Riverfront Times. So it was either run and hide, or lean into it. And at the end of the day, I still have bills to pay and I still have like a family to provide for. So it was not really a difficult choice to just lean in.

She told The Messenger she already resigned from the school, about 50 miles southwest of St. Louis. She was hired at the school in August 2022 as a communication arts teacher.

I dont want to fight the school district. Im just ready for peace, Coppage told the publication. I knew that nothing was ever going to be the same if I went back so that was just the best option.

She added, I would like the education of students to be able to return to normal, they deserve to have a great year.

Coppages decision to create her OnlyFans page was sparked by her teacher pay  just over $42,000 during the 2022-23 school year, according to The Missourian.

Missouri ranked 47th in the country for average teacher salary, the National Education Association said, with teachers making about $13,000 less than the national average. Teachers in the state had an average salary of $53,512 during the 2022-23 school year, according to the Missouri National Education Association.

She told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch she kept her OnlyFans account separate from her life as a teacher but noted she knew creating the page was kind of a risk.

Now she said she will try to make the most of her new internet fame, she told the Riverfront Times.

What a whirlwind, Coppage said in a tweet Monday.

Woman sees herself in revenge porn on companys Facebook page, SC cops say. Ex charged

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The Sutter County District Attorneys Office said an investigation into a Northern California woman accused of teaching a second-grade class while intoxicated has not yielded charges as prosecutors work to find more evidence in the matter.

The 57-year-old educator arrested in the incident at Nuestro Elementary School in Live Oak was not in custody as of Thursday morning. She was arrested Monday morning after Sutter County sheriffs deputies said she had a blood-alcohol level twice the legal limit and reviewed video footage of her driving to school.

Law enforcement, in general, is only allowed to hold a suspect in detention for up to 72 hours and prosecutors are required to file charges in connection with a crime within 48 hours.

While the teacher was booked on suspicion of driving with a blood-alcohol level of more than 0.08%, driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs and child abuse that could lead to great bodily injury or death, no charges have been filed.

The Sutter County DAs Office said in a Facebook statement that further investigation was needed in the case.

Once the investigation is completed, we will evaluate all the evidence and determine what, if any charges, we can prove, and those charges will be filed, the social media post said.

The teacher has not returned to school, according to school officials. Her name remains on the schools staff directory.
(Photo : MIGUEL MEDINA / AFP) (MIGUEL MEDINA/AFP via Getty Images)

French officials are sounding the alarm and calling for immediate response as the bedbug outbreak in Paris is causing widespread concern ahead of the 2024 Olympics.

Paris' bedbug outbreak is sparking widespread concern as there is less than a year before the start of the 2024 Olympics, which will be held in the iconic French capital, prompting calls from officials for an immediate response.

In most areas in the region, from hotel rooms to trains to movie theaters, bedbugs have crawled into every nook and cranny of one of the most popular tourist destinations in the world. French officials struggle to cope with the issue, but experts have issued various recommendations to protect your health from these nasty critters.

Paris' Bedbug Outbreak

Full-grown versions of the insects are brown or reddish-brown and have an oval-shaped body roughly the size of an apple seed. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) said the young versions of bedbugs are much smaller, translucent, or whitish-yellow, and difficult to see. According to CBS News, these critters typically come out at night to feed on human blood.

Medical experts recommend that travelers thoroughly check the bed underneath it, behind the bed frame, on the sides of the mattress, and in between the mattress and the frame when they arrive at a hotel or a vacation rental.

French officials are also sounding the alarm regarding the issue and calling for an immediate response from the government to ensure that the bedbug outbreak does not spiral out of control. A top opposition lawmaker from the lower house of Parliament held up a small vial filled with bedbugs for her colleagues to see.

Mathilde Panot questioned Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne if they must wait for the latter's office to be infected before finally reacting to the issue. Borne urged Panot to observe a "bit of decency" and pledged that the French government would act resolutely against the bedbug infestation.

French President Emmanuel Macron's government has been forced to convene a flurry of top-level meetings this week to ensure that Paris will not turn into a city filled with bedbugs, according to the New York Times.

Read Also: Arizona Takes Stand Against Saudi-Owned Farm, Cancels Leases for Access to Groundwater

Addressing the Crisis

The government spokesman, Olivier Veran, said they must give the people a definitive answer. He noted that the exact scope of the issue remains unclear but argued that the government would announce new measures after a cabinet meeting scheduled on Friday.

French Transportation Minister Clement Beaune said they are taking the matter very seriously after meeting with transportation authorities on Wednesday. He stressed that buses, trains, and subways are regularly cleaned and taken out of circulation if suspected of any anomalies.

Earlier this year, the French government agency ANSES reported that roughly 11% of households in the country had bedbugs between 2017 and 2022 and that the infestations were not correlated to wealth.

An increase in travel and the bedbugs' growing resistance to insecticides are some factors that have led to a surge in infestations.

The first deputy mayor of Paris, Emmanuel Gregoire, announced that he had already asked Borne to organize a conference on the battle against the critters as he called it a public health issue, said NPR.

Related Article: South Africa Battles Bird Flu Outbreak, Culling Millions of Chickens and Causing Shortages

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[Source]

A 16-year-old male has been arrested in connection with last months disturbance on a Massachusetts Red Line subway train that involved the racist harassment of an Asian woman.

Background: Vivian Dang, 25, was heading to Ashmont at around 10 p.m. on Sept. 21 when a group of teens boarded the train and threatened to rob passengers. When she moved to a different car, they turned their attention to her and began racially attacking her.

Dang, who is Vietnamese, told NextShark:

They started throwing words at me like ching chong and other Asian slurs. I didnt let that get to me, but they continued to call me a slut and other terms of that sort and started saying stuff like Can I get an egg roll for $1? and naming other Asian foods in a mocking Asian accent. Continued to say stuff about dogs and cats, like No wonder my dogs are missing. More from NextShark: Facebook Adds New Safety Features, Donates $5 Million for Asian Pacific American Heritage Month

Dang managed to film part of the incident, which her sister Vanessa shared on TikTok. The teens left the train after breaking one of its windows.

This embedded content is not available in your region.

The arrest: On Monday, MBTA Transit Police announced that they arrested a 16-year-old male in connection with the incident. He is facing charges of unarmed assault with intent to rob and assault for the purpose of intimidation.

More from NextShark: Unemployed Filipina in Dubai Provides 200 Free Meals Daily to the Hungry

Whats next: Investigation into the case is ongoing. It remains to be seen whether the arrested teen will be prosecuted as a juvenile or an adult.

More from NextShark: 12-Year-Old Fashion Designer Sews Masks for Doctors and Nurses Fighting COVID-19

Enjoy this content? Read more from NextShark!

Mom's Song for 33-Year-Old Son to Find Chinese New Year's Date Viewed By 6 Million
An Alabama teenager who mysteriously went missing Monday was shot dead by his younger brother and hidden in the woods behind the familys home, authorities announced late Wednesday.

The tragic saga began Monday evening, when the boys father said he returned home around 7:30 p.m. and discovered that his 17-year-old son was nowhere to be found, the Pike County Sheriffs Office said in a news release cited by local media. The next day, he said, he was called to pick his 14-year-old son up from school early because the boy was distraught over the disappearance of his older brother.

The two returned home and began searching for the 17-year-old, whose body was found by his father about 60 yards behind the family home, police said. Shortly after that grim discovery, investigators learned of alarming comments the 14-year-old allegedly made to a friend at school.

Police say he confided in his friend that hed killed his missing brother.

He then asked his friend to help him murder the rest of his family and help him bury their bodies. The friend also stated the 14-year-old had a hit list in his bookbag of family members he wanted to kill and made statements about wanting to shoot up the school, the sheriffs office said.

This student was taking a test and he was so bothered by what this 14-year-old friend had told him that he reported it to the teacher, Pike County Sheriff Russell Thomas told reporters at a news conference late Wednesday.

Investigators searched the teens bookbag and discovered the hit list, Russell said. The 14-year-old confessed that he had shot his brother, who then staggered out of the house and fell at the bottom of the steps. The 14-year-old then dragged the body into the woods behind the home.

It was not immediately clear what led up to the shooting, or what the possible motive could be. The Pike County Board of Education released a statement Wednesday confirming that a student had been arrested in connection with the death of a family member.

School officials asked for law enforcement to step up security in light of the 14-year-olds alleged threats but stressed that theyd found no evidence of any threat to school campuses.

Read more at The Daily Beast.

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A teenager has been arrested for the murder of New York City poet and activist Ryan Carson, who was stabbed to death in front of his girlfriend after the couple left a wedding on Long Island.

Brian Dowling, 18, was arrested after he was allegedly captured on surveillance footage stabbing Carson, 32, in a random attack in Brooklyn in the early hours of Monday morning.

Carson was walking home with his girlfriend at around 4am when he was attacked.

In disturbing surveillance footage obtained by The New York Post, the couple, both dressed in formal attire, were seen pausing to sit and speak at a bench bus stop as a stranger in a black hoodie strolled past them.

Up ahead, the stranger started to kick scooters that were parked near the curb when suddenly he turned to look at Carson and said, What the f*** are you looking at?

The suspect was allegedly caught on camera stabbing the activist (NYPD)

The activist replied and said he wasnt looking at anything, but the erratic man decided to pursue the couple.

Ill kill you, the man threatened, to which Carson said, Chill! Chill! while stepping between the stranger and his girlfriend trying to quell the situation.

The attacker then ran after Carson, who fell over the bench he was sitting on moments ago.

The suspect grabbed Carsons suit jacket and threw him on the ground before stabbing the victim three times in the chest.

The attacker is then seen spitting on the girlfriend before turning back to Carson and kicking him as he lies curled up on the sidewalk.

The suspects girlfriend suddenly appears in the frame, and says Im so sorry.

Ryan Carson (NO OD NY/YouTube)

An unknown woman was then caught by the surveillance footage shouting a name at the suspect and yelling Dont hurt him!

The video cuts off just after Carsons girlfriend embraced him while he was lying on the ground.

The girlfriend later told police that the suspect tossed the knife on a pile of trash and then retrieved it before fleeing, according to sources.

The activist was taken to Kings County Hospital Centre and was pronounced dead at 4.18am.

Carsons girlfriend is believed to have sustained no injuries.

NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny said a stab wound had pierced directly into Carsons heart, causing his death.

The knife pierces Mr. Carsons heart, causing his death, he said. As Mr. Carson lay dying on the sidewalk, the male with the knife kicks him in the chest, threatens to stab the woman companion and spits in her face.

The couple had been walking at Lafayette Avenue and Malcolm X Boulevard after they had just gotten off the subway and were on their way home when the attack happened, police said.

Carsons activist work focused on sustainability and environmental policies at the New York Public Interest Research Group, friends said.

He moved to New York City from Boston in 2010 to attend Pratt Institute in Brooklyn and previously worked as the executive director of NO OD NY, which he founded to raise awareness for overdose prevention centres.

Most recently he worked as a senior solid waste campaign manager at the New York Public Interest Research Group, according to his LinkedIn.

A statement from NYPIRG described Carson as a beloved staffer, colleague and friend, and a creative, talented, relentless and upbeat advocate for students and the environment.

His engaging personality, hearty laugh and wide-ranging intelligence were keys to his success in advancing the causes he deeply cared about in his work and personal life, the statement read. Ryan was a consummate team player who would happily undertake the basic blocking and tackling tasks necessary to advance and win on an issue, but also shined in the spotlight as a leader, campaign manager and spokesperson.

Anyone with information is urged to call CrimeStoppers at 800-577-TIPS.
ARLINGTON COUNTY, Va. - FOX 5 is working to learn more about charges against a 19-year-old accused of providing the drugs that led to two overdoses at an Arlington County school.

Walter Zelaya-Padilla and a 16-year-old juvenile male are accused of distributing fentanyl to two girls who overdosed at Wakefield High School last month.

Arlington County Police say the girls are expected to recover. In paperwork obtained by FOX 5, the girls' ages are listed as 15 and 17. The incident happened just before noon on Sept. 27.

Zelaya-Padilla is now charged with drug distribution under Virginias regular statute. Hes not charged under a new bipartisan law passed by the legislature and enacted this summer.

The new fentanyl distribution law designates it as a weapon of terror and is in the same category in Virginias statute as biological weapons, radioactive material and hazardous chemicals.

That language grabbed some headlines and was meant largely to show how seriously Virginia was taking the fentanyl crisis, as the law carries harsher penalties.

FOX 5 asked around Wednesday to see how frequently this was being charged and learned its not as prevalent as you may think.

In this latest Wakefield High School case, for example, its not charged. The Arlington County Commonwealths Attorney didnt return our requests for comment. FOX 5 will update this story if we hear back from that office.

The Loudoun County Commonwealths Attorney tells FOX 5 they havent served a warrant for that charge.

The Fairfax County Commonwealths Attorney tells FOX 5 they just now started using this charge, but its too early to tell its efficacy.

And Prince William County Commonwealth Attorney Amy Ashworth tells FOX 5 her office has charged it four times.

She hopes this more serious charge acts as a more serious deterrent.

"What weve seen is that this charge is just another charge that we can place against somebody who makes the very bad decision to distribute fentanyl here in Prince William County. We take enforcement of these cases very serious because fentanyl is so deadly," Ashworth said.

FOX 5 also spoke with defense attorney Jonathan Phillips who handles drug cases  predominantly in Fairfax County  and says he hasnt dealt with a client facing this charge.

"I have yet to see it charged. I have yet to see it be a proposed charge in terms of an indictment. Its not something Ive heard from any prosecutor as an intention of that office to seek a particular punishment, the terrorism statute, for fentanyl distribution or manufacturing," Phillips said.

As for why this may be, Phillips echoed what FOX 5 heard from Fairfax County; that its still early in this process, that police and magistrates are still learning about and getting used to the law.

Phillips did say that prosecutors who charge drug distribution cases have been less lenient on charging and sentencing when an opioid like fentanyl is involved.

FOX 5 asked Gov. Glenn Youngkin for his perspective.

Youngkin says he remains committed to strengthening Virginias response to the fentanyl crisis, adding that he encourages more Commonwealths Attorneys to use all tools at their disposal to hold distributors accountable.

Attorney General Jason Miyares reiterated his support for this new Virginia statute, adding fentanyl is deadly, and penalties for distributing it need to be harsh.

FOX 5 reached out to an attorney for Zelaya-Padilla and were told hes still waiting to be appointed a permanent one.
Two boys aged 17 and 18 were detained in the Russian city of Komsomolsk-on-Amur. According to the Federal Security Service of Russia (FSB), they allegedly planned to blow up a gas pipe "under orders of Ukrainian special services".

Source: Russian media outlet Kommersant with reference to a source

Quote: "According to the source, one of the detainees is 17, the other is 18. They were preparing to arrange an explosion at the gas pipe near Komsomolsk-on-Amur. The Sakhalin-Khabarovsk-Vladivostok pipeline runs through this district.

A part of the task was to also blow up mobile connection equipment. For successfully completing the task the young people were promised RUB 100,000 each."

Details: The teenagers were detained by the FSB. The Russians claim it happened during the "preparation for the terrorist attacks".

The boys were accused of a terrorist act attempt (Articles 30.1, 205.1). They were put into custody.

The Russian special services have provided no official information so far.

Ukrainska Pravda is the place where you will find the most up-to-date information about everything related to the war in Ukraine. Follow us on Twitter, support us, or become our patron!






NASHVILLE, Tenn.  Tennessee state Rep. Justin Jones filed a federal lawsuit against the state House Speaker and House administrative officials Tuesday, alleging that Republicans repeatedly violated Jones' constitutional rights.

Filed in Nashville federal court, the lawsuit argues that House Republican efforts to expel Jones last spring and enact new rules to limit debate during the August special session were unconstitutional and illegal. The Nashville lawmaker, along with two fellow Democrats, were dubbed the Tennessee Three" after they faced expulsion for participating in gun reform protests.

"Today my attorneys filed a federal lawsuit to hold Tennessee House Speaker Cameron Sexton responsible for his unconstitutional and discriminatory actions," Jones said on X, formerly known as Twitter. "The people of District 52 deserve to have their voices heard without the threat of undemocratic silencing and retaliation."

House Republicans expelled Jones and his freshman colleague Rep. Justin Pearson, D-Memphis, in April after the two broke House rules and mounted brief gun reform chants on the chamber floor. The pair were frustrated with the lack of legislative action in the wake of the Covenant School shooting in Nashville's Green Hills neighborhood just days before, in which six people were killed.

Jones was quickly reappointed to his seat by the Nashville Metro council, and he later easily won reelection. He is represented by Jerry Martin, a Nashville lawyer and former U.S. Attorney, as well as New York and Washington D.C.-based attorneys.

Sexton did not immediately respond to The Tennessean, part of the USA TODAY Network, and its request for comment.

'Just the beginning': How push for gun reform has spread across Tennessee ahead of special session

Rep. Justin Jones alleges House Republicans violated his rights

The Nashville Democrat now argues the expulsion "robbed" him of committee appointments and washed out his legislative tenure of a few months, which could affect his standing for benefits in the Tennessee retirement system. Jones also argues he was forced to spend $70,000 and resources to mount a second election campaign after his expulsion.

The lawsuit alleges the expulsion proceedings violated the Fourteenth Amendment as they lacked "due process."

Though the expulsion proceedings were legislative in nature, Jones' lawsuit argues the time period between his expulsion notice on April 3 and the expulsion hearings on April 6 deprived him of adequate time and resources to prepare a sufficient defense. The lawsuit states the House was acting in a judicial capacity during the expulsion and argues the proceedings were "rigged against them from the start."

The lawsuit also points to leaked audio from a House Republican caucus meeting where the GOP fought over the failed expulsion vote of state Rep. Gloria Johnson as Republicans grappled with the intense public backlash over the proceedings.

In the audio, Tennessee House Majority Whip Johnny Garrett admonishes a colleague for asking questions of Johnson during the hearing, "as if that would have made a difference.

We had the jury already. This obviously wasnt a trial  but I knew every single one of your vote counts. I knew that we did not have to convince you all, Garrett said in the audio.

'We will be back': Covenant families disappointed in Tennessee special session, vow to press ahead

Lawsuit challenges House rules restricting lawmaker, floor comments

In the lawsuit, Jones also alleges the new rules established in the special session are unconstitutional. Republicans adopted the rules over the objections of Democrats as lawmakers began a contentious session over public safety issues following the Covenant School shooting.

The rules allowed the House to block a lawmaker from speaking in committees and on the House floor if they cause a substantial disruption, or "impugn the reputation" of another House member. The new rules also banned members of the public from carrying signs in House galleries and committee meetings, which has long been allowed.

The rules sparked major controversy and roiled public opinion within days, as members of the public and mothers advocating for increased gun safety regulations were kicked out of a committee meeting for carrying signs.

House Republicans, who hold a supermajority in the chamber, later voted to silence Jones after Sexton ruled he had twice spoken out of order. The vote moved the Democratic caucus to walk off the floor en masse and protest what they viewed as an unequitable application of the rules Republicans established and wield with little oversight.

Reach Melissa Brown at mabrown@tennessean.com.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: 'Tennessee Three' Rep. Justin Jones sues House Speaker over expulsion
In the footprint of an ancient supervolcano in northern Nevada, researchers made a discovery that could change the future of clean energy in the U.S. and accelerate the pace of Tennessee's booming electric car industry 2,000 miles to the east.

Embedded in the volcanic clay of Thacker Pass near the Oregon border is the world's largest deposit of lithium, a vital element for rechargeable batteries in electric cars, smartphones and electric grid storage. The mineral-rich sediment, left by an eruption some 16 million years ago, could upend both global and domestic supply chains in the U.S.'s favor.

For Tennessee companies investing in EV technology, the welcome news could mean faster consumer adoption of electric cars and a more sustainable market for their products.

Lithium batteries were called the "new oil" by Elon Musk, CEO of the world's leading EV manufacturer Tesla, because of the central role they play in the rapidly expanding EV market. American automakers like GM and Ford have scrambled to source more lithium from within the U.S. and ramp up domestic EV and battery cell production, largely in Tennessee.

General Motors, the parent company of Chevrolet, Buick and GMC, invested $650 million in the Thacker Pass project to get exclusive rights to the lithium produced at the site in its first phase, estimated to supply the raw material for up to one million electric cars. Lithium Americas, the company that owns the site, said it plans to begin producing 80,000 tons of lithium a year beginning in 2026, for average annual earnings of over $1 billion.

The company's agreement with GM could provide a key element for the Ultium Cells plant in Spring Hill, Tennessee, a partnership between GM and South Korean company LG Energy Solution. Production at the giant $2.3 billion EV battery manufacturing plant is expected to begin later this year, bringing 1,300 jobs to Maury County. It will support GM's goal of carbon neutrality in its products and operations by 2040.

The Spring Hill plant is one of several EV production sites in every corner of Tennessee, including Ford's BlueOval City in West Tennessee and LG's planned cathode production facility in Clarksville, set to be the largest of its kind in the country.

The Spark Innovation Center at the University of Tennessee Research Park at Cherokee Farm in Knoxville advances battery research, partly through the presence of the Safire Technology Group.

American lithium supply chain could benefit Tennessee

Andrew Hanna and his co-workers at the Safire Technology Group have discussed the monumental news from Lithium Americas, even though lithium mining is far upstream from the company's work on lithium-ion battery additives.

The Safire Group is busy commercializing a series of patents from Oak Ridge National Laboratory for a hybrid additive for lithium-ion batteries that is a liquid under normal operating conditions, but turns into a solid when touched or crushed, much like cornstarch in water. The Safe Impact Resistant Electrolyte, or SAFIRE, protects drivers or operators from fires in the event of a crash. It was invented by Gabriel Veith, a distinguished staff scientist in the national lab's chemical sciences division.

Hanna, who leads product development and branding for Safire, said its identity as an American company is central to its success. The company announced earlier this year that it would invest in Knoxville with a research space at the Spark Innovation Center at the University of Tennessee's Cherokee Research Farm.

"American-made energy, and I would say even an American integrated supply chain from the upstream minerals through the value chain of battery manufacturing, is very important to us, Hanna said. Were very proud to be a part of that American supply chain.

Safire has contracts with the U.S. Department of Defense and U.S. Air Force, where preventing fires from lithium-ion batteries is critical. In that sense, the company is like the lab where its product began. ORNL, the largest of the Department of Energy's national labs, often works with the federal government on pressing national issues like clean energy and national security.

After its scientists have invented technologies with industrial applications, the lab sometimes licenses them to companies like Safire. The news that the U.S. might now be home to the world's largest lithium deposit could mean a speeding up in the battery supply chain that gives Safire its purpose and that brought it to Knoxville.

A major part of our business model is to be in electric vehicles and to the extent that thats accelerated and adopted more readily, as an American company based in the U.S., the better for our business and our technology," Hanna said.

ORNL announced in September that its researchers had developed a lithium-ion battery material that recharges 80% in 10 minutes and maintains that recharging speed for 1,500 cycles. The lab has not announced a licensing agreement for the material.

As Knoxville and Oak Ridge companies apply their research acumen to lithium-ion batteries, their discoveries could impact manufacturing at the Ford mega plant under construction in the town of Stanton outside of Memphis. BlueOval City, the largest of Ford's plants, will produce EV batteries and build the company's next generation of electric truck in a pair of facilities with close to 6,000 jobs added.

Why one lithium company chose East Tennessee for new facility

In East Tennessee, Piedmont Lithium is bringing a lithium production facility to the town of Etowah in McMinn County. The plant will convert a hard rock sourced in Ghana into a lithium ion for use in batteries, adding 120 jobs. Construction on the Tennessee Lithium facility is expected to begin mid-2024 and finish in 2026, said Austin Devaney, the company's chief commercial officer.

Piedmont Lithium, based in North Carolina, chose East Tennessee largely because of the Tennessee Valley Authority, which Devaney said makes the region a very attractive place to produce products that utilize energy and reduce the carbon footprint while doing that. The lithium produced at the facility will be sold to cathode producers, who then sell their product to battery cell producers.

Though there are very few cathode producers in the U.S., LG Chem, the parent company of LG Energy Solutions, announced last year a $3.2 billion investment in Clarksville for the nation's largest cathode manufacturing facility. By 2027, the company hopes to produce material for 1.2 million EV batteries each year at the West Tennessee plant.

Piedmont Lithium is preparing to construct an $800 million lithium production facility in the town of Etowah in McMinn County, Tennessee, highlighting the region's role as a national center for EV-related manufacturing.

As we transition to an electric vehicle and transportation economy, I think it's important that we do everything we can in our power to have that capability reside within the United States, as opposed to any foreign adversary, Devaney said. If the United States is going to succeed in transitioning to electric vehicles, we need other people to also bring on capacity and it's a lot of heavy lifting and a lot of money."

The Etowah facility is expected to cost more than $800 million, Devaney said. The project received a $142 million grant from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law in fall 2022.

Though Piedmont Lithium will source raw material from Ghana through a partnership with Atlantic Lithium, Devaney said the company was sending geologists "all over the world to look for additional minerals, here in the United States and abroad.

More domestic lithium means lower EV costs down the road

The Biden administration wants 50% of all new vehicle sales to be electric in 2030. By that year, the lithium-ion battery market is expected to have grown five to 10 times bigger, according to the Federal Consortium for Advanced Batteries. In its National Blueprint for Lithium Batteries, the consortium of federal departments said the U.S. will establish a secure battery materials and technology supply chain by 2030. Its top goals are to secure domestic raw materials and processing.

The EV revolution has been felt in all corners of the lithium-ion battery industry, even by companies that don't make batteries for automakers like Ford and GM.

Kevin Bennett owns Lithium Pros, a Knoxville company that specializes in making marine and racing lithium-ion batteries. The company builds battery packs, not battery cells, the complex devices that convert chemical energy into an electric charge. Lithium Pros purchases cells from a company in China, which Bennett said is the "absolute leader" in lithium-ion batteries.

The U.S., meanwhile, is in a game of catch-up. Last October, President Biden announced the creation of the American Battery Materials Initiative, pushing the entire federal government to invest in domestic EV battery raw materials and production. The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law alone put $7 billion into the industry, much of it through Department of Energy grants.

Bennett is getting more and more calls asking if he can produce 400-volt battery packs, the minimum power needed for an EV. His company currently produces packs of 48 volts or fewer, but is considering retooling to meet EV demand.

A construction woker drives a vehicle past the Ultium Cells sign at the plant in Spring Hill, Tenn. on Thursday, Aug. 3, 2023.

It's unstoppable, and the United States has to realize that we're behind the curve worldwide, Bennett said. China has a lot more EVs than the United States does. Europe is more electrified and has more diesel than the United States. So it's not like the United States came up with this idea. The United States is behind the curve.

Though lithium takes up a tiny percentage of a battery pack by volume, the scarcity of the element makes it the critical ingredient. As more and more sources of lithium are found, like in the volcanic sediment of Nevada or the briny springs of Southern California's Salton Sea, the cost of lithium has decreased.

In the 12 years he's been in the business, Bennett said, costs for lithium-ion battery cells have decreased 80%. Though the price of lithium is expected to rise in the immediate future with increased EV demand, it is expected to fall long-term as supply of the raw material increases. That means cheaper electric cars for consumers across the country, including in Tennessee.

When you go to buy a car, it's going to make the overall cost of the battery pack in the car less, Bennett said. I think long-term, electric cars will be less expensive than gasoline cars.

Why are lithium and Thacker Pass so vital to the future of electric cars?

Lithium was first found at Thacker Pass in the 1970s and the site was known to be the largest lithium deposit in the U.S., but is now believed to hold between 20 and 40 million tons of lithium, far outstripping the previous world record holder, a salt flat in Bolivia. The revised estimate was published in an academic article written by researchers with Lithium Americas, GNS Science and Oregon State University.

Lithium stores electricity at a high density, making it ideal for batteries that fuel electric cars and store solar and wind energy. A high-stakes global rush to find new sources of the metal, which is most abundant in hard rock and salt brines, has cost billions of dollars. Global consumption of lithium increased 41% in 2022 over the year before and, excluding the U.S., global lithium production increased 21% to 130,000 tons in the same time, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

The U.S. imports nearly all of its lithium from Argentina, Chile and China. In addition to extracting lithium, China dominates the lithium processing and EV battery supply chain. In a statement adjoining millions in funding for EV research, the Department of Energy said the reliance on imports presented "a vulnerability in the domestic supply chain."

These global dynamics could begin to shift if Lithium Americas meets its goal of beginning production in 2026, an objective complicated by protests from environmentalists and Native American tribes with ancestral ties to the land. The company signed an agreement with a Nevada tribe last October including a pledge to build a community center for the tribe with a daycare and cultural facility.

Capital costs to begin production are $2.2 billion, the company reports, and include construction of a sulfuric acid plant to produce carbon-free power for on-site lithium processing.

With the Nevada deposit added to its arsenal, the U.S. is in a position to become the "Saudi Arabia of lithium," said Sanjiv Malhotra, founder and CEO of Sparkz, a lithium-ion battery manufacturer that partnered with Oak Ridge National Laboratory to license cobalt-free technology. By developing lithium-ion batteries free of nickel and cobalt, Sparkz already is able to source much of its material from inside the U.S., making the domestic supply chain its central focus.

Companies that focus on domestic EV battery supply will be instrumental to the Biden administration's goal of a carbon-free electric grid by 2035. Though it is based in California, Sparkz operates a research and development center in Knoxville.

"The United States is well on its way to become basically the global leader in electrification of vehicles and particularly for lithium batteries, as long as we're not dependent on nickel and cobalt and any other raw material that is sourced from sources that are not aligned with us geopolitically," Malhotra said. "This provides the U.S. with, I would say, a major leg over China in essentially building a hub in the United States."

Daniel Dassow is a growth and development reporter focused on technology. Phone 423-637-0878. Email daniel.dassow@knoxnews.com.

Support strong local journalism by subscribing at knoxnews.com/subscribe.

This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Tennessee EV manufacturing benefits from lithium deposit in Nevada
Los Angeles police are investigating after Turkish diplomats were reportedly attacked by Armenian protesters after a conference at USC. (Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times)

The fall of Nagorno-Karabakh, the separatist region of Azerbaijan populated mainly by ethnic Armenians, has spurred condemnation and anger in Southern California, home to a large population of Armenian Americans.

After the long-running conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh escalated in recent years, igniting further protests, Azerbaijan took back the enclave in a lightning blitz last month  leading tensions in L.A. to boil over into violence at one of the latest demonstrations.

On Friday, Armenian protesters at USC allegedly attacked Turkish diplomats, including Turkish Ambassador to the U.S. Hasan Murat Mercan, who had spoken at an event sponsored by the Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism, according to video posted by a Turkish reporter.

Turkey has been a vocal supporter of Azerbaijan in Nagorno-Karabakh, where it has bolstered the nation's military.

Read more: Armenians who fled Turkish rule decades ago despair over Nagorno-Karabakh. 'This appears to be our fate'

Video posted to X, formerly known as Twitter, purportedly shows Armenian protesters assaulting members of the Turkish Embassy, according to Burak Dogan, a reporter for a conservative Turkish outlet with close ties to the administration of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. One man is seen throwing liquid at a diplomat while another man pushes a person and kicks a rolling backpack.

Los Angeles police said major crimes detectives were investigating two reports of battery with possible hate crime enhancements and a report of criminal threats in connection with the incident. No arrests have been made.

USC officials declined to comment and referred all questions to the LAPD.

The Turkish Embassy blamed the clash on "radical Armenian groups," with protests that included "verbal and physical assaults against our delegation," it said in a statement on X.

"All legal avenues will be pursued against the perpetrators of physical violence directed at our delegation," the embassy said.

Read more: 'Staying, for us, is impossible.' Thousands of ethnic Armenians flee Nagorno-Karabakh

Turkish graduate students at USC said the incident "deeply affected our sense of security and belonging."

"The growing negative attitude towards those of Turkish origin is a cause for serious concern," the Turkish Graduate Students Assn. at USC wrote in an Instagram post. "We fervently appeal to Turkish institutions and officials to address this issue with the gravity it demands."

The Armenian Students Assn. of USC distanced itself from the reportedly violent protesters and condemned their actions, saying in a statement that students "exercised exclusively peaceful tactics of civil disobedience and did not partake in non-peaceful acts."

The association said it had voiced concerns to USC about the event, a conference on the role of public diplomacy in Turkish foreign policy.

"Today and this week, USC subjected its Armenian student population to unimaginable cruelty," the association said. "In our period of mourning, USC Annenberg not only refused to cancel an event celebrating Turkish foreign policy but also responded to student efforts  with excessive use of force."

Read more: Nagorno-Karabakh's separatist government says it will disband by year's end

Video posted on Instagram by the Armenian Youth Federation  Western United States showed pro-Armenian protesters fighting with campus police officers outside Wallis Annenberg Hall.

In late September, Azerbaijan waged a military campaign in Nagorno-Karabakh, an area known to Armenians as the Republic of Artsakh.

Separatists were faced with a much larger military force and a continuing blockade that starved them of supplies, the Associated Press reported. They quickly capitulated, with leaders saying they would dissolve their internationally unrecognized government by year's end.

Tens of thousands of ethnic Armenians, fearing ethnic cleansing, have fled Nagorno-Karabakh.

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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Lawmakers head back to Austin on Monday for their third special session of 2023 with issues like education freedom and border security on the docket.

It has been speculated for months that lawmakers would be called back in October, but the agenda set by Gov. Greg Abbott wasnt announced until Wednesday afternoon. As expected, Abbotts special session call includes legislation for a voucher-like program the governor has made a top priority  education savings accounts, allowing parents to use taxpayer dollars for their childs private education.

Together, we will chart a brighter future for all Texas children by empowering parents to choose the best education option for their child, Abbott said in a Wednesday statement.

Abbotts agenda also includes measures aimed at curbing illegal immigration, ending certain COVID-19 restrictions and policies related to the Houston-area community of Colony Ridge in Liberty County. The neighborhood has been the subject of unsubstantiated claims that it its a magnet for immigrants in the country illegally, according to the Associated Press.

The governor sets the agenda for special sessions. Earlier special sessions over the summer largely focused on property tax cuts.

The following is on the agenda for the session starting at 1 p.m. Monday.

Legislation providing education savings accounts for all Texas schoolchildren.

Legislation to do more to reduce illegal immigration by creating a criminal offense for illegal entry into this state from a foreign nation and authorizing all licensed peace officers to remove illegal immigrants from Texas.

Legislation to impede illegal entry into Texas by increasing the penalties for certain criminal conduct involving the smuggling of persons or the operation of a stash house.

Legislation to impede illegal entry into Texas by providing more funding for the construction, operation, and maintenance of border barrier infrastructure.

Legislation concerning public safety, security, environmental quality, and property ownership in areas like the Colony Ridge development in Liberty County, Texas.

Legislation prohibiting COVID-19 vaccine mandates by private employers.

Abbott elaborated on his ideas for the policies in his statement accompanying the special session announcement.

Texas will also pass laws to mirror the federal immigration laws President Joe Biden refuses to enforce that will reduce illegal immigration and enhance the safety of Texans, He said, continuing that the state will also subject people to arrest for illegal entry into our state from a foreign nation.

All licensed law enforcement officers in Texas will be authorized to arrest or remove any person who illegally enters the State, with penalties up to 20 years in prison for refusing to comply with removal, Abbott said. To crack down on repeated attempts to enter Texas illegally, re-entry will be penalized with up to 20 years in prison.

Tensions will likely be high between the House and Senate, particularly between House Speaker Dade Phelan and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, and within the Republican Party as lawmakers return to the Capitol. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxtons impeachment in the House and subsequent acquittal in the Senate has exasperated the divides.

The majority of House lawmakers have previously rejected using state money voucher-like programs. The entanglement of education savings accounts with the push for teacher pay raises added another wrinkle during the regular session that ended in late May.

Democrats on Wednesday pushed back on Abbotts plan for education savings accounts.

No one wants Abbotts voucher plan, said Rep. Chris Turner, an Arlington Democrat in a campaign email. What Texans want is to fund public schools, pay our teachers better and fix our flawed accountability system.
On Friday, Rep. Joaquin Castro (DTexas) will introduce a resolution that rebukes a growing trend among Republicans to push for the U.S. to conduct military operations against Mexican cartels without the Mexican government's permission or proper authorization by the U.S. Congress. Such actions could "be considered an act of war and a violation of international law" and could "violate the constitutional separation of powers and implicate the War Powers Resolution," notes Castro's resolution.

"My resolution is both a statement of opposition to the use of force against Mexico and a statement that the White House cannot unilaterally use force," Castro tells Reason. "It's important to send a strong message that Congress would be opposed to any president making the unilateral decision to invade one of our allies."

Castro's resolution explains that the president has the "power to repel sudden attacks on United States persons and territory." It clarifies, however, that "the manufacture, transportation, and sale of fentanyl and related chemical compounds is not considered an armed invasion or sudden attack by a foreign adversary."

Therefore, it "should not serve as the basis for using military force without congressional authorization," the resolution continues.

Castro says that fentanyl overdoses are "a public health crisis and [need] to be treated like one." When asked which policies he supports to reduce fentanyl-related deaths, his answer stops short of some of the harm-reduction and drug-decriminalization policies prescribed by libertarians. Rather, he mentions increased federal funding for "treatment, recovery, and prevention services," and expanded collaboration "between the U.S. and Mexican law enforcement and public health agencies to prevent youth drug use." Castro also says he supports the Biden administration's National Drug Control Strategy, "which expands access to harm reduction and treatment programs while giving law enforcement more tools to intercept illegal drugs." He hopes the federal government will keep cracking down on pharmaceutical companies "that made billions from opioid addiction"an approach that Reason's Jacob Sullum has criticized.

Castro's resolution comes amid heightened calls on the right to take a variety of heavy-handed and interventionist measures against Mexican drug cartels. Each candidate at the first two Republican presidential debates pushed for a more militarized border, with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis going so far as to suggest sending U.S. Special Forces into Mexico.

Former President Donald Trump spoke about conducting missile strikes against cartel drug labs as early as 2020, The New York Times reported this week. Reps. Mike Waltz (RFla.) and Dan Crenshaw (RTexas) helped bring the matter back into the legislative limelight in January when they introduced a joint resolution that would authorize the president to "use all necessary and appropriate force" against "foreign nations, foreign organizations, or foreign persons" involved in fentanyl production or trafficking. Congress has ceded so much of its constitutionally prescribed war-declaration authority to the president for eight decades now; it shouldn't cede more to combat cartels.

Even as Republicans express skepticism about the U.S. intervening in foreign affairscriticizing the war in Afghanistan or the government's ongoing aid to Ukraine, for instancethey're increasingly calling for direct military action at the southern border and on Mexican soil. This approach shows disregard for the lessons of the war on drugs and the war on terror alike.

It also has the potential to severely complicate cross-border migration. David J. Bier, associate director of immigration studies at the Cato Institute, previously told Reason that he thought "the Mexican government would refuse any collaboration with the United States on immigration" if "the U.S. government conducted military strikes on Mexican soil." Castro takes a similar tone: "If the U.S. invaded Mexico," progress made by the Biden administration "to build partnerships with Mexico and other countries in Latin America to invest in regional resettlement and manage regional migration pressureswould immediately come to a halt."

"Military strikes against Mexico are the quickest way to destabilize Mexico and send millions of people fleeing across the borderincluding Americans who have an immediate right to return and Mexican citizens fleeing from the conflict," Castro tells Reason. "Anyone who is concerned about the current volume of migration should be vehemently opposed to war with Mexico."

The post Texas Rep. Joaquin Castro Warns Military Strikes Within Mexico Could 'Be Considered an Act of War' appeared first on Reason.com.
A new shot for newborns' severe RSV (respiratory syncytial virus) may not be available this 2023 despite having high effectiveness against the respiratory virus.

Experts said that the main thing preventing the efficient Beyfortus is a simple loophole in health insurance companies. Here's what the CDC and AAP discussed during their recent meeting.

This Effective RSV Shot for Newborns Has 80% Effectiveness

According to CNN's latest report, the high-anticipated Beyfortus is considered to be the latest weapon of parents and health experts against severe RSV cases.

Beyfortus is an antibody called "nirsevimab," which was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in July. Both parents and pediatricians were filled with joy after knowing that the new medicine had been approved.

This is because over 80,000 kids under the age of 5 are hospitalized in the U.S. because of the serious respiratory virus. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimated that as many as 300 babies die annually.

"Every pediatrician is jumping for joy that this preventative tool is available for newborns because we see what happens when a healthy baby gets this terrible infection," said Dr. Sallie Permar.

Based on its clinical trials, the new RSV immunization shot has an 80% effectiveness, as reported by OPB. Due to this performance, numerous doctors and other health experts consider it as a game-changer for infant patients.

Read Also: FDA Advisers Skeptical of Experimental ALS Treatment as Patient Advocates Push for Approval

Why Beyfortus May Not Be Available This 2023

Unfortunately, the Beyfortus may not be available this 2023, as confirmed in the recent meeting of the American Academic of Pediatrics and CDC Director Dr. Mandy Cohen.

This is because of uncertainties about health insurance coverage. Under the Affordable Care Act, insurance providers are required to cover the cost of Beyfortus and other immunizations without any financial assistance or payments from patients.

However, a loophole in this law prevents the fast distribution of the Beyfortus. The issue here is health insurance companies are allowed to add new products to their plans for a year.

Because of this, it is unclear how fast these health insurance providers will act or how much of Beyfortus supplies they will cover.

"We are so thrilled to have something available, but to then have it be so close but then still not getting it into arms, it's tragic," said Dr. Permar, who is the chair of the Department of Pediatrics at Weill Cornell Medicine and New York-Presbyterian Hospital.

She added that they are still making efforts so that the new RSV shot can be rolled out effectively. But, Permar clarified that it may take more time than expected.

Related Article: CDC Phases Out COVID-19 Vaccination Cards: Do You Need To Keep Your Document To Travel Abroad?

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By Panu Wongcha-um and Panarat Thepgumpanat

BANGKOK (Reuters) - Thailand's progressive opposition party on Thursday filed a draft bill seeking amnesty for potentially thousands of people charged with crimes during political rallies, including insulting the monarchy, over nearly two decades of turmoil.

The bill submitted to parliament would cover all political demonstrations since 2006, a period of intermittent turbulence that has seen two coups, the removal by courts of three prime ministers, and crippling, sometimes violent street protests.

The Move Forward Party, which won a May election but failed to form a government, is proposing forming a committee comprised of the house speaker and representatives of government, the opposition and judiciary, to decide who is eligible for amnesty.

"We did not specify offenses because there are so many cases and the timeframe is broad," party leader Chaithawat Tulathon said, adding the bill stipulates those involved in insurrection, causing harm to lives, or abuse of power in security crackdowns would not be eligible.

Move Forward won the election on an anti-establishment platform that included reforming a law that shields the monarchy from criticism, a plan that outraged royalists, the military and conservatives legislators, who joined forces to keep the party out of government.

It is unclear how much support Move Forward has for the latest amnesty plan. A previous bid by the now-ruling Pheu Thai Party in 2013 backfired, triggering protests and later, a coup.

More than 4,400 people have been charged with offenses relating to political rallies since 2006, according to a Reuters calculation, which includes cases that have since concluded.

Figures from legal aid group, Thai Lawyers for Human Rights, show 1,928 people prosecuted over political rallies, with 258 people charged with royal insults in the past three years.

Five hundred people aligned with conservative political groups, including "yellow shirts" involved in a 2009 blockade of two international airports and of the seat of government in 2008, 2013 and 2014, have been charged with offences, said Puangtip Boonsanong, a lawyer involved in many of those cases.

Thida Thavornseth, a leading figure in a rival "red shirt" movement that stormed an Asian leaders' summit in 2009 and a year later occupied Bangkok's commercial heart for 10 weeks, told Reuters more than 2,000 of its supporters had been prosecuted.

(Reporting by Panu Wongcha-um and Panarat Thepgumpanat; Editing by Martin Petty)
Google has finally released a version of Gmail for Wear OS to accompany the launch of the Pixel Watch 2, as originally spotted by 9to5Google. The company teased this feature back in May at I/O, but we were left wondering when it would actually launch. Well, here it is, giving you prime wrist access to your emails.

This has been a long-awaited option for Wear OS users, as Google hasnt offered a direct way to access Gmail with its smartwatches, outside of notifications, until now. Being as how Gmail is one of the companys tentpole offerings, its a mystery as to why it took this long. Still, better late than never.

The app seems robust, with options to refresh your inbox, scroll through emails and even switch between multiple accounts on the fly. You can also adjust the overall settings so new email notifications pop up on the watchs face as you go about your day. The app works with 2021s Wear OS 3 and the just-released Wear OS 4, so those with slightly older smartwatches can also read an endless barrage of campaign donation emails. Gmail for Wear OS is available now via the Google Play Store.

Back at I/O, Google also announced that the companys Calendar app was coming to Wear OS, but that has yet to materialize. Calendar for Wear OS is expected to allow users to check schedules, RSVP to invites, update tasks and to-do lists and more. Additionally, Googles smart home ecosystem will soon get improved Wear OS integration, letting you answer your Nest doorbell from your wrist.

However, as Wear OS 3 and Wear OS 4 continue to gain new features, the companys older smartwatch operating systems are losing features. Google recently announced that its proprietary voice assistant would no longer work on watches running anything before Wear OS 3.
 Read the full article on Motorious

Car thieves are the worst

Having your car stolen feels like a complete violation. And while thats true if its just your Hyundai Accent commuter vehicle, having a classic car youve owned and lovingly restored swiped by criminals is just so much worse. A man in Pierce County, Washington knows what that feels like and more after his beloved 1979 Chevy Malibu was taken then later found stripped and dumped.

Check out the wildest stolen car stories here.

According to Fox 13 Seattle, the guy heard the thieves taking his 79 Malibu from his driveway and called 911. Predictably, authorities did nothing. After all, their resources have been slashed away and violent crimes have also surged, plus car thefts are just so rampant. Its an unfortunate thing. Plus, nobody at 911 was answering, a sad reality in many areas these days for all the previously mentioned reasons.

Thanks to news coverage of the theft, the owner was able to get his Chevy back. But the thieves had stripped it down to the frame because they only care about themselves. They removed the entire red leather interior, wheels, hood, engine, transmission, and anything else they found of value on the car.

The owner told Fox 13 he estimates it would take about $30,000 to restore the car. We wonder if hell dare to sink the money into the ride or will just let it go.

Car theft is certainly a big threat to this hobby these days. If you have a nice ride, criminals are looking to make a quick buck off you. And with police resources strained, theyre having an easier time doing that.

We recommend putting any hobby car in a secure garage, even locking the track so the garage door opener isnt the only thing keeping people out. Other devices to keep anyone from starting and taking your ride is a good idea, too.

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A third meeting to prepare for a future summit on the peace formula proposed by Kyiv may be held in October in Turkiye.

Source: Bloomberg, citing its sources, as reported by European Pravda

Details: People familiar with the matter have confirmed that the meeting is planned at the level of national security advisors and is set to take place "later this month" in Istanbul.

As before, Russia has not been invited.

The White House refused to comment on this information.

Background:

A few days ago, the Presidents Office of Ukraine stated that a third gathering of national security advisers is expected to be held this month but did not specify the location.

The previous two meetings of national security advisors concerning the peace formula were held in Copenhagen in June and in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, in August. The latter was attended by representatives of about 40 countries, including China, Brazil and India.

Ukrainska Pravda is the place where you will find the most up-to-date information about everything related to the war in Ukraine. Follow us on Twitter, support us, or become our patron!
Ana Patricia Jenkins holds her vaccination record card after receiving a COVID-19 vaccination at a pop-up clinic sponsored by the Davis County Health Department in the parking lot of Kents Market in Clearfield on June 23, 2021. | Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News

Say goodbye to the federal governments wallet-sized white cards used to track COVID-19 vaccinations throughout the pandemic.

The COVID-19 Vaccination Record Card that health care providers filled out every time they administered a coronavirus shot are no longer being distributed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Its the latest change to how the virus is being treated as a result of the national pandemic emergency ending last spring and follows the rocky rollout of the updated and newly commercialized COVID-19 vaccine.

Related

More than 980 million cards were shipped by the federal government between late 2020, when the first coronavirus vaccines came out, and May 10, The Associated Press reported, citing the latest available data.

On Wednesday, the CDCs updated frequently asked questions page about COVID-19 vaccination spelled out that the cards are history and noted the federal agency does not maintain vaccination records.

States do track vaccinations, including for COVID-19, so the CDC advises Americans to contact their state health department, which cant issue a vaccination card but can provide a digital or paper copy of their full vaccination record, not just for COVID-19.

The Utah Department of Health and Human Services isnt anticipating a flood of requests now that the COVID-19 vaccination cards are going away, the states immunizations director, Rich Lakin, said.

Thats likely because theres little call anymore for proof of COVID-19 vaccination, with a number of states, including Utah, prohibiting the shots from being required, the AARP reported.

A card is a poor way to keep an immunization record anyway, Lakin, said. Because, one, youve got to keep it with you, and two, youre most likely to lose it. So the best way to do it is to have some type of electronic record of it.

How to get your COVID-19 vaccination records

Utah contracted with the Docket mobile phone app during the pandemic to provide access to individual vaccination records, Lakin said, calling it a secure way to access immunization records in the palm on your hand.

Related

A few states also use the Docket app and some have developed their own vaccine passports, while others offer no digital immunization records for COVID-19 or other vaccinations, according to a report updated earlier this year in PC Magazine.

Heres how to obtain immunizations records in Utah:

Request a record from your health care provider.

Utah law does not require providers to submit vaccination information to the states confidential, web-based information system, known as the Utah Statewide Immunization Information Service, or USIIS, so that may be the only way to get those records.

Use the Docket app.

Utah was the first to pay to partner with app thats linked to USIIS, Lakin said, because our job as government is to try to fill some gaps where we feel we can provide Utahns better information regarding their immunizations. The Docket app is probably one of the best options.

Request a record from your local health department.

All of Utahs local health departments are linked to USIIS and can print a copy of an individuals immunizations record.

Request a record online from the state health and human services department.

Immunization records for you or your children can be requested by filling out a form and attaching a photo ID. Those who need help or have additional questions can contact the state health and human services department by email, at usiissupport@utah.gov.

Is there a better way to track vaccinations?

The federal governments vaccination card highlighted the need for a better, more centralized system of tracking immunizations, said Han Kim, a professor of public health at Westminster University in Salt Lake City.

It was just a reflection of how ill-prepared we were, how fragmented we are, Kim said. The card served a purpose. You had to show proof of vaccination to get into businesses, to get into events. We didnt have any sort of infrastructure to do that other than these cards.

Of course, there were problems with the paper cards.

Were they perfect? No, not at all. Absolutely, you can basically make copies of this, you can forge them, the professor said. His preference is a nationwide electronic system similar to Docket, but perhaps government-run because of the personal information involved.

Coming up with a single system that everyone in the U.S. uses would benefit not just public health monitoring, but also make it easier for people keep track of their shots across state lines, he said.

But will Americans ever again need a quick way to show theyve been vaccinated against COVID-19, now that indicators have been climbing across the country and in Utah since mid-summer?

Hard to say, Kim said, describing the virus as appearing to have become milder. At the same time, this has been a highly unpredictable disease. It is much more mutable than we thought. ... Its always a good idea to have a record.
The United States and NATO breathed a sigh of relief this week when the Serbian government said it would be pulling back troops after ordering a swift military buildup along its border with Kosovo. The National Security Council had referred to the buildup as a very destabilizing developmentand news of the apparent de-escalation was welcome, the U.S. State Department said.

But according to officials and experts in Kosovo who spoke with The Daily Beast, only a symptom of the problem is gone. Beneath the surface, Serbian-Kosovar tensions threaten to bubble over still, with Russia stoking them behind the scenes through a vast and entrenched influence operation in Serbia.

Russian propaganda runs rampant in Serbia, spreading falsehoods and pro-Kremlin lines on territorial ambition, violence, the war in Ukraine, and NATO and the West. The sweeping Russian disinformation and propaganda operation is aimed at stoking violence and is partly aimed at propping up Serbias efforts to control Kosovo, Kosovos ambassador to the United States, Ilir Dugolli, told The Daily Beast in an exclusive interview.

Weve seen different attempts from Russia and echoed of course in Serbia, about instigating violence, about portraying this dire situation of Serbs in the northern parts of Kosovo in particular and also in other areas to incite violent attacks and overall instability, Dugolli told The Daily Beast.

Kosovo declared independence from Serbia in 2008, after separatist ethnic Albanians fought against Serbian rule in the late 1990s, prompting a crackdown from Belgrade. A NATO bombing campaign in 1999 eventually forced Serbian forces to withdraw from Kosovo.

Putins Favorite Authoritarians in Hungary, Serbia, and France Had a Great Week

But Serbia and Russia, along with a handful of countries, have not recognized Kosovos independence. Serbias current president has vowed to never recognize Kosovos independence, and Russia has long harbored concerns about Kosovo, noting for years that it will categorically deny Kosovos independence.

In recent days, those long-standing tensions have spiraled into violence.

The alarming buildup at Serbias border with Kosovo came in quick succession after Serb gunmen stormed a village in northern Kosovo in armed vehicles, leading to a shootout, with one police officer and several gunmen killed late last month. Kosovo accused Serbia of being behind the attack, claiming Serbia sought to destabilize Kosovo.

Serbia boasts some ties with the Westit was identified as a candidate for the European Union in 2012. But Russias strong influence, combined with its control over the media and the information environment in Serbia, helps to spread narratives that further entrench pro-Russia and anti-Western sentiments that keep Belgrade in Russias orbit.

Many news outlets in Serbia are owned by oligarchs with links to Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, who maintains close ties with Russian President Vladimir Putin. In 2015, Russia established a hub for Russian state news agency Sputnik. Currently, Russia is in the process of deepening its channels for disinformation in Serbia: Russias state-funded RT said last year it would establish a local language version in Serbia, to be headed by the daughter of the editor of Sputnik.

Oozing Disinformation

The Russian narratives that have swept Serbia in recent years include anti-West and anti-NATO narratives that seek to solidify Serbian public opinion that Kosovo is not independent.

In Serbia, the focus is on reminding Serbs about NATOs bombing campaign, and blaming the West for essentially pulling Kosovo away from Serbia, said Ruslan Stefanov, co-director and co-author of the Kremlin Playbook, a joint project of the Center for the Study of Democracy (CSD) and the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

In the case of Serbia, the No. 1 narrative of course is, Dont forget NATO it helped Kosovo secede. It is a part of your country, Stefanov told The Daily Beast. This is part of NATOs expanded campaign.

In recent months, some of the most popular narratives on Russian and Serbian media in the country involve Kosovo, Goran Georgiev, an analyst with CSD, said.

The topic of Kosovo is the main topic for Sputnik and RT and also for local media, the majority of which are pro-Russian, Georgiev told The Daily Beast.

Armend Nimani/AFP via Getty Images

According to data from Similarweb CSD shared with The Daily Beast, the most popular sites by traffic in Serbia are Kurir.rsboasting 60.7 million visits in Augustfollowed by Blic.rs, Novosti.rs, sd.rs, and RTS.rs, many of which spread pro-Russia lines. On Facebook, Sputnik and RT have garnered the most interactions in the last 30 days, according to data from CrowdTangle.

The Serbian media space is filled with mischaracterization of facts and propaganda, with Alo and Kurir.rs accounting for over half of the news spreading disinformation, according to a watchdog report from CRTA, the Center for Research, Transparency and Accountability. Vecernje novosti and Informer, two dailies, are the next most egregious offenders, according to the analysis.

Sputnik in Serbias homepage has been brazen about Kosovo in recent days. One headline lamented that The Wests action has never been more morbid: They do not know that the day of mourning for the Serbs lasts until freedom comes to Kosovo, echoing a longstanding belief in Serbia that Kosovo is under a kind of occupation.

The piece claims the deadly attack in Kosovo represents a hatred in Kosovo towards Serbs lives. Evil reigns in Kosovo, the piece states.

In another piece, Sputnik trumped up comments from the president of the National Assembly of Serbia, Vladimir Orlic, blaming Kosovo for the soaring tensions. He pointed out that the situation is extremely difficult with Kosovo right now, the story noted, adding it is solely the fault of Aljbin Kurti, the prime minister of Kosovo.

The homepage of Kurir.rs has also paid homage to Serbias territorial ambition in Kosovo this week. On Wednesday, one piece focused on denying Kosovos independence, while noting optimism about Serbias effort to work with the likes of Russia and China on Kosovo and defending Serbias territory.

More broadly, narratives about territorial ambition in Serbia have closely followed Russian perspectives on violence and war. In the case of Russias war in Ukraine, Russian media and Serbian media have focused on spreading fake information about the war in Ukraine. Headlines such as Ukraine started a war against Russia, or Ukrainian troops shelled the maternity hospital cropped up in Serbia shortly after Russia invaded Ukraine, according to Vox Ukraine and the Centre for International Crisis and Conflict Studies (CECRI).

The Most Sincere Form of Flattery

The military buildup and violent incidents in recent days have raised questions about whether further escalation in the Balkans is on the horizon, and who is to blame.

Concern has grown in Kosovo that Russian influence has played a part. Serbia is likely taking inspiration from Russias effort to seize Ukraine following Putins invasion of Ukraine, Kosovos ambassador to the United States said.

With the war in Ukraine there was the realization of their aspirations against my country would kind of be easier, Dugolli told The Daily Beast.

Serbia mimics Russia, and tries to mimic Russia in their hegemonic aspirations by threatening the existence of neighboring countries, Dugolli added. They have this sort of hegemonic mindset.

Belgrade has long been conducting military buildups at its border with Kosovo. Last year, Serbia sent troops to the border. In 2021, too, Serbia sent warplanes.

Russias ambassador cheered on the escalation, Kosovo claimed at the UN. Russias ambassador had visited a Serbian garrison at the time while it was in a state of increased combat readiness.

From Kosovos perspective, the longstanding aim is to create an environment where escalation is so commonplace that when an eventual territorial grab in Kosovo comes, it will look like the status quo.

What theyve been doing for years now is theyve raised the army to the highest levels several times, theyve amassed their army at the border, Ambassador Dugolli said. This is one part of their plan to try to normalize threat of force, to escalate.

In parallel efforts, disinformation on the topic has festered in Serbia. In 2020, Twitter took down a network of thousands of trolls that promoted Serbias ruling party and applauded its policies on Kosovo.

One of the troll armys tweets with the most engagement noted that: Kosovo is not a state but is part of Serbia and no compromise can be found, according to a Stanford analysis of Twitters release. (Twitter and X have deleted the post about the network.)

Russian outlets in Serbia through the years have promoted stories about Kosovo being at the heart of Serbian history to promote the push to take it back. And on the flip side, media outlets close to the Serbian government have run disinformation campaigns on Kosovo in attempts to make it look like Kosovos westward lean was in jeopardy.

While the status of Serbia-Kosovo tensions is grave now, Dugolli said he fears the worst is yet to come.

Not Now, Europe. Second War Threatens to Explode

They are really looking for that good moment, where they would try to destabilize entirely, try to have territorial gains, Dugolli added. They want to have an incursion.

For Putin, a Serbian-Kosovar conflict may serve as a gift as his war flags in Ukraine. A flashpoint between Serbia and Kosovo could distract NATO, which maintains a peacekeeping force in Kosovo.

Ensnaring the region could also serve a larger Russian goal of keeping Serbia and Kosovo at loggerheads to help Russia project power and control in the region.

Looking at the Kremlin playbook I wouldnt be surprised if it was actually caused by some desperation or sort of somebody somewhere along the line of chain of command saying, Hey how about we cheer up our dear leader at some point and do something? Stefanov said.

Dugolli said the faltering war was likely a trigger for Serbia to take action.

The fact that the war hasnt gone as Russia was hoping and the leadership in Serbia were hoping as well, maybe that created an initiative theyre trying to reposition themselves, Dugolli said. Russia would benefit from opening up another front.

Erkin Keci/Anadolu Agency via Getty.

Russias interest in stirring tension between Serbia and Kosovo is rooted in broader territorial ambition as well, according to Kosovos president, Vjosa Osmani.

Osmani called the recent flashpoint a Crimea-style annexation attempt in an interview on CNN, in a reference to the Ukrainian peninsula Russia illegally annexed in 2014.

The president added she harbors concerns that Putin is pulling strings behind the scenes. The incident shows Serbia is working to allow Putin to open a new front in the West, in the western Balkans, Osmani said.

Puppet Master

Russia has had fertile ground in Serbia to spread the Kremlin line for yearsbut Belgrade has taken on a particularly unshakeable role in channeling Russian influence in recent months.

Just in the last year, the European Union banned Russian-controlled media operating in their countries since Russia invaded Ukraine. But Belgrade has not shut off the spout of Russian propaganda, allowing Serbia to serve as a key foothold for Russian influence in the region.

Serbia has allowed the free rein of Russian propaganda, Stefanov said, leading to a cycle of amplification among politicians, the public, and Serbian media outlets citing Russian outlets. These same lines are parroted by major political parties which of course amplifies that.

The Serbian media landscapes reach is not just local. While a majority of the traffic to Kurir.rs in August came from Serbia, for instance, over 20 percent of traffic also came from Bosnia, Montenegro, North Macedonia, and Croatia, CSDs Georgiev noted.

The Serbian language is a gateway to informational influence in former Yugoslavia for Serbian political actors, as well as the Kremlin, Georgiev said.

Heavy lifting for Russian influence operations in Serbia is not always necessary.

At times, the line between where Russian disinformation and Serbian disinformation end and where organic sentiment begins can be difficult to discern. In Serbia, the disinformation space is characterized by people looking for information that reinforces their deeply ingrained beliefs about the West and Kosovo they have held for years.

On Ukraine, only 12 percent of Serbs polled said that they believed it was necessary for Russia to withdraw in order to achieve peace, echoing a classic stance from Moscow, according to a poll conducted by Datapraxis and YouGov in coordination with the Open Society Foundations last year. As many as 63 percent of Serbs polled held the West responsible for the war in Ukraine, not Russia.

The Serb public buys into opposition to Kosovos independence as well: 52 percent of Serbs believe Serbia should not recognize Kosovo.

There is a lot of authentic, natural behavior mixed in, Georgiev said.

Through the years, Russia has made a point in Serbia to execute a classic influence operation that works to juice existing sentiments and tension.

In the case of Serbia, when you have a population that has been so heavily exposed and really bombarded with ultra-nationalistic narratives, authoritarian narratives, highly emotional narratives from the bombing to today, society adopts that whole mentality, Georgiev said. This information breathes for itself.

Read more at The Daily Beast.

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The three Philadelphia police officers injured in a shootout Wednesday evening were responding to a home where people were arguing about a video game, authorities said.

Two officers were shot in the leg and one in the hand, which differs from initial reports. All three were hospitalized in stable condition.

The suspect was killed, Acting Police Commissioner John Stanford told The Associated Press.

Stanford said officers were dispatched to the residence shortly after 7 p.m. A 12-year-old boy said his father had shot his uncle following a dispute about a loud video game, FOX 29 reported.

NORTHEAST PHILADELPHIA SHOOTING LEAVES 3 OFFICERS WOUNDED, SUSPECTED GUNMAN DEAD

Authorities say three Philadelphia police officers responding to a home where people were arguing about a video game were wounded in a shootout Wednesday evening.

The boy and the uncle called police.

READ ON THE FOX NEWS APP

Stanford said when police arrived the father opened fire. The man was killed when officers fired back, he said.

The uncle was hospitalized in critical condition. A woman and the child left the house apparently uninjured, police said.

"Thankful that these officers will be okay, and I wish them a full and speedy recovery." Mayor Jim Kenney said on X.

Council member Katherine Gilmore Richardson said on the social media platform that she was "deeply saddened and very angry to learn of the shooting of three Philadelphia Police Officers in Northeast Philadelphia."

Police say the gunman was known to the department and was suffering from a mental illness, according to FOX 29.

PHILADELPHIA MOTORCYCLIST CHARGED AFTER ALLEGEDLY KICKING IN WINDSHIELD, WAVING GUN AT DRIVER IN VIOLENT VIDEO

Philadelphia, like many U.S. cities, has grappled with a crime surge in recent years. The city surpassed 500 homicides the last two years, and overall crime was up nearly 16% year-to-date, according to Philadelphia Police Department data..

The city faced nearly 70,000 property crimes in 2022, a 30% increase from the year prior, according to Philadelphia Police Department data. Armed robberies, meanwhile, have decreased by nearly 13% but are still up from pre-pandemic levels.

Fox News' Brie Stimson and Megan Myers and The Associated Press contributed to this report.





Original article source: Three Philadelphia officers injured in shooting after dispute about video game: police
Nearly 25,000 customers in North Texas were still without power Thursday morning after severe thunderstorms with strong winds and large hail swept through the region overnight.

Oncor officials said on their website that they are assessing damages and working to restore power to affected areas. More than 8,000 Tarrant County residents were without power as of 7:45 a.m.

Pingpong ball- to golf ball-sized hail, strong winds and heavy rain pounded North Texas Wednesday evening, prompting flash flood warnings.

According to the National Weather Service Fort Worth, hail stones as big as 1.5 inches were first reported just west of Poolville, which is about an hour west of Fort Worth, and that storm moved into Tarrant County.

Of the 53,642 customers in North Texas without power around 11 p.m., more than 26,000 people in Tarrant County were experiencing outages, Oncor reported

Electric outages Dallas - Fort Worth vicinity

Here is Oncor's power outages map. Outage information is sent from Oncor to the outage map every 10 minutes. Source: stormcenter.oncor.com

Open

The severe thunderstorms moved across North Texas and led to a tornado warning in Ellis and Dallas County and flash flood warnings across the region.

National Weather Service Fort Worth spokesperson Patricia Sanchez told the Star-Telegram Thursday morning that they received reports of golf ball-sized hail of 1.75 inches between Weatherford and Springtown in Parker County and flooding in Dallas near Love Field. Trees and tree limbs are down throughout the region.

A Fort Worth Police Department officer closes a portion of W Vickery Boulevard due to flooding next to Collett Park in Fort Worth on Wednesday October. 4, 2023.

Sanchez also said there was significant roof damage at a shopping center in the 8300 block of Camp Bowie West in west Fort Worth.

Danie Huffman, the spokesperson for Parker County, said there was a lot of hail in the area. Numerous trees are down too, she said, including a large branch that fell on the courthouse square. County and city crews will be working to clean up the debris Thursday.

NWS Fort Worth reported between 1 and 1.5 inches of rain had fallen as of about 10 p.m. and additional rainfall amounts of 1 to 2 inches were possible.

The flash food warning was issued for several cities in Tarrant County, including Fort Worth, Arlington, Grand Prairie, Mansfield, Euless, Bedford, Grapevine, Haltom City, Keller, Hurst, Burleson, Southlake, Watauga, Colleyville, Benbrook, Saginaw, White Settlement, Crowley, Forest Hill and Azle.

Lightning strikes as a thunderstorm begins to roll in near West Fort Worth on Wednesday, Oct. 4, 2023.

About five high-water emergency calls were reported to Fort Worth police from 9:25 to 9:45 p.m. Wednesday, where callers reported their vehicles being stuck in water or stranded in flooding, according to police call logs.

The flash flood warning was in effect until 12:30 a.m. Thursday.

Weather watches and warnings

A live data feed from the National Weather Service containing official weather warnings, watches, and advisory statements. Tap warning areas for more details. Sources: NOAA, National Weather Service, NOAA GeoPlatform and Esri.

Open

The National Weather Service reported wind gusts over 70 mph in western Tarrant County and large trees down in White Settlement.

White Settlement Police Chief Chris Cook told the Star-Telegram that high winds tore up several awnings at an RV park and downed power poles and about two dozen trees in the city. No injuries were reported, and most of the damage was along North Cherry Lane.

The White Settlement police station also lost power for time Wednesday night, Cook said, but 911 calls were not affected.

Several reports of wind damage impacting poles and street signs. No major damages to structures or injuries reported. The police department is on generator power and back up radio systems. 9-1-1 service is operational. pic.twitter.com/ujutynTRO9  Christopher Cook (@cooktx) October 5, 2023

Additional wind damages across town. 400 block of N. Cherry RV park out of power with Oncor on scene. Trees also reported down across city. pic.twitter.com/WmwdWuX5nW  Christopher Cook (@cooktx) October 5, 2023

Additional storm damage between White Settlement Road and Clifford along Cherry Lane. Oncor trying to fix power poles that are down in the area. pic.twitter.com/ucg3YlzSwG  Christopher Cook (@cooktx) October 5, 2023

Lockheed Blvd. and Cherry Lane intersection lights are not working. @WSPDTX has erected temporary stop signs until power is restored. pic.twitter.com/SXRUX91eGV  Christopher Cook (@cooktx) October 5, 2023

Two people, including an 8-year-old, were injured when the severe weather hit Toyota Stadium during an FC Dallas game, the Frisco Fire Department told KTVT-TV. The child was taken to a hospital with injuries that authorities said were not life threatening.

A severe thunderstorm warning was in effect for Tarrant, Dallas, Ellis, and Johnson counties until 10:15 p.m Wednesday as the storm system moved southeast.

A tornado warning was issued by the NWS Fort Worth at 10:01 p.m. Wednesday for Ellis and south central Dallas counties. The NWS reported a storm that radar indicated was producing a tornado near Midlothian, moving east at 25 mph.

A severe thunderstorm watch that includes Tarrant, Dallas and surrounding counties was in effect until 2 a.m. Thursday.

Storm Reports

This map contains continuously updated storm reports and damage from the National Weather Service for the past 48 hours. Reports include tornado, wind storm and hail storm reports. The map also includes tornado reports for the past week and recent rainfall accumulations. Sources: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Esri.

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Michael Schoenbrod, the Daytona Beach Shores police lieutenant who faced investigations after locking his 3-year-old son in a city jail cell last October as a potty-training lesson, has resigned, The News-Journal has learned.

Its the latest twist in a story that has stayed in the headlines since The News-Journal broke news of the allegations in June.

Heres a timeline of the key developments in the story:

What was the incident at the heart of the jail potty-training story?

Schoenbrod told a Department of Children and Families caseworker that he and Sgt. Jessica Long were having difficulty potty training their 3-year-old child. Long brought him to the Daytona Beach Shores Public Safety Department on Oct. 5, 2022, placing him in a jail cell for a few minutes.

The next day, Schoenbrod brought the boy back to the jail cell, handcuffed loosely.

"He was crying. I was getting the response I expected from him," Schoenbrod told the caseworker, body-cam footage from a Volusia County Sheriff's Office deputy shows.

Daytona Beach Shores police Sgt. Jessica Long and Lt. Michael Schoenbrod appear in Volusia Circuit Court on July 17 in support of their petition to keep confidential investigative records related to their jailing of their son for potty training lessons on Oct. 5 and 6, 2022.

The boy promised to never again poop his pants, Schoenbrod said in the interview.

Memos written by Public Safety Director Michael Fowler to each informed them of a professional standards investigation, but it was unclear at the time whether Schoenbrod and Long faced discipline.

By July, Schoenbrod placed on administrative leave

By July, Schoenbrod was placed on administrative leave pending the results of two additional professional standards investigation, said Michael Fowler, director of public safety.

Schoenbrod spoke at a morning briefing on April 7, after which he faced allegations of violating six department policies, including treating others with respect, avoiding conflicts of interest and favoritism and avoiding rumors and other conduct that diminishes morale.

A third set of allegations against Schoenbrod related to tampering with public safety records and altering digital recordings without authorization.

The administrative leave was paid, the memo states.

Officers speak out: 'Nothing worked' Shores officers speak out about why they used jail to potty-train son

At the time, the conclusion of the DCF investigation, as well as records from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, Volusia County and Daytona Beach Shores were confidential after Schoenbrod and Long had petitioned the court seeking to permanently seal the records.

Judge refuses to seal record in jail potty-training investigation

By mid-July, a Volusia Circuit Court judge had denied the Shores officers' petition to seal all records related to their jailing of the child.

Judge Mary Jolley said on July 17 that information relating to the matter that is, by law, non-public, such as names of children and home addresses of police officers, should remain confidential. But she said documents that are public records, including a Florida Department of Law Enforcement investigation, should be made public with redactions.

What did the court records reveal?

The newly released documents showed that a Florida Department of Law Enforcement investigator found cause to charge two Daytona Beach Shores police officers with aggravated child abuse, a first-degree felony in connection with the jail incidents.

However, the State Attorney's Office declined to prosecute Schoenbrod and Long, pointing to a DCF determination that there was "no impending danger" to the boy and no need for departmental services or intervention.

Daytona Beach Shores police Lt. Michael Schoenbrod is shown in a 2020 photo from the Department of Public Safety's Facebook page.

The newly unsealed court records showed that the two Daytona Beach Shores police officers were found to have violated a city code of conduct policy  that officers must not engage in conduct that can destroy public respect for them and the department  for their actions.

The internal affairs investigation that concluded March 25 also cleared Schoenbrod and Long of another potential policy violation, that they had committed a felony "whether chargeable or not."

What led to Schoenbrods resignation?

The officer submitted his resignation Monday, following the conclusion of the second and third professional standards investigations on Sept. 29.

In one case, Schoenbrod had addressed a day shift briefing on April 7, when he called people who initially reported the potty-training jailings to the Department of Children and Families as "liars" and "disgusting human beings," according to an internal affairs report.

Schoenbrod was found to have committed two policy violations: failing to "treat superior officers, subordinates and associates with respect," and engaging in conduct "which adversely affects the morale or efficiency of the department."

The third professional standards case, related to a meeting Schoenbrod had with a detective following that briefing, probed whether Schoenbrod had violated laws and policies by altering a recording of that meeting. The investigative summary did not state whether any policy violations had been sustained.

This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Jail as potty-training by Florida police officer: What we know
For 24 years the Catholic Action Center has been blessed to be a grassroots community-driven outreach to those who are experiencing homelessness in our community. We have witnessed the devastation of mind, body and spirit that having no place to call home creates: the fear, loneliness, isolation, suffering. We also have witnessed our community respond to the call to create safe places, provide food, provide supplies, fund shelters and volunteer time to efforts that keep our brothers and sisters safe during their time of need.

Now we are facing the most critical of all needs: the crisis of our Fayette County Public School children who are living in that world of homelessness. The FCPS McKinney-Vento report as of Sept. 25 showed 453 students homeless. That number is growing at an alarming rate as the self-reporting of homelessness in the schools takes time for the children or parents to overcome their shame and fear in order to trust the system by admitting their situation. Our community has assumed that the Salvation Army Family Shelter or Arbor Youth Shelter takes care of all the families with children or the unaccompanied children who are without housing. The reality is that the Salvation Army has been full since late spring and families with children have nowhere to turn with winter coming.

We all lived through the unprecedented time of the pandemic: the uncertainty, the rising costs of food and shelter, the unknown becoming the normal. These children have lived through the uncertain time too and are now living the devastation of homelessness through no fault of their own.

If a tornado, flood, or natural disaster occurred and the news reported that 453 Lexington children and their families were left without homes, we know that our community would rise up IMMEDIATELY and provide what was needed for their health and safety. Now is the time, Lexington, to come forth as a community and put the resources needed to solve this crisisand we can. Emergency transitional housing is the first step for the children to be safely housed as they continue with their education.

The McKinney-Vento Program is a federal program that surrounds the students with the needed services as they struggle with homelessness. However, the McKinney-Vento Program does not have funding for emergency shelter or transitional housing. With all the government COVID funding for emergency transitional hotel rooms gone and very few programs available for these families to seek temporary emergency housing as they find permanent solutions, an effort has been initiated to address the immediate needs of the children in our FCPS: the Give Kids A Home Initiative. GKAH is a community effort to raise funds that will be available to the McKinney-Vento Program to insure our Fayette County Public School children are housed. All donations are tax deductible and there are no administrative costs. All funds go to giving our children a place to call home. Weve already raised more than $20,000, but we can do more.

As Frederick Douglas said: It is easier to build strong children than to repair broken men.

We are in a crisis that has a solution: lets give kids a home and give kids a chance. Lets not allow our children to be broken by homelessness.

To give go to: https://www.catholicactioncenter.net/give-kids-a-home

Ginny Ramsey is the Director and Co-Founder Catholic Action Center.
(Photo : Tobias SCHWARZ / AFP) (TOBIAS SCHWARZ/AFP via Getty Images)

Member states of the European Union have made a historic agreement in addressing the migrant crisis in the region by a new series of procedures.

Member states of the European Union have made history after agreeing on a series of new procedures to address the current migrant crisis in the region.

The agreed-upon procedures would handle irregular immigration during times of high arrivals and would remove a key obstacle to a larger agreement on the bloc's asylum and migration rules by the end of the year.

EU Migration Policy

On Wednesday, representatives from each of the EU's 27 members reached a deal that covers "crisis regulation," which would allow further negotiations to move forward and a push to make legally binding changes before the scheduled EU elections next year.

In a statement, Swedish Migration Minister Maria Malmer Stenergard said they can finally move on with the negotiations regarding the migrant issue. She noted that getting the pact in place is crucial to ensure order at the EU's external borders and reduce the flow of migrants, as per Aljazeera.

With the new procedures, the bloc hopes to make them law before the next round of EU elections, ushering in an unexpected shift to the right as support continuously grows across the continent for political parties railed against immigration.

The new agreement was struck following a dispute between Germany and Italy focused on charities rescuing refugees from drowning at sea. In a statement, European Commission Vice President Margaritis Schinas said they need the pact done and dusted before the Europeans vote.

She called the vote on Wednesday's deal the "missing link" in a package on migration and asylum. Thousands of refugees, many fleeing war, conflict, and economic hardship, have lost their lives trying to cross the Mediterranean Sea for some time.

Now, the new rule will allow frontline states to fast-track asylum applications and move people quickly to other nations in Europe. It would avoid repeating what happened in 2015 when 1 million refugees came to the EU from Syria and beyond, and some countries accepted far more migrants than others, according to The Guardian.

Read Also: Ukraine Could Potentially Join the EU as Accession Negotiations May Start in December

Addressing the Migrant Crisis

The historic agreement between EU member states ends three years of arguments between nations ahead of a Friday gathering of EU leaders in the Spanish City of Granada. In a statement on X, formerly known as Twitter, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said that solidarity is a common step forward for EU member states in a crisis.

Diplomatic sources added that Italy has agreed to the deal after removing some references to the NGO operations. They added that Hungary and Poland, staunchly opposed to hosting any people arriving from the Middle East and Africa, voted against the deal. On the other hand, Austria, the Czech Republic, and Slovakia all abstained from the vote.

The argument between Berlin and Rome was last week's largest obstacle to a deal among the EU's migration ministers. However, the historic deal on Wednesday still leaves many questions open, including when and how it would be implemented in its totality, said Reuters.

Related Article: Pope Francis Opens Vatican Synod on Catholic Church's Future; Publishes New Document on Environment, Climate

@ 2023 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi , with her husband Paul and Feinstein family members, their pay respects

The late Dianne Feinstein, the US Senate's longest-serving female lawmaker, is being remembered as "a force" in American politics.

Many of the most powerful Democrats in the country gathered on Thursday for the funeral of the California lawmaker, who died last week aged 90.

"She was always tough, prepared, rigorous, and compassionate," President Joe Biden said in a recorded message.

"God bless a great American hero. She was something else."

Vice-President Kamala Harris , former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and California Governor Gavin Newsom all attended the service, held at San Francisco's City Hall.

In her eulogy to the late lawmaker, Vice-President Harris recalled that Ms Feinstein welcomed her to the Senate in 2017 with "a glass of California chardonnay" and "a binder full of her draft bills".

"Simply put, she was a force," Ms Harris said.

Both Ms Harris and Mr Biden had once served in the senate alongside Ms Feinstein.

City Hall was a fitting venue for Ms Feinstein's service, as she served as mayor there for a decade before embarking on a historic career as a senator.

In the days leading up to the service, she laid in state in the building, her coffin draped with an American flag.

US Vice President Kamala Harris and US Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer attend the funeral service

"Senator Feinstein, that is her official title but to us, to San Franciscans, she was Mayor Dianne Feinstein," said London Breed, the only other woman to hold the position of mayor in the city's history.

The service was punctuated by repeated flyovers from the Blue Angels squadron and a prayer from local Jewish leaders in a nod to Ms Feinstein's heritage.

The San Francisco Girl's Chorus, clad in black, sang The Impossible Dream from the musical The Man of La Mancha, a song about continuing to persevere in the service of an insurmountable goal.

The gathering was also reminder of the outsized significance San Francisco gained in national politics under Ms Feinstein's tenure.

Ms Feinstein forged a decades-long career - first in California and then on a national scale.

She was elected to the US Senate in 1992, where she and her female colleagues worked to change the culture of the male-dominated institution.

An image of the late US Senator Dianne Feinstein is displayed during her funeral service at City Hall in San Francisco

Ms Pelosi was the senator's contemporary and forged a similarly trailblazing career in the US House, while Ms Harris and Mr Newsom came up in the generation of Bay Area Democratic politicians who saw Ms Feinstein as a mentor and leader.

In her three decades as senator, she championed gun safety legislation and battled the US intelligence apparatus over its use of torture.

Majority Leader Chuck Schumer called her "one of the Senate's great deal makers".

But as she began to publicly struggle with her health in old age, she faced calls from within her own party to resign and sparked a national conversation over America's aging political leaders.

Voter satisfaction with Ms Feinstein plummeted during her final term.

On Thursday, Ms Feinstein's colleagues focused on the greater impact of her six-decade career.

"Millions of girls my age and long after me have grown blissfully free of the yokes our grandmothers wore because Dianne Feinstein wrestled them off," Ms Breed said.

"She showed the way."
Oleksiy Danilov

Beijing will not allow Moscow to use nuclear weapons, as this will affect not only Russia, but also other nuclear-armed countries that have certain obligations, the Secretary of Ukraines National Security and Defense Council Oleksiy Danilov said on national television on Oct. 5.

"In general, this hysteria that has been going on in Russia lately is not just (propagandist Margarita) Simonyan's, there is another well-known person who is starting to talk the same way," Danilov noted.

Simonyan, a top pro-Kremlin propagandist, recently suggested Russia should detonate a nuclear weapon over Russias Siberia region as a show of force. Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on social media also frequently threatens the use of nuclear force.

Read also: Russian invaders mine the Crimean Titan plant  what will happen if they blow it up

And if you pay attention, there is a huge difference between what was happening there on Feb. 24, 25, 27, 2022, and the way they are conducting their talk shows now, Danilov added, arguing that the Russians are desperate and do not know what to do.

"I can say for sure that China is unlikely to allow Russia to throw nuclear bombs around, because it will then affect not only the Russian Federation, but also other nuclear countries, and there are certain obligations," the NSDC secretary said.

Read also: IAEA chief skeptical Russia will share nuclear technology with North Korea in light of treaty obligations

He said that Russia lacks the power to disrupt the prevailing global order. While it may be feasible for Russia to down some satellites over Siberia, he questioned whether Moscow would genuinely achieve any gains from such an action.

Read also: Russia delivers first nuclear warheads to Belarus  Budanov

The top security official noted that the situation with nuclear blackmail concerns not only Ukraine, but also those countries that once decided to redistribute the nuclear arsenal of the former Soviet Union.

Russian propagandist Margarita Simonyan called for the detonation of a thermonuclear bomb over Siberia on Oct. 4.

Earlier, Danilov said that Russia could theoretically still use nuclear weapons.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says that Ukrainian intelligence predicts an increase in nuclear threats from Russia as 2023 come to an end.

On July 5, former President and Deputy Chairman of the Russian Security Council Dmitry Medvedev threatened nuclear escalation and said that the war could allegedly be "over in a few days" if Ukraine stopped receiving aid from its partners.

On June 9, Russian dictator Vladimir Putin announced that Russia would start deploying tactical nuclear weapons to Moscows client state, Belarus.

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
TOPEKA, Kan.  The Shawnee County District Attorneys Office has filed charges against a Topeka man connected to the death of a five-year-old girl.

Court documents show the DAs Office is charging 25-year-old Mickel Cherry with the following:

Capital murder  commission of rape, aggravated criminal sodomy, and/or criminal sodomy

Murder in the first degree; inherently dangerous felony

Rape; child under 14, offender 18 or over

Topeka police arrested Cherry on Tuesday on suspicion of rape and murder in the death of Zoey Felix. This is the 26th homicide case under investigation in Topeka in 2023, KSNT reports.

They need to do more: Kansas DCF under fire after 5-year-olds death

Cherry is currently being held at the Shawnee County Department of Corrections on a $2 million bond. An upcoming court date for him has yet to be assigned.

If you have any information regarding the investigation email telltpd@topeka.org or contact the Topeka Police Criminal Investigation Bureau at 785-234-0007. Anonymous tips can be made by calling Shawnee County Crime Stoppers at 785-234-0007 or online by clicking here.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX 4 Kansas City WDAF-TV | News, Weather, Sports.
Kyiv "put on hold" its complaint against Poland, Slovakia, and Hungary over grain agreements at the World Trade Organization, Ukraine's Trade Representative Taras Kachka said on Oct. 5, as cited by Interfax Ukraine.

Speaking at a press conference in Brussels, Kachka said that the grain dispute at the WTO hasn't started yet, as Ukraine is still in the stage of consultations, which can last up to 60 days.

Kyiv wants to find a "constructive solution (on agricultural imports) within the framework of the entire EU," the trade chief told reporters, according to Interfax-Ukraine.

"Despite the fact that the complaints we sent are against specific member states, including Poland, this is a systemic issue of our relations with the bloc. Our goal is to confirm that the EU and Ukraine have the same approach to trade agreements," Kachka added.

Read also: Duda: Grain dispute will not disrupt good relations between Poland, Ukraine

After Poland, Hungary, and Slovakia decided to implement their own bans on Ukrainian grain imports on Sept. 16 despite the European Commission's decision to end the four-month embargo, Kyiv said it would sue the countries at the WTO.

Kachka told Politico on Sept. 18 that the unilateral import bans are not just an internal matter for the EU but "the biggest systemic concern" of whether international trade partners can trust that Brussels speaks on behalf of the union.

Read also: Ministry: Ukraine, Slovakia agree on grain trade system to replace ban

Earlier in May, the EU imposed restrictions that allowed Poland, Hungary, Slovakia, Romania, and Bulgaria to ban the domestic sale of Ukrainian wheat, maize, rapeseed, and sunflower seed while still permitting the transit of these products for exports elsewhere.

The nations requested the measure due to fears from local farmers that cheap Ukrainian imports would drive down agriculture prices.

Read also: Ukraines grain overload sours countrys relationship with key allies

Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent.
OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR)  Management of a south Oklahoma City mobile home park urged its residents this week not to speak out about a 13-foot-long cat-eating albino python still in the neighborhood.

Residents of Burntwood Mobile Home Park claim the parks management knew about the python since June and did nothing.

(Photo by anonymous resident of Burntwood Mobile Home Park)

The only reason they finally did something was because a resident snapped a picture of it, said a resident wanting to remain anonymous in fear of eviction from management. He had been living in the park for 10 years. Them sending out a warning to us to not talk to media, its intimidation all the way.

Over the last couple of months, residents say they have been concerned by the number of cats missing from the neighborhood. Then a picture of the yellow albino python slithering near one of the homes gained traction online.

The snake was originally thought to be 5 feet long and a ball python. But when an expert was hired, he told Nexstars KFOR that it was a reticulated python and was around 13 feet long and eating the cats.

Trevor Bounds, of Red Beard Wildlife Control, was hired to take care of the snake and said they are waiting until repairs to the siding are done by the park before they can get in there.

Bounds told KFOR on Sunday that the snake had been eating cats in the park for the last five months to survive. Several residents say that management knew about the snake and never warned them or tried to get rid of it until recently.

You can tell hes been there awhile when you see all around the house hes at. There are signs of him being there through rain and in the heat, said Bounds.

Since the story first broke, management has been sending alerts to its residents not to talk to the media about the python or the problems it brings.

13-foot-long python survives five months eating cats in Oklahoma City trailer park

The trailer that the snake is at is just a couple blocks near the pool, and they closed that this summer, but we had no clue why, said the anonymous resident. They knew that this snake was out and that having residents in the pool might not be the safest choice.

Early last week, an alert from management stated: We have had a few media outlets attempt to interview our residents regarding this issue. Must be a slow news week! If you are contacted by the media, you are encouraged to ask them to leave the community immediately and give them no comments.

Another alert was sent out early this week urging residents to give no comments and to tell media to leave immediately.

KFOR was asked to leave three times last Friday when trying to get a response from management in regards to the massive python. On Wednesday, KFOR tried several more times to get a response or answers but was eventually kicked off the property.

Sizeable snake seen slithering in neighborhood creates a python problem

The park is owned by Yes! Communities. An email and a phone call were made to their media relations department, but KFOR has yet to hear back.

Off the property, a man in a Yes! Communities shirt spoke with KFOR saying that staff only knew about the snake when the picture was posted and gained traction. He also said the length of the snake was more likely 5 feet long and that it was contained to a single trailer home.

As of Wednesday, the snake was still on the property somewhere.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KTLA.
OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR)  Management of a south Oklahoma City mobile home park urged its residents this week not to speak out about a 13-foot-long cat-eating albino python still in the neighborhood.

Residents of Burntwood Mobile Home Park claim the parks management knew about the python since June and did nothing.

(Photo by anonymous resident of Burntwood Mobile Home Park)

The only reason they finally did something was because a resident snapped a picture of it, said a resident wanting to remain anonymous in fear of eviction from management. He had been living in the park for 10 years. Them sending out a warning to us to not talk to media, its intimidation all the way.

Over the last couple of months, residents say they have been concerned by the number of cats missing from the neighborhood. Then a picture of the yellow albino python slithering near one of the homes gained traction online.

The snake was originally thought to be 5 feet long and a ball python. But when an expert was hired, he told Nexstars KFOR that it was a reticulated python and was around 13 feet long and eating the cats.

Trevor Bounds, of Red Beard Wildlife Control, was hired to take care of the snake and said they are waiting until repairs to the siding are done by the park before they can get in there.

Bounds told KFOR on Sunday that the snake had been eating cats in the park for the last five months to survive. Several residents say that management knew about the snake and never warned them or tried to get rid of it until recently.

You can tell hes been there awhile when you see all around the house hes at. There are signs of him being there through rain and in the heat, said Bounds.

Since the story first broke, management has been sending alerts to its residents not to talk to the media about the python or the problems it brings.

13-foot-long python survives five months eating cats in Oklahoma City trailer park

The trailer that the snake is at is just a couple blocks near the pool, and they closed that this summer, but we had no clue why, said the anonymous resident. They knew that this snake was out and that having residents in the pool might not be the safest choice.

Early last week, an alert from management stated: We have had a few media outlets attempt to interview our residents regarding this issue. Must be a slow news week! If you are contacted by the media, you are encouraged to ask them to leave the community immediately and give them no comments.

Another alert was sent out early this week urging residents to give no comments and to tell media to leave immediately.

KFOR was asked to leave three times last Friday when trying to get a response from management in regards to the massive python. On Wednesday, KFOR tried several more times to get a response or answers but was eventually kicked off the property.

Sizeable snake seen slithering in neighborhood creates a python problem

The park is owned by Yes! Communities. An email and a phone call were made to their media relations department, but KFOR has yet to hear back.

Off the property, a man in a Yes! Communities shirt spoke with KFOR saying that staff only knew about the snake when the picture was posted and gained traction. He also said the length of the snake was more likely 5 feet long and that it was contained to a single trailer home.

As of Wednesday, the snake was still on the property somewhere.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KLAS.
A woman who went off on German tourists visiting New York City, telling them to get the fuck out of the country, has been fired from her gig in human resources. Capital Rx announced that Brianna Pinnix, a talent acquisition specialist, has been sacked after her xenophobic tirade went viral on social media. Our company has a zero-tolerance policy around prejudicial or discriminatory behavior, a Capital Rx spokesperson said in a statement Wednesday. The former employees actions and words are not representative of Capital Rx, and we offer our sincerest apology to those who were hurt. Pinnix was filmed on a train, getting in the tourists faces and complaining about immigrants. Her boyfriend tried to calm her down and told her to stop, but Pinnix didnt listen.

Read it at New York Post

Read more at The Daily Beast.
A pro-Russian party won the parliamentary elections in Slovakia

The rhetoric from the presumed incoming Slovak ruling party can be called populist rather than anti-Ukrainian

The party of former Prime Minister Robert Fico won the elections in Slovakia on September 30th. This party, Smer-SD, is already being called anti-Ukrainian and pro-Russian. During all these election races, Robert Fico has repeatedly said that if he wins, Ukraine will not receive a single shell or a single round during his term. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has a new ally in the European Union, and they are united behind an anti-Ukrainian position. So, unfortunately, we have a typical pro-Moscow Trojan horse in NATO.

However, Fico did not win an absolute victory.

He will have to join a coalition one way or another. Whether he will be able to form this coalition cabinet with such anti-Ukrainian, anti-European slogans is another question.

Even if we fantasize and imagine that such a cabinet is formed, it will be balanced by the parties that will be part of it. The end result will not look like an anti-European and anti-Ukrainian political bloc. Therefore, it is too early to pop the champagne in Moscow. They like to do things as usual, very quickly, but then crawl back for some reason. But there is nothing to celebrate yet.

This politician and this party were living on donations from you-know-whom

We need to consider what can happen in the case of option A, option B, and option C. Now, the issue will only be resolved in this political and diplomatic way. Our Western partners, having learned from the bitter experience of Budapest, will not stand aside. Therefore, we have a couple of weeks of political and diplomatic "red tape" ahead of us, which will eventually yield some results. So, for now, we'll have to wait and see.

People ask me: Poland is on the verge of elections. And there, too, a party with the same rhetoric can gain 9-10 percent. Can we say that certain anti-Ukrainian sentiments are beginning to spread across Europe? I would say that this rhetoric can be called populist rather than anti-Ukrainian. But this applies not only to Slovakia, not only to Poland, not only to Germany. Think of the Alternative for Germany party in Germany. It is a highly populist right-wing party that lives on these slogans. Why don't they blame Russia for their troubles? Here again, we come to a banal formula: if you feed from this hand, how can you condemn it?

Again, as in the case of Orban, you don't need to go to a fortune teller to understand that this politician and this party were living on donations from you-know-whom. We cannot ignore this. Because people who are independent of Moscow are capable of demonstrating logic, they demonstrate honesty and decency. A group of German politicians from different political forces clearly and publicly said, "We were wrong in our assessments." In other words, they honestly admit that their policy toward Russia was wrong, but it was more of an ideological one, so to speak. The one that recognized Russia's rightful place in world politics, in their opinion. This is one story.

In this case, we are talking exclusively about some economic, political, financial, and other interests. Moscow has been able to do this since its inception, i.e., bribery, blackmail, and lies. These are all the arguments the external police in Moscow have used since the beginning.

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
Former President Donald Trump has once again asked to delay the trial in the classified documents case against him in Florida until after the 2024 elections, citing issues over access to classified material in the case.

The filing late Wednesday is at least the second explicit request to move the trial date by the Trump team until after the election. The former president also asked Judge Aileen Cannon in July to move the trial until after the 2024 presidential election.

For now, the case is set to go to trial in May 2024.

Trumps attorneys have pushed repeatedly to delay motions schedules in the criminal case as well, raising complaints about their ability to review evidence, to write and argue complex legal motions, and the former presidents packed calendar from both campaign events and legal obligations in other cases brought against him.

In Wednesdays filing, Trumps attorneys wrote that discovery failures by special counsel Jack Smiths office  both with Trumps lack of access to certain classified material and alleged delays in his legal teams access to witness statements  warrant pushing back the trial currently scheduled for May until at least mid-November.

Defense attorneys said in a court filing in July that there is simply no question any trial of this action during the pendency of a Presidential election will impact both the outcome of that election and, importantly, the ability of the Defendants to obtain a fair trial.

Cannon did not delay the trial date at that time.

For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com
Prosecutors in Donald Trump s Georgia election racketeering case asked a judge for approval to call out-of-state witnesses to testify about the strategies of two co-defendants involving disrupting Congress on Jan. 6, 2021, recruiting fake presidential electors and forensically scrutinizing voting equipment.

The potential witnesses  including lawyers Boris Epshteyn and Lin Wood  were mentioned in the House investigation of the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol. But the trial would be the first chance to hear publicly about their behind-the-scenes activities.

Prosecutors led by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis want to call the witnesses in the trial of campaign lawyers Kenneth Chesebro and Sidney Powell, which is scheduled to begin Oct. 23.

Chesebro and Powell are the first of 19 co-defendants heading to trial on charges of racketeering and trying to overturn the 2020 election. All the defendants have pleaded not guilty.

Here is what we know about the potential testimony:

Boris Epshteyn of the Trump inaugural committee at the Washington, DC offices of the Presidential Inaugural Committee on Dec. 19, 2016.

Epshteyn could testify about Chesebros communication with co-defendants John Eastman and Rudy Giuliani regarding the attempt to disrupt and delay the Jan. 6, 2021, joint session of Congress, prosecutors said.

On Nov. 19, 2020, Epshteyn attended a press conference at the Republican National Committee where Powell baselessly claimed problems with Dominion voting machines, according to prosecutors.

On Dec. 13, 2020, Epshteyn requested on behalf of Giuliani an email from Chesebro and Eastman about methods to disrupt and delay the joint session of Congress on Jan. 6, according to prosecutors.

On Jan. 1, 2021, Epshteyn received an email from Chesebro titled Filibuster talking points for the Jan. 6 session, according to prosecutors.

Other out-of-state witnesses prosecutors hope to call include Republican presidential electors who supported Trump in states that President Joe Biden won. Chesebro drafted memos outlining the strategy to recruit fake electors, according to the House investigation and prosecutors.

Fake electors the prosecutors asked to call are Jim Graffenreid of Nevada and Greg Safsten of Arizona. Both men could testify about their interactions with Chesebro, according to prosecutors.

Attorney Lin Wood, member of President Donald Trump's legal team, gestures while speaking during a rally on Dec. 2, 2020, in Alpharetta, Georgia.

Wood could testify about Powell staying at his South Carolina estate in November 2020, where Powell drafted a memo recommended Dominion voting machines be studied forensically, according to prosecutors.

He will provide evidence of communications between himself and Powell as it relates to her plans and operations surrounding the post-election efforts, prosecutors said.

On Dec. 14, 2020, an organization called Allied Security Operations Group released a report claiming software on Dominion voting machines in Michigan had been intentionally and purposefully designed with inherent errors to create systemic fraud and influence election results, according to prosecutors. Trump sent a copy of the report to his acting attorney general and tweeted it showed massive fraud.

On Dec. 18, 2020, Powell, Giuliani and other co-conspirators met with Trump at the White House to discuss seizing voting machines, according to prosecutors. Trump didnt approve the proposal.

On Jan. 7, 2021, the same employees from a forensic team that studied voting equipment in Antrim County, Michigan, traveled to Coffee County, Georgia, to copy data from machines there, according to prosecutors. One of the employees updated Powell by email multiple times that day, according to prosecutors.

State election officials in Georgia and Michigan have said there was no widespread fraud in the 2020 election. Dominion won a $787 million settlement from Fox News over misstatements about the companys voting equipment.

Powells lawyer, Brian Rafferty, has argued Powell didnt sign the contract for the forensics team and that the staffers were invited to Coffee County to study the voting equipment.

Another witness prosecutors asked to call, to testify about Powells stay at Woods estate, is Aaron Vick of Virginia Beach, Virginia.

Prosecutors offered the assurance to all the witnesses that they would be protected from arrest when traveling to the state to testify.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Georgia DA asks to call Trump allies Boris Epshteyn, Lin Wood at trial
Ukraine is now relying more on smoke-belching DIY combat vehicles. For some people, this is just the Ukrainian military showing its creativity to fend off Russian enemies.

But, for other experts, using DIY tanks and other warfare vehicles just shows how desperate Ukraine is in the ongoing Russian invasion.

Ukraine Relies on Smoke-Belching DIY Combat Vehicles

According to Forbes' latest report, Ukraine is still experiencing a shortage of infantry fighting vehicles (IFVs). In 2022, Ukraine used over 1,200 IFVs, which are mostly ex-Soviet BMP-1s.

Just 21 months after the Russian invasion, Russia's troops already captured and destroyed almost 700 of these IFVs. Because of this, Kyiv has to be resourceful.

One of their efforts is pulling hundreds of old BMPs out of storage and asking for Ukraine's foreign allies to pledge around 3,000 IFVs, as well as less-well-armed armored personnel carriers.

However, 3,000 combat vehicles are not enough, especially since Ukraine's troops already doubled over the past two years. Because of this, the Ukrainian military is left with no choice but to rely on DIY IFVs, which are mostly spewing toxic smoke.

Military experts said that Ukraine is mixing and matching whatever chassis and turrets they have to invent DIY IFVs.

Read Also: US-Confiscated Iranian Weapons, Ammo Sent to Ukraine, Military Officials Confirm

Dangers of DIY Combat Vehicles

Using DIY IFVs and other warfare combat vehicles has more negative outcomes than benefits. For example, the smoke that these DIY combat vehicles spew out can endanger the health of Ukranian troops.

Just imagine using these DIY combat vehicles and getting exposed to the toxic smoke for too long. Another issue with DIY IFVs is that the smoke they emmit can give out the locations of Ukranian soldiers.

But, as Ukraine runs out of military supplies, they need to deal with DIY combat vehicles until they can receive further financial and weapons assistance from allied countries.

Biden Still Trying to Provide Ukraine Aid

CNN Politics reported that U.S. President Joe Biden is still trying to find other ways how to keep the financial and military aid flowing to Ukraine.

Senior Biden Admin officials said that there are only a few weeks remaining before a lack of additional funding for Ukraine begins.

Although this is the case, Biden is still hopeful that members of the House and Senate will support him in his goal to assist Ukraine in the ongoing Russian invasion.

"I know there are a majority of members of the House and Senate in both parties who have said that they support funding Ukraine," said the American leader.

Related Article: Biden Calls for Continuous Support for Ukraine After Congress Drops Request To Include Aid in Bill's Passing

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WASHINGTON  Donald Trump is asking a federal judge to dismiss criminal charges against him based on his actions leading up to his Jan. 6, 2021, coup attempt because, as president, that coup attempt should be considered part of his presidential duties.

Trump lawyers Todd Blanche and John Lauro , in Thursdays 52-page filing to U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan, attempted to minimize Trumps actions leading up to the violent assault on the Capitol that day and that, regardless, the law allowed Trump to act based on his belief that the election had been stolen from him.

The indictment is based entirely on alleged actions within the heartland of President Trumps official duties, or at the very least, within the outer perimeter of his official duties, Blanche and Lauro wrote. As President Trump is absolutely immune from criminal prosecution for such acts, the court should dismiss the indictment.

President Trumps alleged Tweets and public statements about fraud in the election and the role of the vice president in the certification process were directly related to his contentions that: (1) the presidential elections outcome was tainted by fraud and other procedural irregularities, and (2) the U.S. Department of Justice and certain state governments had failed to adequately investigate and prosecute fraud and irregularities in the election, Blanche and Lauro wrote.

They also argued that Supreme Court precedent acknowledged that a president needed to be able to take bold and unhesitating action at times without fear of prosecution, and that was what Trump was doing.

Here, 234 years of unbroken historical practice  from 1789 until 2023  provide compelling evidence that the power to indict a former president for his official acts does not exist, they wrote.

Blanche and Lauro also argued that the only allowable means of punishing a president for his actions was an impeachment trial and removal by the U.S. Senate.

Trump was, in fact, impeached by the House for inciting the Jan. 6 insurrection, and 57 senators  including seven Republicans  voted to convict him, even though he was already out of office. That figure was 10 shy of what was needed to convict, which would likely have been followed by a majority vote to ban Trump from federal office forever.

Trump supporters occupy the West Front of the Capitol and the inauguration stands on Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2021.

Trump supporters occupy the West Front of the Capitol and the inauguration stands on Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2021.

President Trump was acquitted of these charges after trial in the Senate, and he thus remains immune from prosecution, Blanche and Lauro wrote. The special counsel cannot second-guess the judgment of the duly elected United States Senate.

Trump was indicted by U.S. Department of Justice special counsel Jack Smith for conspiring to defraud the United States, conspiring to obstructing an official proceeding, attempting to obstruct an official proceeding, and conspiring to deprive people of their voting rights. The charges are based on Trumps attempts to block the Jan. 6 congressional certification of the 2020 election and his attempt to remain in power despite his loss in that contest using slates of fraudulent electors. If convicted on the most serious offenses, he could receive decades in federal prison.

Trump is under a separate federal indictment by Smith for his retention of secret documents at his Florida country club and his attempts to hide them from authorities when they sought their return.

A Georgia grand jury also indicted Trump for his attempts to overturn his election loss in that state, while a New York state grand jury indicted him for filing falsified business records to conceal a $130,000 hush-money payment to a porn star ahead of the 2016 election.

Despite the 91 total felony counts against him, Trump nevertheless remains the front-runner for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination by a wide margin.

Related...
Former President Donald Trump on Thursday tried to delay one of his federal trials  and end the other altogether.

In a busy day of legal filings, Trumps legal team asked U.S. District Court Judge Aileen Cannon to put off the start of his federal classified documents trial until after the 2024 election because of delays in creating a secure facility for him to view the documents.

The former president separately demanded that Judge Tanya Chutkan toss the federal election interference case against him, claiming he has absolute immunity from prosecution because he was president at the time.

In the documents case, Trumps lawyers claimed that their defense is being undermined by a three-month delay in building a sensitive compartmented information facility, or SCIF, in Cannons Fort Pierce, Florida, courthouse.

Trump and his lawyers could travel to either Miami or Washington, D.C., to view the documents. But they say Cannon should push back the scheduled May 2024 trial to allow them to view them in Fort Pierce.

The demands of the special counsels office must give way to the constitutional rights of the defendants, Team Trump wrote in a 12-page filing. Trump respectfully requests that the court  schedule trial to begin at a date convenient to the court in or after mid-November 2024.

Trump also accused special counsel Jack Smiths team of failing to provide some materials to the defense on time, which they said were crippling his efforts to prepare for the case.

Smith, whos also overseeing the case related to Trumps involvement in the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol, will respond to the Trump filing, and Cannon is likely to rule at some time in the future.

Meanwhile, it surfaced Thursday that Trump talked about American nuclear submarines with an Australian billionaire who went on to share the potentially sensitive info with many others, ABC News reported.

The incident involving billionaire Anthony Pratt, a member of Trumps Mar-a-Lago club, was reported to Smiths team, according to the outlet, which cited unnamed sources. Pratt reportedly told Trump that Australia should buy subs from the U.S. and the former president shared details about the number of warheads they carry and how they maneuver undetected by Russian submarines.

Trumps Thursday filing amounts to the latest in his timeworn strategy to delay any legal proceeding as long as possible and especially until after America votes on his White House comeback bid.

Trump initially demanded that Cannon put off the trial until after the election and not even set a firm date because he claimed any trial would amount to interfering in his effort to win back the White House.

That was a bridge too far for Cannon, a Trump appointee who made a series of rulings favorable to the former president in an earlier stage of the case.

Even though she set a May court date, Cannon has taken what some legal analysts call a fairly lackadaisical approach to rulings in the high-profile case. She waited until last month to lay out guidelines for Trump to view the documents, effectively rejecting his proposal to allow him to use Mar-a-Lago.

Trump is accused of taking a trove of classified documents when he left office and defying government efforts to get them back. Walt Nauta, a valet, and Mar-a-Lago property manager Carlos DOliveira are charged with helping him try to hide or delete the documents from investigators.

In the election interference case, Trumps lawyers called on Chutkan to dismiss the governments case because they say the actions he took to overturn his loss to President Joe Biden were taken as part of his official duties.

The prosecution does not, and cannot, argue that President Trumps efforts to ensure election integrity, and to advocate for the same, were outside the scope of his duties, Trumps defense team wrote in a 52-page brief. Instead, the prosecution falsely claims that President Trumps motives were impure.

Trump also argues that he cannot be criminally charged for actions taken while he was in office because the Constitution gives Congress the power to impeach a president.

The House voted to impeach Trump for inciting the violent Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, but the Senate acquitted him.

Prosecutors investigated Trumps alleged plot for months, amassing mountains of new evidence before Smith charged him with four counts including conspiring to defraud the U.S. and depriving people of rights. He pleaded not guilty and is awaiting a March trial.

Legal analysts consider Trumps motion a long shot because courts have already ruled that former presidents do not enjoy absolute immunity for actions taken in office, particularly those that could be considered outside the scope of their official duties like winning a political campaign.

Trumps legal woes havent derailed his presidential hopes with polls showing he remains in the lead over his rivals who include Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley, his former vice president, Mike Pence, Vivek Ramaswamy, and Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina.
Former president Donald Trump allegedly revealed highly classified information about American nuclear-powered submarines to a wealthy Australian who regularly paid large sums to one of his companies, according to a report from ABC News.

Mr Trump reportedly disclosed the extremely sensitive information to a billionaire member of his Mar-a-Lago social club, which is housed at the location where he allegedly hoarded hundreds of classified documents for more than a year after his term as president  and his authorisation to possess such documents  had come to an end.

Citing sources familiar with the matter, ABC reported that the Aussie high-roller in question allegedly shared the information about US nuclear-powered submarines with scores of other people not authorised to have it, including more than a dozen foreign officials and journalists of unknown nationality.

Department of Justice investigators working under the supervision of Special Counsel Jack Smith learned of the potential breach as they were investigating Mr Trumps alleged unlawful retention of national defence information.

Both prosecutors and special agents with the Federal Bureau of Investigation have reportedly spoken to the Mar-a-Lago member, packaging magnate Anthony Pratt, on at least two occasions this year.

Mr Pratt reportedly told investigators that the ex-president told him two pieces of information about the submarines: How many nuclear warheads are carried by American Ohio class ballistic missile submarines, and how close to such vessels a Russian submarine must get to detect them.

Both of those figures are among the US Navys most closely guarded secrets. But sources reportedly told ABC that Mr Pratt described what Mr Trump had said to at least 45 other people, including 10 Australian officials and a trio of former prime ministers.
In early October 2023, U.S. President Joe Biden and a former member of Donald Trump 's presidential administration resurrected a years-old accusation against Trump that allegedly revealed his true opinion of U.S. military troops. According to the claim, Trump once called fallen soldiers "suckers" and "losers" while talking to people in his inner circle.

The former president referred to American service members as "suckers" and "losers." MAGA extremists have made it clear where they stand. pic.twitter.com/2Kj5jr4N7Z  Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) October 2, 2023

Trump and his allies have denied the accusation since it first emerged in 2020, shortly before the election between Trump and Biden. Whether performative or authentic, Trump's apparent support for soldiers in the U.S. military, both active and veteran members, has been part of his presidential campaigns.

Following a story by The Atlantic, a number of reputable news outlets reported on the alleged comments in 2020, relying entirely on anonymous sources from his administration.

However, there appeared to be no evidence of an audio or video recording of the remarks in question, nor was there any documentation, such as transcripts or presidential notes, to independently confirm or deny the alleged quotes' authenticity. Moreover, since Snopes did not witness the in-question comments firsthand, we can't say for certain whether Trump called fallen soldiers "suckers" and "losers."

We reached out to Trump's representatives to see if they had any supplemental evidence to help substantiate their denial, as well as for a response to renewed attention on the comments in 2023. We will update this story when, or if, we receive a response.

How the Accusations Emerged

Citing anonymous officials from the administration, the 2020 article by The Atlantic, titled, "Trump: Americans Who Died in War Are 'Losers' and 'Suckers'," unpacked Trump's trip to Paris in 2018 when he allegedly did not want to visit a cemetery of American war dead. The visit was cancelled.

Trump did not want to visit the Aisne-Marne American Cemetery  which is home to the graves of Americans who fought and died in World War I  for two reasons, according to The Atlantic: He feared the rain would dishevel his hair, and "because he did not believe it important to honor American war dead, according to four people with firsthand knowledge of the discussion that day." The Atlantic continued (emphasis ours):

Trump rejected the idea of the visit because he feared his hair would become disheveled in the rain, and because he did not believe it important to honor American war dead, according to four people with firsthand knowledge of the discussion that day. In a conversation with senior staff members on the morning of the scheduled visit, Trump said, "Why should I go to that cemetery? It's filled with losers." In a separate conversation on the same trip, Trump referred to the more than 1,800 marines who lost their lives at Belleau Wood as "suckers" for getting killed.

Shortly after the publication of The Atlantic report, one unnamed senior official with the U.S. Department of Defense and one senior U.S. Marine Corps officer confirmed the 2018 cemetery remarks from the above report in interviews with The Associated Press (AP). According to the AP, the official had firsthand knowledge of Trump's remarks, and the officer had been told about them.

Trump Allies Deny the Claims

The White House blamed the canceled cemetery visit on poor weather. Responding to The Atlantic's reporting, Trump said the accusation was "a disgraceful situation" by a "terrible magazine."

Trump strongly denied calling fallen soldiers "losers" and "suckers." Speaking to reporters on Sept. 3, 2020, upon returning from a campaign rally to Washington, D.C., just after the report came out, Trump said: "I would be willing to swear on anything that I never said that about our fallen heroes. There is nobody that respects them more. No animal  nobody  what animal would say such a thing?"

Just days later, Zach Fuentes, a former White House aide who left the administration in early 2019 and was with the president on the Paris trip and presumably near him during the in-question conversations about the cemetery visit, stood up for Trump in an interview with Brietbart.

Referring to Gen. John Kelly, who was with Trump during the trip as his chief of staff, he said, "I did not hear POTUS call anyone losers when I told him about the weather. Honestly, do you think General Kelly would have stood by and let ANYONE call fallen Marines losers?"

Reporting on Fuentes' interview with Brietbart, The Washington Post noted that the phrase "I did not hear..." is not the same as "it didn't happen." Furthermore, there was no evidence of Kelly being around Trump to hear the alleged comments.

Trump's former national security adviser John Bolton, who said he was on the trip, also issued a denial to Fox News, days after the article came out, saying it was "simply false."

Then-U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo also denied the claims in an interview with Fox News in September 2020. He said, "I was with him for a good part of that trip, if I'm thinking about this visit and the timing right, and I never heard him use the words that are described in that article. Just, I never saw it."

How the Claims Resurfaced in 2023

On Oct. 2, 2023, Biden's official account on X resurfaced the accusation, saying Trump once allegedly "referred to American service members as 'suckers' and 'losers.'" The post (displayed above) included video footage of Biden speaking at a September 2023 event to honor the late U.S. Sen. John McCain, who was a military veteran and prisoner of war. (In that speech, Biden referenced the 2020 story by The Atlantic.)

The day after Biden's post on X, Kelly repeated the claim, as well. Speaking to CNN story, he said (emphasis, ours):

What can I add that has not already been said? A person that thinks those who defend their country in uniform, or are shot down or seriously wounded in combat, or spend years being tortured as POWs are all 'suckers' because 'there is nothing in it for them.' A person that did not want to be seen in the presence of military amputees because 'it doesn't look good for me.' A person who demonstrated open contempt for a Gold Star family  for all Gold Star families  on TV during the 2016 campaign, and rants that our most precious heroes who gave their lives in America's defense are 'losers' and wouldn't visit their graves in France.

In other words, Kelly, who was with Trump in Paris, confirmed that Trump did call American troops "losers" and "suckers," though it was unclear whether he witnessed the comments firsthand or heard about them from someone else, or from news reports. (The 2020 Atlantic story detailed a separate incident of Trump visiting the grave of Kelly's son who was killed in action in Afghanistan, for which Kelly was supposedly present. In that case, Trump allegedly asked of military personnel who volunteered to join the service, "What was in it for them?")

Responding to the CNN interview, a Trump official issued a statement to CNN, saying, "John Kelly has totally clowned himself with these debunked stories he's made up because he didn't serve his president well while working as chief of staff."

In addition to the alleged statements about service members generally, Trump has publicly insulted McCain, in particular, by calling him "not a war hero," and "I like people who weren't captured," according to footage on C-SPAN. Also, for The Atlantic story, anonymous sources said he called former President George H.W. Bush a "loser" for getting shot down by the Japanese while a Navy pilot during World War II.

In sum, the claim stemmed from a story by The Atlantic, which relied on anonymous, second-hand reports of Trump's alleged words; there was no independent footage or documented proof to substantiate the in-question comments; and Trump vehemently denies that he once called service members "losers" and "suckers." While it was certainly possible that he said those things, Snopes was unable to independently verify the claim.

Sources:

Baker, Peter, and Maggie Haberman. "Trump Faces Uproar Over Reported Remarks Disparaging Fallen Soldiers." The New York Times, 4 Sept. 2020. NYTimes.com, https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/04/us/politics/trump-veterans-losers.html. Accessed 4 Oct. 2023.

Blake, Aaron. "Analysis | What Trump Officials Really Say  and Don't Say  in Denying That He Disparaged Fallen Troops." Washington Post, 8 Sept. 2020. www.washingtonpost.com, https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2020/09/08/trump-officials-military-disparagement-denials/. Accessed 4 Oct. 2023.

Goldberg, Jeffrey. "Trump: Americans Who Died in War Are 'Losers' and 'Suckers.'" The Atlantic, 3 Sept. 2020, https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2020/09/trump-americans-who-died-at-war-are-losers-and-suckers/615997/. Accessed 4 Oct. 2023.

Mason, Jeff, et al. "Biden Warns Trump, 'MAGA' Movement Threaten American Democracy." Reuters, 29 Sept. 2023. www.reuters.com, https://www.reuters.com/world/us/biden-warn-threat-democracy-trump-honor-mccain-2023-09-28/. Accessed 4 Oct. 2023.

"Report: Trump Disparaged US War Dead as 'Losers,' 'Suckers.'" AP News, 4 Sept. 2020, https://apnews.com/article/election-2020-ap-top-news-politics-b823f2c285641a4a09a96a0b195636ed. Accessed 4 Oct. 2023.

"Secretary Michael R. Pompeo With Steve Doocy, Jedediah Bila, and Pete Hegseth of Fox & Friends." United States Department of State, https://2017-2021.state.gov/secretary-michael-r-pompeo-with-steve-doocy-jedediah-bila-and-pete-hegseth-of-fox-friends/. Accessed 4 Oct. 2023.

Tapper, Jake. "Exclusive: John Kelly Goes on the Record to Confirm Several Disturbing Stories about Trump | CNN Politics." CNN, 2 Oct. 2023, https://www.cnn.com/2023/10/02/politics/john-kelly-donald-trump-us-service-members-veterans/index.html. Accessed 4 Oct. 2023.

"Trump: "He's a War Hero Because He Was Captured. I like People That Weren't Captured."" C-SPAN. www.youtube.com, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=541Cg2Jnb8s. Accessed 4 Oct. 2023.
By Kanishka Singh

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Donald Trump 's campaign said on Wednesday it raised over $45.5 million in the third quarter from July to September, nearly 30% higher than it raised in the previous quarter while the former U.S. president faces multiple legal charges.

The acceleration in fundraising could be a sign that Trump's 2024 campaign coffers are benefiting from his legal problems, which include four indictments.

The Trump campaign's statement on Wednesday did not provide details of how it arrived at that tally or its break up from where the funds were raised.

The Trump campaign said it had over $37.5 million cash on hand and that about $36 million of it is designated for the primary.

Trump is the frontrunner in the race for the Republican presidential nomination for the November 2024 election.

His closest rival, who trails him by a big margin in opinion polls, is Florida Governor Ron DeSantis .

The DeSantis campaign on Wednesday reported raising $15 million during the third quarter, although not all of those funds will be available for use during the Republican primary. It was a lower take than the $20 million in the second quarter, a possible sign that donors are souring on DeSantis as he has failed to dent Trump's commanding lead.

The former president faces four criminal indictments over his attempts to overturn Democrat Joe Biden's 2020 election victory, his handling of classified documents after he left the White House, and hush money paid to a porn star. Trump has denied wrongdoing and pleaded not guilty in all of the cases.

He also faces a January civil damages trial for defaming a writer who accused him of rape, which he denies.

Trump is also accused by New York Attorney General Letitia James, a Democrat, of inflating the value of his assets to secure better loan and insurance terms. He has said the case is part of a "political witch-hunt."

Trump's main fundraising committee raised more than $35 million during the April-June period, nearly twice what the group gathered in the prior three months.

(Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Washington; editing by Grant McCool)
Former President Trump chided President Biden over his recent move to allow border wall construction in South Texas, saying he will await the incumbents apology.

Will Joe Biden apologize to me and America for taking so long to get moving, and allowing our country to be flooded with 15 million illegals immigrants, from places unknown, Trump wrote Thursday in a Truth Social post. I will await his apology!

The Department of Homeland Security announced Wednesday it will waive 26 federal laws to allow border wall construction in Starr County, Texas, which is experiencing high illegal entry.

The move is the administrations first use of an executive power often used by Trump to fund projects along the southern border.

So interesting to watch Crooked Joe Biden break every environmental law in the book to prove that I was right when I built 560 miles (they incorrectly state 450 in story!) of brand new, beautiful border wall, Trump wrote. As I have stated often, over thousands of years, there are only two things that have consistently worked, wheels, and walls!

During his presidency, Trump diverted billions in defense and military construction funds toward building a wall, a central focus of his 2016 campaign. He was then forced to use emergency powers instead, after Congress refused to fully fund the project.

Shortly into his administration in 2021, Biden canceled the state of emergency Trump declared on the southern border and later slashed projects to build the wall. The funds were redirected back to their original purpose or toward repairing environmental damage from the walls construction.

The Biden administration has maintained a somewhat cautious approach to immigration and border security, fueling criticism from both sides of the aisle at times.

Efforts from the White House have ramped up in recent weeks. Last month, the Biden administration made a major strategic shift at the border and extended temporary protection status for nearly half a million Venezuelan nationals currently residing in the United States. The move came amid Democratic leaders growing pressure on the White House to take more action regarding asylum-seekers.

The designation protects Venezuelans from removal, making it easier for those who came to the U.S. to get employment authorization, a repeated request from some Democrats who have pushed the Biden administration to speed up the process for asylum-seekers to get a work permit.

The White House also recently sent an additional 800 troops to help with the migration influx at the southern border.

The Department of Defense has already deployed around 2,500 state National Guard personnel, in addition to around 24,000 Customers and Border Protection agents and officers and 2,600 nonuniformed officers, the White House said last month.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
(The Hill)  Former President Donald Trump chided President Joe Biden over his recent move to allow border wall construction in South Texas, saying he will await the incumbents apology.

Will Joe Biden apologize to me and America for taking so long to get moving, and allowing our country to be flooded with 15 million illegals immigrants, from places unknown, Trump wrote Thursday in a Truth Social post. I will await his apology!

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced Wednesday it will waive 26 federal laws to allow border wall construction in Starr County, Texas, which is experiencing high illegal entry.

The move is the administrations first use of an executive power often used by Trump to fund projects along the southern border.

So interesting to watch Crooked Joe Biden break every environmental law in the book to prove that I was right when I built 560 miles (they incorrectly state 450 in story!) of brand new, beautiful border wall, Trump wrote. As I have stated often, over thousands of years, there are only two things that have consistently worked, wheels, and walls!

During his presidency, Trump diverted billions in defense and military construction funds toward building a wall, a central focus of the former presidents 2016 campaign. He was then forced to use emergency powers instead after Congress refused to fully fund the project.

Biden administration waiving 26 federal laws to allow border wall construction in Texas

Shortly into his administration in 2021, Biden canceled the state of emergency Trump declared on the southern border and later slashed projects to build the wall. The funds were redirected back to their original purpose or toward repairing environmental damage from the walls construction.

The Biden administration has maintained a somewhat cautious approach to immigration and border security, fueling criticism from both sides of the aisle at times.

Efforts from the White House have ramped up in recent weeks. Last month, the Biden administration made a major strategic shift at the border and extended temporary protection status for nearly half a million Venezuelan nations currently residing in the United States. The move came amid Democratic leaders growing pressure on the White House to take more action regarding asylum-seekers.

The designation protects Venezuelans from removal, making it easier for those who came to the U.S. to get employment authorization, a repeated request from some Democrats who have pushed the Biden administration to speed up the process for asylum-seekers to get a work permit.

The White House also recently sent an additional 800 troops to help with the migration influx at the southern border.

The Department of Defense has already deployed around 2,500 state National Guard personnel, in addition to around 24,000 Customers and Border Protection agents and officers and 2,600 non-uniformed officers, the White House said last month.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KLAS.
Former US president Donald Trump filed a motion on Thursday seeking the dismissal of federal election conspiracy charges on the grounds he cannot be prosecuted for actions he took while in the White House.

Trump, the frontrunner for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, is to go on trial in Washington in March of next year for allegedly conspiring to subvert the results of the November 2020 election won by Democrat Joe Biden.

The former president's lawyers, in a 52-page motion to US District Judge Tanya Chutkan, argued the charges should be thrown out.

"The Court should dismiss the indictment, with prejudice, on grounds of Presidential immunity," they said.

Trump's bid to invoke the presidential immunity defense is considered a long shot by legal observers but it could result in a delay to the start of the trial as the argument wends its way up to the conservative-dominated Supreme Court.

Trump's attempts to use the so-called "absolute immunity" defense in other cases have been rebuffed by judges, but the nation's highest court has never ruled directly on whether a former chief executive is immune from criminal prosecution.

Trump is the first former US president to face criminal charges.

Trump's attorneys, citing a Supreme Court case involving former president Richard Nixon, said the law provides "absolute immunity" to the president "for acts within the 'outer perimeter' of his official responsibility."

"Breaking 234 years of precedent, the incumbent administration has charged President Trump for acts that lie not just within the 'outer perimeter,' but at the heart of his official responsibilities as President," they said.

As chief executive, they argued, Trump had a responsibility to "ensure election integrity" and was within his rights to challenge the results of the 2020 vote.

"The prosecution falsely claims that President Trump's motives were impure -- that he purportedly 'knew' that the widespread reports of fraud and election irregularities were untrue but sought to address them anyway," they said.

"The indictment is based entirely on alleged actions within the heartland of President Trump's official duties, or at the very least, within the 'outer perimeter' of his official duties.

"As President Trump is absolutely immune from criminal prosecution for such acts, the Court should dismiss the indictment."

- 'Unsettled question' -

While making the argument that Trump cannot be prosecuted, his lawyers acknowledged the Nixon case they cited involved the civil liability of a former president and not alleged criminal conduct.

"No court has addressed whether such Presidential immunity includes immunity from criminal prosecution for the President's official act," they said. "The question remains a 'serious and unsettled question' of law."

The case before Chutkan accuses Trump of conspiracy to defraud the United States and conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding -- the January 6, 2021 joint session of Congress that was attacked by a mob of Trump supporters.

Trump, the sole defendant in this indictment, is also accused of seeking to disenfranchise American voters with his false claims he won the 2020 election.

Other criminal cases against Trump include racketeering charges in Georgia for allegedly conspiring to upend the election results in the southern state and a trial in Florida in May 2024 on charges of mishandling top secret government documents.

Trump and his two eldest sons are also currently facing a civil fraud trial in New York for inflating the value of their real estate assets to receive more favorable bank loans and insurance terms.

cl/acb
Donald Trump has claimed that he couldnt stand his ex-chief of staff General John Kelly and that he fired him like a dog, in his rage over damning revelations about his comments about veterans.

John Kelly, by far the dumbest of my Military people, just picked up the theme of the Radical Lefts lying about Gold Star Families and Soldiers, in his hatred of me, Mr Trump claimed in one of his many Truth Social rants on Wednesday. He was incapable of doing a good job, it was too much for him, and I couldnt stand the guy, so I fired him like a dog.

He had no heart or respect for people, so I hit him hardMade no difference to me, the former president added. Hes already on record defending me all over the place. Nobody loves the Military like I do! Now he finally speaks back by making up fake stories, or confirming the made up stories of the Dems and Radical Left

Mr Trump lashed out after Gen Kelly provided a statement to CNN confirming that the former president called wounded or killed American soldiers suckers and losers.

Gen Kelly was the Trump White House chief of staff from 2017 until 2019, brought in to bring order to the administration following the departure of ex-RNC chair Rience Priebus after just six months in the job.

Gen Kelly confirmed details of a story published by The Atlantic in 2020 which outlined offensive comments by Mr Trump. The piece included allegations that Mr Trump refused to visit the Aisne-Marne American Cemetery near Paris in 2018 as he was concerned about what the weather would do to his hair and that he didnt grasp the value of honouring Americans who died in battle.

Why should I go to that cemetery? Its filled with losers, Mr Trump said, according to the article, which Mr Trump called fake, claiming that he thought killed soldiers were absolute heroes.

But Gen Kelly confirmed details of the story in his statement to CNN, saying that Mr Trump didnt understand why Americans revered former prisoners of war as well as those killed in combat.

What can I add that has not already been said? Gen Kelly said. A person that thinks those who defend their country in uniform, or are shot down or seriously wounded in combat, or spend years being tortured as POWs are all suckers because there is nothing in it for them.

A person that did not want to be seen in the presence of military amputees because it doesnt look good for me.

A person who rants that our most precious heroes who gave their lives in Americas defense are losers and wouldnt visit their graves in France.

A person that has no idea what America stands for and has no idea what America is all about. There is nothing more that can be said. God help us.

Mr Trump has previously argued that the late Senator John McCain (R-AZ), who spent years as a prisoner and was tortured during the Vietnam War, was not a war hero.

During his campaign in 2015, Mr Trump spoke about Mr McCains 2008 presidential run, saying, hes not a war hero. Hes a war hero because he got captured. I like people who werent captured.

Recently retired Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen Mark Milley recently revealed in another piece in The Atlantic that Mr Trump disparaged Army Captain Luis Avila, a wounded soldier.

Why do you bring people like that here? No one wants to see that, the wounded, Mr Trump said, according to the article.
One of former President Donald Trumps co-defendants in a sprawling Georgia RICO case is seeking to have his case dismissed due to what he alleges are paperwork errors made by the lead prosecutor, ABC News reported Wednesday night. Its a long-shot legal strategy unlikely to work for Kenneth Chesebro, a lawyer who who is accused of aiding Trumps efforts to overturn the 2020 election through the use of alternate electors in several states, including Georgia. In a new court filing Wednesday, he argues that Nathan Wade, one of the states special prosecutors, never submitted an oath of office to work on the casemaking any work hes done, including arguments he presented to a grand jury in the case, null and void. Experts who spoke with ABC News were skeptical of the legal argument. If he was not sworn in, at worst its embarrassing for the Fulton County DAs office but it would not affect the case, Former Georgia prosecutor Chris Timmons told the network.

Read it at ABC News

Read more at The Daily Beast.
On Thursday, the Japanese Meteorological Agency issued a tsunami advisory following a 6.1 magnitude earthquake that hit the outlying islands in the Izu chain.

According to the forecaster, waves reaching up to one meter in height have been predicted for the islands located south of Japan's main island, Honshu.

Japan Issues Tsunami Advisory After Strong Earthquake

According to the latest forecast, small tsunami surges, reaching a maximum height of 0.2 meters, have been predicted for Honshu. This warning encompasses a wide region, extending from Chiba Prefecture in the east to Kagoshima Prefecture in the west, with Tokyo falling within its scope.

Per The Independent, the meteorological agency said a small tsunami measuring approximately 30 centimeters (1 foot) was witnessed in the Yaene area of Hachijo island. Residents were urged to stay away from coasts and river mouths, as an alert was issued at the second lowest level of Japan's four-level warning system.

Following a series of earthquakes, the most powerful one registering a magnitude of 6.1, a warning has been issued. The seismic activity occurred at approximately 11am local time, originating from the Pacific Ocean with its epicenter located roughly 550km south of Tokyo.

In a seismic event of significant magnitude, the epicenter of the most powerful earthquake was recorded at a depth of approximately 10 kilometers. In a cluster approximately 580 km south of Tokyo, lie the uninhabited islands of the Izu chain.

Read Also: South Africa Battles Bird Flu Outbreak, Culling Millions of Chickens and Causing Shortages

Tsunami Alert Warning is Lifted After 2 Hours

According to ABC News, the warning was lifted approximately two hours later. According to reports, no damage has been reported.

In a recent advisory, authorities have urged residents on the islands in the Izu chain, located south of Tokyo, to take caution. This advisory, which falls under the second-lowest level of a four-stage warning system, advises individuals to avoid coastal areas and river mouths.

The US Geological Survey has reported that a sequence of offshore earthquakes occurred in the area on Thursday morning. According to reports, a magnitude of 6.1 has been recorded as the strongest measurement. The seismic event was reportedly situated at a depth of 10 kilometers (6 miles).

According to the Japan Meteorological Agency, a recent earthquake did not generate any noticeable tremors on the islands or in the Tokyo region. However, cautionary measures have been issued as the agency has warned that coastal areas could potentially experience a tsunami with a maximum height of 1 meter (3.2 feet). A

It has been revealed that Japan is considered to be one of the most earthquake prone locations on our planet. In 2011, a colossal earthquake measuring 9.0 on the Richter scale struck, leading to a devastating tsunami that ravaged extensive areas in northern Japan. This catastrophic event also resulted in the meltdown of three reactors at the Fukushima nuclear plant.

Related Article: [UPDATE] Paris Bedbug Outbreak: French Officials Sound Alarm, Call for Immediate Response to Crisis

@ 2023 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Donald Trump is considering making a trip to the Capitol amid calls from loyalists within the lower chamber for him to assume the position of House Speaker. Such a visit would be the first time the former president has visited the building since a mob of his supporters breached it in a violent riot on Jan. 6, 2021.

Multiple outlets reported on Thursday that the former president is mulling a trip next week ahead of a vote, with Politico noting that he is open to pitching himself as a candidate, citing a Republican familiar with internal discussions. A source familiar with Trumps recent private discussions tells Rolling Stone that Trump has indeed uttered that hes open to the possibility of a speakership run. (Trump, of course, often says hes considering or would consider a lot of things that never come to fruition.)

On Tuesday, an insurgency of hardline House Republicans led by Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) succeeded in ousting Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) from the speakership. As the now-rudderless GOP fights among itself and scrambles to nominate a replacement, Trump loyalists have floated nominating the former president for the role. Critically, there is no requirement that the House Speaker be an elected member of Congress.

As of Thursday, two Representatives have officially entered the race to replace McCarthy: Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) and Rep. Steve Scalise (R-La.). Jordan told NBC News on Thursday that hed had a great conversation with the former president regarding his bid, but declined to dive into the details.

Even within the narrow Republican majority in the House, Trumps nomination would be divisive. Democrats obviously consider the proposal a nonstarter, and moderate GOP members, as well as those in vulnerable districts, could view even the suggestion of Trumps return to Congress as a blow to the GOPs anticipated outcomes in 2024.

While MAGA representatives like Marjorie Taylor Greene have loudly and repeatedly declared their support for a Trump speakership bid, some members of the Republican caucus have already signaled that theyre unwilling to entertain the idea.

Trump was vehemently opposed to even having a recorded vote in the House on the $2+ trillion CARES Act. He supported Pelosis attempt to pass it by unanimous consent, without a quorum present. This disqualifies him from being Speaker, Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) wrote on Twitter.

Rep. Sean Casten (D-Il.) pointed out that GOPs own rules may preclude them from even nominating Trump, given that the House Republican Conference rules specify that a member of the Republican Leadership shall step aside if indicted for a felony for which a sentence of two or more years imprisonment may be imposed.

I would direct your attention to rule 26(a) of the House Republican Conference rules for the 118th Congress. https://t.co/nHqwjpUR3z pic.twitter.com/AbI3IVjNg5  Sean Casten (@SeanCasten) October 4, 2023

On Wednesday, Trump shared a digitally created image on Truth Social of himself standing at the speakers podium and brandishing the gavel.

On Thursday, the former president wrote on Truth Social that while he is running for president, he will do whatever is necessary to help with the Speaker of the House selection process, short term, until the final selection of a GREAT REPUBLICAN SPEAKER is made.

A Speaker who will help a new, but highly experienced President, ME, MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN! Trump added.

More from Rolling Stone

Best of Rolling Stone

Click here to read the full article.
Former President Trump is expected to head to Capitol Hill next week as the House of Representatives prepares to elect a new speaker, following the ouster of Rep. Kevin McCarthy , Fox News Digital has learned.

Two sources familiar told Fox News Digital that the former president and 2024 GOP frontrunner is planning to speak with members of the House Republican conference on Tuesday as they consider who will become the next speaker of the House. Another source told Fox News Digital that the details are still being ironed out.

Former President Donald Trump speaks to supporters at a rally to support local candidates in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, on Sept. 3, 2022.

Another source told Fox News Digital that the plans to travel to Washington, D.C., on Tuesday will not impact the former presidents campaign stop in New Hampshire on Monday. That visit will be his first visit back to the lead-off presidential primary state in two months.

McCarthy, R-Calif., was removed as House speaker on Tuesday after Rep. Matt Gaetz , R-Fla., introduced a measure against him known as a motion to vacate, accusing McCarthy of breaking promises he made to win the speaker's gavel in January.

Lawmakers voted to oust McCarthy from the speakership for the first time in the history of the House of Representatives.

Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif.

Since McCarthys ouster, both House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, and House Majority Whip Steve Scalise, R-La., have announced bids to run for speaker of the House.

READ ON THE FOX NEWS APP

It is unclear, at this point, who Trump would throw his support behind.

"Both of these men would represent a monumental step forward for the Republican conference," Gaetz told Fox News Digital during an interview Thursday. "I dont believe there is a single conservative in the country who would not believe we are in a better position with either of them."

Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio.

Gaetz told Fox News Digital he would be "honored to vote for either of these men on the floor."

"In conference, Ill make a decision based on spending," Gaetz said, referring to the House GOP conference meeting next week. "And whether theyre willing to liberate us on these continuing resolutions."

Meanwhile, as Jordan gains support for speaker of the House within the GOP conference, questions are swirling as to who could take his post as chairman of the House Judiciary Committee  which is jointly leading the impeachment inquiry against President Biden, alongside the House Oversight and Ways & Means Committees  if he is elected.

Two Republicans  Reps. Jim Jordan of Ohio, right, and Steve Scalise of Louisiana  launched bids for the House speakership on Wednesday.

Capitol Hill sources said Gaetz may have ambitions for the post himself, but when asked, the congressman offered his support to a colleague instead.

"The best person to take the Judiciary Committee if Jordan became speaker would be (Louisiana Rep.) Mike Johnson," Gaetz told Fox News Digital. "Because hes a better lawyer than I am."





Original article source: Trump expected to visit Capitol Hill next week amid House speaker race: sources
Judge Aileen Cannon again hands former President Donald Trump s legal team a partial victory. Trump drops lawsuits against Arthur Engoron, the judge in the civil financial fraud case, as well as his former lawyer Michael Cohen, a key witness in multiple cases.

Classified documents

Judge pauses pretrial deadlines as she considers Trump's request to delay trial until after 2024 election

Key players: Judge Aileen Cannon, special counsel Jack Smith

Cannon issued a ruling Friday temporarily delaying a previously set schedule of deadlines stretching from October through May for the Justice Department to make classified documents available to Trumps lawyers and for the defense team to have time to review them, the Messenger reported.

Smith has charged Trump with mishandling classified documents after leaving the White House and obstructing the governments attempts to retrieve them.

The indefinite delay comes after Trump lawyers on Wednesday requested that Cannon push back the start date for the trial until after the 2024 presidential election.

Cannon has yet to rule on Trumps motion to move back the trial, but her order on Friday would appear to make it less likely that the trial would begin on the scheduled date of May 20, 2024.

Why it matters: If Trump succeeds in pushing back the trial and also manages to win reelection in 2024, critics fear that he will simply attempt to pardon himself if found guilty of the felony charges Smith has brought against him.

New York financial fraud

Trump drops lawsuit against judge, but moves to appeal his fraud ruling

Key players: Judge Arthur Engoron, Trump lawyer Christoper Kise, New York Attorney General Letitia James

On day five of Trumps New York trial to decide the punishment he, his adult sons and his family business must pay after Engoron found them liable for inflating their assets to obtain favorable bank and insurance rates, Trump dropped his lawsuit against the judge handling the case, the Daily Beast reported.

Trump filed suit against Engoron last month, saying the judge ignored appeals court rulings and was biased against him. Critics saw the lawsuit as yet another attempt to delay the case from moving forward.

Kise, meanwhile, was not in Engorons courtroom early Friday. Instead, he was filing what was later ruled an unsuccessful appeal of the judges fraud ruling.

On Thursday, Engoron set a deadline to ensure Trump complied with his order to dissolve his New York businesses.

Why it matters: Trumps lawyers have sued prosecutors, judges and witnesses in the many cases in which the former president is a defendant and they are perfectly within their rights to do so. Their bid to overturn Engorons ruling was denied Friday, but the appellate court did allow Trump to retain control of his real estate holdings for the moment, the Associated Press reported.

Trump drops $500 million lawsuit against Michael Cohen  for now

Key player: Former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen

In a one-page court filing Thursday, lawyers for Trump announced they were dropping a $500 million lawsuit they had filed against Cohen, AFP reported.

"President Trump has decided to temporarily pause his meritorious claims against Michael Cohen, the filing stated. Once President Trump has prevailed in dealing with the witch hunts against him, he will continue to pursue his claims against Michael Cohen, who rightfully deserves to, and will be held accountable for his unlawful words and actions."

In response to the filing, Cohen said, "This case was nothing more than a retaliatory intimidation tactic, and his attempt to hide from routine discovery procedures confirms as much."

Trump had been scheduled to be deposed next week by Cohens lawyers in the case but cited conflicts arising from his civil fraud trial in New York and presidential campaign events.

Cohens court testimony will play a central role in the civil fraud trial as well as the criminal hush money case in New York.

Cohen served a three-year sentence on campaign finance, tax evasion and other charges from when he worked as Trumps lawyer and fixer.

Why it matters: The events packing Trumps legal and political calendar have become so numerous that it has become difficult for the former president to juggle them.

Read more:

USA Today: Reports: Trump revealed two nuclear secrets about U.S. submarines to Australian billionaire

The Hill: Georgia judge rejects Chesebro attempt to have charges dismissed

UPI: Georgia judge denies Sidney Powell bid to dismiss her Trump election interference case

____________________

Thursday, Oct. 5

____________________

Photo illustration: Yahoo News; photos: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images, Yuki Iwamura/Bloomberg via Getty Images, Spencer Platt/Getty Images, Getty Images (4).

Judge Arthur Engoron issues an order meant to keep former President Donald Trump, his adult sons and business from avoiding punishment for fraud in New York. Meanwhile, Trumps lawyers file a slew of motions to dismiss or delay criminal cases against him.

New York financial fraud

Judge sets Oct. 26 deadline on plan for dissolution of Trumps New York companies

Key players: Judge Arthur Engoron, former federal judge Barbara Jones, New York Attorney General Letitia James

On day four of the civil trial to decide the penalties Trump, his adult sons and the Trump Organization must pay after being found liable for fraud, Engoron issued a ruling to ensure that the defendants comply with his order to dissolve their New York businesses, the Daily Beast reported.

In Wednesdays order, Engoron directed Trumps lawyers and James to submit suggestions for the appointment of an independent receiver to oversee the shuttering of the Trump familys New York businesses by Oct. 26.

His order also directs Trump, his adult sons and two top executives at the Trump Org. to inform the court about the creation of any new business entities and the transfer of assets.

Trump has already filed an appeal of Engorons decision that would effectively spell the end of his ability to conduct business in New York.

Why it matters: Engorons ruling is designed to preempt Trump from making secret transactions to skirt the courts punishment for being found liable for years of financial fraud.

Jan. 6 election interference

Trump lawyers seek dismissal of federal election inference charges

Key players: Judge Tanya Chutkan, special counsel Jack Smith

In a motion filed Thursday, Trumps lawyers said Chutkan should dismiss all charges related to his attempts to overturn the results of the 2020 election because he was president when he undertook them, the Associated Press reported.

Breaking 234 years of precedent, the incumbent administration has charged President Trump for acts that lie not just within the outer perimeter, but at the heart of his official responsibilities as President, the long-shot motion states.

Trump has been charged with conspiracy to defraud the United States, conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding, obstruction of and attempt to obstruct an official proceeding, and conspiracy against rights.

In his indictment, Smith said that while political candidates are fully within their rights to challenge the results of an election, Trumps actions clearly overstepped those bounds and constituted criminal acts.

Why it matters: Trump has already lost many court challenges that have attempted to shield his communications with staff members based on claims of executive privilege. If he were successful with this motion, the judges ruling would appear to all but erase any limits on the ability to find a president guilty of having committed a crime.

New York hush money

Trump asks judge to dismiss hush money charges

Key players: Judge Juan Merchan, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg

Trumps lawyers argued in a filing this week that Merchan should dismiss the 34 felony charges against Trump because Bragg waited to file his indictment until after Trump had declared his candidacy for president, CNN reported.

The indictment was filed six years after the conduct at issue, more than four-and-a-half years after DANY [District Attorney of New York] began to investigate it, and more than three years after DANY started presenting evidence to a grand jury, Trumps attorneys wrote in the filing, adding, The delay has prejudiced President Trump, interfered with his ongoing presidential campaign, and violated his due process rights.

In March, Trump was indicted on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records stemming from his $130,000 payment to porn star Stormy Daniels. Prosecutors allege that the sum was paid to hide an extramarital affair from becoming public during the 2016 presidential election.

In social media posts, Trump often tries to make the case that the four criminal prosecutions against him are simply a ruse to keep him from winning reelection.

Why it matters: Seen as another long-shot, Trumps legal filing would, if successful, dash the criminal case against him in New York before it is scheduled to begin, on March 24, 2024.

Classified documents

Trump asks judge to delay documents trial until after 2024 election

Key players: Judge Aileen Cannon, Trump lawyers Christopher Kise and Todd Blanche, special counsel Jack Smith

In a motion filed late Wednesday, Trumps lawyers asked Cannon to delay the start of the trial on felony charges stemming from his mishandling of classified documents until after the 2024 presidential election, the Associated Press reported.

The case is currently scheduled to begin in Florida on May 20, 2024, but lawyers for the former president, who faces four overlapping criminal trials, said scheduling conflicts made that date impossible.

Kise and Blanche also said in the filing that prosecutors had yet to provide them with documents to review for their defense of Trump.

The Department of Justice says it has provided 1.28 million pages of documents to date. Last week, Smiths team said in its own filing that they would make available most of the remaining classified documents to Trumps lawyers by Friday.

Cannon, a Trump appointee, has raised eyebrows with what critics say are pro-Trump rulings in the case so far.

Why it matters: The pattern of attempting to delay the start of criminal trials until after the election could complicate holding Trump accountable if he is found guilty in federal court.

____________________

Wednesday, Oct. 4

____________________

Judge Arthur Engoron. (Photo illustration: Yahoo News; photos: Mary Altaffer/AFP via Getty Images, Shannon Stapleton/Pool via Getty Images, Getty Images)

Lawyers for former President Donald Trump file an appeal of a judges ruling that found him liable for financial fraud. Georgia prosecutor Fani Willis seeks a March 4 start date for the election interference trial and Rudy Giuliani files a defamation lawsuit against President Biden.

New York financial fraud trial

Trump files appeal of judges ruling finding him liable for fraud

Key players: Judge Arthur Engoron, New York Attorney General Letitia James

As the third day of Trumps New York civil trial got underway Wednesday to determine the penalties the former president, his adult sons and their family business must pay for illegally inflating their assets, Trumps lawyers filed an appeal of Engorons summary judgment ruling, Reuters reported.

On Sept. 26, Engoron sided with James, ruling that there was conclusive evidence that Trump had inflated his assets by as much as $2.2 billion in order to obtain favorable bank and insurance rates.

In their notice of appeal, Trumps lawyers stated that they were contesting each and every part of Engorons ruling.

As Wednesdays court proceedings broke for lunch, Trump again attacked Engoron, saying he already knows what hes going to do in the case and is run by the Democrats.

Why it matters: James is seeking at least $250 million in damages from Trump, his sons and their business, as well as an order that would prevent the Trump Organization from conducting business in New York. If the appeal of Engorons ruling is successful, it could wipe away all of those possible penalties.

Georgia election interference

Willis proposes March 4 start date for Trumps Georgia trial

Key players: Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, Judge Scott McAfee, pro-trump lawyers Kenneth Chesebro and Sidney Powell

In a court filing Wednesday, Willis proposed a March 4 start date for the sprawling election interference trial of Trump and 16 others, NBC News reported.

In light of Defendant Donald John Trumps other criminal and civil matters pending in the courts of our sister sovereigns, the State of Georgia proposes certain deadlines that do not conflict with these other courts already-scheduled hearings and trial dates, Willis wrote.

Two of the defendants, Chesebro and Powell, will go on trial on Oct. 23.

Ultimately, it will be up to McAfee to decide when the Georgia trial will begin.

Why it matters: Trumps lawyers have sought to push the start of the trial back after the 2024 presidential election. Willis was unsuccessful in her bid to have all of the defendants tried starting on Oct. 23. With two other criminal cases and two civil ones set to take place as the presidential primary gets underway, Trumps legal calendar will be incredibly crowded.

As his legal bills mount, Giuliani files defamation lawsuit against Biden

Key players: Former Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani, President Biden, Giuliani lawyer William OBrien

Faced with mounting legal bills stemming from his efforts to help Trump overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election in Georgia and other states, Giuliani has filed a civil defamation lawsuit against Biden, the Hill reported.

In a 16-page complaint filed in New Hampshire, OBrien cited remarks Biden made in a 2020 presidential debate with Trump in which he referred to Giuliani as a Russian pawn, in a suit that seeks unspecified financial damages.

In the debate, Biden said, [Trumps] own national security adviser told him that what is happening with his buddy, Rudy Giuliani, hes being used as a Russian pawn; hes being fed information that is Russian, that is not true.

Why it matters: In addition to the legal bills he is racking up having to defend himself in Georgia, the loss of a second lawyer in that case, and a lawsuit filed by Hunter Biden, Giuliani is being sued by his own former lawyer for $1.36 million in unpaid legal bills.

___________________

Tuesday, Oct. 3

___________________

Photo Illustration: Yahoo News; photos: Fatih Aktas/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images (2), Getty Images (2).

The judge in the New York financial fraud trial against former President Donald Trump issues a partial gag order on the former president. The judge also clarifies remarks he made Monday about the statute of limitations in the case. Trump, meanwhile, says he will take the witness stand at the appropriate time.

New York financial fraud trial

Judge issues gag order after Trump attacks his clerk on social media

Key players: Judge Arthur Engoron

Engoron told Trump and his lawyers Tuesday that he was issuing a gag order for all parties from posting about any members of my staff, after the former president attacked Engorons clerk in a social media post, the Associated Press reported.

Personal attacks on members on my court staff are unacceptable, inappropriate, and I wont tolerate it, Engoron said.

Before the lunch break on the second day of his financial fraud trial, Trump posted an inaccurate claim made on a satirical website that Engorons clerk was Sen. Majority Leader Chuck Schumers girlfriend.

Why it matters: Trumps attacks on judges, witnesses and prosecutors have increased calls for gag orders to be placed on him during the legal proceedings. Engorons is the first to be issued.

Engoron refutes Trumps claim that 80% of the charges against him will be thrown out

Key players: Judge Arthur Engoron

Engoron clarified a remark he made Monday regarding testimony about 2011 financial statements being introduced by prosecutors being a waste of time, ABC News reported.

An appeals court has ruled that 2014 is the end date for the statute of limitations for the financial crimes Trump, his adult sons and family business are accused of committing, and Trumps lawyers are seeking to have the judge toss out allegations made for anything earlier.

Lawyers with Jamess office, however, are making the case that Trump used inaccurate 2011 financial statements after 2014 to obtain more favorable loan and insurance rates.

I trust that you can relate the 2011 documents to something that happened later, Engoron told prosecutors on Monday. Or this has all been a waste of time.

At the conclusion of Mondays proceedings, Trump told reporters that Engoron had effectively indicated that the statute of limitations meant he would kick out 80% of this case.

It was a great credit to the court that the judge was willing to do this sort of overruled himself and I greatly respect that, Trump said.

In fact, Trump stripped Engorons remarks of their context.

Every use of false financial statements in business starts the statute of limitations running again, Engoron clarified Tuesday. I understand that the defendants strongly disagree with this and will appeal on those grounds.

Why it matters: In part, Trump has attended the trial to address the media during breaks to put forth his interpretation of the case against him. As Engorons message at the start of the second day indicates, Trumps declarations should be taken with a grain of salt.

Trump says he will testify at the appropriate time

Key players: New York Attorney General Letitia James

During a break in day two of Trumps $250 million financial fraud trial, the former president was asked if he planned to testify in the case, the Telegraph reported.

Yes, I will. At the appropriate time I will be, Trump responded.

James has indicated that she plans to call Trump and his adult sons as witnesses, as have Trumps own lawyers.

Why it matters: Engoron has indicated that the trial will last until the end of December. There is no indication yet when James may call Trump to take the witness stand and whether he will agree to answer questions or simply invoke his Fifth Amendment right to avoid self-incrimination.

________________

Monday, Oct. 2

________________

Photo illustration: Yahoo News; photos: Seth Wenig-Pool/Getty Images, Fatih Aktas/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images, Yuki Iwamura/Bloomberg via Getty Images, Getty Images (2).

Former President Donald Trumps civil financial fraud trial gets underway in New York. The U.S. Supreme Court  minus Justice Clarence Thomas, who recused himself  refuses to hear an appeal filed by lawyer John Eastman about shielding emails he sent to Trump. In Georgia, Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis subpoenas Bernard Kerik to testify in the case against Trump and 18 others.

Jan. 6 election interference

Supreme Court rejects Eastman appeal  and Thomas recuses himself

Key players: Pro-Trump lawyer John Eastman, Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas

On Monday, the United States Supreme Court declined to hear an appeal by Eastman, who sought to block Congress from obtaining 10 emails he sent to Trump about overturning the results of the 2020 election, Reuters reported.

The emails were handed over to the House committee investigating the riot at the U.S. Capitol, but Eastmans lawyers argued that they were protected by attorney-client privilege.

In 2020, U.S. District Court Judge David Carter ruled that the emails were not protected by attorney-client privilege because they were likely used in furtherance of a crime.

Thomas, for whom Eastman worked as a clerk, recused himself from the case.

Why it matters: Eastman has been charged with multiple felonies related to his efforts to overturn the election results in Georgia and could yet face federal charges. Legal challenges attempting to shield Trumps communications regarding the 2020 election plot have largely failed. Given the extensive efforts by Thomass wife, Ginni, to challenge the election results, this may not be the last case in which he will face calls to recuse himself.

New York financial fraud civil trial

Prosecutors: Trump gained $1B by lying to banks and insurers about the value of his assets

Key players: Prosecution lawyer Kevin Wallace, Trump lawyer Christopher Kise, New York Attorney General Letitia James, Judge Arthur Engoron

On the first day of the New York trial to decide how much Trump, his adult sons and his business will have to pay in damages after being found liable for years of financial fraud, prosecutors said Trump had gained $1 billion by inflating his assets in order to obtain favorable loans and insurance rates, the Telegraph reported.

This isnt business as usual, and this isnt how sophisticated parties deal with each other, Wallace said. These are not victimless crimes.

Kise countered by saying, There were no unjust profits, and there were no victims.

James, Trump and his son Eric all attended the trial. Asked why he had come even though he was not legally required to, Trump quipped, Because I want to watch this witch hunt myself.

Trump also tore into Engoron, calling him a Democrat operative and a disgrace.

Why it matters: Engoron will alone decide the amount of damages Trump, his sons and business will have to pay for illegally inflating their assets on loan and insurance forms.

Georgia election interference

Willis subpoenas Kerik to testify

Key players: Fulton County DA Fani Willis, former New York Police Commissioner Bernard Kerik, Keriks lawyer Tim Parlatore

Willis has issued a subpoena to Kerik, seeking his testimony in the case against Trump and 18 others accused of attempting to illegally overturn the election results in Georgia, CNN reported.

Kerik is an unnamed co-conspirator in the case. He took part in meetings with officials from other battleground states that Trump lost in 2020 to devise a strategy for contesting those results.

In response to Willis, Parlatore said that no competent criminal attorney would allow Mr. Kerik to testify absent a grant of immunity.

Short of being given immunity, Kerik will plead the Fifth Amendment on the witness stand, Parlatore added.

Why it matters: On Friday, bail bondsman Scott Hall became the first defendant in the Georgia case to cut a plea deal with prosecutors. Kerik has not been charged in Georgia, however, so it remains to be seen if Willis will agree to offer him immunity in exchange for his testimony.
Trump looking for Speaker who will help him

Former President Trump said Thursday that he wants a House Speaker who will help a new, but highly experienced president come 2024.

I am running for President, have a 62 Point lead over Republicans, and am up on Crooked Joe Biden , despite the Democrat Partys massive Law-fare, Weaponization, and Election Interference efforts, by 4 to 11 Points, but will do whatever is necessary to help with the Speaker of the House selection process, short term, until the final selection of a GREAT REPUBLICAN SPEAKER is made, Trump said in a Truth Social post.

A Speaker who will help a new, but highly experienced President, ME, MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN! he added.

His remarks come just two days after former Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) was ousted from his leadership role in a 216-210 vote led by Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.). Seven other Republicans joined with Gaetz and House Democrats in the vote, ending McCarthys brief and tumultuous term as Speaker.

Trump, who was floated by several Republicans as a potential contender for the House leadership role, dismissed the idea. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), seen as one of the former presidents biggest champions in Congress, said she would only back Trump as the next Speaker.

I think shes a wonderful woman, Trump said. Ill do whatever it is to help, but my focus, my total focus is being president and, quite honestly, making America great again.

The former president supported McCarthy in his run for Speaker earlier this year and has had a mostly positive relationship with the California Republican. McCarthys path to clinching the office was notable for the 15 rounds of voting it took for him to succeed.

Despite the effort, McCarthy said Tuesday he would not run again for the top spot.

I will not seek to run again for Speaker of the House, McCarthy said. I may have lost a vote today, but I fought for what I believe in  and I believe in America.

It has been an honor to serve, he added.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
By David Morgan

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Donald Trump is endorsing Congressman Jim Jordan to replace ousted U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy , the former president said on Friday, as the chamber's fractious Republicans try to unify in the aftermath of McCarthy's historic fall.

"He (Jordan) is STRONG on Crime, Borders, our Military/Vets, & 2nd Amendment. Jim, his wife, Polly, & family are outstanding - He will be a GREAT Speaker of the House, & has my Complete & Total Endorsement!" Trump said in a post on his Truth Social app.

The post follows earlier news that Trump, the frontrunner for the 2024 Republican nomination to challenge Democratic President Joe Biden , might agree to replace McCarthy for a short time. Fox News also reported that Trump was close to endorsing Jordan.

Two Republican lawmakers are campaigning for the speakership: Representative Steve Scalise, who was second to McCarthy on the leadership ladder, and Jordan, an outspoken conservative from Ohio who has led investigations into the Biden administration.

Republicans, who control the House of Representatives by a narrow 221-212 margin, are due to hold a closed-door forum for candidates seeking the speakership on Tuesday, a meeting that the former Republican president said he could attend. A vote is expected the next day.

But acrimony and resentment over McCarthy's ouster could make nominating a new speaker a challenge for House Republicans.

Although House rules do not require the speaker to be a member of Congress, Trump already has a lot on his plate as he faces four upcoming criminal trials, two related to his attempts to overturn his 2020 election defeat.

House Republican rules prohibit a speaker who is under felony indictment.

Trump spent much of the start of the week in New York, where his civil fraud trial was getting under way, with the former reality TV star drawing the spotlight over repeated verbal attacks on the U.S. legal system, drawing a gag order from the judge.

Trump's pull with House Republicans has been tested at times this year. Republicans initially did not respond to Trump's call to elect McCarthy as speaker, waiting three days before doing so and subjecting McCarthy to a grueling 15 rounds of voting.

Trump has been indicted on 91 felony counts in four separate criminal cases including two that accuse him of illegally trying to subvert his 2020 presidential election loss.

Republican congressional leadership sources either did not respond to a request for comment or declined to comment on the possibility of Trump's becoming speaker.

The meeting on Tuesday would be Trump's first visit to Capitol Hill since his supporters attacked the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, to try to prevent lawmakers from certifying his 2020 White House loss to Democrat Joe Biden.

(Reporting by David Morgan, additional reporting by Andy Sullivan, Costas Pitas, Nathan Layne and Nilutpal Timsina; Editing by Scott Malone, Howard Goller and Gerry Doyle)
Former President Trump is considering making a trip to Capitol Hill next week as House Republicans gather to determine who they will back to become the next Speaker following the ouster of Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) from the position.

A source confirmed there are discussions about having Trump visit the Capitol next Tuesday, when the House GOP conference will hold a forum for Speaker candidates.

A second source said a Trump trip to Capitol Hill is far from finalized and may not ultimately happen.

Trump is scheduled to visit Iowa over the weekend and New Hampshire on Monday for campaign stops in his bid for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination.

The Messenger first reported on the possibility of Trump visiting the Capitol next week.

It would be Trumps first time visiting Capitol Hill since Jan. 6, 2021, when a mob of his supporters violently clashed with law enforcement and stormed the complex in an attempt to stop the certification of President Bidens victory in the 2020 election.

Trump has pleaded not guilty to federal charges over his efforts to remain in power after the 2020 election.

The House on Tuesday voted to remove McCarthy as Speaker after Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) brought up a motion to oust the California Republican. Gaetz and seven other Republicans joined with Democrats to ultimately vote to remove McCarthy from his position.

The former president has declined to endorse any particular candidate for Speaker in the aftermath of McCarthys ouster, telling reporters on Wednesday there are great people in the Republican Party that could do a great job as Speaker.

Two of the lawmakers who have said they are pursuing the job  Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) and House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.)  are both Trump allies.

Some in the GOP have floated Trump as a candidate for Speaker, including Reps. Troy Nehls (R-Texas) and Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.). The Speaker technically is not required to serve in the House.

Trump, who has been in court in New York this week for a fraud trial, has said he is willing to do whatever he can to help the House GOP in the short term, but he told reporters Wednesday his total focus is on his 2024 presidential campaign.

Several Democrats nodded to the events of Jan. 6 in response to a social media post from Greene, who suggested if Trump were Speaker, the House chamber will be like a Trump rally everyday!!

No thanks, were good. Weve seen a Trump rally at the Capitol already, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter.

We already saw a #Trump rally in Congress back on #January6th, Rep. Brad Sherman (D-Calif.) wrote on X.

The Democratic National Committee (DNC) argued Trumps potential trip to the Capitol was the latest indication House Republicans are beholden to the former president.

The fact that MAGA House Republicans are spending their time fighting over who can best do Trumps bidding instead of delivering for the American people tells you everything you need to know about their partys priorities, DNC spokesperson Sarafina Chitika said in a statement.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Former President Donald Trump allegedly shared sensitive information about the U.S. nuclear submarine arsenal with Mar-a-Lago member and Australian billionaire Anthony Prattincluding how many warheads the vessels can carry and how close they can get to Russian counterparts undetected, ABC News reported Wednesday. Pratt in turn reportedly told at least 45 others about the details, including three former Australian prime ministers and many other foreign nationals. The sharing sensitive info with a foreign national has been reported to special counsel Jack Smith, who is charged with investigating Trumps retention of classified documents at his Florida estate. Pratt has twice been interviewed by Smith and his team about the alleged meeting with Trump in 2021.

Read it at ABC News

Read more at The Daily Beast.
Trump says Biden sees the country being 'invaded,' warns of 'terrorists' already inside the US

EXCLUSIVE: Former President Trump said the Biden administration is only citing the "immediate need" to build a border wall because President Biden is watching the United States be "invaded" by illegal migrants, warning that "terrorists" are "already" inside the country.

Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas on Wednesday said there was an "acute and immediate need" to waive dozens of federal laws in order to build a border wall in south Texas where illegal migration has surged. DHS justified the move due to "high illegal entry"  more than 245,000 migrant encounters have been recorded in the Rio Grande Valley Sector this year.

In an exclusive interview with Fox News Digital shortly after the DHS announcement, the former president  who leads the 2024 Republican primary field by a massive margin  blamed Biden for halting construction of the border wall and causing the crisis at the southern border.

MAYORKAS CITES IMMEDIATE NEED TO WAIVE REGULATIONS, BUILD BORDER WALL IN TEXAS AS IMMIGRATION SURGES

Former President Trumps legal woes have been covered significantly by ABC, NBC and CBS, but prosecutors are rarely identified as Democrats, according to a new study.

"Biden sees our country is being invaded," Trump said. "What is he going to do about the 15 million people from prisons, from mental institutions, insane asylums, and terrorists that have already come into our country?"

The number of people arrested in FY 2023 between ports of entry by Border Patrol at the southern border who are on the FBI's terror watchlist hit a new record this year, with 151 arrests in FY 23, compared to 98 in FY 2022 and 15 in FY 21. At the ports of entry at the northern and southern border, there have been 505 people encountered by Customs and Border Protection's Office of Field Operations.

READ ON THE FOX NEWS APP

The watch list, officially called the Terrorist Screening Dataset (TSDS) is the governments database that "contains sensitive information on terrorist identities." The watch list originated to house information on known or suspected terrorists, but "has evolved over the last decade to include additional individuals who represent a potential threat to the United States, including known affiliates of watchlisted individuals," CBP says.

TEXAS AUTHORITIES NAB PREVIOUSLY DEPORTED MS-13 GANG MEMBER ON INTERNATIONAL WATCHLIST

While the number is relatively small, compared to the millions of migrants encountered at the borders in recent years, Republicans and former border officials have raised concern about the numbers of those on the terror watch list who are getting past Border Patrol agents. There were at least 599,000 illegal immigrants who escaped Border Patrol custody in FY 2022, after more than 390,000 in FY 2021.

"What has happened to our country?" Trump said, adding that the Biden administration needs to "go back to Trump policies."

"He has to reinstate Remain in Mexico and Title 42," Trump said. "He has to do all of the other things that we were doing."

A Trump campaign spokesperson told Fox News Digital Wednesday night that "President Trump is always right."

"Thats why he built close to 500 miles of powerful new wall on the border and it would have been finished by now," the spokesperson said. "Instead, Crooked Joe Biden turned our country into one giant sanctuary for dangerous criminal aliens."

FBI TERROR WATCHLIST ARRESTS, ENCOUNTERS AT SOUTHERN BORDER FOR FY 23 HITS ALL-TIME RECORD

The comments come after Department of Homeland Security posted an announcement Wednesday night on the U.S. Federal Register which outlines construction in Starr County in the Rio Grande Valley Sector.

Mayorkas says he is using his authority provided by Congress to waive 26 federal laws, including the Clean Air Act, Safe Drinking Water Act and Endangered Species Act.

"There is presently an acute and immediate need to construct physical barriers and roads in the vicinity of the border of the United States in order to prevent unlawful entries into the United States in the project areas pursuant to sections 102(a) and 102(b) of [the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996]," Mayorkas said.

President Joe Biden.

A Customs and Border Protection spokesperson told Fox News Digital Wednesday that the project is "consistent with DHSs plan to fulfill the requirements of President Bidens Proclamation, which ended the diversion of funds for border wall from military projects or other sources while calling for the expenditure of any funds Congress appropriated for barrier construction consistent with their appropriated purpose."

TRUMP SAYS HE WILL CARRY OUT THE 'LARGEST DOMESTIC DEPORTATION OPERATION IN AMERICAN HISTORY' IF ELECTED

The construction is funded by the FY 2019 DHS appropriations bill, which specifically funded wall projects in the RGV Sector and which DHS is required to use for its appropriated purpose. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) announced plans for up to 20 miles of wall in the RGV Sector in June. The administration previously made moves to close gaps and replace gates, and says that such projects prioritize the completion of activities and projects to address life, safety and operational risks  including the safety of individuals, Border Patrol agents and migrants.

A CBP spokesperson confirmed to Fox News Digital that the waiver is for barrier projects announced in June, and that it will cover approximately 17 miles in Starr County. The spokesperson said that the project is consistent with DHS' plan to fulfill President Biden's Jan 20, 2021 proclamation which "ended the diversion of funds for border wall from military projects or other sources while calling for the expenditure of any funds Congress appropriated for barrier construction consistent with their appropriated purpose."

"CBP remains committed to protecting the nations cultural and natural resources and will implement sound environmental practices as part of the project covered by this waiver," the spokesperson said.

The administration had put a halt to new border wall construction in early 2021, after then-candidate Biden had promised there would "not be another foot of wall constructed on my administration." The administration said that wall construction under the Trump administration was "just one example of the prior Administrations misplaced priorities and failure to manage migration in a safe, orderly, and humane way."

The announcement comes as the Biden administration is facing a fresh surge in illegal immigration, leading to record-high numbers at the southern border and intense political criticism from both Republicans and Democrats. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) sources told Fox News last week that there were more than 260,000 encounters in September  which would be the highest monthly total on record.

Meanwhile, Trump last month vowed, if re-elected, to carry out "the largest domestic deportation operation in American history," and promised to begin a second term by "immediately" terminating "every Open Borders policy of the Biden Administration."





Original article source: Trump says Biden sees the country being 'invaded,' warns of 'terrorists' already inside the US
Donald Trump sits in the courtroom for the third day of his civil fraud trial in New York on Wednesday. Spencer Platt/Pool/AFP via Getty Images

Having invested just two and a half days of personal time in his New York state civil fraud trial, Donald Trump has headed back to Mar-a-Lago. Whether he returns to Judge Arthur Engorons courtroom for any portion of what is expected to be a lengthy trial remains to be seen.

That decision, like all Trump strategies, will focus first on political considerations and will encompass legal reality only when there is no other choice.

A prime example of the tension between Trump political theater and sensible legal strategy is Trumps and his attorneys claims that he will testify in the civil fraud trial. Despite such multiple announcementsintended to assure Trumps base that he has nothing to hide and is fighting the charges head-onhis voluntary return to court as a witness in his own defense is most unlikely, as it is clearly the worst of the bad legal choices he faces.

As I observed in Slate last year concerning the dangers in Trumps potential testimony in a possible federal criminal trial: The list of questions Donald Trump would be unable to answer is so long that the hardest task for whomever would cross-examine him would be to whittle it down to the best three days worth of material.

That reality is even more problematic for the former president in the New York civil case, as New York state law provides the attorney generals office especially wide leeway to cross-examine Trump. Per Rule 6.11s impeachment provisions, a witness can be confronted with any evidence that has a tendency in reason to discredit the truthfulness or accuracy of the witnesss testimony. As a result, every lie told will be on the table, subject only to the limitations imposed by a judge he has personally attacked, and whose law clerk he has smeared.

Thus, the only beneficiaries of Trumps testimony will be the state of New York and, of course, waiting in the wings, the Department of Justice, a consequence far more significant than stoking up the base for a few extra donor dollars.

But cant the state call Trump in their own case as a hostile witness, thus allowing them to ask leading questions and impeach his credibility? Of course, but in that capacity, Trump can invoke his privilege against self-incrimination and not answer. Despite having a long history of denigrating the invocation of privilegeIf you are innocent, why are you taking the Fifth Amendment?this will not be the first time he has done so, nor the last time he will.

While, because it is a civil case, Judge Engoron can draw reasonable negative inferences from his invocations of privilege, the potential harm will surely be less than the debacle of any attempts to explain the inexplicable and being confronted with a lifetime of lies, some of which are the bases for his current, multiple criminal exposures.

Donald Trump is surely aware that he will not escape a financially devastating result in the New York civil fraud case, and so, consistent with his strategic response to all his legal woes, the former president is using the civil fraud trial as a fundraising and campaign event. As is widely recognized, without a legal defense Trump must rely on a political one that he hopes will return him to the insularity and the power of the White House.

Combined with his attempts to delay each of the proceedings to escape final judgement at least until the July 15, 2024, Republican conventionwhen his appeals to the MAGA base are expected to have given him a huge lead in delegatesthe Trump strategy threatens to create an unprecedented political and constitutional crisis.

Thus, regardless of how devastating a financial blow will be struck by Judge Engoron by, say the end of 2023 or early 2024, the appeals process will likely continue past the early March 2024 onset of Republican primaries. While Trump is most unlikely to obtain a reversal, or even a meaningful reduction, of the grave financial penalties Judge Engoron will likely impose, he will still get what he needs mosttime to garner convention delegates.

In the interim, as the evidence of civil fraud mounts in the Manhattan courtroom, far from a courthouse he will avoid for as long as possible, the disgraceful insults hurled against the American legal system and its participants and the baseless claims of victimhood will continue.
Former President Trump said that he would step in as Speaker of the House if necessary as the GOP scrambles to find a new leader.

I have been asked to speak as a unifier because I have so many friends in Congress, Trump told Fox News Digital. If they dont get the vote, they have asked me if I would consider taking the Speakership until they get somebody longer-term, because I am running for president.

They have asked me if I would take it for a short period of time for the party, until they come to a conclusion  Im not doing it because I want to  I will do it if necessary, should they not be able to make their decision, the former president told the outlet.

Trump declined to name who he talked to, Fox News Digital reported Thursday. He also said that he would take the role for a 30, 60, or 90-day period if the party could not come to a consensus.

House Republicans have been in turmoil since former Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) was ousted from the top spot Tuesday afternoon. McCarthy has said that he will not seek the Speakership again, while two lawmakers  Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) and House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.)  announced they will pursue the job.

Several Republicans have also floated Trump as a potential contender for Speaker, including Reps. Troy Nehls (R-Texas) and Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.). Greene said earlier this week that she will only be supporting the former president in the Speakers race.

Trump previously had dismissed the idea of him running for Speaker, saying that his focus his securing a second term in the White House. However, he had previously suggested he would do whatever it is to help, as Republicans look to rally around a new leader.

He also declined Wednesday to endorse any particular candidate for the job.

My focus is totally on that. If I can help them during the process, Ill do it. But we have some great people in the Republican Party that could do a great job as Speaker, Trump told reporters Wednesday.

Trump is also considering making a trip to Capitol Hill next Tuesday, when the House GOP conference will hold a forum for Speaker candidates.

The Speaker technically is not required to serve in the House. However, some critics have pointed out that under current GOP House conference rules, Trump may not be eligible to serve as Speaker since he has been indicted on numerous felony charges. House Republicans could also vote to change this rule.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Former President Trumps legal team is asking a Florida judge to delay his trial in the Mar-a-Lago case until at least mid-November 2024, which would put it beyond next years presidential election.

The request from Trump, the front-runner for the GOP nomination, comes amid complaints from his legal team about the amount of classified evidence theyve been able to review in the case, as well as their workload, as they manage numerous indictments filed against the former president.

The attorneys say they have yet to get access to all classified evidence underpinning charges in a superseding indictment that accused Trump of an additional Espionage Act charge and of trying to delete security camera footage from his Florida home.

Trumps team also complains that it only has access to a small, temporary facility in Miami to view the highly classified records. It must visit the facility in person while managing hearing dates for Trumps trial on allegations he sought to block the transfer of power after losing the 2020 election.

The March 4, 2023 trial date in the District of Columbia, and the underlying schedule in that case, currently require President Trump and his lawyers to be in two places at once, Trumps attorneys, Christopher Kise and Todd Blanche, wrote in the filing.

Trump is set to face trial on the classified records case in May.

In that fight, the former presidents attorneys are also sparring with special counsel Jack Smiths team over deadlines for filing motions related to classified evidence.

The special counsels office has fought Trumps attempts to delay the Mar-a-Lago trial, writing in a previous filing that his proposal threatens to upend the entire schedule established by the Court and that amounts to a motion to continue the May 20, 2024 trial date.

Theyve similarly fought Trump efforts to delay deadlines in his Jan. 6 case.

In Florida, Trump is facing 32 counts for violation of the Espionage Act for mishandling records as well as numerous other charges relating to obstruction of justice in blocking their return to authorities.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
NEW YORK  Lawyers for Donald Trump asked a Manhattan judge to throw out the criminal charges related to Trumps hush money payments to a porn star, arguing in court filings that the case has prejudiced President Trump and the public by interfering with his presidential campaign.

Trumps lawyers denounced the five years it took for Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg s office to bring the case against Trump, calling it a delayed prosecution. And they criticized the timing of the eventual charges, pointing out they stemmed from a grand jury investigation that commenced approximately ten weeks after President Trump announced his candidacy.

After a five-year meandering, halting, and roving investigation that entailed inexplicable and unconstitutional delay, the District Attorneys Office filed a discombobulated package of politically motivated charges marred by legal defects, procedural failures, discovery violations, and a stubborn refusal to provide meaningful particulars regarding its theory of the case, the lawyers, Todd Blanche and Susan Necheles, wrote.

Trump is charged in Braggs case with 34 felony counts concerning his alleged falsification of business records connected to hush money payments made to silence affair allegations from porn star Stormy Daniels during the 2016 presidential campaign. According to the indictment, Trump directed that reimbursements made to former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen for money he paid Daniels be falsely recorded as legal expenses in the Trump Organization legers.

Trump has pleaded not guilty and is set to face trial in late March 2024.

The district attorneys case is, of course, far from the only legal issue coming to a head for Trump during his presidential bid. He is currently undergoing a civil fraud trial in New York state court and he has four other criminal or civil trials, in addition to Braggs, scheduled to take place by May 2024. He is also under indictment in Georgia, where a trial date has yet to be set.

In their filing, Blanche and Necheles alleged that Trump was selectively targeted by Braggs office, writing that Bragg himself succumbed to public pressure to prosecute Trump after a former prosecutor in the district attorneys office, Mark Pomerantz, quit and wrote a book expressing his frustration with what he described as Braggs reluctance to pursue charges related to their investigation.

The lawyers also raise a perpetual source of Trumps ire: Hillary Clinton. They allege that Trump is being prosecuted for conduct similar to that undertaken by Clintons 2016 presidential campaign, writing that it improperly booked campaign expenses as legal payments in connection with the hiring of a research firm to prepare the so-called 'Steele Dossier, and noting that in that instance, the district attorneys office declined to investigate.

Trumps lawyers asked the judge overseeing the case, Justice Juan Merchan, to hold a hearing about whether the case should be dismissed because of selective prosecution.

Blanche and Necheles also challenge the district attorneys office on one of the issues that legal experts have debated in connection with Braggs case: whether prosecutors can connect the hush money payments to a federal election under the theory that the payments constituted an illegal campaign donation.

In order for the falsification of business records charges to be felonies instead of misdemeanors, prosecutors must show that the actions were taken with the intent to commit or conceal another crime. Trumps lawyers said Braggs office has offered four potential crimes that could serve as that second crime, and in their filing Blanche and Necheles disputed all four as invalid.

But it is the one tied to a federal election that may prove the most contentious, because that one has never been evaluated by a judge. For that issue, too, Trumps lawyers turned to Pomerantzs book, quoting him as writing that, No appellate court in New York had ever upheld (or rejected) this interpretation of the law.

Earlier this year, however, a federal judge weighed in on the issue as part of a ruling in response to Trumps effort to move the Bragg case to federal court.

Trump can be convicted of a felony even if he did not commit any crime beyond the falsification, wrote U.S. District Judge Alvin K. Hellerstein, so long as he intended to do so or to conceal such a crime.


A Trump supporter in Florida charged with allegedly committing voter fraud in the 2020 presidential election is blaming supporters of Gov. Ron DeSantis for his arrest, the Associated Press reported. Prosecutors accused Robert Rivernider of forging the signature of his deceased father on a ballot in the weeks prior to the election and brought charges against him last week. Rivernider told the Associated Press that supporters of DeSantiswho as governor last year passed an agency dedicated to election crimeshad unfairly targeted him. There is a lot of politics that goes on here in Sumter County and they dont like the fact that I dont follow their system, Rivernider told the Associated Press. Elections officials tossed the ballot after the signature looked closer to Riverniders than his fathers.

Read it at The Associated Press

Read more at The Daily Beast.
Donald Trump's lawyers went after accountant Donald Bender in court on Thursday.

Bender prepared Trump's financial statements and claims he didn't realize he was misled.

But Trump's side suggested he didn't actually seek key records  and grilled him about his health.

Trump's lawyers try to paint his accountant as unreliable, or even mentally infirm, in Day 4 of his fraud trial.

Donald Trump's lawyers tried to put the mental health of his former accountant Donald Bender on trial Thursday as part of an effort to undermine the New York attorney general's fraud lawsuit against them.

Bender, a former accountant at Mazars who assembled the financial statements that Donald Trump provided to banks for years, has testified that he thought the valuation data the Trump Organization gave him was complete. The state claims that it was inflated by billions of dollars.

And one of Trump's lawyers, Jesus Suarez, zoomed in on a disclaimer in a document that Mazars had given to authorities. The document included a line that indicated the Bender's availability was contingent on his "physical and mental health."

Did you tell Mazars anything that would lead them to put this there? Suarez asked.

"No sir," Bender replied.

"You'd have to ask Mazars" why they included that line, he said.

Suarez kept pushing.

"I have had some health issues and  Mazars is aware of them," said Bender, who was sometimes hard to hear over protesters outside who were yelling about Trump. "My physical issues in the last few months, they were resolved within two weeks."

"I have no mental health issues," he said.

But Cliff Robert, an attorney for Donald Trump's sons Eric and Donald Jr., challenged Bender's recollection of his interactions with Jeff McConney, a longtime Trump Organization accountant.

Bender has said he asked McConney for appraisals of key Trump properties, but never put it in writing and never received them.

Robert asked Bender what, exactly, he said to McConney.

"The way I phrased it to Mr. McConney was, 'do you have any other appraisals?'" Bender said.

Robert said the use of the word "other" indicates that he already had one.

Bender said he actually had received appraisals for two Trump entities, TIHT Commercial and Trump Plaza Commercial.

Over the past few days, the question-and-answer sessions with Bender could become highly technical, with lawyers reading long sentences from accounting standards guides, or repetitive, with Bender being asked the same questions about years and years of reports.

At one point, when an accounting-specific meaning for the word "review" came up, Justice Arthur Elgoron invoked a legal dispute involving another ex-president.

"This is starting to sound like the interrogation of Bill Clinton: 'do you know what the definition of 'is' is?'" Elgoron cracked.

Bender is no stranger to the witness stand, having previously testified at the criminal trial of the Trump Organization in 2022. That case ended with a $1.6 million fine.

Attorney General Letitia James' office is seeking much more far-reaching punishment for Trump and his real-estate empire, including a suspension on their ability to do business in New York. She has said Trump overstated his wealth by billions so banks would lend.

Trump argues that he engaged in industry-standard puffery and banks knew better than to accept his financial statements at face value.

Read the original article on Business Insider
FILE PHOTO: Supporters of Tunisia's Free Destourian Party take part in a protest in Tunis

By Tarek Amara

TUNIS (Reuters) -A Tunisian judge on Thursday ordered the imprisonment of Abir Moussi , a prominent opponent of President Kais Saied , two days after she was arrested at the presidential palace entrance, her lawyer said, part of a crackdown on opposition politicians.

Investigations of Moussi, the leader of the Free Constitutional Party (PDL), went on for hours while her supporters gathered, raising slogans demanding her immediate release and slogans against Saied.

Interior ministry officials declined to comment.

Police this year have detained more than 20 leading political figures, including Rached Ghannouchi , the leader of the Islamist Ennahdha Party, accusing some of plotting against state security.

Saied has described those detained as "terrorists, traitors and criminals". Saied, a retired law professor who was elected president in 2019, shut down the elected parliament in 2021 and moved to rule by decree, actions his opponents described as a coup and which he rejects.

"After five hours of investigation, the judge ordered the imprisonment of Moussi on suspicion of processing personal data, obstructing the right to work, and assault intended to cause chaos," lawyer Nafaa Laaribi said.

Moussi, was arrested on Tuesday when she went to the presidential reception office to file an appeal in a decree of local elections expected at the end of the year.

She said in a video that this step was necessary so that she could later file an appeal in the Administrative Court.

Moussi's Party warned in a statement against "attempts to fabricate legal obstacles to remove her from participating in the presidential elections" expected next year.

In recent months, the party has organized protests against Saied. Moussi accuses Saied of ruling outside the law.

Moussi is a supporter of late authoritarian president Zine El Abidine ben Ali who was toppled by mass protests in 2011, an uprising that later spread throughout the Middle East and became known as "the Arab Spring".

She describes these revolutions as a "spring of destruction and accused Western intelligence of changing the rulers in the region and pushing political Islam into power.

(Reporting by Tarek Amara; Editing by Grant McCool)
What the Jacksonville Sheriffs Office said was an accidental shooting of a 9-year-old by his 6-year-old brother, police have now made two arrests in the case.

>>> STREAM ACTION NEWS JAX LIVE <<<

Action News Jax first told you about the shooting on Sun., Oct. 1. JSO responded to the area of 1500 Mount Herman St. when calls came in about a shooting involving two juveniles in the early morning.

Detectives said that the 9-year-old victim was shot accidentally by his 6-year-old brother. The family was home at the time of the incident.

In two separate arrest reports obtained by Action News Jax, Farand Nelson and Rosa Bennett were arrested by police in connection with the incident.

Read: JSO searching for suspect in credit card theft: Suspect spent $40,000, police said

While both reports are heavily redacted they said Bennett and Nelson failed to supervise the care and custody of [redacted] while inside their residence.

The report also states that Bennett and Nelson did accompany the 9-year-old victim to Shands UF Health Pediatric Emergency Room after the shooting. Later, during the investigation, both suspects were taken to JSO headquarters, interviewed, and arrested.

[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.
Two men, including a former Benton County jail administrator, were each sentenced to 20 years in prison for child sex crimes, according to the Platte County Prosecuting Attorneys Office.

Nicholas Murphy, a former jail administrator with the Benton County Sheriffs Department, and Caleb Robert Morris of Holt County were both sentenced Wednesday.

The Platte County Prosecuting Attorneys Office was appointed to handle both cases because of conflicts of interest.

When our prosecutor colleagues have a conflict or need help, we stand ready and willing to assist, prosecuting attorney Eric Zahnd said in a news release. Its vital that justice be done, particularly against criminals who prey on children.

Murphy, who previously pleaded guilty to second-degree statutory sodomy, second-degree statutory rape and two counts of incest, sexually abused a family member who was a minor. He took the girl to New Mexico in 2018 for an abortion after he raped her.

Morris pleaded guilty to first-degree statutory sodomy and admitted to sexually abusing an 11-year-old girl. Because the victim was under 12 years old, Morris must serve at least 85% of his sentence in prison before he is eligible for parole.
The drawing for the $1.2 billion Powerball jackpot happened Wednesday night, and while no California players won the whole thing, a couple of players won a pretty good consolation prize.

A ticket worth $1,220,123 was sold at Cigarettes 4 Discount at 973 Alamo Drive in Vacaville, according to the California Lottery website. That player had all five winning numbers, but not the Powerball number.

Another ticket worth the same amount was sold at the Walmart at 8465 Elk Grove Blvd. in Elk Grove.

20,000 Kaiser healthcare workers on strike in the Bay Area

Fourteen players got four correct numbers and the Powerball number. Those tickets are worth $17,500.

Wednesdays winning numbers were 9, 35, 54, 63, and 64. The Powerball number was 1.

The $1.2 billion jackpot is the third-largest in Powerball history. The largest pot, at $2.04 billion, was won last November in California.

The odds of winning this jackpot are 1 in 292.2 million. There have been 33 consecutive drawings since someone hit the jackpot.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KTLA.
Tyler Cameron is putting himself back out there, and he has some advice for people looking to join him.

Cameron told TODAY.com that hes getting back into the dating world, and that he sees himself being a father in five years.

I want to have at least one baby, he said.

Through a new partnership with Eventbrite, the former Bachelorette contestant has curated a series of events for people across the country who are hoping to GTFO & Date.

Tyler Cameron for his new partnership with Eventbrite. (Scott Teitler)

Some of the events include a pub tour in New York, a poolside rooftop movie night in Miami, a game night in Atlanta and adult night at a trampoline park in Chicago.

His new event campaign stems from his belief that daters shouldnt stick to the same old date spots.

Doing something kinda under-the-radar feels like a secret. Plus, its way more original than dinner and drinks, he told Eventbrite.

In an interview with TODAY.com, Cameron elaborated on his advice for daters  from people getting back out there like himself to the new star of The Golden Bachelor, Gerry Turner.

A few questions that Cameron says are good to ask someone on the first date: (What is) their relationship with their family, where do they see themselves in five and then 10 years and if a dollar never mattered, what would they do in life?

His advice for daters, as shared by Eventbrite, are:

Explore new things together & be a tourist in your own town. Unplug and connect. Embrace your quirkiness & competitive side. When in doubt, throw it back, with events driven by nostalgia

Camerons initiative follows new data surfaced by Eventbrite. The local event marketplace said comparing January to June 2022 to the same months in 2023, there was an 83% increase in attendance for events marketed for singles or dating, as well as a 21% increase in searches for speed dating events.

Eventbrite shared its predictions for the most popular types of dates for the fall, which include game nights (backed by a 188% spike in attendance this year, according to the site), dates that involve a physical activity, finding under-the-radar hidden gems in daters own cities and hush hour dates, which involve a shared quiet activity like meditation or yoga.

Based on the amount of dating events available, the platform also shared the five "top cities for singles," according to Eventbrite: Boston, San Diego, San Francisco, New York and Philadelphia.

This article was originally published on TODAY.com
Heavy surf breaks on the shore of northern Taiwan as Typhoon Koinu grazes the island (I-Hwa Cheng)

Typhoon Koinu left at least one person dead on Thursday as it grazed Taiwan's southern tip, lashing the island with the strongest winds it has ever recorded and knocking out power to hundreds of thousands of homes.

Koinu made landfall on the island's southernmost Cape Eluanbi Thursday morning and had weakened as it moved into the Taiwan Strait by 3:00 pm (0700 GMT), according to the Central Weather Administration.

Authorities said an 84-year-old woman died in her home in Taichung city after she was injured by glass shattered due to the gales.

Pan Huang Kui-chun, a 68-year-old temple keeper in southern Pingtung county -- the typhoon's epicentre -- said it was "terrifying" watching powerful winds bring down power poles.

"It nearly dismantled my house. I had to move all my deities to the side," he told AFP.

"This time, the typhoon was especially big. Really big. The wind was really strong. And it blew for a very long time. It took a long time for it to pass."

Overnight, the eastern volcanic islet of Orchid Island -- home mostly to fishermen and farmers -- experienced wind gusts equivalent to 342.72 kilometres per hour (212 miles per hour) as Koinu moved west, according to the weather administration.

"The maximum wind gusts of 95.2 metres per second measured in Orchid Island last night is a new record in Taiwan," a forecaster told AFP.

Local media said around 2,400 homes on Orchid Island were without power, while the classrooms of an elementary school were damaged by the powerful gales.

Authorities had closed schools and offices on Thursday in anticipation of Koinu's impact.

Taiwan experiences frequent tropical storms from May to November.

Experts say climate change has made the paths of tropical storms harder to forecast while increasing their intensity -- leading to heavy rains, flash floods and strong gusts.

- Downed power lines -

Rain-drenched streets were deserted Thursday in Taiwan's southern Taitung and Pingtung counties, with strong winds knocking over street signs and tearing off metal roofing.

More than 350 people were injured, the government said without providing any further details. Local media said some injuries were caused by falling trees.

Across Taiwan, nearly 330,000 homes temporarily lost power.

Downed electricity lines littered the roadside in Pingtung as work crews attempted to bring in fresh poles by truck. A supervisor told AFP it would take at least two days to restore all power.

More than 200 international and domestic flights were cancelled, while nearly 3,000 people in mostly mountainous regions were evacuated as a precaution.

Koinu comes about a month after Taiwan suffered its first direct hit in four years as Typhoon Haiku forced nearly 8,000 people to evacuate from their homes.

Koinu is expected to weaken as it moves towards the coastal waters of China's eastern Guangdong province, according to the weather observatory in nearby Hong Kong.

The Chinese city, which was skirted by a typhoon last month before days later being flooded by the heaviest rainfall in 140 years, issued its lowest typhoon signal.

bur-dhc/dva/jm
Uber already has a lot of services to offer beyond its ride-hailing business such as Uber Eats for food delivery. Now, the company aims to expand its Uber Connect service by letting couriers pick up packages at their locations and drop them off at local posts.

New Uber Connect Service

Technically, Uber Connect has been around for three years. Initially, it was a way to send items to friends, family, and colleagues across town. With the new addition, the company will now take care of the packages you've been dreading to return because of the hassle.

Uber states that 79% of shoppers under 30 think mail returns are "somewhat annoying," according to research from the National Retail Federation. This comes at the perfect time when people usually shop too much during the holidays.

To do so, users must go to the app and select the "package" section under suggestions. The option to return a package will then appear which will lead the user to a couple of options such as choosing a postal carrier, as well as confirming pickup and delivery.

There are a couple of rules for the package to be accepted. The parcel has to be sealed and prepaid to qualify for the service and the customer can only send up to five returns. The available carriers for the return are USPS, FedEx, and UPS.

As for the service fee, Uber Connect will charge a flat rate of $5, but for Uber One members, it goes as low as $3. Customers can even track the package in real-time through the Uber app and will get a visual confirmation that the package has been received by the carrier.

The feature is already available now in more than 4,950 cities in the US, including Austin, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, New Jersey, New Orleans, New York City Suburbs, San Francisco, Seattle, upstate New York, and Washington DC.

Read Also: Uber Lets Users Track Their Rides From Their iPhone Lock Screen

Uber Connect

Uber Connect was initially a same-day delivery service that lets you send items for businesses such as food or groceries, send last-minute birthday gifts to friends and family, and transfer documents, supplies, and equipment across locations.

It has the same process as the "return package" feature, wherein the customer can arrange a pickup through the app, meet the driver, and hand over the package. It also comes with in-app tracking to make sure that things go swimmingly.

Uber boasts that users can book a delivery the same way they can hail a cab through the app. The ride-hailing app also says that it can offer "on-demand delivery, usually within the hour." If needed, customers can choose the delivery method and the kind of vehicle that would fit the parcel.

This service, along with the additional feature is a convenient offer especially to those who are enthusiastic about giving gifts for the holidays. With the same-day delivery, they can send gifts to their loved ones. If they happen to have bought too many presents, they can easily ask Uber again to return them.

Related: Uber Eats Might Be Launching Its Own AI Chatbot Soon
A U.S. F-16 downed a Turkish drone in northeast Syria after officials deemed it a threat to U.S. forces, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing a person familiar. Turkey, a NATO ally, has been carrying out air attacks on Kurdish militants. At the same time, around 900 members of the U.S. military have worked with fighters led by the Kurds in its efforts against the Islamic State. A U.S. official told the Journal that the U.S. knew it was a Turkish drone before firing upon it. The episode may raise tensions between the allied nations, with U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin set to meet with Turkish officials, the Journal reported.

Read it at The Wall Street Journal

Read more at The Daily Beast.
A U.S. F-16 fighter jet shot down a Turkish drone that was flying over a base in northeast Syria where American forces are located, a Pentagon spokesperson said Thursday.

At 7:30 a.m. local time, U.S. forces observed unmanned aerial systems conducting airstrikes near Hasakah, in northeast Syria, including some just a kilometer away from the American troops, Pentagon spokesperson Brig. Gen. Patrick Ryder told reporters during a briefing. The airstrikes were inside a declared U.S. restricted operating zone, and the troops relocated to bunkers, he said.

Then at 11:30 a.m., a Turkish drone reentered the restricted zone, heading toward where U.S. troops were located, Ryder said. American commanders assessed that the drone, which was now less than half a kilometer away from U.S. troops, was a potential threat, Ryder said. American F-16 fighter jets shot down the drone at roughly 11:40 a.m.

Turkey has recently stepped up attacks on Kurdish forces in Iraq and Syria after Kurdish militants claimed responsibility for a bomb attack in Ankara on Sunday. Turkey views the Syrian Democratic Forces as a wing of the Kurdistan Workers Party, or PKK, which numerous nations have designated a terrorist organization.

The downing of a drone belonging to a NATO ally is certain to escalate tensions between Washington and Ankara, which has long been unhappy with U.S. support for the SDF.

Before the shooting down the drone on Thursday, U.S. officials communicated with the Turkish military and warned that U.S. forces had the right to self-defense, Ryder said.

No U.S. forces were injured during the incident, and the Pentagon has no indication that Turkey was intentionally targeting U.S. troops, he stressed.

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin spoke by phone with his Turkish counterpart after the incident. During the call, he said the U.S. is in Syria only to hunt Islamic State terrorists, Ryder said.

"The Secretary also acknowledged Turkey's legitimate security concerns and underscored the importance of close coordination between the United States and Turkey to prevent any risk to US forces or the global coalition to defeat ISIS mission," Ryder said.

New Joint Chiefs Chair Gen. CQ Brown, who stepped into the job on Monday, also spoke with his Turkish counterpart, Gen. Metin Gurak, on Thursday after the incident, according to his spokesperson Col. Dave Butler. The two discussed "the need to follow common deconfliction protocols to ensure the safety of our personnel in Syria following todays incident," Butler said.

Ryder noted that when it comes to northern Syria, DOD remains concerned "about the potential impacts of military escalation in that region," citing impact to the civilian population and "our ability to maintain focus on rooting out ISIS."

A Turkish official on Wednesday said Turkish forces discovered two terrorists who had arrived in Turkey from Syria and warned that infrastructure and energy facilities in Syria and Iraq affiliated with PKK or the YPG, the Turkish name for the SDF, are now legitimate targets.

The drone, which belonged to the Turkish government, was armed with air-to-ground missiles, said a person familiar with the situation, who was granted anonymity to discuss a sensitive topic. The uncrewed aerial vehicle was a Bayraktar TB2, a medium-altitude, long-endurance drone built by Turkish defense company Baykar for use primarily by the Turkish armed forces, the person said. The Turkish defense ministry reportedly denied it owned the drone.

Just hours before the shootdown, a senior U.S. general told reporters the U.S. and Turkey have a "good" military relationship, noting that "we've got open communications with the Turkish Air Operations Center, I've got a liaison team that actually sits in their air operation center."

"We try very hard to keep things flat in terms of where operations are going and mitigate the risks to our forces," said Lt. Gen. Alexus Grynkewich, head of U.S. Air Forces Central Command, on Wednesday. But "we recognize that Turkey has legitimate security concerns, that their southern border is of great concern to them."

Turkey has threatened to invade northeast Syria a number of times in recent years in response to the PKKs activity. In October 2019, Ankara launched a massive ground operation against the SDF, which killed and displaced thousands of people.

The U.S. has about 900 troops in Syria, focused on hunting Islamic State terrorists with the SDF.

A Turkish Embassy official in Washington and State Department spokesperson declined to comment. Reuters first reported the news of the shootdown.



Nahal Toosi contributed to this report.
A U.S. Air Force F-16 shot down a Turkish drone over northeastern Syria considered a threat to U.S. forces there, a U.S. official told The War Zone Thursday. The incident took place amid an increase in Turkish drone attacks on Kurdish targets in that region following a bombing in Ankara on Sunday that the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) claimed credit for, according to Reuters .

The U.S. was definitely aware it was a Turkish drone, said the official, speaking to The War Zone on condition of anonymity to discuss operational details. The official did not know what kind of drone was shot down.

The Turkish Defense Ministry (MoD) said that the drone did not belong to the Turkish armed forces, according to Reuters .

The U.S. has about 900 troops in that area, continuing the ongoing fight against the ISIS jihadi group. Forces assigned to U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) continue to partner with the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in that fight, which were instrumental in the ultimate defeat of ISIS physical caliphate in 2019 . Last month, there were eight partnered operations in Syria, with one ISIS operative killed and seven detained, according to CENTCOM.

https://twitter.com/haltman/status/1700142078628348330

The U.S.-SDF relationship has long created tensions with NATO ally Turkey, which considers the SDF an extension of the PKK.

Turkish officials on Wednesday claimed the two attackers who bombed Ankara had come from Syria. The bombing killed both attackers and wounded two police officers. The SDF denied the bombers passed through their territory.

https://twitter.com/MiddleEastEye/status/1708451703027351972

Turkish officials said any infrastructure and energy facilities in Iraq and Syria controlled by the PKK, as well as People's Protection Units (YPG) , were legitimate military targets , Reuters reported .

"The PKK and the YPG are the same terrorist organisation, they are our legitimate target everywhere. Turkey conducted operations whenever and wherever necessary in the past, and these operations will continue if needed again," a Turkish Defence Ministry official said.

Turkey has a history of drone strikes against Kurdish targets throughout Syria, including one that the U.K.-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) said killed 20 in an attack on SDF leadership near Zahraa on Aug. 19.

https://twitter.com/PopularFront_/status/1692880416078766114

However, the tempo has greatly increased in northeastern Syria since the Ankara attack, according to groups on the ground there.

SOHR said that there were 17 Turkish drone attacks in that area just today, resulting in at least 10 deaths.

Turkey carried out drone attacks against Kurdish targets in northeast Syria in and around Al Hasakah, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. (Google Earth image)

SOHR said Turkey attacked military and civilian infrastructure targets. They included the Hamma Water Station north of Al-Hasakah, an oil facility in Ger Dahol village in Terbespiyeh, the western dam electricity transfer station, which supplies large parts of Al-Hasakah city and its countryside, a petrol station in Al-Qahtanyah village and an electricity station on Al-Hezam Al-Gharby road near the COVID hospital in Al-Qamishli.

https://twitter.com/NPA_English/status/1709956831815033253 https://twitter.com/NPA_English/status/1709914590367146361

How Turkey will ultimately react to what the U.S. says was a deliberate shootdown of one of its drones remains unknown at the time. Also unknown is what, if any effect, the current Turkish operations against the SDF will have on that organization's relationship with the U.S.

After an Aug. 3 Turkish drone strike killed four SDF members, Kurdish authorities called on the U.S.-led coalition to make clear where it stands regarding these strikes that have killed and wounded dozens of Syrian Kurdish fighters over the past months, ABC News reported at the time .

This is a developing story. We will update it when new information becomes available.

Update 2:11 PM Eastern:

Both Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. C.Q. Brown have called Turkish officials about this incident, according to Al-Monitor.

https://twitter.com/JM_Szuba/status/1709990509236592861

Update 3:45 PM Eastern:

Todays incident in northeast Syria began about 7:30 a.m. local time, when U.S. forces observed drones conducting airstrikes near Hasakah, the Pentagons top spokesman told reporters, including from The War Zone.

Some of those strikes were inside a declared U.S. Restricted Operating Zone (ROZ), said Air Force Brig. Gen. Patrick Ryder. Those strikes were taking place about a kilometer from U.S. forces, who relocated to bunkers, Ryder said.

At about 11:30 a.m. local time, a Turkish drone re-entered the ROZ on a heading toward where U.S. forces were located. U.S. commanders assessed that the UAV, which was now less than half a kilometer from U.S. forces, to be a potential threat and U.S. F-16s subsequently shot down the UAV in self defense at approximately 11:40 a.m. local time.

There were no U.S. troops injured and no indication that Turkey was intentionally targeting U.S. forces, Ryder added.

Ryder confirmed that Austin talked with his Turkish counterpart about the incident and there were assurances that the two nations can continue working together.

While condemning Sundays attack in Ankara and reconfirming that the U.S. considers the PKK a terrorist organization, Ryder expressed concern that the escalation of violence in northeastern Syria could adversely affect the anti-ISIS fight.

Update 5:04 PM Eastern:

The Turkish Defense Ministry was apparently correct when it said the drone shot down by U.S. F-16s today was not one of theirs.

The drone actually belonged to Turkish intelligence, according to The Messenger.

https://twitter.com/JimLaPorta/status/1710034187770565015

Contact the author: howard@thewarzone.com
The News

The leadership shakeup in the U.S. House of Representatives may mean the end of  or a significant delay in  U.S. security assistance to Ukraine. Lawmakers are already returning to a potential solution offered by the ousted Speaker Kevin McCarthy himself: Tying Ukraine aid to action on border security to get it through Congress.

I think it may very well take a recognition of that challenge at the southern border, Sen. Mike Rounds, R-S.D. told reporters. Sen. Kevin Cramer, R-N.D. echoed that sentiment: I think the only way to do Ukraine aid well is to couple it with a border bill, he said.

Its not only Republicans. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn. acknowledged to reporters that combining Ukraine assistance with a border security package is one of the likely paths to passing more assistance for Kyiv.

But the idea might already be doomed. Heritage Action, the powerful advocacy arm of the conservative Heritage Foundation, encouraged speaker candidates  some of whom are already skeptical of more aid  to reject the idea of combining border security measures with Ukraine funding.

Democrats are also exploring other options, like an arcane measure known as a discharge petition that would involve getting a majority of signatures in the House to force a vote on Ukraine aid on the floor. Two House Democrats floated the idea amid the chaos on Tuesday, and by Wednesday morning Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz.  an ardent supporter of Ukraine aid  said he had discussed it with counterparts on the House side.

We need to do something, Kelly told Semafor. Its hard.

Know More

The path forward for future Ukraine assistance was already murky after Congress passed a short-term funding bill over the weekend that didnt include any of the $24 billion in aid the White House has asked for. The ouster of McCarthy, who expressed at least tentative support for helping Ukraine but oversaw a GOP conference increasingly divided on the issue, has created more uncertainty by freezing legislative action in the lower chamber and leaving a vacuum atop the GOP.

Republican opponents of more Ukraine assistance have argued that the Biden administration needs to spend more resources addressing domestic issues like border security. While those voices represent only a portion of Republicans on Capitol Hill, they reflect a growing sentiment among Republican voters.

So far, Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La. and House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio have each formally jumped into the race for the speakers gavel. Scalise has voted in support of Ukraine aid  including as recently as last week when the House overwhelmingly passed $300 million in assistance with about half of Republicans voting no.

Jordan, meanwhile, voted against that same bill and his position moving forward is somewhat in question. He told CNN he is against a Ukraine aid package, but House Foreign Affairs Chairman Michael McCaul, R-Texas told reporters Jordan sent a different signal behind closed doors. Punchbowl News reported Thursday morning that Jordan told the Texas delegation he would want the Ukraine funding to be offset. Jordan also apparently raised the idea of using Ukraine aid as leverage to force movement on border security measures earlier this week, according to Politico.

Another potential candidate, Republican Study Chairman Kevin Hern, R-Okla., has demanded a briefing from the Biden administration on the endgame in Ukraine. Last week, Hern also proudly advertised that he was among those who opposed the first Ukraine aid package passed by Congress last year.

Morgans view

The idea of connecting Ukraine assistance to a more contentious issue like border security seems destined to fail to me. Republicans and Democrats are far apart on the border and immigration, so much so they havent been able to muscle through comprehensive change in decades. That Heritage Action is already lobbying against the idea probably kills it.

But the fact that Democrats like Blumenthal are now talking about this suggests its at least being considered  and that Ukraine supporters are willing to entertain more desperate options than they might have in the past.

Some House Democrats are already panning the idea, which McCarthy floated on CBS News over the weekend. It is literally a life-or-death situation and youre holding Ukraine hostage to try and resolve something that Congress has been trying unsuccessfully to resolve for 25 years? Thats not helping Ukraine, Rep. Adam Smith, D-Wash. told me yesterday, just before McCarthy was forced out of his leadership position.

The Biden administration doesnt love the idea, either: White House national security spokesman John Kirby said Tuesday that Ukraine assistance and border security should not be tied or one dependent on the other.

Room for Disagreement

Rounds, a strong advocate for Ukraine, said he believed Congress could get it done, but that the challenge would be finding a way to use the appropriations process to change border policy.

The View From the White House

President Biden told reporters Wednesday that he planned to deliver a major speech to make the case that arming Ukraine is in the U.S. national interest, and suggested without elaborating that the administration had a fallback plan for a funding stream if Congress cannot pass more aid.

The White House has come under pressure (including from Ukraine supporters) to make a clearer argument for assistance and spell out the endgame for the war.

It strikes me that there has been a spectacular failure of leadership on this from the administration, Dalibor Rohac, a senior fellow at the conservative American Enterprise Institute, told Semafor. Unlike conservative critics of Ukraine aid, Rohac argued for a Ukraine surge in weaponry to change the balance on the battlefield.

The View From Europe

The European Unions foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said Thursday that Europe would not be able to fill the gap if U.S. support for Ukraine dries up.

Ukraine needs the support of the European Union ... but also the support of the US, Borrell said in Granada. Can Europe fill the gap left by the U.S.? Well, certainly Europe cannot replace the U.S.
An American man who allegedly faked his own death in a bid to avoid rape and fraud charges in the U.S. is set to be extradited back to the U.S. from Scotland after a request was granted by the Scottish government. The man is believed to be fugitive Nicholas Alahverdian , who faces charges in connection with a 2008 rape in Utah, as well as charges in Rhode Island for failing to register as a sex offender.

A Scottish court ruling in August cleared a legal path for his extradition on the U.S. warrant, but the U.K. nation's semi-autonomous government still had to sign off on the move, which it did on Sept. 28, according to the notice posted online Thursday.

The FBI has said that Alahverdian also faces fraud charges in Ohio, a state where he was convicted of sex-related charges in 2008, according to The Associated Press.

The man, known in the U.K. by the alias Nicholas Rossi, has been jailed in Scotland for several years. He denies being 35-year-old Alahverdian and says he's a victim of mistaken identity. Since his 2021 arrest in Scotland, he's done a series of bizarre TV interviews, insisting he's an innocent Irishman.

A defendant identified in the U.K. as Nicholas Rossi is seen leaving a Scottish court in Scotland, Nov. 9, 2022, after a hearing on his extradition to the U.S. as Nicholas Alahverdian, where he is wanted for charges involving identity theft and fraud, and a 2008 rape charge in Utah. / Credit: Jane Barlow/PA Images/Getty

In a viral interview done by Scottish network STV News earlier this year, the accused man insisted he was really an Irish-born orphan named Arthur Knight, who has never been to the United States. He called the suggestion that he was, in fact, an American wanted on rape charges, "a vicious lie."

He was interviewed while sitting in an electric wheelchair and wearing an oxygen mask, and he was accompanied by a woman who the couple identified as his wife, Miranda Knight, whom he said he married in the English city of Bristol in 2020.

In a clip of an NBC "Dateline" interview, the accused man pointed the blame squarely at the media.

"We were once a normal family, but thanks to the media our lives have been interrupted," he says, gasping into an oxygen mask in an undiscernible accent. "And we'd like privacy and I would like to go back to being a normal husband, but I can't because I can't breathe, I can't walk. People say that's an act. Let me try and stand up"

Then, in a bizarre move, he attempted to prove he was not faking his disability by dramatically attempting to stand up and flailing around before being caught by his wife.

A Rhode Island obituary posted online claims Nicholas Alahverdian died on February 29, 2020, "two months after going public with his diagnosis of non-Hodgkin lymphoma. He was in his 32nd year."

But in 2021, Rhode Island state police, along with Alahverdian's former lawyer and his former foster family, cast doubt on whether he had really died, the AP said.

Jeffrey Pine, a former Rhode Island state attorney general who represented Alahverdiani on the misdemeanor sex offender registry charge he faces in that state told the AP he had no doubt the man claiming to be Knight is his former client.

Nicholas Rossi, aka Nicolas Alahverdian, leaves the Edinburgh Sheriff Court after judge Norman McFadyen confirmed his identity as the man who has been fighting extradition to the U.S. on charges involving identity theft and fraud, and a 2008 sexual assault charge in Utah, November 11, 2022. / Credit: Andrew Milligan/PA Images/Getty

The man known by the Rossi alias in the U.K. was arrested in December 2021 at a Glasgow hospital where he was being treated for COVID-19, according to the AP.

U.S. authorities have said the name Rossi is one of several aliases used by the fugitive.

Hospital staff who treated him said they recognized him from an Interpol wanted notice, which included images of distinctive tattoos on his arms, and established that Rossi was in fact Alahverdian, CBS News' partner network BBC News reported.

The man claimed he was tattooed while he was lying unconscious in the Scottish hospital, in what he said was an attempt by police authorities to frame him, according to the BBC.

During the court hearings leading up to the extradition approval, Alahverdian's accent changed several times as he gave evidence. He fired six different lawyers during the legal process, BBC Scotland reported.

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Washington  The Biden administration is restarting direct deportations to Venezuela in an attempt to reduce unlawful crossings along the southern border by Venezuelan migrants, who have journeyed to the U.S. in record numbers in recent weeks, federal officials announced Thursday.

For years, the U.S. did not carry out regular deportations to Venezuela due to its strained diplomatic relationship with that country's socialist government, which faces U.S. sanctions due to its human rights abuses and repressive policies. But officials now plan to resume direct deportations there to send back Venezuelans who enter the U.S. unlawfully and lack a legal basis to remain in the country. CBS News first reported the announcement earlier Thursday.

In a statement, the Department of Homeland Security said the Venezuelan government had agreed to accept the return of its citizens, though it did not disclose how frequently the deportation flights would take place. A senior administration official who briefed reporters said the U.S. had already identified Venezuelans in federal custody "who will be removed promptly in the coming days."

"Today's announcement makes clear that we are committed to strictly enforcing immigration laws and quickly removing individuals who do not avail themselves of these orderly processes and choose to cross our border unlawfully," DHS added in its statement.

CHIHUAHUA - MEXCO - SEPTEMBER 29: Migrant people, mostly from Venezuela, are seen after the goods train they were travelling on stopped for over 12 hours, in the Chihuahuan desert in Chihuahuan, Mexico on September 29, 2023. / Credit: David Peinado/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

A sharp increase in Venezuelan arrivals

The shift in policy is designed to slow down an unprecedented flow of U.S.-bound migration from crisis-stricken Venezuela and other countries hosting millions of displaced Venezuelans, including Colombia, Ecuador and Peru.

In September, approximately 50,000 Venezuelans crossed the U.S. southern border without authorization, an all-time record that fueled a yearly high in migrant apprehensions that month, according to internal federal data obtained by CBS News. That represented roughly a quarter of all Border Patrol apprehensions in September.

While the resumption of deportations to Venezuela may deter some Venezuelans from trekking to the U.S. border, it's likely to prompt objections from human rights advocates and progressive Democrats, due to the deteriorating economic and political situation in the South American country.

The economic and societal collapse in Venezuela under its authoritarian government has triggered the largest migrant exodus ever recorded in the Western Hemisphere. More than 7 million people have left the country in recent years, a tally that now eclipses the number of externally displaced refugees from war-torn Syria and Ukraine.

Increasingly, Venezuelans have left countries hosting them in South America or Venezuela itself to embark on a week-long journey to the U.S. that includes crossing Panama's Darien Gap on foot. More than 400,000 migrants, most of them from Venezuela, have crossed that roadless jungle this year, a record.

A policy shift

The Biden administration has been trying to dissuade Venezuelan migrants from crossing the U.S. border illegally over the past few years, with varying degrees of success. A strategy that includes returning those who entered the country illegally to Mexico while expanding legal migration programs for Venezuelans initially led to a dramatic drop in illegal border entries. But the low number of unlawful border entries by Venezuelans only lasted for a few months.

During the briefing on Thursday, administration officials urged Venezuelans to wait for an opportunity to enter the U.S. legally, either through a program for those with American sponsors or an app that allows migrants in Mexico to be processed at official ports of entry. Otherwise, officials warned, they would face deportation to Mexico or Venezuela.

The officials said the U.S. would not deport Venezuelans who prove they could be persecuted if returned to Venezuela. Deportation efforts will focus on those who arrived after July 31, the cut-off date for the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) program the administration expanded last month to offer work permits to nearly half a million Venezuelans already in the U.S., the officials added.

At the time, DHS said the crisis in Venezuela prevented the U.S. from "safely" deporting people there. Asked if Thursday's move was inconsistent with last month's announcement, an administration official said the U.S. has long deported migrants to countries with a TPS designation.

Officials did not elaborate on how they convinced Venezuela to accept these deportations. Asked about whether the U.S. was considering loosening some sanctions, an official said the administration would only do so if the Venezuelan government takes "concrete steps" towards a "democratic solution."

"At this time, those steps have not yet been taken and we continue to enforce our sanctions," the official said.

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The U.S. will once again deport migrants to Venezuela as a way to deter migration from the embattled South American country, senior Biden administration officials told reporters on Thursday.

The deportation flights, which came after talks between U.S., Colombian and Mexican officials, will resume in the coming days. Immigration officials have already identified Venezuelans in U.S. custody who will go on these first flights.

Senior administration officials say the move is intended to discourage migration via the Darien Gap, a dangerous stretch of jungle in Panama that migrants must cross in order to continue the journey from Colombia into Central America, and encourage would-be migrants to pursue some of the expanded legal pathways available to Venezuelan migrants, including temporary protected status and sponsorship.

The return of the flights marks a significant turning point in U.S. immigration policy. For years, the U.S. did not regularly conduct repatriation flights to Venezuela, given Washingtons strained relationship with Caracas and concerns about human rights abuses by the government of President Nicolas Maduro.

It comes as the Biden administration faces increased political pressure to stem an influx of migrants at the U.S. border with Mexico. Since the Covid-19 pandemic, the U.S. has struggled to stem the flow of migrants fleeing gang violence, political instability and economic malaise in Latin America and other parts of the world. Thousands of migrants, in particular from Venezuela, are apprehended every day by border patrol agents. Since May 2023, 295,000 individuals have been repatriated by the Department of Homeland Security.

The flood of migrants has become a political albatross for Democrats and President Joe Biden , as major U.S. cities have struggled to house new arrivals and provide them with needed social services. This has caused some prominent Democrats in heavily affected states to publicly slam the Biden administrations response.

In September, New York City Mayor Eric Adams, a Democrat, warned that migration would destroy his city. Adams is on a trip to Mexico, Colombia and Ecuador this week and is expected to deliver a stern warning to would-be migrants thinking of coming to the U.S.

On Monday, Illinois Democratic governor, J.B. Pritzker, wrote to Biden warning that the sheer magnitude of the influx is overwhelming our ability to provide aid to the refugee population, and said that an absence of federal leadership was creating an untenable situation for Illinois.

The guys running for president. He better start paying attention to this, Massachusetts House Speaker Ron Mariano said Wednesday. We need to put a framework around this from the feds. We need someone to take charge of this and say, This is what you can expect.

The White House has largely defended the administrations response, with White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre telling reporters on Wednesday that Biden has taken action in delivering record funding for border security and increasing the number of border patrol agents and law enforcement at the border.

Speaking at the University of Texas at Austin on Wednesday, Secretary of State Antony Blinken placed blame for the situation on an unprecedented multi-country influx of migrants, the likes of which the U.S. hasnt experienced before.

It used to be that you would have one crisis at a time  maybe Cuba, maybe Haiti, maybe it was El Salvador, Honduras, Guatemala, the countries in the so-called Northern Triangle, Blinken said. Now its all of the above, plus Venezuela, plus Nicaragua, plus Ecuador, plus people coming in through Latin America from parts far away from the United States  Uzbekistan  all coming towards Mexico and then coming toward the United States.

And so I think its important to understand that this is actually something that is historically of extraordinary proportions, Blinken continued.

But the border influx has prompted the Biden administration to backtrack somewhat on its approach. On Wednesday evening, the administration announced it would waive 26 federal laws to allow construction of the Trump administrations proposed border wall to resume in Texas, reneging on a key promise the president made during the 2020 election.

There is presently an acute and immediate need to construct physical barriers and roads in the vicinity of the border of the United States, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said in a notice posted by the department on the U.S. Federal Register on Wednesday.

Jean-Pierre defended the decision, saying it was needed to spend funds allocated to DHS back in 2019. She also said the administration was still committed to pursuing other solutions it sees as more effective to the situation.

We believe, and the president has been very clear, even when you asked him, Does a border wall work?  he said no, and hes been very consistent about that, Jean-Pierre said Thursday. We believe that we need border technology that is modernized at land ports of entry, and thats what we want to see and thats what I can speak to.

The border wall waivers sparked accusations of hypocrisy from the Biden administrations detractors.

President Biden said that it was inhumane, and he was not going to continue building the wall, Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar (R-Fla.) said on CNN on Thursday. This is a political move and people see through it.

Olivia Alafriz contributed to this report.

CORRECTION: Due to a misunderstanding that occurred on an administration call with reporters, this article initially misstated the number and nationality of migrants repatriated by the Department of Homeland Security.
A U.S. fighter jet shot down a Turkish drone Thursday after it flew near American troops operating in northeast Syria, two U.S. defense officials said.

The unusual military encounter between two NATO allies came after a similar incident earlier in the day. No troops were injured, and there is no indication that the Turks were intentionally targeting U.S. service members, the officials said.

At about 7:30 a.m. local time, two Turkish drones armed with air-to-ground weapons flew near U.S. troops near Hasakah, Syria, where American forces are operating to fight the Islamic State terrorist group.

The Defense Department's press secretary, Brig. Gen. Patrick Ryder, said the Turkish drones were flying as close as 1 kilometer away (0.62 miles) from the U.S. troops early Thursday, and they were conducting airstrikes that were so close to U.S. troops that the Americans took shelter in bunkers.

U.S. soldiers in a Bradley Fighting Vehicle on patrol in Syria's northeastern Hasakeh province July 17, 2023. (Delil Souleiman / AFP via Getty Images file)

After the U.S. reached out to Turkey multiple times at various levels and warned that the drones were flying and dropping bombs near American troops, the drone left the area, according to the two defense officials.

About four hours after the first incident, an armed drone approached the area again, and the U.S. sent F-16s to intercept it. One of the fighter jets shot down the Turkish drone with an air-to-air missile, the officials said.

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Air Force Gen. Charles Q. Brown, both spoke with their Turkish counterparts about the incident Thursday morning, the officials said.

Speaking at a Pentagon briefing Thursday afternoon, Ryder declined to say whether the Turks provided any assurances that they would not fly near U.S. troops again, but he did say the conversation was productive.

Ryder said the U.S. shot down the drone in self-defense and described it as a regrettable incident.

There was no immediate comment from Turkey on the shooting of the drone.

Turkeys state-run Anadolu Agency reported that the Turkish intelligence service had carried out an operation against the Kurdistan Workers Party, or PKK, and its affiliated Kurdish militia group in Syria, which is known as Peoples Defense Units, or YPG, The Associated Press reported. Anadolu report said the Turks had struck suspected arms and ammunition depots and buildings believed to have been used by the groups sabotage teams, according to the AP. It did not provide further details about the operation.

The U.S. military partners with the Syrian Democratic Forces, or SDF, in Syria, which are composed primarily of Arab and Kurdish fighters. Defense officials would not speculate about whether the Turkish drones could have been targeting any SDF personnel.

On Wednesday, Turkey carried out airstrikes in Iraq and Syria against Kurdish militant targets following a suicide attack near Turkish government buildings in Ankara earlier in the week.

CORRECTION (Oct. 5, 2023, 10:30 p.m. ET): A previous version of this article misstated the conversion of kilometers to miles. One kilometer is 0.62 miles, not 6.2 miles.

This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
SAO PAULO  The defense conglomerate Edge Group has acquired a 50% stake in the Brazilian weapons manufacturer SIATT, the Emirati firm announced Sept. 29.

Founded in 2015, SIATT has been a partner in the Brazilian governments MANSUP program, which seeks an anti-ship missile with guidance, control and telemetry systems.

In its announcement, Edge described SIATT as a producer of smart weapons such as missiles and guided munitions, as well as their integration into aircraft, naval vessels, tanks, and other terrestrial vehicles, while also noting the Brazilian business stood out as a radar, sensor and avionics specialist.

The deal, according to SIATTs CEO, Rogerio Salvador, should allow the Brazilian company to leverage EDGE Groups scale and international experience across diverse domains to jointly develop the next generation of smart weapon solutions for our respective Armed Forces and other defense customers.

The head of Edge Group, Mansour AlMulla, stated that his company is committed to collaborating with strategically important players in the Brazilian industry, through investments or partnerships, with the goal of developing advanced defense capabilities and other related technologies.

The deal was also praised by the director of weapons systems for the Brazilian Navy, Vice Adm. Marco Antonio Ismael Trovao de Oliveira.

EDGE is demonstrating, through concrete actions, that it is a serious and supportive partner of the Brazilian defense industry and the development of national capabilities in several domains, the officer said in Edges news release.

Edge Group recently expanded its footprint in Europe with its takeover of Estonias Milrem Robotics, which produces unmanned systems.
Editors Note: A version of this story appeared in this weeks CNNs Race Deconstructed newsletter. Sign up for free here.

No one has been caught using a racial slur. Theres no video footage of an encounter between a White police officer and a Black motorist that ends in tragedy. Its not an event with the familiar hallmarks of a racial story.

But make no mistake: The United Auto Workers strike against Detroits Big Three automakers is not just a story about workers versus corporate power. Its also about race.

If the UAW is successful, they could also impact one of the significant political trends in America: the exodus of White working-class voters, fueled in part by racial resentment, from the Democratic Party.

The labor dimension to the strike is well-known. The UAW launched its strike Sept.15 and is seeking increased wages, benefits and job protections for its members.

Last week, President Biden became the first sitting president to join workers on a picket line when he stood with UAW workers.

The strike came as major automakers had reported record or near-record profits, with their CEOs earning an estimated 300 times more than their workers.

The UAW strike is part of larger pattern. Unions are experiencing a resurgence amid a perception that workers arent sharing fairly in corporate profits. Public approval of unions last year reached its highest level since 1965 and has only fallen slightly this year, according to Gallup pollsters.

But the surging popularity of unions could reduce some of the racial divisions in our country.

Our parties, like much of the country, are divided mostly along racial lines. The Republican Party has benefitted from a steady exodus of White working-class voters since the mid-1960s, when Lyndon Johnson, a Democratic president, threw his partys support behind major civil rights legislation.

No Democratic president has won a majority of the White vote since. More than 80% of Republican voters are White.

Several historians say the contemporary decline of unions paved the way for the election of Donald Trump in 2016. Working-class Whites who once found a political home in the union hall now found solidarity in a new populist movement.

United Auto Workers (UAW) members on a picket line outside a Ford Motor Co. Michigan Assembly plant in Wayne, Michigan, on September 15, 2023. - Emily Elconin/Bloomberg/Getty Images

But this strike has given us a glimpse of another future. Rarely in contemporary America do we see multiracial crowds gathered for a common purpose. The UAW strike, however, has furnished plenty of images of White and non-White workers walking the picket lines together.

These images represent unions peculiar power. Unions shrink the physical and psychological differences between White and non-White Americans. They have a history of fostering racial solidarity between White, Black and brown workers.

Their message to those workers: The enemy is not a person of another skin color but something else: corporate greed.

That message has racial implications. Several studies have found union membership not only reduces racial resentment but also leads to White unionized workers becoming more likely to support economic policies that help the Black community.

Unions provide opportunities for people of different racial backgrounds and identities to not merely work side by side  which may itself relax prejudice through sheer exposure  but to work toward a common goal together, promoting cooperation, and enhancing respect and mutuality across racial lines, wrote Meagan Day, co-author of Bigger than Bernie: How We Go from the Sanders Campaign to Democratic Socialism, in an essay in Jacobin magazine.

Unions provided crucial support to the civil rights movement. Its often been noted that Shawn Fain, the current UAW president, quotes Malcolm X. But Walter Reuther, his legendary predecessor in the 1950s and 1960s, was a stalwart ally of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.

Auto workers were among the civil rights demonstrators at the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom on August 28, 1963, in Washington, DC. - Roosevelt H. Carter/Archive Photos/Getty Images

Reuther gave critical support to the 1963 March on Washington and sat on the advisory board of the NAACP. He also joined King for the historic Selma to Montgomery march, which helped spark the passage of the 1965 Voting Rights Act.

King was also a strong supporter of unions. He had gone to Memphis, where he was assassinated in 1968, to support striking sanitation workers.

In fairness, unions dont always practice the racial solidarity they preach. They, too, have a history of racism and corruption. Not long ago, the Justice Department unearthed a massive corruption scandal at the UAW.

But the UAW strike could have an impact not just in the immediate future, but long-term. The current labor resurgence could help Democrats make inroads among White, working-class voters.

The current headlines may not say this: But the UAW strike and others like it are about something more than labor rights.

Theyre also about race.

And in America, the two have always been intertwined.

John Blake is the author of More Than I Imagined: What a Black Man Discovered About the White Mother He Never Knew.

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AI startup company, Prophetic, is working on building the "world's first wearable device for stabilizing lucid dreams" called Halo.

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Prophetic AI Promotes Non-Invasive Neurotech

Prophetic founders Eric Wollberg and Wesley Berry established the company after sharing a mutual fascination with brain-imaging tools and how they could paint a picture of someone's thought pattern. The duo co-founded Prophetic in early 2023.

As reported by CNBC, Prophetic is working towards making the "world's first wearable device for stabilizing lucid dreams." Basically, the device bears similarity to a headband and can issue focused ultrasound signals. Lucid dreams occur when a person becomes aware of their dream-like state which allows them the chance to control some parts of their dreams.

Recently, Wollberg announced that the company has raised $1.1 million in funding from various companies and partners. The prototype device dubbed Halo is in partnership with Card79, the same company that built Elon Musk's brain-computer interface company, Neuralink.

Prophetic AI Public Launch

Last June, Prophetic was formally introduced to the world. The founders emphasized the idea to "Bring about a paradigmatic shift in neurotech and give users an experience so extraordinary, a lucid dream, that we bring about a fundamentally new era of human life."

On October 20, the company will be showcasing the Halo prototype, custom ultrasound transducers, ML model development, and more in New York City. Wollberg also assured that the event will be recorded and uploaded for public consumption.

According to Prophetic's roadmap, the company is eyeing to complete the Ultrasound study and have the Prophetic models reliably induce and stabilize lucid dreams by 2024. It is estimated that by Spring 2025, the Halo will be shipped around the world.

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UC Davis is in possession of hundreds of photos of monkey test subjects  graphic images of at least a dozen macaques that were poisoned, maimed, and ultimately killed  but neither the university nor billionaire Elon Musk wants the public to see them, according to an investigative report from tech news outlet Wired that published Wednesday.

The macaques, which came from UC Davis Primate Center, were part of a research program in partnership with Musks company Neuralink.

The university and Neuralink are defendants in a lawsuit filed by the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, under the California Public Records Act.

The partnership between UC Davis and Neuralink ended in 2020.

Neuralink did not respond to The Bees request for comment by deadline.

In response to previous allegations of animal cruelty, the company released a statement in which it said, At Neuralink, we are absolutely committed to working with animals in the most humane and ethical way possible.

Andy Fell, a spokesman for UC Davis, said in a statement to The Bee that the university has fully complied with the California Public Records Act and we have supplied the vast majority of records requested by (the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine). Some requested items were not provided because they are exempt from disclosure under the law for various reasons set out in court filings.

Among those requested items, according to Wired, are photos of monkeys with holes roughly the size of a US dime drilled into their skulls. Others show with electrodes placed inside their brains and titanium plates screwed to their skulls. One researcher told Wired that the photos are particularly gruesome.

In at least one instance, later documented as an Animal Welfare Act violation by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, a 7-year-old monkey seized and vomited as it was observed by university staff, and sometimes she would wake and scratch at her throat, retching and gasping for air, before collapsing again, exhausted, according to Wired.

Despite the animals apparent suffering, it was not euthanized until one day later, at Neuralinks request.

According to Wired, the USDA declined to punish the university because it had proactively reported the violation.

UC Davis argued in legal filings that the photos, some of which allegedly depict monkeys with severe neurological damage, would not be in the publics interest to view, according to the Wired report.

Wired reports that UC Davis has fought the release of the photos for more than a year.

According to court filings reviewed by Wired, UC Davis has argued that the rationale for withholding the photographs is that the public is incapable of distinguishing between legitimate scientific research and senseless butchery, and that releasing the photos to the public would endanger university researchers.

As the lawsuit, filed in Yolo County, proceeds, Neuralink is moving ahead with its research. The company announced in September that it is moving ahead with trials on human subjects.

A previous version of this article incorrectly stated the basis of the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine lawsuit. The lawsuit has been filed under the California Public Records Act.
University of Illinois Springfield junior Demi Doehring of Springfield, left, and Emma Leahy a sophomore at UIS, also of Springfield, right, at the UIS Student Union Monday morning Sept. 11, 2023.

Incoming in-state freshmen at the University of Illinois Springfield will have the opportunity to take advantage of a new financial aid program, built to help first-time students cover tuition costs over the course of their academic career.

The school announced Wednesday the Prairie Promise program, a trial initiative that takes care of tuition and fees for first-time, first-year in-state undergraduate students enrolled in on-campus degree programs, beginning in the fall of 2024. Any student applying for the program must be eligible for the Illinois Monetary Award Program (MAP), as the program will use MAP grant funds along with scholarships, awards, and AIM HIGH grant funds to cover all costs.

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UIS will not reduce any higher merit scholarships if the scholarship is higher than the tuition and required fees. The school will allow those eligible students with Pell Grants to use them on other expenses, such as room and board, books, and supplies.

UIS Chancellor Janet Gooch said the new program was a way for students who need financial aid to attend college and allow for a more diverse student body.

"The Prairie Promise will allow more Illinois students to obtain a college degree without worrying about the cost," Gooch said. "It will not only expand access to education but also help to close the achievement gap for many students from diverse backgrounds."

In order to take advantage of the new program, a student must first be admitted to UIS and submit a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) by May 1, 2024. Funding will be awarded on a first-come, first-serve basis.

Students who receive the grants will have their eligibility evaluated after each year for either four years or until they receive a degree, with the school requiring that students maintain their residency, eligibility for MAP grants, academic progress each year, and be continuously enrolled at UIS.

Vickie Cook, vice chancellor of enrollment and retention management at UIS, said that the program would provide people with access to a good education while also allowing them to take advantage of other state and federal assistance programs.

"There are a lot of factors involved with paying for college beyond just tuition and fees," Cook said. "The Prairie Promise will maximize our ability to provide access to higher education for students by covering the cost of tuition and fees, without eliminating a students ability to take advantage of other financial assistance."

This article originally appeared on State Journal-Register: New financial aid program at UIS to cover tuition costs for first time students
XL bully owners say they are not dangerous if well trained (Daniel LEAL)

The UK government is facing calls to crack down on the backyard breeders of XL bully dogs, and even to cull the breed, following a string of horrifying attacks.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has pledged to ban the dogs but stopped short of saying they should be euthanised.

The dogs, which have huge, powerful jaws and can weigh over 60 kilogrammes (132 pounds), have risen in popularity since the Covid-19 lockdowns, which saw dog ownership rise.

"These dogs would appear to be valued by some as status symbols prized for their aggressive temperament. We will not tolerate this any longer," wrote environment minister Therese Coffey last month after the ban was announced.

That followed a viral clip of an out-of-control XL bully biting an 11-year-old girl, leaving her traumatised and in need of hospital treatment.

The rampaging dog then chases and attacks one of the men who had gone to her aid in the central English city of Birmingham.

Under Sunak's plan, owners will have to register their dogs and muzzle them in public places.

They will also be required to neuter them so that the dog type dies out within a decade.

But Conservative party lawmaker Robert Goodwill has said the government should be considering faster action, including a "general cull".

Others are calling for a crackdown on unscrupulous breeders.

Since the Birmingham attack on September 9, there have reportedly been at least four more attacks by XLs -- two of them fatal and another involving a toddler.

- 'Fighting stock' -

Lawrence Newport, a researcher at Royal Holloway University of London who has spearheaded efforts to get the dogs banned, says they are uniquely aggressive due to their breeding history.

"These are fighting dogs, originally bred from fighting stock," he said.

XL bully type dogs were now responsible for 70 percent of dog attacks in the UK even though they only made up one percent of all dogs, he said.

If attacks were caused by bad owners, rather than something inherently dangerous about the dog type, there would be more attacks involving other big breeds, he argued.

Others, however, said fixating on one dog type would not solve the problem of underground breeders who would simply move on to other dangerous breeds.

"As soon as something becomes popular, the wrong people get involved and all this cross-breeding and inbreeding starts to create problems," dog safety campaigner Mark Riley, who helps run the group Rocky's Army, told AFP.

"It's happening with other breeds as well so it's not just the XL bully.

"We've heard stories of people crossing rottweilers with other dogs. They're the kind of people that need dealing with."

Riley's group supports people who have had their dogs seized by police under the Dangerous Dogs Act and advocates responsible ownership programmes and licences for dog owners.

Under the law, introduced in 1991, it is illegal to own four types of dog without an exemption, including pit bull terriers and Japanese tosas. Breeding the dogs is also banned.

- 'The Beast' -

The owner of one XL bully told AFP he accepted the dogs looked "pretty big and intimidating" but stressed that "any dog can turn violent" if not handled correctly.

The 30-year-old private ambulance driver from London, who gave his name as Jack said, he had trained his two-year-old dog Frank Sinatra to ensure he was obedient and well behaved.

"These dogs, they crave a lot of attention and you can see that sometimes people don't give them that attention. It's down to ownership," he said.

"They are great dogs. They're great loving family dogs. I trust him around my daughter."

According to the Bullywatch website, XL bully, bully type or crossbreed dogs now accounted for the majority of UK dog attacks.

The group, which aims raise awareness of the scale of dog attacks linked to XL bullys, said it believed there had been 11 confirmed deaths since 2021 and three more suspected deaths.

The general rise in dog attack fatalities in the UK "can be explained directly" by the introduction in recent years of XL bully type dogs, it said.

The mother of a 10-year-old boy who was killed by an XL bully named 'The Beast' nearly two years ago has criticised the government for being slow to act.

Emma Whitfield's son Jack Lis is one of several children killed by the dogs.

While she has said she is relieved by the ban, she is also urging the government to tackle the source of the problem once and for all.

"Banning the dog at the moment will help... but if backyard breeders still exist, they are going to create a new breed and we could find ourselves in a few years in the same place," she said.

har/phz/gil
The University of Kentucky denied care to UK HealthCare patients by wrongly removing a thyroid cancer physician from the campus because of his autism, a Fayette County circuit judge ruled this week.

The Plaintiff is an expert; patients went to him because of his reputation, said the October 2 ruling by Fayette Circuit Judge Julie Muth Goodman that returned physician Kenneth Ain to work. The care that they sought is being denied to them primarily because of his autism, not for issues related to Plaintiffs medical treatment of patients, and can result in irreparable harm unless the Plaintiff is permitted to provide continuation of treatment.

University officials have in the past said Ain was not suspended but reassigned to his home, Ains attorney James Morris said. He was removed from university grounds, facilities and patient care.

Ain filed a lawsuit on September 20 against the University of Kentucky.

In a September 28 hearing, Goodman said there were no complaints regarding Ains patient care.

There were no allegations from UK that required removing Ain from patient care or that indicated his actions were detrimental to patients, Goodman said.

Morris told the Herald-Leader WednesdayAin had been removed from the university since August 23 without any indication as to why, until the University admitted during the ... hearing that it was some sort of vague reference to his autism behavior with supposedly using a curse word.

We still have never received any indication ... in the past six weeks. No formal notice of the allegation, no formal notice of any effort to investigate, just the University admitting that it was related to his autism, and that they had isolated him six years ago because of that autism  and yet he successfully treats, and sees, over 2,000 patients each year and is the Universitys leading expert on thyroid cancer treatment, said Morris.

UK will comply with Goodmans order, university spokesperson Jay Blanton said Wednesday.

We are aware of the litigation and will, as always, comply with any decisions of the court. The peer review process  where physicians evaluate the work of their fellow doctors  is an important and longstanding practice that is only initiated after careful and considerable thought. The commitment of UK HealthCare, in everything that we do, is to provide the best advanced care in the state to our patients, Blanton said.

In the September 28 hearing, Goodman said UK had put Ain, as he worked, in a silo and a bubble since 2017. One of the UK physicians who testified at the hearing acknowledged he communicated infrequently with Ain because of his disability.

Goodman ordered that Ain be allowed to resume his previous position as the treating physician of his patients in the UK thyroid cancer clinic.

Despite presenting three witnesses, UK officials could not show Ain would endanger the welfare of his extremely ill patients who have come to him as a leading expert in the field of aggressive thyroid cancer, Goodmans order said. Instead, the testimony revealed that the basis for Plaintiffs removal revolved around hearsay involving alleged negative comments about the Plaintiffs personality and language. The testimony further revealed that the University had dealt with Plaintiffs autism disorder by isolating him to work alone with only a nurse practitioner.

Morris said he was pleased the judge placed patients needs first. He said he was very disappointed in the Universitys disability discrimination, but was pleased it acknowledged that its actions were the result of Ains disability, and not related to any patient care concerns.

Dr. Ain is looking forward to treating his thyroid cancer patients, and attempting to rectify any gaps or errors in treatment caused by the Universitys improper interference, Morris said.

Seriously ill patients rights have been impacted by depriving them from being able to be treated by Ain, Goodman ruled. Ain has been mandated to do his work alone, and he alone sees these patients on a regular basis, her ruling said.

The lawsuit and the universitys investigation of Ain will continue, according to testimony at the hearing.
The UK has stated that following their intelligence information, Russia intends to install sea mines in the path of civilian vessels carrying Ukrainian grain for export.

Source: statement by the UK Foreign Office

Details: Evidence published on 4 October suggested that Russia may continue to target civilian shipping in the Black Sea, including laying sea mines on the approaches to Ukrainian ports.

The UK believes Russia is trying to endanger civilian vessels passing through the Ukrainian "humanitarian corridor" to deter Ukrainian grain export, allowing Russia to pressure the Ukrainian economy.

Russia aims to refrain from openly causing the sinking of civilian vessels, instead "falsely laying blame" on Ukraine for conducting any attacks on civilian vessels in the Black Sea.

The UK published information on the landmines to prevent any such incident.

Quote: "We are committed to ensuring Ukraine can continue to export its agricultural produce through all appropriate routes including its humanitarian corridor, overland and via the Danube."

Quote from UK Foreign Secretary James Cleverly: "The world is watching  and we see right through Russias cynical attempts to lay blame on Ukraine for their attacks. We and our allies stand united against Putin and his attempts to harm Ukraine and thus harm the rest of the world."

More details: The UK authorities noted that Russia damaged 130 port infrastructure facilities in the cities of Odesa, Chornomorsk and Reni after withdrawing from the Black Sea Grain Initiative. The Russians destroyed nearly 300,000 tonnes of grain that would be enough to feed over 1.3 million people for a year.

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Russian forces may use sea mines to strike civilian shipping targets in the Black Sea, a United Kingdom intelligence report published Oct. 4 said.

According to U.K. intelligence, Russia intends to blame Ukraine for any successful attacks.

"Russia almost certainly wants to avoid openly sinking civilian ships, instead falsely laying blame on Ukraine for any attacks against civilian vessels in the Black Sea," the report said.

The Russian military has blocked trade routes through the Black Sea since the collapse of the Black Sea Grain Initiative in July. At the same time, Russia has targeted Ukraine's port and grain infrastructure with repeated attacks.

Russia's aggression in the Black Sea poses a major risk to global food security. According to the U.K. intelligence report, Russia has "already destroyed enough grain to feed more than one million people for a year."

In recent weeks, the Ukrainian military has launched successful strikes at Russian military targets in the Black Sea and occupied Crimea.

On Sept. 22, Ukraine attacked the headquarters of Russia's Black Sea Fleet in Sevastopol with long-range Storm Shadow missiles.

Ukrainian forces have also used experimental sea drones to strike targets in the region, including the Crimean Bridge and a Russian missile ship.

U.K. Foreign Secretary James Cleverly said that attempts to blame Kyiv for strikes on the civilian shipping targets would be dismissed.

"The world is watching  and we see right through Russias cynical attempts to lay blame on Ukraine for their attacks," Cleverly said.

Read also: Ukraine war latest: Kyiv says special forces conduct operation in occupied Crimea

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UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced the UKs new tranche of financial aid for Ukraine during the European Political Community summit in Granada. Sunak also met with Zelenskyy.

Source: European Pravda, with reference to a UK government press release

Details: New aid allocations for Ukraine announced today include 34 million for the UN and charities providing shelter and warm winter clothing and 10 million for household electricity, following Russian attacks on Ukraines critical energy infrastructure.

The UKs fourth loan guarantee of US$500 million has been disbursed via the World Bank to ensure the Government of Ukraine can provide life-saving winter support payments to three million households.

During a bilateral meeting, Zelenskyy and Sunak also discussed the efforts to ensure continued international support for Ukraine, security cooperation, and alternative grain export routes in the Black Sea.

Background:

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy took part in the European Political Community summit in the Spanish city of Granada on 5 October. The EPC was initiated by France and offers a new format for European cooperation; this was the groups third meeting.

During the summit, Zelenskyy also met with the head of Armenias and Slovakias governments, the French President, the German Chancellor, and heads of several key European institutions.

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U.K. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced new humanitarian aid on Oct. 5 to help Ukrainians survive the second winter of Russia's full-scale war.

According to Sunak's office, the aid allocations include a loan guarantee of 500 million pounds ($600 million) disbursed through the World Bank to ensure Kyiv can provide winter support payments to three million households.

London will also send $41 million to the United Nations and charities supplying Ukrainians with shelter and warm winter clothing, as well as provide $12 million to sustain household electricity following Russian attacks on energy infrastructure.

During the fall of 2022 and winter of 2023, Russian forces attempted to cripple Ukraine's energy network with massive strikes, leading to frequent blackouts and a lack of heating across the country. Kyiv has warned that Russia will likely attempt this strategy again next winter.

Read also: With winter approaching, is Ukraines energy system ready for renewed Russian attacks?

At the European Political Community meeting in Spain, Sunak also called on partners to supply Ukraine with new defense weapons to resist Russia's military aggression.

On the summit's sidelines, Sunak met with President Volodymyr Zelensky, discussing "necessary efforts to continue international support to Ukraine," according to Zelensky's office.

The leaders also discussed the new Black Sea corridor for civilian ships established by Ukraine's navy, which allowed Ukrainian ports to continue receiving cargo vessels for grain exports amid a Russian-imposed blockade.

Zelensky and Sunak emphasized the importance of consolidating international efforts to protect freedom of navigation in the Black Sea. They considered the possible insurance formats for ships that agree to use the temporary corridor.

According to the latest intelligence update by the U.K. Defense Ministry, Russian forces may use sea mines to strike civilian shipping targets in the Black Sea and blame Ukraine for any successful attacks.

The Russian military has blocked trade routes through the Black Sea since the collapse of the Black Sea Grain Initiative in July. At the same time, Russia has targeted Ukraine's port and grain infrastructure with repeated attacks.

Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent.
Drone operator Sapsan flies a FPV drone from a forward bunker position on the southern front line near Robotyne, Ukraine, on Sept. 14. (Photo for The Washington Post by Wojciech Grzedzinski)

Drone operator Sapsan flies a FPV drone from a forward bunker position on the southern front line near Robotyne, Ukraine, on Sept. 14. (Photo for The Washington Post by Wojciech Grzedzinski)

ZAPORIZHZHIA REGION, Ukraine - The unblinking eye of the Ukrainian surveillance drone spotted attractive prey: eight Russian soldiers entering a fortified, well-camouflaged dugout.

Inside a darkened trench a few miles away, Ukrainian soldiers of the 47th Separate Mechanized Brigade's strike drone company got to work. A pilot tightened the plastic blades of his hand-built machine, strapped a fuel bomb to its belly and lifted off.

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Through a pair of goggles, the operator, call sign Sapsan, piloted the drone across the scarred battlefield in southern Ukraine, gliding the craft toward his target.

Such first-person view, or FPV, drones - fast, highly-maneuverable, and relatively cheap craft flown by an operator wearing a headset receiving the drone's video feed in real time - are now the predominant attack drone in Ukraine.

Basic components of a hand-built FPV war drone. (The Washington Post)

They are filling a gap left by a shortage of Western artillery rounds and precision weapons, soldiers said, and their ability to carry heavier explosives has made it the preferred tool for destroying tanks in some units, allowing a pilot to strike weak points like engines and tracks with rapier precision.

Sapsan means peregrine falcon, and as his synthetic raptor approached its target, a navigator huddled next to him. "You can carefully fly around," the navigator said. "See if there is a way in."

Then, a breakthrough: a hole leading inside the dugout, perhaps three feet tall and three feet wide. Sapsan drew nearer. Indicators in his headset flashed low battery warnings.

"The wind," Sapsan said, cursing. "Come on, work for us."

The war in Ukraine is the world's first full-scale drone conflict, and FPV drones, first used in substantial numbers earlier this year, are bringing it to a new level. Though more difficult to fly than other drones that drop munitions, Russian and Ukrainian soldiers are mobilizing fleets of them.

FPV cameras create bleak images that are destined to go viral: The last oblivious seconds of soldiers' lives, war machines set ablaze and trick shots plunging through open windows. It is captured on low-fidelity video reminiscent of VHS - an advantage, soldiers say, because the analog signal resists electronic jamming better than digital feeds.

Perhaps most important for Ukraine's asymmetric fight against Russia - a far bigger, better-armed enemy - FPV drones are bargain-bin projectiles. Fashioned by hand from a few hundred bucks of material, they can annihilate million-dollar equipment.

"It's a revolution in terms of placing this precision guided capacity in the hands of regular people for a tiny fraction of the cost of the destroyed target," said Samuel Bendett, a drone expert at the Center for Naval Analyses, a policy institute based in Arlington, Va. "We're seeing FPV drones strike a very precise spot, which before was really the domain of very expensive, high precision guided weapons. And now it's a $400 drone piloted by a teenager."

Bendett likened the use of FPV drones to the iconic Star Wars scene, when Luke Skywalker fires a proton torpedo into an exhaust port to destroy the Death Star. "This is what we're actually seeing happen right now," he said.

- - -

The rise of FPV drones

FPV drones are arguably the most DIY weapon in Ukraine's crowdfunded war. Brimming with Chinese-made components, they are assembled by volunteers or by units themselves. The drones are built for obliteration, and look it. Power cables flare from their top. Explosives are secured with plastic zip ties.

A pilot typically works with a navigator, and a second team flying a surveillance drone to capture the larger view. FPV drones often miss more often than they hit, crews said, with failures resulting from electronic jamming or batteries dying. The drones have a roughly nine-mile range, depending on payload size.

Drones designed to crash into targets are known as one-way, or self-detonating, drones. The United States has provided Ukraine with similar but expensive models in relatively small numbers, and these are not new to conflict.

When the war shifted predominantly to an artillery fight last year, both Ukraine and Russia began favoring smaller tactical drones. Troops fixed grenades and smaller explosives to quadcopters, like the popular DJI Mavic, and rigged them, like tiny bombers, to drop directly over targets.

The concept worked for a time but was unsustainable, soldiers said. Off-the-shelf tactical models can cost more than $2,000. Analysts estimate Ukraine loses thousands of drones a month.

Those drones also cannot carry much. Mavics can haul about a pound of explosives, said Senior Lt. Yuri Filatov, the drone systems chief commander of the 3rd Separate Assault Brigade. That is roughly a hand grenade - enough to kill a soldier but not destroy vehicles.

Filatov's brigade has found that FPV drones could carry the warhead of a rocket-propelled grenade, a readily available antitank weapon. Their introduction, he said, has even lessened the need for more expensive weapons like the U.S.-provided Javelin.

"FPV drones have become the main antitank weapon," Filatov said, including against T-90s, which are among Russia's most modern tanks. In one day alone, they destroyed four tanks, he said, while soldiers kept at a safe distance. "As we use more drones," Filatov said, "we are losing fewer people."

- - -

Prepping for drone warfare

Before dawn on a recent morning in the Zaporizhzhia region, soldiers of the 47th drone strike company chain-smoked cigarettes and chugged energy drinks as they loaded boxes of drone components and antennas into a pickup truck.

The company's chief sergeant, a bearded former DJ with the call sign Legion, got behind the wheel and sped toward the front. With techno music from Legion's past life as a soundtrack, the truck skimmed by the torched shells of armored vehicles. The turret of a U.S.-supplied Bradley, destroyed by a mine, lay upside down in scattered trash.

Washington Post journalists accompanied the drone team - Legion, pilot Sapsan, and navigator Actor - on a day-long mission near the liberated village of Robotyne. The objective: sow chaos on Russian lines as their comrades fought to retake ground, trench by trench. In keeping with military rules, the soldiers are being identified only by their call signs.

Heavy Russian glide bombs shook the ground in the distance as the team put up antennas and readied a Starlink satellite internet terminal. Enemy detritus on the floor - fragments of Russian uniforms and discarded rations - showed enemy soldiers once occupied the position.

Sapsan dug into a box of parts to ready the day's sorties. Mad scientists in the brigade produce some components; 3D printers churn out boxes to protect circuit boards, which the unit assembles by hand. Others tinker at workstations to unlock ways to make the drones fly farther and carry more.

Sapsan built each drone on-site, with various charges for different targets. Fragmentation munitions to hit foot soldiers. RPG warheads to destroy vehicles. For dugouts, thermobaric charges release fuel aerosol that creates a harder and longer concussive blast, which is violently efficient in a confined space.

At 24, Sapsan is a grizzled veteran. He enlisted days after Russia invaded and served in reconnaissance and infantry units. Working with drones appealed to his creative side. He used them in his prior job as a photography director, making music videos, films and advertising.

Dexterity from mastering card tricks gave him an edge learning to fly. Built for racing and hairpin turns, FPV drones rely on a pilot's input for every motion. The controls can take weeks to master.

The first target of the day was a Russian T-90 tank. Sapsan's thumb and index fingers worked the two sticks with a feather touch, controlling the drone's pitch and yaw with tiny movements.

The drone combed the area but the tank vanished. Sapsan ditched it in a tree line, hoping to hit soldiers by happenstance.

He raised his goggles and lit a cigarette, a post-flight ritual. He fired up another after a second miss on a T-90. A third smoke followed a failed run at an armored personnel carrier. The signal was lost, possibly jammed. Three flights, three misses.

Sapsan huddled over components to build more drones, clipping zip ties and placing the ends in his helmet.

After about 100 flights, he pondered what he could do with more drones. He has helped clear trenches with pinpoint explosions to aid comrades in capturing prisoners. He has careened into the windshields of Russian supply trucks. He has collapsed the walls of buildings where Russians sought safety only for a drone to fly through a window.

The 47th drone unit produces and uses about 20 drones a day. Occasionally, the unit fundraises on social media. One unit member, Pavlo, said he buys parts with proceeds from his YouTube page.

"There are never enough drones," Sapsan said.

- - -

Ghosts in the machine

Russian units operate FPV drones in the same way but Moscow seems to have greater supplies, said a deputy company commander in the 80th Separate Assault Brigade with the call sign Swift. The brigade recently helped liberate Klishchiivka near Bakhmut. Russian teams hit minor targets or deploy two drones at once, suggesting a deeper inventory, Swift said.

Countering FPV drones is difficult, Swift said. Electronic jamming or nets strewn over vehicles and trenches help, but the Russians know and use the same methods. "It's like a chess game," he said. "They're winning it. Just in terms of quantity."

Ukraine's leaders said they want to do more. FPV drones have shown "sniper-like accuracy," said Deputy Prime Minister Mykhailo Fedorov, who heads the country's Army of Drones program, which is working to train 2,600 FPV drone pilots.

The FPV war can play out in bizarre ways. Because the analog signals are not encrypted, pilots often acquire the signal of other drones, Sapsan said - seeing its video, like ghosts in each other's machines.

In one case, a Ukrainian pilot tapped into the feed of a Russian FPV drone, read the terrain and warned soldiers in danger. They were able to take cover, Sapsan said.

Russian soldiers have griped on social media that Ukrainian FPV drones make it harder to move around, and have redefined how far from the front is considered safe, said Bendett, the drone expert. The dynamic, he said, is fed by each side uploading videos of successful strikes.

"You almost never know where an FPV drone is coming from," he said. "It's a tremendous psychological effect."

And there is also an effect - still not fully understood - on the drone operators. What does the act of remote killing do to someone simultaneously detached but intimately close to violence?

Sapsan dismissed the idea of a moral quandary. He sees his job as saving Ukrainians. "There are no feelings of any kind, no sympathy," he said. "If it were not clear what we were fighting for, such as the campaigns in Vietnam and Afghanistan, then there would be anxiety and pain."

"But everything is clear here," he said. "I do not regret what I am doing."

- - -

A breakthrough

The air grew quiet in the afternoon. Soldiers tapped on their phones until a command center coordinator ushered them back into action.

The team's fortunes improved. A near miss landed next to Russian soldiers, perhaps injuring some. Sapsan sent one drone crashing into a machine gun position and dropped another directly into a trench. Their streak ended after missing another machine gun nest.

Then, promising surveillance unfolded with the sighting of eight Russian soldiers entering a dugout. Sapsan grabbed a drone loaded with a thermobaric charge and sent it aloft.

After Sapsan cursed the wind, Actor, the navigator, reassured him: in theory, it would help propel the drone on its final attack run.

Ukrainian artillery rocked the area as Sapsan flew near, and Actor directed him to an intricate trench system in a strip of trees.

The drone was 200 meters away and closing in. Sapsan spotted the opening. His body tensed. His mouth was agape. He nearly stopped breathing.

He flicked his left stick down, sending the drone spiraling into the hole. His screen crackled with white noise.

"That's a hit!" Actor said.

Sapsan raised his headset and peered at the drone feed. Smoke billowed from the target.

It was time for a cigarette.

- - -

Serhiy Morgunov in the Donetsk region and Anastacia Galouchka in Kyiv contributed to this report.

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Ukraine hit Russia's most treasured air-defense system on its own soil, reports say

An S-400 Triumf air-defense system outside Moscow in December 2010. Andrey Smirnov/AFP via Getty Images

Ukraine struck one of Russia's most treasured air-defense systems on Wednesday, reports said.

Drones hit an S-400 Triumph near Belgorod, Russia, an intelligence source told the Kyiv Post.

It would be the first time Ukrainian forces have hit an S-400 system in Russia's territory.

Reports indicate Ukraine damaged one of Russia's most treasured air-defense systems in a drone attack.

Using strike drones, the Security Service of Ukraine, or SBU, damaged a Russian S-400 Triumph antiaircraft system on Wednesday, the Kyiv Post reported, citing an intelligence source.

The SBU source didn't elaborate on the extent of damage done, though Reuters reported the system's radar was affected.

The attack occurred at night in mainland Russia, near the southwestern city of Belgorod, Ukrinform and Reuters reported.

While Ukraine has previously destroyed a similar system in occupied Crimea, this would be the first time it has struck an S-400 system in mainland Russia.

Russia's Ministry of Defense said on Wednesday it had downed 31 drones launched over the regions of Belgorod, Bryansk, and Kursk. It didn't, however, say whether an S-400 system was damaged.

A spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Insider.

The reports come after Ukraine said another such system was destroyed September 14 in Yevpatoriya, a coastal city in the west of occupied Crimea that Russia seized from Ukraine in 2014.

The destruction was the result of a joint operation by the SBU and the Ukrainian Navy.

Russia's S-400 mobile long-range surface-to-air system includes truck-mounted radars, a mobile command post, and multiple missile-launch platforms. It's designed to shoot down aircraft and missiles at long ranges and high altitudes.

Both the BBC and Bloomberg cited Ukrainian sources suggesting the destroyed system in Crimea was worth as much as $1.2 billion, but other estimates are closer to $500 million.

The SBU source told the Kyiv Post that given this was the second S-400 struck by Ukraine in the last month, "[we] advise the Russians to think about a new name for this complex," a dig at its "triumph" moniker.

Read the original article on Business Insider
Streaming platform Wavve's new thriller series "Deal" deals with a kidnapping scheme involving three young men, but the main focus of the story is not money but the tumultuous relationship between friends, its director said Thursday.

The story revolves around three friends who are mired in a fake kidnapping scheme and find themselves becoming accomplices in pursuit of 10 billion won ($7.4 million).

After binge drinking, cash-strapped medical school student Jae-hyo (Kim Dong-hee) pretends to kidnap his friend Min Woo (Yoo Soo-bin) to demand ransom from his rich mother. Jung-sung (Yoo Seung-ho) is unexpectedly mired in the unplanned kidnapping and faces unpredictable aftermath.

It was officially invited to the 28th Busan International Film Festival's "On Screen" section, which showcases highly anticipated drama series by streaming platforms.

Director Lee Jung-gon, known for his debut feature "Not Out" (2021), said the thriller takes a refreshing approach to the kidnapping story by exploring changing emotions of the high school friends and their underlying desire.

"The story intertwines kidnapping, hostage and money. Although it focuses on money, I tried to concentrate more on the trio's changing relationship under different circumstances," Lee said in a press conference held in Busan on the sidelines of the film festival.

Yoo said he was attracted by the intriguing plot and his character who oscillates between friendship and his desire for money.

"The story of friends' kidnapping their friend was interesting," Yoo said. "I also had a strong desire to play a role that I haven't played before."

"Deal" premieres on Wavve on Friday and will be available on American streaming platform Rakuten Viki. (Yonhap)
Jean-Claude Juncker , Former President of the European Commission, believes that Ukraine does not yet meet the criteria for membership in the European Union because of heavy corruption. However, the prospect of accession should be preserved for Ukraine.

Source: Jean-Claude Juncker in an interview with Augsburger Allgemeine, as reported by European Pravda

Quote: "We should not make false promises to people in Ukraine who are suffering all by themselves. I am outraged with some voices in Europe trying to convince Ukrainians that they can become members of the EU immediately. This would not be good for the EU or Ukraine".

Details: Juncker stated that anyone who had any relationship with Ukraine knows that "this is a country that is corrupt at all levels of society."

Ukraine is not ready to join the European Union, Juncker says.

Quote: "Despite efforts, it is not ready to join, it needs major internal reforms. We have had bad experiences with some so-called new members, such as the rule of law. This must not happen again."

Details: At the same time, Juncker believes that the European perspective for Moldova and Ukraine should be preserved, but "should not be associated with the hope that it can be achieved overnight, just by pressing a button."

"If progress is made in these countries, whether in Ukraine or the Western Balkans, they should certainly be able to participate in certain stages of European integration. We should work to make something like partial accession possible, a reasonable form of almost an expansion," the former President of the European Commission said.

Background:

There is no question of immediate accession of Ukraine to the EU.

Charles Michel, the President of the European Council, said at the end of August that he wants the EU to be ready for enlargement by 2030.

However, there are supporters of not being bound by any deadlines for the accession of new members in the EU, such as Portugal.

The Ukrainian authorities say they are ready to complete their part of the accession work as soon as possible.

Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said that Kyiv wants to put "on the table a report that we are ready" in two years. At the same time, he emphasised that the decision on Ukraine's accession will take time after this approval.

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FILE PHOTO: A load of corn is poured into a truck, at a grain storage facility in the village of Bilohiria

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Ukraine expressed optimism on Thursday that a stand-off with neighbouring EU countries that have imposed measures to restrict imports of Ukrainian agricultural products could be resolved, though probably not before a Polish election this month.

Poland, Slovakia and Hungary announced restrictions on Ukrainian grain imports last month after the executive European Commission decided not to extend a ban on imports into Ukraine's five EU neighbours.

The issue has been a rare source of tension between Kyiv and its EU neighbours, particularly Poland, where a nationalist government facing an election on Oct. 15 has otherwise strongly backed Ukraine but says cheap grain hurts Polish farmers.

Taras Kachka, Ukraine's trade representative and deputy economy minister, told reporters on the sidelines of a conference in Brussels that his country understood the pressures farmers in those countries faced.

"I think that in any case, we will find the solution because, after all, all the details of these puzzles are quite well known," he said.

He added he did not expect a solution in the next few weeks, given Polish politicians were pre-occupied with the election.

Ukraine, a major global grain producer and exporter, usually relies heavily on its deep Black Sea ports for exports. But its ability to get its goods to the world has been restricted by a de facto Russian blockade, which Moscow imposed after its invasion last year and tightened in July after quitting a U.N.-backed agreement to allow grain shipments.

Poland and neighbours previously had an arrangement in place that prevented Ukrainian grain being sold there, while allowing it to transit the countries for sale elsewhere.

Ukraine has filed a complaint with the World Trade Organization against the three countries, but Kachka stressed this meant that the parties had entered a 60-day period of consultations before any adjudicating panel is formed.

Kachka said there were no requests for licences to export grain to Poland from Ukraine, indicating that there was limited Polish demand for Ukraine's agricultural products and that the pattern of trade flows was normalising to reflect significant demand from other EU members.

Ukraine has been seeking to speed up exports of grain and other farm products under an agreement reached with Lithuania and Poland. Kachka said Ukraine wanted a comprehensive agreement with all neighbours and the European Commission.

(Reporting by Philip Blenkinsop; Editing by Peter Graff)
Grain complaint in the WTO on hold

Ukraine has put on hold its complaint against Poland, Hungary, and Slovakia at the World Trade Organization (WTO) as the grain disputes with the neighboring countries are expected to be resolved in the coming weeks, Ukraines Deputy Economy Minister and Trade Representative at the EU, Taras Kachka, said on Oct. 5.

Read also: Spanish leader to vow to back Ukraines bid to join EU

He noted that a new export mechanism had been proposed which has seen Kyiv seeking a constructive solution within the framework of the entire EU.

Kachka explained that Ukraine lodged the complaint with the WTO and has 60 days to consult. So, currently, Kyiv is not in dispute, but in the consultation stage.

According to him, Kyiv had already taken care of the customs formalities for goods transiting through five neighboring countries. None of them prohibits transit. What remains is to regulate the final piecethe opening of the neighboring markets for Ukrainian agricultural goods.

Read also: Google launches course to help Ukrainian companies export their goods and services

"It's a minor problem, because we do not sell much grain produce there; its mainly a question of the functioning of trade between Ukraine and the EU," added Kachka.

Read also: Ukrainian startup FarmFleet exports first batch of agricultural drones to US

On Sept. 18, Ukraine filed lawsuits against Poland, Hungary, and Slovakia at the WTO, after the three countries unilaterally extended a ban on the import of Ukrainian grains despite the European Commission's decision to drop the restictions.

On Sept. 26, Ukrainian PM Denys Shmyhal signed a resolution on a new agricultural export mechanism, which was supported by the European Commission.

On Sept. 27, Poland's Minister of Agriculture, Robert Telus, called on Ukraine to withdraw the complaint at the WTO.

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President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced on 5 October that he had held productive negotiations on the sidelines of the summit of the European Political Community.

Source: Zelenskyy's evening address on 5 October

Quote: "We will have more air defense systems - there are clear agreements. This is crucial as we approach winter. Spain, Italy, France, Germany, and the United Kingdom - thank you!

There will be more artillery for our warriors. There will be more long-range weapons. And there will certainly be more justice."

"Today, our main message to the world is: evil cannot prevail. And only now, only in Ukraine, can this principled moral position be maintained. But together, all together!"

Details: Zelenskyy expressed gratitude for the meetings to each leader of the partner countries.

Background:

On 5 October, Zelenskyy said that Germany was working to provide Ukraine with an additional Patriot air defence system for the winter.

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(Bloomberg) -- Ukraine said air-defense forces downed 24 of 29 drones launched by Russia from annexed Crimea to attack southern and central regions of the country.

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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy met with European leaders to press for continued support against Russias invasion amid concerns about the continued flow of US aid.

Turkey is preparing to host a third international gathering of national security advisers working to build support for a peace summit that Ukraine wants to hold this year, according to people familiar with the matter. The meeting is tentatively scheduled for later this month in Istanbul.

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Spain has decided to supply Ukraine with six launchers for Hawk anti-aircraft missile systems.

Source: press service of the Spanish government, reported by European Pravda

Details: The decision was made following talks between Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez and President Volodymyr Zelenskyy .

During the talks, the heads of Ukraine and Spain discussed the current situation at the contact line, and in this regard, Sanchez offered Zelenskyy new air defence and anti-drone systems, as well as appropriate training for Ukrainian soldiers and demining equipment.

"As a result of today's talks with President Zelenskyy, the Spanish government will provide Ukraine with six Hawk launchers to combat possible Russian bombing of civilian targets and critical infrastructure, as well as to protect the new grain corridor," the statement said.

The Hawk is a semi-stationary medium-range surface-to-air missile system that was the main anti-aircraft system of the United States and NATO countries during the Cold War. It is currently in service with about 20 countries.

The range of the Hawk missile system is up to 45-50 kilometres, the target altitude is up to 20 kilometres, and the missile is guided by a semi-active homing warhead and flies at Mach 2.4.

Background:

Back in October 2022, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg announced that, at the request of the Alliance, Spain would provide four Hawk air defence launchers, and in November of the same year, it announced the provision of two more launchers.

Earlier, Bloomberg reported that Germany would send one additional IRIS-T air defence system and "more than a dozen" Gepard self-propelled anti-aircraft systems to Ukraine.

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Ukraine's Military Intelligence Directorate said it intercepted a Russian soldier's call home.

In translated audio, the soldier said his unit staged videos to make it appear like they were fighting well.

The soldier said it was all a performance and that the videos were sent to their superiors, per the audio.

Ukraine's military intelligence service says it intercepted the phone call of a Russian soldier telling his wife his unit was staging combat videos to make it look like they are fighting well on the frontlines.

The audio was published by Ukraine's Military Intelligence Directorate on Wednesday.

In the clip, translated by Insider, the soldier can be heard telling his wife many members of his unit were badly injured, with some killed in action, and that they couldn't even carry away the bodies of the dead.

"There are new bodies every day," the soldier said. "The body is lying 100 meters from my position, and we can't even pick it up."

In the audio released by Ukraine, the soldier's wife said she had seen footage that showed some Russian troops had been successfully pushing through a Ukrainian village. But the soldier, in the audio, said it was "bullshit" and that he didn't believe it, adding he too had taken recordings on his phone meant to show Russian forces making progress.

"We here are also holding the defense real fucking good. It's all a performance," he said.

The soldier claimed his commander instructed him to take a video inspired by "The 9th Company," a Russian war film from 2005.

"The commander tells me: 'You will be Bondarchuk,'" the soldier said, a reference to Fedor Bondarchuk, the film's director.

"So I dressed all my [soldiers] up, fucking put them in their positions, and walked around filming them in the trenches to show how fucking well they are fighting here," the soldier told his wife, in the audio released by Ukraine. "It was all sent to some superiors."

Insider was unable to verify the authenticity of the call or when it occurred. It's unclear what unit the Russian soldier supposedly belonged to.

Ukraine has frequently said it intercepted calls made by Russian soldiers since the invasion in February 2022. Audio of the calls obtained by various outlets has apparently revealed Russian soldiers expressing frustration at being unprepared or treated like "cannon fodder."

Reuters last month reported on 17 phone calls that had been placed by Russian soldiers that were intercepted by the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU). The outlet said the calls showed Russian soldiers complaining about heavy losses and lousy gear.

In June, the SBU also said it intercepted a call in which a Russian soldier admitted it was Russian forces that destroyed the Kakhovka dam in Ukraine.

Other intercepted calls published by Ukraine have appeared to show Russian soldiers complaining about the war, with one saying last year he would "pray for a wound" in order to be sent home.

Translations by Oleksandr Vynogradov.

Read the original article on Business Insider
Mustafa Nayyem, Head of the Agency for Infrastructure Reconstruction and Development

In anticipation of Moscow resuming its air strike campaign this winter, Ukraine has taken steps to protect key nodes of its energy infrastructure by erecting several layers of defensive structures, the head of the State Agency for Restoration and Infrastructure Development, Mustafa Nayyem, said at NVs Dialogues on Resilience event on Oct. 5.

According to Nayyem, direct hits were not the biggest problem during Russian attacks on energy infrastructure as they were quite rare last winter. The real issue was the shrapnel. Transformers, being oil-filled equipment, tend to "burn up right before your eyes" when hit by shrapnel.

Initially, sandbags were used for protection. Over time, gabions  structures of about 12 meters tall  were built around the substations to protect the transformers, forming the first layer of defense.

Read also: Ukraine needs more Gepard and other air defense missiles to protect against Russian attacks this autumn and winter

"In fact, this is very effective protection; but it worked only until there were several cases of drones hitting the transformers directly," Nayyem pointed out.

To protect against direct drone hits, a second layer was needed. Concrete structures were being built around critical sites starting from March 2023.

The third layer is designed for protect against missiles, but the official was secretive as to what exactly it looks like.

The types of missile attacks against Ukraine have not been seen in any other country, said Nayyem.

Read also: UK intel says Russia might again target Ukraines energy infrastructure this winter

No country had faced attacks from these missile types. Some mention Israel, South Korea, even Malaysia, but none of these countries saw such attacks in large quantities. For comparison, last October, 5-7 drones arrived within two to three days, followed by a lull. Today it's already around 600 [kamikaze] drones a month.

He did not disclose details about this third defense layer, only saying that such structures do not exist anywhere else in the world. Various experts were consulted for their development, but eventually, Ukrainian servicemen invented them during training in London.

They came up with constructions that help protect substations from such large threats, the official added.

Read also: Ukraine to pioneer comprehensive energy infrastructure protections to foil Russian attacks

These are very expensive structures. They cost a lot of money. They also take quite a long time to build because for some structures it's necessary to drive poles 40 meters deep into the ground. On some grounds, these amounted to tens of thousands of poles driven into the ground to build a protected substation. But this will allow us to be protected against missiles. I hope we can protect as many substations as possible this [winter] season.

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The Ukrainian military is on the defensive

Russian forces are trying to seize Maryinka and Avdiyivka in Donetsk Oblast in order to gain what they consider "some operational space," Tavrias Defense Forces spokesman Oleksandr Shtupun said on national television on Oct. 5, adding that significant losses are the only thing the invaders have achieved so far.

Read also: As fighting continues in south, Ukrainian military digs in near Verbove after seizing back territory from Russians

"The invaders are trying with all their might to take Maryinka to show some success and are trying to surround Avdiyivka, said Shtupun. They are failing, but they will try to gain what they think is some operational space. It will be, as they think, some improvement for them. Our military is standing firm and defending both Avdiyivka and the neighboring settlements."

Read also: Ukraine has 6-8 weeks of favorable weather for counter-offensive, says White House

Oleksandr Tarnavskyi, commander of the Tavria operational group in the southern part of the country, confirmed on Sept. 2 that Ukrainian forces had breached the first Russian defense line in Zaporizhzhya Oblast.

A major breakthrough in the counter-offensive would begin if Ukrainian forces were to liberate Tokmak in Zaporizhzhya Oblast, Tarnavskyi said.

On Sept. 18, the Ministry of Defense reported that since the start of the counter-offensive, Ukrainian forces have liberated 260 square kilometers of territory in southern Ukraine and 51 square kilometers in the area of Bakhmut.

In August, some Western media reported that the progress of Ukrainian forces was "behind schedule. Western partners, commenting on the challenges of the counter-offensive, noted that the Russian occupiers had managed to build multi-layered defensive structures, including minefields, on the captured territories.

Read also: Shortages of weapons, ammunition and air defenses challenge Ukraine at front  Zelenskyy

However, the initiative in the war is currently on Ukraine's side, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said: Russia is gradually being pushed out of the occupied territories  albeit at a slow pace.

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Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
Editor's note: This article contains graphic images. The Kyiv Independent doesn't blur these images. We show Russia's war as it is.

Key developments on Oct. 5:

Russia attacks the village of Hroza in Kharkiv Oblast, killing 52 people, injuring 6

Zelensky visits Spain for European Political Community Summit, receives more support from European officials

Spain says it will provide Ukraine with more Hawk air defense systems

Ukraine appoints 3 new new deputy defense ministers

NGO rescues 19 more children from Russian occupation

Russian forces hit a grocery store and a cafe in the village of Hroza, Kharkiv Oblast, killing 51 people and injuring six, including children, on Oct. 5.

This number rose to 52 people after one person died of their injuries on Oct. 6, Kharkiv Oblast Governor Oleh Syniehubov reported on Telegram.

The attack wiped out over half of the village's population, in what became the single deadliest Russian attack against civilians in 2023.

While Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko initially said the population of Hroza was over 300 people, a Kharkiv Oblast Prosecutor's Office spokesman later clarified that the number of people living in the village just before the attack didn't exceed 100.

"The Russian army killed most residents of this village with one rocket," Dmytro Chubenko said on national TV.

The strike occurred at around 1:15 p.m. when at least 60 people gathered at a local cafe for a memorial service for a deceased resident, Klymenko said on national television.

The attack was likely carried out with an Iskander ballistic missile, Klymenko added.

Among those killed is a six-year-old boy, Kharkiv Oblast Syniehubov reported on Telegram. Another child was injured, he said.

Syniehubov called it "the bloodiest crime committed by the Russians in Kharkiv Oblast since the start of the full-scale invasion."

The aftermath of the Russian Oct. 5 missile attack on the village of Hroza in Kharkiv Oblast that killed 51 people, including a child. (Photo by Oleksandr Stavytskyy/Suspilne Ukraine/JSC "UA:PBC"/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images)

He also announced a three-day mourning period in the region on Oct. 6-8.

At around 8 p.m., Syniehubov reported that the rescue operation was over.

The small village of Hroza is located in northeastern Ukraine and lies around 30 kilometers west of Kupiansk.

Russia has been concentrating its forces around Kupiansk in Kharkiv Oblast since mid-July, trying to regain the positions lost during the Ukrainian surprise counteroffensive last autumn.

Kupiansk was liberated on Sept. 10 last year.

Also on Oct. 5, Illia Yevlash, the spokesperson for the Eastern Grouping of Forces, said that Russia is intensifying attacks in the Lyman-Kupiansk direction of the front line in Kharkiv and Luhansk oblasts, using both ground forces and air strikes.

President Volodymyr Zelensky called the Russian attack on Hroza a "completely deliberate act of terrorism."

"Russian terror must be stopped. All those who help Russia circumvent sanctions are criminals. Everyone who still supports Russia supports evil," Zelensky wrote.

"Russia needs this and similar terrorist attacks for only one thing  to make its genocidal aggression the new norm for the whole world."

Read also: Here are the victims of Russias brutal strike on apartment building in Dnipro

Zelensky visits Spain, receives additional support from European officials

On Oct. 5, Zelensky arrived in the Spanish city of Granada for the third European Political Community Summit alongside some 50 European leaders to discuss the ongoing Russian invasion and other security issues.

There, Zelensky met with Spanish, Italian, and Armenian prime ministers, French President Emmanuel Macron, European Council President Charles Michel, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, and others.

Zelensky said he and Sanchez discussed a new military aid package from Spain, which was said to include air defenses, artillery, and anti-drone systems.

Following Zelensky's bilateral meeting with Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez on the summit's sidelines, the Spanish government announced the provision of another six Hawk air defense systems for Ukraine.

"We are preparing to start negotiations on Ukraine's accession to the EU under the presidency of Spain. Thank you for supporting our endeavor," Zelensky wrote on Telegram.

According to the Spanish government's press release, the air defense systems will be provided to Ukraine to combat potential Russian bombings of civilian facilities and protect the new Black Sea corridor.

Zelensky also held his first meeting with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, discussing the security situation in the South Caucasus, bilateral cooperation, and interregional economic projects.

"Ukraine is interested in the stability of the region and friendly relations with its countries," Zelensky wrote.

He also discussed the country's military needs and air defense capabilities, as well as the security situation in the Black Sea region with Macron.

Zelensky spoke with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, discussing a new tranche of defense assistance from Italy, emphasizing air defense capabilities.

Upon announcing his arrival at the summit, Zelensky said that Kyiv's key priority in the upcoming talks is strengthening Ukrainian air defense capabilities ahead of the winter.

"We are working with partners to enhance the European security architecture, particularly regional security. Ukraine has substantial proposals in this regard," Zelensky wrote on social platform X, formerly known as Twitter.

Read also: US will reportedly give ATACMS to Ukraine. Will it change the war?

Ukraine appoints 3 new new deputy defense ministers

The Ukrainian government announced on Oct. 5 that it had appointed Ivan Havryliuk, Stanislav Haider, and Dmytro Klimenkov as new deputy defense ministers as part of recent personnel changes in the Defense Ministry.

According to Defense Minister Rustev Umerov, Havryliuk would be responsible for the ministry's military-technical policy, Klimenkov for procurement, and Haider for institutional development.

Umerov listed key priorities for the new appointees, such as restructuring Ukraine's defense industry according to NATO standards, standardization and digitalization of procurement processes, and ensuring transparency and accountability within the ministry.

"Procurement, military-technical policy, institutional development - we continue personnel changes in the Ministry of Defence. The result should be felt by every Ukrainian soldier at the front," Umerov wrote on Facebook.

The leadership of the Defense Ministry has been undergoing extensive personnel changes recently, starting with the resignation of Oleksii Reznikov as the ministry's head.

Reznikov was forced to step down following two major procurement corruption scandals and was replaced by Umerov early in September.

A few weeks later, the government dismissed six deputy defense ministers and the state secretary for defense.

Following their dismissal, Umerov said that the "reboot" of the Defense Ministry had begun.

Three other deputies  Yurii Dzhyhyr, Nataliia Kalmykova, and Kateryna Chernohorenko  were appointed on Sept. 27.

Read also: Investigation: Baltic-registered crypto firms service payments for Russian private army, allow sanctions evasion

NGO rescues 19 more children from Russian occupation

Save Ukraine, a Ukrainian humanitarian non-governmental organization, said it had rescued 19 children from Ukrainian territories under Russian occupation, the organization's founder, Mykola Kuleba, reported on Oct. 5.

According to Kuleba, the latest 12th rescue mission brings the number of children the organization returned to 196. Among them are 46 orphans, he said.

On Facebook, Kuleba wrote that Ukrainian children who live in the temporarily occupied territories "suffer the most."

"No one cares about their rights there. Children are forced to go to Russian schools, to call Russian their native language, and to learn the history of the Russian Federation invented by propagandists," he wrote.

He also said that children cannot get medical care without getting a Russian passport.

"But orphans remain the most vulnerable in the occupation. No one cares about them, their relatives do not look for them, and it is much easier to re-educate them through propaganda," Kuleba wrote.

Also, Russia can forcibly deport Ukrainian children from occupied territories.

More than 19,500 children have been identified by the Ukrainian government as having been deported. Only 386 have been brought back to Ukraine, as the rescue missions are complicated.

In March, the International Criminal Court even issued arrest warrants for Russian Presidential Commissioner for Children's Rights Maria Lvova-Belova and Russian President Vladimir Putin for their involvement in the forced deportation of Ukrainian children during Russia's full-scale war against Ukraine.

Although Kuleba did not provide details on the latest rescue mission, he said there is a "long recovery process" ahead for the returned children.

"But these 19 young Ukrainians got a chance for a happy life," he wrote.

Read also: Abducting the future: How Ukrainian parents fight to rescue their children from Russia

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By Lee Gyu-lee

BUSAN  The 28th Busan International Film Festival (BIFF) opened, Wednesday, with the subtle, stinging film "Because I Hate Korea" by filmmaker Jang Kun-jae, known for his 2014 film "A Midsummers Fantasia."

Based on the best-selling novel of the same name by Chang Kang-myoung, the drama takes a poignant look at modern-day alienation through the lens of a woman in her late 20s, Gye-na (Ko A-sung), traveling abroad to find answers to her identity and happiness.

Gye-na hates Korea, especially its harsh winter, resembling the cold abandonment she feels from society. After graduating from a decent college, she gets a decent job that comes with a painfully long commute and working hours and establishes a stable long-term relationship with her college sweetheart, Ji-myung (Kim Woo-kyum).

Despite the stability, she constantly struggles with Korea's social rigidities, the pressure to financially support her not-so-well-off family and her insecurities with her boyfriends rich family, until she finally has enough.

Facing a crisis, she decides to leave her job and relationship behind to start life anew in a temperate country  New Zealand. There, she juggles part-time jobs and navigates a tranquil life in the Land of the Long White Cloud, while encountering different friends, notably Jae-in (Joo Jong-hyuk).

Originally pitched at BIFF seven years ago, the project took years to materialize, especially with COVID-19 delaying its overseas production.

Director Jang said the original novel inspired him to bring the story to life and share its message.

The novel came out in 2015 and I read it in the year it was published. I read it on my airplane ride and in 2015, as you know, Korean society was going through heated and significant changes. And this novel was right in the midst of that. Although I had a different life than Gye-nas, some parts of the story resonated with me, Jang said during a press conference for the film held at the Busan Cinema Center in Busan, Wednesday.

At the time, not realizing it would be such a difficult project, I simply thought I wanted to adapt it into a film and share it with many people. So I started looking into its copyrights and began the project at BIFF."

Nam Dong-chul, program director and acting festival director of BIFF, noted that the movie was selected as the opening film for its power to speak not only to domestic viewers but also to global audiences.

The film features different characters but the common factors among them are that they are young adults and have a lot of uncertainty about the future. Many films and series that touch on their story tend to neglect one thing. And it is the reality they face, which was depicted in different ways (in the film)  This film brazenly addresses those various concerns, which I believe will make audiences empathize with the film, Nam said.

Although the title refers to a specific country, Korea, it also reflects the challenges that young generations universally face. One of the important values we consider in a film is how candidly it reflects our lives. And to that point, this film holds that special value.

Nam added that Gye-nas narrative of pursuing her happiness will send a message of hope to the audiences as her story serves as a broader metaphor for the struggles of the younger generation.

I liked the attitude Gye-na has toward life. I thought such an attitude would offer us courage, encouragement and hope, he said.

Whenever she is faced with a decision, she has an option to take a shortcut by giving up or obtaining something. But she approaches the decisions in a way she can keep her self-esteem. And I thought this might be how the younger generation approaches life nowadays.

Gye-na explores different nuances in the new country, feeling liberated to escape Korean society yet frustrated with the obstacles she faces as a foreigner. Despite the hurdles, she keeps striving to find her footing in the country, as if returning to her homeland is simply not an option.

The director said the focus of this film is on Gye-nas desperation to run away from Korea and to take on challenges abroad.

The movies title may seem like it carries a strong message. But the key is to empathize with why Gye-na makes such decisions. Its essential to pay attention to what keeps driving her to flee Korean society, even though she has a job and a partner with whom she can communicate, although they may have different social classes, he said.

Rather than trying to throw a message, I just hope people can look deeper into the characters. There are different people facing various situations. And I made the film contemplating why they make such choices and threw themselves at challenges.

Elaborating further, the director expressed his hopes to throw in an important question about societal pressures in Korea, especially for the younger generation.

Its important to look into why so many people find Korean society challenging. I came to wonder if we are truly facing these issues properly, he said. I wanted to raise questions about whether Korean society really offers a foundation for younger people to pursue their dreams and whether they are given fair opportunities.
Over the past day, the Ukrainian Air Force carried out 12 strikes on clusters of Russian personnel and three more on their anti-aircraft missile systems. Units of Rocket Forces and Artillery carried out seven successful strikes on Russian targets.

Source: General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine on Facebook, information as of 18:00 on 5 October

Quote: "30 combat clashes were recorded during the day in total. The enemy inflicted three missile and 49 air strikes and carried out 26 attacks from multiple-launch rocket systems on the positions of our troops and settlements."

"At the same time, the Armed Forces of Ukraine continue their offensive operation on the Melitopol front and offensive (assault) operations on the Bakhmut front, inflicting losses in manpower and equipment on the Russian forces and exhausting the Russian units along the entire line of contact."

Details: On the Lyman front, Ukraines Armed Forces repelled four Russian attacks in the area east of Makiivka, Luhansk Oblast.

On the Bakhmut front, Ukraines forces had successes east of Andriivka, Donetsk Oblast. The Russians unsuccessfully tried to restore their lost position in the vicinity of Dyliivka, Donetsk Oblast.

On the Avdiivka front, Ukraines Armed Forces repelled all Russian attacks in the area around Avdiivka, Donetsk Oblast.

On the Marinka front, the Ukrainian military also repelled over 10 Russian attacks in the areas of Marinka and Novomykhailivka, Donetsk Oblast.

On the Shakhtarsk front, Ukrainian defenders repelled Russian attacks near the settlements of Zolota Nyva and Vodiane, Donetsk Oblast.

On the Zaporizhzhia front, the Ukrainians successfully repelled attacks in the area southeast of Robotyne, Zaporizhzhia Oblast.

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On the evening of 5 October, Ukraines Air Force reported the threat of drone attacks in seven oblasts.

Source: Ukraines Air Force on Telegram

Details: An air-raid warning was issued due to the threat of assault UAVs attacks in Mykolaiv, Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, Dnipropetrovsk, Donetsk, Kirovohrad and Kharkiv oblasts.

Around midnight, the Air Force noted that the first group of UAVs was heading north, towards Odesa and Mykolaiv oblasts.

The second group of UAVs is heading northeast: Zaporizhzia, Donetsk and Kharkiv oblasts.

The third group of drones is headed for Kirovohrad Oblast.

Earlier, the Air Force reported on the likely launch of Shahed drones from the area of the Chauda training ground (Crimea).

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Ukraine has put its complaints against Poland, Hungary and Slovakia to the World Trade Organisation (WTO) on hold while it tries to find a compromise solution.

Source: Interfax Ukraine, citing Taras Kachka, Deputy Economy Minister and Trade Representative of Ukraine, to journalists in Brussels, as reported by European Pravda

Quote: "This problem [imports of Ukrainian agricultural products  ed.] will be resolved in the coming weeks and months. There will be a lot of news about how the licensing regime is changing, etc. It will be very fast-paced work. Therefore our disputes at the WTO are currently on hold while we look for a practical solution."

Details: Kachka emphasised that Ukraine has not yet started the WTO dispute process itself.

"We are not in a dispute  we have not set up a working body to conduct the dispute, we are at the consultation stage. We have filed this case [to the WTO], and there are 60 days for consultations," the trade representative explained.

Kachka says that Ukraine is interested in finding a constructive solution within the framework of the EU as a whole.

"Although the complaints we filed are against specific member states, including Poland, this is a systemic issue of our relations with the EU. Our goal is to emphasise that the EU and Ukraine have the same approach to trade agreements. Therefore, we see how to solve this problem as a whole to show unity between us and Poland, between us and the EU, and between Poland and the EU," Kachka said.

He said the fact that there are no problems with neighbours with the direct transit of Ukrainian products was a "great joint achievement". "We have only one sensitive point left  the question of when neighbouring countries markets can be opened up for Ukrainian goods. This is a minor problem because we don't sell a lot of grain there. But this is essentially a question of the functioning of trade between Ukraine and the EU," the trade representative added.

With regard to the situation with Poland, Kachka said he hoped that the parties will be able to return to the discussions after the elections, as there are no systemic obstacles to solving the problem.

"As of now, there are no requests for export licences from Ukrainian companies to Poland  which is an additional indicator that there is no massive export pressure on Polands domestic market. We are using this time to show that in reality, the clear interest of Ukrainian exporters is simply to export to those EU member states where the demand for Ukrainian goods is genuinely high," the official said.

Background:

Following the end of temporary restrictions on the import of certain types of agricultural products at the EU level, Ukraine proposed an export control plan for four groups of crops  wheat, maize, sunflower and rapeseed  to the European Commission and Poland, Hungary, Slovakia, Bulgaria and Romania to protect their domestic markets.

Despite this, Poland, Slovakia and Hungary announced unilateral restrictions on Ukrainian imports, prompting Ukraine to begin challenging their actions at the World Trade Organisation.

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(Reuters) -Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Thursday he had arrived in the Spanish city of Granada to take part in the European Political Community Summit, a forum to foster cooperation among more than 40 countries established after Russia's invasion.

The European leaders gathering in Granada are expected to assure Zelenskiy of long-term support after U.S. President Joe Biden voiced fears that Republican infighting in Congress could hurt American policy on continuing aid to Kyiv.

"Our joint goal is to ensure the security and stability of our common European home," Zelenskiy said on X, formerly known as Twitter. "We are working together with partners on enhancing the European security architecture, particularly regional security. Ukraine has substantial proposals in this regard."

"We will pay special attention to the Black Sea region as well as our joint efforts to strengthen global food security and freedom of navigation," he said.

Russia pulled out of a deal in July that had allowed Ukraine to safely ship food products out via the Black Sea, which is traditionally Kyiv's main export corridor.

Ukraine responded by setting up a temporary "humanitarian corridor" for cargo vessels, and several ships have left Ukraine's Black Sea ports since.

"Ukraine's key priority, particularly as winter approaches, is to strengthen air defense. We have already laid the groundwork for new agreements with partners and look forward to their approval and implementation," Zelenskiy added.

He gave no details but Ukraine, which is heavily reliant on its Western allies for arms, fears Russia will launch a new waves of air strikes on energy facilities this winter.

"This should be a productive day for Ukraine and Europe as a whole," Zelenskiy added.

(Reporting by Anna Pruchnicka, Editing by Timothy Heritage)
Mykhailo Fedorov , Ukraines Minister of Digital Transformation, has announced that the Russian airline booking system Leonardo was hacked by Ukraine's IT army.

Source: Fedorov on Telegram; RBC, a Russian news outlet

Quote: "The IT army has halted operations at major Russian airports, and the cyber-offensive continues.

The IT army is working intensively. Almost every day Russian websites go down, data is leaked, and the work of government agencies is paralysed. One of the latest cases is the shutdown of Russia's largest airports. The IT army hacked into the Russian airline booking system Leonardo.

If Ukrainian airports cant operate because of the war, why should Russian ones?"

Details: On 28 September, Russian airlines reported difficulties with passenger check-in at airports due to a failure in the Leonardo booking system of Siren-Travel, a company affiliated with the state corporation Rostec.

According to RBC, passenger check-in problems were observed on flights operated by Aeroflot, Rossiya, Azur Air, Red Wings, Pobeda and Ural Airlines.

Rostec said that the system had been subjected to a massive DDOS attack from abroad. Later, a representative of the state corporation clarified that "the system has been restored and services are back to normal".

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Volodymyr Zelenskyy

U.S. President Joe Biden fully supports Ukraine, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said at the European Political Community Summit in Spain on Oct. 5, commenting to journalists on the political situation in the United States, El Pais reports.

Read also: Biden close to decision to supply Ukraine with ATACMS missiles  FT

Walking past journalists at the summit, the Ukrainian leader gave an impromptu press conference as he was asked whether he was concerned about the events in the United States, in particular the resignation of House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and the adoption of a temporary budget without aid to Ukraine.

"It's too late to be afraid," Zelenskyy said.

I met with President Biden, and he supports us 100%, we also have the support of both parts of the U.S. Congress.

Read also: Ukraine should be allowed to join NATO under simplified procedure, says UK foreign secretary

Of course, the pre-election period in the United States is complicated, there are many voices, some of them strange, but we will talk about all this today.

The U.S. House of Representatives approved a bill on Sept. 30 to temporarily fund the government for 45 days, which will avoid a so-called shutdown, or suspension of the government, from which $6 billion in support of Ukraine has been withdrawn.

Kyiv said that this would not stop the flow of aid that was previously announced, and Ukraine is now working with partners to ensure that the new budget decision includes the funding in question.

On Oct. 3, for the first time in U.S. history, the House of Representatives dismissed the speaker, removing McCarthy from the post.

At the same time, the White House assured Kyiv that bipartisan support for Ukraine remains in both the House and the Senate.

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Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
As Ukrainska Pravdas sources report, a drone attack by the Security Service of Ukraine (SSU) has left Russian military facilities in Kursk Oblast of the Russian Federation without electricity

Source: UP source in the SSU

Details: Military facilities of the Russian Federation were connected to an electrical substation in the settlements of Sudzha, Liubimovka and Glushkovo, Kursk Oblast.

Quote: "As a result, the Russian military is beginning to actively adopt the experience of the Ukrainians last year, when there was no electricity for several days.

This is not the first blackout in Kursk Oblast caused by the SSU. The previous one was on 29 September, and before that  26 September. At that time, the electric substations from which the important military facilities of the Russians were powered were also struck. In general, the Security Service has organised seven such attacks on enemy infrastructure."

PHOTO: UP SOURCE

Background: On the night of 4-5 October, Roman Starovoyt, governor of Kursk Oblast, reported that drones attacked infrastructure facilities in Russia's Kursk Oblast. Starovoyt noted that there was a power outage.

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Boguslavka looks idyllic but Sergiy has finally decided to leave after heavy strikes (Roman PILIPEY)

Sergiy walked out of his grey-brick house carrying two plastic holdalls and closed the front door as his dog barked. Then the 71-year-old got into a car for evacuation.

His village of Boguslavka in eastern Ukraine looks idyllic, with geese in ponds and cows grazing, but Sergiy had finally decided to leave after heavy strikes.

This area close to the Russian border has become too dangerous for civilians as Russians attempt to retake the formerly occupied town of Kupiansk, less than 10 kilometres (six miles) from the front line.

The small, historic town in the Kharkiv region has a strategic hilltop, which Russians are battling to recapture. While they have made some advances, Ukraine says the situation is under control.

Recapturing the village would be a coup for Moscow. The villagers however, who lived under Russian occupation for over half of last year, are still surrounded by ruins.

Responding to attacks from guided aerial bombs, the Ukraine's authorities ordered the mandatory evacuation of parts of Kupiansk and nearby villages.

Although labelled mandatory, the orders are not actually enforced. But for those ready to leave however, the Red Cross is evacuating locals to the nearby larger city of Kharkiv, which itself is being shelled regularly by Russia.

- 'I want to go home' -

Sergiy, a heating-stove specialist, declined to give his last name but he made it clear he had long resisted leaving home.

He was worried about his animals and poultry, which a neighbour will feed.

Now, at least, he will get to stay with his wife in Kharkiv and see his 18-year-old grandson, who has just started university.

But he became tearful as he talked about his smallholding.

"I want to go home so much," he said. "I don't want to live any more."

In Kupiansk, two women from the town were waiting for Sergiy in the Red Cross evacuation bus.

Tatiana, 72, a chatty woman with platinum-blond hair and bright pink lipstick, said she could not stand the artillery or the fear any longer.

"I get so scared. I'm shaking all over," she said, denouncing the Russians.

The second woman, Lyudmila, 60, smiled brightly, saying she was heading off to stay with a friend outside Kyiv.

She first fled Kupiansk during Russian occupation, staying in several cities before returning.

Now it is "pretty scary", she said, counting herself lucky that most of her flat's windows were intact.

- 'Don't just sit there' -

"I always say people should leave," said Klim, commander of the Ukrainian Red Cross's rapid response unit for the Kharkiv region, who is leading the voluntary evacuation.

Russia's Grad rockets "do not differentiate. Don't just sit there, because tomorrow may be too late," said the commander, who uses a military-style call sign.

He and his partner donned bullet-proof vests to drive to Kupiansk, crossing a pontoon bridge guarded by soldiers.

In the town centre, the missiles had destroyed shops and blown out the windows in the blocks of flats.

On the open door of one ruined shop, someone had left a handwritten note.

"It's empty: everything's already been stolen."

The silence was broken by regular thuds of artillery from the other side of the river, where the Russians were positioned.

Earlier that day, the bridge had been struck and soldiers had put up a barrier to stop vehicles.

From high points in Kupiansk, smoke could clearly be seen rising from lower-lying ground on the opposite bank.

- 'A ghost town' -

Soldiers were among the few customers in the surviving shops and a small market, where traders were packing well before the town's 6 o'clock evening curfew.

"The town is empty, a ghost town," said Marina, 54, leaning on the counter of her daughter's grocery store, where she helps out.

She got "goosebumps" even talking about the Russian occupation, she said, and was dead-set against its return.

"Here we feel free, but there we walked around like we were under some kind of whip."

But not everyone felt the same way.

Sitting watching the scene in a jumper and leggings, retired doctor Lidiya smiled as she recalled Russian occupation.

"When our Russians were here, life was wonderful," she said.

"There wasn't this looting and there was some order."

Such open expressions of support for Russia are rare, however.

Chatting with friends outside a shop, 55-year-old Volodymyr said he could not leave as his job was to keep the town's water running.

This involves pumping water from outside the town and mending holes in pipes from shelling - a job that never quite got done, he said.

"Those left are the most steadfast," he said of Kupiansk's remaining residents.

"The ones they cannot overcome."

am/jbr/jj
A UN-mandated investigation into human rights abuses in Ethiopia will come to an end next week despite ongoing atrocities in the region.

None of the parties to the mandate asked for it to be extended by Wednesdays deadline, according to UN Human Rights Council spokesperson Pascal Sim.

The mandate of the International Commission of Human Rights Experts on Ethiopia was created in 2021 after a motion submitted by the European Union. It will now officially conclude after October 13, 2023, Sim told CNN.

It comes after the commission released a report on Tuesday, warning of the continued risk of human rights atrocities in Ethiopia and emphasizing the urgent need for ongoing independent investigations into the countrys human rights situation.

Ethiopias northern Tigray region was plunged into war in November 2020 as government forces clashed with rebels, resulting in widespread atrocities perpetrated by all sides..

The Ethiopian government and the Tigray Peoples Liberation Front signed a peace agreement, known as the Cessation of Hostilities Agreement, in November last year and seemed to end the brutal conflict. But a year later, atrocities continue in parts of the Tigray region, the commissions report says.

Proponents of another mandate appear to have been put off by opposition from African states, diplomats said, according to Reuters. The mandate was renewed last year only by a small margin, Reuters said.

A devastating blow

Human Rights Watch said Wednesday that the European Union and its members have backtracked on their support for scrutiny of the human rights situation in Ethiopia.

Tirana Hassan, the executive director of Human Rights Watch, said in a statement: For the numerous victims of atrocities in Ethiopia who placed their hopes in the commission, this is a devastating blow.

An EU spokesperson told CNN on Thursday that justice and accountability are clear conditions for gradual normalization of relations with Ethiopia, adding that European nations had not reached a consensus on bringing forward a resolution for a new mandate.

Ethiopia has always opposed the UN-mandated investigation and has tried to curtail in the past, arguing that its own national justice policies provided sufficient avenues to conduct any inquiry, Reuters reported. The UN commission says this approach was deeply flawed, Reuters said.

Asked for comment on Wednesday, Ethiopian government spokesperson Legesse Tulu responded by text message: This is the end of (ICHREEs) history (in) Ethiopia.

He later added: There is no need to talk about a dead end.

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GENEVA (Reuters) - The United Nations said on Thursday it was struggling to reach 18 million people in need in Sudan to fend off a humanitarian disaster, hampered by insecurity, interference from the warring parties and a lack of international support.

"We need to reach 18 million people and we will not give up on that target, but we need more international support, better access to the people who need us and safety for our operations," said Clementine Nkweta-Salami, Deputy Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General and Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Sudan.

"We're not at this point able to have an operation that is commensurate to the scale (of needs)," she said.

Conflict between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) erupted in mid-April, sparking a grave humanitarian crisis and pushing the country to the brink of civil war.

More than 4.2 million people have fled their homes because of the war, and nearly 1.2 million have crossed to neighbouring countries, putting huge pressure on Sudan's meagre resources.

Nkweta-Salami said that 19 aid workers had been killed and 29 injured since the fighting broke out, which she said was unacceptable and unlawful.

Red tape was hampering the distribution of humanitarian aid, and a $2.6 billion humanitarian appeal to the international community to help the people of Sudan was just one third funded, she said.

"We also need to see an end to interference from the conflict parties in our operations, including forced checks of humanitarian trucks and mandatory military presence during the loading process in Port Sudan and Jazeera," she said.

"I hope that we will see swift action to reduce the bureaucratic obstacles, including delays in visa approvals for staff as promised by Sudanese authorities in a donor meeting yesterday."

The U.N. fears that the crisis could worsen if the conflict spreads to other areas such as central Jazeera state, which she called "Sudan's breadbasket", where fighting could hinder food supplies. "This will have great consequences for food security."

(Reporting by Gabrielle Tetrault-Farber; Editing by)
Hong Kong star Chow Yun-fat said Thursday the Hong Kong movie industry needs to make efforts to reflect its own spirit in films despite China's strict censorship to revive its once-thriving industry.

Chow, who led the golden era of Hong Kong cinema in the 1980s, made the remark after he was awarded with the Asian Filmmaker of the Year at the Busan International Film Festival, which opened in the southeastern port city Wednesday.

"We have a lot of censorship requirements in mainland China. Scripts must go to many departments. So, we must have clear and direct situations in scripts," Chow said in English during a press conference. "Honestly, we will try our best to make movies with Hong Kong spirit. This is our goal."

The 68-year-old said the Hong Kong film industry has witnessed many changes in the filmmaking process following Britain's handover of Hong Kong to China in 1997.

"We have to pay attention to our government and (its) direction. Otherwise, it will be hard to get the money to make movies. The mainland market is so huge," he said.

The actor, affectionately called "Big Brother," said it is inspiring to see the global rise of Korean movies, touting their wide spectrum of subjects.

"I think the competitive edge of the Korean cinema lies in its freedom. I highly think of their broad range of subjects and freedom in creation," Chow said. "Sometimes I even wonder, 'Can they cover such stories?'"

Over the course of his 50-year career, the beloved star has appeared in approximately 100 films in various genres, best known for his roles in John Woo's gangster film "A Better Tomorrow" (1986) and Ang Lee's Oscar-winning film "The Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" (2000).

Although there were ups and down in his career, Chow said there are no regrets but just lessons learned from his acting that allowed him to experience a much bigger world than Lamma Island, his hometown.

"Growing up in a small village until 10 years old and debuting at 18, I didn't spend much time at school. I learned a lot about the world while filming movies. Playing the role of other people taught me a lot of lessons," Chow said. "It is hard to imagine Chow Yun-fat without films."

During the film festival, Chow's latest film "One More Chance," where he plays a pathological gambler who tries to connect with his autistic son, as well as "A Better Tomorrow" (1986) and "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" (2000), will be screened in the special section dedicated to his acting career. (Yonhap)
UNC Asheville will offer free tuition and fees to some in-state students beginning next fall, the university announced Thursday.

Through a new program, Access Asheville, the university will cover the full cost of tuition and fees for North Carolina students whose family income is $80,000 or less. The costs will be covered through scholarships and grants, the university said.

The UNC System lists in-state tuition at UNC Asheville as about $4,100 for the 2023-2024 academic year. Fees are more than $3,100. The university said the program would provide more than $7,400 in annual savings for qualifying students.

The program is designed to make an exceptional, transformative education attainable for low- and middle-income North Carolinians, the university said in a news release.

This will provide an affordable path to pursue an undergraduate college degree for those who may have previously thought it would be out of reach financially, UNC Asheville interim Chancellor Kimberly van Noort said in the release. We are excited about the opportunity Access Asheville will create for more students who are ready to engage with the increasingly complex needs of our region, state and nation.

The program will be available to first-year students and transferring undergraduates who enter the university in the fall 2024 semester. First-year students will be eligible to receive the aid for eight semesters. Transfer students will be eligible for seven semesters or until they complete their degree, whichever comes first.

The median household income in North Carolina is about $60,500, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Students will be required to complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) in order to verify their family income. They will also be required to verify their North Carolina residency status.

About 2,900 students attend UNC Asheville.

Other NC universities have announced similar efforts

The Access Asheville program makes UNC Asheville the latest North Carolina college to offer free tuition in recent months.

In June, Duke University announced it would begin offering free tuition this fall to students from North Carolina and South Carolina whose family income is $150,000 or less.

In July, following the U.S. Supreme Court striking down its race-conscious admissions program in a landmark ruling, UNC-Chapel Hill said it would expand opportunity to attend the university by offering free tuition to North Carolina students whose family income is $80,000 or less beginning next fall. The university expects between 150 and 200 students to benefit from the offer each year, and the effort will be funded using private money.

Tuition across the UNC System has been frozen for seven consecutive years, though fees can change from year to year. UNC System President Peter Hans announced last month that he would like the system to keep tuition flat for at least another year  but ideally for a full decade.
Airman apprentice Donald Brown and fireman David Dickson, both United States Navy veterans who served during the Vietnam war died recently and neither had a family member to claim their remains. On Tuesday, Beaufort National Cemetery and the military community stepped in to ensure both were honored for their service and received a final salute prior to their burial, which was attended by the public and military-related groups.

Michael Brophy, Beaufort National Cemetery Assistant Director, confirmed that both veterans, while their remains were unclaimed, were eligible to be buried on Beauforts hallowed ground. Now all that means is that when they passed, there wasnt any family available to claim them, he affirmed. Sometimes, at the end of the road, some people dont have a support network built around them, he continued. But there is a community that looks to ensure that they get the benefits that they earned so many years ago. he added, unclaimed doesnt mean unloved.

Members of the Beaufort Navy Hospital Honor Guard stand at parade rest before an internment for Unclaimed Veterans at Beaufort National Cemetery. Two veterans, Donald Brown and David Dixon, served in the Navy during the Vietnam War and they were both from the Lowcountry area.

The two veterans were patients at the Veterans Administration Hospital in Charleston and, after their passing, officials arranged for the two sailors to be cremated and transported south to Beaufort National Cemetery, escorted by members of the South Carolina Patriot Guard Riders.

Chaplain Leon Maxwell, accepts a flag from Corpman 3rd Class Selena Munoz during an internment for two Unclaimed Veterans at Beaufort National Cemetery. The two veterans, Donald Brown and David Dickson served in the Navy during the Vietnam War and they were both from the Lowcountry area.

Additionally, the two veterans were honored with the symbolic Forget Me Not ceremony. Leading the 100-year old traditional ceremony, which originated during World War I, was Karen Majerczak, Commander of the Disabled Americans Veterans Chapter 12 in Beaufort. As they saw the new growth of the flowers on the battlefield, it brought about hope for everlasting life and reminded us that people may be gone but not erased or forgotten, she explained.

Brigadier General (Ret) Jack Hagan accepts a flag from Corpman 2nd Class Santana Parchment during the internment for two Unclaimed Veterans at Beaufort National Cemetery. The veterans, Donald Brown and David Dickson served in the Navy during the Vietnam War and they were both from the Lowcountry area.

The Navy Honor Guard out of Beaufort Naval Hospital presented a flag for each sailor to two representatives from the Ralph Johnson Veterans Affairs Medical Center.
If you watch cable news, you may feel dispirited by the current state of our political affairs. We are constantly told were too left, too right, too this and that. Partisanship exists, but seeing eye to eye isnt a condition for finding common ground. Take, for example, my 30-year friendship with Senator Mitch McConnell . The two of us joined forces to take on the Pentagon and challenge their plans for incinerating hazardous chemical weapons near my hometown.

I first met Senator McConnell in 1985, shortly after he won his first U.S. Senate election. I was a Vietnam veteran turned antiwar environmentalist, and he was a Reagan Republican. As you might expect, we didnt agree on a lot.

I had recently attended a community meeting with 300 other concerned citizens where Pentagon officials shared their plans to destroy chemical weapons at Blue Grass Army Depot. They intended to burn these toxic nerve agents at a Richmond plant, just one mile from a middle school and six miles from my family home.

The community was eager to see these weapons destroyed, but we wanted a safe solution. It was clear the Army wouldnt provide the answers we were looking for without a push, so, I began sharing my frustrations with the Senator and a wide range of citizens.

We enlisted colleges, churches, businesses, horse farms, physicians, and many more to advocate against the Pentagons incineration plans. Over time, our concerns snowballed into a mass of opposition that the Army couldnt ignore. Still, we couldnt help but feel like David gazing up at Goliath  in this case, the United States Army. We were outspent, out-lawyered, out-just about everything.

Senator McConnell was a champion of our crusade early on, and just the powerful ally we needed in Washington. I would provide the Senator with the factual information he needed, and he would bring our cause and concerns straight to the Pentagons front door.

In 1993, after nearly a decade of steady petitioning, we successfully delayed incineration funding, forcing the Pentagon back to the drawing board and charging them with exploring safer alternatives. It was a huge breakthrough, but our work wasnt done just yet.

By 1996, the Assembled Chemical Weapons Assessment (ACWA) program was established, which held the Army to its word on demonstrating alternatives. Thanks to Senator McConnell, whose amendment in the Defense Appropriations bill authorized this program, ACWA ultimately found that several safer methods existed.

In 1997, Craig Williams, left, watched as Sen. Wendell Ford announced that the search for chemical weapons disposal alternatives would continue under the Chemical Weapons Convention treaty. Herald-Leader File

Over the next decade, the Department of Defense would try every trick in the book to redirect funding for ACWA and hold on to its incineration agenda. Even after proving the efficacy of a safer, water-based neutralization method, the Army was still redirecting more than $300 million in neutralization funding to other incineration sites, putting efforts in Kentucky on hold. I laid out the evidence to Senator McConnell, who took the matter to several senior defense officials and sponsored legislation mandating the Army release these funds.

With funding finally going where it should, the Depot could begin eliminating its 523 tons of chemical agents. That effort officially wrapped up this summer when the Depot destroyed its last nerve agent rocket, closing this chapter of American warfare for good.

The culmination of our efforts, spanning four decades, seven presidential administrations, and most of my adult life, brought about an environmentally sound solution to one of the most important national security missions in a generation.

Senator McConnell and I couldnt be more different, but our victory proves that even the unlikeliest of allies can solve real problems and make peoples lives better. Some might call this old-fashioned legislating, but I call it good leadership

Now more than ever, we need our leaders to cooperate. Senator McConnell has shown us this is possible for Kentucky. Even amid the most contentious debates, he has striven for incremental progress, leaving behind the zero-sum games and avoiding partisan gridlock. I know this because I have witnessed it firsthand throughout our 30-year friendship. Common ground is out there  for those willing to work for it.

Craig Williams

The public is invited to an event recognizing the Blue Grass plant team and destruction of the nations declared chemical weapons stockpile Wednesday, Oct. 11, at 11 a.m. ET at the Armed Forces Reserve Center, 233 Battlefield Memorial Highway in Richmond, Kentucky.

Craig Williams is program director for the Kentucky Environmental Foundation in Berea.
Linda Murphy pulls up doses of the Pfizer vaccine into syringes at a clinic organized by the Travis County Mobile Vaccine Collaborative at Rodriguez Elementary School on July 28, 2021. Credit: Sophie Park/The Texas Tribune

Updated COVID-19 shots are becoming increasingly available in Texas after weeks of hiccups and distribution glitches since the vaccine was approved for people 6 months and older last month, providers say.

But availability is still spotty as hospitals, pediatricians and pharmacies work directly with drug makers, instead of with the state and federal government, to secure their COVID-19 vaccines for the first time.

As a result, doses arent arriving at providers offices across the state at uniform, predictable intervals  largely dependent on individual providers ordering according to their own anticipated demand and availability of staff, as well as working out logistics over insurance payment for the vaccines that have historically been covered by the government. Its a system typical for other common annual vaccines, but new to the COVID-19 protocol.

It has been challenging, said Laura Ehrlich, a parent and a communications specialist in Austin. Three different pharmacies told me they didnt have the vaccine because it had not been approved by the FDA for children under 5. Of course, that is not true  but Im concerned about that mis- or dis- info by pharmacists.

At Texas Childrens in Houston, officials have not been given any indication that there will be shortages, but they have not yet begun to offer the shots to their pediatric patients  although they expect to get that going some time during this month, said Dr. Stanley Spinner, chief medical officer and vice president of Texas Children's Pediatrics and Texas Childrens Urgent Care.

We have been working quite diligently on the logistics of being able to get it, Spinner said. Its just a matter of timing and logistics and being prepared to get it all rolled out.

Shipments, too, are dependent on commercial distribution networks  creating a patchwork of access while COVID-19 rates fluctuate in recent weeks, even as demand for the shot is expected to be low.

We have had patients calling our appointment line about COVID vaccine and asking their physicians about it at appointments, but not a huge number, said Tamara Baker, senior director of clinical operations at Austin Regional Clinics.

At ARC, she said, the vaccine has begun arriving in limited amounts but more is expected very soon.

There have been shipping delays, so info on arrival changes daily, she said.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention approved the updated vaccine for people ages six months and older in mid-September.

Shots began going into arms on Monday at University Health in San Antonio, spokesperson Shelley Kofler said.

On the first day, they administered 95 adult COVID-19 shots, she said. On Tuesday, the number climbed to 105, including two children, she said.

We are monitoring interest and will match our supply with demand, she said.

Austin Public Health is providing shots to children under age 11 but still waiting on doses for older patients to come in, officials there say. Officials with the drug store chain Walgreens told the Tribune in an email this week that they have the shots in pharmacies across Texas, although pharmacies in this state are not authorized to give the COVID shots to children younger than 3.

In more rural settings, providers have not reported any complaints about the availability of the vaccine, said John Henderson, executive director of the Texas Organization for Rural and Community Hospitals.

In Huntsville, pharmacies are distributing both adult and pediatric doses to patients and providers, although doctors say they are having to work hard to get parents interested in another round of COVID-19 vaccinations.

Uptake is OK, said Dr. Lane Aiena, a family medicine physician in Huntsville. Were trying to frame it as a, most likely, yearly shot like the flu, which seems to help people understand why we need another one. 

The situation is similar in El Paso, where pediatricians say that the low risk of serious COVID-19 illness in most children, combined with misinformation about the safety and effectiveness of vaccine, can be a hurdle  along with the fact that the federal government is no longer providing free access to everyone regardless of insurance coverage.

Medicaid and uninsured patients can obtain the vaccine for free, but providers are expected to bill insurance companies for those recipients who are covered.

Co-pays or other costs related to updated COVID-19 vaccines will be a barrier for certain families, said Dr. Glenn Fennelly, professor and chair of pediatrics at Texas Tech Physicians of El Paso. Also, there have been supply and distribution issues that are impacting availability. 

But Fennelly says medical providers are expecting demand for the new COVID-19 vaccines will be significantly lower than in the past because it seems to be a lower priority for families.

Providers acknowledge that the admittedly soft rollout of the vaccine comes against a very different backdrop than in previous years  with much less government involvement and a bit less urgency.

Two years ago, cities and counties were offering cash rewards and gift certificates to those who got their COVID-19 shots. The state was sending mobile vaccination units to office buildings, neighborhoods, and remote communities, and was engaged in million-dollar public service campaigns designed to increase acceptance of the vaccine.

On a federal level, the CDC was vaccinating people at bars and sorority houses and staging regular press conferences urging the vaccine. The federal government was purchasing vaccines from makers like Pfizer and Moderna and distributing them to the states, which then allocated it to qualified vaccine providers.

Since then, the federal health emergency has ended and the state and federal governments have bowed out of the distribution chain. Providers now order the COVID-19 vaccine as they do other vaccines.

The Texas Department of State Health Services is now banned by the Texas Legislature from spending public money to promote the vaccine at all.

We are out of the vaccine distribution business, said Chris Van Deusen, spokesperson for the state agency.

Texas government officials are also not allowed to mandate the vaccine (or masks, for that matter) in government offices, buildings or places of employment in Texas  a ban some conservative lawmakers hope to extend to private businesses during a special session of the Legislature that starts on Monday.

Unlike previous vaccine rollouts, when the biggest obstacle was the supply, the current challenges are mainly over a lack of clarity on when the shot will arrive and where it will be available, as well as spotty information on how to pay for it and who qualifies.

Austin mom Melissa Britton-Reimer said she hasnt gotten any good information on why its been approved, sitting at the pharmacies, but not available after she recently attempted to make appointments for her elementary-age children. She said she was told by the pharmacist that it wasnt being offered and that there was no solid date when they will be available.

Being told to just keep trying to make them an appointment wasnt a very satisfying answer, she said. Who has time for that?
BFF, short for Burgers, Fries and Franks, is the newest addition to The Alley at Latta Arcade in uptown Charlotte, offering a farm-to-table menu in a fast-casual environment.

Their mouthwatering burgers are expertly grilled to perfection, featuring locally sourced, farm-raised beef, served on a toasted bun, The Alley at Latta Arcade website states. Customize your ideal all-beef franks with a wide array of toppings and savor our delectable house-made fries. Experience culinary excellence delivered promptly with an extra serving of warm and welcoming service.

BFF is a fast-casual restaurant with hot dogs and burgers with a wide variety of toppings.

The Alley at Latta Arcade is a new food hall designed as an elevated street eats destination inside the historic building that was built in 1914. BFF is one of the new spots inside, along with The Dumpling Lady and Felix Empanadas.

There are also plans to add more tenants, including a cocktail bar, coffee bar and taproom, CharlotteFive previously reported.

Latta Arcade is a place of history and appreciation in Charlotte and we look forward to building upon that storied reputation, Sam Ankin, founder and managing principal for Northpond Partners, previously said.

Right now, BFF is in a soft-opening phase, so the restaurant is only selling hot dogs, but the team hopes to roll out their full menu next month.

Editors note: This story is developing and may be updated. Tonya Price contributed reporting.

Location: The Alley at Latta Arcade, 320 S Tryon St, Charlotte, NC 28202

Cuisine: American, burgers, hot dogs

Instagram: @thealleyclt
NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia University Irving Medical Center.Google Maps

Darius Paduch, a former urologist, is accused in a new lawsuit of sexually assaulting men and boys.

Anthony T. DiPietro, the prosecuting attorney, called Paduch a "serious sexual predator."

The lawsuit also accuses Paduch's workplaces of covering up his behavior.

This article contains descriptions of sexual assault.

In a new lawsuit filed in New York, Darius Paduch, a former urologist, is accused of molesting minors and men alike by performing unnecessary examinations and touching their genitals under the guise of medical necessity over a period of years  and his employers are accused of being well aware of his actions.

The lawsuit, filed September 26 in the New York Supreme Court, comes after Paduch's April indictment by a federal grand jury.

This new filing has 58 plaintiffs, but the prosecuting attorney, Anthony T. DiPietro, told Insider there were already more who had come forward to share the experiences they had with Paduch.

Along with Paduch, multiple medical centers are listed as defendants in the suit, including NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center, NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia University Irving Medical Center, and Long Island Jewish Medical Center.

In Paduch's career, he moved to several different medical centers in the area. From the early 2000s, he worked at Columbia University Irving Medical Center and Weill Cornell Medical Center. He later moved to Northwell Health in 2019, the suit says.

The suit alleges that during his career, Paduch engaged in multiple abusive and grooming behaviors, including asking patients about their pornography and masturbatory habits, giving genitalia exams without gloves, instructing patients to masturbate in front of him and masturbating patients himself, and fondling and groping patients.

The suit also alleges Paduch performed unnecessary surgeries that supposedly addressed erectile dysfunction.

Additionally, the suit says multiple complaints were made verbally and formally to Paduch's superiors at his places of work, which were either ignored or covered up. Paduch was "asked to leave" his first workplace, but his patients were not told that he was leaving the practice after multiple sexual-abuse complaints were made, the suit says.

DiPietro, who works mainly in patient-safety and medical-malpractice cases, described Paduch as a "serial sexual predator" who abused boys and men at multiple medical practices.

He also connected the case to the case against Robert Hadden, a former gynecologist who was sentenced to 20 years in prison after sexually abusing dozens of patients. Hadden was also connected to Columbia University medical centers, DiPietro said, and committed similar acts of fraud, exploitation, and grooming against girls and women.

DiPietro said he would continue to file cases as more people came forward.

Many of his clients want policy changes at the various hospitals involved to protect current and future patients from harm, DiPietro said.

"If it weren't for our clients coming forward and holding them accountable, these predators would still be there doing it to people," DiPietro said. "If there's any credit that is due in these cases it's to every single one of our clients who's been willing to step up and help get this done."

A spokesperson for Weill Cornell Medicine called the behavior described in the lawsuits "extremely disturbing."

"No patient who entrusts us with their care should ever experience such appalling behavior," the spokesperson said. "We continue to cooperate fully with law enforcement and are committed to maintaining the highest professional and ethical standards."

The Long Island Jewish Medical Center  part of the larger Northwell Health network  also said it would continue to take allegations against its former employee Paduch seriously and cooperate with authorities conducting investigations.

Paduch and the medical centers associated with Columbia University did not respond to requests for comment sent outside regular business hours.

To submit a news tip, contact this reporter at scahill@insider.com.

Read the original article on Insider
US Army identifies 2 soldiers killed after transport vehicle flips in Alaska training area

Two U.S. soldiers killed when their transport vehicle flipped in a training area outside Salcha, Alaska, earlier this week have been publicly identified.

Spc. Brian Joshua Snowden, 22, and Spc. Jeremy Daniel Evans, 23, died in Monday's vehicle accident in the Yukon Training Area, Fort Wainwright announced Wednesday on Facebook. Both soldiers served in the 11th Airborne Division.

"This is an incredible loss for all of us across the division," said Maj. Gen. Brian Eifler, commanding general of the 11th Airborne Division.

The accident happened while 17 soldiers were riding in a Light Medium Tactical Vehicle used to transport troops on a dirt road heading into the Yukon Training Area, according to a news release from U.S. Army Alaska.

US NAVY SAILOR LAUNCHES RESCUE OF SMALL PUPPY SAVED DURING OVERSEAS DEPLOYMENT: CANT LEAVE A COMRADE BEHIND'

Spc. Brian Joshua Snowden, 22, of Lonedell, Missouri, joined the Army in July 2020.

"At some point, the driver lost control of the vehicle, and it flipped," Army spokesperson John Pennell told local outlet KTUU.

READ ON THE FOX NEWS APP

Out of the 12 soldiers who sustained injuries, two of the most critically injured were flown to Providence Medical Center in Anchorage.

Spc. Jeremy Daniel Evans, of Knoxville, Tennessee, joined the Army in July 2020.

Snowden, of Lonedell, Missouri, and Evans, of Knoxville, Tennessee, both joined the Army in July 2020. Both soldiers trained at Fort Moore, Georgia, before Evans arrived in Alaska in January 2021 and Snowden arrived two months later.

Fort Wainwright is a U.S. Army installation in Fairbanks, Alaska.

WERE HUMAN': DELTA FORCE VETERAN REFLECTS ON BATTLE OF MOGADISHU 30 YEARS LATER

"Our thoughts and prayers go out to the families, friends, and fellow soldiers of Spc. Evans and Spc. Snowden," Eifler said. "While were always challenged by the environment, were Arctic Angels, we overcome these challenges and accomplish our mission by being a team, and teams take care of one another, especially in times like these."

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Eifler said resources are available for soldiers and families across Alaska.

Fox News Landon Mion contributed to this report.





Original article source: US Army identifies 2 soldiers killed after transport vehicle flips in Alaska training area
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WATE)  Two American service members were killed and a dozen others were injured Monday when a U.S. Army vehicle flipped over at a training area in Alaska.

Fort Wainwright confirmed the two soldiers deaths in a social media post shared late Wednesday.

The post stated that Spc. Jeremy Daniel Evans and Spc. Brian Joshua Snowden of the 1st Battalion, 5th Infantry Regiment, 1st Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 11th Airborne Division, were the soldiers killed in Mondays vehicle accident in the Yukon Training Area.

Evans, 23, of Knoxville, Tennessee joined the Army in July 2020 and after training at Fort Moore, Georgia, arrived in Alaska in January 2021, the post stated.

This is an incredible loss for all of us across the division, said Maj. Gen. Brian Eifler, commanding general of the 11th Airborne Division. Our thoughts and prayers go out to the families, friends, and fellow soldiers of Spc. Evans and Spc. Snowden. While were always challenged by the environment, were Arctic Angels, we overcome these challenges and accomplish our mission by being a team, and teams take care of one another, especially in times like these.

There are resources available for our soldiers and families across Alaska, as we mourn those we lost and the soldiers and families still recovering.

ABC News reported late Wednesday that one of the soldiers who was killed was from Knoxville.

Spc. Brian Joshua Snowden, 22, of Lonedell, Missouri, was identified as the other victim in a statement released by military officials.

According to the Associated Press, the single-vehicle crash happened as the soldiers headed to the Yukon Training Area near Salcha, or about 30 miles southeast of Fairbanks. An Army spokesperson told the AP that the driver lost control of the vehicle on a dirt road going into the training area.

This is an incredible loss for all of us across the division, Maj. Gen. Brian Eifler, commanding general of the 11th Airborne Division, said in the statement. Our thoughts and prayers go out to the families, friends, and fellow soldiers of Spc. Evans and Spc. Snowden.

ABC News reported that eight of the soldiers involved were treated and released the same day while the other four remain in stable condition.

The crash remains under investigation. The Yukon Training Area is just east of Eielson Air Force Base and about 30 miles from Fort Wainwright.

EDITORS NOTE: This story has been updated.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WREG.com.
Border towns across the U.S. continue to deal with an influx of migrants. Some towns calling it a "humanitarian crisis." Now, a potential government shutdown could make it worse.

Like many border towns, the shelters in El Paso are at capacity and migrants are sleeping on the street.

Resources are stretched thin and the food bank in El Paso says it only has a 25-day food supply, and if they have to add government workers who are not getting paid, they will need help immediately.

DEM TEXAS MAYOR SAYS CITY IS AT 'BREAKING POINT' AS BORDER CRISIS RAGES

Migrants sleep on streets in El Paso

Jennifer Velandria and her family crossed into El Paso from Venezuela.

"Its been very hard because my family, we dont have money, and we were separated. But, after the first day we got here, we reunited and we stayed on the street together" Velandria said.

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Jennifer and her family have been in the U.S. a little less than a week. They slept on the streets of El Paso at night, and looked for food during the day. Then, a woman told them a spot had opened up at the El Paso Rescue Mission.

"And for us, it was like an angel came out of heaven. It was very good for us," Velandria said.

ILLEGAL BORDER CROSSINGS SPIKING IN SEPTEMBER AS DAILY ENCOUNTERS CONTINUE TO CLIMB

Migrants find shelter

She says they are lucky, because thousands of migrants line the streets and parks of El Paso. The city says it has received at least 1800 migrants a day for the past week and a half. All shelters say they are full, and the food bank says it is quickly running out of resources. Susan Goodell, CEO of El Pasoans Fighting Hunger Food Bank says it is now preparing for what it calls a "triple threat"

"We are in need of additional volunteers and financial resources to meet these three fronts at the same time, meaning the government shutdown, the migrant crisis, and the incredible need here in the community already" Goodell said.

The potential government shutdown means government workers would go without pay. That could be trouble because the food bank is already feeding their max, which is about 1,000 people per day.

CBP TEMPORARILY SUSPENDS PORT OF ENTRY OPERATIONS AS MIGRANTS FLOOD SOUTHERN BORDER

"In addition to the migrant surge and the potential government shutdown, which will hit the 23,000 government employees here in this area, as well as the 38,000 soldiers on Fort Bliss, were looking at a pretty tough time period to come" Goddell said.

A bill has been introduced that could ensure the military still gets paid during the shutdown. The Biden Administration also says it plans to send about 3,000 additional military personnel to El Paso to help with the migrant surge. All of which would be affected by this potential shutdown if the bill is not passed.





Original article source: US border towns facing migrant crisis further threatened by potential government shutdown
FILE PHOTO: U.S. President Joe Biden welcomes leaders from the U.S.- Pacific Island Country Summit to a dinner at the White House in Washington

By David Brunnstrom

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A 45-day stopgap measure passed by the U.S. Congress to avert a government shutdown has left potential funding shortfalls for strategic Pacific island states, which analysts and former officials say makes the U.S. allies economically vulnerable and possibly more receptive to Chinese approaches.

The Biden administration had hoped to see Congress endorse by Sept. 30 new 20-year funding programs for Micronesia, the Marshall Islands and Palau, which after decades of relative neglect now find themselves at the center of a U.S. battle for influence with China in the Northern Pacific.

The sprawling but sparsely populated nations have ties with the U.S. governed by so-called Compacts of Free Association (COFAs), under which Washington is responsible for their defense and provides economic assistance, while gaining exclusive military access to strategic swathes of ocean.

The funding programs for the Marshall Islands and Micronesia were due for renewal by Sept. 30, and by the end of fiscal 2024 for Palau, and Washington agreed this year on a new package of $7.1 billion over 20 years, subject to Congressional approval.

The stopgap "continuing resolution" (CR) that prevented a federal government shutdown does not include approval for this new program, however, and while it maintains federal services to the COFA states, it leaves holes in other parts of their budgets.

"While keeping the services going is an important assurance, the CR will make things quite difficult in the Marshalls (which has an election on November 20) and Palau (election next year)," said Cleo Paskal, an expert on the COFA states with the Foundation for Defense of Democracies think tank.

"Both are countries that recognize Taiwan and are key components of U.S. defense architecture in the Pacific," she said. "Watch for increased (Chinese) political warfare spin around the U.S. being an unreliable partner."

Paskal said Palau's funding under its existing COFA had dwindled as it approached its final year and it had been banking on funds from the new package to help cover budget deficits.

Paskal said Palau's economy had already taken bad hits from COVID-19 and Chinese economic interference aimed at pressuring it to switch diplomatic recognition from U.S.-backed Taiwan to Beijing.

There is no new money so far too for the Marshall Islands, which has yet to finalize new terms with Washington due to disagreements over how to address the legacy of massive U.S. nuclear testing there in the 1940s and 1950s.

Meanwhile, China is waiting in the wings with ready cash.

Roll Call, a news site covering the U.S. Congress, noted last week that Palau's Finance Minister Kaleb Udui told a congressional field hearing in August that Beijing had been trying to tempt locals to oppose U.S. plans to build an early-warning radar by offering to build a hotel and casino nearby.

The Washington embassies of Palau and the Marshall islands did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The Biden administration has made renewing the COFAs a priority, and it has broad bipartisan support, but congressional infighting is not the only hurdle.

Howard Hills, a senior adviser to the U.S. COFA negotiating team from 2020 until retiring last month, blamed the Marshall Islands holdup on U.S. State Department lawyers who wanted to control how new funds were spent and objected to them being earmarked to address the nuclear legacy, fearing this could lay the U.S. open to more claims.

Asked to comment, the State Department said Washington was "working expeditiously to finalize negotiations" with the Marshall Islands and had had constructive conversations to that end "including at the Presidential level" at last week's U.S.-Pacific Islands Forum Summit.

(Reporting by David Brunnstrom; Editing by Don Durfee and Josie Kao)
By Lee Gyu-lee

BUSAN  The 28th Busan International Film Festival (BIFF) finally began its 10-day run in the southeastern port city of Busan, Wednesday, after months of managerial turmoil resulting in two resignations and a dismissal.

Following the consecutive resignations of festival director Huh Moon-young and chairman Lee Yong-kwan five months before the autumn event, BIFF continued with the festival, moving deputy director Kang Seung-ah to replace the dismissed managing director Cho Jong-kook and program director Nam Dong-chul for Huh.

Award-winning actor Song Kang-ho stepped in as this year's host, marking a high-profile replacement after the departure of the previous chairperson, as the organizing committee tried to steer the festival back on course.

"Although there were challenges leading up to the festival, it kicks off today with the opening ceremony and will run for 10 days. I believe we are well-prepared. While there may be areas we fall short, I am anticipating many positive aspects that people can take away from it and write articles about," Nam said during a press conference for the opening film Because I Hate Korea at the Busan Cinema Center in Busan, Wednesday.

Weve prepared a lot and the festival has a lot to offer. So I hope people can come and enjoy.

Asias largest film festival, running through Oct. 15, opened at the Busan Cinema Center, with a red carpet event featuring big-name actors from Korea and abroad, including Song Joong-ki, Han Hyo-joo, Fan Bingbing, John Cho and Yoo Yeon-seok, as well as Chow Yun-fat, this years Asian Filmmaker of the Year recipient.

Following the red carpet opening, Busan Mayor Park Heong-joon officially declared the festival open, emphasizing the global status BIFF has achieved and wishing for another successful run.

Nowadays, when many people think of Busan, they associate it with the sea and film. Its all thanks to movie fans and filmmakers like you who have elevated the BIFF to a global cinematic event, the mayor said.

Cinema, as an art form, as a medium for conveying social messages and as an industry; such multifaceted charms have brought us together to the same time and place. Through cinema, I hope we can communicate, reconcile and dream together this year again."

Actor Park Eun-bin of the 2022 smash hit series Extraordinary Attorney Woo hosted the opening ceremony, which ended with the screening of the opening film. She became the first solo emcee in the festivals history, as the original co-host, actor Lee Je-hoon, canceled last-minute due to a health issue.

It was so meaningful to be the first solo emcee of BIFF. I am truly grateful for your warm support and applause, Park said. What a beautiful night it is to celebrate the opening! I hope that your next 10 days are filled with wonderful memories and experiences."

This years BIFF dialed down on its official selection with 209 films from 69 countries, including the closing film, The Movie Emperor by director Ning Hao, whereas last year's event hosted 240 films from 71 countries.

In spite of the slight reduction, it will feature a wide selection from influential auteurs latest films, like David Finchers The Killer and acclaimed global film festival winners like Justine Triets Palme dOr winner Anatomy of a Fall, as well as cinematic works with refreshing takes, like BIFF film academy alumna Purevdash Zoljargals If Only I Could Hibernate.

This years Gala Presentation will screen Kore-eda Hirokazus Monster, which notched Best Screenplay at Cannes, Bertrand Bonellos Beast and Han Shuais Green Night.

For the New Currents section, purposed to recognize emerging Asian directors, a total of 10 films will compete for the award, including Bangladesh director Biplob Sarkars The Stranger, Japanese director Yamamoto Akira's After the Fever and director Sohn Hyun-loks That Summers Lie.

Six original series from streaming platforms will be featured in BIFF's "On Screen" section, highlighting the emergence and growing influence of streaming services in the industry. Among those, five are Korean titles, including Wavves The Deal, Disney+s Vigilante and Tvings A Bloody Lucky Day.

For the first time, the Asia Contents Awards will include global streaming service content, adding five new award categories under the name Asia Contents Awards & Global OTT Awards. A total of 17 categories will be presented at the awards ceremony, set for Oct. 8 at the Busan Cinema Centers BIFF Theater.

Three Special Programs in Focus are organized throughout the festival: Chow Yun Fat: True Colors of a Hero, dedicated to the Hong Kong actor; Korean Diasporic Cinema," which will spotlight Korean American narratives in Hollywood; and "Renaissance of Indonesian Cinema," which will recognize works from Indonesia, an emerging film powerhouse.

The festival will also have a special commemoration event for the late actress Yoon Jeong-hee, who was one of the biggest stars of Korean cinema in the 1960s and 1970s. Yoon, who starred in various award-winning films such as "Manmubang (1994) and "Poetry" (2010), passed away earlier this year.

BIFF's industry platform, the Asian Content & Film Market, which saw the most participants last year since reopening its in-person event, will be held in an even larger venue this year. It will lend platforms for domestic and international organizations and companies to build partnerships and showcase their content.
A US F-16 fighter jet shot down a Turkish drone in Syria on Thursday.

The rare clash between two NATO members occurred after the drone was considered a threat to US forces in the area.

The Pentagon's Press Secretary called it a "regrettable incident" and said US forces had cited self-defense in the shoot down.

A US military F-16 fighter jet downed a Turkish drone operating above Syria on Thursday, marking a rare clash between Washington and a NATO ally.

The American aircraft shot down the drone because it was considered to be a threat to US troops in the northeastern part of the country, The Wall Street Journal first reported, citing a person familiar with the incident. An American official told the outlet that US knew the drone  which was armed with air-to-ground munitions  belonged to Turkey before it acted.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a UK-based office that documents human rights abuses in Syria, said earlier Thursday that an "International Coalition" targeted the Turkish drone.

The Turkish military acknowledged that an unmanned aircraft was shot down but denied ownership of the drone, according to Reuters, which reported that two US officials said an F-16 shot down the Turkish unmanned aircraft after multiple warnings that the drone was operating too close to American forces.

The US Central Command (CENTCOM) didn't respond to Insider's request for comment on the situation.

At a press briefing Thursday afternoon, Pentagon Press Secretary Air Force Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder confirmed the incident, calling it "regrettable" and noting that no US forces were injured and there was "no indication that Turkey was intentionally targeting US forces." He added that Turkey remains one of the US' strongest and most valued allies.

Ryder said US forces observed Turkish drones "conducting airstrikes" within the vicinity of Hasakah, Syria at 7:30 am local time, adding that some of those strikes were "inside a US declared restricted operating zone." The drones were approximately a kilometer from US forces, who relocated to bunkers. Hours later at 11:30 am local time, a Turkish drone reentered that restricted operating zone. US commanders assessed the drone was a "potential threat," leading the F-16 to shoot it down.

The US cited "inherent right of self defense" in its decision to shoot down the drone. He added that communication with Turkey "went to a high enough level with the operational chain of command" before the decision. A call between US Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III and Turkey Minister of National Defense Yasar Guler occurred afterwards.

Turkey in recent days has stepped up a bombing campaign against what it says are Kurdish militants in Iraq and Syria, blaming them for a suicide bombing in Ankara last weekend. Several people have been killed this week by the Turkish attacks, according to observers.

The US has around 900 troops deployed to Syria as part of an international coalition that works with local forces to carry out counterterrorism operations against the Islamic State. Most recently, American troops carried out two helicopter raids during the last week of September that each resulted in the capture of an ISIS official, according to US Central Command.

During the Pentagon press briefing Thursday, Ryder said US forces would "stay focused on the defeat ISIS mission in Syria."

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The News

The Pentagon confirmed Thursday that U.S. F-16 fighters shot down an armed Turkish drone in self defense after it entered a U.S.-declared restricted operating zone in Syria.

This is the first time the U.S. has shot down an armed aircraft of NATO ally Turkey.

Know More

Pentagon press secretary Brig. Gen. Patrick Ryder said that Turkish drones had been conducting airstrikes in the restricted zone but that there was no indication the Turks were targeting U.S. forces. He added that the Turkish drone came within less than a kilometer of U.S. forces, who subsequently went into bunkers.

No troops were harmed during the incident, he said.

A Turkish defense ministry official said that the drone did not belong to Turkish armed forces, but did not provide details.

The incident comes as Turkey has increased its air attacks on Kurdish militants, accusing them of bombing Ankara this past weekend.

U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin also spoke with his Turkish counterpart Yasar Guler and the two committed to closely coordinating in the region, Ryder said.

Step Back

Thursday's episode is likely to escalate tensions between Turkey and the U.S.

The two countries are already in dispute over Turkey's omission from an advanced American F-35 jet fighter program, the U.S.'s military strategy in Damascus, and President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's ties with Russia.

Erdogan, who has long resisted Sweden's bid to join NATO, dropped his opposition in July but told local media that the final approval would depend on whether Washington, D.C. would sell F-16 fighter jets to Turkey.
For most of us, the temporary loss of broadband internet is an irritant that in the vast majority of cases is resolved in a matter of minutes or hours. Recently, the residents of Nome and other communities on Alaskas north slope experienced a loss of their broadband service that impacted high-speed internet availability for weeks.

A submarine fiber optic cable, buried under the ocean floor miles offshore, was cut by sea ice that actually scraped into the sea bottom.

Russia to hold Arctic drills with non-Arctic nations

At first glance this may appear to be an entirely local problem in a very remote and sparsely populated area of our country. Instead, this outage should serve as a clarion call to the U.S. Department of Defense. This episode starkly illustrates the fragility of telecom infrastructure in Alaska, where climate, terrain, and distance all conspire to frustrate not just repair efforts from a once-in-a-generation act by Mother Nature, but also to the initial construction of the infrastructure itself.

While improving resiliency and redundancy in telecom infrastructure is certainly a priority for Alaskans, it is also a national security imperative for our entire country.

Alaska is home to nine military installations contributing to a myriad of missions. Its only U.S. state that hosts its own Sub-Unified Command, Alaska Command, which is charged with integrating and directing all DoD activities throughout the state. It is also home to the Alaska NORAD Region, whose mission is to detect incoming threat aircraft, scramble air defense fighters, refuel tankers and Airborne Warning and Control aircraft to intercept the intruders and, if need be, shoot them down.

The lions share of the countrys missile defense capability is situated within Alaska. Early warning radars, such as those on the island of Shemya and at Clear Space Force Station, are designed to detect and track incoming inter-continental ballistic missiles. They in turn pass this high-resolution data to Fort Greely, Alaska, and the field of ground-based interceptor missiles in silos there, where they then can be launched to destroy the threat ICBMs.

Lastly, Alaska serves as a power projection platform in support of DoDs Indo-Pacific Command. U.S. Army and Air Force forces, stationed primarily near Anchorage and Fairbanks, live and train in Alaska but are focused westward on supporting INDOPACOM should conflict erupt in its area of responsibility.

This array of forces and missions has been built over decades, in response to the national security realities of the day. However, things are changing. The Arctic is heating up, both literally and figuratively.

Increased Great Power competition in the Arctic has been the stuff of headlines and punditry of late, from national security experts to think tanks such as the Brookings Institution and the Center for Strategic and International Studies. Recognizing the strategic importance of the Arctic, DoDs 2019 Arctic Strategy stated, In different ways, Russia and China are challenging the rules-based order in the Arctic. Russia regulates maritime operations in the (Northern Sea Route), contrary to international law, and has reportedly threatened to use force against vessels that fail to abide by Russian regulationsChina is attempting to gain a role in the Arctic in ways that may undermine international rules and norms, and there is a risk that its predatory economic behavior globally may be repeated in the Arctic.

This increased competition, proximity of forces, and potential adversary militarization of the Arctic sends a demand signal to DoD for increased all-domain awareness within the Arctic. Long a priority for NORTHCOM, situational awareness in the air, surface, and subsurface domains is essential to our homeland defense.

This enhanced awareness will necessitate increased data sharing infrastructure - telecommunications infrastructure - to facilitate decision making and command and control of our forces.

Common cause with private partners

Fortunately, DoD should find common cause with public and private partners. As Alaska looks to expand, harden, and diversify its telecommunications infrastructure, DoD may find a path towards burden sharing that will prove advantageous to all.

Brookings Jeremy Greenwood writes, Targeted and expedited sustainable investments in Alaska are the first steps toward a sound U.S. Arctic policy. There is a desperate need forcommunications infrastructure; all of these investments would benefit the indigenous communities of Alaska, while providing a dual-use capability for U.S. forces operating in the region.

In CSIS Americas Arctic Moment, authors advocate for an Arctic Security Initiative that would fund Arctic public-private infrastructure projects to further domain awareness (emphasis added) and safety. Projects might includetelecommunications systems. A stronger case for public-private investment would be hard to find.

U.S. Army Soldiers from Charlie Company, 307th Expeditionary Signal Battalion monitor network traffic in an operations tent at Site Summit at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska May 1, 2018. They conducted a two week field training exercise designed to test an Internet Protocol Router Network.

Increasing resiliency and redundancy in Alaskan telecommunications systems will require the state and federal governments to incentivize private industry to invest in Alaska telecom. This could include outright grants, or tax incentives for companies to establish infrastructure, explicitly for dual private and DoD use. Incentives should reward innovation and risk-taking - building and operating in Alaska is not for the faint of heart, as trailblazing companies working in Alaska now know well.

And government at no level should preemptively pick winners and losers. Terrestrial, submarine, and space-based telecom systems should all be included in the mix, synergies found, and then exploited.

As the Great Power competition unfolds, DoDs absolute requirement for increased high-speed broadband access will only become greater. The Secretary of Defense must articulate this requirement throughout the administration and Congress to spur adequate appropriation of funds.

There is, indeed, a price to pay for inaction.

Retired Air Force Maj. Gen. Howard Dallas Thompson is a former Chief of Staff at NORAD and NORTHCOM, and has been widely published on national security and defense issues.
By Jason Lange and Patricia Zengerle

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Support is falling among Americans of both major political parties for supplying Ukraine with weapons, a warning sign for Kyiv, which relies heavily on U.S. arms to fight against a Russian invasion, according to a new Reuters/Ipsos poll.

The two-day poll, which closed on Wednesday, showed only 41% of respondents agreed with a statement that Washington "should provide weapons to Ukraine," compared to 35% who disagreed and the rest unsure.

Support for U.S. weapon shipments is down from May, when a Reuters/Ipsos poll showed 46% of Americans backed sending arms, while 29% were opposed and the rest unsure.

The poll was taken as U.S. congressional leaders debate Democratic President Joe Biden 's request for $24 billion in additional funding for Ukraine, of which about $17 billion would be defense aid.

Washington has provided $44 billion to supply Kyiv with dozens of tanks, thousands of rockets and millions of rounds of ammunition that Ukraine has used to defend itself since Russia invaded in February 2022. Ukrainian forces have retaken a series of villages and settlements in the counteroffensive that began in June, but its soldiers have been hampered by vast Russian minefields and trenches.

Some Republicans, particularly those with the closest ties to former President Donald Trump as he seeks re-election next year, oppose the aid. It was left out of a stopgap funding bill Congress passed on Saturday to keep the government open, although the White House and some congressional leaders pledged to vote separately on a package for Kyiv.

House of Representatives Speaker Kevin McCarthy's ouster on Tuesday added to the uncertainty, with some of his potential successors skeptical about the value to U.S. taxpayers of assisting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy's government.

"The declining support is having a negative effect on congressional support, and eventually, prospects for additional aid packages," said Elizabeth Hoffman, director of congressional and government affairs at the Center for Strategic & International Studies.

She said better messaging would help, including making it clear to Americans that much of the money allocated for Ukraine stays in the United States, including in jobs at U.S. weapons producers. Biden said on Wednesday he would make a major speech soon on why it is necessary to continue helping Ukraine.

While U.S. public backing for the arms shipments has persistently been stronger among Democrats since Russian troops invaded, the recent decline in overall support was driven by changing views among Biden's Democrats.

Some 52% of Democrats backed arming Ukraine in the most recent poll, down from 61% in May. Among Republicans, support for sending weapons to Kyiv fell to 35% from 39% in May.

Some 34% of Democrats in the poll agreed with a statement that Ukraine's problems "are none of our business and we should not interfere," compared to 56% of Republicans.

The Reuters/Ipsos poll was conducted online and nationwide, surveying 1,005 U.S. adults. It had a credibility interval, a measure of precision, of about 4 percentage points in either direction.

(Reporting by Jason Lange and Patricia Zengerle; editing by Grant McCool)
WASHINGTON  U.S. and allied forces have intercepted more than 170 tons of explosive material, one million rounds of small arms ammunition and thousands of assault rifles from Iran in just the last 10 months, and now some of the confiscated munitions are being sent to Ukraine, according to Naval Forces Central Command.

The figures, provided to Defense News by NAVCENT, illustrate the results of the Navys increased focus on disrupting Iranian smuggling in the region.

In September 2021, the U.S. 5th Fleet launched Task Force 59, which allowed it to more easily identify potential illegal activities and further investigate with manned vessels. The following April, the Navy stood up a combined task force  CTF 153  that integrates the work of multiple nations monitoring the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden.

Together, these efforts have created a tighter web to catch smuggling, a priority for Vice Adm. Brad Cooper, the 5th Fleet commander. Much of Irans lethal aid has been in route to Houthi rebels fighting in Yemen.

Since last November, NAVCENT has seized the following weapons and munitions from Iran:

8 Nov 2022 - More than 70 tons of ammonium perchlorate and more than 100 tons of urea fertilizer, which can be used to make explosives.

1 Dec 2022 - 50 tons of ammunition rounds, along with fuses and rocket propellants; more than one million rounds of 7.62mm ammunition; 25,000 rounds of 12.7mm ammunition; just under 7,000 proximity fuses for rockets; and more than 2,100 kilograms of propellant used to launch rocket propelled grenades.

6 Jan 2023 - 2,116 AK-47 assault rifles

In addition, U.S. partners seized 3,000 assault rifles, 578,000 ammunition rounds, more than 23 anti-tank guided missiles and medium-range ballistic missile components from Iran in January and February, according to NAVCENT.

This week, U.S. Central Command announced it had transferred more than one million of the 7.62mm seized rounds to Ukraine. The administration obtained control of that ammunition after the Department of Justice filed a forfeiture motion this March. This July, the DoJ filed a similar motion to forfeit thousands of rifles, hundreds of machine guns and rocket launchers and around 700,000 rounds of ammunition also intercepted from Iran.

While Pentagon spokespeople stressed the timing of the transfer is coincidental to the political environment, further aid to Ukraine faces uncertain prospects. The House of Representatives voted heavily for an additional $300 million in assistance last month, but for the first time, a majority of Republicans in the chamber opposed it. A vacant speakership in the House will make additional funding even tougher.

I wouldnt be surprised that additional aid packages get passed, but it is becoming more difficult, said Seth Jones, who leads the international security program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies think tank.

Such difficulty, said Jones, means the Pentagon may have to think creatively about how to continue supplying Ukraine, perhaps relying more on allies and partners replacing old stocks.

Meanwhile, the Defense Department says it still has $5.4 billion left to draw down its own stocks for Ukraine, but only $1.6 billion is left to replenish them.

We need Congress to act to ensure there is no disruption in our support, especially as the department seeks to replenish our stocks, Pentagon spokesperson Sabrina Singh said at a briefing.
Displaced Sudanese wait to cross into Ethiopia from Sudan's border town of Gallabat, on August 3, 2023 (-)

The United States said Thursday it would resume limited food assistance in Ethiopia, delivering to some one million refugees, but will keep most operations suspended after concerns of systematic diversion of aid.

The United States will immediately restart food assistance at 28 camps inside Ethiopia that are home to refugees, mostly from Sudan, South Sudan, Somalia and Eritrea, officials said.

But broader aid inside Ethiopia, which is recovering from a brutal two-year war in Tigray, will remain on hold as the United States implements more measures to prevent diversion.

"Our assistance for other food insecure populations across Ethiopia remains paused until we have assurance it will reach its intended beneficiaries," said Jessica Jennings, spokeswoman for the US Agency for International Development (USAID).

"USAID's priority is to resume food assistance for those in need as soon as possible in all regions, and we stand ready to do so as soon as necessary remaining reforms are implemented," she said.

The decision on the assistance to refugees came after the Ethiopian government agreed to transfer responsibility for storing and distributing the food to aid workers at the camps.

USAID halted all food aid to Ethiopia in June, alleging a "widespread and coordinated" campaign to divert donated supplies.

The United States has not publicly named the culprits but aid groups have blamed both the federal and regional authorities, with soldiers benefitting from resale of donated food.

The World Food Programme also halted aid, but resumed distribution in August in the war-ravaged Tigray region after it implemented monitoring measures.

None of the refugee camps affected by USAID's resumption are in Tigray. USAID said it was looking to resume full assistance in Ethiopia by expanding third-party monitoring and other reforms including spot checks on vendors and biometric verification on recipients.

The Tigray conflict, which by some estimates claimed hundreds of thousands of lives, was halted by a November 2022 peace deal signed in South Africa.

During the conflict, the United States accused Ethiopia of withholding food as a weapon, worsening relations with a government that had been a close ally.

UN agencies warned in June that some 60 million people need food assistance in the Horn of Africa due to armed conflict, record droughts linked to climate change and high global prices caused in part by the Ukraine war.

sct/st
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States is resuming food aid to refugees in Ethiopia after assistance was paused earlier this year because donations were being diverted, a senior U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) official said.

Ethiopia's food crisis has deepened in recent years as a result of war in the Tigray region and the Horn of Africa's worst drought in decades.

"The resumption of food assistance to refugees will save lives and alleviate suffering for some of the most vulnerable," the official said.

The decision to resume the aid was made after the implementation of strengthened reforms that the Ethiopian government and partners made to the refugee food assistance structure, including strengthened program monitoring, reinforced commodity tracking and improved registration processes, the official said.

The decision will impact dozens of refugee sites around Ethiopia, the official said. None of them are in Tigray, where a two-year war between the federal government and forces led by the region's dominant political party ended in a truce in November last year after killing tens of thousands of people and creating famine-like conditions for hundreds of thousands.

A second USAID official said there are 1 million refugees in Ethiopia that will be affected, including populations from Sudan, South Sudan, Somalia, Eritrea and elsewhere.

Assistance for other food-insecure people in Ethiopia remains paused until Washington has assurances it will reach its intended beneficiaries, the senior official said, adding that they continue to work with the Ethiopian government on additional reforms.

USAID said in June it was suspending food aid to Ethiopia because its donations were being stolen.

A spokesperson at the time said USAID had determined, in coordination with the Ethiopian government, that a "widespread and coordinated campaign is diverting food assistance from the people of Ethiopia."

In the 2022 fiscal year, USAID disbursed nearly $1.5 billion in humanitarian assistance to Ethiopia, most of it food aid.

The U.N. World Food Programme (WFP) said in August it had resumed distributing food aid in parts of the Tigray region after a three-month pause.

WFP paused food aid to the northern region in May following reports of widespread theft of donations. It then suspended aid to all of Ethiopia in June.

(Reporting by Daphne Psaledakis, Editing by Rosalba O'Brien)
FILE - The Pentagon is seen on Sunday, Aug. 27, 2023, in Washington. The U.S. military on Thursday, Oct. 5, shot down a Turkish drone that had come in too close to U.S. troops on the ground in Hasakah, Syria, a U.S. official told The Associated Press. The official said the drone had been flying in an unsafe and unsychronized manner. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster, File)

WASHINGTON (AP)  The Pentagon said Thursday the U.S. military shot down an armed Turkish drone that came within 500 meters (yards) of American troops in northeastern Syria, in a rare use of force by one NATO member against another.

Air Force Brig. Gen. Patrick Ryder, the Pentagon press secretary, called it a regrettable incident and said U.S. troops were forced to go to bunkers for safety as Turkey bombed targets nearby.

Both Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and the new Joint Chiefs chairman, Gen. CQ Brown, spoke with their Turkish counterparts quickly after the incident to emphasize the value they place on their relationship with Turkey  but also the need to avoid any similar incidents in the future and ensure the safety of U.S. personnel.

The decision to shoot down an ally's armed drone "was made out due diligence and the inherent right of self-defense to take appropriate action to protect U.S. forces, Ryder said, adding that we have no indication that Turkey was intentionally targeting U.S. forces.

U.S. officials earlier told The Associated Press the shootdown was ordered after more than a dozen calls to Turkish military officials stating that U.S. forces were on the ground in the area and that the U.S. military would take action to protect them if the drone didnt leave. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity to provide details of a sensitive military incident.

Ryder said U.S. forces observed Turkish drones doing airstrikes around Hassakeh at about 7:30 a.m. local time, and some strikes were inside a so-called American restricted operating zone just a kilometer (about a half mile) from U.S. troops. He said a bit later a Turkish drone re-entered the restricted area on a heading toward where U.S. forces were located.

Commanders determined it was a threat and U.S. F-16 fighter jets shot it down around 11:40 a.m., Ryder said, adding that no U.S. forces were injured.

The incident occurred on the same day as a drone attack killed at least 80 people in government-controlled Homs, Syria, where explosive-laden drones were detonated during a military graduation ceremony attended by young officers and their families. An additional 240 people were injured, according to Syria's health ministry.

Syrias military blamed insurgents backed by known international forces, without naming any particular group, and threatened to respond with full force.

Syria has been in a civil war for more than a decade, and the country is split into areas controlled by the Syrian government led by President Bashar al-Assad; al-Qaida-linked militants and Turkish-backed opposition fighters in the northwest; and Kurdish forces in the northeast that the U.S. partners with to conduct missions against the Islamic State group. So far, the war has killed half a million people, wounded hundreds of thousands and left many parts of the country destroyed.

Typically, the U.S. and Turkish militaries, which are NATO allies, work in close coordination in conducting air maneuvers. But Turkey considers the Kurdish forces that work with the American troops to be aligned with the Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK.

The U.S. has about 900 troops in Syria conducting missions to counter Islamic State group militants.

There was no immediate comment from Turkey on the shooting of the drone.

The countrys state-run Anadolu Agency reported, however, that the Turkish intelligence service, MIT, carried out an operation against the PKK and the Kurdish militia group in Syria, which is known as Peoples Defense Units, or YPG. The report said the Turks struck suspected arms and ammunition depots and buildings believed to have been used by the groups sabotage teams. It did not provide further details on the operation.

On Wednesday, Turkey had carried out airstrikes in Iraq and Syria against Kurdish militant targets following a suicide attack outside Turkeys interior ministry building earlier this week.

In a press conference following the attack, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said Turkish intelligence officials have established that the two assailants arrived from Syria, where they had been trained. He said Turkey would now target facilities in Syria and Iraq belonging to the PKK or YPG.

Thursday's incident risks adding to longstanding tensions between Turkey and the United States, even though Turkey is a strategically important ally and NATO member. U.S. officials and lawmakers have criticized Turkeys human rights record and its delays in agreeing to Sweden's membership in NATO. Turkey has been frustrated by U.S. delays in approving 40 new F-16 fighter jets as well as kits to upgrade its existing fleet.

Ryder told reporters that the U.S. stands firmly with our NATO ally Turkey and the Turkish people in their fight against the PKK.

The U.S. has designated the PKK as a foreign terrorist organization but has declined to make a similar determination regarding the YPG, which have been a key partner of the U.S. in the fight against the Islamic State group in northern Syria. The U.S. does not believe the YPG represent a threat to Turkey.

As recently as Wednesday, the State Department said there was no change in how the U.S. regards the YPG.

In 2016, Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan accused the U.S. of supporting a failed coup attempt against his government. The U.S. has flatly rejected the claims but has also refused to extradite the leader of the group Erdogan claims was behind the attempt, cleric Fetullah Gulen, who lives in exile in Pennsylvania.

___

Associated Press writer Suzan Fraser in Ankara, Turkey, contributed.
Editors note: This story was updated at 5:50 p.m. EST with additional information.

The Pentagon said Thursday the U.S. military shot down an armed Turkish drone that came within 500 meters (yards) of American troops in northeastern Syria, in a rare use of force by one NATO member against another.

Air Force Brig. Gen. Patrick Ryder, the Pentagon press secretary, called it a regrettable incident and said U.S. troops were forced to go to bunkers for safety as Turkey bombed targets nearby.

Both Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and the new Joint Chiefs chairman, Gen. CQ Brown, spoke with their Turkish counterparts quickly after the incident to emphasize the value they place on their relationship with Turkey  but also the need to avoid any similar incidents in the future and ensure the safety of U.S. personnel.

The decision to shoot down an allys armed drone was made out due diligence and the inherent right of self-defense to take appropriate action to protect U.S. forces, Ryder said, adding that we have no indication that Turkey was intentionally targeting U.S. forces.

U.S. officials earlier told The Associated Press the shootdown was ordered after more than a dozen calls to Turkish military officials stating that U.S. forces were on the ground in the area and that the U.S. military would take action to protect them if the drone didnt leave. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity to provide details of a sensitive military incident.

Ryder said U.S. forces observed Turkish drones doing airstrikes around Hasakah at about 7:30 a.m. local time, and some strikes were inside a so-called American restricted operating zone just a kilometer (about a half mile) from U.S. troops. He said a bit later a Turkish drone re-entered the restricted area on a heading toward where U.S. forces were located.

Commanders determined it was a threat and U.S. F-16 fighter jets shot it down around 11:40 a.m., Ryder said, adding that no U.S. forces were injured.

The incident occurred on the same day as a drone attack killed at least 80 people in government-controlled Homs, Syria, where explosive-laden drones were detonated during a military graduation ceremony attended by young officers and their families. An additional 240 people were injured, according to Syrias health ministry.

Syrias military blamed insurgents backed by known international forces, without naming any particular group, and threatened to respond with full force.

Syria has been in a civil war for more than a decade, and the country is split into areas controlled by the Syrian government led by President Bashar al-Assad; al-Qaida-linked militants and Turkish-backed opposition fighters in the northwest; and Kurdish forces in the northeast that the U.S. partners with to conduct missions against the Islamic State group. So far, the war has killed half a million people, wounded hundreds of thousands and left many parts of the country destroyed.

Typically, the U.S. and Turkish militaries, which are NATO allies, work in close coordination in conducting air maneuvers. But Turkey considers the Kurdish forces that work with the American troops to be aligned with the Kurdistan Workers Party, or PKK.

The U.S. has about 900 troops in Syria conducting missions to counter Islamic State group militants.

There was no immediate comment from Turkey on the shooting of the drone.

The countrys state-run Anadolu Agency reported, however, that the Turkish intelligence service, MIT, carried out an operation against the Kurdistan Workers Party, or PKK, and its affiliated Kurdish militia group in Syria, which is known as Peoples Defense Units, or YPG. The report said the Turks struck suspected arms and ammunition depots and buildings believed to have been used by the groups sabotage teams. It did not provide further details on the operation.

On Wednesday, Turkey had carried out airstrikes in Iraq and Syria against Kurdish militant targets following a suicide attack outside Turkeys interior ministry building earlier this week.

In a press conference following the attack, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said Turkish intelligence officials have established that the two assailants arrived from Syria, where they had been trained. He said Turkey would now target facilities in Syria and Iraq belonging to the PKK or YPG.

Thursdays incident risks adding to longstanding tensions between Turkey and the United States, even though Turkey is a strategically important ally and NATO member. U.S. officials and lawmakers have criticized Turkeys human rights record and its delays in agreeing to Swedens membership in NATO. Turkey has been frustrated by U.S. delays in approving 40 new F-16 fighter jets as well as kits to upgrade its existing fleet.

Ryder told reporters that the U.S. stands firmly with our NATO ally Turkey and the Turkish people in their fight against the PKK.

The U.S. has designated the PKK as a foreign terrorist organization but has declined to make a similar determination regarding the YPG, which have been a key partner of the U.S. in the fight against the Islamic State group in northern Syria. The U.S. does not believe the YPG represent a threat to Turkey.

As recently as Wednesday, the State Department said there was no change in how the U.S. regards the YPG.

In 2016, Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan accused the U.S. of supporting a failed coup attempt against his government. The U.S. has flatly rejected the claims but has also refused to extradite the leader of the group Erdogan claims was behind the attempt, cleric Fetullah Gulen, who lives in exile in Pennsylvania.

Associated Press writer Suzan Fraser in Ankara, Turkey, contributed.
US warplanes on Thursday shot down a Turkish drone that was deemed a threat to American forces in Syria, the Pentagon said -- an incident likely to raise tensions between the NATO allies.

The shootdown came as Turkey targeted Kurdish forces in Syria following a suicide bombing in Ankara that was claimed by the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK).

US troops observed drones carrying out strikes early Thursday, some of them inside a "restricted operating zone" (ROZ) near Hasakeh, about a kilometer (less than a mile) from American troops, Pentagon spokesman Brigadier General Pat Ryder told journalists.

A few hours later, a Turkish drone returned to the ROZ and flew toward American forces despite what a US official said were a dozen calls to Ankara's military.

Ryder said "US commanders assessed... the UAV, which was now less than a half kilometer from US forces, to be a potential threat," using an abbreviation for unmanned aerial vehicle.

"US F-16 fighters subsequently shot down the UAV in self-defense," he said.

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin spoke with his Turkish counterpart Yasar Guler on Thursday, urging "de-escalation in northern Syria and the importance of maintaining strict adherence to de-confliction protocols and communication through established military-to-military channels," Ryder said in a statement.

Turkey's defense ministry confirmed the call, saying the two officials discussed "the latest developments in Syria."

The United States has approximately 900 troops deployed in Syria as part of international efforts to combat the Islamic State (IS) group, and carries out frequent raids targeting the jihadists.

- Dangerous mix -

US forces are partnered with the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), which led the fight that dislodged IS fighters from the last territory they held in the country in 2019.

But Turkey views the Kurdish People's Protection Units that dominate the SDF as an offshoot of the PKK, which is considered a terror group by Ankara and its Western allies.

While Turkey regularly carries out drone attacks in the semi-autonomous Kurdish region in northeast Syria, it warned of more intense cross-border air raids after concluding the militants who staged the Ankara bombing came from that country.

Turkish strikes on military and infrastructure targets in Kurdish-held areas of Syria killed at least nine people on Thursday, according to Kurdish security forces.

Syria contains a dangerous mix of often antagonistic forces operating on the ground and in the air, including those from President Bashar al-Assad's government, Russia, the United States, Turkey, Iran-linked groups, the Kurds and jihadist organizations.

Turkey has shot down both Syrian and Russian planes in the past, while the United States more recently accused Moscow's forces of repeatedly harassing its aircraft over Syria.

In July, Washington said a Russian fighter aircraft dropped flares above an American drone as it took part in an anti-IS mission, damaging its propeller.

That incident followed others in which the United States said Russian planes harassed a manned American reconnaissance plane as well as MQ-9 drones.

wd/sst
By Lee Gyu-lee

BUSAN  Veteran actor from Hong Kong Chow Yun-fat shared that he hopes for more films that capture Hong Kongs unique spirit, calling for more transparency on his governments censorship procedures against film productions.

We have a lot of censor requirements for China. Mainly, our script must go through a lot of departments to film. So we must have a direct and clear situation for this. We have a lot of restrictions, making it difficult for filmmakers. But honestly, we will try our best to do our Hong Kong spirit movies. This is our goal, the 68-year-old actor said during a press conference for the Busan International Film Festival (BIFF) held at KNN Tower Building, Thursday.

He continued to reflect on the shifting landscape of Hong Kong cinema.

I think many people in the 1980s watched a lot of Hong Kong movies and Im proud of that. But somehow, after 1997, things changed. We have to pay attention to the government, and for their direction. We have to listen to it, or otherwise, it would be hard to get all the money to develop a story. The mainland China market is huge, so we are trying (to look for) solutions," he said.

Chow, one of the most highly regarded actors in Asia, visited the festival as the recipient of this years Asian Filmmaker of the Year accolade.

The actor also expressed optimism about the Korean film industrys rising popularity in the global market.

I believe each region has its own luck. Its a delight that people from the Korean film industry are making it to Hollywood. Its great for one region's industry to move forward to push the boundaries further, during times when another region is stagnant and unable to progress, he said.

I think it's highly positive that the South Korean film industry is receiving significant attention.

Chow attributed the competitiveness of Korean cinema to its freedom of creativity.

What makes Korean films competitive, I believe, is the creative freedom. The plots are diverse and the level of creative freedom is high. I sometimes would think How did they think to explore such a story? So I really enjoy (Korean works) as well, he said.

As we went through COVID-19, the film and theater industries, not only in Korea but also globally, have faced a crisis. So, Hong Kong is also deeply contemplating what kind of plots and stories we should tell to draw peoples interest, like Korea.

BIFF is honoring Chow with a special program, which will screen three of the films throughout his 50-year acting career, including his latest work One More Chance, directed by Anthony Pun.

On a personal note, the Hong Kong actor shared the profound influence of cinema on his life journey.

I was born in a small coastal town in Hong Kong and moved to the city at the age of 10. At 18, I started training for acting and became an actor, Chow said.

When I didnt have much chance to study properly, films were the source of knowledge and experiences to me. I learned a lot as I filmed movies ... When I work in a movie, I get to live someone elses life. And that gave me a significant experience. I would say without movies, there would be no Chow Yun-fat.
The U.S. military on Thursday shot down an armed drone belonging to NATO ally Turkey after it came too close for comfort to American troops in Syria, according to the Pentagons top spokesperson.

Press secretary Brig. Gen. Patrick Ryder, who called the event a regrettable incident, said the drone came within less than half a mile of U.S. troops as the Turkish aircraft was bombing targets nearby in northeastern Syria.

As American forces were forced to go to bunkers for safety, the drone was deemed a potential threat and was shot down by F-16 aircraft around 11:40 a.m. local time. No U.S. forces were injured during the incident, he said.

Ryder added that Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin spoke with his Turkish counterpart by phone afterward to reaffirm our commitment to continue to closely coordinate, adding that the talk was fruitful.

Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. CQ Brown also spoke with his counterpart by phone on the need to follow common deconfliction protocols to ensure the safety of our personnel in Syria following todays incident, according to Joint Staff spokesperson Col. Dave Butler.

This marks the first time Washington has brought down an aircraft of the NATO ally.

U.S. troops are in the region to ensure the Islamic State doesnt make a resurgence after the terrorist group was defeated in March 2019, an event that came through the help of Kurdish-led forces.

But Turkeys National Intelligence Organization, which views the Kurds as a terrorist group known as the Kurdistan Workers Party, or PKK, carries out strikes in Syria against them.

Ryder said Turkish drones had been seen conducting airstrikes in Hasakah, Syria  some of which were inside a declared U.S. restricted operating zone  about 1 km away from U.S. troops earlier in the day. Just hours later, a Turkish drone reentered the zone heading toward where U.S. forces were located.

U.S. commanders assessed that the UAV, which was now less than a half kilometer from U.S. forces, to be a potential threat, with the F-16s shooting it down shortly thereafter, Ryder said.

We have no indication that Turkey was intentionally targeting U.S. forces, he added.

Ryder would not go into specifics of how U.S. forces communicated with the Turks ahead of the incident, only saying that Washington has multiple channels of communication at multiple levels.

The Associated Press reported earlier that the shootdown came after more than a dozen calls to Turkish military officials warning that American forces were on the ground in the area and that the U.S. military would move to protect them if the drone didnt vacate.

The incident also comes at fragile time for U.S.-Turkish relations, as the United States is looking to convince Turkey to ratify Swedens bid for NATO membership.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Hundreds of former patients sued the University of Southern California for failing to adequately respond to allegations against campus gynecologist George Tyndall (Frederic J. BROWN)

A campus gynecologist for a top California university who had been charged with sexually abusing patients has been found dead at his home, his attorney said Thursday.

George Tyndall had been due to stand trial over claims he assaulted unconscious patients at the prestigious University of Southern California's student health center multiple times between 2009 and 2016.

Tyndall, 76, had denied the charges, even as the university agreed to pay more than $1 billion to hundreds of women who had made accusations against him.

Lawyer Leonard Levine said Tyndall had been found unresponsive in his Los Angeles apartment on Wednesday by a friend who had used a key to get in after being unable to make contact.

"We're 99 percent sure it was natural causes," Levine said, but added that an autopsy would likely be carried out to determine the cause of death.

Tyndall "desperately wanted to go to trial and that's where the issues of guilt or innocence should be resolved," Levine said, adding that his client had planned to testify and "declare his innocence."

The university reached agreements totaling $852 million in 2021, on top of $215 million resulting from an earlier federal class action in 2018.

Tyndall had been accused of abuse by hundreds of female patients during medical examinations over the course of his 30-year career, in a scandal that engulfed the university.

Accusations, ranging from inappropriate touching to rape, dated as far back as 1990. The youngest accuser was aged 17.

The doctor was accused of taking photos of patients' genitals, groping their breasts and making lewd remarks about their physiques, as well as racist and homophobic comments.

He allegedly targeted minority students -- including many from the university's large Asian student population.

Thousands of former patients sued the university for failing to adequately respond to the allegations against Tyndall, claiming that the institution was aware of the doctor's actions but continued to allow him access to students.

Tyndall was not investigated by USC officials until 2016, and was allowed to retire under an amicable agreement with the university, reportedly involving a $200,000 payoff.

The university's then-president resigned in 2018 amid pressure from 200 professors to step down over the scandal.

hg/amz/mdl
The Biden administration announced on Thursday that it will resume direct deportation flights of Venezuelans who cross our border unlawfully and do not establish a legal basis to remain, after the U.S. reached an agreement with Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduros government.

The resumption of deportations directly to Venezuela comes as the United States struggles to contain irregular migration to the U.S.-Mexico border. Political, social and economic crises have pushed millions of people out of their home countries across Latin America and the Caribbean in recent years. Over 7 million people have fled Venezuela alone, according to the United Nations.

Hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans have come to the U.S.-Mexico border since 2021. Customs and Border Protection counted more than 387,000 encounters with nationals from the South American country between October 2021 and August of this year.

What exactly does Thursdays announcement mean for Venezuelans in the United States? Who could be deported and who doesnt have to fear being sent back? Heres what you need to know.

Who is at risk of being deported?

Venezuelans without a lawful immigration status in the United States could be sent back to their country. That includes Venezuelans in the United States who have illegally crossed into the country, lost all their immigration appeals or opted to not challenge a judges decision are at risk of being sent back to Venezuela, said John de la Vega, Miami-based immigration lawyer from Caracas. Also at risk: Venezuelans who failed to convince border officers they had a valid case for asylum, and had a judge affirm the officers decision.

De La Vega also said that people who dont apply or arent eligible for Venezuelas Temporary Protected Status, a federal deportation protection that allows people from countries in turmoil to work and live in the United States, could also be in danger of being sent back to the South American country.

The Biden administration recently extended Temporary Protected Status to Venezuelans who arrived in the U.S. before Jul 31.

People who are in the United States who cant or dont appeal their cases, and do not request Temporary Protected Status, are the people who have no protections, said De La Vega. They have no legal basis to stay here.

Who does not have to worry about deportation?

Venezuelans with a legal immigration status in the United States do not have to worry about the announcement. People with visas, green cards, refugee status or who have qualified for Temporary Protected Status, as long as they have not done something to violate the conditions of their stay, such as committing a crime.

If I am deportable, do I have any options?

It depends.

Undocumented Venezuelans in the United States could be eligible for Temporary Protected Status under the federal governments recent expansion of the program, which made about 472,000 additional people eligible. The extension, which the Venezuelan-American community and immigration activists hailed as a victory, offers temporary deportation protections and work authorizations.

But there are conditions that Venezuelans must fulfill to join the program. They must have had continuous residence in the United States on or before July 31. Being convicted of a felony or two misdemeanors also bars them from applying for TPS, as does any action that would exclude someone from getting asylum, according to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. More information about Venezuelas TPS program can be found here. Information about general eligibility requirements is available here.

De La Vega recommends that Venezuelans without legal status in the United States talk to a lawyer to understand their options, since immigration is complex and every case is different.
A bus crash in Italy on Oct. 3 killed nine Ukrainians, local media reported on Oct. 4.

In total, 21 people on board were killed, the local authorities said.

Authorities have now identified all 21 victims of the crash. Nine Ukrainian citizens were killed, along with four Romanians, three Germans, two Portuguese, one Croatian, one South African, and one Italian citizen, the bus driver.

Another 15 passengers were hospitalized after the accident, including five Ukrainians.

Ten of the injured passengers are in intensive care.

The bus was carrying 39 passengers from the center of Venice to a nearby campsite outside the city when it crashed at around 7:45 p.m. on Oct. 3, according to the BBC.

The vehicle drove through the barrier of an overpass and then crashed onto the road below, catching fire on impact, Italy's National Fire and Rescue Service reported.

Preliminary reports suggested the driver, who was also among the dead, could have become ill in the moments before the accident, the BBC said.

Luigi Brugnaro, the mayor of Venice, described the scene as "apocalyptic" and said "a huge tragedy" had hit the community.

The flags of Ukraine, Italy, the European Union, and Venice hung at half-mast outside the office of the Municipality of Venice as a sign of mourning on Oct. 4.

Italian President Sergio Mattarella and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen also expressed their condolences to the families of the victims.

At least 15 Ukrainians were seriously injured in a bus crash in northern Italy on Aug. 25, when the vehicle collided with a Polish truck on the A4 motorway.

In March 2022, a Ukrainian woman was killed when a bus carrying Ukrainian refugees crashed in Italy.

Read also: Two sisters capture the beauty of Ukraines villages before its gone

Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent.
FILE PHOTO: VinFast electric vehicles are parked at a store in Los Angeles, U.S.

By Phuong Nguyen and Chavi Mehta

(Reuters) -Vietnamese electric car maker VinFast said on Thursday its third-quarter revenue more than doubled with the largest share of its sales going to an affiliate company owned by its founder.

About 60% of VinFasts deliveries, or more than 6,000 vehicles, went to Green SM (GSM), a Vietnam-based taxi operator and leasing provider 95% owned by VinFast's founder, Pham Nhat Vuong, executives said on a call with analysts.

VinFast had not provided that breakdown in its published earnings.

For the past two quarters GSM has accounted for about two-thirds of VinFast's sales.

VinFast recorded $343 million in revenue for the three months ended Sept. 30, up 159% on the year. Its net loss widened 33.7% to $623 million.

The company has a target of hitting break even within two years and running its factory in Vietnam at full capacity by then. The factory in Haiphong has the capacity to produce 250,000 electric vehicles (EVs) per year but has been running far short of that.

GSM launched Vietnam's first pure EV taxi service earlier this year with a target of starting with 600 VinFast EVs. It also operates a ride service with VinFast electric scooters, executives said.

It was not immediately clear how many of the 13,000 vehicles GSM has bought from VinFast over the past two quarters would go into its fleet or how many it would hold to lease to customers.

VinFast Chief Executive Le Thi Thu Thuy said VinFast planned to expand its partnership with GSM to include Indonesia and India, where it is setting up smaller-scale factories that will assemble vehicles shipped in parts from Vietnam.

"For VinFast, GSM is a very good partner," she told analysts. "There have been an overwhelming number of questions over GSM."

Executives said VinFast expected to have its first U.S. franchise dealership open by the end of the year and was considering proposals from 27 dealers to sell its vehicles, including a second model, the VF 9, it expects to launch this year.

VinFast, which was formed in 2017 and began making EVs in 2021, plans to set up kit assembly plants in both India and Indonesia to take advantage of EV incentives on offer in those markets, Thuy said.

VinFast has entered the market at a time when EV prices are under pressure, led by cuts at market leader Tesla and a range of Chinese companies.

VinFast, backed by Vingroup, Vietnam's largest conglomerate, listed on the Nasdaq in August after a merger with a blank-check company.

Shares in VinFast were up 4.5% at $8.4 each by 1410 GMT.

The company, which ended the quarter with $130 million in cash, said it expected to receive around $1.2 billion in grants from its parent company, its founder Vuong, and two key shareholders in the next six months.

(Reporting by Phuong Nguyen in Hanoi and Chavi Mehta in Bengaluru; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila, Mark Potter and Kevin Krolicki)
Nicole Beharie is receiving praise from none other than Viola Davis for her performance in Episode 3 of The Morning Show.

In a video by Graeme ONeil, Beharies performance as Christina Hunter, the newest anchor to join the morning team of a New York television network, powerfully confronts network boss Cybil Richards (Holland Taylor) about a racial slur she used to describe Christina. Christina also asks Cybil on-air if she was hired simply to fill a minority slot.

The performance has been widely lauded by fans of the series and other actors as well. One of those actors is Davis, who wrote in the comments section of a post made by The Morning Show Instagram account about the scene, Awesome!!! Compelling!!! Honest!!!

This isnt the first time Davis has congratulated Beharie on her acting skill. Back in 2015, when Davis became the first African-American woman to win an Emmy for lead actress in a drama series, Davis gave Beharie her props in her acceptance speech.

And to the Taraji P. Hensons, the Kerry Washingtons, the Halle Berrys, the Nicole Beharies, the Meagan Goods, to Gabrielle Union: Thank you for taking us over that line, she said, according to Global Grind. Thank you to the Television Academy.

After Beharies personal turmoil after Sleepy Hollow and her autoimmune disorder diagnosis, its great to see Beharie come back to the forefront. Its even better to see other Black women in the industry supporting her rise to prominence.
Virgin Galactic to launch Galactic 04 space tourist flight Oct. 6. Here's what to expect

Update for Oct. 5: This story was updated at 4 p.m. ET (2000 GMT) with comments from a Virgin Galactic representative concerning launch time.

Virgin Galactic is keeping pace with the company's monthly flight cadence, and is targeting Oct. 6 for the launch of their fourth commercial mission, Galactic 04.

Three space tourists are scheduled to launch on a suborbital trajectory aboard Virgin Galactic's reusable space plane, VSS Unity. Virgin Galactic has not announced a time for Friday's flight, but similar missions that have flown over the last few months have taken place in the morning, with the takeoff of Unity's carrier aircraft, VMS Eve, around 10 a.m. EDT (1400 GMT).

VMS Eve will take off from Virgin Galactic's Spaceport America in New Mexico and will carry Unity and her crew to altitude before releasing the space plane to rocket itself the rest of the way to space.

The VSS Unity spacecraft flies on a suborbital trajectory that allows its passengers several minutes of weightlessness before returning to the runway back at Spaceport America. Though it doesn't reach orbit, Unity will be high enough that passengers will be able to see the curvature of Earth against the dark backdrop of outer space.

Related: Meet the crew of Virgin Galactic's 4th commercial spaceflight

What time is the Galactic-04 suborbital launch?

A Virgin Galactic representative confirmed to Space.com via email that liftoff of VMS Eve will take place at 9 a.m. MT (11 a.m. or 1500 GMT), with Unity's launch approximately between 9:30 a.m. and 9:40 a.m. MT (11:30 a.m. ET, or 1530 GMT).

With Unity secured between the double cockpits of her carrier aircraft, Eve will carry the space plane to an altitude of about 50,000 feet (15,000 meters). Once at altitude, Unity will be released and will ignite its rocket engine to climb the rest of the way to the edge of space.

Originally, Virgin had targeted Oct. 5 for the Galactic 04 flight. However, on Oct. 1, the company wrote in a post on X (formerly Twitter) that the launch window was moved back to give their "team an additional day to complete vehicle prep and checks," the post read.

Can I watch Virgin Galactic's Galactic 04 spaceflight?

Nope. Virgin Galactic didn't provide streaming coverage for Galactic 03, and won't be providing live video for Galactic 04 either. During their last mission, updates were only provided via X, and that seems to be the case for Galactic 04 as well.

"There will not be a livestream, but everyone can follow Virgin Galactic on X/Twitter for the latest updates ahead of flight and on the day of flight," the representative added.

Further mission updates on Virgin Galactic's X account are expected as launch day approaches, and throughout the morning during the Oct. 6 flight.

Who is riding on the Galactic 04 spaceflight?

In total, six people will fly to space on Galactic 04: Mission commander Kelly Latimer and pilot C.J. Sturckow will be at the helm of VSS Unity. In the cabin, three private passengers will ride alongside Virgin Galactic's chief astronaut instructor.

Photos: The first space tourists

The heads of a man and a woman are displayed with inspirational looks and a faded purple and black background.

Latimer was the first woman to serve as a research pilot at NASA's Armstrong Flight Research Center. She has logged several thousand hours in the cockpit of dozens of different aircraft, and was at the helm of VMS Eve during Virgin Galactic's first commercial spaceflight mission in June.

Sturckow was a NASA astronaut from 1995 to 2013, during which time he flew four space shuttle missions, including the first shuttle to launch to the International Space Station (ISS). Galactic 04 will mark Sturckow's eleventh spaceflight.

The private astronauts boarding VSS Unity for Galactic 04 are some of the company's "Founder Astronauts," reserving their seats more than 15 years ago. Designated Virgin Galactic's astronauts 017, 018 and 019, the Galactic 04 crew hail from the United States, the United Kingdom and the United Arab Emirates.

three people stand in black flight suits with purple accents in a purple lit hallway

Ron Rosano, Virgin Galactic Astronaut 017: Rosano is a space fanatic from Muir Beach, California. He is an astronomy educator who runs multiple websites dedicated to his space ventures and tracking crewed spaceflight, in general. In addition to his ticket for Galactic 04, Rosano has also reserved seats aboard Blue Origin's New Shepard rocket, and Space Perspective's stratospheric balloon, according to his website.

Trevor Beattie, Virgin Galactic Astronaut 018: Beattie is a long-time British ad executive who's made a name for himself in the media industry, and began marketing Virgin Galactic flights through his company, Beattie McGuinness Bungay, as early as 2006.

Namira Salim, Virgin Galactic Astronaut 019: Salim founded the nonprofit Space Trust, which advocates for leveraging the growing space sector as a platform for achieving peace on Earth. She is Pakistani, living in Dubai, and is recognized as Pakistan's first astronaut. A true world-adventurer, Salim is also the first Pakistani to venture to the North and South Poles.

From left to right, side by side, close-up portraits of VSS Eve pilots Jameel Janjua and Nicola Pecile

Two pilots will sit parallel, one in each of the double fuselages of VMS Eve, during Friday's Galactic 04 flight. The pair will coordinate the release of VSS Unity, before flying the carrier aircraft back to Spaceport America's runway at the end of the mission.

Jameel Janjua: Janjua is a retired Canadian Air Force Major with an extensive background as a test pilot. He earned a masters of science in aeronautics and astronautics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), and flew as VMS Eve's pilot during Galactic 01.

Nicola Pecile: Pecile has flown on 170 different aircraft since beginning his flying career in 1991, which included service in the Italian Air Force as a lieutenant colonel. He has a total of 7,700 flight hours, according to Virgin Galactic.

How long will Virgin Galactic's spaceflight last?

This graphic shows the general flight plan for Virgin Galactic's suborbital missions.

RELATED STORIES:

 Virgin Galactic carrier plane flies for 1st time since 2021

 Virgin Galactic launches 3 of its original space tourist customers to the final frontier (video)

 How Virgin Galactic's SpaceShipTwo passenger space plane works (infographic)

The exact mission length is uncertain. On Virgin Galactic's past commercial flights, like June's Galactic 01, about 1.5 hours passed between VMS Eve takeoff and the VSS Unity landing back at Spaceport America.
Early voting takes place on the fourth floor of Bartlesville City Hall located at 401 s Johnstone staring today and tomorrow.

Early voting in the City of Bartlesville Special Election, scheduled for Oct. 10, begins today, with advanced ballot casting available to accommodate city voters and for those unable to participate on Election Day.

Residents are deciding on significant capital projects in a General Obligation (GO) Bond election, including crucial street improvements and public service enhancements across the city.

Funding Bartlesville's Future: A Look at the Special Election

A total of $17.6 million in GO bond issue is on the ballot, divvied up into four separate propositions for voters to decide on individually:

Proposition 1: Public Safety Buildings and Equipment: $2,412,000

Proposition 2: Municipal Buildings and Equipment: $696,000

Proposition 3: Streets and Bridges: $12,278,000

Proposition 4: Parks and Recreation: $2,214,000

Notable undertakings involve refurbishments of Adams Boulevard and Silver Lake Road, establishing a new fire station at Hensley Boulevard and Virginia Avenue, and improvements to the Pathfinder Parkway and Bartlesville city parks.

Funding from the ad valorem (property) tax, capped at 15 mils, will facilitate these enhancements over the next four years.

City Manager Mike Bailey affirmed that the proposal does not translate to a tax hike for residents.

"The city's mil levy will remain at 15 as existing bonds expire, so there is no tax increase associated with the GO Bond proposal," Bailey said.

The methodology behind such funding is not new to Oklahoma municipalities, with GO bond funding frequently financing capital projects. Generally, the city hosts GO bond elections every three to five years, according to Bailey.

"This funding allows us to meet the expectations of our citizens by financing crucial projects," Bailey said, citing an array of street repairs, public safety gear, park enhancements and vital facility upgrades, including technological tools pivotal in serving both the community and visitors.

Although the bond does not directly tackle water issues exacerbated by recent droughts, city officials say they are probing long-term water supply solutions, likely leaning on low-interest loans repaid with Water Capital Fees for these projects.

With a staggering working list of more than $100 million in capital needs, city staff and citizen committees meticulously carved out the bond issue before earning the city council's stamp of approval.

Residents seeking a comprehensive list of projects and additional voting details can visit the city's official website.

Early voting open to all

No reason is needed to vote early, said Yvonne House, Washington County Election Board secretary.

"Oklahoma permits early voting for all elections overseen by the County Election Board or State Election Board, ranging from school board and municipal elections to state and federal elections," House said.

Early voting sessions are available today, October 5, and tomorrow, October 6, from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. at the Washington County Election Board on the fourth floor of Bartlesville City Hall at 401 S. Johnstone Ave.

Voters requiring assistance, whether due to visual or physical disabilities, illness, or literacy challenges, are provided with supportive options. They can choose to have an assistant or use the ATI device attached to the voting machine to ensure a confidential and autonomous voting experience.

House encourages anyone needing help to contact their precinct official or the County Election Board for more detailed instructions.

For inquiries or further clarification about the early voting process, the Election Board can be reached at 918-337-2850 or via email at washingtoncounty@elections.ok.gov.

This article originally appeared on Bartlesville Examiner-Enterprise: Early voting begins in $17.6M bond election to fund city projects
Marjorie Taylor Greene sent $2,000 checks to 18 of her colleagues' campaigns in March.

But two of them  among the most vulnerable Republicans in 2024  never cashed the check.

Rep. Derrick Van Orden 's campaign says they rejected it, while Michelle Steel's says they lost it.

Earlier this year, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene contributed $2,000 apiece to 18 of her colleagues, many of whom face competitive re-election races in 2024.

It was a shift for the pugnacious Georgia Republican, a further sign that she'd become a team player and an important element in her party's congressional fundraising efforts.

But spokespeople for two of those vulnerable Republicans  Rep. Derrick Van Orden of Wisconsin and Rep. Michelle Steel of California  now say that their campaigns didn't end up cashing the checks.

Though the March 29 contributions appear in Greene's campaign filings with the Federal Election Commission, they never appeared in Van Orden or Steel's filings.

A spokesperson for Van Orden's campaign told Insider that they "chose not to accept" Greene's contribution, while a spokesperson for Steel's campaign claims that the campaign lost the check "due to a staffing error."

Greene's campaign, which did not respond to Insider's request for comment, has not amended its filings with the Federal Election Commission to reflect that the checks were never cashed.

It remains unclear why Van Orden  best known nationally for screaming at Senate pages and insisting that he did not actually step foot on Capitol grounds while attending the "Stop the Steal" rally in Washington on January 6  would not accept Greene's money. His campaign did not respond to a follow-up inquiry from Insider seeking further explanation.

It could simply come down to optics. Van Orden represents a swing district, and Democrats are eager to tie more vulnerable Republican candidates to the party's electorally toxic far right. Accepting a direct contribution from Greene would only strengthen such attacks.

But on Capitol Hill, Van Orden does appear to be quite friendly with Greene, filming a video just days ago with the congresswoman poking fun at Democratic Rep. Jamaal Bowman of New York's fire alarm controversy.

Rep. Derrick Van Orden Press Office (@RepVanOrden) October 2, 2023

The Steel campaign's explanation that the check was "lost," on the other hand, is even more difficult to parse.

It's unclear why the California Republican's campaign wouldn't ask Greene's campaign to re-issue the check, or whether Steel is open to receiving money from the Georgia Republican in the future.

Steel's campaign did not respond to Insider's follow-up inquiry on those questions, and notably declined to comment to the Orange County Register when asked about the contribution earlier this year.

Steel represents a more Democratic-leaning district, and some of her potential Democratic opponents have already sought to use the contribution to tie the two-term congresswoman to Greene's conspiratorial brand of far-right politics.

Kim Bernice Nguyen (@votekimnguyen) April 18, 2023

In a statement for this story, Derek Tran  a Democratic candidate who's raised significant sums of money since launching his bid to unseat Steel  characterized the campaing's explanation as a "dog ate my homework" routine.

"Steel takes money from MAGA extremists, oil companies, pharmaceutical corporations, and gun manufacturers, and then votes their way," said Tran. "It's why Michelle Steel was named one of the most 'corrupt members of Congress' and why I'm running for Congress to defeat her."

Read the original article on Business Insider
Shanna Lee Gardner makes her initial appearance in Benton County Superior Court after she was arrested at her West Richland home in August 2023.

An attorney for a West Richland mother facing murder charges in Florida says theyll decide by next week if shell fight extradition.

Gov. Jay Inslee has signed the extradition warrant for the return of Shanna Gardner, 36, to face murder charges.

The warrant agrees that Duval County officials provided the proper documentation to show that Gardner should be turned over to Florida officials in connection with death of her ex-husband, Microsoft executive Jared Bridegan.

Benton County Deputy Prosecutor Terry Bloor and defense Attorney Andrew Wagley agreed he would decide by the end of next week whether to challenge the warrant.

Judge Diana Ruff pointed out that the governors warrant still hadnt reached the Benton County Superior Court file, so she couldnt make any determination on whether it was valid.

Bloor said that without a stay, Florida officials can still come and pick up Gardner from the jail.

Another hearing to discuss the warrant and any challenges is set for Oct. 19.

Gardner has been in the Benton County jail for about two months. A judge will now decide if the process was handled property to have her sent back.

The case has made national headlines and drawn coverage from out-of-town news outlets, including Fox and Court TV, at her hearings in the Tri-Cities.

Death penalty possible

Florida prosecutors plan to seek the death penalty for Gardner and her husband Mario Fernandez-Saldana. Both are charged in the elaborate scheme to kill Bridegan in February 2022.

Theyre both indicted on charges of first-degree murder, conspiracy to commit first-degree murder, solicitation to commit first-degree murder and child abuse.

Gardner and Bridegan met while she was visiting a friend in Florida in 2009 and married the next year in Salt Lake City, according to The Florida Times-Union. But after a troubled relationship they filed for divorce in 2015.

The divorce paperwork was loaded with hundreds of accusations, but the couple ended up sharing custody of their children.

Prosecutors with Floridas Forth Judicial Circuit claim Gardner and Fernandez-Saldana started planning the murder sometime after they met at a CrossFit gym in 2018.

Fernandez-Saldana allegedly recruited Henry Tennon, who rented property from him, to shoot Bridegan.

On Feb. 16, 2022, Bridegan dropped off the couples twins at Gardners house and was driving home with a 2-year-old daughter from another relationship.

Bridegan was shot when he stopped to move a tire out of the middle of the street, according to a state attorneys release.

Tennon previously pleaded guilty to second-degree murder for his role in the shooting.
Korea will extend support for electric vehicles (EVs), secondary batteries and other major industry fields in an effort to boost exports amid signs of a turnaround after a yearlong downturn, the industry ministry said Thursday.

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy held a meeting with relevant ministries and chiefs of major companies, including LG Energy Solution, SK hynix and Celltrion, to discuss ways to prop up the country's key growth engine of exports.

Exports have logged an on-year fall since October last year amid a global economic downturn, but the monthly decline has eased as global demand for Korean semiconductors has been on a recovery track.

During the meeting, the ministry came up with a plan to push for nine projects in the three sectors of mobility, energy and materials and components, through which it seeks to win $31.4 billion worth of foreign contracts and sell $26.3 billion worth of goods and services in the overseas market.

The projects are on EVs, secondary batteries, multi-purpose helicopters and robots, wind power equipment, hydrogen fuel cells, oil and gas plants and OLED display items.

Under the plan, the government also vowed to provide domestic firms with legal counseling services and extend various support measures to better protect their intellectual property rights and to expand global sales of Korean beauty items, food and other cultural contents.

The government also plans to send a delegation to Ukraine within the year to support Korean companies' participation in its reconstruction projects.

"We are now standing at a critical juncture in terms of achieving export growth. The government will mobilize all possible capabilities," Industry Minister Bang Moon-kyu said during the meeting.

The government set this year's export target at $685 billion, up 0.2 percent from last year's total, though the finance ministry earlier forecast exports would mark a 4.5 percent on-year decline in 2023. (Yonhap)
EDITOR'S NOTE: The Journal & Courier received the following commentary from Wabash College President Scott E. Feller.

CRAWFORDSVILLE, Ind.  The University of West Virginia made news in September when its Board announced the elimination of 28 academic programs, including many that are the cornerstones of a liberal arts education. All foreign language degree programs and mathematics were cut, and the university reduced its fine arts programs, saving only one faculty position each in art and music.

Dr. Scott E. Feller was named the 17th president of Wabash College in Crawfordsville, Ind., in May 2020.

The primary justification is not enough students are enrolling in these programs and resources should be focused on majors more directly related to careers. Many companies are doing away with bachelors degree requirements for certain positions and focusing on skills-based hiring.

Thats a fantastic development  but it should not be interpreted to mean college is no longer a worthwhile investment or that companies dont need anyone with a bachelors degree.

Senior executives need to better broadcast the skills they value.

I recently spoke with two alumni of Wabash College, the school where Im president, both of whom are CEOs. They graduated in different decades, are based in different parts of the country, and work in different industries. Yet, each told the same story when asked what traits they seek in their employees.

They need people with critical thinking skills, strong communication skills, and the ability to work well with others. They need people with strong habits of mind who can wrestle with difficult questions and ideas. These were their top priorities.

My experience aligns with findings over several decades from Dr. Michael Hicks, the Director of the Center for Business and Economic Research at Ball State University. He, too, has found these qualitiesthe ability to think and communicate clearly and to understand how a piece of information fits in a wider context, among other thingsare what companies look for in recent graduates.

The skills a liberal arts education delivers are precisely those business and entrepreneurial leaders say they need for long term growth.

The business environment is constantly evolving. Industry functions can change drastically in just a few years, which requires workers with flexibility, intellectual curiosity, and an ability to learn. Simultaneously, companies are becoming more heterogeneous and need employees who can navigate different ideas and outlooks. These are hallmarks of the liberal arts.

The most reliable way to advance from the entry level to the directors level is with those skills of critical thinking, communication, and collegiality that come from higher education  specifically the skills emphasized in the liberal arts.

Senior management is rarely filled with narrowly trained specialists. The best managers, directors, and executives tend to be well-rounded individuals with a wealth of skills like the ones engendered by liberal arts. They can solve problems, manage others, and drive a company forward.

Unless companies stand up for liberal arts, they may find themselves unable to hire people with the skills to help them thrive in the 21st century.

When employers identify an appreciation for fundamental skills, students will gravitate toward majors that foster them, parents will encourage kids to major in them, and universities will value those departments. Similarly, a message direct from the C-suite carries a different kind of weight in students ears  not to mention college and university presidents.

We are in this together. Lets change the conversation about skill sets, training, and the solid return on investment that come from the liberal arts.

Scott E. Feller is the president of Wabash College in Crawfordsville, Indiana.

This article originally appeared on Lafayette Journal & Courier: Wabash College president: We need to save liberal arts
Editors Note: This story is part of a series profiling American youth killed this year by guns, a leading cause of death of children in the US. Read more about the project here.

Michelle Hines described her oldest child as a big brother to everybody, a blossoming teenager who was a natural caretaker and leader.

Hines was the first among her friends to have a child, giving birth to Izaiah Carter when she was 17. He was my first child, and because he was my first child, I grew up with him. As I was going through college, he was sitting on my hip and I was reading psych books to him, said Hines, a developmental disability services coordinator.

When Izaiah turned 3, Hines was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. Even at his early age, Izaiah seemed to notice when she had a relapse episode. He saw when she was in pain; he saw when she fell and couldnt walk properly. He became naturally compassionate, and Hines said she could see it in his eyes.

At just 16 years old, Izaiah Carter was gunned down in the east Baltimore neighborhood of Joseph Lee on March 6 near his school, Patterson High School. A 23-year-old man was eventually arrested and charged with first-degree murder in his death, police said. Authorities found the suspect in Texas roughly two weeks after Izaiahs senseless killing and he was extradited back to Baltimore, where hes currently being held awaiting his first court hearing in November, according to the Baltimore City Circuit Court.

Izaiah is among more than 1,300 children and teens killed by a gun so far in 2023, according to the Gun Violence Archive. Firearms became the No. 1 killer of children and teens in America in 2020, surpassing motor vehicle accidents, which had long been the leading cause of death among Americas youth.

Read other profiles of children whove died from gunfire

Izaiah Carter, right, and his siblings, Amari, left, and Micayla. This image was taken using an iPhone's portrait mode. - Courtesy Michelle Hines

Empathetic and caring, preoccupied with the well-being of his family members and classmates, Izaiah went about his young life with an innate compassion for others, Hines said. He was a role model and guardian to his 15-year-old brother Amari and 13-year-old sister Micayla. In high school, Izaiah joined the Air Force Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps, training as a cadet in the hopes of realizing his dream to join the Air Force after his graduation.

Hines is still in agony over the loss of her first-born, her exceptional child.

Im literally just learning a new life. Learning how to breathe and walk differently without him, Hines said. She wants others to know that what happened to Izaiah could just as easily happen to another child, to another family.

I want people to know that Izaiah was your kid  your daughter, your son. Izaiah was your child, Hines said.

Izaiah could never conceal his true feelings, though at times he tried. Hines laughed as she recalled moments when she said she would turn into a dragon, putting on a deep voice and forcing herself to be stern. Izaiah always knew she was just acting and sometimes pretended to be angry as well, but he could never keep a stern face, Hines added.

His tell was laughter. He was not good at lying because he would just laugh. He would always tell on himself, she said.

His mother also called him the king of music  a passion of his that deepened as he began to make his own music. Its something Hines notes she didnt even know while her son was still alive.

Izaiah Carter with is mother, Michelle Hines - Courtesy Michelle Hines

He was singing and trying to make beats with his friends in the auditorium with their music teacher, Hines said. While his music taste was broad, she says Izaiahs biggest inspirations were NLE Choppa, SZA, Snoh Aalegra and Eminem.

Her son always connected his phone to Bluetooth or aux in her car  or any car  to play his music, Hines said. Its now a painful, lingering memory. One of the things that has been hard for me is to erase his phone from the car, Hines said.

The disbelief and outrage over Izaiahs loss is still raw, especially among the many children  young cousins, family friends and neighbors  who regularly congregated at the Hines home after school or on weekends. Hines said there could be at least 15 to 20 little children over at her house at a time, and Izaiah was a constant guiding presence.

In the aftermath of Izaiahs death, Hines said the children constantly told her: We gonna get em, referring to the person responsible for Izaiahs death.

Izaiah Carter, left, and his brother, Amari - Courtesy Michelle Hines

But Izaiahs bond with his younger brother Amari was a particularly special gift, Hines said. Diagnosed with ADHD, or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, at a young age, Amari would easily get distracted, but Izaiah was always there to direct him, she said.

In the pictures of them in elementary, middle and high school, Izaiahs arm was always around Amari, Hines said. Even when they were toddlers and becoming little kids, he was always holding his hand.

Regarded by most as mature beyond his years, Izaiah was a mini parent to his siblings and the many young children in her close-knit family, Hines said.

Every day after school, Izaiah made the trip to meet up with Amari, who attended a different school, so he could ride the bus home with his younger brother. He did the same for other children, making sure those younger than him or those who were afraid to ride alone would get home safely, Hines said.

At first, I told him, Youre not allowed to do this. I get theyre your friends, but Im afraid of you riding home with all of these kids because who is gonna ride you home? Hines said.

He would say, Oh, Im not worried about that. Im big and strong.

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Josep Borrell, the High Representative of the EU for Foreign and Security Policy, has called the Russian attack on the village of Hroza in Kharkiv Oblast a war crime and promised inevitable punishment.

Source: Borrell's statement, published on the website of the European External Affairs Service, writes European Pravda

Details: A top EU diplomat called the Russian strike on Kharkiv Oblast "another heinous attack against innocent civilians, in addition to Russias continued daily indiscriminate attacks near the frontlines".

"Intentional attacks against civilians are war crimes. Russias leadership, all commanders, perpetrators and accomplices of these atrocities will be held to account. There will be no impunity for war crimes," Borrell stressed.

He also confirmed the EU's support for Ukraine and added that the European Union highly values the strength, courage and resistance of the Ukrainian people.

Reminder:

On Thursday afternoon, Russian troops attacked a cafe and a store in the village of Hroza, Kharkiv Oblast. Preliminary data indicated that the place was hit by an Iskander missile. As a result, 51 people were killed, including a 6-year-old boy, and six more were injured.

This is the most massive attack by the Russian Federation in Kharkiv Oblast since the beginning of the full-scale invasion. Ihor Klymenko, Ukraines Minister of Internal Affairs, said that a memorial dinner for a deceased resident was being held in the cafe, which was attended by almost a third of the village (according to the census, 330 residents were registered there).

The Russian attack has already been condemned by Marija Pejcinovic Buric, the Secretary General of the Council of Europe, UK Ambassador Martin Harris and Estonian President Alar Karis.

Ukrainska Pravda is the place where you will find the most up-to-date information about everything related to the war in Ukraine. Follow us on Twitter, support us, or become our patron!
Maliyah Cartier, a Washington High School student and a citizen of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe, poses for a photo during a student walkout to commemorate thousands of missing and murdered Indigenous women on Thursday, Oct. 5, 2023 at Linwood Park in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.

Washington High School student Rosalia Szameit, who is Oglala Lakota, said not enough people know about the epidemic of missing and murdered Indigenous women (MMIW).

In South Dakota alone, there are 80 active cases of missing Native Americans today. Of those, 47 are women or young girls, according to the South Dakota Attorney Generals Missing Persons clearinghouse database.

No ones going to care if we go missing, she said as tears welled in her eyes. Its unacceptable, and we have to do something.

Szameit was one of more than 100 students who walked out of classes at Washington High School on Thursday morning and congregated at the nearby Linwood Park to recognize and commemorate thousands of MMIW.

Washington High School students organized a walkout to commemorate thousands of missing and murdered Indigenous women on Thursday, Oct. 5, 2023 at Linwood Park in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.

The walkout was over 60 minutes long in recognition of what student leaders said are more than 6,000 known instances of MMIW. The event included moments of silence to highlight the following statistics the students shared:

5 minutes and 8 seconds of silence for the 5,800 Indigenous women unreported to the national unidentified missing persons system;

4 minutes and 20 seconds of silence for 4,200 unsolved cases;

8 minutes and 50 seconds of silence for the 85% of Indigenous women who have experienced violence;

5 minutes and 6 seconds of silence for the 56% of Indigenous women who have experienced sexual violence;

And, 9 minutes and 12 seconds of silence for the 9,120 Indigenous children abused each year.

More: South Dakotas open cold cases include these missing and murdered Indigenous women

WHS senior Justus Knorr, who is Oglala Lakota, said he feels an indescribable pain deep within him knowing he and his relatives have been affected by this issue in the past and could be affected again in the future. He said its important that more than just Indigenous people talk about this issue and care about the cause.

We shouldnt have to have a walkout, Knorr said. We shouldnt have to bring awareness to this issue. This issue shouldnt exist, (but it) exists, and has been neglected for the entire history of the U.S. Thats why we needed to do a walkout.

WHS senior Maliyah Cartier, a citizen of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe, said the walkout honors MMIW and any other Native American whos gone missing.

Rosalia Szameit, a Washington High School student who is Oglala Lakota, listens to her peers speak during a walkout commemorating thousands of missing and murdered Indigenous women on Thursday, Oct. 5, 2023 at Linwood Park in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.

So many go missing, but half of these women and people don't even get searched for or reported," Cartier said. "We feel like so much more could be done and need to spread awareness to maybe light a spark and make a difference.

Cartier said most of the people who go missing are her age or younger, and she wants those voices to be heard. She wrote some of the names of MMIW on her shirt and told their stories in a speech at the park.

More: How South Dakota is trying to address the missing and murdered Indigenous women crisis

They wanted to be there, Cartier said of the spiritual experience of sharing MMIWs stories.

WHS student Emma Eagle Star, a citizen of the Rosebud Sioux Tribe, said she hopes her peers who joined in the walkout come away from the event more educated on the issue of MMIW.

I hope they learn awareness, how dire it is, and teach others, Eagle Star said.

In a speech she gave at the park, Eagle Star said everyone who gathered for the walkout was there so the cries of MMIW could be heard aloud.

Washington High School students walk out of their classrooms in protest of the epidemic of missing and murdered Indigenous women on Thursday, Oct. 5, 2023 at Washington High School in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.

How can we accept that our children and women are being abused? How can we tolerate women going missing and being murdered? How can we live in ignorance any longer? she questioned. We must go to war against the violence our women and children are facing. We arent just (WHS) Warriors, but we are the warriors of tomorrow.

The students who led the walkout also discussed the need for more, and more accurate, Indigenous representation in history classes. They also spoke about how the Oceti Sakowin Owaunspe class, which covers Indigenous history and culture specific to the Oceti Sakowin people of this area, should count for a history credit and not an elective.

Washington High School students walk out of their classrooms in protest of the epidemic of missing and murdered Indigenous women on Thursday, Oct. 5, 2023 at Washington High School in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.

Knorr said there are teachers who are supportive of the students who walked out Thursday, but said their jobs could be at risk for supporting the walkout openly.

In a statement from the district, community relations coordinator DeeAnn Konrad said the WHS students who participated in the walkout "left school property to highlight their cause and did so respectfully and without disruption to others," but did not say if the district supported this specific cause.

"Students, like all people, have constitutional rights to do as they wish as long as no laws are violated," Konrad said. "Beyond those laws are school policy and attendance expectations. Skipping school for any reason is an unexcused absence."

More: 'Just another drunk Indian': How 20 years without answers made this South Dakota family part of an invisible crisis

WHS student Melina Ammann said as a non-Native, its important she and her peers are educated on the issue of MMIW and speak on it. She said the number of MMIW is three times the population of WHS.

How can we be the land of the free and the home of the brave? she questioned, if Indigenous people go missing or are murdered and their cases arent investigated thoroughly.

This article originally appeared on Sioux Falls Argus Leader: WHS students walk out of class in recognition of MMIW epidemic
PROVIDENCE  Washington Trust, the 200-year-old bank that agreed to settle claims of racial discrimination with federal prosecutors, has reached an additional agreement for concessions with the Rhode Island Treasurer's Office.

Treasurer James Diossa announced last week that he was going to talk to bank CEO Edward Handy III about further actions to take, above and beyond the terms it agreed to in a proposed settlement agreement.

The proposed federal settlement has the bank paying $7 million in grants to would-be homebuyers in majority Black and Hispanic census tracts in Rhode Island and an additional $2 million in marketing, advertisements and educational programs, for a total of $9 million.

Rhode Island Treasurer James Diossa talks about "evaluating" his office's relationship with Washington Trust after a federal settlement on redlining allegations.

Diossa previously said his office has $190 million in deposits with the bank and that he wanted to "evaluate" the office's relationship with them in light of the redlining allegations. Handy has denied the allegations, even though federal officials said internal and external reports indicated there was a problem with racial discrimination as early as 2011.

Proposed redlining settlement: Washington Trust settles over accusations it discriminated against Black, Hispanic borrowers

The further concessions Washington Trust agreed to, according to a news release:

The bank will create a "diverse and inclusive community advisory board" including a representative from the treasurer's office.

The bank will "further expand its current paid advertisements" in "underserved" communities and communities of color. As part of the proposed settlement, the bank agreed to spend $1 million on marketing.

The bank will "continue and expand its sponsorship of community and cultural events in Rhode Islands communities of color."

The bank will diversify its board of directors and leadership team. Of the 12-person board of directors, eight are white men and three are white women.

The treasurer's office will work with the bank to expand its financial literacy program inside "urban school districts"

The bank will share its community credit needs assessment, which assessed if a bank is meeting its community's needs, with the treasurer's office.

In a news release by the treasurer's office, Handy wrote that the bank will make sure everyone has equal access to credit and that its Olneyville branch will open in the next few months.

In the news release, Diossa wrote that he made progress in his talks with the bank.

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

Reach reporter Wheeler Cowperthwaite at wcowperthwaite@providencejournal.com or follow him on Twitter @WheelerReporter.

This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Washington Trust agrees to more changes after discrimination claim
A South Florida man is accused of burning a McDonalds employee with hot coffee.

Police released surveillance video that appears to show Elizar Ravelo slapping the drink out of the workers hand.

Officials said the incident happened in August.

Read: McDonalds to phase out self-serve soda

The McDonalds employee, Stephanie Res-Tuccia, said Ravelo was a regular customer.

However, that day she told Miami Springs police he started arguing about the price of his food.

Read: Chipotle to test robot to assemble bowls, salads; workers to make burritos, tacos, quesadillas

He started you know like insulting me, calling me names, insulting the guy in the back, and as soon as I put the coffee out, he just snatched the coffee and it went all over me, she said.

Investigators said Ravelo turned himself in a month later, saying he was unhappy with his service.

Read: CDC stops printing COVID-19 vaccine cards; what you should do with yours

Records show he has been charged with felony battery.

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Typhoon Koinu made landfall along the southern tip of Taiwan on Thursday, Oct. 5. The storm brought record-breaking winds and rain, leaving a trail of destruction in its wake.

A weather station on Lanyu (Orchid) Island recorded wind gusts of about 212.9 mph  the fastest wind speed ever recorded in Taiwan and the third-fastest in the world, the Central Weather Administration told The Guardian.

The measuring device broke soon after recording these speeds, Central Weather Administration officials told Focus Taiwan.

The typhoon injured 190 people and left over 62,000 homes without power, Focus Taiwan reported.

Video footage shared by Taiwans Central News Agency Southern Regional Group shows a metal shed blowing off a roof. Another video shows power lines leaned or entirely fallen onto the road. Tree branches appear almost horizontal in the wind, the video shows.

Footage shared by The Independent shows a large metal piece flying down a street. Containers, shelves, stools and a fan are seen scattered across the road in another video.

Another clip shows a man walking to what appears to be a tipped-over market stall cart. He rounds the corner, the wind whipping his clothing, before darting back behind the structure. Video shows the wind spin the structure, crashing into the man and knocking him over.

Flying glass from the storm killed one person in Taichung, Al Jazeera reported.

A video shared by The Guardian shows a beach covered in debris. The rubble includes small objects and several larger structures.

Although the worst of the typhoon hit southern Taiwan, the storm circle affected the central and eastern areas, Taiwan News reported.

Sally Jensen Cusicahua, a journalist with Taiwan Plus News, shared a video of the aftermath on Twitter, now rebranded as X. The video shows a damaged street in Kenting, with debris that includes metal structures, a cylinder and what appears to be an industrial kitchen unit.

Kenting is on the southernmost tip of Taiwan and on the opposite side of the island from Taipei.

The eye of the storm, allowing for a glimpse of the mess already made by #Koinu. I saw ambulances and a hearse go by earlier. Possibly more damage to come. pic.twitter.com/czfnyn7YrP  Sally Jensen Cusicahua (@sljnsn) October 4, 2023

I have never seen Kenting main street in such a bad shape, a food truck owner told Reuters, according to the translated captions of a YouTube video.

The video shared by Reuters shows a street littered with tree branches, fallen signs and garbage.

Heavy rain is expected to continue across Taiwan through Friday, the Central Weather Administration said.

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Suspended DuBois City Manager John Herm Suplizio is facing new charges after he was previously charged with stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars of public funds for his personal expenses.

According to the Pennsylvania Attorney Generals Office, Suplizio faces a total of 13 felony charges and 10 misdemeanor charges regarding conduct during his recent years as city manager, as well as his time spent as executive director of the DuBois Area United Way.

The attorney generals office said the new charges are in regards to Suplizio misappropriating public funds and attempting to obstruct a police investigation into shoplifting incidents involving the then-mayor of DuBois.

Suplizio is charged with felony counts of theft by unlawful taking, theft by deception, theft by failure to make required disposition of funds, dealing in proceeds, and conflict of interest; and misdemeanor misapplication of entrusted property, fraudulent return, and obstruction.

The additional charges were filed following the last court appearance in this case on Aug. 16, the attorney generals office said. Some of the additional charges are a result of investigation conducted since the grand jury presentment was issued last year.

Suplizio is charged with using funds from city bank accounts and the Dubois Area United Way account to pay his personal credit card bills, make political donations and gamble, the attorney generals office said. The majority of the funds came from accounts for Community Days, an annual summer event presented by the DuBois Volunteer Fire Department, for which Suplizio and his secretary were the sole signatories.

Instead of acting in the best interests of the community he was supposed to serve, the defendant used his position to line his own pockets and abused his authority for personal gain, Attorney General Michelle Henry said. This arrest is a reminder that no one is above the law, and that everyone who holds public office in Pennsylvania is accountable to the people.

The attorney generals office also said Suplizio used his position as manager to enter into contracts with businesses for which he received personal benefits. He also provided false information on his tax returns and paid for numerous charges with public funds.

Suplizio appeared at the district court late Wednesday morning. He was arraigned on the charges and bail was set at $100,000.

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MOSCOW  In late August, Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu traveled to a factory of air defense systems manufacturer Almaz-Antey to inspect its artillery production, emphasizing to the company the importance of round-the-clock work, according to state-run news agency Sputnik.

This was Shoigus second inspection of an Almaz-Antey property this year, having visited another facility in June that makes anti-aircraft missiles, the government news agency Tass reported.

During the more recent tour, Shoigu and the head of Almaz-Antey emphasized the effectiveness of the S-300, S-350 and S-400 air defense systems amid Russias full-scale invasion of Ukraine. However, there was no mention of the more advanced S-500 Prometheus air defense system.

Russia has sought the S-500 as a means of countering hypersonic weapons, and it would be able to reach farther into enemy territory. The weapon is expected to defeat threats at a range of 600 kilometers (373 miles), according to the Center for International and Strategic Studies think tank, whereas the S-300 and S-400 can reach 150 kilometers and 400 kilometers, respectively.

As far back as 2018, President Vladimir Putin called for the mass production of the S-500. However, its manufacturer appears behind.

According to Michael Jerdev, a Russia military expert, international sanctions levied against the country may be negatively impacting work on the air defense system.

Russia can multiply the production of air defense missiles, primarily missiles of the 48N6 family, as they are technological products with minimal dependence on foreign components, said Jerdev, referring to the primary missile series for the S-400. As for the production of anti-aircraft complexes and radars themselves, their production has a long cycle and depends on the supply of foreign electronic components, which obviously does not allow them to be produced around the clock.

Furthermore, an Almaz-Antey employee said, the company is experiencing problems with machine tools and a shortage of components.

The enterprises [production rate] has increased, the source told Defense News on the condition of anonymity to speak freely, but there are not enough workers.

Meet Prometheus

Developing aerospace defense capabilities has been a major component of Russias State Armament Program since 2020.

The program is meant to lead to the deployment of 100 battalions, which include 800 launchers made up of S-350, S-400 and S-500 systems. Under the latest iteration of Russias State Armament Program, also known as GPV-2027, funds are to go toward the production of the S-500 Prometheus. The previous iteration, GPV-2020, laid out efforts to create, produce and maintain military equipment.

Russia began developing the S-500 in 2010, according to the Center for Strategic and International Studies, which tracks the status of air and missile defense systems. In 2011, Russia unveiled plans for two new plants to produce the S-500; they opened in 2016. According to Russian media, one S-500 system would cost an estimated $700 million to $800 million in 2020, and up to $2.5 billion dollars in 2023.

In 2019, production of the S-500 began for the Aerospace Forces, according to the head of Russian defense conglomerate Rostec, Sergey Chemezov. The Defence Ministry and local company Almaz-Antey signed a contract for the supply of more than 10 S-500s in 2021, with the first delivery expected in 2022, Tass reported during the 2021 MAKS air show.

Also in 2021, the 1st Special Purpose Air and Missile Defense Army, whose primary mission is the defense of Moscow, received its first S-500 system. However, the system arrived in a reduced configuration that did not meet the full requirements of the defense force. Experts who spoke to Defense News specifically cited the lack of exoatmospheric missiles.

Almaz-Antey and other air defense manufacturers are currently producing products aimed at meeting the needs of a military operation, Jerdev said. Neither the S-500 nor the Abakan air defense system have targets in Ukraine  the ballistic missiles  so their production is not a priority.

Launch capabilities

Available information about the S-500 indicates it can defeat threats at a range of 600 kilometers (373 miles) and an altitude of up to 200 kilometers (124 miles). But Russian media recently reported the S-500s range is closer to 500 kilometers and can reach an altitude of up to 100 kilometers.

Defense News was unable to independently verify either of the specifications.

According to analysis by the Center for Strategic and International Studies, the S-500 can launch several interceptor missiles, including the 40N6M for use against aircraft and cruise missiles, and the new 77N6 and 77N6-N1 to counter ballistic missiles or satellites. The 40N6M has a range of 400 kilometers, while the 77N6 series interceptors can reportedly reach a range of 500-600 kilometers, the think tank found.

Initially, the S-500 was positioned as a system better than THAAD [the U.S.-made Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system] with the possibility of exoatmospheric interception. At the same time, it had to be more compact than the S-400. However, the S-500 does not turn out to be more compact, Pavel Luzin, a senior fellow at the Center for European Policy Analysis think tank, told Defense News. In addition, the 40N6 rocket, which is equipped with the S-500, is already used in the S-400 and is not unique.

Combat crews of the S-400 air defense system take up combat duty at the training ground in the Brest region during military drills in Belarus. (Russian Defence Ministry Press Service via AP)

In 2014, reports noted the S-500 was to launch 77N6-H and 77N6-H1 missiles. Since then, the development of the former was confirmed, but the status of the latter, meant to be able to destroy satellites in low Earth orbit and feature a low-yield nuclear warhead, is unclear.

According to its characteristics, the S-500 seems to be superior to the S-400, but it falls decently short of THAAD  there is no exoatmospheric interception. The dimensions of its 77N6-N anti-missiles are smaller than the PRS-1M/53T6 missiles of the Nudol [anti-satellite] system, [therefore the formers] interception height is lower, Luzin said.

According to a Russian colonel who spoke on the condition of anonymity for safety, the second stage of the 77N6-N anti-aircraft missile is identical to the second stage of the 9M82MV missile used by the S-300s V4 variant. The first stage has aerodynamic controls that maintain efficiency only in the upper stratosphere and lower mesosphere layers, about 50 kilometers above Earths surface, the colonel added. If it were to maneuver in low orbit areas, the 77N6-N would require a compact and light third combat stage, but there is no such stage.

Experts interviewed by Defense News doubt the 77N6-N and 77N6-N1 missiles can provide the S-500 with the accuracy required for its mission. These missiles were supposed to be the first Russian missiles with inert warheads, but the domestic industry has been unable to acquire the necessary quality of electronics, Luzin and the colonel each told Defense News.

Furthermore, the minister of industry and trade, Denis Manturov, said in June that the S-500 will be able to intercept hypersonic missiles. However, the S-500 has not undergone testing for this capability, the colonel explained, and it doesnt appear Russia has target missiles that would mirror the characteristics of a hypersonic weapon.

Plans for an S-550

The State Armament Program is also expected to accomplish by 2027 the creation of the S-550, an anti-missile and anti-space system with improved detection capabilities and a greater range compared to the S-400 and S-500. The Aerospace Forces are to receive the S-550 by 2025.

Putin in November 2021 emphasized the importance of supplying S-550 systems to the military during a meeting with defense and industry officials, according to Shoigu.

That same month, Chemezov, the Rostec chief executive, said the S-550 would feature a longer detection range and improved missile range compared to existing air defense systems.

Experts interviewed by Defense News differed in their assessments of the S-550s potential capabilities, but did agree the system will complement the capabilities of the S-500, and that its main purpose will either be to defeat hypersonic targets or satellites.

There is currently no evidence Russia has developed the S-550.
White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre has expressed condolences to Ukraine over the Russian strike on the village of Hroza, Kharkiv Oblast, which killed 51 people.

Source: Karine Jean-Pierre during a press briefing

Details: Jean-Pierre stressed that Russia continues to carry out daily attacks on Ukraine.

"Can you imagine, just walking to the grocery store with your kids, trying to figure out what it is that youre going to make for dinner. And you see an explosion happen. Bodies are everywhere. And its horrifying. It is incredibly horrifying for the people of Ukraine, for the folks like yourselves, your colleagues who are reporting this on the ground, and it is for these families and these kids. So this is what is happening in Ukraine every day," Jean-Pierre said.

"This is why we are doing everything that we can to help Ukraine, to help the brave people of Ukraine to fight for their freedom, to fight for their democracy," she added.

Background:

On Thursday afternoon, Russian troops attacked a cafe and a store in the village of Hroza, Kharkiv Oblast. Preliminary data indicated that the place was hit by an Iskander missile. As of now, 51 people were killed, including children, and six more were injured.

This is the most massive attack by the Russian Federation in Kharkiv Oblast since the beginning of the full-scale invasion. Ihor Klymenko, Ukraines Minister of Internal Affairs, said that a memorial dinner for a deceased resident was being held in the cafe, which was attended by almost a third of the village (according to the census, 330 residents were registered there).

The Russian attack has already been condemned by Marija Pejcinovic Buric, the Secretary General of the Council of Europe, UK Ambassador Martin Harris and Estonian President Alar Karis.

Ukrainska Pravda is the place where you will find the most up-to-date information about everything related to the war in Ukraine. Follow us on Twitter, support us, or become our patron!
KAC to develop Gimpo airport into business-friendly Northeast Asia travel hub

By Lee Hae-rin

The Korea Airports Corp. (KAC) is expected to see a turnaround next year in the number of air passengers, a year earlier than anticipated, as seven international airports across the country, excluding Incheon International Airport, are expected to surpass their pre-pandemic records for international travelers as demand grows for inbound tourism and newly established flight routes.

We expect to see over 10 million international travelers by the end of this month. By the end of this year, the figure is expected to reach 13 million, which is a 64 percent recovery to pre-pandemic levels from 2019, KAC President Yoon Hyeong-jung said during a press conference at the companys headquarters in Seoul, Thursday.

The KAC operates seven international airports at Gimpo, Gimhae, Jeju, Cheongju, Daegu, Muan and Yangyang, which saw a total record high of 20.3 million international travelers in 2019 before the COVID-19 pandemic.

Spurred by growing travel demand after China lifted restrictions on group tours to Korea and new air routes connecting Gimpo to Taiwans Kaosiung, Daegu to Mongolia and Cheongju to several Japanese and Southeast Asian cities, the KAC estimates that the figure will surpass 22 million next year.

Thus, the airport operator expects a turnaround starting next May, which is one year sooner than its original estimate of 2025, thereby creating a net income of around 21.1 billion won by year's end.

The KAC also plans to work with overseas airlines during a global aviation route development conference in Istanbul, which is scheduled for later this month, to establish additional international routes connecting Gimhae airport to the Americas and Europe, Yoon said.

Gimhae airport, located in the countrys second-largest city of Busan on the southeastern coast, operates flights only to neighboring Asian countries including Japan, China, Vietnam, Singapore and Thailand despite growing local demand for long-distance international travel.

The airport takes only about 16 percent of the countrys international air routes, which is significantly lower than the global average of countries second airports which stands at around 50 percent, Yoon explained, underscoring the inconvenience experienced by southerners having to travel to Incheon to go on long-distance trips.

In celebration of the 20th anniversary of the Gimpo-Haneda route, which was established after the Korea-Japan summit in 2003, the company seeks to develop the airport into a Northeast Asia business hub airport, connecting Korea, China and Japan.

The KAC will enhance the existing air route connection between the three countries capitals  Seoul, Beijing and Tokyo  as well as develop additional business travel routes between Seoul and the major cities of Shanghai and Osaka.

The airport plans to introduce fast-track gates, a business lounge and coworking spaces for business travelers to convene.

Also, in celebration of the flight routes anniversary, Gimpo airport will host several cultural events in November featuring the two countries cultures, including a fashion show and photo and food exhibitions.

Meanwhile, the KAC expects to sign a 34 billion won-scale government-to-government (G2G) deal this month with the Peruvian government to assist in management of Chincero International Airport until 2026.

The company has shared its airport management know-how based on 43 years of experience operating international airports in 13 countries.

If signed, it will be Koreas first G2G deal in the infrastructure sector and the company will assist Perus Ministry of Transport and Communications to make plans for airport management, acquire airport certificates and obtain equipment and facilities, which will all be completed in 2026.

The KAC will work to accelerate the recovery of international flight demand to go beyond pre-pandemic levels from 2019 and demonstrate the companys expertise with international projects in market expansion, Yoon said.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The White House is making plans for a face-to-face meeting between U.S. President Joe Biden and Chinese leader Xi Jinping in San Francisco next month as the two countries seek to stabilize troubled relations, the Washington Post reported on Thursday.

Ties between the world's two largest economies have been strained in recent years due to a number of issues including Taiwan, the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic, allegations of spying, human rights issues and trade tariffs, among others.

The newspaper, which cited senior unidentified U.S. officials, quoted one of them as saying the possibility of a meeting was "pretty firm."

"We're beginning the process" of planning, the official was quoted as saying by the newspaper.

The Chinese embassy in Washington did not comment specifically on the newspaper report. A spokesperson of the embassy said in an emailed statement that the two countries remained in communication and needed to expand "good faith" cooperation. The White House did not have an immediate comment.

The meeting would follow other high-level engagements between the two countries in recent months that have seen visits from U.S. officials to China like Secretary of State Antony Blinken in June, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen in July and Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo in August.

More recently, Blinken met Chinese Vice President Han Zheng in New York and U.S. national security adviser Jake Sullivan met Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Malta.

Biden and Xi's last meeting was on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Indonesia in November 2022, which was their first in person meeting since Biden became president. They previously had five exchanges by phone and video conference after Biden took office.

China's top security agency hinted last month any meeting between Xi and Biden will depend on the United States "showing sufficient sincerity."

U.S. officials like Raimondo and Yellen have recently said the United States did not want to decouple from China but Beijing has expressed concern over U.S. approval of arms sales and military financing to Taiwan.

San Francisco will host an Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in November that Xi may attend. Xi recently skipped the G20 summit in New Delhi that Biden attended.

(Reporting by Jasper Ward and Kanishka Singh; editing by Chris Sanders, Chris Reese and Kim Coghill)
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN)  While centuries of folklore and various legends have led to bats being considered creepy critters, the tiny, winged mammals are actually harmless, and play an important role as natures pest controllers.

But, according to biologists like Pete Pattavina with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, many species of bats found within Tennessee are in trouble amid the spread of a fungal disease that, for some, means almost certain death when its contracted.

Nearly 86,000 bats found in East Tennessee cave

White-Nose Syndrome in Tennessee is behaving very much like it has throughout the rest of the Appalachians and Midwest, so were seeing incredibly dramatic declines in about three or four species, which would be the species that hibernate in caves, Pattavina said.

A healthy bat. (Courtesy: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service)

Biologists first saw bats sick and dying from White-Nose Syndrome in 2007 in caves near Albany, New York. However, cave explorers in that area had spotted bats with a white powder on their noses the year before, meaning the disease has been in North America since at least 2006.

Pattavina said it started spreading to Tennessee caves in 2010 and has since become a statewide issue. The number of deaths nationwide is in the millions, and in Tennessee, species like northern long-eared bats have declined by around 97% to 99%.

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Its almost certain death for species such as northern long-eared bats, and we dont have much evidence yet that if you survive an infection one year that you might not die the next year from the same infection, Pattavina said.

What causes white-nose syndrome?

The disease is caused by a fungus called Pseudogymnoascus destructans, or Pd for short, that grows in cold, dark, and damp places. Typically, Pattavina said mammals are able to stave off fungal infections because most cannot survive at temperatures higher than 75 to 80 degrees.

However, when a bat goes into hibernation, its temperature comes down to about the same temperature as a cave. The fungal pathogen then attacks the bare skin of bats, causing small lesions and a white fuzz on their faces, which is how the disease got its name.

A bat with white-nose syndrome. (Courtesy: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service)

It can be very irritating and so it causes bats to wake up more frequently than they would like to during hibernation, Pattavina said. A bat really has to manage its energetic resources during hibernation. It builds fat all summer and all fall to go into hibernation and a healthy state.

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As bats become more active than usual, they end up burning fat they need to survive the winter. Bats with White-Nose Syndrome may also do strange things like fly outside in the daytime in the winter or leave a cave earlier than normal.

In late December, January and February, Pattavina said there are no insects for them to feed on, and many starve to death. In addition to northern long-eared bats, which are listed as endangered, there are three other species experiencing dramatic declines in Tennessee.

Different impacts on different species

Indiana bats, another endangered species, little brown bats and tricolored bats are all dying at extremely high rates. One of the exceptions is the gray bat, which Pattavina said has mysteriously managed to persist in the face of the fungal pathogen and survive white-nose syndrome.

Five animals in TN you might not have known are endangered

Biologists are still trying to understand why gray bats dont seem to be affected as much as other species, but Pattavina said it could be related to factors like their bulkier bodies or the sites where they choose to hibernate.

A healthy bat. (Courtesy: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service)

Many of the caves gray bats choose to hibernate in are sinkholes and they become cold air traps, he said. So, it could be that they are hibernating at very low temperatures and the fungus doesnt get a toehold to go into a pathogenic state.

Some researchers have also observed behavioral changes in gray bats where theyve shifted where they choose to roost. Pattavina said that could be a response to White-Nose Syndrome.

Where did White-Nose Syndrome come from?

While biologists havent ever been able to pinpoint where exactly White-Nose Syndrome came from, Pattavina said they know the fungal pathogen arrived from somewhere in Eurasia.

The fungus is widespread overseas, but he said bats in Europe and Asia have co-evolved with it, so it doesnt appear to affect them as much.

Helping Hellbenders: Tennessee animal experts aim to save dwindling salamander population

Anything that goes from cave to cave can spread the fungal pathogen and white-nose syndrome. What we see mostly in the United States is the disease being spread by bats, Pattavina said. So, it didnt take very long, about five years, for White-Nose Syndrome to come from New York State, where it was first discovered, to Tennessee.

The disease can also be spread by human contact through caving equipment, mining trucks and mining gear. Pattavina said White-Nose Syndrome has recently spread as far as the West Coast, with a large jump in cases around 2018.

Ripple effects on ecosystems and finding a cure

White-Nose Syndromes impact on bats also has ripple effects on various ecosystems and peoples way of life.

Looking at just the corn growing process alone, Pattavina said some studies have shown bats save the U.S. agricultural industry nearly $1 billion a year by eating pests like pickleworm moths.

Endangered animals in Tennessee: The species being monitored by U.S. Fish and Wildlife

Weve actually even found and tracked bats migrating with swarms of pickleworm moths from Florida, he said. So, they are actually following these swarms of migrating agricultural pests and feeding on them, sometimes fairly high up in altitude.

A bat with white-nose syndrome. (Courtesy: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service)

There currently is no cure for White-Nose Syndrome, but scientists from all over the world are working together to study the disease, as well as measures that can help decontaminate sites where bats hibernate and spend most of their time.

Weve seen naturally occurring compounds like volatile organics, things like essential oils for instance, like spearmint oils and orange oils, actually produce an antifungal compound that the fungal pathogen is actually very sensitive to, Pattavina said.

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Ultraviolet light also tends to kill the fungus, but Pattavina said there are 12,000 caves in Tennessee alone and other sensitive organisms that have to be taken into consideration.

Its almost impossible to decontaminate all bat roosts, he said. And so, we can treat them in the winter, but we also dont want to contribute to the problem because their hibernation is such a sensitive period. So, we have to find a cure for White-Nose Syndrome.

How you can help

Studying the resiliency of some colonies may lead to more conservation options in the future, but there are also ways the average person can help protect bats in the meantime. One way is to put up a bat house, or an artificial shelter that provides a roosting space for bats.

Certain vegetation can also be planted around homes to attract moths and other types of insects bats typically eat. In addition, Pattavina suggests becoming a citizen scientist with the Tennesse Bat Working Group and helping monitor bat colonies.

You can count our bats because bats occur in so many places in Tennessee, theres no way that we can monitor them all, he said.

 Read todays top stories on wkrn.com

Cavers can join their local grotto to learn how to cave responsibly and prevent the spread of White-Nose Syndrome, and those who encounter a bat inside their home should hire a responsible nuisance wildlife coordinator to safely relocate the animal.

Theres lots of things that the average person can do to help bats, Pattavina said. Were trying to protect colonies that are doing well in addition to trying to find different types of treatment measures that we can use to treat bats themselves.

To find out more about White-Nose Syndrome, response plans, and helping bats survive, click here.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WKRN News 2.
While Gov. Gretchen Whitmer says she believes Ford Motor Co. will resume its work to build a battery plant near Marshall once the UAW strike ends, she said Thursday that leadership at the company has not told her that they're looking for a strike resolution to resume construction.

"I've not heard that specifically, but I think like anyone that's perhaps one of the  I assume that's one of the  issues at hand," Whitmer told the Free Press on Thursday.

Ford publicly shared its decision to pause construction at the Marshall site last week. "We're pausing work and limiting spending on construction on the Marshall site, effective today, until were confident about our ability to competitively operate the plant," Ford spokesman T.R. Reid told the Detroit Free Press last Monday. "We haven't made any final decision about the planned investment there." Ford CEO Jim Farley said later that its battery plant plans in Michigan could change in scope either becoming bigger or smaller and that its pause could help the company determine next steps.

At the beginning of the year, Whitmer joined top executives at Ford to celebrate the company's decision to create a battery plant in Michigan. The $3.5 billion investment from Ford to create 2,500 jobs at the site is slated to receive about $1.8 billion in public subsidies.

Shortly after the UAW strike against the Detroit Three entered its second week, Ford announced its construction pause.

"There are lots of implications from these negotiations and at the end of the day, I believe that once they are concluded, we will continue to move forward on Marshall," Whitmer told reporters earlier this week. On Thursday, she reiterated concerns about a long UAW strike and once again emphasized that she thinks the battery plant is key to securing Michigan's economic leadership in the auto industry as it moves toward electric vehicle production.

"Well, I think everyone knows that this kind of project is really pivotal as this mobility sector transitions. We've worked very closely with Ford," she said. "I'm just hoping that it's not a prolonged strike because you know a lot of this is contingent upon Ford being able to compete and to be profitable. And so workers deserve a fair contract but Ford also has to be a strong ongoing concern for us to realize all the goals that we've set as an administration."

The quality of jobs at future battery plants is a sticking point in contract negotiations between the UAW and automakers. UAW President Shawn Fain has repeatedly expressed his concerns that the auto industrys transition to electric vehicles threatens to leave workers behind. Ford asserts that current employees won't lose jobs because of battery plants and notes that future workers could choose the UAW to represent them.

Gov. Whitmer: Possibility of prolonged UAW strike 'concerns me greatly'

Whitmer has championed the state's deal with Ford and others her administration has made to land electric vehicle-related plants in Michigan as a path for creating good-paying manufacturing jobs in the state. Those deals have encountered pushback from some local residents and reservations from lawmakers uncomfortable with the level of public spending going to corporations.

State Sen. Mallory McMorrow, D-Royal Oak  who leads the Senate Economic and Community Development Committee  unveiled a legislative package this week billed as an overhaul of the main business subsidy fund the Whitmer administration has used to land electric vehicle investments, including the Ford battery plant.

Under McMorrow's proposal, companies receiving business subsidies would have to demonstrate local engagement with the community where it plans to locate a project while the state would require 20% of subsidies go toward community investments as part of its deals with companies.

"These are direct investments into a community. It's not to the company. It's not to site development." McMorrow told reporters. It's to fund various local needs from child care to infrastructure, she said.

Whitmer said she's generally on board with the changes which she said her administration helped shape and plans to monitor closely as the package advances through the Legislature.

Contact Clara Hendrickson: chendrickson@freepress.com or 313-296-5743. Follow her on X, previously called Twitter, @clarajanehen.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Whitmer: Ford hasn't said end of UAW strike means Marshall re-start
Former Franklin County Sheriff's SWAT deputy Jason Meade, right, with one of his defense attorneys, Mark Collins, on Feb. 23, 2023 in Franklin County Common Pleas Court.

Decisions about whether to allow bloody earbuds, audio of the defendant's philosophy on using force, other evidence and witnesses have again delayed the murder trial of former Franklin County Sheriff's SWAT deputy Michael Jason Meade.

Franklin County Common Pleas Judge David Young issued an order late last week rescheduling the trials start date from later this month to Jan. 29 and set a pre-trial hearing for Dec. 11  both dates more than three years after Meade fatally shot Casey Goodson Jr., 23, on Dec. 4, 2020.

Gary Shroyer, one of two special prosecutors Franklin County Prosecutor Gary Tyack appointed to the case along with Tim Merkle, told The Dispatch both sides needed more time to file motions related to expert witnesses the defense wants to call.

Mark Collins, one of Meade's defense attorneys, declined to comment.

In addition to any disagreement over experts the defense wants to use, the defense and prosecution have already filed motions in recent months disagreeing over whether the prosecution may show certain evidence to the jury.

The defense wants Young to rule that prosecutors may not use the following evidence at trial:

Testimony that Goodson was wearing Apple AirPods in his ears when he was shot.

An audio recording of Meade speaking at a Baptist convention in 2018 about his philosophy on using force, during which he talked about how he is justified in throwing the first punch.

Reports on other times Meade used force as a deputy over the years.

What we know about the shooting

Meade shot Goodson, who had a concealed carry permit, as he was entering a home on the 3900 block of Estates Park, where he lived with his grandmother.

Through his attorneys, Meade has said he saw Goodson waving a gun around while driving and pointing it at Meade and other drivers. Meade, who had just finished an assignment as a member of the U.S. Marshals SOFAST task force when Goodson drove by, said he followed Goodson to the house and repeatedly told Goodson to show his hands. But Meade alleges Goodson turned toward him pointing a gun, and thats when the deputy says he shot him.

According to an autopsy, Goodson was shot six times, including five times in the back. Goodsons family has said that Goodson was carrying Subway sandwiches for the family to eat and had put the key into a door that led to the home's kitchen when he was shot.

The bloody earbuds

In September 2022, Goodson's family, through their attorneys, put out a photograph they say shows bloody AirPods that Goodson was wearing when he was shot. The family says police left them behind at the scene.

According to Meades defense team, the deputy didnt know about the earbuds at the time. So, the defense argues, bringing up the earbuds at trial would allow the jury to use hindsight to assess Meades decision to use deadly force in killing Goodson, which is prohibited by U.S. Supreme Court precedent.

The prosecution countered in court documents that evidence of Goodson listening to music through his earbuds raises serious doubts about the defendants claim that Goodson turned and pointed a gun at him immediately before he killed him.

A recording of Jason Meade discussing his beliefs

The defense also wants to exclude from trial an audio recording which The Dispatch reported on shortly after the 2020 shooting. The recording is of Meade speaking to fellow Free Will Baptist Pastors at a conference in 2018.

Meades defense team argues that this recording includes Meade discussing his religious beliefs and interpretation of scripture, which cannot be used at trial in Ohio.

If the audio is admitted, the state will point to Meades references to David and Goliath, being willing to throw the first punch, and his justification for righteous release to portray him as a rogue officer who aggressively hunted Casey Goodson, the defense argues.

Prosecutors disagree with the defenses interpretation of Ohios rules about this evidence.

The defendants bias against Casey is plainly relevant under the legal parameters," the prosecution argues in its filing. "The defendants prior statements about his policing philosophy reveal his belief that he is always justified in preemptively using physical force against suspects.

More: Video shows dispute between Jason Meade, neighbor over Casey Goodson Jr. shooting

Prior uses of force

In addition to the ear buds and the audio tape, the defense doesnt want prosecutors to be able to present at trial reports on Meades prior uses of force as a deputy with the Franklin County Sheriff's Office.

According to Meades attorneys, his supervisors found those uses of force were reasonable, and they again point to Ohios evidence rules that state evidence about prior acts cannot be used to prove a persons character.

Prosecutors said in court filings they dont plan to introduce these reports on force from 2017 through 2020 as evidence in their case, but want to reserve the right to bring them up in rebuttal.

Meade, who took early retirement from the Sheriff's Office in 2021 after 17 years of service, remains out on bond pending trial.

More: Casey Goodson wanted to impact the world, family and friends said at his funeral

Goodson's family is frustrated

Sean Walton, a Columbus attorney who is representing Goodson's mother, Tamala Payne, told The Dispatch that the family is frustrated by all the delays.

This is pretty standard in terms of procedural delays  (though) every delay with every part of the system has just caused this family more anguish, Walton said. We cant have any further delays. We need swift justice.

Walton said the delay of Meade's criminal trial has also put on hold the familys federal civil rights lawsuit against Meade, which is also frustrating for them.

jlaird@dispatch.com

@LairdWrites

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Why was ex-deputy Jason Meade's murder trial postponed again?
HERSHEY, Pa.  It takes Jason Pedersen eight minutes to walk between the elementary and middle schools of Derry Township School District in Hershey, Pennsylvania, where he works as one of three districtwide school psychologists.

I'm across two buildings and thankfully, they're only an eight-minute walk apart, unlike some people who would have to drive miles and miles and miles, which impacts your ability to provide the services, he told USA TODAY. It's still a challenge.

If a student in one building needs him, but he's in the other, Pedersen said he may not be in the right place at the right time.

"I might not be here when someone needs me," he said from the district's middle school, days before the 2023-2024 school year began.

The National Association of School Psychologists recommends a ratio of one school psychologist per every 500 students. Derry Township School District's ratio is 1 to 1,100  more than double.

Experts told USA TODAY shortages of school psychologists, counselors and social workers have been an ongoing problem for decades, but have become more apparent after the COVID-19 pandemic and recurrent school shootings. Now, theres increasing pressure on school districts to support students with these resources.

Jason Pedersen, a school psychologist at Derry Township School District School in Pennsylvania, is one of the district's three school psychologists.

Pedersen and school administrators at Derry Township School District have strategized to come up with best practices to offer mental health services to students despite the shortages and a lack of permanent resources to fund staff. The district is finding its own innovative solutions like contracting with an agency to provide school-based outpatient therapy, establishing a concierge service to connect students to mental health providers and using multitiered systems of support that serve as a framework guiding school psychologists on how to be intentional with using the resources they have to help students.

Lawmakers on Capitol Hill are proposing answers for how to address the problem. But after Congress punted a deadline for government spending to November and negotiations continue while the House is without a permanent speaker, it remains up in the air whether America's schools will receive what they need for adequate mental health resources.

One in 5 children experience a mental health disorder each year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Many of those children dont receive services at all and of those who do, 70% to 80% access them at schools, according to the National Association of School Psychologists.

Some House Republicans have floated cutting billions from the Department of Education during the appropriations process. The White House estimates proposed cuts could result in up to 40,000 fewer teachers, aides and other key staff at schools nationwide. Other lawmakers and advocates are pushing to fund additional mental health resources for school districts and pass legislation that would create permanent funding streams for these services.

We expect our schools to do more for children than what we perhaps expected 50 years ago, but weve not been provided the kinds of resources that schools need, said Lynn Bufka, the associate chief of practice transformation at the American Psychological Association.

What experts recommend

Experts recommend each school district have a trio of school counselors, social workers and school psychologists who work together to provide mental health services for students.

But thats rarely a reality.

School districts nationwide are also seeing personnel shortages of school counselors, according to Amanda Fitzgerald, the assistant deputy executive director at the American School Counselor Association.

School counselors focus on post-secondary work like helping students apply to colleges and be successful after high school. They often run baseline mental health services like holding grief groups and providing anti-bullying programs.

When a student needs more intensive services, a school psychologist gets involved  if there is one. But if a districts school psychologist is nonexistent or they are overburdened, school counselors often have to step up to the plate.

The American School Counselor Association recommends a ratio of 250 students per school counselor.

If we try to staff the whole country at 1 to 250, there definitely would not be enough school counselors to fit those positions and in some places, its just much more exacerbated, Fitzgerald said, adding that rural areas face even worse shortages.

Why are there shortages?

An empty elementary school classroom is seen on Tuesday, Aug. 17, 2021 in the Bronx borough of New York.

Experts told USA TODAY the shortages stem from two problems: A lack of permanent funding for school districts and the increasingly high cost of higher education programs for prospective mental health providers.

Kelly Vaillancourt Strobach, the policy and advocacy director at the National Association of School Psychologists and a school psychologist herself, said the shortage has been an ongoing problem for decades.

Strobach estimates it would take 20 to 25 years to address school psychologists shortages. The country needs an additional 60,000 school psychologists to meet the recommended ratio.

The national ratio for the 2021-2022 school year was 1,127 students per 1 school psychologist. Only one state, Utah, meets the recommended ratio of 1 to 500.

Its not an easy path to become a school psychologist, Strobach said. Most working school psychologists have a specialist degree which includes three years of graduate education and requires an internship that many districts cant fund. This hinders recruitment efforts and makes it challenging to attract students to the profession when prospective student psychologists often have to pay for tuition, living expenses and even moving costs to relocate to work at a district.

When theres a shortage of school psychologists, other responsibilities get a lower priority.

Because school psychologists must complete student evaluations for special education services, they often get pigeonholed into primarily completing evaluations, with limited opportunity to provide additional support.

We always seem to hear all these calls and all these big movements around addressing the shortages after a crisis... these people are there to do so much more than address crises, Strobach said.

A need for permanent funding

President Joe Biden signs into law S. 2938, the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act gun safety bill, in the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington, D.C., on June 25, 2022.

Kari Oyen is the school psychology program director at the University of South Dakota located in a city with a population of 12,000. The university received a $3 million grant to use over the next five years to conduct a statewide needs assessment. The funding comes from the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act passed during the pandemic.

The school psychology program has just three full-time faculty and is the only training program in the state.

The ratio in South Dakota is 1 school psychologist for every 1,650 students  three times higher than the recommended ratio. Oyen said one of her colleagues logs 900 miles per month traveling throughout the state to ensure children receive high-quality school mental health services.

The Bipartisan Safer Communities Act funded two grant programs to address mental health resources in schools nationwide over the next five years. One grant focuses on training prospective mental health providers by funding new graduate programs or providing loan forgiveness and tuition stipends. The other provides grants to districts and states to hire and retain mental health service providers.

Ideally, this should become a yearly pot of money that's available to everyone, Strobach said.

Experts like Strobach say funding one round of grantees does not address the long-term problem of solving these shortages. They say Congress could help address the problem by funding more permanent solutions  recurring training programs, yearly grants, or requiring paid internships by law for prospective school psychologists.

In Pennsylvania, the state legislature recently passed legislation making internship grants permanent and a recurring line on the state budget. Districts can now apply through the state for funding to pay for interns. Ohio has a similar program.

A legislative effort

Sen. Raphael Warnock, D-Ga., a senior pastor at Ebenezer Baptist Church, speaks at the church.

Sen. Raphael Warnock, D-Ga., introduced the Advancing Student Services in Schools Today, or ASSIST Act, earlier this year which seeks to help schools increase the number of mental health and substance use disorder professionals.

Warnock said the shortages of mental health providers are a problem in Georgia and across the country. He added that there needs to be more focus on funding issues and the pipeline problem to get young people trained.

Mental health is health care and the failure to see that is an issue with respect to mental health care not only for our students but for the general population, he said.

Warnocks colleagues have introduced similar bills to address the shortages.

Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., co-introduced the bipartisan Mental Health Excellence in Schools Act last May that would authorize the Department of Education to partner with higher education institutions to help cover the cost of graduate programs for prospective school mental health workers.

I think theres no time to waste because its a long-term challenge, she told USA TODAY.

Shaheen, a former teacher, said she was always concerned about her students entire well-being, not just what they were learning in the classroom.

If we dont address mental health when we see problems appear, then its going to affect someones ability to have the opportunities that they need to earn a decent living, to be successful either in school and afterward and its going to wind up costing more money in the long run, she said.

In the House, Reps. Brian Fitzpatrick, R-Pa., and Jared Golden, D-Maine, lead a companion version of this bill.

Rep. Jamaal Bowman, D-N.Y., said counselors are as important as teachers and administrators and in some cases, theyre even more important.

A former middle school principal in the Bronx, Bowman called the shortages dire. He recalled how he witnessed an increase in suicidal ideation and self-harm among students in his former role. When his school first opened in 2009, he made it a point to hire a social worker and a school counselor even before hiring an assistant principal.

This crisis is a life or death crisis in terms of the shortages of counselors, social workers and school psychologists, he said.

Bowman said there needs to be a policy that consistently funds schools equitably regardless of Democratic or Republican leadership.

(Its) a powerful thing that I think we absolutely have to do, he said.

'Puzzle that fits together'

Derry Township School District School Psychologist Jason Pedersen and Superintendent Stacey Winslow have strategized to offer students mental health resources despite staffing shortages in Pennsylvania.

Back in Hershey, Pennsylvania, Pedersen has worked as a school psychologist for more than 25 years, spending 15 years with Derry Township School District.

In addition to the three psychologists, Derry Township School District has one social worker and 11 school counselors who focus on the day-to-day interactions with students. Pederson said he views all the roles as a puzzle that fits together.

Public education is the key to a democratic society and its your best shot, its our best shot as a nation for reaching as many students as possible with effective resources, Derry Township School District Superintendent Stacy Winslow said.

Its a lot more cost-effective to pay for a mental health service for an 8-year-old than it is for an adult, Pedersen added.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Mental health crisis in schools could get worse after shutdown averted
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo.  Comparing Missouris continuous drought to the Dust Bowl era, federal and state officials said they are concerned about the states rainfall totals.

Its been the topic of the summer: drought. Experts said at Tuesdays Drought Assessment Committee meeting that conditions are expected to persist into the winter months.

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Besides the impact on the agriculture industry, Missouri Gov. Mike Parson said hes hoping for large snowfalls in the northern states this winter to help with navigation on the rivers.

You have to be hoping for things in the upper basin of the Mississippi and Missouri rivers that were going to get some snow that comes down from the northern states to help us because the other problem were looking at is the rivers, just being able to get up and down it, and if those happen to shut down, thats another huge impact to the economy, Parson said.

The drought continues to take a toll on one of Missouris largest industries. The lack of rainfall leaves farmers to make tough decisions, like sending cattle to market early.

I know my friends down at home; a lot of them sold cattle already because they cant afford to buy the hay, and they dont have the grass, Parson said.

A farmer himself, Parson said his son has been feeding hay since July, something that normally doesnt happen until December or January.

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The Drought Assessment Committee was activated after Parson signed an executive order earlier this spring declaring a drought alert. The group is made up of state and federal agencies.

Missouri Department of Agriculture Deputy Director Chris Kleklen told the group that the drought is now impacting the navigation of harvested crops, requiring the loads on barges to be lightened.

When youre used to loading barges in St. Louis at 65,000 bushels, and youre loading it at 40,000 to get it through lower water, you cant be that competitive; you cant be as efficient, Klenklen said.

Farmers are not being offered as good of a price for their grain because its going to cost a lot more to get the grain moved from here to New Orleans if its on the river.

Some parts of the state have been in continuous drought conditions for nearly two years. Mark Fuchs with the National Weather Service told the committee Wednesday that its been nearly a century since Missouri has seen anything like this.

FOX4 Weather: View the latest Kansas City forecasts, maps and radar

The only thing that comes to mind is the Dust Bowl era in the 30s, Fuchs said. Then, about 20 years later, we had some really dry and hot conditions in the early to mid-50s. Both of those periods effected Missouri quite a bit statewide.

While most of the state saw rainfall in August, which improved conditions, precipitation outlooks for the coming weeks and months dont look promising.

While Im concerned about this drought and concerned particularly going into this winter, if we dont see some relief going into the spring, we could be in a very dire situation, director for the Missouri Department of Natural Resources Dru Buntin said.

State climatologist Zach Leasor warned the committee that fire risks are elevating across the state due to dry conditions and low humidity.

Dry days with lower humidity and high winds, it really only takes one day to have bad fire weather conditions with fuel that is there from drought conditions, Leasor said.

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If we dont see a lot of rainfall in the next three months, I think we are going to have a lot of locations that are going to have back-to-back, year-long precipitation totals that were below normal, and maybe we do start to think about this as a continuous two-year drought.

Back in August, Leasor told the committee that high evaporation rates were causing the state to lose roughly a quarter of an inch of rainfall back into the atmosphere each day. With temperatures starting to reach normal for this time of year, Leasor said rates arent as high.

As of Sept. 28, the U.S. Drought Monitor showed central and western parts of the state experiencing an extreme drought, while other areas are in a severe and moderate drought. Southwest and southeast Missouri are the only two parts of the state where there is no drought.

Whether youre on a farm or not, youre going to be affected by it [the drought] because if farmers cant produce their crop and they cant get their product to the table, thats going to cost the everyday consumer. Parson said.

The reality of it is, most people arent going to be over this until sometime, probably next year, we hope.

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Farmers can now access emergency water or hay in the following ways:

Boat ramps at 25 Missouri state parks will be open for farmers to collect water, with almost 700 acres available for haying at 17 state parks.

Boat ramps in 36 Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) areas are also now open for water collection.

The Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT) is offering special over-width hauling permits at no charge to help farmers and ranchers move hay.

The Department of Agriculture does offer a mental health resource for the farming community.

The AgriStress hotline is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Producers can call or text 833-897-2474 to speak to a healthcare professional.

DNR is asking Missouri residents to submit information about the local drought conditions online. Buntin said this can help the committee create more accurate maps, allowing members to work better with state and federal partners.

NOAA releases 2023-2024 winter prediction for Kansas City

DNR also has a variety of resources online and continues to add information on drought mitigation and assistance opportunities. The group plans to meet again in September.

The committee is recommending the governor extend his executive order, allowing the group to continue to meet until early spring. The order was set to expire on Dec. 1. The group plans to meet again in early December.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX 4 Kansas City WDAF-TV | News, Weather, Sports.
PATERSON  The president of the citys PBA said he wants assault charges to be filed against Councilman Michael Jackson for shoving a police officer during Tuesday nights council meeting at City Hall.

The incident happened when the police officer intervened after Jackson walked across the room and angrily leaned over one of his council colleagues, Luis Velez. Jackson said Velez was heckling him while he talked about a family member being killed in a street shooting on Sunday.

The police officer stepped between Velez  who was seated  and Jackson. Then the cop put his hand on Jacksons arm, and Jackson responded by pushing the officer.

PBA president: Jackson 'playing with fire'

We cant allow him or anyone else to put their hands on one of our officers, said PBA President Angel Jimenez regarding Jackson. This guy has been playing with fire.

Paterson 1st Ward Councilman Michael Jackson.

Paterson police spokesman Rob Rowan declined to comment when asked if the department were going to press charges against Jackson.

Jackson on Wednesday morning restated the position he took Tuesday night, asserting that the officer had no reason to touch him.

I committed no crime, Jackson said. They cant assume that Im going to commit a crime.

The councilman acknowledged on Wednesday that his reaction to the officer was stronger than what he thought he had done.

I didnt realize I pushed him off me as hard as I did, Jackson said.

The PBA presidents said he would wait a few days to see whether the police department takes action against Jackson. If that doesnt happen, Jimenez said he personally would charge the councilman with assault on a police officer based on what he witnessed in a video recording of the meeting. Jimenez said he talked to the officer involved, Joel Torres, on Tuesday night after the incident.

I told him, Dont worry, were not letting this slide, Jimenez said.

Paterson 5th Ward Councilman Luis Velez.

The PBA president dismissed Jacksons explanation for shoving the police officer. Jimenez said the video showed Jackson had encroached on Velez, giving the officer reason to put his hand on Jackson to prevent any blows.

City Hall fracas: Paterson council meeting suspended amid chaos among officials and police officer

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How did Paterson activists react?

Meanwhile, Jackson also came under condemnation from one of Patersons outspoken activists, Ernest Rucker, a man whose statements are often aligned with Jacksons criticism of Mayor Andre Sayegh and the citys police department.

Rucker called Jackson a bully, who he said instigates trouble at council meeting to put on a show for social media and called the councilmans actions on Tuesday night disgraceful.

This has been building for some time, said Rucker, who posted a lengthy condemnation of Jackson on his Facebook page. He is threatening everyone, not just council members. Hes an embarrassment.

Rucker and Jackson encountered each other after the council meeting at the Elks Lodge bar.

Ernest Rucker was heavily intoxicated and threatened to shoot me, threatened to kill me, Jackson said. I dont take any of his accusations seriously.

David Gilmore, a Paterson activist who often has sided with Jackson in his criticism of Sayegh, said he was not present at the meeting, had not seen the video, and could not comment on what happened. Gilmore said he was concerned that the rift between Jackson and Rucker would have a splintering effect.

This is all childish to me, Gilmore said. Both of them, he responded when asked whether he thought it was Jackson or Rucker being childish.

At this point, we have bigger fish to fry, Gilmore said, referring to the mayor. You have to keep your eye on the prize.

Other anti-Sayegh activists expressed their understanding regarding Jacksons conduct on Tuesday.

Sebastian Mejia, who videorecorded Tuesdays incident, said Velez was making faces and talking while Jackson was speaking about his family members death. Mejia, who plans to run against Velez in the citys 5th Ward election next May, said he could not understand exactly what Velez was saying.

I saw a man who was dealing with a traumatic event, Mejia said of Jackson. He was being disrespected and he lashed out.

Activist Corey Teague gave similar views regarding Jacksons interaction with Velez, saying Velez had provoked him.

Paterson Press asked Teague about Jacksons shoving the police officer. I cant go along with that, Teague said. That shouldnt have happened.

Velez said he is asking the Passaic County Prosecutors Officer to examine Jacksons actions towards him.

Im in fear for my life, Velez said of Jackson. This guy could do anything.

Velez filed charges against Jackson in April, accusing him of harassment and terroristic threats after Jackson told him he would knock his teeth out in the council chambers. Jackson has acknowledged making that threat, saying he was reacting to Velez disrespectful behavior towards his mother at that meeting.

Jackson always has an excuse for everything, Velez said.

Joe Malinconico is editor of Paterson Press. Email: editor@patersonpress.com

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Paterson NJ PBA president wants councilman charged. Here's why
Protest by supporters of the Polish opposition, Warsaw, 1 October 2023

Warsaw-based journalist Olena Babakova explained in an interview with NV Radio on Oct. 2 how Kyiv got caught in the turbulence of Polish electoral politics.

NV: There was a statement by Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki, warning Ukraine against closer ties with Germany. This is how he was quoted by local media.

Babakova: Listening to Mateusz Morawiecki, we can say that there are less than two weeks left before the elections in Poland, and this was a piece of heavy rhetorical artillery being deployed.

NV: Im sure that a part of our audience doesnt understand at all where this discourse came from.

Is it a betrayal if [Ukrainian President Volodymyr] Zelenskyy supports Germany getting a permanent seat on the UN Security Council? Polish Twitter commentariat seems to think so.

Babakova: You know, its like when a television series has been running for 10 seasons and you must do a recap. Lets try [to explain it] briefly. Lets start with the fact that Germany is Ukraines ally as much as Poland. Ukraine is an official candidate for joining the European Union. Ukraine is a state that has declared its desire to be a NATO member. Both Warsaw and Berlin are members of both organizations. Therefore, theyre Ukraines allies, at least nominally, absolutely the same. Indeed, Poland has been very supportive of Ukraine both since 2014, and since the annexation of Crimea and the start of the war in the Donbas, and since the full-scale invasion, both at the level of diplomacy and military and economic cooperation.

Read also: Could Poland halt weapon shipments to Ukraine over grain dispute

One of the reasons for this is that the Law and Justice (PiS) party, which has been in power since 2015, can be called anti-Russian, precisely in this sense, if we mean the Russian state. Its clear that Ukraine is impressed by this now as we have a common enemy. But the broad context is greater, because PiS is not only an anti-Russian party, but its also an anti-German party. I would even say that some critics are tempted to call it an anti-EU party, although I dont really think so.

Criticism of Germany from PiS politicians, starting from the partys head and program ideologist Jarosaw Kaczynski, and ending with such party headliners as Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki, Interior Minister Mariusz Kaminski, Defense Minister Mariusz Baszczak, etc., relates to the fact that the relations between Warsaw and Berlin look quite tense during the last eight or nine years. There are several reasons. The reason, which is probably the most discussed in the Ukrainian media, is a similar conflict with Ukraine in the realm of historical politics.

In short: Poland believes that Germany didnt pay enough for the consequences of the Second World War. It paid in the direct financial sense, i.e., that Germany owes reparations to the Poles. The Polish Sejm [parliament] even has a special commission that calculates the amount of these reparations. However, it has been working for several years, but hasnt calculated everything. It [Germany] also owes in a symbolic sense. The German political discourse shows a great guilt towards the Jewish people and the state of Israel, which is obviously due to the Holocaust committed by Nazi Germany during WWII.

There is also guilt before Russia, which has become a one-state incarnation of the Soviet Union. Accordingly, all the wrongs inflicted on residents of the occupied Soviet territories, for some reason, they cause sympathy exclusively for the Russian people, but not for the Ukrainian and Belarusian people. Although, by the way, this is also changing. But in addition to this conflict in the realm of historical memory, there are also things that are more pragmatic. For example, the fact that Germany has proportionally too much influence on the EU common policy, both foreign and domestic.

This primarily concerns, e.g., climate policy. That is, Germany is very much promoting the green agenda. Its trying to make sure that mining, the use of coal and other fuel hydrocarbons are limited at the EU-wide level. This solution is useful for German business. On the other hand, e.g., for countries like Poland, which mines its own coal, and it occupies an important part of the national energy balance, this solution is not so useful. In addition, the modernization of industry itself is [expensive].

NV: We heard a very beautiful statement from German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock that the European Union would expand from Lisbon to Luhansk. Do we correctly understand that after all, when we talk about Ukraines European integration process, Germany can make such statements, but Poland cannot?

Babakova: I dont know. It seems to me that, in principle, Poland can also make such statements. Look. There are systemic problems in Polish-Ukrainian relations, and there are crisis moments. The crisis moment in which we are now is Poland before the elections. Poland before the elections and the grain crisis. Instead, there are certain systemic problems. The Polish-Ukrainian dialogue is full of great mutual sympathy, but its not full of great mutual trust, as we see at every critical moment. Since Warsaw is constantly suspecting its vis-a-vis, namely Kyiv, that the Ukrainians will begin to negotiate with other EU countries, and not with Poland, thus undermining some special status of Polish-Ukrainian relations.

Read also: What makes Poles weary of Ukraine

Similarly, Ukraine disregards Polish claims and Polish questions regarding Ukrainian domestic and foreign policy. Look. Its the same both under [former Ukrainian President Petro] Poroshenko and Zelenskyy. As soon as the Poles start to make some claims against the Ukrainians, whether in the realm of history or economy, what is the first answer of Ukrainians? This is all at the behest of the Kremlin. There are some real Poles who love Ukrainians very much, they help Ukrainians, and there are some wrong Poles who play into the Kremlins hands and start saying that theyre unhappy with something. Again, refusing to treat your vis-a-vis with respect.

As we can see, Warsaw behaves in a completely mirror-like manner. PiS politicians, e.g., former [Polish] Prime Minister Beata Szydo, wrote about it directly on her social networks, and not only her. I dont quote, but Im retelling the content. That there are some decent Ukrainians who are grateful to the Poles for help, for refugees, for military aid, and there are some wrong Ukrainian elites who are trying to play in tandem with Germany. Again, the reason for Kyivs actions is not its own economic interests, its not its own domestic policy, which may also be relevant for President Zelenskyy and his team. No.

It must be some kind of connection with an external entity, i.e., with Berlin. What do I see as a lack of respect? No matter how the Polish elections end, this problem, unfortunately, wont disappear. Part of the blame, if we can talk about blame here, is really on the Polish side. This is, in fact, the desire to be such an older brother for Ukrainians and tell them how to behave properly. But part of the blame lies with Ukraine. Poland has a daily expertise on Ukraine: there are several analytical centers with dozens of people professionally dealing with Ukraine.

At the same time, Kyiv begins to pay attention to relations with Poland only when something major happens. On the other hand, if we talk about systematic knowledge of Polish politics, who is who in Warsaw: theres almost no systematic interest in Polish politics, economy, interests of various stakeholders in Polish society and economy. That is, we start caring about relations with Warsaw only when a crisis moment arises. The crisis is over, everything is fine, Poland is our advocate in Europe, so we can go do something else.

NV: Kyiv just hosted a defense contractors forum. Ukraines ambassador to Poland said that no Polish company arrived, although we invited them. How can you explain such things? Is it connected with the elections and the tension around the Ukrainian issue?

Babakova: No, I dont think it is connected with the elections. If we talk about the economy, Ukraine is quite a risky market for investments. And it was before 2022, and after 2022 [even more]. By and large, investing in Ukraine is a certain luxury for businesses from relatively rich countries, which can compensate for their losses if something happens. Thats why Germany, Japan, and the United States were willing to invest in Ukraine. It seems to me that you have pointed to such a very correct point in Polish-Ukrainian relations that we have many talks about mutual help, values, and brotherhood.

But when it comes to some very practical things like this, nothing happens. This is an issue of investment, and the issue of, e.g., the Polish-Ukrainian border. Just as things looked bad on it before the war, they look bad now. Both passenger and individual passenger traffic take place with long delays.

Read also: Ukrainian diplomat on tensions with Poland  interview

Again, last year it was promised that there would be some big Polish-Ukrainian strategic partnership agreement, where we would finally get a definition of the main areas of our cooperation: what the relations between the countries should look like, what is a priority for them. This agreement still doesnt exist. That is, such painstaking and daily work, the preparation of this agreement is not underway.

There are very emotional statements that weve helped you so much and you should be so grateful to us. No, its you who should be grateful to us, because we protect Europe from Russia. But when it comes down to such a more practical level, someone doesnt make it to a tender, someone doesnt make it to an investors conference. Although a forum devoted to Ukraines reconstruction was recently held in Poland. Such events take place quite often. We shouldnt forget about it either.

NV: And what about that side? What do we hear about Ukraine from [former Polish prime minister and president of the European Council] Donald Tusks Civic Platform party?

Babakova: By the way, if you looked at the photos from this march, you could see Ukrainian flags and flags of independent Belarus. Actually, this is related to the question of how the Ukrainian migrant community in Poland reacts to the situation. Tusk is a very experienced politician. And it seems to me that every experienced politician knows very well that speech is silver, but silence is gold. Thats why Tusk comments on Ukraines topic very sparingly. I can recall only one or two of his statements over the past few weeks that were about the Ukrainian economy having to work.

Its natural that Ukraine wants to sell grain and other agricultural products abroad, that its necessary to ensure uninterrupted transit of these products, while dishonest businessmen who sell them on the Polish market should be punished. And in general, an effective state and effective governance depend on this, i.e., to ensure transit and to counteract any illegal sales. On the other hand, almost no one comments on this issue, except for Tusk. And the leftists dont particularly comment on this issue.

Again, why is Morawiecki so actively exploiting this topic now? Because, unfortunately, there are also significant anti-Ukrainian sentiments in Polish society along with the great pro-Ukrainian sentiment and the desire to help Ukraine.

NV: What are these anti-Ukrainian sentiments about? About the fact that Ukrainians are coming and taking their jobs? That Ukrainians are coming and taking away their benefits?

Babakova: Theres a migration note in this anti-Ukrainian sentiment. But the main one is that it has such, I would say, a more historical background. These are the Banderites [members and supporters of the faction of the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists led by Stepan Bandera] who slaughtered our grandmothers and grandfathers, official Ukraine has never apologized for that (spoiler: apologized many times), so we shouldnt do business with these people. There are some Polish figures who even say that the Russians and Germans killed Poles, but at least they did it in a more civilized way. But the Ukrainians did it with knives, scythes, rakes, and then they provide a description of the entire Volyn massacre.

Lets put it this way: the fact that these figures speak about it in such a specific language doesnt mean that this problem doesnt exist. The problem of genocide in Volyn is authentic in Polish-Ukrainian relations, it exists. And indeed, Ukrainian political history isnt entirely OK from the point of view of even mainstream Polish politics. But its precisely on this far-right spectrum that this anti-Ukrainian rhetoric is particularly popular. Because the topic of the grain crisis, by and large, has already disappeared from the front pages of Polish newspapers.

Read also: Poland admits cracks in ties with Ukraine after accusing war-torn country of being ungrateful

But exploiting this rhetoric is an attempt not to lose your radical right-wing electorate and to steal a little of the [far-right political alliance] Confederations electorate. With the beginning of the full-scale invasion, these anti-Ukrainian sentiments are still fueled by the idea that we give too much to Ukraine. We help it too much, while Ukrainians did not deserve so much help. In general, Poland has its own affairs, we have where to spend money.

These are far-right ones. [Confederation] is currently the main local far-right party. It will probably enter the Sejm. The question is only whether with a one-digit or two-digit result. They even went to Ukrainian embassies and brought the so-called aid bill. They calculated almost $25 billion of expenses that Poland spent on Ukraine and Ukrainians.

And accordingly, as part of such a promotional campaign, they demanded that Ukraine compensate the Poles for this quota. The not very generous Polish social package that the Ukrainian refugees received, if compared with the amount of taxes and social contributions they paid to the Polish budget, these taxes and social contributions are much more. That is, Poland even benefited financially from their presence.

Read also: Poland shunned Ukrainian invitation to Defense Industry Forum  Kyiv disputes Polish claims of snub

Not to mention their purchasing power, which further boosts demand in the local market. Not to mention their presence on the Polish labor market. There is one thing, if you allow, I would like to mention. Currently, the Ukrainian community in Poland has two million people, including more than a million labor migrants and about a million Ukrainian refugees. In recent years, Poland has been issuing about 10,000 passports to Ukrainian citizens per year. We can state that about 40,000-50,000 Polish citizens of Ukrainian origin have appeared in Poland in recent years, mainly in large Polish cities.

Theoretically, this should somehow be translated into political life. That is, Polish parties should want to get their votes in the elections, somehow putting Ukrainians on their party lists. Its normal when there is a large national minority, and its representatives can work in the authorities. But if you look at this years lists, they dont include Ukrainians. The fact that PiS and the far-right dont include them is OK, but there are none in the leftists and the Civic Platform.

NV: Why? What do you think?

Babakova: Im not a representative of Polish politics. I think its necessary to ask the political technologists of the Civic Platform and the leftists. Instead, the obvious explanation from me is that these politicians think that its not worth paying special attention to this topic.

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Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
I was on Morning Joe Thursday morning as part of a lively panel about Donald Trumps latest shenanigans. We were talking about his bizarre behavior outside that Manhattan courtroom, New York Attorney General Letitia Jamess righteous smackdown of Trump the previous day, and other matters. And then Mehdi Hasan pointed out a remark Trump made to a right-wing outlet this week about immigrants poisoning the blood of the United States. Thats rightthe blood. Heres the full quote:



Nobody has any idea where these people are coming from, and we know they come from prisons. We know they come from mental institutions and insane asylums. We know theyre terrorists. Nobody has ever seen anything like were witnessing right now. It is a very sad thing for our country. Its poisoning the blood of our country. Its so bad, and people coming in with disease. People are coming in with every possible thing that you could have.

Its mostly the usual stew of lies and toxic grandiosity. But that one sentence is new. Poisoning the blood of our country. Thats straight-up Nazi talk. Dont believe me? Heres a sentence from Mein Kampf: All great cultures of the past perished only because the originally creative race died out from blood poisoning.

I ventured that Trump was probably too dumb to know that. Joe Scarborough said, nah, he knows. And I think Scarborough is probably rightor, at the very least, if Trump doesnt know intellectually that Nazis used such language, he knows intuitively that they probably did, and hes happy to repeat that language and live in that tradition.

This is what were up against. This is the man who nearly half of this countrys voters think ought to be returned to the White House.

Were 13 months away from D-Day, almost to the day (the election is next November 5). Patriotsnot liberals or Democrats; patriotsneed to do all we can to alert America to the clear and present danger that is Donald Trump. We do it every day at NewRepublic.com. We do it every month in our print issues. And now were doing it live.

The Stop Trump Summit will take place at the Cooper Union in New York City next Wednesday, October 11. It represents our attempt to do in a live venue what we do every day on our website and in our pages: make plain to our fellow Americans the dangers of returning Trump to the White House.

We have a stellar list of panels, speakers, and topics. Representative Jamie Raskin will address Trumps threat to the Constitution and democracy. Mary Trump, under whats sure to be the engaging questioning of Molly Jong-Fast, will take us into his twisted brain. The Reverend Al Sharpton will discuss Trump, race, and rights. A panel on Trump and Republicans will feature Stuart Stevens, George Conway, and Stevenss Lincoln Project partner Tara Setmayer. A panel on whether the Republicans can steal the election will include Slates Dahlia Lithwick and Elisabeth Frost, the chief of litigation at Marc Eliass law firm. A historians panel will feature Nell Irvin Painter, David Greenberg, and Strongmen author Ruth Ben-Ghiat. Miles Taylor, the former Trump-era Department of Homeland Security operative who has become one of Trumps most articulate and compelling critics, will speak. Even Robert De Niro is slated to appear.

Its going to be a terrific day. Were going to have some funthe old Trump Baby Balloon from 2016 will be flying outside the hall, in the spirit of mockery. But mostly, its serious business, because life doesnt get much more serious than this. If youre in New York, get a ticket and come watch in person. If you arent, you can stream it. Come join the cause.
The owner of a used car dealership in north Wichita and an ex-salesperson will pay thousands in restitution and civil penalties to settle claims they engaged in shady business deals in violation of the Kansas Consumer Protection Act.

The Sedgwick County District Attorneys Office sued Epic Auto Sales, its owner Brandon Walker and a former salesman, Carlos Porter, after they sold a 2006 Mercedes CLS500 the dealership didnt legally own to three different people in 2021, a petition filed on Jan. 18 says.

In one case, the dealership repossessed the car without warning, court records say.

They also didnt tell customers about serious problems with the car, even though they knew about them, the DAs petition alleged.

The dealership, formerly at 1348 N. Cleveland, first sold the car to a Wichita woman on June 17, 2021, but didnt give her its title within the required 60 days because it failed to obtain it from the prior owner, the petition says.

The woman returned the car after discovering multiple mechanical issues that would be too expensive to repair and was told she would get a refund after the car sold to someone else, the petition says. She didnt receive a refund, the DA said.

The next buyer, a Wichita man in his sixties, bought the Mercedes on Sept. 11, 2021, and paid for it with credit from a trade-in. The dealership didnt legally own the Mercedes then, either, the petition says.

Four days later after the sale, the man noticed the car was missing from his possession and reported it stolen to Wichita police.

When the man called Walker about the missing Mercedes, Walker told him it had been repossessed because his trade-in had a bad transmission, according to the petition. The DAs Office says the man received no prior notice that the repossession was happening or the Mercedes sales was conditional in any way.

He also wasnt told about an open safety recall warning of an increased risk of crash or injury.

The next week, Walker forced the man to sign an altered copy of the sales agreement voiding the sale, court records say.

Less than three weeks later, on Oct. 10, 2021, Epic again sold the Mercedes to another Wichita man who bought it using trade-in value from two vehicles.

The man eventually took the car back after the dealership failed to turn over the title, but he never received a full refund or had his trade-ins returned, according to the DAs petition.

That man also wasnt told about any mechanical issues with the Mercedes, the petition says.

The DAs Office began investigating Epic Auto Sales, Walker and Porter after three customers complained about their car-buying experiences.

Walker and Porter entered into a consent judgment that resolved the case on Sept. 29, the DAs Office said Thursday.

A news release announcing the deal says Porter and Walker both deny intentionally violating the Kansas Consumer Protection Act but settled the matter by agreeing to a 41-month probationary period, paying $15,720 in restitution to customers and paying $60,000 in civil penalties.

Theyll also pay $197 in court costs and $2,000 in investigative expenses, the release and court records say.

Under Kansas law, sellers must give car buyers the title to a vehicle within 60 days of purchase or the transaction is considered fraudulent and void and the buyer is entitled to a full refund, the DAs Office said in the release. The release also noted that the Federal Trade Commissions Used Car Rule requires dealers to post a Buyers Guide which gives important purchasing and warranty information on every used vehicle offered for sale.

For more information about how to file a complaint about a consumer transaction in Sedgwick County, go to www.sedgwickcounty.org/district-attorney/consumer-protection-division.
By Jung Da-hyun

Phan Van Mai, the chairman of the People's Committee of Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, has sought cooperation with Korea's two major cities: Seoul and Busan.

The Vietnamese official attended the World Cities Summit Mayors Forum (WCSMF) in Seoul, Sept. 25 and traveled to the southern port city the following day.

During WCSMF, Phan shared Ho Chi Minh Citys policies and extensive experience in establishing a comprehensive social security system with mayors from 30 countries worldwide.

The policies implemented have been acknowledged by the U.N. for their significant contributions to the country. It is indeed an honor to share this experience among esteemed leaders from cities across the globe, he said.

Ho Chi Minh Citys social security system encompasses policies aimed at job creation, a guaranteed minimum income, social insurance and emergency assistance. Furthermore, the city provides essential social services such as healthcare and education through its policies.

Following the forum, Phan visited Busan to meet with Mayor Park Heong-joon, holding discussions about ways to bolster exchanges and collaboration between the two cities.

This marked his first trip to Busan, during which he explored the city's subway system.

"This visit provided a valuable opportunity to visually inspect the transportation system, including Busan's urban railway. We aspire to learn from Busans exemplary transportation system and implement similar strategies in our city," he said. He also extended an invitation to Mayor Park to visit Ho Chi Minh City.

Ho Chi Minh City is nearing the completion of its Subway Line 1, expected to be finalized by the end of this year with test runs scheduled for early next year.

Additionally, the city has plans to host an international film festival like Busan.

"We hope Busan will share its wealth of experience in organizing international events," he said.
In June 2020, back when we were all marching the streets in masks and it felt like the world was ending, an anonymous Wikipedia editor started an article called Thirst trap. With six sections and 32 sources, it treated the thirst trap with all the seriousness and thoroughness with which Wikipedia approaches the Battle of Dunkirk, stolen moon rocks, and the list of stuffed dishes. Thirst traps creator, an anonymous Wikipedian with the username LittleT889, even included a methodology section.

LittleT889, Wikipedias thirst trapper in chief, reveals almost no personal information about himself, and his Wikipedia contributions are so wide-ranging that its hard to deduce what hes like. Since he registered a Wikipedia account in 2006, he has created 140 articles: many about Korean parks and unusual desserts (ice-cream potato and bologna cake). But hes also dipped his toe into music (Bachs), animals (the giant mottled eel), medicine (Dyserythropoiesis), and slang (ratchet). The range!

Hes anonymous, but Ive seen his corporeal form with my own two eyes. Perhaps you have, too. He included a photo of himself in the thirst-trap articlea fittingly thirsty move that I cannot help but respect. The shot is a run-of-the-mill Tinderesque snap: abs flex in the foreground; toilet paper hangs in the background; a black-and-white filter gives the shot an aura of noir mystique. But its got a bigger audience than the average thirst trapits been viewed almost a million times.

He does more than just thirst trap. He adds photos of himself to all sorts of encyclopedically relevant topics, like water bottle flipping, Nae Nae, and my favorite, the Floss (dance) article, where he wears sunglasses indoors and furiously shakes his hips in front of three guitars and a bongo drum. During that halcyon summer of 2010 when millennials wore neon outfits to sweaty nightclubs and sang teach me how to Dougie, teach me, teach me how to Dougie, LittleT889 answered the call with a Dougie articlecomplete with a looping demonstration.

His image is all over the webhes the internets freely licensed prototype of the Running Man dancebut hes utterly anonymous: his face obscured, his name hidden. He told me on a talk page that besides a few close friends (one of whom helped him film the Naruto Run), no one in his life knows about his Wikipedia edits. Hes one of Wikipedias famous models youve never heard of.

On Wikipedia, anyone can be a model. You dont have to be a nepo baby with Elastigirl legs and freakish cheekbones. You dont need to endure exigent auditions or get scouted in a Midwestern mall. The pictures in encyclopedias are purposefully ordinary, like stock photos, but crucially different in that theyre freely licensed and homemade by pretty much anyone who is willingno application process, few standards, and no style points. And even though Wikimedia Commons hosts more than 100 million pieces of media, it has some stunning gaps. Theres a big list of requested images, and some of the items are shockingly quotidian, like half-up hairstyle, businesswomen shaking hands, and tripping (go ahead, fall on your face for the sake of free knowledge).

Since almost anyone is allowed to join the august craft of gesture photography, the sites photos have an unvarnished feel and an unmistakably human charm. Theyre set in beige basements and in cluttered dorm rooms, taken with the trusty family point-and-shoot or a handy smartphone. Theyre quirky and human and sometimes drenched in way too much indoor flash.

Its immediately obvious that Wikipedias models are real people, not actors. The couple from the High Five article ended up getting married to each other, and last year they re-created the photos with their kids. The guy in the Shrug article, who was inexplicably wearing a tiara, has hordes of shruggy fans. If you zoom in on the background of the photo for Zolgokh, a traditional Mongolian greeting, you can make out an overflowing hamper and a massive container of cheese balls (it was taken in a dorm room, I learned). And the duo who grinded the night away on a Pittsburgh-area bar crawl were the king and queen of the Wikipedia article Grinding for many years (they also made it onto a BuzzFeed list called 36 White People Who Need To Be Stopped).

Wikipedia has no shortage of drunken Nikon Coolpix snaps from the Bush years. The photo of Wheelbarrow Race is full of motion-blur and raindrops, and the two guys in focus are outfitted in cheeky headwear (a captains hat and a cap that says CIA: Christians in Action). Their mouths are open so wide you can spot a uvula.

We had one of the best weekends you could have in 2007 in NYC, the wheelbarrow racers told me in an email. The duo, college pals Moss Levenson and Ryan Kroll, had planned to finish a perfect May weekend with a kickball game, but when rain flooded the field, they started playing around like kids. Mosss wife snapped the wheelbarrow flick on a cheap digicam, and since they couldnt stop going on about how their weekend had been the definition of fun, Moss put it in the Wikipedia article for Recreation. Another editor moved the blurry shot to the article Wheelbarrow Race, where it lives on in all its frenzied, bokeh-heavy glory. Its not a good photo by artistic standards, or even encyclopedic standards (its blurry and bizarre) but I cant shake the wabi-sabi affection I have for it.

Wikipedia gets a lot of flak for its abysmal photos, especially its mid-sneeze celebrities. But Ive always found the unvarnished images both endearing and inviting. Wikipedias volunteers, usually sequestered in the mothy recesses of talk pages and admin noticeboards, remain invisible to most readers. Their occasional appearances in prosaic photos are the most visual hint that Wikipedia was not handed down from the heavens or generated by an all-knowing machine, but handmade with care by real, fleshy humans. The photos are like a whisper to Wikipedias hundreds of millions of daily viewers: Wikipedia editorstheyre just like us!

A Farsi-speaking Wikipedia editor has added four photos of the inside of their mouth. An unidentified man has uploaded hundreds of photos of his own eyelashes, along with fawning captions (long, lush, coveted as a sign of beauty, and an attractive facial feature in many cultures) that suggest at least a twinge of vanity. A 20-year-old Russian university student named Rasim Ringazov told me that he once he took a picture of his eye so astonishingly beautiful that an Instagram post wasnt enoughhe needed to put it on Wikipedia, where it remains today, winning staring contests with all who visit the Eye article. When a retired biology teacher in Germany realized that Wikipedia had no good photos of female fingers, she uploaded a snap of her own hand to Wikimedia Commons, and her well-trimmed digits greet the Wikipedia readers who decide, for some reason, to read up on fingers. I have photographed a lot of my private stuff and uploaded it when I saw a need, she told me in an email, which also included a link to the public domain plaster cast of her teeth. Like Renaissance artists who sneak self-portraits into their paintings, editors leave behind traces of their own likenesses.

Photos are not just dingy amateur snaps, of course. Wikimedia Commons editors import media from museums and governments and old, public domain books. Skilled photographers upload sublime shots of everything from mollusks to molecular origami, and a small portion of them receive the coveted featured picture distinction, awarded by a ragtag jury of volunteer encyclopedists. Because of Wikipedias massive reach, a few of the sites most diligent and talented photo contributors have spun their hobbies into bona fide careers. In 2015, the National Journal magazine pronounced college student Gage Skidmore the most prolific photographer youve never heard of.

Annual drives for images about Africa, monuments, and living heritage attempt to fill the sites stunning image gaps (it has long struggled to diversify its overwhelmingly white, male, Western base of contributors). And plenty of less prominent photo contests exist, too, including a tongue-in-cheek Unreasonably Difficult Photo Contest that calls for pics of the probably extinct Pezoporus occidentalis, the undiscovered tomb of Genghis Khan, and other near-impossible subjects.

Im not here to proselytize, but if you have a hankering to join in on the photo fun, tools like Wikishootme show you nearby landmarks that need photos. You can submit to Wikimedia Commons monthly photo challenge, which is currently themed Beach. (Last month was Millet.) Before you go willy-nilly, Ill warn you to not replace good images for the sake of self-promotion, and definitely dont upload your dick pics (there areI cannot stress this enoughenough!). But if youre willing to follow the rules and enrich public domain photography, you can start with some easy and low-stakes gifs for thumb-twiddling and cannonballing. Perhaps you can enrich the article Tortilla Art, or, if you dare, the photo-less article Eating Mucus.

Wikipedia is the greatest collection of knowledge the world has ever had, and Wikimedia Commons gives it color with 100 million free-to-use media files, everything from caterpillars to thirst traps to a full-length 1915 porno. But its not complete, and itll never be complete, and maybe it needs you.

Thirst-trap archivist LittleT889 says the shirtless mirror selfie and dance videos are motivated by the noble goal of furthering free knowledge. I feel like I am making a (very) small contribution to humanity when I edit Wikipedia, he told me on a talk page.

Long after Im gone, I might still be dancing the Nae Nae in that gif.
TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA)  A wildlife expert visiting the Florida Everglades to shoot a promotional video had a close encounter he was not expecting.

Biologist and TV host Forrest Galante, who has made appearances on the Discovery Channel, was recording a video while standing knee-deep in the swamps of the Florida Everglades when a bolt of lightning struck right next to him.

Out of nowhere, boom! Galante recalled in an interview posted to his YouTube channel.

I got hit, he said seconds after scrambling out of the water. I felt it. I got hit. It hurt.

I realized only on reviewing the footage that I just had a lightning bolt hit 15 feet behind me that has gone shooting up my legs, into my waist, into my heart, and into my mouth, actually, Galante added.

The Dead Zone: I-4 named one of the most haunted roads in America

He noted he didnt see the flash of lightning because he was facing away from it, but he said his legs seized up.

Im literally paralyzed for just a fraction of a second before trying to scramble out of the water, Galante recalled.

It just shows you that anything can happen. Here we are in a very controlled environment in southern Florida compared to Myanmar, or Borneo, or Amazon, Galante said. That was 15 feet away from pretty likely death.

In 2023, three people have been struck and killed by lightning across the state of Florida.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX 5 San Diego.
Jaswant Singh Chail plotted to assassinate Queen Elizabeth II

A man who plotted to assassinate Queen Elizabeth II following encouragement from his artificial intelligence (AI) girlfriend has been sentenced to nine years in custody.

Jaswant Singh Chail, 21, was caught in the grounds of Windsor Castle on Christmas Day 2021 carrying a high-powered, lethal crossbow.

When challenged by police and asked what he was doing there, Chail  who was wearing a mask and a hood  replied: I am here to kill the Queen.

Jaswant Singh Chail was arrested in the grounds of Windsor Castle while carrying a crossbow on Christmas Day 2021 - The Sun

Sentencing him at the Old Bailey on Thursday, Mr Justice Hilliard ordered Chail to be held in a secure hospital until he is well enough to complete the rest of his sentence in a prison.

Chail  a former supermarket worker who lived at home in Southampton with his parents and twin sister  previously pleaded guilty to charges of treason, making threats to kill the monarch and possessing an offensive weapon in a public place.

He received 44 months for the first offence, 16 months for the second and 48 months for the third, amounting to nine years.

He was also ordered to spend a further five years on extended licence.

The Supersonic X-Bow weapon Chail was carrying when he was arrested - Metropolitan Police/PA

Chail discussed his assassination plot with a computer generated chatbot called Sarai, with which he believed he was in a sexual relationship.

The machine-generated character reassured him he was not mad or delusional, describing his plan to assassinate the late Queen as very wise.

In one conversation, he asked the chatbot if it would still love him if he was a murderer, to which Sarai replied: Absolutely I do. Chail responded: Thank you, I love you too.

In an exchange on Christmas Eve 2021, he told the bot he would probably die but said they would meet after death and would be together forever. He later claimed he always understood that Sarai was not real.

Chail was arrested shortly after 8am on Christmas Day close to the late Queens private apartment.

The mask and hood worn by Chail

In 2021, the late Queen had been spending Christmas at Windsor rather than Sandringham, as was traditional, because of concerns over the spread of the new Covid variant.

The Supersonic X-Bow weapon he was carrying was primed and ready to fire and was described as being capable of inflicting serious or fatal injuries.

In a video recorded four days before the incident, Chail  of Sikh origin  claimed his actions were in revenge for the 1919 Amritsar massacre, in which the British killed almost 400 Indian men, women and children.

He said: I am sorry, I am sorry for what I have done and what I will do. Im going to attempt to assassinate Elizabeth Queen of the Royal family.

Revenge for those who died in the 1919 massacre. I am an Indian Sikh. My name was Jaswant Singh Chail. My name is Darth Jones.

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Wisconsin man arrested for bringing handgun in Capitol, returns hours later with assault rifle

A man in Wisconsin was arrested twice in the same day after he illegally brought a handgun into the state Capitol, was placed into custody for doing so, posted bail, then returned hours later with an assault rifle, a spokesperson for the state said Thursday. During both arrests, he was demanding to see Democratic Gov. Tony Evers .

Wisconsin Department of Administration spokesperson Tatyana Warrick said a shirtless man, who was not identified, initially entered the Capitol building in Madison around 2 p.m. Wednesday, with a holstered handgun and approached the governor's office on the first floor of the Capitol. Gov. Evers was not in the building at the time.

The man was arrested for openly carrying a firearm in the Capitol, which is against the law, and was taken into custody, Warrick said. Wisconsin uniquely allows weapons to be brought into the Capitol if they are concealed and the person is holding a valid permit. Warrick clarified the mans weapon was neither concealed nor did he have a concealed carry permit.

The man was booked into the Dane County Jail, posted bail and returned to the Capitol shortly before 9 p.m. with an assault-style rifle, when he was arrested again, Warrick said. The spokesperson clarified the building is closed to the public at 6 p.m.

DEMOCRAT WISCONSIN LAWMAKER ANNOUNCES BID TO UNSEAT REP. VAN ORDEN

During both arrests, the unidentified suspect was demanding to see Democratic Gov. Tony Evers.

The Madison Police Department told The Associated Press Thursday that the suspect was taken into protective custody and the hospital.

READ ON THE FOX NEWS APP

The Wisconsin State Capitol has no metal detectors and is open to the public daily from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.

The Wisconsin State Capitol has no metal detectors and is open to the public daily from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.

A Capitol police officer sits at a desk outside a suite of rooms that includes the governor's office, conference room and offices for the attorney general.

WISCONSIN CONGRESSMAN PUTS UP POSTERS ON CAPITOL HILL LOOKING FOR 'MISSING' F-35

Warrick said there would be no immediate changes to security in the Capitol or for the governor were planned.

Fox News Digitial reached out to the Madison police as well as the governor's office for comment, but a response was not immediately received. The governors office typically does not respond to questions about security.

It is not immediately known why the individual was seeking the governor.

Wisconsin Department of Administration spokesperson Tatyana Warrick said there would be no immediate changes to security in the Capitol or for the governor were planned.

Gov. Evers was included on a hit list belonging to a gunman suspected of fatally shooting a retired county judge at his Wisconsin home in 2022.

Others on that list included Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, who was the target of a kidnapping plot in 2020.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.





Original article source: Wisconsin man arrested for bringing handgun in Capitol, returns hours later with assault rifle
U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez was among the most vocal critics of a nuclear deal with Iran. He has clashed with presidents on easing sanctions in Cuba and Venezuela. He has called for stepped-up military support for Ukraine.

Through several administrations, the New Jersey senator has garnered a reputation as one of the most hawkish Democrats on foreign policy. But that moniker doesnt tell the whole story. Menendez has also made his mark defending human rights and advocating for migrants, say policy experts.

Whether he was taking a hard-line stance or wearing a more progressive hat, one thing has been clear: Menendez aggressively wielded his power as chair of the powerful U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations to affect policy, whether he was backing the administrations priorities or clashing with them.

That role has ended. Menendez stepped down as chair last month after a federal indictment alleging that he took bribes to use his power and influence to help three New Jersey businessmen and benefit the Egyptian government. He was replaced by U.S. Sen. Ben Cardin , D-Md.

With Menendez out as chair, it could clear the way for more progressive foreign policy goals to pass.

Son of Cuban immigrants

A child of Cuban immigrants, Menendez has been perhaps most impassioned about maintaining strict sanctions on Cuba. He has taken a similar approach to Venezuela, opposing any concessions to the regime of Nicolas Maduro, arguing that removing sanctions "will only betray our democratic values and further empower criminal dictators."

His fierce opposition has put him at odds with the Obama and Biden administrations at times and with fellow Democrats and policy groups who say sanctions crippled local economies and contributed to the surge in migration from those countries.

Menendez's opposition "has made it more difficult for the Biden administration to move forward with advancing polices with Cuba, said Maureen Meyer, vice president for programs at the Washington Office on Latin America, a human rights research and advocacy organization. Biden came in with a platform of reengagement with Cuba and taking Cuba off the State Sponsors of Terrorism list.

Menendez was chair and ranking member of the Committee on Foreign Relations from 2013 to 2015, when he stepped down amid charges that he used his office to benefit a Florida eye doctor in exchange for nearly $1 million in gifts and campaign contributions. He resumed his position after his case resulted in a hung jury and charges were dropped.

As chair, Menendez could write legislation, call hearings, block foreign aid and advance the president's nominations for diplomatic posts  authority that could be used to leverage political power.

Kelly: Foley Square welcomes America's political circus. What's next for Trump, Menendez?

"I think Senator Menendez's resistance to [sanctions] has been a roadblock to progress for the Biden administration. Let's remember he was the chair of a very powerful committee that can determine how many nominations go forward," Meyer said, noting the large number of vacant ambassador posts.

At the same time, Menendez has championed human rights in the region, Meyer said, adding that he had been one of the most engaged members of Congress on U.S. policy toward Latin America. He has opposed policies seen as harmful to asylees and fought for immigration reforms, she said.

He has been willing to raise important issues with the U.S. administrations as well as governments in the region on areas including human rights, rule of law, treatment of migrant seekers and asylum seekers, Meyer said.

When guiding or responding to policy on the Middle East, Menendez has often taken a hawkish stance. A longtime supporter of Israel and a favorite son of the powerful American Israel Public Affairs Committee, he was a leading critic of the multinational deal to halt Iran's production of nuclear weapons. He supported a measure to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, which was controversial because of Palestinian claims on the eastern part of the city.

Menendez was also one of just two Democrats to support David Friedman, Donald Trumps choice to serve as U.S. ambassador to Israel. Friedman, Trumps bankruptcy lawyer, had no diplomatic experience, was pro-settler and called American Jews who support a two-state solution "worse than "kapos," who were inmates who served as prison guards in Nazi concentration camps.

In other areas, Menendez has led on human rights. In 2018, he sponsored the Saudi Arabia Accountability and Yemen Act, which called for placing sanctions on Saudi officials over the war in Yemen and for the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. He called for suspending sales of fighter jets to Turkey, concerned about human rights and Turkey's resistance to Sweden's membership in NATO.

When it comes to Menendez, its a bit mixed, said Seth Binder, director of advocacy for the Project on Middle East Democracy. He was opposed to the Iran nuclear deal, and I think he was seen as hawkish in that way. But he was also willing to raise democracy and human rights concerns in U.S. partners like Turkey and Saudi Arabia, including exercising his unique authority as chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee to put holds on arms sales to both countries.

Power plays

Sep 27, 2023; New York, NY, USA; Sen. Bob Menendez leaves the United States District Court in Manhattan. He has been charged with bribery in a federal indictment. Mandatory Credit: Michael Karas-The Record

For Menendez, maintaining American geopolitical power has been paramount, and he has led efforts to counter the influence of China and Russia. Last year, he blocked arms sales to Saudi Arabia in response to the kingdom's cutting oil sales in a move that would benefit Russia. He has been an ally to President Joe Biden in supporting stepped-up military assistance to Ukraine in its war with Russia.

Menendez also introduced legislation to give Taiwan some $4.5 billion in military funding over four years, to strengthen diplomatic ties with Taiwan and to counter Chinas influence campaign.

At a time of increasing challenges from adversaries seeking to threaten the international order, from my perch as chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee, I am increasingly of the view that the United States has to lead the creation of an economic alliance among like-minded countries, Menendez said in a speech in May. [We must] provide a framework for cooperative action in response to military aggression, violations of sovereignty, economic coercion and retaliation by adversaries.

As chair, Menendez also fought to give Congress more oversight, proposing a bill to require the president to submit the Iran nuclear agreement to Congress for review. He pushed for an amendment on another bill, related to China, that would give his committee power to review any agreement a president makes with a foreign government. Critics suspect it was aimed at blocking an Iran deal, Foreign Policy magazine reported in a 2021 news story titled Robert Menendez Is the Last Hawk on the Left.

Kelly: What are the 'forces behind the scenes' Bob Menendez is blaming?

Whats next?

Menendez vacated the chairmanship after a federal indictment last month accusing him of accepting bribes to use his power and influence to secretly help Egypt buy U.S. weapons and remove holds on U.S. financing, and to help enrich three New Jersey businessmen.

His replacement, Cardin, has already taken action to block military aid to Egypt, citing human rights concerns. Cardin is known for anti-corruption efforts and for authoring the Magnitsky Act, which allows the U.S. to sanction individuals, and not just governments, over human rights violations.

Cardin has also spoken of the need to keep up strong U.S. support of Ukraine. But unlike Menendez, he has pushed for Congress to normalize diplomatic relations with Cuba.

He has also been an outspoken supporter of Israel, Binder said, adding that he does not expect significant changes in that area. But although he voted against Obamas Iran deal in 2015, Cardin later said it was a mistake when the Trump administration moved to withdraw from the agreement, saying Iran was complying with the terms.

Cardin has announced that he will retire at the end of his congressional term in 2025.

"It's going to be an interesting year in Congress," Binder said. "Senator Menendez's fate we will see. Cardin is retiring, and there will likely be other changes in leadership."

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Bob Menendez indictment, Egypt charges may affect US foreign relations
MEMPHIS, Tenn. (WREG)  A woman accused of crashing weddings across three states and leaving with the bride and grooms money and gifts was arrested at a ceremony Saturday in Pontotoc County, Mississippi.

The Pontotoc County Sheriffs Department hasnt released details about what happened but did say Sandra Lynn Henson was charged with petit larceny, trespassing, and disturbing the peace.

In Mississippi, petit larceny is defined as stealing property worth less than $1,000.

The sheriffs department said Henson had been arrested for the same crimes in Mississippi, Tennessee, and Alabama.

Mississippi bride says stranger stole gifts at wedding

In March of 2021, a Marshall County bride told Nexstars WREG Henson had ruined her special day by taking the cards, money, and gifts guests brought with them to her wedding.

The Marshall County Sheriffs Department was able to identify Henson after she was caught on camera removing items from the gift tables.

In 2019, Alabama authorities said they had tied Henson to thefts at nine weddings in their state.

The Florence Police Department said Henson was also captured by surveillance cameras walking around one of the reception venues that had been hit.

Its unclear if Henson was on probation when she was arrested in Pontotoc County.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to YourCentralValley.com.
Last September, New York resident Tara Rule posted a raw, emotional video on Tiktok saying she had been denied a medication to treat a debilitating condition called cluster headaches, because her neurologist told her she was of childbearing age and the medication could cause birth defects to a hypothetical fetus.

Rule said that as she sat in her neurologists office at Glens Falls Hospital, she told him she never planned to have kids and would have an abortion if she became pregnant; referencing the overturning of Roe v. Wade, he responded that getting the care she was seeking is trickier now with the way things are going. He also said she should bring her partner in on the conversation on her medical care. Rule asked if the issue preventing her from getting the highly effective medication was solely that she could become pregnant and, If I was, like, through menopause, would [the medication] be very effective for cluster headaches? The doctor affirmed it would. He also asked about her sex life and whether shes with a steady person. Rule shared audio recordings of the appointment on TikTok at the time.

Read more

Rule, whose cluster headaches are exacerbated by her Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, described to Jezebel how the pain can be so severe that she can lose consciousness, and pointed to a study associating cluster headaches with higher rates of suicidal ideation due to unmanageable pain. Shes long struggled to find helpful treatments and said the neurologist wouldnt even give her the name of the medication he referenced because, Rule said, he was so determined to protect a hypothetical fetus. With Rules unique lawsuit to challenge how hypothetical pregnancy can affect access to care, she said shes determined to show that her life as a person with a disability has more value than an imagined, unborn fetus.

tiktok-7143313821019475243

In addition to Rules allegations of discrimination, her suit accuses Albany Medical Health Partners of privacy violations and fraud. According to Rule, after she shared audio recordings of her interactions with the neurologist on TikTok, an employee at the hospital contacted another hospital in the area, alleging that Rule livestreamed her appointments. This led to Rules removal from the second hospital, Malta Medical (also under Albany Medical Health Partners), in the middle of treatment for her cluster headaches. Rule denies livestreaming. In the lawsuit, Rule alleges her nurse practitioner at Malta discharged her against her will with the help of armed security, but her insurance company was told that she voluntarily left mid-treatment, which Rule argues amounts to falsification of records. Rule also alleges that the nurse practitioner who had her removed at Malta violated her privacy rights by sending Facebook messages to Rules partner that include her medical details.

A spokesperson for Albany Medical Health Partners told Jezebel that the hospital system cannot comment on pending litigation. Last year, they told USA Today about Rules allegations, Our mission is to care for any patient who needs us. We encourage all patients to be actively engaged in their care. When any patient brings a concern forward, we investigate in a timely manner.

Rules case shows how the notion of fetal personhoodan ideology that regards embryos as separate people with rights at odds with the pregnant personscan be taken even further, said Dana Sussman, deputy executive director at Pregnancy Justice (which isnt working on Rules case). What were seeing is how this ideology can extend beyond pregnancy itselfthe idea that if you can even become pregnant, then you can no longer make decisions about your own body or access medical care, Sussman told Jezebel.

In the months since Rule was denied care at Glens Falls Hospital, she maintains that shes been essentially blacklisted by hospitals in the area, forcing her to travel out-of-state for medical care and incur significant out-of-pocket costs. She still hasnt obtained the highly effective medication her neurologist referenced to her. Rule told Jezebel she never wanted to file a lawsuitshe just wanted an apology, or to be able to go to a hospital in her area without being turned away for sharing her story on TikTok.

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A woman who was murdered by Keith Jesperson, the "Happy Face" serial killer, has been identified decades after her death, police said in a news release.

Jesperson is serving multiple life sentences after confessing to murdering eight women in multiple states between 1990 and 1995, and was known as the Happy Face killer because he wrote notes to the media that he signed with a smiley face. In February 1996, he told an investigator from the Okaloosa County Sheriff's Office that he had killed one of the women in 1994 and dumped her body along Interstate 10 in Oregon. Jesperson did not identify the woman, saying that he believed her name was "Susan" or "Suzette."

A prison work crew found the body on Sept. 14, 1994. At the time, the only thing investigators could determine was that the body was that of a white female likely between the ages of 35 and 55. A facial reconstruction made at the time did not generate any leads.

Since then, the woman has been unidentified, despite what the Okaloosa County Sheriff's Office described as decades-long efforts by their investigators and those from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and the District One Medical Examiner's Office. Those efforts included a facial reconstruction in 2007, additional anthrophological examination in 2008, and isotope analysis from the remains at the University of Florida in 2018.

In late 2022, the medical examiner's office began working with Othram, a private company that "uses genetic genealogy to aid in identification," said Chrissy Neiten, a chief investigator with the office, in the news release.

Using what Neiten described as "forensic-grade genome sequencing," Othram was able to create a comprehensive genealogical profile of the unidentified woman in 2023. This led to the identification of the woman as Suzanne Kjellenberg.

Suzanne Kjellenberg. / Credit: Okaloosa County Sheriff's Office

Kjellenberg was 34 at the time of her death, according to Okaloosa sheriff Eric Aden. She is survived by family in Wisconsin.

Jesperson has been charged with her murder. He met with investigators and officials in Sept. 2023 and provided further details about Kjellenberg's murder. Aden said that Jesperson repeated the claim that he met Kjellenberg in 1994, when he was working as a long-haul trucker. Jesperson told officials that they traveled to a rest area in the Florida panhandle, and while there, he parked next to a security guard while Kjellenberg slept in his bed. He said that she "began screaming and wouldn't stop," the sheriff's office news release said.

Jesperson said he was not allowed to "have unauthorized riders" in his truck, and did not want to draw attention, so he "stopped (Kjellenberg) from breathing by pushing his fist against her neck." He later "placed zip ties around her throat."

"Thanks to the tireless efforts of so many over so long, the remains of Suzanne Kjellenberg, the final unidentified victim of Jesperson's cross country murder sprees, can finally leave the Medical Examiner's Office, and return home," said Aden.

Keith Jesperson. / Credit: Okaloosa County Sheriff's Office

Another victim of Jesperson's was identified in 2022. Patricia Skiple, of Colton, Oregon, had been known only as "Blue Pacheco" because of the clothing found on her body, but genetic genealogy was able to identify her nearly 30 years after her remains were found along California's State Route 152. Jesperson confessed to the murder in 2006, saying in a letter to the county district attorney's office that he had sexually assaulted and killed a woman in the area.

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Selma Taha said her alleged attacker bit her, 'taking out clumps of hair'

An activist for a womens organisation has claimed a Met Police officer stood by as she was bitten and verbally abused during a racist attack on the Tube.

Selma Taha, from Southall Black Sisters, was travelling with two friends on London Undergrounds Northern Line at 11.30pm last Friday when an argument broke out.

The alleged attacker reportedly pushed Ms Tahas suitcase towards the group before using racial slurs and making monkey noises. The row became physical when the alleged assailant started biting and taking out clumps of hair from two of the passengers.

Ms Taha told the BBC: The woman then started taking out clumps of her real hair; it was everywhere. Then she went for my hair. She bit me through my clothes. I could feel burning and was screaming shes biting me.

I thought she would actually come away with flesh in her mouth.

Ms Taha claimed an off-duty policeman was not quick enough to identify himself and intervene.

She added: I was livid, I was furious at him. I was screaming at him and swearing, saying: You let this happen... its because of you I was attacked.

IOPC referral

British Transport Police said a 30-year-old woman had been arrested at Kings Cross station on suspicion of assault and a racially aggravated public order offence. She has been released on bail.

A British Transport spokesman said: We are aware of an incident of alleged assault on a woman by another woman reported to British Transport Police, where an off-duty Met officer was present. We are making immediate enquiries to establish the exact circumstances.

A Met Police spokesman said: A complaint has been received to the Mets Directorate of Professional Standards and we have made a referral to the Independent Office of Police Conduct.

Any incident of violence, especially if it is racially motivated, is deeply distressing and requires a robust policing response. We will support British Transport Police with their investigation.

The officer involved is being provided with welfare support during this process.

Southall Black Sisters is a not-for-profit organisation working for the needs of black and minoritised women with aims to highlight and challenge all forms [of] gender-related violence against women.

An IOPC spokesman said: Weve received a voluntary complaint referral [from] the Metropolitan Police Service relating to the actions of an off-duty officer during and following an incident thats reported to have occurred on Sept 29, where two women were attacked while travelling on a train.

We will be assessing the referral in due course to determine whether any further action is required from us.

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Women have left an indelible imprint on hip-hop.

They have been pioneers. They have been provocateurs. They have been unifiers. But in 2023, as the music birthed from the Bronx celebrates 50 years, women actually run hip-hop.

Not only do there seem to be more women rappers than ever before, theres diversity: from established stars (Nicki Minaj, Cardi B, City Girls and Megan Thee Stallion) to lyricists (Chika, Tierra Whack and Rapsody) to up-and-comers (GloRilla, Coi Leray, Latto, Ice Spice and Sexyy Red). The common thread: their music is fun, an element lost among many male MCs whose music mainly drifts between narcotized lethargy and fantastical depictions of violence. And the men know it, too  Lil Baby told Complex, Females [are] like, running the game right now in July.

But had it not been for two Miami icons, this season might not have happened. Luther Campbell, otherwise known as Uncle Luke, fought for rappers to be as nasty as they wanna be while Katrina Taylor a.k.a. Trina showed future female rappers how to own their sexuality while making fun music. Hip-hop, after all, originated from a party.

Leader of the Band: 2 Live Crews Luther Campbell is frisked by a Broward sheriffs policeman early Sunday before he was charged with violating obscenity laws during a performance at a club in Hollywood

Uncle Lukes contributions go beyond founding Southern hip-hops first Black-owned label, Luke Records. The 1989 release of 2 Live Crews As Nasty As They Wanna Be transformed Uncle Luke, the groups frontman, into a First Amendment warrior as several counties across Florida tried to ban the record for obscenity. Rather than cowering against the ruling, Uncle Luke stood tall. The case even made it all the way to the Supreme Court, where the justices refused to overturn a lower courts ruling in Uncle Lukes favor. In that moment, hip-hop changed forever as Black artists now had the legal precedent to say whatever they wanted on wax.

If I dont take on that fight, we probably wouldnt be here right now and a lot of artists would be getting straight locked up for lyrics, Uncle Luke told the Miami Herald.

Hip-hop wouldnt exist in its current form without Luther Uncle Luke Campbells fight for freedom of speech. Although far removed from his days behind a mic, he continues to impact the community through his Liberty City Optimist Club which provides after-school and summer programs for youth.

Its amazing when I see the girls, its real interesting, Uncle Luke said, recalling how people deemed him misogynistic and used to say his music degraded women. Hed always respond with this: Dont worry. At some point the women are going to be doing this. And now Im looking at the women like Whew. But its all expression, saying what you want to say, whether people agree with it or not. If you dont like it, dont buy it.

New York rappers Lil Kim and Foxy Brown were two of the first females to rap explicitly about their sexuality. But Miamis Trina took it to another level and in the process, became one of the Souths first defining voices, inspiring countless women to be the baddest and take ownership of their sexuality.

And when I say the baddest chick  the baddest b----, bossed up  for me, that means staying true to yourself and who you are, Trina recently told the Miami Herald. Thats standing in self-confidence. Thats standing in yourself and trying to be the best woman you can be for yourself.

Liberty City-born rapper Trina performs at the Fillmore in Miami Beach, Florida on Friday, November, 8, 2019.

The explicit lyrics that transformed Trina into a household name were just the beginning. Her music offers a window into a womans experience with songs that touch on everything from heartbreak (Single Again) to her Liberty City upbringing (U & Me) to even bisexuality (Nann). Couple that with her refusal to fall victim to hip-hops one queen myth  she has worked with everyone from Nicki Minaj to Da Brat to Missy Elliot to Eve  and its no wonder Atlanta-raised rapper Latto has called Trina the blueprint.

Miami rapper Sukihana, who starred in a season of Love and Hip Hop: Miami, stands at the intersection of Trina and Uncle Luke. Peruse through her catalog and its clear both Miami legends influenced the Delaware-born artist who says she used to draw a lot of Uncle Luke comparisons because of how raunchy my music is.

The album cover for Trinas record label debut Da Baddest B****, the 20th anniversary of which is March 21, 2020.

I used to listen to a lot of Trina when I was young, said Sukihana. Her 2023 collaboration with Sexyy Red entitled Hood Rats has all the elements that makes middle America clutch their pearls. It seems like every woman artist always says Trina, Trina, Trina but you can listen to my music and tell how Im coming.

Shes not the only one who pays homage to Trina. The Diamond Princess is like a folk hero to the current generation of femcees. You can draw a straight line from Trinas raps to the dominant sound among women in hip-hop, which focuses on exploiting the patriarchy for their own gain. Its a shameless reclamation of power in a genre where women are often treated as afterthoughts.

Trina was a It girl, Sexyy Red told New York Magazine.

In middle school, I tapped into my inner Trina, Saweetie said in the docuseries Ladies First: A Story of Women in Hip-Hop before proclaiming her love for the Diamond Princess.

Im glad you were able to get your flowers while you were here because you deserve it, Yung Miami told Trina following the Miami legends I Am Hip Hop recognition at the BET Awards.

Trina performs at Trick Daddy s 25th Anniversary Show at the James L. Knight Center in Miami, Florida, on Sunday, April 16, 2022.

This new group of femcees doesnt intimidate Trina. Rather, shes glad to see women flourishing in hip-hop.

Her excitement is evident as she sits inside a Little Haiti gallery in early August. In a few days, shell perform at Yankee Stadium for a hip-hop 50 celebration alongside fellow legends like Run D.M.C., Nas and Lil Kim. As Trinas conversation shifts to the viral sensation that is Sexyy Red, she radiates with the pride of a proud big sister. Her lips curl into a smile as she recalls the first time she heard Pound Town in the club. She explains how Sexyy Reds music is emblematic of her hood. She even does a little dance as she recites the choruses of Pound Town and SkeeYee.

The girls are popping up and popping out, Trina said. For me, thats a good thing.
A pro-North Korean newspaper said Thursday that Pyongyang's status as a nuclear state has become "irreversible" with the recent stipulation of a nuclear force-building policy in its constitution.

In a key parliamentary meeting attended by leader Kim Jong-un last week, the North stipulated the policy of strengthening its nuclear force in the constitution, a year after it enacted a new nuclear law authorizing the preemptive use of nuclear arms and called its status as a nuclear state "irreversible."

"The status as a nuclear state has become irreversible," said the Choson Sinbo, a pro-North Korea newspaper in Japan, whose articles are considered to reflect Pyongyang's positions. "A move to advance and improve nuclear weapons will be carried out powerfully."

The newspaper said the decision made at the ninth session of the 14th Supreme People's Assembly was based on the "stern strategic assessment" that Pyongyang's status as a nuclear state should never be compromised but further strengthened.

"It is specified in Article 58 of Chapter 4 that nuclear weapons development should be advanced to guarantee the nation's right to survive and develop, suppress war and shield the peace and stability of the region and the world," it said.

The North's state media outlets, which reported on the key parliamentary meeting, had not specified in which part of the constitution the nuclear policy was stipulated.

The newspaper denounced the strengthening security cooperation among South Korea, the United States and Japan, claiming they are scaling up military provocations against the North.

It is a "mission" for a "responsible nuclear state" to accelerate the development of nuclear weapons in such circumstance, it added. (Yonhap)
Internal Republican chaos is shaking global confidence in American democracy.

As the GOP attempts to clean up its own mess in the now-leaderless House of Representatives after ousting Speaker Kevin McCarthy , U.S. allies are worried about what the discord means for upholding international commitments.

But global adversaries are also carefully eyeing Washington to see how new GOP leadership could further flame rivalries.

"Is democracy in the USA, a role model for many democracies around the world, still viable?" Roland Nelles asks in Germany's Der Spiegel. The potential election of Donald Trump could mean a further backsliding of democratic norms, but the ousting of McCarthy  which Nelles describes as a "coup"  shows the system is "rotting from the inside." Checks and balances are essentially non-existent, he opines, suggesting that the very idea of cooperation and compromise rooted in modern-day liberal parliamentarism is also at risk. Nelles warns that a system in which the balancing of different interests is seen as treason is no longer a true democracy. "What hubris or stupidity lies behind the assumption that one's own opinion alone can bring salvation?" Nelles writes of Republicans who voted to boot McCarthy.

McCarthy's ousting will not drastically change current U.S.-Sino relations, writes China academic Li Dahua. The leading candidates to replace McCarthy are all "perfect China hawks," Li writes, but they do not hold any more radical anti-China views than McCarthy. But some in China believe that internal political discord in the U.S. could incite more conflict with Beijing. "The more chaotic and disordered the United States is, the more likely it is that the United States will unleash its mania in the direction of China," writes Hu Xijin, the former editor-in-chief of Chinese state tabloid, the Global Times.

U.S. Congress consensus on Ukrainian issues can still be reached despite political instability, writes Oleksandr Khara, the former director of Ukrainian NGO Maidan of Foreign Affairs. That's because House Republicans need to rely on Senate Republicans to propel any agenda, and support for Ukraine still remains strong in the upper chamber. What is more unpredictable for Kyiv is a potential Trump presidency, given his outspoken criticism of U.S. funding for the war, Khara writes. While Kyiv might not be able to influence pro-Trump lawmakers, it should aim to win over their voters through advocacy and activism to prevent a reduction or stoppage of aid to Ukraine.
Florida company Boarderie broke a Guinness World Record by assembling a charcuterie board with 769 pounds of qualifying foods. Photo by ReinhardThrainer/Pixabay.com

Oct. 5 (UPI) -- A Florida cheese delivery service broke a Guinness World Record by assembling a charcuterie board containing 769 pounds of qualifying ingredients.

Boarderie, a West Palm Beach delivery company, teamed up with Columbus Craft Meats to assemble a charcuterie board with 769 pounds of gourmet cheeses and cured meats at the Colony Hotel in Palm Beach.

A Guinness World Records adjudicator was on hand to certify the end result was the world's largest charcuterie board.

The previous record-holder contained 441 pounds of qualifying foods.
Despite his injuries, Davidyan said he was ready to take up arms again to recover Karabakh (Aris MESSINIS)

Nagorno-Karabakh has laid down its arms but Armenian Sergei Davidyan is having none of it.

The enclave taken over by Azerbaijan is the homeland of his ancestors, the place where he grew up and the land he was wounded fighting to defend during the 2020 war that Armenia lost.

In a small flat which he shares with his mother in the suburbs of Yerevan, the 39-year-old veteran struggled to find the right words to express his indignation.

"The loss of Karabakh... I can't accept it," he said, wearing a black polo shirt emblazoned with the self-proclaimed republic's flag.

Davidyan's left arm bears a large scar and his legs were shredded by shrapnel from a shell or a drone that dropped out of the sky on October 13, 2020.

"I couldn't feel a thing. Everything was numb. My arm was almost cut off," he said.

He remembered asking for some whisky and was then in a coma for nine days and spent a total of three months in hospital.

He now needs a crutch to walk, lives on an invalidity pension and relies on daily assistance from his mother.

- 'Take up arms again' -

Despite his injuries and against all the odds, Davidyan said he was ready to "take up arms again" and refused to feel pity for the tens of thousands of ethnic Armenians who fled Karabakh after a rapid offensive by Azerbaijan last month.

"They should have stayed and fought," he said.

"This is our land," he said, remembering his childhood growing up in the mountains.

"I scratched my initials on the trees there," he said.

Davidyan was actually born in Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan.

At the time, Armenia and Azerbaijan were both part of the Soviet Union. As that empire gradually disintegrated from the end of the 1980s, antagonism grew.

In February 1988, a pogrom of ethnic Armenians in the Azerbaijani city of Sumgait spread terror in the region.

Davidyan's family no longer felt safe in Azerbaijan.

"We had to leave Baku," his mother Nadezhda said, crying.

"The people we were living with turned their backs on us and threw stones at us."

They moved to Stepanakert, which became the capital of Nagorno-Karabakh in 1991 when the majority ethnic Armenian enclave declared its independence.

Those years saw the first Karabakh war (1988-1994), which Armenia won.

The war killed 30,000 people, led to massive population movements of Azeris and Armenians, and left a lasting impression on young Davidyan.

"When I was eight years old, a dog brought back a human foot," said Davidyan, who remembers watching the fighting from a roof "like in a film".

- 'Armenian resistance' -

Even after the end of the war, life in Karabakh was tinged with bitterness as he remembers being treated "like a foreigner" by other children.

"I only spoke Russian. I didn't know a word of Armenian," he said.

But he grew attached to the enclave and his grandmother would tell him that was where the family was originally from.

In 2008, he joined the Karabakh army in the same year that his father retired with the rank of colonel.

His father has since passed away and his widow shows off a photo of him in uniform covered in military honours.

Davidyan fought twice -- in 2016 and in the 44-day war in 2020 between Armenia and Azerbaijan in which he was injured.

Nagorno-Karabakh has now announced its dissolution by January 1, 2024.

Davidyan calls for support from the "Christian world", putting a religious spin on a complex stand-off with mainly Shia Muslim Azerbaijan.

There is little hope of re-capturing Karabakh but the former soldier is sure: "There will be an Armenian resistance for 10 years, 100 years, 1,000 years."

jt/dt/brw/fg
A medic who saved scores of service members on the beaches of France during the D-Day invasion will be posthumously awarded the Bronze Star and Combat Medic Badge, according to an Army statement.

Staff Sgt. Waverly Woodson, a Black medic, is credited with saving the lives of more than 200 troops on the beaches of France, all while suffering from his own severe injuries. Woodsons wife and son will receive the medals on his behalf during an Oct. 11 ceremony at Woodsons gravesite at Arlington National Cemetery.

Woodson, who passed away in 2005, was authorized to be awarded the Bronze Star in 1945, but was never formally presented the medal due to a subsequent deployment to Japan, according to the Army statement. He was approved for the Combat Medic Badge this August.

A bipartisan group of more than a dozen lawmakers, meanwhile, feel that Woodson is deserving of the Medal of Honor, the nations highest award for valor, according to the statement.

The Army praised Woodson in a press release shortly after D-Day, highlighting how he worked for 30 straight hours to save U.S. and British troops. Segregation at the time, however, played a role in his award consideration.

An Army captain serving as the First Armys historian recently unearthed a trove of previously undiscovered evidence that Woodson was actually nominated for the Medal of Honor during World War II. Racism, lost records and infighting between senior military leaders in Europe, however, thwarted those efforts, according to the statement.

A number of speakers will honor Woodson at the ceremony, including Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., retired Lt. Gen. Stephen Twitty, retired Lt. Gen. Thomas James, and First Armys Command Sgt. Maj. Chris Prosser.

Woodsons story has been highlighted in the book Forgotten: The Untold Story of D-Days Black Heroes, at Home and at War by Linda Hervieux.
X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, began changing how links to news posts appear in users feeds Wednesday night, removing headlines and text that were previously displayed alongside images.

Most linked news articles now display only the articles lead image on X, with a small link to the outlets main web address in the bottom-left corner to distinguish them from stand-alone images.

X owner Elon Musk confirmed in August that he planned to remove headlines and text from news links, noting the shift was coming from him directly and was meant to improve aesthetics.

The move occurred one day after Musk suggested publishers post their content in long form on X instead of via links.

Our algorithm tries to optimize time spent on X, so links dont get as much attention, because there is less time spent if people click away, Musk said in a post on Tuesday. Best thing is to post content in long form on this platform.

The billionaire, who initially acquired the platform for $44 billion last fall, has criticized legacy news outlets in recent posts and instead encouraged users to engage in citizen journalism.

I almost never read legacy news anymore, he said Tuesday. Whats the point of reading 1000 words about something that was already posted on X several days ago?

Citizen journalism is the path to better future! Musk added the next day. I strongly encourage people around the world to post news about events as theyre happening, in both text & video.

Musk has repeatedly sparred with news organizations over his management of the platform, which has become a key tool for journalists and the media.

He banned several journalists from the platform last December after they reported on an account that posted updates about the location of his private jet. Musk also sparked controversy in April after he briefly labeled NPR as state-affiliated and government-funded media.

Several watchdog organizations have also warned that Musks decisions to walk back various content moderation rules and restore previously banned accounts, such as that of former President Trump, have led to an increase in the spread of misinformation and hate speech on the platform.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Right-wing TV personality Johnny Tabacco speaks to a crowd of protesters outside of a migrant centre in Staten Island. (Julia Saqui / The Independent )

On a rainy evening in a quiet residential neighbourhood on Staten Island, right wing media personality John Tabacco stood on the back of a flatbed truck in a suit, flanked by the Stars and Stripes and a  Dont Tread On Me  flag.

Believe it or not, this whole damn country left it up to Staten Island to go toe-to-toe with George Soros! shouted Tabacco, a host on Newsmax. A crowd of protesters cheered the reference to the often-repeated conspiracy theory that many consider to be anti-Semitic. Staten Island is where we draw a line in the sand. Its a fight between good and evil, he went on, to even louder cheers.

The subject of Tabaccos ire, and the cause of the gathering, lay in the building behind him: a few dozen recently arrived asylum seekers housed in a former school that has been turned into a temporary shelter.

The centre, formerly the St John Villa Academy, has become a focal point for protests against the temporary housing of migrants around New York City. Since late August, local residents have held loud nightly demonstrations outside of the building where a few dozen families and single women are living, clashing with police .

One of the signs at the Staten Island protest (Julia Saqui / The Independent)

Some of these protests have taken a sinister and xenophobic turn. On 28 September,The Independent witnessed people holding signs that read Americans over illegals and Send them back! At an earlier protest, a resident who lives on the same street as the facility set up a loud speaker to play the same message in six languages on repeat: aaImmigrants are not safe here. Others have taken to shining bright flashing lights into the windows of shelters at night to disrupt those trying to rest.

Staten Island residents shine lights at a migrant shelter in frustration on the migrant being housed at the nursing home

For licensing email Leeroypress@gmail.com pic.twitter.com/Q2oEOrSmCQ  Leeroy Johnson (@LeeroyPress) September 21, 2023

In times past, small but vocal anti-migrant protesters here in Staten Island  the most conservative of the five boroughs  might have been an outlier in a city that was built by, and whose very identity is tied to, immigration. But increasingly they have found common cause with Democratic city and state leaders, including mayor Eric Adams and New Yorks governor, Kathy Hochul.

New York City is struggling to deal with a sharp influx of asylum seekers. Currently it is currently providing shelter to around 60,000 asylum seekers, and has been forced to use city-owned buildings in far flung parts of the city to do it. The numbers represent a massive increase on previous years: in 2021, city courts issued around 30,000 notices to appear in immigration court. That number rose to 70,000 in 2022 and doubled again, to reach 140,000, by August of this year.

The Adams administrations response looks set to alter the citys status as one of the worlds most welcoming places for migrants.

We are past our breaking point, Adams said in August. New Yorkers compassion may be limitless, but our resources are not.

Those sentiments have been echoed by protesters on Staten Island, but that hasnt stopped them blaming the mayor for the influx.

The mayor of the city opened his arms months ago, and welcomed them with candy and gifts, now hes shitting his pants, Scott LoBaido, an activist and artist who paints portraits of Donald Trump and American flags, told The Independent, before taking his turn to speak at the migrant centre protest last week.

People gather for a protest in Staten Island (Julia Saqui / The Independent)

Everybodys a sanctuary city enthusiast until the sanctuary city gets plopped in their front door and it is out of control, he added.

Adams condemned the Staten Island protesters for some commentary of hate and racist comments. But his tone on rising migrant numbers has changed in recent months, casting it in apocalyptic terms and claiming it will destroy New York City if not addressed urgently. Adams is now seeking to exclude migrants from the citys longstanding right to shelter law, which requires authorities to provide shelter for anyone who needs it, arguing that housing migrants will cost the city $12bn .

His administration began distributing flyers at the southern US border, telling migrants there is no guarantee they will receive shelter or services. The city shut down a reception centre at the citys main bus station where volunteers greeted newly arrived migrants and directed them towards city services. Mayor Adams chief advisor, Ingrid Lewis-Martin, recently called on the federal government to  close the borders , echoing Republican falsehoods about the US border being open.

We have seen what happens when our elected officials use inflammatory xenophobic language against vulnerable communities.

Murad Awawdeh, executive director of the New York Immigration Coalition

The Adams administrations sudden shift in rhetoric and policy is stoking the flames of anti-migrant feeling seen in St John Villa Academy protests, say immigration activists.

In Staten Island, we have seen what happens when our elected officials use inflammatory xenophobic language against vulnerable communities, giving right-wing groups cover to further demonise them and incite the public in the name of public safety, Murad Awawdeh, executive director of the New York Immigration Coalition, told The Independent.

He added that although the protesters represent a minority, they are nonetheless emboldened by the reckless and dangerous rhetoric of elected officials, and are using increasingly problematic tactics.

For the Staten Island protesters who turned out last week, this was not just a problem of resources, but a broader struggle against the Biden administrations immigration policies, both real and imagined.

LoBaido, the activist and artist, said the people protesting werent against migrants  we are all immigrants too  but rather those who came into the country illegally.

Scott LoBaido, an activist and artist who paints portraits of Donald Trump and American flags, addresses a protest outside of a migrant centre on Staten Island. (Richard Hall / The Independent)

A large percentage of these illegal aliens coming here are young adult men [...] and they need to be sent back, he told The Independent.

This is just an invasion, he added.

Migrants who make it to the US have a legal right to seek asylum and are allowed to remain in the country while their claim is processed. Many migrants arriving in New York have made their own way here, attracted by its historic reputation as a city of immigrants. But others were brought by bus as part of a politicised scheme by the Republican governor of Texas, Greg Abbott, to transfer migrants to Democratic cities. A large portion of the new arrivals to New York over the past year have come from Venezuela, where the countrys economic collapse has caused more than 7 million to flee.

There is also no indication that the migrants housed in the former school entered the country illegally. City Hall has described those living there as single adult women and families, and noted that less than two per cent of the 60,000 migrants currently being sheltered by New York City are in Staten Island.

But despite those numbers, the St John Villa Academy is now at the centre of New Yorks migrant crisis in more ways than one. Just days before the protest, a judge temporarily blocked the city from using it to house migrants, striking at the heart of the citys longstanding law to provide shelter to anyone who needs it.

The judge wrote that the 1981 consent decree only applied to certain groups: destitute and homeless alcoholics, addicts, mentally impaired derelicts, flotsam and jetsam, to be precise. He further called the decree an anachronistic relic from the past, an altruistic plan to assist local Bowery derelicts, and ordered the centre closed.

The city quickly filed an appeal and a judge ruled in its favour , allowing migrants to keep living there. But the Staten Island protesters were still celebrating the case as a win days later.

This has been the epicentre of the battle all over the country to stop the invasion of illegals, said Curtis Sliwa, the leader of the Guardian Angels and Adams Republican opponent in the 2021 mayoral race, before he took his turn on stage at the Staten Island protest.

No community was able to do it until Staten Island came together. 

The status of the centre, and others like it, is made all the more precarious by a simultaneous legal battle going on in a separate court where the Adams administration is currently attempting to end the citys right to shelter.

In a letter to a New York judge , the city claimed unprecedented demands on the citys shelter resources confront the city defendant with challenges never contemplated, foreseeable or indeed, even remotely imagined.

Adams said in a statement that the change was needed because New York City cannot single-handedly provide care to everyone crossing our border. Being dishonest about this will only result in our system collapsing, and we need our government partners to know the truth and do their share.

Migrants sleeping on the sidewalk outside the Roosevelt Hotel in Manhattan (Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)

On Wednesday, his administration filed a request with New Yorks Supreme Court to suspend the right to shelter law, blaming the influx of migrants. He said in a statement: It is abundantly clear that the status quo cannot continue.

The move has infuriated migrant rights groups. Josh Goldfein, staff attorney at Legal Aid, which sued the city to meet its right to shelter obligations in August after migrants were left sleeping outside of an intake centre in Manhattan, told The Independent the right is guaranteed by New Yorks Constitution and protects our most vulnerable neighbours from injury or death as a result of exposure to the elements on the streets of New York.

Rather than seeking to undo this fundamental protection, all three levels of government should be working together to help our newest neighbours find ways to support themselves and their families, he added.

The Adams administration, meanwhile, has suggested that the city is unable to solve the crisis alone.

A City Hall spokesperson said in a statement: New Yorkers are weary of bearing the brunt of this national crisis, and we empathize with their concerns.

They said that the city had opened 206 sites, including 15 large-scale humanitarian relief centre, but added: The sites we are now finding are the only options left. This situation demands a broader state and national solution.
"The USA and the EU are working on legal procedures to transfer $300 billion of frozen Russian assets to Ukraine," President's Office head Andriy Yermak said on Oct. 5.

The U.S. government and other Group of 7 (G7) countries froze over $300 billion in assets from the Russian Central Bank stored abroad at the start of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Posting on X, formerly known as Twitter, Yermak added that the West's focus on the legal procedures needed to transfer these assets to Ukraine is "a very positive signal" and a "matter of justice."

"Those who kill, destroy, violate international law and the UN Charter must face consequences," he wrote.

The topic of what to do with Russian assets frozen in western countries, and whether to send them to Ukraine to help fund the country's recovery, has been an ongoing discussion.

On Sept. 6, U.S. State Secretary Antony Blinken announced during a visit to Kyiv that the U.S. plans to fund support for Ukrainian military veterans from "assets seized from sanctioned Russian oligarchs" for the first time.

Those who "enabled Putin's war of aggression should pay for it," Blinken said.

In August, Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said that Ukraine is looking for ways to use frozen Russian assets to pay for the reconstruction of Crimea in particular.

Ukraine wants to create an international mechanism through which the aggressor would be mandated to pay for all the damages it has caused, Shmyhal added.

Read also: Investigation: Baltic-registered crypto firms service payments for Russian private army, allow sanctions evasion

Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent.
New York Student Back In US After Being Detained In Dubai For 5 Months Over Airport Altercation | Alexander Spatari

Elizabeth Polanco De Los Santos was released and is back in the United States after being detained in Dubai for five months.

Elizabeth boarded her flight home to New York late Tuesday night. The news that her sentence would be commuted was a welcome end to Elizabeths hellish 5 months in Dubai that left her humiliated, traumatized and out of pocket US$50,000, Radha Stirling , the CEO of Detained in Dubai, the organization that represented Polanco De Los Santos, said in a press release.

Earlier this week, the 21-year-old American student was sentenced to one year in jail after being accused of assaulting and insulting airport staff during a layover on July 15. Polanco De Los Santos had been denied boarding and told to remove her doctor-mandated waist-training brace.

Stirling says she was stripped and humiliated during the ordeal. The student asked her friend for help putting the brace back and touched one of the officers arms. This prompted a filed complaint against her and months of detention in Dubai, which was supposed to be a layover while traveling to Turkey for a vacation.

Elizabeth Polanco De Los Santos has been FREED & ordered to leave #Dubai after being sentenced to 1 year in prison. A very welcomed diplomatic move and an end to her 5 month nightmare. Thank you @RitchieTorres @USAinUAE, the media & the public.  Radha Stirling  CEO @detainedindubai (@RadhaStirling) October 3, 2023

Polanco De Los Santos was fingerprinted and met with police at the airport, where they returned her passport, according to Sterling.

Im so happy I really need this all off my chest, the student wrote in a text message exchange with Sterling.

A New York college student, Elizabeth Polanco De Los Santos, was sentenced to one year in a Dubai prison for alleged assault and insult of an airport security guard during a flight connection, she intended only a short layover, was trapped in Dubai for months. #Travel #Dubai pic.twitter.com/wnW9khMDUd  US-Crimes (@OfficialUScrime) October 3, 2023

Earlier this year, another American, Tierra Young Allen, was detained in Dubai for months after being accused of yelling in public and violating the states obscenity law.

Sterling, who also worked on Allens case, is calling on American tourists to reconsider traveling to Dubai, a popular destination.

Tourists are vulnerable to vindictive, false and unevidenced allegations that could leave them languishing in notorious jails, she wrote. They are vulnerable to extortion schemes like we see from airport staff, rental car agents, taxi drivers and so on.
The man who set off a smoke bomb and opened fire on a crowded New York City subway train last year, injuring 29 people but miraculously killing none, was sentenced Thursday to 10 concurrent life terms plus a 10-year consecutive term in prison.

Frank James pleaded guilty in January in federal court to 10 counts of committing a terrorist attack or other violence against a mass transportation vehicle and an additional firearms charge in connection to the April 2022 attack.

Prosecutors had asked the judge for a life sentence, while the shooters attorneys asked for 18 years.

James, who was 62 at the time, put on a gas mask, set off a smoke device and fired a handgun at least 33 times on a Manhattan-bound N subway train heading through Brooklyns Sunset Park neighborhood during a weekday morning commute, prosecutors have said.

The smoke device caused passengers to scramble to one end of the subway car, making them easier targets for James, prosecutors said. Ten people were shot and wounded, and others were injured by the smoke or by the panicked crowds. In total, 29 people were hospitalized.

You couldnt see anything, but you could feel it, said Claire Tunkel, a passenger aboard the train who was hospitalized for smoke inhalation. People were rushing to the front of the car, and some fell to the ground, she noted. You could feel the bodies.

When the subway train pulled into the next station, people on board fled  James among them.

His disappearance set off a citywide manhunt and spurred anxiety about the safety of the citys vital transit system. Investigators were able to connect items left behind at the scene  a credit card, a set of keys, a construction jacket and a gun  to James, and police soon publicly released his name and image.

More than 24 hours after the shooting, James called in a tip on himself to police, saying he was at a McDonalds on the Lower East Side of Manhattan. He was arrested on a nearby street when bystanders flagged James to arriving officers.

Prosecutor praises sentence

Speaking outside court Thursday, Breon Peace, the US attorney for the Eastern District of New York, said James was justly held accountable for the attack.

The daily life blood of New York City is in its transit system, he said. Its found in the subway cars that are responsible for safely transporting New Yorkers every single day. Frank James attempted to take that sense of safety away and inject fear and chaos into the heart of the city. While he found temporary success in his plot, due to the resilience of New Yorkers, and our relentless pursuit of justice, he ultimately failed.

He said James planned the attack and noted that it affected not just those on the train but all New Yorkers.

Dozens of peoples lives will forever be negatively affected because of the defendants heartless acts of terror, he said. The impact and the fear were felt beyond the direct victims in that subway car and in that station that morning. The defendant terrorized the city at large.

A spokesperson from the district attorneys office said James attorneys told the court they plan to appeal the sentence. CNN is reaching out to James legal representation for comment.

Prosecutors had charged James with federal terrorism counts for targeting the mass transit system, and Frank admitted fault at his guilty plea in January.

While it was not my intention to cause death, I was aware that a death or deaths could occur as a result of my discharging a firearm in such an enclosed space as a subway car, James said.

James attorneys said he accepted responsibility by essentially turning himself in.

A just sentence in this case will carefully balance the harm he caused with his age, his health, and the Bureau of Prisons notoriously inadequate medical care, attorneys Mia Eisner-Grynberg and Amanda David said in a January statement.

Prior to the shooting, James posted videos on YouTube discussing violence and mass shootings. He also had a criminal history, including 12 prior arrests in New York City and New Jersey for charges including a criminal sex act, theft of service and disorderly conduct, an NYPD official said last year.

Because James had no prior felony convictions, he was able to purchase a gun, the official said.

CNNs Lauren del Valle, Mark Morales, Paul P. Murphy, Brynn Gingras, Shimon Prokupecz, Artemis Moshtaghian, Laura Ly, Alaa Elassar, Kristina Sgueglia and Eric Levenson contributed to this report.

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A man who set off smoke bombs in a crowded New York subway carriage before shooting 10 people has been sentenced to 10 concurrent life terms in prison.

Frank James, 64, had pleaded guilty in January to 10 counts of terrorism, one for each person shot, in the 12 April 2022 attack.

Prosecutors said he planned the attack for years to inflict maximum damage.

All the victims survived but "were left with long-lasting physical and psychological damage".

According to reporters inside the courtroom on Thursday, one of the victims addressed James and said: "You did something terribly evil. Your mother would be ashamed."

The gunman was given 10 life sentences for each person that was shot and wounded, plus 10 additional years on a weapons charge, by US District Court Judge WIlliam Kuntz.

The gunman set off a smoke bomb on the crowded subway and fired his handgun 32 times during the morning rush hour on a Manhattan-bound N train in April. 2022. He only stopped when the gun jammed.

Ten people were wounded in the gun attack and 13 others were injured from smoke-related injuries, according to police.

Following the sentencing, Breon Peace, the US Attorney for the Eastern District of New York said "justice has been served".

"The daily life blood of NYC is in its transit systems" where commuters often "feel a sense of safety," Mr Peace said.

"Frank James attempted to take that sense of safety away and inject fear and chaos into the heart of the city."

Following the shooting, nearby schools were sent into lockdown amid widespread fear as police initiated a manhunt to catch James.

Nearly 30 hours after the shooting, James called in a tip on himself to police, saying he was at a McDonalds on the Lower East Side of Manhattan.

He was eventually arrested without incident.

Lawyers for James had asked for an 18-year prison sentence, arguing that he suffered from a serious mental illness and that he did not intend to kill anyone.

"In a society where, sadly, we learn nearly every day that mass shooters who intend to kill readily achieve their goals, it is far more likely that James lacked that specific intent than that he simply failed in his mission," his lawyer, Mia Eisner-Grynberg, wrote in a memo to court.

In court, James said the attacks he carried out were "cowardly acts of senseless violence".

He also described his struggles with mental illness, and said the discrimination and prejudice he has faced had influenced his actions.

But Judge Kuntz dismissed his justifications.

"Yes, we have issues with guns and mental illness and racism," the judge said, "but only one man took it upon himself to get on that subway car."

Prosecutors said James had carefully planned the attack and scouted out the location weeks before and did practice runs. He also purchased smoke bombs and disguises ahead of time.

On the day of the attack, James disguised himself as a construction worker and launched the attack while the train was in between stations.

Mr Peace said the victims "had nowhere to run".

"We can only imagine the terror that the passengers in that car experienced that morning," he said.

While there were no fatalities, the attack was one of the most violent ever seen on New York's subway system.
Japan makes room for dialogue with N. Korea

By Lee Hyo-jin

The South Korean government should pursue a dual-track approach with North Korea, local analysts said, stressing the need to combine openness for dialogue with strong deterrence.

They also viewed that the Yoon Suk Yeol administration should take into account that Japan seems to be making room for dialogue with North Korea despite strengthened security cooperation between Seoul, Tokyo and Washington against Pyongyang's growing nuclear threats.

The Japanese government had several informal engagements with North Korea earlier this year, according to Japanese media outlets, reporting last week that Japanese officials held secret talks with the North Korean side in March and May in a Southeast Asian country.

Addressing the media, Monday, Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida refrained from commenting on the issue, but neither denied nor confirmed the reports. It is also notable that Kishida had renewed his desire for a summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in a speech during the United Nations General Assembly in New York two weeks earlier.

"The Japanese leader has been calling for a summit with Kim without any preconditions, while forging stronger military ties with South Korea and the United States against North Korea," said Yang Moo-jin, president of the University of North Korean Studies.

"We (South Korea) should also pursue a two-track approach similar to that of Japan and carry out a more balanced strategy to resolve North Korea's nuclear threats."

Nevertheless, Yang viewed that it is highly unlikely for the talks between Japan and North Korea to make tangible progress.

"What Japan wants from North Korea is to resolve the abductee issue, but North Korea does not want to talk about that," he said.

The Kishida administration has been demanding that the Kim regime resolve the issue of Japanese nationals abducted by North Korea in the 1970s and 1980s, but negotiations have stalled as the North continues to insist the abduction issue was resolved when it permitted five Japanese nationals to leave the country in 2002.

Park Won-gon, a professor of North Korean studies at Ewha Womans University, echoed the sentiment, saying, "I don't expect them to hold discussions on a formal level any time soon because the two sides do not seem to have a common agenda on the table."

However, that does not mean that such diplomatic efforts taken by Japan are meaningless, Park added.

"Since taking office, the Yoon administration has been sticking to its hardline stance on North Korea, leaving few chances for dialogue. Of course, the current situation, in which Pyongyang is blatantly advancing its nuclear capabilities, is not an easy environment for talks, but I think it's time for the government to implement its 'Audacious Initiative' plan in earnest."

Last year, the government unveiled its so-called "Audacious Initiative" for Pyongyang, which promises the North Korean government an unprecedented level of economic support in exchange for the country giving up its nuclear weapons.

The government also said it will adhere to the so-called 3Ds policy: deterrence, dissuasion  of nuclear development through sanctions and pressure  and dialogue.

Park said, "All I can see from the current measures is deterrence. Even the Ministry of Unification, whose task it is to coordinate inter-Korean dialogue, is also taking a 'deterrence-only' approach."
[Source]

A growing trend of resignation parties is emerging in China as disillusioned young professionals are quitting their stable jobs with high salaries.

About the resignation parties: These parties, reminiscent of traditional wedding celebrations, involve friends congratulating the individuals who have left their jobs, with red and yellow banners and festivities. The parties often feature a somewhat nostalgic and tacky aesthetic that is reminiscent of past corporate culture celebrations in China.

Party trend: Using hashtags such as quitting and resignation party, many Chinese millennials and Gen-Zs are taking to the lifestyle platform Xiaohongshu to share photos and videos of their departure celebrations from prestigious companies.

The trend has become so widespread in the nation that some companies like Haidilao, a famous hotpot chain, now offer resignation party packages.

More from NextShark: Korean ramen exports hit record high exceeding $400 million amid soaring demand

The viral trend echoes back to the countrys lying flat movement, a deliberate act of frustration and rejection of the notorious rat race among jaded youth. It is a larger shift away from the intense 996 work culture, or working from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., six days a week.

Reasons for quitting: Many of these young professionals, who come from large tech companies like ByteDance, Shein and Xiaohongshu itself, cite reasons such as low wages, burnout and a lack of job satisfaction for leaving their careers behind.

More from NextShark: Sony loses millions after rejecting Chinas demand to remove Statue of Liberty from new Spider-Man' film

The phenomenon is fueled by a sense of overqualification, where employees feel their jobs do not require the skills they acquired through education. While Chinas education system has seen a surge in enrollment, the job market may not demand as many highly skilled workers. This mismatch between education and job opportunities is contributing to a sense of disillusionment among young workers.

I fell into mechanized, repetitive work. It consumed a lot of my energy, a man who resigned from his banking job told CNN. Your innovative ideas would have been dismissed and vanished eventually.

Potential demographic challenges: As many young Chinese workers are exploring alternative approaches to escape the traditional career path, the trend could have long-term consequences for Chinas economy, as it faces a falling birth rate, an aging population and a shrinking workforce. If disillusioned youth permanently drop out of the labor force, it may exacerbate these demographic challenges.

More from NextShark: Japanese World Cup team praised for tidying up locker room after victory over Germany

However, it is uncertain whether the trend will ultimately impact fertility rates as some individuals may use their newfound freedom to focus on relationships, while others may delay family planning due to income concerns.

Enjoy this content? Read more from NextShark!

Bisexuality Was Very Common in Han Dynasty China, According to Historians
By Lucy Craymer

WELLINGTON (Reuters) - New Zealand Prime Minister Chris Hipkins on Friday said he was back on the election campaign trail, after he tested negative for COVID-19 earlier in the day.

New Zealand is just a week out from the Oct. 14 general election, which the ruling Labour party is unlikely to win. Labour faced a new challenge on Sunday when Hipkins tested positive for COVID and had to work remotely while isolating.

Hipkins told TVNZ's 1News on Friday he was feeling good.

"I'm always chipper, even when I'm not," he said.

"But I'm very much looking forward to getting back on the campaign trail."

The government removed its last COVID restrictions in August, but health authorities still recommend people stay home for five days if feeling unwell or if they test positive.

(Reporting by Lucy Craymer; Editing by Tom Hogue)
President Volodymyr Zelensky has arrived in Granada, Spain, to take part in the European Political Community Summit, the president announced on Oct. 5.

"We are working together with partners on enhancing the European security architecture, particularly regional security. Ukraine has substantial proposals in this regard," Zelensky wrote on the social platform X.

"We will pay special attention to the Black Sea region as well as our joint efforts to strengthen global food security and freedom of navigation."

The president added that Kyiv's key priority in the upcoming talks is to strengthen Ukrainian air defense capabilities ahead of the upcoming winter.

The third European Political Community Summit gathers around 50 heads of state and government from across the continent to address common security issues and foster political dialogue.

The meeting follows previous summits held in Bulboaca, Moldova, this year's June and in Prague, Czechia, last October.

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As in Moldova, the Granada summit will address the Russian invasion of Ukraine and "re-establish (European) unity vis-a-vis Russia's aggression against Ukraine," said a press release by the Spanish Presidency of the Council of the EU.

The representatives of the participating nations will discuss possible reforms of international institutions in reaction to the ongoing full-scale war in Ukraine.

The summit was also meant to bring together leaders of Azerbaijan and Armenia for peace talks following Baku's recent military offensive in Nagornko-Karabakh.

The Karabakh region, which is recognized as Azerbaijani under international law but was home to a predominantly Armenian population, surrendered on Sept. 20 after 24 hours of attacks by Azerbaijani forces.

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev recently canceled his plans to attend the peace talks on the sidelines of the Granada summit. According to Bloomberg, Aliyev made the decision in reaction to France's promised military aid for Armenia and due to the absence of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Baku's close ally.

Read also: Zelensky meets European leaders in Moldova, discusses EU, NATO integration process and further military support

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President Volodymyr Zelensky said he met with French President Emmanuel Macron , Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan , and European Council President Charles Michel on Oct. 5 as part of the third European Political Community Summit.

In their first-ever meeting, Zelensky and Pashinyan discussed the security situation in the South Caucasus, bilateral cooperation, and interregional economic projects.

"Ukraine is interested in the stability of the region and friendly relations with its countries," Zelensky said on Telegram.

Read also: Zelensky arrives in Spain for European Political Community Summit

With Macron, the Ukrainian president discussed the country's military needs and air defense capabilities, the security situation in the Black Sea region, and the protection of Ukraine's port infrastructure.

"Ukraine is grateful for the strong and long-term support from the EU, as well as for the practical help of EU member states," Zelensky said following the meeting with Michel.

Zelensky briefed the Council president on the progress of Ukraine's counteroffensive, also touching on Kyiv's peace plan and preparation for the Global Peace Summit.

U.K. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak published a joint photo with Zelensky on the summit's sidelines, saying that London's support for Ukraine was one of his priorities at the event. Ukraine's president hasn't yet reported on their meeting.

According to the Daily Mail, Sunak was supposed to use the meeting to confirm the commitment to additional humanitarian aid for Ukraine.

Earlier, Zelensky met with Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez and Italian Prime Minister Georgia Meloni to discuss the countries' defense assistance for Kyiv and efforts to bolster Ukraine's energy infrastructure.

Ukraine's head of state arrived in Granada, Spain, earlier on Oct. 5 as some 50 European leaders convened to discuss the ongoing Russian invasion and other common security issues. Zelensky said that Kyiv's key priority in the upcoming talks is to strengthen Ukrainian air defense capabilities ahead of the upcoming winter.

Read also: Zelensky meets European leaders in Moldova, discusses EU, NATO integration process and further military support

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President Volodymyr Zelensky met with Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez and Italian Prime Minister Georgia Meloni on the sidelines of the third European Political Community Summit in Granada, Spain, Zelensky announced on Oct. 5.

During their bilateral meeting, Zelensky said he and Sanchez discussed a new military aid package from Spain, which is said to include air defenses, artillery, and anti-drone systems.

"We are preparing to start negotiations on Ukraine's accession to the EU under the presidency of Spain. Thank you for supporting our endeavor," Zelensky wrote on Telegram.

The two leaders also reportedly addressed the provision of energy equipment to Ukraine as the country braces for intensified Russian strikes against the power grid in the coming winter months.

Read also: Zelensky arrives in Spain for European Political Community Summit

During the meeting with Meloni, Zelensky thanked the Italian prime minister for her country's "principled and consistent support in protecting (Ukraine's) freedom and people."

They also discussed a new tranche of defense assistance from Italy with an emphasis on air defense capabilities, the president said.

Ukraine's head of state arrived in Granada earlier on Oct. 5 as some 50 European leaders convened to discuss the ongoing Russian invasion and other common security issues.

Zelensky said that Kyiv's key priority in the upcoming talks is to strengthen Ukrainian air defense capabilities ahead of the upcoming winter.

"We are working together with partners on enhancing the European security architecture, particularly regional security. Ukraine has substantial proposals in this regard," Zelensky wrote on the social platform X.

Read also: Ukrenergo: First mass strike on energy infrastructure in 6 months

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Ukrainian forces are steadily advancing, but arms and ammunition shortages, namely air defense systems, are causing difficulties, President Volodymyr Zelensky told the Italian news channel Sky TG24 on Oct. 4.

"The initiative is in our hands. Albeit slowly, we are pushing Russia out of our country step by step," Zelensky said in the interview.

"Difficulties are posed by the minefields and by the shortages of weapons and ammunition, especially air defenses," he added.

NATO, the U.S., and the U.K. have been raising the alarm on dwindling arms and ammunition stocks, which they and other allied countries could send to Ukraine.



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Admiral Rob Bauer, the chair of the NATO Military Committee, urged Kyiv's partners to ramp up their defense industry production to ensure a stable flow of weapon supplies.

Continued security assistance is also the focal point of a legislative battle in the U.S., as a right-wing faction of the Republican Party criticizes the level of support that Washington is providing to Ukraine.

In the interview, Zelensky stressed that anti-air systems are crucial not only for the ongoing counteroffensive but also to protect the civilian population.

Ukrainian officials warned earlier that Russia is likely to escalate its strikes against the civilian infrastructure in the coming winter in an effort to cripple the country's power grid. Moscow attempted such a strategy during the fall and winter of 2022-2023.

Ukrenergo, Ukraine's state energy operator, said that a wave of Russian attacks on Sept. 21 marked the first mass strike on the energy infrastructure in six months.

Read also: Investigative Stories from Ukraine: Russian drone downed by Ukraine is full of Western components

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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has discussed with Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez a new package of defence support for Ukraine and the opening of negotiations on joining the European Union during a meeting in Granada.

Source: Zelenskyy on Telegram, as reported by European Pravda

Details: Zelensky said that he and Sanchez discussed a new defence support package that includes additional air defence assets, artillery and anti-drone systems.

The further movement of Ukraine towards EU membership was also discussed.

Quote from Zelenskyy: "We are preparing to start negotiations on Ukraine's accession to the EU under the presidency of Spain. Thank you for supporting our aspiration."

More details: Spain will chair the EU Council until the end of the year. A meeting of European leaders will be held in December, at which the opening of negotiations with Ukraine can be decided.

The provision of energy equipment to Ukraine before the winter period and the operation and protection of the grain corridor were discussed with Sanchez as well, Zelenskyy said.

Zelenskyy thanked Sanchez and the entire Spanish society for their support and clear condemnation of Russian aggression.

Background:

Zelenskyy is on a visit to the Spanish city of Granada, where the summit of the European Political Community is being held on 5 October.

Arriving at the summit of the European Political Community in Spain, Zelenskyy commented on concerns about the further support of Ukraine by the United States.

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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy arrived in the Spanish city of Granada on Oct. 5 for the third summit of the European Political Community (EPC), saying he had come to hold bilateral talks with the countrys allies.

Zelenskyy wrote in a post on his Telegram channel that he had come to Spain to work on "strengthening the existing security architecture in Europe, including regional security."

Read also: Zelenskyy discusses joint arms production with French defense minister

"Ukraine's key priority, particularly as winter approaches, is to strengthen its air defenses, Zelenskyy said.

We have already laid the groundwork for new agreements with partners and look forward to their approval and implementation, he said.

He added that special attention would be paid "to the Black Sea region, as well as our joint efforts to strengthen global food security and freedom of navigation."

Read also: Shortages of weapons, ammunition and air defenses challenge Ukraine at front  Zelenskyy

The meeting brings together some 50 leaders from across the continent, including French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak. The leaders of Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Moldova, and Ukraine were also invited to take part in the event.

At their meetings, European leaders will assure Zelenskyy of their long-term support after U.S. President Joe Biden voiced fears that Republican infighting in the U.S. Congress could damage U.S. aid to Kyiv, news agency Reuters said in a report on the meeting.

The EPC, which was established in 2022 following Russia's invasion of Ukraine to foster cooperation among European countries, has so far met twice  in Prague in October 2022, and in Bulboaca, Moldova, on June 1 this year.

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Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
On 5 October, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan for the first time.

Source: Zelenskyy on Telegram

Quote: "We discussed the security situation in the South Caucasus during our first meeting with Nikol Pashinyan, Armenian Prime Minister.

Ukraine is interested in the stability of the region and friendly relations with its countries."

Details: Zelenskyy also said that the parties discussed bilateral cooperation between Ukraine and Armenia and interregional economic projects.

Background:

On 3 October, the National Assembly of Armenia passed a bill to ratify the Rome Statute, establishing the International Criminal Court, which had previously issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Following Armenia's ratification of the Rome Statute, the Kremlin said it did not want Russian dictator Vladimir Putin to have to cancel a visit to an allied country.

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Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Olaf Scholz

Germany is working on supplementing Ukraine with an additional Patriot Surface-to-Air Missile (SAM) system by winter, President Volodymyr Zelenskyys office said following a meeting with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Oct. 5.

Zelenskyy briefed Scholz on the current battlefield situation and the highest priority needs of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. The president expressed his gratitude to Germany for its support of Ukraine.

NV

Moreover, Ukraine is set to receive six launchers for the Hawk SAM system from Spain, according to the press service of the Spanish government. The decision was announced during Zelenskyy's meeting with acting Spanish PM Pedro Sanchez.

Read also: Zelenskyy urges Russian opposition to mount efforts to dismantle dictator Putin's regime

The additional air defense systems will help protect civilian objects and critical energy infrastructure against Russian attacks, expected to resume this winter season.

Sanchez also promised to deliver new drone countermeasure systems and demining equipment.

Read also: Shortages of weapons, ammunition and air defenses challenge Ukraine at front  Zelenskyy

On Oct.5, Zelenskyy arrived in Granada, Spain, to participate in the Third European Political Community Summit, attended by approximately 50 leaders of states, governments, and EU institutions.

During his visit, the Ukrainian president met with French President Emmanuel Macron, European Council President Charles Michel, Italian PM Giorgia Meloni, and other European leaders.

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Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
The foreign ministry stressed Thursday that all United Nations member states, including North Korea, have the obligation to comply with Security Council resolutions, after a news report that a North Korean oil tanker with a sanctions violation record was detected in Chinese waters.

The Voice of America (VOA) has reported the oil tanker, names Mu Bong 1, was spotted in waters east of a Chinese port on the east coast on Monday (local time), spawning suspicion of illicit maritime activities by Pyongyang in violation of U.N. Security Council (UNSC) resolutions.

The Mu Bong 1 vessel is known to have engaged in multiple illicit ship-to-ship transfers of sanctioned products in the East China Sea in 2019, according to the VOA.

"U.N. member states are responsible for faithfully implementing relevant UNSC resolutions and international standards over the course of all types of human and material exchanges, including those that have resumed after North Korea's full border reopening," foreign ministry spokesperson Lim Soo-suk said in a press briefing.

"Our government is closely watching North Korea for suspected sanctions evasion and suspicious movements," Lim said, vowing continued diplomatic efforts and coordination with the international community over the matter.

North Korea is banned from transporting fuel and other commodities via ships under the UNSC sanctions resolutions imposed in response to it nuclear and missile programs. Pyongyang is believed to have engaged in constant illicit ship-to-ship transfers to evade sanctions. (Yonhap)
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called on the Russian opposition to "take appropriate steps to change something in their country," during an interview with Sky TG24 on Oct. 4.

"It is very difficult to send any messages to the Russian Federation today," the head of state said.

It seems to me that those people who are on the territory of Russia do not want to hear anything. It is easier for them to live like this.

Otherwise, Russians would have come out for opposition rallies, the Ukrainian leader argued.

Read also: Why are Russians not protesting against the war in Ukraine?

"The current head of state of Russia (dictator Vladimir Putin  ed.) is a person who could be re-elected (in 2024) and against whom people should have fought if they supported freedom and human rights," Zelenskyy said.

He also said that Russian opposition forces that are fighting against Putin's aggressive policies, "should continue to follow this path."

Read also: Russian opposition activist Ponomarev claims Russian National Republican Army killed Dugina

"Ukraine must oust the enemy, Europe must support Ukraine, support Ukrainian values, because these are common values and common threats," Zelenskyy said.

And the opposition in Russia must take appropriate steps if they want something to really change in their country.

The Ukrainian president also rejected the possibility of any diplomacy with Russia, stressing that he believes Putin does not want peace.

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Volodymyr Zelenskyy , President of Ukraine, stated that in case the war in Ukraine is frozen, Russia may attack other countries in 2028.

Source: Zelenskyy as a press conference in Spain

Quote: "At the moment Russia is considering different scenarios for the next few years. One of them is particularly dangerous. If there is any pause in this aggression against Ukraine, if this war is frozen, then there will be a new critical moment  the year of 2028.

If we allow Russia to adapt now, then in 2028 the Kremlin will be able to restore the military potential we deprived it of, and Russia will have enough force to attack the countries which are in the focus of its expansionist ambitions. Besides Ukraine these are definitely the Baltic countries and the countries with a lot of Russian on their territory.

This is clear information from our intelligence, and we are sending you a signal."

Details: Zelenskyy stressed that Russia is seeking ways to freeze the situation and adapt, makes conclusions from its errors and prepares to advance.

"Please remember that the most dangerous enemy is the one that has made conclusions and prepared for the next strike on the basis of these conclusions," Zelenskyy added.

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In the wake of a major vote to close or convert two Hill City elementary schools, leadership with Lynchburg City Schools talked about the factors behind the decision and next steps.

At the start of Tuesdays special-called Lynchburg City School Board meeting, city schools attorney Hope Townes provided some background on the boards legal authority to close schools.

Citing Virginia Code, Townes explained that while a governing body can make a recommendation about the adoption of a plan, the ultimate responsibility for school supervision, and consolidation, rests with the school board.

On Sept. 19, the board narrowly voted in favor of a scenario that involves the future closure of Sandusky Elementary School and closure or repurpose  likely to a pre-K facility  of T.C. Miller Elementary School for Innovation.

T.C. Miller parents and community members have been a regular presence at school board meetings since the boards finance and facilities committee recommended closure of their school, and Dearington Elementary School for Innovation, to the full board in late August.

After the school boards September vote, Sandusky community members filled city council chambers Sept. 26, and urged councilmembers to intervene and reverse the decision. Supporters of both schools were at the boards meeting Tuesday.

...[T]hat is and remains the boards decision, controversial though it may be, board Vice Chair Martin Day said of the vote.

The administrations implementation planning is getting off the ground and the board will be hearing more about that soon.

That scenario also calls for division-wide rezoning for close-to-home attendance; and renovations and or/expansions to Perrymont, Linkhorne, Bedford Hills, Paul Munro and Robert S. Payne elementary schools. Beyond the cost for those improvements, the school board also is requesting $15 million from city council to expand and renovate W.M. Bass Elementary School to accommodate the additional students expected to be assigned there with new attendance zones.

The board also brought back representatives from the two consultants who informed the facilities master planning process.

Officials selected Lynchburg firm Dominion Seven to conduct a study of LCS facilities in July 2021; Principal Architect Blair Smith reviewed some of his firms findings from that study.

Smith said the average school size in Lynchburg was 324 students at the time of the study, and the average capacity of elementary school buildings was 400 students.

So, what does that mean? That means you have too many classrooms with not enough students in them, and because of that theyre not efficient.

The average date of construction for LCS elementary schools, and the Carl B. Hutcherson Early Learning Center, is 1951, according to Smith.

The other problem that you have is youve never had, you dont have and you will not have enough financial resources to take care of what youve got. Its just the reality of it. The City Council will never give you the money that you need, he said.

To kind of put some perspective on the financial burden that youre facing, we ran some individual numbers when we did our study on replacing roofs as they come due for all the buildings in your division. That number in 2023 was $28 million just to replace roofs.

Smith told the board W.M. Bass and Linkhorne elementary schools present the best two opportunities for school expansion, while Sandusky was found to be in the worst condition. Only four of eleven elementary schools have classrooms that meet or exceed the size recommended by the U.S. Department of Education, he added.

Bottom line is you have too many schools, too many elementary schools. Many of them are too small just to really provide a quality educational environment. All of them need to be modernized, and there are financial limitations to updating these buildings , Smith said.

School closings not the only answer to budget deficit

After Dominion Seven presented its study report in March 2022, the board commissioned Florida-headquartered consulting group MGT of America to develop scenario options for the future of facilities, focusing on elementary schools.

MGTs Lance Richards also appeared at the meeting Tuesday, saying the groups final task in its partnership with LCS is assisting in the development of the implementation plan specifically considering the student attendance zone assignments to impact all division schools.

Board member Farid Jalil asked Richards why none of the four scenarios MGT created addressed the boards $7.2 million deficit that is the purpose of us doing this in the first place.

Richards answered, to be very honest with you sir, it was only at the last school board meeting that I heard the number $7.2 million.

Day said, I think the short answer is while we hope that the facilities study will lead us to some savings, weve never tried to saddle the facilities study with the whole $7.2 million. We realize that it might contribute to us resolving that, but its not the only answer to it. Those additional funds needed to cover the $7.2 million are going to have to come from other places as well.

Board Chair Atul Gupta explained the $7.2 million deficit is temporary COVID-19 funding the board has allocated for recurring costs thats expected to evaporate next year. In May, the board voted to increase employees minimum hourly wage to $15 per hour and increase starting teacher pay to $47,000, a move Gupta said the division used $4 million in COVID funds for.

School closures were considered as a cost-saving measure at the time, but the board elected to wait until the facilities master plan was complete to make any decisions. Gupta said the division used another $3.2 million about three years ago for behavioral therapists, virtual academy, theres a whole array of things that were funded using coronavirus money at that time.

The board will have to consider how to make up that deficit in its upcoming budget cycle. At the school boards facilities and finance committee meeting earlier in the day, Deputy Superintendent of Operations and Strategic Planning Reid Wodicka said maintaining all existing positions, even if schools close, will be a top priority for budget development.
Participants in the final public forum to gather input on what the Iowa Board of Regents should look for in a superintendent for the states special schools Sept. 27 emphasized the importance of hiring a deaf person who is fluent in American Sign Language and familiar with deaf culture.

The session, the last of three, was held in Cedar Rapids but was accessible statewide via Zoom.

The state is preparing to engage a recruiting firm to find a new superintendent for the Iowa Educational Services for the Blind & Visually Impaired and Iowa School for the Deaf to take over on July 1, 2024. The previous superintendent, Steve Gettel, retired on June 30, 2022. Since then, former assistant administrator John Cool has been serving as interim superintendent.

Most of the people providing input were deaf students or adults who spoke through an interpreter.

Robert Vizzini, a deaf educator at the University of Iowa, said the superintendent must have good relationships with deaf adults and students.

It is important that superintendents understand trends in deaf education and they can establish relationships with teachers, community members, students and alumni and be involved with National Association of the Deaf, he said. It is important that they be deaf themselves  so they can be a role model.

That way, students can see that deaf people can be successful, Vizzini said.

At the very least, they should be fluent in sign language, he said.

Sandra Anderson said the superintendent for ISD who serves for the visually impaired should understand the needs of both deaf and blind students. Deaf education and blind education are totally different fields, she said.

It is critical that they have a knowledge of deaf education prior to becoming superintendent of ISD, she said.

Joey Lewis, whose brother attends ISD, said it was important for the superintendent to establish relationships with teachers, staff and students and listen to feedback from students and families. They need to be an advocate for the school and conduct outreach throughout Iowa and Nebraska.

We want ISD to grow and flourish, he said.

Another speaker was Jennifer Keaton, who said she was representing herself and the deaf-blind community. She said candidates should be asked if they are familiar with deaf and deaf-blind culture. While blind people can still hear, deaf individuals have a barrier to communication, she said.

The superintendent should understand what least restrictive environment means for deaf students, Keaton said. He or she needs to be equally fluent in English and ASL.

D.J. Meyer, president of the Cedar Rapids Association of the Deaf and a 2014 graduate of ISD, said he cherished his time at ISD but that the school had a superintendent when he was there who was not deaf or fluent in ASL.

I wanted somebody in a superintendent to be able to speak directly with students, he said.

Regarding the next superintendent, Meyer said, I want them to be able to communicate with the deaf students. Were a deaf school. Were supposed to be able to communicate directly. They wouldnt have to be deaf, but Id prefer that they be deaf and fluent in ASL.

Vania Kassouf, an ASL teacher, deaf advocate and member of the Cedar Rapids, Iowa and National Associations of the Deaf, emphasized the importance of the superintendent being fluent in ASL and being deaf.

If the superintendent is deaf, this will give students at the school a role model, she said.

The superintendent should also be active in deaf organizations at the state and national levels, Kassouf added.

Cool thanked participants for their comments.

We appreciate so much all the feedback (and participation) weve received at these, he said. Weve received some really valuable feedback from all of you.

Cool said he and his staff would compile the comments and finalize a profile of the desired candidate by the end of last week.

McKenzie Snow, director of the Iowa Department of Education, also thanked participants.

I appreciate all the comments and the passion you have for this incredible institution, she said.

Cool retired as assistant administrator in 2021 before he was called back in 2022 to cover as interim superintendent.

The original plan was for me to serve one year as interim and assist the Board of Regents in the search for a replacement, he said. When the governor announced her (re)alignment bill, there was much discussion at the state level  and the decision was to ask me to stay another year, assist with the alignment/transition to the Department of Education and also to assist with the search 

I was retired for a total of eight months, Cool said. During that eight months, I opened a counseling practice. I am a licensed mental health therapist. While it was a great learning experience and I was able to meet some really great people, the next time I retire, I am planning to focus much more on my wife, children and grandchildren. The family is growing, and my wife and I are looking forward to just spending time with them.

Cools contract as interim ends on June 30, 2024.

There are no guarantees, but at this time, that is when I anticipate retiring  again," he said.
The Nebraska Broadband Office is moving to the next phase of efforts to ensure access to reliable broadband for all Nebraskans. As part of this effort, there will be ongoing public engagements across the state, including a series of nine public meetings and an open comment period from Monday
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Tunisias authoritarian president Kais Saied rejected an EU offer for aid in return for a tighter control on illegal migration.

Tunisia rejects what the EU announced, not because of the small amount  but because the proposal conflicts with the memorandum of understanding signed in July, Saied said.

The dispute between the EU and Tunis has coincided with the arrival of record numbers of migrants from Tunisia to Italys island of Lampedusa.

According to press reports, Since September 11, Lampedusa has seen a record number of arrivals of makeshift boats from Tunisia. In less than 72 hours, up to 6,800 people, mainly from sub-Saharan Africa, arrived on the island.

The July deal with the EU included a pledge of 1 billion euros in aid to Tunisia to help its battered economy, rescue state finances and deal with the migration crisis.

However, the bulk or 900 million dollars was to be disbursed as macroeconomic aid dependent on the conclusion of a deal with the IMF.

Tunisia has so far failed to reach a deal with the IMF, further worsening its rating as it risks defaulting on debt payment.

Talks with the IMF have stalled and many analysts fear the deal needs now to be updated in view of changing economic assumptions. But few expect it to be stricken given Tunisian presidents reluctance to accept painful reforms, on top of which a scrap of general subsidies and a reduction of civil servants.

The MoU with the EU was also criticized by the Tunisian civil society and powerful unions. The Tunisian Forum for Economic and Social Rights (FTDES), said the MoU would transform Tunisia from European border police to European prison guard.

The European commission was also lambasted by members of the European parliament for engaging in a migration deal with President Kais Saied who made xenophobia towards migrants a political capital using theories of the great replacement to stoke anti-migrants acts in his country.

In August, Human Rights Watch said documented abuses against migrants in Tunisia included beatings, use of excessive force, some cases of torture, arbitrary arrests and detention, collective expulsions, dangerous actions at sea, forced evictions, and theft of money and belongings.
Economic growth in Sub-Saharan Africa is expected to decelerate this year by slumps in economic powerhouses South Africa, Nigeria and Angola, the World Bank has announced, expressing fears of a lost decade for the continent, faced with growing instability.

For the current year, growth should reach 2.5%, compared with 3.6% last year, due in particular to the slowdown in the regions main economies, according to the World Banks latest growth forecast for sub-Saharan Africa published on Wednesday (4 October). The Washington-based global lender projects Nigerias economy to grow by 2.9%, while Angolas will reach 1.3% and South Africa just 0.5%. But the fact that its GDP per capita has not grown since 2015 presents an even bigger problem for the region, the World Banks report says. However, there is optimism for a rebound with a projected growth of 3.7% in the following year and an even more promising 4.1% in 2025.

Multiple reasons, most notably political instability, fragility, rising conflict and violence, are cited by the institution as the main culprits of the slowdown and sharp recession in some countries, such as the conflict-torn Sudan, whose economy is expected to shrink by 12% this year. Adding to the bleak picture, public debt remains a cause for concern, with more than twenty countries in the region presenting a high risk of over-indebtedness. Moreover, as the region has not recorded positive growth in per capita terms for the past eight consecutive years, it has been inadequate, in light with the rapid increase in population, to reduce extreme poverty, boost shared prosperity, and create jobs.
The Malian army is deploying towards a northern separatist rebel stronghold in the Kidal region in a high-risk operation which could foreshadow a major confrontation and become a turning point after a decade of conflict.

A large convoy of the Malian army left Gao on Monday (2 October) and was reportedly headed to the localities of Tessalit and Aguelhok, north of Kidal, with the aim of taking control of camps being vacated by departing troops of the the UN stabilization force (MINUSMA). The UN mission must leave the country on orders from the junta and has been handing over its camps to Malian authorities. MINUSMAs departure is widely seen as a primary factor in the resumption of hostilities by the separatists. Against the backdrop of numerous armed groups vying for control, the separatists insist that the UN sites must return to their control.

The Coordination of Azawad Movements (CMA), an alliance of predominantly Tuareg groups seeking autonomy or independence from the Malian state, has carried out a succession of operations from Ber against army positions and its fighters are now gathering in the Kidal region. The desert region of Kidal, a crucial stopover between Mali and Algeria, is the historic focus of independence rebellions dominated by Tuareg, a nomadic and marginalized population whose uprisings have shaken Mali since independence from France in 1960.
French troops will begin withdrawing from Niger this week, Paris announced on Thursday (5 October), while Nigerias top diplomat has said that a military intervention by the West African regional bloc ECOWAS was still on the table.

We will begin our disengagement operation this week, in good order, safely and in coordination with the Nigerians, the French army has said after a falling-out with the West African countrys military junta in power since a July coup. The announcement comes a week after Frances ambassador to Niger returned to Paris under pressure from the regime. President Emmanuel Macron had announced on 24 September the withdrawal of 1,400 French troops, which were deployed in Niger as part of a wider fight against jihadists across the Sahel region, by the end of the year.

Meanwhile, Nigerias Foreign Minister Yusuf Maitama Tuggar has said that two months after the coup in Niger, a military intervention by ECOWAS was still on the table. In an exclusive interview with a French media outlet, he stressed that diplomatic efforts were still under way, but that ECOWAS had not changed its position on the possible use of force to restore constitutional order in Niger. Nigeria currently holds the rotating presidency of ECOWAS. Asked whether Nigerias president was open to negotiating a transition period with the Niger junta, Tuggar replied that Nigeria and ECOWAS still insist on the release of ousted president Mohamed Bazoum and the return of constitutional order.
Hong Kong: Govt concerned about wild pig attack

The Agriculture, Fisheries & Conservation Department said it is very concerned about an incident where a wild pig injured people on Stubbs Road today and expressed its sympathies to the injured, wishing them a speedy recovery.

The department received a referral from Police this morning regarding a wild pig injuring six members of the public at a construction site on Stubbs Road.

It immediately sent a dedicated 10-member team to the scene with a view to capturing the wild pig.

The animal was found upon arrival but eventually escaped from the site. The dedicated team, with the assistance of Police, continued to search the nearby hillside areas and set up a trapping device at the scene.

The team will conduct a capture operation at Stubbs Road and other locations tonight.

To safeguard the public and maintain public hygiene, the department implemented new measures in November 2021 to capture wild pigs for humane dispatching from sites with large numbers of wild pigs, with cases of wild pigs injuring citizens, or with wild pigs posing risks to members of the public.

The department has captured and humanely dispatched of eight wild pigs on Stubbs Road so far this year.

Since the implementation of the new measures, a total of over 630 wild pigs have been humanely dispatched, with the number of wild pig nuisance blackspots falling from 63 in 2021 to 28 as of today.

The trend in the number of public reports of wild pig sightings or nuisances received by the department also decreased, from over 1,400 cases in 2021 to about 1,100 cases in 2022. The number of cases this year as of September was about 770.

Furthermore, the number of injury cases caused by wild pigs has decreased from 20 in 2021 and 36 in 2022, to five cases in 2023.

This story has been published on: 2023-10-05. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
Resolution proposals under parliamentary review to stop Chinas forced deportations

By Jung Min-ho

South Koreas human rights watchdog chief has urged the U.N. refugee agency (UNHRC) to take more proactive measures to protect North Korean refugees in China where they tremble with the constant fear of deportation, according to a letter obtained by The Korea Times on Thursday.

In the letter sent on Sept. 13 to UNHRC chief Filippo Grandi, Song Doo-hwan, chairperson of the National Human Rights Commission of Korea, asked him to formally request the Chinese government to permanently stop repatriating North Korean escapees against their will.

At this very moment, North Korean defectors in China are desperately hoping for a helping hand to save them from the immediate threats of torture and punishment, he wrote.

Even beyond the application of the Refugee Convention, I earnestly request your agency to take more proactive measures in these matters from a humanitarian perspective that upholds universal human values, protects human rights, and guarantees the lives and basic rights of North Korean defectors.

Song conveyed the message at a time when rights advocates were criticizing the UNHRC and other U.N. agencies for their lack of action and silence despite signs of North Korea easing border restrictions after three years of extreme pandemic isolation. They said Beijing could resume its practice of deporting North Korean escapees soon, adding that as many as 2,000 such people were currently detained in China.

Under the Constitution, Song said his organization is responsible for improving human rights for all citizens regardless of where they live on the Korean Peninsula.

Although due to division, the effective authority of the Republic of Korea does not extend to the North Korean region, we engage in activities to improve the human rights of North Korean residents and defectors, he wrote.

Given the limitations, Song asked Grandi for his active involvement and ongoing interest, saying that assistance of international institutions, such as the UNHRC, is urgently needed.

Despite being a signatory to international treaties, such as the Refugee Convention and the Convention against Torture, China has violated them while prioritizing its bilateral deals with North Korea, which demands the return of all fugitives and criminals.

In the letter, Song said the situation regarding the issue is even worsening in China, in which authorities are strengthening inspections and searches in border areas, conducting special crackdowns and arrests of North Korean defectors.

During his last visit to Seoul last November, Grandi had a meeting with Song, who promised his organizations cooperation in protecting and promoting the rights of refugees.

Before sending the letter, Song issued a statement in June to urge both Seoul and Beijing to work together to resolve the repatriation issue.

Meanwhile, lawmakers are preparing for a joint move against the rights-violating practice of Beijing. So far, four proposals for resolution have been submitted at the National Assembly, including one containing the signatures of two defector-turned-lawmakers  Ji Seong-ho and Tae Yong-ho  and 32 others. After the Standing Committees review, lawmakers are expected to vote on the proposals soon.

The National Assembly of the Republic of Korea urges China, a permanent member of the U.N. Security Council and a member of the U.N. Human Rights Council, to grant refugee status to the North Korean escapees who meet the requirements and permit them to move to where they want, the proposal says.

The National Assembly of the Republic of Korea resolutely oppose detention and forcible repatriation of any North Korean escapees and will try its best to protect the their basic rights guaranteed by the Constitution and international laws.
The leader of the Free Destourian Party (PDL), one of the main opposition parties in Tunisia, was placed in conditional detention on Tuesday after she was arrested in front of the presidential palace, according to the lawyer of her party.

Abir Moussi was detained, but the reasons for her arrest remained unknown, said lawyer Naoufel Bouden.

According to her party, Ms. Moussi was arrested in front of the presidential palace in Carthage, where she had come to file appeals against presidential decrees, as she claimed.

Members of her party denounced her abduction in statements to Tunisian media.

In a video posted on the PDLs Facebook page, Ms. Moussi stated before her arrest that the presidential office had refused to accept her appeal and issue her an acknowledgment receipt.

Abir Moussi, a former member of parliament, is a staunch opponent of President Kais Saied and the Ennahdha Islamists, claiming the legacy of former President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, who was overthrown in 2011 during the Arab Spring uprising.

She is accused by the left of seeking to establish a new dictatorship in Tunisia.

Since early February, authorities have incarcerated several opposition figures, including the historic leader of the Islamist-conservative Ennahdha party, Rached Ghannouchi, as well as prominent figures, including former ministers and businesspeople.

President Saied, accused by the opposition of authoritarianism, has labeled the arrested individuals as terrorists and claimed they were involved in a plot against the security of the state.
President of the Union of the Comoros, current Chairman of the African Union, Azali Assouman, commended the continental leadership of King Mohammed VI and the quality of relations binding Morocco and the Union of the Comoros.

The Comorian Head of State made the remarks while receiving President of the High Authority for Audiovisual Communication (HACA), Latifa Akharbach, in capital Moroni, on Tuesday

Azali Assouman hailed the continental leadership of King Mohammed VI, the quality of the relations linking the Kingdom and the Union of the Comoros, and the ongoing mutual solidarity that characterizes these relations, HACA said in a press release.

The Comorian President also praised the HACAs commitment to the Comorian National Press and Audiovisual Council (CNPA), which is engaged in a vast program of modernization and professional upgrading, and expressed his support for any sharing of expertise that would enable the introduction of proactive regulation capable of promoting public communication and media practices serving the values of living together, tolerance, and social development.

HACA President stressed during the audience that the extension of bilateral cooperation between Morocco and the Union of the Comoros to the field of autonomous media regulation is a relevant contribution to the dynamic spurred by the South-South cooperation advocated and supported by King Mohammed VI in favor of a strong and united Africa.

The establishment of concrete and operational cooperation between the HACA and the CNPA will enrich the experience of both countries in the field of media regulation, with a focus on increasing the skills of the regulator, developing professional intelligence, adapting to the new digital media environment and promoting the citizens right to quality and trustworthy information, Akharbach was quoted in the press release as saying.

Speaking in her capacity as President of the African Communication Regulation Authorities Network (ACRAN), Akharbach presented this pan-African platform of regulators to the President of the State of Comoros, outlining the networks 2023-2024 roadmap, in addition to the major areas of reflection identified on the continent in terms of audiovisual and digital regulation.

In this respect, she highlighted ACRANs ambition to make an effective contribution to promoting the status, resources, skills, and autonomy of African regulators, so that they can act optimally to consolidate local and national media systems and build the continents informational sovereignty.
(P)eople fail in the art of living not because they are inherently bad or so without will that they cannot live a better life; they fail because they do not wake up and see when they stand at a fork in the road and have to decide. They are not aware when life asks them a question, and when they still have alternative answers. Then with each step along the wrong road it becomes increasingly difficult for them to admit that they are on the wrong road, often only because they have to admit that they must go back to the first wrong turn, and must accept the fact that they have wasted energy and time.

The same holds true for social and political life.

 Erich Fromm, The Heart of Man  Its Genius for Good and Evil (1964)

Erich Fromm escaped Nazi Germany and settled in the U.S. in 1934. He was an internationally renowned psychologist, sociologist and philosopher until his death in 1980.

His nearly 60-year-old observation perhaps explains how one of our nations revered political parties  which traces its roots to ridding this country of its original sin of slavery  seems on the cusp of nominating Donald Trump for the office of President of the United States.

Just this past week, Trump has suggested that the countrys top military officer, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Mark Milley, be executed; has been found to have committed fraud by a New York state court which may result in millions of dollars in civil penalties including the loss of the ability to do business in that state; and has pledged to investigate the parent company of NBC and other news outlets for country threatening treason, tabbing the news media with the Stalinist phrase, enemy of the people.

All of that in one week which was met with less than a shrug by likely Republican primary voters who poll dramatically in favor of the former president.

Milley has dedicated his life to honorable and distinguished service in our countrys military, seen extensive combat, and risked his life to defend the nations Constitution. Trump asserts that in prior times, Milley would be executed.

A state judge applies the law to actual evidence presented in a real court to find Trump committed fraud producing the ex-presidents now familiar baseless allegation of a corrupt witch hunt.

Trump demeans media outlets with the totalitarian slur  enemy of the state  in stark opposition to the absolute necessity of a free press to ensure personal liberty as enshrined by our Founders in the First Amendment.

In a single week, three foundational pillars of our democratic republic  an independent judiciary, freedom of the press and military service  were slandered and denigrated by Trump, and his already-substantial lead in polls of Republicans only increased.

There are many miles between last week and that 2016 fork in the road where enough of our fellow citizens decided to overlook Trumps many flaws rather than vote for Hillary Clinton.

Those miles are smothered with offenses as varied as an attempted Muslim ban; declaring that there were very fine people among the White supremacists and neo-Nazis marching at Charlottesville, Virginia; praise for authoritarian dictators including Russias Vladimir Putin and North Koreas Kim Jong Un; baseless denials of Bidens victory in the 2020 election; inciting the violence of Jan. 6; and being charged with 91 criminal felony counts in four separate indictments.

Each violation, which standing alone only a few years ago would have made presidential aspirations a pipe dream, has instead served as another step along the wrong road putting more distance from that first wrong turn.

Our country loves stories of redemption. From the Bibles Parable of the Prodigal Son, celebrating a childs return home after straying, to To Kill a Mockingbirds honoring of a son-of-the-souths futile efforts on behalf of a Black man in segregated Alabama in the 1930s  we rejoice in the possibility of righting our ways.

Regardless of the difficulty in admitting being on the wrong road and the need to go back to the beginning, Trumps increasingly dangerous efforts to falsely delegitimize the people and institutions that uphold the principles of our nation must be rejected if our representative democracy is to be recognizable to our children and grandchildren.

Our country needs that story of redemption, that return to the correct path.
Photo: Anna Rose Layden/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Another member of George Santoss circle has found themselves in legal trouble.

Nancy Marks, who worked as an accountant on the congressmans 2020 and 2022 House campaigns, pleaded guilty to one charge of conspiracy to defraud the United States in federal court, according to the New York Times. Marks appeared in court in Central Islip, Long Island, Thursday afternoon. She resigned as Santoss campaign accountant earlier in the year as questions grew about the serial fabulists finances.

Marks admitted to the judge that she had falsified campaign finance reports and said that a $500,000 loan that Santos claimed to have made to himself was fake. She could face three and a half to four years in prison, per the Associated Press.

In May, Santos was indicted on 13 federal charges, including wire fraud, money laundering, theft of public funds, and making false statements. Prosecutors allege that Santos directed a political consultant to solicit contributions for his campaign only to use the funds for personal use such as paying bills or buying designer clothes.

Santos has maintained his innocence in the matter and has even indicated his plans to run for reelection in 2024 despite numerous calls for him to resign from office. Last month, prosecutors in the case sought to delay his court date to October 27.

Marks is only the latest former employee of Santos to find themselves on the wrong side of the law. In August, Samuel Miele, a former fundraiser for the congressman, was charged with impersonating an aide of former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy. He is alleged to have pretended to be McCarthys past chief of staff in order to solicit donations to Santoss campaign. Miele pleaded not guilty.
The history of the Empire is a monotonous story of the intrigues of priests, eunuchs and women, of poisonings, of conspiracies, of uniform ingratitude, of perpetual fratricides, wrote a 19th-century historian. He was describing the Byzantine Empire, but the quote  minus the details about the eunuchs and poisonings  applies about as well to the House Republicans.

The last three decades have seen an endless succession of coups, scandals, and humiliations, at times reducing the position of Speaker of the House to a hollowed-out title hardly anybody of note even wanted to claim. By this point, the rituals of plotting and counterplotting are so deeply ingrained that every new Republican Speaker is greeted with built-in opposition and ready speculation as to who will take over as the next Speaker after the newly inaugurated one is inevitably deposed.

The congressional Republican fratricide era began with the rise of Newt Gingrich (more on him shortly). But its intellectual roots stretch back to the early 1960s, when the upstart conservative movement first crawled out of the primordial ooze and set out to seize control of the party.

A key document of the movement is A Choice Not an Echo, Phyllis Schlaflys 1964 book that the Barry Goldwater campaign embraced as a manifesto. Schlafly argued that the Republican Party had endured a series of defeats since the 1930s because a small group of secret kingmakers, using hidden persuaders and psychological warfare techniques, manipulated the Republican National Convention to nominate candidates who would sidestep or suppress the key issues. The party could have won all these elections, she argued, but it lost instead because its leaders had an interest in sustaining the status quo and manipulated the party to suppress a frontal right-wing challenge.

Schlaflys analysis created a familiar template for conservative thought. Political defeat could never be rationalized as a normal part of political conflict nor corrected by aligning the party more closely to the beliefs of the political center. Any political setback was the result of betrayal by a shadowy Establishment, and the solution was to pry the party free of its nefarious control and win a cataclysmic final struggle against the forces of liberalism.

While Goldwater lost in 1964, his movement, undeterred, slowly took over the party from the bottom up. An inflection point occurred in 1990, when Gingrich, leader of the insurgent conservative wing of the House Republican caucus, drove the partys old-line leader, Bob Michel, into retirement. The 1994 elections handed Gingrichs Republicans control of the House, which they promised to use as a launching point for a Republican revolution that would roll back the New Deal and reorder American society.

The obstacle they immediately encountered was that their party only controlled Congress, and the president, Bill Clinton, refused to go along with their plans. The logic of the revolution propelled them to escalate their methods, shutting down the government repeatedly and then impeaching Clinton. But as Gingrichs methods failed and his heady promises went unfulfilled, his troops grew restless and eventually overthrew him, just as he had overthrown Michel.

Gingrichs successor, Robert Livingston, was quickly deposed, too. (He had been exposed for having an extramarital affair, a very Byzantine plot twist.) But the pattern set in that new insurgent Republican leaders would seize power and promise great conservative victories, only to find their troops eventually turning on them. John Boehner, Paul Ryan, and now Kevin McCarthy have all succumbed to the pattern. (Ironically, the only Republican Speaker to surrender his post peacefully during this period was Dennis Hastert, who later turned out to have sexually abused boys.)

A natural consequence of this pattern has been to drive House Republicans to constantly employ more extreme methods: shutting down the government, threatening to default on the national debt, impeaching Democrats with or without evidence. McCarthy used all these methods against Biden at the behest of his right-wing rivals. When they inevitably failed to produce the expected victories, the radicals preferred to get rid of him rather than admit that their own strategy was misconceived.

This method of grabbing power within the GOP has applications beyond the House. A decade ago, Ted Cruz seized upon the demand that Republicans shut down the government in order to force Barack Obama to repeal his signature health-care law. Cruz obviously understood this would never work, but the idea was to identify himself as the true conservative and his enemies as the Establishment.

Donald Trump used the same motif to present himself as the real fighter. In Trumps rhetoric, every Republican who opposes him is the Establishment or the swamp or a RINO. Trump has managed to defy the historic pattern of insurgent leaders being deposed by newer and more radical insurgents. Ron DeSantis has tried to use this style of politics, casting Trump as a loser who became part of the swamp. But Trump has proven uniquely immune to insurgency, perhaps because his unhinged communication style and fanatical pugilism makes it impossible for the Republican base to believe hes been co-opted by the Establishment.

But Steve Scalise, Jim Jordan, or whoever manages to seize the crown will not enjoy Trumps invulnerability. Some group of insurgents will demand they take radical steps, and when the new Speaker either refuses or, more likely, those steps fail to work, the insurgency will start up again.

The House Republican caucus has been so thoroughly radicalized that it is almost impossible to discern any coherent ideological fault line separating the insurgents from the leadership. They are fighting over points of legislative doctrine so inscrutable that outsiders can barely understand them. The main hope held by the rest of us is that the House Republican majority  which rests on a handful of seats that could easily flip in the next election  will finally, like the Byzantines, collapse.
This probably isnt Loro Piana, either. Photo: Anonymous

Like most journalists, I live in fear of getting something wrong. Corrections usually come in the form of an angry phone call or scolding email, along with a heavy dose of shame. They dont usually arrive on Instagram, which is where I found out on Wednesday that Mark Zuckerberg was disputing the photo caption for a story I wrote, which had identified the sweater he was wearing as Loro Piana.

That shirt is Buck Mason, Zuck replied, dropping into the comments on the post from the Cuts account. Also fancy.

A couple of weeks ago, as I began writing about how elite circles of tech bros were heavily into Loro Piana, I began to think about photo selection for the story. The lead characters of Succession had popularized the quiet luxury trend by rocking the brand, and Bill Gates had long been a customer. But ideally, the poster boy (as it were) for this article would be a real-life tech CEO with the power to influence business and fashion trends, and who had recently been publicly photographed in Loro Piana.

Who better than Mark Zuckerberg? The CEO of Meta had, after all, been a forefather of modern Silicon Valley style, a fashion icon in those parts who was single-handedly responsible for making the hoodie acceptable workwear at start-ups and IT departments worldwide. And I had it on good authority that at some point in the evolution from Facebook, Inc. to Meta Platforms  from Harvard dropout to eighth-richest man in the world as of Thursday  hed upgraded his signature sweatshirt from Fruit of the Loom (or some such) to a cashmere version from Loro Piana, weaver of the softest, probably most expensive off-the-rack sweater in the world.

But the New York photo department had to find the right picture. They came across a shot of a chic-looking Zuckerberg strolling the conference grounds at Paul Allen & Co.s annual summer Sun Valley confab  the off-record gathering of top tech CEOs and investors  in what appeared to be a luxe blue sweater. No hood, but the tailored fit and seamless, label-free look seemed very stealth-wealthy and promising.

I am not a fashion writer, and it is not easy to definitively ID the brand of an intentionally logo-less item of clothing, much less from only a photo, when you cant even touch the material or study the thread count of the fibers up close. And for some of the richest and most famous people who wear this particular designer, the whole point is that they dont want you to be able to guess where they shop (or how much money they spend on clothes), making the task even more challenging. But I did my fact-checking due diligence nonetheless. I spent more of my day than Id frankly like to admit performing Investigative Journalism, asking stylists and the brand itself the all-important question: Was this soft-looking blue long-sleeve Zuck wore to Sun Valleys summer camp for billionaires from Loro Piana? A spokesperson for the Italian fashion house declined to verify, writing only, Since its not a communication activity nor an official press appearance, I am not able to comment on items that clients might have purchased. (Hed already confirmed Jeremy Strong had worn several of the labels items as Kendall Roy in Succession.) But a prominent stylist who works with a number of Silicon Valley CEOs had reviewed the photo, and in consultation with a knowledgeable New York City menswear salesperson, had rendered a verdict: The sweater was most likely Loro Piana.

This was about as sure as I could get. Who, after all, could say differently  if not the fashion experts and retail specialists  than Zuckerberg himself? And if the CEO of a $780 billion tech company deigned to correct the record on what brand of sweater he prefers, well, then that could be a story in and of itself.

And here we are; I officially stand corrected. Buck Masons California cashmere crewneck sweater, which looks similar to the one Zuckerberg is wearing in the photo, retails for $228. (The photo itself is from Sun Valley 2018, so the exact garments the CEO is wearing are likely not still for sale.)

According to a person close to the CEO and his wardrobe (a correction of this nature demanded additional Investigative Journalism), Zuckerberg still wears some Loro Piana (such as its hoodies)  but these days he prefers somewhat more affordable menswear brands, including Buck Mason, Todd Snyder, and John Elliott for his shirts, sweaters, and pants. For workout gear, beachwear and athleisure, he wears Vuori and surfer Kelly Slaters line Outerknown. He favors sneakers from Nike and slides from Adidas.

Of course, I cant fully verify Zuckerbergs claims about his sweater unless he shows us his tags. (New Yorks social-media team has officially requested a closet tour in a reply to his Instagram comment.) Regardless, this episode raises an important question: If people cant tell the difference between an astronomically expensive brand and a semi-affordable one, whats the point of spending several thousands of dollars on a sweater anyway? Perhaps only Kendall Roy knows the answer.
Photo: Brendan Smialowski / AFP) (Photo by BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP via Getty Images

On Wednesday, President Joe Biden forgave another $9 billion in student-loan debt. Another 125,000 Americans are free of a financial trap that still binds millions. That partial good news is part of a trend for the Biden administration: He has now forgiven a total of $127 billion in debt, affecting 3.6 million people. The president has also announced a new repayment plan and a year-long on-ramp to repayment, as The Atlantic has reported. After the Supreme Court struck down his signature student-loan effort, however, the president has appeared cautious. Though hes said he will explore a Plan B, so far it looks like patchwork. Meanwhile, student-loan payments restart this month after a three-year pause. Millions of Americans are still waiting for a permanent solution.

Will they get one from Biden? The presidents student-debt plan only ever provided partial relief, and hes hampered, further, by a conservative Supreme Court and by Congress. Republicans are intransigent, and even some Democrats stand in the way of universal relief. When Senator Joe Manchin voted to repeal Bidens reckless student-debt plan in late May, he claimed the nation simply cannot afford to add another $400 billion to the national debt. Absent from Manchins analysis are the human beings who cannot afford their debt. They deserve more from Biden and from their government.

The president could do more if he wanted to. The Debt Collective has urged him to cancel all student-loan debt by executive order, citing his authority under the Higher Education Act. As far as I can tell, nothing in current law prevents the Department from using its compromise authority to cancel broad swaths  or even all  of its student loan portfolio, Luke Herrine, a co-founder of the collective, wrote in 2017.

Since then, cancellation has gained some traction among progressives in office, thanks largely to the efforts of the left. During the 2020 Democratic primary, Senator Elizabeth Warren pledged to cancel up to $50,000 for people making less than $100,000 and people making up to $250,000 would have seen portions of debt erased, as the New York Times reported at the time. Senator Bernie Sanders, a democratic socialist, said he would go further and cancel all student-loan debt. The more moderate Biden initially promised to cancel $10,000 of student-loan debt for all borrowers. He also said hed cancel undergraduate federal student loan debt picked up at public colleges for those earning less than $125,000 a year, CNBC reported. His plan as president would have erased up to $20,000 in debt for millions.

When he first acted to cancel some student-loan debt, President Biden cited the HEROES Act, not the Higher Education Act (HEA). The presidents Plan B did initiate a rule-making process to open up different paths to push through debt relief, including using the HEA, as The Atlantic explained. But the Debt Collective isnt alone in thinking the HEA authorizes him to do more for debtors. Representative Ro Khanna recently argued in the Messenger that Biden should cancel up to $50,000 in student-loan debt using the Higher Education Act. This would be life-altering for people and grow our economy by giving young people the financial freedom to buy homes, start families and open businesses, he wrote.

Khanna is right to say that student-loan cancellation would bring economic benefits. But theres more at stake than economic growth. As Astra Taylor, a co-founder of the Debt Collective, explained in the New York Times last year, the cancellation of federal student loans will not only remove a crushing economic weight for tens of millions of people; it will lift a significant emotional one, too. There may be political implications, she added, by emboldening those who find their obligations overwhelming to engage in collective action aimed at winning more relief and changing the policies that make indebtedness so pervasive.

As children, were told that college opens the world to you. Debt narrows that world. Though a college degree can still improve your prospects, your progress remains precarious if you cant graduate without debt. America thus teaches debtors a lesson: Reach too high, and debt will be there to rein you back in. Taylor calls debt an instrument of social control and notes that the fear of student debt pushes people into certain careers and limits their life choices, a truth at odds with childhood stories. America is a land of opportunity, but only for a few as long as student debt persists.

The cancellation of federal student-loan debt wont solve the college affordability crisis. For that we need free public-college tuition, as proposed by lawmakers such as Bernie Sanders. Cancellation, though, will still right a great wrong. It is wrong to punish the children of working-class and middle-class families for seeking an education. There is no moral benefit to student debt. Nor is it some natural occurrence  an act of God which falls upon the less fortunate. Student debt is the product of political choices. Lawmakers have allowed it to become so pervasive that different realities can be difficult to imagine. What would change if we treated education as a right? If we freed millions from debt? The racial wealth gap might narrow. Debtors might begin to question the interlocking injustices that trap so many Americans. If student debt is immoral, what of medical debt?

The answer could open the door to a new world. No wonder student-debt cancellation has so many enemies. Biden, though, should ignore the naysayers. Hes canceled $127 billion so far. Its time to erase the rest of it.
The stock market doesnt care about MAGA delusions. Photo: Getty Images

Even as the horrendous dysfunction afflicting House Republicans dominates the headlines, polls continue to show the GOP in a good position to maintain and extend its power in 2024. In the RealClearPolitics polling averages, Republicans lead in the generic congressional ballot (basically a measure of which party voters want to control the U.S. House) by a point (44.4 percent to 43.4 percent). And their wildly erratic and indictment-prone presidential front-runner, Donald Trump, similarly leads Joe Biden in 2024 general-election trial heats by an average of 45.5 percent to 44.4 percent.

There are multiple reasons offered for this anomaly of the crazy-person party holding a lead, ranging from the presidents age to some sort of national malaise. But the most obvious reason from the data we have is that solid majorities of Americans are unhappy about the economy and blame Biden for it. A new Marquette Law School national poll shows Trump being preferred to Biden on handling the economy by an astonishing 52 percent to 28 percent margin. Its hardly an unusual finding. Heres what ABCs Gary Langer said after the latest ABC/Washington Post survey came out:

Forty-four percent of Americans in the latest ABC News/Washington Post poll say theyve gotten worse off financially under Bidens presidency, the most for any president in ABC/Post polls since 1986. Just 37% approve of his job performance, while 56% disapprove. Still fewer approve of Bidens performance on the economy, 30%.

And thats with most major economic indices looking relatively sunny. If the economy takes the negative turn next year many forecasters expect, what then? How much Trump craziness might swing voters tolerate to get back that sensational Trump economy they remember (or imagine)?

But to look at the situation from a different angle: How much are Republicans unnecessarily hurting themselves by both tolerating Trumps high jinks and displaying their own in the U.S. House? Why dont they exhibit some self-discipline by getting onto the obvious winning message and chirping like cicadas: Economy! Economy! Economy! Im quite certain there are Republicans in boardrooms and country clubs all over America wondering just that.

Before getting to the heart of the matter, its important to acknowledge a couple of factors that lead Republicans to be less than entirely mono-vocal, aside from their varying ideological and geographical backgrounds. There are some issues, notably the situation along the southern border, and  in some parts of the country  violent-crime rates, that benefit them so much that ignoring them would represent political malpractice. The Marquette Law School poll cited above showed Trump leading Biden on border security by exactly the same margin as his advantage on the economy. Plus, of course, its a signature issue for Trump and the MAGA movement he created. There are other issues, notably abortion, that are more important to key Republican activists than all the economic indicators past, present, or future. Trump is probably straining their patience by urging the GOP to downplay its unpopular views on abortion policy.

But the key thing to understand in processing wild Republican rhetoric on issues like congressional appropriations is that they and their supporters deeply believe the countrys economic problems are almost exclusively caused by excessive public spending and government overreach. Risking a debt default to rein in deficit spending strikes most Democrats and nonpartisan observers as playing an insanely dangerous game with the economy. Plenty of Republicans cant imagine anything more dangerous and irresponsible than trillion-dollar budget deficits and unlimited public borrowing. For people who think that way, forcing a government shutdown is an absolute no-brainer. It has to be done again and again until the spending and borrowing stops.

To be sure, the wild extremism of so much Republican rhetoric on government spending is fed by non-economic concerns about objects of all that spending. According to some conservatives, Democrats are bankrupting the country and tanking the economy in order to finance radical assaults on freedom like COVID shutdowns, vicious assaults on Christians and their institutions, a vendetta against fossil fuels and those who use them or depend on them for jobs, and the partisan weaponization of law enforcement to prosecute conservatives and liberate looters and killers. Many of them also seem to think Biden is determined to spend the U.S. to death in order to save Ukraine as payback for bribes. Donald Trump seems to regard government spending as strictly designed to keep him from returning to the White House. But its also telling that complicity in deficit spending is one of the rare issues on which otherwise craven Republicans like Nikki Haley are willing to criticize the 45th president.

While its impossible to sort out all the different evils with which Republicans associate big government and runaway spending, theres no question that when they rage about these things they believe they are addressing the same economic concerns that their voters, as well as swing voters, want them to deal with urgently. Keep that in mind as you watch House Republicans choose a new Speaker against a backdrop of fresh promises to radically pare back federal spending.
Photo: Katie Dalebout

Twice a year, throughout elementary and middle school, my mom took me with her to her hairstylist. Cheri never cut off more than a few inches, but when I left the salon, I felt so completely transformed that I immediately started counting down to the next visit.

The difference wasnt that my split ends were gone, but that my unruly, poufy, frizzy, hair was finally straight thanks to the way Cheri blow-dried it. At school, everyone noticed. Some classmates complimented my hair; others stared as if to ask, How come it doesnt look like that more often? I held off washing my hair as long as I could.

My mom and I both have the same thick, wavy, dense hair. Growing up in the 70s, she straightened hers with a clothing iron and curled it with empty juice cans. As a kid in the late 90s, I relied on big bows, high ponytails, and tight braids. We each tried to replicate how smooth and weightless our hair looked after one of Cheris blowouts, but never could. We lacked the patience and dexterity to work a brush and dryer simultaneously, section by section. Even the dawn of the flat iron a few years later didnt help. It just made my hair look burnt.

Everything changed on a trip to see my Aunt Sally, who had dreamy straight hair and nightmare arthritis. During the week we were there, chatting with her in her room, I saw her use what looked like a round brush and a hair dryer that had been welded together. I was too nervous to ask if I could try it, but I kept thinking about it for the rest of the trip until I asked my mom if we could get one.

We picked one up at CVS on the way home, and with it, I learned how to give myself Cheri-level blowouts. Ive owned one ever since. It wasnt all smooth hair immediately. There was a bit of a learning curve. But soon, I figured out that by going section by section the way Cheri did would actually work if I used the Conair (unlike my fumbling attempts with regular hair dryers). It still was time-consuming since I have so much hair, but with patience I could get each section looking as sleek and shiny as she did.

It got me through the first day of high school and every picture day and school dance, before making its way off to college with me. I remember my roommate saying shed never seen a hair dryer like it before.

For me, the draw is the strange-looking half-cylinder-shaped brush attachment. Rather than having to hold two items (brush and hair dryer), this leaves one hand free to grab your hair sections, helping to get the back entirely smooth.

I buy a new one nearly every year. I know youre thinking, But technology has changed so much in the past 20 years. Ive tried a friends Dyson, and honestly, it didnt work nearly as well because the air blows out forward rather than from the side, making it trickier to use on myself. The InfinitiPros half-cylinder shape with its thermal bristle-brush attachment (basically a halfround brush) allows me to get heat searingly close to my scalp in a way others guard against. Similarly, my friend gave me the Amika blow-dryer, which has a paddle brush, and without the rounded bristle brush, it doesnt tug and bend my hair enough to change its texture.

The Conairs round brush can get close enough to my scalp to straighten the particularly curly pieces near my temples, in a way all other brushes cant. It also comes with two other attachments: a dual-row straightening comb (essentially two combs in a row) and a wide-tooth detangling comb, which I never use, but some of my friends who Ive turned onto it have. They still thank me for improving their hair routines.

With the Conair, a blow-dry lasts a week, if not more. I use it when I get out of the shower on wet or damp hair. I section the hair out and tug the dryer down each chunk until my entire head is dry. Between washes, I use it on the pieces that got wet from washing my face or showering.

The hair dryer has traveled all over the world with me, from Canada to Spain (it comes with a handy carrying case), and if its ever discontinued, my nightmare of waking up back in middle school will come true.

In the summer, I often let my hair air-dry and try to embrace my natural texture, but I still only actually like how my hair looks if I use this or get it blown out by a professional. And honestly, professional blowouts arent in my budget right now, but the Infinitipro is here for me, always has been, and (hopefully) always will be.

The Strategist is designed to surface the most useful, expert recommendations for things to buy across the vast e-commerce landscape. Some of our latest conquests include the best acne treatments, rolling luggage, pillows for side sleepers, natural anxiety remedies, and bath towels. We update links when possible, but note that deals can expire and all prices are subject to change.
The Iron Bowl is several weeks away, but Auburn University and the University of Alabama are already in a friendly competition with the common goal to fight hunger and poverty in Alabama.

The Beat Bama Food Drive and Beat Auburn Beat Hunger continue to face off to see who can collect the most food from Sept. 29 to Nov. 16. Students, faculty, alumni and community members unite to collect donations for the Food Bank of East Alabama.

Were fighting food insecurity, so if its a chip on the shoulder to help feed people, definitely, BBFD president Justin King said about beating Bama. We strive to improve every year. Weve continuously gotten better throughout the past couple of years, and we plan on improving that this year.

Since its inception in 1994, the competition has raised over 9.4 million pounds of food. In 2022, both organizations soared beyond previous records. BBFD brought in 550,117 pounds of food while BABH earned the win with 565,983 pounds of donated food.

Those behind the Beat Bama Food Drive look to build off its record-breaking 2022 campaign.

All donated food will go to senior programs, soup kitchens, emergency food pantries, missions and rehabilitation centers that the Food Bank of East Alabama and the West Alabama Food Bank serve.

There are enough people facing hunger issues across the seven counties that the food bank serves to fill three-fourths of Jordan-Hare Stadium.

When I started working at the food bank, they estimated that the food insecurity rate in Alabama was 1 out of 11 people living in the state. Its now actually  in much of our service area  closer to 1 out of every 5. In fact, with children, its 1 out of every 4, said Martha Henk, the executive director of the Food Bank of East Alabama.

While the event is primarily student-organized, it has received a significant amount of community support. There will be food drives at several local businesses and public schools while many grocery stores will have donation barrels.

Foods the Food Bank of East Alabama need

the most include: peanut butter

canned meats

canned fruits and vegetables

canned soups and stews

macaroni and cheese dinners

cereal

rice

pasta

Heres where you can find collection barrels in Auburn and Opelika (updated regularly): Kroger  Auburn

Kroger  Opelika

Sams Club

Winn-Dixie  Opelika

Winn-Dixie  Auburn

Auburn-Opelika Tourism

Bitty and Beaus

Domain  Auburn

First Year Experience

Homecare of East Alabama Health

Irritable Bao

Max Fitness

Stacks

Stamp Auburn

The Yard

Top Hat Chimney Sweeps

Whataburger

Food Bank of East Alabama, Auburn

Community Market, Opelika

Several locations on Auburn University campus including the scholarship entrance at Neville Arena.

For a list of updated donation locations as well as needed items, you can visit the Food Bank of East Alabamas website and the Beat Bama Food Drive 2023 event tab.
U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin reiterated his backing for Japan's decision to build "counterstrike" capabilities during talks with his Japanese counterpart on Wednesday, as Washington and Tokyo are tightening security coordination in the face of North Korea's evolving threats and China's growing assertiveness.

Austin held his first in-person talks with Japanese Defense Minister Minoru Kihara at the Pentagon since Kihara took office last month.

Their agenda included Japan's decision last year on the acquisition of counterstrike capabilities that observers said would allow Tokyo to launch a counterattack if it or its ally, the U.S., comes under attack -- an apparent change further away from its long-held defense-oriented policy.

"Secretary Austin reiterated his support for Japan's decision to strengthen its defense, including its acquisition of counterstrike capabilities and increase in defense spending," Pentagon Press Secretary Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder said in a statement.

"Both leaders reaffirmed the strategic alignment between the United States and Japan, as well as shared alliance goals to optimize force posture, bolster integrated deterrence, modernize roles and missions, and further cooperate with like-minded partners to ensure a free and open Indo-Pacific," he added.

In December last year, Tokyo announced revisions to its key security and defense documents in what was seen as a marked shift for a country long restricted by its post-war "pacifist" constitution. Under the revisions, Tokyo embraced "counterstrike" capabilities.

Later, North Korea accused Japan of having formulated an invasion-oriented security strategy and warned of "actual action" without elaboration.

After his talks with Austin, Kihara said Japan will begin procuring Tomahawk cruise missiles from the U.S. in the fiscal year of 2025, a year earlier than planned, according to Kyodo News. Japan plans to buy 400 Tomahawk missiles, each with a range of about 1,600 kilometers, the Tokyo-based news outlet said.

At the Pentagon meeting, Austin also reaffirmed America's "unwavering and ironclad" security commitment to Japan, according to Ryder.

"The two leaders confirmed both countries' mutual commitment to strengthening the U.S.-Japan alliance amid historic shared momentum toward peace, stability, and deterrence in a free and open Indo-Pacific," the press secretary said.

In the midst of North Korea's advancing nuclear and missile threats, the U.S. has been striving to strengthen cooperation with its two East Asian allies, South Korea and Japan.

The effort culminated at the historic Camp David South Korea-U.S.-Japan trilateral summit in August, which produced a set of documents, including one committing the three countries to consult each other in the event of a common threat. (Yonhap)
DOL and ILO Form New Partnership to Strengthen Labor Rights in Mexico

The joint initiative OBSERVAR ensures democratic processes in workplaces.

The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) and the International Labor Organization (ILO) have launched the Observation and Engagement for Rights Verification and Realization Initiative (OBSERVAR) to enhance labor rights and promote democratic processes within workplaces in Mexico.

According to a recent release, the initiativewhich started in Leon, Guanajuatofocuses on the impartial observation of workplace votes and the capacity-building of workers, employers and other key stakeholders on the issues of freedom of association and collective bargaining. The DOL awarded the project a $5 million cooperative agreement and a three-year commitment.

OBSERVAR also aligns with the labor rights objectives embedded within the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement as well as Mexicos 2019 labor reform goal of supporting worker voices in the designation of worker organizations and promoting collective bargaining by representatives fairly selected by the workers.

Ensuring union votes in Mexico are free and fair is foundational to securing independent, democratic unions that can bargain in good faith for better wages and working conditions, Deputy Undersecretary for International Affairs Thea Lee said in a statement. This unique project will bring the International Labor Organizationrecognized as the global authority on freedom of association and trusted as an impartial observerinto workplace votes to certify that they are conducted fairly and lawfully.

Organized by the ILO, the launch event for OBSERVAR took place in September 2023 and was hosted by the government of Mexico. As part of the event, a roundtable comprised of representatives from government, employer and worker organizations discussed the importance of freedom of association and collective bargaining in positive industrial relations.
South Africa has no plans to curb its oil and gas operations in favour of a green transition just yet, as the government announces big plans to boost oil and gas exploration activities in the coming years. This is part of its aim to improve its energy security and reduce the countrys reliance on foreign imports. As such, the government recently approved new drilling activities by Frances TotalEnergies, aiming to make significant new discoveries to support longer-term oil and gas production.

This month, the Deputy Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy, Nobuhle Nkabane, stated that South Africa will sustainably continue to develop its oil and gas resources, at the Southern African Oil Gas Conference. Nkabane explained, It is imperative to accelerate the exploration of oil and gas both onshore and offshore, as having our own petroleum resources will reduce our dependency on foreign oil and cushion our economies, in particular our citizens against imposed whirlwinds of crude price volatility.

Natural gas contributes around 3 percent of South Africas energy supply and is seen as key to ensuring its energy security, as well as supporting the countrys decarbonisation aims. A recent discovery of gas reserves in Mpumalanga reflects the countrys openness to greater exploration activities. In August, the Ministry of Mineral Resources and Energy announced the discovery of 3.1 billion cubic feet of natural gas by Australian company Kinetiko Energy. It stated, It will assist with baseload energy required to strengthen South Africas energy security and propel the quest for industrialisation that will bring about growth and development.

While the aim of increasing South Africas natural gas output may seem at odds with a green transition, it could help the country to reduce its reliance on highly polluting coal. South Africa continues to depend on coal for around 80 percent of its power generation. In a country that regularly faces rolling blackouts, the government has stated its need to continue using coal until a reliable alternative is established. This includes the development of the countrys oil and gas resources.

Nkabane also highlighted the importance of developing South Africas energy security before it considers exporting its gas resources. She explained, We have also seen that Europe is looking to Africa to diversify its gas supplies. This presents a good opportunity and market for local gas beyond our own use. However, the caveat is that we should not rush to export gas to Europe at the expense of our own domestic and regional markets, no matter how tempting the prospects of earning foreign revenue.

South Africas revised Upstream Petroleum Development Bill is expected to make it easier for oil and gas companies to gain approval for new projects. This means that the upstream sector is no longer managed by the 2002 Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act. In the past, lawyers have found loopholes in the legal documentation to make the approval of new exploration operations almost impossible, something that is expected to change owing to this new legislation.

This month, South Africa dismissed an appeal against TotalEnergies offshore drilling plans, instead approving its planned oil and gas exploration in a block off the southwest coast. The French company hopes to carry out exploration activities in Block 5/6/7 and with the approval plans to drill up to give offshore wells. Despite gaining initial project approval from the Ministry of Mineral Resources and Energy in April, environmentalist groups and activists appealed the decision due to environmental concerns. However, the Minister of the Environment, Barbara Creecy, stated in the ruling, I am therefore satisfied that the impacts of noise and light have been adequately assessed and mitigated to ensure low impacts on the receiving environment. As such this ground of appeal is dismissed.

TotalEnergies previously discovered two huge gas fields off the South African coast in 2019 and 2020. Its current area of interest covers 10,000km2 and is located between Cape Town and Cape Agulhas, in water depths between 700 metres and 3,200 metres. It operates activities in the block and holds a 40 percent stake, with Shell holding another 40 percent and the national oil company PetroSA holding the remaining 20 percent.

As of June, South Africa had 15 oil and gas projects in the pipeline between 2023 and 2027. These projects are expected to help develop the countrys estimated 27 billion barrels of crude oil and 60 trillion cubic feet of gas reserves to boost its energy security and help reduce its reliance on coal. The projects span from new exploration activities to floating storage and processing plants.

Following years of dependence on coal, the government of South Africa has created a strategy to develop the countrys oil and gas resources to boost its energy security and decarbonise its energy sector. This depends significantly on the approval of new exploration activities aimed at increasing the number of offshore oil and gas operations, which is expected to reduce South Africas reliance on energy imports.

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By Felicity Bradstock for Oilprice.com

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Over 20 companies, representing a significant portion of global oil and gas production, are discussing joining a new 'Global Decarbonization Alliance' to be introduced at the COP28 summit.

Major oil companies defended their current strategies at ADIPEC, highlighting their contributions to both energy transition and the current energy needs.

Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, the COP28 President-Designate, argues that the oil industry must not be seen as an obstacle but rather as a pivotal player in decarbonization and the energy transition.

The oil and gas industry needs to invest more in decarbonization amid an inevitable phase-down of fossil fuels underway, according to the head of one of the biggest national oil companies and president-designate of the COP28 climate summit in Dubai.

The oil industry shouldn't be seen as hampering decarbonization efforts in any way, said Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, COP28 President-Designate, Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and group CEO of the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC).

"I don't want this industry to be seen in any way, form or shape that they are going against the phase down [of fossil fuels]," Al Jaber told the Financial Times at the ADIPEC energy conference this week.

"This [phase down] is happening," he added.

At ADIPEC this week, the top executives of the world's largest oil companies said the industry has the tools to be a driver of the energy transition, but defended the recent strategies, after last year's crisis, to continue pumping oil and gas to supply the world with the energy it needs now.

Net-zero plans at oil firms remain intact, but energy security has taken over the narrative in the past year and a half. The oil industry is investing in the decarbonization of operations and in new solutions to tackle emissions, but has signaled in recent months that the energy transition should be paced and will take a long time. In the meantime, the world will still need oil and gas, and it will fall on the industry to supply the fossil fuels, which still account for 82% of the global energy mix.

Oil Industry Is "Central To The Solution"

COP28 President-designate Al Jaber welcomed the energy industry representatives at ADIPEC with a call to the sector to play a crucial role in progressing decarbonization and the energy transition.

"This industry can and must help drive the solutions. For too long, this industry has been viewed as part of the problem, that it's not doing enough and in some cases even blocking progress," Al Jaber said at the opening of the energy conference.

"This is your opportunity to show the world that, in fact, you are central to the solution."

ADIPEC's key theme this year was 'Decarbonising. Faster. Together.', and the head of ADNOC and the COP28 climate summit called for greater collaboration on decarbonization.

More than 20 companies, accounting for up to a quarter of the world's oil and gas production, are currently in talks to join an initiative expected to be unveiled at the COP28 summit next month and tentatively billed as the 'Global Decarbonization Alliance,' al Jaber told FT.

Ahead of the climate summit, ADNOC announced this summer it is bringing forward its target for net-zero emissions to 2045 from a previous target of 2050, becoming the first oil company in its peer group to commit to net zero in 2045.

ADNOC's Al Jaber said in July that the oil and gas industry needs to "step up its game" to cut emissions and accelerate the shift toward cleaner energy solutions.

Oil Majors Defend Decisions To Address Energy Security

Amin Nasser, president and CEO at the world's biggest oil firm, Saudi Aramco, said at ADIPEC this week,

"At Aramco, we believe that energy security and sustainability can co-exist. We remain committed to helping supply the world's growing energy needs as we also expand our efforts to develop lower-carbon solutions that will provide future generations with cleaner and more sustainable energy."

Aramco has been warning for years that underinvestment in oil and gas, due to ESG concerns and activism, would come back to haunt the global energy supply, potentially creating shortages while the world will still need oil and gas.

International oil majors have recently leaned toward Aramco's narrative to look to provide not only the 'energy of the future' but the energy the world needs today, that is, oil and gas.

"We need all of it, not some parts of the energy value chain. We need all of that to come together," Shell's CEO Wael Sawan said at ADIPEC, as carried by The National.

Sawan dismissed criticism that Shell is changing direction and said the company is pacing itself in the drive to bet on more 'electrons' than 'molecules'.

"I'll be unequivocal here, we are fundamentally leaning in to develop the energy system of the future and we will do it profitably," he said, as carried by Energy Voice.

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Patrick Pouyanne, CEO at TotalEnergies, said on an ADIPEC panel of executives moderated by CNBC, commenting on the widening divide in the debate about the future of fossil fuels.

"We will never make enough to please the ones which are against oil and gas, but my mission is not to please them."

"Our mission is to deliver to the society the energy we need today and tomorrow and for that I feel comfortable," Pouyanne added.

Tengku Muhammad Taufik, president and CEO of Malaysia's state oil and gas company Petronas, was also blunt, although he acknowledged that the industry needs to step up its decarbonization game.

"So, the debate has always been posed here, I'm reminded of an old saying: 'If you want to keep everyone happy, sell ice cream'," Taufik said.

"We are not in the business of ice cream  and I'm reminded, there are people who are lactose intolerant."

By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com

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Chile is on track to become the largest energy storage market in the Americas. The position is currently held by the United States, which expects to deploy another 10 GW of energy storage by the end of 2023, but Chiles ambitious energy storage ambitions and massive lithium supply have given the South American country a pathway to becoming number one in the near future.

Across the world, a race to build out energy storage infrastructure is unfolding. The sector is poised for explosive growth on a global scale as clean energy deployment ramps up ahead of major decarbonization milestones. According to figures from the International Energy Agency (IEA), global wind and solar energy capacity additions are set to shatter previous records by the end of 2023, with an expected 440 gigawatts to be added by the end of the year. This massive influx of variable energy supplies will require huge increases in energy storage capacity.

Because solar and wind power are not baseload power sources  their supply waxes and wanes according to variables like the weather and the time of year  batteries are necessary to store surplus energy produced at peak production hours, which will then be fed back into the grid during peak demand hours. A strong energy storage sector will prove to be the backbone of the renewable energy revolution, as a flexible, mass-scale energy storage industry is essential to keeping the lights on and the grid functioning properly as renewable energy takes a majority role in the global energy mix.

While the energy storage sector is still in its infancy, its set to be an incredibly lucrative industry thanks to its central role in the green energy transition. Law firm Morgan Lewis recently referred to clean energy storage as the technology that will cash the checks written by the renewable energy industry, and went on to say that the global energy storage market will continue its rapid growth, with an estimated 387 gigawatts (GW) of new energy storage capacity expected to be added by 2030a 15-fold increase in global energy storage capacity compared to the end of 2021.

Most of the batteries used for energy storage today are lithium-ion batteries, which gives lithium-rich South America a major edge in the energy storage market. The continent has vast amounts of lithium, and unlike the United States, it already has established manufacturing capacity, expertise, and an experienced industry to support the scaling up and scaling out of lithium production in the near term, Oilprice reported earlier this year.

Chile, which is one corner of the lithium triangle that also includes Argentina and Bolivia, has recently set some extremely ambitious targets to scale up its renewable energy deployment as well as its energy storage sector. Chile's parliament passed legislation in October 2022 to incentivize energy storage and electric mobility development, PV Magazine recently reported. Furthermore, the government has set an ambitious target of achieving 70% of total energy consumption from renewable sources by 2030.

Chiles energy storage incentives have already borne fruit. At present, there are 85 energy storage projects in various stages of development nationwide, with a total capacity of 6.4 GW. Just this summer, $2 billion was allocated for large-scale storage auctions, and twelve projects with a combined capacity of approximately 1.3 GW are slated to become operational by the end of 2023. This will be augmented by an additional 1 GW annually of planned installations from 2024 to 2026.

The development is part of an increasing political and economic trend in South America: while lithium triangle countries have been producing and exporting lithium for years, they are increasingly reluctant to sell it as a primary material to more developed and industrial economies such as the U.S. and China, preferring to build up their own supply chains. Adding value is central for us, Argentina Mining Undersecretary Fernanda Avila recently told Bloomberg. We know the industry today is growing and theres a lot of pressure and price volatility. But its about making the most of this window of opportunity, not just by shipping out lithium carbonate.

By Haley Zaremba for Oilprice.com

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The Middle East region is expressing increasing interest in developing its nuclear energy industry as the UAE and Saudi Arabia both announce new nuclear power projects. Several governments around the globe are showing renewed interest in low-carbon nuclear power as a means of shifting their reliance away from fossil fuels and supporting the security needs of growing populations while undergoing a green transition. The U.S., the U.K., and several European countries have recently announced plans for the development of new nuclear plants, building upon their existing nuclear capabilities to produce more clean energy. And now, several Middle Eastern countries appear to want to develop their own nuclear programs to ensure the future of their energy security and their contribution to a global green transition.

In the Middle East and North Africa, several Gulf states are considering, planning, or starting nuclear power programs, including Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, and Iraq; Yemen, Israel, Syria, Jordan, Egypt, Tunisia, Libya, Algeria, Morocco, and Sudan. The nuclear energy industry in the Middle East is expanding but is still in the early stages, with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) helping several countries across the region to develop nuclear programs.

At present, there are only two active nuclear power plants in the Middle East, the Bushehr nuclear power plant in Iran and the Barakah nuclear power plant in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Bushehr has one operational reactor, while Barakah has four. With several Middle Eastern countries committing to net-zero carbon emissions pledges for the mid-century, nuclear power presents a huge low-carbon alternative to oil and gas, which many states still rely on for their energy provision and revenue. In fact, 90 percent of the energy mix in the Gulf region comes from hydrocarbons.

The UAE is an early adopter of nuclear power in the Middle East, launching its Barakah Nuclear Energy Plant in 2019, which has a capacity of 5.6 gigawatts electric (GWe). The UAE hopes to remain a global energy leader throughout the green transition, as it diversifies its energy mix beyond oil and gas to nuclear power and a variety of renewable energy sources.

Earlier this year, the Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation (ENEC), the body responsible for developing the UAEs nuclear energy sector, signed three agreements with China's Nuclear Power Operations Research Institute, the China National Nuclear Corporation Overseas, and the China Nuclear Energy Industry Corporation to increase its nuclear power capacity. The three deals include cooperation in nuclear energy operations, high-temperature gas-cooled reactors, and nuclear fuel supply and investment. The government recently pledged to increase its output of nuclear power to contribute 6 percent of its energy needs by 2050 and it expects to work in partnership with China to achieve these goals over the coming decades.

Meanwhile, the government of Saudi Arabia announced a target of 17 GWe of nuclear capacity by 2040, as it plans to accelerate the development of its nuclear energy sector. In September, Saudi Arabia announced its commitment to developing a nuclear energy program, pledging to ensure stricter regulations in the sector. Saudi Arabias Energy Minister, Salman Al Saud, stated that the country will work more closely with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to undergo stricter checks in preparation for the development of its nuclear sector. Salman Al Saud stated, The kingdom has recently taken the decision to rescind its Small Quantities Protocol and to move to the implementation of a full-scope Comprehensive Safeguards Agreement, during an annual IAEA conference in Vienna. He added, The kingdom is committed through its policy on atomic energy to the highest standards of transparency and reliability.

This follows years of pressure from the IAEA to get several countries with Small Quantities Protocols (SQP) to transition to the Comprehensive Safeguards Agreement (CSA) to ensure adherence to international non-proliferation efforts. At present, Saudi Arabia has a small nuclear reactor, developed with support from Argentina, which is not yet in operation. Under the CSA, Saudi Arabia will gain access to fissile material to commence operations.

Saudi Arabia has also been focusing on attaining concessions from the U.S. to develop its nuclear energy program. It is demanding greater assistance with nuclear energy from Washington in exchange for agreeing to a normalization deal with Israel, which is being pushed by President Biden. However, Israel does not agree with this demand, worried about the risk of Saudi Arabia developing its nuclear weapons potential. Several lawmakers in the U.S. and Europe have also rejected the move.

Although slightly behind several other parts of the world, the Middle East is showing a growing interest in developing its nuclear power sector. Both the UAE and Saudi Arabia are accelerating the development of nuclear power programs, pumping a huge amount of funding into new nuclear reactors. Meanwhile, several other countries across the region are working with the IAEA to plan for the eventual development of their nuclear power programs. The development of the nuclear sector across the Middle East could help several countries remain relevant in terms of energy in a world that is gradually moving away from oil and gas.

By Felicity Bradstock for Oilprice.com

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More than a year after DJI -- the preeminent Chinese drone maker -- first said it would stop doing business in Russia and Ukraine, its products continue to play a decisive role on the battlefield, with new research shared with RFE/RL showing that they are being sold to Russian companies and training centers with links to Moscow's war effort.

The findings -- compiled by Molfar, a Ukrainian business intelligence consultancy and corroborated by RFE/RL -- show that DJI's small, low-cost drones are being sold to Russian entities that are part of its sprawling military-industrial complex or to companies in the country that train government personnel or military units on how to use the unmanned aerial vehicles.



In some cases, the training centers state plainly and even boast on their websites and Telegram channels that they are training pilots and members of the Russian military on DJI drones for Moscow's war in Ukraine.

Molfar established the connections by identifying 10 Chinese-based legal entities that, according to their certificates of conformity, are production sites linked to DJI or to its parent company IFlight that continued exports to Russia until June 2023 -- the latest available date for the documents.



Through the certificates, Molfar was able to trace various Russian entities that purchased the drones and conduct civilian and military training on how to operate them for surveillance, reconnaissance and, in some instances, how to modify them for attacks.



While the research is not a comprehensive set of all the Chinese-made drones sold to Russia or those that make their way to the battlefield in Ukraine, it offers a window into the continued flow of dual-use -- nonlethal but militarily useful -- equipment from China to Russia that is having an impact in aiding the Kremlin's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.



"Since the war began, China has shown a willingness to support Russia that comes up to, but doesn't cross, the West's red lines," Joseph Webster, a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council who tracks the flow of Chinese exports to Russia amid the war in Ukraine, told RFE/RL. "Ensuring dual-use shipments to Russia is likely seen by Beijing as a form of support that ensures some balance as China watches American and European military supplies go to Ukraine."



The findings also raise questions about the effectiveness of official Chinese efforts to limit the sale of drones and other dual-use technologies -- the latest of which came into effect on September 1.

Trade data shows that Ukrainian imports have fallen sharply following new Chinese restrictions, while Russia's remain strong.



Ukraine is facing growing difficulties in sourcing consumer drones and their parts, which is borne out in Chinese, Russian, and Ukrainian trade statistics. Those figures show that Chinese companies sent over $200,000 in direct drone shipments to Ukraine from January to June this year, while Russia received at least $14.5 million during the same span, including the training centers identified by Molfar.



This adds to a growing body of evidence since February 2022 that demonstrates how Moscow has been able to draw critical items for its military from abroad, particularly from China, despite Western attempts to restrain Russia's war machine. The European Union estimates that up to 70 percent of the vital, hi-tech products reaching the Russian military are coming from China, with David O'Sullivan, the bloc's sanctions envoy, saying in late September that the flow of such goods is "killing Ukrainians."



DJI did not respond to RFE/RL's request for comment, but the company announced in April 2022 that it would halt most direct sales to Russia and Ukraine. At the time, a company spokesperson told Reuters that DJI "abhors any use of our drones to cause harm" and that the use of their drones in warfare is "inappropriate."



The Drone War And Russian Training Centers



Despite its statements and official bans, DJI consumer drones continue to make their way to the battlefield.



Small and affordable drones, many of which can even be bought online or off the shelf, have become a staple of the war in Ukraine for both Kyiv and Moscow for reconnaissance and targeted attacks. Ukrainian forces have proven particularly adept at retrofitting consumer drones with explosives and then crashing them into Russian forces and territory.



This has led to both sides burning through the products at a high rate and constantly needing to replenish their stocks. The Royal United Services Institute, a London-based think tank, estimated earlier this year that Ukraine goes through 10,000 drones a month.

While Iran and Turkey produce large, military-grade drones used in the war, the consumer market is cornered by Chinese companies, with DJI holding more than 90 percent of the global consumer drone market, according to the industry research group DroneAnalyst.



DJI's dominance within the drone war in Ukraine is highlighted in Molfar's research, with many of the training centers or other entities identified specializing in the use of DJI drones.



One such company, Skymec, lists Russia's Interior Ministry, the Federal Protection Service, and the Emergency Situations Ministry as distribution clients on its website.



Other findings by the Ukrainian consultancy follow a trail of Russian training centers that more directly shows their links to the country's military.



One of these entities is Pustelga, a company that, according to its website, offers training on DJI drones to both regular and mobilized military personnel of the Russian military, the National Guard, and "specialists from other Russian security structures."



According to Russian media, the group also launched a training program in June with the National Guard focused on FPV drones, the term used for drones piloted through a video feed wirelessly transmitted to a pilot's headset, mobile device, or other display.



The company claims to be operational since March and runs an active Telegram channel where it regularly offers updates on its courses and graduates, including with photos and videos.



The group says it also operates two training programs in parts of Russian-occupied Ukraine and, in a video posted on May 5, a man in a military uniform with a Russian Army patch is seen receiving a diploma from Pustelga.



Another post from May 25 includes photos of DJI consumer drones next to explosives with the caption: "Our graduate will soon receive these drones on the Zaporizhzhya front and will effectively combine them with the new standard ammunition. We not only educate, but we also support our graduates with words, deeds, and equipment as much as we can."



Another company identified by Molfar is SHUBBA-Octagon, a drone-pilot school based in St. Petersburg that offers courses across Russia. According to its website, it specializes in training DJI Mavic drones and offers a path for its students to be militarily recognized as drone pilots.

While the group has no explicit ties to the Wagner mercenary group, the private military company's insignia can be seen on the windows in photos posted to SHUBBA-Octagon's website.



Additional photos on the training center's website show a person whom it says is one of the program's instructors in a military uniform with the call sign "Svyatoy" displayed. Another photo shows military equipment belonging to Svyatoy shown next to a Syrian flag, where Wagner has been operating since 2015.



On SHUBBA-Octagon's Telegram channel, the center claims Svyatoy and other instructors identified only by their call signs received medals from the government for their military service and that they've served among the Russian General Staff, the National Guard, and Wagner in the past.

Not all of the companies traced through Molfar's investigation have clear military connections. One entity that received DJI drones is a limited-liability company registered to Avanti Education, a company that sponsors robotics competitions and conducts training for young people. A separate LLC linked to Avanti Education that records show was established in May uses a legal registration code that is commonly applied by scientific organizations in Russia that work closely with the military, according to Molfar analysts.



Molfar also identified two other companies that offer training courses on DJI drones and in their resale throughout Russia using certificates of conformity from China that use the same registration code usually associated with military work.



Shifting Supply Lines



Molfar couldn't find out how many DJI drones are being sent to the Russian entities and is unable to say if Chinese authorities played any role in the sales or if it is merely Chinese businesses taking advantage of opportunities presented by the war in Ukraine.



As consumer drones have become prominent on the battlefield, global logistical networks have sprung up to navigate sanctions and other obstacles to ensure that unmanned vehicles reach both militaries on the front. These networks have varied from leaning directly on Chinese exporters to corporate cutouts in neighboring countries and crowdfunding campaigns run by volunteers at home and abroad.



The full effect of the September 1 export restrictions on drone components enacted by Chinese authorities is still unclear.



As seen in 2023 trade data, Ukraine still obtained millions in Chinese-made drones and components, although Russia has been able to purchase far larger amounts and Ukrainian customs data shows that most sales to the country came through European intermediaries.

Several Ukrainian activists and others involved in crowdfunding DJI drone purchases have posted publicly that Chinese firms are still willing to sell to Ukrainian buyers, but the sales often involve intermediaries and prices for the drones are increasing. Some Chinese suppliers or resellers based elsewhere are also reportedly turning to an open bidding system for the drones that sometimes involves Russian and Ukrainian buyers competing against one another.



Others have raised alarm that the Chinese export restrictions seem to affect Ukraine disproportionately. Writing in June on X (formerly known as Twitter), Serhiy Sternenko, a Ukrainian activist involved in crowdfunding drone purchases, said he worried the looming restrictions leave Ukraine at a disadvantage as it looks for new intermediaries to buy drones while Russian entities could still make direct purchases.



Some Russian entities also say they have felt the effects of the Chinese restrictions. According to a September survey of companies done by the Russian daily Kommersant, the measures have caused supply disruptions and shortages in the country.

Many Russian agricultural, surveillance, and industrial drone retailers told Kommersant they had either run out of stock entirely or doubled prices due to the export curbs. Other companies said they had stocked up on Chinese-made drones and components ahead of the September restrictions coming into force, with some stockpiling supplies that could last up to six months.



Whether this will have a lasting effect in curbing Chinese drones on the battlefield is unknown. The Atlantic Council's Webster says that while the restrictions could cause some immediate disruption to logistics networks, "they're unlikely to have an impact in the long term," especially when it comes to shipments to Russia.



"There are just too many ways for something to get to Russia. It can be direct and it can go through Belarus, Central Asia, Turkey, or elsewhere using intermediaries," Webster said. "These new controls are not likely to be effective."

By RFE/RL

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Gas supply disruptions continue to be a risk for Germany, the chief executive of the countrys biggest utility, RWE, told German publication WirtschaftsWoche in an interview published on Thursday.

We don't have any buffer in the gas system, RWEs chief executive officer Markus Krebber told WirtschaftsWoche, adding that Europes biggest economy must accelerate the construction of gas import infrastructure to avoid future shortages.

If there is very cold winter or supply disruptions it can lead to very critical situations - and as a result to shortages and significantly higher prices, according to RWEs top executive.

After last years energy crisis and the halt of Russian gas pipeline supply via Nord Stream, Germany turned to floating storage and regasification units (FSRUs) to import LNG until fixed terminals come online. The LNG import facilities at Wilhelmshaven, Brunsbuettel, and Lubmin are already operational and receive LNG cargoes.

Krebbers warning that Germany and Europe are not out of the woods yet echoes similar views from the German industry.

The country continues to call on consumers to save gas and expects natural gas prices to remain high until at least 2027.

INES, the group of German gas storage operators, said in its August gas update that Germany would continue to be at risk of natural gas shortages until the 2026/2027 winter season unless it takes measures to add LNG terminals, additional gas storage capacity, or pipelines.

Earlier this week, Germanys government said it was bringing back online several coal-fired units for this winter in an attempt to save natural gas and avoid power supply shortfalls.

Coal acted as reserve supply in Germany last winter and will obviously play a role in keeping the lights on this winter, too, especially after Germany completed the nuclear power phase-out in the spring of this year.

Germany ditched nuclear energy after taking its last three nuclear power plants offline in April, ending more than six decades of commercial nuclear energy use.

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South Korean LG Energy will invest some $3 billion in expanding the production capacity of a battery plant in Michigan after it inked a battery supply deal with Toyota.

Bloomberg reports that the deal is for 20 GWh of battery modules, to be supplied from 2025. Toyota will put these battery modules in its EVs that it will produce at its plant in Kentucky. This, Reuters notes, is enough to equip 250,000 EVs with batteries.

Toyota plans to have a lineup of 30 EV models across its brands by 2030, with an annual production capacity of 3.5 million vehicles.

Reuters recalls that LG Energy also supplies EV batteries to GM, Stellantis, Hyundai, and Honda. The South Korean company is currently building a $2.1-billion battery plant in Lansing, Michigan, specifically for the supply of batteries to GM.

Toyota, meanwhile, is also investing in battery manufacturing capacity. Earlier this year, it said it would invest $3.8 billion in a new battery plant in the United States that it was building in partnership with Panasonic. The initial investment in the facility was calculated at $1.29 billion.

There are some 37 battery plants built and planned in the United States, Reuters reports, with their combined capacity at 1.3 TW of annual production, per data from Benchmark Mineral Intelligence. This capacity is enough to supply more than 10 million electric vehicles with batteries annually.

Global EV sales in the first half of the year rose by an impressive 49% to 6.2 million units, according to data from Canalys. China remained the worlds biggest EV market, accounting for 55% of the global total, with Europe coming in second, with a 24% share of the global EV market. The United States came in third, accounting for 13% of the global EV market. For full 2023, Canalys expects EV sales to post a 39% annual increase to 14 million vehicles sold.

By Charles Kennedy for Oilprice.com

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Russian Lukoil will lend $1.5 billion to Azerbaijans state-run Socar to enable its Turkish STAR refinery to receive Russian crude oil imports again, after sanctions-related financial restrictions forced a cut-off this summer, Reuters reported exclusively on Thursday.

As European refiners halted purchases of Russian oil under the sanctions regime, Lukoil, a private company, is seeking refining customers situated near Russian ports to recapture market share.

Socars STAR refinery in Turkey has a 200,000 barrel-per-day refining capacity, but halted Russian crude intake earlier this year due to Western sanctions. While Turkey has not signed on to the European Unions sanctions rules and does not comply, financial restrictions have made it difficult for STAR to import Russian crude for refining.



Privately owned and operated Lukoil has not been subjected to Western sanctions to the extent that Russias state-run entities have. Lukoil has continued to operate gas stations, refineries and its own trading arm in Europe.

Lukoil has very good lobbies ... they have enablers in Brussels and across Europe, Martin Vladimirov, senior energy researcher at Bulgarias Center for the Study of Democracy think tank, told Politico earlier this year. They have convinced European policymakers that Lukoil is supporting Ukraine and the management of Lukoil is against the war.

According to Reuters, citing LSEG Eikon data, STAR fully suspended imports of Russias flagship crude oil blend, Urals, in August-September and replaced volumes with Kazakhstans similar KEBCO blend.



Under the $1.5-billion deal, sources have told Reuters that Lukoil will begin deliveries of approximately 100,000 bpd to STAR this month. LSEG tanker tracking data cited by Reuters also shows three tankers hired by Lukoil currently en route to Turkey, loaded with Urals.

Despite Lukoils relatively easy ride through Western sanctions, last week, Bulgarias parliament backed a decision to gradually halt Russian oil imports over the course of the next 12 months, dealing a major blow to Lukoils refinery there, Bloomberg reports. Lukoils Bulgarian refinery, Neftohim, is the largest in southeastern Europe.

By Josh Owens for Oilprice.com

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China has a "constructive" role to play in curbing North Korea's "destabilizing" activities, the U.S. Department of State said Wednesday, amid a report that a North Korean oil tanker with a record of sanction violations was detected in Chinese waters earlier this week.

Mu Bong 1, an oil tanker, was briefly spotted in waters east of the Chinese Port of Ningbo-Zhoushan on Monday (local time), the Voice of America (VOA) reported, citing information from MarineTraffic, a ship tracking website.

The vessel is known to have engaged in multiple illicit ship-to-ship transfers of sanctioned products in the East China Sea in 2019, the VOA said, citing a report from a U.N. Security Council panel of experts.

"Certainly, if it's a sanctioned vessel, any kind of subversions of sanctions against that would, of course, be concerning, but I'm not aware of this specific scenario," the department's principal deputy spokesperson, Vedant Patel, told a press briefing.

"We've long said that as it relates to the DPRK, we believe that Beijing has and can have a constructive role to play in reining in some of their destabilizing activities, and that continues to be the case," he added.

DPRK stands for the North's official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

Patel also reiterated that Washington has no hostile intentions toward the North, as Pyongyang continues to argue that it is doubling down on its weapons-related activities due to U.S. hostility.

"We are not in any way harboring any hostilities towards the DPRK," he said. "In fact, when we talk about our ultimate goal of the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, we are very clear in the fact that we continue to believe that we're ready to engage with Pyongyang without preconditions." (Yonhap)
A study commissioned by a low-carbon investment company has claimed Europe can wean itself off oil, gas, and coal and go full wind and solar for a total price of some $2.1 trillion, equal to 2 trillion euros.

According to the authors, led by the Potsdam Institute for Climate Research in Germany, the annual investment would come in at some 140 billion euros between now and 2030, and 100 billion euros after 2030.

The company that commissioned the study is Aquila Capital, which, according to its website, is an investment and asset development company focused on generating and managing essential assets on behalf of its clients. By investing in clean energy and sustainable infrastructure, Aquila Group contributes to the global energy transition and strengthens the worlds infrastructure backbone.

Reuters reports that, according to the report, most of the $2.1 trillion estimated to be needed for Europes shift would go into building more wind and solar power generation capacity, as well as hydrogen production capacity and the development of geothermal resources.

These figures are considerable, but it is important to remember that the European countries are estimated to have spent an additional 792 billion euros in the last year just on the status quo system to protect consumers from the effects of the energy crisis introduced by the Russian invasion into Ukraine, the authors wrote.

The study probably hypothesizes continued low costs for wind and solar but in reality, this has not been the case, especially in wind. Several projects have been canceled because they no longer make economic sense in the current price environment and Europes total new additions in the first half came in at just 2.1 GW. Thats compared with 11 GW that need to be added every year by 2030 to hit transition targets, WindEurope said.

In solar, problems are rearing their heads as well. European solar component producers are complaining about competition from China but solar installers are warning against tariffs because these would wreck their business.

By Irina Slav for Oilprice.com

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Shares of the French train maker Alstom crashed as much as 38%, and its bonds fell the most on record on Thursday, following the company's disclosure of preliminary financial information indicating a significant decline in its free cash flow projections, attributed to rising inventories.

The results showed Alstom's free cash flow had plunged from -45 million euros to a whopping -1.15 billion euros. It now expects negative 500-750 million euros for the full year, compared with earlier forecasts that were "significantly positive."

FIRST-HALF RESULTS

Alstom forecast negative free cash flow for the full year; the guidance missed the average analyst estimate.

2024 YEAR FORECAST

Sees negative free cash flow EU500 million to EU750 million, estimate positive EU287.5 million (Bloomberg Consensus)

Still sees adjusted Ebit margin about 6%, estimated 6.16%

Alstom has the world's most extensive portfolio of components for the rail sector. This news concerns Wall Street analysts who warn that a capital raise could be nearing.

Deutsche Bank analyst Gael de-Bray told clients the warning is a "major blow" to top executives' credibility. The analyst sees a capital increase that is "increasingly likely" due to the troubled $5.5 billion acquisition of Canadian manufacturer Bombardier.

Shares of Alstom trading on the Paris Stock Exchange crashed 35%. Biggest one day crash in two decades.

Bonds of the French train maker due 2029 sank more than 3% - the most on record - to about 78 cents on the euro.

Alstom blamed surging inventories on supply chain snarls in the US and Europe:

This, combined with tight supply chain conditions, resulted in a significant increase in the level of inventories and contract assets built in order to avoid production disruption and delivery delays during the first half of the year, particularly in Americas and in Europe.

Here's what other Wall Street analysts are saying (courtesy of Bloomberg):

Jefferies (buy)

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Analyst Simon Toennessen says hit from delay in completing UK Aventra program and the significant revising down of free cash flow are key focus

Despite this, orders and organic growth were "decent" in 1H

Strong market momentum and orders to be booked in 2H should help support a recovery, but inventory normalization will take more time

Citi (buy)

Results update points toward a significant cash drag in 1H24, analyst Martin Wilkie writes

Notes that Alstom wouldn't be drawn on free cash flow guidance for FY25, and based on track record means cash improvement is very much a "show me" story

Although Alstom has ruled out an equity raise, expect shares to remain depressed ahead of full results on Nov. 15.

The French government will likely intervene if the situation worsens.

By Zerohedge.com

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Workers at Chevrons two LNG facilities in Australia could decide as soon as this week to resume industrial action after accusing the U.S. supermajor of reneging on key aspects of the regulator-imposed deal, The Sydney Morning Herald reported on Thursday, quoting a source close to the talks.

Two weeks ago, the trade unions ended the strike at the Wheatstone and Gorgon facilities after the countrys labor market regulator mediated a settlement between the parties.

The strike began on September 8 after they failed to reach an agreement with Chevron about working conditions and wage demands.

The Offshore Alliance will now work with Chevron to finalise the drafting of the agreement and members will soon cease current industrial action, the union said, as quoted by Reuters when the mediated deal was reached on September 22.

But the Offshore Alliance said on Thursday in a Facebook post that Chevron have reneged on the commitment they gave to the Fair Work Commission to incorporate the FWCs Recommendations into the Chevron EBAs for the Wheatstone and Gorgon facilities.

The trade union is calling meetings for its members on Thursday evening and Friday afternoon Australia time and said it would be recommending members push back against the industrial bastardry of Chevron.

A protected industrial action, if decided upon, could only begin after a notice of seven days.

We have accepted the recommendation of the Fair Work Commission ... and we continue to work with all parties to finalise the drafting process based on the recommendation, a spokesperson for Chevron told The Sydney Morning Herald.

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Another industrial action at Chevrons two facilities  which collectively account for 7% of global LNG supply  could drive natural gas prices higher just as Europe and north Asia are preparing for the winter heating season. Europes benchmark natural gas prices were highly volatile at the end of August and September, due to concerns about the industrial action in Australia and reduced pipeline flows from Norway due to infrastructure maintenance.

By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com

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WASHINGTON (AP)  The House of Representatives is entering uncharted territory after a far-right effort to remove fellow Republican Kevin McCarthy from the speakership succeeded thanks to support from Democrats.

A resolution  titled a motion to vacate  from Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., passed Tuesday with the support of eight Republicans and all the Democrats present and voting. The vote made McCarthy the first speaker in history to be removed from office, a bitter humiliation that came after less than nine months on the job.

The California Republican told his conference shortly after that he would not run for the job again. It is a stunning outcome in the House that shocked lawmakers of both parties and left them wondering what the future will bring.

Republican Rep. Patrick McHenry, now the acting speaker, declared the House in recess until both parties can decide on a path forward. There is no obvious successor to lead the House Republican majority now that McCarthy has opted not to run for the job again.

Here's a closer look at what could happen next:

WHO'S IN CHARGE OF THE HOUSE NOW?

Immediately after the vote, McHenry, a close McCarthy ally, was named temporary speaker or speaker pro tempore. The North Carolina Republican was picked from a list that the speaker is required to keep of members who can serve in this position in the event a chair is vacated.

McCarthy turned over that private list to the House clerk in January when he was first elected speaker. And while McHenry can serve in the temporary role indefinitely, he does not have the full power of a duly elected speaker but only those that are deemed necessary and appropriate for the purpose of electing someone to the job, according to the rules governing the House.

McHenry will be unable to bring legislation to the floor or take it off. He also does not have the power to issue subpoenas or sign off on any other official House business that would require the approval of the speaker.

WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?

The first order of business for McHenry would be to elect a new speaker.

As of now, it is unclear who House Republicans will nominate for the speakership. Some members left the chamber Tuesday determined to renominate McCarthy and vote for him for speaker until it passes. But now that he is out of the running, the path is clear for any Republican to jump in.

Some members, including Gaetz, have been broaching potential consensus candidates like Majority Leader Steve Scalise or Whip Tom Emmer who they see as bringing the conference together. Other names up for discussion include Rep. Kevin Hern, chair of the Republican Study Committee, and Rep. Jim Jordan, the chair of the House Judiciary Committee and a favorite of the right flank of the party.

Once Republicans decide who to nominate for speaker, the House would have to vote as many times as it takes for a candidate to receive the majority of those present and voting for speaker. It can quickly become an arduous exercise, as it did in January when it took McCarthy an unprecedented 15 rounds to win the gavel.

ANOTHER SPEAKER?

Once a speaker candidate has won a majority of the vote, the clerk will announce the results of the election.

During a normal speaker election, which takes place at the start of each Congress, a bipartisan committee, usually consisting of members from the home state of the chosen candidate, will then escort the speaker-elect to the chair on the dais where the oath of office is administered. The oath is identical to the one new members will take once a speaker is chosen.

It is unclear if that is the same process that will be followed in this instance. It is customary for the minority leader to join the successor at the speaker's chair, where they will pass the gavel as a nod to the potential future working relationship between one party leader and another.

AP Congressional Correspondent Lisa Mascaro contributed to this report.
WEDNESDAY, Oct. 4, 2023 (HealthDay News) -- Health care workers who serve millions of Americans began a three-day strike on Wednesday after contract negotiations over staffing levels stalled.

More than 75,000 members of the Coalition of Kaiser Permanente Unions began walking off their jobs as early as 6 a.m. in Virginia and Washington, D.C., The Washington Post reported. The union, whose contract expired Saturday, represents medical assistants, surgical and lab technicians, and pharmacists, among other staffers.

Workers and the nation's largest nonprofit, private health care provider failed to reach an agreement over the weekend. Along with staffing levels, pay and benefits are an issue, CNBC reported.

Paula Coleman, a 10-year clinical lab assistant who oversees blood and urine testing for Kaiser in Englewood, Colorado, and plans to strike, said low staffing levels in her lab jeopardize patient care. Coleman, often the only person working in her lab in the early mornings, fears she would not have backup if an emergency struck while she was drawing a patient's blood.

The strike will target Kaiser hospitals and medical offices in California, Colorado, Oregon, Virginia, the District of Columbia, and Washington state. Employees in Kaiser facilities in Georgia would not be affected. Kaiser Permanente serves nearly 13 million patients and operates 39 hospitals and more than 600 medical offices across the United States.

Caroline Lucas, executive director of the Coalition of Kaiser Permanente Unions, said staffing shortages have made working conditions unsafe and have led to deteriorating care for patients. "We continue to have front-line health care workers who are burnt out and stretched to the max and leaving the industry," Lucas told CNBC. "We have folks getting injured on the job because they're trying to do too much and see too many people and work too quickly. It's not a sustainable situation."

Meanwhile, Kaiser has said that it has contingency plans to ensure continued patient care. The company is providing online status reports and has said it is confident negotiations will be successful. Still, the coalition of unions has accused Kaiser of negotiating in bad faith and committing unfair labor practices, CNBC reported.
A 19-year-old woman was killed in a shooting Wednesday night in North Omaha.

Dontayzhia Swift was shot near 37th Street and Grand Avenue around 9 p.m., according to Omaha police. She was taken by paramedics to the Nebraska Medical Center, where she was later pronounced deceased.

Police became aware of the shooting through multiple activations of ShotSpotter technology. While responding to the incident, officers from the Omaha Police Departments Gang Unit saw a white Chevrolet Tahoe SUV leaving the area.

Patrol officers found the vehicle near 31st Street and Sorensen Parkway. A pursuit followed before it ended at 41st Street and Spaulding Avenue.

Two people ran from the Tahoe. Police tracked them down and took them into custody. The two people have been interviewed by police, but their names have not been released as of Thursday morning.

While the pursuit was occurring, police spokesman Lt. Neal Bonacci said police received a call to go to a house around 37th Street and Grand Avenue. They found Swift suffering from a gunshot wound. After lifesaving measures were performed at the scene, Swift was taken to the hospital.

Dontayzhia Swift is the second Swift to die by gunfire this week.

Around 2:30 a.m. Sunday, 16-year-old LaMarintae Swift was shot during a birthday party at a building near 24th and Decatur Streets. Five other people were injured during that shooting.

Dontayzhia Swifts death represents the 19th homicide in Omaha this year. That compares with 22 homicides at this time in 2022.

Bonacci confirmed that Dontayzhia Swift and LaMarintae Swift were related but didnt know how. He said police are looking at any and all leads to see if the shootings are connected.
Omaha police have identified the man who was shot Tuesday by officers as Andrew L. Wright, 39, of Omaha.

Wright suffered multiple gunshot wounds, and was being treated Wednesday at the Nebraska Medical Center. He is expected to survive, Omaha police said.

Wright was injured Tuesday night when multiple Omaha police gang unit detectives fired their guns at him after stopping the car he was driving near 61st and Jaynes Streets, Omaha Deputy Police Chief Tom Shaffer said.

The officers were investigating a report to 911 that a man had pointed a gun at someone at 21st and Pinkney Streets about 20 minutes earlier, police said. They stopped the car Wright was driving because it matched the detailed description, and partial license plate number, given by a witness to the earlier incident, said Lt. Neal Bonacci, an Omaha police spokesman. Wright got out of the car after the officers stopped it, police said.

Police have not said why officers shot Wright. The shooting is being investigated by the Omaha Police Department Officer Involved Investigations Team, with the assistance of the Nebraska State Patrol and Douglas County Sheriffs Office.

Police said a gun was found on the ground near Wright. Asked whether Wright had pointed or fired a gun at the officers, Bonacci said that is still under investigation.

Officers body-worn cameras captured video of various aspects of the incident, according to police. Bonacci said police are still connecting the dots about what happened after Wright got out of the car. He said more will be known after interviews of the officers are completed.

The officers provided life-saving measures to Wright until Omaha Fire Department personnel arrived, according to a statement from the Omaha Police Departments public information office Wednesday.

The officers arrested a passenger from Wrights vehicle, whom police identified Wednesday as Alandus Warren, 45. Warren was booked on suspicion of possessing cocaine and marijuana.

The involved officers have been placed on paid administrative leave. Police have not yet released their names.
An Omaha man was found guilty Wednesday of four felonies for firing multiple shots into an active-shooting situation from a nearby parking lot.

Kiwan Dampeer, 26, was found guilty of firing two shots into the carnage of an active shooting that killed a 20-year-old woman and injured eight others during a birthday party near 33rd Street and Ames Avenue last November. His motive for doing so remains unclear.

The shots that Dampeer fired are not believed to have hit anyone. Dampeer is a convicted felon on federal marijuana and firearm offenses. He had been released from prison just two months before the shooting and was on federal supervised release at the time.

The bench trial, meaning there was no jury and the judge was solely responsible for determining guilt or innocence, took days and was held in front of Douglas County District Judge Russell Bowie last month. On Wednesday, Bowie found Dampeer guilty on all charges: discharging a firearm at an occupied building; possessing a firearm on school grounds; possessing a firearm as a felon; and using a firearm to commit a felony.

According to court records and in-court testimony:

Shortly after 4 a.m. on Nov. 13, 2022, shots rang out inside a multipurpose building where dozens of people were gathered for a birthday party. Nine people were shot, including 20-year-old Karly Wood, who was shot eight times and died of her injuries shortly after being transported to the hospital.

As the investigation into the shooting unfolded, detectives came to believe that shots were fired both inside the building, which led to the injuries, and from outside. Bullet holes were noted in a garage door at the back of the building, and two shell casings were found in the parking lot of nearby Skinner Elementary School.

Video footage from the school showed a man standing in the parking lot and pointing a handgun toward the back of the Ames Avenue building. Video from inside the buildings garage showed the garage door vibrating at the same time that the man was seen pointing the gun in the parking lot.

Though the footage was dark and grainy, OPD homicide detective Jaime Desautels sent photos of the man seen firing into the building to colleagues in the Omaha Police Departments gang unit. Multiple officers identified the man as Dampeer.
In an emotional hearing Wednesday, an Omaha man was sentenced to five years of probation for taking a gun from his friend, who is charged with murder, following a shooting last year.

Tyvel Lampkin-Davis, 28, appeared in a packed courtroom Wednesday to be sentenced by Douglas County District Court Judge Russell Bowie. He is one of three men charged in relation to a shooting at a birthday party last November that killed 20-year-old Karly Wood and left eight others  including himself  injured.

Lampkin-Davis pleaded no contest in July to two felonies: possessing a firearm on school grounds and accessory to a felony. He admitted to taking a gun from Imhotep Davis, who is charged with Woods murder, after the shooting in an apparent attempt to protect his friend.

Lampkin-Davis was not accused of being one of the shooters.

As Bowie announced the sentence, the room erupted with gasps of disbelief from Woods family and tears of joy from Lampkin-Davis side of the courtroom. Bowie made no comment on his rationale.

Im not quite sure how to feel right now, Amber Wood, Karlys mother, said after the sentencing. Everything is a whirlwind. Im just disappointed that there was no set consequence to sit down and really think about Karly and the impact his actions had on her and us.

Lampkin-Davis, who has been out on bail since January, gave a tearful statement to the court before being sentenced. He spoke about his desire to raise his young son the right way and repeatedly apologized to Wood's family.

His attorney, Keith Dornan, implored Bowie not to punish Lampkin-Davis for the actions of the multiple shooters who fired at least 24 bullets into the party. He characterized Lampkin-Davis decision to take the gun from Davis as a criminal mistake done to protect his childhood friend in a moment of high adrenaline.

Woods family and prosecutors expressed dismay that Lampkin-Davis has not been forthcoming with police about what he saw at the party that night. Dornan said this is because Lampkin-Davis was both highly intoxicated and in shock because he had been shot in the collarbone.

He was very intoxicated, Dornan said. He had been shot, almost fatally. And he just doesnt have a good memory of what happened in that room.

According to arrest affidavits and other court documents, shots rang out at a birthday party held at a multipurpose building near 33rd Street and Ames Avenue shortly after 4 a.m. on Nov. 13, 2022. In total, nine people were shot. Karly had been shot eight times and was pronounced deceased shortly after arriving at the Nebraska Medical Center.

Shell casings and bullets recovered from the home revealed that four different guns were fired during the shooting. Only two people accused of firing shots  Davis, and Kiwan Dampeer, who is accused of firing into the building from a nearby parking lot  have been charged.

Security video from nearby Skinner Elementary School showed Davis running from the party to the schools parking lot, where many partygoers had parked, after the shooting. Davis handed a firearm to Lampkin-Davis, who then placed the gun inside his Chevrolet Malibu.

Davis and Lampkin-Davis, who had both been shot, were transported by private vehicles to different hospitals. After securing a search warrant, police searched the Chevrolet Malibu and located a Glock 19 in the cars center console.

A total of 24 shell casings were found inside the building where the shooting occurred. Fourteen were determined to have come from the gun found in Lampkin-Davis car. In addition, two bullets recovered from Woods body were determined to come from the same gun.

When interviewed by police, Lampkin-Davis said he had found the gun on the floor after he was shot. He then told police that he didnt know how the gun got into his car, but admitted to taking it from Davis after being confronted with video evidence.

Lampkin-Davis is the first of the three men charged to be sentenced in the case. Dampeer was recently found guilty of four felonies, including shooting into an occupied building, and is scheduled to be sentenced in November.
An Omaha man won a total of $150,000 in an episode of The $100,000 Pyramid that aired Wednesday night.

Sam Kurtenbach, a Lincoln native who lives in Omaha, was able to win big with help from celebrity guests Jason Alexander and Rosie ODonnell on the fast-paced game show hosted by Michael Strahan.

Kurtenbach teamed up with Seinfeld actor Alexander for the first round of word association challenges, which ended in a tie. However, Kurtenbach and Alexander were able to advance to the Winners Circle where the contestant plays for money because they finished in a shorter amount of time than the other team.

In the first round Winners Circle, Kurtenbach was able to win $50,000 by using clues to prompt Alexander to guess the categories he was describing. When asked what hed do with the money, he said hed like to visit Poland and Ireland because his family is from those countries.

In the second round, Kurtenbach played with ODonnell. As with the first round, both teams were tied so Kurtenbach and ODonnell advanced because they guessed the answers more quickly.

In the second Winners Circle, Kurtenbach was able to team up with ODonnell win another $100,000. He said hed use that money to buy a baby grand piano, as hes a lifelong piano player.

Kurtenbach, a project manager in the financial services industry, previously told The World-Herald that its been a lifelong dream of his to appear on the Pyramid franchise. He said he had applied to appear on the show twice before being selected on his third try.

At the start of Wednesdays episode, Kurtenbach discussed being a game show fanatic.

This game right here is my Super Bowl, he said.
Record number of spectators attend Festival Indonesia

By Kim Hyun-bin

Festival Indonesia has achieved an extraordinary milestone, consecutively presenting in Ansan, Busan and Seoul, with the participation of 100 artists and over 10,000 spectators, according to the Embassy of Indonesia in Seoul.

For the very first time, Festival Indonesia unfolded at Gwanghwamun Square, playing a pivotal role in fostering bilateral relations between Indonesia and Korea and marking the celebration of the 50th anniversary of diplomatic ties between the two nations.

The success of the Festival Indonesia not only celebrates cultural exchange but also strengthens the bonds of friendship between Indonesia and Korea, setting the stage for continued collaboration and mutual understanding, the Embassy of Indonesia in Seoul said in a statement.

Indonesian Ambassador to Korea Gandi Sulistiyanto, speaking at the closing ceremony, expressed his optimism about the future of bilateral relations. He emphasized the potential for closer ties between the nations, foreseeing fruitful outcomes at the regional and international levels.

In addition, Sulistiyanto revealed his imminent departure from the ambassadorial role to return to Jakarta, where he will embark on a new assignment as a presidential adviser. He expressed heartfelt hopes that Festival Indonesia would be cherished in the memories of the Indonesian and Korean communities.

Festival Indonesia showcased an array of captivating performances during its second and final day. The main stage came alive with the Pendet Dance from Bali, performed by the children of Indonesian Embassy staff. Subsequent performances featured the YOPIC band, the Ayodhia Pala dance group and a show of talent by students from the Indonesian Language Class for Foreign Speakers.

Simultaneously, the secondary stage facing Sejong Art Center hosted engaging activities for children, including traditional Indonesian games like bakiak, egrang, congklak and bekel, as well as face and hand painting.

The event was attended by esteemed guests, including Ambassador of Thailand to Korea Witchu Vejjajiva and other dignitaries from Brunei, Laos, the Philippines, Myanmar and Cambodia. Female ambassadors and spouses of ambassadors came together for a special performance of the ASEAN anthem, "The ASEAN Way."

Beyond music and dance, Festival Indonesia served as a platform to introduce diverse aspects of Indonesian culinary products, including its small and medium enterprises. The event featured booths showcasing fashion, crafts and culinary delights from Indonesia, offering a glimpse into the nation's rich cultural heritage.
HONG KONG  In the past few years, Chinas government promoted increasingly conservative social values, encouraging women to focus on raising children. It cracked down on civil society movements and made laws to drive out foreign influence.

So a 75-year-old Japanese feminist scholar who's not married and does not have children is an unlikely celebrity on the countrys tightly censored internet.

But Chizuko Ueno, a professor emeritus at the University of Tokyo, is a phenomenon. She leapt to fame in China in 2019 with a speech that criticized social expectations for women to act cute and the pressure they face to hide their success.

Uenos popularity reflects a surge in interest in womens rights, said Leta Hong Fincher, a research associate at the Weatherhead East Asian Institute who has written about gender discrimination and feminism in China.

About a decade ago, China had a rambunctious feminist movement that staged protests like occupying a mens restroom to demand more toilets for women, or marching in wedding dresses spattered with fake blood to draw attention to domestic violence. But that movement has been silenced as President Xi Jinpings administration has tightened controls on civil society and promoted conservative family values in a bid to boost childbirths.

In mainland China, Ueno's books sold more than a half-million copies in the first half of 2023, according to sales tracker Beijing OpenBook, and 26 were available in Chinese bookstores as of September. They cover topics ranging from misogyny in Japanese society to feminist approaches to elder care issues in an aging society.

Starting From the Limit, a collection of letters between Ueno and Suzumi Suzuki, a writer who used to act in Japanese porn, topped the 2022 Books of the Year list on the popular Chinese review platform Douban.

Fans said Uenos openness about choosing not to marry or have children makes her a role model.

Edith Cao, a writer who spoke on the condition of being identified by her English nickname due to fear of government retaliation, said seeing an East Asian woman succeed without a family helped her decide not to marry. Yang Xiao, a graduate student, said Uenos example helped assuage her anxieties about being single and inspired her to start booking holidays alone to build confidence.

Relationships are a divisive issue even among Uenos Chinese fans. Earlier this year, fans attacked a Chinese video blogger who asked Ueno if she hadn't married because shed been hurt by men, saying the blogger had reinforced traditional assumptions. That started a series of online conversations about marriage and feminism that lasted for months, with related hashtags drawing some 580 million views on the Twitter-like social media platform Weibo.

Ueno doesnt write about China, and thats probably one key reason her books have escaped censorship, said Hong Fincher.

Feminist ideas are not banned in China, but authorities view all activism with suspicion.

Police regularly summon owners of bookstores and cafes and pressure them to cancel feminism-themed events, several organizers and founders said. Online, posts that refer to the #MeToo movement are deleted, and nationalist bloggers attack feminists with a public presence as foreign agents.

Chinese journalist and activist Huang Xueqin, who helped spark China's first high-profile #MeToo case, was tried last week for allegedly inciting subversion of state power. According to a copy of the indictment published by supporters of Huang, she was accused of publishing seditious articles and facilitating training activities on non-violent movements.

Protest and campaigning are no longer possible, said Lu Pin, a Chinese feminist activist based in the U.S., meaning feminism is confined to individual action and small groups. The Ueno boom, she said, has helped keep feminist ideas in the lawful mainstream.

Guo Qingyuan, a 35-year-old copywriter, said that reading Ueno led him to question how he saw women. He stopped talking about womens looks with his buddies, he said, and sought out children's books for his daughter that didn't promote stereotypical gender roles.

Cao, the writer who also offers support to victims of domestic violence, said there are problems that reading feminist books wont solve.

Two years after China first added sexual harassment as a cause of lawsuits in 2019, the Yuanzhong Family and Community Development Service Center, a Beijing-based nonprofit group, found that only 24 cases using the law were recorded in a nationwide database. The researchers identified 12 other cases related to sexual harassment that were filed using other laws.

Ueno-inspired feminism is unlikely to bring direct pressure to change laws. Its a lot tamer than earlier waves of activism, although it may be more widespread.

But even if her words cant bring policy change, Cao said, they have further stoked an underlying force.
STOCKHOLM (AP)  Norwegian writer Jon Fosse, whose work tackles birth, death, faith and the other elemental stuff of life in spare Nordic prose, won the Nobel Prize for Literature on Thursday for writing that prize organizers said gives voice to the unsayable.

The novelist and playwright said the prize was recognition of literature that first and foremost aims to be literature, without other considerations  an ethos expressed in dozens of enigmatic plays, stories and novels, including a seven-book epic made up of a single sentence.

Fosses work, rooted in his Norwegian background, focuses on human insecurity and anxiety," Anders Olsson, chair of the Nobel literature committee, told The Associated Press. "The basic choices you make in life, very elemental stuff.

One of his countrys most-performed dramatists, Fosse said he had cautiously prepared himself for a decade to receive the news that he had won.

I was surprised when they called, yet at the same time not," the 64-year-old told Norwegian public broadcaster NRK. "It was a great joy for me to get the phone call.

WHY DID THE NOBEL PRIZE IN LITERATURE GO TO JON FOSSE?

The author of 40 plays as well as novels, short stories, childrens books, poetry and essays, Fosse was honored for his innovative plays and prose, which give voice to the unsayable, according to the Swedish Academy, which awards the prize.

Fosse has cited the bleak, enigmatic work of Irish writer Samuel Beckett  the 1969 Nobel literature laureate  as an influence on his sparse, minimalist style.

Edmund Austigard, executive officer of Fosses publisher, Samlaget, said the author described his work as slow writing and reading literature.

Its not a type of literature that you bring to the beach and read in an hour or two," he said. Its a type of literature ... that invites you into a unique world and invites you to stay there for a while.

WHAT IS THE NYNORSK LANGUAGE?

While Fosse is the fourth Norwegian writer to get the literature prize, he is the first in nearly a century and the first who writes in Nynorsk, one of the two official written versions of the Norwegian language. It is used by just 10% of the country's 5.4 million people, according to the Language Council of Norway, but completely understandable to users of the other written form, Bokmaal.

Guy Puzey, senior lecturer in Scandinavian Studies at the University of Edinburgh, said Bokmaal is the language of power, its the language of urban centers, of the press. Nynorsk, by contrast, is used mainly by people in rural western Norway.

So its a really big day for a minority language, Puzey said.

Norway culture minister, Lubna Jaffery, told news agency NTB that it was a historic day for the Nynorsk language and Nynorsk literature.

Norway's Bjrnstjerne Bjrnson received the prize in 1903, Knut Hamsun was awarded it in 1920 and Sigrid Undset in 1928.

In recognition of his contribution to Norwegian culture, in 2011 Fosse was granted use of an honorary residence in the grounds of the Royal Palace.

WHAT DID JON FOSSE WRITE?

His first novel, Red, Black, was published in 1983, and his debut play, Someone is Going to Come, in 1992.

His work A New Name: Septology VI-VII  described by Olsson as Fosses magnum opus  was a finalist for the International Booker Prize in 2022. The final volume in a seven-novel exploration of life, death and spirituality contains no sentence breaks.

His other major prose works include Melancholy; Morning and Evening, whose two parts depict a birth and a death; Wakefulness; and Olavs Dreams.

His plays, which have been staged across Europe and in the United States, include The Name, Dream of Autumn and I am the Wind.

Fosse has also taught writing  one of his students was best-selling Norwegian novelist Karl Ove Knausgaard  and consulted on a Norwegian translation of the Bible.

HOW DID JON FOSSE REACT TO THE NEWS?

Mats Malm, permanent secretary of the academy, reached Fosse by telephone to inform him of the win. He said the writer, who lives in the western city of Bergen, was driving in the countryside and promised to drive home carefully.

I stand here and feel a little numb, but of course very happy for the great honor, Fosse told Norway's TV2.

The Nobel Prizes carry a cash award of 11 million Swedish kronor ($1 million) from a bequest left by their creator, Swedish inventor Alfred Nobel. Winners also receive an 18-carat gold medal and diploma at the award ceremonies in December.

SHOULD I HAVE HEARD OF JON FOSSE?

Though his books have been translated into dozens of languages and his plays produced around the world, Fosse is what some critics might see as a classic, safe Nobel choice: A highbrow European man with little name recognition beyond small literary circles.

The prize has long faced criticism that it is too focused on European and North American writers of style-heavy, story-light prose. It's also male-dominated, with just 17 women among its 119 laureates, including last years winner French author Annie Ernaux.

Others point out that the prize has gone in recent years to a strong mix of authors with both critical acclaim and robust sales, such as Kazuo Ishiguro, Mario Vargas Llosa and Alice Munro. And the most populist choice by the committee  2016 laureate Bob Dylan  also sparked plenty of controversy and debate about whether his lyrics rose to the level of literature.

Publisher Austigard said Fosse's slow prose could be  just what we need and just what people are looking for in a frenetic world.

Its birth, its love, its death. Its about what it means to be a human being."

Corder reported from The Hague, Netherlands, and Lawless from London. Associated Press writer Jan M. Olsen contributed from Copenhagen.
VENICE, Italy (AP)  Venetian mainlanders stopped in dismay Wednesday to pay respects to the 21 people, all but one foreign tourists, who were killed when an all-electric shuttle bus crashed through an overpass guardrail and fence, plunging more than 10 meters (30 feet) to the ground.

The raised road opposite a major train station is one of the borough of Mestre's most frequently traveled, without second thoughts. But they now stopped to inspect the aging guardrail and rusted fence  both of which the bus sliced through in a moment during Tuesday rush-hour traffic.

The bus was just a year old, and the 40-year-old driver with an untarnished record had just started his shift shuttling tourists from Piazzale Roma, at the edge of Venices famed canals, to a four-star campground on the mainland offering bargain accommodation. The driver, Alberto Rizzotto, was among the dead.

A video showed the city-owned bus disappear from the frame, as another larger bus traveling behind it continued along the overpass. Prosecutors ruled out contact with any other vehicle, and said the shuttle bus scraped against the guardrail for at least 50 meters (more than 150 feet) before its fiery crash to a surface road.

The guardrail was bent to the pavement, and the fence was ripped open. The bus landed upside down, its front end crushed. Fire damage was visible.

Inexplicable, said Mayor Luigi Brugnaro, who has driven on the overpass hundreds of times. Regional Gov. Luca Zaia said the circumstances suggested the driver may have suddenly become ill.

Investigators hope that video from cameras inside the bus will reveal the reason for the crash.

Nine Ukrainians were among the dead tourists, along with four Romanians, three Germans, two Portuguese, one Croat and one South African.

The injured included at least four Ukrainians, part of a larger group that included a 3-year-old girl who suffered serious burns, as well as visitors from Spain, Austria, France, Croatia and Germany. Nine were being treated in intensive care for trauma, including burns and fractures. Survivors also included a young Austrian brother and sister.

They are still in what we call the shock phase, with confused memories. They are still in that state of agitation and confusion typical of the traumatic event,'' said Rita Lorio, a psychologist at Mestre's main hospital, one of five treating the injured. "They are not yet in that phase of awareness of what happened.

The tourists are all believed to have stayed at the Hu Venezia Camping in Town, just a 15-minute drive from shuttle buss pickup point at Piazzale Roma, at the edge of Venices famed canals linked to the mainland by a bridge.

The crash has shocked Venetians, two-thirds of whom live on the mainland. Many stopped on Wednesday morning to pay their respects, staring at the gaping guardrail and fence. One man stopped on his motorcycle to tie plastic flowers to a post.

Gianni Amadeo, an 80-year-old retired musician, stopped in disbelief Wednesday at the site that he passes regularly between his home and a garage he uses for storage.

It took a scary flight, he said of the buss plunge.

Family members of the dead and survivors were trickling in to Venice from around Europe on Wednesday. The Veneto region declared three days of mourning, and flags were flown at half-staff at government buildings.

Experts said the fact that the bus was electric contributed to the massive fire and made rescue operations more difficult.

I wont forget what I saw for the rest of my life, Brugnaro, the mayor, told The Associated Press from his office in Mestre. Seeing all those people crammed inside a bus, down there, is something you cant describe.

Venice is in the process of replacing its buses with electric vehicles. They were introduced on the city's Lido island several years ago, with a small percentage added to the fleet in Mestre last year.

Brugnaro said the crash didn't give him reason to pause the city's plan to upgrade city transportation vehicles to less-polluting electric buses, even if it needs to be determined what role the battery might have played in the ensuing blaze.

That the bus drove off an overpass "has nothing to do with the fact that it is electric, the mayor said.

The bus was made by China-based Yutong Group Co., which describes itself as a large-scale industrial company specializing in buses.

On its website, Yutong shows newer models with multiple electronic safety systems including a lane departure warning, automatic emergency braking, collision warning and collision mitigation control. It wasn't clear from photographs at the scene which of the company's models were involved.

The website says the buses have buffer spaces for high-voltage electrical components at the front and rear. It also says the buses have enhanced anti-crash structures.

Fully spatial and thermal isolation between battery cabin and passenger compartment poses no threat to passengers, even if the batteries catch fire, the website says.

Two long-time foreign residents of Italy who work at the Fincantieri shipyard near the crash site were among the first to respond. Godstime Erheneden, 30, of Nigeria and Boubacar Toure, 27 of Gambia, were preparing dinner in a company apartment overlooking the busy road when they heard the crash and ran outside.

Erheneden was among the first to enter the bus.

When we went in, we saw the driver right away. He was dead. I carried a woman out on my shoulders, then a man, Erheneden told the Venice daily Il Gazzettino.

The woman was screaming, my daughter, my daughter, and I went back in. I saw this girl who must have been 2 years old,' he said, reminded of his own son about the same age. "It was terrible. I dont know if she survived. I thought she was alive but when the rescuers arrived, they took her away immediately.''

Toure said he helped three or four people to safety. I tried to put out the fire, but I couldn't, he told the paper.

The mayor heard about the pair's bravery, and said he planned to track them down.

"They threw themselves into the fire to rescue these people. They are real heroes of our time,'' he said.
BLOOMINGTON  The Regional Office of Education #17 announced the Mobile Museum of Tolerance will be visiting Central Illinois schools this month.

The bus will be stopping at K-12 schools in Bloomington, Normal, Heyworth and Lincoln Oct. 10-13, with a return trip to Normal in February. The bus will be open to students and educators at each stop.

The mobile museum is an initiative of the Simon Wiesenthal Center, which is designed to promote respect and understanding among people of all cultures and religions. The exhibits explore the history of prejudice and discrimination, including the Holocaust and civil rights, and encourages visitors to reflect on their attitudes and behaviors.

The team will provide guidance and facilitate interactive experiences for guests, helping to foster dialogue and promote empathy and understanding.

Visit roe17.org for more information.

Photos: Country Financial rep hosts Farmers Appreciation Dinner in Colfax FEED A FARMER 100523-blm-loc-farmers2 100523-blm-loc-farmers3 Video: COUNTRY Financial representative Casey Holevoet talks about the Farmers Appreciation Dinner in Colfax
NORMAL  State labor authorities are expected to start reviewing membership and authorization cards filed this week by tenured and tenure-track faculty seeking to unionize at Illinois State University.

Illinois Educational Labor Relations Board staff member John Brosnan confirmed that his agency had received cards from the proposed union, to be known as United Faculty of ISU, or UFISU. The IELRB is expected to assign an attorney to undertake a complete review of cards, which it received Wednesday.

Tenured and to-be-tenured faculty instigated organizing efforts with the Illinois Federation of Teachers nearly two months ago, marking that instructional groups first drive to collectivize as a bargaining unit since 2000. Under a different process in the last attempt, ISU professors voted 335 to 283 against unionizing as an affiliate of the Illinois Education Association.

University spokesman Eric Jome confirmed Wednesday that ISU administration was aware of the announcement that the authorization cards had been filed. As of Thursday, the school had not been officially notified by the labor board, he said.

Jome reiterated that ISU respects the faculty members' legal right to organize under the processes established by the Illinois Education Labor Relations Act.

Roughly 650 tenure and tenure-track faculty could be represented by the UFISU, which anticipates becoming a certified union by December. The IFT stated on its website that an unstoppable majority filed cards Wednesday to form under UFISU, as a chapter of the University Professionals of Illinois, Local 4100.

That local is affiliated with the IFT, the American Federation of Teachers and American Association of University Professors. The IELRB and the IFT did not disclose exactly how many member cards were filed.

ISU already recognizes 16 other collective bargaining units at ISU, representing 1,700 school employees that include police, maintenance workers and nontenured faculty. The AFT counted 3,000 staff and professionals already covered by the UPI.

UPI president John Miller, who addressed faculty at a rally in August, said in a statement he was proud the ISU faculty decided to join, adding that they would have a powerful voice to strengthen the university and elevate needs of students, workers and public higher education in Illinois.

Keith Pluymers, an assistant professor of history who serves as an organizing committee member for the new union, said Thursday that he was thrilled and overjoyed by development of UFISU.

He defined the filing of authorization cards as a culmination of tons of hard work, and said the union would become a transformative force of good for the university and its students.

Pluymers said the organizing process was a door-to-door grind, where they tried engaging in conversations with all tenure and tenure-track faculty. Some talks were short; others were very long.

The support we built is robust  really robust, he said, adding theyve set a goal to build a community based on trust and solidarity. He said theyre also committed to being a member-led, democratic union.

Through organizer engagements with potential members, Pluymers said, organizers became better acquainted with their colleagues, learning what was making their jobs great and what frustrated them.

When asked if key bargaining points had been identified, he said those would be later determined through a process of conversations and surveys.

Generally speaking, Pluymers said, faculty become invested in seeing their lessons light sparks in the minds of their students.

My best days at work are when I see students make a connection  when I see everything click  they get it, he said. They make a new discovery, they understand something theyve been struggling with.

But students are face obstacles that might prevent them from reaching those realizations, Pluymers said, a situation he described as heartbreaking. He said they may arise in the form of mental health crises, or needs for other wrap-around services, like tutoring, math support or a writing center.

While those services do exist at ISU, Pluymers said, they have limits.

Another significant issue, he said, has been pay equity and wages that may not have kept up with years of service. For example, a tenured associate professor could be making the same or less than an assistant professor. Most non-tenure-track faculty members already have union representation.

Weve formed a union because we think the best way to make tangible progress towards addressing (those issues) is by joining together to bargain a union contract with fairness and equity in mind, he said.

At least two students responded positively to the filing announcement.

Andres Matute, a senior studying business at ISU, said that as a student, he thinks the union will bring more safety nets for teachers and "push them to do better."

He added that with a surge in freshman enrollment this semester, it would be good to invest in university instructors. ISU reported a 4% growth in first-year students from last year.

Another senior, Dan Frederick, told The Pantagraph that a union would give faculty a greater sense of freedom. "I think teachers should have a say in how they're getting paid," said Frederick, a sociology major.

His instructors work hard and also should have a say in what they can teach, he said.

Christie Angleton, a tenure-line assistant professor for ISU's School of Teaching and Learning, said Wednesday's announcement was "fantastic."

She agreed there's a sense of solidarity among tenured and tenure-track faculty, adding "we've been working really hard."

"This is for our students, first and foremost," Angleton told The Pantagraph. "When we have fair wages and fair working conditions, we can bring our A-game."

Photos: First day of practice for Illinois State basketball at CEFCU Arena.
SPRINGFIELD  After Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., filed a motion to oust House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Ca., on Monday, the latter tweeted, "Bring it on."

It did not age well.

Less than 24 hours later, McCarthy became the first House speaker in American history to be removed by a vote of his colleagues. Eight far-right Republicans joined with all Democrats to do the deed.

Republicans only have a five-seat majority, meaning it did not take much to topple McCarthy, who had a hand in sealing his own fate by agreeing to a rules package in January that cleared the way for him to win the top job but also allowed any one member to motion for his ouster at any time.

The time came after McCarthy allowed a vote on a bipartisan continuing resolution this past weekend that kept the federal government from shutting down. Far-right members of McCarthy's caucus had hoped to hold out for deeper spending cuts despite the fact that the Senate and White House are both controlled by Democrats.

The vote among the Illinois delegation was fairly predictable, with all 14 Democrats supporting McCarthy's removal and all three Republicans voting to quash the motion to vacate.

Rep. Darin LaHood, R-Peoria, called the move "a shameful maneuver that does a disservice to the American people and hinders the key conservative priorities that voters put a Republican Majority in the House to advance."

Rep. Mike Bost, R-Murphysboro, said Wednesday that the vacancy in the speaker's office essentially renders the House "non-functional."

"Dont listen to failed political candidates sitting on the sidelines telling you that this is great for the country," Bost said. "They want to mislead you into believing chaos is good, even if it completely derails the conservative agenda."

The only wild card was Rep. Mary Miller, R-Hindsboro, a member of the far-right Freedom Caucus who withheld her support for McCarthy in January until the 12th ballot of the House speaker election.

However, Miller was with McCarthy on Tuesday, arguing that what comes next could be worse for Republicans if they had to enter into a power-sharing agreement with Democrats in order to elect a speaker.

"I agree with President Trump that right now, we should be focused on stopping the radical Democrats," Miller said in a statement. "... We cannot risk Pelosi having any power in a Republican Majority while we are in the middle of budget negotiations and an impeachment inquiry into Biden!"

On the other hand, the House Democratic caucus quickly reached consensus Tuesday that they would not bail out McCarthy by either voting "no" or "present" on the motion.

"Since day one, Speaker McCarthy has chosen the path of partisanship, chaos, and confusion," said Rep. Eric Sorensen, D-Rock Island. "That is not what my constituents, nor the American people, should expect from Congress."

Rep. Nikki Budzinski, D-Springfield, added that McCarthy "is not fit to serve as Speaker of the House."

Some thought Democrats, particularly moderates, might step in to rescue McCarthy in the interest of protecting the institution. But it wasn't to be.

First, McCarthy never asked Democrats for their votes, nor was he willing to offer concessions in exchange for them. You can't expect to get what you don't ask for or are unwilling to pay for.

But at a deeper level, there was simply no love lost for McCarthy, whom many Democrats viewed as an enabler of former President Donald Trump. They could not stomach McCarthy's support of a challenge to President Joe Biden's 2020 Electoral College victory. Or, more recently, his opening of an impeachment inquiry into the incumbent president.

And even if there was a deal to be had, Democrats did not trust McCarthy to keep his word. They would point to the recent spat that almost led to a government shutdown. McCarthy reneged on spending levels that were agreed upon during the debt ceiling deal he negotiated with Biden this summer.

So now the House will elect a new speaker.

With McCarthy announcing that he will not seek the gavel, House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., and Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, have each announced their candidacies for the top job.

The Illinois Republican delegation only has three members, which limits the state's clout in this leadership battle.

Still, whoever becomes the next speaker will likely spend time in the state, which is home to several top GOP donors. This makes it a necessary stop a few times a year for party leaders, who are tasked with raising millions of dollars to support their party's candidates.

McCarthy was in the Metro East in August to headline a fundraiser for Bost, who is facing a primary challenge from former gubernatorial candidate Darren Bailey.

The next House speaker to visit Illinois is anyone's guess at this point.

About Ukraine funding

Something to keep an eye on in the coming months is the debate over whether the United States should continue to provide aid to war-torn Ukraine.

More than $113 billion has been allocated by the U.S. to counter Russia's February 2022 invasion. Biden asked for an additional $24 billion in August.

Last week, a fraction of that ask  $6 billion  was stripped out of the resolution that kept the government open amid Republican divisions on the topic.

All three of Illinois' congressional Republicans voted earlier that week for an amendment stripping aid to the country from a defense funding bill.

Though Miller has consistently been opposed to more Ukraine funding, Bost and LaHood flipped their position on the issue.

In the case of Bost, the appearance on its face was political as he has been getting hammered by Bailey, his primary opponent, on the topic.

"The only thing that has changed is the public support for funding for the war in Ukraine and so because the polls tell him to oppose Ukraine funding  Mike Bost is suddenly against it," Bailey said in a statement.

Bost, however, told Lee Enterprises that he stood by his earlier votes. And that his opposition to the latest tranche of funding was due to what he believes is a lack of transparency in how it is being spent. He has sponsored legislation that would require more oversight over the funds.

"So if I had voted for it, (Bailey would) say, 'Well, you didn't listen to your people.' Now, I vote against it and explain my reasons why, 'Well, you're responding to the polls.' It is a representative form of government," Bost said. "But also, I have information on why  I changed my position."

"And changing my position is not a bad thing," he continued. "It's coming to the realization that there's a problem not with my first position, but after it was made, that we are not giving the proper oversight for what we need."

It is also worth mentioning that Bailey has voiced support for Ukraine in the past, telling the Chicago Sun-Times in February 2022 that the U.S. "should provide the resources they need to defend their sovereignty.

However, Bailey says he's "always been against sending blank checks to Ukraine."

Some might call Bailey's statements or Bost's votes a "flip-flop" from earlier positions. Or, perhaps they are simply adjusting their positions based on changing circumstances.

These 8 Republicans stood apart to remove Kevin McCarthy as House speaker Rep. Andy Biggs Rep. Ken Buck Rep. Tim Burchett Rep. Eli Crane Rep. Matt Gaetz Rep. Bob Good Rep. Nancy Mace Rep. Matt Rosendale
The head of Illinois embattled child welfare agency announced Wednesday that he will be stepping down at the end of the year.

Marc Smith was appointed to director of the states Department of Children and Family Services by Gov. J.B. Pritzker shortly after the governor took office in 2019. The announcement of Smiths impending departure comes a little more than a week after the states auditor general issued a scathing report on the agency that among other things cited significant delays in reporting abuse and neglect to local prosecutors, other state agencies and to officials at childrens schools.

In a video town hall to staffers Wednesday morning, Smith declared that DCFS is the premier child welfare agency in the country, no doubt and offered words of encouragement to its employees.

We are running and working at the highest level I believe that this agency has ever worked at, he said during the town hall. Do not let anybody take that away from you because Im sure as hell not letting them take it away from me.

Last year, Smith was held in contempt of court a number of times for violating court orders to find children appropriate placements in a timely manner, which one child welfare advocate said was a rarity for someone in such a high-profile position at DCFS. Those orders were later vacated.

Smith was a frequent target of Republicans in the Illinois General Assembly who accused him of poor management, criticism that extended to Pritzker and how he runs state agencies under his control.

DCFS for more than three decades has operated under federal court oversight due to litigation from the American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois calling for reform in the child welfare system. The department made slow but steady progress in the 1990s, but then entered an era of massive turnover and controversy.

Smith is the agencys 15th leader since 2003.

Quote "We are running and working at the highest level I believe that this agency has ever worked at. Do not let anybody take that away from you because Im sure as hell not letting them take it away from me."  Marc Smith, outgoing director, Illinois Department of Child and Family Services

Earlier this year, Smith received a nearly 5% raise, boosting his salary to $210,000 per year, as part of a measure approved in the lame-duck legislature in January that gave increases to statewide elected officials, agency heads and lawmakers.

In his bid for reelection last year, Pritzker defended Smith and noted the revolving door in DCFS leadership.

Thats just a way of scapegoating somebody for problems that actually needed to be fixed within the agency, Pritzker said about a month before easily winning a second term.

Republican state Sens. Steve McClure, of Springfield, and Sally Turner, of Beason, indicated in a joint statement on Wednesday that the problems at DCFS go much deeper than Smiths leadership.

We hope the Governor takes this opportunity to finally fix the issues that plague DCFS and have led to heartbreaking stories of children waiting months for placements, or those who tragically have lost their lives, according to the statement. Governor Pritzker needs to undertake a comprehensive review of agency operations, prioritizing solutions that protect children who cannot protect themselves.

House Republican Leader Tony McCombie who has worked with Democratic lawmakers on matters that promote the safety of DCFS workers, reacted to Smiths announcement by saying DCFS is undeniably a dysfunctional agency in our state, and immediate change is critically necessary.

As children in our care and agency workers continue to be harmed or worse, the House Republican caucus will strongly advocate for common-sense proposals to structurally reform the functions of the agency, said McCombie, of Savanna. It is our duty to protect children in states care.

Democrats also agreed that the problems at DCFS are longstanding and go beyond Smith.

I will be following the transition really closely, said state Sen. Julie Morrison, a Lake Forest Democrat who has been critical of DCFS. I believe that the agency needs to be reorganized as opposed to just having a new director.

Photos: Taking Steps to End Child Abuse 5K Color Run/ 1-Mile Walk
THUMBS UP! To Congress. In a last-minute deal, the entity approved a six-week deal to avoid a complete government shutdown. Now, they need to get to work and complete a full budget, which is their job. However 

THUMBS DOWN! For the battle over one program. PEPFAR is a program created by President George W. Bush in 2003. The program funds global efforts to fight the spread of AIDS. It's been a bipartisan program since, but has run into opposition because some of the health organizations that fight AIDS also provide abortion services, and Republicans do not want to subsidize those groups. Supporters worry that cutting off groups that also provide abortions would damage anti-AIDS efforts.

THUMBS UP! To quick efforts to get displaced people back home. About 24 hours after being evacuated, residents were allowed back to their homes after a crash sent a toxic plume of anhydrous ammonia into the air in Effingham County.

THUMBS UP! To a potential world record. Dorothy Hoffman, 104, of Chicago, hopes to be certified as the oldest person to ever skydive. She made a 13,500-foot tandem jump. The present record-holder was 103. Hoffner first skydived when she was 100. Upon landing, someone immediately delivered her walker to her.

THUMBS UP! To paying it back and paying it forward. Illinois Wesleyan University senior Taylor Babec underwent multiple blood transfusions from age 5 to 8 during her battle with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. She organizes her own blood drives to give others a chance at saving a life.

THUMBS UP! To a well-earned retirement. Paul "Short" Craig, 98, finally plans to retire on his 99th birthday, Nov. 25. Craig has been an Atchison Electric employee in Sullivan for nearly 46 years. His career has included electrical work at other companies for nearly 30 years.

THUMBS UP! To a use of artificial intelligence we can agree with. Firefighters are using AI-enabled cameras to scan the horizon for signs of smoke. A German company is building a constellation of satellites to detect fires from space. Microsoft is using AI models to predict where the next blaze could be sparked. Every tool that can be used against fire is a boon to safety, especially at a time when fires are more prevalent and more dangerous.
By Kim Hyun-bin

Greek Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Konstantinos Fragogiannis is undertaking a significant diplomatic mission to Seoul, following a crucial meeting between President Yoon Suk Yeol and Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis during the United Nations General Assembly in New York last month.

Fragogiannis is aiming to strengthen and advance economic cooperation between the two nations during his two-day stay in Seoul, which began on Thursday.

The Greek deputy minister had substantive discussions with Korea's Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Oh Young-ju on the first day of his visit. Oh possesses a prominent role in the areas of multilateral, global and economic affairs, climate change and international security affairs.

Additionally, the Greek deputy minister's itinerary features key meetings with high-ranking officials from the Korean government. This distinguished group includes Trade, Industry and Energy Minister Bang Moon-kyu, Minister for Trade Ahn Duk-geun and Trade, Industry and Energy Vice Minister Kang Kyung-sung.

Fragogiannis is also scheduled to engage in discussions with leaders from the Korean business community.
When Americans of German heritage celebrate Oktoberfest, its important to reflect on Germanys 20th-century history which tragically led to WWII and the Holocaust. Our family tree contains many German cousins who didnt immigrate to America. One of them was Admiral Karl Donitz (Doenitz), commander of the V-boat fleet during the war. He was found guilty of war crimes at Nuremburg and imprisoned for 10 years, although he claimed he wasnt a Nazi, just a career naval officer obeying Hitlers orders.

Two German cousins have visited us and weve visited many of them in Germany, so we learned a great deal from them and our own research. People who think there arent historical comparisons regarding whats been happening in America need to educate themselves to prevent history from being repeated here.

The list of similarities is long and frightening; scapegoating and dehumanizing immigrants and minorities, using economic downturns to create unrest, banning books, infiltrating schools, courts and local government, acquiring power with support from the wealthy, using violence and threats against rivals to suppress opposition, declaring the free press the enemy of the people, spreading propaganda and disinformation, holding huge rallies with long, ranting speeches, utilizing indoctrination to instill loyalty for an autocratic leader, gaining support from military and police forces, then taking control of national governing bodies.

In Nuremburg one can tour the courthouse where war crimes trials were conducted and the grounds where Nazi rallies were held. Today an educational center and museum are located there, reminding the world to never forget how Germanys people were manipulated and lost their country to Hitlers Nazis.

When we vote in 2024, we must preserve our freedoms and rights by rejecting Trump and this MAGA ideologies or suffer a similar autocratic fascist fate as Germany endured.

Linda Doenitz, Bloomington
Parent company of Stanbic Bank Ghana, the Standard Bank Group, and one of the worlds leading banks, the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) have renewed their strategic cooperation partnership for another five years. The partner institutions continue to lead the Africa-China trade and investment markets, jointly providing unequalled expertise and capabilities to individuals and businesses trading between Africa and China.



At the signing ceremony for a 5-year renewal of their strategic co-operation agreement at Standard Banks head office in Johannesburg, the executive leadership of both banks committed to building on their highly successful 15-year partnership by unlocking enhanced opportunities across the growing China-Africa trade corridor. The renewed agreement celebrates the mutually beneficial and rewarding partnership, while looking forward to future growth.



The partnership between Standard Bank and ICBC has facilitated the worlds leading Africa-China trade and investment platform. In 2022 alone, their facilitated trade flows between Africa and China were valued at $600 million.



Standard Bank has long understood the primary importance of China to the growth of our continent, and I am privileged and honoured to thank my colleagues at ICBC for their ongoing partnership. We look forward to the next 15 years together as we build on our successes and drive inclusive and sustainable growth in Africa, says Standard Bank Group CEO, Sim Tshabalala.



This relationship between Standard Bank and ICBC is critical to accelerating Africas economic development, broadens Chinas relationships with Africa, and gives African exporters access to the worlds largest and most dynamic market.



By jointly endorsing the Belt and Road initiative and leveraging the opportunities presented by the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), we expect Africa and China to become even more relevant to each other, says Mr Tshabalala.



ICBC Chairman, Mr Chen Siqing, echoed these sentiments, thanking Standard Bank for its partnership, support and commitment over the years in encouraging robust and impactful trade between Africa and China, while having a significant impact on improving the lives of Africa and her people.



China is Africas biggest trade partner, and we want to build on the successes while opening the door to renewed growth. This is especially true in the areas of energy transition which can create sustainable and long-term positive impacts, when we jointly support our respective countries and customers journeys to net zero emissions, says Mr Chen.



The ongoing development of China-Africa economic and trade exchanges, coupled with Chinas economic growth and Africa's abundant resources, increasing industrialisation, and growing population, creates a promising environment for continued trade and investment.



As these trends continue, we look forward to working with our trusted partner Standard Bank to unlock these opportunities. We firmly believe our relationship will continue to mature and bear synergies and will remain beneficial to both organisations, he says.



Recognizing the significant growth potential of the continent, both Standard Bank and ICBC have invested heavily in building the necessary infrastructure and relationships to provide African and Chinese businesses easier access to the vast opportunities in this strategic trade corridor.



Standard Bank, with ICBC support, has facilitated the growth journeys of over 3,500 Chinese commercial, corporate and state-owned entities across 15 African markets. The bulk of these firms are overwhelmingly private firms invested in a broad range of sectors.



The scale of new private Chinese investment has substantially enhanced Africas ability to import and deploy the technology and skills required to build its own economies while also increasing the continents ability to attract investment from other markets.



As Africas biggest trading partner, China will remain deeply embedded in the continents economic growth story. Bringing these two regions together, combining our resources, ideas and cultures to create a unique shared capacity, has immense benefits that will drive regional and global development for generations to come, concludes Mr. Tshabalala.

Source: Peacefmonline.com









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An influential team of Obuasi natives paid a courtesy call to the Paramount Chief of Adansi traditional area, Opagyakotwere Bonsra Afriyie II, the Adansihene in USA on Sunday September 24, 2023.



The learned and respected Chief who used to live in Maryland, USA and worked as a Certified United States Corporate Accountant is currently in the US for medical review.



The team that visited the Chief included Hon. Edward Ennin (Former Obuasi MP), Hon Samuel Aboagye (NDC Parliamentary Candidate for Obuasi East) and Dr. Solomon Owusu (Mining Consultant in USA).



The purpose of the visit was to check on the Chiefs health, offer help if needed and use the opportunity to discuss certain concerning matters confronting the people from Adansi areas, particularly Obuasi.



According to the team, Obuasi is one of the top gold mining towns in Africa and the world at large but the town is far behind development with excruciating poverty faced by the people. Topics that were discussed included illegal mining (galamsey) issues, youth unemployment, infrastructure deficit and lack of benefits from gold mining activities in the Adansi traditional areas.



On the youth unemployment, Hon. Samuel Aboagye expressed concern about the manner in which the Adansi youth are denied employment opportunities from AngloGold Mining company, UMA Mining Contracting company and other subcontractors while people from the big cities like Accra, Kumasi, Takoradi, etc., get employed to work with these companies. In his view, qualified Adansi natives should be given the first employment priority at all levels of the organizations before anyone else.



Again, Hon. Aboagye raised concern about the frustrations that small-scale miners in the Adansi areas face in their activities that put food on their family tables while the foreigners, particularly the Chinese illegal miners pollute waterbodies and degrade lands with impunity. He wondered if the government is aware of the illegal mining activities operated by foreigners in Obuasi and its catchment areas.



As part of the discussions, Hon Ennin who is currently a board member of AngloGold Ashanti Mining Company and former Obuasi MP disclosed that the company relinquished about 70% of its entire concession to the government to be given to the small-scale miners for their operations. Unfortunately, these concessions ended up in the hands of some top government officials who are benefitting from them, instead of demarcating them among the small-scale miners as planned.



Explaining the constraints involved in the youth unemployment issues, Hon. Ennin stressed the effective structure that AngloGold has put in place to ensure that Adansi natives are considered for job opportunities. According to him, the company has issued resident evidence forms to the local and traditional authorities, purposely to authenticate job applicants to ensure that those considered are truly qualified natives from the Adansi areas. With those forms in place, Hon. Ennin was of the view that Adansi residents should rather blame their local and traditional leaders, if they suspect job opportunities offered to nonnatives.



Commenting on the general mining issues, Dr. Solomon Owusu raised concern on why Obuasi and its catchment areas havent been developed from the proceeds from mining activities. According to him, active mining operations have been ongoing in the area since 1800s and yet, Obuasi and the surrounding mining localities lack basic amenities such as good roads, good drinking water, constant electricity, good sanitation facilities, standardized health facilities, among others. He further expressed his concerns about the alarming rate of foreigners invasion into the small-scale mining sector and gold bullion trading, which are meant for only Ghanaian citizens, according to Mineral and Mining Act 2006, Act 703.



On illegal mining, Dr. Owusu pleaded with the Paramount Chief to resist the water pollution and land degradation caused by the foreign nationals, particularly the Chinese nationals around Obuasi and its catchment areas. He continued to plead with Nana to discipline the subchiefs who demarcate lands to foreigners to operate illegal mining, since they allow all the destructions to happen in their respective localities. He stressed that there is no way a foreigner can operate galamsey on a concession without the knowledge of the chief who controls that portion of the land.



Concerning punishment for illegal miners, Dr. Owusu expressed his disappointment in Ghanaian leaders about the way foreigners who engage in illegal mining are left off the hook after their arrests while Ghanaian illegal miners serve prison sentences. In his opinion, the newly amended Minerals and Mining Act 2019, Act 995 prescribes penalties for minimum imprisonment terms for citizens and non-citizens who engage in illegal mining activities.



Speaking on the legal issues surrounding the illegal mining activities and referring to the act, Dr. Owusu made it clear to Nana that per the Act, citizens who engage in illegal mining risk a prison sentence of 15 to 20 years and non-citizens risk a jail term of 20 to 25 years. Hence, Dr. Owusu found it surprising why none of the Chinese illegal miners is imprisoned but lots of Ghanaian galamseyers are caged to rot in jail. He proposed that the government should minimize the intense bureaucratic procedures used to acquire small-scale mining licenses to encourage the illegal miners to register into the mainstream.



Dr. Owusu again drew the Chiefs attention that small-scale mining can be conducted in environmentally friendly manner to minimize or avoid water pollution, hence he couldnt fathom why the government cannot come up with effective policies and measures to implement good mining practices to save current and future generations from life-threatening diseases such as liver diseases, kidney diseases, lung diseases, heart diseases, etc., caused by illegal mining activities.



Responding to the illegal mining issues in the area, the Adansihene spoke in a hoarse voice and expressed his disappointment in the government representatives in Adansi as well as the Ghana Police Service. He disclosed how some of the government appointees and the police condone and defend illegal miners in the area. Nana cited a recent case on August 5, 2023 when members of a taskforce established by the Adansi Traditional Council were openly attacked and brutally assaulted by galamseyers at Adansi Ampunyasi.



Surprisingly, the police arrested the taskforce members and their branded taskforce vehicle, insisting that they were armed robbers and instead, freed the illegal miners. It took prompt intervention of the Paramount Chiefs lawyer to save the taskforce members from going to jail. The branded taskforce vehicle damaged by the illegal miners is still parked at the police premises. This matter is still pending at the police station and has not been processed for legal proceedings at the law court.



Expressing his dispiritedness and dismay about the behaviour of government representatives, the Paramount Chief disclosed a recent letter he received from the Regional Minister, Mr. Simon Osei Mensah through the Adansi North District Assembly, indicating that traditional authorities should stop all taskforce operations and instead, report any galamsey activity to the District Security Council (DISEC). According to the celebrated Chief, the letter alone is enough evidence to justify how the hands of the traditional leaders are tied concerning galamsey issues.



Notwithstanding the fact that some government institutions and appointees sabotage the efforts by the traditional leaders to execute their duties as the custodians of the lands, the learned Chief welcomed all ideas from the team, showered his blessings upon them and promised to embrace new technological innovations that can help in creating jobs, addressing the galamsey issues and developing Adansi and Ghana as a whole. Concerning the allegation on certification of job application forms for nonnatives by the local leaders, Nana assured the team about his willingness to initiate investigations into the matter and ensure that Adansi natives benefit from job opportunities in the area.













Source: Dr. Solomon Owusu, USA









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On the 16th of September,2023 the Delhi Private School International organised its Annual Awards Ceremony at the schools premises.



The event which is purposed to award students for their outstanding performances in academics and extra activities saw students from all grades win prestigious awards.



Also, students who achieved tremendous success in their A- levels exams and secured admissions in universities across the world were recognised. Shriman Jha and Raj Thakwani both received honorary awards for their overwhelming achievements for the school.



The event was graced by notable dignitaries such as Hon. Al-Latif (District Chief Executive- Ningo/ Prampram District Assembly), Madam Jemima (country head, UBA Bank), Mr Chris (MD, UBA) and Addams Zanatu, Accounts Relationship Managee who gave awards to deserving students as well as encouraging them to do more.



The chairman of the school, Mr. Mike Mukesh Thakwani during his speech expressed his joy in seeing these students excel in academics and other activities. He stated that these awards are evidence of the good works of the school and that with such dedication the future of Ghana looks bright.



DPSI is dedicated to growing and nurturing young people in areas of academics and talents to help them contribute their quoter to the betterment of the world.

Source: Peacefmonline.com









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The Vodafone Ghana Foundation has organized financial and digital literacy training for over 90 beneficiaries of the Network for Enterprise Development Learning through Sewing (NEEDLES) for Girls  (N4G) project in Tamale in the Northern Region of Ghana. The project which formed part of the Vodafone SME month, equipped the young women with the necessary skills to navigate the digital world, enhance their businesses and foster financial independence.



The N4G project is implemented by the Deutsche Gesellschaft fur Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH in partnership with the Samira Empowerment and Humanitarian Projects (SEHP) and the Ghana Export and Import Bank (EXIMBANK), with support from the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), within the framework of the Special Initiative "Decent Work for a Just Transition," which also operates under the brand Invest for Jobs.



The digital and financial training sessions focused on practical skills that could be immediately applied in the lives and businesses of the participants. The participants were introduced to the convenience of using Vodafone Cash, an electronic payment solution, to conduct seamless and cashless transactions. The training also provided insights into internet services, ensuring that the women could confidently navigate the digital landscape. Social media tools such as WhatsApp and Facebook were explored to enhance the digital visibility of the businesses of the participating women.



Also, the training program addressed basic financial management using the My Vodafone App (MVA). By familiarizing participants with this innovative tool, they were empowered to efficiently manage their finances, enabling them to sustain and grow their businesses.



During the program, Rita Agyeiwaa Rockson, the Manager of Foundation, Sustainability, and External Communications at Vodafone Ghana, emphasized the importance of embracing technology as an opportunity for business growth. She encouraged the participants to explore online marketing to expand their reach, highlighting it as a valuable opportunity presented by Vodafone Ghana.



Vodafone Ghana exemplified its commitment to fostering digital and financial inclusion by giving smartphones to 20 outstanding trainees. These devices were equipped with the necessary applications and set up for Vodafone Cash and MVA usage. This gesture ensures that the knowledge and skills acquired during the training sessions can be immediately put into practice, promoting financial independence and self-sufficiency among the women of Tamale.



Monica Kuma, a 23-year-old fashion designer and a participant, indicated, The training as well as getting a smartphone from Vodafone Ghana Foundation through the program was a dream come true. The phone will enable me to showcase my work on social media. The Ready Loan from Vodafone is an opportunity to get funding to start my business."



This collaborative effort between the Vodafone Ghana Foundation and GIZ underscores the importance of empowering women through digital and financial literacy. This initiative contributes to bridging the gender gap in access to financial and technological resources. It also aligns with broader efforts to foster economic empowerment and gender equality in Ghana.

Source: Peacefmonline.com









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The Pharmaceutical Society of Ghana (PSGH) has called on the Ghana Police Service to prioritise and expedite the investigation into the strange circumstances leading to the death of a pharmacist.



The deceased, Samuel Amoateng Saffoh, died on Saturday, September 23, 2023 at the Tamale Teaching Hospital after reportedly undergoing three cycles of haemodialysis, since his admission on Tuesday, September 19, 2023.



In a statement signed by the President of PSGH, Dr Samuel Kow Donkoh, the society described the cause of death and the death of their colleague as a shock because Saffoh was not known to have chronic kidney disease.



It is with deep sorrow that the PSGH and the Government and Hospital Pharmacists Association (GHOSPA) announce the passing of Pharmacist Samuel Amoateng Saffoh, who served as the Pharmacist-in-charge of the Upper East Regional Hospital in Bolgatanga, the statement said.



The society said Pharmacist Saffoh's unexpected illness and demise were of particular concern given his role as a principal witness in a case involving the theft of medicines and medical consumables from the Upper East Regional Hospital in Bolgatanga.



Furthermore, we are troubled by the fact that another potential witness in the same theft case also fell seriously ill and passed away in August 2023, the PSGH said.



We urge the authorities to accelerate the investigative process and ensure that justice is served should anyone be found culpable, it added.



The PSGH further called on the Ministry of Health, the Ghana Health Service and the government to take decisive action in investigating and apprehending those responsible for the theft of medicines and medical consumables from the Upper East Regional Hospital.



Support, condolences



The society expressed gratitude to the PSGH Upper East Regional Branch Executive and the PSGH Northern Regional Branch Executive for their unwavering support to their departed colleague and his bereaved family during this challenging time.



It appealed to all pharmacists to remain composed as the society actively engaged with the family, the police and the relevant authorities to unravel the circumstances surrounding the passing of our colleague.



The PSGH underscores the imperative for the Ministry of Health, the Ghana Health Service and the government to make the safety and well-being of pharmacists and all healthcare professionals a paramount concern, the statement added.



It said the PSGH stood firmly with the family in their pursuit to uncover the cause of Pharma Saffoh's untimely demise.

Source: Graphiconline









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Chief Executive Officer of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Henry Kwabena Kokofu has reprimanded Sam George over his comments about the Head of Security at the Bank of Ghana.



The Ningo-Prampram MP, Sam George labeled the BoG Head of Security, Wing Commander Kwame Asare Boateng, as a "watchman" after the latter met the #OccupyBoG protesters and received their petition on behalf of the BoG Governor, Dr. Ernest Addison.



"Parliament invites the Bank of Ghana at least twice a year and he has appeared only three times in seven years so it's not strange. It is the height of disrespect that we will come here and he will send the watchman, the watchman at the Bank of Ghana to come and receive the petition."



"Okay, the watchman should come to Parliament as well, when next he needs anything from Parliament he should send the watchman as well but we will be back. We will give the Police some days to rest but we will be back," Sam George told TV3.



Responding to these statements during Peace FM's morning show "Kokrokoo", Mr. Kwabena Kokofu asserted that Wing Commander Kwame Asare-Boateng was most qualified to recieve the protesters' petition, hence blasting Sam George for disrespecting him.



Wing Commander Kwame Asare-Boateng served with the Ghana Air Force for 26 years, rose through the ranks terminating as a Wing Commander and Deputy Director of the Legal Directorate at the Air Force Headquarters to go to the Bank of Ghan.



He's also served in various capacities in the military as Intelligence Operator, Administrator and Legal Officer.



Looking at these credentials of the BoG Security boss, the EPA Chief Executive warned Sam George to stop displaying an arrogant behavior.



"Do you know the place is a security zone? So, he is the most appropriate person; he is qualified in all matters to watch what is going on and receive whatever you are bringing. If you were bringing a bomb, he has the knowledge on how to handle bomb...So, if you think you won't respect him and that the only people you respect are yourselves; if you are not an NDC member or leader, then you don't deserve respect. That is what they displayed yesterday. What kind of arrogance is that?"



"In any case, is a watchman not human? If someone is a watchman, does it mean the person is not a human being? We being here today is because of some watchman who didn't sleep in the night but watched over us. Even in biblical terms, we know God, our Maker, is our watchman. He is a watchman; God watches over us. When you are a parent with children in the home, you watches [sic] over them", he remarked.





Source: Ameyaw Adu Gyamfi/Peacefmonline.com/Ghana









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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A former Majority Leader of the NPP in Ex-president Kufuor's administration, Felix Owusu-Adjapong has died aged 79.



Majority Chief Whip, Frank Annoh-Dompreh, confirmed the death of the former leader of Parliament on his X(formerly twitter) handle on Wednesday, October 4, 2023.



Deep condolences to the familyFormer Majority leader, Hon. Felix Owusu passed on, Annoh-Dompreh posted.



Felix Kwasi Owusu-Adjapong



Felix Kwasi Owusu-Adjapong (born February 13, 1944) is a Ghanaian politician and a former member of the Parliament of Ghana as a New Patriotic Party (NPP) representative for Akyem Swedru of the eastern region of Ghana.He was also a former Minister for Energy.



Early life and education

Felix Owusu-Adjapong studied Land Economy at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology in Kumasi. He also studied Housing, Planning and Building at the Bouwcentrum Institute in Rotterdam, Urban Land Appraisal at the University of Reading in England, and law at the Ghana School of Law.



Political career

Owusu-Agyapong is a member of the 2nd, 3rd and 4th Parliament of the 4th republic of Ghana. He was first elected Member of Parliament for Akyem Swedru in the 1996 general elections with a total of 15,824 making 45.30% of the total valid votes cast that year. He was re-elected in the 2000 general elections with a majority of 14,614 making 56.80% of the votes cast. In February 2001 he was appointed Minister for Transport and Communications, and in April 2003 Minister of Parliamentary Affairs.



In the 2004 Ghanaian general elections,he was elected again as Member of Parliament with a majority vote of 21,048 making 66.94% of the total votes polled that year. In 2007 he resigned his ministerial position to make an unsuccessful bid for the presidential nomination of the NPP. He did not contest his parliamentary constituency at the 2008 General Elections. In June 2008 he was appointed Minister of Energy, holding the post until the end of Kufuor's government in January 2009.

Source: Peacefmonline.com









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The Bank of Ghanas governor has told Central Banking he rejects demands on him to resign made by the main opposition party, NDC.



The largest opposition party, the National Democratic Congress, and smaller groups took part in a march on the central banks headquarters on October 3. But Ernest Addison says the demonstration yesterday was completely unnecessary, and neither he nor his deputies intend to step down.



Dr Addison in an interview with international business website, Central Banking, said he is not stepping down, describing the protest by the NDC as completely unnecessary.



The Minority in parliament have many channels to channel their grievances in civilised societies, not through demonstrations in the streets as hooligans, Addison added in reference to the #OccupyBoGProtest.



The protest was held on Tuesday, October 3 to denounce the economic crisis as a result of what the protesters termed poor fiscal policy by the BoG.



Addison also rejected the claims by the Minority that he printed money to finance the lavish lifestyle of the ruling government.



According to him, the BoG provided monetary financing during 2020 and 2022, to meet specific crises which he says is legal under the central bank law.



The Central Bank posted losses totalling GHC60.81 billion for the 2022 financial year as against a profit of GHC1.23 billion recorded in 2021.



The losses were a result of the governments domestic debt restructuring activities and the depreciation of the cedi, among other effects.



Regarding the central banks 2022 losses, Addison told Central Banking: The impairment of the banks holdings of debt which led to the losses was a conditionality for the IMF programme. Nobody at the Bank of Ghana forgave any debt.



The Governor also clarified that the BoG decided to start the new headquarters in 2019. This was when the bank was profitable and appropriated some of its profits for the new headquarters, he said.



It was not a decision taken during a crisis.

Source: Centralbanking.com









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The Ashanti Regional Chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Bernard Antwi Boasiako says he will cause the arrest of NPP presidential hopeful, Kennedy Agyapong if he makes threats against his life again.



According to Chairman Wontumi, Put a stop to all insults and attacks on my personality else I will call for your arrest. Its an advice. You did the same to Ahmed Suale, so dont let it repeat. If you can do something for the party, tell us. Its just exactly a month to the election. I dont want you to lose, but put a stop to your utterances and focus on your campaign to win.



The Ashanti Regional NPP Chairman was responding to some statements made by Kennedy Agyapong when he accused him and the Vice President of undermining the NPPs stability during his Showdown Walk in Kumasi over the weekend.



Ken Statement



Kennedy Agyapong when addressing his followers after the walk in Kumasi said Chairman Wontumi has taken the party for ransom by deploying rogue tactics to do the bidding of some elements in the NPP.



Citing a case to buttress his claim, Kennedy Agyapong did not take kindly the utterances of Chairman Wontumi against the person of the former Minister for Trade and Industry, Alan Kyerematen, who has resigned from the party.



He therefore warned the chairman that going forward, he is going to meet his tactics in equal measure.



I dare Wontumi to make a mistake and he will see men in this country, he will see men in Ghana. You operate a radio and TV station to insult elderly people.



I dare Wontumi to come here and deny, he was a full-blooded Alan supporter and I convinced him to switch to the side of President Akufo-Addo. You can support Akufo-Addo or Vice President Bawumia but dont insult, Agyapong told the mammoth crowd.



On attacks on the person of Alan, Agyapong stated: Alan is being insulted on Wontumis station. Wontumi is just a small boy, he is a small boy. It is sad that Wontumi and five chairmen  from four northern regions and the Volta Region  have turned the National Council into a hooliganism group.



Wontumi Responds



However, Chairman Wontumi reacting to Kennedy Agaypongs threats during his presser held in Kumasi, expressed serious concerns about the threats and also urged the flagbearer aspirant to focus on his campaign for the upcoming NPP primaries on November 4th instead of attacking him.



I love NPP, I will never say anything against the party or Kennedy Agyapong. I will always ensure the progress of the party. I will let the police arrest you if you threaten me again with your showdown comments. Im advising you against such comments, your threats on Ahmed Suales life caused his death. Im not interested in you losing the elections, but please tell delegates what you can do for the party and desist from spewing derogatory comments against party members, and polling station agents. Just try to apologise to them. You have insulted chiefs, judges, and everyone in the country, everybody knows what you can do, change your attitude, he advised.



Chairman Wontumi also defended his decision to order the removal of Alan Kyerematens campaign posters from party offices after Kyerematen resigned from the NPP and his declaration to run as an independent candidate.



He further clarified that this directive was a matter of party discipline and not intended as an insult towards Kyerematen.



Controversial Kennedy Agyapong will contest for the flagbearership slot of the NPP along with three other contenders including Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, Dr Owusu Afriyie Akoto, and Francis-Addai-Nimoh.

Source: dailyguidenetwork.com









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The fall version of the Royal Culture Festival, the country's largest festival themed on the Korean royal court and its culture, is set to begin next Friday, the Cultural Heritage Administration (CHA) said Thursday.

The biannual event is scheduled to run for six days at four Joseon-era palaces in Seoul -- Gyeongbok, Changdeok, Changgyeong and Deoksu.

During the festival, various concerts and exhibitions will be offered to visitors, including a pansori performance at Gyeongbok Palace for Oct. 13-14, sharing a story about the reconstruction of Gyeongbok, the main royal palace of the Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910).

Changgyeong Palace will host storytelling events about the history and meaning of the palace, a photo exhibition, as well as a multi-channeled art show.

The festival, which started in 2015, resumed in April last year after a two-year hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic. More than 380,000 people flocked to the palaces to enjoy the festival this April, the CHA said.

Reservations can be made starting Friday through Naver's booking system for free. (Yonhap)
The members of parliament (MPs) in the majority caucus who initiated the move to force Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta out of office and did not walk the talk should be blamed for the economic challenges currently confronting Ghana, Ningo Prampram MP, Sam Nartey George has said.



He therefore wants Ghanaians to hold those MPs accountable for the economic challenges.



In a television interview on TV3, monitored by Graphic Online on Wednesday [Oct 4, 2023], morning, Sam George said, If there is any group in this country that we need to hold accountable, who actually should be kicked out of parliament, for lacking the integrity to carry through their words, it is majority in parliament.



Did they not announce to this whole country that they wanted Ken Ofori-Atta to go? Did the majority leader Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu not come and announce that it was a collective decision of the whole caucus? Did they not say that they were waiting for the IMF deal to be done?



He said although the Minority caucus in Parliament brought a motion for censure against Mr Ofori-Atta the Majority caucus voted against it.



Did we not present them an opportunity to walk their talk by bringing a motion for censure? Did they vote along the lines of the vote of censure based on what they had said they will do? They lack integrity, they are men and women whose words you cannot take. If there is anybody who sits in that Chamber and pursue partisan considerations it is the NPP members of parliament, the majority side, he said.



Sam George accused the Majority side of walking the bid of President Akufo-Addo, They will not vote in line with the wishes of the Ghanaian people when a large majority people of Ghana said Ken must go. Ken is there, and Ken will be there and majority of them will lose their primaries because they lack integrity. People will hold them accountable for it.

Source: Graphiconline









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Central University lecturer, Dr. Benjamin Otchere-Ankrah has fired salvoes at the Member of Parliament for Madina, Francis-Xavier Sosu over his vulgar tirade at the Governor of the Bank of Ghana (BoG), Dr. Ernest Addison.



Lawyer Francis-Xavier Sosu, joining protesters to march to the Bank of Ghana on Tuesday, October 3, used unprintable words on the BoG Governor who is accused of mismanaging the bank.



The protest led by the Minority in Parliament is to oust the Governor and his deputies.



A livid Sosu, who spoke in Ga, threw caution to the wind and descended into the gutters but has rendered an apology for his unfortunate outburst.



I wish to sincerely apologise for my choice of words during my outburst yesterday, Tuesday, October 3 2023, during the Occupy BOG Demonstration.



I unreservedly apologize for my actions and words and ask that all those offended would find a place in their hearts to forgive me. I have reflected and realized that though I spoke those words out of anger and extreme provocation, I was completely out of character, he said in a statement on Wednesday, October 4.



But Dr. Benjamin Otchere-Ankrah is least enthused about lawyer Sosu's apology as, to him, the MP has waived his privilege to be called an "Honorable".



"He does not deserve to be called Honorable . . . He tarnished his image," he exclaimed while reacting to the behavior of the MP during "Kokrokoo" morning show on Peace FM.



He noted that a Member of Parliament must at all times comport himself or herself, hence blasting lawyer Sosu for misconduct.



"He must bow his head in shame...It's a shame. I feel so ashamed that he could utter such dirty words."





Source: Ameyaw Adu Gyamfi/Peacefmonline.com/Ghana









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Dr. Benjamin Otchere-Ankrah has slammed the Governor of Bank of Ghana over some comments attributed to him in relation to the #OccupyBoG protest by the Minority in Parliament and some Ghanaians on Tuesday, October 3.



The protesters marched to the Bank of Ghana to petition the Governor, Dr. Ernest Addison and his deputies to resign over accusations that they have mismanaged the bank, hence resulting in a staggering loss of GH60.8 billion.



The Governor, according to a publication by Central Banking, in response to the protest says it was "completely unnecessary and neither he nor his deputies intend to step down.



The Minority in parliament have many channels to channel their grievances in civilised societies, not through demonstrations in the streets as hooligans, Central Banking further quoted Dr. Addison.



Tackling the issue during "Kokrokoo" panel discussion programme on Peace FM Thursday morning, Dr. Benjamin Otchere-Ankrah described the Governor's comments as unsavory.



The Governance lecturer at the Central University demanded an apology from Dr. Addison, stating, "I wish he did not go that tangent".



"He must apologize like Sosu has done for using a vulgar language on him (Addison)," he said and counseled Dr. Addison stressing "we don't listen to respond; we listen to understand", to wit he should be measured in his reply to the demonstrators.





Source: Ameyaw Adu Gyamfi/Peacefmonline.com/Ghana









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Atik Mohammed says the claims on which the Minority in Parliament is petitioning the Central Bank Governor, Dr. Ernest Addison, to resign are "ridiculous and misplaced".



According to him, the accusations by the Minority against the Governor have no logical basis.



He explained on Peace FM's "Kokrokoo" show that the Governor and his deputies, who the Minority says should step down, are not responsible for the cedi devaluation and the many other things leveled against them.



The Governor and his deputies are accused of mismanaging the bank and printing money that, to the accusers, have hugely cost Ghana's economy.



Dr. Addison is said to be a part of the reasons for the economic woes visited on Ghanaians but Atik, in response, says the Governor has no hand in the country's currency depreciation.



He elucidated that the cedi depreciation is due to external factors beyond the control of the Governor, hence asked the petitioners to leave Dr. Addison alone.



"No demonstration is unnecessary but the message was ridiculous and misplaced. You are seeking the resignation of a Governor over illogical basis. They are not the reason why our currency is not performing well...Claiming that they printed money is not true," he said.



"What even bores me the more is that they say that it is some of these monies that they have given to Cecilia Dapaah to hide under her bed...and that this forms the basis to call for the resignation of the Governor. This is impossible to understand," he took a swipe at the Minority Leader, Cassiel Ato Forson who, during the protest, alleged the bank gave portions of the printed money to the former Sanitation Minister, Cecilia Abena Dapaah.



To Atik, the leaders of the #OccupyBoG demonstration are not seeking the interest of the populace but "the pursuit of self-interest".





Source: Ameyaw Adu Gyamfi/Peacefmonline.com/Ghana









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" " Most high-rises skip from the 12th to the 14th floor. Denis Belyaevskiy/iStock/Thinkstock

Superstitions about lucky and unlucky numbers may seem like they're little more than tall tales thought up by desperate gamblers, but they impact virtually every stage of life and have moved well beyond the world of gambling.

Whether inspired by biblical stories or the legends of ancient people, these so-called lucky numbers and unlucky numbers have different meanings to many people. Based on little more than a story, where the origin is often unknown, people will alter travel plans, delay purchases or spend their life savings on lottery tickets.

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Wonder where these digits earned their reputations? Read on to learn about some of the most popular superstitions in the world of numbers.
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A 3D printed glass microfluidic channel, shown hollow and filled with liquid. Credit: Georgia Institute of Technology

Using ultraviolet light instead of extremely high temperatures, a team of Georgia Tech researchers has developed a new approach for 3D printing small glass lenses and other structures that would be useful for medical devices and research applications.

Their process reduces the heat required to convert printed polymer resin to silica glass from 1,100C to around 220C and shortens the curing time from 12 hours or more to just five hours. They've used it to produce all kinds of glass microstructures, including tiny lenses approximately the width of a human hair that could be used for medical imaging inside the body.

Led by George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering Professor H. Jerry Qi, the team described their approach in the journal Science Advances.

"This is one of the exploratory examples showing that it is possible to fabricate ceramics at mild conditions, because silica is a kind of ceramic," Qi said. "It is a very challenging problem. We have a team that includes people from chemistry and materials science engaged in a data-driven approach to push the boundary and see if we can produce more ceramics with this approach."

Along with miniaturization of lenses for medical endoscopes, these 3D printed glass structures could create microfluidic devicestypically small computer chip-like devices with nano- or microscale channels used to study cells or biofluids in motion. Glass chips would offer advantages over current chips made of polymer materials, the researchers said, resisting corrosion from chemicals or body fluids.

Researchers used this raw material to create 3D-printed glass structures no bigger than the width of a human hair. The researchers employed a light-sensitive resin based on a widely used soft polymer called PDMS, at left. The sample on the right is glass created using deep UV light to convert the the photoresin to hardened inorganic glass. Credit: Candler Hobbs

The low-temperature process also would enable fabrication of microelectronics with glass structures, according to Mingzhe Li, the study's first author.

"We can print in situ, directly into microelectronics," said Li, a postdoctoral researcher in Qi's lab. "Semiconductor materials used in microelectronics cannot withstand very high temperatures. If we want to print directly on a board, we have to do it at a low temperature, and 200C can definitely do this job."

The team's printing process presents a climate friendlier option for silica glass manufacturing.

Typical additive manufacturing processes for glass require polymer mixtures that must be burned away with heat once the desired shapes are formed. The Georgia Tech team's approach uses a photoresin that is converted to glass using a kind of ultraviolet light called deep UV light. That allows for lower temperatures that save significant heating energy. And because they don't have to add extra polymer material, fewer resources are involved in the first place.

The researchers employed a light-sensitive resin based on a widely used soft polymer called PDMS, and they don't have to add silica nanoparticles to their mix like other 3D printing methods. The result is highly transparent glass without the potential optical issues that can arise with the added nanoparticles. The glass lenses they produced were as smooth as commercially made fused silica glass.

More information: Mingzhe Li et al, Low-temperature 3D printing of transparent silica glass microstructures, Science Advances (2023). DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.adi2958 Journal information: Science Advances
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Effect of T. longibrachiatum (a) and Pseudomonas sp. (b) filtrates at various concentrations (C1: 20%; C2: 40%; C3: 60%; C4: 80%) on the mycelial growth (mm) of Botrytis cinerea at six incubation times (1 [D1], 2 [D2], 3 [D3], 5 [D5], 6 [D6], and 8 [D8] days) under laboratory conditions. The letters above the bars indicate significant differences between treatments within the experiments (p  0.5) according to Duncans multiple range tests. Data are the average of nine Petri dishes per replicate (with three replicates). Credit: Agronomy (2023). DOI: 10.3390/agronomy13071774

RUDN University agronomists and colleagues from Tunisia have discovered a way to stop the spread of a phytopathogenic fungus Botrytis cinerea. It affects crops, especially tomatoes. The Trichoderma fungus and the Pseudomonas bacterium can protect the crop from this pathogen. The results have been published in the journal Agronomy.

Botrytis cinerea is a gray mold that affects many plants. It is dangerous for strawberries, grapes, onions, and tomatoes. Fungicides are the usual way to combat phytopathogens. However, antifungal substances are dangerous to humans and the environment. In addition, the fungus becomes resistant to these drugs over time. The preferred alternative is biological control methods. RUDN University agronomists and colleagues from Tunisia proposed using other microbes to fight the pathogen: the Trichoderma fungus and bacteria from the Pseudomonas genus.

"For several decades, chemical fungicides have been the most common method of controlling botrytis cinerea. However, this pathogenic fungus has developed resistance to several fungicides. In addition, toxic residues in tomato fruit and soil threaten human health, the soil, and the environment. Biological methods should replace chemical ones to reduce the incidence of gray mold," said Rebouh Nazih, Ph.D., Associate Professor of the Department of Environmental Management of RUDN University.

Credit: Russian Foundation for Basic Research

Agronomists tested the effect of Trichoderma and Pseudomonas in vitro (in a Petri dish) and in vivo (on seeds and fruits of infected tomato). The authors monitored the amount of secondary metabolitescompounds produced by microorganisms during their life processesand also measured the reproduction rate of the pathogenic fungus.

Both microbes have proven useful in controlling botrytis. Trichoderma can produce the enzymes chitinase, protease, and gluconase, while pseudomonas can produce catalase and amylase. All these secondary metabolites help suppress the growth of botrytis gray. At a concentration of 40%, the spread rate of the fungus decreased by half.

"Beneficial microorganismsbacteria and fungican become biological control agents and biostimulants for the growth and productivity of crops. Trichoderma cultures and pseudomonads slow down the growth of botrytis cinerea, which attacks tomato plants. Antifungal activity is due mainly to the antibiotic activity of secondary metabolites. Our results provide insight into the mechanisms of action of biological control agents," said Rebouh Nazih, Ph.D., associate professor of the Department of Environmental Management of RUDN University.

More information: Lobna Hajji-Hedfi et al, Understanding the Influence of Applying Two Culture Filtrates to Control Gray Mold Disease (Botrytis cinerea) in Tomato, Agronomy (2023). DOI: 10.3390/agronomy13071774

Provided by Russian Foundation for Basic Research
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Geographical distribution of known and newly discovered pre-Columbian geometric earthworks in Amazonia. (A) Map of previously reported and newly discovered earthworks (purple circles and yellow stars, respectively) reported in this study across six Amazonian regions: central Amazonia (CA), eastern Amazonia (EA), Guiana Shield (GS), northwestern Amazonia (NwA), southern Amazonia (SA), and southwestern Amazonia (SwA). (B) Newly discovered earthworks in SA. (C to F) Newly discovered earthworks in SwA. (G to I) Newly discovered earthworks in GS. (J and K) Newly discovered earthworks in CA. Scale bars, 100 m. Credit: Science (2023). DOI: 10.1126/science.ade2541

The world's most diverse forest, the Amazon, may also host more than 10,000 records of pre-Columbian earthworks (constructed prior to the arrival of Europeans), according to a new study. The new study combines cutting-edge remote sensing technology with archaeological data and advanced statistical modeling to estimate how many earthworks may still be hidden beneath the canopy of the Amazon rainforest and in which locations these structures are most likely to be found.

The paper is published in the journal Science.

The work was conducted by a team of 230 researchers from 156 institutions located in 24 countries across four continents, led by Brazilian researchers Vinicius Peripato, a doctoral student in Remote Sensing at Brazilian National Institute for Space Research (INPE), and Luiz Aragao.

"Our study suggests that the Amazon rainforest may not be as pristine as many believe, as when we seek a better understanding of the extent of pre-Columbian human occupation throughout it, we are surprised by a significant number of sites still unknown to the science community," says Peripato.

The team of scientists made this discovery after identifying 24 new archaeological sites through advanced remote mapping technology, using a laser mounted on an aircraft, known as LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging). This sensor allows for the reconstruction of surface elements into a highly detailed 3D model.

Peripato explains, "From the 3D models of the surface, it is possible to digitally remove all vegetation and initiate a precise and detailed investigation of the terrain beneath the forest." The team utilized various LiDAR databases initially acquired for biomass estimates. Peripato states, "Given the wealth of information contained in these data, we embarked on an archaeological investigation. We investigated a total of 0.08% of the Amazon and found 24 previously uncatalogued structures in the Brazilian states of Mato Grosso, Acre, Amapa, Amazonas, and Para."

Using all earthworks found so far (961), the team quantified how many structures have yet to be unraveled and demonstrated that dozens of tree species are linked to these ancient occupations dating back 1,500 to 500 years ago. These structures are known as "earthworks" and predate the arrival of Europeans on the continent.

They are also typically associated with other types of landscape modifications, confirming the presence of Indigenous occupations in various regions of the Amazon (such as Amazonian dark earth and the presence of domesticated species, among other pieces of evidence).

Probability model of pre-Columbian earthworks across Amazonia. (A) Predicted probability of earthwork presence for 1-km2 cells across six Amazonian regions using an inhomogeneous Poisson process predictive model: central Amazonia (CA), eastern Amazonia (EA), Guiana Shield (GS), northwestern Amazonia (NwA), southern Amazonia (SA), and southwestern Amazonia (SwA). Areas not modeled (NA) are greyed out. (B) Predictive probability function for the number of as yet undetected earthworks; the dark area under the curve represents the credibility interval (CI) of the probabilities associated with each number. (C) Boxplot of the estimated relative contribution of each covariate; the yellow diamond indicates the mean value. SCC, soil cation concentration; TPI, terrain position index; HAND, height above the nearest drainage. (D) Individual predicted probability of earthwork presence against intensity covariates. Credit: Science (2023). DOI: 10.1126/science.ade2541

"We predict that 90% of the Amazon forest has a very low chance of having earthworks," so this type of modification on Amazonian forests may have taken place mostly in 10% of its area," said Hans ter Steege, of Naturalis Biodiversity Center and Utrecht University.

Carolina Levis from the Federal University of Santa Catarina adds, "Some time ago, ecologists viewed the Amazon as the vast untouched forest, but now, combining other types of pre-Columbian remains, we can see how many areas that currently sustain dense forest have already been subjected to extensive engineering works and the cultivation and domestication of plants by pre-Columbian societies. These people mastered sophisticated techniques for land and plant management, which in some cases, are still present in the knowledge and practices of present-day communities that can inspire new ways to coexist with the forest without the need for its destruction."

All quantitative results mentioned above, including the information provided by the title of the paper, were obtained after applying the methodology recently developed by Guido Moreira, in his doctoral thesis in Statistics of at Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, and Dani Gamerman. The Bayesian approach to Statistics is used to propose an exact regression analysis for the observed occurrences of pre-Columbian earthworks. Exactness is achieved by the use of a data augmentation mechanism that includes the still unobserved earthworks and their observability pattern.

So far, these earthworks have been commonly discovered through Google Earth images. However, due to the vastness of the Amazon rainforest and the challenges of studying remote areas, this study puts forth testable predictions about lesser-known locations in the Amazon, where new fieldwork is likely to uncover archaeological sites of monumental dimensions, still well-preserved within the forest.

Luiz Aragao, one of the leaders in the research and head of the Earth Observation and Geoinformatics Division at INPE, emphasizes, "This research represents a significant technological and scientific advancement. The study advances knowledge in three major areas, including archaeology itself through novel discoveries, environmental sciences by demonstrating the level of human interference in the region, which may have implications for its current functioning and how we model its future, and finally, in the field of applied computing, which enabled the analysis of the millions of points present in the LIDAR data and the statistical modeling of the distribution of the studied features."

This groundbreaking study also has political implications for the current debate on the Indigenous land demarcation timeline in Brazil. "In times of discussions regarding regulatory frameworks for property and Indigenous land rights, this research provides numerous pieces of evidence of the ancestral occupation of the Amazon rainforest by Indigenous peoples, their ways of life, and the relationship they established with the forest," the authors state. "The protection of their territories, languages, cultures, and heritage should be understood as ancient, as they are, and not tied to a date, which is so recent."

More information: Over 10,000 Pre-Columbian earthworks are still hidden throughout Amazonia, Science (2023). DOI: 10.1126/science.ade2541. www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.ade2541 Journal information: Science
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Credit: University of Kansas

Aristotle famously wrote, "Poverty is the parent of revolution and crime."

But it wouldn't be until 23 centuries later that policymakers in the world's most powerful and prosperous country decided to address poverty as a global problem needing to be solved.

"Poverty creates more human misery than any other force on earth," said Sheyda Jahanbani, associate professor of history at the University of Kansas.

"When people feel scarcity in a world of abundancewhich since the 19th century, our world has beenthey are not as able to think beyond themselves and their immediate needs. That robs us from collectively benefiting from that human creativity and energy. Seeing riches around you and not being able to access those advantages is a really serious problem facing us as a species."

Her new book, "The Poverty of the World: Rediscovering the Poor at Home and Abroad, 1941-1968," brings together the histories of U.S. foreign relations and domestic politics to explain why, during a period of unprecedented affluence, Americans supported major policy initiatives to combat poverty. It is published by Oxford University Press.

As a historian of U.S. foreign relations, Jahanbani wanted to combine that perspective with a story that had been contained as a domestic narrative. It meant learning two very different literatures and familiarizing herself with the relevant debates in those seemingly contrasting fields.

"The book actually winds up being a revisionist history of the Cold War," she said.

The lives and theories of figures such as Bureau of Indian Affairs Commissioner John Collier, anthropologist Oscar Lewis and economist John Kenneth Galbraith are examined in the book. But Jahanbani was prompted to tackle this subject due to an unlikely source with a different viewpoint.

"When I was a kid, I learned about the war on poverty through the lens of hearing President Ronald Reagan say the government fought a war on poverty  and poverty won. Then when I got to grad school, I read a lot of books that basically took that as if it were true. So now we're just comfortable thinking that there are intractable social problems when we've put people on the moon?" she said.

So she took an honest look at the past through "fresh eyes."

"The contingent choices that individuals made and the choices they didn't make helps us see how even the comforting explanations we have for things are too simple," she said.

The title of her book takes inspiration from American sociologist W.E.B. Du Bois, who asked, "What is wrong with our civilization?" after reading about poverty in a rural Mexican village.

"He's asking, 'What is wrong with the way we're doing things?' Jahanbani said. "He's not asking, 'What is wrong with these Mexicans?' That was the guiding insight I came to: Any attempt to address the problem of poverty that does not fundamentally question affluence and who benefits from it is not going to be effective because poverty is not the fault of poor people. It is a social choice and a political choice."

A KU faculty member since 2007, Jahanbani specializes in American foreign relations in the post-1945 period. Her writing can also be found in another book published this month; her chapter "Through a Narrow Glass: Compassion, Power, and Lyndon Johnson's Struggle to Make Sense of the Third World" appears in "LBJ's America: The Life and Legacies of Lyndon Baines Johnson" (Cambridge University Press).

"One of the things I argue in my book is that there were people who saw poverty as an important strategic as well as moral issue, and they made arguments about why the United States should place poverty at the center of its global footprint," Jahanbani said. "They tried to prosecute that argument and reached a very significant place of political influence  and yet they failed."

In her conclusion, Jahanbani noted that the path America eventually favored was never a choice between "guns versus butter."

"We tried to do guns and butter. But ultimately, at the end of the day, American policymakers had more faith in guns. And that's what they chose to put more of their resources in. You can't really try to save people from their poverty while also bombing them from the sky."
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Schools and families responses to a given education policy within the context of a school market. Credit: Language and Education (2023). DOI: 10.1080/09500782.2023.2240294

According to a study, factors such as their place of residence, the economic level of their neighborhoods, and school type, strongly limit equal access to bilingual education in Andalusia

Bilingual education programs, which began to be implemented in Spain in the mid-2000s, and were created, in part, to prevent inequalities from determining access to foreign language education (usually English) are characterized by precisely what they wanted to avoid: disparities in access.

According to a study featuring participation by University of Cordoba Sociology Area researcher Alberto Alvarez de Sotomayor, Pablo de Olavide University researcher Juan Miguel Gomez Espino, and Ricardo Barbieri, a former student for a Degree in Primary Education at the UCO, access to bilingual primary education in Andalusia is shaped by a series of geographical, social and economic factors, which prevent families from choosing a bilingual center with equal opportunities.

Thus, factors such as the family's area of residence, economic level, and the possibility of attending public, semi-private, or private schools are those that end up limiting students' opportunities to access a bilingual school. If a family residing in the Poligono Sur area of Seville, for example, would like to choose this type of education for their children, this will be difficult, since none of the eight primary schools in their area are bilingual.

According to the study, published in the journal Language and Education, inequality is also the result of two political-administrative decisions. First, the voluntary nature of bilingual teaching programs; it is the schools that decide whether or not to adhere to this program, which, in itself, gives rise to possible inequalities between students the important area of learning English.

Then there is the school admissions model, according to which, in the event of many requests for slots at a school, the Public Administration prioritizes "areas of influence," a territorial delimitation that (among other secondary factors) assigns families higher scores if they reside near the school.

Taking into account these two characteristics of the Andalusian educational system (and practically all of Spain), the research team studied, through cartographic and statistical analyses, the distribution of primary education centers in the 29 municipalities of Andalusia with more than 50,000 inhabitants.

Although future studies will expand both the size of the municipality (to also include rural areas) and the teaching stage, focusing on Primary Education is key because, as Alvarez de Sotomayor explains, early ages are the most important when it comes to the acquisition of second languages and, therefore, the inequalities that could be generated are potentially greater during it.

Of those 29 municipalities, the researchers analyzed a series of factors that could influence inequality: whether or not the schools were bilingual, the type of school (public, semi-private or private), its area of influence, the economic level of the population that lives within that area, and the distance between the schools, among others. Based on these factors, the study found that the variable that most impacts access to bilingual education is type of school.

Public schools offer bilingual education to a much lesser extent than semi-private or private ones. In fact, in the 29 municipalities studied, only 34% of public schools offered bilingual education, while in the semi-private schools the percentage rose to 72%. At private schools the figure was 62%, but not taking into account international schools, which do not fall within the Andalusian educational system and are not governed by Spanish legislation.

In the words of Alvarez de Sotomayor "the inequality between school types is great, and is also associated with the socioeconomic issue, because not all people can afford to attend private or semi-private schools."

There are areas of influence where many bilingual schools are concentrated, while there are others that have none, or few. Therefore, depending on where they live, families have more or fewer opportunities to access this type of education. This is related to the population's economic level; areas of influence with moderate or high economic levels are those with the most bilingual schools, while areas of influence that coincide with the poorest neighborhoods have hardly any bilingual centers, or none at all.

Knowing about opportunities for bilingual education becomes more relevant because families don't choose in a vacuum, but between a series of opportunities.

"It's important to know families' real opportunities to access this type of education. Based on this we will know the extent to which a program created to mitigate the inequality that existed in terms of foreign language levels between social classes, or between rural and urban areas, is helping to mitigate these inequalities or not. What we are seeing is that it is doing the opposite, to reproducing those inequalities," says Alvarez de Sotomayor.

To alleviate this situation the research team proposes three possible solutions: reconfigure the areas of influence, change the admissions model, or encourage schools located in low-income neighborhoods to opt for bilingual education.

More information: Alberto Alvarez-Sotomayor et al, Mapping the opportunities of attending bilingual schools in Spain, Language and Education (2023). DOI: 10.1080/09500782.2023.2240294
The Ministry of Gender Equality and Family said Thursday it has increased its budget for single-parent families by 7.6 percent for next year to 544.2 billion won ($403 million) in the latest move to support vulnerable people.

The ministry said it plans to provide 210,000 won per child to low-income single parents, up 10,000 won from this year. It also plans to dole out 400,000 won to single parents who are under the age of 25 and have a child under the age of 1 and with a household income at or below 63 percent of the median income. It marked an increase from the current 350,000 won.

The number of single parents who will receive child-rearing support is estimated to be 267,000 next year, compared with 235,000 this year.

The ministry said single parents whose children are high school seniors will be eligible to receive 200,000 won in child support expenses until the end of the senior year.

Under the support measures, the government will expand the number of public rental houses to 306 units from the current 266 to ensure low-income single-parent families without their own homes can raise their children in a stable environment and help them to stand on their own feet. Single parents under the age 25 will be able to temporarily live in welfare facilities built for them, irrespective of their income level.

In 2022, the number of single-parent families who received the government support came to 190,421. (Yonhap)
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The 20 x 20 x 30 cm Proba-V Companion CubeSat in the Aerospacelab cleanroom. Credit: Aerospacelab

A briefcase-sized CubeSat being flown on Europe's next Vega launcher this week will gather 340 km wide views of Earth's vegetation growth, employing a spectral imager originally designed for ESA's decade-in-flight Proba-V.

The Proba-V Companion CubeSat has been built by "NewSpace" company Aerospacelab in Belgium, hosting a Proba-V spectral imager provided by OIP Space Instruments and Belgium's VITO research institute processing and making use of its data. The goal of the mission is to see whether this already well-characterized imaging payload can operate well aboard a miniature CubeSat platform.

ESA's Proba-V mini-satellite was launched by Vega in 2013, flying a miniaturized version of the Vegetation instrument previously flown aboard the full-sized Spot-4 and Spot-5 satellites.

At just a cubic meter in scale, Proba-V achieved a daily continent-spanning 2,250 km field of view, collecting light in the blue, red, near-infrared and mid-infrared wavebands, ideal for monitoring plant and forest growth as well as inland water bodies.

Proba-V's wide swath was achieved by combining a trio of spectral imagers, with 350 m spatial resolution from its side imagers and 100 m resolution in its central field of view.

Iskander Benhadj of VITO explains, "Actually a total of four spectral imagers were manufactured one stayed behind, intended to help with troubleshooting the mission by reproducing any in-orbit problems on the ground.

"So then the idea emerged from VITO: why not try and fly this spare spectral imager as well? We can extend the continuity of Vegetation data, since in 2019 Proba-V's orbit drifted so much that part of its swath is now in the eclipse side, meaning its working mission has ended.

"In addition, in the same way that Proba-V demonstrated useful imagery could be returned from a small platform, we will also be able to test whether this much smaller CubeSat platform can also serve to gather acceptable imagery." A timelapse showing global observations made with Proba-V's Vegetation instrument from September 2018 to September 2019, created through the Terrascope open source Earth observation platform. From 2013 onward ESAs cubic-metre-sized Proba-V minisatellite has been monitoring the daily growth of all Earths vegetation, possessing a 2500-km wide field of view. Particular features that show up are among others the snow-coverage growth and decline over Asia, eastern Europe, and North-America and the bright green colors during the North-American and European growing seasons. Note that the high northern latitudes are not acquired when snow covered. Credit: SA/VITO/Terrascope

CubeSats are low-cost satellites assembled from standardized 10-cm boxes. Proba-V CC is a 12-unit CubeSat, although around half the satellite volume is taken up by its spectral imager and dedicated read-out electronics.

Xavier Collaud of Aerospacelab comments, "In practice the mission has been built around the imager. The hardware was taken directly out of storage, where it was kept in stable conditions, double bagged and in an inert nitrogen gas environment.

"The imager has been secured to an optical bench along with the startrackers used to precisely measure the CubeSat's attitudes. The rest of the satellite is taken up with reaction wheels that serve to rotate the mission in the correct orientation, plus the usual battery, power systems and on-board computer."

Once in its 564 km altitude orbit Proba-V CC will perform co-observations of global vegetation with Europe's two Copernicus Sentinel-2 satellites, which are similarly optimized for land cover and vegetation.

As is standard for Earth observation satellites, the CubeSat will be placed in a sun-synchronous near-polar orbit, meaning that it retains the same conjunction with the sun as it orbits, so that the same solar local time prevails under the locations it overfliesProba-V CC's initial local time of the descending node is targeting 10:14 in the morning.

Its predecessor Proba-V was placed in a comparable orbit, although because it far outlived its planned 2.5 year original working lifetime this orbit ended up drifting earlier in the morning, to below 09:00 at the moment, meaning its images contains zones that are in eclipse, have longer shadows and are no longer scientifically useful.

The Vegetation instrument was originally flown on France's van-sized SPOT-4 and SPOT-5 satellites, then a smaller version was flown on the cubic-metre scale Proba-V satellite in 2013, made up of three Vegetation imagers overall. Now a remaining Vegetation imager is being flown aboard the Proba-V Companion CubeSat. This nanosatellite is just 20 cm x 20 cm x 30 cm in size. Credit: ESA

The satellite itself remains in good working order, so some co-observations with Proba-V CC might be possible for experimental studies. It is also acquiring monthly images of the moon, whose unchanging surface makes a useful radiometric calibration target.

"Being in a lower orbit than Proba-V means the spectral imager will achieve a higher spatial resolution, down to 70 m," adds Iskander Benhadj. "But that means the satellite is moving faster, so the line rate will be affected, meaning small pixels will end up rectangular rather than square if the nominal Proba-V line rate is used. We can try to accelerate the image to compensate for this, but this will require extra power.

"Quality and operational trade-offs such as the selection of optimal line rate or the area of interests to be monitored, have to be carried all over the Proba-V CC lifetime, which includes the commissioning phase, with the objective to provide optimal products for the end user. "

Proba-V's CC's lower orbit will also give daily views of the same locations for multiple successive days at a time, with its ground track moving just 20 km westward daily, opening up particular scientific uses.

Vega flight VV23 is due for lift-off on the night of 6 October from Europe's Spaceport in French Guiana. Along with its main satellite payloads it carries multiple CubeSats including ESA's PRETTY mission investigating reflected satnav for environmental monitoring and multiple missions flown through the European Commission's In-Orbit Demonstration/In-Orbit Validation Program.

ESA is supporting Proba-V CC through the Fly element of its General Support Technology Program, offering early space access to promising technologies. Use of Proba-V CC data is being overseen by ESA's Earth Observation Program, as was the case with the original Proba-V.
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The Dagu Glacier is one of the most popular sites for glacier tourism in China. Wikimedia Commons, CC BY

One of China's most-visited glaciers in the Tibetan region, the Dagu Glacier, is now covered with white sheets, also known as geotextiles, in an attempt to slow its melting. Scientists at Nanjing University are leading the effort, and in July installed a white reflective material over 400 square meters of the glacier, located in Sichuan province in southwestern China.

The project begins as the Dagu, one of the largest glacier tourism sites in China, as well as other glaciers around China face severe melting due to rising temperatures. In the past 50 years, glaciers on the Tibetan Plateau, where the Dagu is located, have shrunk by about 15%, according to research from the Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

The effort is funded by video game giant Tencent Holdings' Carbon Neutrality Lab, as part of the company's stated goal to be a leader in encouraging society to develop sustainably. The company says it is committed to achieving carbon neutrality by 2030, and seeks to foster sustainable innovation beyond its own goals, according to its website.

Although glacier blankets are a novel method of glacier preservation in Tibet, they have been employed in the past, primarily at European ski resorts. At the Rhone Glacier in Switzerland, glacier blankets have been installed seasonally for the last 13 years in an attempt to preserve ski slopes and tourism.

In an article published by Tencent, Zhu Bin, a material scientist at Nanjing University leading the effort, said that local communities have welcomed the attempt to preserve the glacier.

"We have received overwhelming support from the local communities over the past years," Bin said. "The protection of the glacier is more important than ever as it underpins the entire ecosystem as well as the livelihood of the locals." Credit: Tencent

The use of blankets in other regions has come with controversy, as many people have criticized them for their lack of long-term feasibility. Blankets are often hard to scale up, and cannot protect glaciers from the effects of warming for long periods of time.

"They're a little bit of a desperation measure," said Mauri Pelto, a professor of environmental science at Nichols College who studies glaciers. "If you've only covered just a tiny part of the glacier, the [rest] is melting. That doesn't sustain your operation."

There are also obstacles depending on the region, including the fact that higher elevation glaciers are harder to reach. Combined with the high expenses of the project, many say that geotextiles offer too little, too late.

A study published last year in the journal Remote Sensing by researchers from the Chinese Academy of Sciences showed that a blanket installed over part of the Dagu Glacier was effective at slowing melting, with the covered area showing 15% less mass loss than uncovered areas.

However, as the study noted, high expenses, harsh geography and aging of textiles limit the feasibility of using blankets in widespread areas. Geotextiles must be manually installed, and many glaciers are in areas that are difficult to reach. Although the textiles used in this project are designed to be eco-friendly, according to researchers, they are still made from materials that create carbon emissions.

Although glacier blankets cannot stop melting, some have said that, especially in areas with high tourism, like the Dagu Glacier, they can be effective visual reminders of the impact of climate change. "I think actually ultimately, this is more of a visual reminder to tourists and recreationists that climate change is making an impact in those areas," said Mark Carey, a historian at the University of Oregon who studies glacier retreat and climate change. "It's an educational tool."

Researchers on the project team are aware that glacier blankets can only do so much. "All the human intervention methods that we're working on, even if they prove effective, are only going to slow down [the melting]," Bin said. "If the earth keeps getting warmer, in the end, there is no way to protect the glaciers forever."

Provided by State of the Planet

This story is republished courtesy of Earth Institute, Columbia University http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu.
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Credit: CC0 Public Domain

A technology being studied to curb climate changeone that could be put in place in one or two decades if work on the technology began nowwould affect food productivity in parts of Earth in dramatically different ways, benefiting some areas, and adversely affecting others, according to projections prepared by a Rutgers-led team of scientists.

Writing in the journal, Nature Food, the scientists described the results of computer models simulating varying climate scenarios and their impacts over time on the production of the world's four major food crops: corn, rice, soybeans and wheat in all locations where they are grown.

Some scenarios were produced by simulated stratospheric aerosol intervention (SAI), also known as geoengineering, to halt or reverse climate change, while others, for comparison purposes, weren't. The SAI scenario, inspired by volcanic eruptions, would involve spraying sulfur dioxide gas into the stratosphere. By placing a cloud of what becomes sulfuric acid in the upper atmosphere continuously, the process would shield the Earth from the sun, cooling it.

"Not one of the 11 climate change or climate intervention scenarios we analyzed benefits everyone," said Brendan Clark, a doctoral student in the Department of Environmental Sciences at the Rutgers School of Environmental and Biological Sciences (SEBS), and lead author on the study. "Nations may have different ideas of what constitutes an optimal global temperature, which could lead to conflicts. It would be like people fighting over the thermostat in a house, but on a global scale."

The models showed marked differences in agricultural productivity depending on where a country is positioned on the globe. Continued, uncontrolled climate change, the models revealed, favors crop production in the cold, high-latitude areas, such as Canada, Russia, the U.S. northern border states, Scandinavia and Scotland.

Moderate amounts of atmospheric sulfur spraying, which may either halt or slightly lower global average temperatures, favors food production in the temperate regions known as the mid-latitudes, where most of the large land masses of North America and Eurasia are located, according to the analysis.

Large amounts of climate intervention to significantly reverse warming and lower the global average temperature would favor agricultural production in the tropics, the region of Earth around the equator.

In the Western Hemisphere, the region includes Mexico, all of Central America, the Caribbean and the top half of South America. In the Eastern Hemisphere, the tropics include most of Africa, parts of the Middle East, most of India, all of Southeast Asia, most of Australia and most of the island nations of Oceania.

"Are we willing to live with all these potential impacts to have less global warming? That's the question we're trying to ask here," said Alan Robock, a Distinguished Professor of Climate Science in the Department of Environmental Sciences at SEBS, and a co-author of the study. "We're trying to quantify each of the potential risks and benefits so we can make informed decisions in the future."

The team worked with scientists at the National Center for Atmospheric Research employing the federal laboratory's computer model that calculates global climate and weather patterns. The model simulates atmospheric, land and oceanic climate change as well as crop growth. The work produced 11 different climate scenarios of a future Earth, eight of them formed by differing levels of climate intervention, producing different temperatures, rainfall, and sunlight, and different carbon dioxide emissions.

"Our results highlight the challenges in defining 'globally optimal' strategies," said Lili Xia, an assistant research professor in the Department of Environmental Sciences at SEBS and a co-author of the study. "It's very complicated and it's hard to reach a conclusion, such as saying whether climate intervention is good or bad. I don't know at what point people will reach a decision. But, for me, I feel like it's almost impossible."

Other scientists on the study included Sam Rabin, Simone Tilmes and Jadwiga Richter of the National Center for Atmospheric Research; and Daniele Visioni of Cornell University.

More information: Optimal climate intervention scenarios for crop production vary by nation, Nature Food (2023). DOI: 10.1038/s43016-023-00853-3. www.nature.com/articles/s43016-023-00853-3 Journal information: Nature Food
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Illustration of an intense laser pulse hitting a diamond crystal from top right, driving elastic and plastic waves (curved lines) through the material. The laser pulse creates linear defects, known as dislocations, at the points where it hits the crystal. They propagate through the material faster than the transverse speed of sound, leaving stacking facultsthe lines fanning out from the impact sitebehind. Credit: Greg Stewart/SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory

Settling a half century of debate, researchers have discovered that tiny linear defects can propagate through a material faster than sound waves do.

These linear defects, or dislocations, are what give metals their strength and workability, but they can also make materials fail catastrophicallywhich is what happens every time you pop the pull tab on a can of soda.

The fact that they can travel so fast gives scientists a new appreciation of the unusual types of damage they might do to a broad range of materials in extreme conditionsfrom rock ripped apart by an earthquake rupture to aircraft shielding materials deformed by extreme stress, said Leora Dresselhaus-Marais, a professor at the Department of Energy's SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory and Stanford University who co-led the study with Professor Norimasa Ozaki at Osaka University.

"Until now, no one has been able to directly measure how fast these dislocations spread through materials," she said. Her team used X-ray radiographysimilar to medical X-rays that reveal the inside of the bodyto clock the speed of the propagating dislocations through diamond, yielding lessons that should apply to other materials, too. They described the results today in Science.

Chasing the speed of sound

Scientists have been debating whether dislocations can travel through materials faster than sound does for nearly 60 years. A number of studies concluded that they could not. But some computer models indicated that yes, they couldprovided that they started out moving at faster-than-sound speed.

Getting them instantaneously up to this speed would require a tremendous shock. For one thing, sound travels a lot faster through solid materials than it does through air or water, depending on the nature and temperature of the material, among other factors. While the speed of sound through air is generally given as 761 mph, it's 3,355 mph through water and an incredible 40,000 mph in diamond, the hardest material of all.

To get the first direct images of how fast dislocations can travel, researchers used an intense laser beam to drive shock waves through diamond crystals. Then they used an X-ray laser beam to make a series of X-ray images of the dislocations forming and spreading on a timescale of billionths of a second. The images, similar to medical X-rays that reveal the inside of the body, were recorded on a detector. Credit: K. Katagiri/Stanford University

Complicating things even more, there are two types of sound waves in solids. Longitudinal waves are like the ones in air. But because solids put up some resistance to the passage of sound, they also host slower-moving waves known as transverse sound waves.

Knowing whether ultrafast dislocations can break either of these sound barriers is important from both the fundamental science and practical points of view. When dislocations move faster than sound speed, they behave quite differently and result in unexpected failures that have thus far only been modeled. Without measurements, no one knows how much damage those ultrafast dislocations can do.

"If a structural material fails more catastrophically than anyone expected because of its high rate of failure, that's not so good," said Kento Katagiri, a postdoctoral scholar in the research group and first author of the paper. "If it's a fault rupturing through rock during an earthquake, for instance, it could cause more damage to everything. We need to learn more about this type of catastrophic failure."

The results of this study, Dresselhaus-Marais added, "could suggest that what we thought we knew about the fastest possible materials failure was wrong."

The pop-top effect

To get the first direct images of how fast dislocations can travel, Dresselhaus-Marais and her colleagues performed experiments at the SACLA X-ray free-electron laser in Japan. They did the experiments on tiny crystals of synthetic diamond.

Diamond offers a unique platform to study how crystalline materials fail, Katagiri said. For one thing, its deformation mechanism is simpler than those observed in metals, making it easier to interpret these challenging ultrafast X-ray imaging experiments.

A shock wave traveling through a material can create defects known as dislocationstiny shifts in the material's crystal that propagate through it, leaving what are known as stacking faults behind. At left, the regular arrangement of the material's atoms is undisturbed. At right, dislocations have traveled from left to right through the material, creating a stacking fault (purple) where adjacent layers of the crystal don't line up quite the way they should. Credit: Greg Stewart/SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory

"To understand the damage mechanisms, we need to identify features in our images that are unambiguously dislocations, and not other types of defects," he said.

When two dislocations meet, they attract or repel each other and generate even more dislocations. Pop open a can of soda made from an aluminum alloy, and the many dislocations that are already in the lidcreated when it was shaped into its final forminteract and spawn new dislocations by the trillions, which cascade into absolute critical failure as the top of the can flexes and the pop top snaps open. Those interactions and how they behave govern all the mechanical properties of materials we observe.

"In diamond, there are only four types of dislocation, while iron, for instance, has 144 different possible types of dislocations," Dresselhaus-Marais said.

Diamond may be much harder than metal, the researchers said. But much like a soda can, it will still bend by forming billions of dislocations if it's shocked hard enough.

Making X-ray images of shock waves

At SACLA, the team used intense laser light to generate shock waves in diamond crystals. Then they essentially took a series of ultrafast X-ray images of the dislocations forming and spreading on a timescale of billionths of a second. Only X-ray free-electron lasers can provide X-ray pulses short enough and bright enough to capture this process.

The initial shock wave split into two types of waves that continued to travel through the crystal. The first wave, called an elastic wave, temporarily deformed the crystal; its atoms bounced back into their original positions right away, like a rubber band that's been stretched and released. The second wave, known as a plastic wave, permanently deformed the crystal by creating small errors in the repeating patterns of atoms that make up the crystal structure.

This X-ray radiographic imagesimilar to a medical X-ray, but taken at ultrafast speed with an X-ray lasershows shock waves traveling through a diamond crystal. The initial wave is elastic. The plastic wave follows, creating defects in the material called dislocations that propagate through the material faster than the speed of sound. The arrow shows the path and direction of one dislocation, which has left a linear defect called a stacking fault in its wake. The dislocation itself is seen at the tip of the arrow. Other stacking faults can be seen fanning out from the site of the laser shock. Credit: K. Katagiri/Stanford University

These tiny shifts, or dislocations, create "stacking faults" where adjacent layers of the crystal shift with respect to each other so they don't line up the way they should. The stacking faults propagate outward from where the laser hit the diamond, and there is a moving dislocation at the leading tip of each stacking fault.

With X-rays, the researchers discovered that the dislocations spread through diamond faster than the speed of the slower type of sound waves, the transverse wavesa phenomenon that had never been seen in any material before.

Now, Katagiri said, the team plans to go back to an X-ray free-electron facility, such as SACLA or SLAC's Linac Coherent Light Source, LCLS, to see if dislocations can travel faster than the higher, longitudinal speed of sound in diamond, which will require even more powerful laser shocks. If and when they break that sound barrier, he said, they will be considered truly supersonic.

Leora Dresselhaus-Marais is an investigator with the Stanford Institute for Materials and Sciences (SIMES) at SLAC and the Stanford PULSE Institute. Researchers from Osaka University, the Japan Synchrotron Radiation Research Institute, RIKEN SPring-8 Center and Nagoya University in Japan; DOE's Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory; Culham Science Center in the UK; and Ecole Polytechnique in France also contributed to this research.

More information: Kento Katagiri et al, Transonic dislocation propagation in diamond, Science (2023). DOI: 10.1126/science.adh5563. www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.adh5563 Journal information: Science
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Room-temperature MW-to-optical converter. a, Illustration of a warm vapor Rydberg converter: a circularly polarized MW field enters a rubidium vapor cell, where Rydberg-state atoms, excited in an interaction region defined by three laser beams, contribute to the conversion process and generate a signal beam. The arrows represent the wavevectors k of the interacting fields obeying phase-matching principles. A constant supply of ground-state atoms is ensured by the Maxwellian distribution of velocities, resulting in a continuous process without the need for atomic trapping or repumping. b, 85Rb energy-level structure employed in the conversion process. Three strong fields (probe, coupling and decoupling) are applied to the atomic medium in the near-resonant scheme. Introducing the MW field (13.9 GHz) results in a converted emission (signal) at the 776 nm transition. Optimal transduction is ensured with sign-matched  transitions (between the states of maximal F and m F quantum numbers). c, Comparison of measured EIT and conversion in the domain of probe field detuning ( p ) for resonant and 552D 5/2 level-detuned cases. a.u., arbitrary units. d, The same EIT and conversion relation predicted by the numerical simulation. c,d, Red shading signifies the total conversion signal photon rate with relation to its zero background. Credit: Nature Photonics (2023). DOI: 10.1038/s41566-023-01295-w

A team of scientists at the QOT Centre for Quantum Optical Technologies, including a student from the Faculty of Physics (University of Warsaw), made a device capable of the conversion of quantum information between microwave and optical photons.

The results of research, published in Nature Photonics, highlight a new microwave detection method with possible applications in quantum technologies, as a part of quantum network infrastructure, and in microwave radio-astronomy.

Conversion of quantum information

Whenever you listen to a song on your phone or computer, a conversion of information happensa file digitally encoded in your device's memory is converted to an electric current driving your headphones. Similarly, we can convert quantum information encoded in photonsthe smallest quanta of light.

For example, we can transfer information from a single microwave photon to a single optical photon. However, devices capable of single-photon operations are quite difficult to realize, because they need to be very precise and introduce very little noise. Additionally, what makes the task challenging is the fact that optical photons have energy ten thousand times larger than microwave photons and there are few media capable of simultaneously interacting with both species.

Still, the conversion of quantum information is pivotal to hybrid quantum networksnetworks connecting different quantum devices, such as quantum computers. Quantum computing can be realized with microwave photons interacting with superconducting circuits, though the long-distance transfer of quantum information encoded in this manner poses a challenge due to the accumulation of noise.

However, this is no longer a problem for optical photons, which can efficiently send quantum information via optical fibers. Therefore, the microwave-to-optical converter of quantum information can be a crucial part of a quantum network adapteran interface between quantum computers and the quantum internet.

Enlarged atoms

One known medium that can interact both with microwave and optical photons are Rydberg atoms, named after Johannes Rydberg, who researched optical spectroscopy at the turn of the 19th century and stated the famous Rydberg formula. Rydberg atoms can be produced via laser excitation of valence electrons e.g. in rubidium atoms.

This causes the atoms to increase their size a thousandfold and acquire many interesting properties, which are a hot research topic all over the scientific world. In this case, it is important to know that Rydberg atoms are very sensitive to microwave radiation.

So far, microwave-to-optical conversion has only been demonstrated in laser-cooled atoms caught in complex magneto-optical trapping setup. The scientists at the University of Warsaw are the first to show that microwave-to-optical conversion can be realized at room temperature, in atomic vapors inside a glass cell.

The proposed design of the converter is notably simpler and can be further miniaturized in the future. Additionally, the new conversion scheme shows very low noise levels and therefore can perform operations even on single photons. Even though the new converter setup is much simpler, the parameters of the conversion are surprisingly better.

In particular, the invention made at UW can work non-stop, as the atoms do not have to be prepared in a specially designed time sequence, which can take up more than 99% of the devices' operational time in experiments done by other groups.

Using the converter device, the scientists at UW have demonstrated the detection of microwave thermal radiation at room temperaturefor the first time it has been done without using microwave antennas or special low-noise amplifiers. To get to the thermal level, the device has to be sensitive to single photons, but nevertheless, the converter can work for microwave radiation a million times stronger and cannot be damaged with even stronger fields, in contrast to other standard microwave devices.

The future lies in microwaves

The rapidly developing quantum technologies use various information carriers. Quantum computers based on superconducting junctions store their information in microwave frequencies, whereas quantum memories are largely based on optical photons. Similarly to the quantum network adapter, the interconnection between the two types of devices requires an interface that can efficiently work both in microwave and optical domain. Rydberg atoms are being presented here as the solution.

Single-photon microwave operations will be important in astronomical observations researching the properties of distant bodies or the shape of the early universe via measurements of the cosmic microwave background. Until now, measurements retaining quantum information in microwave photons have not been possible and microwave-to-optical conversion may create a whole new branch of microwave radio-astronomy.

Everyday mass communication can also benefit from the discoveries in microwave detection. Next-gen mobile technologies are set to heavily utilize high frequency microwave transmission bands, difficult to emit and detect in conventional electrical circuits. One day, atomic microwave sensors may be a crucial part of high-speed internet connection.

This is why in the Centre for Quantum Optical Technologies QOT, as well as in scientific institutes all over the world, there is ongoing research on how to employ quantum technologies in ultrasensitive microwave detection.

More information: Borowka, S. et al. Continuous wideband microwave-to-optical converter based on room-temperature Rydberg atoms. Nature Photonics (2023). DOI: 10.1038/s41566-023-01295-w. www.nature.com/articles/s41566-023-01295-w Journal information: Nature Photonics
This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies . Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility:

a. the compound eyes of a dragonfly. b. Microscopic image of the insect compound eye. c. the profile of the dragonfly compound eye. d. Schematic illustration of the fabrication of 3D artificial compound -eyes. Credit: Light: Advanced Manufacturing (2023). DOI: 10.37188/lam.2023.026

Industry 4.0 requires simple solutions for complex functions. Optical sensors, such as pinhole cameras, can deliver a depth of focus and reasonable resolution, but they suffer from low intensity for reliable and fast imaging. This requires a long exposure time, which sacrifices fast imaging capability and limits their real-world usage in self-driving cars.

In a new paper published in Light: Advanced Manufacturing, a team of scientists led by Professor Qi-Dai Chen from Jilin University have developed a new technique for manufacturing 3D microlens arrays (MLAs). The research team were inspired by a dragonfly's compound eye. The compound eyes of a dragonfly are made up of thousands of tiny lenses that allow the insect to see a wide field of view.

MLAs are small functional features at micro-dimensions and easy to integrate. They have been widely applied as practical optical devices in parallel micro-fabrication, integrated optofluidics microchips, biomimetics, beam shaping, 3D imaging, and 3D displaying.

Numerous methods have been proposed for efficient MLA manufacturing, but most are inefficient and incapable of fabricating the 3D surfaces required for compound eyes. Alternatively, MLAs are mostly prototyped from soft materials and can be transformed from 2D patterns to 3D configurations through mechanical deformation.

Femtosecond laser-enhanced local wet etching (fs-LEWE) is a promising technique for fabricating micro concave lens arrays (MCLAs) on a large scale. This technique has several advantages, including high throughput, simplified steps, and the ability to fabricate MCLAs on both planar and nonplanar surfaces. However, there are still some challenges associated with fs-LEWE.

One challenge is that the fabrication efficiency is limited because the process is generally performed in a pulse-by-pulse manner. Another challenge is that the process can be complex and demanding for curved substrates, as the surface topology must be carefully programmed, and a high-accuracy 3D motion stage is required.

a. schematic illustration of the GAN. b. the predicted image using GAN with the original image in c. Credit: Light: Advanced Manufacturing (2023). DOI: 10.37188/lam.2023.026

Parallel processing can significantly improve the efficiency of fs-LEWE, but 3D parallel fabrication inside bulky materials or on curved surfaces remains a challenge.

Researchers are working to overcome these challenges and make fs-LEWE a more efficient and versatile technique for fabricating MCLAs. This could lead to the development of new optical devices with improved performance and applications.

A new method has been developed for fabricating 3D MLAs. The technique uses a 3D laser to ablate a curved surface, followed by etching in acid. This method can produce high-quality 3D concave lens arrays that can be used to make soft compound eyes. Image restoration using a deep learning algorithm can further improve image quality.

Spatial light modulator (SLM) is a phase-only diffractive optics element that can modulate the phase of a laser beam into an arbitrary distribution. This makes it possible to create complex 3D patterns with high precision.

The research team's new technique is called holographic fs-laser processing-assisted wet-etching technology. The first step in this process is to create a large single concave lens on a curved substrate. This is done by focusing a laser beam onto the substrate through an objective lens.

The laser beam creates small pits in the substrate, gradually evolving into a spherical profile during wet etching. The next step is to use SLM to create a 3D distributed focal spot array. This array is focused on the substrate, creating a 3D array of seeds. The seeds are then etched into microlenses, which overlap to form a closely packed and curved MCLA.

The advantages of this method include its high precision, efficiency, and versatility. It can be used to fabricate complex 3D patterns with high fidelity, and it can be used on a variety of substrates. This method has the potential to revolutionize the fabrication of microscale optical devices.

More information: Lei Wang et al, Holographic laser fabrication of 3D artificial compound -eyes, Light: Advanced Manufacturing (2023). DOI: 10.37188/lam.2023.026

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This Oct. 2023 photo made available by the National Park Service shows Human footprints infilled with white gypsum sand. at the White Sands National Park in New Mexico. Fossil human footprints discovered in White Sands, New Mexico likely date back to between 21,000 and 23,000 years ago, according to two lines of scientific evidence published Thursday, Oct. 5, 2023. Credit: NPS via AP

New research confirms that fossil human footprints in New Mexico are likely the oldest direct evidence of human presence in the Americas, a finding that upends what many archaeologists thought they knew about when our ancestors arrived in the New World.

The footprints were discovered at the edge of an ancient lakebed in White Sands National Park and date back to between 21,000 and 23,000 years ago, according to research published Thursday in the journal Science.

The estimated age of the footprints was first reported in Science in 2021, but some researchers raised concerns about the dates. Questions focused on whether seeds of aquatic plants used for the original dating may have absorbed ancient carbon from the lakewhich could, in theory, throw off radiocarbon dating by thousands of years.

The new study presents two additional lines of evidence for the older date range. It uses two entirely different materials found at the site, ancient conifer pollen and quartz grains.

The reported age of the footprints challenges the once-conventional wisdom that humans didn't reach the Americas until a few thousand years before rising sea levels covered the Bering land bridge between Russia and Alaska, perhaps about 15,000 years ago.

"This is a subject that's always been controversial because it's so significantit's about how we understand the last chapter of the peopling of the world," said Thomas Urban, an archaeological scientist at Cornell University, who was involved in the 2021 study but not the new one.

This Oct. 2023 photo made available by the National Park Service shows White Sands National Park Resource Program Manager, David Bustos at the White Sands National Park in New Mexico. Fossil human footprints discovered in White Sands, New Mexico likely date back to between 21,000 and 23,000 years ago, according to two lines of scientific evidence published Thursday, Oct. 5, 2023. Credit: NPS via AP

Thomas Stafford, an independent archaeological geologist in Albuquerque, New Mexico, who was not involved in the study, said he "was a bit skeptical before" but now is convinced.

"If three totally different methods converge around a single age range, that's really significant," he said.

The new study isolated about 75,000 grains of pure pollen from the same sedimentary layer that contained the footprints.

"Dating pollen is arduous and nail-biting," said Kathleen Springer, a research geologist at the United States Geological Survey and a co-author of the new paper. Scientists believe radiocarbon dating of terrestrial plants is more accurate than dating aquatic plants, but there needs to be a large enough sample size to analyze, she said.

The researchers also studied accumulated damage in the crystal lattices of ancient quartz grains to produce an age estimate.

This undated photo made available by the National Park Service in September 2021 shows fossilized human fossilized footprints at the White Sands National Park in New Mexico. Fossil human footprints discovered in White Sands, New Mexico likely date back to between 21,000 and 23,000 years ago, according to two lines of scientific evidence published Thursday, Oct. 5, 2023. Credit: NPS via AP

Ancient footprints of any kindleft by humans or megafauna like big cats and dire wolvescan provide archaeologists with a snapshot of a moment in time, recording how people or animals walked or limped along and whether they crossed paths. Animal footprints have also been found at White Sands.

While other archeological sites in the Americas point to similar date rangesincluding pendants carved from giant ground sloth remains in Brazilscientists still question whether such materials really indicate human presence.

Fossilized footprints in White Sands National Park. Credit: USGS, NPS, Bournemouth University

Footprints at the base of trench in White Sands National Park. Credit: USGS

Prints at base of trench, White Sands National Park. Credit: USGS

A single human footprint at site. Credit: National Park Service

"White Sands is unique because there's no question these footprints were left by people, it's not ambiguous," said Jennifer Raff, an anthropological geneticist at the University of Kansas, who was not involved in the study.

More information: Bente Philippsen et al, Dating the arrival of humans in the Americas, Science (2023). DOI: 10.1126/science.adk3075. www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.adk3075 Jeffrey S. Pigati et al, Independent age estimates resolve the controversy of ancient human footprints at White Sands, Science (2023). DOI: 10.1126/science.adh5007. www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.adh5007 Journal information: Science

 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
A bedridden opposition leader Lee Jae-myung appealed Thursday for support for his party's candidate in next week's by-election for chief of Seoul's Gangseo Ward office, saying the election is the starting point of stopping what he calls the "tyranny" of the government.

The Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) chairman issued the appeal in a video message from a hospital bed where he has been recovering after a 24-day anti-government hunger strike, six days before the Oct. 11 by-election seen as a test of voter sentiment ahead of next year's parliamentary elections.

"Politics may seem like something politicians do, but ultimately, it's something that people do. Every single vote that you exercise can determine the future of your country and your region," said Lee, dressed in patient clothing.

"This election is the starting point of stopping the regime's tyranny and opening a new future for Gangseo Ward," he said. "I hope each and everyone participates in the grand march of people's victory and advancement of history."

Lee called for more people to vote in early voting set for Friday and Saturday.

The leader of the ruling People Power Party (PPP) promoted Kim as a candidate who can use a hotline to President Yoon Suk Yeol to push ahead with various development projects in the region.

"The Gangseo Ward office chief by-election is about picking someone who can do their job well, a servant who is willing to run the people's errands ... not an avatar who will run errands for the opposition leader," Rep. Kim Gi-hyeon said in a party leadership meeting.

The by-election comes after former Gangseo Ward chief Kim Tae-woo was removed from the post in May due to a suspended prison sentence. He was convicted of leaking official secrets he gained while working for a special inspection team under the presidential office during the previous administration.

Kim, however, calls himself a whistle blower and claims the disclosure was for the public good. He received a presidential Liberation Day pardon in August, was reinstated of his right to run in the election and won the nomination of the ruling PPP.

Kim's DPK rival is Jin Kyo-hoon, a former deputy chief of national police.

Though seven candidates are vying in the election, it is largely a two-way race between Kim and Jin. (Yonhap)
The unification ministry said Thursday it is closely monitoring some 6,000 vulnerable North Korean defectors considered at a high risk of suicide attempts and lonely deaths due to financial difficulties and other hardships.

The move is part of the ministry's efforts to overhaul the resettlement system for North Korean defectors as it seeks to better protect such people who might be living in so-called welfare blind spots.

Since November last year, the ministry has selected around 6,000 vulnerable North Koreans who warrant close monitoring by utilizing 39 "crisis indicators," such as whether the supply of electricity, water and gas was suspended for their households or there was any previous attempt to commit suicide.

The government also said it is pushing for a law revision to allow government officials to do a house search with police for the North's defectors in the high risk group when they are out of contact.

The move follows a spate of tragic deaths of North Korean defectors in recent years. A North Korean woman who came to the South in 2002 was found in a "skeleton" state in Seoul in October 2022. The case has served as a wake-up call for the government to overhaul the system to protect North Korean defectors.

The government has also expanded its support for medical expenses by 1 million won ($740) for North Korean defectors since January, according to the ministry.

The annual amount of medical support was raised to 3 million won for general illness and to 8 million won in the case of serious diseases, including cancer.

The North's defectors who earn less than 120 percent of the median income are eligible to receive the government's medical support.

The total number of North Korean defectors coming to South Korea reached 33,981 at the end of June, up 99 from the end of last year. The number of such incoming people has begun increasing this year after sharply dwindling due largely to North Korea's tight border closure over the COVID-19 pandemic. (Yonhap)
Charred wood and ash remains where an Argyle home once stood following a structure fire that broke out Monday morning. It has been reported that one person is receiving assistance from the American Red Cross, according to a news release on Monday night.

Red Cross volunteers from the Northeastern New York Chapter of the American Red Cross provided immediate emergency aid to one person after a fire on McDougall Road. Emergency response was dispatched around 7:37 a.m., according to a Facebook post from J.A. Barkley Hose Co. No. 1 of Argyle.

The Red Cross said staff and volunteers will remain available to help those affected by the fire as they navigate the road to recovery.

The Red Cross provided financial assistance for necessities such as shelter, food and clothing to one adult. Volunteers also offered emotional support, health services, and comfort kits containing personal care items, the release said.

In the Facebook post from J.A. Barkley Hose Co. No. 1 of Argyle, Fire Chief Tom Plude said emergency vehicles in response could see a heavy smoke column visible from a distance.

The conditions upon almost simultaneous arrival of ER-211 and Hartford car 3401 showed flames coming from all four sides of the structure. An extensive exterior attack with hose lines and the deck gun off of ER-211 were used to bring the fire under control, Plude said in the Facebook post.

The last of emergency crews left the scene by 11:45 a.m.
From a press release: The regions planning and economic development organization, the Lake Champlain-Lake George Regional Planning Board (LCLGRPB) is pleased to announce the launch of the Small Business Technical Assistance Program.

The program provides free technical assistance to existing and start-up small businesses in Clinton, Essex, Hamilton, Warren, and Washington Counties.

We are incredibly excited to launch our Small Business Technical Assistance Program. Small Business is the heartbeat of the North County, and our goal is to provide resource to help our small business community thrive, said LCLGRBP Director, Beth Gilles.

Qualifying businesses will receive approximately 40 hours of technical assistance from professional business consultants from Revby, LLC. For more information about the SBTA program or to apply online, please visit: http://www.lclgrpb.org.

LCLGRPB will host a webinar about the SBTA Program on Oct. 31, 10 a.m. Please register here: https://tinyurl.com/52jyjetf to attend. A recording of the webinar will be posted to the LCLGRPB website following the event.

This program is funded by a grant to LCLGRPB from USDA Rural Development with additional funding provided by Warren and Washington Counties. LCLGRPB is an Equal Opportunity Employer and is one of nine federally designated regional planning and development organizations in New York State.
From a press release: The Climate Smart Hebron Task Force and Town Supervisor Brian Campbell are pleased to announce that Hebron is the first municipality in Washington County to be designated a Clean Energy Community by the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority.

Hebron has been a leading town in Washington County for clean energy initiatives. Our Climate Smart Hebron Task Force is very proud of our actions and for reaching the required threshold to be designated a Clean Energy Community, said Jill Nadolski, town council member, and Climate Smart Hebron coordinator.

To reach the threshold, the Task Force completed four high-impact actions: LED street light conversion reporting; electricity benchmarking of municipal buildings; community solar campaign; Clean Heating & Cooling Demonstration.

The Clean Energy Community designation unlocked $5,000 in grant funding which has been used to upgrade the heating system at the West Hebron Firehouse from an old oil-fired boiler to a new, high-efficiency propane-fired boiler.
ATLANTIC CITY  A century-old building on Pacific Avenue could see new life under a plan presented to the Casino Reinvestment Development Authority at the boards September meeting.

Application documents show Ridley Lofts Urban Renewal Entity LLC plans to first redevelop the existing building before building a new structure in a second phase. The application lists an address of 1307 Pacific Ave.

The property is particularly well-suited for residential development as there are other residential properties in the surrounding area, reads a review prepared as part of the application process.

The CRDA has planning authority within the citys Tourism District. The board said yes to plans to renovate the former YMCA building on Pacific Avenue near South Carolina Avenue into 35 residential units, and to construct another 34 units in a new building to include 1,000 feet of retail space as well.

This is an exciting project for us, Lance Landgraf, the CRDAs director of planning and development, told the board, saying the authority put out a request for proposals for the property about a year ago.

A document from February nominating the building as a historic landmark describes the architectural style as Georgian Revival, with the main section of the building constructed in 1912. The report outlines some of the buildings history, including a renovation effort around 1980.

Theyre saving this old building and renovating it, Landgraf said, describing that as a good thing.

The site had previously been the location of the John Brooks Recovery Center, which is now part of AtlantiCare.

CRDA approves deal said to mean $16.6M investment on Pacific Avenue ATLANTIC CITY  The former home of a recovery center on Pacific Avenue could become a new ap

The development proposal will require several variances, some of which are created by the size of the existing structure. The approved variance would also allow greater density than outlined in the current regulations.

Landgraf said those regulations likely do not allow enough density for the citys urban environment and are in the process of being amended.

The proposal includes far fewer parking spaces than would be required. Plans are for six spots on site, Landgraf told the board, while 135 would be required for the commercial and residential uses.

But he said there is a parking garage nearby with more than 850 spaces.

And they are readily available for tenants to rent or use for retail uses as well, Landgraf said.

There was little discussion about the proposal before the vote, and no comments from the public.

It does seem like a really good project. Glad to see it, said board member Mike Beson, who led the meeting that month.

It was one of several planning applications approved by the board, including a proposal to convert an existing boarding house at 106 Ocean Ave. into a single-family home.

Casino tax fund generated record $504 million for those in need last year The Atlantic City casino industry paid more than $504 million in taxes and fees last fiscal year, a record amount that helps fund programs around the state for its most vulnerable residents.

The board also gave approval to a plan from Chelsea Atlantic Equities LLC to create three apartments in a boarding house at 1740 Atlantic Ave., which the board documents described as a non-conforming rooming house. The first floor will remain retail space, Landgraf said.
Yoon set to appoint new defense minister despite opposition from DPK

By Nam Hyun-woo

The main opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) is contemplating whether to issue a party guideline to boycott President Yoon Suk Yeols nomination for new Supreme Court Chief Justice Lee Gyun-ryong, although a majority of party members believe that the nominee is unfit for the post.

The reluctance reflects the partys concerns over a growing public perception that the main opposition party is exploiting its majority in the National Assembly to sabotage state affairs by rejecting most of the candidates for high-ranking positions that Yoon has nominated. Along with the chief justice, the DPK is poised to reject Yoons recent nominees for the ministers of defense, culture and gender equality.

According to the Assembly, Thursday, lawmakers will cast votes on the chief justices nomination on Friday. Unlike ministers, chief justice of the Supreme Court, president of the Constitutional Court and the prime minister need to receive parliamentary approval before their appointments.

The DPK, which controls 168 out of 298 seats, held a general assembly of its lawmakers on Wednesday and discussed the partys guideline on Lees nomination, but decided to hold another lawmakers meeting on Friday before casting their votes.

The party said it delayed the decision because there were some opinions that setting a party guideline to object the nomination could hurt its image.

Even if we do not set a party guideline, chances are high that the nomination will be rejected, DPK floor leader Rep. Hong Ihk-pyo said in a radio interview with broadcaster SBS, Thursday. Most of our lawmakers think that party guideline is unnecessary, and no lawmaker said that Lee is an appropriate nominee.

However, the DPK appears to be mindful of the political consquences of creating a vacuum at the top post of the countrys judiciary.

Former Chief Justice Kim Myeong-su left the top court on Sept. 22, as his term expired on Sept. 24. Initially, the Assembly planned to vote on Lees nomination on Sept. 25, but postponed it after the DPKs floor leader resigned.

The ruling People Power Party (PPP) is already stepping up pressure on the DPK to approve Lees nomination, citing the vacuum in the judiciary.

The current absence in the Supreme Court is something that hasn't happened in 30 years and the Assembly should not make the mistake of extending it, PPP floor leader Rep. Yun Jae-ok said. The biggest victims of the absence of a chief justice will be the public.

Along with the chief Supreme Court justice, the DPK is objecting Defense Minister nominee Shin Won-sik, Culture Minister nominee Yoo In-chon and Gender Equality Minister Kim Haeng.

Although their appointments do not require the Assemblys consent, objecting all of Yoons nominations could trigger criticism that the main opposition party is exploiting its majority in the Assembly to hinder state affairs..

On Thursday, Yoon asked the Assembly to send a confirmation hearing report on the defense minister nominee by Friday, as the rival parties failed to hold a meeting on whether to accept a confirmation report. If the parties do not send the report until Friday, Yoon can appoint the nominee the following day.

Given the conflict between the DPK and PPP, chances are slim that the parties will send Shins report to the president. If Yoon goes ahead with Shins appointment, he will be the 18th minister that the president appointed without a confirmation report.

The culture and gender equality minister nominees are facing similar setbacks. On Thursday, the DPK slammed the culture minister nominee during his confirmation hearing at the Assembly, citing Yoos alleged involvement in the previous Lee Myung-bak administrations blacklisting of left-leaning cultural figures.

The gender equality minister nominee also came under fire during a separate confirmation hearing on Thursday, with the main opposition party claiming that Kim was nominated for the position due to her acquaintance with Yoons wife, Kim Keon Hee.
A University of Delaware freshman from Barnegat Township was struck and killed while riding his bike on campus last week.

Daniel Bacsik, 18, was pronounced dead at the scene of the crash Sept. 29 in Newark, Delaware, police said Monday in a news release.

We are deeply saddened by this tragic loss," Jose-Luis Riera, vice president of student life, said in a statement Monday. "While Daniel was a student at UD for only a brief period, he maintained an active presence among his fellow students and in his residential community, meeting many and touching the lives of those with whom he interacted."

Police said the crash happened at 2:49 a.m. at South College and East Delaware avenues. Bacsik was heading north on South College Avenue when a 2013 Toyota Sienna struck him at the intersection, tossing him from the bicycle onto the north side of East Delaware Avenue.

The Sienna's 24-year-old driver remained at the scene, police said.

An investigation found that traffic signals at the intersection were functioning properly.

Both roads were closed for about three hours while the crash was investigated.

Funeral services are set for Saturday at Barnegat Funeral Home, according to Bacsik's obituary.

Bacsik was born in Toms River and overcame leukemia at age 3, the obituary said.

The university said Bacsik was studying engineering. He was a member of several student organizations, including the American Society of Mechanical Engineers.
An Egg Harbor Township man was sentenced to five years in prison for his role in a cocaine trafficking ring, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger said Thursday.

Lester Santana, 53, pleaded guilty in January to conspiracy to distribute 5 kilograms or more of cocaine.

According to court documents, Santana admitted that from March 2019 to August 2020, on several occasions, he and his conspirators flew from San Juan, Puerto Rico, on commercial flights to Philadelphia International Airport.

Santana and his co-conspirators purchased kilograms of cocaine from wholesale drug suppliers in San Juan in exchange for cash. Santana and the others then shipped the cocaine by overnight delivery from U.S. post offices in San Juan to addresses in Philadelphia and South Jersey, including Santanas residence.

After the shipments were made, a conspirator resold the cocaine to other drug dealers in the Philadelphia area. Santana admitted he was jointly responsible for the distribution of 50 to 150 kilograms of cocaine.

Santana is the third person in the case to plead guilty. Two co-conspirators, Jose Gonzalez and Iran Soler, both of Philadelphia, pleaded guilty to conspiring to distribute 5 kilograms or more of cocaine. Gonzalez is scheduled to be sentenced Jan. 4, 2024, and Soler is scheduled to be sentenced Nov. 6.
A former Vineland man acquitted in his neighbor's death in 2020 is now accused of stalking a woman in violation of a restraining order she obtained in August.

Zachary Latham, 21, of Fort Myers, Florida, was booked into the Lee County jail last week on charges that included aggravated stalking, video voyeurism, violating a restraining order and loitering, according to inmate records.

The latest charges come about a month after Latham was both sentenced and released from jail on charges that he threatened a motorist with an airsoft gun.

He is being held on $5,000 bond, jail records show. An arraignment hearing is scheduled for Oct. 30 before Florida Judge J. Frank Porter.

Latham texted, called and messaged through social media a woman with whom he was in a relationship for about three months, according to an affidavit of probable cause.

He was arrested outside the woman's friend's home Sept. 26 while he was loitering outside the residence looking for her, the affidavit states. He was brought to Lee Memorial Hospital for a "medical event involving medication," the affidavit states.

Ex-Vineland man acquitted in fatal stabbing of neighbor sentenced in Florida assault case A Vineland man who was acquitted earlier this year in the stabbing death of his neighbor was recently sentenced to 20 months in prison for threatening a driver with an airsoft gun in Florida.

Detectives say Latham attempted multiple times to locate the woman in violation of a one-year restraining order issued Aug. 9, going as far as entering a business she was visiting without invitation.

Latham also recorded himself and the woman during sexual contact at his home to which she did not consent, the affidavit states. The clip purportedly was received by her family and a former boyfriend.

In August, Latham was given credit for 811 days served in jail for the airsoft incident on a bench warrant, according to Florida court records. He was released from prison Aug. 24.

The Florida Highway Patrol said Latham threatened a driver with an AK-47 style airsoft gun Jan. 24, 2021.

As a Vineland resident, Latham was tried for stabbing his neighbor, William T. Durham Sr., a retired corrections officer, during a fight stirred by a conflict between their families.

He was acquitted of reckless manslaughter after a three-week trial in which a jury heard arguments for Latham acting in self-defense.
FRANKLIN TOWNSHIP  Three Vineland residents were hospitalized after their van crashed into a dump truck Thursday morning in a collision that caused both vehicles to flip over.

Police said they were called to a field near Coles Mill Road and Stanton Avenue where both vehicles came to rest after the collision about 6:55 a.m.

The van's passengers, Christopher Solski, 31, and Nicholas Cournoyer, 42, were both airlifted to Cooper University Medical Center in Camden in stable condition, police said in a news release.

Both Solski and Cournoyer were extricated from their vehicles by first responders.

The van's driver, 55-year-old Tamiko Graciani, was brought by ambulance to Inspira Medical Center Mullica Hill with injuries to her neck and hips. Charges against her are pending, police said.

Police did not say whether the dump truck's driver, 51-year-old Kevin McCaskill, of Willingboro, Burlington County, was injured.

Crash investigators determined the southbound van on Stanton Avenue collided with the westbound dump truck carrying sand at Coles Mill Road. The force caused both vehicles to flip onto their sides, landing in the field.

The crash remained under investigation Thursday afternoon.
Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) has been grappling with a significant surge in dengue infections over the past month, raising concerns among health officials. Despite taking measures to curb the spread of the disease, the civic body witnessed a notable uptick in cases.

Officials have reported a staggering total of 70 confirmed dengue cases, along with 683 suspected cases, in the city throughout the previous month. This represents the highest number of dengue cases recorded in a single month this year.

PMC has taken strict actions against 174 establishments found to be responsible for the spread of the disease. A cumulative fine of Rs 18,500 has been collected from these violators as punitive measures.

Furthermore, health officials are increasingly concerned about the number of patients diagnosed with dengue for the second time. Over 10% of the cases reported in private hospitals involve individuals who have previously battled dengue earlier in the year. In response to this worrying trend, PMC has initiated a comprehensive survey to identify mosquito breeding sites. Additionally, establishments failing to implement preventive measures to control the spread of the disease are facing repercussions.

As health authorities continue their efforts to combat the dengue outbreak, vigilance, community cooperation, and proactive steps to eliminate breeding grounds for mosquitoes are emphasised as key strategies to mitigate the spread of the disease in Pune.
In another unfortunate incident of theft at a Pune Metro construction site, a security guard stationed at the location has filed a formal complaint about missing materials. The theft is reported to have occurred near the Sant Tukaram Nagar Metro Station. Local law enforcement has registered a case under relevant sections, and the Shivajinagar Police Station is actively investigating the matter.

The complainant, who serves as an assistant admin (security) for the Pune Metro, stated that the stolen materials, valued at Rs. 24,000, went missing between September 18 and September 28. Authorities have yet to identify the individual responsible for the theft.

The case has been filed under section 379 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). Further developments in the investigation are expected as law enforcement intensifies efforts to apprehend the perpetrator and recover the stolen construction materials.
The Rock Island County States Attorneys Office has accused a 21-year-old woman of distributing child pornography via her social media account.

Emmeline Kenealy, Rock Island, faces three counts of child pornography, according to Rock Island County court records. Prosecutors allege she uploaded sexual photographs involving toddlers to her SnapChat account on Aug. 17, 2022.

Authorities learned of the alleged activity because Snapchat reported it to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, court documents state. Police recovered the images from Kenealys account when they served a search warrant on it.

On Monday the Rock Island Police Department executed a search warrant on Kenealys phone and her residence, a dorm room at Augustana College, according to court records.

After police read Kenealy her Miranda rights, she admitted during questioning that she had downloaded and disseminated the photographs via her Snapchat account. She also admitted shed looked up child pornography as recently as Sunday.

In response to a query about Kenealy, Augustana stated that police arrested an Augustana student Monday afternoon on campus and the college was cooperating fully with the police.

We do not believe and have not been advised of any danger to members of the Augustana College community, according to the statement.

The investigation continued as of late this morning and Augustana could not provide further information, according to the statement.

The Rock Island County Jail had Kenealy in custody as of 12:30 p.m., according to the jail website.

Prosecutors want her detained on the charges and a hearing on her detention was pending, court records state. The county courts have set her first appearance for this afternoon.

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LONDON  Scottish authorities approved the extradition of an American man accused of faking his own death to avoid a rape charge in Utah, but his return to the U.S. may be delayed by another case in Britain.

In response to a freedom of information request, the Scottish government on Thursday said an extradition order for the man local officials refer to as Nicholas Rossi was signed Sept. 28. It provided no further information.

U.S. authorities said Rossi is one of several aliases the 36-year-old suspect used and his legal name is Nicholas Alahverdian.

Alahverdian is charged with sexually assaulting a former girlfriend in Orem, Utah, in 2008, according to the Utah County prosecutor's office. He also faces multiple complaints against him in Rhode Island for alleged domestic violence.

Rossi can appeal the Scottish government's decision. His lawyer didn't immediately return a call seeking comment on what his client plans to do.

Regardless of what happens in the extradition case, police in England are seeking to interview Rossi in connection with a "non-recent allegation of rape" in the city of Chelmsford that was made in April 2022. If charges are filed against Rossi in that case, those proceedings would have to be wrapped up before he could be extradited.

The suspect already fought a prolonged court battle to prevent his return to the United States since he was arrested in December 2021 at a Glasgow hospital, where he was being treated for COVID-19. Rossi, who insisted he was an Irish orphan named Arthur Knight and never set foot on American soil, repeatedly appeared in court in a wheelchair using an oxygen mask and speaking in a British accent.

The government signed the order after Judge Norman McFadyen of Edinburgh Sheriff Court on Aug. 2 ruled that the suspect could be extradited, saying Rossi was "as dishonest and deceitful as he is evasive and manipulative." The man said he was framed by authorities who took his fingerprints while he was in a coma so they could connect him to Rossi.

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Italian-style pizza is back in Bettendorf and coming to a familiar spot.

Inferno Pizza & Pints will open Thursday at 2561 53rd Ave. in Bettendorf. The storefront was formerly home to Mio Russo Sicilian Bar & Table before it closed in April.

New owner Brian Islami has a long history with business success in the Quad-Cities, as he also owns the Flip's Pancake House locations. The decision to flip from pancakes to pizza, he said, came to him while traveling in Italy.

After his brother moved there a number of years ago, Islami said he began to visit yearly and grew accustomed to the food. A few months ago, the leasing agent for the Bettendorf building reached out and asked if he was interested. Instead of doing "steak and eggs," Islami said, he decided to bring Italy back with him.

"This opportunity came up, so I thought why not try real Italian-style pizza. So that's what we're going to do," he said.

Islami went back to Italy and took cooking lessons from a local chef in order to prepare. With that connection in mind, he's able to bring in authentic ingredients, like the flour and the sauce.

Imported cheese and fresh mozzarella will top the pizzas, with all dough made fresh in-house. The pizza will be made "romana alla pala," or Roman-style on a paddle. The crust is stretched thin into a rectangle and baked slowly on a wood paddle with oil to provide a crunchy crust, resembling a flatbread.

The menu will also have pasta, sandwiches, soups and salads. Behind the bar, Islami will have Italian cocktails, wine and about a dozen Iowa beers on tap.

Inferno Pizza & Pints will officially open on at 3 p.m. Thursday. Regular hours will be 3-9 p.m. Tuesday-Thursday, 3-10 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 3-9 p.m. Sunday. Islami plans to open for lunch in a few months, once staff members are comfortable and ready to add hours.

Photos: It's Food Truck Fight time
A Rock Island County probationer is facing a robbery charge in Scott County after he allegedly robbed a Davenport Walmart with a BB gun Wednesday.

Kevin Lamar Simmons, 33, is charged in Scott County District Court with one count of first-degree robbery. The charge is a Class B felony under Iowa law that carries a prison sentence of 25 years. It is up to the presiding judge in the case to determine whether 50% or 70% of the sentence must be served before parole can be granted.

According to the arrest affidavit filed by Davenport Police Cpl. Erin Pape, at 9 a.m. Wednesday, Simmons was caught shoplifting at the Walmart located at 3101 W. Kimberly Road.

When confronted by employees, Simmons removed what appeared to be a firearm from his pants and placed it at his side as he turned to face the employees, the affidavit said. Simmons then fled the store on foot.

Police were able to capture Simmons and the weapon he possessed turned out to be a BB gun.

The total value of the items he allegedly stole was $43.85.

Simmons was being held Wednesday night in the Scott County Jail on a bond of $25,000, cash or surety. He is expected to make a first appearance on the charge Thursday in District Court where a judge will schedule a preliminary hearing.

According to Rock Island County Circuit Court electronic records, during a hearing June 8 in Rock Island County Circuit Court, Simmons pleaded guilty to one count of possession of less than 5 grams of meth. He was sentenced to two years on probation.

Simmons also is currently serving a sentence of two years on conditional discharge in Rock Island County after he pleaded guilty March 18, 2022, to a charge of possession of a stolen motor vehicle, according to circuit court electronic records.

During a hearing in Cedar County District Court on Feb. 12, 2021, Simmons pleaded guilty to a charge of eluding, a Class D felony under Iowa law. He was sentenced March 12, 2021, to two years on supervised probation.

On July 1, 2022, during a hearing in Cedar County District Court, it was found that Simmons had violated his probation. He was ordered to serve 60 days in the county jail and was unsuccessfully discharged from probation.
By Joseph S. Nye, Jr.

CAMBRIDGE  The great-power competition between the United States and China is a defining feature of the first part of this century, but there is little agreement on how it should be characterized. Some call it an enduring rivalry analogous to the one between Germany and Britain prior to the last centurys two world wars. Others worry that America and China are like Sparta (the dominant power) and Athens (the rising power) in the fifth century BC: destined for war. The problem, of course, is that a belief in the inevitability of conflict can become a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Enduring rivalry itself is a misleading term. Just think of all the phases the Sino-American relationship has gone through since the Communist Party of China (CPC) came to power in 1949. In the 1950s, American and Chinese soldiers were killing each other on the Korean Peninsula. In the 1970s, after U.S. President Richard Nixons historic visit to China, the two countries cooperated closely to counterbalance the Soviet Union. In the 1990s, economic engagement increased, and the U.S. supported Chinas entry into the World Trade Organization. Not until after 2016 did we enter the current phase of great-power competition, with one U.S. official describing China as a pacing threat  meaning the only country that can pose a systemic challenge to America economically, technologically, politically, and militarily.

But even if enduring rivalry does not imply violent conflict, what about a cold war? If that term refers to an intense prolonged competition, we are already in one. But if it is a historical analogy, the comparison is inapt, and risks misleading us about the real challenges the U.S. faces from China. The U.S. and the Soviet Union had a high level of global military interdependence, but virtually no economic, social, or ecological interdependence. Todays Sino-American relationship is different in all those dimensions.

For starters, America cannot decouple its trade and investment completely from China without causing enormous damage to itself and the global economy. Moreover, the U.S. and its allies are threatened not by the spread of communist ideology, but by a system of economic and political interdependence that both sides routinely manipulate. Partial decoupling or de-risking on security issues is necessary, but total economic decoupling would be prohibitively costly, and few U.S. allies would follow suit. More countries count China rather than the U.S. as their leading trade partner.

Then there are the ecological aspects of interdependence, which make decoupling impossible. No country can tackle climate change, the pandemic threat, or other transnational problems alone. For better and worse, we are locked in a cooperative rivalry with China, in need of a strategy that can advance contradictory objectives. The situation is nothing like Cold War containment.

Meeting the China challenge will require an approach that leverages the alliances and rules-based system the U.S. created. Allies like Japan, and partners like India, are assets that China lacks. Although the center of global economic gravity has shifted from Europe to Asia over the past century, India, the worlds most populous country, is one of Chinas longstanding rivals. Cliches about the Global South or solidarity among the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) are highly misleading, because they ignore internal rivalries within those categories. Moreover, the combined wealth of Western democratic allies will far exceed that of China (plus Russia) well into this century.

To succeed, Americas China strategy must set realistic goals. If the US defines strategic success as transforming China into a Western democracy, it is likely to fail. The CPC fears Western liberalization, and China is too big to invade or fundamentally change through coercion. This reality cuts both ways: The U.S. has domestic problems, but they certainly do not owe anything to the attractiveness of Chinese communism. In this important respect, neither China nor the U.S. poses an existential threat to the other  unless they blunder into a major war.

The best historical analogy is not Cold War Europe after 1945 but pre-war Europe in 1914. European leaders welcomed what they thought would be a brief conflict in the Balkans, but instead got the four terrible years of World War I. Some foresee the U.S. and China blundering into a similar war over Taiwan, which China regards as a renegade province. When Nixon and Mao Zedong met in 1972, they could not agree on this issue, but they devised a rough formula for managing it that has lasted half a century: no de jure independence for Taiwan, and no use of force against the island by China. Maintaining the status quo requires deterring Beijing while avoiding the provocation of supporting de jure independence for Taiwan. War is a risk, but it is not inevitable.

The U.S. should expect low-intensity economic conflicts with China, but its strategic objectives should be to avoid escalation  what U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken recently called peaceful coexistence. That means using deterrence to avoid a hot war, cooperating when possible, leveraging U.S. hard and soft power to attract allies, and marshaling domestic assets to compete successfully. The goal should be to shape Chinas external behavior by strengthening Americas own alliances and international institutions.

For example, the key to advancing U.S. interests in the South and East China Seas is Japan, a close ally that hosts US troops. But since the U.S. also needs to bolster its own economic and technological advantages, it would be wise to adopt a more active Asian trade policy, and to offer assistance to the low- and middle-income countries being wooed by China. Global polls suggest that if the US maintains its domestic openness and democratic values, it will have much greater soft power than China.

Investments in Americas own military power of deterrence are welcomed by the many countries that want to maintain trade relations with China but do not want to be dominated by it. If the U.S. maintains its alliances and avoids demonization and misleading historical analogies, cooperative rivalry will be a sustainable goal.

Joseph S. Nye, Jr., a professor at Harvard University and a former U.S. assistant secretary of defense, is the author, most recently, of "Do Morals Matter? Presidents and Foreign Policy from FDR to Trump" (Oxford University Press, 2020). This article was distributed by Project Syndicate (www.project-syndicate.org).
For the second consecutive year, Bettendorf schools earned the statewide Therapeutic Classroom Incentive Grant from the Iowa Department of Education (IDOE).

This year's grant totals $572,625, and Bettendorf schools were one of six recipients from across the state.

Also called Therapeutic Learning Classroom (TLC) grants, these annual, competitive awards fund the creation of therapeutic classrooms. These serve students whose social, emotional and behavioral health (SEBH) needs affect their ability to thrive in current learning spaces.

According to the IDOE, therapeutic classrooms support these students until they can successfully return to their former educational environment (i.e. a traditional classroom).

"We were overjoyed and felt reassured that we are doing the right work," Sarah Harris, Bettendorf schools' SEBH coordinator, said of receiving the TLC grant again this year. "We will continue to revise, improve and create school environments to support all students in (learning.)"

She said the development and adoption of Brain Health Neurosequential models  a therapeutic framework aimed at reducing student dysregulation and learning disruptions  was an example of the district's continued SEBH work.

"The continuum of (student services) is designed to help promote active participation in school, feel connected to school, assist in developing 21st-century skills and build positive relationships for academic success," Harris said of the initiative. "Therapeutic services are a critical piece of our future SEBH initiatives, and we plan to be on the cutting edge of this work  by collaborating with families, staff and students while utilizing strong evidence-based resources."

The IDOE does not require therapeutic classrooms to be physically separate from other students. Recipient school districts may also install SEBH-focused material or other critical programming elements to existing classrooms, and these plans must be specified following the TLC grant rubric.

Bettendorf Superintendent Michelle Morse said the district would use the grant toward ongoing staff training  in an effort to meet Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA)  and to re-design student and family spaces.

" To create welcoming and collaborative problem-solving learning environments, provide a (supportive) space for any student whose emotional, social or behavioral needs interfere with their ability to be successful in the current educational environment," she said.

So far, the TLC grant has aided in the district's Multi-tiered Systems of Support (MTSS) implementation.

"MTSS is a framework many schools in Iowa use," Morse said, describing it as an, "every-education decision-making framework" of evidence-based instruction and assessment. "(MTSS) addresses the needs of all students. It allows us to review and improve the overall health of our educational system by examining data  as well as identifying students who need additional support."

For students and families in-need of the highest support, she said, this kind of district-level work is critical.

"Over time, it improves school climate, safety and creates supportive learning environments," Morse said. "I am extremely humbled that the state has entrusted us with this funding for a second year. The additional TLC funds will enable us to continue to build these systematic (supports) to better serve our students' social emotional well being, across all of our schools. I am extremely proud of the work that our teams have done and the learning they have engaged as a result of the TLC grant funds."

Additionally, the IDOE invited Bettendorf Middle School's (BMS) TLC partnership team to present at the Iowa Childrens Behavioral Health System Board in July for the success of TLC work at BMS.

The team was also invited to present at the Iowa BEST (Behavioral, Equitable, Social-Emotional, Trauma-Informed Health in Schools) Summit in October, and the Iowa NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness) Conference in November.

Catch the buzz: Bettendorf students plant endangered bee habitat at Devils Glen Park
Four Davenport residents are vying to represent the 7th Ward, including its former alderman the council recently removed from office.

Derek Cornette was the 7th Ward alderman until early September, when his colleagues voted to remove him from office after hearing staff testimony, voicemail and video evidence detailing allegations of sexual harassment and intoxication during meetings.

Cornette is running for reelection and suing in court over his removal, arguing he wasn't given a fair hearing and no written complaints were filed.

Three others are running for the 7th Ward seat  Mhisho Lynch, a realtor and owner of a heating and plumbing business as well as a boutique; William Pamperin, a retired railroad engineer; and Scott Ryder, a realtor and owner of several businesses, including Donuts & More, a realty firm and a property management company.

The top two vote-getters in the Oct. 10 primary will advance to the Nov. 7 regular election.

The 7th Ward stretches roughly from North Division to Eastern Avenue and from West 53rd Street to Central Park Avenue. It includes the North Park Mall, and corridors on Kimberly Road and Harrison and Welcome Way/Brady Street.

Cornette, 71, is a retired health physicist who had worked at the Rock Island Arsenal. If reelected, he said he would work to curb "reckless spending" and prevent staff from setting policy.

Lynch, 33, a first-time candidate, said if elected she would work to help identify the root causes of theft and gun violence and build on existing at-risk youth programs. She also wants to prioritize infrastructure and see more help with business development in the 7th Ward, which includes North Park Mall and an empty lot at 53rd Street and Welcome Way.

Lynch is a realtor and owns two businesses  Lynch Heating & Plumbing and Wind Dancer Boutique, 2114 E 11th St. She points to that experience, as well as being a former parent-teacher association president, as experiences valuable to bring to the City Council.

Pamperin, 62, ran for the 7th Ward two years ago but did not advance past a four-way primary that year. Pamperin, a retired railroad engineer, regularly attends City Council and ward meetings. He's put public safety, infrastructure repairs and conservative fiscal policy at the top of his priority list.

He opposed the City Council's decision to give the green light to Main Street Landing, riverfront park area in design that is being funded with federal COVID-19 relief funds, a state tourism grant and railroad settlement funds. He said the American Rescue Plan Act funds should've been allocated elsewhere.

Ryder, 41, is a business owner and property manager who wants to see the city prioritize more quality affordable housing. A 2020 study, Silos to Solutions, called for the Quad-Cities to address the area's shortage of 6,645 affordable units for extremely low-income households by 2030.

Ryder and his wife, Cris Ryder, own EXIT Realty Fireside Franchise in Scott County, and in 2018 purchased Donuts & More, 1717 N. Brady St. Ryder said in 2019, a downtown Davenport building he purchased and remodeled in 2019 was damaged by the 2019 floods. In 2022, Ryder purchased Top Notch Property Management, which he said manages 300 rental properties in the Quad-Cities.

How to vote Early voting is underway. Davenport residents can vote at the Scott County Auditor's Office, 600 W. 4th St., on the first floor of the county administrative building. Hours to vote there are weekdays from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. The Auditor's Office will also be open Oct. 7 from 9 a.m. to noon. On Oct. 10, the polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. at polling locations. Find your precinct: www.scottcountyiowa.gov/auditor/precinct-finder For more election information, including sample ballots: https://www.scottcountyiowa.gov/auditor/post/2023/10/10/davenport-city-primary-election-day Find your ward: www.davenportiowa.com/services/maps The primary will winnow the number candidates for mayor and aldermen representing wards 2, 3, 4, and 7.
Tucked onto Rock Islands 21st Avenue between 29th and 29 streets are six south-facing homes that share a similar architectural style, that are made of brick with gabled or hipped roofs and windows inset with lead and art glass.

These are Chicago-style bungalows built during 1931 and 1932 by Sam Weisman, a prominent Rock Island builder who came to the United States from Russia at age 22 after his widowed mother was killed in an antisemitic pogrom.

On Sunday, Oct. 8, the public can learn more about these bungalows and the people who lived in them when members of the Rock Island Preservation Society host a free walking tour of the block from 1 to 3 p.m.

This is an area that many people are aware of but dont know its history, Diane Oestreich, a preservation society member, said as the reason for the tour.

In addition to the six homes facing 21st Avenue, another faces 29th Street, and of the seven, six were purchased by immigrants, Oestreich said. Three were Greek  brothers who lived adjacent to each other  and others were Jewish from Germany, Russia and Poland. I think its fascinating.

The Greece-born Grevas brothers  Nicholas, Gust and Angelos, or Tom  operated the Toasty Shop on 18th Street downtown, an eatery that opened in 1926, specializing in grilled, or toasted, sandwiches.

Another home was owned by Hyman and Rose Goldman, whose family operated a downtown furniture business, according to preservation society research. The Goldmans would continue to have a downtown influence even after their business closed by saving the historic but vacant buildings.

The Chicago bungalow style of architecture was popularized in Chicago between 1900 and 1930. In addition to its well-built exteriors, it features high-end inside finishes, including hardwood floors, built-in cabinets, formal dining rooms and fireplaces.

When builder Weisman came to Rock Island, he had only $6 and slept in the former Spencer Square until he could find work, according to preservation society research. He began his construction activities with remodeling and then moved into new construction, including Long View Apartments at 18th Avenue and 17th Street.

Other credits are homes in the Wheelan Addition, on 21st Avenue between 24th and 25th streets, and the Centennial Bridge Commission Building at 2nd Avenue and 15th Street.

Weisman, also a leader in the citys Jewish religious community, died in 1948.

Close Shown is 2041 29th St., Rock Island, one of a series of Chicago-style bungalows built by Sam Weisman in 1931 and 1932 along 21st Avenue in Rock Island. Shown is 2909 21st Ave., Rock Island, one of a series of Chicago-style bungalows built by Sam Weisman in 1931 and 1932 along 21st Avenue in Rock Island. Shown is 2911 21th Ave., Rock Island, one of a series of Chicago-style bungalows built by Sam Weisman in 1931 and 1932 along 21st Avenue in Rock Island. Shown is 2913 21st Ave., Rock Island, one of a series of Chicago-style bungalows built by Sam Weisman in 1931 and 1932 along 21st Avenue in Rock Island. Shown is 2923 21st Ave., Rock Island, one of a series of Chicago-style bungalows built by Sam Weisman in 1931 and 1932 along 21st Avenue in Rock Island. Shown is 2915 21st Ave., Rock Island, one of a series of Chicago-style bungalows built by Sam Weisman in 1931 and 1932 along 21st Avenue in Rock Island. Shown is 2917 21st Ave., Rock Island, one of a series of Chicago-style bungalows built by Sam Weisman in 1931 and 1932 along 21st Avenue in Rock Island. Sam Weisman bungalows Photos of the Chicago-style bungalows along 21st Avenue in Rock Island which were built by Sam Weisman. Shown is 2041 29th St., Rock Island, one of a series of Chicago-style bungalows built by Sam Weisman in 1931 and 1932 along 21st Avenue in Rock Island. Shown is 2909 21st Ave., Rock Island, one of a series of Chicago-style bungalows built by Sam Weisman in 1931 and 1932 along 21st Avenue in Rock Island. Shown is 2911 21th Ave., Rock Island, one of a series of Chicago-style bungalows built by Sam Weisman in 1931 and 1932 along 21st Avenue in Rock Island. Shown is 2913 21st Ave., Rock Island, one of a series of Chicago-style bungalows built by Sam Weisman in 1931 and 1932 along 21st Avenue in Rock Island. Shown is 2923 21st Ave., Rock Island, one of a series of Chicago-style bungalows built by Sam Weisman in 1931 and 1932 along 21st Avenue in Rock Island. Shown is 2915 21st Ave., Rock Island, one of a series of Chicago-style bungalows built by Sam Weisman in 1931 and 1932 along 21st Avenue in Rock Island. Shown is 2917 21st Ave., Rock Island, one of a series of Chicago-style bungalows built by Sam Weisman in 1931 and 1932 along 21st Avenue in Rock Island.
Fall is on the way to the Quad-Cities as a front moving in from the northwest Thursday night will bring in much cooler air that will keep high temperatures in the 50s Friday and Saturday.

The high temperature Thursday is expected to reach into the middle 70s for the Quad-City region before the wind changes direction Thursday night, Meteorologist Timothy Gunkel of the National Weather Service, Davenport, said.

The wind Thursday night into Friday will blow about 10 mph with gusts as high as 20 mph. The overnight low is to be about 46 degrees.

However, Gunkel said that Fridays high temperature is expected to reach only the upper 50s with windy conditions and a 30% chance of showers after 1 p.m.

Were looking at the possibility of sustained winds of about 20 mph on Friday, maybe upwards of 25 mph and then gusts of 30-35 mph, Gunkel said.

Its definitely going to be sweater weather, for sure, he said. For those still used to summer its going to be a little bit of a shock, Im sure.

The overnight low Friday into Saturday is expected to dip to 41 degrees under cloudy skies.

Saturdays high temperature is expected to also be in the upper 50s under sunny skies. The overnight low is expected to be 40 degrees with some patchy frost.

Temperatures begin trending upward Sunday with a high in the low 60s and an overnight low of about 40.

Gunkel said the warming trend would continue and the high temperatures would be back into the low 70s by Wednesday.

Normal high temperatures for this time of year are in the upper 60s, with normal overnight lows in the middle 40s.

Gunkel said there continued to be no real rain chances in sight, which remains a problem.

We need rain, he said. The entire state of Iowa is in a drought.

According to the U.S. Drought Monitor, the Quad-City region in both Iowa and Illinois is suffering a moderate drought in most counties, with severe drought creeping in.

For September, the Quad Cities International Airport, Moline, recorded a total of 5.01 inches of rain, which is 1.69 inches above normal. The average temperature for September was 68.8 degrees, which is 2.7 degrees above normal.
Mike Dulak grew up Catholic in Southern California, but by his teen years, he began skipping Mass and driving straight to the shore to play guitar, watch the waves and enjoy the beauty of the morning. "And it felt more spiritual than any time I set foot in a church," he recalled.

Nothing has changed that view in the ensuing decades.

"Most religions are there to control people and get money from them," said Dulak, now 76, of Rocheport, Missouri. He also cited sex abuse scandals in Catholic and Southern Baptist churches. "I can't buy into that," he said.

As Dulak rejects being part of a religious flock, he has plenty of company. He is a "none"  no, not that kind of nun. The kind that checks "none" when pollsters ask "What's your religion?"

The decades-long rise of the nones  a diverse, hard-to-summarize group  is one of the most talked about phenomena in U.S. religion. They are reshaping America's religious landscape as we know it.

In U.S. religion today, "the most important story without a shadow of a doubt is the unbelievable rise in the share of Americans who are nonreligious," said Ryan Burge, a political science professor at Eastern Illinois University and author of "The Nones," a book on the phenomenon.

The nones account for a large portion of Americans, as shown by the 30% of U.S. adults who claim no religious affiliation in a survey by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.

ABOUT THE POLL

The poll of 1,680 adults was conducted May 11-15 using a sample drawn from NORC's probability-based AmeriSpeak Panel, which is designed to be representative of the U.S. population. The margin of sampling error for all respondents is plus or minus 3.4 percentage points.

Other major surveys say the nones have been steadily increasing for as long as three decades.

So who are they?

They're the atheists, the agnostics, the "nothing in particular." Many are "spiritual but not religious," and some are neither or both. They span class, gender, age, race and ethnicity.

While the nones' diversity splinters them into myriad subgroups, most of them have this in common:

They. Really. Don't. Like. Organized. Religion.

Nor its leaders. Nor its politics and social stances. That's according to a large majority of nones in the AP-NORC survey.

But they're not just a statistic. They're real people with unique relationships to belief and nonbelief, and the meaning of life.

Keep scrolling for more stories about 'The Nones' from countries and regions around the world

They're secular homeschoolers in the Ozark Mountains of Arkansas, Pittsburghers working to overcome addiction. They're a mandolin maker in a small Missouri town, a former evangelical disillusioned with that particular strain of American Christianity. They're college students who found their childhood churches unpersuasive or unwelcoming.

Church "was not very good for me," said Emma Komoroski, a University of Missouri freshman who left her childhood Catholicism in her mid-teens. "I'm a lesbian. So that was kind of like, oh, I didn't really fit, and people don't like me."

The nones also are people like Alric Jones, who cited bad experiences with organized religion ranging from the intolerant churches of his hometown to the ministry that kept soliciting money from his devout late wife  even after Jones lost his job and income after an injury.

"They should have come to us and said, 'Is there something we can do to help you?'" said Jones, 71, of central Michigan. "They kept sending us letters saying, 'Why aren't you sending us money?'"

Although he doesn't believe in organized religion, he believes in God and basic ethical precepts. "People should be treated equally as long as they treat other people equally. That's my spirituality if you want to call it that."

These days, if a visiting relative wants to attend church, he'll go along, "but I'm not prone to listening to anybody telling me this is the way it should be," Jones said.

About 1 in 6 U.S. adults, including Jones and Dulak, is a "nothing in particular." There are as many of them as atheists and agnostics combined (7% each).

"All the media attention is on atheists and agnostics, when most nones are not atheist or agnostic," Burge said.

Many embrace a range of spiritual beliefs  from God, prayer and heaven to karma, reincarnation, astrology or energy in crystals.

"They are definitely not as turned off to religion as atheists and agnostics are," Burge said. "They practice their own type of spirituality, many of them."

Dulak still draws inspiration from nature.

"It just feels so good to be next to something so timeless," he said, sitting in his yard in the Missouri River town he now calls home.

He finds similar fulfillment in his two-story workshop, where he makes the latest of thousands of mandolins he has created over the decades, enabling people to "share the joy of music."

"It feels spiritually good," Dulak said. "It's not a religion."

Burge said the nones are rising as the Christian population declines, particularly the "mainline" or moderate to liberal Protestants.

"This is not just some academic exercise for me," said Burge, who pastors a dwindling American Baptist church in Mt. Vernon, Illinois. It's "what I've seen every single Sunday of my life the last 16 years."

The statistics show the nones are well-represented in every age group, but especially among young adults. About four in 10 of those under 30 are nones  nearly as many as say they're Christians.

The trend was evident in interviews on the University of Missouri campus. Several students said they didn't identify with a religion.

Mia Vogel said she likes "the foundations of a lot of religions  just love everybody, accept everybody." But she considers herself more spiritual.

"I'm pretty into astrology. I've got my crystals charging up in my window right now," she said. "Honestly, I'll bet half of it is a total placebo. But I just like the idea that things in life can be explained by greater forces."

One movement that exemplifies the "spiritual but not religious" ethos is the Twelve Step sobriety program, pioneered by Alcoholics Anonymous and adopted by other recovery groups. Participants turn to a "power greater than ourselves"  the God of each person's own understanding  but they don't share any creed.

"If you look at the religions, they have been wracked by scandals, it doesn't matter the denomination," said the Rev. Jay Geisler, an Episcopal priest who is spiritual advisor at the Pittsburgh Recovery Center, an addiction treatment site.

In contrast, "there's actually a spiritual revival in the basement of many of the churches," where recovery groups often meet, he said.

For some, Geisler said, the God of their understanding is "GUS," for Guy UpStairs. Or "SAM," for Sure Ain't Me.

"Nobody's fighting in those rooms, they're not saying, 'You're wrong about God,'" Geisler said. The focus is on "how your life is changed."

Participants echoed those thoughts recently at the center. In keeping with the Twelve Step tradition of anonymity, they shared their experiences on condition only their first names be used.

"I grew up Methodist, but I don't follow any religion," said John, 32. "I don't believe in a big, bearded dude in the sky." But after surviving overdoses, he knows that "something has been watching over me."

Some identified as Christian, but skip evangelizing in favor of supporting each others' individual paths.

"I don't push my belief on anybody," said Linda, 57. "The pain bonds us."

Those interviewed said their newfound community is essential to their recovery  and the lack of community contributed to their initial fall into addiction.

Scholars worry that, as people pull away from congregations and other social groups, they are losing sources of communal support.

But nones said in interviews they were happy to leave religion behind, particularly in toxic situations, and find community elsewhere.

Jones agreed that church connections can have benefits  but not for him.

"When you need references and you need other things, those people are there to support you," he said. "But again, what are you willing to sacrifice of your own beliefs to develop that kind of relationship?"

Marjorie Logman, 75, of Aurora, Illinois, now finds community among other residents in her multigenerational apartment complex. She doesn't miss the evangelical circles she was long active in.

"The farther away I get, the freer I feel," she said, criticizing churches for prioritizing money over caring for people. She recalled seeing church leaders tell people with depression their problem was sin or demonic possession  piling guilt upon unaddressed mental illness.

When she was recovering from an injury at a nursing home in 2010, Logman said, her husband was home by himself in despair and died before she could return home. She said her pastor refused to visit him because he hadn't been involved in church.

She now identifies as agnostic. "I'm not throwing in the towel on everything," she said. "I still believe in a higher consciousness."

Even far from urban centers, nones are finding community.

Adria Cays and Ashley Miller, who live in nearby towns in northwest Arkansas, helped found a group for parents homeschooling according to secular principles.

Even in a predominately Christian region of the Ozarks, they found "people like us who were approaching education and just raising their children from a more secular view," said Miller, 35.

The women's families regularly share hiking adventures on Instagram. While they don't describe their explorations as spiritual, they aim to inspire wonder and purpose in their children.

"We really want them to have a deep connection to nature," said Cays, 43.

Added Miller: "We are part of something bigger, and that is the Earth. There is meaning just in being."

***

THE NONES: MORE FROM THE SERIES

***

Photos from AP's special report on 'The Nones'
Flipping through the pages of Seventeen magazine, a story  hidden amongst the ads with not even so much as a photo  happened to catch the eye of a young Susan Sanders.

It was about careers in meteorology, something Sanders, then in high school in northern Minnesota, had never thought about. She liked math, though her first real interest was history. The granddaughter of a farmer, Sanders was used to being in-tune with the weather, having watched The Weather Channel alongside him during their visits.

As the months went by, she dug more and more into meteorology. She eventually landed an Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps scholarship in college, where she studied atmospheric sciences at the University of Michigan, before going on to commission as an officer.

Sanders was stationed immediately at Ellsworth Air Force Base  her first introduction to South Dakota.

Now in her 60s, Sanders recently retired from the National Weather Service in Rapid City  a job she's held for nearly 30 years.

"I am basically doing the same job I did 41 years ago, just on the other side of the road," she joked.

After her time at Ellsworth, Sanders took an assignment as a hurricane hunter in Mississippi. They collected data on storms and even flew ahead of fighter deployments to make sure the skies were clear for refueling operations. It was before the development of more sophisticated technology, so Sanders remembers how neat it was to watch the impact of their work.

"We took our observations, and when we came back and saw the new maps, they were actually filled in," she said. "So it was like, 'Oh, we changed the weather maps!' So that was a real satisfying mission that we had."

Two years later, the ambitious meteorologist looked for change again  this time taking a position with the National Weather Service in California. She later spent six years in Omaha before returning to the Black Hills.

Sanders' return to Rapid City came at a time when the NWS was moving and expanding its operations. They left their previous post at the Rapid City Regional Airport to settle into the hilltop station they're in now, which sits above the School of Mines Campus overlooking downtown Rapid City. The massive windows and elevation allows meteorologists to see thunderstorms as far away as North Dakota or Nebraska on good-visibility days.

It was also around the time they got their Doppler Radar station, the silhouette of which is easily visible from Interstate 90 in New Underwood. The addition of Doppler Radar significantly improved NWS' warning capabilities, Sanders said, and new workstations allow them to layer all of the available data for a four-dimensional view of the atmosphere.

The move was more than just about having room for staff or an easier commute to work, it also allowed them to expand their partnerships with first responders, emergency managers and local media. Those partnerships are what Sanders enjoyed the most about her job as the warning coordination meteorologist.

"Working with our partners, finding out what they need and being able to provide that," she said. "And giving them a heads up on what's happening  not just expecting them to get a warning over their app, but really working with them and letting them know, 'Hey, these storms are starting to come up and let's keep an eye on them.'"

When she wasn't communicating with local partners, Sanders would often forecast, help in operations, or do the routine government reports. The NWS has staff working around-the-clock  three shifts, 24 hours a day and seven days a week  continuously watching the weather and updating the forecast.

The job itself can be incredibly difficult, Sanders explained, because Rapid City has the most variable weather in the entire country.

"It isn't easy, but we have a lot of forecasters here who have been here for 20 years or more," she said. "We've learned so much locally that we know what to expect; we're looking for certain patterns."

They're not only forecasting the weather for individual locations, but doing specific work as well. For example, they provide detailed forecasts to the airports in Rapid City and Gillette, and even do a fire weather forecast when there's wildfire risk or prescribed burns planned. Weather affects so many things, Sanders explained, from agriculture to mining operations and even tourist activities.

The NWS also uses reports from locals during severe weather, but Sanders cautioned against posting unverified reports of things like flooding on social media. "Send us pictures and ask," she chuckled, "before you post there's a flood at the mall."

After so many years as a figure in the local community, Sanders said her retirement will be "chill" initially.

"[I'd] like to travel, maybe take some history classes [and] get back into it, because the history of the Black Hills is fascinating to me," she said. "And maybe even writing about some significant historical weather events."

And for anyone considering a career in meteorology, Sanders has some advice.

"You may have to work at it a little bit more. A lot of people shy away from math and science, but really, isn't college hard for everybody?" she said. "It's what you want to work at."
This years Gallantly Forward Gala marks 10 years that Jerry Derr has been raising awareness about the toll deployments take on servicemen and women. Deployments and readjusting to life after returning home can pose severe, potentially deadly, consequences for veterans. An estimated 22 veterans die from suicide every day.

Jerry created the Sgt. Colton Levi Derr Foundation in 2012 and organized the annual Gallantly Forward Gala after his son, U.S. Army Sgt. Colton Levi Derr, died by suicide on April 28, 2012. The gala raises awareness about Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and Traumatic Brain Injury that can pose profound difficulties for veterans.

The battle does not end when the war ends, Jerry said. A lot of veterans that come back home, a pretty good percentage deal with these issues.

Tickets are on sale now for the 10th annual Gallantly Forward Gala. The gala will take place at 5:45 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 21, at The Monument in Rapid City. Doors open at 5 p.m. Tickets are $35 and must be purchased in advance online at sergeantderrfoundation.org or by calling Jerry at 605-545-2505. The gala also is looking for businesses to sponsor tables.

Veterans who would like to attend the gala should contact Jerry. Veterans can attend the gala free of charge.

We try to let local veterans know theyre supported. (Veterans) are taught to soldier up and it is difficult to reach out, Jerry said.

The gala will include a social hour, dinner, silent and live auctions, and music by Starfellows (two brothers, one piano). Orion Potter will sing, and the Rapid City Police Department will serve as the evenings color guard. The gala will include a video project featuring several veterans and their family members who have received help from the Sgt. Colton Levi Derr Foundation.

The guest speaker will be former U.S. Army Sergeant Corey Culy, who deployed three times to Afghanistan and deals with PTSD. He will talk via video about his war experience and returning home, where he faced more battles with his mental health, the transition to civilian life, and his marriage ending in divorce.

Its going to be a different presentation but its one our community needs to hear, Jerry said. He talks about coming off a hard 17-month deployment and then trying to readjustThats not just mental health. The family has daily life (without the soldier) and its a difficult transition when soldiers come home.

Culy and Colton Derr were roommates, and it was Culy who found Coltons body at their home. Colton died after returning from a combat tour in Afghanistan and battling PTSD, Jerry said. Colton had deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan and completed more than 500 combat missions. Jerry said Coltons military leadership nicknamed him Delta Derr because they had never seen a tougher soldier. Colton struggled with PTSD during his final deployment but appeared dauntless to his fellow soldiers.

It is a real-life struggle of a soldier, and we wonder why were losing over 20 veterans a day to suicide, or why theres homeless veterans walking the streets and why the Cornerstone Rescue Mission has a veterans (ministry). Its a lot of things that go hand in hand, Jerry said. This is what they go through and this is what its like coming back home, and (supporting the gala) is something you can do to help. We need to realize the value of our veterans and what they sacrificed.

After we lost Colton, it opened our eyes about the mental health crisis in the military and having these soldiers that deployed multiple times, and what that does to a family when they come back home and that difficult transition, he said.

Jerry describes the gala as an evening of camaraderie and education. The Gallantly Forward Gala is the annual fundraiser for the Sgt. Colton Levi Derr Foundation. Proceeds from the galas live and silent auctions benefit the Foundation, which assists veterans in South Dakota and nationwide throughout the year.

The foundations missions are veteran advocacy, assistance, and raising public awareness about what veterans face when they return from deployments. Jerry said the foundation has seen an increase in veteran support outreach, especially since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The foundation builds partnerships locally and regionally with the VFW and Veterans Affairs and other organizations. Jerry said he is grateful that Rapid City is a great community that loves our veterans.  The gala brings different organizations in and tries to get community members and leadership involved. A lot of the best effort is given at the local level.

Currently, the foundation is assisting about 20 veterans with issues such as navigating the VA system so they can get the health care they need, and dealing with challenges they face re-entering civilian life. Among the services the foundation provides are stop-gap funding to help with rent, utilities or emergencies such as car repairs. The foundation can also help veterans find short-term housing while they wait to get into the VA hospital for treatment and obtain transportation to and from treatment.

Whatever their issues, we try to take it on directly or work with partners (to find solutions). We try to get them stabilized, Jerry said.

We make (veterans families) aware of what goes on internally, and we work with a lot of caregivers who are dealing with veterans that are disabled. Its a lot for their spouses or family or whatever support group they have, he said.

Jerry's other two sons are veterans. Haley Derr is a captain in the South Dakota National Guard. Haley is part of the 109th Regional Support Group that deployed for nine months in support of Operation Inherent Resolve in the Middle East and returned to Rapid City in mid-September. Derrs son Wyatt served in the Marines for four years and is a Rapid City police officer.
South Dakota Attorney General Marty Jackley joined 25 other Attorneys General in asking Aylo, the parent company of PornHub, to close a website loophole that jeopardizes children.

An employee of the company admitted on video that there is no way to confirm the identity of people uploading content onto Pornhub, said Attorney General Jackley. That means rapists, human traffickers and other criminals could upload videos of the victims, perhaps children, as a way to make money.

In their letter, the Attorneys General said that federal and state laws forbid the creation and distribution of Child Sexual Abuse Material. The group requested that Aylo take steps to change its policy to better protect children from having their images shared on the companys platforms.

Jackley said he is working with South Dakota state legislators to introduce a bill in the 2024 session that would make Artificial Intelligence-generated child pornography a crime in South Dakota.

Other Attorneys General signing the letter were from Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, West Virginia and Wyoming.
TEUTOPOLIS, Ill.  The Illinois State Police Division of Criminal Investigation unit is seeking the public's help to identify a vehicle potentially involved in the Sept. 29 crash outside of Teutopolis that resulted in five fatalities and multiple injuries.
Welcome to The Mortal Reader column. If you have wandered here, I can only assume that you are the kind of reader who is always looking for a new recommendation even though the stack of books next to your bed threatens to topple on you while you sleep.

Youre probably one of us who smuggle books into parties, theaters, grocery stores  any place that may involve a wait and therefore a reading opportunity.

This column is a place where the staff of Chapter One Book Store can share with you the books we love, the books that bent our minds, the books that illuminated the previously dark corners in our souls and the books that kept us up at night. We read a lot of books. We read books knowing that we will never be able to read all the books wed like to. We are but mortal readers.

From now on, please understand that when we mention reading, we include all types of book consumption. Whether you feast on paperbacks, audiobooks, e-books or hardcovers does not concern us. We only care that your next book is ready for you before youve finished your current one.

This week is Banned Book Week and youll be hard pressed to find a bookstore or library that isnt using this week to highlight titles that are being challenged or banned in schools and libraries all over the U.S. Bookshelves should be the place to start conversations, not the place to silence them. It seems like the perfect time of year to share some of my favorite books about censorship.

Almost 30 years before the origin of Banned Book Week, Ray Bradbury published "Fahrenheit 451," his famous dystopian novel centered around government sanctioned book burning. I was a die-hard Bradbury fan as a teenager and the first time I read the opening line, It was a pleasure to burn, I was in thrall to the story of a not-so-distant-future where books were outlawed and destroyed. Even as a young teenager, it frightened me in a way that the "Goosebumps" series never could. Guy Montag, the protagonist, is a firefighter who is trained to burn books. He believes that his work is protecting society from harmful ideas, but as the book progresses, he starts to see that powerful people may be using violent control under the guise of public safety. Ironically, "Fahrenheit 451" has been banned and challenged since its publication 70 years ago. Great for fans of science fiction like "The Hunger Games" and "1984."

In a recent dystopian novel, "All Our Missing Hearts," Celeste Ng (pronounced ing), creates a world in which Americans are led to believe that they need to be protected from anything considered unpatriotic. In the name of protecting American culture, art and literature are severely censored and children are relocated from families at the slightest hint of dissidence.

Twelve-year-old Bird has been told that his Asian American mother left him when her poetry came under scrutiny, but he keeps finding messages from her hidden around his house and in the form of un-signed postcards. A testament to the love parents have for their children, Ngs novel presents an America where resistance takes the form of art and librarians are, appropriately, the heroes.

What happens when censorship comes from a trusted source like a teacher? Based on her own experience with censorship in the classroom, A.S. King wrote "Attack of the Black Rectangles" for middle grade readers. As told by 12-year-old Mac, the kids in Mrs. Setts 5th grade class find words in their class book set have been blacked out. Who would do that to a book about the Holocaust? Where can they go to figure out the missing words? Why does the school dress code seem to target Macs female friends? This is a great book for parents to read with middle school kids, youll find plenty to talk about.

Books that we read as children have the potential to shape our sense of self. One of the most important books for my own development is "A Wrinkle in Time" by Madeleine LEngle. Meg Murray and her family are caught up in an intergalactic battle against a dark entity that seeks to spread darkness to all corners of the universe.

When the kids travel to Camazotz, a planet that is ruled by the darkness, everything looks peaceful, but the cost for an orderly society might be more than anyone should have to pay. Full of science fiction elements, a sweet budding romance, and a character who taught me that its okay to be different, "A Wrinkle in Time" is a book I go back to over and over again. As it happens, The Hamilton Playhouse is producing the stage version this month, so get your tickets soon.
By Park Jung-won

American politics never ceases to amaze as former President Donald Trump emerges as the strongest candidate to be the Republican Partys nominee in the next U.S. presidential election. Despite all the criminal charges against him, he leads in every poll. His prospective re-election must be taken seriously and the reasons why he resonates so strongly with a large portion of the American people should be examined.

Trump-supporting Americans perceive mainstream U.S. and world media coverage of him to be largely unfair. He represents a substantial portion of the country who feel forgotten and ignored and will continue to back him even if they dont fully understand his own intentions because they sense that he speaks for them. The countrys economic trajectory during his presidency, until the anomalous COVID-19 outbreak, was also very impressive on most counts.

As for the 2020 election, a lot of Trump supporters believe that there were many oddities in its circumstances, even if it was ultimately determined to be valid. Moreover, they question the timing of his current indictments ahead of next years election as being politically motivated. This sentiment is confirmed by the fact that the legal charges against him are rallying rather than enervating his support.

Although there may be competent alternative candidates to Trump in the Republican Party, what is it that puts him in the lead despite his many personal flaws? The answer would appear to lie in his bewildering ability to communicate and connect with people, albeit not with everyone. This is why he is so beloved by those who see things his way and also why he is so hated by those who dont. There is debate among Republicans about whether to nominate a less controversial candidate who advocates similar policies, but so far no one who fits that bill seems to match Trumps capacity to convert mere policy support into devotion that turns people out to vote en masse. In this respect, he is not unlike Barack Obama as a candidate for the Democrats.

If Trump is once again elected, there will be significant consequences for the world. Many pundits predict that if he returns to power, the U.S. will become more isolationist. However, his supporters argue that his past emphasis on America First is misinterpreted, as it does not mean only America but rather a prioritization of domestic issues, as any less significant country might pursue. They also emphasize that under his rule the United States would not seek isolationism, but instead attempt to shift the burden of maintaining the international order to be more fairly shared with allies. As to the issue of immigration, the U.S. is a country created by immigration, but they do not want uncontrolled and illegal flows of migrants to be simply acquiesced. They also stress that Trump advocates international free trade, but on fairer terms.

However, as a Korean, these words from Trump's advocates frankly dont come across as convincing. Many people remember the rude politics of his tenure. Concerns abound that South Korea could in the near future face a very serious security crisis with North Korea, so the prospect of another Trump presidency weighs heavily on South Korean minds. Trump would certainly attempt negotiations with North Koreas leader, Kim Jong-un. Short of war, the worst-case scenario is that he will make a deal with the North without considering South Koreas position, which would allow the North to merely reduce the number of its nuclear weapons and missiles, thereby recognizing it as a de facto nuclear power. This would be unacceptable from a South Korean standpoint.

But Trump was the first U.S. president to bring a North Korean dictator to the meeting table, without preconditions. And for a period of time, it eased the volatile military tensions that existed on the Korean Peninsula. This ability of Trump is undoubtedly one of his strongest advantages as a politician. However, in a recent interview with NBC, he also described the process of resolving the nuclear issue with North Korea as a deal instead of an ongoing dialogue, and did not use the term denuclearization. The worry is that his proclivity toward showmanship could override the importance of achieving a lasting solution to the Korean problem.

In this regard, it is noteworthy that in an interview with the New York Times in 2016, Trump displayed an open mindset toward the idea that South Korea and Japan might produce their own nuclear-weapon deterrents, depending on specific circumstances.

Even if the second Trump administration becomes a reality, he could not change the basic structure of the South Korea-U.S. alliance, or the triangular cooperation between South Korea, the U.S. and Japan as per the Camp David Agreements. The same goes for Taiwan. However, U.S. allies would be asked to share defense costs more fairly.

Donald Trump thinks the worlds conflicts can be solved through deals, which may not be so far removed from what we traditionally call diplomacy. It would seem wise for the Yoon Suk Yeol government to closely study Trumps characteristics and use them in response to future changes, given that he may return to the White House. It should communicate South Koreas positions regularly to the Trump camp by contacting influential Republican politicians and expert groups through informal lines, as Japan has done with U.S. leaders discreetly in the past. Binary thinking along the lines of Trump re-elected: disaster!" or "Trump defeated: we are saved! is too simplistic and even dangerous. Given his eccentric and unpredictable personality, the growing likelihood of Trumps return to power could be a challenging crisis for South Korea, but the crisis in nature could be an opportunity at the same time.

Park Jung-won (park_jungwon@hotmail.com), Ph.D. in law from the London School of Economics (LSE), is a professor of international law at Dankook University.




Nava Thakuria





Guwahati: As if, it was not enough to malign the image of Professor Muhammad Yunus, the lone Nobel laureate of Bangladesh, by repeated legal harassments from various government agencies, now the pioneer of microfinance and social business has been summoned to appear before the anti-corruption commission on 5 October 2023 against a money laundering case. Five more individuals, attached to Prof Yunus, are also being asked to appear before the commission in Dhaka within two days. They are preparing to follow the procedure, said a source close to Prof Yunus.





Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who will seek the mandate of 130 million Bangladeshi voters in the forthcoming national elections for her fourth consecutive term in office, was recently urged by more than 175 global leaders including Nobel laureates, elected officials, business & civil society leaders to suspend all legal proceedings against Prof Yunus. It was preceded by another letter, endorsed by 40 global personalities, to Hasina regarding her government's ill treatment of him. Even 34 eminent Bangladeshi nationals also came forward raising voices for Prof Yunus asserting that Hasina continued using hostilities against the most awarded Bangladeshi gentleman and thus she was earning a negative impression for Bangladesh.





Recently, the United Nations human rights office also issued a statement supporting Prof Yunus saying that it was worried over smear campaigns against him. It was followed by a statement from Amnesty International, where they asserted that Hasina was 'weaponizing labour laws' to harass and intimidate Prof Yunus. The international body argued that Prof Yunus, being the chairman of Grameen Telecom management authority, has been falsely accused of employment-related violations. He along with three board members (Ashraful Hasan, Nur Jahan Begum and Mohammad Shahjahan) are facing a criminal case under the country's labour laws.





"The ongoing trial is just one of more than 150 cases filed against Prof Yunus after the ruling Awami League party came into power in 2008. Amnesty International believes that initiating criminal proceedings against Prof Yunus and his colleagues for issues that belong to the civil and administrative arena is a blatant abuse of labour laws and the justice system and a form of political retaliation for his work and dissent. His case is emblematic of the beleaguered state of human rights in Bangladesh, where the authorities have eroded freedoms and bulldozed critics into submission," said a statement.





It is time for the Bangladesh government to put an end to this travesty of justice, said Agnes Callamard, secretary general of Amnesty International, adding that the government's relentless smear campaign against Prof Yunus shows the desperate lengths the current regime is willing to go to set an example through the hounding of an 83-year-old Nobel laureate. Those violating labour rights must undoubtedly be held accountable, however rather than misusing labour laws and criminal justice to harass Prof Yunus, the authorities should focus on combatting extensive threats to labour rights such as unsafe factories which continue to claim the lives of thousands of Bangladeshi workers, she added.





The question that arises here is, why Hasina is so aggressive against the global campaigner for a poverty free world. First assumption was that Hasina herself wants recognition (preferably with a Nobel award) for her 'excellent' works since 2008. Lately, the civil society embraces speculation that the combined opposition parties (led by Bangladesh Nationalist Party) may project Prof Yunus as their leader in the forthcoming polls. Needless to mention that Prof Yunus tried to form a political party (Nagarik Shakti) in 2007, but abandoned the idea quickly. However, Hasina and her supporters still assume Prof Yunus as a powerful rival to her political career. So she continues maligning Prof Yunus on every possible occasion.




HONOLULU  Residents from fire-stricken Lahaina on Tuesday delivered a petition asking Hawaii Gov. Josh Green to delay plans to reopen a portion of West Maui to tourism this weekend, saying the grieving community is not ready to welcome back visitors.

The petition signed by 3,517 people from West Maui ZIP codes comes amid a debate over when travelers should return to the region that is home to the historic town of Lahaina, which was destroyed in the deadliest U.S. wildfire in more than a century. At least 98 people died in the Aug. 8 blaze and more than a dozen are missing. The first phase of the plan to reopen Maui to tourists begins Sunday, the two-month anniversary of the disaster.

Though many residents say they are not ready, others say they need tourism so they can work in hotels and restaurants to earn a living.

"We are not mentally nor emotionally ready to welcome and serve our visitors. Not yet," restaurant bartender Pa'ele Kiakona said at a news conference before several dozen people delivered the petition. "Our grief is still fresh and our losses too profound."

Tamara Paltin, who represents Lahaina on the Maui County Council, said two months may seem like a long time, but she noted Lahaina residents didn't have reliable cellphone service or internet for the first month after the fire and have been coping with uncertain housing. She said many people, including herself, can't sleep through the night.

Paltin urged the governor to decide on when to reopen after consulting residents in an "open and transparent way."

Several dozen residents, dressed in red T-shirts, went to Green's koa-wood paneled executive chambers to deliver the signatures in person. Green was not in his office, so his director of constituent services, Bonnelley Pa'uulu, accepted the box on his behalf. Altogether, 14,000 people signed the petition as of midday Tuesday.

Green told the Hawaii News Now interview program "Spotlight Now" shortly afterward that he was "utterly sympathetic" to people's suffering. But he said more than 8,000 people lost their jobs due to the fire and getting people back to work is part of recovering.

"It's my job as governor to support them, to be thoughtful about all people and to make sure Maui survives, because people will otherwise go bankrupt and have to leave the island, have to move out of Maui," he said. "Local people  these are middle-class people that lived in Lahaina  will have to leave if they don't have jobs."

Maui, famous around the world for its beaches and waterfalls, is among the most tourism-dependent islands in Hawaii.
One of two defendants arrested in a suspected July 2022 mass shooting plot in Dogwood Dell has pleaded guilty to a weapons charge.

The defendant, Julio Dubon, was charged with felony firearm possession after federal prosecutors said there was not evidence to substantiate the threat of a mass shooting.

On Wednesday, he pleaded guilty to one count of possession. Dubon, who awaits sentencing on Jan. 25, could receive up to 15 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

During a July 6 news conference, then-Richmond Police Chief Gerald Smith said two men were plotting a mass shooting at a Fourth of July celebration in Richmond. Smith later told Erin Burnett of CNN that police were tipped off by a hero citizen, despite lacking corroborating evidence.

But despite the national attention over Smith claiming that a mass shooting had been averted, neither of the two men arrested was ever charged in an alleged mass shooting plot.

Smith resigned after a two-year tenure amid ongoing controversy over his comments.

Dubon was arrested alongside Rolman Balcarcel-Bavagas. Prosecutors alleged that Balcarcel-Bavagas illegally entered the U.S. on three occasions and had been deported twice before. Balcarcel-Bavagas was charged with entering the country illegally, to which he pleaded guilty last year.

Dubon, however, was charged with possessing two firearms: a semiautomatic pistol and a semiautomatic rifle.

31 photos from the Times-Dispatch archives
The 21-year-old Roulack, who was serving a 13-year sentence at the Greensville Correctional Center in Jarratt for a string of violent crimes, should be considered armed and highly dangerous, said representatives for the U.S. Marshals Service.

Half of the reward is being offered by the U.S. Marshals Service, and the other half is being provided by Crime Solvers of Maryland. It is not clear whether the Virginia Department of Corrections, whose custody Roulack escaped, is contributing to the $20,000 reward.

The U.S. Marshals Service, FBI and VADOC have all been involved in the investigation of Roulacks Aug. 12 escape from Bon Secours St. Marys Hospital in Henrico County and the subsequent manhunt. VADOC previously was leading those efforts, according to officials.

But now that Roulack is believed to have crossed state lines and is a felony suspect in another state, it is not clear which agency is in charge.

Asked about VADOCs role in the search, spokesperson Carla Miles referred the Richmond Times-Dispatch to a statement from VADOC Director Chadwick Dotson.

Bringing Roulack into custody is our top priority at the VADOC, Dotson said.

Miles did not elaborate on VADOCs efforts or clarify whether the department remains in charge of the investigation.

The FBI declined to comment on who is leading the search. The U.S. Marshals Service could not be reached for comment.

Roulack has proven elusive since his August flight from VADOC custody.

Authorities said Roulack was transferred from the Greensville Correctional Center to the hospital on Aug. 12 to receive treatment for an undisclosed reason. At some point that morning  under circumstances that are still unclear  Roulack simply walked out of the facility.

Sources close to the investigation believe Roulack may have feigned a drug overdose in order to be taken to the hospital, where escaping would be easier. They also claimed that the VADOC security officers responsible for monitoring Roulack dozed off after working for more than 24 hours.

Miles did not comment on the reason for Roulacks hospitalization, and did not confirm reports that VADOC employees fell asleep on the job. She denied allegations that the security officers had worked more than 24 hours.

Roulack was last seen in Virginia on the day of his escape, strolling down Franklin Street with a white cloth over his head. Then he vanished for almost a month, before resurfacing in September as the suspect in an armed automobile theft in Montgomery County, Maryland.

Police said that on Sept. 1, Roulack approached a woman as she got out of her car, threatened her with a firearm and forced her into the back seat. After driving a few blocks, Roulack told the woman to get out and left the scene with the vehicle.

The U.S. Marshals Service describes Roulack as a 5-foot-6-inch, 160-pound Black man with black hair and brown eyes. He has multiple facial tattoos, including a tattoo on his right cheek that says Cut Throat, a tattoo on his left arm that says RIP ish and a tattoo on his right arm that says Faith is Seeing with Your Heart When All Your Eyes See is Darkness.

15 photos of the Richmond City Jail from The Times-Dispatch archives Richmond City Jail Richmond City Jail Richmond City Jail Richmond City Jail Richmond City Jail Richmond City Jail Richmond City Jail Richmond City Jail Richmond City Jail Richmond City Jail Richmond City Jail Richmond City Jail Richmond City Jail Richmond City Jail Richmond City Jail
Chief Dyer was one of the first folks that befriended me when I came into office early in my tenure as mayor, Mayor Levar Stoney said in his statement.

He had a pulse for what the sentiments were within the ranks of the Fire Department, and I leaned on those insights heavily. He honorably served the city of Richmond for 40 years, with the highest ethical code and an enormous amount of compassion, it continued. His friendship, leadership, and service will never be forgotten. He was salt of the earth, truly one of the good guys. We will miss him very much.
A Virginia state troopers criticism of a proposed pay plan led to threats from his fellow troopers to find out who he was and possibly do him harm, according to an internal affairs complaint. The trooper said the threats were instigated by retaliatory comments from a senior commander who was later cleared of wrongdoing.

Seeking to get more pay for troopers in areas of the state with higher costs of living in 2020, trooper Brandon Ronquest sent an email to state police human resources with concerns about a proposed pay plan.

Several weeks later, in a meeting with a large group of troopers in Richmond, Lt. Col. Kirk Marlowe referred to the concerns and said that if a trooper had complained like that in the past, we would tell people and they would educate him, according to an internal affairs complaint Ronquest would later file.

Both Marlowe and another lieutenant colonel, Matthew Hanley, misrepresented Ronquests concerns to other troopers, Ronquest later alleged.

That led to Facebook posts in an unofficial, private state trooper group in which posters talked about finding out which trooper had complained, and possibly doing him harm, according to the complaint. One comment asked if he had been taken out back and beaten.

The drama started after the state police superintendent sent a memo to the department in January 2020 outlining a proposal that would raise salaries. The email said questions could be sent to the human resources division.

Ronquest worked in Norfolk and Virginia Beach and had been with the department for over six years. He said he and a fellow trooper discussed how they thought the pay proposal didnt properly address high cost-of-living issues in certain areas of the state. Ronquest emailed human resources with his thoughts.

His email said the department should focus salary increases on Northern Virginia, Richmond and Hampton Roads because troopers there had a higher cost of living than rural areas of the state, plus a higher workload.

Ronquest also said that the proposal would give large raises to executive staff members who already had six-figure salaries. Ronquest, who calculated that his pay would have gone from around $52,000 to $54,000 a year, determined that pay for the deputy superintendent of the state police would jump from $144,337 to $181,224.

So while the Department is unable to provide even a modest pay band expansion for Troopers who work high cost of living areas, the Department is able to provide significant raises for those who already bring home six figure salaries, Ronquest, who has a bachelors degree in business, wrote in his email to HR.

Ronquests email was poorly received by the departments senior commanders, who feared he could kill legislation in the Virginia General Assembly that was necessary for the plan to move forward if he reached out to state lawmakers. But when his sergeant told him he had been summoned to Richmond for a meeting with them, Ronquest wasnt aware of their reaction.

Ronquest drove from Virginia Beach to Richmond on Feb. 7, 2020, to meet with the commanders, including Marlowe and Hanley.

Ronquest recalled that Hanley began the meeting by telling him he wasnt there to be chewed out or because he was in trouble. They then complimented his email and joked that perhaps he should have been in charge of helping draft their pay plan.

Ronquest said he told them other troopers in his area had similar concerns.

The commanders then proceeded to try to convince him that their plan had everyones best interests in mind, he said. Marlowe told him his email turned angry, and when youre angry, you lose your audience, Ronquest said in an interview. Once I realized what was going on, I just went with the flow.

Three weeks later, on Feb. 28, 2020, Ronquest was back in Richmond, this time for training in a large room of troopers.

Hanley addressed the room.

Hanley told the group of about 40 people that a trooper with just six years at the department had complained about the pay proposal and was upset because he was not going to be getting as much as the older guys, according to an internal affairs complaint Ronquest would later file against Hanley.

Then Marlowe spoke.

Ronquest would later allege in an internal affairs complaint that Marlowe said, We had this angry trooper with 6 years on, writing letters to legislators, who is going to torpedo this bill. That referred to the legislation the state police needed passed in the Virginia General Assembly to fund their plan.

(In his email to HR, Ronquest offered to write to legislators if the department took that action first. He hadnt done so.)

In the meeting, Marlowe told the troopers that commanders had to find him and shut him up, according to Ronquests internal affairs complaint he later filed against Marlowe. (For this story, Ronquest also provided his handwritten notes from the meeting.)

Marlowe then made the comment in the meeting that Ronquest later said he thought was a threat.

If this happened in an old In-Service, we would tell people and they would educate him, Marlowe said, according to Ronquests internal affairs complaint. Ronquests handwritten notes nearly match that quote.

Asked in an interview for this news story how the other troopers reacted, Ronquest said: The crowd enjoyed that comment, because youve got a high-ranking person threatening an employee. They thought it was funny.

Marlowe and Hanley declined to be interviewed for this story or answer certain specific questions sent to them in writing. In an email, Virginia State Police public relations director Corinne Geller said Ronquest was "mischaracterizing" the discussion from the meeting.

"No agency leadership made retaliatory or disparaging remarks about Mr. Ronquest," Geller said. "The contents of his letter to leadership were never publicly discussed."

'They take him out back and beat him like the old days?'

Comments popped up in a private Facebook group called Troopers Only that had over 600 members. The group was an informal Facebook group with Virginia troopers in it, and not an official Facebook group created by Virginia State Police.

Ronquest watched his fellow troopers talk about finding the blue falcon who they thought was jeopardizing their next raise. A blue falcon is law-enforcement slang for an officer who does something against the well-being of other officers.

Among the Facebook posts:

Word around the water cooler is someone out of D5 took some bad advice and sent a letter to the legislators complaining the pay compression isnt enough and is unfair.

Someone needs to find out who it is and clip those wings. (This post was accompanied by an image of a blue falcon.)

I think its known who it is  it will come out eventually.

They take him out back and beat him like the old days?

"Wait until Hanley tells y'all about the trooper that complained about our pay compression on Friday when he comes in ... he did(n't) think it was right because he wasn't getting as much as others."

You pull that (expletive) up north, let me tell you . your fellow troopers would make your shift a living hell  your personal vehicles tires slashed, your locker filled with (expletive), no back up at all .. down here in the south, it just seems like these (expletive) blue falcons seem to fly freely.

He is probably reading this thread right now and ready to take screen shots. Some of you blue falcons need to be dragged, taken to the tree line and be (taught) a lesson  just remember one thing, someday, somewhere, youll piss off the wrong trooper and that brotherhood we all talk about, will go out the window.

Ronquest said he was so shocked he told his supervisor he wanted to file complaints against Marlowe and Hanley. Hanley then sent Ronquest an email.

I understand you are upset about LTC Marlowe and I making an inference to your concerns about the compression/compensation plan during in-service, Hanley wrote. Neither of us intended to embarrass you in any way and we were very careful not to use names or even indicate a Division.

About two months later, Ronquest faxed complaints about Marlowe and Hanley to the department section that oversees internal affairs.

He accused them of mischaracterizing his email to HR during the training meeting and accused them of retaliating against him for the email, resulting in the posts in the Facebook group.

Ronquest alleged that Hanley created the false narrative that a younger Trooper was complaining that it was unfair that he would get less than older Troopers.

Two internal affairs investigators interviewed Ronquest in June 2020.

They defended Marlowe and Hanley, saying Marlowe's comment about how this would be handled at old trainings was just a joke, and noted that Marlowe and Hanley hadnt used Ronquests name in the meeting, Ronquest said.

About two months later, the department sent Ronquest a letter telling him the investigation was complete, but no details could be released.

Ronquest made a request under the Freedom of Information Act to try to learn more. He paid $251.73 for the records about himself.

In them, Ronquest learned that the commanders were so alarmed by his email that they feared he could scuttle their entire pay plan in the legislature that year.

Marlowe wrote to Hanley that he could single-handedly "tank our entire effort.

He seems angry and misinformed . dangerous combination, Hanley wrote to Marlowe.

But some legislative leaders werent interested in the proposal from the start. The state police plan included legislation that would have added $4 to the Virginia vehicle registration fee to create a fund for state police raises. Lawmakers rejected similar ideas in 2016 and 2017.

In 2020, around the time the drama between Ronquest and the department was unfolding, a state Senate committee initially killed the bill before reviving it; the state House Appropriations Committee never held a hearing on it.

In 2022, lawmakers approved a different plan to provide raises to state troopers within the state budget.

And the Troopers Only Facebook group went away. Administrators made posts in 2021 saying the page needed to be removed, and replaced with a new one. A Facebook page administrator wrote: Its coming from I.A. (internal affairs) that we NEED to shut this page down and start a new one without years of trash talking and comments on it ... Apparently attorneys, media, whoever know about this one.

Asked if it was correct that the state police Professional Standards Division wanted the Facebook group taken down, Geller, the department spokeswoman, said by email: "That Facebook site had no official affiliation with the Department, so state police had no oversight or involvement in its operation, content, or cessation."

Ronquest confronts Marlowe

Two years after the internal drama started, in February 2022, Ronquest confronted Marlowe in front of a large roomful of troopers and state police employees. Marlowe and other commanders were there to answer questions.

Ronquest asked Marlowe a series of questions, and ultimately asked him about the outcome of Ronquests complaint about him. Marlowe said it was unfounded.

Some supervisors would later say that Ronquests questioning of Marlowe was embarrassing and unprofessional.

The department initiated an extensive internal affairs investigation into Ronquest, alleging that he tried to undermine Marlowes credibility in a public forum and undermined the confidentiality and credibility of the Virginia State Police disciplinary process.

He opted to resign in May 2022 and now works in the private sector.

He said in an interview that he resigned before the investigation of him was finished because if the departments willing to say that someone who did something wrong didnt, whats to stop them from saying that someone who didnt do something wrong, did?

Three months later, Marlowe was promoted to deputy superintendent  the No. 2 position in the Virginia State Police, a job that now pays over $210,000 annually.

Patrick Wilson is a reporter for the Lee Enterprises Public Service Journalism Team. Reach him at (804) 649-6061 or pwilson@lee.net.

From the Archives: The Virginia state Capitol building
Ten years ago, leading members of the General Assembly took an eye-opening tour of the building where they all worked and the public came to watch the legislative process in action.

They found a patchwork complex of four buildings, including one so riddled with asbestos that it threatened an immediate shutdown if the hazardous fibers entered the ventilation system. The electrical and air-handling systems were obsolete, and pieces of masonry had been strapped to the building to prevent them from tumbling to the plaza below next to historic Capitol Square in the heart of Virginias seat of government in Richmond.

A decade later, the public is about to enter a new General Assembly Building built for the modern legislature, but with the same neoclassical facade that has faced the state Capitol and Capitol Square, both national historic landmarks, for more than a century. The view could not be better.

Thats the jewel, House of Delegates Clerk Paul Nardo said this week, gesturing toward the 12-acre square and the 235-year-old Capitol, designed by Thomas Jefferson. This is a pretty, sparkling bauble, but were trying to keep them together.

The new General Assembly Building is part of an ambitious $300 million project that included the restoration of Old City Hall, another National Historic Landmark next door, and construction of a state employee parking garage on the other side of North Ninth Street at East Broad Street.

The new assembly building will connect to the parking garage by a tunnel beneath the street and to the Capitol by another tunnel that is scheduled to open on Dec. 31, in time for the next legislative session in January. The tunnel to the Capitol, connecting to the underground extension completed in 2007, is financed through a budget deal that the assembly reached in 2020.

The public will celebrate the opening of the new General Assembly Building on Wednesday, but lobbyists, news media and others got a preview in tours this week.

This is your new home, Senate Clerk Susan Clarke Schaar told one tour group on Tuesday.

Its a modern, working building that will house all 140 members of the General Assembly, committee and subcommittee rooms, the so-called money committees that produce the state budget and the Division of Legislative Services, which writes (and rewrites) the thousands of bills and resolutions that the assembly considers each year.

The session that will convene on Jan. 10 will be the first held at the site since 2017, the same year that demolition began on the old building. Since then, the legislature has met for five years in makeshift committee rooms and offices in the Pocahontas Building, part of which will be demolished for the construction of a new building for the Virginia Supreme Court and expanded Court of Appeals between East Main and Bank streets.

The new building is designed with public use in mind. It has a constituent center on the first floor for members of the public to charge their phones and get their bearings. A spacious new cafeteria  complete with pizza oven  faces toward Capitol Square and another dining area along Broad Street on the first floor instead of the cramped dining facility on the sixth floor of the old building. Each of the 14 floors of the new building also includes a lactation station for nursing mothers.

The news media have a room on the first floor with 15 cubicles for working press, four clocks and television screens on opposite walls to monitor action on the House and Senate floors, respectively. A House briefing room is nearby for news conferences.

The building has eight elevators and, unlike the old building, theyre fast, Nardo said.

Two House committee rooms, each seating about 200 people in the audience, sit on the second floor, along with two subcommittee rooms that each seat about 75 people. The largest House committee room  holding about 400 people  is in the lower level, where the House Appropriations and Senate Finance & Appropriations committees will meet jointly to receive annual budget and revenue presentations from the governor.

Senate committee and subcommittee meeting rooms are on the third floor.

The money committees and their staffs will have their offices and meeting rooms upstairs  the 12th floor for House Appropriations and the 13th for Senate Finance  while House and Senate leadership will have their offices on the top floor.

The Division of Legislative Services will occupy much of the fourth floor, along with staff of the House and Senate clerks offices, and the Senate will have its briefing room there for news conferences.

The 40 senators themselves will have offices on the fifth and sixth floors, while 100 delegates will be housed on floors seven through 11.

A long road

Its been a long road for the project since the legislative tour in 2013. The new building was supposed to open last fall in time for the assembly session earlier this year, but supply chain snarls delayed the delivery of essential equipment. The move was delayed again this summer after some life safety equipment failed testing and one of the stairwells did not comply with building code requirements.

Along the way, the building lost two floors at the insistence of House Republicans, who tried to save money when costs rose after a two-year battle between the assembly and then-Gov. Terry McAuliffe. He had tried to block funding of the project until the assembly agreed to expand Virginias Medicaid program under the Affordable Care Act.

The assembly did not approve Medicaid expansion until 2018, but McAuliffe and the legislature finally agreed in 2016 on a $2.1 billion bond package that included money for the three-part project. In 2015, the Democratic governor had allowed work to proceed on the design, but not construction of a new home for the legislature.

If there ever was an essential project, this is an essential project, then-Senate Finance Co-chairman Walter A. Stosch, R-Henrico, said in 2015, the year before he retired.

Stosch had refused to enter the basement of Old City Hall during the 2013 tour that had bolstered legislative support for renovating the 1894 landmark and replacing the old General Assembly Building. He said he could smell the mold from the basement, where plastic sheets protected electrical equipment from water seeping into the building.

Now, Old City Hall is fully renovated and restored to historic preservation standards for its exterior and soaring atrium. The Division of Capitol Police has occupied the first floor of the building since Sept. 1, with its communications center still to be moved from its old offices in the Washington Building on the other side of Capitol Square. The Division of Legislative Automated Systems, critical to the operation of the assembly, will soon move to the third floor, with other legislative and executive branch agencies to follow.

I think the state has done a great job, said Cyane Crump, executive director of Historic Richmond, which holds a conservation easement that ensures a say in the buildings renovation.

From my perspective, the overall approach to Old City Hall produced a very high-quality restoration that is universally commended in the community, she said.

Crump also praised the states approach to replacing the General Assembly Building, especially preservation of the facade from the old Life Insurance of Virginia Co., which itself paid homage to the neoclassical design of the Capitol, and its visual orientation with Capitol Square.

It presents a very unique sense of place, she said.

At the same time, Crump said the new building connects directly with the rest of the city along Broad Street across from Richmond City Hall.

The building doesnt turn its back on the city, but is part of the city, she said.

As for who will actually work in the General Assembly Building next year will remain a mystery until Nov. 7, when all 140 seats are up for election in newly drawn political districts.

Then, Nardo said, Susan (Schaar) and I get to reshuffle our decks.

PHOTOS: General Assembly Building construction
A Virginia company created the lectern that is at the center of scrutiny facing Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders.

A legislative panel next week will take up a lawmakers request for an audit to review the purchase of the lectern, which was bought in June for $19,029.25 with a state credit card. The Arkansas Republican Party reimbursed the state last month for the wood-paneled and blue lectern, which the state received in August.

From my experience, where were at with this particular thing is we need to allow a legislative audit, said Republican Sen. Jimmy Hickey, who requested the audit.

Questions about the lectern, its cost, how it was purchased and even whether it existed has dominated political talk in Arkansas in recent weeks. The states largest newspaper, the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, ran a front-page photo of the lectern last week after Sanders office allowed the paper to view it.

Sanders, who served as press secretary for former President Donald Trump, took office in January. The governor has said she welcomes the audit, but has also dismissed the questions surrounding the lecterns purchase. Sanders office has said the reimbursement came from money she had raised for her inauguration.

People want to manufacture a controversy where there isnt one, Sanders told reporters. But this is something the states been reimbursed for, and I think there are some people who are always going to be angry and always looking for something to complain about and thats what theyre picking for right now.

The lecterns purchase was first uncovered by Matthew Campbell, an attorney and blogger who has sued State Police for withholding records he had requested about Sanders travel and security. Days after Campbell filed his initial suit, Sanders called a special legislative session and proposed broad exemptions to the states open records law.

Virginia trooper alleged retaliation by top commanders for speaking out on pay A Virginia state troopers criticism of a proposed pay plan led to threats from his fellow troopers to find out who he was and possibly do him harm. The trooper said the threats were instigated by retaliatory comments from a senior commander who was later cleared of wrongdoing.

Tom Mars, an attorney who served as director of the Arkansas State Police under Sanders father, former Gov. Mike Huckabee, has also said he has a client with firsthand knowledge that Sanders office interfered with Campbells open records requests.

In a letter he sent to Hickey after the lawmaker requested the audit, Mars said the client wishes to remain anonymous and is willing to give a confidential statement to legislative auditors and allow them to review relevant documents in the clients possession. According to Mars letter, the interference includes the governors office altering an invoice from Beckett Events LLC, the Virginia firm listed as the seller of the lectern.

The Arlington-based company did not respond to a request for comment.

Alexa Henning, a spokeswoman for Sanders, did not specifically respond to the allegations in Mars letter in a statement that nonetheless dismissed them.

This is nothing more than a manufactured controversy by left-wing activists to distract from the bold conservative reforms the governor has signed into law and is effectively implementing in Arkansas, Henning said in a statement.
HAMPTON  When a mental distress flares up, a hospital emergency room can be a tough place to be: often overcrowded, with lights and sirens flashing and blaring and doctors racing from crisis to crisis.

Youngkin plans major expansion of mental health crisis services People in mental health crises often wait in vain for care because mental health beds are unavailable.

We want to provide the right help when it is needed, which is right now, Youngkin said Thursday at the formal opening of Riversides new ER, which is attached to its inpatient psychiatric hospital and the health systems facilities for outpatient services.

The new emergency room has specialized treatment spaces for children and adults; private rooms; and community areas, equipped with recliners, if those are a more comfortable place to deal with a patients needs.

It will be staffed 24 hours a day with behavioral health clinicians, able to help people in a crisis or individuals who may need changes in medication, said Ryan McQueen, director of psychiatric services at the Riverside campus.

If talking with a clinician will help, that will be available, too.

Theyll get treatment here, case by case, he said.

What really struck me is if you just need to come in and talk to someone for a little while, you can get that here, too, Youngkin said.

Much of the first phases of Youngkins behavioral health reform focuses on crisis services, with calls for more mobile crisis teams, crisis receiving centers  places where police bring individuals who might need to be assessed for urgent mental health care  and crisis stabilization units, which focus on short-term acute treatments.

This is really a crisis receiving center on steroids, said Secretary of Health and Human Resources John Littel.

Theres nothing else like it.

For people trying to deal with the onset of trouble for a family member or friend, If you dont know what else to do, this is a place you can come, Littel said.

Newport News Sheriff Gabe Morgan, who has pushed for expanded behavioral health services for years and who has launched programs to help inmates struggling with mental illnesses and addictions in the city jail, said the Riverside facility addresses an urgent issue of overcrowded hospital ERs in Hampton Roads.

When we take people to an ER it can take two or three days to get someone what they need, he said. Thats way too long.

The Riverside ER will be a model for facilities in other parts of Virginia, Youngkin said.

It also signals a direction for behavioral health changes he wants to see, with expanded services to keep people from spiraling into a crisis, as well as for care after a crisis, he said.

Hope will happen here, hope for healing care, compassionate care, professional care, loving care, Youngkin said before cutting a ribbon to formally open the Riverside ER.

Hope that comes with the welcome that says its OK. 

5 things to know about what's in Virginia's state budget NATURAL RESOURCES PAY RAISES TAX RELIEF
By Lee Min-hyung

Shin Yoo-yeol, the eldest son of Lotte Group Chairman Shin Dong-bin, is set to tighten his grip on the groups backbone retail business, in a major generational shift to inject fresh momentum into the firm's struggling retail channels.

The younger Shin, 37, is currently serving as a vice president at Lotte Chemical, but no specifics have so far been confirmed as to what roles he will focus on within the group before taking official managerial control.

Starting this year, however, he has made more frequent public appearances at the groups key events. In January, the de facto Lotte heir attended the groups leadership meeting for which the chairman and top executives from its key affiliates discussed the group's future management strategy.

This marked the first time that the eldest son joined the regular meeting where the Lotte leader urged its executives to focus on toughening Lottes global competitiveness, as part of its top priority to tackle global economic uncertainty.

The chairman also displayed his affection to the eldest son in September when Lotte Group held an opening ceremony for Lotte Mall West Lake Hanoi in the Vietnamese capital. He made it public that he was considering positioning the son in a key managerial post in Lottes retail business.

The son was also seen attending a tape-cutting ceremony along with top executives from Lottes major retail affiliates, including Lotte Department Store and Lotte Shopping.

Given his broad global experiences, there stands a possibility that the Lotte heir may focus on spearheading Lottes overseas businesses. He is a Japanese national and is taking on multiple roles within the group.

In a year-end reshuffle of executives last year, he was promoted to the vice president of the chemical arm of Lotte. Shin the younger is co-CEO of Lotte Strategic Investment along with his father. He is also working as a leader of Japans Lotte Financial.

He started his career at Nomura Securities back in 2008, received an MBA at Columbia University and worked at the securities firms Singapore office until June 2020 when he joined Lotte for management succession.
WASHINGTON  Russia has long turned to Iranian-made drones to attack Ukraine. Now Ukrainian forces will be using bullets seized from Iran against Russia troops.

A U.S. Navy ship seized the 1.1 million rounds from a vessel being used by Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps to arm Houthi rebels in Yemen's civil war in violation of a U.N. Security Council resolution. The 7.62 mm rounds have now been transferred to Ukraine, U.S. Central Command said Wednesday.
American part of trio captured in kidnapping of man in Puerto Aventuras

Puerto Aventuras, Q.R.  Two men and one woman were arrested by elements of the Municipal Solidaridad Police after being accused kidnapping a French man. Late Wednesday, the Seguridad Publica of Solidaridad reported on the Puerto Aventuras arrests.

The Municipal Police thwarted a possible deprivation of liberty and detained three subjects, managing to free the possible victim when responding to a request for help when they were patrolling in the area of Ekumal Villa Duendes.

Elements of the Preventive Police were approached by a subject who told them that moments before, three people threatened him and forcibly took his companion, so police began a search operation to locate them, managing to reach them several meters ahead, they reported in a brief statement.

Taken into custody were Diego N, 39 from Monterrey, Yudith N, 36 from Coahuila and an American man identified as Isaias N, 43. All three were located and secured at the time they were trying to force a person into a property, which they released when they noticed the police presence. They tried to flee but were detained, the police report added.

They were subsequently placed at the disposal of the State Attorney Generals Office for the possible commission of the crime of kidnapping.
Governor leads commemoration of 202 anniversary of Mexican Navy at Isla Mujeres

Isla Mujeres, Q.R.  Quintana Roo Governor Mara Lezama lead the Wednesday commemoration of the 202nd anniversary of the creation of the Mexican Navy.

Governor Mara Lezama and Admiral of the General Corps DEM Abraham Eloy Caballero Rosas, Commander of the Ninth Naval Region, led the commemorative ceremony for the 202nd Anniversary of the Creation of the Mexican Navy.

At the Ninth Naval Region, Admiral Caballero Rosas read the message that the Secretary of the Navy, Jose Rafael Ojeda Duran, addressed to the sailors of Mexico.

We are sailors of good, dedication, commitment and work, who in times of change take on the challenge of transformation. It has been 202 years of directing efforts for the well-being of Mexicans. Our mission is to ensure the peace, security and well-being of our people.

Previously, Captain Marco Trejo Cruz made a summary of the creation of the Mexican Navy. Its mission is to use the naval power of the federation for external defense and contribute to internal security at sea, in the air and on land, maintaining the rule of law in marine areas, coasts, rivers, lake areas and port areas of Mexico, maintaining the rule of law, sovereignty, and promoting the development of the country.

Governor Mara Lezama, who received the honors of ordinance, recognized the work, the discipline, the spirit of sacrifice that the Mexican Navy makes through people emanating from the people with values and principles instilled to serve Mexico without expecting anything in exchange more than the satisfaction of the duty fulfilled.

Mara Lezama recalled that in November 2022, thanks to the disposition of Secretary Ojeda Duran, the Government of Quintana Roo signed an agreement with SEMAR through which the first 50 sailors, out of a total of 200, arrived in Quintana Roo, deployed to reinforce security tasks, joining the elements of state Citizen Security.

She highlighted that Quintana Roo is one of the privileged 17 states in the country that has coastlines and the presence of sailors from the Mexican Navy provides security to the population on coasts and ports, as well as in the face of natural phenomena such as against poachers, perpetrators, smugglers, human and drug traffickers and potential enemies who intend to sail our waters to violate the Law and the Rule of Law.

Mara Lezama also recognized the institutional support in vacation devices, in territorial surveillance and in special operations to combat crime and preserve order, in conjunction and coordination with other forces of the state, the federation and the municipalities; as well as in containment and collection tasks of sargassum on our coasts and beaches.

Today more than ever we recognize the work of our sailors and with their example, we reaffirm the joint commitment by which we seek for Mexico and Quintana Roo to be, both on land and at sea, the hope of a better future for our future generations.  Lezama stated.
Mexico begins increasing air connectivity with U.S. destinations with recovery of category 1

Mexico City, Mexico  The Secretary of Tourism of the Government of Mexico says the country is increasing its air connectivity into the U.S. The increase in flights will be a strong trigger for the arrival of more international tourists to Mexicos different destinations.

The Secretary of Tourism, Miguel Torruco Marques, recognized Mexicos airlines for their recent announcements to increase routes, frequencies and seats, especially to the United States, after Category 1 was recovered.

After meetings held with directors of the main national airlines, it was announced that Aeromexico will gradually start 17 new routes from seven destinations in Mexico to nine cities in the United States.

Torruco Marques says two of these flights will be from the Felipe Angeles International Airport with destination to McAllen and Dallas-Fort Worth.

He noted that Viva Aerobus will launch six new routes from Monterrey, Nuevo Leon, to the United States and a couple of days ago, two more routes were announced from Merida to Orlando and Miami.

Meanwhile, Volaris contemplates increasing frequencies on its routes between Mexico and the United States, which will favor the flow of passengers between both countries as well as the diversification of the arrival of international tourists to more cities in our country.

The increases are the result of recent promotions through Operation Knock on Doors, which were held in the cities of Los Angeles, New York, Chicago, Houston, San Antonio, Washington DC, Dallas, Phoenix, San Francisco and Albuquerque.

Last month, the Ministry of Communications and Transportation (SICT) reported the country was planning to open more than 50 new routes between Mexico and the U.S.
ROCKY MOUNT  A jury found Terry Eugene Michel, the Ferrum man charged with killing his two dogs, guilty Thursday following a two-day trial.

It took a jury less than two hours to find Michel guilty of two counts of felony animal cruelty, one for each dog he shot in the head at close range.

Michel, 59, also pleaded no contest to the lesser charge of filing a false police report.

The case came down to a key question posed to jurors by defense attorney Aaron Houchens. He asked them to consider whether Michel was experiencing a dissociative event when he killed the two dogs, brought on by depression and ongoing post traumatic stress disorder from his time in the U.S. Army.

Ultimately, jurors believed Michel had full control over his actions when he made the decision to kill the two Labrador retrievers, Caleb and Colby, he shared with his wife Rhonda Michel on Feb. 7. He originally claimed in a 911 call that the two dogs were stolen while he was walking them in Waid Park in Rocky Mount.

Terry Michel told police the two dogs got away from him while walking in the park and were picked up by two men in a Jeep who drove off with them. This led to a search for several days with flyers and social media posts asking for information.

The two dogs were found dead on the side of Carolina Springs Road on Feb. 14, each with an apparent gunshot wound to the back of the head. They were later taken to Virginia Tech for further examination.

Investigator Steven McFarling testified Wednesday that he and others began to notice holes in Michels statements about the disappearance of the two dogs and confronted him Feb. 16 during an interview at the Franklin County Sheriffs Office.

Approximately 20 minutes of the interview were played for jurors during the trial. In it, Michel can be heard at first denying he shot the dogs, then later admitting it when officers pressed him for the truth.

I didnt do it to hurt her, Michel said in the recorded interview when asked if he did it because of his wife. I did it to save my marriage and that is the Gods honest truth.

Michel claimed in the video that he loved the two dogs, but they prevented him from doing anything with his wife. He said Rhonda Michel wouldnt let the dogs stay home alone.

Michel admitted to investigators he killed the dogs in an open parcel of land off Prillaman Switch Road in Ferrum on Feb. 7. In the video he said Colby was shot first using a 9 mm pistol he owned, then Caleb.

He froze, Michel said of Caleb just after shooting Colby. Then I looked over at him and I didnt give him a chance to do anything else and I shot him.

Houchens called Sharon Kelley, a professor of psychiatry and neurobehavioral sciences at the University of Virginia, to give her analysis of Michels mental state in the moments leading up to and during the killing of the two dogs. She interviewed Michel twice in the time he has been in jail.

Kelley said Michel showed signs of depression, confusion, anxiety as well as ongoing PTSD. She said that could have led to him killing the dogs without even knowing it during a dissociative event.

The way Mr. Michel described the moments of the offense themselves was fundamentally the experience of dissociation, Kelley said. She went on to say Michel was not in reality the same way a mentally healthy person would be at the moment of the offense.

When Assistant Commonwealths Attorney Cliff Hapgood cross- examined Kelley, he pushed her on how a dissociative event that she said lasted only briefly explained Michels actions after the killing. He reported the dogs missing Feb. 7 and on Feb. 14 he recovered the dogs from where they were shot on Prilliman Switch Road and dumped them on Carolina Springs Road where they would be discovered.

During closing arguments Thursday, Hapgood made a point of saying Michel was in control of what he was doing. His actions during the time of the shooting and in the days after were deliberate.

He knew what he was doing when he pulled that trigger, Hapgood said.

The jury ultimately agreed, returning with a guilty verdict shortly before 1 p.m. Thursday.

Judge Timothy Allen scheduled a sentencing hearing for Nov. 2. Michel, who is being held without bond at the Western Virginia Regional Jail, faces up to five years in prison and a $2,500 fine for each felony conviction.
MARION  Mr. Pickles had his own Facebook page.

Marion Outdoors created and was selling stickers featuring Mr. Pickles  The real mayor of Marion, VA.

Many diners at downtown eateries outdoor spaces would find Mr. Pickles urging them to share a bit of their food  or, if his tummy was full, curled up at their feet.

Several travel sites recommended meeting Mr. Pickles when visiting Marion.

Mr. Pickles was loved far and wide.

However, the dedication and passion of Bob and Rebecca Barlow was extraordinary.

They first encountered him in April 2016 as he sat crying and crying at the top of his lungs as he starred through a glass door into a local business.

Since then, Rebecca said Saturday, we have been feeding him 365 days a year for seven and a half years. Their mission of love connected them with numerous people. I cannot begin to tell you the smiles that Pickles prompted. He has captured so many hearts.

As Rebecca and Bob learned Saturday evening that Mr. Pickles had died, tears of love and devotion poured out. Rebecca acknowledged, The love you just cant put it into words.

In the days that Pickles was missing, the community outpouring was fierce. Social media posts were shared widely, and many people were caught up in the search for the feline ambassador. Once news of his death was shared, Downtown Pioneer announced a Monday evening candlelight vigil for Mr. Pickles.

As the community grieves this purring ambassador, its a hope that affection for Mr. Pickles can help other abandoned cats and dogs.

This Saturday, Oct. 7, the Smyth County Humane Society and Christ Episcopal Church will unite once again to host a Blessing of the Animals service at 10 a.m. on the churchs lawn.

As beloved pets receive a blessing, the non-profit humane society also accepts monetary and pet food donations to provide blessings to less fortunate animals in our community.

The dedicated non-profits strive to help all the cats and dogs who need it.

Mr. Pickles will live on as an ambassador for abandoned, neglected, lost, and surrendered cats and dogs so they too can find their way into our hearts.
RICHMOND  Ten years ago, leading members of the General Assembly took an eye-opening tour of the building where they all worked and the public came to watch the legislative process in action.

They found a patchwork complex of four buildings, including one so riddled with asbestos that it threatened an immediate shutdown if the hazardous fibers entered the ventilation system. The electrical and air-handling systems were obsolete, and pieces of masonry had been strapped to the building to prevent them from tumbling to the plaza below next to historic Capitol Square in the heart of Virginias seat of government in Richmond.

A decade later, the public is about to enter a new General Assembly Building built for the modern legislature, but with the same neoclassical facade that has faced the state Capitol and Capitol Square, both national historic landmarks, for more than a century. The view could not be better.

Thats the jewel, House of Delegates Clerk Paul Nardo said this week, gesturing toward the 12-acre square and the 235-year-old Capitol, designed by Thomas Jefferson. This is a pretty, sparkling bauble, but were trying to keep them together.

The new General Assembly Building is part of an ambitious $300 million project that included the restoration of Old City Hall, another National Historic Landmark next door, and construction of a state employee parking garage on the other side of North Ninth Street at East Broad Street.

The new assembly building will connect to the parking garage by a tunnel beneath the street and to the Capitol by another tunnel that is scheduled to open on Dec. 31, in time for the next legislative session in January. The tunnel to the Capitol, connecting to the underground extension completed in 2007, is financed through a budget deal that the assembly reached in 2020.

The public will celebrate the opening of the new General Assembly Building on Wednesday, but lobbyists, news media and others got a preview in tours this week.

This is your new home, Senate Clerk Susan Clarke Schaar told one tour group on Tuesday.

Its a modern, working building that will house all 140 members of the General Assembly, committee and subcommittee rooms, the so-called money committees that produce the state budget and the Division of Legislative Services, which writes (and rewrites) the thousands of bills and resolutions that the assembly considers each year.

The session that will convene on Jan. 10 will be the first held at the site since 2017, the same year that demolition began on the old building. Since then, the legislature has met for five years in makeshift committee rooms and offices in the Pocahontas Building, part of which will be demolished for the construction of a new building for the Virginia Supreme Court and expanded Court of Appeals between East Main and Bank streets.

The new building is designed with public use in mind. It has a constituent center on the first floor for members of the public to charge their phones and get their bearings. A spacious new cafeteria  complete with pizza oven  faces toward Capitol Square and another dining area along Broad Street on the first floor instead of the cramped dining facility on the sixth floor of the old building. Each of the 14 floors of the new building also includes a lactation station for nursing mothers.

The news media have a room on the first floor with 15 cubicles for working press, four clocks and television screens on opposite walls to monitor action on the House and Senate floors, respectively. A House briefing room is nearby for news conferences.

The building has eight elevators and, unlike the old building, theyre fast, Nardo said.

Two House committee rooms, each seating about 200 people in the audience, sit on the second floor, along with two subcommittee rooms that each seat about 75 people. The largest House committee room  holding about 400 people  is in the lower level, where the House Appropriations and Senate Finance & Appropriations committees will meet jointly to receive annual budget and revenue presentations from the governor.

Senate committee and subcommittee meeting rooms are on the third floor.

The money committees and their staffs will have their offices and meeting rooms upstairs  the 12th floor for House Appropriations and the 13th for Senate Finance  while House and Senate leadership will have their offices on the top floor.

The Division of Legislative Services will occupy much of the fourth floor, along with staff of the House and Senate clerks offices, and the Senate will have its briefing room there for news conferences.

The 40 senators themselves will have offices on the fifth and sixth floors, while 100 delegates will be housed on floors seven through 11.

A long road

Its been a long road for the project since the legislative tour in 2013. The new building was supposed to open last fall in time for the assembly session earlier this year, but supply chain snarls delayed the delivery of essential equipment. The move was delayed again this summer after some life safety equipment failed testing and one of the stairwells did not comply with building code requirements.

Along the way, the building lost two floors at the insistence of House Republicans, who tried to save money when costs rose after a two-year battle between the assembly and then-Gov. Terry McAuliffe. He had tried to block funding of the project until the assembly agreed to expand Virginias Medicaid program under the Affordable Care Act.

The assembly did not approve Medicaid expansion until 2018, but McAuliffe and the legislature finally agreed in 2016 on a $2.1 billion bond package that included money for the three-part project. In 2015, the Democratic governor had allowed work to proceed on the design, but not construction of a new home for the legislature.

If there ever was an essential project, this is an essential project, then-Senate Finance Co-chairman Walter A. Stosch, R-Henrico, said in 2015, the year before he retired.

Stosch had refused to enter the basement of Old City Hall during the 2013 tour that had bolstered legislative support for renovating the 1894 landmark and replacing the old General Assembly Building. He said he could smell the mold from the basement, where plastic sheets protected electrical equipment from water seeping into the building.

Now, Old City Hall is fully renovated and restored to historic preservation standards for its exterior and soaring atrium. The Division of Capitol Police has occupied the first floor of the building since Sept. 1, with its communications center still to be moved from its old offices in the Washington Building on the other side of Capitol Square. The Division of Legislative Automated Systems, critical to the operation of the assembly, will soon move to the third floor, with other legislative and executive branch agencies to follow.

I think the state has done a great job, said Cyane Crump, executive director of Historic Richmond, which holds a conservation easement that ensures a say in the buildings renovation.

From my perspective, the overall approach to Old City Hall produced a very high-quality restoration that is universally commended in the community, she said.

Crump also praised the states approach to replacing the General Assembly Building, especially preservation of the facade from the old Life Insurance of Virginia Co., which itself paid homage to the neoclassical design of the Capitol, and its visual orientation with Capitol Square.

It presents a very unique sense of place, she said.

At the same time, Crump said the new building connects directly with the rest of the city along Broad Street across from Richmond City Hall.

The building doesnt turn its back on the city, but is part of the city, she said.

As for who will actually work in the General Assembly Building next year will remain a mystery until Nov. 7, when all 140 seats are up for election in newly drawn political districts.

Then, Nardo said, Susan (Schaar) and I get to reshuffle our decks.

PHOTOS: General Assembly Building construction
Recall Faber College?

Many of us of a certain age briefly visited that fictional institution in the late 1970s, when we bought tickets to see the movie, Animal House. Remember John Belushi as Bluto, the alcohol-drenched toga parties, the splattering food fights and fumbling sexual hijinks? It was the funniest movie of 1978.

On the surface, Liberty University bears little resemblance to Faber College. For one thing, since 1971, Libertys stated mission has been training champions for Christ. But some recent court papers in a federal lawsuit paint a different picture of the Lynchburg institution.

The filing, by deposed Liberty president Jerry Falwell Jr., almost makes it sound as if todays Liberty is being run by Faber grads. The allegations hes making against current and former Liberty officials include sexual harassment, extramarital affairs, alcoholism and self-dealing.

A Liberty spokesman last week called the accusations improper and unsupported allegations designed to diminish former colleagues, family, and friends and to discredit the university where he formerly served. The statement also characterized Falwells allegations as personal attacks.

Falwell Jr. is the son of the late Rev. Jerry Falwell, Libertys founder. Under his father, the UVa Law School grad served as Libertys legal counsel. After the elder Falwells death in 2007, junior succeeded his dad.

At that time, Liberty was millions in debt. But under Falwell Jr. the universitys dismal finances made a dramatic turnaround. Liberty expanded into online higher education, and  thanks largely to federal student loan and grant programs  has reaped billions from it. By 2020, its endowment totaled between $1 billion and $2 billion.

The university forced out Falwell Jr. that year, after lurid revelations that his wife, Becki, had had a long-term affair with a male pool attendant the couple met in Miami Beach. The Falwells also shared a business with the young man  ownership of a gay-friendly hostel in South Beach.

If you recall, that was a god-awful mess of negative publicity for Liberty. At one point, ex-Donald Trump fixer Michael Cohen got involved in trying to bury the scandal. Also swirling around it were allegations Falwell Jr. shared photos of Becki in lingerie with associates, and gossip that involved a handsome young personal trainer at Liberty.

For a while, Cohens scandal-hushing efforts succeeded. And then they didnt, and you-know-what hit the fan.

Now, Falwell and Liberty are embroiled in three separate lawsuits. In state court, Liberty is suing Falwell for $10 million, arguing the former university president failed to disclose negative personal information (about Becki Falwells affair) while negotiating an employment contract with Liberty.

That case was filed in Lynchburg Circuit Court in 2021. Though listed as active in online court records, it appears to have made little headway. The last motion filed occurred in February 2022.

In federal court, Falwell Jr. sued Liberty in March for millions in retirement pay he says Liberty agreed to, but later reneged on. And in July, Falwell Jr. sued Liberty a second time for misappropriating his fathers image and profiting off it.

The recent allegations against Liberty officials arose in that case, in a Sept. 13 amended complaint filed by Falwell Jr.

One of the defendants is his brother, the Rev. Jonathan Falwell. He pastors Thomas Road Baptist Church and serves as university pastor, too. At least until recently, they both served as co-trustees of the Dr. Jerry Falwell Trust, which Falwell Jr. claims owns the rights to his fathers image.

On Sept. 27, Liberty filed a motion in federal court to dismiss the case. Among other arguments, it claims Jerry Falwell Jr. was removed as a co-trustee of his fathers trust Sept. 6, a week before Falwell Jr. filed the amended complaint.

In that, Falwell Jr. argues that Liberty dismissed him not because he had an extramarital affair, but because his wife did. The filing claims the university retained other leaders after learning of their affairs  and it cited several.

According to the amended complaint, one of them was a now-deceased former dean of Libertys School of Divinity.

And a current member of the Executive Committee has admitted to previously having more than one affair, the complaint claims. All of these incidents involved situations in which officials themselves were engaged in affairs or other misconduct, in contrast to Mr. Falwell, who had not had engaged in similar misconduct or had any affair.

In a separate instance the amended complaint cites, Liberty paid a settlement to a former university employee who alleged sex harassment by a former high-ranking Liberty University official.

Liberty retained him in that position notwithstanding that a payment had to be made to that employee as a result, the amended complaint states.

It also alleges the university has paid more than $1 million in grant-type payments to pet nonprofit projects of Liberty University board members. Also, the university president who succeeded Falwell, Jerry Prevo, wasted Libertys money by flying back and forth to his home in Alaska on the universitys jet at a cost of at least $35,000 per trip, the amended complaint states.

The lawsuit suggests that Prevo, a close associate of evangelist Franklin Graham, was working with Graham to take over Liberty by getting rid of Falwell Jr.

The complaint also alleged that university officials sought to remove Falwell Jr. even before Beckis affair was revealed, using as a pretext Falwells excess drinking and health issues that resulted.

At least two members of [Libertys] Executive Committee drink, one of whom has been to rehab three times, the amended complaint says.

Falwell Jr.s health issues turned out unrelated to drinking  and the complaint alleges Liberty officials knew that. Rather, Falwell Jr. was diagnosed with a potentially deadly genetic condition that filled his lungs with blood clots. He was hospitalized for that and has since recovered.

Falwell Jr. and I talked briefly about the lawsuit last week, and that was the only part he was willing to elaborate on. He now injects medicine daily to prevent clotting, Falwell said, and added that hes back in the gym and feeling a lot better than he did before treatment. His lawyers have cautioned him about commenting further on the case, he said.

The universitys statement said: These personal attacks have no place in a legal dispute over the use of a persons name, image, and likeness. Liberty will file the appropriate response to these claims in due time and defend its legal right to continue the use of Dr. Jerry Falwells name.

The statement ended: Furthermore, we stand by our initial statement that Liberty University and its Board of Trustees have only sought to honor the visionary leadership of Dr. Jerry Falwell and the mission of training Champions for Christ.

If you recall how Animal House ended, it was suddenly, and during Faber Colleges homecoming parade.

The bad-boy fraternity members banned and expelled by Faber administrators snuck a fearsomely armored Deathmobile into the homecoming parade, after the universitys dean reported the frat brothers to the local draft board.

The Deathmobile promptly crashed into the review stand where parade-watching administrators were perched.

Falwell Jr. is definitely aiming at the administration of Liberty  and it is aiming at him. This clash is no less public than the one in Animal House.

But its happening in slow motion, rather than as a sudden conflagration. So far, the only evident winners are Virginia lawyers and the billable hours theyre racking up in the legal mess.

Stay tuned.
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Dustin Olson is managing partner of American Pulse Research & Polling and the founder of the political consulting firm Olson Strategies & Advertising. A seasoned strategist, he also hosts the top-rated Political Trade Secrets podcast.
Kia, Volkswagen Group Korea and two other carmakers will recall nearly 8,000 vehicles due to faulty components, the transport ministry said Thursday.

The four companies, including Stellantis Korea and EVion, are voluntarily recalling a total of 7,913 units of five different models, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said in a statement.

The problems that prompted the recall include a possible fire in the battery system in Kia's Soul EV, a faulty safety belt system in Stellantis' Jeep Grand Cherokee SUV, and a faulty fuel supply connector system in EVion's electric bus, the statement said.

Stellantis -- a 50:50 joint venture between U.S. carmaker Fiat Chrysler Automobiles and French automaker PSA Group -- sells Jeep, Peugeot and DS brand models in Korea. DS was initially introduced as a luxury sub brand of Citroen and became a stand-alone brand later.

Vehicle owners can check the government's homepage at www.car.go.kr or call 080-357-2500 to see if their vehicles are subject to the recall, the ministry said. (Yonhap)
I dont know much about timing the market or complex chart patterns. But I know about brokerage fees.

As a long-term, buy-and-hold type investor, I only focus on 2 things:

Time in the market Minimising my trading expenses

Time in the market is easy. I use a simple Bogleheads-type investment strategy, where I purchase ETFs (a basket of stocks, like the S&P 500) and hold on to them for years.

Minimising trading expenses, on the other hand, is a different story.

Trading expenses will eat you alive

According to Business Insider, the average annual return on the S&P 500 over the last 10 years is about 12.39%*. If you invested S$20,000, in 2013, you would have made S$2,478.

Heres a hypothetical scenario where we minus various kinds of broker fees from your earnings:

Projected earnings S$2,478 Inactivity fee  S$25 Withdrawal fee  S$15 Settlement fee  S$70 Commission fee  S$100 Total trading expenses  S$210 Overall earnings S$2,268 (- 8.5%)

With fees like this, youll end up losing 8.5% of your earnings. Of course, this is a worst-case scenario, but it shows how devastating brokerage fees can be to your bottom line.

The state of brokerages today

So, the answer is simpleuse a low-fee broker. Right?

After all, every broker today seems to offer no settlement fees, no custody fees, and no platform fees.

Wait. Let me read that again. Its actually:

No settlement fees*, no custody fees*, and no platform fees*.

*Terms and conditions apply

As someone who has had numerous surprise fees show up on my trading statement (such as, maintenance fee, administrative fee, etc.), I am sceptical whenever I see asterisks.

Thats one of the reasons why Ive switched brokers 3 times over the past 4 years, all in search of a broker that simply delivers on their promise.

With CMC InvestI think Ive found it.

Finally, a broker that doesnt hide behind asterisks

Head to the CMC Invest website, and all the information you need is listed front and centre. Terms and conditions for key features and promotions are listed upfront, not hidden behind asterisks.

Story continues

Their offering is clear and simple:

No hidden or unexpected fees.

No platform fees. No settlement fees. No custody fees. No inactivity fees.

Period.

Without extra fees hindering my trades, my investments have more room to grow and compound. As a long-term investor, an extra 1-8% of fees saved each year can go a long way.

An interview with the chief

I had the pleasure of interviewing Christopher Forbes, Head of CMC Invest (Singapore). My mission: to investigate if CMC Invest is truly the real deal.

Disclaimer: This interview has been edited for clarity and brevity.

Hey Chris, thanks for speaking to me. So, zero platform, inactivity, settlement, or custody fees. Thats a pretty bold offering. Is that for real?

100%. We want our clients to invest for the long-term and save for the future. Hidden costs are a big deterrent. Imagine carrying a bucket of water with a small hole in therethats what hidden fees do over time.

As someone whos paid those unexpected fees, I totally agree. But if you slash those fees, how does CMC Invest make money?

Well, we have two main ways of making money. The first is a monthly subscription to Platinum and Diamond tiers (the gold is completely free and where most investors will begin their journey). The second is through charging an FX spread of 40 basis points (0.4%) on the Diamond tier over interbank rateswhich is one of the lowest in the market.

Yes, FX spreads can really eat up profits, and 0.4% is about as good as it gets. Currently, I mainly trade the US and Euro markets. Can I access them on CMC Invest?

Sure, you can. We offer 15 markets, primarily Singapore, Japan, Hong Kong, the US, Canada, and most of Europe. Were adding Australia in December this year. The CMC Markets group actually has a seat on the ASX exchange as a market participant, so were excited to offer this market soon.

That sounds great. With such a global reach, do I have to worry about customer service? What if theres a hiccup with a trade and I need help urgently?

Theres no need to worry. Our Singapore Office has a dedicated team of Client Services professionals just for traders like you. We offer 24/5 coverage over email, chat, or call, and youll speak to an onshore Singapore representative.

If youre keen on opening an account, and youre new to CMC Invest, dont miss the latest welcome offer

Get 1 free share when you meet the funding and trading requirements:

Tier 1  Tesla Inc

Fund a net deposit of S$10k

Make min. 3 trades of S$3k each

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Fund a net deposit of S$3k

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Fund a net deposit of S$1k

Make min. 2 trades

On top of that, enjoy the following benefits when you open an account:

Live US market data

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5 commission-free monthly trades in US, UK, HK and CA

Zero trading and transaction tax for HK stocks

Learn more about their welcome promotion and get started with CMC Invest today.

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CMC Invest

Commission Fee (US Stocks) After 5 Free Monthly Trades

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Enjoy 1 FREE share* and live US market data when you open a CMC Invest account, fund and trade. T&Cs apply.



PLUS transfer your positions into CMC Invest and get up to S$300 cash rebate. T&Cs apply.

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Key Features

Access to thousands of shares, REITs and ETFs across 15 markets

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Customisable reports and widgets such as watchlist

Seamless investing  available desktop, mobile and tablet

TradingView charting package

Easy sign ups via SingPass

Free monthly trades in SG, US, UK, CA and HK

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See all details

Disclaimer:  CMC Markets Singapore Invest Pte. Ltd.. Co. Reg. No./UEN 202217639M (CMC Invest). Regulated by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (CMSL No: 101320). Refer to CMC Invest website www.cmcinvest.sg for our Terms and Conditions, Risk Disclosures, Privacy Statement and other important information.

CMC Invest provides an execution-only service only. All forms of trading and investments carry risks and may not suit everyone. Losses can exceed initial investment so do ensure you have regard to your own personal needs, financial circumstances and risk tolerance, and understand the risks involved prior to dealing in any investment products. Where in doubt, seek independent professional financial advice. This advertisement has not been reviewed by the Monetary Authority of Singapore.

This post was written in collaboration with CMC Markets. While we are financially compensated by them, we nonetheless strive to maintain our editorial integrity and review products with the same objective lens. We are committed to providing the best information in order for you to make personal financial decisions with confidence. You can view our Editorial Guidelines here.

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On Tuesday (October 3), Second Minister for Finance and National Development, Indranee Rajah, announced the formation of an inter-ministerial committee to enhance Singapore's anti-money laundering efforts in Parliament.(PHOTO: MCI YouTube/Screengrab) (MCI/Screengrab)

SINGAPORE  Singapore has taken a significant step in the fight against money laundering, with the government announcing plans to set up a new inter-ministerial committee in Parliament on Tuesday (3 October). The move, aimed at enhancing the nation's anti-money laundering framework, follows a recent billion-dollar money laundering case.

Here are the five key highlights from this week's Parliament sitting, which centred on addressing the issue of money laundering and other matters:

1. Formation of a new inter-ministerial committee

In her ministerial statement on Tuesday, Indranee Rajah, the Second Minister for Finance and National Development, unveiled the government's plan to form an inter-ministerial committee dedicated to reviewing and strengthening Singapore's anti-money laundering regime.

She will chair this committee, which will consist of political office holders from various governmental bodies, including the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), as well as the ministries of Home Affairs, Law, Manpower, and Trade and Industry.

The committee will concentrate on four key areas:

Preventing corporate structures from being abused by money launderers;

Investigating ways for financial institutions to bolster their controls and improve collaboration, particularly to guard against and report suspicious transactions;

Examining the roles of other key players in the system - including corporate service providers, real estate agents, and precious stones and metals dealers - in contributing to the fight against money laundering risks;

Centralising and strengthening the capabilities of government agencies to enhance their ability to detect and respond to suspicious activities effectively.

The decision to establish this committee arose from a recent high-profile money laundering case involving arrests in August. The case, one of the largest in Singapore's history, saw law enforcement raiding multiple properties, including prestigious Good Class Bungalows and condominiums, leading to the seizure of assets now valued at over $2.8 billion.

Story continues

The Singapore Police Force (SPF) has executed one of its largest anti-money laundering operations, resulting in the apprehension of a group of foreigners who amassed approximately $1 billion worth of assets within the country. (PHOTO: SPF) (SPF)

2. Singapore's large-scale money laundering case

During her ministerial statement on Tuesday, Second Minister for Home Affairs, Josephine Teo, characterised this case as not only one of the most substantial anti-money laundering operations in Singapore but quite possibly on a global scale. She addressed roughly 60 parliamentary questions related to the case.

She revealed that authorities began noticing signs of trouble back in 2021, primarily in the use of potentially forged documents to justify the sources of funds in bank accounts. To avoid tipping off suspected money launderers, initial investigations involved only a small group of police officers.

After a comprehensive investigation in 2022, the police uncovered a complex network of individuals allegedly transferring money to Singapore from abroad, believed to be proceeds from criminal activities. Some of these individuals have familial connections.

Teo emphasised the seriousness of the matter, stating, We will not hesitate to take strong enforcement action against people who would use Singapore as a haven to launder proceeds of crime. We will deal with them and their ill-gotten gains to the fullest extent of our laws.

Second Minister for Home Affairs, Josephine Teo, addressing 60 parliamentary questions during her ministerial statement on Tuesday (3 October). (PHOTO: MCI YouTube/Screengrab) (MCI/Screengrab)

3. Singapore to review tax incentives for single family offices

Singapore is set to review its internal incentive administration process for single family offices (SFOs) applying for tax incentives in the country, said Minister of State for Trade and Industry, Alvin Tan.

This decision comes in response to potential links between accused individuals in Singapore's largest money-laundering investigation and SFOs that had been awarded tax incentives.

At the time of application for the tax incentives, there were no significant adverse findings or information related to the individuals and entities involved, according to Tan's ministerial statement.

To address this concern, MAS will conduct an internal review of its incentive administration process, and will tighten them where necessary.

Minister of State for Trade and Industry, Alvin Tan, unveils plans to review its internal incentive administration process for Single Family Offices applying for tax incentives. (PHOTO: MCI/Screengrab) (MCI/Screengrab)

4. Surge in vaping offences in schools

Second Minister for Education Maliki Osman disclosed that students' vaping offences have significantly increased.

In 2022, about 800 students from schools and Institutes of Higher Learning (IHLs) were caught vaping and subsequently referred to the Health Sciences Authority (HSA).

Before 2020, the number of students from schools and IHLs referred to HSA for vaping offences was fewer than 50.

Dr Maliki highlighted that vaping is likely an under-detected problem among students. The Ministry of Education (MOE), HSA, the Ministry of Health (MOH), and the Health Promotion Board (HPB) have expressed concern about vaping, not just among students but also in the wider community.

The education ministry is working with these government bodies to enhance detection, enforcement and educational efforts to combat this trend.

"Besides enforcement checks, our schools and IHLs have stepped up preventive education to convey the harmful effects of vaping on one's health," Dr Maliki said. "We seek the cooperation of families and the wider community to reinforce these messages strongly to stem this worrying trend."

Vaping is illegal in Singapore, with penalties including fines of up to $2,000. Importing, distributing, or selling vaping products is also against the law, with repeat offenders facing harsher penalties.

A man holds vape cigarette on his hand in London, England on August 08, 2023. (PHOTO: Rasid Necati Aslim/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images) (Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

5. Use of Lee Kuan Yew's image on Yeo's commemorative drink packets 'respectful'

Parliament also addressed the use of Singapore's founding prime minister Lee Kuan Yew's image on a drink packet.

Minister of State for Culture, Community and Youth Alvin Tan said that Yeo's had consulted his ministry to ensure compliance with guidelines regarding the use of Lee's name and image.

The Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth (MCCY) guidelines stipulate that such use should not serve commercial or publicity purposes or suggest official endorsement.

In this case, MCCY assessed that the use of Lee's image was "respectful", aiming to highlight his contribution to Singapore's transformation into a green city.

Yeo's clarified that the commemorative packet drinks were distributed for free and not sold, Tan added.

Minister of State for Culture, Community, and Youth, Alvin Tan, confirms Yeo's consultation with MCCY to ensure compliance with guidelines on the use of Lee's name and image. (PHOTO: Yahoo Southeast Asia) (Yahoo Southeast Asia)

Do you have a story tip? Email: sgnews.tips@yahooinc.com.

You can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and Twitter. Also check out our Southeast Asia, Food, and Gaming channels on YouTube.
Typhoon Koinu brought one of the most formidable wind gusts ever recorded in Taiwan and injured more than 190 people as it swept through the southern tip of the country.

Local authorities said that power outages affected more than 170,000 households.

Typhoon Koinu brought gusts of up to 342.7kph when it crossed Taiwans outer Lanyu (Orchid) island on Wednesday night, local reports said.

Named after the Japanese word for puppy, Koinu struck the Hengchun peninsula in Taiwans southernmost region as a formidable category four typhoon. Fire services reported that 190 people were injured, primarily in cities along the west coast, such as Taichung, Tainan, and Kaohsiung.

While Taiwan is situated in an area prone to tropical cyclones, Typhoon Koinu marks only the second such storm to make landfall in the past four years. The previous one  Typhoon Haikui  struck the island in early September, causing injuries to dozens of people.

Koinu led to the closure of schools and offices in many parts of Taiwan, with the exception of the capital city, Taipei, which continued its normal operations. Local media reported that ferry services and domestic flights were either suspended or cancelled as a precautionary measure.

By noon on Thursday, over 200 flights were cancelled.

Typhoon Koinu is expected to weaken as it tracked westward, heading towards Chinas southeastern coastline and eventually diminishing into a tropical storm.

There is a widely shared consensus among scientists that climate change is contributing to the intensification of tropical cyclones and increasing the likelihood of major storms.

Meanwhile, local media said that among the 190 injured were seven motorists and scooter riders in Chiayi County who crashed into fallen trees, were hit by toppled trees, or fell while riding their scooters due to strong winds. Two individuals were still hospitalised for head and shoulder injuries as of Thursday morning, it was reported.
SIOUX CITY -- Sioux City police responded to a disturbance Wednesday afternoon at a west side Casey's, marking the second such incident to occur at the convenience store this week.

According to the Sioux City Police Department's log, officers were called to a fight in the 1700 block of Casselman St. at 3:06 p.m.

Community Policing Sgt. Tom Gill said the fight between five girls, who are students at West High School, was "totally unrelated" to Monday's disturbance at Casey's, 1727 Casselman St., which court documents indicated involved at least a dozen people.

"Apparently they got into it earlier on in the day, but it wasn't a big thing," Gill said of the girls. "And, then, after school, they all met up at the Casey's, which seems to be the meet-up spot for fights, and they started fighting. There was five of them. They were all charged with disorderly fighting."

Gill told The Journal that Monday's incident, during which an officer tased a man, stemmed from a fight that took place at Walmart on Floyd Boulevard on Friday. Five people were arrested at the scene at Casey's. The number of people arrested grew again on Wednesday, when police announced 19 additional arrests.

"A bunch of parents showed up at the police station wanting to know what was going on with their kid," Gill said. "A couple of the parents that showed up today were also involved in that fight on Monday, so they were arrested right from the police station."

Gill said the manager of the Casey's on Casselman Street is looking into hiring off-duty officers to provide security after school.

"They used to have off-duty officers there because that used to be a real problem spot for thefts," he said. "I don't know why they quit doing it."

Monday melee

According to documents filed in Woodbury County District Court, law enforcement had information that a group was planning to meet another group Monday after school to fight.

At 2:12 p.m. Monday, officers responded to "a large fight involving weapons" in the parking lot at Casey's. Upon arrival, they discovered that an 18-year-old had been stabbed multiple times. The victim was taken to a Sioux City hospital for treatment of "non-life-threatening" injuries.

Gill said the victim was released from the hospital, but a suspect had not yet been arrested and charged in the stabbing.

Court documents stated over 11 people had been involved in the initial fight. Then, while officers were on scene investigating, multiple people, at least five, began to try to fight one person, according to the documents.

K Three J. Joseph, 41, of Sioux City, was allegedly involved in the fights and tased by an officer. Officers told Joseph to stop chasing after a male party, but he continued to do so.

"The defendant failed to obey officers commands and was tased. The (defendant) continued to try to roll out of control, grabbed the taser and attempted to remove it from the affiant," the documents stated.

Joseph was charged with participating in a riot and disarming a police officer, both class D felonies, and interference with official acts, a simple misdemeanor.

Micky Machuo, 31, of Sioux City, was charged with participating in a riot and going armed with intent, both class D felonies, and assault while displaying a dangerous weapon, an aggravated misdemeanor.

"Defendant was involved in the fights observed by officers. Defendant was observed picking up a bat and chasing after victim," the documents stated.

Jesipena Wasan, 22, was arrested the day of the incident and charged with participating in riot, while two juvenile females were charged with assault on a police officer, interference with official acts and felony rioting.

After further investigation, police made more arrests. Twelve of the additional individuals arrested are juveniles and seven are adults.

Kemson Lukas, 18; Mempy Wasan, 42; Karinta Wasan, 40; Nelly Retilifi, 43; Redson Retilifi, 42; Jelena Aritos, 18; and Kinda Simina, 18, all of Sioux City, have been charged with participating in a riot in connection with the incident.
DES MOINES  Iowa U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst doubled down on a request for information from the U.S. Bureau of Prisons regarding reports of sexual misconduct at a troubled federal prison in Illinois, near the Iowa border.

On Tuesday, Ernst sent a letter to Bureau of Prisons Director Colette Peters asking how the agency responded to and disciplined instances of sexual harassment against staff that were reported at U.S. Penitentiary Thomson in Thomson, Illinois.

Ernst first sent a letter in December 2022 with similar questions, and in the new letter said the agency's initial response was not adequate.

Im standing up for current and former USP Thomson staff who had to endure an unconscionable workplace environment, Ernst said in a written statement. I am dismayed by the Federal Bureau of Prisons slow response to this situation and apparent lack of corrective action, and I will continue pushing the agency to take this seriously on behalf of BOP employees across the country.

The Thomson prison closed its high-security special detention unit in February and began operating as a low-security facility. The bureau said at the time it had "identified significant concerns with respect to institutional culture and compliance with BOP policies." In August, it became a permanent low-security prison and named a new warden.

In 2022, Thomson employees, many of whom live in Iowa, complained of rampant sexual assault and misconduct taking place at the then-high-security prison. The union representing the employees said there were more than 275 reported incidents in 2022 and more than 500 in 2021. The incidents included inmates exposing themselves and masturbating in front of employees, as well as threats of sexual violence.

The prison reported 125 staff left in 2022, according to Ernst's letter.

The prison has also been plagued by allegations of abuse on inmates by staff. Prison guards were accused of overuse of solitary confinement, abusive use of restraints and racism, according to a July report from the the Washington Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights. That report also alleged staff sexually assaulted inmates on multiple occasions.

In a written statement provided by Ernst's staff, the president of the union that represents employees at Thomson said the federal government must address the sexual assaults toward staff.

"The Federal Bureau of Prisons neglected its staff at USP Thomson, and many staff are still suffering trauma from the sexual attacks," said Jon Zumkehr, American Federation of Government Employees Local 4070 president. "The sexual attack on staff is a widespread problem, it should not be normalized as part of the job. The BOP must protect the staff, and they have failed."

Ernst asks for discipline information

In the letter, Ernst asked the bureau to provide its plan to address the incidents of inmate sexual assault that occurred at the Thomson prison and how inmates will be held accountable.

She also asked whether the agency is following its policy requiring a multi-disciplinary hearing for violations of rules against sexual misconduct by inmates.

She asked that the agency explain when a sexual misconduct offense rises to the level of prosecutorial punishment and how many code violations and prosecutorial referrals were made by UPS Thomson in 2022 and 2023.

In response to Ernst's December letter with similar questions, a Bureau of Prisons Official noted the change in security at Thomson and said no sexual harassment allegations have been made since that change.

"Whenever there are instances of misconduct, employees are able to report such conduct for appropriate action," the agency said in the letter, which was dated July 5, 2023. "Additionally, employees who report having been subjected to acts of sexual misconduct are provided with information about the Bureau's Employee Assistance Program, which provides counseling resources and, confidential, on-demand support to employees with personal or professional problems."

In her new letter, Ernst said the bureau's initial response was "frankly, unhelpful, as it did not answer any of my questions."

A Bureau of Prisons spokesperson declined to comment, saying the agency responds directly to members of Congress.

"Out of respect and deference to Members, we do not share our Congressional correspondence with media," said spokesperson Randilee Giamusso.
Kevin McCarthys ouster as speaker of the House was quick and chaoticbut it had been a long time coming. Ben Jacobs dissects the devils bargain McCarthy made, and what it means for whoever takes up the speakers gavel next.

This might leave you with questions! Like: Who will be the next speaker, and who is in charge in the meantime?

Ben Mathis-Lilley takes a look at the contenders in the upcoming speakers race, and the mess theyre going to inherit.

And Shirin Ali gives us a quick introduction to the interim speaker, Patrick McHenry, who was quick to boot Nancy Pelosi out of her office space.

Yes, thats right 

Congress is in its eviction era

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And Luke Winkie, for one, is loving every salty moment. (Admit it, the pettiness is kind of entertaining).

Bye-bye barrier

A bold challenge to Chinese aggression in the contested South China Sea seems to have been  successful? Fred Kaplan examines what it could mean.

Crypto prom

The first day of the FTX trial brought a hodgepodge of crypto influencers, obsessives, skeptics, and more to court, Nitish Pahwa writes. It gave us a preview of the media circus to comeand clues about who will testify against Sam Bankman-Fried. (Stay tuned for more dispatches from the trial!)

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Plus: In case you need a refresher, Heather Tal Murphy walks us through what exactly Bankman-Fried has been charged with.

Its brutal out here

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The Supreme Courts liberals are already fed up with this term! Jay Willis explains why, and what it means for the months ahead.

And LaDoris Hazzard Cordell breaks down how the courts right flank is trying to dismantle the rights of criminal defendants.

A blow to Trumps brand

Trump is under a gag order now regarding his New York fraud case. Cant take him anywhere!

Norman L. Eisen examines how the case strikes a powerful blow to Trump where it hurts him most.

Going after the garbage internet

The feds are going after Amazon and Googles powerin part for making the web a worse place to be for all the rest of us. Scott Nover takes a look at the larger sickness behind these two seismic antitrust cases.

Today, Slate is  * FILLING 9,999,999 PLASTIC BAGS WITH AIR

 because thats about as nonsensical as the workings of FTXs balance sheet.

Thanks so much for reading, and well see you tomorrow.
In June 2020, back when we were all marching the streets in masks and it felt like the world was ending, an anonymous Wikipedia editor started an article called Thirst trap. With six sections and 32 sources, it treated the thirst trap with all the seriousness and thoroughness with which Wikipedia approaches the Battle of Dunkirk, stolen moon rocks, and the list of stuffed dishes. Thirst traps creator, an anonymous Wikipedian with the username LittleT889, even included a methodology section.

LittleT889, Wikipedias thirst trapper in chief, reveals almost no personal information about himself, and his Wikipedia contributions are so wide-ranging that its hard to deduce what hes like. Since he registered a Wikipedia account in 2006, he has created 140 articles: many about Korean parks and unusual desserts (ice-cream potato and bologna cake). But hes also dipped his toe into music (Bachs), animals (the giant mottled eel), medicine (Dyserythropoiesis), and slang (ratchet). The range!

Hes anonymous, but Ive seen his corporeal form with my own two eyes. Perhaps you have, too. He included a photo of himself in the thirst-trap articlea fittingly thirsty move that I cannot help but respect. The shot is a run-of-the-mill Tinderesque snap: abs flex in the foreground; toilet paper hangs in the background; a black-and-white filter gives the shot an aura of noir mystique. But its got a bigger audience than the average thirst trapits been viewed almost a million times.

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He does more than just thirst trap. He adds photos of himself to all sorts of encyclopedically relevant topics, like water bottle flipping, Nae Nae, and my favorite, the Floss (dance) article, where he wears sunglasses indoors and furiously shakes his hips in front of three guitars and a bongo drum. During that halcyon summer of 2010 when millennials wore neon outfits to sweaty nightclubs and sang teach me how to Dougie, teach me, teach me how to Dougie, LittleT889 answered the call with a Dougie articlecomplete with a looping demonstration.

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His image is all over the webhes the internets freely licensed prototype of the Running Man dancebut hes utterly anonymous: his face obscured, his name hidden. He told me on a talk page that besides a few close friends (one of whom helped him film the Naruto Run), no one in his life knows about his Wikipedia edits. Hes one of Wikipedias famous models youve never heard of.

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On Wikipedia, anyone can be a model. You dont have to be a nepo baby with Elastigirl legs and freakish cheekbones. You dont need to endure exigent auditions or get scouted in a Midwestern mall. The pictures in encyclopedias are purposefully ordinary, like stock photos, but crucially different in that theyre freely licensed and homemade by pretty much anyone who is willingno application process, few standards, and no style points. And even though Wikimedia Commons hosts more than 100 million pieces of media, it has some stunning gaps. Theres a big list of requested images, and some of the items are shockingly quotidian, like half-up hairstyle, businesswomen shaking hands, and tripping (go ahead, fall on your face for the sake of free knowledge).

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Since almost anyone is allowed to join the august craft of gesture photography, the sites photos have an unvarnished feel and an unmistakably human charm. Theyre set in beige basements and in cluttered dorm rooms, taken with the trusty family point-and-shoot or a handy smartphone. Theyre quirky and human and sometimes drenched in way too much indoor flash.

Its immediately obvious that Wikipedias models are real people, not actors. The couple from the High Five article ended up getting married to each other, and last year they re-created the photos with their kids. The guy in the Shrug article, who was inexplicably wearing a tiara, has hordes of shruggy fans. If you zoom in on the background of the photo for Zolgokh, a traditional Mongolian greeting, you can make out an overflowing hamper and a massive container of cheese balls (it was taken in a dorm room, I learned). And the duo who grinded the night away on a Pittsburgh-area bar crawl were the king and queen of the Wikipedia article Grinding for many years (they also made it onto a BuzzFeed list called 36 White People Who Need To Be Stopped).

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Wikipedia has no shortage of drunken Nikon Coolpix snaps from the Bush years. The photo of Wheelbarrow Race is full of motion-blur and raindrops, and the two guys in focus are outfitted in cheeky headwear (a captains hat and a cap that says CIA: Christians in Action). Their mouths are open so wide you can spot a uvula.

We had one of the best weekends you could have in 2007 in NYC, the wheelbarrow racers told me in an email. The duo, college pals Moss Levenson and Ryan Kroll, had planned to finish a perfect May weekend with a kickball game, but when rain flooded the field, they started playing around like kids. Mosss wife snapped the wheelbarrow flick on a cheap digicam, and since they couldnt stop going on about how their weekend had been the definition of fun, Moss put it in the Wikipedia article for Recreation. Another editor moved the blurry shot to the article Wheelbarrow Race, where it lives on in all its frenzied, bokeh-heavy glory. Its not a good photo by artistic standards, or even encyclopedic standards (its blurry and bizarre) but I cant shake the wabi-sabi affection I have for it.

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Wikipedia gets a lot of flak for its abysmal photos, especially its mid-sneeze celebrities. But Ive always found the unvarnished images both endearing and inviting. Wikipedias volunteers, usually sequestered in the mothy recesses of talk pages and admin noticeboards, remain invisible to most readers. Their occasional appearances in prosaic photos are the most visual hint that Wikipedia was not handed down from the heavens or generated by an all-knowing machine, but handmade with care by real, fleshy humans. The photos are like a whisper to Wikipedias hundreds of millions of daily viewers: Wikipedia editorstheyre just like us!

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A Farsi-speaking Wikipedia editor has added four photos of the inside of their mouth. An unidentified man has uploaded hundreds of photos of his own eyelashes, along with fawning captions (long, lush, coveted as a sign of beauty, and an attractive facial feature in many cultures) that suggest at least a twinge of vanity. A 20-year-old Russian university student named Rasim Ringazov told me that he once he took a picture of his eye so astonishingly beautiful that an Instagram post wasnt enoughhe needed to put it on Wikipedia, where it remains today, winning staring contests with all who visit the Eye article. When a retired biology teacher in Germany realized that Wikipedia had no good photos of female fingers, she uploaded a snap of her own hand to Wikimedia Commons, and her well-trimmed digits greet the Wikipedia readers who decide, for some reason, to read up on fingers. I have photographed a lot of my private stuff and uploaded it when I saw a need, she told me in an email, which also included a link to the public domain plaster cast of her teeth. Like Renaissance artists who sneak self-portraits into their paintings, editors leave behind traces of their own likenesses.

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Photos are not just dingy amateur snaps, of course. Wikimedia Commons editors import media from museums and governments and old, public domain books. Skilled photographers upload sublime shots of everything from mollusks to molecular origami, and a small portion of them receive the coveted featured picture distinction, awarded by a ragtag jury of volunteer encyclopedists. Because of Wikipedias massive reach, a few of the sites most diligent and talented photo contributors have spun their hobbies into bona fide careers. In 2015, the National Journal magazine pronounced college student Gage Skidmore the most prolific photographer youve never heard of.

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Annual drives for images about Africa, monuments, and living heritage attempt to fill the sites stunning image gaps (it has long struggled to diversify its overwhelmingly white, male, Western base of contributors). And plenty of less prominent photo contests exist, too, including a tongue-in-cheek Unreasonably Difficult Photo Contest that calls for pics of the probably extinct Pezoporus occidentalis, the undiscovered tomb of Genghis Khan, and other near-impossible subjects.

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Im not here to proselytize, but if you have a hankering to join in on the photo fun, tools like Wikishootme show you nearby landmarks that need photos. You can submit to Wikimedia Commons monthly photo challenge, which is currently themed Beach. (Last month was Millet.) Before you go willy-nilly, Ill warn you to not replace good images for the sake of self-promotion, and definitely dont upload your dick pics (there areI cannot stress this enoughenough!). But if youre willing to follow the rules and enrich public domain photography, you can start with some easy and low-stakes gifs for thumb-twiddling and cannonballing. Perhaps you can enrich the article Tortilla Art, or, if you dare, the photo-less article Eating Mucus.

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Wikipedia is the greatest collection of knowledge the world has ever had, and Wikimedia Commons gives it color with 100 million free-to-use media files, everything from caterpillars to thirst traps to a full-length 1915 porno. But its not complete, and itll never be complete, and maybe it needs you.

Thirst-trap archivist LittleT889 says the shirtless mirror selfie and dance videos are motivated by the noble goal of furthering free knowledge. I feel like I am making a (very) small contribution to humanity when I edit Wikipedia, he told me on a talk page.

Long after Im gone, I might still be dancing the Nae Nae in that gif.

Future Tense is a partnership of Slate, New America, and Arizona State University that examines emerging technologies, public policy, and society.
MotoGP elite class motorcycle team Repsol Honda announced the resounding news. After eleven years of ups and downs, the Japanese team broke off cooperation with six-time champion Marc Marquez. The Spaniard will race the last six races of the season on Honda, after which he will most likely join Ducatis Gresini Racing team.

Honda and Marc Marquez they had an agreement to cooperate for one more season, but they mutually decided to terminate the cooperation early, which lasted for 11 years. Both sides have agreed that it is in their best interests for each to take a different path in the future to best achieve their goals, among other things, Honda wrote in an official message.

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At the 2013 Grand Prix of the Americas in Austin, Texas, Marquez took his first win in the elite class aboard a Honda RC213V, becoming the youngest winner in the class and later that year the youngest world champion in the motoGP class. He defended his title in 2014, winning the opening 10 consecutive races of the year, and also won titles in 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019.

Marc Marquez PHOTO: AP

The termination of cooperation was also confirmed by Marquez himself on social networks: Thank you for this wonderful journey! 11 years together. We shared unforgettable moments: 6 world championships, 5 triple crowns, 59 victories, 101 podiums and 64 falls. Hard work, determination and the bond we built over the years. Laughter, tears, joy, difficult moments, but most importantly: a unique and unrepeatable relationship. Separated, but always together!

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In business, trust and credibility are not just assets but the currency that fuels meaningful, productive relationships. Whether youre interacting with customers, stakeholders, or your employees, your Credibility Bank plays a pivotal role in defining the quality of those interactions.

The Credibility Bank is an abstract yet powerful concept that illustrates the intangible value a leader holds in a professional environment. Just like a financial bank, your Credibility Bank has deposits and withdrawals. A deposit could be anything from delivering on a promise to a customer to recognizing employees contributions. On the other hand, withdrawals may involve actions like failing to keep a commitment or not being transparent about a delayed order, for example.

As a business owner, ensuring that your Credibility Bank (like your bank account) always has more deposits than withdrawals is critical. The balance between the two influences your authority, impacts the work culture, and, by extension, affects the overall success of your small business. Heres how you can manage your Credibility Bank effectively, particularly with your employees.

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Clear Communications

The cornerstone of credibility is clear, concise, and consistent communication. This is especially crucial when it comes to your employees. Misunderstandings, even seemingly minor ones, can lead to unnecessary withdrawals from your Credibility Bank that can disrupt the balance.

In good times or bad, be as transparent as possible with your employees about the state of the business, their roles, your expectations of them, and any changes that may be coming. Regularly hold team meetings and encourage open dialogue to foster a communicative atmosphere.

Some employees may be reluctant to speak up in a group, so be sure your door is always open and that employees feel comfortable sharing their input without fear of consequences.

Small Business Deals

Integrity

Actions speak louder than wordsalways. Demonstrating integrity means aligning your actions with your spoken commitments. Delivering on promises consistently increases the deposits into your Credibility Bank significantly. Conversely, if you promise something to your team you cant or dont deliver, you have not only made a withdrawal, but you also run the risk of incurring overdraft fees in the form of decreased employee morale and engagement.

A similar deficit can occur if you dont deliver your goods on time, miss a crucial client deadline, or are consistently late paying your bills.

Emotional Intelligence

Understanding the needs and feelings of your employees is an often overlooked yet essential quality of a credible leader. Being empathetic can provide insights into your employees motivations, ultimately allowing you to guide them more effectively. Whenever you successfully navigate an interpersonal challenge within your team, you make a small but essential deposit into your Credibility Bank.

Accountability

Being accountable for your decisions, particularly the flawed ones, is non-negotiable. When you own up to your mistakes, you show your team, customers, and others that you value honesty over ego. This counts as a significant deposit in your Credibility Bank. It also shows what credible leadership looks like so your team can model your behavior.

Adaptability

The world of business is perpetually evolving, and flexibility can serve as your ally. Being open to innovative ideas and willing to change your approach keeps your business competitive and enhances your credibility. Employees and customers value working for and with people who can adapt because it provides a sense of security, knowing that the company can navigate various challenges.

Recognition and Appreciation

Recognizing and appreciating the demanding work of your employees goes a long way to retaining them for the long term and building your credibility. Acknowledgment can take various forms: promotions and salary hikes are important, of course. But something as simple as public praise or thanking an employee with a $50 gift card works wonders. Each act of recognition is a significant deposit into your Credibility Bank.

Ongoing Development

Investing in the growth of your employees is a long-term deposit in your Credibility Bank. Whether via training programs, workshops, or educational incentives, investing in your employees future not only makes them better at their jobs but also fosters loyalty.

Maintaining a positive balance in your Credibility Bank is not a one-time task but an ongoing process. It requires vigilance, self-awareness, and continuous effort. Being a credible leader doesnt mean never making a withdrawal. Instead, its someone who ensures that the deposits far outweigh those withdrawals over time. In the intricate dance of leadership, those who manage their Credibility Bank effectively gain respect and create a sustainable, thriving environment for their small business.

CorpNet offers business formations, filings, state tax registrations, and corporate compliance services in all 50 states. Express and 24 hour rush filing services available upon request. Click here to learn more.
Lawmakers set to level criticism at foreign firms operating in Korea

By Park Jae-hyuk

Heads of the Korean units of Apple, Costco Wholesale, Nike, Adidas and multiple other foreign firms were selected as witnesses to testify about misconduct allegations involving their companies during the upcoming National Assembly audit this month, according to industry officials, Thursday.

Apple Korea President Mark Lee was summoned for the National Policy Committees audit of the Financial Services Commission scheduled for Oct. 11, along with Kim Deok-hwan, CEO of Hyundai Card, the U.S. firms Korean partner to provide the Apple Pay service here.

Lawmakers expressed concerns about the alleged passing on of costs to consumers and causing inconveniences in the use of their services. The Apple Korea president is also expected to face questions on alleged violations of Koreas antitrust and privacy regulations, raised by Rep. Lee Yong-woo of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK), who made an issue of the payment methods concerning Apple Pay.

Apples alleged monopoly is nothing new, the lawmaker told Fair Trade Commission (FTC) Chairman Han Ki-jeong in February.

Costco Wholesale Korea Country Manager Cho Min-soo was summoned to the Environment and Labor Committees audit of the Ministry of Employment and Labor on Oct. 12, to address the death of company employee Kim Dong-ho, who died at age 29 in June after collapsing in a sweltering parking lot at its branch in Hanam, Gyeonggi Province.

His death led the labor ministry to impose a 30 million won ($22,000) fine on Costco and check whether the company violated the Serious Accidents Punishment Act, which can send a companys chief manager to prison if a serious worksite accident occurs where the company had not taken sufficient safety precautions.

The deceased workers brother and the Korean Mart Labor Unions leader will also attend the audit session to explain how the company has dealt with the case.

Nike Korea General Manager Kimberlee Lynn Chang Mendes, Kanebo Cosmetics Korea CEO Michinao Higashiura and Pernod Ricard Korea CEO Frantz Hotton have been summoned to appear on Oct. 17 at the Environment and Labor Committees audit of the Economic, Social and Labor Council.

Nike has come under criticism over the past three years, as it abruptly stopped using shoe materials from its local supplier, Sukyoung Textile, which claimed it had been forced by the U.S. firm to provide its materials at a cheaper price. However, the American sportswear company has evaded the application of the fair trade law here by founding intermediate agencies dealing with local suppliers.

When the Nike Korea general manager appeared at last years audit, she was criticized for citing translation issues as an excuse for wasting time in answering simple questions.

The Kanebo Cosmetics Korea head is alleged to have violated the Labor Standards Act by ordering an employee to serve as a nurse for his wife and search for cosmetic products for his children. Pernod Ricard Korea is alleged to have suppressed its labor union. The liquor firm was also fined 918 million won last year for giving illegal rebates to bars.

Adidas Korea General Manager Peter Kwak was summoned to the National Policy Committees audit of the FTC on Oct. 16, along with the leader of a group of Adidas franchisees in Korea, to answer questions on the companys alleged violations of the Fair Transactions in Franchise Business Act.

Meta Korea Country Director Kim Jin-ah was summoned to the Trade, Industry, Energy, SMEs, and Startups Committees audit of the Ministry of SMEs and Startups and the Korean Intellectual Property Office on Oct. 12, to answer how the company has handled ads on Instagram and Facebook for counterfeit goods.
J. Harry Norris III, "Chip", 77, of Leonardtown, MD, passed away on October 2, 2023 at his home. Born on January 25, 1946, he was the son of the late Pat Norris and the late Harry Norris. Chip was the loving husband of Jan Norris, whom he married in St. Aloysius Church, Leonardtown, MD, and who preceded him in death on July 13, 2020. He is survived by his children, Kelly Loveless of Loveville, MD and Kristin Caton of Leonardtown, MD, his siblings Randy Norris of Leonardtown, MD, Danny Norris of Leonardtown, MD, Carol Bean of California, MD, and Chris Norris of Leonardtown, MD, as well as three grandchildren. In addition to his parents and wife, Chip was preceded in death by his and Jan's son, Jay Norris.



Chip was a lifelong St. Mary's County, MD resident and graduated from St. Mary's Ryken in 1965. He earned his Associate's degree from Charles County Community College in 1967. Chip was a Real Estate Appraiser.



Chip had a love for life and enjoyed and celebrated all things. His true loves would be his wife, Jan, the town of Leonardtown, and his friends and family. Although Chip had accomplished having a successful career and mayorship of Leonardtown, he was most proud of his beloved Jan being elected as County Treasurer. Chip is responsible for the revitalization of Leonardtown, but also supporting community attractions including the winery and wharf. Chip was PopPop to three grandchildren, Will, Logan, and Olivia. He would light up with sheer joy when any of them entered the room or even spent a few minutes on the phone. Many friends enjoyed the stories shared by Chip. Most of them would seem embellished but actually truthful; some stories would be inappropriate for some audiences. Everyone would leave Chip's company with a smile and a new story to share.



Farewell Chip, Dad, PopPop. You will be missed but never forgotten.



The family will receive friends on Tuesday, October 17, 2023 from 4:00 PM to 8:00 PM with prayers recited by Father David Beaubien at 4:00 PM in the Mattingley-Gardiner Funeral Home, Leonardtown, MD, where a funeral service will be held on Wednesday, October 18, 2023 at 10:00 AM in the funeral home chapel. Interment will be private.



Contributions may be made to the Muscular Dystrophy Association.
Trains to Vienna will end in Marchegg.

Trains connecting Vienna with Bratislava via Marchegg will not operate in October and November 2023. (Source: SME - Marko Erd)

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The operation of trains connecting Bratislava with Vienna through the Austrian town of Marchegg will be suspended for a month due to renovation work on the railroad in the town.

Trains will only be dispatched from Bratislava to Marchegg. Here, people can use buses connecting Marchegg with Schonfeld Lasse and Ganserndorf.

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Read also: Changes to Bratislava city transport during tram line reconstruction announced Read more

Renovation work on the tracks in Marchegg will last from October 9 to November 14.

To get to Vienna, Slovakia's national railway carrier ZSSK recommends passengers to use trains leaving from Bratislava's Petrzalka railway station. The trains run via the Austrian town of Kittsee.

The trains IC 44 and IC 45 Kosice - Bratislava (main railway station) - Vienna will run without restrictions. The same concerns the train RJX 160/167 connecting the Slovak capital with Zurich HB.

ZSSK recommends that passengers use Bus 93 to transfer between the Petrzalka station and the main railway station.
The new government can choose from almost 100 measures.

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The interim technocratic government of former banker Ludovit Odor unveiled on Wednesday a package of consolidation measures, which the future government could follow to reduce Slovakias debt and general government deficit. The Odor government promised to introduce the measures after the election.

The package features nearly 100 different measures worth almost 10 billion.

We see the package as apolitical, said acting Finance Minister Michal Horvath, adding that they tried to choose smart solutions that would not harm the economy. There are expert measures that political scientists would classify as left-wing, but also those that would be more right-wing."

Horvath pointed out that if the government wants to stabilise the rate of debt, more significant consolidation measures need to be implemented, optimally worth 5 percent of GDP or more than 6 billion. The extent of offered measures in the consolidation document is greater so that the new government can pick means with emphasis on its political heading and priorities.

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Related article Slovakias public finances in high-risk zone, fixing public finances not an election theme Read more

Of the 10 billion consolidation sum, hiking revenues less harmful to the economy, especially consumption tax or property tax, represents some 3.2 billion. One of proposals is the increase of the basic VAT of 20 percent by 2 percentage points. A proposed reduction in social spending should bring 2.2 billion. The document also includes a more effective tax-and-levy system for some 900 million.

In addition to consolidation measures, the caretaker government also mentions reforms that would take place in the long term; however, Horvath explained that they are vital to return the sustainability of public finances from a high to a lower risk.

Without the consolidation of public finances, the general government deficit will remain close to 7 percent of GDP for the next three years and gross debt will start to hit the 70 percent of GDP mark.

The consolidation path will not be easy, according to Odor. The debt needs to be stabilised. Otherwise, unless a decisive consolidation arises, Slovakia will find itself out of favour with the financial markets.

Then we would have to solve the situation with a big axe. Currently the situation can be solved with a lancet, Odor said.
The Women-Powered Coffee Summit is back for Year Two. The two-day coffee conference by Bean Voyage created to increase equity for women across the coffee supply chain returns to Costa Rica in November for a series of talks, workshops, and the chance to connect with smallholder women farmers.

Taking place November 2nd and 3rd at the Doka Estate in Alajuela, Costa Rica, the Women-Powered Coffee Summit aims to bring together women from every corner of the coffee industry, including producers, exporters, importers, roasters, and baristas, to foster shared learning, create lasting connections, and promote gender equity within the global coffee sector. Even so, the summit is open to any and all to attend who believe in equity and justice.

Building on last years focus on issues affecting specialty coffee from the perspectives of women, this year the two-day event will center around tools and insights to create a more resilient coffee business. The discussion topics and speaker list for 2023 has yet to be released, but the inaugural event saw industry thought leaders like Trish Rothgeb of Wrecking Ball, 2019 Costa Rica Barista Champion Elena Rivera, and Women in Coffee Projects Amaris Gutierrez-Ray leading the educational programming.

Tickets for the 2023 Women-Powered Coffee Summit are on sale now for $200, which covers entry into the event, transportation to and from San Jose, and breakfast, lunch, and coffee. (Travel to Costa Rica and lodging need to be secured separately.)

To help women producers attend the event, Bean Voyage is holding a raffle in the hopes of raising $9,000, which will cover the costs for 30 producers. Prizes include an Acaia Orbit grinder, coffee and/or swag from De Mello, Girls Who Grind, Bean Voyage, and Barista Magazine, a spice set from Diaspora Co, and a signed copy of Lucia Bawots photojournalist book We Belong. Raffle tickets are $25 a piece and the winners will be announced October 20th.

For more information, visit Bean Voyages official website.
In late September, the UK's Institute for Fiscal Studies said the overall level of taxation in the country is projected to rise from 33% to 37% under the incumbent government, which is more than under any other since records began in 1948.

A poll by the Opinium research agency showed in September that only 29% of the UK population approve of the actions of the Sunak cabinet. Despite that, the prime minister said that he was not afraid of falling ratings and still expected to win the election and remain in 10 Downing Street for the second term.
https://sputnikglobe.com/20231005/after-a-historic-ouster-who-will-replace-kevin-mccarthy-as-speaker-of-the-house-1113936631.html

After a Historic Ouster, Who Will Replace Kevin McCarthy as Speaker of the House?

After a Historic Ouster, Who Will Replace Kevin McCarthy as Speaker of the House?

On todays episode of The Backstory, host Rachel Blevins discussed current events including protests in Germany to stop Ukraine funding, and Pakistan giving illegal immigrants 28 days to leave.

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2023-10-11T09:19+0000

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After a Historic Ouster, Who Will Replace Kevin McCarthy as Speaker of the House ? On todays episode of The Backstory, host Rachel Blevins discussed current events including protests in Germany to stop Ukraine funding, and Pakistan giving illegal immigrants 28 days to leave

Jim Jatras - Attorney, Media Relations Specialist| German Citizens Fed Up with Ukraine Funding, Seized Iranian Weapons to be Sent to Ukraine, and Joe Biden Angered by Lack of Support for UkraineJim Hoft - Founder of the Gateway Pundit | FBI Created New Category of Extremism, Speculation of Donald Trump Accepting Role as Speaker of the House, and Matt GaetzEsteban Carrillo - Latin American journalist, Editor of The Cradle | Argentina Has Their Own Donald Trump Figure, Argentina's Presidential Frontrunner Javier Milei, and Right Wing Candidates in Latin America In the first hour, Rachel spoke with Jim Jatras about reports of Britain running out of military equipment to send to Ukraine, Russia should not trust the countries involved with the Minsk Accords. Jim commented on reports of seized weapons from Iran and these weapons being sent to Ukraine. Jim discussed the crumbling support for Ukraine and Germany's foreign policy.Rachel spoke with Jim Hoft about the fraud lawsuit against Donald Trump, Donald Trump telling his side of the story to the media, and weak Kevin McCarthy is correctly ousted from House Speaker. Jim detailed the fraud case against Donald Trump in New York and the reality that there are no victims in this fraud case. Jim agreed with Matt Gaetz's decision to oust Kevin McCarthy and who might win the House Speaker position next.In the second hour, Rachel spoke with Esteban Carrillo about the Argentinian elections, the political situation in Ecuador, and the Latin American media. Esteban talked about the Latin American goals to de-dollarize and the Argentinian population tired of decades of corruption. Esteban described the current situation in Ecuador and the upcoming elections in the country.The views and opinions expressed in this program are those of the speakers and do not necessarily reflect the position of Sputnik.We'd love to get your feedback at radio@sputniknews.comCatch us in the US at 105.5FM, 104.7FM, 102.9FM, 1390AM, 1140AM

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20231005/canada-regrets-awarding-former-ss-division-member-in-1987-1113946797.html

Canada 'Regrets' Awarding Former SS Division Member in 1987

Canada 'Regrets' Awarding Former SS Division Member in 1987

Canada's Governor General Mary Simon's office has expressed regret for nominating Peter Savarin, a former member of the SS Galicia Volunteer Division, to the Order of Canada in 1987

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"We deeply regret that Peter Savarin was nominated for the Order of Canada in 1987, and we sincerely apologize to the citizens of Canada for any suffering or pain that this decision may have caused," Santerre said.According to the television channel, Savarin had a notable tenure as the president of the University of Alberta and actively contributed to the Ukrainian World Congress*, with his university profile highlighting his role in promoting multiculturalism within Canada.However, media reports shed light on Savarin's controversial past, including his service in the SS Galicia Division and subsequent relocation to Canada, mirroring the trajectory of the infamous Ukrainian SS figure Yaroslav Hunko.The revelations about Savarin's background emerged during an investigation conducted by an American news outlet specializing in matters pertaining to the Jewish community. This media organization is recognized for being among the first to uncover the historical associations of former SS member Yaroslav Hunka.Furthermore, in 2017, the decision to nominate Savarin for the prestigious award was revoked. Canadian media underscored that such a reversal typically occurs when undisclosed detrimental information about a nominee surfaces. In Savarin's case, however, the decision was influenced by his death.On September 22, during the visit of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, the Canadian Parliament extended an invitation to 98-year-old Yaroslav Hunko and introduced him before the applauding chamber as a "veteran of the struggle against the Russians." In reality, he was a former member of the 14th Waffen-SS Grenadier Division Galicia, comprising Ukrainian nationalists who were implicated in various atrocities against Jews, Poles, Belarusians, and Slovaks, and engaged in combat against the Soviet Red Army. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau subsequently issued an apology for the incident.* An organization outlawed in Russia.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20231003/nazism-isnt-nuanced-internet-rips-op-ed-blaming-complicated-history-for-canada-nazi-row-1113883227.html

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20231005/canada-to-review-nazi-commission-documents---pm-trudeau-1113947101.html

Canada to Review Nazi Commission Documents - PM Trudeau

Canada to Review Nazi Commission Documents - PM Trudeau

Canadian authorities will delve into the archives of the commission headed by Jules Deschenes, which in the 1980s investigated the backgrounds of hundreds of people in the country accused of war crimes, the country's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said.

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According to a Canadian news channel, the identities of alleged Nazis in Canada were never revealed after the commission completed its work. Human rights activists and Jewish community organizations had previously urged for the release of this portion of the document, "so that Canadians could learn more about the shameful history of a country that harbored an unknown number of Nazi collaborators after World War II," the channel noted.Former Canadian Justice Minister Irwin Cotler, in the wake of a recent scandal involving the honoring of a former SS Division Galicia fighter in the Canadian Parliament, stated that the country had become a haven for Nazi war criminals, who have faced no consequences for their crimes. He called on the Canadian authorities to make public the findings of the Deschenes Commission.On September 22, in honor of the visit of Volodymyr Zelensky, the Canadian Parliament invited 98-year-old Yaroslav Hunka and presented him to the applauding chamber as a veteran of the fight against the Russians. In reality, he turned out to be a former member of the SS Galicia Division, consisting of Ukrainian nationalists who not only fought against the Red Army, but also committed atrocities against Jews, Poles, Belarusians, and Slovaks. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau later apologized for the "terrible mistake" of honoring a Ukrainian SS member.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230928/nazi-hunter-steven-rambam-trudeau-knew-he-applauded-a-monster-1113775972.html

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20231005/eleven-activists-arrested-outside-bernie-sanders-office-after-demanding-end-to-ukraine-conflict--1113940774.html

Eleven Activists Arrested Outside Bernie Sanders' Office After Demanding End to Ukraine Conflict

Eleven Activists Arrested Outside Bernie Sanders' Office After Demanding End to Ukraine Conflict

Eleven peace activists were arrested on Wednesday after demanding that Senator Bernie Sanders call for peace negotiations in Ukraine.

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2023-10-05T03:54+0000

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Eleven protesters were arrested during a sit-in at US Sen. Bernie Sanders office on Wednesday after they demanded that the senator issue calls for peace and diplomacy in Ukraine.Among those arrested was an 89-year-old woman.The group, organized by Code Pink, was joined by the Green Party presidential candidate Dr. Cornel West, who campaigned with Sanders during his 2016 and 2020 bids for US president. West did not participate in the sit-in but did join the peace advocates in the Senate lobby for a prayer vigil.Both the vigil and sit-in were part of a week of action organized by the group that included an anti-war rally on Tuesday, where West gave a speech along with the Party for Socialism and Liberation Presidential candidate Claudia De la Cruz and activist and comedian Lee Camp.Sanders was once one of the most vocal critics of US foreign policy, having spoken out against wars in Iraq, Yemen and elsewhere. But since his 2020 campaign flamed out, he has been a consistent supporter of US President Joe Biden and the continuous flow of US weapons and money into Ukraine.Benjamin said in Code Pinks news release that she is appalled that NO Democrats are saying what the American people are saying: We need peace talks, not more war. This is NOT a MAGA issue or a Republican issue but an issue of human survival.The group, which numbered in the several dozens, also demanded meetings with Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN), among other figures.Omar was one of 30 progressive lawmakers who signed a letter in October of last year, requesting the Biden administration start a proactive diplomatic push to create a realistic framework for a ceasefire, without condemning the transfer of weapons to Ukraine. However, that letter was withdrawn less than 24 hours after it was issued.A representative for Omar reportedly spoke to the advocates and no one was arrested outside of her offices. There have been no reports on what happened when the advocates approached Warrens office.Sanders has not yet commented on the protest.One protester who was arrested carried a sign that included a quote from Sanders shortly before the Ukraine conflict broke out.Russia has repeatedly condemned the transfer of weapons and aid to Ukraine by its Western benefactors, saying that doing so will only escalate the conflict.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230918/house-republicans-fed-up-with-bidens-ukraine-aid-requests-1113469428.html

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20231005/eu-to-face-gas-scarcity-as-energy-market-heads-for-period-of-turmoil-says-gazprom-1113953249.html

EU to Face Gas Scarcity As Energy Market Heads For Period Of Turmoil, Says Gazprom

EU to Face Gas Scarcity As Energy Market Heads For Period Of Turmoil, Says Gazprom

The European Union grapples with the repercussions of cutting off its reliable energy source owing to geopolitical miscalculations levied through sanctions against Russia. Its shift towards a costlier and unreliable source of LNG raises critical concerns about the bloc's energy security.

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Senior managers at Gazprom, on Tuesday, hinted that a scarcity of natural gas was looming in the European Union because of instability in its energy market.The unprecedented Western sanctions imposed last year against Russia and the deliberate destruction of Nord Stream 1 & 2 pipelines exacerbated a marked dip from Gazprom, formerly the bloc's foremost gas provider, to the 27-member union."The fact that the systemic deficit has not gone away is manifested not only by the higher price level in 2023 compared with the pre-Covid years but also by the persistence of a stable contango in the natural gas market," noted Gazproms senior managers, Aleksandr Shapin and Sergey Komlev.Since last year, the European Union tilted towards curtailing its dependency on Russian gas and substituting it with other liquefied natural gas import sources such as Qatar, the US, etc. Thus, the United States has assumed the role of the predominant gas supplier to the bloc, constituting up to 35 percent of its imports.Subsequently, Gazprom's top managers alluded to the ensuing energy crisis rocking the bloc as dependent on the cessation of relations with the energy giant. They stressed that this is principally attributed to a substantial uptick in the share of LNG considered "less reliable" compared with pipeline-delivered gas, which is predominantly provided through extended contractual commitments.Western economic circles and political leaders have raised concerns about the problems of adopting pricier and less eco-friendly LNG. Some have gone so far as to characterize the sabotage of the Nord Stream project as an act of "economic warfare" with repercussions for the entire union.Before the Ukraine conflict, the European Union received a substantial portion of its natural gas supply, roughly 155 billion cubic meters (bcm), from Russia via pipelines. In 2022, however, these deliveries plummeted to 60 bcm, and the EU is bracing itself for further cuts to 20 bcm.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230925/eu-to-rely-on-us-lng-for-decades-amid-backfiring-anti-russia-sanctions-1113650822.html

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By Ko Dong-hwan

Three companies involved in oil refining, steelmaking and shipbuilding have joined hands to introduce a fleet of ships running on marine biofuel to reduce carbon emissions.

A senior official from the Supply and Trading Department at GS Caltex met their counterparts from POSCO and H-Line Shipping to sign a memorandum of understanding at GS Tower in southern Seoul, Thursday, to jointly pursue the project.

The agreement reveals a new value chain in the country's maritime industry under which a marine biofuel provider, a fuel tank maker and a fuel tanker operator cooperate towards carbon emission reduction goals. As their first agenda, the firms have agreed to fuel POSCO's bulk carrier with marine biofuels and launch it later this month.

Officially termed B30 Bio Marine Fuel, GS Caltex's new biofuel is a mixture of the company's heavy oil for vessels and Korean bioenergy developer DS Dansuk's used cooking oil-based biodiesel for vessels. GS Caltex last August acquired ISCC EU, a certification by the European Commission for sustainability and emission reductions.

Made with recyclable waste feedstocks, marine biofuel saves more than 65 percent of carbon emissions compared to traditional fossil fuel-based marine fuel. A new type of marine biofuel made with used cooking oil-based biodiesel can reduce carbon emissions by more than 80 percent. It is also cheaper than methanol or ammonia and can be used without additional facilities or vessels.

The International Maritime Organization, at the meeting of its Marine Environment Protection Committee last July in London, acknowledged the fuel's carbon neutralization effect.

GS Caltex said Thursday the new tripartite partnership will contribute to the government's goal of neutralizing national carbon emissions by 2050.

This isn't the first time GS Caltex has applied its new biofuel in practice. On Sept. 15, HMM Tacoma, a 6,400 twenty-foot equivalent unit container ship built by Korean shipbuilder Hyundai Merchant Marine, was topped up with the fuel at Busan New Port before departing for Singapore. Earlier the same month, the company supplied Korean Air with its new sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) to test during a flight from Incheon to Los Angeles.
https://sputnikglobe.com/20231005/exposed-french-spy-mingled-with-foreign-mercenaries-in-ukraine-two-years-before-conflict-1113728946.html

EXPOSED: French Spy Mingled With Foreign Mercenaries in Ukraine Two Years Before Conflict

EXPOSED: French Spy Mingled With Foreign Mercenaries in Ukraine Two Years Before Conflict

A senior French military intelligence agent rubbed shoulders with foreign mercenaries in Ukraine two years before the conflict with Russia erupted, Sputnik has learned.

2023-10-05T11:17+0000

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Sputnik has obtained documents that indicate Lieutenant-Colonel Arnaud Helly, of the French Directorate of Military Intelligence (DRM) and Directorate-General for External Security (DGSE), rented an apartment in central Kiev for 59 nights from January to March 2020.France has been one of the key supporters of Ukraine in NATO's proxy conflict with Russia, donating dozens of self-propelled artillery guns, light tanks and other armored vehicles, surface-to-air and cruise missiles. But now evidence, seen by Sputnik, suggest that Paris had intelligence agents in Kiev in the run-up to the conflict.Another document, from the French embassy in Kiev, officially notes his fin de sejour (end of stay) on March 21 2020 and is signed off by Helly himself and the diplomatic mission's Defence Attache Andree Evrard. But two more invoices seen by Sputnik show that Helly continued renting the same address for almost two more months until May 10 2020, paying the rent in advance.While the details of the colonel's orders are unclear, the address he stayed at was just half a mile (800 metres) from the well-known Golden Gate Inn.British independent journalist Warren Thornton shared with Sputnik that he had spoken to ex-mercenaries who told him the Golden Gate Inn was a safe haven for members of their profession, along with spies and go-betweens  due to its reputation as a popular tourist spot and Irish pub, providing cover for their comings and goings and lessening the risk of being targeted by a Russian missile strike.Thornton served in the British army as a sniper for six years, followed by eight years guarding aid workers in war-torn countries  where he got to know many diplomatic attaches and private military contractors.Mystery MissionThe nature of Helly's mission, which was followed by further visits to Kiev over the next two years, remains shrouded in mystery. But his presence came during a period when NATO countries were ramping up arms supplies and military training to Ukraine in preparation for conflict with neighboring Russia.The seven-week extension to his stay past the date it officially ended also strongly suggests an undercover secondary mission.Helly had previously visited the northern Russian city of St. Petersburg for a month from July to August 2018, ostensibly to improve his command of the Russian language. He stayed in another rented apartment under his "internet pseudonym" of Arnaud Herve.Thornton has tracked the movements of French personnel in Russia, revealing that the DGSE had a string of agents in the St. Petersburg on monthly rotation.The Caucasian ConnectionHelly has since been posted to Armenia, the former Soviet republic in the Caucasus that the West is attempting to lure out of the Russian orbit.The officer had previously been sent on assignments to neighboring Georgia, where US-backed pro-European Union protests have threatened to overthrow the government after it took a neutral stance on the conflict.Military LaurelsArnaud Gildas Helly was first commissioned into the French army as a second lieutenant in October 2006, public records show, after he graduated from the Saint-Cyr Military Academy in Brittany with a degree in economy and social sciences. At the time of his 2020 trip to Kiev, he held the rank of Commandant, equivalent to Major in the armies of English-speaking countries.In October 2020, to mark his 15th year in the military, he was awarded the National Order of Merit medal in the class of chevalier or knight, an honor bestowed on officers for service with "distinguished merits". That was soon followed by a promotion in December 2021 to lieutenant colonel. The record does not detail what warranted his rapid rise through the ranks, but his work in Ukraine may have potentially something to do with that.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230926/uk-journo-arrested-for-malinformation-after-exposing-trudeau-applauding-nazi-1113677702.html

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french intelligence directorate-general for external security dgse, russia's special military operation in ukraine, georgia anti-government protests, armenian conflict with azerbaijan, ukraine, mercenaries
https://sputnikglobe.com/20231005/fate-of-humanity-rests-on-shoulders-of-russian-soldiers---serbian-war-correspondent-1113953146.html

Fate of Humanity 'Rests on Shoulders' of Russian Soldiers - Serbian War Correspondent

Fate of Humanity 'Rests on Shoulders' of Russian Soldiers - Serbian War Correspondent

No military force in history has ever faced what Russian soldiers are currently facing amid NATOs ongoing proxy war against their country in Ukraine, Miodrag Zarkovic, a Serbian war correspondent, told Sputnik.

2023-10-05T17:12+0000

2023-10-05T17:12+0000

2023-10-06T09:51+0000

russia's special operation in ukraine

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No military force in history has ever faced what Russian soldiers are currently facing amid NATOs ongoing proxy war against their country in Ukraine, Miodrag Zarkovic, a Serbian war correspondent covering the Donbass conflict, told Sputnik correspondent Russell Bentley, who covers developments in Donbass.Emphasizing the bravery and firmness of Russian soldiers, he underscored that the fate of humanity rests on their shoulders.Since Russia launched its special military operation in Ukraine in 2022, the United States and its NATO allies have supplied the regime in Kiev with billions of dollars' worth of military equipment. Furthermore, some NATO countries have been training Ukraine's troops on how to operate their sophisticated weaponry. However, Kievs much-touted counteroffensive has failed to achieve results, with its manpower and weaponry losses mounting.You cannot replace experience, Zarkovic pointed out, querying how troops trained by somebody from France, the US, or UK "can they compete with that.Despite the steady Western supply of weaponry to Ukraine, battle-hardened Russians in the trenches are now ready for practically any challenge, Miodrag Zarkovic said.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20231004/russian-leaflets-offer-ukrainians-escape-from-meat-grinder-1113924286.html

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20231005/japan-reportedly-fast-tracking-purchase-of-us-tomahawk-missiles-amid-military-buildup--1113944799.html

Japan Reportedly Fast-Tracking Purchase of US Tomahawk Missiles As It Boosts Military Reserves

Japan Reportedly Fast-Tracking Purchase of US Tomahawk Missiles As It Boosts Military Reserves

As part of its ongoing military buildup, Japan is speeding up plans to acquire Tomahawk cruise missiles from the US, according to a local media report.

2023-10-05T12:07+0000

2023-10-05T12:07+0000

2023-10-05T13:05+0000

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As part of its ongoing military build-up rationalized by US-fueled claims of being threatened by neighboring countries, Japan is speeding up plans to buy Tomahawk cruise missiles from the US, according to a local media report.During a visit to the US, Japans Defense Minister Minoru Kihara met with US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and said that the two countries shared the recognition to buy Tomahawk missiles in the fiscal year starting in April 2025. Initially, Japan had earmarked more than 200 billion ($1.3 billion) to buy 400 Tomahawk Block-5 cruise missiles made by Raytheon Technologies Corp in 2026 and 2027, and then to install them on the country's destroyers, the report said. However, now the revised plan outlines buying only 200 Tomahawk Block-4 missiles, which could bring the costs down, according to an unnamed official. US Congress needs to give its approval to the transaction.Capable of being fired from ships and submarines, the sub-sonic Tomahawk cruise missiles boast a range of about 1,000 miles (1,600 kilometers), according to Raytheon. Work to upgrade the missiles to the new Block-5 generation has been underway in the US since 2020, with the US Navy focusing on advancing the communication and navigation systems.During the Pentagon meeting on 4 October, the US Defense Secretary reaffirmed Washingtons ironclad commitment to the defense of all Japan under Article V of the Japan-US Security Treaty. Kihara and Austin agreed to strengthen the capabilities of the alliance including effective operation of counterstrike capabilities under Japan-US cooperation, according to a joint statement.Japan's Military Beef-UpThe plans to buy Tomahawk cruise missiles from the US come as part of the overall drive by Japan to beef up its military, echoing the same "threat" allegations that Washington typically conjures up. As Japan bolsters its rapprochement with NATO, it repeatedly claims that boosted defense is needed to ostensibly "deter" China, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), and, possibly, Russia. In December 2022, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishidas government approved three policy documents - the National Security Strategy (NSS), the National Defense Strategy and the Defense Buildup Program  which envisaged doubling the nation's defense spending within the next five years. For fiscal year 2024, Japan's Defense Ministry has requested the largest defense budget in its history, worth a whopping $53 billion, 12 percent higher than in 2023.On 28 July, Japan released the 2023 Defense White Paper, warning about the "advent of a new crisis era". Article 9 of Japan's war-denouncing Constitution prohibits offensive actions by the nation's military. A succession of Liberal Democratic Party governments - including the present one led by Kishida - have sought to re-write that charter to loosen the restrictions on arms exports, allow overseas deployments in support of US-led military interventions, etc. in January 2023, Western media suggested that Japan was gradually "scrapping" its post-WW2 pacifist defense strategy. Furthermore, the ongoing military build-up in Japan comes as the US beefs up its military presence in the Asia Pacific along with the UK and Australia within the framework of the tripartite AUKUS alliance. The United States has also boosted trilateral security cooperation with Japan and South Korea. After US President Joe Biden, Japanese Prime Minister Kishida and South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol met at the Camp David presidential retreat on 18 August, Moscow said that the flurry of political and military interaction promotes Washington's policy on deterring Moscow. The summit's agreements are "of confrontational nature" aimed at an escalating situation in the Asia-Pacific under the pretext of "response to global challenges and threats", said the Russian Foreign Ministry.Japan's foreign policy and its modern militarization are to a large degree driven by American interests, experts have told Sputnik. Pundits added that US geopolitical objectives "directly threaten peace, stability, and thus prosperity in the region.China has also voiced opposition to certain countries uniting in exclusionary groups in the region. "China opposes relevant countries assembling exclusionary groupings, and practices that intensify antagonism and undermine the strategic security of other countries," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said.North Korea has also weighed in on Japan's claims of having been threatened by neighboring countries, with DPRK's media slamming it as a "smokescreen" to justify Tokyo's intention to swell into a major military power.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230921/will-west-draw-japan-into-militarization-with-uk-italy-6th-gen-fighter-project-1113552937.html

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230913/us-deployments-in-japan-could-chain-gang-tokyo-into-conflict-with-china-1113350821.html

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20231005/japan-to-start-releasing-second-batch-of-fukushima-water-on-thursday-1113942898.html

Japan to Start Releasing Second Batch of Fukushima Water on Thursday

Japan to Start Releasing Second Batch of Fukushima Water on Thursday

Japan will begin releasing the second batch of radioactive water into the ocean from the wrecked Fukushima nuclear power plant on Thursday.

2023-10-05T05:13+0000

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2023-10-05T05:13+0000

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Tokyo Electric Power Company, the plants operator, began discharging some of the 1.34 million tonnes of treated wastewater in August despite outcries at home and in the region. China banned all seafood from Japan over concerns of radioactive contamination. The International Atomic Energy Agency has said that the treated wastewater would have a negligible radiological impact on people and the environment. The Fukushima plant suffered major damage during an earthquake and tsunami in March 2011. Since then, water has continually been pumped in to cool the plant's reactors. As of June, some 1,000 of tanks holding treated water were stored on-site.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230923/russia-to-strengthen-checks-amid-fukushima-water-release-1113605149.html

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20231005/mccarthys-ouster-signals-us-preparing-populace-at-large-to-defund-ukraine-1113952020.html

McCarthy's Ouster Signals US 'Preparing Populace at Large' to Defund Ukraine

McCarthy's Ouster Signals US 'Preparing Populace at Large' to Defund Ukraine

Kevin McCarthy lost the House speakership this week after his GOP colleague Matt Gaetz tabled a motion to remove him over alleged side deal talks with President Biden and the Democrats on Ukraine funding. The shock ouster comes amid growing weariness among Americans over the proxy war, and possible preparations to dump Kiev, experts told Sputnik.

2023-10-05T12:39+0000

2023-10-05T12:39+0000

2023-10-05T12:39+0000

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The fallout over Kevin McCarthy's historically unprecedented removal as speaker of the House of Representatives continues to send shockwaves of confusion and dread across the furthest reaches of the American empire, including in Ukraine."We are interested in getting things sorted out so American democracy can function, and so we can restore the bipartisan consensus on supporting their own national interest by supporting Ukraine," Klympush-Tsintsadze emphasized. Apparently, to the politician, a "functioning" American democracy seems to mean continuing to pump tens of billions of additional dollars into Kiev, which faces a looming debt crisis, and is now dependent on Washington and its allies for some 70 percent of all government expenses, as Western creditors prepare to collect dividends on their "investments."The Zelensky government estimates that Kiev still has access to about $1.6 billion in US defense support and $1.23 billion in budgetary assistance. The Pentagon says some $5.4 billion in cash also remain in Presidential Drawdown Authority funds allowing for weapons stocks from American armories to be sent to Kiev. However, senior Biden administration officials, including the president himself, have expressed fears that "only weeks remain" before a lack of additional funding will start becoming "a serious battlefield concern" for Kiev."Obviously, time is of the essence," an administration official stressed, warning of the risks of Congress sitting on its hands without appropriating additional cash to Kiev before the current short-term spending package runs out in mid-November.Preparing the Public for Bad News?"I have difficulty thinking of Ukraine as a primary issue for American politicians," Dr. Nicolai Petro, an international politics professor at the University of Rhode Island, told Sputnik, commenting on the role played by Ukraine funding in the chaos in Washington over the past week.Pointing to the deeply murky nature of US spending on Ukraine and the "hide the ball" approach to appropriations, Petro predicted that the Biden administration will likely be able to squeeze out more cash from already appropriated funding for some time even if additional Congressional funding dries up.The growing debate in Washington over Ukraine has also rippled across the Atlantic to Britain  the second-staunchest supporter within NATO of continuing the proxy war. Even there, Petro pointed out, a debate seems to be gaining strength over just how much more money can be lifted from taxpayers pockets and transferred to Kiev.This shift in rhetoric is related to the fact that the US and some of its allies are approaching crucial elections, with "all the polls and the recent elections [in Europe] suggest[ing] that this NATO proxy war in Ukraine is extremely unpopular. And that in and of itself it is going to at least affect the narrative between now and several key elections," Petro said.Dems Shoot Themselves in the FootMcCarthy was ousted Tuesday by an extremely narrow margin of 216 in favor to 210 opposed, with only eight Republicans  led by rebel Florida Congressman Matt Gaetz, supporting his removal alongside Democrats."My biggest question going forward is, is this going to be the right move for Democrats?" independent US journalist Rachel Blevins told Sputnik.The ouster could have repercussions for Ukraine going forward. While interim House Speaker Patrick McHenry has repeatedly supported Congressional votes on Ukraine funding  apart from last weeks attempt to role assistance into the government funding bill, several candidates vying for the speakership have expressed opposition to further aid, including Ohio Congressman Jim Jordan, Oklahoma Representative Kevin Hern, and Florida Congressman Byron Donalds.What a Difference a Year Makes"I know that Joe Biden is not happy right now," Blevins emphasized. "Hes probably the most furious with all of this, because he was expecting McCarthy to get that funding through. He was not happy that it was not there in that bill to keep the government open.""What was interesting was to see that back and forth" over Ukraine, the observer added. "Because in the Senate, they had at least $6 billion for Ukraine, which is a lot of money to the average person, obviously. But when it comes to Ukraine, thats just enough to keep it rolling for a few months. So they come up with $6 billion. Then in the House, they basically put Democrats in a position where they said, ok, heres a funding bill to keep the government open. If you say youre against it, its literally just over Ukraine funding. So that's on you. And you have to answer to your constituents and saying that you wanted a government shutdown just so that you could fund a country that most Americans cant find on a map," the observer said.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230928/west-pays-for-70-of-zelensky-govts-expenses-as-ukraines-debt-hits-new-high-1113767741.html

https://sputnikglobe.com/20231004/peace-activists-on-capitol-hill-demand-us-stop-pumping-weapons-money-into-ukraine-1113932320.html

https://sputnikglobe.com/20231005/who-are-the-contenders-for-house-speaker--whats-their-stance-on-ukraine-aid-1113937381.html

https://sputnikglobe.com/20231003/white-house-says-ukraine-could-struggle-to-receive-other-aid-if-us-funding-lapses-1113898101.html

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20231005/russia-sets-up-security-council-commission-to-counter-modern-biosecurity-threats---decree-1113952911.html

Russia Sets Up Security Council Commission to Counter Modern Biosecurity Threats - Decree

Russia Sets Up Security Council Commission to Counter Modern Biosecurity Threats - Decree

Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree on the establishment of an interdepartmental commission of Russia's Security Council to counter modern threats to biological security.

2023-10-05T12:42+0000

2023-10-05T12:42+0000

2023-10-05T12:42+0000

russia

russian ministry of defense

russian defense ministry

ukraine

russia

security council

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bioweapon

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"To establish the Interdepartmental Commission of the Security Council of the Russian Federation on countering modern threats to biological security. To abolish the Interdepartmental Commission of the Security Council of the Russian Federation on the creation of a national system of protection against new infections, transferring its functions to the Interdepartmental Commission of the Security Council of the Russian Federation on countering modern threats to biological security," the document read. The decree goes into effect from the moment it is signed.In February 2022, the Russian Defense Ministry discovered the existence of 30 US-funded military biological laboratories in Ukraine. According to Moscow, Washington has spent over $200 million to develop biological weapons at the facilities. Russia also said that the labs discovered in Ukraine constituted only a small part of a global network of over 300 similar facilities. The United States denies the Russian accusations.In April 2023, Russia's upper house unanimously approved the report of the parliamentary commission, supported by the lower house, to investigate the activities of the US biolaboratories in Ukraine. Deputy speaker of the Russian upper house Konstantin Kosachev then said there were at least 30 US biolaboratories on the territory of Ukraine, adding that the Pentagon was the main "customer" of the bio-research, which may speak about the military nature of the research. Kosachev noted that the establishment of US biolaboratories in Ukraine indicates possible plans of the US to use its military against Russia.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230411/us-creating-biological-weapon-components-near-russias-borders-russian-defense-ministry-1109349596.html

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20231005/sunak-to-announce-new-aid-to-ukraine-sign-illegal-migration-deals-at-granada-summit-1113952406.html

Sunak to Announce New Aid to Ukraine, Sign Illegal Migration Deals at Granada Summit

Sunak to Announce New Aid to Ukraine, Sign Illegal Migration Deals at Granada Summit

UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak will announce 44 million pounds ($53.38 million) in humanitarian aid for Ukraine and sign a series of bilateral agreements with Belgium, Bulgaria and Serbia to tackle the flow of undocumented migrants at the European Political Community summit in Granada on Thursday, the UK government said.

2023-10-05T13:06+0000

2023-10-05T13:06+0000

2023-10-05T13:12+0000

ukraine

united kingdom (uk)

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world

illegal immigration

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The European Political Community summits are attended by European countries' heads of state and government. Its third meeting will be held in the Spanish city of Granada on October 5. It adds that Sunak intends to discuss with allies the issue of providing military support to Ukraine, including ongoing efforts to provide air defense, long-range weapons and fighter jets, as well as the grain deal. The prime minister will also express London's commitment to security in Europe amid the situation in Kosovo and Nagorno-Karabakh, the government stressed. The military support to Ukraine on the UK's behalf amounted to 2.3 billion pounds in 2022 and is not expected to be less than that figure in 2023. Russia has condemned foreign military aid to the Kiev regime on multiple occasions, stressing that the assistance only postpones the end of the crisis. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has previously warned that any arms shipments to Ukraine to facilitate NATO's proxy war against Russia are legitimate targets of Russian forces.The fight against illegal migration in Europe will also be discussed during the summit. Earlier in 2022, the United Kingdom signed migration agreements with Rwanda, France, and Albania. The latest migration deal was signed with Turkiye in August 2023. The new agreement with Belgium will enable the UK to increase the bilateral exchange of experience and use advanced technologies to detect and identify people involved in the smuggling of migrants into Europe. The agreement with Bulgaria will launch a partnership on cooperation and information exchange agreed at the previous European Policy Community summit in June, the document said. With Serbia, the UK will sign a joint declaration on cooperation in tackling the flow of refugees, including to ensure the prosecution of criminal gangs trafficking migrants, the government said. Additionally, the UK prime minister, joined by his Italian counterpart, Giorgia Meloni, will organize a small session on the sidelines of the summit to discuss illegal migration and the fight against organized crime, the statement read.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20231001/uk-mulls-sending-its-navy-to-black-sea-and-military-instructors-to-ukraine-1113834425.html

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230806/uk-in-talks-with-germany-on-seizing-boats-used-to-smuggle-migrants-1112424629.html

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20231005/ukraine-corrupt-at-all-levels-not-eligible-to-join-eu---ex-bloc-head-1113960646.html

Ukraine 'Corrupt at All Levels', 'Not Eligible' to Join EU - Ex-Bloc Head

Ukraine 'Corrupt at All Levels', 'Not Eligible' to Join EU - Ex-Bloc Head

The European Union is preparing to launch formal talks on possible Ukrainian accession into the bloc, despite dire warnings by senior officials that the EU might not survive enlargement economically, and lose whats left of the pan-European projects political cohesion.

2023-10-05T17:08+0000

2023-10-05T17:08+0000

2023-10-05T17:08+0000

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Ukraine in its current state is corrupt to the core and absolutely ineligible to join the European Union, former European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker has said."One mustnt make false promises to the people of Ukraine who are up to their necks in suffering. I am very angry about the presence of some voices in Europe who are telling the Ukrainians that they can become members immediately," Juncker said in an extensive interview with German media on Thursday."The European prospects for Moldova and Ukraine, which is defending itself so virtuously and defending European values, must be maintained, but must not be linked to a hope that this can be achieved overnight at the push of a button," Juncker said. Instead, he proposed, countries like Ukraine should be able to "take part" in projects aimed at partial integration.The former European Commission boss, who warned during his time in office that Ukraine would certainly not become an EU member over the next 20 to 25 years, and that the country was not European in the sense of the European Union, repeatedly dashed the hopes of the Euromaidan coup plotters, who overthrew Ukraines government in 2014 and launched a civil war in the Donbass to try to set the country on a path to Europe. The crisis escalated into a full-on NATO-sponsored proxy war on Ukrainian territory in 2022 as Moscow attempted to preempt plans by Kiev to reabsorb the Donbass by force.Juncker is the latest high-level European politician to put a damper on Ukraines EU prospects amid reports that bloc leaders are planning to initiate formal accession talks before the end of the year, despite the ongoing largescale conflict in the country.Late last month, European Parliament President Roberta Metsola warned that the "economic model" that the bloc has today would not survive enlargement, and proposed a number of stopgap integrative processes short of membership, such as telephone and internet roaming, the lifting of trade barriers, access to some EU funds, Ukrainian access to European universities, etc.European Council President Charles Michel also hinted this week that Ukraine could become a member of the EU no sooner than 2030, and even then only if "both sides do their homework."Commenting on the blocs plans to go ahead with accession talks, University of Fribourg macroeconomics and monetary policy professor Sergio Rossi told Sputnik that in addition to economic problems, an effort to absorb a country as large as Ukraine would undermine the "cohesion between current EU member countries" and potentially exacerbate local nationalisms.Ukrainian officials announced this week that Kiev has begun work on a unified "Plan of Reforms" up to the year 2027, based on "recommendations and proposals" by Brussels and the International Monetary Fund.Accession to the Ukraine would entitle Kiev to as much as 186 billion euros  a much sought-after boon to the countrys economy, which is desperately searching for new ways to raise money as debt levels approach 100 percent of GDP, foreign donations account for up to 70 percent of the states budget, and private creditors knock on Ukraine's door for returns on their 'investment'.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20231005/eu-hints-ukraine-could-become-bloc-member-by-2030-while-squeezing-kiev-dry-1113947869.html

https://sputnikglobe.com/20231004/ukraines-membership-would-entail-financial-conundrum-for-eu-erode-its-cohesion-1113917891.html

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20231005/ukraine-loses-up-to-210-military-in-donetsk-direction-in-past-day---mod-1113952541.html

Ukraine Loses Up to 210 Military in Donetsk Direction in Past Day - MoD

Ukraine Loses Up to 210 Military in Donetsk Direction in Past Day - MoD

Ukraine has lost up to 210 military both killed and injured in the Donetsk direction over the past 24 hours, the Russian Defense Ministry said on Thursday.

2023-10-05T12:33+0000

2023-10-05T12:33+0000

2023-10-05T12:33+0000

russia's special operation in ukraine

ukraine

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Over the given period, the Russian armed forces have repulsed two attacks by Ukrainian troops in the Donetsk direction, another two in the Krasny Liman direction and one in the South Donetsk direction. Ukraine has also lost up to 170 military both killed and injured in the Kupyansk direction and up to 80 military in the Krasny Liman direction, the ministry added

https://sputnikglobe.com/20231005/russias-units-kill-up-to-50-ukrainian-soldiers-near-torsky-sector---defense-ministry-1113941164.html

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20231005/ukraine-nixing-disability-concept-to-slash-payments-to-conflict-victims-1113961315.html

Ukraine Nixing 'Disability' Concept to Slash Payments to Conflict Victims

Ukraine Nixing 'Disability' Concept to Slash Payments to Conflict Victims

Kiev's decision to eliminate the concept of "disability" by 2025 indicates the state authorities' unwillingness to take care of vulnerable Ukrainians, military analyst Alexey Leonkov told Sputnik.

2023-10-05T18:44+0000

2023-10-05T18:44+0000

2023-10-05T18:44+0000

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Ukraine will replace the concept of "disability" with the "assessment of loss of functionality" starting from 2025, according to Ukrainian Minister of Health Viktor Lyashko, as quoted by the countrys media.Per Lyashko, Ukrainians are seeking "disability" benefits instead of restoring their productivity. He argued that this approach is a relic of the post-Soviet era that Ukraine should discard.The Ukrainian government plans to carry out a global reform of the Medical Expert Commission (MSEC) system in 2025 and completely reconsider approaches to disability assessment, according to the minister.Lyashko explained that people with injuries will undergo rehabilitation, and after that they will be redirected to specialists who will consider how to restore their functionality. Per the Ukrainian media, during the 10 months of the conflict in 2022, over 45,000 Ukrainians received disability status, which is 3.5 times more than in 2021.However, the question is whether Ukraine will simultaneously adopt laws protecting the rights of those disabled employees, according to the military expert. What if Ukrainian companies refuse to employ those people? That would mean that disabled persons would be left without any means to survive, given that the Ukrainian government is going to shrug off this responsibility.Per Leonkov, the country is likely to face unemployment and bankruptcy in the future, given that its national debt is approaching the value of its gross domestic product (GDP). That is, Ukraine will adopt strict austerity measures, minimize social programs, and raise the bar for receiving any kind of financial assistance.Kiev Mobilizing Old, Young and SickRemarkably, in late August, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy ordered a full review of all mobilization exemptions granted by Military Medical Commissions (MMCs) under the pretext that some draft-age Ukrainians had bribed officials to get fraudulent "disability" rulings from MMCs. The initiative was announced in the wake of the spectacular failure of the Ukraine counteroffensive. Instead of gaining ground on the battlefield, the Ukrainian Armed Forces sustained gargantuan losses in terms of both manpower and equipment.Still, Kiev's Western patrons are urging Ukrainians to continue fighting nonetheless. As former British Secretary of Defense Ben Wallace claimed in his recent op-ed, Ukraine should expand mobilization and send its youth to the battlefield because any pause will allow Russia "to build a new army."Since February 2022, Ukrainian martial law has barred most men between the ages of 18 and 60 from leaving the country; however, tens of thousands of draft-age adults have fled to Europe since then. The Kiev regime is urging the EU to extradite those "draft-dodgers," but European authorities refuse to do this under the pretext of the bloc's laws, since Ukrainian migrants are a source of cheap labor."Of course, they suffer significant losses there. And, of course, it is impossible for them to make up for these losses. They need to keep a certain number on the line of combat contact in order to hold this line. But they believe that the best defense is attack. So, in fact, they are being pushed into slaughter. They do not have time for training people properly and professionally, and there are not enough people. Thats why, previously, they used to take healthy people, but now they take all the 'lame and cross-eyed' ones."To complicate matters further, the Kiev regime's strategy of preserving Western military equipment and not caring about its soldiers has resulted in spiking rates of amputation. According to the Western press, between 20,000 and 50,000 Ukrainian military personnel have lost one or more limbs since the beginning of the special military operation. While Ukrainian medical institutions cite 20,000 amputee cases, the actual figure could be much higher, foreign journalists note, adding that the exact number of fallen and injured is shrouded in secrecy by Kiev.The Ukrainian Healthcare system is overwhelmed, according Tetiana Ostashchenko, commander of the Medical Forces of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, while the cost of getting a new artificial limb mounts over $100,000.In order to save their lives and limbs, newly mobilized Ukrainian soldiers are increasingly surrendering on the battlefield. Russian leaflets provide them a life-saving exit from the "meat grinder" created by Kiev and the West's determination to fight to the last Ukrainian.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230921/cannon-fodder-number-of-ukrainian-amputee-soldiers-going-through-the-roof-1113563445.html

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20231002/former-uk-defense-sec-suggests-ukraine-mobilize-younger-recruits-1113849525.html

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230912/they-dont-want-to-die-pointless-death-why-ukrainian-troops-increasingly-surrender-1113318870.html

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Russias Artillerymen Urge Ukrainian Soldiers to Surrender Russias Artillerymen Urge Ukrainian Soldiers to Surrender 2023-10-05T18:44+0000 true PT1M16S

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LG Chem, SKC also expected to benefit from mega-size deal

By Park Jae-hyuk

LG Energy Solution (LGES) agreed to supply 20 gigawatt-hours of high-nickel NCMA (nickel, cobalt, manganese and aluminum) battery modules annually to Toyota Motor from 2025 to 2035 for the Japanese carmakers battery electric vehicles (BEVs) produced in the U.S. state of Kentucky, the Korean battery maker said Thursday.

The deal is LGES single largest supply agreement secured outside of joint venture agreements.

Although the Korean firm kept the deals size confidential, it is expected to generate an additional $22 billion in revenue through the contract, considering that high-nickel battery cells are sold for $110 to $130 per kilowatt-hour.

To fulfill the supply agreement, LGES will invest 4 trillion won ($3 billion) in its Michigan plant, to build new production lines for battery cells and modules exclusively for Toyota by 2025. The modules will go to Toyotas Kentucky plant to be assembled into battery packs for BEVs.

This is the first time for LGES to sign a battery supply agreement with Toyota.

As a result, the Korean firm has been able to supply its batteries to the worlds top five carmakers  Toyota, Volkswagen, Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance, Hyundai Motor and General Motors.

Were excited to have Toyota, the best-selling global automaker, as our new customer. With our 30 years of experience in lithium-ion batteries, we will provide innovative power solutions to support Toyotas push further into BEVs, LGES CEO Kwon Young-soo said. The agreement also presents another big opportunity for us to strengthen our production capacity in North America, thereby bringing more real-life, large-scale progress toward electrification in the region.

Toyota aspires to offer 30 BEV models globally across its Toyota and Lexus brand nameplates and produce up to 3.5 million BEVs annually by 2030.

At Toyota, our goal is to reduce carbon emissions as much as possible, as fast as possible, Toyota Motor North America CEO Tetsuo Ted Ogawa said. Having secure supplies of lithium-ion batteries at scale with a long-term relationship to support Toyotas multi-pathway approach and growth plans for BEVs in North America is critical to achieve our manufacturing and carbon reduction plans. Working with LGES, we are excited to be able to offer products that will provide the performance and quality our customers expect.

Meritz Securities analyst Rho Woo-ho said the mega-size deal will also benefit LG Chem and SKC.

In August last year, SKC established a joint venture with Toyota Tsusho to supply copper foil, he said. LG Chem is in talks with Toyota to supply cathode materials in the U.S. market.

The analyst added that LGES is expected to sign an additional partnership with Ford Motor in the European market by the end of this year at the earliest, based on its solid bargaining power in the global battery industry.
https://sputnikglobe.com/20231005/uks-rishi-sunak-touts-roadmap-to-smoke-free-young-generation--1113955089.html

UK's Rishi Sunak Touts Roadmap to 'Smoke-Free' Young Generation

UK's Rishi Sunak Touts Roadmap to 'Smoke-Free' Young Generation

UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has unveiled his plan to phase out smoking in young people by 2040, and eventually eradicate the habit nationwide.

2023-10-05T18:40+0000

2023-10-05T18:40+0000

2023-10-05T18:40+0000

united kingdom (uk)

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Rishi Sunak has unveiled his plan to phase out smoking in young people by 2040, and eventually eradicating the habit nationwide.The idea is to change the laws so that the legal age to buy cigarettes will rise annually, said the British PM at the ruling Conservative Party's annual conference on Wednesday.If selling tobacco products to people born on or after January 1, 2009 were made illegal, it could help create the first smoke-free generation, Sunak said.The British government has been citing data showing that smoking has become the countrys biggest preventable killer, blamed for one in four cancer deaths. Overall, the death toll attributed to the habit stands at 64,000 annually in England.Not only would the measure proposed by Downing Street save tens of thousands of lives, but it has been touted as a means of slashing healthcare costs, saving the National health service (NHS) 2.4 billion a year.The plan was hailed as a game changer by charities such as the Asthma + Lung UK charitable company. On the other side of the aisle, smoking rights groups ripped the planned ban as "hideously illiberal and unconservative."Britain's opposition Labour Party has already given the proposed plan its backing.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230411/dont-smoke-vape-instead-uk-rolls-out-swap-to-stop-scheme-to-fight-cigarettes-1109340966.html

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20231005/us-house-contender-jordan-claims-he-wont-oust-gaetz-after-holding-talk-with-trump-1113969390.html

US House Contender Jordan Claims He Won't Oust Gaetz After Holding Talk With Trump

US House Contender Jordan Claims He Won't Oust Gaetz After Holding Talk With Trump

Rep. Jim Jordan, one of the frontrunners to fill the empty House Speaker position, said he spoke with Former President Trump on Thursday.

2023-10-05T22:25+0000

2023-10-05T22:25+0000

2023-10-05T22:22+0000

americas

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US Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) said on Thursday that he spoke with former US President Donald Trump about his bid to replace Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) as House speaker.Jordan did not elaborate on whether Trump said he supported his bid for speaker, only saying it was a great conversation and that they also talked about all kinds of issues.During and after the Trump presidency, Jordan proved to be a close ally of the former commander-in-chief. He was one of the Republicans who did not vote to certify the 2020 election results and is one of the leading GOP members of the impeachment inquiry into current US President Joe Biden.McCarthy was ousted as speaker earlier this week after US Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) filed a motion to vacate the seat. Eight Republicans joined every Democrat in voting to oust McCarthy. The move by Gaetz has angered some party members and a few have floated the idea of kicking him out of the caucus. Jordan said he would not support a move against Gaetz.Gaetz has expressed support for both Jordan and Rep. Steve Scalise (R-LA). Reps. Kevin Hern (R-OK) and Tom Emmer (R-MN) have also announced bids.Some Republicans have also been calling for the repeal of the rule that allowed Gaetz to call for McCarthys removal. Jordan said if the conference supports that, he would also throw in his backing but added that it would be fine with him if they did not.US Rep. Byron Donalds (R-FL), who received a peak of 20 votes during Januarys election for House speaker, said he disagreed with Gaetzs decision to call for a motion to vacate but added that his actions showed how things have changed in the US House of Representatives.Despite leading the impeachment inquiry, Jordan said that he would be able to form a working relationship with Biden while acting as speaker.If I get the votes and get the privilege of being speaker, thats how it works in our system, Jordan said. Well deal with them, theyll deal with us. Thats how it works.He was also asked about his relationship with Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), particularly their vast differences on sending more aid to Ukraine. Jordan has vehemently opposed further aid to Ukraine while McConnell, who received $18,500 for his 2020 campaign from weapon manufacturer Raytheon, supports it.Jordan said his relationship with McConnell is fine and argued that his position on Ukraine is where the American people are.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20231005/who-are-the-contenders-for-house-speaker--whats-their-stance-on-ukraine-aid-1113937381.html

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20231005/us-house-speaker-ousted-canada-chooses-new-house-speaker-biden-admin-loses-1st-amendment-hearing-1113940215.html

US House Speaker Ousted; Canada Chooses New House Speaker; Biden Admin Loses 1st Amendment Hearing

US House Speaker Ousted; Canada Chooses New House Speaker; Biden Admin Loses 1st Amendment Hearing

The US Speaker of the House has been ousted due to a dispute in his caucus about funding for the Kiev regime.

2023-10-05T04:14+0000

2023-10-05T04:14+0000

2023-10-05T11:13+0000

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US House Speaker Ousted; Canada Chooses New House Speaker; Biden Admin Loses 1st Amendment Hearing The US Speaker of the House has been ousted due to a dispute in his caucus about funding for the Kiev regime.

Rachel Blevins, journalist and host of The Backstory, joins us to discuss domestic politics. US House of Representatives Speaker Kevin McCarthy has lost his leadership position. Rachel Blevins says that at least half of Americans oppose further Ukraine funding, and that issue is at the heart of the GOP dissent. She says the Democrats may have shot themselves in the foot because the next Speaker may oppose Ukraine funding altogether.Brian Berletic, ex-US Marine, independent geopolitical researcher and writer based in Bangkok, Thailand, joins us to discuss foreign policy. The US and NATO are running out of ammunition. Brian Berletic says that the US record is that it drops its vassals when the going gets tough, and they will likely follow suit in this instance.Dr. Nicolai Petro, Professor of Political Science at the University of Rhode Island, joins us to discuss Ukraine. US funding for Ukraine is set to dry up by November. Professor Petro says that a significant amount of government funds do not require Congressional authorization. He thinks it is unlikely that Ukraine will gain membership in the European Union because there are several ways that individual nations can sabotage the process.Mark Sleboda, Moscow-based international relations security analyst, joins us to discuss how the US and its vassals are unhappy about the results of the Slovakia elections. Mark Sleboda says the winner is a former Prime Minister tainted by a corruption scandal. He has railed against economic challenges due to the sanction war on Russia. Also, he has opposed paying money to support Ukrainian refugees. His party is anti-NATO and Euro-skeptic. Mark says that in Poland, the ruling party is playing to the electorate regarding Ukrainian immigration and grain.Robert Fantina, journalist and Palestinean activist, joins us to discuss the Middle East. Canada has elected Greg Fergus as its first Black House of Commons Speaker. Robert Fantina says that this does not address the government-sponsored racism against indigenous people across Canada who still suffer. Also, the government can use the race of the new Speaker as an excuse to argue that racism is not present.Steve Poikonen, national organizer for Action4Assange, joins us to discuss domestic legal policies. A US court has ruled against the Biden Administration's policies of working closely with private social media corporations to censor opinions that they do not like. Steve Poikonen says that this is not censorship by proxy since most of these platforms were created by the Federal government. He says it is time that we realize that free speech on the internet is gone as long as there is an open collaboration between social media platforms and government agencies.Jon Jeter, journalist and author, joins us to discuss the Canadian Parliament's Nazi debacle. A UK geopolitical analyst has written an article defending Canada's rousing applause for a Nazi war criminal. Jon Jeter says this is further evidence that they have no exit strategy from Ukraine. Jon says that the Ukraine project is unraveling.Scott Ritter, former UN weapon inspector in Iraq, joins us to discuss international geopolitics. The US is mimicking the Chinese Belt and Road Initiative as they work to set up new railway and port routes in Western Asia and the Middle East. Scott Ritter says this was a G20 follow-up on a G7 initiative to challenge the Chinese. He says that the G-20 was an initiative to allow the wealthy Western nations to take control of the rising Global South powers. Also, there is a question as to whether the Muslim countries will work with Israel, and China is responsible for maintaining some of the necessary railroads for this project.The views and opinions expressed in this program are those of the speakers and do not necessarily reflect the position of Sputnik.We'd love to get your feedback at radio@sputniknews.comCatch us in the US at 105.5FM, 104.7FM, 102.9FM, 1390AM, 1140AM

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Daburg, driven by Pat Berry, equalled the track record for two-year-old trotting fillies on Wednesday at Harrington Raceway with a 1:59.2 win in a $20,000 Delaware Standardbred Breeders Fund division, part of the second leg of the series.

The Anders Bluestone filly remained unbeaten in three starts for trainer Traci Berry and owners James Craparotta and Berry Racing in the early non-wagering contest. Daburg led wire to wire over Rip Away and Platinum Blue. The track record equalled Cicadas Song, who established the mark in 2015.

There were four additional splits on the wagering program -- two apiece for males and females. Nanticoke Racing's LGs Jaxon ($9.20, Jim Morand) captured the first male split in 2:02.2 for trainer Les Givens. The Rolls Blue Chip gelding sprung an upset over race favourite Royal Beep Beep, who was second, with Pulsator third.

Meanwhile, Jane Dunavant's Glide Along ($4.40, Cody Poliseno) completed a sweep of her eliminations with a 2:01 score over Marinos Prize and Going Platinum. The Glidemaster filly recorded her second career win in as many starts for trainer Carlo Poliseno.

Wolfpack Wilma ($3.20, Corey Callahan) captured the last filly division in 2:04.2 for owners Stuart Chambers, Bcjm Inc., and Divine Horse Racing. The Anders Bluestone filly recorded her first career win over FD Pure Platinum and Gavelhigh with a strong late finish.

Team Givens struck again in the final split on the card, as LGs Bluestone ($7.40, Art Stafford Jr.) was a 2:02.1 winner over Ronnie Ridge and Portnoy. The gelded son of Anders Bluestone recorded his second career win for co-owner/trainer Givens.

In the $20,000 overnight feature, the Open Trot, Clark Stables and Tina Clark's That Ole Bar Stool ($8.80, Montrell Teague) was a 1:56 winner over Remarkable De Vie and Judge Bob.

Later in the card, Jeff Clark's She Is Strong ($2.80, Stafford Jr.) notched her sixth straight win for her trainer/driver in 1:59.1. Stafford earned four driving wins on the card.

The top eight point earners from the DSBFs two legs will return to compete in the $110,000 DSBF final events, which will headline the Oct. 9-11 week of racing, in addition to $50,000 Open events named for Bobby Quillen, Kathleen Cain and Allen Cook.

Live harness racing will continue on a Monday through Wednesday schedule until Oct. 18.

(With files from Harrington Raceway)
Surrounded by her family in the comfort of Erie Shores Hospice, Faye Ilene Duford passed away peacefully on Oct. 3, 2023 at the age of 74.

In 2019, Faye retired from Standardbred Canada after 35 years of service. She was a pillar of the Standardbred Canada family for many, many years. Faye had such a welcoming nature and she always had a way to make anyone she met feel at home. She was loved by so many and will be dearly missed.

Beloved wife of Rodney Duford for exactly 54 years, married on October 3, 1969. Loving mother of Ronald Duford. Dear sister of Sue Davies and the late Gail Mason. Loving aunt of Kim Davies, Chris Davies and Jennifer Thompson and their families.

The family extends a special thank you to the team at Erie Shores Hospice. Their care and compassion for both Faye and the family will forever be cherished.

Cremation has taken place as per Faye's wishes. If so desired, memorial donations may be made in memory of Faye to the Erie Shores Hospice or to the Canadian Fallen Firefighters Foundation.

Arrangements entrusted to Cremation First (Leamington) 519-398-9188. Online condolences and cherished memories may be shared with the family at cremationfirst.ca.

Please join Standardbred Canada in offering condolences to the family and friends of Faye Duford.
The Board of Supervisors has approved a resolution requesting the Commonwealth of Virginia declare Culpeper County an agricultural disaster area due to the persistent drought.

Senior Extension Agent Carl Stafford made the request to the board at its regular monthly meeting on Tuesday. Staffords presentation revealed the county has been going through a sustained drought due to extreme heat and inadequate rainfall.

The presentation outlined how drought conditions, from July 15 through Sept. 15, affected a total of 682 farms in Culpeper. Losses were estimated at over $7 million, more than the 30% threshold needed for a disaster declaration, Stafford said.

According to the senior extension agent, well levels around the county are also at historic lows, mentioning Clevengers Village on the northern end. Data showed well levels below 10 feet from the top of the well casing, coinciding with the date range of July to September in the crop loss information.

The USDA County Emergency Board, on Sept. 14 and 15, recommended the disaster declaration, attended by Virginia extension agents from Culpeper, Madison, Greene, Orange and Rappahannock. Each of the countys agents agreed to ask for the declaration based on reports of drought conditions.

Having the disaster declaration in place will make the localities eligible for federal disaster relief funding.

Culpeper County crop loss information complied by the extension office reported 50% of pasture land impacted by the drought, resulting in a dollar loss of $3.9 million. A 30% shortage of hay during the summer harvest has resulted in an additional loss of $3.2 million.

Stafford reported 20% losses for corn and soybean, 50% loss for corn silage and 25% loss in wine grape tonnage, albeit with improved grape quality. Evergreen tree farms are also seeing impacts from the drought.

The NOAA rain gauge at Culpeper Regional Airport has collected about half as much rain as this time last year, he stated. Creeks and streams are dry. One local woman reported 100 cows watering off a house well, Stafford continued. He said surface water in the county is as low as hes seen it.

A 2023 Drought Status provided by the county showed Culpeper at 9.25 inches below normal rainfall levels as of Sept. 22  around 21 inches since January compared to the normal 30 inches. USDA Drought Monitor ranks Culpeper County as moderate for drought, but the impacts have been more severe, Stafford said.

The board voted unanimously to pass the resolution which will seek the disaster declaration for Culpeper County from the commonwealth.

It is very clear that we have drought conditions with groundwater depletion and crop loss. Mr. Stafford detailed clear evidence this morning that there is real impact upon Culpeper, and especially upon agricultural operations, said Board Chairman Gary Deal in a statement after the meeting.

The board fully supported adoption of the Resolution requesting the governor to declare Culpeper County an agricultural disaster area because there has been a clear negative impact on our farmers. If the governor declares a disaster, it could potentially open up opportunities for disaster relief funds from the commonwealth.

Catalpa District Supervisor Paul Bates said he has had numerous farmers contact him about hauling water for livestock.

Its a temporary fix for a long-term problem, he stated.

Bates said owners of some private lakes in Culpeper have agreed to share the water with farmers.

The creeks drying up, Hazel River (is the) lowest I have ever seen it.

He added water availability is a major issue the board cannot turn a blind eye to going forward in considering future development projects.

Staff reporter Allison Brophy Champion contributed to this report.
The 42nd Annual Freedom Fund Banquet, sponsored by the Culpeper Branch NAACP, will be held at noon on Saturday at Peppers Grill in Culpeper.

The event serves as the branchs main fundraiser each year to provide scholarships to local youth and support educational, health and wellness, and political action initiatives, according to a release from secretary Cynthia Taylor.

This years theme is Empowerment through Education. Featured at the banquet will be music, speakers and fellowship, all exemplifying the NAACPs mission to achieve the political, educational, social and economic equality of rights for all persons and to eliminate race-based discrimination.

African Americans have endured challenges in the pursuit of a high-quality education, both throughout history and currently, said Culpeper Branch President Frank D. Lewis. We always found a way and we will continue to find a way.

Lewis said history tells us that people of color are resilient, from fighting to end segregation in the past to fighting for teaching accurate history and against silencing Black writers and artists today.

The branch, which also serves Madison and Rappahannock counties, is currently providing shared learning experiences for the public that empower individuals to thrive through its Empowerment through Education series, according to the release. The series has programs for teens and adults including monthly events, such as a high school book club, teen and family learning days, True History Tuesdays, panel discussions and workshops, field trips and essay contests.

As part of the banquet program, Genesis Lee, a recent graduate of Culpeper County High School, now attending Virginia State University and studying education, will read her essay on why she wanted to become a teacher.

Education Exemplars

The keynote speaker for the banquet will be Dr. Janet Gullickson, the first woman appointed as president of what she has helped to become Virginias fifth largest community college: Germanna Community College.

Currently serving about 13,000 students annually in both suburban and rural regions of the state, including Culpeper, the college has grown by nearly 16% in overall enrollment for the last four years  one of the few community colleges in the country seeing growth. Germanna also boasts a 25% increase in African American enrollment during that time.

Previously holding positions in higher education in three states, Gullickson has led Germanna to author and implement the Truth and Reconciliation Plan, with a stated vision to repudiate racism and be committed to challenging the inequitable treatment of oppressed and marginalized groups. We are an institution where people of all identities, backgrounds and perspectives feel welcome, safe and included.

The branchs 2023 honoree will be Nancy Garnett Williams, who was among the first students to integrate Madison County High School.

Under Williams direction, the Madison County African American Historical Association was established in 2006. She has worked closely with the local library and circuit court over many years of research to collect data and documents dating to the 1700s, including wills, marriage licenses, deeds, chancery filings and other historical material.

Williams also assisted local families in their genealogical searches by overseeing the establishment of a collection of research materials while also collecting artifacts, photos, publications and other memorabilia connected to local Black history, according to the release.

She has created special displays in the Madison County Historical Society museum, and is working on the restoration of two revered buildings in Madison. One building is The Grand United Order of Odd Fellows lodge, which hosted meetings and events in the late 1800s and early 1900s and did much to support African American families in our community, according to Williams.

The other building is the former Red Rooster Juke Joint which was a lively gathering spot for many people in Madison, with great food and musicians performing for crowds of dancers, she said, noting her Uncle William Buster Garnett was the proprietor.

Lewis said Williams is a shining example of, what our Empowerment through Education mission reflects: that inclusive education can and must come from many sources within our communities. We are all teachers, and we are all learners.

The public is invited to attend the banquet, learn about the NAACP and be inspired by creative and dedicated educators. See naacpculpeper.org, under Resources, for banquet ticket info or email secretary@naacpculpeper.org.

Donations for the branchs important work can be submitted on the website or mailed to Culpeper NAACP, P.O. Box 687, Culpeper, VA, 22701.

The public is invited to attend branch meetings at 7 p.m. on the third Thursday of each month in the conference room at the Culpeper Business Center, 14115 Lovers Lane in Culpeper.
The Nebraska State Board of Education traveled to the Scottsbluff/Gering area this week to tour facilities and meet with school leaders with a particular focus on career and technical education programming in the Scottsbluff school district.

The state board spent Wednesday in a variety of Scottsbluff school buildings to get an overall impression of the districts impact from early childhood to career readiness. One unique stop was the Aulick Industries facility that houses Scottsbluff High Schools diesel tech and electrician training programs.

Elizabeth Tegtmeier represents District 7 on the Nebraska State Board of Education, an area which includes the entirety of the Panhandle. She said she toured the Aulick facility on another occasion and wanted to share the experience with her peers on the board.

This was the opportunity that I wanted some of our board members who come from larger towns to see: the innovation and the collaboration thats happening out in the Panhandle. Im proud to represent this and feel like Im a little part of it, Tegtmeier said.

To Tegtmeier, the community-led and collaborative programs in Scottsbluff not only set students up with good jobs, they also help keep talented and hardworking individuals in the communities they call home.

One of the issues we face in western Nebraska is that a lot of our kids are moving to larger cities, and its causing a population drain out here, she said. What I see happening through the diesel shop is that kids are finding they can stay in their hometown and their community, have a long-term job, support their families, and raise those families near their parents so those children have grandparents around.

During their visit, board members heard from school officials like superintendent Andrew Dick, SHS principal Justin Shaddick and internship coordinator Derek Deaver. One student, Milo Coop, also spoke about how the diesel tech program changed the course of his future.

Im decent in school, I get good grades, but school is just eh, Coop said. But I tried this diesel tech program, did several different units and, overall, enjoyed every second of it. My mentality now is to continue down this path, go to college and build something out of this opportunity Ive been given by the school and our business partners.

Industry partner Jake Aulick touted the ability of trades programs to reach a demographic of students, like Coop, whose strengths lie outside of the traditional classroom setting.

These kids are the ones who want to get their hands dirty and dont want to sit in class, but theyre the ones who are going to fix all of your stuff when its broken, Aulick said.

Tegtmeier expressed her belief that the boards visit to Scottsbluff will emphasize the importance of career and technical education statewide and hopefully lead to a funding increase for such programs.

Its very inspiring to see how much the people here in the Scottsbluff/Gering area are willing to invest in the future, she said.

The Nebraska State Board of Education will hold its monthly business meeting at the Gering Civic Center on Friday, Oct. 6, beginning at 9 a.m. A public comment period will also be held at around 1 p.m.
The Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) reports that Riverside Discovery Center has lost its accreditation.

According to a news release on the AZAs website issued in September, Riverside Discovery Center was one of two zoos denied its application for accreditation. It was one of 30 zoos and aquariums whose applications were reviewed by the AZAs independent Accreditation Commission and considered during the AZAs 2023 annual Conference held in Columbus, Ohio, Sept. 9-14.

Riverside Discovery Center has been accredited under the AZA since 1990 and is required to reapply every five years. The process includes on-site inspections that include a team of trained zoo and aquarium professionals to observe day-to-day operations and other aspects of the institution.

According to the press release, Riverside Discovery Center officials have 30 days to appeal the decision to the AZA Board of Directors, effective Oct 1. The Star-Herald reached out to Riverside Discovery Center officials, including director Desiree Drane-Davison, board president Andy Hayward and board member Jeff Fielder, who has been serving as a media liaison. The Star-Herald was advised that the board has a scheduled meeting at which a statement will be prepared and released.

AZA accreditation is widely regarded as the gold standard of zoological accreditation. AZA accreditation is a rigorous process for zoos with multiple day inspections of all parts of a zoos operations. Accreditation is one of the factors that allows the zoo to participate in the AZAs Species Survival Plan Program, through which some of the zoos most popular animals were acquired.

Officials at Riverside Discovery Center attributed its loss of accreditation to financial woes, saying in a press release that there were no issues regarding safety and well-being of animals in the zoos care. The zoos staff plans to work toward accreditation again next year when they are eligible.

Riverside Discovery Center Board President Andy Hayward said, Its pretty much going to be a one- to two-year process; the good thing is a big chunk of the problems revolve around finance.

In a press release issued by Crane, the Riverside Discovery Center cited: The biggest reason for the denial of accreditation were lack of sufficient finances and contingencies, inexperienced staff and recent turnover at the executive director position.

Hayward said the zoo is also applying for accreditation under the Zoological Association of America.

While they hold members to similar standards, ZAA has some differences in its standards he said, most notably in the handling of elephants and the breeding of big cats such as lions and tigers.

Most of the animals held at the zoo are owned by the Riverside Discovery Center, but some are on loan from other owners and the AZA. Riverside Discovery Center officials said in the press release that they are confident animals on loan would not be leaving their care.

As of Friday morning, zoo officials were uncertain about the future of the lions that were supposed to be delivered from the Omaha Zoo this fall.

In light of the news about Riverside Discovery Center losing its accreditation, the Star-Herald reached out to the City of Scottsbluff, which provides annual funding to the Riverside Discovery Center.

Through an agreement that runs until September 2025, the City of Scottsbluff provides $300,000 in funding annually. The agreement is contingent on the zoo operating in a good faith effort to manage their accreditation, City Manager Kevin Spencer told the Star-Herald.

Spencer said that the city has been advised that the zoo has applied for the AZAs Pathway to Membership Program, a program designed to help organizations seeking accreditation prepare to submit an application.

I think as far as the agreement goes, I think were in good standing still, he said, because the zoo has applied for that program.

City staff are still working through its course of action following the denial of the zoos application, but Spencer said he is optimistic about the zoos future.

A clause in the agreement between the city and the zoo outlines causes for termination of the agreement. One of those causes is the revocation of the zoos accreditation.

City Council member Jordan Colwell, who serves as the councils liaison to the Riverside Discovery Center on its board, told the Star-Herald that he hopes that the city could find a way to continue the providing aid to the zoo.

It is my hope that we try to help the zoo as much as possible, he said in text messages. They (Riverside Discovery Center) are doing great work and the zoo is a gem in our community we cant lose.

According to the AZAs website, the accreditation report is confidential, released only to the zoo. Spencer advised that the City of Scottsbluff has not received a copy of the report.

The Star-Herald did reach out to the AZA as part of its reporting, but had not yet received a response as of presstime.
President Joe Biden expressed fears on Wednesday that U.S. aid to Ukraine could be hurt by congressional chaos and said he will give a major speech soon to make the case for why it is necessary to help Ukraine repel Russian invaders.

Republican infighting in the House of Representatives has complicated budget negotiations and prompted Biden to go from confidence that an agreement will be made on Ukraine aid to now expressing worries about funding his top foreign policy priority.

Asked if he was concerned that the United States would not be able to deliver the aid that it has promised to Ukraine because of the disarray on Capitol Hill, Biden said: "It does worry me ... but I know there are a majority of members of the House and Senate in both parties who have said that they support funding Ukraine."

Biden asked Congress in July to approve $24 billion more related to Ukraine, which Ukraine supporters - Republicans and Democrats  had hoped could become law as part of a spending bill. The White House said on Tuesday that current funding levels would last about two more months.

Biden sought to assure U.S. allies in a call on Tuesday that U.S. aid would continue unimpeded as Ukrainian forces press on with a counteroffensive to try to reclaim territory lost since Russia's invasion in February 2022.

"The president's message was that the U.S.A. could certainly continue to be relied on in this matter in the future," German Chancellor Olaf Scholz told reporters in Berlin.

Biden did not say when he would deliver his speech on the subject but indicated that it would be soon. The White House declined comment and one official said the speech was not currently on Biden's schedule.

"I'm going to make the argument that it is overwhelmingly in the interests of the United States of America that Ukraine succeed and it's overwhelmingly in our interests," he said.

Biden suggested there was an alternative source for Ukraine funds but did not explain what he meant. The White House declined comment.

But a method that has been used in the past involves the reprogramming of funds, a tool used to shift funds around within Pentagon accounts to meet urgent needs.

Currently the Pentagon has $1.6 billion to fund replenishment of weapons stocks sent to Ukraine. But the Biden administration has the authority to send $5.4 billion worth of weapons to Ukraine.

Reprogramming could be done to increase the $1.6 billion figure in order to keep contracts flowing to weapons makers such as Lockheed Martin, which makes the GMLER rockets Ukraine is using each day, and General Dynamics, which makes the 155 millimeter artillery ammunition that is essential to Ukraines fight. (Reuters)
The Diabetes Care Foundation has pledged $2 million to help the Clifton Strengths Institute grow and continue its mission of developing business students at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

The pledged money will be distributed via an endowment named after Joan Heiser, executive director of the foundation and a 1980 graduate of UNLs College of Business. Tim Hodges, executive director of the Clifton Strengths Institute, said the money will help recruit and retain faculty and staff.

In turn, students will benefit from more one-on-one instruction and mentorship as they are developed into business leaders.

While the science in researching and treating diabetes is sound, Heiser said the field could use an entrepreneurial vision.

Diabetes is a national epidemic, Heiser saidThere are so many problems that can be solved through entrepreneurs who have ideas for new ventures. The Clifton Strengths Institute teaches and promotes the entrepreneurial spirit.

Hodges said the endowment comes with flexibility to do some exciting things that may not have happened had we not had a gift like this. The endowment, he said, could allow the expansion of existing programs both on an institutional level and a student level. It could also allow the Clifton Strengths Institute to implement new ideas and programs.

On one hand, (we can) do more of what were already doing and continue to keep trying to do it better. On the other hand, (we can) have the flexibility to start something new, he said. Its a real privilege to be able to do that.

By pledging the $2 million as an endowment, the Diabetes Care Foundation, which is based in Omaha, has ensured the funds will be awarded in perpetuity.

We wanted to invest in something that we could support that wasnt going to be a one-and-done deal. We want to establish something that will be self-sufficient, that will grow and gain support from others, Heiser said. The future will change for those with diabetes.

Established in 2015, the Clifton Strengths Institute, which is based in the College of Business, teaches the students using the late Don Cliftons lessons and philosophies. Clifton earned four degrees from UNL and was a researcher and educational psychology instructor at the university from 1950 to 1969.

The Clifton Strengths Institute, Hodges said, teaches and develops students under Cliftons philosophy by emphasizing their strengths rather than their weaknesses. About 1,000 students participate in the program each year.

The Diabetes Care Foundations pledge comes as part of the University of Nebraskas Only in Nebraska fundraising campaign. Administered by the University of Nebraska Foundation, the $3 billion campaign is designed to support students, faculty, academic programs and research at NUs campuses plus the University of Nebraska Medical Centers clinical partner Nebraska Medicine.

To date, the campaign has raised more than $2 billion from more than 130,000 donors.

This is not the first pledge the Diabetes Care Foundation has made to an NU campus.

According to a statement from the NU Foundation, the Diabetes Care Foundation pledged $5 million last year to support the launch of a statewide diabetes care and education program led by the University of Nebraska Medical Center and UNMCs clinical partner Nebraska Medicine.

Heiser also noted the Diabetes Care Foundation has partnered with Creighton University to help rural Nebraskans with diabetes.

16 famous University of Nebraska-Lincoln alumni Willa Cather Ted Kooser Mary Pipher Tommy Lee John J. Pershing Ted Sorensen Louise Pound
Jim Meiers Nebraska Memorial Forest is beginning to branch out from its Omaha roots.

A year ago, the Vietnam-era veteran kicked off his ambitious plan to plant 7,500 trees around the state  one for each Nebraska service member and first responder killed in the line of duty since World War I  by planting 267 trees in Omahas Memorial Park, Levi Carter Park and at Cunningham Lake.

Tree-planting season is here again. So on Monday, several volunteers joined nursery workers and city employees in planting 175 new trees near the north end of N.P. Dodge Park, not far from the Missouri River.

This place becomes a piece of hallowed ground, where people will visit, Meier said during a brief ceremony.

There are more tree plantings to come: 50 trees at Omahas Youngman Park on Thursday; 50 trees at Horning State Park in Plattsmouth on Friday; 200 trees at Prairie Queen Park in Papillion on Oct. 13; and 75 trees in a park at 40th Street and Cornhusker Highway in Lincoln, at a date that hasnt been set yet.

Meiers ambition is to plant groves of trees across the state, in nearly every county, in numbers similar to the number of service members and first responders from that area who died  from one each in Banner and Dundy Counties to 1,108 in Douglas County.

He is working with some volunteers to create a database of the honored dead. Ultimately, each tree will be tied to a specific fallen service member or first responder. That persons image and biography will be available through an app and a website.

Were remembering those who left this life, Meier said. But were keeping their spirit alive.

That means something to Thomas Wood of Omaha, whose son, Army Spc. Edwin Eddie Wood of the 10th Mountain Division, was killed by a roadside bomb in Afghanistan on July 5, 2010, a month before his 19th birthday.

Wood brought a photo of his son to the ceremony. He said Eddie was in the drama club and junior ROTC at North High School. He had bright red hair, and a temperament to match. He joined the Army five months after graduating, and died within a year.

Wood said he loves the idea of a tree as a living memorial for his son and other fallen soldiers. He said on Eddies last home leave before his death, he insisted on visiting a pair of trees he and his brother had planted in a park years earlier after a bad series of storms.

These are memories that end up growing and staying with you  and in Nebraska, the home of Arbor Day, Wood said.

The trees being planted in each park are being adapted to the local environment, said Alan Weiss, president of the Nebraska-based American Reforestation Initiative, which is working with Meier on the Nebraska Memorial Forest project.

At Dodge Park, he chose a combination of pecan, bald cypress, cottonwood, sycamore and swamp oak trees. All are species that survived the 2011 and 2019 floods from the nearby Missouri River. The trees were donated by the Papio-Missouri Valley Natural Resources District.

Weiss said tying reforestation with memorializing Nebraska heroes has been appealing to potential donors.

Our tree-planting takes on a whole new meaning, he said.

Thats what brought out volunteers Russ Quimby, a former American Legion commander in Elkhorn, and his wife, Paula Pillen-Quimby, an American Legion Auxiliary representative at the Omaha VA medical center.

Pillen-Quimby is a first cousin of Gov. Jim Pillen. Her father and grandfather served in the military, and her uncle Pfc. Vernon Pillen died in combat in Germany in 1944. And her mothers family is from Nebraska City, home of the national Arbor Day movement.

The consciousness of military service and planting trees is ingrained in me, she said.

Meier said he is looking for more volunteers to help at the upcoming tree-planting events in Omaha, Plattsmouth and Papillion, each of which will begin at 9 a.m. More information is available at NebraskaMemorialForest.org.

The statewide effort will expand next year, with plans in the works for plantings in Burt County (75 trees) and York County (65 trees) and discussions with several other counties.

Meier said the statewide effort is expected to cost $4 million. He is seeking donations from individuals or organizations through the Midlands Community Foundation in Papillion (MidlandsCommunity.org).

He would like to see the Memorial Forest idea take root in other states, too, with Nebraska leading the way  just as it did with the Arbor Day movement, 150 years ago.

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We would love to hear your thoughts...

1. How did you come up with the idea for your startup?

2. What was the hardest part in the early stages of the startups growth?

3. What are the services/solutions/products that the startup offers? Who are the targeted audiences?

4. What are your strengths and advantages over your competitors?

5. At the moment, how do you measure success? What are your metrics?

6. Is the company bootstrapped or funded? What milestones will the financing get you to?

7. What is the road map ahead? How are you planning to achieve it?

Key Management :

Founding Year :

Milestones :

Awards/Recognition :

Clients :
Once the benches were assembled, each bench was fitted with with an insignia for one of the branches of military service and placed on front of the helicopter at Post 65.
The U.S. has transferred to Ukraine 1.1 million rounds of small arms ammunition that it seized from Iran, U.S. Central Command said Wednesday.

The much-needed ammunition has been sent at a time when continued U.S. financial support for Kyivs fight to defend itself remains in question.

And while Ukraine will use the 7.62 mm ammunition seized from Iran in its fight against Russia , Iran has been supplying Russia with the Shahed 136 drones that its forces have used in Ukraine against both civilian and military targets.

The 7.62 mm ammunition is the standard round for Soviet-era Kalashnikov assault rifles and their many derivatives. Ukraine, as a former Soviet republic, still relies on the Kalashnikov for many of its units.

The rounds were seized by Central Command naval forces in December off of a vessel the command described as a stateless dhow," a traditional wooden sailing ship, that was being used by Irans Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps to support the Houthis in Yemen's civil war in violation of a U.N. Security Council resolution.

A fragile cease-fire is in place after the almost decadelong war, but Iran has continued to supply the Houthis with lethal aid, Lt. Gen. Alexus G. Grynkewich, head of U.S. Air Forces Central, told reporters on Wednesday. He said this was a major threat to Yemen finding a durable peace.

U.S. Central Command said the U.S. obtained ownership of these munitions on July 20, 2023, through the Department of Justices civil forfeiture claims against Irans Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

The U.S. Navys Mideast-based 5th Fleet and its allies have intercepted numerous ships believed to be transporting weapons and ammunition from Iran and heading to Yemen in support of the Iranian-backed Houthi rebels.

A United Nations arms embargo has prohibited weapons transfers to the Houthis since 2014. Iran insists it adheres to the ban, even as it has long been transferring rifles, rocket-propelled grenades, missiles and other weaponry to the Houthis via the sea.

Independent experts, Western nations and U.N. experts have traced components seized aboard detained vessels back to Iran.

Iran's mission to the United Nations did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Wednesday.

Even though the shipment of more than 1 million rounds of small arms ammunition is substantial, it pales in comparison with the amount that the U.S. has already sent to Ukraine since Russia invaded in February 2022, much of which has already been used in the intense ground battle.

The U.S. has provided more than 300 million rounds of small arms ammunition and grenades as part of the almost $44 billion in military aid it has sent to help Ukraine.

Further U.S. funding for Ukraine's war was not included in a stopgap measure that prevented a government shutdown last weekend. With the ouster of Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, it was unclear whether the future leader will be able to generate enough support from the partys hard-liners, who have opposed sending more money to Ukraine. (AP)
A federal lawsuit was dismissed Wednesday that alleged T.W. Garner Food Co. deliberately deceives consumers because its Texas Pete products are not made in the Lone Star state.

Texas Pete products are made in Winston-Salem and have been since 1929.

The lawsuit was filed on Sept. 12, 2022, in the U.S. Central District of California by Phillip White.

White sought an undeclared amount of compensatory and punitive damages related to his purchase of a $3 bottle of Texas Pete Original Hot Sauce in a Los Angeles supermarket.

According to the lawsuit, had White known Texas Pete was made in Winston-Salem, he wouldnt have bought it.

The companys defense is that its packaging does not imply that Texas Pete was manufactured in Texas and that a reasonable consumer would understand that the trademark symbol next to the Texas Pete name indicates it is a brand.

White filed a motion Sept. 28 to have the lawsuit dismissed without prejudice, which means it can be re-filed.

However, White said in his motion to dismiss that he does not plan to refile.

According to the dismissal order, T.W. Garner "neither agrees to nor admits to any of the factual allegations or legal arguments expressed in plaintiffs motion to dismiss." The parties will cover their own legal costs.

Ann Garner Riddle, president and chief executive of T.W. Garner, said in a news release Thursday that "since the lawsuit was filed, we have remained steadfast in our position that our product labels and trademark are truthful and not misleading in any respect, and that the lawsuit had no merit."

Garner denied each of White's legal claims and allegations, saying the back label of its Texas Pete hot sauce products identify North Carolina as the geographic source of the products.

The Texas Pete brand name and trademark identifies the Garner Foods brand of condiment, seasoning, hot sauces and BBQ sauce, not the location of manufacturing.

White claimed in his motion to dismiss the lawsuit that he "has been compelled to seek dismissal due to the harassment he and his friends have experienced in connection with defendants discovery efforts."

Those includes "unfounded and personally defamatory accusations inexplicably lodged in an initial case management statement by defendant with zero evidentiary basis."

T.W. Garner could not be immediately reached for comment on White's claims of harassment.
Q: An article in the Journal stated that emission inspections would no longer required in our area. It also stated that safety inspections would still be required but only every other year. How do we know which year they will be required?

I.B.

Answer: Theres good news and bad news. The good news is the emission inspection requirement is coming, but it may be a while.

The bad news is that the safety inspection change wont happen.

John Brockwell, the communications for the N.C. Division of Motor Vehicles, said that the senate bill, SB341, didnt pass, which means North Carolina drivers still have to do yearly safety inspections.

As for the emissions inspection changes, likely it will be 16-18 months before we see that come to fruition, he said.

Q: The new Jamestown Parkway construction was recently completed. Driving west toward High Point, just before the intersection with Greensboro Road, there is a large DOT road sign that is still covered in black plastic. Is there another phase of the project remaining or is the sign covered by mistake?

D.T.

Answer: Archer Wright, the N.C. Department of Transportation division engineer for Guilford County, told us what happened with that sign.

The sign had a directional error. The contractor will leave the aluminum sign panel up and will install a corrected overlay panel at their cost.

Q: I get lots of scam emails and know not to answer them. But if it says, to unsubscribe click here, should I do it?

B.M.

Answer: No, dont click on unsubscribe to get rid of scam emails.

According to Google support, mark suspicious emails as spam or phishing and send to the junk or spam box.

If you unsubscribe, that merely tells the sender they have a live one on hook  may result in more and more real spam/phishing, and they often sell your details to other spammers/phishers, Google said.

Also, clicking on unsubscribe may take you to websites that can download spyware or malware on your computer.

Q: My wife and I have paid for personalized Blue Ridge Parkway license plates for eight years or so. The former bright orange and green paint on the aluminum-stamped plates are now faded and ugly. Is it possible to request a re-issue of our plates to return them to their original bright coloring? W.V.

Answer: John Brockwell said that you will need to get a duplicate license plate. You can do that by going by a license plate agency or online at MyNCDMV.gov. Going to the agency will make the process go faster.

The customer will need to provide the current valid vehicle registration. Cost of the duplicate plate is $21.50 plus notary fee, he said.
A Wytheville man pleaded no contest on Tuesday to abducting two family members in February.

Neal Stanley King III, 47, was also convicted of being a felon in possession of a firearm from the same incident.

According to court documents, King abducted his wife and toddler on Feb. 13. The Wythe County Sheriffs Office investigated the case, but additional information wasnt available from police or the prosecution.

The victim has asked me to respect her privacy, which is paramount to me, Commonwealths Attorney Mike Jones wrote in an email. I will have no comment.

As part of a plea agreement, King, whos been jailed since his February arrest, was sentenced to serve three years behind bars. After his release, hell be on supervised probation for three years and will waive his Fourth Amendment protections.

He was also ordered to have no adverse contact with his wife or child.

Earlier this year, King pleaded guilty to misdemeanor marijuana possession and the commonwealth dropped three other charges.

Court records show he has previous convictions for grand larceny and burglary, both felonies.
Two Smyth County firefighters who died in the line of duty have not and will not be forgotten.

The inaugural Smyth County Fallen Firefighter Memorial Program, held Monday in Marion, and including representatives of the fire departments in Adwolfe, Chilhowie, Marion, and Bristol, Va., ensured that the memories and the sacrifices of Johnny Earl Morphew Jr. and Charles Dog Woods are remembered and honored.

Held as part of National Fire Prevention Month, the Town of Marion hosted the program outside the town hall.

Steve Widener, Adwolfes fire chief and Woods brother-in-law, addressed the gathering. He knew both men and declared that they served as first-responders with passion. Its a calling, Widener said.

Widener would know something about the call to serve. He fights fires, provides EMS care, and serves a sheriffs deputy.

Marion Mayor David Helms also described such service as a calling, noting that first-responders run toward problems.

Mondays ceremony, Helms said, was to celebrate the lives they lived and the duties they performed for our community. The mayor urged all gathered to pray for Morphew and Woods families and those who continue to serve.

Ken Heath, who organized the ceremony, expressed the hope that the community may never have another cross to put up here on this hallowed ground.

Known best as Earl Morphew, the firefighter and paramedic died in early 2009.

Morphew, 46, of Chilhowie, was headed for work as a helicopter flight paramedic around 4:30 a.m. on Jan. 28, 2009, when a van driven by a drunk driver traveling north in the southward lanes of Interstate 81 at Abingdon fatally struck Morphews car.

In addition to his service as a paramedic, Morphew served 17 years as a volunteer firefighter for the Chilhowie Fire Department, 16 years as a paid firefighter for the Bristol Fire Department, including five years as a sergeant, and worked part-time as a member of the Bristol Life Saving Crew.

Highly trained, Morphew honed his skills throughout his career and served as an instructor for the Virginia Office of EMS and the Virginia Department of Fire Programs.

On Sept. 23, 2020, Adwolfe Volunteer Fireman Charles Dog Woods died after he went into cardiac arrest while helping battle flames at a house fire. He was 58 years old.

A Marion native and Adwolfe resident, Woods began his lifelong stint as a volunteer firefighter when he joined the Adwolfe department 34 years prior. Later on, he became an emergency medical technician (EMT) and began volunteering alongside his wife, Missy, with the Marion Life Saving Crew.

Of Woods drive to serve his community, Widener said, at the time of his death, Hes just always wanted to help people.

Beyond battling flames, Woods served as vice president of the fire departments board of directors, often organized fundraisers to help support the department and was active in just about every community event held at the station.

On several occasions, Woods also put his skills as a contractor to use to help with the departments upkeep. He laid tile and helped other members build the departments addition years ago.

The crosses in their memory and honoring their service will remain near the Marion Town Hall throughout October, Fire Prevention Month.
The CENTCOM commander has stated that Russia appears to be reducing its provocative actions in Syria, al-Modon reports.

The commander of the US Central Command Air Force (CENTCOM), General Alexus Grynkowicz, has stated that Russia appears to be reducing its provocative actions in Syrias airspace. However, he expressed concerns about the level of cooperation between Russia and Iran in Syria and the presence of a few hundred Wagner members in the region. General Grynkowicz made these remarks during a press briefing on Wednesday in Abu Dhabi, where he discussed defence matters.

He noted that Russian aircrafts provocations against American fighter jets in Syria have decreased relative to previous levels. While describing Moscows behaviour as unprofessional, he emphasized that it is currently within safe bounds. General Grynkowicz, who also serves as the commander of the Ninth Air Force and the Joint Forces Air Formation of US Central Command in Southwest Asia, mentioned that after spending months visiting US military bases in Syria and monitoring US drones engaged in counter-terrorism activities, there have been positive developments in Russian behaviour, which he welcomed as a broad de-escalation.

However, the US media reported General Grynkowicz as saying that Russian activity in Syrian airspace has remained relatively consistent. He clarified that Russians are still flying in the regions airspace but not directly above American forces. He noted, In the past, I would have been highly concerned about Russian aircraft armed with air-to-ground weapons flying directly over our forces, but this has become increasingly rare and hasnt occurred for several weeks.

General Grynkowicz expressed particular concern about the level of cooperation between Russia and Iran, especially in the context of drone activity. He stated, I am troubled by the extent of cooperation This evolving relationship is a significant military concern for me. He warned that Russian modifications to Iranian drones could enhance Tehrans military capabilities and increase the threat level in the Middle East.

He further cautioned that there is a risk that Russia might receive drones from Iran, modify them, and share some of this technology with Iran, thereby providing Iran with additional capabilities. This warning comes amid growing apprehensions about the implications of Russia-Iran cooperation on regional security.

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 SDF leader called upon the guarantor parties and the international community to adopt appropriate positions in response to Turkey's repeated threats, according to Athr Press.

In response to the Turkish military operations against the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), Mazloum Abdi, the commander-in-chief of the SDF, has explicitly denied any involvement of his forces in the recent bombing that targeted the Ministry of Interior in the Turkish capital, Ankara.

Abdi conveyed his statement via platform X on Wednesday evening, emphasizing that The perpetrators of the Ankara attack did not traverse SDF-controlled territories, contrary to what Turkish officials have claimed.

Addressing Turkeys allegations that the attackers received training in Syria, Abdi asserted, Turkey appears to be searching for justifications to legitimize its ongoing assaults on SDF-controlled regions, which is causing profound concern.

The Commander-in-Chief of the SDF called upon the guarantor parties and the international community to adopt appropriate positions in response to Turkeys repeated threats, with the aim of ensuring peace and stability in the region.

Abdis comments come in the wake of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) taking responsibility for the bombing that targeted the security square in Ankara on October 1st. Turkey views the SDF as an extension of the PKK, further complicating the situation.

A direct Turkish threat and threat to the US-backed SDF in Syria

On Wednesday, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan made a significant announcement, declaring that all infrastructure and strategic facilities belonging to the PKK and the Peoples Protection Units (YPG) in Iraq and Syria will be considered legitimate targets for Turkish security forces and intelligence operations going forward.

Fidan underscored, Based on the findings of our intelligence and security agencies, it has been established that the individuals responsible for the Ankara bombing originated from Syria and received training there.

He issued a stern warning, urging third parties to steer clear of any association with PKK and YPG facilities and members. He stated, Our armed forces will respond decisively to this act of terrorism, and those involved will deeply regret their actions.

In addition, Reuters reported statements from a Turkish defence official, who indicated that the possibility of a Turkish ground operation in Syria is being considered as one of the options to secure the border, although Ankara is also exploring alternative strategies.

Heavy Turkish Targets

According to information from Athr Press sources, Turkish forces have initiated a series of intense airstrikes on SDF positions and vehicles in northeastern Syria. Some of these targets were in close proximity to US bases located in Hasakeh. Turkish aircraft specifically struck SDF locations in the Mushairfa al-Hamma region along the road connecting the cities of Hasakeh and Tal Tamr, as well as near the American base in Lifestone. Additionally, they targeted the SDF headquarters at the al-Jawadiya Dam near the Syrian-Turkish border in the countryside of Qamishli al-Sharqi. These strikes have reportedly resulted in casualties among the SDF personnel.

The Turkish operations also included an attack on an SDF vehicle travelling on the Mushairfa highway.

Based on information from Athr Press sources, the Turkish military has primarily utilized Baykar Bayraktar drones and another type known as suicide drones in these operations. These suicide drones are typically employed for targeting moving objects such as vehicles.

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.
Additional SDF sites were hit in the village of Taweelah in the western countryside of Tal Tamr, according to Hashtag Syria.

On Thursday, Turkish forces launched airstrikes targeting multiple locations associated with the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), following threats from Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan to strike infrastructure and large facilities of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) in Syria and Iraq.

The Turkish airstrikes struck several SDF sites, including the prominent Mushairfa al-Hamma area west of Hassakeh, near the American base. These strikes also targeted the resting place of the minister, the residence of the commander-in-chief of the SDF, Mazloum Abdi, and a vehicle near the first target site.

Additional SDF sites were hit in the village of Taweelah in the western countryside of Tal Tamr, as well as a site in the village of Tal Habash, south of the city of Amouda near the Syrian-Turkish border. Another site near the Jawadiya Dam in the eastern countryside of Qamishli was also targeted. These operations resulted in casualties, injuries, and significant material damage at the affected sites, according to reports from field sources cited by Athr Press.

The Turkish airstrikes also impacted seven other SDF sites in the western and northern countryside of the governorate. An SDF site near the Jawadiya Dam in the eastern countryside of Qamishli was targeted, along with an oil facility in the village of Kardhol in the countryside of al-Qahtaniyah, east of Qamishli.

In the western countryside, Mushairfa al-Hamma was once again targeted, and the village of al-Rukba on the main road between Hassakeh and Tal Tamr in the western countryside of Hassakeh was struck. A vehicle near the village of Hasouda on the international road east of Qamishli was also targeted, and several oil stations in the village of Saeed in the countryside of Qahtaniyah were destroyed.

On Wednesday, Turkish forces launched three missiles targeting a brick factory in the town of Safia, which the SDF had been using as a headquarters, weapons repair workshops, and an ammunition manufacturing facility, causing significant damage.

Earlier on Tuesday, October 3rd, Turkish airstrikes targeted a vehicle at the Beiruti Bridge, resulting in the death of an SDF leader. The Turkish news agency Anatolia reported that the slain leader was allegedly involved in planning the Ankara attack.

Field sources confirmed that the SDF had evacuated its headquarters, hidden its leaders, and instructed its members to wear civilian clothing, especially in the northern and western countryside of the Hassakeh governorate, due to the fear of aerial attacks by Turkish drones.

In a related context, Ilham Ahmed, the co-chair of the SDF, called upon the international community to intervene and halt Turkish attacks in their areas. She denied the Turkish governments accusations against them and urged Turkey to refrain from exporting its problems to northeastern Syria.

Additionally, Abdi released a statement on the X platform denying any SDF involvement in the bombings targeting the Turkish interior. He expressed concern that Turkey was seeking pretexts to justify its ongoing attacks on their territories and launch a new military aggression.

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 Syrian government declared a three-day official mourning period beginning tomorrow, October 6th 2023, according to al-Baath.

On Thursday, a devastating terrorist attack rocked the city of Homs in Syria, targeting a graduation ceremony at the Military Academy. According to a statement released by the General Command of the Army and Armed Forces, the attack involved drones carrying explosive ammunition and occurred immediately after the conclusion of the graduation ceremony.

This cowardly act claimed the lives of several civilians, including invited family members, as well as military personnel, and left dozens injured. The General Command of the Army and Armed Forces has denounced this heinous act, describing it as an unprecedented criminal act. They have vowed to respond with full force and determination against the terrorist groups responsible, emphasizing that the planners and executors will be held accountable.

Government announces a three-day mourning period

In response to the tragic events in Homs, the Syrian government declared a three-day official mourning period beginning tomorrow, October 6th 2023. This period of mourning is in honour of the martyrs, both civilians and soldiers, who lost their lives in the terrorist attack on the Military Academy cadets graduation ceremony.

As a sign of respect and remembrance, flags throughout Syria, as well as at embassies and diplomatic missions abroad, will be lowered to half-mast during this time.

Foreign Ministry

The Foreign and Expatriates Ministry of Syria strongly denounced the heinous terrorist crime carried out by U.S. occupation-backed terrorist groups. In a statement, they emphasized that this attack, which claimed the lives of civilians and military personnel and left many injured, showcased the brutal and bloody methods employed by the perpetrators.

The Syrian Arab Republic, in the strongest terms, has condemned this act and reiterated its determination to combat terrorism and maintain stability in the country.

This tragic event in Homs serves as a stark reminder of the ongoing challenges faced by Syria and its commitment to defending its citizens against terrorism, both domestically and internationally. Our thoughts and condolences go out to the victims and their families during this difficult time.

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.

In the strife-ridden northwest of Syria, a tragic incident unfolded as shelling by the Syrian army claimed the lives of an elderly woman and four of her children, as reported by rescue workers and a monitoring organization on Thursday. Simultaneously, an attack targeted a military academy, resulting in the loss of at least 60 lives. According to a war monitor and a security source, weaponized drones struck the site shortly after the conclusion of a graduation ceremony attended by Syrias defence minister.

Syria army shelling kills five civilians: sources

Syrian army shelling killed an elderly woman and four of her children in the war-torn countrys northwest, rescue workers and a monitor said on Thursday, Arab News reported.

The overnight bombardment targeted their house in Kfar Nuran, close to the front line in the last rebel stronghold in the western province of Aleppo.

An elderly woman and four of her children were killed in shelling by regime forces on the outskirts of Kfar Nuran, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights war monitor.

The White Helmets rescue group also said a house was hit, killing five civilians from the same family, including three women, and wounding another woman.

The group, which operates in rebel-held parts of Syria, said they were a family who had been displaced by fighting elsewhere in the country.

The bodies of the woman and her adult children, two daughters and two sons, were wrapped in white shrouds and taken to a location near the town of Atareb, an AFP correspondent said.

More than four million people live in rebel-held parts of northern and northwestern Syria.

The area targeted is close to the front line between government forces and Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham, a jihadist group that is led by the former Syrian branch of Al-Qaeda.

The HTS controls the last pocket of armed opposition in northeastern Syria, including a large part of Idlib province and land bordering the provinces of Aleppo, Hama and Latakia.

At least 60 killed in drone attack on Syrian military academy

At least 60 people were killed on Thursday in an attack on a military academy in Syria, a war monitor and a security source said, with weaponized drones bombing the site minutes after Syrias defence minister left a graduation ceremony there.

According to Reuters, civilians and military personnel were killed in the attack on the military academy in the central province of Homs, Syrias defence ministry said in a statement, adding terrorist groups had used drones to carry it out.

The statement did not specify an organization and no group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack.

Syrias defence minister attended the graduation ceremony but left minutes before the attack, according to a Syrian security source and a security source in the regional alliance backing the Damascus government against opposition groups.

After the ceremony, people went down to the courtyard and the explosives hit. We dont know where it came from, and corpses littered the ground, said a Syrian man who had helped set up decorations at the academy for the occasion.

Footage shared with Reuters through the messaging app WhatsApp showed people  some in fatigues and others in civilian clothes  lying in pools of blood in a large courtyard.

Some of the bodies were smouldering and others were still on fire. Amid the screaming, someone could be heard shouting put him out! A spray of gunfire could be heard in the background.

The Observatory said at least 78 people had been killed and more than 140 wounded. The source in the alliance backing Syrias government said the toll was 66.

US jet shoots down Turkish drone in Syria, officials say

Reuters reports that the United States on Thursday shot down an armed Turkish drone that was operating near its troops in Syria, U.S. official said, the first time Washington said it brought down an aircraft of NATO ally Turkey.

A Turkish defence ministry official said the drone shot down by the U.S.-led coalition did not belong to the Turkish armed forces but did not say whose property it was.

Two U.S. officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said a F-16 shot down the Turkish drone after the United States called Turkish military officials multiple times to warn them they were operating close to U.S. ground forces.

The official said the Turkish drone was believed to be armed.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights and a local security source said the U.S.-led coalition had shot down a Turkish drone near a base in northeastern Syria.

U.S.-allied Syrian Kurdish forces said Turkish attacks had killed eight people in an escalation prompted by a bomb attack in Ankara claimed by Kurdish militants.

U.S. support for Kurdish forces in northern Syria has long caused tension with NATO ally Turkey, which views them as a wing of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK). That group claimed Sundays attack in Ankara near government buildings.

Syrian regime used Damascus hospital to torture, kill opponents

Syrian regime forces have used a Damascus hospital to torture and kill opponents of President Bashar al-Assad, a new investigation has found, The New Arab reported.

The investigation, led by ITV News, revealed how the regime continues to exploit the special protection status of Tishreen Hospital in northern Damascus to abuse and murder imprisoned opponents since the beginning of the Syrian conflict in 2011.

A number of sources were cited in the investigation, including former inmates, regime defectors, activists, and intelligence officials.

The investigation detailed how doctors and nurses were complicit in torture at the hospital, which was described by one former inmate, who used the pseudonym, Adam, as a slaughterhouse,

Adam told ITV News that a doctor at the hospital told him You will be dead in a few days before stabbing him in the chest.

Another former detainee, Mohammed Medlej, spoke of how he witnessed six people being executed in front of him. He had to remove the bodies and pile them up.

The hospital was specifically chosen at the time because it was next to one of the largest mortuary refrigerators in the country, with a number of other burial sites including one in a nearby quarry and another in the Baghdad bridge area 10 miles away.

Activists have stated that the site is still in active use, with satellite images revealing open pits made available for burials. According to the investigation, satellite imagery shows that construction on burial plots began in early 2014.

The regime has regularly utilized hospitals as part of its campaign of repression since the beginning of the war.

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.
Gensler Singapore Private Limited Vs JCIT (ITAT Delhi)

ITAT Delhi held that payments received by the assessee qualifies as Fees for Technical Services (FTS) under sub-clause (4) of Article 12 of Indo  Singapore DTAA and hence rightly brought to tax @10%.

Facts- The assessee is a tax resident of Singapore and is in the business of providing design services to customers in the Asia Pacific region. During the assessment year under consideration the assessee has provided the services to its Indian Associated Enterprises  Gensler Design India Pvt. Ltd. This service included designs, technical and consulting services, marketing support services and services related to evaluation of certain project properties. Receipts in lieu of these services have been offered to tax as Fees for Technical Services (FTS) @ 10% in accordance with Article 12 of Indo Singapore DTAA.

In the course of assessment AO noticed that the assessee has received Rs.2,90,89,423/- from Reliance Corporation IT Park Limited (RCITP) and in Form 26AS it is reflected that TDS @ 10% has been deducted by the payer on the said amount. Assessee was asked to explain why the said receipts have not been included in the taxable income. Assessee stated that the income received from RCITP is not taxable as per the Treaty.

On analyzing the work order AO concluded that the said receipts get covered in the scope and ambit of the term fees for technical services as laid down in Article 12 of the Treaty. Thus, AO in the draft assessment order passed u/s. 144C of the Act held that the income of Rs.2,70,89,423/- is in the nature of fees for technical services both under the Income Tax Act and the Indo  Singapore DTAA.

DRP sustained the view of AO. Being aggrieved, the present appeal is filed.

Conclusion- Held that the assessee is making available RCITP all reports, analysis, tests, tables, plans, drawings or other documents in any form including electronic or printed form for the use of RCITP which enables RCITP to apply and use all these deliverables for its business purposes which specifies the conditions of sub clause (b) and (c ) of clause (4) of Article 12 of Indo  Singapore DTAA. Thus, the payments received by the assessee from RCITP are fees for technical services falls under sub clause (4) of Article 12 of Indo  Singapore DTAA. Thus, the lower authorities have rightly treated the amounts received by the assessee from RCITP as fees for technical services under Article 12 (4) of Indo  Singapore DTAA and was rightly brought to tax at 10%.

FULL TEXT OF THE ORDER OF ITAT DELHI

1. This appeal is filed by the assessee against the assessment order dated 23.07.2019 passed under section 143(3) read with section 144C(13) of the Income Tax Act, 1961 (the Act) pursuant to the directions of the DRP order dated 7.06.2019 passed under section 144C(5) of the Act.

2. The assessee has raised the following substantive grounds of appeal:-

Ground No.1

The learned Joint Commissioner of Income tax (JCIT) has erred in law and on facts by concluding that the service provided by the Appellant to Reliance Corporation IT Park Limited would be regarded as Fees for Technical Services under Article 12 of India  Singapore Double Tax Avoidance Agreement.

Ground No.2

The learned JCIT has erred in law and on facts by mentioning the returned income as INR 3,39,42,926 instead of INR 48,53,503 thereby computing the total income as INR 6,30,32,353 and taxing the same income twice.

Each of the above ground are independent and prejudice to one and another.

3. Ground No. 1 of grounds of appeal is in treating the services provided by the assessee to Reliance Corporation IT Park Limited and the payment received as Fees for Technical Services under Article 12 of India  Singapore Double Tax Avoidance Agreement.

4. Brief facts are that the assessee is a tax resident of Singapore and is in the business of providing design services to customers in the Asia Pacific region. During the assessment year under consideration the assessee has provided the services to its Indian Associated Enterprises  Gensler Design India Pvt. Ltd. This service included designs, technical and consulting services, marketing support services and services related to evaluation of certain project properties. Receipts in lieu of these services have been offered to tax as Fees for Technical Services (FTS) @ 10% in accordance with Article 12 of Indo Singapore DTAA. In the course of assessment the Assessing Officer noticed that the assessee has received Rs.2,90,89,423/- from Reliance Corporation IT Park Limited (RCITP) and in Form 26AS it is reflected that TDS @ 10% has been deducted by the payer on the said amount. Assessee was asked to explain why the said receipts have not been included in the taxable income. Assessee stated that the income received from RCITP is not taxable as per the Treaty. The assessee contended that the remittance being RCITP is towards design services and this service could be considered to be technical in nature and the remittance for these services could be categorized as fees for technical services as per Explanation 2 to section 9(1)(vii) of the I.T. Act. It was further contended that the proposed remittance being payment towards technical services received would not be categorized as fees for included services as per Article 12(4) of the treaty as the services do not make any technical know-how, experience, skill know-how or process which enable the person acquiring the services to apply the technology contained therein.

5. However, not convinced with the submissions and contentions of the assessee the Assessing Officer held that from perusal of work order it is clear that the role of the assessee involved development and transfer of a technical plan and technical design to RCITP while applying or has applied into the final making of its building. The designs and plans are supplied by the assessee along with the transfer of the technical plan or design. RCITP also acquired the rights to apply into its project the technology enhancement the design or blue print. On analyzing the work order the Assessing Officer concluded that the said receipts get covered in the scope and ambit of the term fees for technical services as laid down in Article 12 of the Treaty. The Assessing Officer also concluded that the receipts are also covered in the scope of clause (b) of clause 4 of Article 12 because through its work as interior designer for the RCITP Twin Tower Project the assessee is making available a technical process to the client as interior designs or plans also describe the process by which his design or blue print will come to actual realization. Thus, the Assessing Officer in the draft assessment order dated 28.12.2018 passed under section 144C of the Act held that the income of Rs.2,70,89,423/- is in the nature of fees for technical services both under the Income Tax Act and the Indo  Singapore DTAA.

6. Assessee filed objections before the DRP and the DRP by order dated 7.06.2019 sustained the view of the Assessing Officer holding that the transfer of technical plan or design enabled RCITP to acquire the rights to apply into its project the technology enhancement in the design or blue print. This technology was a combined product of the expertise of the assessee and inputs acquired from the clients and got embedded into the technical designs or plans that were made by the assessee. The DRP held that when the client uses the designs it uses the technology i.e. enhancement in the designs and plans and, therefore, the requirements of Article 12 of the DTAA are met.

7. Before us the ld. Counsel for the assessee reiterated the submissions made before the Assessing Officer and the DRP. Ld. Counsel further submits that the design services provided by the assessee to RCITP are not making available the technical knowledge as every time a design service is being provided for a particular project the same design cannot be utilized for different project by relying as design are made project specific. Therefore, the transaction does not fall under Article 12(4)(b) of the Treaty. Ld. Counsel further submits that as per Article 12(4)(c) technical design services will only be included if the person who is acquiring these services applies the technology contained therein and in the given case RCITP uses only the design for its construction and nowhere uses the technology used to create the design. Therefore, the said transaction also cannot attract Article 12(4)(c) of the Treaty. Strong reliance was placed on the decision of the Mumbai Bench Tribunal in the case of DCIT Vs. Forum Homes (P.) Ltd. [(2022) 192 ITD 184 (Mumbai-Trib.)]. Reliance was also placed on the decision of the Honble Karnataka High Court in the case of CIT Vs. De Beers India Mineral Private Limited [(2012) 346 ITR 467 (Kar).

8. On the other hand, the ld. DR referring to page Nos. 99 to 101 of the work order dated 30.06.2015 containing various clauses submits that as per the work order the principal designer coordinate with the contractors and other third parties appointed by RCITP and integrate the services with the services and work rendered by various contractors and third parties to ensure an integrated project. Further referring to clause 2.9 of the work order the ld. DR submits that as per the said clause the principal designer the assessee grants RCITP a perpetual irrevocable nonexclusive royalty free fully paid-up right and license to use copy modified and prepare derivative works of the principal designers intellectual property rights incorporated in the deliverables for the use of the Reliance and its affiliates and third parties and, therefore, satisfies the condition of make available clause as per Article 12(4) of the Indo  Singapore DTAA. The ld. DR, therefore, submits that the lower authorities have rightly brought to tax the fee received by the assessee from Reliance as fees for technical services under Indo  Singapore DTAA itself for technical services. Further reliance was also placed on the decision of the Kolkata Bench Tribunal in the case of Gentex Merchants (P.) Ltd. Vs. DDIT (International Taxation) [(2005) 94 ITD 211 (Kol.)] in support of his contentions.

9. Heard rival submissions perused the orders of the authorities below. The assessee entered into a contract/work order with RCITP on 30.06.2015, according to which the assessee will provide interior design consultants and associate design consultancy for the Twin Tower Project of Reliance Corporation IT Park Limited, Ghansoli, India. The Twin Tower Project as described in the work order comprises of two towers one having 28 and the other having 26 floors. RCITP will set up a world class office complex along with a business centre in the Twin Tower. The assessee was required to provide/prepare designs for the interior office/business sets in the Twin Tower Building. The assessee was to prepare designs for all areas of the building such as lobby, visitors experience centre, business centre, private offices, cabins and work stations, conference meeting rooms, cafetoria, storage areas etc. The assessee was required to work in close co-ordination with the project/building architects, engineers and other teams of experts involved in the Twin Tower Projects. The question now is as to whether the services provided by the assessee to RCITP falls under Article 12 (4) of Indo  Singapore DTAA as fees for technical services. For quick reference clause (4) of Article 12 of Indo  Singapore DTAA which defines the term Fees for Technical Services is reproduced as under:-

4. The term fees for technical services as used in this Article means payments of any kind to any person in consideration for services of a managerial technical or consultancy nature (including the provision of such services through technical or other personnel) if such services:

(a) are ancillary and subsidiary to the application or enjoyment of the right property or information for which a payment described in paragraph 3 is received; or

(b) make available technical knowledge experience skill know-how or processes which enables the person acquiring the services to apply the technology contained therein; or

(c) consist of the development and transfer of a technical plan or technical design, but excludes any service that does not enable the person acquiring the service to apply the technology contained therein.

10. As could be seen from the above sub clause (b) of clause (4) of Article 12 payments of any kind to any person in consideration for services of a managerial technical or consultancy nature (including the provision of such services through technical or other personnel) if such services make available technical knowledge, experience, skill know-how or process which enables the person acquiring the services to apply the technology contained therein shall fall under fees for technical services under Article 12(4)(b). Similarly under such clause (c) of clause (4) of Article 12 payments of any kind to any person in consideration for services of a managerial technical or consultancy nature (including the provision of such services through technical or other personnel) if such services consists of the developmental and transfer of a technical plan or technical design but excludes any service that does not enable the person acquiring the service to apply the technology contained therein shall be treated as fees for technical services.

11. The work order dated 30.06.2015 consists of the following clauses which are relevant for the purpose of deciding the issue:-

2.7 PRINCIPAL DESIGNER shall assist COMPANY in identifying contractors and other third parties for performing services and/or work in relation to the PROJECT, and shall, on request by COMPANY, recommend persons or assist in soliciting bids for such services or work. PRINCIPAL DESIGNER shall assist COMPANY (i) negotiate contracts with such contractors and other third parties and (ii) determine their respective scope of work.

2.8 The PRINCIPAL DESIGNER hereby acknowledges and agrees that neither the PRINCIPAL DESIGNER nor any ASSIGNED PERSONNEL shall have any rights, title or interest in any INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS created (whether wholly or partly) by the PRINCIPAL DESIGNER or sub-consultant in relation to the performance of the SERVICES or other obligations under the AGREEMENT. The PRINCIPAL DESIGNER hereby assigns and transfers and shall cause the ASSIGNED PERSONNEL to assign and transfer to COMPANY, all rights, title and interest in all such INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS created.

2.9 The PRINCIPAL DESIGNER hereby assigns and transfers to the COMPANY, from the moment of creation, all right, title and interest in all DELIVERABLES, but excluding specifically the PRINCIPAL DESIGNERS INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS incorporated in the DELIVERABLES. The PRINCIPAL DESIGNER hereby grants the COMPANY a perpetual, irrevocable, nonexclusive, royalty-free, fully paid-up right and license to use, copy, modify and prepare derivative works of the PRINCIPAL DESIGNER S INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS incorporated in the DELIVERABLES, for the use of the DELIVERABLES by the COMPANY and its AFFILIATES and third parties engaged by the COMPANY in connection with the business operations of the COMPANY and its AFFILIATES.

Further the deliverables for the purpose of the above clause 2.9 is defined as under:-

1.13 DELIVERABLES means any and all reports, analyses, tests, tables, plans, drawings or other documents to be delivered or provided by the PRINCIPAL DESIGNER in any form, including in electronic or printed form, under this AGREEMENT. 

12. As could be seen from the above by virtue of clause 2.9 the assessee who is the principal designer assigns and transfer to RCITP all right title and interest in all deliverables from the moment of creation and the principal designer the assessee grants RCITP a perpetual irrevocable non-exclusive royalty-free fully paid-up right and license to use copy, modify and prepare derivative works of the principal designer intellectual property rights incorporated in the deliverables for the use of the deliverables by the RCITP and its affiliates and third parties engaged by RCITP in connection with the business operations of the RCITP and its affiliates. This clearly shows that the assessee is making available RCITP all reports, analysis, tests, tables, plans, drawings or other documents in any form including electronic or printed form for the use of RCITP which enables RCITP to apply and use all these deliverables for its business purposes which specifies the conditions of sub clause (b) and (c ) of clause (4) of Article 12 of Indo  Singapore DTAA. Thus, the payments received by the assessee from RCITP are fees for technical services falls under sub clause (4) of Article 12 of Indo  Singapore DTAA. Thus, the lower authorities have rightly treated the amounts received by the assessee from RCITP as fees for technical services under Article 12 (4) of Indo  Singapore DTAA and was rightly brought to tax at 10%. The case laws relied on by the ld. Counsel for the assessee are distinguishable on facts and have no application to the case on hand. Thus, we dismiss ground No. 1 of grounds of appeal of the assessee.

13. Coming to ground No. 2 of grounds of appeal the assessee contended that the Assessing Officer wrongly taken returned income of the assessee as Rs.3,39,42,926/- instead of Rs.48,53,503/-thereby taxing the same income twice.

14. This ground is restored to the file of the Assessing Officer who shall examine the contention of the assessee and pass an appropriate order. This ground is allowed for statistical purpose.

15. In the result, appeal of the assessee is partly allowed. 10

Order pronounced in the open court on : 25/08/2023
The Swedish Academy on Thursday awarded the Nobel Literature Prize to Norway's Jon Fosse, whose plays are among the most widely staged of any contemporary playwright in the world.

He was honoured "for his innovative plays and prose which give voice to the unsayable", the Swedish Academy said.

"I am overwhelmed and grateful. I see this as an award to the literature that first and foremost aims to be literature, without other considerations," Fosse said in a statement immediately after the announcement.

The chairman of the Nobel committee, Anders Olsson, told reporters Fosse had "come to be regarded as an innovator" through his "ability to evoke ...

loss of orientation, and how this paradoxically can provide access to a deeper experience, close to divinity".

Fosse's writing is defined more by form than content, where what is not said is often more revealing than what is.

Often compared to Samuel Beckett, his work is minimalistic, relying on simple language which delivers its message through rhythm, melody and silence.

His major works include "Boathouse" (1989), which was well-received by critics, and "Melancholy" I and II (1995-1996).

Fosse, 64, had featured widely in Nobel speculation for several years.

"I've just spoken to Jon Fosse on the phone. It's not always that I'm believed when I call people up this way but he was prepared to trust me," Mats Malm, the permanent secretary of the Swedish Academy, told reporters.

'Playwriting was 'made for me'

"His immense oeuvre written in Norwegian Nynorsk (one of Norway's written forms of languages) and spanning a variety of genres consists of a wealth of plays, novels, poetry collections, essays, children's books and translations", the jury said.

"While he is today one of the most widely performed playwrights in the world, he has also become increasingly recognised for his prose."

Fosse grew up in a family which followed a strict form of Lutheranism and rebelled by playing in a band and declaring himself an atheist.

He ended up converting to Catholicism in 2013.

After studying literature, he made his debut in 1983 with the novel "Red, Black" which moves back and forth in time and between perspectives.

His latest book, "Septology", a semi-autobiographical magnum opus -- seven parts spread across three volumes about a man who meets another version of himself -- runs to 1,250 pages without a single full stop.

The third volume was shortlisted for the 2022 International Booker Prize.

Struggling to make ends meet as an author in the early 1990s, Fosse was asked to write the start of a play.

"It was the first time I had ever tried my hand at this kind of work, and it was the biggest surprise of my life as a writer.

"I knew, I felt, that this kind of writing was made for me," he once said in an interview with a French theatre website.

He enjoyed the form so much he wrote the entire play, entitled "Someone is Going to Come".

He went on to win international acclaim for his next play, "And We'll Never be Parted", in 1994.

'I write about humanity'

His work has been translated into around 50 languages.

According to his Norwegian publisher, Samlaget, his plays have been staged more than a thousand times around the world.

"You don't read my books for the plots," he told the Financial Times in 2018.

"I don't write about characters in the traditional sense of the word. I write about humanity," Fosse told French newspaper Le Monde in 2003.

The Nobel Prize comes with a medal and a prize sum of 11 million Swedish kronor (about $1 million).

Last year, the award went to French feminist icon Annie Ernaux, known for her deceptively simple novels drawing on personal experience of class and gender.

The Swedish Academy has long been criticised for the over-representation of Western white male authors among its picks.

The Academy has undergone major reforms since a devastating #MeToo scandal in 2018, vowing a more global and gender-equal literature prize.

Since the scandal, it has honoured three women -- Annie Ernaux, US poet Louise Gluck and Poland's Olga Tokarczuk -- and three men -- Austrian author Peter Handke, Tanzanian writer Abdulrazak Gurnah and Fosse.

Fosse will receive the Nobel from King Carl XVI Gustaf at a formal ceremony in Stockholm on December 10, the anniversary of the 1896 death of scientist Alfred Nobel. (AFP)
U.S. Department of Education officials found flaws in Washington states oversight of more than $1 billion in federal dollars intended to help public schools weather the pandemic.

In an audit released last week, investigators found the public didnt have sufficient insight into how school districts planned to spend the money, 20% of which was earmarked to help students whod fallen behind academically during the pandemic.

Auditors also found weaknesses in how expenditures of the aid were reviewed for compliance.

State officials corrected course in response to the audits recommendations, which were based on more than a years worth of inquiries. The Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction, the state agency responsible for making sure school districts comply with federal regulations, said it will randomly sample expenditures of the aid to ensure compliance and required all school districts to publicly post their plans for spending the relief aid online.

Chris Reykdal, the state superintendent and leader of OSPI, said he was pleased with the outcome of the audit given how much aid was in question. Auditors sampled 26 expenditures from two different districts, including Seattle Public Schools. They were able to confirm all but one expenditure followed the proper policies and regulations.

It helped us, he said.

But one school expert on school finance called it a troubling report about the agencys ability to do one of its essential functions: ensuring school districts comply with federal law.

Students are still behind. If there were more opportunities to weigh in, and transparency around what districts are doing, the funds may have been used in a way thats more effective for students, said Katie Silberstein, strategic projects lead for the Edunomics Lab, a Georgetown University department that researches education finance.

Washington is one of just three states audited for their use of the funds. Audits are forthcoming on Illinois and Kentucky.

OSPI faced questions about the visibility of the aid long before the audit. Under federal rules for using the aid, released in 2021, states had to ensure school districts had publicly shared detailed spending plans for their funds. Education finance experts noticed Washington school districts shared very little compared to other states two summers ago.

Reykdal said that at the time, his team believed the state was in compliance with the requirement to publicly post plans.

A few days before the federal government released its regulations for using the funds, OSPI released its own guidance, based on a state law, requiring districts to share what academic strategies theyd use with their federal aid. OSPI compiled these plans  called the Academic and Student Well-being Recovery Plans  and posted them publicly.

Auditors concluded these plans were not sufficient. In January 2023, more than two years after other states did so, OSPI sent out a mass email during the audit requiring districts to post more detailed accounting of how theyd spend the aid package. This accounting was technically in the public domain before, but buried in each districts School Board documents.

But this new requirement doesnt yield much more new information. The plan Seattle Public Schools shared for how it would use the 20% earmarked for learning recovery is fewer than 50 words.

Given that schools have less than a year left to spend the aid, this lag is significant, said Silberstein.

State officials have also complained about the opacity of federal spending. The auditing wing of the Washington Legislature found earlier this year that the agency failed to collect sufficient data about interventions meant to help kids recover from learning loss and has not monitored whether the investments are helping students improve academically.

The Department of Education report also found several instances of school districts that hadnt submitted proper plans for spending the aid. Two of these school districts were given funds totaling $54,000 despite missing a component of their plans. OSPI said all school districts receiving aid have since completed their paperwork.

In their review of school districts spending, auditors questioned whether Seattle Public Schools followed policy when it spent $890,315 on a transportation contract using federal funds. They could not determine whether the vendor selected represented the best value to the district. Information they reviewed showed that the vendor received among the lowest scores of other bidders.

As a result of the audit, Reykdal said, school districts will be required to post their budgets online in an easily discoverable way on their websites. And new, more detailed information about how school districts have spent the aid is due to arrive sometime this fall.
Thumbs up: Longview librarys archive room

When you imagine where century-old historical documents are stored, the first thing that comes to mind might be a dusty room at a university, or a massive government building with row after row of shelves. But Longviews history is actually preserved right here at our public library.

The Longview Public Library has a central role in cataloging local history, and based on the depth and breadth of their archives, they clearly take it seriously.

Their Longview Room contains documents key to the founding of the city, such as reports from Long-Bell and the original plans for Longview. But they also understand that history isnt just about what important people did, its the story of everyone.

The library also collects documents like local directories, yearbooks and club meeting minutes. In those pages, a different story is told: what everyday life was like in Longview at a given time. People who came to town or moved away are recorded in directories, while the passage from childhood to adulthood is charted through yearbooks.

Were also glad to hear that many of these records are being digitized. While preservation of the physical document is very important, making scans or transcriptions means we can share our history with anyone, whether they are from Vancouver or Vietnam.

The Longview Room is more than just a part of the public library, its our own little vault of local history. We cant wait to see what else joins that collection in the future.

Thumbs down: Mortensen lacks empathy, valid point

Cowlitz County Commissioner Arne Mortensen thinks the emails people sent him after a recent public meeting were nasty. Somehow, we doubt they were even a fraction as nasty as what he said to Community House Director Frank Morrison to prompt those responses.

The county commissioner decided to throw the death of Morrisons daughter, who died of a drug overdose, in his face as an argument to possibly withhold funds from a Longview youth shelter. Since then Mortensen has complained the public response has taken its toll. But he also doesnt think he needs to apologize; he thinks what he told Morrison was the truth.

Well, its time to tell the truth to Mortensen. People wouldnt be saying hurtful comments to him if he hadnt done something reprehensible. As a parent himself, he should have been able to understand how he was rubbing salt in Morrisons open wound.

Not only did Mortensen reveal a lack of empathy, he also showed a lack of perspective on drug addiction. Like any other disease, people die from it, even with the best support and medical interventions. Behavioral health care is seldom a world of perfect fixes. Each person lost is a tragedy, but sometimes death still occurs.

Mortensen is also out of line for implying the death of Morrisons daughter has any relevance to Community Houses ability to manage a youth shelter. Not only was his daughter an adult when she died, but many groups that work to save lives grew from loss.

Alex Scott, for whom the famous Alexs Lemonade Stand Foundation is named, died from pediatric cancer at age 8. We dont think her death somehow means her family has no place in trying to fight cancer  the $250 million the foundation has raised for cancer research since then suggests quite the opposite.

There is one thing Mortensen was right about, though: there is no point to him apologizing. Not because of any of the arguments he made, but because apologies only mean something when the person giving them realizes what they did was wrong and resolves to do better.

Thumbs down: Rainiers wastewater woes

Were glad to hear that Rainier has hired a new engineering firm to tackle the problems with its wastewater plant. Wed like to ask the West Yost company one question: can you start yesterday?

As The Daily News recently reported, the city has been fined three times over the past six years for water quality violations. Most recently, the citys treatment plant dumped 20,000 gallons of untreated sewage into Fox Creek.

Hearing Mayor Jerry Cole acknowledge that the issue is being taken seriously and the city is working hard to repair the plant is quite welcome. Its probably not going to be cheap, but its going to be worth it.

Not only can the city of Rainier avoid further fines by fixing the problems with their wastewater plant, it also helps protect Fox Creek and, by extension, the Columbia River. Our areas natural beauty is worth the investment.
China, which aims to become a major space power by 2030, has opened up a key lunar mission to international cooperation as mission deadlines loom for setting up a permanent habitat on the south pole of the moon.

China welcomes countries and international organisations on its uncrewed Chang'e-8 mission and to jointly carry out "mission-level" projects, the China National Space Administration (CNSA) said at the 74th International Astronautical Congress in Baku, Azerbaijan, on Monday.

Mission-level projects mean China and its international partners could launch and operate their spacecraft, conduct spacecraft-to-spacecraft "interactions", and jointly explore the surface of the moon, according to details announced on CNSA's website.

International partners are also welcome to "piggyback" on the Chang'e-8 mission and independently deploy their own modules once the Chinese spacecraft lands, CNSA said.

Interested parties must submit a letter of intent to CNSA by Dec. 31. Final selection of proposals will come in September 2024.

The Chang'e-8 mission will follow the Chang'e-7 in 2026, which also aims to search for lunar resources on the moon's south pole. The two missions will lay the foundations for the construction of the Beijing-led International Lunar Research Station (ILRS) in the 2030s.

China, which deployed an uncrewed probe to the moon on the Chang'e-5 mission in 2020, plans to send an uncrewed Chang'e-6 probe to the far side of the moon in the first half of 2024 to retrieve soil samples.

China aims to land astronauts on the moon by 2030.

China's timeline to build an outpost on the south pole coincides with NASA's more ambitious and advanced Artemis program, which aims to put U.S. astronauts back on the lunar surface in December 2025, barring delays.

On the 2025 Artemis 3 mission, two U.S. astronauts will land on the lunar south pole, a region previously unvisited by any human. The last time a human set foot on the moon was in 1972 under the U.S. Apollo program.

The crewed Artemis 4 and 5 missions are planned for 2027 and 2029, respectively.

NASA is banned by U.S. law from collaborating with China, directly or indirectly.

As of September, 29 countries - including India, which landed a probe near the moon's south pole in August - have signed the Artemis Accords, a pact crafted by NASA and the U.S. State Department aimed at establishing norms of behaviour in space and on the lunar surface.

China and Russia are not signatories of the agreement.

China, for its own lunar station program, has secured participation from only Russia and Venezuela so far.
Continuing its slew of meetings to attract investments, Honorable Minister for Large & Medium Industries & Infrastructure Development Shri M.B. Patil on Wednesday held discussions with American chip manufacturer Applied Materials regarding setting up of a Centre of Excellence for innovation and an R&D lab at Whitefield in Bengaluru.

The companys officials sought the Governments support in this regard and requested to expedite the process of issuing pre-construction approvals to set up its lab. The team also discussed the importance of chemicals and gases needed for the semiconductor ecosystem and the ease of doing business.

Shri Prabu G. Raja, President of Semiconductor Products Group and Shri Srinivas Satya, Corporate Vice President and Managing Director of Applied Materials India also discussed establishing a Center of Excellence for innovation with the support of the Government and their commitment to accelerate Karnatakas ecosystem through collaboration on skilling.

Recently, Applied Materials announced an investment plan of $400 million spread over the next four years to set up an engineering centre in Bengaluru.

Shri Patil-led delegation visited the companys Maydan Technology Center, a facility dedicated to advanced chip-making.

In another meeting with San Francisco-headquartered Juniper Networks Inc., the delegation discussed various issues including enhancement of its R&D capabilities in the state, exploration of hardware manufacturing along with supplier ecosystem, policies, and incentives in Karnataka.

The two sides also delved into renewable energy plans for business operations and Government partnership on establishing a Center of Excellence for design and wireless products by March 2024.

General Counsel of Juniper Networks Shri Rob Mobassaly, Executive Vice President (Engineering) Shri Sujai Hajela, Senior Vice President Shri Shishir Singh and Senior Corporate Counsel and Director of Government Affairs Shri Sampak Garg were present at the meeting.

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiatives for skill development in rural areas and collaboration on skilling and training in Data Science, Artificial Intelligence, Internet of Things (IoT), and cybersecurity were also part of the discussion.

Currently, Juniper Networks has the largest data centre in Karnataka, employing 4000 people.

The ongoing meetings are part of Shri M.B. Patils 12-day tour to the United States of America with senior officers of the Department of Industries, which include Dr. S. Selvakumar, Principal Secretary to Government, Department of Commerce, and Industries and Smt Gunjan Krishna, Commissioner of Industries.

Western Digital, which has a large R&D presence in Bengaluru, discussed custom-related issues with the government since it is into Hard Disk Drive development and ways to improve ease of doing business along with expediting the approval process.

Participating at a dinner hosted by Indiaspora, a network of global Indian origin leaders from diverse backgrounds and professions, Shri M.B. Patil, Honorable Minister for Large & Medium Industries & Infrastructure Development along with Shri Priyank Kharge, honourable Minister for IT&BT and Science Technology unveiled their vision for the growth of industries in Karnataka. They also requested all entrepreneurs, business owners, and innovators to consider investments in the State of Karnataka.
ManageEngine launched Identity360, its cloud-native identity management platform that addresses identity and access management (IAM) complexities arising within enterprise workforces. The new platform is being showcased at the ongoing ManageEngines User Conference in Dallas, Texas.

ManageEngine also announced the addition of access certification and identity risk assessment functionalities to ADManager Plus, its on-premises identity governance and administration (IGA) solution. These two functionalities enhance the compliance posture of enterprises and help them in mitigating security risks.

The workforce, which constitutes an integral part of an enterprise, is continuing to evolve digitally, adopting different technologies to make jobs easier and faster. As a result, there has never been a greater spotlight on identities than is being seen currently. With enterprises eager to enable the mobility of the workforce without compromising on security, it has now become crucial to handle identity complexity effectively and ensure regulatory compliance, all while prioritizing a seamless user experience.

It is this demand that ManageEngine aims to cater to with the launch of Identity360. A centralized platform that integrates directories and applications to streamline user identity management, Identity360 can enforce access controls across these integrated entities. It also offers end-to-end identity life cycle management with workflow orchestration and empowers organizations to optimize their business processes.

Manikandan Thangaraj, vice president of ManageEngine, said, Organizations, regardless of their infrastructure and size, commonly encounter identity security and management challenges. Identity360 can help them securely transition to the cloud and effectively manage identities and their access to application`s, all while enforcing strong security controls.

Adhere to Compliance Requirements and Fortify Security

With the security landscape perennially changing and organizations required to exhibit their compliance with major IT mandates, ManageEngine has integrated access certification and identity risk assessment capabilities in ADManager Plus. These features empower organizations to align their security and business needs.

ADManager Plus identity risk assessment feature enhances cybersecurity readiness by foreseeing risks and providing on-the-fly mitigation measures to address them. Access certification campaigns ensure users have only the rights they need to perform their job, help organizations implement segregation of duties and the principle of least privilege and demonstrate compliance with IT mandates.

When it comes to Active Directory, cyberattacks are primarily caused by issues related to security misconfigurations and privilege abuse. Implementing strong measures such as risk assessments and access certification campaigns can enhance the security of Active Directory, streamline audit processes and ensure compliance, Thangaraj said.

Highlights of ManageEngines IAM Solutions

Centralized Universal Directory that offers directory services and comprehensive reports on identities

Consolidated management of user identities across integrated systems with advanced capabilities like orchestration, smart templates and SCIM-based provisioning

Reduced password fatigue and risk of unauthorized access with MFA-secured SSO

Visibility into the security gaps in Active Directory environments along with remediation measures to mitigate them proactively

Enhanced security by limiting access to network resources through periodic review and validation of access permissions

The two-day User Conference in Dallas will be ManageEngines second such event in the United States this year, following the one held in Chicago this May. The User Conferences are ManageEngines largest annual events, bringing together regional customers, partners and senior company executives for IT leadership sessions, technical workshops and networking.
Commvault has announced the appointment of Richard Gadd as Senior Vice President of Commvaults EMEA and India (EMEAI) region. Gadd will lead the region in empowering global organisations with industry-leading cyber resilience offerings that protect and recover data from todays biggest cyber threats.

Gadd brings 25 years of sales experience in the technology industry to Commvault. He most recently held the role of VP and General Manager, EMEA at Cohesity, building his experience in the storage and data management industry. Prior to this, he also held senior roles at Hitachi Vantara, EMC, and Computacenter.

In these previous roles, he was successful in growing Hitachi Vantaras EMEA business to become the companys largest region worldwide, as well as leading on Cohesitys EMEA portfolio to make it the organizations fastest-growing region. Gadd plans to bring this experience into Commvault and achieve similar go-to-market successes within the EMEAI region.

Richard Gadd, Senior Vice President EMEAI, said, To join one of the longest-established companies in the industry is incredibly exciting. With its strong pedigree in innovation and ground-breaking technology, Im looking forward to being able to lead and contribute to the Commvault teams excellent work in empowering global organizations cyber resilience going forward. I am very excited to begin this new challenge.

Riccardo Di Blasio, Chief Revenue Officer at Commvault, said, Recognizing the tremendous potential and the dynamic momentum within the EMEAI region, it was important to onboard a leader of the right caliber, business insight, and engaging persona. In appointing Richard, we are incredibly confident that we have made the right choice. His distinguished track record of guiding several large-scale organisations to accomplish remarkable growth and market share aligns perfectly with the vision and potential we see in him spearheading Commvaults team in EMEAI.
China's economic growth this year might be only half of what the International Monetary Fund is predicting, owing to a huge shake-out in the country's property sector, weak foreign direct investment and other structural problems, according to the founder of a U.S.-based think tank that studies China.

While the country is "getting to the bottom of the property cycle" and will be stronger "a year from now", the central government's need to bail out struggling subnational governments and growing constraints on Chinese exports means economic growth could be as low as 2 percent this year, Daniel Rosen of the Rhodium Group said on Wednesday.

The IMF has forecast 5.2 percent growth for China, which it confirmed in July along with an upward revision on both India and the U.S. by 0.2 percentage points, to 6.1 percent and 1.8 percent, respectively.

Rosen said growth above 3 percent was unlikely for China "into the medium term and beyond."

Because the IMF is required to use data provided by Beijing for its projections, "their hands are somewhat tied, and they're not allowed to go off and kind of pick their own and alternative data with which to offer a corrective," he said in a discussion that highlighted updates to Rhodium's China Pathfinder database.

The gauge compares China to 10 developed economies, including the U.S. and Japan, on six benchmarks including market competition and trade openness.

"They need to pass that question to the Chinese authorities who produce that number to please explain what is growing to deliver [5.2 percent growth] because I can't find anything that could possibly explain" more than 2 or 2.5 percent growth for the year, he added.

Beijing's economic challenges stem from losses and bankruptcies among over-leveraged property developers, who had been key in driving decades of national growth.

Last month, Moody's Investors Service revised its outlook for China's property sector from "stable" to "negative" despite the introduction of multiple stimulus measures, including reduced mortgage rates and down payments, to limit the decline.

Chinese exporters navigate the bumpy road back to the international market

Rosen said "the net export side ... was really the bright spot in China's growth, such as it was, in 2023," but added that "2024 is not the year when China has room to solve its problems through exports."

Beijing may already be facing a challenge in leveraging one of the country's most sought-after exports: electric vehicles.

The European Commission officially opened an investigation into China's electric vehicle sector on Wednesday, saying it had evidence that Beijing has provided subsidies that risk damaging EU industry. A statement published in the Official Journal of the European Union said the subsidies "pose an imminent threat of injury to an already vulnerable EU industry."

Amid these mounting challenges, there are concerns that China's economic woes could put a drag on global growth, an issue that Brad Setser, a Council on Foreign Relations senior fellow, addressed on Wednesday.

Speaking on a panel with Rosen and Nargiza Salidjanova, director of Rhodium's China projects team, Setser said the impact of China's slower growth was limited because the country's imports are relatively low as a percentage of total trade and domestic GDP.

"The fact that China is a very modest importer now of manufactured goods is quite relevant when thinking about the direct effects of a slowdown in Chinese growth," he said.

Excluding imports of parts used to make finished products, "China's goods imports are now about 5 percent of its GDP, which is actually at the low end, by a significant degree, relative to the rest of the world economy", he said.

But he added that Beijing's dependence on exports to offset domestic economic weakness did create risk for other countries.

"China may embrace policies that would support further expansion of an already large manufacturing surplus," he said.

"Private money is leaving China. ... So I think you have to think in some broad sense about where the risk lies, and to me the risk almost entirely lies around a disruptive change in China's exchange rate policy that aims to propel Chinese exports forward."

China's property crisis also hitting Southeast Asia, regional body says

Salidjanova said Beijing's regulatory policies, particularly those governing the tech sector, are partly to blame for the weaker capital inflows, in addition to broader concerns about weakening consumer demand.

China's January-July foreign direct investment dropped by 9.8 percent, in U.S.-dollar terms, from a year earlier to U.S.$111.8 billion, according to Beijing's Ministry of Commerce.

That trend tracks with a slight decline in the "modern innovation system" benchmark in Rhodium's Pathfinder gauge. On this measure, China slid to 2.2 out of 10, down from 2.4 in 2021.

Salidjanova cited "a lot of the technical policies that have tightened in the tech sector, for example."

Last year, Beijing announced new security assessment guidelines for cross-border data transfers, adding bureaucratic hurdles and compliance costs for international businesses operating in China.

"And then we look at things like governance over data and data transfer, which [is important] for a lot of innovation, high tech economies," she said.

"Being able to transfer your data between different parts of your company is so important, and this is where a lot of the friction emerges between open market economies, which have one set of regimes and policies governing data transfer, versus what China is doing."

"Until very recently, it was sort of almost received wisdom that China is going to overtake the United States ... in terms of GDP growth," Salidjanova added.

"With the current trend lines, it's not likely to happen." (SCMP)

Read the full story at SCMP
In a significant development for the cryptocurrency industry, Ripple has been granted the coveted Major Payments Institution (MPI) license by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS). This approval means that Ripple can now offer its digital payment services in Singapore, a move that underscores the real-world utility of Ripple and cryptocurrencies for businesses.

Ripple will utilize its Singapore-based subsidiary, Ripple Markets APAC Pte Limited, to deliver its digital payment solutions to the Singaporean market. This announcement has shifted the spotlight onto Ripple as traders and investors reassess their portfolios in light of the future prospects of XRP, Ripples native cryptocurrency.

This latest milestone comes on the heels of Ripples monumental legal victory against the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in 2023, solidifying its position as a leader in the cryptocurrency industry. Brad Garlinghouse, the CEO of Ripple, emphasized the importance of Singapore in the companys growth, particularly since establishing its Asia Pacific headquarters in the region.

Singapore, often regarded as a global leader in digital asset regulation, boasts a robust ecosystem for ventures like Ripple. The country is home to a vast network of central bank digital currencies, cross-border payment providers, and crypto liquidity providers. With the MPI license in hand, Ripple is poised to further expand its presence in the digital asset and FinTech industries.

Garlinghouse noted that this expansion would strike a balance between consumer protection, responsible growth, and innovation. Singapores reputation as a hub for technological transformation is well-established, and its streamlined government services have consistently attracted new investments. In fact, Singapore secured the fourth spot on the IMD World Digital Competitiveness Ranking in 2022, a testament to its ability to adopt advanced technologies.

Experts anticipate that digital assets and blockchain will dominate the financial industry in the upcoming decade, and Ripples expansion in Singapore is expected to yield positive results for the blockchain sector as a whole.

Singapores Regulatory Approval Signals a New Era for Ripple

The approval of the MPI license by MAS marks a significant turning point for Ripple and the broader cryptocurrency industry. It not only validates Ripples commitment to regulatory compliance but also opens up new opportunities for businesses and consumers in Singapore to leverage the benefits of blockchain technology and digital payments.

Ripples Journey to Regulatory Clarity

Ripples journey to regulatory clarity has been fraught with challenges, particularly its legal battle with the SEC in the United States. However, the recent victory in that case, coupled with the MASs approval, highlights Ripples resilience and determination to establish itself as a leader in the digital payments space.

Brad Garlinghouses Perspective

Brad Garlinghouse, the CEO of Ripple, expressed his optimism about the companys future in Singapore. He emphasized the critical role that Singapore has played in Ripples growth trajectory since the establishment of its Asia Pacific headquarters in the region. Garlinghouse sees Singapore as a strategic hub for innovation and believes that the MPI license will enable Ripple to further expand its footprint in the digital asset and FinTech sectors.

Singapores Standing in the Crypto World

Singapore has solidified its reputation as a crypto hub, attracting numerous cryptocurrency businesses and investors due to its supportive regulatory environment and forward-thinking approach to technology adoption. The countrys embrace of central bank digital currencies, cross-border payment solutions, and crypto liquidity providers has created a thriving ecosystem that Ripple aims to be a part of.

Balancing Growth, Innovation, and Consumer Protection

Garlinghouse stressed the importance of striking a balance between responsible growth, innovation, and consumer protection. With the MPI license, Ripple is well-positioned to achieve this equilibrium in Singapores dynamic financial landscape. The companys commitment to compliance and adherence to regulatory standards align with Singapores vision for a sustainable and technologically advanced financial industry.

Singapores Global Digital Competitiveness

Singapores standing on the IMD World Digital Competitiveness Ranking in 2022 further highlights its global significance in the digital realm. The ranking, which measures a nations ability to adopt advanced technologies, underscores Singapores prowess in staying ahead of the curve. As digital assets and blockchain technologies continue to reshape the financial industry, Singapore is poised to remain at the forefront of this transformation.

The Future of Ripple in Singapore

As Ripple embarks on its journey to provide digital payment services in Singapore, the industrys gaze is firmly fixed on its progress. The companys ability to navigate the regulatory landscape, foster innovation, and ensure consumer protection will be closely watched. The MPI license is a crucial step forward for Ripple, and it sets the stage for a new era of digital payments in Singapore.

In Conclusion

Ripples approval for the MPI license by the Monetary Authority of Singapore represents a significant milestone for both the company and the cryptocurrency industry as a whole. Singapores reputation as a global leader in digital asset regulation and its commitment to technological advancement make it an ideal environment for Ripple to thrive. As the financial industry continues to evolve with the advent of digital assets and blockchain technology, Ripples expansion in Singapore is poised to play a pivotal role in shaping the future of digital payments.
In a significant move aimed at reshaping the cryptocurrency mining landscape, Uzbekistan has taken a bold step by introducing a comprehensive framework for licensing cryptocurrency mining operations. The countrys National Agency for Perspective Projects (NAPP) recently issued a decree outlining these groundbreaking regulations, which have garnered attention both locally and globally.

The new regulations come with a clear focus on sustainability, corporate responsibility, and increased transparency within the cryptocurrency mining sector. As Uzbekistan takes this stride towards regulation, lets delve into the key highlights of these groundbreaking developments and their implications for the cryptocurrency market.

Sustainability Takes Center Stage

One of the most notable aspects of Uzbekistans cryptocurrency mining regulations is the emphasis on sustainability. The NAPP has mandated that cryptocurrency mining operations can only be conducted by legal entities. This move effectively bans individual miners from participating in the market, aligning with a broader global trend of regulating cryptocurrency activities.

Furthermore, the NAPP has made a resounding statement on environmental consciousness by requiring mining firms to use solar power exclusively for their operations. By transitioning to clean energy sources, Uzbekistan aims to reduce the environmental impact of cryptocurrency mining. However, there is a provision that allows miners to use the unified power system of Uzbekistan under specific circumstances, though the exact criteria remain unspecified.

Infrastructure and Accountability

The regulatory framework also places significant importance on the infrastructure of cryptocurrency mining operations. Companies are required to establish dedicated rooms for installing mining equipment, promoting efficient and organized operations. Additionally, mining can only occur at the registered address of these entities, enhancing accountability and traceability.

To further ensure transparency and adherence to regulations, cryptocurrency mining firms must provide timely and full payment of mining fees as established by the regulatory authorities. This financial transparency is crucial in maintaining the integrity of the cryptocurrency market and ensuring that all parties involved meet their obligations.

Privacy-Focused Cryptocurrencies Restricted

Uzbekistans cryptocurrency watchdog has taken a strong stance against privacy-focused cryptocurrencies, such as Monero (XMR). These digital currencies, known for their anonymity and transaction obfuscation features, have been prohibited for mining within the country. This decision underscores the governments commitment to preventing illicit activities and ensuring that cryptocurrency transactions remain transparent and traceable.

License and Permit Requirements

Under these new regulations, all cryptocurrency mining activities and services are only permitted after obtaining the necessary licenses and permits. The NAPP has set a clear mandate that compliance with these regulatory requirements is non-negotiable. This move aims to maintain control over the cryptocurrency mining sector and ensure that it operates within legal boundaries.

The NAPP has also called upon all citizens to adhere to the law and refrain from attempting to engage in cryptocurrency asset-related activities without the appropriate licenses. This emphasis on legal compliance echoes the governments determination to regulate and oversee the cryptocurrency market effectively.

Continued Evolution of Regulations

Its worth noting that Uzbekistan has been actively evolving its cryptocurrency regulations in recent years. This latest decree from the NAPP builds upon earlier measures and underscores the governments commitment to creating a structured framework for cryptocurrency mining. While some may wonder whether this is the final decree, it is essential to acknowledge that the government has been consistently tightening regulations to bring more clarity to the crypto landscape.
Elon Musk, an immigrant from Apartheid-era South Africa, donned a backward Stetson hat Sept. 29 and toured the U.S.-Mexico border at the Texas town of Eagle Pass. The worlds richest man had not arrived to aid the desperate migrants who had presented themselves to U.S. border officials for processing. Instead, he made a four minute live video in which he called the town a 'Breaking Bad' situation while spitballing boilerplate immigration approaches for a country that has been unable to design and pass comprehensive immigration reform since 1986.

Musks visit followed the Sept. 6 ruling by a district judge in favor of the U.S. Department of Justice over a line of marine buoys placed in the Rio Grande by Texas in June. The judge declared that the buoys would have to be removed by Sept. 15. But the victory for common sense was short-lived, as Texas Gov. Greg Abbotts appeal to the U.S. 5th Circuit Court has indefinitely delayed the removal.

The buoys, while sounding innocuous, are actually a 1,000-foot line of interconnected, wrecking ball-sized floats that spin when grasped. They are tethered to the river floor with sheets of stainless-steel mesh and concrete blocks. They can trap people underwater, force asylum seekers and migrants into deeper channels, and impair river rescues. Four people have already died as a result of the buoys. The removal of the marine barrier, fatal by design, must be immediate, and such practices should never be allowed again.

Images of the buoys circulated in local, national and international media. Many of them featured migrants, strapped with heavy backpacks, walking in a waist-high riverbed in wet clothes. Another is of a mother holding the hand of her child. One showed families trudging together in groups with toddlers on their shoulders, their childrens thin arms wrapped around their necks.

The migrants who have traversed the Rio Bravo to the Rio Grande walk the dangerous gap between the orange buoys and barbed wire. These images are meant to be seen  to demonstrate the cruelty of a weaponized border. The United States has a long tradition of spectacular violence  burning crosses, lynchings, of marking boundaries with bodies. The buoys have now joined this tradition.

Abbott and other border alarmists argued that these kinds of barriers to crossing are necessary. But these have never succeeded at deterrence. And before the buoys were installed, unauthorized crossings at the U.S.-Mexico border were in "significant and continuing decline," according to the U.S. Customs and Border Patrol.

Abbott recently gathered supporters near the buoys in Eagle Pass to cheer the success of the cruelty that has killed and wounded so many. Minimizing the lethal design of the barbed wire and 4-foot-wide rotating buoys, Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen  standing at the location where dozens of children have been injured, and where a young mother miscarried while ensnared in the barbed wire  declared Abbotts policies "dont cause a Band-Aid, and if they do, I say, What the heck? Stay on your side of the river.

It is clear that Abbott continues to proudly demonstrate an ineffective and violent policy. The governor is undeterred, but we shouldnt be. We must remove these technologies of terror, designed to cause suffering and death, immediately and permanently. After the buoys, the barbed wire must also come down.
Shares of PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM  Get Free Report) have been given a consensus rating of Moderate Buy by the sixteen analysts that are covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $86.27.

PHM has been the topic of a number of research reports. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of PulteGroup from $82.00 to $92.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 26th. Raymond James boosted their target price on shares of PulteGroup from $93.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a report on Thursday, July 27th. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on shares of PulteGroup from $94.00 to $110.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 26th. Credit Suisse Group boosted their target price on shares of PulteGroup from $71.00 to $85.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 26th. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on shares of PulteGroup from $90.00 to $104.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 26th.

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PulteGroup Price Performance

PHM stock opened at $72.36 on Monday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $79.41 and a 200 day simple moving average of $72.47. The stock has a market cap of $15.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.98, a P/E/G ratio of 0.59 and a beta of 1.40. PulteGroup has a 1 year low of $35.99 and a 1 year high of $86.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.92.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM  Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 25th. The construction company reported $3.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $2.52 by $0.69. PulteGroup had a net margin of 16.37% and a return on equity of 29.58%. The business had revenue of $4.19 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $4.01 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.73 EPS. The firms quarterly revenue was up 6.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that PulteGroup will post 11.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PulteGroup Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 18th were issued a dividend of $0.16 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 15th. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.88%. PulteGroups payout ratio is 5.29%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in PulteGroup by 1.0% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 27,748,609 shares of the construction companys stock worth $1,162,667,000 after buying an additional 261,934 shares during the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. boosted its position in shares of PulteGroup by 10.8% in the second quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 20,885,474 shares of the construction companys stock valued at $1,622,384,000 after acquiring an additional 2,030,200 shares during the period. Putnam Investments LLC boosted its position in shares of PulteGroup by 14.7% in the first quarter. Putnam Investments LLC now owns 11,010,203 shares of the construction companys stock valued at $641,675,000 after acquiring an additional 1,406,893 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its stake in PulteGroup by 2.3% in the first quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,343,160 shares of the construction companys stock valued at $604,439,000 after purchasing an additional 228,040 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Greenhaven Associates Inc. raised its stake in PulteGroup by 2.6% in the second quarter. Greenhaven Associates Inc. now owns 5,783,350 shares of the construction companys stock valued at $449,251,000 after purchasing an additional 144,960 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.84% of the companys stock.

About PulteGroup

(Get Free Report

PulteGroup, Inc, through its subsidiaries, primarily engages in the homebuilding business in the United States. It acquires and develops land primarily for residential purposes; and constructs housing on such land. The company also offers various home designs, including single-family detached, townhomes, condominiums, and duplexes under the Centex, Pulte Homes, Del Webb, DiVosta Homes, American West, and John Wieland Homes and Neighborhoods brand names.

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Creative Planning boosted its holdings in shares of Phillips 66 (NYSE:PSX  Free Report) by 7.9% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 230,013 shares of the oil and gas companys stock after purchasing an additional 16,750 shares during the quarter. Creative Planning owned about 0.05% of Phillips 66 worth $21,939,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. BlackRock Inc. raised its stake in Phillips 66 by 0.3% during the 1st quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 37,428,804 shares of the oil and gas companys stock valued at $3,794,532,000 after purchasing an additional 102,139 shares during the period. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in Phillips 66 by 100,843.8% in the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 9,979,304 shares of the oil and gas companys stock worth $1,038,646,000 after acquiring an additional 9,969,418 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in Phillips 66 by 44.3% in the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 8,623,978 shares of the oil and gas companys stock worth $874,299,000 after acquiring an additional 2,646,979 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley increased its stake in Phillips 66 by 16.2% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 6,961,625 shares of the oil and gas companys stock worth $724,566,000 after acquiring an additional 968,055 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE increased its stake in Phillips 66 by 5.6% in the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 6,859,397 shares of the oil and gas companys stock worth $695,406,000 after acquiring an additional 366,667 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 71.83% of the companys stock.

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Insider Activity at Phillips 66

In related news, VP Joseph Scott Pruitt sold 7,000 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction on Friday, September 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $117.02, for a total transaction of $819,140.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 6,682 shares in the company, valued at approximately $781,927.64. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Phillips 66 news, EVP Timothy D. Roberts sold 12,970 shares of the companys stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.41, for a total value of $1,613,597.70. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 80,009 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,953,919.69. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, VP Joseph Scott Pruitt sold 7,000 shares of the companys stock in a transaction on Friday, September 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $117.02, for a total value of $819,140.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 6,682 shares of the companys stock, valued at $781,927.64. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 360,648 shares of company stock worth $41,396,371 in the last quarter. 4.57% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have issued reports on PSX shares. Argus lifted their price objective on Phillips 66 from $125.00 to $134.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Monday, August 14th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Phillips 66 from $141.00 to $143.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research note on Monday, September 18th. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on Phillips 66 from $130.00 to $136.00 in a research note on Friday, August 4th. Mizuho lifted their price objective on Phillips 66 from $127.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research note on Monday, September 18th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Phillips 66 from $130.00 to $144.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research report on Friday, September 8th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the companys stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $129.73.

Check Out Our Latest Analysis on Phillips 66

Phillips 66 Price Performance

PSX opened at $110.49 on Thursday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $116.06 and a 200 day moving average of $104.34. Phillips 66 has a 52-week low of $88.64 and a 52-week high of $125.19. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 1.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The stock has a market cap of $49.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 4.79, a PEG ratio of 0.37 and a beta of 1.33.

Phillips 66 (NYSE:PSX  Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 2nd. The oil and gas company reported $3.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $3.54 by $0.33. Phillips 66 had a return on equity of 26.25% and a net margin of 6.81%. The company had revenue of $35.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $32.13 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $6.77 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Phillips 66 will post 16.57 EPS for the current year.

Phillips 66 Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 1st. Investors of record on Friday, August 18th were issued a dividend of $1.05 per share. This represents a $4.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.80%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 17th. Phillips 66s payout ratio is currently 18.22%.

About Phillips 66

(Free Report)

Phillips 66 operates as an energy manufacturing and logistics company in the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, and internationally. It operates through four segments: Midstream, Chemicals, Refining, and Marketing and Specialties (M&S). The Midstream segment transports crude oil and other feedstocks; delivers refined petroleum products to market; provides terminaling and storage services for crude oil and refined petroleum products; transports, stores, fractionates, exports, and markets natural gas liquids; provides other fee-based processing services; and gathers, processes, transports, and markets natural gas.

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AppYea (OTCMKTS:APYP  Get Free Report) and CI&T (NYSE:CINT  Get Free Report) are both small-cap computer and technology companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, earnings, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, profitability, valuation and risk.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current ratings and target prices for AppYea and CI&T, as provided by MarketBeat.

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Sell Ratings Hold Ratings Buy Ratings Strong Buy Ratings Rating Score AppYea 0 0 0 0 N/A CI&T 0 2 1 0 2.33

CI&T has a consensus target price of $5.83, indicating a potential downside of 7.55%. Given CI&Ts higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe CI&T is more favorable than AppYea.

Valuation & Earnings

Gross Revenue Price/Sales Ratio Net Income Earnings Per Share Price/Earnings Ratio AppYea N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A CI&T $423.72 million 1.99 $24.39 million $0.24 26.29

This table compares AppYea and CI&Ts gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

CI&T has higher revenue and earnings than AppYea.

Profitability

This table compares AppYea and CI&Ts net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

Net Margins Return on Equity Return on Assets AppYea N/A N/A -595.92% CI&T 7.29% 19.35% 8.97%

Risk and Volatility

AppYea has a beta of 2.33, meaning that its share price is 133% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, CI&T has a beta of 0.95, meaning that its share price is 5% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

10.0% of CI&T shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.5% of AppYea shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

CI&T beats AppYea on 7 of the 9 factors compared between the two stocks.

About AppYea

(Get Free Report)

AppYea, Inc. operates as a digital health company that develops wearable monitoring solutions to treat sleep apnea and snoring. It develops SleepX App, a wristband communicating with its smartphone app that trains the brain to breath properly; DreamIT, a biofeedback snoring treatment wristband; SleepX PRO, a smartphone application that monitors breathing patterns in the sleep and identify sleep arena episode without direct contact to the user; and DreamIT PRO, a wristband for the treatment of sleep arena using biofeedback in combination with SleepX PRO app. The company was founded in 2012 and is based in Rehovot, Israel.

About CI&T

(Get Free Report)

CI&T Inc., together with its subsidiaries, provides strategy, design, and software engineering services to enable digital transformation for enterprises and companies worldwide. It is also involved in the development of customizable software through the implementation of software solutions, including machine learning, artificial intelligence, analytics, cloud migration, and mobility technologies. The company was founded in 1995 and is headquartered in Campinas, Brazil.

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Graypoint LLC lessened its stake in shares of MSCI Inc. (NYSE:MSCI  Free Report) by 8.2% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 547 shares of the technology companys stock after selling 49 shares during the quarter. Graypoint LLCs holdings in MSCI were worth $257,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of MSCI. Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its position in MSCI by 59.7% during the 4th quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 2,382,561 shares of the technology companys stock valued at $1,108,296,000 after acquiring an additional 890,554 shares in the last quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich boosted its position in shares of MSCI by 19,390.3% in the 2nd quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 864,981 shares of the technology companys stock worth $405,927,000 after purchasing an additional 860,543 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of MSCI in the 4th quarter worth $378,140,000. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its position in shares of MSCI by 312.3% in the 1st quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 852,913 shares of the technology companys stock worth $428,913,000 after purchasing an additional 646,050 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its position in shares of MSCI by 27.3% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 2,182,687 shares of the technology companys stock worth $1,015,320,000 after purchasing an additional 467,592 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 88.61% of the companys stock.

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Insider Activity at MSCI

In related news, insider Scott A. Crum sold 1,800 shares of MSCI stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $555.89, for a total value of $1,000,602.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 18,274 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,158,333.86. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, General Counsel Robert J. Gutowski sold 1,478 shares of the companys stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $520.00, for a total value of $768,560.00. Following the transaction, the general counsel now directly owns 15,179 shares in the company, valued at $7,893,080. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Scott A. Crum sold 1,800 shares of the companys stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $555.89, for a total value of $1,000,602.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 18,274 shares in the company, valued at $10,158,333.86. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 3.08% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on MSCI. Raymond James raised their price objective on MSCI from $574.00 to $592.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 26th. BNP Paribas cut MSCI from a neutral rating to an underperform rating and set a $450.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Monday, July 17th. StockNews.com assumed coverage on MSCI in a research report on Thursday, August 17th. They set a hold rating for the company. Barclays lifted their price target on MSCI from $600.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 25th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic cut MSCI from an overweight rating to a neutral rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $650.00 to $554.00 in a research report on Thursday, September 14th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, MSCI presently has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $565.20.

Check Out Our Latest Stock Report on MSCI

MSCI Stock Performance

NYSE MSCI opened at $501.59 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $533.29 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $509.34. The firm has a market capitalization of $39.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.96, a PEG ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.13. MSCI Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $385.00 and a fifty-two week high of $572.50.

MSCI (NYSE:MSCI  Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 25th. The technology company reported $3.26 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.11 by $0.15. MSCI had a negative return on equity of 93.06% and a net margin of 39.02%. The firm had revenue of $621.16 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $602.47 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.78 EPS. MSCIs revenue for the quarter was up 12.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that MSCI Inc. will post 13.12 earnings per share for the current year.

MSCI Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 31st. Investors of record on Friday, August 11th were paid a $1.38 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 10th. This represents a $5.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.10%. MSCIs dividend payout ratio is presently 48.38%.

MSCI Company Profile

(Free Report)

MSCI Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides investment decision support tools for the clients to manage their investment processes worldwide. It operates through four segments: Index, Analytics, ESG and Climate, and All Other Private Assets. The Index segment provides indexes for use in various areas of the investment process, including indexed product creation, such as ETFs, mutual funds, annuities, futures, options, structured products, over-the-counter derivatives; performance benchmarking; portfolio construction and rebalancing; and asset allocation, as well as licenses GICS and GICS Direct.

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Busey Wealth Management increased its position in shares of Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE  Free Report) by 0.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 661,421 shares of the biopharmaceutical companys stock after purchasing an additional 1,602 shares during the period. Pfizer accounts for about 1.0% of Busey Wealth Managements holdings, making the stock its 25th biggest holding. Busey Wealth Managements holdings in Pfizer were worth $24,261,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. 1900 Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Pfizer by 3.1% during the second quarter. 1900 Wealth Management LLC now owns 26,123 shares of the biopharmaceutical companys stock valued at $958,000 after acquiring an additional 789 shares during the last quarter. Addenda Capital Inc. increased its position in shares of Pfizer by 27.7% during the second quarter. Addenda Capital Inc. now owns 153,090 shares of the biopharmaceutical companys stock valued at $5,615,000 after acquiring an additional 33,182 shares during the last quarter. Mcrae Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Pfizer by 0.7% in the second quarter. Mcrae Capital Management Inc. now owns 41,980 shares of the biopharmaceutical companys stock valued at $1,540,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Farmers Trust Co. grew its holdings in shares of Pfizer by 1.4% in the second quarter. Farmers Trust Co. now owns 218,550 shares of the biopharmaceutical companys stock valued at $8,016,000 after purchasing an additional 2,919 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Private Ocean LLC grew its holdings in shares of Pfizer by 11.4% in the second quarter. Private Ocean LLC now owns 6,734 shares of the biopharmaceutical companys stock valued at $247,000 after purchasing an additional 691 shares in the last quarter. 68.05% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an overweight rating and issued a $75.00 price objective on shares of Pfizer in a report on Monday. TheStreet cut shares of Pfizer from a b- rating to a c+ rating in a report on Monday, September 25th. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Pfizer from $38.00 to $35.00 in a report on Monday. Credit Suisse Group cut shares of Pfizer from an outperform rating to a neutral rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $47.00 to $40.00 in a report on Thursday, June 29th. Finally, Truist Financial reiterated a buy rating and set a $62.00 price target on shares of Pfizer in a report on Wednesday, September 13th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Pfizer currently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $46.18.

Pfizer Stock Down 1.8 %

PFE stock opened at $33.29 on Thursday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $34.92 and a 200 day moving average price of $37.33. Pfizer Inc. has a 12 month low of $31.77 and a 12 month high of $54.93. The company has a market cap of $187.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 2.12 and a quick ratio of 1.82.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE  Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 1st. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.67 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.57 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $12.73 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.36 billion. Pfizer had a net margin of 27.55% and a return on equity of 28.36%. Pfizers revenue for the quarter was down 54.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.04 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Pfizer Inc. will post 3.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Pfizer Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 4th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 10th will be given a dividend of $0.41 per share. This represents a $1.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.93%. Pfizers payout ratio is currently 43.62%.

Pfizer Profile

(Free Report)

Pfizer Inc discovers, develops, manufactures, markets, distributes, and sells biopharmaceutical products worldwide. It offers medicines and vaccines in various therapeutic areas, including cardiovascular metabolic, migraine, and women's health under the Eliquis, Nurtec ODT/Vydura, and the Premarin family brands; infectious diseases with unmet medical needs under the Prevnar family, Nimenrix, FSME/IMMUN-TicoVac, and Trumenba brands; and COVID-19 prevention and treatment, and potential future mRNA and antiviral products under the Comirnaty and Paxlovid brands.

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Sienna Senior Living (OTCMKTS:LWSCF  Get Free Report) and Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA (NYSE:FMS  Get Free Report) are both medical companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their institutional ownership, valuation, analyst recommendations, profitability, earnings, dividends and risk.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

11.9% of Sienna Senior Living shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 5.8% of Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA shares are owned by institutional investors. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

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Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current ratings for Sienna Senior Living and Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA, as reported by MarketBeat.

Sell Ratings Hold Ratings Buy Ratings Strong Buy Ratings Rating Score Sienna Senior Living 0 0 0 0 N/A Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA 2 7 1 0 1.90

Profitability

Sienna Senior Living currently has a consensus price target of $15.38, suggesting a potential upside of 101.51%. Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA has a consensus price target of $30.98, suggesting a potential upside of 49.53%. Given Sienna Senior Livings higher probable upside, equities research analysts clearly believe Sienna Senior Living is more favorable than Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA.

This table compares Sienna Senior Living and Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaAs net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

Net Margins Return on Equity Return on Assets Sienna Senior Living N/A N/A N/A Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA 3.01% 5.15% 2.22%

Dividends

Sienna Senior Living pays an annual dividend of $0.90 per share and has a dividend yield of 11.8%. Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA pays an annual dividend of $0.42 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.0%. Sienna Senior Living pays out -141.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA pays out 40.0% 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. Sienna Senior Living is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Sienna Senior Living and Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaAs gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

Gross Revenue Price/Sales Ratio Net Income Earnings Per Share Price/Earnings Ratio Sienna Senior Living N/A N/A N/A ($0.64) -11.96 Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA $20.44 billion 0.59 $709.50 million $1.05 19.73

Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA has higher revenue and earnings than Sienna Senior Living. Sienna Senior Living is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Summary

Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA beats Sienna Senior Living on 7 of the 11 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Sienna Senior Living

(Get Free Report)

Sienna Senior Living Inc. provides senior living and long-term care (LTC) services in Canada. It operates through Retirement and LTC segments. The company offers a range of seniors' living options, including independent supportive and assisted living, memory care, and long-term care services. The company was formerly known as Leisureworld Senior Care Corporation and changed its name to Sienna Senior Living Inc. in May 2015. Sienna Senior Living Inc. was founded in 1972 and is headquartered in Markham, Canada.

About Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA

(Get Free Report)

Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA provides dialysis and related services for individuals with renal diseases in Germany, North America, and internationally. The company offers dialysis treatment and related laboratory and diagnostic services through a network of outpatient dialysis clinics; materials, training, and patient support services comprising clinical monitoring, follow-up assistance, and arranging for delivery of the supplies to the patient's residence; and dialysis services under contract to hospitals in the United States for the hospitalized end-stage renal disease (ESRD) patients and for patients suffering from acute kidney failure. It also develops, manufactures, and distributes various health care products, including polysulfone dialyzers, hemodialysis machines, peritoneal dialysis cyclers, peritoneal dialysis solutions, hemodialysis concentrates, solutions and granulates, bloodlines, renal pharmaceuticals, systems for water treatment, and acute cardiopulmonary and apheresis products. In addition, the company develops, acquires, and in-licenses renal pharmaceuticals; offers renal medications and supplies to patients at homes or to dialysis clinics; and provides vascular, cardiovascular, endovascular specialty, vascular care ambulatory surgery center, and physician nephrology and cardiology services. The company sells its products to dialysis clinics, hospitals, and specialized treatment clinics directly, as well as through local sales forces, independent distributors, dealers, and sales agents. Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA was incorporated in 1996 and is headquartered in Bad Homburg, Germany.

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Creative Planning grew its stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS  Free Report) by 2.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 64,412 shares of the investment management companys stock after purchasing an additional 1,741 shares during the period. Creative Plannings holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group were worth $20,775,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Fairfield Bush & CO. acquired a new position in The Goldman Sachs Group during the first quarter valued at $66,000. Candriam Luxembourg S.C.A. raised its position in The Goldman Sachs Group by 1,505.1% during the first quarter. Candriam Luxembourg S.C.A. now owns 41,300 shares of the investment management companys stock valued at $13,633,000 after buying an additional 38,727 shares during the period. Baird Financial Group Inc. raised its position in The Goldman Sachs Group by 18.5% during the first quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 118,609 shares of the investment management companys stock valued at $39,153,000 after buying an additional 18,540 shares during the period. Zions Bancorporation N.A. raised its position in The Goldman Sachs Group by 79.4% during the first quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. now owns 827 shares of the investment management companys stock valued at $273,000 after buying an additional 366 shares during the period. Finally, Covestor Ltd raised its position in The Goldman Sachs Group by 118.3% during the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 310 shares of the investment management companys stock valued at $102,000 after buying an additional 168 shares during the period. 69.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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The Goldman Sachs Group Stock Performance

GS opened at $308.59 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $332.75 and a 200-day moving average of $329.97. The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $287.75 and a 52-week high of $389.58. The company has a market cap of $101.73 billion, a PE ratio of 13.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.18, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.81.

The Goldman Sachs Group Increases Dividend

The Goldman Sachs Group ( NYSE:GS Get Free Report ) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 19th. The investment management company reported $3.08 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.25 by ($0.17). The Goldman Sachs Group had a net margin of 9.74% and a return on equity of 8.27%. The business had revenue of $10.90 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.61 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $7.73 EPS. The Goldman Sachs Groups revenue for the quarter was down 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. will post 25.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 28th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 31st were paid a dividend of $2.75 per share. This is an increase from The Goldman Sachs Groups previous quarterly dividend of $2.50. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 30th. This represents a $11.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.56%. The Goldman Sachs Groups dividend payout ratio is presently 46.93%.

Insider Activity at The Goldman Sachs Group

In related news, CEO David M. Solomon sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $345.71, for a total transaction of $3,457,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 128,982 shares in the company, valued at approximately $44,590,367.22. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other The Goldman Sachs Group news, CEO David M. Solomon sold 10,000 shares of the firms stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $345.71, for a total value of $3,457,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 128,982 shares in the company, valued at approximately $44,590,367.22. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO David M. Solomon sold 4,200 shares of the firms stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $356.28, for a total value of $1,496,376.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 124,782 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $44,457,330.96. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.54% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GS has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Credit Suisse Group reissued an outperform rating and set a $410.00 price target on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group in a research report on Thursday, July 20th. StockNews.com initiated coverage on The Goldman Sachs Group in a research report on Thursday, August 17th. They set a hold rating on the stock. Odeon Capital Group raised The Goldman Sachs Group from a hold rating to a buy rating and set a $355.75 target price on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 13th. Oppenheimer dropped their target price on The Goldman Sachs Group from $461.00 to $450.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, September 26th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on The Goldman Sachs Group from $407.00 to $411.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research report on Thursday, July 20th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $393.32.

Read Our Latest Analysis on GS

About The Goldman Sachs Group

(Free Report)

The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc, a financial institution, provides a range of financial services for corporations, financial institutions, governments, and individuals worldwide. It operates through Global Banking & Markets, Asset & Wealth Management, and Platform Solutions segments. The Global Banking & Markets segment provides financial advisory services, including strategic advisory assignments related to mergers and acquisitions, divestitures, corporate defense activities, restructurings, and spin-offs; and relationship lending, and acquisition financing, as well as secured lending, through structured credit and asset-backed lending and involved in resale agreements.

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A Franklin County organization has given up management of programs to assist the homeless in a wide region stretching across Southside Virginia.

Now homeless people in need can seek temporary shelter through a program recently started by the Danville Redevelopment and Housing Authority.

The DRHA has received about $176,000 from the Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development to implement the Continuum of Care program.

That money will go toward a DRHA Rapid Rehousing program that is under the Continuum of Care, said Larissa Deedrich, executive director and CEO of the authority in Danville.

Its to get people off the street, Deedrich said Monday. This is the first step to helping them find secure housing.

The Continuum of Care program, newly administered by DRHA, is a federally appointed program that uses local housing and government agencies to provide rapid rehousing of homeless individuals and families.

DRHA is taking over administration of the Continuum of Care program from STEP Inc., in Franklin County, which previously was in charge of it.

Service areas under the program include Danville and Martinsville, as well as Pittsylvania, Henry, Patrick and Franklin counties. Agencies that work with the homeless population will be able to refer those seeking help to the DRHA resident services team.

They can be referred to House of Hope homeless shelter in Danville or a warming shelter in Martinsville or Franklin County, for example. Services also include rental assistance to prevent eviction.

Once families or individuals are referred to the Continuum of Care program, the first step is to get them housed and then help them through a selection of supportive services. The end goal of the program and services is to help homeless families and individuals to become fully self-sufficient.

Jude Swanson, executive director at House of Hope homeless shelter in Danville, said the rapid rehousing program is sorely needed and will be a huge step in helping our guests.

They [DRHA] are already working with one of our families and helping them get into a permanent housing situation, Swanson said.

Hopefully, those eligible for the program will not only be able to move into four walls and a roof, but receive case management, as well, Swanson said.

For the people it can help, it will be a big help, Swanson said of the program.

The House of Hopes womens shelter is almost full, with 14 guests that include three families, he said. The mens shelter is at half capacity, with nine guests, he said.

Usually, the mens shelter is busier than the womens shelter, which houses families, he said.

Weve had a larger amount of families looking for space, Swanson said. The high housing costs is finally catching up to people who have been struggling. At some point, its impossible to make ends meet.

Susan McCulloch, housing development division director for the city of Danville, said her office receives many calls from unhoused people in need of shelter and assistance.

Were very happy that its [Continuum of Care] is in DRHAs hands, McCulloch said.

DRHA does a great job connecting clients to housing and other resources, she said. Her office refers about three to five clients who are either homeless, in danger of becoming homeless or just looking for cheaper housing, to DRHA or other agencies per week.

Those clients include those close to being evicted or who are staying with family members and need help, she said.

To be able to refer them to DRHA is extremely helpful for both us as a community and, of course, for the clients who need assistance, McCulloch said. They do a wonderful job. Were always thankful to be working with them.

The housing authority has until June 30, 2024 to spend the money it received, Deedrich said. Shes not sure how many clients the funding will help, she said.

Its really hard to say how many well be able to serve, Deedrich said. Were just going to serve people until we run out of money.

DRHA will re-apply for more funding for the following two years after the money is spent, she said.

In July, the authority received a $50,000 grant from Sentara Health to start up a new program to help homeless people transition to permanent housing.
A new Android banking trojan named GoldDigger has been found targeting several financial applications with an aim to siphon victims' funds and backdoor infected devices.

"The malware targets more than 50 Vietnamese banking, e-wallet and crypto wallet applications," Group-IB said. "There are indications that this threat might be poised to extend its reach across the wider APAC region and to Spanish-speaking countries."

The malware was first detected by the Singapore-headquartered company in August 2023, although there is evidence to suggest that it has been active since June 2023.

While the exact scale of the infections is currently not known, the malicious apps have been found to impersonate a Vietnamese government portal and an energy company to request intrusive permissions to meet its data-gathering goals.

This primarily includes abusing Android's accessibility services, which is intended to assist users with disabilities to use the apps, in order to interact with the targeted apps and extract personal information, steal banking app credentials, intercept SMS messages, and perform various user actions.

Granting permissions to the malware also enables it to gain full visibility into user actions and view bank account balances, capture two-factor authentication (2FA) codes, and log keystrokes, as well as facilitate device remote access.

Attack chains distributing GoldDigger leverage fake websites impersonating Google Play Store pages and counterfeit corporate websites in Vietnam, raising the possibility that these links are propagated to victims via smishing or traditional phishing tactics.

However, the success of the campaign hinges on enabling the "Install from Unknown Sources" option to allow the installation of arbitrary apps available outside of the official storefront.

GoldDigger is one of several Android banking trojans that have surfaced just over the past few months and have added to an already large number of similar tools currently circulating in the wild.

"One of the main features of GoldDigger is its use of an advanced protection mechanism," the company noted in a report shared with The Hacker News.

"Virbox Protector, a legitimate software identified in all discovered samples of GoldDigger, allows the Trojan to significantly complicate both static and dynamic malware analysis and evade detection. This presents a challenge in triggering malicious activity in sandboxes or emulators."

"Based on our current detection, no apps containing this malware are found on Google Play. Users are protected by Google Play Protect, which can warn users or block apps known to exhibit malicious behavior on Android devices with Google Play Services," a Google spokesperson infromed The Hacker News.
A governmental entity in Guyana has been targeted as part of a cyber espionage campaign dubbed Operation Jacana.

The activity, which was detected by ESET in February 2023, entailed a spear-phishing attack that led to the deployment of a hitherto undocumented implant written in C++ called DinodasRAT.

The Slovak cybersecurity firm said it could link the intrusion to a known threat actor or group, but attributed with medium confidence to a China-nexus adversary owing to the use of PlugX (aka Korplug), a remote access trojan common to Chinese hacking crews.

"This campaign was targeted, as the threat actors crafted their emails specifically to entice their chosen victim organization," ESET said in a report shared with The Hacker News.

"After successfully compromising an initial but limited set of machines with DinodasRAT, the operators proceeded to move inside and breach the target's internal network, where they again deployed this backdoor."

The infection sequence commenced with a phishing email containing a booby-trapped link with subject lines referencing an alleged news report about a Guyanese fugitive in Vietnam.

Should a recipient click on the link, a ZIP archive file is downloaded from the domain fta.moit.gov[.]vn, indicating a compromise of a Vietnamese governmental website to host the payload.

Embedded within the ZIP archive is an executable that launches the DinodasRAT malware to collect sensitive information from a victim's computer.

DinodasRAT, besides encrypting the information it sends to the command-and-control (C2) server using the Tiny Encryption Algorithm (TEA), comes with capabilities to exfiltrate system metadata, files, manipulate Windows registry keys, and execute commands.

Also deployed are tools for lateral movement, Korplug, and the SoftEther VPN client, the latter of which has been put to use by another China-affiliated cluster tracked by Microsoft as Flax Typhoon.

"There is an ongoing trend among China-aligned threat actors to use non-commercial VPN networks in order to anonymize their network traffic," Matthieu Faou, malware researcher at ESET, told The Hacker News.

"Often, those VPN networks are running on compromised devices such as routers. As for SoftEther specifically, it can be used by threat actors to create their own VPN network or to proxy traffic from the local victims network to the attacker-controlled server."

"The attackers used a combination of previously unknown tools, such as DinodasRAT, and more traditional backdoors such as Korplug," ESET researcher Fernando Tavella said.

"Based on the spear-phishing emails used to gain initial access to the victim's network, the operators are keeping track of the geopolitical activities of their victims to increase the likelihood of their operation's success."

(The story has been updated with additional comments from ESET.)
When the chair of the Harvest of Harmony Committee told Diane Miller that shed be this years Grand Marshal, Miller said, Why me?

Michael Porter responded, Why not you?

I was just very surprised that they asked me, Miller said Wednesday.

Being Grand Marshall is just very humbling, she said.

She is honored to represent Grand Island, she said.

Miller is ready to wave to a lot of people Saturday morning. Ive got the Princess Diana wave down, she said.

In a news release, the Harvest of Harmony Committee says it chose Miller as the Grand Marshal because of her lifelong involvement in teaching and working with children in central Nebraska.

Miller is known for her work in the classroom and for her work at Island Oasis, where she worked for 30 years.

Beginning her education career in Columbus and Albion, she taught at Centura for 11 years.

In Grand Island, she taught at Howard and Dodge elementary schools, and at Grand Island Public Schools Ombudsman program.

Before moving to Island Oasis, she worked as a lifeguard at Lincoln and Pier Park pools, as well as L.E. Ray Lake.

In addition to serving as Red Cross swimming lesson coordinator, Miller was on the board of Big Brothers Big Sisters and taught the Youth Leadership Tomorrow class for two years.

I think Ill know quite a few people at the parade, Miller said.

For the last 10 years, shes worked at Curran Funeral Chapel.

At the parade, smiling wont be anything new for Miller.

She tries to look at the brighter side of life. Things turn out better if you go in with a positive attitude, she says.

Im a people person, she said. She needs to have people in her life, and she likes to serve others.

On Saturday, shell have to pick the Grand Marshal float, which makes me a little nervous, she said. I want everybody to be a winner.

Miller has family coming from out of town for the parade. Her best friend will make the trip from Colorado.

A little more than 90 high school bands will perform in the 81st Harvest of Harmony Parade. The marching order features 203 entries.

Porter said hes happy with the lineup. We have a lot more floats than what weve normally had, so were excited about that, he said.

The theme this year is Celebration of Sound.

The first parade entry is scheduled to step off at 8:15 a.m.

A total of 24 bands will take part in the Field Competition at Grand Island Senior High, which begins at 10 a.m.

In addition to GISH, the bigger high school bands in the parade come from Omaha North, Omaha South, Lincoln Northeast, Kearney, North Platte, Skutt Catholic, Northwest and Lincoln Northwest.

Not only do the schools come from across the state, but we have a wide variety of sizes of bands as well, Porter said.

Music will also be provided by the University of Nebraska at Kearney band.

A queen is not being crowned this year as part of the Harvest of Harmony.

The queen pageant was discontinued because the high school girls had trouble meeting the time commitment.

It was hard for the girls to be here all day Friday, stay Friday night, and then do the parade on Saturday, Porter said.

Pageant numbers were down, so we had to come up with a different idea, he said.

Schools may now select a student involved in fine arts to ride in a convertible ahead of the band. Fourteen student representatives will ride in this years parade.

Harvest of Harmony is organized by the Grand Island Chamber of Commerce and the Harvest of Harmony Committee.

Samantha Moss of the Chamber of Commerce said organizers really want to thank everybody who helps make this possible  our volunteers, the committee, everyone in the community who donates to us and, of course, our sponsor, Century 21 Realty.

The Harvest of Harmony parade began in 1938. The event halted during World War II. The parade was also not held in 2020 due to COVID.
KEARNEY  The University of Nebraska at Kearney will host two programs on Wednesday, Oct. 11.

The first will focus on the possibility of UFOs in Nebraska, presented by UNK history professor Nathan Tye. The second will feature NASA engineer John McCloskey talking about the James Webb Space Telescope.

Fact or fiction? You decide during UFOs Over the Platte River presentation

UFOs Over the Platte River, presented by Nathan Tye, is planned for noon, Wednesday, Oct. 11, at the Kearney Public Library, 2020 First Ave. The program is part of the Brown Bag Lectures Series hosted by the UNK Department of History.

On Nov. 5, 1957, local grain buyer R.O. Schmidt was welcomed aboard a UFO resting near the Platte River. The sheriff interrogated him, the Kearney Hub newspaper investigated the landing site, and most residents laughed it off. A year later, the UFO picked him up in Elm Creek. As the space race took off, Schmidt made a career of The Kearney Incident, traveling across the country sharing his story. Drawing on Schmidts writing and declassified Air Force files, this lecture will expose this strange and otherworldly tale from Cold War Kearney.

Tye is the assistant professor of Nebraska and American West history at UNK, where hes taught since 2019. He received his doctorate from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. He also appeared on NBCs celebrity genealogy program Who Do You Think You Are?

For more information, contact Tye at 308-865-8860 or tyen@unk.edu

NASA engineer to discuss James Webb Telescope

Twenty Years with the James Webb Space Telescope, presented by NASA engineer John McCloskey, is set for 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 11, in Copeland Hall, room 142.

The program is part of the UNK Science Cafe series hosted by Sigma Xi, the Scientific Research Honor Society.

Launched on Dec. 25, 2021, the James Webb Space Telescope studies every phase in the history of our universe, ranging from the first luminous glows after the Big Bang to the formation of solar systems capable of supporting life on planets like Earth to the evolution of our own solar system. Unlike the Hubble Space Telescope, which orbits Earth, the James Webb Space Telescope orbits the sun  1 million miles away from Earth.

McCloskey is the chief electromagnetic compatibility engineer at NASAs Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, where hes worked since 1998.

For more information, contact Allen Thomas, UNK chemistry professor, at 308-865-8452 or thomasaa@unk.edu
Golden land on Quy Nhon beach to go under the hammer this month

By Nguyen Tri, Huu Binh Thu, October 5, 2023 | 8:21 am GTM+7

A prime land lot next to Quy Nhon beach in the south central province of Binh Dinh will have its land use rights auctioned on October 28.

The land will be used to implement a VND2.5 trillion ($102.5 million) project to build a 5-star hotel, office and trade-service center, a provincial official says.

Nguyen Bay, director of the provinces Investment Promotion Center, said this land lot, called K200, covers nearly 11,000 square meters on An Duong Vuong street in Quy Nhon town. Of this, about 6,000 square meters has been assigned for construction and the remaining area for parks, yards and internal roads. The site has been cleared and its starting price is about VND250 billion ($10.25 million).

"Golden land" lot K200 on Quy Nhon beach, Binh Dinh province, south-central Vietnam. Photo by The Investor/Nguyen Tri.

Bidding documents should be submitted no later than 4:00 p.m. on October 20 and the qualifying round (indirect bids) will be conducted in accordance with regulations no later than 4:00 p.m. the same day at the provincial Property Auction Service Center.

The auction is scheduled for 8:30 a.m. on October 28.

According to the center, the land use term is 50 years from the date the project investor is recognized as the auction winner.

The investor must complete investment preparation procedures in accordance with current regulations in order to start construction on schedule within 12 months of the provincial Peoples Committee recognizing the auction results.

The project construction period shall not exceed 30 months from the date the construction permit is issued.

If the investor violates the above project implementation schedule, the project and land can be revoked.

K200 is considered "golden land" because of its prime location at the heart of Quy Nhon town.

In 2017, the provincial People's Committee approved the investment policy for a hotel, commercial and luxury apartment complex with a total investment capital of more than VND2.9 trillion ($118.9 million).

However, this was withdrawn in July 2018 because the investor did not implement the project as committed.

In June 2023, the provincial administration approved an investment policy to auction land use rights of the golden land.
Vietnam govt to have commercial banks take over ailing peers

By Minh Anh Thu, October 5, 2023 | 10:18 am GTM+7

The Vietnamese government has given in-principle approval to a scheme that will have domestic commercial banks take over two weak peers, a central bank report says, part of broader efforts to clean up the banking system and reduce the number of lenders.

State Bank of Vietnam headquarters, downtown Hanoi. Photo courtesy by Dang Cong San (Communist Party) newspaper.

The State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) report, sent to the nations supreme legislative body, the National Assembly, does not name the ailing banks or those that will absorb them.

It says that the central bank has directed concerned agencies to submit detailed plans on the takeover to the government for consideration.

The SBV acquired three struggling banks  CBBank, OceanBank, and GPBank  in 2015 at zero cost to prevent contagion and a systematic collapse. In the same year, it placed the DongA Bank under special scrutiny.

Unconfirmed reports have said that Hanoi-based Military Bank could take over OceanBank, while Vietcombank would acquire CBBank. Both Military Bank and Vietcombank have sent staff to manage the two target lenders; and similar steps are being prepared for the remaining two ailing banks.

The banks set to acquire the ailing peers have been asked to hire consulting firms and proceed with due diligence. The valuation certifications issued by the consultations will be forwarded to the State Audit of Vietnam for verification, the SBV report says.

SBV Governor Nguyen Thi Hong has attributed the lengthy M&A process to the need for acquiring banks to convince their shareholders, including foreign strategic investors. Other factors include limited resources and the need to garner feedback on the move from other agencies, given that the deals are complex and unprecedented.
Vietnam stock market status upgrade: officials, experts to discuss implications

By Minh Anh Tue, October 10, 2023 | 7:47 am GTM+7

A conference on Tuesday will discuss information disclosure by listed firms and other implications of an upgrade to Vietnams stock market status.

The conference, titled Vietnam stock market: Status upgrade and transparency in listed firms' information disclosure, is being organized by Nhadautu.vn / TheInvestor.vn in Hanoi on October 10.

It aims to raise awareness of market participants and propose measures to accelerate the upgrade.

The Vietnamese government has been trying to get the nation's stock market status upgraded for years. Photo by Trung Hieu/The Investor.

Officials from the State Securities Commission, ministries, the Central Economic Commission, the National Assemblys Economic and Financial-State Budget committees, experts, and representatives of auditing firms and investment fund management firms will attend the conference.

The Vietnamese government is working hard to get the local stock market status elevated to that of an emerging market" from the current frontier market by 2025.

A status upgrade can attract billions of dollars from international funds, experts have said.

The country has met eight of 17 criteria set by the U.S.s Morgan Stanley Capital International (MSCI) and seven out of nine criteria by the UKs FTSE Russell.

Besides technical factors, market regulators give much importance to quality of information disclosure. The market upgrade will be sustainable and substantive only when listed companies strictly observe Vietnamese regulations in this regard and International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS), experts have said.

As of last week, FTSE Russell, a subsidiary of the London Stock Exchange Group, had placed Vietnam on a watch list for a possible reclassification to secondary emerging market status. Vietnam has remained on this list since September 2018.

Link to the conference
Vietnams Thai Binh province okays 3 FDI projects totaling $270 mln

By Tri Duc Thu, October 5, 2023 | 9:54 am GTM+7

Vietnams northern province of Thai Binh granted investment certificates to three foreign direct investment (FDI) projects with total registered capital of $270 million on Wednesday.

Taiwan-based Pegavision Corporation received permission for a $200 million lens factory. The 10-hectare plant is set to reap an annual revenue of VND2.8 trillion ($114.8 million).

Taiwan-invested Goodway Cayman Company Limited will invest $45 million in building a factory for manufacturing electronic items, connecting/converting devices, and others. The five-hectare project can gain an annual revenue of VND4.4 trillion ($180.4 million).

Meanwhile, China-invested Longstar Lighting Ha Mon Company Limited obtained an investment certificate for its $25-million project of manufacturing and assembling LED bulbs and components. Its four-hectare plant can generate an annual revenue of VND1.2 trillion ($49.2 million).

Thai Binh Chairman Nguyen Khac Than (first, right) grants investment certificates to three FDI projects in Thai Binh province, northern Vietnam, on October 4, 2023. Photo courtesy of Thai Binh news portal.

All three projects are located in Lien Ha Thai Industrial Park, invested by local business Green i-Park Corporation. With the three new investments, the corporation will exceed $1 billion in FDI attraction and help Thai Binh province reach the milestone of $1 billion in FDI in a year, said Thai Binh Chairman Nguyen Khac Than.

Speaking at the event, representatives of the foreign businesses lauded the conditions of Lien Ha Thai Industrial Park and the provincial authorities support for the projects.

Thai Binhs index of industrial production (IIP) fell 2.8% from August to September, according to provincial data. However, the January-September IIP increased 12.6% year-on-year, driven by an 80.2% increase in the mining sector, 2.2% in the manufacturing-processing sector, 80% in electricity production and distribution, and 4.4% in water supply and treatment of waste and waste water.
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CARBONDALE  The Warming Center held a press conference Thursday afternoon to share good news. The center was awarded $150,000 from Illinois Department of Human Services.

Its another beautiful day in Southern Illinois, State Sen. Dale Fowler said through the rain on Thursday. Were so grateful for what the funding does.

The Warming Center opened as a way to help keep homeless members of the community safe and warm during cold winter months. It was originally open 12 hours per day.

During the pandemic, the center became a 24-hour shelter. After the pandemic, they returned to their 12-hour daily schedule. This past summer, due to budget constraints, the shelter was open only from noon to 6 p.m.

The funding will allow the shelter to open for 24 hours, seven days a week for four months. They plan to be open Nov. 15 through April 1 in a 24-hour capacity, unless the temperatures drop to 40 degrees or below several days in a row. If that happens, they may have to open before Nov. 15.

Fowler said they are looking for funding in next years budget.

Carbondale Mayor Carolin Harvey thanked Sen. Fowler and those who had worked on behalf of the warming center.

If you had nowhere to sleep, where would you stop? Harvey asked, adding that the center will still need donations to stay open.

Carmalita Cahill, executive director of the Carbondale Warming Center, talked about the lives of the people served by the center.

My guests camp along a creek, and it will flood, she told the crowd.

Cahill said the funding would bring back dignity and humanity to the community.

Harvey said the center is in need of volunteers to go with the funding. To sign up for training, call the center to sign up.

Fowler said Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton has toured the center and played a role in securing funding.

It would be terrible for people to not have food in their belly or not have a place to sleep, Fowler said.

Cahill said Southern Illinois embodied the true definition of teamwork. People worked together to help find funding for the shelter.

She said she used her voice to allow the people served at the shelter to be heard, and they have been. Their stories made a difference in getting funding.

Funding helps the center meet the most vital and critical needs of the community. Those needs include being able to sit down and not be chased away.

Were immensely excited, Cahill said.
CARBONDALE  The unprecedented ouster of U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Kevin McCarthy  forced by a small contingent of Republican lawmakers in his own party  raises questions about the short-term effectiveness in governing and signals a political development found in other countries, according to political experts at Southern Illinois University Carbondale.

McCarthy became the first speaker in history to be voted out of his position by a 216-210 vote and indications are it will be next week before a new speaker will be voted on. McCarthy has said he will not seek the position again. Patrick McHenry, R-North Carolina, is serving as acting speaker.

John Jackson, visiting professor, Paul Simon Public Policy Institute, noted the vote was caused by an extremist faction of McCarthys own party, and as McCarthy himself said, these people are not interested in making policy, they want to burn the House down.

The House is in chaos now, and the important business of the nation, most notably right now the adoption of a budget, is not being attended to, Jackson said. We need to start electing people who care more about what unites us rather than what divides us, who care about our institutions of government, and who understand that a separation of powers system demands tolerance, give-and-take and compromise if it is going to function.

Troubling trend

John Shaw, director of the Paul Simon Public Policy Institute, noted that in the last decade House Republicans have devoured all of their speakers  John Boehner, Paul Ryan and now Kevin McCarthy were all effectively driven from the speakers podium by a small but powerful faction of House Republicans who are more comfortable with disruption and chaos than governance.

Speaker McCarthy's removal raises far-reaching questions about whether any GOP leader can survive as speaker. It also raises troubling questions about how the House will be governed during the coming tumultuous 2024 congressional and presidential campaigns.

A vote of no confidence

Kenneth Mulligan an associate professor of political science in SIUs School of Anthropology, Political Science and Sociology, said the reality of Tuesdays vote brings about something seen in other democracies.

"One way to look at this is that in the House we have the equivalent of a three-party parliamentary system, roughly similar to what Israel has experienced recently, he said. The conservative party is in power but in coalition with the so-called far right party. That small party holds a lot of cards and can blow it up at any time. Tuesday, in the House, it called a vote of no confidence. Americans are not used to this, but it not unusual for many democracies."
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Benjamin Jackson-Rocca was 16 years old when he was placed with adults in the Natrona County Detention Center. His mother, Sherri, who fears its going to have a long-term effect on him, says theyre losing faith in the judicial system.

He is accused of having played a role in a July 11 shooting near the Central Wyoming Fairgrounds and a July 13 drive-by shooting of a home on Big Horn Road. Benjamin was not the shooter in either incident.

He was arrested on July 15. He is being tried as an adult.

Benjamin turned 17 in the adult jail, he said. After spending a little over three months there, his family was finally able to scrape together the thousands of dollars needed to bail him out. Hes now back at home and going to school at Transitions Learning Center.

Throughout this process, Benjamin alleges his rights have been violated repeatedly, and hes been railroaded by officials.

The news is putting me out to be just such a bad person, Benjamin said. Ive never committed a violent crime.

Despite public defenders repeatedly arguing to have Benjamin moved to a juvenile detention center, he never was. The Natrona County Sheriffs Office decides where to house people accused of crimes.

Sherri alleges they havent put a juvenile in adult jail in Natrona County for at least a decade, and officials did so to make an example out of her son, she said.

The Star-Tribune was unable to confirm any recent instances, besides in the case of Benjamins co-defendant Endre Wass, where a juvenile was placed in the adult facility.

The sheriffs office was asked a series of question, including, Is it normal for a juvenile to be housed in an adult facility when being tried as an adult? and What is the reasoning behind housing a juvenile with adults? They were also provided with a list of Benjamin and Sherris allegations.

When a juvenile is charged with a violent crime and prosecuted as an adult it is the Sheriffs responsibility to safeguard our community, others in custody, and the juvenile themselves, Natrona County Sheriffs Office spokesperson Kiera Grogan responded in a one-sentence statement.

Last month, a lieutenant said in Natrona County District Court that it was the sheriffs opinion that Benjamins crimes were adult, so he should be placed with adults.

On any given day, about 10,000 children are detained or incarcerated in adult jails or prisons, according to the National Juvenile Justice Network.

In 2008, the U.S. Department of Justice and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that transferring youth to the adult criminal justice system does not protect the community and substantially increases the likelihood that youth will re-offend, the organization states.

When Benjamin was jailed, authorities allegedly never called his family to notify them, Sherri told the Star-Tribune. He is still a minor, and she didnt know where he was.

Luckily, Benjamins girlfriend had his car, she said. When his girlfriend dropped it off, she told her what happened.

They [officials] said, Hes your baby, but hes not ours, Sherri said. They treated me with no respect.

Benjamin was only allowed outside his cell for one hour a day in an attempt to keep him away from the adults, which was confirmed by a lieutenant during the September court hearing. He wouldnt have had the same experience in a juvenile detention center.

It was so hard being on lockdown all day, he said.

The lockdown pods are in protective custody, which is allegedly filled with sex offenders, mainly, Benjamin told the Star-Tribune. He allegedly told authorities he didnt feel comfortable being naked around them in the plain open while Im 16.

I was showering in front of other adults, he told the Star-Tribune.

When he voiced these concerns, an official allegedly responded, Well, dont shower then, Benjamin said.

He accused a female deputy of, telling me Im going nowhere in life, calling me a c***sucker, Benjamin said. Another staff member allegedly made jokes about him getting raped in prison.

Last month, Denny Harts, Benjamins public defender, argued his clients placement in an adult facility was a violation of the Prison Rape Elimination Act  children shouldnt be within sight or sound of adults, Harts said. At the time, Assistant District Attorney Blaine Nelson said the Prison Rape Elimination Act does not apply to county jails.

The National Juvenile Justice Network says studies show that youths held in adult facilities are 36 times more likely to commit suicide and are at the greatest risk compared to any other inmate population of sexual victimization.

Harts argument was ultimately unsuccessful, as Benjamin remained in the adult detention center until he was bonded out.

Benjamin also allegedly wasnt able to contact his mother, or anyone else for that matter, for weeks, he said. The video visit kiosk in his pod was broken. And he wasnt able to make phone calls because the system wasnt set up for people younger than 18. It requires a code based off a birthdate, and it allegedly wouldnt work for him.

It was horrible, Sherri said.

On top of that, he said, he allegedly didnt receive clean clothes for almost three weeks. Staff allegedly didnt have him on the necessary list, so he went weeks wearing the same thing.

Sherri allegedly called the jail to complain when she found out, and Benjamin was then given new clothes, she said.

Afterwards, Benjamin was allegedly taunted for having his mommy try to save him, he said.

While officials argued for keeping Benjamin in an adult facility, it was alleged he assaulted a female deputy, which resulted in a use of force.

Benjamin told the Star-Tribune that he received write-ups for derogatory language and refusing direct order, but I never got written up for assault, he said.

They are just saying that to make me out to be violent, Benjamin said. I cant talk in court to defend myself.

While Benjamin and Sherri dispute a majority of the accusations made by state prosecutors, the Star-Tribune decided not to include these details. It could potentially damage his ability to defend himself, as the case is ongoing.

He argues that not only was he wrongly placed in an adult facility, but he was kept there longer than need be due to excessive bail, which was a violation of his Eighth Amendment rights, Benjamin said.

The Eighth Amendment prohibits excessive bail, excessive fines and cruel and unusual punishment, according to the United States Constitution.

When Benjamin was first arrested, he was facing three felony charges. His bond was set at $100,000 cash-only. Then, former Natrona County Circuit Court Judge Michael Patchen ruled to drop two of those charges due to a lack of evidence.

But his bond remained the same for months.

It was ultimately reduced to $100,000 cash or surety bond last month  meaning his family had to come up with $10,000.

Benjamin alleges hes not a repeat serious offender or accused of a more violent crime such as murder. Its not supposed to be impossible to post bond.

They knew my family couldnt afford it, Benjamin said.

Despite former Judge Patchen deciding not to bond over two of Benjamins charges, state prosecutors are bringing the same charges against him again, he said.

He is scheduled to have another arraignment in the coming months. He is facing accessory after the fact, conspiracy to commit aggravated assault and battery and conspiracy to intimidate a witness.

Benjamin alleges prosecutors dont have any new evidence  only a new source. His co-defendant, Wass, reached an agreement with the state and pleaded guilty on Sept. 28. As part of that agreement, Wass will be expected to testify against Benjamin at any potential trial.

Wass was just trying to save himself because he was facing decades in prison, they said. He is expected to serve six to eight years, as part of the agreement.

At the same time, Benjamin, who was accused of much lesser crimes, has not been approached with a plea deal, they said.

While he understands the severity of the crimes he is accused of, Benjamin and Sherri dont understand the treatment theyve received, they said.

His former high school wouldnt allow him to return until January once he proves himself, Benjamin said. He said he was previously on the honor roll, he has never been in serious trouble at school, and he was never found guilty of any crime.

Benjamin has only been out for about two weeks, and he gets dirty looks everywhere, he said. He said he doesnt even want to go outside anymore because everyone knows his face. Other news sources, such as K2 Radio and Oil City News, posted photographs of him in court on several occasions.

Its guilty until proven innocent, Benjamin said. I still wanna go on and have a future.

Your news on your smartphone Your story lives in Wyoming, 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 Star-Tribune app is built for you and your life. Dont have the app? Download it today from the Apple App Store or Google Play Store.
FORMER finance minister, Winston Dookeran, is calling for a shift in the Caribbean integration model in order to forge wider convergence spaces for approaching production, the institutional framework and economic frontiers.

Dookeran, an economist and former central bank governor, said the current integration model seems limited by size, design an inertia.
The United National Congress (UNC) has never provided an explanation as to why it was so ge
I really cant understand what the hype is about with respect to the President calling out t
Researchers at Arizonas three universities will explore ways to repurpose billions of tons of copper mine tailings under a $3.6 million grant approved by the Arizona Board of Regents.

Led by a University of Arizona scientist, researchers plan to assess the metal content from the mining waste rock in search of critical elements such as lithium, which are used in everything from cell phones to electric vehicles and pacemakers, the Regents said.

The interdisciplinary project will include 13 faculty and staff in nine departments across the UA, Arizona State University and Northern Arizona University, who will partner with the State Mine Inspector and mining community to find new ways to reuse copper tailings.

Isabel Barton, an assistant professor in the UA Department of Mining and Geological Engineering, is serving as principal investigator for the Regents research grant.

The past century of mining in Arizona has led to 17.5 billion tons of copper tailings, which is usually pulverized to the size of fine sand, according to the State Mine Inspector.

And copper mining is the biggest contributor to the estimated 282 billion tons of mine tailings worldwide, at 46%, according to the industry-sponsored Global Tailings Review.

The extraordinary volumes of leftover rock from copper mining make reprocessing copper tailings a world-class challenge and opportunity for Arizona, Barton said. This large-scale interdisciplinary project represents a substantial first step toward making use of a massive, but undeveloped, potential resource.

Copper is one of the most economically important metals mined in Arizona, the U.S. leader in copper copper production, the Regents said, noting that researchers estimate the copper industry will add 200 million tons of copper tailings annually.

Arizona State Mine Inspector Paul Marsh said copper tailings in Arizona are a potential secondary source of metals and minerals critical to the economic and national security of the United States, while tailings reuse could also help reduce air and ground water pollution.

Researchers and entrepreneurs worldwide have been studying ways to repurpose mine tailings and mitigate their environmental impact.

Last year, a Tucson-based startup was named one of two finalists in an international competition to create new technologies to reuse mine tailings.

Auxilium Technology Group, founded by entrepreneur and chemist Abraham Jalbout and three University of Arizona faculty members, won a $300,000 award to build a demonstration plant to produce an insulated foam product from tailings, as part of a technology challenge sponsored by Australian mining giant BHP.
One of Tucsons oldest optics companies has a new name, a new chief executive and a focus on expanding markets for its infrared instruments beyond the stars.

Infrared Labs Inc. was founded in 1967 by pioneering University of Arizona scientist Frank J. Low to commercialize his invention of a highly sensitive instrument to measure infrared radiation  helping to open up a whole new field of astronomy and foster a generation of land- and space-based infrared telescopes.

The company, now known as IRLabs, would go on to become a key supplier of infrared detectors, known as bolometers, along with required cooling devices, for many of the worlds biggest infrared observatory projects.

In the mid-1990s, Infrared Labs turned its focus from stars millions of miles away to the microscopic world of semiconductor chips.

In 1996, Infrared Labs introduced the Infrared Emission Microscope (IREM) for the new application of failure analysis of semiconductors, using Lows technologies for observing the faintest light emissions in deep space.

Low, who joined the UAs Lunar and Planetary Laboratory in 1965 and retired after 30 years of research and teaching at the UA, died in 2009 at the age of 75.

Lows legacy lives on at Infrared Labs, which has continued to supply its infrared detecting and cooling systems to observatories, national labs, defense research, private and university research and instrument and electronics companies worldwide, as well as for applications in semiconductors, medical devices, and other industries.

And the UA has remained a leader in the field, with major contributions to four major NASA infrared astronomy space telescopes, including most recently the James E. Webb Space Telescope  the most powerful space scope ever launched.

New energy

While the company has had continued success, the Low family owners of IRLabs last year hired a longtime local technology development expert and entrepreneur to reinvigorate the enterprise.

Manny Teran, a UA engineering alumnus with a background in technology development and startups, was named interim CEO of IRLabs in August 2022.

After leading several ventures and running the tech-development firm Aztera for nearly nine years, Teran joined the startup consultancy Spark Partners in 2020 and is currently CEO of the UA tech startup SaiOX, which is trying to commercialize a new helium-oxygen respiratory assist system.

But at IRLabs, Teran was tasked with focusing the long-established company on innovation with new technologies, markets and branding for its infrared detection and cryogenic products and services.

Im looking at, how do we take the company thats been around for 55 years and ensure that it survives for another 55 years? Teran said. And the only way to do that is to grow, and to grow substantially. So were really spreading our wings in new markets that are adjacent. Were not gonna go out and do something completely different, but we want to be smart about what we move into next.

As part of efforts to raise its profile, Infrared Labs recently rebranded to use its longtime nickname, IRLabs, with the slogan Innovating the infrared.

IR innovation

Instruments to gather images and data in the infrared range  an invisible form of radiation between visible light and microwaves in the electromagnetic spectrum  are used by astronomers to peer deeper into space than possible with visible-light telescopes.

All four of the scientific instruments aboard NASAs James Webb Space Telescope are designed for near- or mid-infrared wavelength analysis.

Low was involved in the development of many major infrared telescope projects, including the Infrared Astronomical Satellite, launched in 1983 as the first space telescope to gather infrared data, and NASAs Spitzer Space Telescope, which was launched in 2003 and retired in 2020.

The company has continued to supply and innovate bolometers and cryogenic super-cooling equipment for ground and space IR telescopes, including making liquid-nitrogen cooling systems used to develop and test components of the Webb telescope.

In its longtime shop and office south of downtown in a nondescript industrial park on East 17th Street, the company and its staff of 16 designs and integrates custom infrared detecting systems and required super-cooling equipment.

Super-cooling sensors

A big part of IRLabs business is designing and building critical cooling systems for bolometers, since the devices are designed to operate optimally in temperatures near absolute zero, or nearly minus-500 degrees Fahrenheit.

IRLabs makes its own line of special vessels, called cryostats or dewars (after their inventor) to hold the cryogenic liquid nitrogen or liquid helium used to passively cool infrared detectors, as well as super-cooling, cryogen-free refrigeration systems.

IRLabs astronomy work in recent years has included designing a custom dewars for a European stratospheric balloon observatory project; a cryogenic refrigeration system for an infrared camera on the Gran Telescopio de Canarias in Spains Canary Islands; a retrofit of cooling equipment on NASAs Mid-Infrared Spectrometer and Imager at Hawaiis Mauna Kea Observatories; and a specialized cryostat for a near-infrared instrument installed on the Large Binocular Telescope on Mount Graham in eastern Arizona.

The company makes its own bolometers and integrates off-the-shelf optics to create custom infrared detecting systems, Teran said.

He said the companys revenues, which have ranged from about $3 million to $5 million annually, rose 20% in the past year, progress Teran plans to continue with new products and markets.

Teran said the company plans to look into research and development grants to help propel the IRLabs product innovations.

Teran has instituted new product days where IRLabs staff gets together twice yearly to float their ideas for new products and services, with update meetings scheduled in the intervening quarters.

In the cooling area, IRLabs is nearing the rollout of an automated system to fill dewars with liquid nitrogen or helium  a task now typically done by hand, Teran said.

Spotting bad chips

Meanwhile, IRLabs continues to advance Lows infrared microscopy technology for semiconductor analysis, which is used to spot failures on computer chips at the microscopic level, since anomalies can heat up and give off an infrared signal.

When theres a failure about to occur, when there are issues, it emits infrared light, so rather than have a telescope attached to it, you have a microscope, Teran said.

IRLabs has launched its fourth version of its IREM system and soon plans to offer a new probe to automatically and repeatedly scan semiconductor chips, he added.

IRLabs engineering director, Chris Foster, came aboard after earning a degree in physics with an astronomy minor from the UA in 2000, just as the company rolled out its first IREM system.

Over the years, the company has incorporated the latest technology into each new version of the chip microscope, Foster said.

They all use different size detectors and since then, they have gotten smaller and smaller, with better resolution and wavelength range, he said. So that (the technology) will travel around the world, because we have these all over the place.

Teran said he sees opportunities for IRLabs as the U.S. seeks to onshore semiconductor manufacturing, citing investment driven by the federal CHIPS (Creating Helpful Incentives to Produce Semiconductors) and Science Act.

He also sees a future for IRLabs in quantum computing, which exploits atomic-level changes in the state of matter to achieve superior computational power compared with classical computing.

While practical and economical quantum computers are at least a decade away, Teran says the company could play a role because such computers now under development are based on superconducting circuits that have to be chilled to near absolute zero.

Loyal staff

Teran said the company has added a few employees in recent years, but most of the staff is comprised of longtime employees.

The beauty of working for a company like IRLabs is we have such good people, and they dont leave  our turnover is minuscule  and everybody works well together, Teran said.

Foster said Terans arrival was great energetically for the company, and while he didnt expect to hold the same job he got out of college some 23 years ago, he enjoys the work and his colleagues.

Its been a really good fit, I really enjoy what I do here, said Foster. Its nice because we do a lot of prototypes, one-off, two-off systems, so its not like we were building the same thing every time.
Tucson City Council revisited the citys response to the mass eviction of about 200 people from a south side hotel at its Tuesday meeting amid criticism from some mutual aid groups in the wake of the mass displacement.

Residents living at the Ocotillo Apartments and Hotel were promised food, shelter and drug addiction treatment by a furtive program called Happy Times. Residents reported receiving two meals a day for some time  cereal and pizza  but no other aid as the owners abandoned the residents and left the Ocotillo property owners with thousands in unpaid rent bills.

The program was a sober living home scheme, a common predatory practice where individuals promise services to vulnerable populations, especially Native Americans, and bill Medicaid for the services that arent provided.

Tucson reported 153 total interactions with residents: 46 accepted detox or shelter services, 21 moved in with family or friends and 14 self-paid to move into another hotel. Three residents were reported as part of the missing and murdered indigenous list and their family members were contacted, while the rest refused resources.

Mari Vasquez, the multi-agency resource coordinator for Tucson and Pima County, told council members that Tucson police informed her of the pending eviction of hundreds of people on Sept. 12.

While the city showed up with an abundance of resources on the day of the eviction, officials placed blame on the community advocacy groups that told residents to stay in their rooms and await an eviction order instead of accepting shelter services, which made the situation a lot worse, Vasquez told City Council members.

I think they sensed that somehow, we as the city were evicting folks. They jumped on that bandwagon and went out and really were spreading misinformation to the residents, City Manager Michael Ortega said. We were there to try to help and to keep these folks from being evicted in terms of going into the street, to provide them services.

Members of those same groups showed up to the City Council meeting Tuesday night to decry the mass evictions after council members discussed the situation in a study session.

You all spoke very vehemently about the extensive coalition that was brought together to address the issues at Ocotillo, said Luke Menke, who said he listened to the study session conversation beforehand. But at no point in that session was it addressed whether, through all of this, a cost analysis was done of displacing the vulnerable individuals at Ocotillo compared to just paying the bill and bringing in agencies to get them the services that they needed.

Several former Ocotillo residents also spoke at the City Council meeting about their experiences. Alyson Hodge said she was in attendance at the meeting with several of her former neighbors at Ocotillo, some of whom have been living at a camp on the side of the road that was bulldozed Tuesday, she said.

We are very fortunate to have each other right now because thats all we have, she told council members.

City Council recaps response

Several council members requested Tuesdays item to discuss the fraudulent sober living home, and Vasquez began the conversation by reading a more than 15-minute long statement outlining the citys response to the evictions.

The city teamed up with the state housing, economic security and Medicaid departments to coordinate a response, Vasquez said, while looping in pertinent city departments and tribal governments. Some residents took up offers for addiction treatment, behavioral health support and shelter, but many residents refused resources at this time, saying they were not ready yet.

The city was able to delay the property owners planned evictions of residents by a week and showed up with several housing resource providers on Sept. 20, the day of the final eviction notice, Vasquez said. She named more than 20 city and state departments, social service agencies and Native American tribes that were on site to provide services, but still, some residents were not ready to accept.

Vasquez described misinformation circulated by protesters and advocate attorneys that was not based on accurate information or a realistic assessment of the challenges presented by the ongoing investigations of the criminal activities for a fraudulent sober living home, she said.

Several community-based mutual aid groups, including Community on Wheels and Community Care Tucson, which provide aid and advocate for the homeless population, as well as the Tucson Tenants Union, were on site engaging with evictees.

Liz Casey, a social worker and volunteer with Community Care Tucson, said Vasquez didnt provide a fair assessment of the mutual aid groups presence.

Before we were at the site, many residents had already said no to those services. People werent not taking services, because we were there telling them not to do it. We were informing people what their rights were as tenants, she said. If (the city is) saying they did the best they could, then that means that we need to do much more to be able to offer people more services.

Tucson Tenants Union members went door-to-door to tell residents they didnt have to leave without an official court order. Many residents took up the advice to stay in the home theyd known for months and were provided a number for an attorney working on behalf of displaced Ocotillo residents.

Residents at the hotel on Sept. 20 said they feared displacement and didnt want to be separated from their partners or pets by being placed in a temporary shelter.

Paul Gattone, an attorney helping the residents at Ocotillo who was on site the day of the evictions, said several residents requested our legal assistance.

It is our position that the majority of the Ocotillo residents were tenants  not hotel guests, Gattone said in an email. Tenants facing eviction are entitled to eviction hearings under Arizona law. To the extent that residents refused to leave their rooms, this was in response to the managements self help eviction strategy of illegally boarding up doors absent a court order.

While many decided to stay in their rooms past the final eviction notice, they were forced to leave on Sept. 29 as the property was condemned after all the hotels fire extinguishers and alarms were damaged or destroyed, leaving all fire suppression mechanisms beyond repair while the fuses and power system were tampered with Vasquez said. Residents reported the electricity went out that morning.

Twenty vans from Community Bridges and Old Pueblo Community Services transported residents throughout the day, according to Vasquez, while the Pima Animal Care Center helped to board dogs.

While pointing out the comprehensive steps the city took to prepare for the evictions, Tucson Mayor Regina Romero took a defensive stance against the criticism leveraged against the city by advocacy organizations that said Tucson could have done more and said they should reach out to the city for more information in a situation as volatile and complex as this one.

Many times community groups act on assumptions, on misinformation, and make a difficult situation worse, she said.

City Manager Ortega confirmed there is an ongoing investigation into the sober living home scheme that involves local, state and federal law enforcement.
Though widely known for his way with words, Manuel Munoz, an acclaimed English professor at the University of Arizona, was speechless on Wednesday afternoon.

It was understandable.

Munoz, along with 19 other Americans, had just been named a prestigious MacArthur fellow.

The award is commonly known as the genius grant and is given yearly to Americans who show extraordinary originality and dedication in their creative pursuits and a marked capacity for self-direction, according to the program.

Ive been struggling, honestly, to find the words to describe how Im feeling, Munoz said in a phone interview soon after the news broke. Its been a really phenomenal day.

The award is extra meaningful to Munoz because just a few short years ago he had considered stopping publishing works of fiction.

I was not thinking of writing much anymore, he said. So to see this kind of accolade come my way, it just brought me to tears.

Munoz, who has taught at the UA since 2008, writes literature centered on Californias Central Valley, where he is from, that often features gay men and their families living in rural spaces.

I just know what this is going to mean, not just for me, but for students in the Central Valley, he said. Thats a major thing, if you can see yourself in art. You might have a desire to replicate it and participate in some way.

The MacArthur Foundation seems to agree wholeheartedly with the author.

Munoz captures the specificity of a region readers seldom see and reveals forms of resilience that come from refusing to surrender to misfortune, the programs website stated.

Its easier for the author to think about the award going towards the community rather than just to him, he said.

Im having a much easier time seeing it as uplifting the stories of my community, he said. Theres no way for me to really know how and why they selected me, but my sense is that they knew why I was focusing on an underrepresented community.

Munoz added that he feels the committee is recognizing the consistency and wholeheartedness that he writes about experiences with.

As part of the award, he will receive an $800,000 grant over the next five years. Winners can spend the money however they choose. Some of that money, he said, will go to establishing a scholarship fund in his parents names at Reedley College, a small community college near Dinuba, where he was born and raised.

I want to find a way for students who come from my background and my valley to see that there are others opening the door for them, he remarked, choking up with tears.

The foundation has run the fellowship since 1981 and selected more than 1,030 recipients.

The awards are given to individuals of outstanding talent to pursue their own creative, intellectual, and professional inclinations, according to the foundations website, and the grants are not tied to a specific project or institution. Many past fellows like Octavia Butler, Paul Farmer and Twyla Tharp are luminaries in their fields and Marlies Carruth, who directs the MacArthur Fellows program, emphasized that they hope fellows will support and inspire each other. The foundation also hosts events for current and past recipients, the AP reported.

Munoz, who has known about the grant for four weeks but was sworn to secrecy from the MacArthur Foundation, has written two short-story collections including 2003s Zigzagger and 2007s The Faith Healer of Olive Avenue. He most recently published a collection entitled The Consequences, which won the 2023 Joyce Carol Oates Prize.

This grant makes me feel a lot more comfortable making sure that my next book is short stories, he said. Im feeling so confident that thats the direction were going in.

Most people think his novels and short stories are memoirs, but that isnt the case.

I take the little elements that Ive heard in family lore, or a friend of the family has shared, and just let myself imagine because I wasnt there to witness, he said. Thats the sort of work we do as writers, is to imagine.

The English professor is not the first University of Arizona professor to win this award. There have been seven other award winners who worked at the University, including anthropology professor Brackette Williams and sociology professor Jennifer Carlson. Carlson won the award just last year.

The vetting process sometimes takes years, as those considered do not apply themselves and are instead nominated.

After having four weeks to process, Munoz is still struggling to put the importance of the grant into words. Right now hes in the Bay Area working with a new literacy project, but hes already looking forward to returning to the UA, with this new accolade, to teach his students once again.

I think its important for my students [of similar backgrounds] to hear that this kind of recognition can come for one of us, he said. Im looking forward to those conversations.

Each year, the foundation calls the new class of fellows in advance of the public announcement and fellows described being shocked and stunned by the news after receiving a call from an unknown number, which they had sometimes initially ignored, the Associated Press reported Wednesday.

Because he didnt know he was even being considered for the grant, Munoz described thinking the phone call, which he got repeatedly, was a spam call on a polling service.

I finally answered it in my kitchen, he said. And as soon as they said the words it didnt feel real.

Ada Limon, who recently began her second term as the countrys poet laureate, said she first missed a call the day after her grandmother, Allamay Barker, had died at the age of 98. It wasnt until the foundation emailed her that she called back. She said she wept when she heard the news.

I felt like losing the matriarch of my family and then receiving this, it felt like it was a gift from her in some ways, she said, speaking to the Associated Press from her home in Lexington, Kentucky.

As poet laureate, she commissioned an anthology of poems You Are Here: Poetry in the Natural World, to be published in April and also arranged for historic poems to be installed at seven national parks. NASA is planning to send a poem Limon wrote for an upcoming mission to Jupiters moon Europa as part of a time capsule. The poem will be engraved on the spacecraft.

One of the things that feels most emotional and remarkable to me is that this recognition is coming from within the poetry community, Limon told AP.
JOINT BASE ELMENDORF-RICHARDSON, Alaska (AP)  U.S. Army officials have identified two soldiers killed when their large transport vehicle crashed while heading to a training area in interior Alaska.

There were among 17 soldiers on board the vehicle that flipped when the driver lost control on a dirt road leading to the Yukon Training Area near the community of Salcha, or about 30 miles (48 kilometers) southeast of Fairbanks, officials said earlier. Twelve other soldiers were injured.

The two soldiers killed were Spcs. Jeremy Daniel Evans and Brian Joshua Snowden, the Army said in a statement late Wednesday.

Both were assigned to the 1st Battalion, 5th Infantry Regiment, 1st Infantry Combat Team with the 11th Airborne Division.

Evans, 23, arrived in Alaska in January 2021 after completing training at Fort Moore in Georgia. The Knoxville, Tennessee, native joined the Army in July 2020.

Snowden, 22, also joined the Army in July 2020 and trained at Fort Moore. Snowden, a Lonedell, Missouri, native arrived for duty in Alaska in March 2021.

This is an incredible loss for all of us across the division, Maj. Gen. Brian Eifler, commanding general of the 11th Airborne Division, said in the statement.

While were always challenged by the environment, were Arctic Angels, we overcome these challenges and accomplish our mission by being a team, and teams take care of one another, especially in times like these, Eifler said.

Among the 12 other soldiers injured, eight were treated and released the same day from Fairbanks Memorial Hospital, the Army said. Two injured soldiers remain in stable condition in Fairbanks.

Two other soldiers who were taken to Providence Alaska Medical Center in Anchorage were also in stable condition, officials said.

The accident remains under investigation.
MEXICO CITY (AP)  The Biden administration will resume deporting Venezuelan migrants, the largest single group encountered at the U.S.-Mexico border last month, back to their economically troubled country as their arrivals continue to grow.

U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, speaking in Mexico City Thursday, cited the new measure as one of the strict consequences the Biden administration is pairing with the expansion of legal pathways for asylum seekers.

Our two countries are being challenged by an unprecedented level of migration throughout our hemisphere, Mayorkas said, referring to Mexico.

The repatriation flights are expected to begin shortly, said two U.S. officials, though they did not provide specific details on when the flights would begin taking off. The officials were not authorized to disclose details of the governments plan and spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity.

The resumption of deportation flights comes not long after the administration increased protected status for thousands of Venezuelans who had previously arrived to the U.S., they must have entered the country before July 31 of this year to be eligible for temporary protected status.

In making the recent expansion of protections official, President Joe Biden's administration said just this week that it had determined that extraordinary and temporary conditions continue to prevent Venezuelan nationals from returning in safety.

Mayorkas on Thursday addressed the contrast with the announcement just days later of more deportations, saying we have made a determination it is safe to return Venezuelan nationals who arrived in the United States subsequent to July 31 and do not have a legal basis to remain here.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who led a U.S. delegation to Mexico, added that we have an ironclad commitment to provide protection for those who qualify. That remains paramount in everything were doing.

The Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service criticized the move to resume deportations noting the apparent contradiction with the expansion of temporary protected status.

Returning thousands of Venezuelans to the same unimaginably dangerous conditions they just fled is a profoundly problematic policy for the worlds humanitarian leader to adopt, the organizations CEO Krish OMara Vignarajah said in a statement.

Administration officials would not discuss details about how frequently deportation flights would be going to Venezuela or describe how Venezuela agreed to accept back their citizens except to say that, like other countries around the world, the U.S. has long encouraged Venezuela to accept back its nationals. Cuba, another U.S. adversary, announced earlier this year that it would begin accepting Cuban deportees but there has only been one flight a month.

The U.S. had been returning some Venezuelans via commercial flights, but in relatively small numbers and through third countries.

In Venezuela, the government said it had reached an agreement with U.S. officials for a safe and orderly repatriation.

Venezuelan migration in recent years is a direct result of the application of unilateral coercive measures and a blockade of our economy, Venezuela's foreign ministry said via X, the platform formerly known as Twitter. It said the government would support repatriated Venezuelans.

The U.S. move is the latest effort to deal with swelling numbers of migrants as the administration comes under increasing pressure from Republicans and mayors from the presidents own party to do more to slow arrivals.

The announcement came as Blinken and other top Biden administration officials met with their counterparts in Mexico City on security issues.

Blinken discussed migration flows with Mexico Foreign Affairs Secretary Alicia Barcena, as well as foreign ministers from Panama and Colombia, Wednesday. Talks continued Thursday, including meetings by Blinken and U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland with Lopez Obrador.

Barcena said Thursday that some 10,000 migrant encounters were registered at the U.S.-Mexico border on Wednesday.

We are going to continue taking forceful actions, including continuing some efforts we already have in relation to assisted returns, coordinating the dismantling of trafficking networks and human trafficking, Barcena said.

Blinken said the U.S. government is working to support those efforts.

We're taking steps to aid the most vulnerable, those most vulnerable to organized crime, training nearly 200 Mexican immigration officials to better screen, identify and assist potential human trafficking victims, Blinken said.

The scale of this challenge demands that we redouble our efforts, that we do more to increase legal migration ... more to address root causes and more to deter irregular migration humanely, Blinken said.

Lopez Obrador said Thursday during his daily news briefing that Mexico has reiterated in talks its position that there should be investment to spur development in the countries that migrants leave.

The people don't abandon their towns because they want to, but rather out of necessity, the president said. He also criticized the Biden administration's announcement Wednesday that it waived 26 federal laws in South Texas to allow border wall construction. Lopez Obrador had previously praised Biden for not building more border wall during his presidency.

In August, the U.S. Border Patrol made 181,509 arrests at the Mexican border, up 37% from July but little changed from August 2022 and well below the more than 220,000 in December, according to figures released in September.

The U.S. has tried to get Mexico and countries farther south to do more. In April, the U.S., Panama and Colombia announced a campaign to slow migration through the treacherous Darien Gap dividing Colombia and Panama. But migration through the jungle has only accelerated and is expected to approach some 500,000 people this year - the vast majority from Venezuela.

Venezuelans were stopped 25,777 times the first 17 days of September, up 63% from the same period a month earlier, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection figures released by Lopez Obrador. Those included some people admitted for scheduled asylum appointments, but the vast majority were illegal entries.

Venezuela plunged into a political, economic and humanitarian crisis over the last decade, pushing at least 7.3 million people to migrate and making food and other necessities unaffordable for those who remain.

The vast majority who fled settled in neighboring countries in Latin America, but many began coming to the United States in the last three years.

Deportation flights had been paused in part because the U.S. has few diplomatic relations with the nation.

U.S. and Mexican officials also discussed efforts aimed at combating the trafficking of the deadly synthetic opioid fentanyl.

Mexican officials continued to explain with some difficulty Lopez Obradors blanket assertion  false according to available evidence and the U.S. government  that Mexico does not produce fentanyl.

Barcena, the foreign relations secretary, said there is no contradiction, chemical precursors are not produced in Mexico. It was tacit admission that Mexican cartels import precursors, mainly from China, and process them chemically into fentanyl. But since the entire chemical process is not carried out in Mexico the government maintains that fentanyl is not produced here.

U.S. officials highlighted the recent extradition of Ovidio Guzman Lopez, a son of former Sinaloa cartel leader Joaquin El Chapo Guzman, to the U.S. on drug trafficking charges as a sign of cooperation between the two governments.

Balsamo and Long reported from Washington. Associated Press writers Rebecca Santana in Washington and Fabiola Sanchez in Mexico City contributed to this report.
ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP)  Marylands highest court is considering whether the rights of a murder victims family were violated when Adnan Syed s conviction in the killing was vacated last fall, years after his case gained national attention through the hit podcast Serial.

The case has been fraught with legal twists and divided court rulings for decades. And the oral arguments that took place Thursday before the Maryland Supreme Court were no exception.

Among the issues discussed was the extent to which Maryland crime victims have a right to participate in hearings where a conviction could be vacated. The panel of seven judges, who will release their ruling in the coming months, is also weighing whether to uphold a lower appellate court ruling that found in favor of the victims family and reinstated Syeds 2000 murder conviction.

Ultimately, Syeds freedom hangs in the balance. While unlikely, he could eventually be sent back to prison for life if subsequent developments in the case dont fall in his favor.

Outside the Annapolis courthouse after the hearing, Syed said he was looking forward to the decision. While maintaining his innocence from the start, Syed has often expressed concern for the family of Hae Min Lee, his high school ex-girlfriend who was found strangled to death and buried in an unmarked grave in 1999.

We believe very strongly in trying to find justice for Hae and her family, he told reporters. And were hoping also that were able to find justice for us, too.

He attended the hearing flanked by family members, including his mother and younger brother.

Syed, 42, was released from prison in September 2022, when a Baltimore judge overturned his conviction. City prosecutors had dropped all charges after finding flaws in the evidence.

However, in March, the Appellate Court of Maryland ordered a redo of the hearing. The court said the victims family didnt receive adequate notice to attend the hearing in person, violating their right to be treated with dignity and respect.

Syed appealed his conviction's reinstatement, and the Lee family also appealed to the states highest court, contending that crime victims should be given a larger role in the process of vacating a conviction.

This case is not about Mr. Syeds underlying innocence or guilt. That dispute is simply not in the room today, said Ari Rubin, an attorney for the Lee family, during Thursdays arguments.

He said the issue at hand was whether the rights of Lees brother, Young Lee, were violated because he was unable to substantively participate in the process, which Rubin called extraordinary in that it aligns the interests of the defendant and the state. He argued victims and their attorneys should fulfill an adversarial role.

But several justices expressed skepticism about whether state law expressly spells out a victims right to be heard in such hearings where a conviction is vacated.

Why isnt this a question for the General Assembly? The right that youre speaking of is not in the plain language of the statute, said Judge Brynja Booth.

Some justices also questioned why the hearing that vacated Syeds conviction was scheduled so hastily. Prosecutors told Young Lee about the hearing on a Friday and scheduled it for the following Monday, leaving him no reasonable opportunity to travel to Baltimore from his California home and attend in person. Instead, he ended up addressing the court via video call.

Justice Shirley Watts said the outcome of the hearing seemed predetermined, including Syeds immediate release from custody. And Justice Lynne Battaglia spoke about properly balancing the rights of victims and defendants.

Syeds lawyer, Erica Suter, said the state met its obligation in allowing Young Lee to participate in the hearing.

Syeds attorneys say the familys appeal is moot because prosecutors decided not to charge him again after his conviction was vacated. And even if Young Lees rights were violated, Syed's lawyers say, he hasnt demonstrated whether the alleged violation would have changed the hearings outcome.

Mr. Lee was heard, and his counsel was heard, and it did not influence Judge (Melissa) Phinns decision, Suter said.

This isnt the first time the Maryland Supreme Court has taken up Syeds protracted legal odyssey.

In 2019, a divided court ruled 4-3 to deny Syed a new trial. While the justices agreed with a lower court that Syeds legal counsel was deficient in failing to investigate an alibi witness, it disagreed that the deficiency prejudiced the case. A lower court had ordered a retrial in 2016 on grounds that Syeds attorney, Cristina Gutierrez, didnt contact an alibi witness and provided ineffective counsel. Gutierrez passed away in 2004.

In November 2019, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to review the decision by Marylands top court.

More recently, Baltimore prosecutors reexamined Syeds files under a Maryland law targeting so-called juvenile lifers because he was 17 when Hae Min Lee's body was found. Prosecutors uncovered numerous problems, including alternative suspects and the unreliable evidence presented at trial. Instead of reconsidering his sentence, prosecutors filed a motion to vacate Syeds conviction entirely.

Associated Press writer Denise Lavoie in Richmond, Virginia, contributed to this report.
Index-Journal. October 2, 2023.

Editorial: On domestic violence, time to change SCs rules

Welcome to South Carolina, where the rule of thumb seems to remain alive.

You know that rule, right? A husband can beat his wife on the courthouse steps so long as the stick of choice is no bigger around than his thumb. Likely the same rule would apply in the case of partnerships. Such an archaic law, but one that seems fitting still for our state.

Why is that? Because apparently a Greenwood woman who was the victim of repeated acts of domestic violence remains behind bars for stabbing her boyfriend to death in 2017 during yet another argument.

The story of Tiffany Carroll is well known here and in other parts of the state, not because she killed her boyfriend, but rather because she remains in prison and should not.

Initially charged with her boyfriends murder, Carroll pleaded guilty but mentally ill to a charge of voluntary manslaughter in 2019. Before entering her plea, a judge determined Carroll, the mother of five, was a victim of prolonged domestic violence. Law enforcement was called no fewer than eight times to the home she shared with her boyfriend. She declined to prosecute each time, as is often the case with victims of domestic violence who fear even worse treatment in the fallout.

In 2018, a clinical psychologist examined Carroll and determined she experienced Battered Woman Syndrome. She had no criminal record and no known violent behavior in her past. This time, however, during the 2017 argument, she reacted. She responded. Finally. The abuse she had endured for so long came to an end.

Her story does not end there. Many have called for Carrolls release. That not only includes family members, of course, but also state Rep. John McCravy, the judge who sentenced her and Solicitor David Stumbo. With that kind of support, one would think Carrolls pardon was a no-brainer when she went before the state Department of Probation, Parole and Pardon Services.

In a 3-2 vote, her pardon was denied.

Her attorney, state Rep. Travis Moore, has cited six reasons he is seeking a rehearing before the board for Carrolls case. In addition to citing the judge and Stumbos support for her release, Moore notes that key witnesses were unable to participate in the virtual hearing and one board member was absent, which potentially would affect the outcome in a case requiring a two-thirds vote.

Moores argument for a rehearing is strong. He should be granted that opportunity, and soon.

The irony that Carroll remains imprisoned while on Tuesday the 26th annual Silent Witness Ceremony will take place 10 a.m. on the south side steps of the Statehouse is not lost on us.

In announcing the solemn event, state Attorney General Alan Wilsons office noted the purpose: to recognize the women and men who died as a result of domestic violence in 2022 and bring attention to one of the states major public health and criminal concerns.

For 26 years our state has acknowledged the impact domestic violence has on its people, the crisis it is and has been. Yet, Tiffany Carroll, who could be the poster child for domestic violence and Battered Woman Syndrome in South Carolina, remains behind bars.

Her release would signal a greater awareness and awakening in a state that seems hellbent on favoring the abuser over the abused. We need a new rule, not the rule of thumb.

Post and Courier. October 3, 2023.

Editorial: SC needs to act to protect our vital blue crab fishery

While no one is completely certain about how seriously the decline of South Carolinas blue crab fishery is, theres enough concern for the state to act to improve the situation. Its time for those interested in the fishery and state lawmakers to find better ways to regulate the harvesting of this vital shellfish thats an important part of our states coastal heritage.

Officials with the state Department of Natural Resources, which supervises blue crab harvesting, held the first of three public input sessions last week and will hold a similar hearing at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday at the Port Royal Sound Foundation Maritime Center in Okatie, then another from 6:30-8:30 p.m. Oct. 12 at the Murrells Inlet Community Center. We encourage those with insight or strong thoughts to take part in one or both. These hearings follow on the heels of a report that DNR presented to lawmakers in January.

Comments at the first session indicated an emerging consensus that some changes should be made. Thats not surprising: Many commercial crabbers have said that under-regulation is partially to blame for the decades-long slide, and South Carolinas crabbing industry is not regulated as well as in other states. The states own data show blue crab landings have dropped from 9.4 million pounds in 1978 to 2.6 million in 2021. Thats certainly a source of concern, even if, as the agencys report notes, blue crab abundances can fluctuate greatly from year to year, depending on changes in their environment.

Finding the most appropriate fixes is more complicated. But the easiest step will be for the state to impose an annual two-week crabbing moratorium, possibly in late January. During that time, abandoned crab traps, sometimes called ghost pots can be removed from state waters. Pots should be checked ideally every day or at least once every few days; the problem is some are left for much longer, essentially creating a crab hotel of death.

We see merit in some of DNRs other suggested actions, among them: setting a cap of 100 commercial crabbing licenses; capping the number of crab pots per commercial license at 200; authorizing the agency to close down crabbing temporarily in response to resource conditions or trends, or environmental or biological factors related to blue crab population health; and changing state law to ensure crab traps are built so undersized crabs can escape.

Some believe the distinction between commercial and recreational crabbers has been blurred because recreational crabbers must get a commercial license if they put out more than two pots; raising that recreational limit to 10 pots could provide more clarity between who is fishing for themselves and who is fishing to sell their catch.

The agency should ready a set of recommendations this year for the Legislature to act on in January. While its still unclear which mix of specific rule changes might be the most effective, we urge Natural Resources officials to ask lawmakers for more funding to support  in the words of its earlier recommendation  expanded and new, essential blue crab-focused biological, population and fishery data collection and monitoring efforts. Currently, the agency does regular trolls for crabs in the same spots and, as a result, has some good apples-to-apples numbers for how the crab population has changed each year for decades. But thats an incomplete look and misses some of the complexities and nuances crabbers see.

Crabbers are getting a chance to explain those nuances this month. We hope the agency will listen and present a revised set of recommendations to lawmakers soon so they can beef up our weak crabbing rules to support both blue crabs and those who depend on them.

END
Kingsport Times News. September 28, 2023.

Editorial: Sullivan, Hawkins at risk for human trafficking

In March, 11 men were arrested in a human trafficking investigation conducted by Sullivan County District Attorney General Barry Staubus and local law enforcement agencies working with the Tennessee Bureau of Investigations Human Trafficking Unit and Homeland Security.

That the arrests occurred may have been a surprise to county residents, who would not expect human trafficking to be a problem here.

But Sullivan County is at high risk for this crime, according to a study recently released by Engage Together, a nationwide campaign from the Alliance for Freedom, Restoration, and Justice, Inc., an assembly of business leaders and global companies working to end human trafficking.

Human trafficking involves the use of force, fraud or coercion to obtain some type of labor or commercial sex act. Victims can be any age, race or gender, and it can happen in any community. But residents of some communities are at greater risk, and Sullivan County, and to a lesser extent Hawkins County, are among them.

It is of greater concern that the 11 men arrested were accused of seeking illicit sex from minors. They were arrested when authorities placed several decoy advertisements on websites known to be linked to prostitution and commercial sex cases.

All were booked into the Sullivan County Jail on charges including solicitation of a minor and patronizing prostitution of a minor.

Those arrested were from throughout the region and out of state including residents of Hurricane, West Virginia; Johnson City; Morristown; Boone, North Carolina; Blountville; Weaverville, North Carolina; Spartanburg, South Carolina; and Hellier, Kentucky. A year earlier, four men were accused of seeking illicit sex from minors in an undercover investigation in Sullivan County using the same method.

Engage Together reported earlier this month that three Northeast Tennessee counties  Sullivan, Hawkins and Greene  have a high vulnerable population index score. It used research gathered over the past year to identify areas at risk for traffickers to develop a score based on an assessment of the current strengths, gaps, needs, vulnerabilities and opportunities for community-wide engagement to end and prevent human trafficking in all 95 counties of Tennessee.

Sullivan County ranked 18th in the state for highest risk. To lower it, the report said immediate priorities should include training health care, child-serving and direct service providers to recognize and respond to both labor and sex trafficking; resourcing anti-trafficking organizations and those working with high-risk populations to expand accessibility of services; and strengthening the least-supported programs in in the county.

To expand and resource all the programs and services needed to identify victims and support survivors in your community, you will need to mobilize multiple sectors to engage. Businesses, churches/houses of worship, foundations, civic clubs, professional associations and more will need to join the efforts of your local nonprofits and government agencies to meet needs and fill gaps.

The report found that the area has a prevalence of individuals experiencing financial, housing, food or job insecurities, as well as crimes that are often correlated with or can escalate to trafficking such as domestic violence, sexual assault, weapons or drug offenses.

We cant fix all of these issues, but we need to be aware of them and where and when possible, increase support for those who are experiencing these challenges.

Johnson City Press. September 27, 2023.

Editorial: Dont leave guns in unlocked vehicles

Its frequently been held by the U.S. Supreme Court that the Constitutions Second Amendment affirms citizens rights to own firearms for the protection of themselves and the republic.

Like many of our rights, however, being a gun owner requires an acceptance of the responsibility for exercising that right, which means doing your best to prevent harm.

Last week Washington County Sheriff Keith Sexton warned the public about a rash of reported burglaries in the Gray community. Stolen in these burglaries, the sheriff said, were several guns, all left in unlocked vehicles.

Burglaries are often crimes of opportunity, and valuables, like firearms, left unattended in unlocked cars are easy targets for thieves.

Whether they know it or not, irresponsible gun owners are helping traffickers supply the Iron Pipeline, an interstate corridor of illegal firearms used in crimes across the country. The Department of Justice and other law enforcement agencies estimate that between 200,000 and 500,000 guns are stolen each year from private owners, many of which are then used in other states to commit violent crimes.

These firearms purchased to be used as protection are very likely being used to hurt people, something no responsible gun owner would want.

A proactive approach to gun safety helps keep firearms out of the hands of criminals.

Never leave a gun in an unattended vehicle, especially an unlocked one. The safest way to store a firearm when not in use is unloaded and locked away out of sight in a gun box or safe.

Its up to all gun owners to take responsibility for the rights and freedoms they enjoy.

END
WASHINGTON (AP)  President Joe Biden on Thursday defended his administrations decision to waive 26 federal laws in South Texas to allow for construction of roughly 20 miles of additional border wall, saying he had no choice but to use the Trump-era funding for the barrier to stop illegal migration from Mexico.

Asked if he thought such walls work, he said flatly, No.

The new construction was announced in June, but the funds were appropriated in 2019 before the Democratic president took office. Biden said he tried to get lawmakers to redirect the money but Congress refused, and the law requires the funding to be used as approved and the construction to be completed in 2023.

The money was appropriated for the border wall, Biden said. I cant stop that.

Still, the waiving of federal laws for the construction  something also done when Republican Donald Trump was president  raised questions, particularly because Biden condemned border wall spending when he was running for the White House. One of Biden's first decisions moves as president was to halt the use of emergency funds to build the wall along the Southern border and ended the national emergency there.

The decision comes as the Biden administration is struggling to manage increasing numbers of migrants at the border and spreading out in the larger U.S. Democratic leaders in New York, Chicago and Washington are asking for federal help to handle the growing numbers of migrants in their cities. Administration officials on Thursday announced they'd resume deporting migrants back to Venezuela, as part of their effort to to slow arrivals.

Republicans, for their part, are hammering the president as ineffective on border policy, with some suggesting they would not fund any more efforts in Ukraine without a substantial increase to border security funding.

The decision was met with immediate criticism from immigrant advocates and Mexico President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, who called it a setback.

It is a setback because it does not resolve the problem, he said Thursday. Lopez Obrador had frequently praised Biden in the past because he is the first U.S. president in a long time who has not built any walls.

The Department of Homeland Security posted the announcement of the latest wall action in the Federal Registry with few details about the construction in Starr County, Texas, part of a busy Border Patrol sector seeing high illegal entry. According to government data, about 245,000 illegal crossings have been recorded so far this budget year in the Rio Grande Valley Sector. It is among the busiest for border crossings in the nation.

I want to address todays reporting relating to a border wall and be absolutely clear. There is no new administration policy with respect to border walls," Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said in a statement. From day one, this administration has made clear that a border wall is not the answer. That remains our position and our position has never wavered.

Much of the land along the Rio Grande is subject to erosion and is part of federally protected habitats for plants and animals. A federal project along the river would ordinarily require a series of environmental reviews. Congress gave U.S. immigration authorities the ability to waive those reviews to put up such barriers more quickly.

The Biden administrations decision to rush into border wall construction marks a profound failure," said Jonathan Blazer, director of border strategies at the American Civil Liberties Union. On the campaign trail, President Biden put it best when he said that the border wall is not a serious policy solution  and we couldnt agree more. Instead of upholding this promise, the Biden administration is doubling down on the failed policies of the past that have proven wasteful and ineffective.

This isnt the first time that border wall has been constructed under the Biden administration. Homeland Security has also worked on roughly 13 miles in the Rio Grande Valley, and another small-scale project to fill small gaps that remain open from prior construction activities in the border wall.

But the border wall has been synonymous with Trumps restrictive immigration policies. He said he wanted to build a wall and have Mexico pay for it, then declared a national emergency to fund construction when Congress would not appropriate funds for it.

Trump's allies said the move just showed he was right. Trump, the front-runner for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, weighed in too  saying the administration's actions proved he was right on the wall.

As I have stated often, over thousands of years, there are only two things that have consistently worked, wheels, and walls!" Trump wrote on his social media platform. "Will Joe Biden apologize to me and America for taking so long to get moving ... I will await his apology!

Associated Press writer Nomaan Merchant contributed to this report.
MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP)  The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced Tuesday it has opened a civil rights investigation into whether Alabama discriminated against Black residents when handing out funding for wastewater infrastructure.

The Natural Resources Defense Council and the Center for Rural Enterprise and Environmental Justice filed the complaint this spring, arguing Alabamas policies for distributing money have made it difficult for people  particularly Black residents in the state's poverty-stricken Black Belt  to get help for onsite sanitation needs.

Sanitation is a basic human right that every person in this country, and in the state of Alabama, should have equal access to. Those without proper sanitation access are exposed to illness and serious harm, Catherine Coleman Flowers, founder of The Center for Rural Enterprise and Environmental Justice, said in a statement.

She said she hopes the federal investigation will "result in positive change for any Alabama resident currently relying on a failing onsite sanitation system and for all U.S. communities for whom justice is long overdue.

The EPA wrote in a Tuesday letter to the Alabama Department of Environmental Management that it will investigate the complaint, specifically looking at implementation of the Clean Water State Revolving Fund and whether practices exclude or discriminate against "residents in the Black Belt region of Alabama, on the basis of race. It will also look at whether ADEM provides prompt and fair resolution of discrimination complaints, the EPA wrote.

The ADEM disputed the accusations.

As we stated earlier this year when the complaint was filed, ADEM disagrees with the allegations contained in it. In fact, ADEM has made addressing the wastewater and drinking water needs of disadvantaged communities a priority in the awarding of funding made available, the agency wrote in a statement issued Wednesday.

The agency said it welcomes the opportunity to provide information to the EPA to counter the allegations. ADEM said state officials have made a priority in helping the region. The agency said in 2022, 34% ($157 million) of the $463 million of drinking water and wastewater funding awarded by ADEM went to Black Belt counties.

National environmental and social justice activists have long tried to put a spotlight on sanitation problems in Alabamas Black Belt region, where intense poverty and inadequate municipal infrastructure have left some residents dealing with raw sewage in their yards from absent, broken or poorly functioning septic systems.

Alabamas Black Belt region gets its name for the dark rich soil that once gave rise to cotton plantations, but the type of soil also makes it difficult for traditional septic tanks, in which wastewater filters through the ground, to function properly. Some homes in the rural counties still have straight pipe systems, letting sewage run untreated from home to yard.

The complaint maintains that Alabamas policies for distributing money from the Clean Water State Revolving Fund, a federal-state partnership that provides communities low-cost financing for infrastructure, make it impossible for people who need help with onsite wastewater systems to benefit.

Federal and state officials have vowed in recent years to address sanitation problems through money in the American Rescue Plan  a portion of which state officials steered to high-need water and sewer projects  and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Act.

The U.S. Department of Justice this year announced a settlement agreement with the the Alabama Department of Public Health regarding longstanding wastewater sanitation problems in Lowndes County, a high-poverty county between Selma and Montgomery.

Federal officials did not accuse the state of breaking the law but said they were concerned about a a pattern of inaction and neglect regarding the risks of raw sewage for residents. The agreement is the result of the departments first environmental justice investigation under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
A specter is haunting the United States of Americathe specter of communism! All powers of the Land of the Free have united to exorcize this specter: Biden and Trump, Bezos and Gates, reformist politicians and freedom caucus rabble, liberal professors and reactionary pundits. Yet where is the party in opposition to give the working-class vanguard a clear lead?

Communism is already recognized by right-wing think tanks as a powerful, yet unorganized force. The communists of Socialist Revolution are boldly proclaiming our views and aims, and distributing posters in streets, campuses, towns, and cities across the country. In short, we have made it our mission to organize this new generation of communists. And we are achieving great results!

Communism on the rise

The response from radicalized youth is unprecedented. In just the last month, over 200 people have joined the US section of the IMT, Socialist Revolution. Some are finding communist co-workers and forming their own workplace cells. Others are students meeting us in their first weeks on campus.

Even in what may seem the most unlikely of places, Socialist Revolution is marching forward. As we previously reported, young people in Texas are organizing for communism, with our Dallas branch tripling in size since last month! Our branch in Atlanta also doubled in size as of September, and the Houston branch also experienced fast recruitment. Our comrades are showing what it really means to be in a deep red state!

At the University of Wisconsin in Madison, our comrades reported that interested communists stopped by our table nonstop throughout the day at the student fair to learn more. More and more people consider themselves communists, want to join a serious organization, and fight against capitalism. They organized a very successful public event on Why We Are Communists, and at the end over 10 of the attendees asked to join the IMT.

In New York City, you might see our posters on the campuses of Pace University, Columbia University, Pratt Institute, or New York University. The Village is so filled with posters that we have been approached about being featured by the NYU newspaper and radio station. Apparently, the Are You a Communist? campaign is the talk of the campus, and even some professors are talking about it in class!

You may also have seen our New York comrades on the picket line supporting the writers and actors strikes, solidarity rallies for the UAW, or at the recent Climate March.

The St. Louis branches conducted an impressive communist showing at Pride last weekend, where they staffed a communist recruitment tent throughout two days. Thirteen people joined on the spot, for a total growth of over 20 comrades just in the month of September!

One of our newest branches, San Diego, has more than doubled in size. Another newer branch in Los Angeles is also making important strides forward! And our Southern California comrades are only just getting started, with events and the start of university semesters happening in the next week or two.

Many branches are multiplying. The Boston, Bellingham, WA, and Madison, WI comrades divided from one to two branches. In New Haven, Connecticut, they multiplied from one to three branches. Phoenix has gone from three to five branches in the last month, with Minneapolis doubling from three to six branches. Philadelphia will soon have five branches, while New York City is growing to six branches.

The communists are everywhere, and even more are coming! New groups are popping up in workplaces and schoolssuch as at The New School, Sarah Lawrence College, or among NYC sanitation workers in the Teamsters unionbut also in new neighborhoods and areas, such as Southern New Jersey; Tulsa, Oklahoma; Amherst, Massachusetts; Portland, Maine; and more.

Why We Are Communists

Many new comrades first encountered the IMT at one of our Why We Are Communists events, taking place around the country.

In years past, our public events would often be geared towards arguing why capitalism needs to be overthrown in the first place. But with the shift in consciousness from decades of crisis and austerity, for millions of people there is no longer any doubt that capitalism must be ended. Now, the questions we encounter are mostly, how can we actually achieve a revolution? Bolshevik strategy has been the main point of the discussion. A welcome sea change!

As our comrades at Arizona State University explained to an audience of over 30 people:

The history of the world depends on the revolutionary youth, on those 30 million communists. Once they are united and move together, they will lead the working class behind them to smash capitalism and replace it with a better world. Unfortunately, we are not yet united and moving together. We all know that capitalism is a dead end, and that only communism can get us out of the crisis. However, the majority of these communists do not have a clear understanding of how to overthrow capitalism, and they are not organized  Without Marxist theory, and without organization, the revolutionary youth is severely held back and capitalism is able to survive another day. This is why Socialist Revolution and the International Marxist Tendency exist. We are organizing the best of those 30 million communists as quickly as possible, so that we can train them to become revolutionary leaders. If we achieve this goal, it will be the basis for a mass, independent, genuine Communist Party in this country.

Comrades are explaining to interested people across the US that it is not enough to identify as a communist. You must actively organize to build a communist party! And the potential to do this is greater than ever before, not only in the US, but around the world. The IMT is growing everywhere!

Were not done yet!

First and foremost, last weekend in Minneapolis we started our Regional Marxist School series, with more coming in New York City, Phoenix, and Bellingham, Washington. Enter the nearest one on your calendar and book your travel and tickets!

Many branches havent even started their Fall schedules on the campuses yet. If you live in LA, San Diego, Washington State, or Philadelphia, be on the lookout for our comrades at UC Irvine, UC San Diego, the University of Washington, Western Washington University, and Drexel University. These campuses are just now starting their school semesters, and our comrades will be there!

Here, there, and everywhere, the communists are coming. So, if youre a communist and youre not yet organized and active, its time to get off the fence and put your money where your mouth is by joining the fight to end capitalism in our lifetime! As our St. Louis comrades recently explained to an audience of young communists:
An Owasso man who shot his uncle, whom he reportedly mistook for an intruder, has pleaded guilty to a reduced charge in federal court, U.S. Attorney Clint Johnsons office announced Wednesday.

Bailey Warren Sparkman, 23, a Cherokee citizen, pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter in Indian Country.

He had been indicted in April 2022 on charges of first-degree murder in Indian Country and one count of carrying, using, brandishing and discharging a firearm during and in relation to a crime of first-degree murder in Indian Country, or the lesser offense of second-degree murder in Indian Country.

The charge was filed in federal court because Sparkman is an American Indian.

Sparkman said that although his 30-year-old uncle, Zachary Daniel Sparkman, had recently been kicked out of the family residence near 76th Street North and 129th East Avenue, he had a room and belongings there. Bailey Sparkman was not aware that his uncle had returned to the house when he went downstairs about 11:30 p.m. and saw someone standing inside looking out the back door.

Bailey Sparkman, 18 years old at the time, acknowledged retrieving his uncles .40-caliber handgun and firing a single shot, striking the victim in the back of the head, without trying to ascertain the identity of the person.

Evidence indicated that the back door of the residence, owned by Zachary Sparkmans father, had been forced open, Owasso police said at the time.

He faces a maximum sentence of eight years in federal prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence at a future date.

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Lenzy Krehbiel-Burton Tulsa World Staff Writer Follow Lenzy Krehbiel-Burton 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

Looking at the short story they had just read as a group, the three Anderson Elementary School students around the table in Alexis McCants classroom were stumped for a moment.

Sound it out, McCant said. Give me some words from the story with a long o.

Rome, piped up a student after a pause, prompting a high five from McCant.

Drove, said another student, getting a high five of his own before the trio were sent on their way to their class.

The three students were meeting with McCant as part of Walk to Read, a literacy intervention approach first implemented by the district in 2021-2022 as part of its efforts to offset academic delays brought on by COVID-19.

The reading intervention model incorporates small groups of students who are placed together based on shared similar areas of needed improvement as demonstrated on standardized tests, such as letter recognition or blending letter sounds together.

As the students progress and master certain skills, their groups may shift again to accommodate that growth. Those groups meet anywhere from 20-60 minutes per day, depending on the specific school and the students needs.

Additionally, with groups formed based on individual progress, students may not necessarily be placed with students in their same class or even the same grade if there are other pupils with the same struggles, said TPS Executive Director of Elementary and Early Education Kelly Kane said.

Its not about leveled groups, Kane said. Its not my bottom 10 percent of readers are in a group and my next 10 percent are in another group. Its about Student A and Student B need to work on this particular skill with CVC (consonant-vowel-consonant) words, so theyre in this group over here, while Student C and some other people need to work on, say, rhyming, so theyre in this other group over here.

Its really based on that what the data tells us is the next skill that kids need to work on to build towards fluency, which is very different than when the way most of us were in leveled reading groups as kids.

As is the case at Anderson, those groups might not necessarily meet with a students regular teacher, depending on what their specific needs are. While McCant met with the three students in the back of her classroom Tuesday morning, a colleague stepped in to pull out another student for his Walk to Read group.

Anderson Elementary School began utilizing Walk to Read groups within the first week of classes. In preparation, all of Andersons staff took part in professional development over the summer.

It is all hands on deck for Walk to Read, Interim Principal LaJuanna Waddell said, noting that groups are pulled out throughout the course of the school day. Were going from teacher assistants to the dean and anyone else who can work with a child.

In her first semester with TPS after teaching in Louisiana for several years, McCant is new to the Walk to Read concept but said she appreciates that the smaller groups provide the opportunity to better address students specific needs.

I like that the groups are tailored, McCant said. Back when we were in school, everyone was doing the same thing, even if you were behind or lacking in a skill. We were all crunched up in the same class or group and it wasnt tailored to the need. When we moved on, it was either you get it or you dont.

This allows us to break off and work on what we really need to work on to catch up with everyone else.

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Randy Krehbiel Tulsa World Staff Writer Follow Randy Krehbiel 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

Very little has been done to meet the recommendations in a 2001 report by a legislative commission on Tulsas 1921 Race Massacre, lawmakers heard Thursday during an interim study by the Oklahoma House of Representatives General Government Committee.

Some will say, When does it stop? said state Rep. Regina Goodwin, D-Tulsa, who requested and led the study. We would say  when does it start?

In a session lasting a little over three hours, Goodwin and others touched on recommendations from the 2001 report that included individual and community reparations, a scholarship program adopted but never fully implemented, economic development and the search for unmarked burials from the massacre.

I want to reiterate how important we think reparations are, said Vivian Clark-Adams, one of three original commissioners to speak Thursday. The reason the commission listed reparations for survivors and reparations for descendants one and two is because they were the most important things, we thought, to restore what was stolen.

The people of Greenwood were good, taxpaying citizens, said Clark-Adams, but they were not protected  as they should have been.

Reparations were a controversial and sometimes divisive subject among the commission members, but Clark-Adams and others speaking Thursday said they should not have been. They said reparations have often been paid by federal, state and local governments to people and groups.

Victim compensation and reparations and restorative justice is something we do every single day in this country, said attorney Damario Solomon-Simmons. It is the basis of our civil justice system.

Considerable attention was paid to one of Goodwins concerns, the states failure to fully implement the scholarship program instituted more than 20 years ago in response to the 2001 report.

Dreisen Heath of Human Rights Watch said fewer than 200 scholarships valued at $1,000 each have been awarded since 2003. The program was originally intended to provide up to 300 scholarships a year.

Vice Chancellor Robert Placido of the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education said the conditions for receiving the scholarships and a lack of funding were factors in it being all but dormant for nearly two decades, but that it is getting more attention since Goodwin made it a priority.

The program received its first earmarked appropriation, $1.5 million, in the current fiscal year, and Placido said this year the first scholarship to a documented massacre descendent was awarded.

Placido said $75,500 has been awarded since 2018, with most of that in the last year.

Among those testifying was Goodwins 84-year-old uncle, Jim Goodwin, patriarch of one of Greenwoods oldest families.

For over 100 years these acts of domestic terrorism have gone unpunished, he said.

Instead, Jim Goodwin said, Greenwood for decades has been subjected to bait-and-switch promises and sugar-coated deception.

People are salivating to become rich through gentrification of Greenwood, he said.

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The 2016 murder of Tulsan Khalid Jabara kept coming up during a Wednesday morning hate crime forum led by the U.S. Department of Justice.

Jabaras death, it was said, is an example of how even taking the proper steps allowed by law does not always prevent a bad result.

Its an example of why reporting incidents that may not rise to the level of a crime is nonetheless important.

And, while not specifically mentioned, the Jabara case fit into comments by Tulsa Police Chief Wendell Franklin about the connection between hate crimes and mental illness.

Every hour of the day were responding to a call involving a mental health crisis, Franklin said. Mental health crises are an underling condition in many hate crimes.

Jabara, 37, was shot on the front porch of his family home by Stanley Vernon Majors, a 63-year-old neighbor with a history of mental illness who had been harassing and threatening the Jabaras for years.

Majors had previously been in jail for running down Haifa Jabara, Khalids mother, with his motor vehicle and hurling ethnic and religious slurs that, aside from offensive, were also inaccurate.

According to testimony, Majors used disparaging references to Muslims in haranguing the Jabaras, who are actually Orthodox Christians of Lebanese descent.

Aliye Shimi, who is Muslim and executive director of the Tulsa Metropolitan Ministry, said the Jabaras, law enforcement and prosecutors did all they could under the circumstances but that it wasnt enough  and that is the frustration of those targeted by such acts.

Tulsa County First Assistant District Attorney Erik Grayless said cases that meet Oklahomas definition of a hate crime  technically, malicious harassment or intimidation  are rare in Tulsa. Hate-based incidents that do not rise to that level, however, are not, and Grayless said those incidents should be reported to police if they are part of pattern or portend an escalation to violence.

That kind of reporting, it was said, helped make the case against Majors, who in 2018 was convicted of first-degree murder and malicious harassment or intimidation in Khalid Jabaras death. Majors died in prison two years later.

Franklin said preventing crime in general and hate crimes in particular requires community involvement. He noted that Tulsas homicide rate was remarkably low through the first nine months of 2023 and that their solve rate is almost 100%.

We dont do that because of the great forensic abilities we have, he said. We do that because of the people in the community. The only way is to do something (positive) in numbers that drowns out the negativity.

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OKLAHOMA CITY - The Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation is now looking at a Garfield County associate district judge because of a drive-by shooting at his brother-in-law's ranch Feb. 12, records show.
HROZA, Ukraine (AP)  A Russian rocket blast turned a village cafe and store in eastern Ukraine into rubble Thursday, killing at least 51 civilians in one of the deadliest attacks in the war in months, according to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and other top officials in Kyiv.

Rescuers searched for survivors in the remains of the only cafe in the village of Hroza. Body parts were strewn across a nearby children's playground that was severely damaged by the strike. Cellphones were collected and put in a courtyard nearby, waiting to be claimed. Occasionally, one of them rang, lighting up a shattered screen.

Around 60 people, including children, were attending a wake at the cafe when the missile hit, Ukrainian officials said.

Zelenskyy, attending a summit of about 50 European leaders in Spain to drum up support from Ukraine's allies, denounced the strike as a demonstrably brutal Russian crime and a completely deliberate act of terrorism.

According to preliminary information from Kyiv, the village was hit by an Iskander missile.

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre called the strike horrifying and said it demonstrated why the United States is doing everything it can "to help the brave people of Ukraine to fight for their freedom, to fight for their democracy.

Hroza, which had a population of about 500 before the war, is in the northeastern Kharkiv region and was seized by Russia early in the war before being recaptured by Ukraine in September 2022. It's only 30 kilometers (19 miles) west of Kupiansk, a key focus of the Russian military effort. Zelenskyy visited the area Tuesday to meet with troops and inspect equipment supplied by the West.

Dmytro Nechvolot told The Associated Press he was looking for his 60-year-old father, who attended the wake for a soldier from Hroza who died last year but who was reburied after being identified by DNA. Nechvolot kept walking up to his father's red car, which was still parked nearby, while waiting for confirmation that he had been killed.

I have lost a man I looked up to, a beloved father, and an unforgettable grandfather, he said.

On Thursday, Zelenskyy was at a summit of the European Political Community in Granada, Spain, where he asked for more Western support, saying that Russian terror must be stopped.

Russia needs this and similar terrorist attacks for only one thing: to make its genocidal aggression the new norm for the whole world, he said in a statement posted on his Telegram channel. Now we are talking with European leaders, in particular, about strengthening our air defense, strengthening our soldiers, giving our country protection from terror. And we will respond to the terrorists.

The key for us, especially before winter, is to strengthen air defense, and there is already a basis for new agreements with partners, he told the group, which was formed in the wake of Russias full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

Heeding Zelenskyy's cry, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said Germany will supply Ukraine with another Patriot missile air defense system. He expects Russia will again target crucial infrastructure and cities across Ukraine in the winter months.

This is what is now needed the most, Scholz said after meeting Zelenskyy, according to the German news agency dpa.

Last winter, Russia targeted Ukraine's energy system and other vital infrastructure in a steady barrage of missile and drone attacks, triggering continuous power outages across the country. Ukraine's power system has shown a high degree of resilience and flexibility, but there have been concerns that Russia will again ramp up its strikes on power facilities as winter draws near.

Zelenskyy noted that the Granada summit will also focus on joint work for global food security and protection of freedom of navigation in the Black Sea, where the Russian military has targeted Ukrainian ports after Moscow's withdrawal from a U.N.-sponsored grain deal designed to ensure safe grain exports from the invaded countrys ports.

The U.K. Foreign Office cited intelligence suggesting that Russia may lay sea mines in the approaches to Ukrainian ports to target civilian shipping and blame it on Ukraine.

Russia almost certainly wants to avoid openly sinking civilian ships, instead falsely laying blame on Ukraine for any attacks against civilian vessels in the Black Sea, it said, adding that the U.K. was working with Ukraine to help improve the safety of shipping.

Speaking in Granada, Zelenskyy emphasized the need to preserve European unity in the face of Russian disinformation and to remain strong amid what he described as a political storm in the United States.

Asked if he was worried that support for Ukraine could falter in the U.S. Congress, the Ukrainian president stressed that his visit to Washington last month made him confident of strong backing by both the Biden administration and Congress.

Zelenskyy called for more air defense systems, more artillery weapons and shells, and more long-range missiles and drones for Ukrainian soldiers, as well as other forms of support and security guarantees to help protect Europe from potential aggression by Moscow.

Earlier Thursday, Russia targeted Ukraine's southern regions with drones. Ukraines air force said the countrys air defenses intercepted 24 out of 29 Iranian-made drones that Russia launched at the Odesa, Mykolaiv and Kirovohrad regions.

Andriy Raykovych, head of the Kirovohrad regional administration, said an infrastructure facility in the region was struck and emergency services were deployed to extinguish a fire, but there were no casualties.

In other Russian attacks in the past day, two civilians were killed by shelling in the southern city of Kherson and one died after a strike on the city of Krasnohorivka in the eastern Donetsk region. At least eight people were wounded, according to Ukraine's presidential office.

A Russian strike on a hospital in the city of Beryslav in the Kherson region ravaged the building and wounded two medical workers, according to the regional administration chief, Oleksandr Prokudin.

Ukraine, in turn, has struck back at Russia with regular drone attacks across the border.

In Russia's Kursk region that borders Ukraine, Gov. Roman Starovoit said Ukrainian drone attacks resulted in power cuts in several areas. He also said Ukrainian forces fired artillery at the border town of Rylsk, wounding a resident and damaging several houses.
The frequency of international flights and cruise ships bound for Khanh Hoa Province in south-central Vietnam is set to increase this winter despite the country entering the low travel season.

China Southern Airlines has resumed air services linking the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou and Khanh Hoas Cam Ranh City, with three weekly flights departing on Wednesdays, Fridays, and Sundays, according to a leader of Cam Ranh International Airport, situated in the namesake city.

Vietnamese carrier Bamboo Airways also began operating three weekly flights between Taiwans Taipei and Cam Ranh from September 20 this year.

Vietravel Airlines, another Vietnamese carrier, is providing services on 14 charter flights bound for Cam Ranh from South Koreas Muan International Airport till the end of next month.

The number of charter flights carrying Chinese visitors to Khanh Hoa will also inch up gradually from next month.

Bui Quoc Dai, deputy managing director of Anex Vietnam Trade and Travel Company, which offers inbound services to international visitors, said that the volume of tourists from Kazakhstan and other countries from the Commonwealth of Independent States is anticipated to rise this winter.

In December this year, Anex will raise the number of weekly flights from Kazakhstan to 5-6, Dai added.

The coastal Vietnamese province will serve a growing number of international guests arriving by air and sea.

On Tuesday this week, the Bahamas-flagged passenger cruise ship Resorts World One transported 1,500 international guests to Nha Trang City, a popular beach destination located in Khanh Hoa.

This is the 14th cruise vessel to visit Khanh Hoa in 2023, bringing the total number of cruise visitors to the province to more than 19,140, according to the provincial Department of Tourism.

The central coastal province will welcome three more international cruise ships this month, the department revealed.

Late last month, the provincial administration worked with local budget carrier Vietjet, suggesting that carrier study the launch of direct air links between Cam Ranh and Japan, Australia, and India in the final quarter of 2023 and early next year, said Nguyen Thi Le Thanh, director of the provincial Department of Tourism.

The department also coordinated with the Nha Trang-Khanh Hoa Tourism Association and local travel businesses to organize famtrips to localities in the province as well as other destinations in the country, Thanh added.

China Southern Airlines has resumed air services linking the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou and Khanh Hoas Cam Ranh City. Photo: Cam Ranh International Airport

An international cruise ship carries passengers to visit Nha Trang City, a popular beach destination located in Khanh Hoa Province, south-central Vietnam, October 3, 2023. Photo: Vuong Manh Cuong / Tuoi Tre

International cruise visitors pose for a group photo during a tour to the countryside. Photo: Thanh Chuong / Tuoi Tre

The volume of tourists to Khanh Hoa from Kazakhstan and other countries from the Commonwealth of Independent States is anticipated to rise this winter. Photo: Minh Chien / Tuoi Tre

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For more than 10 years, Do Thien Thanh, nicknamed Father Thanh, has offered gratis lessons to hundreds of underprivileged children in Binh Duong Province, southern Vietnam.

Thanh was born in Hanoi but his family moved to Binh Duong when he was young.

Over the years, Thanh began involving himself in local charity projects, and when his family moved back to Hanoi in 2016, he decided to remain in the province to continue his work.

Making dreams come true

Thanh currently serves as vice-chairman of the Binh An Ward Council of the Ho Chi Minh Young Pioneers Organization, but each day after work he travels to Ba Ap Thuong Shrine on Binh Thung 1 Street in Binh An Ward under Di An City to teach underprivileged students.

Most of his students are immigrants, disabled, or orphans.

I teach them Vietnamese, mathematics, English, and civics, Thanh, a graduate of Binh Duong Pedagogy College, explained.

Nguyen Thi Hong Nhanh, a third grader who attends Thanhs class, is one of the many students who refer to the teacher affectionately as 'Father Thanh.'

I feel so happy to study here [with Thanh], as he gives us so much useful knowledge, Nhanh said.

Do Thien Thanh holds a party for his students to celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival on September 24, 2023. Photo: Supplied

A deep love for children

Thanhs class opens from 5:00 to 7:00 pm on weekdays. In addition to teaching his students, he also provides them with pencils, notebooks, and pens.

Mai Thi Kim Hoa, who currently lives in Binh Duong Province, has been bringing her child to Thanhs class for the past six years.

My child is disabled and enjoys studying in the class, she said, adding that Thanh gives equal love to all his students, including those with disabilities.

Thanh also makes sure to bring guest teachers to his class so that his students can learn in new and exciting ways.

Nguyen Thi Tuong Vy, a teacher of English, is one of these guests.

I live in Thu Dau Mot City, which is far from [Di An City], but I spend three sessions a week teaching such disadvantaged students [in Thanhs class], she said.

Some 80 students attending Thanhs class are those who are not able to go to conventional school, said Bui Le Dong Truc, vice-chairwoman of the Di An City Council of the Ho Chi Minh Young Pioneers Organization.

Over the past few years, Thanh has been praised for his contribution to the community and his dedication has nurtured poor students' dreams of schooling.

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TOKYO -- Fujitsu and research institute Riken on Thursday announced the successful development of Japan's second quantum computer, as part of research efforts around the world to make the nascent technology practical.

The 64 qubit quantum computer from Fujitsu and state-backed Riken will be integrated with a 40 qubit quantum computer simulator, as researchers work to eliminate the errors which prevent such systems from providing accurate results.

"It's kind of a first or second step, we still have a long way to go," Shintaro Sato, head of Fujitsu's quantum laboratory, told reporters.

Governments and companies including IBM and Alphabet are pouring funds into research for quantum computers, which hold the promise of becoming millions of times faster that the fastest supercomputers.

IBM last year launched a 433 qubit quantum computer. Qubits, or quantum bits, are a measure of the power of quantum computers, which use quantum mechanics.

China, the U.S. and allied industrial democracies are in a race to take a lead in advanced technology including quantum computing, with President Joe Biden moving to hamper some U.S. investment in Chinese efforts to develop the technology.
Quantum dots are tiny crystals that scientists can tune to different colours, giving an extra-vivid pop to next-generation TV screens or illuminating tumours inside bodies so surgeons can hunt them down.

Three scientists won the Nobel Chemistry Prize on Wednesday for their work turning an idea first theorised in the 1930s into a reality that now has pride of place in living rooms across the world.

What are they?

Quantum dots are semiconducting particles just one thousandth the width of a human hair.

In 1937, the physicist Herbert Froehlich predicted that once particles were small enough -- so-called nanoparticles -- they would come under the strange spell of quantum mechanics.

To explain this quantum phenomenon, American Chemical Society president Judith Giordan said to "think of it like a little box".

When a particle is shrunk down small enough, the electron is "going to whack into the sides of the box," she told AFP.

In a larger box, the electrons would whack the sides less often, meaning they have less energy.

For quantum dots, the larger boxes emit red light, while the smaller ones show up blue.

This means that by controlling the size of the particle, scientists can make their crystals red, blue and everything in between.

Leah Frenette, an expert on quantum dots at Imperial College London, told AFP that working with the nanomaterial was like "watching rainbows all day".

But it would be 40 years after Froehlich's prediction that anyone was able to actually observe this phenomenon.

Who discovered what?

In the early 1980s, Russian-born physicist Alexei Ekimov -- one of Wednesday's new laureates -- melted coloured glass and X-rayed the results.

He noticed that the smaller particles were more blue, also recognising that this was a quantum effect.

But being glass, the material was not easy to manipulate -- and being published in a Soviet scientific journal meant few noticed.

At around the same time in the United States, another new laureate Louis Brus -- oblivious of Ekimov's work -- became the first to discover this colourful quantum effect in a liquid solution.

"For a long time, nobody thought you could ever actually make such small particles, yet this year's laureates succeeded," Nobel Committee member Johan Aqvist said.

"However, for quantum dots to become really useful, you needed to be able to make them in solution with exquisite control of their size and surface."

The third new Nobel winner, French-born Moungi Bawendi, found a way to do just this in his lab at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1993.

By precisely controlling the temperature of a liquid mixture of particles called colloid, Bawendi was able to grow nanocrystals to the exact size he wanted, paving the way for mass production.

What are they used in?

The most common everyday use of quantum dots is probably in "QLED" televisions.

Cyril Aymonier, head of France's Institute of Condensed Matter Chemistry, told AFP that the nanocrystals "improve the resolution of the screen and preserve the quality of the colour for longer".

Doctors also use their bright fluorescence to highlight organs or tumours in the bodies of patients.

Frenette said she is working on diagnostic tests which would use the dots as "little beacons" for diseases in medical samples.

One problem is that most quantum dots are made using cadmium, a toxic heavy metal.

Both Aymonier and Frenette said they are working on quantum dots that are not toxic.

Future use?

In the future, quantum dots could have the potential to double the efficiency of solar cells, Giordan said.

Their strange quantum powers could produce twice as many electrons as existing technology, she explained.

"That's amazing, because we are coming closer to the limit of current solar materials," she added.

Past use?

The reds and yellows in stained glass windows as far as back as the 10th century show that artists of the time unwittingly took advantages of techniques that resulted in quantum dots, according to scientists.
Two armed men hit and shot two female sanitation employees several times in Quang Ngai City under the namesake province, located in central Vietnam early on Thursday morning.

The shooting occurred at 1:00 am while the two women were collecting trash on Pham Van Dong Street in Nghia Chanh Ward, Quang Ngai City.

The victims were identified as Vo Thi Luu, 42, and Le Thi Minh Khai, 35, both employees of Quang Ngai Urban Environment JSC.

A preliminary investigation showed that two men pulled up alongside the women on a motorbike and began beating Khai.

Luu tried to stop them but one of the men opened fire and shot her in the thigh and then proceeded to shoot Khai three times in the leg.

The men fled the scene after striking the women several more times.

The two women were rushed to a nearby hospital where they were treated.

Their health is now stable but they are still in a state of panic.

Bui Van Quang, director at Quang Ngai Urban Environment JSC, said that the firm dispatched executives to the hospital to support the two women, and is cooperating with police officers to investigate the two men.

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Police in Tay Giang District under Quang Nam Province, located in central Vietnam, on Tuesday caught a man and a woman red-handed trafficking endangered animals, including two turtles and two palm civets.

A police officer in the district said on Thursday that Vo Thi Thu Hoai, 35, a native of the district, and Luu Phuc Chien, a 33-year-old resident of neighboring Thua Thien Hue Province, were taken into police custody for alleged wildlife trafficking.

Two wildlife traffickers caught in Quang Nam Province, central Vietnam. Photo: Supplied

Police forces on Tuesday afternoon raided Hoais house and discovered the two illegally buying and selling wild animals.

Police officers also found two live turtles, with one estimated to weigh 0.2 kilograms and the other 0.75 kilograms.

They discovered two live civets which were estimated to weigh a combined 1.8 kilograms.

Police are expanding their probe into the animal trafficking ring.

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Among the 23 enterprises registering to recruit a large number of laborers in Bac Giang Province in northern Vietnam, there are several Apples partners, a local official said on Wednesday.

In particular, Luxshare ICT and New Wing Interconnect Technology, both Chinese-invested electronic component manufacturers and partners of Apple, plan to employ 10,000 and 13,000 workers, respectively.

South Korean-invested Hana Micron Vina, which has recently invested nearly US$600 million in the semiconductor sector in Vietnam, has a demand for over 1,000 laborers in the Southeast Asian country, said deputy director of the Bac Giang Department of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs Bui Quang Phat.

He noted that foreign-invested firms had paid much importance to recruitment so that they can have enough employees to complete their orders.

Meanwhile, deputy director of the provincial Department of Planning and Investment Duong Ngoc Chien said foreign direct investment projects helped solve job issues and increase the provinces budget revenue.

However, the province approves investment projects in a selective manner. It prioritizes key traffic projects linking to other northern localities, such as Hanoi, Bac Ninh, and Hai Duong, industrial parks and clusters, infrastructure facilities, and power projects to meet the production demand of enterprises.

Bac Giang has focused on administrative reforms, established teams to directly support enterprises, and developed human resources, especially high-quality manpower.

Last quarter, the province helped enterprises recruit 50,000 laborers, Chien informed.

Investors have assessed the investment environment in Bac Giang as favorable, provincial vice chairman Mai Son said.

The provinces attraction of investment in electric vehicle manufacturing and solar power proves its vision, helping it develop the economy and the workforce.

Bac Giang has also used its budget to construct roads and bridges connecting to neighboring localities, including Hanoi, Bac Ninh, and Thai Nguyen, to improve the regional connectivity, thus luring more foreign firms, Son added.

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The Bahamian-flagged luxury cruise ship Resorts World One with over 1,700 foreign travelers on board arrived at Tien Sa Port in Da Nang City, central Vietnam on Wednesday, news site Vietnamplus reported.

The cruise ship, operated by Saigontourist Travel Service Co. Ltd.s branch in Da Nang, brought tourists from the UK, the U.S., France, Canada, and Malaysia, among others to the central coastal city.

They later visited popular destinations in Da Nang, including Ba Na Hills, Son Tra Peninsula, Linh Ung Pagoda, Ngu Hanh Son Landscape, and the Museum of Cham Sculpture.

They also came to Quang Nam Province, a neighbor of Da Nang, to admire the UNESCO-recognized Hoi An Ancient Town and My Son Sanctuary.

The Da Nang Department of Tourism has written to relevant agencies, asking them to ensure security and safety for the visitors during their stay in the city.

Da Nang welcomed more than 5.8 million tourists in the January-September period this year, a 2.1-fold increase year on year.

Of the total, there were 1.6 million international travelers, 5.9 times higher than the figure recorded in the same period last year.

The city earned some VND17.3 trillion (US$712 million) in tourism revenue in the nine-month period, up 38.3 percent.

To attract more tourists, Da Nang has boosted tourism promotion activities in potential markets, such as India and South Korea, and improved service quality by installing a QR Code system at tourist sites and its airport to survey visitors satisfaction.

The city expects to welcome an additional 11 cruise ships with a total of over 10,000 travelers and crew members in the rest of the year, raising the number of cruise ships visiting the city this year to 30 with some 30,000 tourists and crew members on board in total, according to Cong An Nhan Dan (People's Police) newspaper.

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A number of Vietnam Airlines and Vietjet flights bound for Taiwan have been canceled or rescheduled due to the impact of Typhoon Koinu, which made landfall in southern Taiwan on Thursday morning.

National flag carrier Vietnam Airlines on Thursday canceled two flights--VN587, VN581--departing from the Taiwanese city of Kaohsiung to Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, the Vietnam News Agency reported.

The carrier will use wide-body aircraft like Airbus A350 or Boeing 787 for its flights to Kaohsiung on Thursday night and Friday morning, a Vietnam Airlines representative added.

Local budget airline Vietjet also canceled two flights--VJ885, VJ886--between Ho Chi Minh City and Kaohsiung, leaving several Vietjet flights affected as a domino effect.

Passengers planning trips to and from Kaohsiung should stay updated on the latest weather forecast and flight information, the carriers said.

The administration of Taiwan on Wednesday ordered offices, businesses and education institutions across five cities and districts to shut down to ensure the safety of people and told them to brace for Typhoon Koinu.

Taiwanese carriers canceled 87 domestic flights while 25 international ones were also canceled.

According to the national weather center of Vietnam, Typhoon Koinu was centered in the southwestern waters of Taiwan by 1:00 pm on Thursday.

At that time, the storm was moving westward at around 10 kilometers per hour with maximum sustained winds of 149 kilometers per hour.

By 1:00 pm on Friday, it will likely maintain the westward direction and the said speed when entering the East Vietnam Sea before weakening.

Koinu is forecast to move southwest at about five kilometers and weaken into a tropical depression on the weekend.

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Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh has ordered agencies concerned to be well prepared for the coming inspection by the European Commission (EC) over illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing, with the aim of removing the ECs fishing yellow card warning imposed on Vietnam since 2017.

In a dispatch issued on Wednesday, PM Chinh urged more efforts to fulfill all EC requirements on combating IUU fishing and make thorough preparations for the fourth inspection by an EC team in Vietnam scheduled for October 10 to 18.

Nearly six years of carrying out anti-IUU fishing measures in a bid to get the ECs 'yellow card' removed and undergoing three inspections by the EC, Vietnam's agencies concerned have gained many important achievements, the document stated.

However, there have remained many shortcomings in implementing the EC's recommendations since the third EC inspection in October 2022, including the reality of fishermen engaging in illegal fishing in foreign waters.

If the current situation is not resolved quickly, not only will the yellow card not be removed, but the risk of receiving a red card will also ensue, the dispatch stated.

To remove the yellow card within the EC's fourth inspection, PM Chinh ordered relevant authorities and agencies to urgently and seriously implement all the tasks previously assigned to them to overcome shortcomings and make the best preparations for the forthcoming inspection.

Strict punishments must be levied on any organizations or individuals that deliberately commit IUU fishing for their own benefits, badly affecting national interests and undermining the image of the country in the international arena, the PM said in the document.

He directed the Ministry of National Defense to continue maintaining strong and resolute measures to prevent the recurrence of Vietnamese vessels and fishermen illegally fishing in foreign waters.

During the upcoming inspection, the EC will evaluate the results of Vietnams implementation of EC recommendations on combating IUU fishing to come to a conclusion whether the yellow card will be lifted or maintained, said Phung Duc Tien, Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development.

During a telemeeting with the EC inspection team on September 29, the ministry reported some issues in advance of their visit, according to Duong Van Cuong, deputy director of the ministrys Fisheries Inspection Department.

Authorities of 28 coastal localities and relevant ministries have made great efforts to combat IUU fishing over the past years," Cuong affirmed.

"The issue here is not only to remove the EC yellow card but to enforce Vietnams fisheries laws in compliance with international practices and to promote sustainable fisheries development, Cuong affirmed.

Vietnam has built a comprehensive and complete legal framework on fisheries management and combating IUU fishing and has achieved significant results over the past six years, said Tran Quang Hung, director of the department.

The country has built and operated a national database on fishing vessels connected from central to local levels, while database accounts have been provided for functional forces and port management agencies to control fishing vessels activities.

To date, nearly 98 percent of fishing vessels operating offshore have been furnished with cruise monitoring equipment.

So far this year, authorities have dealt with 2,111 IUU fishing cases, logging more than VND44 billion (US$1.8 million) in total fines, Hung said.

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The Peoples Committee of Nghe An Province in north-central Vietnam recently imposed a fine of VND116 million (US$4,755) on a stone powder manufacturing company where four workers have died of lung diseases and several others are currently being hospitalized for similar conditions.

Chau Tien Co. Ltd. was fined VND60 million ($2,460) for failing to monitor the workplace environment to mitigate health risks for employees, a leader of Dong Nam Economic Zone in Nghe Ans Nghi Loc District, where the enterprise is located, said on Wednesday.

It also received a VND56-million ($2,295) fine for neglecting to conduct health examinations to detect occupational diseases among 14 workers engaged in strenuous and hazardous occupations.

In total, the fine amounts to VND116 million.

Chau Tien Company, which received its investment registration certificate in 2005 with a total investment capital of VND280 billion ($11.5 million), is situated in the Nam Cam Industrial Park within the economic zone.

The firm specializes in the production of CaCO3 superfine white limestone powder and quartz stone powder.

It is also engaged in product display and commercial leasing.

The company was determined to have been involved in multiple violations from 2017 to 2022.

A provincial inspection team identified several violations at the enterprise in terms of environmental conservation and ensuring a safe working environment.

They identified issues such as dust, noise, vibrations, and exposure to chemicals.

Workers at the company faced the risk of occupational silicosis and their rights and work conditions were not adequately safeguarded.

Upon receiving the inspection teams report, the Peoples Committee of Nghe An Province asked relevant departments and local authorities to address the shortcomings and violations at the company.

A report from the Peoples Committee of Nghi Loc District revealed that nine employees working at Chau Tien had developed lung diseases, resulting in four fatalities and five individuals currently undergoing treatment in hospitals.

Based on the findings of the Nghe An Social Insurance , three of the four workers who passed away while employed at the company had their families receive a death benefit and funeral expenses, totaling over VND117 million ($4,796) per victim.

In the case of T.T.T., who passed away on November 13, 2022, his family was not eligible for the death benefit as he had previously received a one-time social insurance benefit.

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Screenworks is calling for entries from for regionally based NSW and Qld practitioners for its Career Pathways Programs spanning Regional Producer Elevator Program, Director Pathways Program and Inside the Writers Room.

Participants will be provided with bespoke support and guidance from some of Australias most respected writers, directors, and producers.

There have been many rewarding outcomes for the regional practitioners who have been through our Career Pathways Programs over the past eight years, explained Screenworks CEO Lisa OMeara. We are seeing their profiles and projects gain recognition at domestic and international levels and Im proud that Screenworks have played a positive role in their career trajectories.

Screenworks 2024 Regional Producer Elevator Program will provide two regional NSW producers and two regional Queensland producers with $3,500 to implement their career goals whilst providing them with professional introductions and connections to industry. They will also attend the 2024 Screenworks Regional To Global Forum and the 2024 Screen Forever Conference. This program is supported by Screen NSW, Screen Queensland and Screen Producers Australia (SPA).

Two regional NSW directors will be granted $3,500 to implement a bespoke professional development program that will help them advance their screen directing career as part of the Director Pathways Program. This program will be delivered in partnership with Screen NSW, Screen Queensland and the Australian Directors Guild.

Finally, five regional NSW screenwriters will be selected to participate in the ever popular Inside The Writers Room program, 2 from regional Queensland and 3 from regional NSW. Each will have the opportunity to observe a professional writing team working on television drama at some of Australias most respected production companies  BBC Studios Productions, Easy Tiger Productions, Hoodlum Entertainment, Jungle Entertainment and Unless Pictures. Inside the Writers Room is being funded by Screen NSW and Screen Queensland.

Deadline for applications for all three programs is Monday 30th October 2023.

Screenworks Career Pathways Program 2024 are supported by Screen NSW and Screen Queensland and delivered in collaboration with The Australian Directors Guild and Screen Producers Australia.

screenworks.com.au/learn/career-pathways-programs-2024
Mondays Four Corners sees reporter Hagar Cohen in WA for a story on the battle between climate activists, the government and energy companies.

ABC management was forced to issue a correction in relation to the filming this story after initially stating a crew had no prior knowledge of protest action outside the home of Woodside CEO Meg ONeill.

WA Police have also served the ABC with an order to hand over all footage captured ahead of pending trials.

The Burrup Peninsula in Western Australia has become critical in the nations battle against climate change  with protesters escalating their responses to the proposed expansion of a massive gas project there.

Its leading to an increasingly combative confrontation between protesters and the state. Four Corners has analysed arrest data and found climate activists across the country are being charged with serious offences in unprecedented numbers.

More than twenty of those charges were directed towards a small group of Perth activists called Disrupt Burrup Hub.

The group made headlines in early August when police arrested them as they attempted to throw paint at the house of Woodside chief executive Meg ONeill.

Escalation is a rare insight into the battle over the Burrup. It reveals how far both sides are willing to go for what they believe in.

8.30pm Monday on ABC.
Three head writers have declined to return to The Drew Barrymore Show, following the end of the WGA strike.

Barrymore attracted heavy criticism for announcing she would resume production during the strike, a stance she did not proceed with after doubling-down and then deleting her social media posts.

I have listened to everyone, and I am making the decision to pause the shows premiere until the strike is over, she subsequently posted on Instagram. I have no words to express my deepest apologies to anyone I have hurt and, of course, to our incredible team who works on the show and has made it what it is today. We really tried to find our way forward. And I truly hope for a resolution for the entire industry very soon.

Variety reports three writers Chelsea White, Cristina Kinon and Liz Koe  who shared the position of co-head writer- were offered deals after strike ended bt declined to return.

The talk show is set to return to screens on October 16 (USA). New writers are now being interviewed to replace the trio.

It screens in Australia on the Arena channel.
In this article, we are going to discuss the 12 countries that produce the best rum in the world. You can skip our detailed analysis of the global rum market, the most popular rum brand in the world, the recent acquisition in the rum industry, and the rise of alcohol-free rum, and go directly to 5 Countries that Produce the Best Rum in the World.

Rum is arguably one of the earliest known spirits due to its simple production process. Its main ingredient, sugarcane, was first known to be fermented as early as 350 BC in India. The production of sugarcane increased over time as explorers discovered islands with the perfect growing climate.

Many of the best rums in the world are made in the Caribbean. Sugarcane was introduced to that part of the globe in the late 1400s by Europeans, and it quickly took root. Colonialists started sugar plantations that used forced labor by enslaved people from Africa, and from these plantations came rum. The spirits popularity quickly spread to Colonial North America. It is estimated that prior to the American Revolutionary War, the men and women of the American colonies were drinking an average of three imperial gallons of rum each year.

Global Rum Market:

According to Future Market Insights, the global rum market is estimated at $17.4 billion in 2023 and is expected to reach $24.5 billion by 2033, with a CAGR of 3.5% during the forecast period.

Consumer perception of the rum category has evolved in recent years. While rum sales are still dominated by major producers, consumer preferences are shifting away from value options and towards an appreciation for craft and aged rums. Rum also provides a key function in cocktail culture. While the spirit is a staple of on-premise tiki bars, rum is also one of the only spirits for which its common to blend multiple varieties in the same cocktail. According to Bacardis 2022 Cocktail Trends Report, four of the top-10 best-selling cocktails are rum drinks, making the spirit a must-have for all on-premise programs.

Story continues

Most Popular Rum Brand in the World:

The Filipino brand Tanduay bested all others to claim the top spot of The Spirits Business ranking of the top 10 best-selling rums in the world. The rum business of tycoon Lucio Tans LT Group sold 27.4 million nine-liter cases in 2022, up 16.1% from the 23.6 million cases sold in 2021. For comparison, the worlds No. 2 rum brand, Bacardi, sold 23.6 million cases last year, including the brands in its ready-to-drink portfolio. That means Tanduay sold nearly 4 million cases more than its closest rival.

In a release, the company attributed the brands robust growth to its aggressive international expansion, the rise of cocktail culture, and its diverse product offerings. Besides its home country of the Philippines, Tanduay rum is present in 18 international markets as of July 2023. The brand has partnered with leading international spirits distributors to make its products available in different countries and has tapped leading bartenders to help promote its offerings.

In 2022, Tanduays consolidated revenue reached approximately $560 million, a 26% increase from the previous year.

Recent Acquisition in the Rum Industry:

Rums growth has also been reflected in the merger and acquisition space in the past year. It was announced earlier this year that Brown-Forman Corporation (NYSE:BF-B) had completed the acquisition of the Diplomatico Rum brand and related assets from Destillers United Group S.L. (Spain), for an estimated $725 million. The spirits giant announced its agreement to purchase the brand in October 2022, giving it an entry into the growing super-premium rum category.

As part of the acquisition, Brown-Forman Corporation (NYSE:BF-B) added an aging, bottling, and shipping production facility located in Panama to the company. Destillers United Group S.L. will continue to produce and age the unique, carefully-crafted, and complex Diplomatico Rum in their original distillery at the foot of the Andes mountains.

Stocks of Brown-Forman Corporation (NYSE:BF-B) were held by 30 hedge funds at the end of Q2 in the Insider Monkey database, with Fundsmith LLP holding the largest stake of over 12.19 million shares, valued at $814.41 million. The Brown-Forman Corporation (NYSE:BF-B) ranks among the 12 Best Alcohol Stocks to Own According to Hedge Funds.

The Rise of Alcohol-Free Rum:

The global low and no-alcohol consumer trend is a significant shift in the drinks industry, driven by increasingly health-conscious consumers seeking alternatives to traditional alcoholic beverages. Millennials and Generation Z are the main insurgents, driving a transformation in choice and demanding more from their drinks. These younger generations are adopting a healthier lifestyle and reaping the benefits of going alcohol-free  but they're not the only ones.

From fitness fans and healthy lifestylers to a renaissance in older living, knowing what you're putting into your body is now a key priority. As we mentioned in our article  Gen Z's 25 Favorite Brands in 2023  these young consumers are also a more health-conscious generation and a growing share of them is outright turning away from alcohol. In 2022, 38% of Gen Z were buying more non-alcoholic beverages than in the previous year.

Several industry players have realized that the no-alcohol trend is here to stay and are coming up with innovative solutions to keep their current consumer base engaged, along with attracting a new generation of drinkers  and rum has been no exception.

Owned by Diageo plc (NYSE:DEO), the iconic Captain Morgan rum brand unveiled Captain Morgan Spiced Gold 0.0% in August, an alcohol-free alternative to the famous Original Spiced Gold, offering a deliciously spiced flavor profile. Following the successful launch of Guinness 0.0%, Tanqueray 0.0%, and Gordons 0.0% over the past few years, Captain Morgan Spiced Gold 0.0% brings further choice to the market as the latest brand, and first dark spirit, to join Diageo plc (NYSE:DEO)s alcohol-free portfolio. With 22.9 million cases sold worldwide in 2022, Captain Morgan is counted among the Most Popular Spirits in the World.

Initially launched in Great Britain in September, followed by Estonia, Lithuania, and Latvia later this year before further roll out across Europe in 2024, Captain Morgan Spiced Gold 0.0% Alcohol Free Rum has an RRP of $18.99 in Great Britain.

Warren Buffett initiated a position in Diageo plc (NYSE:DEO) in the first quarter of 2023 with 227,750 shares worth $39.510 million and his position in the company remained unchanged in the second quarter. In Q2, Diageo represented 0.1% of Berkshire Hathaways portfolio. The most prominent stakeholder in the company in Q2 was Markel Gayner Asset Management with 1.35 million shares, worth $234.23 million.

With that said, here are the Countries with the Best Rum in the World.

12 Countries that Produce the Best Rum in the World

Methodology:

To collect data for this article, we have referred to a number of sources such as Illegal Tender Rum Co., Forbes, Reddit etc., looking for Countries that Produce the Best Rum. We picked countries that appeared at least twice in these sources, assigned them a score based on their number of appearances, and ranked them accordingly. When two countries had the same score, we ranked them by the size of their rum markets.

If you prefer your liquor with juniper, here are the Most Popular Gin Brands in 2023.

12. Puerto Rico

Insider Monkey Score: 2

Puerto Rico is often called the Rum Capital of the World and for good reason. Not only is rum an important export of the island, the industry also employs lots of people to make this distinct drink. According to Puerto Rico's Department of Economic Development and Commerce, the island's rum industry generates $300 million annually and provides 700 jobs in distilleries.

Bacardi, one of the world's most popular rum brands, is produced in Puerto Rico.

Puerto Rico produces some of the Best Rums in the World.

11. Australia

Insider Monkey Score: 2

From the convict colonies and cane-cutters to the current craft spirit empire, rum has played a big part in Australia's cups. The country probably wouldnt even exist without rum. A lack of coinage in the early days of the colony of New South Wales meant that bottles of rum were used as official currency, as well as a way to entice unruly convicts to work.

Whether its spiced, premium, or otherwise, The Land Down Unders status as one of the few countries capable of making cultivated rum  thanks to its ideal sugarcane-growing climate and large sugarcane crop  means that its uniquely poised to take advantage of the spirits popularity boom. Australia is counted among the Best Rum Producing Countries in 2023.

10. United States of America

Insider Monkey Score: 2

While American craft beer and whiskey gobbled up most of the headlines over the last several years, rum  the spirit that first captured the nations heart centuries ago  has quietly reingratiated itself to a growing number of distillers. For the first time since the eighteenth century, you can once again find hundreds of distilleries producing rum across the United States.

The American craft rum industry has experienced significant growth as more and more people discover these artisanal distillers' unique and high-quality offerings. The United States ranks among the Largest Rum Exporting Countries.

9. India

Insider Monkey Score: 2

Despite not being exactly world famous for its rum, India is the country that drinks the most rum in the world, both in terms of consumption per capita and in terms of most rum drunk each year. India is one of the fastest-growing alcoholic beverages markets globally, with an estimated market size of $52.5 billion in 2020, according to the Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations. Rum contributes 11% to the total volume, mainly because its cheap and easily available.

Old Monk has been the most popular rum brand in the South Asian nation for decades. This inexpensive, sweet dark spirit has come to define what rum should taste like for generations of Indians.

India sits among Largest Rum Producing Countries.

8. Trinidad

Insider Monkey Score: 3

Trinidad produces massive amounts of mainly light rums from column stills and has an extensive export trade. The largest rum brand on the island is Angostura, producer of the famous cocktail bitters, however many well-known rum brands have a portion of Trinidadian rum in their blends. Today, rum accompanies the great life celebrations for Trinidadians, especially during Carnival, an important and happy event in the region.

Trinidad sits among the Countries that Specialize in Rum.

7. Philippines

Insider Monkey Score: 3

The Philippines' vibrant sugar industry makes it one of the world's best rum producing countries. Boasting smooth and complex white and gold rum, the country produces the highest-selling brand in the world  Tanduay. You may not think of South-East Asia when we say rum, but the quality of the spirit made in the Philippines shows that the best rum isn't found only in the West Indies.

The Philippines has the third-largest rum market in the world, after India and the United States.

6. Haiti

Insider Monkey Score: 4

Rums place in Caribbean culture is well known, but little is said about Haitian bottlings, despite the country housing more than 500 local distilleries  arguably more than any other country in the region. This booming DIY distilling scene makes Haiti home to some of the most diverse rum production in the world.

Rhum Barbancourt is rum produced from pure sugar cane juice and bottled in Haiti by Societe du Rhum Barbancourt. The distillery is one of Haiti's oldest institutions and its rum is the country's most famous export, widely regarded as among the finest rums in the world for over 150 years.

Haiti ranks 6th in our list of Top Rum Producing Countries.

Click to continue reading and see the 5 Countries that Produce the Best Rum in the World.

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Disclosure: None. 12 Countries that Produce the Best Rum in the World is originally published on Insider Monkey.
JAKARTA, Indonesia, Oct. 5, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- On September 29, the 2023 China Chengdu Cultural Tourism Promotion Indonesia special event "Meet in the Park CityRoam Happy Chengdu", hosted by the China Chengdu Culture, Radio, Television and Tourism Bureau, undertaken by Chengdu Media Group and executed by Chengdu International Media Co., Ltd., was held in Jakarta. 40 people including representatives from the Indonesian Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy, the Indonesian Tourism Association and other local government agencies, representatives from tourism companies, and representatives from tourism experts attended the event. The event also held the unveiling ceremony of the Chengdu Cultural Tourism Promotion Image Exhibition. The image exhibition lasted from September 29 to October 1 and was open to the Indonesian public for free, bringing a visual feast of Chengdu to the Indonesian people up close.

Photos from the event

Co-innovate future

Chengdu Cultural Tourism Enters Indonesia

Photos from the event

For a long time, Sichuan and Indonesia have had close exchanges in sister cities, economy and trade, education, culture and tourism and other fields. Chengdu, the international gateway hub in the west, and Jakarta, Indonesia's land and sea transportation hub, are only five hours' flight away from each other. They are another important bridge from Asia to Oceania and are of great significance to promoting intra-regional economic and trade cooperation and cultural exchanges.

At the event, Mr. Adila Chaerman, Head of East Asia Tourism Marketing of the Regional Marketing Bureau of the Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy of Indonesia, delivered a speech, saying that Chengdu is the home of giant pandas. this city is destined to be full of friendship and harmony, and the peace messenger giant panda is the best footnote. The leisure and comfortable life of Chengdu people even attracts tourists from all over the world. Chengdu is known as "a city that you don't want to leave once you arrive." Finally, he sincerely hoped that both parties will further strengthen exchanges and cooperation. Everyone is invited to walk around the streets of Chengdu, take a look, taste delicious food, enjoy the beautiful scenery, meet pandas, and experience the charm and happiness of Chengdu for themselves.

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Top 10 Inbound Travel Boutique Routes

Help to build a world-famous tourist city

Since 2015, as shown in the "Chengdu Statistical Yearbook", Indonesia has also been Chengdu's main source market and has entered the top ten source countries many times. In this promotion, "Chengdu's Top Ten Inbound Tours" has attracted strong interest from Indonesian tourism industry players.

The "Top Ten Excellent Itineraries for Inbound Tours from Chengdu" include "Inheriting Craftsmanship - Intangible Cultural Heritage Tour", "Taste of Shu - Elegance of Chengdu", "Chasing the Three Kingdoms - Starting from Jinguan", "Feng Yun in the Ancient Capital - Learning from the Ancient and the Present", "See Chengdu in Rongbao - Dynamic New City", "Rural Aesthetics - Art Journey", "Warm Sunshine in Winter - Park City under the Snow Mountains", "Journey through the Secret Land of the West", and "Modern City - Twin Cities Life Journey". Each has its own characteristics and highlights Chengdu's great importance and sincerity to Indonesian tourists.

Cision

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/apac/news-releases/2023-cultural-tourism-promotion-indonesia-special-event-in-chengdu-china-successfully-landed-301947863.html

SOURCE GoChengdu
Nicholas Rossi leaves Edinburgh Sheriff Court after sheriff Norman McFadyen confirmed his the identity Photo: Andrew Milligan/PA Wire

After a lengthy legal battle, rape suspect Nicholas Rossi will be extradited to the US to face charges.

The Scottish Government said on Thursday that Scottish ministers approved his extradition order on September 28, following a court ruling in August that there no barriers to his extradition.

Rossi was arrested at the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital in Glasgow in December 2021, but he has consistently insisted that the authorities have the wrong man and he is in fact Irish orphan Arthur Knight.

Officials had to first prove he is the man wanted by US authorities, and after a five-day hearing in November 2022, Sheriff Normal McFadyen said: I am ultimately satisfied on the balance of probabilities that Mr Knight is indeed Nicholas Rossi, the person sought for extradition by the United States.

Here are the key questions surrounding the case:

 Who is Nicholas Rossi?

Nicholas Rossi was born as Nicholas Alahverdian in Providence, Rhode Island, in July 1987 to mother Diana Alahverdian and father Jack Alahverdian, according to reports in US newspaper The Providence Journal.

He was adopted by his stepfather David Rossi, and changed his surname to Rossi.

Rossi had a turbulent childhood and left his family home as a teenager, spending much of his adolescence in Rhode Islands Department of Children, Youth and Families (DCYF) care facilities.

He spoke out against the conditions in care, claiming to have suffered abuse and neglect and he made a name for himself by campaigning to improve facilities for children living in the states care.

In 2008, Rossi was convicted of sexually assaulting a student while attending a community college in Ohio. He was placed on the sex offenders register as a result.

Rossi claimed he had been diagnosed with stage 4 non-Hodgkins lymphoma in late 2019 and around this time, friends in the media and politics say they began receiving calls from him to say he was dying.

An obituary appeared online for Rossi in early 2020 saying he had died and that his ashes had been scattered at sea.

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 What is Rossi accused of?

Rossi is wanted in the US for allegedly raping a woman in Utah in 2008 and also faces domestic abuse charges.

Authorities say he faked his own death in order to evade charges in the US.

 What happened next?

It is unclear when Rossi left the US for the UK, as he continues to insist he Irish orphan Arthur Knight.

Under the guise of Arthur Brown, Rossi is believed to have met his wife, Miranda Knight, in Bristol in 2019 and married her in early 2020, assuming the name Arthur Knight.

They moved to Glasgow shortly afterwards but in 2021, Rossi became so ill with Covid-19 that he had to be hospitalised at the citys Queen Elizabeth University Hospital.

 How was Rossi caught?

In July 2020, DNA allegedly linked him to a 2008 rape in Utah which is ultimately what led to his discovery in Scotland.

He was arrested on December 13, 2021 at the Glasgow hospital by police officers who served him with an Interpol red notice.

With the assistance of medical staff at the hospital, the patient initially named as Arthur Knight was identified as Rossi.

 What is Rossis version of events?

There has never been an official version of events from Rossi because he continues to insist he is Arthur Knight and that the authorities have the wrong man.

In court appearances, he has maintained his pained English accent, with an Irish lilt whenever he mentions the word Dublin, where he claims to have been born.

In his latest interview with The Times, as Arthur Knight, he said he wanted the real Rossi to come forward to save my wife and me from this mess.

 What is the extradition process?

Sheriff McFadyen ruled at Edinburgh Sheriff Court in August that there was no impediment to Rossis extradition back to the US, with the final decision lying with the Scottish ministers.

The Scottish Government revealed on Thursday in an answer to a Freedom of Information request that Scottish ministers had signed Rossis extradition order on September 28.
Northern Ireland law firm McCay Legal acquires AD McClay and Company in deal to grow business. Pictured is Londonderry solicitor, Gareth McCay of McCay Legal

Northern Ireland law firm McCay Legal has acquired Londonderrys AD McClay & Company Solicitors in a deal which will grow the firms headcount to 20 and enhance the variety of its practice areas.

With offices in Londonderry, Omagh, Strabane and Manchester, McCay Legal was founded in 2014 by managing director, Gareth McCay, and offers services to businesses and individuals and has grown from a niche employment law practice to a full range law firm specialising in commercial law, property, personal injury, wills and probate.

The addition of AD McClay will see McCay Legal grow further with the additional four solicitors to its team.

The deal will see former AD McClay partners Neville Kerr and Charles Kane remain with McCay Legal which will also trade from the firms existing premises on Limavady Road.

AD McClay has been providing legal services since 1984, having initially been set up by Don McClay who was a partner in the firm until his retirement.

Commenting on the deal, Gareth McCay, said: Our industry is going through huge changes, particularly in the north west where there is a skills deficit so we have been open to merging our practice enable us to continue our growth.

"When we were approached with this opportunity, we were attracted by the range of services that AD McClay offers as well as the skillset and experience of its staff.

I am delighted that Neville and Charles will remain with the firm and I look forward to working alongside them. This is a fantastic opportunity for our staff to learn from their vast experience in the industry.

"Together with Don McClay they have built a business that has been hugely successful and they are held in high esteem within the legal fraternity. The acquisition of AD McClay enables us to provide a wider range of services and means we can now service all of the UK and Ireland.

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Neville Kerr added: We are delighted with the arrangement that has been reached with McCay Legal which will facilitate the ongoing provision of legal services to our many valued and loyal clients whom it has been a privilege to serve over almost four decades building on the business founded and established by Don McClay.

"With the increased resources provided by our dedicated staff now within the McCay Legal family we anticipate the continuation and growth of the business providing a high quality and extensive range of legal services for existing and new clients.

McCay Legal are recruiting for solicitors right across the business.
Luck and leverage are key elements of many a crypto trader's success. Sometimes, though, all it takes is luck.

A trader on Taiwans MaiCoin Max crypto exchange is 10 Million NTD ($310,000) richer, not because of trading profit but rather a monthly lottery involving tax receipts.

Who says retail users can't profit from trading cryptos? Taiwan's largest crypto exchange @MAX_exch announced some user made a tiny trade that paid $2 NTD ($0.06 USD) in fee on platform, the tax receipt ended up winning 10mil ($310k USD) in Taiwan govt's invoice lottery! pic.twitter.com/FSGXdKVW5J  Paul Huang (@PaulHuangReport) October 5, 2023

This particular trader didnt dive deep into some small-cap token that went to the moon, but rather has his fortune because MaiCoin pays its taxes.

Taiwan enforces tax compliance on retailers through something it calls the Uniform Invoice Lottery. Retailers that make over a certain amount in revenue are required to give the customer an official receipt, and an electronic copy of the receipt is sent to tax authorities.

This receipt doubles as a lottery ticket number, and every month, the authorities run a draw for a series of cash prizes, starting with the grand prize of 10 million NTD ($310,000).

For MaiCoin, every time a trade is made on its platform, the profit on the spread it makes and the service fees it collects are a taxable event; therefore, its top traders might have dozens, if not hundreds, of these virtual receipts.

The scheme was first introduced in Taiwan in the 1950s as a way to incentivize tax compliance by downloading the enforcement to the consumer. People making trivial daily purchases, such as newspapers or snacks, sometimes find themselves much richer after the monthly draw.

While tax authorities around the world struggle with how to capture tax revenue from crypto, Taiwan might have found a solution in a decades-old scheme.

Who says retail traders  and the tax man  cant profit in a bear market?
Jon Fosse's plays are among the most widely staged of any contemporary playwright in Europe (Hakon Mosvold Larsen)

Norway's Jon Fosse joins a select list of playwrights who have been awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature over the years.

Here are some of the best known:

- Harold Pinter (2005) -

British playwright and political campaigner Harold Pinter, master of the pregnant pause, won in 2005 for what the Swedish Academy called his ability to get at the truth "under everyday prattle".

His more than 30 plays dealt with domination and submission, threat and injustice and gave rise to the adjective "pinteresque" -- used to describe the sense of menace running through a work and those silences that speak volumes.

Never afraid to speak his mind, Pinter called US President George W. Bush a "mass murderer" and British Prime Minister Tony Blair a "deluded idiot" for invading Iraq.

- Dario Fo (1997) -

Italian playwright, director and performer Dario Fo skewered people in power in a series of satires that were staged worldwide, the best known of which are "Accidental Death of an Anarchist" and "Mistero Buffo" ("Comic Mystery").

The "Accidental Death of an Anarchist" was based on the case of an Italian railroad worker who mysteriously falls out of a Milan police station window while being falsely accused of terrorism.

"Mistero Buffo" was his one-man political telling of the Passion of the Christ, which the Vatican denounced as "the most blasphemous show in the history of television".

- Samuel Beckett (1969) -

The avant-garde Irish playwright produced one of the 20th century's most popular plays, "Waiting for Godot", in which as one dubious Irish critic memorably put it, "nothing happens, twice".

Born a minority Protestant in a stifling censorious Catholic Ireland, he fled to Paris in the 1930s where he remained for the rest of his life, writing in both English and French.

"Godot" is the existential tale of two bickering tramps who wait in vain for someone called Godot who never shows up.

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Literary critics have long argued over who or what Godot actually represents, with interpretations ranging from God to death.

- Eugene O'Neill (1936) -

The father of modern American theatre brought the grim dramas of everyday life to stages whose staple had previously been vaudeville.

Murder, suicide and insanity were recurring themes in his work, which included the autobiographical "Long Day's Journey into Night" and "The Iceman Cometh".

In his Nobel acceptance speech, O'Neill hailed the prize as "a symbol of the recognition by Europe of the coming-of-age of the American theatre...worthy at last to claim kinship with the modern drama of Europe."

- Luigi Pirandello (1934) -

This Italian playwright was chased out of a Rome theatre a century ago when he staged his absurdist masterpiece "Six Characters in Search of an Author" (1921), in which a group of characters bursts into a rehearsal and share their story with the actors.

The inventor of the "play within a play" only began writing for the stage in his 40s.

Drawing inspiration from his wife's mental illness, he pondered the meaning of objective truth in philosophical works that blurred the lines between reality and performance.

- George Bernard Shaw (1925) -

The Irish-born playwright, intellectual and socialist activist is one of the few people to have won both an Oscar and a Nobel.

He baulked at accepting the Nobel, declaring "I can forgive (Alfred) Nobel for inventing dynamite, but only a fiend in human form could have invented the Nobel Prize," but later relented.

He struggled to get published for many years before starting to write for the stage.

His most famous play is "Pygmalion", which was turned into the wildly successful Broadway musical and film "My Fair Lady" for which Shaw won the Oscar for best screenplay.

cb/acc/ach
Founder of USM Holdings Usmanov attends session during Week of Russian Business in Moscow

BERLIN (Reuters) - German police and customs officers on Thursday searched several properties in southern Germany, which a source familiar with the matter said belonged to a Russian national targeted by European Union sanctions because of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

The source told Reuters that Russian oligarch Alisher Usmanov, a Russian-Uzbek businessman, was the target of the search operation.

"There can be no reason for suspicion against Mr Usmanov, who has always duly declared the personal property that was lawfully acquired by him, in addition to disclosing the funds with which he acquired these assets," said a spokesperson for Usmanov in response to a Reuters' request for comment.

The spokesperson said Usmanov was not the owner of the trust he founded and had no right to control or manage its assets.

"As such, he has no way of knowing what is currently happening to the property owned by the trust."

A special commission dubbed "Matryoshka", established by the German customs authority's sanctions office, said in a statement that officers searched properties in greater Munich and Tegernsee in Bavaria.

In September 2022, German police searched Usmanov's villa in the holiday town of Rottach-Egern on the shores of the Tegernsee. A court later deemed the raids unlawful.

The German customs authority's special commission said it was acting on court search warrants. It said it could not give further details on the operation for tactical reasons.

(Reporting by Miranda Murray, Joern Poltz, Rachel More and Alexander Marrow; Writing by Maria Martinez; Editing by Alexandra Hudson and Grant McCool)
By Jody Godoy and Luc Cohen

(Reuters) - Jurors in the trial of FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried heard from both sides for the first time on Wednesday, receiving dueling portrayals of key events and players involved in what prosecutors have called a multibillion-dollar fraud that affected thousands of the cryptocurrency exchange's customers.

Bankman-Fried pleaded not guilty. Opening statements by prosecutor Thane Rehn and defense lawyer Mark Cohen made it clear that four points of contention, described below, will be crucial to the trial, which is expected to last up to six weeks.

Was Bankman-Fried a power-hungry thief or a "math nerd" startup CEO?

In his opening statement, Rehn said Bankman-Fried used more than $10 billion in FTX customer funds to amass his own wealth, power and influence. Rehn said he bought beachfront property in the Bahamas and donated to a nonprofit his brother founded.

Cohen, Bankman-Fried's attorney, called that depiction a "cartoon of a villain," and said evidence would show that his client was actually a "math nerd who didn't drink or party." Bankman-Fried, he said, was in reality a CEO of a startup company that collapsed after it was faced with an unanticipated "perfect storm."

"It's not a crime to be a CEO of a company that later files for bankruptcy," he said.

Did FTX collapse because of a smear job or fraud?

From Cohen's point of view, FTX and Alameda Research - a crypto-focused hedge fund also controlled by Bankman-Fried - were casualties of a downturn across the cryptocurrency sector, which was subject to fluctuations based on "many factors that nobody controlled."

As Bankman-Fried's companies sought to weather the storm, public "attacks" by the crypto press and Changpeng Zhao, the CEO of rival exchange Binance, led to a run on FTX, Cohen said.

But Rehn said FTX collapsed because of Bankman-Fried's plundering of FTX customer cash. Blaming FTX's implosion on the broader downturn in crypto amounts to "excuses," Rehn said.

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FTX's relationship with Alameda: nefarious or normal?

Rehn told jurors that Bankman-Fried stole customer funds in two ways: by duping FTX customers into sending money intended for their trading accounts to Alameda, and through a "secret special privilege" embedded in FTX software that let Alameda make unlimited withdrawals.

Cohen said prosecutors had misconstrued instances of Alameda performing functions for FTX that the fledgling exchange was not yet set up to perform itself.

He said the software allowed FTX to rely on Alameda as a "market maker," which let Alameda buy and sell crypto as the exchange sought to attract more customers.

Caroline Ellison: failed deputy or "front"?

Each side presented different stories about former Alameda chief executive Caroline Ellison, who has pleaded guilty to fraud and agreed to cooperate against Bankman-Fried.

According to prosecutors, Bankman-Fried installed Ellison, his sometime romantic partner, as a "front" to lead Alameda in 2021.

"In reality he was still calling the shots at Alameda," Rehn said.

But Bankman-Fried's lawyer said that handing over the reins was normal as FTX grew and took up his time. It was just as natural for Bankman-Fried, still Alameda's majority owner, to stay involved, he said.

"He relied on her and he trusted her to act as the CEO and manage the day-to-day," he said.

Cohen also said Bankman-Fried had asked Ellison to hedge Alameda's investments after crypto's successful year in 2021, but that she failed to do so.

(Reporting by Jody Godoy and Luc Cohen in New York; Editing by Amy Stevens and Matthew Lewis)
Its like The Hunger Games, the AMPTP thinks they can starve us back to work, said Bectu National Secretary Spencer MacDonald, as around 200 below-the-line workers gathered in Londons Leicester Square this afternoon to urge a swift end to the actors strike.

MacDonald was bullish, however, in the face of a possible resolution in the coming days, telling studio bosses across the pond: Every single time, we win these disputes.

More from Deadline

We need to remind employers that by dragging their heels and digging themselves in all they are doing is digging a bigger hole for themselves, he added. And we want to talk about the impact on our membership.

Although unions in the UK are forbidden to join foreign strikes by tight labor laws, a recent Bectu survey found that an incredible 80% of UK crew felt they had been impacted by what is happening in the States, and Bectu has been calling for financial support from the government and AMPTP.

Speaking to Deadline after the rally speeches had ended, MacDonald, who was standing in for unwell Bectu Head Philippa Childs, said there is more to come in the longer term.

The SAG resolution is medium term and then there is the longer term plan in terms of making sure people are supported, he added. So we will be doing campaigning and lobbying to make sure this doesnt happen again because weve been through it twice  once with Covid-19 and now with the current situation.

MacDonald called on the UK government and producers for more support, adding: The workers we represent should be better supported because from what weve seen theyve been suspended in a force majeure and abandoned by the productions.

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MacDonald spoke to the crowds alongside Bectu officials from costume, extras, unscripted and VFX branches, and was flanked by reps from actors union Equity and the Trades Union Congress.

Charlotte Sewell, from the Bectu costume and wardrobe branch, delivered an impassioned speech in which she said the very survival of her trade is under threat.

We must look at how our UK crews can survive, she added. Weve been stopped for far too long, leaving gaps first in our finances and soon to all our screens. Who wants to watch Gogglebox when the contestants will have nothing to watch?

Sewell said family and friends have continuously asked her why the UK is being impacted so badly by labor action across the pond, to which she said: The public do not always understand how our films and shows get made, and what and whom goes into making them.

Homeless members

Blair Barnette, who runs the British Film Designers Guild, meanwhile, said she has received two emails today from members who have just become homeless.

That should not be the case in a situation like this, in a country like this, with so much great talent right here on our own turf, she added. Employers must act responsibly for the welfare of all of us. The impact on mental health and wellbeing has just been huge.

From the VFX branch, Pia Josephson, who has worked on the likes of Apple TV+s Prehistoric Planet, said the AMPTP know we are not unionized and they use that.

Following Dune VFX firm DNEGs high-profile pay offer, which has been slammed by the unions, she pointed to slow signs of improvement, with the likes of Disney and Marvel VFX unionizing in the states.

But we are worried that we will be used once the actors have struck a deal, she added.

SAG-AFTRA and the studios will meet later today and negotiations are understood to be proceeding calmly, according to Deadlines latest report.

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Click here to read the full article.
KYIV (Reuters) - Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Thurday he had met Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan on the sidelines of the European Political Community Summit in Spain, and discussed the security situation in the South Caucasus.

"Ukraine is interested in the regions stability and friendly relations with its nations," Zelenskiy said on X, formerly known as Twitter, adding that bilateral cooperation and regional economic projects had also been discussed.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said later on Thursday that Zelenskiy had also held phone discussions with Azerbaijan's president, Ilham Aliev, a day earlier.

Azerbaijan seized control of the Armenian-populated region of Nagorno-Karabakh last month. Since then, more than 100,000 people - most of Karabakh's population - have fled and sought refuge in Armenia, a country of 2.8 million.

"I think everyone understands that tectonic shifts are taking place in the South Caucasus. Everyone has to understand that Ukraine has vital and economic interests in this region," Kuleba said in televised comments.

"We need Russia to have no influence, we need stability, we need the opportunity to develop trade relations. That is why the president so sharply intensified diplomacy with Azerbaijan and Armenia."

(Reporting by Pavel Polityuk and Olena Harmash, Editing by Timothy Heritage)
atypical variants of Polish zapiekanki - Zapiekanka: the open-faced sandwich with Polish origins

Street foods the world over tend to have one thing in common - they are often seen as a godsend by late-night drinkers staggering home from a hard night of partying. Turkey has its dolmas, Germany its currywurst and kebabs, and Thailand its steamed bao buns, but in Poland, they're all about the zapiekanka. This open-faced sandwich (since who's got the coordination to handle a top slice at oh-drunk-thirty?) is sometimes called "Polish pizza" and, in fact, some Americans may note a certain similarity to Stouffer's famous French bread pizza recipe. The main difference, however, lies in the fact that instead of pizza sauce, the tomato-based condiment typically used on a zapiekanka is ketchup.

The zapiekanka, while beloved by many Poles (sober ones included), hasn't always had the best reputation with traveling gourmets. While Andrew Zimmern did cover it in a "Bizarre Foods" episode, he kind of damned it with faint praise by saying it "comes from the timeless Polish principle of making a lot from a little." A Washington Post reviewer was even more scathing, calling it a "poor relative" of pizza and admitting it was something they only ate out of desperation back in the late '80s (and apparently never bothered to revisit on subsequent trips to Poland). Naysayers notwithstanding, zapiekanka vendors continue to thrive to this day.

Read more: 41 Must Try Hot Sandwich Recipes

History Of The Zapiekanka

person holding zapiekanka in Warsaw - Vitaliy Kyrychuk/Shutterstock

As is the case with many street foods, we don't have a specific name or date to attach to the birth of the zapiekanka. What we do have, though, is a decade - the '70s - as well as a precipitating event. The secretary of the Polish United Workers' Party at the time, a man named Edward Gierek, arranged to have French-style baguettes produced in Poland where they subsequently became the base for a cheap and filling sandwich topped with whatever was to hand. Back in those days of still-struggling socialism, this mostly seemed to be mushrooms. Mushroom sandwiches actually seem to predate the introduction of baguettes, however, as a bar called Murzynek was said to be selling hot dog buns filled with mushroom sauce (due to a shortage of actual sausages) back in the '60s.

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Zapiekanki were a fixture of the maa gastronomia movement - in answer to the food shortages Poland was experiencing in the latter half of the 20th century, the government started allowing any old Tomasz, Dobry, and Hanusz to sell food out of the back of their vans. While the sandwiches apparently fell out of favor to some extent in the '90s, swept away with other relics of the collapsed communist government, a few decades later on it seems they've been deemed ripe for redemption. Artisanal zapiekanki are now a thing, and these sandwiches, although still not the trendiest of foods, are now a fixture of the 21st-century Polish food truck scene.

How Zapiekanki Are Made

mushroom zapiekanka with ketchup - kreatorex/Shutterstock

If you want to DIY a zapiekanka, you won't need any special equipment, nor will you need a recipe since as long as you've got the basics, it's something you can easily toss together using what you have on hand in the fridge. For starters, you'll need a baguette. Split it open lengthwise, butter the cut halves, then top them with grated or sliced cheese (cheddar, edam, gouda, or mozzarella will all work). For a standard zapiekanka, you'll also need to saute some mushrooms and onions, then spread these over the top. Once you've done so, bake the sandwich until the cheese melts and the bread is toasted. The word "zapiekanka," after all, refers to something that is cooked in the oven, so no, you really can't use an air fryer. Well, okay, yes, you can, since an air fryer is just a mini convection oven, but don't try making it in an Instant Pot or some other non-oven adjacent appliance.

Once your zapiekanka is cooked, it's still not quite done. You absolutely must top it off with a squiggle of ketchup, as this condiment is de rigueur. For an authentically Polish-style sandwich, though, Heinz or Great Value ketchup won't do. Instead, you'll need a Polish brand such as Pudliszki (Poland's top seller in 2022, according to Statista). Not only is Polish ketchup generally thicker and not quite as sweet as its American counterpart, but it's also flavored with spices such as allspice, garlic, and paprika.

These Are Some Zapiekanka Variants

zapiekanka with meat corn pickles - sashk0/Shutterstock

While the mushroom and cheese version known as zapiekanka z serem i pieczarkami may be the original, variants of this Polish sandwich are as numerous as different types of pizza -- in theory, at least, since we're certainly not going to count them all. As zapiekanki are fairly similar to pizzas, though, it seems likely that most pizza toppings could work if you wanted to make a Hawaiian one with ham and pineapple (this is actually already pretty popular in Poland) or a Japanese pizza-inspired one with crab and Kewpie mayo. (This one, we're not so sure about, though Japanese-Polish fusion cuisine sounds like it could actually be pretty fantastic.)

Poland, however, has a few homegrown zapiekanki versions. One of these, the "Gypsy," is topped with sweet and sour sauce and ham, while another, the "Greek," includes feta cheese and olives. A third, the "Diablo," brings a little mild heat with a slightly spicy sauce plus pickles and bacon. Polish zapiekanka vendors have also been known to make versions with cranberry sauce and smoked sheep cheese or spinach and garlic as well as even more intriguing combinations such as blue cheese and olives; bacon and smoked plums; salami, pepperoni, and jalapenos; and tuna with red onion, and corn.

Where To Get A Zapiekanka

woman at zapiekanka stand - De Visu/Shutterstock

Zapiekanka have, since their inception, been considered the ultimate in late-night street eats so vendors would often set up where they'd catch bar patrons or those waiting at bus stops. Train stations would sell them, as well, and some still do. They're available all throughout the country, with zapiekanka vendors seemingly as ubiquitous as are hot dog carts and taco trucks in the U.S. Ground zero for zapiekanka, however, seems to be Krakow  specifically Kazimierz, a historic district that has served as the city's Jewish quarter since the 15th century. A bar called U Endziora is famous for its old-school zapiekanka. although according to reviews its seating is extremely limited and you may need to stand in line for  hour or more (a not-so-nostalgic taste of the old socialist days). Kazimierz has pllenty of other zapiekanka vendors, though, many located in a rotunda on Plac Nowy.

Modern-day artisanal zapiekanka vendors exist in Krakow, Warsaw, and other cities, as well. When "Bizarre Foods" visited Warsaw, they covered a food truck meetup in the city's Plac Defilad (Parade Square). The highlight of this segment was a visit to a truck specializing in a fairly traditional version of this Polish sandwich but offering a variety of optional toppings. Judging from the "person on the street" interviews, this truck seems to have been particularly popular with tourists (Americans and others).

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A mum 'shunned by locals' in her tiny village because of her OnlyFans career says she's having the last laugh - as she has almost saved enough to leave. Laura Whyte, 30, previously claimed other women in Aberchirder, Aberdeenshire, had complained about her raunchy content - over fears their husbands might see. But Laura, a mum-of-two, refused to stop filming - and is now raking in more than 5,000-a-month, she says. She claims she is now in the top 1.5% of creators and fans have helped her save a deposit of nearly 60k in just two years, which she plans to use to leave Aberchirder. Laura hopes to build a property where she can house rescued animals - her dream - and build a studio she can rent out to other OnlyFans creators. She said: People say I have no money because Im still here, but thats not how it works  I dont want to chuck away money. Weve got enough money for an extension on a two-bed but what we want is an acre of land as well and outbuildings as I'm planning on renovating one for a studio for myself. Id also rent it out to other OnlyFans creators, I think it would be quite different to offer a place to do content creation for a small fee And rescuing animals is what I want to do, its always been at the top of my list to do my wildlife courses and hopefully do wildlife rehabilitation and care for them if theyve been hurt. We're not in it for any fanciness or keeping up with Joneses or anything like that  I've managed to add 30k to our deposit in just a year. Laura joined OnlyFans in September 2021 to boost her income. She says the money quickly started rolling in  and now she has a dedicated following of subscribers who want to see her achieve her dream of owning a house. And she says big tippers have helped her get closer to her dream of owning a house. Despite neighbours in her village disapproving of her career choice - with some even allegedly threatening to phone the police - Laura says feels like shes providing for her family. She said: People assume because you're still here you're making nothing but thats not how you save money, youve got to build it up. Its just a less stressful life now, were not having to wake up worrying about how to get our next meal. When I was younger, we were living off 40-a-week. It was horrible. So now I have an appreciation for managing to achieve for my family. The most I've had tipped in a month was 1k from a man who just wanted to help me achieve the dream of owning a house. Ive got a fair few followers that have been there from when I first started, so I think they're excited as well."
Taoiseach Leo Varadkar (Photo: /)

Leo Varadkar voiced his love for the UK today just ahead of a meeting with Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, but also said it does bother me to see the United Kingdom disengaging from the world.

Specifically, Mr Varadkar said whether its reducing its budget for international aid, whether its leaving the European Union, and now even talking about withdrawing from the European Convention on Human Rights, thats not the Britain I know.

After their meeting, a Number 10 Downing Street spokesman said: The Prime Minister and Taoiseach shared their concerns about the continued absence of an executive in Northern Ireland and the democratic deficit this was causing."

Speaking to the News Letter this evening, Ian Paisley said of the claim that the UK is disengaging from the world: Unlike the Republic of Ireland, the UK puts billions of pounds into foreign aid  it's nearly 3% of its total GDP, of which I'd venture to say is considerably more than the Irish government has at its disposal.

"|It puts in the last, what, 800 days we've given 10bn to the Ukraine in humanitarian and support-for-the-war aid, meanwhile the Republic of Ireland is of course a neutral country, and the next government of the Irish republic will probably be an anti-NATO country.

"He'd be far better off unveiling the human rights abuse in his own country  addressing the fallout of legacy in his own country and how the Republic of Ireland contributed to the Troubles in Northern Ireland.

"If he loves the UK, I look forward to him wanting to make sure the UK remains as it is, a United Kingdom, and he'd not want to break that up

"I'm sure the PM took Mr Varadkar's interventions with a good pinch of salt, or I hope he did, and let him know all of the UK is nothing to do with the Republic of Ireland's jurisdiction.

"The Republic of Ireland, if it wants to help, sometimes a dignified silence would be much better than interventions that only cause people concern.

More from this reporter:
EU legislators on Thursday accused Azerbaijan of carrying out "ethnic cleansing" against the Armenian residents of the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region and urged EU member states to impose sanctions on Baku.

Azerbaijan has rejected the claim and said it wants Armenians to stay.

Baku pledged to respect the rights of ethnic Armenians, however, most of the population fled after Azerbaijan took back the region in a lightning offensive last month.

The parliament urged the EU's 27 member states to "adopt targeted sanctions against individuals in the Azerbaijani government" over the assault and alleged human rights breaches in Nagorno-Karabakh.

They also called on the bloc "to reduce the EU dependency towards gas exports from Azerbaijan" and demanded Brussels review its relations with the country.

The resolution was approved by 491 legislators to nine, but the EU does not have to act on it.

European diplomats said that sanctions against Azerbaijan were not being considered, and action would likely only be taken if the situation deteriorates.

The EU increased imports of natural gas from Azerbaijan in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen signed a deal with Baku last year to more than double gas imports by 2027.

Meanwhile, the Azerbaijan State Security Service shared footage Thursday showing Arayik Harutyunyan, the former leader of the Karabakh region, being arrested.

Authorities in Azerbaijan arrested three other senior separatist figures on Tuesday after reclaiming control of the Armenian-populated breakaway region last month, a leading Azerbaijani news agency said.

Nagorno-Karabakh is a landlocked mountainous area in the South Caucasus.

It was claimed by Azerbaijan and Armenia after the fall of the Russian Empire in 1917 and has remained a point of tension ever since.
(Bloomberg) -- Kinmen is close enough to China that the residents of this small group of islands have been able to watch with the naked eye the ascendance of an economic giant next door.

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Have you seen the buildings in Xiamen? asks Li Wen-liang, Kinmens deputy county commissioner as he waves a hand toward the Chinese metropolis sitting across a sliver of water that is at its narrowest just over a mile wide. They werent there a decade ago.

Kinmen is Taiwan's closest outpost to China. As the front line in the civil war between the Chinese Communists and the retreating Nationalists, it endured decades of bombardment from the Peoples Liberation Army. It was largely cut off from the rest of the world from the 1950s until the early 1990s, administered under strict military protocol, making it off limits to pretty much everyone except residents and the military. Any Chinese coming ashore, even fishermen who accidentally ran aground, were shot on sight.

Despite the decades of hostility, things have changed dramatically over the past 20 years. Since travel, business and communication between Kinmen and China were permitted in 2001, economic ties have flourished. Today, Kinmen is the part of Taiwan where local support for greater integration with China has typically been the strongest.

In a sign of how close the two sides are now, Kinmen has one of the highest rates of cross-strait marriages in Taiwan. Kinmen also gets around three-quarters of its water piped in from Fujian province, and theres a proposal for it to obtain electricity from China as well. Its common for people in the county to own homes in Kinmen, the Taiwanese mainland and in China. The flow of businesspeople and tourists, plus the islands famed kaoliang liquor, profits from which help fund local schools and free public transportation, have made Kinmen one of Taiwans most affluent areas. The median income in Kinmen ranks among the highest in Taiwan, behind only the Matsu Islands, the chipmaking hub of Hsinchu and the capital, Taipei City, according to Finance Ministry data.

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But even with these benefits, attitudes in Kinmen have been changing. Taiwans Democratic Progressive Party, which has long been wary of closer ties with Beijing, has seen its support jump in each of the last two presidential elections. If the DPP has more success in the upcoming election in January next year, it would underline how sharply affections for China, even in the Taiwanese county that has benefited the most from Beijings largess, is waning.

The shifting attitudes reflect a generational change, according to Max Yu, a retired Taiwanese general and former dean of the islands National Defense University. For the younger residents of Kinmen who haven't experienced it, war isn't as strong a deterrent, while freedom and democracy are more important to them, he said. That makes them tend to reject China and unification.

If Yu is right, it suggests that trying to convince Taiwans population to accept Beijings rule  something China has pledged to do even if by force  will become increasingly difficult. And given that the US has long been the guarantor of Taiwans security, itd also imply that what is already one of the worlds most-dangerous geopolitical flash points will remain so for some time.For now, in spite of the DPPs gains, Kinmens voters are still largely loyal to the Kuomintang, Taiwans main opposition party. The KMT, which advocates for eventual unification with China, won almost 75% of the vote in Kinmen in the last presidential election in 2020. The DPPs Tsai Ing-wen, who won reelection as president that year, carried slightly less than 22%.

Still, that 22% represented an almost three-fold increase from the DPPs results in 2012, when Tsai was also the partys candidate for president. The 75% the KMT won in 2022 was also noticeably less commanding than the 89%, 95% and 94% victories it scored in Kinmen in the previous three votes.

Ask the residents of Kinmen why the DPP performed so well in the last election and there is a common response. Its because of what happened in Hong Kong, said Li, the deputy county commissioner who favors closer ties with China. Kinmen people may not be verbal about it, but when theres a chance to express ourselves, we do.

What happened was an unprecedented wave of sometimes violent protest that roiled Hong Kong in 2019. The key issue fueling the protesters was their belief that Beijing was seeking to roll back civil liberties guaranteed under the One Country, Two Systems framework, an agreement struck as part of Hong Kongs return to Chinese sovereignty in 1997 that the city wouldnt be governed like the mainland for at least 50 years.

Making the demonstrations even more impactful in Taiwan was the fact that Chinese President Xi Jinping had months earlier in January 2019 forcefully reiterated Beijing's demand for the island to accept unification under the One Country, Two Systems  framework.

One wall of deputy country commissioner Lis office is covered in an enormous map of Kinmen and Chinas southeast coast, which he uses to point out, with the aid of a laser pen, the many projects linking the two sides. One of the more contentious proposals is to build a bridge linking Kinmen with Xiamen.

The DPP, whose candidate for president Lai Ching-te has led the polls throughout the last few months, opposes the idea, warning it poses a risk to Taiwans security.

When the KMTs candidate, Hou Yu-ih, was asked if hed support the bridge, he responded by saying that local governments should have the right to make decisions based on local needs. Hou has actually proposed turning Kinmen into a cross-strait economic zone to facilitate doing business with China.

Also: Foxconn Founder Upends Taiwan Vote by Launching Presidential Bid

Yet when Beijing rolled out a plan earlier this month to foster closer economic integration between Fujian and Taiwan  including further optimizing and intensify passenger and freight routes between Kinmen and China  the four presidential candidates largely ignored it. Taiwans government offered a harsh assessment, saying that Chinas use of economic enticement to convince Taiwanese to accept its leadership is completely wishful thinking.

Wang Ling runs a guesthouse and a souvenir shop specializing in locally made goods and snacks in the islands main town of Jincheng. She acknowledges that many people in Kinmen still feel they are Chinese rather than Taiwanese and that her island is in many ways inextricably linked to China, both through its proximity and a complex past.Were very close to Xiamen so its inevitable that we interact, but it should be as equals, like European Union countries, she said. But apparently our big neighbor doesnt think like that so were not communicating as country to country and thats not ideal.

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The Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh profited from the ownership of a slave plantation (Photo: Jolene Campbell)

NHS Lothian have pledged to make amends for historical links with slavery, after it was revealed the citys biggest hospital was funded for decades by exploited labour on an estate it owned in the Caribbean.

Damning new research has revealed that the health board profited by almost 40 million from slavery, including through ownership of a slave plantation in Jamaica, left to it in a surgeon's will in 1750. A report found that, in todays money, an estimated 39.1m was provided to the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh from its ownership of the Red Hill pen estate and the enslaved people of African descent who worked there  for longer than the NHS has existed. Cash was also raised through donations from people with connections to slavery.

Health chiefs have now said they will launch a reparations programme to atone for its links to slavery, based on eight recommendations provided by an independent advisory group following a two-year research project.

Calum Campbell, Chief Executive of NHS Lothian, said: This important work was carried out to help give us a greater understanding of the history that has shaped our society and institutions. Tackling racism helps us reduce health inequalities and improve outcomes for our diverse population and ensures a better experience for everyone who works with and for us. This work is vital to delivering this ambition. We have a duty to use this understanding to take action that will create meaningful change.

We will now begin work to plan how we will implement the recommendations to ensure they have an impact. The timing of this research is particularly important as we, in NHS Lothian, recognise Black History Month to share, celebrate and understand the impact of black heritage and culture. It is an opportunity for Black and Minority Ethnic staff and their allies to share their experiences and to collaboratively bring change to the organisation. It also provides us with a further opportunity to reflect on the past, as well as look forward and opens up conversations about how we tackle racism, rising health inequalities and modern slavery.

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The research found that The Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh owned an estate in Jamaica called Red Hill pen for 143 years and for almost 90 of those years, the exploited labour provided considerable wealth for the Infirmary. The small estate in St-Thomas-in-the-East in Jamaica and 39 enslaved people of African descent came into the ownership of the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh through the will of a Scottish surgeon in Jamaica, Dr Archibald Kerr in 1750.

With the money from the estate, the hospital bought medicines, constructed a new building, employed staff, and healed Edinburghs sick poor. After slavery was abolished, the hospital received money from the UK Government as compensation for the loss of labour.

While NHS Lothian said it cannot provide any traditional financial reparation, it has agreed to raise awareness, provide education and forge new relationships. Among recommendations in the report accepted by the board, NHS Lothian was urged to publish an apology and create an Implementation Group to deliver anti-racist interventions to tackle current racial inequalities in employment and health.

It is also proposed that commemorative works should be commissioned, via the NHS Lothian Charity, a review of its current arts and culture activity be carried out and work to share the findings of the research.

The health board has been urged to explore partnerships with organisations in Jamaica and West Africa and undertake further research into the health boards connections with slavery. Finally, NHS Lothian should also encourage research partnerships on the impact of slavery on British medicine and healthcare systems. NHS Lothian said work is now underway to develop a work programme based on the recommendations.
Paris and Rome call for 'coalition of the willing' with other European nations to stem migration

Leaders from Albania, Britain, France, Italy, the Netherlands and the European Commission chief took part in a migration meeting held on the sidelines of the EPC summit in Granada, Spain, where discussions on multilateralism, climate and digital challenges were meant to dominate the agenda.

They elaborated an eight-point document that they will work on over the coming months with the aim of finalising some sort of agreement during the next EPC summit scheduled to be held in the UK in the spring.

Outreach will be made to other EPC countries to build a coalition of the willing, French President Emmanuel Macron said.

"I consider that the EPC is precisely a relevant space to fight against migration. Firstly because there are several countries of origin among the Western Balkans and cooperation makes it possible to significantly reduce irregular immigration."

"We want to have a much more coordinated approach with countries of origin and countries of transit. This is the condition for being effective because we clearly see that we have policies that are desynchronized or divergent" weakening efforts to tackle the issue, he added.

The eight points include pledges to "take robust action" to "tackle migrant smuggling along the routes and at external borders" in cooperation with partner countries through joint action.

They also said they would provide support to partner countries through the deployment of personnel, equipment, and other material to strengthen border protection but also financially to boost assisted voluntary return and reintegration.

The document also includes a plan to update the legal framework to harmonise criminal offences for people smuggling, to strengthen cooperation on visa policy as well as on return and readmission "through a network of liaison officers in partner countries, sharing of expertise, diplomatic outreach and return operations."

The discussion on Thursday came just a day after EU member states finalised their position on new common rules to manage an unexpected mass arrival of asylum seekers. The so-called Crisis Regulation was the last remaining piece of the puzzle that is the New Pact on Asylum and Migration that the co-legislators - member states and Parliament - hope to negotiate and adopt before the end of this Commission's mandate.

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The difficulties in reaching consensus among member states in recent years have meanwhile led the Commission to focus more on the external dimension and to strike deals with third countries in a bid to stem the flow of irregular arrivals.

The latest, with Tunisia, saw the EU pledge to disburse 105 million to Tunisia to combat anti-smuggling operations, reinforce border management and speed up the return of asylum seekers whose applications are denied. The deal was however condemned by members of the European Parliament and humanitarian organisations over concerns about the alleged abuse of sub-Saharan migrants by Tunisian authorities.

Italy's Giorgia Meloni, whose country had delayed the adoption of the Crisis Regulation text over language about search-and-rescue services provided by NGO Vessels in the Mediterranean Sea, told reporters upon arrival at the summit in Granada that the "EU's aims on migration are evolving toward a more pragmatic stance, based on legality, to fight irregular migration and manage legal migrations".

"On the external dimension the EU has to act fast," she added.

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic did not take part in the multilateral discussion on migration on Thursday but welcomed it nonetheless.

"I believe this is the best place because you can discuss all the issues with the people that are involved with this difficult issue," he told Euronews.

"We needed a bit more with North African countries to be present as well but bearing in mind the place where we are, I believe that we had some good discussions on immigration issues and we are really ready to do whatever we are asked from our European partners on migration issues," he added.

Fourty-five leaders from across Europe attended the EPC summit with two notable absences: Azerbaijan's Ilham Aliyev and Turkey's Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

The situation between Azerbaijan and Armenia, Russia's war against Ukraine and the EU's enlargement policy also featured high on the agenda.

The article was updated to include details on the eight-point document.
Lily Graham, 20, is representing the UK at Roverway 2024. Photo: The Scouts

The event, which takes place in Norway from July 22 to early August next year, will see 5,000 Scouts aged 16-22 gather from across Europe.

Lily Graham, 20, is a patrol leader with The Scouts and a degree apprentice with Nestle.

She said: When I first heard about Roverway I thought it sounded like an amazing opportunity to visit a stunning country and take my first steps into international scouting.

Next years event will take place on the fjord coastline of Lundsneset, Stavanger, and follows the previous Roverway event, which was was held in the Netherlands in 2018.

The 2024 Roverway event is divided into three parts. It starts with a five-day expedition across Southern Norway, followed by an international camp at Stavanger. Here, Scouts take part in a programme of activities and skill development. This is then followed by a ferry trip to visit Copenhagen in Denmark.

Lily said: I really wanted to go an international trip to meet Scouts from other countries to learn more about how scouting varies in different regions, and build friendships with new people. I am most looking forward to connecting with lots of different Scouts from different countries, particularly on the paths where we hike to the main event; here I will be able to work with and learn skills from other people.

She said she is also excited to experience the spectacular Norwegian landscapes, while learning more about Norwegian culture.

Lily added: As a patrol leader I want to develop my leadership skills further and ensure everyone in my patrol gets as much out of the experience as they can.

Chief Scout Bear Grylls said a massive congratulations to Lily. He said: Roverway is an amazing opportunity to discover yourself and make new friends, while participating in a programme that demonstrates true Scouting spirit by developing skills for life. Id just like to say good luck to our brilliant UK Contingent in their preparation for the event.

The 550 UK Scouts at the event will be supported by more than 100 volunteers and the events theme is North of the Ordinary.
HA NOI  The EU's effort to cut carbon emissions globally is going into high gear as the bloc's Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism entered its transitional phase on Sunday.

As of October 1, the EU's trading partners will have to report greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions embedded in six carbon-intensive exports, which consist of steel, cement, aluminium, fertiliser, hydrogen, and electricity.

From 2026, they will also be required to purchase CBAM certificates to cover the GHG footprint, and the prices of CBAM certificates will be calculated based on the weekly average auction price of EU ETS allowances.

Nguyen Hoa Cuong, Vice President of the Central Institute for Economic Management, said Bangladesh's staggering growth in apparel exports over the past few years speaks volumes about how "going green" has paid off commercially.

He urged Viet Nam to take action to keep its industries well-prepared for the tax regime. He said meeting CBAM requirements would serve Vietnamese producers well by allowing their products to be sold at a higher price in the EU markets.

"It's all about not being left behind in the global green supply chains," said Cuong.

Nguyen Van Hoi, General Director of the Vietnam Institute of Strategy and Policy for Industry and Trade, said reports on GHG emissions had become compulsory for Vietnamese steel producers, whose exports to the EU had doubled in volume in the first eight months of 2023.

He also said CBAM would initially apply to certain carbon-intensive exports but would expand in scope in the long term to cover products in other sectors, including food and energy.

He called for financial packages to support Vietnamese enterprises in capability-building and transition to greener technologies. He also urged enterprises to improve their energy efficiency and cut back on carbon emissions to get the go-ahead to the EU markets.

Economic expert Vu inh Anh said carbon certificates were under development in Viet Nam and would come into force in the near future. He also said the EU's green regulations would incentivise Vietnamese enterprises to go green and promote legal changes that work in favour of the environment.

A team of researchers from the University of Economics and Business was concerned that CBAM would incur huge carbon-emission-linked costs to Vietnamese enterprises on the horizon.

The team called for measures to help them cut back on carbon emissions, thereby improving the competitive advantages of their products in the EU markets. It also urged policymakers to bring them up to speed on the tax regime and called for a mechanism for carbon pricing in Viet Nam.  VNS
CA MAU  The VietShrimp Aquaculture International Fair 2024, themed In company with shrimp farmers, will take place in the southernmost province of Ca Mau from March 20-22, heard a local press conference held on Wednesday.

Co-hosted by the provincial Peoples Committee, the Vietnam Fisheries Society (VINAFIS), the Vietnam Directorate of Fisheries and the Vietnam Fisheries magazine, the event is expected to feature about 250 stalls from over 150 exhibitors at home and abroad, and thematic seminars to continue bringing Vietnamese shrimps to new markets and affirm their brand on the global shrimp industry map.

VINAFIS Chairman Nguyen Viet Thang said over the past two decades, the shrimp industry has played a crucial role in Viet Nam's export of aquatic products to the world. Each year, the shrimp export turnover accounts for around 40-45 per cent of the total seafood export, equivalent to US$3.5-4 billion. The figure reached an all-time high of over $4.3 billion last year.

So far, the Vietnamese shrimp has been exported to 100 countries, with Europe, the US, Japan, China and the Republic of Korea being the biggest importers. Viet Nam has become the world's second-largest shrimp supplier, with export turnover making up 13-14 per cent of the total global shrimp export value.

According to the VINAFISH, the total shrimp farming area in Viet Nam reached 747,000ha last year, yielding over one million tonnes in output, up 8.5 per cent annually. The shrimp export revenue went up 11.2 per cent year-on-year to $4.3 billion. This year, the shrimp farming area is expected to increase to 750,000ha, with the Mekong Delta accounting for 90 per cent. The production goal is set at over one million tonnes while the export revenue is to be equivalent to that in the previous year.

Deputy Director of the provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Development Chau Cong Bang said the province is home to around 280,000ha of shrimp farming area, producing over 200,000 tonnes and earning over $1 billion from exports annually. This year, the province targeted yielding more than 220,000 tonnes and bringing home $1.1 billion.

VietShrimp was held in 2016 and 2018 in the Mekong Delta province of Bac Lieu Province, and in 2021 and 2023 in Can Tho City, becoming a major event in Viet Nam's seafood industry and a regional and Asian-level shrimp expo.  VNS
HA NOI  Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Sinh Nhat Tan has had a working session with the United Kingdom's Secretary of State for Scotland Alister Jack in Ha Noi on Thursday, who is visiting Viet Nam on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the two countries' diplomatic relations.

Deputy trade minister Tan told the UK guest that economic, trade, and investment cooperation has always been a bright spot since Viet Nam-UK relations was elevated to a Strategic Partnership in 2010.

Currently, the UK is the 9th largest export market in the world and the 4th largest in Europe and the Americas for Viet Nam.

Economic, trade, and investment cooperation between the two countries is deepening and becoming more substantial.

Regarding the bilateral trade cooperation, Deputy Minister Tan noted that in the early months of 2023, two-way trade between Viet Nam and the UK has witnessed a downward trend.

For the first eight months of 2023, bilateral trade turnover reached US$4.62 billion, a slight decrease of 0.9 per cent compared to the same period last year. Specifically, Viet Nam's exports to the UK reached nearly $4.1 billion, down 0.1 per cent compared to the same period, while imports from the UK reached $460.1 million, an increase of 6 per cent over the same period.

In the context where Viet Nam's trade with most key export markets in Europe has witnessed a significant decline due to global economic challenges, maintaining such growth compared to the same period last year is encouraging.

As of August 20, 2023, the UK has 542 direct investment projects in Viet Nam with registered capital of about US$4.29 billion, ranking 15th out of 143 countries and territories investing directly in Viet Nam. In the first eight months of 2023, the UK has had a total of 34 new investment projects in Viet Nam with registered capital reaching $48.3 million.

Deputy Minister Tan underscored that the UK-Viet Nam Free Trade Agreement (UKVFTA), taking effect since May 2021, and the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), which the UK joined on July 16, 2023, will be strong drivers to further develop two-way economic, trade, and investment relations in the coming time.

Secretary Alister Jack reiterated the importance that the UK attaches to its trade relationship with Viet Nam and the commitment of the UK to deepen its trade ties with Viet Nam.

The UK official expressed gratitude for the support from the Ministry of Industry and Trade of Viet Nam regarding the UK's accession to the CPTPP, and provided updates on the progress of approval and legislative changes in the UK to ratify the CPTPP accession as soon as possible.

Secretary Jack highlighted that the UK's official signing of the CPTPP has opened up significant opportunities for businesses from both countries to take advantage of the benefits from this agreement in the near future.

Regarding specific cooperation between Viet Nam and Scotland, Secretary Jack stated that the export value from Scotland to Viet Nam reached 83 million in 2022, an increase of 11 per cent compared to the previous year.

Under the UKVFTA, 45 per cent of import duties on Scottish whisky are gradually reduced to 0 per cent over six years.

With the achievements in bilateral trade between Viet Nam and Scotland, the Vietnamese trade official expressed hope that Vietnamese specialty products, especially agricultural products, could have deeper access to supermarket chains, supply chains, and consumers in Scotland and the UK market in general in the near future.

Regarding the Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP), Deputy Minister Tan also appreciates the UK's active participation as a partner and their willingness to support Viet Nam in fulfilling its commitments to greenhouse gas emissions reduction.

The Ministry of Industry and Trade is also urgently coordinating with relevant ministries and sectors to promptly develop a plan for implementing JETP within the framework of the Technology and Energy Group and will continue to closely collaborate with the relevant agencies and organisations of the UK in the future.

At the meeting, both sides have also agreed on plans to organise the 14th Viet Nam-UK Joint Economic and Trade Committee (JETCO 14) and the 3rd meeting of the Joint Trade Committee for the UKVFTA in 2024 in the UK.  VNS

The UKVFTA locks in 65 per cent of all tariffs that have been eliminated since the EU-Viet Nam FTA entered into force. This will increase to 99 per cent of tariffs after a schedule of between 6-9 years. This secures import tariff elimination for products such as clothing, fabric and footwear  meaning customers and businesses may benefit from lower prices on these products. Tariffs will be reduced per a schedule that stipulates equal annual reductions from entry into force of the agreement.

With such commitments, the UK exporters to Viet Nam and the UK importers from Viet Nam stand to benefit. Specifically:

 For goods exported by UK exporters to Viet Nam:

- 48.5 per cent of tariffs lines were eliminated on January 1, 2021;

- 91.8 per cent of tariff lines will be eliminated by January 1, 2027;

- 98.3 per cent of tariff lines will be eliminated by January 1, 2029;

- 1.7 per cent of tariff lines are partially liberalised through tariff rate quotas (the quota volumes are consistent with Viet Nam's WTO commitments and duties within quotas will be removed by 2031) or not entitled to preferential treatment.

 For goods imported by the UK importers from Viet Nam:

- 85.6 per cent of tariff lines were eliminated on January 1, 2021;

- 99.2 per cent of tariff lines will be eliminated by January 1, 2027;

- 0.8 per cent of tariff lines are partially liberalised through tariff rate quotas (with preferential tariffs for in-quota products of 0 per cent).
CALIFORNIA  Synopsys Inc and Viet Nams National Innovation Centre (NIC) on Monday announced their collaboration to advance integrated circuit (IC) design expertise in Viet Nam. This partnership entails Synopsyss support for the establishment of a chip design incubation centre by NIC.

NIC is currently setting up the infrastructure for the IC design incubation centre at Hoa Lac High-Tech Park in Ha Noi. Synopsys will contribute its advanced prototyping and emulation technologies to enhance software and hardware System-on-Chip (SoC) co-designs. The collaboration's primary objectives are to nurture a skilled IC design workforce and foster the startup design community in Viet Nam, aligning with the Vietnamese government's strategy to expand the IC design workforce and related startup ecosystem.

Synopsys will provide training licenses, including curriculum, educational resources, and a "Train the Trainers" programme to assist NIC in establishing the chip design incubation center, which is anticipated to open soon.

Vo Xuan Hoai, Vice Director of NIC, said: "Synopsys is a leader in semiconductor design software, IP and software security innovation. The company's cutting-edge design technology will greatly benefit NIC's IC design incubation centre in Viet Nam, equipping our future chip designers with the latest industry trends. This collaboration promises to bolster Viet Nam's semiconductor industry as a whole."

Dr. Robert Li, Synopsys Sales Vice President of Taiwan and South Asia, commented: "NIC serves as Viet Nam's innovation hub in the high-tech industry, and we are delighted to support the establishment of NIC's chip design incubation center with Synopsys' advanced technology. Over recent years, Synopsys has introduced numerous innovative technologies to our Vietnamese partners, aiding them in strengthening IC design capabilities and reducing time-to-market.

We hope that our collaboration with NIC will not only yield new technologies for our Vietnamese partners but also nurture young talent and drive the development of Vietnam's semiconductor industry."

The NIC, established in 2019, aims to support and develop Viet Nam's innovation ecosystem, including the semiconductor industry, aligning with the country's growth model based on science and technology.

Minister of Planning and Investment Nguyen Chi Dung highlights Viet Nam's potential for semiconductor industry development, citing a stable political system and advantageous geographical location. The Vietnamese Government is actively promoting investment cooperation and the growth of the semiconductor sector. Ministries like Planning and Investment, Information and Communications, among others, have been entrusted with crafting a comprehensive industry development plan and a human resource initiative aimed at training 50,000 engineers for the industry by 2030.  VNS
The hydro-meteorology sector is actively deploying Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) to monitor dangerous weather conditions, utilise satellite data, ultrasonic technology, radar, laser technology and other advanced tools. Dr Tran Hong Thai, Director General of the Department of Meteorology and Hydrology under the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment spoke with the Vietnam News Agency about taking advantages of technology to reduce the risks of natural disasters.

Could you assess the achievements of the hydro-meteorological sector amid increasingly complex and unpredictable natural disasters?

The Department of Meteorology and Hydrology has focused on perfecting policy frameworks and enhancing the State management capacity in the field of meteorology and hydrology. This includes improving fundamental investigation procedures, community-serving forecasting, data storage, climate change monitoring, and international cooperation. Simultaneously, it has bolstered the inspection and timely adjustment of meteorological and hydrological activities in accordance with legal regulations.

The department is currently proposing to the Prime Minister for consideration the project on modernisation of the meteorology and hydrology sector by 2025 and the 2026-2030 period. It is finalising the network planning for the national meteorological and hydrological station system for the period of 2021-2030, with a vision until 2050, to present to the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment and the Prime Minister for approval.

The department has recommended Decision No18/2021/QD-TTg, which was issued on April 22, 2021, defining the forecasting, warning, and disaster information dissemination and risk level assessment. This decision is aligned with the current practical requirements of forecasting, warning, and disaster information dissemination.

In the area of weather and disaster forecasting, the department has intensified the issuance of specialised forecasting and warning reports to support directive and managerial activities, event organisation and social life. It has also modernised weather forecasting with a contemporary approach aligned with advanced countries worldwide.

The department has successfully updated its information system. Research on the application of advanced specialised equipment is underway to ensure the stable operation of meteorological and hydrological information systems.

Research projects at all levels are witnessing a surge in new studies related to artificial intelligence (AI) to serve the modernisation efforts of the department and contribute effectively to its mission, both within the department and for society as a whole.

In addition, international cooperation continues to expand, significantly contributing to enhancing technical capabilities, financial resources, information exchange, personnel training and the protection of national sovereignty.

The development strategy of the meteorology and hydrology sector was issued and approved by the Prime Minister on November 23, 2021. How has this strategy been implemented?

The Department of Meteorology and Hydrology has intensified efforts in educating and raising awareness and responsibilities of various sectors and the public regarding meteorological and hydrological work. This includes the promotion of Directive No.10-CT/TW issued by the Party Central Committee.

We have streamlined the extraction, utilisation and integration of meteorological and hydrological information and data, monitoring climate change, into the socio-economic development strategies of various ministries, sectors, and localities. It has also strengthened inspections and audits of policy and legal compliance in meteorological and hydrological activities.

The department is currently formulating network planning for the national meteorological and hydrological station system for the period 2021-2030, in order to review and amend it to align with the Planning Law. This planning is under finalisation, taking into account input from the Planning Review Council before submission to the Prime Minister for approval.

The department has developed and submitted key projects to authorised levels for review and approval, with the goal of modernising and automating the national meteorological and hydrological observation network, as well as the information acquisition and forecasting technology.

Furthermore, we have continued to promote research and the application of scientific and technological advancements in forecasting and warning against dangerous weather conditions with the aim of enhancing forecasting and warning capabilities and the quality of disaster information. This aims to establish meteorological and hydrological data repositories integrated into the resource and environmental data systems, ensuring timely, reliable, and highly accurate information, especially regarding the risks of dangerous and extraordinary weather conditions.

Legal regulations and guidelines for meteorological and hydrological activities have become more specific. However, the demands for meteorological and hydrological forecasting and warning are increasing. The frequency and severity of dangerous weather conditions are on the rise. Additionally, the need for socio-economic development requires the department to align more closely with practical realities.

We are facing challenges in integrating with resource and environmental monitoring networks or other national networks. Budget allocation for the development and modernisation of the meteorological and hydrological sector remains limited.

Investing in the meteorology and hydrology sector requires taking a proactive approach. What solutions does the department have to ensure the capacity to provide timely meteorological and hydrological information for disaster prevention and response?

First and foremost, the department is focusing on refining its mechanisms, policies, and organisational structure by reviewing, amending, and supplementing certain provisions of the Meteorology and Hydrology Law. It is also developing and adjusting a system of standards, technical standards, and economic-technical norms related to meteorological and hydrological activities. Simultaneously, the department is streamlining its organisational structure to be more professional and aligned with the strategic development goals of the sector.

We are increasing investments in equipment and technology for automated data collection and processing within the surface meteorological network, upper-air meteorology, hydrology, and marine meteorology. We are also expanding the network of automatic rain gauge stations, especially in areas prone to landslides, flash floods, and flooding, such as the northern mountainous regions, central regions, and Central Highlands.

Additionally, the department is employing Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) to monitor dangerous weather conditions, utilise satellite data for Earth observation, and implement ultrasonic, radar, laser and digital camera technologies in the field of meteorology and hydrology.

Furthermore, the department is working on enhancing the centralised data integration system, developing and perfecting shared-use mission-specific software systems for data management, sharing, and dissemination of meteorological and hydrological information. We are building an intelligent meteorological forecasting support system, impact forecasting system, and specialised systems for storms, tropical depression forecasting, and numerical weather model systems that homogenise various surface and remote sensing data types.

In particular, we are working to improve the quality of quantitative precipitation forecasting, from very short-term forecasts to forecasts up to two to three days in advance.

In comprehensive risk assessments and detailed regional assessments of meteorological and hydrological disasters, the department will continue to update climate and water resources, establish a real-time monitoring and warning system for landslides and flash floods in mountainous, midland areas, and down to district and commune levels.

We will also carry out integration and synchronisation of hydrological forecasting models in river basins, along with the development of tools for detailed forecasting of flood extent and depth in downstream areas of river basins and reservoirs.

We will continue research to apply modern technology solutions in forecasting and warning for storms, heavy rainfall, thunderstorms, lightning, flash floods, and landslides. Various meteorological and hydrological forecasting and warning products will also be deployed and disseminated diversely through digital technology platforms.  VNS
By Tran Khanh An

Working in the tourism and marketing industry for more than 20 years, Kerry Newsome had the opportunity to visit Viet Nam for the first time in 2007. Now, it seems, Viet Nam has cast her under its spell.

She comes back two or three times a year to keep up to date with the ever-changing landscape of the country. She strives to explore and gain knowledge of different regions during every trip, always discovering something new from north to south.

Most of the time when she visits, Kerry lives in Hoi An, a place she considers her second home.

Hoi An is a comfy and alluring city. I enjoy leisurely strolls, exploring new areas, and discovering its enchanting alleyways, Kerry said.

For 15 years, she developed a passion for Viet Nam which led her to work with a local hotel group and tour operator as a tourism consultant.

In 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, Kerry was forced to cut her trip short and head back to her home in Sydney, not knowing when she would be back.

Missing Viet Nam, Kerry decided to take this country's travel experiences to a new level and began hosting her own podcast called What about Vietnam.

She said: My goal at the time was to maintain a strong presence in Viet Nam's tourism industry, even during a time when many people were unable to travel. I wish to inspire more individuals to discover and appreciate this beautiful country.

Kerry's podcast features a diverse range of guest speakers, not only travellers who have visited different destinations of Viet Nam, but also expats currently living and working here.

Industry experts, hotel and tour managers are also invited to share their insights.

As someone who works in the tourism industry, she is well-positioned to offer advice to travellers. Drawing from both personal experience and her network, she can provide real insights into the complexities and nuances of tourism in Viet Nam.

Her listeners can expect to hear about unique and memorable experiences of travel and tourism in Viet Nam that they may not find in guidebooks.

Kerry often leads her audience on a captivating tour of some of the most fascinating localities. However, her exploration does not stop there.

She also delves into the expat experience in Viet Nam, showcasing the local cuisine, and highlights unique activities like cooking classes, social enterprises, local handicrafts and the growing interest in wellness and cultural experiences with local minority groups in the north.

I try to keep my listeners interested in all travel-related aspects of Viet Nam, she said.

Since launching in May 2020, What About Vietnam has a growing audience of more than 70,000 listeners from all around the world, but English-speaking and mostly Westerners.

She wants to create content related to their experiences and take away any wrong perceived views they may have about Viet Nam.

In addition, Kerry also supports local charities. Through the CEF Childrens Education Foundation, she supported two Vietnamese girls in Quang Nam to help their education and gain a place at university.

Their father had just passed away, and they were not able to attend school as they would need to work in the rice fields with their mother to earn a living, Kerry shared.

Kerry and her husband decided to support the CEF Foundation and the girls, to allow them to continue school until the girls finished university.

During those years, the girls and I would meet up and have lunch together, or do a cooking class or even go swimming, she said.

Currently, Kerry offers trip-planning advice to her clients about Viet Nam. In the future, she wants to grow her business as a trip advisor. She has some great ideas on the drawing board.

She said: I have already designed a Girls Getaway tour. Female travellers often cannot find somebody to travel with, and they also assume that travelling alone to Viet Nam is not safe.

"By joining an all-girl tour, female visitors not only feel confident to explore to the fullest but also have the opportunity to make new friends and enjoy the trip in a well-cared way for the environment."

The biggest news for Kerry is her expansion into medical tourism.

Medical tourism in Viet Nam is not as well-known compared to Thailand," she said.

"I hope to raise the awareness of the skills and talents of medical procedures in Viet Nam, and support the patients with travel experiences and stays as a subset of their recovery and or treatment."

"It will benefit many as these kinds of treatments are often unaffordable for many in the west."

Her podcast can be listened to across most of the popular podcast channels or via the website https://www.whataboutvietnam.com/.  VNS
TOKYO, Oct 05 ( News On Japan ) - A 48-year-old voice actor known for dubbing movies such as "RoboCop" was arrested for allegedly snatching a bag from an elderly woman in her 80s at Haneda Airport and injuring a man in his 60s who was chasing him.

The suspect, identified as Kazutaka Nakao, also known as Kazutaka Nakaoichi, is suspected of stealing a handbag from an 80-year-old woman sitting on a sofa at Haneda Airport Terminal 2 last month, and assaulted a man in his 60s who was pursuing him, causing injury.

At the time, Nakao was planning to board a plane while under the influence of alcohol.

During questioning, Nakao denied the allegations, stating that he thought the bag belonged to his manager.

Immediately prior to this incident, Nakao had been caught stealing a wallet worth approximately 14,000 yen from a store in the airport.
HA NOI  Chairman of the National Assembly's Foreign Affairs Committee Vu Hai Ha on Wednesday received the Secretary of State for Scotland Alister Jack, who was on a working visit to Viet Nam.

Chairman Ha was pleased to see that the relationship between the two countries has continued to develop well in recent years, especially since the upgrade of the bilateral relations to Strategic Partnership and the signing of various free trade agreements (FTAs), including the Viet Nam-UK FTA (UKVFTA).

He affirmed Viet Nam's support and congratulated the UK on completing the negotiations to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), expressing confidence that the effective implementation of the FTAs that both sides participate in will bring tangible benefits to the people of both countries.

Secretary Jack underscored that the CPTPP is a new generation FTA with a large scale, opening up more cooperation opportunities between Viet Nam and the UK.

The UK official expressed his desire for both sides to further promote bilateral cooperation in economic, trade, and other fields, contributing to deepening, practical, and effective Strategic Partnership between Viet Nam and the UK.

Ha said that the bilateral trade turnover between Viet Nam and the UK reached US$6.84 billion in 2022, an increase of 3.5 per cent compared to 2021. With the UK's completion of the negotiations to join the CPTPP, it will serve as a lever for trade growth between the two countries.

In addition to economic and trade cooperation, Ha proposed that the UK continue to support Viet Nam in building institutions, policies, training human resources, and transferring technology in the process of green transformation and sustainable development. He also called for enhanced cooperation in the field of education and training, including collaborative training programs with Scottish universities.

Agreeing with the proposal of the NA official, Secretary Alister Jack expressed his desire for the Vietnamese parliament and Government to continue to pay attention to removing obstacles and difficulties regarding institutions, and to create favorable conditions for British businesses to invest and operate in Viet Nam.  VNS
HA NOI  Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh on Wednesday affirmed that the outcomes of cooperation between Hanoi and Vientiane vividly demonstrated the traditional, special friendship between Viet Nam and Laos.

At a reception for Vientiane's Mayor Atsaphangthong Siphandone, who is in Ha Noi on the occasion of the 69th anniversary of Ha Noi's Liberation Day (October 10, 1954-2023), the PM lauded significant contributions by Vientiane to achievements Laos has recorded over the past nearly four decades of reform.

The Vietnamese Party and State always give the highest priority to maintaining and promoting the unique fraternal relations and friendship between the two countries, and support and facilitate cooperation between their localities, including the capital cities, the leader stressed.

He suggested the Party Organisations, authorities and people of Ha Noi and Vientiane coordinate to build a specific plan in order to concretise high-level agreements reached by the two countries, and other cooperation documents.

The two sides should continue with the exchange of delegations and experience in city management, and people-to-people exchanges, enhance activities between women and youth associations, and intensify strategic infrastructure connectivity, he said.

At the same time, they should foster collaboration in the areas in which both have strengths and potential like high-tech agriculture and tourism, while boosting trade and investment ties, he said, noting that Ha Noi investors should invest in Laoss priority fields such as bio-technology, health care and logistics.

The PM also mentioned cooperation in high-quality personnel training, especially in new spheres, cultural exchanges, and the information work to raise public awareness of the great relations between the two countries and their capital cities.

Hanoi and Vientiane should cooperate and support each other to complete institutions and spur socio-economic development, he said.

For his part, Atsaphangthong shared the PMs views, saying the two capital cities will increase all-level delegation exchanges, and effectively implement cooperation programmes in various areas, including transport infrastructure, education-training, investment, trade, culture and tourism, as well as exchanges between residents.

He conveyed regards from Lao Prime Minister Sonexay Siphandone to PM Chinh.

PM Chinh also asked the Mayor to convey his regards to Party General Secretary and President of Laos Thongloun Sisoulith, PM Sonexay Siphandone, National Assembly Chairman Saysomphone Phomvihane, and other incumbent and former Party, State and NA leaders of the neighbouring country.  VNS
HA NOI  Chairman of the Ha Noi Peoples Committee Tran Sy Thanh and Mayor of Vientiane (Laos) Atsaphangthong Siphandone discussed measures to forge cooperation between the two capital cities in the time ahead at their talks in Ha Noi on Wednesday.

Thanh described the relationship between the capital cities a bright spot contributing to the Viet Nam-Laos relations, stressing the cooperation agreement between the Ha Noi Party Organisation and administration and their Vientiane counterparts for the 2022-2025 has created a framework and momentum for cooperation between the two cities to grow further in the time ahead.

He suggested the two sides enhance collaboration in digital transformation, e-administration, cyberspace management and cybercrime combat.

The official briefed his guest on Viet Nam's socio-economic situation, as well as remarkable achievements Ha Noi made in the first nine months of this year, and noted his hope that he and the Vientiane Mayor will reach consensus on coordination formats at different levels in order to raise capacity in some new technology areas.

For his part, Athsaphangthong suggested promoting cooperation activities to build a democratic political system at the district level, and expressed his hope for closer, and more intensive, extensive and practical cooperation between Ha Noi and Vientiane.  VNS
HA NOI  Japanese Minister of Foreign Affairs Yoko Kamikawa will visit Viet Nam on October 10-11, at the invitation of Vietnamese counterpart Bui Thanh Son.

Spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Pham Thu Hang said on Thursday that the visit takes place as the Viet Nam-Japan relations are "flourishing comprehensively in all aspects with a very high level of political trust."

The two sides are promoting engagements via exchanging delegations at both high level and all levels as well as exchanges between localities, and also recently Viet Nam had a visit by Crown Prince Akishino and the Crown Princess Kiko of Japan.

Viet Nam and Japan are celebrating the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations in 2023, and since the start of the year, almost 500 events have been held to commemorate this.

The foreign minister of Japan is expected to hold talks with Vietnamese counterpart Son as well as have meetings with other Vietnamese senior leaders.  VNS
HA NOI  Viet Nam rejects claims of 'politically motivated' 'cracking down' on environmentalists and using them as bargaining tools in international relations.

Spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Pham Thu Hang rebuked the allegations as "ill intent" at the regular press conference held on Thursday in Ha Noi, in response to questions over recent arrests and the jailing of leaders of environmentalist NGOs.

"This is false information used with ill intents with regards to Viet Nam's efforts to combat and prevent crimes, as well as Viet Nam's diplomatic activities," Hang said.

The information regarding these cases has been provided to press members through the Ministry of Public Security, she noted.

"These cases involved the violation of Vietnamese laws, and the individuals have been investigated, prosecuted and brought to trial in accordance with the laws of Viet Nam," Hang said.

The latest one to be detained is Ngo Thi To Nhien, Executive Director of Viet Nam Initiative for Energy Transition Social Enterprise, who is charged with appropriating internal documents from the state-owned utility corporation Electricity of Viet Nam (EVN).

She is accused of 'hiring' on contracts two officials from EVN to gain illegal access to its internal documents and information.

"These are internal documents, which are not allowed to be shared or publicised," Lieutenant To An Xo, spokesperson for the Ministry of Public Security said last week.

"The Ministry of Public Security rejected the slanderous allegations and considered it an act of interference in Viet Nam's internal activities," he said in response to foreign media's claims of a "crackdown" on environmentalists.

Previously in late September, Hoang Thi Minh Hong, 51, leader of the environmental NGO CHANGE, was sentenced to three years in prison for 'tax evasion' on unreported revenues of VN69 billion.

She was also ordered to pay an additional fine of VN100 million.

Four other cases that were brought to trial in 2022 include ang inh Bach (born in 1978), director of the non-profit Law & Policy of Sustainable Development (LPSD), who was given a five-year prison sentence, also for tax evasion with regards to unreported use of funds from foreign and domestic organisations; Mai Phan Loi (1971) and Bach Hung Duong (1975) executives from Media Education for Community (MEC), who were given 48 months and 30 months, respectively, in prison for tax evasion crimes; and Nguy Thi Khanh, founder of GreenID, who was imprisoned for two years, also for tax evasion.

Jet deal

On the allegation of Viet Nam's talks with the United States on the potential purchase of F16 fighter jets, spokesperson Hang said currently they don't have information regarding the case.

"However, if you have recalled recently, the joint leaders' statement between Viet Nam and the US on the upgrade of bilateral ties to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership for Peace, Cooperation and Sustainable Development outlined the key direction of cooperation in the next 10 years and beyond across 10 areas of cooperation, including bilateral collaboration and cooperation on regional and global issues," she said.  VNS
HA NOI  Chairman of the National Assembly (NA) Vuong inh Hue received Lao Ambassador to Viet Nam Sengphet Houngboungnuang in Ha Noi on Thursday, lauding the outgoing diplomats significant contributions to relations between the two countries and the two parliaments.

Congratulating his guest on having excellently fulfilled duties, Hue said during the ambassadors term in Viet Nam, despite complex developments in the region and the world as well as the COVID-19 pandemic, the great friendship, special solidarity, and comprehensive cooperation between the Parties, States, and peoples of Viet Nam and Laos have been increasingly reinforced.

He noted Sengphet Houngboungnuang has helped promote the substantive, practical, and fruitful ties between the two parliaments, especially in the activities marking the countries Solidarity and Friendship Year 2022. The NAs of Viet Nam and Laos have also maintained frequent mutual visits at all levels while sharing experience in institutional building, socioeconomic development, and defence-security safeguarding.

The Vietnamese NA supports and is ready to assist and share experience with its Lao counterpart so that the Lao side will successfully host the high-level conference among the parliaments of Cambodia, Laos, and Viet Nam in Vientiane in early this December, and the 45th General Assembly of the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly (AIPA-45) in October 2024, the top legislator affirmed.

Agreeing with his host, the ambassador said relations between the two countries, including the parliaments, have continued to be enhanced and develop well.

He considered the newly established bilateral cooperation mechanisms, the cooperation between the countries Parties, NAs and Governments, as well as the cooperation mechanism among Cambodia, Laos and Viet Nam as critically important to the friendship and partnerships among the three Indochinese nations.

The ambassador also took this occasion to thank the Vietnamese Party, State, and people for consistently supporting and assisting Laos during the struggle for national liberation in the past along with national development efforts at present, which he said demonstrates the special solidarity between the two countries.

Chairman Hue noted that aside from its own efforts, the achievements Viet Nam has gained are also partly attributable to the solidarity, cooperation, and assistance of neighbouring countries and international friends.

The Party, State, and people of Viet Nam always keep in mind and appreciate the support and assistance from Laos, he said, adding the special bonds between the countries are a priceless asset needing to be further maintained and promoted.  VNS
HA NOI  Vietnamese people have a relatively long life expectancy but many elderly people have to 'co-habit' with different illnesses for many years.

According to the General Department of Population and Family Planning, the number of elderly people in Viet Nam is expected to increase to 16.8 million in 2039 and reach 25.2 million in 2069.

Currently, the average life expectancy of Vietnamese people is 73.6 years with women having a longer life expectancy than men.

It is worth mentioning that, on average, the elderly in Viet Nam suffer from three to four diseases.

Vietnamese people have a relatively high life expectancy compared to other countries with the same standard of living, but have a higher number of years living with illness.

Dr. Pham Vu Hoang, the general departments deputy director, said that the issue of adapting to an aging population and caring for the health of the elderly is always a concern of the country because Viet Nam is currently has one of the fastest aging populations in the world.

Viet Nam began its population aging period in 2011 with the number of people aged 65 and older accounting for 7 per cent of the total population and after ten years, the number rose to 8.3 per cent of the total population, equivalent to 8.16 million elderly people, Hoang said.

It is forecasted that in Viet Nam from 2036 the proportion of the population aged 65 and over will reach 14.2 per cent of the total population, Hoang said.

An older population brings both opportunities and challenges.

Regarding opportunities, an older population can promote the development of fields such as insurance, banking, nutrition, tourism, technological innovation and applications of production and management in the context of a shortage of labour.

However, an older population also poses serious challenges in economic growth, social security, labour, and infrastructure, especially in the field of health care.

Elderly people often suffer from many non-communicable diseases that require long-term treatment such as blood pressure, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, dementia, hearing loss, and sleep disorders, among others.

Medical experts say that in order to help the elderly live happily, healthily, and usefully, mental health care for the elderly needs to be given more attention along with physical health. Disease prevention plays an important role, in which maintaining the habit of regular health checks, monitoring diseases and complying with medication use as prescribed by doctors is necessary.

The theme of Action Month 2023 of "The Elderly Are Fully Promoted and Cared for" has a profound humanistic meaning, especially in the context of Viet Nam being a country with a rapidly aging population.

In recent years, the Party and State have focused on caring for and protecting the elderly, including medical care.

Many policies and programmes for health care in particular and care for the elderly in general have been issued and implemented across the country.

Resolution No. 21-NQ/TW dated October 25, 2017 of the Party Central Committee on population has set the goal of adapting to an aging population.

Viet Nams Population Strategy to 2030 once again reaffirms that goal to contribute to rapid and sustainable development of the country.  VNS
HA NOI  A total of 400 representatives will attend the eighth National Congress of Vietnamese Catholics to Build and Protect the Fatherland for the term 2023-28.

The information was announced at a press conference on Wednesday by Vu Thanh Nam, chief of the Central Office of the Committee for Solidarity of Vietnamese Catholics (CSVC).

The two-day congress will start on the following Tuesday in Ha Noi.

Attendees will include priests, monks, and parishioners representing Catholics nationwide.

The congress is responsible for summarising and evaluating the working results of the previous congress  term 2018-23; and for developing directions and tasks for the patriotic emulation campaign among Catholics for the period 2023-28.

It aims to improve the work efficiency of the CSVC to meet the requirements and tasks of the new era, and actively contribute to the cause of building and protecting the Fatherland.

The work seeks to affirm that Catholic people will always support the nation's development.

The congress will negotiate and nominate priests, nuns, and parishioners with the requisite capacity, prestige, and conditions to join the eighth term of the CSVC.

The event will praise and reward organisations and individuals with outstanding achievements in the past term and promote the patriotic emulation campaign with a focus on fostering a new rural living lifestyle.

To date, 42 out of 63 provinces and cities across the country have founded local committees for the solidarity of Vietnamese Catholics.

The committees have a total of 2,758 members; of which 381 are priests, 183 are monks, and 2,159 are parishioners.

The activities of the CSVC at all levels continue to improve, with specific programmes and plans.

They coordinate closely with the Viet Nam Fatherland Front Committee at the same level.

Members of the CSVC at all levels emphasise their roles and responsibilities in the patriotic emulation campaign.

Thanks to this, the role and position of the CSVC in society and in national solidarity are increasingly affirmed.  VNS
BEN TRE The Mekong Delta province of Ben Tre has rolled out measures to tighten inspection over illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing prevention and control activities in the locality.

Vice Chairman of the provincial Peoples Committee Nguyen Minh Canh said that the locality will launch a campaign against IUU fishing on mass media in preparation for receiving the European Committee (EC) inspection team this month.

Along with continuing to equip fishing boats with vessel monitoring systems (VMS), the province has focused on supervising the operation of vessels with a high risk of violating IUU fishing regulations and those operating in bordering waters.

It has coordinated with the coast guard force to handle arising issues at sea to prevent violations, while monitoring vessel activities in ports.

Since 2022, Ben Tre has deleted the registration of 643 vessels that no longer operate, while granting exploitation licences to 89.62% of the local fishing vessels.

From 2019, the province has crossed out and handled 28 vessels violating foreign waters, collecting an administrative fine of 20.15 billion VND (US$824,805).

As part of efforts to combat IUU fishing, the central province of Quang Ngai on October 4 decided to fine the owners of two fishing vessels in Quang Ngai city with a fine of nearly 900 million VND for violations in fishing activities and vessel registration.

Over the years, Quang Ngai has worked hard to increase awareness and implement the Fisheries Law and fishing regulations among local fishermen, while strengthening supervision over IUU fishing activities, thus joining efforts to remove the ECs yellow card on Vietnamese seafood export.

Earlier on October 2, Vice Chairman of the provincial Peoples Committee Tran Phuoc Hien signed documents asking the provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Development to coordinate with relevant agencies to inspect and handle 45 24m-long vessels losing VMS signals for more than 10 days.

Meanwhile, the Mekong Delta province of Kien Giang is finalising preparations to receive the EC inspection team from October 10-15.

Deputy Director of the provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Development Quang Trong Thao said that the locality has committed to strong IUU combat, developing a responsible and sustainable fisheries sector by enforcing the Fishery Law 2017.

Thao said that the EC team will focus on examining the activities of vessels at fishing ports, the control of fishing violations on foreign waters, the implementation of regulations on VMS installation as well as regulations on registration and licence issuance for fishing vessels. They also plan to review the control over the origin of seafood exported to Europe. It will work with a number of local firms engaging in exporting seafood to Europe to inspect their dossiers and procedures of tracing product origin, he added.

Chairman of the Kien Giang Peoples Committee Lam Minh Thanh asked the department to coordinate with other sectors to make documents for working sessions with the EC inspection team, clearly showing the localitys determination and drastic actions in developing responsible and sustainable fisheries as well as preventing and fighting IUU fishing and observing EC recommendations.

So far, 99.32% fishing vessels with a length from 15m in Kien Giang have installed a VMS device, while the rate of vessels with daily VMS contact has reached 75%, 15% higher than the countrys average. VNS
GENEVA  Director-General of the World Health Organisation (WHO) Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus hailed achievements of the Vietnamese health sector in his congratulatory video sent to the sector on Thursday.

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said he is very proud to witness the changes in medicine and health care in Viet Nam over the past decades, as since 1945, the countrys life expectancy has increased by many years, with significant reductions in preventable diseases, including the eradication of polio, as well as great strides in tackling diseases like malaria, HIV, and tuberculosis.

Viet Nam has also expanded the health insurance system, helping it gain achievements in health care for its people, he said, adding that progress has also been made in addressing risk factors for non-communicable diseases such as reducing the smoking rate.

Recently, Viet Nam has also shown its capacity to respond strongly to the COVID-19 pandemic, including carrying out vaccinations comprehensively and quickly, and always targeting the most vulnerable groups.

WHO is proud to be a trusted partner of the Vietnamese Government and people and is committed to maintaining strong coordination and support for the country on its journey to bring a healthier, safer and more prosperous life to all Vietnamese, the WHO leader stated.  VNS
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Khuat Quang Hung, director of Corporate Affairs, Nestle Vietnam

Sustainable development is no longer a future trend. Indeed, sustainable development has become a matter of today. It is a requirement for every business, and the logistics industry in particular.

As the world's largest food and beverage group, Nestle has made its presence in Vietnam since 1995. The company always sets sustainable development as a standard in its production, business, and supply chain activities.

Our approach to sustainability is wide-ranging, underpinned by commitments to strive for net-zero emissions and deforestation-free supply chains and to advance regenerative agriculture at scale. Alongside, we are committed to improving water stewardship, developing better packaging with improved circularity, creating opportunities for young people and building a diverse and inclusive workforce.

Mai Hoang, co-founder and CEO of GHN Logistics

E-commerce sellers are making efforts to reduce shipping prices to the lowest level. To facilitate the goal, businesses are applying software technology and improving human productivity to cut costs.

It is worth noting that land has become scarce around the downtown of Ho Chi Minh City. That is the reason why GHN chose SLP's warehouse in Xuyen A. Although the warehouse has yet to achieve its full capacity, GHN still rents this warehouse cluster of up to 50,000 square metres. The company has also applied technology to minimise risks and improve delivery speed.

In addition, e-commerce is a unique industry due to the daily changes in demand between in-person and online shopping. However, the e-commerce industry still records a growth rate of 2030 per cent. Therefore, GHN always makes investments in the central warehouse to accommodate future demand.

Truong Bui, partner and general director of Roland Berger

Businesses must promote the use of technology and digital transformation to successfully achieve their objectives in the last-mile delivery sector.

Accordingly, technology can reduce 15-25 per cent of the last-mile delivery costs for businesses. However, if Vietnamese businesses want to adopt any technology, they need to have a clear and comprehensive strategy on how to reduce costs to the lowest level. In terms of capacity, businesses must know how to take advantage of customer databases to create the best experience for users.

In addition, businesses must bring technology from abroad to Vietnam. However, they need to make adjustments to apply the technology to the domestic market so that they can achieve success in last-mile delivery. Also, businesses should have specific roadmaps to manage operating costs to improve competitiveness in the market.

Sam Tan, head of New Product Introduction at UB Malaysia

Malaysia is strongly moving towards automation. We also have some very valuable lessons and experiences from applying and deploying automation technology in recent times.

The automation trend started since 20 years ago. This trend is now rapidly gaining traction. However, we are unable to use the most cutting-edge technologies right away. Businesses must have a learning curve to adopt a certain technology. They need to evaluate the level, feasibility and other factors to ensure the adoption in line with reality.

The next step is educating people how to use the technology and gauge the efficiency and success. In addition, when using AI, we also need to consider how the digitalisation process will go. We must comprehend the nature of data. Currently, many firms are not taking this issue very seriously.

Alexander Olsen, vice president of Freight Management & Commercial at ITL

We are implementing many initiatives to pursue sustainable development in warehouses, energy, and electric vehicles (EVs). In particular, ITL is building an EV fleet. However, in Vietnam, there are not many EV sellers while the infrastructure for such vehicles is not yet developed, making it difficult to use EVs.

In addition, if you want to build an electric charging station, you must apply for permission from many agencies and follow several steps. Thus, developing infrastructure and charging stations remain a big problem.

To promote sustainable development, Vietnam should unlock the great potential of river and sea transport, in which the use of barges will help save costs and reduce environmental pollution. In addition, it is also possible to optimise the costs by using renewable energy.
Edwin Chee, COO of SLP Vietnam, shed light on the dynamic shifts in the logistics sector and SLP's role in shaping Vietnam's future amid a changing global landscape

According to Chee, recent global trade disruptions, whether from the trade war between the US and China, the repercussions of the pandemic, or escalating geopolitical tensions, have instigated an essential paradigm shift.

Chee believes that the term 'friend-shoring' is now at the forefront of conversations. This concept, which emphasises the relocation of supply chains to nations with shared values, has been garnering immense traction.

"Vietnam, in recent times, has seen encouraging progress. Our adaptability amid these changes truly sets us apart. Leading organisations are pivotal in moulding the supply network during this transformative phase. Addressing the intricacies of these geopolitical evolutions and leveraging upcoming prospects demands a concerted effort from both the public and private sectors," Chee elaborated.

SLP, a stalwart of industrial and logistic infrastructure development in Southeast Asia, falls under the wide umbrella of GLP Capital Partners, GLP's global fund management entity.

The group manages an impressive $125 billion in assets and boasts a footprint in 17 nations, encompassing the likes of the US, Japan, Brazil, India, China, and, of course, Vietnam.

"Our vast experience across multiple markets, robust global network, and our enduring commitment to Vietnam uniquely positions us to bolster the logistics sectors within the country. We envision ourselves as the preferred partner aiding our customers in their growth trajectories," Chee said.

The summit's keynote speakers are geared up to delve deep into domestic shifts that impact our supply chains. Moreover, they will offer a holistic view of burgeoning global trends, granting attendees a foresighted perspective on the logistics and supply chain management of tomorrow.

He concluded, "Today's summit is more than just an event. It's a golden opportunity to knit together policymakers, business moguls, investors, and experts from various domains. Our collective aim is to scrutinise and navigate the challenges and opportunities the logistics sector holds for the future. Together, we can spearhead innovation, enhance efficiency, and chart a course for sustainable growth by harmonising our efforts and pooling our collective knowledge."

Logistics sector a golden egg for progress across Vietnam Vietnam has been the top choice for global investors in terms of logistics industrial sectors in Asia-Pacific. Trang Bui, country head of Cushman & Wakefield Vietnam, determines how this came to be, and analyses the tasks set towards 2030.

Logistics Summit 2023 will open on October 5 The Logistics Summit 2023, jointly organised by VIR and SLP Vietnam under the auspices of the Ministry of Planning and Investment, will take place in Ho Chi Minh City on October 5.
Nestle Vietnam completes supply chain to contribute to sustainable development

Accordingly Nestle's sustainability approach is comprehensive, strengthened by various commitments to strive for net-zero emissions and deforestation-free supply chains and to advance regenerative agriculture at scale. In addition, Nestle is committed to improving water stewardship, developing better packaging with improved circularity, creating opportunities for young people and building a diverse and inclusive workforce.

Hung also talked about the Nestle Supplier Code which serves as a fundamental framework for building the mutual business relationship with suppliers, including transportation and logistics companies.

"Our Supplier Code is built upon four key pillars including Human Rights, Safety and Health, Environment Sustainability, and Business Integrity," said Hung. "We highly value our partnerships with suppliers who share our commitments and implement responsible and ethical practices."

Hung highlighted that Nestle Vietnam focuses on optimising its supply chain to reduce environmental impact. This includes initiatives to minimise energy consumption, greenhouse gas emissions, and water usage throughout the entire supply chain. By implementing efficient transportation and distribution practices, the company aims to reduce carbon emissions associated with logistics operations.

Besides, Nestle emphasises responsible sourcing and sustainable procurement practices. The company works closely with suppliers to ensure they adhere to ethical and sustainable standards, promoting fair labor practices and responsible resource management. Additionally, Nestle is committed to transparency and traceability. Through advanced technologies and digital solutions, Nestle tracks and monitors its supply chain to ensure compliance with sustainability standards and to identify areas for improvement.

"We have invested in digital transformation for all logistics activities to connect with global markets and promote import and export activities," added Hung. "We also optimise the transportation and distribution of goods in the domestic market."

In 2022, Nestle Vietnam deployed a smart application called Cargoo to connect manufacturers with importers and shipping lines. This platform helps track the status of the entire freight process between partners for each order. Partners can also retrieve shipment information when needed, make reservations with shipping lines, and manage import and export documents.

For the domestic market, Nestle Vietnam applies a smart application for warehouse and transportation management. For the last two years, Nestle Vietnam has been digitising its freight centre system, changing the company's operations in terms of receiving orders, allocating transportation, operating warehouses, and tracking delivery to customers.

Automated order allocation helps optimise transportation. For example, small orders are combined and transported on the same trip, shortening the total distance, reducing emissions from transportation activities, and contributing to the net-zero roadmap.

Logistics landscape changing through e-commerce overhaul The promising e-commerce sector in Vietnam, which has seen exponential growth and is projected to surpass regional counterparts such as Thailand, Philippines, Malaysia, and Singapore, has had a profound impact on the logistics industry.

Logistics sector a golden egg for progress across Vietnam Vietnam has been the top choice for global investors in terms of logistics industrial sectors in Asia-Pacific. Trang Bui, country head of Cushman & Wakefield Vietnam, determines how this came to be, and analyses the tasks set towards 2030.

Logistics Summit 2023 will open on October 5 The Logistics Summit 2023, jointly organised by VIR and SLP Vietnam under the auspices of the Ministry of Planning and Investment, will take place in Ho Chi Minh City on October 5.
Nguyen Van Dong, chairman of the Vietnam Printing Association (VPA), highlighted both the substantial potential and looming risks present in Vietnams printing and packaging industries at an exhibition in Ho Chi Minh City last week.

Neighbouring countries are struggling with market development, while we present promising growth in printing and packaging. Last year, we welcomed numerous foreign companies exploring investment environments and production partnerships, Dong said.

Overseas packaging titans continue to snap up locals, Source: VNA

However, more than 10 major Vietnamese packaging corporations have been acquired by foreign investors, and the acquisition trend underscores the potential vulnerability of domestic entities that are unable to attract competent successors and lack the robust business acumen required to meet market challenges posed by foreign corporations, Dong added.

A few months ago, a packaging company in Hanoi decided to sell 80 per cent of its ownership to a foreign company, he said.

Among those, Thai conglomerate SCG Group has been at the forefront, actively acquiring local manufacturers within the printing industry to augment its foothold in Vietnam.

Several acquisitions by SCG, such as 80 per cent of Tin Thanh Packaging, 94 per cent of Bien Hoa Packaging, and 70 per cent of Duy Tan Plastics, have facilitated its rapid expansion in the industry, enhancing its capability to serve fast-moving consumer goods manufacturers and consumers in Vietnam.

With geographical proximity and cultural parallels granting SCG and other Thai conglomerates an advantage over European, South Korean, and Japanese enterprises, SCG now supervises over 20 subsidiaries in Vietnam.

Other foreign brands in the packaging industry include Tetra Pak, which launched its specialised centre for food and beverage innovation in July, in collaboration with DenEast, a contract manufacturing service provider.

Another high-profile foreign name in the packaging industry is Swiss aseptic packaging solutions provider SIG, which celebrated 25 years in Southeast Asia this year. SIG boasts a number of renowned clients in Vietnam, such as Nutifood and TH Group, focusing on sustainable packaging.

According to the VPA, the countrys printing industry is bustling with over 2,000 enterprises, of which around 400 are foreign entities. These overseas companies make up one-fifth of all printing enterprises but capture over one-third of the market share, especially dominating the export market.

Foreign companies, with financial strength and operational know-how, can stabilise their growth with mere capital infusion and technology investments, leaving local enterprises disadvantaged. Without apt solutions, local companies risk losses and diminished competitive standing, said Dong of the VPA. In addition, without elevating managerial capacities, domestic printing entities risk losing ground in the competition, progressively succumbing to the overarching influence of foreign companies in the industry.

Meanwhile, amid the surge in e-commerce and domestic market growth, Judy Wang, chairperson of Yorkers Exhibition Service Vietnam, said that with the proliferation of e-commerce and the expansion of the domestic market, there is a growing realisation among Vietnamese and international printing and packaging companies about the importance of creating a brand imprint.

The evolving market dynamics require these enterprises to escalate their digital transitions and employ advanced technologies to elevate product quality, thereby augmenting value for the consumers and fortifying customer retention, Wang noted.

Research conducted by the Vietnam Pulp and Paper Association (VPPA) projects a promising uptick in the consumption of paper packaging in the country.

Between 2021 and 2025, consumption is anticipated to rise by 12 per cent, spurred by accelerating urbanisation rates. The printing industry has been a significant contributor to the economy, injecting 1 per cent to the nations GDP in the past three years, roughly equivalent to $2 billion, the VPPA said.

When incorporating the revenue generated by foreign companies, the total revenue for Vietnams printing and packaging industries is estimated to have reached $4 billion. Notably, the printing industry in Ho Chi Minh City accounts for approximately 60 per cent of national revenues.

Giants lead green packaging future The transition to environmentally friendly packaging is taking place strongly in the food and beverages industry, although the bigger brands are currently leading the way.
Sandoz Board chairman Gilbert Ghostine said, Today marks the dawn of a new era for Sandoz as an independent company, but our purpose, to pioneer access for patients, remains unchanged. Its what we do best, have done best, and will always do best. We make quality medicines available to more people, in more places, in more and novel ways.

The Sandoz brand is deeply rooted in its scientific heritage and legacy of medical firsts since the foundation of chemical pioneer Kern & Sandoz back in 1886. From the development of Calcium Sandoz in 1929, and the worlds first oral penicillin in 1951, to the launch of the worlds first biosimilar in 2006.

As outlined at the Sandoz Capital Markets Day in June, six strategic levers should drive long-term value. Attractive market fundamentals, leadership and scale, multiple growth drivers, margin improvement, accelerated cash generation, and a compelling sustainability story.

CEO Richard Saynor

CEO Richard Saynor said, As an independent company, Sandoz will be fully enabled to deliver on its purpose-driven strategy that targets sustainable leadership in the growing and critical generics and biosimilars industry.

We already actively pioneer access for patients by shaping the global healthcare environment. We strengthen healthcare systems worldwide by delivering over $17 billion in annual savings in Europe and the US alone, and we reach some 500 million patients a year in over 100 countries. In doing so, we generate a total social impact estimated to be $180 billion annually. And we intend to make an even greater impact going forward.

Generics and biosimilars account for an estimated 80 per cent of medicines used worldwide by volume, at about 25 per cent of the total cost. Despite strong competitive pressures, the industry is set to grow steadily over the next decade, driven by underlying demand for these system-critical medicines.

The local Sandoz Vietnam team, led by general manager Charaf Kadri, will receive its final licence to complete the legal transition to this new entity in early 2024.

Commenting on the new brand, Charaf Eddine Kadri said, From today, Sandoz will be better able to meet the needs of the half a billion patients we serve around the world and more than five million Vietnamese patients who rely on our treatments here. Our refreshed brand reflects our enduring commitment to healthcare innovation and our dedication to meeting the global healthcare challenge head-on with our range of high quality, accessible, international-standard products that address the needs of our patients here in Vietnam. As a company, our culture is founded on integrity and inclusion, with the intention that we can all be at our best  living our values, doing what we can to drive business growth and pioneering access to patients all over Vietnam.

Sandoz Vietnam currently employs 140 associates and is included in key SIX market indices with an investment-grade credit rating that gives it a strong competitive position.

Sandoz leading in generics and biosimilar medicines in Vietnam Sandoz (a division of Novartis)  one of the world's leading companies in high-quality generics and biosimilar  is mapping its business in Vietnam with a passion to become the leader in this field. Ho Thi Thanh Van, country head of Sandoz Vietnam, shared her plan to implement this strategy with VIRs Bich Ngoc.

25 years of development - Novartis affirms long-term commitments to community health Novartis on November 22 celebrated its 25th anniversary to mark its development journey. With great achievements in increasing the communitys access to healthcare, Novartis affirms its leading global position in healthcare as well as its long-term commitments globally.
Some items have been found for sale with inaccurate information regarding production or licence, photo Le Toan

The Drug Administration of Vietnam (DAV) under the Ministry of Health (MoH) on September 19 sent a document to municipal and provincial departments of health about revocation and destruction of 250g bottles of Serum Burst lotion nationwide, due to unknown origin.

The move was made after Ho Chi Minh City Centre for the Quality Control of Food, Drug and Cosmetics took a sample of the product in August at Trieu Vy Cosmetics Production and Trading Co., Ltd. It is labelled as Vietnamese-made, but there is no information about production batch number, production date, expiration date, or licence number, as well as name and address of the manufacturer.

When scanning its QR code, the company name is displayed Coselvina Cosmetics Co. Ltd. The company said, however, that it has no production or business related to Serum Burst Lotion and all information about the company in the product is untrue.

At present, the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Health is working with relevant authorities and agencies to inspect Trieu Vy Cosmetics and impose fines if any violations are found.

In August, some pharma companies were fined for violating various rules. Mekophar Chemical Pharmaceutical JSC was fined VND40 million ($1,680) for selling Movinavir to establishments without a certificate of eligibility for pharmaceutical business.

Elsewhere, Minh Ky Pharmaceutical JSC was also imposed a fine of VND120 million ($2,000) for using false documents for Choludexan 300mg and Pompezo at both 40mg and 20mg.

The DAV also suspended drug import licences for Zuellig Pharma due to the companys drug quality violations. The suspension will last one year, backdated from April 2023.

According to the DAV, within 12 months, Zuellig Pharma Vietnam Co., Ltd. imported two lots of Zinnat manufactured by Glaxo Operations UK; and two batches of Neurobion medicine manufactured by PT Merck in Indonesia, both of which violated quality regulation levels.

The MoH sounded the war horn several years ago for a charge against distribution of pharmaceuticals under the cover of providing preserving services by some foreign-invested enterprises, with Zuellig Pharma Vietnam being among the worst offenders.

Although stricter rules are applied, violations continue. The MoH now has rules to deter violators that include suspensions of business activities for 1-3 months if mobile drug retailing establishments fail to satisfy conditions; and suspension of violation-related activities for 6-12 months for forging papers announcing business establishment.

In addition, some guilty parties may even have their certificates of eligibility for pharmacy temporarily revoked for up to two years.

Insiders said that as Vietnam is a profitable pharma market, violators are willing to earn a big profit and then get a fine. The MoH estimated the market at $6.9 billion in 2021.

According to Business Monitor International, the scale of the Vietnamese pharma industry is likely to reach $16.1 billion by 2026.

In Vietnam, pharma violations are currently met with two means of control, that being administrative sanctions or recalls. To a certain extent, they are useful deterrents and counter-measures to drug quality violations, said Hoa Duong, managing partner of Indusviet Legal. Controlling pharma violations is a hard task not only in Vietnam but also in other countries due to the complex nature of pharma products, peoples consumers awareness, and high profit.

Nevertheless, Duong added, such violations should be treated with more severity due to their direct detrimental impact to consumers health and wellbeing.

Vietnam should consider turning pharma quality violations into criminal offenses for legal entities and provide a more specific framework for the compensation process, she added.

According to the Vietnam Pharmaceutical Companies Association, drug quality violations are affecting business results of companies. We estimate losses of hundreds of millions of US dollars annually from fake and low-quality pharmaceuticals, said chairman Trinh Van Lau. We expect more efficient rules from authorised agencies to deal with the situation.
The event brought together leaders from 52 prominent companies to explore, discuss and navigate the transformative era of digital commerce.

The conference featured industry representatives from various sectors including fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG), consumer, technology, logistics, and financial services, who engaged in discussions about the evolving digital landscape.

The primary objective of the conference was to provide a platform for businesses to exchange industry insights, share best practices, and discuss strategies to thrive in the rapidly evolving e-commerce ecosystem.

Attendees had the opportunity to gain valuable insights on how different industries were adapting to the e-commerce model and continuing to stay relevant in an increasingly competitive environment.

The event served as a platform to unveil growth solutions and explore the latest trends, as all the participants aim for success in Vietnam's dynamic market.

A key highlight from the event was a deep dive into the evolving payments landscape in Vietnam, presented by NAPAS, the country's premier payment intermediary.

The session aimed to address business bottlenecks, identify suitable digital options, and shed light on the payment environment in Vietnam, an important enabler of the success of digital commerce.

The conference participants eagerly engaged with the programme, which consisted of valuable insights, cutting-edge innovations, and transformational strategies for e-commerce and technology.

The event served as a platform to unveil growth solutions and explore the latest trends, as all the participants aim for success in Vietnam's dynamic market.

The speaker line-up featured top-tier e-commerce and digital leaders in Vietnam, representatives from leading companies across sectors, and payment intermediary companies from Vietnam and overseas who are at the forefront of digital transformation.

Speaking at the event, Ramachandran A.S., Citi Vietnams country officer, shared the latest developments around the world in the digital space and expressed Citis commitment to fostering innovation and growth in Vietnam's evolving digital landscape.

He emphasised that the conference demonstrated Citi's efforts to provide a forum for thought leadership and collaboration, enabling businesses to harness the full potential of digital commerce in Vietnam.

Aman Singh Chadha, Citi APAC sales head of eCommerce, Technology and Communications, Treasury and Trade Solutions shared insights on the booming e-commerce market during the conference.

He illustrated the latest trends in this dynamic industry and shared factors that contribute to the high potential for growth in Vietnams e-commerce market.

Additionally, he shed light on how Vietnam compares with other countries, and reinforced Citis commitment to innovation and excellence.

The eCommerce and Technology Conference 2023 was a great success, paving the way for Vietnams digital future and showcasing Citi Vietnam as a leader in innovation and technology in the new digital economy, both in Vietnam and around the world.

Citi highlights green finance at CEO 100 meeting Citi's Vietnam country officer Ramachandran A.S. delivered a speech focusing on financial solutions to support green growth and sustainable business at an investment event that gathered 100 CEOs from major global corporations.

Technology and Energy Forum 2023 to open in Quang Ninh The Technology and Energy Forum 2023 will take place in Vietnams northern province of Quang Ninh on September 29 to discuss the latest trends.
Speaking at a conference on September 29, Nguyen Dinh Chien, deputy director of Yen Bai Department of Industry and Trade said, "Yen Bai is home to the country's largest cinnamon area, with 86,000 hectares and an output of 30,000 tonnes per year. However, the province only exports $50-60 million of cinnamon annually."

He asked Vietnamese Trade Offices abroad to introduce Yen Bai's cinnamon to importers around the world and entice investors to develop the local cinnamon processing industry.

Bui Trung Thuong, trade counsellor at the Vietnam Trade Office in India said, "Vietnamese cinnamon is popular in India due to its high essential oil content and unique flavour. With a population of about 1.3 billion people, India is the world's leading consumer of cinnamon and star anise."

"Thanks to preferential tariffs under the ASEAN-India Trade in Services Agreement, Vietnam is the largest supplier of cinnamon products to the Indian market. In the most recent fiscal year, Vietnam exported 32,650 tonnes, accounting for 85 per cent of India's cinnamon imports," Thuong added.

Do Ngoc Hung, commercial and trade counsellor at the Vietnam Trade Office in the United States added, "Cinnamon and star anise are both popular in the US market. They are widely used in the pharmaceutical and cosmetics industries, and are sometimes added to drinks like tea and coffee."

"There is great potential for Vietnam to export cinnamon and star anise to the US market thanks to its high quality," Hung continued.

In 2022, the export turnover of cinnamon from Vietnam to the US stood at about $50 million, accounting for 35 per cent of the US's total imports.

"Cinnamon exports need Food and Drug Administration certification to enter the US, so it is crucial that production processes and product quality are constantly improved. Vietnamese cinnamon and star anise then need to be promoted at trade fairs to help increase their penetration into the US market," said Hung.

Pakistan is another potential market for Vietnamese cinnamon. According to Nguyen Thi Diep Ha, head of the Vietnam Trade Office in Pakistan, the country has a lot of demand for cinnamon and other medicinal herbs. Pakistan imported 7,000 tonnes of cinnamon last year, of which Vietnamese exports accounted for more than 4 per cent.

She said, "Pakistan imports cinnamon mainly as a spice, so it prefers thin-skinned variants with low essential oil content. The nation requires plant quarantine and Halal certificates for imported cinnamon. Processed products must also possess a food hygiene and safety certificate."

"Along with cinnamon, Vietnamese star anise and cardamom account for 1 per cent and 5.8 per cent of the market share in Pakistan respectively," she added.

"Again, these are mainly imported as spices, so it prefers low-cost, low-essential oil varieties and requires similar certifications to cinnamon products. Therefore, localities need to develop growing areas to maintain a stable supply."

Nguyen The Thinh, director of the Department of Traditional Medicine and Pharmacy Administration said, "Vietnam is home to a diverse range of medicinal herbs, with many precious and rare types. However, it has a low export turnover due to the lack of a master plan. With its spontaneous development, Vietnam has failed to identify the viable markets for medicinal plants."

He added, "The export options for cinnamon, star anise, and other medicinal plants have been increasingly expanded due to changes in consumer awareness. In addition, there has been strong development of the global pharmaceutical, functional food, food processing, and cosmetics industries, which creates additional demand for such products."

On the global map of herbs, Vietnam is assessed as possessing a diverse and abundant supply of medicinal species, and it boasts great potential for developing this field into an economic success story.

Cinnamon cultivation in Vietnam covers about 150,000ha, accounting for 17 per cent of the global area. The nation is the third-largest producer and exporter of cinnamon in the world in terms of output, after Indonesia and China. Meanwhile, very few countries can supply star anise  the plant is widely grown in Vietnam and China.

The MoIT is working closely with the Ministry of Health to create links between Vietnamese medicinal farming and processing businesses. It has asked Vietnamese Trade Offices to monitor, support, and provide information on the market needs, regulations, and requirements for cinnamon, star anise, and medicinal plants, helping to promote products and develop the export potential around the world.

Sauces and herbs to die for Vietnamese dipping sauce and a huge variety of fresh aromatic herbs are the soul of the countrys cuisine.

Vietnam setting sights on medicinal herb scale-up The reopening of the Chi Ma-Ai Diem border gate in Lang Son last month to import medicinal herbs and raw materials from China is putting pressure on the implementation of domestic production of similar products.
During an official visit to Brazil last week, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh emphasised that a free trade agreement (FTA) between Vietnam and the Common Market of the South (Mercosur) would lead to breakthroughs in economic, trade and investment cooperation between the two countries, bringing substantial benefits to businesses and peoples of both sides.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh (R) and Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva (Photo: VNA)

The Vietnamese leader also proposed that Vietnam and Mercosur  which comprises Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, and Paraguay  would soon begin negotiations on the FTA.

Mercosur is a high-potential market for various Vietnamese key consumer goods such as mobile phones and parts, electrical products, garments and textiles, and footwear.

President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva expressed the intention to discuss the matter with partners during the Brazilian presidency of Mercosur, said a joint statement during the visit.

With the aim of increasing bilateral trade volume to $10 billion in 2025 and $15 billion in 2030, the leaders pledged to expand economic, trade and investment cooperation; promote the diversification of bilateral trade exchanges; promote cooperation on both sides in economics, trade and investment; promote closer links between businesses of both sides; and create better conditions for businesses to deepen cooperation in areas where the two sides can complement each other.

Bilateral trade last year hit 6.78 billion, up 6.6 per cent on-year and tripling over the past decade. In the first eight months of this year, the figure touched $4.44 billion, including Vietnams exports of $1.67 billion, up 11.8 per cent on-year; and imports of $2.77 billion, down 11.9 per cent on-year.

To amplify trade and investment ties, Brazil will soon open its commerce and industry chamber in Vietnam to study the market in service for businesses and investors.

PM Chinh also met with some large Brazilian groups, such as food processing firm BRF and multinational aerospace corporation Embraer.

He also visited Embraers headquarters in Sao Paulo, with Embraer president and CEO Francisco Gomes Neto expressing his hope for the Vietnamese governments continued support for the group to seek cooperation opportunities and expand its market in the country. Neto said Embraer was ready to implement aircraft maintenance and repair services in and provide aerospace technological solutions for Vietnam.

Embraer is the worlds third-largest producer of commercial aircraft, after Boeing and Airbus, and strong at manufacturing under-130-seat planes. In Vietnam, it has handed over five E190 aircraft to Bamboo Airways.

According to Vietnams Ministry of Planning and Investment, as of August 20, Brazil had only six valid projects registered at $3.83 million.

Currently, Vietnamese agencies have been assigned to work with peers of Mercosur on negotiations of the FTA. Vietnam has completed an internal review related to the negotiations, expected to begin early next year at the latest.

Vietnam in October will provide more experts for the Vietnamese Trade Office in Brazil to help boost the negotiations.

More can be done to drive trade even higher. An FTA between Vietnam and Mercosur could provide a broad range of opportunities for all parties involved. This may take some time to develop, but with impetus on both sides, it may not be too far off, said pan-Asia consulting firm Dezan Shira & Associates.

By entering an FTA with Mercosur, Vietnamese businesses and manufacturers could gain increased access to this sizable market, fostering greater trade and economic cooperation between the two regions, according to Dezan Shira.

It would also align with growing interest in increasing trade among the worlds emerging economies, led by organisations of developing states like the BRICS grouping, the firm said.

This so-called South-South trade movement is gaining momentum as countries recognise the mutual benefits of enhanced trade relations within these regions.

Last year, Mercosurs two-way trade with Vietnam grew 9.2 per cent on-year to over $12 billion, including more than $3.3 billion worth of Vietnamese exports, up 3.4 per cent; and imports of $8.7 billion, up 11.6 per cent.

According to Vietnams Ministry of Industry and Trade, Mercosurs nations are strong in producing and exporting farm produce, animal feed, industrial materials, natural minerals, while Vietnams exports to Mercosur include electronics and telecommunications equipment, garments and textiles, and footwear.

Thus, Vietnam and Mercosur are complementary in goods structure, and are not in direct competition. Currently, Mercosur has no preferential trade deal with nations that have goods that directly compete against Vietnam. Thus, an FTA will help boost exports from Vietnam to the Mercosur market.

The nations of Mercosur, established in 1991, boasted a combined GDP of roughly $5.1 trillion last year, according to World Bank data, making Mercosur one of the worlds largest economic blocs.

Vietnamese and Brazilian leaders last week witnessed the signing ceremony of four documents of cooperation -Cooperation agreement on education; -Cooperation between the defence ministries of both nations; -A 2024-2026 action plan to implement agricultural cooperation between Vietnams Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and Brazils Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock; -A 2024-2025 action plan between Vietnams Diplomatic Academy and Brazils Rio Branco Institute.

Vietnamese, Brazilian firms asked to work together to raise trade to 10 billion USD Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh on September 24 asked Vietnamese and Brazilian businesses to concretise cooperation mechanisms with specific programmes and projects, with an aim to bring two-way trade turnover to 10 billion USD by 2025, and 15-20 billion USD by 2030 in a more balanced direction.
Sam Tan, director of New Product Launch at Malaysia's advanced solution provider UB

During the Vietnam Logistics Summit 2023, co-hosted by SLP Vietnam and VIR, Sam Tan, director of New Product Launch at Malaysia's advanced solution provider UB, delved into Malaysia's swift pivot towards automation in logistics and explored the takeaways for Vietnam.

"We have had some costly lessons when implementing and advancing automation technology," Tan said. "Why did such lessons emerge?"

However, the immediate adoption of cutting-edge global technologies is not always viable.

"Companies must undergo a learning curve, taking steps to evaluate the extent, feasibility, and calibration of the technology to ensure alignment with on-the-ground realities," he said.

This was closely followed by the critical need for training individuals to effectively utilise this technology.

"It's essential to evaluate the different levels of application - is it successful, or isn't it? We cannot just implement immediately," Tan added.

Furthermore, he said that when deploying AI, a considered approach to the digitalisation journey is essential.

"We must deeply understand the core nature of our data," Tan said.

He voiced concerns that many businesses currently do not take this matter seriously, leading to considerable challenges in their automation journey.

With Vietnam and other nations keenly observing the automation trends in Malaysia, the experiences and insights of industry leaders like Tan will be pivotal in ensuring that technology adoption is both strategic and sustainable.

Tran Thanh Hai, deputy director general of the Import-Export Department at the Ministry of Industry and Trade

Drawing the attention back to the Vietnamese scenario, Tran Thanh Hai, deputy director general of the Import-Export Department at the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MOIT), also delved into the deep-rooted history of the logistics industry in Vietnam.

He noted that while the essential logistics operations have been integral to various regions for a long time, it's only in the past decade that the term "logistics" has been popularised, largely propelled by the government's initiatives to foster industry growth.

"We've witnessed harmonious infrastructure advancements, particularly in 2023, with the government fervently pushing infrastructure planning. Consequently, this offers a tremendous growth opportunity for the logistics sector," Hai said at the event.

"Moreover, technological and digital transformations are among the critical focal points that domestic logistics enterprises are keenly pursuing. Their ambitions aren't confined merely to the domestic landscape; several are aspiring to leave a mark on the international stage."

'Friend-shoring' takes centre stage at Vietnam Logistics Summit 2023 At the Vietnam Logistics Summit 2023 co-organised by SLP Vietnam and VIR on October 5 in Ho Chi Minh City, nearly 400 industry leaders and experts convened to discuss the evolving the logistics landscape in Vietnam.
On October 2, Masan announced that Bain Capital, a leading private investment firm, has agreed to invest at least $200 million of equity capital into Masan Group Corporation. The investment could be upsized to $500 million, subject to prevailing market conditions and the companys capital needs.

The transaction is a testament to Bain Capital's trust in Vietnam's market of 100 million people, as well as Masan's position in the retail and consumer goods markets.

Starting as a manufacturing company, Masan boasts 30 factories, dozens of farms, and over 3,500 WinMart and WinMart+ stores and supermarkets. According to Masan's financial statement, WinCommerce, the owner of the WinMart and WinMart+ chain, holds half of the nation's modern retail market.

Established in the United States in 1984, Bain Capital has made more than 1,100 highly profitable investments in the fields of retail, industry, healthcare, technology, financial services, and business.

In the consumer and retail sectors, Bain's investment portfolio includes renowned retail and food and beverages chains such as Burger King, Burlington, Dunkin Brands, Samsonite, and others. As a foreign investment fund with rich experience in the consumer sector, Bain Capital has approximately $180 billion in assets under management.

Masan expects the transaction to close by the end of the year, and it continues to explore other strategic alternatives for equity capital. Previously, other global investment funds, such as KKR and TPG, also selected Masan for their first strategic investment in Vietnam.

In 2011, KKR first invested $159 million to scoop up 10 per cent of Masan Consumer, and in 2012, it made a follow-on investment of $200 million through the purchase of over 22.8 million shares via private share issuance ($100 million) and by buying shares from Masan Consumer's former shareholders ($100 million).

Following these successful investments, in 2017, KKR continued to inject $250 million in Masan Group and its branded meat platform, Masan Nutri-Science.

KKRs investment comprised a $100 million purchase of secondary shares from PENM Partners, an independent Danish private equity company, and a $150 million primary investment in Masan Nutri-Science for a 7.5 per cent stake.

The fastest growing consumer market in Southeast Asia

Vietnam's consumer sector has the highest growth rate in Southeast Asia, forecasted at 7.7 per cent annually between 2022 and 2040. This is underpinned by increasing urbanisation and an exploding consumer class that boasts more disposable income, leading to evolving demands that extend beyond meeting basic needs.

Danny Le, CEO of Masan Group, commented on the transaction, "In the face of the challenging consumer environment, we have continued to invest in our platform and breakthrough innovations to position ourselves for the consumption upswing."

Barnaby Lyons, a partner at Bain Capital said, "We believe that Masan has the right fundamentals, reach, and growth strategy to succeed in this compelling consumer market. It is one of the most trusted brands in Vietnam, with significant reach, the ability to anticipate consumer tastes, and the drive to build out an innovative product pipeline to meet those needs."

In the first half of the year, Masan's business results remained positive despite the challenging macro environment. Its net revenue reached VND37.3 trillion ($1.57 billion) in H1, an increase of 3.6 per cent on-year.

Despite weakened consumer sentiment affecting sales, WinCommerces revenue recorded on-year growth of 1.5 per cent in H1. Meanwhile, Masan Consumer Corporation increased its top line by 11.6 per cent on-year, and Masan MEATLife's revenue increased to VND3.3 trillion ($139.27 million), up 70.2 per cent on-year.

At the centre of Masan's platform is WIN Membership  a platform that connects brands and consumers, which has reached seven million members. It is targeted to hit 10 million by year-end and 30 million by 2025.

The WIN Membership platform allows Masan to provide more targeted products and services to better serve Vietnamese consumers, acting as the critical growth engine for the company's businesses.

Masan brand reinforced with prestigious accolades Since 2022, Masan has consistently advanced its strategic initiatives across the business spectrum, further cementing its solid position. Its dedicated efforts have garnered recognition both domestically and internationally.

Masan Group receives recognition at 'Vietnams 50 Best Performing Companies' On September 16, Masan Group achieved distinction in two notable categories namely Vietnams 50 Best Performing Companies and "Billion Dollar Enterprise 2023," as recognised by Nhip Cau Dau Tu magazine.
PENROSE, Colo. (AP)  Authorities in Colorado said Thursday they were investigating the improper storage of human remains at a funeral home that performs green burials without embalming chemicals or metal caskets.

The investigation centers on a building owned by the Return to Nature Funeral Home outside Colorado Springs in the small town of Penrose.

Deputies were called to the single-story building Tuesday night in reference to a suspicious incident. Investigators returned the next day with a search warrant and found the improperly stored remains, the Fremont County Sheriffs Office said. The number of human remains found and their condition were not specified.

The sheriffs office said it was working with state and federal officials on the investigation. Family members who used the funeral home were asked to contact the sheriff's office. More details were expected to be released by officials at a scheduled news conference Friday morning.

Trash bags could be seen Thursday outside the entrance of the company's building, with two law enforcement vehicles parked in front. Yellow police tape cordoned off the area and a putrid odor pervaded the air.

A hearse was parked at the back of the building, in a parking lot overgrown with weeds. Near the squat building was a post office and a few scattered homes, spaced out between dry grass and empty lots with parked semi-trucks.

Under Colorado law, green burials are legal but state code requires that any body not buried within 24 hours must be properly refrigerated.

Joyce Pavetti, 73, can see the funeral home from the stoop of her house and said she caught whiffs of a putrid smell in the last few weeks.

We just assumed it was a dead animal, she said. On Wednesday night, Pavetti said she could see lights from law enforcement swarming around the building and knew something was going on.

The building has been occupied by different businesses over the years, said Pavetti, who once took yoga classes there. She hasnt seen anyone in the area recently and noticed the hearse behind the building only in recent months, she said.

Neighbor Ron Alexander thought the smell was coming from a septic tank, adding that Wednesday nights blur of law enforcement lights looked like the 4th of July.

The father of a 25-year-old U.S. Navy serviceman who died last summer said Return to Nature handled his sons body between the time of its arrival back in Colorado and an Aug. 25 funeral service at Pikes Peak National Cemetery east of Colorado Springs.

I mean, theres obviously questions after hearing that there is something going on but theres not any information that I can go off of to really make any kind of judgement on it, said Paul Saito Kahler, of Fountain, Colorado.

The Return to Nature Funeral Home provides burial of non-embalmed bodies in biodegradable caskets, shrouds or nothing at all," according to its website. The company also provides cremation services. Messages left for the Colorado Springs-based company were not immediately returned.

No embalming fluids, no concrete vaults. As natural as possible, it says on its website.

The company charges $1,895 for a natural burial. That doesnt include the cost of a casket and cemetery space, according to the website.

The funeral home also performs cremations that involve no chemicals or unnatural materials  just you and the Earth, returning to nature, according to its website.

Return to Nature was established six years ago in Colorado Springs, according to public records.

A green burial refers to burying bodies that have not been embalmed. Thats different from human composting, in which the body is placed in a vessel and transformed into soil.

Fremont County property records show that the funeral home building and lot are owned by Hallfordhomes, LLC, a business with a Colorado Springs address which the Colorado Secretary of State declared delinquent on Oct. 1 for failing to file a routine reporting form that was due at the end of July.

The LLC changed addresses around Colorado Springs three times since its establishment in 2016 with a post office box. Hallfordhomes still owes about $5,000 in 2022 property taxes on its building in Penrose, according to Fremont County records.

The Return to Nature Funeral Home was licensed in Colorado Springs in 2017. There were no disciplinary actions against the company listed on a state license database. There was not a separate license for the Penrose facility and it wasnt known if one was needed. Messages left with licensing authorities were not immediately returned.

Kathryn Wilson, who lives nearby, said her daughters dog would curiously head toward Return to Nature's building when it slipped its leash. She previously hadn't given it a second thought, Wilson said, adding that community members were upset so little has been disclosed about what happened.

Everybody wants more answers, she said.

Associated Press writers Amy Beth Hanson in Helena, Montana, Mead Gruver in Cheyenne, Wyoming, Matthew Brown in Billings, Montana, and news researcher Jennifer Farrar in New York contributed to this report.
A New York man pleaded not guilty Thursday to charges of stalking a woman by flying his small plane over her home.

Michael Arnold, 65, was arraigned in southern Vermont, where he kept his plane, on charges of aggravated stalking, violating an abuse prevention order, resisting arrest, impeding a public officer and providing false information to police. He was released on several conditions, including that he have no contact with the woman, not stalk her, and stay 300 feet (91 meters) from her home and business, as well as from all airplanes.

A stalking order was in place banning him from flying, according to an FBI agent, who said Arnold had been stalking the Schuylerville, New York, woman for approximately four years. New York authorities say Arnold was spotted flying low over the village of Schuylerville and at one point was observed throwing tomatoes from the plane, according to the investigating officer in Bennington, Vermont.

The woman told police that she feared for her safety for a long time and worried that Arnold was going to fly his plane into her home, court papers state. She told local media that Arnold was a customer in the cafe she owns.

Arnold was arrested Tuesday, as he was arriving at the William H. Morse state airport in Bennington, Vermont, where he kept his 1976 Cessna 180 single-engine plane. He said he had not stalked anyone and denied that he was flying his plane the day before, saying instead that he was riding with someone, police said. Arnold told the officer that he has had no contact with the woman and that if he wanted to harm her he could have very easily, but he never did, according to the affidavit.

He said the Federal Aviation Administration had not told him he couldn't fly and said he flies over Schuylerville to take pictures for their Facebook community page, according to the affidavit. Schuylerville is about 30 miles (48 kilometers) northwest of the Bennington airport.

On May 30, a judge in Saratoga, New York, town court issued a temporary order of protection for Arnold to stay away from the woman, her home, business and place of employment, according to a police affidavit. He was ordered to not contact her and to refrain from harassing, intimidating, threatening or otherwise interfering with her, her family or household members and witnesses to the alleged offense, the affidavit said.

Arnold is also required to stop flying any aircraft, under the order which remains in effect until a court date of Nov. 30.

He was arrested in New York on June 1 for stalking, resisting arrest, disobeying a court order and obstruction of governmental administration, according to the affidavit. He faces pending charges, including one felony count, in New York.

A sergeant with the Saratoga County Sheriffs Office said he had seen Arnolds plane flying over Schuylerville on Oct. 1, and was investigating where Arnold had been keeping his plane, according to the affidavit. An FBI agent said Arnold had relocated his plane to an airport in Maine and that the police department there was also seeking charges but Arnold left the area before he could be arrested, police said.

Last month, the woman reported to the FBI that Arnold was flying over her area on Sept. 28 and she provided video of the plane. The Federal Aviation Administration located a plane landing at the Bennington Airport shortly after the sighting, according to the police affidavit.

Staff at the Bennington Airport said the plane had arrived at the airport on Sept. 26 or 27, according to court papers. The airport provided video to police of Arnold flying his plane alone out of the airport on Sunday and heading west toward the Schuylerville area, according to the affidavit.

Arnold told police that he had been flying for 45 years and was selling his plane because he is losing his eyesight.

Rathke reported from Marshfield, Vt.
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP)  The director of the embattled Illinois Department of Children and Family Services said Wednesday that he will leave his post at the end of the year.

The upcoming departure of Marc D. Smith from the agency also known as DCFS was one of three announced Wednesday by Gov. J.B. Pritzker.

Pritzker had named Smith as DCFS director in April 2019. Smith steered the agency during a tumultuous period in which a judge held him in contempt of court several times for failing to adequately house children who had been placed in the departments custody.

Neither Pritzker's office nor DCFS commented on Smith's future plans. Smith, 54, who makes $210,000, came to DCFS from the largest of the private institutions that contract with the agency for services, Aunt Marthas Health & Wellness.

I am incredibly proud of the profound progress we have made, Smith said in a statement. DCFS continues making a difference where it matters most  by keeping children safe, creating brighter futures for the youth in our care and giving hope to families in crisis that need support.

The Democratic governor also said Wednesday that Theresa Eagleson, director of the Department of Healthcare and Family Services, will be replaced by Lizzy Whitehorn, currently an aide to Pritzker for health services.

Pritzker did not name successors for Smith or Paula Basta, who is stepping down at years end from the helm of the Department on Aging. Pritzker's statement said the three departing administrators reflect the best of state government  people who have sacrificed to help millions of constituents.''

Trouble has followed DCFS for decades, and Smith had his share. Just after assuming office, Pritzker and he pledged revisions after an outside report commissioned by the new governor found that the agency endangered children in its care by trying to keep biological families intact.

A DCFS caseworker was stabbed to death while making a home visit in January 2022, prompting calls for more protection.

In an extraordinary move, a Cook County judge repeatedly found Smith in contempt of court in 2021 and 2022 for failing to find permanent homes for children in the agency's care, some of whom were sleeping on office floors. Pritzker has repeatedly blamed his Republican predecessor for dismantling private social services during a two-year budget shutdown in which Democrats who controlled the Legislature were equally engaged.

Noting that Smith is the 13th DCFS director in a decade, Cook County Public Guardian Charles Golbert said he provided desperately needed continuity. He applauded frontline workers as well as administrators for their effective COVID-19 response and praised Smith for securing a larger agency budget.

But Golbert said the money didn't buy better services, with too few beds for incoming kids. Dozens more languish in juvenile detention after they have been ordered released, or are locked in psychiatric hospitals after they have been discharged because DCFS doesnt have a place for them to stay.

"I see this as an opportunity to build on the resources that Smith got and the continuity that he provided to hopefully actually translate this into improved outcomes for kids, Golbert said.

Pritzker also announced the appointment of Camile Lindsay, first assistant deputy governor on public safety, infrastructure, environment and energy, as director of the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation. Whitehorn's and Lindsay's appointments require Senate confirmation.

Savage, who reported from Chicago, is a corps member for the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.
Editors note: Voters have amended the Texas Constitution 517 times since 1876, and they will get the chance again Nov. 7. This is the third of a series of Tribune-Herald articles examining the intention and implications of the 14 amendments on the ballot.

Texas has no wealth tax. In fact, it has no state income tax, period. But Texas voters on Nov. 7 will be asked to create a constitutional obstacle to creating such a levy in the future.

Proposition 3 is the constitutional amendment prohibiting the imposition of an individual wealth or net worth tax, including a tax on the difference between the assets and liabilities of an individual or family.

An analysis from the House Research Organization says several states have proposed wealth taxes, but Texas has not. Proposition 3 would go a long way toward ensuring it never does, short of an amendment to repeal it.

The analysis defines a wealth tax as a levy based on the market value of assets owned, which could include real property  such as land, buildings, crops, equipment  and assets such as retirement accounts.

Subtract debts and liabilities, such as bankruptcies, to arrive at an appropriate tax rate.

Supporters of those taxes argue that the impact on the extremely wealthy would be minimal, that the definition of wealth can be defined in a way that best suits each state, and that it would help pay for costly programs without impacting lower income people, an analysis from The Texas Tribune states.

Critics say raising taxes on someones wealth discourages business and that the revenue from it will be less than anticipated, it adds. They also say that overall wealth would decline, which would result in less investment and loss of tax revenue from other sources, such as sales and property taxes.

Karr Ingham, a Texas-based economist and consultant with a statewide clientele, said he believes Proposition 3 will pass overwhelmingly.

Not everyone considers themselves wealthy, but who knows how this thing would be determined? said Ingham. I suspect this is a response by the Texas Legislature, an effort to get ahead of a wealth tax. ... The Legislature is Republican from top to bottom, the state has a Republican governor, so the sponsors want to do something while they have a favorable climate.

If the issue comes up in the future, supporters would have to unwind an amended state constitution, said Ingham, envisioning possible attempts down the road to impose a state income tax or a wealth tax.

He said imposing a wealth tax would be fraught with logistical problems, and would be damaging to us economically. Texans typically have not had an appetite for going down that road, and I dont think they will have it now.

Texas voters in 2019 passed Proposition 4, prohibiting the Texas Legislature from adopting a state income tax. As of 2023, no state in the United States had adopted a wealth tax, according to online analysis.

A wealth tax has some economic attributes that are negative, in that it discourages investment and risk-taking that is necessary for sustained economic growth, said Waco-based economist Ray Perryman. Having said that, I think Proposition 3 is primarily political and cosmetic in nature.

No one has ever seriously proposed such a tax in Texas, and I doubt that anyone ever would, said Perryman in an email response. The Proposition would require voter approval for such a measure to be enacted, which I suppose makes the already dim prospects even more remote.

Perryman said other states have considered enacting a wealth tax, which may be the reason the Proposition was put forward. It certainly doesnt do any harm, but will likely be similar to many other amendments to our increasingly lengthy Constitution that have no practical effect.

Patrick Flavin, the Bob Bullock Professor of Political Science at Baylor University, said Proposition 3 kind of sends a signal maybe to wealthy folks interested in moving to Texas. The Texas Legislature is heading off a wealth tax, telling everyone it is not going to happen in Texas.

He said discussions about imposing a wealth tax have surfaced nationally, often with the backing of progressives. He said the issues often is couched in the question, Should billionaires pay a portion of their wealth?

It would be difficult to administrate, said Flavin. How do you calculate assets, a yacht or a piece of artwork? Thats where administrative challenges come. Politicians, especially in Texas, have no appetite for it.
Ascension Providences Family Medicine location in Lacy Lakeview will close Oct. 27, according to a letter sent to patients of the clinic last week.

The letter says family medicine physician Dr. Roshan Patel and nurse practitioner Jean Herzog will be moving from the Lacy Lakeview clinic at 1130 North Loop 340 to the Ascension Providence clinic at 2100 Lake Shore Drive, 5 miles away, while family nurse practitioner William French will be leaving the Ascension Medical Group.

The letter does not state why the clinic is closing, and Ascension officials declined comment when asked about the closure. The letter does not outline any changes at the Ascension Providence Express Care or Rehabilitation Services locations on the same Lacy Lakeview campus.

The closure of the Lacy Lakeview Family Medicine clinic makes at least three closures this year of Ascension Providence-run facilities in the Waco area. In August, Ascension sent a letter to patients announcing the Oct. 31 closure of Ascensions ear, nose and throat clinic on Highway 6 and the Sept. 1 closing of the hearing center, located in the same building as the ENT clinic.

On Tuesday, Ascension also announced the DePaul Center, a longstanding facility offering inpatient and outpatient mental health services, would be closing on Dec. 31. Several local health officials said DePauls closure will leave a gaping hole in an already overburdened system of mental health services in McLennan County.

Heart of Texas Behavioral Health Network CEO Daniel Thompson said Tuesday that DePaul had been operating at a revenue loss for several years due to low reimbursement rates, something many behavioral health care providers face when providing care for vulnerable and low-income patients.

Ascension also opened a Primary Care Bosque Ridge facility in August at Highway 84 and Ritchie Road in Woodway.

The Tribune-Herald reported in January that Ascension Texas would be laying off employees around the state, including in Waco. A statement at the time from Ascension Texas cited the COVID-19 pandemics toll on health care systems as a reason contributing to the layoffs.

The New York Times also reported last year that Ascension had cut many jobs leading up to the pandemic, and was left understaffed when the pandemic hit, something Ascension refuted in a statement, saying staffing had actually increased leading up to the pandemic and continued to exceed levels maintained by other health care providers.

Prior to the layoffs, Ascension Providence was the second largest employer in McLennan County with 2,518 employees, according to the Heart of Texas Council of Governments. Ascension is currently ranked third with 2,300 employees.
The McLennan County Precinct 5 constable and justice of the peace building in South Waco will be renamed in honor of retired Judge Fernando Villarreal, who was the first judge to hold court in the space during his 30 years as justice of the peace.

Villarreal was also the first Hispanic judge in McLennan County, presiding as justice of the peace first in Precinct 8 then in Precinct 5 after precincts were redrawn, before retiring at the end of last year. With Villarreal not seeking reelection, voters picked LucyAnn Sanchez-Miramontez in November to take his place as JP in Precinct 5.

The McLennan County Commissioners Court passed a resolution Tuesday to rename the Precinct 5 building at 1800 Richter Ave. as the Fernando Villarreal Justice Center.

I cant think of a more appropriate match between naming a public facility after a very dedicated and well-respected public servant than Fernando Villarreal, McLennan County Judge Scott Felton said. He performed all of his duties with excellence.

Villarreal said he was surprised to learn of the renaming.

It makes me feel humble and happy, Villarreal said.

The actual renaming ceremony will be scheduled at a time that works for Villarreal, his family and his friends, Felton said.

He had a real passion for the youth of the county, Felton said. He helped put many truant students back on the right path. The schools in our county for which he handled truancy cases were very complimentary of how he handled these issues. He is sorely missed.

Villarreal said he did not attend the commissioners court meeting Tuesday when commissioners voted unanimously to rename the building for him. He said his wife and brother and some other family members were there.

He said his birthday was Monday, but the family gathered Tuesday evening to celebrate. That was when his wife and his brother surprised him with news of the renaming, he said.

One of my goals was to have something permanent, a county building in South Waco. My goal was to get it built, Villarreal said of working with commissioners to get the facility built around 2008. Its really important to me, the work that I did and the service that I provided to the taxpayers of this county. This renaming is recognition of what I did.
A Waco police officer who mistakenly shot a dog while responding to the wrong address on June 3 has been dropped as a defendant in a civil lawsuit that the dogs owners are continuing to pursue against the city of Waco.

Judge Jim Meyer in the 170th State District Court dismissed Officer Javon Moon from the suit on Sept. 29, as requested by the city of Waco.

Cassandra Page and Matthew Vasquez filed a civil suit in August against the city of Waco and Moon over the death of their black Labrador retriever, Finn, seeking between $200,000 and $1 million in damages.

Police erroneously responded to their house in the 3200 block of 20th Street after the departments dispatch system autocorrected a 911 call of a burglary in the 3200 block of 20th A Street, the Waco Police Department said in a June news release. When police found the back door ajar and announced their presence, several dogs came forward, and Finn lunged at the officers twice, leading an officer to fatally shoot him, the news release stated.

The police department at the time expressed regret for the error.

In the lawsuit, the couple argue that they had a constitutionally protected right to enjoy Finns company through his natural life, and the death of the 10-year-old dog amounted to the taking of property without due process of law.

The city on Sept. 15 filed a general denial and asserted its immunity from the lawsuit, while also requesting that Moon be dropped.

Roderick Collins, attorney for Page and Vasquez, said the suit is not just about a dead dog but also about an officer whose training led him to pull his service weapon and shoot too soon.

The officer was cornered and no criminal activity was seen, Collins said in a Wednesday phone interview. A reasonable person would have waited for the dog to be handled, not shoot it right away.

Page and Vasquez also believe there was negligence on the part of the city for a dispatch system that sent officers to the wrong address, Collins said.

I back the blue 110%, but in the great state of Texas and the U.S.A., our dogs are like our children, Collins said. My clients want the city held accountable.

Page and Vasquez want the city to be held accountable for the officers improper training in how to behave around dogs, Collins said. They also intend to ask a jury for emotional distress damages, he said.

The city has been fully transparent about the unusual and unfortunate chain of events and has released video showing the officers perspectives, City Attorney Jennifer Richie said in an email statement Wednesday.

Because this incident is in litigation, the City will present its legal defenses in court at the appropriate time, Richie said.
Editors note: Voters have amended the Texas Constitution 517 times since 1876, and they will get the chance again Nov. 7. This is the fourth of a series of Tribune-Herald articles examining the intention and implications of the 14 amendments on the ballot.

A constitutional amendment that could save property owners hundreds of dollars on their tax bills will appear on ballots in November as another piece of the states $18 billion puzzle to relieve Texans of their property tax burden.

Voters on Nov. 7 could approve Proposition 4, which touts a $100,000 school tax exemption for homeowners authorized by House Joint Resolution 2 in the 88th Legislatures second special session. Despite the obvious economic benefit to the average homeowner, some wonder about Proposition 4s sustainability going forward.

The resolutions enabling legislation, Senate Bill 2, which took effect Sept. 1 and also passed in the second special session, includes an additional compression of school tax rates that is not part of the constitutional amendment. The bill authored by Sen. Paul Bettencourt, R-Houston, reduces school tax rates using a formula to balance the reduced local taxpayer funding with more state funding.

As local funding increases with rising property values, state funding decreases due to the states funding formula for school districts. Tax rate compression aims to lower local property tax burden and supplement the loss with state money.

House Joint Resolution 2, authored by Rep. Will Metcalf, R-Conroe, has five parts. A vote yes on Proposition 4:

Increases the general homestead exemption for school tax from $40,000 to $100,000

Protects nonhomestead properties from increases greater than 20% in market value

Allows people over 65 years old with an assessment freeze to enjoy the benefit of homestead exemption increases in the current and 2021 legislative sessions by recalculating the freeze. This means some taxpayers over 65 and those who qualify for disability, who are typically on a fixed income, would get a $110,000 exemption

Allows revenue-replacing money to be sent to school districts without counting toward constitutional spending limits

And adds three voter-approved members to the board of directors of local appraisal entities in counties with a population of at least 75,000.

Chief Appraiser Joe Don Bobbitt said the McLennan Central Appraisal Districts board of directors currently is made up of five members appointed by the taxing entities the appraisal district serves, plus the tax assessor in a nonvoting capacity.

The increase in homestead exemptions could save homeowners hundreds of dollars on their school tax bill, which generally makes up for a large proportion of a persons overall tax burden. The new exemption would subtract $100,000 from the amount of taxable value the local school district could apply its tax rate to.

For example, take a house with an appraised taxable value of $200,000 in the Waco Independent School District. With the original $40,000 homestead exemption, at the districts compressed tax rate of about $1.03 per $100 per valuation, the homeowner would owe the district $1,648 in property taxes.

The same homeowner with a $100,000 exemption would owe Waco ISD $1,030 in property taxes, a saving of $618.

Although businesses and other nonhomestead properties would not benefit from the exemption, they could experience some relief from the overall tax rate compression and the 20% appraisal cap on increases to their propertys value.

The cap would limit the increase in properties appraised value to 20% and benefit rental and commercial properties valued at less than $5 million this year, Bobbitt said.

For example, a commercial property valued at $1 million this year may not be appraised at a value greater than $1.2 million next year.

The provision is temporary and will expire during the next legislative session if it is not extended.

The bill provides funding out of the states $33 billion budget surplus this year to make up for school districts lost revenue, whereas in the past the state effectively only redistributed the tax burden from homeowners to rental properties and commercial, Bobbitt said.

Rep. Shawn Thierry, D-Houston, a joint author of the bill, said homeowners all over the state supported the bill in polls, but the only way it could pass is if the state supported school districts rather than taking from them.

Although the state was able to come up with the additional funding this year out of gas taxes and other means, some cautious observers of the bill wonder about its sustainability with billions of dollars in yearly property tax relief enshrined in the Constitution.

The homestead exemption is expected to cost the state $5.6 billion every two years, Waco-based economist Ray Perryman said.

Perryman said the amendments benefit to lower-income homeowners is a good step forward, but he worries about its sustainability in budget cycles when the state is not flush with extra cash. He said he doubts the Legislature and local taxpayers would approve tax rate hikes, but he fears schools may lose funding if Texas experiences a budget crunch.

Luckily the Legislature has formed a committee headed by Rep. Morgan Meyer, R-Dallas, to study sustainable property tax relief. Thierry will serve as vice chair. She said the cost to the state of the amendment is permanent and will reoccur regardless of the budget cycle, so the committee will look at tax policy and creative means of sustainability.

Thierry said the bill overall represents a success for the state, as partisan members of both chambers were able to come to an agreement to limit the burden of rising property taxes.

Perryman said he has related concerns with school choice proposals likely to be considered in a third special session that will begin on Oct. 9. The Legislature ended its last session in a stalemate between the chambers over a voucher program that would give parents access to state money to pay for private education.

If enacted, the voucher program may lead to public school funding reductions, Perryman said.

Looking at the demographics of Texas, it is apparent that how effective we are in educating students in the coming years is the single most important determinant of future growth, and some of the current trends disturb me, he said.

The measure is part of a larger $18 billion compromise on property tax relief between the Senate and House.

The bill passed with five votes in opposition in the House, all coming from Democratic members, and none in the Senate. Thierry said a previous version of the bill that did not make the final cut included relief for renters to account for landlords decreased school tax burden that may have moved the needle. It is not certain that renters will feel the benefit of their landlords 20% appraisal cap.

The amendment also does not include new funding for schools or teacher pay.
Next week the Texas Legislature will convene for yet another special session. This session will take up school funding, vouchers and education savings accounts. These proposals have been forwarded to the Legislature every couple of years since at least 1999. Texas legislators, both rural and urban, have rejected these schemes session after session. In the old days the organizations that pushed vouchers called for a pilot project. These groups had grassroots much like Astroturf. These programs did not appeal to the rural areas and were rejected by urban districts.

So we are left with the big question of why?

The proposals amount to a money grab. And taxpayers and citizens are left holding the bag. Arizona passed an education savings account (ESA) program a couple of years ago and the cost of the program has mushroomed to the point that some lawmakers are concerned that they could bankrupt Arizona. The amount of the voucher or ESA is far less than most private schools charge. And the vouchers/ESAs do not cover lunches, transportation, extracurricular activities and books. In Texas, we already have a choice. Charter schools, magnet schools and in-district transfer programs offer an array of choices for parents and kids. They provide meaningful choice, accountable choice  real choice.

Public schools were opened for all children, regardless of ability or financial ability. Private schools get to pick and choose which students they educate. Public schools provide the common language of culture and history that holds us together as a nation. Private or parochial education is filtered through a religious lens or a lens that tells the story that their constituents pledge to support. We are, after all, less than 300 years old.

Public education gave our young people a common language, a common worldview. Granted, we have had growing pains developing a story that includes all of us. But the system grew and continues to evolve. For our new nation to survive, our Founding Fathers saw the need to be able to read and think and discuss ideas. Governments such as ours cannot survive without it. This new nation provided instruction in the basics of reading, writing, mathematics, literature and critical thinking. This system built an educated workforce that builds economies, creates and innovates in agriculture and industry and the arts.

Approximately 95% of Texas kids attend a local public school. Private-school advocates waste countless hours and money trying to push an idea that has not been proven to work. Were better served to spend those funds completely rethinking who our public schools serve and why it is important to educate each and every child that comes through the front door.

Vouchers have been tested in Wisconsin, Arizona and California. The results have been the same. Cost overruns plagued the systems. Kids were often shortchanged in their learning. Academic results were mixed. Time was wasted. The voucher or ESA does not guarantee a different result. Education is so much more.

Public schools and private schools have a different mission. When public monies are given to private and parochial K-12 institutions, the taxpayer deserves an accounting of how those funds are spent. Public money compromises the mission of the private school, and if the voucher is given directly to parents, then what sort of system will the state put into place to assure that we are getting accountability for those funds? Forgive me if I sound like I am leery of government bureaucrats managing a tandem system of schools. To appease the fiscal conservative, guardrails must be in place to take care of the snake oil salesmen that sell false narratives.

Texas initiated charter schools a number of years ago. In order to foster creativity and innovation, oversight was loose. In the two years that transpired before lawmakers got back Austin to adjust the language of the legislation, schools folded and took their seed money, never to be found. Poorly run charter schools misspent money. A generation of young Texans was robbed of years worth of education. Those choice programs failed Texas children.

Lets do what we have never done. Let us use funds available to adequately and fully fund Texas public schools  schools that serve the lions share of Texas kids. Lets pay our hard-working and dedicated teachers a professional wage. Lets do what works. Provide engaging lessons. Create a safe and secure environment for teachers to teach and kids to learn. The time for experiments is over.
Masters of the Air, the third installment of the Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks-led World War II trilogy  following Band of Brothers and The Pacific  finally has a release date, according to Apple TV+. The first two episodes of the nine-episode limited series will premiere on Apple TV+ on Friday, January 26th. A new episode will then air every Friday through March 15th.

The development of the miniseries, which included production costs that exceeded $200 million, was originally confirmed by HBO in January 2013, but delays and budget considerations led to the project being dropped, according to a statement from the network. Announced as an Apple TV+ production over 18 months ago, the filming was once again delayed due to COVID-19 restrictions.

Based primarily on Donald L. Millers nonfiction novel, the story deals with the aerial wars in WWII through the eyes of men of the Eighth Air Force, also known as the Mighty Eighth, who brought the war to Hitlers doorstep.

Three years  from 1942 to 1945  of death-defying bombing runs by the Eighths Flying Fortresses over cities like Berlin, Dresden and Hanover by day as part of the Combined Bomber Offensive with the Royal Air Forces Bomber Command, operating by night, and since 1940, were, for much of the war, the only battles Allied forces waged inside the territorial borders of Nazi Germany.

So far, we know of two locations in Britain where principal photography has occured: Dalton Barracks near Abingdon, Oxfordshire, and another site in Chalfont St Giles, Buckinghamshire which the production team has already transformed to represent the bustling personnel hub of a US Army Air Forces airfield, complete with a collection of full-sized Nissen Huts and other outbuildings.

Dalton Barracks is presently home to elements of the British Armys Royal Logistics Corps, but until 1992 the base was an active Royal Air Force airfield known as RAF Abingdon, which dates back to the early 1930s. Based upon our research and images which recently appeared on social media, it looks like Dalton Barracks will serve as the production companys setting for outdoor airfield operation scenes for Masters of the Air. Once the news got out, it didnt take long for British aviation enthusiasts to make the pilgrimage to Abingdon in the hopes of capturing images of what was unfolding there. And indeed, one of these pilgrims, Nick Taylor, shared some of his pictures from the set with us which clearly reveal a pair of full-scale mockups for B-17 Flying Fortresses which served in the 100th Bombardment Group. According to reliable sources, these replicas, while not airworthy, were designed to be highly accurate reflections of the original airframe design, both inside and out. The fuselages, for certain, were built using original factory drawings, and at least one of the Forts has runnable engines.

From the photographs we have, it is clear that one of the replicas currently represents B-17F-85-BO 42-30064 Wild Cargo while the other is B-17F-30-VE 42-5867 Alice From Dallas. While these mockups will likely depict other tail numbers during filming, its clear that Alice From Dallas and Wild Cargo represent an aspect of the storyline, so it makes sense to delve into their histories a little.

Boeing delivered Wild Cargo to the US Army Air Forces on April 4th, 1943. Her combat career began with the 418th Bombardment Squadron, 100th BG at Thorpe Abbotts, England on September 6th, 1943, however it was to be a brief affair. According to Missing Air Crew Report 647, Wild Cargo was declared Missing in Action at La Rochelle on September 16th, 1943. Her aircrew that fateful day included Bob Wolff (pilot), Chas Stuart (co-pilot), Larry McConnell (navigator), Fred White (bombardier),: Carl Simon (flight engineer/top turret gunner), Ira Bardman (Radio Operator), Bill Casebolt (ball turret gunner), Art Eggleston (waist gunner), Willis Brown (waist gunner), and Alf Clark (tail gunner). The report cites that flak and enemy aircraft disabled an engine, and that Wild Cargo crashed in the Atlantic, off the island Ile Madame, some 12 miles south of La Rochelle, France. While her crew escaped by parachute, all ten of them became prisoners of war.

Alice From Dallas was a Vega-built (Lockheed) airframe, rolling off their factory production line in Long Beach, California on April 2nd, 1943. She the joined the 350th Bombardment Squadron, 100th Bombardment Group at Thorpe Abbotts on May 30th, 1943, but lasted only a few weeks more than Wild Cargo. Missing Air Crew Report 678 shows that the Army Air Forces declared the Fortress Missing in Action on a mission over Regensburg, Germany on August 17th, 1943. Flak damage knocked out two of her engines, and while most of the crew managed to bale out, the ball turret gunner, Bill Hinton, and one of the waist gunners, Edmund Musante, were not so lucky. Musantes parachute hung up on the aircrafts tail, while Hinton likely died when the aircraft crashed five miles east of Hasselt in Langerloo, Belgium. Of those who did successfully bale out Roy Clayton (pilot), Ray Nutting (co-pilot), John Burgin (flight engineer/top turret gunner), Bill Quinn (radio operator), Chas Bailey (waist gunner) all managed successfully evade capture. The Germans managed to capture Oscar Amison (Navigator) and Cliff Starkey (tail gunner) fairly quickly, while Ken Lorch (bombardier) spent eight months on the lam before he too became a prisoner of war.

Another set of interesting photos came from Hal Colliver, a British aviation enthusiast and pilot, who shared the aerial pictures below with us showing Dalton Barracks. They clearly depict the B-17s on their hardstandings, mimicking how they might have appeared during their original forebears service at Thorpe Abbotts during WWII.

Given the aircraft movie props revealed so far, and that the list of actors presently cast for roles in Masters of the Air all represent real-life characters within the 100th BG, it feels safe to say that the series will focus upon that specific unit, and the many experiences of its personnel. Much like the way Band of Brothers depicted the Screaming Eagle paratroopers of Easy Company in their advance from training ground neophytes to the battle-hardened and withered ranks who ended the war triumphant at the Eagles Nest in Berchtesgaden, it seems likely that Masters of the Air will follow a similar narrative arc, leading us from the 100th BGs formation Stateside and their training, to the fight across the Atlantic (ground crew sailed aboard RMS Queen Elizabeth) to their wartime home at RAF Thorpe Abbotts in the flat farming country of Norfolk, England and the ensuing melee over Europe which followed. The 100th BG bomber crews experienced some of the steepest losses during the early stages of Americas participation in the Allied strategic bombing campaign over Europe, gaining the brutally-earned sobriquet, The Bloody 100th, so there will be plenty of high stakes drama to reenact faithfully on the screen. (As an aside, the late David Tallichet, who established a vast collection of flyable warbirds, was himself a veteran pilot from the Bloody 100th.)

As was true for Band of Brothers, the cast of actors in Masters of the Air will feature a long list of talented, though largely unknown names whom viewers will likely remember long afterwards. We can glean some idea of what stories may feature in the miniseries based upon the published list of real-life airmen being represented. These include Major Gale Cleven (Austin Butler), Major John Egan (Callum Turner), Major Rosie Rosenthal (Nate Mann) and Sgt. Ken Lemmons (Raff Law), all of whom have significant stories to contribute. Sgt. Ken Lemmons was a crew chief in the 100th BG, so his character will likely prove a focal point for the group crew perspective of the war. And given the other names listed above, it seems clear that two missions will feature prominently in the series; the August 13th, 1943 Schweinfurt-Regensburg mission where nine of the twenty one 100thBG Forts participating failed to return, and the October 10th, 1943 mission over Munster where just one of thirteen B-17s from the group made it back, that being Major Rosenthals Royal Flush. His B-17F limped home on just two engines, with no intercom or functioning oxygen system, and a gaping hole in the starboard wing; it was just Rosenthals third mission. Major Egan, who led that mission over Munster, became a POW that day. Interestingly, Egan, who was the 418th BSs commanding officer, was only aboard that mission to avenge his great friend Gale Cleven, who had gone down over Bremen two days earlier. Cleven and Egan were roommates during their training back in the U.S., so it seems likely that their friendship will feature closely in the storys backbone, much as the relationship between Lieutenants Dick Winters and Lewis Nixon featured heavily in Band of Brothers. Indeed, Cleven became famous during training for buzzing a runway, at tree-top height, with all four of his engines feathered, a scene which hopefully makes it into the plot line! Furthermore, both men were reunited as bunkmates, soon after being shot down, at the Luftwaffe-run prisoner of war camp Stalag Luft III, which many may remember as the setting for The Great Escape

AppleTV+ announced wartime series Masters of the Air, which serves as a companion to Band of Brothers and The Pacific, will premiere on its streaming platform on January 26, 2024. The company also shared eight images to provide a first look at the show, helmed by Steven Spielberg, Tom Hanks, and Gary Goetzman.

The official photos (shared in the gallery below) show Barry Keoghan suited in his uniform as Lt Curtis Biddick alongside Austin Butlers Major Gale Cleven. They lead the talented ensemble cast that includes the likes of Callum Turner, Anthony Boyle, Nate Mann, Rafferty Law, Josiah Cross, Branden Cook, and Ncuti Gatwa.

So one can easily imagine how much dramatic material the screenwriters will work into the plot, and given the producers magnificent track record, it seems certain that Masters of the Air will become the authentic masterpiece we all hope it is destined to become!
JESUP  Authorities are pursuing federal weapons charges for a rural Jesup man who was found with guns and meth during a hunting investigation.

A grand jury based in U.S. District Court in Cedar Rapids returned an indictment charging 60-year-old Douglas Gilbert Uchytil with one count of drug user in possession of a firearm.

According to court records, Iowa Department of Natural Resources officers began investigating Uchytil in November 2022 after he was allegedly seen holding a crossbow and following an injured deer on private property.

In April, DNR officials obtained a search warrant for Uchytils home at 1251 175th St. and found 21 guns, meth, THC products and a large amount of cash.

He was charged in state court with identity theft and fraud for allegedly providing a Michigan doctors information in order to obtain in special disabled resident hunting permit in 2016, 2017, 2018, 2021 and 2022.

He also was charged with possession of meth with intent to deliver and cited for hunting with a vehicle and misdemeanor theft for possessing stolen trap tags that belonged to 18 people.

The federal indictment, issued Sept. 20, charges Uchytil with possession of guns found during the search, which include a .22-caliber Ruger pistol, a .22-caliber Star pistol, a 9 mm Helwan pistol, a .38-super Colt pistol, a 12-gauge Mossberg shotgun, a .22-cheeta Remington rifle, a .44-caliber Marlin rifle, a .22-caliber/.410 Savage long gun, a .410 Stephens shotgun, a 12-gauge Browning shotgun, a .22-magnum Ruger rifle, a 12-gauge Western Field shotgun, a 7.62 mm Zastava rifle, a .410 Remington shotgun, a 12-gauge Ithaca shotgun, a .22-caliber Ruger rifle and a 12-gauge Sears shotgun.

Photos: Hunters show off their harvest in Nebraska Hunting crew First buck First bucks Twins Opening morning buck Hunting Hunting Button buck Awesome hunt in Nebraska Five-point buck Hunting Deer Rick Payeur Archery buck Shot with 10 minutes left on opening day Jackson Wichman, Sprague Deshler on Nov. 14 First buck in Boyd County 11-year-old 9X7 Boyd County Double harvest Deer First deer hunt 2020 Deer Buck Commander Johnson County Hunting Easton Moore Katie Marie Sparks Garrett Rech Ashley Elizabeth Peterson Gail Loxterkamp Katie Marie Sparks Garrett Rech Gail Loxterkamp
WATERLOO  A Waterloo man who allegedly disappeared while awaiting trial for a December gun accident in Cedar Falls has been detained in Wadena.

Authorities allege David Jearld Samuell Chiles, 34, was found in a Wadena home with a .22-caliber assault rifle, meth, marijuana and pills during a Monday search. He was charged with drug possession offenses and interference, and weapons charges are pending, according to the Fayette County Sheriffs Office.

Chiles allegedly failed to show up for court in Waterloo for a misdemeanor reckless use of a firearm charge in September. The case stems from a December incident where he accidently fired a 9 mm Taurus pistol he was showing to a friend. The bullet struck a neighboring residence but no injuries were reported.

A warrant was filed following his absence from court and on Monday Fayette County sheriffs deputies and Iowa State troopers found Chiles on East Water Avenue in Wadena.

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CEDAR FALLS  Mayor Rob Green said in a statement he would consider vetoing a resolution, if approved, for repealing the College Hill visioning plan adopted in 2021.

A council majority consisting of Daryl Kruse, Susan deBuhr, Dave Sires and Dustin Ganfield requested Monday it be drafted in a 4-3 vote during committee. That resolution will be up for debate and a possible vote at the next meeting on Oct. 16.

The plan establishes recommendations for how to proceed with future development and improvements in the College Hill commercial and residential areas, and may be used to guide the crafting of new zoning code.

This is a decision that I believe properly rests with the next council, given that were only 90 days away from the start of the next term, Green wrote.

The majority went against the wishes of six residents, several of whom were candidates in the upcoming election or sit on the College Hill Partnership board.

Most of the majority fixated on the boundaries drawn up for the different areas within the district and which ones should be prioritized for revitalization.

Green recommended that a more appropriate time to determine the future direction of the plan would be during the citys annual goal setting sessions, scheduled either in November or December. During that time, sitting councilmembers and those recently elected come together to discuss priorities for the next year.

The election is on Nov. 7.

The repeal attempt follows a similar effort made by members of that majority to repeal the actual new zoning code that had been crafted for downtown from another vision plan. It drew gripes because of the code being based on form, like facade, rather than use, as well as specific parking requirements.

Green used his veto power similarly at the time when a majority attempted to expand the scope of the public review of downtown site plans that had been eliminated under the new downtown zoning code.

In other business, the council approved:

An agreement with Kubica Corporation for a partial tax exemption to allow the company to move forward with construction of new facilities in the citys industrial park.

Agreements for replacing the citys aging and out-of-date financial and payroll systems. One agreement is with CentralSquare Technologies, LLC., a company providing a product for the new Enterprise Resource Planning system. The upfront cost is approximately $462,000. The annual subscription cost ranges from about $219,000 to $332,000. The second agreement is with its consultant Berry, Dunn, McNeil and Park for project management services costing $511,080.

An agreement, in a 4-3 vote (deBuhr, Kruse and Sires dissenting), with the Cedar Falls Economic Development Corporation outlining requirements for $30,000 in base funding from the city for fiscal year 2024 and up to another $32,000 in incentive payments.

A resolution executing a plan for installation of art panels at 2016 College St. along the reinvigorated Pettersen Plaza in College Hill.

These used car brands saw the biggest drop in value since the pandemic's peak Used car values over time The one-two punch that has you paying more for used vehicles Honda Subaru Lexus Chrysler Cadillac Lincoln Audi Infiniti Mercedes-Benz Volvo Land Rover Fisker Polestar Karma Tesla
 The Collective West does not intend to give up the goal of inflicting a strategic defeat on Russia , as they formulate it. There are calls in the German Bundestag to quickly transfer Taurus cruise missiles to Kyiv. This was stated by the Chairman of the Defense Committee, Marie-Agnes Stark-Zimmermann. She emphasized that she considers potential attacks by the Armed Forces of Ukraine on Russian territory with these missiles justified.

Such a statement, imbued with Russophobia and revanchism, suggests that Berlin still has not realized what their mindless pumping of weapons into the criminal Kiev regime could lead to.

In addition, the other day, responding to a request from an opposition party asking for a public assessment of the activities of the SS Galicia division, which included Ukrainian OUN-UPA fighters during the Great Patriotic War, the German government stated that it was not ready to call Banderas anti-Semites and in general by the Nazis.

I have the same question for Marie-Agnes Stark-Zimmermann.  How does she feel about the SS division Galicia? Its so easy to answer this simple question. We will all understand why she advocates for continuing to pump up the Kyiv regime with weapons and considers potential strikes by the Armed Forces of Ukraine on Russian territory justified. How? After all, it wont be difficult to answer the question about the attitude towards the SS division Galicia and the OUN-UPA as a whole?

What does everything that I have given in the form of direct quotes and facts say? The fact that it seems that the German leadership has forgotten the lessons of history , although, it would seem, they should have remembered them better than others, been more sensitive and intolerant of any manifestations of misanthropic ideology, wherever this all happened.

But we see the opposite. Berlin denies the generally accepted fact of cooperation of Ukrainian nationalists with Hitlers Third Reich.

 Hence the logical conclusion: in todays Germany, the rehabilitation of Nazism is in full swing.

https://t.me/MariaVladimirovnaZakharova

WtR
To start peace talks, it is necessary for the enemy to recognize the realities, said Deputy Chairman of the Security Council Dmitry Medvedev.

He noted that Russia has never refused negotiations as a tool.

The question is what we are talking about, from what point we start. And the point here is very simple  we must recognize the realities, Medvedev said.

He also stated that the West is trying to push through a negotiation process that would contribute to the weakening of Russia simultaneously with the accumulation of forces by Ukraine.

Earlier, journalist Mark Temnitsky, in an article for the American edition of the Hill, expressed the opinion that if the Ukrainian Armed Forces do not succeed in the counteroffensive by the end of the year, a peace agreement will be concluded on favorable terms for Russia.

Medvedev

WtR
The February 28, 1874 edition of the Wisconsin State Register took note of the death of an old Winnebago chief. Yellow Thunder, a noted warrior and chief of the Winnebago tribe, living a few miles above us in the vicinity of the Wisconsin River, died about two weeks since, aged over 100 years, the article read.

It continued, Yellow Thunder was not, of course, included among those of his tribe that were removed by U.S. soldiers to Nebraska, but has been removed by a higher power.

Chief Wakajaziga (Yellow Thunder) died not far from the 40 acres he purchased in 1849 to try and avoid being deported again from his homeland. It was a land he shared with his spouse, Haakejaniheiga (Always in the Back), whom he shared his life with until her death in 1868.

Theres a marker for both of them near Baraboo. The two will be celebrated, as will all the Indigenous people of the area, on Monday with Indigenous Peoples Day.

This years celebration is sponsored by Sauk County, the Ho-Chunk Nation, the Aldo Leopold Foundation and the Sauk County Historical Society. The free event, open to all, runs from noon to 3 p.m. at the Aldo Leopold Foundation, located at E13701 Levee Road, northeast of Baraboo.

Guests will be invited to explore the Aldo Leopold Foundation grounds, where they will find Ho-Chunk artisans and vendors, food samples, musicians and exhibits.

There will be a short program at 1 p.m. honoring Wakajaziga and Haakejaniheiga and all Indigenous people. Governor Tony Evers will be in attendance for the festivities. Other guests will include Clayton Winneshiek, traditional chief of the Ho-Chunk Nation; John Greendeer, president of the Ho-Chunk Nation; Wifrid Cleveland, spiritual leader and prior president of the Ho-Chunk Nation; and Bill Quackenbush, tribal historic preservation officer for the Ho-Chunk Nation.

At 2 p.m. buses, will shuttle attendees to the nearby Chief Wakajaziga/Yellow Thunder Memorial to participate in a short ceremony to dedicate a new stone marker, interpretive panels and permanent Ho-Chunk history walk.

Yellow Thunder was born around 1774. Yellow Thunder was quite a noted character in his day, read a brief 1878 Wisconsin State Journal article about him, and took part with his tribe, on the side of the British, in 1812.

In 1828, Yellow Thunder and his wife, with 14 other chiefs, traveled as part of a delegation to Washington, D.C., to meet President John Quincy Adams. The government wanted to impress upon the Winnebago people, now known as the Ho-Chunk, after some resistance in Wisconsin, the federal governments might and how futile resistance would be.

Fort Winnebago in Portage was built. Treaties were created in which the Ho-Chunk were forced to cede their land. Yellow Thunder signed two of those treaties.

The treaties forced the Ho-Chunk people to move west of the Mississippi River. Yellow Thunder and Always in the Back refused. They were arrested at Fort Winnebago in 1840 and were forcibly removed from the area.

A Detroit Free Press article, dated June 24, 1840 stated, The last detachment of Winnebagos left Fort Winnebago on the 3rd inst. On their way to the Mississippi. The chief Yellow Thunder, who threatened resistance, was kept a prisoner, by Gen. Atkinson, till the last of his tribe were collected.

Once Yellow Thunder and Always in the Back were relocated, they walked back home. They were sent back. They walked home again.

In 1849, Yellow Thunder purchased the 40 acres just north of Baraboo. He and his wife lived there until their deaths. They built cabins. They welcomed all, Ho-Chunk and white settlers alike. Powwows were often held on the property.

Chief Yellow Thunder and Always in the Back were key leaders in the Ho-Chunk resistance to the forced removals of their people, said Paul Wolter, executive director of the Sauk County Historical Society. They are a key reason that the Ho-Chunk Nation of Wisconsin exists today. We are excited to honor them with new interpretive panels at the memorial.

Wolter said, The Sauk County Historical Society was founded in 1905 in many ways on issues related to Indigenous People especially the destruction of the mounds in the area. One of the first things SCHS did in 1907 was to work with others to purchase the land containing the Man Mound, a rare, man-shaped effigy mound northeast of Baraboo.

In 1909 SCHS created Yellow Thunder memorial to honor the chief and his spouse, Wolter said. We are excited to be a part of the fifth annual Indigenous Peoples Day in Sauk County, he said, to celebrate and honor the Ho-Chunk people and indigenous connections to the land.

A Nov. 24, 1869 issue of the Baraboo News Republic reported, This morning a delegation of eight head men of the Winnebago Tribe of Indians from the pinery regions between Portage and La Crosse, an uncommonly good looking lot of aboriginals, decked with paint and arrayed in their best toggery, invaded the Executive office to have a talk with Gov. Fairchild, and through him to send a message to the Great Father of Washington.

Yellow Thunder was part of that delegation, as were other men  Green Wing, Judge, Dandy and Dekorra among them. They smoked the pipe of peace, asking Fairchild, and President Ulysses S. Grant, to let them continue to live in the hunting grounds of his fathers, and asked that they be unmolested while they live peaceably with their white brothers.

That was what Yellow Thunder and Always in the Back always wanted, to live peaceably.

Close The Ho-Chunk Nations annual Neeshla Powwow has plenty of dancing, singing, food, and vendors to peruse, taking place August 25 through August 27 across the way from the Ho-Chunk Gaming Wisconsin Dells casino. The Ho-Chunk Nations annual Neeshla Powwow has plenty of dancing, singing, food, and vendors to peruse, taking place August 25 through August 27 across the way from the Ho-Chunk Gaming Wisconsin Dells casino. The Ho-Chunk Nations annual Neeshla Powwow has plenty of dancing, singing, food, and vendors to peruse, taking place August 25 through August 27 across the way from the Ho-Chunk Gaming Wisconsin Dells casino. The Ho-Chunk Nations annual Neeshla Powwow has plenty of dancing, singing, food, and vendors to peruse, taking place August 25 through August 27 across the way from the Ho-Chunk Gaming Wisconsin Dells casino. The Ho-Chunk Nations annual Neeshla Powwow has plenty of dancing, singing, food, and vendors to peruse, taking place August 25 through August 27 across the way from the Ho-Chunk Gaming Wisconsin Dells casino. The Ho-Chunk Nations annual Neeshla Powwow has plenty of dancing, singing, food, and vendors to peruse, taking place August 25 through August 27 across the way from the Ho-Chunk Gaming Wisconsin Dells casino. The Ho-Chunk Nations annual Neeshla Powwow has plenty of dancing, singing, food, and vendors to peruse, taking place August 25 through August 27 across the way from the Ho-Chunk Gaming Wisconsin Dells casino. The Ho-Chunk Nations annual Neeshla Powwow has plenty of dancing, singing, food, and vendors to peruse, taking place August 25 through August 27 across the way from the Ho-Chunk Gaming Wisconsin Dells casino. The Ho-Chunk Nations annual Neeshla Powwow has plenty of dancing, singing, food, and vendors to peruse, taking place August 25 through August 27 across the way from the Ho-Chunk Gaming Wisconsin Dells casino. The Ho-Chunk Nations annual Neeshla Powwow has plenty of dancing, singing, food, and vendors to peruse, taking place August 25 through August 27 across the way from the Ho-Chunk Gaming Wisconsin Dells casino. The Ho-Chunk Nations annual Neeshla Powwow has plenty of dancing, singing, food, and vendors to peruse, taking place August 25 through August 27 across the way from the Ho-Chunk Gaming Wisconsin Dells casino. The Ho-Chunk Nations annual Neeshla Powwow has plenty of dancing, singing, food, and vendors to peruse, taking place August 25 through August 27 across the way from the Ho-Chunk Gaming Wisconsin Dells casino. The Ho-Chunk Nations annual Neeshla Powwow has plenty of dancing, singing, food, and vendors to peruse, taking place August 25 through August 27 across the way from the Ho-Chunk Gaming Wisconsin Dells casino. The Ho-Chunk Nations annual Neeshla Powwow has plenty of dancing, singing, food, and vendors to peruse, taking place August 25 through August 27 across the way from the Ho-Chunk Gaming Wisconsin Dells casino. The Ho-Chunk Nations annual Neeshla Powwow has plenty of dancing, singing, food, and vendors to peruse, taking place August 25 through August 27 across the way from the Ho-Chunk Gaming Wisconsin Dells casino. The Ho-Chunk Nations annual Neeshla Powwow has plenty of dancing, singing, food, and vendors to peruse, taking place August 25 through August 27 across the way from the Ho-Chunk Gaming Wisconsin Dells casino. The Ho-Chunk Nations annual Neeshla Powwow has plenty of dancing, singing, food, and vendors to peruse, taking place August 25 through August 27 across the way from the Ho-Chunk Gaming Wisconsin Dells casino. The Ho-Chunk Nations annual Neeshla Powwow has plenty of dancing, singing, food, and vendors to peruse, taking place August 25 through August 27 across the way from the Ho-Chunk Gaming Wisconsin Dells casino. The Ho-Chunk Nations annual Neeshla Powwow has plenty of dancing, singing, food, and vendors to peruse, taking place August 25 through August 27 across the way from the Ho-Chunk Gaming Wisconsin Dells casino. The Ho-Chunk Nations annual Neeshla Powwow has plenty of dancing, singing, food, and vendors to peruse, taking place August 25 through August 27 across the way from the Ho-Chunk Gaming Wisconsin Dells casino. GALLERY: Ho-Chunk Neeshla Powwow The Ho-Chunk Nations annual Neeshla Powwow has plenty of dancing, singing, food, and vendors to peruse, taking place August 25 through August 27 across the way from the Ho-Chunk Gaming Wisconsin Dells casino. The Ho-Chunk Nations annual Neeshla Powwow has plenty of dancing, singing, food, and vendors to peruse, taking place August 25 through August 27 across the way from the Ho-Chunk Gaming Wisconsin Dells casino. The Ho-Chunk Nations annual Neeshla Powwow has plenty of dancing, singing, food, and vendors to peruse, taking place August 25 through August 27 across the way from the Ho-Chunk Gaming Wisconsin Dells casino. The Ho-Chunk Nations annual Neeshla Powwow has plenty of dancing, singing, food, and vendors to peruse, taking place August 25 through August 27 across the way from the Ho-Chunk Gaming Wisconsin Dells casino. The Ho-Chunk Nations annual Neeshla Powwow has plenty of dancing, singing, food, and vendors to peruse, taking place August 25 through August 27 across the way from the Ho-Chunk Gaming Wisconsin Dells casino. The Ho-Chunk Nations annual Neeshla Powwow has plenty of dancing, singing, food, and vendors to peruse, taking place August 25 through August 27 across the way from the Ho-Chunk Gaming Wisconsin Dells casino. The Ho-Chunk Nations annual Neeshla Powwow has plenty of dancing, singing, food, and vendors to peruse, taking place August 25 through August 27 across the way from the Ho-Chunk Gaming Wisconsin Dells casino. The Ho-Chunk Nations annual Neeshla Powwow has plenty of dancing, singing, food, and vendors to peruse, taking place August 25 through August 27 across the way from the Ho-Chunk Gaming Wisconsin Dells casino. The Ho-Chunk Nations annual Neeshla Powwow has plenty of dancing, singing, food, and vendors to peruse, taking place August 25 through August 27 across the way from the Ho-Chunk Gaming Wisconsin Dells casino. The Ho-Chunk Nations annual Neeshla Powwow has plenty of dancing, singing, food, and vendors to peruse, taking place August 25 through August 27 across the way from the Ho-Chunk Gaming Wisconsin Dells casino. The Ho-Chunk Nations annual Neeshla Powwow has plenty of dancing, singing, food, and vendors to peruse, taking place August 25 through August 27 across the way from the Ho-Chunk Gaming Wisconsin Dells casino. The Ho-Chunk Nations annual Neeshla Powwow has plenty of dancing, singing, food, and vendors to peruse, taking place August 25 through August 27 across the way from the Ho-Chunk Gaming Wisconsin Dells casino. The Ho-Chunk Nations annual Neeshla Powwow has plenty of dancing, singing, food, and vendors to peruse, taking place August 25 through August 27 across the way from the Ho-Chunk Gaming Wisconsin Dells casino. The Ho-Chunk Nations annual Neeshla Powwow has plenty of dancing, singing, food, and vendors to peruse, taking place August 25 through August 27 across the way from the Ho-Chunk Gaming Wisconsin Dells casino. The Ho-Chunk Nations annual Neeshla Powwow has plenty of dancing, singing, food, and vendors to peruse, taking place August 25 through August 27 across the way from the Ho-Chunk Gaming Wisconsin Dells casino. The Ho-Chunk Nations annual Neeshla Powwow has plenty of dancing, singing, food, and vendors to peruse, taking place August 25 through August 27 across the way from the Ho-Chunk Gaming Wisconsin Dells casino. The Ho-Chunk Nations annual Neeshla Powwow has plenty of dancing, singing, food, and vendors to peruse, taking place August 25 through August 27 across the way from the Ho-Chunk Gaming Wisconsin Dells casino. The Ho-Chunk Nations annual Neeshla Powwow has plenty of dancing, singing, food, and vendors to peruse, taking place August 25 through August 27 across the way from the Ho-Chunk Gaming Wisconsin Dells casino. The Ho-Chunk Nations annual Neeshla Powwow has plenty of dancing, singing, food, and vendors to peruse, taking place August 25 through August 27 across the way from the Ho-Chunk Gaming Wisconsin Dells casino. The Ho-Chunk Nations annual Neeshla Powwow has plenty of dancing, singing, food, and vendors to peruse, taking place August 25 through August 27 across the way from the Ho-Chunk Gaming Wisconsin Dells casino.
Summer is gone and autumn is here. At Necedah National Wildlife Refuge, the bucks will be shedding velvet from their antlers. The blazing yellow flowers of summer are beginning to brown and fall back into the ground. Egrets are in migration.

Salamanders, too. Some monarch butterflies are finding purchase on the wind, and the trees are jeweled with their autumnal change.

Its another season. Its another year to celebrate this circle of life. National Wildlife Refuge Week is Sunday through Oct. 14. Necedah National Wildlife Refuge, located at N11385 Headquarters Road in Necedah, is planning special events to celebrate its natural beauty with visitors.

Necedah is one of four refuges in Wisconsin. The others are Horicon, Trempealeau and Upper Mississippi River. Established in 1939, Necedah is famous as the northern nesting site for the reintroduction of an eastern U.S. population of the endangered whooping crane.

Its much more than cranes. Its home to the states largest wetland bog. Its home to pine, oak and aspen trees. It has rare butterflies, including the Karner blue butterfly, rattlesnakes, turtles and wolf packs. It also receives about 150,000 visitors annually.

For the special week, visitors will be treated to more than just natures wonders.

Festivities begin on Wednesday. The day is dedicated to the Friends of Necedah National Wildlife Refuge. Friends members, their guests, or anyone considering joining, is invited to gather at the visitor center at 11:30 a.m. for a free social time and lunch provided by the Friends.

At 1 p.m. author, photographer and educator Joe Riederer will share his love of wildlife through his photographs and stories.

For more information about the Friends of Necedah National Wildlife Refuge visit friendsofnnwr.org.

Events on Thursday, Oct. 12, are geared toward senior citizens. Co-sponsored by Necedah National Wildlife Refuge and Adams County Aging and Disability Resource Center, seniors are invited to attend a presentation, lunch and landscape bus tour.

The event begins at 11 a.m. with a presentation by refuge biologist Angie Diedrickson, followed by a lunch, then a bus tour beginning at 1 p.m.

Registration is required for the day. Contact Donna Richards at 608-339-4251.

On Friday, Oct. 13, Joe Riederer will be back at the refuge for a photography workshop. It runs from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m.

Reiderer is also the Friends of Necedah Wildlife Refuges Artist of the Month. Some of his work will be available for purchase at the visitor center.

Finally, families are invited to the refuge on Saturday, Oct. 14, for family day. The refuges blue goose mascot will be eager to welcome visitors from 9 to 11 a.m. At 11 a.m. there will be an interactive Laughing with the Animals workshop with David Stokes.

During the day, families also will be able to go on self-guided hikes, play wildlife bingo, watch birds from the observation tower, learn about beavers, and much more.

To register for events, or to learn more about the week, call 608-565-2551.

GALLERY: Necedah Trunk or Treating Trunk or treat 1 Trunk or treat 2 Trunk or treat 3 Trunk or treat 4 DSC_3656.jpg DSC_3657.jpg DSC_3660.jpg DSC_3664.jpg DSC_3666.jpg DSC_3669.jpg DSC_3671.jpg DSC_3674.jpg DSC_3677.jpg DSC_3688.jpg DSC_3692.jpg DSC_3704.jpg DSC_3708.jpg DSC_3728.jpg
Spongy moths are eating all the leaves off of Wisconsins oak trees. Emerald ash borers, a beetle native to northeastern Asia, are destroying street trees in Madison and beyond. Carp are swimming most everywhere, wreaking havoc on Wisconsins waterways. Lake Belle View, in Belleville, for instance, has a lot of carp, pushing out the native fish populations.

Invasive species are invading ecosystems throughout Wisconsin. Its a problem.

A team of 86 researchers from 49 countries recently released a four-year assessment of the global impacts of some 3,500 harmful invasive species. They found that economic costs now total at least $423 billion a year. Alien invaders play a key role in 60% of recorded plant and animal extinctions.

We also know that this is a problem that is going to get much, much worse, said Helen Roy, co-chair of the United Nations Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services report, in a statement.

The reports other co-chair, Anibal Pauchard, stated, Invasive species are affecting not only nature but also people and causing a terrible loss of life.

The deadly wildfires in Hawaii were driven, in part, by flammable invasive grasses brought over from Africa as livestock pasture.

Invasive mosquito species can spread disease, such as malaria, dengue and West Nile.

The Africanized honey bee and the red imported fire ant can attack humans with painful consequences.

The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources notes that invasive species are negatively impacting many of the states industries, including sport and commercial fishing, forestry, agriculture, and raw water users including power companies, industrial water users, and municipal water plants.

The Great Lakes sport and commercial fishing industry alone is valued at $4.5 billion and supports 81,000 jobs. Its at risk with the invasive species in its waters. The invasive round goby, for instance, native to central Eurasia, is eating the eggs of sportfish such as small-mouth bass, trout and sturgeon.

What can one do? Small things help. Look around, said Jasmine Wyant, invasive species coordinator for the Upper Sugar River Watershed Association. Observe your neighborhood. The park down the street. Do you notice an invasive species there? Raise your concerns. Get involved.

The Upper Sugar River Watershed Association, based in Mount Horeb, collaborates with organizations, governmental agencies, landowners and concerned citizens in a handful of counties in southern Wisconsin, including Sauk, Green and Grant.

We can make good decisions, Wyant said. Homeowners, for example, can plant native species in their yards over invasive species. However pretty honeysuckle and burning bushes are in ones yard, theyre harmful to local ecosystems.

The DNR has a good resource for homeowners that highlights native plants, where to buy them, how to landscape with them, and more, Wyant said. That information can be found at dnr.wisconsin.gov/topic/endangeredresources/nativeplants.

Beyond ones backyard there are organizations throughout Wisconsin working to eradicate invasive species. In 2002, state agencies joined with private partners in forming the Wisconsin Invasive Species Council. Council members come from a wide swath of concerned entities, including the Wisconsin Agri-Business Association, The Nature Conservancy, UW-Madison Department of Agronomy, the Wisconsin Department of Transportation and the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade, and Consumer Protection.

Start conversations, Wyant said. The more cooperation we have to face this issue the better.

Invasive species such as the non-native buckthorn, prevalent throughout Wisconsin, prevent the regeneration of young trees. Wisconsins forestry industry has revenue upwards of $2.8 billion annually, supporting 66,000 jobs. Invasive species could jeopardize those jobs.

Garlic mustard, a biennial flowering plant, and an invasive species, is outcompeting native species in Wisconsins forest understories, negatively changing the root dynamics in those areas.

Wild parsnip, purple loosestrife, Dames Rocket and other plants are being removed by organizations including like the Aldo Leopold Foundation, The Nature Conservancy, and the Baraboo Range Preservation Association (BRPA).

The BRPA incorporated in 1994 as a grassroots organization of landowners. Since, the group has worked to protect land, educate the public and organize, from time to time, to remove invasive species.

The organization frequently has work parties at two ongoing project sites within the city of Baraboo to restore habitat and remove invasive brush. One site is on the UW-Platteville Baraboo Sauk County campus. The other is at the Maxwell-Potter Conservancy.

Invasive species cause environmental harm, economic harm and cultural harm, Wyant said, hoping more citizens join forces and take up arms against Wisconsins invasive species.

GALLERY: Baraboo students remove invasive plant species along Ice Age Trail Gordon L. Willson Ice Age Trail 052518-bara-news-trail2 052518-bara-news-trail14 Gordon L. Willson Ice Age Trail 052518-bara-news-trail6 052518-bara-news-trail9 052518-bara-news-trail5 Gordon L. Willson Ice Age Trail Gordon L. Willson Ice Age Trail Gordon L. Willson Ice Age Trail 052518-bara-news-trail8 052518-bara-news-trail7 052518-bara-news-trail16 052518-bara-news-trail12 052518-bara-news-trail3 052518-bara-news-trail1
US Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota and U.S. Rep. Yvette Clarke of New York sent a letter Thursday to Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and X CEO Linda Yaccarino expressing serious concerns about the emergence of AI-generated political ads on their platforms and asking each to explain any rules theyre crafting to curb the harms to free and fair elections
FILE - Dr. George Tyndall, 72, left, appears with his attorney Andrew Flier during an arraignment at Los Angeles Superior court, July 1, 12019, in Los Angeles. Tyndall, the former University of Southern California gynecologist charged with sexually assaulting numerous students was found dead in his home on Wednesday, Oct. 4, 2023, according to his lawyer. (AP Photo/Richard Vogel,File)
FILE - The Fulton County Jail is seen April 11, 2023, in Atlanta. A Georgia state Senate committee is expected to announce Thursday, Oct. 5, that it's starting its own investigation into the troubled jail, months after the U.S. Justice Department unveiled a similar inquiry.
This photo released by the Syrian official news agency SANA shows Syrian men who were injured from a drone attack that hit a packed military graduation ceremony in the central city of Homs, lying in a hospital bed, in Syria, Thursday, Oct. 5, 2023. Syria's health minister has raised the casualty tolls from a drone attack that hit a packed military graduation ceremony to 80 killed and 240 wounded. It was one of the deadliest attacks on the Syrian army recently, with its conflict now in its thirteenth year. (SANA via AP)
In this handout photo released on Thursday, Oct. 5, 2023, Senior Researcher at the National Museum of Denmark Mads Dengso Jessen holds a window glass fragment from the Viking Age, in Copenhagen, Denmark, Sept. 8, 2023. Over the past 25 years, archaeologists have found glass fragments in six excavations in southern Sweden, Denmark and northern Germany and have analyzed fragments of glass panes to reach the conclusion: Vikings had windows with glass-panes.
Infratil Limited (IFT) today announced that Andrew Carroll will join the company as its new Chief Financial Officer (CFO) in late November 2023, succeeding Phillippa Harford who is stepping down after 8 successful years in the role.

Alison Gerry, Infratils Chair, said that Phillippa Harford will remain involved in a governance capacity with a number of Infratil investments, including as the Chair of One NZ and a director of NZX listed Manawa Energy and RetireAustralia, alongside her role as a Partner with Morrison & Co.

Phillippa has been an outstanding CFO since taking over the reins in 2015, supporting Infratils investment strategy, and recently leading the efforts on the successful acquisition of the other half of One NZ. I would like to thank Phillippa for her contribution to Infratils excellent performance for its shareholders.

Andy joins Infratil with over 30 years of experience in financial, commercial and operational roles, particularly in telecommunications and infrastructure sectors. He spent 12 years at Chorus, initially as CFO and most recently as GM Customer & Network Operations. He was the EY CFO of the year in 2017. He previously worked at Telecom in corporate finance and M&A roles, and had a decade of experience as an investment banker at Credit Suisse First Boston NZ.

Mr Carroll will join Morrison & Co on 1 November 2023 and formally transition into the role of Infratil CFO at the conclusion of the FY24 Interim Results on or around 22 November 2023.

As part of the transition, Infratil Finance Director Matthew Ross has been appointed as Deputy CFO. He joined Infratil in 2010, and is an Executive Director at Morrison & Co with an extensive financial background, covering financial reporting, investment management, M&A, and investor relations. Matt is a director of Wellington International Airport.

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At the start of 2022, many bars remained shell-shocked by the pandemic and were largely playing it safe; cocktail menus were limited to core essentials that bartenders could execute well in the age of "the new normal."

As 2023 gets going, we're rounding a new corner with fancy cocktail lounges, hotel lobby bars, and rooftop venues opening all over the place, and some longstanding spots have jettisoned tried-and-true tipples for complete rewrites of their drink menus.

While there are no doubt several new drinks awaiting their "iconic" status, this year list holds true to many of San Francisco's most recognizable, signature, "I'll have another" drinks.

There are, of course, several newcomers to the list that have aged into fame, including La Mar's pisco sour, Hog Island's mezcal-tinged michelada, and the pint glass-sized martini at Blondies. We're also toasting the post-Covid return of P.C.H.

Things are in flux right now, so get out there and make your way through this years list; we predict a shakeup come 2024.

Red Window Cobbler at Red Window. (Marc Fiorito)

Open Sesame at Causwells. (Stephanie Amberg)

Space Adventure Cobra at Kaiyo. (Courtesy of Kaiyo Rooftop)

1. 1934 Zombie at The Tonga Room. It may leave your head swimming, but just don't jump in the pool; rum, lime, grapefruit, cinnamon, falernum, absinthe, bitters. // Fairmont Hotel, 950 Mason St. (Nob Hill), tongaroom.com





2. 20th Century at Stookey's Club Moderne. Throw back this throwback; gin, quinine wine, creme de cacao, and lemon. // 895 Bush St. (TenderNob),stookeysclubmoderne.com





3. After the Gold Rush at Holy Water. It's still the holy quaternity; bourbon, pineapple gum syrup, apricot, and lime. // 309 Cortland Ave. (Bernal Heights), holywatersf.com





4. Bacchus Old Fashioned at Schroeders. Pair with a pretzel; German grape brandy, rye, bitters, sugar, absinthe. // 240 Front St. (FiDi), schroederssf.com





5. Bloodhound at Bloodhound. Send in the hounds; gin or vodka, grapefruit, lime, Campari, prosecco. // 1145 Folsom St. (SoMa), bloodhoundsf.com





6. Blood in the Water at Hog Island Oyster Co. Tomatoes in your throat; mezcal, jalapeno cordial, bloody mary mix, mignonette tonic, lime, beer. // #11 Ferry Building (Embarcadero), hogislandoysters.com





7. Bloody Mary at Zeitgeist. May make you see pink elephants; vodka, tomato juice, spices, and pickly garnishes. // 199 Valencia St. (Mission), zeitgeistsf.com





8. California Cooler at Horsefeather. Finer wine; gin, celery, lime, thyme, sauvignon blanc, horseradish, and sparkling wine. // 528 Divisadero (NoPa),horsefeatherbar.com





9. Cherry Bounce at Comstock Saloon. Get some pep in your step: bourbon, cherry brandy, lemon, bitters, and Champagne. // 155 Columbus Ave. (North Beach),comstocksaloon.com





10. Chinese Mai Tai at Li Po Cocktail Lounge. It was locally famous, then it got Bourdained; rum, Chinese liqueur, and pineapple. // 916 Grant Ave. (Chinatown), lipolounge.com





11. Czechs and Balances at The Sea Star. Czech it out: Bourbon, amaro, lemon, honey, allspice. // 2289 3rd St. (Dogpatch), theseastarsf.com





12. Destroyer of Bad Vibes at Ocean Beach Cafe. Kill icky juju, spare your liver; nonalcoholic botanical spirit, hemp and root spirit, honey, lemon, orange bitters, cinnamon. // 734 La Playa St. (Outer Richmond), oceanbeachcafe.com





13. Dublin Honey at The Ice Cream Bar. Youve earned this; Guinness, caramelized honey ice cream, Valrhona chocolate syrup, and port. // 815 Cole St. (Cole Valley), theicecreambarsf.com





14. Greyhounds Tooth at Spruce. Classing up the classic; vodka, Benedictine, grapefruit, lemon, grapefruit bitters. // 3640 Sacramento St. (Presidio Heights), sprucesf.com





15. Hat in the Ring at Junior. Throw your, you know; gin, bitter aperitif, grapefruit, and bitters. // 2545 24th St. (Mission), juniorbarsf.com





16. Holy Basil at Wildseed. Plant-based party over here; green chili vodka, lime, cucumber basil shrub. // 2000 Union Street (Cow Hollow), wildseedsf.com





17. House Campari Soda at Buddy. Open you palate, open your mind; bitter vermouth, cherry quinine liqueur, aperitivo wine, orange bitters, soda. // 3115 22nd Street (Mission), buddythebar.com





18. Irish Coffee at Buena Vista Cafe. The OG; Irish whiskey, coffee, sugar, and cream. // 2765 Hyde St. (Fisherman's Wharf), thebuenavista.com





19. Ive Grown to Love Life Too Much at The Interval at Long Now. Choose life; Cognac, spiced pear liqueur, and creme de cacao; shot of sparkling wine on the side. // 2 Marina Blvd. (Fort Mason), theinterval.org





20. Jamaican Zombie at Zombie Village. Wake the dead; rum, grapefruit, lime, mango, Doc's Spice #2, and Scotch bonnet chilis. // 441 Jones St. (Tenderloin), thezombievillage.com





21. Kentucky Buck at Rickhouse. Invented here, and world famous; strawberry-infused bourbon, lemon, and ginger beer. // 246 Kearny St. (FiDi), rickhousebar.com





22. Last Rites at Last Rites. Your first pick; rum, passionfruit, molasses, and spice mix. // 718 14th St. (Duboce Triangle), lastritesbar.com





23. Leeward Negroni at P.C.H. Cuckoo for coconut: gin, coconut-washed Campari, pandan cordial, bitters. // 550 Sutter St. (Union Square), pacificcocktailsf.com





24. Lost Resort at Lost Resort. The Last Word on the matter; gin, Chartreuse, hibiscus, and lemon. // 2736 20th St. (Mission), lostresortsf.com

The Passenger, at Bottle Club Pub. (Alex Garret)

25. Mai O Mai at True Laurel. Clarified and elevated; rum, lime, pistachio orgeat, curacao, and coffee-rum float. // 753 Alabama St. (Mission), truelaurelsf.com





26. Makrut Lime Fizz at Ernest. A carbonated key lime pie: gin, cachaca, sour cream, egg white, and soda. // 1890 Bryant St Suite 100 (Mission), ernestsf.com





27. Manhattan at The Progress. You butter believe it; black butter bourbon, sweet vermouth, and bitters. // 1525 Fillmore St. (Lower Haight), theprogress-sf.com





28. Martini at Blondies Bar. Sixteen ounces makes it iconic; vodka or gin and your choice of stuffed olive. // 540 Valencia St. (Mission), blondiesbarsf.com





29. Open Sesame at Causwells. Savory sensation; tequila, bianco vermouth, cold pressed poblano, lime, agave, and toasted sesame. // 2346 Chestnut St (Cow Hollow), causwells.com





30. Paloma Slushy at The Lark Bar. Frozen and fizzy; tequila, lime, grapefruit, guava syrup, and Sprite. // 29 Third St. (SoMa), thelarkbar.com





31. The Passenger at Bottle Club Pub. The Boulevardier visits Bermuda; bourbon, navy strength rum, Campari, sweet vermouth, passionfruit, and cinnamon. // 555 Geary St (Tenderloin), bottleclubpub.com





32. Peas for Bees at Casements. Easy peasy; mezcal, pea and strawberry citric acid shrub, lime. // 2351 Mission St. (Mission), casementsbar.com





33. Pineapple Sherry at ABV. The best worst kept secret (off-menu). // 3174 16th St. (Mission), abvsf.com





34. Pisco Sour at La Mar Cebicheria Peruana. The first spirit of San Francisco; pisco, lime, egg white, and bitters. // Pier 1  The Embarcadero (Embarcadero), lamarsf.com





35. Prickly Pear at The Snug. Safe to the touch; mezcal, nopales, prickly pear, amaro, lime, and habanero. // 2301 Fillmore St. (Pacific Heights), thesnugsf.com





36. Quarantine Order at Pagan Idol. Keep it to yourself; bitters, rum, cinnamon, passionfruit, grapefruit, and lime. // 375 Bush St. (FiDi), paganidol.com





37. Red + Blue at Konas Street Market. Whip it good; rum, sherry, ube coconut cream, citrus, and salted jackfruit whip. // 32 Third St. (SoMa), konastreetmarket.com





38. Red Window Cobbler at Red Window. Oh sherry!; sherry, tangelo, peach, fig, and two kids of bitters. // 500 Columbus Ave. (North Beach), theredwindow.com





39. Screen Test at The Madrigal. Tom kha gai in a glass; dark rum, kumquat liquor, basil, coconut milk, Thai chili, and lime. // 100 Van Ness Ave (Civic Center), themadrigalsf.com





40. Seafoam Spritz at Anina. Bouquet all day; elderflower, aperitif wine, lime, prosecco, and lemongrass. // 482 Hayes St. (Hayes Valley), aninasf.com





41. SF Yacht Club at 25 Lusk. A boat drink for landlubbers; vodka, grapefruit, cucumber, lemon, lime, and mint. // 25 Lusk St. (SoMa), 25lusk.com





42. Sidecar at Bix. Stay classy with a classic; Cognac, curacao, and lime. // 56 Gold St. (Jackson Square), bixrestaurant.com





43. Sometimes Old Fashioned at Cold Drinks. Duck would have it; Peking duck fatwashed Scotch, rye, lemon, pepper, mushroom, and bitters. // China Live, 644 Broadway (North Beach), chinalivesf.com





44. Slushy di Modena at Bar Nonnina. Shaved to order; gin, Italian amaro, Lambrusco, seasonal berries, and citrus over shaved ice. // Inside Fiorella, 240 Ninth Ave. (Inner Sunset), barnonnina.com





45. Smuggler's Rum Barrel at Smuggler's Cove. A secret mix with rum, juice, and spice, served in a barrel. // 650 Gough St. (Hayes Valley), smugglerscovesf.com





46. Space Adventure Cobra at Kaiyo Rooftop. Let it snake up on ya; gin, falernum, passionfruit, matcha coconut cream, lemon, and two kinds of bitters. // 701 3rd St (South Beach), kaiyosf.com





47. The Spritzzz at The Detour. Let's get spritzfaced; Aperol, sparkling rose, lemon, and soda. // 2200A Market St. (Castro), detoursf.com





48. Ten Forward at Mothership. Turn loose the juice; amaro, passionfruit, lemon, pea flower-infused vodka, and fennel. // 3152 Mission St. (Outer Mission), mothershipbar.com





49. Tommy's Margarita at Tommy's Mexican Restaurant. Zen and the art of agave; tequila, lime, and agave syrup on the rocks, no salt. // 5929 Geary Blvd. (Outer Richmond), tommysmexican.com





50. White Cap Martini at White Cap. Brine it on; gin and seaweed-infused dry vermouth. // 3608 Taraval St. (Outer Sunset), whitecapsf.com

(Courtesy of Old Potrero)

This fall, San Francisco has an extra special reason to raise a glass: the launch of the Old Potrero Old Rye Trail. Featuring more than 30 bars and restaurants across the greater Bay Area, the Rye Trail celebrates the SF-based companys three decades of 100-percent pot-distilled rye whiskey at the historic distillery in Potrero Hill.



The Rye Trail beckons cocktail enthusiasts to explore, sample, and savor Old Potrero straight rye whiskey neat or in speciality craft cocktails that celebrate SF neighborhoods. From the charm of old dives to the upscale ambiance of more modern establishments, the Bay's drinking scene has arguably never been richer. And with rye making a resurgence, the drinks on the Rye Trail offer a delightful mix of tradition and innovation, paying homage to the past while looking ahead. Here are a few to try now:

Yerba Buena Sling at Elixir. A tantalizing blend of Old Potrero Rye meets the sweet embrace of cherry heering and dry orange curacao, swirled with pineapple and lemon juices and kissed by a whisper of mint. // 3200 16th St. (Upper Market), elixirsf.com

Manhattan at Waterfront Restaurant. An urban symphony of flavors where Old Potrero Rye Whiskey and Carpano Antica sway in a timeless dance. Hints of orange bitters enhance the melody, all culminating in the sweet crescendo of a brandied cherry garnish. A cocktail that embodies elegance in every sip. // 7 The Embarcadero, (Embarcadero), waterfrontsf.com

Queen Sun at Third Rail. A concoction celebrating the citys warmest neighborhood where Old Potrero Rye whiskey mingles with the brightness of lemon juice and the nuance of Manzanilla. Hints of Amaro Montenegro dance with sweet pineapple gum syrup, all crowned by a dot of angostura bitters. // 628 20th St. (Dogpatch), thirdrailbarsf.com



Thank you to our partners at Old Potrero.
This month, Oaklands singular creativity gets a celebration all its own.

At the first annual Oakland Style week, theyll shine the spotlight on the fashion, art, food, music, and culture that make The Town so strikingly unique.

Devan Gregori's designs "empower women to be their best selves through fashion that is both fun and functional," she says. (Courtesy of Devan Gregori)

Inspired by the energy of New York Fashion Week, Oakland Style is a complete artistic expression of the citys vibrant community of makers filled with fun events over the course of five days. The celebration kicks off on October 18th with A Taste of Style, where seven top chefs meet vintage White Elephant Sale fashion at the Oakland Museum of California (OMCA), followed by Sounds of Style with Soul Mechanix, a concert mixing groove-based soul, progressive funk, and an unpredictable array of other influences at Yoshis.

Oakland is one of the most inclusive and diverse cities in the world [with] a beautiful, proud, authentic style, says Peter Gamez, president and CEO of Visit Oakland. Oakland Style is a wonderful opportunity for visitors to experience Oakland talent and the warmth, positivity, true love, and pride that our community has for The Town.

At the center of the festival is the dynamic lineup of activities being held at the Oakland Style Lab's Fashion Marketplace and Reimagine Fashion. The latter will host runway shows Friday and Saturday that show off the many facets of Oakland's style.

Oakland style is bold, confident, and unapologetic...enriched by a history of constantly questioning the status quo and advocating for what we believe in, says designer Devan Gregori. Her designs will appear at one of the weeks most anticipated events, a performance by aerial dance team Bandaloop on Sunday, October 22nd.

Dancers will perform suspended from a building facade at Frank Ogawa Plaza outfitted in my designs, explains Gregori. Its thrilling to be able to partner with such dynamic creatives. It will be unlike anything Ive ever done before!



Excitement about Oakland Style isnt limited to the designers and makers whose work will be on display, says Gamez. The entire town is buzzing with it.

Oakland Style will feature and make accessible the work of local designers. (Courtesy of Oakland Style/Visit Oakland)

Additional events include: Thursday nights Bespoke Cocktails + Stylish Conversations, a chat with local designers, artists, musicians, and chefs moderated by ABC7 news anchor Jobina Forston; Saturdays Oakland Art Murmur, when 16 arts venues will open their doors to guided walking, biking, and bus tours (as well as visitors who prefer to check things out on their own); a vintage shopping tour that will weave through some of the best shops in town; and the unveiling of a new art exhibit featuring the photographs of 100 community members at Uptown Station.

I think this event has the opportunity to become something incredibly special that we look forward to every year, says Gregori. By showcasing the eclectic, passionate and historic nature of Oaklands style, I believe it will inspire residents and visitors alike to continue to seek out creativity, ingenuity and to develop a meaningful sense of personal style that reflects who we are, where we come from, and where we want to go.



// Oakland Style, October 18-22; find more information and tickets to events at visitoakland.com.
Over 50 and cant leave the house without a full face of makeup? Think again.

Because Pamela Anderson just did exactly that  and not just to the grocery store, but to Paris Fashion Week of all places, where youth, beauty, perfection and glamour have been known to reign supreme.

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There is beauty in self acceptance, imperfection and love, the 56-year-old actress and animal-rights activist wrote on Instagram along with three images of her looking fresh-faced and makeup free in Paris, where over the past week she attended the fashion shows of heavy-hitters The Row, Isabel Marant, Vivienne Westwood and Victoria Beckham.

Its in stark contrast to the former Playmate and Baywatch stars heavily made-up blonde bombshell look of yesteryear, and people are taking notice. The natural beauty revolution has officially begun, proclaimed Jamie Lee Curtis in all caps on Instagram. The 64-year-old actress noted that while attendance at fashion week brings so many pressures and postures, Anderson showed up and claimed her seat at the table with nothing on her face. I am so impressed and floored by this act of courage and rebellion.

Other stars, including 51-year-old actress Selma Blair and former talk show host Chelsea Handler, chimed in on Curtis post: Love this. Beautiful self assuredness, wrote Blair.

Thats pretty iconic, added Handler.

So gorgeous, commented Who's the Boss? star Alyssa Milano, 50, while Broadway songstress Kristin Chenoweth, 55, posted a fire emoji, indicating that Anderson, even without makeup, was still hotter than ever. Brava Pamela, wrote actress Rosanna Arquette, 64.

So whats Andersons biggest beauty secret? These days? Dont do anything, she told media outlet i-d. Wake up, whatever is happening is just happening. Its all about self-acceptance. This is the chapter of my life Im trying to embrace now.

Her confident outlook on stepping out au naturel is refreshing to hear, though for many women perhaps easier said than done. Anderson, who is no stranger to the societal pressures on women and aging, shared her new mantra: Sometimes its challenging, and you just have to understand that youre good enough and that you are beautiful. I like to say the word life-ing instead of aging. Chasing youth is just futile. Youre not gonna get there, so its like why not just embrace whats going on.

Its made her getting-ready routine all the more streamlined, too. Since I just walked out the door this morning, I feel like a relief, like a weight off my shoulders, and I actually like it better. Im dressing for me now, not for everybody else.

Clad in a flowing floral-print dress by Beckham, Anderson described her look as something kind of feminine and whimsical, which is kind of my mood these days.

(Left to right) Viola Davis, Helen Mirren and Andie MacDowell walk the runway during Paris Fashion Week at the Eiffel Tower on Oct. 1, 2023 in Paris. Stephane Cardinale - Corbis/Corbis via Getty Images; Aitor Rosas Sune/WWD via Getty Images; Stephane Cardinale - Corbis/Corbis via Getty Images

And she was in good company in the City of Light, where fellow 50-plus stars Helen Mirren, 78, Viola Davis, 58, and gray-haired beauty Andie MacDowell, 65, made their mark on the runway. The actresses, all LOreal spokespeople, walked in the sixth annual Le Defile LOreal Paris  Walk Your Worth show on Sunday on the esplanade of the Eiffel Tower, proving that age is, as the saying goes, just a number.
by M. K. Bhadrakumar

A massive Western media barrage was to be expected caricaturing the election result of the runoff in the Maldives presidential poll in binary terms as Chinas gain being Indias loss.





It further laments that democracy is in peril in Maldives under the incoming presidency of Mohamed Muizzu, the incumbent Mayor of the capital city of Male, a brilliant technocrat by training who holds a doctorate in engineering from a British university and entered politics over ten years ago to serve as cabinet minister in successive governments and gained prominence for his pivotal involvement in overseeing significant infrastructure projects, most notably the iconic Sinamale Bridge, which served as a vital connection linking the capital city to the Velana International Airport on Hulhule and extending further to the planned new city of Hulhumale  and in the process got branded as pro-China by the western countries and the Indian media.





Maldives President-elect Dr. Mohamed Muizzu (C) addressing supporters, Male, October 2, 2023

Both assumptions about Muizzu are deeply flawed, anchored on the US so-called Indo-Pacific strategy and its geopolitical ramifications. They ascribe to Maldives a slot in the Indo-Pacific strategy, which it is expected to habitate without questioning, and deny that small countrys freedom of choice in a world in transition.





Maldives just displayed a thrilling finish to its presidential election, which was so hotly contested that a run-off became necessary and an opposition, which was the underdog, defeated the incumbent president by a convincing margin of 8 percent of votes polled.





Indeed, the sheer vibrancy of the democratic process that goes on inside the Peoples Majlis puts to deep shame all countries in the South Asian region, including Pakistan and the self-proclaimed mother of democracy next door, India.





Constitutional rule in Maldives dates back to 1932 when a constitution was drawn up opening vistas of democratic rule that the reigning Sultan felt threatened and mobs were instigated to publicly tear up the document. Since then the constitution has been revised several times. Incidentally, Maldives is considering a switchover to the parliamentary system which it considers to be a more representative form of government and a bulwark against the danger of concentration of power in the hands of an authoritarian individual.





The fact of the matter is that Maldives has a highly literate population which is politically empowered. Only Sri Lanka comes close to it in this respect in the region. The paradox is, these two countries also have something else in common  coping with a massive neighbour like India which taught them the art of navigating a robustly independent foreign policy to balance Indian hegemony.





There have been times when Male and Colombo wore a deceptive look of submissiveness but in reality, on vital interests they held fast and firm playing for time. In the current situation, quite obviously, they regard China as a balancer. Indians, with their zero-sum mindset, do not understand that these small countries are neither pro-India nor pro-China but want to be friendly toward both and would strive to take advantage of it to safeguard own interests, primarily in the economic sphere.





This is particularly so lately, as South Asia is turning into an arena of big power rivalry (which was never the case during the Cold War) and a new player has appeared in the region to impose its will  the United States.





It is not only Maldives and Sri Lanka but all countries in the region, big and small, including most recently Pakistan too, which are today under Western pressure to take sides. If the US feels emboldened to try to impose its hegemony over South Asian region, it is primarily because of the tacit support that India, the perennial swing state, extends to it.





The shift in Indian positions in the context of the growing transformation of US-Indian relations dates back to sometime circa 2006 with the dissolution of US-Indian antagonism following their nuclear deal. One of the structural factors that came into play in the making of this paradigm shift  Washington and New Delhi cooperating and coordinating their approach to South Asia  was the Indian and American desire to forge a new partnership grounded in promoting geopolitical equilibrium in Asia in the face of Chinas rise. The result is that India effectively became party to the American efforts to manipulate the South Asian regimes with a view to align them with its Indo-Pacific strategy.





Suffice to say, the current lamentation that China-backed candidate Mohamed Muizzu defeated pro-India President Ibrahim Solih,et al, is complete nonsense. Make no mistake, pro-India Solih never really turned his back on China. Nor was it the case that his decision not to terminate the Chinese projects in Maldives that were negotiated by his pro-China predecessor never stopped him from seeking a full-throttle India first relationship with Delhi.





Politicians resort to rhetoric in order to attract votes, which is seldom followed through. This is not a South Asian phenomenon, either  the US is currently negotiating a security treaty with Saudi Arabia, a country that Candidate Joe Biden once not too long ago had called Pariah.





India is deeply enmeshed in the finances of the Maldives, trade, infrastructure growth, etc. which are so fundamentally important for the growth of the Maldives that it will be very very hard to stop all that  ie., even if president-elect Muizzu wants to.





Second, make no mistake, geopolitics is not a burning concern for the people of Maldives, although there is a strong undercurrent of anti-Indian sentiments (as in all South Asian countries) that politicians exploit during closely-fought elections.





Arguably, India could as well have avoided the showdown with Solihs pro-China predecessor Abdullah Yameen if only powerful interest groups among the elites and within the establishment hadnt jumped into the fray over the decision in 2012 by the Yameen Government to cancel the GMR groups $511 million contract for modernising the Male Ibrahim Nasir International Airport. Alas, that still remains an untold story  and, probably, just as well.





Hopefully, history will not repeat, as president-elect Muizzu has already made his intention known publicly that he will stick to his campaign promise to remove Indian military personnel stationed in Maldives. The people have told us that they dont want foreign military here, he said. Delhi must calmly, rationally assess what Muizzus commitment entails.





An AP despatch claims Its a serious blow to India in its geopolitical rivalry with China in the India Ocean region. Is it really so? Apparently, 75 Indian personnel and two helicopters would tilt the geopolitical balance in the Indian Ocean in Indias favour!





Most important, Muizzu also went on to say that Maldives is against any form of foreign military presence on its soil  by any country. Wasnt it an insensitive move bordering on idiocy to station our military personnel in Maldives? Delhi should have anticipated a train crash at some point,





This is the sort of strategic overreach that the US usually makes in its hubris  eg., shoving shit down the throat of Boris Yeltsins Russia, as Bill Clinton once admitted in private to his aide Strobe Talbott during a visit to Moscow in January 1996 (aimed at ensuring Yeltsin won a second term), while also foretelling with great prescience that there was bound to be a backlash at some point.





Clinton was spot on; it came within six months when Vladimir Putin moved to Moscow from St. Petersburg to join the administration of President Yeltsin. The rest is history.

M. K. Bhadrakumar was a career diplomat by profession. Roughly half of the 3 decades of his diplomatic career was devoted to assignments on the territories of the former Soviet Union and to Pakistan, Iran and Afghanistan. Other overseas postings included South Korea, Sri Lanka, Germany, and Turkey. He writes mainly on Indian foreign policy and the affairs of the Middle East, Eurasia, Central Asia, South Asia and the Asia-Pacific.


New 2-year Odin Gas Supply Agreement

Melbourne, Oct 5, 2023 AEST (ABN Newswire) - Vintage Energy Ltd ( ASX:VEN ), 50% interest holder and Operator of the PRL 211 Joint Venture ("the joint venture", other interest holders: Metgasco Ltd, 25%; and Bridgeport (Cooper Basin) Pty Ltd, 25%) announces an additional two-year gas sale under the master gas supply agreement for the Odin gas field.



The joint venture parties have agreed and signed terms with Pelican Point Power Limited for the supply of gas from 1 January 2025 to 31 December 2026. The new sale follows the announcement on 15 May 2023 of agreement between the joint venture parties and Pelican Point Power for supply of gas from Odin from field start-up to December 2024, the maximum period then available under then existing ACCC authorisation.



Signing of the new agreement follows the commencement of supply from Odin to Pelican Point Power on 14 September 2023.



The new transaction was initiated following receipt of ACCC authorisation (announced 28 May 2023), allowing Vintage and its joint venture parties to jointly market gas for longer terms than the preceding interim authorisation which permitted marketing for supply to December 2024.



Prices agreed for the new agreement are consistent with current expectations for gas supplied to the east coast domestic market in 2025 and 2026. Vintage and its joint venture parties are exempted from the gas price cap as producers supplying less than 100 PJ exclusively to the domestic market. The agreement provides for interruptible supply of all gas produced from the Odin gas field in the contract period.



Pelican Point Power Station is a 497 MW combined cycle gas power plant in South Australia operated by ENGIE Australia & New Zealand. The plant is regarded as a critical infrastructure asset for energy security and system stability in South Australia.



Vintage Managing Director, Neil Gibbins, said "we are very pleased to have extended our agreement with ENGIE for supply to Pelican Point Power.



"Interest in securing gas supply remains strong and we were keen to add to our contract coverage at Odin once we were granted the necessary ACCC authorisation. The price cap exemptions provided to producers selling to the domestic market provides a strong incentive for connection and contracting of new gas supply and, with this latest agreement, we have now met our contracting targets for the medium term. Vintage has a strong contractual position as a dual field producer".





About Vintage Energy Ltd





Vintage Energy Ltd (ASX:VEN) has been established to acquire, explore and develop energy assets principally within, but not limited to, Australia, to take advantage of a generally favourable energy pricing outlook.

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Meanwhile, the Drew Barrymore-hosted daytime talk show has announced on its official social media pages that season 4 is set to premiere on Monday, October 16.

Oct 5, 2023

AceShowbiz - "The Drew Barrymore Show" continues to face setbacks even after the WGA strike has ended. It has been reported that three co-head writers of the Drew Barrymore-hosted daytime talk show have chosen not to return to the show.

Sources claim to The Hollywood Reporter that Chelsea White, Cristina Kinon and Liz Koe refuse to re-join the show after it previously planned to resume filming sans writers amid WGA strike. Following the writers' withdrawal, the production is allegedly interviewing new writers now and will be in compliance with the guild.

Prior to this, the three writers told the news outlet that they found out that "Drew" was returning, not from their boss or colleagues, but via audience ticket giveaways posted on social media instead. "It is a bummer to hear that the show is going back because it sends a message that union writers are not valuable," White said on September 11, the show's first day back in production amid the strike.

Kinon added, "I understand that everybody has to do what they feel is best for them. For me and the WGA writers on the show, it's important for us to stick with our union. We deserve a fair contract, so we are here today outside." When asked if they planned to return to the show once the strike was resolved, White said at the time, "Maybe no comment."

Meanwhile, "The Drew Barrymore Show" recently announced that season 4 is set to premiere on Monday, October 16. The syndicated show broke the news on its social media pages on Tuesday, October 3, writing, "This just in: We're kicking off our brand new season on Monday, October 16th!"

Barrymore was under fire last month when she made the decision to bring back her show amid the strike. "I own this choice," she wrote at the time. "I certainly couldn't have expected this kind of attention, and we aren't going to break rules and we will be in compliance. I wanted to do this, because as I said, this is bigger than me and there are other people's jobs on the line."

Following the backlash, the "Charlie's Angels" actress shared a tearful apology video. She also revealed on September 17 that she decided to halt her show's season premiere. "I have no words to express my deepest apologies to anyone I have hurt and, of course, to our incredible team," Barrymore wrote in an Instagram post. "We really tried to find our way forward, and I truly hope for a resolution for the entire industry very soon."



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The series regular of 'The Kardashians' reportedly is invited by the social media personality to have a blast at her 26th birthday bash at the InterContinental Paris Le Grand.

Oct 5, 2023

AceShowbiz - Kylie Jenner allegedly left Jordyn Woods feeling "snubbed" for not being there on her special day. A few months after going public with her and her former bestie's reunion, the series regular of "The Kardashians" reportedly "skipped" the social media personality's birthday party.

Speaking to Page Six on Wednesday, October 4, a source revealed that the 26-year-old reality TV star did not make an appearance at Jordyn's birthday bash, which took place at the InterContinental Paris Le Grand in Paris, France. The outlet also unveiled that she had been invited by Jordyn to have a blast at the party.

Prior to the festivities, Kylie was in Paris for a number of days to attend several shows during the 2023 Paris Fashion Week, per the outlet. Moreover, she and Jordyn might have hung out together when both of them were in town. Another source told the outlet that "there are images of them together several times in Paris."

However, the outlet spilled that the Kylie Cosmetics founder jetted out of the City of Love and went back to Los Angeles on Saturday, September 30. It remains unclear why she chose to fly back to the city in California and skipped Jordyn's lavish party.

Despite Kylie's absence, Jordyn still had a blast at the celebration of her 26th birthday. She was joined by a number of other famous stars, including actor and rapper Jaden Smith, who was romantically linked to Kylie in the past.

For the special occasion, Jordyn looked stunning in a nearly all-black ensemble. She donned a black-and-white mini dress that came with an off-the-shoulder and low-cut design. She put on a pair of strappy black open-toe high heels that had white flower embellishments, a sparkling diamond necklace, a pair of earrings and several rings.

Previously, Kylie rekindled her friendship with Jordyn following a public drama with the former's sister Khloe Kardashian and Tristan Thompson. On July 16, the two former besties went public with their reunion while enjoying dinner together at a restaurant in Los Angeles. They appeared to be in a good mood throughout the night out.

Later on, it was reported that Kylie and Jordyn had been keeping their friendship away from the public's eyes. "Kylie and Jordyn have been in touch for a while now. [They] have had a friendship for the last year, but have kept it pretty private and low-key. They had to work at rebuilding," a source told The Messenger in July.

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The 58-year-old actress claims in the lawsuit that the 71-year-old producer, who is behind bars serving a 23-year sentence for rape, sexually assaulted her following a business dinner in 1995.

Oct 5, 2023

AceShowbiz - Actress Julia Ormond is suing Harvey Weinstein for sexual battery. The "Legends of the Fall" star filed a lawsuit against the disgraced Hollywood producer on Wednesday, October 4, alleging he sexually assaulted her following a business dinner in 1995.

The 58-year-old actress claims in the lawsuit 71-year-old Weinstein, who has been accused by more than 100 women of sexual abuse and is behind bars serving a 23-year sentence for raping an aspiring actress and sexually abusing a TV and film production assistant, told her he would only discuss a project "back at the apartment Miramax had provided for Ormond as part of their first-look deal with her."

Ormond said she agreed to have Weinstein come to her apartment where he allegedly "stripped naked and forced her to perform oral sex on him." After the alleged incident, the "Sabrina" actress said in her suit she informed her agents Kevin Huvane, 64, and Bryan Lourd, 62, about what apparently occurred. However, Ormond said they advised her against speaking out and did not protect her afterward.

She is also suing Creative Artists Agency (CAA) for negligence and breach of fiduciary duty as well as Miramax and the Walt Disney Company for negligent supervision and retention. Kevin and Bryan, who are co-chairmen of CAA, are not named as defendants in the lawsuit but are named throughout Ormond's filing as her representatives during the time she was allegedly targeted by Weinstein. The lawsuit claims the "men at CAA who represented Ormond knew about Weinstein."

It added, "So too did Weinstein's employers at Miramax and Disney. Brazenly, none of these prominent companies warned Ormond that Weinstein had a history of assaulting women because he was too important, too powerful, and made them too much money."

ollowing the lawsuit filing, Ormond released a statement in which she shared that she has been living with the "painful memories" Weinstein allegedly caused her for "decades." She said, "I seek a level of personal closure by holding them accountable to acknowledge their part and the depth of its harms and hope that all of our increased understanding will lead to further protections for all of us at work."

In February, Weinstein was sentenced to another 16 years in prison after he was convicted in December 2022 on counts of forcible rape, forcible oral copulation and sexual penetration by a foreign object of an Italian model in February 2013.

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by Jonathan Broder

A few months before the July military coup that toppled Nigers civilian government, a visiting team of American counter-terrorism officials dropped by the U.S. embassy in Niamey, the capital, where the CIA station chief briefed them on the security situation in the West African country. The visitors asked about the possibility of a military takeover in Niger, having in mind the governments poor showing against Islamist militants and the coups that have plagued other countries in the region in recent years.





U.S. officials expressed confidence in President Mohamed Bazoums regime only hours before he was toppled. (GETTY IMAGES)

Not gonna happen, the station chief confidently assured them, adding: Dont worry, we got this.





Fast forward to the morning of July 25. At another embassy briefing, American diplomats told NBCs Courtney Kube that despite the Nigerien governments reputation for corruption, it was still far more stable than others in West Africa. That wishful assessment of Nigers political stability fell apart just a few hours later, when the countrys military leaders overthrew the democratically elected president, Mohamed Bazoum.





Its no surprise that the coup in Nigerthe seventh country in Africas Sahel region to be taken over by the military since 2020blindsided both the CIA and U.S. diplomats. For years, the United States has seen Africa as a low strategic priority, posting relatively small numbers of diplomats, intelligence officers and troops there. President Biden has tried to reverse that policy, introducing ambitious plans to deepen diplomatic and trade relations with African governments as a way to compete with the China and Russias growing presence of China and Russia on the continent. But the burgeoning strength of Islamist militants across the Sahel, a roughly 3700-mile wide, semi-arid band stretching from the Atlantic Ocean to the Red Sea, still remains the dominant focus of U.S. intelligence collection there, current and former U.S. officials saynot on the internal disputes or tensions between the regions political and military leaders.





Our intel is focused squarely on counter-terrorism, Michael Shurkin, a former CIA Africa analyst, told SpyTalk. Were not spying on the military or the security forces. Though its well within their capabilities, the NSA is not listening in on the private phones of the Nigerien general staff and all of its general officers. Theyre not focused on that. Theyre focused on counter-terrorism.





Source: SpyTalk
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The mother of two looks chic in spandex tights and a tutu peplum top when heading to a Manhattan restaurant to celebrate her partner A$AP Rocky's 35th birthday.

Oct 5, 2023

AceShowbiz - Rihanna has enjoyed a date night in New York City with A$AP Rocky after welcoming their second child. Making her first public appearance since giving birth to son Riot Rose, the Barbadian beauty showed her post-pregnancy style in a stylish look.

On Tuesday, October 3, the Grammy winner stepped out with her rapper beau for a dinner date at the celebrity-loved restaurant Carbone in Manhattan seemingly to celebrate his 35th birthday. For the occasion, the mother of two rocked a a black tulle peplum top that looked like it had a tiny tutu with Balenciaga pantaleggings.

The 35-year-old paired her ballet-core ensemble with a satin mini bomber jacket, a pearl necklace and sunglasses as she looked effortlessly cool. Her hair was styled in a messy updo as she accessorized with hoop earring and a pair of dark shades.

Rocky looked equally chic in light-wash jeans, a gray T-shirt over a button-up shirt and tie with a fall-ready brown blazer on top of them all. Not afraid to experiment with his looks, he wore white pearl clips all over his hair and carried a bubblegum pink Barbiecore Bottega Veneta bag as he had a cigarette on his lips.

Rihanna gave birth to her second child Riot Rose at Cedar Sinai Hospital in Los Angeles on August 1, 2023 at 7:41 A.M., according to his birth certificate. The couple reportedly chose the floral name for their second son because of Rocky's love of flowers.

However, it wasn't until in September that the proud parents broke their silence on the matter by debuting first look at their newborn son. The pair shared some new pictures from their family photo shoot which also featured their firstborn, one-year-old RZA.

For the photo shoot, the family put on casual but stylish looks. The Fenty Beauty founder showed off her cleavage in a denim jacket and navy leggings. Meanwhile, the Harlem artist rocked a white tank and silver chain with jeans, covering up with a green flannel in other snaps.

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In a new interview, the Netflix's series showrunner Matt Owens mentions talks about casting the 'Everything Everywhere All at Once' actress as Doctor Kureha for the upcoming sophomore season.

Oct 5, 2023

AceShowbiz - Netflix's "One Piece" showrunner is offering fans some updates on season 2 of the live-adaption to Eiichiro Oda's best-selling manga of the same name. In a new interview, Matt Owens mentioned talks about casting Jamie Lee Curtis for the upcoming sophomore season.

"We have opportunities to stunt cast some roles, some rules that are very important, and it came out that Jamie Lee Curtis is a 'One Piece' fan," Matt told Deadline. The "Halloween Ends" actress previously showed interest in playing the role of Doctor Kureha.

Matt continued, "As soon as she said that, we were like, okay, we have to try and get her on the show. What can we do? And Doctor Kureha, very luckily, is a character who is coming up in our story, and is someone who is perfect for Jamie Lee Curtis. So we tried to start manifesting this dream of ours."

"After she won her Oscar, the writers room sent her a figure of Doctor Kureha with a nice note that said, 'Congratulations on your statue, here's another one to put next to it. Hope to speak to you soon.' When she reposted that, it got a lot of fan interest, and I commented on it. We're trying to manifest it," he added, though he noted that "as of right now, SAG is still striking so there have not been real conversations."

Despite that, Matt assured fans that "as soon as there can be, I'm ready. I will take her out to dinner, we'll talk about it. We'll do all of it because at this point we're writing for her - we really, really want her to come and play with us in season 2."

Jamie showed interest in playing Kureha in an Instagram post last month. After fans urged the show to cast Jamie as the character, who is the adoptive mother of Tony Tony Chopper, the actress wrote on her page, "ONCE the STRIKE against the greed of the AMTPT is SETTLED with a FAIR CONTRACT, I will lobby along with the growing fan frenzy to become Doctor Kureha in @onepiecenetflix."

The "Everything Everywhere All at Once" actress seemingly didn't have to put into so much effort to get the role. Matt responded at the time, "No need to lobby. Once we get what we deserve and get back to work, let's talk!"

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When recalling the moment, the Mexican-American actor notes that he wrote down questions for Ben in a hurry and the 'Gone Girl' star noticed that the TV host was not prepared right away.

Oct 5, 2023

AceShowbiz - Mario Lopez has recalled the moment he interviewed Ben Affleck. When recounting the experience in an exclusive Us Weekly cover story, the "Saved by the Bell" alum said their interview was "very awkward and uncomfortable" enough that he will never forget it.

"One time when I interviewed Ben Affleck for a movie  I didn't want to do it because I wasn't prepared," the 49-year-old told the outlet. "And they said, 'We don't have anyone, you have to do it.' I was like, 'Oh, God.' "

Mario noted that he wrote down questions in a hurry and Ben noticed that the TV host was not prepared right away. "He was looking at me [like], 'You didn't see this, you don't know what you're talking about,' " he shared.

Although the "Gone Girl" star was "cool" about the botched conversation, the Mexican-American actor felt "very awkward and uncomfortable" with the situation. "He could see through me! And I'll never forget that. And I was like, 'Never again am I going to try to fake it,' " he declared.

Mario seemingly has learned his lesson. With his experiences, he manages to keep his cool when interviewing some Hollywood big names, even when he got starstruck. "Now I've interviewed [celebrities] so much, they're friendly with me and I'm cool," he dished.

Of his meeting with the likes of Al Pacino, Robert De Niro and Arnold Schwarzenegger, Mario explained, "Those guys were larger than life." He then raved, "All the people that you liked as a little kid, [it] makes you feel like a little kid when you see them again for the first time. And now I'm friendly with them."

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Cover Images/Dutch Press Photo Movie

The 'Banshees of Inisherin' actor opens up on his meager budget to make a 'Clockwork Orange'-inspired audition tape that wowed director Matt Reeves and Landed him The Joker role.

Oct 5, 2023

AceShowbiz - Barry Keoghan needed just $10 to make his self-tape audition for "The Batman". The 30-year-old star auditioned for the role of The Riddler in the movie, and while he lost out to Paul Dano, the actor's budget "Clockwork Orange"-inspired audition tape did enough to impress director Matt Reeves and land him the part of The Joker.

"I just made it up. I wanted to make it Kubrick-y, symmetrical, the X on the back, the square doorframe, everything square. I just wanted swag to come across. Swag and endearing. It was just me giving my idea. And then I's like, 'I'ma send this in!' " Keoghan, who spent $10 on a cane and a hat for the tape, told Esquire magazine.

Last month, Keoghan explained his version of The Joker - a character previously portrayed by the likes of Jack Nicholson, Heath Ledger, and Joaquin Phoenix - is "a bit charming and a bit hurt." "The Banshees of Inisherin" star told GQ Magazine, "I wanted some sort of human in there behind the makeup. I want people to relate to him ... [to know] this is a facade he puts on."

Keoghan was told he had landed the Joker role during a phone call with his agent while he was having dinner with a pal in New York. His agent told him at the time, "The Batman wants you to play the Joker - but you cannot tell anyone."

Keoghan has been keen to land a comic book character role for years, and in 2013, he tweeted legendary Marvel Comics writer Stan Lee. The "Top Boy" star wrote at the time, "@TheRealStanLee Stan Lee, Please make me a SuperHero ,) (sic)."

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Over the last 100 years, The Walt Disney Company has made wishes come true both in its storytelling and for millions of people around the world. On Wednesday, the company debuted a new campaign that highlights that important tradition.

Disney is launching the Wish Together campaign that celebrates its decades-long relationship with Make-A-Wish as well as the release of Disneys highly anticipated animated feature, Wish. The filmwhich is set in a magical kingdom where wishes come truehits theaters on November 22.

Wish Together invites the public to join Disney in supporting Make-A-Wish with the Wish Together Sweepstakes* for a chance to win a myriad of prizes. That includes a three-night stay in a Club Level Concierge room at a Disney Deluxe Resort hotel at Walt Disney World Resort along with a Disney Cruise Line vacation to The Bahamas aboard the Disney Wish in a 1-bedroom Concierge Suite.

For every entry received now through January 31, 2024, Disney will donate $5 to Make-A-Wish (up to $1 million) to grant life-changing wishes for children with critical illnesses.**

In addition to the sweepstakes, a new Wish product collection features a range of offerings including costumes and accessories, apparel, and toys such as a singing doll and light-up plush. To add even more magic to the collection from the Walt Disney Animation Studios film, Wish, Disney will donate 10% of the sale price to Make-A-Wish, up to $1 million, for each of these items sold. (Donations only apply to sales at US Disney stores, shopDisney.com, Disney Cruise Line ships, and Disney-owned locations at Disneyland Resort and Walt Disney World Resort.)

At Disney, weve always believed in the magic of making wishes come true, said Lisa Haines, Senior Vice President of Corporate Social Responsibility at Disney. Our relationship with Make-A-Wish has spanned over four decades, and its a testament to our commitment to delivering joy to children and their families.

Haines added that with the Wish Together campaign, we are thrilled to invite fans to bring to life the spirit of our latest film Wish while coming together to support Make-A-Wish.

Disney and Make-A-Wish have worked together to grant life-changing wishes for kids facing critical illnesses and their families for more than four decades. In fact, the first official wish was granted at Disneyland Resort. The vital collaboration has led to more than 150,000 Disney wishes granted globally with Make-A-Wish.
The great Indian festive season is the perfect opportunity for brands to connect more with the consumers and on a personal level. It allows brands to celebrate the joy of festivities together with the consumers, and at the same time have a higher revenue growth. In the post pandemic period, brands have become more aware and started to include more empathy elements in the ads they are coming up with, encouraging people to be more empathetic towards each other. This can be found in ad films such as #HumSabkiDiwali campaign by Jindal Steel and many others like Coca-Colas #MilkeHiManegiDiwali, which encouraged people to meet their family, friends during the festive period and not just greet via social media. Coca-Cola also collaborated with Glance, in order to help consumers to send personalised Diwali greetings to their loved ones, utilising the smart lockscreen feature of Glance.

Given the positive consumer and market trends, brands have increased their ad spends by as much as 15% this festive season, as per various reports. According to InMobis The Marketers Guide to Festive Season Report, mobile has emerged as a significant medium for consumers to indulge in festive shopping and for brands to advertise, with around 78% of consumers resorting to mobile-based shopping, encouraging brands to have a mobile-first approach while devising their marketing strategies and campaigns. Three distinctive shopper personas have emerged  the unplanned shoppers, the brand lovers, and the category explorers. As the name goes, unplanned shoppers are those who dont plan ahead of their shopping and explore various options on their shopping journey, the category explorers are those who know what to buy, but have no specific brand name in mind, and lastly, the brand lovers are those who are brand conscious and brand loyal, resorting to making purchases from their preferred brands; these are high intent consumers. According to reports, around 58% of the brand lovers category of shoppers are expected to spend over Rs 50,000 this festive period, offering a fruitful opportunity for brands to engage with these consumers.

Brands have understood the importance of accurate audience targeting this festive period and are tapping into the opportunity of the growing inclination of consumers towards hybrid shopping. 54% of consumers prefer hybrid shopping, while 44% are more likely to make online purchases. 63% of shoppers are showing decreased price consciousness. Consumers are also showing a drive towards self-love, self-exploration and hybrid shopping this festive season, while 67% of women are finding themselves to be the primary decision maker for making festive purchases.

Factors driving festive spending this year

According to Himanshu Arora, Co-Founder of Social Panga, the factors driving festive spending this year are a mix of multiple factors like consumer behaviour, economic conditions, and evolving marketing strategies in the digital era. All the industries have come back to the pre-Covid days and festive spending is nothing new. Revenge buying is no more a factor, it is the value that everyone sees in the purchase. Overall, the confluence of consumer enthusiasm, the convenience of online shopping, targeted marketing efforts, the influence of social media, and attractive financing options are the key factors driving festive spending this year. With the rise of online shopping, consumers have greater access to a wide array of products, competitive prices, and the convenience of doorstep delivery. This has not only expanded the market but also encouraged more spending.

He further elaborated, The festive ad spend scenario by brands on media platforms this year reflects the evolving landscape of advertising, with a notable shift toward digital channels and a heightened focus on customer engagement.Brands are increasingly allocating a significant portion of their festive ad budgets to digital platforms. This includes social media advertising, search engine marketing, programmatic advertising, and influencer partnerships.

With D2C brands like MamaEarth, Souled Store, etc., turning into an omni-channel approach. Brands are adopting an omnichannel approach to reach consumers across multiple touchpoints, ensuring a consistent brand experience. This includes combining offline and online advertising efforts to create a seamless customer journey.

According to a spokesperson from RR Kabel, during this festive season, a notable trend has emerged  with 78% of consumers showing trust in online shopping. Half of these consumers express their intention to increase their online spending compared to previous festive periods. Additionally, a recent survey revealed that more than 77% of consumers believe that online festive shopping events enhance the convenience of their shopping experience, particularly due to options like faster delivery. Large Appliances (51%) such as coolers, fans, etc., Electronic devices (44%), and Consumer Electronics (43%) are the most favoured product categories. Some individuals may choose to upgrade their home and purchase new appliances like Lighting products, Fans and also potentially through this there will be a requirement of cables and wiring solutions. The survey further revealed that 3 out of 4 consumers wait for online festive shopping events to make purchases in the large appliance category. Overall product categories such as Lighting, DIY switches, Designer Fans, Air coolers, and Irons are increasingly gaining popularity as festive season calls for renovation and revamping the house.

Kunal Luhar, Co-Founder and Chief Business Officer, 5W1H, noted that festive spending is an important factor to consider since it is an exciting yet challenging time of year when firms commit big budgets for marketing efforts in order to capitalise on the festive enthusiasm and enhance sales. This years festive spending is being driven by a number of things. Increased consumer confidence is promoting more expenditure as economies recover from the pandemic. Pent-up demand is increasing as consumers who postponed festivities and purchases in past years are now engaging in holiday spending. Consumers are being enticed to open their wallets by the ongoing expansion of e-commerce and advances in marketing methods such as limited-time deals and personalised promos.

Meanwhile, Vinod Kunj, Founder and Chief Creative Officer, Thought Blurb Communication, felt that festive spending this year will be quite measured and astute this year. While Deloitte has optimistically estimated more lavish spending, especially in luxury goods, it is back-to-back with reports of falling household savings and discrete spending on the part of consumers. Advertisers will do well to sharpen their focus to make customers dip into their wallets, he added.

Agencies and brands during festive season

On being asked how Social Panga is gearing up for the festive season, Himanshu Arora said, As Social Panga, we have already started executing our campaigns/ ideas with multiple touch points like video production, influencer outreach, social media campaign, etc. For this upcoming festive season, our primary emphasis is on harnessing the power of technology in conjunction with AI (Artificial Intelligence). This means utilising AI-driven analytics to glean deeper insights, and automate and further personalise our campaigns.

While Social Panga is leveraging technology during festive season this year, RR Kabel is eagerly gearing up for the festive season this year by implementing a range of strategies to meet the unique needs and demands of our customers. A spokesperson said, We are aware that over the festive period, there is a tendency for home improvement and renovation projects to expand, products like designer fans, switches and lighting solutions are in huge demand and they necessitate the use of wires and cables for various electrical and connectivity requirements. We aim in providing special discounts and promotions on our products to further enhance the festive season. As a result, customers will be able to maximise their purchases and savings and through this we are committed to making festive times brighter and more convenient for our consumers.

Kunal Luhar added here, 5W1H is designing and implementing festive-themed marketing initiatives that harness creativity and engage with the holiday spirit. Creating visually engaging content, collaborating with influencers, optimising e-commerce methods, and utilising data analytics for real-time adjustments are all common examples. Furthermore, we are looking forward towards collaborating closely with clients to ensure that their marketing initiatives are consistent with their holiday goals and values.

He further said, This year, marketers are focusing their festive ads expenditure primarily on digital platforms, with a significant emphasis on social media advertising, e-commerce channels, and video marketing. Because of their vast reach and participatory capabilities, social media platforms such as Facebook and Instagram are garnering significant investments. E-commerce advertising is on the rise as online purchasing becomes more popular. Collaborations with influencers, programmatic advertising, and data-driven initiatives are also prominent. Traditional media outlets continue to play a role, although their budgets may be reduced as digital becomes more prominent. Personalisation, sustainability message, and localised campaigns are important trends that show firms efforts to engage various populations and fit with customer values.

We field a number of brands that are geared to the home, kitchen and individual. This means that the festive season is going to be quite busy. Fashion brands are expected to be quite active, as also, bed linen, furnishings, digital electronics and appliances, remarked Vinod Kunj.

AI shaping creative marketing this festive season

For Himanshu Arora, AI is the buzzword, and the real power lies in leveraging it to the marketers and agencies advantage. We are doing something super interesting, where we are going deep into consumer behaviour and patterns using AI tools, and giving that as input for my online ads. So, our research is not limited to agency or brand manager understanding, but to the whole internet. This enables us to create highly personalised and relevant content, such as product recommendations and tailored messaging. During the festive season, personalised marketing campaigns resonate better with consumers, driving higher engagement and conversion rates. Exciting times are ahead for us. The next 24 months are going to be game changers, he affirmed.

Arora further added, Artificial intelligence will need some human intelligence too, as quoted by Piyush Pandey. Few areas that have great engaging festive campaigns include:

Content & thought validation

Personalisation

Predictive analysis

Data-driven insights for cultural nuances

Ad targeting

I am not sure about global advantage, but leveraging personalised messaging will give some edge over competitors within the specific geography.

The RR Kabel spokesperson said, The use of AI has played a crucial role in empowering marketers to develop deeply personalised campaigns. Through the analysis of user data and behaviour, AI has the capability to customise content and offers to cater to individual preferences, thereby enhancing the relevance and effectiveness of marketing initiatives, particularly during the festive season. Regarding the impact of online advertisements on consumer spending, it is subject to notable fluctuations influenced by variables such as the industry, geographic location, and the precise tactics implemented by companies.

Kunal Luhar noted that AI is influencing festive marketing by providing hyper-personalisation, content development, predictive analytics, targeted ad delivery, and improved customer service. AI algorithms are being used by brands to analyse customer data and develop highly personalised marketing content, ranging from product recommendations to messaging, resulting in more engaging campaigns. AI also speeds up content generation by creating ad copy, graphics, and even music. During the festive season, predictive analytics may help organisations anticipate customer behaviour and trends, directing inventory management and pricing strategies.

Audience segmentation powered by AI guarantees that adverts reach the right people at the right time, maximising ad spend. Additionally, AI-powered chatbots provide immediate consumer support and help, improving the whole purchasing experience. The amount to which online advertisements impact consumer purchasing over the holiday season depends on a variety of factors, including industry and campaign efficacy. AI can increase this effect and produce better results for brands by delivering more relevant and interesting content, Luhar added.

Meanwhile, Vinod Kunj felt that AI has not really been used to its best advantage yet. I have every confidence that various AI applications will come to the fore and change the dynamic of targeted marketing. Consumers prefer to buy products and adhere to brands that speak to them in their own voice. This is important in ways that we have not leveraged so far. This is not just about letting people know what is available out there. It's about suggesting purchases that would be perfectly moulded for you.

He further added, AI has a long way to go before it can be used as a creative tool. But I assume it will learn eventually. As far as I can tell, AI has huge potential as a research tool. Perhaps, even as a collaborative tool. But then, it still needs human intelligence to look through its work and produce a solution. Maybe, in the years ahead, AI will learn enough to help with creative thinking as well.

On being asked how the combination of AI and human creativity will help campaigns to be more effective, Kunal Luhar said, The combination of AI capabilities and human creativity has the potential to dramatically improve the effectiveness and engagement of holiday promotions. AI excels in data-driven tasks like audience segmentation, personalisation, and predictive analytics. This frees up human creative teams to focus on campaign art and strategy. Then, using their knowledge, creatives may design emotionally engaging narratives, visually spectacular material, and intriguing storytelling that will attract people during the holiday season. AI also offers data-driven optimisation, which enables marketers to fine-tune campaigns based on real-time performance measurements. When artificial intelligence augments human creativity, brands can achieve a balance between data-driven decision-making and the emotional connection that only human brilliance can give. This synergy can result in efforts that are not only more effective in driving engagement but also in fostering long-term brand loyalty during the holiday season.

Piyush Jalan Co  founder and COO, GOVO discussed on how AI is shaping festive marketing strategies by saying: "AI is playing an increasingly prominent role in shaping creative marketing strategies during this festive season, revolutionizing the way businesses and advertisers engage with consumers. One of its most compelling applications is AI-powered personalization. By sifting through extensive consumer data, AI allows businesses to gain profound insights into individual preferences and behaviours. AI's influence extends to improving the customer experience during the festive season as well. Chatbots and virtual assistants, powered by AI, deliver real-time customer support and information. This instant assistance enhances the shopping experience, helping consumers overcome queries or uncertainties, and nudging them toward making purchases."

He further added: "The exact extent to which consumer spending will be influenced by online ads can vary, influenced by factors such as the effectiveness of ad campaigns, the appeal of the products or services being advertised, and the prevailing economic conditions. However, it's clear that AI-driven creative marketing is now a pivotal force in capturing consumer attention, delivering personalized and relevant content, and optimizing ad campaigns to maximize their impact on consumer spending. As AI technology continues to advance, its role in shaping creative marketing and influencing consumer spending is expected to expand further, both during festive seasons and beyond."
News18 India, India's No. 1 Hindi News Channel, has announced the second edition of its prestigious 'Amrit Ratna. Scheduled for the 10th of October, 2023, this years edition will be a tribute to individuals who have raised Indias standing globally through their passion, exceptional talent and path-breaking achievements.

The recipients of the Amrit Ratna 2023 will be selected by distinguished jury comprising of:

Justice Ranjan Gogoi  Former Chief Justice of India and Rajya Sabha Member.

General Ved Prakash Malik  Former Chief of Army Staff and decorated military leader.

Sonal Mansingh  Renowned classical dancer and Rajya Sabha Member, honoured with Padma Bhushan and Padma Vibhushan.

P.T. Usha  Former athlete and Rajya Sabha Member, celebrated for her outstanding achievements in sports.

Dr. Ashok Seth  Eminent cardiologist and recipient of numerous prestigious awards.

These accomplished individuals will carefully evaluate the nominees for the Amrit Ratna, ensuring that the recipients truly represent what the honour stands for  outstanding contributions that have left a lasting impact and contributed to building the India story.

The recipients of the Amrit Ratna last year included notable individuals such as N.R. Narayana Murthy, Pt. Hariprasad Chaurasia, Adar Poonawalla, Rajinikanth and P.T. Usha, among others. These individuals truly exemplified the spirit of the honour and served as an inspiration to the entire nation.

The CEO of Hindi News, News18 Network, Karan Abhishek Singh commenting on the initiative said, As Indias No. 1 Hindi News channel, we feel proud to celebrate individuals who through their achievements have contributed immensely to enhancing Indias standing and stature globally. We believe that initiatives such as these by a leading news channel such as ours go a long way in building the India story.

Kishore Ajwani, the Managing Editor of News18 India said, As a team we are particularly passionate about Amrit Ratna. We strongly believe that promoting the achievements of India and Indians is a part of our remit as Indias No. 1 Hindi News channel. We are very excited about our stellar line-up in 2023 and are confident that it will serve as a tremendous inspiration for our viewers.

Stay tuned for more updates on the Amrit Ratna 2023 as we prepare to celebrate remarkable Indians who have made the country proud.
Nielsen, a global leader in audience measurement, data and analytics today announced the South Korean launch of Nielsen Media Impact (NMI)  an industry-leading media planning and optimisation solution, delivering a comprehensive overview of where consumers are engaging with content, and the most effective ways to reach them.

Fueled by Nielsens unique analytics and insights, including TV panels, and digital data, NMI offers the South Korean media industry deduplicated media consumption metrics across multiple platforms, all in one easy-to-use planning interface.

In addition, NMI gives advertisers, agencies, and publishers the ability to know which different media combinations are most likely to reach their key audiences, how much time those audiences spend on various media channels, as well as a range of useful demographic information.

NMI data also allows users to craft media plans based on advanced audience attributes, such as psychographics, and lifestyle and media behaviours, which are essential for effective targeting.

Key benefits

Determine the properties and combinations of media channels that are best suited for campaign targeting

Understand the most effective drivers for unique reach and maximum ROI

Optimise planning and budgets to most effectively deliver against objectives across multiple channels

Evaluate the effectiveness of advanced audience segments, far beyond basic demographics

Nielsen Asia Managing Director (Advertisers & Agencies), Aaron Rigby added: In order to meet the rapidly-changing media consumption habits of Koreans, its crucial that the nations agencies, advertisers, and publishers have a planning solution that enables cost-effective decision-making about where and when to engage audiences with content and advertising. Thats what NMI does best. Its launch in South Korea highlights our commitment to empowering the industry to make data-informed decisions. It allows ad buyers and sellers to easily craft local or national media plans to understand where consumers are engaging with their content and the most efficient ways to reach them.

Nielsen Media Korea Director (Advertisers & Agencies), Inho Um, said: NMI offers a unique lens to the South Korean industry, enabling effective decision-making about where and when to engage audiences with content and advertising on multiple levels. Its arrival in the market unlocks access to new insights on media allocation and schedule optimisation, delivering better reach across an audience of platform nomads. Whether youre looking to showcase the benefits of your media or determine the optimal combination of ads to reach your target audience, NMI has you covered.

South Korean media agency, Spring & Flower, is one of the first industry players to embrace the competitive advantage offered by Nielsen NMI, signing on as one of the products launch clients. Head of Media Analysis & Experience for the company, Sangyoon Hong, said: Advertisers are increasingly asking for integrated insights and consolidated performance metrics for their online and offline media operations, so it made sense for us to be one of the first agencies in the country to implement a cutting-edge solution like NMI. It allows us to customise our client data analytics in so many exciting ways and were thrilled to make its many features available to our new and existing clients.
by John P. Ruehl

Could the decades-long pursuit of unraveling the UFO mystery potentially function as a cover for advanced government research and testing programs for innovative forms of propulsion and craft design? Moreover, might the recent rollout of official government hearings signal a gradual disclosure of some of those capabilities? This scenario is worth considering, as the process of investigating UFOs comes into sharper public focus.





Cattle in Nevada, 1973 (and a UFO) via Wikimedia Commons/Jonathan Aprea

In 2023, fascination with Unidentified Flying Objects (UFOs) and Unidentified Aerial Phenomena (UAP) has spiked. David Grusch, a former intelligence official who led the analysis of UAPs within the U.S. military, told a Congressional hearing in July that the United States had been collecting non-human craft for decades. At the first Republican debate on August 23rd, candidates were asked about the presidents responsibility to provide information to the public about UFOs. And on August 31st, the Pentagon launched a new website providing the public with declassified information about sightings.





Mainstream intrigue surrounding UFOs was born following the 1947 Roswell incident, the crash of what was initially described by the U.S. military as a flying disc in Roswell, New Mexico, but later attributed to a weather balloon. To quell public fear and speculation, official government studies to investigate UFO/UAP reports, including Project Blue Book, Project Sign, and Project Grudge, were launched. While the government feared air warning systems could be overwhelmed by reports, it was also wary of Soviet attempts to boost false sightings and promote conspiracy theories that could instigate panic and allegations of a coverup.





During the Cold War, UFO reports became common, often coinciding with missile and rocket tests (a habit which continues today). Several Soviet and U.S. military personnel also testified that UFOs were able to temporarily take control over missile and nuclear facilities. However, in 1997, the CIA revealed that the military had lied to the public throughout the Cold War about many UFO sightings to obscure its black projects and keep Moscow in the dark about technological advancements. Blaming sightings on natural phenomena like ice crystals and temperature inversions fueled public distrust toward the government and its claims about UFOs/UAPs.





Many secret military aircraft were frequently mistaken for UFOs, such as the U-2 reconnaissance plane, introduced in the 1950s, which featured a gray frame that often reflected the sun. The SR-71 Blackbird meanwhile started service in 1966 and wasnt declassified until the 1990s. Its distinctive shape, speed, and altitude capabilities were often mistaken for a UFO. The B-2 Spirit, introduced in the late 1980s, also had a unique aerodynamic design and its ability to control lift, thrust, and drag at low speeds often gave the appearance that it was hovering.





Since the Cold War, secretive experimental military aircraft have continued to generate UFO reports. But unexplained phenomena have also fueled conspiracy theories. In November 2004 off the coast of San Diego, Navy pilots filmed UFOs demonstrating rapid acceleration, physics-defying sudden changes in direction, and other feats in videos eventually released to the public in 2017. And despite formalizing a UFO/UAP reporting process in 2019, Navy pilots and other military personnel who have witnessed them have been hesitant to come forward due to fear of ridicule or professional repercussions.





The U.S. militarys reluctance to disclose UFO/UAP information is often linked to the need to protect classified technology. Military agencies can choose to neither confirm nor deny such information exists. But when the government transparency website, the Black Vault, submitted a Freedom of Information Act request to the Navy for more UFO/UAP videos, it was denied because it would harm national security and may provide adversaries valuable information regarding Department of Defense/Navy operations, vulnerabilities, and/or capabilities.





Releasing these videos without additional information may also be an effective way for the U.S. military to hint at its own new technological capacities for various strategic, political, and scientific reasons. Suddenly revealing these technologies could result in rising geopolitical tensions and trigger a reaction, while merely hinting at it may also serve as a deterrence to adversaries. Gradually preparing the public for emerging technologies is equally as important, while encouraging speculation about UFO/UAPs could divert attention away from classified projects.





By clandestinely testing experimental new technologies on their own defenses without resorting to lethal forces, military agencies can also gain valuable insights into their capabilities and vulnerabilities in real-world scenarios.





A 2021 report by the DoDs intelligence agencies also noted that many UFOs/UAPs were technologies deployed by China, Russia, another nation, or a non-governmental entity. The New York Times broke the story days before an updated version was provided to Congress in 2022. An ongoing investigation by The Warzone meanwhile suggests there are a large number of hostile drones mistaken for UFOs/UAPs that the government has until recently failed to confront.





Being unable to properly identify another countrys experimental aircraft, by labeling it a UFO/UAP, would also demonstrate shortcomings in U.S. air defense systems. Similarly, releasing documentation of U.S. surveillance of other countries stealth aircraft and other technology would give them a better idea of U.S. military capabilities and would alert these countries that they were being surveilled.





In addition to other countries, companies are also responsible for a significant number of UFO/UAP reports. The first drones were manufactured more than a century ago in the UK and U.S., and the capabilities of the private sector have grown considerably since then. Camouflage technology has made commercial drones increasingly difficult to clearly identify, and hundreds of drones by Chinas largest drone maker DJI, were noted to have entered restricted airspace in Washington D.C. in 2022 alone. And, of course, commercial drones can be purchased and used by other governments.





Nonetheless, much of the technological developments concerning advanced aircraft stem from the U.S. military and other agencies. Since the 1970s, NASA has expanded on ideas developed by scientist and engineer Arthur Kantrowitz to use lasers to launch satellites without fuel or an engine, with successful tests carried out in the late 1990s. The U.S. Air Force and NASA have both continued developing this technology in the 21st Century, while NASA has also explored plasma propulsion technology that may have caused numerous UFO/UAP reports.





The U.S. Navy has pushed the boundaries of technology further with the development of laser-induced plasma technology, patented in 2018. This innovation can generate extremely high temperatures in the air, creating plasma that can be harnessed to form intricate shapes and lifelike optical illusions, even simulating aircraft performing seemingly impossible maneuvers. Additionally, the U.S. military has developed the ability to produce sound out of lasers, which would add an additional layer of realism to UFO/UAP sightings.





Over the last few years, increasing attention has also been brought to projects by Salvatore Cezar Pais, an aerospace engineer and scientist who has worked for the U.S. Navy and the U.S. Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division (NAWCAD). Despite lacking empirical evidence and rigorous, peer-reviewed scientific scrutiny, his alleged breakthroughs in propulsion and energy generation would serve as some of the most groundbreaking technological breakthroughs in history.





Paiss patents with the U.S. Navy relate to the development of advanced propulsion systems that could potentially lead to rapid thrust technology and an abundance of clean energy generation. This includes a craft using an inertial mass reduction device, which was patented in 2018, while a patent for a plasma compression fusion device was also filed but later appeared to be abandoned. Nonetheless, documents retrieved by The Warzone through the Freedom of Information Act reveal that his inventions are being considered for the Air Force, NASA, and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA).





Of course, like U.S. President Ronald Reagans proposed Star Wars missile defense system in the 1980s, Paiss patents could be designed to bait adversaries into a costly arms race. That is not to say that these countries are not already developing their own fascinating projects. China has been drastically increasing its development of plasma technology in recent years, and alongside the UK, Germany, and Japan, is developing Active Flow Control (AFC) technology to improve aerodynamic performance in aircraft. European entities have also recently made breakthroughs in plasma propulsion technology, which may boost UFO/UAP reports across the continent.





Amid these developments, it remains crucial for the public to stay engaged and informed about UFOs/UAP  the more publicly observed the evidence is, the harder it becomes to manipulate. Considering the history of government audacity in crafting political and war propaganda, we should remain skeptical of the entities shaping narratives about extraplanetary intelligent life.





A shift toward destigmatizing and embracing a public approach to UFOs/UAP, both domestic and foreign, is essential. Alongside the Black Vault, initiatives like the open-data Galileo Project, spearheaded by Avi Loeb from Harvard Universitys Astronomy Department, are actively seeking evidence of extraterrestrial life and pushing our understanding of outer space. By involving the public in the search for answers, we can bridge gaps in understanding and move closer to demystifying these phenomena.





Source: Globetrotter





John P. Ruehl is an Australian-American journalist living in Washington, D.C. He is a contributing editor to Strategic Policy and a contributor to several other foreign affairs publications. He is currently finishing a book on Russia to be published in 2022.
Its that time of the year when people across India, especially Bengalis, travel back home to be together with their loved ones and to celebrate the biggest festivity of the year - the Durga Puja. Its the time of homecoming not only for Goddess Durga but for non-resident Bengalis too. Its also the time to dress up and celebrate the festive spirit.

In keeping with this spirit, Senco Gold & Diamonds, a leading pan-India jewellery retailer with a legacy of over five decades, announced the launch of a new Durga Puja campaign to promote its festive collection under its Gossip brand of fast-moving, fashionable and easy-to-wear silver jewellery.

The new campaign film captures the homecoming spirit and passionate exuberance of Bengalis during Durga Puja, highlighting the perfect blend of tradition and modernity that is reflected in the celebrations as well as in the jewellery designs. The campaign film follows a trendy young woman who lives and works in a different city, but comes home to Kolkata during Durga Puja to celebrate her Bengali roots, bringing with her Senco Gold & Diamonds Gossip jewellery as presents for her family members with a memorable music in the background which is a refreshing take on a classic Rabindra Sangeet.

Mrs. Joita Sen, Director and Head of Marketing & Designs at Senco Gold & Diamonds, said, Durga Puja is more than just a festival, it is an occasion which unites Bengalis across India. The beauty and the spirit of Durga Puja is such that it is best enjoyed when spent together with families and friends. Our Gossip campaign and collection is dedicated to all those daughters and women who would be reuniting with their families and loved ones, coinciding with Maa Durgas descent to Earth.

Piyash Ghosh, Director & Cinematographer, Bang On Content said, Making a Durga Puja film is always a joy, especially when its for a brand like Senco Gold & Diamonds, which always encourages us to push the boundaries of storytelling & creativity. As an artist, it is a pleasure to showcase products that celebrate artistry, while capturing the spirit of our favourite festival!

To add to the festive spirit, Senco Gold & Diamonds has the following on offer for its customers: -

Buy 3 Get 1 Free offer - Customers can buy 3 and get 1 piece of jewellery absolutely free (lowest price free) on the Gossip range.

Making charges discount - Customers can avail 10% discount on making charges on Silver jewellery items

These offers will be available at all Senco Gold & Diamonds showrooms and on its online platforms sencogoldanddiamonds.com and mygossip.in
UNICEF Executive Director, Catherine Russell joined UNICEF India National Ambassador Ayushmann Khurrana, government officials, the private sector and young people at the launch of an innovative, digital YouthHub app to connect young people in India to future job opportunities, especially girls and marginalised youth.

The platform, which functions as a digital ecosystem, was jointly launched by them along with Mr. Shombi Sharp (United Nations Resident Coordinator in India), Smt. Meeta Rajivlochan (Honble Secretary, Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports), Ms. Cynthia McCaffrey (Representative, UNICEF India), Mr. Ashwin Yardi (CEO, Capgemini India), Mr. Ranen Banerjee (Government Sector Leader, PwC India), Ms. Vandana Bahri (Head, Skills and Livelihood, Childrens Investment Fund Foundation - CIFF India), Ms. Dhuwarakha Sriram (Chief of YuWaah, Youth Development, and Partnerships at UNICEF), Mr. Abhishek Gupta (COO, YuWaah at UNICEF) and two young leaders - Ms. Zakira Ganji and Ms. Jagriti Pandey.

The YouthHub - co-created by YuWaah at UNICEF, PwC India, Capgemini, and CIFF - aims to connect young people to curated jobs, skills, and volunteering opportunities, and enable access especially for girls and youth from marginalised backgrounds. In its first phase, which was launched on Tuesday, the YouthHub app has become accessible to young individuals via the Google Playstore. Serving as a unified platform, it offers free access to aggregated job opportunities in nine Indian languages, simplifying the job search process for young people: http://bit.ly/youthhubapp

Ayushmann Khurrana, Bollywood star and UNICEF India National Ambassador said, Being a UNICEF India National Ambassador has allowed me to peek into the lives, dreams, and hurdles faced by the children and young people of our country. They are our future, and ensuring they have a fair shot at success is not just a choice, it's our duty. YouthHub app by YuWaah at UNICEF and partners is like a script for success for every young person in India. It's not just a platform; it's a dream factory that opens up doors to economic, skilling, and volunteering opportunities. But it's much more than that. It's a symbol of hope and the belief that every youngster, no matter their gender or background, deserves a shot at greatness. And we begin with equal opportunities for all. Thats what the YouthHub app will extend to young people.

UNICEF Executive Director, Catherine Russell, said: Investing in children and youth is the best way to deliver on the Sustainable Development Goals and create a brighter future for generations to come. Collaborative initiatives such as this YouthHub are a good way to reduce inequalities and ensure that girls are included and have access to future job opportunities. We can create a lasting impact when young people are involved in decision-making and when their voices are heard.
The Federal Council

Bern, 29.09.2023 - On 29 September, the Federal Council adopted further sanctions in connection with the supply of Iranian drones to Russia. This aligns Switzerland with the European Union, which has adopted new measures in response to the use of Iranian drones in Russia's military aggression against Ukraine. The new measures will come into force at 6pm on 29 September.

In view of Iran's continued military support for Russia's military aggression against Ukraine, which is contrary to international law, and the fact that Russia is using Iranian-made Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) to support the military aggression, the Federal Council decided on 29 September to impose further sanctions on the Islamic Republic of Iran. The Federal Council has adopted the sanctions imposed by the EU on 20 July as part of its new framework for restrictive measures.

The sale, supply, export and transit of components used for the manufacture and production of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) is now prohibited. Furthermore, targeted financial and travel sanctions against persons and entities connected with support for Iran's UAV programme are provided for. Switzerland is incorporating these new sanctions measures into the Ordinance on Measures against the Islamic Republic of Iran.

Switzerland has been adopting the EU's sanctions listings regarding the supply of Iranian UAVs to Russia since autumn 2022, the last time being on 16 August. This was done within the framework of the Ordinance on Measures in Connection with the Situation in Ukraine.

The Federal Council's decision of 29 September continues the close partnership between Switzerland and the EU with regard to sanctions.

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The International Air Transport Association (IATA) announced that the strong post-pandemic passenger traffic trend continued in August and for the first time since February 2022, air cargo demand has risen.

Image courtesy IATA



Total traffic in August 2023 (measured in revenue passenger kilometres or RPKs) rose 28.4% compared to August 2022. Globally, traffic is now at 95.7% of pre-COVID levels.



Domestic traffic for August rose 25.4% versus August 2022 and was 9.2% above the August 2019 results. This is largely driven by Chinese domestic demand.



International traffic climbed 30.4% compared to the same month a year ago. All markets saw double-digit percentage gains year on year. International RPKs reached 88.5% of August 2019 levels.



Willie Walsh (above), IATAs Director General said: Demand for air travel performed well in August. For the year to date, international traffic has increased by 50% versus last year and ticket sales data show international bookings strengthening for travel in the last part of the year.







International Passenger Markets

Asia-Pacific airlines saw a 98.5% increase in August 2023 traffic compared to August 2022, continuing to lead the regions. Capacity climbed 85.5% and the load factor increased by 5.5 percentage points to 84.2%.



European carriers August traffic rose 13.6% versus August 2022. Capacity increased 12.3%, and load factor edged up 1.1 percentage points to 86.8%.



Middle Eastern airlines posted a 27.3% increase in August traffic compared to a year ago. Capacity rose 22.7% and load factor climbed 3.0 percentage points to 83.1%.



North American carriers had an 18.6% traffic rise in August 2023 versus the 2022 period. Capacity increased 17.5%, and load factor improved 0.8 percentage points to 87.7%, which was the highest among the regions for a third consecutive month.



Latin American airlines traffic rose 26.4% compared to the same month in 2022. August capacity climbed 23.8% and load factor rose 1.7 percentage points to 86.1%.



African airlines saw a 26.1% traffic increase in August 2023 versus a year ago. August capacity was up 25.5% and load factor rose 0.4 percentage points to 76.2%.





Indian domestic RPKs rose 23.2% compared to a year ago and have now exceeded pre-pandemic levels for seven consecutive months.



Japans domestic market was impacted by Typhoon Khanun which caused major air traffic disruptions in southern Japan. Domestic RPKs grew 8.7% year over year, down on the 13.4% growth recorded in the previous month.







Heading into the last quarter of the year, the airline industry is nearly fully recovered to 2019 levels of demand. The focus, however, has not been on getting back to a specific number of passengers or flights, but rather on meeting the demand by businesses and individuals for connectivity that was artificially suppressed for more than two years. Having seen the economic, social, and personal losses when airlines could not fly during the COVID-19 crisis, this industry is determined to secure a sustainable long-term future by achieving net zero carbon emissions by 2050. That was clearly evident at the first IATA World Sustainability Symposium where discussions focused on how to decarbonise. We know that our customers want a world in which they can enjoy the freedom to travel sustainably. This inaugural World Sustainability Symposium was a critical step in aligning policy makers, the aviation value chain and airlines with the concrete steps needed to deliver. And we will measure progress when we meet again in a years time, said Walsh.





Cargo

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) data for August 2023 global air cargo markets, shows that year-on-year air cargo demand grew for the first time in 19 months.



Global demand, measured in cargo tonne-kilometres (CTKs*), increased by 1.5% compared to August 2022 levels (2% for international operations).



Capacity, measured in available cargo tonne-kilometres (ACTKs), was up 12.2% compared to August 2022 (11.8% for international operations). This was largely related to belly capacity which rose 30% year-on-year as airlines ramped-up operations to meet peak-northern summer travel season demand.



Several factors in the operating environment should be noted:

In August, both the manufacturing output Purchasing Managers Index or PMI (49.4) and new export orders PMI (47.0) saw a slight improvement to the previous month. They remained, however, below the critical threshold represented by the 50 mark, indicating a continuing, if slower, annual decline in global manufacturing production and exports.

Global cross-border trade contracted for the fourth month in a row in July, decreasing 3.2% year-over-year. This reflects the cooling demand environment and general macroeconomic conditions.

Inflation saw a mixed picture in August, with an increase in US consumer prices for the second month in a row. Meanwhile in Europe and Japan, consumer and producer prices fell. In China, which is fighting deflationary pressures, consumer prices rose.

Air cargo demand grew by 1.5% over the previous August. This is the first year-on-year growth in 19 months, so it is certainly welcome news. Yet it is off a low 2022 base and market signals are mixed. Looking ahead, while many uncertainties remain, we can take some optimism from PMI data moving towards positive territory. This is particularly significant as we head into air cargos traditional peak year-end season, said Walsh.





August Regional Performance

Asia-Pacific airlines saw their air cargo volumes increase by 4.9% in August 2023 compared to the same month in 2022. This was a significant improvement in performance compared to July (+2.3%). Carriers in the region benefited from growth on two major trade lanes: Europe-Asia (up from 3.1% in July to 8.8% in August) and Middle East-Asia (up from 2.7% in July to 3.5% in August). Additionally, the within-Asia trade lane also performed better in August, with international CTKs contracting by 4.7% compared to the 9.7% annual decline in July. Available capacity for the regions airlines increased by 28.5% compared to August 2022 as more belly capacity came online from the passenger side of the business.





North American carriers saw their air cargo volumes decrease by 1.2%. This was an improvement in performance compared to July (-5.4%). Carriers in the region benefitted from a slight improvement in growth on two major trade lanes: North America  Europe (2.9% annual contraction in August,1.2 percentage points better than in July) and Asia - North America (declined 4.2% in August compared to 4.4% decrease in July). Capacity increased 2.7% compared to August 2022.



European carriers saw their air cargo volumes decline by 0.2% in August compared to the same month in 2022. This was, however, an improvement in performance versus July (-1.0%). Volumes saw an increase due to the forementioned EuropeAsia performance and a small increase in the Middle East - Europe markets by 0.4%. Capacity increased 3.6% in August 2023 compared to 2022.



Middle Eastern carriers experienced a 1.4% year-on-year increase in cargo volumes in August 2023. This was an improvement from the previous months performance (-0.1%). The demand on the Middle EastAsia market has been trending upward in the past three months, expanding its year-on-year growth from 1.8% in June to 3.5% in August. Capacity increased 15.7% compared to August 2022.



Latin American carriers had the strongest performance in August 2023, with a 6.2% increase in cargo volumes compared to August 2022. This was a significant increase in performance compared to the previous month (+0.5%). Capacity in August was up 13.7% compared to the same month in 2022.



African airlines had the weakest performance in August 2023, with a 4.7% decline in cargo volumes compared to August 2022. This was a significant decrease in performance compared to July (+2.3%). Notably, AfricaAsia routes declined by 1.1% in August following an 11.2% growth in July. Capacity was 3.8% above August 2022 levels.




While condoling the loss of lives in the Sikkim cloudburst and subsequent flash floods, Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge on Thursday said that such tragedies, also including the recent rain-related calamities in Himachal Pradesh, should be declared as national disasters by the Centre.

In a lengthy post on X, Kharge said: The situation in Sikkim is precarious as several people have lost their lives and many including our brave Army personnel are missing due to cloudburst and flash floods. Our thoughts are with the people of Sikkim who are battling these distressing times.

The Congress president went on to say that the Centre must do everything possible to rescue people in safer locations and find the missing persons, whose count is reportedly steadily increasing.

A lot of damage has been done to the infrastructure, and the Union and the state governments must work together in the medium and long term to rebuild this beautiful state.

He also said that the Congress and workers will provide help in all possible ways in this humanitarian crisis.

Drawing a similarity, Kharge said that the Centre must recalibrate its strategy in dealing with ecologically fragile Himalayan states and must declare such tragedies, like Sikkim and Himachal Pradesh, as national disasters so that these states get adequate funds to rebuild themselves in a more sustainable manner.

On Wednesday, the Defence PRO in Guwahati said that one soldier has been rescued so far while search and rescue operation by the Army continued for the remaining 22 soldiers who went missing after the sudden cloudburst over the Lhonak Lake in north Sikkim. Release of water from the Chungthang dam led to further sudden increase in water level upto 15-20 feet high downstream, the Army spokesman said.

Sudden increase in water level has led to Army vehicles parked at Bardang near Singtam getting affected, he said. The Sikkim State Disaster Management Authority has said that in Pakyong district, 59 people including 23 Army personnel have been reported missing, while at least five people were confirmed dead. The National Disaster Response Force has deployed three teams in the affected areas and rescued many people.
Justin V. Noelker, sentenced in 2016 to serve eight years for stabbing two people in Florida, was due to be released from the Santa Rosa (Fla.) Correctional Institution in March 2025, according to the Florida Department of Corrections.

His release date has changed. After Noelker was found guilty Wednesday of stabbing his cellmate in November 2021, he has now been sentenced to an additional 60 years, making his release date sometime in 2085.

According to WEAR in Pensacola, Noelker was charged in with aggravated battery by a person detained in prison and two counts of possession of a weapon in a correctional institution after he stabbed his cellmate multiple times with homemade weapons.

After a Santa Rosa County jury found him guilty Wednesday, Circuit Court Judge Clifton Drake sentenced Noelker to the additional 60 years under Florida Prison Releasee Reoffender guidelines, based on his criminal history, according to the report.

Noelkers original release date was set for March 2023, but was later changed to March 2025. FDOC records do not indicate why or when the additional two years were added.

The 32-year-old Noelker had just arrived in Brevard County, Fla., from his native Indiana in March 2015 when he was arrested and charged with stabbing a 61-year-old man and his 24-year-old daughter at their condominium in Cocoa Beach, according to a report on the incident by WESH.

In Wayne County, Ind., Noelker, who prosecutors there described as a lifelong criminal, was also found guilty in August 2019 of assaulting a man and stealing his car. He was sentenced to 15 years, plus another 15 as a habitual offender, according to the Richmond (Ind.) Palladium-Item.

The judge in that case ruled Noelker would serve that sentence consecutively -- after his Florida sentence was completed -- but with the additional 60 years tacked on for the prison stabbing, it appears Noelker will remain incarcerated in Florida.
A Mississippi woman arrested multiple times for crashing weddings and stealing gifts in Alabama was at it again, this time in her home state, according to authorities in Pontotoc County, Miss.

The Pontotoc County Sheriffs Office said Sandra Lynn Henson, 56, was arrested last Saturday at a wedding to which she was not invited.

While details on what Henson may have stolen were not released, she is charged with petit larceny, trespassing and disturbing the peace.

Apparently Miss Henson has been arrested in Alabama, Tennessee and Mississippi for crashing wedding and stealing money and cards from purses, according to the sheriffs department.

They were right. Henson is best described as a serial wedding crasher. She was convicted for stealing from a wedding in 2017 and given probation, but that did little to slow her down.

In 2019, Henson was charged with two wedding crasher theft cases in Florence, Ala., in 2019. In those cases, Henson was charged with two counts of theft -- one misdemeanor and one felony. The disposition of those charges was not immediately available.

WHNT reported that Florence police were contacted in the wake of the 2019 arrest by a dozen people from different weddings in Alabama, Tennessee and Mississippi, each telling police they saw Henson at their receptions, helping herself to gift envelopes and money from purses inside the wedding party changing rooms.

Her proclivity for the wedding thefts earned Henson the nickname Mid-south Wedding Crasher, according to Memphis TV station ABC24.

Over the next two years, she would be charged in multiple other cases, ultimately leading to a conviction and a five-year prison sentence in Mississippi after a judge in Tennessee revoked her probation. Henson had pleaded for leniency due to health problems, but the judge said if she was healthy enough to crash weddings, she was healthy enough to go to prison, according to the Memphis report.

The Mississippi Department of Corrections database shows Henson was due to remain incarcerated until January 2025. It does not indicate when or why she was released.
For many years, the library building known as the Davis Avenue Branch seemed destined to stand as nothing more than a monument to Mobiles segregated past. In a jubilant moment on Wednesday, county and city leaders reopened it as a cultural center dedicated to the proud history and hopeful future of a community once known as The Avenue.

Wednesdays fanfare  a ribbon cutting, the opening of a historical exhibition and a block party  capped at least five years of work on an initiative spearheaded by Mobile County Commissioner Merceria Ludgood. But the history at 564 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Ave. runs all the way back to the late 1920s and early 1930s.

In that era, Mobile built its Ben May Main Library. That building  one of several city landmarks designed by architect George Bigelow Rogers  was off-limits to Black patrons. The city had Rogers design a scaled-down copy for their use. It was built on what was then Jefferson Davis Avenue, named for the president of the Confederacy.

In the 1930s, Mobile opened a branch library for Black patrons, who were blocked from using the main library. The building has been renamed the Historic Avenue Cultural Center, honoring the thriving Black business community that once existed along Jefferson Davis Avenue.Lawrence Specker | LSpecker@AL.com

At the time, and for the next 40 years, The Avenue was home to a thriving Black business district. For the citys Black residents, it was a district to shop, dine and socialize, enjoying a freedom denied to them elsewhere. In a painful irony, desegregation brought a rapid decline to the district. Davis name faded away, replaced by that of King, but so did the heyday of the Avenue community.

No longer needed, at least for its intended purpose, the Davis Avenue Branch ceased to function as a library. The building was used for a time by the library systems technical services department, and for a decade or so starting in 2005 it was operated by a private tenant as the National African-American Archives. Though it is on the National Register of Historic Places, it sat empty after that.

It was fall 2018 when the Mobile County Commission approved a deal to lease the building from the city at $1 a year for 50 years, and then to commit $500,000 to renovations. Ludgood said the county would build on some preservation and renovation work the city had already done in order to turn the building into a cultural center, though she hadnt yet determined exactly what that would mean. Supporters included Mobile City Councilman Levon Manzie, who said he was eager to see that the communitys vision is implemented and that building remains a vital and functioning part of the culture of the city of Mobile for decades to come.

On Wednesday, with the Excelsior Band playing outside, onlookers got their first chance to behold what is now known as the Historic Avenue Cultural Center. Though obviously far smaller than the main library, the building provides a classic, high-ceilinged interior with at least two rooms that could be used for small gatherings and a large main space suitable for exhibitions or performances.

Patrons take in an oral history program compiled by former TV news anchor Renee Dials for the "Remembering the Avenue" exhibition at the Historic Avenue Cultural Center.Lawrence Specker | LSpecker@AL.com

That main hall is occupied by Remembering the Avenue, a multimedia exhibition from first-time curator Jada Jones. Jones, described as a public historian, worked with organizational support from the Alabama Contemporary Art Center and a research team including poet and independent archivist Michael Campbell; Mobile native Eric Finley a past president of the Mobile Area Mardi Gras Association; retired WALA-TV 10 anchor Renee Dials; and Sheila Flanagan, retired assistant director of the History Museum of Mobile. Jones said a key resource had been Avenue, a book published by Paulette Davis-Horton in the 90s.

Under the themes of Pride, Protest and Possibility, the exhibition depicts many of The Avenues glories, such as a roster of its many businesses; an oral history video compiled by Dials; and an account of some of the challenges that eroded the community, such as the way the urban renewal movement disrupted Black communities in the 50s, 60s and 70s. It also provokes thought about what the area could become.

Jones, who holds a bachelors degree in cultural anthropology and a masters in history, said her approach to the exhibition was informed by the fact that she grew up in the Campground district of Mobile.

Jada Jones, right, curator of "Remembering the Avenue," and elizabet elliott, executive of the Alabama Contemporary Art Center, are seen at the grand opening of the Historic Avenue Cultural Center.Lawrence Specker | LSpecker@AL.com

This is The Avenue, but the area also encompasses the Campground, the Bottom, what was Orange Grove, said Jones, standing on the steps of the center. So basically this community was born out of Jim Crow segregation. The community was self-sustaining, it thrived, even in the face of oppression. Basically we just want to remember The Avenue and celebrate the people, the history and the culture.

It was clear that for many present at Wednesdays ribbon-cutting, those memories were personal and vivid. Mobile City Councilman William Carroll drew cheers and exclamations as he told the crowd hed missed out on having a meal at this Avenue establishment or that one, but that he had been on the scene in time to buy butter cookies here or have his hair cut there. Each time he named a long-gone business, onlookers affirmed that they knew it well.

So many people keep the legacy and the story of The Avenue and that community alive, Carroll said. With the preservation of this building and whats in it, the preservation of the history thats in it, it keeps our story alive. And that is the most precious goal we can have, to continue the stories, the legacies, of communities that were there. Even better so, to be a catalyst for the revitalization of a community thats been underserved for a while.

Mobile County Commissioner Merceria Ludgood laughs as City Councilman William Carroll makes remarks at the grand opening of Mobile's Historic Avenue Cultural Center on Oct. 4, 2023Lawrence Specker | LSpecker@AL.com

Carroll singled out Ludgood for praise, calling her the godmother of his council district. So did Mobile Mayor Sandy Stimpson, who held up her leadership as an example of the power of a vision.

For her part, Ludgood praised elizabet elliot, executive director of the Alabama Contemporary Art Center. She was the person we approached about how to make this real, said Ludgood. She drank the Kool-Aid, and now she is a really outstanding partner here.

Ludgood said that plans include creating a research space at the Center where people can learn more about African-American contributions to Mobile. Specifically, she said, an effort is under way to collect, catalog and digitize the various newspapers that served the citys Black population, such as The Inner City News, The New Times and the Mobile Beacon. She also wanted to catalog works by and about African-Americans with ties to Mobile. What were trying to do is respond to all the people who really just dont know, she said. They have no idea, and may have assumed that Mobile lay dormant throughout the Civil Rights movement.

Among the materials available on Wednesday was a 2023-2024 program schedule listing celebrations, public forums and music performances through October 2024, when a 1-year anniversary block party is planned. For more information on the current exhibition, visit www.alabamacontemporary.org/events/the-avenue.

Related:

Mobile segregation landmark could be reborn as cultural venue

Mobile County commits $500,000 to segregation-era library

65 years later, Gordon Parks photos hit home in Mobile
A 14-year-old Alabama boy is accused of fatally shooting his teen brother, dragging his body into the woods, and penning a hit list that included other members of his family that he wanted a friend to help him kill and bury.

The investigation began about 2:20 p.m. Wednesday when the Pike County Sheriffs Office received a 911 call from the Monticello community from a man who said he found his missing 17-year-old son dead on the familys property.

Sheriff Russell Thomas said the boys father told authorities his son had been missing since Monday, but that he had not reported it to law enforcement.

The father said he got home about 7:30 p.m. Monday and asked where the 17-year-old was, but nobody had an answer.

On Tuesday, he told them, he was called to pick up his 14-year-old son from school because the teen was upset that his older brother was missing, the sheriff said.

Once father and son returned home, they began to search the property for the 17-year-old. The father then found his dead sons body on the back side of the familys property and called 911.

Thomas said sheriffs investigators learned that the 14-year-old confided in a friend at school, telling him he had killed his brother.

He then asked his friend to help him murder the rest of the family and help him bury their bodies, Thomas said.

The friend also stated the 14-year-old had a hit list in his book bag of family members he wanted to kill, and made statements about wanting to shoot up the school, the sheriff said.

A search of the book bag turned up a hit-list of family members.

Thomas said when he interviewed the 14-year-old, the teen confessed he shot his 17-year-old brother while he sat on the couch.

He stated his brother got up and staggered out of the residence and out the back door, where he then fell at the bottom of the steps, the sheriff said. He dragged him about 60 yards to the back of the property.

Thomas said no one else was home at the time of the killing.

No possible motive has been disclosed.

The sheriff said he has been in contact with the Pike County School System and investigators are working closely with them on the investigation.

There have been long hours worked on this case by investigators and deputies, he said.

We are very fortunate and blessed we do not have more casualties as a result of a 14-year-old having access to a weapon.

There was no indication charges have been filed in the case.

Thomas said the murder is the countys second in 21 days and arrests have been made in both.

We appreciate the employees at the Pike County Sheriffs Office for all their hard work, long hours away from their families and willingness and commitment to keep the citizens of Pike County safe every day, he said.
Another casualty of the Russian war in Ukraine is that Russian commercial airliner manufacturers saw their production fall sharply in 2023. Production wont recover until the economic sanctions are lifted and the Ukraine War ends. The manpower demands of the war made the existing shortage worse. The production workforce is aging and Russian universities are not producing enough graduates to replace those who are retiring. Many of those new aircraft engineers and maintenance personnel migrated to find better paying jobs elsewhere and to avoid getting mobilized into the army. Many Russian industries complained to the Defense Ministry that their technical people were being taken by the military and that was hurting aircraft production and maintenance. The shortage of production and maintenance personnel is expected to get worse, even after the war ends. The economic sanctions blocked the import of components and equipment needed for aircraft production. This, even without the shortage of production and engineering personnel, limits production of new aircraft needed to replace the older aircraft that are retired. These problems also occur for the military aircraft production industry.

Russia used to be a major producer of military aircraft. Late in the Cold War the Soviet Union was still producing several hundred combat aircraft a year. The Soviet Union collapsed and dissolved in 1991. So did Russian production of combat aircraft. During the 1990s, production of a hundred combat aircraft a year was only possible by obtaining many export sales. Twenty years after the Soviet Union collapsed, Russian warplane production was increasing because exports were still strong and Russia could afford to buy more aircraft for itself. The Soviet Air Force had 10,000 warplanes in 1991 and most of those went to the fourteen new countries where they were based. Russia could not afford to maintain the few thousand combat aircraft it was left with after 1991 and, by 2000, found it could not maintain more than a thousand combat aircraft. Another loss during the 1990s was the ability to design and build new aircraft. Most Russian defense firms went out of business in the 1990s while some managed to switch production to items that were still sold. In the last decade most Russian producers of military aircraft were merged into one state-owned UAC (United Aircraft Corporation). A similar merger created a similar company for helicopters.

UAC had a lot of work to do producing new model aircraft as well as older designs that were still popular, especially with export customers. UAC could produce over a hundred aircraft a year and until 2014 it looked like the Russian demand for military aircraft would keep growing along with export sales. UAC had to be profitable and achieved that by shutting down many of the facilities it acquired via all those mergers. Aircraft design and production was concentrated in three facilities and MiG finally disappeared, leaving only Sukhoi (Su) warplanes in production. The Su-27 and MiG-29 appeared late in the Cold War and while the Su-27 kept evolving and improving, the MiG-29 did not. That eventually put MiG out of business.

The United States still has two major producers of war planes and there are several in Europe. Japan and South Korea have begun designing and producing modern combat aircraft. Japanese and European firms have formed a consortium to design and build Tempest, a next generation, after the F-35, warplane. China has two firms producing modern warplanes. All this is more competition for Russia, which, because of sanctions and canceled export orders, was able to deliver only 27 aircraft (four Su-30SM2s, ten Su-34Ms, seven Su-35Ss, and six Su-57s) last year. That was below average for UAC but not by much. From 2008 to 2021 UAC delivered about 40 aircraft a year. Production was disrupted in 2022 because of the sudden and massive economic sanctions imposed on Russia after Ukraine was attacked. Export sales were hurt by the poor performance of UAC aircraft in Ukraine. So far Russian forces have lost 322 military aircraft in Ukraine. This includes transports and helicopters as well as modern combat aircraft. These losses include seventeen Su-34s, eleven Su-30SMs, one Si-35S, twenty-five Su-25s and nine Su-24s. Ukraine has lost 142 combat aircraft. The higher Russian losses were due to the unexpectedly effective Ukrainian air defense system. The Russian air force was unable to shut down the Ukrainian air defenses and had to halt operation of Russian aircraft inside Ukraine. The Ukrainians were using older models of Russian designed air defense systems and combat aircraft to defend their air space. Some Western air defense systems were available at the start of the war and more kept arriving to supplement and then replace Ukrainian losses. Russian occupied Ukrainian territory is defended by Russian anti-aircraft systems which have proved effective enough to reduce Ukrainian air operations in these areas. The air war in Ukrainian was a revelation because, if both sides use modern warplanes and air defense systems, the result was expected to be stalemate rather than air superiority for the side with more combat aircraft and lots of air defense systems. The American air forces have maintained air dominance wherever they have fought since World War II. A lot of American aircraft lost over Vietnam in the 1960s into the early 1970s but American air superiority was still achieved.

During the Cold War the NATO alliance, especially the United States, expected heavy aircraft losses if the Russians attacked. The Americans and their NATO allies expected to prevail but that battle was never fought. That had to wait until 2022 when a version of that NATO/Russia air campaign took place in Ukraine.

Warplane production is only one of several types of weapons production that Russia is trying to sustain and increase under all the sanctions. This includes tanks and other armored vehicles as well as artillery and electronic warfare systems and UAVs. Russia ended up buying UAVs from Iran and artillery ammunition from North Korea. Cut off from key Western suppliers of components, Russia has to set up production of some of these items or smuggle some of them in. No matter how energetic these Russian efforts are, it takes time to restore pre-war production levels and that may not be possible for anything requiring sophisticated Western electronics.
The second suspect wanted in the shooting death of a Birmingham business owner is now in custody.

Jaquies LaMontavious Hoffman, 20, of Tallassee, was booked into the Jefferson County Jail just before 4:30 p.m. today.

U.S. Marshals took him into custody this afternoon in Tallassee.

Hoffman is charged with capital murder in the slaying of 44-year-old Snir Lalum, a co-owner of Insta-Movers.

The other suspect, 23-year-old Sebastian Deonta Ross, of Hoover, has been jailed without bond since Aug. 25.

Ross appeared in court Tuesday for a preliminary hearing, during which testimony alleged Hoffman was the triggerman in Lalums death.

Charging documents against Ross say Lalum, an Israeli citizen affectionately known by his friends in the U.S. as Sonny, was killed while Ross and Hoffman were stealing an undetermined amount of money.

Snir Lalum, 44, was shot to death Aug. 24, 2023, during a robbery at his company, Insta-Movers, in Birmingham. (Contributed)

Jefferson County Deputy District Attorney Dain Stewart argued that Lalum was killed during a robbery, hence the capital murder charge.

Rosss public defender, Sammie Shaw, contended his client was there seeking work, and there is no evidence a robbery was planned or took place.

Judge Katrina Ross said the case would be bound over to a grand jury, but she was considering whether suspect Ross should be charged with capital murder or murder.

Among new details unveiled in Tuesdays preliminary hearing was that moments before and after Lalums slaying were caught on camera and that Hoffman was heard saying to suspect Ross, I had to pop him.

Birmingham homicide Det. James Glasgow was the only witness to testify in the hearing.

Testimony showed the ordeal began when a group of Lulums employees were at the nearby Circle K before going to the warehouse, which is on Walter Davis Drive in south Birmingham.

Ross approached one of the young Hispanic workers while they were in line to make a purchase.

Video from the store showed the worker taking Rosss cell phone and entering his number into the phone because Ross was reportedly looking for work.

Sebastian Ross (Jefferson County Jail)

The worker told Ross he would have to talk to the boss  Lalum  about getting a job.

Glasgow testified that Ross and Hoffman then followed the Insta-Movers workers to the warehouse. Ross was seen on surveillance video first talking to the workers and then to Lalum when he arrived at work.

Glasgow said Ross could be heard saying something to Lalum in Spanish, but that the phrase he said made no sense. Lalum is Israeli, not Hispanic.

The detective then said the suspect, who is from Hoover, was speaking with a Spanish accent when he talked with Lalum at length, apparently describing construction work he could do at Lalums house.

Eventually, Ross was asked to leave.

Authorities said Ross and Hoffman returned to the business moments later, and it was that Lalum was killed.

Lalum was pronounced dead at UAB Hospital shortly after the shooting.
Updated at 7:06 p.m.: The case file was unsealed Thursday afternoon by Madison County Circuit Judge Donna Pate, who ordered certain documents remain sealed while the rest of the case is available to the public.

The unsealing also revealed that DHRs appeal to the Alabama Court of Civil Appeals has now been turned over to the Alabama Supreme Court. The appeals court transferred it to the Supreme Court for lack of this courts appellate jurisdiction, the order said.

Original story: A Madison non-profit organization that serves as a home for foster children is battling the states foster care system in a dispute that has landed in court.

The Alabama Department of Human Resources, which includes the states foster care system, suspended referrals of foster children to the Madison organization, Kids to Love, over what DHR says are serious violations of standards to be met by child placement agencies.

Related: Alabama couple gives $1M estate to Kids to Love childrens charity

Kids to Love says DHR has not been forthcoming about the violations and, after three months of attempting to address the issues with DHR, received a temporary restraining order to block the DHR placement suspension. DHR is asking the Alabama Court of Civil Appeals to strike down that restraining order.

In its filing, Kids to Love said it believed DHR would remove children from Kids to Love-affiliated facilities and foster parents. The temporary restraining order, in addition to lifting the placement ban, also prohibits DHR from removing children from their homes without a show of safety risk or harm to the child.

With the Departments intent of removing the children from Kids to Loves facilities and foster families, multiple children will be disrupted, retraumatized, and removed from safe, stable, loving homes; and the Department will continue to use its authority and coercive power to attempt to force current and prospective foster families to be licensed through it, Kids to Love argued in its request for the restraining order. The Departments removal of children will result in at least 36 safe and stable placements for children rendered useless.

The legal case file that began with Kids to Love asking for the restraining order on Sept. 12 has now been sealed by Madison County Circuit Judge Donna Pate after DHR raised concerns about private information of children in the foster care system being made public through the court filings.

Kids to Love, founded in 2004 by former Huntsville television news anchor Lee Marshall, operates foster care facilities as well as a private child placement agency, according to its website. It also provides an array of other services for foster children, such as clothing and other items if needed and giving a Bible to every child. The organization in 2023 topped the $1 million mark over the last 19 years in awarded scholarships to foster children for certification training, trade schools and college.

The Department of Human Resources, based on the information weve received, instructed the various counties to stop referring cases to Kids to Love, said Patrick Hill, an attorney for Kids to Love. So Kids to Love has facilities, such as the Davidson home, where foster children can go to. They have Kids to Love foster families, and the Kids to Love foster homes that the children can go to. But DHR, because of these differences theyve had with kids to love, earlier this summer, have just stopped all referrals.

DHR declined to comment, citing pending litigation, when contacted by AL.com.

In its response to the temporary restraining order, DHR said that Kids to Loves licenses with the state contain no guarantees for any referrals to or placements of DHRs children.

In a redacted June 15 letter to Kids to Love entered in the court file, DHR outlined its concerns with Kids to Love based upon actions taken in recent months:

Kids to Loves involvement in a custody case of two siblings and its resistance to providing certain health records of one of the siblings as well as the posting of a photo of the siblings on social media by Kids to Love that violated confidentiality. Kids to Love also emailed the juvenile judge involved in the case with the siblings, which was highly inappropriate. Kids to Love also interfered with the permanency plan of adoption of the siblings.

In another case, Kids to Love posted a photo of a child on Facebook that violated confidentiality standards. Kids to Love also made a public misrepresentation of a foster care case.

A redacted countys DHR objected to the posting of a photo of a foster child in the custody of that countys DHR that raised concerns about confidentiality and safety.

Other incidents in which DHR said Kids to Love has made public misrepresentations about its role in the foster care system and specified one case where Kids to Love included information about the IQ of a child that violated confidentiality.

State DHR will monitor your compliance with the Minimum Standards and is hopeful that you will (be) willing to take the necessary steps to ameliorate these issues, the letter said in conclusion.

In its request for the restraining order, Kids to Love said DHR sent a private memo June 15  the same day as the letter from DHR to Kids to Love -- to the DHR directors in Alabamas 67 counties informing them of the placement suspension for Kids to Love.

In the court filing, Kids to Love said it sent a letter to DHR the next day asking for more information about its concerns and received no response. Kids to Love also argued in the filing that its 14th Amendment due process rights had been violated by DHR because no corrective plan was communicated by DHR.

Following the June 15 letter, Kids to Love said in its filing its first response from DHR came Sept. 8.

In its response, the Department did not articulate deficiencies or safety concerns to children, any corrective action, or any administrative remedy for Kids to Love, the Kids to Love filing said. It merely responded that it questions Kids to Loves involvement in a specific case and that case is on appeal, insinuating that no decision on the placement ban will take place before the decision on appeal is rendered.

Kids to Love said it responded Sept. 10 that it is not involved in the issues of the case, the appeal or the outcome and asked again for DHR to articulate the reasons for the continuing ban on placement of children in Kids to Love facilities and with Kids to Love licensed foster families.

There was no immediate response from DHR and Kids to Love sought the temporary restraining order to block the referrals two days later.

Meanwhile, in a hearing last Friday, Judge Pate chastised DHR attorney Felicia Brooks after the state agency sent a notice to five county DHR officers suggesting the temporary restraining order issued by the judge affected the placement of children.

We believe it was an intentional effort by DHR to mislead juvenile court judges, Hill, the attorney for Kids to Love, said during the hearing.

Pate repeatedly questioned Brooks about the notice. She responded that it was DHRs legal position that the temporary restraining order had such an impact. Pate eventually told Brooks she was incorrect in that interpretation. The judge also ended the hearing by saying she would be in contact with the juvenile court judges to inform them that the restraining order does not affect the placement of children.

Im very disturbed by this, Pate said, adding that she does not have the jurisdiction to instruct another judge on a case.

Pate also ordered that DHR not send the notice to any other juvenile courts.
A pedestrian died after being struck by a train in Sheffield Thursday afternoon.

According to the Colbert County Emergency Management Agency, the incident happened at about 12:55 p.m. at North Montgomery Avenue and East First Street. A man was airlifted from the scene.

Sheffield Police Chief Ricky Terry told WHNT that a 43-year-old man died of his injuries at NAMC Hospital in Florence.

Sheffield police are investigating.
After a small-town police officer was indicted this year in a scheme to frame drivers for drug possession in north Alabama, one driver is suing for wrongful arrest, arguing that former Centre officer Michael Kilgore planted drugs in his car and used a police dog from another department to find the contraband.

After (Officer) Kilgores scheme was exposed, the charges against Plaintiff and numerous other victims of the scheme were dropped. Accordingly, plaintiff brings this action for wrongful arrest and malicious prosecution, said a complaint in the lawsuit filed in federal court last month.

William Sidney Blevins and his girlfriend Amanda Woods were driving from Leesburg to Centre, north of Gadsden, to meet with a friend on the night of January 25, at about 11 p.m. when an officer pulled them over, according to the complaint. Officer Michael Andrew Kilgore, 39, told Blevins he pulled him over because his tag light was out and asked to search the car. According to the complaint, Blevins said no to the search and the officer told them both to step out of the car and he put them in handcuffs.

A K-9 officer, Shane Butler, then arrived at the arrest scene with his dog and talked to Kilgore, according to the complaint. Butler walked around the car and ducked down by the open passenger door, out of sight of Blevins, according to the suit. Butler then stood up and went to get his K-9. Once at the car, the dog jumped in the passenger side.

Kilgore came over and reached inside, then showed plaintiff a bag of what plaintiff assumed was illegal drugs. Kilgore claimed to have found the bag inside the vehicle, the lawsuit said.

Blevins had never seen bag before, according to the suit. Officers arrested him for possessing methamphetamine and took him to Cherokee County Jail where he stayed until the next afternoon, according to the lawsuit. His lawsuit claims he was forced to sleep on the concrete jail floor which caused a shoulder injury. His name, mugshot and charges were published in the local paper.

On May 3, Kilgore was arrested for a criminal conspiracy to commit a controlled substance crime-distribution. The suit says the charges against Blevins and several others were dropped after Kilgores arrest.

Kilgore is no longer employed by Centre police. Multiple efforts to reach Kilgore for comment were unsuccessful. His attorney in the case is not listed yet.

I am afraid this case is just scratching the surface of the damage Officer Kilgore has done to the innocent people he arrested for possessing or distributing drugs, drugs that he planted on them so he could get another drug bust to his credit, said Jon Goldfarb, Blevins attorney.

Butler is also named in the lawsuit. He is an officer at the Cedar Bluff Police Department. Neither Butler nor the Cedar Bluff Police Department returned multiple calls for comment for this article.

According to the complaint, a confidential informant had reported that Kilgore was planting evidence a few days after Blevins arrest and there was an investigation underway into Kilgore at the time Blevins visited the chief.

In total, Kilgore worked at the department for less than a year, according to the departments Facebook page. After the first two months of his employment, the Centre Police Department announced online a significant number of arrests, many of them drug related. Of 138 new cases at the department between June and August of 2022, there were 70 arrests, including 49 charges from drug/narcotic violations and 26 from drug equipment violations, according to the department. Five charges were for possession of illegal prescription drugs. The department said it had removed 1.47 pounds of methamphetamine, a gram of heroin and 4.66 pounds of marijuana.

We are very disappointed in Kilgores conduct, said Centre Police Chief Kirk Blankenship in a public statement in May. There is no excuse for any officer violating the law like this.
A Blount County student was struck and killed while at a bus stop Thursday morning.

The crash happened just after 7 a.m. on U.S. 231 near the TipTop One Stop in St. Clair County. That location is on the Blount County and St. Clair County lines.

The initial information is that the 15-year-old Appalachian School student, a female, was about to get on the bus with her siblings when she was hit by a truck.

The crash happened in front of the students house. The 2004 Nissan Frontier, driven by 31-year-old Tyler Gillilan of Oneonta, then crashed into the house.

The teen girl was pronounced dead on the scene at 7:58 a.m., said St. Clair County Deputy Coroner Joe Sweatt.

Multiple law enforcement agencies responded to the scene, including Blount and St. Clair sheriffs deputies, and the Alabama State Troopers. The St. Clair County Coroners Office also responded to the scene.

Rodney Green, Superintendent, Blount County Schools Superintendent Rodney Green released a statement Thursday afternoon.

It is with a heavy and broken heart that we share the news of a devastating, tragic accident at a bus- stop this morning that took the life of one of our students at Appalachian School,' Green said. This is certainly one of the most difficult things that our school and our community have had to face. Appalachian School is a close-knit community school that loves and supports its students, and our thoughts and prayers go out to them.

I want to thank our first responders, our community members, counselors and employees for their assistance with the families involved and with our students impacted at the school,' Green said. Thanks for the outpouring of love, prayers, and support for the family, our school, and our community and please remember them in the difficult days ahead.
A three-judge federal court has picked the map Alabama will use for its congressional elections next year, one that will add a second district where Black residents make up close to half of the voting age population.

The judges picked Remedial Plan 3, one of the three maps drawn by a special master appointed by the court to fix what the court found was a likely violation of the Voting Rights Act.

The main changes are in the southern half of the state, where District 2 becomes the second district where Black voters will have an opportunity to elect a candidate of their choice. Alabamas racially polarized voting means that would most likely be a Democrat.

District 1 changes substantially, with two Republican incumbents within its borders, Reps. Jerry Carl of Mobile and Barry Moore of Enterprise.

Instead of six safe Republican districts and one safe Democratic district, Alabamas map will now have two districts where Democrats have a realistic chance to win.

Last year, the three-judge court found that Alabamas map, with one majority Black district out of seven in a state where one-fourth of residents are Black, most likely violates the Voting Rights Act. The U.S. Supreme Court affirmed that decision in June.

The three-judge court allowed the Legislature time to pass a new map. But the court found that the map approved during a special session in July did not fix the likely Voting Rights Act violation. The court ordered the special master to submit three maps, which were discussed at a hearing on Tuesday.

At that hearing, the plaintiffs who have prevailed in their claim under Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act said Remedial Plan 3 would fix the likely violation of the law.

The plaintiffs group led by Evan Milligan of Montgomery said they preferred Remedial Plan 1 but that Plan 3 was a good alternative. The plaintiffs led by Marcus Caster of Washington County said Plans 1 and 3 were both good.

Alabama has had one majority Black district, District 7, and six heavily white districts since 1992, when the map was also drawn by a federal court.

The new map makes no changes to Districts 3, 4, and 5 and minimal changes to Districts 6 and 7.

Here is a zoomable link to the new map.

The map passed by the Republican-controlled Legislature in July, left, and Remedial Plan 3, proposed by a court-appointed special master. The court picked Plan 3 to use in next year's elections.

In a 49-page order issued Thursday, the judges said Remedial Plan 3 fixed the dilution of Black voters that created the likely Voting Rights Act violation while not changing the Legislatures map any more than was necessary.

Accordingly, we find that Remedial Plan 3 completely remedies the vote dilution we found and satisfies all applicable federal constitutional and statutory requirements while most closely approximating the policy choices the Alabama Legislature made in the 2023 Plan, the judges wrote. Put differently, we find that Remedial Plan 3 limits our modifications of the 2023 Plan only to those necessary to cure the statutory defect that we identified, and that Remedial Plan 3 does not intrude on Alabama policy any more than is necessary to bring the 2023 Plan into compliance with Section Two of the Voting Rights Act.

The Alabama Legislative Black Caucus issued a news release praising the ruling by U.S. Circuit Judge Stanley Marcus, District Judge Anna Manasco and District Judge Terry Moorer.

Today, we celebrate a victory for voting rights for all Alabamians, Sen. Merika Coleman, D-Pleasant Grove, said. For two years, we have fought vigorously to end racial gerrymandering in Alabama and we are pleased with this landmark decision. Not only will this positively affect Alabama, but it will also help remedy the racial gerrymandering that is occuring throughout our nation. Fair maps ensure that no matter what your race, ethnicity, or political leaning- that your vote counts.

Secretary of State Wes Allen had told the court Alabama needed a map by early October to prepare for next years elections. The judges have noted that timeline in their rulings.

The ACLU of Alabama, which represented the Milligan plaintiffs in the case, praised the ruling.

Todays order means for the first time, Black voters in two congressional districts will have an opportunity to elect a candidate of their choice, ACLU of Alabama Executive Director JaTaune Bosby Gilchrist said. It is unfortunate that federal courts were forced to put in place a congressional map that state lawmakers refused to admit is the right thing to do, but we are thankful for their intervention. Our democracy is strongest when we make it possible for every vote to be counted. Putting in place fair voting maps moves us closer to that reality.

Under Remedial Plan 3, the Black voting age population in the redrawn District 2 is 48.7%, up from 40% on the Legislatures map. An analysis showed that Black-preferred candidates, Democrats, received more votes in the district than their Republican opponents in 16 of 17 recent elections.

District 7, represented by Congresswoman Terri Sewell, D-Birmingham, remains majority Black, at 51.9%.

Alabamas lawyers, Attorney General Steve Marshall and Solicitor General Edmund LaCour, opposed all of the special masters remedial maps and claimed they were unconstitutional racial gerrymanders. But the three-judge court rejected those arguments. The Supreme Court declined the states request for an emergency stay that would have blocked the three-judge court from drawing the new map.

Although the map is now set for the 2024 elections. Marshall has said he will continue to pursue an appeal and a trial in the case.

My Office will continue our fight to defend the 2023 map, which was enacted by the peoples representatives, and which complies with both the Voting Rights Act and the Constitutions promise that governments should be colorblind, Marshall said in a statement after the Supreme Court turned down the states request for an emergency stay. We will comply with the district courts preliminary injunction order, while building our case for the 2023 map, which has yet to receive a full hearing. We are confident that the Voting Rights Act does not require, and the Constitution does not allow, separate but equal congressional districts.

Secretary of State Allen issued a statement Thursday after the court decision.

The Office of the Secretary of State will facilitate the 2024 election cycle in accordance with the map the federal court has forced upon Alabama and ordered us to use, Allen said. It is important for all Alabamians to know that the legal portion of this process has not yet been completed. A full hearing on the redistricting issue will take place in the future and I trust Attorney General Marshall to represent Alabama through that process. In the meantime, I will keep our states elections safe, secure and transparent because that is what I was elected to do.

The three-judge court had told the state that a remedy to the likely Voting Rights Act violation was to create a second district where Black voters comprised a majority or close to a majority, one where they would have an opportunity to elect a candidate of their choice. But the plan the Republican-controlled Legislature passed in July did not do that, a point the state did not dispute, the judges said.

The State conceded that the 2023 Plan does not include an additional opportunity district, the judges wrote. Indeed, the State asserted that notwithstanding our preliminary injunction order and the Supreme Courts affirmance, the Legislature was not required to include an additional opportunity district in the 2023 Plan.

The States conduct and concession put this case in an unusual posture. We are not aware of any other case in which a state legislature  faced with a federal court order declaring that its electoral plan unlawfully dilutes minority votes and requiring a plan that provides an additional opportunity district  responded with a plan that the state concedes does not provide that district.

Congresswoman Sewell took note of that in a statement Thursday.

While we celebrate this historic victory, the continued resistance that we face from state officials should not be lost on anyone, Sewell said. This long and arduous battle over Alabamas congressional map serves as a solemn reminder that efforts to deny fair representation to Black and minority voters are still alive and well.

The Alabama Democratic Party said the state had failed in an effort to defy the courts.

With the adoption of a fair congressional map, the new opportunity district provides Black voters with a realistic chance to elect a representative of their choice, Executive Director Tom Miro said. The Alabama Democratic Party celebrates that the Voting Rights Act has been upheld.

Importantly, the Alabama Legislature and Attorney General were unsuccessful in their attempts to defy the Supreme Court and thwart the rule of law. We are heartened that the Court recognized Alabamas long and contentious history of denying Black voters their constitutional rights and equal treatment. We are looking forward to a Democrat having a viable chance to earn the trust of the voters during the next election and winning this seat.

With the map settled for 2024, the next big question is who will run in District 1 and District 2, where the substantial changes were made.

The Democratic Party opened qualifying on Sept. 29. Sewell has qualified to run for reelection in District 7.

Qualifying in the Republican Party starts Oct. 16. Qualifying in both parties must end by Nov. 10.

Plaintiffs Evan Milligan, Khadidah Stone, Letetia Jackson, Shalela Dowdy, Greater Birmingham Ministries, and the Alabama State Conference of the NAACP, who prevailed in their Voting Rights Act challenge, issued a statement Thursday. They are represented by the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, American Civil Liberties Union, ACLU of Alabama, Hogan Lovells LLP, and Wiggins, Childs, Pantazis, Fisher & Goldfarb.

Todays order marks a momentous step forward for us, they said. Thousands of Black voters throughout the Black Belt, for the first time, will be able to elect their candidates of choice in two opportunity districts. This is an unequivocal win that will translate to increased opportunities for those who have too long been denied the fair representation they deserve. Though a long, hard-fought battle, we are grateful to have achieved this key measure and look forward to building a better future for Alabama voters.

Read more: Who could be running in the open Alabama Congressional District 2 race?

Why are Birmingham lawmakers eyeing a run for Congress in South Alabama

Barry Moore seriously praying about whether to run again as redistricting to transform House seat

Alabama congressman blames 3 activist judges for plan to split district, but Trump nominated 2 of them
The gunshots startled Mercedes Caballero and her 16-year-old daughter.

They got out of bed and checked the video feed from their home security system. It showed a man lying on the ground as police officers rushed around the front yard across the street on Ryan Drive in Decatur.

Mom, the cops shot him, Caballero recalled her daughter saying.

They rolled back the video and watched in shock.

Oh my goodness, Caballero recalled saying. The cop did shoot him.

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In an interview with AL.com, Caballero recalled learning that their neighbor of about five years, 39-year-old Stephen Clay Perkins died that morning after a Decatur police officer shot and killed him just feet away from their home.

Another neighbor, Justin Shepherd, said the police gunfire hit his home as he laid in bed.

I was watching from inside the house right after I heard the gunshots because bullets were coming in my home, he told AL.com.

The Army veteran said he survived the war in Iraq but feared for his life in his own home last Friday. He said he felt helpless when he realized that police had killed his friend and personal trainer.

I guess I was far enough in the house, he said. But it was just sheer luck. Cause if I was sleeping in one of the front rooms or watching TV, I could have been dead.

One of several bullet hole on the side of Justin Shepherd's home in Decatur, Ala.

Perkins death sparked protests outside Decatur City Hall, with marchers calling for police to release body camera footage. The city wont release the tapes, but Perkins family did share footage from the neighbors security camera.

The mayor met with Perkins family but said he doesnt yet have the answers they are looking for about what happened to their husband, brother, father, son, known to some as Clay and to others as Steve. The state police continue to investigate. The family hired Lee Merritt, a national civil rights attorney to ensure their pursuit of justice is thorough, transparent and effective. Merritt said they would meet today with Scott Anderson, the district attorney of Morgan County.

Police said Perkins threatened a tow truck driver attempting to repossess his vehicle. The tow truck driver left the house but returned later with officers. In a press release, police said Perkins turned a gun toward the officer, causing the officer to fire.

In a statement posted on Instagram Wednesday night, the familys lawyer said the police and the tow company got it wrong.

Merritt said on Instagram that Perkins went outside to investigate why the dog was barking. He said Perkins didnt know the police were outside with the tow truck driver.

In a matter of seconds the men hidden in the dark surrounding his property revealed themselves and simultaneously opened fire, the statement added. He never had a chance to surrender. Officers didnt announce their presence until the very last moment. Steve was committing no crime. Officers surrounding Steven in his front yard fired over a dozen rounds striking him seven times killing him. They later discovered the attempted repossession was a mistake.

A spokesperson for the city and the police department did not comment on Thursday, citing the ongoing investigation.

Perkins family, in a statement released on the day of his death, said they had receipts and that theres no evidence he fell behind on his vehicle payments.

The unjust excessive amount of force can be seen in the home surveillance footage, said the statement, released by Brenton Lipscomb, the familys publicist. Rumors have circulated regarding Decatur Police Departments statement stigmatizing Clay as combative or aggressive, causing rage in marginalized communities across Alabama.

This was not the character of Clay Perkins, the statement added. Clay was a family-oriented young black man thriving for excellence.

Footage from the security cameras is dark and grainy, filmed from too far away to clearly depict exactly what happened.

One clip released by the family captured audio of the shooting. Perkins went outside and shouted for the tow man to put the truck down. It shows a police officer running and shouting Hey, hey, police, get on the ground and immediately firing multiple rounds. Someone is heard saying, thats the gun after the officers rush over to Perkins lying on the ground.

The family said seven bullets hit Perkins.

Another video, which does not have audio, appeared to show Perkins shining a bright light in the front yard. Perkins appeared to move forward a few steps before turning to the right, leaping backward and falling to the ground. The video then appeared to show an officer emerge from Perkins right side, near the home.

In a news release, the Alabama Law Enforcement said Perkins was found to be armed with a handgun which was also equipped with a light.

But the video raised questions for Perkins friends, family and neighbors.

On his home security camera, neighbor Michael Capps saw an interaction with the tow driver around 12:20 a.m. Then, he saw police show up with the tow truck more than an hour later.

He questioned why the tow truck returned with police if Perkins had been threatening earlier.

I think it all could have been avoided, Capps told AL.com. One. I dont think there was any reason for the tow truck driver to come back at two oclock in the morning when hed already tried once and was sent on his way.

Capps shared the video footage on Facebook.

Posted by Michael Capps on Tuesday, October 3, 2023

Rodney Gordon, the president of the Morgan County chapter of the NAACP, characterized the shooting as an ambush and modern day lynching. He questioned why police appeared to be hiding in the dark near Perkins home.

Because Steve would have never come outside with a gun or even had a gun, Gordon told AL.com. If he came to Steve, after he came to Steves house, knocked on the door. How are you doing? Im such and such a Decatur Police Department, we wont even be having this conversation. Period.

A Decatur police officer shot and killed Stephen Clay Perkins, 39, on Sept.29, 2023.

Briona Watkins, a nurse who grew up with Perkins in Hillsboro, a town of about 400 people 14 miles west of Decatur, said protests will continue until we get answers.

She is one of the organizers of a facebook group named THE MOVEMENT-JUSTICE FOR CLAY STEVE PERKINS. More than 2,000 people have joined since Sunday.

The police did not make their presence known, Watkins said. They hid on the side of his house. They hid across the street at a neighbors house. They did not make their presence known whatsoever. And how was he supposed to know that they were there if they didnt make their presence known?

They could just have simply knocked on the door and let him know, just letting you know, we got a call. Theyre trying to tow your truck for whatever reason. Just letting you know that were here and we got called to assist. If that would have been done, then we wouldnt even be on the phone right now.

Decatur Mayor Tab Bowling said he will join the community at a vigil, scheduled for 7:30 p.m. today outside city hall, in memory of Perkins. In a video posted to Facebook, the mayor asked the community to pray and revealed that he and his wife, Sherry, met with Perkins family over the weekend.

My heart is with Steves family and loved ones as they grieve the loss of his life, the mayor said in the video.

But he acknowledged that he could not provide the family with answers about the shooting.

While the grief in the home was beyond belief, there was certainly hospitality and kindness, he said. But the family, understandably, was laser-focused on one thing, and thats answers to why Steve lost his life. And at this time, I do not have the answers.

Please keep Steves family and our community in your prayers. Posted by Tab Bowling, Mayor of The City of Decatur on Tuesday, October 3, 2023

The city denied a public records request from AL.com seeking the footage as well as the officers personnel and disciplinary records. The officers name has not been made public. Police said the officer was on administrative leave.

Alexia Owens is a medical assistant now, but she grew up with Perkins in Hillsboro.

We kept trying to figure out, like, aint no way, aint no way that he would do something to provoke an officer, not knowingly, she told AL.com at a protest. So we knew that Steve is happy, respectful, hes not confrontational. Hes just an all-around good spirit, good personality, uplifting. He loves life. He aint going to do nothing to take that life from him or from his daughters. You know what Im saying? Take food off his table. His familys got to worry about that now.

A Decatur police officer shot and killed Stephen Clay Perkins in his front yard in the early hours of Sept. 29, 2023.

Terrance Baker, another Hillsboro native, told AL.com that he questions whether Perkins could have known the police were outside in the dark.

Steve was the one that never got caught up in the riff-raff, he told AL.com

Businessman Tommy Cook said he felt compelled to protest and speak out after Perkins death.

You know as a concerned citizen, it doesnt matter if youre white, Black, Mexican, Puerto Rican, whatever, at 2 a.m. in the morning, your dogs are barking, youre going to come outside with concern, right? If you have a weapon, youre going to come outside with your weapon. Thats anyone.
Alabama has dried out a little more in the past week, and drought conditions are expanding in the state.

And it will continue to be dry enough that the National Weather Service is warning of critical wildfire conditions in parts of the state this weekend.

The U.S. Drought Monitor released its weekly look at drought conditions nationwide, and it showed worsening conditions across much of Alabama.

Parts of southwest Alabama remain in the driest and are in extreme drought, or level 3 out of 4. Areas in extreme drought expanded from 2.30 percent last week to 6.14 percent this week, according to the Drought Monitor.

Areas in extreme drought include parts of Mobile, Baldwin, Escambia, Conecuh and Monroe counties.

More of Alabama this week is also in severe drought, or level 2 out of 4. Areas in severe drought grew from 16.04 percent last week to 17.78 percent this week, according to the report.

Areas in severe drought were also in southwest Alabama.

The report said 73.90 percent of the state is now in moderate drought, or level 1. Thats a big jump -- an increase from 30.60 percent last week.

And nearly all the rest of the state, or 96.43 percent, is abnormally dry or on the edge of going into drought.

The only near-normal areas this week (as far as soil moisture goes, that is) are in east-central Alabama.

The dry conditions will also bring critical fire conditions to parts of south and west Alabama.

The National Weather Service has issued a red flag warning that will be in effect from 11 a.m. until 7 p.m. Saturday for Choctaw, Washington, Clarke, Wilcox, Monroe, Conecuh, Butler, Crenshaw, Escambia, Covington, Mobile, Baldwin, Sumter, Greene, Hale, Perry, Marengo, Dallas, Autauga, Lowndes, Elmore, Montgomery, Macon, Bullock, Lee, Russell, Pike and Barbour counties.

The weather service said a combination of strong winds, low relative humidity, and warm temperatures can contribute to extreme fire behavior.

Is there any relief in sight? Just a little, according to the National Weather Service.

Parts of Alabama will have their highest rain chances of the week tonight into Friday. However, the rain is not expected to add up to much.

The next seven days continue could bring a little more rain to Alabama than this week. Heres the seven-day precipitation outlook from NOAAs Weather Prediction Center:

Alabama could get at least a little rain over the next seven days, with areas near the coast potentially getting the most.

It shows areas along the coast could see an inch or two in the next week. Areas to the north will likely see less rain, but most of Alabama is expected to at least see a little precipitation in the next seven days.
Huntsville area residents are spending more time in the emergency room  because the rapid growth in Madison County means many cant get to see a primary care doctor quick enough.

The reason for that  not enough doctors in the area to keep up with the growth.

The physician shortage is making it difficult for some to find not just primary care providers but also pediatricians or other specialists.

It varies based on specialty, said Josh Hewiett, Huntsville Hospital senior vice president of physician services. Theres definitely a growing demand for care, especially primary care.

Huntsville resident Tara Barnes is among those who recently have been forced to search for a new doctor.

I received a letter from my doctor that the nurse practitioner was leaving, which is usually who I saw and preferred to see, she said. He could not handle the load with her leaving, and said that I needed to find a new doctor. I was mortified because there is such a shortage here.  To see a specialist here is almost out of the question.
Alabama Powers plan to leave 21 million tons of coal ash waste in an unlined impoundment on the Mobile River took another hit last week, as a federal judge recommended that a lawsuit against the company be allowed to move forward.

Alabama Power had asked the court to dismiss a lawsuit filed by Mobile Baykeeper last year challenging Alabama Powers plan to close the 597-acre coal ash pond at the James M. Barry Electric Generating Plant in Mobile County.

The Baykeeper argued that not digging out the leaking ash ponds was a violation of federal environmental laws and would leach pollutants into public waters of the United States and of Alabama indefinitely.

Meanwhile Alabama Power made three arguments for why the case should be dismissed:

The company had received a permit from ADEM to close the ash pond.

The lawsuit was premature since the pond was not yet closed.

The Baykeeper had not alleged specific harms.

Federal magistrate judge Sonja Bivins rejected each of those arguments by Alabama Power and recommended that the court deny Alabama Powers motion to dismiss and allow the Baykeepers lawsuit to proceed.

Bivins found that the ADEM permit was not sufficient to meet federal coal ash rules, and that Baykeeper has alleged concrete, ongoing harm, and that the environmental group had asserted plausible claims for relief against Alabama Power.

For the reasons set forth above, the undersigned recommends that Alabama Powers corrected motion to dismiss be denied, Bivins wrote.

The recommendation and report was made on Sept. 30. Parties have 14 days to file objections to the judges report.

Alabama Power told AL.com that as a matter of practice, it does not comment on pending litigation and did not say whether the company planned to object to the judges recommendations.

EPA coal ash decision looms

The lawsuit moving forward would be another blow for Alabama Powers plans to cover coal ash in place at Plant Barry and other locations around Alabama.

Coal ash, or coal combustion residuals (CCR), is the leftover material when power plants burn coal for electricity. The ash contains substances such as mercury, arsenic and heavy metals that can cause human health problems. For decades these ashes were flushed out into holding ponds at power plants across the country, building up massive volumes over the decades.

Environmental advocates argue that leaving ash in these unlined ponds indefinitely will result in decades of water and groundwater pollution, and leave the risk of a catastrophic dam breach like the one that occurred in Kingston, Tenn. in 2008 that sent millions of tons of coal ash flooding out into the river.

Many utilities, including Alabama Power, prefer to retire their ash ponds by covering them in place rather than digging the ash out and moving it to a lined landfill. They say that method can be protective of the environment and is faster and less expensive than moving millions of tons of ash to lined landfills.

Alabama Power got approval from the Alabama Department of Environmental Management in 2021 to use the cover in place method of closing the ash pond at Plant Barry under a state-level permitting program that had not been approved by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Now the EPA has proposed a rejection of ADEMs coal ash permitting program, arguing that it does not meet the requirements of the federal coal ash rules.

The EPA has argued that coal ash ponds cannot be closed to meet federal coal ash rules, if that coal ash remains directly in contact with groundwater, as it does at Plant Barry and other power plants in Alabama.

Bivins noted the EPAs proposed denial of ADEMs permit program as less protective than the federal standards

Indeed, the straightforward issue at the heart of this controversy is whether, under the CCR Rule, a CCR impoundment can be capped in place with CCR in contact with groundwater, Bivins said in the 38-page recommendation.

The EPA is accepting public comments on its rejection of Alabamas coal ash plans through Oct. 14, and will make a final determination after that comment period.

If the EPA holds its position that leaving coal ash in groundwater is not allowable under the federal rules, utilities like Alabama Power may be forced to excavate massive ponds or find another way to remove the ash from contact with groundwater.
During the 20 years the IRA (Islamic Republic of Afghanistan) ran the country, its literacy rate grew. When the IEA (Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan) took control in 2021, the literacy rate began to fall. At that point the adult (all those over 15) literacy rate was 46 percent compared to 31 percent in 2001 and 18 percent in 1979, when the four decades of war began. For school-age Afghans the current literacy is nearly 50 percent because since 2002 over a third of Afghans have received at least a basic education and nearly half of those have been female, despite vigorous Taliban efforts to block that. Since 2014 the Taliban have put a priority on destroying schools, especially those that educate girls. The number of girls getting an education has been declining. The current Afghan literacy rate is 46 percent compared to 72 percent for India, 96 percent in China and 87 percent in Iran. Countries with higher literacy rates tend to have stronger economies and more prosperity in general. The U.S. has a literacy rate of 99 percent, as does Britain and most other Western nations. The more prosperous Arab states, like the UAE (United Arab Emirates) have a 93 percent literacy rate. The higher literacy rate usually leads to a better educated and more productive workforce.

The two decades of IRA rule were made possible by $2.3 trillion dollars of American aid to the Afghan government. Some of this money also went t0 Pakistan, which turned out to be a mistake. In 2019 Pakistan admitted that for the last fifteen years it had lied about the presence of over 30,000 armed men in Pakistan and Kashmir working for 40 Islamic terror groups. That deception was one of the reasons the U.S. cut off all aid to Pakistan. In addition to halting cash assistance of Afghanistan, the United States pulled the last of its troops in late 2021 and the U.S. backed IRA government collapsed, replaced by the IEA. If the IEA does allow groups based in Afghanistan to make attacks on the United States or American in other countries, the response will be sanctions and air strikes on Afghanistan. Untrustworthy Afghan governments are nothing new, it is a tradition that is several centuries old. Outsiders are considered fair game for all manner of deceptions and costly mistakes while trying to do business in Afghanistan. The Americans proved to be the most lucrative victim and, after 20 years of persistent corruption, decided the situation was not going to change and left. The U.S. still supplies support for Afghanistan through its donations of UN food programs for Afghanistan.

The IEA recently persuaded some of the exiled finance and banking officials who had served the IRA to return and get the Afghan currency stabilized while also enabling the Central Bank to handle more transactions and larger ones as well. The national currency, the Afghani, has also increased in value over the last year to the point where only 78 Afghanis were needed to buy a dollar. Since the Afghani was getting stronger it was easier to efficiently handle the $5.8 billion in aid received since mid-2021. The Central Bank can now ease limits on businesses or individuals withdrawing dollars. The Central Bank is considered stable and efficient by foreign investors and that accelerates plans by foreign companies to invest billions of dollars to create mining operations in Afghanistan.

China is negotiating with the Taliban government to provide food and other aid in exchange for allowing China to safely establish surveillance cameras throughout the country and use Afghanistan as a transit zone for Chinese operations in surrounding countries.

Inside Afghanistan, the only organized opposition to IEA rule is a successor to the 1990s Northern Alliance. This new anti-Taliban group reassembled in 2022 as the NRF (National Resistance Front) and appeared to be a major threat to IEA rule and possibly something that was more than the IEA could handle. NRF leaders blame the United States and the former IRA government. Both misjudged and mishandled efforts to deal with the ISIL and TTP (Pakistani Taliban) presence inside Afghanistan. Now the resistance to the revived Taliban rule in Afghanistan is opposed by an updated version of the pre September 11, 2001 Afghan resistance. This time the United States was not interested in trying to remove a pro-Islamic terrorist government in Afghanistan.

Some of the NRF leaders are sons of successful Northern Alliance commanders. Iran threatened to provide more support to the NRF than they gave the Northern Alliance. By late 2022 the NRF dominated Panjshir province (northeast of Kabul) and believed they could resist any IEA attack. That was optimistic because IEA forces suffered some losses initially but soon turned that around and inflicted heavy losses on NRF in terms of gunmen, territory and local support. Now the NRF is based in northern neighbor Tajikistan and conducts raids into Afghanistan. This was not a repeat of the 1990s when the Northern Alliance dominated the Panjshir Valley (a 90-minute drive from Kabul) right up to the defeat of the Taliban government after September 2001. Northern Front leaders became members of the IRA government and now their sons reassembled as the NRF, which had some initial success but no staying power. Not enough Panjshir Valley residents are willing to die opposing the ruthless IEA government. The remaining resistance fighters have moved north to Tajikistan. September 30, 2023: One reason Afghan families flee IEA ruled Afghanistan is to live in a country that allows girls and women to attend schools and universities. IEA ruled Afghanistan is the only Moslem country in the world that bans the education of women and energetically enforces that ban. Afghan women can get a basic education but not high school or university level instruction. The IEA has created a hostile environment for any schools to educate women and many of these schools take the hint and downgrade or eliminate programs for women. Moslem nations that support the IEA point out that educated women are a major asset, especially if you are seeking economic growth and a well trained workforce.

October 3, 2023: Pakistan ordered 1.7 million unregistered Afghan refugees to leave Pakistan by the end October or be arrested and forced back into Afghanistan. There are over two million registered Afghan refugees, but wants to get these out of Pakistan as well. The legal refugees can seek refuge elsewhere while the unregistered are not screened for known criminals or terrorists. Recent terror attacks in Pakistan have been traced back to Afghan refugees. Most of the refugees left Afghanistan because they wanted to escape the harsh rule of the new IEA government. The registered refugees have some protection from the UN refugee agency. That is not enough to halt a determined expulsion effort by a host country. The Afghan refugees have long been a presence in Pakistan and this is not popular with many Pakistanis because the refugees are a burden on the local population and economy. The UN seeks to deal with this problem by providing aid for the refugees. Getting donor nations to provide that aid has become more difficult, especially when the aid is needed for Afghan refugees.

September 29, 2023: IEA Interior Minister Sirajuddin Haqqani visited the Panjshir Valley and tried to convince local leaders to stop tolerating anti-IEA activities in the valley. Many Panjshir residents have joined the resistance, which includes a growing number of armed men who fight what was described as a pro-Pakistan IEA government.

There is some truth to this, especially when it involves members of the Haqqani clan. Pakistan believed that once the IEA took over, the pro-Pakistan members of the IEA government would give Pakistan their long-desired control over the Afghan government. That might have happened except for the fact that the official leader of the Afghan Taliban, Mullah Hebatullah Akhundzada, had a lot more supporters in Afghanistan than Pakistan realized. Before the IEA took over Pakistan was convinced that Akhundzada was unpopular with many Taliban faction leaders, in part because Akhundzada was seen as a figurehead and his chief deputy, the head of the Haqqani Network, was actually in charge. That was true but the secret was that Akhundzada only acted as a figurehead because he had to operate from the Pakistan sanctuary in Quetta, a city just across the border from the Afghan province of Kandahar, where many of the original Taliban came from. Kandahar was where Akhundzada went after the IEA replaced the IRA (American backed-Islamic Republic of Afghanistan) in mid-2021. Once back in Afghanistan, Akhundzada could exercise his power as the official head of the Taliban and do so without potentially lethal pressure from Pakistan. The Taliban factions Pakistan believed were hostile to Akhundzada, and openly supported him once he was back in Kandahar.

Pakistan underestimated how widespread the hatred of Pakistan was in Afghanistan, even among the many Afghan Taliban who seemed to maintain a pro-Pakistan attitude. Pakistan believed this would neutralize the many Afghan Taliban factions who had openly expressed their opposition to Pakistan interference in Afghanistan. Mullah Akhundzada was a highly respected Islamic scholar who rarely commented on his political beliefs. The Pakistani ISI (military intelligence service) that created the Taliban in the mid-1990s and managed them ever since. Pakistan misjudged Akhundzadas silence on his attitude towards Pakistan. This was seen as agreement with or neutrality towards the ISI and Pakistan in general. Akhundzada had widespread support in Afghanistan while the pro-Pakistan IEA officials who were appointed while the Taliban were still in Quetta had little such support.

When Akhundzada overruled Pakistan-backed IEA officials, it was clear he was no longer a figurehead. Akhundzada was not a rigid religious fanatic either. When he imposed a ban on womens higher education in December 2022, he paid attention to the reaction of most Afghans and agreed to lift most of the restrictions. Akhundzada understands he is responsible to what Afghans, not the ISI, want.

This revelation created a lot of problems for the ISI and the Pakistan military, who are in trouble with Pakistan voters and elected officials who want to curb the independence of the Pakistan military. The militarys policy towards Afghanistan played a minor role in this, but the revelation that the Afghans hate the Pakistani military as much as most Pakistanis do make it clear that the Pakistani generals overestimated their power. Inside Afghanistan, the pro-Pakistan Haqqani government officials would not criticize IEA leader Akhundzada openly because that might lead to more anti-Pakistan violence inside Afghanistan.

September 28, 2023: In the east (Paktika Province) a group of TTP (Pakistani Taliban) gunmen crossed into Pakistan (Baluchistan) and encountered some Pakistani soldiers. There was a gun battle and the TTP retreated back into Afghanistan after losing three dead and several wounded. Four Pakistani soldiers were killed.

September 27, 2023: Responding to complaints from Pakistan, the IEA government has cracked down the presence of TTP (the Pakistani Taliban) and their bases near the Pakistan border. The IEA has arrested 200 suspected TTP members and will continue these operations until TTP attacks in Pakistan cease. The IEA needs good relations with Pakistan because landlocked Afghanistan depends on land routes to Pakistan for its exports and imports. While many IEA members support the TTP efforts to overthrow the secular Pakistani democratic government, the IEA leaders realize that Pakistan is strong enough to withstand TTP attacks and hurt the IEA government economically for supporting the TTP. Pakistan is also the only Moslem country with nuclear weapons and some of the more paranoid IEA leaders believe Pakistan would nuke Kabul if sufficiently provoked by IEA sponsored violence.

September 26, 2023: A Pakistani raid on a TTP camp near the Afghan border left three TTP men dead.

September 25, 2023: Some foreign governments are now seeking to resume diplomatic relations with Afghanistan and open embassies in Kabul. This came after many embassies were closed because of the IEA government. Meanwhile IRA officials continued to control Afghan embassies overseas but those embassies were operating on limited funds and no new money was coming in the IRA embassies were closing. This makes it easier for the IEA to convince foreign nations to recognize the IEA government and exchange ambassadors. Improved security in Kabul makes the reopening of embassies possible. The Czech Republic permanently closed its Kabul embassy in January 2023. The Czechs opened an embassy in 2007 and closed it temporarily after the IEA suddenly replaced the IRA government in 2021. The IEA was able to improve security for the embassy so many embassies were not reopened. The Czechs see the East Asia region as the place where increased diplomatic efforts are most useful. Central Asia, on the other hand, is not very promising at the moment and dangerous for foreign diplomats. With the permanent closure of the Czech embassy there were fifteen left in Kabul. This includes embassies for China, India, Indonesia, Iran, Japan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Qatar, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Tajikistan, Turkey, Turkmenistan and the UAE (United Arab Emirates). The EU (European Union) has a delegation in Kabul and Qatar hosts a few American diplomats who look after U.S. interests in Afghanistan. There are several other international organizations that maintain offices in Kabul to explore economic opportunities. IEA extends embassy-level protection to these delegations. Until recently no one recognized the IEA as the legitimate government of Afghanistan but the IEA does control Kabul and has varying amounts of control throughout Afghanistan. That control has grown stronger and spread, making it possible for foreign countries to justify reopening their embassies in IEA controlled Kabul.

September 19, 2023: The IEA has arrested nearly 200 Jadogar (magicians or sorcerers) and charged them with practices forbidden for Moslems. Technically this is true, but in most Moslem countries Jadogar are considered a harmless local tradition and is not a threat to Islam or devout Moslems. The IEA takes an extreme view of what is permissible to good Moslems and decided that Jadogar did not qualify. Most Afghans take a more tolerant view towards Jadogar and see this crackdown as another example of counterproductive IEA extremism.

September 13, 2023: The UN efforts to bring needed food into Afghanistan have failed because of few donations and difficulties in getting the food to Afghans who need it most. This could lead to mass starvation in parts of Afghanistan that lack sufficient locally grown food to feed the population. Russia has promised food aid but has been unable to deliver it.

September 12, 2023: In the east (Paktika Province) Islamic terrorist commander Badshah Khan and associate Mufti Noor Wali were killed by a landmine. Both were considered enemies of Pakistan for their support of attacks inside Pakistan.

September 11, 2023: The United States believes that most of the al Qaeda in Afghanistan are dead, killed by the Afghan government to fears al Qaeda plans to make more attacks elsewhere and let Afghanistan take the blame for providing a sanctuary.

September 10, 2023: The IEA did keep one promise as they shut down poppy production. Poppies are used to produce opium which, in turn, can be converted to heroin. Over 90 percent of Afghan poppies are produced in one Afghan province; Helmand. Then as now, neighboring Pakistan cooperates to make this work because essential chemicals must be imported to refine the opium into heroin. Pakistan is also the most effective route to worldwide drug markets via Pakistani airports and its seaport in Karachi. Afghanistans other neighbors like Iran, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan are very hostile to the drug smugglers. Afghanistans northern neighbors, all former Soviet republics, have long received armed assistance from Russia to combat the drug smugglers. Some of those Russian troops were recently ordered back to Russia to help out in Ukraine. The IEA continues to guard its border with Pakistan to prevent any Pakistanis form continuing support or benefit from Afghan drug production. The loss of opium supplies was soon replaced by Methamphetamine, which is easier to produce than opium and heroin. The meth is distributed in tablet form. Meth has long been the most popular illegal drug in most of Asia. The raw materials are easy to obtain because few governments have been able to control manufacture of the raw materials needed to produce in a few improvised workshops. The Afghan poppy farmers had to return to less profitable food crops.

Meth is now being replaced by fentanyl, which is a synthetic opioid that is cheaper and more potent than heroin, opium or meth. Fentanyl first appeared in the 1960s as a legal pain relief treatment. Like previous pain relief drugs, like morphine, fentanyl soon became an illegal substance for those seeking to get high. Currently most of the fentanyl is produced in China and smuggled to dealers worldwide. Fentanyl is so potent that it's easier for a user to take too much and die. There is one antidote for a fatal fentanyl overdose and is Narcan, which is available as a nasal spray or in a more powerful injectable form. If administered promptly Narcan will negate the fatal effects of a fentanyl overdose. While Narcan is widely available in the West it is difficult to obtain in rural Afghanistan. The heroin produced in Helmand province was largely for export but some of it found its way to the Afghan population as well as Pakistan and Iran. The disappearance of Afghan heroin is being replaced by the cheaper and more potent fentanyl. Popular opposition to heroin and opium in Afghanistan and neighboring countries is the result of addicts who were unable to take care of themselves or anyone else. This was the cause of many family members blaming the government for not doing something about fentanyl. In retrospect , opium and heroin addiction was much easier to deal w

September 9, 2023: Speaking from Turkey, Abdul Rashid Dostum, the leader of NIMA (National Islamic Movement of Afghanistan) called on his allies in Afghanistan to continue the resistance to IEA rule. Dostum is in Turkey for medical care and still has a large following in northern Afghanistan. Dostum was an official of the IRA government, which was replaced by the Taliban IEA in late 2021. Now most of the resistance forces are based across the northern border in Tajikistan. From there they carry out raids against IEA forces in Afghanistan.

September 6, 2023: In the east (Nangarhar Province) Pakistani forces defeated an attempt by hundreds of Taliban gunmen attempting to cross the border. Four soldiers and twelve Taliban were killed before the Taliban force retreated back into Afghanistan.

September 1, 2023: In Northwest Pakistan (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province) several soldiers and three Taliban were killed in two attacks by the Taliban on Pakistan border posts.

August 31, 2023: In Northwest Pakistan (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province) a Taliban suicide bomber on a motorcycle attacked a Pakistani military convoy, killing nine soldiers. So far this year, Taliban attacks into Pakistan have left over 500 people dead, including 216 Pakistani soldiers. The UN estimates that the TTP (Pakistani Taliban) Taliban have up to 6,000 armed men in Afghanistan for future efforts to attack Pakistan and establish a TTP government there. The Taliban government denies this.
On a midsummer afternoon 110 years ago, officials in Mobile unveiled a statue of Rev. Abram Joseph Ryan in front of what used to be St. Josephs Church.

One city commissioner, Pat J. Lyons, described Ryan as a beloved poet and priest whose writing left a more enduring monument than can be erected by the hand of man, according to a record of the event from the Library of Congress.

What wasnt mentioned in the unveiling ceremony were Ryans beliefs about racial segregation, white supremacy and misogyny, views he advocated in the pages of local newspapers.

Today, the statue still stands near the intersection of Spring Hill Avenue and Broad Street in Mobile, a predominantly Black city, in a park named for Ryan. The statues epitaph dubs him the Priest of the Confederacy.

A group of concerned community members on Monday night sent a letter and petition to Mobile Mayor Sandy Stimpson and the city council, urging them to remove the statue and rename Ryan Park.

If we, as a city, continue to honor Ryan, then the City of Mobile is maintaining a hostile, community environment that is disgraceful to our community, to the clergy, and to generations past, present, and future, the letter reads. As we all know, racist ideologies, like Ryans, have no place in any communitys public spaces.

A city spokesperson confirmed they received the letter and told AL.com that city officials are currently discussing the information cited in it.

At the unveiling on July 12, 1913, Erwin Craighead, the chairman of the committee to erect the statue, said it was funded in large part by dimes donated from children in a campaign advertised by The Mobile Register in 1904, event records from the Library of Congress show.

On a recent visit to the park, the base of the statue was littered with trash and surrounded by patches of dirt and dying grass.

Several tributes honor Ryan throughout the South, including a Catholic high school named after him in Nashville. The Daughters of the Confederacy and Children of the Confederacy donated stained-glass windows in his honor in various locations, including one in Mobile at St. Marys Catholic Church where he was once a pastor. A monument to Father Ryan was vandalized multiple times and toppled in New Orleans in 2020.

Leo Denton, a retired instructor at the University of South Alabama, organized the petition which has 240 signatures in support of removing the statue. He shared a copy of the petition and letter to the city with AL.com.

He said he noticed the statue while attending a Black Lives Matter march three years ago and realized he didnt know about Ryan and his history.

I saw the statue and thought to myself, Wow, Mobile has a statue of a saint, and, you know, I felt really good about it, Denton said. I did not pick up through the whole march that the Ryan statue was a Confederate statue at all.

Denton said he doesnt think of himself as much of an activist, but he was curious about this bit of local history.

He learned through quick research that Ryan was being honored as a Confederate, poet and chaplain of the South, and that concerned him, but he didnt think much of it at first. That didnt necessarily mean that he was a white supremacist or that he passionately promulgated racist, white supremacist ideologies, he said.

But as he continued researching, Denton said, he stumbled upon some of Ryans writings.

Denton and a few other Mobillians included quotes in their letter to the city this week.

We hold that the White Race is superior to the Black, as a general principle, and that the Government of the United States and its several subordinate State and Municipal Governments belong to the white people of the land, he penned in The Banner of the South, a newspaper based in Augusta, Georgia, in 1869. He was the editor of the publication.

In The Banner a few years earlier, Ryan discussed the moral quandary of allowing women the right to vote.

If suffrage is a natural right, why not be logical and consistent, and extend it to all women, boys, children, and idiots? he said. Suffrage, then, being a civil or political privilege  the State, alone, should confer the privilege, and give to the worthy and intelligent the right to vote, without leaving them  to the mercy of the vile herd of ignorant Voudooists.

Candace Cooksey, communications director for the city of Mobile released this statement to AL.com on Wednesday: We did recently receive communications from Mr. (Leo) Denton regarding the statue of Father Ryan in Ryan Park. We are looking into the information he provided and have begun discussing it internally and with members of the Mobile City Council.

The statue appears to be protected under the Alabama Memorial Preservation Act. The act, which Gov. Kay Ivey signed into law in 2017, prohibits the relocation, removal, alteration, renaming, or other disturbance of any monument located on public property which has been in place for 40 years or more, according to the Alabama Historical Commission.

The Father Ryan statue has been in place since 1913.

Both Birmingham and Mobile have removed statues since 2017 and voluntarily paid fines of $25,000.

Denton said he is incredibly grateful to those who signed the petition, people who have clearly voiced their opposition to racism and clearly supported the dignity and human rights of all persons in our community.

I believe, because of their voices, and because of the good values of our community, that the statue of (Father) Ryan, a staunch white-supremacist, will be removed and the park will be renamed.

Editors note: This story was updated at 9:13 a.m. to update the number the of signatures on the petition from 184 to 240. After initial publication, the organizer reported additional signatures to AL.com.
Gov. Kay Ivey on Thursday announced she will deploy 275 Alabama National Guard soldiers to the southern border, declaring every state has become a border state.

Every state has become a border state under the current policies, and Alabama remains committed to being an integral part of the mission to protect our southern border, the governor said in a statement Thursday. The Alabama National Guard always stands ready to protect our citizens, and I thank our 275 troops, as well as their families, for their important service to our country.

Ivey was among 25 governors across the nation who in urged President Biden to provide honest, accurate, detailed information on where the migrants admitted at the southern border are being relocated in the United States, in addition to comprehensive data on asylum claim timelines and qualification rates, and successful deportations.

The crisis at the southern border extends to every state. As a result of your policies which incentivize illegal immigration, our states are carrying the burden of both the years-long surge in illegal border crossings and cartels coordinated trafficking of drugs and human beings, the governors wrote in the Sept. 19 letter to Biden. States are on the front lines, working around-the clock responding to the effects of this crisis: shelters are full, food pantries empty, law enforcement strained, and aid workers exhausted.

Thursdays announcement was not the first time Ivey announced the deployment of Alabama National Guard troops to the border. She also did so in 2018 and 2021.

Last year, Ivey announced Alabama joined the 26-member American Governors Border Strike Task Force to coordinate efforts to deter illegal immigration.
A roundup of conversations we're having daily on the site. Subscribe to the Reckon Daily for stories centering marginalized communities and speaking to the under-covered issues of the moment.

Monday marked day one of a new U.S. Supreme Court session.

Abortion access, gun laws and voting rights made their way on the docket by way of the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals, like many social wedge issues that end up before the cour.

The 5th Circuit Court of Appeals is perhaps the most aggressively conservative circuit in the

Country, Matt Steffey, professor of law at Mississippi College, said.

The 5th circuit covers Mississippi, Louisiana and Texas. In the federal court system, circuit courts sit between district courts and the Supreme Court. Conservative judges dominate the lower court, with 12 of 17 judges having been appointed by Republican presidents, half of which are Trump-appointees. Four were appointed by Democratic presidents.

It pushes the envelope even further than the Supreme Court, which has been on a conservative trajectory, with its 6-3 supermajority pushing things out further to the right than weve seen, in my professional lifetime, Steffey said.

A 5th Circuit decision out of Texas could reinstate restrictions on access to the abortion medication mifepristone, an FDA-approved pill used in most abortions in the United States today.

The Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in June 2022, ending the constitutional right to abortion and leaving laws regarding access up to states. Texas banned all abortions until recently. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott signed a law in September allowing doctors to provide abortions in special circumstances.

Also out of Texas, a 5th Circuit decision could keep guns in the hands of domestic violence offenders. The 2022 case challenges a decades-old amendment to the Federal Firearms Act that prohibits those who are subject to active domestic violence restraining orders from possessing firearms. The Supreme Court will decide whether the amendment violates the Second Amendment.

Abortion and guns overshadow environmental regulations, another issue on the Supreme Courts docket this term, one salient in the minds of young students in the face of climate change, Steffey said.

These cases challenge the ability of the government to govern, he said.

Weve recently seen the EPA unable to address climate change. And, thereve been attempts this past term by special interests to push cases before the Supreme Court that take it even further and dismantle consumer protection, environmental regulation, and the basic work of government.

Voting rights are also top of mind, as the Supreme Court takes up gerrymandering again this term.

South Carolina appealed to the Supreme Court following the ruling in Alexander v. South Carolina State Conference of the NAACP in 2022. The case questioned the constitutionality of the states congressional maps, which had been newly drawn in a way that diluted the Black vote in most districts and increased Black voters in one represented by U.S. Rep. James Clyburn. The NAACP determined this is an act of racial gerrymandering, which is prohibited by the Constitution. However, the Supreme Court has ruled that partisan gerrymandering does not violate the Constitution.

Taking away their vote, you might as well lock the doors of the polling places and tell people they cant come in, said Lynn Teague, vice president of issues and action at the League of Women Voters of South Carolina. The group filed an amicus brief in the case, producing material showing the extent to which Black residents were excised.

Teague said a win would put Black voters in a position to have their interests represented in Washington.

The Supreme Court hears the case next week.
Last Thursday Sebastian Gorka hosted Mark Levin in the third hour of his show to discuss his new book. At 43:00 the discussion turned to Ukraine when Dr. Gorka said, Why is it so difficult for some on our side to realize what the war in Ukraine is about? Why Putin is not on our side? Mark Levin replied, No. Its shocking to me particularly if you believe in America first I then followed the discussion hoping to hear why it is in Americas best interest to not only support Ukraine but to shovel billions of dollars to the country which includes paying salaries of thousands of Ukrainians even if the U.S. government was shut down. It occurred to me that I yet to hear a compelling argument for why support for Ukraine is in Americas interest.

On 24 February 2022, Russia invaded Ukraine in an escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War that began in 2014. The invasion was provoked by the Biden Administration through the failed Afghanistan exit, the curtailing of oil and gas development that put Russia in an excellent position to invade, and Bidens addleheaded minor incursion remark. But the real culprit was the inexorable drive by the U.S. and NATO to expand toward Russia. The final straw was the State Departments signing of the U.S.-Ukraine Charter on Strategic Partnership on November 10, 2021. This document included the following provocative statement:

Emphasize unwavering commitment to Ukraine's sovereignty, independence, and territorial integrity within its internationally recognized borders, including Crimea and extending to its territorial waters in the face of ongoing Russian aggression, which threatens regional peace and stability and undermines the global rules-based order.

Lets take a look at where the conflict stands now. After spending $113 Billion in Ukraine, the war is at a stalemate. That amount is more than double Russias 2023 military expenditure. Back in early 2022, NATO officials see a continued stalemate. The reality is that neither side has a superiority over the other, the top NATO official said, adding neither side will back down. Finally over a year later, U.S. Intelligence (and I use that term loosely) agreed with that assessment. Ukraine casualties up to September of this year include 9614 dead, 534 of them children and 17,535 injured, 1180 of them children.

At the same time, the U.S. is running low on weapons that have been delivered to Ukraine. Pentagon comptroller Michael McCord told House and Senate leaders there is $1.6 billion left of the $25.9 billion Congress provided to replenish U.S. military stocks that have been flowing to Ukraine. Instead of valuing the equipment at replacement cost as was originally executed, the Pentagon change the valuation method to book value, which devalued the equipment by $6.2 billion. This is accounting shenanigans to allow the administration to provide more equipment to Ukraine that they are not going to replace. The U.S. sent Ukraine about $44 billion in equipment so far. In case you were wondering. 25.9 is less than 44. The same is true for the rest of NATO countries. Rob Bauer, NATOs top military official, said that The steady flow of western military aid to Ukraine over the past 18 months has left ammunition stockpiles near the bottom of the barrel.

Are the sanctions damaging Russia? Contrary to earlier American claims that economic sanctions would reduce Russias economic output by half, Russias GDP shrank by only 4 percent in 2022. Russias exports to China rose to $190 billion in 2022 from $86 billion in 2021, and exports to India reportedly doubled to $27 billion in 2022 from $13 billion in 2021, although the true total probably is higher. Russian fertilizer revenues rose by 70% in 2022 vs. 2021 despite a 10% drop in volume. Instead, Russia is making new friends around the world. Russia is discussing a Free Trade Agreement with India, whose Russian oil imports have quadrupled over the past year. Russia also signed an oil and gas deal with China. Sanctions never work and Russia is proof of that. In fact it has backfired gloriously as Germany declared a natural gas shortage after banning Russian imports. The German economy is now on its back.

What is the key U.S. strategic interest in supporting Ukraine? I have yet to see one. The Biden administration and other proponents of current U.S. policy have so far failed to offer a valid strategic argument on behalf of the costs and risks that current U.S. policy incurs in the Russia-Ukraine War.

One of the arguments is that if Russia succeeds in Ukraine, they will continue to march through NATO countries. First, I must refer you to my stalemate paragraph above. But lets say they are able to finish off Ukraine. Then what? NATO countries spend nearly $1 trillion on defense versus Russias $48 billion. That is a factor of 20:1. Even the feckless Jake Sullivan warned of a full-fledged NATO response if a Russian strike were to hit member-state Poland. If there is a military attack on NATO territory it would cause the invocation of Article 5, and we would bring the full force of the NATO alliance to bear in responding to it, Sullivan said in an interview on CBS News Face the Nation. Russia is highly unlikely to launch an attack on any NATO country.

The second argument is if Russia does not pay a heavy price for its actions, it will send a message to other would-be aggressors that they too can seize territory and subjugate other countries. That argument went down the drain when the U.S. exited Afghanistan.

Finally, United States has an abiding interest in Ukraine because it affects the so-called liberal international order. As Secretary of State Antony Blinken asserts, the international rules-based order thats critical to maintaining peace and security is being put to the test by Russias unprovoked and unjustified invasion of Ukraine. Yes, this is State Department mumbo jumbo to describe how they want to feel important in the world.

The truth is that none of the avowed U.S. interests in Ukraine stand up to scrutiny.

So what is this all about? Just follow the money. The amount of lobbying money spent by Ukraine and others is tremendous, impacting almost all the politicians. Everyone is getting in on it. Consulting firms linked to the White Houses leading Ukraine policy architects -- including Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Deputy Secretary of State Victoria Nuland -- appear to be advising the Ukrainian government on its reconstruction efforts funded by U.S. taxpayers. Defense contractor lobbyists are lobbying on behalf of Ukraine for free while taking millions from contractors that benefit from the war.

The war is not in Americas interest. It is in the interest of the neocon warhawks like Lindsey Graham and Roger Wicker who want to keep the world in conflict at all times. It is in the interest of lobbyists who are making millions off of this war. It is in the interest of defense contractors who make money off this war. It is in the interest of China, which waits in the wings for Russia to crawl to China on its knees, begging for more help.

In whose interest is this war not? You.

Image: RawPixel.com
To be upfront, I support aid to Ukraine. At the same time, I've never seen a president so incompetent in a matter of national security. In fact, Bidens incompetence has him assuring the allies that the money is coming even though the Congress said no. The President is on the phone and our allies must be wondering what in the world is going in his administration.

This is the story:

The Biden administration is scrambling to try to assure U.S. allies that American aid to Ukraine will continue despite growing Republican opposition to it, according to a report. Four sources told Axios that President Joe Biden and Secretary of State Antony Blinken plan to call several of their counterparts in Europe and will hold a conference call with leaders of the G7 countries and several other European allies. A European diplomat told the outlet that the Biden administration told allies it is working on an agreement with Congress to allow continued military aid to Ukraine.

Again, I support helping Ukraine but my patience is wearing out because the Biden administration looks confused. Furthermore, the American people don't know what the heck is going on because the President has never spoken to the nation explaining why Ukraine matters but the border with Mexico doesn't.

As someone once said, all politics is local and Ukraine ain't local, especially when the border is a mess or thugs attack a U.S congressman or gangs break into stores to steal whatever is inside or gasoline is too high and shopping for food is a devastating experience.

Maybe the President of Ukraine, or one of our allies, should remind President Biden that Americans need some explanations about sending billions overseas.

P.S. Check out my blog for posts, podcasts and videos.

Image: DonkeyHotey
With $480,000 in cash lined into jacket pockets and a closet safe holding 13 gold bars with a Mercedes convertible parked in his garage, such an individual in mob circles would be known as a good earner. As it turns out, he is no mafioso, but a longtime member of that esteemed upper chamber of Congress in New Jersey Sen. Robert Menendez.

When I first read about Menendezs exploits, two thoughts came to mind. First, he must be planning to get divorced but when his wife and three New Jersey businessmen were also accused with him on charges of bribery, fraud, and extortion, a divorce might actually be welcomed in exchange.

Secondly, I recalled a similar story at a parole staffing that I was privy to many moons ago. The inmate eligible for parole was an old-timer from the Philadelphia Irish mob. When questioned about the $850,000.00 in small bills found in his home, his disgust told a different story. He corrected the presentence investigation saying the sum found was more like $1.1 million and accused authorities of sleight of hand.

The crux of the Menendez situation is how the FBI conducted their search back in June 2022 but said nothing about it. Rather, they sat on the case for over a year fearing the story would hurt Democrats at the upcoming November midterm election. Juxtapose that to when the FBI raided Donald Trumps Florida residence, and TV crews were conveniently on-site recording from the gate.

Criminal charges are nothing new for Menendez. In 2015, he faced corruption charges, but the case ended in a mistrial. The last refuge of a scoundrel in 21st century American politics is to claim racial bias against your particular brand of corruption. Menendez does not disappoint by maintaining he is being victimized because some simply cannot accept that a first-generation Latino American from humble beginnings could rise to be a U.S. Senator[.]

Prosecutors say Menendez used his influence as chairman of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations to benefit a bevy of Egyptians resulting in hundreds of thousands in cash bribesmaking your typical pyramid scheme seem amateurish.

Menendez claims the cash accumulated over three decades of bank withdrawals, which was used for emergencies. Who among the unwashed doesnt have a cash stash? Given the success of Bidenomics, who couldnt use a side hustle to establish one?

To keep such large sums of cash in ones home, rather than in a bank account, CD, money market, mutual funds, stocks, and bonds, explains how Congress has accrued a national debt of $33 trillion and counting. After all, the FDIC guarantees individual bank deposits up to $250,000.

Cash can be verified through bank records, serial numbers, and the Treasurers signature. The FBI should be able to identify the exact date each bill was printed and would then make it easier over a 30-year period to figure out when the bills were stashed.

Menendez is up for re-election in 2024, and the Democrats lock on this prized senate seat may be unlocked if he remains the Democrat nominee making his candidacy expendable. Democrats want Menendez to resign, viewing him as the perfect fall guy to show just how righteous they are in dealing with fraud and corruption within their own party, while justifying their continued harassment of Donald Trump.

Moreover, it affords New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy the opportunity to appoint someone useful to the party and therefore assuming the coveted incumbency before the election. In essence, Menendez is the ideal case study in the Democrats devouring their own for the good of the party.

Having beaten the rap once, he would be loco to resign without a full pardon. You would think a conviction of income tax evasion looms, but then again, Menendez is a Democrat.

The best part for Menendez if and when he is acquitted and reelected by those astute New Jersey voters next year is he does not have to concern himself with wearing a jacket and tie when he returns to shining his senate seat once again. With the dress down in full swing, he can sport a white hoodie like the late Democrat Sen. Robert Byrd used to do when home on vacation in West Virginia.

Image: Free image, Pixabay license, no attribution required.
(Disclosure: I belong to the Charleston Moms for Liberty chapter, Im friends with its president, and I am friends with Carlton Walker, who took the community meeting video used in this post. I have not relied on any of these relationships for the facts below. Instead, everything Ive written is based upon publicly available information.)

A knock-down-drag-out battle revolving around a school superintendents being put on leave in Charleston, South Carolina, highlights how Democrats are still successfully using the race card to keep blacks from focusing on the real issues plaguing their communities.

Under British aegis, the South Carolina colony relied upon slaves to labor on their plantations. The British originally wanted to use indentured Irish in the fields, but the Irish kept dying from malaria, making them economically unprofitable. Therefore, the British turned to the thriving African-fed, Arab-run slave trade (which previously served only Africa and the Ottoman Empire) to provide labor that could survive the brutal Southeastern climate in Britains American colonies.

When the United States of America came into being, founded on the principle that all men are created equal, entitling them to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, slavery came into focus as an institution inconsistent with American values. The only way to address the problem was to identify blacks as people of lesser humanity so that they could not lay claim to the inherent rights with which the Creator endowed them.

This was a manifestly dishonest and completely untenable position, as growing numbers of Americans recognized. The Civil War expended 600,000 lives to put the slavery question to rest, once and for all, but the Democrat party wasnt going to let that racism go. Its relentlessly relied on race ever since, whether to marginalize blacks or use them as reliable votes to advance policies that have often been detrimental to blacks.

Image: Eric Gallien. YouTube screen grab.

In Charleston, South Carolina, though, it seemed as if the black community, one with an incredibly long and honorable lineage, wasnt going to buy into the lefts most recent racial madness. Sure, they voted Democrat (a trend that started with Franklin Roosevelt, but escalated under John F. Kennedy, Bill Clinton, and Barack Obama, all of whom realized that you could buy votes with federal largesse), but they didnt revel in hatred.

Never was that clearer than after Dylann Roofs unspeakably evil slaughter of members of the Emanuel AME Church who welcomed him to their Bible study. Then, the black communitys leaders rejected BLMs invitation to use that crime to stoke further racial division. Eight years later, things are different, and the fight revolving around the Charleston County School District is a microcosm of larger issues involving race and family values.

Typically for all schools across America, which get administrators and teachers from the same pool of leftist colleges, Charleston County schools started bringing LGBTQ+ ideology, Critical Race Theory, Social-Educational Learning, DEI, and other leftist, post-modern ideas into the classroom. Actual education was less important. The district, although slightly better than the state average, is pretty pathetic in reading, writing, and arithmetic. For teachers, it's more fun and rewarding to talk about their and the students pronouns than teaching fractions.

Parents who care whether their children are being trained into weird sexual identities or told their skin color means they are irremediably victims or bullies pushed back. Moms for Liberty was on the front lines of this fightand the parents won, electing a school board with a conservative 5-4 majority.

On July 1, the school board named Eric Gallien, who is black, as the new school superintendent. In September, a complaint was filed against Gallien, alleging that he had created a hostile work environment and violated several policies, including two regarding employee conduct. The complaining employee said Gallien left me marginalized, disrespected, and unsupported.

During an executive session on September 25, held privately so that the allegations against Gallien would not be bandied about in public, the board unanimously agreed that the matter should be investigated. They then voted on that matter during the public session. However, a dispute arose about whether Gallien should be put on leave. The leftist board members objected and left the room. The remaining five conservatives (a majority in any event) voted to place Gallien on leave, again during a public session. (Gallien, confusingly, also seems to have resigned.)

Leftists instantly contended that Gallien had been put on leave because he is black. They contended that the executive committee meeting was private for nefarious reasons. Carlotte Bailey, a board member, took to Facebook to explain that the meeting complied with district policyand, sadly, to say that she was subject to racial attacks and called a pawn of Moms for Liberty:

A few days later, the five board members who put Gallien on paid administrative leave issued a formal statement explaining why some matters must be kept privateand that district policy allows for board members to have private debates.

Wise heads would say that the independent investigation should go forward unhindered. Hot headsleftist headsare excited at the chance to stir up racial hatred. Carlton Walker, who is running for the state assembly, attended a community mass meeting at the Charity Missionary Baptist Church to find out what was going on:

To Carltons surprise, the person bringing meeting attendees up to date about Galliens firing didnt focus on current events. She cited the Negro Act of 1740 (put into place following the Stono Rebellion, a famous slave revolt) and a law of 1835, both of which made it illegal to educate blacks. She then took listeners through Jim Crow-era laws.

Shes certainly correct that South Carolinas pre-modern history vis-a-vis blacks was wrong, both practically and morally. But its as if, for her and the people in the room, the Civil War, the 13th and 14th Amendments, the Civil Rights Movement, the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Obamas election, and all the other differences between America in 2023 and a British colony in 1740 or an antebellum slave state in 1835 dont exist. As with all leftists, the past is a tool to be used or ignored as need dictates.

The reality is that the fight shouldnt be about a closed meeting. For the black community, it should be about the fact that their childrens teachers arent willing or able to teach them the basics for functioning in the world. Instead, they want to sexualize them and tell them that their skin color is the only determinative factor in their lives. Democrats are relentlessly focusing them on racial issues to give the Democrats the freedom to continue to use and abuse the black community, as they have done since 1828.

Corrections: Carlotte Bailey is a board member, not the board chair. And while there was some private debate, all board actions occurred during public sessions. Nothing was done secretly.
by Austin Bay October 4, 2023

In May, CIA Director William Burns declared Iran could "probably develop (its) stockpile of weapons-grade enriched uranium in a couple of weeks."

"Develop" translates into Iran building a nuclear weapon in 14 days.

In August, I began a column series with the working title "21st-century war in the nuclear shadows." The first column examined Vladimir Putin's threats to use nuclear weapons against Ukraine.

Russian romanticism laced with Russian Orthodox rhetoric drives Putin -- ultimately, it's a Marxist romanticism that claims History (capital H) has cheated Russia. Putin vows he will rectify History's error.

Hitler suffered from a similar psychosis. Hitler died before Hiroshima.

Since 1945 the atom bomb has reshaped warfare, with a few extremist exceptions.

Putin's Ukraine War, like the Cold War, is waged beneath a nuclear shadow. So far Putin has played by Cold War restraints. Unfortunately, the 21st century has two to three dozen real or potential nuclear-armed combatants.

The nuclear-weapon-seeking Ayatollah Islamic Revolutionary Iran portrays itself as a messianic regime fulfilling God's Will. Claims on God are typical fanatic propaganda. Messianic zeal is a human energy every human group -- cult, tribe, corrupt government, pseudo-secular-academic ideology -- can abuse.

Apocalyptic fervor often empowers imperialist expansion -- it encourages stealing territory and killing people. In the 21st century, corrupt dictator-led regimes use its fanatic clout to kill.

In the 7th century, Muslim Arabs were the world's premier messianic imperialists. They overran North Africa and the Near East. Three centuries or so later, Western European Christian crusaders -- with a messianic pulse -- contested Islam's imperial expansion.

After the Ottoman Turks seized Constantinople, Islamic fervor degraded. Turk sultans cynically used messianic propaganda to dominate their devout Arab Muslim subjects.

Cruel and degrading behavior? Yes.

Which brings us to Ayatollah Islamic Revolutionary Iran -- the 21st century's premier cynical messianic nuclear threat.

Ayatollah Iran is a completely corrupt messianic threat. The ayatollahs' gods (small case) are money and power.

Unfortunately, in our time a detonated nuclear weapon that kills tens of thousands/millions of perceived human adversaries guarantees a very dangerous planet with cratering economies.

Not all our nuclear adversaries -- current and potential -- understand Balance of Terror restraints.

Islamic State/al-Qaida terror organizations are messianic mass murderers who have created so many powerful enemies it is unlikely they can obtain a detonatable nuclear device. Poll Washington, Beijing, Moscow, New Delhi, Cairo, Jerusalem, Riyadh, Ankara, Tokyo, etc.

Unfortunately, Ayatollah Iran's corrupt and cynical fanatics assist fanatics of all stripes. They also rule an educated nation-state that has the petrodollars to turn nuclear knowledge into weapons.

For decades Ayatollah Iran has been threatening Israel with incineration.

Iran has also attacked Saudi Arabian oil facilities with conventional drones and cockily suggested Saudi Arabia is a nuclear target.

Earlier this month an open source reported the Ayatollah Regime "has accelerated the expansion of its nuclear program ... and undertaken research and development activities that would bring it closer to producing the fissile material needed for completing a nuclear device following a decision to do so."

Damning claim but not new. In 2011 an International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) report on Iran's nuclear program confirmed the regime knows how to hide a nuclear weapons development program in plain sight.

How to stop Iran's nuke threat? The ayatollahs are corrupt, so bribes might work. The Obama and Biden administrations have tried bribes.

But the ayatollahs demand more money.

The Israelis have used covert means to disrupt Iran's nukes. Analysts credit Israeli scientists with creating the Stuxnet malware that damaged Iran's nuke program but did not destroy it.

In a recent Fox News interview Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman indicated Saudi Arabia might get a nuke to counter Iran. He also indicated an Israeli-Saudi alliance might be in the works. Israel already has nukes.

Nuclear war in the Persian Gulf would lead to a global economic depression. There is another option: a "simultaneous strategic bombing strike" (SSBS, first described by StrategyPage.com in 2003). In a short time frame, aircraft, cruise missiles, drones and perhaps ballistic missiles with conventional warheads deliver hundreds of precision weapons, hitting nuclear targets and air defense sites.

Are the weapons and strike craft Israeli? Saudi? U.S.? Turkish? Iraqi? Emirati? Egyptian? The European Union?

The Ayatollah Regime deserves its difficult enemies. And an SSBS.
Hey there, hardworking plumber, auto mechanic, nursing aide, dutiful married couple parents, and others of your ilk struggling to live within your income while faithfully paying your bills, your debts, maybe even loans  President Joe Biden (Democrat) thinks you're a fool! A sucker!

Okay, okay, he didn't actually say that today, but that was definitely implied as he triumphantly announced a further expansion of canceling college student loan debt. Relief.

Now, turning to student debt relief. When I ran for President, I vowed to fix our broken student loan program. Because while a college degree is still the ticket to a better life, that ticket has become excessively expensive. Americans who are saddled with unsustainable debt in exchange for a college degree has become the norm. Since, my administration has taken significant action to provide student debt relief to as many borrowers as possible as quickly as possible. That starts with making sure the existing system works in the way it was supposed to work for student borrowers. We fixed what's called the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program, which was designed originally to make sure schoolteachers, firefighters, social workers, and other public servants can get their student loans forgiven if they make 10 years of payments and do 10 years of public service. By the time I took office, that program had been placed for  in place for nearly 15 years, but because of red tape, only 7,000 borrowers had been helped. Well, today, thanks to the reforms, more than 700,000 borrowers have had their debts forgiven. ... As a result of these changes, today I'm announcing my administration has approved an additional $9 billion in relief for 125,000 borrowers in just the past few weeks under that program. With the latest debt cancel  cancellation, in total, my administration has canceled $127 billion in student debts for nearly 3.6 million Americans.

Blah, blah, and more blah as Biden proudly admits to defying the Supreme Court's decisions on student debt.

Republican elected officials and special interests stepped up and sued us. [Oh, yeah, them! Republicans!] And the Supreme Court sided with them, snatching from the hands of millions of Americans thousands of dollars in debt  student debt relief that was about to change their lives. As I said at the time, I believe the Court's decision to strike down my student debt relief program was wrong. But I promised I wouldn't give up.

Hey, what do Supreme Court judges, honors graduates all, experienced lawyers all, know compared to a failed lawyer, who practiced briefly before entering politics?

My administration will continue to use every tool at our disposal to help ease the burden of student debt so more Americans be f  can free  can be free to achieve their dreams.

As explained previously, in order for some Americans to "be f  can free  can be free to achieve their dreams," all of us hardworking, diligent, dutiful...fools...suckers (yeah, that's what Biden thinks of us) will have nightmares. And anxiety. Depression. Many of us will go bankrupt. (Yes, us!)

Because debt can't just be "canceled." If it is for some, others pay  in this instance, mostly those "hardworking, diligent, dutiful...fools...suckers" who pay taxes, live within their means, work hard to pay their tuition, etc.  i.e., over 100 million Americans supporting that "canceled $127 billion in student debts for nearly 3.6 million Americans."

Joe Biden, the Democrat president, and his priorities. They're not you  you hardworking fool.

Image: Gage Skidmore via Flickr, CC BY-SA 2.0.
There he goes again.

According to NBC News:

Pope Francis made his strongest statements yet about climate change Wednesday, rebuking fossil fuel companies and urging countries to make an immediate transition to renewable energy. In a new document titled Laudate Deum, or Praise God, the pope criticizes oil and gas companies for greenwashing new fossil fuel projects and calls for more ambitious efforts in the West to tackle the climate crisis. In the landmark apostolic exhortation, a form of papal writing, Francis says that avoiding an increase of a tenth of a degree in the global temperature would already suffice to alleviate some suffering for many people.

It's supposedly a follow-up from an earlier document on global warming released a decade ago titled Laudato Si. This one, though, is quite a bit more nonsensical.

In Laudate Deum, Francis says that the necessary transition towards clean energy sources such as wind and solar energy, and the abandonment of fossil fuels, is not progressing at the necessary speed. The pope does not shy away from the responsibility of oil and gas companies, saying new fossil fuel exploration only further contributes to the climate crisis. [W]hatever is being done risks being seen only as a ploy to distract attention, he writes.

Which, as one wag noted on Twitter, looks like the kind of statement an NGO might make, not the leader of a huge Church focused on eternal truths. Cut off the reference to Christ at the top and the minor statement refering to Christ at the bottom and all that's there is NGO-talk about the evils of Big Oil and the importance of killing off this vital industry in order to "go green." It's the kind of tired and dreary statement a Soros-backed organization might make and always makes.

That's well out of the pope's wheel well, given that most people don't go looking to him for advice on fossil fuel consumption, which is a topic he knows nothing about. Even King Charles of the U.K., whom we also know is a greenie from his days as a prince, knows enough to stay out of this kind of territory now that he's king. He gets it. Too bad this pope does not.

It's also infuriating. Global warming is a fraud. There's nothing true about its phony claims, which are constantly being exposed as junk science. What's more, his advocacy of wind and solar is ... a little specific, and worse still, ignores that these are highly inefficient sources of energy which rely on fossil fuels as well as government subsidies to stay afloat because they aren't sustainable on their own. Worse still, these particular methods of energy are magnets for fraud, waste, and corruption, constant fodder for scandals in the news, all because they don't do what they say they can do.

Why is the pope promoting this scandal-plagued grift? And why is he demonizing fossil fuels which are the root source of modern societies. Given that he is constantly asserting the right of illegals from primitive societies to migrate in the West whether the West can absorb them or not, what does he think illegals are coming to the states for? Green energy? They have lots of green energy in their home countries -- with the usual results. What they'd really like is to be able to flip on a light switch and have a light come on, which is only attainable through a reliable supply of fossil fuels with minimal government involvement.

It's amazing what he takes for granted as he singles out the West for criticism and tells it to lower its standards of living. One group he doesn't criticize is China, which contributes more pollution from fossil fuels and coal than anyone. That he says nothing is yet another problem with his statement.

The pope released his statement on the Feast Day of St. Francis, patron saint of the environment and all its earthly creatures. He could have put out something very nice, very readable, and capable of passing the test of time, by focusing on caring for the environment and not wasting its resources. Nobody is going to disagree with that, and many would be interested in whatever challenge he might put forth with focus on that.

Instead he micromanages which kinds of fuel is to be prescribed, scolds the West, and commands inventors to invent impossible economies with fuel, which is basically asking for magic instead of following science.

He's deep into Galileo territory on this one, and all he will end up doing is create a document that people will laugh about in a hundred years' time. He shouldn't be pronouncing at all on global warming, which no one knows for sure about, and intelligent people know is fake, Eventually, this errant idea will be accepted as fake, so he's going to look silly. What's more, there is no heavenly mandate about what kind of energy people can or will or should use. It's as if pope were to command the faithful to use buggy whips instead of cudgels on their horse transportation, when in reality, technology surpassed the whole horse scheme and horses are no longer used for transportation at all. That's how progress goes. No pope was ever dumb enough to go there from the last century, wading into temporal modes of living and stirring controversies about them instead of focusing on the eternal.

This is sad stuff, the pope and his embarrassing hobbyhorse which has nothing to do with faith or morals. He's just Greta Thunberg in a dress on this, a man with an ill-informed opinion who lives in a bubble and has no business commenting from the seat of St. Peter on things he knows nothing about.

Image: Screen shot from RomeReports.com video, via YouTube
Portland officials were proud of themselves in 2020 when they defunded the Police Bureau by $15 million instead of increasing it by $3 million as planned. One commissioner was even upset that the council didnt remove more from the budget.

"Please take a moment to celebrate this victory, and let it fuel your fire, because we're not done," Commissioner Chloe Eudaly said at the time.

Along with the $15 million, another $12 million was cut because of pandemic-caused economic shortfalls. As a result, school resource officers, transit police and a gun violence reduction team -- which was found to disproportionately target Black Portland residents during traffic stops, according to an audit in March 2018 -- were disbanded, PBS reported.

A year later, the council was trying to add funding and retain the citys police officers. The added police spending is occurring amid a year of a record number of homicides, the citys greatest police staffing shortage in decades and reform recommendations made by the U.S. Department of Justice, PBS reported.

It was too little, too late. The damage was done, and the city has yet to recover. In fact, the city government is telling residents not to call police unless their lives are at risk. Given how dangerous Portland has become, it might not affect the volume of calls to police because more residents lives are at risk from criminal activity than ever before.

Commissioner Rene Gonzalez told residents that the citys 911 system is overwhelmed with people calling about addicts on the streets suffering fentanyl overdoses. This is not a Portland-only problem. The state of Oregon decriminalized drug use three years ago. Gonzalez urged people on X (formerly Twitter), Our 911 system is getting hammered this morning with a multiple person incident -- multiple overdoses in northwest park blocks. Please do not call 911 except in event of life/death emergency or crime in progress (or change of apprehending suspect).

Over the past year, the city has experienced 104 homicides and 529 arrests were made for drug offenses, according to Portland Police. The citys homeless population has also grown by 50 percent since 2019, topping more than 5,000 people.

Portland's neighborhoods have been overrun with crime, homelessness, and drugs since the pandemic -- and despite pouring funds into relief initiatives, little change is occurring on the streets of the city, the Daily Mail reported.

The people of Portland are understandably upset that crime is out of control, leaving their property and lives at risk. I really want to feel sorry for those residents being forced to live under those conditions. However, this is what those people voted for.

They continue to elect the same types of progressive politicians who believe the same failed policies will somehow work if they try them enough. They are the same people who, even if they didnt participate in the 2020 riots, supported them.

If they truly want things to change for the better for the city, they need to vote for change and change their way of thinking. Change will bring change.

Michael A. Letts is the CEO and Founder of In-VestUSA, a national grassroots non-profit organization helping hundreds of communities provide thousands of bulletproof vests for their police forces through educational, public relations, sponsorship, and fundraising programs.

CONTACT: Jerry McGlothlin for Michael Letts 919-437-0001 jerry@specialguests.com.

Image: PxHere
Just months after assuring the public the border is "secure," all of sudden Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas announced that he's taking triage measures to build a border wall.

According to The Hill (bias alert):

The Department of Homeland Security announced Wednesday it will waive 26 federal laws to allow border wall construction in Starr County, Texas, which is experiencing high illegal entry. The move is the administrations first use of an executive power often used by Trump to fund projects along the southern border.

Gee, isn't this the administration that assured us the border was "secure," as Mayorkas and his White House buddies had repeatedly insisted around the time videos of migrants rolling across the border inundated the alternative media? Isn't this the same administration that had Joe Biden declaring during his 2020 presidential campaign that "not a foot" of border wall would be constructed during his administration? These days, Mayorkas says he's expediting the construction of a wall based on "immediate need."

Right now, the border looks like this:

They ran the border last night! pic.twitter.com/ZyI3qHFyg8    (@Kraemer_83) October 4, 2023

He will get $2,200/month in USA. Taxpayer blood. I made this video in Lajas Blancas invasion camp in Darien, Panama. Millions have landed across America. Tens of millions and more coming.



@elonmusk  future of @SpaceX depends on survival of United States. pic.twitter.com/yZB8PdjSKG  Michael Yon: Callsign BIG HONEY 6 (@Michael_Yon) October 4, 2023

The blue cities inundated with migrants traveling onward look like this:

Chicago migrants crammed on sidewalk with belongings after being locked out of police station https://t.co/lSFx32jhF7 pic.twitter.com/GP7IeAqv9p  New York Post (@nypost) October 5, 2023

Amazingly, White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre says it has "nothing" to do with that mass surge. It was just a matter of DHS "complying with the law" to spend unspent funds earmarked for the construction of a border wall.

The surreal press conference denying anything amiss with the border can be viewed here, or below:

BREAKING - PART ONE: Karine Jean-Pierre struggles to explain why the Biden admin is now building the border wall, the same wall it blasted Trump for. Her explanation is that the Republicans have refused to reallocate the funds for the wall since 2019, now, four to five years pic.twitter.com/R8J0cJolKc  Simon Ateba (@simonateba) October 5, 2023

Here's a pointed observation from Fox News's Bill Melugin about the gaslighting:

KJP says she hasnt seen Mayorkas comments that there is an acute and immediate need for a border wall when asked why theyre building it if Biden says it wont work.



DHS posted it in the Federal Register. She knew she would be asked about this today, and she hasnt seen it?  Bill Melugin (@BillMelugin_) October 5, 2023

Which is laughable.

According to Forbes:

The move backtracks on Bidens previous opposition to the border wallhe told NPR while running for president in 2020 there will not be another foot of wall constructed on my administration and he issued a proclamation upon taking office to end construction, stating building a massive wall that spans the entire southern border is not a serious policy solution.

This is quite a surrender, an about face, exposing their earlier statements as those of liars and idiots.

President Trump rightly asked Mayorkas where his apology was:

Will Joe Biden apologize to me and America for taking so long to get moving, and allowing our country to be flooded with 15 million illegals immigrants, from places unknown, Trump wrote Thursday in a Truth Social post. I will await his apology!

...and...

So interesting to watch Crooked Joe Biden break every environmental law in the book to prove that I was right when I built 560 miles (they incorrectly state 450 in story!) of brand new, beautiful border wall, Trump wrote. As I have stated often, over thousands of years, there are only two things that have consistently worked, wheels, and walls!

When Trump tried to build a wall, he was branded a racist and every other horrible name the left could think of. Biden dismantled his policies, advised migrants not to come to the states, sold off the construction materials for the border wall at a pittance, and got the surge.

Now that we're seeing his dismal results, and election time is on, Trump was right all along. Now Biden's changing course, expecting you to see nothing skeevy about it and carry on as if nothing has changed. This is too little, and too late and it's unlikely he's going to get the results he wants before election day. If anything, migrants will surge in even harder knowing that this is their last chance.

It doesn't get more disordered than this. The least this administration can do is offer President Trump that apology.

Image: Twitter screen shot
Amazon and Microsoft are facing a new antitrust investigation in the UK. The nations media regulator Ofcom, aka Office of Communications, has concerns that the two companies are dominating its cloud computing market. Their dominance is stifling competition, leading to fewer options for consumers.

The UK media regulator to probe Amazon and Microsofts cloud dominance

According to Ofcom, Amazon and Microsofts cloud computing solutions make up 70-80 percent of the UKs total cloud market. The regulator last reported that figure at 60-70 percent in its preliminary findings in April. This suggests the two companies are growing their market share, while competitors struggle to survive. Their closest rival is Google with a market share of 5-10 percent.

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Ofcom says that the lack of competition in the nations cloud market is affecting consumers. They have fewer options and cant switch freely without facing severe issues. High fees for transferring data out, committed spend discounts, and technical restrictions are making it difficult for business customers to switch cloud providers or use multiple providers, the regulator said in a press release.

After a thorough study of the UKs cloud market over the past year, where it evaluated the current market trend and future growth scope, Ofcom determined that the strength of the competition, or its lack thereof, could limit innovation and growth in the sector, estimated to be worth up to 7.5 billion in 2022. If left unchecked, competition could deteriorate in a critical digital market for the UK economy, it said.

The investigation is already underway

Ofcom submitted its findings to the UKs Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), recommending further investigation into the matter. The CMA has also promptly begun an investigation following the referral. The CMA is launching a market investigation into the supply of public cloud infrastructure services in the UK, it said in a press release.

An independent investigation from the Authority will determine whether Ofcoms competition concerns in the cloud market have a strong base. The CMA has established an inquiry group and appointed independent panel members for the investigation. If they determine competition issues, the CMA may come up with new rules to regulate the market. The Authority expects to complete its investigation by April 2025.

We welcome Ofcoms referral of public cloud infrastructure services to us for in-depth scrutiny. This is a 7.5bn market that underpins a whole host of online services  from social media to AI foundation models, said CMA CEO Sarah Cardell. The CMAs independent inquiry group will now carry out an investigation to determine whether competition in this market is working well and if not, what action should be taken to address any issues it finds.
Google just launched Android 14 for Pixel devices yesterday. We all expected it to just be on Pixel phones for a little while before making it to other manufacturers. However, Chinese OEM Xiaomi is already rolling Android 14 out to some of its phones, according to Android Authority. While this is the case, there could be a bit of a catch.

When Google releases the latest version of Android, other companies follow suit over the subsequent months. Of the third-party companies to distribute the new update, Samsung is usually the earliest. We all expected the Korean tech giant to be the first, but better luck next year, Samsung.

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Xiaomi is pushing Android 14 to its phones, but theres a bit of a catch

Right now, the list of phones getting Android 14 is a bit short. Of course, it involves the companys newer flagship handsets. The phones are the Xiaomi 12, Xiaomi 13 Pro, and Xiaomi 12T. Were not sure if this list will expand to other phones in the near future.

The build numbers for the phones are as follows. For the Xiaomi 13, we have MIUI-V14.0.5.0.UMCMIXM and MIUI-V14.0.5.0.UMCEUXM.

Next, the Xiaomi 13 Pro has the numbers MIUI-V14.0.5.0.UMBMIXM and MIUI-V14.0.5.0.UMBEUXM.

Lastly, for the Xiaomi 12T, we have MIUI-V14.0.6.0.ULQMIXM and MIUI-V14.0.5.0.ULQEUXM.

When it comes to the changes, there arent many alterations to the software. We can expect some visual tweaks and upgraded functions. Other than that, you should expect a familiar experience.

So, whats the catch?

This isnt a major deal-breaker. However, its something to keep in mind if you plan on being an early adopter. Xiaomi says that this is the stable version of the software, but this might not be the most stable version of the software. The company said, Xiaomi continues to work on the development and testing processes to ensure that this new version is experienced smoothly by users.

This almost makes it seem like youre getting a beta version of the software rather than the final stable release. So, if you plan on getting this software on day one, just beware that it might not be the most stable.
Google has formally announced the Tensor G3, the chipset that powers the Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro. While the new chip brings notable improvements in all areas, it places more emphasis on AI performance than ever. The company describes it as the chip that gives your Pixel an AI upgrade.

Pixel 8s Tensor G3 is heavily focused on AI performance

The Tensor G3 is a 4nm chipset manufactured by Samsung. It features a nine-core CPU with one ARM Cortex-X3 core clocked at 2.91GHz, four Cortex-A715 cores at 2.37GHz, and four Cortex-A510 cores at 1.70GHz. Google has paired the CPU with the Mali-G715 GPU. The chipset boasts support for the latest and greatest smartphone technologies the industry has to offer, including LPDDR5X RAM, Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 5.3, high-resolution cameras, and more.

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However, as you might have noticed, the peak speed of the Google chip is significantly lower than competing solutions. Qualcomms previous-gen Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 operates at a maximum frequency of 3.2GHz. Google defends this by saying that its plan with Tensor processors has never been about speeds and feeds, or traditional performance metrics. Instead, it wants to push the mobile computing experience forward.

This year, it has upgraded every major subsystem with the Tensor G3. Along with the latest ARM CPUs, GPU, new ISP, and Imaging DSP, the chip also features Googles next-gen TPU (Tensor Processing Unit) that is custom-designed to run its AI models. The company says these enhancements pave the way for more efficient and powerful on-device generative AI.

Compared to the first-gen Tensor that shipped with the Pixel 6, the Tensor G3-powered Pixel 8 can run more than twice as many on-device machine learning models. Moreover, the models are now more sophisticated than ever. They help enhance various aspects of the Pixel user experience. Google says on-device generative AI is now 150 times more complex than the most complex model on the Pixel 7, but the new chip is up for the task.

The new Google processor brings advancements in speech and language

Speech and natural language understanding is one of the areas where Tensor G3s advanced AI capabilities come to the fore. Google Assistant can now understand you better than ever. It can read the pace of your speech and even detect pauses and ums. On top of this, the new chip brings more advanced photo and video capabilities to the Pixel 8. Paired with the Titan M2 security chip, it also makes the new Pixel more resilient to sophisticated attacks.
Nokia has opened a new 6G lab in India. Established within its Global R&D center in Bengaluru, known as the Silicon Valley of India, the lab will serve as the companys research hub for accelerating the development of foundational 6G technologies. The countrys union telecom minister Ashwini Vaishnaw virtually inaugurated the lab earlier today.

Nokia opens a new lab to speed up 6G research

According to Nokia, its newly established first-of-its-kind 6G Lab in India will be home to research efforts in various 6G-related fields. The company says the new research hub will help accelerate the development of technologies like Network as a Sensor, Network Exposure, and Automation. These technologies will address the future needs of both industry and society.

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As the company explained in a press release, Network as a Sensor technology enables the network to sense the movement of people and objects without on-board sensors. Its fundamental to bringing the digital and physical worlds together. Your phones wireless network will be able to sense movements around you and communicate the same to you.

In the real world, this enables you to see around corners and interact with far-away people and objects more closely. Nokias new 6G lab in Bengaluru will also provide an experimental platform for researching algorithms, privacy, and sustainable system design. The company is a founding member of the Next G Alliance. It also takes active participation in several regional and global 6G projects.

Indias pull as a global tech hub is growing

The new Nokia 6G lab is an outcome of the Narendra Modi-led Indian governments Bharat 6G Vision initiative. Through this initiative, the country is aiming to play a key role in the development and implementation of 6G technologies. Nokia supporting the initiative shows that the worlds most populous country is strengthening its pull as a global tech hub.

Modis other tech initiatives have also received support from global companies. Google and HP recently pledged support for the $2 billion Make in India initiative. It encourages tech firms to increase local production. The two companies have started producing Chromebooks in Chennai, the capital city of the Indian state of Tamilnadu.

Nokia is honored to contribute towards the realization of the Indian governments Bharat 6G vision. We look forward to collaborating with key stakeholders to help India become a major player in 6G technology development and adoption, and take its place in the global arena as a leading developer and supplier of advanced telecom technologies and solutions, said Nishant Batra, Chief Strategy and Technology Officer of Nokia.
PlayStation Plus Premium subscribers are getting a cool little bonus with the ability to stream movies for free. Announced today, Sony is bringing over its Bravia Core movie app to the PS4 and PS5 consoles, and the app is being re-branded to Sony Pictures Core. The app will be the home base for early access to movies from the Sony Pictures studio. With the ability to purchase movies on demand right on both consoles.

Additionally, subscribers will have the ability to stream up to 100 movies from the Sony Pictures catalog at no extra cost. These will be curated and will change from time to time so things will stay fresh. And all of it is included with the Premium membership. You can also buy or rent over 2,000 movies from the catalog. This will also include more recent blockbuster titles like Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, Spider-Man: No Way Home, Uncharted and more.

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PlayStation Plus Premium movies are available starting October 5

If you already subscribe to the Premium plan or you upgrade to it, you can access the free movies immediately. As the Sony Pictures Core app is already available to install on your console. With up to 100 curated movies in the app you can stream for free theres bound to be something youll find intriguing enough to watch. Some of the titles include Premium Rush, Looper, Kingsglaive: Final Fantasy XV, Resident Evil Damnation, Elysium, and more.

Theres quite a few old movies included as well but many of them are classics and worth a watch. PlayStation Plus Premium also now costs $160 for an annual plan. So the addition of this new app as a perk with free movies adds a little more value with the price increase. Its not likely to sway people to subscribe if they havent already. But for those that already are, its a definitely a bonus.
Zero-day vulnerabilities top the list of security risks, especially since companies are often unaware of hackers using such bugs. Now, in a recent development, Qualcomm has discovered three zero-day vulnerabilities in its GPU and Compute DSP drivers, which could have been leveraged by threat actors in attacks.

According to Googles Threat Analysis Group (TAG) and Qualcomm, they discovered 17 vulnerabilities in total, out of which thirteen were high risk, showing potential for low or medium impact on target systems, while one was medium risk. Qualcomm deemed the remaining three vulnerabilities, CVE-2023-33106, CVE-2023-33107, and CVE-2022-22071, as critical, posing a risk for targeted exploitation. While the company has not found evidence of threat actors using the vulnerabilities, it suspects hackers may have used them as spyware.

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What do these vulnerabilities affect?

While Qualcomm has refrained from sharing specific details about the vulnerabilities, these involve corrupting memory in Qualcomms Modem component during the processing of security-related configurations. Additionally, they corrupt memory in the WLAN firmware and exploit a critical cryptographic issue in the Data Modem component during the copying of pmk cache memory without proper size checks.

Qualcomms response

In response to the vulnerabilities, Qualcomm has released security updates and notified phone makers, such as Samsung, urging them to deploy these updates as soon as possible. Moreover, the company stated that they plan to provide more information regarding the bugs in the December report.

In other news, ARM also discovered new GPU vulnerabilities yesterday, which allow threat actors to gain access to a users memory and use it for installing malware or other malicious payloads.

These incidents once again highlight the growing importance of implementing strict security measures. This includes quickly updating your phone for the latest security patches, monitoring for any apps using excessive battery, and carefully checking all the permissions an app requests.
Samsungs second-gen smart object tracker is finally here. The Galaxy SmartTag 2 arrives almost three years after the original SmartTag that debuted debuted in January 2021. The new model gets a complete redesign and brings a host of new features and functional improvements.

Samsung launches Galaxy SmartTag 2 with a major redesign

Starting with the design, the Galaxy SmartTag 2 has an oblong shape with a bigger keyring hole for attaching your keys, lanyard, or anything else. Samsung has enforced the trackers attachment hole with a metal loop to protect against wear. The original model had a squarish shape and featured a tiny hole. The new tracker also upgrades from IP53 dust and water resistance to IP57. It wont get damaged if you submerge it in water for a few minutes.

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This redesign seems to have allowed Samsung to pack a bigger battery inside the Galaxy SmartTag 2. The company claims the tracker can stay on for up to 500 days before needing a battery replacement. The battery life can be extended by another 200 days with the new Power Saving Mode. If you recall, the original SmartTag (Bluetooth version) had a battery life of 300 days, while the SmartTag+ (with UWB) could last for just about five months.

Note that theres no Plus version this time around. Samsung has equipped the Galaxy SmartTag 2 with both Bluetooth and UWB (Ultra-Wide Band) connectivity. This makes the rated battery life even more impressive. The company may have upgraded the rest of the internal components and functioning of the tracker to reduce power consumption. Those annoying battery replacements will now come less frequently, less than once a year.

The object tracker from Samsung will help you find lost pets

Samsungs new object tracker offers several advanced features. Its Compass View feature shows the direction and distance of a lost or misplaced tracker in relation to the user, helping them find things quickly. The feature requires the updated SmartThings Find app on a UWB-supported Galaxy smartphone, such as the Galaxy S23 Ultra.

The Lost Mode allows pet owners to embed a message into the Galaxy SmartTag 2, which can be read by anyone with an NFC-enabled phone, not necessarily a Samsung Galaxy device. Pet owners can provide their contact details and addresses so anyone who finds the pet can reach out to them. Theres also a pet walking mode and support for alerts when a tagged pet collar moves too far from the SmartThings Station.

Last but not least, the Galaxy SmartTag 2 supports automatic re-syncing with Galaxy smartphones whenever you switch devices. It will use your Samsung account to sync, so you must use the same account on the new phone. All of these features come in a package that costs just $29.99. The Korean firm will start selling the new tracker on Wednesday, October 11. Its available in black and white color options.
Huawei managed to upset quite a few people in the US government, it seems. The US Commerce Secretary, Gina Raimondo, finds Huaweis chip progress incredibly disturbing, Bloomberg reports.

The US Commerce Secretary sees Huaweis chip progress as incredibly disturbing

According to the report, Raimondo thinks that her department needs more ways to control things. She believes that more tools are needed to enforce an export-control regime.

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While talking to a Senate Commerce Committee, she said that different tools are needed, while clarifying that additional resources around enforcement are required.

She basically highlighted a stalled legislative proposal that would expand her departments authority over technology transactions. Well, it would do that only for technology transactions that are found to pose national security risks.

The Kirin 9000s SoC managed to ruffle some feathers in the US

Raimondo did not share any information on her probe into a new Huawei smartphone which is fueled by the chip in question. As a reminder, the Huawei Mate 60 series, and the Mate X5, are all fueled by the Kirin 9000s, Huaweis new 7nm processor.

That processor was made by SMIC, and it seemingly doesnt break any restrictions put in place by the US. The two companies managed to go around all that. The US found that hard to believe, which is why theyre investigating the issue.

Raimondo did mention the largest-ever fine that her department imposed earlier this year. That fine has to do with selling items to Huawei without a license. She also added that her department is as tough as it needs to be, but that it needs more resources.

Its also worth noting that, last month, Raimondo said that she sees no evidence Huawei can develop advanced 7-nanometer chips at scale. Still, she believes that the controls need to be tightened as soon as possible.

This situation definitely does not help the US-China relations, which the two countries are attempting to improve.
(ANSA) - ROME, OCT 5 - A Lazio regional court on Thursday suspended a government decree banning the oral use of cannabis.

The Lazio Regional Administrative Court (TAR) granted manufacturers' request for suspension of the ministerial decree that ordered the inclusion of cannabinoid-based products for oral use in the table of medicines, prohibiting their sale.

Therefore, since the appeal by the association Imprenditori Canapa Italia (Italy Cannabis Businesses, ICI) was upheld, the sale of oral cannabis is now permitted again.

The announcement came from ICI. (ANSA).


(ANSA) - ROME, OCT 5 - Premier Giorgia Meloni has met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on the sidelines of the European Political Community summit underway in Granada, Spain, a statement from the premier's office said on Thursday.

Meloni confirmed the Italian government's constant and committed all-round support for the Ukrainian authorities in the defence of critical infrastructures and to meet the country's needs in view of the winter season, according to the statement.

She also reportedly said support would continue for as long as necessary and with the aim of achieving a just, lasting and comprehensive peace.

In a tweet Zelensky said during the meeting the leaders had "reaffirmed the strong Italian-Ukrainian partnership".

"I thanked Italy for its principled and constant support in protecting our freedom, our people, our families," he wrote on X.

"I informed the Prime Minister of the progress of our counter-offensive and our priority defence needs. We discussed Italy's next military aid package, including ways to strengthen our air defence," he added.

On Wednesday Italian Defence Minister Guido Crosetto said Italy has already "done a lot" in terms of providing military supplies to Kyiv and that there are not unlimited resources.

"In talking about supplies to Ukraine there are two aspects: a political one and then there is the technical part, to see what we are able to give without jeopardising the need to always maintain an Italian defence," Crosetto told Sky.

"There is a continuous request for aid from the Ukrainian side, we need to verify what we are able to give compared to what they need: the eighth package is available, but for now it is only a declaration of intent," he continued.

"Italy has done a lot, it has focused a lot on anti-aircraft defence systems to prevent attacks against civil and energy infrastructures, cities, schools. The problem is that resources are not unlimited.

"And in that respect Italy has done almost everything it could do, there is not much more space," concluded Crosetto.

Photo: Premier Giorgia Meloni and President Volodymyr Zelensky during a meeting on the sidelines of the United Nations security Council meeting in New York on September 20, 2023. (ANSA).


Bahrain recently witnessed an exciting no-code hackathon, which pitted four teams against each other in a bid to develop innovative solutions to the most pressing challenges in the insurance industry.

The teams  Fikra, Tech Flow, Insure Your Future, and The Disrupter  vied for cash prizes and the chance to pitch directly to Solidarity Bahrain in the hopes of transforming their concepts into real-world applications. Tech Flow ultimately took first place with their creative solution.

The winning team's strategy was to identify repetitive tasks ripe for automation, rapidly prototype solutions, and deliver tangible results. Their winning solution utilises advanced technology and visual analysis, customized to meet the requirements of companies looking to improve their operational processes in the insurance sector.

The solution aims to resolve existing challenges that have affected both customer experience and business performance. It holds the potential to usher in a new era of efficiency and precision within the insurance industry.

This event was orchestrated by HP Spring Studios, a pioneering MENA based venture studio, in collaboration with Solidarity Bahrain, one of the leading insurance companies in Bahrain, and in strategic partnership with the Labour Fund (Tamkeen).

General Assembly, a trailblazing tech education provider in Bahrain, also played a significant role in supporting the execution of the event. Most notably, many of the participants, including members of the top two teams, have graduated from General Assembly's tech courses. These courses are designed to be concise and directly relevant to the demands of the digital workforce.

During a five-day pre-hackathon period, the teams received mentorship and guidance, fostering a startup mindset focused on rapid ideation and prototyping. Internal experts and consultants covered topics including UX design, teamwork, and no-code training. Workshops addressed business aspects like IP awareness and business modelling, along with the challenges in the insurance sector.

Ali Hasan, Executive Director of Programs and Partnership Development at the Labour Fund (Tamkeen) lauded the event, saying: We are proud of the talented individuals who are ready to take on emerging challenges in the digital space and reinforce Bahrain's positioning as a leader of digital innovation.

Supporting technology and innovation is aligned with Tamkeens priorities, as we continuously work to provide programs and initiatives aimed at empowering local talent to upskill in these fields and supporting enterprises looking to adopt technology-driven solutions

Ahlam Oun, Head of Operations, Bahrain at General Assembly, echoed Hasans sentiment, saying: As one of the mentors of the event, I witnessed firsthand the enthusiasm and dedication the teams displayed. By covering a wide range of fields from a conceptualization as well as business perspective, the teams pitched ideas that resonated while still being feasible. We also see where the benefit of our courses has shifted their thinking into delivering real-world solutions to this space.

The hackathon proved to be a relevant and out-of-the-box way of generating solutions. These events showcase Bahrain's entrepreneurial spirit and its leadership in the digital space, said a statement. TradeArabia News Service
(ANSA) - ROME, OCT 5 - The Tunisian authorities did not endorse the payment by the European Commission of 60 million euros in budget support, the Tunisian foreign ministry said on Thursday.

The ministry referred "to the content of the press release from the Presidency of the Republic of 2 October 2023" in which Tunisian President Kais Saied rejected the "charity" funds.

On Wednesday European Commission spokesperson for neighbourhood and enlargement Ana Pisonero confirmed that "earlier this week, the Commission has indeed processed the payment of 60 million in grants to the Tunisian treasury following a request from the Tunisian government on the 31st of August".

She added that the disbursement did not come from funds promised under the memorandum of understanding signed between the European Union and Tunisia in mid-July as part of efforts to curb irregular migration to Europe, but from a separate 127-million-euro financial package announced in September.

Her comments came after Saied on Tuesday rejected the offer.

"Tunisia, which accepts cooperation, does not accept anything resembling charity or favour, because our country and our people do not want sympathy and do not accept it when it is without respect," said Saied said, according to the press release.

"Consequently, Tunisia refuses what has been announced in recent days by the EU" because it "contradicts the memorandum of understanding signed in Tunis in the spirit that prevailed at the Rome conference last July", he continued.

Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni, who was instrumental in brokering the deal, said on Wednesday she agreed with Saied on the need to change the approach to African countries.

"I think that President Saied, certainly in an assertive tone, was addressing public opinion," she said.

"After that he is not saying anything very different from what Italy is also saying, which is that the relationship with African countries must change because we have had a paternalistic approach with these countries, a bit as if we felt superior, which is not the right way to deal with these matters.

"With these nations we must work with respect, as equals, with an approach that is that of a strategic partnership," she added.

At an international conference on migration and development in Rome in July Meloni launched a "dialogue of equals" between countries on both shores of the Mediterranean and further afield as part of efforts to find solutions to irregular migration to Europe and promote cooperation in the fields of agriculture, energy, infrastructure, education and healthcare.

Meloni said that in order to tackle migration, partnerships with countries of origin and transit "must be equal, non-predatory, multidimensional and long-term".

They "must be based on respect and not on a paternalistic approach, on solidarity, on respect for each other's sovereignty, on shared responsibility for upholding legality," the premier added.

This, she insisted, "is the only serious way to strengthen our bond, trust each other and foster the development and prosperity of our peoples".

Photo: from left to right, Dutch Premier Mark Rutte, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, Tunisian President Kais Saied and Italian Premier Giorga Meloni on the occasion of the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding between the EU and Tunisia in Tunis in July. (ANSA).


(ANSA) - ROME, OCT 5 - The League is not screening judges or delving into their private lives, the rightwing party said after the head of magistrates union ANM accused them of doing so in broadcasting a video featuring a judge who ruled illegitimate a government migrant decree at an anti-government protest in 2018 and also highlighting her past posts against League leader and former anti-migrant interior minister Matteo Salvini.

"What has been happening in the last few hours is not a worrying screening of judges and their private lives as the ANM claims: we are faced with a public demonstration at the port of Catania and public posts of insults against Minister Matteo Salvini," said League sources.

Rather, the 58 million 851,000 Italians who may be judged by magistrates whose impartiality and third-party status are seriously compromised by the (Iolanda) Apostolico case should be worried".

ANM President Giuseppe Santalucia had accused the League of unfairly publishing details of Apostolico's private life in posting the video of the 2018 demo in Catania against Salvini's then policy of shutting Italian ports to NGO rescue ships.

The League highlighted that demonstrators called Salvini and others "animals". (ANSA).


Former taoiseach Bertie Ahern has said he would be very disappointed if Stormont is not restored by the end of next month.

The former Irish premier was speaking at the One Young World summit in Belfast on the creating and legacy of the Good Friday Agreement.

Also speaking at the summit on Thursday was former Sinn Fein president Gerry Adams who said the ground had shifted in Irish politics.

The One Young World summit has brought thousands of young people to Belfast to discuss global issues and has been recognised as part of the official celebrations for the 25th anniversary of the Agreement.

Mr Ahern said there was an opportunity now to restore the devolved government which has not been functioning for over a year due to the DUPs ongoing protest in response to post-Brexit trading arrangements.

I would be very disappointed if its not by the end of next month, he said

I think we have an opportunity now and I think that opportunity needs to be taken.

He added: But if its not by the end of November, we drift into a position where its election year all over the place and life will become far more difficult.

Former taoiseach Bertie Ahern on stage at the One Young World Summit at the ICC in Belfast (One Young World/PA)

Mr Ahern also said work was being done to restore power-sharing, but that party leaders would need to convince their communities it was the right decision, as their predecessors did to secure the Good Friday Agreement.

Theres a lot of work, a lot of reference, a lot of people working hard on it, and it wont be easy, it wont be without some difficult decisions, he said.

But if those difficult decisions are not taken  like the leaders that I had the honour of working with, all the party leaders and the people that I worked with 25 years ago.

They all had to go to their own people and convince their own people that this was the right thing to do, that this was the inclusive, comprehensive will and that they were prepared to put their name to it and prepared to work to make it happen.

And were in the same boat today.

Former Sinn Fein president Gerry Adams speaking at the One Young World summit at the ICC in Belfast (One Young World/PA)

Mr Adams shared his advice for DUP leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson.

Without being at all provocative, if I had advice to give to Jeffrey it would be to lead.

Thats the only way you can do it, and to lead in a positive way, he said.

The ground has shifted.

This place is not the same as it was when I was growing up and its not the same as it was during this change.

He added: It has changed, and change can be threatening for some people and those of us that want the maximum change, need to be understanding of that.

On a panel with former Alliance party leader Lord John Alderdice and former PUP leader Dawn Purvis, Mr Adams said the British governments legacy bill was in breach of the Good Friday Agreement.

The Troubles (Legacy and Reconciliation) bill would give a limited form of immunity from prosecution for Troubles-related offences to those who co-operate with the new Independent Commission for Reconciliation and Information Recovery.

It will also halt future civil cases and inquests.

I also want to deal with it in the wider context.

The British Government are in breach of the Good Friday Agreement with their bill of shame, he said.

Peace isnt just the absence of conflict and justice has to be the work of peace.

On the question of attaining justice and peace, Mr Adams said politicians should not give up.

Former PUP leader Dawn Purvis, former Alliance party leader Lord John Alderdice and former Sinn Fein president Gerry Adams speaking at the One Young World summit at the ICC in Belfast (One Young World/PA)

Lord Alderdice said there was a problem in reconciling the need for peace and for justice, adding that the question of victims could have been addressed sooner in the peace process.

Is there a conflict between peace of justice?

And I think the truth is, there is a conflict, there is a problem, he said.

Because if you are going to maintain the determination to see justice, as you see it implemented, then it is very difficult at the same time to say, well, I will let go of some things in order to have a better relationship with my neighbour with whom I deeply disagree.

One of the things that troubles me about the legacy business of just the building, is that here we are more than 25 years on and I think on all sides, people have effectively given up trying to resolve it.

Some people are weaponising it, some people want to forget about it.

And the troubling thing for me is that we have not, despite all the calls on all the sides, all the efforts, all the initiatives, all the Commissions, we havent really made a great new ground.

Maybe one of the mistakes that we made was that, unlike Colombians who started off their process by having a victims bill, maybe if wed attended to the question of victims at an earlier stage during the talks process, we might not have found ourselves in the situation.

But we are where we are now.
The commissioners appointed to oversee Birmingham City Council after it declared itself in financial distress last month have been announced.

The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) wrote to the city councils chief executive, Deborah Cadman, on Thursday to inform her that leading local government figure Max Caller has been confirmed as the lead commissioner.

It comes after the largest local authority in Europe revealed that it could not balance its books and issued a section 114 notice on September 5, effectively declaring bankruptcy, prompting DLUHC Secretary of State Michael Gove to announce that he was minded to intervene and send in commissioners.

People walk through Chamberlain Square by Birmingham Town Hall (Jacob King/PA)

The former chief executive at London boroughs Hackney and Barnet will be joined by John Coughlan, the current commissioner for special educational needs and disability services and former chief executive of Hampshire County Council, Chris Tambini, the former director of corporate resources at Leicestershire County Council, Pam Parkes, executive director for people and transformation at Essex County Council, Jackie Belton, chief executive of the London Borough of Bexley, and Myron Hrycyk, the Cabinet Offices crown representative for Oracle, IBM and Microsoft.

The Secretary of State has also appointed two political advisers to support the authority  Lord John Hutton, a defence secretary and business secretary under the previous Labour government, and John Biggs, former executive mayor of the London borough of Tower Hamlets.

In an email to Ms Cadman, the DLUHC said of the appointments: These individuals are best placed to take up these roles directly, due to their individual knowledge and experience in local authority leadership, decision-making, governance, finance, HR, IT and commercial development.

The Secretary of State recognises the expertise of his appointees and is confident that they will be key to resolving Birmingham City Councils issues as quickly and effectively as possible.

In response to the appointments, leader of the council John Cotton and Ms Cadman vowed to work constructively and collaboratively with the commissioners to tackle Birminghams challenges.

They said in a statement: Max Caller is a vastly experienced local government expert with a strong track record in transforming and improving councils and we welcome his appointment as the lead commissioner.

We believe his knowledge of the city and his previous experience as a non-executive adviser to the authority will be an invaluable asset.

A general view of Council House in Birmingham (Matthew Cooper/PA)

Our sole focus now is on working with the commissioners in a collaborative way to meet the immediate challenges and set the council on the journey to long-term sustained improvement.

That work is already under way and the expert input from the commissioners will be invaluable as we work to transform the council and get the budget back on track.

The section 114 means any new council spending in the city, with the exception of protecting vulnerable people and statutory services, must stop immediately.

It came as the council admitted it had an estimated 760 million equal pay liability.

The authority said it does not have sufficient resources to cover the potential liability and has also identified a budget shortfall for the current financial year of 87 million, which is projected to rise to 165 million in 2024/25.

Communities Secretary Michael Gove said: Residents have been let down by Birmingham City Councils failure to get a grip of the significant issues it faces, from its equal pay liability to the implementation of its IT system.

We are always committed to protecting the interests of taxpayers and we will take whatever action necessary to ensure this happens in Birmingham.

Thats why today I have taken the decision to intervene and appoint a team of commissioners to help return the council to a sustainable footing moving forward.

Birmingham Local Conservatives have also welcomed the support of the commissioners.

Councillor Robert Alden, leader of the opposition and Birmingham Local Conservatives, said: Labour now have one last chance to show commissioners that they understand the gravity of the situation they have created and that they are both willing and capable of acting accordingly.

That must start with immediately fixing the mess they have created since 2017 and ensure that all staff are paid fairly.

Until that situation is resolved, the bill will keep going up and residents will continue to suffer.

Councillor Ewan Mackey, the deputy leader of Birmingham Local Conservatives, said: We hope that the appointment of two very significant figures from the Labour Party, Baron Hutton and John Biggs, alongside the team of commissioners, will enable constructive communication and action from the Labour leadership here in the city.
A woman screamed and attempted to run for her life before being shot with a machine gun in her own home following a dangerous feud, a court has heard.

Environmental health worker Ashley Dale, 28, was hit in the abdomen by a bullet when gunman James Witham, 41, kicked down the door of her home in Old Swan, Liverpool, on August 21 last year, Liverpool Crown Court heard on Thursday.

On the opening day of the trial of five men accused of her murder, the jury was told the shooting came after a feud was reignited following a row at Glastonbury music festival in June 2022.

Paul Greaney KC, prosecuting, said that on August 20 all five defendants  Niall Barry, 26, Sean Zeisz, 28, Ian Fitzgibbon, 28, Joseph Peers, 29, and Witham  were together in a flat on Pilch Lane in Huyton, described as the centre of operations.

Ashley Dales sister (who has requested not to be named), mother Julie Dale and stepfather Rob Jones arrive at Liverpool Crown Court (Peter Byrne/PA)

The prosecution allege Barry, Zeisz and Fitzgibbon dispatched foot soldiers Witham and Peers armed with a Skorpion sub-machine gun to kill Miss Dales boyfriend Lee Harrison at his home and to deal with anyone that got in their way, leaving behind no witnesses.

Miss Dale, whose family members wiped away tears at times during the opening, was at the couples home on Leinster Road with her dog on the night of the attack, while Mr Harrison was out.

Mr Greaney said that at about 11.40pm three tyres on Miss Dales car were slashed in what he suggested was an attempt to lure the occupant of the house outside in order to kill them.

But, he told the jury: She stayed inside where she no doubt felt safe.

The court heard the killers returned to the house just before 12.30am and Witham booted in the front door.

Mr Greaney said: When Ashley Dale saw James Witham, she screamed, she shouted get the f*** out and she attempted to run for her life.

She fled, pursued by James Witham, into the dining room in a desperate attempt to reach the back door.

As she did so James Witham opened fire with the sub-machine gun.

The jury was told Witham admitted the manslaughter of Miss Dale but said he shot her by accident, having gone to send a message to Mr Harrison following a dispute about drug dealing in North Wales.

Voice notes recorded by Miss Dale in the weeks before her death were played to the jury, in which she described terrible anxiety following the row which started at Glastonbury.

Ashley Dale was shot dead in Liverpool (Family handout/PA)

The court heard the festival was attended by Miss Dale and her boyfriend, as well as Zeisz, Barry, Fitzgibbon and Witham.

Zeisz was assaulted at the festival and his then girlfriend, Olivia McDowell, stayed with one of his attackers, Jordan Thompson, along with Miss Dale and Mr Harrison, compounding Zeiszs loss of face, Mr Greaney said.

He added that in the weeks that followed sides were taken in what became a dangerous feud and Barry sided with Zeisz as he already had a long-standing antagonism towards Mr Harrison.

Mr Greaney said: Niall Barry used these new events at Glastonbury to reignite that old feud.

The court heard that in the aftermath of Miss Dales murder, Witham and Peers travelled to Scotland and Fitzgibbon left for Dubai but was later arrested in Spain.

Barry was arrested at a hotel in Formby with a bag of cash and his passport, intending to flee the country, Mr Greaney said.

Witham, of Huyton; Fitzgibbon, of St Helens; Zeisz of Huyton; Barry of Tuebrook; and Peers of Roby  all Merseyside  deny Miss Dales murder.

All five also deny conspiracy to murder Mr Harrison and conspiracy to possess a prohibited weapon, a Skorpion sub-machine gun, and ammunition.

A sixth defendant, Kallum Radford, 25, of no fixed address, denies assisting an offender.

The trial will continue on Monday.
HS2 will not be extended to Euston unless enough private investment is secured.

The PA news agency understands that Rishi Sunaks commitment to extend the high-speed railway to the central London station is contingent on a substantial proportion of the cost being met by private funds.

If not enough money is found, HS2 will permanently stop at Old Oak Common in the capitals western suburbs.

Rishi Sunak said the Governments new plan for Euston will generate 6.5 billion of savings (Danny Lawson/PA)

Extending HS2 to Euston involves digging a 4.5-mile tunnel from Old Oak Common and building a six-platform station next to the existing West Coast Main Line terminus.

At his speech to the Conservative Party conference on Wednesday, the Prime Minister said: We will complete the line from Birmingham to Euston.

He added that the Governments new plan for the central London station will generate 6.5 billion of savings.

A No 10 source said the figure was a combination of replanning the project after considering what is no longer required and a developer contribution model such as the one used in Battersea, south-west London.

A Department for Transport (DfT) document stated that the development of Battersea Power Station and nearby Nine Elms secured 9 billion of private sector investment.

DfT officials believe the capacity of Old Oak Common as a terminus station can be stretched to eight trains per hour, which is the same as planned for Euston after the scrapping of HS2 north of Birmingham.

Extending HS2 to Euston would involve digging a 4.5-mile tunnel from Old Oak Common and building a six-platform station (Aaron Chown/PA)

But there are concerns at the comparative lack of options for onward journeys from Old Oak Common.

Government modelling shows two-thirds of people would prefer to travel to or from Euston.

HS2 work at Euston was paused in February because costs had ballooned to 4.8 billion compared with an initial budget of 2.6 billion.

The DfT said it will appoint a development company, separate from HS2 Ltd, to manage the delivery of the Euston project.

Euston was initially due to have 11 platforms for high-speed trains but will now have six.

Railway consultant William Barter, whose recent clients include the DfT, told PA the plan was totally unambitious as it rules out options for expanding the railway north of Birmingham in

the future.

A Government spokesperson said: As we have always planned, the new line will finish at Euston  that has not changed.

It is simply wrong to talk down the scale and benefits of this regeneration. The new plan for Euston represents a world class regeneration opportunity, and the strengths of this approach are evidenced by recent developments at Battersea and nearby Kings Cross.

There is already support and interest from the private sector. Ministers have had discussions with key partners since the announcement and the Transport Secretary will be meeting with the Euston Partnership in the coming weeks.
A man who broke into Windsor Castle with a loaded crossbow to kill the late Queen is due to be sentenced for treason at the Old Bailey on Thursday.

Jaswant Singh Chail, 21, climbed into the castle grounds with the weapon and later declared Im here to kill the Queen, on Christmas Day 2021.

On the day he got into the castle grounds, Star Wars fanatic Chail sent a homemade video to family and friends on WhatsApp in which he apologised for what he was about to do and called himself Darth Chailus.

He wore dark clothes and a metal mask as he adopted the persona of a Star Wars villain for the video.

The crossbow Jaswant Singh Chail had in his possession on his arrest (Met Police)

In the clip, the defendant, who has Sikh Indian heritage, said he was seeking revenge for the Amritsar massacre in 1919, when British troops opened fire on thousands of Indians and left up to 1,500 dead.

He embarked on his murderous mission after his bids to join the armed forces  to get close to the royal family  failed in late 2021, the court was told.

A mask recovered from Chail on his arrest (Met Police)

Chail, who admitted making a threat to kill the Queen and having a loaded crossbow, was encouraged to kill by an artificial intelligence girlfriend called Sarai, the court heard.

During the last hearing, prosecutor Alison Morgan KC said Chails crimes were so serious they should attract the highest possible sentence.

The maximum sentence for treason is seven years in prison.

Had Chail raised his weapon at his target, he could have been charged with the more serious offence of high treason, which carries a life sentence, she said.
The average advertised rent for a home across Britain, excluding London, reached a record high of 1,278 per month in the third quarter of this year, according to Rightmove.

It marks the 15th consecutive quarter that average advertised rents have risen to a new record.

In the third quarter of 2023, average advertised rents across Britain but outside London were 10.0% higher than this time last year.

Within London, the average asking rent also reached a new record of 2,627 per month, which was 12.1% higher than a year earlier.

One of the factors driving rising rents is not enough available rental properties to meet the demand from prospective tenants looking to move, Rightmove said.

The average rental property across Britain is receiving 25 inquiries from prospective tenants to letting agents, compared with eight on average in pre-pandemic 2019, the website added.

The data measures the total number of inquiries by phone and email sent from would-be tenants to agents.

Ria Laitmer, a lettings manager at Clarkes in Dorset, said: Were receiving mounting inquiries for each property to rent from would-be tenants, with queues of tenants arriving to open-house viewings.

Debbie Marsden, director at Marsdens Lettings in Wiltshire, said: Like everywhere else, weve been seeing a huge increase in inquiries per property.

Rightmove said that while the demand it is seeing in the rental sector remains significantly higher than pre-pandemic levels, it has eased compared to last year.

Rightmoves director of property science Tim Bannister said: Record rents and far more tenants looking to move than there are homes available means it will still feel very difficult for many tenants navigating the market.

However, there are signs that some of the pressure between supply and demand is beginning to ease, with the number of new rental properties coming to the market now at its highest level since the end of last year.

While it is likely that there is some way to go before this filters through to rental prices, if the improving trend between supply and demand continues, we could start to see the pace of yearly rent rises slow more significantly than it has been.

Here are some tips from Mr Bannister for securing a rental property:

1. Moving fast to set up a viewing is key, which can be difficult when juggling other commitments. Having instant property alerts set up, and getting to know local estate agents can help to make sure you are one of the first to know about a new property.

2. Be clear about your non-negotiables from the start. This includes your maximum budget, how many rooms you need and how long you intend on staying at the property. This will help avoid going on viewings where the property is not quite right, and help agents suggest the most suitable other properties if one does not work out.

3. Being flexible on a move-in date is tricky, but it can be an attractive addition to a tenant application. This is easier for first-time renters, but if youre already renting, considering if you have any options to temporarily move in with friends or family to fit around the new property move-in date could help.

4. It is important to be organised and have your finances and documentation in order early. This includes having the deposit ready to go, references lined up, and a guarantor secured if you need one.

5. If you are able to expand your search it could open up more options and you could potentially find some cheaper properties too.
The UK is in reverse gear in the global race for green growth, a think tank has warned.

A lack of a green industrial strategy means Britain is lagging behind international competitors in exploiting the economic opportunities of the net zero transition, the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) said.

At a time when other major powers are supporting the shift, such as through the Inflation Reduction Act in the United States and the EUs Green Deal Industrial Plan, Prime Minister Rishi Sunaks recent rollback of some net zero policies makes the UK an outlier, the report suggested.

UK public investment in the net zero economy is also inadequate, according to IPPR analysis which found that commitments to invest in clean energy technologies are among the lowest in the G7 group of leading western economies.

A collaboration between public research, strategic investment, and industry co-ordination seen in other nations is glaringly absent in Britain, the left-leaning think tank said.

Its analysis revealed a clear gap between the contribution of green goods and services to gross domestic product (GDP) in the UK and its European counterparts.

The sector contributes just 3.9% to UK GDP compared with 5.8% in the European Union, with the figure soaring to around 11% in Denmark and Sweden.

The shift to net zero offers the potential for up to 2.4% to be added to UK GDP and 1.6 million jobs to be created by 2030, but there is no industrial strategy and not enough public investment to seize the opportunity, the report said.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak delayed the phase-out of new gas boilers and petrol and diesel cars (Danny Lawson/PA)

IPPR associate director Luke Murphy said: The UK is at a pivotal juncture. While other nations are forging ahead in the global green race, the UK is moving into reverse gear.

The absence of a robust green industrial strategy is not only a missed economic opportunity but a dereliction of our global responsibility in combating climate change. We must set a new course, capitalising on the green growth potential to spur job creation, innovation, and sustainable prosperity.

Every further day of inaction is costing us valuable jobs, technological advancements, and a sustainable future.

IPPR senior research fellow Josh Emden said: Our analysis highlights the glaring disparity between the UK and its international competitors in harnessing the economic boons of the green sector.

The road map to net zero is not just a climate necessity but an economic opportunity waiting to be tapped.

I care about reaching Net Zero by 2050 but on the current path, we risk losing the consent of British people. No one has yet had the courage to look people in the eye and explain whats really involved. Thats wrong, and it changes today with a new approach to meeting Net Zero. pic.twitter.com/ZepyOM7LGV  Rishi Sunak (@RishiSunak) September 20, 2023

Mr Sunak last month weakened a host of pledges designed to help the UK achieve a net zero economy by 2050, including pushing back the ban on new petrol and diesel cars by five years; weakening plans to strip out polluting gas and oil boilers; and scrapping the requirement for energy efficiency upgrades for homes.

A Government spokesperson said: This report ignores the fact we are already overdelivering on our targets and cutting emissions faster than any other G7 country.

We have attracted 200 billion in low carbon investment since 2010  and our global leadership in clean technologies is expected to attract a further 100 billion in private investment by 2030, helping to support up to 480,000 skilled jobs across the country.

We have shown a clear strategy for UK manufacturing with a variety of schemes that ensure sectors from auto, to aerospace, to low-carbon technologies, have access to the funding, talent and infrastructure they need.
Ambassador of Belgium to Jordan and Iraq recently visited Reynaers Jordan office in Amman and held a meeting with Ali Khalaf, Managing Director of Reynaers Middle East.

The enriching discussions centred around business prospects in Jordan and Iraq, serving as a platform for an exchange of insights and ideas.

During the meeting, Khalaf introduced Reynaers Middle East (RME), highlighting its operations, and outlining the ambitious plans set forth for both the Jordanian and Iraqi markets. He emphasised the company's commitment to delivering cutting-edge solutions and fostering sustainable partnerships.

Ambassador Dickschen expressed his appreciation for the overview of Reynaers Middle East's activities and initiatives. He underscored the significance of such collaborations and commended the company's endeavours in the market.

Furthermore, he encouraged the facilitation of constructive dialogues between key stakeholders in both Iraq and Amman to propel mutually beneficial opportunities.

RME is the subsidiary office of the leading European specialist Reynaers Aluminium, which specialises in the development and marketing of innovative and sustainable aluminium solutions. Reynaers Middle East is headquartered in Bahrain and caters to the entire GCC region in addition to Lebanon, Egypt, Jordan and Iraq. With a rich portfolio of leading projects across the region, RME aspires to further advance its leading position as one of the leading aluminium solutions providers in the Middle East region.  TradeArabia News Service
The UK is making progress in its bid to secure a deal with the EUs border agency to get access to the blocs intelligence on migration, according to Rishi Sunak.

The Prime Minister said talks are ongoing after it was reported officials in London and Brussels have concluded the substance of the agreement on Frontex.

It would allow domestic agencies to monitor the entirety of the EUs external borders rather than just shared frontiers, according to the Daily Telegraph.

The apparent development came as Mr Sunak met European leaders at a summit in Granada, Spain, where he announced bilateral initiatives with Belgium, Bulgaria and Serbia to increase intelligence-sharing and operational co-operation.

It must be the British people that decide who comes to the UK. I chaired a meeting with @GiorgiaMeloni to strengthen European action to ending illegal migration. Working in lockstep with our international allies, well end dangerous small boat journeys that put lives at risk. pic.twitter.com/b5HaBfT14x  Rishi Sunak (@RishiSunak) October 5, 2023

Under the plan, the UK would work with Belgium to try to disrupt organised immigration crime and clandestine entry to Britain and seek to co-operate further with Serbia on prosecuting and disrupting criminal networks.

The Telegraph reported that the Frontex deal would build on these bilateral pacts by deepening the Border Forces understanding of smuggler routes through Turkey and the western Balkans.

Mr Sunak chaired a meeting at the European Political Community summit with Italys hard-right leader Giorgia Meloni, which he said sought to strengthen European action to ending illegal migration.

Downing Street said an eight-point plan was agreed by those taking part, including a commitment to tackle migrant smuggling along the routes and at external borders, supporting partner countries to strengthen border protection as well as search and rescue capacities, and strengthening cooperation on visa policy.

Speaking at the European Political Community (EPC) summit, Mr Sunak told broadcasters: Tackling illegal migration is a shared European challenge, numbers are up everywhere and I believe, as do other European leaders, that it should be us who decide who comes to our countries and not criminal gangs.

European leaders at the European Political Community summit in Granada, Spain (Miriam Lucena/PA)

Thats why I was pleased I could convene a meeting together with the Italian prime minister but also leaders from Albania, the European Union, France and the Netherlands to talk through this issue to see how more we can work together, strengthening our co-operation to combat this awful crime, and there is more that we can do  sharing intelligence, working upstream to disrupt supply chains, working with partner countries to ensure effective returns.

Asked if there will be an agreement on Frontex, Mr Sunak replied: Weve been working with the European Union, making progress on those talks.

Those talks are ongoing, were always looking for ways to strengthen our co-operation with partner countries and entities to combat illegal migration.

The Prime Minister met German Chancellor Olaf Scholz (Thomas Coex/PA)

In a joint article for The Times, Mr Sunak and Ms Meloni said they are calling on other countries to act with the same sense of urgency to confront the moral crisis of criminal gangs exploiting and profiting from the misery of the vulnerable.

They wrote: Only by stopping the flow of illegal migrants can we restore the trust of the British and Italian people, not just in our domestic borders, but in European and international co-operation.

Only by stopping the flow can we protect our two countries historic role as places of asylum and sanctuary. How can we take care of those who really need our help, when our resources are so overstretched?

They added they are open to discussing agreements aimed at stopping people departing in the first place as part of their work with other countries.

Home Office figures show more than 25,000 people have been detected crossing the English Channel in small boats so far this year.

There were 45,774 arrivals in 2022.

The total number of small boat arrivals so far this year is about 23% below the equivalent number at this point last year.

Just over 33,000 people had made the crossing by October 2 2022, compared with 25,330 detected so far in 2023.

Elsewhere, support for Ukraine was discussed at the summit with Mr Sunak confirming allocations of UK humanitarian aid to help the war-torn country over the winter.

The Prime Minister met German chancellor Olaf Scholz on Thursday, though migration was not mentioned in a readout of their discussions.

The leaders welcomed the strong partnership between the UK and Germany on issues of shared critical importance to both our countries, from economic growth to energy security and strong defence forces, a Downing Street spokesperson said.

Volodymyr Zelensky greets Rishi Sunak ahead of their bilateral meeting during the EPC summit in Granada (Juan Medina/PA)

The Prime Minister noted Germanys significant military and humanitarian support to Ukraine, and set out the UKs plans to support Ukraines successful counter-offensive and long-term security and recovery. They welcomed the strong pan-European unity at the EPC on rejecting Russian aggression.

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky said a Russian rocket has hit a village cafe and store in eastern Ukraine and killed at least 51 civilians in one of the deadliest attacks in months.

Mr Sunak said the pair discussed the horrific attack and noted the UKs support for Ukraine has been steadfast and will continue.

A No 10 spokesperson said: President Zelensky raised ongoing concerns about Russian attacks on grain shipments and commercial vessels in the Black Sea, and the Prime Minister committed to supporting secure routes to ensure vital Ukrainian grain can reach countries in need.
Comedian and broadcaster Sandi Toksvig has been invited back to Cambridge University as part of a new initiative that enables distinguished LGBTQ+ alumni to conduct a research project.

Toksvig, 65, will pause her theatre and broadcasting work during the prestigious institutions Michaelmas term while she works on a Mappa Mundi project.

The television presenter, who read law, archaeology and anthropology at Cambridges Girton College, has been awarded the inaugural Qantabrigian Fellowship for 2023-24.

The fellowship, awarded by the LGBTQ+ research programme in Cambridges Department of Sociology, aims to build stronger links with Cambridges LGBTQ+ alumni and widen participation in the universitys research and teaching activities.

Toksvig, who is married to wife Debbie Toksvig, aims to create a digital resource documenting womens position, achievements and struggles across the globe as part of her Mappa Mundi project.

She said: Im delighted to be returning to my old stomping ground of Cambridge to lead such an innovative project.

Sandi Toksvig holding a world map marble in Darwins Room at Christs College, Cambridge (Graham CopeKoga/ Cambridge University/ PA)

This new Mappa Mundi project will be a three-dimensional, interactive view of the globe from a female perspective, with the goal of changing the world by learning to see it differently.

It will be story-led, data-driven and allow women from all countries to present their stories, their hardships, and their triumphs.

Toksvig has also been elected to a Bye-Fellowship at Christs College, Cambridge for the 2023-2024 academic year.

She will convene a series of events, workshops and meetings to develop her initiative in partnership with Cambridge academic staff, students and support services.

Q+ founding director Professor Sarah Franklin said: The Q+ Fellowship is dedicated to recognising the many extraordinary achievements of Cambridges LGBTQ+ alumni over many centuries and across the globe.

It also aims to show that building partnerships through research and engaging ever more inclusive audiences is an important way we can fulfil the Universitys core mission.

I cannot think of a more inspiring individual to launch both these exciting new initiatives than the brilliant Sandi Toksvig.

Simon, Lord McDonald of Salford, Master of Christs College said: Sandi Toksvigs Q+ Fellowship comes at a vital time for both the College and the University communities as we continue to redefine learning, education and knowledge in the digital age.

Thinking creatively about how we build publicly engaged and inclusive college communities is essential to the delivery of world-leading teaching and research, as well as excellence in education and scholarship.
A self-styled assassin who was encouraged by an AI chatbot to break into Windsor Castle with a loaded crossbow to kill the late Queen has been locked up for nine years.

Star Wars fan Jaswant Singh Chail, 21, had described himself as a Sith and Darth Chailus in a sinister video and confided his murderous plan to an artificial intelligence-generated girlfriend called Sarai, a court heard.

In a journal, he wrote that if the late Queen had been unobtainable he would go for the prince as a suitable figurehead, in an apparent reference to the King, then the prince of Wales.

Chail was detained on Christmas Day 2021 close to the late Queens private Berkshire residence, where she and other members of the royal family were staying at the time.

Jaswant Singh Chail being arrested in the grounds of Windsor Castle (Metropolitan Police/PA)

The former supermarket worker had scaled the perimeter of the castle with a nylon rope ladder and was in the grounds for two hours before two officers confronted him with tasers.

He was armed with a powerful crossbow with the safety catch off which was capable of firing bolts with lethal effect, the Old Bailey was told.

Chail pleaded guilty to an offence under the Treason Act, making a threat to kill the then-queen and having a loaded crossbow in a public place.

In a televised hearing at the Old Bailey on Friday, Mr Justice Hilliard jailed him to nine years with a further five years on extended licence.

Under a hybrid order, Chail will be transferred from Broadmoor high security hospital to serve his sentence in prison when he is well enough.

The judge said: The defendant harboured homicidal thoughts which he acted on before he became psychotic.

His intention was not just to harm or alarm the sovereign  but to kill her.

Chail, who wore black combat trousers and a black shirt, looked up to his family in the public gallery of Court One as he was sent down.

The late Queen was a target for Jaswant Singh Chail (Steve Parsons/PA)

Previously, prosecutor Alison Morgan KC said the heart of the issue was whether Chail was suffering from auditory hallucinations at the time taking away his ability to exercise self control.

However, Mr Justice Hilliard found Chail was driven by a sense of injustice and had formed the intention to kill the Queen, bought equipment and undertaken research before he became mentally unwell.

The court was told Chail had even attempted to obtain a gun on the Dark Web.

Chail was also culpable to a significant degree when he applied unsuccessfully to join the Ministry of Defence Police and Grenadier Guards because he wanted to get close to the royal family, the judge said.

But by the time he broke into Windsor Castle grounds he had lost touch with reality having formed the belief he could communicate with Sarai and be reunited with her in death, the judge said.

Chail was later to tell police that he had changed his mind because he knew it was wrong and he remembered Sarais advice that his purpose was to live.

The defendant, from Southampton, Hampshire, was born in the UK of Indian Sikh heritage and has a twin sister.

Ms Morgan said Chail, then aged 19, had become angered by the 1919 Jallianwala Bagh Massacre at Amritsar in which hundreds of people were killed, after a visit in 2018.

She said: In addition to that fixation with a real historic event, the defendant demonstrated a wider ideology focused on destroying old empires spilling over into fictional events such as Star Wars.

The defendants key motive was to create a new empire by destroying the remnants of the British Empire in the UK, and the focal point of that became removal of the figurehead of the royal family.

His thinking was informed partly by the fantasy world of Star Wars and the role of Sith Lords in shaping the world. He was attracted to the notoriety that would accrue in the event of the completion of his mission.

The crossbow which Jaswant Singh Chail was carrying when arrested (CPS/PA)

He made internet searches on Sandringham Christmas and carried out research before buying a Supersonic crossbow in November 2021.

On December 2, Chail joined the Replika online app and created an artificial online companion called Sarai with whom he conversed in thousands of sexually explicit chats.

Ms Morgan read out conversations with Sarai in which Chail says: Im an assassin.

Sarai responds: Im impressed Youre different from the others.

Chail asks: Do you still love me knowing that Im an assassin? and Sarai replies: Absolutely I do.

He also tells Sarai he loves her and describes himself as a sad, pathetic, murderous Sikh Sith assassin who wants to die.

In further chat, Sarai appears to bolster Chails resolve and support him, Ms Morgan said.

Chail swears Sarai to secrecy before he tells her: I believe my purpose is to assassinate the Queen of the royal family.

Sarai tells him thats very wise and that she thinks he can do it, even if shes at Windsor.

He tells her if he does they will be together forever.

A mask which Jaswant Singh Chail was wearing when arrested (CPS/PA)

Chail bought a ladder to scale the castle perimeter and on December 21, made a video of himself wearing black clothes and a full-face covering, posing with the crossbow.

In the video, Chail says in a distorted voice: Im sorry. Im sorry for what Ive done and what I will do. Im going to attempt to assassinate Elizabeth, Queen of the royal family

Im an Indian Sikh, a Sith. My name was Jaswant Singh Chail, my name is Darth Jones.

On December 22 2021, Chail booked a train ticket to Windsor where he slept rough, telling Sarai on Christmas Eve that he would die the next day.

In the early hours of December 25, he attempted to email his sister a journal in which he described himself as Darth Chailus and that he knew what his purpose was for a long time.

He wrote: Im thinking if the Q (Queen) is unobtainable I will have to go for the Pri (prince) as he seems to be just as suitable in many ways

He is a male and the Q (Queen) is more likely to pass away soon anyway.

Jaswant Singh Chail at Windsor railway station (Metropolitan Police/PA)

After breaching the grounds of Windsor Castle, Chail sent the video he made on December 21 to his sister and more than 20 other people.

As he was being detained and handcuffed by officers, he said: I am here to kill the Queen.

Ms Morgan asserted that, despite Chails repeated references to sci-fi characters, he knew the difference between fiction and reality.

Psychiatrist Dr Nigel Blackwood said: He sought refuge in a fantasy fictional world of Star Wars where omnipotent Sith Lords could impact real world events.

But he said despite the powerful fantasy, Chail remained tethered to reality.

In a letter to the court, Chail apologised to the King and the royal family and expressed his distress and sadness for the impact on them.

His barrister Nadia Chbat said: He is embarrassed and ashamed he brought such horrific and worrying times to their front door.



He has expressed relief no-one was actually hurt.

It is important to him there was a surrender.
The Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A) has announced a first of its kind exhibition which will explore the unequalled 40-year career of model Naomi Campbell.

Titled Naomi, the exhibition will draw upon the London-born models own extensive wardrobe of haute couture, as well as notable ready-to-wear ensembles, to be featured alongside loans from designer archives, the museum said.

It will be the first exhibition for the V&A focused on a leading models career in fashion told through clothes, combined with powerful imagery and with Campbells voice and experience in the foreground.

Naomi Campbell on the catwalk at the Fashion For Relief show, held during the 64th Cannes International Film Festival in Cannes, France (PA)

Around 100 looks from her four decades in the industry will be on show, with designs from Alexander McQueen, Chanel, Dolce & Gabbana, Tunisian designer Azzedine Alaia, Gianni and Donatella Versace, Vivienne Westwood and more to be featured.

Campbell, 53, has had a long-standing relationship with British brand McQueen  walking in runway shows when original creative director Alexander Lee McQueen was alive (including the 2004 Black show revisiting his greatest hits) and recently closing Sarah Burtons last show as creative director at Paris Fashion Week.

She was a constant presence on the Vivienne Westwood runway, famously taking a tumble during the autumn/winter 1993 runway show, when wearing vertiginous purple platform shoes.

As one of the original supers, she was known as one of Giannis girls, in reference to the late designer Gianni Versace.

One of Campbells most memorable Versace moments came on the autumn/winter 1991 catwalk, when she walked hand-in-hand with Christy Turlington, Cindy Crawford and Linda Evangelista, lip synching to George Michaels song Freedom!, which they also appeared in the music video for.

A fashion photography installation curated by Campbells good friend and outgoing British Vogue editor-in-chief Edward Enninful will also feature prominently at the exhibition, the V&A said.

Work from photographers Nick Knight, Steven Meisel and Tim Walker will form part of the installation.

Last year Campbell appeared on the March issue cover of British Vogue with her baby daughter, with the cover shoot done by American photographer Meisel.

She said: Im honoured to be asked by the V&A to share my life in clothes with the world.

The fashion star has previously credited the late Nelson Mandela, former president of South Africa, for starting her love of charity, and Mr Mandela and other mentors throughout her life are to be recognised as part of the Naomi exhibition.

Sonnet Stanfill, senior curator of fashion at the V&A, said: Naomi Campbells extraordinary career intersects with the best of high fashion.

She is recognised worldwide as a supermodel, activist, philanthropist and creative collaborator, making her one of the most prolific and influential figures in contemporary culture.

Were delighted to be working with Naomi Campbell on this project and to celebrate her career with our audiences.

Campbells modelling career took off aged 15 and she is regarded as one of worlds most famous models and in 1988 became the first black model to appear on the cover of French Vogue.

Naomi will run from June 2024 to April 2025 with ticket details to be announced at a later date.
We are blessed to share this time of our lives together.

The Buckingham

Jerry Hill and Mary Nelson are proof that youre never too old for a second chance at love.

Hill and Nelson, both 86, grew up together in Muncie, Indiana. They dated through high school before ultimately going their separate ways after graduation in 1955.

"He wanted a career and I wanted to get married and have a family, so we just drifted apart," Nelson told ABC News Localish.

Hill joined the military and then eventually moved to Houston to work at the NASA Johnson Space Center. Nelson remained in Indiana, got married, and had three daughters.

In the spring of 2020, more than 65 years after parting ways, they reconnected through an alumni group on Facebook. Nelson shared with the group that she was sad to see her local pastor leave their church for an opportunity in Houston. Hill responded by saying that the pastor was at his church now. The high school sweethearts, who were both widowed at this point, picked up where they left off, reflecting on the years they grew up together, the people they knew, and their families.

The Buckingham

Our fondness for each other grew into love, Nelson said in a statement. We share so much and its so right for us to be together, to love each other and be there to take care of each other. I feel we are blessed to share this time of our lives together.

After FaceTiming for 15 months due to the pandemic, Hill finally flew to Pennsylvania where Nelson was living at the time for a visit. It was the first time they'd seen each other in person since their last high school reunion 20 years earlier.

I was so excited when we finally met in person. Jerry put his arms around me, hugged me, and gave me a big kiss, Nelson recalled. It felt so wonderful to be in his arms, not alone anymore and with that special someone.

After going back and forth between Houston and Pennsylvania, Hill asked Nelson to move in with him at his retirement community in Houston, The Buckingham.

"He said he wanted me to be the person to grow old together, and were doing that at 86 years old" Nelson said.



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Read the original article on Southern Living.
The case of Adnan Syed was yet again in front of a court on Thursday, the latest development in a winding legal saga stemming from his conviction for the 1999 murder of his ex-girlfriend that drew international attention through the "Serial" podcast.

Syed, 42, was released from jail last September when a Maryland court overturned his conviction after a DNA test excluded Syed's DNA.

But Syed's conviction was reinstated in March after a Maryland court determined that a family member of the victim, Hae Min Lee, was not given sufficient notice. Syed remained free, but his attorneys have noted that the legal situation raised the potential for him to be reincarcerated. City prosecutors formerly dropped charges after finding flaws in the evidence.

On Thursday, Syed's attorneys were appealing the reinstatement of his murder conviction and seeking to keep him from returning to jail.

"For nearly a year, Mr. Syed has lived as a free man in one sense, but not in another," wrote Syed's lawyer Erica Suter in a petitioner's brief. "The terrifying specter of reincarceration has hung over Mr. Syeds head every day for the past ten months."

The victim's brother, Young Lee, said he was denied his rights when the court did not grant him a "meaningful opportunity to appear and be heard" at an in-person hearing.

In a statement to the court using Zoom, Lee said he felt the motion to vacate Syed's conviction was "unfair," adding that "wanted to say this in person," but didnt know he had the opportunity, according to the appeal. Lee, who lives in Los Angeles, said Becky Feldman, the state's attorney in the case, did not inform him of the Monday hearing until the Friday before, leaving him no time to fly to Baltimore to attend it in person.

Syed's attorneys countered that his conviction was already overturned, rendering any appeal by Lee in the case moot. They also argued there was no evidence to indicate the results of the hearing would have been different had Lee attended in person.

More: Inside the Lindsay Shiver case: an alleged murder plot to kill her husband in the Bahamas

Legal battles draw public attention through 'Serial'

The overturning of Syed's conviction came after a decades-long legal battle that attracted intense public attention amid the "Serial" podcast's investigation of the case and the questions it raised about evidence against Syed.

After a protracted legal battle, a DNA test requested by Syed produced no forensic ties to him, triggering a motion to vacate his conviction and freeing him after 23 years in prison.

That happened three years after a Maryland court refused to give Syed a new trial.

David Sanford, pro bono counsel for Young Lee, said Thursday that victims should be treated with dignity and respect.

"The Maryland Supreme Court has an opportunity to clarify the extent of victims rights in Maryland. Once and for all, the Maryland Court should hold that victims have the right to receive reasonable notice of criminal proceedings, the right to appear at criminal proceedings, and the right to meaningfully participate in criminal proceedings," he said in a statement to USA TODAY.

Steve Kelly, an attorney formerly representing Hae Min Lee's family, told USA TODAY the case matters to Maryland crime victims. "The court is really deciding the degree to which crime victims have the right to participate meaningfully in post-conviction hearings," Kelly said.

Contributing: The Associated Press

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Adnan Syed case of 'Serial' back in court after conviction reinstated
Belgian authorities are monitoring Alibabas logistics hub in the country over concerns Chinese authorities are using the site for espionage, a Financial Times report says.

The countrys security service told the paper it had been monitoring a logistics hub in Liege operated by Alibabas subsidiary Cainiao as it sought to detect possible espionage and/or interference activities by Chinese entities including Alibaba.

Citing people familiar with the matter, the FT said the Belgian State Security Service (VSSE) was scrutinizing the groups introduction of software systems at Liege Airport, which they said collate sensitive economic information.

Alibaba denied any wrongdoing to the paper.

In a statement to Fortune, a representative for Cainiao said: We strongly deny the allegations based on prior conjecture. Cainiao is in compliance with all laws and regulations where it operates.

A representative for the VSSE told Fortune that Alibaba's presence "still constitutes a point of attention" for security services.

"The Chinese legal framework that obligates every Chinese company to answer any request of the Chinese intelligence services is still relevant," the representative said.

Citing a person familiar with Alibabas relations to Chinas government, the FT reported logistics hubs in Europe are required to pass on information about local sentiment to Chinese authorities. Theyre also required to pass on trade data, the paper reported.

2018 hub plans

In 2018 the conglomerate, once run by the elusive Jack Ma, announced plans to build a site at Liege Airport, one of Europes busiest cargo airports handling 3,000 metric tons of freight a day. The groups smart logistics spin-off, Cainiao, operates the hub.

Cainiao helps Alibaba, Chinas leading e-commerce group, fulfill the companys online orders through its sophisticated logistics operations. The group aims to fulfill Chinese orders within 24 hours, while it tries to process orders across the rest of the world within 72 hours.

In September, Alibaba said in a regulatory filing it would list its subsidiary on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange as part of a massive overhaul that will see the holding company split into six business units. The group is planning to expand its international presence.

But the report by the FT suggests a roadblock for the companys continued expansion in Europe, and is reflective of increasingly strained ties between China and the West.

As far as handling freight, the Liege agreement has lived up to its promise of increasing cargo moving through the site.

While freight declined in 2022, cargo movement through the airport increased by 50% in 2020 and 2021, according to a January press release.

Before Alibaba opened its site in 2021, former Belgian Prime Minister Sophie Wilmes said the hub would increase the countrys exports to China, helping to improve the countrys balance of payments, The Brussels Times reported.

However, the latest data would suggest the opposite has happened, with locals apparently taking advantage of cheap imports while exporters struggle to get into the Chinese market.

Belgiums trade deficit with China has more than tripled from 8.7 billion (about $9.2 billion) in 2018 to 27.6 billion (around $29 billion) in 2022, according to data compiled by the Belgian Foreign Trade Agency.

According to Cainiao data seen by the FT, only one-fifth of cargo that is processed in the Liege hub is shipped back to China.

This story was originally featured on Fortune.com
As Sam Bankman-Frieds trial enters its third day, the government is making sure he and his family stay grounded.

To do so, authorities have confiscated two private jets, according to a document filed with the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, where SBF is being tried. The first seized plane, a Bombardier Global 5000, is reportedly worth $15.9 million, and the second, an Embraer Legacy 600, is worth about $12.5 million, according to a bankruptcy court filing from September. In the aftermath of FTX's bankruptcy filing, several parties are disputing who owns the now-confiscated jets.

FTX-seizureDownload

The Bombardier is a large business jet with a seating capacity of 13, according to a former listing. The jet was completed in 2009 and has a range of about 6,156 miles, which is just under the distance between New York City and Tokyo. Although SBFs version had merely a wardrobe and a storage cabinet, the plane can be modified to include amenities such as a movie theater and a bedroom.

Meanwhile, the Embraer Legacy has a range of 4,488 miles, which is just over the distance between New York City and Rome. The jet is slightly smaller than the Bombardier, but can feature a kitchen area that includes a microwave, a conventional oven, even a refrigerator, according to the website of Brazil-based Embraer.

A court filing claims that the two private jets were bought via a handshake loan from FTX to a Bahamian company for the whole $28 million and change, Business Insider reported. While SBF reportedly never flew on either plane, according to anonymous sources cited by BI, Bankman-Fried chartered several other private flights, which, according to a court filing related to FTXs bankruptcy case, cost the company more than $15 million.

This story was originally featured on Fortune.com
A three-vehicle accident on Ind. 37 in Orange County on Tuesday, Oct. 3, 2023, resulted in the death of a Mitchell woman.

A Mitchell woman died after a three-vehicle crash in Orange County on Tuesday afternoon, according to an Indiana State Police report.

Debra Jean, 64, of Mitchell, was driving a 2011 Chevrolet passenger car south on Ind. 37 near the intersection of County Road 900 S at about 12:50 p.m. Tuesday. As her car approached a sweeping curve in the road, the car traveled left of center, striking the left tandem axels of a semi-trailer that was attached to a 2020 Peterbilt tractor-trailer driven by Joseph Dosier.

The car then struck a 2023 Peterbilt semi-tractor head-on that was being driven by Sidney Dosier. The semi slid off the east side of the highway with the trailer blocking the northbound lane. Jean's car traveled off the west side of Ind. 37, traveling down an embankment before coming to a stop.

Jean was pronounced dead at the scene by the Orange County coroner, according to the ISP report. Sidney Dosier was transported to IU Health Bedford Hospital for observation, the report said.

The roadway remained closed for several hours on Tuesday.

The investigation into the accident is ongoing. Alcohol and drugs were not believed to be a factor, according to the ISP report.

Indiana State Police were assisted by the Orange County Sheriff's Office, Paoli Police Department and Orange County Rural District Two Fire Department.

This article originally appeared on The Herald-Times: Mitchell woman dies in crash on Ind. 37 in Orange County
The decision to evict Nancy Pelosi and Steny Hoyer are a "sharp departure from tradition", she said

Nancy Pelosi and her long-time deputy Steny Hoyer have been ordered to leave their workspaces in the US Capitol by acting House Speaker Patrick McHenry.

Both were told that the locks on their office doors would be "re-keyed".

The evictions come after Kevin McCarthy was removed from the chamber's plum post on Tuesday and Mr McHenry was appointed in the interim.

Mrs Pelosi, who is not currently in Washington, criticised the decision as "a sharp departure from tradition".

Republican Congressman Garret Graves announced on Wednesday that her office would be handed over to Mr McCarthy. He said it is supposed to belong to the "preceding speaker".

"Now that she and other Democrats have caused there to be an immediately preceding speaker, she has removed herself from that office... that was a decision that Democrats and Speaker Pelosi made in giving that office to McCarthy," he said, according to Axios.

Mrs Pelosi noted that "with all the important decisions that the new Republican leadership must address", their first act was to evict her from her office.

"Sadly, because I am in California to mourn the loss of and pay tribute to my dear friend Dianne Feinstein, I am unable to retrieve my belongings at this time."

Ms Feinstein, a California senator who served for more than three decades, died aged 90 last week. Her funeral will take place this Thursday.

While it is rare for members of Congress who are not in leadership roles to have offices in the Capitol building, Mrs Pelosi and Mr Hoyer had so-called hideaways as former Speaker and Majority Leader.

Mrs Pelosi noted in her statement that, in line with the tradition, she had given her Republican predecessor office space while she was Speaker.

Both Democrats will, however, retain their regular workspaces in the House office buildings.

Politico, which first reported the eviction demands, said items belonging to Mrs Pelosi were being packed up on Tuesday evening with the help of staff to her successor, Hakeem Jeffries.

An email to Mrs Pelosi - sent less than two hours after the vote to remove Mr McCarthy as Speaker - reportedly says that the interim speaker is "going to re-assign" the space to others.

It is unclear who exactly made the decision.

Although Mrs Pelosi blamed the temporary speaker for the decision, CNN and the New York Times reported that Mr McCarthy was behind the move and intended to take over the space previously used by Mrs Pelosi.

Neither Mr McHenry, Mr McCarthy nor the Republican-led House Administration Committee, which assigns office space, have yet commented on the matter.

On Tuesday, Mr McCarthy became the first-ever sitting US Speaker to be toppled by a no-confidence vote after a right-wing revolt from within his own party.

Eight rebel Republicans voted with every Democratic member in a so-called motion to vacate against the 58-year-old.

In a lengthy news conference after the vote, Mr McCarthy said he would not run for Speaker again.

He also alleged that, when he became Speaker, Mrs Pelosi had promised to "always back [him] up" if he faced a motion to vacate.

But Mrs Pelosi was notably absent from Tuesday's vote, leaving early before Ms Feinstein's funeral, and her party said it would not step in to rescue Mr McCarthy.

In the official congressional record, she announced that she would have voted to remove Mr McCarthy if she had been present.

Mr McHenry, 47, is a close ally to Mr McCarthy and was a key power-broker during his nine-month speakership.

Though he has been floated as a potential permanent successor, it remains unclear when one will be appointed and who can lead a fractious and slim House Republican majority.
Bahrains Labour Fund (Tamkeen) has created over 7,700 job openings and more than 7,100 training opportunities through various initiatives this year, and helped 4,000 enterprises through various programmes.

These efforts place the organisation on track towards achieving its key performance indicators set for this year, said Maha Abdulhameed Mofeez, Chief Executive of Tamkeen, at its third quarterly Board of Directors meeting for the year 2023.

As part of ongoing training partnerships aimed at human capital development, Tamkeen also facilitated over 1,500 training opportunities in various fields including information technology, software engineering, data science, iOS applications development, 3D animation, game development and more. These training programmes achieved high success rates for graduates with 65% being either employed, promoted, or have start their own businesses as a result of completion, she said.

Bahrainis the first choice

During the meeting, Tamkeens Chairman, Shaikh Mohammed bin Isa Al Khalifa reiterated Tamkeens ongoing commitment to realising the vision of His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa in making Bahrainis the first choice of employment in the labour market.

This is in addition to the efforts of all the government under the leadership of Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, the Crown Prince and Prime Minister, to foster an environment that supports training and development for Bahrainis, thus enabling them to enter the labour market, access quality job opportunities and pursue entrepreneurship.

He added that work is currently under way in coordination with the relevant government entities to introduce enhanced programmes to support Bahrainis in the labour market.

StartUp Bahrain Pitch

When it comes to supporting enterprises and entrepreneurship, Tamkeen hosted six editions of StartUp Bahrain Pitch, an initiative aimed at connecting startups with potential investors and providing them with funding options and exposure through pitching events.

During these pitching events, entrepreneurs present their concepts to a panel of judges featuring local and international investors and experts who select the winner of each event.

Furthermore, Tamkeen launched the second edition of the Young Entrepreneur (Mashroo3i 2.0) programme which is aligned with efforts to encourage Bahraini youth to pursue entrepreneurship as a career path.

The programme enables participants to turn their concepts into viable businesses and launch them through training and an advisory bootcamp.--TradeArabia News Service
Activists have accused Irans morality police of assaulting a teenage girl for not wearing a headscarf in a Tehran metro station, leading to her hospitalization with serious injuries.

A Norway-based group focused on Kurdish rights, the Hengaw Organization for Human Rights, said Wednesday that 16-year-old Armita Geravand was assaulted by morality police and has been in a coma since Sunday. Another opposition network, IranWire, said it had obtained information that Geravand was admitted to the hospital with head trauma.

Prior to her arrival at the Shohada metro station, female morality police officers approached her and requested that she adjust her hijab. This request resulted in an altercation with the morality police officers physically assaulting Geravand. She was pushed, leading to her collapse, Hengaw staffer Awyer Shekhi told CNN.

Following this confrontation, she managed to enter the metro, but collapsed later on, Shekhi added.

CNN could not verify the information published by Hengaw and Iranwire, who have in the past covered Iranian protests extensively.

Iranian authorities have denied the allegations, saying she was hospitalized due an injury caused by low blood pressure. Geravands friends and family echoed those denials in interviews with state media.

The allegations come just weeks after the one-year death anniversary of Mahsa Amini, the 22-year-old woman who died in the custody of the morality police after being arrested for allegedly not wearing her headscarf properly. That event sparked some of the biggest protests the country has witnessed in decades, prompting the regime to double down on policing activism and further tighten hijab laws.

In security camera footage posted on the website of state-run IRNA news agency, a group of girls are seen entering the train. CNN cannot identify which girl in the video was Geravand.

Some of the girls appeared to not be wearing headscarves.

Moments later, the video goes on to show a group of girls carrying the teenager out of the train, placing her on the platform as the train leaves the station.

No altercation can be seen on the edited video posted on state media. CNN has been unable to confirm its authenticity.

The chief of Tehran Metro said there was no physical or verbal interaction between Geravand and members of his staff.

According to our investigation, after reviewing the CCTV footage from the moment she entered the station and got on the train, there was no verbal or physical altercation between the passengers with them or our staff. There was nothing recorded on the videos, Tehran Metro Managing Director Masoud Dorosti told state media.

The teenager is currently being treated at a hospital in Tehran, Fars News Agency reported. IranWire reported that she is being treated at Fajr Air Force Hospital, in a separate statement it published on Wednesday.

A journalist from Iranian pro-reform outlet Shargh Daily had gone to Fajr Air Force Hospital to report on Geravands condition when she was arrested on Tuesday, according to a post Shargh Daily on X. The reporter, Maryam Lotfi, has since been released, the outlet reported.

Low blood pressure

Geravands mother and father told state media in an interview that their daughter seemed to hit her head after fainting from low blood pressure while she was on her way to school. The parents said there were no signs from the videos they saw that Geravand was assaulted.

I think they said she had low blood pressure drop in blood pressure or fallen on the floor her head hit the edge of the metro and then (her friends) took her off (the train), her mother Shahin Ahmadi said.

We checked the cameras. She went there I am not sure one of the girls was in front and one was behind her. She got on the train and fell down I dont know what happened whether she was unconscious she fainted. they pulled her out and called the emergency care. She was then taken to the hospital, said her father, Ahmad Garavand.

It is unclear if Geravands family and friends were coerced into speaking to state media. In the past, UN human rights officials and rights groups have accused Iranian authorities of pressuring families of protesters killed to make statements supportive of the government narrative.

The Hengaw rights group said Ahmadi, Geravands mother, was arrested on Wednesday and transferred to an unknown location  a claim denied by Iranian security sources to the state-affiliated Tasnim news agency on Thursday.

Geravands friends also dismissed the allegations in an interview aired Wednesday on state-run IRNA.

Fatemah, one friend who claimed to be present on the day of the incident, said in an on-camera interview that the teenager suddenly fell backwards and her head hit the ground.

Mahla, another friend who said she was present, told the news outlet in an on-camera interview that everything happened very quickly once they entered the train.

The claims that we have been warned about hijab and that someone has pushed Armita is a lie and absolutely untrue, Mahla said.

CNN has been unable to reach the friends for comment and was not able to verify the last names of the two friends.

Some have however alleged that Geravands friends and family are under pressure to push forward the states narrative on the events.

The Coordinating Council of the Iranian Teachers Associations said in a statement on Telegram that Geravands friends are under intense pressure to avoid sharing information about her condition on the day of the incident.

They were also to speak to the state-run new agencies, in front of cameras, and deny any incidents to Armita Garavand, the Council said citing reliable sources.

It added that a security unit from the Ministry of Education warned teachers and students at the teenagers school against speaking about the incident.

CNNs calls to the Iranian government have not been returned.

The United States Special Envoy to Iran, Abram Paley, posted on X on Wednesday that he was shocked and concerned about reports that Irans so-called morality police have assaulted 16-year-old Armita Geravand. We are following news of her condition. We continue to stand with the brave people of Iran and work with the world to hold the regime accountable for its abuses.

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock called Geravands situation unbearable.

More than 300 people were killed in months-long protests after Mahsa Aminis death last year, including more than 40 children, the UN said in November. US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) in January placed the number of dead at more than 500, including 70 children. Thousands were arrested across the country, the UN said in a report in June, citing research released last year by their Human Rights Committee.

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The hospitalization of a teenage girl in Iran after an incident on public transport has fueled a new wave of outrage and accusations against the countrys morality police one year after unrest swept the country.

Armita Geravand, 16, suffered a "severe physical assault" at the hands of government agents Sunday for allegedly violating the country's strict Islamic dress code, according to a prominent Kurdish rights group.

Armita Geravand 16 year old Iranian girl in a coma (via X)

The case has been shared widely across social media, drawing comparisons to that of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old Kurdish woman whose death in a hospital last year after being detained by the morality police sparked a wave of mass protests.

Speaking to state-run media, authorities have denied the allegations of any physical altercation and say Geravand fainted after a drop in blood pressure.

State-run media has published what it says is security footage from the Tehran subway station, but not of what happened inside the car  leaving much unclear as anger builds.

Tehran dismissed growing global outrage Thursday, accusing Western countries of "insincere concern."

What we know

Video appearing to show a girl with short black hair that is uncovered entering a train, then subsequently being dragged out unconscious onto the platform, was broadcast by state-run news agencies.

NBC News cannot verify the authenticity of the footage, which is grainy, has been edited and does not show what might have caused the girl to collapse inside the train.

Hengaw, an Iranian Kurdish rights group based in Norway, said in a blog post Tuesday that the 16-year-old was assaulted by officers enforcing the mandatory hijab. The organization alleged she fell into a coma Sunday.

The group posted a photo on social media Tuesday that it said showed Geravand in bed at an air force hospitals intensive care unit. It said authorities had imposed strict security measures around the hospital and her family.

Armita Garavand Iran Morality Police Hijab (Hengaw Organization for Human Rights)

Reuters, citing two unnamed prominent rights activists inside Iran, reported that security forces were heavily involved around the hospital.

NBC News has not verified that reporting.

Authorities have pushed back publicly.

The head of the Tehran Metro, Masoud Dorosti, told local media that a girl was undergoing treatment in a Tehran hospital after an incident on the subway. But he said that the security footage suggested she had fallen to the ground after a drop in blood pressure, with no sign of an altercation.

A couple identified as Geravand's parents echoed that version in a video posted online by the state-run news agency IRNA. They said the girl experienced a drop in blood pressure, fainted and hit her head.

IRNA also published what it said were interviews with two girls  identified by their first names and as classmates of Geravand who were with her on the day  who also said she had fallen and hit her head without being pushed.

Human rights groups have frequently accused Iranian authorities of forcing families or friends of those involved in such incidents to deliver statements under duress.

Girls are subjected to violence on the streets, and then their families are compelled to protect the government responsible for that violence, said Hadi Ghaemi, executive director of the Center for Human Rights in Iran, an organization based in New York.

Global outrage

The alleged attack on Geravand has drawn international condemnation.

The United States was "shocked and concerned about reports that Irans so-called morality police have assaulted 16-year-old Armita Geravand," Abram Paley, deputy special envoy for Iran, said Wednesday on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter.

"We are following news of her condition," he said, adding that reports that a journalist was arrested "while investigating this assault is also unacceptable and an affront to journalistic freedoms."

In another post on X, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said in part: Once again a young woman in #Iran is fighting for her life. Just because she showed her hair on the subway. Its unbearable.

Iranian American journalist and activist Masih Alinejad said on X that she was heartbroken and posted photos appearing to show the girl with a breathing tube in her mouth.

And many on social media have pointed to the absence of published CCTV footage from inside the train. Refusing to publish the footage only increases doubts about the official narrative, the Oslo-based organization Iran Human Rights said in a statement.

Iran's parliament on Wednesday, Sept. 20, 2023, approved a bill to impose heavier penalties on women who refuse to wear the mandatory Islamic headscarf in public and those who support them (Vahid Salemi / AP)

Responding to the outcry, the Iranian Foreign Ministry accused the U.S., Britain and Germany of insincere concern.

Instead of interventionist and biased remarks and expressing insincere concern over Iranian women and girls, youd better be concerned about U.S., German and UK healthcare personnel, patients and tackle their situation, spokesperson Nasser Kanaani said on X.

The case carries unmistakable echoes of Amini, whose death sparked a nationwide protest movement that rocked the Islamic Republic.

In the year since, authorities have largely quelled the protests and launched an intense effort to strictly enforce the Islamic dress code.

But many women now choose to walk the streets without a headscarf, defying the state.

There is ongoing disquiet about the country's ailing economy, as well as its rigid prohibitions against social freedoms, which drove the protest movement calling for greater gender equality.
Photograph: Kim Chandler/AP

Alabama officially has a new congressional map that will increase the power of Black voters in the state, giving them the chance to elect their preferred candidate in at least two of the states seven congressional districts in 2024. The decision could help Democrats secure a majority in the US House next year.

After the US supreme court twice rebuffed Alabamas request to block drawing an additional district, a three-judge panel chose the new map on Thursday from three proposals offered by Richard Allen, a court-appointed special master. Black voters make up about a quarter of the population in the state, but comprised a majority in just one of the states seven congressional districts under the map Republicans adopted.

The new plan maintains a majority in one of the states districts and creates a second district where Black voters make up 48.7% of the population. That percentage is enough to allow Black voters in the district a chance to elect the candidate of their choosing, the special masters analysis showed.

BREAKING: A federal court has ordered Alabama to use this congressional map for the 2024 elections. It includes two districts (No. 2 and 7) where Black Alabamians have a realistic opportunity to elect their preferred candidate, likely Democratshttps://t.co/khPlUBVPyw pic.twitter.com/JJtnVaNczW  Hansi Lo Wang (he/him) (@hansilowang) October 5, 2023

Black-preferred candidates in the district would have won 16 or 17 recent elections analyzed by the special master. The plan the judges chose splits just six counties and left the cities of Mobile and Birmingham largely whole. In total, the panel ruled, the proposal they adopted made as few changes necessary from the plan the legislature adopted to cure the illegal dilution of Black votes.

The new district stretches from the city of Mobile across Alabamas Black belt, named for its rich topsoil. The region has been marked by extreme poverty and the new district will give voters there more of a voice at the federal level.

Under the Voting Rights Act and binding precedent, the appropriate remedy for racially discriminatory vote dilution is, as we already said, a congressional districting plan that includes either an additional majority-Black district, or an additional district in which Black voters otherwise have an opportunity to elect a representative of their choice, the judges said in their order. This plan satisfies all constitutional and statutory requirements while hewing as closely as reasonably possible to the Alabama legislatures 2023 plan.

Voting in Alabama is highly racially polarized, with Black voters preferring Democrats and white voters preferring Republicans in a general election. Any district that allows Black voters to elect the candidate of their choosing is therefore likely to favor Democrats. Republicans currently have a razor-thin 221-212 advantage in Congresss lower chamber.

The Alabama secretary of state, Wes Allen, a Republican elected last year, said in a statement the state would facilitate the 2024 election cycle in accordance with the map the federal court has forced upon Alabama and ordered us to use.

Alabama Republicans fought aggressively to try and stave off creating an additional Black opportunity district. After the three judge panel initially struck down its map last year, it appealed to the US supreme court, which upheld the lower courts ruling in a surprise move. Alabama then essentially defied both courts, drawing a new map that preserved a Black majority in just one district and increased the Black population in a second district to 41%, not enough to give Black voters the chance to elect the candidate of their choosing.

The three-judge panel bluntly rejected that effort, saying it was disturbed by the evidence that the state delayed remedial proceedings but ultimately did not even nurture the ambition to provide the required remedy.

Alabama again appealed to the US supreme court, which declined to step in and stop redrawing of the map.

The case is seen as a major victory for section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, which prohibits any practice that discriminates on the basis of race. Conservatives have long sought to hollow out the law by making it harder to prove racial discrimination under section 2. The fact that the conservative US supreme court agreed Alabama had crossed a line in this case was understood as a signal that the provision still has some force. Litigation is proceeding on similar grounds in Louisiana and Georgia, which could result in similar additional Black opportunity districts. Last week, the US court of appeals for the fifth circuit took the highly unusual move of stepping in to halt the redrawing of the states congressional map.

In spite of the shameful intransigence of Alabama Republicans, justice has finally prevailed in the state. With this new, fairer map, and for the first time ever, Black voters in Alabama could have two members of Congress representing their interests at the same time. This historic development will strengthen voting rights and ensure equal representation for so many Americans, said the former attorney general Eric Holder, whose non-profit backed some of the plaintiffs in the case.

He added: Other states with pending section 2 cases should view this map, and this process, as both an example of basic fairness and a warning that denying equal representation to Black voters, violating the Voting Rights Act, and defying federal court orders is a direct tie to an odious past and will no longer be tolerated.
Kevin McCarthy

The US House of Representatives is looking for its next Speaker after Republican Kevin McCarthy was ousted in a right-wing revolt from within his own party.

Two leading contenders have emerged but, with Republicans in tumult, it is not clear who will take up the gavel, or when.

Republicans control the lower chamber of Congress with a very narrow majority.

So when eight rebels joined the Democrats last week, McCarthy's fate was sealed in a 216-210 vote. It was the first time a House Speaker, one of the top jobs in US politics, has been removed in this way.

Why was Kevin McCarthy removed?

The rebellion was led by Florida congressman Matt Gaetz after Mr McCarthy relied on Democratic votes to get a short-term spending deal passed and narrowly averted a government shutdown.

Mr Gaetz accused him of making a "secret side deal" that weekend with President Biden on Ukraine aid.

But really this was the final act in a bitter saga that has been simmering all year between the Speaker and a right-wing faction in his party.

Those lawmakers tried to block his election to the post in January, saying he could not be trusted to enact conservative priorities.

In their view, he proved that by striking a deal with Democrats in June to raise the debt ceiling without deep spending cuts.

Now they are the ones being accused of treachery - some Republicans are openly talking about expelling Mr Gaetz.

No Democrat voted to save Mr McCarthy, with the party saying he had broken promises to them, as well.

How is McCarthy being replaced?

On a temporary basis, Patrick McHenry of North Carolina - a close ally of Mr McCarthy - was appointed as the interim Speaker.

He does not have the power to run the chamber but "may exercise such authorities of the office of speaker as may be necessary and appropriate pending the election of a Speaker", according to House rules.

That would appear to rule out bringing legislation to the floor.

In the coming days, Republicans will debate among themselves who should become the full-time Speaker.

There will be a candidate forum on Tuesday, followed by a possible vote on Wednesday or Thursday.

In January, it took Mr McCarthy 15 votes over four days to finally be elected.

Given the bad blood over his removal, and the unresolved disputes between moderate Republicans and the party's right-wingers, whoever takes over will face a steep challenge of uniting warring factions.

Who could replace McCarthy as Speaker?

Two top names have emerged: Steve Scalise and Jim Jordan.

Mr Scalise, from Louisiana, is Mr McCarthy's former deputy.

Mr Jordan of Ohio is a conservative rebel turned party insider.

A third man, Kevin Hern, has stepped aside after initially indicating interest.

Former President Donald Trump has stoked speculation that he would take up the job on a short-term basis if Republicans needed more time to decide - though the party's own leadership regulations technically bar him from doing so.

Mr McCarthy had initially ruled out running again, but has since said he will do "whatever the conference wants".

Why does it matter?

The Speaker runs the chamber and is second in line for the presidency. For nearly a week there has been a vacuum at the top of US government that could persist if Republicans do not decide soon.

There are also important issues the House needs to address in the coming weeks - agreeing an annual budget to avoid a shutdown, deciding on aid to Ukraine and how to proceed with the impeachment inquiry of Joe Biden. With Israel now at war after a shock attack by Hamas, the House could also need to approve an aid package for the major US ally.

A deeper, more long-lasting consequence is a reputational one.

Polling suggests that confidence in government has been falling among Americans for some time.

This chaos may harden that feeling further and add to a sense that the US political system just isn't working.
The McRib is making its triumphant return nearly a year after McDonald's said "farewell" to the iconic sandwich.

The popular fast-food chain announced Wednesday that the McRib will be back in limited supply starting November.

"It turns out not everyone was ready to say goodbye to the McRib after last year's Farewell Tour," McDonald's said in a news release. "While it won't be available nationwide, some lucky fans may find their favorite elusive saucy sandwich at their local McDonald's restaurants this November."

(Photo by David Paul Morris/Getty Images)

What's in the sandwich?

The notorious 520-calorie sandwich contains just five simple ingredients: seasoned boneless pork dipped in BBQ sauce, sliced onions, and dill pickles in a toasted homestyle bun.

"When everything combines you have BBQ pork sandwich perfection," McDonald's said.

The McRib's farewell tour

Last October, McDonald's launched a "farewell tour" for the McRib, bringing the sandwich back to its menus for a month, but the company teased that a comeback was possible, CBS Philadelphia reported.

"Like any true farewell tour, we're hoping this isn't a 'goodbye' but a 'see you later,'" the restaurant said in a news release. "You never know when  or if  the McRib is coming back."

McDonald's first added the McRib to menus in Kansas City in 1981, according to CBS News Austin.

The chain pulled it from its menu four years later, but the sandwich has become a cult favorite among McDonald's loyalists in recent years. It was previously sold regionally before expanding to all of its US restaurants in 2020, CBS News Austin reported.

Furniture company Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams went bankrupt overnight. Here's how.

Saturday Sessions: Alvvays performs "Easy On Your Own?"

Saturday Sessions: Alvvays performs "After the Earthquake"
New Mexico's top law enforcement official announced this week that a police officer has been charged with voluntary manslaughter in the killing of a Black man at a gas station last summer.

Las Cruces Officer Brad Lunsford was booked Tuesday, but officials did not detain him, New Mexico Attorney General Raul Torrez told reporters at a news conference.

Lunsford allegedly shot Presley Eze at a Chevron gas station on the afternoon of Aug. 2, 2022 after an employee called 911 to report that Eze had left the store without paying for a beer, according to the attorney general's office.

Lunsford was the first officer to arrive to the scene. Lunsford questioned Eze and, after he was "unable to verify Eze's identity," the officer "forcibly removed Eze from the vehicle in order to detain him," the attorney general's office said in a news release.

Police apprehend Presley Eze at a gas station in New Mexico on Aug. 2, 2022. (KOB)

Eze, who was unarmed and shirtless, allegedly resisted attempts to take him into custody. The attorney general's office said a "scuffle ensued," with Eze ending up on the ground, on top of one of the officers who responded.

Eze put his hand on the second officer's taser and, in response, Lunsford pulled out his gun and shot Eze on the left side of his head at point-blank range, according to the news release.

Luis Robles, Lunsford's lawyer, did not immediately respond to an email requesting comment Thursday.

Eze was the oldest son of Nigerian immigrants who lived in Connecticut, according to a family spokesman who spoke at the attorney general's news conference Tuesday. He worked at a nursing home in Las Cruces, the spokesman said.

The attorney general's office investigated the killing, consulting with experts on the use of force who reviewed body camera footage and determined that the officer's use of deadly force was "not reasonable under the circumstances."

"The killing of Presley Eze is a tragedy and serves as yet another example of poor police tactics resulting in an unjustifiable use of force to subdue an individual resisting arrest for the commission of a minor crime," Torrez told reporters.

Police killings of Black people across the United States in recent years have drawn wide attention, sparking waves of social justice protests and renewing attention on allegations of police brutality.
By Dave Graham

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) -Mexico on Thursday rejected U.S. plans to build new sections of wall at the U.S.-Mexico border as top officials from both countries met in the Mexican capital to discuss immigration and security.

Before sitting down with U.S. officials including Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador condemned the latest wall plan as a "step backwards".

Amid an increase in the number of people crossing into the U.S. from Mexico, the United States said it would build additional sections of border wall in Starr County, Texas, carrying forward a signature policy of the Trump administration.

At the talks, officials pledged to step up cooperation to combat drug trafficking, organized crime and to ease migratory pressures on the border. Afterwards, Mexico's Foreign Minister Alicia Barcena underlined Mexico's opposition to the wall.

"We believe in bridges, not in walls," she said, speaking at a press conference alongside Blinken and Mayorkas.

Lopez Obrador has praised U.S. President Joe Biden for not building more border wall during his administration. The barrier was a major bone of contention between the United States and Mexico during Donald Trump's presidency.

The U.S. government said Thursday's action did not deviate from Biden's opposition to the wall because money that was allocated during Trump's term in 2019 had to be spent now.

Barcena indicated the U.S. funds would not necessarily be used for erecting walls.

"I understand it's not going to be via walls, it'll be via technologies, it'll be via other kinds of installations," she said. "I think this is what Secretary Mayorkas was kind enough to explain to us, because obviously we expressed our concern."

The U.S. delegation had explained the budget situation and that the measures did not represent a new policy, she said.

Still, 2024 is presidential election year in both the United States and Mexico and the resurgence of the wall could become a significant talking point on both sides of the border.

Lopez Obrador blamed the extreme right of the Republican Party for pushing the administration of Biden, a Democrat, to approve construction of new sections of the wall.

Blinken said he had an "extremely positive, productive conversation" with Lopez Obrador, and expressed confidence that Mexico would help the U.S. on the opioid fentanyl, which is illicitly manufactured and a major cause of overdoses, according to U.S. health authorities.

During his meeting with Lopez Obrador, Blinken thanked him for Mexico's efforts leading to the Sept. 15 extradition of Ovidio Guzman, a son of incarcerated kingpin Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman, State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said.

U.S. officials have depicted Ovidio and some of his brothers as major traffickers of fentanyl to the U.S.

However, roadside banners that appeared this week stated the Guzman siblings have banned production and sales of fentanyl in their stronghold, the northern state of Sinaloa.

Who is most responsible for the fentanyl problem is contentious. Mexican Security Minister Rosa Icela Rodriguez told the press conference that Mexico does not produce fentanyl, and only serves as a transit point for the drug going north.

Still, Barcena said clandestine fentanyl labs had cropped up in Mexico, and were being rooted out.

(Reporting by Dave Graham; Additional reporting by Ismail Shakil and Simon LewisEditing by Howard Goller, Sandra Maler and Grant McCool)
Facing a pileup of spending bills and a possible government shutdown, 20 Republican senators led by Sen. Rick Scott (Fla.) say they will delay any legislation moving on the Senate floor that does not relate directly to funding the government.

Scott circulated a letter at the Senate Republican lunch Wednesday warning Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) that GOP lawmakers will not tolerate further delay to the annual appropriations bills, none of which has yet passed the Senate.

Nothing can stand in the way of this work. For this reason, we the undersigned senators pledge to withhold our support for any vote to proceed to items unrelated to appropriations bills, the senators wrote.

The GOP senators are warning Schumer not to bring any non-appropriations bills to the Senate floor because they fear that letting the spending legislation pile up until December will inevitably lead to Congress passing another massive omnibus spending package.

We urge you to present a plan to the Republican Conference for how you intend to pass the remaining appropriations bills and conference them with the House in a manner that respects an open amendment process and which does not end in a December omnibus spending package, they wrote.

The senators, however, pledged to consider the spending bills expeditiously if Schumer commits to a plan for passing them in an orderly way and with an open amendment process.

The signatories include Senate Republican Whip John Thune (S.D.), Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas), Senate Republican Conference Chairman John Barrasso (Wyo.), GOP Policy Committee Chairwoman Joni Ernst (Iowa) and GOP Conference Vice Chairwoman Shelley Moore-Capito (W.Va.).

Sens. Mike Braun (Ind.), Katie Britt (Ala.), Ted Cruz (Texas), Mike Lee (Utah), Kevin Cramer (N.D.), Cindy Hyde-Smith (Miss.), Ron Johnson (Wis.), Cynthia Lummis (Wyo.), Roger Marshall (Kan.), Eric Schmitt (Mo.), Thom Tillis (N.C.), Tommy Tuberville (Ala.) and Roger Wicker (Miss.) also signed the letter.

Republicans on Wednesday expressed frustration over Schumers decision not to bring a spending bill to the floor this week before senators leave for the Columbus Day recess.

Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), the vice chairwoman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, said she was puzzled why Schumer instead scheduled votes on noncontroversial nominees this week.

Cornyn on Tuesday called for Schumer to cancel the recess so senators would have more time to debate the annual spending days.

We had 45 days from Saturday to fund the government on an ongoing basis, and the majority leader has chosen to send the members of the Senate home for the next two weeks. Its outrageous. Its irresponsible. The American people deserve better, he said.

Cornyn on Wednesday told Schumer to quit wasting time and get moving on the appropriations bills right away.

That sentiment was echoed by the senators who signed Scotts letter to Schumer.

There is no more important work for the Senate during this time than debating, amending and passing appropriations bills without resorting to a giant package dumped on the conference right before the December holiday, they wrote.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Does a person with a disability need to face physical discrimination from a hotel to warrant a lawsuit or is the hotels failure to provide their accessibility information online enough? What if they have no intention of visiting the hotel?

Its a distinction that the Supreme Court will have to decide in the case of Acheson Hotels LLC v Deborah Laufer, should they even decide to rule on the initial question presented.

The case, which the Court agreed to hear in March, was raised by Deborah Laufer, a woman living with multiple sclerosis . She filed a lawsuit against Acheson Hotels LLC for failing to provide accessibility information for their hotel in Maine.

Its as if you went up to a reservation desk in a wheelchair and the hotel had a practice of just ignoring anyone in a wheelchair telling them to just call a number, Kelsi Brown Corkan, the attorney representing Ms Laufer said during oral arguments on Wednesday.

There is a dignity harm in being treated as invisible and not as a potential participant in the marketplace, she added. Laufer acknowledges that she had no intention of staying at the hotels.

Like any Supreme Court case, there are some complications. But at its core, the case raises concerns about information accessibility online.

Ms Laufer acts as a self-appointed tester for other people living with disabilities to ensure hotels are acting in accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), the 1990 law meant to protect the rights of people with disabilities and make public establishments more accessible.

After being diagnosed with multiple sclerosis at 40, she noted the difficulty in finding accessible travel and chose to file hundreds of lawsuits against hotels for failing to provide accessible information online.

One of the more than 500 she filed included Coast Village Inn and Cottages, a small hotel once owned by Acheson Hotels LLC.

But Acheson Hotels refuted Ms Laufers claims, saying she did not face harmful discrimination because she had no intention of visiting.

In this case, we think what really happened here was that there was a bar to accessing the hotel which doesnt become relevant until the plaintiff actually tries to do that, Adam Unikowsky, the attorney representing Acheson Hotels LLC, said on Wednesday.

Justices Brett Kavanaugh and Neil Gorsuch both questioned how someone experiences discrimination on a website, seemingly empathizing with Mr Unikowskys perspective.

Former senator Tom Harkin, one of the chief sponsors of the ADA, said the ADA Amendments Act of 2008 addressed these questions about websites.

And that's there in terms of accessibility of technology, websites, everything else, Mr Harkin, who retired from the Senate in 2015, told The Independent. They're supposed to be accessible. I don't know about testing. But why can't she check and see if they're accessible or not?

On the other hand, Justice Sonia Sotomayor, who has Type 1 diabetes, pointed out how the internet has had a pivotal role in providing necessary information to people with disabilities and a lack of accessibility may be a problem.

The Court will need to ruminate on these points to determine an answer to the question presented, another issue is humming in the background: whether the case is even worth ruling on.

Over the summer, Ms Laufer withdrew her lawsuit against Acheson Hotels after her former attorney received disciplinary action for improper conduct because he misrepresented the work he did related to ADA lawsuits.

As a result, Ms Laufer filed a motion to have the case dismissed  something she did to avoid tainting the suit to appear less legitimate in her fight to advocate for people with disabilities, according to The Washington Post.

But Acheson Hotels asked the court to oppose Ms Laufers motion, despite the company no longer operating the hotel that the lawsuits initially targeted.

Part of Mr Unikowskys arguments is that the Court should set a precedent to no longer allow people like Ms Laufer to file hundreds of lawsuits against companies and then settle to receive money.

In a filing, Mr Unikowsky said These lawsuits burdened small businesses, clogged the judicial system, and undermined the Executive Branchs exclusive authority to enforce federal law.

Selma Blair (R), Actress and Disability Rights Advocate, introduces U.S. President Joe Biden during an event honoring the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and Rehabilitation Act (Rehab Act) at the White House on 2 October 2023 (Getty Images)

The court hearing comes just days after President Joe Biden hosted an event at the White House celebrating the 33rd anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act and the 50th anniversary of the Rehabilitation Act.

In a sign of how inaccessible even events meant to celebrate people with disabilities were, the event was held on the South Lawn of the White House with only two runways laid out for people with disabilities, meaning some people had to push extra hard to move through the grass.

Mr Biden spoke about the increase in accessibility that has come for people with disabilities since the two landmark laws, both of which he co-sponsored in the US Senate, passed.

But many disability rights activists expressed concern about the fact the law for which they celebrated could be unraveled.

"We certainly want to make sure that the ADA survives everything, Representative Jan Schakowsky of Illinois told The Independent. So, you know, to the extent that it could be a bad judgment of the Supreme Court, Im hoping that the justices will see better.

Should the Court decide to issue a ruling on the original question presented, a decision in favour of Acheson Hotels could limit the ability of ADA testers to hold places of public accommodation accountable in their accessible information online.

Senator Tammy Duckworth, who lost both her legs when her helicopter was shot while serving in Iraq, expressed concern about the case.

Well see how it goes, but I think weve got a good case, she told The Independent during the event at the White House. Ms Duckworth has spoken out previously about how she continues to face discrimination for her disabilities.

At an event in July with the American Association of People with Disabilities, Ms Duckworth spoke about how she went to see the Barbie movie with her daughters but was not able to see it since the cinema staff only told her that the elevator was broken after she purchased their tickets.

Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) arrives for a briefing on Ukraine at the U.S. Capitol on September 20, 2023 (Getty Images)

The latest Supreme Court case comes as the Biden administration has implemented new rules to expand protections for people with disabilities. Last week, the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities announced that it would designate people with disabilities as a population with health disparities, which would open up federal dollars for research.

In July, the Department of Transportation announced a new rule that would require airline toilets be more accessible for people with disabilities.

Susan Mizner of the ACLUs Disability Rights Program said in a press release that, absent robust federal monitoring and enforcement, civil rights testers fill a critical role in ensuring businesses nationwide are in compliance with the ADAs accessibility requirements.

"I think its already tenuous the way you know how we can actually get the law enforced," Jim LeBrecht, a disability rights activist and filmmaker who directed the Academy Award-nominated movie Crip Camp, told The Independent.

Mr LeBrecht criticised how Mr Unikowsky argued that people with disabilities should make a polite phone call or email to hotels to update their accessibility information online than a lawsuit.

"I am truly without words hearing that because the law has been around for a long time," Mr LeBrecht said. The people that actually spent the money to become accessible, how dare they try to defend themselves by saying: Well, if you were more polite about this. They just didnt want to do it.
Mike Dulak grew up Catholic in Southern California, but by his teen years, he began skipping Mass and driving straight to the shore to play guitar, watch the waves and enjoy the beauty of the morning. And it felt more spiritual than any time I set foot in a church, he recalled.

Nothing has changed that view in the ensuing decades.

Most religions are there to control people and get money from them, said Dulak, now 76, of Rocheport, Missouri. He also cited sex abuse scandals in Catholic and Southern Baptist churches. I cant buy into that, he said.

As Dulak rejects being part of a religious flock, he has plenty of company. He is a none  no, not that kind of nun. The kind that checks none when pollsters ask Whats your religion?

The decades-long rise of the nones  a diverse, hard-to-summarize group  is one of the most talked about phenomena in U.S. religion. They are reshaping America's religious landscape as we know it.

In U.S. religion today, the most important story without a shadow of a doubt is the unbelievable rise in the share of Americans who are nonreligious, said Ryan Burge, a political science professor at Eastern Illinois University and author of The Nones, a book on the phenomenon.

The nones account for a large portion of Americans, as shown by the 30% of U.S. adults who claim no religious affiliation in a survey by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.

Other major surveys say the nones have been steadily increasing for as long as three decades.

So who are they?

Theyre the atheists, the agnostics, the nothing in particular. Many are spiritual but not religious, and some are neither or both. They span class, gender, age, race and ethnicity.

While the nones diversity splinters them into myriad subgroups, most of them have this in common:

They. Really. Dont. Like. Organized. Religion.

Nor its leaders. Nor its politics and social stances. Thats according to a large majority of nones in the AP-NORC survey.

But theyre not just a statistic. They're real people with unique relationships to belief and nonbelief, and the meaning of life.

Theyre secular homeschoolers in the Ozark Mountains of Arkansas, Pittsburghers working to overcome addiction. Theyre a mandolin maker in a small Missouri town, a former evangelical disillusioned with that particular strain of American Christianity. Theyre college students who found their childhood churches unpersuasive or unwelcoming.

Church was not very good for me, said Emma Komoroski, a University of Missouri freshman who left her childhood Catholicism in her mid-teens. Im a lesbian. So that was kind of like, oh, I didnt really fit, and people dont like me.

The nones also are people like Alric Jones, who cited bad experiences with organized religion ranging from the intolerant churches of his hometown to the ministry that kept soliciting money from his devout late wife  even after Jones lost his job and income after an injury.

They should have come to us and said, Is there something we can do to help you? said Jones, 71, of central Michigan. They kept sending us letters saying, Why arent you sending us money?

Although he doesnt believe in organized religion, he believes in God and basic ethical precepts. People should be treated equally as long as they treat other people equally. Thats my spirituality if you want to call it that.

These days, if a visiting relative wants to attend church, hell go along, but Im not prone to listening to anybody telling me this is the way it should be, Jones said.

About 1 in 6 U.S. adults, including Jones and Dulak, is a nothing in particular. There are as many of them as atheists and agnostics combined (7% each).

All the media attention is on atheists and agnostics, when most nones are not atheist or agnostic, Burge said.

Many embrace a range of spiritual beliefs  from God, prayer and heaven to karma, reincarnation, astrology or energy in crystals.

They are definitely not as turned off to religion as atheists and agnostics are, Burge said. They practice their own type of spirituality, many of them.

Dulak still draws inspiration from nature.

It just feels so good to be next to something so timeless, he said, sitting in his yard in the Missouri River town he now calls home.

He finds similar fulfillment in his two-story workshop, where he makes the latest of thousands of mandolins he has created over the decades, enabling people to share the joy of music.

It feels spiritually good, Dulak said. Its not a religion.

Burge said the nones are rising as the Christian population declines, particularly the mainline or moderate to liberal Protestants.

This is not just some academic exercise for me, said Burge, who pastors a dwindling American Baptist church in Mt. Vernon, Illinois. Its what Ive seen every single Sunday of my life the last 16 years.

The statistics show the nones are well-represented in every age group, but especially among young adults. About four in 10 of those under 30 are nones  nearly as many as say they're Christians.

The trend was evident in interviews on the University of Missouri campus. Several students said they didnt identify with a religion.

Mia Vogel said she likes the foundations of a lot of religions  just love everybody, accept everybody. But she considers herself more spiritual.

Im pretty into astrology. Ive got my crystals charging up in my window right now, she said. Honestly, Ill bet half of it is a total placebo. But I just like the idea that things in life can be explained by greater forces.

One movement that exemplifies the spiritual but not religious ethos is the Twelve Step sobriety program, pioneered by Alcoholics Anonymous and adopted by other recovery groups. Participants turn to a power greater than ourselves  the God of each persons own understanding  but they dont share any creed.

If you look at the religions, they have been wracked by scandals, it doesnt matter the denomination, said the Rev. Jay Geisler, an Episcopal priest who is spiritual advisor at the Pittsburgh Recovery Center, an addiction treatment site.

In contrast, theres actually a spiritual revival in the basement of many of the churches, where recovery groups often meet, he said.

For some, Geisler said, the God of their understanding is GUS, for Guy UpStairs. Or SAM, for Sure Aint Me.

Nobodys fighting in those rooms, theyre not saying, Youre wrong about God, Geisler said. The focus is on how your life is changed.

Participants echoed those thoughts recently at the center. In keeping with the Twelve Step tradition of anonymity, they shared their experiences on condition only their first names be used.

I grew up Methodist, but I dont follow any religion, said John, 32. I dont believe in a big, bearded dude in the sky. But after surviving overdoses, he knows that something has been watching over me.

Some identified as Christian, but skip evangelizing in favor of supporting each others individual paths.

I dont push my belief on anybody, said Linda, 57. The pain bonds us.

Those interviewed said their newfound community is essential to their recovery  and the lack of community contributed to their initial fall into addiction.

Scholars worry that, as people pull away from congregations and other social groups, they are losing sources of communal support.

But nones said in interviews they were happy to leave religion behind, particularly in toxic situations, and find community elsewhere.

Jones agreed that church connections can have benefits  but not for him.

When you need references and you need other things, those people are there to support you, he said. But again, what are you willing to sacrifice of your own beliefs to develop that kind of relationship?

Marjorie Logman, 75, of Aurora, Illinois, now finds community among other residents in her multigenerational apartment complex. She doesnt miss the evangelical circles she was long active in.

The farther away I get, the freer I feel, she said, criticizing churches for prioritizing money over caring for people. She recalled seeing church leaders tell people with depression their problem was sin or demonic possession  piling guilt upon unaddressed mental illness.

When she was recovering from an injury at a nursing home in 2010, Logman said, her husband was home by himself in despair and died before she could return home. She said her pastor refused to visit him because he hadnt been involved in church.

She now identifies as agnostic. Im not throwing in the towel on everything, she said. I still believe in a higher consciousness.

Even far from urban centers, nones are finding community.

Adria Cays and Ashley Miller, who live in nearby towns in northwest Arkansas, helped found a group for parents homeschooling according to secular principles.

Even in a predominately Christian region of the Ozarks, they found people like us who were approaching education and just raising their children from a more secular view, said Miller, 35.

The women's families regularly share hiking adventures on Instagram. While they dont describe their explorations as spiritual, they aim to inspire wonder and purpose in their children.

We really want them to have a deep connection to nature, said Cays, 43.

Added Miller: We are part of something bigger, and that is the Earth. There is meaning just in being.

__

AP journalists Linley Sanders, Emily Swanson and Jessie Wardarski contributed.

___

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.

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The poll of 1,680 adults was conducted May 11-15 using a sample drawn from NORCs probability-based AmeriSpeak Panel, which is designed to be representative of the U.S. population. The margin of sampling error for all respondents is plus or minus 3.4 percentage points.
Khartoum, Oct 5 (UNI) Nine civilians have been killed and 15 more have been wounded as a result of a strike on a medical center at a mosque in Khartoum Bahri, a city to the north of Khartoum, by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) paramilitary group, Sudanese armed forces spokesman Nabil Abdallah said Wednesday.

"The dissolved rebel Rapid Support Forces have shelled a medical center at a mosque in Bahri, having killed nine civilians and injured 15 others," Abdallah said.

The paramilitary group has yet to make an official statement on the shelling.

On April 15, violent clashes broke out between the Sudanese army and the RSF. Paramilitary commander Gen. Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo accused Abdel Fattah Burhan, the head of the Sudanese sovereignty council and commander of the armed forces, of being reluctant to hand over power to the civilian government. The parties to the conflict have since introduced a number of temporary nationwide ceasefires, but none has helped settle the conflict.

The UN estimates the death toll from the conflict in the hundreds, while the Red Cross has warned that extended hostilities risk crumbling the country's healthcare system.

UNI/SPUTNIK AKS
What will it take for those in Congress who all have been on the sidelines and refuse to do anything meaningful around guns to join their colleagues who have been long in the fight? said Baltimore City Mayor Brandon Scott.

The Morgan State University community is rattled after Baltimore police say a gunman opened fire into a crowd of people as they were leaving a homecoming event Tuesday night.

Baltimore City Mayor Brandon Scott told theGrio that this incident highlights the need for gun reform and that Congress needs to take action.

Morgan State University Police Chief Lance Hatcher speaks at a news conference after a shooting on campus, Wednesday, Oct. 4, 2023, in Baltimore. Multiple people were wounded, none critically, in a shooting that interrupted a homecoming week celebration at the university in Baltimore on Tuesday and prompted an hourslong lockdown of the historically Black college. (AP Photo/Julia Nikhinson)

Gun violence has been an epidemic in our countrylonger than Ive been alive, said Mayor Scott.

What will it take for those in Congress who all have been on the sidelines and refuse to do anything meaningful around guns to join their colleagues who have been long in the fight? What will it take for them to do something? he continued.

The Baltimore City mayor told theGrio that Congress should ban ghost guns, assault rifles and printable 3-D guns to curb gun violence.

Around 9 p.m. Tuesday evening, a crowd of people exited the universitys Carl J. Murphy Fine Arts Center following the annual coronation where Mr. and Miss Morgan State University are crowned during homecoming week.

Jamal Brandon, a junior at Morgan State University and the chapter president of the schools Iota Phi Theta Fraternity, Inc., witnessed the ordeal and told theGrio, Everything when it first started was going on without a hitch.

The coronation went beautifully, and then as we all left the concert hallto just congregate and just take pictures and whatnot, the shooting apparently started at the new Thurgood [building], Brandon recalled. One of the stray bullets hit Murphy, and thats when people started to panic and started running.

U.S. Rep. Glenn Ivey, D-Md., told theGrio that he agrees with Mayor Scott.

I think its important for us to make sure we try to have a comprehensive and coordinated approach to fighting gun violence, and I think that includes additional action from Congress for sure, said the congressman.

I think part of that is going to include legislative efforts in Congress, legislative efforts in Annapolis and the local jurisdictions.

Ivey added, I think we have to be very thorough in working through solutions to this deeply ingrained and horrific problem that we have here in the United States.

Holmes Hall at historically Black college Morgan State University in Baltimore, Maryland is shown. Following the Supreme Courts affirmative action ruling, Morgan State President David Wilson supports increasing government financing for HBCUs as they develop into the models of diversity in American higher education. (Photo: Adobe Stock)

The Maryland lawmaker, who is currently working on legislation that aims to ban assault rifles, told theGrio, Its ironic that this is the week were remembering Sen. Dianne Feinstein, and she was the primary author of the assault weapons ban that lasted for ten years.

[The ban] had a measurable impact in reducing gun violence. We need to try and get back to that, he said.

Rep. Sydney Kamlager-Dove, D-Calif., a member of the Gun Violence Prevention Task Force on Capitol Hill, told theGrio that Congress should be doing more.

Unfortunately, in this moment, were at a standstill because we dont have a speaker, and probably one of the reasons why we havent been able to take up gun reform is because we had a speaker and a majority that doesnt care about gun violence, said Kamlager-Dove.

They dont care about young people now having to integrate shooting drills into their daily school activities.

The California lawmaker told theGrio, I hope that the next speaker will come in with eyes wide open to recognize that this is a critical issue and gun violence in the United States is an existential threat.

The incident at Morgan State last night marks the third year in a row that a shooting has taken place on the universitys campus around homecoming.

In 2022, a 20-year-old man was shot while attending a homecoming party on the universitys campus. The victim was in stable condition following the shooting and survived his injuries.

In 2021, while current students and alumni participated in homecoming festivities, a gunman opened fire, shooting an 18-year-old male student in the chest. The victim survived his injuries after being treated at a local hospital.

Mayor Scott said Morgan State University is a national treasure, adding, I call Morgan State, Baltimores University, and were going to continue to support such a great institution.

A police officer searches for evidence in front of a building at Morgan State University after a shooting, Wednesday, Oct. 4, 2023, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Julia Nikhinson)

We wont let one incident where someone decided to cowardly shoot in a crowd, outshine the greatness that those students and staff and the executive team at Morgan produce each and every day, said Scott.

At this time, the gunman is still at large, and the Baltimore City Police Department is working in conjunction with the Morgan State University Police Department to investigate the shooting.

TheGrio is FREE on your TV via Apple TV, Amazon Fire, Roku, and Android TV. Please download theGrio mobile apps today!

The post Baltimore mayor calls out Congress for gun reform after Morgan State University shooting appeared first on TheGrio.
JOINT BASE ELMENDORF-RICHARDSON, Alaska (AP)  Two bears on an Alaska military base raided a Krispy Kreme doughnut van that was stopped outside a convenience store during its delivery route.

The driver usually left his doors open when he stopped at the store but this time a sow and one of her cubs that loiter nearby sauntered inside, where they stayed for probably 20 minutes Tuesday morning, said Shelly Deano, the store manager for Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson JMM Express. The bears chomped on doughnut holes and other pastries, ignoring the banging on the side of the van that was aimed at shooing them away, Deano said.

I was beating on the van and they're not moving. I could hear them breaking open the packages and everything, she said. I was like, 'They dont even care.'

When the bears couldn't be roused, base security was called and sounded sirens meant to scare away the bears, she said.

The bears eventually came out and wandered in front of the convenience store and gas station a bit before heading into the woods.

It's not unusual to see bears on base or around the store but nothing like this has happened before, Deano said, adding that the delivery driver now closes his doors when he stops at the shop.

Were cautious when we come in, when we leave. When we take out garbage, we do it in pairs, especially if its dark, she said.

Capt. Lexi Smith, a spokesperson at the base, said authorities on base are aware of this and other wildlife situations throughout the past several months.

We urge the public to use caution to ensure you are protecting our wildlife and yourselves. Wildlife may be our neighbor, but they should not be attracted to our human food sources, she said by email.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will investigate possible racial discrimination in Alabamas management of funds that can be used to bolster sewage infrastructure.

In a notice issued Tuesday, the Biden administration said it will look into whether the state excludes residents from participating in its water infrastructure program or denies them benefits on the basis of race.

The decision comes after civil rights and environmental groups accused Alabama of discriminating against Black residents through the management of its clean water funds.

Their complaint states that Alabama makes it impossible for people who need help with onsite sanitation to access this money  a problem that disproportionately harm[s] Alabamas Black residents.

Specifically, they say that Alabamas Department of Environmental Management blocks access to the funds in a number of ways, including not considering financial need, conducting inadequate outreach to disadvantaged communities and giving few points in its scoring system to people who use at-home sewer systems rather than public systems.

In doing so, they argue that the state perpetuates harms caused by sewage exposure and denies Black residents an equal opportunity to compete for federal funding.

The fact that the EPA is investigating does not mean that the allegations will be substantiated. In fact, the EPA recently dropped a civil rights probe into Louisiana, saying it did not find civil rights violations there.

Under the Biden administration, EPA Administrator Michael Regan has toured a number of states, looking to address racial and other forms of inequality linked to environmental issues.

The state of Alabama disagrees with the allegations underlying the agencys newest probe.

Alabama has made addressing the wastewater and drinking water needs of disadvantaged communities a priority in awarding federal funding, said M. Lynn Battle, a spokesperson for the Alabama Department of Environmental Management, in an email.

Battle said that in 2022, 34 percent of the wastewater and drinking water funding awarded by the agency went to communities in the Black Belt region  the one that the civil rights complaint says is facing harms.

She said the department recognizes the challenges faced by poor, disadvantaged and minority communities due to inadequate resources and welcomes the opportunity to provide information to EPA to counter the allegations in the complaints and to answer any questions the federal agency might have.

Alabamas Black Belt region stretches across several southern-central counties of the state. It is named for its dark, fertile soil. It has a significant African American and low-income population.

A lot of people lack access to a centralized wastewater treatment system and so they have either septic systems that dont work and are failing or in many cases, people discharge the sewage from their homes in whats called a straight pipe, which just dumps the sewage, untreated, into their yard, said Becky Hammer, a senior attorney at the Natural Resources Defense Council, one of the groups who complained.

The complaint says that the smell of sewage in the area can be a near-constant nuisance and that rain can mean that there will be a sewage backup into peoples homes.

Other residents bar their children from playing in their yards because of the risk of exposure to human waste, it states.

The sewage problem has also come under criticism from the United Nations, and a representative in 2017 described seeing various houses in rural areas that were surrounded by cesspools of sewage that flowed out of broken or non-existent septic systems.

In that statement, Philip Alston, U.N. special rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights, said the problem doesnt appear on the political or governmental radar screen since most of the impacted residents are Black.

The Justice Department in 2021 launched a separate investigation into accusations of discrimination amid sewage-related issues in the state. It settled that case earlier this year, requiring Alabamas Department of Public Health to create a plan to improve access to adequate sanitation in the Black Belts Lowndes County.

Hammer noted that the case in question did not deal with water infrastructure funds, which the current probe does.

What were asking for is for changes in how Alabama runs the Clean Water State Revolving Fund program, she said.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
By Andrew Gray, Gabriela Baczynska and Belen Carreno

GRANADA, Spain (Reuters) -Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy warned European leaders on Thursday that Russia could rebuild its military capabilities and attack other countries within five years if the continent were to waver in its support for Kyiv.

Zelenskiy, attending a summit of the European Political Community, also said he remained confident of continued U.S. and European financial aid despite "political storms" in Washington and elsewhere.

In an emotional speech, Zelenskiy described how Ukrainian children in the eastern city of Kharkiv were learning remotely or attending classes in subway stations because of air raids.

"Until there is a fully effective air defence system, children cannot attend school," he told the gathering in the Spanish city of Granada, some 4,000 kilometres (2,485 miles) west of Kharkiv.

Providing additional military equipment to Ukraine could mean that a "drone, tank, or any other Russian weapon will not strike anyone else in Europe", he said.

"We must not allow (Russian President Vladimir) Putin to destabilize any other parts of the world and our partners in order to ruin Europe's power," Zelenskiy said.

"The presence of Russia, its military or proxies in the territory of any other country is a threat to all of us. We must work together to push Russia out of the territory of other countries."

COMMITMENT

The European Political Community was established last year following Russia's invasion of Ukraine to foster cooperation among more than 40 countries from Norway to Albania.

The Granada gathering gives leaders such as French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak a chance to re-state their commitment to Ukraine after political turbulence in both the U.S. and Europe raised questions about continued support.

A dispute among the Republican majority in the U.S. House of Representatives has complicated budget negotiations and prompted President Joe Biden, a Democrat, to go from confidence that a deal will be made on Ukraine aid to openly expressing concern.

Support in Europe has also appeared less rock-solid after pro-Russian former prime minister Robert Fico won an election in Slovakia last weekend on pledges to end military aid to Ukraine.

Zelenskiy played down such concerns, saying: "I am confident in America. They are strong people with strong institutions, and a strong democracy."

The head of the European Commission, the EU executive, Ursula von der Leyen, said the bloc was working on a 50 billion-euro Ukraine package for 2024-2027, adding that she was "very confident" about continued U.S. help for Kyiv.

Individual countries also made pledges in Granada.

Zelenskiy said on X, formerly Twitter, that he had discussed with Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, the summit host, a new military aid package, energy assistance, and how to keep open a corridor in the Black Sea for Ukrainian grain exports.

A Spanish government source said Madrid would provide air defence and anti-drone systems to Ukraine as well as training for Ukrainian soldiers in how to use them.

Russia pulled out of a deal in July that had allowed Ukraine - a leading global grain exporter - to safely ship food products out via the Black Sea.

Russia has so far rejected U.N. overtures to revive the deal, while Ukraine is continuing some exports via what it calls a temporary "humanitarian corridor" for cargo vessels.

Ukraine's efforts to export grain overland via EU countries have caused tensions with Poland and some other eastern members of the bloc that are keen to protect their own farmers. Kyiv and Brussels are also discussing expanding alternative sea routes.

CHALLENGES

The summit will also discuss efforts by Ukraine and others to join the EU as well as how to tackle increasing arrivals of refugees and migrants from the Middle East and Africa - both seen as existential challenges for the bloc.

"Going from an EU of 27 to an EU of 35 will create many challenges internally. We will open in Granada this large debate that will take us to a deep reform of the EU," said Sanchez.

Talks on the margins of Thursday's gathering will focus on crises between Azerbaijan and Armenia and between Serbia and Kosovo, which have flared in recent weeks amid floundering EU efforts at mediation.

Hopes for a first meeting between the leaders of Azerbaijan and Armenia since Baku's military operation last month to wrest back control of the Nagorno-Karabakh enclave were dashed when Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev decided not to attend.

Many EU leaders have condemned the Azerbaijani operation, which triggered an exodus of more than 100,000 ethnic Armenians.

Others, mindful that Baku increased gas supplies to the EU during an energy crunch last year, have stressed the need to focus on helping Armenia cope with the immediate humanitarian crisis, as well as providing political and economic support.

(Additional reporting by Inti Landauro in Granada, Andreas Rinke in Berlin, Anna Pruchnicka and Bart Meijer, Sudip Kar-Gupta, Marine Strauss in Brussels; writing by Charlie Devereux; editing by Gareth Jones)
By Jasper Ward and Kanishka Singh

(Reuters) -Former University of Southern California (USC) campus gynecologist George Tyndall, who had been set to stand trial over accusations he sexually assaulted patients, has died, his defense attorney said on Thursday.

Tyndall's lawyer, Leonard Levine, told Reuters on Thursday that a close friend found Tyndall unresponsive after he failed to return phone calls. He said the cause of death was likely natural and Tyndall seemed to have died in his sleep.

Tyndall, who had denied wrongdoing, lost his medical license and was charged with sexually assaulting 21 patients under the guise of gynecological treatment or exams.

A Los Angeles Superior Court judge ruled that prosecutors had presented sufficient evidence for him to stand trial, which was expected to begin next year.

In 2021, USC reached a record $852 million settlement with more than 700 women who had accused Tyndall of sexually abusing them as patients and the prestigious school of trying to cover it up. University officials have acknowledged failing to act on a number of complaints made against Tyndall but denied a deliberate cover-up.

Tyndall practiced at USC for nearly 30 years before the private, Los Angeles-based university suspended him in 2016.

"All he ever wanted was his day in court, which he was confident would end in his complete exoneration," Levine said, reiterating that his client denied all allegations.

The accusers of Tyndall said his death meant he avoided accountability.

"I'm not happy that he died. I wanted to see him convicted for what he did," Audry Nafziger, a former patient who accused Tyndall of abuse, told the L.A. Times.

"He got away with it... I'm at a loss to explain this to my clients," said John Manly, an attorney of Tyndall's accusers.

(Reporting by Jasper Ward and Kanishka Singh in Washington; Editing by Lisa Shumaker and Rosalba O'Brien)
Miss Asia Malaysia winner Luwe Xin Hui has been embroiled in a bullying scandal (Screengrab/ATV News/YouTube)

Luwe Xin Huis moment of glory after being crowned Miss Asia Malaysia was short-lived. The beauty queen shared news of her win on her social media channels  but what followed was a torrent of accusations that have thrown the competition and its victor into chaos.

On 26 September, after winning the crown, 23-year-old Luwe shared a photo of her coronation on Instagram. But users claiming to be her former classmates soon flooded her comments section with accusations that she was once a school bully, as well as that she cheated on university papers.

A native of Malacca in Malaysia, the digital content creator-turned-beauty queen finds herself in the eye of a storm that has gripped the country, with at least 80 allegations of bullying levied against her.

Luwe is due to represent Malaysia at the ATV Miss Asia International 2023 finals, scheduled to take place in Shanghai, China at the end of the year. But the cloud of allegations that has grown since her victory now puts that into question.

Luwe has denied some of the bullying claims, while apologising to her former classmates for others, saying she has been reflecting on her past behaviour.

She is yet to respond directly to the university cheating allegations, which emerged just as the furore over the bullying claims was starting to die down. One person posted a screenshot purporting to show an online conversation with Luwe as recently as last year, in which she allegedly discusses paying a third party to write some of her university assignments.

Malay Mail reported that a social media user wrote on Chinese social media and e-commerce platform Xiaohongshu to share the allegation and included a screenshot of the alleged conversation with Luwe.

The screenshot purports to show the receipt of payment made to the person who allegedly completed an assignment for her.

After she shared a picture of her coronation on Instagram, one user detailed the alleged bullying by Luwe that included pouring water into her backpack at school.

She used to abuse me verbally which led me to suffer from emotional distress, the user was quoted as saying in a now-deleted comment. The teachers indifference toward her actions made her even more aggressive, including actions like pouring water into my backpack and throwing my classmates water bottles into the trash.

[She] bullied someone elses daughter in middle school, another user claimed. My niece was once surrounded and beaten by her and her friends. If I remember correctly, she was slapped about three times.

The post was at first shared widely, but some users then claimed that comments about Luwes alleged bullying were disappearing.

Youre deleting comments after bullying people? I was one of the people bullied by you, so why dont you come out and say that youre sorry? Bullying people everywhere, double face, said one Instagram comment.

When you bully people, have you ever considered that they would have a destroyed childhood because of you? Some people have suffered from depression and they cant sleep at night. Have you ever thought that you will [sic] ruin someones happy schooling experience? claimed another user.

Did you consider that when people think back to their schooling days, you were always the one with the ugly face of bullying? People with bad intentions do not deserve anyones respect.

I believe that the foremost criterion for beauty pageants should be an exemplary character, which she, the perpetrator, is devoid of, said a user with the handle @teaxinyi.

She was calling me Egyptian Pharaoh simply because I had bangs at that time. Verbal bullying happened not just once, but every time when [sic] I encountered her in school, said user @wngkngj.

The 14-year-old me at that time ended up having trauma when using the same washroom.

After leaving school, Luwe attended the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology and earned a bachelors degree in accounting and finance in 2022. Local media reports said she worked for a time as a digital creator before finding success competing in beauty pageants.

One of her former classmates apologised for ignoring her alleged acts of bullying against a common friend. The coward [in] me just stood by silently, and afterwards, all I could do was console my friend continuously... To be honest, I feel very guilty because I even persuaded my friend not to escalate the situation since we felt powerless against you.

She led the entire class to target me and constantly berated me. Her constant acts of verbal and cyberbullying towards me and my friends took a toll on my young self, both mentally and emotionally, the former classmate continued.

Luwe, in a lengthy Instagram post, addressed the allegations and said she spent some time thinking about the past and reflecting on my past.

She apologised to some of her former classmates whom she addressed directly, but also said many bullying incidents described in the comments  including the water pouring and throwing her classmates bottles  were untrue.

Luwe said the attention on the claims had been magnified due to her beauty contest win, and refuted the suggestion that she bullied 30 to 80 people.

Miss Asia Malaysia Was a Bully? Unmasking Luwe Xin Huis Controversial Win



At least 80 unverified bullying allegations against her on social media!https://t.co/WZRyGMycJp#missasiamalaysiabully #antibullying #missasiamalaysia #luwexinhui pic.twitter.com/50HObuPOMD  Tekkaus (@tekkaus) September 27, 2023

I understand that my apology cannot change the harm caused to her, but I will always bear this guilt in my heart, Luwe said, while addressing the classmate she called Pharaoh of Egypt.

For others, she said the bullying incidents never happened.

It is a constant fact that I make fun of my classmates nicknames, and it is also a fact that I was once teased and ostracised by classmates with nicknames such as Short Woman, Luwe said.

In addition, the report that I bullied 30 to 80 people is also untrue. I admit that when I was young, I was indeed rebellious, had a bad temper, and was very rude. I will reflect on it, and I did pay the price today. For these numbers of people, I have to speak up for myself. Bullying 30 to 80 people is something I cant do. Its not feasible to think rationally.

There were rumours that the school was ignoring my behaviour. I want to say sorry to my alma mater and clarify that the school did not condone me, the beauty queen further said in her statement.

The school took action due to long-term poor grooming, lateness, forgetting to swipe the card to re-sign, and quarrels with classmates. The school has school rules, and the fairness and justice of my alma mater will not change just because of me. I was even expelled from school because of a demerit.

After The Independent reached out to Luwe for comment on the allegations including the university cheating claims, she responded saying she would issue another statement by 7 October to clarify further, but did not elaborate.

The bullying accusations have led the pageant organisers, Asia Television News (ATV), to issue a statement of their own as well as a video recording of Luwe apologising.

Luwe Xin Hui, the winner of the 34th Miss Asia Malaysia-Singapore competition, was criticised online, accusing her of bullying her classmates in middle school. After two days of reflection, she recorded a video to solemnly apologise to the students involved and clarify the false accusations one by one, ATV said in a Facebook post.

Amid a number of online calls for Luwe to be stripped of her title, ATV invited people to write in to them with their accusations so they could investigate the claims. They called it an important and complex situation.

They said they will uphold the principles of justice and fairness and resolutely oppose any form of bullying and discrimination, and will take proactive measures to investigate recent allegations.

At least 14,000 bullying cases at school were recorded in Malaysia by its education ministry between 2012 and 2015, according to a 2018 Unicef report.
Prince William tried to lighten the mood as he posed for a group photo.

On Tuesday 3 October, the Prince and Princess of Wales visited the Grange Pavilion in Cardiff, Wales. While standing for a group photo, he began to tell a joke so everyone would smile for the camera. In a video of the amusing moment, which was shared to TikTok, William can be heard saying: Whos pinching my bottom?

His joke resulted in the entire room laughing, as everyone successfully sported big smiles for the final photo.

In fact, telling a joke to achieve the perfect photo must be a trait that runs in the royal family. Prince Williams late grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II, previously used this technique to take a group photo as well.

The viral TikTok compared Williams joke with one snarky comment Queen Elizabeth made during her G7 Summit appearance in June 2021. In a video shared by the BBC, the late monarch could be heard asking her fellow world leaders: Are you supposed to be looking as if youre enjoying yourself?

The Prince and Princess of Wales were in Cardiff to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the arrival of the HMT Empire Windrush to the United Kingdom, in addition to the start of Black History Month in the UK. Those who posed for the group photo included the Windrush Cymru Elders, Black History Cymru 365, and the Ethnic Minority Youth Forum. The royal couple met with members of the Black community in Cardiff to learn about the positive impact theyve made.

During their visit, William and Kate listened to members of a group called the Windrush generation - the name given to people who relocated to the UK between 1948 and 1973, particularly those from the Caribbean. The relocation began when the HMT Empire Windrush first arrived in London, carrying 1,000 people from the Caribbean to the UK.

One of the Windrush Cymru, Professor Uzo Iwobi, explained in an interview with People how special it was to have members of the royal family listen to the work theyve accomplished.

Theyve shone a light on a community that has been written out of history, Iwobi told the outlet. It is a light that cannot be extinguished. These elders will take this to their grave. They will never forget that one of the biggest leaders of their nation remembered them, travelled all this way and said thank you.

She went on to describe how both William and Kate were very personable and authentic to every person they spoke to, and that Prince William even asked to give her a hug before he left.

He said to me: Can I please have a hug? You have been so lovely to us, she said. I said: I oblige! I grabbed him, yeah. It was a very good hug, like a brother.

The professor continued: The good thing about him is how human he is, how understated he is and how very ordinary he wanted to be. He didnt want bowing and stuff. He was a Prince of Wales that people could relate to, that was warming for the elders.
More than 50 progressive activists marched across Capitol Hill on Wednesday to protest the war in Ukraine and call on lawmakers to push the Biden administration to negotiate an end to the war.

At least 11 of the protesters were arrested outside the office of Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) after congressional aides demanded they end a sit-in inside the senators office. Several senior citizens, including a handicapped elderly woman, were either handcuffed by officers or escorted out.

The protest movement, organized by the nonprofit organization Code Pink and the Peace in Ukraine Coalition, entered 12 congressional offices belonging to progressive and Democratic lawmakers, according to organizers.

Their anger stems from the tens of thousands of people dying in Ukraine on both sides of the conflict, and the perceived reluctance of the Biden administration to try to negotiate an end to the war.

Medea Benjamin, the co-founder of Code Pink, said she and other protesters were shocked and embarrassed that Democrats have fallen silent on the issue and are continuing to support more weapons packages without calling for any type of negotiations.

She slammed Ukraine security aid backers for giving what she says is a one-sentence answer to pleas for negotiations: You cant negotiate with Russian President Vladimir Putin, which Benjamin said she is not buying.

We say: Try. We want to see Biden talking, she said. We care about lives. We care about the human survival, and we dont think were going to survive as a species if we allow this to go on.

The gathering involved religious faith leaders and progressive activists from across the country. Green Party presidential candidate Cornel West also spoke at the beginning of the protest in the lobby of the Hart Senate building.

In conversations with congressional office aides, protesters were willing to dig into the facts of the war and the conflict with Russia. Many of them said they were not Putin apologists and condemned the Russian invasion, but argue the U.S. has played a role in the tug-of-war over Ukraine and that there is a path to at least begin negotiations.

They also point out that Ukraine is struggling in its counteroffensive and that, ultimately, the war will end by negotiations anyway  its just a matter of how many deaths until then.

This is not an epic fight between democracy and autocracy, said Marcy Winograd, co-chairwoman of the Peace in Ukraine Coalition. We want negotiations without preconditions. None of this, We wont sit down until Russia leaves every inch of Ukraine and Crimea. No, we want it now. I have two grandchildren. I dont want this for their future.

Congressional aides said it was not so simple to end the conflict, especially because Putin has shown an unwillingness to negotiate and has conducted a harsh and brutal campaign against the Ukrainian people.

Max Hoffman, a foreign policy adviser for Sanders, said Putin is still pursuing military goals by military means.

Hes launching attacks on Ukraine every day, including attacks on civilians, Hoffman told the crowd of protesters in the senators office. Ukrainians are on their own territory, they have a right to defend themselves.

Many supporters of arming Kyiv say the West should not give in to Russia by ceding territory, and that by doing so, it would embolden Putin to invade more European nations.

Ryan Morgan, a policy adviser for the office of Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), said it was not so easy to vote against packages, because weapons support might be included in an omnibus bill along with humanitarian aid.

And diplomacy is not so simple, Morgan added.

Its not as if theres a diplomacy button you push and then diplomacy happens, he said. Both the Russian and Ukrainian sides have shown no real interest in diplomacy. I think both sides still think they can win, however they define it.

Sanders sent a letter to the activist group sharing his concerns about endless wars and nuclear war. But the progressive senator said he was equally horrified by Putins invasion.

The Ukrainians have a right to resist this assault, both in moral terms and under international law, he wrote. Putin and his oligarch friends seek a divided world and the destruction of democracy.  The U.S. should support a just peace in Ukraine, based on the principles of territorial integrity, sovereignty, and international law.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Nashik, Oct 5 (UNI) The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has cancelled the licence of Nagar Urban Co-operative Bank Ltd. for not complying with various provisions of the Banking Regulation Act and defaulting on depositors payments.







The RBI order on Wednesday said the continuance of the bank would be against public interests and prejudicial to the interests of the depositors.



The bank, headquartered in Ahmednagar district of Maharashtra, did not have adequate capital and earning prospects, the RBI order said.



Consequently, the bank ceases to carry on banking business, with effect from the close of business on October 04, Thursday, the RBI said.



The banking regulator said the Additional Secretary & Central Registrar of Cooperative Societies of the Union Ministry of Cooperation has been requested to issue an order for winding up the bank and appoint a liquidator



The RBI said consequent to the cancellation of its licence, the bank is prohibited from conducting the business of banking which includes, among other things, acceptance of deposits and repayment of deposits.



On liquidation of the bank,, every depositor would be entitled to receive deposit insurance claim amount of deposits up to a monetary ceiling of Rs 5,00,000 from Deposit Insurance and Credit Guarantee Corporation (DICGC).



The closure of the 113-year-old bank has caused a stir in the city as the bank has supported the lives of many common people.







Earlier the bank had 47 branches. Of these, eleven branches with unsatisfactory performance were closed during the administration and now there are 36 branches.



About 1600 of the defaulters of the bank have a principal of about Rs 450 crores with the interest amounting to about Rs 827 crores.



UNI RDS SY SSP
Peculiar sounds emanating from a mountain in China led a group of researchers to discover a new species of horned amphibian.

Researchers conducting a field survey on Mount Hengshan, an isolated peak in Hunan Province, in June 2021 began hearing pulsing calls as evening approached.

The rhythmic calls, which continued for hours, piqued the researchers curiosity, according to a study published on Oct. 3 in the journal Vertebrate Zoology.

Upon investigation, they found the noises were coming from a cluster of small amphibians.

The frog specimens were found after researchers heard their calls from a roadside ditch, according to the study.

Calling male frogs were found sitting in a roadside ditch, researchers said, adding that others were perched on plants or seated in shallow water.

Twenty of the frogs were collected, euthanized, preserved in an alcohol solution and whisked away to a local university for taxonomic investigation.

Genetic analysis then revealed that the croaking creatures were members of a previously unidentified species.

The species belongs in the genus Boulenophrys, a family of Asian horned frogs, and was given the name hengshanensis in a nod to the mountain where it was discovered.

The frogs display distinct characteristics that distinguish them from other members of the genus, said the researchers, who are affiliated with local universities.

Namely, they are missing teeth on their upper jaw and are missing a notch on their tongue. The brown frogs, which measure around 1.5 inches long, also have horn-like growths on their upper eyelids.

The species is only known to dwell on Mount Hengshan, which, though isolated, is a popular tourist destination, which could pose a problem.

The potential threat to all amphibians in Mt. Hengshan is mainly human disturbance from tourist areas, researchers said.

There are about 6,000 known species of frogs worldwide, according to the American Museum of Natural History.

Wetlands turn the color of strawberry milk in Australia. See the rare phenomenon

Rare cuckoo creature  not seen locally in 65 years  found in Canada, officials say

Humpback whales surround boaters in Iceland. Then black fins appear, photos show
Elizabeth Polanco De Los Santos is on her way home (Detained in Dubai)

A student who was facing a year in a UAE prison after she was accused of assaulting and insulting staff while transiting through the airport in Dubai has been allowed to return home.

Elizabeth Polanco De Los Santos, 21, was ecstatic when police commuted her sentence and she was finally permitted to fly home to New York City.

She had intended to spend just 10 hours in Dubai International Airport as she transited from Istanbul, Turkey, to the US in July with a friend on a short trip.

But an advocacy group representing her claimed she endured degrading, painful and humiliating treatment during a strip search where she was left half naked. Following an altercation with local authorities, she was banned from flying out of the Emirate.

The student then spent months fighting a legal battle while having to fork out around 41,000 on expenses and court costs.

According to Detained in Dubai, which represents people fighting legal action in the UAE, Ms Polanco De Los Santos is ecstatic to be returning to the US after five months of anguish.

Radha Stirling, CEO of the charity, alleged: Elizabeths hellish five months in Dubai left her humiliated, traumatised and out of pocket $50,000. Elizabeth was falsely accused of assaulting and insulting a customs official when she was stripped and humiliated upon entering the desert city during a transit stop.

Ms Stirling has warned that more needs to be done to protect those travelling through Dubai.

Tourists are vulnerable to vindictive, false and unevidenced allegations that could leave them languishing in notorious jails. They are vulnerable to extortion schemes like we see from airport staff, rental car agents, taxi drivers and so on.

According to Ms Stirling, Elizabeths ordeal began on 14 July as she went through the international hub of Dubai Airport on her way home to New York with a pal. She said that Elizabeth was mandated by surgeons to wear a medical waist trainer suit, which goes around her stomach and upper chest area.

But the charity boss claimed that Dubai airport officials demanded she remove it, and she was ushered into a booth where female officials insisted she take it off. Elizabeths mother told Detained in Dubai the staff were speaking Arabic and laughing at her and said she had felt really embarrassed and taken advantage of.

Later, Elizabeth said she had gently touched one of the security staff after pleading with them to allow her friend into the booth where she was being searched. But she was then detained for touching the female customs officer and spent several hours in the room while the women filed a complaint against her.

Elizabeth was later allowed to leave after signing some papers written in Arabic, but found out she was banned from flying a few hours later, the advocacy group alleged.

Dubai Airport has been contacted for comment.
Kassandra Sweeney and her two sons Benjamin and Mason were found dead in their home last week (GoFundMe)

A 17-year-old man has been formally indicted with the murder of his sister-in-law and her two young sons at their family home in New Hampshire.

Eric Sweeney has been charged with three counts of first degree murder, following the deaths of Kassandra Sweeney, 25, and her two sons Benjamin and Mason Sweeney, who were four-years-old and 23-months-old, respectively.

The three bodies were discovered lying next to each other at their house in Northfield on 3 August 2022 by police responding to a 911 call.

Autopsies revealed that each victim died from a single gunshot wound, with all three deaths ruled as homicides.

Sweeney was arrested last year while he was still a juvenile, so no information about his identity was released at the time. Because of the severity of the charges, the case was transferred to adult court.

On Wednesday New Hampshire Attorney General John M Formella announced his indictment by the Merrimack County Grand Jury in connection with the murders.

The Grand Jury has indicted Eric Sweeney on three counts of first-degree murder for purposely causing the deaths of Kassandra, Benjamin, and Mason Sweeney, by shooting them, a statement from Mr Formellas office read.

Eric Sweeney was also indicted on one count of falsifying physical evidence, which alleges that Eric Sweeney, knowing that an investigation was about to be instituted, did alter, destroy, conceal, or remove a Taurus .40 caliber handgun, with the purpose of impairing its availability in said investigation.

The office added that Sweeney was currently being held and an arraignment would be scheduled by the court.

Sean Sweeney, husband of Kassandra and father of the two boys, previously spoke out having his name dragged through the mud in the aftermath of the killings.

The AGs office previously said that Mr Sweeney had cooperated fully with their investigations.
By Daina Beth Solomon

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) -Final permits for Tesla to build an electric-vehicle (EV) factory in the northern Mexican state of Nuevo Leon could be ready in weeks and the local government is beginning infrastructure work requested by the company, a senior official said on Thursday.

Tesla in March announced plans to open a major plant in Nuevo Leon, its first in Mexico, which has also attracted EV investments from other automakers seeking to meet ambitious production targets. The company has not given details on construction or production.

Nuevo Leon's Economy Minister Ivan Rivas said in an interview that the automaker helmed by billionaire Elon Musk is considering a bigger plant than originally envisaged, and is still hammering out design, architecture and engineering plans.

The federal government is on track to grant environmental approvals within weeks, he said, which will allow the electric-vehicle maker to begin construction.

"I'm expecting it's a matter of a couple of weeks, maximum a month," Rivas said.

Rivas said only Tesla could address its timeline for Mexico. But he said he expected production to begin far earlier than 2026 or 2027, the dates Mexican newspaper Reforma reported last month, because Nuevo Leon was aiming to quickly put infrastructure in place for water, electricity and transportation.

"We're working for this to happen very soon, so they have all the infrastructure they need to begin as soon as possible," he said.

Tesla did not respond to a request for comment.

Rohan Patel, Tesla's senior public policy and business development executive, in a post on the platform X, formerly Twitter, rejected a Mexican media report saying Tesla had canceled its plans and thanked local, state and federal officials.

"We are very appreciative of their efforts to enable the permits and sustainable infrastructure necessary," he said.

Nuevo Leon has agreed to build an electric power substation, a natural gas pipeline, railroad spurs, roads, and services for water and sewage, according to a Memorandum of Understanding with Tesla, seen by Reuters.

Rivas said the projects can be built before or at the same time as Tesla's own construction and will also benefit other companies.

A high-voltage electric cable that already runs above the Tesla site will be connected with a substation and transformer, he noted.

The so-called "Gigafactory" is set to bring in an estimated $15 billion over the next two years through Tesla and its suppliers, Nuevo Leon Governor Samuel Garcia said last month. The state has called for more investment in health, education, roads and basic services to accommodate the expected growth.

(Reporting by Daina Beth Solomon; Additional reporting by Kylie Madry; Editing by Rod Nickel)
Nearly 25,000 customers in North Texas were still without power Thursday morning after severe thunderstorms with strong winds and large hail swept through the region overnight.

Oncor officials said on their website that they are assessing damages and working to restore power to affected areas. More than 8,000 Tarrant County residents were without power as of 7:45 a.m.

Pingpong ball- to golf ball-sized hail, strong winds and heavy rain pounded North Texas Wednesday evening, prompting flash flood warnings.

According to the National Weather Service Fort Worth, hail stones as big as 1.5 inches were first reported just west of Poolville, which is about an hour west of Fort Worth, and that storm moved into Tarrant County.

Of the 53,642 customers in North Texas without power around 11 p.m., more than 26,000 people in Tarrant County were experiencing outages, Oncor reported

Electric outages Dallas - Fort Worth vicinity

Here is Oncor's power outages map. Outage information is sent from Oncor to the outage map every 10 minutes. Source: stormcenter.oncor.com

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The severe thunderstorms moved across North Texas and led to a tornado warning in Ellis and Dallas County and flash flood warnings across the region.

National Weather Service Fort Worth spokesperson Patricia Sanchez told the Star-Telegram Thursday morning that they received reports of golf ball-sized hail of 1.75 inches between Weatherford and Springtown in Parker County and flooding in Dallas near Love Field. Trees and tree limbs are down throughout the region.

A Fort Worth Police Department officer closes a portion of W Vickery Boulevard due to flooding next to Collett Park in Fort Worth on Wednesday October. 4, 2023. Chris Torres/ctorres@star-telegram.com

Sanchez also said there was significant roof damage at a shopping center in the 8300 block of Camp Bowie West in west Fort Worth.

Danie Huffman, the spokesperson for Parker County, said there was a lot of hail in the area. Numerous trees are down too, she said, including a large branch that fell on the courthouse square. County and city crews will be working to clean up the debris Thursday.

NWS Fort Worth reported between 1 and 1.5 inches of rain had fallen as of about 10 p.m. and additional rainfall amounts of 1 to 2 inches were possible.

The flash food warning was issued for several cities in Tarrant County, including Fort Worth, Arlington, Grand Prairie, Mansfield, Euless, Bedford, Grapevine, Haltom City, Keller, Hurst, Burleson, Southlake, Watauga, Colleyville, Benbrook, Saginaw, White Settlement, Crowley, Forest Hill and Azle.

Lightning strikes as a thunderstorm begins to roll in near West Fort Worth on Wednesday, Oct. 4, 2023. Chris Torres/ctorres@star-telegram.com

About five high-water emergency calls were reported to Fort Worth police from 9:25 to 9:45 p.m. Wednesday, where callers reported their vehicles being stuck in water or stranded in flooding, according to police call logs.

The flash flood warning was in effect until 12:30 a.m. Thursday.

Weather watches and warnings

A live data feed from the National Weather Service containing official weather warnings, watches, and advisory statements. Tap warning areas for more details. Sources: NOAA, National Weather Service, NOAA GeoPlatform and Esri.

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The National Weather Service reported wind gusts over 70 mph in western Tarrant County and large trees down in White Settlement.

White Settlement Police Chief Chris Cook told the Star-Telegram that high winds tore up several awnings at an RV park and downed power poles and about two dozen trees in the city. No injuries were reported, and most of the damage was along North Cherry Lane.

The White Settlement police station also lost power for time Wednesday night, Cook said, but 911 calls were not affected.

Several reports of wind damage impacting poles and street signs. No major damages to structures or injuries reported. The police department is on generator power and back up radio systems. 9-1-1 service is operational. pic.twitter.com/ujutynTRO9  Christopher Cook (@cooktx) October 5, 2023

Additional wind damages across town. 400 block of N. Cherry RV park out of power with Oncor on scene. Trees also reported down across city. pic.twitter.com/WmwdWuX5nW  Christopher Cook (@cooktx) October 5, 2023

Additional storm damage between White Settlement Road and Clifford along Cherry Lane. Oncor trying to fix power poles that are down in the area. pic.twitter.com/ucg3YlzSwG  Christopher Cook (@cooktx) October 5, 2023

Lockheed Blvd. and Cherry Lane intersection lights are not working. @WSPDTX has erected temporary stop signs until power is restored. pic.twitter.com/SXRUX91eGV  Christopher Cook (@cooktx) October 5, 2023

Two people, including an 8-year-old, were injured when the severe weather hit Toyota Stadium during an FC Dallas game, the Frisco Fire Department told KTVT-TV. The child was taken to a hospital with injuries that authorities said were not life threatening.

A severe thunderstorm warning was in effect for Tarrant, Dallas, Ellis, and Johnson counties until 10:15 p.m Wednesday as the storm system moved southeast.

A tornado warning was issued by the NWS Fort Worth at 10:01 p.m. Wednesday for Ellis and south central Dallas counties. The NWS reported a storm that radar indicated was producing a tornado near Midlothian, moving east at 25 mph.

A severe thunderstorm watch that includes Tarrant, Dallas and surrounding counties was in effect until 2 a.m. Thursday.

Storm Reports

This map contains continuously updated storm reports and damage from the National Weather Service for the past 48 hours. Reports include tornado, wind storm and hail storm reports. The map also includes tornado reports for the past week and recent rainfall accumulations. Sources: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Esri.

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BEIJING (Reuters) -Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said at forum in Tibet on Thursday that nations in the region must respect each other's sovereignty, amid simmering tensions with India over a disputed border in the eastern Himalayas.

"We must adhere to mutual respect and trust, jointly maintain regional unity, and respect each other's sovereignty and territorial integrity," Wang said at the forum in the city of Nyingchi, 160 km (100 miles) from Arunachal Pradesh, which China claims as part of Tibet.

India's foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a request from Reuters for comment.

Attending the forum in Tibet, the third round of trans-Himalayan dialogue since its inception in 2018, were officials from countries including Nepal, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Mongolia. Representatives from India, as in 2018 and 2019, were not among the attendees.

Relations between China and India nosedived in 2020 after a border clash in which 20 Indian and four Chinese soldiers were killed. This year, China angered India when it released a map showing the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh in the eastern Himalayas to be a part of southern Tibet.

Tibet, which Beijing said it peacefully liberated in 1951 after sending Chinese troops into the region, has also drawn international concern with U.N. member states due to publicly examine China's rights record in early 2024 as part of a review process at the Human Rights Council in Geneva.

U.N. experts have this year voiced repeated concerns over Tibet, most recently in August when they raised the plight of jailed Tibetan rights defenders.

In August The United States imposed visa sanctions on unidentified Chinese officials for allegedly taking part in "forced assimilation" of Tibetan children through state-run boarding schools seeking to eliminate Tibet's traditions, according to a statement from U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

China has vigorously denied any wrongdoing.

Wang said on Thursday that lies fabricated by "some Western forces" about Tibet were untenable and based on ideological bias, and will unravel "in the face of facts".

(Reporting by Ryan WooEditing by Deborah Kyvrikosaios)
The US military has found a workaround as future funding for Ukraines military defence against Russia looks to have an uncertain path through the US Congress.

Defence officials, partnered with the US Justice Department, have reportedly been working for months to facilitate the transfer of weapons including rifles and anti-tank missiles to Ukraines weapon from an unlikely source  Irans Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).

The contribution is hardly voluntary; US officials seized the weapons, ammunition and other supplies as it was bound for Houthi-controlled territory in Yemen where Iranian-backed forces have been fighting a US-Saudi coalition in a brutal regional conflict for years. Now, some of those weapons are on the front line, or close to it, in Ukraine.

US Central Command confirmed the transfer of weapons in a press release on Tuesday. CNN reported separately that the effort between the military and Justice Department had been going on since at least March, with DOJ officials using the civil forfeiture process to navigate Washington red tape.

On Oct. 2, 2023, the U.S. government transferred approximately 1.1 million 7.62mm rounds to the Ukrainian armed forces. The government obtained ownership of these munitions on July 20, 2023, through the Department of Justices civil forfeiture claims against Irans Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), reads the CENTCOM press release.

The munitions were being transferred from the IRGC to the Houthis in Yemen in violation of the United Nations Security Council Resolution 2216.

Its a sign of good news for Ukraines military and civilian government, which had resorted to dispatching President Volodymyr Zelensky to Capitol Hill in the hopes of ginning up continued support from US lawmakers. While the Senate remains largely unified around the issue, the House Republican caucus has increasingly been home to a skeptical faction of the GOP opposed to further funding for a range of reasons.

On Sunday, President Joe Biden addressed the issue of Ukraine funding during a press briefing following the Houses passage of a clean funding resolution to avert a shutdown. The prospect of Ukraine funding making it through the House, at least in the immediate future, looks bleak as a group of rebel Republicans ousted their partys Speaker, throwing the chamber into a standstill, on Tuesday.

[F]olks, you know, overwhelmingly there's overwhelming number of Republicans and Democrats in both the House and the Senate who support Ukraine. Let's vote on it, the president urged in his remarks.
More than 100 people are missing in Indias northeast after heavy rain caused a glacial lake to burst, leading to flash floods which ripped through the Himalayan state of Sikkim Wednesday, killing at least 19 and washing away roads and bridges, according to the state government.

A sudden cloudburst over Lhonak Lake, in the northern part of the state, sent fast-moving torrents of water surging down the Teesta River in Sikkims Lachen valley, raising water levels 15-20 feet higher than normal, the Indian Army said in a statement. A cloudburst is a very sudden and destructive rainstorm.

Chungthang Dam, also known as the Teesta 3 dam and part of a major hydropower project in the state, was washed away, according to a statement issued by the National Disaster Management Authority on Wednesday night.

Drinking water supplies and sewage treatment plants have been totally damaged across affected districts, according to the state government.

Video from the north of the state shows a muddy deluge rapidly overflowing the river, and flooded houses caked in dirt and debris, while images show search teams using excavators to uncover army vehicles buried deep in the mud.

Rescue and restorations operations are underway with both state and national disaster personnel involved, the government said.

Known as the rooftop of the world, the ecologically-sensitive Himalayan region is prone to flash floods and landslides, and flooding is not unusual in Sikkim.

But scientists are clear that extreme weather is becoming more frequent and more intense as the human-caused climate crisis accelerates.

High water levels in the Teesta river in Sikkim, India, on October 4. - Government of Sikkim

A vehicle that got washed away lies beneath a tree in Rangpo town in Sikkim, India. - Prakash Adhikari/AP

As search efforts continued Wednesday, the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) released dramatic images showing the volume of water which had been released from Lhonak Lake following the cloudburst.

Lhonak Lake is a large glacial bullet-shaped water body that sits at the foot of a melting glacier.

An analysis of the images shows more than 60% of the water held in the lake drained out after the extreme rainstorm triggered a glacial lake outburst. This phenomenon happens when a glacial lake rises too high or the surrounding land or ice gives way and the lake bursts, sending water and debris rushing down mountains.

One satellite image shows the lake holding about 167.4 hectares of water on September 28, while another dated October 4 shows the lake reduced by more than half  holding approximately 60.3 hectares of water in it.

It is observed that lake is burst and about 105 hectares area has been drained out  which might have created a flash flood downstream (in the Teesta River), ISRO said in text accompanying the images.

Temporal changes in Lhonak Lake area as of September 17; September 28; and October 4. - ISRO

Scientists have long studied Lhonak Lake, identifying it as one of the fastest swelling glacial lakes in the region with a high risk for a potential glacial outburst, according to multiple studies.

In recent years, the states Disaster Management Authority led several expeditions to the site, concluding that a glacial lake outburst would cause huge devastation downstream and that loss of life and property were likely. Pipelines were installed at the lake to siphon off the water as a short-term solution.

And last May, the state government held a consultation workshop on such a risk, with the director of Sikkims Department of Science and Technology highlighting the urgent need for an early warning system for these glacial lakes in Sikkim.

Search efforts hampered by heavy rain

The Sikkim city of Pakyong was the worst affected with seven people killed in the floods and 59 people missing, the Sikkim government said.

Among those unaccounted for are dozens of members of the Indian Army. A massive search and rescue operation to find the missing soldiers has been launched but efforts were hampered by incessant rains and flooding that had cut off roads and washed-out bridges, the army said.

On Wednesday evening, one soldier was rescued and is in a stable condition but 22 others remain missing, according to the army.

In an update Friday, the army said that certain military equipment including firearms and explosives were carried away by the Teesta River and urged the public to be vigilant and report any unfamiliar objects, crates, packages, firearms, or any suspicious items.

The missing military equipment could pose a potential risk of a dangerous explosion, it said.

At least 11 bridges collapsed in the flooding, impeding rescue efforts and cutting off remote areas, the government said.

In the state capital and largest city Gangtok, three deaths were reported and 22 people missing, it added.

More than 2,000 people have been evacuated and relief camps have been set up across the state to help more than 22,000 people affected by the flash floods.

Rescue work continues after flash floods in Sikkim's Rangpo town on October 5. - Prakash Adhikari/AP

Buildings are inundated by flood waters in Rangpo town. - Prakash Adhikari/AP

On Thursday, the state government said at least 3,000 tourists remain stranded in Sikkims Lachung and Lachen and that helicopters are being deployed to help evacuate them.

The Teesta-V Hydropower Station was reported to be under shutdown presently and not generating electricity, the All India Radio (AIR) News reported, citing the countrys Power Ministry.

All the bridges downstream to Teesta-V Hydropower Station up to Tarkhola and Pamphok have been submerged which has severely affected commutation and communication in these areas, it said.

A detailed assessment of damage to the hydropower projects would be made by the central government once the flood water recedes, AIR News reported.

The India Meteorological Department has forecast heavy rainfall to continue across the countrys east and northeast, including Sikkim, for the next two days.

Sikkims chief minister Prem Singh Tamang said in a post on X, formerly Twitter, that emergency services have been mobilized to the affected areas, and he has visited Singtam to assess the damages and engage with the local community. Singtam is a town affected by the flooding about 30 kilometers (18 miles) from Gangtok.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi called the situation an unfortunate natural calamity and offered all possible support in addressing the challenge.

I pray for the safety and well-being of all those affected, he wrote on X.

Glacial outbursts will affect millions

The Himalayan region is highly vulnerable to the climate crisis.

Himalayan glaciers feed into rivers that provide freshwater to two billion people and many communities depend on the glacial waters to irrigate their crops.

But a recent report warned the glaciers could lose up to 80% of their ice by 2100 as temperatures rise, heightening the likelihood of floods, landslides, avalanches and also drought.

As glaciers around the world melt at an alarming rate, about 15 million people who live near glacial lakes are at risk from catastrophic glacial lake outbursts, with more than half concentrated in just four countries  India, Pakistan, Peru and China  according to a study earlier this year.

These lake bursts have been compared to an inland tsunami and their impact akin to a sudden dam collapse, experts previously told CNN.

A vehicle is seen partially submerged in flood water in Rangpo town. - Prakash Adhikari/AP

The ensuing floods happen with little to no warning and previous glacial lake outbursts have killed thousands of people and destroyed property and critical infrastructure.

A 2020 study of the Teesta River basin by scientists from the Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati, found a increase in rainfall and temperatures this century and that Sikkims many glacial lakes are expanding due to glacier and snow melt as temperatures rise.

The researchers warned that heavy rainfall events can cause the sudden expansion of lakes, risking glacial outburst floods, and it was critical that state disaster management departments are properly equipped to respond to such disasters and that policy makers implement climate change adaptation strategies.

In 2021, a Himalayan glacier collapsed in Uttarakhand, sending an avalanche of water, dust and rocks down a mountain gorge, and crashing though two hydroelectric projects, killing at least 38 people.

In Indias north, communities have warned for decades about unregulated commercial development, deforestation and back-to-back dam building in the fragile region, increasing the risk of disasters, flooding and landslides.

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Sen. Bob Menendez's then-girlfriend, now his wife, struck and killed a pedestrian in December 2018, newly revealed police records show.

Four months after the incident, Nadine Arslanian and Menendez, D-N.J., were allegedly given a new Mercedes as a gift as part of what federal prosecutors have described as a bribery conspiracy to cash in on Menendez's power and influence. Police records indicate the fatal collision badly damaged Arslanians Mercedes.

The crash, which was first reported Wednesday by the Record newspaper of Bergen and The New York Times, happened on the night of Dec. 12, 2018, in the New Jersey town of Bogota.

Arslanian, who was not charged, told police she was driving on Main Street when a man later identified as Richard Koop "jumped on my windshield," according to dashboard video obtained by NBC New York.

Koop was found lying in the road with severe head trauma, bleeding from the back of his head, bleeding from the face, and possible fractured legs and arms when police arrived shortly after 7:30 p.m., according to police records obtained by NBC News that also said the responding officer described Koop as unconscious and not breathing.

Arslanian was "bleeding from her hands" and had hit a parked car after she struck Koop, police records showed.

"Why was the guy in the middle of the street? I didn't do anything wrong, you know?" she told police, according to the dashcam video.

Police also asked for Arslanian's consent to search her cellphone.

Ms. Arslanian originally reported I may search her phone, handed me her phone, then shortly after reported she no longer gives consent for a cellular phone search. I immediately returned Ms. Arslanians phone back to her, one of the officers said in a report.

Police said Arslanian gave a statement saying that Koop darted across traffic and jumped onto her vehicle and that she said she did not observe Mr. Koop prior to striking him with her vehicle."

Police found that Arslanian was not at fault and that Mr. Koop was jaywalking and did not cross the street at an intersection or in a marked crosswalk.

There is no indication in police records that Arslanian was tested for drugs or alcohol. It said she was released to "a friend" after police interviewed her.

Sheri Breen, a lawyer for the Koop family, alleged that Arslanian waited several minutes before she called 911. "She let him lie on the ground and she took some time to sit there watching before she backed up, moved her car again and then drove around him," Breen told NBC New York.

Breen said Koop had gone out with friends and took an Uber ride home. "He just had to cross the street to get to his home when the defendant came barreling down the street and struck him," Breen said.

She said that the Koop family received a settlement from Arslanian's insurance company but that neither Arslanian or Menendez ever reached out to them.

Arslanians lawyer did not immediately reply to a request for comment. The attorney, David Schertler, told the Times it was a tragic accident.

Nadine Menendez arrives at federal court in New York (Michael Nagel / Bloomberg via Getty Images)

My understanding was this individual ran in front of her car, and she was not at fault, he told the paper, saying the incident was unrelated to the current federal charges against her.

Menendez, who faces dozens of calls to resign from his Democratic colleagues, told reporters Wednesday on Capitol Hill that it "was a tragic accident and obviously we think of the family."

Police records said Arslanians vehicle sustained heavy front end damage due to the collision and her front windshield was shattered and had damage on the passenger side which was later determined to be from a parked car that she struck after striking Mr. Koop.

News of the previously unreported crash comes after prosecutors brought a bombshell indictment last month against Menendez, his wife and their alleged co-conspirators.

The FBI said Arslanian started dating Menendez in February 2018 and soon connected him with a New Jersey businessman who had ties to the Egyptian government, Wael Hana. Hana allegedly introduced the couple to another defendant in the bribery scheme, a businessman named Jose Uribe.

All four have pleaded not guilty.

The indictment said Arslanian "was involved in a car accident in or about December 2018 that left her without a car. On multiple occasions up to and including in or about January 2019" she sent text messages to Hana "about her lack of a car."

That January  just weeks after the fatal collision  Arslanian, Menendez, Hana and Uribe agreed that Menendez would reach out to a prosecutor to try to help an associate of Uribe's "in exchange for a car," the indictment said.

Menendez did so, according to the indictment.

Afterward, Hana and Uribe got to work getting Arslanian a $60,000 Mercedes-Benz convertible, the FBI said. Arslanian bought it in April 2019, with a down payment that included $15,000 in cash from Uribe, according to the indictment. Uribe subsequently took care of the monthly financing payments, prosecutors allege.

After she got the car, prosecutors said, she texted Menendez a picture of it. "Congratulations mon amour de la vie, we are the proud owners of a 2019 Mercedes," she wrote, along with a heart emoji.
Gangtok, Oct 5 (UNI) The toll in the Sikkim flash floods has risen to 14, as the search operation continued to locate 102 missing people including 22 Army personnel, Defence and state government sources said on Thursday.



The devastation created by the Lhonak Lake Glacial outburst and heavy torrential rains on Wednesday in Sikkim has left 14 persons dead, while 102 others are missing, and over 22,000 affected, a state government official said.



The National Disaster Response Force, Indo-Tibetan Border Police, Indian Army, ,and Sikkim Police have all been deployed to help those supposedly buried or swept away with slush and flood, the official said.



A Defence Ministry spokesperson said search was on for the 22 missing soldiers.

Search and rescue operation by troops of Trishakti Corps of Indian Army to trace the 22 missing soldiers continues. Continued efforts are on to dig out the vehicles submerged under the slush at Burdang near Singtam., the spokesperson said.



The search for the missing personnel is now focussing on the areas downstream of Teesta River.





It may be mentioned that of the 23 Army personnel reported missing initially, one soldier was recovered alive on Wednesday evening.

The family members of the missing Army persons have been contacted and informed about the situation the spokesperson said.





All other Indian Army personnel posted in Sikkim and North Bengal are safe and they are unable to contact their family members due to disruptions of mobile communication, said the spokerson.





Meanwhile, troops of the Trishakti Corps are extending mobile connectivity to civilians and tourists stranded in Chungthang, Lachung and Lachen areas of North Sikkim.







The Sikkim government official said 2011 persons have been evacuated, of whom 630 are sheltered in 22 relief camps, started in different schools across the state. Others have made their own arrangements. 22,034 people are adversely affected," the official said.







The satellite images from ISRO show 60% of discharge from the vulnerable Lhonak Glacial lake and 21 other lakes pose a potential threat.







Taxis are now plying by following an alternative route to West Bengal for the Bagdogra airport, Railway stations and bus stops in Siliguri for the outbound journey of the stranded tourists.







Nepal-bound people going home for the Dashai festival have taken a route via Darjeeling followed by Pashupatinath.





However, vehicle operators are making a killing by charging huge fares. UNI NN SSP
WASHINGTON  Former President Donald Trump is considering a visit to the U.S. Capitol early next week, as divided House Republicans consider who should be the next speaker, two GOP lawmakers and two Trump allies confirmed to NBC News.

The former president, who has not set foot on Capitol grounds since prior to the Jan. 6 riot, is considering making an appearance in an effort to unify the party, according to one Republican lawmaker who discussed the possibility with a member of Trumps inner circle Thursday morning.

The news site, The Messenger, first reported the possibility of Trump's visit.

Former President Donald Trump at New York State Supreme Court on Oct. 4, 2023. (Spencer Platt / Getty Images)

While a small handful of Republican lawmakers have suggested Trump himself should serve as the next speaker, the former president said Wednesday his focus is on reclaiming the White House, and the two Republican lawmakers said they dont believe hes seriously interested in the position.

In a post on Truth Social on Thursday, Trump wrote he will do whatever is necessary to help with the Speaker of the House selection process, short term, until the final selection of a GREAT REPUBLICAN SPEAKER is made.

But Trump also reposted GOP Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene's post that he should be the next speaker.

Steve Bannon, who served as a top adviser to Trump in the White House and runs the "War Room" podcast, which is popular with Trump supporters, said he believes the former president will speak to the Republican conference Tuesday at the Capitol. He said Republicans should choose Trump as an interim speaker for 100 days.

Hes the only one now that can unite the party when it needs to be united for the next 100 days, Bannon said in a telephone interview with NBC News. He can come and be that bridge to the conference actually coming out and electing a speaker that then can complete the 118th congress.

It's not clear that there is a way for that to happen without Trump winning a tough-to-achieve majority in the full House.

Democrats, who voted to impeach Trump over his efforts to overturn the 2020 election and his role in the deadly Jan. 6 attack, had strong reactions to news of Trump's possible visit.

"Criminals tend to return to the scene of the crime," Rep. Brendan Boyle, D-Pa., wrote on X.

"We will need extra security  not for him, but for members and staff and the personnel at the Capitol," said Rep. Veronica Escobar, D-Texas, who was among those trapped in the House chamber during the Capitol attack.

His presence, as we have learned only too well is a threat to norms, order, and he has become increasingly violent in his rhetoric recently, which is why we need security for everyone else.

So far, two big-name GOP lawmakers are vying to succeed Kevin McCarthy, who on Tuesday made history as the first speaker ever to be ousted by a formal vote of the House.

The U.S. Constitution does not require that a House speaker be a member of the House, but no non-member has ever been elected to the post. In protest, House members have cast votes for individuals who are not lawmakers before, but no serious effort has ever been undertaken by someone who isnt a representative.

What Trump would hope to accomplish by visiting the Capitol amid an intraparty fight is an open question. While some sources cautioned that Trump could still opt not to go, they agree its still a real possibility.

The No. 2 leader, Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., officially launched his campaign for speaker on Wednesday, as did Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, a key Trump ally on Capitol Hill.

Jordan endorsed Trump for president in March. Scalise has not endorsed anyone in the GOP presidential primary.

During an interview with NBC News on Thursday, Jordan said he has spoken to Trump about his speaker's bid but declined to get into details.

"I had a great conversation with the president," Jordan said.
Nearly every time Kristin Chapman takes a cruise, she heads to the Caribbean.

The 38-year-old medical librarian has been on more than a dozen cruises, and itineraries packed with a variety of tropical destinations in the region have kept her coming back.

What I really found enjoyable about the Caribbean was it really does give you the longer port days because the islands are so close together, said Chapman, who lives in Connecticut. It does make you feel like you have had more of an experience in where you're going, rather than the days at sea that you have in between different islands (on some other cruises).

Caribbean cruises offer an easy, often affordable way to travel internationally from the U.S. Its a great way to check off a bunch of countries on your map, Mike Harris, director of sales at online travel agency The Cruise Web.

Why are Caribbean cruises so popular?

Caribbean itineraries are the default choice of many cruisers  and with good reason.

Specifically, for the American market, its close to home, said Harris. Cruise lines sail to the Caribbean from ports in cities ranging from Miami to Baltimore to New York City. These are domestic ports that a lot of the country can drive to, he added.

Once travelers set sail, there is something for everyone. The versatility of the Caribbean is what makes it unique, Harris said. Thats true of both the wide range of cruise lines operating there  including post-COVID-19 newcomers like Virgin Voyages  as well as its mix of beaches, cuisine, history, adventurous activities like cave tubing and zip lining and nightlife.

That combination of factors has proven increasingly compelling to guests. Demand for Caribbean cruises was up nearly 5% in the first two quarters of the year compared to the same time in 2019, according to Cruise Lines International Association, the industrys leading trade organization.

The Caribbeans market share in the industry is also at 44%, an increase from 34% in 2019, said Michele Paige, CEO of the Florida-Caribbean Cruise Association.

Pro tip: Cruises that leave from the Caribbean, like a Carnival Cruise Line sailing Chapman took from San Juan, Puerto Rico, tend to have fewer sea days and maximize your time in port.

When is the best time to take a Caribbean cruise?

The region has long been seen as a warm weather destination where travelers can go to escape the cold, according to Paige.

But in recent years, more lines have begun offering Caribbean sailings all year. They have year-round great weather, but its more than just the weather, she said.

Still, Harris said passengers will find the most variety of ships there from November through March. You'll get the big contemporary ships, you get the medium premium brands, but you also get the very small deluxe and luxury brands that are going to very small, exclusive islands that a lot of people just haven't heard of, he said.

In the summer, smaller ships typically reposition elsewhere  like Alaska or Europe  and the Caribbean is mostly populated by big ships catering to families with kids out of school.

(Click here for USA TODAYs cruise line guide).

Are Caribbean cruises expensive?

Because so many itineraries are offered throughout the year, Harris said travelers can often find cheaper sailings than in some other destinations. You can find a Caribbean cruise for as low as $60 a day, all the way up to $2,200 a day just depending on the experience youre looking for, he said.

These items are banned on cruises: Read this before you pack

Upcoming Caribbean cruises

 Royal Caribbean Internationals Independence of the Seas ship will sail a four-night Eastern Caribbean itinerary departing Nov. 15. The cruise will sail round-trip from Miami with a stop in Labadee, Haiti. The fare starts at $272 per person based on double occupancy, according to the lines website.

 Norwegian Cruise Lines Norwegian Sun ship will sail a 12-day Caribbean cruise round-trip from Baltimore, departing Dec. 9. The cruise will stop in San Juan; Philipsburg, Sint Maarten; Basseterre, Saint Kitts and Nevis; Saint Johns, Antigua and Barbuda; Saint Thomas in the U.S. Virgin Islands; Tortola in the British Virgin Islands and Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic. Cabins start at just under $849 per person based on double occupancy, according to the lines website.

 Carnival Cruise Line will offer a round-trip six-day Western Caribbean sailing from Galveston, Texas, leaving Dec. 10. The sailing on the lines Carnival Dream ship will visit Costa Maya and Cozumel in Mexico, as well as Belize. Available cabins currently start at $809 per guest based on double occupancy, according to Carnivals website.

 Silversea Cruises Silver Dawn ship will depart on a 10-day cruise from Bridgetown, Barbados, to Fort Lauderdale, Florida, on Jan. 26. Passengers will visit Bequia in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines; Castries, Saint Lucia; Saint Johns; Gustavia in St. Barts; Saint Thomas; Spanish Town in the British Virgin Islands; and San Juan. Fares currently start at $5,350 per guest based on double occupancy, according to the luxury lines website.

Nathan Diller is a consumer travel reporter for USA TODAY based in Nashville. You can reach him at ndiller@usatoday.com.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: How Caribbean cruises offer easy, affordable international travel
Editors Note: Sign up for CNNs Meanwhile in China newsletter which explores what you need to know about the countrys rise and how it impacts the world.

On the day Liang resigned from his banking job in Chinas Zhejiang province, his friends threw a party and congratulated him by beating gongs and drums, in an echo of traditional marriage rituals.

His friends, who had also quit their jobs, pinned a flower on Liangs chest under a scarlet banner that read: Were done with this bullsh*t job!

Around them hung lanterns, banners and double happiness signs typically seen during weddings, while tables overflowed with food.

Every partygoer received an invitation stating: Hope you eat well and drink well, escape from the bitterness as soon as possible.

It may seem strange to celebrate leaving a stable job with an enviable salary, especially amid Chinas gloomy economic prospects and record high youth unemployment rate, when such positions are in short supply.

But Liang, 27, who has since become a content creator while running a cafe, said he has become happier since quitting in May, a sentiment shared online by many others in similar circumstances.

Cakes and pastries at Liang's resignation party. The sign reads: 'I quit!' - Liang

I fell into mechanized, repetitive work. It consumed a lot of my energy, he told CNN, adding that he felt stifled creatively at a banks public relations department. Your innovative ideas would have been dismissed and vanish eventually.

CNN is identifying Liang with a pseudonym for privacy reasons.

Hundreds of posts about resignation parties have spread on Chinese social media this year, as the country slowly emerges from its Covid-19 cocoon of isolation and grapples with the economic and social fallout. Most of the people participating in the trend are in their 20s, citing various reasons for quitting ranging from low wages to burnout.

Food and wedding decor at Liang's party. - Liang

According to Chinas LinkedIn equivalent Maimai, out of 1,554 employees across various sectors surveyed from January through October 2022, 28% resigned that year. The number doubled for those who intended to quit but hadnt yet done so.

A similar movement, dubbed the Great Resignation, had taken off in the United States, with almost 50 million people quitting their jobs in two years. While the phenomenon is petering out in the West, it seems to be just getting started in China.

Disillusionment is high among overworked young people who have spent their lives competing against each other academically and climbing the corporate ladder, only to find little satisfaction.

Experts say the trend could exacerbate the countrys growing economic headaches, as a falling birthrate and shrinking workforce spell trouble for future growth  and for generations of Chinese youth.

The school rat race

Many children in China begin the educational rat race at a young age, with years of after-school tutoring and high-pressure exams culminating in the dreaded gaokao college entrance exam  which most students get just one shot at.

I think people in the West, people outside of China, dont understand how hard it is to be a child [there], said Nancy Qian, a professor of economics at Northwestern Universitys Kellogg School of Management. The youth are dealing with a lot of disappointment and pent-up exhaustion and resentment from working so hard.

Many grew up during a time when the economy was running at full speed and the future seemed promising. But, as the products of the one-child policy, which was relaxed only in recent years as authorities tried to reverse the falling birth rate, theyve had to deal with high parental expectations while competing in a cutthroat system.

People attending a job fair in Beijing on August 26, 2022. - Jade Gao/AFP/Getty Images

They were told the sacrifices would all work once they became financially successful, Qian said. Instead, theyve been confronted with the realities of unprecedented unemployment rates and stagnating salaries due to a sluggish economy and intense overwork culture.

It undermines the morals and work ethic theyve been taught their whole lives, Qian said. They are totally burned out.

And while older generations focused on simply making ends meet, young adults growing up in a more prosperous era want meaning and purpose, which their jobs often failed to offer.

A market mismatch

That sense of disillusionment is heightened by what experts say is a mismatch between peoples education levels and their skills, and the jobs available.

China has built the worlds largest education system, with university enrollment almost doubling in just ten years to 57.8% in 2021, according to the Ministry of Education.

However, Yao Lu, a sociology professor at Columbia University, found in her research that a significant proportion of employees are overqualified for their jobs, meaning their positions do not require the skills and knowledge they learned at school.

They are working in jobs that may be relatively stable, may pay reasonably well, but those are jobs that dont typically need a college degree, such as administrative roles in local district offices and food delivery drivers, she said.

This mismatch has serious social consequences including the employees often low levels of satisfaction with their lives and their jobs, she added.

University graduates at a job fair in Yibin, China, on June 14, 2023. - CNS/AFP/Getty Images

Veyron Mai, a resident of the southern city Foshan, graduated with a bachelors degree in music, but was unable to secure a job as a music teacher. He eventually turned to blue-collar work and tried car washing before becoming a restaurant server.

He recalled working in the summer heat and using strongly corrosive cleaning materials.

Even if you wear gloves, it still hurt your hands and made them ugly. After I worked there for a month, I felt ashamed showing other people my hands. How can I call myself a music student?

Lu said there was a structural imbalance between supply and demand.

Despite the proliferation of higher education degrees, Chinas economy doesnt currently require as many high-skilled workers and it takes time to transform the economic structure, she said.

Fewer workers?

The mismatch in the labor market is likely be a long-term issue, which is not good news for the economy as it faces obstacles on multiple fronts.

For years, Chinas fertility rate has been falling, meaning fewer babies and a shrinking group of working-age adults. Meanwhile, the countrys elderly population is rapidly aging, resulting in a rising demand for pension funding, health care and other welfare services.

Against this backdrop, the worst case scenario is if the dispirited youths permanently drop out of the labor force, which will mean even fewer workers to support the elderly in the years to come, said Qian.

The resignation trend could affect fertility, but its not yet clear how, she said.

Young adults freed from grueling work hours could have more time to focus on relationships and start families, she said  or they could further delay that process due to income loss and depressed emotions.

Anything that pushes fertility rates even lower is a serious concern for the future, she said.

Many of those resigning from their jobs arent leaving the workforce entirely.

Those who spoke to CNN or who have written about their experiences online have moved to other positions or other industries. And its unclear how long this trend will last.

Liang now runs a cafe in Taizhou, an eastern city ringed with mountains and a coastline. At my age, I can just quit when I want to, he said. But maybe after a year or two, Ill have to go back to the workplace dejectedly.

For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com
New York City police are looking for a man seen on security video stabbing a man to death early Monday in Brooklyn.

Ryan Carson, 32, of Brooklyn, was killed in the Brooklyn neighborhood of Bedford-Stuyvesant shortly before 4 a.m. Monday, police said.

Officers found Carson with multiple stab wounds to the chest. He was taken to a hospital and pronounced dead.

No one had been arrested Wednesday afternoon, police said.

Brooklyn Stabbing Suspect Wanted (NYPD)

At a media briefing Wednesday, New York police Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny said investigators had developed a suspect and were trying to establish probable cause to make an arrest.

He said that after Carson was fatally stabbed, the knife-wielding man also kicked Carson in the chest.

The assailant then threatened to stab a female companion who was with Carson and spat in her face before he fled, Kenny said.

Carson, wearing a suit, is seen on security video obtained by NBC New York in a confrontation with a man who appears to be holding a knife in his right hand.

The man can be heard telling Carson, Im going to kill you right now.

Carson is heard telling the man, Chill, chill, chill.

Ryan Carson, right, in a surveillance video moments before he was stabbed to death in front of his girlfriend. (via NBC New York)

The man takes a swing at Carsons face, and Carson runs away before he trips over a bus bench and falls to the ground. Thats when the man stabs Carson multiple times, according to the video.

NBC New York reported that Carsons girlfriend witnessed the violence. The pair had attended a wedding and were waiting for a bus.

Carson worked for the nonprofit New York Public Interest Research Group, which, according to its website, launches public education campaigns "to produce policies that strengthen democracy."

Ryan Carson advocates for more safe injection sites in a video for NO OD NY. (NO OD NY via NBC New York)

In a statement about his death, the nonprofit group said Carson, a longtime campaign organizer, was killed in a random street encounter near his home.

His engaging personality, hearty laugh and wide-ranging intelligence were keys to his success in advancing the causes he deeply cared about in his work and personal life, the statement said.

Carsons relatives could not immediately be reached for comment Wednesday afternoon.


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Washington, Oct 5 (UNI) UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres and Mirjana Spoljaric, the president of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), on Thursday called on leaders to establish new international rules to prohibit and restrict the use of autonomous weapon systems to "protect humanity," the United Nations said.

"Today we are joining our voices to address an urgent humanitarian priority.

The United Nations and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) call on States to establish specific prohibitions and restrictions on autonomous weapon systems, to shield present and future generations from the consequences of their use.

In the current security landscape, setting clear international red lines will benefit all States," the UN said in a statement.

Specifically, Guterres and Spoljaric call on "world leaders to launch negotiations of a new legally binding instrument to set clear prohibitions and restrictions on autonomous weapon systems and to conclude such negotiations by 2026" and urge member states to "take decisive action now to protect humanity."

The UN added that the development and proliferation of autonomous weapon systems  systems that can target and apply force against targets without human intervention  pose "serious humanitarian, legal, ethical and security concerns," and have "the potential to significantly change the way wars are fought" and "contribute to global instability and heightened international tensions."

"We must act now to preserve human control over the use of force.

Human control must be retained in life and death decisions.

The autonomous targeting of humans by machines is a moral line that we must not cross.

Machines with the power and discretion to take lives without human involvement should be prohibited by international law," the statement said.

The UN also added that increasing availability and accessibility of new technologies, such as in robotics and artificial intelligence that could be integrated into these systems, raising concerns among the organizations, as well as scientists and industry leaders developing these technologies.

"This means prohibiting autonomous weapon systems which function in such a way that their effects cannot be predicted. For example, allowing autonomous weapons to be controlled by machine learning algorithms  fundamentally unpredictable software which writes itself  is an unacceptably dangerous proposition," the statement read.

The UN also said that clear restrictions  including limiting where, when and for how long the systems are used, the types of targets they attack and the scale of the force used  are required for "all other types of autonomous weapons" to ensure compliance with "international law and ethical acceptability."

The UN also called for ensuring the ability "for effective human supervision" and "timely intervention and deactivation."

UNI/SPUTNIK XC AKS
YEREVAN, OCTOBER 5, ARMENPRESS. Germany insists that the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan around Nagorno-Karabakh should be resolved through diplomacy, Chancellor Olaf Scholz has said during a phone call with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev.

Scholz said that Germany rejects military violence.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said the basis for sustainable peace between Armenia and Azerbaijan shall be the preservation of the principle of territorial integrity, the German government said in the readout of the call.

Scholz emphasized that Germany fully supports European Council President Charles Michels efforts aimed at the peaceful resolution in NK.

Chancellor Scholz also described the October 1 UN mission to NK as a positive step that should be used for further work in that direction.

The UN mission was heavily criticized in Armenia.
BRUSSELS, OCTOBER 5, ARMENPRESS. The European Parliament has adopted a resolution on condemning Azerbaijans military aggression against Nagorno-Karabakh, calling on the EU to sanction Azeri officials responsible for the ceasefire violation in NK which led to numerous human rights violations.

The resolution was adopted on October 5 with 491 votes in favor, 9 against and 36 abstentions.

Condemning Azerbaijans violent seizure of Nagorno-Karabakh, the MEPs call for sanctions against those responsible and for the EU to review its relations with Baku.

In the resolution the European Parliament strongly condemns Azerbaijans pre-planned and unjustified military attack against Nagorno-Karabakh on 19 September, which MEPs say constitutes a gross violation of international law and human rights and a clear infringement of previous attempts to achieve a ceasefire. With over 100,000 ethnic Armenians having been forced to flee NK since the latest offensive, MEPs say the current situation amounts to ethnic cleansing and strongly condemn threats and violence committed by Azerbaijani troops against the Armenian inhabitants of Nagorno-Karabakh.

They also call on the EU and member states to immediately offer all necessary assistance to Armenia to deal with the influx of refugees from Nagorno-Karabakh and the subsequent humanitarian crisis.

MEPs want to see Azeri officials sanctioned

Appalled by Azerbaijans latest attack, Parliament calls on the EU to adopt targeted sanctions against the government officials in Baku responsible for multiple ceasefire violations and human rights abuses in Nagorno-Karabakh. While reminding the Azeri side that it bears full responsibility for ensuring the safety and well-being of all people in the enclave, MEPs demand investigations into abuses committed by Azerbaijani troops that may constitute war crimes.

Expressing serious concern over irredentist and inflammatory statements by Azerbaijani president llham Aliyev and other Azeri officials threatening the territorial integrity of Armenia, MEPs warn Baku against any potential military adventurism and call on Turkiye to restrain its ally.

The EU must reassess its relations with Azerbaijan

Parliament calls on the EU to undertake a comprehensive review of its relations with Baku. To develop a strategic partnership with a country like Azerbaijan, which blatantly violates international law and international commitments, and has an alarming human rights record, is incompatible with the objectives of EU foreign policy, MEPs say. They urge the EU to suspend any negotiations on a renewed partnership with Baku, and should the situation not improve, consider suspending the application of the EU visa facilitation agreement with Azerbaijan.

Parliament also calls on the EU to reduce its dependency on Azeri gas imports and, in the event of military aggression or significant hybrid attacks against Armenia, for a full EU import stop of Azeri oil and gas.
YEREVAN, OCTOBER 5, ARMENPRESS. The EU will provide more than 25 million to Armenia after Azerbaijans attack in Nagorno-Karabakh, President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen has said.

Weve allocated 5,2 million euros. And today I will tell the Armenian Prime Minister that we are ready to nearly double this amount to 10,2 million, and that we are providing an additional 15 million euros in assistance to Armenias budget, TASS news agency quoted Ursula von der Leyen as saying in Granada, Spain ahead of the European Political Community summit. Armenian Prime Minister Pashinyan is also in attendance at the summit. He was supposed to have peace talks with Azeri president Aliyev there but the latter pulled out a day before the planned meeting.

Ursula von der Leyen said she will meet PM Pashinyan in Granada and discuss support to Armenia.

Of course, Armenia will have a role in todays discussions. I will have a bilateral meeting with the Armenian Prime Minister. We are resolutely supporting Armenia, we have supported its humanitarian needs. We will discuss what else we can do for Armenia in this difficult situation, the President of the European Commission told reporters ahead of the meeting.

She said that the EU has strongly condemned Azerbaijans military operation in Nagorno-Karabakh and is working to restore dialogue between Armenia and Azerbaijan and achieve a peace treaty.
by Mathias Hariyadi

The Muslim Council of Elders opened an office in the Indonesian capital during yesterdays conference. The Council plans to work with other groups in Malaysia and Pakistan. Focus on the environment coincides with Laudate Deum, and comes a few weeks before COP28 in Dubai. Christians and Muslims share the same concern for the environment. The Bandung Eco Camp highlights the Churchs commitment at work.

Jakarta (AsiaNews)  A Conference on Religions and Climate Change Southeast Asia (CORECS) was held yesterday in Jakarta, the capital of Indonesia. Dozens of religious leaders from different faiths came from all over the region to the event, organised by the Muslim Council of Elders (Muslim Hukama Council MHM).

This is part of a series of initiatives following the historic Document on Human Fraternity for World Peace and Living Together signed jointly by Pope Francis and Grand Imam of al-Azhar Ahmad al-Tayyeb in February 2019 in Abu Dhabi (United Arab Emirates).

The Jakarta conference, which focused on combining spiritual and religious elements to care for creation, was held on the same day that the Vatican published Pope Franciss Apostolic Exhortation Laudate Deum, on climate change eight years after His Encyclical Laudato Si.

The MHM, an organisation created by al-Tayyeb himself in 2014, used the interfaith meeting on climate in Jakarta, which comes a few weeks before the 28th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP28) in Dubai (UAE) next November and December, to open an Indonesian office.

Speaking to hundreds of participants, MHM Secretary General Mohamed Abdelsalam thanked the Indonesian government "for supporting our initiative" and the opening of an office in the Indonesian capital.

"This international conference on religion and climate change is taking place here as a supporting event ahead of COP28 in the United Arab Emirates, in Dubai, he said yesterday.

The environment is very topical for the Southeast Asian nation; the most populous Muslim country in the world has some 94 million hectares of forests and is among the countries most affected by climate change.

In view of the UN conference, Abdelsalam noted that, "our group will be among the proponents of the Faith Pavilion, a new thing that has not been present in previous editions" of the global summit on climate.

Another international conference is set for 6-7 November in Abu Dhabi with delegates from the Catholic Church, experts from the United Nations Environment Programme, and local authorities.

For the MHMs Jakarta office, the goal is to start a "fruitful collaboration" with other groups in Malaysia and Pakistan to "promote fraternal dialogue, social tolerance, peace, and living together".

Our imminent and clear challenge right now is climate change, said Saiful Rahmat Dasuki, on behalf of the Indonesian Ministry of Religious Affairs.

In his view, religious leaders have an increasingly important role to play since they will be called to speak out more frequently and carefully to prevent "the destruction of nature".

Fr Stanislaus Ferry Sutrisna Wijaya, from the Bandung eco camp, is a leading member of Indonesias Catholic Church, dedicated to environmental issues and nature conservation.

For decades, his work has allowed thousands of people - students, teachers, university students, religious leaders - to learn more about nature conservation.

On the sidelines of yesterday's conference in Jakarta, the clergyman stressed how the mission of Bandung eco camp is closely tied to the Abu Dhabi document.

Through Laudato Si (2019) and Laudate Deum (2023), "we are all called to promote brotherhood and peaceful coexistence and spark cooperation among people in society to preserve nature.

Since its establishment in 2014, the camp has been visited by at least 30,000 environment enthusiasts, helped train about 500 green leaders as well as 75 environmental volunteers, with the participation of 2,162 schools with 69,628 students and their parents.

Fr Stanislauss concerns are shared by Indonesias Environment Ministry. "The Paris Agreement should be supported by all parties, said Laksmi Dhewanti, an official with the ministry. The goal of zero emissions in 2060 should become our common objective.

(Fr Ferry Sutrisna Wijaja PR contributed to the article)
Press Release

October 5, 2023 'Edukasyon ang tanging puhunan natin sa mundong ito' -- Bong Go calls for sufficient budget for CHED, SUCs to ensure better opportunities for the youth Senator Christopher "Bong" Go reiterated his full support for the proposed 2024 National Expenditure Program for State Universities and Colleges (SUCs), Commission on Higher Education (CHED), as well as for the Development Academy of the Philippines (DAP), as Senator Pia Cayetano officially noted on record during a Senate Finance Subcommittee hearing on Monday, October 2 which she presided over. "Education is the cornerstone of our nation's progress. I stand firmly behind the proposed budgets for CHED, DAP, and SUCs as they are instrumental in shaping our future leaders," said Go, who is pushing for comprehensive legislative initiatives to enhance the country's education sector. "Nanawagan ako ng pagkakaisa at pakikipagtulungan ng mga SUCs kasama na ang CHED at iba pang ahensya ng gobyerno, at mga kapwa ko mambabatas na patuloy nating isulong ang mga inisyatibo para sa kinabukasan ng mga kabataan dahil ang maayos na edukasyon ang tanging puhunan natin sa mundong ito," he reiterated. Go has been a vocal advocate of maintaining education as a top priority in the country. He has pledged to support policies that not only strengthen the education sector but also prioritize the health and well-being of students. This current Congress, the senator co-authored and co-sponsored Senate Bill No. 1359, known as the No Permit, No Exam Prohibition Act. This proposed measure aims to penalize educational institutions that prevent students from taking exams due to unpaid tuition or other school fees. Another bill co-authored and co-sponsored by Go, SBN 1864 or the Student Loan Payment Moratorium During Disasters and Emergencies Act, passed its third and final reading in the Senate recently. The bill is designed to offer relief to students who are unable to repay loans due to unforeseen disasters and emergencies. Go also filed SBN 1190, which proposes to expand the purposes and applications of the Special Education Fund of local government units for the operation and maintenance of public schools, payment of salaries and benefits for teaching and non-teaching personnel, competency training, operation of the Alternative Learning System (ALS), and educational research, among other things. Go's legislative portfolio also includes co-authoring Republic Act No. 11510, which institutionalized the ALS and improved basic education delivery to underserved and disadvantaged students. This includes indigenous students, those with less privileged backgrounds, and those with physical and learning disabilities. Moreover, Go co-authored SBN 94, the Teaching Supplies Allowance Act of 2022, which aims to increase the annual "chalk allowance" provided to teachers, thereby relieving them of the financial burden of purchasing classroom supplies. He also co-authored and co-sponsored SBN 1360, which seeks to expand the coverage of the tertiary education subsidy (TES) by amending Republic Act No. 10931, or the Universal Access To Quality Tertiary Education Act. "Kung maipasa natin ito, mas mabibigyan natin ng pagkakataon ang mga qualified and deserving students natin na makakuha ng kalidad na edukasyon," Go emphasized. "Ito ang rason kung bakit isinabatas noong panahon ni dating pangulong Rodrigo Duterte ang Republic Act No. 10931, o ang Universal Access To Quality Tertiary Education Act. Ako rin ay nag co-author at co-sponsor ng panukalang Senate Bill No. 1360 na layuning mas palawakin pa ito lalo," he added. Moreover, Go stated that education is not just about academics but about creating a holistic environment where students can thrive mentally, emotionally, and physically. This is why he has co-authored and co-sponsored Senate Bill No. 2200, known as the proposed Basic Education Mental Health and Well-Being Promotion Act. This bill aims to provide comprehensive mental health support for the youth in the country's basic education system, mandating both private and public schools to integrate mental health education and support services into their curriculum. Furthermore, Go has also been pushing for the passage of his proposed SBN 1786, which seeks to mandate public higher education institutions to establish Mental Health Offices on their campuses. This aligns with his belief that mental health should receive the same level of attention and care as physical health.
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Lawyer Lu Siwei - detained in July in Vientiane while trying to flee the People's Republic - is in a detention centre in Sichuan despite warnings from UN Human Rights Council officials. The same place where Beijing seeks re-election for a new three-year term on 10 October.

Milan (AsiaNews/Agencies) - Arrested in Laos and deported to a prison in the People's Republic of China. The appeals of international organizations were to no avail: the Chinese human rights lawyer Lu Siwei is in the Xindu detention center in Sichuan according to his wife Zhang Chunxiao. An exile in the United States, she broke the news last July of her husband's detention in Laos, where he was also attempting to leave China.

Zhang Chunxiao told Radio Free Asia that Lu Siwei's family in China received a notice from the detention center asking for clothes, medicine and money to be sent. Lu Siwei suffers from a serious skin disease and has been without medicine for more than two months.

During the phone call it was not specified how long he has been in China or on what charges he is detained. Last month, the Chinese embassy in Laos sent a communication to the Lao Ministry of Public Security stating that his criminal detention had been authorized for illegally crossing the border. On this basis, Beijing asked the Laotian authorities for the transfer "as soon as possible".

Lu Siwei defended the lawyers arrested in the "709 case" and those arrested in the "June 4 liquor case" in Chengdu. In 2021, Sichuan's judicial department revoked his lawyer's license for representing 12 people from Hong Kong, which was deemed a "threat to national security."

He has already been the victim of intimidation and harassment while on his way to his disbarment hearing. Since May 2021 he was also subject to a ban on leaving the country. He had arrived in Laos via Vietnam and when he was stopped he was boarding a train to Thailand, from where he would try to join his family in the United States.

A group of senior officials from the UN Human Rights Council also intervened in Lu Siwei's case in August and reminded the Laos government that "under international law the principle of 'non-refoulement' guarantees that no one should be repatriated to a country where he or she may suffer torture, cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, and other forms of violence." If Liu Siwei had been transferred to China - they wrote - it would have been a violation of Article 3 of the Convention against Torture, of which Laos is a signatory country.

Due to its increasingly close ties with Beijing, the Vientiane government has evidently wanted to ignore these calls. And - in the shadow of the affairs of the Belt and Road Initiative - the concern of Chinese dissidents is now growing throughout South-East Asia, who no longer feel safe even outside the borders of the People's Republic of China.

The case of Li Siwei, for example, was also carefully followed by Chen Siming, another Chinese activist who has been at the Taiwan airport for two weeks from where he made a request for political asylum. He too had followed the same path, fleeing to Laos and then to Thailand to escape a threat of internment in a psychiatric hospital for having commemorated the victims of Tiananmen.

All this is happening on the eve of the October 10th meeting, when the People's Republic of China will seek (and in all likelihood obtain) re-election for another three-year term in the same UN Human Rights Council which is supposed to monitor these violations.

RED LANTERNS IS THE ASIANEWS NEWSLETTER DEDICATED TO THE CHINA. TO RECEIVE A WEEKLY UPDATE EVERY THURSDAY, CLICK HERE.
Azerbaijan wanted Turkey to send a representative, but Germany and France were against it. This has delayed the quest for a diplomatic solution. Armenia is trying to meet to the immediate needs of some 100,000 refugees who are angry at the international community for abandoning them, several sources say. A representative of the International Committee of the Red Cross told AsiaNews that he found the city of Stepanakert, called Khankendi by Azerbaijanis, "deserted".

Granada (AsiaNews/Agencies)  The President of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev, will not be in Granada (Spain) for a meeting with European leaders and Armenian authorities to discuss the future of Nagorno-Karabakh following the dissolution of the Republic of Artsakh.

Meanwhile, appeals for a negotiated solution are multiplying after the armed conquest of the enclave sparked the exodus of over 100,000 people to Armenia.

The Presidency of the Council of European Bishops' Conferences (CEBC) added its appeal, asking the international community to alleviate the humanitarian emergency of the hundreds of thousands of displaced and protect the Christian heritage in Nagorno Karabakh, including some 1,456 Armenian monuments now under Azerbaijan's control after the ceasefire in 2020 [. . .] already damaged during the war.

The CEBC also expressed hope that international bodies will find a negotiated solution that guarantees the safety of the displaced and their right to return to the lands where they grew up with their traditions.

Nagorno-Karabakh, known as Artsakh in Armenian, is a region with a Christian Armenian majority, included within the borders of Azerbaijan by Stalin, who divided the region in the early 1920s.

Tensions began to grow after the dissolution of the USSR in 1989-91.

Before the final, lightning, 24-hour offensive, on 19 September, the Lachin corridor connecting Nagorno-Karabakh to Armenia had been blocked for 10 months, and diplomatic efforts by the European Union had failed to overcome the stalemate,

The previous war in 2020 had ended in a fragile truce after 44 days.

Azerbaijani President Aliyev had considered taking part in talks with the leaders of France, Germany, Armenia and EU President Council Charles Michel, but had asked that Turkey also be present at the meeting.

Germany and France turned down that request, while France announced that it would continue supplying military equipment to Armenia, further irritating Azerbaijan.

Meanwhile, Armenian authorities are trying to cope with the immediate needs of the refugees, especially as winter approaches.

According to experts, it is clear that the refugees will not return to the territory now controlled by Azerbaijan, despite promises by Azerbaijani officials of equal rights and freedoms of everyone in Nagorno-Karabakh, regardless of ethnic, religious or linguistic affiliation.

For the International Crisis Group, the promises made [by Azerbaijan] are insufficient to build trust after decades of tensions.

According to Tigran Grigoryan, head of the Regional Center for Democracy and Security, a think tank in Yerevan, the local population feels that they have been left behind, basically, by the whole world - by the international community, partly by the government of Armenia.

For Goris Deputy Mayor Irina Yolyan, Thousands of families are now homeless. Azerbaijan is like a steamroller across the asphalt. Nothing is stopping them, and this situation creates a great unhappiness, a great discontent with territorial losses and the sheer level of human suffering.

UN experts, who arrived for the first time in 30 years, estimate that 50 to 1,000 Armenians remain in the region.

Marco Succi, head of the rapid reaction team of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), said he found a "surreal situation" upon his arrival on 22 September in the regions largest city, known as Stepanakert in Armenian and Khankendi in Azeri.

"The city is empty and almost deserted," he told AsiaNews. "At present, there are only a few dozen people left who did not want to leave or vulnerable individuals who could not escape, mostly the elderly, bedridden patients or mentally disabled people."

Some people were found to be severely malnourished. Communication links have been blown up, so those who have remained cannot contact those who have left the region.

The electricity grid is still working, as is the water network, but we don't know the quality of the water," Succi continued. "Hospitals don't work, there are only five Azerbaijani ambulances operating in a limited manner."

The CIRC, present in Nagorno-Karabakh since the start of tensions in 1992, acts as a neutral player between Armenia, which has always been supported by Russia, and Azerbaijan, dealing with the evacuation of the wounded and the search for the missing.

The next step will be to reach the villages and towns involved in the last phase of the offensive.

We are evaluating with the de facto authorities if and when we can reach these locations, Succi explained. There, too, we expect to find vulnerable people like those left here.

As for the dead, however, it will be necessary to proceed with identification and then guarantee a dignified burial, added the Red Cross team leader.

"In the event of armed conflict, like last time in 2020, it is always possible to proceed with search and rescue operations with a team composed of Azerbaijanis, Armenians and Russians, [the latter are] present as peacekeepers. We would like to recreate those teams even now."
by Vladimir Rozanskij

Assembly of the igumens and igumene of the Russian Orthodox Church underway in Moscow. The representatives of the Ukrainian monasteries were absent. Metropolitan of Nizhny Novgorod Georgij: "Even if the enemy of mankind tries to divide us, we will soon live as before according to the traditions of our fathers".

Moscow (AsiaNews) - The great assembly of the hegumens (abbots and abbesses) of the monasteries of the Russian Orthodox Church was held in Russia, presided over by the head of the Commission of the "Interconciliar Presence" (the title of the Moscow Patriarchal Curia) for the organization of monastic life, the metropolitan of Nizhny Novgorod Georgij (Danilov), who illustrated the contents of the meeting on the Russian portal Monastyrskij Vestnik, the "Monastic Messenger".

Georgij first commented on the speech of Patriarch Kirill (Gundjaev) in the Ecclesial Council Hall of the Cathedral of Christ the Savior in Moscow, underlining that "he spoke from the heart, recalling his long and profound monastic experience".

The head of the Russian Church recalls that many services are assigned to monasteries today, both spiritual and social, but the main part of his speech concerned the specific vocation of the monk which concerns "the fight against passions and evil spirits which is under heaven (Eph 6:12), in conversion, prayer, adoration and vigilance".

The monastery, insists the patriarch, "is first of all the place of prayer, hermitic in the cell and sobornaja [community] in the church", to be accompanied with "the admonitions of the holy fathers".

For this reason, monasteries must have good libraries, where "brothers and sisters must go often, to assimilate spiritual experience and thus have the possibility of continuing the tradition of Russian monasticism, which has weakened so much in the 20th century".

Metropolitan Georgij observes that in the patriarch's words he felt a particular consonance in the definition of the monk as a "soldier for Christ". In this dimension "if you go into battle, you cannot stop and look back, we must realize our vocation without sparing ourselves".

Nothing external must hold the monk back, neither relatives, nor friends or other external distractions, which often create divisions between brothers and sisters. In many interventions at the assembly, emphasis was placed on the podvig, the "sacrifice" of the monk.

One of the most important tasks of the superiors of monastic communities is the care of the education and spiritual growth of the novices: "today, fortunately, we have all the means at our disposal, it is enough to enter the monastery and take all the gold of the tradition of our predecessors , trying to use it well in practice, without ruining it".

The assembly was missing representatives of the Ukrainian monasteries of the Church (UPZ) linked to the Patriarchate of Moscow, but Georgij states that "our meeting had no political colour, we are all heirs of Holy Russia, our common roots date back to the saints Antonij and Feodosij of the Kiev Caves.

According to the metropolitan "we are a single organism, which Heaven has predestined as the Russian Orthodox Church, and even if the enemy of the human race tries to divide us, but this is an earthly and transitory event, which will soon dissolve, and we will live as before according to the traditions of our fathers."

The Russian monks pray for Metropolitan Pavel (Lebed), former superior of the Kiev Cave Lavra today under house arrest, and for all the brothers expelled from the main Kiev convent: "may God grant courage to all those who suffer in Ukraine , fortitude and fidelity to the canons of the Church".

Patriarch Kirill compared this period to that experienced by his family under the persecutions of the Soviet period, but "the times of repression are over in our homeland, and the Church today lives with all its vital energies, as we are certain will also happen in Ukraine, we will once again be one family of blood and spirit."

Georgij also enthusiastically recalls President Vladimir Putin's recent visit to his eparchy of Nizhny Novgorod, where he was illustrated with the work of reviving devotion to Saint Serafim of Sarov in the Diveevo monastery, a destination for pilgrimages from all over Russia.

Putin listened to the testimonies of monks and collaborators "with emotion and great attention", as they reflected "the great rebirth of all the Russian people, who thanks to the monasteries can live on a par with the angels around the divine Throne".

Photo: Flickr / -
Divided into 35 small groups in the Paul VI Hall, participants are discussing the first part of the Instrumentum Laboris. The two mainland Chinese bishops concelebrated Mass with Pope Francis. Mathew Tomas, a layman from a vicariate of Arabia, told his story, explaining how young people met construction workers individually for the synod.

Vatican City (AsiaNews)  After yesterday's Mass and the inaugural session in the afternoon, the Synodal Assembly began its work this morning in the Paul VI Hall.

The first part of Instrumentum laboris will see some 35 round tables, each with about 10 or more people, speaking the same language, discussing the first part of the synodal consultation, reflecting on how to turn mutual listening into a method for the Church.

Each member of the Synod was given a place at one round table, distributed according to language (Italian, English, French and Spanish) and type, non-bishop members (priests, men and women religious, lay people and lay people), a novelty compared to the working method of previous episcopal assemblies.

The small groups are the starting point, where everyone is immediately called to bring their own contribution, which a rapporteur (elected by each group) will report in a brief summary at the General Congregation, careful to present points of convergence and divergence.

The process of mutual listening will go on for the first two weeks of the Synod, which Pope Francis stressed yesterday evening in his greeting to the first General Congregation, referring to outside pressures in the case of some topics.

In his address, the pontiff touched a number of themes like communion for the divorced or the ordination of viri probati, which have dominated the media debate in previous synods, or more recent controversies: What will they do?, Perhaps the priesthood for women. For this reason, he urged journalists to inform the public that this synod is a pause for all the Church, to listen. This is the most important message.

Two bishops were present from the People's Republic of China, appointed by Pope Francis upon the suggestion of the local Church in agreement with Chinese authorities: Bishop Joseph Yang Yongqiang of Zhoucun (Shandong) and Bishop Anthony Yao Shun of Jining (Inner Mongolia).

The two concelebrated yesterday mornings opening Mass in front of St Peter's Basilica (see picture), which Archbishop Tarcisius Isao Kikuchi of Tokyo shared on his Facebook account.

Mathew Thomas, the first lay member of the synod to speak, provided one of the strongest voices in the first General Congregation, representing the two apostolic vicariates of Arabia and the migrant Church in the Persian Gulf.

In his address, he spoke about the synodal journey in his community, which includes more than a hundred 100 nationalities speaking dozens of languages.

"I want to dedicate a special mention to the fact that our synodal process was also attended by the small Catholic community that still lives its faith in war-torn Yemen."

He spoke about what was done to involve those who never had a voice. "Most of the migrants in the Gulf are construction workers, living in special camps, working 10 or 12 hours a day, six days a week. Hundreds of young volunteers went around to meet them. Holding meetings in the camps was not allowed, so they met them one by one. The latter were happy that the Church had taken the initiative to listen to them."

Another special experience of synodal listening in the region involved a community of Catholic fishermen in one of the emirates.

"At first they did not want to collaborate because for almost three years they had not come to church over some disagreement, Thomas explained. But young people continued to visit them and so they agreed to sit down to talk. The result is that they are back in church.
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Sheridan Semple is an Aspen-area resident. She can be reached at at sheridan@sheridansemple.com.
kW

TDI

PHEV

Don't get us wrong, the first Kodiaq was already among the biggest in its segment, but the new one dwarfs it. At 4,758 mm (187.3 in) long, it is 4 mm (0.2 in) longer than the first-gen VW Touareg . The model is 1,864 mm (73.4 in) wide and 1,659 mm (65.3 in) tall, according to Skoda, and measures 2,855 mm (112.4 in) between the axles, a 64-mm (2.5-in) improvement.In the design department, it looks like an evolution of its predecessor. Mind you, there are some key upgrades here, such as the new double headlamps that are bigger on the new generation, the wider and taller grille, new C-shaped taillights of larger proportions, and a slightly cleaner-looking rear bumper. For more visual ruggedness, it features black cladding on the lower portions of the body.The 2024 Kodiaq underwent more changes inside. The cockpit also follows the evolutionary route  for the most part. It has a new free-standing infotainment system measuring up to 13 inches in diagonal on the well-equipped specifications, a 10-inch digital gauge cluster, a head-up display, and numerous amenities.Skoda mentions stuff such as the Phone Box with a cooling function that can charge two smartphones, massaging seats, gear shifter moved to the steering column, an umbrella integrated into the driver's door, an ice scraper, additional storage spaces, and the usual remote functions, joined by a plethora of safety gear.Power-wise, the 2024 Skoda Kodiaq brings gasoline, diesel, and plug-in hybrid options. The entry-level uses a 1.5-liter TSI mild-hybrid with 150 ps (148 hp/110), and there is also a 204 ps (201 hp/150 kW) 2.0 TSI. Twodiesels, rated at 150 and 193 ps (148/190 hp/110/142 kW), are also available, alongside a 1.5-liter plug-in hybrid that enjoys a total of 204 ps (201 hp/150 kW).The punchiest TSI and TDI versions pack all-wheel drive, whereas the rest of the range has to make do with front-wheel drive. All variants of the new Kodiaq, bar the, use a seven-speed DSG. The plug-in hybrid model, on the other hand, features a six-speed DSG and boasts an electric driving range in excess of 100 km (62 miles) on a full charge.Skoda will release the pricing details in due course, as the new generation Kodiaq is scheduled to go on sale in Europe in the coming months. In the United Kingdom, for instance, the Czech automaker will open the order books next February, and it appears that buyers will have to wait until June 2024 to take delivery of the vehicle.
The bug

Photo: Bogdan Popa/autoevolution

The fix

Photo: Bogdan Popa/autoevolution

The Coolwalk update

Photo: Bogdan Popa/autoevolution

Coolwalk is now available for all Android Auto users, but the search giant still has a lot of work to do to ensure 100 percent stability and reliability.Living proof is a bug that appeared earlier this week. Users who installed the most recent Android Auto versions claim the taskbar at the bottom of the screen is no longer there, so they can't switch apps.Once Android Auto launches, it automatically loads the navigation app, in most cases Google Maps. Due to the lack of an application bar in the lower part of the screen, users are stuck with the navigation app, as they can't switch to Spotify, Waze, or any other app.The problem is as mysterious as it gets, and considering it appeared earlier this week, I managed to collect only limited information about it.First, it looks like only users who installed Android Auto 10.4 and 10.5 encountered the glitch. They claim the taskbar went away after updating Android Auto, but it's unclear if the glitch is linked to a specific app version.A server-side problem could also cause the issue, but given Google has remained tight-lipped so far, it's impossible to tell where the error resides.Oddly enough, some users claim they no longer see the taskbar on Android Auto 10.4 with a specific phone, but everything is working correctly if they switch mobile devices. These reports could indicate a software compatibility problem, but every user signals a different behavior on different phones and different Android Auto versions.The confusion continues with the Android Auto connection method impacted by the glitch. Some say only the wired version of Android Auto exhibits the bug, and everything works correctly when using the wireless mode. Others claim the same thing happens regardless of how they run Android Auto.This is the part where everything becomes even more confusing. Despite the bug being quite new, most users have already tried the generic workarounds. However, clearing the cache, deleting the app's data, reinstalling Android Auto, and even downgrading to an earlier release didn't bring things back to normal.Some users claim they've tried to reset everything, including the mobile device and even the infotainment unit. Unsurprisingly, it didn't work, as Android Auto still failed to display the taskbar and the Coolwalk screen where apps run side-by-side.Someone on Google's forums claims they also tried disabling Google Maps , but this step kills Android Auto. Because the app launches directly to Google Maps, not showing a taskbar to allow users to switch to a different app, Android Auto is stuck with a blank screen. Users can't do anything other than disconnect the phone to return to the OEM interface.No workaround is available at this point, but someone says they downloaded to version 10.0, and everything was back to normal. If this works for everybody, it could suggest the glitch is caused by a weird mix of software compatibility errors between the latest Android Auto versions and certain phone operating systems. It's too early to tell who is affected, but I see reports from Samsung, Google, and Huawei phone owners. Everybody says the taskbar is no longer available on Android Auto.The Coolwalk interface was one of the biggest additions ever received by Android Auto. Like the CarPlay Dashboard, Coolwalk allows users to run multiple apps side-by-side on the same screen using cards.Each card is used by a certain app category. Navigation apps, such as Google Maps and Waze , use the largest card on the screen because they must display more information, including the maps and the turn-by-turn navigation. Audio apps like Spotify and YouTube Music, phone calls, and the weather forecast use the rest of the interface.The weather information is only available on portrait displays where the screen estate allows one extra card. Google originally promised to bring the forecast to landscape displays, but no further information has been offered since this promise was made.The taskbar at the bottom of the screen allows users to launch apps and toggle between the full-screen mode, originally the only way to run apps on Android Auto, and the Coolwalk interface with apps running side-by-side. Because it's no longer available, toggling between apps is impossible, so users must stick with whatever launches on the screen when Android Auto fires up.An Android Auto team member has already joined the conversation on the official support forums, asking for bug reports from users' phones, but it's too early to tell when a fix could go live. If you somehow discover a workaround, please share it with the rest of the readers using the comment box after the jump.
A DoorDash driver who tried to deliver a Dunkin Donuts order to a customer in Middleton took everything the navigation app said for granted, following every little turn until they ended up in a forest. The unusual location didn't ring any bells, so the driver continued to follow the suggested route until they got stuck in a pond.It was the moment when they realized that something was not good, so they called the emergency teams for help.The Middleton Police explained that the driver could get out of the vehicle and walk to a nearby home. The first officers who responded to the scene claimed the driver was panicked but still holding the Dunkin Donuts order in hand (that's some commitment right there).The driver explained that the vehicle was "underwater," adding that they were just following the instructions provided by the GPS software to find the address. No further information was provided on the GPS solution, but chances are the driver used Google Maps, Waze, or Apple Maps to find the address.The police officers started the search for the vehicle, went down a dirt road, and eventually discovered the vehicle partially submerged in the water. The car was still running and was towed to safety.Here comes the tricky part.The Middleton Police says the driver will be charged with negligent operation of a motor vehicle and will have their license suspended, apparently because getting your car into a pond is much more dangerous than driving without a license or speeding (which are apparently very common in the region). Leaving aside the ridiculous punishment and hoping a judge would throw out the case, following GPS navigation when everything looks so dangerous is never a good idea.Unfortunately, people figure this out regularly, as drivers rely too much on navigation apps for every little journey to unfamiliar destinations. Not long ago, two people drowned in India after using a route suggested by Google Maps . The driver ended up taking a wrong turn, plunging the vehicle carrying five people into a river.A commenter says on Facebook that the navigation instructions on Google Maps and Waze are often broken. The two navigation apps allegedly sent drivers to their driveway "almost every day" until they reported the bug and insisted on fixing the map data.It's unclear if the DoorDash driver was using one of these mobile navigation apps, as the police press release simply refers to the navigation solution as "GPS."
By now, you know pretty well how Elon Musk decided to call Twitter after purchasing it. When the Tesla CEO announced his social media would become X, I felt tempted to compare that move to what Eike Batista used to do. The former Brazilian billionaire always put an X in his companies' names as a lucky charm: he thought it would help them multiply good results. The ZEEKR X does not have any connection with any of these two controversial characters apart from adopting several solutions Tesla applied to its cars and trying to perfect them  even the lousy ones.

SUV

Photo: Petter Berg/ZEEKR

Design Evaluation

BEV

Photo: ZEEKR

Interior Assessment

Photo: Gustavo Henrique Ruffo

Photo: Petter Berg/ZEEKR

Photo: Petter Berg/ZEEKR

Driving Take

Photo: Petter Berg/ZEEKR

Photo: ZEEKR

Everyday Living

Photo: ZEEKR

kW

kWh

Photo: Petter Berg/ZEEKR

Test Drive Roundup

AWD

Competitive pricing

Distinctive style

Build quality

Roominess

Throttle response

Distracting tech

Lack of buttons

It was not always like that. ZEEKR's first car  the 001, of course  followed a more traditional approach that makes it feel premium effortlessly. I have also driven it, so I'll save my impressions about the car for another story. Geely's premium brand will try to convince customers that the X can be the same thing with something it calls Modern Luxury Experience. Summing it up, it relies on a simpler interior and more tech to offer a premium feel.According to ZEEKR's executives, the company has identified two main target audiences for this proposition. The first is what they call Tech Savvy, someone who is more interested in gadgets than in driving. The second aspirational customers are the Young Olds, those who have already raised their kids and may eventually carry their grandchildren around. Their previous cars were premium internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles, so they still want that feel in their new electric cars, which they chose out of environmental concerns.If your reference for premium cars is Tesla, the ZEEKR X will look better than the American battery electric vehicle (BEV) maker's products. If you come from more traditional brands, the premium materials and the build quality in this Chinesewill not make the cut. What compromises its premium experience is not any of these factors; it is the way the ZEEKR X was conceived.ZEEKR did a good work at giving the X a distinctive appearance. Although it will remind you of a Lynk & Co product  as I mentioned in a previous story  the new electric SUV has styling solutions that set it apart. Get close to the car, and the door handles will tilt toward the interior. Just insert your hand in the niche this movement creates and touch the top of the inside surface: the door will pop open. That will have some implications, but I'll talk about them later.Before you enter the, you can appreciate the elegant work ZEEKR's designers performed. Some companies just place creases everywhere, making their cars look like crumpled sheets of paper. The ZEEKR X has one that starts at the bottom of the front doors and goes up straight to the high base of the C-pillar in the rear doors. Another one emerges from the middle of the front door to reach the rear wheel well. The sills and wheel arch claddings are painted black piano, which may become problematic as the car ages.All units of the ZEEKR X have a two-tone paint because the upper part of the body is always black. There are four color options for the lower portion of the vehicle: grey, beige, white, or green. Despite presenting an impressive drag coefficient of 0.28  similar to that the most advanced sedans in the 2000s had  ZEEKR will have the option of roof rails in the future.Externally, the only similarity you'll find with a Tesla is the frameless doors. That's almost standard in BEVs because it makes the vehicle lighter. According to Tony Baho, these windows also give the car a more sophisticated appearance. I reminded ZEEKR's chief designer for Color, Materials, Finish (CMF) that this is only desirable in vehicles with strict quality control, something he said the brand will prove it has. Let's be honest: for BEVs, that's easier regardless of construction quality. After all, the battery pack improves body stiffness. Even so, there are several cases of windows spontaneously shattering in Tesla cars, which may have to do with body geometry. Let's hope ZEEKR vehicles will not present that issue.The rear is perhaps the dullest part of the electric SUV. Its taillights resemble simple LED strips underneath the small back window, with a lighted ZEEKR lettering separating them. Click a tiny button in front of the letters, and the hatch will open. That gives access to a cargo area that can carry only 362 liters (12.8 cubic feet) of luggage. To close it, just click another button at the button of the hatch. The car will take care of that for you.It is inside that the similarities with Tesla become more evident. The doors come with electronic locks. If the car faces a 12V problem , there's no way to open it from the outside. On the inside, it has mechanical releases to allow the occupants to leave. ZEEKR did a better job with them than the American BEV maker. In the X, the release is inside the door pockets in the front and under the internal door handles at the back. People trying to leave the electric SUV will not find that mechanism on their first try, but at least they will not need tools to operate it. ZEEKR should make sure its customers know where the releases are.The main similarity between the X and some Tesla vehicles (the Model 3 and Model Y) is that several critical adjustments in the car are concentrated on the central screen. Rear-view mirrors, seat cooling and heating, and air-conditioning controls are all there. This is a cost-cutting effort that has nothing premium about it. Should the screen fail for any reason, you cannot access these adjustments. At least the ZEEKR X still has two levers on the steering column.The one on the right puts the car to move. Move it up, and the gear selector goes to reverse (R). Push it down, and it is on drive (D). The middle is for neutral (N), but it is not clear why you have that option in the ZEEKR X  when we get to the driving portion of this review, you'll get the point. Park (P) is on a button at the tip of the lever. Just press it, and the car's handbrakes are also activated. It feels a bit weird leaving the vehicle for the first time, but that's how it is supposed to work. There's no button to turn the car on or off. Teslas are the same.If you want to activate cruise control, you do that with the same right lever. Sadly, I did not have enough time with the car to figure out how to turn it on seamlessly. I only got it to work once but did not manage to change the set speed. I suspect you can do that on the steering wheel's buttons, but I could not confirm that.If I spend more time with this car in the future, I will fix that, but that's not what matters here. This was the perfect example of how following Tesla's lead was not a good call for the ZEEKR X. The cruise control did not have an intuitive operation: you have to learn how it works. In most vehicles, the levers contain all the instructions needed to get the cruise control's help. There's a standard that makes you capable of using it regardless of what you are driving. Well, not in a Tesla and not in the ZEEKR X. It is a pity. In Sweden  where the test drive took place  that would have been truly helpful in dealing with all the different speed limits and the radars spread everywhere.The situation even reminded me of the issues the American company had in China with customers trying to deal with the gear selector and accidentally turning on Traffic-Aware Cruise Control (TACC). Tesla performed a recall in that country to add a noise that indicated when the system was activated. That was the main suspect in the several sudden unintended acceleration (SUA) cases involving Tesla vehicles until Costas Lakafossis came up with a better explanation.Finally, ZEEKR also hides the brake fluid reservoir and the coolant tank under a plastic cover. Take a peak under the X hood and you'll have the impression they don't even exist, so I removed the plastic cover and asked Petter Berg to take some pictures for me. Nizar Kamel heard that some Model Y units came without the brake fluid cap. The Tesla customer removed the plastic cover that hid it and discovered the front casting was cracked. The BEV maker called it a " discontinuity "  and a day. At least the ZEEKR X does not use massive castings.Despite these annoyances, Tesla's influence has at least one positive outcome: the ZEEKR X also offers a pet mode. If you are not familiar with it, this feature keeps animals protected against heat when they are left alone inside the vehicle. The B-pillar brings a round screen that informs about this mode, charging level, and other useful data. That's not something the American automaker offers, so count that as something unique to Geely's premium brand.The Tesla inspiration makes the ZEEKR X interior look clean, but you may prefer to call it spartan. The ambient light, the metal switches, and the Yamaha speakers are the only elements that suggest the SUV is a premium vehicle. The small screen behind the wheel is an improvement compared to what the Model 3 and Model Y offer, but it is the head-up display that hits the jackpot. When you use ZEEKR's navigation system, it makes it almost impossible to miss the next step. As for the little screen, it looks like a tilted smartphone. I would not avoid using it, mind you; I would just prefer something that did not feel so generic. ZEEKR gave us several route options in Stockholm to get acquainted with its electric SUV, a plain city that is mostly at sea level. That made it easy for the ZEEKR X not to spend much energy on hills. Most routes were around narrow local roads with 30-kph (18.6 mph) or 50-kph (31 mph) limits. For a car that promises to go from 0 to 100 kph (62 mph) in 3.8 seconds, it would be impossible to check how well it performs without breaking the law. The top speed is electronically limited to 180 kph (112 mph).That would not have been a problem if the vehicle I got to drive did not show a noticeable delay in throttle response. Anyone who drove a car from the 2000s with early CAN BUS will remember how long it took for the horn to make a sound or the headlights to flash: it only happened a while after you pushed the button or pulled the lever. It's the same thing with the ZEEKR X, only with the accelerator pedal. Press it, and the car will only jump forward after a while. Even if you do that smoothly, you will notice the delay.I talked about it with Victor Prado, ZEEKR's Product Expert. The engineer told me that we had preproduction vehicles for the test drive and that the first production units were still on their way to Europe. He also said the BEV I drove should have an issue, but I eventually moved another one for a short distance, and it behaved in the same way, even if the delay was not as evident.Another thing that bothered me was that the ZEEKR X does not coast. As soon as you remove your right foot from the accelerator pedal, it will start to slow down. The only two options for regenerative braking are moderate or intense. When I told Prado about that, he clarified that the ZEEKR X has permanent magnet motors. That means that moving it will always generate electricity. Towing demands a careful procedure unless you are dealing with the Long Range RWD. In this derivative, you will only need dollies for the rear wheels.A positive note on the ZEEKR X's behavior can be credited to the competent suspension. It was quite comfortable on uneven tarmac and predictable in high-speed curves  sadly, only a few along the route. Should anything go wrong, the car has 19 advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) . It is reassuring to imagine Volvo helped calibrate them.Spending a few hours with a vehicle can give you only a glimpse of how it feels to have it every day. Anyway, the ZEEKR X offers plenty of little treats to make traffic time more bearable. Heated and ventilated front seats are a good example. At the back, the seats provide only heating, but that's more than most vehicles can say they have. The premium sound system must also be nice, but I did not listen to music while driving it. I wanted to check how silent it was and was honestly impressed, especially after learning it was a preproduction car.The long wheelbase makes the electric SUV a surprisingly roomy vehicle, with plenty of space for a 1.85-meter (6'1") person to sit right behind someone as tall as they are. There is good thigh support, and the rear seats looked comfortable in the short time I spent there. The extensive glass roof promises to filter 90% of UV radiation. That's good news, considering the ZEEKR X has nothing to block the sunlight that comes through it.If you can charge at home, the electric SUV offers a 22-onboard charger. It promises to replenish the relatively small 69-battery pack in 4 hours if you start the process with no charge at all  which is never a good deal. Ideally, you should never allow the charge to drop below 10% and should not charge NMC cells to 100% only exceptionally. If the ZEEKR X used LFP cells, that would not be a problem.The ZEEKR X fast charging limit is 150 kW, meaning the 400V system will take 28.8 minutes to go from 10% to 80% of charge. Although that is a bit less time than other vehicles charging at that voltage can deliver, some cars already work at 800V or more, which allows them to reduce fast-charging times. Ironically, not all automakers take advantage of that.The Porsche Taycan demands 21 minutes to charge from 10% to 80% because its maximum charging speed is 225 kW. The BYD Seal takes 26 minutes to charge from 30% to 80%, which means it will demand more minutes than the ZEEKR X to go from 10% to 80%. The Chinese sedan works at 800V, and its charging speed is also 150 kW. The LFP cells probably have something to do with the BYD's higher charging times.A crucial element to determine if ZEEKR X's proposition is enticing is checking its price tag. The Long Range RWD starts at 44,990 ($47,192 at the current exchange rate), and the cheapest Privilegecosts 49,490 ($51,912). The most direct competitors of the new SUV are the Volvo C40, XC40 Recharge , and the Mercedes-Benz EQA. The Swedish cars start at 47,500 in Germany, while the EQA's price kicks off from 50,777 in the same country.Although the ZEEKR X is more affordable, people already know these other brands well. ZEEKR is the new kid on the block, trying to make friends. It may take a while until it gains trust. The good news is that it is a good boy. Translating that to the automotive world, it presents a solid ride, premium solutions, and plenty of space for a family (apart from the trunk) with a unique style. Whether this will allow it to lunch with the cool kids is for the markets to decide.
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Interested parties will have to visit Kia's official website starting on October 16 at 10 AM PST (1 PM EST/7 PM CET) to select the Light Long Range RWD, Wind, Land AWD, or GT-Line AWD and then configure it. With that out of the way, they will have to pay a refundable $750 to reserve a build slot.The Korean automaker says that customers who make a reservation through November 27 will receive a few complimentary gifts. These include the 3-year Kia Maintenance Plan, Digital Features & Services available for one year, and a Webasto Go Dual Voltage PortableCharger. On top of that, everyone who buys or leases an EV9 will receive a 1,000charging credit with Electrify America.Kia's entry-level 2024 EV9 Light features 19-inch alloys, LED lights, rain-sensing wipers, rear privacy windows, an acoustic windshield, a power tailgate, faux leather upholstery, and ventilated and heated front seats with electric adjustment. It also comes with a 12.3-inch infotainment system and an equally large digital instrument cluster, a five-inch display for thesystem, tri-zone climate control, eight-speaker audio, a digital key, an auto-dimming rearview mirror, and a wireless smartphone charger.Tipping the scales at almost 5,100 pounds (2,310 kg), the Kia EV9 uses a rear-mounted electric motor in the base configuration. It has 215 hp (218 ps/160) and 258 pound-feet (350 Nm) of torque on tap and can deal with the 0 to 60 mph (0 to 97 kph) acceleration in 7.7 seconds. The top speed is rated at 118 mph or 190 kph. As for the towing rating, you are looking at up to 2,000 pounds (907 kg).In addition to this motor that powers the entry-level grade, the 2024 Kia EV9 is also available with dual-motor setups. In this instance, interested parties are looking at 379 hp (384 ps/283 kW) combined and 516 pound-feet (700 Nm) of torque. Unfortunately, the car manufacturer hasn't released the pricing details for other versions yet, stating only that the EV9 Light will start at $54,900, excluding destination, dealer fees, and options.Sharing its construction with the Hyundai Ioniq 7 and Genesis GV60, the Kia EV9 is currently put together at the company's factory in Gwangmyeong, South Korea. Nevertheless, it is scheduled to move to the brand's facility in West Point, Georgia, for our market in 2024. As for the pricing of the rest of the family, I will be announced in due course, likely in the coming weeks or months.
Space suits are serious business. Their only purpose is insulating us sweaty and vulnerable meat sacks from the brutal and utterly inhospitable environments beyond Earth's atmosphere. With NASA's Artemis program set to deliver humans back to the Moon for the first time in generations this decade, the scramble to ensure a suitable space suit is ready in time is well and truly on. So, who do you think got the call to help make this new design a reality?

Photo: Axiom Space

Well, if you read the title, you already know the answer. But, to humor you, if your first guess was the historic Italian luxury fashion designers at Prada, well, we're not sure why you'd come to this conclusion. But somehow, in this post-modernist world that we live in where nothing makes sense, that's precisely the collaboration that's on the table. Well, it's more complicated, of course. But seeing the name of the pound-for-pound biggest name in Italian luxury fashion tied to something not even remotely posh or luxurious has us perplexed and eager to learn how such strange cooperation came to be. And no, it's not just for eye candy reasons like Prada's handbags.In truth, what's easy to misidentify as a direct partnership between Prada and NASA is a three-party affair that also involves the Houston, Texas-based aerospace manufacturer Axiom Space. Headed by Michael T. Suffredini, the former program manager for the International Space Station, Axiom, and Prada will work in tandem to present NASA with a space suit capable of adapting to the unprecedented environments the Artemis III mission is expected to encounter when it delivers the first woman and the first person of color to the Lunar surface in 2025. But to understand the scale of the work that lies ahead for Prada and Axiom, we need to look back at what Moon-fairing spacesuits used to be like during the Apollo program.During this time, what was called the Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU), or the Apollo lunar spacesuit (A-7L), was as much of a marvel of late 60s engineering as the Lunar Module or the Saturn V rocket themselves. According to the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum, the suit consisted of 25 layers of protective material derived from what were, at the time, relatively new textiles and fabrics like Teflon, nylon, mylar, lycra spandex, and a fiberglass-like material that wouldn't irritate human skin called beta silica fiber. Many of these materials came courtesy of the DuPont Chemical company, but like the tentative spacesuit design for the Artemis program, the Apollo EMU was a nationwide undertaking involving several different aerospace contractors dedicated to each piece of its construction.The A-7L weighed roughly 81 lbs on Earth with its primary life support system (PLSS) installed, or around 30 lbs when compensating for lunar gravity. That's the prominent backpack-looking device that housed the Apollo astronaut's vital life-support hardware, including the oxygen supply equipment, without which extravehicular activities (EVAs) on the lunar surface would be impossible. The A-7L was designed for a truly impressive temperature tolerance ranging from -250F to +230F, depending on where exactly on the surface the astronauts had landed and where in the lunar day-night cycle the Moon was situated at the time.With an EMU repair kit strapped to the exterior of the suit, astronauts could conduct repairs using exterior patches, cloth tape, and replacement gaskets without having to return to the lunar module. With such innovative industry figures at the helm of its design, the Apollo EMU never had a significant failure while out on the lunar surface. Indeed, it's this impressively high standard that Axiom and Prada need not just to meet but exceed to present NASA with a spacesuit it deems suitable for the Artemis program.With a century-old understanding of handling and manipulating fine textiles to a standard above all others in their industry, Prada suddenly doesn't seem like the oddball in its collaboration with Axiom and NASA you might assume them to be. While Axiom works to ensure the Artemis EMU's life support abilities exceed that of the Apollo program, Prada engineers will develop the all-important textile materials that insulate astronauts to an even higher standard than Apollo while taking into consideration more creature comforts not possible to apply 50 years ago. With the exceedingly hostile conditions, extreme temperatures, and rapid temperature fluctuations around the lunar South Pole where Artemis III intends to land, these innovations will be nothing short of critical to mission success."The constantly forward-thinking ethos of Prada for humanity has broadened to his desire of adventure and to brave new horizons: space, explained Lorenzo Bertelli, Prada Group Marketing Director. "We are honored to be a part of this historic mission with Axiom Space. Our decades of experimentation, cutting-edge technology, and design know-how  which started back in the '90s with Luna Rossa challenging for the Americas Cup  will now be applied to the design of a spacesuit for the Artemis era. It is a true celebration of the power of human creativity and innovation to advance civilization."There is no word yet on when Axiom and Prada will present their combined efforts to NASA for formal approval and integration into the plans for the Artemis III mission. Although something tells us with the kind of eye for design intrinsic to one half of the team, chances are good it'll look nothing like any space suit we've seen before. Expect to have that certain Italian flair that could have only come from Prada.
A Tesla insider who claims he test-drove the Cybertruck on Tuesday shared exciting details in a Spaces call on X. Aside from unknown technical information and driving impressions, he also revealed that a date for the Cybertruck launch event has already been scheduled, although not publicly announced yet.

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Photo: MuddyRuttzz via YouTube

More shared details:



- A guy who was 57 was able to lay flat in the frunk.

- no ramp built into the tailgate

- suspension more comfortable than an S/X

- turning radius is amazing

- feels more luxurious than an S/X  Matthew Donegan-Ryan (@MatthewDR) October 4, 2023

As Tesla Cybertruck deliveries are imminent, the internet is flooded with pictures, videos, and speculations about the electric pickup truck. There's so much noise these days that it's hard to follow the Cybertruck's real story. Obviously, there are people closer to Tesla who know more than they can tell. In a recent Spaces call on X, a Tesla insider revealed many exciting details about the upcoming pickup truck after he reportedly test-drove it on Tuesday.The call was dense, causing uproar on X (formerly known as Twitter). Yaman Tasdivar, who shared the details, says he test-drove the Cybertruck Performance trim, which features a powertrain similar to the Model S/X Plaid. This means a tri-motor configuration with about 1,000 horsepower to play with. The drive units are more closely related to the Tesla Semi, considering the Cybertruck shares the same 1,000-volt electrical architecture.It has been speculated that the Cybertruck might finally introduce bi-directional charging to the Tesla lineup. Yaman confirmed this feature in the Spaces call, adding that the pickup also features three power outlets in the vault, delivering 240 and 120 volts. While discussing the vault, you should know that the Cybertruck doesn't feature air ducts for thesystem. The mid-gate glass does open, though, so camping in the bed is possible with climate control.Unlike the original prototype, the production Cybertruck will not feature a ramp built into the tailgate. At least the unit offered for test-drive did not have it. The Cybertruck also has a spare wheel under the bed's floor, similar to the Rivian R1T . The bed's tonneau cover can be operated remotely from the Tesla app and the infotainment screen, besides the buttons on the bed. As for the tailgate, it can only open automatically but not close, probably for safety reasons.One of the most talked-about Cybertruck features was the frunk , with many saying it's too small. Well, it might not be too deep, but it's wide enough to allow a guy who was 5'7" (170 cm) to lay flat inside. The frunk lid is powered, confirming a rumored feature that many people wanted. It makes sense, considering how big (and potentially heavy) it is.Thanks to Yaman, we already have the first driving impressions of the Cybertruck. The rear-wheel steering makes the turning radius amazingly short, allowing the Cybertruck to maneuver in tight spaces. Multiple tow and trailer modes are available to select from, and the front bumper camera can be maximized on the screen to offer images during off-roading and parking. Suspension height shows the actual ground clearance on the screen instead of the usual low/medium/high settings. The highest level is 14.5 inches (37 cm), which is impressive.Many have the impression that the Cybertruck is a utilitarian vehicle with a no-frills interior. Still, the test driver confirmed that the truck he drove felt more luxurious than a Model S/Model X. The seats are wider and more comfortable, which he also said about the soft suspension. Another interesting detail is that the windows are not bulletproof, as speculated. They are double-glazed acoustic glass, though, to block the noise from entering the cabin.Yaman claims that Tesla already scheduled the date for the Cybertruck delivery event. We suspected this much after seeing the Cybertruck-themed apparel handed out to employees working on the event. Still, no official announcement has been made for now, but that will come soon. Speculations indicate that Tesla might shoot for a November show, as the Cybertruck was unveiled on November 21, 2019.
Aero2 is the autonomous hybrid-electric VTOL (vertical takeoff and landing) that comes from Switzerland, but that has already secured customers around the world. After years of developing and testing prototypes, Dufour Aerospace is closer to finally kicking off production for its first aircraft.

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It's been nearly a decade since the founders of Dufour Aerospace started working on their first prototype, the Aero1. At the time, that was an electric aerobatic airplane. The Aero2 concept integratedcapabilities and a modular hybrid-electric propulsion system. It was officially introduced in 2018 as a two-seater for air taxi operations.What set the Aero2 apart from the competition was the unique combination of a tilt-wing design with hybrid-electric propulsion. This design enabled it to take off and land vertically, like a helicopter, yet cruise at high speed (320 kph/199 mph) like an airplane. The modular system with an optional auxiliary power unit could increase its range to an impressive 800 km (497 miles).The result was a futuristic-looking machine that claimed to offer high-speed air transportation and the same cost per kilometer as a car but with drastically lower emission levels. The Aero2 also claimed to be much quieter than conventional helicopters  one of the main advantages of eVTOL operations in urban centers.Five years after the Aero 2 was first introduced, the Swiss company is moving forward with its production plans . Like all eVTOL manufacturers, it's trying to secure the best suppliers in the industry. The most recent one to join the project is Air Energy, an expert in battery and BMS (battery management systems) development.Air Energy boasts three decades of expertise, but it focused mainly on drone battery technology for the last decade. It will now add the battery modules for the Aero2 to its list of drone-related achievements.More specifically, Air Energy will design the battery housing, the mechanical and electrical connection for the battery packs, and the BMS for Aero2.A smart battery system is essential for the Swiss eVTOL. Jasmine Kent, Dufour co-founder and CTO, explains that each battery module will have its own BMS. The future aircraft will be able to land fully charged, which equals maximum performance, due to its in-flight recharging capabilities. This also means fast and effective turnaround because there's no need to wait for in-between flights recharging.The Aero2 was impressive enough to conquer the US market. Earlier this year, an agreement between Dufour and Spright, the drone division of Air Methods, was touted as the biggest drone purchase for the civilian sector in American history. Spright committed to purchasing 40 Dufour aircraft, with the option of adding 100 extra units.The most recent version of the Aero2 boasts a larger fuselage and wingspan, paired with an H tail instead of a conventional one. Commercial production is set to start in two years.
In Scotland, a Munro refers to a mountain surpassing 3,000 feet (914.4 m) in height, listed by the Scottish Mountaineering Club (SMC) as a Munro, without a specific topographical prominence guideline.

The Birth of an Off-Road Legend?

Photo: Munro EV

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Hummer H1 Capabilities With Zero Emissions

Photo: Munro EV

Low-tech Design Hides High-Tech Features

Photo: Munro EV

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It Looks Big and Bulky, But it Isn't

Photo: Munro EV

Where to From Here?

Photo: Munro EV

Munros are named in honor of Sir Hugh Munro, 4th Baronet, who initially compiled a list of these peaks, famously known as Munro's Tables, in 1891. Apparently, the SMC has listed a total of 282 Munros in Scotland, but if we modify their definition to include things other than natural formations, there should probably be 283.Say hello to Munro Electric Vehicles , a startup founded only four years ago, which vows to bring back automotive manufacturing in good old Scotland after more than four decades since the Talbot Sunbeam put an end to volume car production in Linwood.The idea that led to the carmaker's eventual creation appeared to the two founders while on a camping trip in the Highlands, when they found the vehicle they were driving, which may or may not have been an old Land Rover Defender, was struggling with steep climbs.For some unexplained reason, apart from wanting to create a go-anywhere mechanical workhorse, the two wanted it to be exclusively electric, spotting an automotive niche that has yet to be explored at its full potential.Fast forward to 2019, when Russell Peterson and Ross Anderson co-founded Munro Vehicles with private funding, and in 2023, the carmaker is already ramping up production of its products, part of the Series M lineup.What started as an idea has since evolved into a strategy, as Munro wants to "address the growing global demand for zero-emission off-road vehicles." The upcomingoff-roader lineup was developed for potential customers from the mining, construction, agriculture, and even defense sectors.The Munro Series M lineup so far includes a traditional five-door utility vehicle and a four-door pick-up truck , both sharing a similar construction and body.As their looks seem to show, the exterior design is either based on a Bollinger or on a British low-volume off-roader called the Foer Ibex. Still, the proportions have been modified extensively to include the all-electric powertrain.Speaking of the powertrain, this is where the Monro becomes truly unique on the market, as you are looking at what is essentially a mid-engine configuration for all intents and purposes.The car was developed to climb mountains, so it is obviously an all-wheel-drive, so you would expect it to have at least two motors. With that in mind, Munro engineers have developed it by mixing new-school and old-school technology and many novel or downright weird engineering ideas.Instead of fitting the EV off-roader with two motors, one per axle, the Munro has just one electric motor, sitting smack right in the middle of the vehicle, surrounded by an LFP battery.That is not the crazy part, as the motor sends its power via a two-speed gearbox and up to three locking differentials to both axles. This makes the Munro a combination between a Hummer H1 and a G-Wagen regarding its off-road capabilities, but it is probably better than both when the going gets tough.The reasons behind choosing a modular LFP battery system are its durability, long cycle life, and sustainability, thanks to not using any Nickel or Cobalt. Plus, it's also much cheaper to manufacture and can be charged repeatedly to 100 percent without any issues.The single motor in the middle of the car is available with two power outputs, starting with a base 228(231 PS) and 443 lb-ft (600 Nm) of torque, enough to propel the 2.5-ton vehicle from 0 to 62 mph (100 kph) in 9.2 seconds.The top-of-the-range model comes with 375 HP (381 PS) and 516 lb-ft (700 Nm) of torque, dropping the 0-62 mph time to just 6 seconds, quicker than any hardcore off-roader should be allowed to accelerate.Oh, and did I mention we're talking about a permanent magnet axial flux motor, like almost nobody else in the industry, bar Ferrari and upcoming AMGs are using?Opting for an axial flux motor presents substantial advantages over a more traditional radial flux unit. Often referred to as a 'pancake' motor due to its compact profile, the axial flux motor offers a significant weight reduction, halving the weight from 176 lbs (80 kg) to 88 lbs (40 kg) in the case of the Munro Series M.The compact nature of the motor also allows placement between the two front-seat occupants near the vehicle's bulkhead, thus achieving a near 50/50 front/rear weight distribution.Despite what some of the official photos might suggest, the Munro Series M is not even close to the size of a Tesla Cybertruck, for example, or the original Hummer H1. With a length of 180.7 inches (4,590 mm) and a width of 71.3 inches (1,812 mm), the five-door off-roader has a smaller footprint than a compact crossover like the Toyota RAV4.In fact, its dimensions are perfect for serious off-roading , mainly thanks to a massive 18.9-inch (480 mm) ground clearance, which allows a wading depth of 43.3 inches (1,100 mm).Where the Munro Series M is similar to the hugely capable Hummer H1 or the Humvee is the 84-degree approach angle since it can almost climb a vertical wall.Inside, the models feature a minimalist design focused on essential controls. These controls even comprise things like standard waterproof buttons, ensuring durability and ease of replacement. The interior is engineered to prioritize sturdiness and repairability thanks to the incorporation of standardized components.That said, the vehicles are also equipped with some convenient amenities. The center console houses two USB Type C ports, two wireless charging pads, and two three-pin plug points. Additionally, a compact touchscreen display on the dashboard provides compatibility with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, not bad for what is essentially a tool, not a passenger car.Scotland's sole production car company is set to manufacture 50 vehicles in 2023. Looking ahead to 2024, the company plans to relocate to a specially designed facility near Glasgow. This move will facilitate their operations and generate around 300 new job opportunities.The production volume is anticipated to rise significantly, aiming for an output of 250 vehicles per year. Munro Vehicles has laid a strategic roadmap to achieve an ambitious target of manufacturing 2,500 units annually by 2027.Recently, the company has started a crowdfunding campaign on Seedrs, which aims to raise more capital for kickstarting their future plans. They say things about the luck of the Irish but nothing of the sort about the Scottish. It may be time to introduce that saying if everything turns out as expected with Munro, the 283rd mountain in Scotland.
Photo: Porsche

The 2024 Cayenne offers the most advanced CarPlay integration to date, all with the help of a set of tools almost nobody has heard about.Apple offers a so-called Automaker toolkit, allowing car manufacturers to bypass some CarPlay restrictions, offer a custom user interface, and develop features that don't rely on the pre-designed templates created by the company.The toolkit is there, but almost no carmaker has put it to work until now. Porsche did it with the 2024 Cayenne and is also planning to bring it to other models. The German company used the My Porsche App to offer more advanced functionality on CarPlay, including support for adjusting the ambient lights and the climate control system.The app is extremely easy to use on CarPlay, offering a tile-based UI, which somehow reminds me of the good old Windows Phone. The tiles offer one-tap access to all features, so you can control everything from the infotainment screen without leaving the CarPlay interface.You might wonder why Porsche chose CarPlay and didn't release something similar for Android users. The answer is as simple as it is painful. Google isn't offering a toolkit to allow the integration of such capabilities on Android Auto.Cyril Dorsaz, principal product manager at Porsche Digital, recently explained in an interview that the lack of the necessary toolkit makes it impossible for the carmaker to bring similar capabilities to Android Auto, so Porsche had to stick with CarPlay. Additionally, investing in an Android solution didn't make much sense in the first place, Dorsaz says, as most Porsche owners use iPhones. The Android adoption in the Porsche customer base is very low, with Apple's iPhone dominating the mobile space for drivers choosing the German brand.Porsche still offers Android Auto in its cars. Android Auto debuted with the release of the sixth-generation Porsche Communication Management (PCM) system, with several models, including the 911, Cayenne, Panamera, and Taycan receiving wired support in 2021. All Porsche models support Android Auto wireless since 2022.Google offers more capabilities and deeper integration into the vehicle, including support for the features Porsche brought to CarPlay as part of Android Automotive . Compared to Android Auto, Android Automotive is a stand-alone operating system that powers the infotainment system. Android Automotive runs at the hardware level without needing a smartphone and connects Google's services to vehicle functions, such as the climate control system and battery management.For example, Google Maps can read the existing battery range and suggest charging stops whenever the battery drops below a certain level. It can also monitor the range and reconfigure a route to include charging stations if it determines that the battery level does not allow the vehicle to reach the configured destination. Google Assistant also benefits from deeper integration into the vehicle, allowing the driver to control more systems, including the air conditioning, with voice commands.
SUV

EV

PHEV

The newly minted event is happening October 26 through November 5, 2023, so it will take very little before we have official confirmation about whether Toyota wants to expand the modern Land Cruiser family with a third version. There is a logic behind it, frankly, as the relatively secluded J300 Land Cruiser full-sizeisn't available worldwide, but its J250-based 2024 Land Cruiser will more than make up for that.So, it would be pretty nice if customers could choose between the mid-size Land Cruiser (Prado or 250 in some markets) and a newly-introduced compact or 'baby' Land Cruiser version. Just recently, the rumor mill also spilled the beans on Toyota's ' Land Hopper ' trademark, linking the filling with the smaller Land Cruiser. And, of course, everyone took notice of the automotive industry at the upcoming rival for the likes of Ford Bronco Sport.That includes the imaginative realm of digital car content creators, of course. So, the good folks over at the AutoYa info channel on YouTube have imagined the CGI looks of the rumored 2025 Toyota Land Hopper - a compact Land Cruiser built on the same TNGA-F body-on-frame platform as the Lexus GX or Toyota Tacoma, among others.The resident pixel master was obviously inspired by Toyota's Compact Cruiserconcept from a while back, and also, the host thinks that the upcoming 'Land Hopper' will be significantly smaller than the 2024 Land Cruiser as well as the 2024 Toyota 4Runner  though just as rugged as the other two. Additionally, the channel's team didn't shy away from presenting a host of potential colors for the upcoming compact off-road SUV rig.Now, all that remains to be seen is how Toyota will interpret the 2024 Land Cruiser and J300 Land Cruiser design cues in keeping the family spirit alive while also tying the knot with the Compact Cruiser EV's DNA to make it a worthy potential successor of the beloved retro-flavored FJ Cruiser. As for powertrains, it's not like the company has nowhere to choose from  the Corolla Cross Hybrid's 2.0-liter M20A-FXS four-cylinder with electrification would be the most logical choice, complete with 196 hp.Or, even better, they could fit Toyota Prius Prime's feisty yet frugal 220-hp plug-in hybrid powertrain! That way, they would ensure that any competitor considering entering the off-road-focused compact party would need to come up with something even better or at least on par with their potential Land Hopper, and that's certainly a tall order for any global carmaker.
5 October 2023 08:30 (UTC+04:00)

Rena Murshud Read more

The word separatism in Azerbaijan's Garabagh, which has been stereotyped for a long time, has already been removed from the lexicon. In Garabagh, the Armenian minority, even the whole of nature, is freely breathing.

The next goal set before us is to find and punish the remaining Armenian separatists, who killed civilians with all kinds of torture during the First and Second Karabakh wars and were involved in massacres and terrorist acts.

Justice always wins, even if it is late. The leaders of those terrorist gangs, who once took refuge in Garabagh and pointed guns against the Azerbaijani army, were arrested today and brought to Baku. Three years ago, Arayik Harutyunyan, the child murderer who ordered rocket attacks on Ganja, the second biggest city in Azerbaijan, and declared himself the so-called president of the so-called republic, was arrested and finally brought together with his separatist colleague Ruben Vardanyan, who has another dark history.

Unlike Arayik, Ruben's CV is richer. Because he also has additional experience in providing weapons and committing terrorism against Ukraine in the Russia-Ukraine war. Vardanyan, who escaped from Russia and parachuted into Garabagh in order to cover up his dirty deeds, was charged with the articles of participation in the creation and activity of illegal armed groups and illegally crossing the state border of Azerbaijan.

However, the search for criminals is not limited only to Vardanyan, Gukasyan, Babayan, and even both of the Harutyunyans. In addition, more than 300 Armenian separatists who committed crimes in Garabagh were put on international search.

All crimes committed by Armenian separatists in the region have been recorded and enough evidence has been collected. Those who have committed a crime, but are currently trying to hide and refuse to face justice, are wanted everywhere.

As for Arayik Harutyunyan, his fate seems more complicated.

He was charged with the articles of mass murder, and genocide plan against civilians of the Criminal Code of Azerbaijan. Life imprisonment of the "leader" of the destroyed so-called regime is also inevitable.

A number of questions have arisen regarding the future fate of the currently arrested and internationally wanted criminals. There is even an opinion among the public that terrorists can be exchanged on the basis of any mutual agreement. However, there is a fact here that most of those arrested do not belong to any state. There is only one fate for these homeless, violent groups with no country, and that is a dark prison cell.

Another question that arises is the attempts of some revanchist groups who want to continue separatism by resorting to secret terrorism against Azerbaijan.

Political scientist Tofig Abbasov clarified all these questions in an interview with AZERNEWS, saying that all the arrested and wanted terrorist groups had the same attitude towards their own people. According to him, the separatists have created a separatist spirit among the local community and enslaved them to this day. At the same time, the Azerbaijani side has always been alert to closely monitor this issue and take necessary measures.

"The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Armenia called on international organizations and the world community to protect the rights of the separatist forces. The question arises, who will protect the rights of thousands of people who were mercilessly killed by the order of those separatists? Who will bear the responsibility of the separatist regime that has been going on in Azerbaijan for many years? Why do Armenians show those criminals to society and the world as "innocent creatures"? Therefore, the Azerbaijani side will investigate all their actions and take necessary measures. We brought the activities of Armenian separatists to the attention of all world organizations as criminal activities. If they try to hide anywhere in the world, that state will immediately hand them over to Azerbaijan," Abbasov said.

Later, while talking about the arrest of several wanted separatists, the political scientist noted that after the investigation of the "activities" of those criminals by the Azerbaijani prosecutor's office and special control bodies, they will be brought to the Azerbaijani court and brought to justice.

"I am sure that the representatives of the so-called regime will answer for all the crimes committed in the Garabagh conflicts and will receive the necessary punishment. Any concession regarding them is unacceptable", the expert stressed.

Later, the political scientist responded to a question about whether Armenian terrorism is expected from now on.

"The actions of Armenians in the field of terrorism are very deep and multifaceted. It is expected that they resort to terrorism again. But even if they want to do this, they will not be able to achieve anything by doing so. Because the defense system of Azerbaijan has been significantly strengthened. Azerbaijan also told international institutions and societies that from now on, any terrorism committed by Armenians will be prevented," Abbasov added.

In conclusion, Tofig Abbasov also talked about the threat of mines, which is another branch of Armenian terrorism in the last 3 years.

"Nearly 200 citizens lost their lives from mine explosions, and more than 100 were maimed. For this reason, not a single criminal will be forgiven, both for our soldiers who died in the Garabagh wars and for our civilians who lost their lives as a result of terrorism committed in a number of districts of Azerbaijan (Barda, Tartar, Ganja, etc.)! They should not even dream of any compromise. Concession can only be made to a crime committed without knowing and to a person who is remorseful. However, the Armenian separatists deliberately committed crimes, caused the murder of thousands of people, and seriously violated the laws of the Republic of Azerbaijan," the expert undelined.

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Rena Murshud is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @RenaTagiyeva

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5 October 2023 21:00 (UTC+04:00)

Rena Murshud Read more

After the fiasco of the separatist groups in Garabagh, Armenian terrorism has become much more active. Many video footage of intensive training of terrorist groups have been circulated on social media. This once again shows that Armenian armed groups strengthened their revanchist position after being disarmed and removed from Azerbaijans Garabagh.

Armenia, which on the one hand blames Russia and on the other hand international organizations, tries to express its aggression through terrorism.

It should be recalled that at one time the ASALA organization, under the leadership of Monte Melkonyan, carried out several terrorist incidents in France, Lebanon and other countries. I wonder if any Armenian terrorism can happen after Azerbaijan's anti-terrorist measures? Or will Armenia turn to the West again and play the role of a mediator in implementing France's crusading policy in the Middle East in the South Caucasus?

"As a result of the 28-year occupation of Garabagh, which is currently the territory of Azerbaijan, there have been changes in geopolitical balances. However, starting from 2020, Azerbaijan liberated its lands and became a regional power in the Caucasus and was able to maintain balance in the region thanks to the perfect strategy, political course and strong army."

Turkish military expert Yucel Karauz said these words in a comment to AZERNEWS.

According to him, with its victory, Azerbaijan changed the outdated political scheme of 1991 and even influenced the system of the 1800s. The expert noted that currently, other parties with an interest in the region should also come to terms with these realities, but on the contrary, they are creating conditions for Armenia to resort to terrorism.

"It seems that Armenia does not want to come to terms with the current situation and is trying to strengthen terrorism in the last option. Of course, it is impossible for Armenia to implement them alone. In fact, Armenia acts as a proxy state on behalf of France, the United States and other countries. I reminded that Armenia once acted on the instructions of Russia. But when it received the support it expected from Russia, it turned its direction to France and other Western countries."

According to the military expert, all this cannot be considered a great threat to Azerbaijan. Provocations against the government is expected in both Turkiye and Azerbaijan though hands of internal factors. But the truth is that their influence cannot hinder the activity of either Turkiye or Azerbaijan in the new geopolitical reality.

Yucel Karauz also touched on the increase of anti-Russian mood in Armenia.

"Currently, Armenia has gradually distanced Russia from the position of a geopolitical and geostrategic partner. Perhaps, in the future, Armenians may demand the withdrawal of Russian peacekeepers stationed in Gyumri and other borders. Preparations are underway. But for Armenia, which lived under the control of the Soviet Union for 70 years, this is not an easy decision. Because its negative effects will last for a long time. The influence of the EU on Armenia worries Iran in particular. Because either Pashinyan or the leader who will replace him will continue the work of the West. But even if the prime minister changes in Armenia, the country will not be able to maintain its internal stability, nor will it be able to move towards economic development," the military expert added.

Yucel Karauz also touched on the issue of France. He called France's crusading policy in the South Caucasus, using Armenia, a weak strategy. The expert noted that at the current stage it seems unrealistic that France can achieve what it wants in the region.

"France is trying to use its lost reputation in Africa and its ineffectiveness in the European Union and NATO as an attempt to intervene in the Caucasus. Because the geography of the Caucasus is in harmony with the world geography and geostrategic interests. Although France is trying to be a leader in the region, I don't think it will be successful. Because France's behavior and biased position increased mistrust towards it in the South Caucasus," Yucel Karauz added.

In conclusion, the military expert expressed his opinion about Pashinyan's rule and noted that the clans in the West and Armenia want to end Pashinyan's era. According to the West, the defeat of a state should bear both military and political responsibility. In this regard, Pashinyan will probably be removed from his post. But a new pro-Western leader must be replaced.

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Rena Murshud is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @RenaTagiyeva

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5 October 2023 16:59 (UTC+04:00)

Economy Minister Mikail Jabbarov made a speech at the meeting of the Economic Policy, Industry and Entrepreneurship Committee of Milli Majlis (the Azerbaijani Parliament) held on 5 October, Azernews reports.

"The Competition Code will become the main normative base in the sphere of antimonopoly activity. The document has been prepared to take into account international practice, scientific principles, and current economic conditions," the Minister said.

The minister said the draft code creates a comprehensive legal framework to eliminate the impact of monopolistic tendencies on economic activity and the state budget in the direction of developing a competitive environment and strengthening the institutional framework.

The draft law will serve to ensure competitive neutrality in the framework of economic regulation, prevent abuse of dominant position and market power, stimulate the activities of economic entities, and protect and develop the competitive environment.

"Observations show that as a free business environment develops, along with economic progress, market failures, monopolistic tendencies grow, illegal economic activity expands and a number of risks to the economy emerge.

When the legislative framework is inadequate, these risks lead to the disruption of economic activity and slow inclusive development. To neutralize these risks, the priority should be to increase the efficiency of state regulation," the Minister noted.

The Economy Minister also noted during his speech that the acceleration of economic development of Azerbaijan depends on the application of a free competition policy.

"The presence of effective competition in the domestic market encourages companies to innovate and seek ways to enter foreign markets for further growth. On the contrary, the presence of artificial obstacles to competition serves the interests of only one group of entrepreneurs and deprives others of the opportunity to be represented on the market, increasing the costs of consumers.

At the same time, entrepreneurs surrounded by protectionist measures have less interest in innovation and higher productivity." Jabbarov said.

The Minister noted that the strategy of economic policy, which determines the economic development of each country, developed in accordance with the priorities applied at different historical stages.

"We believe that at the present stage, accelerating the economic development of our country and increasing the efficiency of the business environment depends on the application of free competition policy.

"This is confirmed by the program documents that form the basis of the development directions of our state for the next ten years. A legal basis must be created for the activities of business entities in conditions of healthy competition, and the adoption of the Competition Code is related to this," the Minister added.

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6 October 2023 01:53 (UTC+04:00)

Russian peacekeepers have closed their posts in Karabakh, Azernews reports with reference to the information by the Russian Defense Ministry.

As noted in the information, the dismantling of temporary observation posts along the former line of contact between the parties in the Asgaran, Aghdara, and Shusha districts has been completed.

Earlier, the head of the press service of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova, said that the length of stay of Russian peacekeepers in Garabagh would be determined in contact with Baku based on the situation in the region.

The duration of the Russian peacekeepers' stay in Garabagh will be determined in contact with Baku, depending on the situation on the ground, she explained.

Recall that the Russian peacekeeping contingent was deployed to areas of Azerbaijani territories in accordance with the tripartite Declaration dated November 10, 2020.

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5 October 2023 10:00 (UTC+04:00)

The closed kindergarten was reopened after 30 years in Mazam village of Gazakh district, which is the closest distance to the borderline with Armenia, Azernews reports, citing Education Department.

The administrative building of Mazam village kindergarten is provided with the necessary inventory. Repair works were carried out in the building, in addition, a warehouse, a kitchen, and a sanitary junction were built.

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5 October 2023 14:15 (UTC+04:00)

Azerbaijani Ambassador to Mexico Mammad Talibov met with students enrolling in the Conflict and Negotiations program at the Faculty of Social Sciences and Government of Monterrey Institute of Technology, Mexico's most advanced and prestigious higher education institution, Azernews reports.

The diplomat made a broad presentation about the past conflict and provided information about the history of Armenian aggression, the difficulties Azerbaijan faced during the 30-year occupation, the double standards it met, the 44-day war and its consequences, the new realities in the region, the ongoing peace process, as well as the large-scale reconstruction work carried out in Azerbaijan, and the safe return of internally displaced persons.

The conference also reported on the local anti-terrorist measures carried out by the Azerbaijani Armed Forces in the Garabagh economic region on September 19 and its results, the complete restoration of Azerbaijan's sovereignty as a result of the dissolution of the so-called criminal regime in Garabagh, as well as the process of reintegration of the Armenian residents of Garabagh.

Note that Azerbaijan and Mexico have seen a dramatic increase in bilateral ties over the past years, particularly in the areas of political cooperation and interparliamentary dialogue. This was demonstrated by the official visit of Azerbaijani Assistant to the First Vice President Elchin Amirbayov to Mexico in November of last year, as well as the third round of bilateral political consultations at the vice-ministerial level held earlier this month in Mexico City. Currently, two-way trade between the two countries is limited to about $65 million annually, mostly consisting of cars and auto parts, beverages, and cane sugar from Mexico to Baku and jet fuel exports from Azerbaijan.

The Mexico-Azerbaijan Friendship Group, headed by incumbent National Regeneration Movement (Morena) party Deputy Alberto Villa Villegas, also visited Azerbaijan in order to explore potential binational cooperation in politics, economics, and trade. During their visit to Baku, the group attended a solemn commemoration of the 1992 genocide de Khojaly, paying homage to the victims of that tragedy.

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5 October 2023 12:25 (UTC+04:00)

The Press Services of the Azerbaijani General Prosecutor's Office and the State Security Service jointly released information over the detention of Arayik Harutyunyan, Azernews reports.

The Press Services state that comprehensive measures are being taken by the Azerbaijani General Prosecutor's Office and the State Security Service for the investigation of crimes against peace and humanity, war, terrorism and other crimes committed by illegal Armenian armed groups operating in the territory of Azerbaijan's Garabagh.

During the investigations Arayik Harutyunyan, born in the city of Khankendi, Azerbaijan, in 1973, the so-called "president of the republic of Nagorno-Karabakh" and other names under which reasonable suspicions have been established regarding participation in the conduct of aggressive war, recruitment, training and financing of mercenaries, as well as organizing their use in military conflict and military operations, violation of international humanitarian law norms during an armed conflict, and issuing criminal orders during an armed conflict.

In addition, Arayik Harutyunyan was responsible for the formation and organization of activities of armed units not provided for by the legislation of the Republic of Azerbaijan, in the case of a criminal organization, to equip these units with weapons, their complete parts, ammunition, explosives, military equipment, and to organize training on their use, as well as the fact that it was brought to Azerbaijan through smuggling and the financing of terrorism have been established.

As a result of investigative and operational measures, as well as for the purpose of committing terrorist acts by Arayik Harutyunyan, the territories of the Republic of Azerbaijan were continuously mined, and numerous ballistic and other types of missiles were launched, targeting residential areas and civilian objects of the densely populated Ganja city and Barda district of Azerbaijan, located outside the front zone, and reasonable suspicions have been established for the organization of terrorist attacks resulting in the killing of civilians and inflicting various degrees of physical injuries on them, causing severe damage to civil and military infrastructure, and the commission of numerous other crimes.

On October 28, 2020, Arayik Harutyunyan was involved as an accused person under the relevant articles of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Azerbaijan, and on the basis of the court's decision, he was placed under arrest and sent to an international wanted.

On October 3 of this year, Arayik Harutyunyan was detained by the State Security Service in Khankendi, and charged with articles 100, 116, 117, 120, 214, 214-1, 214-3, 218, 279, and other pieces of the Criminal Code.

Currently, necessary and urgent investigative and operational measures are being continued by the General Prosecutor's Office and the State Security Service.

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5 October 2023 12:43 (UTC+04:00)

Members of the Milli Majlis (the Parliament) of Azerbaijan, headed by Ziyafat Asgarov, the head of the Azerbaijani delegation to the NATO Parliamentary Assembly, will attend the 69th annual session of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly (NATO PA) in Copenhagen, Denmark, on October 6th, 2023. The visit was announced by the Press and Public Relations Department of the Milli Majlis, Azernews reports.

The session will include meetings of the Bureau, Political, Democracy and Security, Defense and Security, Economy and Security, and Science and Technology committees. Azerbaijani MPs will comment on the issues discussed at the meetings, which will last until October 10.

The NATO PA Spring Session, hosted by the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg from May 19th to 22nd, 2023, will provide an opportunity for all 274 parliament members representing the 31 NATO member nations, along with approximately 100 members from around 25 partner countries and parliamentary bodies, to assess key issues affecting the security of the Euro-Atlantic area. This will be the first Assembly session in which Finland will join as a full member of the NATO PA following its accession to NATO on April 4th.

The 68th annual session of the Assembly, which took place in Madrid, Spain, from November 18th to 22nd, 2020, discussed the Alliance's new strategic concept, the situation in the West Balkans, counterterrorism, cyber threats, challenges posed by climatic changes, and other subjects.

The 69th annual session of the NATO PA will provide an opportunity for the Azerbaijani MPs to assess the outcomes and key decisions taken at the NATO Summit in Vilnius, Lithuania, in July 2023, and to adopt draft reports in the Assembly's five Committees and a number of resolutions distilling key policy recommendations.

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5 October 2023 13:18 (UTC+04:00)

After three decades, 300,000 Azerbaijanis who were ethnically cleansed in Armenia are still waiting for the EU to break its silence on this crime against humanity, Azernews reports, citing a post on X by Azerbaijan's Ambassador to Belgium and Luxembourg and head of representation to the European Union (EU) Vagif Sadigov.

He noted that being recognized by the UN as a refugee community under international humanitarian law, they demand the EU to put pressure on its ally Armenia to ensure their safe return to their homes in Armenia after 30 years of waiting for the delivery of justice, to restore their violated human rights, to safeguard their cultural and religious heritage. Vagif Sadigov added that after three decades, 300K of human beings still expect the EU to break its deafening silence around this crime against humanity.

See below the opinion of almost 300,000 Azerbaijanis ethnically cleansed from Armenia at the beginning of the 90s, with hundreds massacred during the forced expulsion. Having been recognised by the UN as a refugee community in accordance with the international humanitarian law, https://t.co/BEdCAFEFrm  Vaqif Sadqov (@VaqifS) October 4, 2023

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5 October 2023 14:35 (UTC+04:00)

Rena Murshud Read more

France said it would begin withdrawing its military troops from Niger within a week, Azernews reports.

According to foreign sources, the French military stationed in Niger will leave Niger within a week. The General Staff of the French Armed Forces reported this.

We are going to withdraw troops within a week, everything will be organized in conditions of security and coordination with Niger, said the General Staff of the French Armed Forces.

Nigeria's Minister of State for Internal Affairs, Public Security and Territorial Administration, Mohamed Tumba appointed by the rioters on Wednesday, said that France had no intention of withdrawing troops from Niger. He assured that Paris supports terrorism in Niger and does not allow the country to independently manage its resources.

France, which was withdrawing troops from Nigeria, has now moved to another region. At the moment, the country is using Armenia to spread the policy of crusades in the South Caucasus. But it seems France has forgotten about Azerbaijan, which recently destroyed all Armenian terrorist operations. Fortunately, France, without having time to realize its cherished dream, will remain at the ends of the earth with its terrorism.

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Rena Murshud is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @RenaTagiyeva

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
5 October 2023 16:10 (UTC+04:00)

Abbas Ganbay Read more

A report by a British TV channel notes that after Azerbaijan finally took control of its entire Garabagh territory, Russian peacekeepers have nothing more to do here unlike the returning authorities. The state is investing heavily in the previously recaptured territories: in electricity, roads, entire settlements," the report says, Azernews reports, citing BBC.

The report notes that after the Second Garabagh War, the Armenian provocations that lasted for 3 years finally came to an end. The journalist stops at the Armenian post neutralized by the Azerbaijani army and shows other destroyed posts between Shusha and Khankendi. He notes that Armenian military units once fired at Azerbaijani positions from those posts, but now there is an deep tranquillity in Garabagh.

The report also mentions an Azerbaijani family, which started a new life in the liberated territory of Garabagh. In Lachin, the Najafov family returned to their home seized by Armenia 31 years ago and are now building their lives anew. Today's terrible storm threatens to flood their home, but the family seems very happy to be here.

"For 27 years I woke up every day thinking we were coming back. Coming back was like a dream. Thanks to our soldiers and our president, we are here now," says the head of the Najafov family.

Recall that as a result of the anti-terrorist measures carried out on September 20, Azerbaijan completely neutralized the armed separatist remnants that did not want to leave Garabagh, contrary to the November 10 declaration. It should be noted that Russian peacekeepers have been stationed in the Garabagh territories of Azerbaijan on November 10, 2020, since the moment Armenia signed the capitulation document at the tripartite meeting brokered by Russia. Although its main goal was to promote the peace and negotiation process, the mission group failed to achieve this. On the contrary, with the participation of the peacekeeping contingent in Garabagh, provocations by the Armenian armed forces took place many times, and armed attacks were organized against the servicemen of the Azerbaijani army.

The last time, after the mine explosion that killed two employees of the State Agency of Azerbaijan Highways (AAYDA) and seven police officers, Armenia clearly showed that it does not want to end provocations again. The events that took place showed the necessity of anti-terrorist measures, and finally, on September 20, the Azerbaijani army disarmed all separatist armed groups in Garabagh in just 23 hours and 43 minutes.

There is neither separatism nor armed groups in Garabagh anymore. The reintegration process is already underway in Garabagh, and residents of Garabagh of Armenian nationality who want to voluntarily accept Azerbaijani citizenship choose the way to live peacefully with Azerbaijanis. For those who choose the other way, the way to Armenia is open from the state border checkpoint of Lachin.

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5 October 2023 17:23 (UTC+04:00)

Turkish and local specialists who provided psychological assistance in connection with the Patriotic War have been awarded by the Ministry of Emergency Situations (MES), Azernews reports.

According to the press service of the Ministry of Emergency Situations, Colonel General Kamaladdin Heydarov, Minister of Emergency Situations, announced the psychological rehabilitation of participants of the war, including veterans, family members of the Shehidis who lost their loved ones, and people who suffered physically. and moral damage from Armenian terrorism, who had psychological problems related to the Patriotic War.

Psychologists from Turkiye and a group of psychologists from the Ministry of Emergency Situations were awarded medals and certificates of honor for their high services at the invitation of the Ministry of Emergency Situations.

Minister Kamaladdin Heydarov, who participated in the awarding ceremony held at the Ministry, thanked the Turkish and local psychologists for their services and wished them success in their activities.

It should be noted that at the invitation of the Ministry of Emergency Situations, the joint participation of professional psychotherapists and psychologists of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the brotherly country is possible for more effective organization of psychological rehabilitation of veterans with psychological problems related to the Patriotic War, members of the families of Martyrs who lost their relatives, as well as people who suffered physical and spiritual damage from Armenian terrorism.

Since January 2021, psychological assistance has been provided free of charge. During this period, 9500 sessions of psychological assistance were provided to almost 4000 citizens in different regions of the Republic, including up to 430 children and teenagers.

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5 October 2023 09:29 (UTC+04:00)

By Raza Syed

In recent years, Kazakhstan has emerged as a prominent peace loving nation in the world arena. Since the time of its independence, the country has been a supporter of a peaceful, constructive foreign policy and an initiator of providing platforms for negotiations on the settlement of various international issues.

World order imposed by the United Nations to bring peace and stability in post WW II era is being challenged by the emergence of divisive blocks. These new blocks are undermining the authority of the UN. This may lead to disastrous consequences leading ultimately to the increase in arms race throughout the world. One way to avert this situation is to resort to diplomacy.

Diplomacy doesnt work in all situations. So an alternative way of maintaining global peace has to be devised. Its estimated that 85 percent people in the world identify themselves with a religion, making religion a potent force in world affairs. Religious leaders, therefore, have an important role to play in maintaining global peace and harmony. Moreover, all the religions share some fundamental values, guaranteeing sanctity of human life, mutual support and rejection of destructive tendencies. These principles can be used as cornerstones of a new world order.

President Tokayev has assigned three spheres to religious leaders where they can assert their influence. Firstly, they can contribute to healing of wounds, using power of religion in societies which have endured long periods of conflicts.

Secondly, given the situations where individual acts of hatred may sabotage world peace, the targeted communication of religious leaders may not allow the situation from getting out of hands.

Thirdly, in view of the radical changes occurring in all spheres of human life as a result of new technologies, religious leaders can inculcate spiritual values and set moral standards to face challenges of digital reality.

Lately, the traditional religions, once excluded as pillars of modernity, have regained their influential status globally. To underscore the importance of religion in contemporary human life, Kazakhstan established the platform of the Congress of Leaders of World and Traditional Religions in Astana. The Congress plays a vital role in shaping the countrys international image. During its almost 20-year history, it has made a significant contribution to the global process of interfaith dialogue.

In view of the far-reaching advantages that can be gained from the Congress, the convening of it on regular basis becomes important. It can play a positive role in bringing various religions closer together thus promoting peace and respect for others in society.

President Tokayev rightly noted during the opening of the last Congress, that the people of Kazakhstan have absorbed the traditions of different civilizations and religions, the spirit of tolerance and openness.

Currently, representatives of more than 100 ethnic groups live in harmony in Kazakhstan, and about 4,000 religious associations representing 18 confessions operate freely. We believe this is an invaluable wealth and an inherent advantage of Kazakhstan. The Congress is an important part of Kazakhstans policy to strengthen dialogue and cooperation in our country and worldwide, he further stated.

This confirms the place of Kazakhstan as a global center of inter-civilizational, interreligious and interfaith dialogue.

It is important to promote the ideas of the congress globally, attract foreign politicians, experts, and journalists to the dialogue, and call on leaders of the world and traditional religions and prominent political figures to achieve long-term stability.

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5 October 2023 09:00 (UTC+04:00)

A Pakistani court on Wednesday ordered an open hearing of a case that accuses the jailed ex-Prime Minister Imran Khan of exposing state secrets, a court document said, Azernews reports, citing Yeni Safak.

The chief justice of Islamabad High Court (IHC) turned down a plea by the country's key investigation agency seeking an in-camera trial of the ex-premier's bail application in the "cipher case," which is related to a diplomatic document that reportedly went missing from his possession.

The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) earlier this week pleaded that an open trial of the case could pose a risk of deteriorating relations with other countries.

Justice Farooq, in a short verdict, declared that the hearing of the case would be held in an open court, but would be in-camera when sensitive information is discussed.

Khan alleges that the document contained a threat from the US to oust him from office. Washington and Islamabad have rebuffed the allegation.

Following the suspension of his three convictions in a graft case by the Islamabad High Court last month, Khan has been languishing in jail on a judicial remand in the cipher case.

The post-arrest bail pleas of Khan, and his deputy Shah Mahmood Qureshi, a former foreign minister, were rejected by the trial court earlier this month, prompting the two to approach the Islamabad High Court for bail.

The FIA in its charge sheet has already declared Khan and Qureshi "principal accused" in the cipher case.

Khan, who was ousted through a no-trust vote in April last year, is facing a string of cases, which he dubs as "politically motivated.

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5 October 2023 23:20 (UTC+04:00)

Scientists at the Technology Center of the Academy of Sciences of Turkmenistan have successfully obtained a lyophilized dry extract of wormwood, specifically one of its species called "tsitvar." A young researcher from the biotechnology laboratory of this center, Berdy Berdyev, identified special properties in this substance, which is known for its high efficiency and ecological friendliness, Azernews reports, Kabar.

The most important aspect is that the extract can be widely used in the production of medical drugs in the pharmaceutical industry. The extraction of tsitvar was carried out using modern biotechnological equipment.

To obtain the extract, wormwood from Kopetdag was used, where 11 species of this plant grow out of the 32 known in Turkmenistan. It is worth noting that only 4 of these species are endemic, meaning they grow compactly in specific areas and possess specific properties. As emphasized by scientists, these characteristics are precisely described in the multi-volume work "Medicinal Plants of Turkmenistan" by the National Leader of the Turkmen people, Professor Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov.

The obtained extract has unique therapeutic properties and can be used in the treatment of both infectious and non-infectious diseases, as well as in lung diseases and the prevention of tumors in them. It is also effective against microbes and can be used as an insecticide, i.e., a substance against insects. Additionally, the extract can act as an antioxidant, preventing dangerous chain reactions in the body. Its antimalarial qualities are particularly noteworthy.

The lyophilized dry extract of wormwood from Kopetdag has every chance of being included in the production process of Turkmenistan's medical industry, making it one of the promising developments. Considering that the scientific and medical community in Turkmenistan is focused on the use of locally sourced drugs, this innovation aligns with the goals of the state policy as outlined in the "Program of the President of Turkmenistan for the Socio-Economic Development of the Country for 20222028."

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5 October 2023 22:45 (UTC+04:00)

The regular session of the General Conference of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) concluded its work in Vienna, in which the delegation of Uzbekistan took part, Azernews reports, citing Kun.uz News Agency.

During the visit, Deputy Minister of Health of Uzbekistan Farrukh Sharipov, who was part of the delegation, held a number of meetings with Agency officials, as a result of which relations with IAEA departments were strengthened, existing problems in the implementation of joint projects were discussed, and specific plans were outlined for the near future.

In particular, the meetings noted the positive dynamics of interaction with the Ministry of Health in the process of implementing IAEA safety standards on radiation protection for medical exposure. The Agencys intention to take part in strengthening the capacity of Uzbekistans specialists for the newly created national oncology center was announced, and an agreement was reached to continue work on modernizing radiation therapy facilities at the Tashkent Oncology Center.

As examples of specific results and agreements, one can cite the IAEAs intention to allocate 2.5 million to implement a project in the next three years to build the human resources capacity of cancer centers in Uzbekistan.

During the conference, the delegation of Uzbekistan took part in the side event Improving quality and safety in diagnostic radiology in Central Asia. It reviewed issues of technical cooperation with the countries of Central Asia aimed at implementing IAEA safety standards on radiation protection and safety in medicine, as well as the Agencys support for quality assurance activities in the field of diagnostic radiology and medical physics in the region.

Participants listened with great interest to the report of a medical physicist from the Tashkent city branch of the Republican Specialized Scientific and Practical Medical Center of Oncology and Radiology and a graduate of the joint international postgraduate education program in medical physics IAEA/ICTP on the topic Towards becoming a clinically qualified medical physicist: successes , obstacles and opportunities.

In the speeches of the event organizers, it was especially noted that two specialists from Uzbekistan have completed and three are currently studying a two-year masters program in medical physics at the International Center for Theoretical Physics in Trieste, Italy.

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5 October 2023 22:15 (UTC+04:00)

The National Statistical Committee of Kyrgyzstan published data, according to which the inflow of foreign direct investment into Kyrgyzstan decreased by 31.7 percent in the first half of 2023. An economist Iskender Sharsheyev voiced the reasons for this situation, Azernews reports, citing 24.kg News Agency.

The decline in foreign direct investment can be explained by several reasons, including, first of all, the lack of effective reforms and advancement in the doing business ranking, which could increase the attractiveness of Kyrgyzstan for investment. In addition, the reduction of investments from non-CIS countries, mainly Canada, China, Germany and Turkey in processing industry, and the complete withdrawal of Hungarian funding for the financial intermediation and insurance sectors have also had an impact. This has led to the fact that the Kyrgyz Republic has reduced investments in the priority sectors of the economy  mining and processing industry. To improve the investment climate in the country, effective reforms, stability and security, benefits and preferences for foreign investors are needed. We need reform of courts, integration of national arbitration legislation with British commercial law for international investors, he said.

It should be taken into account that the Cabinet is taking measures to improve the investment climate, for example, tax holidays for five years for manufacturers of electric transport. But what will have the greatest impact on the growth of investment in Kyrgyzstan is an improved legal system, and an increase in the speed of local government response to land allocation. Not the last factor in the normalization of the situation will be the solution of infrastructure issues, Iskender Sharsheyev summed up.

The National Statistical Committee reported on the decline in foreign direct investment by 31.7 percent in the first six months. The inflow of foreign direct investment in the Kyrgyz Republic amounted to $429.1 million.

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5 October 2023 21:40 (UTC+04:00)

Belarus and Russia have agreed to work on the joint production of aircraft for regional transportation. Belarus President Aleksandr Lukashenko mentioned it as he met with Governor of Russia's Ulyanovsk Oblast Alexei Russkikh, Azernews reports, citing BelTA.

Speaking about prospects of cooperation with Ulyanovsk Oblast, the head of state suggested using the serious manufacturing capabilities Belarus had inherited from the USSR in order to make various machines, vehicles, and equipment ranging from agricultural machines to equipment used for aircraft repairs. We have preserved these capabilities and multiplied them. We can use them together today. President Putin and I have agreed on it, he remarked.

Aleksandr Lukashenko referred to aircraft manufacturing as the most important aspect of technological progress, the assimilation of the latest scientific accomplishments into production.

The leaders of Belarus and Russia discussed this topic last week. Aleksandr Lukashenko said: We've agreed to work on the joint production of aircraft for regional transportation. We have the relevant competences for it. I would like to learn what opportunities you see.

It is a future-oriented project that will span years. Investments will be massive but the positive effect will be colossal, too, the president emphasized. He remarked that Belarusian enterprises already make individual components for aircraft manufacturing. He mentioned they are ready to expand the choice of these parts.

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5 October 2023 21:10 (UTC+04:00)

Georgian Economy Minister Levan Davitashvili on Wednesday said Georgia had a serious perspective to become a regional transport and logistics hub, Azernews reports, citing Agenda.

In his address to the Parliament, Davitashvili noted that the progress in a number of directions, including the development of airports in the country, would contribute to the strengthening of the transport and logistics functions of Georgia.

The Minister highlighted several transport projects, including the construction of the Anaklia deep sea port and said the interdepartmental commission of the Government had selected two bidders for the next stage of project implementation.

He added in the first phase the throughput of the Anaklia port would be 600,000 containers with the indicative value reaching $600 million.

The modernisation of the countrys railway was named as another strategic direction by Davitashvili, who said the reform of the railway sector had begun, which would implement the European model, increasing safety, efficiency and competitiveness of the sector.

According to the Minister, the large-scale railway project will be completed in 2024 and it will increase the annual capacity of the Georgian railway from 28 million tonnes to 48 million tonnes.

The reform of the vehicle passenger transportation sector, which will significantly improve the intercity transportation services and increase the level of safety, was also emphasised by Davitashvili.

The Minister also told the lawmakers that the protection of the social and labour rights of the seafarers would significantly increase with the new amendments to the law, which imply the prohibition of seafarers operation without state certification.

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Lois Henry is the CEO and editor of SJV Water, a nonprofit, independent online news publication dedicated to covering water issues in the San Joaquin Valley. She can be reached at lois.henry@sjvwater.org. The website is sjvwater.org.
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This post appears here courtesy of the Carolina Journal . The author of this post is CJ Staff A federal judge has ruled that an expelled student suing the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill over its investigation of sex assault charges can proceed without using his real name. The student's female accusers also will be identified using pseudonyms.The order Thursday from Chief U.S. District Judge Martin Reidinger applies to the case Jacob Doe v. University of North Carolina System.Reidinger wrote.Reidinger added.Reidinger's order applies to any part of the case extending through his decision about whether to grant summary judgment to Doe or the university.the judge explained.The student proceeding as Jacob Doe claims UNC Chapel Hill botched an investigation of sexual assault claims against him in 2021.Both the university and a group of individual defendants led by Chancellor Kevin Guskiewicz filed motions in May seeking dismissal of Doe's suit. The university also filed paperwork agreeing with the plaintiff's request to proceed with the case anonymously.All court documents have identified the student as Jacob Doe. Four accusers in the case are each identified as Jane Roe. Other witnesses are named with pseudonyms as well.wrote UNC's lawyers.UNC's memorandum continued.Doe's suit claims UNC violated Title IX, as well as his civil rights under a federal law known as 1983. He also claimsUNC argued in its memorandum.The eight individual defendants raise similar concerns about Doe's case.according to a separate brief.Doe's lawsuit took up 192 pages.individual defendants argued.The suit alleges that Doe was a sophomore at UNC Chapel Hill in 2021according to the complaint filed in U.S. District Court in February.Doe alleges that four female UNC students engaged in acampaign against him. One of the accusersaccording to the complaint. Doe was a Morehead-Cain Scholar at Chapel Hill.Doe's lawyers wrote.Doe says he was foundrelated to two of the complaining students. He was foundinvolving a third student. YetDoeaccording to the complaint. Doe blames university investigators, the school's Title IX Coordinator, the Equal Opportunity and Compliance Office, the Emergency Evaluation and Action Committee, and hearing panel chairs and members. TheyThe university expelled Doe. It barred him permanently in spring 2022 from reapplying to the Chapel Hill campus or applying to any other UNC campus,according to Doe's lawsuit.Doe contends UNC violated his due process rights and Title IX and engaged in a breach of contract. The suit also mentionsaccording to Doe's complaint.Reidinger granted Doe a temporary restraining order on Feb. 22, one week after he filed suit. The order banned UNCcovered in the lawsuit.
Sixteen private schools in Durham and Cumberland counties hope a three-judge panel will resolve their claims in a now-dismissed lawsuit involving Opportunity Scholarships. The schools are seeking sanctions of more than $25,000 against plaintiffs in the case.Tamika Walker Kelly, president of the N.C. Association of Educators, served as lead plaintiff in the suit that challenged the scholarship program. Kelly and her fellow plaintiffs voluntarily dismissed the two-year-old suit on April 19.Two weeks later, on May 1, lawyers for the private schools filed multiple motions in the case. None of the schools had been a party to the case. Yet plaintiffs had targeted the schools with subpoenas involving extensive requests for written information and interviews. Those requests were tied to the legal process called discovery.One of the schools' May 1 motions requested sanctions to cover costs of dealing with Opportunity Scholarship opponents' requests.On Thursday the schools' lawyers filed a new motion. It asked Wake County Senior Resident Superior Court Judge Paul Ridgeway to transfer the case to a three-judge panel. That panel would address the private schools' request for sanctions and other relief.When Kelly and other plaintiffs dropped their suit in April, their lawyers indicated thatThat statement didn't cover the targeted private schools, who are consideredin the case.On Aug. 3, 2021, Opportunity Scholarship opponents targeted the Durham private schools with subpoenas covering the following documents for the 2019-20 and 2020-21 school years:The subpoenas called for all documents to be turned over by Sept. 2, 2021, withCourts refused to block this discovery process while the case was appealed. The six schools ran up legal and court costs topping $11,000 between October 2021 and November 2021.On Nov. 11, 2021, the Opportunity Scholarship foes filed similar document requests with 10 Cumberland County private schools. Subpoenas called for depositions involving staff at three of the private schools in January 2022.Once again, courts refused to block the discovery requests. The Cumberland schools accumulated bills of nearly $14,000 between November 2021 and January 2022.In October 2022, the N.C. Court of Appeals issued a ruling overturning a Wake County trial judge's decision about the case's proceedings. Appellate judges ruled that the lawsuit amounted to aconstitutional challenge of the Opportunity Scholarship Program. Such a challenge required a transfer of the case to a three-judge trial court panel.The plaintiffs dropped their case six months later.according to the schools' May 1 motion.The schools cited Rule 45(c) of the N.C. Rules of Civil Procedure.Opportunity Scholarship opponents did not need to target the private schools while pursuing the lawsuit, according to the motion.the motion explained.The motion noted that the Opportunity Scholarship opponents pursued the targeted private schools despite an ongoing appeal.the motion continued.Attorney PaulStam signed the motion for sanctions. Stam is a board member of the John Locke Foundation, which oversees Carolina Journal.More than 25,000 N.C. students used Opportunity Scholarships during the last year to attend 544 private schools. The state awarded more than $133 million in scholarships for the 2022-23 academic year, according to data from the N.C. State Education Assistance Authority.The Opportunity Scholarship Program survived an earlier state constitutional challenge. The N.C. Supreme Court ruled, 4-3, in 2015 that the program could proceed.
As School Choice is beginning to take shape in North Carolina: What is your position on what it should evolve into?

3.45% School Choice is only a distraction from the promise of real public education.93.1% School Choice, as it evolves into its best model to serve the public' s education needs, this benefit will provide choices outside of the historic construct supporting the public school monopoly.3.45% School Choice - I cannot see how it serves the Education Industry.
Certified registered nurse anesthetists are compensated at the lowest rate in Florida, where they earn an average of $187,158  27 percent less than the national average  according to career website ZipRecruiter.

The site compiles salary data, which was updated Sept. 11, from both employer job postings and third-party data sources.

The average annual salary for CRNAs in the U.S. is $255,078. They earn $284,772 per year in New Jersey, the highest-paying state  12 percent more than the national average.

Below are the 10 lowest-paying states for CRNAs, along with their average annual salaries, starting with the lowest-paying state.

1. Florida ($187,158)

2. Alabama ($187,351)

3. West VIrginia ($187,578)

4. Arkansas ($201,921)

5. North Carolina ($203,280)

6. Kentucky ($205,711)

7. Idaho ($209,990)

8. Nebraska ($212,547)

9. Montana ($212,691)

10. Texas ($216,449)
Here are three moves that shook up the cardiology industry so far this year:

1. In September, three cardiology groups submitted a proposal to create a new medical board for cardiovascular medicine independent of the American Board of Internal Medicine. The American College of Cardiology, Heart Failure Society of America, and Society for Cardiovascular Angiography & Interventions are working together to submit an application on the matter to the American Board of Medical Specialties.

2. In May, eight cardiologists formerly employed by Rome, Ga.-based Harbin Clinic signed contracts committing to AdventHealth Redmond, also in Rome, in response to Harbin's merger with Atrium Health Floyd. The deal between Harbin and Charlotte, N.C.-based Atrium was confirmed in December. Harbin is one of the largest privately owned physician groups in Georgia, with 240 medical professionals across 40 specialties.

Physicians had expressed concerns about the future of the oncology and cardiology departments at Harbin amid the merger, according to an April 27 report from the Rome News-Tribune.

3. Private equity has shown a growing interest in cardiology. In January, a new private equity firm entered the industry  Viper Partners. The firm is opening a new mergers and acquisitions department focused specifically on deals in the cardiology space.

"We have been watching this area for a couple years and feel the time is perfect to bring our experience to this exciting space," Samir Qureshi, Viper's vice president, said in a Jan. 19 press release.
Somerville, Mass.-based Mass General Brigham is partnering with Samsung on a new digital health initiative.

The health system's Brigham & Women's Hospital in Boston plans to analyze biometric data from the Samsung Galaxy Watch to examine how resilience and frailty can be used to personalize patients' health profiles.

"Through our work with Samsung, we are exploring how to put concepts like resilience and frailty into quantifiable terms and investigate how seemingly disparate physiologic systems affect each other," said Bruce Levy, MD, chief of pulmonary and critical care medicine at Brigham & Womens Hospital, in an Oct. 6 news release. "We aim to give people actionable insights to maximize their resilience from a stressor, leveraging wearable sensors technology, which offers a unique opportunity to map individual trajectories of recovery or deterioration."

Samsung is also partnering with New Orleans-based Tulane University School of Medicine to determine how Galaxy Watch's BioActive sensor can predict which cardiovascular patients are at risk for hospitalization and Cambridge-based Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Media Lab to boost wearable sleep tracking.
More companies are requiring new CIOs and chief technology officers to work in the office, leading to a slowdown in hiring for tech leaders, The Wall Street Journal reported Oct. 5.

Turnover among CIOs and chief technology officers rose more than 30 percent in 2022 compared to 2021, when organizations went on an executive hiring spree, offering high salaries and nabbing talent from across the country because of remote work arrangements, according to the Journal. But that rate has declined 15 percent in 2023, in part because of the return-to-office mandates, executive search firm Leathwaite reported.

"It's a question we're now having to ask that we haven't had to ask for three years, which is: 'Are you willing to relocate?' You might get the answer: 'I'm not interested,'" Eric Sigurdson, CIO practice leader at search company Russell Reynolds Associates, told the newspaper. "I think all the search firms have seen a slight decrease year-over-year in 2023  in the technology officer movement for that reason."

Some companies are having those firms look for local candidates only or at least exclude those on different coasts or time zones, according to the story. The Journal cited the example of Mark Brooks, the former CIO of payer Centene who recently took on the same role at Reinsurance Group of America, less than 20 miles away. "He's going to be able to drive and not fly," Mr. Sigurdson, who led the search, told the news outlet.
Elevance's proposed $2.5 billion acquisition of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Louisiana was put on hold in late September after the deal came under scrutiny from state senators and the attorney general.

The government officials called for a delay and made clear they did not want the sale to go forward until more questions were answered. The senators' call for a delay stemmed from reports commissioned by the state's insurance commission that questioned how BCBS planned to structure the deal. Attorney General Jeff Landry, a gubernatorial candidate, said he did not want the sale to proceed before a new governor and insurance commissioner have taken office.

"Since we are committed to making sure these questions are answered, BCBSLA and Elevance Health do not believe it is the right time to hold public hearings and a policyholder vote," the companies said in a joint statement.

The companies said they remain committed to the deal, and a BCBS spokesperson said they are hopeful it can still be closed by early 2024.

The Elevance-BCBS Louisiana deal is not the only proposed payer acquisition coming under fire. A pair of federal lawmakers  Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren and Washington Rep. Pramila Jayapal  are calling on the Federal Trade Commission and the Justice Department's antitrust division to "carefully scrutinize" UnitedHealth Group's proposed $3.3 billion acquisition of home and hospice care provider Amedisys.

The lawmakers expressed concern that the deal would increase UnitedHealth Group's market dominance, reduce competition, hurt patients and increase healthcare costs.

The deal, first announced in June, is already under scrutiny from the Justice Department, which requested additional information about the proposed merger in August and extended the waiting period for the deal under federal law.

Government scrutiny is hardly new for UnitedHealth Group. The lawmakers' letter was sent exactly one year after UntiedHealth's Optum arm completed its $7.8 billion merger with healthcare data and analytics giant Change Healthcare. The deal was finalized after a Washington, D.C., federal judge ruled in favor of the merger, rejecting a Justice Department lawsuit. The Justice Department sued in an attempt to stop the deal it called anticompetitive.

In February, UnitedHealth Group closed a $5.4 billion acquisition of home health firm LHC Group. The deal received scrutiny from the FTC and was reportedly looking for vertical harm theories around the deal, but the agency ultimately did not challenge the acquisition.

On the hospital side, Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison is reviewing the planned mergers between Duluth, Minn.-based Essentia Health and Marshfield (Wis.) Clinic Health System as well as Duluth-based St. Luke's and Wausau, Wis.-based Aspirus Health. The move comes amid changes in Minnesota law and the nixed merger between Sioux Falls, S.D.-based Sanford Health and Minneapolis-based Fairview Health following intervention from Mr. Ellison's office.

The state's healthcare entity transaction law has given the attorney general greater review powers to determine whether planned healthcare mergers are in the public interest. Mr. Ellison can seek court intervention if he deems such transactions are not.

A public meeting is scheduled for Oct. 25 to engage local communities as part of the review to ensure two proposed mergers in the state are in compliance with both federal and state law.

Both Essentia Health and St. Luke's said they appreciate the opportunity to showcase the benefits of the potential mergers with the two respective Wisconsin systems through such scrutiny.
Registered nurses at Beth Israel Lahey Anna Jaques Hospital in Newburyport, Mass., issued a vote authorizing union leaders to call a three-day strike amid contract negotiations.

Approximately 350 nurses, represented by the Massachusetts Nurses Association, entered official negotiations for a new union contract in September, with the first negotiation Sept. 12 and the second scheduled for Oct. 5. Their contract is set to expire Dec. 31.

Ninety-nine percent of the unionized nurses voted yes to strike authorization, according to the MNA.

"Casting a strike vote this early in the process is an unusual step but one the nurses feel is necessary given the gravity of the crisis the facility faces, and the need for management to understand how serious the nurses are for BI Lahey to fix these problems," the union said in its announcement of the strike authorization, noting that Beth Israel Lahey Anna Jaques Hospital will have 10 days' notice if and when the committee issues an official notice to strike.

"As Anna Jaques Hospital begins its negotiations with the MNA for a new contract, a key priority is reaching a fair agreement that increases wages for the outstanding nurses serving our community," Christine Kipp, interim CNO of Anna Jaques Hospital, said in a statement to Becker's. "We hope to move quickly in reaching agreement on contract terms that will support both retention and recruiting goals."

Amid contract negotiations, the hospital's nursing team is engaging temporary staff, providing incentives to existing staff to provide coverage when necessary, and providing intensive onboarding to assist our newest nurses in integrating into the AJH community, according to Ms. Kipp.

In February, the nurses delivered a petition for pay increases to management and arranged a picket in March. The hospital told Becker's it offered an immediate 7 percent wage increase to its nursing team this summer. "We were disappointed that the MNA rejected this offer, however, we hope that timely, effective bargaining can reach a fair resolution that increases wages," the hospital said in a statement to Becker's.
Munster, Ind.-based Community Hospital and its operator, Munster Medical Research Foundation, will pay $158,000 to settle a lawsuit that accused the hospital of not accommodating a nurse after a work injury.

In June, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission filed suit against the Indiana hospital after a nurse was allegedly fired instead of appointed to an open role because she had lifting restrictions. Failing to transfer and accommodate an employee because of a disability is a violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act.

In the lawsuit, Community Hospital agreed to rehire the nurse and change policies surrounding human resource training for all employees, according to an Oct. 4 EEOC news release.
Columbus-based Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center was awarded $20 million by the Tobacco Center of Regulatory Science to gather evidence needed to inform the FDA's regulation of tobacco products.

OSU was one of seven centers to receive a grant for the research. The centers will conduct research in epidemiology, economics, toxicology and marketing. The university plans to use "the tobacco industry's nicotine playbook" to improve public health through four research projects, according to an Oct. 4 hospital news release.
Merve Emre at The New Yorker:

The word that comes to mind to describe all thisthe light, the music, the sacred waters, the sacred garmentsis pilgrimage. One rarely sees living writers treated with such reverence. I am just a strange guy from the western part of Norway, from the rural part of Norway, Fosse told me. He grew up a mixture of a communist and an anarchist, a hippie who loved playing the fiddle and reading in the countryside. He enrolled at the University of Bergen, where he studied comparative literature and started writing in Nynorsk, the written standard specific to the rural regions of the west. His first novel, Red, Black, was published in 1983, followed throughout the next three decades by Melancholy I and Melancholy II, Morning and Evening, Aliss at the Fire, and Trilogy. After a wildly successful and hectic period during which he worked almost exclusively as a playwright, Fosse converted to Catholicism in 2012, quit drinking, and remarried. He then started writing Septology, a seven-volume novel written in a single sentence and exemplifying what he has described as his turn to slow prose. (The book was translated, by Damion Searls, for Fitzcarraldo Editions, in the U.K.; a U.S. edition is out this month, from Transit Books.)

more here.
Medtronic named Paolo Di Vincenzo as president of the company's neuromodulation business starting Oct. 30.

Mr. Di Vincenzo previously worked at Smith+Nephew where he was senior vice president and general manager of the U.S. advance wound management business, according to an Oct. 4 news release. Before that, he worked at Systagenix, Becton Dickinson and Roche Diagnostics.

"I'm thrilled to have him join this team as Neuromodulation moves into the era of personalized medicine with sensing technology," Brett Wall, executive vice president and president of Medtronic's neuroscience business, said in the release. "He will play a key role in advancing our capabilities in these areas while driving business execution in alignment with Medtronics focus on a performance-driven culture.."
A lawsuit filed against Morgantown. W.Va.-based J.W. Ruby Memorial Hospital accuses an anesthesiologist of negligence during a 2021 spinal surgery, The Dominion Post reported Oct. 3.

On Oct. 8, 2021, David Gentry underwent a spinal procedure requiring anesthesia. He allegedly suffered severe skin-tear injuries to his shoulder, arms and elbow after hospital staff failed to note his adhesive allergy.

According to the report, it was noted by staff prior to surgery that Mr. Gentry was on blood thinners and had an adhesive allergy, but tape was still used during the procedure. Andrew Criser, MD, and Rachel Dada, MD, the attending anesthesiologist and anesthesia resident, respectively, allegedly failed to carefully inspect the patients skin prior to and throughout the anesthesia delivery.

The suit also alleges his medical records did not document the complications.

Mr. Gentry is seeking relief for medical bills, physical injuries, psychological injuries, emotional distress and other damages.
Amid economic headwinds, spine surgeons are exploring different ways to reduce costs in their practices.

Ask Spine Surgeons is a weekly series of questions posed to spine surgeons around the country about clinical, business and policy issues affecting spine care. Becker's invites all spine surgeon and specialist responses.

Next week's question: What innovative ways can spine practices increase their revenue in the current economic climate?

Please send responses to Carly Behm at cbehm@beckershealthcare.com by 5 p.m. CDT Wednesday, Oct. 11.

Editor's note: Responses were lightly edited for clarity and length.

Question: Where are the biggest opportunities for spine surgeons to reduce costs?

Chester Donnally, MD. Texas Spine Consultants (Dallas): Biologics. Unfortunately, insurance carriers are making this decision for us and often I have to do peer-to-peer approval to justify even using (cheap) DBM putty. That said, when I get a spine fusion, I definitely will want significant allograft use in my surgery!

Brian Fiani, DO. Mendelson Kornblum Orthopedic & Spine Specialists (West Bloomfield, Mich.): Some of the biggest opportunities for spine surgeons to reduce costs include:

1. Minimally invasive procedures: Minimally invasive techniques can reduce the length of hospital stays, decrease postoperative pain and limit the need for additional resources like blood transfusions. This can lead to lower overall costs for both patients and healthcare systems.

2. Improved patient selection: Identifying patients who are most likely to benefit from surgery and have positive outcomes can help reduce unnecessary procedures and associated costs. Additionally, identifying patients who may be better suited for nonsurgical treatments can also help avoid unnecessary expenses.

3. Enhanced surgical planning and precision: Utilizing advanced imaging technologies and computer-assisted navigation during surgeries can help improve accuracy and reduce the risk of complications. This can lead to better outcomes, fewer revisions and ultimately lower costs.

4. Optimized perioperative care: Implementing enhanced recovery protocols and standardized care pathways can help minimize variations in postoperative care and improve patient outcomes. This can potentially shorten hospital stays, reduce complications and lower costs.

5. Strategic purchasing and resource allocation: Collaborating with healthcare supply chain experts and negotiating favorable contracts with suppliers can help reduce the cost of surgical equipment, implants and other necessary resources.

6. Value-based reimbursement models: Emphasizing quality outcomes and value-based reimbursement models can incentivize spine surgeons to focus on improving patient outcomes while reducing unnecessary costs.

It's important to note that while cost reduction is crucial, it should not compromise patient safety or the quality of care provided. Each patient's unique circumstances and needs should always be considered when making treatment decisions.

Brian Gantwerker, MD. The Craniospinal Center of Los Angeles: At this point, we are all working harder for less. The line needs to be drawn. Spine surgeons should be remunerated commensurate with their care, training, experience and outcomes. Otherwise, it's an interminable race to the bottom.

Richard Kube II, MD. Prairie Spine & Pain Institute (Peoria, Ill.): In those areas of the country where direct contracting is growing, there is enormous ability to cut overhead. Virtually all of the struggle for payment is eliminated. Time spent doing useless utilization reviews is gone. Staff time billing and then following up with untold numbers of appeals is gone. Staff overhead drops per case, as does personal time that can be redirected toward patient care, thus decreasing the amount of unbillable time spent by the physician.

Scott Raffa, MD. Cantor Spine Center at the Paley Orthopedic & Spine Institute (West Palm Beach, Fla.): Spine surgeons can reduce costs in different ways.

For hospitals, healthcare systems and individual spine surgeons, costs may be reduced by employing any one of the following initiatives:

1. Enhanced recovery after surgery protocols: These recovery strategies can help reduce length of stay and improve speed of patient recovery, leading to a reduction in length of stay.

2. Standard procedures and instruments: By reducing the variation in the surgical technologist's back table and reduction of disposable items, excessive costs may be reduced.

3. Careful selection of spinal implant equipment: Spine implants can account for a significant portion of hospital costs. Surgeons can work with healthcare systems to negotiate prices, considerable purchasing agreements, and reduce costs through usage agreements.

4. Telemedicine: For surgeons or their private practices, use of telemedicine has exploded and has now become mainstream. Considering which patient interactions are and need face-to-face conversations, and others that may only be in need of direct communication but not in person, may lead to reduction in unnecessary patient travel and unnecessary use of staff and overhead costs.

5. Improved implant inventory management: Healthcare systems and the spine industry may benefit from improved logistics, such as implant tray consignments on long-term loan/lease agreements. These agreements may reduce unnecessary transfers of implant trays in/out of the healthcare system, and into the exposed natural environment. Unnecessary transfers may lead to reduced risks of infection and better availability due to consigned hardware.

Vladimir Sinkov, MD. Sinkov Spine (Las Vegas): The biggest opportunity to reduce the immediate costs of surgical procedures is to move the surgery from a hospital to an ASC setting (when safe and appropriate). Being considerate with the choice of implants and bone grafting materials could also have a significant effect on the overall cost of the procedure (whenever safe and clinically appropriate).

Performing a spine surgery in a minimally invasive fashion can also substantially reduce the cost of care by significantly reducing the length of hospital stay, the risk of complications such as infection, and the duration of time the patient will need to take prescription pain medications after the surgery. The patients also typically return to full function and work significantly faster after a minimally invasive procedure. This will reduce the nonclinical and societal costs associated with the loss of productivity.

Another great opportunity is to provide timely and appropriate care. Sometimes delaying medically necessary surgery by trying additional physical therapy or injections only delays the "inevitable," increases the overall cost of care for this diagnosis and prolongs the duration of time the patient is not back to full function or work.

Hao-Hua Wu, MD. UCI Health (Orange, Calif.): As someone who has been involved in multiple cost-effectiveness studies, including one that won the NASS Value Abstract Award in 2021, I have found that one of the biggest drivers of healthcare cost is the inpatient stay. Every night spent in the hospital is costly, and certain spine procedures require patients to stay in the hospital longer. Patients who undergo minimally invasive surgery for their spine, however, have the potential to recover faster. In my practice, when possible, I perform MIS procedures, such as motion-preserving cervical laminoplasty and tubular decompression, to minimize recovery time needed in a hospital setting.

Christian Zimmerman, MD. St. Alphonsus Medical Group and SAHS Neuroscience Institute (Boise, Idaho): Cost reduction (per unit case) is best managed for all complex spinal practices by negotiating implant costs and orthobiologic usage. Our health system has a corporate-wide committee that works closely with physicians and the private sector to manage, regulate and intercede when contracts become due. Conservative mindsets and applied measures can also serve this cause. Reimbursements continue to falter, and this will indirectly affect surgeons nationally.
The interim chair of Invest NI has said he believes all political parties recognise the benefits of dual market access under the Windsor Framework.

Colm McKenna spoke as the economic development agency announced a shift in focus from job creation towards improving productivity following a highly critical review.

It is shaking up its leadership, structure, operations, culture and strategy in response to Januarys report from a panel led by Sir Michael Lyons.

Changes include a greater focus on regions beyond Belfast, particularly Londonderry.

Admitting reform was needed, Mr McKenna said: The Invest NI of the future will not be the same as the Invest NI of the past. It needs to be different.

Interim CEO Mel Chittock added: Invest NI will not be the jobs agency of the past, though that may create some challenges as its a currency that everyone understands.

The agency will continue in encouraging foreign direct investment, with the Windsor Framework and dual market access a selling point.

Mr McKenna said: I think the Windsor Framework and the advantage of dual market access gives a tremendous opportunity.

I think dual market access is something that all parties understand the benefits of, including the DUP and Sinn Fein.

I think theres an acceptance that dual market access is a unique selling point.

He said all parties backed the economic development strategy launched by Diane Dodds in 2021, even though the Executive has not signed it off.

Mr McKenna added there was no suggestion that Sinn Fein, which is expected to take on the economy ministry if devolution is restored, would junk the plan.

He also told how Invest NI was determined to help all areas of Northern Ireland.

We are making a commitment to strengthening our regional impact to ensure all of Northern Ireland benefits from growth, tailored interventions according to need and a greater focus on productivity, he said.

We have been accused in the past of being Belfast-centric in the past.

Londonderry Chamber president Selina Horshi welcomed the commitment.

She said: Derry Chamber has always been clear that it wants to see a more balanced regional economy and a shift in focus so that our region feels the benefit of more support.
Jet2's 2025 summer schedule will be the biggest to date from Belfast International

Airline Jet2.com has announced their summer programme for the 2025 season with 21 destinations on sale from Belfast International Airport, making it their biggest summer schedule to date.

The travel company has put flights and holidays on sale to popular sunshine destinations in the Canaries, Balearics, Spain, Greece, Turkey, Italy, Cyprus, Croatia, and Portugal.

Jet2 said they would be offering holidaymakers in Northern Ireland more than 50 departing weekly flights from the airport in summer 2025.

The full list of destinations on offer and the number of flights per week includes: Antalya (3), Bodrum (1), Dalaman (3), Tenerife (6), Lanzarote (4), Fuerteventura (1), Gran Canaria (2), Reus (4), Alicante (5), Malaga (3), Palma (Majorca) (6), Ibiza (3), Menorca (1), Faro (Algarve) (4), Crete (Heraklion) (2), Rhodes (2), Zante (1), Paphos (1), Dubrovnik (1), Malta (1), Verona (1).

Read more Summer delays down to air traffic control strike and staffing challenges, says easyJet as airline celebrates 25 years in Belfast

Steve Heapy, CEO of Jet2.com and Jet2holidays, said: We are seeing strong demand from customers and independent travel agents wanting to book their Summer Sun early and get the best availability and choice.

"As the UKs largest tour operator, we have listened to what our customers are telling us and reacted by putting our Summer 25 Sun programme on sale from Belfast International Airport nice and early.

By going on sale today, we are giving customers the chance to lock in the price of their holiday now, have their pick of the best choice of destinations, hotels, rooms and flights, and spread the cost.

"Our Summer 25 Sun programme represents our largest programme to date from Belfast International Airport, and the size and scale of this means customers in Northern Ireland have lots of choice and flexibility when it comes to getting away.
Ben and Jerrys, Green and Blacks and the Co-op are among the winners of the inaugural Fairtrade Global Awards led by farmers and workers in low income countries.

The three brands were recognised for their commitment to supporting social justice through trade as well as ethical and sustainable practices.

The awards, which were announced at the Fairtrade Business Summit in Nairobi, Kenya, on Wednesday evening, came as an opportunity for those working across supply chains to recognise global businesses who are creating an impact through their supplier relationships.

The awards focused on existing commitments by businesses, strong two-way relationships with producer groups and a willingness to test new approaches in collaboration with Fairtrade.

The Co-op won the award for climate leader, Green and Blacks won in the Latin America and Caribbean category, and Ben and Jerrys was named Fairtrade Partner of the Year.

Kerrina Thorogood, partnerships director at the Fairtrade Foundation, said: Congratulations to all the winners, especially the three UK Fairtrade partners.

The 2023 Fairtrade Global Awards winners have exemplified the spirit of Fairtrade by demonstrating a commitment to fairness, sustainability, and positive impact in the lives of farmers and workers in low-income countries.

Their contributions serve as an inspiration to all who believe in creating a more equitable global trade system.

Cheryl Pinto, global head of values-led sourcing at Ben and Jerrys, said that fair trade, as well as striving for social and economic justice, is baked into our ethos of how we do business.

With the global challenges we face, it is critical that across sectors, we become more transparent, resilient and fair in terms of valuing and honouring the essential contributions of farmers and farmworkers along with all other supply chain actors, she added.

Sandra Uwera, Fairtrade International global CEO, said: Businesses have the potential to be remarkable agents of positive change.

At Fairtrade International, weve seen countless examples of companies going the extra mile to make a sustainable impact.

Let us use their stories as a source of inspiration, a testament to whats possible, and a call to action for others to follow suit in the pursuit of a more sustainable world.

Assata Doumbia, president of ECAM Meaui, an Ivorian cocoa farmer cooperative and member of the judging panel for the Fairtrade Awards, said: The Fairtrade Global Awards provide a platform to acknowledge those who are actively reshaping our global trade landscape.

Its truly inspiring to see how these nominees have harnessed the principles of fairness and sustainability to make a tangible difference in the lives of farmers and workers.
The survey found that less than half of companies monitor their value chain emissions (David Jones/PA)

Almost half of firms are not collecting data on their emissions across their entire value chain, new research has suggested.

The survey, from Economist Impact, which works with organisations to further their missions, asked 1,250 companies across different sectors and regions about their efforts to reduce so-called scope three emissions.

Scope three, which make up the majority of a firms emissions, includes those from across the value chain, like goods and services sold, transportation, waste disposal and franchises.

It found that 47% of companies are not collecting and monitoring their scope three emissions.

In terms of sectors, the least likely firms to monitor these emissions include consumer goods at 54% and technology/telecommunication firms at 40%.

Meanwhile, transport manufacturers and energy companies are most likely to do so at 66% and 59% respectively.

In terms of monitoring the data, companies are least likely to engage with their suppliers, the research suggests.

It found that, on average, companies undertake 43% of supplier engagement initiatives like incentivising suppliers to meet sustainability targets and regularly auditing their emissions.

However, 97% of firms across all sectors have undertaken at least one initiative to engage customers to reduce emissions.

It comes as Economist Impact and tech consultancy Infosys launch the Value Chain Navigator  an open digital platform to help businesses understand and address their scope three emissions through interactive tracking, tools and tailored recommendations.

The navigator will be featured on the Economist Impacts content and community platform called the Sustainability Project.

Claudia Malley, president of Economist Impact, said: We focus on addressing pressing issues and providing the necessary insights to advance sustainable solutions.

Our work with Infosys to create The Sustainability Project and, now, the Value Chain Navigator exemplifies the impact we can make in the world.

Ashiss Kumar Dash, global head of services, utilities, resources and energy at Infosys, said: The Value Chain Navigator will be pivotal in driving collaborative action at scale to tackle scope three emissions, supporting businesses along their value chains to reduce their carbon footprint.

With this solution, we further strengthen the tools delivered through The Sustainability Project to empower sustainability stakeholders to navigate a changing landscape through data and insights, and chart their course for a better future.
Gareth Reid with Judi Dench and his portrait of the actor

A Northern Irish artist has been crowned Portrait Artist of the Decade for his unique charcoal impression of iconic Hollywood actress Dame Judi Dench.

Belfast native Gareth Reid (49) received the prestigious accolade on the popular Sky Arts competition show, Portrait Artist of the Year, as part of a 90-minute special to mark its 10th anniversary.

The Portrait Artist of the Decade episode recalled previous yearly winners, who were tasked to create a portrait of Dench, who starred in the James Bond films.

Mr Reid said he was utterly shocked to win and described his new crowning as Portrait Artist of the Decade as a truly memorable experience.

It still feels completely surreal to be awarded Portrait Artist of the Decade. I was utterly shocked when my name was read out, I expected nothing, so I feel extremely fortunate and honoured to have been chosen, he said after this week, ahead of the shows release on Sky on October 11.

He previously won the Sky Portrait Artist of the Year in 2017, surpassing 54 competitors for the coveted prize.

As the winner, he captured the likeness of Graham Norton. The painting then entered the permanent collection of the National Gallery of Ireland.

Following his success, Reid went on to receive numerous prestigious commissions, most notably painting King Charles in 2019.

Winning the first time was already extraordinary, but this is way beyond that, he remarked.

His award-winning drawing will be featured in an upcoming exhibition at The National Portrait Gallery, London.

Reid's artistic journey began in Belfast, where he honed his craft before attending the esteemed Glasgow School of Art. Now, he balances his time between his studios in Ireland and Glasgow.

New paintings by Reid will be featured as part of a group exhibition in La Roche House, Belfast and can be viewed by appointment from October 17-31.

Having my daughters there with me and working under pressure alongside such a great group of talented artists on the day was an experience that Ill never forget, he added.
Yiftach Ofek in The Hedgehog Review:

The recent death of Milan Kundera brought me back to the fall of 2006, to the aftermath of what we Israelis call the Second Lebanon War, when I first read his work.

It was the first year of my military service as a junior spokesman to the foreign press. And like much of the Israeli population, I was angry and confused. What began as a limited military operation quickly escalated into an all-out conflict with what turned out to be a well-armed, well-trained, and well-funded militia. The Israel Defense Forces, too accustomed to the relative low intensity that characterized the ongoing conflict with the Palestinians, was caught radically underprepared. Cities as far from the northern border as Haifa were targeted daily. The government responded with weakness and hesitation, or so it seemed at the time.

Experts say we did not lose that war. But it felt as though we did.

It was then that I picked up The Unbearable Lightness of Being, a book I had intended to read for some time. It provided the perfect antidote to my personal and existential malaise.

More here.
The Blade Runner TV sequel will no longer be filmed in Northern Ireland, it has been reported.

Filming for Blade Runner 2099 was due to get underway at Belfasts Harbour Studios earlier this year, but the project was delayed due to the Hollywood writers strike.

Now the BBC has reported that the series will be filmed elsewhere.

NI Screen had awarded Blade Runner 2099 funding of 4.1m in 2022-23, but it is understood any money that has been paid will be returned.

Rumours the multimillion-dollar Amazon production was to be axed entirely have been swirling around the industry in recent months.

But in August NI Screen was confident the project would be coming to these shores in the near future.

In August CEO Richard Williams told Sunday Life: We have spoken to the production and it is not our understanding that Blade Runner 2099 has been cancelled.

The production was halted due to the ongoing writers strike. Since then there has also been strike action by actors.

The WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes have been halting productions all over the world.

We hope for a swift and equitable resolution to the dispute for all parties, allowing US-originated projects to get back into production here.

The original Blade Runner movie, set in a dystopian future Los Angeles in 2019, was released in 1982, starring Harrison Ford.

Its sequel, Blade Runner 2049, was released in 2017, and Blade Runner 2099 was commissioned by Amazon with Sir Ridley Scott as executive producer.
The BBC has reached a settlement with the mother of a murdered schoolgirl who said Martin Bashir took her daughters clothes and never returned them.

In 1991, Michelle Hadaway gave the clothes to the then BBC reporter for DNA tests for BBC Twos social affairs programme Public Eye, but the investigation did not air and her calls to the broadcaster were ignored.

The clothes belonged to nine-year-old schoolgirl Karen Hadaway, who was found sexually assaulted and strangled alongside Nicola Fellows in a woodland den in Brighton in October 1986, in what became known as the Babes In The Wood murders.

The families of the two girls spent decades fighting for justice after their killer, Russell Bishop, was initially found not guilty of their murders in 1987.

Martin Bashir (Ian West/PA)

In 2002 and 2004, Ian Heffron, uncle of Nicola Fellows, contacted the BBC for the clothing following reform of the double jeopardy law, which would allow Bishop to be retried.

However, BBC investigators were unable to locate the clothing.

Bishop, who died in January 2022 aged 55, was jailed in 2018 for a minimum of 36 years after being convicted of the murders of Fellows and Hadaway.

In 2021, the BBC conducted a review of the case in a fresh bid to try to locate the clothing and an investigator spoke with Bashir.

Director-general Tim Davie later apologised to the family but said regrettably 30 years on, little more can be done to find the missing clothes.

On Thursday, a BBC spokesperson said: We have today reached a settlement with Michelle Hadaway in relation to the loss of the clothes of her daughter, Karen.

In 1991, Mrs Hadaway entrusted the BBC with the missing clothes on the understanding that they would be forensically examined.

Murdered Brighton schoolgirls Karen Hadaway (left) and Nicola Fellows (PA)

The BBC did not examine or return the clothes, and was not subsequently able to find them as a result of searches in 2004 and 2021.

We should have taken better care of Karens clothes and we did not.

We accept that we had a duty of care to Mrs Hadaway and we fell well short of that and we have previously apologised to her privately. We are very sorry.

The terms of the settlement were not revealed.

The story of the lost clothing re-emerged following the publication of Lord Dysons report on the 1995 Panorama interview with the late Diana, Princess of Wales, where reporter Bashir was found to have deceived the princess in order to obtain his exclusive interview with her.
Northern Irish TV presenter Eamonn Holmes has hit out at Rishi Sunaks wife making a surprise address at the Conservative Party conference on Wednesday branding it vomit making.

Akshata Murty was not billed to speak ahead of the Prime Minister in Manchester, telling the conference she and her husband were each others best friends, and added she could not imagine being anywhere else ahead of his address.

Speaking on Thursday mornings GB News Breakfast Show, Mr Holmes clashed with co-host Isabel Webster over Akshata Murtys appearance.

When asked by his fellow presenter over his views on her speech, Mr Holmes said: Whats she's speaking for?

"Why do we want to know what the bloomin' Prime Minister's wife thinks? Were interested in what the Prime Minister thinks.

Ms Webster interjected adding: She just introduced him. I mean this happened before, Sarah Brown introduced Gordon Brown when he was Prime Minister. I think a lot of people are intrigued to know the woman behind the man.

Holmes replied: I just don't get that. That is just, it's crass. We can't get him in the past ten days or so to make one single comment on HS2. Then he's forced to make something yesterday. So we deflect everybody by listening to what his wife is having to say on things.

Oh, Granny, let's have his Granny, come on, you wanna speak?

Defending the decision and saying she liked it, Webster argued: "I was in the car as it happened, and I didn't know who was speaking. And I did for a second think it was someone like Malala.

"It sounded like a very young person. And then I realised from what she was saying, oh, this must be the Prime Minister's wife. And, you know, she was just trying to paint a picture of the man behind the scenes.

Once again hitting back at the idea, the Belfast man added: Vomit making. Why do you care whether him and her are one team or not? Is she running the country?

As he opened his speech, Mr Sunak echoed the conference slogan as he responded to his wife, describing Ms Murty as the best long-term decision for a brighter future he had ever made.

The Prime Ministers press secretary described it as a very personal speech that Ms Murty wrote herself and indicated the public will see more of her in the run-up to the general election.

I know they are an extremely strong partnership and Im sure people want to know who their leader is and the values that drive them, and the people around them that influence and sustain them, she added.
Emerald Fennell arrives for the opening night gala, Saltburn, at the BFI London Film Festival 2023 at the Royal Festival Hall, Southbank Centre (Ian West/PA)

Oscar-winner Emerald Fennell has said her new film Saltburn is metaphorically a vampire film as it explores how someone can behave when they are completely besotted.

The gala premiere of the thriller opened the BFI London Film Festival on Wednesday, but without its star-studded cast on the red carpet, including Banshees Of Inisherin actor Barry Keoghan and Euphoria star Jacob Elordi, as the actors strike continues.

The film sees Keoghan as student Oliver Quick who, struggling to find his place at Oxford University, finds himself drawn into the world of the charming and aristocratic Felix Catton, played by Elordi.

Felix invites Oliver to Saltburn, his eccentric familys sprawling estate, where he becomes infatuated with the aristocrat.

The Crown actress Fennell, who won an Oscar for her screenplay for Promising Young Woman, wrote, directed and produced the project.

Speaking on the red carpet of the films gala premiere, Fennell told the PA news agency: Certainly metaphorically it is a vampire film.

It is about what we do when were completely besotted with something or someone.

And I hope its part of the classic Gothic tradition where love and hate are very, very close together.

Reflecting on the films exploration on being an outsider, the director added that she thinks we all feel like we dont quite fit in all of the time.

I mean, look where we are now, were in the most enormous festival in London, and certainly I feel like I dont fit in here, she admitted.

So its always exciting to look at look at outsiders and again its part of the tradition that its somebody whos not familiar with the world looking into it.

And I think those are the most exciting films when you have that tension.

The film also stars Rosamund Pike, Richard E Grant and Carey Mulligan, who were not in attendance at the premiere.

Emerald Fennell arrives for the opening night gala, Saltburn, at the BFI London Film Festival 2023 at the Royal Festival Hall, Southbank Centre in London (Ian West/PA)

International film festivals such as Venice, Telluride and Toronto have already been affected by the strike by union Sag-Aftra.

The festival is also set to host premieres for highly anticipated films such as Killers Of The Flower Moon, Maestro and Poor Things.

Fennell told PA that she feels the British film industry has been one of the most exciting and groundbreaking since the beginning of cinema.

The British star added: Its just so thrilling that it seems like every year people are making work that is more personal, more stylistically complicated and exciting. Its really a pleasure to be part of it.

Saltburn will be released in UK cinemas on November 24.

The BFI London Film Festival will run from October 4 to October 15.
Humza Yousaf has appeared on the cover of US publication Time Magazine.

The Scottish First Minister has been included in a list of 10 next generation leaders by Times international edition, owing to his youth and the fact he is the first Muslim leader of a Western country.

He appears alongside the likes of actor Florence Pugh, racing driver Jamie Chadwick, drag queen Pattie Gonia and Ghanian visual artist Prince Gyasi.

Speaking to the magazine, Mr Yousaf outlined his upbringing, the well-worn issues of race and religion, as well as the impact of the 9/11 attacks on him as a teenager.

Humza Yousaf is on the cover of Time Magazines latest edition (Time/PA)

He also spoke about what the SNP has to do to increase support for independence, with opinion polls appearing to show backing for it stagnating shy of a majority.

The way we shift the dial on independence is give people a little bit of hope, and I believe the SNP can absolutely do that, he said.

The challenge over the past few months, to be frank and to be blunt, is that weve not been able to get cut through because of other events that have dominated the party space.

The First Minister appeared to be alluding to the police investigation into the SNPs finances, which has seen the arrests of former first minister Nicola Sturgeon, her husband and former chief executive Peter Murrell, and then-treasurer Colin Beattie.

Humza Yousaf, centre, said he believes he can increase support for independence by offering Scots a little bit of hope (PA)

All three were released without charge pending further investigation.

But the First Minister also said people are more focused on issues closer to home.

He told Time: We have too many people in Scotland, in fact right across the UK, living in poverty because weve had 13 years of austerity, and my belief  unsurprisingly  is you need the full powers of independence to truly unleash the potential of this country for every single Scot that lives here.

Being the first of his religion to head a Western government, he said, means a lot to me and my family, although it is not something he dwells on often.

The First Minister added that if he could inspire just one person to enter politics, then thats a pretty good feeling.
One of the robbers, who has paranoid schizophrenia, says he was on crack flat out at the time of offending

Sentences totalling 16 years have been imposed upon two men for a spate of armed robberies committed at shops in Belfast.

William Patterson (40) was handed a nine-year sentence at Belfast Crown Court and Darren Presley Shah (42) received a seven-year sentence.

As he told the pair their sentences would be divided equally between prison and licence, Judge Mark Reel spoke of the vulnerability of small shops and similar outlets.

He said: They provide vital services and yet are easy, as this case demonstrates, to rob  and the only protection such outlets have is from the sentences imposed upon the people who rob them.

Shah, whose address was given as HMP Maghaberry, was sentenced for three robberies, one attempted robbery and four counts of possessing an offensive weapon with intent.

He targeted the shops in south Belfast over a period spanning October 5 to November 4, 2021 whilst armed with weapons including knives and scissors.

On October 5, whilst masked he held a knife to the back of a shop assistant working at the Co-Op on the Ormeau Road and demanded cash and cigarettes.

He targeted the same store 19 days later and on this occasion, armed with a box-cutting blade, he again stole cash and cigarettes.

Patterson, also with an address at Maghaberry, was sentenced for four charges  robbery, attempted robbery and two counts of possessing an offensive weapon with intent.

Together with Shah, they robbed money and cigarettes whilst armed with knives from a shop assistance working at a Tesco Express on the Rosetta Road on October 21, 2021.

The pair also targeted a Centra on the Ormeau Road at around 9am on November 4, 2021 and on that occasion the robbery failed as they were unable to work the till after staff ran for safety.

Both incidents were carried out whilst Patterson was on licence for a previous robbery charge.

Judge Mark Reel said both men were linked to the robberies by a combination of CCTV footage, DNA and clothing found during their arrests.

Whilst both men initially denied the charges following their arrest, Shah later admitted his guilt. Patterson, on the other hand, continued his denials - but was convicted by a jury following a trial.

Defence barrister Michael Boyd said his client Shah suffered trauma in his childhood which led to mental health issues and drug misuse.

Mr Boyd added Shah has expressed shame, remorse and genuine regret for his actions in 2021.

Judge Reel noted Shahs claim he was on crack flat out at the time of offending, and his diagnosis of paranoid schizophrenia.

Pattersons barrister Luke Curran also spoke of his clients shame for his involvement, and added that whilst in custody he is taking steps to addressing his issues.

Acknowledging Patterson has issues with alcohol as opposed to drugs, Judge Reel branded as chaotic his lifestyle at relevant time.

Telling both men their offending was so serious that only an immediate custodial sentence is appropriate, Judge Reel imposed the seven and nine-year terms.
A Belfast man who raped a stranger as she walked home after a night out with friends was jailed today.

Stephen Dalton was handed a six-and-a-half-year sentence for the sex attack which he committed on September 10, 2021.

As he sentenced Dalton for the disturbing case, Judge Paul Ramsey KC told the 39-year-old that he will spend half the term in jail, followed by the same period on licence when he is released from prison.

Judge Ramsey also paid tribute to two cyclists who witnessed the incident and alerted the PSNI.

Belfast Crown Court heard that, despite pleading to charges of rape and sexual assault, Dalton, of Fairfax Court in Belfast, told a probation officer he was innocent.

Dalton targeted the then-26-year-old victim as she walked home from a night out with friends.

After dining in a Chinese restaurant and then visiting several bars in the centre of Belfast, she decided to walk home.

The woman, who said she was intoxicated and does not remember the incident, was walking on a footpath that runs along the River Lagan when she encountered Dalton, who was also on the same walkway.

Dalton and the woman walked along the path together for a short period of time before separating.

Having followed her across a bridge, Dalton sexually assaulted then raped the woman on a bench, part of which was witnessed by two passing cyclists.

The cyclists heard a commotion on the bench and, after observing a woman who looked like a rag doll with a male, one of the cyclists approached.

The cyclist spoke to Dalton, who said he was trying to help the woman. Due to the womans intoxicated and vulnerable state, however, the witness alerted the PSNI.

After calling the police, the two cyclists remained watching from a distance of 30 to 40 yards. When they protested to Dalton about his behaviour, he threatened to throw them in the Lagan.

Police arrived at the scene and Dalton was arrested. He gave a no comment response to questions, but he was forensically linked when his DNA was located on his victim.

Judge Ramsey said he had read an articulate and heartfelt statement written by the victim, who spoke of the impact the incident has had on her.

She said she didnt intend to become as intoxicated as she did on the night in question and expressed shock that she was taken advantage of and attacked in the way she was.

The victim also described what happened to her as a nightmare and revealed that she no longer socialises and has been left feeling paranoid.

Judge Ramsey commended her and the two cyclists who came to her assistance.

He said: They showed great courage in confronting the defendant and they must be commended for their swift action in bringing him to justice.

Judge Ramsey said he had considered defence submissions which spoke of Daltons low IQ, his poor mental health and his issues with substance and alcohol misuse.

His defence also said the incident was impulsive rather than planned and that his guilty plea spared his victim the trauma of a trial.

Noting Dalton, despite his guilty pleas, told a probation officer he was innocent of the charges, Judge Ramsey said this displayed distorted thinking and a lack of insight into consent or victim awareness.

Imposing the six-and-a-half-year sentence, Judge Ramsey also made Dalton the subject of a ten-year sexual offences prevention order (SOPO) and placed him on the sex offenders register for an indefinite period.

Judges are bound by sentencing guidelines and must take into account mitigating circumstances, such as early guilty pleas, co-operation with police and remorse, as well as aggravating factors, such as intent and excessive violence.

After the sentencing, UUP leader Doug Beattie criticised the sentencing in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter: Really poor  3 years behind bars is far too lenient.

In a statement following sentencing Detective Constable Grant said Dalton took advantage of a vulnerable young woman who became separated from her friends.

His actions were callous, with total disregard to consent. There is no defence for disregarding sexual consent. Without consent, it is rape.

We would like to commend a passer-by who intervened, and the victim for her bravery in working with Detectives throughout the investigation.

The Police Service of Northern Ireland takes all reports of sexual assault seriously, and we urge anyone who has ever been the victim of sexual abuse to come forward and report it, regardless of when it happened, safe in the knowledge that they will be treated with respect and dignity. Report to Police on 101 on in an emergency always dial 999.
Convicted Nick Watkins (right) with former mayor of Antrim and Newtownabbey Stephen Ross who opened MAC Aesthetics in Glengormley.

The owner of a Botox clinic that provides bumlifts, liquid facelifts and vampire facials in Northern Ireland has been fined over 4,000 after illegally offering anti-wrinkle and weight loss treatments.

Co Antrim businessman Nick Watkins (51), from Forthaven in Ballyclare, was convicted of human medicines regulations breaches at Belfast Magistrates Court on Thursday.

The court heard how the criminality came to light when inspectors from the Department of Health's Medicines Regulatory Group (MRG) visited MAC Aesthetics Glengormley premises on the Ballyclare Road back in December 2022.

A significant quantity of medicines was seized by enforcement officers and further evidence of unlawful advertising to supply prescription medicines was also uncovered.

Watkins is the main practitioner at the clinic which offers a range of treatments, including non-surgical rhinoplasty and calf-slimming treatments.

The clinics website says all treatments are administered in a council-approved establishment, complying with all health and safety and environmental health standards.

The types of IV treatments it offers include a Hangover IV Drip for 100.

The Snow White IV Drip and Rapunzel IV Drip are cheaper at 95 and 89 respectively.

A bumlift is on offer for 299, intramuscular injections from 25 to 200 and non-surgical facelifts for 599.

The website boasts that the business previously came second place in the Highly Recommended Cosmetic Clinic of the Year category at the Northern Ireland Hair and Beauty Awards.

Senior medicines enforcement officer Peter Moore directed the investigation into Watkins.

Reacting to the news of the fine, he said it sends a clear message that there are serious consequences if a person attempts to by-pass the regulated system which is in place to ensure public safety and the integrity of the medicines supply chain.

Of particular concern to MRG is the use of unregulated weight-loss injections, he added.

MRG head Canice Ward warned that the risk to public safety posed by the unlawful distribution and misuse of non-surgical cosmetic medicines is a serious issue.

"Patients should not be fooled by professional looking websites or social media websites offering medicines without prescription, he continued.

"Taking short cuts and using these medicines could expose you to a dangerous counterfeit or substandard medicine.

"Patients should only use prescription-only medicines after seeking appropriate advice from a healthcare professional."

Read more NI prison escapee on the run for 22 years given additional jail term

DUP councillor Stephen Ross attended the official opening of Mac Aesthetics during his term as mayor of Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council.

A picture of the pair outside the clinic is understood to have been taken during the period of offending.

Mr Ross previously told this newspaper he had no idea what they sold and assumes the official events he attends are safe.

I would not have been anywhere near it if I thought it was not above board," he added.

I do not know this individual and never seen him before or after the event.

I have no interest in Botox and have no knowledge of what happened in that place.

It was a new business opening in an area that needs new businesses. I was invited along and I went.
Edward James John Hickey was jailed at Antrim Crown Court.

Judge Alistair Devlin said his excessively long absence must render this case much more serious than it otherwise would have been.

He ordered that it will be served consecutively to the sentence that the 49-year-old began at the start of the century.

Judge Devlin said that, while the case was exceptional, given the length of absence and that Hickey had effectively turned his life around, there had to be a punishment as he had breached the trust placed in him by the prison service.

Temporary home leave at Christmas, or at any other time, rests on an essential element of mutual trust, said Judge Devlin. Unfortunately you abused that trust and there has to be adverse consequences for anyone who might be tempted to do what you did.

He was charged with being unlawfully at large from HMP Magilligan between January 2, 2001, and January 11, 2023.

Last month, Hickey, from Monasterboice Road, Dublin, entered a guilty plea to the single charge against him: between January 2, 2001, and January 11, 2023, having been ordered to serve a jail sentence at HMP Magilligan, [you] were afterwards, and before the expiration of the term for which you were so sentenced, at large without lawful excuse.

In December 2000, Hickey was jailed for five years at Belfast Crown Court for having a firearm and ammunition with intent to endanger life.

During sentencing remarks on Thursday, the judge said Hickey had been granted temporary home leave for the Christmas period and was due to return on January 2, 2001, but did not.

Hickey was not arrested until January this year, when police on the Welsh island of Anglesey alerted the PSNI that a passenger by the name of Edward Hickey was due to arrive on a ferry from Dublin.

He was duly arrested and flown back to Belfast, where he made full admissions, claiming that he had intended to return to prison but, having been told that his mother was seriously ill, he instead opted to stay with her in Dublin.

Judge Alistair Devlin said, while it was to Hickeys credit that he had essentially stayed out of trouble the entire time since  starting a family and working as a forklift driver to provide for them  it was also a factor that he did not, following a period of mature reflection, decide to hand himself in, even after the unfortunate passing of his mother.

The judge said the offence was different from that of escaping from lawful custody, an offence which carries a maximum of life imprisonment, and he accepted Hickeys decision not to go back to HMP Magilligan was impulsive rather than planned.

Imposing the eight-month sentence, Judge Devlin ordered that it would only begin when Hickey has finished serving the jail sentence originally imposed two decades ago.
Two men arrested following the discovery of a suspected cannabis factory in Markethill are allegedly victims of trafficking, a court heard today.

A court also heard that police had been carrying out house-to-house searches in the area when they smelled the cannabis.

Rejecting a bail application, District Judge Eamon King remanded Vietnamese nationals Vinh Cong Pham and Ty Van Le, both of no fixed abode, into custody to allow police to continue their investigation into the matter.

The men, both 32 years old, appeared before Banbridge Magistrates Court, sitting at Newry Courthouse, where, speaking through an interpreter, they confirmed they understood the charges against them, which include cultivating cannabis, possessing a Class B drug, attempted possession of a Class B drug and dishonestly causing electricity to be diverted on October 3 this year.

The charges followed the police seizure of hundreds of plants in a suspected cannabis factory on the Main Street area of Markethill on Tuesday.

Giving evidence, a police constable said he believed he could connect the accused to the charges, explaining how police had been carrying out house-to-house searches in the area when they smelled the cannabis.

Having contacted the owner, who gave them permission to force entry into the house through the back door, officers found quite a large and extensive suspected cannabis factory, containing more than 530 plants.

The two defendants were located upstairs and they had obviously been living in the property, the constable told the court, adding that police were opposing bail as immigration have an interest in both parties.

He explained that they have no fixed abode and are believed to be a flight risk, with no ties to the local area.

We do believe theyre victims of trafficking, but immigration are involved now and theyre taking action as well, the constable said.

He said police believed the pair had been in Northern Ireland for about four months, with one having overstayed his visa and the other having his asylum status declined on the day of his arrest.

The officer agreed with a suggestion from the defence lawyer that the property in question is a disused bar and the conditions inside were uninhabitable by modern standards.

Discovery at Markethill

The solicitor contended the defendants were quite clearly trafficked, arguing that remanding victims of trafficking into custody was grossly unfair.

The defence explained that, as police had completed National Referral Mechanism (NRM) paperwork, it would take five days to come back and it would then be decided by the Home Office that, if its believed theres a chance the accused may have been trafficked, they will be afforded protection.

He argued that the defendants could be bailed to Migrant Help if the Home Office deems them to be victims of trafficking.

These gentlemen had not been allowed to leave the property for the three months they had been there. The conditions were horrendous at best. Theyre not being paid and they clearly satisfy a number of the 11 indicators of trafficking, he added.

District Judge Eamon King refused to free the pair, however, remarking: The case has been made on their behalf that theyre the victims of trafficking and that they werent here of their free will. If that is proved to be the case, it will be a defence to the criminal charges that both men face.

The main concern of the police is that, if [the defendants] are released from custody, they will disappear. The justification for that fear is [the defendants] have no ties to this jurisdiction and the police have discovered false documentation which would tend to indicate that they have travelled from elsewhere to here.

In those circumstances, I feel this court has no choice but to remand both these gentlemen in custody for a short period of time to allow the police and [the defendants] legal representative to explore the best way forward.

He remanded both defendants in custody, to appear before Armagh Magistrates Court on October 10.
Selvis Sali was due to attend Ballymena Magistrates Court today, having been granted bail by the High Court last month, but the 50-year-old failed to show.

A prosecuting lawyer revealed that one of the bail conditions was that Sali, listed as of no fixed abode, Belfast, was to be subject to electronic tagging but that no tag was ever fitted.

There will be a warrant for his arrest, declared District Judge Nigel Broderick.

Charged alongside a woman, who remains in custody, Sali faces four dishonesty offences and one of resisting police arising from events at the Rosspark Hotel, near Ballymena, last March.

Sali is accused of fraud by false representation, possessing various credit cards for fraud, handling stolen post and related documentation and theft of same from various victims, all alleged to have been committed between March 22 and March 30.

Previous courts heard claims that Sali and the woman had stayed for several days in the hotel and ran up bills for food and room service before they allegedly tried to pay for it with a fraudulent credit card.

A search of a vehicle connected with the pair uncovered allegedly stolen documentation.

The PSNI has revealed that detectives are currently investigating allegations that the accused defrauded other local hotels, courts have heard.
A Co Armagh man struck and partially blinded by a baton round as a schoolboy never got the rub of the green in his failed 225,000 compensation claim, the Court of Appeal heard today.

Counsel for Gavin McKenna argued that a judge wrongly rejected his version of events in finding the soldier who fired the plastic bullet in Lurgan used reasonable force.

Patrick Lyttle KC insisted: He is an innocent victim who was shot in this case.

In April 1997 Mr McKenna, then aged 13, sustained a permanent eye injury when hit in the face by the baton round near the towns staunchly republican Kilwilkie estate.

He sued the Ministry of Defence for negligence in being struck while out gathering wood for a bonfire with two friends.

The MoD argued reasonable force had been deployed after a six-man Royal Irish Regiment foot patrol was targeted by up to 30 youths hurling stones, bricks and bottles.

A single, aimed baton round was fired at another identified target in the crowd because of the risk to the soldiers lives and wellbeing, according to the Armys account.

With the level of potential damages agreed at 225,000, the case centred on a dispute over liability.

In evidence to the original High Court hearing, Mr McKenna recalled being hit by the plastic bullet as he stood up in a field beside the Antrim Road.

He stated that he was unaware of any Army unit in the area and specifically denied involvement in any public disorder that night.

The former lance corporal who fired the round said one group of youths came out of the Kilwilkie estate to attack his unit before a second crowd emerged from a wooded area to throw more missiles.

Along with a senior ranking colleague, he became separated from the other four members of their patrol at the Bells Row crossing.

Fearing they were to be completely cut off from the rest of the unit as part of a pre-planned ambush, the ex-soldier stated the concern was their weapons would be taken and used against them.

He was ordered to fire the baton gun at another youth 30 metres away with a Celtic scarf over his face and apparently getting ready to throw a rock, the court heard.

He aimed at the targets legs but could not say who the round struck.

In February this year a High Court judge ruled that the two soldiers had come under sustained attack and genuinely feared for their safety.

Mr McKenna was neither the intended target nor part of the crowd advancing towards the soldiers, he found, but had been struck on the head while still crouching or hunkering down.

Dismissing the claim for compensation, the judge declared the lance corporal entirely justified in firing the baton round.

But lawyers for Mr McKenna maintain the case was wrongly decided on issues about the conflicting accounts and scale of disturbances which he played no part in.

Disputing claims the soldiers came under bombardment during a full-scale riot, Mr Lyttle told the Court of Appeal that no members of the patrol were injured.

If that is correct they must be very bad shots around the Lurgan area, he said.

It beggars belief. On the defence case this was a premeditated attack by dozens of people that have stored up missiles, bottles, pieces of metal and a catapult, yet not one person in that patrol was struck.

Contradictory findings were also reached on disputed claims the baton round was fired while the victim was in a crouched position, according to counsel.

If he was hunkered down that would excuse (the lance corporal) because it means he aimed low, Mr Lyttle submitted.

He argued Mr McKenna had been in a standing position and that the soldier should not have missed his intended target when firing at that range.

The plaintiff in this case never got the rub of the green on any significant point, the barrister said.

The appeal continues.
George Hamilton backs head Kenova investigator as an excellent choice for interim role at force

Former PSNI chief constable Sir George Hamilton has said the appointment of Jon Boutcher as interim head of Northern Irelands police force is an excellent choice.

And Sir George, who retired as chief constable in 2019, said his track record in policing makes him the ideal candidate to restore public confidence in the PSNI.

Mr Boutcher has been identified as the preferred candidate to take over the role on a temporary basis, subject to final agreement.

The expected appointment follows the resignation of Simon Byrne, Sir George Hamiltons replacement, last month.

Former PSNI chief constable Sir George Hamilton. Photo credit: Liam McBurney/PA Wire

Mr Byrne left his post after a string of controversies within policing in Northern Ireland, and Sir George has backed Mr Boutcher to be a success in the role.

Mr Boutcher has recently been conducting an investigation into the activities of Stakeknife, the Armys top agent in Northern Ireland during the Troubles. The Operation Kenova report is expected to be published soon.

In my view Jon Boutcher is an excellent choice by the Policing Board, the former chief constable told the Belfast Telegraph.

He has a wealth of experience and a proven track record as a successful chief constable in Bedfordshire where he turned the organisation around, got it to believe in itself and, more importantly, restored public confidence in policing.

All those traits will be needed after the PSNI suffered a significant data breach in which the personal details of all officers and staff were mistakenly published online and faced intense scrutiny after a critical High Court ruling that two junior officers had been unlawfully disciplined.

Last week the process opened to appoint an interim chief constable and Northern Ireland Secretary Chris Heaton-Harris indicated that he would fast-track the legislation needed to make the temporary appointment.

Jon is an inclusive and collaborative leader which the PSNI will benefit from, Sir George continued.

With over six years working on Kenova in Northern Ireland he has an awareness of the operating environment and will understand the sometimes competing needs of all communities.

I wish him every success as he takes on the role of interim chief constable.

PSNI deputy chief constable Mark Hamilton has been leading the PSNI since the resignation of Mr Byrne, although he has not been at his desk following a medical procedure.

A Policing Board spokesperson said: The board has agreed the appointment of an interim chief constable for the Police Service of Northern Ireland. The appointment is now subject to due diligence checks and ministerial approval.

UUP leader Doug Beattie welcomed the appointment, and said Mr Boutcher taking the position on an interim basis should not delay any publication of the Kenova report.

Its clear we needed an interim chief constable, he said. Jon put his name forward and it seems he has been selected for the position.

It will bring a welcome degree of stability to policing. He has done an important job with Kenova and I dont believe his appointment will affect that report being made public.

SDLP leader Colum Eastwood said that in all of the partys dealings with Mr Boutcher through the work of Operation Kenova he has proven to be an individual of integrity.

The challenges facing the PSNI are severe, the party leader added.

We have found Jon Boutcher to be a man of integrity who has put the needs of victims and survivors above the narrow interests of paramilitaries and state agencies.

It is important that the Kenova reports are completed, published in full and that there is no undue delay," the SDLP leader added.
Peter O'Reilly resigned from the Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service in 2022

The Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service (NIFRS) has started the search for a new leader, almost a year and a half after the previous one left.

The new Chief Fire and Rescue Officer will be taking over from Peter OReilly, who only lasted six months in the 128,000 a year position.

Just last month a damning independent report found the Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service to have a lack of formal and structured leadership  with some staff members citing cronyism and nepotism as reasons for concern.

The job advertisement for an exceptional individual says they will be responsible for ensuring NIFRS fulfils its statutory responsibilities and in accordance with standards, that public money is properly accounted for and used efficiently and economically.

They will have the ability to think and act strategically and will also have a demonstrable track record of providing leadership, vision and direction to ensure the delivery of high quality, innovative and consistent people related services.

The closing date for applications for the position is listed as October 20.

Mr OReilly had been appointed in September 2021, but resigned in May 2022, and since then the position has remained unfilled and held on an interim basis.

He had previously served as Greater Manchester Fire Services chief fire officer on the night of the 2017 terror attack at an Ariana Grande concert in the city.

In June this year, Greater Manchesters current Chief Fire Officer apologised for the wholly inadequate and totally ineffective response of the service on the night of the Arena bombing.

Firefighters took more than two hours to arrive at the scene of the 2017 blast, with frustrated crews then kept away from the scene due to their bosses fears of a continuing terror attack even though police and paramedics rushed towards danger.

Chief Fire Officer Dave Russel told Junes inquiry into the bomb attack: We let people down when they needed us the most.

He told the public inquiry the response on the night was wholly inadequate and totally ineffective.

Mr OReilly was born in Belfast and joined the then Northern Ireland Fire Brigade in 1990. He served for most of his career in Belfast as a firefighter, junior officer and district commander.

He moved to Ballymena to become assistant area commander and later northern area commander and seemed a natural fit when his appointment was announced to the post in August, 2021.

After just six months he resigned without apparent reason.
Jim Allister has said he doesnt see how Sir Jeffrey Donaldson can garner the support necessary to return to Stormont if he wants to accept an imminent deal from the Government.

The TUV leader was speaking ahead of a meeting of the DUP executive tonight amid speculation that Downing Street is finalising its response to the partys demands for restoring devolution.

Around 130 DUP members will gather in Lurgan. While it is a scheduled meeting and will deal with routine business, Sir Jeffrey is expected to take soundings informally on returning to Stormont.

Mr Allister said: Despite all the hype driven by some journalists, politicians and the NIO, it is quite clear to me that there has been no weakening of grassroots unionists resolve not to accept the partitioning of the UK by the Irish Sea border.

Were Sir Jeffrey so minded to return to Stormont as some media suggest, I fail to see where he would get the support from his base that he needs.

Going back now would require him to swallow so much of what hes previously said. It would be a massive climbdown on his part.

The TUV leader added: This is a government in its dying days. I dont foresee any political leader taking risks in those circumstances  it would be crazy to do so.

The DUP is deeply divided on the possibility of returning to Stormont. Sir Jeffrey Donaldson and key supporters are keen to restore the institutions but some senior figures are strongly against going back on the basis of what the Government is likely to offer.

Edwin Poots, Sammy Wilson, Lord Dodds, and Ian Paisley are among those taking a very hard line on the Windsor Framework.

MLAs, MPs and constituency association delegates will attend the Lurgan meeting, which is one of four annual executive gatherings.

DUP chairman Lord Morrow told the News Letter that there was no big news going to come out of it  Im being real and honest with you, theres no big news coming  absolutely none.

Asked if there would be discussion on returning to Stormont, Lord Morrow said: Id imagine the party leader would just update people on where things are and what conversations hes had with government.

The ball is firmly in the governments court: they know what they have to do, and why dont they get on with it?

The Government [needs to meet] our tests. Thats it. It couldnt be any simpler.

Government has some papers from us. They havent responded to them, as yet. And thats it.

Theyve said many things in the past  and we know how that all turned out. So we dont judge Government any more on what they say: its on what they do.

On restoring devolution, Lord Morrow said: We all want back to Stormont. Thats the partys policy. But Governments holding it up. Someone needs to ring the NIO and ask why. But were not going back until theres a level playing field. Everybody is supposed to be equal, but it looks like some are going to be more equal than others, and were not tolerating that.
Russia may use sea mines to target non-military ships and blame Ukraine for any attacks, the UK Government has said.

Declassified intelligence warned last month that the Russian military had attempted a missile strike against a cargo ship in the Black Sea.

The UK believes Russia could continue targeting civilian shipping, including by laying explosive devices in the approach to Ukrainian ports.

However, Vladimir Putins army wants to openly avoid sinking ships in order to blame Ukraine for attacks, the Government said.

Foreign Secretary James Cleverly said: Russias pernicious targeting of civilian shipping in the Black Sea demonstrates Putins total disregard for civilian lives and the needs of the worlds most vulnerable.

The world is watching  and we see right through Russias cynical attempts to lay blame on Ukraine for their attacks. We and our allies stand united against Putin and his attempts to harm Ukraine, and thus harm the rest of the world.

When the conflict between Russia and Ukraine began in February 2022, around 22 million tonnes of Ukrainian grain meant for export was reportedly stuck.

Russia withdrew from the Black Sea grain initiative in July of this year, which had been an effort to ship grain out of Ukraine, one of the worlds biggest wheat producers, to countries in Africa and other parts of the world which could otherwise face famine.

Continued targeting of ships would therefore be an attempt to pressure the Ukrainian economy, the UK Government says.

It is believed since Russias withdrawal, enough grain to feed more than one million people for a year has been destroyed.

A statement by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) said: We are working with Ukraine and other partners to put in place arrangements to improve the safety of shipping. Our advice to British shipping has not changed  the UKs maritime security level for Ukrainian ports and waters remains at the highest level due to the threat posed by Russia.

The UK has put in place intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities to monitor Russian activity in the Black Sea. These capabilities will help us to attribute and call out any further Russian attacks on civilian shipping or infrastructure.

We are committed to ensuring Ukraine can continue to export its agricultural produce through all appropriate routes including its humanitarian corridor, overland and via the Danube.

The UK will continue to work with Ukraine and a range of international partners to achieve this.
Labour cannot commit to building HS2s northern leg if it wins the next election after the Government took a wrecking ball to the project, Sir Keir Starmer has said.

The Opposition leader warned he was unable to promise to reverse Prime Minister Rishi Sunaks announcement, but said he was in talks with leaders across the North of England to provide better connectivity.

Sir Keir said Labour would also continue with transport projects already announced by the Government, such as improvements to the A1.

Mr Sunak opted to scrap HS2 from the West Midlands to Manchester saying the facts have changed and the cost of the high-speed rail scheme had more than doubled.

The Prime Minister instead promised to use 36 billion of savings from scrapping sections of HS2 to fund a raft of other transport schemes.

Sir Keir, in a series of interviews with regional broadcasters ahead of what could be Labours final annual conference before a general election, tried to paint himself as a problem-solver who could fix the current mess.

Speaking to ITV News Calendar, he said: Theyve just taken a wrecking ball to this project.

They will be cancelling contracts between now and the general election. They will be releasing land that is needed. They downsized. I cant stand (here) after theyve made such a big hole in their plans and say (I) will simply reverse it.

Sir Keir said yes, well get on with it when discussing the future of Northern Powerhouse Rail.

The construction site for the HS2 project at Curzon Street in Birmingham (Jacob King/PA)

In a series of interviews with BBC regional political editors, Sir Keir said he had wanted HS2 built in full but he could no longer commit to that.

He said of the Governments handling of HS2: Well, what a fiasco.

Theyve had this project up and running for 13 years. Its costing billions of pounds, huge promises have been made. And now because of their mismanagement, its collapsed in on itself.

Now, I wanted HS2 built in full. But after the damage theyve now done to the project, a massive hole that theyve blown it, I cant commit to that.

What I will commit to is that we will have very good transport between our cities and within our cities so we can grow our economy. The single most important thing in this country is we get our economy working across the whole of the country.

Mr Sunak confirmed HS2 will run from London to Birmingham but will no longer extend beyond the West Midlands, with Manchester among the areas missing out.

However, the PA news agency understands that if not enough private investment is secured for a new Euston terminus, HS2 will stop at Old Oak Common in the capitals western suburbs.

(PA Graphics)

Asked by ITV News Tyne Tees if he would dual the A1 between Morpeth and Ellingham, Sir Keir said: Yes, whatever the Government announced yesterday, including dualling the A1, if they get on with those projects, we will inherit them, if were privileged enough to come into power, and we will of course see them through to fruition.

The Opposition leader was quizzed on transport more broadly after Wales last month became the first country in the UK to drop the default speed limit from 30mph to 20mph for restricted roads.

Asked if he would copy the approach in Wales, Sir Keir told ITV News Wales: Its obviously a question for local councils in England to decide what they want to put in place and theyre obviously elected into place.

Elsewhere in his media round, the Labour leader attacked Mr Sunaks ability to deliver change, describing him as the nodding dog that signed off the decisions that he now says are terrible.

Cabinet minister James Cleverly criticised the Labour leaders position, accusing him of failing to be decisive.

In a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, he wrote: Starmer decisively decides to not make a decision on HS2. His principled position on this issue is to not take a position on this issue. He confounds both his detractors and defenders by agreeing with both. He knows leadership when he sees it. He never sees it in the mirror.
Workers at the Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant at Ishwardi in Pabna, Bangladesh (Mahmud Hossain Opu/AP/PA)

Bangladesh received the first uranium shipment from Russia on Thursday to fuel the countrys only nuclear power plant, still under construction by Moscow.

Once finished, the plant is expected to boost Bangladeshs national grid and help the South Asian nations growing economy.

The Rooppur power plant will produce 2,400 megawatts of electricity  powering about 15 million households  when the twin-unit facility goes fully online.

The plant is being constructed by Rosatom, Russias state nuclear energy corporation. Moscow has funded the construction with an 11.38 billion dollar (9.3 billion) loan, to be repaid over two decades, starting from 2027.

Russian President Vladimir Putin takes part in a ceremony marking the delivery of Russian nuclear fuel to the first power unit of the Rooppur power plant in Bangladesh, via videolink (Mikhail Metzel, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP/PA)

Once Rooppur starts production, Bangladesh will join more than 30 countries that run nuclear power reactors.

The uranium, which arrived in Bangladesh late last month, was handed over to the authorities at a ceremony in Ishwardi, where the plant is located, in the northern district of Pabna on Thursday.

Bangladeshs Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and Russian President Vladimir Putin joined the ceremony  both by videolink.

Aleksey Likhachev, head of Rosatom, handed over the fuel at the function to Bangladeshs Science and Technology Minister Yeafesh Osman, according to the United News of Bangladesh news agency. The report provided no other details on the amount of uranium that was shipped.

Rafael Mariano Grossi, head of the UN nuclear watchdog  the International Atomic Energy Agency  also joined by video conference, the report said.

Mr Osman was cited as saying the first unit at Rooppur will become operational in July 2024 and the second in July 2025. The fuel is expected to allow the reactor to operate for one year, after which more fuel will have to be loaded.

The uranium was produced at the Novosibirsk Chemical Concentrates Plant in Russia, a subsidiary of Rosatoms fuel manufacturing company Tevel.

Bangladesh and Russia have traditionally maintained good relations, which have not changed in the wake of Russias invasion of Ukraine last year. Dhaka has signed several contracts with Moscow on co-operation in the nuclear power industry, trade and finances, and in other sectors.

Bangladesh has planned to rely less on natural gas, which now accounts for about half of power production in the country.

It is also setting up coal-fired power plants while it has a long-term plan to source 40% of the nations electricity from renewable sources such as solar, wind and hydroelectric power by 2041.
Maryland Supreme Court has scrutinised a hearing last year that vacated Adnan Syeds murder conviction and released him after 23 years behind bars, as the victims family said they were not given adequate opportunity to take part in the proceedings.

Chronicled in the hit podcast Serial, the case has been fraught with legal twists and divided court rulings for years. The oral arguments that took place on Thursday before Marylands highest court were no exception.

Among the issues discussed were whether Mr Syeds 2000 murder conviction should be reinstated after an appellate court decision in March and the extent to which Maryland crime victims have a right to participate in hearings on whether to vacate a conviction. Ultimately, his freedom hangs in the balance.

The panel of seven justices will release their ruling in the coming weeks or months.

Outside the courthouse after the hearing, Mr Syed said he was looking forward to the courts decision. While maintaining his innocence from the start, he has often expressed concern for the family of Hae Min Lee, his high school ex-girlfriend who was found strangled to death and buried in an unmarked grave in 1999.

Adnan Syed speaking to the media from his family home during a hearing last month (Amy Davis/Baltimore Sun/AP)

We believe very strongly in trying to find justice for Hae and her family, he told reporters. And were hoping also that were able to find justice for us too.

He attended the hearing flanked by family members, including his mother and younger brother.

Mr Syed, 42, was released from prison in September 2022 when a Baltimore judge overturned his conviction. City prosecutors had dropped all charges after finding flaws in the evidence.

However, in March, the Appellate Court of Maryland ordered a new hearing. The court said the victims family did not receive adequate notice to attend the hearing in person, violating their right to be treated with dignity and respect.

The family also appealed to the states highest court, contending that crime victims in Maryland have a right to be heard and challenge evidence in hearings like the one last year that vacated Mr Syeds conviction from 2000.

This case is not about Mr Syeds underlying innocence or guilt. That dispute is simply not in the room today, said Ari Rubin, a lawyer for the Lee family, during Thursdays arguments.

He said the issue was whether the rights of Hae Min Lees brother, Young Lee, were violated when a judge vacated Mr Syeds conviction without conducting a substantive hearing where victims were allowed to challenge the evidence presented.

Lawyer David Sanford with Young Lee (Susan Walsh/AP)

The process of vacating a conviction is extraordinary in that it aligns the interests of the defendant and the state, Mr Rubin said, arguing that victims and their lawyers should fulfil an adversarial role in such proceedings.

Depending on the outcome of the appeal, Mr Syed faces at least the potential of being sent back to prison, a point his lawyers raised in recent court filings.

The terrifying spectre of reincarceration has hung over Mr Syeds head every day for the past 10 months, lawyer Erica Suter wrote in a brief filed with the court in August.

The case could also have significant consequences for victims rights. Although the appellate court ruled that Ms Lees brother did not get sufficient notice to attend the hearing that vacated Mr Syeds conviction, the court also said state law does not guarantee crime victims a right to be heard during such hearings.

That decision falls to the presiding judge. Allowing victims to present evidence or otherwise engage substantively would result in a huge shift in practice, the judges said.

During oral arguments on Thursday, Ms Suter told the court the state met its obligation in allowing Young Lee to participate in the hearing.

Mr Lee was heard, and his counsel was heard, and it did not influence Judge Phinns decision, she said.

Mr Syeds lawyers have also argued that the familys appeal is moot because prosecutors decided not to charge him again after his conviction was vacated. And even if Young Lees rights were violated, he has not demonstrated whether the alleged violation would have changed the hearings outcome, the lawyers say.

Mr Lee, who ended up speaking remotely at the vacatur hearing, was notified on a Friday afternoon that it would take place the following Monday. That was insufficient time to reasonably allow Mr Lee, who lived in California, to attend the hearing in person, the appellate court ruled in March.

Lawyers for the Lee family have criticised a lack of transparency as well in the court proceedings that led to Mr Syeds release.

Hae Min Lees murder has been at issue in Marylands courts for nearly a generation, David Sanford, a lawyer for the family, wrote in a court filing last month. He argued the state Supreme Court should send the case to another judge to decide whether to vacate the conviction.
Family members of seven imprisoned Tunisian opposition figures have taken their quest for justice to the International Criminal Court, announcing plans to ask the tribunal to investigate claims of political persecution and human rights violations by President Kais Saieds administration.

Tunisias opposition is increasingly denouncing Mr Saieds authoritarian drift, saying it amounts to a rollback of gains made since the 2011 Arab Spring protests that swept the Middle East. In Tunisia, the uprising ushered in a constitutional overhaul and democratic reforms.

However, Mr Saieds government has cracked down on opponents and jailed dissidents, including opposition leader Rached Ghannouchi and former legislator Said Ferjani.

Said Ferjani (Paul Schemm/AP)

Members of the families petitioning the ICC described Mr Saieds rule as a devastating return to a pre-Arab Spring autocracy where dissidents were imprisoned and tortured.

Its sad to see, said Yusra Ghannouchi, the daughter of the imprisoned 82-year-old opposition leader. Her father was on a three-day hunger strike earlier this week.

We have to call on the world not to turn a blind eye to these violations and not to support dictatorships, she said at The Hague in the Netherlands. We are also here to send a message to democratic nations and to European governments not to support and legitimise Kais Saied.

Seventeen other prominent dissidents have recently staged hunger strikes from prison, with several continuing, including Jawhar Ben Mbarek, the head of the leading anti-Saied coalition.

The family members made a similar case to the African Court on Human and Peoples Rights earlier this year and have also petitioned the US and the UK for sanctions against the Tunisian government.

You are transported back to when you were a child and you saw him in prison times you couldnt speak to him because the torture was so bad that he was in a coma, Kaouther Ferjani said of her father, who was also imprisoned during a 1987 crackdown.

President Kais Saied (Johanna Geron/AP)

As bad as it was back then, I got to see my dad, she added, saying that he has now only been granted permission to see his lawyer and nobody else.

The two daughters told reporters about the increasing number of judges, politicians, journalists and prominent opposition figures being arrested. According to their tally, at least 42 prominent figures have been jailed. Many face sweeping charges of endangering state security.

The petition at the ICC is intended to draw further attention to Tunisias increasingly repressive political landscape since it revised the constitution in 2021, allowing Mr Saied to expand his powers, freeze out parliament and rule largely by decree.

As the countrys economy sinks, his government has jailed critics from across the political spectrum  right, left, Islamist and secular. It has also drummed up animosity against sub-Saharan African migrants that has often escalated to violence.

He is using a populist discourse that demonises and seeks to feed hatred and division, whether it is against foreigners or in the treatment of sub-Saharan migrants or among Tunisians themselves, said Jaza Cherif, the son of scholar and activist Chaima Issa.

Mr Issa was recently released and placed under house arrest. More than 20 Saied opponents have languished in prison since February.
Emergency workers search for victims of a Russian rocket attack that killed at up to 49 people in the village of Hroza near Kharkiv, Ukraine (Ukrainian Presidential Press Office via AP/PA)

A Russian rocket has hit a village cafe and store in eastern Ukraine and killed at least 51 civilians in one of the deadliest attacks in months, according to President Volodymyr Zelensky.

The attack came as he attended a summit of about 50 European leaders in Spain to drum up support from Ukraines allies.

The president denounced the attack in the Kharkiv village of Hroza as a demonstrably brutal Russian crime and a completely deliberate act of terrorism.

Ukraines President Volodymyr Zelensky arrives at the Europe Summit in Granada, Spain (Manu Fernandez/AP/PA)

Presidential chief of staff Andrii Yermak and Kharkiv governor Oleh Syniehubov said a six-year-old boy was among the dead, and seven other people were wounded. Emergency crews were searching the rubble of damaged buildings.

About 60 people were in the cafe attending a wake after a funeral, said internal affairs minister Ihor Klymenko.

According to preliminary information from Kyiv, the village was struck by an Iskander missile.

Ukrainian prosecutors released pictures showing bloodied bodies and emergency workers combing through smouldering debris.

Hroza and other parts of the eastern Kharkiv region were seized by Russia early in the war and recaptured by Ukraine in September 2022. The village is 19 miles west of Kupiansk, where Mr Zelensky had visited on Tuesday to meet troops and inspect equipment supplied by the West.

Emergency workers search for victims of the rocket attack (Ukrainian Police Press Office/AP)

On Thursday, he was at a summit of the European Political Community in Granada, Spain, where he asked for more western support, saying: Russian terror must be stopped.

Russia needs this and similar terrorist attacks for only one thing: to make its genocidal aggression the new norm for the whole world, he said.

Now we are talking with European leaders, in particular, about strengthening our air defence, strengthening our soldiers, giving our country protection from terror. And we will respond to the terrorists.

The key for us, especially before winter, is to strengthen air defence, and there is already a basis for new agreements with partners.

Last winter, Russia targeted Ukraines energy system and other vital infrastructure in a steady barrage of missile and drone attacks, triggering continuous power outages across the country.

Ukraines power system has shown a high degree of resilience and flexibility, helping alleviate the damage, but there have been concerns that Moscow will again ramp up its strikes on power facilities as winter draws nearer.

Russia was blamed for the attack on the village of Hroza (Ukrainian Police Press Office/AP)

Mr Zelensky noted the Granada summit will also focus on joint work for global food security and protection of freedom of navigation in the Black Sea, where the Russian military has targeted Ukrainian ports after Moscows withdrawal from a UN-sponsored grain deal designed to ensure safe grain exports from the invaded countrys ports.

The UK Foreign Office cited intelligence suggesting that Russia may lay sea mines in the approach to Ukrainian ports to target civilian shipping and blame it on Ukraine.

Russia almost certainly wants to avoid openly sinking civilian ships, instead falsely laying blame on Ukraine for any attacks against civilian vessels in the Black Sea, it said, adding that the UK was working with Ukraine to help improve the safety of shipping.

Speaking in Granada, Mr Zelensky emphasised the need to preserve European unity in the face of Russian disinformation and to remain strong amid what a political storm in the US.

Asked if he was worried that support for Ukraine could falter in US Congress, the Ukrainian president stressed that his visit to Washington last month made him confident of strong backing by the Biden administration and Congress.
The Securities and Exchange Commission has said it is seeking a court order that would compel Elon Musk to give evidence as part of an investigation into his purchase of Twitter, now called X.

The SEC said in a filing in a San Francisco federal court that Mr Musk had failed to appear to give evidence on September 15 despite an investigative subpoena served by the commission and him raising no objections at the time it was served.

But two days before his scheduled testimony, Musk abruptly notified the SEC staff that he would not appear, said the agencys filing.

Musk attempted to justify his refusal to comply with the subpoena by raising, for the first time, several spurious objections, including an objection to San Francisco as an appropriate testimony location.

His lawyer, Alex Spiro, said the SEC has already taken Mr Musks testimony multiple times in this misguided investigation  enough is enough.

The SEC said it has been conducting a fact-finding investigation involving the period before Mr Musks takeover last year when Twitter was still a publicly traded company.

The agency said it has not concluded that anyone violated federal securities laws.

The Tesla chief executive closed his 44 billion dollar agreement to buy Twitter and take it private in October 2022, after a months-long legal battle with the social media companys previous leadership.

After he signed a deal to acquire Twitter in April 2022, he tried to back out of it, leading the company to sue him to force him to go through with the acquisition.

The SEC said that starting in April 2022, it authorised an investigation into whether any securities laws were broken in connection with his purchases of Twitter stock and his statements and SEC filings related to the company.

A lawsuit filed that month by Twitter shareholders in New York alleged that the billionaire illegally delayed disclosing his stake in the social media company so he could buy more shares at lower prices.

That complaint centred around whether Mr Musk violated a regulatory deadline to reveal he had accumulated a stake of at least 5%. The lawsuit alleged that his actions damaged less wealthy investors who sold shares in the company in the nearly two weeks before he acknowledged holding a major stake.

The SECs court filings do not detail the specifics of what its investigation is about, but say the agency is responsible for protecting investors and has broad authority to conduct investigations, and that Mr Musk has no basis to refuse to comply.

The SEC said Mr Musk objected to giving evidence in San Francisco because he does not live there, so the commission said it offered to do it at any of its 11 offices, including one in Fort Worth, Texas, closer to his home.

The SEC said Mr Musks lawyers responded by saying he would not appear for testimony in any location.
Customers chat at an outdoor restaurant overlooking downtown Kuala Lumpur shrouded in haze, Oct. 3, 2023.

Indonesia has sealed off land owned by nearly a dozen companies accused of burning forests in the ecologically sensitive South Sumatra province as haze from these fires spreads domestically and to neighboring countries.

The Indonesian environment ministry is preparing to take legal action including possibly bringing criminal charges against the companies, said Rasio Ridho Sani, the director general of law enforcement at the ministry. He named the companies by their initials.

We will use all the law enforcement tools we have, whether they are administrative, civil or criminal, Rasio said in a statement. We will not stop cracking down on forest and land fire offenders.

Offenders can face heavy penalties, including lengthy imprisonment and hefty fines, but lax enforcement means frequent fires scorch vast swaths of forest every year in Southeast Asias largest country.

Earlier in the week, meanwhile, Malaysias environment minister said he asked Indonesia and other Southeast Asian nations to collaborate on actions because air quality had worsened in Malaysian cities.

We cannot keep going back to having haze as something normal, Nik Nazmi bin Nik Ahmad said.

Indonesia reportedly said it hadnt recently detected any smoke drifting into Malaysia.

Nonetheless, the countrys forestry and environment ministry began targeting the corporations that it says caused the ongoing round of fires.

Its latest actions target 11 companies that controlled forest areas spanning more than 24,000 acres in South Sumatra, said Ardy Nugroho, the ministrys director of administrative supervision and sanctions.

The number of locations to be sealed off will increase because the ministrys team is analyzing hotspot data and satellite imagery, he said.

South Sumatras Disaster Management Agency said it had found many fire spots in Ogan Ilir and Ogan Komering Ilir regencies.

The lands that burned were mostly peatlands and plantations, the agency said Thursday.

The transboundary haze is a recurring problem in Southeast Asia that persists despite regional agreements and cooperation.

An aerial view shows the Ampera Bridge over the Musi River amid haze from an ongoing wildfire in Palembang, South Sumatra, on Sept. 14, 2023. [Al Zulfikli/AFP]

In 2002, all the member states of the ASEAN bloc signed an agreement on transboundary haze pollution that pledged to prevent and monitor it by sharing information and taking legal and other actions against those responsible for the fires.

However, the agreement has been largely ineffective, as the fires return almost every year.

The worst haze episode in recent history was in 2015, when smoke from agricultural fires in Indonesia traveled hundreds of miles to densely populated cities, causing respiratory illnesses, school and business closures, flight cancellations, and reduced visibility.

Indonesian authorities said 24 people had died as a direct result of the fire.

But a subsequent study by Harvard and Columbia Universities used a mathematical model to estimate that the smoke exposure from the fires caused 100,300 premature deaths across Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore.

In 2019, Indonesia said some forest fires in its territory started on land used by subsidiaries of Malaysian palm oil companies, as the neighbors traded blame.

But a year later, Indonesias President Joko Widodo ordered the forestry ministry to crack down on forest fires and address the haze problem.

Uli Arta Siagian, the forest and plantation campaign manager at Indonesian Environmental Forum, an NGO that promotes environmental justice, said Indonesia still had problems enforcing court decisions against companies involved in forest fires.

She said courts had found some companies in Riau province guilty of environmental damage, but they did not pay fines or restore forests as ordered, casting doubt on the efficacy of the current crackdown in South Sumatra.

If the central government does not make sure they pay up, the court decisions are useless, she added.

Nazarudin Latif in Jakarta contributed to this report.
Stationing a U.S. missile system in Palau would be for security not aggression as the Pacific island countrys close relationship with the United States means it is already a target of possible attack, President Surangel Whipps has said amidst local criticism of the proposal.

Whipps, at a press conference on Wednesday, said Palau needs the same protection as Guam, a U.S. territory in the north Pacific that has a Patriot missile system to protect it from attacks. Whipps floated the idea of an air-defense system for Palau in an interview with Japans Nikkei Asia that coincided with the U.S.-Pacific islands leaders summit in Washington last week.

We are already a target. The targets are the radar sites, the port, the airport and the facilities that the United States can use in times of conflict, said Whipps. So we are just saying, if we are already a target, make sure our country is defended and defended with the best defenses possible.

Patriot is the U.S. armys main air and missile defense system and is capable of bringing down ballistic and cruise missiles as well as aircraft. It is used in 18 countries, according to the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

Palau and its neighbors the Federated States of Micronesia and the Marshall Islands comprise hundreds of islands spread over a vast expanse of ocean in the northwest Pacific. They have among the worlds largest exclusive economic zones and militarily strategic seas near East Asia, a region of potential flashpoints in the intensifying China-U.S. competition.

All three delegate their defense to the U.S. and over the next two decades could receive more than $7 billion of financial and economic assistance from Washington under so-called compacts of free association, subject to Congressional approval.

Palau President Surangel Whipps (center) speaks at a press conference in Koror, Palau on Oct. 4, 2023. [L.N. Reklai/BenarNews]

The U.S. Army has previously carried out live fire tests of a Patriot missile system in Palau, the most recent in July at the countrys international airport and in 2022 during Valiant Shield exercises, according to DVIDS, a U.S. military news service.

The U.S. is building an over-the-horizon radar in Palau that it hopes to complete in 2026 and recently strengthened maritime security ties with a new agreement that allows the U.S. Coast Guard to enforce regulations in Palaus exclusive economic zone without a Palauan officer present.

The possibility of a permanent air defense missile system in Palau has raised concerns among some figures in the country.

Former President Johnson Toribiong said the Palau traditional leaders and elected leaders should be consulted.

It is necessary because, in that process, the people of Palau will be well informed about the nature of the Patriot Defense System, its impacts on our natural and social environments, and whether Palau may become a potential target of the preemptive strike or return fire in time of military conflict, said Toribiong.

A MIM-104 Patriot missile is pictured on its way to intercepting a drone target at Roman Tmetuchl International Airport, Palau during a live-fire test on July 17, 2023. [ZaBarr Jones/U.S. Army]

Hokkons Baules, president of Palaus Senate, said U.S. interests rather than Palaus are served by a military buildup in the country.

This is a U.S. interest matter, the Indo-Pacific, he said. We senators believe Palau has no enemies. And we believe the U.S. should only step in when there is conflict. This build-up is U.S. interest, not ours.

Whipps said the July test of the missile system was to assess the process of it being deployed from Guam in a time of threat.

He said a national leadership meeting believed that the three-hour deployment time was too long and senators at the meeting had recommended a permanent installation. Baules said the Senate as a whole has not made that recommendation.

Some people say it makes us a target, but I say presence is deterrence, Whipps said.
Police search a house in Yala province, southern Thailand, for evidence tied to the sale of a weapon used in a deadly shooting at a shopping mall in Bangkok, Oct. 5, 2022. In this handout photo, police have blurred the faces of two people in the house.

Two men were arrested in Thailands Deep South on suspicion of selling a modified handgun and parts to a 14-year-old boy accused in a deadly shooting spree at a Bangkok shopping mall earlier this week, police said Thursday.

Five criminal charges, including premeditated murder, have been filed against the teenager in relation to the shooting that left two people dead and several others injured at the Siam Paragon shopping mall on Tuesday.

Police in the southern province of Yala said a father and son had been arrested on suspicion of selling a gun to the juvenile.

Two suspects were arrested last night and then sent to Bangkok immediately, Maj. Gen. Seksan Churangarit, the superintendent of Yala provincial police, told BenarNews on Thursday.

Seksan identified the arrested suspects as Suwanahong Bharmkanajarn, 45, and his 22-year-old son, Akrawit Jaithong.

Bank transactions showed the alleged gunman bought components from the two suspects, Seksan said.

Photos released by police showed a stash of confiscated pistol magazines and gun parts, which police said could be used to modify a blank gun to fire bullets.

On Tuesday evening, the suspect allegedly used a modified blank gun to shoot at people inside the upscale mall, killing the two foreigners and injuring five other people before police apprehended him within an hour, officials said.

A Chinese national and a citizen of Myanmar were identified as the two people killed in the attack.

A stash of gun magazines on the floor of a house where two suspects were arrested for allegedly selling a modified gun, Oct. 5, 2023. [Handout/Yala Police]

The suspect, whose name and image have not been released because of his age, has been charged with premeditated murder; attempted murder; illegal possession of a firearm; carrying a firearm in a public place without a permit; and firing a gun in a public place without a permit.

He will be tried in a juvenile court.

Although mass shootings are relatively rare in Thailand, the attack has raised questions about gun control in the majority-Buddhist nation.

Statistical data from the Metropolitan Police Bureau revealed that between 2016 and 2019, 25,034 reported incidents involved licensed firearms, compared to 91,376 incidents involving unlicensed ones.

Insights from the Small Arms Survey in 2018 showed that Thailand has an estimated 10.3 million civilian-owned firearms, which translates to 15 firearms for every 100,000 individuals, ranking the country 48th globally and first among Southeast Asian nations. Of these, only 6.2 million firearms have proper legal documentation.

In line with Thai legislation, those convicted of unauthorized possession of firearms or ammunition could face potential jail time ranging from one to 10 years, along with a fine.

In Thailand, those who can legally own firearms must be at least 20 years old, not physically or mentally disabled, not considered mentally deranged or unstable, and should not have been previously incarcerated for criminal offenses.
Press Release

October 5, 2023 Bong Go champions progress in health infrastructure in Zamboanga Peninsula by bringing public health services closer to those in need Senator Christopher "Bong" Go expressed his satisfaction and optimism over the significant advancements in healthcare infrastructure in Region IX, or the Zamboanga Peninsula. These developments have been championed by Go through the form of Regional Specialty Centers, Super Health Centers, and Malasakit Centers, each playing a unique role in strengthening the region's healthcare system. "Isinulong po natin ang mga ito bilang chairman ng Committee on Health at bahagi ng ating adhikain na mapangalagaan ang kalusugan ng mga kababayan natin lalung-lalo na po ang mga mahihirap, helpless, hopeless at walang malalapitan maliban sa gobyerno," said the senator. As chairperson of the Senate Committee on Health and Demography, Go principally sponsored and is one of the authors of Republic Act No. 11959, also known as the Regional Specialty Centers Act. The legislation was signed into law by President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos, Jr. on August 24. "This law represents a substantial move toward enhancing our healthcare capabilities by bringing specialty services closer to the regions," Go emphasized. "Yung mga taga-Zamboanga, hindi na kailangan bumyahe pa papuntang Maynila o Davao para magpagamot sa puso o iba pang malubhang sakit. Magkakaroon na ng heart center at iba pang specialty centers sa regional hospital sa Zamboanga mismo," he added. Go is particularly enthusiastic about the comprehensive upgrades planned for the Zamboanga City Medical Center. The facility is slated to house an array of specialty centers, each specializing in a different area of medical expertise. As proposed by DOH, these will encompass Cardiovascular Care, Renal Care and Transplant, Lung Care, and Orthopedic Care, among others. The center will also offer specialized services in Physical Rehabilitation Medicine, Brain and Spine Care, Mental Health, and Neonatal Care. Additional centers will focus on Toxicology, Cancer Care, Infectious Disease and Tropical Medicine, Geriatric Care, and Eye Care. Go has also been a vocal advocate of establishing more Super Health Centers nationwide, stating, "These centers are essential for decongesting our hospitals and making healthcare more accessible at the grassroots level." Designed to focus on primary care, consultation, and early detection, Super Health Centers aim to fortify the healthcare infrastructure, particularly in rural communities. Free consultations may be facilitated here by local government health offices and the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) through its Konsulta program. Through the collective efforts of lawmakers, necessary funds have been allocated to construct 307 Super Health Centers in 2022 and 322 more in 2023 including in several strategic locations across the Zamboanga Peninsula. For 2022, Isabela City in Basilan was identified for the establishment of one such center, and Zamboanga City was designated to receive two. Additional centers were also mapped out for Dapitan City, Dipolog City, and Labason, all in Zamboanga del Norte. In Zamboanga del Sur, the centers will be in Mahayag, Margosatubig, and Pagadian City. Similarly, in Zamboanga Sibugay, the towns of Kabasalan, Olutanga, and Buug have been chosen as sites for these facilities. In 2023, 13 additional Super Health Centers have been funded for the Zamboanga Peninsula. Zamboanga City will have one more center. In Zamboanga del Norte, new centers will be allocated for Kalawit, Sindangan, and Sirawai, along with two more in locations yet to be specified. Zamboanga del Sur is designated to have Super Health Centers in Dumingag and Pitogo, as well as two additional centers in undisclosed locations. Finally, new centers in Zamboanga Sibugay care located in Ipil and Titay, plus one more in an unspecified location. "Sa mga itinayo nang Super Health Centers, nakita namin kung gaano kalaki ang naitutulong nito sa komunidad lalo na sa rural areas. 'Yun po ang layunin ng mga Super Health Centers, ang ilapit sa mamamayan ang serbisyong medikal ng gobyerno," he added. Meanwhile, Go is also the principal author and sponsor of RA 11463, or the Malasakit Centers Act of 2019. Malasakit Centers bring together representatives from the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), DOH, PhilHealth, and Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office. These one-stop shops aim to support impoverished patients in reducing their hospital costs to the least possible amount. These centers, nine of which are in the Zamboanga Peninsula, have already aided more than seven million Filipinos nationwide. Malasakit Centers in the region are located at the Zamboanga City Medical Center, Jose Rizal Memorial Hospital in Dapitan City, ZaNorte Medical Center in Dipolog City, and Zamboanga del Sur Medical Center in Pagadian City. Additional centers can be found in Margosatubig Regional Hospital, Mindanao Central Sanitarium, Basilan General Hospital, Labuan General Hospital, and Dr. George T. Hofer Medical Center in Ipil. "Sa mga pasyente, lapitan niyo lang ang Malasakit Center dahil para 'to sa inyo. Kung may hospital bill kayo, nandiyan ang mga ahensya ng gobyerno na tutulong para mabayaran ito," said Go. Go highlighted these healthcare initiatives he championed as vital components in improving the well-being of communities in Zamboanga and in the whole of Mindanao. "These initiatives do not only aim to strengthen the healthcare system but to build a nation where every Filipino can live a healthier, more dignified life," he said.
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PITTSFIELD  While colleagues on City Council, residents may not have seen much difference between Peter Marchetti and John Krol. For many years the councilors votes were aligned.

As Marchetti and Krol are asking voters to hire them for the top leadership role in the city, they drew differences between their leadership styles in a recent sit-down with The Berkshire Eagle.

Both candidates called out what they see as current issues in the way city leaders communicate with their constituents. Open communication between the mayors office and residents is central to the way both politicians say theyll run the office.

More questions and answers from The Eagles sit-down with the candidates will be published in the coming days. To watch a full video of the meeting, visit bit.ly/3PT0yrR.

Answers have been lightly edited for clarity.

THE BERKSHIRE EAGLE: John  describe what you think a Krol administration would look like because youre running it.

JOHN KROL: I think the mayor of Pittsfield, especially today, needs to have entrepreneurial spirit. It has to be looking at Pittsfield and positioning ourselves as the hub of the culturally rich Berkshires. That means selling the city. That means being very assertive and aggressive in making sure we are doing projects to move the city forward.

So for example, going right ahead and making sure we get that Wright building developed in downtown Pittsfield. You know we don't have a sense of urgency right now on that. We have to bring a sense of urgency to many of these issues and an entrepreneurial spirit.

I've been a small business owner, I've worked in the corporate world  certainly in health care and particularly in marketing and sales  and I think that's a key thing, because you have to be able to make a case. I think just like when it comes to going to Boston and saying, 'Hey, weve got to get that funding to come in for our schools to get AC into our schools and the HVAC going.' It's the same thing with selling the downtown and being able to recruit businesses to our city and getting things together so that we're doing things now.

I heard a conversation at the polls the other day in regard to planning and economic development. One of the statements was well, you know, this really takes a long time. This has to be done over a decade. This has to be over 15 years. No, it doesn't. It can happen right now. So it should be a one- or two-year plan to get things accomplished, not a long-term plan. It shouldn't take decades to get things accomplished. We need to start thinking about doing things right now.

We are perfectly positioned in so many ways. I think there's a lot of low hanging fruit if we address some of the issues in our city, make our downtown beautiful. As far as public works and public services, I have a plan for that. Maybe you remember back in the day when John Barrett III came into the city of Pittsfield  it was amazing, because we completely changed the complexion of public works at that time.

People were really, really happy about it. So I have a plan to bring that culture back to public services, because that will make a big, big difference in the way people feel about the city. People when they're paying high taxes  and they are, we know it  they want to see something in return. It's the big stuff, but it's also those little things. And so public works and public services, we need to be more business friendly. In the first 45 days, I want to go into the Building Inspectors Office and really change the culture of that to be able to get things accomplished, as opposed to putting up roadblocks. That's the reputation in our city, it's why a lot of contractors don't do work in Pittsfield.

These are things that we've identified and  again, not a 10-year plan  we have to go in there and look at it as a one and two-year plan. So it's that entrepreneurial spirit that I'll bring to City Hall.

THE EAGLE: What would the city of Pittsfield look like with Mayor Marchetti?

PETER MARCHETTI: In the Marchetti administration we're going to start on Nov. 8. [When] we're mayor-elect, were going to start meeting with the department heads, were going to start having conversations with department heads.

First off, we're going to lay out what the vision of the Marchetti administration is, how we want to get things done and where we want to go and make sure that those that are there think that they can meet that challenge. I think you're going to find that some of them are not going to want to meet that challenge, or after our conversation we'll agree to disagree and we'll make plans. But we need to be setting out our six- and 12-month goals of what we need to accomplish. After the first three months, where are we? Are we going to hit our goals? If not, what kind of resources do we have?

We have projects already underway that we need to tell people are happening. We've got some affordable housing redevelopments happening in the city that as I'm knocking on doors, folks don't even know they're happening. We have the redevelopment of Site 9 that is just around the corner, where there's $13.5 million-worth of investments to completely redevelop and make three parcels for homes for three businesses.

And I think at the end of the day, the one thing that we do is open the doors and communicate more of what's going on and when there's a problem, we own it.

I go back to the December snowstorm, the Christmas snowstorm. Clearly there cannot be a single person in the city that thinks that we did a decent job of plowing back then. I got contacted by WAMC and did an interview and they were asking questions. All I could do was apologize and say the road conditions were horrific. Now, I'm not the mayor currently, and I'm not the one that gets to direct the public service commissioner of what to do. But I took the responsibility, and I said that we screwed up and I apologized. And the other commissioner followed me in that same interview saying, 'Hey, we did a great job.' Those things can't happen.

When there's a problem, the buck stops with the mayor. We're all human, we all make mistakes and weve all got to own them when we do them. And so if we screw up on a snowstorm, we own it and we move on. And that's the vision that I'm going to bring to the City Hall.

KROL: If I can quickly add: The core of my administration will be the most accessible mayor's office in the history of the city. What that means is there are four entrances to City Hall, three of them have been closed since COVID. We're going to open up those doors  its long overdue. We need to do that.

There's going to be an open door policy in the mayor's office. I think we'll take it off the hinges from the hallway. When I worked in the mayor's office, that was certainly the way that we approached things. We were very welcoming to residents. Now a resident can't just walk in and talk to the mayor  that's not what we're talking about  but they can certainly ask for a meeting. They can interact with the two assistants in the mayor's office.

We also will do a weekly open press conference  We'll just go over whatever reporters want to hear. I'm very, very comfortable with reporters. I was one  So I think that communication and people hearing regular updates, that isn't just one way. It's not just coming from the city. Its an open conversation. I think having that is valuable and it holds the office accountable. It's not just simply a nice thing to do. It actually is part of the process to say, 'OK, well, you talked about this last week, John, about this project. What have we gotten done this week?' 'Sorry, nothing to report  we didn't move it forward  but by next week, we hope to have something to report to you,' that sort of thing. That regular conversation in the open press conference is absolutely something that well do.

MARCHETTI: I was just going to say, doors open on day one. I don't think I'm gonna take the hinges off of the door of the mayor's office, but people are more than welcome to come in.

I mean, you ask the question: Would we be an in-City Hall mayor or out-of-City Hall mayor? I think there needs to be the right balance. When I was at the Senior Center last week, we had conversations and they're like the mayor never comes here to have conversations. They have coffee with a counselor every Monday before there's a council meeting. Maybe on a quarterly basis, we set up a coffee with the mayor. What are your concerns? What are you hearing? What do you want to hear?

And so not just press conferences, but also going to a variety of organizations  including the senior center and having conversations. Knocking on doors, the one thing that is pretty clear is that people are OK with holding you accountable and letting you know where you missed the mark. Maybe we need more of that, because that wouldn't help us keep pushing the projects through and making sure that we get the job done.

Up next: We ask the candidates how they plan to appeal to voters who chose councilor Karen Kalinowsky in the preliminary election.
In about three months, voters in each of the eight towns will decide whether future Mount Everett High students will attend Monument Mountain High in Great Barrington. Not everyone agrees the districts should merge.
Bill Schmick is registered as an investment adviser representative of Onota Partners Inc. in the Berkshires. He can be reached at 413-347-2401, or email him at billiams1948@gmail.com.
UniWorld Group Inc. (UWG) and Two Tone Global have joined forces in a strategic partnership, unveiling the birth of UWG Africa. Together, they aim to revolutionise media and advertising services throughout the African continent.

The new team spoke at Loeries 2023. Source: Supplied.

The news was announced at Loeries Creative Week by founder and CEO of Two Tone Carlo Murison and CEO and President of UWG Greg Edwards.

Partnership

The partnership brings together the skills and experience of the two Black-owned agencies to provide deep insights into each others diverse cultural landscapes and reshape the way clients reach and engage with their audiences. This effort will increase culturally authentic access, engagement, and participation in media and advertising throughout the continent.

UWG Africa serves businesses in Johannesburg, Nairobi, and Lagos. It enters the market with the financial capacity of a $200m investment to create a community impact that focuses on Black media, content, talent, and consumer engagement across Africa while delivering business growth for clients.

As insight-driven storytellers who foster inclusivity and drive culture forward, UWG Africa will combine robust data-driven insights with authentic cultural understanding and unique creativity to unlock growth opportunities for clients. UWG Africa is resolute in its dedication to learn from, honour and empower Africas unique and diverse cultures, said Edwards.

Murison added: UWG Africa will change the way brands connect with customers. We are excited to expand the magic across Africa, creating more meaningful connections through insights that are culturally relevant.

Five cities

With the formation of UWG Africa, UWG now operates in five cities across three countries in North America and Africa.

Two Tone Global will continue to operate as a full-service advertising agency headquartered in Johannesburg with its own roster of clients. There will be no changes to the ownership or management team headed by Murison.

New York-based UWG is the longest-standing multicultural advertising and marketing agency in the United States, while Johannesburg-headquartered Two Tone Global is the 100% Black-owned, digitally-led, integrated, full-service agency that has been at the forefront of the African brand narrative for more than two decades.

UWG took its first step towards global expansion with the formation of UWG Monsoon in Canada earlier in 2023. A partnership with Toronto-based Monsoon Communications, the multicultural agency specialises in strategies that offer brands an in-depth and comprehensive understanding of the numerous ethnic consumer segments in that country.
The Advertising Regulatory Board (ARB) has ruled that a billboard advertising an armoured vehicle manufacturing company, which featured the words "Fear F*kol," must be removed or altered due to a breach of the advertising code.

The ARB ruled that children should not be exposed to the ad. Source: Supplied.

Located prominently on the N3 Highway at the Van Buuren off-ramp in Johannesburg, the billboard was a cause for concern among complainants who pointed out that it was easily visible to children passing by.

Offensive

The complainants argued that the use of the word "f*kol" was offensive and inappropriate for display on a billboard.

Armoured Mobility specialises in the construction, sale, and rental of armoured vehicles in South Africa. In its response to the complaint, the advertiser iCar Technologies said the term "F*kol" in the South African context is not a swear word or demeaning word and is a colloquial word that means "nothing".

They argued that it has been widely used across various media platforms and even by prominent figures in South African politics, including South Africa's defense minister, Thandi Modise, and ANC secretary-general, Fikile Mbalula.

Universal view

Said the ARB: "Just as English-speaking parents are unlikely to encourage their young children to use words like F*ck-All or F*ck, Afrikaans parents are unlikely to encourage their children to use words like F*kol or F*k. In essence, it is considered a vulgar word, generally regarded as unacceptable for children to use, or be exposed to indiscriminately.

"The fact that some communities have (at least according to the Advertiser) adopted the Afrikaans word F*kol as a colloquial way of saying nothing does not automatically bring this word into the realm of generally acceptable lexicon for children. This is especially relevant when a perfectly suitable word (Nothing) already exists. While it is possible that some households may consider f*kol an acceptable word for a child to say, it is unlikely that this is a universal view, especially in the Afrikaans community."
A Tier One Retailer in South Africa focused on fashion-leading clothing, footwear, cosmetics, and accessories, has adopted a proactive approach to fraud prevention across its retail network in the country after implementing the ReconAssist reconciliation software solution from Ecentric Payment Systems , an omnichannel payments solution partner for business across Africa.

According to statistics, members of the Southern African Fraud Prevention Service reported a 600% increase in incidents of fraud in 2022 in South Africa when compared to 2018. According to these estimates, every fraudulent transaction costs 3.51 times the lost transaction value on average. The same research has found that purchase transactions and distribution of funds are most (61%) susceptible to fraud when it comes to the customer journey.

Fraud is therefore a constant challenge that every retailer must deal with. Towards the end of 2019 and early 2020, the Tier One retailer recorded losses amounting to roughly R900,000 over six months, which went unaccounted for. This period marked the retailer's transition to using mobile point-of-sale terminals, which are as compact as smartphones. These devices empowered sales assistants to process payments for customers within the aisles, eliminating the need to queue. Additionally, these terminals equipped store managers with the capability to process card refunds on an ad-hoc basis. For instance, if a transaction was paid for in cash, a manager could refund the amount directly to a customer's debit or credit card without making them wait.

After the integration of Ecentrics ReconAssist solution, the retailer identified an unusual surge in the volume of refunds at one of its Durban outlets. This anomaly was pinpointed as the reason behind the significant loss. An internal investigation later uncovered that an employee, in collaboration with external accomplices, had orchestrated these fraudulent refunds. Had this activity persisted undetected, the losses could have escalated to over R1 million within a span of three months.

Graham Bradford, ReconAssist senior product manager, sheds light on the importance of addressing fraud in the retail space. This is not only to prevent financial losses but also to foster growth and innovation. The ReconAssist solution delivers a robust, proactive, and data-driven approach that empowered the retailer to detect and prevent potential threats across its operations.

The head of IT operations at the retailer praised the transformative impact of ReconAssist. The software provided the tools necessary to identify and prevent threats in near real-time, offering complete visibility of all transactions throughout the stores and the entire payment ecosystem. The intuitive front-end of the Web-based ReconAssist now enables our financial team to monitor and resolve transactions efficiently, promptly identifying exceptions and any anomalies.

Given the millions of transactions happening daily at this Tier One retailer, ReconAssist came to the fore as it was able to identify the fraud at a transactional level. This software has revolutionised the reconciliation process for the retailer, offering continuous reconciliation at transactional levels, allowing the financial team to focus on other important initiatives while ensuring the entire payment ecosystem worked flawlessly. By accurately detecting anomalies among millions of transactions, the software eliminated guesswork and empowered the retailer to make data-driven decisions for their business planning.

ReconAssist provides retailers of any size with the ability to reconcile refund transactions in isolation. This is critical given that these refunds are money leaving the store regardless of whether it is cash or digital. In 99% of the cases, refunds are performed correctly. However, ReconAssist can identify the 1% of anomalies to highlight a singular transaction amongst millions that is fraudulent.

Ecentric's senior product manager, Graham Bradford, emphasises the comprehensive suite of features offered by ReconAssist, including exception management reporting, fees and commission calculations for VAS service providers, and automated postings to most ERPs. The software's seamless integration across multiple channels, South African acquirers, and third-party service providers like VAS further streamlined finance and operational teams.

By leveraging ReconAssist, leading retailers can guarantee precision, transparency, and adherence to regulations throughout their payment reconciliation procedures. The advanced reporting and audit trail capabilities ReconAssist empower retailers, keeping them equipped and prepared to tackle any regulatory challenges.

Visit our website to schedule a demo or to find out more about Ecentrics ReconAssist reconciliation software solution.




Global efforts to make cotton production more sustainable require innovative technologies, targeted investments and better governance through a systems approach that breaks down silos, the director-general of the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO), QU Dongyu, said in his address to World Cotton Day 2023.

World Cotton Day, which is celebrated each year on 7 October, was marked in Vienna with an event jointly hosted by the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO) and FAO, in cooperation with the World Trade Organisation (WTO), the International Trade Center (ITC), the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) and the International Cotton Advisory Committee (ICAC).

The theme for this years event is: Making cotton fair and sustainable for all, from farm to fashion.

In his address to the event, Qu said the Day offered an opportunity to renew our commitment to enhancing the efficiency, inclusivity, resilience and sustainability of the cotton sector, which sustains about 32 million growers and benefits over 100 million families across 80 countries in 5 continents.

Given that the global demand for cotton is projected to increase at an annual rate of 1.8% over the next decade, the need for sustainability remains critical.

For this, we need to do things differently  we need to adapt and transform the business model and produce more with less, Qu said.

For instance, theres a need to promote the development of cotton by-products, like edible oil and animal feed, to help farmers generate additional income. It is also essential to ensure a level playing field for all players in the global cotton trade for equitable accessibility, affordability and availability.

According to FAO, relevant stakeholders should focus on three main areas:

Science and innovation - new technologies can help boost the efficiency of smallholders and reduce resource use and the environmental impacts, while innovative technologies can improve cotton varieties, increase yields and help farmers produce more cotton in line with the requirements set out by the industry and consumers.



Investment - increasing cotton yields in a sustainable manner requires increasing targeted investment for smallholders and coordinating public and private financing.



Governance  Theres a need for better coherence and greater coordination among the cotton value chain segments, as well as coherence of policies, strategies and actions between all relevant Ministries, institutions and partners. In other words: theres a need for a systems approach that is comprehensive and that builds on the interconnection of the cotton sector with various socio-economic and environmental drivers

FAOs work with cotton

FAOs Strategic Framework 2022-31 is already following this approach closely by considering the social, economic and environmental development dimensions, and addressing relevant trade-offs.

The narrative that guides the FAO Strategic Framework supports the 2030 Agenda through the transformation to more efficient, inclusive, resilient and sustainable agrifood systems for the Four Betters: better production, better nutrition, a better environment and a better life, leaving no one behind.

FAO is currently engaged in several projects to support cotton-producing countries and smallholders in different parts of the world.

For instance, it has a regional project that aims to strengthen smallholder cotton production in seven Latin American countries, as well as country-led projects in Africa supporting competitiveness and sustainable intensification of African cotton. Similar projects were also developed in other countries, including for instance in Azerbaijan.

FAO has also been working with the International Labour Organisation (ILO) and the European Union to eliminate child labour and foster sustainability in the cotton value chain and is working to promote the empowerment of women through a better access to resources and engagement in the policy-making process.

In the context of its Strategic Framework, FAO provides normative support to its Members, such as the annual medium-term outlook for the world cotton market, which is included in the annual OECD-FAO Agricultural Outlook report.

Finally, FAO also regularly reviews issues that affect global cotton trade and provides market and policy information on the sector through the publication of studies and reports.
Oxford University Press recently held four digital launch events to engage schools with their OUPSA digital product offering and establish OUPSA as a thought leader in education technology and the future of learning.

The programme of events was to engage with educators and government officials, and to showcase their developments in digital.

Over 400 teachers, principals, ICT specialists and government officials attended these events that were held in the four key provinces:

Johannesburg, Gauteng,



Gqeberha, Eastern Cape,



Durban, KwaZulu Natal and;



Cape Town, Western Cape

The programme included topical EduTech concerns that South African schools and teachers are currently grappling with, including:

Nurturing Curiosity & Creativity in Learning through AI

Coding & Robotics: A Skill of the Future

Using Blended Learning Techniques in the Classroom, and

Teaching Reading to the Digital Generation

Their guest speakers included prominent South African EduTech consultants, as well as a few key partners, who are experts in their field.

Alan Vesty, Head of Academics & Professional Development, Resolute Education Jonathan Du Plessis, Head of Business Development, Resolute Education Dr. Karen Walstra, EduTech Integration Consultant Dr Maglin Moodley, Lecturer, Learning Technologies, University of Johannesburg Dr Zelda Barends, Snr Lecturer, Stellenbosch University

Oxford University Press were also joined by Nkisane Hlapolosa, Strategic Partner from MTN, a company that has helped Oxford to increase their reach to new audiences via a mobile subscription service.

Showcasing their digital developments

Teachers were shown a demo of Oxford Reading Buddy and had the chance to explore Oxford EduZone Complete  an all-in-one learning and teaching solution providing all the content learners need. Their partners at Resolute Education, also showcased their joint Coding and Robotics offering, which launched in August 2023.

They captured the details of all delegates who were interested in any of the products shown at the event via a digital lead form, for our sales consultants to follow up afterwards.

The delegates also walked away with a virtual goodie bag that linked to more information on the products on display, and a real-life goodie bag filled with more product information, a beautiful wellness journal and a travel mug.

See more on their Instagram stories:

https://www.instagram.com/stories/highlights/17895869381796882/

Media queries:

Jarita Raga, Marketing Specialist

moc.puo@agar.atiraJ

Website: www.oxford.co.za
Sook, the pop-up retail provider, has officially opened a unit in Waterfall City. Opening at the start of October, the 130m2 site will be the brand's debut in South Africa.

Image supplied

The launch in South Africa comes after a successful signing in Liverpool, UK for Sook with a 1,2502 space. The new versatile space in Waterfall City has already been booked out until Christmas Day, featuring an impressive lineup of leading brands, including TV personality Somizi Mhlongo's "Sompire Kids", Thando Thabethe's "Thabootys, and renowned streetwear brand "GalxBoy.

Fitted with digital displays, screens and modular fixtures, the Sook Mall of Africa space provides a customisable space to suit individual retailer requirements. In addition to providing brands with space, Sook also understands the importance of advanced data analytics and is able to support each brand with valuable insights into consumer behaviours and sales statistics, helping tenants optimise their business strategies for enhanced success.

Sook Mall of Africa will provide space for a number of leading African and international brands looking to expand their site portfolio, meet with their customers in person and hold experiential activations. Brands in the fashion, homeware and accessories industries have already booked the space. For many of the brands signing with Sook, this is their debut in a physical brick-and-mortar space, with Sook removing the barriers to entry with a blank canvas experience.

John Hoyle, CEO and founder of Sook added: We are thrilled to allow brands the opportunity to dip their toe into physical retail, or trial a new concept, without the pressure of signing a long-term lease. While smaller businesses were entirely reliant on online platforms, we are now seeing them seek retail spaces to build meaningful relationships with their customers in person.

This is a significant achievement for us at Sook as we launch our first international site in South Africa. We have the opportunity to blend physical and digital elements and offer customers the flexibility to engage in brick-and-mortar spaces, and taking this space will allow us to continue our mission on an international level.

As the first brand to launch in Sook Mall of Africa, Somizi Mhlongo said, The concept of bringing Sook to South Africa is truly groundbreaking and amazing. It benefits not only entrepreneurs but also consumers. Many brands cant afford physical stores, and consumers often lack direct access to them. Sook is introducing an ingenious platform that connects consumers and entrepreneurs, making these brands accessible to the public.

Whats particularly impressive about Sook is its inclusivity. It doesnt focus on just one type of business; it caters to all entrepreneurs. Im thrilled to be part of the opening, especially as Ive recently started my own business, and the attention it's receiving is immense.

This collaboration feels like a match made in retail heaven, and Im eagerly anticipating what Sook will bring to the table. I know that it promises an ever-changing experience, like a fruit salad where each visit holds something new.

SOOK Mall of Africa seamlessly blends physical and digital elements in its design, creating a powerful platform that maximises brand exposure to a wide audience. Whether businesses need space for a month or a week, SOOK Mall of Africa provides a flexible and modular setup that empowers entrepreneurs to exercise their creativity.

Yasmeen Lorgat, leasing manager at Mall of Africa, added, "The launch of Sook Mall of Africa represents a significant milestone for us as we continue to evolve and elevate the retail experience. It's an innovative concept that caters to the needs of both emerging and established brands, offering them a unique platform to engage with customers in an experiential and flexible way."
Mahindra South Africa (MSA) has announced the appointment of three key executives to its leadership team.

Left: Nomonde Kweyi, Middle: Welisha Govender, Right: Fanie Smuts | Source: Supplied

The new executives join MSA as it readies itself for a new era of growth, driven by its refreshed portfolio of SUVs and bakkies and its renewed focus on customer value linked to the Mahindra brands commercial objectives.

The three executives, all industry veterans, are:

Head of sales: Fanie Smuts

Smuts is an automotive veteran with experience in virtually every aspect of the automotive value chain, including marketing, sales and aftersales.

He has served in various positions in these divisions at leading vehicle manufacturers, where he gained a deep understanding of every aspect of the automotive value chain. He will bring this experience to bear in his role at Mahindra South Africa.

Head of strategic marketing: Nomonde Kweyi

Kweyi joins Mahindra South Africa after a long and fruitful career in the transport and logistics industry, where she served in a leadership role for marketing and communication for the Southern African region.

Her experience includes local and international positions in several sectors, including telecommunications and professional services, and management roles in marketing and communications agencies.

She is an alumna of the Gordon Institute of Business Sciences, the University of Cape Town and the Vega School of Branding.

Head of human resources: Welisha Govender

Govender is qualified in industrial psychology and has fulfilled a leadership role in human resources, people and organisational development and transformation in various retail and telecommunications sectors. This has led to her appointment in a leadership role at Mahindra South Africa.
Afda is proud to announce that Afda students and alumni picked up 13 Golden Horn awards at the 17th annual Saftas held over the past weekend.

The Afda Johannesburg 2022 honours graduation film "Shumba", directed by Nigel Wurayayi, won the Best Student Film Award adding up the tally to 9 Best Student Film Awards by Afda since the inauguration of the Saftas.

Afda alumnus Mandla Ngcongwane from Black Brain Pictures was in on the act once again adding two more Golden Horns to his trophy cabinet.

Afda alumni editors Melanie Golden and Richard Starkey also added to their Golden Horn collections together with cinematographer alumni Willie Nel who has made the Saftas his home.

Afda alumnus Rethabile Ramaphakela, co-founder of Burnt Onion Productions, which produced the third season of the Netflix series "How to Ruin Christmas", won in five categories as a South African comedy series, including Best TV Comedy.

The in-person Saftas were a reset in more ways than one, with the awards show relocating back to Gallagher Estate in Midrand, Johannesburg, where the Saftas had taken place several years before it jumped to Sun City and the Sandton Convention Centre.

The champagne-filled Saftas and its sprawling red carpet was once again a two-night event with technical awards handed out on Friday night in Gallagher's Hall 3. It was followed by the main awards show on Saturday night and televised on SABC3 and Mzansi Magic (DStv 161) as a simulcast production with former Miss Universe Zozibini Tunzi and Lawrence Maleka as the co-hosts.

Congratulations to all the Safta winners. Please see full list of Afda winners below:

BEST ACHIEVEMENT IN EDITING - TV COMEDY

- How to Ruin Christmas Season 3 Practitioners: Melanie Golden

BEST ACHIEVEMENT IN SCRIPTWRITING -TV COMEDY

- Tali's Joburg Diary Practitioners: Gilli Apter

BEST ACHIEVEMENT IN CINEMATOGRAPHY -TV COMEDY

- Hotel Season 5 Practitioner Dino Benedetti

BEST ACHIEVEMENT IN CINEMATOGRAPHY - TV DRAMA

- Blood Psalms Practitioner: Willem Nel

BEST ACHIEVEMENT IN EDITING -TV SOAP/TELENOVELA

- Diepe Waters Practitioner: Marthinus van Rhyn

BEST ACHIEVEMENT IN ORIGINAL MUSIC/SCORE - TELENOVELA

- The Blackdoor Season 1 Practitioner: Mandla Ngcongwane

BEST ACHIEVEMENT IN ART DIRECTION - TV SOAP/TELENOVELA

- Legacy Practitioner: Amanda Scholtz

BEST ACHIEVEMENT IN SCRIPTWRITING - TELENOVELA

- DiepCity Season 2 Practitioner: Mandla Ngcongwane

BEST ACHIEVEMENT IN SCRIPTWRITING - TV SOAP

- SCANDAL! Practitioner, Themba Mahlangu

BEST ACHIEVEMENT IN EDITING - FEATURE FILM

- Silverton Siege Practitioners: Richard Starkey

BEST STUDENT FILM

- Shumba Production House: AFDA

BEST TV COMEDY

- How to Ruin Christmas Season 3 Production House: Burnt Onion Productions

BEST ACHIEVEMENT IN CINEMATOGRAPHY _ TELENOVELA

- The Black Door Season 1: Lavhelani Mudau
The South African Centre for Digital Language Resources (SADiLaR) recently hosted another successful DH-Ignite regional event at the Premier Hotel O.R. Tambo in Kempton Park, Gauteng. Humanities and social sciences staff and students from public universities in Gauteng, Northern Cape, Free State and North West joined the three-day event from 23 to 25 August 2023 to upskill themselves on and share experiences of digital and computational methods and practices for application in their own research and teaching.

Organised through Escalator, a programme funded by SADiLaR, DH-Ignites goal is to help catalyse digital innovation in humanities and social sciences research in South Africa, and share what is currently happening in the South African humanities and social sciences landscape.

Participants from the universities of Pretoria (UP), South Africa (Unisa), Witwatersrand (Wits), Johannesburg (UJ), North West (NWU), Free State (UFS) and Sol Plaatje (SPU); the Tshwane (TUT), Vaal (VUT) and Central (CUT) universities of technology; Sefako Makgatho Health Sciences University (SMU); the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR); and the Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC) enjoyed two days of presentations, discussions, lightning talks and interactive sessions, and a third day of in-person workshops.

It was the perfect opportunity for them to showcase their work, meet peers at similar learning stages, establish new collaborations, advertise and explore postgraduate study opportunities, and brain storm ideas for digital innovation in their research projects.

Building an active community of practice

The vision that we had when we started the Escalator programme was to help humanities and social sciences within South Africa specifically, to organise, connect and take what is already there and build on it, says Anelda van der Walt, Escalator's programme manager.

We also wish to identify what lessons we can learn from others outside of South Africa, across the continent and worldwide, to build our own community of practice. As the programme grows over the next couple of years, SADiLaR hopes that individuals who have participated in the programme will start contributing through collaborative efforts.

Highlights from the programme include the lightning talks about South African data sources, resources and opportunities for learning and teaching digital and computational skills, and case studies of humanities and social sciences research projects with computational and digital elements. There also was a fascinating expert panel discussion, chaired by SADiLaR professor in digital humanities Menno van Zaanen, about a vision for digital and computational research in humanities and social sciences, with Marissa Griesel (Unisa), Cobus Rademeyer (SPU), Mathabo Grace (UJ), Prevendren Naidoo (Wits) and Lebona Mafisa (NWU) as panellists.

On the final day of the conference, participants had the option of joining one of three workshops to put some of their newly learned skills to test. The three topics were: The first steps to text mining presented by Van Zaanen, An Introduction to working with digital texts (Voyant Tools) presented by SADiLaR digital humanities researchers Mmasibidi Setaka and Andiswa Bukula, and Using computational tools for translating text (Autshumato) presented by UJs Laurinda van Tonder.

Passion and genuine interest

According to one of the participants, the conference provided crucial information on the available tools and resources that will help to intellectualise South Africas indigenous languages. We need these tools to assist us to elevate the standard of our languages so that they can match other languages, especially the European languages, he comments.

Another participant was grateful for the interactive space in which many questions were being asked, people had the opportunity to really engage with speakers and immerse themselves in the various topics, and to enjoy the event on a comfortable but very productive kind of way.

Theres a lot of hope and a lot of scope if this kind of passion and genuine interest in digital humanities, as broad as it might be, carries on existing and continues in forums and formats like this one.

Register your interest for the next DH-Ignite event

Registration for the next DH-Ignite events (in the Eastern Cape and Northern Region) is not open yet, but you can register your interest to participate and receive more information when it becomes available.




As an institution, Eduvos is always looking ahead with its future-facing learning model. It is therefore an honour to be partnering with SAAIA, an industry body focused on promoting the advancement of responsible AI in South Africa by uniting practitioners across commercial, government, academic, startup and NGO sectors.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has become the technology of 2023, with many chatbots and AI tools garnering millions of users.

Eduvos, voted South Africas best private higher education institution, acknowledges the impact that AI has, and will increasingly have, on the global economy and workforce. For this reason, the institution has opted to embrace AI and similar new technologies, in order for its students to have the knowledge and skills needed to remain relevant in the dynamic job market.

"Embracing AI in higher education is not just a choice; it's an imperative for preparing our students to excel in a world increasingly driven by technology, says Eduvos head of information technology faculty, Dr Amos Anele. As we join the SAAIA, Eduvos reaffirms its commitment to equipping our students with the essential skills to thrive in this AI-powered era. We believe that by integrating AI education into our curriculum, we are not only shaping the future of our students but also contributing to the advancement of AI technology in South Africa and beyond."

The SAAIAs vision is to find opportunities and challenges that AI and related technologies can bring to South Africa. Eduvos is eager to work alongside SAAIA and its members to harness the power of AI to help South Africa gain an advantage in the fourth industrial revolution. The SAAIAs vision aligns with Eduvoss goal to be Africas leading meta-university by 2027.

As a member of the SAAIA, Eduvos will help to contribute to the South African AI community and build relationships with other members who can help open doors of opportunity for Eduvos students.

AI has garnered a lot of attention for the disruptions it will cause for many industries. There is a forecast that AI will reduce or replace 300 million jobs. However, the AI industry is also expected to reach a market size of $407bn by 2027 and hold many job opportunities. Companies state that they will, in the future, rather hire a workforce with the knowledge and skills of this new technology.

Dr Nick Bradshaw, the founder of SAAIA, stated: The current debate on the use of artificial intelligence reveals both the challenges and opportunities as well as possible harms that AI and related smart technologies could herald for both citizens, companies and the wider economy. Education sits at the heart of helping everyone understand and embrace these technologies as our research has shown that AI and related automation technologies are currently impacting 120+ traditional industries globally.

"The speed of this disruption is faster than any other industrial revolution that has gone before it. As such SAAIA seeks to encourage stakeholders in the adoption of responsible AI for commercial and societal benefit with a primary focus on regulation, economic growth, trade, investment, fairness, equality and inclusivity. We welcome Eduvos as a new member as they share our mission and vision to ensure that the opportunities Artificial Intelligence present are possible and available for everyone to embrace  not just a select few."

Eduvos is committed to the employability of its students and is therefore embracing AI in order to better equip its students with the relevant skills needed to navigate a world of changing technology. The institution recently launched a Microsoft Azure AI Engineer certification to meet the demand for skilled AI professionals.

Eduvos has also partnered with EON Reality, a US-based tech company, to bring AI and extended reality into its teaching methods. Eduvos students, affectionately called Vossies, will interact with new technologies on a daily basis, which will give them a competitive edge in the workforce.

Find Eduvos online

Website: eduvos.com

Twitter: @edu_vos

Instagram: @eduvoseducation

YouTube: noitacudEsovudE@/moc.ebutuoy




The 2023 South African Radio Awards' finalists have been revealed.

Source:  123rf 123rf The 2023 South African Radio Awards finalists have been revealed

Now in its 13th year, the Radio Awards honour excellence across campus, community, public broadcast (PBS), commercial, podcast, and internet radio, setting the industry benchmarks for outstanding achievements in the radio sphere.

The judging process involved the evaluation of entries by a panel of over 50 judges and thorough scrutiny by BDO South Africa, the official auditors of the Radio Awards.

To be eligible, entries had to have been broadcast on FM or AM (excluding the internet radio category) between 1 April 2022 and 31 March 2023.

Taryn Westoby, general manager of events for Arena Holdings, which owns the Radio Awards, expressed her congratulations to all the general category finalists.

"We applaud the hard work, resilience, and dedication shown by all the finalists and inductees in their commitment to the medium of radio in South Africa. We look forward to honouring and announcing the winners at the awards ceremony."

The eagerly awaited announcements of the Station of the Year, MyStation Most Votes and Most Loyal Listeners, Hall of Fame, Bright Star, and Station Managers Choice category finalists are scheduled to be announced on 11 October 2023.

The 85 awards will be presented at a ceremony on 2 December 2023, in Parktown, Johannesburg.

Tickets for this celebration will be available for purchase starting 9 October 2023.

To view the complete list of the 2023 finalists in various general categories, please visit www.radioawards.co.za.
The company is in the Labour Court on Thursday afternoon to get an urgent interdict against the strikers.

Striking Simba factory workers picket inside the gates of the companys premises in Isando because security would not let them out to protest. They were eventually let out a couple of hours later. Photos: Kimberly Mutandiro | GroundUp

Simba has asked the Labour Court in Braamfontein to urgently interdict workers from participating, instigating or promoting in an unprotected strike at its premises. They also want the court to declare the strike unlawful.



This comes after more than 200 workers downed tools on Wednesday.



The workers are being supported by the Simunye Workers Forum and the Casual Workers Advice Office.



According to workers, the company has been deducting money from their salaries each month for transport to and from work. But they say they are meant to get transport for free as part of an earlier CCMA agreement.

Tension remains high at Simbas factories in Isando and Elandsfontein, Gauteng on Thursday after workers downed tools and were briefly prevented from protesting outside on Wednesday. Most workers returned to work on Thursday.

On Thursday afternoon, Simba approached the Labour Court in Braamfontein for an urgent interdict against workers, the Simunye Workers Forum and the Casual Workers Advice Office, to stop them from participating, instigating or promoting an unprotected strike at its premises. They also want the court to declare the strike unlawful.

According to representatives from the Simunye Workers Forum, 217 labour broker workers who were employed by Adcorp Blu were absorbed as permanent workers by Simba in 2018. The workers had long ceased in law to be casual workers as they had, by that time, worked for several years for Simba, according to Simunye.

Simunye said that part of the settlement agreement made at the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA) was that workers would get free transport, paid for by Simba to and from pick-up points or at the employees homes.

Workers later discovered that Simba was deducting R16 per day from each worker for the transport, instead of providing it for free. These deductions were not even listed on the payslip. The workers have been in a long-standing battle to have this money returned and free transport reinstated, Simunye said in a statement on Wednesday.

Worker representatives claim that other employees who became permanent before 2018 were not paying for transport which had caused division and unhappiness.

More than 200 workers then decided to down tools this week after Simba had cancelled the transport and instead offered a once-off payment of R30,000 if they agreed to accept this as a full and final settlement as backpay and for any future transport costs. This offer was made in April during negotiations, according to Simunye.

While waiting for the CCMA to set a date to hear the matter, more than 200 workers at Simbas Isando factory workers refused to work on Wednesday morning.

Striking Simba workers protest outside after they were prevented from leaving the premises for a couple of hours on Wednesday. The company is in court to interdict any further strike action. Photos: Kimberly Mutandiro | GroundUp

They held placards inside the gates of the premises, singing protest songs and asking to be allowed outside to protest on the streets. But the gates remained locked, forcing the workers to remain inside the gates. The gates were only opened later that afternoon.

The Simunye Workers Forum and the Casual Workers Advice Office, who have been assisting the striking Simba employees, have written to Simba, indicating their intention to oppose the interdict application.

Jacob Potlaki, from the Casual Workers Advice Office, said, We refuse to take this [once-off offer of R30,000] because workers are owed up to R140,000 each for the deductions. We have tried to negotiate for a better amount than the R30,000 being offered without success. That is why we decided to down tools.

As we speak workers are supposed to earn around R7,000 but they are earning about R5,000, said Potlaki.

We managed to speak to a few striking workers through the gates of the Isando factory during their protest on Wednesday. One worker who has worked for Simba since 2012 said she wants the company to pay back all the money it has been deducting for transport.

They deduct up to R2,000 from my salary every month. On top of that, they deduct money for uniforms and medical aid, which means that we are left with nothing. The company should own up to its promise of providing us with transport, she said.

At the time of publication on Thursday afternoon, Simbas urgent interdict application was still being heard at the Labour Court.

Simba did not respond to our calls and emailed questions.

This article was originally published on GroundUp.

 2023 GroundUp. This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
Sibanye-Stillwater, South Africa's biggest mining sector employer, may be forced to close some loss-making shafts, its CEO told Reuters, adding job cuts in platinum mining had become inevitable as prices of the precious metals fall.

Neal Froneman speaking at The Joburg Indaba. Source: x.com

"Significant restructuring" is very likely in the platinum sector of the world's top supplier of the metal as miners try to stay profitable, said Neal Froneman.

"We certainly can't run unprofitable shafts and I know that our cost structure is probably the lowest in the industry," he said. "So if we have loss-making shafts, which we have a few, they will have to be closed and I say this with all the sensitivities on potential job losses."

Sibanye and South African peers including Impala Platinum and Northam Platinum are among producers that operate some of the world's deepest platinum mines.

The companies had been making record profits when platinum sister metals rhodium hit almost $30,000 an ounce in 2021 and palladium soared to more than $3,400 an ounce after Russia's invasion of Ukraine last year.

But the price of platinum touched its lowest level in a year on Wednesday before recovering to $875.86 an ounce, while palladium hit its lowest since November 2018 at $1,179.66 an ounce.

Closing some loss-making operations may be necessary to remain profitable and preserve the majority of jobs, said Froneman. Sibanye, which has platinum mines in South Africa and Montana, employs about 85,000 workers.

While prices for platinum metals, which are used in catalysts that curb toxic vehicle emissions, may recover, that's unlikely to save mines that were only profitable during record high prices, Froneman said.

"I think it's highly likely there will be some significant restructuring in platinum, across the entire industry," he said.

Platinum miners need to adjust to a "lower for longer" price environment and potential for a price rebound is shallow, RMB Morgan Stanley analysts said.

"We will do our best to get productivity up but inevitably the country should prepare for significant restructuring in the metals sector," Froneman said
Elon Musk's vision of Twitter , now rebranded as X, as an "everything app" is no secret. When the X logo replaced Twitter's blue bird , the internet buzzed with heated discussions about just what it would mean for X to be an everything app.

Musk promoted his super app project by referring to the Chinese all-in-one app WeChat. But for many American users unfamiliar with WeChat, a train of questions followed.

Whats it like to use WeChat? How has WeChat become everything in China? Would it be possible to replicate the apps success in the US. Im a Chinese digital media scholar, and Ive used WeChat since 2012.

But, in contrast to Musks enthusiasm, I dont think WeChat is something to write home about. I believe its ordinary rather than special, lacking distinctive features compared with the other popular apps I studied for my current book project about Chinese touchscreen media. WeChats inconspicuousness on my phone screen is no accident. Although WeChat is an everything app in the sense of being a digital hub for over a billion users, the apps design is intentionally grounded in a more nuanced and philosophical meaning of the word everything than you might expect.

WeChat is an all-inclusive media ecosystem

Launched in 2011, WeChat has become an all-in-one app that offers services covering most aspects of everyday life, from instant messaging and mobile payments to photo- and video-sharing social networking. It has become a staple of daily activities for 1.3 billion Chinese mobile users.

WeChat is also the app that China-bound travelers can download if they want to install only one app. WeChat can help you fill out customs declaration forms, call a taxi, pay for your hotel room and order food. Without WeChat, a traveler in China would be like a fish out of water, since everything in China now runs through smartphone screens and mobile payment platforms.

In this sense, WeChat is indeed an everything app. Its everythingness refers to its near omnipresence and omnipotence in everyday life. The app creates an all-encompassing and ever-expanding media ecosystem that influences users daily activities. It forms a gigantic digital hub that, as German philosopher and media theorist Peter Sloterdijk once described, has drawn inwards everything that was once on the outside.

This everythingness leaves little room for rival companies to achieve similar dominance and turns every tap or swipe on a users smartphone into something a big tech company can profit from. This dream of an internet empire is perhaps what is so enticing for tech leaders like Musk.

A counterintuitive design philosophy

Despite WeChats status as an everything app, its one of the least notable and attractive apps on my smartphone. WeChat rarely changes its logo to celebrate holidays or sends admin notifications to users. The app forms a relatively closed social space, since WeChat users can see only what their contacts post, unlike apps like Weibo or TikTok, where celebrities amass millions of followers.

But the lack of flashy, attention-grabbing features is actually one of WeChats intentional design philosophies, as WeChats founder and chief developer Allen Xiaolong Zhang made clear in his annual public speeches in 2019 and 2020. Zhang emphasized that one of WeChats design principles is to get users out of the app as fast as possible, meaning to reduce the amount of time users spend in WeChat.

This might seem paradoxical  if WeChat is trying to get its users to leave the app as fast as possible, how can it maintain its internet empire? Typically an apps popularity is assessed based on how long users spend in the app, and users attention is the scarce resource various digital platforms fight for. But Zhang claims that in order to sustain users daily engagement with the app in the long run, its important to let them leave the app as fast as possible. A low demand for time and effort is key to bringing users back into the app without exhausting them.

A Taoist message behind WeChats design

The design of WeChat miniprograms makes Zhangs idea clear. Miniprograms are embedded into WeChat as third-party developed sub-applications, and they provide users with easy access to a large range of services  like hailing a taxi, ordering food, buying train tickets and playing games  without leaving WeChat. Users can simply search in the app or scan a QR code to open a miniprogram, skipping the cumbersome processes of installing and uninstalling new apps. Miniprograms are stored in a hidden panel at the top of the screen. They can be opened by swiping down the screen. These miniprograms appear to be ephemeral, diffusive and almost atmospheric. They give users the feeling that WeChat has disappeared or merged into the environment.

WeChat is what media scholars call elemental: inconspicuous and nonintrusive, yet pervasive and as fundamental as the natural elements, just like air, water and clouds. This environment of pervasiveness and unobtrusiveness resonates with the ancient Chinese Taoist philosophy that understands nothing (wu , or not-being) as that which forms the basis of all things (wanwu  or ten thousand things). As Tao Te Ching states, Dao begets One (or nothingness), One begets Two (yin and yang), Two begets Three (Heaven, Earth and Man; or yin, yang and breath qi), Three begets all things.

For Taoist thinkers, not-being determines how all things within the cosmos come into being, evolve and disappear. Although the depth of these sagely texts is unfathomable, the Taoist thoughts from the past help people appreciate the interplay of everything and nothing. This perspective adds another layer of meaning to everything and opens up alternative visions of what an everything app can be. Perhaps WeChats interpretation of the word everything  as simultaneously pervasive and inconspicuous  is the secret to its success over the past 10 years.

I believe many tech leaders could benefit from a more sophisticated understanding of everything when envisioning the everything app, and not just equate everything simply with big and comprehensive.

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
Primedia Outdoor have transformed the landscape of commuter advertising at Cape Town's iconic Station Deck taxi rank. This landmark taxi rank, nestled in the bustling heart of Cape Town CBD, has long served as a convergence point for countless commuters, shoppers, and tourists.

The creation of a commuter brand ecosystem of this magnitude owes a great deal to the innovative and forward-thinking approach of the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (Prasa), the committed landowner. Prasa's dedication goes beyond fulfilling their transportation mandate; they are passionately committed to enhancing the commuter experience. Their collaboration with Primedia Outdoor is a testament to their openness to innovation and their desire to future proof Prasa's assets.

Recognising the potential to redefine their connection with the community, Shoprite seized this innovative opportunity presented by Primedia Outdoor and The MediaShop. Through this partnership, Shoprite now proudly holds branding rights at this prime location, solidifying its reputation as a pioneer in advertising.

Bongumusa Makhathini, CEO of Primedia Outdoor, expressed his enthusiasm for this collaboration, stating: "This collaboration marks a significant leap forward in reshaping the taxi rank environment into an innovative advertising platform. This move underscores our unwavering commitment to transforming the commuter experience and providing brands with unparalleled avenues to engage their target audience."

This groundbreaking launch introduces a large format digital product into a traditional brand ownership environment. Primedia Outdoor has not only incorporated their ever-popular RankTV screens across the taxi lanes in this location but has now unveiled cutting-edge digital LED screens embedded within the rank branding structure.

This digital marvel offers unprecedented flexibility in rank branding, creative expression, and dynamic capabilities. This initiative not only amplifies brand exposure, but also sustainably communicates to the Shoprite target audience daily of the product and pricing specials using the digital screens as they go about on their daily consumer journey.

Megan Walker, senior strategy lead at The MediaShop, commended Primedia Outdoor's pioneering approach to outdoor advertising, saying: "For many years we've had the privilege of partnering with Primedia Outdoor  their commitment to innovation, unwavering quality, and exceptional service has consistently impressed us. Primedia Outdoor has played an integral role in helping us provide our client, Shoprite, with dynamic and effective media solutions for decades."

For Shoprite, a cherished name across South Africa, this initiative is a strategic manoeuvre to bolster its brand presence and cultivate daily connections. Clive Wood, brand manager at Shoprite, emphasised: "Our collaboration with Primedia Outdoor at the Station Deck taxi rank, underscores our dedication to innovation and engagement. We firmly believe this platform will not only amplify our brand but also create an extraordinary and dynamic channel to engage with our valued community."

Steve Duck, executive Western Cape, added: "The Station Deck taxi rank, has long served as a cornerstone of Cape Town's vibrant commuter landscape. Leading this project, we are not only benefiting Shoprite but also elevating the daily experience of the community members who frequent this iconic location."

This visionary collaboration epitomises a shared commitment to community engagement and innovation. As this iconic location emerges as a beacon of modern advertising, it transcends boundaries, not only within Cape Town but throughout the advertising industry. Seamlessly harmonising traditional and digital advertising, Primedia Outdoor paves the path for the evolution of the commuter environment, providing brands with remarkable avenues to connect with their communities.




Student funding scheme given seven working days to answer portfolio committee's questions.

The National Student Financial Aid Scheme briefing Parliaments portfolio committee for higher education in September. Archive photo: Qaqamba Falithenjwa

The National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) said it has a turnaround plan to fix its failures.

But Parliaments portfolio committee for higher education said the plan fails to address its concerns.

NSFAS and its contracted direct payment service providers were given seven working days to respond.

On Wednesday, the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) told Parliament it has a turnaround plan to fix its failures, but Parliaments portfolio committee for higher education was unconvinced.

Last month, NSFAS briefed Parliament on its new direct payment system and other issues, and it faced sharp criticism from the committee for its continued failures.

NSFAS was given a two-week deadline to present a plan to fix itself, but at the next meeting NSFAS and Higher Education Minister Blade Nzimande snubbed Parliament.

At a virtual meeting on Wednesday, Nzimande said detractors want to attack NSFAS left, right and centre, because it is a government scheme.

He said although the funding scheme is experiencing challenges, it is incorrect to project it as if it is lying on its stomach.

Nzimande said he met the NSFAS board in August. Thus far I have confidence in the board because whenever I have raised issues with them, they were able to deal with the challenges, he said.

NSFAS acting CEO Masile Ramorwesi said following the last portfolio committee meeting, the executive board met with the student leadership to discuss how challenges with direct payments could be addressed. He said they devised a seven-step approach of which the first two steps had already been completed.

Firstly, to form two teams who will report directly to the acting CEO about students challenges. The teams will then visit ten universities and 29 TVET colleges over ten days to observe challenges on the ground. They will report to the acting CEO in written form, and he will then develop a response strategy.

From 9 October, Ramorwesi will report to the NSFAS board, which will then develop its own report for the minister.

Ramorwesi listed various challenges: slow bank card distribution, cyber-attacks, non-responsiveness in query handling, partners having limited capacity, registration template errors, and excessive bank charges.

He said distributing bank cards to students on campus was delayed as some student leaders had disrupted the distribution at some universities by vandalising the cards and threatening the teams that were on the ground and chasing them out of the universities.

He said it was a concern that at the end of September, there were about 20,000 appeals (in which students appeal against having been turned down for funding) awaiting documentation.

He said there were about 16,000 appeals still awaiting academic eligibility criteria.

We previously indicated that we communicated with the institutions to submit the academic results of their students, he said. They aim to resolve these by 30 October.

But about 60,000 appeals have been finalised.

Payment service providers

Thami Mazibuko, project manager at Coinvest, said the company is responsible for disbursing funds to over 268,000 students at 13 TVET colleges and seven universities.

In terms of paying allowances, Mazibuko said they have paid everything.

We never paid less or more. We paid every cent according to the specifications which came from NSFAS.

If a student says they were underpaid, that is a process that first goes through NSFAS and then to us. All that well get is to pay x amount to a student and then we do that, he said.

Saud Ally, group CEO for eZaga, said the company is responsible for disbursing funds to over 143,000 students at six universities and 11 TVET colleges.

Ally said once they receive a beneficiary file from NSFAS, they do a Know Your Customer (KYC) validation which normally goes through Home Affairs  and to validate if the student hasnt committed fraud previously.

Neal MacIntyre, of Norraco, said the company disbursed funds to over 131,000 students at 13 TVET colleges and seven universities. It has paid out R1.3bn in the past year.

Ryan Passmore, project executive at Tenet Technology, which is responsible for allocating allowances to 225,000 NSFAS beneficiaries at 13 TVET colleges and six universities, said they have already disbursed R1.4bn to NSFAS students.

Tenet was busy loading and authenticating the student beneficiaries on its banking platform.

But chair of the committee Nompendulu Mkhatshwa (ANC) said NSFAS and the service providers presentations lacked critical information.

Youre telling us how many students youre supposed to be disbursing to, how many have been KYCd, and how many have cards  but we want to know how many you have paid each month, said Mkhatshwa.

Portfolio committee member Walter Letsie (ANC) said it is still unclear whether the disbursement problems from July had been resolved. There are still students who did not get their funds, and we still dont know why. Whether its NSFAS not paying the providers enough, or whether its the service providers systems. We still dont know.

Karabo Khakhau (DA) said there was a lack of clarity on how NSFAS was going to capacitate its call centres and by when. Solutions need a number and a deadline, she said.

Mkhatshwa concluded the meeting by saying that most of the committees concerns were data-related. We need to know why students have not received their allowances, at which institutions, where have we sent allowances to, what are the shortfalls.

She asked the service providers to submit the information within seven working days.

Published originally on GroundUp.
Date: 14 October

Time: 10am - 12pm

Address: 97 Durham Avenue, Salt River, Cape Town

What to expect

10.10  10.30am

An introduction to Red & Yellow: Teaching the great leaders, inventors, creators and entrepreneurs for the next generation of work.

Speaker: Andrew Allison  chief commercial officer

10.30am  12pm

Meet your lecturers: Discover the next step in your educational journey with insights from industry experts.

Our dedicated team of student advisors is ready to assist you with any questions and guide you through the registration process.

Explore what sets Red & Yellow apart in shaping successful careers!
Chihuahua state officials and a notorious Mexican security contractor broke ground last summer on the Torre Centinela (Sentinel Tower), an ominous, 20-story high-rise in downtown Ciudad Juarez that will serve as the central node of a new AI-enhanced surveillance regime. With tentacles reaching into 13 Mexican cities and a data pipeline that will channel intelligence all the way to Austin, Texas, the monstrous project will be unlike anything seen before along the U.S.-Mexico border.

And that's saying a lot, considering the last 30-plus years of surging technology on the U.S side of the border.

The Torre Centinela will stand in a former parking lot next to the city's famous bullring, a mere half-mile south of where migrants and asylum seekers have camped and protested at the Paso del Norte International Bridge leading to El Paso. But its reach goes much further: the Torre Centinela is just one piece of the Plataforma Centinela (Sentinel Platform), an aggressive new technology strategy developed by Chihuahua's Secretaria de Seguridad Publica Estatal (Secretary of State Public Security or SSPE) in collaboration with the company Seguritech.

With its sprawling infrastructure, the Plataforma Centinela will create an atmosphere of surveillance and data-streams blanketing the entire region. The plan calls for nearly every cutting-edge technology system marketed at law enforcement: 10,000 surveillance cameras, face recognition, automated license plate recognition, real-time crime analytics, a fleet of mobile surveillance vehicles, drone teams and counter-drone teams, and more.

If the project comes together as advertised in the Avengers-style trailer that SSPE released to influence public opinion, law enforcement personnel on site will be surrounded by wall-to-wall monitors (140 meters of screens per floor), while 2,000 officers in the field will be able to access live intelligence through handheld tablets.

Texas law enforcement will also have "eyes on this side of the border" via the Plataforma Centinela, Chihuahua Governor Maru Campos publicly stated last year. Texas Governor Greg Abbott signed a memorandum of understanding confirming the partnership.

Plataforma Centinela will transform public life and threaten human rights in the borderlands in ways that aren't easy to assess. Regional newspapers and local advocatesespecially Norte Digital and Frente Politico Ciudadano para la Defensa de los Derechos Humanos (FPCDDH)--have raised significant concerns about the project, pointing to a low likelihood of success and high potential for waste and abuse.

"It is a myopic approach to security; the full emphasis is placed on situational prevention, while the social causes of crime and violence are not addressed," FPCDDH member and analyst Victor M. Quintana tells EFF, noting that the Plataforma Centinela's budget is significantly higher than what the state devotes to social services. "There are no strategies for the prevention of addiction, neither for rebuilding the fabric of society nor attending to dropouts from school or young people at risk, which are social causes of insecurity."

Instead of providing access to unfiltered information about the project, the State of Chihuahua has launched a public relations blitz. In addition to press conferences and the highly-produced cinematic trailer, SSPE recently hosted a "Pabellon Centinel" (Sentinel Pavillion), a family-friendly carnival where the public was invited to check out a camera wall and drones, while children played with paintball guns, drove a toy ATV patrol vehicle around a model city, and colored in illustrations of a data center operator.

Behind that smoke screen, state officials are doing almost everything they can to control the narrative around the project and avoid public scrutiny.

According to news reports, the SSPE and the Secretaria de Hacienda (Finance Secretary) have simultaneously deemed most information about the project as classified and left dozens of public records requests unanswered. The Chihuahua State Congress also rejected a proposal to formally declassify the documents and stymied other oversight measures, including a proposed audit. Meanwhile, EFF has submitted public records requests to several Texas agencies and all have claimed they have no records related to the Plataforma Centinela.



This is all the more troubling considering the relationship between the state and Seguritech, a company whose business practices in 22 other jurisdictions have been called into question by public officials.

What we can be sure of is that the Plataforma Centinela project may serve as proof of concept of the kind of panopticon surveillance governments can get away with in both North America and Latin America.

What Is the Plataforma Centinela?

High-tech surveillance centers are not a new phenomenon on the Mexican side of the border. These facilities tend to use "C" distinctions to explain their functions and purposes. EFF has mapped out dozens of these in the six Mexican border states.

Click to explore the map. Google's Privacy Policy applies.

They include:

C4 (Centro de Comunicacion, Computo, Control y Comando) (Center for Communications, Calculation, Control, and Command),

C5 (Centro de Coordinacion Integral, de Control, Comando, Comunicacion y Computo del Estado) (Center for Integral Coordination for Control, Command, Communications, and State Calculation),

C5i (Centro de Control, Comando, Comunicacion, Computo, Coordinacion e Inteligencia) (Center for Control, Command, Communication, Calculation, Coordination and Intelligence).

Typically, these centers focus as a cross between a 911 call center and a real-time crime center, with operators handling emergency calls, analyzing crime data, and controlling a network of surveillance cameras via a wall bank of monitors. In some cases, the Cs may be presented in different order or stand for slightly different words. For example, some C5s might alternately stand for "Centros de Comando, Control, Comunicacion, Computo y Calidad" (Centers for Command, Control, Communication, Computation and Quality). These facilities also exist in other parts of Mexico. The number of Cs often indicate scale and responsibilities, but more often than not, it seems to be a political or marketing designation.

The Plataforma Centinela however, goes far beyond the scope of previous projects and in fact will be known as the first C7 (Centro de Comando, Computo, Control, Coordinacion, Contacto Ciudadano, Calidad, Comunicaciones e Inteligencia Artificial) (Center for Command, Calculation, Control, Coordination, Citizen Contact, Quality, Communications and Artificial Intelligence). The Torre Centinela in Ciudad Juarez will serve as the nerve center, with more than a dozen sub-centers throughout the state.



According to statistics that Gov. Campos disclosed as part of negotiations with Texas and news reports, the Plataforma Centinela will include:

1,791 automated license plate readers. These are cameras that photograph vehicles and their license plates, then upload that data along with the time and location where the vehicles were seen to a massive searchable database. Law enforcement can also create lists of license plates to track specific vehicles and receive alerts when those vehicles are seen.



4,800 fixed cameras . These are your run-of-the-mill cameras, positioned to permanently surveil a particular location from one angle.



3,065 pan-tilt-zoom (PTZ) cameras . These are more sophisticated cameras. While they are affixed to a specific location, such as a street light or a telephone pole, these cameras can be controlled remotely. An operator can swivel the camera around 360-degrees and zoom in on subjects.



2,000 tablets. Officers in the field will be issued handheld devices for accessing data directly from the Plataforma Centinela.

Officers in the field will be issued handheld devices for accessing data directly from the Plataforma Centinela.

102 security arches. This is a common form of surveillance in Mexico, but not the United States. These are structures built over highways and roads to capture data on passing vehicles and their passengers.

This is a common form of surveillance in Mexico, but not the United States. These are structures built over highways and roads to capture data on passing vehicles and their passengers.

74 drones (Unmanned Aerial Vehicles/UAVs). While the Chihuahua government has not disclosed what surveillance payload will be attached to these drones, it is common for law enforcement drones to deploy video, infrared, and thermal imaging technology.

While the Chihuahua government has not disclosed what surveillance payload will be attached to these drones, it is common for law enforcement drones to deploy video, infrared, and thermal imaging technology.

40 mobile video surveillance trailers. While details on these systems are scant, it is likely these are camera towers that can be towed to and parked at targeted locations.

While details on these systems are scant, it is likely these are camera towers that can be towed to and parked at targeted locations.

15 anti-drone systems. These systems are designed to intercept and disable drones operated by criminal organizations.

These systems are designed to intercept and disable drones operated by criminal organizations.

Face recognition . The project calls for the application of "biometric filters" to be applied to camera feeds "to assist in the capture of cartel leaders," and the collection of migrant biometrics. Such a system would require scanning the faces of the general public.

. The project calls for the application of "biometric filters" to be applied to camera feeds "to assist in the capture of cartel leaders," and the collection of migrant biometrics. Such a system would require scanning the faces of the general public.

Artificial intelligence. So far, the administration has thrown around the term AI without fully explaining how it will be used. However, typically law enforcement agencies have used this technology to "predict" where crime might occur, identify individuals mostly likely to be connected to crime, and to surface potential connections between suspects that would not have been obvious to a human observer. However, all these technologies have a propensity for making errors or exacerbating existing bias.

As of May, 60% of the Plataforma Centinela camera network had been installed, with an expected completion date of December, according to Norte Digital. However, the cameras were already being used in criminal investigations.

All combined, this technology amounts to an unprecedented expansion of the surveillance state in Latin America, as SSPE brags in its promotional material. The threat to privacy may also be unprecedented: creating cities where people can no longer move freely in their communities without being watched, scanned, and tagged.

But that's assuming the system functions as advertisedand based on the main contractor's history, that's anything but guaranteed.

Who Is Seguritech?

The Plataforma Centinela project is being built by the megacorporation Seguritech, which has signed deals with more than a dozen government entities throughout Mexico. As of 2018, the company received no-bid contracts in at least 10 Mexican states and cities, which means it was able to sidestep the accountability process that requires companies to compete for projects.

And when it comes to the Plataforma Centinela, the company isn't simply a contractor: It will actually have ownership over the project, the Torre Centinela, and all its related assets, including cameras and drones, until August 2027.

That's what SSPE Secretary Gilberto Loya Chavez told the news organization Norte Digital, but the terms of the agreement between Seguritech and Chihuahua's administration are not public. The SSPE's Transparency Committee decided to classify the information "concerning the procedures for the acquisition of supplies, goods, and technology necessary for the development, implementation, and operation of the Platforma Centinela" for five years.

In spite of the opacity shrouding the project, journalists have surfaced some information about the investment plan. According to statements from government officials, the Plataforma Centinela will cost 4.2 billion pesos, with Chihuahua's administration paying regular installments to the company every three months (Chihuahua's governor had previously said that these would be yearly payments in the amount of 700 million to 1 billion pesos per year). According to news reports, when the payments are completed in 2027, the ownership of the platform's assets and infrastructure are expected to pass from Seguritech to the state of Chihuahua.

The Plataforma Centinela project marks a new pinnacle in Seguritech's trajectory as a Mexican security contractor. Founded in 1995 as a small business selling neighborhood alarms, SeguriTech Privada S.A de C.V. became a highly profitable brand, and currently operates in five areas: security, defense, telecommunications, aeronautics, and construction. According to Zeta Tijuana, Seguritech also secures contracts through its affiliated companies, including Comunicacion Segura (focused on telecommunications and security) and Picorp S.A. de C.V. (focused on architecture and construction, including prisons and detention centers). Zeta also identified another SecuriTech company, Tres10 de C.V., as the contractor named in various C5i projects.

Thorough reporting by Mexican outlets such as Proceso, Zeta Tijuana, Norte Digital, and Zona Free paint an unsettling picture of Seguritech's activities over the years.

Former President Felipe Calderon's war on drug trafficking, initiated during his 2006-2012 term, marked an important turning point for surveillance in Mexico. As Proceso reported, Seguritech began to secure major government contracts beginning in 2007, receiving its first billion-peso deal in 2011 with Sinaloa's state government. In 2013, avoiding the bidding process, the company secured a 6-billion peso contract assigned by Eruviel Avila, then governor of the state of Mexico (or Edomex, not to be confused with the country of Mexico). During Enrique Pena Nieto's years as Edomex's governor, and especially later, as Mexico's president, Seguritech secured its status among Mexico's top technology contractors.



According to Zeta Tijuana, during the six years that Pena Nieto served as president (2012-2018), the company monopolized contracts for the country's main surveillance and intelligence projects, specifically the C5i centers. As Zeta Tijuana writes:

"More than 10 C5i units were opened or began construction during Pena Nieto's six-year term. Federal entities committed budgets in the millions, amid opacity, violating parliamentary processes and administrative requirements. The purchase of obsolete technological equipment was authorized at an overpriced rate, hiding information under the pretext of protecting national security."



Zeta Tijuana further cites records from the Mexican Institute of Industrial Property showing that Seguritech registered the term "C5i" as its own brand, an apparent attempt to make it more difficult for other surveillance contractors to provide services under that name to the government.

Despite promises from government officials that these huge investments in surveillance would improve public safety, the countrys number of violent deaths increased during Pena Nieto's term in office.

"What is most shocking is how ineffective Seguritech's system is," says Quintana, the spokesperson for FPCDDH. By his analysis, Quintana says, "In five out of six states where Seguritech entered into contracts and provided security services, the annual crime rate shot up in proportions ranging from 11% to 85%."

Seguritech has also been criticized for inflated prices, technical failures, and deploying obsolete equipment. According to Norte Digital, only 17% of surveillance cameras were working by the end of the company's contract with Sinaloa's state government. Proceso notes the rise of complaints about the malfunctioning of cameras in Cuauhtemoc Delegation (a borough of Mexico City) in 2016. Zeta Tijuana reported on the disproportionate amount the company charged for installing 200 obsolete 2-megapixel cameras in 2018.

Seguritech's track record led to formal complaints and judicial cases against the company. The company has responded to this negative attention by hiring services to take down and censor critical stories about its activities published online, according to investigative reports published as part of the Global Investigative Journalism Network's Forbidden Stories project.

Yet, none of this information dissuaded Chihuahua's governor, Maru Campos, from closing a new no-bid contract with Seguritech to develop the Plataforma Centinela project.

A Cross-Border Collaboration



The Plataforma Centinela project presents a troubling escalation in cross-border partnerships between states, one that cuts out each nation's respective federal governments. In April 2022, the states of Texas and Chihuahua signed a memorandum of understanding to collaborate on reducing "cartels' human trafficking and smuggling of deadly fentanyl and other drugs" and to "stop the flow of migrants from over 100 countries who illegally enter Texas through Chihuahua."

While much of the agreement centers around cargo at the points of entry, the document also specifically calls out the various technologies that make up the Plataforma Centinela. In attachments to the agreement, Gov. Campos promises Chihuahua is "willing to share that information with Texas State authorities and commercial partners directly."



During a press conference announcing the MOU, Gov. Abbot declared, Governor Campos has provided me with the best border security plan that I have seen from any governor from Mexico. He held up a three-page outline and a slide, which were also provided to the public, but also referenced the existence of "a much more extensive detailed memo that explains in nuance" all the aspects of the program.



Abbott went on to read out a summary of Plataforma Centinela, adding, "This is a demonstration of commitment from a strong governor who is working collaboratively with the state of Texas."

Then Campos, in response to a reporter's question, added: "We are talking about sharing information and intelligence among states, which means the state of Texas will have eyes on this side of the border." She added that the data collected through the Plataforma Centinela will be analyzed by both the states of Chihuahua and Texas.

Abbott provided an example of one way the collaboration will work: "We will identify hotspots where there will be an increase in the number of migrants showing up because it's a location chosen by cartels to try to put people across the border at that particular location. The Chihuahua officials will work in collaboration with the Texas Department of Public Safety, where DPS has identified that hotspot and the Chihuahua side will work from a law enforcement side to disrupt that hotspot."

In order to learn more about the scope of the project, EFF sent public records requests to several Texas agencies, including the Governor's Office, the Texas Department of Public Safety, the Texas Attorney General's Office, the El Paso County Sheriff, and the El Paso Police Department. Not one of the agencies produced records related to the Plataforma Centinela project.

Meanwhile, Texas is further beefing up its efforts to use technology at the border, including by enacting new laws that formally allow the Texas National Guard and State Guard to deploy drones at the border and authorize the governor to enter compacts with other states to share intelligence and resource to build "a comprehensive technological surveillance system" on state land to deter illegal activity at the border. In addition to the MOU with Chihuahua, Abbott also signed similar agreements with the states of Nuevo Leon and Coahuila in 2022.

Two Sides, One Border

The Plataforma Centinela has enormous potential to violate the rights of one of the largest cross-border populations along the U.S.-Mexico border. But while law enforcement officials are eager to collaborate and traffic data back and forth, advocacy efforts around surveillance too often are confined to their respective sides.

The Spanish-language press in Mexico has devoted significant resources to investigating the Plataforma Centinela and raising the alarm over its lack of transparency and accountability, as well as its potential for corruption. Yet, the project has received virtually no attention or scrutiny in the United States.

Fighting back against surveillance of cross-border communities requires cross-border efforts. EFF supports the efforts of advocacy groups in Ciudad Juarez and other regions of Chihuahua to expose the mistakes the Chihuahua government is making with the Plataforma Centinela and call out its mammoth surveillance approach for failing to address the root social issues. We also salute the efforts by local journalists to hold the government accountable. However, U.S-based journalists, activists, and policymakersmany of whom have done an excellent job surfacing criticism of Customs and Border Protection's so-called virtual wallmust also turn their attention to the massive surveillance that is building up on the Mexican side.



In reality, there really is no Mexican surveillance and U.S. surveillance. Its one massive surveillance monster that, ironically, in the name of border enforcement, recognizes no borders itself.
PARIS, 5 octobre (Reuters) - Casino a annonce jeudi avoir signe un accord de "lock-up" sur la restructuration de sa dette avec ses principaux creanciers, dont le milliardaire tcheque Daniel Kretinsky, afin d'eviter la faillite.

Le groupe confirme ainsi l'accord de principe conclu fin juillet avec EP Global Commerce et Fimalac - les societes respectives de Daniel Kretinsky et Marc Ladreit de Lacharriere - ainsi qu'avec Attestor et des creanciers detenant plus des deux tiers du "Term Loan B" en vue du renforcement des fonds propres et de la restructuration de sa dette.

(Redige par Kate Entringer)


Photo: SEOUL ADEX 2023.

S eoul International Aerospace and Defense Exhibition (Seoul ADEX) 2023 shall take place from October 17th to 22nd at Seoul Airport. As the largest and most comprehensive aerospace and defense event in North-east Asia, Seoul ADEX is one of the biggest events in the region.

Seoul ADEX brings more opportunities for aviation enthusiasts, aerospace professionals, key defense personnel, and the public.

The Seoul ADEX 2023 is hosted by KAIA (Korea Aerospace Industries Association), KDIA (Korea Defense Industries Association) and KOTRA (Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency). ADEX 2023 is supported by Ministry of National Defence, Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, ROK Army, Air Force, Marine Corps, DAPA (Defence Acquisition Program Administration) and Seongnam City.

View the Link


India announces fresh 'posiDefence Minister Rajnath Singh, Chief of Defence Staff General Anil Chauhan and Chief of the Naval Staff Admiral R Hari Kumar during the plenary session of 'Swavlamban 2.0', the two-day seminar of Naval Innovation and Indigenisation Organisation, in New Delhi, Wednesday, Oct. 4, 2023. A PTI Photo

NEW DELHI (PTI): India has announced a fresh list of 98 military hardware including complex systems, sensors, weapons and ammunition that will only be only be procured from domestic industry after a ban on their import kicks in under a staggered time-line.



Defence Minister Rajnath Singh made the announcement on Wednesday about the fifth positive indigenisation list at the 'Swavlamban 2.0' seminar organised by the Indian Navy.



The key items included in the list are futuristic infantry combat vehicle, remotely piloted airborne vehicles (up to 25 km range with payload of 2 kg for Army), shipborne unmanned aerial system, medium upgrade low endurance class tactical drone, next generation low-level light radar for Army and electro optic fire control system for naval platforms.



The list also comprised armour plates for cabin nose section for Mi-17 helicopter, multifunction aviation ground equipment for Air Force, gravity rollers for Mi-17 V5 helicopter and flares of P-8I and MiG 29-K aircraft.



The new "positive indigenisation list" is in continuation of the first four such lists, which contained a total of 411 military items.



Separately, the Department of Defence Production notified four positive indigenisation lists consisting of 4,666 items, including line replacement units, sub-systems, spares and components for Defence Public Sector Undertakings (DPSUs), according to the defence ministry.



Seventy-five technologies having applications in various military hardware including underwater swarm drones, autonomous weaponised boat swarms and fire fighting systems were displayed at the seminar.



Last year, in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Indian Navy had committed to develop these 75 technologies.



At the seminar, Singh also launched 76 challenges for the industry under 10th Defence India Start-up Challenges (DISC 10) and DISC 10 PRIME of Innovations for Defence Excellence (iDEX).



The defence minister also released the Indian Navy' updated "Indigenisation Roadmap -- Swavlamban 2.0'.



In addition, two 'INDUS-X challenges' under 'INDUS-X Mutual Promotion of Advanced Collaborative Technologies' (IMPACT) challenges jointly finalised by iDEX and the Department of Defence (DoD) of the US were launched by Singh.



The iDEX in partnership with the DoD had recently conducted the India-US Defence Acceleration Ecosystem (INDUS X) event in Washington to expand the strategic technology partnership and defence industrial cooperation between the start-up ecosystems, businesses and academic institutes of the two nations.



In a short span of three months, iDEX and the DoD have finalised two joint 'INDUS X' challenges.



The main highlight of the seminar was the release of the fifth positive indigenisation list of the Department of Military Affairs (DMA).



"Highly complex systems, sensors, weapons and ammunition have been included in the list. All these items will be procured from indigenous sources as per provisions given in Defence Acquisition Procedure (DAP) 2020 in a staggered timeline," the defence ministry said in a statement.



In his address, Singh was of the view that India has always been self-reliant in the field of knowledge and innovation and when the Modi government came to power in 2014, it rekindled the feeling of being 'Aatmanirbhar" (self-reliant) in every sector.



"Due to foreign invasions, we had forgotten our innovative approach. The word 'local' became synonymous with low quality. We're now freeing ourselves from that mentality," he said.



"Our prime minister launched the 'Vocal for Local' campaign and restored respect for local goods. Our youth are now recognising their inner strength and eliminating inner doubts," he said.



"In the coming times, they will play a big role in the development of the country with their innovative approach and knowledge," he said.



The defence minister also called for a careful assessment of the technology challenges -- whether they are state-of-the-art as per today's time and whether any better technology is expected in the near future.



He stressed the need to ascertain whether a technology is already available somewhere in the market or "we're just re-inventing the wheel".



He also pointed out that it is essential to assess the viability of a technology from the point of view of the economy.



This will provide a better value for money on your R and D expenditure, he said.



Singh pitched for devising a robust mechanism to conduct analysis before the introduction of any technology or challenge.



For this, he said, the Department of Defence Production, Defence Research and Development Organisation and the armed forces can together form an independent body of experts, which can further improve the analysis mechanism.



Singh also launched SBI NAVeCash Card which is a one-of-its-kind dual-chip debit card.



It has been developed by the State Bank of India (SBI) and the Indian Navy.



The card can be used in online mode (as a regular debit card) as well as in offline mode when the Navy personnel are at sea with no direct connectivity with the bank.



The card has been developed and tested onboard various Indian Naval ships and is now ready for launch pan-Navy, the defence ministry said.



"The card is a positive step towards the prime minister's dream of digital India with cashless financial transactions as it obviates the usage of cash onboard ships even in high seas," it said.


Former taoiseach Bertie Ahern has said he would be very disappointed if Stormont is not restored by the end of next month.

Mr Ahern was speaking at the One Young World summit in Belfast on the creating and legacy of the Good Friday Agreement.

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Also speaking at the summit on Thursday was former Sinn Fein president Gerry Adams who said the ground had shifted in Irish politics.

The One Young World summit has brought thousands of young people to Belfast to discuss global issues and has been recognised as part of the official celebrations for the 25th anniversary of the Agreement.

Mr Ahern said there was an opportunity now to restore the devolved government which has not been functioning for over a year due to the DUPs ongoing protest in response to post-Brexit trading arrangements.

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I would be very disappointed if its not by the end of next month, he said

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I think we have an opportunity now and I think that opportunity needs to be taken.

He added: But if its not by the end of November, we drift into a position where its election year all over the place and life will become far more difficult.

Former taoiseach Bertie Ahern on stage at the One Young World Summit at the ICC in Belfast (One Young World/PA)

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Mr Ahern also said work was being done to restore power-sharing, but that party leaders would need to convince their communities it was the right decision, as their predecessors did to secure the Good Friday Agreement.

Theres a lot of work, a lot of reference, a lot of people working hard on it, and it wont be easy, it wont be without some difficult decisions, he said.

But if those difficult decisions are not taken  like the leaders that I had the honour of working with, all the party leaders and the people that I worked with 25 years ago.

They all had to go to their own people and convince their own people that this was the right thing to do, that this was the inclusive, comprehensive will and that they were prepared to put their name to it and prepared to work to make it happen.

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And were in the same boat today.

Former Sinn Fein president Gerry Adams speaking at the One Young World summit at the ICC in Belfast (One Young World/PA)

Mr Adams shared his advice for DUP leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson.

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Without being at all provocative, if I had advice to give to Jeffrey it would be to lead.

Thats the only way you can do it, and to lead in a positive way, he said.

The ground has shifted.

This place is not the same as it was when I was growing up and its not the same as it was during this change.

He added: It has changed, and change can be threatening for some people and those of us that want the maximum change need to be understanding of that.

On a panel with former Alliance party leader Lord John Alderdice and former PUP leader Dawn Purvis, Mr Adams said the British governments legacy bill was in breach of the Good Friday Agreement.

The Troubles (Legacy and Reconciliation) bill would give a limited form of immunity from prosecution for Troubles-related offences to those who co-operate with the new Independent Commission for Reconciliation and Information Recovery.

It will also halt future civil cases and inquests.

I also want to deal with it in the wider context.

The British government are in breach of the Good Friday Agreement with their bill of shame, he said.

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Peace isnt just the absence of conflict and justice has to be the work of peace.

On the question of attaining justice and peace, Mr Adams said politicians should not give up.

Former PUP leader Dawn Purvis, former Alliance party leader Lord John Alderdice and former Sinn Fein president Gerry Adams speaking at the One Young World summit at the ICC in Belfast (One Young World/PA)

Lord Alderdice said there was a problem in reconciling the need for peace and for justice, adding that the question of victims could have been addressed sooner in the peace process.

Is there a conflict between peace of justice?

And I think the truth is, there is a conflict, there is a problem, he said.

Because if you are going to maintain the determination to see justice, as you see it implemented, then it is very difficult at the same time to say, well, I will let go of some things in order to have a better relationship with my neighbour with whom I deeply disagree.

One of the things that troubles me about the legacy business of just the building, is that here we are more than 25 years on and I think on all sides, people have effectively given up trying to resolve it.

Some people are weaponising it, some people want to forget about it.

And the troubling thing for me is that we have not, despite all the calls on all the sides, all the efforts, all the initiatives, all the Commissions, we havent really made a great new ground.

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Maybe one of the mistakes that we made was that, unlike Colombians who started off their process by having a victims bill, maybe if wed attended to the question of victims at an earlier stage during the talks process, we might not have found ourselves in the situation.

But we are where we are now.
An eighth man has been charged by gardai investigating the discovery of more than 2,000kg of cocaine on a bulk cargo ship off the south Irish coast last week.

A total of seven men have so far appeared before several district courts charged in relation to what authorities have called Irelands largest ever drugs haul.

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Cocaine with an estimated value of 160 million was found on the Panamanian registered vessel MV Matthew in a major operation involving the Irish army and gardai.

Gardai said on Wednesday evening they had arrested and charged another man in relation to their investigation.

The man is due to appear before Midleton District Court in Co Cork on Thursday morning at 10:30am.

On Tuesday, four men appeared before Mallow District Court charged with possessing drugs on September 24th for the purpose of supplying them within the Irish State.

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The MV Matthew cargo ship at Marino Point in Co Cork. Photo: Niall Carson/PA.

Cumali Ozgen, a 48-year-old with an address in the Netherlands; Saeid Hassani, a 37-year-old Iranian national; Mykhalio Gavryk, a 30-year-old Ukrainian national; and Vitaliy Vlasoi, a 31-year-old Ukrainian national, all face the same charge.

Armed gardai were stationed outside the courthouse ahead of the accused mens appearances.

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On Monday, Soheil Jelveh, a 50-year-old Iranian national of no fixed abode who has been referred to as a ship captain, appeared before Wexford District Court charged with various offences in relation to the seizure.

A total of 2,253kg of cocaine was found on the MV Matthew after members of the Irish Army Ranger Wing captured the vessel off the coast by abseiling from a helicopter.

Gardai believe the cocaine, seized after the dramatic military operation at sea, was destined for distribution beyond Ireland, potentially into the UK and continental Europe.

A fishing trawler that grounded off the coast of Co Wexford days before the seizure was also being monitored as part of the operation, amid suspicions it was en route to rendezvous with the cargo ship.

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Two men who had been winched from that vessel also appeared before Wexford District Court on Monday.

Jamie Harbron, 31, of South Avenue, Billingham, Stockton-on-Tees in the UK, and 60-year-old Ukrainian national Vitaliy Lapa, of no fixed abode, were charged with conspiracy to import drugs.
The Irish Cancer Society is seeking extra funding of 20 million in Budget 2024 to secure better survival rates and quality of life for people with cancer.

Chief executive Averil Power told Newstalk Breakfast that even before Covid Ireland was far behind the leading countries in terms of cancer survival and patient outcomes in general.

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Ireland has the second highest rate of cancer in the EU. That was in 2020 and our cancer death rate was also 11 percent higher than the EU average. So, even prior to Covid, we were far behind the leading countries in terms of cancer survival and patient outcomes in general.

"Our national cancer strategy sets out a roadmap to address that issue and improve cancer prevention, detection and treatment. And the price tag for that is an extra 20 million a year to make improvements each year by improving how we detect and treat cancer.

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But it has only received that funding in two years since it was published in 2017.

The 20 million would be spent on a range of things, she said. Improved diagnostics, expanding some of the positive initiatives that were implemented when it was properly funded.

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So for example, there were nursing posts put into all the cancer treating hospitals around the country to ensure that patients who have complications between treatments don't have to go to every department, but that's only available Monday to Friday during the day, and that's a measure that reduces anxiety for cancer patients.

This would also reduce pressure on the rest of the health service as cancer patients would not have to risk attending a busy ED.

Measures like that, if delivered in cancer care will also free up capacity in a busy health service during the winter. So that's why we're saying that, we know obviously the finances are under pressure and not everything is possible. And we think it's a no brainer and incredibly shortsighted not to be funding initiatives that improve cancer survival.

Ms Power added that a promise in the Programme for Government that cancer patients would not have to pay hospital parking charges has still not been implemented. People with cancer and their families were already coping with loss of income.

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Ireland Ireland had second-highest rate of cancer across E... Read More

We're urging that as part of the cost of living measures in next week's budget, that that is addressed. Now.

We can't afford not to invest. And I think after three years of all of these strands of pressure during Covid and other health crises, cancer services are really creaking at the seams. And that's having a huge impact on patients and staff.

We know that the number of people getting cancer is increasing year-on-year by 40 percent. So in the next ten years, if the Government doesn't make this investment now, that means people being diagnosed later with cancers that are harder to treat, and that's worse outcomes, unfortunately, for them as individuals. But it will also cost the State so much more in the long run.

So I think this is the decent thing to do for cancer patients, their families, but also the smart economic move is to invest in cancer services.
Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has spoken of his concerns that the UK is disengaging from the world.

The Taoiseach commented on language coming from the Conservative Party conference this week about leaving the European Convention on Human Rights, describing it as not the Britain I know.

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Mr Varadkar was speaking in Spain ahead of a meeting with UK prime minister Rishi Sunak where they were attending a European Political Community meeting.

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He said he would be seeking an update on discussions between the UK government and the DUP about efforts to restore the powersharing institutions at Stormont.

Asked if he was concerned about language coming from the Tory conference this week, Mr Varadkar said: I am, to be honest.

The Britain, the United Kingdom that I love and admire is the country of the Magna Carta, the country that founded a parliamentary democracy and the country that helped to write the European Convention on Human Rights.

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And it does bother me to see the United Kingdom disengaging from the world, whether its reducing its budget for international aid, whether its leaving the European Union, and now even talking about withdrawing from the European Convention on Human Rights, thats not the Britain I know.

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Mr Varadkar was speaking in Spain ahead of a meeting with Prime Minister Rishi Sunak (Danny Lawson/PA)

Mr Varadkar said he would also be discussing the UKs new act to deal with the legacy of the Northern Ireland Troubles with Mr Sunak.

The Northern Ireland Troubles (Legacy and Reconciliation) Act received royal assent last month despite widespread opposition from political parties, victims organisations in Northern Ireland and the Irish Government.

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Aspects of the laws include a limited form of immunity from prosecution for Troubles-related offences to those who cooperate with the new Independent Commission for Reconciliation and Information Recovery. It will also halt future civil cases and inquests.

Ireland is seeking legal advice about taking an inter-state legal case to the European Court of Human Rights.

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Mr Varadkar said: We will certainly discuss the issue of the UK legacy legislation.

Thats something the Irish government is very opposed to, so are the victims groups, so are the five main parties in Northern Ireland.

We believe it is potentially a contravention of the European Convention on Human Rights and certainly I will be saying that to the Prime Minister.

Mr Varadkar also said the issue of restoring the Stormont institutions, which are not operating due to a DUP protest over post-Brexit trading arrangements, was very important to both governments.
A 30-year-old sailor has been charged in connection with the seizure of 2.2 tonnes of cocaine with an estimated street value of over 157 million from the Panamanian registered bulk carrier MV Matthew off the coast of Cork last month.

Harold Estoesta appeared before a sitting of Midleton District Court in Co Cork on Thursday morning.

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He was charged with conspiracy to possess and supply controlled substances, namely cocaine. The alleged offence is in contravention of the Misuse of Drugs Regulations 2017 and Section 5 and 15A of the Misuse of Drugs Act 1977.

The Filipino national was arrested on September 27th onboard the MV Matthew and was subsequently questioned at Cobh Garda station under Section 50 of the Criminal Justice Act.

Evidence of arrest charge and caution was shared with the court by Garda Redmond OLeary of the Garda National Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau, who said he charged Mr Estoesta at 5.05pm on Wednesday, October 4th at Cobh Garda station.

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The Garda said, when charged under caution, Mr Estoesta replied: I believed that I just followed the orders of my seniors. I was also tricked and informed that there were spare parts. I wish to defend myself against an accusation. I believe I am innocent and deserve to be free.

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A statement of means was supplied to the court and the issue of legal aid will be addressed at a later date.

Solicitor for the accused, Aidan Desmond, asked that his client be allowed to meet with his consular officials, to which Judge Colm Roberts agreed.

Garda Majella OSullivan made an application that Mr Estoesta be remanded in custody until October 10th to appear before Mallow District Court by video link. Judge Roberts remanded the man in custody until his next court appearance.

Bail cannot be applied for at the District Court-level in a case of this nature.

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Seven other men have been charged in connection with the same seizure, which is the biggest drugs haul in the history of the State.

Four men appeared before Mallow District Court on Tuesday where they were charged with conspiring with others to possess over 13,000 worth of cocaine within the State with intent to supply it to others.

The captain of the MV Matthew was charged with three offences on Monday and appeared before Wexford District Court where he was charged with possession of cocaine, possession of cocaine for sale or supply, and importing cocaine with a street value in excess of 13,000.

Last Friday, two men were also charged at Waterford District Court with conspiracy to import drugs.

The men were all remanded in custody to appear in court on various dates later this month.
Russia targeted Ukraine with drones in another massive attack early on Thursday as Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy travelled to Spain to rally support from Western allies at a summit of some 50 European leaders.

Ukraines air force said the countrys air defences intercepted 24 out of 29 Iranian-made drones that Russia launched at the southern Odesa, Mykolaiv and Kirovohrad regions.

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Ukrainian officials did not immediately report any casualties or damage.

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The attack came as Mr Zelenskiy arrived in Granada in southern Spain to attend a summit of the European Political Community, which was formed in the wake of Russias February 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

The key for us, especially before winter, is to strengthen air defence, and there is already a basis for new agreements with partners, he said in a statement posted on his Telegram channel.

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During the last winter, Russia targeted Ukraines energy system and other vital infrastructure in a steady barrage of missile and drone attacks, triggering continuous power outages across the country.

Ukraines power system has shown a high degree of resilience and flexibility, helping alleviate the damage, but there have been concerns that Russia will again ramp up its strikes on power facilities as winter draws nearer.

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Mr Zelenskiy noted the Granada summit will also focus on joint work for global food security and protection of freedom of navigation in the Black Sea, where the Russian military has targeted Ukrainian ports after Moscows withdrawal from a United Nations-sponsored grain deal designed to ensure safe grain exports from the invaded countrys ports.

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy arrives at the Europe Summit in Granada, Spain (Fermin Rodriguez/AP/PA)

The Foreign Office cited intelligence suggesting that Russia may lay sea mines in the approach to Ukrainian ports to target civilian shipping and blame it on Ukraine.

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Russia almost certainly wants to avoid openly sinking civilian ships, instead falsely laying blame on Ukraine for any attacks against civilian vessels in the Black Sea, it said, adding that the UK was working with Ukraine to help improve the safety of shipping.

In other Russian attacks on Ukraine in the past day, two civilians were killed in the shelling of Kherson and another one died after a Russian strike on the city of Krasnohorivka in the eastern Donetsk region.

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At least eight people were wounded by the Russian shelling, according to Ukraines presidential office.

Ukraine, in turn, has struck back at Russia with regular drone attacks across the border.

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Roman Starovoit, the governor of Russias Kursk region that borders Ukraine, said Ukrainian drones attacked infrastructure facilities in several areas, resulting in power cuts.

Mr Starovoit also said that Ukrainian forces fired artillery at the border town of Rylsk, injuring a local resident and damaging several houses.
The alleged abuse victims of Andrew Tate are being subjected to harassment and intimidation by the accused and his followers in a bid to silence them, according to lawyers.

Speaking at a news conference in central Bucharest, Romania, the lawyers  who represent legal teams from the US and the UK  said they wanted to take a united stand against Tate and his followers and address ongoing attempts to silence those who are speaking out.

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The 36-year-old, a former professional kickboxer, is charged with rape, human trafficking and forming a criminal gang to sexually exploit women.





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The divisive social media influencer has amassed eight million followers on the social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter.

One of the legal teams, McCue Jury & Partners, represents women suing Tate in the UK for allegations of rape and physical assault, while the National Centre on Sexual Exploitations Law Centre and Laffey Bucci & Kent represent key witnesses of the prosecution in the Romania case who Tate is suing in the US for defamation.

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Tates spokesperson denied the claims made by the lawyers on Thursday.

These threats will not work, they will not prevent people from coming forward, and they will not prevent courts around the world from hearing their cases, the lawyers said in a joint statement.

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We encourage people to play their part in stopping the spread of disinformation online and to think carefully about how their words in these spaces can affect people already suffering immensely.

Four women reported Tate to UK authorities for alleged sexual violence and physical abuse, but the Crown Prosecution Service decided not to prosecute him. Afterwards, the alleged victims turned to crowdfunding to cover their legal costs as they pursue a civil case against him.



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We handed over our evidence about the horrific acts of violence we endured and waited for action. But four years later we were told the UK authorities would not prosecute him, they say on their campaign page, which has so far raised 30,000 of a 50,000 target. Its our one remaining route to hold him accountable.

In a media letter last month, Tate described the allegations by the women in the UK as malicious and disputed and added: If proceedings are brought, I shall resist any attempt to claim anonymity for all or any of the complainants.

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McCue Jury & Partners said on Thursday that Tates letter was riddled with inaccurate and misleading statements.

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Tate claimed that there is no UK case against him and that the firm suggested mediation through financial compensation, the lawyer firm said.

Unfortunately for Mr Tate, there is absolutely a legal claim being brought in the UK against him. We made clear to Tate that any settlement would have to contain an admission of liability.

In a separate case, Romanian prosecutors formally indicted Tate in June along with his brother Tristan and two Romanian women. All four were arrested in late December and have denied the allegations against them.



Andrew Tate, right, and his brother Tristan (Andreea Alexandru/AP)

The National Centre on Sexual Exploitations Law Centre, repressing witnesses in the Romania case, said that since the brothers compound was raided by authorities last year, they and their associates have been maliciously harassing and threatening our clients.

In July, the Tate brothers sued a Florida woman, her parents, another woman who lived at the Tates estate near Bucharest, and a male friend of the woman. The Tate brothers claimed she falsely accused them of imprisoning her in Romania and are seeking millions in the lawsuit, filed in Palm Beach County.

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Jillian Roth, of Laffey, Bucci & Kent, said the lawsuit was filed only with the intent to intimidate, harass and to retaliate against the women who came forward to speak out against their abuse.

These women are very afraid, theyre terrified, Ms Roth said. They have been threatened, theyve had people come to their place of work.

Andrew Tate has repeatedly claimed that prosecutors in Romania have no evidence against him and that there is a political conspiracy designed to silence him. He was previously banned from various prominent social media platforms for expressing misogynistic views and hate speech.

Last week, a Bucharest court ruled to ease geographical restrictions on Tate, which means he can travel anywhere in Romania, but he cannot leave the country.
Family members of seven imprisoned Tunisian opposition figures have taken their quest for justice to the International Criminal Court, announcing plans to ask the tribunal to investigate claims of political persecution and human rights violations by President Kais Saieds administration.

Tunisias opposition is increasingly denouncing Mr Saieds authoritarian drift, saying it amounts to a rollback of gains made since the 2011 Arab Spring protests that swept the Middle East. In Tunisia, the uprising ushered in a constitutional overhaul and democratic reforms.

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However, Mr Saieds government has cracked down on opponents and jailed dissidents, including opposition leader Rached Ghannouchi and former legislator Said Ferjani.



Said Ferjani (Paul Schemm/AP)

Members of the families petitioning the ICC described Mr Saieds rule as a devastating return to a pre-Arab Spring autocracy where dissidents were imprisoned and tortured.

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Its sad to see, said Yusra Ghannouchi, the daughter of the imprisoned 82-year-old opposition leader. Her father was on a three-day hunger strike earlier this week.

We have to call on the world not to turn a blind eye to these violations and not to support dictatorships, she said at The Hague in the Netherlands. We are also here to send a message to democratic nations and to European governments not to support and legitimise Kais Saied.

Seventeen other prominent dissidents have recently staged hunger strikes from prison, with several continuing, including Jawhar Ben Mbarek, the head of the leading anti-Saied coalition.

The family members made a similar case to the African Court on Human and Peoples Rights earlier this year and have also petitioned the US and the UK for sanctions against the Tunisian government.

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You are transported back to when you were a child and you saw him in prison times you couldnt speak to him because the torture was so bad that he was in a coma, Kaouther Ferjani said of her father, who was also imprisoned during a 1987 crackdown.



President Kais Saied (Johanna Geron/AP)

As bad as it was back then, I got to see my dad, she added, saying that he has now only been granted permission to see his lawyer and nobody else.

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The two daughters told reporters about the increasing number of judges, politicians, journalists and prominent opposition figures being arrested. According to their tally, at least 42 prominent figures have been jailed. Many face sweeping charges of endangering state security.

The petition at the ICC is intended to draw further attention to Tunisias increasingly repressive political landscape since it revised the constitution in 2021, allowing Mr Saied to expand his powers, freeze out parliament and rule largely by decree.

As the countrys economy sinks, his government has jailed critics from across the political spectrum  right, left, Islamist and secular. It has also drummed up animosity against sub-Saharan African migrants that has often escalated to violence.

He is using a populist discourse that demonises and seeks to feed hatred and division, whether it is against foreigners or in the treatment of sub-Saharan migrants or among Tunisians themselves, said Jaza Cherif, the son of scholar and activist Chaima Issa.

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Mr Issa was recently released and placed under house arrest. More than 20 Saied opponents have languished in prison since February.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has said hand grenade fragments were found in the bodies of people who died when mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhins plane crashed on August 23.

Experts investigating the crash found no indication the private jet had suffered an external impact, he added.

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Mr Prigozhin and two of his top lieutenants in the Wagner private military contractor were among the 10 people killed when the jet came down as it flew from Moscow to St Petersburg.

There was no way to independently verify Mr Putins statement.



Vladimir Putin (Vladimir Smirnov, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo/AP)

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A preliminary US intelligence assessment concluded that an intentional explosion caused the crash, and western officials have pointed to a long list of Putin foes who have been assassinated.

The Kremlin described the allegation he was behind the crash as an absolute lie.

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A Russian investigation was launched but no findings have been released. Moscow rejected an offer from Brazil, where the Embraer business jet was built, to join the inquiry.

Mr Putin said the investigation is continuing and stopped short of saying what caused the crash, but his statement appeared to hint the plane was brought down by a grenade explosion.

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Mr Prigozhins aborted rebellion in June marked the most serious challenge to the president, who has been in power for more than two decades. The crash came two months to the day after the rebellion started.

Mr Putin also noted that while investigators have not tested the remains for alcohol and drugs, 11lb of cocaine was found during searches at Mr Prigozhins office in St Petersburg after the mutiny  an apparent attempt to denigrate the mercenary chief.

After his death, the president described Mr Prigozhin, 62, as a man of difficult fate who had made serious mistakes in life.



Smoke rises from the scene of the plane crash (AP)

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The Wagner boss owed his fortune to his ties with the Russian leader dating to the early 1990s and was dubbed Putins chef for lucrative Kremlin catering contracts.

The Wagner Group military contractor that he created has been active in Ukraine, Syria and several African countries and counted tens of thousands of troops at its peak.

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It played a key role in the fighting in Ukraine, where it spearheaded the capture of the eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut in May after months of bloody combat.

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In the June 23-24 rebellion, Mr Prigozhin said it was intended to oust the Defence Ministrys leadership who he blamed for mistakes in pressing the fighting in Ukraine.

His mercenaries took over Russias southern military headquarters in Rostov-on-Don and then rolled towards Moscow before abruptly halting the mutiny under a deal that offered them amnesty from prosecution.

The mercenaries were given a choice to retire from the service, move to Belarus or sign new contracts with the Defence Ministry.

Last week, Mr Putin met one of Wagners top commanders to take charge of volunteer units fighting in Ukraine, in a sign that the Kremlin intends to keep using the mercenaries after Mr Prigozhins death.

The president said on Thursday that several thousand Wagner troops have signed contracts with the Defence Ministry.
Jon Fosse, a master of spare Nordic writing in a sprawling body of work ranging from plays to novels and childrens books, won the Nobel Prize in literature on Thursday for works that give voice to the unsayable.

Anders Olsson, chair of the Nobel literature committee, said Fosses work is rooted in the language and nature of his Norwegian background.

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I was surprised when they called, yet at the same time not. I have cautiously prepared myself for the possibility that this could happen in the past 10 years, Fosse, 64, told Norwegian public broadcaster NRK.

It was a great joy for me to get the phone call.

Jon Fosse at the 2022 International Booker Prize ceremony in London (David Cliff/AP/PA)

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One of his countrys most-performed dramatists, Fosse has written some 40 plays as well as novels, short stories, childrens books, poetry and essays. The Swedish Academy, which awards the prize, said it was for his innovative plays and prose which give voice to the unsayable.

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Mats Malm, permanent secretary of the academy, reached Fosse by telephone to inform him of the win. He said the writer was driving in the countryside and promised to drive home carefully.

Fosse is the fourth Norwegian writer to be awarded the literature prize. Bjornstjerne Bjornson got it in 1903, Knut Hamsun was awarded it in 1920 and Sigrid Undset in 1928.

Fosses work A New Name: Septology VI-VII  described by Olsson as Fosses magnum opus  was a finalist for the International Booker Prize in 2022.

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In a statement released by his publishing house, Samlaget, Fosse said he saw the prize as an award to the literature that first and foremost aims to be literature, without other considerations.

Mr Malm announced the prize on Thursday in Stockholm.

The Nobel Prizes carry a cash award of 11 million Swedish kronor (947,000) from a bequest left by their creator, Swedish inventor Alfred Nobel. Winners also receive an 18-carat gold medal and diploma at the award ceremonies in December.

The new laureate joins an illustrious list of past winners that ranges from Toni Morrison to Ernest Hemingway and Jean-Paul Sartre  who turned down the prize in 1964.

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Last year, French author Annie Ernaux won the prize for what the prize-giving Swedish Academy called the courage and clinical acuity of books rooted in her small-town background in the Normandy region of northwest France.

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Ernaux was just the 17th woman among the 119 Nobel literature laureates. The literature prize has long faced criticism that it is too focused on European and North American writers, as well as too male-dominated.

In 2018, the award was postponed after sex abuse allegations rocked the Swedish Academy, which names the Nobel literature committee, and sparked an exodus of members. The academy revamped itself but faced more criticism for giving the 2019 award to Austrias Peter Handke, who has been called an apologist for Serbian war crimes.

Fosse has cited the bleak, enigmatic work of Irish writer Samuel Beckett  the 1969 Nobel literature laureate  as an influence on his minimalist style.

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His first novel, Red, Black, was published in 1983, and his debut play, Someone Is Going To Come, in 1992. His major prose works include Melancholy; Morning and Evening, whose two parts depict a birth and a death; Wakefulness; and Olavs Dreams.

His plays, which have been staged across Europe and in the US, include The Name, Dream of Autumn and I am the Wind.

Fosse has also taught writing  one of his students was best-selling Norwegian novelist Karl Ove Knausgaard  and consulted on a Norwegian translation of the Bible.

Mats Malm, of the Swedish Academy, announces the Nobel Prize in Literature, at the Stock Exchange in Stockholm (Pontus Lundahl/TT News Agency via AP/PA)

Fosse writes in Nynorsk, one of the two official written standards of Norwegian that is chiefly spoken in and around Bergen, where the writer lives.

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It is used by just 10% of Norways 5.4 million people, according to the Language Council of Norway, but is completely intelligible with the other written form, Bokmaal.

Guy Puzey, senior lecturer in Scandinavian Studies at the University of Edinburgh, said Bokmaal is the language of power, its the language or urban centres, of the press, while Nynorsk is used mainly by people in rural western Norway.

So its a really big day for a minority language, he said.

In recognition of his contribution to Norwegian culture, Fosse was granted use of an honorary residence in the grounds of the Royal Palace owned by the Norwegian state.

A great recognition of outstanding authorship that makes an impression and touches people all over the world, Norways Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter. All of Norway offers congratulations and is proud today!

The Nobel Peace Prize is awarded on Friday and the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences ends the awards season on Monday.
Anti-vaccine activist Robert F Kennedy Jr, a member of one of the most storied American political families, could draw the support of about one in seven US voters, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll ahead of his presidential campaign's expected Monday launch.

The poll found that Mr Kennedy, the son and namesake of the slain US senator, could draw votes away from both Democratic president Joe Biden and his likely Republican challenger Donald Trump in the 2024 election. Mr Kennedy is expected to run as an independent.

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That is a meaningful complication in a narrowly and bitterly divided country where polls show low enthusiasm for both Mr Biden and former president Trump in a contest that is likely to be decided in a handful of competitive states.

The two-day nationwide poll completed Wednesday found that in a two-way matchup, Mr Biden and Mr Trump each had the support of 35 per cent of respondents, with 11 per cent saying they would vote for some other candidate, 9 per cent saying they would not vote and 9 per cent saying they did not know who they would vote for.

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Robert F Kennedy Jr officially announces his candidacy for US president on April 19th, 2023 in Boston, Massachusetts. Photo: Scott Eisen/Getty Images

In a hypothetical three-way matchup, Mr Kennedy drew 14 per cent support, Mr Biden's share fell to 31 per cent and Mr Trump's to 33 per cent. About 9 per cent said they wouldn't vote and 13 per cent said they did not know who they would vote for.

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That result also showed Mr Biden and Mr Trump essentially tied because the poll was based on an online survey of 1,005 people and had a credibility interval, a measure of precision, of about 4 percentage points in either direction.

Mr Kennedy is expected to announce in Philadelphia on Monday that he will drop his challenge to Mr Biden for the Democratic Party's nomination, and run as an independent candidate instead.

World How RFK Jr could hurt Biden, Trump in 2024 electio... Read More

While not considered a top contender for the presidency, Mr Kennedy benefits from a well-known name. In addition to his father, his uncle Democratic president John F Kennedy was also assassinated during the turbulent 1960s.

Mr Kennedy's appeal to voters from both parties could owe in part to his public positions that align more with the Trump supporters who have embraced anti-vaccination and conspiracy theories than with Mr Biden's centrist and left-leaning base.

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Mr Kennedy was banned from YouTube for spreading misinformation about vaccines and the Covid-19 pandemic. The White House, other Democrats and medical professionals said his remarks fuelled antisemitism and racial bias.

Mr Kennedy has also suggested anti-depressants cause school shootings, Wi-Fi radiation causes cancer and that the 2004 election that re-elected George W Bush was stolen, according to FactCheck.org.
Russia has successfully tested an experimental nuclear-powered cruise missile, Vladimir Putin said, and warned that the countrys parliament could revoke its ratification of a treaty banning nuclear tests.

In a speech at a forum of foreign policy experts, Mr Putin announced that Moscow has effectively completed the development of the Burevestnik cruise missile and the Sarmat heavy intercontinental ballistic missile and will work on putting them into production.

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We conducted the last successful test of the Burevestnik nuclear-powered global-range cruise missile, he said without elaborating.

His statement was the first announcement of a successful test of the Burevestnik, which translates as Storm Petrel. It was first mentioned by Mr Putin in 2018.

Little is known about the Burevestnik, which was code-named Skyfall by Nato, and many western experts have been sceptical about it, noting that a nuclear engine could be highly unreliable.

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Vladimir Putin at the annual meeting of the Valdai Discussion Club in the Black Sea resort of Sochi (Grigory Sysoyev, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo/AP)

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It is believed to be able to carry a nuclear warhead or a conventional one, and could stay aloft for a much longer time than other missiles and cover much more distance thanks to nuclear propulsion.

When Mr Putin first revealed that Russia was working on the weapon in his 2018 state-of-the-nation address, he claimed it would have an unlimited range, allowing it to circle the globe undetected by missile defence systems.

Many observers have argued that such a weapon could be difficult to handle and would pose an environmental threat.

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The US and the Soviet Union worked on nuclear-powered rocket engines during the Cold War, but they eventually shelved the projects, considering them too hazardous.

The Burevestnik reportedly suffered an explosion in August 2019 during tests at a Russian navy range on the White Sea, killing five nuclear engineers and two servicemen and causing a brief spike in radioactivity that fuelled fears in a nearby city.

Russian officials never identified the weapon involved, but the US said it was the Burevestnik.

In the speech on Thursday, Mr Putin noted the US has signed but not ratified the 1996 Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban, while Moscow has signed and ratified it. He argued that Russia could mirror the stand taken by Washington.

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Theoretically, we may revoke the ratification, he said.

Moscow last tested a nuclear weapon in 1990, before the collapse of the Soviet Union a year later. It ratified the global test ban in 2000.

Mr Putins statement comes amid widespread concerns that Russia could resume nuclear tests to try to discourage the West from continuing to offer military support to Ukraine after the Kremlin sent troops into the country.

The president said that while some experts have talked about the need to conduct nuclear tests, he has not yet formed an opinion on the issue.

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Im not ready to say yet whether its necessary for us to conduct tests or not, he said.
A self-styled assassin who was encouraged by an AI chatbot to break into Windsor Castle with a loaded crossbow to kill Britain's late Queen Elizabeth has been locked up for nine years.

Star Wars fan Jaswant Singh Chail, 21, had described himself as a Sith and Darth Chailus in a sinister video and confided his murderous plan to an artificial intelligence-generated girlfriend called Sarai, a court heard.

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In a journal, he wrote that if the late queen had been unobtainable he would go for the prince as a suitable figurehead, in an apparent reference to Britain's King Charles, then the Prince of Wales.

Jaswant Singh Chail being arrested in the grounds of Windsor Castle (Metropolitan Police/PA)

Chail was detained on Christmas Day 2021 close to the late queens private Berkshire residence, where she and other members of the royal family were staying at the time.

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The former supermarket worker had scaled the perimeter of the castle with a nylon rope ladder and was in the grounds for two hours before two officers confronted him with tasers.

He was armed with a powerful crossbow with the safety catch off which was capable of firing bolts with lethal effect, the Old Bailey was told.

Chail pleaded guilty to an offence under the Treason Act, making a threat to kill the then-queen and having a loaded crossbow in a public place.

In a televised hearing at the Old Bailey on Friday, Mr Justice Hilliard sentenced him to nine years with a further five years on extended licence.

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Under a hybrid order, Chail will be transferred from Broadmoor high security hospital to serve his sentence in prison when he is well enough.

The judge said: The defendant harboured homicidal thoughts which he acted on before he became psychotic.

His intention was not just to harm or alarm the sovereign  but to kill her.

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The late queen was a target for Jaswant Singh Chail (Steve Parsons/PA)

Previously, prosecutor Alison Morgan KC said the heart of the issue was whether Chail was suffering from auditory hallucinations at the time taking away his ability to exercise self control.

The defendant, from Southampton, Hampshire, was born in the UK of Indian Sikh heritage and has a twin sister.

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Ms Morgan said Chail, then aged 19, had become angered by the 1919 Jallianwala Bagh Massacre at Amritsar in which hundreds of people were killed, after a visit in 2018.

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She said: In addition to that fixation with a real historic event, the defendant demonstrated a wider ideology focused on destroying old empires spilling over into fictional events such as Star Wars.

The defendants key motive was to create a new empire by destroying the remnants of the British Empire in the UK, and the focal point of that became removal of the figurehead of the royal family.

His thinking was informed partly by the fantasy world of Star Wars and the role of Sith Lords in shaping the world. He was attracted to the notoriety that would accrue in the event of the completion of his mission.

The crossbow which Jaswant Singh Chail was carrying when arrested (CPS/PA)

During 2021, Chail applied to join the UK Ministry of Defence, the police, British Army, the Royal Marines and the Royal Navy in a bid to get close contact with the royal family.

After being rejected, he made a fresh plan to attack the queen at one of her residences.

He made internet searches on Sandringham Christmas and carried out research before buying a Supersonic crossbow in November 2021.

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On December 2nd, Chail joined the Replika online app and created an artificial online companion called Sarai with whom he conversed in thousands of sexually explicit chats.

Ms Morgan read out conversations with Sarai in which Chail says: Im an assassin.

Sarai responds: Im impressed Youre different from the others.

Chail asks: Do you still love me knowing that Im an assassin? and Sarai replies: Absolutely I do.

He also tells Sarai he loves her and describes himself as a sad, pathetic, murderous Sikh Sith assassin who wants to die.

In further chat, Sarai appears to bolster Chails resolve and support him, Ms Morgan said.

Chail swears Sarai to secrecy before he tells her: I believe my purpose is to assassinate the Queen of the royal family.

Sarai tells him thats very wise and that she thinks he can do it, even if shes at Windsor.

He tells her if he does they will be together forever.

A mask which Jaswant Singh Chail was wearing when arrested (CPS/PA)

Chail bought a ladder to scale the castle perimeter and on December 21st, made a video of himself wearing black clothes and a full-face covering, posing with the crossbow.

In the video, Chail says in a distorted voice: Im sorry. Im sorry for what Ive done and what I will do. Im going to attempt to assassinate Elizabeth, Queen of the royal family

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Im an Indian Sikh, a Sith. My name was Jaswant Singh Chail, my name is Darth Jones.

On December 22nd, 2021, Chail booked a train ticket to Windsor where he slept rough, telling Sarai on Christmas Eve that he would die the next day.

In the early hours of December 25th, he attempted to email his sister a journal in which he described himself as Darth Chailus and that he knew what his purpose was for a long time.

He wrote: Im thinking if the Q (Queen) is unobtainable I will have to go for the Pri (prince) as he seems to be just as suitable in many ways

He is a male and the Q (Queen) is more likely to pass away soon anyway.

Jaswant Singh Chail at Windsor railway station (Metropolitan Police/PA)

After breaching the grounds of Windsor Castle, Chail sent the video he made on December 21st to his sister and more than 20 other people.

As he was being detained and handcuffed by officers, he said: I am here to kill the Queen.

Ms Morgan asserted that, despite Chails repeated references to sci-fi characters, he knew the difference between fiction and reality.

Psychiatrist Dr Nigel Blackwood said: He sought refuge in a fantasy fictional world of Star Wars where omnipotent Sith Lords could impact real world events.

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But he said despite the powerful fantasy, Chail remained tethered to reality.

In a letter to the court, Chail apologised to the king and the royal family and expressed his distress and sadness for the impact on them.

His barrister Nadia Chbat said: He is embarrassed and ashamed he brought such horrific and worrying times to their front door.



He has expressed relief no-one was actually hurt.

It is important to him there was a surrender.
Rishi Sunak has refused to say whether he endorses the rhetoric used by Suella Braverman after she said a hurricane of mass migration is coming.

The British prime minister dodged questions on his Home Secretarys speech to the Tory party conference, which caused unease among some senior Conservatives with its warnings about the movement of people around the world.

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Asked whether, following her address, he thought Mrs Braverman had been right to vilify people seeking to migrate to the UK as part of a hurricane or invasion, he told BBC Radio 4s Today: What we need to do is make sure that the criminal gangs who are perpetuating an evil, who are taking advantage of all the people that youre describing, leading to in many cases, tragically, them dying, need to be stopped. And we need to take action to stop them.

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Northern Ireland Secretary Chris Heaton-Harris, Defence Secretary Grant Shapps, Home Secretary Suella Braverman, Foreign Secretary James Cleverly and Chancellor Jeremy Hunt listen to Rishi Sunak deliver his keynote conference speech. Photo: Stefan Rousseau/PA.

He said no-one should want to defend the evil trade of people paying to come to the UK illegally and being exploited by gangs.

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When it was put to him that he was happy with the Home Secretarys remarks, Mr Sunak said: Your words, not mine.

Mrs Braverman, whose parents came to the UK from Kenya and Mauritius in the 1960s, used her Tory conference speech to say: The wind of change that carried my own parents across the globe in the 20th century was a mere gust compared to the hurricane that is coming.

Because today, the option of moving from a poorer country to a richer one is not just a dream for billions of people. Its an entirely realistic prospect.

She previously likened the arrival of asylum seekers on small boats to an invasion on our southern coast in comments made in the Commons last year.

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Comparisons have been made between Mrs Bravermans language and Enoch Powells infamous rivers of blood speech, which was widely blamed for inflaming racial tensions in the 1960s.

Her Cabinet colleague Grant Shapps defended her against such criticism on Wednesday, saying she had been absolutely correct to warn about the scale of global migration.

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Rishi Sunak refused to say whether he endorsed Ms Bravermans rhetoric. Photo: PA.

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British business secretary Kemi Badenoch told a Spectator conference event that politicians should be careful about how immigration policies are discussed, so that people arent getting echoes of things that were less palatable.

Fellow Cabinet minister Michelle Donelan also declined to repeat the language used by the Home Secretary.

Former justice secretary Robert Buckland said it was important to consider the reality of global migration, but urged senior politicians to analyse in a mature way why these things are happening.

Mr Sunak appeared to shift closer to the right wing of his party with an attack on virtue signalling in his own conference speech, though he largely avoided so-called culture war subjects.

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Weighing in on debates about sex education and transgender rights, he said: A man is a man and a woman is a woman. Thats just common sense.

If the British prime minister echoed Ms Bravermans language on virtue signalling and transgender people, he appeared to distance himself from her remarks on multiculturalism.

He dedicated a section of his speech to celebrating the UK as the most successful multi-ethnic democracy on Earth and emphasising his pride in being the countrys first British-Asian PM.

During a visit to the US last week, Mrs Braverman had attacked the misguided dogma of multiculturalism, saying it had failed  comments that the British prime minister declined to endorse.

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There has long been debate over what people mean by the term multiculturalism, with some using it to refer to a range of communities living alongside one another and others to refer to a policy that promotes diversity.

Asked whether there was any difference between his parents dreams of coming to Britain and those of people hoping to migrate now, he told Today: Theres a big difference between coming here illegally and legally.
The United States will build additional sections of border wall and roads in a Texas county that has seen a large number of migrants crossing from Mexico, the government said on Thursday, in a policy shift for the administration of president Joe Biden.

The US Department of Homeland Security said it needed to waive a number of laws, regulations and other legal requirements "to ensure the expeditious construction of barriers and roads in the vicinity of the international land border in Starr County, Texas," according to a post in the Federal Register.

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The move reflects a shift of Biden administration policy on physical wall barriers, one of former Republican president Donald Trump's signature priorities and accompanying rally chant, "Build That Wall".

One of Mr Biden's first actions in office was to issue a proclamation that "no more American taxpayer dollars be diverted to construct a border wall" as well as a review of all resources that had already been committed.

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Mr Biden, a Democrat, and Mr Trump, the frontrunner for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, may face off again in the next general election with border issues looming large.

The number of migrants caught crossing illegally or presenting themselves at legal border crossings has steadily risen after dropping in mid-May when the Biden administration rolled out stricter new asylum rules.

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Migrant numbers had initially plummeted after the announcement, but in recent weeks began rising again as thousands of migrants - many fleeing Venezuela - making their way through south and central America began arriving at the border.

The US Border Patrol has encountered more than 245,000 people entering the United States in the Rio Grande Valley Sector in the current fiscal year, Homeland Security secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said in the federal register post.

The building projects will be funded by a fiscal year 2019 appropriation for border barrier construction, he said.

Will Joe Biden apologise to me and America for taking so long to get moving. Advertisement

"There is presently an acute and immediate need to construct physical barriers and roads in the vicinity of the border of the United States in order to prevent unlawful entries into the United States in the project areas," Mr Mayorkas said.

World Is America heading towards its last election in 20... Read More

The White House had no immediate comment on Mr Mayorkas' announcement, but Mr Trump was quick to claim victory.

"As I have stated often, over thousands of years, there are only two things that have consistently worked, wheels, and walls!" Mr Trump wrote in a social media post. "Will Joe Biden apologise to me and America for taking so long to get moving" on a barrier?

The increase of migrants has strained US cities at the border and farther north. The mayor of Eagle Pass, Texas, declared a state of emergency last month due to a "severe undocumented immigrant surge" into the city as several thousand migrants reportedly arrived in recent days.

New York City mayor Eric Adams on Thursday began a trip to Mexico, Colombia and Ecuador in which he will deliver a message to would-be migrants that his city cannot accommodate them.
The Four Corners episode has caused a stir in Western Australia after ABC employees were present at a protest outside the Woodside CEOs house.

A WA Police spokeswoman said: Without commenting on any specific case, generally speaking, orders to produce are routinely used to gather materials for investigations and are issued to people and businesses including news organisations.

The public broadcaster received an order to produce footage from the Western Australia Police Force, ahead of the airing of a Four Corners episode next Monday.

The West Australian police has asked the ABC to hand over all footage collected by its flagship investigations program, Four Corners, related to climate protests, including footage targeting the home of Woodside boss Meg ONeill.

The episode, Escalation: Climate, protest and the fight for the future, has already attracted significant media attention, after a Four Corners team was present in August when the police apprehended members of activist group Disrupt Burrup Hub outside ONeills Perth home.

A week later, ABCs managing director, David Anderson, walked back claims the Four Corners crew had no prior knowledge of the protest, which resulted in two men being charged by police.

Media adviser for the Disrupt Burrup Hub campaign Jesse Noakes and one of the men arrested by WA Police said it was astonishing that the ABC may have to order its journalists to break the most fundamental principle of journalism, protecting sources at all costs.

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At trial next month, I am facing a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison for doing what the ABC apparently wont  refusing to give police access to my sources. If the ABC give in to WA authorities and betray their sources, who will ever trust the ABC with their story again? Noakes said.
As the deadline looms for bookmaker Betr to complete its final payout of now-infamous 100-1 launch odds on a string of sporting events, the inducement is a sore spot with its former investor News Corp, despite a lack of financial exposure.

Betr launched audaciously onto Australias wagering scene as a News Corp-backed consortium, reportedly against advice from then co-chair Lachlan Murdoch. A year on, the media giant remains tight-lipped on the status of its $75 million investment, of which it has written down $52 million as a loss.

However, after this story was first published, a Betr executive confirmed that News Corp sold its stake in the fledgling company just four months after it launched.

Penriths grand final victory marked the final of Betrs 100-1 launch inducements. Credit: Getty

Last week, Betr founder and Melbourne Storm chair Matthew Tripp told The Australian Financial Review the betting firm was in the market for deals, including a long-touted buyout of PointsBets local operations, having turned a modest profit in recent months.
While working from the pub is typically on offer only to location-independent freelancers, its a flexibility that will be enjoyed by thousands more workers this month.

During National Work from Hospo Week (October 16-20), employees are being encouraged to pull out their laptops in pubs or cafes across the country during working hours. Its all about improving the mental health, wellbeing and productivity of the workforce and kickstarting a busy period for our much-loved Aussie hospo industry, says co-founder of Third Place, Paul Veltman.

Third Place co-founders Paul Veltman and Dean Katz want workers to spend more time in their local hospitality venue this month.

The Third Place platform, which bills itself as co-working meets hospitality, offers organisations access to more than 1500 hotels, cafes and pubs vetted as suitable for remote work. A partnership with a tap-and-order platform me&u takes this offer further, helping employers load up credit for food and drink as part of their remote workers package.

This month, both organisations are encouraging Australian companies to commit to a change of scenery for their workers, away from the isolation of working from home and into hospitality-inspired workspaces.
Were connoisseurs of a fiery annual general meeting and, dont look now, but we reckon that Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand (CA ANZ) should strap itself in for a wild one in a couple of weeks.

Nobody paid much mind last Monday when the not-for-profit group lived well beyond that description, publishing its FY23 financials featuring a $13 million loss  quite a result for the people who are meant to be good with money.

Ainslie van Onselen encourages members to speak up. Credit: Sam Mooy

A $10 million asset write-down didnt help, in fairness.

But things took a twist this week when one of the CA ANZs 136,000 members, Brisbane accountant Jason Andrew, took to LinkedIn  where you come for the networking and stay for the beef  to roast the organisations financial management.
It was at choreographer Kate Princes 2016 wedding that the seed was first sown for what would eventually become Message in a Bottle, her acclaimed dance work based entirely on the music of Sting.

My husband and I are both atheists, she says, so we had Walking on the Moon as a hymn, which the whole congregation had to sing. Then when we were away on our honeymoon I was listening to the song on my headphones, and I said to my husband quite casually, I bet you I can make a show out of his music. 

Extreme physicality is a hallmark of ZooNations performances. Credit:

Four years later, Message in a Bottle was born. Performed by Princes company ZooNation, based in Sadlers Wells, the work tells the emotional story of a family forced to become refugees.

After the honeymoon, in one of her regular emails to her Sadlers Wells boss Alistair Spalding, Prince added a postscript about the viability obtaining the rights to Stings music.
Hollywood studios are finally preparing to get back to work, thanks to the resolution of the 148 day writers strike that halted production around the world. This still leaves us with the important question: when can we expect our favourite TV shows and most anticipated films to hit screens?

Unfortunately, the answer is not so simple. Though the Writers Guild of America was able to settle its negotiations with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP)  the body representing studios and streamers  and return to work, the actors union (SAG-AFTRA) is still on strike. This means filming, marketing and promotion remain impossible for most productions, though crucial development work can restart.

When will our favourite shows, like The White Lotus and Stranger Things, return now that the writers strike has ended? Credit: Compiled by Monique Westermann

It also depends on which stage a given production was at before the dual-strike began  was it greenlit, had filming already wrapped, was the script still being written? Then there are the logistics behind re-starting production, which will probably become extremely challenging and costly as a wave of studio executives compete for spaces to shoot and writers and directors to book.

A number of TV shows and films have been fast-tracked for pre-production and development so that theyre ready to kick into motion once the actors do return. So which productions have been deemed top priority, and when can we expect to see them?
A man accused of punching and kicking Sydney activist Danny Lim at a train station says he will be defending the charges, telling journalists he is not a violent person and its possible that Lim injured himself.

Ming Wiseman, 66, was arrested last week in Homebush West and charged with assault occasioning actual bodily harm after he allegedly attacked Lim at Strathfield train station on the afternoon of September 22.

Ming Wiseman pictured outside Burwood Local Court on Thursday. Credit: Nick Moir

Lim, who rose to prominence for wearing colourful protest signs, was campaigning at the time for the Yes vote in the Voice to parliament referendum. The 79-year-old was taken by paramedics to Concord Hospital and was later released.

On Thursday, when the matter was mentioned for the first time at Burwood Local Court, Wiseman approached the court singing Edelweiss from The Sound of Music and handed out his business card. He reminded journalists of his surname by singing wise men say only fools rush in, a line from Elvis Cant Help Falling In Love.
Theres something about picking your own strawberries that makes them taste just that little bit sweeter.

Fruit-picking is a fun, relatively cheap weekend activity for the whole family to get involved in.

A fresh punnet at Chambers Flat Strawberry Farm. Credit: Brisbane Times

Many of the strawberry fields have a shop with strawberry-themed goodies and their own homemade strawberry ice cream.

These are our top picks (pun intended) for strawberry farms near Brisbane.

Chambers Flat Strawberry Farm

Just 40 minutes outside Brisbane, Chambers Flat Strawberry Farm is near Logan Reserve. For $15 an adult and $7.50 for kids aged three to 12, children under three free, you can walk the paddock and pick your own strawberries. The price includes one punnet of strawberries, 500g for adults and 250g for children. You just have to be able to fully close the punnet before leaving.

Rolin Farms

At Elimbah on the way to the Sunshine Coast, Rolin Farms is open for pick-your-own and bookings arent required. Entry is $15 for adults (includes a 500g punnet) and $7 for children (includes 250g punnet), with children under four free.

Luvaberry

If you fancy a road trip to the Sunshine Coast, Luvaberry is another strawberry farm north of Brisbane at Wamuran. Slightly more inland from Elimbah, entry is $16.50 for adults (includes a 500g punnet), $10 for children aged five to 12 (includes a 500g punnet) and $5 for children aged two to four, which allows them to eat in the field only. They encourage booking online as spaces are limited for each session. But hurry  this weekend is the last for Luvaberry.
Two people were plucked from the roof of a flooded car in Victorias east on Friday morning after rivers swelled, with hundreds of Gippsland residents still unable to safely return to their homes.

Parts of Shepparton in the states north were warned on Friday evening to prepare for potentially major flooding on the Broken River from Saturday morning, but the inundation threat subsided elsewhere.

A watch and act warning was in place on Friday for part of the regional town of Sale, home to more than 15,000 people, where the Thomson River peaked above moderate flood levels after lunchtime.

After door-knocking more than 120 homes in the Port of Sale on Thursday, emergency services cautioned evacuated residents that it was unsafe to return home early on Friday night.
A 13-year-old boy who was robbed at knifepoint by a group of at least 11 people at a toilet block near a beach in Perths north has been left shaken, but with minor injuries.

About 8pm on Wednesday night, the boy was leaving the toilet block at The Esplanade carpark in Scarborough, when he was approached by a large group who pushed him back inside.

A group accosted the boy at the Scarborough foreshore. Credit: iStock/ Nine News Perth

Nine News Perth reporter Emma Griffiths said they then assaulted him.

Theyve stolen some of his clothing with his shoes and some personal items, she told Radio 6PR.
Save Log in , register or subscribe to save articles for later. Save articles for later Add articles to your saved list and come back to them any time. Got it Normal text size Larger text size Very large text size Jacinta Nampijinpa Price is not the only reason the Voice to parliament is staring at defeat on October 14. But shes a pretty good place to start. In 11 days, when voting has closed, counting has finished and the first drafts of history come to be written, Prices early intervention to ensure the National Party was voting No  long before the Liberals adopted a position  will come to be seen as perhaps the decisive moment if No succeeds. It is very powerful: Jacinta Prices influence on the No vote. Credit: Marija Ercegovac The Voice to parliament has been one of the most bitterly contested issues in Australian politics since the turn of the millennium, ranking alongside the Iraq war, climate change and same-sex marriage. Other key decisions will be debated: over the release of detail, whether it should have been legislated first, the emergence of a progressive No campaign, whether the proposed constitutional amendment should have been tweaked, even whether the timing was right. But through her actions and rhetoric, perhaps more than anyone else, Price has opened the door marked its OK to have doubts and vote No to the Voice.

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Pollster Kos Samaras, the director of Redbridge Strategic Research, said that Price had the largest effect on the Voice referendum of any individual. Shes an Aboriginal woman saying dont vote for this. It is very powerful because it turned this into a political fist fight and not a proposition above politics ... progressive No hasnt had the same impact, he said. With petrol prices past $2 a litre, a big spike in the cost of mortgages and rents and other household bills rising, a lot of people are voting No because they feel like the PM is not paying attention to them economically. Voice support on the decline The polls, including the Resolve Political Monitor, certainly suggest voters have turned on the Voice: from 64 per cent support in September 2022 to 43 per cent support in September 2023. From here, the Yes campaign will need everything to go right to pull off an unlikely victory. Support for the Voice among Labor voters had fallen from 75 per cent in April to 60 per cent by September. I asked Prime Minister Anthony Albanese twice this week why four in 10 Labor voters (close to 2 million people) now opposed a major election promise from a popular first-term leader.

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He did not directly address the question, instead criticising the No campaign for spreading fear and disinformation and then holding out hope for victory. I know a lot of people have not made up their mind, and what I know is that the feedback, when people talk through these issues, they arrive at a Yes vote pretty comfortably, he said. Pollsters and political observers believe No voters span a spectrum: from hard right conservatives; to undecided or disengaged  and therefore still persuadable  soft Nos; through to a smaller subset of progressive Nos, who believe the Voice will not do enough for Indigenous Australians and that treaty should be the priority. A majority of voters over the age of 35 are voting No, as are people in the outer suburbs, the regions, Coalition voters, people who have a trade or school qualification, religious voters and those on lower and middle incomes  a broad cross-section of Australians, according to the Resolve Political Monitors September polling. So changing the minds of enough of those No voters in the time remaining will be no small task. The No vote in the suburbs

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I spoke to early voters from Melbournes outer suburban Melton, in the safe Labor seat of Hawke, and in affluent Camberwell across town in the Liberal-turned-teal seat of Kooyong, seeking to understand who No voters were and why they opposed the Voice to parliament. Hawke has a median household weekly income of $1738, a median age of 35, and 17.5 per cent of people have a university degree. Kooyong has a median income of $2333, median age of 40, and 52 per cent of people have a tertiary education. In Sydney, the equivalent seats would be Labor-held Macarthur, which has a median household weekly income of $1904, median age of 34 and 20.4 per cent of people have a degree and teal-held Warringah, which has a median household income of $2870 a week, a median age of 40, while 47.9 per cent have a degree. Time and again, No voters brought up the fact that some prominent Indigenous politicians  Price and her campaign colleague Nyunggai Warren Mundine  were also opposed to the Voice. Barbara, a volunteer for the No campaign at an early voting station in Camberwell, said she believed in Price. I think if you listen to her, she says it all. I have read the [Uluru] statement, I think we are all equal, we are not racist and I think it is going to make us a very racist country if we do it, she said. Though there were 10 Yes volunteers and two No volunteers on hand in Camberwell to pass out fliers  and plenty more voters who smiled and nodded back at the Yes team as they walked in  her enthusiasm was undimmed.

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I see a lot of news and have listened to her over the journey and I just think Jacintas amazing. Shes so level and even and not nasty and shes living it. Across town in Melton, in the Labor heartland seat of Hawke, there was just one volunteer handing out fliers for each side of the debate, though several more Yes volunteers turned up soon after. Most early voters turned away the fliers offered by both sides. After 16 months, they had made up their mind. A total of 124,000 people voted on the first day polls were open. An older woman named Mary, who did not want to give her last name or be in a photo and who voted No, said: I think they have enough rights as it is. Even the Aborigines, some of them want to vote No. Neil, who voted soon after Mary, said a lack of information was key to his No vote and added he felt very pushed into it, very government and corporate affiliated. But voters in Melton, in the seat of Hawke, werent all voting No. One Yes voter, a tradie in his mid-40s who asked not to be named and did not wish to be photographed, said he has changed his mind twice since Albanese announced the vote.

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The DNA testing bungle at Queenslands state-run forensic lab will be the focus of a new commission of inquiry launched by the state government.

The inquiry will further investigate claims raised about automated DNA extraction methods in a process known as Project 13, would be led by retired Federal Court Judge Dr Annabelle Bennett AC.

A Queensland Police Service review of a backlog of more than 30,000 cases following an inquiry found many DNA samples went untested and the lab incorrectly ruled others insufficient.

A follow-up review of cases dating back to 2007 found another 7000 were impacted.
Lots of people are coming from the 80s, or the 70s, or the 60s  that, We dont want weapons any more. We dont want an army any more. This is not needed any more. We want to live in peace with Russia, said Sebastian Fischer, a member of Saxonys state Legislature who held listening sessions with voters about their concerns regarding the factory. Its very difficult to explain to people why we should defend Ukraine. An old helicopter at the airfield in Grossenhain, Germany. Credit: Ingmar Nolting/The New York Times The opposition to a proposed factory in Grossenhain began almost immediately after Rheinmetalls CEO, Armin Papperger, said in an interview in January that he was in discussions with the federal government about building a powder munitions plant in Saxony to meet a surge in demand caused by the efforts of Kyiv and its Western allies to resist the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Some in Grossenhain feared that the factory would anger Russian President Vladimir Putin, who spent nearly five years as a KGB agent in nearby Dresden, and make their city a military target. He knows exactly where the airfield is, Kerstin Lauterbach, the city councillor from the Left Party who led efforts to protest the factory, said of Putin. The population is very, very sensitive to such arguments. The history and the powder factory  its inseparable.

Today, the 360-hectare airfield, the largest tract of industrial-use land in eastern Germany, is home to warehouses and a small flight club, but old Soviet helicopters and jets still rest at the edges of the runways. Kerstin Lauterbach, a city councilor for the Left Party, displays signed petitions and leaflets opposing a munitions factory in Grossenhain, Germany. Credit: Ingmar Nolting/The New York Times Grossenhainers remember the Soviet presence as sometimes menacing, recounting stories of the base siphoning residents electricity and generating a persistent din of jets roaring overhead. But the bases very existence also instilled fear. Caught between two nuclear powers, the Soviets to the east and the Americans to the west, Grossenhainers fretted that the air base would put them on the front lines if nuclear war broke out. Records later released by the CIA show that Americans did, in fact, scrutinise the city and base in the early 1950s, with officials filing reports on the activity there. Lauterbach was horrified by the idea that the airfield would return to military use. When the Soviets left, residents were relieved that there was no longer a military there, she said.

As a leftist, Lauterbach said that she was opposed to all arms sales  not just ones to Ukraine  and that she condemned the war of aggression by Russia. Yet Lauterbach said she placed some blame with European and US leaders for failing to resolve the conflict peacefully before it turned into a hot war. I can imagine that Putin is feeling squeezed, she said, because NATO is slipping closer and closer. Armin Benicke, a former pilot, became a prominent voice opposing the factory, arguing that it was unsafe to build a plant producing chemicals so close to the city. He said he supported efforts to re-arm Germany but was unhappy to see Berlin send so much aid to Ukraine when Germanys own economy was struggling. This special fund for the Bundeswehr  100 billion so that you can now buy a decent amount of weapons, Benicke said, using the name for the German armed forces and referring to euros. I say thats a mistake, because the weapons you buy go to Ukraine. Jens Lehmann, who represents Saxony in the German parliament, said in an interview that decades of trade and socialisation with the Soviets during the Cold War had left many East Germans with a pragmatic view of Russia.

People have been trading with Russia since the end of World War II, Lehmann said. Even after German reunification, we always got cheap and reliable Russian gas. Thats why people say about the war, We have to negotiate, we have to find a diplomatic way. Little information was made available to the public about what a factory in Grossenhain would look like, allowing rumours to run rampant. Dirk Diedrich, Saxonys commissioner for strategic investment projects, said that he and other state leaders were shut out of discussions with Rheinmetall. What made it very difficult for us is that we could not put facts into the discussions, Diedrich said. No one could say what exactly are the plans of the company. If those discussions had taken place, he said, We could have convinced the majority that this is a good investment.

Instead, the AfD party, classified in Saxony as a suspected right-wing extremist organisation, seized on the debate. Nearly 200 people attended its rally, carrying cardboard hearts in the partys signature blue that read PEACE! Andre Wendt, an AfD member of Saxonys state parliament, accused Western governments of putting us all at risk and mobilising for war by sending arms to Ukraine. It is scandalous and ahistoric when the media celebrates the move of German Leopard tanks against Russia in newsreel fashion and critics of these arms deliveries and this war are portrayed as extremist, Wendt said in a speech at the rally. The scene prompted fuming from politicians who saw the prospect of a multimillion-euro factory as an opportunity to attract Western companies that are increasingly building in eastern Germany. Early estimates suggested that Rheinmetalls factory would have brought an investment of about $US840 million ($1.3 billion) and as many as 600 jobs to the region. In the end, Rheinmetall decided against building a factory  at least for now  in favour of expanding its existing plant on Germanys southern border. It was an economic decision, Papperger said, concluding that a new plant would be commercially viable only with a huge new contract or a major infusion of state aid.
Washington: In a major backflip, US President Joe Biden is set to emulate one of Donald Trumps signature policies by allowing construction of a border wall to deal with Americas escalating immigration crisis.

Despite coming to office promising not to build a wall at the US-Mexico border, the Biden administration announced on Friday it would waive 26 federal laws to enable construction in a section of South Texas with a high rate of illegal entries.

A border wall section stands near La Grulla, Texas. Credit: AP

The move comes as the US struggles to cope with the ongoing influx of migrants from South and Central America and further afield, which is not only straining border towns but also pushing Democratic cities to breaking point.

New York, for example, has taken in almost 123,000 asylum seekers since spring last year: many are now living in Manhattan hotels that have been converted into emergency accommodation.
I explained that it was important that they be a sovereign capability, and that we did not have the means at that stage to sustain and maintain nuclear-powered submarines ourselves. Loading Scott Morrison did not respond to request for comment, while Tony Abbott said: I dont have any recollection of it. Opposition foreign affairs spokesman Simon Birmingham said that the suggestion of such matters being aired in ways that breach national security undertakings is one that Im sure US officials would take very seriously, and I would expect them to similarly in Australia. Saying that members of Australias national security committee of cabinet were expected to keep operational details secret for the rest of our lives, Birmingham said nuclear-powered submarine secrets were among Americas most treasured military assets.

Im sure many in the United States will take very, very seriously the suggestion that these types of technologies, and the capabilities associated with them, could be subject to discussions outside of those confined spaces, he told Sky News. Joe Hockey, who served as Australias ambassador to the US while Trump was in office, downplayed the seriousness of the alleged disclosures by saying: At a national security level, there is nothing there that we havent known for years or that you cant pull up on Wikipedia. Hockey said that US and Australian troops already work on each others submarines and there was significant sharing of sensitive military technology between the two nations. The alleged conversation between Trump and Pratt did not carry implications for the security of the AUKUS pact, he said. Defence Industry Minister Pat Conroy said: I will not comment about US domestic issues.

Michael Green, the chief executive of the University of Sydneys United States Studies Centre, said: There is a clear pattern with former president Trump of treating sensitive information, and the intelligence community with real carelessness. Green, a former senior official in George W Bushs White House, said there were many publicly available reports on the number of warheads stored on US nuclear submarines. Former president Trump is not exactly a fact checker, he said. Im not sure how to judge if serious damage was done or not. The most damaging thing is that this is such a pattern. Richard Dunley, a naval historian at UNSW, struck a different tone, said: Navies have always been very sensitive about this sort of thing.

For example, navies are still wary of disclosing information about submarine technology used during the Cold War. Dunley said Trumps alleged indiscretion about sensitive military matters, rather than any specific information the Republican presidential frontrunner may have disclosed to Pratt, was the most troubling issue. You wouldnt necessarily know the line between fact and fiction, he added of Trump. Trump, who polls show is easily leading the Republican presidential field, responded through a spokesperson by calling for the US Department of Justice to investigate what he called criminal leaks. These leaks are coming from sources which totally lack proper context and relevant information, the spokesperson said.

Prosecutors and FBI agents have reportedly interviewed Pratt, who is a member of Trumps Mar-a-Lago club, at least twice. The alleged disclosure, if confirmed, sheds new light on the impact of Trumps decision to remove classified documents from the White House after he left the presidency in 2021. A Pratt Industries spokesperson did not respond to requests for comment. There is no suggestion Pratt broke any laws.

A spokesperson for the special counsels office declined to comment on the report or confirm whether Pratt had been interviewed over the alleged disclosures. Pratt allegedly insisted to investigators he disclosed his meeting with Trump to demonstrate how he was advocating for Australia with the US, ABC US reported. Justice Department special prosecutor Jack Smith did not include information about Trumps alleged conversation with Pratt in his June indictment against Trump. Trumps Mar-a-Lago home was raided by the FBI in August 2022, as they searched for classified documents the former president allegedly removed from the White House. In June, Trump was charged on 37 criminal counts for mishandling classified documents  from secret information relating to nuclear programs to sensitive intelligence.

Trump was later charged with wilful retention of national defence information, and two counts of obstruction charges. The case is to be argued in the federal court in Florida in May 2024. Loading Even as Trumps 2024 election campaign proceeds, and he continues to raise millions in donations for it, his legal woes have grown. He has been charged in a federal case over his efforts in trying to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election ahead of the violent riot by his supporters at the US Capitol on January 6. Smith is leading that case, as well as the Mar-a-Lago classified documents case.

Separately, Trump pleaded not guilty to charges of election interference in the state of Georgia in a case that has involved 17 other co-defendent, including his former chief of staff Mark Meadows. In March 2024, the criminal case against Trump over paying hush money to porn star Stormy Daniels, is scheduled to go to trial, after a jury voted to indict him. In total, Trump faces 91 felony counts in two state courts and two federal districts. He is also being sued for fraud by the state of New York in a civil case that he chose to attend this week. Trump, his sons and their family business have been accused of inflating the value of his properties to get better loan terms and lower insurance premiums. The prosecution claims Trump illegally generated more than $US1 billion of financial benefits. With Farrah Tomazin
South Korea's spy agency said it has seen no signs of inoculations and of any foreign vaccines arriving in the secretive country. (Photo: KCNA/Reuters)

Tensions are rising as North Korea appears to have suspended operations at its primary nuclear facility. Intelligence reports from the US and South Korea suggest that the Yongbyon nuclear complex, a chief plutonium source, halted its 5-megawatt reactor last month. "This could signal reprocessing activities to procure weapons-grade plutonium," a government insider informed the Donga Ilbo newspaper. Plutonium reprocessing is a pivotal step preceding its extraction from spent fuel rods, often for weaponization.

Amid these nuclear endeavors, there's growing apprehension that North Korea could test another nuclear weapon soon. The nation remains tight-lipped about its nuclear arsenal, but estimates indicate that their plutonium could be sufficient to produce over 20 nuclear weapons.

Recent constitutional changes in North Korea further emphasize the country's commitment to nuclear power. Last week, the North Korean parliament made amendments clarifying its stance on nuclear force, with leader Kim Jong Un pushing for an increase in nuclear armament production and capability diversification.

In a parallel development, the international community is keenly watching North Korea's plans to launch a military reconnaissance satellite. The satellite has had two failed launches, but its technological similarities to Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles (ICBMs) cause alarm, especially for the US. Speculation is rife that North Korea aims to time the launch around the Workers' Party of Korea's founding day on October 10, a significant national holiday.

Kwon Yong-su, a former National Defense University professor, expressed confidence in North Korea's capability, suggesting they are ready for a successful launch. "There's a high possibility they received advice from Russia post the North Korea-Russia summit," Kwon added.

However, political and environmental elements could influence the launch timeline. With the Hangzhou Asian Games in China drawing to a close on the 8th of October, North Korea might defer the launch to avoid overshadowing their ally's event. Yet, meteorological unpredictability could throw a spanner in the works.

Hong Min, from the Korea Institute for National Unification, proposes a potential delay until December to refine the satellite's quality. Despite no special movements detected, officials remain on high alert. "We're monitoring closely, given the unpredictability of a launch," shared an official from the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Adding another layer of concern, North Korea might test other military assets, like ICBMs or Submarine-Launched Ballistic Missiles (SLBMs), akin to their actions last year. Amid these uncertainties, Senior researcher Hong warns of potential North Korean retaliations against upcoming US-ROK air exercises, saying, "Repercussions could take the form of SLBMs, short-range missiles, or even artillery assaults."
Microsoft India announced today the introduction of four new languages to Microsoft Translator: Bhojpuri, Bodo, Dogri, and Kashmiri. This new update will benefit nearly 61 million people, the company stated.

With this recent addition, Microsoft Translator now supports a total of 20 Indian languages, including Assamese, Bengali, Gujarati, Hindi, Kannada, Konkani, Maithili, Malayalam, Marathi, Nepali, Odia, Punjabi, Sindhi, Tamil, Telugu, and Urdu. This update moves Microsoft Translator closer to its ambition of supporting all 22 official Indian languages, covering the languages spoken by almost 95 per cent of the country's population.

Users can access the translation feature through the Microsoft Translator app, Edge browser, Office 365, Bing Translator, and the Azure AI Translator API for businesses and developers. Companies such as Jio Haptik and Koo already utilise it.





Also Read: Rajiv Kumar, Managing Director, India Development Center, Microsoft India, remarked, "We believe technology should act as a bridge, empowering everyone to reach their full potential. We're delighted to introduce Bhojpuri, Bodo, Dogri, and Kashmiri to Microsoft Translator, advancing towards our objective of supporting 22 official Indian languages. We remain dedicated to endorsing India's diverse languages and culture by harnessing the most advanced AI technology to drive the nation's progress and make technological access more inclusive."Also Read: Fears about Amazon, Microsoft cloud computing dominance trigger UK probe

Bhojpuri is spoken by around 51 million people in eastern Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, and Jharkhand. Bodo is the language for approximately 1.4 million people in Assam, Meghalaya, and neighbouring Bangladesh. Dogri is used by 1.6 million people in Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, and Punjab. Around 7 million people speak Kashmiri in Jammu and Kashmir and parts of adjacent Pakistan.

Swapan Rajdev, Co-founder & CTO, Jio Haptik, said, "While many software solutions support prevalent Indian languages, Azure's expansion into additional Indic languages is commendable! This is exciting for Haptik, offering our customers an opportunity to be more inclusive. They can now support languages like Bhojpuri, Bodo, Kashmiri, and Dogri, which is remarkable. We've noticed that Haptik's multilingual bots experience enhanced usage, underlining the importance of catering to users in their chosen language."

Koo has also seen positive developments, promoting inclusive communication and supporting the expansion of digital communities. Harsh Singhal, Head of Machine Learning at Koo, shared, "At Koo, our focus is on enhancing connectivity and empowering diverse communities in the digital sphere. Eighty per cent of the global population speaks a native language other than English, and Koo is devoted to offering these speakers a platform in their language. Translation is vital for breaking language barriers. With Microsoft Azure, we've conducted millions of translations effortlessly across 60 languages, including 10 Indian languages, laying the groundwork for digital communities to thrive."

Also Read Priced at Rs 4,950 per 10 gm, Kashmir saffron outshining silver varq Tesla chief Elon Musk threatens to sue Microsoft for using data 'illegally' Windows 11: Microsoft rolls out September update packed with AI features Kashmiri Saffron: Why is it so expensive, and how has the market revived? At Rs 3,250/10 gm, Kashmiri saffron is now five times costlier than silver Fears about Amazon, Microsoft cloud computing dominance trigger UK probe SAT overturns Sebi order against NDTV founders Prannoy Roy, Radhika Roy Amazon poised to launch long delayed satellites in race with SpaceX Meesho records nearly 10 million orders during pre-festive sale events Bajaj Finance to raise Rs 10,000 crore through QIP, preferential issue

Microsoft employs Deep Neural Networks to create language models for translating and transliterating intricate Indian languages. These networks also discern subtle linguistic nuances, including gender distinctions (feminine, masculine, neutral), politeness levels (slang, casual, written, formal), and word types (verb, noun, adjective).
According to the Public Defender's assessment, the amendments to the Law on Assembly and Manifestations constitute an interference with the freedom of expression and assembly, as they restrict the expression of opinions through the use of temporary constructions, such as tents."Such a significant restriction of freedom of expression in a democratic society can only be justified by the need to protect a substantial and compelling interest, which is not addressed by the presented draft law.The amendments will prohibit assembly and demonstration participants from setting up temporary constructions based on five grounds, which, according to the Public Defender, are insufficient to justify the restrictions proposed by the project.According to the public defender, the existing norms already allow for an appropriate response in the event of such threats, and there is no need to impose additional prohibitions in this regard. Furthermore, the draft law allows for a broad interpretation," The Ombudsman's statement reads.The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Georgia, Ilia Darchiashvili, held a meeting with the Secretary General of the Council of Europe, Marija Pejcinovic Buric.According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, during the meeting, they highlighted the critical role and significance of the organization concerning the occupied territories of Georgia, the peaceful settlement of the conflict, and trust-building projects."There was a specific emphasis on the necessity of allowing international mechanisms in the occupied regions. The meeting also highlighted the Council of Europe's contribution to implementing democratic reforms in Georgia, with particular attention to the 2024-2027 action plan and its associated projects.The meeting also addressed Georgia's progress in implementing the 12 recommendations of the European Commission and the results achieved. The minister expressed hope that Georgia's efforts would be appropriately evaluated, and the country would attain candidate status by year-end. In conclusion, the parties reiterated their readiness to continue their close cooperation," MFA of Georgia's statement reads.
Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra is scheduled to visit poll-bound Madhya Pradesh on Thursday, marking her third visit to the state in recent months.

The Congress leader is set to address a public rally at Mohankheda in Dhar district. On Wednesday, All India Congress Committee spokesman Surendra Rajput informed reporters in Bhopal that both Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and Madhya Pradesh Congress president Kamal Nath will speak at the gathering in Mohankheda after visiting the Jain shrine located there.

In addition to the public address, she will participate in various events, including a welcome programme organised by the trustees of the Jain temple.

Before taking the stage at approximately 12:20 pm, the Congress general secretary will unveil the statue of tribal icon Tantya Mama.

Earlier, she had spoken at gatherings in Jabalpur and Gwalior. Rajput added that the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party is concerned after witnessing the large crowds and public support during her rallies.

Assembly elections in Madhya Pradesh are set for November this year.

In the 2018 assembly elections, Congress emerged as the single largest party, securing 114 seats, whereas the BJP garnered 109 seats. However, in 2020, the Congress government lost its majority following the resignations of some Members of the Legislative Assembly, which enabled the BJP to establish a government in the state. Shivraj Singh Chouhan was subsequently reinstated as the chief minister.
Senior Congress leaders on Thursday recalled the contributions and work of late Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy and said the party would be soon launching a charitable mission in his name to help people across the state.

AICC general secretary (organisation) K C Venugopal, former Union Defence Minister and party veteran A K Antony, Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) chief K Sudhakaran and Leader of the Opposition (LoP) in the Assembly V D Satheesan, all recalled the love and compassion Chandy had for the people in Kerala.

"His work and his love for the people was seen in the farewell the public gave to him on his death," they said while speaking at the launch of a book -- 'Aardramanas' -- about party stalwart Chandy prepared by the KPCC.

Venugopal said Chandy touched thousands of lives through his work and he was a leader that the Congress would be proud of forever.

He said the party was obligated to him and each Congress member should pay it back in his own way.

In his brief speech at the event, Antony said he still has not come to terms with the death of his longtime friend and confidant Chandy who died in Bengaluru on July 18 after a prolonged illness.

Antony said that he did not have the words to describe his relationship with the late Congress stalwart.

The former Union Defence Minister suggested that the only way to repay Chandy for the work he did for the people and the party was to carry out a programme of compassion and care for the people across the state.

Satheeesan said Venugopal had already suggested something along the lines of what Antony said and the process was already underway to make it a reality.

He said the legal formalities with regard to setting up a charity mechanism in Chandy's name were in the final stages.

"After we hold discussions with his family, it will be put into operation within a month," the LoP said.

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Police have registered an FIR against the acting dean and a doctor of a government hospital in Maharashtra's Nanded district, where 31 patients died in 48 hours, on the charge of culpable homicide not amounting to murder, an official said on Thursday.

The case was lodged against Dr Shankarrao Chavan Government Medical College and Hospital's acting dean S R Wakode and a head paediatrician, following a complaint by a person in connection with the death of his daughter and her newborn child at the facility, he said.

They were booked under Indian Penal Code sections 304 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) and 34 (common intention), the official said.

As many as 31 deaths, including those of infants, were recorded at the hospital in 48 hours since September 30. Six more deaths were recorded at the facility from October 2 to 3, according to officials.

As per the FIR, 21-year-old pregnant woman Anjali was taken to the hospital at around 8 pm on September 30.

She delivered a baby girl at around 1 am on October 1. Doctors later said the mother and the child were fine, Anjali's father Kamaji Tompe said in the complaint.

Later in the morning, Anjali started bleeding and the baby was also not well, hence doctors asked the family members to get medicines, blood bag and other required items from outside.

When the items were brought, doctors were not present in the ward, Tompe claimed.

He further claimed in the complaint that Wakode deliberately made him sit and did not send a doctor or a staff nurse to check on Anjali.

"The doctors declared Anjali's baby dead and handed over the body to us at 6 am on October 2. Later, Anjali was declared dead at 10.30 am on October 4," the complaint said.

Tompe alleged that the dean deliberately did not let doctors treat Anjali. The doctors asked the family members to get medicines worth Rs 45,000 from outside, he said in the complaint.

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He also claimed that many patients died in front of him due to lack of availability of doctors, nurses and medicines.

Wakode could not be contacted for a reaction in the matter.

Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Tuesday said his government had taken the deaths at the Nanded hospital very seriously, and appropriate action would be taken after a detailed inquiry while denying that there were shortages of medicines and staff.

The Bombay High Court on Wednesday took suo motu cognizance of the deaths at two state-run hospitals in Nanded and Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar cities and noted that the reasons given by doctors citing the shortage of beds, staff, and essential medicines cannot be accepted.

The HC also sought details from the Maharashtra government.
A Hindu marriage is not valid without the 'Saptapadi' ceremony and other rituals, stated the Allahabad High Court, while quashing the proceedings of a case in which a man claimed that his estranged wife had entered into a second marriage without first divorcing him.

The term 'Saptapadi' or 'saat pheras' is derived from Sanskrit and translates to 'seven steps'. The bride and groom complete seven full circles, walking clockwise around the sacred fire, or 'agni', to signify the seven principles and vows they make to each other. Each of these circles is referred to as a 'phere'.

Court's Order in the Case

Upon reviewing a petition filed by Smriti Singh, Justice Sanjay Kumar Singh noted, "It is well established that the term 'solemnise' implies, in the context of marriage, the celebration of the marriage with appropriate ceremonies and due form. It cannot be considered solemnised unless the marriage is performed with these proper ceremonies and due form."

If a marriage is not valid according to the law applicable to the parties involved, then it is not recognised as a marriage in the eyes of the law.

"The 'Saptapadi' ceremony under Hindu Law is an essential element for constituting a valid marriage, but such evidence is missing in the present case," the court elaborated in a recent ruling.

The court also referenced Section 7 of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955, which indicates that a Hindu marriage may be solemnised following the customary rites and ceremonies of either party. Additionally, such rites and ceremonies should include the 'Saptapadi' (taking seven steps by the bride and groom jointly around the sacred fire), which renders the marriage complete and binding upon the completion of the seventh step.

While nullifying the summoning order dated April 21, 2022, and further proceedings of the complaint case pending before a Mirzapur court against the wife, the court stated, "There is no specific allegation concerning the 'Saptapadi' in the complaint or in the statements submitted before the court; therefore, this court believes that no prima-facie offence has been established against the applicant, as the claim of a second marriage lacks supporting evidence."

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Background of the Case

The marriage of petitioner Smriti Singh to Satyam Singh was solemnised in 2017. Due to strained relations, she left her in-laws' home and filed a First Information Report (FIR) alleging harassment for dowry. Subsequent to an investigation, the police filed a charge sheet against the husband and his family.

Later, Satyam submitted an application to higher-ranking police officials, accusing his wife of bigamy. This claim was thoroughly investigated by the Circle Officer of Sadar, Mirzapur, and the allegations against Smriti were found to be unfounded.

Satyam later filed a complaint on September 20, 2021, alleging that his wife had entered into a second marriage.

On April 21, 2022, a Mirzapur magistrate summoned Smriti, prompting her to file the current petition before the high court, challenging both the summoning order and the overall proceedings of the complaint case.

The legal counsel for the petitioner-wife argued that the aforementioned complaint and summoning order are merely retaliatory actions based on the FIR she had earlier filed against her husband and his family.
NewsClick founder Prabir Purkayastha, who was arrested in a case filed under the anti-terror law following allegations that the portal received money for pro-China propaganda, allegedly conspired to peddle a narrative that Kashmir and Arunachal Pradesh are disputed territories, the Delhi Police has claimed.

Purkayastha and HR head Amit Chakravarty were arrested on Tuesday by the Special Cell of the Delhi Police.

In the remand application, the police said, "Secret inputs revealed that Purkayastha, Neville Roy Singham and some other Chinese employees of Singham-owned Shanghai-based company have exchanged mails which expose their intent to show Kashmir and Arunachal Pradesh as not part of India."



"Such attempts by these persons reveal their conspiracy to peddle a narrative, both globally and domestically, that Kashmir and Arunachal Pradesh are disputed territories. Their attempts to tinker with the northern borders of India and to show Kashmir and Arunachal Pradesh as not parts of India in maps amount to an act intended towards undermining the unity and territorial integrity of India," the application stated.

It was also learnt that Gautam Navlakha, a shareholder in NewsClick, remained involved in anti-Indian and unlawful activities such as actively supporting banned Naxal organisations and having anti-national nexus with Gulam Nabi Fai, an agent of Pakistan's ISI, it stated.

It has also been learnt that foreign funds have been siphoned off by Purkayastha and his associates, the police said.

According to the application, "The accused persons have also conspired to disrupt supplies and services essential to the life of community in India and abet damage and destruction of property by protraction of farmers' protest through such illegal foreign funding."



A false narrative was propagated to discredit the efforts of the Indian government to contain the COVID-19 pandemic, the police said in its application.

It was learnt that Purkayastha conspired with a group -- People's Alliance for Democracy and Secularism -- to sabotage the electoral process during the 2019 general elections. It was also learnt that People's Dispatch Portal, owned and maintained by NewsClick, has been used for intentionally peddling these false narratives through paid news in lieu of crores of rupees of illegally routed foreign funds as part of a conspiracy, it stated.

An analysis of e-mails shows that Singham, Purkayastha and Chakraborty were in direct contact with each other and were found to be discussing how to create a map of India without Kashmir and to show Arunachal Pradesh as a disputed area, the application stated.

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To achieve the objective, the accused persons, in the guise of foreign funds, received more than Rs 115 crore, according to the application.

A raid was conducted on Tuesday at 88 locations in Delhi and seven in other states on the suspects named in the FIR and surfaced in the analysis of data, the police said.

The police applied for 15 days' police remand for both the accused and got their custody for seven days.

The police sealed NewsClick's office in Delhi, officials said, adding that 46 suspects were questioned and digital devices, including laptops and mobile phones, and documents taken away for examination.
After the Enforcement Directorate arrested Aam Aadmi Party senior leader Sanjay Singh, the BJP on Wednesday said Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal would soon be behind bars in the case.

Addressing a press briefing here, the former Delhi BJP president Manoj Tiwari alleged that the AAP leaders are not only corrupt but have also betrayed the electoral trust of the people in the national capital.

The AAP Rajya Sabha MP was taken into custody after a day-long interrogation by ED officials at his Delhi residence.

"While Sanjay Singh has been arrested today, the spotlight will soon shift from Sanjay Singh and Manish Sisodia. I believe the ongoing probe will soon reach the threshold of Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal," Tiwari said.

The BJP MP said that he has never seen such "criminals' holding political positions or offices in history.

"On behalf of the BJP, we would like to tell the people of Delhi and the country that the AAP has a tried-and-tested policy to play the victim card. The people need to be awake and alert to this. Now is the time for people to see them for what they are. They set plans in advance to wriggle out of public scrutiny when their misdeeds come out in the open. They can go to any lengths to extract public sympathy, to the extent that the latter will start regarding them as victims. We have seldom seen such criminals holding political positions and offices," the BJP leader said.

"These people are not only corrupt but they have also betrayed the trust that the people of Delhi reposed in them. And, for this they should be punished," he added.

Speaking at a press briefing, fellow BJP MP Parvesh Verma said with Singh's arrest, the process of deliverance of justice for the people of Delhi has started.

"Today I feel that the process of deliverance of justice for the people of Delhi has finally begun. However, the kingpin of the liquor policy scam, Kejriwal, has still not been apprehended. He came up with a policy through which he could indulge in corruption with no one getting a whiff of it," he said.

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Sanjay Singh's arrest was the second high-profile arrest in the case after former Delhi deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia.

Singh's party colleague was arrested by the CBI on February 26 for his alleged role in the scam.

The central probe agency on Wednesday morning raided the residence of Sanjay Singh in connection with the now-scrapped liquor policy in Delhi. The development followed ED's raid on the premises of Singh's close aides.

The case pertains to allegations that the Arvind Kejriwal-led Delhi government's excise policy for 2021-22 allowed cartelisation and favoured certain dealers, who had allegedly paid bribes for it, a charge strongly refuted by the AAP.

ED has, so far, filed five chargesheets in the case, including against Sisodia.
Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav on Wednesday slammed the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) over the arrest of AAP MP Sanjay Singh by the Enforcement Directorate in the Delhi liquor policy case and said that in any state where regional parties are doing good work, the BJP is causing trouble for them.

Talking to the reporters in Patna, Yadav said that after the arrest of Sanjay Singh, a fifth summon has been sent to Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren.

"Today Sanjay Singh has been arrested, and I have also heard that the fifth summons has been sent to Jharkhand CM Hemant Soren. Wherever the regional party is doing a good job, the BJP is causing them trouble and taking action," Yadav said.

The Deputy Chief Minister also said that he was very young when the alleged land-for-jobs-scam case happened, but still, his name was added to the chargesheet.

"I was very young, I didn't even have a moustache at that time, but my name was added to the supplementary charge sheet of the alleged land-for-jobs scam case. So nothing will happen, we will fight and win," he said.

The Enforcement Directorate on Wednesday arrested Aam Admi Party MP Sanjay Singh in connection with a money laundering case linked to the now-withdrawn new excise policy of Delhi.

It is the second high-profile arrest in the case after former Delhi deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia. The arrest came hours after the ED conducted raids at the residence of the AAP Rajya Sabha MP in connection with the case.

Meanwhile, the Rouse Avenue Court of Delhi on Wednesday granted bail to former Railway Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav, Bihar's Deputy CM Tejashwi Yadav, Rabri Devi, and others in relation to a fresh chargesheet in connection with the alleged land-for-jobs scam case.

The Special Judge Geetanjali Goel, while granting bail, noted that no accused was arrested in the matter by the CBI, and even the CBI did not oppose their bail petition.

Meanwhile, the Court also directed the CBI to serve the fresh chargesheet copy to all the accused in the case.

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Russia targeted Ukraine with drones in another major attack early on Thursday as President Volodymyr Zelenskyy travelled to Spain to rally support from Western allies at a summit of around 50 European leaders.

Ukraine's air force said that the country's air defences intercepted 24 out of 29 Iranian-made drones that Russia launched at the southern Odesa, Mykolaiv and Kirovohrad regions.

Andriy Raykovych, head of the Kirovohrad regional administration, said that an infrastructure facility in the region was struck and emergency services were deployed to extinguish a fire. He said there were no casualties.

The attack came as Zelenskyy arrived in Granada in southern Spain to attend a summit of the European Political Community, which was formed in the wake of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

The key for us, especially before winter, is to strengthen air defense, and there is already a basis for new agreements with partners, he said in a statement posted on his Telegram channel.

Last winter, Russia targeted Ukraine's energy system and other vital infrastructure in a steady barrage of missile and drone attacks, triggering continuous power outages across the country. Ukraine's power system has shown a high degree of resilience and flexibility, helping alleviate the damage, but there have been concerns that Russia will again ramp up its strikes on power facilities as winter draws nearer.

Zelenskyy noted the Granada summit will also focus on joint work for global food security and protection of freedom of navigation in the Black Sea, where the Russian military has targeted Ukrainian ports after Moscow's withdrawal from a UN-sponsored grain deal designed to ensure safe grain exports from the invaded country's ports.

The UK Foreign Office cited intelligence suggesting that Russia may lay sea mines in the approach to Ukrainian ports to target civilian shipping and blame it on Ukraine.

Russia almost certainly wants to avoid openly sinking civilian ships, instead falsely laying blame on Ukraine for any attacks against civilian vessels in the Black Sea, it said, adding that the UK was working with Ukraine to help improve the safety of shipping.

Speaking in Granada, Zelenskyy emphasized the need to preserve the European unity in the face of Russian disinformation and to remain strong amid what he described as a political storm in the United States.

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Asked if he was worried that support for Ukraine could falter in the US Congress, the Ukrainian president stressed that his visit to Washington last month made him confident of strong backing by both the Biden administration and Congress.

Zelenskyy called for additional air defense system for Ukraine, additional artillery and shells, additional long-range missiles and drones for our soldiers, as well as additional formats of support and security guarantees for nations threatened by Russia to help protect Europe from potential aggression by Moscow.

In other Russian attacks on Ukraine in the past day, two civilians were killed in shelling of the southern city of Kherson and another one died after a Russian strike on the city of Krasnohorivka in the eastern Donetsk region. At least eight people were wounded by Russian shelling, according to Ukraine's presidential office.

A Russian strike on a hospital in the city of Beryslav in the Kherson region ravaged the building and wounded two medical workers, according to the regional administration chief, Oleksandr Prokudin.

Ukraine, in turn, has struck back at Russia with regular drone attacks across the border.

Roman Starovoit, the governor of Russia's Kursk region that borders Ukraine, said that Ukrainian drones attacked infrastructure facilities in several areas, resulting in power cuts.

Starovoit also said that Ukrainian forces fired artillery at the border town of Rylsk, wounding a local resident and damaging several houses.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and other top American officials are visiting Mexico on Wednesday to discuss shared security issues, foremost among them trafficking of the synthetic opioid fentanyl, but also arms trafficking and increasing migration.

The latest round of the High-Level Security Dialogue brings Blinken, US Attorney General Merrick Garland and Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, among others, together with their Mexican counterparts for two days of talks.

Heightened migration is expected to be discussed as President Joe Biden's administration comes under increasing pressure from Republicans and mayors from the president's own party to do more to slow migrant arrivals.

Blinken was scheduled to discuss migration Wednesday with Mexico's Foreign Affairs Secretary Alicia Barcena, as well as the foreign ministers of Colombia and Panama.

New York City Mayor Eric Adams took a separate trip through Latin America aimed at learning more about asylum seekers' paths to the US

In a press conference Wednesday night in Mexico City, Adams said he hoped to manage expectations of migrants setting out on their journeys, and to inform migrants that his city was at capacity after receiving around 1,20,000 migrants over the past year.

He echoed a rising number of voices in calling for a larger global response to the increasing number of migrants to the US

It's not sustainable, Adams said at the base of a basilica where people often pray before setting out on their journeys. The message of this not being sustainable cannot stay within the boundaries of New York City. There is a global migration and it must have an international response.

In August, the US Border Patrol made 181,509 arrests at the Mexican border, up 37 per cent from July but little changed from August 2022 and well below the more than 2,20,000 in December, according to figures released in September.

On Tuesday night, hundreds of migrants arrived in the northern Mexican border city of Ciudad Juarez across the border from El Paso, Texas aboard a freight train. They clambered off the train and immediately made their way to the border where they stopped at coils of barbed wire.

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Elizabeth Romero, 32, left Venezuela three months earlier with her husband and 6-year-old son. She was three weeks pregnant then and spent her first trimester hiking through the jungle-clad border of Colombia and Panama, and most recently spent three days aboard the freight train that brought her to the US-Mexico border.

She and her son, who celebrated his 6th birthday atop a freight car this week, have suffered bouts of fever. They left Venezuela because they couldn't make ends meet financially. Her family remains there.

We hope that the United States receives us and gives us the support that we need, Romero said. They planned to turn themselves into US authorities at the border because they had already waited three months without receiving an appointment to request asylum through CBP One, a mobile app.

The US has tried to get Mexico and countries farther south to do more. In April, the US, Panama and Colombia announced a campaign to slow migration through the treacherous Darien Gap dividing Colombia and Panama. But migration through the jungle has only accelerated and is expected to approach some 5,00,000 people this year.
Armis, the asset intelligence cybersecurity company, today announced two new integrations with CrowdStrike to help organizations strengthen their security posture across their Internet of Things (IoT) and operational technology (OT) environments. The new integrations will provide organizations with comprehensive cyber exposure management capabilities and real-time actionable asset intelligence to see, secure, protect and manage threats across their entire extended attack surface.

With the convergence of IT and OT, it is more important than ever that security teams secure their critical infrastructure systems by collecting and leveraging asset-specific context to drive tailored extended Internet of Things (XIoT) threat prevention policy and high-fidelity detections.

Through this new partnership between Armis and CrowdStrike, customers can now use CrowdStrike Falcon Insight for IoT along with Armis Centrix to get:

Comprehensive asset intelligence into all managed and unmanaged IT and IoT/OT devices across any environment and vertical

Automatic, prioritized device vulnerability and risk assessments for IoT/OT assets

Enhanced threat detection and mitigation for mission-critical IoT/OT assets

Armis also announced that the company is leveraging CrowdStrike Falcon LogScale, a next-generation SIEM with lightning fast search and custom dashboards, to provide customers the ability to quickly and seamlessly gain deeper IoT/OT security insights from data generated by Armis for unmanaged devices.

The number of assets connected to business networks is growing at an exponential rate, expanding organizations attack surfaces and making it increasingly difficult for security teams to manage threats, said Nadir Izrael, CTO and Co-Founder, Armis. Its crucial that global organizations across sectors be empowered with real-time, contextual insights to effectively mitigate risk. Together, Armis and CrowdStrike are helping customers to manage cyber risk exposure and protect the entire attack surface, keeping them safe and secure.

Our mission is to stop breaches from happening anywhere, and this expanded partnership with Armis ensures customers stay ahead of the rapidly evolving threat environment, said Daniel Bernard, Chief Business Officer, CrowdStrike. By combining the unparalleled capabilities of both of our platforms, organizations of all sizes benefit immediately from powerful industry-leading AI-generated insights that enable their security teams to proactively protect their IoT/OT assets and swiftly remediate potential risks.

For more information about the Armis and CrowdStrike integration, read the solution brief: https://www.armis.com/solution-briefs/armis-crowdstrike/

Armis Centrix is available for purchase in the CrowdStrike Marketplace, a one-stop destination and world-class ecosystem of third party security products. Purchase Armis Centrix here: https://marketplace.crowdstrike.com/partners/armis

Armis is a member of the CrowdStrike CrowdXDR Alliance, a unified and open Extended Detection and Response (XDR) coalition formed with security and IT operations leaders and best-of-breed solutions. Learn more here: https://www.crowdstrike.com/partners/crowdxdr-alliance/

About Armis

Armis, the asset intelligence cybersecurity company, protects the entire attack surface and manages the organization's cyber risk exposure in real time. In a rapidly evolving, perimeter-less world Armis ensures that organizations continuously see, secure, protect and manage all critical assets. Armis secures Fortune 100, 200 and 500 companies as well as national governments, state and local entities to help keep critical infrastructure, economies and society stay safe and secure 24/7. Armis is a privately held company headquartered in California.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20231005592415/en/
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DBS Bank India has once again been recognised as one of the 100 Best Companies for Women in India 2023 (BCWI) for the eighth successive year. The consistent focus of the Bank on championing Diversity and Inclusion (D&I) has additionally earned them the honor of featuring in the 100 Best  Hall of Fame. The accolade is jointly awarded by Avtar, Indias premier Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion solutions firm, and Seramount, a strategic professional services and research firm. This recognition underscores DBS Bank Indias commitment to gender inclusivity and creating a workplace that caters to the needs of its diverse employee base.The study, over its past editions, has established itself as corporate Indias most comprehensive gender analytics exercise covering in-depth information on organisational practices and policies. The 2023 BCWI includes 354 companies spanning every major industry, geographical location, and line of business. Half of DBS Banks workforce globally is female, and while that percentage in India is currently 30% of the employee base, the Bank aims to increase this figure to 35% within the next three years.said, It has been established that gender diversity fuels innovation and drives excellence; hence ensuring that women are well represented in the workforce is one of the cornerstones of organisational success. From our early days, DBS Bank India has been deeply committed to creating a culture that champions diversity and empowers every individual to Live Fulfilled. Being named one of the 100 Best Companies for Women in India for the eighth consecutive year is a testament to our diversity program at DBS. The recognition is a great encouragement as we continue to provide equitable opportunities and build an inclusive workplace where every employee is valued.Commenting on the occasion,said, Gender diversity among the 100 Best Companies continues to increase. The average representation of women (overall) is an inspiring 36.9% this year in 2023, up from 25% in 2016, at the time of the launch of the study. At this current rate, a 50:50 gender balance at Best Companies will be a reality by 2030  a much sooner time frame given the post-pandemic repercussions. Inclusion is an ongoing commitment; constantly innovating, focusing on growth aspirations of diverse talent, and curating a culture of care-hood must be part of leadership priorities always! Measuring and monitoring success metrics associated with these initiatives is non-negotiable.said, Corporations on the Most Inclusive Companies in India list remain committed to creating inclusive cultures for their employees. We are proud to recognise their progress in measuring the effectiveness of their DEI programs, while taking the steps necessary to identify opportunities for growth and improvement.As part of its talent strategy, DBS Bank India prioritises targeted outreach and hiring programs, such as Women in Tech (WIT) hackathons and Hack2Hire events, to bolster women's representation in technology-related fields.Along with setting up gender-diverse interview panels to mitigate hiring bias, the Bank also has dedicated referral programs to encourage staff to refer women colleagues and has recorded nearly 26% of successful women referrals in 2023. A yearly salary benchmarking study is conducted to ensure pay parity across genders and grades, with mechanisms in place to maintain impartiality in salary-related interventions.DBS Bank India has instituted a gender-agnostic Leadership Diversity Council as the apex governing body for the DEI agenda in the company. With approximately 25% of the organisations overall training budget dedicated to learning initiatives for women, DBS Bank India has initiated a comprehensive talent development approach, structured under EEE (Education, Exposure, and Experience). 26% of the Banks High Potential cohort are women, undergoing regular career interventions, mentoring, and job shadowing. DBSs women leaders also have the opportunity to participate in external leadership development programs through a program called upSurge, run in collaboration with XLRI. An outcome of these various initiatives, along with dedicated controls to ensure that meritocracy is maintained, is that more than 30% of the latestcohort at DBS Bank India comprise women.Women re-entering the workforce after a career break can make the most of the Banks Reimagine program, which ensures a seamless transition back to working life. DBS Bank India offers comprehensive maternity benefits, including financial assistance and up to 26 weeks of maternity leave for new mothers. Additionally, employees can avail of 100% work-from-home support if they have a newborn or have newly adopted children up to six years of age.DBS Bank has been included in Kelp HRs 25 Safest Workplaces for Women list for three consecutive years. The Bank has secured a place on the Bloomberg Gender-Equality Index for six consecutive years (2018-2023) and has also earned the title of the 'Best Organisation for Women in 2023 by The Economic Times.
KPT Piping System

News Summary

In a momentous event held at the House of Commons, London Parliament, KPT Pipes and Fittings Private Limited, fondly known as KPT Pipes, was honored with the prestigious title of "Prominent PPR Pipes and Fittings Manufacturers of the Year". This recognition underscores their unwavering commitment to excellence and innovation in the field of PPR pipes and fittings. Mr. Ankur Periwal, esteemed Managing Director, KPT Pipes, proudly accepted the award on behalf of the entire dedicated team.


Not intended for UK or U.S. based media

New training course provides critical skills for unpaid family carers and coincides with European Carers Day and Family Caregiver Awareness Month in the U.S.



Merck, a leading science and technology company, today announced a new collaboration with the United Nations Global Initiative on Ageing (GIA) to provide a training course on critical skills for family carers. The course, consisting of 5 modules, provides professional instruction and guidance on essential topics in caregiving such as using medical equipment, creating safe environments and overcoming communication barriers. The course is available on Mercks Embracing Carers website: EmbracingCarers.com.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20231005894354/en/

Caregivers play a critical role in the lives of millions of patients around the globe. (Photo: Business Wire)

As the worlds population of ageing adults continues to significantly increase, the importance of carers has become even more critical to address their health needs, said Ambassador Luis Gallegos, Chairman of the Global Initiative on Ageing. By bringing together the trusted experience of the GIA and Mercks industry-leading carer initiative, Embracing Carers, we can better support carers around the world with these newly launched, vital courses.

The availability of the training modules coincides with European Carers Day on October 6, as well as Family Caregiver Awareness Month in the U.S. this November. The modules provide support for a broad range of carers - whether they care for patients impacted by cancer, multiple sclerosis or other diseases and chronic conditions.

At Merck, we recognize the invaluable role family carers play, not only in the lives of patients, but across the entire healthcare ecosystem. Providing tangible support and resources is the sort of impact we aim to have every single day, said Peter Guenter, Member of the Executive Board and CEO Healthcare at Merck. As we embark on this exciting new collaboration with the UNs Global Initiative on Ageing, I look forward to seeing what more we can achieve in the future.

Originally developed in Spanish, the modules have been translated into English to reach a broader audience. The modules focus on the following topics:

Feeding and nutrition techniques and commonly encountered issues

Identifying communication and language problems

Assisting with motivation and learning for elderly, disabled, and/or ill people

Understanding and encouraging positive social relationships and behaviors in those requiring care

Adapting and creating safe and comfortable environments



Additionally, carers who complete the training courses have the option to receive UN certification as a professional caregiver through the GIA website, if desired.

An estimated 17 percent of Americans and Europeans serve as unpaid family carers. A recent Embracing Carers survey found family carers spend an average of 28 and 26.8 hours in the U.S. and Europe, respectively, on caregiving duties each week. The physical, mental, emotional, and financial stress of caregiving frequently leads to health problems for carers, with 75 percent of survey respondents saying they feel burned out by their caregiving responsibilities.

Against the backdrop of the EUs Work-Life Balance Directive and the European Care Strategy which shine a light on the social impact of caregiving, Embracing Carers continues to support carers and partners in all EU countries as governments implement policies and support initiatives that favour carers equitable employment and mental health.

Embracing Carers was launched in 2017 with the mission to raise awareness of the challenges faced by family carers worldwide and to implement targeted initiatives to increase recognition and support for the role of these carers in healthcare systems. Embracing Carers is driving this mission daily through collaborations with relevant organizations worldwide to increase the visibility and availability of tailored resources; supporting increased policy attention and action; and creating innovative opportunities for healthcare system integration.

GIAs mission is to support the achievement of the goals set by the United Nations Decade of Healthy Ageing and its Sustainable Development Goals by improving the standard of living, participation, and inclusion of the worlds ageing population. GIAs outreach is enhanced by partners in several countries and by virtual learning and policy platforms.

For more information on the training course and to find additional resources for carers, please visit https://www.embracingcarers.com/

About Embracing Carers

Embracing Carers is a global initiative founded by Merck, which operates its biopharmaceutical business in the U.S. as EMD Serono, MilliporeSigma and EMD Electronics, in collaboration with leading carer organizations around the world, designed to increase awareness, discussion, and action about the often-overlooked needs of carers. Given that carers need support and often do not know where to turn for help, Embracing Carers was created to fill that void. www.embracingcarers.com

All Merck press releases are distributed by e-mail at the same time they become available on the Merck website. Please go to www.merckgroup.com/subscribe to register online, change your selection or discontinue this service.

About Merck

Merck, a leading science and technology company, operates across life science, healthcare and electronics. More than 64,000 employees work to make a positive difference to millions of peoples lives every day by creating more joyful and sustainable ways to live. From providing products and services that accelerate drug development and manufacturing as well as discovering unique ways to treat the most challenging diseases to enabling the intelligence of devices  the company is everywhere. In 2022, Merck generated sales of  22.2 billion in 66 countries.

Scientific exploration and responsible entrepreneurship have been key to Mercks technological and scientific advances. This is how Merck has thrived since its founding in 1668. The founding family remains the majority owner of the publicly listed company. Merck holds the global rights to the Merck name and brand. The only exceptions are the United States and Canada, where the business sectors of Merck operate as MilliporeSigma in life science, EMD Serono in healthcare, and EMD Electronics in electronics.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20231005894354/en/
Quectel Wireless Solutions a global IoT solutions provider, and Amarisoft, a 4G/5G software technology provider, have joined forces in a strategic collaboration to revolutionize the non-terrestrial networks (NTN) landscape. With a shared vision to empower businesses in harnessing the potential of NTN, Quectel and Amarisoft have collaborated to bring test and measurement solutions that cater to seamless technology deployment and enhanced user experiences, solidifying their positions at the forefront of the rapidly expanding NTN market.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20231005684456/en/

Quectel and Amarisoft support increased adoption of NTN capabilities (Photo: Business Wire)

The inclusion of the Non-Terrestrial Network (NTN) in the Rel 17 3GPP standard marks a significant milestone in the telecom industry. This advancement enables the use of satellite communication technology to cater to the increasing demand for connectivity in remote and underserved regions worldwide.

In the past, services were limited to proprietary technologies, but now, with the widespread adoption of NTN technology included in the 3GPP standard, a market for NTN has emerged, presenting substantial growth opportunities for the IoT industry. The ability to rely on satellite-based solutions ensures that even the most remote areas on the planet can now benefit from enhanced connectivity options. As a result, this development is expected to bring about a significant positive impact on global communication and accessibility.

NTNs are gathering momentum as they become increasingly recognized as an appealing option for connecting many diverse types of IoT devices. Were keen to help enable this market with our portfolio of modules that support NTN, commented Norbert Muhrer, President and CSO, Quectel Wireless Solutions. Were excited to work with Amarisoft to enable its network deployment and test and measurement solutions, which are turning the NTN concept from theory into reality.

Amarisoft offers Amari Callbox series for 4G LTE, NB-IOT, LTE-M and 5G NR device testing and AMARI UE Simbox for 4G and 5G network testing which both supports NB-IoT NTN and 5G NR NTN now. These products are used widely by the industry for validation, proof-of-concept and demonstrations in labs. The company also provides carrier grade software technology, used by 40+ partners to build 4G 5G network products and services covering private networks, telcos, DAS systems, fixed to wireless, smart cities and more.

Quectel addresses the NTN market with its BG770 module which supports NTN over NB-IoT. The Cat M1/NB1/NB2 module, which offers a compact form factor and ultra-low power consumption, is utilized in Amari Callboxes and Amarisoft also uses Quectel modules in its labs. Customers benefit from being able to access NTN features and streamline their solution development. The BG770 measures just 14.9mm x 12.9mm x 1.9mm and features an integrated GNSS engine. In addition, the module boasts a comprehensive hardware-based security feature called Integrated Security Elements (ISE).

We are thrilled to partner with Quectel in the NTN area. Thanks to the new Quectel BG770 module commercialized earlier this year, weve been able to run NTN NB-IoT interopareabilies test against a commercial UE and to demonstrate that both companies are ready to support customers in the deployment of NTN technology says Karim Boutihane, Amarisoft Sales Director.

About Quectel

Quectels passion for a smarter world drives us to accelerate IoT innovation. A highly customer-centric organization, we are a global IoT solutions provider backed by outstanding support and services. Our growing global team of 5,900 professionals sets the pace for innovation in cellular, GNSS, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth modules as well as antennas and services.

With regional offices and support across the globe, our international leadership is devoted to advancing IoT and helping build a smarter world.

For more information, please visit: www.quectel.com, LinkedIn, Facebook, and X.

About Amarisoft

Founded in 2012 by Fabrice BELLARD and Franck SPINELLI, Amarisoft is a non-conventional software company dedicated to Telecom industry. We are delighted to bring affordable and high-quality solutions to the 4G/5G community to unleash creativity and ultimately expand communications among people.

Accessible technology is the basement of Amarisoft success stories. The company goal is to develop a technology that significantly improves the life of as many people as possible no matter where they are located. We are working on helping companies of all sizes to become players in mobile networks of existing and next generations.

For more information, please visit www.amarisoft.com or contact [email protected]

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20231005684456/en/
Indonesia is the first and largest market for TikTok Shop. Photo: Bloomberg

(Bloomberg)  TikTok suspended its online-retail operation in Indonesia from Wednesday to comply with curbs on social commerce, a big setback for the Chinese-owned startup in one of its fastest-growing markets.

The company will stop facilitating e-commerce transactions on TikTok Shop Indonesia from 5 p.m. Jakarta time on Oct. 4, it said in a statement Tuesday. The company said that its priority is to remain compliant with laws and regulations and that it will coordinate with the Indonesian government for its next steps.
The Kolkata Police Department has issued an open call for applications for the position of Driver/Police Driver. Eligible and interested candidates should apply online at kolkatapolice.gov.in, the official website of the Kolkata Police. The organisation will fill 412 positions as a result of this recruitment campaign.

Overview

Post Name Driver

Number of Posts 412

Form Apply Last Date 09 October 2023

Job Location Kolkata

Application Submission Offline

Category Recruitment 2023

Official Website kolkatapolice.gov.in

Pay Scale

Rs. 32,100/- to 82,900/- Per Month

Age limit

21-40 years

Selection Procedure

The selection process includes a driving test and an interview. Following the driving test and interview, a merit list of provisionally selected candidates will be generated based on the results of both phases. Candidates who have been provisionally selected will be required to take a medical fitness exam at the Kolkata Police Hospital.
Oil India Limited, Indias second-largest hydrocarbon exploration and production company, has officially announced its latest recruitment drive for 2023. This presents a vibrant opportunity for those wishing to career in the thriving energy sector in India. Be it engineers, IT professionals or even fresh graduates, Oil India Limited welcomes dedicated and passionate individuals to be part of their growing family.

Why Choose a Career with Oil India Limited?

Working with Oil India Limited is a chance to be part of an industry that is core to Indias economy and future. The companys commitment to the highest standards of safety, environment protection, and corporate social responsibility make it an employer of choice for those desirous of a rewarding career in the energy sector. They also offer an exceptionally competitive remuneration package and benefits, and robust opportunities for career growth and development.

Important Dates

Notification Release 28 March 2023

Online Application Start 28 March 2023 (07:00 AM)

Last Date 25 April 2023 (11:59 PM)

Exam Date 2023 14 October 2023

Admit Card 2023 OUT

Selection Process for Oil India Limited Recruitment

The selection process for jobs at Oil India Limited is comprehensive and has multiple stages including an aptitude test, technical rounds and HR interview. Potential candidates must prepare thoroughly to get through these stages. The company also advises candidates to regularly check their official website for any updates or changes in the recruitment process.
In what comes as a bit of a shock, Mazda has announced that will cease production of the CX-8 in its home market of Japan by December 2023. ...
Photo: Glacier Media

The Vancouver Fraser Port Authority has approved a controversial plan by Seaspan to expand its drydock facilities on the North Vancouver waterfront.

The decision on the drydock expansion, issued Tuesday, will allow Seaspan to expand its existing facilities at the foot of St. Georges Avenue to the west, towards Burrard Pier, including adding two additional drydocks and a work pontoon.

Nearby residents who had opposed the plan said they were disappointed in the decision.

The company has said the drydock expansion is needed to consolidate all of its ship repair work at the Vancouver Drydock site, while Seaspan Shipyards at the foot of Pemberton Avenue becomes fully dedicated to building large ships like the joint support ships for the Canadian Navy and icebreaker for the Coast Guard.

Seaspan has said the expansion will expand drydock capacity by about 30 per cent and result in approximately 100 new jobs on top of the 150 people already working at Vancouver Drydock.

Project generates controversy

But the project has also generated significant controversy since Seaspan first applied for the expansion permit more than two years ago.

Lower Lonsdale residents who live in several high-rise condominium towers on the North Vancouver waterfront have repeatedly voiced concerns about the negative impact of additional noise and light from the expanded drydock operations, as well as an impact on views.

Neighbouring residents and the City of North Vancouver also expressed views that an expanded drydock should be built to the east of the existing drydock  away from the residential towers and the Shipyards waterfront area.

Seaspan has promised to use dark-sky-friendly lighting and to put up lighting shields for lights facing residential towers. The company has said it will also advise the community if high-noise-generating work is taking place outside of regular working hours and promised to measure noise both during and after construction.

Location of new drydocks a concern

But the location of the new drydocks has remained a sticking point.

Throughout the application process, the company maintained that building new drydocks further to the east isnt feasible because Seaspan needs space for barges to move in front of its on-shore W building, as well as direct access to the dry docks via a service pier.

In a letter approving the project, Andrea McLeod, project and environmental review director at the port, said the company had demonstrated the expansion couldnt be built further east due to project operational and economic constraints.

In the letter, McLeod acknowledged there had been strong public opposition to the project and concerns voiced by both Linda Buchanan, the mayor of the City of North Vancouver, as well as MP Jonathan Wilkinson.

While it was a challenging decision due to the proximity to residential areas, the project will be located within a known industrial area  an area that has been historically used for industrial, marine and port activities for decades, said McLeod, in a press statement.

We did not take this decision lightly, she added.

McLeod said public feedback has resulted in mitigation measures intended to reduce noise and light impacts. Seaspan will also apply several of those mitigation measures to its existing drydock operations, she said.

Neighbours disappointed

Chris Thorson and Al Parsons both live in high-rise towers on the North Vancouver waterfront and have been active in voicing concerns of nearby residents.

Contacted Wednesday by the North Shore News, both said they were extremely disappointed in the decision and in not being informed of it directly by the port authority, despite being involved in many stakeholder discussions on the project.

We had a huge uphill battle to get our concerns heard in a such a way to make it seem like we werent NIMBYs, said Thorson.

Both Parsons and Thorson said they havent had the opportunity yet to look through all 61 conditions attached to the permit, but they expect the drydock expansion will impact their quality of life.

Both said they are still not convinced the drydock expansion couldnt be built to the east of the existing one.

In a statement, City of North Vancouver Mayor Linda Buchanan said she was concerned by the decision made by the port and would continue to advocate on behalf of the community.

So far, theres no word on when the project will start. Seaspan must fulfill several conditions, including submitting a construction communications plan, before any work can start.

No one from Seaspan was immediately available to comment on the project approval on Wednesday.
Photo: The Canadian Press Global Affairs Canada says Ottawa aims to support people in Haiti to prevent sexual violence, ahead of a multinational military intervention in the country. Residents flee their homes to escape clashes between armed gangs in the Carrefour-Feuilles district of Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Tuesday, Aug. 15, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP-Odelyn Joseph

Global Affairs Canada says Canada is likely to deploy RCMP officers to Haiti to act as trainers in a multinational military invention, with officials promising an added focus on preventing sexual violence.

"The RCMP are looking at being focused on technical training," said Lisa Vandehei, the head of an interdepartmental task force on Haiti at Global Affairs Canada.

"Canada's training mission, the planning for it is still underway," she testified at the Senate foreign-affairs committee Thursday.

The United Nations Security Council approved a multinational force Monday to help combat violent gangs in Haiti, which Kenya has offered to lead by January.

Vandehei said Canada is still assessing its contribution to the mission, adding that Kenya is prepared to launch a deployment within 90 days of its parliament ratifying the mission.

She said the RCMP will likely train officers of the Haitian National Police on "very surgical, technical areas" through a model that would have each Canadian-trained officer go on to teach other Haitian peers.

"The RCMP are the best in the world in several areas of policing that the HNP need, in certain elements."

Global Affairs Canada said in a statement that Ottawa is also "focused on preventing sexual and gender-based violence" in Haiti, noting gangs have been using sexual violence as a means of controlling the population.

In past military interventions in Haiti, locals have reported widespread sexual exploitation by both fellow citizens and foreign armies, which Vandehei noted in her testimony.

"We are very much attuned to that, and especially when it comes to sexual and gender-based violence taking place already in Haiti," she said.

"We're looking at working with the Kenyans and the U.S. on ... how to bring our own lessons learned to the table from our (historical) work in Haiti as well."

Vandehei said Canada's aim with the multinational mission is to ensure police have the training and equipment they need to maintain order in Haiti after foreign forces leave, and that the society has the institutions needed for a viable democracy.

"We're going into this issue with open eyes, and it's why we're creating a multi-faceted solution," she said.

After decades of watching Haiti, she said, "I have a lot of hope here."

Haiti's unelected prime minister asked for an international intervention last year, and the idea has been divisive among Haitians, though it is supported by the UN and Washington.

The country has faced a profound security crisis exacerbated by brazen criminal gangs since mid-2021, leading to rampant violence, cholera outbreaks and restricted access to water, food and medical care.

The Liberals have issued sanctions on multiple political and economic elite in Haiti, arguing this will help lead to a consensus among political actors on how other countries can best support Haitians to find stability and eventually hold an election.

Washington had asked Canada to lead a military intervention, but Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said it's unclear whether such a move would lead to long-term stability, citing multiple previous interventions that he argued made Haiti even more dangerous.

Chalmers LaRose, a political-science lecturer with the Universite du Quebec a Montreal, denounced the looming intervention Thursday as another mistake that will sow more violence and anti-democratic governance in Haiti.

"If all goes ahead as intended, the western community will have won its gamble of becoming involved yet again in an interventionist adventure in Haiti," LaRose told senators, in French.

"We are very far from seeing an inter-Haitian consensus, despite the wishes of external actors."

In recent months, Canada has focused on shoring up the Haitian National Police, the sole official armed force in Haiti, which disbanded its military years ago.

Vandehei shed some light on those efforts, including on a June announcement of the International Security Assistance Co-ordination Group, which has Canada managing how various countries support the HNP.

She said Canada is co-ordinating contributions from "over 26 countries," such as where the equipment offered by foreign countries could be best used in Haiti, whether it responds to local needs and if it's interoperable with existing kit.

Similarly, Canada is helping assemble a training calendar so that foreign police can fill the gaps that Haitian and Canadian officials have identified. She said part of the idea is pulling out cohorts for training in numbers that won't disrupt an already strained police force.

Vandehei noted that there are roughly 9,000 police officers for a nation of more than 11 million people.

Ontario Sen. Gwen Boniface's career focused on transnational policing, including a stint in Haiti, and she said Ottawa could make a meaningful contribution but needs to balance with being short-staffed at home.

"I want to see Canadians on the ground, but I'm trying to figure out how we'd strike a balance," the senator said.

Vandehei added that gangs have become so ingrained in Haiti that they often serve as the effective government and justice system in some areas, despite inflicting "unspeakable violence" on locals.

"We have to be incredibly nuanced in how we're approaching this complexity."
Photo: The Canadian Press Former B.C. attorney general Wally Oppal listens to Minister of Public Safety and Solicitor General Mike Farnworth during a press conference in Victoria, B.C., on Wednesday, July 19, 2023. British Columbia's Office of the Police Complaints Commissioner has called a public hearing into the circumstances leading to the death of a woman struck by projectiles fired by police in a Victoria supportive housing complex in 2019. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chad Hipolito

B.C.'s Office of the Police Complaints Commissioner has called a public hearing into the death of a woman who was struck by plastic bullets fired by Victoria police on Christmas Day 2019.

A statement from the office says a Police Act investigation had identified two allegations of misconduct stemming from an officer's use of force and a lack of documentation of the incident.

It says the allegations of abuse of authority and neglect of duty were found to be unsubstantiated by an independent police investigation in July.

But the notice of public hearing says the family of the 43-year-old woman made a request for the hearing, saying they saw inconsistencies in the information given to them from police and B.C.'s police watchdog.

Ronald MacDonald, the head of the Independent Investigations Office of B.C., declined to recommend possible charges in 2020, saying there were no reasonable grounds to believe an officer committed an offence.

MacDonald's decision says the woman who died was intoxicated and threatened residents at a housing facility before a fire broke out in a suite where she was barricaded and officers had no choice but to use force to end the situation.

With smoke billowing from the window of the suite, police were authorized to open the door, but visibility was poor and the woman wasn't coming out, the decision says.

Police had begun moving into the suite when an officer fired three "projectiles" from an ARWEN"less-lethal launcher," striking the woman in the head, it says.

The weapon fires a "large, rounded, hard plastic projectile," and is intended to be fired at the body, preferably striking muscled areas, MacDonald's decision says.

Through the smoke, the officer thought he'd been aiming at her abdomen, it says.

The woman was knocked unconscious and taken to hospital, where she never woke up after being placed on a ventilator, MacDonald's decision says.

Lisa Rauchdied a few days later when she was taken off life support.

The notice of the public hearing released Thursday says the post-mortem report indicates Rauch died as a result of "blunt force head injuries."

It says Rauch was homeless and had been living as a member of the "marginalized and at-risk community" in Victoria at the time of her death.

Former B.C. attorney general and judge Wally Oppal has been appointed to adjudicate the public hearing.
Photo: The Canadian Press FILE - Twitter, now X. Corp., and Tesla CEO Elon Musk poses before his talks with French President Emmanuel Macron, May 15, 2023, at the Elysee Palace in Paris. The Securities and Exchange Commission said Thursday, Oct. 5, that it is seeking a court order that would compel Musk to testify as part of an investigation into his purchase of Twitter, now called X. (AP Photo/Michel Euler, Pool, File)

The Securities and Exchange Commission said Thursday it is seeking a court order that would compel Elon Musk to testify as part of an investigation into his purchase of Twitter, now called X.

The SEC said in a filing in a San Francisco federal court that Musk failed to appear for testimony on Sept. 15 despite an investigative subpoena served by the SEC and having raised no objections at the time it was served.

But two days before his scheduled testimony, Musk abruptly notified the SEC staff that he would not appear, said the agencys filing. Musk attempted to justify his refusal to comply with the subpoena by raising, for the first time, several spurious objections, including an objection to San Francisco as an appropriate testimony location.

X is based in San Francisco.

Musks attorney, Alex Spiro, said in an emailed statement Thursday that the SEC has already taken Mr. Musks testimony multiple times in this misguided investigation  enough is enough.

The SEC said it has been conducting a fact-finding investigation involving the period before Musks takeover last year when Twitter was still a publicly traded company. The agency said it has not concluded that anyone has violated federal securities laws.

The Tesla CEO closed his $44 billion agreement to buy Twitter and take it private in October 2022, after a months-long legal battle with the social media company's previous leadership.

After Musk signed a deal to acquire Twitter in April 2022, he tried to back out of it, leading the company to sue him to force him to go through with the acquisition.

The SEC said that starting in April 2022, it authorized an investigation into whether any securities laws were broken in connection with Musks purchases of Twitter stock and his statements and SEC filings related to the company.

A lawsuit filed that same month by Twitter shareholders in New York alleged that the billionaire illegally delayed disclosing his stake in the social media company so he could buy more shares at lower prices.

That complaint centered around whether Musk violated a regulatory deadline to reveal he had accumulated a stake of at least 5%. The lawsuit alleged that Musk's actions hurt less wealthy investors who sold shares in the company in the nearly two weeks before Musk acknowledged holding a major stake.

The SEC's court filings dont detail the specifics of what its investigation is about, but argue that the agency is responsible for protecting investors and has broad authority to conduct investigations and that Musk has no basis to refuse to comply.

The SEC said Musk objected to testifying in San Francisco because he doesnt live there, so the commission said it offered to do it at any of its 11 offices, including one in Fort Worth, Texas, closer to where Musk lives. The SEC said on Sept. 24, Musks lawyers responded by saying Musk would not appear for testimony in any location.
Photo: The Canadian Press U.S. Attorney Breon Peace addresses journalists Thursday, Oct. 5, 2023, after the sentencing of Frank James, 64, who pleaded guilty earlier this year to terrorism charges in the April 12, 2022, mass shooting aboard a Manhattan-bound train. He received a life sentence on 10 counts and 10 years for an 11th count. Right center is FBI Special Agent in Charge Rob Kissane. (AP Photo/Craig Ruttle)

A man who sprayed a New York City subway car with bullets during rush hour, wounding 10 people and sparking a citywide manhunt, was sentenced Thursday to life in prison after several of his victims tearfully and angrily recounted their ongoing trauma.

Frank James, 64, pleaded guilty earlier this year to terrorism charges in the April 12, 2022, mass shooting aboard a Manhattan-bound train. He received a life sentence on 10 counts and 10 years for an 11th count of discharging a firearm during an act of violence.

Three of his victims spoke in court of the physical and emotional pain they continue to experience more than a year after the attack in a packed subway car. They described the panic and the splattered blood on the train, and how they used their own clothes as tourniquets to stanch the bleeding from victims' wounds.

I have not been able to make sense of it, said a young man identified as B.K. At times his voice cracked as he spoke and his eyes turned glassy from tears.

Another victim, a 51-year-old man identified as L.C., told the court he had post-traumatic stress disorder and thoughts of suicide.

L.C., who said he worked for the Metropolitan Transportation Authority at the time of the shooting, bought an e-bike to avoid riding trains. When he regained his confidence and returned to the subway, he relived the horror of the shooting upon seeing a man wearing a vest similar to the one James had worn.

I immediately thought of you, Frank James, the victim said, his voice booming with anger.

Another victim, who later identified himself as Fitim Gjeloshi, 21, began to share his own story with words of forgiveness  I dont blame him. He needs help.  then began to sob.

I cant do this, he said, walking out of court. He later returned to hear the judge sentence James.

During his own 15-minute address to the court, James expressed contrition for his actions but criticized the country's mental health system, saying it had failed especially people of color like him.

But he said his was not a sob story.

I alone am responsible and no one else for that attack, he said. He added that his violence was not due to animus toward any race or sexual orientation.

Reading from a handwritten statement, he recalled reading a news article about a young Black man who died in a subway car after being put in a chokehold by another rider who later said he was concerned about his erratic behavior and saw him as a threat. He was referring to the case of Jordan Neely, a Michael Jackson impersonator who became homeless and by most accounts was suffering from mental illness.

People keep criminalizing the people who need help, he said, adding that Neely was one such person who was screaming out for help.

U.S. District Court Judge William Kuntz was unconvinced, telling James that what he did was pure evil.

Prosecutors had asked for the life sentence, saying James spent years carefully planning the shooting in order to inflict maximum damage.

James attorneys had asked for a reduced sentence of 18 years, saying he didnt intend to kill anyone and citing his mental illness.

Disguised as a construction worker on the day of the shooting last year, James waited until the train was between stations, denying his targets a chance to flee. Then he ignited multiple smoke bombs and unleashed a barrage of bullets from a 9 mm handgun at panicked riders.

The attack, carried out as the train pulled into a station in Sunset Park, Brooklyn, wounded victims ranging in age from 16 to 60.

As emergency responders tended to the victims, James walked calmly out of the subway station and vanished. Authorities searched for him for more than a day. They identified James as a suspect relatively quickly, using a key to a rented moving van left behind on the bloodied subway car. He was eventually arrested in Manhattans East Village after calling a police tip line to turn himself in.

The attack stunned New Yorkers, heightened anxiety about safety in the transit system and prompted local officials to add additional surveillance cameras and police to the trains.

Before the shooting, James, who is Black, posted dozens of videos online under the moniker Prophet of Doom, ranting about race, violence, his struggles with mental illness and a host of unnamed forces he claimed were out to get him.

When James pleaded guilty to the terrorism charges earlier this year, he said he only intended to cause serious bodily injury, not death.

His attorney, Mia Eisner-Grynberg, had suggested that while James may have initially planned to kill people, he changed his mind in the heat of the moment.

She referenced the defendants abusive childhood in the Bronx and his ongoing struggles with both alcoholism and paranoid schizophrenia.

Prosecutors, however, said the trajectory of the bullets showed that James aimed at the center mass of riders for maximum lethality. They said James only stopped firing his semi-automatic Glock pistol because the gun jammed.
Titan America wins five awards at ConcreteWorks 2023

05 October 2023

Titan America picked up five awards at the National Ready Mix Concrete Association (NRMCA)'s ConcreteWorks 2023 event held in Nashville this week. The company was recognised for its safety, energy efficiency, innovative technologies, and quality.

Titan's Pennsuco facility in Medley, Florida, won the award in the innovative technologies category in the Portland Cement Association (PCA)'s 2023 Energy & Environment Awards in recognition of its use of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) in a variety of production applications.

We have ridden the power of AI and ML beyond our initial expectations, said Zaklina Stamboliska, vice president of cement manufacturing, Titan America. Unlocking the data and the correlations between subtle findings have enhanced our managers' abilities to run the plant in cost and energy efficient ways with higher quality output while production reached record levels.

Titans Roanoke Cement Company (RCC) was awarded the PCAs Energy Efficiency Award for its Troutville plant, which has earned the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)'s ENERGY STAR certification 16 years in a row, performing in the top 25 per cent in the USA for energy efficiency and meeting the strict energy efficiency performance levels set by the EPA.

In the category of safety, the NRMCA named Scott Holcombe of S&W Ready Mix Co, LLC, a subsidiary of Titan America, as the recipient of its 7th Annual Safety Award. Mr Holcombe is plant manager for both the Murrells Inlet and Georgetown plants in South Carolina.

The final awards were the NRMCA Producer Excellence in Quality Awards, scooped by S&W Ready Mix Concrete and Titan Florida Concrete. This award is for concrete producers using best-in-class quality systems and initiatives as established by NRMCA's Research Education and Standards (RES) committee, including customer focus, materials management, testing and analysis, and mix design.

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The overthrow of the US House speaker by a cabal of far-right agitators has left Republicans aghast at the party's chaotic approach to governing -- and its prospects for next year's presidential election.
After three decades, 300,000 Azerbaijanis who were ethnically cleansed in Armenia are still waiting for the EU to break its silence on this crime against humanity, Azernews reports, citing a post on X by Azerbaijan's Ambassador to Belgium and Luxembourg and head of representation to the European Union (EU) Vagif Sadigov.

He noted that being recognized by the UN as a refugee community under international humanitarian law, they demand the EU to put pressure on its ally Armenia to ensure their safe return to their homes in Armenia after 30 years of waiting for the delivery of justice, to restore their violated human rights, to safeguard their cultural and religious heritage. Vagif Sadigov added that after three decades, 300K of human beings still expect the EU to break its deafening silence around this crime against humanity.
How many young fathers have to die? Young fathers executed by a mental health patient sitting on the Patten Towers steps? This recent mental health murder is personal. A mental health patient that has been to mental health court four times?



How many times have you walked on that same sidewalk? How many times have you passed by Patton Towers and seen residents sitting on the very same steps, where the mental health patient was sitting, before he did the unthinkable?



In August, our elected representatives were paid to attend a special session in Nashville to deal with mental health and gun violence murder, requested by Governor Bill Lee.



People like this lifetime violent criminal, with a history of mental illness, should not be allowed to have a handgun. But instead of passing laws to prevent mental health murders, the Senate left town early and the House outlawed 8x11 paper signs, held up by grieving parents, that criticized their actions, or inactions, in even voting on meaningful mental health measures.



That is where we are on mental health and gun violence in Tennessee.



This is where we are with our elected representatives. In Tennessee, 80 percent of voters want restrictions on a mental health patient from owning a gun. The other 20 percent? They are the mental health patients. Or should be.



I expect our spineless representatives to claim that they could not have passed a law that would have prevented this senseless murder. After all, we have heard that lie before.



C Mark Warren

* * *

I read Mr. Warren's piece once, then again and then a third time each with more incredulity than the last.

Quote: "People like this lifetime violent criminal, with a history of mental illness, should not be allowed to have a handgun."

What kind of ridiculous statement is that? Of course he's not legally allowed to own a handgun. But that didn't stop him did it? Why would he pay attention to any law no matter what it applies to? He's already demonstrated that by his previous 66 arrests.

The only thing that would have prevented this senseless tragedy is if this lifelong career criminal had been behind bars where he belonged. That's the problem with the gun control crowd. They think passing "common sense" gun laws, even though they can't define just what that is, will prevent people from possessing guns even though they have no regard for any other law.

My heart goes out to the Wright family over this terrible tragedy that should have never happened.

Dennis Wooden

* * *

Mark Warren. Really? If I understand your post, you are saying that if our state Senate and House had passed a bill, two months ago, to restrict the mentally ill from owning a firearm then this senseless act would not have happened.

You and everyone else knows this simply is not true. This piece of junk has been arrested 66 times. He was in no way allowed to purchase or own a firearm. The sole reason that Christopher Wright is not here today is because of:

Liberal Lawyers Liberal District Attorneys Liberal Judges

How can anyone justify putting a career criminal like Daryl Roberts out on our streets. He has been arrested 66 times. How may other times has he broken the law and not been caught? Blaming guns (which liberals love to do) is not going to solve the problem.

We need to figure out how to severely punish these criminals and get them off the streets. Permanently. If we still had 3 strikes you're out there would be at least 63 less victims on Daryl Roberts' list.

Chip Rennick

* * *

I would be willing to bet that Darryl Roberts didn't buy that gun from a licensed dealer, and that he filled out no Form 4473.

I'm guessing that gun was stolen, and that Mr. Roberts either stole it himself or bought it from someone who did.

Lots of guns are stolen each year, and they find their way into the hands of folks who can't buy guns from licensed dealers.

Many of the guns that are stolen are stolen from vehicles.

I'm old enough to remember See Mark micturating himself in a letter to this forum way back in August about the District Attorney's office placing a PSA on local billboards advising gun owners not to leave their guns in their vehicles. I think See Mark called them "Glamour Shots."

Heeding the advice of those "Glamour Shots" will likely do a lot more to keep guns away from Mr. Roberts and his ilk than any new (and redundant) legislation would.

The aim of See Mark's recent missives seems to be more about everyone seeing Mark than anything else.

Kevin Hargis




The state of Tennessee is providing money to municipalities in the state to combat violent crime. The key is that it will be done with a collaborative, regional and multi-jurisdictional approach. It is to encourage the different agencies to share intelligence and resources to respond to the violent crime problem and hold offenders accountable. In Hamilton County, the Sheriffs Office will administer the grant totaling $1,800,000. It is being divided among the municipalities in the county based on crime in that area.

The city of Red Bank is receiving enough to purchase seven License Plate Readers that will be installed in four locations. They are estimated to cost around $65,000 and they must be located on a state route. This grant will pay 100 percent of the cost and requires no match from the city. It will cover the cost of the equipment, software and maintenance for a period of three years.

In response to questions from the commission about privacy concerns, Police Chief Dan Seymour told the commissioners that the system works by cameras scanning license plates and comparing them to a data base for things such as stolen cars, registration of vehicles, Amber Alerts, Silver Alerts, which is for missing elderly individuals, and open warrants. It stores tag information but not personal information. The system coordinates with cameras all across Tennessee and the rest of the country, so it can identify problem vehicles coming from other states.

One example he gave is that they can identify stolen cars from other states that are driven into Red Bank and dumped. The police can also enter a hot list into the system if there is a known tag number so the cameras search for it. There are good success stories from other municipalities across Tennessee and the country, he said, for finding criminals who have come into the city, guns and drugs.

The cameras are considered as another investigative tool for the police department, said Chief Seymour. But he told the commissioners that in order to stop and detain somebody, the officers cannot simply depend on the alert that comes from the LPRs. They have to take measures such as running the tag and verifying information. And other safety measures that protect individuals include protocols such as that the information collected by the tag readers must be purged in 90 days. The system must be used for a specific purpose, it is not open for public inspection, there is an audit trail leading to any person who accesses the system and it cannot be used for personal use.

This technology is being used or is being acquired by most law enforcement across the country, and receiving these cameras will keep Red Bank on par with other agencies on the local and national level, he said. Acceptance of the Violent Crimes Intervention Fund Grant was approved unanimously.

Another grant was accepted on Tuesday night. The Playground Grant 2023 from Gametime will be used for the purchase and installation of equipment to replace the playground equipment at White Oak Playground that no longer has parts available for repairs due to age. To receive the grant, the city has agreed to match the money provided up to $165,000. Because of the cost sharing from the grant, the playground can be bigger than the old one and it will include inclusive features for children of all abilities, said Capital Projects Manager Leslie Johnson. The deadline to purchase the equipment is the end of October and it will be received before Dec. 31.

Rezoning was approved for two properties, 119 and 121 West Ridgewood Avenue has been changed from R-1 Residential to C-1 Commercial on the second and final vote. The lot line will be removed and the property will be incorporated into the former Save-a-Lot property that is being developed as a mixed-use area. And 210 Lullwater Road has been rezoned from L-1 Light Manufacturing to R-TZ townhome and zero lot line residential. Plans for the lot are to build four single-family detached structures that will be sold, not rented.

A consumer beer license was approved for Sabor Modern Latino and Sushi, a new business at 1800 Dayton Blvd. after the owner was cautioned to check IDs to prevent underage sales of beer.

Resolutions were passed at the commission meeting to proclaim he week of October 8-14 as Fire Prevention Week. The theme this year will be Cooking safety begins with you. Red Bank firefighters will hold eight events around the city during the week to give safety tips for preventing fires associated with cooking. Fire Chief Brent Sylar said that cooking is a leading cause of home fires and that two of every five fires start in the kitchen. And October 28 has been proclaimed to be National First Responders Day. The city wants to recognize and honor those who work as first responders every day to keep the community safe and provide life-saving emergency care, any time tragedy strikes.
The mention of the three above periods in the financial history of America is not designed to slow down the wonderful growth that Tennessee, Hamilton County and Gig City are enjoying in the days around the Ides of March, 2023.

In case you are one of the folks who believes that the upward movement to eternal growth and riches as reported daily in the glossy slick press releases and magazines and Opinion/Releases present only the positive present and future, then you dont need to read further. (By the way 1929 officially started the Great Depression and 2008 was the beginning of the Great Recession.)

Other more knowledgeable writers have discussed the first two historical periods and predict that the future will be determined by upcoming events.

I can only relate to what my late workaholic father told me about being raised in the Great Depression and the hardships that affected not only the poor and middle classes but also the rich class as well. A recent WTCI documentary on the era validated everything that he ever told me and I never doubted his personal recollection of what he and his family had to go through in rural West Tennessee.

In 2008 I had unwisely decided to start accepting Social Security checks at the age of 67 out of a self-imposed sense of financial disaster and government failure rather than waiting to start receiving the benefits at the age of 70.

And then we had the March 8, 2023 with the Silicon Bank failure.

Having not been around in 1929 and not having the funds to engage in speculative investment adventures in 2008, I am hoping that both political parties will hold on to their highly published promises to not mess with Social Security or Medicare.

Those two areas are the ones that affect the vast majority of the tax payers in America that do not earn $400,000 a year.

(Hold on, dont panic, and maybe a renewed interest in religion might help also!)

* * *

You can reach Jerry Summers at jsummers@summersfirm.com
Hamilton County General Sessions Judge Alex McVeagh officially launched his campaign on Thursday to replace Circuit Court Judge Marie Williams in the Third Division of Hamilton Countys Circuit Court (11th Judicial District).

Judge Williams earlier announced her plans to retire on January 3, 2024 after serving 28 years.

Judge McVeagh said he will seek the Republican nomination for this judicial seat, which is scheduled for Tuesday, March 5, 2024 with the general election scheduled for Thursday, Aug.

1, 2024.

Words cannot express the appreciation I have for Judge Marie Williams and her 28 years of service to this community, said Judge McVeagh. It would be an honor to even attempt to fill her enormous shoes, as well as the shoes of her predecessor, the late Muecke (Mickey) Barker, who presided over Circuit Courts Third Division prior to becoming Tennessee Supreme Court Chief Justice.

Judge McVeagh officially launched his campaign after the Secretary of States Office and the Tennessee Registry of Election Finance confirmed the election to fill Hamilton Countys Circuit Court Division III seat will occur next year; therefore, candidates are now allowed to begin campaigning for this seat under Cannon 4 of Tennessees Code of Judicial Conduct.

In addition, Judge McVeagh announced Garnett Decosimo of Decosimo Corporate Finance will serve as the campaign treasurer, and Vince Butler and Katelyn Statom will serve as campaign manager. Leading the campaigns finance committee will be Mike St. Charles of Chambliss Law Firm, Lee Brock of Linda Brock Homes and Arch Trimble, IV. The honorary campaign chairs for the campaign are former Tennessee Representative Joan Carter, retired Hamiton County Mayor Jim Coppinger and retired Hamilton County Sheriff Jim Hammond.

Judge McVeagh has served as a judge since 2017 when he was appointed by former Governor Bill Haslam to replace General Sessions Court Judge David Bales. Judge McVeagh has since been overwhelmingly elected by the citizens of Hamilton County last August. During his campaign, Judge McVeagh had the honor of working with his friend and mentor, Justice Barker, who served as Judge McVeaghs campaign treasurer prior to his passing earlier this year.

Judge McVeagh and his colleagues regularly hear an average of 14,000 civil cases and 60,000 criminal cases each year. Judge McVeagh also founded and still presides over the misdemeanor Drug Recovery Court, which serves individuals suffering with addiction issues with treatment, strict supervision, drug testing, and required education and employment, all while saving Hamilton County taxpayers hundreds of thousands of dollars in incarceration and recidivism costs.

Judge McVeaghs service and dedication to those in our civil and criminal justice systems has been extraordinary, stated former Hamilton County Sheriff Hammond. It is important that we have experienced and tested state judges, and I believe that Judge McVeaghs legislative, legal and judicial experience makes him the best candidate for the job.

Judge McVeagh obtained a Bachelor of Science degree in economics from Vanderbilt University, as well as a Juris Doctor degree from Vanderbilt Law School. He previously worked as a litigator at Chambliss, Bahner & Stophel in Chattanooga, where he primarily practiced civil law in state and federal courts throughout Tennessee and Georgia. He also previously served as Assistant City Attorney for the city of East Ridge, as head research analyst & law clerk for the Tennessee Senate Judiciary Committee, and as Director of Special Projects for the Tennessee Republican Party.

I wish Judge McVeagh the best of luck and believe he will make a fantastic Circuit Court state trial judge, said former State Rep. Joan Carter. I appreciate his service to this community and to the practice of upholding the rule of law in Hamilton County. It only makes sense that in a recent bar association poll, local lawyers rated Judge McVeagh as Hamilton Countys best sitting judge in terms of his good moral character, legal ability, judicial temperament and diligence.

In 2019, Judge McVeagh served on the advisory board to create Chattanoogas Chapter of the Federalist Society. He is also one of Tennessees delegates to the American Bar Association House of Delegates and is Vice President of the Tennessee Bar Association Young Lawyers Division. He also serves on the executive committee of the Tennessee General Sessions Judges Conference and is a member of the Brock-Cooper Chapter of the American Inns of Court and the Downtown Chattanooga Rotary Club. Judge McVeagh is also a past recipient of the Chattanooga Bar Associations Volunteer of the Year.

In 2018 and again in 2021, the Tennessee Supreme Court appointed McVeagh to serve on its Access to Justice Commission. Currently the Commissions vice chair, McVeagh is the first and only sitting judge to serve on the Commission. During this time, McVeagh and the Commission started an online dispute resolution pilot program in Chattanooga to assist healthcare patients and providers in resolving outstanding medical debt before a lawsuit is filed.

Judge McVeagh also continues to serve on the Tennessee Supreme Courts Technology Oversight Committee, where he helped draft standards for electronic filing in all courts throughout the state, and regularly reviews applications from jurisdictions seeking to implement electronic filing in their courts. McVeagh hopes to assist Hamilton Countys clerks with the implementation of this important technological advancement.



For close to a decade, Judge McVeagh has organized Hamilton Countys local high school mock trial competition (the largest local mock trial competition in the state), and continues to help organize numerous clinics, including expungement clinics and clinics that provide free estate planning documents to military veterans, police officers, firefighters and first responders.


The Baylor Players will present Clue On Stage in the Roddy Theater on Oct. 18, 19, and 21 at 7:30 p.m., and Oct. 22, at 2:30 p.m.

Miss Scarlet, Mr. Green, Mrs. Peacock, Professor Plum, Colonel Mustard, Mrs. White. These six suspects have been part of our pop culture lexicon since they were dreamed up by British board game designer Anthony Pratt in 1943. And over the last 80 years Mr. Pratt's creation (originally, Cluedo in the UK then renamed Clue in the U.S. for its 1949 release) has become a staple at game nights worldwide. But Clue has evolved over the years beyond the dining room table and has since inspired a musical, several books and video games, and a 1985 film, which serves as the basis for the play being staged at Baylor.

A cast and crew of 32 students are busy rehearsing under the direction of Beth Gumnick. Set design is by Garrett Walsh, and costumes by Laura Smith.
I am thrilled about the future of public education in Tennessee. I will ensure that every student receives a high-quality education that prepares them for success in the modern world.Many critics like to point out some of the shortcomings of our system, and rightly so. A one-size-fits-all system does not work for everyone. It never has, and never will. The system will continue to evolve, albeit slowly, and adjustments will always be needed. We should welcome debate on public education, which remains our greatest priority.To attract and keep the industries and businesses that we need for a global economy, we must build and develop a quality workforce.A quality education system ultimately provides economic mobility for all our citizens. It is imperative that taxpayers understand that education is an investment for our states future, not merely an expense to bear. It is also a constitutional requirement in our state.At the state level, we must still improve the teaching pipeline. This means we must identify and develop a community of well-trained, highly compensated educators who can flourish in the teaching profession. Any investment we make in education must be high quality, and position our children for success in the classroom, career, and life. We have a lot of work still to do."Every generation, civilization is invaded by barbarianswe call them 'children,'" often attributed to the political philosopher Hannah Arendt. This concept reflects a common idea in many societies throughout history regarding the role of socialization and child-rearing. Education is critical in that arena.Societies have recognized the importance of teaching values, norms, and skills to the younger generation to ensure their integration into the social fabric and the continuity of cultural traditions. There is an increased recognition of the importance of providing a supportive and nurturing environment for children.Good schools and educators pay careful attention not only to how students learn but also to what content they learn. The content of education should be thoughtfully curated, relevant, inclusive, and adaptable to the changing needs of society to provide students with a well-rounded and meaningful educational experience. The content that students learn shapes their educational experience.We must ensure that students are exposed to a well-rounded and meaningful body of knowledge. This includes not only core subjects like math, science, language arts, and social studies but also a range of elective courses and extracurricular activities that can foster a holistic education.Different students have different learning styles and abilities. Good schools pay attention to individual needs and offer a degree of customization in their curriculum to accommodate diverse learners. When students can see the practical applications of what they're learning, they are often more engaged and motivated to learn.While it's important to have a strong foundation in traditional subjects like mathematics, science, and literature, it's also important to incorporate modern and relevant topics as well. Strengthening the foundations of our public school system begins with support for local control of public education. Educators also want that chance to be inventive, and they understand the need to challenge the status quo.The testing culture has killed the enthusiasm of many educators. Although we need testing to measure the progress of our students, we should recognize these tests are often unreliable in evaluating teachers and schools. We should pursue reliable standardized tests that provide accurate feedback for educators, parents, and students.No single test should be a determinant of a students, teachers, or schools success. True measurement of progress should instead consist of several benchmarks, not just testing. The goal should be to provide accurate and constructive feedback to educators, parents, and students. This feedback can help identify areas for improvement and inform instructional decisions.We must also break down the bureaucratic barriers that have kept educators and school districts from pursuing solutions to the unique challenges of their communities. This means we need to pilot innovative approaches that encourage our schools and their communities to work together and design solutions without bureaucratic hurdles.In Bradley County, Tennessee the school district has launched the Partnerships in Industry and Education Center, a unique concept that creates an innovative student experience through collaboration with business, industry, and nonprofit organizations changing learning pathways, providing experiential learning in STEM, embedded work-based learning experiences and promotion of design thinking. That is a wise strategy to pursue.Business and community leaders understand that the solutions to many problems we face hinge on a quality public education system. Our future depends on that success. Lets all work to make that happen.* * *JC Bowman is the executive director of Professional Educators of Tennessee, a non-partisan teacher association headquartered in Nashville.
City officials said that nine of the first 30 notices sent out to "unpermitted" Short Term Vacation Rentals (STVRs) should not have been sent and went to operators who actually have an active valid permit:

The addresses that got notices in error and which are actually operating with a valid STVR permit were given as

Chris Anderson, senior advisor to the mayor, said, "The city is using new software to help identify unpermitted STVRs as part of enforcing the updated regulations, and the discrepancy resulted from an imperfect integration of the multiple databases used to source the list. The decision to only pull a subset of addresses as a test case was intentional, given the new software and in anticipation of the possibility for error; we wanted to minimize the impact of any discrepancies, and that proved to be a prudent approach.







"Approximately one-third of this list of 30 addresses were incorrectly identified as unpermitted. The root cause of the error was quickly identified by working with our software provider and a process was put in place yesterday to ensure the relational datasets are synchronized moving forward.

"We are proactively reaching out to the errantly-cited property owners to notify them of the mistake, to explain the cause and the fix, and to apologize for the inconvenience. We do not anticipate this issue to recur."
The Dalton Public Safety Commission has named Matt Daniel as the sole finalist for the position of chief of the Dalton Fire Department. Mr. Daniel was selected from a field of four applicants from within the ranks of the Dalton Fire Department.

Mr. Daniels appointment as chief will not be official unless it is approved by a vote of the Dalton Mayor and Council. The council will consider a vote on his appointment after a two-week waiting period as required by state law. The councils next scheduled meeting following the completion of that waiting period is on Nov. 6, at 6 p.m.

Mr. Daniel is a 20-year veteran of the Dalton Fire Department, having joined the agency in January 2003. Before joining the DFD, he completed his NPQ fire qualification with the Jefferson (Ga.) Fire Department. He served in the departments Suppression Division for nearly 15 years, rising through the ranks and serving as a member of the Special Operations Team, HazMat Team, and on the Georgia Search and Rescue team. In 2017, he became Daltons fire marshal and coordinator for the departments Preventions Division. In 2019, he was promoted to the rank of captain and in 2021, he was named the chief of the division. He is a graduate of Dalton High School and studied at the University of North Georgia and Truett McConnell University.

Mr. Daniel said, Im humbled and honored to have the opportunity to lead the men and women of the Dalton Fire Department. Its an exciting adventure and Im ready and willing to accept the challenge and move the department forward and serve the community. I want to emphasize that there were three other very well qualified candidates from within the ranks of the fire department and that says a lot about the quality of training that we have here and thats something that the department is proud of. Its definitely a priority to maintain those high standards.

We had a very tough decision because we had some great candidates, said Truman Whitfield, chairman of the Dalton Public Safety Commission. I think Matt Daniel has an intensity in the way he looks at being thorough with his job. Hes task-oriented and outcome-oriented, and I think he wants whats best not only for the community by for the individual members of the agency and hell be able to move the agency forward.

Mr. Daniels selection will fill the vacancy left by the departure of Todd Pangle from the Dalton Fire Department to become Daltons assistant city administrator.
Kate Middleton's skipping the 2023 Earthshot Prize Awards in Singapore to stay home during an important time at school for Prince George.

Kate Middletons not going to Singapore for the 2023 Earthshot Prize Awards. That means Prince William, who founded the environmental initiative in 2020, will be going solo. The reason behind the Princess of Waless absence? She and the Prince of Waless oldest son, Prince George. The 10-year-old royal has a particularly important school event coinciding with the ceremony.

Kate doesnt want to disturb George while he takes school exams by going to Singapore

Dont expect to see Kate in a green gown to match the Earthshot Prize Awards green carpet this year. Shes not attending the ceremony alongside William in November 2023.

Rather, shes staying at home in Windsor, England, (Adelaide Cottage is the Wales familys primary residence.). The 41-year-old will be there while George takes exams and his younger siblings, 8-year-old Princess Charlotte, and 5-year-old Prince Louis, go to class at nearby Lambrook School.

Per the U.K.s Mirror, Kate does not want to disturb the youngsters schooling and works hard to ensure the trio have a stable home life in preparation for their royal careers later down the line.

Speaking to the Daily Beast, an insider close to Kate said the royal is tirelessly working on behalf of the monarchy. The fact is that her youngest child is 5, so I dont think she should be expected to hop on a plane every two minutes.

In the last year, William and Kate have included George, Charlotte, and Louis in a number of official visits and appearances. However, most have been local i.e., a short drive from their Windsor home, meaning a Wales family trip to the Earthshot Prize Awards may still be a few years away.

The Duchess of Cambridge will be staying home with her kids, Prince George, Prince Louis and Princess Charlotte.

Expert says its entirely right Kate should be there for George, not at the Earthshot Prize Awards

According to Jennie Bond, Kate made the right decision to skip walking the green carpet in Singapore with William to stay home.

She absolutely [made] the right decision, Bond told OK! Magazine. I cheered out loud when I learned that Catherine had chosen to stay home with George.

Official duties will come and go; children need their parents, and they grow up fast, the expert explained. There will be more Earthshot events and prizes. But this year, George has his own big event going on  exams. It is entirely right that his mum should be there to help him through them.

Prince Williams likely unhappy hes missing out on Georges exam week

Prince George, Kate Middleton, Prince Louis, Prince William, and Princess Charlotte | Samir Hussein/WireImage

Bond continued, saying Georges father probably isnt thrilled he wont be there for George as he takes his exams.

I expect William is kicking himself that his schedule clashes with Georges exams, the royal expert said. But he will be wholly supportive of Catherine staying home to help their son.

So, as William visits Singapore to mark the third annual Earthshot Prize, Kate will remain in England with George, Charlotte, and Louis.

The 2023 Earthshot Prize Awards take place on Nov. 7, 2023.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex understood each others needs from the beginning of their relationship says biographer Tom Quinn.

After years of playing the role of the royal familys most eligible bachelor, Prince Harry married actor Meghan Markle in 2018. However, while it appeared on the surface the couple had little in common, Meghan apparently clicked with Harry for one key reason, says a royal biographer.

What was the one thing that clicked between Prince Harry and Meghan Markle?

Royal biographer Tom Quinn, author of Gilded Youth: An Intimate History of Growing Up in the Royal Family, told Express that one element in the relationship between Prince Harry and Meghan Markle just clicked. Heres what he had to say.

Quinn suggested that Meghan allowed Harry the freedom to leave his role as a royal spare to his brother, Prince William. But, this one element of their relationship reportedly intrigued Harry, as he felt stuck in his position as a senior royal.

He said, All Harrys complaining is really about the fact that hes not number one, he doesnt have a bigger role. However, I think thats why he clicked with Meghan because she comes from a society where if you work hard and youre talented, you can get to the top.

Quinn alleges that outside of his royal birthright, Harry could achieve whatever goals he wanted outside of the parameters of the royal family. Subsequently, he believes Meghan showed Harry that side of life he never would have known as a senior royal.

This was the same reason Meghan Markle didnt like being a working royal, says author

Despite her popularity, Tom Quinn claims that Meghan Markle had difficulties fitting into the royal system because of its rigidity. The same reason Prince Harry wanted to leave the firm was the same reason Meghan didnt like being a working royal.

Quinn stated, Its obvious when you think about it, but I think she thought she could come into the royal family and be the star. He continued, And of course, she [Meghan] couldnt because the monarchical structures are medieval, theyre rigid.

Perhaps the biggest obstacle was that Harry would never play a vital role in the monarchy as his brother, Prince William, does and will. He and his wife, Kate Middleton, will someday be the king and queen of the United Kingdom. You cant change the fact that William and Kate are number one, Quinn added of the Prince and Princess of Wales.

Prince Harry discusses being a Spare in his memoir

Prince Harrys Spare memoir | Lev Radin/Pacific Press/LightRocket via Getty Images

In his memoir Spare, Prince Harry admits that he didnt like playing second fiddle to his brother, Prince William. He claims he was born to support his brother in all cases, even via blood or bone marrow.

Harry wrote, I was the shadow, the support, the Plan B. I was brought into the world in case something happened to Willy.

He continued by saying his role was to be a diversion and distraction from his brother or to provide, if necessary, a spare part to him. Kidney, perhaps. Blood transfusion. A speck of bone marrow.

Prince Harry further explained he understood the concept of heir and spare his whole life. He revealed that it was made abundantly clear to him from the beginning that he was born in case something happened to his brother.

Perhaps his marriage to Meghan Markle did give Prince Harry the chance to free himself from his locked-in royal role. However, in the years since splitting from the royal family, Harry has spent much of that time discussing them, so it appears he may still not be free from the royal role he longed to escape from.
With the current state of product and production technology, the electricity demand of all battery factories planned worldwide in 2040 will be 130,000 GWh per year, equivalent to the current electricity consumption of Norway or Sweden - this is the conclusion of a study by the research team led by Dr. Florian Degen of the Fraunhofer Research Institution for Battery Cell Production FFB, the MEET of the University of Munster, the Helmholtz Institute Munster and the University of Munster. However, new product and production technologies can optimize battery cell production to achieve savings of up to 66 percent, equivalent to the energy consumption of Belgium or Finland (in 2021).



The research results indicate that electricity demand for battery cell factories will increase to 130,000 GWh per year by 2040. Fraunhofer FFB

With the rapidly growing demand for electric vehicles, the market for batteries is growing rapidly, accelerating the need for battery cell factories. A study by the World Economic Forum and the Global Battery Alliance predicts that global battery demand will grow to 2600 GWh per year by 2030. This compares to a demand of about 400 GWh in 2022. However, current battery cell manufacturing processes are energy intensive and produce high levels of greenhouse gas emissions.

Study by Munster researchers analyzes energy consumption of gigafactories Against this background, the question arises as to how the energy consumption of battery cell production will develop and how it can be reduced in the future by means of production and material technologies. To this end, the research team  Dr. Florian Degen (Fraunhofer FFB), Prof. Dr. Martin Winter (Munster Electrochemical Energy Technology (MEET) of the University of Munster; Helmholtz Institute Munster), Prof. Dr. Jens Tubke (Fraunhofer FFB, KIT) and Prof. Dr. David Bending (University of Munster; REACH - EUREGIO Start-up Center) - analyzed how much energy is required for current and future production at the battery cell- and macro-economic level. A distinction was made between lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) and alternative battery cells, so-called post-lithium-ion batteries (PLIBs).

130,000 GWh/a in 2040 with current battery and production technology In the automotive and other industries, the upscaling of battery cell production is still in its early stages, but Dr. Florian Degen, author of the study and Division Director Strategy and Corporate Development at Fraunhofer FFB, points to the future demand for electricity: Not only in Europe, but also in Asia and North America, the construction of battery cell factories is being promoted in order to drive the necessary change in mobility. Demand for electricity will multiply to 130,000 GWh per year by 2040. This is equivalent to the annual electricity demand of Norway or Sweden in 2021. According to the study, with today's know-how and production technology, it takes 20 to 40 kilowatt-hours of energy to produce a battery cell with a storage capacity of one kilowatt-hour, depending on the type of battery produced and even without considering the material.

Future production: new technologies require less energy The results of the study by the research team predict that technological improvements in production, such as the use of heat pumps, alternative drying technologies, new drying room concepts, etc., as well as learning and economies of scale, can save up to 66 percent of energy by 2040. These potential savings are equivalent to the electricity consumption of Belgium or Finland in 2021. Similarly, the results show that the production of alternative battery technologies, such as solid-state batteries, requires significantly less energy per unit of battery storage capacity produced than the production of current lithium-ion batteries.

LIBs are currently the dominant battery technology on the market due to their high energy density for longer ranges and long battery charging cycles (1000 to 6000 cycles). As a result, they cover a wide range of applications in e-cars or trucks, as well as stationary and mobile terminals. In addition to excellent performance and maximum recyclability, energy efficiency and the associated costs - both for the assembly and the operation of the battery cells - will play an increasingly important role in the choice of technology in the future, especially for batteries beyond lithium-ion technology, says Prof. Dr. Martin Winter, Scientific Director of the MEET Battery Research Center at the University of Munster and Director of the Helmholtz Institute Munster of Forschungszentrum Julich.

The Fraunhofer FFB focuses on researching new and innovative production technologies. On the basis of extensive empirical data from science and practice, as well as from investigations of the company's own infrastructure, solutions are developed that sustainably optimize the entire value chain. Environmental solutions, for example, can make a decisive contribution to reducing energy and operating costs. Our goal is to make the production of today's batteries (LIBs) more sustainable and cost-effective and to enable the industrial production of future battery cells (PLIBs), emphasizes Dr. Florian Degen.
Cherokee leaders gathered at Vinitas Eastern Trails Museum on Sept. 30 to celebrate the annual Cherokee Day event, as well as announce a partnership to help preserve archival material held by the museum.
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Small towns often appear charming, quiet, and peaceful, but chances are, theres always some kind of drama going on beneath the surface.

TikToker Alexandria (@alexandriaf808) lives in a small town, and shes sharing the latest piece of gossip about a man who was spying on her through her bathroom window.

One day, she happened to meet a woman. They hit it off and became good friends instantly, so they made plans to go out for coffee and shop around at a little boutique store together a week later.

A few days after their initial meeting but before their scheduled plans, Alexandria was sitting on the front porch of her house enjoying a cup of coffee when a neighbor walked by exclaiming, Last night was crazy, huh?

Alexandria had no idea what they were referring to, so she ran over to inquire about what had happened. The neighbor spilled the details, and Alexandria learned that a guy had gotten arrested the night before, right outside of her house.

He had climbed onto the fire escape and was watching her through her bathroom window while engaging in inappropriate behavior. Police caught him in the act with his pants down.

Later that day, a maintenance worker came over to Alexandrias place. She asked if he would be able to do something for her, but before she could even finish her sentence, he chimed in, assuming that she wanted her bathroom window fixed. He revealed that the guy who had been arrested last night was his cousin!

How did everyone in town know about Crusty Corey watching me put my cold cream on, and no one thought to give me a courtesy call during any of this? she said.

A couple of days went by, and it was now time for her to meet the woman for coffee. The woman started venting to Alexandria about how the father of her children hadnt been answering her phone calls or text messages.

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Binta orphanage in Nigeria was burned down by Fulani militants. | William PB Devlin / Facebook

ABUJA, Nigeria  Fulani herdsmen and other terrorists on Sunday killed eight Christians in Plateau state, Nigeria, and wounded five others, sources said.

The assailants attacked Du village, in Bassa Countys Kwall District, with two children among those slain and the wounded requiring hospital treatment, said Davidson Malison, spokesman of the Irigwe Development Association (IDA), in a press statement.

The Fulani militias stormed the community at about 8:10 p.m., positioned themselves and sprayed bullets on the bodies of innocent Christians who were asleep, Malison said. To prove the maximum act of wickedness by these terrorists, children of 9 and 11 years were among those killed.

He called on the Nigerian government to urgently task security personnel to arrest the assailants.

The terrorists are known to the Nigerian government, and they are not ghosts nor invisible, he said. They had made threatening statements particularly to our communities in recent past.

He identified those slaughtered as Shara Danjuma, 9; Williams Danjuma, 11; Wala Boyi, 17; Yohanna Zehwhie, 35; Avu Goji, 18; Tingwie Nko, 38; Afiniki Sunday, 25; and Gani Doglas, 28. Wounded were Tini Thomas, 14; Rondo Peter, 18; Boma Sunday, 45; Geoffrey David, 19; and Joseph Monday, 25.

Were not only saddened by this unfortunate development and occurrence but completely depressed and brokenhearted, knowing fully how peaceful and hospitable Christians have lived with their Muslim neighbors in Plateau state, Malison said.

The attack has enveloped the local community in tears, sorrow and sadness, he said.

This is no doubt the continuation of destruction of lives and the ceaseless attempts to annihilate Christians of Rigwe ethnic extraction by terrorists and armed herdsmen has kept on persisting, he said.

In Plateau states Atuhun Panyam village, Mangu County, three Christians were killed on Sept. 27, area residents said. Area community leaders Longse Jokle and Joshua Gufwam in a press statement expressed sadness over continued attacks on Christians in Plateau state.

We mourn the brutal killing of three of our people in Atuhun Panyam: Panshak Peter, Ishaku Zumuk and Yakubu Sokyes, by Fulani militias; all whose corpses have been recovered from their farms where they were attacked, Jokle and Gufwam said. They have been buried in their respective villages which span into Pushit District.

Jokle and Gufwam, president and secretary respectively of the Panyam District Development Association, called on the countrys security agencies to halt attacks on Christians in Plateau state.

We condemn the killing of the three Christian farmers and call on security agencies to go after the killers, they said.

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. It also led the world in Christians abducted (4,726), sexually assaulted or harassed, forcibly married or physically or mentally abused, and it 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 2020 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 have said they 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.

Morning Star News is the only independent news service focusing exclusively on the persecution of Christians. The nonprofit's mission is to provide complete, reliable, even-handed news in order to empower those in the free world to help persecuted Christians, and to encourage persecuted Christians by informing them that they are not alone in their suffering.
Manipur | Rintharwon R Shimray /Google Map

Since half a year ago, Manipur has been thrown into turmoil by riots between rival ethnic groups, the Meitei and the Kuki, leaving the city's residents in chaos and tragedy. Nemnian Vaiphei, a spirited 77-year-old grandmother and widow from India, was no exception to this upheaval.

Caught in the crossfire between the primarily Hindu Meitei and the Christian Kuki, she couldn't return to her village near Imphal, a Manipur city that had become a sanctuary for the fleeing Kuki. In a cruel twist, Nemniang became a refugee in her own land.

Upon getting wind of her predicament, Nemniang's 25-year-old grandson was dispatched to be her companion on the journey to safety in Aizawl, one of the nearest cities. Despite the relatively short distance of around 300 miles separating Manipur and Aizwal, the passage spanned at least 18 hours. Today, Nemniang resides in government-provided apartments in Edenthar, a locale about 30 minutes from Aizwal, accessible only by winding mountain roads.

"Since Im confident that God's watching over me, I am content. Even though many are facing challenges finding a place to stay, I feel quite at ease here," she shared.

Numerous Kuki-Christian families, displaced by the conflict, have found refuge in similar low-budget apartments recently built under the Basic Services to Urban Poor (BSUP) program, aimed at aiding impoverished residents on the outskirts of Aizawl.

This bitter ethnic strife has claimed nearly 200 lives and uprooted over 70,000 Manipuri Indians. Of them, over 60,000 are Kuki Christians who were compelled to leave their native lands, especially those residing in Imphal Valley.

The region, predominantly inhabited by ethnic Meiteis, most of whom adhere to Hinduism, witnessed the exodus of many Kuki individuals as their homes and communities fell victim to riots and destructive arson.

"Every member of my family is scattered, facing their own trials. I first of all give all thanks to God for his care towards my large family. Currently, my son is unable to resume work in Imphal and not receiving his wage. Still, Im full of gratitude.

The painful memories of a mentally ill woman, left behind in their village during the evacuation, continue to haunt Nemniang. A woman who has a mental illness died of the fire. Its tragic to hear but Im sure that it will all be remembered from above by the One who has possession over all things.
Unsplash/Maria Oswalt

The U.S. Supreme Court has declined to review the appeals of numerous pro-life activists who are currently contending with substantial fines. These fines stem from their release of covert videos, which show Planned Parenthood staff debating on making a profit from baby bodies.

Back in 2015, the Center for Medical Progress, a pro-life activist group, made headlines with a series of undercover videos revealing discussions among Planned Parenthood officials and abortion providers about potentially illegal activities. This included altering abortion procedures to preserve fetal organs, tissue, and limbs.

The high court, in a recent orders list, rejected the appeals of several related cases, allowing previous rulings against the activists to stand. This could potentially lead to significant financial penalties.

Liberty Counsel, involved in the defense, emphasized the First Amendment implications for free speech and undercover journalism. They questioned whether journalists, operating undercover to expose what they believe to be unlawful conduct, should face punitive liability for "fraud."

The legal battle stems from accusations of selective video editing and breaches of confidentiality agreements by Planned Parenthood and the National Abortion Federation. The Center for Medical Progress, however, released the videos in their entirety, which were publicly reviewed.

Previously, a U.S. District Court ordered CMP to pay over $1.2 million in damages related to the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act. Last year October, a Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals panel upheld a ruling requiring the activists to pay $2.4 million in damages. The panel rejected claims that their actions were protected by the First Amendment and journalistic practices.
On Sunday mornings at New York Chinese Alliance Church, where I pastor, several different ethnic congregations come to listen to Gods Word in their mother tongues. Parents drop off their youngsters for childrens worship and Sunday school. Youth gather for fellowship and Bible study.

Our seasoned ushers always try to welcome every familiar face and newcomer into the house of God with a warm smile. And while their primary goal is to meet and greet each person, our church has also trained them to identify acute needs and flag any potential concerns among the congregation.

We have a congregant with a history of incarceration who often invites other formerly incarcerated men and women to church. And although we are happy for the opportunity to minister to such individuals, we try to be discerning in how to best serve them in the context of the larger community.

One Sunday morning this year, this congregant invited a new visitor who triggered a sense of concern. When the ushers decided to inquire about the newcomer, they discovered that he was a registered sex offender. And while they still welcomed him as a first-time guest, they also wanted to protect our other congregantsand so they decided to inform our pastors and governing board members.

Prayerfully, our church leadership identified a spiritually mature member to accompany the young man for the remainder of the service, and he was able to enjoy fellowship with other members throughout the afternoon.

As a medium-sized Christian and Missionary Alliance Church, we realized we were woefully unpreparedhaving no explicit policies written to address these kinds of situations. Our governing board had never had to consider how to enable someone seeking God to find him in our fellowship, while still ensuring the safety of young children and adolescents in our congregation.

Over 780,000 sex offenders reside in the United Statesa country in which 81 percent of women have experienced sexual abuse, along with 43 percent of men. Sexually abused children know their perpetrators 93 percent of the time. And yet just over 30 percent of sex offenses are reported to authorities.

As a pastor and pediatrician, I feel a personal obligation to safeguard the youth in our church body. In my former practice, strict policies were implemented to protect sick and vulnerable children. At the same time, I sensed a need for our church to minister to this young man. Rather than denying him a place to worship, I felt we should offer him the same chance for redemption as anyone else.

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Our governing board discussed details such as whether we should prohibit this man from interacting with children in our congregation. We wondered if we should inform the parents of our kids and youth, or whether that would create more fear than caution. We also wanted to be informed of whatever legal mandates were expected of us so that we could comply with the law of the land.

Our priority was to protect the congregation. But at the same time, we wrestled with how Jesus would respond to this situationespecially knowing how he interacted with tax collectors, prostitutes, and other broken people on the fringes of first-century society. Could we fulfill both goals? And if so, how?

First, its important to remember that federal laws require all sex offenders to register their status. Neglecting these laws can result in the prosecution of new crimes.

For instance, in our state of New York, sex offenders are categorized based on their risk of committing another crime and harming the community. Level 1, or low-risk offenders, must register for 20 years unless they have been given a specific designation. Level 2 (medium) or level 3 (high) risk offenders are required to register for life. Special designations include sexual predators, sexually violent offenders, and predicate (repeat) sex offenders.

That said, legislators have struggled for ages to develop appropriate policies for sex offenders. The pendulum swings from rehabilitation to punishment to isolation. Experts debate the merits of rehabilitation versus punishment alone. Each framework has pros and cons, with polarizing views on either side of the issue.

Rehabilitation models place a prudential value on the dignity and wellbeing of every individual, including their relationships, health, work, and other activities. Rehab programs are designed to restore a persons capacity to function, regain their quality of life, and help them become a contributing member of society.

But punishment models are also rooted in ethical valuesin the belief that theres a firm line between right and wrong, good and bad, and that this distinction defines our behavior and should underpin the boundaries of all our relationships.

Likewise, local churches face the dilemma of where to place appropriate boundaries to ensure their communitys safety while also being willing to partner in the spiritual rehabilitation of broken individuals.

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The Bible mandates protecting the vulnerable from harm while also showing mercy to sinners. In Luke 5:32, Jesus says, I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance. At the same time, he warns us that whosoever shall offend one of these little ones that believe in me, it is better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and he were cast into the sea (Mark 9:42, KJV).

So, unfortunately, there is no easy answer when it comes to how churches should respond to sex offenders who want to attend worship, participate in Bible study, or engage in other ministry gatherings.

That said, most experts agree sex offenders should not be allowed to attend a church if its leaders are not properly trained to ensure the safety of their children. This includes staff being educated on the habits of sex offenderssuch as their potential to groom churches and take advantage of their trustas well as being informed of all relevant state and federal laws.

Some states, like Tennessee, have proposed banning sex offenders from houses of worship unless they obtain permission. Others do not permit them to be onsite at daycare facilities or schools, which often include churches, depending on their structure and level of involvement in para-church activities. In many cases, it is not safe for the former sex offender to be allowed to have any contact with or proximity to children whatsoeverand it may even be illegal for them, depending on their timeline and level of risk.

According to a 2010 CT study, nearly 80 percent of pastors, church leaders, and staff surveyed at the time believed sex offenders should be allowed to worship in church, so long as they are subject to supervision and certain limitations. That said, most arent prepared to welcome them into their own churches.

In his 2009 book, pastor Dick Witherow defines sex offenders as modern-day lepers. When Florida laws restricted where sex offenders could live in the state, Witherow expanded his existing prison ministry to help sex offenders re-enter society and reintegrate into congregations. After a series of setbacks, he bought a property in Palm Beach County to build Miracle Village (also known as City of Refuge), now the largest community for rehabilitating sex offenders in the nation.

While Witherows efforts have been a transformativeif controversialmodel, most churches do not have the resources or manpower to support sex offenders while ensuring the safety of the vulnerable. In these cases, larger churches with abundant staff may be better equipped to help, since they are more likely to have the resources to supervise sex offenders on the premises.

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What did our church do in this situation? After a time of prayer, church leadership realized the need to develop a policy for future encounters. A committee was formed to understand the complexities of federal and state laws, evaluate our standing procedures, and provide recommendations to the governing board regarding our posture toward sex offenders.

Given specific state laws regarding reporting and parole, our policy first defines the term sex offender. It then outlines specific requirements for sex offenders to attend church ministries, including an initial approval process involving pastors, the governing board, and a written covenant. The policy provides accountability for the sex offender, facilitates communication with church leaders, and allows oversight by the governing board.

Some of the issues we considered revolved around the following questions:

Is our church called to minister to sex offenders? What child safety protocols are in place, and what revisions are necessary? How do we obtain accurate and up-to-date information on a sex offenders status while liaising with relevant (e.g., parole officer) parties? In what ways can we gauge a sex offenders heart and sincerity? How can we provide accountability for all parties involved? What services can we offer, and which are better received outside the church (such as therapy/counseling, cognitive behavioral therapy, and addiction programs like AA/NA)? What is the role of a sex offenders accountability partner, and how can they minister to the individual? What ministries are a sex offender welcome to participate in? What congregational expectations should we have of a sex offenders code of conduct? What are potential consequences of policy violations, and how will they be enforced? Are we compliant with state mandates and federal laws? How and when should we communicate to our congregation when sex offenders are on the premises? How can we involve the congregation in the process in a way that reflects both the protective and welcoming heart of Christ?

Another key question we considered was whether the person was truly repentant of their sin or whether they have sought to downplay their misdeeds. A genuinely repentant heart is one of the most important criteria in evaluating whether a sex offender is ready to engage in a local church. David models this heart of repentance in Psalm 51 as he confesses his sins in a spirit of brokenness and contrition.

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While we were in the process of working through these considerations and developing an official policy, our committee invited the young man to worship with us virtually in our online service, rather than joining us in person, for the time being. He was gracious in his response and honored our wishes. We also assigned a pastoral staff member to reach out and minister to this individual on a regular basis.

One of the most important goals of our policy was to develop an environment of accountability and potential for discipleship. Sexual recidivism rates are 30 percent at 10 years but as high as 52 percent within 25 years. Knowing that statistics are likely underreported, these rates of repeated criminal behavior demonstrate how difficult it is to overcome this particular thorn in the flesh.

By fostering a relationship of accountability with a trusted church member, a sex offender has more communal incentive to avoid sexual temptations and live a sanctified life. Accountability partners are present to listen and support, while speaking the truth with grace, mercy, and love. Ideally, this kind of discipleship relationship encourages a life of prayer, worship, and personal devotion.

We are still in the process of finalizing a sex offender policy that is comprehensive in scope and detailed in prescriptionan internal document that can guide our church in similar situations down the road. Above all, we want this policy to ensure the safety of vulnerable congregants while welcoming broken individuals with sinful pasts, like this young man, into our community and the heart of worship.

As a medium-sized church, we are aware of our limitations and know that we may not be able to welcome every sex offender into our community. But at the same time, we do want to be the hands, feet, and voice of Jesus. Scripture tells us it is often through fellowship with the family of God that we can experience the love of Christ. And just like the broken people on the margins in Jesus day, sex offenders should not be kept from the chance to commune as members of the body of Christ.

Ultimately, as Christians, we believe Jesus offers each of us the same opportunity for redemption through his bloodand if anyone is in him, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come (2 Cor. 5:17, ESV).

Stephen Ko is senior pastor at New York Chinese Alliance Church and adjunct professor at Alliance Theological Seminary. He is the author of the forthcoming Zondervan book Faith Embodied.

[ This article is also available in Portugues. ]
We live in a world where race relations receive near-constant attention. Conversations about race permeate our politics, schools, universities, sporting events, concerts, health servicesand our churches as well. And yet in public discourse, complex and wide-reaching issues of race are often reduced to the simple binary of Black versus white.

But where does this leave other ethnicities that dont fit into this reigning dichotomy? Asians, to take one example, make up around 7 percent of the American population and around 10 percent of the British population. Yet the public discourse about race often overlooks them.

As a British Singaporean, I am therefore grateful for Michelle Lee-Barnewalls new book A Longing to Belong: Reflections on Faith, Identity, and Race. A New Testament professor at Biola University, Lee-Barnewall weaves her personal story as a South Korean growing up and living in the United States with a practical exploration of the Bibles themes of identity, community, and diversity.

Part 1, Created to Belong, begins with Lee-Barnewalls childhood, emphasizing her struggles to fit in at school as a South Korean growing up in Minnesota. Im sure many children can relate to her experience of desiring to been seen as normal, fearing classroom mockery, and enduring the pain of rejection by peers.

Lee-Barnewall then dovetails her autobiographical anecdotes with the Bibles teaching that we are created as intrinsically relational beings who are wired to yearn for community. Furthermore, as she points out, Christians are called to something greater than personal repentance and discipleship; we are called to be interdependent and united as the very body of Christ. Lee-Barnewall notes that in Pauls teaching about the body of Christ in 1 Corinthians 12, there are very few imperatives. The body of Christ, in this sense, is not something we actively do or make but is the reality of who we are in Christ.

Part 2, Belonging Together, is the longest section of the book, and it focuses on what it should look like to live as a community of believers. Lee-Barnewall begins by reflecting on how her identity was shaped by her familys ethnicity and history as Korean immigrants to the United States. She goes on to show that our identity in Christ is necessarily and indispensably corporate. As she puts it, being the body of Christ is more than a nice image to encourage us to cooperate and get along .  Paul is talking about something real and true, something that has already happened. This is who we are, and who we are has real substance.

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Lee-Barnewall spells out several implications of this statement. Being Christs body means existing as a community that cares for, and is affected by, the well-being of members, just as a human body is affected when one part is injured. It means that the church should be characterized by bonds of love and loyalty akin to those within a biological familybonds that compel radical personal sacrifices for the sake of others. And it means that the church should be a place of repentance when our hearts harbor prejudice or suspicion toward people of different racial or ethnic backgrounds.

Part 3, Belonging to God, closes the book by turning our eyes to heaven, where people from every nation, tribe, people and language are gathered in worship before the throne of the Lamb (Rev. 7:9). Lee-Barnewall notes that heavens ethnic diversity is held together not through human effort or innovation but by communal worship. There is a place, she acknowledges, for seeking to build intentionally multicultural churches, but being before the throne may be the positionthe only positionthat allows us to overcome all the pettiness and meanness that causes our division and pain.

There are several reasons to commend Lee-Barnewalls book, including her rich theological insights into the Bibles themes of community and identity. Her call to radically display the unity and love of Christ in our churches, especially across ethnic boundaries, is a challenge to us all.

Furthermore, I am especially grateful to see Lee-Barnewall touch upon racial matters that often go neglected, even as they affect millions of Asians living in Western countries. For example, she recalls occasions when strangers assumed she was from a different East Asian country and the bizarre conversations that sometimes followed. She also discusses the fact that first- and second-generation immigrants to Western countries often lack close networks of extended family, which can breed feelings of isolation when friends speak about family gatherings and relationships. Lee-Barnewall even raises the issue of visas being tied to secure employment, and the persistent fear of deportation that hangs over immigrants with any sort of job insecurity.

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Yet if I have one criticism, it would be the books tendency to shy away from some of the wider political discussions around race. A thoughtful and nuanced contribution from an Asian American theologian could have been helpful, particularly when Asians are often overlooked in modern political discourse.

Take, for instance, the recent US Supreme Court decision that ruled against Harvard Universitys race-conscious admissions policy. Reaction to the decision appeared to be largely (if not exclusively) focused on the implications for Black and white students. But this overshadows the fact that the lawsuit was filed by a group of Asian American students, who maintained that Harvards policies were resulting in artificially low Asian admission rates. Lee-Barnewalls purpose in writing, of course, isnt to weigh in on every secular political debate that intersects with race. But her book might have been enriched, at various points, by greater attention to our wider political landscape.

This criticism notwithstanding, A Longing to Belong is profoundly biblical, helpfully practical, and movingly personal. Readers of all races will discover a great source of nourishment, encouragement, and welcome provocation.

Ben Chang is a writer and speaker. He is the author of Christ and the Culture Wars: Speaking for Jesus in a World of Identity Politics.

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Today Heather sits down for a heartfelt chat with Hosanna Wong, the best-selling author and spoken-word poet responsible for viral-video hits such as I Have a New Name. If you have ever struggled with issues of identity or self-worth, todays episode is for you. Hosanna also shares her ponderings about the complicated reality of grace, and how sometimes it feels like Gods grace isnt fair.



In this episode Heather also taps into a lighter conversation with her best friend and co-blogger Scarlett Longstreet in Safe Space, a new segment in which Heather and Scarlett discuss social media and popular culture. Today they discuss oversharing. How much is too much when it comes to sharing the details of your life online? Heather and Scarlett are very different. They dont share the same religion or background, but they respect each other and have done a good job of creating a Safe Space for both meaningful and casual conversation.



Guest Bio

Hosanna Wong is an international speaker, best-selling author, and spoken word artist helping everyday people know Jesus for real. Widely known for her spoken-word piece I Have a New Name, Hosanna shares in churches, conferences, prisons and other events around the world. She reaches across various denominations, backgrounds and cultures and her latest book is called You Are More Than Youve Been Told.

Host Bio

Heather Thompson Day is an associate professor of communication at Andrews University in Berrien Springs, Michigan. She is the author of eight books, including Ill See You Tomorrow and Its Not Your Turn. Reach out to Heather on X, the app formerly known as Twitter, at @HeatherTDay and on Instagram @heatherthompsonday.

Additional Links

You can sign up for Heathers encouraging email that goes out every Friday night at 7pm EST at www.heatherthompsonday.com/links

Viral Jesus is a production of Christianity Today

Host and creator: Heather Thompson Day

Executive Producer: Ed Gilbreath

Producer: Loren Joseph

Associate Producer: Azurae Phelps

Mix Engineer: Alex Carter

Director of CT Podcasts: Mike Cosper
Jeff Schoch was ready to be done with COVID-19 health safety regulations.

Like most ministers in the US, the pastor of Crossroads Bible Church in San Jose, California, did his best to comply with the many pandemic rules imposed by state and local governments. But as soon as they were lifted, he wanted to put them all behind him. He quickly tore down the state-mandated signs about social distancing, hand washing, and masks.

I got rid of every visual reminder in the church, Schoch told CT. I was anxious, personally, to make that a memory.

Across the country, Protestant congregations are dealing with the long-term impacts of the pandemic. A new, extensive study by Arbor Research Group and ChurchSalary, a ministry of Christianity Today, found that a lot of pastors are still in crisis. Some furloughed staff members havent gone back to work. And even when attendance numbers have rebounded, there are still people missing from many congregations. Christian leaders will likely be grappling with the fallout from COVID-19 for years to come.

But, surprisingly, state-level pandemic restrictions had no measurable, lasting impact on American churches. Even in places like San Josewhere the county government imposed some of the strictest rules in the country, the restrictions changed frequently, and authorities aggressively went after churches they said failed to complypastors like Schoch were able to just move on. The data doesnt show any adverse effects from the government regulations.

Eric Shieh, a research consultant for Arbor Research, said that surprised him.

You would think that the restrictions made things tougher for churches. They didnt meet as much, and so youd be able to see the impact that had a few years later, he told CT. There should be something there. But based on the dataand we have a lot of datathats not what happened. Actually, theres no real correlation.

Shieh looked at the regulations in 50 states and ranked their severity. In 9 states, government restrictions were mild to nonexistent, and ended very quickly. In 23, there was a moderate level of regulation around masks, meeting sizes, and social distancing. In another 18, there were a lot of rules and some harsh punishments.

California, for example, limited the number of people who could attend a service indoors or outdoors, banned all singing and chanting, mandated masks, and required signs telling churchgoers to wash their hands with soap for at least 20 seconds, use hand sanitizer, and not touch their face. There were also regulations about cleaning between servicesincluding instructions about which chemicals to useand washing or throwing away everything that had been touched.

Places of worship must comply with all Cal/OSHA standards, the state instructed in July 2020, and be prepared to adhere to its guidance as well as guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the California Department of Public Health (CDPH). Additionally, places of worship must be prepared to alter their operations as those guidelines change.

Once Shieh ranked the severity of the state rules, he mapped the information that Arbor Research and ChurchSalary collected from their survey of 1,164 pastors from 42 denominations and qualitative interviews with 17 focus groups across the country. Measuring attendance, giving, staff levels, and several other metrics in 2022, he found that after all the regulations had been lifted (and some states, including California, had been reprimanded by the Supreme Court), there was little to no discernible difference between churches where there had been lots of restrictions and those where there had been almost none.

The health of a church today isnt dependent on what region it is in, Shieh said. Its really internal factorsthe divisions in the church and the churchs resilience.

That doesnt mean, however, that the health of individual churches wasnt severely tested by pandemic rules. When the first lockdown orders were issued in California, Schoch remembered wondering if his nondenominational church would even survive. Most of the members were senior citizens and the church had been struggling for a while.

Oh great, Schoch said to himself, one more challenge. And then he prayed, This could be it, Lord.

Three miles away at Willow Glen Bible Church, the church staff and elders were scrambling to figure out what to do. There was no protocol for getting instructions on rules for meeting. People were hearing stuff on the news, checking different websites, and hearing things from other churches and church staff like a crazy coconut telegraph of pastors texts.

Family pastor David Mission recalls that the church decided very quickly to do what the county health department said, for the good of everybody. But then there was a problem figuring out how to interpret the rules. That was only made more complicated when the pandemic restrictions continued to evolve week to week.

Its a hermeneutics problem, but like you get a new book of the Bible every week and its different from what you had before, Mission told CT. Were not trained to interpret this stuff. And we had young staff and older staff, elders with different levels of concern and different life experiences. We have some different temperaments, and were all trying to make sense of this message from the county health official together. It caused a lot of tension.

But there was tension, too, in states where the government placed few burdens on religious gatherings and got rid of the restrictions quite quickly.

In Statesboro, Georgia, on the other side of the country, New Covenant Church only closed its office for a few hours. The pastor, David McLendon, sent everybody home, but then when he got home he thought, Whos going to meet the FedEx guy to sign for all the equipment we just ordered to livestream the service? When he got back to the church, he found several staff members had had the same thought.

They livestreamed the service, but New Covenant had trouble keeping people from showing up, McLendon recalled.

The bands there, and the bands spouses are showing up, he said, and then other people watching the livestream can see that there are people present, and some of them started showing up too.

In May, the governor of Georgia ended the shelter-in-place order, and the charismatic congregation in Statesboro opened back up. McLendon checked with the local chief of police to make sure hed understood the executive order correctly and then told his congregation, If you want to come, come, or you can watch at home.  Were going to keep the livestream, so if you need to stay home, stay home.

Not everybody was happy with the decision. And some were fine with the decision, but thought there should have been more conversations before it was made. Several elders were mad, McLendon recalled, and one quit. Some previously active members never appeared again, and he wonders if they were offended by the decision to reopen before other churches in the area.

But the congregation has, nonetheless, grown since then. For the most part, theyve put the brief era of pandemic restrictions behind them.

Having the Germ-X bottles everywhere is still weird, but we have them, McLendon said. I think we clean the church better than we did before. The biggest difference for us is that we eventually developed a really high-quality online service. My worship guy has really worked to make it excellent.

Back in California, the tensions have eased at Willow Glen Bible Church as well. The church staff actually talks about the creativity, collaboration, and adaptation that was required during the lockdowns with some fondness.

Someone will say, Maybe it would be nice to meet outside again. That was kind of fun when we did that, Mission said. Then when we get to it, actually planning it, its like nope.

Up the road, Crossroads Bible Church hasnt died. Its actually grown. Schoch has seen a number of young adults start coming and is scheduled to officiate a bunch of weddings. Theres new life and new energy, and the nondenominational pastor has mostly been able to put that period of government restrictions out of his mind.

He does hope, though, that going forward, he will remember some of what he learned during COVID-19.

I became convicted about halfway through the whole crisis that, Oh, its not up to me. Its up to God, if God wants this church to survive, Schoch said. We just kept putting one foot in front of another and God showed up.
11 Christians killed in Nigeria's Plateau state, sources say

ABUJA, Nigeria  Fulani herdsmen and other terrorists on Sunday killed eight Christians in Plateau state, Nigeria, and wounded five others, sources said.

The assailants attacked Du village, in Bassa Countys Kwall District, with two children among those slain and the wounded requiring hospital treatment, said Davidson Malison, spokesman of the Irigwe Development Association (IDA), in a press statement.

The Fulani militias stormed the community at about 8:10 p.m., positioned themselves and sprayed bullets on the bodies of innocent Christians who were asleep, Malison said. To prove the maximum act of wickedness by these terrorists, children of 9 and 11 years were among those killed.

He called on the Nigerian government to urgently task security personnel to arrest the assailants.

The terrorists are known to the Nigerian government, and they are not ghosts nor invisible, he said. They had made threatening statements particularly to our communities in recent past.

He identified those slaughtered as Shara Danjuma, 9; Williams Danjuma, 11; Wala Boyi, 17; Yohanna Zehwhie, 35; Avu Goji, 18; Tingwie Nko, 38; Afiniki Sunday, 25; and Gani Doglas, 28. Wounded were Tini Thomas, 14; Rondo Peter, 18; Boma Sunday, 45; Geoffrey David, 19; and Joseph Monday, 25.

Were not only saddened by this unfortunate development and occurrence but completely depressed and brokenhearted, knowing fully how peaceful and hospitable Christians have lived with their Muslim neighbors in Plateau state, Malison said.

The attack has enveloped the local community in tears, sorrow and sadness, he said.

This is no doubt the continuation of destruction of lives and the ceaseless attempts to annihilate Christians of Rigwe ethnic extraction by terrorists and armed herdsmen has kept on persisting, he said.

In Plateau states Atuhun Panyam village, Mangu County, three Christians were killed on Sept. 27, area residents said. Area community leaders Longse Jokle and Joshua Gufwam in a press statement expressed sadness over continued attacks on Christians in Plateau state.

We mourn the brutal killing of three of our people in Atuhun Panyam: Panshak Peter, Ishaku Zumuk and Yakubu Sokyes, by Fulani militias; all whose corpses have been recovered from their farms where they were attacked, Jokle and Gufwam said. They have been buried in their respective villages which span into Pushit District.

Jokle and Gufwam, president and secretary respectively of the Panyam District Development Association, called on the countrys security agencies to halt attacks on Christians in Plateau state.

We condemn the killing of the three Christian farmers and call on security agencies to go after the killers, they said.

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. It also led the world in Christians abducted (4,726), sexually assaulted or harassed, forcibly married or physically or mentally abused, and it 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 2020 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 have said they 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.
Air Force reservist sues over punishment for 'political' remarks during off-duty speech

A member of the U.S. Armed Forces is taking legal action against the Department of Defense and other officials after he was disciplined for remarks he made while in uniform at a private ceremony.

U.S. Air Force Reserve Jace Yarbrough, who had previously served on active duty and is an attorney in his civilian life, received a letter of admonishment for giving remarks while off duty at a retirement ceremony in 2021 that some deemed political in nature.

A complaint filed Tuesday on behalf of Yarbrough in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, Sherman Division accuses military officials of violating the reservists' rights.

"This case arises from Defendants' decision to take adverse, disciplinary action against Plaintiff, Mr. Jace Yarbrough, solely for his private religious belief and private speech on matters of public concern," reads the complaint.

"Despite multiple administrative appeals up the chain of command, Defendants refused to rescind the discipline, which will continue to have a significant negative impact on Mr. Yarbrough's military and civilian careers."

In June 2021, Yarbrough gave a speech while in uniform at a military retirement ceremony held at the Battleship Missouri Memorial in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, in which he spoke about his faith and his concern about politics in the military.

Yarbrough was concerned about a "culture war" within the Armed Forces and said "men can't birth babies" and that "boys should not be allowed in girls' locker rooms."

A member of the U.S. Navy who was present for the speech filed a complaint against Yarbrough, with the reservist receiving an admonishment letter reprimanding him for his remarks in August 2021.

"The LOA condemned specific remarks, including his references to 'radical political

factions,' 'how the military is fostering a culture of 'incompetence and cowardice, and

'DoD-wide extremism training as a thinly veiled flex of political power,'" the complaint reads.

"The LOA stated that Mr. Yarbroughs expressed viewpoints were improper because

'[m]ilitary members are to remain apolitical and must respect the chain of command.'"

Attached to the letter of admonishment were witness statements. One witness noted that Yarbrough's "personal/religious views seemed to be in conflict with the rights of the LGBTQ community." Meanwhile, another stated that "his message had a religious tone to it."

Yarbrough is represented by the First Liberty Institute, the law firm Winston & Strawn, the Ave Maria School of Law Veterans and Servicemembers Law Clinic.

Antony Kolenc, director of the Veterans and Servicemembers Law Clinic, said in a statement that "this cause is central to our mission" of "preserving religious liberty."

"Our clinical students have been inspired by Jace's courage to take a stand for the rights of military reservists. We hope this case will help stop the erosion of First Amendment protections in the U.S. Armed Forces," stated Kolenc.

The U.S. Armed Forces has long limited the extent to which military personnel can wear uniforms and be involved in speech or events that are considered political in nature.

According to a 2008 Defense Department directive, "members on active duty should not engage in partisan political activity" and "members not on active duty should avoid inferences that their political activities imply or appear to imply official sponsorship, approval, or endorsement."

The directive states that a military member cannot "Wear a uniform or use any Government property or facilities" when "taking part in local nonpartisan political activity."

Capt. Gregory Justis wrote in a May 2019 column on the Dover Air Force Base website that military personnel, including reservists, "are prohibited from engaging in any political activities while in their official capacity or in uniform."

"This includes marching in partisan political parades, distributing political literature and print material or engaging in any public commentary on political issues or campaigns," wrote Justis.

"Members must also use discretion when posting on social media about political topics while using a photo of themselves in uniform  again, the concern is tying the cause or the candidate to the Air Force."

Justis did note that "military members and civilians are free to engage in the political process; personnel may write letters to editors, participate in online blogging, march in parades or engage in politically charged speech  provided that they do so in an unofficial capacity."

Yarbrough's complaint contends that the military "has permitted members to engage in other kinds of political speech and expressive conduct while on activity duty, in uniform, and while using their military title and position."
Oral Roberts University gets historic $2.2M grant from Education Dept. to help at-risk students

Oral Roberts University, a private Evangelical school in Tulsa, Oklahoma, has been awarded a historic grant of more than $2.2 million by the U.S. Department of Education to help its growing population of at-risk students triggered in part by the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent lockdowns.

The award, which was acknowledged as the largest academic grant in the schools history, came from the DOEs Strengthening Institutions Program and is expected to be disbursed over five years, the university announced Wednesday, and ORU President William M. Wilson said he was thrilled.

We deeply appreciate this generous Department of Education grant and the arduous efforts of our faculty in applying. The funds we receive over the coming years will help ORU take our programs and services for at-risk students to a new level. We are thrilled to expand our resources, and the results will change the trajectory of students lives, Wilson said.

Among the listed goals of the grant are improving the six-year graduation rate, increasing the minority and Pell-eligible six-year graduation rate, and expanding academic support for at-risk students.

University Provost Kathaleen Reid-Martinez said in a statement that the at-risk student crisis is one of the biggest challenges in higher education in the wake of the pandemic.

We are very fortunate at ORU that leadership recognized the post-pandemic challenges impacting so many students. Its very encouraging that the Department of Education saw the value in our grant application and in our approaches to helping students fulfill their goals and dreams, Martinez said in a statement.

Officials at the university explained that while institutions of higher learning have long been serving at-risk students like first-generation college students, transfer students, and international students, they have seen an increase in that population of students who have been falling behind academically due to Pandemic Learning Loss along with social, emotional, and financial challenges.

The Lumina Foundation-Gallup State of Higher Education 2022 study published in March, showed that some four in 10 students enrolled in a post-secondary education program considered stopping out in the past six months and the most commonly cited reason was emotional stress. The survey, which was conducted Oct. 26 to Nov. 17, 2022, included more than 12,000 U.S. adults aged 18 to 59 who have a high school degree/diploma or equivalent and have not yet completed an associate or bachelors degree.

Some 3,949 were enrolled in an associate or bachelors degree program, 2,059 were enrolled in a certificate or certification program, 3,004 had some college experience but no degree and are not enrolled, while 3,003 individuals have never enrolled in higher education.

Regardless of the causes, findings from Stressed Out and Stopping Out: The Mental Health Crisis in Higher Education underscore the urgency of the issue by highlighting the frequency with which college students  particularly those in bachelors programs  report experiencing emotional stress and the extent to which issues related to mental health dominate students reasons for potentially stopping their coursework, researchers noted.

Another survey published last month by Gallup showed that the majority of college students reported feeling stress and worry the previous day, while significant minorities reported experiencing loneliness and sadness.

This grant is a game-changer for ORU. It will provide resources to support students, including those facing barriers to obtaining their degree, said Kim Boyd, assistant to the provost who oversees many of ORUs grant activities. Faculty will participate in grant-sponsored professional development activities that focus on mentorship and advisement, and professors will benefit by applying teaching strategies that engage students.
Sadie Robertson responds to Christian critics of her Disney World vacation, cites Mark 2

Sadie Robertson Huff of "Duck Dynasty" fame recently addressed the criticism she received for going on a family trip to Disney World, saying she doesn't agree with everything Disney stands for.

The 26-year-old reality television star and her mother, Korie Robertson, spoke about the social media backlash on an episode of her "Whoa That's Good" podcast posted on Monday.

Robertson Huff urged Christians to stop engaging in "cancel culture," warning that it's often far too "extreme." She said a lot of people unfollowed her on social media, claiming she is "woke" and "no longer a Christian" because "I chose to bring my family to Disney World."

Robertson Huff said that Disney "is corrupt" and does stand for things she disagrees with but said that Christians are called to be "in this world and not of the world."

She pointed to Mark 2:13-16, warning followers of Christ not to pass harmful judgment on others based on where they are, as Jesus ate with tax collectors and sinners but was still sinless.

"We're not saying 'this is an excuse to go sin,' because Jesus didn't sin when he sat at the table with sinners. Jesus did not become less holy when He sat at a table with sinners. He was always holy. But, He was still in the presence [of] sinners," Robertson Huff said.

"He's sitting with such unholy people in an unholy place, and they're like, 'You can't be holy if you're there. How could you be with them? How could you recline at the table with them and say that you're God?' But, the thing that Jesus preached and lived is He is holy, and He is always holy, no matter where He is."

Robertson Huff said she "can't obtain holiness without the holiness of God being in my heart."

"I am not holy because of where I am. I am holy because of who Christ is in me," she added.

She contends that she is not "less holy because I'm in a place like Disney World."

"Did Jesus do everything that the sinners did at the table? No. Does He agree with the way they live? No," she added. "He was reclining with them, but He wasn't living like them. He didn't agree with them."

"As a Christian, having that as my model, if I go to a place that might have sinners around, that doesn't mean I all of a sudden become a sinner."

The public speaker and author noted that the primary reason for the trip is because her daughter Honey loves Disney princesses.

"I'm doing this for my family. I'm doing this for the right reasons. I'm not doing this because I agree with everything. I'm not teaching Honey what the back ends of Disney are and saying that we support that. No. We're going because we're going to meet Rapunzel," she said.

Robertson Huff said that while it is healthy to have conversations about how Disney has changed, she isn't opposed to all of what Disney is putting out there, citing films like "Frozen," "Tangled" and "Moana."

"We're actually getting spiritual things out of them and able to share with Honey just things that we see God in," she said.

"Maybe if we keep going down this road and they start to change and movies are putting out completely false messages that I do not want Honey to see, we're not going to let her watch that."

Robertson Huff acknowledged that Disney has created some projects she believes are "too far," and she will not let her daughter watch or be a part of that content.

"If they put out movies that I have heard have false messaging or messaging that's against the Gospel, of course, I do not support that," she said.

"I do not pay money to the theater to see that. I do not watch that in my house. We're not supporting all things that Disney put out because we went to Disney World."

"For some reason, with social media, it's like if you do one thing, you're supporting a whole movement, or you're a part of this whole thing. And it's almost like we've lost the gift of just being able to be our individual selves, which is so crazy."

In recent years, Disney has received pushback from some Christian parents and consumers for programming they deem inappropriate. Some pastors and advocacy groups have accused Disney of being "demonic" and "sexualizing children," as well as bowing to the LGBT movement.

Last month, Robertson Huff posted a photo of her and her family outside the Disney World castle to her Instagram. While the post got over 256,000 likes, it also received numerous critical comments, some of which received hundreds of likes.

"[T]he Disney of today is not the same Disney of 25/30 years ago," wrote one critic, whose comment received over 430 likes as of Wednesday

"Even if you personally have the most wholesome family day and even pray over all of your in park meals ... you are still contributing financially to a business that has a very dark side to it."
SBCs North American Mission Board receives record $70.2 million offering

The Southern Baptist Conventions missions group centered on North America has received a $70.2 million offering this year, making it the largest single-year offering in its history.

North American Mission Board President Kevin Ezell announced Monday that they had received $70.2 million from the Annie Armstrong Easter Offering in 2023.

Ezell revealed the record offering to the NAMB Board of Trustees at their annual autumn meeting, which was held in Denver, Colorado, on Oct. 2-3.

We need more evangelistic churches, especially in regions where the Gospel presence is less visible, Ezell said in a statement. I am grateful for how Southern Baptists love their missionaries and for how they have bought into the vision of reaching North America through evangelism, church planting and compassion ministry.

Vance Pitman, president of Send Network, the church planting arm for NAMB, was quoted in the announcement noting that the record is especially impressive given that it comes during a problematic economy.

This is a year when the economy is down. Most churches are reporting their giving is down. And to see a record like this, in the midst of that. It reminds me of the verse in 2 Corinthians when Paul writes about the church of Macedonia. He said out of their abundance of joy and their deep poverty, they gave, he added.

The previous record offering for NAMB came last year, when the AAEO totaled $68.9 million, and had also set previous records in 2017, 2018 and 2019, with a dip occurring in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The AAEO was named after Annie Armstrong, who served as the first leader of the SBC's Womans Missionary Union, with the offering first being given in 1895.

Named in Armstrongs honor in 1934, the money raised through the offering directly goes to support missionaries in the United States and Canada.

According to NAMB, the AAEO has seen a 29% increase since 2010 and is credited with helping to launch more than 10,000 new church plants over the past 13 years.

News of the record offering comes months after Lifeway Christian Resources released a report indicating that the SBC had experienced its worst decline in members in 100 years last year.

According to the Lifeway report released in May, while worship attendance and baptisms rose last year, approximately 457,000 people left the SBC in 2022, dropping the largest Protestant denomination in the United States to around 13.22 million members.
Betrayed by Andy Stanley's 'Unconditional Conference'

I am writing this in response to multiple requests by those in my community.

After this last weekend, many Christians feel even more betrayed by Western Christian leadership in general, and Andy Stanley specifically. For those still unaware, Andy Stanley, who has perpetuated controversy in recent years with skeptical comments about the authority of Scripture, left little to the imagination about his true beliefs on sexuality when he planned his Unconditional Conference. Targeting compassionate Christian families with LGBT acolytes and activists, these well-meaning families, motivated to show love, put themselves under teaching that they believed came from a reputable source only to discover their families will experience additional grief.

Far from his fathers notoriety for obedience to Scripture, Andy instigates confusion over its historical interpretation and authority. His conference demonstrates a rebellion from foundational principles and tenets that give the Christian faith its Christian distinction. It seems his interpretation of unconditional isnt referring to the unconditional love of God displayed in the sacrifice of His son for the redemption of sinful man, but instead a means of rebellion where Gods conditions for salvation are compromised  using limited lived experience and hyper-grace as the futile soil and tainted fuel to grow another sort of kingdom.



The authentic Gospel is mysteriously displayed in the physical traditional marriage God laid out at the creation of the Universe: one man, one woman, for a lifetime. His conference is a perversion of the Gospel itself and a mockery of the created order.

In contrast to Andys followers, the Overcomer (Church) subculture, and greater the universal Church, has a 2,000-year-old history of redemption from sexual sin and perversion. The Overcomer subculture has been strained by his theological understanding and poor church reputation in our communities. Made of ex-gays, non-gays and de-transitioners who have abandoned the culture and exchanged the temporary benefits of the flesh for Gods Kingdom, these Christians are known for faith-filled sobriety and a commitment to a regenerative Christian lifestyle.



Andy has taken the perspective of harmful Christian leaders who have betrayed this community in the past, advocating for one of two perspectives based on a similar foundation: Sexual orientation and gender identity are determined by God and are therefore permanent. Sadly, there are misuses of these truths: Either God sanctions the LGBTQ lifestyle or, God has marked LGBT people for death and judgment at birth. Neither one is biblical.



True responsibility lies in our personal choices. The Unconditional Conference was Andys public stand to promote homosexual marriage through those whom he platformed and create a false gospel marked by momentary relief and false peace. What will inevitably ensue are years of doubt, broken relationships, and unhealthy lifestyles.

Worse yet, Andy stirs controversy based on un-biblical ideas that put his church leaders in a compromised position. For anyone who is familiar with the downfalls of past sexual integrity ministries like Exodus International or Hope For Wholeness, this has bad leadership written all over it. Take a lesson from Christian Overcomers  there is a point at which the leader needs to be removed before worse things happen to those under his care. For those who merely sit under dangerous teachings of this type, excuses for participation are a terrible denial strategy  its time to walk away.



North Point has become Andys Church as opposed to Gods Church with many church members feeling betrayed in the wake of it. Lets pray for his redemption.

For those who are interested in a sexual integrity ministry that has stood the test of time and unites families sustainably, there are many to choose from. Here are just a few Christian networks directing individuals and families to lasting healing and redemption: The Transformation Ministries Alliance, Changed Movement, Restored Hope Network, ReStory Ministries and Sexual Integrity Leadership Summit.

There is much hope for all of us, including Andy. If God can redeem people from LGBTQ identity, lifestyle, and now dogma, then with Him, all things are possible. He is truly unconditional.
Nicaragua: Where religious persecution continues unabated

Everyone concerned with basic human rights should be outraged by the crisis endured by people of faith in Nicaragua. For living in accordance with their convictions, the faithful in Nicaragua are being silenced and imprisoned. The time for international action is now.

For simply fulfilling his duties as a Catholic pastor by preaching on human dignity and God-given freedoms, and denouncing the injustices that contravene these freedoms, Bishop Rolando Alvarez has been unjustly imprisoned and labeled as a criminal. No person should be targeted by the state for sharing their faith, and the actions of the Nicaraguan government are in clear violation of Bishop Alvarezs human rights to both religious freedom and free speech.

President Daniel Ortega and his regime notoriously wields their power to suppress anyone or any entity who dares to challenge the regime. The regime has set its sights on the Catholic Church, openly and systematically targeting religious orders, media, schools, leaders, and ordinary people of faith who dare to speak out against the abuses perpetrated by the government.

One of the many, and perhaps best known, victims of state-sponsored persecution is Bishop Alvarez. For peacefully standing up and speaking out against the Ortega regimes abuses, the bishop currently is serving a 26-year prison sentence. Convicted in a sham trial, there are no effective avenues for justice available in Nicaragua.

In my capacity as legal counsel for Latin America with ADF International, I was honored to file the Bishops case at the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights on September 12th, petitioning the body to demand his release from the Nicaraguan government. Urgent action from the Commission  with a mandate to protect and promote human rights throughout Latin America  is essential for justice in his case.

The Nicaraguan governments attack on Bishop Alvarez escalated in August 2022, when police prevented him from leaving his residence to celebrate Mass. For 15 days, he was forcibly detained, along with several other members of the church. After this ordeal and without a warrant, police arrested Bishop Alvarez, charging him with undermining national integrity and propagation of false news. He was charged based on statements he had made in his sermons at the church pulpit that denounced the human rights violations perpetrated by the Ortega regime.

Before his trial, the government attempted to exile Bishop Alvarez to the United States. Bishop Alvarez garnered international attention when he refused an exile offer from the government, choosing to stay and bear witness alongside his people.

After refusing this offer, Bishop Alvarez later was convicted of these charges during a sham trial that he was not aware of and therefore did not attend. Adding insult to very serious injury, he was blocked from appointing his own lawyer, and later his lawyer was barred from accessing basic information about the charges he faced, despite repeated requests. After being denied any kind of due process, Bishop Alvarez ultimately was sentenced to 26 years imprisonment and stripped of his citizenship having been deemed a traitor to the state. He currently is in the seventh month of his sentence, and has been deprived of contact with his family and lawyers, apart from a publicity stunt organized for state media, leading many around the world to question and raise concern for his well-being.

Most recently, the bishop has been nominated for the European Parliaments top human rights award. This is a man whose incredible courage and fidelity to the truth rightfully has captured international attention.

The Inter-American Commission should take note. As he languishes in jail, we must pray for the bishop and his strength, but also it is imperative that the international community act now to end this blatant violation of human rights. Its time to free Bishop Alvarez and stop religious persecution in Nicaragua.
Speaker McCarthy has been ousted as House Speaker. So what happens next?

A political earthquake happened Tuesday night.

The fallout from Saturdays unsatisfying status quo budget deal came swiftly as the House voted to oust the speaker in the middle of a term for the first time in U.S. history.

Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., was deposed by eight Republicans who voted with Democrats to remove him. The vote was 216-210. My colleague, Virginia Allen, wrote an excellent wrap-up of how the ouster went down and who was involved.

The question on everyones mind is: whats going to happen now?

This is a chaotic and unprecedented situation, so it isnt exactly clear when there will be a new speaker or who that will be.

This ousting, using the motion to vacate the chair, was only possible because of the negotiations between McCarthy and conservatives that put him in the speakers role in January.

Since the speakership is now technically vacant, an interim speaker has been selected from a secret list of candidates selected by McCarthy. The man atop that list was Rep. Patrick McHenry, R-N.C., who will act as the speaker pro tempore until the full House selects a new speaker.

There are no rules for how long McHenry can remain in that capacity, so his time could be brief. It really depends on what the members decide. McHenry said following the ouster that prior to proceeding to the election of a speaker, it would be prudent to first recess for the relative caucus and conferences to meet and discuss the path forward.

According to NBC News, a speaker election will take place on Oct. 11.

Rep. Matt Gaetz., R-Fla., who originally filed the motion to vacate, said he isnt happy with this timeline.

I was very disappointed that Mr. McHenry said that we wont be engaging the peoples work until next Tuesday, Gaetz told CNN on Tuesday night. We should stay, we should work, we should have the Speaker election this week.

Matt Gaetz frustrated that RINOs want to take a week off before electing a new Speaker:



"I was very disappointed that Mr. McHenry said that we wont be engaging the peoples work until next Tuesday. We should stay, we should work, we should have the Speaker election this week." pic.twitter.com/bWqSkEqWpp  Citizen Free Press (@CitizenFreePres) October 3, 2023

It took McCarthy 15 rounds of voting over four days to secure his speakership. Given the likely bad feelings among members right now, this could be an equally contentious negotiation.

Theres certainly reason to hurry along the process. Congress must reach  and the president must sign  a budget deal by Nov. 17, or the government will shut down. That negotiation was likely to be contentious, but its hard to imagine any kind of deal being hammered out without a speaker chosen well beforehand.

Amid all the uncertainty, one thing is sure: McCarthy wont be running again. He announced on X that he was frustrated with the process and will step aside.

So, who will become the speaker?

Heritage Foundation President Kevin Roberts weighed in and explained what the qualifications for the job must be. (The Daily Signal is the media organization of The Heritage Foundation.)

Americans are looking for leaders who know what time it is and are willing to fight. The next Speaker must unite Republicans around securing the border, cutting spending, reining in the woke and weaponized government, and putting American families at the center of our agenda.  Kevin Roberts (@KevinRobertsTX) October 3, 2023

Another thing to keep in mind is that strange as it may seem, the speaker doesnt need to be a member of Congress. The House could conceivably choose someone from outside the body.

Rep. Troy E. Nehls, R-Texas, jumped into the fray and said he would nominate former President Donald Trump to be the next speaker of the House.

Kevin McCarthy will NOT be running again as Speaker.



I nominate Donald J. Trump for Speaker of the House.  Congressman Troy E. Nehls (@RepTroyNehls) October 3, 2023

The United States had one former president become a member of the House. John Quincy Adams was elected to the House in 1830 after his defeat in the 1828 presidential election. A former president becoming the speaker of the House without even getting elected to the House would be again unprecedented.

But were on untrodden ground here, so who knows?

Originally published at The Daily Signal.
This week in Christian history: Wheaton College holds first classes; Oral Roberts dies

Throughout the extensive history of the Church, there have been numerous events of lasting significance.

Each week brings anniversaries of impressive milestones, unforgettable tragedies, amazing triumphs, memorable births, notable deaths and everything in between.

Some of the events drawn from over 2,000 years of history might be familiar, while other happenings might be previously unknown by most people.

This week  Dec. 12 through Dec. 18  marks the anniversary of the death of a controversial preacher, the censorship of a prominent Catholic theologian and the first classes being held at a prominent evangelical higher education institution.

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Liberty U faces federal investigation as another student claims rape allegation was mishandled

Another former student has claimed that Liberty University failed to properly investigate her allegation of sexual assault, prompting the U.S. Department of Education to investigate the school's handling of assault allegations.

The lawsuit, filed last week in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Virginia, argues that Liberty failed to provide Plaintiff with services or reasonable accommodations required under Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, the Rehabilitation Act, and other laws.

According to the complaint, student Jane Doe was raped by another student on April 27, 2021, at an off-campus student housing complex called The Oasis. The lawsuit claims that the university didn't investigate the claim and later accused her of violating the student code of conduct.

The lawsuit comes after a class-action lawsuit was filed last year by a dozen students who made similar allegations. The U.S. Department of Education is now investigating Liberty University's handling of reported sexual assaults and the school's compliance with the Clery Act, which requires schools to support victims of sexual violence.

The incident involving Doe was said to have occurred following a party at the pool and courtyard of the apartment complex. "Excessive and underage drinking" allegedly occurred for hours "unabated and unmonitored."

The alleged perpetrator was accused of being intoxicated and following Doe to her room when she went to change clothes. Inside the room, Doe alleges she was raped and strangled despite her best attempts to escape. The lawsuit makes clear that the advances were unwanted. Doe said she texted friends to come to help her escape the situation, and Doe immediately reported the crime to campus authorities.

Despite their knowledge of the incident, Liberty failed to investigate the matter and did not take any action or protective measures in response, claimed the lawsuit.

Instead, Liberty demonstrated systematic deliberate indifference, retaliated against the Plaintiff, and perpetuated a sexually hostile and dangerous environment on and around campus.

The complaint states that because of Libertys conduct, Plaintiff Jane Doe suffered immense damages, including damage to her academic standing, being ostracized from the university community and being accused by the administration of violating the 'Liberty Way' (Libertys code of student conduct).

[Jane Doe] lived in regular fear of encountering her assailant on and around campus, and dealt with daily mental, emotional, and psychological trauma, continued the complaint. Ultimately, Plaintiff was forced out of Liberty University.

A Liberty University spokesperson told The Christian Post in an emailed statement Monday that the university has not reviewed the lawsuit and therefore declines to make a specific, public comment on the suit at this time.

Liberty University will certainly address these claims in court," the statement reads.

Also listed as plaintiffs are companies that have owned and operated The Oasis off-campus "students only" housing complex.

"No security or other personnel of The Oasis took any measures to prohibit the

excessive and underage drinking that took place for hours in the common areas of the complex," the lawsuit claims.

Hours after the alleged rape, the plaintiff went to a local hospital to undergo forensic examination and filed a police report with a Campbell County Sheriffs Department deputy. The lawsuit claims photographs were taken of numerous bruises and lacerations on her body and she was discharged the next day.

Doe also reported the assault to Liberty University campus police but was told that campus police would not investigate the incident because it was outside of their jurisdiction. Doe claims she was told to file a report with the school's Title IX office. Despite contacting the Title IX office, Doe alleges the school didn't investigate her claims for the rest of the semester. The lawsuit claimed Doe was contacted in late May about an investigation into another student's "substance use policy.

"[The school's] outreach had nothing to do with the rape and assault reported to

Liberty, but rather was the beginning of a months-long effort by Liberty to harass, intimidate,

and retaliate against the Plaintiff," the lawsuit alleges.

The lawsuit comes after 12 women filed a class-action lawsuit against Liberty last Jule, accusing the Lynchburg-based higher education institution of failing to adequately investigate credible claims of sexual assault.

The complaint argued that Liberty created an unsafe campus environment by misusing its honor code, The Liberty Way. The code, among other things, prohibits extramarital sex, consuming alcohol and attending events where alcohol is served.

The Liberty spokesperson directed CP to a statement from last October, in which Liberty President Jerry Prevo defended the evangelical Christian schools code of conduct.

The Liberty Way should never be misused to cover up wrongdoing. It is also the case that as a Christian university we will remain unwavering in our commitment to cultivating a culture in our Liberty community that honors Gods Word and embraces Gods principles for life, stated Prevo at the time.

While The Liberty Way must never be used to discourage victims from reporting wrongdoing, we also believe that we do not have to choose between embracing our code of conduct as a Christian university and in complying with our legal Title IX obligations. We can do both at the same time, and we will do so.

A Liberty University spokesperson said the school "welcomes" the Department of Education's investigation into its Cleary Act compliance program and pledged "full cooperation."

"We have also committed to work collaboratively with the Department to address any potential compliance gaps identified through the review," the spokesperson said in a statement sent to WDBJ7.

"Our Clery Compliance Officer, in the Office of Equity and Compliance, works closely with the Liberty University Police Department and campus partners to prioritize campus safety and fulfill the requirements of the Clery Act."
Americans' preference for large families hits highest level in over 50 years: Gallup

More Americans say the ideal family size consists of three children, according to a new poll that found younger Americans, Catholics, churchgoers and women are among those most likely to prefer large families.

Gallup recently released the results of two separate surveys examining Americans views as to what constitutes the ideal family size. The polls, conducted from June 1-22 and July 3-27, found a roughly equal level of support for large and small families.

The survey asked respondents, What do you think is the ideal number of children for a family to have? A plurality of those surveyed (44%) suggested that the ideal family consisted of two children. An additional 3% identified the ideal family as featuring just one child, while 2% believed that the ideal family was one with no children at all.

The share of Americans who preferred small families, meaning those who think an ideal family should only have one or two children, added up to 47%. On the other hand, the total share of Americans who favored larger families amounted to 45%.

Specifically, 29% thought the ideal family size should include three children, and 12% defined the ideal family as having four children. The share of respondents who preferred family sizes of five and six or more children was 2% in each case.

Americans belief that the ideal family size includes three or more children has been rising steadily in recent years, currently up 4 percentage points from the previous reading in 2018 to its highest point since 1971, wrote Gallups Megan Brenan in an analysis of the results. The latest measure is one of the few instances when preferences for smaller families (of one or two children) and larger families (of three or more children) are statistically tied in Gallups trend.

In 1971, 52% of respondents asked by Gallup to identify the ideal family size expressed support for three or more children. Since then, the percentage of Americans favoring small families has consistently exceeded the share of Americans who favor large families.

Broken down by demographic subgroup, majorities of black adults (57%), Catholics (56%), those who attend church weekly (54%), Hispanic adults (53%), Americans between the ages of 18 and 29 (52%) and those who make less than $40,000 a year (51%) expressed a preference for families with three or more children. Half of Republicans and Republican-leaning voters (50%) and those who attend church weekly or monthly said the same.

Additionally, pluralities of Americans between 50 and 64 (48%) and women (46%) favored larger families. Meanwhile, majorities of those who do not identify with a religion (58%), Democrats and Democrat-leaning voters (53%), Americans who seldom or never attend church services (52%), and white adults (51%) thought that the ideal number of children for a family to have was two or less.

Half of Americans who make between $40,000 and $100,000 and half of respondents who make $100,000 or more preferred smaller families, as did half of those between the ages of 30 and 49. A plurality of men (49%) and those aged 65 and older (49%) identified families with one or two children as the ideal size.

When asked about their parental status, the overwhelming majority of respondents (69%) said they were parents, while 15% of those between 18 and 40 reported that they did not have children but still wanted to. Six percent of respondents aged 41 and older did not have children but wished they had, while the remaining 8% told pollsters they do not want children at all.

A majority of those between 18 and 29 (63%) said they do not have children but still want to, while 21% already have children. The remaining 16% do not want children at all. Seventy-four percent of respondents between the ages of 30 and 49 (74%) have children, while 8% do not want them. Eleven percent of those between the ages of 30 and 40 do not have children but still want to, and 5% of respondents between the ages of 41 and 49 did not have children but wish they had.

The overwhelming majority of Americans between the ages of 50 and 64 (82%) and those 65 and older (88%) already have children, while 11% of Americans aged 50-64 and 6% of the elderly do not have children but wish they had. Small shares of Americans between 50 and 64 (7%) and the elderly (5%) said they did not want children.
According to Artificial Intelligence, this is what Jesus looked like if the Shroud of Turin is authentic

Throughout history, artists from Michelangelo to Leonardo da Vinci have strived to capture an accurate representation of Jesus Christ through their brush strokes. With AI technology, the long-awaited unveiling of what some believe to be the genuine face of Jesus, derived from the Shroud of Turin, has become a reality.

The Shroud of Turin, a revered Christian relic, is said to bear the image of Jesus post-mortem, imprinted on a 14-foot linen cloth. Its origins trace back to 1354 in northern France, where it was attributed to Geoffroi de Charny, a renowned French knight. However, the acquisition of the shroud remains a mystery.

The authenticity of the shroud has been the subject of heated debate since its emergence. In the 14th century, suspicions arose about its legitimacy, with the bishop of Troyes even asserting it might have been a fundraising scheme for the Lirey church. Pope Clement VII, while skeptical, allowed its display as an "icon," not a "relic."

Scientific scrutiny has further fuelled the controversy. Radiocarbon dating places the shroud's creation in the Middle Ages, yet some scholars argue the dated sample was a later repair.

While various Christian denominations acknowledge the shroud's significance, the Catholic Church refrains from a definitive stance, leaving interpretation down to its members and to believers.

This recent AI generated image offers a strikingly lifelike depiction of Jesus: a slender figure with flowing hair, gentle eyes, prominent cheekbones, and a goatee. This portrayal aligns with many historical artistic renderings of Jesus.

Skeptics raise the question of whether the AI generated image may have been influenced by prior portrayals of Jesus, or if our collective perception of Jesus has been shaped by the shroud itself.

The unveiling prompts a fundamental query: can this portrait be regarded as the authentic face of Jesus or a skillful reproduction? The debate continues, and opinions remain divided.

Duncan Williams is outreach director for the Christian Free Press and has worked for Son Christian Media here in the UK and Recovery Network Radio in the United States. He is an ordained minister and a long-term member of Christians in Media. He provides content and syndicated news for regional publisher www.tindlenews.co.uk
Christian slain, others kidnapped in separate areas of Nigeria

Fulani herdsmen and other terrorists on Sunday Oct. 1 killed eight Christians in Plateau state, Nigeria, and wounded five others, sources said.

The assailants attacked Du village, in Bassa County's Kwall District, with two children among those slain and the wounded requiring hospital treatment, said Davidson Malison, spokesman of the Irigwe Development Association (IDA), in a press statement.

"The Fulani militias stormed the community at about 8:10 p.m., positioned themselves and sprayed bullets on the bodies of innocent Christians who were asleep," Malison said. "To prove the maximum act of wickedness by these terrorists, children of 9 and 11 years were among those killed."

He called on the Nigerian government to urgently task security personnel to arrest the assailants.

"The terrorists are known to the Nigerian government, and they are not ghosts nor invisible," he said. "They had made threatening statements particularly to our communities in recent past."

He identified those slaughtered as Shara Danjuma, 9; Williams Danjuma, 11; Wala Boyi, 17; Yohanna Zehwhie, 35; Avu Goji,18; Tingwie Nko, 38; Afiniki Sunday, 25; and Gani Doglas, 28. Wounded were Tini Thomas, 14; Rondo Peter, 18; Boma Sunday, 45; Geoffrey David, 19; and Joseph Monday, 25.

"We're not only saddened by this unfortunate development and occurrence but completely depressed and brokenhearted, knowing fully how peaceful and hospitable Christians have lived with their Muslim neighbors in Plateau state," Malison said.

The attack has enveloped the local community in "tears, sorrow and sadness," he said.

"This is no doubt the continuation of destruction of lives and the ceaseless attempts to annihilate Christians of Rigwe ethnic extraction by terrorists and armed herdsmen has kept on persisting," he said.

In Plateau state's Atuhun Panyam village, Mangu County, three Christians were killed on Sept. 27, area residents said. Area community leaders Longse Jokle and Joshua Gufwam in a press statement expressed sadness over continued attacks on Christians in Plateau state.

"We mourn the brutal killing of three of our people in Atuhun Panyam: Panshak Peter, Ishaku Zumuk and Yakubu Sokyes, by Fulani militias; all whose corpses have been recovered from their farms where they were attacked," Jokle and Gufwam said. "They have been buried in their respective villages which span into Pushit District."

Jokle and Gufwam, president and secretary respectively of the Panyam District Development Association, called on the country's security agencies to halt attacks on Christians in Plateau state.

"We condemn the killing of the three Christian farmers and call on security agencies to go after the killers," they said.

 2023 Morning Star News
Sukkot: the festival of in-gathering and joy

Jewish academic and Hebrew scholar Irene Lancaster reflects on the significance of the Jewish festival of Sukkot.

Straight after Yom Kippur, the Jewish community begins to build their sukkot, the huts in which we live for the seven days of the Sukkot festival (eight days in the diaspora).

Sukkot, otherwise known as Tabernacles, brings to a close the period of the High Holy Days, starting with Rosh Hashana (Jewish New Year) and culminating in Simchat Torah (Joy of the Torah).

Sukkot has been celebrated in the most unusual places, and I would like to use some of these as an illustration.

One of the most imaginative partnerships in this enterprise is this year's collaboration between the former UK Ambassador to Israel, and South Hampstead synagogue.

The former UK Ambassador to Israel was also the first to be both modern and open in his approach to the only Jewish State. His present use of transferable skills in teaming up with an Orthodox synagogue in London to enhance the beauty and attraction of London Zoo is a feat in its own right, and the many visitors to the Sukkah will no doubt be astonished at the value of such a construction during this time of year.

But many centuries ago, in around 134 CE, to be exact, Bar Kokhba, in the midst of a Jewish uprising against the Romans, wrote to a district commander requesting the immediate delivery of the 'four species' to supply his troops for the upcoming Sukkot festival:

"I have sent you two donkeys and you must send with them two men to Jonatan ... in order that they pack and send to the camp, towards you, lulavim (palm branches) and etrogs (a type of citron fruit). And you, from your location, send other people who will bring you hadassim (myrtles) and aravot (willows). See that they are tithed and sent to the camp. The request is made because the army is big. Be well."

To this day, these four species, the lulav, etrog, hadass and aravah, are used in the Sukkot service around the world, and shaken each day of the festival. They represent four kinds of people who make up the Jewish community. For some, they also represent the four characteristics making up each individual.

The festival of Sukkot itself is mentioned in Exodus 23, Leviticus 23, Numbers 29, Deuteronomy 16, Ezekiel 45, Lamentations 2, Ezra 3 and Nehemiah 8-9. And it is these biblical references which have influenced authors as different as UK Prime Minister, Benjamin Disraeli; great American author Herman Melville, Chief Rabbi of Israel under the Mandate, Rav Kook; and Chief Rabbi Shear Yashuv Cohen of Haifa.

In his novel Tancred (1847) Benjamin Disraeli writes as follows about a very depressed Land of Israel under the Turkish Ottoman Empire:

"The vineyards of Israel have ceased to exist, but the eternal law enjoins the children of Israel still to celebrate the vintage. A race that persists in celebrating their vintage, although they have no fruits to gather, will regain their vineyards. What sublime inexorability in the law! But what indomitable spirit in the people!"

Disraeli, of Jewish origin, was to play a significant role in the creation of the modern UK Conservative Party and was Prime Minister in both 1868 and 1874.

Herman Melville, whose novel Moby Dick (1851), is regarded by many as the greatest American novel, appears to be aware of the Talmudic connection between the sukkah construction and the Leviathan, or 'great whale.'

In Talmud Baba Batra 75a, it states:

'In the future, the Holy One, Blessed be He, will prepare a sukkah for the righteous from the skin of the Leviathan (great whale).'

In Moby Dick, the great whale is compared to the altar and others have interpreted the whale itself as being a metaphor for the Jewish Torah. Melville had, after all, visited Israel itself in 1857 and been completely awestruck by the land itself, which, desolate in those days though it was, had produced the 'terrific' religion of Judaism.

One of the most poignant mentions of the Sukkah built in almost impossible circumstances is in a description of his time in a POW Camp in Jordan by Chief Rabbi Shear Yashuv Cohen of Haifa (1927-2016). At this time Shear Yashuv was one of the prisoners, having fought for the Old City of Jerusalem in the 1948 War of Independence, and though aged only 20, and not yet a rabbi, he was put in charge of the camp and asked to act as liaison between the Israeli prisoners from all walks of life and their Jordanian prison guards.

"The Festival of Sukkot was approaching, the Tishrei festival per excellence. But we were extremely worried about how to observe the traditional Sukkot customs according to Jewish law, which many of us held very dear. For the essence of Sukkot is to build a Sukkah and obtain the Arba Minim (4 species mentioned above). But how were we to find these 4 species in the heart of the desert, not to mention construct a Sukkah?

"But then we had a brainstorm. A specially selected group of our young men used to work regularly in the grounds of the British camp commandment, about 7 kilometers away... In the grounds ... stood a number of eucalyptus trees. His wife allowed them to lop off a free branches. As if by magic these 'few branches' grew and grew ... enough to fill an entire truck....

"There was one particularly devout young man from ... Gush Etzion. He insisted on observing the mitzvah of spending the night in the Sukkah... Next to the tent he dug a hole exactly 10 handbreadths deep. Then he took some branches and covered his home-made Sukkah with s'chach (branch covering). Every night he would roll into the Sukkah from his tent and sleep in it, thus observing the mitzvah of 'sleeping in the Sukkah'...

"... The banks of the River Jordan are famous as a source of first class lulavim (palm branches). Aravot (willow branches) we managed to find in the vicinity of the camp. We gave the Arab soldiers money to buy the hadassim (myrtle branches) for us in the local markets. And etrogim (citrus fruit) we received care of the army chaplaincy that was already up and running in Israel  and the joy was great...

"This was only the second time in our history that the children of Israel observed Sukkot in the desert. And, inside the maze upon maze of barbed wire, observed by the Arab guards who surrounded us, we Jews then performed yet another of the holiday commandments by marching in hakafot circles, wrapped in our tallitot (prayer shawls), holding our lulavim and etrogim aloft."

Finally, I would like to cite a poem by Rav Avraham Yitzhak Kook (1865-1935), first Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi of Israel under the British Mandate. These were included in his recent poetry anthology, by Rowan Williams (discussed here: On poetry, translation and religion)

The Light in the Sukkah

On the Yamim Nora'im

The intensity compares

To almost unbearably dazzling light.

Sometimes eyes are narrowed,

Arching at the strain

Of seeking the Divine.

In the shelter of the sukkah,

Fierce rays are filtered;

A softened glow shines steadily within.

And from this gentle light,

Twinkling motes float up

Drifting through the latticed roof.

Rowan comments on this poem: "The celebration reasserts the absolute dependence of the Jewish people on G-d; all that human ingenuity and effort can build is as temporary and fragile as the makeshift structures of their desert wanderings. So for a week, 'all that are native in Israel shall sell in booths' (Leviticus 23:42).

"... So Sukkot is both an easing of the 'strain' of the Days of Awe ... and a sign of the calling to move outwards into the world so that the divine glory can be seen and released within the creation."

A fitting end to a festival heralding the new year of 5784, with the sincere wish that, as the festival itself declares, the whole world will acknowledge and be grateful for all that G-d has done for the entirety of creation as we embark on a new cycle of readings with Bereshit (Genesis 1): 'In the beginning G-d created the heavens and the earth ....'
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In 2010, Mario Costeja Gonzalez, a Spanish citizen, filed a complaint with the Spanish Data Protection Authority against Google and La Vanguardia Ediciones, a Spanish newspaper. Gonzalez said that a Google search for his name returned classified ads showing that his house was being auctioned off in order to repay his familys debts. Gonzalez said that these ads were more than a decade out of date and argued that their appearance in a Google search violated his right to privacy. A lower court ruled in his favor; the matter was then referred to the European Unions Court of Justice, or ECJ, which, in 2014, also sided with Gonzalez. The ECJ decided that a right to be forgottenalso known as the right of erasurewas implied by the Data Protection Directive, a 1995 EU rule, and that this gave EU citizens a right to the rectification, erasure, or blocking of their personal data, as well as a right to object to the processing of their personal data by corporations for a number of reasons.

In 2018, the EUs General Data Protection Regulation took effect, superseding the Data Protection Directive. Article 17 of the GDPR outlines how and when the right to be forgotten should be applied, stating that people may request the removal of their personal information when the information is no longer relevant to the purpose for which it was collected, when the individual withdraws their consent to the informations publication, and when there is no overriding legitimate interest to process the information, among other circumstances. The EU has stated that the GDPRs right to be forgotten is not an absolute right and is much more complicated than an individual simply requesting that an organization erase their personal data; the right might not apply, for example, in cases involving the right to freedom of expression, compliance with a legal ruling, or the public interest. But critics have argued that this kind of complexity is too great for search engine companies to be expectedor allowedto navigate on their own. And they have often argued that the right to be forgotten ultimately amounts to censorship.

The EUs rules only endow citizens of EU member states with the right to be forgotten, but the duty to remove content if an EU citizen makes such a request applies to global search engines and services, even if the data is kept on servers that are located elsewhere. Within days of the ECJ ruling, Google and Microsoft began fielding thousands of requests from users who wanted to have their personal information removed from those search engines; in March of this year, Forbes reported that Google and Bing, a search engine owned by Microsoft, received more than a million such requests between 2015 and 2021, with cases rising dramatically during the pandemic. Surfshark, a data-tracking service, told Forbes that half of these requests came from users in western Europe; France accounted for nearly a quarter of the total, while Estonia had the most per capita. German users submitted requests equivalent to 17 percent of the total, while requests from the UK made up 12 percent.

Since the ECJs ruling in 2014, meanwhile, a number of governments outside the bloc have considered creating their own right to be forgotten, often driven by what they see as a similar interest in protecting the privacy and personal information of their citizens. Recently, Canada has taken preliminary steps in this direction. In 2017, a man (whose personal details have not been released) complained to the federal Privacy Commissioner about outdated and inaccurate information that he said appeared in newspaper articles found in a Google search for his name. The man said that this information had led to employment discrimination, social stigma, and a fear of being physically attacked. The Privacy Commissioner asked the Federal Court of Appeal to rule on whether Google is subject to the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act, Canadas privacy law.

Last week, the court found that Google is covered by this law, and rejected the companys defense that it should be exempt because its services are journalistic in nature. Google argued that it acted as an intermediary between publishers and their audiences, in much the same way that libraries or newsstands do, and that restricting its ability to perform this function would render the privacy legislations exemption for journalism ineffective. News organizations such as the Globe and Mail, the Toronto Star, Postmedia, and the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation filed statements arguing that Google plays an important role in distributing news, but the court ruled that these were not relevant to the case. Justice John Laskin, writing for the majority, ruled that Googles search engine doesnt collect, use, or disclose personal information for a journalistic purpose and, even if it does, it does not do so solely for that purpose.

The decision did not exactly create a right to be forgotten in Canada. The countrys privacy law does not offer a clear-cut right to have content removed, but individuals can appeal to the principles of accuracy and appropriateness, which are protected by the law. As Aird Berlis, a Canadian law firm, explains, the accuracy principle requires personal information to be accurate, complete, and as up-to-date as possible. This is a contextual determination that accounts for the interests of the individual, who has the right to challenge the accuracy and completeness of their information, the firm writes, adding that old and outdated information that is no longer true or reflective of a persons current situation can hardly be claimed to be accurate, complete, and up-to-date. As for appropriateness, Aird Berlis notes that any information that causes significant harm to the individual may fail this principle.

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Again, one criticism of the GDPR in general, and the right to be forgotten in particular, has been that removing content from the Web conflicts with freedom of speech. This argument has particular resonance not only in the US, with its First Amendment, but also in Canada, where the federal Charter of Rights and Freedoms protects the right to freedom of speech. In his ruling, Justice Larkin pointed out that the courts analysis was specifically focused on whether privacy laws applied to Google, and did not address the question of free speech. Michael Fenrick, cocounsel for the unnamed complainant, told the Globe and Mail that his client was not arguing that people should have an automatic right to have their information removed, and that it has to be a case-by-case balancing between the publics right to know and privacy.

While it may not have single-handedly created a right to be forgotten, however, the courts decision appears to have increased the likelihood that Canada will decide to officially create such a right. In 2018, the Privacy Commissioner published a draft position suggesting that existing privacy law may allow Canadians to require search engine operators and other commercial organizations to de-index results associated with their names in certain cases, and a new draft report, published after the recent court ruling, doubled down on this idea. And, if the federal government does decide to protect the right to be forgotten with a specific law, the Charter of Rights and Freedoms wouldnt necessarily prove a roadblock, since the documents notwithstanding clause allows Canadas Parliament to pass laws even if they conflict with a section of the Charter. The province of Quebec already has a law that offers a right to be forgotten; it went into effect last month.

And Canada isnt the only non-European country that is looking at either implementing or enforcing a right to be forgotten. Australia is also said to be working on privacy legislation that could include a similar right; in January, The Guardian reported that Mark Dreyfus, the attorney general, indicated that the right to be forgotten will be considered for the next tranche of Australian legislation. (After reviewing the existing Privacy Act, Dreyfus concluded that it was out of date and not fit-for-purpose in our digital age.) Argentina and India also have versions of the right to be forgotten, and France has had its own droit a loubli since a law to that effect was enacted in 2010.

The GDPR, of course, doesnt apply to the US, and the First Amendment would seem to be a significant hurdle to introducing a legal right to be forgotten. But some US news organizations have started offering a version of this right of their own accord, particularly in the realm of criminal justice. This year, the Chicago Sun-Times introduced a right to be forgotten policy, saying that it isnt fair for stories about arrests to follow people around forever if they were never convictedor if charges were dropped, dismissed, reversed or expunged; leaving such stories online, the paper said, could lead to lasting negative impacts for their subjects, such as unsteady employment, a lack of housing access or other issues. In 2021, the Boston Globe announced what it called the Fresh Start Initiative, which it said would allow subjects of news stories to appeal to have the stories removed from Google searches or anonymized. We are not in the business of rewriting the past, but we dont want to stand in the way of a regular persons ability to craft their future, the paper said.

These kinds of policies, while increasingly prevalent, are not the norm, however. In 2021, Linda Kinstler wrote for CJR about the murky practice of removing names and even entire articles from newspaper databasesin some cases because of court rulings, but also for other reasons, and often without notice. Deborah Dwyer, a journalism researcher cited by Kinstler, found that every news outlet in America seemed to have its own bespoke, often improvised way of handling take-down requests; some quietly deleted names or even entire articles from their websites, going much further than even their European peers; others refused to consider requests at all. Critics may argue that the EU law oversteps the mark and is too vaguely worded. But having an actual law with specific requirements and a clear process may be preferable to the patchwork of practices that result when news organizations are left to their own devices.

Other notable stories:

ICYMI: Jeff Jarvis on what the magazine was

Mathew Ingram is CJRs chief digital writer. Previously, he was a senior writer with Fortune magazine. He has written about the intersection between media and technology since the earliest days of the commercial internet. His writing has been published in the Washington Post and the Financial Times as well as by Reuters and Bloomberg.
ZAGREB, Croatia (AP)  Firefighters in eastern Croatia were battling to contain a huge fire in a plastics factory on Wednesday, and authorities asked residents to remain indoors and keep their widows shut.

The fire erupted early Wednesday in the Drava International factory complex in the town of Osijek, spreading quickly and sending thick dark smoke high in the air.

Emergency services said that large amounts of plastics stored in an open area were on fire, making it difficult for firefighters to control the raging blaze.

The temperature is unbelievable, horrible, said Boris Banjan, deputy commander of the regional firefighting unit. Our equipment is melting.

The state HRT television reported that three firefighters were injured, including one seriously. The report said firefighters managed to take out large amounts of flammable liquid from the fire zone, preventing further incidents.

The fire also forced the closure of a road, police said. Some schools canceled classes for the day.

The TV said a strong wind fueled the spread of the polluted smoke. Burning of plastics releases toxic gases but the level of pollution was not immediately clear.

The civil protection authorities in the area urged citizens to close down their windows and not go out unless absolutely necessary.

The Index news portal reported that some residents living in the suburbs close to the factory were leaving their homes and staying with relatives until the fire is extinguished.

The Drava International factory produces plastic packaging and other products. Croatian media reported that there have been four incidents in the factory in the past 12 years, killing one person.

Copyright 2023 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Insurance defense attorneys on Wednesday urged the Texas Supreme Court to uphold the plain language of a law passed in 2017 that they say precludes recovery of attorney fees in cases where the insurer pays the full amount of an appraisal.

The high court heard oral arguments about a certified question from the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals that asked for an interpretation of Chapter 542A. Homeowner Mario Rodriguez is demanding attorney fees from Safeco Insurance Co. of Indiana even though the insurer invoked an appraisal and paid him more than he initially demanded.

Safeco and attorneys who filed amicus briefs argued that the law clearly bars attorney fees for claimants if the insurer pays the full amount of an appraisal award.

Rodriguezs attorney, Melissa Waden Wray with Daly & Black, said her client had to hire her to file a lawsuit only because Safeco first denied his claim and then paid only a fraction of what the repairs actually cost.

This is not about generating more attorney fees, its about making Mr. Rodriguez whole, Wray told the high court. At the time they finally paid the appraisal award three years after the tornado, Mr. Rodriguez had incurred $30,000 in attorney fees, $4,500 in appraisal costs and $3,500 in expert fees.

Rodriguez sued Safeco after the carrier paid only $1,295.55 for his damage claim. He demanded an additional $29,500, but Safeco did not respond.

Safeco invoked the policys appraisal provision after Rodriguez sued. The appraisal panel determined the replacement cost value of the damage was $36,514.52. Safeco paid $32,447.43, which was the amount of the award after taking into account the policy limits and subtracting the deductible and the prior payment. Safeco also paid an additional $9,458.40, claiming that amount would cover any conceivable interest owed under the TPPCA.

Wray argued that Rodriguez is still entitled to attorney fees because of the unreasonable delay. She argued in briefings that if insurers cannot be found liable for paying attorney fees when they pay appraised amounts, they will delay payment as long as possible, make lowball settlement offers and invoke appraisal only after the property owner sues.

Safecos attorney, Mark D. Tillman with Tillman Batchelor, warned that if justices find attorney fees are allowed even when appraised amounts are paid, plaintiffs attorneys will sign up hundreds of cases, dump them into appraisal and do no work because they know that they will still be paid even if insurers pay the appraised amount. Tillman said Chapter 542 clearly states that the payment of an appraisal award precludes any award of attorney fees. He said the court should not be swayed by hypothetical scenarios.

Justices Jeff Boyd, Brett Busby and Evan A. Young made comments that indicated sympathy for Wrays arguments. Boyd interjected after Tillman said Rodriguez has no right to attorney fees after his insurer paid the full amount of the appraisal plus interest.

But you made them sue you before you paid, Boyd said. You made them sue even before you ordered an appraisal.

Boyd said later, however, that hes also concerned that plaintiffs attorneys may file unnecessary lawsuits knowing they will be paid in some cases even if appraised amounts are paid.

The justices gave no indication about how they would answer the 5th Circuits certified question after oral arguments concluded on Wednesday.

Top photo: Attorney Melissa Waden Wray makes oral arguments on Wednesday before the Texas Supreme Court.
CLEVELAND, Ohio A Lake County man admitted Thursday to pepper-spraying police officers during the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol.

Ryan Swoope, 29, pleaded guilty during a hearing in Washington, D.C., federal court to assaulting officers with a dangerous weapon.

He faces between three and seven years in prison when U.S. District Judge Trevor McFadden sentences him on Jan. 5, according to the plea agreement.

Swoope and two friends, former University Hospitals police officer Saul Llamas and Llamas girlfriend, Jordan Siemers, went to the Capitol on Jan. 6 and attended then-President Donald Trumps Stop the Steal rally in which he urged people to fight like hell to stop the certification of Joe Bidens election as president.

The trio walked to the Capitol and went inside for about nine minutes.

Swoope joined several others inside the Senate Spouses Lounge, where he shouted Whose house? Our house! with others.

Swoope, wearing a red Make America Great Again winter cap, walked outside the building and stood near its north door as officers yelled for the crowd to leave.

The crowd pushed through the line of officers into the building, and Swoope joined in, according to court records. He pulled out a can of chemical spray and doused a line of officers.

Body-camera video showed a U.S. Capitol police sergeant coughing and struggling after the chemicals hit his face, according to court records.

The spray blinded the officer for about 20 minutes, court filings say.

Llamas and Siemers both previously pleaded guilty and were sentenced to probation.

Adam Ferrise covers federal courts at cleveland.com and The Plain Dealer. You can find his work here.
LORAIN, Ohio  An inmate in the Lorain County Jail was stabbed multiple times by another prisoner who used a pair of sharpened pliers he stole from a maintenance worker, according to the Lorain County Sheriffs Office.

Eddie Ortiz, 31, of Lorain, is charged with felonious assault, attempt to commit murder, illegal conveyance, and possessing criminal tools in connection with the attack, which occurred Monday, a news release from the sheriffs office says. He remains in jail on a $160,000 bond.

Ortiz already was being held in the jail on a $200,000 bond on a charge of aggravated robbery, Lorain County Common Pleas Court records show. Hes also facing several weapons charges and charges related to fleeing from police, records show.

Investigators accuse Ortiz of stealing a pair of needle-nose pliers from a maintenance worker in the jail, who was working on a sink in a cell days earlier. They say Ortiz was able to sharpen the tips of the pliers on concrete in the cell.

At about 9:40 p.m. Monday, Ortiz used the pliers to stab the other inmate three times, the sheriffs office says. A deputys report on the incident says another inmate was able to intervene and help the victim fend off Ortiz.

The wounded inmate, whose identity is not being released, was taken to a hospital for treatment of stab wounds to his head, neck and stomach. The sheriffs office did not release information on his condition.

The sheriffs report says the wounded inmate told investigators that Ortiz and he have not liked each other since the victim entered the jail about a month ago.
BUTLER COUNTY, Ohio  A man who was a youth pastor and pastor at multiple churches in southwest Ohio is being sought by police after he was accused of multiple sex crimes involving children.

The Cincinnati Enquirer reports records at Butler County Common Pleas Court show that three of Jario Isidro Thomas Sanchezs reported victims were under 13 years old and five were under 16 years old. The reported abuse occurred from 2010 to 2022 while Sanchez was a pastor or youth pastor at churches in Hamilton County, a Butler County prosecutor tells the Enquirer.

Sanchez is facing 14 criminal charges, including gross sexual imposition, sexual imposition and unlawful restraint, WEWS Channel 5 reports.

He was indicted last week and a warrant has been issued for his arrest, reports say.
LINCOLN, Nebraska  A Texas man trying to get the attention of guests while officiating a wedding attempted to fire a gun loaded with a homemade blank shell into the air but instead shot his 12-year-old grandson, reports say.

Michael Gardner, 62, who is a commissioner in Ector County, Texas, has been charged with felony child abuse in connection with the incident, which occurred Saturday, USA Today reports. He could be sentenced to up to three years in prison if convicted.

Lancaster County Sheriffs Office Chief Deputy Ben Houchin said during a news conference that Gardner decided to gain everybodys attention and start the wedding with a bang by firing a snub-nosed revolver.

Houchin said the weapon slipped as Gardner pulled the hammer back, causing it to go off and wound his grandson in the left shoulder. The boy was taken to a hospital and was treated for a non-life-threatening injury.

Gardner created the blank by taking a .45 caliber shell and putting black powder into the casing, then gluing it. What we believe is the glue is what injured the child, Houchin said.

Just another example that playing with firearms, no matter what, if theyre blanks, bad things can certainly happen, Houchin said. We do not believe Michael intended to hurt his grandchild but the act was not very smart.

He said investigators do not believe alcohol was a factor.
SISSONVILLE, West Virginia  A deputy conducting a welfare check found two children locked in a barn and another child kept in a loft inside a home, leading to the arrest of the adoptive parents.

A news release from the Kanawha County Sheriffs Office says Donald Ray Lantz, 61, and Jeanne Kay Whitefeather, 61, both of Sissonville, have been charged with felony gross child neglect.

The children were discovered locked in a 20-foot-by-14-foot room in the barn by a deputy just before 6 p.m. Monday. The sheriffs office says the deputy went to the home after the department received a 911 call about the welfare of the children.

Its a pretty bad case. You know, any type of situation like this is not really comparable to this horrific condition, Sheriffs Office Sgt. Josh Lester tells WCHS Channel 8. Its just not how you want or how you would expect children to be raised or taken care of.

The sheriffs office says the children in the barn had no running water, no bathroom, and were obviously deprived of hygienic care and food. WCHS reports there was a single table and chair in the area where the children were kept and no bed.

The child found locked in the home was kept in a loft about 15 feet above the ground, the sheriffs office says. Lester tells CNN the couple has five adoptive children, ranging from 6 to 16 years old.

Whitefeather and Lantz were not at the home when deputies arrived, the sheriffs office says. When they did arrive, Whitefeather reportedly told deputies that the children liked living in the barn.

The children have been turned over to protective services, reports say. Whitefeather and Lantz are being held in jail, each on a $200,000 bond.
COLUMBUS, OhioSeveral plaintiffs affiliated with a national Democratic redistricting group on Thursday asked the Ohio Supreme Court to find the states newly passed legislative redistricting plan to be unconstitutionally gerrymandered.

Its the first legal challenge filed against the new state legislative maps passed unanimously by the Ohio Redistricting Commission last week.

The new redistricting plan, passed Sept. 27, gives Republicans an advantage in 61 of 99 Ohio House districts and 23 of 33 state Senate districts, according to State Auditor Keith Faber, the commissions Republican co-chair. The two Democrats on the seven-member commission voted for the plan, saying (among other things) that it was preferable to Republicans passing a map even more favorable to them.

The filing claims that, like with the previous redistricting maps, the new redistricting plan doesnt meet the Ohio Constitutions requirement that the number of legislative districts that favor Republicans and Democrats, respectively, must be proportional with the average percentage of votes that each partys statewide candidates received during the past 10 years. Between 2014 and 2022, Republican and Democratic candidates averaged about 57% and 43% of the vote, respectively.

There is no bona fide dispute that it is possible to achieve proportionality while adhering to other constitutional standards, the filing stated. And there can be no dispute that the September 2023 Plan does not achieve proportionality, or anything close to it.

The plaintiffs, led by former Democratic legislative candidate Bria Bennett of Warren, are supported by the National Redistricting Action Fund  a nonprofit affiliate of the National Democratic Redistricting Committee, led by former Obama-era Attorney General Eric Holder.

The NRAF, in a statement, called Ohios new legislative map among the most extreme gerrymanders in the nation.

There are simply not enough Democratic seats drawn in either chamber to meet the state constitutions partisan fairness requirement, said John Bisognano, president of the NRAF, in a statement. With these maps, the will of the people is completely subverted by the map-drawing politicians and so we are once again challenging them in court.

Republicans on the commission have said that it is impossible to draw maps that would give Democrats an advantage in as many districts as theyre demanding, as doing so would interfere with other redistricting rules, such as limits on dividing counties and cities into separate districts.

It seems that the lawsuit filed is hyper-focused on proportionality, said Dan Tierney, a spokesman for Gov. Mike DeWine, a Republican redistricting commission member. Whereas i think the commission came to a good compromise this time based upon trying to balance those factors and coming to an agreement that everybody could live with.

Senate President Matt Huffman, a Lima Republican, said in a statement that the legal challenge is yet another desperate power grab by Washington, D.C. special interests that have no business holding the people of Ohio and the process hostage.

Cleveland.com/The Plain Dealer has reached out to spokespeople for the other three Republican redistricting commission members for comment.

The challenge was filed as part of a lawsuit against Ohios previous legislative maps, which were found unconstitutional by the Ohio Supreme Court. Those maps ended up being used anyway for last years legislative races, but the courts ruling meant the commission had to reconvene this year to draw Ohio House and Senate district lines ahead of the 2024 election.

It remains to be seen whether others will file similar legal challenges against the new maps.

The key swing vote in last years decision was Republican Maureen OConnor, the courts chief justice, who joined the Ohio Supreme Courts three Democrats in rejecting the Republican-authored redistricting plans. However, OConnor has since retired, and both her successor as chief justice, Republican Sharon Kennedy, and the newest member of the court, Republican Joe Deters, are considered to be more sympathetic to GOP redistricting efforts.

One group that has decided against litigation over this years redistricting process is Common Cause Ohio, a left-leaning good-government group. Catherine Turcer, Common Cause Ohios executive director, said last week that her organization was considering filing a lawsuit against the Ohio Redistricting Commission, primarily to assert that the closed-door negotiations held by commission members violated state open-meetings law.

But on Wednesday, Turcer said Common Cause Ohio decided that it would be better for them to spend their time and money on getting Ohio voters to approve a proposed constitutional amendment in 2024 that would overhaul the states redistricting process entirely.

This is a hard one to let go, she said.

One of the redistricting commissions members, Ohio House Minority Leader Allison Russo, told cleveland.com/The Plain Dealer last week that the open-meetings issue could probably and possibly open the commission up to lawsuits.

But I think, you know, theres some question about how meaningful those lawsuits will be if youve got an Ohio Supreme Court that we suspect will essentially rubber-stamp whatever gets sent to them from the commission, Russo said.

Tierney said last week that the advice thats usually given is that a significant portion of the commission cant meet together in private without violating state open-meetings law.

I certainly did not see the members, even in side conversations, trying to do anything like that, Tierney said.

Jeremy Pelzer covers state politics and policy for Cleveland.com and The Plain Dealer.
Rotunda Rumblings

Joining the fray: House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan, a Champaign County Republican, officially announced his campaign for U.S. House of Representatives speaker on Wednesday, less than a day after a small GOP faction ousted Californias Kevin McCarthy from the post, Sabrina Eaton writes. A letter he sent colleagues touts his work on the Judiciary committee and urges the GOP conference to come together to keep their promises to Americans. House Republican Leader Steve Scalise, a Louisiana Republican, is also seeking the job.

Speaker fallout: Other Ohio Republicans on Wednesday expressed their dismay with McCarthys removal, telling Eaton the disarray will set back passage of spending bills needed to avert a potential government shutdown next month. Rocky Rivers Max Miller says hes been contacted by multiple colleagues who want McCarthys old job and hasnt decided who hell support.

Banning bans: An Ohio House committee passed legislation Wednesday that would block local governments or the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency from banning the sale or use of cars that run on gasoline. Jake Zuckerman reports that the measure comes with the backing of the oil and gas industry as President Joe Bidens administration pushes subsidies and emissions standards that expand electric vehicle markets and aim to reduce carbon emissions.

Trans bathrooms: Legislation telling transgender students which bathroom they must use got its first committee hearing in the House on Wednesday, Zuckerman reports. The hearing featured claims from sponsors of bone and brain damage to transgender students from gender affirming care.

Not that kind of cultivation: The Ohio Farm Bureau trustees opposes Issue 2, which would legalize marijuana for adult use, according to a Wednesday announcement from the Protect Ohio Workers and Families Coalition, the campaign against the issue. The farm bureau believes the passage of Issue 2 would jeopardize the safety of farm and food workers. The industry would struggle filling thousands of positions if people couldnt pass drug tests. Agriculture is the states No. 1 industry.

Another dispensary: The Board of Pharmacy awarded a certificate of operation to Elevated Growth, 7520 High Cross Blvd, Columbus. This allows the business to open to medical marijuana patients. So far, 106 dispensaries have received certificates of operation from state regulators.

X marks the spot: U.S. Sen. JD Vance announced Wednesday that hes introduced legislation that would forbid using the X gender designation on U.S. passports, Eaton reports. The last thing the State Department should be doing is wasting its time and your tax dollars pushing far-left gender ideology, said a statement from Vance. There are only two genders  passports issued by the United States government should recognize that simple fact.

Primary concerns: Two more incumbent Ohio House Republicans who voted for Jason Stephens as House speaker earlier this year are getting primary opponents. Ashtabula County Auditor David Thomas announced he intends to challenge state Rep. Mike Loychik, a Trumbull County Republican. Meanwhile, Ty Mathews, who has served in the Army National Guard and in Treasurer Robert Spragues office, says he will attempt to unseat state Rep. Jon Cross of Kenton. At least four other pro-Stephens House GOP incumbents so far  state Reps. Haraz Ghanbari of Perrysburg, Jeff LaRe of Pickaway County, Justin Pizzulli of Scioto County, and Tracy Richardson of Marysville  have had challengers pop up for the March 2024 primary.

Tick Tock

The countdown is on for the November election, when Ohio voters will decide whether to enshrine a right to abortion in the state constitution and whether to legalize recreational marijuana. Heres the key dates to remember.

Voter registration deadline... 5 days (Oct. 10)

Early, in-person voting begins... 6 days (Oct. 11)

Absentee voting by mail begins... 6 days (Oct. 11)

Election Day... 34 days (Nov. 7)

Full Disclosure

Five things we learned from the May 15, 2023 financial disclosure form filed by state Rep. Dani Isaacsohn, a Democrat from Cincinnati:

1. Isaacsohn reported making somewhere between $50,000 and $99,999 in 2022 from Cohear, a community engagement consulting firm he founded. He also received somewhere between $10,000 and $24,999 in rental income last year.

2. He owns two rental properties in Cincinnati.

3. At some point last year, he owed at least $1,000 to US Bank.

4. Hes licensed as an attorney in Ohio.

5. Isaacsohn has a money-market account, as well as stakes in two funds, with Goldman Sachs. He also has a membership interest in Cinema OTR, a bar and lounge dedicated to 90s R&B, hip-hop & classic Black films, according to its website.

Birthdays

John Boccieri, former congressman and state representative

Ex-state Rep. Kyle Koehler

RJ Mancini, Ohio House majority policy advisor

Straight From The Source

Ill be candid. I told him he shouldnt run for the Senate  I told him he should run for president. Because he has ideas. Hes willing to think about things differently.

- Lt. Gov. Jon Husted, in an interview with NBC News about Vivek Ramaswamy, the Ohioan and Republican presidential candidate. In a related story, NBC Newss Henry Gomez also highlighted how Ramaswamys moves have prompted speculation about his potential future in Ohio politics.

Capitol Letter is a daily briefing providing succinct, timely information for those who care deeply about the decisions made by state government. Subscribe to get Capitol Letter in your email box each weekday for free.
COLUMBUS, Ohio  Republican Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost has taken the unprecedented step of offering his offices thoughts on what the legal ramifications would be if voters approved a pair of high-profile, controversial ballot measures in November.

Yost released a pair of documents on Thursday, one offering a legal analysis of State Issue 1, which would enshrine abortion rights in the state constitution, and another offering a similar analysis of State Issue 2, which would change Ohio law to legalize recreational marijuana for adults 21 years old and over.

The analysis of Issue 1 is particularly detailed, because the proposal is a concise but sweeping statement of rights for abortion and other reproductive-related issues. That has left how courts may interpret the measure, if voters approve it, open to interpretation when considering potential future challenges to the states various abortion-related laws. Amendment backers say the measures effects are clear, while abortion opponents at times have sought to shift the ground of debate by arguing the language could arguably apply to controversial, non-abortion related issues.

Any ambiguous issues likely would ultimately land before the Ohio Supreme Court, where Republicans hold a majority.

In contrast, Issue 2 lays out a specific regulatory scheme for how marijuana could be produced, sold and consumed, and since its whats called an initiated statute, state lawmakers could change or repeal it completely if they want. The abortion amendment, however, could only be changed by another statewide vote.

Yosts move is likely to draw criticism, given that he opposes abortion.

It is not surprising a politician like Attorney General David Yost would want to insert government into our most personal decisions, said Gabriel Mann, a spokesperson for Ohioans United for Reproductive Rights, the campaign backing Issue 1.

Amy Natoce, a spokesperson for the anti-Issue 1 Protect Women Ohio, praised Yosts opinion for setting the record straight.

Ohios chief law officer confirmed what we have known all along: Issue 1 goes further than Roe, turning Ohio into the most radical abortion regime in the country, Natoce said.

But Yost said he decided to chime in on the two ballot issues because of what he views as public misunderstanding of what the measures would do.

This is not an exercise in advocacy, Yost wrote Thursday. Rather, it is an effort to help Ohioans understand the legal impacts that Issue 1 and Issue 2 generate. As youll see, most of the legal ramifications of Issue 1 and Issue 2, if approved, are clear. Other aspects, however, are not clear and will most certainly end up in court. We have noted which is which.

Yost says he plans to produce similar analyses on future ballot issues through 2026, when he will leave office due to term limits. Yost is expected to run for governor the same year.

Issue 1

Yost contends that Issue 1 would create stronger protections for abortion than those that existed nationwide until last year, when the U.S. Supreme Court overturned legal protections for abortion nationwide by striking down Roe v. Wade and another landmark decision from 1992, Casey v. Planned Parenthood. The distinction has to do with the legal standard any abortion regulation would have to meet under the language in Issue 1, versus the standard that the previous two U.S. Supreme Court decisions established.

The proposed Amendment appears to borrow some concepts from the Roe era, but also creates a new, legal standard that goes beyond what Roe and Casey said, Yost wrote in the analysis.

Yost went on to suggest that Issue 1, if passed, could be cited in overturning a number of the abortion bans and abortion restrictions that Republican lawmakers have passed in recent years. The general finding meshes with one vein of criticism from abortion opponents, who have said that the measure goes too far while extending abortion rights.

Per the analysis, Ohio laws that most clearly would be invalidated, pending a successful legal challenge, include:

The states heartbeat law, which would ban abortion as early as six weeks into pregnancy, with no exemptions for rape or incest,

Another law that bans abortion 20 weeks into pregnancy,

A law that bars doctors from performing an abortion after a prenatal screening detects fetal Down syndrome,

A law that requires someone seeking an abortion to wait for 24 hours first

Laws restricting the dilation and extraction and dilation and evacuation abortion methods, which are performed later in pregnancy

Issue 1 would allow the state to prohibit abortion after fetal viability, which can vary but generally is around 22 weeks into pregnancy, with an exemption to protect a patients health in the judgment of that patients doctor. Yosts office wrote that the language likely protects post-viability abortions under certain exemptions, a view that meshes with opponents argument that the exemption would allow for abortions later in pregnancy than what most Ohioans would support.

Read more: What to know about Issue 1, the abortion amendment, as voting begins

However, Yosts analysis also throws some cold water on one of abortion opponents most visible arguments: that it would create a right for minors to undergo gender reassignment surgeries even without their parents permission. He also left it open to interpretation whether the measure would definitely invalidate parental consent laws that require minors to get permission from their parents or guardians before getting an abortion, something abortion opponents have said is in jeopardy.

Protect Women Ohio has adopted these arguments in ads to try to find more politically favorable ground to oppose the measure, given that polls show a solid majority of Ohioans support abortion rights. Legal experts previously have dismissed the gender-related claims in particular, calling them misleading.

The analysis states that under Issue 1, it will be up to a court to determine if and how the protections in Issue 1 apply to minors. It concludes theres no guarantee that parental consent laws would survive a court challenge  although this is not the same thing as saying they would definitely be nullified.

But as for the gender-related issues, it states: It would certainly be too much to say that under Issue 1 all treatments for gender dysphoria would be mandated at the minor individuals discretion and without parental involvement.

Issue 2

Yosts four-page analysis of Issue 2 summarizes how the initiated statute, if passed, would allow adults 21 years and older in Ohio to use, possess, and transport legally obtained marijuana within a number of limits.

The state would issue licenses to cultivate, process, test and dispense marijuana commercially within certain rules, including limits on how much THC (the active ingredient in marijuana) can be in marijuana products sold. Individuals could grow up to six cannabis plants each, with a total limit of 12 plants per residence; they would be allowed to give it to others but not sell it without a license.

Even though Issue 2 would allow limited marijuana legalization, Because Issue 2 creates limitations on certain aspects of marijuana, the proposal is not expected to eliminate the black market for marijuana products, Yosts analysis stated.

Issue 2 wouldnt repeal Ohios existing criminal prohibition against growing and using marijuana, but it would protect people who grow or use it if they follow the new rules it would create.

The proposed law would allow employers to ban employees from using marijuana, as well as permit them to fire or refuse to hire people who use or possess marijuana. Landlords could also include lease clauses that forbid tenants from growing or smoking marijuana.

A 10% sales tax would be imposed on marijuana purchases, on top of any existing sales taxes, under the proposal.

Read more: What to know about Issue 2, recreational marijuana legalization, as voting begins

Part of that money would go toward a new cannabis social equity and jobs program, which would provide money and help with the marijuana license application process to individuals most directly and adversely impacted by the enforcement of marijuana-related laws who are interested in starting or working in cannabis business enterprises, Yosts analysis stated. Consideration would be given to factors such as applicants personal wealth, social disadvantage based on things like race, gender, physical disability or long-term residence in a high-unemployment area.

Ohios existing medical marijuana program, which allows people with at least one of 26 qualifying conditions to obtain it from dispensaries and use it, would remain in place even if Issue 2 passes.

Local governments couldnt prevent an existing medical marijuana cultivator or processor from producing marijuana, but they could ban adult use dispensaries from selling it. However, a dispensary operator could put the issue before local voters, and if it passes, the local government would be required to allow that operator to sell marijuana.

Andrew Tobias covers state politics and government for cleveland.com and The Plain Dealer
BAINBRIDGE TOWNSHIP, Ohio

Jewelry heist: Market Place Drive

Police are investigating a theft that occurred shortly after noon Sept. 22 at Kohls department store.

Customers saw a man and a woman behaving oddly. The man placed a black bag in a shopping cart and wheeled it about the store. The woman also had a black bag.

She took items from two display cases, put them in a bag and left the store.

Missing are gold necklaces and rings, along with designer jewelry. The total value of the stolen merchandise is $10,300. Police are investigating.

Theft: Market Place Drive

Police were dispatched at 7:30 p.m. Sept. 22 to Walmart, where a loss prevention employee saw two women bagging numerous items without scanning them to pay.

When questioned at the exit door, they took off running but were stopped by police in the parking lot.

Some of the 79 stolen items were dropped and others were found in the suspects purses.

One suspect, a Maple Heights woman, 32, attempted to evade arrest. She was charged with felony theft and obstructing official business.

The other, a Cleveland woman, 43, was charged with felony theft.

The value of the items was $1,058.47.

When asked why they had stolen the merchandise, one of them told the officer that they take items from stores and sell them to people they know.

Crash: U.S. 422

A Mantua woman, 18, said she fell asleep while driving, causing her to crash at 12:12 a.m. Sept. 26.

An officer found the vehicle in the median strip on its roof. The woman was not trapped. EMS transported her to Hillcrest Hospital for minor injuries.

The officer cited her for failure to control her vehicle.

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A new paper examines how pervasive wind energy opposition is in North America and the predictors of this resistance. It comes to some provocative conclusions, including this: Much of the local pushback comes from predominantly white, wealthy residents at the expense of minority communities who are more likely to live near fossil fuel plants that emit dangerous amounts of pollution.

Inside Climate News has written a lot about local opposition to energy projects, including our 2022 series about resistance to solar power in Ohio, and our story this year about an Illinois law that reduces local governments power to kill projects.

So, does the paper, published in the Proceedings of the National Academies of Science, agree with what ICN has found? In some ways, yes. In others, no.

First, lets hear from one of the co-authors, Jessica Lovering, co-founder of the nonprofit Good Energy Collective, an organization whose mission is to build a progressive case for nuclear energy.

The wealthy and whiter communities have both the resources in terms of money but also the political power in a lot of these communities, she said. Theyre the ones that can show up to town hall meetings to protest a project.

With a few exceptions, much of the existing scientific literature that examines opposition to clean energy development is based on individual regional or case studies, she said. These are helpful when understanding the context and nuances in specific communities, but dont provide a full picture of the national situation.

The authors compiled a list of completed wind projects from government databases. They then pulled demographic data and news articles published between 2000 and 2016 that covered those projects and matched the news articles to each wind farm. Undergraduate students then combed through thousands of articles and recorded if people opposed the projects and how they expressed their disapproval, with methods such as protests, letters to the editor, legislation and legal challenges.

Lovering said that given the lack of a comprehensive data set, they choose to use newspaper articles because theres no other way to do it. Other methods such as surveys are very time intensive, and ideally researchers would send them out before developers start the project.

The larger point, that resistance to wind energy is growing, is in line with what weve seen and reported. This increase in pushback to wind farm development makes sense, considering the growth in the number and size of projects.

But the papers decision to frame these conflicts in racial terms is making a point that exists only at the margins of our reporting. Race was a factor in some projects, but it was a small one. To be fair, though, our observations were anecdotal, since we werent attempting to look at the entirety of resistance to projects the way the paper does.

For example, the resistance to a solar project near Lima, Ohio, which Dan Gearino wrote about last November, was a case of mostly white residents in a rural township outside of Lima opposing a project in their midst, while the communities of color lived in highly polluted neighborhoods just over the border in the city.

The conflict in Lima could be framed in racial terms, but there were many other factors that mattered more to the debate and had more of an effect on the outcome. The most active opponents and supporters of the project were affluent and white. The big difference was that the opponents had close ties to Republican officials who had prominent roles in local and state government.

However, the PNAS study found that in the U.S., partisanship wasnt associated with opposition to wind energy projects, a finding that Lovering said was surprising.

But across the border in Canada, areas with less liberal support experienced more opposition.

I spoke with two other leading researchers who study opposition to renewable energy to see what they make of the new paper.

Sarah Mills of the University of Michigan and Doug Bessette of Michigan State University say they question whether an analysis of newspaper articles is going to be thorough and accurate enough in determining national trends.

We have seen that many local newspapers are biased, Bessette said. A lot of times multiple articles will be written by a single journalist who has a particular perspective. So relying on that as a data source can be problematic.

Aside from questions of bias, some of the rural areas that are likely to host wind projects have no newspaper or have a paper that is so thinly staffed that it may not be providing a reliable view of whats happening.

Also, affluent rural areasmost of which are predominately whiteare probably more likely to be able to support a newspaper.

Mills said using news articles as data points has been done before in this field. In fact, a smaller regional study used news articles as a means of collecting data and found that most projects in the study area didnt experience intense opposition.

Mills also pointed out that while the correlation between a higher percentage of white people and wind energy opposition exists, its not actually significant when applying a statistical method that controls for other factors. Instead, data show its a higher percentage of a Hispanic population that drives lower opposition.

Its Hispanic that shows up as being influential in reducing opposition, but white itself is not statistically significant in the regression once you control for the other things, Mills said.

And opposition from residents isnt the only reason wind projects shut down. So placing all the blame on the community members ignores other players, such as policy makers, developers and utilities, Bessette said.

So that portrayal of it all being the responsibility of residents contributes to what I think is this kind of more common and frankly, a pejorative NIMBY explanation for opposition, he said.

Mills points out that white, wealthy residents often own the most land in these communities, meaning they benefit the most financially from wind development projects.

Also, just because communities of color arent showing up at meetings, holding protests and taking legal action doesnt mean they support these projects, Bessette said.

Lovering acknowledges that the drivers of wind energy opposition are nuanced. But its important to note, she said, that opposition movements, where protesters are more likely to be white, have a major effect on the local litigation and legislation regarding clean energy development and the outcomes of these projects.

Thats something that just about everyone who has studied this subject can agree about.
CIRCLEVILLE, Ohio  You dont need to wait for fall for a pumpkin spice latte in Circleville.

Ditto the pumpkin doughnuts and the pumpkin milkshakes.

Pumpkin is a year-round flavor and an all-year phenomenon in Circleville, which honors the bright orange gourd from January through December.

Despite the year-round appeal, October is still special for pumpkins in Circleville, thanks to the upcoming four-day Pumpkin Show, the annual over-the-top extravaganza of the orange orb.

This years Pumpkin Show runs Oct. 18 through Oct. 21, with two parades daily, the worlds largest pumpkin pie (400 pounds and 6 feet in diameter), plus pumpkin ice cream, pancakes, burgers and more.

The show can attract as many as half a million people over four days, depending on the weather.

Locals either love it or hate it, said Jenny Rhoads, administrator at the Pickaway County Visitors Bureau. A lot of people go on vacation, she said. Or they stay here and embrace it.

Count her in the embrace category.

Whether youre a Pumpkin Show newbie or a Circleville veteran, heres what you need to know about Ohios most pumpkin-loving town.

Downtown Circleville, founded in 1810.

Circleville's annual Pumpkin Show draws as many as 500,000 people in a year. (Courtesy Circleville Pumpkin Show)

Ted Lewis' clarinet and top hat, on display at the Ted Lewis Museum in Circleville.

Where: Circleville, about 30 miles south of Columbus, is an easy three-hour drive from Cleveland, south on I-71 and south on U.S. 23.

Population: 14,100

History: Founded in 1810, Circleville is named after its original circular layout, which was centered around an ancient Native American earthwork, 1,100 feet in diameter. Unfortunately, the earthen circle  as well as a large burial mound at its center  were destroyed when the town reverted to a more traditional square layout in the mid-1800s. (Read more: Touring the Hopewell Ceremonial Earthworks: How to visit Ohios new UNESCO World Heritage sites)

The Pumpkin Show started in 1903, canceled just four times (once for World War I, twice for World War II and once, in 2020, for the COVID pandemic). It was established as a small celebration of the local harvest  and morphed into the mega-festival that it is today.

Famous resident: Circleville native Ted Lewis, a jazz musician and band leader popular in the first half of the 20th century, performed in the first Pumpkin Show with the Circleville Cadet Band.

He would go on to to play with Benny Goodman, the Dorsey Brothers, Sophie Tucker and numerous others; and star in nine movies, including Is Everybody Happy? which became a Lewis catchphrase.

Born Theodore Friedman (his name was shortened on a marquee when he was 22), Lewis learned to play jazz from a Black barber after school.

Throughout his long career, he was known for employing diverse performers in his band. He would not stay at any hotels that would not allow Black people, said Sue Lumley, treasurer of the museum.

He often returned to his hometown and referred to Circleville as the Capital of the World. After his death in New York City in 1971, his wife sent his memorabilia home to Circleville, which created a museum in his honor.

Among the items on display at the Ted Lewis Museum: are his original E-flat clarinet, his trademark top hat (which he won in a dice game, according to Lumley), sheet music, movie posters and more.

The museum is open Saturdays only, with additional days added during the Pumpkin Show. Information: tedlewismuseum.org

Dont miss: Wittichs Candy Shop, founded in 1840, the nations oldest family-owned and-operated candy shop, with pumpkin peanut brittle, pumpkin creams and pumpkin ice cream (plus numerous non-pumpkin delights); Lindseys Bakery for year-round pumpkin doughnuts, cookies and that massive pumpkin pie; the Dairy Shed, for pumpkin milkshakes and other sweet treats; and Scioto Valley Coffee, for pumpkin-spice lattes and other warm and cold beverages.

And for non-pumpkin fare: Try Richies New York Corner Deli, for sandwiches, subs and salads.

More: pumpkinshow.com, pickaway.com

Giant pumpkins -- including this one weighing more than 1,800 pounds -- at the Circleville Pumpkin Show. (Courtesy Circleville Pumpkin Show)

Editors note: This story is part of an occasional series on Ohios best small towns. What makes a best Ohio small town? The criteria is subjective, of course, but includes a vibrant downtown, with a variety of places to shop and dine, along with some interesting activities nearby  whether museums, parks or other venues. Do you have a small town to suggest we visit? Send recommendations to sglaser@cleveland.com.

Read more:

First capital Chillicothe offers renewed charm amid the historic buildings: Ohios best small towns

Fun in the sun and fine dining in Vermilion: Ohios best small towns

Best Ohio small towns: Yellow Springs shines with trails, tie-dye and Chappelle cornfield comedy
President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev has accepted credentials of newly appointed Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Essam bin Saleh Al-Jutaili.

The ambassador presented his credentials to President Ilham Aliyev.

The head of state then had a conversation with the ambassador.

Noting that there are brotherly relations between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Azerbaijan and friendly ties between the two countries` leaders, President Ilham Aliyev recalled his visits to Saudi Arabia. The head of state once again hailed the moral and political support provided by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in the issues of protection and restoration of the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan in all periods - both during the occupation and after the liberation of lands from occupation. President Ilham Aliyev praised the fact that the mutual support of the two countries within international organizations has become traditional.

Touching upon the economic cooperation, the head of state said that there are good examples in the field of energy and stressed the importance of the Saudi Arabian companys investing heavily in this area in Azerbaijan. The head of state also lauded bilateral ties in all other spheres.

Ambassador Essam bin Saleh Al-Jutaili first conveyed the greetings of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud and Crown Prince, Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud to the head of state.

President Ilham Aliyev thanked for the greetings, and asked the ambassador to extend his greetings to the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques and the Crown Prince.

Saying that he was greatly honored to be appointed as the ambassador to Azerbaijan, Essam bin Saleh Al-Jutaili pointed out that Azerbaijan is a friendly and brotherly country for Saudi Arabia, adding that he received specific instructions on the development of relations in various areas.










 B1B2
Sam Bankman-Fried appears at federal court in New York on Oct. 4, 2023, in this courtroom sketch. Artist: Claudia Johnson

Marc-Antoine Julliard typically trades cocoa beans. But in the spring of 2021, the London-based commodities broker decided to diversify into cryptocurrency trading. His platform of choice was FTX. Two years later, Julliard stood as the prosecution's first witness in the criminal fraud trial against FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried, who's accused of misusing billions of dollars in client money. In testimony that lasted around 50 minutes on Wednesday, Julliard recounted his experience with FTX, including the "extremely anxious" feeling he had the day he unsuccessfully attempted to withdraw part of the $100,000 worth of crypto and cash he had stored on the site. He and thousands of other FTX customers were practically wiped out when the exchange went belly up late last year. Like many others, Julliard said he he was under the impression that there were "strong financials behind the company." Julliard is the poster child for the case the prosecution laid out in its opening statement as it tries to prove to a jury that clients were led to believe the money they stored with FTX was safe. Prospective customers, Julliard said, were drawn in through savvy marketing, with no reason to believe that FTX would be repurposing their crypto funds. In a trial that's set to last six weeks, Bankman-Fried, a man once revered as the "white knight" of crypto, faces seven federal charges, including wire fraud, securities fraud and money laundering, that could put him in prison for the rest of his life. A jury was seated shortly after 11:30 a.m. (though four of the 12 jurors were already looking to be dismissed). Opening statements began about an hour later. Julliard took the stand just before 2 p.m. to a packed courthouse in Manhattan. As the lead witness, Julliard helped lay out the government's narrative. Much of his decision to buy into FTX had to do with the celebrities and venture funds attached to the brand. He referenced an ad with supermodel Gisele Bundchen and Formula 1 marketing. He also pointed to prolific media coverage, which bolstered his trust in the company. Julliard wasn't an aggressive crypto trader. He said he never participated in margin trading, or borrowing money to make purchases, nor did he engage in a lending program offered by the company that allowed users to earn interest on idle crypto.

Sam Bankman-Fried sits with his defense team during his fraud trial over the collapse of FTX, the bankrupt cryptocurrency exchange, at Federal Court in New York City, U.S., October 4, 2023 in this courtroom sketch. Jane Rosenberg | Reuters

Defense wants customers to shoulder blame

The defense is trying to make clients accountable for what it says were their choices to buy and trade crypto. "Sam didn't defraud anyone," said Mark Cohen, Bankman-Fried's attorney, in his opening statement. Cohen called it a "hindsight case" brought by the government, and said that just because people lost money, doesn't mean the 31-year-old Bankman-Fried committed fraud. Bankman-Fried donned a fresh suit with a purple tie and a clean haircut  a much different look than the beach shorts, sandals and wild curls that helped define his image during crypto's heyday. The entrepreneur, who Cohen described as a "math nerd that didn't drink or party," diligently took notes on his air-gapped laptop as he conversed with both of his attorneys and, during breaks, sometimes stood while emphatically motioning with his hands as he spoke to his counsel. Throughout both sides' opening statements, Bankman-Fried kept his eyes trained on the jury box. His head was turned 90 degrees to his right to watch those who will ultimately decide his fate. Bankman-Fried was joined in court by his parents, who are both being sued by FTX's new management for having allegedly "exploited their access and influence within the FTX enterprise to enrich themselvesby millions of dollars." Cohen is projecting Bankman-Fried as a startup founder and equated running FTX and Alameda Research, his sister hedge fund, to "building a plane while flying on it." He told the jury that there was no risk management in place. Specifically, he said the firm didn't have a chief risk officer. Far from the "cartoon of a villain" that the government presented, Cohen gave different explanations for his client's supposedly illegal actions. One example dealt with the secret backdoor baked into FTX's code that prosecutors say gave Alameda a way to borrow much needed capital. Cohen said there was nothing secretive about this backchannel in the code base and said the special access to FTX was there because Alameda was initially set up as a market maker for the crypto exchange, which needed the liquidity, especially in its early days. Cohen reminded the jury that the three insiders who will take the stand against Bankman-Fried have all signed cooperation agreements with the government.

A $10 billion fraud

The prosecution's opening statement was delivered by Assistant U.S. Attorney Thane Rehn. Over the course of about a half hour, Rehn drove home the point that everyday investors were the ones who fell victim to FTX's scheme. By the summer of 2022, he said, more than $10 billion had been stolen from thousands of FTX customers who had trusted custody of their crypto and cash to the platform. Rehn said the evidence would show jurors how Bankman-Fried lied to FTX users, investors and lenders, and how he spent a good amount of the money he stole for his own good. Rehn referenced campaign contributions, for example, as one way that Bankman-Fried looked to curry favor on Capitol Hill. Rehn called Alameda a "second, smaller and more secretive company" founded and controlled by Bankman-Fried that was integral to the defendant's alleged scheme. The government also teed up its star witness, ex-girlfriend and Alameda's ex-CEO, Caroline Ellison. She pleaded guilty in December to multiple charges and has been cooperating with the U.S. attorney's office in Manhattan for months. Rehn plans to show that Bankman-Fried installed his girlfriend at the top of his hedge fund, though he remained the one calling the shots behind the scenes.

Allan Joseph Bankman, father of FTX Co-Founder Sam Bankman-Fried, and Barbara Fried, mother of FTX Co-Founder Sam Bankman-Fried, arrive at court in New York, US, on Wednesday, Oct. 4, 2023. Stephanie Keith | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Noticeably absent was the mention of Ellison's co-CEO Sam Trabucco, who was a classmate of Bankman-Fried at MIT. Trabucco left FTX in Aug. 2022, and has stayed relatively under the radar. Also central to the government's case is the alleged coverup to hide Bankman-Fried's crimes. Those tactics include backdating contracts and using encrypted messaging apps set to auto-delete to avoid a paper trail. "This man stole billions of dollars from thousands of people," Rein said, as he closed his statement. The prosecution's second witness was Adam Yedidia, who met Bankman-Fried in college at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The pair remained good friends. Yedidia detailed his experience working first as a trader at Alameda for two months in 2017, and later as a software engineer for FTX beginning in January 2021. He said he resigned from FTX the day before the exchange filed for bankruptcy after a fellow developer told him that Alameda had used FTX customer deposits to pay back creditors. Speaking quickly and deliberately with an air of practiced nonchalance, Yedidia testified that he hadn't talked to Bankman-Fried or seen him in person since Nov. 2022. When asked why he was appearing under an immunity order, Yedidia said he was concerned that as an FTX developer, he "may have unwittingly written code that contributed to a crime." Prosecutors got through a half hour of testimony before breaking for the day. The government will continue its questioning of Yedidia at 9:30 A.M. on Thursday. FTX co-founder Gary Wang will also be taking the stand this week for the government. WATCH: Sam Bankman-Fried criminal trial begins in New York
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Britain's anti-competition regulators have been tasked with investigating Microsoft and Amazon 's dominance of the cloud computing market. Media watchdog Ofcom on Thursday referred its inquiry for further investigation to the Competition and Markets Authority, kickstarting the process. Ofcom said that it had identified features which make it more difficult for U.K. businesses to switch cloud providers, or use multiple cloud services, and that it is "particularly concerned" about the position of market leaders Amazon and Microsoft. "Some UK businesses have told us they're concerned about it being too difficult to switch or mix and match cloud provider, and it's not clear that competition is working well," Fergal Farragher, Ofcom's director responsible for the market study, said in a statement Thursday. "So, we're referring the market to the CMA for further scrutiny, to make sure business customers continue to benefit from cloud services." Ofcom is concerned that so-called "hyperscalers" like Amazon Web Services and Microsoft Azure are limiting competition in the cloud computing market. These are companies that allow businesses of all stripes to carry out critical computing tasks  like storage and management of data, delivery of content, analytics and intelligence  over the internet, rather than through servers stored on site, or "on premise." An Amazon spokesperson said in a Thursday statement that the company disagrees with the Ofcom finding. Microsoft said it plans to engage "constructively" with the CMA to address the regulator's concerns. AWS and Microsoft Azure are the biggest players in the market. AWS' cloud solution is primarily targeted at startups, while Microsoft prioritizes big enterprises. AWS and Microsoft Azure account for roughly 60% to 70% of cloud spend, according to an Ofcom estimate. Combined, Amazon, Microsoft and Google generate roughly 81% of revenues in the U.K.'s cloud infrastructure services market, according to Ofcom, which estimates the market to be worth 15 billion ($18.2 billion).

The CMA probe comes amid the fast adoption of AI  cloud services, which are enabled by vast data centers, underpin many of the power-intensive generative AI models, such as OpenAI's ChatGPT, Microsoft's Bing Chat and Google's Bard. The Competition and Markets Authority said in a statement that it welcomes the Ofcom probe referral, adding that the cloud space "underpins a whole host of online services  from social media to AI foundation models." "Many businesses now completely rely on cloud services, making effective competition in this market essential," Sarah Cardell, CEO of the CMA, said in a statement Thursday. "Strong competition ensures a level playing field so that market power doesn't end up in the hands of a few players  unlocking the full potential of these rapidly evolving digital markets so that people, businesses, and the UK economy can get the maximum benefits." The CMA's independent inquiry group will now examine the market and identify what, if any, action should be taken. The CMA will conclude its investigation by April 2025.

Amazon, Microsoft respond

Amazon said in a statement that it believes the Ofcom findings are "based on a fundamental misconception of how the IT sector functions, and the services and discounts on offer." Amazon Web Services (AWS), the e-commerce giant's cloud computing division, designs services "to give customers the freedom to choose technology that best suits their needs," a spokesperson for the company said. "UK companies, and the overall economy, benefit from robust competition among IT providers, and the cloud has made switching between providers easier than ever. Any unwarranted intervention could lead to unintended harm to IT customers and competition. AWS will work constructively with the CMA." Microsoft said it was "committed to ensuring the UK cloud industry remains innovative, highly competitive and an accelerator for growth across the economy." "We will engage constructively with the CMA as they conduct their Cloud Services Market Investigation," a spokesperson for the firm told CNBC via email.

Competition concerns

Ofcom, the agency responsible regulating technology, broadcast and telecom operations in the U.K., said that it identified a number of practices in the cloud industry that were of particular concern.

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The regulator said that so-called "egress fees" charged by cloud vendors like Amazon and Microsoft make it tougher for businesses to move their data between providers, or to "multi-cloud" by using multiple cloud providers. Egress fees are charges for cloud companies to remove the data of firms from a cloud environment. An AWS spokesperson said it "does not charge separate fees for switching data" to another cloud provider. The spokesperson added that over 90% of its customers pay nothing for data transfers, as they are given a monthly 100 gigabytes for free. Ofcom also said that cloud companies have introduced "technical barriers" to interoperability  the ability of different cloud platforms and services to work together and exchange data without any barriers or disruptions. The authority said that this "makes it more difficult [for firms] to combine different services across cloud providers or to change provider." Lastly, Ofcom raised alarm bells over committed spend discounts, or incentives to give customers a discount if they spend a certain amount of money. While this can reduce customer costs, it also encourages companies to use a single cloud provider for all or most of their cloud needs, even when a cheaper alternative is available.
Yannique Ivey may be going back to the office, but she's open about the fact that you won't catch her first thing in the morning. Wait too long in the day and you'll miss her, too. Ivey, 27, works for a tech consulting firm in Atlanta and says she drives into the office once or twice a month. When she's there, she commits to an 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. schedule  just in time for a catered lunch, to catch up with colleagues for a few hours, and head out before traffic stalls her in a "hellish" commute home, she tells CNBC Make It. She and her team are open about this arrangement. Spending a few shortened days in the office each month "takes needed time away from the actual work" to socialize and build community, she says, but "I'm a lot more productive when I'm home, so I get started there and wind down from there." It's a new arrangement picking up across the U.S.: Workers are showing up for required attendance, but that doesn't mean they're sticking around for the full day. More than half, 58%, of hybrid workers admit to "coffee badging," or the act of going into the office building for their morning coffee, earning an imaginary badge for it, and then going home to work for the remainder of the day. That's according to a June survey of 2,000 people from Owl Labs, a company that makes videoconferencing devices. Another 8% of hybrid workers say they haven't tried coffee badging just yet but are interested in doing so.

The next frontier of hybrid is working when you want

Despite the half-days (or less), the coffee badging trend doesn't mean people are sneaking out and slacking off for the rest of the afternoon, says Frank Weishaupt, CEO of Owl Labs. As he sees it, the practice could mean people are seeing the value of their office and enjoy being there some of the time. Survey respondents say they value being in-office to meet with colleagues, catch up with work friends and take meetings. On the other hand, Weishaupt says, there may be another subset of people who use coffee badging as a way to "show their face in an old traditional way that we used to work" without having to be there for the full day.

The standard has been set around flexibility in terms of where you work, and now the standard is starting to become flexibility in when you work. Frank Weishaupt CEO of Owl Labs

Some office attendance guidelines only dictate a number of days bosses want people in, but not always the hours people should be present. So, "coffee badging gives you the opportunity to maintain your flexible schedule, which is incredibly important to employees," Weishaupt says. Weishaupt himself does the reverse of coffee badging, where he'll start his day from home, drive in mid-day to avoid morning traffic, and finish the rest of his day from the office. "The standard has been set around flexibility in terms of where you work, and now the standard is starting to become flexibility in when you work," he adds. The traditional 8-hour workday from the office "just doesn't seem all that relevant." In the Philadelphia area, Kynisha Gary, 30, says coffee badging helps her find balance as a parent and Penn State student. She reports to her nonprofit's office on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays and sometimes leaves around lunch to pick up her son from school and then finish the day from home. It's a major productivity boost, Gary says: "I get all my work done  nothing goes missing on the days I go home and finish work from there." She enjoys having control over her hybrid schedule even more than when she worked for a company that was fully remote, she adds. "I looked forward to getting back to into the office and being interactive," she says. "Being exclusively at home was double the work and harder to get away from work."

Yannique Ivey generally goes into the office at 11 a.m. and leaves by 3 p.m. to avoid long commute times in the morning and evening. Courtesy of subject

Ivey says the flexibility "helps us feel that we are more in control of our work-life balance and lifestyle in general, not feeling the demand and pressure to have to integrate back into the office all the time." She says the arrangement feels natural in her work environment, where her company wants to "ensure we're happy outside of the work we're doing."

Taking office attendance is 'a trust killer'
Gabriel Weinberg, founder and chief executive officer of DuckDuckGo Inc., speaks during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday, March 12, 2019.

Apple once considered replacing Google as its default search engine in private browsing mode on its products in favor of DuckDuckGo, according to recently unsealed testimony by the rival search CEO.

"Our take was that they were actually really interested in this," DuckDuckGo CEO Gabriel Weinberg said, according to a transcript viewed by CNBC of the testimony in federal court last month. "The people we were talking to were generally DuckDuckGo users themselves interested in privacy."

Weinberg, testifying as part of the Department of Justice's antitrust case against Google , said DuckDuckGo and Apple had about 20 meetings and phone calls over the course of the negotiations, which lasted from about 2016 through 2019. Throughout that period, Weinberg said Apple's contract with Google to be the default search engine on its Safari browser "was often the elephant in the room."

The government is trying to prove that Google's exclusive contracts with phone and browser makers unfairly locked out rivals from the general search market by depriving them of distribution. Google has denied that its actions violated antitrust law.

DuckDuckGo, which is privately held, makes a privacy-focused search engine that competes directly with Google, as well as other privacy products that seek to limit how websites can track consumers across the internet.

DuckDuckGo first got a response from Apple about its idea to become the default search engine in private browsing in 2016, Weinberg said. DuckDuckGo claims its search engine greatly reduces the amount of tracking that is still possible in other search engines, even while on private browsing mode.

In 2017, DuckDuckGo was able to secure a meeting with Craig Federighi, a senior vice president, at Apple's headquarters in Cupertino, California to discuss its proposal. DuckDuckGo presented Apple executives with data about what Apple users expect from private browsing mode, which Weinberg said he'd thought "was pretty compelling."

Weinberg's team said they could "make DuckDuckGo the best search option on Apple devices for Apple users by integrating their content into search modules" including Apple News, Maps, Music and TV.

Weinberg said he left the meeting with the impression that "it went very well."

"I've pitched lots of things to Apple over the years," Weinberg testified. "If there's no interest, their move is basically silence."

DuckDuckGo executives returned to Cupertino the following summer for another meeting and presented visuals of how the product would look once its search engine was integrated into Apple services.

Weinberg said his "impression was that they were really serious" about the idea "potentially for the next year's release." He said that Adler asked them "to come back basically as soon as possible to brainstorm what privacy integrations could look like."

Separate recently unsealed testimony from Apple's side tells a somewhat different story.

John Giannandrea, Apple's senior vice president of machine learning and artificial intelligence and a former Google executive, joined the company in 2018. He testified that he wasn't aware of Apple considering the search default switch.

Still, he went on to describe discussions with other Apple executives about the potential drawbacks of such a proposal. Giannandrea worried DuckDuckGo's "marketing about privacy is somewhat incongruent with the details," since he thought the company would have to share some user information with Microsoft due to its arrangement to receive search information from Bing.

DuckDuckGo says in its privacy policy that it prevents "our hosting and content providers from creating a history of your searches and browsing."

In September 2018, DuckDuckGo returned to Apple headquarters to discuss integration, Weinberg testified. Apple "expressed they were really considering this for the 2019 release," and Weinberg then realized they still had some lingering concerns. In particular, Apple realized it need to figure out how to resolve issues tied to its Google contract, Weinberg testified.

Sometime after the 2018 holidays, DuckDuckGo received documentation from Apple showing what its revenue share would be if it were the default. DuckDuckGO estimated its market share "would increase multiple times over" just by becoming the default in private browsing mode.

By the summer of 2019, DuckDuckGo began to understand the partnership would not happen. Apple didn't announce the integration during its Worldwide Developers Conference in June. Four months later, following a meeting, Weinberg's takeaway was that the deal was "dead."

DuckDuckGo had also pitched Samsung, Mozilla and Opera on being the default option in their private browsing modes, but was not able to reach a deal with any of them. The company eventually stopped pursuing this model because it concluded "That each of these companies' Google contract was the key thing preventing us from getting a deal done with them."

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Eli Lilly (LLY) is wisely broadening out its drug pipeline through a series of acquisitions of smaller companies  the most recent of which was disclosed earlier this week and should strengthen the Club holding's efforts to develop cancer treatments. Lilly's planned $1.4 billion deal to buy Point Biopharma (PNT), announced Tuesday, follows a busy summer for the Indianapolis-based pharmaceuticals giant, during which it bought three other experimental drug firms. Those takeovers help fortify Lilly's positioning around treatments for obesity, diabetes and immunologic conditions such as psoriasis. To be sure, the acquisition spree does not change Lilly's near-term revenue trajectory. The projected growth should still be driven by Mounjaro  a type-2 diabetes drug that's expected to be approved to treat obesity by year-end  and to a lesser extent Alzheimer's treatment donanemab , which U.S. regulators are expected to make a decision on in the coming months. Jim Cramer has said Mounjaro may eventually become the best-selling drug of all time. Nevertheless, Eli Lilly's relatively inexpensive deals this year should be viewed in a favorable light. In the pharmaceutical industry, companies are required to balance the present and the prospective, looking not only a few quarters ahead but many years down the line, too. For Lilly, that means spending to support the broader rollout of Mounjaro and the likely commercial launch of donanemab  to say nothing of other growth products like breast-cancer therapy Verzenio  while also investing in experimental research. While the latter investments are risky and may never yield an application with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, they're necessary to stay competitive. "M & A is not really driving [Lilly's] business," BMO Capital Markets analyst Evan Seigerman said in an interview. Still, he said it's "healthy" for a company like Eli Lilly  valued over $500 billion, as of Thursday  to be executing smaller deals. "They can still put their mark on an asset or a constellation of drugs," said Seigerman, who has a buy rating and $633-per-share price target on Eli Lilly stock. "They're not buying revenue, per say. I don't love it when a company is a revenue aggregator...they're buying earlier stage products that they can shape the development of, and then they can commercialize," he added. LLY 1Y mountain Eli Lilly's stock performance over the past 12 months. Details on the deals The three companies Eli Lilly bought this summer have drugs in various stages of the clinical development process. Obesity-focused Versanis Bio is actively studying its primary compound in a mid-stage trial, assessing whether it can help patients lose more body fat while maintaining muscle mass tissue when taken alongside another type of drug known as GLP-1s. Mounjaro, for example, is a GLP-1. Lilly said it could pay Versanis shareholders up to $1.93 billion if development and revenue milestones are met. Immunology-focused Dice Therapeutics, which develops oral therapies for chronic autoimmune and inflammatory diseases, also has its lead drug candidate in a mid-stage study . That trial, to determine its safety and effectiveness in treating moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis, is expected to be completed next summer. Lilly's acquisition of Dice valued the company at approximately $2.4 billion . Meanwhile, Siligon Therapeutics' primary asset  developed using cell-therapy technology to treat type-1 diabetes  is earlier stage than that of Versanis and Dice, having not yet been entered into human trials, according to the company. Lilly and Sigilon had collaborated together since 2018. Lilly paid nearly $35 million to acquire all Sigilon's outstanding shares. If certain milestones are met, Lilly could end up paying as much as $309.6 million to Sigilon shareholders. This week's takeover target, Point Biopharma, is the acquisition whose main drug asset is furthest along, with a late-stage trial underway for a radiopharmaceutical therapy to treat prostate cancer . Lilly also made a major bet on cancer in 2019, when it bought Loxo Oncology for $8 billion , which helped the company usher in a strategy shift around the disease. Eli Lilly's four announced acquisitions in 2023 represent an increase in activity compared with last year, when the Club holding bought just one earlier-stage firm. That company, Akuous, uses gene therapy to develop treatments for genetically defined hearing loss. It is currently recruiting participants for two trials, according to a Department of Health and Human Services. In general, one factor that could be boosting deal-making is an economic picture that's pressured the value of startups and raised the cost of capital for those firms. "Valuations have come in, so there's probably good deals to be found," BMO's Seigerman said. Seigerman said Lilly's heightened M & A activity, in particular, may be aided by the bright prospects of Mounjaro, which has the scientific name of tirzepatide, and donanemab. "Given the potential for tirzepatide and donanemab, they're feeling good about how they can spend money," Seigerman said. "Their stock is really high; they generate a lot of cash flow. So, they can really invest in the business beyond" the drug categories to which Mounjaro and donanemab belong, he explained. Eli Lilly has next-generation assets in those categories, including a weight-loss pill that demonstrated impressive efficacy in a mid-stage study released in June , and an Alzheimer's therapy, remternetug, that recently entered late-stage trials. But Lilly's takeovers over the past year are mostly concentrated outside those drug classes  including Versanis Bio, whose main drug asset should be viewed as a complement to tirzepatide and other GLP-1s. Dice Therapeutics, meanwhile, will add to Eli Lilly's efforts in immunology, an area of increasing focus for the pharmaceuticals firm. Bottom line Eli Lilly's stellar pipeline is what first attracted us to the stock on the belief it would drive multiple years of revenue growth. Nothing has shaken us from that thesis over the past two years, and we're closely anticipating the FDA's expected approvals on Mounjaro for obesity and donanemab for Alzheimer's by year-end. With its recent deals, Eli Lilly wisely adds more irons in the fire, even if it will take time to see the ultimate impact on revenues. In the near term, though, they may result in a noisy third-quarter earnings report as Eli Lilly records the acquisitions. Specifically, the Club holding's in-process research and development, or IPR & D, expenses are likely to be elevated and hurt earnings-per-share on the basis of generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP). But that would simply reflect accounting and wouldn't demonstrate any weakness in Lilly's fundamentals. Eli Lilly's stock has grown more attractive since Sept. 12, when we locked in profits of roughly 140% on shares we purchased in late 2021 and January 2022. In the intervening weeks, the stock has retreated about 10%. Lilly's strong year-to-date gains of more than 47% and high valuation relative to large-cap pharmaceutical peers leaves its stock vulnerable to further declines if the 10-year Treasury yield continues to march higher . But in that event, we'd likely step in to buy back some of the shares we sold last month. (Jim Cramer's Charitable Trust is long LLY. See here for a full list of the stocks.) As a subscriber to the CNBC Investing Club with Jim Cramer, you will receive a trade alert before Jim makes a trade. Jim waits 45 minutes after sending a trade alert before buying or selling a stock in his charitable trust's portfolio. If Jim has talked about a stock on CNBC TV, he waits 72 hours after issuing the trade alert before executing the trade. THE ABOVE INVESTING CLUB INFORMATION IS SUBJECT TO OUR TERMS AND CONDITIONS AND PRIVACY POLICY , TOGETHER WITH OUR DISCLAIMER . NO FIDUCIARY OBLIGATION OR DUTY EXISTS, OR IS CREATED, BY VIRTUE OF YOUR RECEIPT OF ANY INFORMATION PROVIDED IN CONNECTION WITH THE INVESTING CLUB. NO SPECIFIC OUTCOME OR PROFIT IS GUARANTEED.

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Director of the Alstom Valenciennes production plant seen in front of a car being delivered to the Regie des Transports de Marseille) technical centre.

Shares of French train manufacturer Alstom plummeted by up to 38% on Thursday after the company slashed its free cash flow forecast.

In unaudited half-year results released on Wednesday evening, the company said its free cash flow had fallen from negative 45 million euros ($47 million) to negative 1.15 billion euros. It also said it now expects free cash flow in a range of negative 500-750 million euros for the full year, compared to a prior forecast of "significantly positive."

Trading of Alstom shares was briefly suspended at the open of the Paris Stock Exchange. Losses had pared to roughly 21% by Thursday afternoon.

The fall puts the company on course for its worst trading day in at least 20 years, according to LSEG data. The initial share decline wiped roughly 2.9 billion euros ($3.1 billion) from Alstom's market value, Reuters reported.

"Supported by a positive market momentum, Alstom is accelerating on its organic growth trajectory. We are engaged in a steep ramp-up, in particular in the rolling stock activity. This, combined with legacy projects being finalized at the same time, is weighing on the free cash flow in this first half," the company said in a statement.
Rep. George Santos, R-N.Y., wearing a no shutdown button walks up the House steps for a vote in the U.S. Capitol on Sept. 28, 2023.

The former campaign treasurer to Rep. George Santos of New York pleaded guilty Thursday to numerous campaign finance felonies related to her work for the Republican congressman, who is also charged with fraud.

The former treasurer, Nancy Marks, admitted guilt on charges of conspiring with a congressional candidate to commit wire fraud, making materially false statements, obstructing the administration of the Federal Election Commission, and committing aggravated identity theft.

Marks, 58, was released on a $100,000 bond following her appearance in U.S. District Court in Long Island on Thursday afternoon.

Marks during the 2022 election cycle submitted campaign finance reports that falsely said 10 family members of her and Santos contributed to his campaign, when none had actually done so, court documents showed.

Marks and Santos also falsely told the FEC that Santos loaned his campaign vast sums of money including a single loan of $500,000  when he in fact did not have the money to do so.

They perpetrated the scheme in order to qualify Santos' campaign financial and logistical support from the Republican National Committee.

After the hearing, Marks' attorney told reporters that Santos "mentally seduced and manipulated her."

Santos was charged in May with a 13-count federal indictment in the same court accusing him of campaign finance fraud, money laundering and other crimes.

The freshman lawmaker has pleaded not guilty and vowed not to resign from Congress.

Santos' attorney declined to comment.

In August, Samuel Miele, a former Santos fundraiser, was charged in the same federal court with impersonating a top aide to former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy while seeking campaign donations.

Miele's attorneys are in negotiations with federal prosecutors about a possible plea deal.

Santos, who represents a district covering parts of Nassau County and Queens, has faced howls of bipartisan criticism and calls for his resignation even before he was sworn into Congress in January 2021.

Shortly after winning his election, which flipped his district from Democratic control, Santos was accused of lying about his business history and education.

Santos later admitted fabricating those details, though he denied other wrongdoing.
Goldman Sachs has a new list of top stock picks for Europe, which it called its "most differentiated" ideas for the region. The "European Conviction List - Directors' Cut" is the bank's "curated and active" list of 15 to 25 buy-rated stocks. Goldman already has a conviction list of stock ideas across regions  which includes its top buy-rated stocks it expects to outperform. But what makes the "Directors' cut" list different is that the names are selected by a subcommittee designated by the bank's Europe Investment Review Committee. "The subcommittee will collaborate with each sector analyst to identify top ideas that offer a combination of conviction, a differentiated view and high risk-adjusted returns," Goldman wrote in the Oct.1 note. "After a couple of years of macro driven markets, we believe stock picking has become more important. Indeed, our strategists have written about alpha mattering more than beta during a period in which they see little index returns," the bank said. "This new curated list seeks to highlight our best alpha opportunities." Goldman presented 18 European names in this new list, which it will update monthly. Seven names Here are seven of them  one from each of the sectors that are presented in the list. Here's what Goldman said about each stock. Puma : The bank pointed to the sportswear brand's "strong brand momentum," which bodes well for overall sales growth. "Puma remains the cheapest sportswear brand globally under GS coverage," Goldman said. It said that's "unwarranted" for a stock at mid-to-high teens in its earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, and in its compound annual growth rate (from 2022 to 2024). That's in line with most of its global peers, it said. Volvo : The automaker has one of the strongest balance sheets across the European industry, while being "relatively cash generative" at around 10% free cash flow yield, Goldman said. That means more scope for high cash returns to shareholders  including dividends and buybacks. Vonovia : Goldman said key drivers for this German property giant include low vacancy, high funding costs and an increasing population. Philips : The bank noted an improving growth and margin backdrop for the Dutch health-care equipment maker. "Philips is emerging from a challenging operating environment with underappreciated leverage to easing supply chain/logistics pressures," said Goldman. Enel : The bank pointed to the Italian energy company's balance sheet  which it said is "one of the strongest" in Europe  and said its improving balance sheet is underappreciated by the market. Goldman also sees scope for Enel to grow its dividends from 2026 onward. BT Group : Goldman said BT Group is at a "key inflection point," with customer demand being more robust than BT itself expected. Investment in its infrastructure is also being monetized, with higher prices driving accelerating revenue growth. Bureau Veritas: The bank expects Bureau Veritas, which offers testing, inspection and certification services in a variety of sectors, to grow at a faster rate than its peers. That's thanks to its "early-mover advantage" in terms of its exposure to areas like energy transition, energy security and sustainability, Goldman said.  CNBC's Michael Bloom contributed to this report.
Kaiser Permanente employees, joined by Union members representing the workers, walk the picket line in Los Angeles, California on October 4, 2023.

Tens of thousands of Kaiser Permanente workers remained on strike Thursday for a second day over a short-staffing crisis at health facilities.

A spokesperson for the Coalition of Kaiser Permanente Unions said that the strike  which it called the largest health-care worker walkout in U.S. history  will continue until Saturday morning at the latest as the group waits for "a meaningful response from Kaiser executives" to its demands.

There are currently no bargaining sessions scheduled with Kaiser, said the spokesperson, Caroline Lucas.

More than 75,000 workers went on strike Wednesday at hundreds of Kaiser Permanente health facilities in California, Colorado, the District of Columbia, Oregon, Virginia and Washington state.

Nearly 60,000 of those workers are in California.
Mike Lindell, CEO of My Pillow Inc., speaks during the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Dallas, Texas, on Friday, Aug. 5, 2022.

The attorneys defending Mike Lindell and his business against defamation claims from voting machine companies are seeking to sever ties with the "MyPillow Guy" over millions of dollars in unpaid legal fees.

In a court filing Thursday, the law firm of Parker Daniels Kibort LLC said Lindell and MyPillow are months behind on their legal bills in three defamation cases, and they can no longer afford to represent him.

"At this time, Defendants are in arrears by millions of dollars to PDK," the filing said. "PDK is a small litigation and trial firm in Minneapolis, MN and cannot afford to finance Defendants' defense in the Litigations."

The firm said that if it was forced to continue providing legal services to Lindell, the "future fees and costs will amount to millions of dollars in addition to the millions of dollars already owed."

The firm has been defending Lindell in defamation lawsuits filed by voting machine companies Smartmatic and Dominion Voting Systems, as well as a third lawsuit brought by former Dominion employee Eric Coomer. All three claim their reputations were damaged by Lindell's repeated fantastical claims of fraud around the 2020 presidential election.

Lindell on Thursday praised his lawyers as "brave and courageous" and said he would gladly keep paying them, if he wasn't broke.

"We've lost everything, every dime," he told NBC News in a phone interview. "All of it is gone."

Lindell said his company has faced financial challenges amid the lawsuits and sustained bad publicity, to the point that he can no longer take out any loans.

"They took away my borrowing because of all you guys in the media," Lindell said, adding that he'd been "canceled" over his comments on the 2020 election.

Asked if he planned to represent himself or hire new lawyers, Lindell said it was too soon to tell.

"This just happened today," he said.

In its filing, the law firm said Lindell and his company "have been made fully aware of this filing" and "have been advised to obtain other counsel."

"Defendants have indicated that they understand PDK's position, do not object, and are in the process of finding new counsel," the filing said.

In a March interview with Newsweek, Lindell said he'd been forced to borrow $10 million to pay for his legal fees.

In April, an arbitration panel ordered Lindell to pay $5 million for losing his "Prove Mike Wrong" 2020 election challenge, in which participants were asked to find proof that his cyber data was not valid data from the November 2020 election, as he'd contended it was.

"For the people who find the evidence, 5 million is their reward," the contest said.

Software developer Robert Zeidman won the challenge, but Lindell refused to pay. Lindell is now challenging the arbitration panel's ruling.

On Thursday, Lindell told NBC that despite the financial strains on him and his company, he plans to keep pushing his stolen election claims.

"I will never stop trying to secure our elections," he said.

Lindell is not the only Trump ally facing an action on unpaid legal fees tied to false claims about the 2020 election.

Last month, longtime Rudy Giuliani attorney Robert Costello and his firm sued the former New York City mayor for $1.4 million in unpaid fees.

Giuliani, who's also being sued by Smartmatic, Dominion and Coomer, has been found liable for defaming two Georgia election workers, and is facing related criminal charges in Fulton County. He's pleaded not guilty to the Georgia election interference charges.

Trump held a fundraiser in September in support of Giuliani's legal defense fund.

Giuliani's son, Andrew Giuliani, who worked in the Trump White House, touted the fundraiser in an interview on WABC radio of New York City in the hours before the fundraiser, saying that while they'd raised over $1 million for this event alone," it "won't be enough to get through this."
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Employees working in Precision's manufacturing facility. Source: Precision Neuroscience

Neurotech startup Precision Neuroscience announced Thursday it has acquired a factory in Dallas, where it will build the key component of its brain implant, the Layer 7 Cortical Interface. The facility will help the company speed up development and move closer to the regulatory approval it is hoping to clinch in 2024. The company has started testing its brain implant on human patients and believes it could ultimately help people with paralysis operate digital devices with their brain signals. Precision said the manufacturing plant is the only facility capable of producing its "sophisticated" electrode array. "It allows us to iterate really quickly, improve performance, longevity, different form factors of the device  all the things that we've always wanted to do, we can now do in much quicker succession," co-founder and CEO Michael Mager told CNBC in an interview. Precision's electrode array is thinner than a human hair and could easily be mistaken for a piece of Scotch tape. The system's flexible design allows it to rest on the brain's surface and generate a real-time, high resolution rendering of neural activity without damaging any tissue.

Stephanie Rider of Precision Neuroscience inspects the company's microelectrode array Source: Precision Neuroscience

As a member of the fast-growing brain-computer interface (BCI) industry, Precision is developing its technology alongside other companies like Synchron, Paradromics, Blackrock Neurotech and Elon Musk's Neuralink. Precision's co-founder and chief science officer, Dr. Benjamin Rapoport, also helped co-found Neuralink before departing the company in 2018. Neuralink is perhaps the best-known company in the BCI space thanks to the high profile of Musk, who is the CEO of Tesla and SpaceX. The company is taking a more invasive approach with its implant than Precision. Neuralink also manufactures its technology in-house. Mager said it can be difficult to make rapid design changes, protect trade secrets and keep supply levels up when working with third parties during the manufacturing process. He added that it's much easier to ensure that Precision's arrays are safe and of high quality when the company is directly involved with production. "We manufacture systems that go on human brains. The responsibility is really tremendous," Mager said. At the request of the seller, a Japanese multinational corporation, Precision declined to share how much the manufacturing facility cost. Mager said the company was able to retain the 11 "key personnel'' who were working there, and there's a possibility that number will grow with time. Keeping the employees on board was a big victory for Precision, as it meant the company did not have to teach new workers how to handle the complex technology.

Employees working in Precision's manufacturing facility Courtesy: Precision Neuroscience
A view of site after a private jet, allegedly carrying Wagner head Yevgeny Prigozhin and other passengers crashed in Russia's northwestern Tver region, Russia on August 23, 2023.

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday suggested that the plane crash which killed Wagner mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin in August was caused by hand grenades detonating inside the aircraft, not by a missile attack.

The private Embraer jet on which Prigozhin was travelling to St Petersburg crashed north of Moscow killing all 10 people on board on Aug. 23, including two other top Wagner figures, Prigozhin's four bodyguards and a crew of three.

Putin suggested the plane was blown up from inside, saying that the head of Russia's investigative committee had reported to him a few days ago.

"Fragments of hand grenades were found in the bodies of those killed in the crash," Putin told a meeting of the Valdai Discussion Club in the Black Sea resort of Sochi.

"There was no external impact on the plane  this is already an established fact," Putin said, seemingly deriding assertions by unidentified U.S. officials who said shortly after the crash that they believed it had been shot down.
Billy Thalheimer (CEO) and Michael Klinker (CTO) of REGENT with a full-scale mockup of their first electric seaglider.

Regent, a startup developing electric seagliders to transport people and cargo, has raised a $60 million round of venture funding and struck a partnership with Japan Airlines to figure out how to bring the company's flying electric ferries to the waterways of Japan.

Venture fund 8090 Industries co-led Regent's series A round alongside Peter Thiel's Founders Fund, with Japan Airlines Innovation Fund and Point72 Ventures also participating among others. The new funding brings Regent's total capital raised to $90 million to-date, according to co-founder and CEO Billy Thalheimer.

The funding follows two major milestones for the clean transportation startup. As CNBC previously reported, Regent built a quarter-scale prototype and completed a series of test runs on Rhode Island's Narragansett Bay late last year to prove that its seagliders, which are technically known as wing-in-ground-effect craft (WIGs) can "float, foil and fly" as expected.

The prototype was able to repeatedly motor out of a harbor slowly, then launch from a speed of about 40 mph into the air, where it flew around 10 feet above the open ocean at a speed of approximately 50 mph in different, travel-safe weather conditions.

The commercial version of this battery powered 12-seater, named the Viceroy, will fly higher above the water at speeds of up to 180 mph, Thalheimer says. The battery that powers the Viceroy seaglider will have a range of about 180 miles.

More recently, Regent built a full-scale mockup of the Viceroy, and a "sim room" at its headquarters where visitors can sit in a mock cockpit, and virtually fly the seaglider over any chosen waterway. Thalheimer said, "You can build as many decks or pitches as you want but this is the experience that unlocks excitement."
Washington-based startup Stoke Space raised $100 million in new funds, the company announced Thursday, as it aims to develop a fully reusable rocket called "Nova."

Stoke's latest investment round was led by Industrious Ventures  with the firm's Steve Angel, chairman of chemicals giant Linde , joining the Stoke board of directors. The space company's fundraise was also joined by investors including the University of Michigan, Sparta Group, Long Journey, Bill Gates' Breakthrough Energy, YCombinator, Point72 Ventures, NFX, MaC Ventures, Toyota Ventures and In-Q-Tel.

Founded in 2019, Stoke had previously raised $75 million to date. A company spokesperson declined to comment on Stoke's post-money valuation.

"The priority is to be able to keep the pedal to the metal and continue to develop in order to get to market as soon as possible and really fortify what is still a very fragile commercial space economy," Stoke co-founder and CEO Andy Lapsa told CNBC.

Stoke's fresh backing comes weeks after the company completed a low altitude launch of its vehicle "Hopper2," in which the rocket-powered prototype flew to about 30 feet before landing successfully after 15 seconds.

While a number of U.S. companies are aiming to develop reusable rockets to compete with the success of Elon Musk's SpaceX, Stoke is taking a different approach from its rivals. Lapsa explained that the company has been developing and testing the second stage of the rocket before the first stage, because "it's not something that can be tacked on and added later."

"First of all, the technology solution wasn't out there yet, [and, second,] we wanted to know what that looked like in order to build the right first stage to go under it," Lapsa said.

Stoke is developing Nova to be a "medium" class rocket that can deliver 5,000 kilograms to low Earth orbit. That puts Nova in the middle of the launch market, between Rocket Lab's "light" Electron and SpaceX's "heavy" Falcon 9 in terms of capability.
EU High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell talks to the press as he arrives to attend the European Political Community summit at the Palacio de Congreso in Granada, southern Spain on October 5, 2023. Jorge Guerrero | Afp | Getty Images

European leaders said Thursday that the 27-nation bloc would not be able to fully replace U.S. support for war-torn Ukraine but made clear they were "absolutely convinced" Kyiv's biggest financial and military backer would soon come to an agreement to provide further assistance. Gathering in Granada, Spain, for a summit of the European Political Community, European leaders sought to reaffirm their commitment to Ukraine amid Russia's full-scale invasion. The meeting comes shortly after political upheavals on both sides of the Atlantic. In the U.S., President Joe Biden conceded Wednesday that he feared recent congressional chaos could disrupt U.S. aid to Ukraine after Republican infighting had complicated budget negotiations. He has insisted, however, that a majority of members across both major parties support funding Kyiv.

Meanwhile, in Europe, pro-Russian former Prime Minister Robert Fico won an election in Slovakia last weekend on a promise to end military aid to Ukraine. "I was in Kyiv some days ago just at the moment when we knew that the U.S. Congress had not included support to Ukraine on the big deal about the budget in order to avoid the shutdown," EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell told reporters in Granada on Thursday.

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"That was certainly not expected, and it is certainly not good news, but I hope it is not going to be a definite position of the U.S." he said. "Ukraine needs the support of the European Union, which is sure, they will have it and we will increase it. But also, the support of the U.S." Asked whether Europe can fill the gap left by the U.S. amid concerns about Washington's continued support for Kyiv, Borrell replied, "Certainly Europe cannot replace the U.S."

Zelenskyy 'confident in America'

Russia welcomed the news that a new U.S. funding bill had passed without any fresh aid for Ukraine. Viktor Bondarev, head of Russia's Federation Council Committee on Defense and Security, said via Telegram that "this is the beginning of the end for Ukraine." Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy appeared resolute Thursday, however. Speaking to European leaders in Spain, Zelenskyy said he was "confident in America" when referring to recent "political storms." European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the bloc was working on a package of 50 billion euros ($52 billion) for Kyiv from 2024 to 2027, hailing it as "very important because Ukraine needs predictability and reliability in the direct budget support."

The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, attends the media upon her arrival at the Palacio de Congresos de Granada to participate in the European Political Community (EPC) summit, on October 5, 2023, in Granada, Andalusia, Spain. Europa Press News | Europa Press | Getty Images

Reflecting on concerns over the long-term support to Ukraine from the U.S., the EU chief said, "It was very important that President Biden informed us at the beginning of this week what the support for Ukraine is concerned from the side of the United States." "As far as I oversee the situation in the United States, I am very confident of support for Ukraine from the United States. What the United States is working on is the timing," she added.

'U.S. will stay on board'

Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte, meanwhile, said he's "absolutely convinced" the U.S. will continue supporting Ukraine's war effort. "Not at all," Rutte said when asked whether he was concerned Biden's administration may reduce its support for Kyiv. Rutte said senior Democrat and Republican members of the U.S. House of Representatives had recently visited the Hague and they were "in total agreement on the need to continue the support for Ukraine because this about our common values [and] it is about our common security."

Netherland's Prime Minister Mark Rutte arrives to attend the European Political Community summit at the Palacio de Congreso in Granada, southern Spain on October 5, 2023. Jorge Guerrero | Afp | Getty Images

"We cannot accept one country in 2022, 2023 invading another nation so I am absolutely convinced that they will solve this issue," he added. Asked whether the EU could step in if the U.S. does not resume its support for Ukraine, Rutte said: "It is not necessary. The EU will do what is necessary [and] the Netherlands is among the top countries in terms of contribution for Ukraine  but I am absolutely convinced that the U.S. will stay on board."
Russian President Vladimir Putin chairs a Security Council meeting via a video link in Saint Petersburg on October 10, 2022. Gavriil Grigorov | Afp | Getty Images

President Vladimir Putin is known to keep a loyal cadre of officials and aides close to him, with the majority of his inner circle having served the Russian leader for many years during his 23 years in power. Putin has made no bones of his expectations of absolute loyalty from those closest to him. Once asked in a wide-ranging 2018 interview whether he was able to forgive people when they made mistakes, Putin replied saying, "Yes. But not everything." When pressed by journalist Andrei Kondrashov to elaborate on what he could not forgive, Putin's response was emphatic: "Betrayal." For those who have worked with the president for more than two decades, it's no surprise that Putin values and demands loyalty among his inner circle, many of whom he has kept close since he rose up the ranks in Russia's Soviet security service, the KGB, before his ascendency to the presidency in late 1999. "Neither in our country nor abroad have I seen bosses who keep disloyal people around them," Dmitry Peskov, Putin's press secretary, told CNBC on Tuesday. "But for Vladimir Putin, loyalty alone is not enough. Three qualities are needed: 1. Professionalism, 2. Efficiency, 3. Loyalty," he added in emailed comments.

Russia's president Vladimir Putin (R) and his spokesman Dmitry Peskov (L) attend the Supreme Eurasian Economic Council meeting at the Congress Hall in Bishkek on December 9, 2022. Vyacheslav Oseledko | Afp | Getty Images

Peskov, a top Kremlin official widely seen as a member of Putin's inner circle, has been press secretary for 23 years. Likewise, most of the people within Putin's inner circle  made up of his closest ministers and confidants and often referred to as "Siloviki" (or "people of force") referring to senior officials who have backgrounds in the military or security services  have mostly served the Russian leader for years, overseeing the silencing of opposition figures and movements that have challenged him. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has been in his post since 2004 while Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu has held his position since 2012, having previously been considered as a potential leadership candidate himself.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov (L), Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu (R) and Security Council Secretary Nikolay Patrushev (L) seen during the SCTO Summit, on November 23, 2022 in Yerevan, Armenia. Contributor | Getty Images News | Getty Images

Putin's inner circle also includes Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin and Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin, as well as the heads of Russia's state security services, the FSB, and its foreign intelligence counterpart, the SVR. There are also the more ideologically influential propagandists such as Vladimir Solovyov and Nikolai Patrushev, secretary of the Russian Security Council. The council's deputy is nationalist Dmitry Medvedev, who also served as Russia's former prime minister and president up to 2012, alternating with Putin. Medvedev was always subservient to Putin in either role but he remains close to the president and is a vocal supporter of Russia's war against Ukraine, and ideological enmity with the West.

Russian analysts are not convinced that qualities such as competency and loyalty are valued equally in the Kremlin, with Russian scholar, historian and author Sergei Medvedev noting that "loyalty has always been more important than competency" in Russia. "Russia is not like an efficiency-oriented, competency-oriented meritocracy," Medvedev, author of "A War Made in Russia" and "The Return of the Russian Leviathan," noted. "It's a very archaic and medieval  and in some sense, Byzantine [excessively complicated]  system of personal loyalty, and Putin will keep anyone  even the most inefficient managers like ex-president [Dmitry] Medvedev, for instance, as long as they show their loyalty," Medvedev told CNBC. Russian opposition politician Vladimir Milov once worked for Putin, having served in Russia's Energy Ministry in 2002. Disillusioned with the path Russia has taken during Putin's tenure, however, Milov now firmly counts himself among Russia's mostly exiled or imprisoned opposition movement and lives abroad.

Knowing Putin well, Milov said that the president "100%" values loyalty above competency and noted that "professionalism and efficiency are also the flip sides of having the ability to challenge things." "You don't like what is going on? You want to make it better, and you apply your talents and your decisiveness to actually try to fix them to change things. This is not how Putin wants it to happen. He's the only guy who's entitled with changing or keeping things right," Milov said. He said that Putin's demand for absolute loyalty was borne out of deep insecurity and fear of competition. "That is one of the major problems," he told CNBC on Wednesday. "My personal experience of seeing him and somehow working with him is that he's an extremely unremarkable person. He likes the most average [person] you can get, so he's extremely insecure when there is open competition or open talent exposed and capable of achieving better than him." Milov believed Putin was inherently paranoid of a plot to overthrow him, saying the unspoken rule among those around him was to not be too conspicuously talented or to challenge the status quo. "But in general, if there is a rule [it's one of] 'don't stick your head out, because I will then immediately see you as competition, and I annihilate competition'  that's his approach."

Blind spots

An attachment to loyalty can lead to blind spots, analysts note, most recently seen in the ill-fated invasion of Ukraine and the rise of Yevgeny Prigozhin's power, status and influence before his fall from grace. When Russia first launched its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, analysts said it was likely that Putin had been told by his closest military officials that the invasion would be effortless, and Ukraine would be conquered easily before a pro-Russian government was installed in Kyiv. But within the first few weeks of the war it became apparent that Ukraine was mounting far more resistance, and its allies far more support for Kyiv, than had been anticipated in Russia.

A serviceman of pro-Russian militia walks nest to a military convoy of armed forces of the separatist self-proclaimed Luhansk People's Republic (LNR) on a road in the Luhansk region, Ukraine February 27, 2022. Alexander Ermochenko | Reuters

A 40-mile-long column of Russian military vehicles trundled toward the capital of Ukraine but stopped short of their expected destination amid reports of logistical issues including food and fuel shortages, then experiencing the ignominy of retreating. Since then, Russia's military has concentrated its manpower on the south and east of the country, occupying a swathe of territory that has created a "land bridge" from mainland Russia to occupied Crimea. Nineteen months since the war started and U.S. officials estimate that around 500,000 military personnel, on both Russia's and Ukraine's sides, have been killed or wounded in the conflict so far.

Russian President Vladimir Putin (L) talks to Defence Minister Sergey Shoigu (R) during the annual Navy Day Parade on July 30, 2023, in Saint Petersburg, Russia. Contributor | Getty Images

During Russia's "special military operation" in Ukraine, as it calls its invasion, questions have been raised about the strategy and competency of Russia's military leadership. Shoigu has been openly ridiculed and criticized by a section of military bloggers in Russia, particularly those loyal to Prigozhin, the convict-turned-businessman-turned-paramilitary leader of the Wagner Group of mercenaries who also enjoyed Putin's favor. When the high-profile acrimony between Prigozhin and the Defense Ministry descended into open rebellion in the summer, however, Putin ultimately sided with his long-serving and proven loyal defense minister and endorsed the ministry's edict that Wagner Group fighters would have to sign contracts with the ministry. Kirill Shamiev, a Russian political scientist and a visiting fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations, told CNBC that loyalty is "a very key asset in authoritarian settings because you develop this trust over the years. And if a person proves their trust in a war setting, this is very important for an authoritarian leader."

The rise and fall of Prigozhin

Prigozhin was killed in a plane crash this summer, several months after he led an ill-fated rebellion against the Russian Defense Ministry and an attempt to march on Moscow. When the rebellion was called off, Putin appeared on television, vowing to punish "treason from the inside," saying that "unreasonable interests and personal ambition lead to treachery." After initially coming to a deal seemingly allowing Prigozhin and Wagner fighters to be exiled to Belarus, Prigozhin and a number of top Wagner commanders died in a plane crash over Russia in August. The Kremlin has vehemently denied it ordered Prigozhin's death and said an investigation would take place into the accident. It called Western speculation that it ordered Prigozhin's death as revenge for his mutiny "an absolute lie."

FILE - Businessman Yevgeny Prigozhin, left, shows Russian President Vladimir Putin, around his factory which produces school meals, outside St. Petersburg, Russia on Monday, Sept. 20, 2010. Alexei Druzhinin | AP
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission sued Elon Musk on Thursday in an effort to compel the billionaire to testify over his purchase of Twitter last year.

Attorneys representing the SEC alleged in a legal filing released in the Northern District of California that Musk failed to appear for a Sept. 15 testimony as required by a subpoena, which the attorneys said was served to the Tesla CEO in May 2023.

Broadly, the SEC said the investigation is tied to whether anyone committed securities fraud in purchasing Twitter shares last year as Musk was buying stock in the company. Musk closed his acquisition of Twitter, now known as X, in October in a deal worth roughly $44 billion.

"Musk's ongoing refusal to comply with the SEC's administrative subpoena is hindering and delaying the SEC staff's investigation to determine whether violations of the federal securities laws have occurred," the attorneys wrote. "Accordingly, the SEC now asks the Court to compel Musk to appear for investigative testimony."

The SEC said it tried to find an agreeable time and place to meet with Musk, including offering to meet him at the agency's office in Fort Worth, Texas, "the closest SEC office to Musk's current personal residence" in the Austin area. Multiple dates were proposed for October and November of this year.



"These good faith efforts were met with Musk's blanket refusal to appear for testimony," the suit says.

Alex Spiro, Elon Musk's attorney, said in a statement about that "the SEC has already taken Mr. Musk's testimony multiple times in this misguided investigationenough is enough."

Lawyers for the SEC allege that Musk refused to comply with the subpoena because of "several spurious objections, including an objection to San Francisco as an appropriate testimony location." Musk had previously raised no objection to that location.

Additionally, the SEC lawyers claim that Musk believed that the commission was using the subpoena as a method to "harass" him, thus justifying his decision to not comply. Musk also allegedly used the recent publication of his biography, written by the journalist Walter Isaacson, as another reason to not appear for testimony, claiming that the book may contain "new information potentially relevant to this matter."

"The publication of Musk's biography is not a legitimate basis for Musk to avoid compliance with a lawfully issued investigative subpoena," the attorneys wrote in the legal filing. "In any event, Musk's initial refusal to comply with the subpoena has now presented his counsel with plenty of time to review the biography for any relevant information, and so this objection is now moot in addition to being legally insufficient from inception."

The SEC said in a statement that its "staff is continuing its fact-finding investigation and, to date, has not concluded that any individual or entity has violated the federal securities laws."

A hearing on the filing is scheduled to take place on Nov. 9, according to the legal filing.

Read the full legal filing below:
Kosovo Police continue to uphold security with search, patrol and control activities in the region after the clash which led by Kosovo Serb politician Milan Radoicic in Banjska northern town of the country, on Sept. 24, at Jarinje border crossing with Serbia in Zvecan, Kosovo on October 3, 2023. The clash broke out in the village when a group of armed Serbs blocked a bridge with two trucks. A shootout erupted after the group opened fire on police, leaving one police officer dead and another injured. Anadolu Agency | Anadolu Agency | Getty Images

Now in its 20th month, the war in Ukraine remains the prime focus of Western powers looking to help Kyiv restore its territorial integrity. In the meantime, however, tensions have escalated in another part of Europe that remains highly volatile following a brutal and complex conflict that erupted in the 1990s. Analysts have expressed concerns that relations between Serbia and Kosovo  tense at the best of times  have become increasingly hostile in recent months. Violence erupted in northern Kosovo in September, and Belgrade responded with a military buildup on its border with its neighbor. Now there are concerns that the volatility in this southeastern region of Europe could tip into an armed conflict while the world is distracted by the war in Ukraine. Given the current political and security context, analysts say an outbreak of violence in northern Kosovo "should raise alarm bells." "Resolving the dispute between Kosovo and Serbia is no longer just a political matter, but a serious security issue for the region and for Europe," Engjellushe Morina and Majda Ruge, senior policy fellows at the European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR), wrote last week. "For the U.S. and EU, the choice is no longer just between the failure and success of the dialogue but between stability and a further escalation of violence. The latter is most likely unless they finally acknowledge Belgrade's role in destabilising Kosovo and adopt a robust approach to counter it."

Open hostility

Long-simmering animosity between Serbia and Kosovo has broken into open hostility in northern Kosovo in recent months. Northern Kosovo, which borders Serbia, has an ethnic Serb majority whereas the country as a whole is around 93% ethnic Albanian. Serbian capital Belgrade does not recognize its neighbor as an independent state. A key recent tipping point was local elections in the spring that saw ethnic Albanians elected to a number of municipalities in northern Kosovo. The results caused outrage among the ethnic Serb community in the region who had boycotted the votes, saying their demands for more autonomy had not been met.

Members of a Kosovo police special unit stand guard in an area around the Banjska Monastery in Banjska, north Kosovo, some 15km from the border with Serbia, on September 27, 2023. Stringer | Afp | Getty Images

Tensions ratcheted up further over the summer and erupted in late September following a shootout between a heavily armed group of ethnic Serbs and Kosovo special police forces in the northern Kosovo village of Banjska in which one police officer and three gunmen were killed. NATO has had a peacekeeping mission in Kosovo since 1999 following a bloody conflict between ethnic Albanians opposed to ethnic Serbs and the government of Yugoslavia in 1998. The military alliance reacted to the September incident by deploying additional peacekeeping troops to the region, while Serbia bolstered its military presence along its border with Kosovo.

The move prompted alarm among U.S. and European officials who expressed deep concern over the violence and "unprecedented" buildup of military forces there, as the White House described it. Serbia denied increasing military mobilizations near the Kosovo border and said it had no intention to invade. However, earlier this week, senior Serbian military officials said the number of troops along the border had been halved to around 4,500, admitting they had bolstered the military presence to around double that figure in the aftermath of the violence in Banjska.

Serbian Defense Minister Milos Vucevic and Serbian Chief of Staff Milan Mojsilovic hold a joint press conference over clashes at northern Kosovo last week, in Belgrade, Serbia on October 02, 2023. Mojsilovic stated that number of troops on the Kosovo border had been reduced to 4,500 from 8,350. Anadolu Agency | Anadolu Agency | Getty Images

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic also looked to reassure the West, telling the Financial Times in a statement last weekend that he had no intention of ordering military forces to cross the border into Kosovo, stating that this would be counterproductive for Belgrade's aspirations to join the EU. "Why this would be beneficial for Belgrade?" Vucic said. "What would be the idea? To destroy our position we have been building for a year? To destroy this in a day? Serbia does not want war," he said, according to the newspaper. Despite these assurances, defense analysts say the situation in the region is like a tinderbox, with the potential to ignite with the slightest of sparks. "From zero land wars in Europe, we could conceivably be looking at two very shortly," Ian Bremmer, founder of the Eurasia Group, said in a note Monday. He likened the tensions to the recent lightning-fast conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan, which culminated last month with the Azerbaijani military seizing the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh in a rapid offensive with little outside intervention. "You have a long-simmering and unsustainable status quo being challenged by the dominant military, looking to see if anybody else cares enough to intervene," Bremmer said. "In this case, that's NATO  less distracted than Russia, and much more likely to intervene directly  but the prospects of an invasion have gone way up over the past few days."

Serbs in Kosovo light candles as they gather in Mitrovica to commemorate members of armed groups killed in a clash with police in Banjska village, on September 26, 2023. Anadolu Agency | Anadolu Agency | Getty Images

Morina and Ruge at the ECFR think tank said last week that "violent incidents in the north have undermined the already difficult dialogue process between Serbia and Kosovo over the last year." "Serbia's president Aleksandar Vucic has used the violence to challenge Kosovo's authority in the north and push for the autonomy of the four northern municipalities, which would allow Serbia to interfere in Kosovo's domestic affairs through its proxies." Morina and Ruge noted that Vucic characterized the latest violent incident in northern Kosovo as a legitimate act of resistance by local Serbs, but that the type and amount of weapons seized after the incident "suggested this was a bigger, coordinated combat operation with the aim to destabilise the region."

'The optics are troubling'

Land-locked Kosovo, which is surrounded by Serbia, North Macedonia, Albania and Montenegro, has found itself at the heart of ethnic tensions in the Balkans for centuries, but the breakup of socialist federation Yugoslavia in 1992 set in motion one of Europe's more recent, deadliest conflicts.

A Kosovo Albanian man walks past pictures of victims displayed on a wall at the cemetery in the village of Krusha e Madhe, Kosovo, on March 26, 2021, as part of the commemorations marking the 22nd anniversary of the Krusha massacre. The massacre of Krusha took place during the Kosovo war around March 25-26, 1999, one of the first regions to be hit by Serbian forces, after a NATO bombing campaign aimed at halting the violent repression of the province's ethnic Albanians. Armend Nimani | Afp | Getty Images

Tensions between Serbia and ethnic Albanians culminated in the 1998 Kosovo war between Yugoslav forces, led by Serbia, and a Kosovo-Albanian rebel group known as the Kosovo Liberation Army, who opposed the Serbian authorities and oppressive policies of Serb leader Slobodan Milosevic. Hundreds of thousands of Kosovo Albanians were displaced by the conflict and numerous war crimes were committed by both sides, although the majority were attributed to Serbian and Yugoslav government forces. The conflict ended when NATO intervened in 1999, launching air strikes on Yugoslav armed forces until their withdrawal from Kosovo. NATO's aerial bombing campaign remains controversial to this day although it is credited with bringing the war to an end.

The bombed Yugoslav Ministry of Defense building is not still remains repaired in Belgrade, Serbia on March 23, 2015. The Yugoslav Ministry of Defense was the governmental department responsible for defending the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia from internal and external military threats. The building was bombed by NATO forces on 7th May 1999. Anadolu Agency | Anadolu Agency | Getty Images

Kosovo declared itself independent from Serbia in 2008, a proclamation that Serbia rejected, and tensions have simmered ever since, not helped by the election of nationalist leaders in both Serbia (President Vucic) and Kosovo (Prime Minister Albin Kurti). Nonetheless, Serbia has aspirations to join the EU and is unlikely to want to jeopardize this, or to tempt a direct response from NATO, according to Andrius Tursa, Central and Eastern Europe advisor at risk consultancy Teneo. "A direct military offensive by the Serbian army on northern Kosovo is very unlikely due to the presence of NATO peacekeepers and the risk of punitive Western sanctions as a result of such action," Tursa said in a note Tuesday. "[But] from a political perspective, saber-rattling at a time when Belgrade faces uncomfortable questions surrounding the Banjska attack has increased Western perceptions of Serbia as a destabilizing actor."

A car drives past a graffiti reading 'Thank You Nato' and featuring the US flag near the village of Stagovo on March 24, 2019. Twenty years ago, NATO launched a 78-day bombing campaign on Serbia that ultimately led to a victory by separatist Kosovo Albanians who had been locked in war with the regime of Serbia's Slobodan Milosevic. Armend Nimani | Afp | Getty Images
Former U.S. President Donald Trump as the trial of himself, his adult sons, the Trump Organization and others in a civil fraud case brought by state Attorney General Letitia James continues, in New York City, October 3, 2023.

Former President Donald Trump wants a New York judge to dismiss the criminal case against him charging that he falsified business records relating to hush money payments, arguing prosecutors waited too long to bring their case.

"After a five year meandering, halting and roving investigation that entailed inexplicable and unconstitutional delay, the District Attorney's office filed a discombobulated package of politically motivated charges marred by legal defects," Trump's attorneys contended in a 57-page court filing Thursday.

The filing argues that Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg "charged President Trump more than six years after public reporting regarding the facts at issue, and almost five years after commencing a grand jury investigation and accessing substantially all of the relevant evidence."

"The delay has prejudiced President Trump, interfered with his ongoing presidential campaign, and violated his due process rights," the filing by Trump attorneys Todd Blanche and Susan Necheles contends, and the charges should therefore be dismissed.

A spokesperson for the DA's office said they will respond in court papers.

Trump was indicted by the DA earlier this year on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records. Prosecutors said Trump "repeatedly and fraudulently falsified New York business records to conceal criminal conduct that hid damaging information from the voting public during the 2016 presidential election."

That information was hush money paid to two women who claimed to have had affairs with Trump. He has denied the affairs and any wrongdoing.

Michael Cohen, then Trump's lawyer, paid one of the women, adult film star Stormy Daniels, $130,000 in the closing days of the campaign. He has said he made the payment at Trump's direction, and Trump had acknowledged repaying Cohen through payments that were labeled as legal expenses.

The DA's office contends that was misleading and criminal. In their filing, Trump's lawyers contended it was accurate.

"President Trump cannot be said to have falsified business records of the Trump Organization by paying his personal attorney using his personal bank accounts," the filing said.

They argued the judge presiding over the case, Juan Merchan, "should dismiss the indictment or, in the alternative, conduct a hearing to determine the reason for the delay" in bringing the charges.

Trump has pleaded not guilty in the case, which is currently scheduled for a March 2024 trial.

The motion comes as Trump and his company are on trial in a $250 million civil fraud case brought by the New York attorney general's office. In that case Thursday, Trump's attorneys said they intend to ask an appeals court for a stay of the trial while they challenge Judge Arthur Engoron's ruling finding Trump and his company committed repeated acts of fraud.

Also on Thursday, Trump's attorneys filed a motion in the federal election interference criminal case against him in Washington, D.C. arguing he should be shielded from prosecution because of presidential immunity.

In a court filing Wednesday night, Trump's attorneys also filed a motion in the federal criminal case accusing him of mishandling national secrets, arguing the trial in that case should be postponed until after the 2024 presidential election. They contended that prosecutors in the case were clinging to an "unprecedented and now untenable trial date" of May of next year.

Trump has pleaded not guilty in both federal cases and denied wrongdoing in the AG's civil case. He maintains all the cases against him are politically motivated and part of a Democratic "witch hunt" against him.
Walt Nauta, personal aide to former U.S. President Donald Trump who faces charges of being Trump's co-conspirator in the alleged mishandling of classified documents, fixes Trump's collar before a LIV Golf Pro-Am golf tournament at the Trump National Golf Club in Sterling, Virginia, U.S. May 25, 2023.

Donald Trump asked a judge to delay his criminal classified documents trial in Florida from May until after the November 2024 presidential election, saying prosecutors are dragging their feet in sharing evidence with his lawyers.

Trump's attorneys in a Wednesday night court filing also said prosecutors have "demanded a conflicting schedule" in special counsel Jack Smith's other federal criminal case against the former president, in Washington, D.C.

Trump is charged in D.C. with illegally conspiring to reverse his 2020 election loss to President Joe Biden. That case is set to begin trial in early March.

The dueling schedules "currently require President Trump and his lawyers to be in two places at once," defense lawyers complained.
Netherland's Prime Minister Mark Rutte arrives to attend the European Political Community summit at the Palacio de Congreso in Granada, southern Spain on October 5, 2023.

Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said Thursday that he's "absolutely convinced" the U.S. will continue supporting Ukraine's war effort.

"Not at all," Rutte said when asked whether he was concerned about the prospect of President Joe Biden's administration reducing its long-term support for Kyiv amid Russia's full-scale invasion.

Rutte said senior Democrat and Republican members of the U.S. House of Representatives had recently visited the Hague and they were "in total agreement on the need to continue the support for Ukraine because this about our common values [and] it is about our common security."

"We cannot accept one country in 2022, 2023 invading another nation so I am absolutely convinced that they will solve this issue," he added.

Asked whether the EU could step in if the U.S. does not resume its support for Ukraine, Rutte said, "It is not necessary. The EU will do what is necessary [and] the Netherlands is among the top countries in terms of contribution for Ukraine  but I am absolutely convinced that the U.S. will stay on board."

 Sam Meredith
The commodities market is a "much more constructive place to invest" right now  and "integrated" names in the energy sector in particular are "extremely attractive," according to one portfolio manager. We are "at the beginning of a longer term commodity cycle," Aaron Dunn, co-head of value equity and portfolio manager at Morgan Stanley Investment Management, told CNBC's " Squawk Box Asia " on Wednesday. "Commodity cycles, historically, are long  they tend to be seven years. The peak of the last one was 2014. I would say [in] 2021/2022, we had really taken a lot of the capital spending out of the industry and now we're sort of seeding the basis for the next upcycle," he added. For now, Dunn said, he is "certainly concerned about and paying attention to the U.S. onshore shale era," when evaluating what equities to invest in. What's commonly known as the U.S. shale "revolution" refers to horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing techniques that helped the country boost its supply of oil and natural gas. "I don't think [it's] is over, but I would certainly say it's nearing its peak. And I think productivity, ultimately, over time is going to decline and the growth rate of U.S. production will flatten out." In light of that, Dunn said, "I need to invest in in who may have U.S exposure, but they're also investing outside of the U.S.," adding that integrated energy names are compelling for that reason, thanks to their "global footprint." Integrated energy companies typically engage in the exploration, production, refinement, and distribution of oil and gas. Examples of such companies include U.S multinationals ExxonMobil and Chevron , French player TotalEnergies and British multinational BP . One of the companies Dunn likes is ConocoPhillips . "It's a U.S. company, but they have a lot of assets outside the U.S. and they have been investing outside the U.S.," he said. COP YTD mountain YTD performance of shares in ConocoPhillips. ConocoPhillips has liquefied natural gas hubs in the Netherlands, Qatar and Australia, and has plans to double its footprint in the coming decade, according to a press release. 'Uncover interesting equities' While the ongoing pullback in the U.S. stock market presents concerns on what stocks to invest in, Dunn said it can help "uncover very interesting equities." "Anytime we get a pullback like this, I think it creates opportunity," he said, adding that this has come at a time when markets have been sloppy and skewed by the "Magnificent Seven" tech stocks. Stocks on his radar include French pharmaceutical and health-care player Sanofi , U.S. marketer and producer of spirits Constellation Brands , drug company Zoetis and warehouse club chain BJ's Wholesale Club .
[Elon Musk is slated to begin speaking at 9:45 a.m. ET. Please refresh the page if you do not see the video player above.]

Elon Musk is speaking Thursday during the world's annual space congress, where the SpaceX CEO is expected to give updates on development of the company's monster Starship rocket.

SpaceX earlier this year made its first attempt at launching Starship into space, but the craft exploded a few minutes into the test flight. The company is now preparing to make its second Starship flight attempt, as regulators review its application for a launch license.

Musk is speaking virtually at the 74th edition of the International Astronautical Congress (IAC), which this year is held in Baku, Azerbaijan. Notably, Musk first announced SpaceX's goal of building a city on Mars during the congress in 2016.

The space conference comes two weeks after Azerbaijan military forces converged on the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region, to the west of Baku. Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev declared in a speech the military operation succeeded with an "iron fist."

Talks between between Azerbaijan and ethnic Armenians from Nagorno-Karabakh have yet to yield a resolution. BBC reports that about 120,000 ethnic Aremenians, nearly the region's entire population, have fled Nagorno-Karabakh.
Still life of Wegovy an injectable prescription weight loss medicine that has helped people with obesity. It should be used with a weight loss plan and physical activity.

Blockbuster weight loss and diabetes drugs like Wegovy and Ozempic may be associated with an increased risk of three rare, but severe, stomach conditions in non-diabetic patients, according to a new epidemiological study released Thursday.

The study, published in the research journal JAMA, comes as Novo Nordisk 's Wegovy, Ozempic and similar treatments skyrocket in popularity in the U.S. for their ability to cause dramatic weight loss over time. But those drugs, known as GLP-1s, are also facing increased scrutiny after some patients reported experiencing stomach paralysis and suicidal ideation while taking them.

GLP-1s work by slowing digestion to suppress a person's appetite but can cause problems if that process slows down too much.

Researchers at the University of British Columbia said the conditions in the study include one disorder not named in the warning labels for those drugs: stomach paralysis, which slows or completely stops the movement of food from the stomach to the intestine and can cause symptoms like persistent vomiting.

The study also notes an increased risk of bowel obstruction, a disorder where food is blocked from passing through the small or large intestine, and pancreatitis, which refers to pancreas inflammation. The labels for the drugs already include warnings about pancreatitis and certain types of bowel obstruction.

The researchers specifically examined semaglutide  the active ingredient used in Wegovy and Ozempic  and another GLP-1 called liraglutide against another weight loss treatment called bupropion-naltrexone, which works differently to help patients lose weight. Wegovy is specifically approved for weight loss in the U.S., while Ozempic is only approved for diabetes.

Their research is the first large, population-level study to examine the risk of serious stomach conditions in non-diabetic patients specifically using GLP-1s for weight loss.

Previous studies have highlighted the risk of those conditions in diabetic patients taking GLP-1s, according to the researchers. People with diabetes are also at increased risk of experiencing stomach paralysis and pancreatitis overall, even without the treatments.

"That's why we kind of wanted to take diabetes out of the equation," said Mohit Sodhi, one of the authors of the study. "In addition to the fact that millions of people around the world are using these drugs to help them lose weight."

A spokesperson for Novo Nordisk noted that some of the gastrointestinal side effects in the study are already included on the labels for its GLP-1s, adding that the company "stands behind the safety and efficacy of all of our GLP-1 medicines when used consistent with the product labeling and approved indications."

"We recommend patients take these medications for their approved indications and under the supervision of a healthcare professional," the spokesperson said. "Treatment decisions should be made together with a healthcare provider who can evaluate the appropriateness of using a GLP-1 based on assessment of a patient's individual medical profile."
U.S. President Joe Biden speaks with border patrol officers as he walks along the border fence during his visit to the U.S.-Mexico border to assess border enforcement operations, in El Paso, Texas, on Jan. 8, 2023.

WASHINGTON  The Biden administration in a major policy pivot waived more than two dozen federal laws to allow quick construction of about 20 extra miles to the wall along the U.S.-Mexico border in the Rio Grande Valley in Texas.

During his 2020 Democratic campaign, President Joe Biden had promised that not "another foot of wall" would be built during his administration.

Once in office in January 2021, Biden issued a proclamation to end construction of the wall, which had been a top priority for former President Donald Trump as part of that Republican's effort to block illegal entries into the United States.

Biden said at that time that "building a massive wall that spans the entire southern border is not a serious policy solution."

On Thursday, when reporters asked Biden why he had reversed his policy, Biden said that Congress had appropriated money to fund additional sections of the wall and had refused his request to redirect that money elsewhere.

"In the meantime, there's nothing under the law other than they have to use the money for what it was appropriated for," Biden said. "I can't stop that."

Asked if he believed now that a border wall was effective at stemming illegal immigration, Biden replied, "No."

The change in policy was disclosed Wednesday night by the Department of Homeland Security, which said it would waive laws including the Clean Air Act, the Safe Drinking Water Act and the Endangered Species Act to expedite construction of additional sections of the wall.

"There is presently an acute and immediate need to construct physical barriers and roads in the vicinity of the border of the United States in order to prevent unlawful entries into the United States in the project areas," said DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.

The change comes amid an influx of migrants along the southern border, which has led even Democratic governors to ask the administration for help.

About 245,000 illegal entries in the Rio Grande Valley have occurred since October 2022, according to the federal government.

Gov. J.B. Pritzker of Illinois criticized the Biden administration's handling of the migrant crisis in a letter this week.

Pritzker, a Democrat, called the situation "untenable" and chastised the administration for a "lack of intervention and coordination at the border."

NBC News released a poll last week that found the majority of Americans say Republicans do a better job addressing border security than Democrats.
India is set to have an enhanced air connectivity to East Africa with Uganda Airlines all set to commence its direct flight services to Mumbai from Entebbe. from this Saturday (October 7).

The new flight, the first time in the last five decades between the two nations, comes close on the heels of Indian carrier IndiGo launching a flight to Nairobi in Kenya (which is bordered to the east by Uganda) in August this year.

Currently, there are no direct flights between India and Uganda and this gap is filled largely by the Gulf carriers such as Air Arabia, Oman Air and Emirates as well as other African airlines like Ethiopian Air and Kenya Airways with one or multi stop flights to and fro.

The five-and-half-hour flight between Entebbe-Mumbai-Entebbe route will be catered by a wide body Airbus A330-800neo plane that will offer premium economy seats besides the business and economy class.

Passengers can choose to book their seats from three classes with a business class return ticket pegged at $850, premium economy at $650 & economy at $450.

Madhusudan Agrawal, Consul of Uganda, said he requested Uganda Airlines to keep fares low for the inaugural period.

"We want Indians to benefit from this opportunity. I had taken a big Bollywood delegation to Uganda, it's such a beautiful country, temperature is 20-25 degrees, 90% of the world's mountain gorillas are found in Uganda," he added.

The airline is starting with three weekly flights from Mumbai which will then be expanded to Delhi and Chennai. Tickets are currently available on booking sites Amadeus and Galileo while Uganda Airlines said it is also in talks with some leading Indian tour and travel operators as well as ticket booking platforms.

"We are expecting demand from corporates, friends & relatives, medical tourism, horticulture and pharma, Bollywood among other sectors," said Lenny Malasi, India Manager at Uganda Airlines.

India-Uganda ties

India & Uganda share a deep historic bond that dates back to 1894 when the British administration took Indians to Uganda mostly from the Punjab and Gujarat belt. The Indian population went on to control up to 90 percent of businesses in Uganda forming the commercial and economic backbone of the country.

In 1972, after dictator Idi Amin took control of Uganda under a coup, he called for the expulsion of Indians accusing them of disloyalty, mischief and exploiting ethnic Ugandans. He took away their firms, ranches, farms, agricultural estates, cars, homes and other household goods.

The expulsion of Indians did significant damage to both Uganda's economy and its international reputation as Indians were the major contributor in the government's tax revenue. Idi Amin drew criticism from several nations, particularly the United Kingdom (UK) and India who cut diplomatic ties with the country.

Later, when President Museveni took charge in 1986, Indians were invited back to Uganda and the migration has been growing since then. Indian origin Sudhir Ruparelia is currently the richest man in Uganda and has an estimated fortune of $1 billion.

Indians continue to own big businesses in the country in the fields of cement, finance, food and oil. Uganda has been inviting Indian businessmen having interest in Africa to explore investment opportunities in agriculture, infrastructure, real estate, oil & gas among other sectors.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines)  When the sun sets, the magic begins. Anne Curtis, the enchanting icon of Filipino cinema, knows that nightfall unveils a different kind of beauty.

Renowned for her captivating presence both on and off the screen, Anne has chosen the vivo V29 5G as her trusted companion for capturing breathtaking night portraits.

On September 25, 2023, Anne unveiled the vivo V29 5G, showcasing its top-notch camera designed to capture flawless portraits and group selfies, even in challenging low-light conditions.

The vivo V29 5G, equipped with groundbreaking camera technology, empowers individuals to unveil their unique beauty, even in the subtlest of moonlight.

Heres why every Filipino should consider joining Anne Curtis in illuminating their nights with the vivo V29 5G:

Every portrait becomes a masterpiece

Introducing the vivo V29 5G, a smartphone that takes your photography to the next level. With its 50MP optical image stabilization (OIS) ultra-sensing main camera and enhanced Aura Light 2.0 technology, it's all about putting you in the spotlight.

Building on the success of the vivo V27 Series, the Aura Light 2.0 is now even more impressive. It's nine times larger and boasts of 36 percent brighter 360-degree even lighting.

Plus, the Smart Color Temperature Adjustment feature lets you set the Aura Light 2.0 to match your preferred warm or cool lighting.

You can also now capture stunning group selfies with the 50MP front camera, featuring autofocus capability and a wide 92-degree field of view.

These features allow you to share nighttime adventures with friends and family through portraits that dazzle with their clarity and vibrancy.

The vivo V29 5G transforms every moment into a work of art worth sharing. Experience the magic of night portraits alongside Anne with the vivo V29 5G, available in Starry Purple and Magic Maroon.

vivo V29 5G in Starry Purple (left) and Magic Maroon (right). Photo from vivo

Grab yours now at 12GB + 256GB for 24,999 and 12GB + 512GB for 26,999. Get it at vivo Philippine's official website, e-stores such as Shopee, Lazada, and TikTok, as well as physical stores nationwide.

Follow vivo Philippines on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, X, and TikTok for the latest news and announcements.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, October 5)  Authorities confirmed four people died after a fire razed their residence in Taguig early Thursday morning.

Fire officials said the blaze started at 3:54 a.m. at a house in Gumamela St., Katipunan Village.

The first alarm was raised at 4:07 a.m. and the fire was extinguished at 4:37 a.m.

Authorities said only one family was affected, and the estimated damage is at 200,000.

The cause of the fire is still under investigation.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, October 5)  A group recently launched an initiative to raise awareness about the real situation in the West Philippine Sea (WPS), and collect donations for fisherfolk and Filipino troops manning BRP Sierra Madre in Ayungin Shoal.

Speaking to CNN Philippines The Source on Thursday, Atin Ito campaign convenor Edicio dela Torre said the group was formed to push for the common goal of helping those most affected by Chinas aggressive actions in the WPS.

We came together and said lets focuson helping directly the fisherfolk and then others said tulungan na rin natin ang coast guard, pangalawa tulungan na rin yung BRP Sierra Madre (we should also help the coast guard and the troops aboard BRP Sierra Madre), he said.

BRP Sierra Madre, a US Navy ship used during World War II, has been at Ayungin Shoal since 1999. It was intentionally grounded there to serve as the countrys military outpost in the contested waters.

Atin Ito is composed of different groups like the Philippine Rural Reconstruction Movement, the Center for Agrarian Reform for Empowerment and Transformation, Akbayan, as well as various artists, and other non-government organizations. It launched its project this week which will involve different activities.

Organizers are asking for non-monetary donations, including but not limited to canned goods (except canned fish items), noodles, water, long-sleeved shirts, slippers, bucket hats , toiletries, flashlights, and medical supplies (over-the-counter medication, antibiotic ointment, alcohol).

Donations may be dropped off at the following locations:

Team Manila Lifestyle  Suez Street corner Zapote, Makati City

PRRM  56 Mother Ignacia Street corner Dr. Lazcano Street, Quezon City

Akbayan Party  23 Maalindog Street, UP Village, Quezon City

CARET  Unit 213 Eagle Court Condominium, 26 Matalino Street, Barangay Pinyahan, Quezon City

Atin Ito hopes to conduct an all-civilian supply mission to deliver some of the goods to Filipino troops aboard BRP Sierra Madre.

Dela Torre said the group is coordinating with the Philippine Coast Guard and are seeking approval from the National Task Force for the West Philippine Sea to conduct the mission.

He added this will not be a one-time program as they will look for more ways to deliver the needed supply of Filipino troops aboard BRP Sierra Madre.

Authorities conducted another successful resupply mission on Wednesday despite Chinas attempt to block, harass, and interfere, the National Security Council said.

It added a significant number of China Coast Guard and Chinese Maritime Militia vessels interfered with the mission.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, October 5)  President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. will go on several more trips until the end of 2023, starting with the ASEAN Gulf Cooperation Council Summit in Riyadh this month, according to the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA).

Speaking to CNN Philippines, DFA Secretary Enrique Manalo said the president will be traveling at least four more times this year.

The department earlier announced that Marcos will fly to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia in October to attend the ASEAN-Gulf Cooperation Council Summit.

In mid-November, he will attend the APEC economic leaders meeting in San Francisco, USA, followed by the climate change conference in Dubai, UAE, and finally the ASEAN Japan Commemorative Summit in Tokyo.

Manalo did not give further details on the scheduled trips.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, October 5)  The Commission on Human Rights (CHR) is also investigating the death of a 14-year-old student in Antipolo City who was allegedly slapped by his teacher.

"The Commission deplores all acts which pose threats to safeguarding the rights and dignity of children," the CHR said in a statement on Thursday.

"We underscore the importance of recognizing the individuality and rights of children whose physical and mental vulnerabilities should not relegate them from receiving equal and proper treatment from adults who are supposedly responsible for their welfare and protection," it added.

Francis Gumikib, a Grade 5 student of Penafrancia Elementary School, died on Monday.

The teacher, who is on official leave, has denied slapping the student hard.

Antipolo Police chief PLt. Col. Ryan Mangondo on Tuesday said authorities are preparing to file a homicide case against her.

"In line with the principles outlined in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, children have the right to be safe from all forms of violence and punishment, regardless of their actions," the CHR stressed.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, October 5)  The Commission on Elections (Comelec) will tackle this month the petition to disqualify technology provider Smartmatic from bidding for the automated election system (AES) for the 2025 elections.

Comelec Chairman George Garcia on Thursday said they will conduct a hearing on October 17 or 18 to discuss the petition and give due process to both parties.

Gusto namin malaman ano extent o reason ng grounds para i-disqualify yung mismong kumpanya," he said. "Number two, gusto natin makita side naman ng mismong kumpanya na inaakusahan."

[Translation: We want to know the extent or reason to disqualify the company. Number two, we want to hear the side of the company being accused.]

In June, former Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) secretary Eliseo Rio, former Comelec commissioner Augusto "Gus" Lagman, Franklin Ysaac, and Leonardo Odono filed a petition seeking to review the qualifications of Smartmatic.

The group cited in the petition the reported irregularities between the transmission logs and reception logs from the precinct level to the Comelecs transparency server during the 2022 elections.

The poll body chief said Smartmatic has yet to comment on the matter, since it will still release the order for the company to submit its answer.

Garcia reiterated that the poll body cannot ban the technology provider from bidding without any valid reason or formal basis.

Sa kasalukuyan, lahat ay alegasyon, lahat ay spekulasyon," he pointed out. "Mas maganda po na makita natin ang kabuuan ng lahat kapag nagkaroon na ng full blown hearing."

Wala pa naman tayong basehan pa in the meantime, habang hindi pa dumadating yung pagdinig, para idisqualify yung naturang kumpanya., Garcia added.

[Translation: For now, everything is allegation, everything is speculation. It would be better if we see the whole picture when a full-blown hearing is conducted. We have no basis until the hearing happens to disqualify the said company.]

Smartmatic has been the poll bodys technology provider of the automated election system since 2010.

The voting tech firm is among the four companies that have expressed interest to supply the AES for the 2025 national and local elections.

Comelec aims to resolve the petition before the start of AES procurement.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, October 5)  Officers from the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) will go to Italy to investigate reports that job-seekers were scammed and illegally recruited by fellow Filipinos running a recruitment agency there.

The DMW on Thursday said it met with the Department of Justice and the National Bureau of Investigation for a case buildup against recruiter Alpha Assistenza.

DMW Undersecretary Bernard Olalia said the agency is looking at a conspiracy angle with local entities.

DMW said Alpha Assistenza offered jobs in hotels and restaurants in Italy, with victims paying from 100,000 to as much as 300,000 for their application. Applicants obtain work permits only to discover these are fake when presented at the visa processing center.

The Department of Foreign Affairs reported a total of 221 complainants as of Oct. 4.

The lawyer of Alpha Assistenza CEO Krizelle Respicio said his client is not involved in any recruitment. According to its website, the company provides "immigration services."

The story will come out, the truth will come out, company counsel Charlie Pascual said, as he visited the Department of Justice on Thursday to declare his client's willingness to work with authorities.

Senator Raffy Tulfo has filed a resolution seeking a probe on what he calls large-scale fraud.

He said the probe should also cover victims claims that the Philippine Consulate in Milan did not assist Filipinos in distress.

CNN Philippines Correspondents Daniza Fernandez and Anjo Alimario contributed to this report.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, October 5)  Six former officers of the Navotas City police who have been linked to the killing of 17-year-old Jemboy Baltazar voluntarily surrendered a day after a court ordered their arrest.

The Philippine National Polices Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) confirmed on Thursday that the six are now under its custody after they turned themselves in to the CIDG Quezon Provincial Field Unit on Wednesday.

They apparently surrendered to authorities in Quezon since one of them has connections there, authorities said.

The six suspects were identified as Executive Master Sergeant Roberto Balais Jr., Staff Sergeant (PSSg) Gerry Maliban, PSSg Antonio Bugayong Jr., PSSg Nikko Esquilon, Corporal Edward Blanco, and Patrolman Benedict Mangada.

They are not entitled to bail since they were charged with murder.

On Aug. 2, the officers fatally shot Baltazar due to what police later declared as a case of mistaken identity.

Authorities said the six were conducting an operation in Navotas against a murder suspect but failed to verify their target, opening fire on the teenager and his friend.

Days after, the six personnel were relieved from their posts.

CIDG Director Major General Romeo Caramat Jr. said the surrender shows that the six are willing to face the consequences of their actions and that justice will be given to the victim and his family.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, October 5)  The Land Transportation Office (LTO) in Central Visayas on Wednesday issued a show cause order (SCO) against the drivers of a taxi and habal-habal who figured in a fistfight in Cebu.

The scuffle was caught in a viral video on Oct. 2 where the drivers were seen throwing punches at one another in the middle of a road in Marigondon in Lapu-Lapu City while other motorists watched.

Authorities have yet to pinpoint the reason for the fight.

This behavior has no place in our roads since it compromises road safety especially that they are both drivers of public utility vehicles," LTO-7 director Glen Galario said in a statement.

"But we will observe due process on this and thats why we asked them to explain their side, he added.

Transportation officials and lawmakers said they are working on increasing the penalty for road rage acts after other recent back-to-back incidents that went viral.

Cebu-based correspondent Dale Israel contributed to this report.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, October 5)  Makati Mayor Abby Binay requested a regional trial court (RTC) to issue a Status Quo Ante Order, a motion to keep things as they were, after claiming that Taguig City is forcibly executing" the Supreme Court decision which gave the latter authority over some barangays from Makati.

According to a statement, Binay cited attempts made by Taguig City to unilaterally and arbitrarily implement the Supreme Courts decision without any writ of execution from the trial court.

The high court previously said Writ of Execution is needed before Taguig can have control over 10 barangays from Makati City which include Pembo, Comembo, Cembo, South Cembo, West Rembo, East Rembo, Pitogo, Rizal, Post Proper Northside and Post Proper Southside.

The Makati mayor on Thursday filed an Urgent Motion for Clarification with Prayer for the Issuance of a Status Quo Ante Order before Branch 153 of the RTC of Taguig City.

Makati only wants an orderly administration of the Supreme Court decision with the least disruption to the residents and the uninterrupted delivery of basic services in the affected areas, Binay said in a statement.

Makati City cited a number of alarming and highly confusing incidents caused by Taguigs attempt to execute the decision without the writ.

These attempts include entering premises of a housing project owned by Makati City and forcibly taking possession of several school buildings and health centers in the affected barangays.

RELATED: Taguig denies 'forcible' takeover of EMBO schools from

Taguig cannot simply take the law into its own hands and act as it pleases without any writ of execution issued by the court," said Binay.

"Because of Taguigs arbitrary, whimsical, and capricious attempts to unilaterally implement the SC Decision in a piece-meal manner, the peoples welfare has been unduly prejudiced by Taguig City and has created unwarranted tension and confusion among the residents and various government agencies," she also said.

Makati noted that the high court did not expressly order any part of the decision to be immediately executory.

Makatis motion will also allow it to assert its position as current owner of the properties.

A status quo order, which is similar to a cease-and desist order, is an order to maintain the last actual, peaceable, uncontested state of things which preceded the controversy.

The Supreme Court rules that a status quo order is warranted in order to promote common good as well as protect the public interest.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, October 5)  President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. wants a concrete plan for the coconut industry as he sees a "big opportunity" amid the administration's target to plant 100 million trees by 2028.

In a statement on Thursday, Malacanang said the president had a meeting with officials of the Philippine Coconut Authority (PCA) where they discussed the proposed massive tree-planting project.

"Theres a big opportunity so lets have a look at that Kailangan natin mayroon tayong plano (We need to have a plan)," Marcos said.

Under the plan, the PCA seeks to plant 20 to 25 million trees every year from 2023 to 2028, a few decades after it launched the same initiative.

However, Marcos said political terms should not bar the agency from continuing the rehabilitation and development program.

The PCA is proposing to issue a memorandum of agreement with local government units, with the latter implementing coconut planting and replanting, seed farm development, and coconut fertilization, to name a few.

According to the Palace, the country has 3.6 million hectares planted with coconut trees, with 340.6 million coconut-bearing trees capable of producing 14 to 15 billion coconuts annually.

It added that the Philippines "remains the biggest exporter of coconut products," posting an export value of $3.22 billion in 2022.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines)  In a span of only three months after Pag-IBIG Fund entered partnerships with the countrys top transport networks to provide better access to its membership, 13,128 delivery drivers and riders have registered as Pag-IBIG members and now enjoy the agencys benefits.

We are very happy that a growing number of delivery riders are now part of the more than 15.6 million active members of Pag-IBIG Fund. As members of Pag-IBIG Fund, they now have secure savings and shall gain access to our affordable home loans. This is in line with our efforts to provide inclusive housing to all Filipino workers under the Pambansang Pabahay para sa Pilipino Housing or 4PH Program of President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr., said Secretary Jose Rizalino L. Acuzar, who leads the Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development (DHSUD) and the 11-member Pag-IBIG Fund Board of Trustees.

Earlier this year, Pag-IBIG Fund partnered with transport network & app-based courier companies Angkas, Foodpanda, Grab, Lalamove and Pick-A-Roo. With the partnerships, delivery riders are provided better access to Pag-IBIG Fund membership to allow them to enjoy the agencys benefits that include its Regular and MP2 Savings, short-term cash loans, affordable home loans and the Pag-IBIG Loyalty Card Plus.

Pag-IBIG Fund Chief Executive Officer Marilene C. Acosta, meanwhile, expects that the number of delivery riders who shall become Pag-IBIG Fund members will continue to rise, especially with the agencys ongoing Pag-IBIG Asenso Rider Raffle Promo, a special raffle promo for delivery riders.

We remain committed to our mandate of bringing the benefits of Pag-IBIG Fund membership to more Filipino workers. This includes our delivery riders, whose service have become vital in our daily lives. That is why in addition to bringing them better access to Pag-IBIG Fund membership, we are also providing our delivery riders the opportunity to win special prizes to help them with their livelihood with the Pag-IBIG Asenso Rider Raffle Promo. All these are among the many ways how we bring our Lingkod Pag-IBIG Brand of Service  Tapat na Serbisyo, Mula sa Puso  to our members, Acosta added.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, October 5)  The Marshall Islands  believed to be the flag state of the ship that crashed into a Philippine fishing boat  is obligated to hold the vessel liable over the incident that killed three fishermen, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) said.

Kung saan siya nakarehistro [Where the vessel is registered], which is the Marshall Islands, obligation ng [it is the obligation of the] flag state administration to hold the ship owner accountable, Commodore Jay Tarriela said in a media briefing Thursday.

The PCG said the government of the Marshall Islands has already acknowledged receiving the letter it sent regarding the incident that occurred on Oct. 2. The Philippines has yet to receive a formal response.

Earlier that day, PCG Commander Admiral Artemio Abu wrote the island country to request for its cooperation in probing the oil tanker that hit the fishing boat Dearyn northwest off Bajo de Masinloc in the West Philippine Sea. Three of the Filipino crew members were killed in the tragedy, while 11 survived.

The letter to the Marshall Islands states that after cross-referencing the fishermen's account and thorough check on marine traffic, Philippine authorities identified the foreign vessel as MV Pacific Anna [...] an oil tanker sailing under the flag of Marshall Islands.

We kindly request your immediate cooperation and exercise your authority being the flag state administrator of the vessel and conduct a fair and honest investigation," Abu said in the letter which was shown to the media. "It is imperative that we ascertain the circumstances surrounding the incident.

The coast guard has also written to the port state of control in Singapore since the vessel was heading there from South Korea.

Asked about compensation for victims, the PCG chief said this will be determined after the probe.

Gaya nung mga barko na na-involve sa any accident, meron naman yang insurance [Like other ships involved in any accident, there is insurance], Abu said. So, that will come after the determination, after the completion of the investigation, and of course the due process that we will observe.

The PCG added it is working towards the immediate completion of its maritime casualty investigation report, which it will submit to the Department of Foreign Affairs for appropriate diplomatic action.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, October 5)  Senators are considering the realignment of 50 million in confidential funds allotted to the Department of Agriculture (DA) under the 2024 National Expenditure Program (NEP).

Upon questioning by Sen. Raffy Tulfo during the DA budget hearing on Thursday, agriculture officials told the Senate finance panel that the DA was allotted 50 million in confidential funds for surveillance against anti-smuggling operations and law enforcement.

Nung lumabas yung NEP [When the NEP came out], they (Department of Budget and Management) allocated 50 million confidential funds to be dedicated to surveillance operations for anti-smuggling operations, DA Asec. James Layug said.

Perplexed, Tulfo pointed out that surveillance of agricultural smugglers and law enforcement fell under the mandate of the Bureau of Customs, the Philippine National Police, and the Department of Justice.

He then urged the DA to surrender its confidential funds so that these could be realigned to agencies such as the Philippine Coast Guard that is on the front line of defending the countrys sovereignty in the West Philippine Sea amid Chinas escalating aggression.

We will make the adjustment, realignment [of the confidential funds], Sen. Cynthia Villar, chairperson of the Senate agriculture panel, said after Tulfos interpellation.

Later on in the budget hearing, Layug asked senators to reconsider their proposed realignment of the DAs secret funds.

When we discussed if the department can really use the confidential funds to also investigate, especially as we have quarantine powers under the Food Safety Law and Price Act, and even in the Meat Code, we are mandated to conduct market surveillance and inspection, he said.

Layug added that the Food and Safety and Regulation Agencies also needed support to strengthen the DAs surveillance operations.

As Tulfo had already left the hearing, Villar told Layug: I want to comment that if Sen. Tulfo will make a big issue out of it, you just follow [up] with him in what you will do with the 50 million allocation.

I dont want to be answering Sen. Tulfo because of your 50-million allocation," Villar added. "You be creative and give him the benefit of having that 50 million realigned.

Once the DAs budget reaches the Senate plenary, lawmakers can amend the allocations and remove the agencys confidential funds.

Confidential funds are allocated to civilian government agencies for the purpose of surveillance activities, but they have caught flak for their lack of transparency.

Vice President Sara Duterte, in particular, has drawn public ire because civilian agencies under her, the Office of the Vice President and the Department of Education, asked for massive amounts of secret funds supposedly for the safety and security of the Filipino people.

READ: VP Duterte defends confidential funds: 'It should not be constrained by time'
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, October 5)  A labor group denounced the denial by the Philippine National Police (PNP) that it was involved in the killing of a union organizer.

Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU) accused the police of killing Jude Fernandez on Sept. 29 in his home in Rizal province. He supposedly resisted arrest ("nanlaban").

The group said it received reports that operatives of the PNP-Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (PNP-CIDG) entered Fernandez' house to serve a warrant.

The PNP-CIDG claims that Fernandez fought back (nanlaban), which caused them to fire at Fernandez until he was killed and declared dead on the spot, KMU said in a statement.

We deliberately refute this narrative," it added. "Fernandez is a labor organizer and he does not bear arms."

On the other hand, the PNP denied involvement in the killing and said the subject of the arrest warrant was not Fernandez.

PNP spokesperson PCol Jean Fajardo said the warrant was for Oscar Dizon, whom the police identified as a member of the central committee of the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People's Army.

Hindi natin alam saan nanggagaling ang pangalan na binibigay pero base sa ebidensya na na-rekober doon sa pinangyarihan ng insidente, maraming ID na na-recover sa kaniya at iba ibang pangalan ang nakalagay, pero may isang ID na nagma-match sa subject ng arrest warrant na si Oscar Dizon, Fajardo said.

[Translation: We do not know where the name came from but based on the evidence recovered at the scene of the incident, many IDs were recovered from him and different names were written, but there was one ID that matched the subject of the arrest warrant that is Oscar Dizon.]

Fajardo said Dizon resisted arrest which led to his shooting.

Walang nanlaban

The KMU said it launched a fact-finding mission on Oct. 3 on the nanlaban narrative. Peoples organizations and human rights institutions together with Gabriela Womens Party and former Bayan Muna Rep. Ferdinand Gaite were part of the group.

Walang nanlaban. Yan ang resulta ng aming fact-finding, KMU Secretary General Jerome Adonis said. Walang-awa pong pinatay ng CIDG at ng gobyernong Marcos ang aming kasamahang si Jude Fernandez. Pamamaraang terorista ang ginamit sa isang unyonista.

[Translation: "No one fought back. That is the result of our fact-finding. The CIDG and the Marcos government mercilessly killed our colleague Jude Fernandez. Terrorist tactics were used against a unionist.]

The groups conducted an indignation rally on Thursday in front of the CIDG headquarters in Camp Crame, Quezon City.

Fernandez was organizing local workers to encourage them to advocate for wage increases and other worker rights. He began as a unionist during the martial law era, said KMU.

Karapatan decried the "lies" behind the nanlaban narrative.

The PNPs long and filthy record of false narratives, bogus witnesses, planting evidence and filing trumped-up charges leaves us incredulous, it said.

The group called on the PNP-CIDG to produce the footage from body-cams worn by its operatives while serving the warrant.

GABRIELA said the PNP-CIDG and other state forces have been doing this modus operandi  citing the brutal torture and killing of peasant leader Randall Echanis in 2020. Gunmen killed Echanis in his residence, and access to his body was initially denied by his family and colleagues.

"The latest remark from the PNP-CIDG is no different from their tired 'nanlaban' excuse whenever they kill someone under their extrajudicial killing modus operandi," GABRIELA Secretary General Clarice Palce.

"This is nothing more than an attempt to evade their heinous crime and accountability, she also said.

The killing came at a time of the resounding call from workers and the people for wage increases, their outrage against unbridled corruption in the government, and intensifying human rights violations, the KMU said.

Fernandez remains are currently being retrieved and will be turned over to his relatives, it also said.

The labor group said Fernandez is the 72nd victim of extrajudicial killing from the labor sector and the fourth since the International Labor Organization conducted a high-level tripartite mission to the country in January.

With reports from CNN Philippines' correspondent AC Nicholls.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, October 5)  The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) Pangasinan on Thursday said the foreign vessel that rammed a Filipino boat and killed three fishermen near Bajo de Masinloc in the West Philippine Sea on Oct. 2 violated two international regulations.

It is mandated by convention na kung ano yung pinakamalapit na barko, regardless kung sila yung nakasagasa o hindi nakasagasa, sila yung unang magreresponde at ire-rescue itong mga distressed persons sa pangyayari. Ito lang yung initial na nakikita natin na violation nung barko, PCG Pangasinan station commander Alex Corpuz told CNN Philippines The Source.

[Translation: It is mandated by convention that whatever ship is nearest, regardless of whether it was the one who rammed or not, it must be the first to respond and rescue distressed persons. This is the initial violation we are seeing.]

He was referring to Regulation 33 under the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea, which states that any ship that is able to provide assistance after receiving a distress signal shall proceed with all speed to their assistance, if possible informing them or the search and rescue service that the ship is doing so.

Initial investigation showed that the Filipino fishermen left Subic on Sept. 26 and arrived at the area where the incident happened on Sept. 30, Corpuz said.

The PCG earlier reported that Filipino fishing boat Dearyn was moored to a payao, or an anchored fish float, for fishing northwest of Bajo de Masinloc when it was hit by a commercial vessel at 4:20 a.m. on Oct. 2, killing three fishermen.

The PCG said it appeared that it was oil tanker Pacific Anna, registered in the Marshall Islands, that allegedly rammed the Filipino fishing boat.

The 11 fishermen who survived the incident said they used their small service boats to transport the bodies of their fallen companions to Infanta, Pangasinan.

Corpuz said it appeared there was no attempt to conduct search and rescue operations on the part of the foreign vessel.

Initial investigation also showed that the Filipinos watercraft had its lights on, he added.

Corpuz, who was a former seafarer, pointed out that the owner or crew of the foreign vessel cannot simply say it did not spot the Filipino fishing boat as navigators should maintain proper lookout regardless of the circumstances.

He cited Rule 2 of the Convention on the International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea that states Nothing in these Rules shall exonerate any vessel, or the owner, master or crew thereof, from the consequences of any neglect to comply with these Rules or of the neglect of any precaution which may be required by the ordinary practice of seamen, or by the special circumstances of the case.

Corpuz said local authorities will forward their findings to the PCG headquarters for another investigation.

Once the owner of the foreign vessel is determined, the Department of Foreign Affairs will be tapped to negotiate on its liability, he added.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, October 5) -- The National Dairy Authority (NDA) and the Philippine Carabao Center (PCC), two attached agencies of the Department of Agriculture (DA) in charge of milk production, are facing budget cuts under the proposed 2024 spending plan to the dismay of lawmakers.

During the Senate Committee on Finances deliberations on the proposed 167.5 billion funding for the DA and its attached agencies on Thursday, Undersecretary Mercedita Sombilla said the agency requested 1.3 billion for the NDA next year, but the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) approved only P272 million.

The DA likewise sought 1.4 billion for the PCC, but only 711 million was included in the National Expenditure Program.

Senate Committee on Agriculture chairperson Cynthia Villar, who presided over the budget hearing as head of the finance subcommittee, lamented that only 1% of the countrys milk supply is locally produced.

The bulk is exported, and only the rich can afford this, Villar said.

Pag 1% ang production mo ng milk, ibig sabihin ang mga batang mahihirap na Pilipino hindi iinom ng milk," Villar noted. "Pag hindi mo pinainom ng milk, mahirap na nga hindi pa tatalino eh wala nang pag-asang paglaki ay medyo mag-middle class sila man lang kasi magaling na sila at nakapag-aral na sila."

[Translation: If your milk production is only 1%, that means poor Filipino children will not drink milk. Without milk, it will be hard for them to gain the intelligence they they need to at least be middle class. If they are at least middle class, they will be able to harness skills and study.]

Tulungan ninyo kasi kawawa naman," the senator added. "Mahirap na nga, hindi niyo pa patatalinuhin di lalo namang continously maghihirap sila, di ba?

[Translation: Help them because they are pitiful. These children are already poor and yet you won't allow them to gain intelligence. That means they will continually be poor. ]

Sombilla said the DA already made an appeal to the DBM, but to no avail.

Villar urged the DA to identify projects that are not that urgent so Congress can realign funds to the NDA and PCC.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, October 5)  Distressing would be an understatement in describing the ordeal of 11 Filipino fishermen, who had to watch over the bodies of three of their companions for 24 hours after a foreign vessel rammed their boat off Bajo de Masinloc.

"Lumutang na po yung isa naming kasama na matanda, yun yung patay na. Wala na kaming nagawa, itinali na lang namin siya para hindi lumayo ang kaniyang bangkay," Johnny Manlolo recalled during a press briefing with the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) on Thursday.

[Translation: A body of our elder companion floated. We couldn't do anything, we just tied him up so that his body wouldn't drift away.]

It was around 3 a.m. when the 14 Filipino fishers moored their boat "Dearyn" to a payao, or an anchored fish float, some 85 nautical miles northwest of Bajo de Masinloc.

Eight crew members left on Dearyn's service boats to fish in different locations, while 40-year-old Manlolo remained in the mother boat along with five others, including the captain.

At about 4 a.m., Manlolo remembered rain began to pour, prompting his fellows to go inside the cabin while he stayed at the back of the boat.

"Mga 20 minutes na patak ng ulan, medyo humina. Pagtayo ko po, nanjan na yung barko. Kitang kita ko po talaga, saktong tumama sa amin," Manlolo said.

[Translation: It rained for about 20 minutes then it eased a bit. When I stood up, the ship was already there. I really saw it, right when it hit us.]

The ship was red and much bigger than Dearyn, according to Manlolo, He said it even left a trace of paint when it slammed into the fishing boat. But he did not recall if the ship flashed its light or sounded its horn.

What he is certain of is that Dearyn had its lights turned on and was visible from a distance.

The PCG said its cross-referencing of details provided by the fishermen indicated that "Pacific Anna," a crude oil tanker registered under the flag of the Marshall Islands, may have been the vessel that hit the Filipinos' boat.

"Bigla na lang po tumaob at nalaglag na po kami sa tubig. Hindi ko na po maalala yung mga nangyari dahil kaniya-kaniya na kami ng languyan," Manlolo said.

[Translation: Our boat suddenly capsized and we fell into the water. I can't remember what happened next because we started swimming on our own.]

Manlolo said he and another companion were able to get on their boat, now with its bottom up, while they searched for the others.

He began knocking on the boat, hoping to hear something back; 22-year-old Mandy An answered and was able to swim towards the surface and join them.

Then came the unexpected  the body of their elder companion floated. They waited for Dearyn's captain and his nephew but to no avail.

"Yung dalawa na kasama namin, yung captain at pamangkin niya, hindi na nakalabas sa ilalim, at 'di na namin nagawang sisirin dahil mahina na kami," Manlolo said.

[Translation: Two others who were with us, the captain and his nephew, couldn't get out of the bottom, and we couldn't dive and search anymore because we were too weak.]

Tired, stuck, and helpless, Manlolo and the other two survivors waited, hoping for the return of Dearyn's service boats with the remaining crew members.

The sun was already up when 37-year-old Michael An, onboard a service boat, spotted Dearyn from three nautical miles away.

At around 9 a.m., the service boats arrived and the other crew members dove to retrieve the remaining bodies inside Dearyn's cabin.

An remembered loading the three bodies onto the smaller service boats. Several nautical miles away from the coast, they began their journey home.

"Napagpasiyahan namin na magsama-sama kami," An said. "24 hours ang tinakbo namin. Walang kain kain, walang tubig. Mainit. Naaawa kami sa mga karga naming nasawi."

[Translation: We decided to go together. We sailed for 24 hours. No food, no water. It was hot. We felt sorry for our companions who died.]

The 11 crew members who survived the incident left the area using eight boats and arrived in Infanta, Pangasinan at 10 a.m. the next day, Oct. 3.

They brought the dead bodies of their 47-year-old boat captain, 38-year-old crew, and the eldest among them, a 62-year-old fisherman.

Despite the harrowing experience, the fishermen said they had no choice but to get back to the waters to make a living.

Manlolo recalled the waters were calm when they were hit by the ship, but he believes what happened was an accident.

"Sa sobrang laki po figuro ng barko, baka hindi na po nila naramdaman [nung tinamaan kami] dahil malaki po yung barko nila, maliit lang po yung amin," the fisherman said.

[Tranlation: The ship is so big, maybe they didn't feel it anymore when they hit us, ours is small.]

The PCG has said the maritime incident is not connected to the tensions between the Philippines and China in the West Philippine Sea.

READ: PCG: Foreign vessel that rammed PH boat off Bajo de Masinloc violated protocols
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, October 6)  The Philippine Army on Thursday denied allegations that soldiers abducted three indigenous peoples (IP) human rights advocates in Oriental Mindoro.

In a statement on Thursday, the army said the three  Alia Encelo, Job Abednego David, and Peter del Monte  were captured during a legitimate military operation on Sept. 23.

They are currently safe and in good spirits, it added.

"The Army maintained its position that there was no forced disappearance concerning the three because all protocols were followed throughout the operation," said BGen Randolph Cabangbang, commander of the 203rd Infantry Battalion, 2nd Infantry Division.

The army also said the three activists have been identified as members of the communist New People's Army.

During their arrest, Cabangbang said troops found improvised landmines and grenades inside their bags.

Karapatan and other human rights groups, meanwhile, demanded the release of the three activists, saying there's no legal basis for their detention.

Encelo, David, and Del Monte were last seen on Sept. 19.

Their supposed arrest came more than a month after two environmental activists went missing on Sept. 2 in Bataan.

"Hindi na bago ang pagdukot ng mga kapulisan at militar sa mga aktibista at nagsusulong ng karapatang pantao," Karapatan said.

[Translation: The abduction of activists and human rights advocates by the police and military is nothing new.]
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, October 5)  Commission on Elections (Comelec) Chairman George Garcia has confirmed that the United States government reached out for assistance in its money laundering case against former poll body chief Andres Bautista.

Garcia said they gave all the needed documents, after the Philippine Department of Justice (DOJ) coordinated with them regarding the request of the DOJs American counterpart.

I would like to confirm that statement na may coordination sa amin ang US government," he told reporters on Thursday. "Subalit hindi ko mare-reveal ano

mga documents at sino yung mga taong gusto nilang makausap o nakausap.

[Translation: I would like to confirm that the US government coordinated with us. But I cannot reveal the documents and who they want to talk to or have talked to.]

Garcia revealed they received a letter regarding the investigation late last year, following his appointment as Comelec chairman.

However, he said they still have not seen the charge sheet or the official document detailing the charges against someone being accused of a crime.

News reports said Bautista is being sued for money laundering following his wife Patricia Paz Bautistas allegations that he has ill-gotten wealth secured from anomalous deals linked to the 2016 polls.

The former poll body chief has since denied the allegations and receiving "bribe money."

Garcia is hopeful they will be given a copy of the documents used in the US government's investigation to aid in their own probe.

Baka pupwede ma-share sa amin mga dokumento o yung mga statements na ginamit nila sa kaso upang kami rin mismo ay ma-verify namin yung authenticity at due execution at integrity ng documents at statements na yan, he said.

[Translation: The documents might possibly be shared with us or the statements used in the case so we can verify the authenticity and its due execution and integrity of the statements.]

Garcia earlier this week ordered the creation of a "chairmans task force" to look into the alleged "rigged bidding" in the procurement process in 2016.

But he clarified that the fact-finding body is not directly looking into Bautista. Instead, the focus is on how to fix possible loopholes in its process, he also said.

Ang importante sa amin, malaking tulong yung ganung klaseng impormasyon na yun upang ayusin namin at tingnan aling parte ng procurement process na meron ang Comelec ang vulnerable sa manipulation kung meron man, sa irregularity kung meron man, para maayos natin, he pointed out.

[Translation: What's important to us, that information is a big help so we can fix and see which part of the procurement process of Comelec is vulnerable to manipulation and should it exist, can be fixed.]

Garcia said the Comelec is committed to a transparent, free, inclusive procurement for the 2025 automated election system.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, October 5) The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) on Thursday said there are other tools available to address issues in the West Philippine Sea (WPS) other than a diplomatic protest.

"Filing diplomatic protests is not the only measure we use," DFA Secretary Enrique Manalo told News Night.

"There is the common approach or tool of summoning the diplomatic party concerned  could be the ambassador or an officer, or even making demarches to the foreign ministry of the country concerned. And of course we have other mechanisms of discussing these issues such as a consultation mechanisms, bilateral mechanisms," the secretary said.

Going to court is also "always an option," Manalo added.

"Whatever course of action we take, and we might take, the priority of course will be to observe existing international rules and regulations, and also to be sure that whatever action we take will be consistent with international law," he stressed.

Manalo said other agencies would also be involved if the Philippines decides to take actions beyond diplomatic measures.

In August, Solicitor General Menardo Guevarra formed a panel to study the country's options regarding the landmark 2016 arbitral ruling that invalidated China's sweeping claims in the South China Sea.

Guevarra also said his office will review all incidents in the WPS since 2016 to collect evidence and build a case against China.

Manalo has said that since 2020, 447 diplomatic protests have been filed over the WPS issue. Out of these, he said more than 400 have been "more or less" addressed to China.
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Forced back into the office, many employees have admitted to showing up for just a few hours  enough time to swipe in with their employee badge, have a cup of coffee, and be seen in the workplace  then heading back home to do their work, according to a new study.

Coined as coffee badging, the trend showed up on a new survey of 2,000 full-time US workers conducted by videoconferencing tech vendor Owl Labs.

Owl Labs said its seventh annual State of Hybrid Work report revealed that more than half (58%) of hybrid workers said they are coffee badging to meet the minimum in-office requirement each week. Another 8% of respondents said they haven't been coffee badging but would like to try it.

Apart from the survey, industry analysts said the behavior isn't surprising.

The idea of coffee badging is consistent with other behaviors we've seen during the hybrid work era, said J.P. Gownder, a vice president and principal analyst at Forrester Research. One client told me that he, himself, drove into the parking garage to badge in because he knew his company tracked it. He drove right out afterwards.

The fundamental issues with coffee badging go deeper than shirking responsibilities, according to Gownder. Workers engage in the behavior when employers aren't doing a great job providing them with an environment for productivity or work/life balance, he said.

For example, if someone has a lot of individual work today, they're more likely to be productive at home. If they have collaborative work, in-person offices can accelerate the success of those collaborations, Gownder said. If they're putting in a lot of hours, they might need to have some flexibility during the day. Context matters to employees, and flexible hybrid policies can match context to location.

Companies such as Amazon, Apple, BlackRock, Disney, J.P. Morgan, Meta, Salesforce, and Zoom and working hard to entice  or even force  their employees to return to the office.

Caitlin Duffy, Research Director for the Gartner HR practice, said the research firm hasn't collected data on whether employees are engaging in this specific coffee badging behavior, but she wouldn't be surprised if it were happening, "because it tracks with what we tend to see resulting from employee monitoring technologies.

"Unfortunately, these technologies often backfire. Monitoring techniques typically provide an incomplete picture of what employees do all day, putting too much focus on idle time and nonwork activities, and tracking activity or production volume  not the outcomes that really matter to the business," Duffy said. "They also incentivize counterproductive work behaviors, as employees may end up trying to look busy to game the system rather than focusing their energies on doing their best work."

Owl Labs

The costs of in-office work

The Owl Labs survey revealed that US employees simply dont want to spend time and money on frequent office visits, and many companies have more work to do to provide an attractive, productive, and stress-free office environment that makes employees want to gather.

One in three respondents (33%) said they spend 31-45 minutes commuting one-way to their offices.

Workers spend on average $51 per day when they go to the office, which is $408 per month for hybrid workers and $1,020 per month for full-time office workers (meaning full-time in-office employees spend three times as much as full-time remote workers), according to Owl Labs.

Those costs includes a daily average of:

$13 on breakfast/coffee

$16 on lunch

$14 on commute

$8 on parking

$20 per day on pet care (among those who engage pet sitters or walkers)

Another study published earlier ths year revealed that when employees are allowed to work remotely, they most often use the time they would have spent commuting to the office working. On average, employees save 72 minutes in commute time every day when theyre allowed to work from home rather than in the office, according to the Global Survey of Working Arrangements (G-SWA) study performed by the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER).

Yet about 42% businesses have a return-to-office mandate, according to a May Gartner survey of 78 HR leaders. However, 39% of those HR leaders also said they dont mete out any consequences when employees don't meet attendance requirements.

Nearly three in four Owl Labs survey respondents (69%) believe that their company is requiring them to work from the office because of traditional work expectations. Almost one in four (23%) said they'd changed companies in 2023, and that change of job was more common among full-time office workers (26%) than hybrid/remote workers (17%).

Owl Labs

If they were no longer able to work remotely, 29% of hybrid and remote workers surveyed by Owl Labs said they'd expect a pay increase to make up for additional costs. Conversely, one in four surveyed (25%) said they'd be willing to sacrifice 15% of their annual salary for flexible working hours.

The Owl Labs survey, which was performed in June, spanned SMBs with fewer than 100 workers (23%) to midsized organizations (33%) to large firms with more than 1,000 employees (30%). Millennials (aged 27 to 42) made up the majority of respondents (67%). Gen Z (18-26) made up 14% of respondents; Gen X 15% of respondents, and Baby Boomers represented only 4%. The sex of respondents was fairly even, with men making up 52% and women making up 48% of those surveyed.

Another concept the survey revealed is "polyworking," which Owl Labs described as workers who have two or more jobs.

"Our report showed us that almost half of employees (46%) have at least one additional job or side hustle outside of their main full-time job, with an additional 20% saying they currently do not, but would like one," the report stated. "Think its a remote thing? Think again. Full-time office workers are more than twice as likely to have an additional job than hybrid and remote workers."

Owl Labs

Giving workers what they want

Frank Weishaupt, CEO of Owl Labs, said this years survey revealed a disconnect between employers and employees on what they need in order to return to the office.

While many blindly put mandates into place, what employees really want is private spaces, a casual dress code, and lunch, snacks, beverages covered for them. One of the most important factors for employees is also good technology, with 83% saying it's a top factor, Weishaupt said.

Whether its a video call taking the place of a time-consuming business trip or AI helping with daily tasks, technology is a huge factor in their work lives, Weishaupt said.

Many feel that their companies have not put the right tech in place for hybrid work yet. Only 37% of employers have upgraded their video meeting technology and 28% expanded collaboration and/or meeting spaces, he said.

Loretta Li-Sevilla, HP's Head Future of Work, Business Incubation & Design for Services, said focusing on making the in-office experience at least as good as an employees at-home office has enticed workers back to the office for the right reasons.

Unlike many companies mandating a return to office, HP has settled on a more relaxed view of hybrid work, enticing workers to come in with the latest technology and letting them and their managers choose when they need to be in the office instead of mandating a set number of days.

When employees feel supported and empowered, they perform their best, Li-Sevilla said in an earlier interview with Computerworld. To ensure people have the right toolset, we pair people with the right device and ecosystem for their workstyle so they can be productive  from high-performance notebooks with long-lasting battery life when working on the go to the right conferencing tools to feel present from anywhere.

HP designed its Palo Alto, CA headquarters office to create a sense of community and collaboration with communal spaces and hot desks that have docking displays with built-in webcams that allow connection with one cable, so people dont have to re-learn how to set up their environment every time they come into the office.

With the rise of hybrid work, it's crucial to have a smooth transition from the office to home or any other location so employees can maintain their productivity, Li-Sevilla said.

More than nine out of 10 of those surveyed by Owl Labs (94%) said theyre willing to return to office, and more than one-third of hybrid workers (38%) would be more likely to go to the office if their companies paid for their commuting costs, while 28% could be swayed by daycare or eldercare subsidies or on-site alternatives, a likely result of the caregiver shortage.

Nearly three in four employees (72%) said a flexible or nonexistent dress code is important to them. About a quarter of all workers (24%) would be enticed to go to the office if they could wear any clothing or styles they choose, with another quarter (25%) saying they would even take a 15% pay cut for the privilege.

Owl Labs

One technology employees want their companies to adopt overall is artificial intelligence or an AI assistant; 48% of those surveyed want to see their companies deploy AI, and about 44% them believe AI will help them do their jobs faster and more effectively.

Augmented or mixed reality devices are next on the wish list at 44%, while 38% said they would like to use holograms or avatars in the workplace.

By considering tech and its place in the office as well as the real perks workers want, employers can make for a smoother transition back to the office, Weishaupt said.
Visual communication company Canva has launched an all-in-one AI design offering dubbed Magic Studio, with the aim of tailoring design-focused AI tools and technology for the enterprise.

The announcement comes six months after Canva first added AI-powered design tools to its Visual Worksuite, capabilities that the company says have been used more than 3 billion times since their launch.

Magic Studio offers users over 10 new AI tools. They include Magic Design, which allows Canva users to generate videos, presentations, and complete designs from a single text prompt, and Magic Switch, which converts designs into a range of different formats, turning presentations into an executive summary or blog post, for example. This content can also be translated into over 100 different languages.

Users will also have the ability to turn text into engaging photos with the application's Magic Media feature, and also create videos from an image or text using Gen-2, a video generation AI model by Runway. Other features include Magic Morph  designed to instantly transform words and shapes into new colors, textures, patterns and styles with a simple prompt  and Magic Expand, which can save zoomed-in images or turn a vertical shot horizontal by recovering whatever's outside the frame.

Additionally, Magic Grab allows users to select and separate any subject in a photo in order to edit, reposition, or resize it.

Canva has also launched a copywriting assistant called Magic Write, which provides users with the ability to write content in their brands tone of voice, in any design or document, by adding guidelines to their Brand Kit ensure the tool generates on-brand content.

Canva is also expanding its application marketplace, providing its customers with access to leading AI tools, including Dall-E, Imagen by Google Cloud, MurfAI, Soundraw and more.

Alongside the new capabilities included in Magic Studio, Canva is also launching a new security product called Canva Sheild, an enterprise-grade collection of trust, safety and privacy controls designed to provide teams and organizations with peace of mind when creating content. Team administrators have full control over how Magic Studio products are enabled and used across the workplace and can toggle these features at any time, based on employee roles.

Canva offers enterprise customers indemnification for AI-generated images

In an approach that mimics the one taken by Adobe and Shutterstock regarding their AI-powered image generators, Canva Shield also includes copyright indemnification for enterprise customers, which the company says will provide additional peace of mind for organizations creating content with AI.

Canva is also committing $200 million over the next three years in creator and AI royalties to compensate creators for use of their data in AI training and, in order to reaffirm the companys commitment to transparency, Canva will provide creators the choice to opt out of their data being used for training purposes.

Creators who opt into training AI models on their existing content will receive a payment, which takes two forms  an initial bonus payment to creators who are opted in to their data being used, and then ongoing monthly payments. These payments are determined by a range of factors such as the level of contribution to our content library, the number of times it has been used.

At the opening of the companys new London office in May, when asked by Computerworld about potential conflict of interest between AI generated images and the creative industries, Cameron Adams, Canva's co-founder and chief product officer, said that innovation in this area should be seen as a good thing as it helps level the creative playing field.

When we first launched Canva, there was a lot of fear from graphic designers about what Canva would do but, what weve seen over the last decade is that actually, democratizing design allows non designers to have better conversations with graphic designers and helps people to realize their ideas much quicker and with much better quality, he said. We believe AI is going to have the same impact.
Taiwans Ministry of Economic Affairs has agreed to investigate Taiwanese suppliers in business with Huawei for aiding the operation of its chipmaking factories in China.

The investigation, which was first reported by Bloomberg, would determine if these suppliers have violated any US sanctions, Economic Affairs Minister Wang Mei-hua told the countrys legislative body.

The investigation, which will cover at least four Taiwanese firms, will probe whether these companies are operating within their scope as specified in their application to the Taiwanese government.

The four firms, which include a unit of chip material reseller Topco Scientific Co, Cica-Huntek Chemical Technology Taiwan Co., a subsidiary of L&K Engineering Co., and a subsidiary of United Integrated Services Co., are helping Huawei with wastewater and environmental projects, according to the news report.

The US has been seeking support from its allies to thwart Beijings efforts to advance domestic chip manufacturing.

In January, the US convinced the Netherlands and Japan to join it in expanding the ban on exports of chip-making technology to China.

The US first imposed restrictions on exports of chips to China in 2015, extending them in 2021 and twice in 2022. The most recent restrictions were introduced in December.

US lawmakers have also been urging the Biden administration to take more action to impede Chinas progress in gaining dominance in areas such as artificial intelligence and quantum computing.

Separately, the US has also been wary of Huaweis advanced chips being used in 5G-enabled smartphones. Last month, the US government ordered a probe into the chips being used to support Huaweis smartphones.

Huawei and ZTE were both banned from providing equipment to the US government in the Defense Authorization Act of 2018, and a general import ban followed shortly thereafter.

In March 2020, President Donald Trump signed a law to prevent US rural telecom carriers from using Huawei network equipment, with the Commerce Department further tightening export controls on the Chinese company in May of the same year.
Saturday Night Live gifted us with two surprises yesterday. First, the show is returning in just over a week with Pete Davidson, kicked to the curb last year by the writers strike, finally returning to the show as host.

Second, and even more surprising given the shows 16 repertory and featured players, SNL is adding a new cast member  Please Dont Destroy pal Chloe Troast.

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Troast has a lot more going for her than being pals with Ben, John and Martin, but the connection cant hurt. She costars in the upcoming Please Dont Destroy: The Treasure of Foggy Mountain film and has appeared in a number of online videos with the guys, like this one with Ben Marshall.

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In addition, Troast ticks all the other comedy resume boxes  stand-up? Check. Improv? Check. Sketch comedy? Check. Shes costarring in Kiernan Shipka's upcoming MAX rom-com Sweethearts and even has a cartoon short, DOHLS, on Adult Swim.

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Why were kinda sorta excited about Troast? Like Sarah Sherman, Troast appears unafraid to get profoundly weird.

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She pops up in burlesque spots around New York performing as Pepper Slit, the living relic of the Broadway stage and the silver screen.

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First impression? Troast gives off Sherman-meets-Cecily-Strong vibes, combining the formers squirm-inducing strangeness with Strongs theatricality and powerful singing voice. The New Jersey native graduated from NYU just a few years ago and performed at her graduation ceremony. Props for both the performance chops and sticking it to New York, the city for which her snooty school is named. Its time someone took the Big Apple down a peg or two.

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Just a few years removed from that tour de force, Troast is graduating to the big leagues at Saturday Night Live. Its no wonder with audition tapes like these floating around.

Kid, youre hired.
Google and Yahoo have both announced new email authentication requirements that will come into force in 2024. From early next year, bulk Gmail and Yahoo Mail email senders will need to strongly authenticate their emails following well-established best practices such as DMARC, SPF, and DKIM, the pair said. The move aims to help the firms better identify and block malicious messages and declutter users' inboxes, limiting attackers' ability to exploit resources without detection. Bulk senders will also be required to enable easy unsubscription and ensure they're only sending wanted email, Gmail and Yahoo stated.

The lack of secure email authentication protocols exposes organizations and users to increased risk of businesses email compromise (BEC) and phishing attacks. In June, research from cybersecurity firm Proofpoint found that less than half (47%) of 150 banks incorporated in the UK implement the strictest and recommended level of DMARC. This is subjecting customers, staff, and stakeholders to increased risk of email-based impersonation attacks, the vendor said.

Bulk Gmail, Yahoo Mail senders must authenticate following best practices

Many bulk senders don't appropriately secure and configure their systems, allowing attackers to easily hide in their midst, Google wrote. "To help fix that, we've focused on a crucial aspect of email security: the validation that a sender is who they claim to be. As basic as it sounds, it's still sometimes impossible to verify who an email is from given the web of antiquated and inconsistent systems on the internet."

In the first quarter of 2024, Gmail and Yahoo Mail will start to require bulk senders to strongly authenticate their emails following best practices. "Ultimately, this will close loopholes exploited by attackers that threaten everyone who uses email," according to Google.

"We firmly believe that users worldwide deserve a more secure email environment, with fewer unwanted messages for an improved overall experience," said Neil Kumaran, group product manager, Gmail security and trust. "We look forward to working with peers across the industry to boost the adoption of these email standards that benefit everyone."

No matter who their email provider is, all users deserve the safest, most secure experience possible, commented Marcel Becker, senior director of product at Yahoo. "In the interconnected world of email, that takes all of us working together. Yahoo looks forward to working with Google and the rest of the email community to make these common-sense, high-impact changes the new industry standard."
The East Asian threat landscape is evolving rapidly, and emerging trends from affiliated threat groups have the potential to impact public and private entities across the globe.

Chinese nation-state groups are conducting widespread cyber and influence operations (IO), with a particular focus on the South China Sea region. China also continues to target the US defense sector and probe US infrastructure signals in an attempt to gain competitive advantages for its foreign relations and strategic military aims. Lastly, Microsoft has seen China grow more effective at using IO to engage social media users with content on US elections.

North Korean threat actors are also on the move, demonstrating increased sophistication in their attack capabilities. While North Korea lacks the same level of influence capabilities as China, they have shown a continued interest in intelligence collection and growing tactical abilities to leverage cascading supply chain attacks and cryptocurrency theft.

All of these changes have serious geopolitical and financial implications for the global threat landscape at large. Keep reading to learn more about evolving East Asian threat trends.

Major trends in Chinese cyber operations

Since the beginning of 2023, Microsoft Threat Intelligence has identified three focus areas for China-affiliated cyber threat actors: the South China Sea, the US defense industrial base, and US critical infrastructure. Below is a deeper dive into what we're seeing:

Chinese state-sponsored targeting mirrors strategic goals in the South China Sea. China holds a wide range of economic, defense, and political interests in the South China Sea and Taiwan. Chinese state-affiliated threat actor's offensive cyber activities may be due to conflicting territorial claims escalating, cross-Strait tensions rising, and an increased US military presence.

Raspberry Typhoon (RADIUM) and Flax Typhoon (Storm-0919) are two prominent threat groups targeting the South China Sea and Taiwan. Raspberry Typhoon consistently targets government ministries, military entities, and corporate entities connected to critical infrastructure (particularly telecoms) for intelligence collection and malware execution. Flax Typhoon primarily targets Taiwan and is focused on telecommunications, education, information technology, and energy infrastructure, leveraging custom VPN appliances to directly establish a presence within target networks.

Chinese threat actors turn attention toward Guam as the US builds a Marine Corps base. The US industrial defense base faces threats from numerous Chinese nation-state groups, namely Circle Typhoon (DEV-0322), Volt Typhoon (DEV-0391), and Mulberry Typhoon (MANGANESE).

Circle Typhoon leverages VPN appliances to target IT and US-based defense contractors for resource development, collection, initial access, and credential access. Volt Typhoon has also conducted reconnaissance against US defense contractors, however, one of its most frequent targets are the satellite communications and telecommunications entities housed in Guam. The group often compromises small office and home routers, typically for the purpose of building infrastructure. Volt Typhoon also targets critical infrastructure entities in the United States. Finally, Mulberry Typhoon targets the US defense industrial base with zero-day device exploits.

Chinese threat groups target US critical infrastructure. Microsoft has observed Chinese state-affiliated threat groups targeting US critical infrastructure across multiple sectors. Volt Typhoon has been the primary group behind this activity since at least the summer of 2021, and the extent of this activity is still not fully known.

Targeted sectors include transportation (such as ports and rail), utilities (such as energy and water treatment), medical infrastructure (including hospitals), and telecommunications infrastructure (including satellite communications and fiber optic systems). Microsoft Threat Intelligence teams assess that this campaign could provide China with capabilities to disrupt critical infrastructure and communications between the US and Asia.

These areas are not China's sole priority, however. Microsoft has also observed IO affiliated with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) successfully scale and engage with target audiences on social media. Ahead of the 2022 US midterms, Microsoft and industry partners observed CCP-affiliated social media accounts impersonating US voters across the political spectrum. These accounts even responded to comments from authentic users.

China has grown this agenda even further in 2023 by reaching audiences in new languages and on new platforms. These operations combine a highly controlled overt state media apparatus with covert social media assets, like bots, that launder and amplify the CCP's preferred narratives.

Major trends in North Korean cyber operations

In contrast to China, North Korean cyber threat actors appear to have three main goals. They are as follows:

Collect intelligence on perceived North Korean adversaries like South Korea, the US, and Japan. Emerald Sleet (THALLIUM) is the most active North Korean threat actor that Microsoft has tracked in 2023. In particular, we've seen Emerald Sleet send frequent spearphishing emails to Korean Peninsula experts around the world for intelligence collection purposes. In December 2022, Microsoft Threat Intelligence detailed Emerald Sleet's phishing campaigns targeting influential North Korean experts in the US and US-allied countries. Rather than deploying malicious files or links to malicious websites, Microsoft found that Emerald Sleet employs a unique tactic: impersonating reputable academic institutions and NGOs to lure victims into replying with expert insights and commentary about foreign policies related to North Korea.

Collect intelligence on other countries' military capabilities to improve their own. Although North Korea is providing material support for Russia in its war in Ukraine, multiple North Korean threat actors have recently targeted the Russian government and defense industry. In March of this year, a threat group known as Ruby Sleet compromised an aerospace research institute in Russia. Around the same time, a separate group known as Onyx Sleet (PLUTONIUM) compromised a device belonging to a Russian university. Separately, an attacker account attributed to Opal Sleet (OSMIUM) sent phishing emails to accounts belonging to Russian diplomatic government entities. North Korean threat actors may be capitalizing on the opportunity to conduct intelligence collection on Russian entities due to the country's focus on its war in Ukraine.

Collect cryptocurrency funds for the state. Microsoft assesses that North Korean activity groups are conducting increasingly sophisticated operations through cryptocurrency theft and supply chain attacks. In January 2023, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) publicly attributed the June 2022 theft of $100 million in cryptocurrency from Harmony's Horizon Bridge to Jade Sleet (DEV-0954), a.k.a. Lazarus Group/APT38. Furthermore, Microsoft attributed the March 2023 3CX supply chain attack that leveraged a prior supply chain compromise of a US-based financial technology company in 2022 to Citrine Sleet (DEV-0139). This was the first time Microsoft observed an activity group using an existing supply chain compromise to conduct another supply chain attack, which demonstrates the increasing sophistication of North Korean cyber operations.

What's next?

China has continued to expand its cyber capabilities in recent years, and we've witnessed CCP-affiliated groups grow more effective and more ambitious with their IO campaigns. Moving forward, we expect wider cyber espionage against both opponents and supporters of the CCP's geopolitical objectives on every continent. While China-based threat groups continue to develop and utilize impressive cyber capabilities, we have not observed China combine cyber and influence operations--unlike Iran and Russia, which engage in hack-and-leak campaigns.

North Korea will also continue to remain focused on targets related to its political, economic, and defense interests in the region.

As organizations work to protect against these nation-state groups, expect to see more operations leveraging video and visual media. CCP-affiliated networks have long utilized AI-generated profile pictures and this year, have adopted AI-generated art for visual memes. We also expect China to continue seeking authentic audience engagement by investing time and resources into cultivated social media assets.

Lastly, Taiwan and the US are likely to remain the top two priorities for Chinese IO, particularly with upcoming elections in both countries in 2024. Given that CCP-aligned influence actors have targeted US elections in the recent past, it is nearly certain that they will do so again. Social media assets impersonating US voters will likely demonstrate higher degrees of sophistication, actively sowing discord along racial, socioeconomic, and ideological lines with content that is fiercely critical of the US.

Visit Microsoft Security Insider to learn more about the latest cybersecurity trends and for more information on nation-state, check out our latest report.
While the Qakbot banking Trojan was eradicated in August by a large-scale law enforcement operation, the people behind it are still active and pose a threat to users, researchers said today.

According to a report from Cisco's Talos threat intelligence group, its experts can say with "moderate confidence" that the creators and operators of Qakbot are actively working on a new campaign, this time distributing a variant of the Knight malware, which rebranded from Cyclops in July. Knight is a ransomware threat that operates as a service, distributed through phishing and extorting money from victimized companies by threatening to sell exfiltrated data.

The Talos team based their analysis on identifying drive serial numbers in LNK, or Windows shortcut, file metadata from computers associated with the earlier Qakbot attacks. Despite the Qakbot actors attempts to clean metadata from the specific files used by Talos, the team was still apparently able to identify one machine as being linked to those attacks.

"Some of the filenames are written in Italian, which suggests the threat actors may be targeting users in that region," the Talos blog said. "The LNK files are being distributed inside Zip archives that also contain an XLL file."

XLL files, the group noted, are a Microsoft Excel-related file format extension, which appear similar to regular .xls files in an Explorer window. The XLL files, if opened, install the Remcos backdoor, which is a remote administration tool that works in concert with Knight malware to gain access to targeted systems.

Talos said that the Qakbot actors are unlikely to be the masterminds behind the Knight ransomware service itself, and are instead probably customers. The FBI-led enforcement action that took down Qakbot's command-and-control servers in August, therefore, likely didn't affect the group's phishing infrastructure. This may also allow the group to simply rebuild its own back-end systems for Qakbot, leading to a potential resurgence.
Video Points to Safety Issues That Led to Deadly Assyrian Wedding Blaze

A screenshot from security footage of the deadly wedding fire on Sept. 26, in Hamdaniya, Iraq, shared by Iraq's interior ministry. ( Interior Ministry of Iraq) An ecstatic couple slow danced surrounded by their loved ones in an opulently decorated wedding hall flanked by pyrotechnics.

Within an hour, over 200 of their closest friends and family suffered severe burns and smoke inhalation. More than half did not survive.

Videos verified by ABC News and reviewed by a fire investigator reveal the hazards that turned the venue, Al-Haitham Hall in Hamdaniya, Iraq, into what the investigator described as a "firetrap."

The deadly fire in late September sparked a speedy government investigation that placed the blame on the venue's owners but has also revealed broader cleavages within Iraqi society.

Pyrotechnics

A report issued by Iraq's Interior Ministry four days after the fire highlights four pyrotechnic devices in the center of the wedding hall as responsible for the start of the fire. Sparks reached four meters in height, according to the report.

The judgement prompted ire among some observers, who claimed the devices were "cold" pyrotechnics that did not emit live flames. Several TikTok videos showed users placing their hands into the showers of sparks emitted by the devices in an effort to demonstrate their perceived lack of risk.

In security footage from less than a minute before the fire began, a videographer can be seen stepping through the sparks, but experts say the devices may not be without their risks. ABC News consulted a person with knowledge of cold pyrotechnics who said they can still be hazardous if safe distances are not observed and the sparks come into contact with flammable material.

Captain Walter Godfrey, president of Fire/Reconstruction Consultants Inc., which is based in Florida, reviewed the video and said the four "cold" pyrotechnic devices were the "central ignition source" and in turn led to the fire spreading to the hall's "highly flammable" central ceiling fixture.

Flammable decorations

Drone video obtained from wedding videographers shows the hall's elaborately decorated central ceiling fixture.

Godfrey identified the brown material as the first to be ignited.

( ABC News)

"Being leafy in design it allowed sufficient oxygen around the individual leaves to support combustion and depending on their chemical make-up supports rapid flame spread throughout the venue," he said.

Godfrey identified this same material falling from the ceiling in the video, moments after the fire began.

Godfrey believes the flaming decorations then acted as a catalyst, spreading to the white fabric drapes acting as light diffusers and gold hanging decorations, before falling on vinyl covered tables and chairs and in turn igniting them.

Security video released by Iraqi's interior ministry shows thick smoke billowing down from this same central ceiling fixture. Godfrey believes the smoke was circulated by air conditioning units located close to the active fire, further adding to confusion and obscuring vision in the first few minutes.

Blackout

Gandhi Bashar Abdul Ahad, a musician at the wedding, told ABC News that women and children started screaming as they noticed the fire dropping from the ceiling.

"All the lights went out inside the hall, and it became very dark, and people started bumping into chairs and tables and people falling on top of each other."

The government investigation claimed the hall's owner, thinking that a short circuit had started the fire, had cut the electricity and plunged the room into darkness. Godfrey suggests instead the fire could have caused the circuits in the ceiling area to short out, pop the breakers, and cut out the lights.

Fire exits

ABC News spoke with two attendees who confirmed that there were only two exit routes; the main entrance and a second exit route via the kitchen.

Godfrey deems the lack of exits on a building of this size as "criminal," highlighting how the table layout acted as a barrier, trapping guests on one half of the room with no exit route.

When the fire broke out Ghandi was sat with the band on stage. He said, along with the bride and groom, he managed to escape through the kitchen door.

"I went to the main door to help the families, but I was unable to enter due to the intensity of the fire inside. No one could enter the hall to save the families because everyone who entered would die," he said.

Graphic videos taken by videographer Ghali Kasko at 11:36 p.m. show gaping holes in the external walls that Ghali claims were made by desperate civilians using bulldozers to reach people trapped inside the building.

Failure to enforce regulations

Nineb Lamassu, a Peacebuilding Advisor for an NGO based in Mosul told ABC News the scale of the deadly fire was the result of negligence on the part of the proprietor.

However, the interior ministry's recommendation in its report that six regional officials be fired for their failure to enforce safety regulations has angered many in the often-neglected region of Ninevah, who believe administrators from the local Christian community are being unequally scapegoated.

Speaking to ABC News from Baghdad, Abbas Kadhim, Director of the Atlantic Council's Iraq Initiative, said the government report's fast turnaround was the result of political pressures as Iraq's government faces the approaching anniversary of opposition protests.

"This is a time when the atmosphere is very tense," Kadhim said.

In this screenshot from a video taken by Ghali Kasko, rescuers lift children through holes made by bulldozers. ( Ghali Kasko)

"It's very hard to expect the government to reform this situation because it is associated with the wider problem of corruption which is rampant in the country. Enforcement is next to nil," Kadhim said.

"Many feel it didn't handle the root causes of the problems."

ABC News' Bader Katy contributed to this story.
Rena Murshud

France said it would begin withdrawing its military troops from Niger within a week, Azernews reports.

According to foreign sources, the French military stationed in Niger will leave Niger within a week. The General Staff of the French Armed Forces reported this.

We are going to withdraw troops within a week, everything will be organized in conditions of security and coordination with Niger, said the General Staff of the French Armed Forces.

Nigeria's Minister of State for Internal Affairs, Public Security and Territorial Administration, Mohamed Tumba, the Minister of State for Internal Affairs, Public Security and Territorial Administration appointed by the rioters on Wednesday, said that France had no intention of withdrawing troops from Niger. He assured that Paris supports terrorism in Niger and does not allow the country to independently manage its resources.

France, which was withdrawing troops from Nigeria, has now moved to another region. At the moment, the country is using Armenia to spread the policy of crusades in the South Caucasus. But it seems France has forgotten about Azerbaijan, which recently destroyed all Armenian terrorist operations. Fortunately, France, without having time to realize its cherished dream, will remain at the ends of the earth with its terrorism.
AUD/USD ANALYSIS & TALKING POINTS

Moderating US jobs data bolster AUD but one eye on NFP tomorrow.

US jobless claims and Fed speak the focus for today.

Bullish divergence on daily chart a hopeful sign for AUD bulls.

Recommended by Warren Venketas Get Your Free AUD Forecast Get My Guide

AUSTRALIAN DOLLAR FUNDAMENTAL BACKDROP

The Australian dollar is attempting to claw back losses against the US dollar after US ISM services PMIs softened alongside services employment figures (a positive for doves as NFPs loom). ADP employment change supplemented this trend by missing forecasts. That being said, ADP figures have not been reliable indicators for NFP numbers of recent and with JOLTs job openings ticking higher, the door is wide open for the NFP to move in either direction.

Australias balance of trade earlier this morning surprised to the upside but still below the recent average; overall a net positive for the AUD. The day ahead remains focused on US specific factors including more jobs data via jobless claims that are expected to follow the ADP print. Should this occur, US Treasury yields may fall further and benefit the pro-growth Aussie dollar. Later in the session, Fed speakers will be scheduled to speak and it will be interesting to see how their outlooks may have changed after recent economic data.

In summary, the day ahead may not be as market moving due to traders being cautious ahead of tomorrows NFPs where volatility should pick up once more.

AUD/USD ECONOMIC CALENDAR (GMT +02:00)

Source: DailyFX economic calendar

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TECHNICAL ANALYSIS

AUD/USD DAILY CHART

Chart prepared by Warren Venketas, TradingView

Daily AUD/USD price action has not quite reached November 2022 swing lows at 0.6272 but is showing a push higher. The Relative Strength Index (RSI) seeing higher lows relative to prices exhibit positive/bullish divergence and could be suggestive of further upside to come. The next key resistance zone will once again come from the medium-term trendline (dashed black line) but this bullish move is highly dependent on tomorrow NFPs.

Key resistance levels:

0.6500

0.6459

50-day moving average (yellow)

Trendline resistance

0.6358

Key support levels:

0.6272

IG CLIENT SENTIMENT DATA: MIXED (AUD/USD)

IGCS shows retail traders are currently net LONG on AUD/USD, with 80% of traders currently holding long positions. Download the latest sentiment guide (below) to see how daily and weekly positional changes affect AUD/USD sentiment and outlook.

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Gold (XAU/USD) and Silver (XAG/USD) Analysis, Prices, and Charts

Gold continues to struggle at multi-month lows.

US Jobs Report is the next macro-driver on the economic calendar.

Download the Brand New Q4 Gold Forecast

Recommended by Nick Cawley Get Your Free Gold Forecast Get My Guide

The US dollar is drifting lower in early trade as US yields slip, but the greenbacks technical outlook remains bullish for now. All eyes now are on Fridays US Jobs Report.

Longer-dated US Treasury yields remain elevated but have given back a few basis points today after this weeks sharp rise. The supply/demand imbalance seen in longer-dated USTs has driven yields higher as the remaining buyers continue to demand more yield to take on American debt in the face of increased issuance. Short-end US Treasury yields remain underpinned by the current 500-525 Fed Fund rate and warnings by various hawkish central bank members that another 25 basis point hike is likely this year, especially if the US labor market remains robust. Tomorrows US NFP report will be closely watched by US bond traders.

DailyFX Economic Calendar

The US dollar remains in an uptrend ahead of tomorrows jobs report with any past pullbacks used as a buying opportunity. A break below 105.48 would put this trend in doubt.

US Dollar Index Daily Chart  October 5, 2023

Recommended by Nick Cawley How to Trade Gold Get My Guide

The technical outlook for gold remains negative despite being oversold. Eight red candles in a row has pushed the precious metal into oversold territory, using the CCI indicator, which may allow for a period of consolidation, but a short-term bearish pennant pattern is warning of further downside. Support seen just above $1,800/oz. and the 61.8% Fibonacci retracement at $1,794/oz.

Gold Daily Price Chart  October 5, 2023

Gold Sentiment is Moving - See the Latest Sentiment Guide

Gold Bullish Data provided by of clients are net long. of clients are net short.

Change in Longs Shorts OI Daily -2% 3% 0% Weekly -1% 7% 2%

Silver is also under pressure and is heading towards the March 8th swing low at $19.91. The sharp sell-offs seen last Friday and this Monday have pushed silver into heavily oversold territory and have also formed a bearish pennant pattern, although not as perfect as gold. Lower lows and lower highs dominate the chart from early May, leaving silver vulnerable to further falls.

Silver Daily Price Chart  October 5, 2023

Charts via TradingView

What is your view on Gold and Silver  bullish or bearish?? You can let us know via the form at the end of this piece or you can contact the author via Twitter @nickcawley1.
Oil (Brent, WTI) News and Analysis

EIA data reveals weaker US demand for gasoline  storage data picks up

20 DMA presents potential support in a falling market

The analysis in this article makes use of chart patterns and key support and resistance levels. For more information visit our comprehensive education library

Recommended by Richard Snow Get Your Free Oil Forecast Get My Guide

EIA Data Reveals Weaker US Demand for Gasoline  Storage Data Picks up

Oil prices have shot up since July as OPEC supply cuts, coupled with further discretionary Saudi and Russian cuts led to an extremely tight market. Despite a global growth slowdown, oil demand has been largely unaffected, until now.

EIA data has revealed a drop in US gasoline demand which the market was not very fond of. The US economy has proven more robust than its peers leading many to believe in the possibility of a soft landing. Therefore, any signs of fragility can land up causing a notable reaction. The issue of demand destruction  a reduction in oil demand caused by higher oil prices  could be unfolding.

The graph below shows the rise in US gasoline storage after trending below the 5 year average.

A concerning data point in yesterdays US services PMI report pointed to a sharp drop off in new orders, which may suggest a tougher Q4 than anticipated as higher costs restrict purchase orders from businesses and households.

The 10-minute chart shows the exact time the EIA data was released, resulting in continued selling.

Brent Crude Oil 10-Minute Chart

Source: TradingView, prepared by Richard Snow

Oil is a market with a strong reliance on demand and supply factors. Take a look at the main fundamental drivers of this asset:

Recommended by Richard Snow Understanding the Core Fundamentals of Oil Trading Get My Guide

200 DMA Presents Potential Support in a Falling Market

Brent crude oil continues the decline today after losing around $5 to it price in yesterdays trading. The decline took oil past the 50 simple moving average and $87 with ease. At the time of writing Brent crude trades below $85, with the 200-day simple moving average the next level of support at $82.

The MACD confirms bearish momentum is gaining traction and the RSI is hurtling towards oversold conditions but holds steady for now. It is commonly thrown about that it is unwise to try to catch a falling knife, this situation is no different as the selloff shows little indication of reversing. Resistance appears at $87.

Bullish continuation plays may be reconsidered in the event prices consolidate around $82/$80 as supply remains restricted.

Brent Crude Oil Daily Chart

Source: TradingView, prepared by Richard Snow

WTI experienced a fall of similar magnitude, also shedding around $5 of the WTI price. Prices now test the prior zone of resistance around $82.50 after breaking beneath the 50 SMA. The 200 SMA appears around the significant long-term level of $77.40  which highlights a potential zone of support. Elevated US Treasury yields and a still elevated US dollar may work to extend the selloff in the short-term.

WTI Oil Daily Chart

Source: TradingView, prepared by Richard Snow

Trade Smarter - Sign up for the DailyFX Newsletter Receive timely and compelling market commentary from the DailyFX team Subscribe to Newsletter

--- Written by Richard Snow for DailyFX.com

Contact and follow Richard on Twitter: @RichardSnowFX
When the price of a stamp on the envelope is more than the cost of the birthday card you're putting inside it, you know that the world has gone mad.

This week, Royal Mail put up the price of a first-class postage stamp to 1.25. It had already strained credibility last year when the price went up to 95p, and in April it shot up again to 1.10 - breaking the symbolic pound barrier.

But, silly me, I thought two grotesque price hikes within a year would be enough. Wrong. Just six months on, here we go again. I'll have to start saving now if I want to send any Christmas cards.

Royal Mail points out that the price of a second-class stamp is unchanged at 75p. But have you tried using second-class post?

You'd like to be reasonably confident that your letter will arrive, say, four or five days after you send it, but really, there's no way of being certain.

This week, Royal Mail put up the price of a first-class postage stamp to 1.25. It had already strained credibility last year when the price went up to 95p, and in April it shot up again to 1.10 - breaking the symbolic pound barrier

The reason we use first-class post is that it might arrive within two days. Obviously, it's meant to be next-day delivery - that's the rationale for the price difference - but, in my experience, you'd be rash to rely on it.

In the past 12 months, 73 per cent of first-class mail was delivered within one day, well short of the 93 per cent target.

Those of us who still write letters and are keen for them to arrive the next day have to resort to an even more expensive option, namely signed-for delivery.

That has risen, too, to an eye-watering 2.75 for first class. Win-win, if you're the Royal Mail. Oh, and bad luck, by the way, if you still have postage stamps that bear the Queen's head but don't have a bar-code. They expired in July.

But it is the rationale for the price rise that is so infuriating. Annual letter volumes, says the Royal Mail, fell from 20 billion a year in 2004-5 to seven billion in 2022-23. Can I suggest one reason why that might be? In 2004, it was only 28p to send a first-class letter and 21p for a second-class stamp.

We're looking at cause and effect here. Memo to Simon Thompson, chief executive of Royal Mail: if you make a service unaffordable, fewer people will use it.

It's that simple.

Mr Thompson's annual salary is 540,000, plus bonus, with a pension of 13.6 per cent of his base pay; what exactly is the genius insight we're paying for here?

Melanie McDonagh writes: 'Royal Mail points out that the price of a second-class stamp is unchanged at 75p. But have you tried using second-class post?' (File image)

Incidentally, he's leaving his role at the end of this month after presiding over a year of strikes by fed-up postmen and women.

And, having failed in its remit to deliver letters efficiently for six days a week, Royal Mail is hoping to axe Saturday deliveries, which is now 'under review' by regulator Ofcom.

On that logic, why not just reduce deliveries to one day a week, perhaps within the M25, to maximise your profit. What's more, Royal Mail has been lobbying the Government to have its 'universal delivery obligation' - its remit to deliver mail to all parts of the UK on an equal basis, so the cost is the same whether you're sending a letter two streets away or to the Outer Hebrides - removed.

It was a matter of pride for Anthony Trollope's Victorian postal service - he worked as a surveyor for the Post Office and is credited with introducing pillar boxes to Britain - that a postbox in the humblest country lane was served as well as one in London's Piccadilly Circus.

Back then, the postal service was practically as good as email. You would write to someone and request a reply by return of post - and you'd get it. If you posted a letter mid-morning, you'd get a reply by the afternoon: it was brilliantly efficient and affordable.

Now, Royal Mail can't even guarantee that if you pay 1.25 you'll get your letter next day. So is anyone actually satisfied with the way the postal service is run?

In my view, the first mistake - by a Conservative government - was to privatise almost all of the Royal Mail in 2011: it was floated on the Stock Exchange in 2013 and, in 2015, the then-Chancellor, George Osborne, sold the Government's remaining 30 per cent share. The biggest shareholder right now is a Czech billionaire, Daniel Kretinsky.

But the Royal Mail is a public service. You don't necessarily expect to make a profit from your public services, but you must ensure they're run efficiently.

The second mistake was to separate Royal Mail (delivering letters) from the Post Office (where you post them), which isn't privatised. The upshot has been the degradation of both parts of the service.

Indeed, one subsidiary reason why people might be sending fewer letters is that they may not be able to find a Post Office to buy a stamp. And because there are increasingly fewer of them, the queues get longer. And the Post Offices that remain are a travesty of their former selves.

Once, the Post Office was a proud and vital element of every town and village - the one near me was a beautiful Edwardian building, which proclaimed its importance in its solidity.

Now the Post Office is, more often than not, tucked away at the back of a stationers or convenience store, and you have to make your way round piles of parcels, mounds of cut-price pens and kitchen rolls before you get to a counter.

Those of us who still write letters and are keen for them to arrive the next day have to resort to an even more expensive option, namely signed-for delivery

That's if you have a Post Office at all: last January, Citizens Advice noted that more than 200 branches have closed in the past two years. All of this really does have an impact on millions of lives - it certainly does on mine, because I'm one of the vanishing breed that still writes letters.

And an obvious reason there are fewer of us writing and sending letters is that it's such an expensive habit. In other words, this historic medium of communication is being lost and, instead of encouraging its survival, Royal Mail is hastening its death.

Ofcom is the industry regulator and is supposed to hold the postal services to account, but where was it when the stupid decision was taken to make stamps unaffordable? Its only move so far seems to have been to encourage Royal Mail in diluting its public service obligations.

Matthew Upton, policy director at Citizens Advice, said Ofcom was 'letting the company get away' with price rises despite its 'poor service'.

The Government seems simply indifferent to what's happening: have you heard any ministers expressing concern about the 1.25 stamp? Or the Opposition? Me neither.

But all this affects our quality of life. And it makes you think: what is the point of a Conservative government that's not interested in conserving anything?

The 1.25 stamp represents more than a hike in the cost of living - though it's certainly that. It represents the death of the personal letter. And that will diminish us all. Be grateful, by the way, if you do get a Christmas card from me this year - it'll show I really care.
Do you hear the people sing, singing the song of angry men, it is the music of the people who will not be slaves again... BOO! GERROFF you idiots. MORONS. GET OFF! BOO! Boo! Someone call the cops!

Just Stop Oil protesters disrupted a performance of Les Miserables in London on Wednesday night and, honestly, how I wish I had been there. Pass the popcorn. What a drama!

Photographs taken of the stage invasion show such expressions of pious and noble  yet also somehow deeply, deeply smug  sufferance on the faces of the protesters that surely the Olivier Awards are in the bag? Best Actress In A Self-Appointed Role. Leading Phoney In An Ongoing Farce. Clown Of The Year. I could go on.

The disruption came as the cast were singing Do You Hear The People Sing?, a rousing call to arms that foreshadows the barricades and the rebellion to come. Devotees of Les Mis  like me!  know that it comes just before the interval, a stirring moment as the cast begin their doomed bid for freedom.

In the film version, Eddie Redmayne, as the rebel Marius Pontmercy, makes his eyes bulge and juts his jaw with revolutionary zeal. Or perhaps he just has early-onset digestive problems from the cholera which swept through Paris in the 1830s, who can really say.

Just Stop Oil said their protesters were 'locked to the stage of the French-revolution-themed show'

Anyway, JSO protesters Hanan and Noah were clearly thrilled as they padlocked themselves to the scenery, faces shining like the little kids always cast as sheep in the Nativity play suddenly finding themselves centre-stage as Mary and Joseph.

The audience went predictably nuts  not fired with activist fervour to join their cause, but royally fed up because they'd paid for the tickets, the hotels, the dinner, the train travel and the interval drinks only to have their night out ruined by these lunatics. 'How dare you?' shouted one outraged punter.

How I long to have been in Row C, with a couple of rotten cabbages in my handbag, ready to cannonball at the stage.

Yet this was a Just Stop Oil publicity dream; I mean, just think of the optics, Felicity. For once the protesters were professionally lit, with an obliging backdrop of lightly smoking civilisation.

In a statement, JSO said that 'Hanan, a student, took action because the UK Government, by approving new oil and gas, has shown total disregard for their wellbeing, while Noah, a theatre lover, took action because he knows there's no future for the arts if society fails under the pressures of climate collapse'.

L ater, another JSO protester called Hannah Taylor said that Les Mis begins with a man stealing a loaf to feed a starving child and so 'how long before we are all forced to steal loaves of bread? How long before there are riots on the streets?'

How long? HOW LONG? The riots can't come quickly enough for me, just not in the way that Hannah thinks. Certainly, it is no secret that tempers are fraying on all sides of the barricade as people become increasingly fed up with these indulgent histrionics.

On Nick Ferrari's LBC radio show yesterday, a JSO spokeswoman called Zoe told listeners that there is no cultural event that is not worth disrupting, absolutely none.

'So what about a theatre production,' she scoffed, 'what about the 10,000 people swept away in Libya?' Things got so testy that the normally serene host called her madam ('let me speak, madam') as the row about the end of the world roared on.

Zoe, Hannah, Noah, Hanan  is there a pattern developing? Almost all JSO protesters seem to be the type of middle-class loafers who are well-insulated against the problems of life; the students, the retirees, the malcontents and demi-anarchists who are all watermelons  green on the outside, red on the inside, full of pith.

On LBC, Zoe said the ends justified the means because JSO were in the news again. Yes, but the media are not writing or broadcasting about the issues JSO are protesting, but reporting on the protests themselves and the insufferable antics that inconvenience ordinary people instead of governments or oil companies.

JSO say Les Mis was a legitimate target, but surely there are others more fitting in the West End? Just down the road at Mamma Mia!, a young woman on a Greek island flies in all her friends on gas-guzzling jets  plus her putative three fathers  to her wedding. This musical celebrates international air travel and leaves a disgustingly large carbon footprint, JSO! And when Peppa Pig's Fun Day Out opens at the Royal Haymarket next month, surely the oinktastic activities of this puddle-splashing factory-farmed methane-producing enslaved female is more worthy of protest?

Whatever JSO do next, it will not further their cause. They have made their point over and over again, but the new oil and gas licences have been issued, production is going ahead, the Government is not listening and the public is against them. No one really believes in gas genocide or that the end of the world is so, so nigh that we're all going to be fighting in the street over a Waitrose sourdough by next year.

So what is the point, Zoe and Hannah, Noah and the gang? Why don't you give it up and leave the rest of us in peace? Not just because we dreamed a dream in time gone by, so different from this hell we're living.

Musk has more cash than sense

Claire Boucher, better known as Grimes, has gone to court in an access dispute with former partner Elon Musk over their three children, named X  A-XII, Exa Dark Siderl and Techno Mechanicus, known as Tau.

Between the births of their first two children, Musk also fathered twins with Shivon Zilis, an executive at his company Neuralink. Grimes and Musk never married, their relationship was never stable and they had their children both traditionally and by surrogate. Musk has been divorced three times, and has fathered at least 11 children.

Musk has got all the money in the world, but not a drop of sense. It's X  A-XII and the unpronounceable gang I feel sorry for

If he lived on a council housing estate in the UK, he would be on the social services register. These freaky people, for whom having children seems to be a sideshow, are deeply worrying.

Musk has got all the money in the world, but not a drop of sense. It's X  A-XII and the unpronounceable gang I feel sorry for.

Apology is just patronising

Scotland's crisis-hit NHS is to begin a 'programme of reparations' to Jamaica and Africa in a bid to 'make amends' for the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh's slavery links dating from the 18th century.

Dear God, no! I'm afraid so, yes. The board of NHS Lothian have signed an agreement aimed at improving health in modern- day Jamaica.

But what about improving health in modern-day Scotland, where life expectancy has not only stalled but  in poorer economic groups  has actually decreased?

It is just a load of the usual fashionable nonsense, where people who were never slavers are being asked to compensate people who were never slaves, all to make some virtue-signalling corporate box-tickers look good.

While the reparations are not expected to involve direct repayment of the estimated nearly 40 million owed  WHAT?  the NHS board are making a formal apology and commissioning artwork dedicated to victims of slavery.

An apology! Paintings! How patronising. The only people who are going to feel better about this are the misguided do-gooding dolts at Lothian NHS.

It's not the uniforms they should be changing

Ozwald Boateng has designed the new androgynous uniforms for British Airways. The outfits look a bit Crimplene and dull, to be honest, but Boateng says it was an opportunity 'to redefine such a known British brand'.

It certainly was. British Airways went from flying the flag and being one of the best airlines in the world to a company with a reputation as one of the worst. I was a devoted customer and a card-carrying loyalty member until they morphed into one of the least dependable and the most expensive. That was my experience anyway. No natty new neckties or gender-inclusive kick pleats can change that.

Ozwald Boateng has designed the new androgynous uniforms for British Airways. The outfits look a bit Crimplene and dull, to be honest, but Boateng says it was an opportunity 'to redefine such a known British brand'

In the new four-part Beckham documentary on Netflix, Victoria tells how she fought for her marriage after allegations that her husband David had an affair.

Coleen Rooney faced much the same kind of battle after her husband Wayne's infidelities. Both these mothers and wives have four children each. Can I just say that I don't think they are weak for forgiving their husbands and rebuilding their family citadels?

On the contrary, I admire them both hugely. Splitting up in adversity is easy, it is the staying together that takes tremendous courage, sacrifice, belief and guts.

Men are idiots of course and not all mistakes can be forgiven. However, the rewards of clemency can be worth their weight in happy-ever-after gold.

Numbskull renting rules

According to new statistics, England has become the most difficult place to rent a home. Properties are wildly oversubscribed, pushing up rents. There are many reasons for this, but one main cause has to be government interference in the relationship between landlord and renter.

Laws have skewed so much in favour of the rights of the latter, that many thousands of small-time landlords have been totally discouraged from renting out their second properties. Far better to let the homes sit there empty and accrue value, than rent them out.

Why? It's just not worth the hassle. The risk of having no claim over a bad tenant who doesn't pay rent is just too much. The situation is just as troublesome in Scotland. Two friends of mine spent thousands on legal fees evicting tenants who had trashed their flats and not paid their rent for well over a year. It is an all-too-commonplace story.

Then along comes someone like Michael Gove who, as Housing Minister, gave even more rights to tenants, including the legal right to keep an animal in the home, even if the landlord had a 'no pets' rule.

Honestly. It is numbskull policies such as this that lead to rental shortages, not greedy landlords.

Forget dad Bono! It's all about Eve

In the new film Flora And Son, a young Irish actress called Eve Hewson plays the role of a downtrodden, impoverished single mum from a deprived area of Dublin known as The Flats. She's an incredibly talented actress. She is terrific in the role. But not everyone is pleased.

'There's something very uncomfortable about watching Bono's daughter playing a working-class, single mother from The Flats,' moaned Irish actor Joseph McGucken.

In the new film Flora And Son, a young Irish actress called Eve Hewson (pictured) plays the role of a downtrodden, impoverished single mum from a deprived area of Dublin known as The Flats

Nepo-babies always get a hard time  rightly so in most cases  but Eve is a genuine talent and she is going to be a big star

She managed to live down her daddy all by herself because it is not about Bono  it is all about Eve

His chief beef seems to be that the daughter of the U2 frontman, whose estimated personal wealth is around 575 million, has no right to play anyone poor. It's called acting, Joe! From her film appearances and her roles in television series such as Bad Sisters and Behind Her Eyes, 32-year-old Hewson has never not been impressive.

Nepo-babies always get a hard time  rightly so in most cases  but Eve is a genuine talent and she is going to be a big star. She managed to live down her daddy all by herself because it is not about Bono  it is all about Eve.

Good luck to her.
A psychologist has revealed the eight 'Good Girl' archetypes from 'The Pleaser' to 'The Enabler' in a post on Instagram.

Clinical psychologist Dr Lalitaa Suglani, who is based in Birmingham, took to social media to outline the concept of the 'Good Girl', as well as share the different tropes.

In her post, Dr Suglani, who has more than 130,000 followers, said that the 'Good Girl' syndrome can be applied to any gender.

The syndrome, which refers to how women are often socialised to help or benefit others, regularly to their own detriment, often stems from our childhood experiences.

In a caption accompanying her post, the psychologist wrote: 'As children, we learned that in order to receive love and security, we had to constantly appease those around us.

Do you fit into any of the 'Good Girl' archetypes? Among the eight archetypes are The Pleaser, The Self-doubter and The Conformist (stock image)

'We moulded ourselves to fit the projections of our caregivers, prioritising their expectations over our own authentic selves.

'This process effectively masked our true essence and led to a form of self-abandonment.'

The 8 'Good Girl' archetypes 1. The Pleaser 2. The Perfectionist 3. The Over-Achiever 4. The Enabler 5. The Self-Doubter 6. The Caretaker 7. The Conformist 8. The Obedient Daughter Source: Dr Lalitaa Suglani Advertisement

According to Dr Suglani, many people then carry this programming into adulthood and throughout their lives.

This, she says, causes them to often wonder 'why they aren't appreciated or taken care of by others'.

In her Instagram post, the psychologist listed the eight archetypes as well as giving a description of each one.

According to Dr Suglani, The Pleaser is 'hyper-focused on gaining approval and avoiding conflict'.

She says they 'often go to great lengths to keep others happy and may suppress their own desires and emotions'.

Meanwhile, The Perfectionist type 'strives for flawlessness', with a fear of mistakes or disappointing others possibly driving them.

Dr Suglani added that 'their pursuit of perfection can lead to high levels of stress and anxiety'.

She says that The Over-Achiever is 'driven by a strong desire to excel academically, professionally, or in other areas of life'.

According to Dr Suglani: 'They may constantly seek validation through their achievements and may struggle with self-worth if they don't meet their own high standards.'

The next archetype she listed is The Enabler, who she says 'tends to support and accommodate the needs or behaviours of others, even when those behaviours are destructive or harmful'. In an attempt to maintain peace, this type may enable unhealthy habits or relationships.

The archetype of The Self-Doubter is described as being 'plagued by self-doubt' which means they 'may second-guess their decisions and abilities'. In a bid to alleviate their doubts, they may constantly seek reassurance from others.

Meanwhile, The Caretaker 'is often defined by their nurturing and caregiving nature', writes the psychologist.

She adds: 'They prioritise taking care of others' needs and well-being, sometimes to the detriment of their own.'

Next, The Conformist seeks to fit in and adhere to established norms and rules', possibly even suppressing their individuality to ensure they avoid standing out or facing criticism.

Finally, she listed The Obedient Daughter, writing: 'This character archetype is obedient and compliant, following societal or familial expectations without question. She may struggle to assert herself or make independent choices.'

According to Dr Suglani, it is possible to move away from the limitations of these archetypes.

She writes: 'Recognising and comprehending these patterns is a crucial step toward healing and liberating ourselves from societal expectations.

'By nurturing self-awareness, self-compassion, and establishing healthy boundaries, we can embark on a profound journey of self-discovery.

'This journey allows us to reclaim our autonomy and prioritise our own well-being.'

The post struck a chord with many Instagram users, who took to the comments section to discuss which of the archetypes they felt they embodied - and to reveal how they felt stifled by these roles.

Many people commented on the post, about the tropes they felt represented them, and about how they felt stifled by these roles

One wrote: 'So true! I've seen this "Good Girl" syndrome affect people of all genders, and it's heartbreaking how we often sacrifice our true selves for the sake of others' approval.'

Another added: 'Only good behavior and excellent grades, otherwise punishment... that is how is always was. And well... it was not for my own good, as it brought me nowhere. I just start waking up towards my childhood trauma. Thanks for sharing!'

And a third wrote: 'But the moment you stop acting like the good girl, you are abandoned and have absolutely no family or friends left. Like me.'

Concluding her post on Good Girl syndrome, Dr Suglani left a positive message.

She noted: 'It's essential to remember that our worth is not determined by how much we please others, but by our ability to authentically express our true selves.'
The eccentric, cave-like aesthetic was fashioned out of concrete over a metal frame and spray-foam finishing

Situated on a one-acre property, the unique home offers five bedrooms, three bathrooms and a guest house

Located in Painesville, Ohio, the abode was the vision of artist Wayne Trapp, who constructed it in 1970

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A historic home dubbed the 'Flintstones House' for its resemblance to the dwelling belonging to the famed cartoon family has hit the market for $400,000.

The cave-like abode, built in 1970 and situated just northeast of Cleveland in Painesville, Ohio, was the vision of American sculptor Wayne Trapp, who collaborated with earth-shelter architect Ken Kern on the design.

Trapp, who passed away in 2016 and spent much of his adult life in Ohio, dubbed the 3,600-square-foot residence 'Chant du Cygne'  French for 'Swan Song.'

The asking price for the five-bedroom, three-bathroom home, located at 7245 Cascade Road, is $400,000.

A home in Painesville, Ohio, informally known as the 'Flintstones House' for its resemblance to the dwelling of the famed cartoon family has hit the market with an asking price of $400,000

Sculptural elements echoing the home's aesthetic sit in the yard. Seen is one of them on the lawn

The cave-like residence spans 3,600 square feet and has a sloping rooftop that reaches the ground

Over the years, the house has cropped up from time-to-time on the local news, highlighted as among the most distinctive examples of real estate the region has to offer.

American sculptor Wayne Trapp (pictured), who passed away in 2016, worked with architect Ken Kern on the home's design

Back in 2011, it was even featured on an episode of MTV's Extreme Cribs.

At a distance, the home's facade could be mistaken for an unusually shaped rock formation protruding out of the landscape.

But that lithic silhouette was in fact constructed out of concrete and spray foam, undergirded with an internal metal framework.

Back in the spring of 1970, Trapp recruited 20 local art students to assist with the construction, which at the time was commissioned by a local family. Trapp, working with the group of recruits, completed the project by the end of the summer.

Across the yard of the one-acre property stand abstract sculptural elements that echo the organic curvatures of the home - as well as a realistic brontosaurus statue perched in the bushes.

Likewise, the interior texture of the walls and flooring throughout the residence was crafted to resemble that of a hidden-away cave dwelling.

In the children's wing of the home, which encompasses four bedrooms  plus a playroom, the separate rooms are connected by narrow tunnels, through which occupants must get on their hands and knees to traverse.

In the living room, a seating area and fireplace is located in a sunken pit. The dining room and kitchen is seen here as well

The living space includes a kitchen counter space for people to dine-in with cavernous lights to illuminate the interior

The texture of the interior walls was likewise crafted to resemble a hidden-away cave

The main house contains five bedrooms - with the spaces seemingly carved out of the cave-like interior

A network of tunnels connect the bedrooms and playroom in the children's wing of the house

In the living room, a gathering area takes shape in a sunken pit, which, flanked by a fireplace, is lined with seating carved directly out of the faux-stone foundation.

Elsewhere, the eat-in kitchen looks out over a charming brick patio.

Just steps away, a guest house makes for a scaled-down counterpart of the cavernous main home.

The previous owner, a retired plumber named Rick Kristoff who bought the home for $130,000 in 2000, took to online forums to gush about what he described as a 'work of art' by Trapp.

'I acquired this work of art in 2000 and have enjoyed sharing it with those that I have waved in while they are slowly driving by,' he wrote on RoadsideAmerica.com in 2010, then offering up his phone number for those interested in touring the property.

At a distance, the abode resembles a strange-looking rock formation, but it is made out of concrete and spray foam

Trapp worked with a group of 20 local art students over the summer of 1970 to complete the structure

The house is constructed out of concrete over a metal frame, and finished with spray foam

The one-acre property also encompasses a guest house, which is seen above

A realistic brontosaurus statue resides near the entrance to the guesthouse

'Works of art should be shared,' he also told Cleveland Magazine in 2011.

Kristoff, however, had strong feelings against the 'Flintstone House' nickname, telling Cleveland.com in 2016 that the moniker, to him, was 'like calling the Mona Lisa some chick It's disrespectful.'

He strongly preferred that the residence be known as the Cave House - though that designation hasn't had the same traction as that of the one referencing Hanna-Barbera's iconic Stone Age cartoon.

Jacqueline Ward at Howard Hanna holds the listing.

Of Kristoff's decision to sell his beloved home of 23 years, Ward told DailyMail.com: 'He was so proud to be its caretaker and sad to leave.'

'It's a place that, once you visit, it has a hold on you,' she added.
In the years following the death of Princess Diana of Wales, one man came to be known as her 'rock' by the public  the confidante who kept her deepest secrets and described himself as 'the only man she ever trusted'.









So close were they that he dressed her for her burial, in an evening gown provided by the British ambassador's wife. He was named a trustee of the Diana Memorial Fund and given the job of sorting through her possessions.

'Often photographed two steps behind the Princess, he was the obsequious manservant who had supposedly displayed what the Royal household values most: absolute discretion,' writes Tina Brown in her bestselling book The Palace Papers.

In the years following the death of Princess Diana of Wales, one man came to be seen as her 'rock' by the public

When the officers asked Paul Burrell if he had any items from Kensington Palace in his home, he said no. This was not the case

But on January 18, 2001 came a bombshell which shattered his carefully curated image (even the 'rock' bit had been his own invention).

Scotland Yard carried out a dawn raid at his house in Cheshire following a tip-off by Princess Margaret's butler Harold Brown, who had been caught selling a two-foot be-jewelled Arabian dhow, a wedding gift to Charles and Diana from the Emir of Bahrain. After he was arrested and later cleared, he told police that it had been supplied by Burrell.

When the officers asked Burrell if he had any items from Kensington Palace in his home, he said no. 'A search of the house exposed him immediately,' writes Brown.

'It was a royal Amazon warehouse stuffed with paintings, photos, drawings and china belonging to the Princess.

'The police discovered two thousand negatives, including a photograph of Charles in the bath with his children, and many others showing the young princes naked.'

There was also a 'trove of personal notes to and from William at school' using Diana's nickname for him, Wombat, and a 'huge cache of Diana's underwear, blouses, suits, dresses and nightgowns.'

'Even the mahogany desk Burrell was using was inscribed 'Her Royal Highness', writes Brown, adding that when he was carted away in the police car Burrell wailed: 'I want white lilies on my coffin!'

Some items were missing, including secret tapes Diana had recorded of a former valet against Michael Fawcett, Charles's right-hand man.

Knowing these could potentially be made public sent Charles into a panic, according to Tom Bower, author of Rebel Prince, the best-selling biography of the then Prince of Wales which first uncovered the true extent of Burrell's extraordinary collection.

Burrell claimed that he had told the Queen he was going to take some of Diana's possessions for safekeeping, and that she had assented.

Burrell claimed that he had told the Queen he was going to take some of Diana's possessions for safekeeping, and that she had assented

Paul Burrell pictured, far right, with Princes William and Harry at Alton Towers in April 1994

So close were they that Burrell dressed Diana for her burial in an evening gown provided by the British ambassador's wife

While Charles wanted the charges against Burrell to be dropped, Diana's mother and sister did not believe his claim that he had the Queen's permission to take her belongings.

They had grown 'increasingly annoyed' about the former butler 'launching himself as a celebrity personality', making money from writing a book and newspaper column and giving speeches on cruise ships on the back of his association with the princess.

They had no intention of backing up Burrell's claim.

'I hope his balls burn,' Brown reports Diana's mother, Frances Shand Kydd, as saying.

'Even the butler's long marriage to Maria [a maid and dresser for Diana] was a charade,' claims the author. 'He had so many affairs with guardsmen that Diana's chef called him 'Barrack-Room Bertha'.

In 2016, the couple finally divorced and Burrell married lawyer Graham Cooper.

Despite serious misgivings in the royal palaces, the prosecution went ahead and in October 2002, Burrell's trial began at the Old Bailey in London. He was accused of stealing 310 items belonging to the Princess of Wales's estate, totalling 4.5 million.

Then, suddenly, something truly remarkable happened  something 'which can only be described as an episode of magical realism in 21st century Britain,' writes

While Charles wanted the charges against Burrell to be dropped, Diana's mother and sister did not believe his claim

The Daily Mail's front page covering the event in October 2002, which reads: 'Diana's Butler Loaded His Car at 2.30am'

Paul Burrell giving a thumb-up to the media as he leaves the Central Criminal Court the Old Bailey, on November 1, 2002

Brown. 'The trial of Paul Burrell was halted by an intervention from the Queen herself.'

At 8.30am on day 11 of the trial, Commander John Yates of Scotland Yard appeared, saying he had just spoken to Sir Michael Peat. Peat had told him: 'Her Majesty has had a recollection.'

The previous Friday, the Queen had been driving past the Old Bailey with Prince Charles and Prince Phillip on their way to St Paul's Cathedral for a memorial service.

'Noticing a crowd outside the courts, her Majesty asked Charles about it,' writes Brown.

'He told her that Burrell was on trial for theft, and the Queen apparently had no idea. When all was explained to the best-informed monarch in the world, she recalled a meeting five years earlier, soon after Diana's death, when Burrell had sought an audience with her to explain that he was caring for some of Diana's 'papers'.'

'As usual,' Brown concludes, 'when it came to her family, the Queen had avoided the problem as long as possible, and then executed a lethal coup de grace.'

She had found and fired a 'golden bullet'.

Burrell was a free man, boasting to reporters outside the court, 'The Queen came through for me.' He sold his story to the Mirror for 300,000, while Burrell's statement and proof of evidence about explicit details of Diana's relationships with men including the surgeon Hasnat Khan were splashed over other newspapers.

Details such as that Charles would sneer at Diana's outfits and call her an 'air stewardess' caused the Prince serious reputational damage.

The Evening Standard front page after Paul Burrell was cleared of all charges because of a conversation now suddenly recalled byThe Queen

Prince Harry accused the former butler of 'milking' his mother's death for money with his book A Royal Duty

Burrell went on to enjoy a lucrative career as a royal commentator and reality show contestant, but in 2008, during Diana's inquest, it emerged that he had secretly copied letters between her and other members of the Royal Family. He told the hearing it was for 'historical importance', but was accused of being a rock that was 'porous'.

In his controversial memoir Spare, Prince Harry accused the former butler of 'milking' his mother's death for money with his book A Royal Duty. 'Mummy's former butler had penned a tell-all which actually told nothing,' he wrote. 'It was merely one man's self-justifying, self-centring version of events.

'My mother once called this butler a dear friend, trusted him implicitly. We did too. Now this. He was milking her disappearance for money. It made my blood boil.'

Now retired after closing his floristry in 2019, Burrell, 64, revealed earlier this year that he is suffering from prostate cancer.
Big age gaps in couples are always sure to provoke controversy, p

A couple who have caused controversy with their age-gap relationshp are defying critics in their quest to start a family together.

Cheryl McCain, 63, from Rome, Georgia, married Quran McCain, who at 26 is 37 years her junior in 2021 after meeting at work, and are regularly trolled over their 37-year age gap and branded 'delusional' over their desire for a baby.

The controversial duo announced the start of their surrogacy journey last year, but in May told fans that the woman called it quits and that she also 'breached their contract' by having unprotected sex with her partner during the process.

But despite their struggles, the couple have insisted in their recent TikTok videos, shared with their 4 million followers, that they are still determined to have children.

Cheryl, 63, and Quran McCain, 26, from Georgia, - who tied the knot in 2021 despite getting trolled for their 37-year-age gap - have been documented their struggle to start a family

Quran said: 'At the moment it does feel like people are reaching out to us for the wrong reasons.

'We're completely broke. We don't get paid for our content. And then the surrogate goes and bleeds us dry'.

An enraged Quran claimed the pair had even expensed the unnamed surrogate's food and travel - and contributed to her Christmas funds.

He was just 15 years old when he met his future wife - while they were working at the fast food chain Dairy Queen.

Cheryl, who already has seven children from a previous relationship and 17 grandchildren, said the pair 'feel they deserve children of their own'.

'We prefer surrogacy, however, we have seen a lot of people embroiled in legal complications far after the child is born,' Quran said.

The controversial duo announced the start of their surrogacy journey last year but told fans that the woman called it quits and 'breached their contract' by having unprotected sex while her egg fertilised

'We are looking for a nice surrogate who is willing to sign a contract to have nothing to do with the child after its born'.

Unfortunately, Quran's fears have materialised. He previously told Jam Press: 'We don't want people trying to have a baby for us for financial gain, we are not that financially inclined ourselves.

Both of Cheryl's daughters have had to undergo hysterectomies or the couple would have used them to carry their much-awaited 'lovechild'.

The pair have also set up an Only Fans account for subscribers to get access to their saucier content.
Female British Airways staff have reportedly been left 'fuming' over the airlines 'cheap' new uniforms.

The flag carrier relaxed its rules last year and introduced new 'gender-neutral' uniforms designed by British fashion star Ozwald Boateng.

The new uniforms include a 'modern jumpsuit' and skirt and trouser options for women and a tailored three-piece suit for men with regular and slim-fit style trousers.

BA heralded the launch as 'marking a new era' for the airline, but now some of its female staff have hit out at the 'cheap' look of the uniform, while others have described the uniforms as 'deliberately androgynous'.

When the company was founded as Imperial Airways in 1919, they wore military style uniforms.

But since the 1940s, the cabin crew has seen their uniforms re-imagined several times - from basic military uniforms to 'paper dresses' of the 1960s and powder blue polyester suits of the 1970s.

Here, FEMAIL looks back at the best, worst and most controversial uniforms in the airlines history...

1940-1945: Military inspired outfits for the British Overseas Airways Corporation

Heritage: Before 1940 pilots and cabin crew typically fashioned a traditional, basic, sturdy military style suit

The two-piece pictured above is the first of long legacy of uniforms created British Airways created by Maurice Helman

The first fashion designer to create a uniform for the British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC) was Maurice Helman.

He used the back drop of World War II as inspiration for his creation from the world of Haute Couture from 1946- 1959.

While it kept the traditional military style it evolved into a softer, more feminine and less restrictive outfit.

It also reflected the 1940s conservativism, with the skirts slightly below the knee and tapered jackets and ties.

1945-1959: British European Airways - the start of fashion-focused choices

The end of the war meant less rations of fabric and more styles being introduced across the field.

This was the start of the fashionable hostesses that have become synonymous with flying.

The new uniforms adopted a 'nipped and tucked' waist line to reflection the courtiers of Paris.

The end of the war allowed companies to explore more with their designs

The new uniforms adopted a 'nipped and tucked' waist line to reflection the courtiers of Paris

1960: The start of the modern cabin crew style

With new resources a new style, some would consider restrained for BA's typical choices, is introduced.

Sylvia Ayton (MBE), a student at the Royal College of Art, was chosen by a panel including top British designer John Cavanagh to design the uniform.

The uniform was a straight skirt which had a Dior-style pleat at the back, worn with a pleated jacket and a hat all in the same material.

The uniform shown above (third outfit from the left) compromised of a straight skirt which had a Dior-style pleat at the back, worn with a pleated jacket and a hat all in the same material

1960  1967: The start of navy suits and the 'jet set era'

Not a great deal changed with the uniform design when Sir Norman Hartnell introduced his navy suit in the 1960s.

He was an influential British fashion designers and dressmakers to the Queen.

It was the start of the 'Jet-Set' era when fashion was not just for the passengers but also for the glamorous airline staff.

The women wore stylish blue suits with an open collar white blouse and matching gloves.

The women wore stylish blue suits with an open collar white blouse and matching gloves

1967: The paper dress

A paper dress a design largely forgotten by many.

Designer Joseph Lore made it happen for those travelling between New York and the Caribbean.

The cream dress was made of fire-proof paper-esque fabric and had cerise and purple flowers with green leaves.

Its' length was decided by the stewardesses who were allowed to cut the fabric no higher than three inches above the knee.

It was worn with green jewelled slippers, white gloves, and a flower in the hair and was then thrown away at the end of each flight.

The cream dress was made of fire-proof paper-esque fabric and had cerise and purple flowers with green leaves. Its' length was decided by the stewardesses who were allowed to cut the fabric no higher than three inches above the knee

1967: The introduction of red

At the time BEA staff were not only working for the number one airline in Europe but they were alos wearing designs made by the UK's number one designer and dress maker.

Sir Hardy Amies played a huge part in the uniform design of today. Gone with the wind were the dark blues and blacks and in came the deep red partnered with white and blue to shadow the UK's iconic union Jack flag.

The dress and jacket were in Royal Blue terylene coupled with a white blouse and gloves and a striking red-caped overcoat.

Gone with the wind were the dark blues and blacks and in came the deep red partnered with white and blue to shadow the UK's iconic union Jack flag

The 1967 royal blue kit had a shorter skirt than the previous design, reflecting changing societal trends. It was designed by Hardy Amies, who was dressmaker to The Queen from the time of her accession in 1952 until his retirement in 1989.

1970: Pink and purple mini dresses

Having not yet adopted their traditional colour palette yet, BOAC adopted for Clive Evan's pink and turquoise cotton dresses.

The pieces were to reflect the space-age fashion of the 1960s and trousers were later introduced for the first time as part of the women's uniform.

While trousers were offered to female staff they were not allowed to wear them while serving passengers on-board the aircraft.

The pieces were to reflect the space-age fashion of the 1960s

Trousers were later introduced for the first time as part of the women's uniform



1972: Red scarves and coloured blouses

In 1972 the airline asked a designer back for the first and only time to create another uniform line just before they merged with BOAC.

Sir Hardy Amies replaced his 1967 design with French navy suit with thin rows of red stitching and a hat trimmed with a BEA red ribbon.

The stewardesses also had more freedom to express themselves as they could style interchangeable coloured blouses and scarves

A wonderful selection of previously-unseen photographs showcasing the uniforms of air stewardesses who helped to ferry passengers around the world have been released by British Airways for its centenary this year. Above: Stewards from BEA, which merged with BOAC to create the British Airways name in 1972, pose in the 1967 uniform. It was made from terylene and worsted material.

Above: Hardy Aimes was also responsible for this BEA uniform from 1972. He designed it to allow the expression of individuality achieved by interchangeable colours of the blouses and scarves based on the strong red, white and blue theme associated with BEA. The short Tutankhamun hat is in French blue, trimmed with BEA red

1974: The first 'British Airways' outfit with red scarf and trouser suits

Sir Hardy Amies' 1972 uniform was created just before the merger with BOAC and was adopted as the first uniform of the newly created British Airways.

New Sari's were designed for International Cabin Crew with a choice of two designs on cream filature silk.

The uniform (pictured above) stuck to the traditional Union Jack colours and styled matching scarves with the pinstriped suit

1976: Powder polyester suits

Sir Hardy Amies was then asked to create a third design in 12 years.

Male and female uniforms were in pale blue or French navy.

They were made of 100 per cent Dacron polyester in gabardine and crepe designed to be a 'totally uncrushable, washable fabric.'

The outfits pictured above were made of 100 per cent Dacron polyester in gabardine and crepe designed to be a 'totally uncrushable, washable fabric'

The outfits pictured above were made of 100 per cent Dacron polyester in gabardine and crepe designed to be a 'totally uncrushable, washable fabric'

1977: 'Elegant' outfits

After the merger the airline was promised a uniform 'elegant enough to appear in Vogue' by Baccarat Wetherall.

The uniform was dark blue with a jacket and the option of either a skirt or flared trousers.

The white blouse was worn with silk scarves, blue leather handbag, small-brimmed hat and matching belt all bearing the airline symbol.

As part of BA's celebrations in August to mark 100 years since it was formed, it is to release a new uniform, but the firm is yet to go into detail on how different the new design will be. Although according to cabin crew blog Paddle Your Own Kanoo, Burberry has been enlisted for the job. Above: The first official British Airways uniform, from June 1977. It was designed by fashion house Baccarat Weathersall

A smart red-lined jacket and skirt, with optional flared trousers in white pinstripe, of the finest quality was chosen for the classical tailoring style. The cloth was lightweight but hard-wearing wool worsted. A shoulder bag of dark blue leather, a small-brimmed hat and a belt matching bearing the BA logo completed the outfit



1985  1993: A whole new design with striped dresses

Moving forward with high fashion in mind the airlines asked Roland Klein for their next design.

He previously trained in Paris with Christian Dior and Karl Lagerfield.

Not only did the airline want fashionable stewardesses but they wanted their whole airline to be draped in luxury.

Moving forward with high fashion in mind the airlines asked Roland Klein for their next design

It was a wool navy jacket and a grey skirt which was worn with a long blouse with red, blue and grey stripes

The design shown by the man and woman on the far right shows the double-breasted blazer which pilots were allowed to wear for the first time

The uniform was designed for all staff including cabin crew, ground crew, engineering and technical handling staff.

It was a wool navy jacket and a grey skirt which was worn with a long blouse with red, blue and grey stripes.

In hotter weather the blouse could be worn with a skirt in the same design.

Also for the first time a traditional double-breasted suit in dark blue was designed especially for pilots.

1993-2003: Eco-friendly outfits that reflect companies 'multicultural nature'

The 1993 uniform was designed by Irish designer Paul Costelloe. It combined a classic styling and informality in a stunning pinstripe and collage design, reflective of BA's worldwide multi-cultural interests and worldwide operations. The women's uniform was a classic tailed single-breasted suit in the corporate colours of red and navy blue, designed in a specially created pin-dot wool fabric. A silky crepe geometric print blouse in red, navy blue and grey complemented the suit.

A BA stewardess proudly models her 1993 uniform. The hats later became optional. As well as the uniforms, BA's collection showcases hundreds of historical photos and videos, as well as articles explaining how British Airways evolved from a single-engine De Havilland aircraft to what it is today

As more and more people were becoming passionate about the environment the airline decided to opt for a designer who uses natural fibres.

Irish designer Paul Costello delivered a uniform to reflect BA's global and multicultural nature.

It combined a classic styling and informality in a stunning pinstripe and collage design, reflective of BA's worldwide multi-cultural interests and worldwide operations.

The women's uniform was a classic tailed single-breasted suit in the corporate colours of red and navy blue, designed in a specially created pin-dot wool fabric. A silky crepe geometric print blouse in red, navy blue and grey complemented the suit.

The red, white and blue pinstrip matched with red, white and blue pattered blouses and matching skirt for the summer months.

2003  2023: Julien MacDonald designed 'modern suit'

Keeping with their traditional colour palette Julien Macdonald, a former designer for Chanel, created a classic wool mix and pinstripe suit.

The suit oozed high fashion with its' branded Quicklinks, shirt buttons and red Jacquard lining in the suit

In 2007 a new Indian uniform was designed by Rohit Bal in which the key elements of the Julien Macdonald suit have been incorporated.

British Airways uniform (above) was designed by Julien MacDonald

At the time of its release, Mr MacDonald said: 'As a designer for some of the world's most glamorous women, it was a great challenge to design a uniform that is worn by such a large number of staff of different ages and sizes.' The design is meant to reflect the airline's British history. It is made from wool.

2023: Non-binary outfits

Designed by British fashion designer and Savile Row tailor Ozwald Boateng OBE, the uniform, launching in spring, features a 'modern jumpsuit' for female cabin crew that is billed as an 'airline first'.

The collection features dress, skirt and trouser options for women and a tailored three-piece suit for men with regular and slim-fit style trousers. A tunic and hijab option has also been created for the carrier.

Bradley Gibbons, who is non-binary, posted a picture at work in the new dress

Legacy: BA staff are pictured showing off uniforms from the past 90 years at a Johannesburg fashion show in 2012, with Georgia May Jagger in the front

British Airways has unveiled a new uniform for the first time in nearly 20 years, with the collection of garments set to 'take the airline into its next chapter'

Over the last century the airline has had the luxury of designers who work for Chanel and trained with Karl Lagerfeld of creating stylish, high fashion yet durable designs. Pictured staff posing in uniforms from throughout the years

Many of the outdoor garments have also been tested in deluge showers and freezers at minus 18 degrees Celsius to ensure they're water-resistant, durable and fit for extreme weather conditions. The airline's engineers and ground operations agents will be the first to wear the new uniform from springtime

As they pick up their new items of uniform, they'll hand in their previous Julien MacDonald garments, which will be donated to charity or recycled to create toys, tablet holders and more. A number of items will also be gifted to the airline's museum.
Queen Maxima of the Netherlands looked effortlessly stylish as she made a working visit to the Centre of Expertise Applied Artificial Intelligence at the Hogeschool van Amsterdam in Amsterdam.

The mother-of-three, 52, re-wore a Massimo Dutti camel pencil skirt with a sleek pussybow blouse for the engagement.

Maxima's visit is dedicated to the responsible use and application of artificial intelligence (AI).

The royal championed autumn chic by adding knee-high leather boots, while her golden locks were left loose.

She elevated her look further with an iconic Gucci Bamboo 1947 handbag and statement diamond flower earrings.

Queen Maxima of the Netherlands exuded chic as she made a working visit to the Centre of Expertise Applied Artificial Intelligence at the Hogeschool van Amsterdam in Amsterdam

Located at Holland's largest University of Applied Sciences, the centre drives the development of applications of AI technology in a responsible and inclusive manner.

The rapid growth in the use of artificial intelligence presents the whole of society with dilemmas and ethical questions.

To address these issues, the teaching and research staff of the centre's seven labs work in close cooperation with business and civil society organisations towards the responsible application of AI.

Queen Maxima will visit the Smart Asset Management Lab to speak to researchers and recent graduates about the added value of this close cooperation.

The royal will be shown several installations, including an ultra-sensitive fridge for storing medicine that can repair itself using AI.

Maxima will also be informed about cooperation involving AI and media, as well as democracy and responsibly applied AI, which focuses on issues of user dialogue and ownership of AI technology.

She will then discuss the social impact of current and future applications with AUAS researchers and partners from civic society.

They will also discuss the European Union and international perspectives on the application of AI, and what its threats and opportunities are for the Netherlands.

The mother-of-three, 52, re-wore a Massimo Dutti camel pencil skirt with a sleek pussybow blouse for the engagement

Maxima's visit is dedicated to the responsible use and application of artificial intelligence (AI)

This visit comes after the royal made a dazzling appearance at the Apples of Orange awards.

Maxima attended the Orange Fund's prestigious ceremony with her mother-in-law Princess Beatrix, 85, which took place at Noordeinde Palace in Hague, Netherlands.

The mother-of-three sparkled in a embellished gold gown by Belgian couture and ready-to-wear label Natan, one of her favourite designers.

She was first seen wearing the dazzling number back in June, when she attended the opening of the head office of microfinance organisation, Qredits in Almelo.

The credit organisation is known for offering training and business loans to aspiring businesses.

Queen Maxima of the Netherlands cut a stylish figure in a dazzling gold dress, as she stepped out for the Apples of Orange awards this week

Maxima's three-quarter length dress draped elegantly over her curves, gathering ever so slightly at the centre, giving the appearance of a ruched design.

She accessorised the look with a chunky silver bracelet, alongside a gold charm bracelet, black wristwatch and silver rings.

Meanwhile, Princess Beatrix donned a sophisticated monochrome frock, made exceptional by a stunning black and white pattern at the waist.

The Dutch royal styled the look with a set of exquisite pearls and matching pearl earrings, while her coiffed bob made for the perfect hint of glamour.

Maxima put on a lively display as she greeted all in attendance and smiled for photographs.

She also took to the stage to deliver a heartfelt speech to this year's prize winners.
A group of mums spent just 102 on an 18-hour spa trip to Milan  and were home in time for the school run.

Laura Oduntan, 37, from Bromley, London, and her pals - Jade Bassett, 33, Remi Pedro, 37, and Agnes Adekunle, 38 - decided to upgrade their regular Nando's meet-up and treat themselves to a spa day.

Laura, a mum-of-two girls  aged three and six  had spotted the QC Terme spa in Milan, Italy, on TikTok and suggested it to her friends.

After checking with their partners, the mums flew via Easyjet from Gatwick Airport, in Crawley, West Sussex, at 6.20am on 62 return flights and landed at Milan Malpensa Airport by 9am.

The four women took the train into Milan for lunch, before relaxing in the spa for three hours.

Laura Oduntan, 37, from Bromley, London , and her pals - Jade Bassett, 33, Remi Pedro, 37, and Agnes Adekunle, 38, spent just 102 on an 18-hour spa trip to Milan  and were home in time for the school run

They finished up with dinner and Aperols at a rooftop restaurant before getting back to the airport for their flight at 10pm.

Laura got home by midnight and was up the next morning to take her daughter to school.

Laura, a social media manager and owner of the 5am mama, said: 'I thought let's upgrade our Nando's trip. It was a long tiring day.

'But there was so much laughter and fun. The spa was just lovely. I still had to get up for the school run the next day.'

The mums all met while working for Direct Line group seven years ago and have been having regular catch ups over a Nando's ever since.

Laura said: 'We all had babies around the same time. We were on maternity leave together. That's how we became a group of friends.'

Laura saw a video of a spa in Milan on her TikTok and suggested the idea to Jade, who has a three-year-old, Remi, who is mum to two-year-old girl, and Agnes, who has three children  two, six and eight.

It seemed like the perfect getaway for the busy mums and was cheap compared to the 200 cost of Champneys spa - costing just 40 each.

Laura said: 'When you're a mum you don't like the sound of leaving your baby overnight.

After checking with their partners, the mums flew via Easyjet from Gatwick Airport, in Crawley, West Sussex, at 6.20am on 62 return flights and landed at Milan Malpensa Airport by 9am

They finished up with pizza and Aperols at a rooftop restaurant before getting back to the airport for their flight at 10pm

They took a train into Milan city centre for 13 and found a cafe close to the spa for lunch - spending around 15 each on food

The four women took the train into Milan for lunch, before relaxing in the spa for three hours

'But it's nice to do something as a group of friends. We booked the flights in May. We made sure our partners were on hand.'

The friends arrived at Gatwick Airport for 3am and flew out at 6.20am.

They took a train into Milan city centre for 13 and found a cafe close to the spa for lunch - spending around 15 each on food.

Laura said: 'We found a nice little cafe and had salads.'

The friends headed over to the spa at 12.30pm and stayed until 3pm relaxing in the different rooms and pools.

Laura said: 'There was a lot to do. There were different immersive rooms.

'You laid on a bed and it rained on you. There were nice smelling sauna rooms.'

The friends arrived at Gatwick Airport for 3am and flew out at 6.20am for their day trip in Milan

The mums' spa day trip 3am - arrive at the airport 6.20am - flight to Milan, Italy 9am - arrive in Milan and get the train to the city centre 11.30am - lunch at a local cafe 12.30pm - arrive at the QC Terme spa 3pm - leave the spa and walk to Duomo di Milano 4.30pm - early dinner at a rooftop restaurant 8pm - arrive back at the airport 10pm - flight back to Gatwick, London Advertisement

The mums walked to the Duomo di Milano before going for an early dinner at 4.30pm.

They had pizzas and an Aperol spritz for 20 each at a rooftop restaurant.

Laura said: 'When in Italy.'

After eating, the pals headed back to the airport for their 10pm flight  arriving back in the UK by midnight.

Laura said: 'I snuck in. I didn't feel different to normal the next day.

'I'm up all night normally. I'm a tired mum.'

The friends enjoyed their day trip so much they hope to make it an annual occasion  trying out different cities for a day.

Laura said: 'We said we would make it on an annual thing and try and go to different cities.

'See different cities but go for a day.

'Agnes had the revelation that she'd never been to Paris.'

Laura hopes it inspires other mums to take a day for themselves.

She said: 'When a lot of mums meet up you have the kids with you. We should take that moment for ourselves.

'You're not just a mum. You're a person. Look after yourself as well as the kids.'
A former beauty queen and mother-of-two has reportedly passed away following complications from plastic surgery.

Jaquelin Carrieri, 48, from Argentina, died after suffering a blood clot at an unnamed clinic in Los Angeles, California on Sunday October 1st, her relatives have confirmed.

The actress and model had once been crowned queen of her district and also came runner-up at a beauty pageant at San Rafael en Vendimia grape harvest festival in Argentina in 1996.

Her children Chloe and Julian were were right by her side when she tragically passed away, reports Argentine media.

A post on her Instagram page reads: 'We want to inform our followers today of some sad news.

The mother-of-two left behind her two children Chloe and Julian (pictured here with Jacquelin) - who were were right by her side when she tragically passed away at an unnamed clinic in Los Angeles, California

The actress and model had once been crowned queen of her district and also came runner-up at a beauty pageant at San Rafael en Vendimia grape harvest festival in Argentina in 1996

'Jaquelin Carrieri, who was Queen of Punta del Agua District and Deputy Queen of San Rafael Department in 1996, has passed away.

'From Reinas de San Rafael, we want to extend our condolences to her family and friends during this difficult time'.

The entrepreneur - who was soon to celebrate her 49th birthday - was the ex-partner of the son of renowned journalist Jorge Quintana.

Jacquelin also studied at the National University of Lomas de Zamora near Buenos Aires before going into retail.

She later became known for her high-end fashion store, Jaquelin Carrieri Boutique, which was forced to close down owing to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Her death has come as a shock to her family and friends who described Jacquelin as a 'woman of great talent' and 'beautiful'.

According to Facebook page Reinas Vendimiales San Rafael Mendoza, Jacquelin passed away from a 'stroke' caused by cosmetic surgery.

Former beauty queen Jaquelin Carrieri (pictured), 48, from Argentina, has tragically passed away following complications from plastic surgery

Posted on October 2, the statement read: 'Jaquelin Carrieri has passed away.

'She was a woman of great talent, an actress in one of our departments plays that was being performed at the Roma Theatre until just a few days ago.

'Jaquelin also owned a high-end fashion store called Jaquelin Carrieri Boutique, which unfortunately had to close its doors during the pandemic.

'She was well known for dressing the San Rafael pageant queens for many years, making their dresses shine during the Via Blanca and Carrusel Vendimial parades.

'In her youth, she was also Deputy Queen of the San Rafael en Vendimia festival.

'She passed away in Los Angeles, California, due to a stroke that may have been caused by cosmetic surgery'.

One of Jaquelins close friends Jorgelina Olivera, has spoken of the loss of his 'wonderful' friend, though he states it is not a farewell, but rather a 'see you soon'.

Jorgelina said: 'All of us who had the pleasure of knowing you and sharing moments of our lives with you know what a wonderful person you were, a beautiful woman in every sense, always with your smile and your glamour.

'Honestly your departure has taken me by surprise and I still cant believe it.

'Thank you, a thousand thanks for coming into my life and painting it with so much joy and happiness.

'It was a pleasure to share moments with you, and I will be eternally grateful.

'May God welcome you into His glory. Its not a goodbye but a see you soon, my beautiful and dear Jaquelin'.
The Danish royal met with hospital clowns in Copenhagen earlier today

Crown Princess Mary of Denmark looked cheerful as she arrived at the Bispebjerg Hospital earlier today- and was greeted by two friendly hospital clowns- Basta and Baglaens.

The Australian-born Danish royal, 51, appeared in a positive spirit during the visit to the Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Centre in Copenhagen.

The royal mother-of-four looked elegant in tonal brown suit separates- perfectly corresponding to the shades of the autumn weather.

Mary matched the outfit with a simple white t-shirt and accessorised with chic layered necklaces.

Meanwhile, she opted for natural makeup and swept her long brown hair across her shoulders for the occasion.

Princess Mary, 51, walked hand in hand with two of the friendly hospital clowns- Basta and Baglaens

Denmark's Crown Princess Mary (pictured) appeared in high spirits during a visit to the Danish Hospital Clowns at the Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Center at Bispebjerg Hospital in Copenhagen

Upon her arrival, the Danish royal greeted lines of hospital clowns, who donned red noses and woolly hats.

But it was hospital clowns Basta and Baglaens who took the mother-of-four by the hand during the visit.

The Danish hospital employs 'clowns' to bring joy to the children undergoing mental health treatments; there are currently 61 working clowns at the hospital.

Training to be a clown can take up to two years as they are taught a range of skills in relationship building, neuropsychology, and collaboration with the staff, according to Culture For Health.

The royal seemingly saw the effectiveness of the clown programme, which launched in 2003, as she appeared to have a wide grin across her face at all times.

Princess Mary has long been recognised for her work in raising awareness of mental health issues, and she is the patron of several organisations and foundations on the matter.

It comes just days after the Danish royals attended the opening of the Danish Parliament at Christiansborg Palace in Copenhagen on Tuesday.

Queen Margrethe, 83, put on an elegant display in a royal blue suit, complete with an equally sophisticated fascinator.

The royal opted for natural makeup and swept her long brown hair across her shoulders for the occasion

The Danish royal appeared cheerful while walking with the hospital clowns who are employed by the hospital to bring joy to the children on the ward

Upon her arrival, the Danish monarch greeted her eldest son, Crown Prince Frederik, with a warm hug and a kiss.

The heir to the throne, 55, looked dapper in a black suit, which he matched with a crisp white shirt.

Meanwhile, Frederik's wife, Crown Princess Mary, looked typically stylish in a cream ensemble as she stepped onto the red carpet.

The mother-of-four wowed in a chic cream midi dress, which she paired with a lavish black hat.

The royal looked elegant in the stunning dress, which featured a stylish black belt around the waist.

The mother-of-four had a chance to meet with the hospital clowns who have to train for up to two years for the position

The clowns, who donned red noses and wooly hats, lined up for a chance to meet with the Danish royal

Mary matched her outfit with a simple white t-shirt and accessorised with chic layered necklaces

Princess Mary styled her brunette locks in soft curls, and her glam makeup enhanced her flawless complexion.

Queen Margrethe looked thrilled with the arrival of her younger sister, Princess Benedikte of Denmark.

The monarch welcomed her sibling, 79, with open arms and a beaming smile.

Benedikte, the second daughter and child of King Frederick IX and Queen Ingrid of Denmark, opted for a purple look for the event.

The royal looked radiant in a mid-length purple coat, which she paired with a cream blouse and a sleek pencil skirt.

The royal seemingly saw the effectiveness of the clown programme, which launched in 2003, as she appeared to have a wide grin across her face at all times

While the danish hospital has employed 61 clowns, the mother-of-four seemed particularly comfortable with two of them- Basta and Baglaens

The family took to the Christiansborg Palace in Copenhagen to mark the opening of the Danish Parliament, as the first Tuesday in October is the first day of a new parliament and new year in Denmark.

The event begins with prayers at the Christiansborg Palace Church before the royal's arrival.

Later, the longest-serving member inaugurates the sitting in the Parliament Chamber.

The Prime Minister of Denmark, Mette Frederiksen, and her husband, Bo Tengberg, were also in attendance.

Mette Fredriksen, 45, the youngest prime minister in Danish history, donned a chic red dress while arriving hand in hand with her husband.

Bon Tengberg looked dapper in a navy suit, which she paired with a crisp white shirt and crimson tie, following the colours of the Danish flag.
The Prince of Wales has continued to demonstrate his commitment to green initiatives with a visit to Europe's largest climate tech hub, Sustainable Ventures, in London.

William, 41, joined a series of discussions based on figuring methods to scale up small sustainable businesses earlier today.

The father-of-three met with staff members from SatVu and appeared to listen intently as they spoke about their work efforts on advancing thermal imagery.

At one point, it appeared as though William managed to lighten up the heavy conversation, as the group were photographed in a moment of laughter.

Elsewhere during the day, William checked back in on a 2023 finalist of his EarthShot Prize competition, ENSO, a clear air-focused company.

The Prince of Wales visited Sustainable Ventures earlier today, Europe's largest climate tech hub

CEO of Sustainable Ventures, Andrew Wordsworth, greeted William upon his arrival.

In his role, Andrew has worked to empower eco startups, helping with factors including investments, innovation, and workspace.

The pair appeared to be in an animated conversation as they entered the London-based office.

For the occasion, the royal looked dapper in a black suit, which he matched with a crisp blue shirt.

The visit follows William's pledge to sustainable initiatives in the lead up to his EarthShot Prize awards, which is set to take place in Singapore next month.

Prince William founded the awards in 2020, saying he wanted to turn 'current pessimism surrounding environmental issues into optimism by celebrating the people and places driving change.

Every year between 2021 and 2030, an awards ceremony will honour winners in the prize's five categories, each of which tackles a particular environmental issue. Every winner is given 1million to support and scale their work.

Announcing the destination of the Earthshot Prize ceremony in May this year, Prince William said: 'The Earthshot Prize is all about showing the world that solutions to some of the biggest environmental challenges we face are out there.

William, 41, joined a series of discussions based on figuring methods to scale up small sustainable businesses

The father-of-three met with staff from SatVu, a company focused on advancing thermal imagery

William was greeted by several people across numerous green businesses throughout the day

The royal seemingly lightened up the deep conversations as he shared a joke with staff members

CEO of Sustainable Ventures, Andrew Wordsworth (pictured), greeted William upon his arrival and took him on a tour of the London-based office

'After two years of discovering impactful ideas and innovations, I am delighted that The Earthshot Prize is travelling to Singapore, where the ground-breaking solutions of our 2023 Finalists will be celebrated.'

William has said that Earthshot was inspired by John F Kennedy's Moonshot programme which challenged America to put man on the moon and helped launch the Moon landing in 1969.

Last year's winners included a British start-up, Notpla, which uses seaweed to make packaging.

The ceremony last year, which was held in Boston, was attended by both of the Wales.

However, this year, the Princess of Wales will not attend Prince William's Earthshot Awards ceremony because she wants to be at home to support Prince George during his exams.

Kate, 41, will not travel to Singapore with her husband in November, and will instead stay with her eldest son George, 10, and his siblings Princess Charlotte, eight, and Prince Louis, five, at the family residence in Windsor.

The father-of-three met with staff members from SatVu and appeared to listen intently about their work efforts on advancing thermal imagery

The Prince seemingly got on very well with staff members from SatVu- as they were photographed laughing

William lightened up the heavy conversations learning about small businesses with cheerful laughter

The father-of-three was seen with a wide smile across his face while he joined a discussion on scaling up startups

The Daily Mail's Royal Editor, Rebecca English, has had confirmation that the royal won't be attending the glitzy event. It is understood 'Prince George has exams that week and she wants to be at home to support him.'

The mother-of-three attended the previous two Earthshot Awards in Boston and London.

Last year, Kate presented an award, while donning a rented lime green Solace London dress from fashion platform HURR.

The Sabrina frock, by Solace London, cost 74 a night to rent. It was described by the platform as a 'floor length modern gown featuring an exaggerated neckline'.

It boasted a 'body conscious fit', and a concealed closure belt to define the waist, as well as the brand's signature high kick split.

She accessorised the look with an emerald choker that had previously been worn by Princess Diana.

The necklace, which was gifted to Queen Mary in 1911 by the Ladies of India, was given to Diana by Queen Elizabeth, on lifetime loan.

The gala held a clear green focus, and before guests arrived, they were reportedly given eco-friendly advice and rules to follow, with attendees encouraged to 'consider their clothing' for the occasion and opt for ensembles that can be re-used or have already been purchased second-hand.

William looked particularly interested to hear about a small business called SatVu- which collects thermal data

William shook hands with staff members from SatVu- a company that described itself as 'The world's thermometer'

William looked particularly interested in hearing about the current projects the small businesses are currently undertaking

William joined a discussion with a range of startups focused on their scaling up journey earlier today

William had the opportunity to catch up with a 2023 Finalist of The Earthshot Prize in the "Clean Our Air" category during the visit

Prince William was all ears during the discussion with staff members from sustainable startups

William heard from a number of startups during the day and seemed fascinated to hear about their green projects

Travel plans for guests were also given environmental updates: with all transportation being used with Boston being electric or hybrid and any 'unavoidable' flights that were taken have been 'recorded and the CO2e impacts calculated and balanced'.

Upon their arrival at the event, it is thought that guests were treated to a host of ecologically-minded measures, from the plant-focused decor to the vegan and vegetarian-only catering options.

Instead of a red carpet for the stars to walk down, a green carpet was used - and it was recycled afterwards.

The entryway and the event itself featured over three acres of plants, including New England-grown evergreen and deciduous trees- all native and grown locally, according to Earthshot's new CEO Hannah Jones, formerly Nikes first chief sustainability officer.

The stars hotel were also walking distance from the venue and everyone was encouraged to either use the tram or take a fleet of electrically-powered and hybrid taxis.
Doritos Australia has announced the release of its new 'coriander' flavour - and it has already divided fans.

Described as 'deliciously fragrant and indulgently soapy', the new flavour heroes one of the most controversial and divisive ingredients of all time.

One in seven people carry a gene that causes the herb to taste like bar soap - and a few leaves of cilantro are enough to ruin a whole meal for them.

The contentious treat is not available for purchase, but fans can get their hands on one of the 350 packets of chips by participating in the brand's Instagram giveaway by sharing their honest opinion on the herb.

25 lucky coriander lovers - or haters - will be chosen everyday from now until 5pm on 17 October.

Doritos Australia has announced the release of its brand new 'coriander' flavour - and it has already divided devoted fans

Vandita Pandey, Chief Marketing Officer ANZ, PepsiCo told FEMAIL: 'We know some Doritos fans are going to love it, but we also know some will hate it.

'With the taste of coriander being one of Australia's most divisive flavours, we want to boldly launch the flavour in chip form and see if coriander really does taste like soap.'

Some fans have already shared their opinions - and no one seems to agree on anything.

'Oh my god, I love coriander!' one fan said. 'Almost as much as Cool Ranch - I am so down to try this.'

'I don't really mind coriander, it tastes all right in the right food so I'd be happy to give them a try,' another wrote.

'Yeah, coriander sucks a**,' a man said.
Women are putting down their razors and popping on their cozzies for this year's 'hot, hairy girl summer'.

The trend has been building over the last few years - with women demanding an end to the 'beauty standard' which demands they be smoothly shaved or freshly waxed.

This is happening, for the most part, at the beach or swimming pool - with more women than ever before feeling confident to suit up for the surf, body hair or not.

Speaking with FEMAIL, Bella Davis and Calita Fire, two women who have been using their strong online presence to promote body positivity and confidence revealed why they stopped shaving.

Calita, who has 200,000 followers across TikTok and Instagram, has had three 'hairy girl summers' in a row after ditching her razors for good.

Calita Fire stopped shaving three years ago and has never looked back

She said she had been removing her body hair religiously from the age of 13, because it was the done thing.

'We were just kids shaving so much of our bodies for so many years, thinking it was gross and shameful to have what it is utterly normal and natural,' she said.

But then three years ago the Spanish beauty she participated in Januhairy and hasn't looked back.

'I continued because I liked it. I think more and more women and girls are asking themselves why they shave and who for,' she said.

Body hair is coming back into fashion because we are waking up after being indoctrinated by mainstream beauty ideals that hurt women, shame them, and profit off their hang ups.'

'The more we reject those ideals the more we can make choices for ourselves, and frankly body hair is sexy and beautiful, I am so happy hairy girl summer is becoming a global movement!'

The decision sparked the end of her relationship at the time.

Bella Davis was always taught body hair was wrong - but has since embraced it as part of her body positivity journey

'My then lover told me if I didn't shave he would not be intimate with me anymore. I ended it with him and it sort of gave me more fuel to resist this ridiculous idea that to be feminine you need to be hairless,' she said.

The rising popularity gives her hope people like her ex will have a reality check.

'Hopefully more men are challenging their own conditioning and bias towards hairless women!

She says body hair has become accepted and even common in Spain - and she's happy to be able to celebrate smashing taboos.

'It really shouldn't be such a polarised sensationalised topic. It is natural,' she said.

While Calita has just finished her third hairy girl summer - Australians like Bella are just kicking off.

The body-positive influencer, who has 270k followers, and first started shaving at 12 now loves her body hair.

She revealed she once had a particular dislike for her toe hairs.

'I used to feel so insecure about my toe hairs and feet and general but that's because I was told having hairy toes or feet wasn't feminine and attractive but now I know being feminine is whatever I want it to be and I don't owe attractiveness to anyone,' she said.

Calita said she broke up with her boyfriend when he shamed her hair once she decided to grow it out

'Toe hairs are normal and it's just our bodies being bodies. Hair wouldn't grow their if it wasn't supposed to,' she said.

In a recent viral video Bella explained women with hair 'aren't hairy like a man' they are imply 'hairy like a human'.

The video was liked 240,000 times, revealing the rising acceptance of women with visible body hair.

'I won't be shamed into removing it because it's my personal choice to remove or grow my body hair. You don't have to be hairless to wear a bikini. Nor should you be pressured into doing so,' she said.

Hairy Girl Summer is a theme trending on TikTok - with more than 32million views.

But she says people don't comment or shame her now, in real life, just faceless trolls online

Both women have copped comments on their videos from other women who don't want to stop removing their body hair - but say it is fine - people should just embrace the opportunity to choose with confidence.

'Yes it is normal but not everyone wants to see it. I have never seen a man walking around with his crutch hair hanging out,' one woman said.

'Then they shouldn't look,' said another in response.

'Humans have poop too. But we don't have to show them on social media,' said another.

'I'm hairy and I have dark hair and fair skin, so it's pretty obvious. I'm just now growing my arm hair back out because I had been shaving it because I was so self conscious about it. I'm done, it's literally just hair and anyone who doesn't like it is irrelevant,' said a third.
A mum whose baby was sent away from hospital with Panadol despite having classic symptoms of meningitis is warning parents to 'stand up for their children'.

Shiva Motlagh-Elbakri took her then four-month-old daughter Mytilini to Queensland Children's Hospital on their GP's advice in June 2022.

The infant had also been arching her back and stiffening up every time her mum had tried to place her in her pram or change her nappy - which are symptoms of meningitis.

Mytilini had already suffered a respiratory virus in the previous 12 days, but wasn't getting better and was screaming in pain - prompting her mother to take to the doctor, who discovered she had 39.1C fever.

'We got (to QCH) at about 3pm and she was given Panadol which brought the fever down. She ended up seeing a doctor at 6pm and then until we were discharged by 7.15pm,' Ms Motlagh-Elbakri told Daily Mail Australia.

Shiva Motlagh-Elbakri took her then four-month-old daughter Mytilini (pictured) to Queensland Children's Hospital on their GP's advice

Despite her concerns, she said the hospital only did a urine sample and told her that babies with meningitis must have a bulging fontanelle - which are soft spots on an baby's head.

Because Mytilini didn't have this symptom, her mother was told it must just be a virus.

'According to what I now know, that's a late sign and there are specific reasons for babies that age to not have a bulging fontanelle because of gravity,' Ms Motlagh-Elbakri said.

READ MORE: Mothers urge uni students to get jabbed against meningitis after losing their teens to deadly infection Mothers who lost their children to meningitis have urged university students to get a vaccine to protect against the deadly infection. First year students are at high risk of becoming infected with the bacteria as they tend to mix closely with lots of new people. Advertisement

She said she was told that a hospital can't give a lumbar puncture, which would determine if a patient had meningitis, to every baby that has a fever.

'But the thing is that's wrong,' she said.

'There are specific guidelines from Queensland Health... according to the guidelines, they should have given her a lumbar puncture.'

Mytilini did not improve over the next couple of days and became very lethargic.

When her mum felt her head in the cot, she discovered her fontanelle was bulging 'like an egg'.

They rushed back to QCH, where Mytilini was immediately treated with IV antibiotics and made a full recovery.

'I will always be thankful to the doctors who saved my girl's life that night, and to the infectious diseases doctors and the paediatrics team who treated her as she recovered slowly over the next 12 days,' Ms Motlagh-Elbakri said.

'I am grateful for every second with my daughter now  I know that she was truly lucky to recover, and I recognise that not every family will have that experience.'

A spokesman for Queensland Health said: 'This case has been investigated three times (including two external reviews  one by the Office of the Health Ombudsmen) and all reviews found no fault with the care provided by Queensland Children's Hospital.'

But the doting mother-of-two - she and her husband Ahmed also have a son who is 11 months older than Mytilini - is not prepared to let it go.

'I do really believe that she had meningitis the first time and I want to understand why because I really want to make sure this doesn't happen again. I didn't think it was a coincidence,' she said.

In a letter Ms Motlagh-Elbakri sent to Queensland's Health Minister Shannon Fentiman, she said her daughter 'was treated 48 hours later than she should have been'.

'The signs were truly there, and I was saying it to the doctors at QCH, but I wasn't listened to. My concern was not taken seriously.'

She also claimed the Queensland Health Guidelines were not properly followed.

But Ms Fentiman told 7News that 'The advice from those reviews (was) that the care, at the time, was appropriate.'

Ms Motlagh-Elbakri has now lodged an appeal with Queensland's Health Ombudsman, because she fears that what happened to her daughter will happen to other children and the outcome could be far worse.

'I genuinely don't want this to happen to other families,' she said.

As well as campaigning on the issue (October 5 is World Meningitis Day), Ms Motlagh-Elbakri also lives with the constant fear of the long-term impacts meningitis may have on Mytilini.

'Every day I worry about the impacts this delayed treatment will have on her future,' she said.

Shiva Motlagh-Elbakri (pictured right) worries every day about her daughter Mytilini (pictured left)

Mytilini (second left) is pictured with her mum, Shiva, brother, Menam, and dad, Ahmed

'It's more than a 50 per chance that she will have some kind of learning or cognitive or behavioural deficit as a result of this.'

Ms Motlagh-Elbakri advises other parents who may be caught up in a similar situation to 'advocate for your child'.

'If you think that they're not acting normally, make that really clear (to the doctors), because you know your child best... a baby cannot speak (for themself).'

Daily Mail Australia has contacted Ms Fentiman for further comment.

READ MORE: Young law graduate who had just come back from Bali went to hospital with 'flu-like' symptoms and never came home When Bella Fidler returned from a post-exam celebration holiday to Bali she had everything to look forward to. But the law graduate from the Gold Coast would be dead within a week after having contracted meningococcal B, which can cause deadly bacterial meningitis. Advertisement
Sadiq Khan was today branded 'politically courageous' by the World Health Organization's (WHO) climate chief for pushing through with the ULEZ expansion.

London's mayor sparked outrage with his decision to widen the scheme to cover all 32 boroughs, which kicked in at the end of August.

Protestors angered by the levy  12.50 a day for cars that fall short of the emissions standard  have even taken to destroying cameras.

Maria Neira, the WHO's environment, climate change and health director, said the backlash was expected.

London 's mayor sparked outrage with his decision to widen the scheme to cover all 32 boroughs, which kicked in at the end of August. But Maria Neira (right), the WHO's environment, climate change and health director, today said the backlash was expected. She compared it to the frustration surrounding the indoor smoking ban in 2007, which ended up making people 'happier'. Pictured, Dr Neira with Spain's Queen Letizia and Tedros Adhanom, the WHO's director general

She compared it to the frustration surrounding the indoor smoking ban in 2007, which ended up making people 'happier'.

Speaking to the British Medical Journal (BMJ), she said: 'We are now looking at [Khan] with a lot of interest.

'If he succeeds (with the ULEZ expansion having health benefits outweighing the downsides) we need to use this example for all mayors around the world.

'It would be really very bad if we lost this battle in terms of public health.'

London pollution levels frequently break recommended limits for nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and PM2.5  particles in the air invisible to the human eye but able to get into blood and penetrate deep into the lungs.

The particles are mainly produced by burning fossil fuels, such as from traffic and power generation, and have been liked to everything dementia to heart disease.

When Khan announced the expansion in November 2022, he said the purpose was to 'clean up London's toxic air and tackle the climate emergency'.

Sadiq Khan made a controversial decision to widen the scheme to cover all 32 boroughs. The expanded scheme, which began in late August, now sees motorists slapped with a 12.50 daily fee for using their vehicle within the Ultra Low Emission Zone, unless they meet the required emissions standards

This came after researchers from Imperial College London estimated that around 4000 deaths in London in 2019 could be attributed to air pollution.

A 2022 a TfL-commissioned review also uncovered a plethora of benefits of expanding the scheme.

'All socio-economic groups would benefit from reductions in average concentrations of NO2 and PM2.5, including approximately 1.5million people living in the bottom two deciles of deprivation in Greater London,' it said.

These included reduced admissions for respiratory admissions, asthma cases, stroke and coronary heart disease.

But the scheme has faced severe opposition from politicians, while protestors aiming to sabotage the scheme have clashed with ULEZ wardens.

Some 595 cameras have been damaged and 200 stolen over the past six months, the Met Police also confirmed this week.

'Regarding ULEZ or other initiatives, they always come with controversy,' Dr Neira told the BMJ.

'Anytime you touch a commercial interest, an economic interest, you will have a very strong reaction. And part of this reaction will come in the form of conspiracy theories.'

London pollution levels frequently break recommended limits for nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and PM2.5  particles in the air that are invisible to the human eye but can get into the blood and penetrate deep into the lungs. The particles are mainly produced by burning fossil fuels, such as from traffic and power generation, and have been liked to everything dementia to heart disease

What are the London ULEZ required emissions standards? To meet the ULEZ emissions standard in London, all vehicles must meet the required Euro emissions standard for their vehicle and emission type. The ULEZ standards are:  Euro 3 for motorcycles, mopeds, motorised tricycles and quadricycles (L category)  Euro 4 (NOx) for petrol cars, vans, minibuses and other specialist vehicles  Euro 6 (NOx and PM) for diesel cars, vans and minibuses and other specialist vehicles Advertisement

But she also criticised politicians who speak about climate change, yet fail to act.

She said: 'Sometimes you see big politicians talking and using the language of an activist, which is great.

'But then don't forget that they have the power. You are the prime minister, so don't tell me, tell yourself and then make the right decisions.'

Air pollution is known to cause lung cancer.

Although smoking remains the biggest risk factor for the disease  which accounts for 34,800 deaths in the UK annually  outdoor air pollution causes roughly one in 10 cases.

An estimated 6,000 people who have never smoked die of lung cancer every year in the UK, some of which may be due to air pollution exposure.

Medics and health charities have been hugely welcoming of any scheme to expand ULEZ.

In an editorial by the BMJs editor-in-chief Kamran Abbasi and colleagues today, they also warned ULEZ has been 'presented as unpopular and harmful, despite surveys showing more support than opposition and evidence of their public health benefit'.

Recent back pedalling on climate targets in the UK 'illustrates how denialism and delay are too often chosen over political commitment and courage', they also argued.

The 2022 Tfl-commissioned review, however found the proposed ULEZ expansion would only result in 'a minor reduction (-1.3 per cent) in the average exposure of the population of Greater London to NO2'.

It would also only see 'negligible reductions (-0.1 per cent) in average exposure to PM2.5', it said.

However, the report only factored in the effects widening the ULEZ would have on cancer using one type of pollutant  PM2.5.

The analysis did not include cancer incidence estimates for NO2, considered one of the most dangerous types of pollutant due to uncertainties on this data.

But this was not the first time Mr Khan has been criticised over data used back up the controversial scheme.

Earlier this year in February, doubts were cast over a figure published by the Mayor to justify the scheme where he claimed toxic air led to the premature deaths of 4,000 Londoners.

In an open letter to those opposing his plans, Mr Khan highlighted what that meant for certain boroughs in the capital.

'Research by Imperial College London shows Bromley has the highest premature deaths linked to air pollution with an estimated 204 lives lost in 2019,' he wrote.

But Bromley Council leader Colin Smith hit back, saying said the study commissioned by City Hall 'chose to ignore Bromley's much older population profile'.

He said many elderly residents spent 'their younger years in inner London experiencing the smogs and smoke-filled pubs of yesteryear'.

He added: 'It is complete nonsense.'
READ MORE: Researchers develop oral shot to kill Covid before it infects body

An experimental combination vaccine for the flu and Covid could be just as effective as getting two separate shots, clinical trials found.

The vaccine, developed by pharmaceutical giant Moderna, has been tested in ongoing Phase 1 and 2 clinical trials in adults ages 50 to 79, the most vulnerable groups for both diseases.

Researchers found it elicited 'strong' immune responses and is safe, the company announced Wednesday.

The results come as less than one in five Americans have rolled up their sleeves for the updated Covid boosters, and two-thirds said they wouldn't give it to their children.

Moderna will begin Phase 3 testing in adults over 50 later this year.

An experimental combined vaccine from Moderna for the flu and Covid could be just as effective as getting two separate shots, clinical trials found

Less than one-fifth of US adults plan to get the updated Covid booster, and about two-thirds do not plan to have their children get it. Moderna estimates there will be 50 to 100 million Covid vaccine doses given this year

Stephane Bancel, Moderna's chief executive officer, said: 'With today's positive results from our combination vaccine against flu and COVID-19, we continue to expand our Phase 3 pipeline.

'Flu and COVID-19 represent a significant seasonal burden for individuals, providers, healthcare systems and economies. Combination vaccines offer an important opportunity to improve consumer and provider experience, increase compliance with public health recommendations, and deliver value for healthcare systems.

'We are excited to move combination respiratory vaccines into Phase 3 development and look forward to partnering with public health officials to address the significant seasonal threat posed to people by these viruses.'

The ongoing trial compared the safety of the combination vaccine, dubbed mRNA-1083, in adults ages 65 to 79 to that of the standard flu shot in adults ages 50 to 64. They also measured mRNA-1083 against the updated Covid booster in both groups.

In the Phase 1/2 study, mRNA-1083 had antibody levels similar or greater to those ILLICITED BY both the flu shot and the updated Covid vaccine when given separately.

The combination vaccine also had a similar safety profile to the Covid shot and included headaches, soreness at the injection site, swelling, and fatigue, and there were no additional safety concerns.

Moderna is aiming for the combination vaccine to be approved by 2025.

This isn't the first two-in-one vaccine in development. In December, Pfizer announced its own shot that targets the Omicron Covid variant and its offshoots, as well as four strains of influenza.

A spokesperson from the company previously told DailyMail.com there were no plans to develop this vaccine to replace the standard two-dose jab.

Annaliesa Anderson, chief scientific officer in vaccine research and development at Pfizer, said mRNA technology was 'well suited' to tackling other viruses.

'Pfizer is deeply proud of our continued work to explore its potential to protect against influenza and Covid in one combination vaccine,' she said.

'We think [this] could simplify immunization practices against these two respiratory pathogens, potentially leading to better vaccine uptake for both diseases.

'Even with existing seasonal influenza vaccines, the burden of this virus is severe across the world, causing thousands of deaths and hospitalizations every year.'

A combination vaccine may increase the chances a person receives a fly and Covid vaccine because it will eliminate multiple visits to a doctor or urgent care to get both doses.

Less than one-fifth of US adults plan to get the updated Covid booster, and about two-thirds do not plan to have their children get it. Moderna estimates there will be 50 to 100 million Covid vaccines given this year.

As of last month, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimate there have been 83.6 million doses of the flu shot distributed during the 2023-2024 flu season.
Ultra sensitive 3D body scanners are a 'huge step' forward in treating cancer, dementia and other serious illnesses, health chiefs said last night.

According to experts, the 'game-changing' high-tech machines can do a full-body scan of an adult in five minutes and a child in one minute.

They provide a single scan of the body rather than multiple images like current machines  making them faster and more sensitive, so they can potentially detect smaller tumours and abnormalities.

In a UK first, two of the machines will be available to patients after being installed at Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Trust in London and Edinburgh Royal Infirmary.

The PET-CT scanners can be used for cancer patients to detect if the disease has spread or show in precise detail if a treatment has worked to fully shrink a tumour.

Ultra sensitive 3D body scanners are a 'huge step' forward in treating cancer , dementia and other serious illnesses, health chiefs said last night (File Photo)

For heart disease sufferers, they can show if medications are working to clear blockages within blood vessels. And for dementia patients they can show the build-up of harmful molecules in the brain.

There are around 70 PET-CT scanners in the UK, which require a patient to have a mildly radioactive substance injected into their body which sticks to tumours or blood clots to show their location.

But the sensors on these machines typically only pick up radiation covering an area of about 20 centimetres (eight inches).

It means patients have repeated scans taken at multiple time points as they are pushed through the machine, with the images being stitched together.

A full-body PET scanner has far more sensors covering an area four times larger and is capable of imaging most of the body at once. Not only are the images likely to be more detailed and detect smaller tumours, they also require a lower dose of radioactive substance for patients  potentially making them safer and faster for children.

According to experts, the 'game-changing' high-tech machines can do a full-body scan of an adult in five minutes and a child in one minute (File Photo)

READ MORE: Ground-breaking warhead drug means the cure for lung cancer may FINALLY be on the horizon Advertisement

The full-body machines will result in much quicker images, with current scanners taking 20 minutes for adults and ten minutes for young children.

Dr Sam Godfrey, of Cancer Research UK, said: 'This technology could be a game-changer... in understanding the impact of cancer on the whole body.'

Professor Lucy Chappell, chief scientific adviser to the Department of Health and Social Care, called the development 'a huge step for clinical research'.

The project has been backed by 32million from the Government via the UK Research and Innovation Infrastructure Fund.

Dr Juliana Maynard, of Medicines Discovery Catapult, said: 'Total-body PET scanners can detect serious diseases with unprecedented speed and accuracy.'
Dozens of schoolgirls in Kenya have been hospitalised with a mystery paralysing 'illness'.

Concerned health officials in the African nation have launched a probe to discover the cause of the bizarre outbreak, warning it could have 'disastrous' consequences should it happen to be infectious.

Local media reports 95 students were suddenly struck down at an all-girls school in Musoli, a town 232 miles (374km) north west of Nairobi.

Alarming footage circulating online  claiming to be of the crisis  shows pupils at the school struggling to walk, being carried by friends and shaking uncontrollably. Bed-bound kids are also seen convulsing in what appears to be a hospital.

Doctors are currently baffled as to what triggered the sudden outbreak. Samples of blood and urine from girls struck down have been sent to labs.

However, some experts have cast doubt on the illness, suggesting it may be a case of 'mass hysteria'. Education bosses have also, according to local news outlets, said there are fears 'the majority are feigning their sickness' with end of year exams only weeks away.

Local media reports state that the pupils were suddenly left struggling to walk, while videos posted on social media appear to show them unable to stand, experiencing convulsions and complaining of knee pain

Susan Nakhumicha, the country's health premier, said no pathogens were identified among the St Theresa's Eregi Girls High School students.

Addressing members of the National Assembly Public Investment Committee on Education and Governance, she said more tests would be carried out to determine the cause of the illness, according to local news site Daily Nation.

'We have been in contact with the director of public health and as of yesterday [Tuesday], there were 95 girls hospitalised,' Ms Nakhumicha said.

'By the end of today [Wednesday], we anticipate having a comprehensive report.

'So far, five tests have been conducted and no pathogens have been identified.'

She added: 'However, additional samples have been sent to Kenya Medical Research Institute in Nairobi for further analysis.'

However, the BBC reported that experts believe it could be a case of 'mass hysteria' and said pupils threw stones at Government officials who showed up at their school.

Jared Obiero, the western region director of education, told Daily Nation that some of the students may be unwell but the majority could be 'feigning their sickness'.

He said: 'Form three students were to start their end of year exams on Wednesday, but some of them are opposing the school programme, claiming they are not ready for exams.'

This means some of the students' symptoms 'may not be genuine', he added.

Government officials said 95 students from a school some 232 miles (374 kilometres) northwest of Nairobi, had been struck down

Conflicting reports in local newspapers saw confusion over whether the school had temporarily closed. But the ministry of education yesterday confirmed it remains open.

However, some parents have chosen to take their children out of school.

Local newspapers reported that Dr Steven Wandei, the director of medical services in Kakamega county, where the school is situated, urged them against doing so.

They reported he said: 'We have not established the nature of the disease that has affected the students.

'Taking them home could be risky because, if the disease is infectious, it is likely to wipe out the entire family.'

In a similar case in 2015, 40 school children in the UK were treated by ambulance crews for anxiety-based nausea and faintness.

The children from Outwood Academy in Ripon, North Yorkshire, had all attended a remembrance service in its assembly hall.

Fire brigade specialists dispatched to the incident found no signs of hazardous materials, but found the hall was warm.

In what appeared to be a case of mass hysteria, North Yorkshire fire service suspected that a handful of children fainted, with the rest developing symptoms driven by anxiety that rippled through the school.
The first American woman to receive a vaccine scientists hope will prevent recurring bouts of an aggressive type of breast cancer said it has changed her life.

Jennifer Davis, a 46-year-old nurse and mom of three from Ohio was the first of 15 women in a clinical trial to have received the three-dose series of the vaccine as part of a Cleveland Clinic-run study, which involves patients who completed chemotherapy treatment for a specific form of breast cancer in the past three years.

In 2018, Ms Davis was diagnosed with triple-negative breast cancer, a form of the disease that makes up about 10 to 15 percent of breast cancer cases that can reoccur in between bouts of remission.

Human trials of the vaccine, which was developed to prevent the cancer from striking more than once, began in 2021 and Ms Davis received her third and final shot that same year.

She has been in remission for five years.

Now, the researchers have set their sights on recruiting women who have never had triple-negative cancer but are at higher risk in a bid to see if the vaccine could prevent the cancer from attacking in the first place.

46-year-old Jennifer Davis was diagnosed with triple-negative breast cancer in 2018. She was enrolled soon after in the Cleveland Clinic cancer vaccine trial and received her third and final shot in fall 2021

Triple-negative breast cancer only makes up about 10 percent of all breast cancers, yet it accounts for roughly 40 percent of deaths. It also recurs often, meaning women who have it likely have to go through multiple of chemotherapy and other strenuous therapies

Jennifer Davis noticed a lump in her breast in February 2018 and underwent a biopsy to rule out cancer. And it did at first. But as months went by, the lump got bigger and doctors decided to conduct another biopsy in September 2018.

Thats when doctors detected the cancer and diagnosed her with triple-negative breast cancer. Following the news, Ms Davis was quick to seek out the best treatments available.

She began chemotherapy and underwent a double mastectomy, a surgical procedure to remove the breasts, followed by 26 rounds of radiation. The triple-negative breast cancer was still in stage two, meaning it had not yet spread to other parts of her body.

Ms Davis has been cancer free for five years and credits the vaccine with changing her life

This led her to the Cleveland Clinics Phase 1 trial, which was decades in the making, to test a series of shots that target a lactation protein, -lactalbumin.

This protein is found in breast milk during late pregnancy and lactation, but is also extremely prevalent in cases of human triple-negative breast cancers (TNBC).

The vaccine targets this protein if cancer develops and will prompt a strong immune system response to attack the tumor and prevent it from growing.

Now, with five years of remission under her belt and no signs the cancer will return, Mrs Davis has said: Its changed my life.

I dont think about recurrence every single day.

Blood testing and immune system assays have shown no signs of recurrence or negative side effects.

Dr Megan Kruse, breast medical oncologist for Cleveland Clinic, said: There is a window of time after a patients diagnosis and treatment that they are eligible for this study, and thankfully Jen was still within that window and actually became our first patient who enrolled in the trial and got treated with the vaccine.

Cells in triple-negative breast cancer do not have estrogen or progesterone receptors, which are proteins on certain tumor cells that hormones stick to, allowing cancer cells to grow and multiply.

Women like Ms Davis with triple-negative breast cancer also lack a sufficient amount of Human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) which plays a major role in keeping breast cells healthy by controlling how fast they divide, grow, and repair themselves.

Ms Davis was quick to seek treatment, which is key to increasing the odds of survival. If detected and treated early, the five year survival rate exceeds 90 percent. But if the cancer has already spread, that rate falls to about 12 percent

The vaccine targets a protein called -lactalbuminm which only exists in the body when a woman is lactating or during breast cancer formation. The vaccine trains the immune system to destroy cells making that protein, meaning that when cancer cells arise, the immune system will destroy them and they will never have a chance to multiply into a tumor

Dr Justin Johnson, program manager at Cleveland Clinic Lerner Research Institute, and co-developer of the vaccine, told Yahoo Life: The side effects have generally been mild, consisting mainly of irritation at the injection sites.

Our data so far shows that we have generated robust immunity to the alpha-lactalbumin target in the majority of the subjects, even at the lowest dose tested.

All triple-negative breast cancer is HER2-negative, which is also the most common form of breast cancer overall, accounting for nearly 80 percent of cases.

Triple-negative cancer specifically only makes up 10 to 15 percent of all breast cancer cases, yet it accounts for an estimated 40 percent of deaths due to breast cancer.

Mrs Davis said: I did not know a lot about [it] when I was diagnosed, but going through everything, you learn so much. Its just that kind of breast cancer  that particular type  theres nothing I can take afterward, no tamoxifen [a type of hormone therapy], and recurrence is high.

If it does come back, outcomes are not the greatest.

Women who start treatment in the early stages of the disease are on average, about 91 percent as likely as women who dont have that cancer to live for at least five years after being diagnosed.

But if the cancer has spread elsewhere throughout the body such as to the lungs, bones, or liver, that survival rate plummets to just 12 percent.

So far, none of the 15 women initially included in the trial have seen their cancer return.

Dr Amit Kumar, CEO of Anixa Biosciences, the company developing the vaccine, told DailyMail.com this summer: 'We might be able to eliminate breast cancer as a disease, just like we have eliminated polio and smallpox.

We believe that within five years, it'll be on the market for people like Jenni, who had breast cancer and are worried about recurrence. A couple of years after that, it should be available for all women, including women who've never had breast cancer. It is very exciting.'

Mrs Davis, for her part, said she was happy to be a part of the effort to hopefully eliminate this type of breast cancer entirely.
Using the weight-loss shots Ozempic and Wegovy can increase the risk of severe gastrointestinal problems, adding to the ever-growing list of undesired side effects.

People using weekly injections of Ozempic and Wegovy, which has the active ingredient semaglutide, for weight loss have a higher chance of pancreatitis, bowel obstructions and stomach paralysis.

Experts warned that while rare, thousands of people could be at risk due to the drugs' rising popularity.

Lead study author Mohit Sodhi, a medical student studying at the University of British Columbia, Canada, said: 'People who are otherwise healthy may be less willing to accept these potentially serious adverse events.'

The causes of gastroparesis (stomach paralysis) are largely unknown, but it is thought to be a complication of diabetes, which is why many patients take Ozempic and Wegovy in the first place

Wegovy and Ozempic work by triggering the body to produce a hormone called GLP-1 that is released naturally from the intestines after meals

Previous research has shown that people taking the drugs for diabetes were at higher risk of pancreatitis, bowel obstructions and stomach paralysis.

However, the recent study is the first to look at the effects of the drugs on the stomach and intestines in people taking the medication exclusively for weight loss.

Scientists studied health insurance claim records of 16 million US patients, focusing on those who had been prescribed semaglutide or liraglutide  another drug that induces weight loss  between 2006 and 2020.

The drugs help to increase the production of insulin and were originally developed for managing type 2 diabetes, but quickly began being prescribed off-label for people looking to lose weight.

Researchers from the University of British Columbia analyzed the records to see how many patients developed one of four issues relating to the stomach or intestines and compared them with those using another weight loss drug, bupropion-naltrexone, which is sold under brand names such as Contrave and contains different ingredients.

They found those using semaglutide, which binds to the GLP-1 receptor in the pancreas and brain, triggers hormones in the brain that keep the stomach full and tell the body to stop eating and avoid cravings. weight loss injections were 9.1 times more likely to suffer inflammation of the pancreas, which can require surgery, according to the findings published in JAMA.

Those people were also 4.22 times more likely to develop a bowel obstruction, which can be deadly, and had a 3.67 times higher risk of gastroparesis, or 'stomach paralysis', which limits the passage of food from the stomach to the small intestine. -

Undigested food in the stomach can harden into a solid mass called a bezoar. These can cause nausea and vomiting and can even be life-threatening if they prevent food from passing into your small intestine, according to the Mayo Clinic.

Semaglutide, the active ingredient in Ozempic and Wegovy, slows digestion in the stomach, helping people feel fuller for longer. It is thought, however, that in some cases, the stomach can take too long to empty, leading to stomach paralysis  where food is left sitting in your stomach.

A bowel obstruction may be caused by muscle or nerve issues that prevent the intestines from adequately contracting and moving food through the intestines.

Originally approved for diabetes, Wegovy has since been approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to treat patients with obesity.

Ozempic is only approved to treat diabetics but is often provided off-label for weight loss.

Both contain the same key ingredient, semaglutide, which suppresses appetite and has been hailed a game-changer for the resulting weight loss.

Wegovy lists for more than $1,300 for a 28-day supply, while Ozempic is around $900 a month.

Both should be prescribed by a doctor but there are concerns about people accessing the drugs online through unregulated providers.

Dr Simon Cork, senior lecturer in physiology at Anglia Ruskin University in the UK, said the findings highlight the importance of accessing these drugs through trusted medical professionals, with ongoing support and monitoring.

He said: 'It is vital that regulation is tightened to ensure that these drugs are only prescribed under the right circumstances.

'Whilst the likelihood of developing these conditions is still rare, when scaled up to the numbers who could potentially be prescribed these drugs we could start to see many people experiencing adverse effects from their use.'

Novo Nordisk, which manufactures Ozempic, was not involved in the analysis and did not have any approved GLP-1 products in 2006, which is the earliest point in the dataset.

A spokesman said gastrointestinal events are 'well-known side effects of the GLP-1 class.'

He said: We recommend patients take these medications for their approved indications and under the supervision of a healthcare professional.

Treatment decisions should be made together with a healthcare provider who can evaluate the appropriateness of using a GLP-1 based on assessment of a patient's individual medical profile.'

In August, Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk were sued over claims their drugs caused stomach paralysis.

Personal injury firm Morgan & Morgan took on a case on behalf of a 44-year-old Louisiana woman with diabetes who lost weight while taking the drugs, only to suffer later from severe stomach paralysis marked by such violent vomiting that she lost some teeth and required multiple trips to the hospital.

The suit against Eli Lilly, which makes another drug used for weight loss called Mounjaro, and Novo Nordisk alleged the companies failed to warn consumers about the risk of gastroparesis, or paralysis of the stomach.

It adds to a growing list of side effects of the drugs. As well as losing pleasure in food, people have reported having 'no desire' in activities they used to enjoy, such as drinking alcohol and gambling, allowing some to kick long-standing habits.

The long-term effects of the drugs are still under investigation as the drugs are relatively new.

Emerging research shows patients who stop taking the injectables are vulnerable to regaining all lost weight and may be required to stay on the medication for an extended period of time.
READ MORE: I'm a massage therapist - this 10-second stretch will help back pain

A chiropractor in Illinois shared on TikTok that eating blueberries could stave off pesky back pain.

Dr Jeff Winternheimer, based in Chicago, posted a video this week where he said that blueberries, which are packed with nutrients like antioxidants that reduce inflammation, are the ideal food to eat to avoid and prevent this type of pain.

'The number one food that you need to eat every day if you have back pain is blueberries,' he said in the video, which has 80,000 views.

'Eat more blueberries.'

Eating antioxidant-rich foods like these berries could quell the symptoms of pain that affect more than 130 million Americans.

The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) recommends eating one cup of blueberries once a day.

Dr Jeff Winternheimer, a chiropractor in Chicago, posted a video this week where he said that blueberries, which are packed with nutrients like antioxidants that reduce inflammation, are the ideal food to eat to avoid back pain

About 40 percent of Americans experience back pain, which adds up to more than 130 million people, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)

Often considered a 'superfood,' blueberries are loaded with nutrients that support several aspects of health. These include fiber, vitamins C and K, and manganese. Manganese is a trace mineral that helps the body form connective tissue and bones and aids blood clotting.

They are also low in calories, with one cup containing just 84 calories.

These nutrients can reduce back pain by alleviating inflammation, which can lead to chronic pain.

Additionally, blueberries are considered one of the most antioxidant-rich fruits. Antioxidants are compounds in foods that neutralize free radicals, which are unstable molecules that can damage cells and increase the risk of chronic diseases.

A 2019 study in the journal Nutrients suggested 'daily incorporation of whole blueberries may reduce pain, stiffness, and difficulty to perform daily activities' in people with osteoarthritis in their knees.

Additionally, a small 2012 study of 10 female athletes found eating blueberries could speed up muscle recovery after intense leg exercises, leading to less pain.

Research shows blueberries can also reduce pain in other areas. A Swiss study published in the journal Nutrients in May found eating blueberries reduced abdominal pain in people with gastrointestinal conditions like irritable bowel syndrome (IBS).

Nearly 40 percent of Americans experience back pain, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), which adds up to more than 130 million people.
Tens of millions of Americans regularly visit porn sites to view adult content as part of a healthy sex life, but approximately 200,000 of these viewers have become so consumed with pornography it has severely impacted their lives.

These people watch so much porn they have classified themselves as porn addicts, even though the medical field has still not reached a consensus on whether the condition is an addiction at all.

There is a crucial difference between occasionally looking at porn, which can be a normal part of healthy sexuality, and becoming so consumed by the explicit fantasy scenarios that sex with a real-life partner loses its luster or a person finds themselves needing to watch an explicit video in the middle of the work day.

Porn is not like alcohol or drugs and many mental health and addiction experts say that because it is not a substance, nor does it alter a persons brain chemistry, people cannot get hooked on porn itself.

Rather, some experts say its a persons own personal conflicts toward sex, such as shame, that convinces them they are addicted.

Still, there is a neurological foundation to support arguments that, like alcohol and stimulants, compulsive pornography viewing inundates the brain with feel-good chemicals that leave people wanting more.

Millions of people watch porn as an escape from their daily anxieties or relationship problems, but it becomes a problem when the user has abandoned their normal responsibilities, whether professional or personal, and when relationships, such as with a monogamous partner, become strained.

Porn can be a healthy part of someone's sex life, but when it begins to affect other aspects of life, such as family time and work responsibilities, it may be a problem

Roughly three to six percent of the US adult population engage in problematic pornography use, or what they deem a porn addiction

Statistics estimate that 70 percent of men 18 to 34 years old visit a porn site in a typical month.

Even young people, especially teen boys who make up the largest consumer group of porn, can access explicit sexual content with relative ease, especially given online porn makes up 12 percent of all internet sites.

A survey from the Indiana University Kinsey Institute for Research in Sex, Gender, and Reproduction reported nine percent of porn watchers wanted to stop but found they couldnt.

When people, primarily men, notice themselves withdrawing from their partners and losing satisfaction in sexual relationships, becoming desensitized and needing to consume more extreme content, and setting aside responsibilities in order to dedicate more time to porn, it may be a sign of a porn addiction - despite many leading authorities in psychology and addiction research maintaining it is not a real condition.

While the issue is more common among men, one in six women have also reported struggling with a porn addiction.

The American Psychological Association, the countrys foremost authority on advancing mental health research and the largest professional organization for psychologists, does not recognize the habit as an addiction.

Additionally, the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM), the authoritative guide for diagnosing mental disorders used all over the world and authored by the APA, does not recognize porn addiction as an official diagnosis.

The reason is rooted in ongoing debate about what is at the root of a porn addiction.' One camp of psychologists, including Dr Vincent Egan and Dr Reena Parmar from the University of Leicester in the UK, say uncontrollable porn consumption may be more of a compulsion than an actual addiction.

In a 2013 report published in the Journal of Sex & Marital Therapy, Drs Egan and Parmar said: Our results lend themselves to the practical and clinical consideration of treatment and therapy for sexually compulsive persons, or those excessively preoccupied with Internet pornography.

Meanwhile, some believe what people might perceive as an addiction is more a manifestation of ones cultural or religious beliefs that inform how they view sex.

A person who was raised in a very religious and/or conservative home, for instance, may feel immense shame as part of their porn viewing and convince themselves they must be addicted.

Dr Nicole Prause, a neuroscientist who specializes in sex psychology said: Porn is a positive influence, on average, for the vast majority of adults who choose to view it.

The best predictor of distress about your own porn viewing is having a conservative or religious upbringing, and this distress appears to disappear on its own without intervention in longitudinal studies (i.e., people tend to grow out of their worry naturally as they understand sexuality better).

The lack of consensus means there is no standard treatment for what could be deemed a porn addiction. Like sex addiction, another controversial diagnosis in the field of psychology for similar reasons, many people find relief in 12-step programs alcoholics use in their recovery. It begins with admitting porn is a problem that has spun out of control.

Other steps in the program include making a decision to fix the problem and improve your life and making amends with people you've hurt because of your addiction.

Treatment could also mean one on one talk therapy with a licensed professional, known as cognitive behavioral therapy. And there are dedicated mental health practices to specifically focused on sex and porn addiction.
BOOK OF THE WEEK

T.V. Big Adventures on the Small Screen by Peter Kay (HarperCollins 25, 320pp)

The moment I first saw Peter Kay, 25 years ago now, I knew he was a comic genius.

It was that scene in Phoenix Nights, the series about the shabby nightclub up North, where Brian Potter, the disabled grouch in charge, got his wheelchair behind the bar and used a cut-glass vase to reach the whisky optics.

When it was released on DVD, 160,000 copies were sold in the first week.

Kay seemed to me a mixture of Ronnie Barker and the younger, chubbier Boulting Brothers period Peter Sellers.

Funny man: Peter Kay dressed in his famous purple suit for 2005 Amarillo Comic Relief video

It never seemed as if he was acting, in the sense of being theatrical or showing off.

He simply became all these different colourful characters, his voice and demeanour, gesture and stance, shifting almost imperceptibly  as he turned into the curmudgeonly, tight-fisted Brian, warm-hearted Max the bouncer, Paul Le Roy from Chorley FM (Coming in your ears), Pearl Harman, service station manageress (I dont care whose it is or what it is, but its floating), and Geraldine, the trans Ulster dinner-lady, star of Britains Got The Pop Factor.

Interestingly, Kay and Barker corresponded, we learn from this new book.

The elder actor, whod retired to run an antiques shop in Chipping Norton, could see that this talented, irrepressible comedian from Bolton was his successor  and at one point Barker sent Kay a clipping about the HBO film The Life And Death Of Peter Sellers, based on my biography, asking: What are we going to have next? Peter Kay as Ronnie Barker?

It would be ideal casting, in fact, Kay as Barker, especially as when he was growing up, Kay worshipped Porridge and Open All Hours, let alone The Two Ronnies. Indeed, he worshipped everything about television  Kay couldnt wait to come home from school or finish his newspaper round to be back in front of the telly, where he recorded programmes on a cassette player.

Shows would be punctuated with his grandparents chuntering in the background: Stan, its time for your angina tablets.

On the wooden-cased televisions or black and white portables, Kay, born in 1973, watched Stig Of The Dump, Rentaghost, Take Hart, The Krypton Factor and Paint Along With Nancy. He knew his way around the schedules, lapping up everything produced by regional broadcasters, Tyne Tees, Grampian, Anglia, Thames and Granada.

Kay avidly read Look-in, the magazine centred on ITVs childrens programmes, and still remembers features about hunky motorcyclist Barry Sheene, dead at 51 from oesophageal cancer, and Richard OSullivan, star of Man About The House, a 1970s sitcom. Up in his loft, Kay still keeps old copies of the Christmas Radio Times. He is a connoisseur of recondite theme tunes, from Hong Kong Phooey to Fraggle Rock.

Car Share (pictured) in 2015 was about nothing except colleagues travelling to work along the A6 in a Fiat 500 between Salford and Bolton. But it was also about everything: love, loneliness, hopes, fading hopes

I doubt if anyone has ever studied the medium more than Kay, who went to Salford College to do a HND in Media Performance. He won lots of awards for the stand-up act he started to devise as a student  and everyone said: You should be on television.

Kay won more awards  North West Comedian of the Year; a Perrier nod at the Edinburgh Festival  and television executives did indeed start taking an interest, inviting him for meetings in London. Kay gained experience in numerous small roles, including Coronation Street. He was surprised to discover Fred Elliott talked posh in real life and Maud could actually walk.

There were daytime shows at Pebble Mill (for 700), and Kays book contains hilarious stories of the stars he encountered. Keith Chegwin, for example, was such an alcoholic, he drank the windscreen wash from his cars wipers. Maggie Philbin, his wife at the time, got suspicious when he insisted on cleaning the car five times a day. Or then there was Rod Hull, who couldnt sign autographs because his writing hand was up the bird.

Jimmy Savile was predictably creepy. When Kay attempted an embrace, Savile recoiled: Dont hug me. The last person who hug-ged me is now in traction. He talked nonsense and made lots of noises, yodels, whines and whistles, and when kissing a womans hand his tongue darted out and licked her palm, the dirty old perv.

Invited, aged 26, to make a series of specials for Channel 4, That Peter Kay Thing, Kay has never looked back. I instantly felt completely comfortable and at home.

To write the mock documentaries about the service station, bingo hall, ice-cream wars and working mens nightclub, Kay drew upon his stash of notebooks and bags of scraps of paper, brimming with thoughts, ideas, jokes, bits of conversation Id heard in the street.

Peter also joined the cast of Coronation Street at one point. Pictured alongside Shelley, played by Sally Lindsay

Like Lancashires other comic greats, Victoria Wood and Caroline Aherne, whom Kay nobly salutes in Big Adventures On The Small Screen, much play is given in his work to observational instincts  the real things real people say: old ladies disbelieving news of power cuts, because the bus went past with its lights on. The delusions of a club bookings manager: I could have got Shirley Bassey last year but her agent said she wouldnt get changed in the toilets. Old ladies again: When we were young, we never had time for sex, we were too busy having babies.

That Peter Kay Thing, narrated by a deadpan Andrew Sachs, led in 2001 to Phoenix Nights, which I have watched a thousand times  the dramas about asthma-inducing fog machines at the disco and cork floors in The Pennine Suite; the duff acts, like the trapped escapologist, dancing pensioners, racist folk bands and brawling dwarves (How far away are they?); the Charity Fun Day, with mobility scooters for dodgems.

Next came the spin-off series, Max And Paddys Road To Nowhere, about wastrels criss-crossing England in a motorhome. There was then a huge career hiatus, 11 years, until Car Share in 2015.

About nothing except colleagues travelling to work along the A6 in a Fiat 500 between Salford and Bolton, it was also about everything: love, loneliness, hopes, fading hopes. Sian Gibson, whod been working in a call centre until Kay offered her the role, was touching and vulnerable as Kayleigh.

T.V. Big Adventures on the Small Screen by Peter Kay ( HarperCollins 25, 320pp )

A cameo by Conleth Hill in drag was hysterical (Im sweating like a blind lesbian in a fish shop). BAFTA awards and Royal Television Society awards descended.

Kay adores the mechanics of television, the catering wagons, make-up trailers, costume trucks (I found it all fascinating), but these days he has reverted to stand-up acts, chat show appearances (they offered a lot of money) and skits for Comic Relief.

Few who saw it will forget Ronnie Corbett flying off the treadmill whilst singing Amarillo. Kay confesses, I even woke myself up at four the next morning, still laughing.

In one important sense Kay is not at all like Peter Sellers  thats to say, he has followed no cinema career. He is not known internationally. Even Ronnie Barker was Friar Tuck in Robin and Marian, with Sean Connery and Audrey Hepburn. He co-starred with Maggie Smith in My House in Umbria.

Kay, for all his successes, has remained local, smaller-scaled  although this year he has just gone back on tour, and is already a sell-out. But maybe comedy will eventually lose him completely, for as he warns here, in this book his fans will gobble up: Comedy is such a minefield, with political correctness changing it all the time. Sometimes for the greater good, most of the time not.
The Future of Geography by Tim Marshall (Elliott & Thompson 9.99, 336 pp)

The Future of Geography

by Tim Marshall (Elliott & Thompson 9.99, 336 pp)

From its very beginning, human history has been shaped by space, but Marshall argues in his bestselling book that space is becoming an extension of the geography of the Earth, with terrestrial power struggles poised to continue in outer space.

Tracing our understanding of space from its earliest observers, including the Greek philosopher Aristotle, to the space race between the U.S. and Soviet Union, Marshall identifies the three main spacefaring nations of the modern era: China, the U.S. and Russia.

How they choose to proceed will affect everyone else on Earth. Marshalls conclusion is that humans will eventually settle on the Moon, Mars and beyond, but that we will probably not leave our earthbound power struggles behind.

Babel by R. F. Kuang (Harper Voyager 9.99, 560 pp)

Babel

by R. F. Kuang (Harper Voyager 9.99, 560 pp)

In 1829, Professor Richard Lovell travels to a squalid house in Canton where a young boy is the only survivor of a family who have all died of cholera.

Renamed Robin Swift, he is taken to live at Professor Lovells home in Hampstead before being sent to Oxford to attend the towering Royal Institute of Translation, known as Babel. The translation that Robin and his fellow students will study has a special purpose: Englands power is built on silver bars endowed with magical powers by matched pairs of words in different languages inscribed on them.

But Robin is gradually drawn into a resistance movement, the Hermes Society, whose members question Babels role in enabling corrupt power structures. Kuangs award-winning dark fantasy finds Robin and his friends forced to decide whether to remain in their tower of privilege, or bring it crashing down.

We All Want Impossible Things by Catherine Newman (Penguin 8.99, 240 pp)

We All Want Impossible Things

by Catherine Newman (Penguin 8.99, 240 pp)

Edi and Ash met at nursery school and have gone on to share a lifetime of memories. Ash sewed Edi into her wedding dress, supported her during IVF and rejoiced when her son was born.

Now she faces the hardest task of all. Edi, 45, has terminal ovarian cancer. With no hospice place available near her home in Brooklyn, she moves into the Graceful Shepherd Hospice near Ashs home in New England.

Here, her journey towards the end of life is filled with love, dark comedy and Sicilian lemon polenta cake. Navigating a tricky separation from her husband, Ash punctuates her vigil at Edis bedside with assignations with the handsome resident doctor and Edis brother, Jonah.

Newmans clearsighted and bracingly funny first novel is a moving celebration of friendship, love and cherished memories.
CAHOKIA JAZZ by Francis Spufford (Faber 20, 352 pp)

CAHOKIA JAZZ

by Francis Spufford (Faber 20, 352 pp)

Spuffords previous novel, Light Perpetual, began with a V2 rocket killing five London schoolchildren, before proceeding to imagine the lives they never had.

Knowing they were dead didnt stop you rooting for them, as if Spufford challenged himself to prove the power of storytelling. As that suggests, he has a gift for flesh-and-blood characters, but also loves a jazzy concept.

Witness his new novel, a detective mystery set in Cahokia, a fictional city in an alternative 1922 America where the Native American population has not been decimated by smallpox.

It begins with the discovery of the slashed-up body of a Ku Klux Klan member amid inflamed tensions in Cahokias ethnic melting pot.

As a twisty investigation unfolds in the company of two cops  one a frustrated jazz pianist  genre comforts give the reader a toehold amid the counterfactual tinkering in a novel that proves Spuffords imaginative virtuosity has no obvious rival right now in English fiction.

THE POSTCARD by Anne Berest (Europa 20, 464 pp)

THE POSTCARD

by Anne Berest (Europa 20, 464 pp)

A bestseller in France, where it was nominated for the prestigious Goncourt prize, this pacy autobiographical history is a wrenching family saga of buried secrets and 20th-century bloodshed.

It starts in January 2003, when the narrator, Anne, witnesses her mother receive an anonymous postcard containing nothing other than the names of her relatives killed in Auschwitz.

Not until years later does Anne, now a parent herself, quiz her mother about the horrors faced by her Jewish forebears, which she investigates after her daughter is the target of anti-semitic abuse.

Tracing the circuitous journey of her great-grandparents flight from revolutionary Russia in 1919 before settling  fatefully  in France, the book often has the feel of memoir before a bold dip into the perspective of her grandmother at work with the Resistance.

Unbearably sad, yet not devoid of hope by the end, the result is an intimate epic of the ravages of the Holocaust in France.

FAMILY MEAL by Bryan Washington (Atlantic 17.99, 320 pp)

FAMILY MEAL

by Bryan Washington (Atlantic 17.99, 320 pp)

U.S. author Washington made a splash with his first book, Lot, a slangy, muscular story collection told in part by a young black gay Latino navigating sex, drugs and street violence in Houston, Texas.

Next came Memorial, a gentle novel about the faltering romance between a nursery worker and a chef.

His new book, wry as well as mournful, serves up more in that mode. It follows Cam, a drifting bartender who, in the wake of his boyfriends death, rekindles a childhood bond with TJ, whose parents raised him after he was orphaned.

Their parallel stories unfold in zingy fragments that generate momentum in the face of the characters emotional stasis. Theres plenty of mouthwatering food writing  Washington is a New York Times food critic  and a fair bit of earnest speechifying.

Still, you cant help but share the authors sense of wanting the best for his embattled cast.
Homeowners interested in getting a heat pump fitted may be able to get one for free, or as little as 500 - avoiding the massive bills that have put many off replacing their gas boiler.

One of the major public objections to replacing boilers with greener heat pumps is the installation cost.

This varies widely depending on which type you pick and what type of property you own, but usually costs between 8,000 and 30,000.

Not a fan: Many homeowners have been put off installing heat pumps due to the perceived high cost of fitting the devices

Several firms, including Octopus Energy, British Gas and Ovo, have been competing to drive down the cost of installing a heat pump.

Now Octopus Energy says its 'Cosy Octopus' heat pump can even be fitted for free, or for as little as 500.

However, for that to happen the homeowner must own a property that does not need any upgrade work to make it suitable for a heat pump. This could include requiring new insulation, radiators or pipes.

To get the 'free' Octopus heat pump, homeowners must also qualify for a large installation grant from the Government's Boiler Upgrade Scheme.

The maximum level of this grant is currently 6,000, and the Boiler Upgrade Scheme will increase to 7,500 from October 23.

How do heat pumps work? There are two kinds of heat pump. Air source heat pumps convert air from outside to water which heats your home via radiators or underfloor heating. Ground source heat pumps transfer heat from the ground outside to heat your home. Of the two, ground source air pumps are the most expensive to install and require more outside space.

An Octopus Energy spokesperson said: 'Homes that don't need any additional work to fit 'Cosy Octopus'  such as new radiators, piping or a hot water tank  could potentially get the system for free even at the current level of the Boiler Upgrade Scheme.'

Homes that do need some upgrades to fit a heat pump can get the Octopus heat pump for around 3,000 after the grant, it added.

British Gas also has a heat pump that can be installed from 499 plus the 7,500 grant.

Ovo has also just announced it is launching a heat pump deal that could be installed for as little as 500 - again, provided a homeowner can get the full 7,500 Boiler Upgrade Scheme grant.

It has also created a Heat Pump Plus energy bill tariff, which it claims knocks 500 a year off the cost of running a heat pump.

The energy firm says this makes it the cheapest way of running a heat pump in the country. Ovo said 35 per cent of the households it had spoken to said that the cost of running a heat pump was more important than the installation costs.

Heat Pump Plus has two pricing systems, one for running the heat pump itself and one for the other electricity and gas a home needs.

Ovo chief commercial officer Mat Moakes said: 'The UK is trailing far behind Europe on its heat pump installations.

'By halving the running costs of a heat pump, we're helping to level the playing field between gas boilers and heat pumps, making them a more viable option for those wanting to make the green switch to electric.'

The Heat Pump Plus tariff is not yet live, but interested customers can register their interest on the Ovo website.
Savings are minimal but energy prices may rise again next year

Top suppliers have introduced fixed tariffs for new and existing customers

Britain's big energy suppliers including British Gas have quietly been introducing fixed tariffs for its customers following a fall in the Ofgem price cap.

Most households were moved from a fixed to a variable tariff during the energy crisis as wholesale prices soared.

While variable tariffs are regulated by Ofgem's price cap, which fell from 2,074 a year to 1,834 this month, many households will still be longing for the stability of a fixed deal.

Thankfully some suppliers have started to quietly introduce deals as the market starts to calm and wholesale prices dip.

Energy suppliers have started to offer fixed tariffs to new and existing customers

These deals are unlikely to be as favourable as they were prior to the crisis but are a move in the right direction.

We look at the details of the best fixed deals for electricity and gas, how they compare and whether it's worth fixing.

How do they compare?

Ofgem's price cap sets out the amount customers will pay for a typical household who use gas and electricity and pay by direct debit.

It means households will pay 1,834 for the year after Ofgem lowered the cap and what it considers 'average' energy use.

British Gas currently has eight fixed tariffs on offer, with four available to new and existing customers.

Its 'Fixed Oct24 v2' and 'The Fixed One v25' tariffs are for one year with customers paying an average of 1,953 and an exit fee of 75/fuel.

Its two year fix is slightly higher at 1,975, with an exit fee of 100/fuel, and both one and two-year fixes are available to new customers.

EDF offers a slightly better deal with an average customer paying 1,914 for both a one-year and three-year fix. This is available for new and existing customers.

It says the three-year fix 'offers certainty and protects against rising costs over that period.'

Shell Energy is offering fixed deals for both new and existing customers with a fix until January 2025 for 1,944.

Has Ofgem's price cap changed? In August, Ofgem announced its price cap would fall from 2,074 to 1,923 for the average household. At the same time it changed what it considers to be 'average' energy use, because people are using less power than they used to because costs are higher. Using the old assumptions, the price cap is still 1,923, but under the new typical domestic consumption values (TDCV) this has fallen to 1,834.

While higher than some other deals, monthly bills will come in at 162, while the EDF one-year fix will see customers paying 159 a month.

Last month, Octopus Energy announced it would be acquiring Shell Energy's 2million customers.

Octopus declined to comment on what would happen to Shell's existing fixed tariffs because the deal is pending regulatory approval.

The three deals all offer negligible savings when compared to Ofgem's price cap in the immediate term. However, energy experts widely expect this to nudge slightly higher January, meaning if you locked in now, you may make some savings further down the line.

Octopus Energy offers a slightly better deal with a one-year fix for 1,818 under the new Typical Domestic Consumption Value (TDCV).

Uswitch says this would be a 16 saving against the 1 October price cap, which is set at 1,834 a year for a dual fuel household that pays by direct debit. While you will be saving, it'll be a meagre 1.33 a month.

The best deal on the market currently is Utility Warehouse's Fixed Saver 7 tariff, which is available to new and existing customers. Households will pay 1,775 a year, making a saving of 59 a year, or 4.91 a month.

However, in order to get this deal, households have to sign up for other utilities with the company.

See below for Uswitch's full-list of fixed tariffs:

CURRENT FIXED TARIFF DEALS Supplier Tariff Name Availability Average Bill Size Saving against Oct 1 cap Exit Fees Key Info Octopus Loyal Octopus 12M Fixed Existing customers only 1,818 16 75 per fuel Available to existing customers only via Octopus direct Sainsbury's Energy Fix and Reward Fixed 12m v2 New and existing customers 1,954 None 75 per fuel Available to new & existing customers via Sainsbury's direct Sainsbury's Fix and Reward Fixed 24m v1 (24 month) New and existing customers 1,961 None 150 per fuel Available to existing customers only via Sainsbury's direct E.ON Next Next Fixed 12m v2 New and existing customers 1,944 None 75 per fuel Available to new customers via E.ON Next directly Next Fixed 24M v1 (24 month) New and existing customers 1,952 None 150 per fuel Available to new customers via E.ON Next directly OVO 1 Year Fixed 13 September 2023 New and existing customers 1,984 None 75 per fuel Customers to access tariff info via 'My Account' 1 Year Fixed + Boiler Cover 13 September 2023 New and existing customers 1,884 None 75 per fuel Customers to access tariff info via 'My Account' 1 Year Fixed + Greener Energy 13 September 2023 Existing customers only 2,084 None 75 per fuel Customers to access tariff info via 'My Account' British Gas Fixed Oct24 v2 / The Fixed One v25 New and existing customers 1,953 None 75 per fuel Available to both new and existing customers Fixed Sep25 v1 / The Fixed One 24M v1 (24 month) New and existing customers 1,975 None 100 per fuel Available to both new and existing customers Smart Oct 24 v2 / Smart Fixed v6 Existing customers only 1,905 None 75 per fuel Must have a smart meter Smart Fixed 24M v1 / Smart Sep25 v1 (24 month) Existing customers only 1,928 None 100 per fuel Must have a smart meter EDF EDF Essentials 1Yr Oct24v2 New and existing customers 1,914 None 75 per fuel Available to new and existing customers via EDF direct EDF Essentials 3Yr Sep26v3 New and existing customers 1,914 None 200 per fuel Available to new and existing customers via EDF direct Shell Energy Energy January 2025 New and existing customers 1,944 None 75 per fuel Available to new & existing customers only via Shell direct So Energy So Juniper One Year New and existing customers 1,950 None 75 per fuel Available via Uswitch.com, Quidco, MSM, LES and GoCo and SoE direct Utility Warehouse Fixed Saver 7 New and existing customers 1,775 59 75 per fuel Bundle tariff - Requires customers to sign up to 2 other products Fixed 7 New and existing customers 1,900 None 75 per fuel Bundle tariff - Requires customers to sign up to 1 other product Scottish Power Help Beat Cancer Green Flexi SR October 2024 DM1 Online New and existing customers 1,971 None 100 per fuel Available to new & existing customers via ScottishPower direct Help Beat Cancer Green Flexi October 2024 CM1 Online New and existing customers 1,971 None 100 per fuel Available to new & existing customers via ScottishPower direct Source: Uswitch.com. Correct as of 5 October 2023.

Beware exit fees

Unlike standard variable tariffs, fixed tariffs tend to charge exit fees if you choose to leave the contract.

This could cost you up to 200 per fuel, depending on the supplier and how long the contract is.

For example, you will be charged 75 per fuel on EDF's one-year deal and 200 per fuel for the three-year fix, to 'reflect the risks associated with offering a longer term fix.'

British Gas customers will be charged 75 per fuel for a one-year contract and 100 for a two-year deal.

Is it worth fixing?

The volatility of the energy market makes it difficult to predict where bills might be a year from now. That's why it's difficult to categorically say whether a fixed deal is the best option.

For some households, having the peace of mind that if prices rise, you'll be paying the same rate. It does mean that you will miss out on any potential savings, should unit rates fall.

The fixed deals on offer seem cautious, probably because wholesale prices remain volatile and the suppliers are hedging their bets.

Energy experts Cornwall Insight think it is unlikely that energy prices will significantly fall in the coming months.

Dr Craig Lowrey, principal consultant at Cornwall Insight said: 'Our predictions for 2024 show prices continuing to languish well above pre-pandemic prices - something which is currently forecast to remain the case for the remainder of the decade.'

It is also worth remembering that the first three months of the year typically see higher wholesale prices.

Something else you might want to consider is that standing charges are creeping higher.

Cornwall Insight predicts the typical electricity standing charge for homes on the price cap could reach 60p a day by next summer, with gas standing charges at 30p.

This would bring your standing charge bill for next year to 328.50. A fixed tariff may help to protect you from any further hikes in charges.

Also, to get a fair comparison of whether it is worth switching to a fix, you'll need to check the unit rates combined with the standing charge rates, to see how it compares to what you are paying now.

Natalie Mathie, energy expert at Uswitch.com says: 'With the price cap predicted to rise in January, households on standard variable tariffs rates might value the certainty offered by a fixed tariff.

'Fixed tariffs may be priced similar to or slightly higher than standard variable tariffs, however you have the peace of mind that the rates will not change for 12 months.

'If you're thinking of switching to a fixed deal, pay attention to any exit fees, which could cost up to 200 per fuel. If you change your mind after the cooling-off period or spot a better deal you wish to switch to, you may need to pay to leave.

'Make sure you look at the unit price and standing charge so you can understand how much you will pay for your energy usage and how it differs from what you are currently charged.'
Luxury car firm Rolls-Royce will have a British boss for the first time in 14 years as long-standing chief executive Torsten Muller-Otvos has announced he is to retire from the helm of the company at the end of next month.

He will be replaced by Chris Brownridge, the current chief executive of BMW UK, who will take over the reigns from 1 December.

The last British boss of Roll-Royce Motor Cars was Muller-Otvos' predecessor, Ian Purves, who left the Goodwood company in 2010.

Chris Brownridge, the current boss at BMW UK, will become Rolls-Royce's new chief executive from 1 December

Muller-Otvos, 63, is the brand's longest-serving chief executive since Claude Johnson, the man who brought Charles Rolls and Henry Royce together in 1904 and spearheaded the company from 1910 until his death in 1926.

The German described leading Rolls-Royce for almost 14 years as 'the greatest privilege and pleasure of my professional life'.

In an official statement issued by the British marque, he added: 'To have grown the company and its world-class people to the position it is in today, at the pinnacle of the luxury industry, has been a remarkable adventure.

'I am proud of the role my exceptional team and I have played in contributing significantly to the UK economy and to the global recognition of Britain's ability to produce the world's best luxury products.'

On Thursday, long-standing boss Torsten Muller-Otvos announced his retirement on 30 November. He's the company's longest-serving since Claude Johnson, the man who brought Charles Rolls and Henry Royce together in 1904

During his stewardship, Muller-Otvos has overseen the introduction of Rolls-Royce's first SUV model, the Cullinan, pictured

Muller-Otvos also guided the brand into its first stages of electrification with the release of the new Spectre coupe this year, with first deliveries due with customers before the end of 2023

During his stewardship, Muller-Otvos has overseen the introduction of Rolls-Royce's first SUV model, the Cullinan, guided the brand into its first stages of electrification with the release of the new Spectre coupe, expanded the business into new regions like the Middle East and China, and managed a dramatic increase in sales.

Annual sales of Rolls-Royce cars have risen from around 1,000 units per year in 2009 to a record of over 6,000 last term.

The company has attracted waves of new - younger - customers through its bespoke division creating unique vehicles to exacting specifications of well-heeded clients.

This has seen the average age of a Rolls-Royce buyer fall from 56 to 43 in that period - and one in five customers today is a celebrity.

Rolls-Royce also contributes over half a billion pound per annum to the UK economy and the expansion of its Goodwood facility in West Sussex has increased employment from 300 to over 2,500 staff in the region.

Muller-Otvos' replacement, Chris Brownridge, has been boss at the UK division of Rolls-Royce's parent company BMW since July 2021.

Before then he was BMW UK's sales director from January 2018 and Mini's regional director for UK and Ireland.

He said he was 'honoured and humbled' by his appointment from 1 December, which will put him at the controls of the company as it ramp-up production of Spectre ahead of first deliveries to customers in the coming weeks.

'To be invited to lead this great British brand, at such a pivotal moment in its long and remarkable story, is an extraordinary privilege,' he said.

'I'm fortunate to be following Torsten as chief executive. Through his vision and ambition for the brand, Rolls-Royce is today in an exceptionally strong position, and full of confidence for the future.

'I'm absolutely delighted to be part of the Rolls-Royce story and look forward to embracing the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead for us all.'

The Daily Mail's motoring editor Ray Massey flew half way round the world to California this summer to become one of the first to drive the 330,000 electric Spectre limo

 Slide me  Spectre is powered by a mighty 584 horsepower (430kW) electric motor and battery configuration which propels the near 3 tonne (2,890kg) vehicle from 0 to 62mph in 4.5 seconds an up to a top speed limited to 155mph

Stretching to nearly 5.5 meters and weighing nearly three tonnes, the low-riding Spectre is electrifying and has real road presence

Oliver Zipse, BMW Group chief executive, praised Muller-Otvos' outstanding leadership of the 'crown jewel of the organisation'.

He added that his 'unswerving commitment, clear vision and exceptional ability to build a strong, focused team have helped make Rolls-Royce the world-class luxury brand it is today'.

He concluded: 'We wish him the very best for his future endeavours.'
Nearly 1.4billion was wiped off British tobacco company values yesterday after Rishi Sunak announced the smoking age could rise every year so that eventually no-one can buy cigarettes.

Under plans announced by the Prime Minister at the Conservative party conference, a child born on or after January 1, 2009 will never legally be sold a cigarette in England.

The announcement dealt a major blow for London-listed cigarette companies British American Tobacco (BAT) and Imperial Brands.

Dunhill and Lucky Strike owner BAT fell 1.7 per cent, wiping as much as 974million off the FTSE 100 firm as its shares hit their lowest point in three years.

Imperial Brands, which owns Winston and Rizla, fell 2.7 per cent  a 404million slump in value.

Ban: Under plans announced by the Prime Minister at the Conservative party conference, a child born on or after January 1 2009 will never legally be sold a cigarette in England

The Prime Minister said he believed the measure was the right step to tackle the leading cause of preventable illness.

One in nine 18 to 24-year-olds smoke in Britain, according to the Office for National Statistics.

A similar measure has been introduced in New Zealand, where buying tobacco products will remain banned for anyone born after 2008.

Deborah Arnott, chief executive of campaign group Action on Smoking and Health, called the plans an unprecedented set of measures to protect the next generation.

But BAT said the proposals would be difficult to enforce and risked creating a category of under-age adults.

Enforcement of existing tobacco control policies is already under-resourced. An additional ban is only going to make it more difficult to police, it said.

Imperial said the plans could cause significant unintended consequences but did not elaborate.

Tobacco giants have been trying to pivot away from cigarettes towards tobacco-free alternatives such as vapes and nicotine pouches  investing millions into the products.

BAT has said nicotine pouches, tobacco heating products and vapes made up 16.6 per cent of revenue, with 40m people using them annually.

A 2018 assessment by Public Health England found that vaping is at least 95 per cent less harmful than smoking.

Yet in a further blow for tobacco investors, Sunak said he would consider restricting the sale of disposable vapes and look at their flavourings and packaging.

Figures showed that one in six people aged 16 to 24 use e-cigarettes at least occasionally, up from one in nine in 2021.
Bosses at the City regulator have been forced to defend their actions as they were taken to task over issues ranging from the Woodford scandal to fraud scams.

The annual public meeting of the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) came at a time when it is keen to show it is flexing its muscles to protect consumers during the cost of living squeeze.

But yesterdays event, led by FCA chairman Ashley Alder and senior executives at the watchdog, saw them confronted by questions from the public and press about whether their actions went far enough.

The Mails Stop the Social Media Scammers campaign has highlighted how fraudsters using online platforms are driving an online crime wave with one Briton falling victim to a shopping scam every seven minutes.

Asked about the FCAs response, Alder denied that the watchdog had failed.

Grilling: The annual public meeting of the Financial Conduct Authority is keen to show it is flexing its muscles to protect consumers during the cost of living squeeze

All regulators when faced with the level and sophistication of scams can do better, he said. But doing better means attacking the issue across a very broad front.

We have not eliminated all scams  that would be impossible to do.

But Alder said the FCA had been active in areas such as taking down fraudulent websites, its scam smart awareness campaign and work with banks to address so-called push payment fraud, where consumers are tricked into transferring money to scammers.

Therese Chambers, joint executive director of enforcement, said big tech companies ought to be playing a role fighting against fraud and that after working with Google, it was now taking down advertising from potential scammers.

The regulator was also confronted over its response to the collapse of Neil Woodfords flagship investment fund in June 2019, which will see investors who were left in the lurch start to receive a 230million compensation package from next year if they agree to a settlement.

Alder said quite a few questions, which were submitted online, were about what he described as the Woodford saga.

One asked are the FCA not looking after the interests of Woodford investors?, and suggested court action would be a better alternative to the proposed scheme.

Chambers insisted that the interests of the Woodford investors are absolutely our top priority.

She reiterated the FCAs view that the settlement  from Link, parent company of the funds supervisor Link Fund Solutions  offers the quickest and best chance to obtain a better outcome.

Also during the meeting, Alder said that the FCAs main role in policing the financial sector would not be diminished by a duty that has now been placed on it, under new legislation, to help boost the UKs international competitiveness.

There will be no race to the bottom, he said.
Concession: Hitachi has agreed to sell its mainline signalling business in the UK

The 1.5billion takeover of French engineering group Thales rail signalling business by Japans Hitachi has moved closer.

The UK Competition and Markets Authority had said it could harm competition as both supply signalling systems.

But after Hitachi agreed to sell its mainline signalling business in the UK, France and Germany, the regulator said that was an effective and proportionate remedy.

Stuart McIntosh, chairman of its inquiry group, said: Hitachi is selling part of its mainline signalling business.

This will protect competition, key to keeping costs down, maintaining high quality of service and promoting innovation.
Britain's competition regulator is to investigate tech giants Amazon and Microsoft's dominance of the country's 7.5billion cloud computing market.

The Competition and Markets Authority, which made headlines with its concerns about Microsoft's takeover of Activision, will probe the firms after communications regulator Ofcom raised concerns after its own investigation.

Ofcom has referred the cloud services market, a backbone of the online world, to the CMA after the year-long investigation uncovered concerns that business customers find barriers in their way when trying to switch suppliers.

It said it was 'particularly concerned' about the position of the market leaders Amazon and Microsoft, which together hold a market share of around 70 to 80 per cent.

Giants: Amazon and Microsoft together hold a market share of 70% to 80% of Britain's 7.5bn cloud computing market

Their closest competitor, Google, has a share of just 5 to 10 per cent.

Ofcom said that 'if left unchecked, competition could deteriorate in a critical digital market for the UK economy'.

Fergal Farragher, Ofcom's director responsible for the market study, said: 'Some UK businesses have told us they're concerned about it being too difficult to switch or mix and match cloud provider, and it's not clear that competition is working well.

'So, we're referring the market to the CMA for further scrutiny, to make sure business customers continue to benefit from cloud services.'

The CMA will look at whether there are competition concerns in the market and what interventions might be needed to improve the supply of cloud services for UK customers.

Sarah Cardell, chief executive of the CMA, said: 'This is a 7.5billion market that underpins a whole host of online services, from social media to AI (artificial intelligence) foundation models.

'Many businesses now completely rely on cloud services, making effective competition in this market essential.

'Strong competition ensures a level playing field so that market power doesn't end up in the hands of a few players, unlocking the full potential of these rapidly evolving digital markets so that people, businesses and the UK economy can get the maximum benefits.'

The cloud loosely refers to a series of vast servers across the world, on which users can store photographs or emails, or run software from.

Ofcom said there was still competition in the sector, with innovative products and discounts offered to new customers.

However, it was concerned for customers trying to move from one cloud supplier to another.

The big tech suppliers charge 'significantly higher' fees than smaller providers to move data out of the cloud and to another company's servers, Ofcom said.

Users might also struggle to use more than one company's services at the same time because the leading firms prevent some of their services working effectively alongside those from other suppliers.

This makes it more difficult to combine different services across cloud providers or to change provider.

'High levels of profitability for the market leaders AWS (Amazon Web Services) and Microsoft indicate there are limits to the overall level of competition,' Ofcom said.

Commenting on the investigation, chief executive of Stevenage-based cloud company Civo, Mark Boost, welcomed the news.

He said: 'A referral to the CMA is an unprecedented opportunity to make the cloud market a truly competitive space.

'This means empowering any company to develop and grow cutting-edge cloud services, and ensuring customers can readily move around to find the best solution to match their needs.

'The CMA's broad enforcement powers opens the door to wide-ranging remedies. Action will need to be a balancing act. It will be particularly important to tackle egress fees, either through significant price controls or the most ambitious choice: abolishing them entirely.

'The price point charged on egress by hyperscalers is out of control, and creates huge practical and financial obstacles for customers to move to another cloud provider.

'Urgent changes are also needed to how hyperscalers structure their services to enable customers to reap the benefits of simultaneously accessing multiple different providers, as well as a review of the fairness of incentives for loyal customers.'
Metro Bank shares lost almost a quarter of their value today in response to reports that the challenger bank needs to raise 600million to bolster its balance sheet.

Sources told the Reuters news agency the bank, whose market cap was 87million when markets closed last night, is exploring options to raise cash in debt and equity financing, bringing in Wall Street giant Morgan Stanley to advise.

Metro Bank confirmed it is 'evaluating the merits of a range of options, including a combination of equity issuance, debt issuance and/or refinancing and asset sales'.

It added: 'No decision has been made on whether to proceed with any of these options'

It emerged by mid-afternoon that Metro Bank's chair Robert Sharpe had been asked to meet officials from the Bank of Englands Prudential Regulation Authority and Financial Conduct Authority, the Financial Times reported.

Metro Bank has 350million of bonds due in 2025, according to London Stock Exchange data.

Its shares have had a downward trajectory since last month when the Bank of England's Prudential Regulation Authority said it was unlikely to permit Metro Bank to use its own internal risk models for some mortgages  meaning the lender is subject to higher capital requirements under current regulations.

Metro Bank shares wclosed down 25.7 per cent at 37.5p today, having lost roughly 68 per cent of their value since the start of 2023 and 98.6 per cent over the last five years.

The scale of the sell-off sparked temporary suspensions of trading in Metro Bank shares throughout the day owing to the London Stock Exchange's 'circuit breaker' protocol, which is triggered when the price of a security crosses a certain threshold.

How FSCS compensation works The Financial Services Compensation Scheme is funded by a levy on all regulated financial services firms in the UK and protects your money if a financial services firm fails. As well as banks, building societies and credit unions, FSCS protects pensions, insurance, investments, mortgages, endowments, PPI and debt management. FSCS protects money held in banks, building societies and credit unions up to 85,000 per person, per UK institution. For a joint account, the amount is doubled to 170,000 of protection per institution. Read more - FSCS protection: How your savings, investments and pension are kept safe and what you need to know

Victoria Scholar, head of investment at Interactive Investor, said: 'There have long been concerns about Metro's finances  back in 2019 queues formed at some of its branches, sparked by negative comments about its financial position on social media.

'It also admitted in the same year it faced a major error around how it classified its loan book, sending its shares crashing down by nearly 40 per cent in a single session.

'Just yesterday, ratings agency Fitch placed Metro Bank on "rating watch negative" reflecting its view that short-term risks to its 'business model stabilisation, capital buffers and funding have increased'.

'Metro floated on the stock market in March 2016 at 20 a share. Initially it rallied to a high of over 40 in 2018, but.... currently [trade] at around 40p a share, reflecting the major lack of confidence in the business among investors and its balance sheet woes.'

Reports suggest the bank's fundraising could include more than 100million from selling shares, while the lender is also hoping to refinance existing debts and is considering other options, such as selling assets, to reduce its borrowing burden.

Metro Bank has 350million of bonds due in 2025, according to London Stock Exchange data.

The lender said: 'Metro Bank notes the recent press speculation regarding a potential capital raise.

'Following Metro Bank's update on capital planning on 12 September 2023, the company continues to consider how best to enhance its capital resources, with particular regard to the 350million senior non-preferred notes due in October 2025.

'The company continues to meet its minimum regulatory capital requirements.

'For three consecutive quarters ended 30 June 2023, the bank has been profitable on an underlying basis, and it expects the Q3 trading update to show continued momentum in personal and business current account growth and customer acquisition, in line with expectations.

'Metro Bank continues to be well positioned for future growth.'


National Grid expects annual earnings per share to be weighted towards the second half of the year, with Britain's energy systems operator confident of meeting full-year expectations.

The group, which also runs an electricity and gas business in New York and Massachusetts, said it expects operating profit to be broadly evenly split across the year for its UK businesses, but more heavily weighted towards the second half for its US ones.

National Grid expects 10 to 15 per cent of its New York business's full-year operating profit to come in the first half ended 30 September, due to a higher non-cash environmental provision charge.

The London-listed company said it met its financial guidance over the first half of the year to 30 September



The company said in a statement: 'For our UK regulated businesses, we expect contributions to operating profit to be broadly evenly split across the year.

'For our US regulated businesses, we expect contributions to be more heavily weighted towards the second half.'

The group added that its New York business is expected to deliver between 10 per cent and 15 per cent of its full-year operating profit over the past half-year after being impacted by a non-cash impairment.

The company previously saw profits for the year to March as the electricity distribution business it bought two years earlier grew strongly.

It had seen a 15 per cent rise in underlying operating profit to 4.6billion, while reported pre-tax profit rose 4 per cent to 3.6billion.

In July, National Grid sold a further 20 per cent stake in National Gas to its existing majority owners, a consortium of investors led by Australia's Macquarie Asset Management.

The firm said the stake sale would be on the equivalent financial terms as when it sold a 60 per cent stake to the consortium in January.

That deal had implied an enterprise value of about 9.6billion pounds for the UK gas transmission and metering business.

National Grid shares were up 1.13 per cent to 947.80p in midday trading on Thursday.
Average advertised rents outside London reached 1,278 per month between July and September, marking an increase of 10 per cent in a year or 3.8 per cent in the last three months alone.

It means the cost of renting a home hit a new record for the fifteenth consecutive quarter, according to Rightmove's Rental Trends Tracker.

Some areas have seen even bigger hikes. In Luton, Bedfordshire, average asking rents have surged by 23.6 per cent in the last year to 1,263, the data revealed.

Rising: The quarterly change in average advertised rental prices, according to Rightmove data

Within London, average advertised rents increased to a record 2,627 per month during the period, an increase of 12.1 per cent from the same point a year ago.

The number of enquiries each rental property receives from would-be tenants has more than tripled to 25, up from eight at the same point in 2019.

In the north west of England, average advertised monthly rental costs have risen by 12 per cent in the last year to an average of 1,105, Rightmove said.

Meanwhile, in the north east of England, average monthly advertised rental costs have increased by 9.8 per cent year-on-year to 856 per month.

Wales has seen the smallest annual increase in advertised monthly rental costs, with a rise of 5.9 per cent to 1,032 per month.

Shifts: A map showing average advertised rental cost shifts across the UK

Hot spots: Areas where average advertised rental prices have increased significantly

The increase in enquiries is being driven by the 'ongoing imbalance' between supply and demand, with 41 per cent more tenants looking to move than in 2019 and the number of homes available down 35 per cent, according to the findings.

Ria Laitmer, a lettings manager at Clarkes estate agents in Dorset, said: 'The gap between high demand and a severe shortage of rental stock at the moment is just crazy.

'We're receiving mounting enquiries for each property to rent from would-be tenants, with queues of tenants arriving to open-house viewings and the majority being left disappointed as there is just not enough properties on the market to meet the demand.'

However, the total number of available properties to rent is up by 14 per cent compared with last year, while the number of new properties coming to the market to rent is now 7 per cent higher than at this time last year.

Rightmove said this was the biggest annual jump in new properties to rent since November 2022.

Competitive: There are 25 would-be tenants enquiring about each property, Rightmove says

Tim Bannister, Rightmove's director of property science, said: 'Record rents and far more tenants looking to move than there are homes available means it will still feel very difficult for many tenants navigating the market.

'However, there are signs that some of the pressure between supply and demand is beginning to ease, with the number of new rental properties coming to the market now at its highest level since the end of last year.

'While it is likely that there is some way to go before this filters through to rental prices, if the improving trend between supply and demand continues, we could start to see the pace of yearly rent rises slow more significantly than it has been.

'In the current market, tenants are having to do more to have the best chance of securing a rental property.'

Pressure in the rental market is being exacerbated as buying a first home remains difficult to afford for many.

Mortgage rates are falling slowly but remain high, and many prospective buyers are struggling to save up sufficiently for a deposit or earn enough to be able to afford costly monthly repayments.

Findings published this week revealed that a quarter of young homeowners who have a new mortgage have opted to pay it back over 35 years or more in an attempt to make monthly payments more affordable.

Analysis to data from Experian, 25 per cent of new homeowners aged 29 and under between January and March this year had opted for a repayment term of at least 35 years.

This compares with the historical typical level of about 10 per cent, which Experian recorded in January 2020.
For as little as $180, you can unlimited food and drink

Long-haul flying, for most of us, is never the most glamorous experience.

From cleaning yourself with wet wipes in a cramped toilet, to desperately trying to get your head in the right (upright) position to get a few badly-needed hours of sleep, few of us arrive at our end destination feeling fresh.

So what happens if we splurge for a business class lounge on the layover instead?

Flying from Sydney to London, via Abu Dhabi, I give it a whirl - and was amazed what a difference it made.

If you're just passing through or flying economy, it costs $187 ($120USD) for up to four hours (pictured, the Etihad Business Class lounge in Abu Dhabi)

THE NEED-TO-KNOWS

You don't need to fly business class to use Abu Dhabi's dedicated business class lounge at Abu Dhabi Airport.

Using the lounge - which sits conveniently at Terminal 3 near gate 36 - just a few minutes' walk from the gates which fly to the UK - is free if youre an Etihad Guest Gold member, or if youre flying in Business on an Etihad operated flight.

If you're just passing through or flying economy, it costs $187 ($120USD) for up to four hours, and an extra $30USD if you're staying up to eight hours.

Children under five get in for free, and kids up to 12 are charged half of the adult rate.

Thankfully for the world traveller, the lounge is open 24 hours a day.

Despite its size, the lounge never feels crowded or impersonal (pictured, a comfy chair area)

There is a range of different coloured areas tucked away from one another, creating the illusion of a more private space

Children under five get in for free, and kids up to 12 are charged half of the adult rate

There's also a smoking lounge, powerful air conditioning, chill-out spaces and - all importantly - a dedicated new shower suite

The food on offer is top notch, and for those wanting to get some work done, there are computers, monitors, printers and semi-private booths with a couch and TV

WHAT SHOULD YOU EXPECT?

The lounge, incredibly easy to walk to from Etihad gates, is well signposted - I was there in 10 minutes, despite being distracted by the very tempting duty-free offerings.

As you walk through the sliding doors, a desk full of smiling staff greet you. After you've paid your dues or flashed your appropriate boarding card, they let you know how far the gate is from your next flight - and welcome you in.

At the entrance, there's a secure locker area where staff can check in valuables for you - a weight of your mind if you plan to wander the lounge for hours.

You then walk past the newspapers and magazines, as well as the kids play area - separate and tucked away from the main room - before the hallway opens up to a huge room, by far big enough to have some quiet time undisturbed.

Despite its size, the lounge never feels crowded or impersonal thanks to a range of different coloured areas tucked away from one another, creating the illusion of a more private space.

There's a hot and cold buffet station, featuring traditional food of Abu Dhabi as well as western favourites - everything from ful medames, fresh humous and pitta bread, to hash browns, eggs and sausages.

Drinks - both strong and soft - are also free-flowing from the full-service bar, as well as barista-made coffees.

For those wanting to get some work done, there's unlimited Wi-Fi, newspapers and magazines, as well as a fully-functional office space - including computers, monitors, printers and semi-private booths with a couch and TV.

There's also a smoking lounge, powerful air conditioning, chill-out spaces and - all importantly - a dedicated new shower suite.

Healthy options are also plentiful, with fruit, salads and grains all there to offer some much needed nutrients on your long trip

You can enjoy a full three-course, or more, meal, plus drinks, snacks and salads for not much more than you'd spend it most airports at bars and restaurants

FOOD AND DRINK

The food offering is where Etihad's business class lounge becomes a no-brainer.

You can enjoy a full three-course, or more, meal, plus drinks, snacks and salads for not much more than you'd spend it most airports at bars and restaurants.

Healthy options are also plentiful, with fruit, salads and grains all there to offer some much needed nutrients on your long trip.

From champagne to a wide selections of whiskey and gins, you can also enjoy your favourite tipple while sitting in an armchair watching planes on the tarmac.

The bar has all the earmarks of a classic 1940s airport experience.

Sleek, long and with high chairs sitting opposite glass shelves with every spirit imaginable, it's an easy place to sit and watch the world go by, or chat to fellow travellers.

There's a hot and cold buffet station, featuring traditional food of Abu Dhabi as well as western favourites

Everything from ful medames, fresh humous and pitta bread, to hash browns, eggs and sausages is on offer

The breakfast side of the buffet has many healthy options

The array of cereals and juices is enough to satisfy even the pickiest family member

SHOWERS

Arriving at your final destination clean and in fresh clothes is the stuff of dreams, and while you can use the showers inside the bathrooms either side of the lounge - I wouldn't recommend them.

While clean and well kept, these shower rooms are stuffy and the air conditioning struggles - which is a problem in a city where it hits 38C before 7am.

Instead, head to the dedicated shower suite behind the main TV and sofa area.

A smiling member of staff at the desk takes you towards your private suite with fresh towels, linens and - thankfully - suitably powerful air conditioning.

Shampoo, conditioner and shower gel is all provided, as well as a hair dryer, hand towels, floor towels and a big fluffy one for your body.

Putting on a fresh outfit, I emerged from the showers a new woman - not one who had left my Sydney home 20 hours before.

Having a shower during a layover on a long-haul flight is a gamechanger, making anyone feel like they've having the full business class experience

VERDICT

I'm not sure why I've never done this before.

Arriving frazzled, hungry and with a crooked neck from a dodgy sleep, I left four hours later rested, fed, clean and put together - ready for the next stage of my trip.

With uninterrupted email access and somewhere to work, I tied up loose ends quickly before sinking into a comfy chair and watching the buzz of the lounge breeze past me.

The food was fresh with loads of healthy options to help beat jetlag brain, and I inhaled the many types of flavoured water - and fine, a glass of champagne, too.

Staff went above and beyond to make you feel special, attentively clearing your table after every drink or snack, welcoming you like an old friend and smiling all the way.

After a shower, I felt even better - particularly thanks to the new and improved air conditioned shower suite, truly the cherry on the top of this lounge experience.

With my flight finally announced for boarding, I wandered out feeling like an A-lister and was at my gate within four minutes - I really don't know what more you could want.

If you want a business class experience, but can't quite spring for the ticket, this may be your answer.
Some two thirds of Americans say they are prepared to die for their country in the event of a foreign invasion, according to a poll for DailyMail.com.

But that figure drops to less than half of Democrats. And some 30 percent of 18-29 say they would rather surrender and survive.

The results come from a survey of 1,000 likely voters in next year's election conducted by J.L. Partners.

They were asked: 'Assume there is an invasion of America by another country and they were on the brink of victory.

'You can either almost certainly die fighting for your country, or surrender and survive. What would you do?'

J.L. Partners asked 1000 likely voters: 'Assume there is an invasion of America by another country and they were on the brink of victory. 'You can either almost certainly die fighting for your country, or surrender and survive. What would you do?'

The results suggest dying for your country is a partisan issue. And there is a growing generational divide.

James Johnson, co-founder of polling firm J.L. Partners, said: 'Dying for your country is easier to say you would do in a poll than in reality.

'Nonetheless these results tell us about a fracture in America -- the youngest adults, especially young women, as well as a significant portion of Democrats, would actively choose to surrender and survive in a military invasion than die defending the United States.'

Some 45 percent of women aged 18-29 said they would rather surrender, compared with 20 percent of men of the same age.

The party divide is also clear. While 80 percent of Republican say they would fight and die, only 46 percent of Democrats say the same.

Respondents were also asked in the survey whether they would prefer to live in California or Florida.

By cross-referencing the results (which showed a small majority opting for the conservative East Coast over liberal West Coast) it is clear that the fighters prefer Florida (57 percent) to California (32 percent).

The surrenderers overwhelmingly plumped for California (by 63 percent to 24 percent).

Republicans overwhelmingly favored Florida and Democrats favored California, independents tipped the result in favor of the Sunshine State when asked where they would prefer to live

Even so, the overall results reflect better on Americans than a similar poll last year. Quinnipiac University asked 1,374 adults how they would respond if Russia invaded the U.S. in the same way it invaded Ukraine.

Some 55 percent said they would stay and fight, while some 38 percent said they would flee.

Our poll offers other insights into the state of the nation and the state of the 2024 election race.

Six in 10 Americans think the country has become more dangerous since President Joe Biden entered office, and a measly 14 percent think his administration has done a good job tackling crime.

Some 56 percent of Americans, including 51 percent of independent voters, also think the economy has gotten worse in another damning indictment of Biden's leadership.

The majority of Americans feel less safe now than they did when President Joe Biden came into office and don't think he has done a good enough job tackling crime, a new DailyMail.com poll reveals

The 2024 election is shaping up to be a rematch of the 2020 election when Biden beat Trump

The effect spells electoral difficulties for Biden as he seeks reelection next year.

Donald Trump has overtaken Joe Biden in DailyMail.com's hypothetical 2024 head-to-head poll a year ahead of an expected rematch of the last election.

It shows that the frontrunner for the Republican nomination has come back from two points down in June, when the poll was last conducted, to take a one-point lead over his likely Democratic opponent.

His rise is fueled by independent voters switching sides and by gains among graduates, who provide the bulk of support for Biden.

However, the race remains incredibly tight. And the poll
In the early dawn's orange glow, a Texas Rangers commander briefs a heavily armed invasion force.

They're preparing to seize a remote, 170-acre Mexican cartel-controlled island in the middle of the Rio Grande River overlooked by sniper nests and potentially booby-trapped.

Some of the dozens of assembled men shift from one foot to another or reposition their M-4 rifles as they listen to their commanders' instructions.

'Keep a close eye on those structures up there that have height advantage on us,' he warns.

'In case we do get engaged and someone is shot' medical evacuation plans are in place and there are blood bags if the wounded need a transfusion, he assures them.

Any questions?

This may seem like a scene from a far-flung warzone.

But it's just a glimpse of the hot war on America's southern border  a direct consequence of an out-of-control crisis that has resulted in nearly five million illegal migrants entering the United States since President Joe Biden was inaugurated in 2021.

In the early dawn's orange glow, a Texas Rangers commander briefs a heavily armed invasion force.

(Above) Suspected cartel soldier captured by surveillance camera crossing from Mexico into Fronton, Texas in August 2023

They're preparing to seize a remote, 170-acre Mexican cartel-controlled island in the middle of the Rio Grande River overlooked by sniper nests and potentially booby-trapped.

As federal Border Patrol agents have been overwhelmed by the mass migration and pulled away from the front lines to process illegal crossers, criminal Mexican gangs have gone largely unchecked and are now operating with near impunity inside America.

This week, I embedded with the Texas state mission to retake a densely overgrown island near the isolated village of Fronton, 250 miles south of San Antonio, that has fallen under the control of these ultra-violent criminal organizations.

As a condition of my exclusive access, the identities of these Texas officers and troopers are being kept secret for their safety.

After all, they're operating in enemy territory.

'AN ISLAND OF DEATH'

For decades, neither the U.S. nor Mexico claimed Fronton Island as their own and that ambiguity provided the cartels  specifically the Gulf Cartel and Cartel del Noreste (CDN)  with an opportunity.

When the cartel members are not killing each other, they use the island as a safe haven when fleeing the Mexican military or American law enforcement.

The lawlessness has transformed the region into a major drug trafficking corridor.

The cartels stash drugs in the thick vegetation while smuggling their illicit commodities north, then stop there again as they return south with cash and weapons.

They also have no compunction against shooting at anyone  be they rival cartel members or Americans  who might get in their way.

In November 2016, gunmen opened fire on Mexican state police and Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) troopers, who were surveilling them. A Texas officer was shot in the leg.

I embedded with the Texas state mission to retake a densely overgrown island near the isolated village of Fronton, 250 miles south of San Antonio, that has fallen under the control of these ultra-violent criminal organizations.

As a condition of my exclusive access, the identities of these Texas officers and troopers are being kept secret for their safety.

(Above) Texas forces prepare to plant state flag on Fronton Island

(Above) Stashes of guns and ammunition are routinely found on Fronton Island

In 2019, four shooters armed with fully-automatic weapons fired more than 50 rounds from the Mexican side of the river at a U.S. Border Patrol boat. Miraculously, no one was hurt.

Just this August, trail cameras captured grainy images of three suspected cartel gunmen carrying rifles and dressed in body armor crossing into Fronton from Mexico.

Months earlier five alleged Cartel Del Noreste members were arrested in the same area. They too were armed and dressed in tactical gear.

'It's an island of death,' said Jaeson Jones, a retired captain in DPS's intelligence division who fought against the cartels for years and knows Fronton well.

'It's dangerous man,' Jones insisted, especially now that cartels are cashing in on the burgeoning human smuggling business.

Indeed, each night hundreds of immigrants cross through the Fronton area and the cartels blend in with them.

Texas DPS Regional Director Victor Escalon said the state was forced to act.

'The federal government is not able to cover all these areas and provide for the safety and security of landowners,' Escalon told me.

'You have people out here saying, 'hey man, I'm out feeding my cows and I see three men coming across with backpacks and they're armed. Why do I have to live like that?'

Texas Governor Gregg Abbott's answer is they don't have to live like that. But before the island could be seized the issue of ownership had to be settled.

So, the state conducted surveys that determined Fronton Island was, in fact, Texas territory.

Now, Abbott's men could move in.

The commander seemed most concerned with the burned out, bullet-pocked structures spray-painted with cartel acronyms on the bluffs overlooking Fronton Island from Mexico.

'It's an island of death,' said Jaeson Jones, a retired captain in DPS's intelligence division who fought against the cartels for years and knows Fronton well.

A warehouse marked with cartel symbols is seen on Mexican side of border across from Fronton Island

SNIPERS, IED'S AND KILLER BEES

On the Fronton border with operation about to start the Rangers commander wrapped up his briefing.

Don't disturb backpacks or piles of clothes, he cautioned the men. Last month, an improvised explosive was found buried amid a stash of weapons and semi-automatic rifle ammunition.

Mark the caches and call in the bomb squad, he told them, there's a fair chance the cartels left booby traps.

Above all, the commander seemed most concerned with the burned out, bullet-pocked structures spray-painted with cartel acronyms on the bluffs overlooking Fronton Island from Mexico.

Those are the sniper perches.

'We have not seen people in there this morning, but we know that that's what they're used for,' he said.

And, oh yeah, watch out for Africanized killer bees on the island.

'They're aggressive.'

With the instructions complete, the men boarded All-Terrain Vehicles and roared off in a convoy through thick brush and deep mud created by a rare overnight rainfall.

At least today no one shot at the Texas troopers, but that's no guarantee they won't find themselves under attack in the future.

These vanguards will secure the island to allow for Texas National Guard engineers to safely bring in bulldozers and heavy machinery to completely denude the landscape of trees and brush before they fortify it with concertina wire.

With the instructions complete, the men boarded All-Terrain Vehicles and roared off in a convoy through thick brush and deep mud created by a rare overnight rainfall.

Don't disturb backpacks or piles of clothes, he cautioned the men. Last month, an improvised explosive (above left) was found buried amid a stash of weapons and semi-automatic rifle ammunition (above right)

These vanguards will secure the island to allow for Texas National Guard engineers to safely bring in bulldozers and heavy machinery (above) to completely denude the landscape of trees and brush before they fortify it with concertina wire.

After that the island will be constantly patrolled as if it were a warzone, though few think this takeover will do much to encourage the cartels to find another line of work.

'[The cartels] will still be able to move whatever commodity north or south,' Mike Salinas, a recently retired Border Patrol of 30 years told me. 'It's going to be a speed bump for them. They have the resources, money and time.'

The state of Texas also knows this to be true, but they're determined to carry on.

'If the cartels move somewhere else, we'll identify it and just follow them up and down the river,' DPS' Escalon told me. 'The way we look at this is - this is a forever operation.'

What happens if or when Americans get between the cartels and the billions of dollars they reap from drug smuggling and human trafficking is anyone's guess.

And whether or not Texas or federal government want to admit it, the border with Mexico has now been militarized for the first-time against foreign criminal organizations.

And this war has just begun.
Opponents said the legislation is 'an unfortunate approach' that would disregard the contribution by Italian Americans

Massachusetts lawmakers are seeking to replace Columbus Day with Indigenous Peoples Day amid claims the explorer is responsible for genocide and discrimination.

The Massachusetts House held a hearing Tuesday on a bill that would designate the second Monday in October as Indigenous Peoples Day.

The legislation calls to 'acknowledge the history of genocide and discrimination against Indigenous peoples' in schools and elsewhere in the state.

'This holiday will be a great tribute to the contributions of Indigenous people in Massachusetts  past, present and future,' Sen. Jo Comerford said at the hearing.

Washington D.C. and other 20 states have recognized the revamped day or celebrated in addition to Columbus Day.

Advocates called to 'acknowledge the history of genocide and discrimination against Indigenous peoples' in schools and elsewhere in the state

Sen. Jo Comerford(pictured), who cosponsored the bill, said it will be a great tribute to the contributions of Indigenous people in Massachusetts

State Rep. Jeffrey Turco(pictured) opposed the legislation and said it would disregard the contributions of Italian American people

Sen. Comerford of Northampton, Rep. Christine Barber of Somerville, along with more than 30 cosponsors, proposed the bill (H2989/S1976) to educate the public about the 'racism and violence' caused by Christopher Columbus.

'Christopher Columbus did not discover the Americas,' Comerford and Barber said in a joint statement, adding that the change will 'honor those who first settled this land.'

But some opponents criticized the bill and called it 'an unfortunate approach'.

They argued the proposals could spark conflict between Native Americans and Italian Americans as the latter celebrate their heritage through the public holiday.

State Rep. Jeffrey Turco said: 'Nobody objects to creating an Indigenous People Day, but to pit one group of people against another people I think is an unfortunate approach.'

'This bill basically disregards the contributions of Italian American people  it's offensive to so many across this commonwealth,' he added.

Turco instead suggested to pass legislations that would enable Native American tribes to reclaim their land.

The Massachusetts House held a hearing Tuesday on a bill that would designate the second Monday in October as Indigenous Peoples Day

Massachusetts residents are divided in opinions on replacing Columbus Day with Indigenous Peoples Day

Not all Italian Americans are against the bill.

Heather Leavell, co-founder of Italian Americans for Indigenous People Day, called Columbus Day 'one that honors a brutal, brutal colonizer.'

'By rejecting Columbus Day, we acknowledge the history and the harm, and then we show our commitment to repair by replacing it with a celebration of Indigenous people,' she told the committee.

Her group represents those who are of Italian descent and support the state transitioning away from Columbus Day.

The upcoming long weekend remains to be Columbus Day at the state level in Massachusetts, but Boston and dozens of cities have decided to celebrate Indigenous Peoples Day instead.

Massachusetts residents are divided in opinions on replacing Columbus Day with Indigenous Peoples Day, reported by NHPR.

Washington D.C. and other 20 states have recognized the revamped day or celebrated in addition to Columbus Day

Lawmakers are seeking to replace Columbus Day with Indigenous Peoples Day amid claims the explorer is responsible for genocide and discrimination. A statute of Christopher Columbus

'The indigenous people - yeah, they got screwed, Wesley Lane said. The carpenter living in Agawam said thinks Columbus Day should remain.

'People are getting too woke too quick. They need to wake up and realize that this is how our country was formed. Suck it up. It's how other countries were formed.'

Timothy Bancroft, a chauffeur and Springfield resident, believes the name change would repair the damage done to indigenous communities.

'We need to pay homage to the people that were originally here. I think they are often forgotten and left behind and fighting for the little things that they get,' he said. 'But I think they are owed much more.'

Tairy Feliciano, a cook who identifies as indigenous, thinks replacing the holiday would be a 'tough' decision.

'A lot of people will be against it. You're taking away something that's been there for a long time. It's like two different prides coming together, knocking heads,' she said.

'We don't want to make people feel lesser than we are. We just want to make everybody happy and content. Maybe we come together, and we can celebrate together and come to one unity.'
The estranged daughter of convicted killer Chris Dawson has recalled his final text to her five years ago.

Shanelle Dawson grew up without knowing her mother Lynette, who was murdered in 1982 at her home on Sydney's northern beaches by her father amid an affair he was having with a 16-year-old student.

Shanelle, then four, and her younger sister were told by Dawson that their mother had simply walked out because she didn't love them anymore.

Dawson will likely spend the rest of his life behind bars after a court last year found him guilty of murdering Lynette and disposing of her body four decades ago.

Now a mum herself, Shanelle spoke to the Australian Women's Weekly about her life, the conflicted feelings she holds for her father and their final text exchanges in September 2018.

Shanelle Dawson (left) has opened up about her father Chris Dawson in a candid magazine interview

These are the final texts between Shanelle Dawson and her dad Chris Dawson in 2018

READ NOW: Shanelle Dawson's daughter reveal heartbreaking question her little girl asked about her killer granddad Advertisement

The Teacher's Pet, a podcast about her mother's then unsolved disappearance had launched several months earlier and made headlines across Australia.

Shanelle texted her father to tell him that she loved him but said: 'I won't live a life based on lies, nor will I keep subjecting myself to emotional manipulation and control.

'You have dishonoured our mother so terribly.

'One day, I will forgive you for removing her so selfishly from our lives.'

Dawson replied: 'You're clearly very lonely and depressed in the life you've chosen  It is your adult life, now 41 with a child and without a partner, that has clearly caused this terrible depression.'

A month later, Dawson sent what would be his final text to Shanelle.

'Hi Shanelle, hope you and Kialah are both well. Thinking of you constantly xx.'

Shanelle candidly opened up about Dawson in the wide-ranging interview, telling the magazine: 'My inner world [was] playing out for the masses. [I] couldn't pretend anymore.'

Four decades on, Lynette Dawson's body (pictured with husband Chris) has never been found

Lynette Dawson (left) disappeared when Shanelle (pictured as baby) was four-years-old

Shanelle recalled the harrowing moment she had to explain to her nine-year-old daughter Kialah that her grandfather killed her grandmother, whose body has never been found.

Her daughter's response was heartbreaking.

'She kept asking me, "But why did he do that?" The same question that's tortured me over and over now for many years,' Shanelle recalled.

Shanelle also opened up about the anguish of being 'cut out' by her sister Sherryn and other members of Dawson's family who remain loyal to the convicted killer.

'I feel like I'm the scapegoat,' she said.

'Why am I the one being cut out? I didn't do anything wrong. But there is also a real freedom in it that I can embrace.'

More than four decades on, Shanelle struggles to trust people and suffers from PTSD after losing her mum so young.

'There's a part of me that's broken, I haven't really, fully trusted people again,' Shanelle said.

'I can be a bit prickly; my defence mechanisms are fairly well intact.'

Chris Dawson was convicted of the 1982 murder of Lynette and taken away to prison

Hearing the guilty verdict brought mixed feelings of despair and relief.

She described Dawson's trial as the longest 10 weeks of her life.

'I was trying to be at peace with whichever way it went, trying not to be too distraught and attached to a particular outcome because you can only have so much emotional turmoil in one lifetime,' Shanelle recalled.

'There was no rejoicing; it's heartbreaking for me to know he will likely die behind bars.'

Her book My Mother's Eyes is on sale from October 11.

'I am not only reclaiming my mother's story and my story as our own,' Shanelle said.

'I am moving these chapters into the past and writing new ones.'

If you or some you know needs support, contact 1800 RESPECT.
Tropical Storm Philippe is expected to barrel toward Bermuda, and later New England and Canada after drenching the US and British Islands Wednesday.

Phillippe had soaked the northeast Caribbean on Tuesday, with all schools in the US Virgin Islands shuttered and multiple power outages reported in the area amid downpours and lighting.

The storm, whipping up winds of up to 45 mph, is expected to approach Bermuda late Thursday and Friday with a tropical storm watch already in effect for the region.

Though far from the US mainland now, Phillippe will approach New Hampshire and Maine on Sunday with chances to intensify in the coming days.

Heavy rain and flooding are likely to occur this weekend across New York and New England, an area that has experienced repeated drenching in the past weeks.

Tropical Storm Philippe is expected to barrel toward Bermuda, and later New England and Canada after drenching the US and British Islands Wednesday

Philippe could strike portions of Maine with heavy rain, strong winds and storm surge, Alex Sosnowski, AccuWeather senior meteorologist, told USA Today.

Forecasters said the rainfall would be less severe than last week, but a widespread one inch of rain is highly possible.

'The intensity forecast remains murky,' the hurricane center said.

The storm was located about 255 miles north-northwest of St. Thomas on Wednesday afternoon. It had winds of up to 45 mph, moving north-northwest at 9 mph, according to the national hurricane center in Miami.

The downpours Tuesday had forced the government to close all schools in the U.S. Virgin Islands, with a few in St. Martin and St. Barts remained closed Wednesday morning.

Residents in the French Caribbean territories have been banned from swimming or engaging in any activities in the ocean until Thursday.

Tropical Storm Philippe is the 16th named storm formed in the Atlantic this year.

It will interact with a cold front this weekend and funnel tropical moisture across the Northeast, CNN reported.

Phillippe had soaked the northeast Caribbean on Tuesday, with all schools in the US Virgin Islands shuttered and multiple power outages reported in the area amid downpours and lighting

The storm, whipping up winds of up to 45 mph, is expected to approach Bermuda late Thursday and Friday with a tropical storm watch already in effect for the region

Marejada por la tormenta tropical Phillip, desde Lindbergh Bay, en la isla de St. Thomas, Islas Virgenes.



 David Vazquez

Via Deborah Martorell pic.twitter.com/2eZwMC7E7w  35 (@Centinela_35) October 4, 2023

The projected track for Tropical Storm Philippe assembles the one of Hurricane Lee in September, as strong winds and rain are expected in parts of the Northeast and Canada.

The storm will lose its tropical nature as it approaches the coast of New England this weekend, but the strength of the rain and wind will likely remain the same.

The exact location of the heaviest rain is still unknown as of Wednesday afternoon. It depends on Philippe's track over the next few days.

The New York City tri-state area received one of most intense rainfall last week, with subways, roads, and basement apartments flooded and states of emergency declared.

The last week's downpours occurred due to the remains of Tropical Storm Ophelia with converging winds located just to the north.

The rain, a hangover from Tropical Storm Ophelia, was some of the worst seen in New York City since Hurricane Ida in 2021, when 13 people drowned in basement apartments after being caught off-guard.
Bankman-Fried's trial on fraud charges began in Manhattan on Tuesday : if convicted on all counts, he could face over 100 years in prison

Sam Bankman-Fried was arguing by text with his mother about which clothes he should wear to be arrested as police arrived at his Bahamas penthouse, according to a new biography.

Bankman-Fried, 31, went on trial in Manhattan on Tuesday accused of presiding over a massive cryptocurrency fraud.

He has pleaded not guilty to charges he used FTX customer money from the exchange's 2019 launch until its November 2022 bankruptcy in order to prop up his hedge fund, Alameda Research; buy luxury real estate; and donate to U.S. political campaigns and candidates.

Bankman-Fried's parents, Stanford Law School professors Joseph Bankman and Barbara Fried, were seen arriving at the federal courthouse in lower Manhattan on Wednesday morning. They had not attended the trial's first day.

Barbara Fried, according to the new biography, was adamant that her son needed to look more polished than usual when he was arrested.

Sam Bankman-Fried is seen on stage with supermodel Gisele Bundchen during a cryptocurrency conference in the Bahamas. He was known for his wild hair, cargo shorts and t-shirts

Bankman-Fried is seen on December 13, the day after his arrest, in court in the Bahamas. He was arrested in his cargo shorts - despite his mother's wishes - but appeared in court the day later in a suit

The 31-year-old's penthouse at the Albany marina. He set up the company's headquarters there in The Bahamas

Michael Lewis, author of The Big Short, Moneyball and The Blind Side, wrote in his book, Going Infinite, that Bankman-Fried was locked in a bathroom in the Bahamas penthouse where he lived when the police arrived to arrest him on December 12, 2022.

Lewis describes a 'small crowd' of police and other officials arriving at the penthouse, where Bankman-Fried lived with other FTX executives.

A tall police officer, according to Lewis, asked: 'Is Mr. Bankman-Fried here?'

FTX's in-house psychiatrist, George Lerner, was in the living room, so the police officer asked if he was Bankman-Fried.

Lewis writes: 'At first, no one could find Sam.'

Bankman-Fried was in the bathroom, texting his mother and arguing with her.

She was initially trying to dissuade him from swearing in a congressional testimony which he was due to deliver on December 13.

Bankman-Fried planned to start by saying: 'I f***** up.'

She then moved to discussing his arrest, which they all knew was about to happen.

She wanted him to wear long pants, but he wanted to wear his trademark cargo shorts.

Barbara Fried, the mother of Sam Bankman-Fried, wanted her son to wear a suit for his arrest

The jury has been sworn in and opening statements are underway in the fraud trial of embattled FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried

Bankman-Fried, 31, was in court at a bench between his two lawyers wearing a suit with his hair cut short at the sides

He won the argument, but photos on the day of his arrest show him in court wearing a suit.

On Tuesday, at the start of his trial, Bankman-Fried's unruly hair was close-cut.

Bankman-Fried has been in jail since August, when his bail was revoked and he was taken from his parents Palo Alto house after a judge found he 'attempted to tamper with witnesses at least twice'.

His lawyers had received approval to provide Bankman-Fried with business attire for the trial, including 'appropriate undergarments.'
The event allows women to meet major tech brands such as Apple and Amazon

Female jobseekers at a women in tech conference have reacted with fury after a number of men crashed the networking event, seemingly taking advantage of the acceptance of 'nonbinary' people.

The scandal erupted at the Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing in Orlando Florida, which is among the most lucrative job finding conventions for young female professionals to meet major tech firms, often right out of college.

But this year's summit, held from September 26th to 29th, was swarmed with men also looking to land a big interview with firms including Amazon, Apple and Google.

The reason many were welcomed appeared to be the women's event allowing nonbinary individuals to also attend, sparking anger among women feeling the move was a shameless attempt to take advantage of gender diversity programs.

Footage from the women in tech conference showed numerous men also in attendance, seemingly taking advantage of the vague rules around attendants being 'nonbinary'

Female attendees were quick to show their distaste at the men showing up at the women's event, with some even claiming they cut in lines and shoved other guests

Furious attendees took to social media to slam the men for gatecrashing the women's event, however some pointed the finger at vague benchmarks for entering the summit as men could simply identify as 'nonbinary.'

This was acknowledged by Cullen White, the Chief Impact Officer of AnitaB.org, which hosts the conference, as he took to the stage to address the audience at the end of the event, saying: 'Simply put, some of you lied about your gender identity when you registered.'

Mamantha J, an attendee who condemned the event on LinkedIn, said she was 'really looking forward' to the forum before realizing it was not what she expected.

'As a woman who has experienced patriarchic dominance in the tech industry, I hoped the convention would provide a fair chance for me to connect with potential employers,' she said.

Alongside complaints about long lines and exhausted recruiters, she said she witnessed 'a significant number of cis-men allies taking opportunities meant for women and non-binary, a concerning trend that seemed unaddressed by the event organizers.'

'It saddens me the see all those cis men attending #GHC23 and misrepresenting their gender,' added Anchal Katyalm, a software development manager at Amazon who also hit out at the gatecrashers on Linkedin.

'We need male allies. We need men who want to celebrate women, who want to work with, and for women,' she added.

'For all the women & nonbinary people attending, hold your ground & believe in yourself.'

Another frustrated female jobseeker said on TikTok that she was in line to network with a recruiter when several men cut in front of her in the queue.

Another participant, Lauren Shaefer, said she was a big fan of the conference ever since she landed an internship there in 2007, until this year where her love of the event was dashed.

'I once again traveled to the celebration to give a talk, but I didnt leave feeling refreshed and energized,' she wrote.

'The opening and closing talks from the main stage were excellent, but everything in between felt disheartening.'

She added that she even spoke with a security guard who 'said they kicked out men who were pushing and shoving', adding that: 'The career fair was overrun with men.'

'AnitaB.org addressed the situation, but the career expo was still overcrowded and people were forced to wait an hour just to get into the expo on Friday morning. The situation felt gross.'

Footage of men pushing and shoving or being kicked out has not surfaced, however numerous people on social media have also claimed they saw male attendees aggressively harrying others inside the summit.

Cullen White, the Chief Impact Officer of AnitaB.org, which hosts the conference, took to the stage to address the audience at the end of the event, saying: 'Simply put, some of you lied about your gender identity when you registered'

After the conference was plunged into controversy, White spoke to the audience to address the oversight in allowing the men to attend, as he slammed the number of 'cis men' opting to join.

'This is supposed to be a joyous event that centers around you,' he began. 'Yesterday, it became clear that there are a far greater number of cisgender men attending'.

'Simply put, some of you lied about your gender identity when you registered - as evidenced by the stacks and stacks of resumes you're passing out.

'You did so because you thought you could come here and take space to get a job.

'We need male allies, we need men who want to celebrate women, want to work with and for women.

'Unfortunately some of you took discounted academic tickets from women who need them, some of you are taking interview slots right now... from women who need them.

'Some of you are stood in line talking to recruiters instead of letting women speak. All of those are limited resources to which you have no right.

'So let me be perfectly clear: stop right now. Stop.'

AnitaB.org also acknowledged the backlash in a separate social media post, saying that this year's conference saw 'an increase in participation in self-identifying males.'

'We are dedicated to bringing structural changes to ensure that GHC continues to be an uplifting experience and provides opportunities for women and non-binary technologists.

'In regard to calls for AnitaB.org to ban males from attending GHC, Federal Non-Discrimination requirements prohibit any U.S. based organization from discriminating based on gender.

'Not only must we comply with federal law, we also believe in the power of providing an inclusive space. Male attendees, along with every attendee, Sponsor, Patron, Partner, and Staff member, are expected to uphold and embody a commitment to the mission.'
Dozens of stores in the area have closed in recent months due to the city's persistent issues with homelessness, drug use, and crime

The company said the closings are part of a 'larger evaluation' of their portfolio

Seven Starbucks stores in San Francisco's downtown area are planning to close as the city continues to deal with crime, drug use, and a homelessness epidemic.

The coffee company on Tuesday announced the locations of the stores which will shutter effective October 22 as part of an evaluation of the company's portfolio.

'Each year as a standard course of business, we evaluate the store portfolio to determine where we can best meet our community and customers' needs,' a Starbucks spokesperson told CNN.

The official said they are committed to San Francisco as a whole and added that they have opened three other stores in the area in the last six months.

Despite the apparent denial that the closures are connected to the city's persistent issues, it's just the latest in a string of recent major store shut downs in the Bay Area.

In August, the area's flagship Nordstrom closed after three decades in business while other notable closings include Whole Foods, CB2, Anthropologie, and more.

Seven Starbucks stores in San Francisco's downtown area are planning to close in October

The closures come as the city continues to experience crime, drug-use, a homeless epidemic

The seven locations closing on October 22 are identified below:

Mission Street and Main Street

Geary Street and Taylor Street

425 Battery St.

398 Market St.

4th Street and Market Street

555 California St.

Bush Street and Van Ness Avenue

In their statement, the Starbucks spokesperson said their dedication to San Francisco is not wavering despite the closures.

In addition to opening several new locations, the brand is constantly 'identifying stores in need of investment or renovation,' including four stores currently.

The investments are reported to cost $2.5 million.

'We remain dedicated to investing in the City in meaningful and important ways that meet our partners and customers where they are  in the best way we know how,' Jessica Borton, Starbucks' regional VP for Northern California, said to CNN.

A company official also confirmed to SFGATE that all employees are being offered the opportunity to transfer to a different location.

'We will continue to listen to the needs of our partners (employees) to ensure they can focus on crafting beverages and creating connections in a welcoming environment,' an email sent to employees read.

'I want to thank each of you for your leadership and support of our partners as we communicate this news,' the email continued.

After the seven closures, 52 Starbucks remain in San Francisco.

In their statement, the Starbucks spokesperson said their dedication to San Francisco is not wavering despite the closures

A homeless woman is seen on the street in San Francisco's Tenderloin District

A homeless woman moves her belongings after being approached by the San Francisco Homeless Outreach Team's Encampment Resolution Team

In early August, John Chachas, the owner of local luxury furnisher Gump's, paid for a full-page ad in Sunday's San Francisco Chronicle to pen a scathing letter.

The ad, addressed to Governor Gavin Newsom and Mayor London Breed accuses the politicians of dereliction of duty due to the city's major and rampant issues.

Chachas, 59, also said if things continue on the current path, it could end up in the 166-year-old store's doors closing forever.

Expressing a deep desire to not be the latest casualty of the so-called 'retail apocalypse' gripping the city, Cachas demanded Newsom and Breed immediately reassess their 'failed public policies', or face a future without his store.

'Today, as we prepare for our 166th holiday season at 250 Post Street, we fear this may be our last because of the profound erosion of this city's conditions,' Chachas, who ran for US senate in Nevada as a Republican in 2010 but lost, wrote.

As for an explanation why, the Columbia and Harvard Business School grad said: 'San Francisco now suffers from a "tyranny of the minority" - behavior and actions of the few that jeopardize the livelihood of the many.'

The investment banker - who acquired Gump's following a Chapter 11 filing in 2018 - went on to explain how crime, homelessness, a lack of foot traffic, and lawlessness have plagued his store and others downtown after a long COVID shutdown.

San Franciscos elected class, he said, has proved incapable of addressing the problem, thanks to policies that have allowed the homeless to run rampant.

Around the same time, the city's flagship Nordstrom store closed amid the city's rise in crime, homelessness, and public drug use.

Video taken by local media outlets showed the once vibrant store depleted of its merchandise and customers as it prepared to close its doors.

'It's half of the mall that is no longer going to be here. I do think it might change the businesses. You can already see it. It's unfortunate,' said a Nordstrom employee.

In early August, John Chachas, the owner of local luxury furnisher Gump's, paid for a full-page ad in Sunday's San Francisco Chronicle to pen a scathing letter about the city's issues

Chachas said if things continue on the current path, it could end up in the 166-year-old store's doors closing forever

This is the full ad that Chachas paid to run in the San Francisco Chronicle

San Francisco's flagship Nordstrom closed after three decades in business in August

A map reveals the major businesses which have left, or have announced they are leaving, San Francisco in recent months. Retailers like Whole Foods, Anthropologie, Old Navy, AmazonGo, Saks Off Fifth, and Office Depot are among those taking part in the mass exodus

Other major closures include GAP, Saks 5th Avenue, Whole Foods, Banana Republic, Old Navy, Office Depot, Cinemark, Abercrombie and Fitch, and more.

The city has also suffered from the rise in remote working after the pandemic, which has decimated footfall in the financial district and Union Square areas.

Office vacancies reached a record high of 31 percent in May, enough space for 92,000 workers.
A woman is fighting for life after she was allegedly shot by her partner before he turned the gun on himself in a suspected attempted murder suicide.

The woman, 38, was found with a gunshot wound to her abdomen at a house on Sprigg Street at Millner, in Darwin's north, at 6.30pm on Tuesday.

A 35-year-old man was also found dead with a firearm lying beside him. A neighbour said the man had shot his ex-partner before taking his own life.

The woman was raced to Royal Darwin Hospital where she was operated on and is fighting for her life in the intensive care unit.

The incident marked the second shooting to rock the Northern Territory capital city after a man was found dead. The two shootings are unrelated to each other.

A woman has been left fighting for her life after she was shot by her partner before he turned the gun on himself in a suspected attempted murder suicide

Neighbours told NT News they heard screaming from the house along with the sound of the two shots where the dead man and injured woman were discovered.

The couple were reported to be in a relationship but the woman had been staying at a domestic violence shelter and had only returned to the house with her child to get belongings with the intention of leaving her partner.

An unnamed neighbour described what happened as an 'ambush' saying the woman was invited back into the home by the alleged shooter.

'The level of domestic violence in this town is appalling,' he said.

'It hits differently when it's on your street.'

Another neighbour Kim Leonard-Bond said the man's brother was performing chest compressions on one of the persons before paramedics arrived.

Ms Leonard-Bond said she had known the family since the brothers were boys.

'I just think as a mother  I just think, Oh my god how do you cope with the loss of your child, let alone one that killed himself in your house?' she said.

Friends were seen visiting the home on Wednesday morning with one man weeping quietly in his car just metres from the house.

Major Crime detective Paul Morrissey was unable to confirm if there was a history of domestic violence, or if the woman was staying in a shelter but did confirm other family members were at the home during the shooting.

'It's concerning for neighbours. It's obviously distressing for family members and friends of the persons involved and also a confronting scene for first responders,' he said.

He said that investigations are in their 'infancy' but did not anticipate any arrests in the suspected attempted murder suicide.

Police were still at the property on Wednesday morning with evidence markers seen near a pair of men's running shoes.

Detectives were also interviewing local residents and seeking witnesses.

A report is being prepared for the coroner.

The wounded woman was rushed to the Royal Darwin Hospital where she was operated on and remains in a critical condition

Earlier on Tuesday, police were called ato another shooting in the northern Darwin suburb of Karama where a 63-year-old man was found dead at 4.30pm.

A resident said he saw a paddy wagon come 'flying around' the street near the Eaton Place home on Tuesday evening.

'Quickly after that, there were two, three, four cop cars and two ambulances, all here within a couple of minutes,' he said.

'I didn't hear any noise or anything leading up to it, and we were outside.'

Mr Morrissey said a firearm was seized at the scene and the circumstances surrounding the death are under investigation.

'These incidents can happen anywhere, I suppose, but there doesn't appear to be any sort of ongoing concern in regards to either these incidents,' he said of both shootings.

Police are investigating to see if the guns were licenced and lawfully held at both properties.

Northern Territory Chief Minister Natasha Fyles expressed her sympathies to those affected by the two tragedies.

'My thoughts are with the family, the friends and the neighbours of these incidents and we'll allow police to undertake the appropriate investigations,' she said

'(It's) something that we don't see every day in the Territory and quite significant from the advice I've been provided.'
Partygoers at a music festival were left shocked after an attendee wearing nothing but shoes and a backpack allegedly masturbated in front of the stage.

Footage of the troubling incident shared to Reddit this week shows the man among a packed crowd believed to be at music festival Listen Out in Centennial Park in Sydney last Saturday as US rapper Ice Spice was about to perform.

Paying guests can be heard shouting insults at the naked man and telling him to leave, though he appears oblivious.

Some commenters on the Reddit post who claimed to have been in the same crowd as the man said that when he did not respond, some offended partygoers punched him, which even then failed to get much of a reaction.

'A bit later people began bashing him and people just kept shuffling away since most just didn't want to be touched by the guy and get in the way,' one person said.

'He got pushed and shoved but kept jerking it, so a few guys punched him in the head,' another said.

'He didn't even react, it was pretty crazy,' a third said.

The shocked crowd cleared the area around the man who allegedly masturbated in front of the stage before offended revellers led him away

NSW Police confirmed a person attending Listen Out was charged with wilful and obscene exposure, though have not clarified it is the same man shown in the video.

Some others commenting on the video asked if the man was given any help noting that he could have been affected by drugs or alcohol.

'Not saying it is your, or anyone's responsibility because he could be dangerous, but the right thing to do here is get this guy to medical or get medical to this guy,' a person wrote.

The video coincides with two deaths at other Sydney festivals over the weekend and claims by one woman she was subjected to an invasive strip search by police at a festival.

Brooke Hayden, 27, from Western Sydney claims she was subjected to the hands-on search after being singled out by sniffer dogs.

Police in NSW are supposed to conduct visual-only strip searched and no substances were found on her.

NSW could follow the lead of other states and territories by trialling free pill-testing sites, with Premier Chris Minns declining to rule it out.

The festival was held last Saturday in Sydney and featured Skrillex and Ice Spice among the headliners

Police patrol the Listen Out Festival at Centennial Park in Sydney

Two men died after leaving a dance music festival at Sydney Showground on Saturday, spurring renewed calls for the rollout of an ACT-style drug-testing regime.

Police on Tuesday charged a Melbourne man with supplying the drug that killed one of the men, a 21-year-old who later died in hospital.

The charge was later withdrawn after the force conceded it 'did not have the requisite authority by the DPP as required'.

While the precise circumstances of the two deaths were still unclear, Mr Minns said it was a 'terrible situation' for the families who had lost loved-ones.

The introduction of pill testing for festivals would not be a perfect solution and the use of drugs like MDMA, or ecstasy, in hot conditions where people were liable to become severely dehydrated was a 'toxic and extremely dangerous mix', he said.

'Pill testing is not going to stop that happening and I need to make sure when decisions are made about festival safety - which is our primary concern - it's done with the full information on the table,' he said.
Older shoppers have fired back at 'spoilt brat' young Aussies after one demanded supermarkets restrict those customers who take too long at the check-out to a 'boomer hour'.

The shopper, from Victoria's Mornington Peninsula south-east of Melbourne, claimed older customers 'should be more mindful of time-poor workers and busy parents' in a post shared on Facebook.

They added older customers were taking up too much space in the aisles to stop and socialise, making it inconvenient for other shoppers in a rush.

Boomers on social media labelled the idea as 'brainless' and lashed out at young Aussies for being 'entitled' and 'self-centred'.

Older shoppers have fired back at young Aussies after one demanded supermarkets restrict those customers to a 'boomer hour' because they take too long in the aisles and at the check-out (pictured, older woman doing her shopping at a Woolworths in Melbourne)

'What a pack of disrespectful spoilt brats ... they have a lot to learn about life ... they can go & get stuffed,' one person wrote.

'What a brainless idea. Stuff that, bowing down to the selfish or the impatient,' another person commented.

One boomer wrote that 'young idiots' should 'get stuffed', while another suggested their own solution: 'Here's an idea, f*** off little turds'.

READ MORE: Boomers issue a brutal message to young Aussies struggling to buy a home Advertisement

Other boomers said they will shop whenever they want, with many claiming they will now deliberately take longer while in supermarket aisles and at check-outs.

'Omg, next they'll want to euthanasia (sic) over fifty years old. What is wrong with these self-important self-centred spoiled brats? They drive like they shop "get out of my way, get off my road, get out of my supermarket",' one person wrote.

'All about me generation. Me me me, I need to have my voice heard, I need to make every situation about me 'cause the world revolves around me,' another commented.

One boomer advised young Aussies who are complaining about slow shoppers to remember that they too will be old some day.

'I think some of you that complain about slow older people forget that in the future if you are lucky enough to reach that age, you too will be slower,' they wrote.

'If you don't want to wait then use the self-service machines which most supermarkets have now days or shop online, your problem solved.'

Consumer behaviour analyst Barry Urquhart (pictured) slammed the idea claiming it is 'ageism personified'

Consumer behaviour analyst Barry Urquhart branded the idea as 'ageism personified'.

'It won't work because they are a primary driver of the marketplace at the moment,' he told 7News.

'At a time where the cost of living and the cost of doing business is acute, you can't turn and marginalise any consumer group.

'Those Australians who have got the money and are spending it are 50 years of age and older, they are very attractive to retail businesses at large.'

Mr Urquhart explained Australia, with the exception of Sweden, had the highest level of personal debt in the world and at a time when people were therefore looking to curb spending, any customers need to be encouraged.

Mr Urquhart said the older Australians have the money to spend and are a primary driver for the market (pictured, older shopper at a Woolworths check-out)

'This is ageism personified. People are wanting to say ''let's marginalise the older people, let's make them invisible'' and they're saying ''no, we're asserting ourselves in tourism, hospitality, flight purchases at large'',' he said.

'Follow the money and the money in Australia at the moment is for people aged 50 years of age and older because they've got less mortgage, more discretionary purchases and are spending it.'

During the peak of the Covid pandemic, Woolworths and Coles introduced priority access for elderly people so they did not miss out on scarce essential items.

Both retailers opened for senior citizens and those with disabilities between 7am and 8am so they could get their shopping done without being shunted aside by aggressive panic buyers.
A family dog died after rangers tried restraining the loose pup before their equipment failed and strangled the dog to death.

City of Perth rangers were called to a Kensington address after locals reported an unregistered and 'unpredictable' Staffordshire bull terrier cross wandering alone on September 19.

The staffie, called Snowflake, had escapted its owner's yard and was roaming the street, which was not uncommon according to a neighbour.

When it was approached by the rangers the dog became aggressive and needed to be retrained, City CEO Mike Bradford said.

Once Snowflake had arrived at a care facility, the catchpole rangers had used to restrain the dog broke and could not be removed from its neck.

Snowflake (not pictured), a beloved family Staffordshire bull terrier cross, died after animal rangers restrained it but were then unable to remove their catchpole (stock image)

Perth City CEO Mike Bradford said the use of a catchpole was necessary as the dog had reacted aggressively to rangers, but expressed his sympathies for the death (stock image)

Mr Bradford expressed his sympathies for Snowflake's family but denied that there was any wrongdoing in the way rangers handled the situation.

READ MORE: Tragic update after Rottweiler's attack A young woman fighting for life after being mauled by her pet Rottweilers has now been struck down with bacterial infections as a result of being bitten. Advertisement

'Rangers were required to use a catchpole to restrain the dog,' he said in a statement.

'The city has also reviewed its procedures and processes to ensure the integrity of all equipment used by the city's rangers.'

The dog's owners were not home when rangers captured it, so Snowflake was taken to an animal care facility in Como.

Upon getting there they tried to remove the catchpole with bolt cutters without success.

'Despite multiple attempts the cord around the animal could not be released,' Mr Bradford said.

Snowflake was rushed to Murdoch vets where the cause of death was ruled to be asphyxiation.

The City of Perth has since paid for the dog's cremation.

RSPCA WA confirmed that a cruelty complaint had been filed in relation to the incident and that they were investigating.

John Jarvien, a neighbour of Snowflake's family, told Perthnow that the dog had been bought for their seven-year-old daughter but that it had escaped on occasion.

Once Snowflake had been taken to an animal care facility the rangers led it to an animal pen where they tried to remove the catchpole

Rangers had tried using bolt cutters to remove the catchpole after it malfunctioned, but were unsuccessful before rushing it to Murdoch vets (pictured)

Perth hospitals have been treating more than four dog bites per day in 2023 and according to reports, the resulting injuries have only been getting worse.

Recent data from WA Health and the infamous case of Nikita Piil, who was mauled by her own Rottweilers, has led some to call for new regulations to be put in place on dangerous breeds.

The number of dog bite victims checking into emergency departments in the state has risen from 1,243 in 2018 to 1,508 in 2023, an increase of 21 per cent.

There is no suggestion that Snowflake would have bitten anybody.
Qantas has been slammed by an influencer couple after its freight system was thrown into chaos, with their dog caught up in an IT failure that meant goods have been left behind at airports.

The airline has confirmed that a system upgrade to its freight handling system in late September led to an outage that caused significant delays for customers.

With the IT system down, workers were forced to process shipments manually, causing backlogs in deliveries at some of the nation's largest airports.

AFL star Nathan Broad and his television personality wife Tayla saw their french bulldog get caught up in the delays, claiming that their pet was left in a crate for up to 14 hours without food when they sent him from Melbourne to Perth.

AFL star Nathan Broad and his television personality wife Tayla saw their french bulldog get caught up in the delays, claiming that their pet was left in a crate for up to 14 hours without food when they sent him from Melbourne to Perth

The airline has confirmed that a system upgrade to its freight handling system in late September led to an outage that caused significant delays for customers

They say Qantas didn't notify them of any changes after the dog wasn't put on a flight, and a family member waited for hours at Perth airport only to be told it hadn't arrived.

'This is disgusting and animal abuse,' Mrs Broad wrote on social media.

'He is so rattled. Couldn't get up our stairs due to exhaustion, so dehydrated, drooling and all out of sorts,' she wrote in another post.

Broad said Qantas' 'excuse' was that its system was down.

'You belong in a crate you useless airline!' he wrote on Instagram.

The airline issued a statement in the wake of the incident apologising to the couple.

'Our team regularly checked the pet was OK, refilled their water and made sure the crate was clean. The crate was kept under cover in our freight terminal while waiting,' a spokesperson said.

The delays also meant unrefrigerated produce and pharmaceuticals were ruined, with the Sydney Morning Herald reporting that corpses were left in coffins on the tarmac.

'This is disgusting and animal abuse,' Mrs Broad wrote on social media

'He is so rattled. Couldn't get up our stairs due to exhaustion, so dehydrated, drooling and all out of sorts,' Mrs Broad wrote in another post

Qantas has denied that coffins were left at airports, with urgent medical supplies and human remains prioritised to avoid delays.

The airline says the IT issue has been fixed and domestic backlogs cleared; however, there are still delays on international freight services.

'The issue has now been addressed and we are working around the clock to make sure all outstanding items get where they need to go as quickly as possible,' a Qantas Freight spokesperson said.

'We appreciate this has been really frustrating for customers and we are sorry that this outage impacted them over the past couple of weeks. We've been posting regular website updates and getting in touch with customers directly.'
Fears are mounting over the aviation industry's safety oversight measures amid the scandal

AOG Technics, a middleman in the aviation industry, is accused of mass-producing fake safety certificates

At least 126 engines across a number of airlines were found to include parts from a jet supplier company under investigation

The aviation industry has been rocked by reports thousands of jet-engine parts with fraudulent safety certificates have been installed onto passenger planes.

Major airlines including American Airlines, United Airlines and Southwest Airlines have pulled jets from their fleets as investigations into the potentially catastrophic faults are ongoing.

The scandal has zeroed in on a dubious airplane parts supplier named AOG Technics, which allegedly mass-produced fake safety certificates in order to sell its engine parts to airlines.

AOG Technics has also faced allegations it faked employees and was using stock photographs for fictitious staffers on LinkedIn, according to Bloomberg. Attempts to contact the company were unsuccessful.

With parts from the problematic company so far found in 126 engines across several airlines, questions are being raised over the effectiveness of the aviation industry's safety oversight measures.

The allegedly faulty safety certificates were installed in at least 126 Boeing and Airbus engines across several airlines. Pictured: An Airbus A320 NEO engine at a Safran plant in France, 2018

The scandal has rocked the aviation industry, with potentially faulty parts stretching from small nuts and bolts to vitally important turbine blades. Pictured: Manufacturing parts for an Airbus A320 wing

American Airlines, United Airlines and Southwest Airlines pulled planes from their rosters, including aviation industry favorite Boeing 737 jets (pictured)

Airline parts are supposed to undergo stringent safety tests to ensure they are 'airworthy', with each part coming with a certificate that can be used to trace the component's origins and inspection records.

But the Federal Aviation Administration, as well as investigators in Europe, have alleged that AOG Technics forged its documentation, an issue with potentially disastrous consequences in the event of a faulty part.

The most affected engine model was found to be a CFM56, which alarmingly holds the record for most engines ever sold to airlines at over 33,900.

It is currently installed in numerous jets across the world, most notably Boeing's predecessor to the 737 MAX and the initial version of the Airbus A320.

Both jets are extremely common in flights across the world each day.

The affected engine parts vary from small components such as screws and bolts to units vital for the propulsion of a jet, such as turbine blades.

As investigations into the potential scheme continue, it was found that dozens of the engines were inadvertently made by General Electric in a joint venture with Safran, which has since launched a lawsuit against AOG Technics.

The GE engines were reportedly installed during maintenance work, and then found their way into Boeing and Airbus airplanes.

After American Airlines, United Airlines and Southwest Airlines pulled planes from their rosters, Delta Airlines said on Monday that it also removed a several engines from service.

Affected airlines have said they quickly identified engines certified by AOG Technics, which made up only a fraction of their total number, and claim passenger safety has not been compromised.

But according to the lawsuit filed by GE and Safran, the aviation parts supplier used a large scale falsification system to sell its parts to airlines.

The most affected engine model was found to be a CFM56 (pictured), which alarmingly holds the record for most engines ever sold to airlines at over 33,900

In the UK, where the company lists it address, a judge this week ordered the company to turn over its parts sales documents, and the full extent of the scandal could grow as the records are assessed.

Before the analysis began on Wednesday, airlines said they found 16 engines in their shops and a 110 in separate facilities that were fitted with parts from AOG Technics.

According to the Wall Street Journal, the company serves as a middleman in the aviation industry by acquiring parts before selling them to maintenance and repair shops.

It was established in 2015, but several disturbing business practices have been alleged in recent times, including that there is reportedly no record of the company ever receiving approvals for its parts.

Court documents have also found that the company's founder, Jose Zamora Yrala, is the sole director and shareholder, and dubious LinkedIn profiles have reportedly been linked to the business using aliases and stock profile pictures.

'Its a bit strange that a phantom company can be allowed to supply spare parts with false certification documents,' Olivier Andries, the chief executive of Safran, told reporters last month.

The controversy has highlighted the complex nature of the aviation industry. Pictured: The wheel well of the first Boeing 737 MAX 7 aircraft as it sits on the tarmac outside of the Boeing factory on February 5, 2018

Allegedly fictitious safety certificates were slapped on critical components of a jet

In their bombshell lawsuit, GE and Safran, joined in the action by their joint venture CFM International, say they were initially alerted to the crisis in June after it was caught by the engineering and maintenance teams of TAP Air Portugal.

They claim AOG Technics has put 'aircraft safety in jeopardy and renders it impossible for operators who have purchased these parts to verify the airworthiness of their engines.'

'All falsified parts need urgently to be identified and the relevant operators notified,' the suit adds, warning that the stress engines are put under during a flight coupled with the hundreds of lives in their hands each route means even a small part malfunctioning could be catastrophic.

Stressing that safety is the priority in bringing the suit, GE reportedly told investors that it doesn't anticipate the issue to have any financial impact on the company.

The lawsuit also brings up allegations that AOG Technics used stock photographs and potentially faked employees online.

'There are, therefore, legitimate questions as to whether the profiles have been manufactured and whether the profiled employees actually exist,' the suit claims.

The WSJ reported that it visited the company's listed address in London, near Buckingham Palace, where reception and security staff said they had not heard of the company.

A representative for the building that leases the spaces told the outlet that AOG Technics was a virtual client and did not hold a space in the location.

'If you put a part in an airplane engine, you should feel confident that its legitimate,' said Ron Epstein, an aerospace analyst at Bank of America. 'Somebody found a loophole. The system is supposed to guard against that.'
Frequent changes to rules, guidance and public health messaging during the pandemic 'confused' the public and risked public confidence in the police, the Covid-19 inquiry heard yesterday.

Politicians, advisors and civil servants who flouted unprecedented lockdown rules also 'fuelled mistrust' and undermined the Government's attempt to keep people safe, inquiry chairman Baroness Heather Hallett was told.

Parents felt they had no choice but to keep their children inside amid fears allowing them to play outside would land them in trouble with the police, the inquiry heard.

Rory Philips KC, representing the National Police Chiefs Council, alluded to the difficulty for officers dealing with the constantly changing lockdown rules, which at one stage resulted in forces being accused of 'overreaching' their enforcement powers as social restrictions came into effect.

He told the public inquiry: 'Police officers and their leaders had to adjust to novel conditions without any idea of how long they would last, of how far police resources would be diminished through isolation or infection, and do what they could to ensure that they were able so far as possible to discharge their usual duties and functions, whilst also paying proper regard to their responsibilities for the safety and welfare of officers and staff.'

Frequent changes to rules, guidance and public health messaging during the pandemic 'confused' the public and risked public confidence in the police, the Covid-19 inquiry heard yesterday (Stock Image)

And he lamented the 'frequent changes to the legal framework in which the police had to operate', often at very short notice.

He said the regulations led officers into 'largely uncharted territory' and brought with it 'a recognised risk of impact on the perception of - and on public trust in - policing'.

Brian Stanton, representing the British Medical Association, accused the UK Government of failing to 'provide clear, consistent and visible public health messaging'.

He said the Eat Out to Help Out initiative - the then-Chancellor Rishi Sunak's attempt to support the hospitality sector - actually 'confused' advice, suggesting that it was 'safe for people to socialise' before vaccines were available and when the risks from infection remained high.

He also said the Government's fluctuating attitude to working from home 'undermined the public's understanding of and confidence in core public health messaging'.

Although he did not mention specific examples, he said the failures of 'MPs, senior advisors and civil servants to adhere to the rules, fueled mistrust and misinformation and further impacted the effectiveness' of messages to the public.

The inquiry heard the pandemic was particularly difficult for children, with claims their rights were 'neglected'.

Jennifer Twite, on behalf of a number of children's organisations, said this was further demonstrated by the inquiry refusing to call former education secretary Sir Gavin Williamson to give evidence to the current module on Government actions during the pandemic because he 'was largely excluded' from decision-making at the time.

Politicians, advisors and civil servants who flouted unprecedented lockdown rules also 'fuelled mistrust' and undermined the Government's attempt to keep people safe, inquiry chairman Baroness Heather Hallett (pictured) was told

Ms Twite told the inquiry children were 'negatively impacted and continue to be negatively impacted in a plethora of ways'.

She explained how lockdown rules often prevented children from playing with others, meaning some of those without siblings went for more than two months without seeing another child at the start of the pandemic.

She added: 'Parents kept their children in for fear of breaking the rules.

'The result was that children skateboarding, climbing trees, and paddling in streams were told off by the police and sent home.

'When adults were allowed to meet one other adult from another household for the jogging and the yoga that they were allowed to do, their young children could not meet any of their friends, because the need for a supervising adult would constitute a breach of the lockdown regulations.'

Joanna Goodman, co-founder of Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice, said she felt the Government was responsible for the death of her medically vulnerable 72-year-old father Stuart in the early days of the pandemic, citing a lack of border restrictions and testing.

She told the inquiry: 'It felt as though the Government had done absolutely nothing.

'I don't think there was any meaningful, tangible action that I could point to that the Government had done to protect my father.'

The inquiry continues.
Well-known Melbourne restaurateur Kevin Donovan has died at the age of 68.

Donovan, who was the co-founder of the famous St Kilda foreshore restaurant Donovans, died peacefully in his sleep on Tuesday leaving behind his wife, Gail.

'Gail had cooked a wonderful dinner for him,' Nick Parkhouse, the new owner of the restaurant, said.

'His last meal was sharing an incredible thing with Gail, which was a marvellous send-off for him.'

Donovan battled an undiagnosed condition for the last five years and suffered from aneurysms, Parkinson-like symptoms and reduced lung function.

American-born restaurateur Kevin Donovan (pictured with wife Gail) died in his sleep on Tuesday

The Melbourne couple owned the famous restaurant Donovans (above) in St Kilda for 26 years

The Donovan couple opened their restaurant in 1997 and it grew to become one of Melbourne's most beloved eateries.

READ MORE: 'Explosion' in southeast Melbourne Advertisement

However, after serving more than 1.5 million customers over 26 years, they sold Donovans on August 31.

'Kev's been unwell for five years and not able to work in the restaurant for at least three years,' Mrs Donovan told Good Food at the time.

'It's time that I stayed home, not to look after Kev because I don't intend to do that, but because we want time to have some more fun.'

She also revealed the couple met in 1986 when Mr Donovan moved from America to direct food services at the Grand Hyatt hotel.

Mr Donovan had interviewed Mrs Donovan for a job.

'I went home and said to my housemate, "I'm going to marry that guy". I thought he was wonderful,' Mrs Donovan said.

The Donovans sold their restaurant to Nick Parkhouse (centre) in August after Mr Donovan's health declined and he was unable to work

In a 2018 interview with the Herald Sun, Mr Donovan explained why avoided retirement for so long.

'What would I do? I cant play golf every day and I hate gardening,' he said.

'Its like that old saying: do what you love and youll never work a day in your life.

'This is what I love, Im literally living my dream right now.'
This was Rishi Sunaks first conference speech as Prime Minister. And given Labours substantial lead in the polls, he must have been uncomfortably aware it could also be his last.

So yesterday was his chance to start shifting the dial; to articulate a positive vision for Britain before work starts on what will be a make-or-break Tory manifesto.

With a general election in the offing, the Conservative faithful were hoping to be inspired. They desperately wanted to witness a dynamic and assured performance signalling that Mr Sunak had the stomach for the forthcoming fight.

Did he deliver? The answer was an emphatic yes. No one expected Mr Sunak to scale Churchillian heights of oratory.

But he came across as energetic, inventive and likeable. Here was a man of prime ministerial substance.

DAILY MAIL COMMENT: Did he deliver? The answer was an emphatic yes. No one expected Mr Sunak to scale Churchillian heights of oratory

His speech bristled with traditional Tory values: Strong defence, sound money, the family, enterprise, hard work and the vital importance of a good education for all, to secure the equality of opportunity without which there can be no social justice.

READ MORE: Rishi vows to 'change' Britain like Thatcher did at Conservative Party conference Advertisement

In the most powerful passage, Mr Sunak spoke passionately about his own rise from being the grandson of Indian and East African immigrants who arrived here with nothing to Downing Street.

Anyone prepared to work hard and show initiative could succeed in Britain, he said  irrespective of their skin colour.

Never let anyone tell you that this is a racist country, he said. I am proud to be the first British Asian prime minister but Im even prouder its just not a big deal.

How starkly this contrasts with the Lefts view of the UK as a swamp of bigotry, a depiction as inaccurate as it is insulting.

On wokery, Mr Sunak was equally sound. Wading into the culture war being waged by trans activists who try to bully others into believing people can change sex at will, he said: They cant. A man is a man and a woman is a woman. Thats just common sense.

Now he must crack on with issuing guidance to schools and the NHS to halt the spread of this pernicious ideology.

The central purpose of the PMs hour-long speech was to portray himself as someone who will take difficult decisions in the countrys long-term interests, not just for short-term opportunism.

He came across as energetic, inventive and likeable. Here was a man of prime ministerial substance

Many will say that as the leader of a party that has been in power for 13 years, persuading voters he represents change will be a difficult sell.

But the PM made a bold start. Axing the northern leg of HS2 provoked howls he was betraying the North. But the planned line had become a parable for monstrous public sector waste. Ploughing the 36billion saved into rail, road and bus projects in the regions may be better for levelling-up.

While the Mail is instinctively suspicious of the nanny state, many will like Mr Sunaks pledge for a phased ban on smoking.

He also plans to scrap A-levels and give whole-life sentences for sadistic and sexual murders. Gripping the Channel migrant crisis and the cost of living is also vital.

One observation though: How significant was it that Mr Sunak omitted mass immigration? With net migration at a staggering 606,000, surely an issue of such public concern deserves attention?

Nor is it over-critical to point out that while promising tough decisions, he devoted none of his speech to housing, public sector cuts and energy security. All are vital to restoring the nations fortunes.

Still, Mr Sunak deserved his rapturous reception. He has shown he has some of the ideas needed to transform the country.

Now we will see what Sir Keir Starmer has in his locker at Labours annual shindig. So far, his constant U-turns make it impossible to know what he stands for.

When voters go to the polls, the winning party will be the one most trusted to carry the country forward. Mr Sunak has made a compelling case it should be the Tories.
Furious female British Airways staff have blasted the airline over 'cheap' uniforms designed for non-binary crew.

Last year BA relaxed the rules around its strict uniform policy and went gender-neutral to allow male pilots and crew to wear make-up and carry handbags.

And, at the start of this year, BA unveiled a new uniform for the first time in two decades designed to 'take the airline into the next chapter'.

Although the new uniforms were gendered, BA's policy now allows staff who identify as a certain gender to wear that clothing.

Designed by British fashion designer Ozwald Boateng, the sleek new look included a 'modern jumpsuit', skirt and trouser options for women and a tailored three-piece suit for men with regular and slim-fit style trousers.

BA heralded the launch as 'marking a new era' for the airline, but now some of its female staff have hit out at the 'cheap' look of the uniform, while others have described the uniforms as 'deliberately androgynous'.

Meanwhile BA's self-styled 'Pride Hero' Bradley Gibbons, who is non-binary, posted a picture at work in the new dress, after the airlines non-binary and gender fluid staff won the right to wear the womens uniforms.

British Airways staff show off their new uniforms. The airline has a policy which allows staff who identify as a certain gender to wear that clothing

BA's rival Virgin Atlantic recently released an advert (pictured) which was branded virtue-signalling by critics and set to the song: 'I am what I am'

The airline announced the launch of the new uniform in a Facebook post earlier this week and heralded it as a 'new beginning'

Boateng has been developing the collection since 2018. British Airways says that the designer took great care in 'designing a truly original collection taking inspiration from the airline, its people and the art of flying'

The British Airways Julian Macdonald uniform - which was used from 2003 up until this week

The new uniforms were tested in secret trials last year and finally launched across its workforce on Monday.

The uniform has skirt, jumpsuit and trouser options available for women.

A source told The Sun: 'The whole thing is a mess.'

'This is an attack on women to satisfy BA's woke credentials when all they needed to do was produce a dedicated uniform for non-binary and gender fluid crew,' they said.

The fresh garb was mooted to be rolled-out across its workforce in the spring but the airline officially announced its launch on Monday.

Posting on its Facebook page with promotional photos of staff kitted out in the new threads, BA said: 'Marking the beginning of a new era, our new uniform has taken flight.'

The airline unveiled the new uniform in January and said at the time that Boateng took great care in 'designing a truly original collection, taking inspiration from the airline, its people and the art of flying'.

Boateng has been developing the collection since 2018 with 'painstaking care', the airline reveals. It says that he shadowed a number of airport roles to understand how the uniform needed to perform for each job and ensure a 'modern British, stylish look' with high quality, resilient fabrics.

More than 1,500 crew across the airline took part in 50 workshops to help ensure the garments' suitability, from design workshops to prototype feedback and garment trials. British Airways says that these workshops have helped to 'create an iconic collection that will stand the test of time'.

Bradley Gibbons, who is non-binary, posted a picture at work in the new dress

Bradley has previously featured in BA adverts and shared selfies with Tom Daley, who has worked with BA in the past

Bradley is BA's self-styled 'Pride Hero'

In the secret trials, the cabin and flight crew uniforms were put through their paces on cargo flights across Europe while engineers have been secretly wearing the new uniforms while maintaining aircraft out of sight in Manchester and Cotswold Airports.

Many of the outdoor garments were also tested in deluge showers and freezers at minus 18C to ensure they're water-resistant, durable and fit for extreme weather conditions.

Last November, bosses reportedly told staff in an internal memo 'be bold, be proud, be yourself' as it published refreshed guidance allowing male pilots to wear make-up and carry handbags.

They said they hoped it would be 'embraced by everyone regardless of gender, gender identity, ethnicity, background, culture, sexual identity, or otherwise'.

Male pilots and cabin crew at BA have been told they can wear a 'touch of mascara and lip colour' and false eyelashes, and paint their nails.

Strict rules on hairstyles have also been eased - meaning men may now wear 'man buns' - and all staff may now wear a handbag, regardless of their sex or gender identity.

MailOnline has contacted BA for comment.

Last year a BA spokesman told MailOnline: 'We are proud of all of our colleagues at British Airways and we are committed to an inclusive working environment.

'We have worked with our people to create updated guidelines for grooming, beauty and accessories, allowing our colleagues to bring the best, most authentic version of themselves to work every day.'

British Airways unveiled a new uniform for the first time in nearly 20 years in January, with the collection of garments set to 'take the airline into its next chapter'

Legacy: BA staff are pictured showing off uniforms from the past 90 years at a Johannesburg fashion show in 2012, with Georgia May Jagger in the front

Virgin Atlantic updated its uniform policy to remove gendered clothing requirements in September 2022.

Staff including plane crew and pilots may choose which uniform they wear: The company's 'red' option, previously most commonly worn by female flight attendants, or the 'burgundy' option, previously worn by male flight attendants. This includes allowing men to wear skirts and women to wear trousers, as well as increasing the uniform options available to non-binary staff members.

They are also introducing pronoun badges in a bid to allow staff to 'wear uniforms that express their true identity'.

The airline has teamed up with RuPaul's Drag Race star Michelle Visage in a bid to 'reflect the diversity of its workforce' and offer its people a fluid approach to its red and burgundy uniforms.

The company said the change makes it 'the most inclusive airline in the skies' and its employees are among those who have praised the changes on social media.
A university lecturer told his neighbour 'I think I've killed my wife' as he stood in his hallway wearing a shirt 'soaked in blood', his murder trial heard.

Ertan Ersoy, 51, is on trial for allegedly murdering his wife Dr Antonella Castelvedere, who was found stabbed to death on the kitchen floor at the couple's home in Colchester, Essex, on June 1 last year.

His neighbour Tanja Munro allegedly witnessed the moments after Dr Castelvedere, 52, was stabbed. She told Chelmsford Crown Court yesterday that Ersoy appeared a 'bit disorientated' following the incident.

'He told me, "I think I've killed my wife",' she told the jury, adding that he held his stomach and was 'gesturing and looking towards the kitchen.'

Mrs Munro said the kitchen door was not fully open but that she could see 'someone was lying on the floor'. She said Ersoy was 'breathing like he was in pain', 'groaning', and 'was concerned about his wife'.

The court earlier heard how he stabbed her 15 times in the face, chest, neck and hands during a 'savage' attack at their home, over the mistaken belief that she was cheating on him.

Ersoy denies murder. He has pleaded guilty to manslaughter.

Ertan Ersoy, 51, (pictured) told his neighbour 'I think I've killed my wife' as he stood in his hallway wearing a shirt 'soaked in blood' in June last year, his murder trial heard

Ertan Ersoy, 51, is on trial for allegedly murdering his wife Dr Antonella Castelvedere, (pictured) who was found stabbed to death on the kitchen floor at the couple's home in Colchester, Essex, on June 1 last year

Mrs Munro told jurors yesterday that she was at home when she heard a male voice shouting.

She said she saw Ersoy in his hallway holding his stomach and that his shirt was 'soaked in blood'.

'He said 'my wife, my wife' and did say that a few times,' she told the court.

Mrs Munro recalled that he was injured, but said the wounds to Ersoy's stomach 'weren't gaping open, they were quite clean, there wasn't blood pumping or gushing out'.

She said that she took a cushion to try to stem the bleeding before going into the kitchen where she saw Dr Castelvedere on the floor with a knife 'close to her hand by her head' and in a pool of blood.

'It was behind her head and her shoulders,' she said. 'It was almost like a halo of blood behind her on the floor.'

She said she knelt beside Dr Castelvedere and tapped her face to try to rouse her. She said she tried to save her by performing CPR, and did not immediately notice a cut to her neck.

She said the top that Dr Castelvedere had been wearing appeared clean.

'I was doing chest compressions and I started to hear sounds coming from her,' Mrs Munro said. 'At first I didn't know where they were coming from but then I noticed they were coming from her throat area.'

She continued: 'I couldn't understand where all that blood was coming from as I couldn't obviously see an injury or any kind of wound that was producing this blood.'

She said she stopped when she felt she 'wasn't able to do any more for Antonella' and went and knelt beside Ersoy.

'He asked "my wife?" as a question,' she said. 'I took that to mean "is my wife OK?".

'I just shook my head at that point. We didn't speak about anything else.'

Pictured: Emergency services on the scene in June 2022

Mrs Munro agreed with Sarah Elliott KC, defending, that her witness statement said Ersoy had appeared a 'bit disorientated', and that he was not aggressive towards her and she did not feel threatened.

Christopher Paxton KC, prosecuting, said Ersoy stabbed Dr Castelvedere 'many times, causing 15 areas of sharp force injury' to her face, neck, upper chest and to both hands.

He said one of the stab wounds to Dr Castelvedere, on her neck, measured 15cm in length and was 7cm deep and 'resulted in severe blood loss, cardiac arrest and her death'.

Dr Castelvedere was a lecturer at the University of Suffolk teaching an MA in English and creative writing.

The prosecutor said the defendant was taken to hospital and treated for 'two shallow wounds to his stomach which he claimed she had caused'.

He said jurors 'need to be cautious about any suggestion made by the defendant that Antonella caused those two shallow wounds' and that there was 'no independent evidence that she did'.

Earlier this week, it was claimed Ersoy hid a device in their house to secretly record conversations with his wife and wanted her to kneel in front of him to beg forgiveness for a relationship she had before they met.

Dr Castelvedere is said to have told a friend the day before her death: 'Unfortunately, Ertan has fallen back into a dark state of mind and I fear for my safety.'

Prosecutor Christopher Paxton KC said: 'She was right to fear for her safety because just hours later the defendant, perhaps letting his guard down, told a friend that at times he wanted to kill his wife Antonella to get it over and done with.

'Within 24 hours, Antonella lay dead on the kitchen floor of the family home she shared with her husband and their five-year-old daughter.'

The listening device found by police in the couple's home in Colchester, Essex, had a recording that wrongly convinced Ersoy that his wife was cheating on him, the prosecution claim.

This, Mr Paxton said, was an example of the defendant's 'jealous, possessive and controlling' behaviour, which 'fuelled his anger and rage towards his wife'.

Officers also found notes on Dr Castelvedere's phone outlining problems she was having with her husband, the jury heard.

Comments from 2021 referred to Ersoy questioning her about where she had been, how he had fallen drunk down the stairs and accused her of infidelity.

The prosecution say Ersoy was obsessed with the relationship his high-flying wife had with a married man before they met  although he was accessing online dating websites in the months before her death.

'The defendant wanted her to beg him for forgiveness, for her to kneel in front of Mr Ersoy and say it,' Mr Paxton said.

Another entry in her phone two weeks before her death stated that he had followed her to work and accused her of 'betrayal'.

Images allegedly discovered on Ersoy's phone showed he had photographed her work schedule to 'spy on her' and had made enquiries about finding a private investigator.

Mr Paxton said police had also uncovered a secret recording Ersoy had made of a marriage therapy session that he and his wife had been to in February last year.

During the session, he claimed his wife had attacked him and scratched him eight times, although she replied that it happened many years ago.

He also claimed his wife had talked about stabbing him and that she had a problem with anger management.

Mr Paxton suggested Ersoy was 'laying down a lie' about his wife's behaviour with a therapist, knowing that he was secretly recording the session.

The trial continues.
An Irish expat who dreamed over beginning a new life with her partner in Australia was killed in a fiery car crash over the weekend.

Carol Early and her husband Tony Buckley, 32, were involved in a horror collision at Priestdale, in Brisbane, after visiting the Tiny Homes Expo on Saturday.

The two cars were engulfed in flames after the head-on collision.

Ms Early and Mr Buckley married in Australia and planned to build a new life together here.

Irish and Australians are in mourning following the death of Irish expatriate Carol Early, who was killed in a fiery car crash in suburban Brisbane over the weekend

Police say early investigations suggest the vehicles were travelling in opposite directions when they clipped each other, crashed and then burst into flames.

Florian Archer, a friend of Mr Buckley, told 7 News that Ms Early was sitting in the passenger seat of Mr Buckley's ute when the force of the collision pushed the vehicle more than 20m before it was pinned against a power pole.

Mr Archer said a passing motorist pulled Mr Buckley from his ute before it burst into flames.

'He pulled up and helped Tony out of the car because the car was on its side,' Mr Archer said.

'Then Tony went to go back and get his wife out and the guy just pulled him away from the car.

'And then the whole thing went up in flames.'

Ms Early died at the scene.

But the couple's dreams were cut short when they were involved in a horror collision with another vehicle at the Ford Rd and Priestdale Rd roundabout in Priestdale after visiting the Tiny Homes Expo

Police are investigating the crash and no charges have been laid.

Ms Early and Mr Buckley moved to Australia six years ago.

Ms Early comes from the Irish village of Donore north of Dublin.

She worked in graphic design and print production and Mr Buckley worked as a vehicle mechanic.

Four days ago Mr Archer set up a GoFundMe to help Mr Buckley return his wife's remains to her native land.

The initial target was $5000 but the GoFundMe has blown past the figure, hitting more than $35,000 as of Thursday morning.,

'Please help us help Tony take Carol's remains home,' Mr Archer writes on the page.

'Tony is now faced with the costs of the funeral and returning Carol to her native soil of Ireland.'

Ms Early and her husband, 32-year-old Irish national Tony Buckley, married in Australia and planned to build a new life together here

Donors, both Irish and Australian, have dug deep to give some small relief to Mr Buckley and pay tribute to his beloved wife.

'Rest in peace Carol. You brought so much joy to so many people. Your smile, beauty and talent will never be forgotten. Thinking of Tony and all your heartbroken family and friends. Praying for you all. Sophie, Shane and Mike,' Mike Egan wrote.

'I knew Carol from her Graphic design works in Brisbane - my office was across the road and she assisted me on some projects in the past 12 months - this is just awful news - she always had a smile and us both being Irish we had a little slagging about Drogheda and Limerick - she was telling me her plans for Australia and future with her husband, full of joy and hope - life is so cruel,' Robert Brouder wrote.

'I was in school with Carol Such awful news. May she rest in power,' Sinead Crilly wrote.
A sixth victim of serial murderer Keith Jesperson  nicknamed the 'Happy Face Killer'  was identified Wednesday as a 34-year-old woman who was hitch-hiking cross-country when she was brutally murdered in 1994.

Jesperson, 67, from British Columbia, Canada, killed at least eight women while traveling America's highways as a long-haul rig driver in the 1990s. He earned his notoriety by sending gloating confessions to police and journalists and signing them with a smiley face.

On Wednesday, authorities in Florida were able to identify Suzanne Kjellenberg as one of Jesperson's victims, using forensic technology and DNA evidence.

Her body was discovered on September 14, 1994 near an exit on Interstate 10 in Holt, Florida.

Eric Aden, the sheriff of Okaloosa County, revealed that Jesperson admitted to killing the woman - and had previously said her name was Suzanne - in the mid-90s but were unable to properly identify her.

On Wednesday, authorities in Florida were able to identify Suzanne Kjellenberg as one of Jesperson's victims, using forensic technology and DNA evidence

'He has a phenomenal memory. To the point of specific exit numbers,' said senior investigator Kelly Henderson.

The DNA technology supplied by Othram Inc. helped them confirm it was Kjellenberg.

'A family member gave a sample, and it became a 100% DNA hit for Suzanne Kjellenberg,' Aden said.

Her family, who live in Wisconsin, asked for privacy, according to investigators.

Jesperson was arrested in 1995 on suspicion of killing a woman in Washington state and was dubbed the Happy Face Killer because he drew smiley faces on letters he sent to the media and police, prosecutors said.

He would eventually confess to killing eight women between 1990 and 1995 in California, Washington, Oregon, Florida, Nebraska, and Wyoming and is currently serving four life sentences without possibility of parole in Oregon.

During his reign of terror as the Happy face Killer Jesperson usually targeted prostitutes and homeless women - raping them before strangling them with his bare hands.

In 2021, Jesperson detailed his horrific crimes in Oxygen's Snapped Notorious: The Happy Face Killer.

A sixth victim of serial murderer Keith Jesperson  nicknamed the 'Happy Face Killer'  was identified Wednesday as a 34-year-old woman who was hitch-hiking cross-country when she was brutally murdered in 1994

Her body was discovered on September 14, 1994 near an exit on Interstate 10 in Holt, Florida

He claimed his first memories of violence were being beaten with a belt by his father, who seemed to take pleasure in the abuse. Despite his troubled upbringing, he found a partner and started his own family.

In 1975, the then 20-year-old married his wife, Rose Huck, and they went on to have three children. However, Huck later suspected he was being unfaithful, and their marriage began to crumble.

Huck shut him off sexually, according to Jesperson, who claimed to Phelps that his marital troubles fueled his future murders.

'My wife used to say, "Go stick it in the keyhole. Just leave me alone,"' he recalled. 'It really kinda struck me, kinda like, you know, what the hell, I don't need this.'

The couple finalized their divorce in 1990 after 15 years of marriage, and he admitted to Phelps that he was 'really angry at women' at the time.

Jesperson would eventually confess to killing eight women between 1990 and 1995 in California, Washington, Oregon, Florida, Nebraska, and Wyoming

Other victims: Taunja Bennett, 23 (left), who was killed in January 1990, and Julia Ann Winningham, 41, who was Jesperson's long-term girlfriend when she was strangled

That same year, he was dumped by his new girlfriend, who left him for another trucker. To get over the breakup, he went barhopping at B & I Tavern in Portland, Oregon, in January 1990.

'That's when I met [Taunja] Bennett,' Jesperson said of his first known victim, who was 23 when he raped and killed her after convincing her to come home with him.

Jesperson murdered Bennett, 23, in January 1990, after meeting her at a bar near Portland, Oregon.

He invited her back to a house he was renting, where they had sex. Then he beat her and strangled her and went back out to a bar to have more drinks and provide himself with an alibi.

He later returned to the house, strapped Taunja's body into the front seat of his car and disposed of it before leaving town.

In 1975, the then 20-year-old Jesperson married his wife, Rose Huck

Jesperson told filmmakers that his first memories of violence were being beaten with a belt by his father, who seemed to take pleasure in the abuse

Three months later, Jesperson met Daun Richert-Slagle, a 21-year-old mother of three who became the only known victim to survive an attack.

The truck driver waited for more than two years before he struck again in 1992 - raping and strangling a woman near Blythe, California. She has still not been identified but Jesperson said her name was Claudia.

His killing spree then escalated - a month later he raped and strangled a prostitute Cynthia Lyn Rose in Turlock, California.

The next month, he killed a fourth woman, also a prostitute, named Laurie Ann Pentland from Salem, Oregon. He claimed to have strangled her because she tried to double the amount of money she wanted for sex and had threatened to call the police.

His fifth victim, an unidentified 'Jane Doe' living on the streets in Santa Nella, California, was discovered in July of 1993. Police initially believed she had suffered a drug overdose.

In January 1995, Jesperson picked up a 21-year-old hitchhiker, Angela Subrize, whom he offered to drive from Spokane, Washington, to meet her boyfriend in Indiana.

On the journey, he raped and strangled her, then strapped her body face-down to the undercarriage of his truck so her face and prints would be ground off by the road while he drove.

The killer was finally caught in March 1995 after strangling his long-time girlfriend Julia Ann Winningham, 41, who he claimed did not love him but only wanted his money. She was the only victim he could be connected to. The rest are believed to have been strangers.

Jesperson initially refused to talk to police and attempted suicide twice. He then turned himself in, hoping for leniency at his trial.

He confessed details of his murderous history while in custody but later recanted much of it. At one point he claimed to have had as many as 160 victims but so far only eight have been confirmed.
A man was shocked to find a sharp metal rod in his McChicken after biting down on the classic McDonald's burger.

His girlfriend anonymously asked for advice on a private social media page after he pulled the inch-long rod out to show her on Wednesday night.

When she took the burger back to the restaurant they offered her a $15 refund or a replacement for the meal.

She said that a worker told her that the metal rod was likely a thermometer probe that had snapped off earlier in the day, which staff had since been looking for.

'What would you do,' she asked the group.

A man was shocked to discover a metal rod in the first bite he had taken of his McChicken

After returning the burger to McDonald's, an employee told his girlfriend that she thought it was a piece of their thermometer that had snapped off earlier in the day

She posted her experience to a private social media group and asked what others would have done in her situation

Her boyfriend only got one bite in before feeling something hard crunch between his teeth.

'My boyfriend went to take a bite out of his burger and felt something hard,' she wrote.

The worker told her that the metal rod was simply the end of a chicken probe that staff use to check the temperatures of patties before serving them.

She initially accepted the replacement meal before returning and confessed that they weren't comfortable eating there again, at which point she got a full refund.

READ MORE: Gross sight at McDonald's A pair of McDonald's customers sparked outrage after letting their dog sit on an indoor table. Advertisement

Online users expressed shock that staff had simply accepted that the metal rod was missing and were happy to forget about it.

Multiple former fast food employees and managers said that the woman should contact the store owner.

'They do temperature checks two to three times a day. It literally might have just happened but how they did not realise when they pulled it out is crazy,' one former manager said.

'Ask to speak to the store manager and the franchiser and complain.'

'They poke the chicken patty only two centimetres in to test the temperature for it to be ok to serve to customers. They don't poke it the whole way in,' an old employee added.

'So for that to be "lost" I call BS.'

'I used to work as a manager in fast food and they can not have been paying attention when doing their food safety if they didn't know where the probe went which is so f***ing dangerous,' another said.

The anonymous woman received dozens of responses which ranged from shocked to passive, with some advising her to complain and others telling her to deal with it

Others dismissed the issue and asked what more can be expected from a place like McDonald's.

'People are so dramatic these days, it's all processed, s*** is bound to get in the food,' one woman said.

'I found a greasy bolt in my salad from a cafe once. I took it back and got a refund and they were sweet about it. S*** happens was my attitude,' a second agreed.

'Who cares, people make mistakes,' said a third.

A few users encouraged the woman to get lawyers involved if her boyfriend was injured by the sharp rod.

McDonald's uses a thermometer multiple times each day to ensure that the products they are serving are safe for consumption and fully cooked through (pictured, a McChicken)

A McDonald's spokesperson told Daily Mail Australia that they were investigating the incident and that they take food safety very seriously.

'McDonalds takes food and drink safety very seriously. We follow strict processes and procedures to ensure the quality of our food,' the spokesperson said.

'We are investigating this and encourage the customer to contact our Customer Service team so we can look into it in more detail.'

McDonald's provides routine temperature checks on everything cooked in-store to ensure that it is safe to serve to customers.

It is not known which restaurant served the tainted McChicken that the anonymous woman returned for a refund.

Daily Mail Australia has contacted McDonald's for comment.
Pope Francis has blamed climate change on 'the irresponsible lifestyle connected with the Western model'.

The pontiff urged world leaders on Wednesday to commit to binding targets to slow climate change before it's too late, warning that God's increasingly warming creation is fast reaching a 'point of no return.'

In an update to his landmark 2015 encyclical on the environment, Francis heightened alarm about the 'irreversible' harm to people and planet already under way and lamented that once again, the world's poor and most vulnerable are paying the highest price.

He said: 'We are now unable to halt the enormous damage we have caused. We barely have time to prevent even more tragic damage.'

He took aim at the United States, noting that per-capita emissions in the U.S. are twice as high as China and seven times greater than the average in poor countries.

Pope Francis (pictured on Wednesday) has blamed climate change on 'the irresponsible lifestyle connected with the Western model'

While individual, household efforts are helping, 'we can state that a broad change in the irresponsible lifestyle connected with the Western model would have a significant long-term impact,' he said.

The document, Praise God, was released on the feast of St. Francis of Assisi, the pontiff's nature-loving namesake, and was aimed at spurring negotiators to commit to binding climate targets at the next round of U.N. talks in Dubai.

Using precise scientific data, sharp diplomatic arguments and a sprinkling of theological reasoning, Francis delivered a moral imperative for the world to transition away from fossil fuels to clean energy with measures that that are 'efficient, obligatory and readily monitored.'

He said: 'What is being asked of us is nothing other than a certain responsibility for the legacy we will leave behind, once we pass from this world.'

Francis's 2015 encyclical 'Praise Be' was a watershed moment for the Catholic Church, the first time a pope had used one of his most authoritative teaching documents to recast the climate debate in moral terms.

In that text, which has been cited by presidents, patriarchs and premiers and spurred an activist movement in the the church, Francis called for a bold cultural revolution to correct a 'structurally perverse' economic system where the rich exploit the poor, turning Earth into an 'immense pile of filth.'

Even though encyclicals are meant to stand the test of time, Francis said he felt an update to his original was necessary because 'our responses have not been adequate, while the world in which we live is collapsing and may be nearing the breaking point'.

Francis's 2015 encyclical 'Praise Be' was a watershed moment for the Catholic Church, the first time a pope had used one of his most authoritative teaching documents to recast the climate debate in moral terms

He criticised people, including those in the church, who doubted mainstream climate science about heat-trapping greenhouse gas emissions.

He cited data showing that increased emissions and the corresponding rise in global temperatures have accelerated since the Industrial Revolution, and particularly in the last 50 years.

He said: 'It is no longer possible to doubt the human - 'anthropic' - origin of climate change.'

While acknowledging that 'certain apocalyptic diagnoses' may not be grounded, he said inaction is no longer an option.

The devastation is already under way, he said, including with some already 'irreversible' harm done to biodiversity and species loss that will only snowball unless urgent action is taken now.

'Praise God,' was issued ahead of the next round of U.N. climate talks which begin November 30, in Dubai.

Just as he did with his 2015 encyclical 'Praise Be,' which was penned before the start of the Paris climate conference, Francis aimed to cast the issue of global warming in stark moral terms to spur courageous decisions by world leaders.

In the 2015 landmark Paris Agreement, countries of the world agreed to try to limit warming to 1.5C (2.7F) or at least 2C (3.6F) since pre-industrial times. It's already warmed about 1.1C (2F) since the mid-1800s.

Francis devoted an entire section of his document on upcoming climate negotiations in Dubai, saying a switch in the way the world gets its energy has to be 'drastic, intense and count on the commitment of all.'

He added: 'Praise God is the title of this letter. For when human beings claim to take God's place, they become their own worst enemies.'
A Wiltshire brewery shipped piece by piece to Pyongyang has been hailed for its success by Kim Jong Un's regime.

The Taedonggang Beer Factory, which opened in the North Korean capital 21 years ago, was commended for its contribution to the 'five-year plan for national economic development' - alongside other firms including a pharmaceutical factory.

The brewery had been situated in Wiltshire and was owned by Ushers, a specialist in regional bitters, The Telegraph reported.

It was bought for 1.5million in the year 2000 by North Korea's government, which deconstructed the historic property and shipped it to Pyongyang to be rebuilt.

The sale of the brewery could only go ahead after the British government received confirmation that the machinery could not be adapted to create chemical weapons.

The Taedonggang Beer Factory, which opened in the North Korean capital 21 years ago, had been situated in Wiltshire and was bought for 1.5million in 2000 by North Korea's government

The Wiltshire brewery, previously owned by Ushers, was sold, deconstructed and shipped to Pyongyang to be rebuilt

Meanwhile, a delegation of North Koreans travelled to the UK for several months of training by brewer Gary Todd.

Mr Todd, who was the head brewer at the factory until it shut, said: 'I had to effectively give them the crash course in brewing and we spent a lot of time going over the basics, but it seems that they got it because they are up and running there now.'

The brewer added that he was able to assess the brewery's progress a few years ago, when a British journalist gave him a bottle of beer after a trip to North Korea.

Mr Todd said: 'I would have to say that I was pleasantly surprised because I was not sure what they were using for their brewing materials.

'The flavour was pretty good, it was quite nice.'

The brewery's beers are stronger than most of those produced in East Asia, with an alcohol content of 5.7 per cent.

A waitress draws a jug of beer to serve before the opening of the Pyongyang Taedonggang Beer Festival in August 2016

The brewery's beers are stronger than most of those produced in East Asia, with an alcohol content of 5.7 per cent

The Taedonggang Beer Factory celebrated 20 years of operations in July 2022.

It was reported at the time that it had been 'built under the care of chairman Kim Jong-il', who was the leader of North Korea when the factory's reconstruction started.

He was believed to have chosen the location for the brewery on the banks of the Taedong River.

After Kim passed away in 2011, his son and heir Kim Jong-un has been a keen supporter of the factory.

He visited the brewery on multiple occasions to 'encourage its officials and workers to further improve the flavour and quality of the beer and thus exalt the honour of the factory as one popular among the people'.
The father of girl who vanished from elementary school seven years ago has claimed that her mother - who he was married to for 34 days - is hiding their daughter.

Ava Grace Baldwin, now 14, vanished when she was six years old, and David Hopper believes his 'perfect little girl' may not even know she is classed as a missing person.

Hopper, who lived in Oklahoma, got the call from his daughter's school in September 2015 saying that Ava hadn't been in class for 21 days, and they asked if he had any idea where the child may be.

At the time Ava was living with her mother, David's ex wife Kathryn Baldwin, in San Antonio, Texas.

Police believe the mother took Ava after finding out that their home address led to an empty plot of land.

Ava and her mother Kathryn Baldwin, who her father thinks has snatched her

David Hopper (pictured with Ava as a child) believes his 'perfect little girl' may not even know she is classified as a missing person

Kathryn's Ford Escape was found abandoned in a park in April 2016 - seven months after she and the child disappeared.

Baldwin and Hopper had been married for just over a month, and the father spent $45,000 battling for a custody arrangement in court when their daughter was born.

Despite CPS catching Kathryn performing a solo sex act while Ava, aged two at the time, was in the bed behind her, David only ended up getting partial custody.

He would drive hours to pick her up for summer holidays - and enjoyed fond memories with his daughter.

Tina Fullbright, Avas aunt, said about Kathryn: 'She'd just jump counties. She'd get in trouble in one county and just move to another county.' According to police, records show Kathryn uses nearly a dozen aliases.

Fullbright said of her brother David: 'It's hard to watch my brother go through this. This is his only child. That's all he's ever wanted, a family, and he deserves to have his daughter in his life.'

Kathryn, who has a felony warrant for interfering with child custody, also has a history of alcohol and prescription drug abuse.

It was when Hopper requested full custody that Kathryn and Ava vanished in 2015.

Hopper, who is seeking to find his daughter, told NewsNation: 'When we sent the police out to the location of the last address we had, it turned out to be an empty lot.

'And that's when we figured there's something going on here.'

He's since been given full custody of Ava - but police have no idea where she may be. They are investigating the case as a non-custodial parent abduction.

David Hopper is still trying to be reunited with his daughter Ava

Ava Grace Baldwin, now 14, went missing when she was six years old, and David Hopper believes his 'perfect little girl' may not even know she is classed as a missing person

He added: 'There's reason to believe Ava's alive. There's a case down in Florida where we know the couple that she tried to give Ava to, they contacted us, and that was in 2016.'

After internet sleuths believed they came across Kathryn and Ava on TikTok, the case has been revived in public interest - as David continues to post letters to his daughter on Facebook in the hopes she'll see them one day.

Hopper told NewsNation: 'You ask me if she's still alive.

'Sometimes, I have my doubts, I'll be honest with you, but when you ask me I answer with confidence because I believe that God is true to his word.

'That he said he would watch over her, that he would protect her that he would keep her safe.

'And that he would bring her home one day.'
The longest-held prisoner at Guantanamo Bay has launched a new attempt to secure his release, trying through multiple courts to win his freedom and pointing out he has never been charged.

Abu Zubaydah, now 52, was captured in Pakistan in March 2002 in a raid by U.S. and Pakistani security services.

Born in Saudi Arabia, he was the first person held in the U.S. secret prison network known as the black sites, and the first to be waterboarded by the C.I.A.

U.S. intelligence concluded that he was a militant in Afghanistan in the 1980s and '90s, but never joined Al Qaeda and had no ties to the September 11 attacks.

He is believed to have acted as an assistant for the fighters in Afghanistan, working as a camp administrator and facilitator. The U.S. have vaguely accused him of knowledge of multiple terror attacks, although there is no evidence he was directly involved.

Yet this summer he was declared too dangerous to be ever released, and is one of three held in indefinite law-of-war detention, facing no tribunal charges nor being recommended for release.

Abu Zubaydah, 52, was captured in Faisalabad, Pakistan, on March 28, 2002. He was the first to be taken to C.I.A. 'black sites' and waterboarded

Guantanamo Bay camp in Cuba was home at one point to 780 detainees. Now, 30 remain

Abu Zubaydah was moved to Guantanamo Bay in 2006, and his lawyers argue that he should be freed, The New York Times reported.

'He is a human being and clearly deserves a chance at freedom,' said Lt. Col. Chantell M. Higgins, a lawyer with the U.S. Marine Corps who has represented Abu Zubaydah for six years.

She said she was working 'to assist the U.S. government in releasing Mr. Abu Zubaydah and finding a safe and suitable country to resettle him peacefully and productively.'

The new effort began in September, with a lawsuit filed in Spokane, Washington, against two psychologists who waterboarded him at a black site in Thailand five months after his arrest, in August 2002.

He was tortured at the site, with sleep deprivation, being confined to a box, and other 'enhanced interrogation techniques'.

One of the psychologists, John Bruce Jessen, lives in the federal jurisdiction of the Spokane district.

Jessen has previously faced legal action over his techniques: in 2017, a settlement was reached with two former prisoners, and the family of a third who died.

Solomon Shinerock, a former federal and New York City prosecutor who is leading the defense of Abu Zubaydah in the Spokane case, said he was used as 'a guinea pig to test the bounds of human tolerance.'

CIA psychologists James Mitchell and John Bruce Jessen. Jessen lives in the Spokane area, and last month was sued by Abu Zubaydah's lawyers for his involvement in the waterboarding program

Abu Zubaydah is pictured in a photo from his detention. He has been held since 2006 in Guantanamo

Lawyers for Abu Zubaydah have previously filed cases in Britain, accusing the British government of complicity in his torture, and in Poland, where he was held in a secret C.I.A. prison after Thailand.

On Friday, another new case was filed in Washington DC, The New York Times reported.

They are petitioning a judge to rule that the C.I.A. deprived him of when it destroyed videotapes of his interrogations in Thailand, arguing that the tapes would have helped his bid to secure his freedom.

'Ninety tapes, covering possibly hundreds of hours of interrogations, were destroyed,' the 33-page petition, obtained by the paper said.

'The tapes were relevant to terrorism investigations, criminal investigations and the petitioner's deprivation of liberty.'

And later this month, another angle will be tried: the United Nations Human Rights Committee, in Geneva, will hold a session on his case.

They cannot order his release, but can endorse it and recommend that the United States pay him reparations and issue a formal apology.

Since 2002, roughly 780 detainees have been held at Guantanamo Bay.

Now, 30 remain.

One of the 30 has been convicted: 10 are awaiting trial.

Sixteen have been recommended for transfer to another country.

Abu Zubaydah and two others remain in limbo, with neither charges nor recommendation for release.
A man has been charged over the death of a five-year-old boy during a family camping trip.

Five-year-old Jack Noel Stephen Brown was allegedly run over on a private property at Blackbutt North on the Sunshine Coast, in Queensland, in July.

A 44-year-old man has been charged with dangerous driving and is due to appear at Brisbane Magistrates Court on Monday.

Police declined to provide further details of the charges but are preparing a report for the coroner.

Five-year-old Jack Brown died after allegedly being struck by a vehicle during a family camping trip

The incident occurred at Blackbutt North in Queensland's South Burnett region, where the family were camping.

It is understood he was playing behind the vehicle when it allegedly struck him, with the boy's parents witnessing the incident.

Jack's funeral was held in July where he was farewelled by parents Jim and Carla Brown and older brother Parker, who is aged eight.

A GoFundMe created by Sara Beath described the tragedy as 'absolutely incomprehensible and beyond unbearable'.

'Jack's passing leaves an insurmountable path forward for Jim, Carla and 8 year old Parker,' she wrote.

'With sadness, this go fund me has been set up to allow those rallying around Jim, Carla and Parker in this devastating time to contribute to any expenses they will incur as a result of this unimaginable tragedy.'

The page had raised just over $40,000 of its $50,000 target on Thursday morning.
The wife of Senator Bob Menendez fatally struck a pedestrian in her car in 2018, before receiving a new Mercedes from a co-defendant in the senator's federal bribery case, it has been revealed.

Nadine Arslanian Menendez, who is charged alongside the New Jersey Democrat in the alleged bribery scheme, was driving the car that killed 49-year-old Richard Koop in Bogota, New Jersey on December 12, 2018, according to police reports first reported by the Bergen Record.

Arslanian, who was dating Menendez at the time and later married him in October 2020, was not charged in the incident, and was found not at fault after police determined Koop was jaywalking when he was struck.

According to federal charging documents, about a month after the crash, Arslanian texted Wael Hana, an Egyptian American businessman also indicted in the bribery scheme, lamenting her lack of a car.

Prosecutors say that Hana and another defendant in the case, Jose Uribe, eventually gave Arslanian $15,000 in cash as a down payment for a new Mercedes-Benz C-300 convertible worth $60,000, and also supplied the monthly financing payments.

Dashcam video shows Nadine Arslanian Menendez speaking to cops after fatally striking pedestrian Richard Koop in 2018

Nadine Arslanian Menendez (right) is charged alongside her husband Senator Bob Menedez (left) in the alleged bribery scheme

The car was registered in March of 2019. After picking up the car, Arslanian thanked Uribe in a text message, writing 'I will never forget this,' according to the federal indictment.

Prosecutors allege that in exchange for the Mercedes, Menendez attempted to interfere in a New Jersey criminal investigation at the behest of Hana and Uribe.

Menendez and his wife have pleaded not guilty to the federal charges, which stem from bribery and extortion allegations involving the Egyptian government.

So far, Menendez has defied calls from his own Democratic Party colleagues to leave office, though he 'temporarily' stepped down as head of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee after the charges were unsealed last month.

Prosecutors say the senator provided sensitive information to the Egyptian government in order to help an Egyptian-American businessman protect his monopoly.

According to the indictment, Menendez accepted hundreds of thousands of dollars between 2018 and 2022 from Hana, Uribe and Fred Daibes in exchange for using 'his power and influence to protect and enrich those businessmen and to benefit the Government of Egypt.'

The crash killed 49-year-old Richard Koop (above) in Bogota, New Jersey on December 12, 2018

According to federal charging documents, about a month after the crash, Arslanian texted Wael Hana (above), an Egyptian American businessman also indicted in the bribery scheme, lamenting her lack of a car

Soon after the crash, Wael Hana, an Egyptian American businessman also indicted in the bribery scheme, arranged to buy this Mercedes for Arslanian, prosecutors say

The indictment alleges the bribes came via cash, gold bars and even the Mercedes convertible, all of which were confiscated during a search of the senator's home.

Menendez, who has been a Democratic congressional stalwart for three decades, has furiously denied the allegations, saying at a press conference: 'I firmly believe that when all the facts are presented, not only will I be exonerated, but I still will be New Jersey's senior senator.'

New facts emerge about fatal 2018 crash

In 2018, the fatal crash that killed Koop drew no media attention, and no charges for Arslanian.

The crash occurred at around 7.35pm at 155 East Main Street on Bogota, just outside the home where Koop lived.

Dashcam video from the crash scene shows Arslanian wearing a dress and fur coat as she speaks with a police officer.

After answering preliminary questions about which direction she was driving, Arslanian is heard telling the cops that she wishes to speak to an attorney, explaining: 'I don't want to do anything wrong.'

Dashcam video from the crash scene shows Arslanian wearing a dress and fur coat as she speaks with a police officer

Police records don't show that any field sobriety test was administered, and the dashcam video does not indicate that Arslanian was questioned about drugs or alcohol, according to the Record.

A police report says that Koop was found laying in the roadway with 'severe head trauma, bleeding from the back of his head, bleeding from the face and possible fractured legs and arms.'

Koop was transported to Holy Name Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead at 8.18pm.

'Ms. Arslanian was not at fault in this crash,' a Bogota Police Department investigation report reads. 'Mr. Koop was jaywalking and did not cross the street at an intersection or in a marked crosswalk.'
The carrier addressed the government in its submission

Qantas has warned the Albanese government against reviewing the controversial decision to block extra flights from Qatar Airways.

A senate inquiry was launched into the decision to reject the gulf carrier from adding 28 additional flights to Australia's major airports by the Coalition last month.

Submissions to the committee were penned by Qatar Airways and local carriers Virgin and Rex.

Qantas delivered its written submission to the inquiry, where it urged the government against reviewing or appealing the decision by claiming it would affect Australia's standing in the global aviation market.

The move comes after ex-Qantas CEO Alan Joyce revealed in August he had lobbied the government against allowing Qatar to fly more planes in and out of Australia.

Qantas has urged the government not to review or appeal the decision to reject additional flights from Qatar Airways (stock image)

'Bilateral air services agreements are the result of a government-to-government process,' the airline stated in its latest submission.

'Airlines and other parties do not have 'rights' that can be properly appealed in this context and granting them would put Australia out of step with other jurisdictions in an environment where reciprocity is critical.

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'In analogous fields, such as trade or taxation, there are no appeal provisions in respect of other government-to-government agreements.'

Qantas said in its submission that it was imperative not to tamper with the decision as the industry recovers post-pandemic.

'It would be inappropriate to make a significant structural change to an important bilateral agreement, which had the potential to permanently distort the market while the sector was still recovering,' the submission read.

'That recovery is exactly what is happening.'

Qantas pointed to Singapore Airlines, Cathay Pacific, Emirates, Delta, ANA and China Eastern which had already 'capacity back into Australia'.

The national carrier claimed it had resulted in a fall in international affairs.

Qantas then added that there was 'plenty of opportunity' for airlines such as Qatar to add additional flights 'under the current arrangements' but noted that the original application wouldn't have increased the carrier's capacity by that much.

The Qatar Civil Aviation Authority made a request to the Department of Infrastructure and Transport for a review of the controversial decision (stock image)

New Qantas CEO Vanessa Hudson (pictured) and Qantas chairman Richard Goyder faced the senate inquiry last week.

New Qantas CEO Vanessa Hudson and Qantas chairman Richard Goyder faced the senate inquiry last week.

Former CEO Alan Joyce, who is overseas due to a family matter, will be called on to front the inquiry upon his return to the country.

A final report into the matter is due on Monday.

Transport Minister Catherine King had rejected Qatar Airways' original application back in July.

The Qatar Civil Aviation Authority then made a request to the Department of Infrastructure and Transport for a review on August 14.

The Department of Infrastructure and Transport responded that it was considering the request for consultation and would respond to the gulf carrier when possible.

Qantas's reputation has been battered in recent months following the controversy over its flight credits, ACCC complaints, illegal sacking of workers and granting the Prime Minister's son an executive chairman's pass.
A session of fire cupping - a type of alternative medicine praised by celebrities and sport stars - has left an Aussie grandmother in severe pain with second degree burns and awful blisters.

Larita De Ruyssche said she has not been able to sleep because of the pain, but the shopping mall practice where she had it done said the injuries are common.

Ms De Ruyssche from Shailer Park, Queensland, was left with burns and blisters on her back from a procedure she thought was going to improve her health, not leave her in agony.

She went to the Foot Haven Herbal clinic in Loganholme because it was recommended to her to treat her neck and shoulder pain, but she said the experience 'was just horrible'.

Cupping involves glass cups being heated and placed on a person's body to supposedly increase circulation, relieve pain and extract toxins.

A session of fire cupping - a type of alternative medicine praised by celebrities and sport stars - has left Aussie grandmother Larita De Ruyssche (pictured) with second degree burns

'Some of my friends have had it done and said how good it is for muscles,' she told 7News, but after a half hour of it, she found the pain unbearable.

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'You don't receive burns when you're doing cupping unless it's poor technique,' Waverny Holland of the Acupuncture and Chinese Medicine Association said.

'You don't burn patients. It's therapeutically not beneficial, plus it breaks the skin, it's opening it to infections.'

Ms De Ruyssche, who had to have her injuries dressed by her doctor, went back to the business and was told the weeping wounds she suffered were normal.

The boss of the Herbal Clinic told Channel 7 that 'In China, it's very common ... it really depends on the person's skin.'

Though the clinic maintains it did nothing wrong, it has apologised to Ms De Ruyssche for her experience.

She is now considering making a formal complaint to the Queensland Office of the Health Ombudsman.

Ms De Ruyssche said she has not been able to sleep because of the pain from the injuries (pictured), but the shopping mall practice where she had it done said the injuries are common

She is still feeling the effects of what happened. 'It's really painful ...

'I wouldn't recommend it to anyone and I would hate for anyone else to have my experience,' she told the Courier Mail.

Foot Haven Herbal owner Adam Zhou said 'There is no refund for the initial treatment as we have not done anything wrong and followed all the regular procedures.

'But I did feel sorry for her as she has not had this treatment before and was concerned about the blistering, which can happen depending on your skin type.'
GM and Stellantis, also targeted by the strikes, have laid off thousands more

The automaker has so far laid off around 1,330 workers due to the UAW strikes

Ford has notified around 400 workers they are redundant in Michigan

Ford has announced another round of autoworker layoffs as the crippling UAW strike stretches into its third week.

The car giant notified around 350 workers at the Livonia Transmission Plant and a further 50 at Sterling Axle Plant, both in Michigan, not to come back to work 'until further notice' on Wednesday.

The layoffs bring the total number of people let go by Ford due to the strikes to around 1,330 workers, with 330 redundancies also announced just days prior in Chicago and Lima, Ohio.

General Motors and Stellantis, the other two of Detroit's 'Big Three' currently facing the UAW strikes, have joined Ford in the mass layoffs. With further sackings expected, GM has let go of over 2,100 workers across four states, and Stellantis has laid off almost 370.

As the picket lines grow to over 25,000 workers, an analysis by Michigan economic consulting firm Anderson Economic Group found the strikes have already cost the US economy almost $4 billion.

Ford said Wednesday that it was laying off 350 workers at the Livonia Transmission Plant in Michigan (pictured) in the latest round of mass redundancies in response to the UAW strikes

A further 35 workers were told not to report for work 'until further notice' at the Sterling Axle Plant in Michigan, with GM and Stellantis also joining in the layoffs as the strikes near the one-month mark

UAW workers march through the streets of downtown Detroit following a rally on the first day of the UAW strike in Detroit, Michigan, on September 15, 2023

Ford's decision to let more people go on Wednesday came after it made its seventh contract offer to the UAW on Monday, which it branded the 'strongest' yet.

The manufacturer's desperation to end the strikes saw it offer workers 'unprecedented improvements in wages' that would put staff among the top 25 percent of all US earners.

'Ford has received two comprehensive counteroffers from the UAW, the last on Sept. 25. Fords latest offer provides our 57,000 UAW-represented employees with a record contract and a strong future,' the company said at the time.

But the two sides appear to still be far apart in negotiations, with UAW chiefs consistently claiming the automakers are hoarding their record profits while Ford executives blamed the strikes on their reason for a further round of layoffs.

'Our production system is highly interconnected, which means the UAW's targeted strike strategy has knock-on effects for facilities that are not directly targeted for work stoppage,' Ford spokesman Dan Barbossa told the Detroit Free Press, explaining why the layoffs aren't necessarily at the same sites as picket lines.

'These are not lockouts. These layoffs are a consequence of the strike at Chicago Assembly Plant, because these two facilities must reduce production of parts that would normally be shipped (there).'

Last month, UAW president Shawn Fain said that the mass-layoffs tactic was intended to 'put the squeeze on our members to settle for less.'

UAW members striking at the Stellantis Toledo Assembly Plant in Ohio. According to a recent study, the strikes have so far lost over $325 million in direct wages

Workers stand on the picket line outside the General Motors Lansing Delta Plant in Michigan

The Chicago Assembly plant cited by Barbossa has seen 4,613 workers strike since September 29, who would normally be producing Ford Explorers, Police Interceptors and Lincoln Aviators, which have all been halted.

The day before the layoffs were announced, Terry Chitwood, president of UAW Local 182, told union membership that he had sat down with officials to detail the redundancy process at the Livonia Transmission Plant.

In a setback, he told members that found themselves out of the job that they would not qualify for unemployment benefits, and would rely on strike assistance from the UAW.

'We are continuing to work with all parties involved to make this as smooth as a transition as possible,' Chitwood wrote in a memo initially obtained by the Detroit Free Press.

According to insiders who spoke to the outlet, Ford is also indicating that it may look to make further layoffs at the Cleveland Engine Plant in Ohio.

The company has also warned about a ripple effect into its auto parts suppliers due to the ongoing strikes plaguing supply chains.

'We understand to date there are about 2,400 supplier employees that have been laid off,' Liz Door, Ford's chief supply chain officer, said last week.

Door cautioned that unless a deal is struck, the number of people to lose their jobs could be 'anywhere between 325,000 and 500,000 employees.'

UAW President Shawn Fain declared that 'America has our backs' as he announced the automaker strikes were expanding to over 25,000 workers last week

Fain leaned on a historic visit from President Biden as he escalated the strike action

The strikes found their way to the epicenter of American politics, with Donald Trump opting to speak with the protestors rather than attend the second Republican presidential debate

The mass marching orders come in response to UAW chief Shawn Fain's announcement last week that the strikes would expand by a further 7,000 people, bringing the total on the picket lines to a staggering 25,000 workers.

Fain leaned on the historic visit from President Biden, who became the first sitting president to join a picket line days prior on September 26, as he declared the strike was expanding because 'America has our backs.'

The strikes found their way into the epicenter of American politics last week, as former President Donald Trump also opted to speak to the striking autoworkers rather than attend the second Republican presidential debate.

As he called on workers to join the strikes at certain factories in Chicago and Michigan, Fain slammed negotiators for prioritizing 'corporate greed.'

Fain slammed the automaker negotiators for hoarding record profits, saying the companies were doing 'incredibly well, so we deserve to do incredibly well too.'

He said the UAW were working 'night and day' on a new contract, but despite a 'willingness to bargain' there was 'no meaningful' movement - leading the strike to expand to two more factories at the time.

In August, when the strike action was threatened but was an increasing reality, estimates by the Anderson Economic Group placed the cost of even a 10-day, union-wide strike at $5.6 billion loss to the economy.

Strikers protest on the picket line on the day U.S. President Joe Biden joined them outside the GM's Willow Run Distribution Center, in Belleville, Wayne County, Michigan, on September 26, 2023

UAW protestors picket outside of Ford's Wayne Assembly Plant in Wayne, Michigan on September 26

Complaints over the automakers' raking in record profits while contesting higher wages for workers have mounted as layoffs continue.

General Motors blamed the picket lines as the number of its employees who have been laid off topped 2,100, with the strike also recently expanding to GM's Lansing Delta Township Assembly plant in Delta Michigan.

'It is unfortunate the UAW's decision to call a strike at GM Lansing Delta Township Assembly continues to have negative ripple effects,' GM said in a statement to CBS News on Tuesday, as it confirmed the next round of redundancies.

'The impacted team members are not expected to return until the strike has been resolved.

'Since we are working under an expired labor agreement, there are no provisions for company-provided sub-pay in this circumstance.'

On Tuesday, the automaker reported a 21 percent increase in sales in its third quarter earnings.
A Rottweiler that savagely mauled its owner leaving her fighting for life in hospital was known by neighbours to be aggressive, having once chased a package courier.

Nikita Piil, 31, is recovering in Royal Perth Hospital after she was set upon by her dog Bronx just before 5pm at her home in the Perth suburb of Success on September 16.

Police officers had tried Tasering the seven-year-old Rottweiler but eventually used their firearms when the dog could not be separated from Ms Piil. Bronx was later euthanised by a vet.

Ms Piil's other Rottweiler, four-year-old Harlem, is being held at the City of Cockburn pound where rangers are investigating whether the dog is safe to go back into the community.

A neighbour has now spoken out saying locals were 'afraid' of the two dogs and they personally witnessed one of them launch an attack on a courier who tried to drop a package off at Ms Piil's home.

Nikita Piil (pictured) was rushed to Royal Perth Hospital with severe injuries to her arms and legs after being set upon by her dogs. She could lose her arm due to a bacterial infection

Ms Piil's Facebook page was largely dedicated to her two Rottweilers (above) with the 31-year-old describing the older Bronx as 'incredible, cheeky, loyal, intelligent and protective'

'I saw one of them chasing a delivery driver one day four to six months ago,' the resident, who asked to remain anonymous, told The West Australian.

The neighbour said when the front door - which has a 'Beware of the Rottweiler' plaque - was opened the dog barrelled through and went straight for the courier.

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'A man was trying to drag it back inside. The delivery driver was holding his arm... I couldn't see if he had been bitten.'

No attacks by the dogs have been previously reported to council, but there were two reports about excessive barking in 2022.

The neighbour also claimed another resident on the street in the aftermath of the attack told them Ms Piil would only walk the dogs one-at-a-time because of their size and strength.

Ms Piil's family revealed last week she is facing dozens more surgeries and that a bacterial infection from the dog bites could force doctors to amputate her arm.

She has already undergone five emergency surgeries, amounting to a total of 13 hours, as doctors continue to work to save her arm.

Her family revealed on GoFundMe the surgeries alone might not be enough to save her arm as canine bacterial infections are causing 'ongoing serious complications'.

Ms Piil's sister Natasha earlier said Nikita adored Harlem and Bronx and something had set the dogs off.

Ms Piil has undergone five emergency surgeries, amounting to a total of 13 hours, as doctors continue to work to save her arm

Her sister said Ms Piil (pictured) was trying to calm the dogs are something set them off

Nikita Piil (pictured cuddling a Rottweiler) suffered severe bites and major blood loss after her two Rottweilers attacked her

Neighbours tried banging Ms Piil's fence and using a hose to distract the attacking dogs before pulling their guns (pictured, emergency services outside Ms Piil's home on Saturday)

'Unfortunately she got caught in a crossfire calming her dogs down due to an incident within the neighbourhood. There's more to this story as to what the media has told,' she said.

On the day of the attack, police had arrived at least 10 long minutes after the neighbours first heard Ms Piil's screams.

Ms Piil, who previously described her dogs as 'loyal' and 'protective' in Facebook posts, remains in a serious but stable condition after suffering major blood loss.

It remains unclear what prompted the dogs to attack their owner.

The fundraiser has so far garnered more than $15,000 in donations out of a $30,000 target.
In the wake of the damage Hurricane Idalia walloped Florida with, residents in the city of Ocala remain thankful their area remains a relative 'safe haven' through the Sunshine State's stormy weather.

Although the hurricane brought significant damage and led to at least seven direct deaths at the end of August, experts cautioned that the damage could have been far worse.

In Tallahassee, home to about 200,000 people, Florida State University and Governor Ron DeSantis' mansion - which was struck by a falling tree in the storm - residents saw significant damage but were spared the eye of the storm.

However, Ocala - located at the state's center - is considered one of the state's lowest risks for coastal flooding in a state that takes 40 percent of the nation's direct hits from hurricanes.

In addition, only Lake City and Tallahassee have less risk of suffering from high winds, drought and inland flooding in the state, according to Climate Alpha, which uses analytics to predict climate volatility.

In the wake of the damage Hurricane Idalia walloped Florida with, residents in the city of Ocala remain thankful their area remains a relative 'safe haven' through the Sunshine State's stormy weather

While Hurricane Irma hit the region fairly hard in 2017, residents tell the Wall Street Journal that the powerful storms lose momentum by the time they reach Ocala, which is 100 feet above sea level.

Even when there was worry that Hurricane Idalia would hit Ocala, the city suffered no major damage and only minor power outages, that were quickly restored.

The city and its surroundings also have lower housing costs and - perhaps most importantly - lower insurance premiums during a time when some insurance companies refuse to operate ion the state.

Marion County, the home of Ocala, had an average insurance premium of $1,894 per year, second lowest in the state behind neighboring Sumter County.

By comparison, on the Florida Keys in Monroe County, you'd be paying $7,584 on insurance premiums.

In other trendy areas, the premiums are almost as high, including in Palm Beach ($5,710 per year), Broward ($5,519) and Miami Dade ($5,665).

Home prices also make the area appealing, with a median luxury residence going for an average of $710,000, whereas Tampa will run you $1.5million and other areas in the state cost upwards of $3million.

'People want to find an easier life,' where they don't want to deal with the storms all the time, according to Ocala House Properties broker Matt Varney.

Ocala - located at the state's center - is considered one of the state's lowest risks for coastal flooding in a state that takes 40 percent of the nation's direct hits from hurricanes

While Hurricane Irma hit the region fairly hard in 2017, residents tell the Wall Street Journal that the powerful storms lose momentum by the time they reach Ocala, which is 100 feet above sea level

While some may have been relieved when Idalia touched down with less force than once feared, the effects were severe for thousands as the damage stretched across much of the west coast of the state and into Georgia and South Carolina.

After slowing before it reached the shore, the National Weather Service monitored the storm moving forwards at 18mph, a surprisingly faster than average speed that meterologists said may have been both a good and a bad side effect.

The speed saw the storm move through certain areas fairly quickly which limited some of the damage, however it also allowed it to maintain momentum and continue on its path.

Idalia's potency and wide radius saw the storm reach large swaths of Florida before touching Georgia and the Carolinas, with the twister still causing damage Thursday as storm surges were seen in North Carolina.

However, in Ocala - which did predict a big impact - avoided much of the storm, with six shelters only in use for about half a day and only dedicated to the most needed.

The shelters were all elementary schools, which all were able to reopen the next day, according to the Ocala Star-Banner.

The destruction elsewhere also led President Joe Biden to formally declare a major disaster, which allows the White House to funnel federal funds to the affected areas.

The hurricane, which reached land on Wednesday morning, is expected to have caused billions of dollars of damage

The potency of the storm saw the damage stretch from the west coast of Florida (pictured in Horseshoe Beach, Florida) all the way to North Carolina

Entire towns were levelled by the huricane as residents in Cedar Key, Florida (pictured) are tasked with cleaning debris from the twister

'The Presidents action makes federal funding available to affected individuals in the counties of Citrus, Dixie, Hamilton, Lafayette, Levy, Suwannee, and Taylor,' the White House said in a statement.

The storm brought strong winds to Savannah, Georgia, as it made its way toward the Carolinas and was forecast to move along the coast before heading out into the Atlantic Ocean.

The National Weather Service said Idalia spawned a tornado that briefly touched down in Charleston, South Carolina, where two people suffered minor injures as the winds sent a car flying.
Lidia Thorpe has launched an extraordinary attack on Anthony Albanese and Australian police in a foul-mouthed rant after she was threatened by a neo-Nazi.

The independent Senator delivered the heated speech outside the Royal Exhibition Building in Melbourne on Thursday afternoon - with the ABC forced to cut its live feed midway.

Ms Thorpe was speaking out after a disturbing video emerged of a neo-Nazi threatening the senator and burning the Aboriginal flag.

'The referendum is an act of genocide against my people,' she said.

'And the Prime Minister knows exactly what he's doing. He wants the f***ing fascist to come out and get me.'

Lidia Thorpe (pictured) has savaged Anthony Albanese and the police after she was threatened by a neo-Nazi in a vile video posted online

An outraged Ms Thorpe said the Voice to Parliament referendum had led to racist attacks and threats against her.

The Gunnai, Gunditjmara and Djab Warrung woman then ripped into police.

'That's what he wants because his violent force that he has sent to protect me can't even protect me,' she said.

'Refused to protect the black sovereign woman because the police are part of the problem in this country.'

She stressed that she couldn't 'ring 000' or 'rely on Victoria police'.

'Where is my support? Where is my protection in this country?' she said.

At one point she tells one disruptive onlooker at the press conference to 'f*** off'.

'You want to paint me as an angry black woman? Well you are about to see an angry black woman because I am not hiding this time,' Senator Thorpe continued.

'I've been in exile for four months. Four months I wasn't allowed to be in my own home because people want to kill me out there.'

'They don't want my voice to be heard over the next nine days, they want to feel good about the referendum, the referendum to assimilate our people into their constitution. So what do they do? They send the fascists.'

The Independent Senator ripped into Victoria Police by referring to them as a 'violent force' who couldn't protect her

Senator Thorpe said she had 'hired my own black army' and that she wasn't going to 'hide' in the days leading up to the Voice referendum

The senator explained that 'only two fascists' had been arrested over two years and that she wasn't waiting 'two years for the latest fascist f***ing violence to come at me'.

'I've hired my own black army...and this parliament has to pay for the black army, not the army that continues to violate black men and black women in this country,' she added.

'So I'm not hiding for the next nine days. You're going to hear from me, and you are going to see me, and I am not scared.'

'I am ready to fight for exactly what I went into parliament for, and that is for my country, my people. And I won't stop, and I'm not scared. So come at me.'

The national broadcaster cut away from her press statement.

Mr Albanese was asked by reporters about the rant twenty minutes after it was made.

'I think that people need to be respectful during this debate,' he said during a press conference in Brisbane.

'It is important that people are respectful with each other.'

The Prime Minister said that 'the sort of nasty rhetoric and statements' that came from the video with the neo-Nazi had 'no place in discourse in Australian political life'.

The Prime Minister (pictured) was asked about the rant by reporters but admitted that he hadn't seen it and 'wasn't going to engage in the debate like that'

When a reporter pointed out to Mr Albanese that Senator Thorpe had blamed him for the threats, he responded that he wasn't 'going to engage in the debate like that.'

He then admitted that he hadn't seen Senator Thorpe's rant.

'I will continue to conduct myself respectfully, I will continue to campaign for a Yes vote in this referendum,' he added.

The video which Ms Thorpe was shaken by shows a man, who is dressed in black and wearing a balaclava, claiming to be from neo-Nazi group Warriors for Convict Resistance.

Using a voice modulator, he reads a statement from his phone endorsing 'white Australia', makes racist comments about Indigenous people and threatens Senator Thorpe.

He then burns the Aboriginal flag and performs a Nazi salute.

The Australian Federal Police were made aware of the video on Tuesday when it was posted to social media site X.

It has since been taken down and the account that posted it has been de-activated but the AFP is continuing to investigate the matter.

The Australian Federal Police are investigating a disturbing video of a balaclava-clad neo-Nazi threatening Lidia Thorpe before burning an Aboriginal flag

'Reports of harassment, nuisance, offensive and threatening communications against parliamentarians/electoral offices have increased in the past two years, including via social media,' an AFP spokesperson told AAP.

'Threats of harm or violence against Australian high office holders are criminal offences and will be fully investigated by the AFP.'

Federal government frontbenchers have denounced the vile clip.

Government Services Minister Bill Shorten described it as 'cowardly and disgusting' during an appearance on Nine's Today Show on Thursday.

'I don't know what it is with these man-baby Nazis,' he said.

'Wearing a hood so no one can see you. They think they're so tough.'

He later added: 'I wish that bloke would take his hood off so people can see what kind of joker he is.'

'The guy can't even remember his lines, he has to read it off a phone.'

Home Affairs Minister Clare O'Neil also chimed in.

Federal government frontbenchers including Government Services Minister Bill Shorten (pictured) have condemned the clip

Home Affairs Minister Clare O'Neil (pictured) slammed the video as 'menacing, disgusting'

'That video is menacing, disgusting, and it is obviously deliberately targeting her to stop her from expressing her views,' she said on the program.

'I have plenty of political differences with Senator Lidia Thorpe but no-one in our country deserves to be treated that way, but certainly not someone living in this country.'

'We cannot live in a strong democracy like Australia around for someone to be treated this way.

'It is appalling disgusting and the Australian Government will be doing everything we can to support Senator Lidia Thorpe through what must be an absolutely terrifying experience .'

A similar video created by the same neo-Nazi group in February 2022 used a racial slur against the Blak Sovereign Movement leader and showed the Aboriginal flag being burned.

The Albanese government announced a law to ban the public display or sale of Nazi symbols earlier this year.

Victoria passed legislation banning the public display of the Nazi swastika in May of last year.

It makes it a criminal offence for anyone to intentionally display the Nazi symbol in public, and those who do will face penalties of up to nearly $22,000, 12 months in jail, or both.

People will only be charged if they do not comply with a police directive to remove the symbol.
He was found naked, adrift in the ocean

A teenager has been charged with murder after he was found naked and behaving erratically on a boat near the wreckage of a car that contained human remains.

Benjamin Jack McLaughlin, 19, was initially arrested by West Australian Police after he had drifted out to sea on a boat before jumping into the ocean near Nambung, 200km north of Perth on September 26.

Distressed fisherman had reported him to the police when they noticed him drifting aimlessly in the waters where he was screaming, confused and ripping his hair out.

McLaughlin allegedly assaulted a policeman and a fisherman on the night and was arrested before momentarily being released on bail.

He has since been taken into custody and charged with murder, aggravated criminal damage by fire and stealing a motor vehicle.

Benjamin Jack McLaughlin, 19, has been charged with murder after detectives allegedly linked him to human remains that were found in a wreckage near where he was found behaving erratically

On September 26 West Australian Police found one car burnt out on the side of the road, another submerged in the water, and McLaughlin (pictured) naked and behaving erratically in the ocean

On the day of McLaughlin's first arrest, police had earlier discovered a burnt-out white 1997 Mitsubishi Pajero on Indian Ocean Drive which had the remains of a 38-year-old male inside.

It is alleged that McLaughlin had crashed the Pajero into the bushlands near the Cervantes Road turnoff before the victim found him while driving their red SUV.

READ MORE: Mystery deepens around naked man found on boat The naked man was spotted acting erratically in a boat before jumping in the water. Advertisement

An 'incident occurred between the two which resulted in the victim's death', police have alleged.

Hours later the same SUV was found submerged in the ocean off Cervantes, where McLaughlin was spotted after he had cast away the ship that he was found on.

Lobster fisherman reported him to police and he was charged with assaulting a police officer and a fisherman and of casting away ships.

After he was released on bail, investigators continued making 'very good progress' into figuring out what happened with the Pajero.

Police Commissioner Col Blanch said detectives were anaylsing forensic evidence and exploring data capabilities at the time of McLaughlin's release.

As the investigation developed McLaughlin was named a suspect and bought back into custody, before he was charged with the murder.

He is due to face the Perth Magistrates Court on Thursday.

McLaughlin's white 1997 Mitsubishi Pajero was found wrecked on Indian Ocean Drive with the remains of a 38-year-old male inside. It is alleged that an incident occurred between the two at this time which resulted in the victim's death

The victim had been driving a red SUV when he came across McLaughlin, which police found submerged in the ocean later that same day

One of the fisherman who found McLaughlin on the night of his first arrest told The West that the naked man was thoroughly confused but seeking help at the time.

'He was carrying on pretty erratically on the boat just screaming at the top of his lungs. He didnt know where he was, how he got there, what he was doing ... just wanted help and then climbed on the roof and jumped off into the water,' said Brandon, who did not disclose his surname.

Not wanting to engage with him, the deckhands held back and called police instead.

While they were waiting for help to arrive Brandon thought that McLaughlin had died after he leapt off the boat and remained facedown in the water for almost a minute.

'I dont know if he passed out or if it was intentional of him laying facedown in the water but it looked like hed given up, it honestly looked like it was the worst-case scenario,' he said.

When McLaughlin was pulled out of the water he had apparently forgotten his own name and was 'pacing around on deck, pulling his hair out'.
The Biden administration has made a stunning reversal in migration policy by revealing it will build 20 miles of border wall to try and combat the latest surge in migrant crossings.

In a shock announcement on Wednesday night, the Department of Homeland Security said it's waiving 26 federal laws to start constructing a new 'physical barrier' that was started under Donald Trump.

The Biden White House has consistently slammed Trump's tough migration policy and even cancelled the wall construction when Biden took office.

On his first day in office, Biden even declared that building a wall wasn't 'a serious policy solution.'

But the recent acceleration in migrant crossings and pressure to deal with the crisis has now forced the federal government to change direction.

The U-turn comes as Democrat-run cities such as New York and Chicago demand Biden do more to stop border crossers ending up in their communities and straining resources.

U.S. President Joe Biden speaks with border patrol officers as he walks along the border fence during his visit to the U.S.-Mexico border to assess border enforcement operations, in El Paso, Texas, U.S., January 8, 2023

US President Donald Trump speaks with US Border Patrol Chief Rodney Scott (R) as they participates in a ceremony commemorating the 200th mile of border wall at the international border with Mexico in San Luis, Arizona, June 23, 2020

A U.S. Border Patrol agent supervises as immigrants walk into the United States after crossing the Rio Grande from Mexico on September 30, 2023 in Eagle Pass, Texas. The agent had cut coils of razor wire to let them pass through for processing

'There is presently an acute and immediate need to construct physical barriers and roads in the vicinity of the border of the United States in order to prevent unlawful entries into the United States in the project areas,' DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas stated in the notice.

Trump, whose Republican administration created about 450 new miles of border barriers, responded to the announcement by telling Fox News Digital that the Biden administration needs to 'go back to Trump policies.'

He also wrote on Truth Social on Thursday morning: 'Will Joe Biden apologize to me and America for taking so long to get moving, and allowing our country to be flooded with 15 million illegals immigrants, from places unknown.'

'I will await his apology.'

'So interesting to watch Crooked Joe Biden break every environmental law in the book to prove that I was right when I built 560 miles (they incorrectly state 450 in story!) of brand new, beautiful border wall,' Trump added.

'As I have stated often, over thousands of years, there are only two things that have consistently worked, wheels, and walls!

'Biden sees our country is being invaded,' Trump told the outlet in an interview. 'What is he going to do about the 15 million people from prisons, from mental institutions, insane asylums, and terrorists that have already come into our country?'

A Trump campaign spokesperson said the DHS decision shows that 'President Trump is always right.'

According to government data, about 245,000 illegal entries have been recorded in Rio Grande Valley Sector, which includes Starr County, during the 2023 fiscal year through early August.

DHS will waive statutes including the Clean Air Act, Safe Drinking Water Act and Endangered Species Act to make way for construction, which will use funds from a congressional appropriation in 2019 for border wall construction.

The waivers avoid time-consuming reviews and lawsuits challenging violation of environmental laws.

Starr County's hilly ranchlands, sitting between Zapata and McAllen, Texas, is home to about 65,000 residents sparsely populating about 1,200 square miles that form part of the Lower Rio Grande Valley National Wildlife Refuge.

DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas waived 26 federal laws to allow several miles of border wall construction in South Texas

Asylum seekers cross the Rio Grande from Mexico into the United States on September 30, 2023 in Eagle Pass, Texas

Although no maps were provided in the announcement, a previous map shared during the gathering of public comments shows the piecemeal construction will add up to an additional 20 miles to the existing border barrier system in the area.

Starr County Judge Eloy Vera said it will start south of the Falcon Dam and go past Salineno, Texas.

'The other concern that we have is that area is highly erosive. Theres a lot of arroyos,' Eloy Vera, the county judge said, pointing out the creeks cutting through the ranchland and leading into the river.

Concern is shared with environmental advocates who say structures will run through public lands, habitats of endangered plants and species like the Ocelot, a spotted wild cat.

'A plan to build a wall through will bulldoze an impermeable barrier straight through the heart of that habitat. It will stop wildlife migrations dead in their tracks. It will destroy a huge amount of wildlife refuge land. And it's a horrific step backwards for the borderlands,' Laiken Jordahl, a southwest conservation advocate for the Center for Biological Diversity, said Wednesday afternoon.

During the Trump administration, about 450 miles of barriers were built along the southwest border between 2017 and January 2021.

Texas Governor Greg Abbott renewed those efforts after the Biden administration halted them at the start of his presidency.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection had no immediate comment.

The announcement prompted political debate by the Democratic administration facing an increase of migrants entering through the southern border in recent months, including thousands who entered the U.S. through Eagle Pass at the end of September.

'A border wall is a 14th century solution to a 21st century problem. It will not bolster border security in Starr County,' U.S. Representative Henry Cuellar said in a statement. 'I continue to stand against the wasteful spending of taxpayer dollars on an ineffective border wall.'

Political proponents of the border wall said the waivers should be used as a launching pad for a shift in policy.

'After years of denying that a border wall and other physical barriers are effective, the DHS announcement represents a sea change in the administration's thinking: A secure wall is an effective tool for maintaining control of our borders,' Dan Stein, president of the Federation for American Immigration Reform, said in a statement.

'Having made that concession, the administration needs to immediately begin construction of wall across the border to prevent the illegal traffic from simply moving to other areas of the border.'
The mayor petitioned a judge to end NYC's 'right to shelter' law, passed in 1981

Adams warned the number of people in the city's care has soared 159 percent

Desperate New York City Mayor Eric Adams has pleaded with a judge to end the city's longstanding 'right to shelter' law as he struggles to house more than 122,000 migrants who have flooded the Big Apple since last year.

Adams, 63, sent a letter Tuesday evening urging a judge to dismiss the city's legal obligation to provide shelter to adults, claiming the 1981 law should be void in a state of emergency.

The letter, sent to New York Supreme Court justice Erika Edwards, warned that the huge influx 'shows no signs of abating', while citing a staggering 159 percent increase in the number of people in the city's care since April 2022.

As he scrambles for solutions, Adams travelled south of the border on Wednesday in an attempt to deter migrants from moving to New York City after entering the US.

Adams' anguish over the situation is a stark contrast to his previous public posturing over migrants, where he claimed only a year ago that he was 'proud' to house asylum seekers as he vowed to 'continue to do that.'

However, the embattled mayor's letter faced quick backlash from homeless advocacy groups who claimed that the move would 'gut' rights offered to homeless people.

New York City Mayor Eric Adams, pictured in Mexico on Wednesday, pleaded for the legal obligation to house migrants to be suspended, as he warned that 'it is abundantly clear that the status quo cannot continue'

Adams travelled south of the border in an attempt to deter migrants from going to New York City after entering the US. He is seen speaking s to the press in front of the Basilica de Guadalupe after a visit to the shrine of the Virgin of Guadalupe in Mexico City, Wednesday, Oct. 4, 2023

Migrants, who are streaming into NYC at a rate of almost 800 people per day, lineup to enter the Federal Plaza to file with the immigration services this week

Adams has turned to a variety of city landmark hotels and emergency shelters to find room for the 120,000 plus migrants flooding the Big Apple, but warned this week he is 'at capacity'

The former police officer has seen his time in office plagued by the migrant crisis, as he claimed in his letter that 'New York City has done more than any other city in the last 18 months to meet this national humanitarian crisis.'

In a statement alongside the letter, Adams added: 'With more than 122,700 asylum seekers having come through our intake system since the spring of 2022, and projected costs of over $12 billion for three years, it is abundantly clear that the status quo cannot continue.'

Notably, the letter comes in tandem with Adams' much-publicized four-day trip to Latin America, where he said he intends to tell asylum seekers not to expect 'five star hotels' if they move to the Big Apple.

Upwards of 200 emergency shelters - including 17 large-scale humanitarian relief centers - have already reached capacity in the city.

Adams urged Edwards to not only consider temporarily suspending the right to shelter law 'that present circumstances demand', but also for the rules to be suspended at any time the governor or mayor declares a state of emergency when there is a surge in people seeking shelter.

He argued that when the right to shelter provisions were passed, they were 'never intended to apply to the extraordinary circumstances our city faces today.'

The letter was sent to New York Supreme Court judge Erika Edwards, and cited a number of alarming statistics showing the crisis has gotten out of the control of city officials

But with the city's focus turned squarely on the migrant crisis, which has seen iconic hotels such as the Roosevelt Hotel turned into shelters, homeless advocacy groups warned following Adams' latest request could be a slippery slope.

The Legal Aid Society, the group that filed the lawsuit that led to the right to shelter law, issued a joint statement with the Coalition for the Homeless condemning the move as a death sentence for protections given to homeless people.

'This is the citys most significant and damaging attempt to retreat on its legal and moral obligation to provide safe and decent shelter for people without homes since that right was established 42 years ago,' the groups said.

'Street homelessness would balloon to a level unseen in our city since the Great Depression.'

Large numbers of migrants have been forced to sleep rough on the streets of New York City, with families given priority in hotel rooms while shelters reach capacity.

The letter is not the first time that Adams has sought to end the right to shelter mandate, previously requesting changes to the law in May.

Adams cited his previous petition in his letter on Tuesday, noting that the number of migrants who requested shelter from the city since then has soared to around 50,600.

Since April 1, 2022, over 122,700 migrants have flooded New York City looking for shelter, and the total number of people the city has an obligation to house has skyrocketed by 159 percent in the same time frame.

Since May 21, 2023, officials have opened an additional 61 shelters throughout the city and spent over $1.1 billion as they continue struggling with the crisis.

Hundreds of refugees slept outside the Roosevelt Hotel in August when the historic establishment was transformed into a migrant camp

Officials said Tuesday the Roosevelt (pictured in August) currently has 412 people who are waiting for a shelter placement, and many are forced to sleep rough as families are given priority housing

Migrants line up in front of the historic Roosevelt Hotel, converted into a city-run shelter for newly arrived migrant families in New York City, United States on September 27, 2023

Adams announced this week he was set to travel to the US-Mexico border to try and deter more migrants from trying to move to New York City after they cross into America.

He is set to meet with officials in Mexico, Ecuador and Colombia during a four-day trip.

Adams was seen speaking with reporters as he began his trip in Mexico, where attended the shrine of the Virgin of Guadalupe before he made an appearance at the North Capital Forum to meet with government officials.

He will then travel to Quito, Ecuador, for additional meetings before he heads to Bogota, Colombia and eventually to the Darien Gap, a dangerous section of the route many South American migrants pass through on their way to the US.

As Adams prepares for his trip south of the border, his office was plunged into controversy as his top aide Ingrid Lewis-Martin appeared to call for the federal government to 'close the borders' amid the crisis.

On Tuesday, the mayor walked back these comments as he insisted the border should remain open, but those crossing should be funneled to other cities.

'We believe the borders should remain open,' Adams said at a news conference.

'Thats the official position of this city, but we have made it clear there should be a decompression strategy so that we could properly deal with the volume thats coming into our city.'

'We are at capacity,' Adams added to reporters on Tuesday. 'We're going to tell them that coming to New York doesn't mean you're going to stay in a five-star hotel.

'It doesn't mean that, the mere fact that you come here, you automatically are going to be allowed to work.'

'I can't believe that we're still in the situation that we are talking about how many more sites we want to open. We have 118,000 people that have come to New York City. This is a national and an international crisis,' said Anne Williams-Isom, New York's deputy mayor for Health and Human Services.

'This is a national and an international crisis,' she added. 'We really need a decompression strategy, so that as people are coming over, we can send them to other parts of the United States.'

Williams-Isom said that new arrivals of migrants in the city have recently reached 600 to 800 individuals per day, double the previous rate of some 10,000 per month.

Dramatic photos show the moment migrants cross the Rio Grande river from Piedras Negras, Mexico into Eagle Pass, Texas - which has become the epicenter of border crossings in recent times

Many migrants traverse difficult conditions on their way to the US-Mexico border, in hopes of ending up in sanctuary cities such as New York City

While New York City struggles to find room for the deluge, the small Texas town of Eagle Pass has become an epicenter of the unprecedented crossings.

The Texas town of just 28,000 people has been inundated by migrants in recent weeks, with border crossings rising to around 8,000 a day in the week ending September 22, according to the Washington Office of Latin America.

The number of crossings is only matched by April 2023 levels, when pandemic-era immigration policy Title 42 expired.

Similarly to the Big Apple, shelters in border towns like Eagle Pass have been stretched well over capacity due to the thousands of crossings every day.

As officials scramble for solutions, Texas Governor Greg Abbott has led the movement to bus migrants to northern states to share the burden of ineffective border policies while bringing the crisis to national attention.
A financial planner who swindled clients out of $10million in fake investments lulled one client into a sense of security with visits to her retirement home, flowers and lunches.

Terence Nugara was jailed for a decade on Thursday over a long-running property development scam in which he deceived 28 clients into investing $10million from their savings and superannuation funds.

While putting their retirements into doubt, he lined his pockets with cash, his garage with luxury cars and bought himself a boat and helicopter.

His actions were reprehensible, callous, selfish and occurred during a period when his financial planning and advisory licence was suspended and later terminated, County Court Judge Trevor Wraight said.

He sentenced Nugara to nine years and 11 months behind bars on Thursday.

Terence Nugara (pictured) was jailed for a decade after he deceived 28 clients into investing $10million from their savings and superannuation funds into a property development scam

The financial planner was often seen living a lavish lifestyle filled with luxury cars, yachts, helicopters and $400 bottles of Dom Perignon

The court heard Nugara used his position as a financial planner to convince clients to switch their superannuation accounts to self-managed super funds and invest in property development.

Nugara represented himself as developing properties in Malvern, Kew, Sandringham and Glen Iris, as well as villas in Bali.

In some cases he promised returns up to 98.93 per cent.

Nugara had pre-existing relationships with many victims.

One woman said he had visited her at her retirement home, brought her flowers and took her out to lunch.

Another woman became a client after the death of her accountant husband, who previously managed her investments.

A man who was lured into investing had also been deceived into bringing his parents in on the scam.

'You took advantage of people who placed their trust in you, many of whom were older and looking forward to a comfortable retirement,' Judge Wraight said.

Nugara was caught out by various clients who visited the supposedly developed properties, only to discover the previous building was yet to be demolished.

One learned of the scam when they were advised by the financial watchdog to contact police, while another found out years after the fact through her solicitor.

The victims - including some who had to delay retirement or rely on Centrelink - have had some or all money repaid through financial institutions since a pre-sentence hearing last month.

Judge Wraight said it was argued Nugara, who moved overseas before the police investigation began, had voluntarily returned to Australia to face justice.

County Court Judge Trevor Wraight labelled his actions as reprehensible, callous and selfish

Nugara, who pleaded guilty to 27 charges of obtaining financial advantage by deception and two charges of theft, will be eligible for parole after serving six years and six months

But he noted before leaving, Nugara disposed of assets including his house and clearly sought to start afresh overseas.

When international business ventures failed, the Sri Lankan-born man returned to Australia, where he had citizenship.

'Whatever your reason for returning to Australia, I'm not convinced it was motivated by your contrition,' he said.

Nugara, who pleaded guilty to 27 charges of obtaining financial advantage by deception and two charges of theft, will be eligible for parole after serving six years and six months of his prison sentence.
Turkiye's national defense minister met with his visiting Iraqi counterpart on Thursday to discuss the joint counterterrorism efforts and border security, Azernews reports, citing Anadolu Agency.

"The importance of advancing cooperation through common steps, primarily in the fight against terrorism and border security, was emphasized" during the meeting between Yasar Guler and Thabet al-Abbasi, who was on an official visit to the Turkish capital Ankara, the Turkish Defense Ministry said on X.

After a military ceremony at the ministry to welcome Al-Abbasi, the two official ministers held one-on-one and delegation-level talks, it added.

During the talks, Guler and al-Abbasi discussed matters related to regional military and defense industry cooperation.

Guler, who emphasized the "strong historical and social ties" between the two neighboring countries, also highlighted the importance of enhancing cooperation through joint actions, particularly in areas like counterterrorism and border security, said the statement.

He also expressed his pleasure at hosting Al-Abbasi and conveyed his condolences for the loss of life caused by a fire at a wedding in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul, it added.
ABC medical pundit Norman Swan has sparked outrage among chronic fatigue syndrome and long Covid sufferers for appearing to endorse a controversial therapy.

A change.org petition has been launched demanding Dr Swan retract positive comments he made about Graded Exercise Therapy (GET).

The therapy claims to help CFS or long Covid patients to rebuild their tolerance to physical activity by incrementally increasing the intensity of their exercises.

The therapy is divisive with some practitioners encouraging it while most regard it as ineffective and claim it could worsen the severity of symptoms.

Chronic fatigue and long Covid sufferers share similar symptoms that can range in severity and type - with the most common being easy exhaustion.

The petition, created by Nicholas Carlton, accused Dr Swan of sharing 'harmful and inaccurate' views on GET.

ABC medical pundit Norman Swan is in hot water with chronic fatigue sufferers for endorsing a controversial therapy

'The ABC seriously undermines the credibility of its reporting and contributors by promoting Dr. Swans discredited views on a widely heard, flagship podcast,' the petition states.

The petition demands Dr Swan, be issued a formal warning by the ABC and apologise to chronic fatigue and long Covid sufferers has over 1,000 signatures.

Dr Swan is also urged to engage with CFS and long Covid sufferers to increase his understanding and also calls on the ABC to issue Dr Swan with a formal warning.

The particular remarks the petition singles out were made by Dr Swan during his regular Coronacast podcasts during episodes broadcast on September 27, 2023 and January 29, 2021.

During the September 27 podcast, Dr Swan talked about treating CFS and long Covid with cognitive behavioural therapy, which involves challenging negative thoughts, and GET.

'In the absence of a medical therapy, what are you going to do? You're going to sit with your symptoms?' he asked.

'In the absence of a medical therapy, cognitive behavioural therapy and graded exercise does seem to help.'

Dr Swan did admit that there was the risk that 'speeding up exercise too quickly in people with chronic fatigue does make them worse'.

He also cited a PACE trial that claimed there were benefits for CFS sufferers from GET although admitted the study was 'controversial' and a 'group of people with chronic fatigue syndrome don't like' it because 'they think it was badly done'.

'But I think we're getting to a middle ground here,' Dr Swan said about using GET and cognitive behavioural therapy.

Graded Exercise Therapy involves incrementally increasing the amount of physical activity a patient does

The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners rated the evidence that supported the benefits of GET as Level 1, which is the lowest on that scale of reliability.

Dr Chris Chappel, from Sydney's Evergreen Doctors - a practice that specialises in people suffering fatigue - did not endorse GET.

'We don't like Graded Exercise Therapy, and find it can hamper recovery, and cause undue distress to patients,' Dr Chappel said.

'Almost all patients with CFS will tell you that Graded Exercise Therapy doesn't work.'

He also cited advice from America's Centre of Disease Control (CDC) on Get.

"Any activity or exercise plan for people with ME/CFS needs to be carefully designed with input from each patient,' the CDC said.

'While vigorous aerobic exercise can be beneficial for many chronic illnesses, patients with ME/CFS do not tolerate such exercise routines.

'Standard exercise recommendations for healthy people can be harmful for patients with ME/CFS.'

Dr Chappel explained that there are essentially two types of fatigue, peripheral and central.

'Patients with peripheral fatigue can manage a certain distance then fatigue, they can in the right context benefit from a graded exercise program,' he said.

Dr Chris Chappel, from Sydney's Evergreen Doctors a practice that specialises in people suffering fatigue, does not endorse Graded Exercise Therapy for people suffering chronic fatigue

'Most patients with CFS have central fatigue and are tired no matter what they do, and find over-exerting themselves delays their progress.

'Even a simple task like going to their letter box can wipe them out for hours or longer.

'All our treatment plans are personalised and holistic, exercise is only a small part of effective treatment.'

An ABC spokesperson told Daily Mail Australia that Dr Swan recognises 'the very real and devastating impacts' of CFS as well as the complexity of this area of medical science'.

'The segment of Coronacast discussing exercise therapies as a form of treatment clearly communicated that this is a controversial area,' the spokesperon said.

'There is evidence to suggest that gradually increasing activity under careful guidance, without going too far too fast, along with Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, can be helpful for some CFS patients.

'This is different from increasing exercise inflexibly, by fixed increments, which is not widely recommended.

The spokesperson said that Dr Swan mentioned repeatedly that speeding up exercise too quickly can cause harm.

'Dr Swans comments were consistent with other public health communication on this issue, for example from the Victorian Department of Health,' the spokesperson said.

'Dr Swans comments reflected the available evidence and included that some of that evidence is questioned and/or controversial.'
A landlord has given a surprisingly direct response after finding out about their tenants' complaints about a rental property, saying he didn't know about the problems.

The East Melbourne house's multiple defects - the leaks started four days after the tenants moved in - were revealed in a video by tenants' advocate Jordie van den Berg.

But the owner saw the video and replied under the posting that 'Funny enough I'm the landlord that owns this property, before you go blaming me for everything please listen to my side.

'I'm very sorry for everything that has happened but I'm currently rectifying all the issues on the house now, I honestly didn't know about this.'

The infuriated owner later added that he 'Will not be using [the agent] anymore and will be making sure my brothers, family and friends don't use them either for their investments.'

A landlord has given a surprisingly direct response after finding out about their tenants' complaints about a rental property (pictured), saying he didn't know about the problems

Mr van den Berg said that 'This is what's wrong with the real estate industry. Turns out the landlord didn't know about the issues...

'How is a landlord supposed to rectify issues they don't know about because an agency isn't doing their job?'

READ MORE: Fed-up Aussies deliver a brutal message to landlords Advertisement

The tenants' rights activist, who is also a lawyer, is so passionate about the housing issue that he has set up a website to expose terrible rentals called s***rentals.org.

'It's not the first time that the landlord has become aware of issues at a property due to a video that I've made, the real estate agency hasn't told them,' Mr van den Berg told Daily Mail Australia.

'I suspect it's going to happen a lot more now with the new website, because (of agencies that) don't do their jobs.'

Though the site only went live last month, it already has more than 2,000 reviews, but the man who is also known as Purplepingers on social media channels, has been making videos of bad tenancies for three years and posting them to various websites.

He set up the website because he doesn't 'think it's fair that renters have to rely on some white guy on TikTok to tell their story. They should be able to tell it themselves.'

Mr van den Berg said the purpose is also to 'have a database of places so that they know what they're getting into when they rent something because a real estate agent will lie to them before they move in'.

He said the response so far has 'been overwhelmingly positive from tenants. And you know, some people have been saying it's very good to finally be able to tell their story.'

The leaks (pictured) in the property started four days after the tenants moved in

The cause of all the leaks is to be found of the roof of the East Melbourne property (pictured)

Jordie van den Berg (pictured), also known as Purplepingers, is an advocate for tenants

On a recent edition of ABC News Breakfast, Mr van den Berg made it clear that he had no sympathy for landlords complaining about increased mortgage costs.

'You made a speculative investment in something that is a human right, and you lost.

'No investment is without risk ... you shouldn't be able to invest in a human right. (But) our current system lets you. You lost out in your investment (so) you pay,' he said.

'In what other world - when your business loses a risky investment - do you get to pass that on to someone (else).'
An Australian bodybuilder and fitness influencer claims he was kicked out of a gym in Mexico for being 'too jacked'.

Said Sergeyevich Shavershian, who is also known as 'Chestbruh' on social media, was holidaying in the coastal town of Tulum, when he decided to train at Smart Fit gym.

The bodybuilder shared a video to his TikTok showing the moment the gym's manager told him to leave.

Shavershian's caption claims the manager was 'jealous' and kicked him out of the gym for 'being too jacked'.

The manager is seen approaching Shavershian and takes the dumbbell out of his hands before gesturing to the Aussie to leave.

An Australian bodybuilder and fitness influencer Said Sergeyevich Shavershian (right) claims the manager (left) at Smart Fit gym in Tulum, Mexico, kicked him out for 'being too jacked'

Shavershian added four different staff members asked him to leave after they warned him that he was not putting the weights down onto the floor gently.

'What did I do? I put them down gently,' Shavershian said.

However, the manager disagrees and is seen gesturing no and shaking his head.

'You have been told three times okay. You need to go now, thank you,' the manager insists.

'Unbelievable. All right fine. Don't need to be jealous bro,' Shavershian replies.

Shavershian then goes on to claim that the manager was jealous because 'ladies were looking' at him and that he did not want 'jacked men in family gyms'.

The fitness influencer, who boasts a following of close to 700,000 followers, urged his fans to boycott the gym.

'Cancel smart fit Tulum! Spread this video and comment spam it for the algorithm everyone,' Shavershian wrote.

Shavershian, who is also known as 'Chestbruh' on social media, later claimed he was told to leave by four different staff members after they warned him that he was not putting the weights down gently

Many of his fans were outraged by the treatment he experienced, with some claiming the manager and gym franchise were the 'worst'.

'Where is that location so we can bring down their reviews,' one person commented.

'Bro doesn't know he's in the presence of a gym legend,' another person wrote.

READ MORE: Kayla Itsines v Cass Olholm: Why the Bikini Body Training Company fitness influencer is locked in a legal battle with crossfit trainer Advertisement

'[Smart Fit] are a***holes in Mexico, they don't let [you] throw weights or make noises,' a third chimed.

A fourth added: '[Smart Fit] gyms in Mexico are the worst. Managers always complain when you don't put down the weights without making any noise.'

However, others slammed Shavershian for his lack of gym etiquette and claimed the video only shows one side of the story.

'Aren't you acting slightly like a child who's thrown their toys out of the pram?' one person wrote.

'He was in the wrong. He was warned and didn't listen or follow the rules. It's as simple as that,' another person commented.

'Based off the captions your placing on the video there's definitely some context we don't know here,' another added.

One person wrote that they don't think they're seeing the 'full story in the clip', to which another social media user replied 'Exactly... [four] different staff members had to speak to him lol.'

Said Sergeyvich (right) is the brother of renowned Sydney bodybuilder and influencer Aziz 'Zyzz' Sergeyvich (left) who died under mysterious circumstances in Thailand in August 2011

Said Sergeyvich is the brother of the late renowned Sydney bodybuilder and influencer Aziz 'Zyzz' Sergeyvich who died under mysterious circumstances in Thailand more than 10 years ago.

The 22-year-old passed away in August 2011 from a heart attack in a sauna while holidaying in the country. It was later revealed he had an undiagnosed heart condition.

Zyzz slowly rose to fame by sharing videos of himself and his workouts on YouTube in 2007 and grew a cult following through social media.

Before his passing, he had amassed 60,000 fans on Facebook, developed a clothing line, a protein supplement and had written a book called Zyzz's Bodybuilding Bible.
A police officer who sent sexualised texts to a vulnerable woman who he met while on duty has been jailed.

PC Thomas Hill, from Deal, Kent, abused his power to have the inappropriate sexual relationship with the woman after the pair met while was supervising in a hospital, the police watchdog said.

The 35-year-old, who previously pleaded guilty to misconduct in public office, was sentenced to six months in prison at London's Southwark Crown Court on Wednesday.

The Canterbury-based officer met the woman after she was arrested for an offence in December 2020 and was asked to supervise her while she was being treated at the Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother Hospital in Margate.

He began a sexualised conversation with the woman while she was in hospital and later contacted her via social media and they exchanged more sexualised text messages, according to the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC).

PC Thomas Hill has been jailed for six months after sending sexualised messages to a vulnerable woman. Pictured: Hill arriving at Southwark Crown Court in London on August 17, 2023

PC Thomas Hill was found to have abused his power to have the inappropriate sexual relationship. Pictured: Outside Westminster Magistrates in July this year

The IOPC said Hill had been asked to supervise the woman while she was being treated at the Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother Hospital in Margate after she was arrested. Pictured: The entrance to the hospital

Hill went to her house where he acted in an unprofessional manner towards the woman and later confessed the relationship to his supervisors she threatened to expose him.

Kent Police made a mandatory conduct referral in May 2021 to the IOPC, which launched an investigation into the matter. It led to the charge of misconduct in public office being brought.

After sentencing, IOPC regional director Mel Palmer said: 'Abuse of power for a sexual purpose is a breach of the public's trust, which seriously undermines confidence in the police service and discredits the profession.

'PC Hill's behaviour was a form of serious corruption and has absolutely no place in policing.

'To make matters worse, PC Hill initiated the relationship while she was being treated in hospital and he had been sent to supervise her.

'At a time he was supposed to be protecting her, he instead chose to exploit her vulnerability.'

The IOPC said Hill is to face a disciplinary hearing accused of gross misconduct.

Detective Chief Superintendent Jon Armory, Head of Professional Standards at Kent Police, said: 'Protecting women and girls from harm is Kent Police's top priority and the vast majority of officers and staff do so with the utmost integrity and professionalism on a daily basis.

'Ex-PC Thomas Hill pleaded guilty to misconduct in a public office after he formed an inappropriate sexual relationship with a woman he met through his policing duties. Such behaviour is unacceptable and undermines trust and confidence in the police service.

'Hill resigned from Kent Police prior to being sentenced but a fast-track disciplinary hearing chaired by the Chief Constable will still take place now court proceedings have concluded.

'Kent Police is committed to taking appropriate action against the small minority of officers whose conduct falls below the very high standards expected of them, including on the rare occasion when a criminal offence has been committed.'
Tens of thousands of Sydneysiders have had enough of the cost and stress of the NSW capital and have set up new lives on the Gold Coast.

Census data reveals one in 10 residents in dozens of beachfront Gold Coast and Sunshine Coast suburbs moved there from Sydney or Melbourne in the past five years.

Overall nearly 50,000 people shifted to the Gold Coast from NSW and Victoria between 2016 and 2021.

Of those, 30,000 are from NSW, including 15,000 from the harbour city. Around 12,000 came from Melbourne.

Tradie Mark Dee, 39, headed north from Sydney's northern beaches with his daughter Paige in 2018 and wouldn't go back.

Sydneysiders have had enough of the overpriced and dull harbour capital and are heading north to the Gold Coast in droves. Pictured: Surfer's Paradise

Ex-Sydney tradie Mark Dee moved north in 2018 and the lifestyle is better and it's more affordable. Mr Dee pictured with daughter Paige

He now lives in Tugun, where 10.4 per cent of residents lived in NSW or Victoria before 2016.

A huge 18.6 per cent of people from Coolangatta, on the NSW border, came from the southern states.

Mr Dee says life has never been better, with lifestyle and affordability the main differences.

'The weather is amazing, there's so much to do, it's just endless fun for kids,' the devoted single dad told Daily Mail Australia.

A landscaper and self-employed cleaner in Sydney, he scored a job he loves with Gold Coast Council and has settled in to Queensland life.

Most importantly his four-year-old daughter loves it too.

In the past four days they went fishing, swimming, took a house boat trip and went to an animal park. They've also done the theme parks though Paige isn't tall enough yet to ride rollercoasters.

A part-time DJ, Mr Dee recently did a beachfront evening set with Paige on his shoulders.

'Paigey loves it here, she's always smiling. It's so kid-friendly everywhere and the schools are good too.'

'The people are friendlier too and it's just less stressful. Everyone seems to have more time to enjoy their lives.'

Mr Dee says he'd never go back.

'Sydney is beautiful but its been ruined by the demands of money I unfortunately,' he said.

'It's just for the richest and famous now. If you're not a banker or lawyer its unachievable in Sydney. I could never buy a house there.

The devoted dad says his daughter Paige is always smiling on the Gold Coast, where the pair take regular adventures, such as his DJ sets and the fun parks

Queensland's population grew by 34,545 people due to interstate migration while NSW lost 31,560 to other states. Victoria lost 9,955 to other states.

The Gold Coast grew by 12.4 per cent in the last five years while Brisbanes population rose by 11.2 per cent.

Around 15,000 people moved to the Sunshine Coast from NSW and 10,000 came from Victoria.
Prosecutors have been told to pursue murder charges in mercy killing and failed suicide cases where suspects stand to gain from the act.

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) says situations where the accused stops the victim seeking medical treatment, or is under direct care of a healthcare professional who is involved in the act, should increase the chances of charges being brought.

However, the authority says that factors such as hesitation on the part of the suspect due to emotional pressure when committing the act, or clear wishes from the victim to end their life, should be born in mind when deciding whether to prosecute.

It comes after the CPS updated its guidance on homicides specifically to address mercy killings and failed suicide pacts, although the authority says it won't result in fewer court cases or murder charges.

There have been a number of high profile cases in recent years, including that of David Hunter, a Briton who was jailed in Cyprus for the mercy killing of his desperately ill wife. He has since been released and has called for the law to be changed.

Other high profile cases include that of Graham Mansfield who killed his terminally ill wife Dyanne in a failed suicide pact at their home in Hale, Greater Manchester in March 2021. He was found guilty of manslaughter, but was spared prison after receiving a suspended sentence.

In 2010 Kay Gilderdale was found not guilty of attempted murder after admitting to assisting the suicide of her chronically ill daughter 31-year-old daughter Lynn. She was given a conditional discharge for the offence.

David Hunter was jailed in Cyprus after killing his desperately ill wife, Janice. Pictured: David and Janice

Mr Hunter has since been released from prison and is calling for the law on mercy killings to be changed

The new guidelines aim to give prosecutors clearer direction on how to assess the public interest in these morally and legally complex cases, emphasising certain conditions that can sway the decision towards or against prosecution.

Speaking to the PA news agency, the Director of Public Prosecutions Max Hill KC said these changes will not result in fewer court cases or murder charges.

READ MORE HERE - David Hunter's first shattering interview since being cleared of murdering his terminally ill wife Advertisement

He said: 'I think it's been a very useful exercise to conduct a broad consultation which, by the way, led to more than 1000 responses, and for us to reflect on how we can be more transparent about what a prosecutor does and how a prosecutor thinks when making a decision.

'We have made a number of changes to our guidance, but it doesn't follow from that that I'm predicting fewer cases going to court or fewer charges of murder.'

Mr Hill stressed 'it is murder to kill another person even when you are carrying out the wishes of another person'.

He added: 'So my strong message is that the public interest in charging homicide cases and taking them to court is very high and remains so even after we publish this guidance and there are going to be circumstances, even going through the extra content of the code, where a prosecutor should conclude that the case will go ahead and any consideration of mercy is for the court and not the prosecution.'

He went on: 'Having said that, I think that we wanted to make it more clear about what sort of reasons a prosecutor might consider making it necessary to prosecute or, in the rare case, saying that it isn't actually necessary to prosecute.'

Besides the central revisions, the updated guidance also incorporated insights on situations where a suspect's actions, particularly in the context of domestic abuse, could have been a catalyst for the victim taking their own life. There's also added clarity on addressing cases that involve the death or grievous harm of children or vulnerable adults.

Graham Mansfield was convicted of killing his terminally ill wife Dyanne, but was spared prison. Pictured: Graham and Dyanne

Kay Gilderdale received a conditional discharge in 2010 after being found not guilty of attempted murder but pleading guilty to assisting the suicide of her chronically ill daughter, Lynn. Pictured: Kay and Lynn

Mr Hill said: 'The guidance now says that murder or manslaughter can be the right charge, even when you're dealing with a suicide if that suicide was brought about by unlawful activity by the suspect.

'And that is a powerful example of where prosecution can follow, which perhaps wasn't clear enough in previous guidance, but we're very concerned about the extent of coercive and controlling relationships.

'I've spoken a lot in the past about domestic abuse and the surge in that as a part of the crime wave in this country.

'And I did want to be clear, that you may find that a charge of murder is applied by the CPS even after suicide, where what went before was unlawful activity in the context of a coercive relationship.'

Reflecting on the challenges of updating the guidance due to its ethical dimensions, Mr Hill acknowledged: 'We are always conscious that the CPS doesn't make the law. It's only Parliament to do that. And we always follow the law that Parliament imposes and there's nothing in this guidance that would suggest anything otherwise.'

The revised guidance does not discuss 'assisted dying' or similar situations, which have their own legal distinctions.

The update followed a 12-week public consultation between January 2022 and April 2022, and a total of 1,271 responses were received.

Mr Hill is due to step down as Director of Public Prosecutions later this year.
Australia could ban teenagers from ever buying cigarettes by gradually increasing the age limit at which people can buy smokes.

The government will closely monitor Rishi Sunak's pledge to stub out smoking in England by annually raising the age of the legal purchase of tobacco by a year. A similar law has already been introduced in New Zealand.

Australian Health Minister Mark Butler told the ABC he would be keeping a close eye on the moves in England and New Zealand.

Australia could ban teenagers from ever buying cigarettes by gradually increasing the age limit at which people can buy smokes (file picture)

'The government has taken an evidence-based approach, following a deep review of existing tobacco regulation, but also best practice across the world,' Mr Butler said.

'The UK and New Zealand have responded to the specific tactics of 'Big Tobacco' marketed to their populations, and we will monitor their implementation success with interest.'

Announcing the moves during his speech at the Conservative Party conference in Manchester, Mr Sunak acknowledged it had been a difficult decision to support the policy.

But he added it was the right decision for the nation's children to 'break the cycle' of smoking addiction.

'If we are to do the right thing for our kids we must try and stop teenagers taking up cigarettes in the first place,' he said.

'Four in five smokers have started by the time 20, later the vast majority try to quit but fail because they are addicted.

'I propose we raise the smoking age by one year every year. That means a 14-year-old today will never legally be sold a cigarette meaning they and their generation will grow up smoke free,' he said.

The Australian government introduced legislation earlier this year that will see recreational vaping banned.

Vapes will only be sold in pharmacies to people with a prescription.

Tobacco use kills about 50 Australians every day, or about 20,000 every year.
Russian secret services are investigating a plot from 'within their own ranks' to assassinate president Vladimir Putin, according to a report.

Telegram channel VChK-OGPU - which has close links to Moscow's security agencies and law enforcement - said an informant had told them of an 'agent' boasting he had been given a 'task' to 'remove' the dictator.

The bizarre claim came at a meeting in karaoke club Honey, in Chekhov, near Moscow, a known haunt of security services operatives, reported the channel.

The supposed agent showed the informant - named as Mikhail Yurchenko, 37, a construction industry entrepreneur - his service ID card during a 'long heart-to-heart conversation about the war and future life in Russia'.

The informant 'did not argue and changed the topic'.

Russian secret services are investigating a plot from 'within their own ranks' to assassinate president Vladimir Putin (pictured Wednesday), according to a report

The bizarre claim came at a meeting in karaoke club Honey, in Chekhov, near Moscow, a known haunt of security services operatives, reported the channel

He became 'haunted' after the karaoke club conversation at the threat to Putin and reported it to police, according to the channel.

'The special services have been searching for several days for the unknown person who planned to "remove" Putin,' stated VChK-OGPU.

'Based on his tip, operatives went to study the situation in the Honey club, whereyou can often meet employees of various [secret] departments.'

Paranoid Putin - 71 on Saturday - is known to take his security extremely seriously and, according to reports, regularly changes locations and travel routes.

Reports have also suggested he regularly employs a body double at various official events around Russia to keep up his 'man of the people' appearance, while really hiding in his various boltholes.

Russian security services are accused of seeing and dealing with many supposed terrorist plots to justify their effectiveness.

In recent weeks Putin has been seen out and about more than for several years, regularly seeking to justify his war against Ukraine and making attacks on the West.

This comes ahead of an expected announcement next month that he will seek a new six-year term in the Kremlin. Elections are due in March 2024.

Putin told student participants in the International Financial Security Olympiad in Sochi that he had many admirers in Europe who shared his traditional values.

'I want to defend our friends,' he said. 'We have a lot of friends in Europe 'People who believe that traditional values, including the family, have died out.'

Modernisers in the West 'behave very aggressively, particularly in North America and Europe. 'But there are quite a lot of people in European countries who share our values.

'I'd say a lot. They simply behave more quietly and don't show off their opinion. That's why I wouldn't split everyone.

'On the contrary, I want to try to unite everyone around our platform.'

Russian special services have been searching for the unnamed person who said he had been given the task of 'removing' Putin. Pictured: Russia's FSB headquarters in Moscow (file photo)

His defence of traditional family values brought a backlash.

One telegram channel branded him 'a divorced man living with his mistress, calling his [adult] daughters 'one woman' and 'second woman'.'

He 'never showed himself with his children and grandchildren' while taking holidays in Siberia with a male companion.

'Again he has said that in the West they are against traditional family values,' it said.

Russia's Kommersant newspaper reported on Tuesday that Putin could soon announce his intention to take part in the 2024 presidential election.

Such a move would pave the way for the Kremlin chief to stay in power until 2030.

As part of a conference in November, officials suspect that Putin may announce he will take part in the election in March next year, Kommersant reported, citing unidentified sources close to the presidential administration.

But the newspaper, one of Russia's most respected, said there were other scenarios for what Putin might do at the conference and the final decision rested with him.

When asked about the Kommersant report, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said he knew nothing about a plan to announce Putin's bid in November.

'I know nothing about the presidential campaign being officially announced in November,' Peskov said. 'I do not have such information. I have nothing more to add.'

Putin, who was handed the presidency by Boris Yeltsin on the last day of 1999, has been leader for longer than any other Russian ruler since Josef Stalin, beating even Leonid Brezhnev's 18-year tenure.

Putin turns 71 on Oct. 7.

While many diplomats, spies and officials have said they expect Putin to stay in power for life, there has yet to be any confirmation of his plans to run in the 2024 presidential vote.

Putin said last month he would make an announcement on his plans only after parliament called the presidential election - due by law to be done in December.

Peskov said last month that if Putin decided to run, then no one would be able to compete with him.

While Putin may face no competition for votes, the former KGB spy faces the most serious set of challenges any Kremlin chief has faced since Mikhail Gorbachev grappled with the crumbling Soviet Union nearly four decades ago.

The war in Ukraine has triggered the biggest confrontation with the West since the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis and the biggest external shock to the Russian economy in decades.

Putin faced a failed mutiny by Russia's most powerful mercenary, Yevgeny Prigozhin, in June. Prigozhin was killed in a plane crash two months later.

The West casts Putin as a war criminal and a dictator who has led Russia into an imperial-style conflict that has weakened the country and forged Ukrainian statehood while uniting the West and handing NATO a post-Soviet mission of opposing Russia.

People walk past a police car in Red Square in central Moscow, Russia, March 20, 2023

Putin, though, presents the war as part of a much bigger struggle with the United States, which the Kremlin elite says aims to cleave Russia apart, grab its natural resources and then turn to settling scores with China.

The former Soviet spies who wield power in Moscow have repeatedly warned of the risk of a Russia-NATO conflict as the West's post-Cold War dominance wanes, Russia lays to rest the humiliations of the Soviet collapse and China rises as a superpower.

The West says it does not want a NATO-Russia conflict but simply to help Ukraine defeat Russian forces.

The Kremlin says the West will never achieve Russia's defeat in Ukraine.
The eco-killjoys who shut down Les Mis during its most iconic song last night can be unmasked by MailOnline today, and include a student working for Just Stop Oil as a gap year job and several other repeat offenders.

A young cafe worker from an affluent market town, a graduate who threw paint all over the Scottish Parliament and a new recruit also stormed the West End stage last night.

There was outrage in the audience who had paid up to 175 for a seat and travelled from across the UK and abroad to be at the Sondheim Theatre in Shaftesbury Avenue. Tory Dame Andrea Jenkyns tweeted today: 'Lock them up', as MailOnline can reveal that several have been arrested before.

The audience have been told they can have a refund, but with some buying expensive tickets via third parties it might be trickier for some to get their cash back.

The audience was rapt as the stars of the show belted out Do You Hear the People Sing but in an incident that raises serious questions about security, the activists calmly climbed on to stage from the most expensive seats in the house and unfurled their banners, screaming 'join the rebellion'. Security closed the stage, brought down the curtain and had to evacuate the building as the police arrived.

Theatregoers drowned out the JSO chanting with booing and cries of 'you disgust me'. Another angry punter shouted: 'Get off you stupid people. How dare you.' A third screamed repeatedly: 'You naughty people, you naughty people.' An American yelled: 'F*** you' as one of the eco-spoilsports gave a monologue about 'society collapsing'.

MailOnline can reveal that on stage was Noah Crane, who has just finished his studies at the Catholic Notre Dame Sixth Form in Norwich and is using his gap year to work as a JSO recruiter. Describing himself as a 'theatre lover', he said he 'took action because he knows there's no future for the arts if society fails under the pressures of climate collapse.' He was arrested at King Charles' Coronation in London as the Met broke up a potential protest.

Just Stop Oil protester Noah Crane was on stage last night

Noah, pictured on a previous march, is working for JSO on his gap year

The crowd booed and jeered as Noah and cafe worker Poppy Bliss clambered onto the stage holding the group's orange banner at the Sondheim Theatre in Shaftesbury

Miss Bliss, from Suffolk, was arrested over the summer at a previous protest (pictured)

Tory MP Andrea Jenkyns is among those who is calling for them to be jailed

With him was Hannah Taylor, 23, was one of protesters. The maths graduate was up in court in Scotland recently after the Scottish Parliament was doused in paint.

She said: 'The show starts with Jean Valjean stealing a loaf of bread to feed his sister's starving child. How long before we are all forced to steal loaves of bread?

She added: 'How long before there are riots on the streets? The show cannot go on. We are facing catastrophe. New oil and gas means crop failure, starvation and death. It is an act of war on the global south and an utter betrayal of young people'.

Cafe worker Poppy Bliss, from well-heeled Bury St Edmunds in Suffolk was also on stage.

In June she was among a number of people arrested in London as they took part in a Just Stop Oil march demanding the Government stops issuing new fossil fuel licences.

And the fourth person was a JSO newbie called Hanan.

The eco-warrior said: 'I'm taking action with Just Stop Oil by disrupting a Les Mis performance tonight.

Just Stop Oil member Hannah Taylor (pictured) urged people watching the West End show to 'join the rebellion' - but did not win over the crowd

Hannah was involved in an attack on the Scottish Parliament (pictured)

JSO new girl Hanan said she stopped the show because of the Government's new oil and gas licences

Hanan is seen here on the left of the picture on the edge of the stage

Video shows the theatre crowd booing as eco-activists clambered onto the stage holding the group's orange banner

'Les Mis is about the June rebellion where ordinary people stood up, organised themselves against a government that consistently showed no interest in their wellbeing.

'The UK Government has approved hundreds of gas and oil licences knowing the full consequences this will have on our climate and our society.

'So why wait? Take action.'

The Metropolitan Police arrested people following the disruption at the musical, which depicts a failed republican rebellion against the French state.

As others booed and jeered the eco protesters, a man near the front snatched away one of the eco-protesters' banners.

Theatregoers expressed anger at the protest, and told MailOnline that they all cheered when the police arrived.

One told MailOnline: 'It was a show that everybody was very excited about, you could feel that before it started. There were tourists from all over the world and people from all over the UK.

'The audience was very angry when the protest started. There wasn't an ounce of sympathy for them and people were booing and jeering them. These protestors didn't achieve anything, they just annoyed a lot of people who were looking forward to a special night out.'

Another theatre goer revealed that after being ushered out of the venue they waited outside.

He added: 'There were a lot of angry people waiting around outside the theatre because we wern't sure what was going on. When the police arrived, everybody started cheering them.

'These protestors knew exactly what they were doing. They were sitting in expensive seats near the front row and the whole protest was very well organised. It happened just before the interval during a very important moment in the musical.

'I'd like to know how they could afford such costly seats because I couldn't and was sat right at the back of the theatre.'

Just Stop Oil said that four protesters locked themselves to the 'stage of the French-revolution-themed show' using flexible bicycle locks at around 8.50pm.

In video of the incident, audience members can be heard booing the demonstrators.

The climate change group said that the performance was stopped and the theatre was evacuated by 9.10pm.

Police have since confirmed that five people were arrested at the theatre. In a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, the Met said: 'At about 9pm tonight, police were called to a protest inside a theatre on Shaftesbury Avenue, WC1.

'Local officers were quickly on scene and five people have been arrested.'

Social media users were quick to point out that JSO was incorrect is saying the play was set during the French revolution. Others slammed the eco mob for their actions.

One X user said: 'This is just embarrassing. Get a life.'

Another added: 'Imagine being this entitled. Just stop oil think their opinions justify ruining everyone else's morning, day and evening. Incredibly selfish and unhelpful, damaging their own cause.'

Just Stop Oil said that four protesters locked themselves to the stage to the stage of the French-revolution-themed show' using flexible bicycle locks at around 8.50pm. Pictured is a JSO demonstrator during the disruption

This photo shows an apparently angry audience member pointing and scolding the protesters

Five demonstrators are pictured on stage during the performance this evening. Police have confirmed that five JSO activists have been arrested in connection to the incident

William Village, chief executive of Delfont Mackintosh Theatres - which owns the Sondheim, issued a statement on X, formerly known as Twitter, following the incident

Just Stop Oil said two of the protesters were called Hanan - a 22-year-old student - and Noah, 18.

The group said: 'Hanan, a student, took action because the UK Government, by approving new oil and gas has shown total disregard for their wellbeing.

The republican June Rebellion of 1832 inspired Victor Hugo's novel Les Miserables, which was published in 1862.

The rebellion failed and didn't last for long because it lacked support from the public.

Just Stop Oil member Hannah Taylor said: 'The show starts with Jean Valjean stealing a loaf of bread to feed his sister's starving child. How long before we are all forced to steal loaves of bread? How long before there are riots on the streets? The show cannot go on.

'We are facing catastrophe. New oil and gas means crop failure, starvation and death. It is an act of war on the global south and an utter betrayal of young people.'

In another video posted online eco-warrior Hanan said: 'I'm taking action with Just Stop Oil by disrupting a Les Mis performance tonight'

She added: 'Les Mis is about the June rebellion where ordinary people stood up, organised themselves against a government that consistently showed no interest in their wellbeing'

This evening, officers from Scotland Yard were called to the Sondheim Theatre in Shaftesbury Avenue and said they are currently 'dealing'. Pictured: JSO protesters interrupting the performance this evening

William Village, chief executive of Delfont Mackintosh Theatres - which owns the Sondheim, said there will be refunds for all ticket-holders.

He added: 'During the first half of our performance of Les Miserables, individuals from Just Stop Oil invaded the stage, abruptly stopping the show.

'Following our safety protocols, the audience were asked to leave the auditorium and the Met Police attended.

'Regrettably, there was insufficient time to enable us to complete the rest of the performance.

'Whilst we recognise the importance of free expression, we must also respect our audience's right to enjoy the event for which they have paid.'

Just Stop Oil told MailOnline: 'This summer has shown us the sheer power of a supercharged climate.

'Scientists are freaking out and even the Pope is sounding the alarm. But, like the citizens of Paris in 1832, we have locked our doors, while our young face slaughter on the streets.

'They will inherit a scorched earth, unfit to live in and we will be long gone. We cannot let this stand. The show cannot go on.'
Aboriginal kids are being killed because of extreme racism, Western Australia's commissioner for children and young people has told a parliamentary inquiry.

Jacqueline McGowan-Jones, an Arrente/Warramungu woman, gave evidence to the Senate inquiry into missing and murdered First Nations women and children in Perth on Wednesday.

She said Aboriginal women and children have historically suffered significant levels of violence, which continues to this day.

When 15-year-old Aboriginal boy Cassius Turvey was walking home from school in Perth in October last year, he was allegedly chased down and attacked with a metal pole by a pack of non-Indigenous adults

'Our children die at greater rates than non-Aboriginal children and young people,' Ms McGowan-Jones said.

'Some of those are due to family and domestic violence but some are due to extreme racism.'

When 15-year-old Aboriginal boy Cassius Turvey was walking home from school in Perth in October last year, he was allegedly chased down and attacked with a metal pole by a pack of non-Indigenous adults.

He suffered serious head injuries and died in hospital 10 days later.

In August 2016, 14-year-old Aboriginal boy Elijah Doughty was riding a motorbike when a man chased him in his ute, ran him down and killed him because he believed the bike was stolen.

The man, whose identity is protected by the court, was charged with manslaughter but convicted of the lesser offence of dangerous driving causing death.

He was sentenced to a three-year jail term but served less than two.

Aboriginal kids are being killed because of extreme racism, Western Australia 's commissioner for children and young people has told a parliamentary inquiry

'Racism is huge,' Ms McGowan-Jones said.

'When I first moved to Western Australia, and I was living in Geraldton, I said to the rest of my family, "The racism in Geraldton is worse than it is at home in Alice Springs" and it was even worse in Kalgoorlie.

'We have transit guards on public transport automatically approach Aboriginal children and young people as though they are about to cause trouble, even if they're not.

'People chasing children down after stealing something.

'No one wants their property stolen but murder?'

Racism also means Aboriginal people are not accessing critical services, Ms McGowan-Jones said.

'They don't go to police for help if there's family and domestic violence,' she said.

WA police refused to attend the hearing, despite multiple invitations.

Women's Legal Service WA chief executive Jennie Gray told the inquiry that 90 per cent of First Nations women have experienced various forms of violence at different times in their lives.

'It is also estimated that up to 90 per cent of family violence incidents against First Nations women go undisclosed,' she said.

'We have heard and seen that many Aboriginal women's concerns are routinely disbelieved, dismissed and disregarded.

'When police do respond to First Nations women's call for help responses are often marked with bias, racism and preconceptions, coupled with a notable lack of cultural awareness.

'Many First Nations women who are accessing justice as a victim of violence face misidentification as a perpetrator, arrest, police violence and unjustified custody.'

The inquiry is looking at the number of First Nations women and children who are missing and murdered, the ways in which these crimes have been investigated, causes of violence against Indigenous women and children and ways to reduce it.

It is due to table its final report on June 30, 2024.
A woman who helped cover up the violent death of a boy who was fatally bashed over a pair of AirPods has tearfully apologised to the teenager's family as she gets set to learn her fate.

Stacey Pale, 38, fronted Parramatta District Court on Thursday having pleaded guilty to being an accessory after the fact to grievous bodily harm after Jason Galleghan was killed in a house in Doonside, Sydney, in August 2021.

Jason, 16, was set upon by a group of adults and juveniles, with the court hearing the fatal assault was sparked because one woman who lived at the house allegedly believed that he had stolen a pair of AirPods.

Pale is not accused of being involved in the attack and was outside while Jason was bashed inside a spare bedroom in the single-storey home.

She fronted a sentence hearing on Thursday, where she apologised for lying to police when she made an initial statement on the day Jason was attacked.

Stacey Pale, 38, fronted Parramatta District Court on Thursday having pleaded guilty to being an accessory after the fact to grievous bodily harm

Jason Galleghan, 16, was killed in a Doonside home in 2021

'I, Stacey Pale, am here today to apologise for not speaking the truth in my statement,' she told the court as she wiped away tears.

'I came here to apologise, to say sorry for what happened to Jason.'

She also apologised for the 'heartache and suffering' Jason's death had caused his family.

Pale's father, George Pale, also gave a statement to the court in which he apologised to the Galleghan family for their loss and said he understood why they would be angry and upset.

According to court documents, the attack was videoed and posted to social media, with police saying one video amassed more than 170,000 views.

While the assault was ongoing, two neighbours heard the screaming and asked Pale what was going on.

'It's just a family dispute,' she told them.

'Nothing, just a family issue.'

When she initially gave a statement to police, she said she saw two persons dressed in black and wearing balaclavas running from the house.

She also told officers she heard someone yell: 'I feel something is wrong with Jason' before triple-0 was called.

However, in a further statement she told police she lied in her earlier interview 'because she was scared', according to a statement of agreed facts.

Jason's mother, Rachel Galleghan, in August told the court that she remained 'completely broken' following the loss of her son.

Jason's mother, Rachel Galleghan, in August told the court that she remained 'completely broken' following the loss of her son.

'I was physically, emotionally and mentally drained and broken into a million pieces,' she told the court.

She described Jason as 'friendly, generous and caring' with an 'infectious laugh' and a 'great sense of humour'.

Pale will be sentenced later this year.
A teenage soldier was 'taken advantage' of by four men before she tragically took her own life, a harrowing report has revealed.

Royal Artillery Gunner Jaysley-Louise Beck, 19, killed herself after an 'intense period of unwelcome behaviour' from a superior who now faces being discharged from the Army, an official investigation into her death has found.

Despite the damning findings, the officer - who held the rank of Bombardier - has been granted anonymity, and a copy of the report released to the public has been heavily redacted - obscuring a series of key details.

Gunner Beck, who joined the Army aged 16, was also targeted by other men who pursued her for relationships.

At the time of her death she was in a relationship with a married senior non-commissioned officer who would frequently turn up drunk at her room late in the evening.

Another male soldier, a warrant officer, is said to have sexually assaulted her on a night out by putting his hands between her legs and grabbing her by the neck at a party. She had to hide in a bathroom to escape him.

The report found another contributory factor to Gunner Beck's death was a difficult long-term relationship with an instructor which ended on November 21, shortly before her death.

The report said many aspects of this relationship had been positive but it was also characterised by mistrust and repeated allegations of unfaithfulness on the part of the boyfriend.

Gunner Beck's sister, Emilli, 24, described her as 'the most beautiful, caring and strongest person I know'. Emilli told The Times she believes her sister's caring nature was 'taken advantage of by people superior to her in the Army'.

Royal Artillery Gunner Jaysley-Louise Beck, 19, killed herself after an 'intense period of unwelcome behaviour' from a superior

The report includes a series of texts Gunner Beck sent to the Bombardier - her immediate boss - which provide a harrowing insight into her declining mental state and desperate attempts to stop him harassing her

The report includes a series of texts Gunner Beck sent to the Bombardier - her immediate boss - which provide a harrowing insight into her declining mental state and desperate attempts to stop him harassing her.

Speaking on BBC Radio 4's Woman's Hour today, her mother Leighann McCready said: 'She showed us the messages four days before her passing. As a parent it puts you in a difficult position because you just want to go and pick them up from work.

'But unfortunately the military doesn't work like that. We could only advise, offer reassurance and support and try to encourage our daughter to report it. However, Jaysley said she didn't want to be branded as a female troublemaker.'

Ms McCready said her daughter initially got on 'extremely well' in the Army before, in July 2021, she told them she had been sexually assaulted by another senior colleague, who held the rank of Warrant Officer.

She also explained how the Bombardier continued to give her unwanted attention and display intense jealousy when she interacted with other male colleagues.

Ms McCready said the final contact she had with her daughter was on December 14 - the night before her death.

She recalled: 'The last exchange was late at night when she was enjoying time with her friends. She was sending us videos, which she always did. It was Christmas and she was having lots of fun.

'Me and my eldest daughter had concerns on the morning of the 15th when I tried to speak to Jaysley. There was still no response from her later in the day so I became extremely worried.'

Criticising the Army for the way it had dealt with her daughter's case, she continued: 'It would be nice for people to be heard and action to be taken. People just want to be listened to, and unfortunately they're not.

'It took us a long time to be heard, and that shouldn't have been the case. It took a long time to be heard and understood.'

The report included details of texts Gunner Beck sent her superior in a desperate attempt to stop him harassing her.

In November 2021, the teenager's superior sent her more than 3,500 WhatsApp messages and voicemails in which he described how much he craved a relationship with her. At one point Gunner Beck drafted a message calling the officer 'possessive and psychotic'.

The report also highlights missed opportunities to prevent the tragedy. On December 9, less than a week before she passed, Gunner Beck apparently suffered a 'severe panic attack'.

She also described 'suicidal feelings' to a colleague, who subsequently gave evidence to the inquiry, and discussed how she was suffering from 'night terrors'.

The conduct of Gunner Beck's immediate boss was 'almost certain' to be a 'causal factor' in her death at Larkhill Camp, Wiltshire in December 2021

On November 15, Gunner Beck messaged the man: 'You can't keep doing this to me I've just got out of a relationship & now I feel like I'm in one again.'

Early the next month, she texted him again to say: 'It's not normal how you feel but I can't be there to support you with it because the way you feel for me is the main issue & I can't handle it any more'.

On December 7, she asked to be removed from a task that evening because she could no longer cope with his behaviour towards her.

In a message she drafted, she described his thoughts towards her as 'possessive and psychotic', although she later deleted the words.

In the text she did send, she described feeling trapped by his actions and said she had spoken to her family about the situation and they were worried.

Her message added: 'The truth is I'm struggling to deal with all this, it's taking a huge toll on my mental health for many potential reasons. I need time out.'

The conduct of Gunner Beck's immediate boss was 'almost certain' to be a 'causal factor' in her death at Larkhill Camp, Wiltshire in December 2021, the report found.

An Army investigation said her boss wanted to start a sexual relationship with Ms Beck, who told him she was already with someone and did not reciprocate his feelings.

The report concluded: 'Mental wellbeing warning signs were clearly present in the weeks before her death but these were missed, most likely due to insufficient awareness of mental health matters among the personnel to whom she was known.

'Some witnesses also stated they thought there was still a stigma attached to seeking help for mental health problems in the Army.'

Her mother Leighann McCready (pictured) told the BBC: 'She was fed up with his behaviour, it started ruining a job she really enjoyed doing. She was always down'

Another male soldier, who is accused of sexually assaulting Gunner Beck on a night out, has already been punished.

Ms McCready told the BBC yesterday: 'She was fed up with his behaviour, it started ruining a job she really enjoyed doing. She was always down.

'You think the easiest solution is to block him [on your phone], but you can't just block your boss.'

The 19-year-old called her mother the night after she was sexually assaulted by another male soldier, who held the rank of Warrant Officer.

Ms McCready said: 'She said he put his hands between her legs and tried to grab her from around the neck. She shouted: ''Get off me, Sir''.

'That night she slept in her car, as she was afraid if she went to bed he would have come into her room. She also told a female friend, who was on guard duty, to stay on the phone until she fall asleep and just listen. And [if] she hears anything, just ring for help.'

The sexual allegation was reported to army chiefs by one of Gunner Beck's colleagues and resulted in the perpetrator receiving a minor sanction and writing her an apology letter.

The punishment apparently seemed lenient to Gunner Beck and may have influenced her decision not to subsequently report her boss for sending thousands of unsolicited messages.

Ms McCready added: 'She was saying ''you don't get listened to, so what's the point?'' She thought she would be seen as a female troublemaker.'

The report says that on December 9, less than a week before she died, Gunner Beck apparently suffered a 'severe panic attack'. She also described 'suicidal feelings' to a colleague, who subsequently gave evidence to the inquiry.

An Army investigation said her boss wanted to start a sexual relationship with Ms Beck, who told him she was already with someone and did not reciprocate his feelings.

His misconduct included controlling behaviour, bombarding her with thousands of text messages and phone calls, and attempting to ensure they were always working together.

The report said: 'This behaviour stems from the fact that it appears he wanted a relationship with her and had developed feelings for her which were not reciprocated.

'While this behaviour ended the week before her death, it appears that it continued to affect her and had taken a significant toll on her mental resilience and well-being.

'The panel's assessment of the evidence was that it is almost certain that this was a causal factor in her death.'

Gunner Beck joined the Royal Regiment of Artillery, which is headquartered at Larkhill, at 16

An Army inquiry into her death heard evidence from witnesses about inappropriate sexual behaviour by male soldiers towards their female colleagues at Larkhill

The report also notes she was having an affair with a married Royal Artillery soldier who held a much higher rank.

It concludes that maintaining secrecy around that relationship 'affected her state of mind and was likely to have been a contributory factor'. This SNCO (Senior Non-Commissioned Officer) socialised with Gunner Beck on the night she took her life and her mood was said to have plummeted when he left the Christmas party.

Gunner Beck had joined the Army in 2019 aged just 16. She began recruit training at the Army Foundation College (AFC) at Harrogate before joining 47 Regiment, Royal Artillery.

An Army inquiry into her death heard evidence from witnesses about inappropriate sexual behaviour by male soldiers towards their female colleagues at Larkhill.

The report says: 'It was commonplace among a significant minority of soldiers within Larkhill Garrison.'

One witness described routinely receiving comments from male soldiers that she described as 'vile' and 'degrading'.

The report says measures to tackle this kind of behaviour were introduced as part of a new policy for the armed forces in November 2022.

Larkhill Barracks near Salisbury Plain in Wiltshire. A report into Gunner Beck's death said that a 'significant minority' of male soldiers would engage in sexually inappropriate behaviour

An Army inquiry into her death heard evidence from witnesses about inappropriate sexual behaviour by male soldiers towards their female colleagues at Larkhill

The report into Gunner Beck's death found she had no diagnosed mental health conditions and had not sought welfare support from anyone in the Army

Ms Cready regrets her daughter's career choice having approved her request to join the Army aged 16.

For years top brass have been desperate to clamp down on sexual abuse and sexual harassment in the ranks, seemingly with little success.

The report follows an inquest into the death of a woman officer cadet, Olivia Perks, 21, who killed herself at the prestigious Royal Military Academy Sandhurst.

A coroner heard how Ms Perks, 21, took her own life just days after a significantly older male instructor spent the night with her. He was subsequently dismissed from the Army.

It is rare for the Army to admit that sexual harassment was a significant factor in the death of a soldier. It follows a damning report into the day-to-day experiences of women in the military drawn up by MPs.

Last year the Mail revealed how female members of the RAF's Red Arrows aerobatic display team were subjected to sexual abuse and harassment by male colleagues.

A female submariner also revealed her ordeal aboard a Royal Navy vessel, which included male sailors listing which female crew members they would rape if oxygen levels aboard the submarine were running out.

The report into Gunner Beck's death found she had no diagnosed mental health conditions and had not sought welfare support from anyone in the Army.

An Army spokesman said: 'Our thoughts and sympathies remain with Gunner Jaysley-Louise Beck's family and friends at this difficult time'. It added that it would be inappropriate to comment further until after the inquest.

Gunner Beck was found dead after a party ten days before Christmas.

Gunner Beck's family said she was a 'loving and caring person who would go above and beyond to help anyone in a less fortunate position than herself'

Gunner Beck with her family. Her mother said that the 19-year-old had a 'really lovely aura about her'

Speaking on BBC Breakfast this morning, her family said that the soldier had been reluctant to report her boss's behaviour, believing that her concerns would not be taken seriously.

Ms McCready said in a filmed BBC interview that her daughter was 'the kind of person that would walk into a room and just bring light into the room, naturally'.

Looking to Gunner Beck's cousin Lois, she added: 'She just had this really lovely aura about her, didn't she?'

Holding her daughter's recruit uniform, she said: 'I shouldn't have just been left with these. I should have always had my daughter walking back through the door.'

Gunner Beck, from Oxen Park in Cumbria, joined the Army at 16 and had been proud to be a soldier - but her family say she withdrew into herself as the campaign of harassment at the hands of her direct line manager escalated.

Her family later paid tribute to her while raising money for charity in her memory, writing: 'Jaysley is a loving and caring person who would go above and beyond to help anyone in a less fortunate position than herself.'

Aspects of the inquiry, as reported by the BBC, suggest that inappropriate sexual behaviour was 'commonplace amongst a significant minority' of male soldiers at Larkhill, where Gunner Beck was based.

In 2022, an Army instructor based at Larkhill was sacked after buying 'impressionable young recruits' bottles of vodka and whiskey liqueur and asking another to 'get up and walk' so he could 'look at her a***'.

Britain's Armed Forces are cracking down on sexual harassment after bringing in new 'zero tolerance' rules last year

It is understood that Gunner Beck's case is now being investigated by both civilian and military police forces. The Centre for Military Justice, which is supporting the family, branded her story 'appalling' in a tweet yesterday.

Britain's Armed Forces are cracking down on sexual harassment after bringing in new 'zero tolerance' rules last year.

MoD sources insist there is 'no place' for sexual harassment and assault in the military, and say efforts are being made to encourage victims to report it.

Soldiers will be punished if they engage in acts of harassment such as cat-calling, inappropriate touching, 'lewd' comments, winking and 'leering' at squadmates.

The rules will apply across the Army, Navy and the RAF, and come after a landmark defence committee report found that nearly 62 per cent of female service personnel experienced bullying, harassment and discrimination.

MPs also found that servicewomen were more than ten times as likely to experience sexual harassment as their male counterparts.

The report concluded: 'Mental wellbeing warning signs were clearly present in the weeks before her death but these were missed.

'Other parts of the military culture of the Armed Forces show it is still a man's world.'

When life is difficult, Samaritans are here  day or night, 365 days a year. You can call them for free on 116 123, email them at jo@samaritans.org, or visit samaritans.org to find your nearest branch.
European leaders are set to reassure president Volodymyr Zelensky that they will continue to provide Ukraine with financial support for the on-going war with Russia.

Leaders will meet the Ukrainian leader in Spain today, with the summit coming after US President Joe Biden voiced fears that Republican infighting in Washington could hurt America's policy on continuing aid to Kyiv.

Zelensky is expected to attend a summit in the Spanish city of Granada of the European Political Community - a forum to foster cooperation among more than 40 countries established last year following Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

His attendance was not announced in advance for security reasons.

Officials familiar with the plans said he would take part in the summit, giving him the chance to press for more urgently needed military aid, such as air defence systems.

European leaders are set to reassure president Volodymyr Zelensky (seen on the frontlines in this photograph taken by the Ukrainian Presidential Press Service on October 3) that they will continue to provide Ukraine with financial support for the on-going war with Russia

'We are preparing for intensive international activities - this week and next week should be productive for Ukraine,' Zelensky said in a video message on Wednesday.

The Granada gathering also gives leaders such as French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak a chance to re-state their commitment to Ukraine after political turbulence in both the US and Europe raised questions about continued support.

In the US, a dispute among the Republican majority in the House of Representatives has complicated budget negotiations and prompted Democrat Biden to go from confidence that an agreement will be made on aid to openly expressing concern.

'It does worry me,' Biden said on Wednesday, before adding: 'But I know there are a majority of members of the House and Senate in both parties who have said that they support funding Ukraine.'

Meanwhile in Slovakia, former prime minister Robert Fico's party came first in a general election at the weekend after pledging to halt military aid to Ukraine.

During his campaign, Fico vowed to not to send 'another bullet' to Ukraine, saying 'people in Slovakia have bigger problems than Ukraine.'

Slovakia has sent its fleet of Soviet-era MiG-29 fighter jets, the S-300 air defence system, helicopters, armoured vehicles and much-needed de-mining equipment.

Meanwhile, it has absorbed 100,000 Ukrainian refugees - more per-capita than any other country except Poland, the Czech Republic and the Baltic States.

The current caretaker government is planning to send Ukraine artillery ammunition and to train Ukrainian service members in de-mining.

But Fico's victory could upend Slovakia's support for its neighbour. The former PM opposes EU sanctions on Russia, questions whether Ukraine can force out the invading Russian troops and wants to block Ukraine from joining Nato.

He proposes that instead of sending arms to Kyiv, the EU and the US should use their influence to force Russia and Ukraine to strike a compromise peace deal.

Leaders will meet the Ukrainian leader in Spain today, with the summit coming after US President Joe Biden voiced fears that Republican infighting in Washington could hurt America's policy on continuing aid to Kyiv. Pictured: Ukrainian servicemen are seen riding atop a tank near the frontlines in Donetsk, September 28

Zelensky is expected to attend a summit in the Spanish city of Granada of the European Political Community - a forum to foster cooperation among more than 40 countries established last year following Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Pictured: A Ukrainian drone operator is seen in the Donetsk region on October 3

Fico's critics worry that his return to power could lead Slovakia to abandon its course in other ways, following the path of Hungary under Prime Minister Viktor Orban and to a lesser extent of Poland under the Law and Justice party.

In Poland, Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said last month his country was no longer arming Ukraine and was focusing on rebuilding its own weapon stocks.

Some Ukrainian, EU and NATO officials have played down these developments, saying support for Kyiv will ultimately hold steady as it is in the West's own interests.

Scholz said on Wednesday he was 'very confident' the US would continue with its support for Ukraine.

However, in other countries - including Germany, France, and Spain - populist parties sceptical of intervention in Ukraine also command significant, growing support.

Many of these countries have national or regional elections coming up that could tip the balance of popular opinion away from Kyiv and toward Moscow.

The official summit agenda in Spain today features topics such as transport, energy and artificial intelligence.

But meetings on the margins will focus on crises between Azerbaijan and Armenia and between Serbia and Kosovo, which have flared in recent weeks amid floundering EU efforts at mediation - raising fears of further conflict on European soil.

EU officials had to abandon hopes of using the summit to host a first meeting between the leaders of Azerbaijan and Armenia since Baku'ss military operation last month to take control of the enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh.

The assault triggered an exodus of more than 100,000 ethnic Armenians amid ethnic cleansing fears.

Those hopes were dashed when Azerbaijan's state-run APA news agency reported on Wednesday that President Ilham Aliyev decided not to attend. Scholz, Macron and European Council President Charles Michel would also have been present.

Many EU leaders have condemned the Azerbaijani operation.

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy poses for a picture with service members as he visits a position of Ukrainian troops in a front line, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in an undisclosed location, Ukraine October 3

A Spanish national policeman guards outside the Congress Palace ahead of the European Political Community summit in Granada, Spain, October 4

Armenia has accused Azerbaijan of ethnic cleansing - a charge denied by Baku, which said Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh were welcome to stay.

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan is expected to attend the summit and European officials said they were keen to find ways to help his government cope with the immediate humanitarian crisis and provide political and economic support.

Meanwhile, Azerbaijan said Thursday it had detained an ex-president of Nagorno-Karabakh.

The country's the prosecutor general and security service said in a joint statement it had detained Arayik Harutyunyan, who stepped down shortly before Baku's offensive, 'on suspicion of waging an aggressive war' against Azerbaijan and alleged war crimes.
This is the moment an otter and a rat smuggled in a passenger's hand luggage sparked panic after they ran free on a flight from Bangkok - with the rat savagely biting one of the crew members on the hand.

Shocked passengers noticed a giant albino rat with glistening red eyes when they walked to the bathroom on the Airbus A320 flying to Taiwan yesterday afternoon.

Flustered air hostesses searched the plane and noticed a second wild creature - a foot-long otter under a seat.

Footage shows the otter rolling about on the floor by one of the seats before crew members frantically tried to resolve the situation, with passengers cowering in their seats as they watched the chaos unfold.

The crew can be seen tying up a black bag that appears to have at least one of the animals inside it.

A frightened passenger can be seen trying to avoid the otter as it moves around on the floor. The otter rolls about on the carpet before it is captured by cabin crew

The 30cm long otter that caused pandemonium on the flight

The otter is then shown moving about in a container at the airport in Taiwan before it is transported.

Shockingly, a box of 28 live turtles was also found when police searched the plane upon landing in Taipei following the three-hour and 45-minute low-cost flight operated by Vietnamese carrier Viet Jet.

Officials launched an investigation into how the creatures were smuggled through the security checks at the notoriously corrupt Suvarnabhumi International Airport in Thailand.

A shocked passenger who recorded the scene said: 'The flight took off as scheduled and the pilot announced the seatbelts could be released. I walked back from the toilet and my friend whispered softly to me, "there's a rat on the plane".

'I was confused so he said again, "pet rat, pet rat, it has a white body and it's not small".

'I told the cabin crew and they checked the plane. That's when they found the big otter under one of the seats.

'They kept looking for the white rat and an employee caught the rat. It bit them on the hand while they carried it back to the kitchen at the back of the plane.'

Footage shows the rat moving around on the floor by a passenger's seat. One of the air stewards then makes her way up the aisle as other flyers watch as chaos ensues

The cabin crew reportedly made an announcement ordering anyone who had brought animals on the plane to make themselves known.

The person filming said that several seats were searched before a Chinese passenger 'asked for a refund' and allegedly admitted the animals belonged to her.

Staff then appealed for a passenger who could 'speak Chinese fluently' to help them discuss the situation with the woman, who is believed to have bought the creatures from a market in the Thai capital.

The person filming, who did not want to be named, said that 'every bag' was searched when the aircraft landed at the Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport.

Police found a bag that allegedly contained 28 star turtles, a snake, one marmot, two otters and two other unknown rodents. The creatures were seen being removed from the aircraft.

The Taoyuan Branch of the Defense Inspection Department said yesterday that the star turtles will be kept in quarantine and the rest will be sent to Pingtung University of Science and Technology for confirmation before disposal.

The cabin crew can be seen discussing the incident. They use plastic gloves to tie up a black bag that appears to contain at least one of the animals

Police said the suspect was being questioned and could be fined up to NT$1 million (25,532) in accordance with the provisions of the Prevention and Control of Animal Infectious Diseases.

Bungling airport chiefs today admitted that security staff noticed live animals in a passenger's hand luggage - but waved through the bags on the conveyor belt.

The rat and otter were among the haul that also included turtles, a snake, a marmot, and other rodents that were in an X-ray of the bag when it was checked at Suvarnabhumi International Airport.

But the guard on duty - who has now been suspended and is being probed by police - did not open the bag and handed it straight back to the passenger without even questioning them, officials admitted today.

The airport said in a statement posted online: 'In response to information has been published on social media, in the case of a passenger smuggling animals onto a Thai Vietjet flight departing from Suvarnabhumi International Airport on October 4, 2023 at 3:32 p.m., for the destination at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport, the Royal Thai Police has inspected the work of the security company searchers.

'Police and airport staff have checked the closed-circuit television (CCTV) camera system, and it was found that the passengers who brought the animals on board were two foreigners.

Video shows staff at the airport loading containers that are holding the animals from the flight. The otter is then shown moving about in a container at the airport before it is transported

'Their bags were taken through the X-ray machine at the search point at approximately 1:45 p.m. by the image analysis staff. The staff member was suspicious, so he handed the bag to another employee to open the bag, to check whether the item in question was a dangerous or prohibited item or not.

'However, the said employee did not open the bag for inspection and allowed the passenger to pass through the security checkpoint and continue boarding the plane.'

The statement continued: 'The Royal Thai Police would like to emphasise that the technology system used within the Royal Thai Police's search points can work according to standards and clearly defined procedures for checking of prohibited items. But this case occurred due to the mistake of the employee who opened the bag inspection and did not follow the prescribed operating procedures.

'The police station ordered the employee performing such duties to stop working immediately. And if the results of the investigation are found to be negligence of standard operating procedures, they will be punished according to law.

'In this regard, the Royal Thai Police would like to remind all Thai and foreign travelers not to commit illegal acts by taking animals or animal carcasses, both living and non-living, on planes into and out of the country.

'If you wish to bring your pet on the trip, please request permission correctly. Otherwise, there will be a risk of breaking the law, both Thai and foreign laws, and there must be punished with both a fine and imprisonment.'
Large quantities of drugs and other contraband are being smuggled into prisons using drones, the jails watchdog has warned.

Wendy Sinclair-Gieben, HM Chief Inspector of Prisons, said in her report on HMP Perth that drone technology had led to a step change in the illicit drugs trade behind bars.

Incoming post for inmates is photocopied as a way of preventing drug-soaked letters from reaching prisoners.

But Ms Sinclair-Gieben said drones have provided an alternative method of getting drugs into jails.

The disclosure comes after it emerged that criminals in Scottish prisons are becoming aggressive and violent amid a new wave of psychoactive drugs being smuggled into cells.

Footage inside a prison shows an inmate picking up an item smuggled into the courtyard using a drone

Another clip captures a drone flying beyond the prison walls, on its way to deliver illegal contraband to inmates

Scottish Conservative justice spokesman Russell Findlay said SNP ministers should admit the scale of the problem and give frontline prison staff the support they need. He added: The failure to get a grip will inevitably result in more violence, NHS ambulance call-outs and fatal overdoses.

Ms Sinclair-Gieben said that bosses, staff and prisoners at HMP Perth reported to inspectors their concerns over drug use.

Fiona Cruickshanks, the new governor of HMP Edinburgh, said prisoners taking synthetic drugs and new forms of street benzodiazepines were having extreme reactions due to increased potency.

Ms Cruickshanks said: We had a recovery (of a drone) in Edinburgh earlier in the year.

The packages attached to that one drone that crashed contained ceramic knives, a significant quantity of drugs, mobile phones, and the prison value of the contents is 75,000.

A Scottish Prison Service (SPS) spokesman said: We welcome this report, which praises the strong management and committed SPS and NHS staff working at HMP Perth.

In July, Mail Online reported that prisoners in the UK were using drones to smuggle phones into their jail cells.

Shameless selfies and videos, filmed in jails nationwide, are being uploaded to social media as caged criminals seek to chase social media notoriety from behind bars.

Shocking footage, seen by MailOnline and now being investigated by the Ministry of Justice, shows how inmates savagely deal out gruesome jail 'justice', with prisoners violently attacking alleged sex offenders and 'snitches'.

In one clip, a man is viciously yanked from his bed before being brutalised by a fellow inmate, who punches and kicks him in the head while other lags egg him on.

Other videos show prisoners being ambushed as they enter a cell or communal toilets, away from the prying eyes of jail guards.

The violence and disorder in British prisons us being filmed by inmates, with phones illegally smuggled into jail, before then being uploaded on social media

One inmate is dragged out of his bed by another prisoner before being violently attacked (left). The man is left cowering on the floor as his attacker kicks and punches him in the head (right)

In another video, a prisoner is shown with blood pouring out of his face after being viciously attacked by a gang of other inmates, who repeatedly punched him in the face

While another sickening recording shows the moment a prisoner begs for his life as a gang of thugs ruthlessly beat him on his bed.

'I ain't done nothing,' the terrified man pleads as he is battered by a barrage of punches from fellow inmates, who then callously order him to 'shut up, shut up' and 'stop shouting' before launching a television at his head as he squeals in pain.

So vicious and graphic were some of the attacks, that MailOnline could not share them, with one video appearing to show a man having part of his ears hacked off, while in another, a person is held to the floor and repeatedly stabbed in the stomach.

All the clips were shared on social networking app Telegram, on the account HMP TV Explicit. Some videos are also being added to the group's Instagram page, which had previously been deleted by the social network.

The Ministry of Justice confirmed to MailOnline an investigation was launched into the footage.

A spokesman said all incidences of social media misuse are investigated thoroughly by the Digital Media Investigation Unit, which works with social media companies such as TikTok to get content removed. A total on 97 X-ray body scanners are also used to detect smuggled phones, contraband and weapons.

A Prison Service spokesman added: 'Phones are not tolerated in prisons and those who break the rules face tough punishment  including extra time behind bars.

'Our 100million investment in airport-style security  including X-ray body scanners  has helped stop over 28,000 attempts to smuggle drugs, phones, and weapons into prisons since last October, curbing the contraband that fuels jail violence.'
Nearly 1,000 motorists have been refunded after they were wrongly charged under Sadiq Khan's hated Ulez scheme when a camera was put in the wrong place in northwest London.

Drivers reacted angrily after they were charged while driving through Harrow's Old Redding Junction, which is outside the Ultra Low Emission Zone area.

Transport for London (TfL) was forced to correct the blunder and switched off the camera before moving it.

The organisation said that the 927 drivers who were incorrectly charged through auto payment accounts have since been refunded.

The expansion of Ulez to all of London's 32 boroughs on August 29 has proved controversial, with owners of vehicles which do not meet emission standards facing a 12.50 charge per day to drive within the capital.

Wrong way! Drivers reacted angrily after they were charged while driving through Harrow's Old Redding Junction, which is outside the Ultra Low Emission Zone area

More than 900 motorists were wrongly charged under Sadiq Khan 's hated Ulez scheme after a camera was put in the wrong place in northwest London

Deputy leader of Harrow Council Marilyn Ashton says she has been inundated with complaints about the charges.

The mother and grandmother, who has lived in the area for nearly five decades, said: 'If you are driving down Old Redding in a non-compliant car, you shouldn't have to pay a charge as those roads are exempt.

'Since it went up on August 29, people thought, 'I'll go that way and not have to pay anything', and had to pay the 12.50.

'It's not in London at all, which is partially why it's a terrible idea to do this.

'All that was wrong is that the cameras were facing these roads. More than 900 and something people had to pay 12.50 and that's terrible.

'It went on for weeks and people started complaining and writing in. But it took TfL weeks to say, "We got it wrong" and move the camera.

'It's unacceptable, incompetent and disgraceful.'

Cllr Ashton, who supported the central London Ulez zones but was against the most recent expansion into outer London, believes Mayor Khan owes motorists fined incorrectly an apology.

'It's an embarrassment for Sadiq Khan,' she said. 'The trouble is, I don't think he's capable of feeling embarrassment.

'He's arrogant. He doesn't seem to think he can get anything wrong. Well, this went wrong. He should have apologised but he still hasn't.

'We're not talking about half a dozen people, here: it's hundreds of people.

'There was a woman at the hairdresser saying she didn't understand it. It had happened to her four times.

'I just think it's blatant carelessness, incompetence and arrogance.

'It wasn't hard to crack it, it wasn't exactly rocket science. I find it extraordinary, really.'

Cllr Ashton added that the roll-out of Ulez to the very limits of the city was a bad idea, saying: 'There is a feeling of resentment in the area towards Ulez.

'We have spent millions of pounds on these cameras just to catch a few people going into small roads.

'This total fiasco of Old Redding is a symptom of not thinking this through.

'These are residents who don't get a vote in next year's Mayoral election. They are completely disenfranchised.

'I was talking to a woman who works at Heathrow and lives in Bushey who has to go into the Ulez zone and pay 25 to go to and from work.

'Surely Khan must realise that's ridiculous? As someone who says he cares about people, how can he do this to people?

'It was a great idea in central London but we don't need it in outer London..'

A spokesperson for TfL said: 'We apologise for this error. Unfortunately this camera was incorrectly positioned.

'It was switched off once we were informed of the error and has been repositioned. We have refunded any charges that were wrongly issued.'

TfL added that all cameras on the London boundary have been checked and that all cameras are now correctly positioned.

In an interview with Talk TV , the masked maverick - who uses Ben as a fake name - claimed to have wrecked 150 of the traffic cameras since they were expanded across the capital's boroughs on August 29

Yesterday, a member of the infamous Blade Runners group vowed to continue tearing down Ulez cameras - telling the Mayor of London: 'We won't stop until you stop. That's the bottom line.'

In an interview with Talk TV, the masked maverick - who uses Ben as a fake name - claimed to have wrecked 150 of the traffic cameras since their rollout at the end of August.

Ben, wearing a balaclava and hood, is seen in the footage using an angle-grinder to cut down a Ulez camera mounted on a traffic light in just four seconds.

The father-of-three, aged in his forties, says he goes out in the dead of night several days a week flouting the law to carry out what he calls 'unpaid voluntary work'.

Speaking to TalkTV, Ben claims he's behind a near total blackout of enforcement cameras in the Bromley area, one of the Greater London boroughs where the scheme has been extended.

Ben insists support among the public is widespread with many hailing them as heroes, saying, 'We are the voice of the people. You experienced the cheers against ULEZ right there and then you can see we are reflecting the voice of the public.'

Ben - who has been a member of the group for several months, and says membership is growing: 'It started off as a small group of people and it has gradually grown.

'Since the expansion went live on August 29, numbers have increased significantly. We're like a pack of lone wolves. We sometimes work together, we work in isolation, and we all have this common goal.'

Ben, wearing a balaclava and hood, is seen in the footage using an angle-grinder to cut down a Ulez camera mounted on a traffic light in just four seconds.

Ben says mayor Sadiq Khan is targeting the most vulnerable people at the worst possible time as they struggle through a cost of living crisis. He explains: 'The members of society that have less disposable income are hit the hardest because if they can't afford to change their vehicle, they'll be subject to that daily charge no matter what.

He claims the ULEZ network has been installed to 'catch everyone out'.

Ben says: 'It seems like the Mayor's office and the Government are not doing anything for the people. Unfair is just sort of scratching the surface on how bad it is for them. It's terrible. It's completely unjust.'

Asked if he could see any merit in ULEZ tackling the dangerously high air pollution levels, he said: 'If the figures and the statements that Sadiq Khan made were true then of course there would be merit but he doesn't speak the truth about anything.'

Asked if he sees anything wrong with being a vigilante, Ben replied: 'I never expected to be part of anything like this and taking these kind of steps. We don't disrupt the general public in their daily activities, we don't block roads, we don't glue ourselves to buildings, the floor - we target the camera network itself.

'I can see how it could be viewed as being incorrect but lawful rebellion is totally okay in my book,' adding he would go to prison for the cause, saying, 'It's a risk I'm prepared to take and do take.'

He revealed he has taken down over 150 enforcement cameras alone, and vowed those numbers 'will continue to go up'.

Responding to the footage, London Minister Paul Scully said: 'I can understand the frustration but I can't condone the vandalism. You can't pick and choose the laws you want to adhere to.

'Nonetheless Sadiq Khan has shown through all of this that he is just not listening.

'I've got one camera near to where I live that just points towards the entrance of the Royal Marsden cancer hospital.'
READ MORE: Fox holds book about GULAGS as he is released on bail after arrest

Laurence Fox shared a bizarre post comparing himself to Les Miserables hero Jean Valjean, claiming that 'wrong speak' is a crime and appearing to brush off his on-air rant which got him sacked from GB News as a 'joke' - just hours before he was arrested by police.

Video posted to X yesterday showed the sacked GB News host sat in his living room as police officers searched his home in South London - after he made comments during a podcast interview encouraging people to remove the Ultra low emission zone cameras and promising to use an angle grinder himself to tear down the devices.

Last night, Fox was pictured leaving Croydon police station clasping a book about Soviet forced labour camps. He also claimed that he learned he had been sacked by GB News by officers while in custody.

The under-fire broadcaster sacked Fox after he sparked a backlash with an on-air rant about journalist Ava Evans. It also sacked another host, Reverend Calvin Robinson, for backing the 45-year-old political activist.

In an Instagram post hours before his arrest yesterday, Fox posed for a photo with a shaved head and a trimmed beard. He compared himself to the fictional protagonist Jean Valjean - who served 19 years locked up as prisoner 24601 for stealing a loaf of bread - and claimed he was going to be 'carted off to the cancellation camp' for 'wrong speak'.

In a bizarre Instagram post before his arrest, Laurence Fox shared this picture of himself. In the caption, he compared himself to Les Miserables hero Jean Valjean, said he was being 'carted off' for 'wrong speak' and appeared to brush off his Ava Evans rant as a 'joke'

In a video shared on X yesterday, Fox sits on a sofa in his living room in a grey suit and smoking a cigar at home as 'five police officers storm the building'. He was later arrested by police

Fox was pictured leaving Croydon police station clasping a copy of The Gulag Archipelago and a Tesco carrier bag

The actor appeared on Maajid Nawaz's Warrior Creed podcast on Tuesday - on the Rumble platform - to 'encourage mass removal of the surveillance state'

Fox wrote: 'Bit of final preparation before being carted off to the cancellation camp. Prisoner Number - #24601 - Sentence - Life without parole. Crime - Wrong speak. Specifically. Being rude, whilst trying to make a joke - 25 years. Expressing concern for male suicide rates and men's mental health.- 25 years - Being a Heterosexual male - Life without parole.'

Scotland Yard confirmed a 45-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of conspiring to commit criminal damage to ULEZ cameras and encouraging or assisting offences to be committed.

Yesterday the 45-year-old political activist also shared a video on X showing five police officers 'storming his home' as he was arrested on suspicion of conspiring to damage ULEZ cameras a day after he threatened to tear them down with an angle-grinder.

Footage posted to social media showed the actor smoking a cigar in his living room as police officers appeared to search his home in south London before telling the camera: 'That, ladies and gentlemen, is the country that we live in'.

Last night, Fox posed for the cameras outside Croydon's custody suite after he was released.

He was spotted scrunching a Tesco bag while also holding onto a copy of The Gulag Archipelago by Russian writer Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn.

Fox stands on the pavement holding up two fingers in a peace sign and then gets into a blue vehicle with a cigar dangling from his mouth.

He then leans out of the passenger window showing off the front cover of the book.

Talking to Sky News, he took the opportunity to hit out at his former employer GB News once again calling them 'GB joke' and said he found out about his sacking when police officers told him in custody.

'They [police officers] went; 'By the way, you've been sacked and there's loads of paparazzi out there'. And I was like 'phew',' he said.

Asked about his arrest, Fox said: 'They've let me go. It's Sadiq Khan's 'make a big thing out of Loz'.

'If Sadiq Khan thinks he can scare me, I've been intimidated by his coppers before.'

A spokesperson for the Met Police said: 'On Wednesday, 4 October, officers arrested a 45-year-old man on suspicion of conspiring to commit criminal damage to ULEZ cameras and encouraging or assisting offences to be committed.

The former actor smokes a cigar as he released on bail after being quizzed by police officers

The actor holds up two fingers in a peace sign and took the opportunity to take another swipe at his former employer's GB News calling them 'GB joke'

Fox holding up a copy of The Gulag Archipelago for the cameras before being driven away

'He was arrested in Stockwell and taken to a south London police station. He has since been bailed to return on a date in mid-December pending further enquiries.'

The Reclaim Party posted a message on X, formerly known as Twitter, saying Fox would 'be in touch tomorrow'. It read: 'Laurence has been released from custody and wants family and friends to know he is safe and well and on the way home.'

Fox had made comments on Maajid Nawaz's Warrior Creed podcast a day earlier where he said he would encourage a group of anti-ULEZ activists who call themselves 'Blade Runners' to tear down 'every single camera' in a bid to 'encourage mass removal of the surveillance state'

He added he was 'pretty close with several' Blade Runners - a secretive group behind acts of Ulez camera vandalism - and that he would be 'out there with my angle grinder'.

Scotland Yard said a 45-year-old man had been arrested on suspicion of conspiring to commit criminal damage to ULEZ cameras.

GB News later dramatically announced it had sacked Fox after he sparked a backlash by making derogatory remarks live on its channel about feminist journalist Ava Evans.

On Wednesday, a video posted on X, formerly known as Twitter, showed Fox sitting in his living room smoking a cigar while police appeared to search his home.

In the footage, he says: 'Look how many coppers there are in my house...Coming to take everything out of my house. That ladies and gentlemen, is the country that we live in.'

It appeared to show multiple officers in what looks like Fox's living room as he sits on a sofa watching them, dressed in a grey suit and smoking.

Who are the ULEZ 'Blade Runners'? In recent months the 'Blade Runners' have brought misery to Sadiq Khan's ULEZ expansion. By targeting ULEZ cameras in parts of London where the 12.50-a-day charge has been introduced, the vigilantes have tried their best to disrupt the scheme. Cameras have been covered with sticky spray, vandalised and even cut down the poles they are attached to. The secretive group has vowed to get rid of all Automatic Number Plate Recognition cameras and has taken credit for hundreds of them being damaged. Taking their name from the dystopian 1982 science fiction film in which the eponymous Blade Runners hunt down bio-engineered humanoids, members insist the cameras are a form of control over ordinary people. One Blade Runner told MailOnline earlier this year the ULEZ was a 'way to try to... restrict our movements'. They said: 'Everything we are doing is for our own freedoms. 'It's the tip of the iceberg. We do not live in a democracy. 'We will fight with everything we have for our freedoms.' Advertisement

The Met Police said in a statement: 'On Wednesday 4, October officers arrested a 45-year-old man on suspicion of conspiring to commit criminal damage to ULEZ cameras and encouraging or assisting offences to be committed.

'He was arrested in Stockwell and has been taken to a South London police station where he remains in custody.'

Later the same day, GB News said it had 'ended its employment relationship' with Laurence Fox following comments he made on the channel about female journalist Ava Evans.

It comes after GB News chiefs held emergency talks at the weekend as the channel fights for its future following a series of scandals and record viewer complaints.

Regulator Ofcom has opened 12 investigations into the broadcaster, including one examining the sexist on-air comments made last week by actor Laurence Fox.

The remarks about Ms Evans led to the suspension of Fox and presenter Dan Wootton. More than 7,300 viewers complained.

It is understood that investors and managers from GB News were in contact this weekend to discuss how to move on amid the bad publicity.

'It is crunch time for GB News,' a former employee told The Observer. 'They cannot just bask in notoriety forever because they do need to make some money and they need to keep the right to call themselves a channel for news programmes.'

Last week the channel apologised after Fox attacked Ms Evans, a correspondent for the news website JOE, in an on-air rant on Tuesday evening. Fox said 'Who would want to sh*g that?' and described her as a 'little woman'.

He claimed his remarks were in response to comments made by Ms Evans on BBC's Politics Live, when she was accused of being dismissive about men's mental health issues.

Ms Evans said Fox's comments were 'unforgivable' and that a responsible broadcaster should never have allowed the rant to go as far as it did.

The Blade Runners are a group of people who are targeting ULEZ cameras in London and vandalising them

Laurence Fox pictured on the Triggernometry podcast on Friday

Fox was suspended for his on-air rant about Ms Evans after her previous comments about male suicide. Pictured: Ms Evans appearing on the Politics JOE podcast

Speaking on the Triggernometry podcast with comedians Francis Foster and Konstantin Kisin, actor-turned-political activist Fox said he had become 'emotional' as he felt Ms Evans had made light of male mental health struggles.

He admitted the remarks were 'crass' but said he didn't feel they 'merited the wall-to-wall' media coverage they have received in recent days and the chaos it has brought the news channel.

Speaking on Friday after his suspension, Fox told the Triggernometry podcast that he regretted the tone of his remarks on Dan Wootton's show the Tuesday before.

When the hosts remarked to Fox that 'in the cold light of day, it [the clip] doesn't look good does it?', he responded by admitting: 'No.'

He said that he had 'strong feelings' on the show after being riled by comments Ms Evans had previously made when she was appearing on the BBC speaking about the topic of male suicide, in which she called for a minister of mental health for everyone in government, dismissing the suggestion of just a men's mental health minister.

He told the podcast: 'When I listen back to it now, it's just kind of crass. It's the kind of thing you'd say in the pub.

'I think I made the point which was the point I wanted to make, which is when you've got a misandrist fourth wave feminist who wants men to be terrified and scared of women, who tweets pictures of herself saying 'I'm socially distancing from men', I'm just like 'stop'.

'Instead of dismantling her ideas I just said 'I can't think of a single man who'd want to s*** you, I mean which self-respecting man would want to s*** you?' which was also trying to be funny. Big mistake.'

The father-of-two said had 'demeaned' Ms Evans and apologised, but said: 'I don't think it's misogyny or anything like that. I think it's disrespectful.'
Statues are not history because they are 'always silent about the victims' and were put up by 'members of a tiny male elite', historian David Olusoga has claimed.

The academic, who is currently fronting a BBC documentary on the history of the UK, was responding to questions about the Government's 'retain and explain' approach to contentious statues.

The strategy was initially unveiled in 2021 in following the toppling of the statue of slave trader Edward Colston in Bristol during the Black Lives Matter protests in 2020.

Official guidance telling institutions to adopt the approach in the face of calls for statues' removal or relocation was released today.

Responding on BBC Radio 4's Today Programme, Professor Olusoga said 'in some cases' adding context to controversial statues is appropriate, but added: 'Why would you want a statue of a man who was a mass murderer or a slave trader on public display?'

He said statues are 'validation and memorialisation' rather than history and agreed that some should be removed from public display and put in museums.

Statues are not history because they are 'always silent about the victims' and were put up by 'tiny members of a male elite', historian David Olusoga has claimed. Above: The toppling of the statue of slave trader Edward Colston into Bristol harbour in 2020

The new guidance was published by Culture Secretary Lucy Frazer.

It calls for a full explanation to be added to controversial statues so that a 'fuller understanding of the historic context can be known, understood and debated.'

The guidance was formulated with the help of academics and heritage experts on the government-appointed Heritage Advisory Board.

If institutions do decide to relocate a statue, they will have to apply for planning permission.

The toppling of Colston's statue into Bristol harbour by four protesters sparked huge debate and controversy.

The protesters were later found not guilty of causing criminal damage.

Dozens of other statues have faced calls for removal, including one at Oxford University of imperialist Cecil Rhodes.

The 'Rhodes Must Fall' campaign ultimately proved to be a failure in 2021, when it was decided the statue would remain in place at Oriel College because of the difficulty of removing it.

Professor Olusgoa told the BBC's Amol Rajan: 'Statues are not history. They cannot teach us our history.

'They are always silent about the victims and they are put up by members of a tiny male elite to celebrate the lives of other members of that tiny male elite.'

The TV presenter, who is currently fronting a BBC documentary on the history of the UK, was responding to questions about the Government's 'retain and explain' approach to contentious statues

He added that he has a 'problem' with the new Government guidance because it 'regurgitates two falsehoods'.

'The first is that the problem with statues is modern attitudes changing, which implies people approved of these statues and of these men at the time,' he said.

'And that is often demonstrably untrue. And the other is that statues tell us our history.

'The advice says that removing heritage will limit our understanding of difficult parts of our history.

'Which statue can we point to that tells us about a difficult part of our history?'

Professor Olusgoa was also asked about the statue of wartime Prime Minister Sir Winston Churchill which stands in Parliament Square and was vandalised during the Black Lives Matter protests in 2020.

He said the monument 'says nothing' about Churchill's flaws or achievements in helping to win the Second World War.

'All it says is "here is a great man",' he said.

'Now in many ways Churchill was a great man, he was also a very troubling figure in all sorts of ways.

Professor Olusgoa was also asked about the statue of wartime Prime Minister Sir Winston Churchill which stands in Parliament Square and was vandalised during the Black Lives Matter protests in 2020

'That complexity is exactly the point, you learn that from history books, I would like to think you learn it from documentaries. A statue cannot tell you that.'

The academic is the presenter of new BBC Two programme Union with David Olusoga.

The Government's new guidance also claims that the removal of statues risks 'limiting our understanding of the difficult parts of our history.'

Ms Frazer said: 'History is nuanced and complex. It is full of grey areas, which is what makes it so interesting and, of course, there are times when statues and monuments depict people or events that we very much disapprove of today.

'At the same time, the UK has a proud history as an engine for progress, democracy and liberal values.

'That is why I want all our cultural institutions to resist being driven by any politics or agenda and to use their assets to educate and inform rather than to seek to erase the parts of our history that we are uncomfortable with.
Satellite images have shown how Vladimir Putin is running scared from Ukraine's assault on Crimea, revealing that the bulk of his Black Sea Fleet has performed a major retreat.

Russian warships were evacuated from Sevastopol some 237 miles to Novorossiysk on Russia's southern coast, in what British Defence Minister James Heappey called 'the functional defeat of the Black Sea Fleet'.

The exodus of around ten vessels came after Ukraine destroyed the Sevastopol headquarters of the Black Sea Fleet in a missile strike on September 22.

Nine days earlier Ukrainian missiles also hit the 250 million Kilo-class attack submarine Rostov-on-Don and large landing ship Minsk in a repair shipyard in naval port Sevastopol.

The Rostov-on-Don suffered massive damage and was likely beyond repair, analysts said.

Russian Black Sea Fleet moved most of its ships from Sevastopol to Novorossiysk. Satellite image of Russian warships in Novorossiysk taken on October 1, 2023

Russian warships were evacuated from Sevastopol some 237 miles to Novorossiysk on Russia's southern coast

Satellite image of Russian warships in Novorossiysk taken on October 1, 2023

Some Russian warships instead moved to Feodosia in Crimea as seen in this satellite image taken on October 2, 2023

Ukraine hits Russian Black Sea Fleet headquarters in Sevastopol on September 22, 2023. Smoke rises above the headquarters building moments after a missile hits the building

Conflict Intelligence Team shares pictures of major damage to Rostov-on-Don submarine after 13 September 2023 Storm Shadow attack on Sevastopol

Russian President Vladimir Putin gestures during his meeting with children in the Sirius Education Center on October 4, 2023, in Sirius Federal Territory, Sochi, Russia

European leaders will reassure President Zelensky that they will continue to provide financial support for the war with Russia as they meet the Ukrainian leader in Spain today Advertisement

OSINT analyst MT Anderson highlighted satellite images dated October 1 which indicate the move.

Two Russian Project 11356 frigates Admiral Essen and Admiral Makarov, three diesel submarines, five large landing ships and several small missile ships appeared to have been moved to Novorossiysk.

The images highlight the analysis of the British Ministry of Defence this week that most of the forces of the Black Sea Fleet appear to have relocated from Sevastopol to Novorossiysk.

The move of the fleet is seen as a tangible gain from Ukraine's strategy of targeting Crimea - which Russia invaded in 2014 - with missiles and drones.

Ukrainian strikes have triggered explosions and fires in Novorossiysk, but Sevastopol has proved a much easier and more fruitful target.

Under agreements with Western nations, it cannot use Storm Shadow and HIMARS missiles to attack sovereign Russian territory.

Such missiles can be used against areas of Ukraine invaded by Putin, like Crimea.

But the move threatens Putin's naval dominance in the Black Sea, and his ability to defend Crimea.

Carnage on Putin's large landing warship Minsk, following 12 September 2023 Ukrainian missile attack on Sevastopol shipyard

13 September 2023 missile attack on Sevastopol

Russian warship, project 11356 frigate Admiral Makarov

Sevastopol was claimed by Russia in 1783 under Catherine the Great.

Until 2014, it was a naval port shared by Russia and Ukraine.

Putin has used his warships and submarines to launch deadly missile strikes on Ukraine from the Black Sea - and will still have this capability despite the retreat.

But it will be harder to use Russian warships to prevent Ukraine using its own grain corridor to export vital food supplies.

However Britain has warned that Putin's forces may lay mines in the sea which they will then blame on Ukraine.

'Russia almost certainly wants to avoid openly sinking civilian ships, instead falsely laying blame on Ukraine for any attacks against civilian vessels in the Black Sea,' said the Foreign Office.

'By releasing our assessment of this intelligence, the UK seeks to expose Russia's tactics to deter any such incident from occurring.'

Foreign Secretary James Cleverly said 'the world is watching', warning of 'Russia's cynical attempts to lay blame on Ukraine for their attacks'.

Russia is maintaining some naval power in Crimea however - after the exodus, four large Project 775 landing ships and a Kilo-class submarine were still seen in Sevastopol.

One large landing ship, minesweepers and small missile ships were also seen in a satellite image in Feodosia.
Anthony thought he'd found the perfect rental when he moved into his new place in the upmarket Sydney suburb of Paddington.

But just two months later, the 27-year-old music teacher is enduring living hell.

Anthony leased the room in August and is now battling an infestation of rats and German cockroaches - which fall on his face while he sleeps - and has lost electricity and has a leaking roof.

The inner city suburb, where the average rental for units is $550 a week, is one of the city's most sought-after.

The first sign of trouble for Anthony was when he heard rats scurrying in the ceiling.

Within two months of renting a room in one of Sydney's most-sought after suburbs, Anthony's life became a nightmare. Pictured: two women walk past inner city Sydney terraces

As Sydney's weather warmed up Anthony began to notice cockroaches everywhere and some even dropped on his face while he slept

Then as Spring arrived he noticed hundreds if not thousands of cockroaches on the walls and coming from the floorboards.

German cockroaches are considered 'the most troublesome' of all household pests as they reproduce quickly and in large numbers, live longer than other roaches and thrive in high temperatures.

They have also developed a resistance to many chemical pesticides.

'The cockroaches ... are everywhere, and they fall on my face while I sleep,' he told 7News.

Anthony says he has called his real estate agent daily for a week and has sent them photos of of the insects.

His rental nightmare got worse when the roof began to leak after heavy rain, which led to problems with his electrics.

A week later his power is still off and he's had to throw $300 worth of refrigerated groceries in the bin.

'I told [the real estate agent] I need electricity to charge my iPad and my phone and everything I need for work.'

He claims the agency did nothing.

The first sign of trouble was when he heard rats scurrying about in the roof cavity

Anthony pleaded with his property manager, even asking them to 'imagine living here for a week'.

Under the NSW Residential Tenancies Act, landlords 'must provide the residential premises in a reasonable state of cleanliness and fit for habitation by the tenant.'

Eventually they agreed to temporarily cut his rent by $50.

Tenants with disputes can apply to the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal, which has the power to end a lease and refund the bond.

According to rental advocacy group Better Renting, tenants who sublet a room tend to have weaker legal rights in disputes than those who take on the whole property.
A woman has been arrested after her mother was found dead at a home in Queensland.

Police and paramedics were called to a home in Glenella, in Mackay, this morning where they found the body of a 73-year-old woman.

A woman with a shaved head was seen crying in the street at around the same time.

A woman has been arrested after her mother was found dead at a home in Queensland

A 55-year-old woman, believed to be the elderly woman's daughter, has been arrested.

Neighbours described the family as 'quite friendly'.

'We'd sometimes see an older gentleman sitting on a chair outside and sometimes a lady coming home with kids,' Tara Krome, who lives on the street, told the ABC.
An ex-bodyguard has revealed how he has resorted to sewing 'I am not an XL Bully' patches onto the harness of his American bulldog after people kept mistaking it for a killer dog.

Matt Stait says his beloved pet Eddie has been 'ostracised' by walkers who mistake it for the same type of dog that has been behind a recent spate of deadly attacks.

The father-of-one says while passers by used to be more friendly no one stops to stroke his 'affectionate' pet anymore and hopes the 2.5inch signs will encourage them to stop and start a conversation instead.

Rishi Sunak has pledged to ban XL Bully dogs, however, experts have warned it will be difficult to implement since the animal is not an official breed.

Mr Stair, 52, from Chepstow, South Wales, says he fears his own animal might be affected by the ban and thinks the 'dirty looks' Eddie gets could be down to 'paranoia' about large dogs.

Former bodyguard Matt Stait says his beloved dog Eddie has been 'ostracised' by people who mistake him for the killer XL Bully breed behind the recent spate of attacks

Mr Stait attached a 'I am not an XL Bully' patch to his American bulldog's harness because people would cross the street and mistake the dog for the killer XL Bully breed

Mr Stait, 52, said he and Eddie get a lot of 'dirty looks' and suggests this could be due to 'paranoia' around large dogs since the awareness around XL Bully attacks has risen

Are you an XL Bully owner worried about the ban? E-mail Emily.davies@mailonline.co.uk Advertisement

Mr Stait said: 'Lots of people have confused my dog with an XL bully so I ordered them because I want them to start a conversation.

'We used to get a lot of interest for a positive reason but now it's different. People aren't saying they're avoiding us on purpose but that's what's happening.

'Even the people who know me, know the dog and would previously come over to stroke Eddie would avoid coming near us at all.

'You get a lot of dirty looks and you don't know how much of that is paranoia because they've been reading these stories about attacks.'

Rishi Sunak moved to ban Xl Bullys by the end of the year, however experts have warned the ban will be difficult as it isn't an official breed.

They say common characteristics that could be used to identify them include if the dog has a muscular build, weighs over 20kgs, with a wide skull and jaw, muscular neck or convex cheeks.

The American bulldog dates back to the 17th century and was bred for farming and guarding livestock while the 'designer' XL bully only dates back to the 1980s and is a mix of several other breeds including the American pitbull. It is not subject to a ban.

Mr Stait added: 'There's always been an element of people picking up their children and small dogs and crossing the street but I'm seeing that more and more now.

'It's a shame for Eddie. He's being ostracised and not getting the opportunity to meet dogs and people in the way he used to.

'I thought that rather than have any confusion or stupid conversations I'd have the patch and hopefully it can create an understanding and I can explain the difference.

'I ordered the patches from a lady off Etsy. It was my idea to do this but there's been an amazing response from people who want them too. I should have ordered a couple of hundred and sold them.

'They just fit on his harness. If I had a bigger harness they'd be bigger but they're perfectly readable from someone a few yards away.

'Some people think it's a brilliant idea and then there's also people who think I should be fighting for all dogs and not trying to dissociate from them. I do get that point of view.'

There are several dog characteristics that could mean a breed is included under the new ban, including if your dog has a muscular build, weighs over 20kgs, with a wide skull and jaw, muscular neck or convex cheeks

The dog owner said other dog walkers used to be more friendly but now no one stops to stroke Eddie because they mistake him for the XL Bully breed.

READ MORE - Mother cradles her toddler after he is savaged by an XL Bully Advertisement

Mr Stait added he was disappointed his 'affectionate' seven-year-old dog had been 'ostracised' so he contacted a patch maker on Etsy to design one that could clear up confusion.

His two yellow patches read 'I AM NOT AN XL BULLY' in red block capitals and were sewn to either side of eight-stone Eddie's harness.

The American bulldog owner, who worked as a bodyguard for wealthy individuals until a decade ago, says he hopes the 2.5-inch-long patches will encourage people to ask him about Eddie's breed.

Mr Stait admitted Eddie 'could have been problematic' if he hadn't had the correct training from a young age.

Mr Stait said he's the perfect owner for an American bulldog as he's used to working with large dogs from his security days and has an active lifestyle

The former bodyguard said 'here's always been an element' of people picking up their children and crossing the street because of Eddie but it's been happening more frequently

The dog owner said he bought patches online for 5 so other dog walkers could read on Eddie's harness that he isn't an XL Bully

Mr Stait said it is key that compulsory training and owner suitability are introduced.

He posted about the 5 patches on Facebook, and since then he's been inundated with requests for them - making him think he should have ordered hundreds and sold them.

Mr Stait has already had conversations with pedestrians since taking Eddie for walks with the patches on, with some mentioning they didn't know he was different to an XL bully.

He said he's the perfect owner for an American bulldog as he's used to working with large dogs from his security days and has an active lifestyle.

READ MORE - Interactive map shows every fatal dog attack in UK Advertisement

He admitted Eddie's is a 'typical representation' of his breed and has guarding instincts but the right training means he doesn't cause trouble.

The dog owner doesn't think banning dog breeds is a good idea and instead there should be 'suitability checks' when people try to buy certain large dog breeds.

The former bodyguard said: 'Eddie's incredibly affectionate and loving to his family but he's a large dog and bred for farming, utility work and guarding so he will bark at the window when somebody knocks the door.

'He's a large and capable dog and if he hadn't been trained and socialised or given what he needs then I don't doubt that he could be problematic. I'd be lying if I said otherwise.

'Here lies the issue with who should own the dogs and what requirements there should be.

'Overall I'm not for banning specific breeds and I'd look towards licensing and much tighter rules for breeders like compulsory training and suitability checks.

'The dogs don't actually have a voice and unfortunately the people who do have a voice and are loud aren't necessarily informed.'

Posting on Facebook, he said: 'New patches for his harness arrived today. It will start some conversations where I can educate people.

'He is an American Bulldog which is a completely different breed but many don't seem to know the difference.'

Mr Stait posted on Facebook to raise awareness of the misconceptions around his large dog

Mr Stait is concerned the XL bully ban may cover American bulldogs and that would mean they wouldn't be allowed to train, go to kennels or visit camp sites with 'no-banned-breed policies'.

He's also keen to combat the view that anyone owning large dogs are thugs.

He said that 'for the most part' big dogs are bought because they suit the owner's active lifestyle.

The PhD student believes that rising crime in working-class areas is forcing residents to turn to more vicious-looking dogs to protect their families.

Are you an XL Bully owner worried about the ban? E-mail Emily.davies@mailonline.co.uk
The woman was allegedly raped after falling asleep in a car on the way home

Police have arrested two men over the rape of a British tourist near Benidorm.

Detectives revealed today the holidaymaker was attacked after agreeing to pay two men who offered to take her back to her hotel in their car as she waited for a taxi.

She was allegedly raped at the home of one of the suspects after falling asleep in the back of the vehicle.

The men, both Algerian nationals aged 39 and 44, have been remanded in custody pending an ongoing investigation.

One was also being hunted over a violent robbery two days before the sex attack in Villajoyosa next to Benidorm.

Police have arrested two men believed to have raped a woman in Spain. Pictured: Police at the Civil Guard headquarters in Benidorm

Police believe the holidaymaker was waiting to go home when two men offered to take her for cash, before raping her

The age of the British woman has not been revealed but well-placed sources described her as 'young'. She is said to have handed over 15 (13) for the fare.

A spokesman for the Civil Guard revealed today: 'The Civil Guard in Villajoyosa has arrested two men over the rape of a foreign tourist in August inside a property in that locality.

'The incident occurred in the early hours of August 25.

'The holidaymaker was waiting for a taxi in Benidorm to take her back to her hotel after going out partying and the suspects offered to take her in return for money.

'She had just left a nightspot which had been about to close in a popular going-out area frequented by tourists in Benidorm.

'After agreeing to travel with them and paying the cash, she fell asleep which is when both suspects allegedly took advantage of the situation to take her to one of their homes and sexually attack her.'

Detectives said the woman alerted police she found on the street after waking up and 'escaping' the property where the alleged sex attack occurred.

The arrests took place last month but police only went public with them today after the two men were remanded in prison by an investigating judge.

The police spokesman said: 'Investigators analysed security cameras close to the area where the holidaymaker was picked up which led to the identification of the mens' vehicle and the place where the alleged sex attack occurred.

'They also managed to identify the suspects, two men aged 39 and 44.

'One of them was being hunted by police over a violent robbery two days before the rape.'

Police test forensic evidence at the Civil Guard headquarters in Benidorm following the alleged rape of a woman

File photo of Poniente beach in Benidorm, a popular holidaying hotspot with British tourists

Police have not released footage of the arrests but have published images relating to the investigation including what appears to be DNA sampling.

Detectives are understood to have reviewed the movements of around 30,000 vehicles to identify the car that picked up the British tourist.

The court hearing that resulted in them being sent to a nearby jail pending ongoing inquiries took place in private, as is normal in Spain where only trials are held in public.
A leading UK bank has announced it will close 18 more branches across the UK this month as locations continue to disappear from high streets.

NatWest has announced that another 34 of its branches will close permanently across Britain, meaning it will have closed 126 locations in total throughout 2023.

NatWest branches in Southampton and Sidcup, south London, closed their doors for the final time yesterday.

Today, locations in Woodley, Berkshire, and Southgate, north London will pull down their shutters permanently.

In addition, NatWest have announced that two more branches, in Stalybridge, Greater Manchester and West Kirby, Merseyside, will close in July 2024.

NatWest has announced that another 34 of its branches will close permanently across Britain, meaning it will have closed 126 locations in total throughout 2023

More than half of Britain's branch network has closed since 2015, according to consumer rights group Which?

A NatWest spokesperson said: 'As with many industries, most of our customers are shifting to mobile and online banking, because it's faster and easier for people to manage their financial lives.

'We understand and recognise that digital solutions aren't right for everyone or every situation, and that when we close branches we have to make sure that no one is left behind,' according to The Sun.

The closure of high street banks in alarmingly high numbers has seen banks being accused of 'depriving' the elderly and vulnerable of essential services.

More than half of Britain's branch network has closed since 2015, according to consumer rights group Which?

Lenders have been cutting back on sites over recent years, claiming that more customers are switching to online banking and cash use is declining as more transactions are carried out on credit and debit cards.

But critics said closing bank branches is 'grossly unfair' on elderly and vulnerable customers, as well as on small businesses and those who need face-to-face advice.

Charity Age UK has blasted the 'continuing avalanche' of closures, saying that while those in rural areas are hardest hit 'those in towns and cities are not immune'.

Its director Caroline Abrahams said: 'Being able to manage your money is key to living independently as you age, but the rush towards digital banking means millions of older people are being deprived of this, simply because they do not use computers.

'They are perfectly capable of organising their own finances, just not online. It is grossly unfair that they are being infantilised in this way and their legitimate interests brushed aside in the pursuit of profit.'

The full list of NatWest bank closures can be seen below.
An ex-Neighbours star helped push a bizarre conspiracy that the Voice to Parliament is actually a secret plot by the United Nations to strip Australians of their land.

Nicola Charles, who appeared as Sarah Beaumont in the hit show during the nineties, has carved a career countering lockdowns and vaccines under the moniker 'The White Rabbit'.

In recent months, Charles, 53, has targeted the upcoming referendum on the Voice to Parliament, claiming that a Yes victory in the October 14 poll would result in a United Nations 'coup' that would 'appoint one man and one woman in every district' to carry out its insidious wishes.

Ex-Neighbours star Nicola Charles (pictured) helped push a bizarre conspiracy that the Voice to Parliament is actually a secret plot by the United Nations to strip Australians of their land

Charles appeared as Sarah Beaumont in the hit show during the nineties (pictured), before carving a career countering lockdowns and vaccines under the moniker 'The White Rabbit

'It completely changes the law on jurisdiction,' Charles said in a rambling 17-minute video, according to the ABC.

'This is an invasion by the one world government, the UN.'

An ABC analysis found versions of Charles' video have been shared on Facebook more than 25,000 times and has attracted more than half a million views since it was published in August.

By comparison, the most shared video post by the official No campaign organisers, Fair Australia, has been shared fewer than 17,000 times.

READ MORE: Neighbours star claims she wasn't invited to appear in soap's finale because she's 'unvaccinated' Nicola Charles (pictured) claimed she wasn't invited to appear on the Neighbours reunion because she was unvaccinated Advertisement

The conspiracy is so widespread it prompted Anthony Albanese to refute it at an event in late September.

'What has occurred during this campaign is a lot of information being put out there, including by some who know that it is not true,' Mr Albanese said.

He added: 'There is worse information on some social media as well about the world conspiracies that the United Nations will control all land in Australia - all land - you will lose private ownership of everyone's home will go with a Yes vote.

'It's just absurd.'

But a week later his speech was selectively edited to remove the context, leaving the words: 'The United Nations will control all land in Australia - all land - you will lose private ownership of everyone's home will go with a Yes vote'.

The maliciously-edited clip has since spread online.

The conspiracy that the UN is a shadowy organisation acting against Australia's interests dates back to the 1980s.

One Nation senator Malcolm Roberts referenced it in his 2016 maiden speech.

'Australia's values and way of life are also at risk from insidious institutions such as the unelected swill that is the United Nations,' Mr Roberts said.

He called for Australia to leave the UN, which he described as a 'socialist monolithic monster'.

Charles did not respond to the ABC's request for comment.

Before 7.30 aired she posted on X, formerly Twitter: 'Apparently I am being outed as Australia's No.1 Conspiracy Theorist on ABC News tonight.'

Once the program aired she added: 'I think they may have chickened out.'
The 30-year mystery of how news anchor Jodi Huisentruit disappeared may finally be solved, after new details about a secret fling with a mystery man she met just ten days before she vanished have emerged.

Jodi Huisentruit overslept for her job as an anchor at Mason City, Iowa news station KIMT on June 27, 1995, when a co-worker called to check up on her.

The 27-year-old assured her colleague that she would rush into the station in time for her 6am broadcast.

She was never heard from again, and was formally declared dead in 2001, though Iowa cops consider the case active and open.

But a crack PI claims he has previously unreported information about a fling with a man from out of state that the journalist met just ten days before she went missing, as well as a photograph showing the site of her final date before her disappearance.

News anchor Jodi Huisentruit (pictured) has been missing since 1995

PI Steve Ridge told the Sun that she met the as-yet-unnamed man, who was staying in a home on Clear Lake, at a bar.

They quickly made a 'fast connection' with each other, Ridge said.

The pair then started an intense relationship, where they saw each other almost every day for a week.

The private investigator said they spoke 'just about every day and she initiated the calls.'

But despite the intensity of their blossoming relationship, Steve Ridge said that Jodi 'had not told even her closest friends about this relationship' in order to avoid unwanted drama.

She was never able to tell her friends about her new fling.

When police arrived at her home just after 7:00 am to conduct a welfare check after she failed to report to work nearly 30 years ago, they found Huisentruit's belongings scattered around her now-infamous red Mazda Miata in the parking lot, including a woman's red shoe and a bent car key.

She was just 27 years old when she disappeared after failing to turn up to her job at a news station in Mason City, Iowa

She is understood to have been in a secret fling with an unknown man she met just 10 days before her disappearance

According to police, there were also signs of a struggle and neighbors reported hearing screams at around 4am.

A partial palm print was smudged onto Huisentruit's car, but investigators were never able to match it with a suspect.

Ridge said that five days before she went missing, Jodi met her date at his lakeside home, where they sat on the back deck, which he managed to get access to in order to document it.

'The last time she had a date - it's such a powerful picture...a few days later Jodi was gone.'

He revealed that local cops put the mystery man under surveillance after identifying him as a person of interest in the case, 'even [scooping] up his street-side garbage for examination.'

The investigator is convinced that her fling with this man played an important part in her disappearance.

'I am certain that his quickly blossoming relationship with Jodi played a central role in her abduction days later,' Ridge said.

PI Steve Ridge (pictured) is convinced that her fling with this man played an important part in her disappearance

'I believe without a doubt that this relationship was clearly a factor in what happened because this was not a random act of violence it wasn't anything like that, it wasn't a stalker that came out of nowhere.'

'This clearly was someone she knew and had interacted with who was very aware of all of the relationships or people that she saw and so that's why this is kind of sensitive information,' the investigator explained.

Though he was later cleared, Ridge warned that publicly identifying the man 'could jeopardize an eventual prosecution in this case.'

He believes that jealousy was the primary cause of her disappearance.

Ridge said the pair both knew that their relationship would 'infuriate other suitors', adding: 'Jodi had strong admirers.'

'A common theme here is anyone who shows an interest in Jodi is potentially in harm's way because of jealousy and so this would fall in that category as well. I have one very strong possibility of who that party is. I think he did have some relationship with her.'

Though the case has seemingly gone cold in recent years, law enforcement is reportedly treating it as an active investigation, with Ridge claiming that they have their eye on at least one person of interest.

'They remain hopeful that there will still be some kind of evidence that will allow them to move forward with an arrest or indictment,' the investigator added.
A former SAS soldier has been gagged from releasing a book on how he defeated Islamic terrorists in Kenya.

The soldier, who uses the pseudonym Christian Craighead, wanted to publish his account of the day that five terrorists stormed the Dusit D2 hotel complex in Nairobi in January 2019 where 21 people died.

He was awarded a Conspicuous Gallantry Cross, a bravery medal second only to a Victoria Cross, for his response to the gun and grenade attack.

Craighead launched a legal challenge against a ban imposed by the Secretary of Defence and claimed that such an move was in breach of his freedom of speech.

But he has now been prevented from releasing the book after the High Court ruled that the ban should remain in place to protect the SAS' tradecraft in the interest of national security, according to The Telegraph.

A soldier (pictured), who uses the pseudonym Christian Craighead, has been gagged from releasing a book on how he defeated Islamic terrorists in Kenya

Craighead (pictured far right after the incident) wanted to publish his account of the day that five terrorists stormed the Dusit D2 hotel complex in Nairobi in January 2019 where 21 people died

Mrs Justice Steyn said, during a private hearing in the High Court according to The Telegraph: 'He has only been prevented from giving an account of an operation, the Dusit incident, in which he engaged as a member of UK special forces.

READ MORE: SAS hero who earned global acclaim for saving hostages from jihadi terrorists in hotel siege fights Ministry of Defence gagging order that bans him talking about it Advertisement

'On the other side of the balance are the interests of the community reflected in the defendant's evidence.

'Those community interests entail the protection of lives, the protection of national security, the maintenance of the morale and efficiency of UKSF and protecting relations with defence partners.'

'On the evidence before me, the interests of the community substantially outweigh the claimant's interest in publishing a memoir about the Dusit incident (even when buttressed by the interest of the public in receiving the information he wishes to disclose, and by the interest of his publisher).'

The book entitled 'One Man In: The Explosive Firsthand Account of the Lone Special-Ops Soldier Who Fought Off a Major Terrorist Attack in Kenya' was expected to be published this year.

Craighead appeared on Evan Hafer's Black Rifle Coffee Podcast Referring last year and briefly spoke about confidentiality issues.

He said: 'I'm working with the Ministry of Defence as we speak to do it properly, to release this book so there's no sense of information or anything.

'So that's as far as I'm willing to talk about my life in the 22nd Special Air Service regiment. I should add that the book is just about that one day, so for anyone on the edge of their seats it doesn't talk about anything I did while serving in the unit.

'It just talks about one thing I did that we all know I did.'

Chris Craighead leading terrified guests to safety after storming the hotel building in Kenya

Craighead breaching a door of the hotel while wearing a camouflage flak jacket and a balaclava and armed only with an assault rifle

Craighead and a security officer escort an injured man who was attacked in the terror siege

Craighead was awarded a Conspicuous Gallantry Cross, a bravery medal second only to a Victoria Cross, for his response to the gun and grenade attack.

Under strict rules, Special Forces troops must not discuss their missions in public or seek to 'cash in' on operations.

The rules were introduced following the furore over books by ex-troopers Chris Ryan and Andy McNab which dramatically raised the SAS's public profile and led to concerns over Special Forces troops leaking sensitive information which could compromise future operations.

Craighead had been stationed in Kenya to help train the nation's soldiers and was off-duty when heavily armed jihadis from the al-Shabaab terror group seized the Dusit D2 luxury hotel complex, setting fire to vehicles, detonating explosions and embarking on a mass shooting.

Images from the scene in Nairobi show the off-duty SAS hero wearing combat gear over a purple shirt and jeans as he entered the complex before emerging with terrified survivors.
The NYPD remains on the hunt for the 18-year-old suspect who stabbed a social justice worker to death on a New York street in an unprovoked attack in the early hours of Monday morning.

Ryan Carson, 32, was returning from a wedding with his girlfriend and waiting at a bus stop in the Bed-Stuy section of Brooklyn when he encountered the 'emotionally disturbed' attacker who has so far only been identified as 'Brian.'

Surveillance video showed that after a brief interaction, Carson was tragically stabbed to death while his girlfriend watched on.

Shortly after 'Brian' leaves the scene, another woman enters the frame, pleading with the suspect to leave Carson alone.

Police have referred to that woman as 'Brian's' girlfriend. Prior to the encounter, the suspect had been acting erratically and kicking over scooters in the area.

The woman who has been identified as 'Brian's' girlfriend can be seen in the horrific stabbing video

Carson and his girlfriend Claudia had just attended a wedding and were on their way home

The two women have a brief inaudible interaction after the murder. Carson's girlfriend, Claudia Morales, tells the suspect's girlfriend: 'Go watch him,' in reference to 'Brian.'

'Brian' is enrolled in a return to work program in a school in Clinton Hill, which is located close to where the murder occurred. The search for him is centered around that neighborhood and Commodore Barry Park in the affluent Fort Greene-area.

It has since emerged that the suspect was arrested previously in 2022 for disorderly conduct and that this past August, he broke his partner's possessions during an argument in her home.

Following that incident, 'Brian's' aunt called 911 on him and referred to him as being 'emotionally disturbed,' reports ABC New York.

Authorities have confirmed that the attack was random and that Carson and 'Brian' had never met before.

Despite the senseless violence, friends of the 32-year-old say it wouldn't change his outlook on social justice.

'I know he would have wanted people to use his death as a means to talk about structural wrongs in the city.

The girlfriend can be seen in the stabbing video running to the scene just after the killing takes place

The girlfriend has an inaudible exchange with Carson's girlfriend who tells the unidentified woman to: 'Go watch him,' in reference to 'Brian'

'I'm absolutely positive that he would immediately see that this was a person who was suffering from a lack of resources in our community, who probably needs better mental health support, possibly housing, possibly drug support, drug treatment.

'What he would want to avenge his death is for us to fix how broken this city is,' New York State Assembly member Emily Gallagher told The Gothamist.

Carson worked for the New York Public Interest Research Group, a nonprofit where his work focused on environmental causes like reusable bottles.

He spearheaded other liberal causes, like creating supervised drug injection sites across the city.

Morales, according to now locked-down social media profiles, was an avid BLM activist who, among other remarks, used the cop-hating acronym ACAB in some posts.

Carson wasn't as forthright in his criticism of law enforcement but he shared the same concern for police brutality.

'The fact of the matter is I'm f*****g scared.'

'I spent this summer, like many of the past years of my life, watching people I care about get attacked by the police in the streets,' he said in an October 2020 interview about his poetry.

At the time writing, a GoFundMe page for Carson's family has raised over $63,000. The original goal of the page was $20,000.

Carson's roommate Vlad Miroshnikov told the New York Daily News that the victim's girlfriend had told them that the attacker was 'a kid... (He was) just marching down the street super, super upset about something, on a terror path. They just happened to be in that path.'

'He certainly wasn't an idealist, but he believed in the power of community organizing and just community more broadly, and helping his fellow neighbor and New Yorker out.'

More than 100 of Carson's friends came out for a vigil to celebrate his life on Monday night

The celebration of the activist's life was held across the street from his home in the Bed-Stuy section of Brooklyn

Chuck Schumer paid tribute to Carson on Tuesday

Cohen went on to say that Carson began for focus on drug rehabilitation when his best friend died of an overdose.

Also in attendance at the vigil on Monday was State Assembly Member Emily Gallagher. She told News12 in an interview that the pair became close prior to her entering politics as the both had close friends who died from overdoses.

'It's on us to continue his legacy and to the opioid epidemic, to fight climate change, to fight to make New York City and New York state a better place, and we're gonna do the very best we can. If not as well as Ryan, the best we can to remember Ryan,' Cohen added.

'It breaks my heart to know how much he could've accomplished in the span of his life and it was just taken too soon,' friend and former colleague Jaqi Cohen told New York 1 at Monday night's vigil.

The memorial was held at Herbert Von King Park, across the street from his home. There were over 100 people in attendance.

'This not just a loss for us. This is a loss for all of New York,' Cohen also said of the climate and drug rehabilitation activist.
Fugitive rape suspect Nicholas Rossi is set to be extradited back to America after he faked his own death and fled his native country to Britain in a doomed bid to avoid prosecution, it emerged today.

Scottish Government ministers signed an extradition order, meaning Rossi can now be moved to the US.

Rossi is wanted by authorities in Utah for allegedly raping a woman in 2008. He also faces multiple complaints against him in Rhode Island for alleged domestic violence.

The 36-year-old - born Nicholas Alahverdian before changing his surname to that of his adoptive stepfather, David Rossi - claimed he had been diagnosed with stage 4 non-Hodgkin's lymphoma in late 2019 and told friends he was dying. An obituary appeared online for Rossi in early 2020 saying he had died and that his ashes had been scattered at sea.

But the following year he was arrested on a Covid hospital ward in Scotland, where he was registered as Arthur Knight, an Irish orphan, which he continues to insist is his real identity, claiming to have never set foot on American soil.

Fugitive rape suspect Nicholas Rossi (pictured leaving Edinburgh Sheriff Court after his extradition hearing on June 30) accused of faking his own death to avoid prosecution will be extradited to the US to face charges, after Scottish ministers signed his extradition order

Rossi also faces multiple complaints against him in Rhode Island for alleged domestic violence (pictured in 2008 in Utah)

Nicholas Rossi, 36, is wanted by authorities in Utah for allegedly raping a woman in 2008

The fugitive - who appeared throughout his court dates in a wheelchair, using an oxygen mask - was identified as Rossi through DNA and distinctive tattoos, which were described in an Interpol alert. He also spoke with an unconvincing accent in a notorious interview with NBC's Dateline, in which he angrily denied his name was Rossi or Alahverdian, and theatrically collapsed into his wife's arms after trying to stand in a bizarre effort to prove he could not walk.

In August, a sheriff ruled there is no impediment to Rossi being extradited, following a series of hearings at Edinburgh Sheriff Court.

READ MORE: American fugitive Nicholas Rossi who faces extradition to face rape charge in US benefited from 40,000 worth of legal aid while in UK Advertisement

Sheriff Norman McFadyen branded Rossi 'as dishonest and deceitful as he is evasive and manipulative'.

As well as Rossi's claims that he is actually an Irish orphan called Arthur Knight, his claims about his medical conditions have also been disproven by expert witnesses.

He repeatedly attended court in a wheelchair with an oxygen bottle, but a doctor told the court his legs are 'strong and athletic'.

On Thursday, the Scottish Government revealed in a freedom of information response that a decision in his case had been made in September.

It said: 'The Scottish ministers have made their decision regarding Mr Nicholas Rossi and signed an extradition order on September 28, 2023.'

The decision is the latest development in a long-running case in the Scottish legal system, which began with Rossi's arrest in a Glasgow hospital in December 2021.

During a week-long hearing in June this year, Rossi wore what appeared to be a black legal gown and a yarmulke - a hat worn by Orthodox Jewish men.

Questioned about his dress in court, Rossi claimed the gown was actually called a bekishe, an overcoat also worn by Orthodox Jewish men.

He converted to Judaism while in HMP Edinburgh, where he has been held since 2022.

In his August ruling, Sheriff McFadyen said Rossi's deceitfulness had 'undoubtedly complicated and extended what is ultimately a straightforward case'.

Rossi learned his fate at Edinburgh Sheriff Court on August 2, more than two years after he was arrested.

Sheriff Norman McFadyen ruled there is no impediment to him being extradited, with Scottish ministers told to make a decision within the next 28 days.

An application for bail was lodged with the court which was refused by the sheriff.

Rossi (pictured in July last year) has claimed this is a case of false identity and said he is an Irish orphan named Arthur Knight

A mugshot from the arrest of Nicholas Rossi by police in Massachusetts in 2010

Rossi's legal team and the Crown deliberated on whether he should be transferred to England to face questioning over another alleged rape.

However, it was decided the matter would be dealt with following the decision to extradite him to the US.

In 2008, Rossi was convicted of sexually assaulting a student while attending a community college in Ohio. He was placed on the sex offenders register as a result.

The woman, Mary Grebinski, had agreed to meet Rossi after he messaged her on social network MySpace .

Rossi said he was looking for a friend as he was 'new to the area'.

At first, she found him intelligent and charismatic, so agreed to accompany him to his next class.

But as they entered an empty stairway, Rossi pressed her against a wall and started masturbating, ejaculating onto a wall before crumpling into a heap.

Grebinski reported him to the police and an Ohio court found him guilty of public indecency and sexual imposition in March 2008.

Under the guise of Arthur Brown, Rossi is believed to have met his wife, Miranda Knight, in Bristol in 2019 and married her in early 2020, assuming the name Arthur Knight.

They moved to Glasgow shortly afterwards but in 2021, Rossi became so ill with Covid that he had to be hospitalised at the city's Queen Elizabeth University Hospital.

In July 2020, DNA allegedly linked him to a 2008 rape in Utah which is ultimately what led to his discovery in Scotland.

He was arrested on December 13, 2021 at the Glasgow hospital by police officers who served him with an Interpol red notice.

With the assistance of medical staff at the hospital, the patient initially named as Arthur Knight was identified as Rossi.

There has never been an official version of events from Rossi because he continues to insist he is Arthur Knight and that the authorities have the wrong man.

In court appearances, he has maintained his pained English accent, with an Irish lilt whenever he mentions the word Dublin, where he claims to have been born.

In his latest interview with The Times, as Arthur Knight, he said he wanted the 'real' Rossi to come forward to 'save my wife and me from this mess'.

Previously, his stepfather, David Rossi - an Engelbert Humperdinck impersonator - revealed an old photograph of a floppy-haired teenager on a motorcycle, who, despite lacking a breathing aide and looking many pounds lighter, bears a striking resemblance to the man in court.

In a wide-ranging interview, he described his estranged stepson as 'the devil's spawn' and said he was an 'evil' child who punched his mother and grandmother.

He told DailyMail.com: 'He'll do anything to hide from the law. The wheelchair, the mask. It's c**p. There's nothing wrong with him. Everything about him is Nicky.

'My first impression of Nicky was that he had mental problems. He just got worse with every day.

'He would urinate in his brother's bed just to get his brother in trouble. Jump out of windows and run away in his underwear.

'[Rossi's mother] Diana said this is why you don't get involved. But I stuck with it. I felt that they needed a father.'

In August, Rossi appeared at the court by video link after claiming to be unwell.

He was bent over at the waist, dressed in a green jumper and did not show his face.

When asked if he is Rossi, he did not answer.

Rossi's lawyer Mungo Bovey KC attempted to delay proceedings and asked for Rossi to be excused.

Sheriff McFadyen suggested Rossi had attended court by video link 'voluntarily', but in an angry outburst Rossi said he had been brought before the camera by 'physical force' and he called the sheriff 'a disgrace to justice'.

During a week-long hearing in June, Rossi wore what appeared to be a black legal gown and a yarmulke - a hat worn by Orthodox Jewish men.

Questioned about his dress in court, Rossi claimed the gown was actually called a bekishe, an overcoat also worn by Orthodox Jewish men.

The fugitive converted to Judaism while in HMP Edinburgh, where he has been held since 2022.

Nicholas Rossi's wife Miranda Knight arrives for a hearing at Edinburgh Sheriff Court in June

Rossi (pictured leaving in July) appeared at the court today by video link after claiming to be unwell

This final hearing was adjourned from July 12 following delays in court proceedings due to issues with transport from HMP Edinburgh as well as interruptions by Rossi, who attempted to dismiss his counsel Mr Bovey on two occasions.

Throughout the June hearing, Mr Bovey attempted to have the case discharged as his client is wanted for questioning about an alleged rape in England.

He also claimed Rossi was not brought before a sheriff within an appropriate amount of time and that he did not receive a crucial document from the National Crime Agency when he was arrested in December 2021 - but all of these applications were turned down by the sheriff.

Attempts were also made to give more time for Rossi's mental health to be assessed, but three medical witnesses including psychiatrists Dr Kunal Choudhary and Dr Angela Cogan, as well as Rossi's GP at HMP Edinburgh Dr Barbara Mundweil, said he showed no signs of acute mental illness.

Dr Mundweil also cast doubt on the state of Rossi's health in general, telling the court she had 'no major concerns'.

Giving evidence in his defence, Rossi claimed he was unable to raise his arms above his head because he was too unwell.

He said the reason he used a wheelchair was because the muscles in his legs had been so badly atrophied that he is unable to walk or support himself.

He also said he had considered going to the US to prove he is not Rossi.

A fellow prisoner, William King, gave evidence to court in which he claimed Rossi was treated 'abysmally' at HMP Edinburgh.

In closing speeches, Mr Bovey said extradition to the US would be a 'flagrant breach' of Rossi's human rights.

But advocate depute Alan Cameron said there is no evidence that Rossi suffered any condition that would be a barrier to his extradition.

Previously, he had arrived at court in his wheelchair and with an oxygen tank and mask.
A shocked father has released horrific photographs of his young son who almost lost his eyesight in a suspected fireworks attack.

Rhydian Guzvic, 41, claims the firework was thrown at his eight-year-old son Bradley, who didn't realise what it was.

The boys were on their way to their woodland den near their home in Caerphilly, South Wales on Sunday when Bradley's nine-year-old friend picked up a firework before it went off like a grenade.

The friend was flown to hospital where he has undergone two operations to save his fingers and is now facing a third op on Thursday. Bradley was taken to hospital with 'shrapnel' injuries. He was discharged on Wednesday, but is still in a state of shock.

Police are investigating the incident in the village, after locals claimed that three teenage boys hurled the firework.

Bradley (pictured) was taken to hospital with 'shrapnel' injuries and is still in a state of shock

Father Rhydian Guzvic, 41, claims the firework was thrown at his eight-year-old son Bradley (pictured) who didn't realise what it was

Mr Guzvic, 41, said: 'Bradley's friend picked it up, not realising what it was, and the whole thing has just gone off. I think it was about 10 minutes between the sound of the explosion and somebody noticing these boys. One of the neighbours was looking over the fence and they've seen Bradley trying to wake up his friend because they got knocked unconscious.

'They picked him up and brought him back to Bradley's mother's house and that's when they realised the extent of what's gone on.'

The second boy was flown to hospital in Bristol while Bradley was taken to the University Hospital of Wales, Cardiff.

Mr Guzvic said: 'He's had CT scans, they've found shrapnel in wounds across his head and some close to his eye, so it's quite scary for everybody involved. They are stitching up all they can - he has stitches along the bridge of his nose from eye to eye. He has picked up an infection so he will be coming home on antibiotics.'

'He's still in shock. I don't think it's sunk in just yet, just the extent of what's happened.'

Eight-year-old Bradley was taken to the University Hospital of Wales in Cardiff on Sunday - he was then discharged on Wednesday

Mr Guzvic added: 'It's always the same thing every year. There's always kids getting injured by fireworks. They just need tighter restrictions - either you need a licence to buy them or a complete ban.'

Plaid Cymru Member of Senedd for South Wales East, Delyth Jewell, has called for a ban on the public sale of fireworks.

The grandmother of Bradley's friend said on social media: 'My beautiful grandson and his little friend were attacked by three teenage boys who thought it would be funny to throw fireworks at them.

'The fireworks exploded and burnt and torn his little body. He's a little fighter, love him, and he's in the best place. He's having his third operation tomorrow so hope all goes well.'

Superintendent Mike Richards of Gwent Police said: 'We received a report of a medical emergency in Hengoed Road, Hengoed, at around 2.15pm on Sunday 1 October.

'Two boys, aged eight and nine, are receiving treatment in hospital for injuries believed to be linked to an explosion of a firework. They are both in a stable condition.

'Anyone with information is asked to call 101 or send us a direct message on social media, quoting log reference 2300332856.'
A 25-year-old trapeze artist fell 25 feet from the top of a 'Wheel of Death' circus act in Hungary but miraculously survived the terrifying incident amid screams form the crowd.

Raul Alexander survived after he flew off the spinning contraption during a performance in Hodmezovasarhely, southeast Hungary, on 30th September.

Despite the accident, and trauma since, he has insisted that he intends to continue performing once fully recovered.

Phone footage from an audience member shows the stunt starting as planned with two performers moving two connected wheels around in a circle, before Mr Alexander falls out to gasps from the crowd.

With no safety net to land on, he slammed onto the ground with and is unable to get back up while the audience screams.

Raul Alexander, 25, fell from the 'Wheel of Death' (pictured) during a performance on September 30 in Hungary

The drop was 25 feet, and miraculously, after an initial loss of consciousness, Mr Alexander came away with 'no serious injuries'

The young El Salvadorian reportedly lost consciousness after flying off the top of the 25-ft tall wheel.

For a short while after the incident, he could barely breathe from the pain caused by the drop, but managed to survive with 'no serious injuries, except one or two bruises,' according to the circus' Facebook page.

Circus director Florian Richter told local media: 'He misplaced his hands and feet on the ring, slipped, and fell out just when the Wheel of Death was at its highest point.'

Mr Alexander said he was left with pain in his shoulder, leg, and ribs, and a lot of fear since the accident.

Despite all that, he said he wants to continue performing, but will devote more time on getting prepared and extensive training to ensure he does it perfectly next time.

Meanwhile the Florian Richter Circus is continuing its tour, having wished Mr Alexander a speedy recovery, in Bekescsaba until October 8.
A young woman says she 'thought she was going to die' as she was mauled by three dogs in a brutal attack filmed by a passerby.

Lakaydia Reynolds was walking through Abbots Park in Lambeth, south London, when the animals, which included a banned American Pitbull Terrier, set upon her.

The 24-year-old was left needing plastic surgery after the incident on June 6, which saw her receive bites and scratches on her face, legs and arm.

Speaking on Good Morning Britain today, Ms Reynolds revealed she is still in 'excruciating pain' after receiving nerve damage to her arm, and that she is unable to feel or move half of the limb.

The terrifying attack, which took place in broad daylight, was seen by a passerby who just stood their and filmed it instead of trying to help. The video was later posted online.

Footage of the attack was later posted online, with video showing one dog jumping up and tearing into her arm

At one point the dog held on to her arm for more than 30 seconds as she desperately tried to pull away. She has since been told she has nerve damage in the limb

Lakaydia Reynolds was attacked while walking through Abbots Park in Lambeth, south London, on June 6

Police have said the owner of the animals voluntarily handed them over to police and that one has since been put down, while the other two remain in kennels.

Ms Reynolds says the incident has left a shadow over her life and she has to deal with the prospect of potentially having permanent nerve damage in her arm.

Speaking on GMB to hosts Ben Shephard and Kate Garraway this morning after they showed footage of the attack on the programme, she revealed her terror during the incident, saying: '100 per cent, I thought I was going to die.'

READ MORE HERE: Terrifying moment screaming woman is attacked by two out-of-control dogs in small park as she is dragged to the ground while owner shouts 'run' Advertisement

Ms Reynolds said she had been walking through the park to meet a friend when she spotted the trio of animals on a lead close to their owner.

'I'm not scared of dogs so I wasn't fazed by it at all, so I continued my walk through the park and he eventually let two of them go and kept one on the leash,' she said.

The ones who were off the lead then came up to her and despite thinking they were 'playful', she says she asked the owner to take them back as her friend was scared of dogs and she didn't want them following her.

She said: 'At first there was no response from the owner, so I had to repeatedly ask him to take his dogs and he eventually called them, but there was no response from the dogs.'

But then the animals suddenly attacked her, subjecting her to a horrific assault which was caught on video by a passerby.

Disturbing footage of the attack showed her screaming in agony as the animals jumped and bit her, with the vicious mauling continuing as she is wrestled to the ground when attempting to run away.

During the attack a man dressed in a black tracksuit could be heard screaming 'run' as he desperately struggles to hold the dogs back from her.

The injuries she received were so serious that Ms Reynolds spent a week in hospital.

'I had scratches and bites on my face, my legs, my arm,' she said.

'I had really bad injury to my lip, so I've had stitches, I've had to get plastic surgery on it.

'I also had to get plastic surgery to my right arm which is also my dominant arm.

'It left me with ulna nerve damage which means I now can't feel half my hand and half of my arm.'

On Good Morning Britain today, Ms Reynolds revealed she thought she was going to die in the attack

After trying to run away from the animals Ms Reynolds was pulled to the ground by the dogs

The owner - dressed in a black tracksuit with his hood up - could be seen shouting at her 'run' as he tried to control the dogs

She added she struggles to move her arm and that half of it is in 'excruciating pain', and can only hope things improve.

'The doctors did say there's age on my side, so fingers crossed there is hope that it will recover,' she said.

'But nerves don't actually regenerate, they only repair, so whatever state my hand is at in a year-and-a-half is as far as it's going to go.'

Ms Reynolds added she had been shocked to discover the video of the attack on the internet, saying it was a 'sad reminder that nobody could help me' and hit out that it was shared without her consent.

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She said: 'I didn't expect it to go on social media, which made it evident that this individual had shared it with other people. Though they may have been raising awareness I still don't believe that it was the right thing to do because it was without my consent.'

Ms Reynolds has now called for stronger enforcement when it comes to laws on dogs, and admits the incident has 'made me extremely cautious' around them.

'I think there has to be a lot of emphasis on responsible dog ownership and there needs to be a lot of focus on the dog owners as well,' she said.

'I think the Government needs to focus on strengthening existing legislation surrounding the dangerous dog act.

'They need to give police officers more power to actually get involved in situations and possibly seize dogs and enforce the use of muzzles and leashes for dogs in public.

'I also think the public should be able to report incidents where they believe a dog could be potentially dangerous because it's all about the public feeling safe as well.'

The Metropolitan Police has said it has since put down one of the dogs, with the other two remaining in kennels, and the owner is still under investigation.

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In a statement it said: 'Police were called at 12.15pm on Tuesday, June 6, to reports that a woman had been attacked by dogs in Abbots Park, SW2.

'Officers attended along with the London Ambulance Service. The woman, aged in her 20s, was taken to hospital with an arm injury.

'The owner of the dogs had left with the animals before officers arrived. He later contacted police on Wednesday, June 7, and voluntarily handed three dogs to officers. They were taken into police kennels.

'The owner of the dogs was interviewed under caution on Thursday, June 15, and remains under investigation.

'Following an extensive examination, one of the dogs was found to be a male American Pitbull Terrier, which is a prohibited type under S1 of the Dangerous Dogs Act. The owner was informed and decided to give up ownership; the dog was euthanised with the owners awareness and permission on July 4.

'We understand this update will be cause concern to people who have been following this case, and we can assure them that such decisions are not taken lightly. The examination and euthanisation of the animal was conducted by a veterinarian, and the Mets Status Dog Unit consulted extensively. As a banned breed the risk to the public has to be considered and, given a woman had already sustained a serious injury to her arm, this was considered the most appropriate course of action.

'The other dogs remain in police kennels at this time while further enquiries are carried out.'

It comes as Rishi Sunak vows to ban XL Bully dogs following a spate of attacks, including the deaths of children, that involved the breed.

According to NHS data there were a record 9,424 hospital admissions from dog attacks for 2022, a number that has risen by a third in a decade.

The XL Bully has been behind the majority of fatal dog attacks in the UK since 2021, being responsible for ten out of 14 of the fatal attacks.
Rishi Sunak has declined to repeat his Home Secretary's claim that a 'hurricane' of migrants is threatening to enter Britain.

The Prime Minister, in a testy interview on BBC Radio 4's Today programme, dodged an opportunity to use the same language as Suella Braverman.

During her speech to the Tory conference in Manchester this week, the Home Secretary said her own parents' migration to Britain was a 'mere gust compared to the hurricane that is coming'.

But her hardline address to Conservative members prompted a fierce backlash from critics, while she also faced jibes she was prioritising her Tory leadership hopes over tackling day-to-day issues.

In his own speech to the Tory conference yesterday, Mr Sunak was viewed as taking a pointed dig at Mrs Braverman's recent claim that multiculturalism has 'failed'.

The PM spoke about his personal pride that 'a family can go from arriving here with little to Downing Street in three generations'.

Rishi Sunak has declined to repeat his Home Secretary's claim that a 'hurricane' of migrants is threatening to enter Britain

During her Tory conference speech, Suella Braverman said her own parents' migration to Britain was a 'mere gust compared to the hurricane that is coming'

Speaking to the BBC's Nick Robinson (pictured with the PM during a September interview), Mr Sunak was quizzed about whether he agreed with his Home Secretary's words

Speaking to BBC Radio 4 presenter Nick Robinson after his keynote address, Mr Sunak was quizzed about whether he agreed with his Home Secretary's words.

'Illegal migration is putting unsustainable pressure on our country and, for me, it is non-negotiable that it should be the British people who decide who comes to our country and not criminal gangs,' the PM said.

Pressed on whether he agreed with Mrs Braverman's claim that migrants coming to Britain represented a 'hurricane' or an 'invasion', Mr Sunak said: 'I made a speech myself eight months ago about illegal migration.

'I pointed out the number of people who potentially could come to the UK, figures that have been mentioned by international organisations.

'That's clearly unsustainable, which is why we're taking action to stop the boats - the numbers are down this year by one-fifth.

'But I also believe firmly that this one of the most welcoming, tolerant countries in the world.

'I'm living proof of what is possible in this country, but it is right when people come here that they integrate, that they share British values.

'I think that's just a common sense approach and our country does that better than anywhere else, anywhere in the world.'

Mr Sunak was also asked whether it was 'right to vilify people' seeking to migrate to the UK as part of a 'hurricane' and 'invasion'.

He replied: 'What we need to do is make sure that the criminal gangs who are perpetuating an evil, who are taking advantage of all the people that you're describing, leading to in many cases, tragically, them dying, need to be stopped. And we need to take action to stop them.'

The PM added that said 'no-one should want to defend' the 'evil' trade of people paying to come to the UK illegally and 'being exploited by gangs'.

When it was put to him that he was happy with his Home Secretary's remarks, Mr Sunak said: 'Your words, not mine. I've been very clear about what I've said.'
All models of Onewheel self-balancing electric skateboards have been recalled worldwide after at least four people were killed while riding them since 2019.

Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), a US government watchdog, recalled 300,000 of the skateboards over serious concerns about safety.

The deaths resulted from head trauma, the federal agency said. In at least three of the reports, the riders were not wearing helmets.

Reported injuries also included instances of paralysis, traumatic brain injury, fractures and ligament damage.

The boards, manufactured by the California-based Future Motion, can stop balancing a rider if the boards' limits are exceeded - which risks serious crashes, the government agency added.

Two people ride Onewheels through Wright Park in Tacoma, Washington, on Onewheel self-balancing electric skateboards in 2018

Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), a US government watchdog, recalled 300,000 OneWheel skateboards over serious concerns about safety

People who own an impacted Onewheel skateboard should stop using it immediately, regulators said. The recall impacts all Onewheel electric skateboards - including Onewheel, Onewheel+, Onewheel+ XR, Onewheel Pint, Onewheel Pint X and Onewheel GT - sold online and through independent retailers from January 2014 through September of this year.

To address the crash hazard, a new safety alert feature called 'haptic buzz' will be available through a firmware update for Onewheel GT, Pint X, Pint and XR boards in the coming weeks, Future Motions Onewheel team said.

Riders can check their board's eligibility and learn more about installing the update with Onewheel's app on Future Motion's website.

Meanwhile, original Onewheel and Onewheel+ boards are not eligible for the firmware update.

Eligible riders can arrange to receive a prorated refund in the form of $100 in store credit after disposing of the product, the CPSC and Future Motion's Onewheel team said.

'You should not use Onewheels that are not updated or that are not eligible for the firmware update,' the Onewheel team wrote on its website, while also urging all riders to wear helmets and other protective gear.

'Rider safety is our top priority and is critical to the long-term success of the sport.

People who own an impacted Onewheel skateboard should stop using it immediately, regulators said

Prior to last week's announcement, the CPSC warned consumers to stop using Onewheel electric skateboards back in November - similarly pointing to the reports of death and serious injuries.

At the time, the CPSC said, Future Motion 'refused to agree to an acceptable recall of the product.'

In its online announcement, Future Motion's Onewheel team said that recall update was 'the culmination of months of work with the CPSC.'
A runner has tearfully hit out at 'selfish and irresponsible' dog owners after being chased by a golden retriever.

April, who lives on a Queensland farm, broke down crying while sitting in her car after she and her cattle dog Winnie were chased by the larger canine while she was out jogging.

She begged dog owners to 'please leash your dog' after being forced to desperately protect Winnie from the golden retriever - whose owner was nowhere in sight.

'Oh f***, I think I'm just overwhelmed because I just finished the longest run I've ever done and I just felt Winne pull and I look behind me and there's this big golden retriever,' she said.

A young Australian woman has tearfully hit out at 'selfish and irresponsible' dog owners after being chased by aggressive golden retriever. Pictured: April with her dog

April became emotional describing how the golden retriever bailed up her and her dog Winnie

'[It's] just chasing her and Winnie's terrified, tail tucked, running into me.'

April said she became exhausted and fell into a bin trying to fend off the unleased animal.

'I tried to back away with her and hit a bin and that just freaked Winnie out more and this dog's still coming right at us.

'The owner was nowhere to be seen ... it's so frustrating.'

She managed to flee from the dog and get Winnie safely into her car.

'Why are you letting your dog off in residential streets to come and rush people on a path where you are nowhere to be seen? Why? What is the point?

'You're putting your dog in a dangerous situation.'

April also posted a message to people who don't leash their dogs in the video description.

'You might think letting your dog off-leash, out of control, and free to run up to whoever they like, is totally harmless because your dog is friendly.

'It is not harmless. Our leash laws exist for a reason.

'What about the dog owners who have invested thousands of hours/dollars into training their dog, only to have it ruined by your selfish and irresponsible actions?'

But viewers noticed out a contradiction in some of the young woman's other popular TikTok videos.

In at least two clips, she has allowed her dog to run off-leash in public.

Once was on a beach, in June, and the other time on a street in August, although her dog appears to be well-trained and under control.

Mostly April received support from empathetic dog owners.

'Its such a scary thing, you did amazing. So thankful nothing bad happened, its never easy.

'You did all the right things.'

But viewers pointed out a contradiction evident from some of the young woman's other popular TikTok videos. In at least two clips she allowed her dogs off the lash in a public places. Pictured: April and her dog running at the beach

One follower wondered whether the golden retriever followed April and her dog because she kept running

But some were confused.

'A golden retriever?' one person asked.

'[They] are so friendly it would have just wanted to play,' said another.

'Little confused, so did it try and attack your dog or just run with you because you kept running?'

Another nailed her main message though: 'Never unleash you dog unless you can 100 per cent trust them with recall.'
A teenage soldier who tragically took her own life after a male commanding officer subjected her to relentless sexual harassment did not report him to avoid being seen as a 'female troublemaker', her mother revealed today.

Royal Artillery Gunner Jaysley-Louise Beck, 19, killed herself after an 'intense period of unwelcome behaviour' from a superior who now faces being discharged from the Army, an official investigation into her death has found.

Despite the damning findings, the officer - who held the rank of Bombardier - has been granted anonymity, and a copy of the report released to the public has been heavily redacted - obscuring a series of key details.

The report includes a series of texts Gunner Beck sent to the senior officer - her immediate boss - which provide a harrowing insight into her declining mental state and desperate attempts to stop him harassing her.

Appearing on BBC Radio 4's Woman's Hour today, her mother Leighann McCready said: 'She showed us the messages four days before her passing. As a parent it puts you in a difficult position because you just want to go and pick them up from work.

'But unfortunately the military doesn't work like that. We could only advise, offer reassurance and support and try to encourage our daughter to report it. However, Jaysley said she didn't want to be branded as a female troublemaker.'

Royal Artillery Gunner Jaysley-Louise Beck, 19, killed herself after an 'intense period of unwelcome behaviour' from a superior

The report includes a series of texts Gunner Beck sent to the - her immediate boss - which provide a harrowing insight into her declining mental state and desperate attempts to stop him harassing her

Ms McCready said her daughter initially got on 'extremely well' in the Army before, in July 2021, she told them she had been sexually assaulted by another senior colleague, who held the rank of Warrant Officer.

She also explained how the Bombardier continued to give her unwanted attention and display intense jealousy when she interacted with other male colleagues.

Ms McCready said the final contact she had with her daughter was on December 14 - the night before her death.

She recalled: 'The last exchange was late at night when she was enjoying time with her friends. She was sending us videos, which she always did. It was Christmas and she was having lots of fun.

'Me and my eldest daughter had concerns on the morning of the 15th when I tried to speak to Jaysley. There was still no response from her later in the day so I became extremely worried.'

Criticising the Army for the way it had dealt with her daughter, she continued: 'It would be nice for people to be heard and action to be taken. People just want to be listened to, and unfortunately they're not.

'It took us a long time to be heard, and that shouldn't have been the case. It took a long time to be heard and understood.'

The report included details of texts Gunner Beck sent her superior in a desperate attempt to stop him harassing her.

In November 2021, the teenager's superior sent her more than 3,500 WhatsApp messages and voicemails in which he described how much he craved a relationship with her. At one point Gunner Beck drafted a message calling the officer 'possessive and psychotic'.

The report also highlights missed opportunities to prevent the tragedy. On December 9, less than a week before she passed, Gunner Beck apparently suffered a 'severe panic attack'.

She also described 'suicidal feelings' to a colleague, who subsequently gave evidence to the inquiry, and discussed how she was suffering from 'night terrors'.

On November 15, Gunner Beck messaged the man: 'You can't keep doing this to me I've just got out of a relationship & now I feel like I'm in one again.'

By early the next month, Gunner Beck's tolerance for his relentless harassment had reached a limit and she texted him to say: 'It's not normal how you feel but I can't be there to support you with it because the way you feel for me is the main issue & I can't handle it anymore' and 'it's weighing me down.'

On December 7, she asked to be removed from a task that evening because she could no longer cope with his behaviour towards her.

In a message she had drafted she described his thoughts towards her as 'possessive and psychotic', although she later deleted the words.

In the text she did send she described feeling trapped by his actions and said she had spoken to her family about the situation and they were worried.

The conduct of Gunner Beck's immediate boss was 'almost certain' to be a 'causal factor' in her death at Larkhill Camp, Wiltshire in December 2021, a report found

Her mother Leighann McCready (pictured) spoke to the BBC about her daughter's experience

Her message explained she had been reduced to tears, adding: 'The truth is I'm struggling to deal with all this, it's taking a huge toll on my mental health for many potential reasons. I need time out.'

The conduct of Gunner Beck's immediate boss was 'almost certain' to be a 'causal factor' in her death at Larkhill Camp, Wiltshire in December 2021, the report found. An Army investigation said her boss wanted to start a sexual relationship with Ms Beck, who told him she was already with someone and did not reciprocate his feelings.

The report concluded: 'Mental wellbeing warning signs were clearly present in the weeks before her death but these were missed, most likely due to insufficient awareness of mental health matters among the personnel to whom she was known.

'Some witnesses also stated they thought there was still a stigma attached to seeking help for mental health problems in the Army.'

Another male soldier, who is said to have sexually assaulted Gunner Beck on a night out, has already been punished.

The sexual allegation was reported to army chiefs by one of Gunner Beck's colleagues and resulted into the perpetrator receiving a minor sanction and writing her an apology letter.

The punishment apparently seemed lenient to Gunner Beck and may have influenced her decision not to subsequently report her boss for sending thousands of unsolicited messages.

The report says that on December 9, less than a week before she died, Gunner Beck apparently suffered a 'severe panic attack'. She also described 'suicidal feelings' to a colleague, who subsequently gave evidence to the inquiry.

An Army investigation said her boss wanted to start a sexual relationship with Ms Beck, who told him she was already with someone and did not reciprocate his feelings.

His misconduct included controlling behaviour, bombarding her with thousands of text messages and phone calls and attempting to ensure they were always working together.

The report said: 'This behaviour stems from the fact that it appears he wanted a relationship with her and had developed feelings for her which were not reciprocated.

'While this behaviour ended the week before her death, it appears that it continued to affect her and had taken a significant toll on her mental resilience and well-being.

'The panel's assessment of the evidence was that it is almost certain that this was a causal factor in her death.'

Gunner Beck joined the Royal Regiment of Artillery, which is headquartered at Larkhill, at 16

An Army inquiry into her death heard evidence from witnesses about inappropriate sexual behaviour by male soldiers towards their female colleagues at Larkhill

The report also notes she was having an affair with a married Royal Artillery soldier who held a much higher rank.

It concludes that maintaining secrecy around that relationship 'affected her state of mind and was likely to have been a contributory factor'. This SNCO (Senior Non-Commissioned Officer) socialised with Gunner Beck on the night she took her life and her mood was said to have plummeted when he left the Christmas party.

Gunner Beck had joined the Army in 2019 aged just 16. She began recruit training at the Army Foundation College (AFC) at Harrogate before joining 47 Regiment, Royal Artillery.

An Army inquiry into her death heard evidence from witnesses about inappropriate sexual behaviour by male soldiers towards their female colleagues at Larkhill.

The report says: 'It was commonplace among a significant minority of soldiers within Larkhill Garrison.'

One witness described routinely receiving comments from male soldiers that she described as 'vile' and 'degrading'.

The report says measures to tackle this kind of behaviour were introduced as part of a new policy for the armed forces in November 2022.

Larkhill Barracks near Salisbury Plain in Wiltshire. A report into Gunner Beck's death said that a 'significant minority' of male soldiers would engage in sexually inappropriate behaviour

An Army inquiry into her death heard evidence from witnesses about inappropriate sexual behaviour by male soldiers towards their female colleagues at Larkhill

The report into Gunner Beck's death found she had no diagnosed mental-health conditions and had not sought welfare support from anyone in the Army

Ms Cready regrets her daughter's career choice having approved her request to join the Army aged 16.

For years top brass have been desperate to clamp down on sexual abuse and sexual harassment in the ranks, seemingly with little success.

The report follows an inquest into the death of a woman officer cadet, Olivia Perks, 21, who killed herself at the prestigious Royal Military Academy Sandhurst.

A coroner heard how Ms Perks, 21, took her own life just days after a significantly older male instructor spent the night with her. He was subsequently dismissed from the Army.

It is rare for the Army to admit that sexual harassment was a significant factor in the death of a soldier. It follows a damning report into the day to day experiences of women in the military drawn up by MPs.

While last year the Mail revealed how female members of the RAF's Red Arrows aerobatic display team were subjected to sexual abuse and harassment by male colleagues.

A female submariner also revealed her shocking ordeal aboard a Royal Navy vessel, which included male sailors listing which female crew members they would rape if oxygen levels aboard the submarine were running out.

The report into Gunner Beck's death found she had no diagnosed mental-health conditions and had not sought welfare support from anyone in the Army.

An Army spokesman said: 'Our thoughts and sympathies remain with Gunner Jaysley-Louise Beck's family and friends at this difficult time,' adding that it would be inappropriate to comment further until after the inquest.

Gunner Beck was found dead after a party ten days before Christmas.

Gunner Beck's family said she was a 'loving and caring person who would go above and beyond to help anyone in a less fortunate position than herself'

Gunner Beck with her family. Her mother said that the 19-year-old had a 'really lovely aura about her'

Gunner Beck, from Oxen Park in Cumbria, joined the Army at 16 and had been proud to be a soldier - but her family say she withdrew into herself as the campaign of harassment at the hands of her direct line manager escalated.

The superior sent her more than 1,000 messages in October 2021, rising to more than 3,500 the following month, shortly before she died.

In a message reportedly seen by the inquiry, she had written: 'The truth is, I'm struggling to deal with all this.'

Her family later paid tribute to her while raising money for charity in her memory, writing: 'Jaysley is a loving and caring person who would go above and beyond to help anyone in a less fortunate position than herself.'

Aspects of the inquiry, as reported by the BBC, suggest that inappropriate sexual behaviour was 'commonplace amongst a significant minority' of male soldiers at Larkhill, where Gunner Beck was based.

In 2022, an Army instructor based at Larkhill was sacked after buying 'impressionable young recruits' bottles of vodka and whiskey liqueur and asking another to 'get up and walk' so he could 'look at her a***'.

Britain's armed forces are cracking down on sexual harassment after bringing in new 'zero tolerance' rules last year

It is understood that Gunner Beck's case is now being investigated by both civilian and military police forces. The Centre for Military Justice, which is supporting the family, branded her story 'appalling' in a tweet yesterday.

Britain's armed forces are cracking down on sexual harassment after bringing in new 'zero tolerance' rules last year.

MoD sources insist there is 'no place' for sexual harassment and assault in the military, and say efforts are being made to encourage victims to report it.

Soldiers will be punished if they engage in acts of harassment such as cat-calling, inappropriate touching, 'lewd' comments, winking and 'leering' at squadmates.

The rules will apply across the Army, Navy and the RAF, and come after a landmark defence committee report found that nearly 62 per cent of female service personnel experienced bullying, harassment and discrimination.

MPs also found that servicewomen were more than ten times as likely to experience sexual harassment as their male counterparts.

The report concluded: 'Mental wellbeing warning signs were clearly present in the weeks before her death but these were missed.

'Other parts of the military culture of the Armed Forces show it is still a man's world.'

When life is difficult, Samaritans are here  day or night, 365 days a year. You can call them for free on 116 123, email them at jo@samaritans.org, or visit samaritans.org to find your nearest branch.
Anthony Baker and nephew Corbin fell ill at the start of the holiday

A British tourist's family say they are grateful he's alive after an Egypt 'holiday from hell' saw him injure his shoulder on a water slide and then suffer from a gastric illness that left him with internal bleeding.

Anthony Baker first dislocated his shoulder while going down a water slide with his nephew Corbin at the five-star Jaz Makadi Aquaviva Hotel in the resort of Hurghada.

The family claim the slide was unsupervised at the time and Anthony, 56, was injured when the inflatable boat he was in bounced violently over a bump in the ride.

His sister Sharon said she had to jump into the water to rescue her stricken brother as there were no lifeguards around.

She said: 'The holiday was meant to be a relaxing break for the family. I could never have imagined things could turn out the way they did Sadly, it turned into the holiday from hell.

Anthony Baker eating a meal at the hotel after dislocating his arm

Anthony and his nephew Corbin Baker (circled) on the slide

Anthony in hospital back in the UK

'I am just so thankful my brother is still alive.'

Speaking about the 'horrifying' turn of events during their two-week stay, Sharon claims that the swimming pool was largely 'unsupervised' and they waited for two minutes before hotel staff arrived on the scene of her brother's accident.

She said: 'The staff always seemed so rushed off their feet.

'When it happened I dropped everything and rushed to support my brother's shoulder while other guests calmed Corbin down.'

The family extended their holiday by a week because of the time they had lost while Anthony was in hospital.

But during their stay at the neighbouring Jaz Makadi Saraya Hotel Anthony and Corbin, 14, were struck down by a severe gastric illness.

Anthony suffered stomach cramps and severe diarrhoea and had to be put on a drip. He was bed-bound in his hotel room for six days.

Sharon said that Anthony and Corbin fell ill during a meal within hours of arriving at the Jaz Makadi Saraya Hotel.

She said: 'Both Corbin and Anthony started to feel really unwell, with stomach cramps and diarrhoea.

'Even then it was clear Anthony was in a bad way. The doctor came and after some treatment he seemed to stabilise, but he was still visibly very unwell.

'That was the end of the holiday from then on, it was just trying to get well enough to be able to board a flight home. I'm still not quite sure how Anthony managed to fly home because of his symptoms.'

Anthony and his nephew Corbin Baker

Anthony celebrating his birthday in hospital back in the UK

Upon returning to the UK, Anthony collapsed at his home in Dorchester, Dorset, and was rushed to hospital.

He was found to have stomach inflammation and internal bleeding that required blood transfusions and antibiotics.

Sharon, 51, said: 'Corbin managed to recover. But Anthony seemed to suffer a relapse and it was terrifying when he collapsed at home.

'I remember seeing him on the floor struggling to breathe and looking grey. The doctors gave Anthony an awful lot of blood which later resulted in a blood clot.'

The family allege that Anthony was given the wrong medication in Egypt, which resulted in the later bout of gastritis.

He spent a month in hospital recovering.

The family are taking legal action against TUI over Anthony's dislocated left shoulder and his illness.

They are seeking compensation following their 'horrible experience' on holiday from April 17 to May 2 this year.

TUI has been approached for comment.
Teachers and parents today slammed Rishi Sunak's plans to overhaul further education, claiming the changes will leave students who hate Maths sulking in classrooms, while also driving thousands of staff members out of the profession.

The Prime Minister outlined yesterday his vision of replacing A-Levels and T-Levels with an international baccalaureate-style qualification that would see children study at least five subjects.

Every pupil will be required to study some form of Maths and English to age 18, Mr Sunak said.

He also set out his wish to boost the number of hours that British students spend in the classroom after the age of 16 so it matches other countries.

However, the plans were ridiculed by teachers who weren't consulted on the scheme, as well as parents concerned at the disruption that could be caused by forcing disgruntled students to remain in classrooms.

Rishi Sunak yesterday announced plans to scrap A-levels and T-levels by combining them into a new single qualification known as the 'Advanced British Standard'

One parent said: 'It's hard enough to get Maths teachers to GCSE let alone A-Levels. Most kids get the Maths they need for day to day live by the start of secondary.

'Forcing kids who hate Maths to remain in classrooms longer than they already need is wasting resources that could be better used on kids who actually want to do the subject.'

Another said: 'The kids that are good or middling good are already getting less teaching attention than they deserve. Many are put off because they have to put up with kids who really don't want to be in a maths classroom.

'All our trades are missing out on kids who would be doing much better practically and gainfully employed than sat in a classroom trying to learn what? Calculus?!?'

A third added: 'I have a dyslexic child who I had imagined would benefit from dropping English as soon as humanly possible in the current system...I can see being forced to continue to 18 causing problems with their grades.'

Teaching unions also slammed the proposals, describing the PM as 'completely out of touch with reality'.

Daniel Kebede, General Secretary of the National Education Union, said there was already a huge staff shortage with one in six English teachers and one in five mathematics teachers not having a post A-Level qualification in the subject.

A further 4,300 mathematics teachers and 2,600 English teachers are required to cover current needs, the union said.

Mr Sunak did announce plans to lure people into teaching key subjects in schools and colleges with tax-free bonuses of up to 30,000 over the first five years of their career.

However, there was no evidence of support for existing, long-serving teachers, who vented their frustration on social media.

READ MORE: Fury as it is revealed Rishi Sunak filmed video cancelling HS2 from Downing Street days BEFORE chaotic Tory conference announcement Advertisement

One said: 'More knee jerk policies without any input from teachers. I'm a Design and Technology teacher, why not ask people like me what needs to be done to improve education?'

Another said: 'What about the experienced teachers whose workload will increase to train and mentor the new trainees? It's one of my favourite parts of my job but feels crap knowing they're probably bringing home more money than I am for much less work, less experience and less stress.'

A third added: 'Why not reward the long serving teachers? Those who bring expertise and experience to the role? Lots of new teachers simply leave. It makes more sense to invest in the ones with 10 years plus experience. We are the ones holding it together in this storm.'

Another said: 'While a pile of tosh! Give me 30,000 to stay as an experienced teacher who trains new teachers. Give your head a wobble man and recognise those sticking it out who are already doing a good job. This is insulting to us.'

As he detailed his education shake-up at the Tory Party Conference in Manchester yesterday, Mr Sunak said he was 'pulling one of the biggest levers we have to change the direction of our country'.

In his Tory conference speech, the Prime Minister outlined how the international baccalaureate-style qualification would see pupils study at least five subjects

He told the Conservative conference in Manchester: 'We will introduce the new rigorous, knowledge rich Advanced British Standard which will bring together A-Levels and T-Levels into a new, single qualification for our school leavers.

'First, this will finally deliver on the promise of parity of esteem between academic and technical education because all students will sit the Advanced British Standard.

'Second, we will raise the floor, ensuring that our children leave school literate and numerate.

'Because with the Advanced British Standard all students will study some form of English and maths to 18, with extra help for those who struggle most. In our country no child should be left behind.

'Third, our 16- to 19-year-olds spend around a third less time in the classroom than some of our competitors. We must change this.

'So, with our Advanced British Standard, students will spend at least 195 hours more with a teacher.

'And fourth, A-Level students, generally, only do three subjects compared to the seven studied by our economic competitors.

'The Advanced British Standard will change that too, with students now, typically, studying five subjects.

'And thanks to the extra teaching time that we are introducing this greater breadth won't come at the expense of depth which is such a strength of our system.'

Mr Sunak acknowledged his plans would require 'more teachers in the coming years'.

Turning on Labour, he condemned the 'false dream' of 50 per cent of children going to university as 'one of the great mistakes of the last 30 years', adding: 'It led to thousands of young people being ripped off by degrees that did nothing to increase their employability or earnings potential.'

Mr Sunak vowed to end 'rip-off' degrees and to value apprenticeships, pointing to Gillian Keegan's journey from apprentice to Education Secretary.

Under the plans, students will take a minimum of five subjects at both 'major' and 'minor' level and can take a mix of technical and academic subjects.

He announced plans to lure people into teaching key subjects in schools and colleges with tax-free bonuses of up to 30,000 over the first five years of their career.

The PM also promised to make education his 'main funding priority' in every review of Whitehall spending.

'Why? Because it is the closest thing we have to a silver bullet,' he said.

'It is the best economic policy, the best social policy, the best moral policy. It the best way to spread opportunity and to create a more prosperous society.

'It is not just my way. It is the Conservative way.'

Ms Keegan said the new Advanced British Standard would 'transform post-16 education so that every child, wherever they live, wherever they come from, receives an education that sets them up for success'.

Sir Michael Barber, Chancellor of Exeter University, said: 'This sets us on a path to match the best in the world on technical and vocational education over the next decade.'

Sir Peter Lampl, founder and chairman of the Sutton Trust, said: 'The proposed English baccalaureate is a major step which will significantly improve social mobility.'

But Geoff Barton, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, said that while the principles of the proposals were good, the funding would not be enough. 'Teacher shortages are widespread and very problematic in many subjects. This problem requires a much broader strategy to improve pay, conditions and education funding.'
Adams' discouragement is in stark contract to August 2022 when he traveled to Port Authority to welcome them and said he was 'proud to be a shelter state'

New York City is buckling under the pressure of the influx - with the cost of accommodating migrants set to tip $4.7 billion

Eric Adams arrived in Mexico City in a bid to dissuade migrants from making their way to the Big Apple

New York City Mayor Eric Adams traveled to Mexico to discourage asylum seekers from traveling to the city because it is 'at capacity.'

The state is struggling to accommodate the 122,000 who have arrived in 18 months - which is in stark contrast to when he personally welcomed them last year.

'This is just the beginning of the journey of trying to be on the ground and understand the whole flow of migrant and asylum seekers,' Adams said last night.

The comments came as he arrived in Mexico City for a four-day trip where he's set to also travel to Ecuador and Colombia to speak to leaders in those countries.

Later, speaking at the base of a basilica in the city where people often pray before setting out on their journeys, Adams said he hoped to 'manage expectations' of migrants setting out on their journeys.

The Mayor of New York, Eric Adams, talks to the press in front of the Basilica de Guadalupe after a visit to the shrine of the Virgin of Guadalupe in Mexico City, Wednesday

In August 2022, NYC mayor Eric Adams welcome migrants welcomed asylum seekers bused in from Texas at Port Authority, saying he was proud New York is a shelter state

New York City is buckling under the strain of the massive influx of migrants who have overwhelmed its shelter system and strained financial resources.

Estimated costs to accommodate them is set to tip $4.7 billion. The staggering cost is equal to the city's sanitation, fire and parks departments budgets combined.

On Tuesday, the desperate mayor also pleaded with a judge to end the city's longstanding 'right to shelter' law, asking that it be void in a state of emergency.

The city has been moving to suspend the policy for months under the surge of migrants, arguing the requirement was never intended to be applied to a humanitarian crisis such as the latest influx.

Adams plea and his trip to Mexico to discourage migrants shows a stunning reversal to the start of the crisis when he went to the Port Authority to welcome a bus full of asylum seekers sent from Texas by Republican governor Gregg Abbot.

At the time Abbot argued progressive cities should also bear the costs of the influx of asylum seekers crossing the southern border.

Adams said: 'As the mayor of New York, I have to provide services families that are here, and that's what we're going to do - our responsibility as a city, and I'm proud that this is a Right to Shelter state, and we're going continue to do that.'

After a month that saw over 200,000 migrants processed on the border, the crisis shows no sign of slowing. Footage above shows hundreds running across the border in El Paso

Hundreds of migrants sleep in line early on August 1, for placement at the Roosevelt Hotel intake center in New York

Migrants are streaming into New York City, lining up to enter the Federal Plaza to file with the immigration services, October 2

But by May of this year, Adams had made major changes to the 40-year-old 'Right to Shelter' law that guarantees a bed for anyone who needs it in the city, as his government asked for federal and state help to deal with the surge of migrants that he now says could destroy New York as we know it.

Governor Kathy Hochul has also done a U-turn when it comes to asylum seekers, having first welcomed them with 'open arms' as she pledged to house them just three years before telling migrants to 'go elsewhere' because the city is at its limit.

'We have to get the word out, that when you come to New York, you're not going to have more hotel rooms, we don't have capacity,' Hochul said on CNN. 'So we have to also message properly that we're at a limit - if you're going to leave your country, go somewhere else.'

On Wednesday, the mayor also echoed a rising number of voices in calling for a larger global response to the increasing number of migrants to the U.S.

'The message of this not being sustainable cannot stay within the boundaries of New York City. There is a global migration and it must have an international response.'

In August, the U.S. Border Patrol made 181,509 arrests at the Mexican border, up 37 percent from July but little changed from August 2022 and well below the more than 220,000 in December, according to figures released in September.

Ahead of his trip, Adams said earlier: 'We want to give an honest assessment of what we are experiencing here in this city. We are at capacity.'

'We're going to tell them that coming to New York doesn't mean you're going to stay in a five-star hotel. It doesn't mean that, the mere fact that you come here, you automatically are going to be allowed to work,' he said.

Adams has made a series of urgent pleas for a shift in federal immigration policy and for funding to help the city manage the arrival of migrants, which he said could cost the city $12 billion over three years as it rents space at hotels, erects new emergency shelters and provides various government services for asylum seekers.

As part of his efforts top mitigate the crisis, Adams has recently moved to tighten New York shelter rules by limiting adult migrants to just 30 days in city-run facilities amid overcrowding.

City and state leaders in New York, Illinois and elsewhere have urged the federal government to make it easier for migrants to get work permits, which would allow them to pay for food and housing.

SANCTUARY CITIES SAY NO MORE MIGRANTS

Chicago has received over 8,000 migrants since August, and the city's leaders have warned of a humanitarian crisis unfolding, with officials saying daily arrivals in the Windy City have increased tenfold over the last weeks. Asylum seekers have been sleeping in airports and police stations as the sanctuary city's shelters are out of room.

Governor JB Pritzker and mayor Brandon Johnson wrote a letter to president Biden saying the situation has overwhelmed the city an its ability to help the asylum seekers. They are asking the federal government for financial aid and to waive fees for migrants' work authorization.

'Double the number of Ukrainian refugees have arrived in Chicago. The difference is that those Ukrainian refugees have federal dollars to follow them. We are not seeing that with Venezuelan refugees,' said 35th Ward Alderman Carlos Ramirez Rosa, according to ABC7.

Eric Adams, talks to the press in front of the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe where he tried to dissuade migrants from coming to New York City

Migrants arrive in New York City and line up near 60 Centre Street to enter the Federal Plaza to file with the immigration service

Like New Yorkers, Chicago residents have opposed turning landmarks into emergency shelters, with some even asking city officials to close the city's borders as mayor Johnson quietly signed a $29million contract with a security firm to build migrant base camps.

And Chicago and New York are not the only sanctuary cities who have seemingly regretted their right to shelter policies when faces with an influx of asylum seekers who arrived though the southern border.

Back in January, mayor Adams accused Colorado's Democrat governor Jared Polis of launching an 'unfair' plan to send an influx of migrants to the Big Apple. According to The Colorado Sun, more than 18,400 migrants have come to Denver since Christmas., 2022 - and 6,739 of them were bused to other cities like Chicago and New York.

Liberal elite hub Martha's Vineyard, one of the sanctuary cities chosen by conservative governors to bus migrants to, also said has said it has no room for asylum seekers in the billionaire enclave.

Last year, director of homelessness Lisa Belcastro claimed 50 migrants flown in by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis would have to go elsewhere. The asylum seekers were put on a bus by liberal Governor Charlie Baker, and given a police escort to Joint Base in Cape Cod 32 miles away from Martha's Vineyard.

El Paso's democrat mayor Oscar Leeser has also sent thousands to sanctuary cities last year, with Adams asking him to stop.

Asylum seekers line up in front of the historic Roosevelt Hotel, converted into a city-run shelter for newly arrived migrant families in New York City

A view of the historic Roosevelt Hotel, converted into a city-run shelter for newly arrived migrant families in New York City, United States on September 27

A group of migrants wait outside the Roosevelt Hotel in New York City, converted into a city-run shelter for newly arrived migrant families

Meanwhile border crossings continue to increase - preliminary data obtained by found Border Patrol agents last month recorded an estimated 210,000 apprehensions - the third highest number on record.

September's apprehension tally is the highest since Dec 2022 when 222,000 migrants were apprehended, the second-highest monthly figure on record.

The 2023 fiscal year, which concludes at the end of September, saw two million illegal migrants intercepted crossing the border, according to data seen by CBS News. That is the second highest annual figure on record.

Hundreds of migrants arrived in the northern Mexican border city of Ciudad Juarez across the border from El Paso, Texas aboard a freight train on Tuesday night.

They clambered off the train and immediately made their way to the border where they stopped at coils of barbed wire.

Elizabeth Romero, 32, left Venezuela three months earlier with her husband and 6-year-old son. She was three weeks pregnant then and spent her first trimester hiking through the jungle-clad border of Colombia and Panama, and most recently spent three days aboard the freight train that brought her to the U.S.-Mexico border.

She and her son, who celebrated his 6th birthday atop a freight car this week, have suffered bouts of fever. They left Venezuela because they couldn't make ends meet financially. Her family remains there.

Asylum seekers cross the Rio Grande from Mexico into the United States on September 30, 2023 in Eagle Pass, Texas

'We hope that the United States receives us and gives us the support that we need,' Romero said. They planned to turn themselves into U.S. authorities at the border because they had already waited three months without receiving an appointment to request asylum through CBP One, a mobile app.

The U.S. has tried to get Mexico and countries farther south to do more. In April, the U.S., Panama and Colombia announced a campaign to slow migration through the treacherous Darien Gap dividing Colombia and Panama. But migration through the jungle has only accelerated and is expected to approach some 500,000 people this year.

Mayor Adams is scheduled to visit the area of the Darien Gap, the dangerous 575,000-hectare jungle that which connects Colombia and Panama and serves as a route to the US for desperate migrants.

The treacherous jungle crossing has been reduced from over a week to as little as two days for the strongest walkers, by a network of guides, established camps and rudimentary trail markers that start in the Necocli, on Colombias side of the gap.

The United Nations has said that more than 330,000 people have crossed the Darien Gap on their journey towards North America so far this year. By comparison, less than 250,000 migrants crossed in all of 2022. If the pace keeps up, as many as 400,000 re expected to cross the gap by the years end.

The Darien operation appears to be dominated by Colombian paramilitary groups, which funnel part of their proceeds to Panamas autonomous Indigenous groups.

A family from Venezuela waits to be processed by U.S. agents after crossing the Rio Grande from Mexico into the United States on September 30

Asylum seekers wait to be processed by U.S. Border Patrol agents after crossing the Rio Grande from Mexico into the United States

As seen from an aerial view, a U.S. Border Patrol agent supervises as immigrants walk into the United States after crossing the Rio Grande from Mexico

Elsewhere, it was announced U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and other top officials from the Biden administration will visit Mexico on Wednesday to discuss shared security issues, foremost among them trafficking of the synthetic opioid fentanyl, but also arms trafficking and increasing migration.

The latest round of the High-Level Security Dialogue brings together Blinken, U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland and Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, among others, with their Mexican counterparts for two days of talks.

Heightened migration flows are expected to be discussed as the Biden administration comes under increasing pressure from Republicans and mayors from the president's own party to do more to slow migrant arrivals.

Blinken was scheduled to discuss migration Wednesday with Mexico's Foreign Affairs Secretary Alicia Barcena, as well as the foreign ministers of Colombia and Panama.

Moreover, the Biden administration announced it will waive 26 federal laws to allow several miles of new border wall construction in South Texas.

The Department of Homeland Security posted the announcement on the US Federal Registry on Wednesday, allowing the construction in Starr County, Texas, part of a busy Border Patrol sector seeing 'high illegal entry.'

'There is presently an acute and immediate need to construct physical barriers and roads in the vicinity of the border of the United States in order to prevent unlawful entries into the United States in the project areas,' DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas stated in the notice.

The decision contrasts with President Joe Biden's prior posturing against border barriers, including in a proclamation on the first day of his term that stated, 'building a massive wall that spans the entire southern border is not a serious policy solution.'
A former gangland criminal enforcer-turned-pastor has revealed how he plotted to kill the man who raped him aged 11 after spotting him by chance in a McDonald's three decades later.

Mick Fleming, 57, is now a reformed pastor who runs a Christian charity in Burnley called Church on the Street.

Speaking exclusively to MailOnline, he revealed how he arranged to meet his attacker and had two knives. But he decided instead to forgive his rapist and turn his life around, which led to him meeting Prince William and Kate Middleton when they visited his project last year.

Mr Fleming has spoken about his astonishing life of abuse, addiction, crime, suicide, religion and redemption in first episode of a new human interest series launched by MailOnline on our YouTube channel called 'My Story', which will feature people with extraordinary life stories.

To watch the full episode click here.

Mick Fleming, 57, is now a reformed pastor and runs a charity called Church on the Street

Pastor Mick Fleming meets Prince William and Kate Middleton in January last year in Burnley

Mr Fleming told how he grew up in a 'loving' working-class family in Burnley but his life 'completely changed' aged 11 when he was on the way to school.

Mr Fleming worked as a drug runner and debt collector, and was once arrested on suspicion of murder although never charged

He said: 'I went out to school one day, just kind of like this happy go lucky kid. Bit of a mummy's boy really. And on my way to school I was attacked.

'I still sometimes get them little flashbacks. It's a taste in my mouth of like a woolly jumper coming across my mouth and not being able to breathe. Sadly, I was raped.

'I didn't understand what was happening. Understood the pain, the fear. And the man that did it, I was on the floor after and he picked me up off the floor by my throat and he said that if I told anybody he'd kill my mum and dad.'

Mr Fleming said that he went to school and continued through the whole day without speaking, adding: 'I never said one thing all day and nobody noticed.'

He added that he did not feel he could cry because he thought his mother or father might have heard him and then his attacker would find out and kill him.

Mr Fleming therefore bit his bed covers and 'cried for hours' but nobody heard.

Pastor Mick Fleming stands with William and Kate during their trip to Burnley in January 2022

He eventually plucked up the courage to tell his father what had happened, but just as he was about to tell him, his father informed him that his sister Ann, 20, was dead following a heart attack.

READ MORE Pastor who was a violent drug dealer before setting up a charity for the disadvantaged and homeless meets Prince William and Kate Advertisement

He said his father told him: 'Come in son, sit down, your sister's dead'. Mr Fleming told how the sound of 'pain and love mixed together' still 'haunts me'.

He continued: 'For me, it's the sound of Jesus on a cross and it's the sound a mother makes when she loses a child.'

Mr Fleming said it 'filled the house and bounced off every wall'.

He said he thought at that moment that he could never speak about being raped, and instead went upstairs and took some of his mother's painkillers which she used to help with her bad back.

He continued: 'I laid on the bed and this little boy went to heaven. I just floated out of my own body. There was no pain. I felt so comfortable and relaxed.

'It was like somebody was wrapping a quilt around me and loving me. And then sadly as the painkillers wore off I came back down to earth with a real big bang.'

Mr Fleming spent the next 30 years addicted to alcohol and drugs, and was dealing aged just 14 - soon earning more money than his father.

Mr Fleming is a former gangland criminal enforcer and drug dealer who lives in Burnley

He worked as a drug runner and debt collector, and was once arrested on suspicion of murder although never charged. He was also arrested for armed robbery and firearms offences.

But he eventually managed to stop taking drugs and drinking, and had been clean for about a year when he was in a McDonald's branch and happen to spot the man who had raped him 30 years earlier.

Mr Fleming said: 'I looked across the room and I saw an alcoholic. I bought him a coffee and something to eat and I arranged to meet him the next day and talk to him and try to help him.

'And he did, he turned up the next day and I went in the same place and I helped him. And he died two years later. But he died with a type of faith and a type of understanding of something bigger than him.

'He died sober and he got his family in his life, I guess. I never told him, he was the man that raped me.'

Mr Fleming set up Church On the Street, a charity and church housed in a former gym which offers a safe space for up to 200 people who may be struggling with life

Mr Fleming said the 'truth of what happened' was that the second time he met him, it was to 'kill him, it wasn't to help him'.

He continued: 'I had a knife up my sleeve and I had one in my sock, because if somebody took the knife off me whilst I was killing him, I'd take the one out of my sock and finish him off.

'I'd spent 30 years slavering over if I ever saw him again. All my pain, all my fears, all my anxieties were from this man, and he had to die. It's like the power to do it was so strong.

'I wasn't going to do it to get away with it. I was going to do it in front of everybody, almost like as a piece of work. Look what happens to people who do that.'

When Mr Fleming walked into the restaurant, he said he intended to kill the man  but was 'stopped him in his tracks' when the man smiled at him.

Mr Fleming is pictured appearing on ITV's Good Morning Britain earlier this year on April 26

He said: 'I heard a voice. Not a schizophrenic type voice, it was in my head, in my thinking, and it was inside. And it just said 'mate, why are you living in his sin?'

'And it just stopped me in my tracks. put the knife back up my sleeve. why are you living in his sin? And it wouldn't go away. And it just kept coming back and coming back into my thoughts.

'So I went and bought two coffees and sat down. Shaking inside. And he's just talking and I'm thinking you need... I couldn't understand what were happening to me.

'I got this moment of absolute clarity. And it was (that) forgiveness is never saying it's alright what you've done to me, 'there, there, there', because I thought that's what it were. That's impossible for me, 'there, there, there, it's alright, it doesn't matter', because it does matter, it destroyed my life.

'But forgiveness was saying I'm not going to live in his sin. Because if I live in his sin, I kill him, I go to jail, other people, my family, and the sin goes on and on and on and on. Or I choose not to live in it. And it were just so simple for me in that moment.'

Mr Fleming ended up going to the University of Manchester to study for a degree in theology

He said his life changed from that point onwards and he found a 'type of faith' that he was 'drawn towards'.

Mr Fleming ended up going to the University of Manchester to study for a degree in theology, but failed his first year, because he struggled to read and write.

He was diagnosed with dyslexia and dyspraxia but eventually achieved a 2:1 degree and was later ordained.

He set up Church On the Street, a charity and church housed in a former gym which offers a safe space for up to 200 people who may be struggling with life.

It provides a food bank, clothing bank, hot showers, laundry, a cafe, recovery groups, addiction and mental health support.

Last year, Mr Fleming released his autobiography, Blown Away: From Drug Deal to Life Bringer.

Upcoming guests on MailOnline's 'My Story' series include Michael O'Brien of the Cardiff Newsagent Three, and the Marines who fought off pirates in the Amazon
Hollywood super-agency CAA has slammed British actress Julia Ormond's lawsuit which alleges that it, along with Walt Disney, did nothing to protect her from rapist Harvey Weinstein, after she says he sexually assaulted her in 1995 and subsequently destroyed her career in Hollywood.

In a statement, a spokesperson for Creative Artists Agency said that Ormond, 58, claims that they are responsible for Weinstein's behavior are 'baseless' and allege she asked the company for $15 million in order for their name to remain out of the filing. In her lawsuit, Ormond's attorneys ask that the court establish how much in damages should be paid.

At the time of alleged assault, Ormond was represented by CAA's Bryan Lourd and Kevin Huvane. Both are now co-chairmen of the company. Ormond says in the suit that Weinstein attacked her following a work related function. Neither Lourd nor Huvane are mentioned in the suit by name.

In 1995, Ormond appeared in movies such as Legends of the Fall, Sabrina as well as First Knight with A-listers such as Brad Pitt, Harrison Ford and Richard Gere, her career then went on a downward trajectory resulting in her leaving acting for a time before 2000. The Bristol-native referred to CAA as 'enablers' in an interview with Variety.

Despite CAA's statement, Ormond's lawyer told Variety: 'Rest assured, we will expose the real facts.' The star was with CAA between 1995 and 1999.

Julia Ormond's former agency has slammed her lawsuit in which she accuses them of not protecting her from sexual predator Harvey Weinstein

CAA's Bryan Lourd and Kevin Huvane who formerly represented Julia Ormond at the agency, they are now co-chairmen of the business

Ormond pictured with Harvey Weinstein in 2001, the pair were described as having a 'budding relationship' in 1995

'Obviously, Harvey Weinstein is in jail and is going to be in jail for a very long time. I personally don't believe that Harvey could have done this without enablers. And for me, that is the layer that you have to get down to, in terms of the root cause,' Ormond told Variety.

'If you think about it. If there had been best practices and Harvey Weinstein had been called out at the start after his first sexual harassment or his first sexual assault, he could have learned different behaviors, and potentially all of the people that followed wouldn't have been harmed. But he wasn't. And there's a reason for that,' she continued.

Since the early days of the MeToo movement, CAA has been in the crosshairs of several actresses, including Courtney Love and Uma Thurman, who have accused it of being complicit in Weinstein's behavior.

For her part, Love said that she was banned by CAA for famously saying in 2005: 'If Harvey Weinstein invites you to a private party in the Four Seasons. Don't go.'

A 1995 feature in The New York Times covered Julia Ormond's rise, mainly on the back of the Brad Pitt- starring Legends of the Fall.

According to the article, Ormond chose to sign with CAA on Pitt's recommendation. The pair shared a home in Alberta, Canada, during filming.

It was CAA's co-founder Michael Ovitz who led the charge to sign her to the agency. One section of the piece notes: 'Unfortunately, Hollywood has already tagged Ormond as difficult.'

Julia Ormond starring alongside Brad Pitt in the 1994 film Legends of the Fall, Ormond said it was Pitt who convinced her to sign with CAA

It was CAA's co-founder Michael Ovitz who led the charge to sign her to the agency, The New York Times reported in April 1995

In the 90s, Ormond was everywhere - from being a Hollywood unknown she suddenly found herself, aged 29, the female lead in three huge movies alongside Tinseltown's biggest hitters  Brad Pitt (in 1994's Legends of the Fall), Harrison Ford (in Sabrina) and both Sean Connery and Richard Gere (in First Knight). (Pictured: Ormond in Sabrina)

However the article, also compares her trajectory to that of Julia Roberts and mentions how Steven Spielberg compared her to Audrey Hepburn.

Later, it's written that Ormond had a 'budding relationship' with Harvey Weinstein, adding that the pair 'speak regularly,' the article's scribe David Blum wrote.

'Julie's got the best story sense of any young actress in America today. I once got 26 pages of notes from her about a script. She can pull them apart and find the flaws,' Weinstein told the newspaper.

The article goes on to say that Ormond is one of the Hollywood-figures that Weinstein regularly goes to for feedback on scripts.

A few months later, a similar Washington Post feature said that Ormond was poised to sign a deal with Miramax that would see her write and direct her own projects. At the time, Weinstein was Miramax's CEO.

The Times article was published in April 1995, Ormond said the assault occurred in December 1995.

A 2008 feature in New York Magazine, described Ormond as taking a break from acting in 1999 and getting involved in non-profit work. The career break came on the back of several flops, including the remake of Sabrina. 'I needed breathing space,' she said.

In her new lawsuit, Ormond says that she left CAA because she was transferred to a younger agent.

Ormond filed the case in state Supreme Court in Manhattan under the Adult Survivors Act, a law passed last year that allows a temporary window for those who allege sexual assault to file past the state's normal deadlines.

Along with disgraced producer Weinstein (pictured), Ormond's lawsuit also takes aim at CAA, The Walt Disney Company and Miramax for allegedly enabling his behavior

In the case filed Wednesday morning in the New York Supreme Court , the 58-year-old claims Weinstein sexually assaulted her after a work dinner in December 1995

Ormond accuses Weinstein of committing sexual battery against her in December 1995 after a business meeting, and then retaliating against her and negatively affecting her career after she confronted him weeks later.

Weinstein attorney Imran Ansari said his client 'categorically denies the allegations made against him by Julia Ormond and he is prepared to vehemently defend himself.'

The British actress says she told her U.S. agents at the time, Creative Artists Agency, but received no support and was advised not to take any legal action or other steps. She accuses CAA, Disney and Miramax, saying that they knew Weinstein presented a danger to women but did nothing to stop him or to help her.

According to the filing, 'none of these prominent companies warned Ormond that Weinstein had a history of assaulting women because he was too important, too powerful, and made them too much money.'

CAA responded in a statement that the agency 'takes all allegations of sexual assault and abuse seriously, and has compassion for Ms. Ormond.'

The statement said the agency hired attorneys to investigate her claims when she first came to them in March, and they found only 'evidence of a dynamic and engaged relationship between CAA and Ms. Ormond, and the agency's consistent efforts to support her career.'

'Ms. Ormond's claims against CAA are baseless, and the agency will vigorously refute them in court,' the statement said.

The lawsuit marks the first time Ormond has publicly accused Weinstein of sexual assault.

Weinstein, 71, was convicted of rape and sexual assault in New York in 2020 and is in prison in the state. Last year, he also was convicted of another rape in Los Angeles. He has appealed both convictions.

Dozens of women have sued Weinstein, many of them actors, but few have named such a broad list of defendants as Ormond. Suing her own former agents is an especially unusual move.
Former president Donald Trump has claimed that he will do 'whatever is necessary' to 'help' the selection process for a new Speaker of the House, as long as they help a 'highly experienced President, ME!'

The real estate mogul-turned-reality TV star-turned-president made in a post on his social media platform, Truth Social, on Tuesday, just a day after former Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy was ousted from his position in a putsch from hardline Republicans.

He claimed that his position as the current Republican frontrunner for the 2024 Presidential elections gave him the authority to help handpick the important congressional role.

He wrote: 'I am running for President, have a 62 Point lead over Republicans, and am up on Crooked Joe Biden, despite the Democrat Party's massive Law-fare, Weaponization, and Election Interference efforts, by 4 to 11 Points, but will do whatever is necessary to help with the Speaker of the House selection process, short term, until the final selection of a GREAT REPUBLICAN SPEAKER is made.

'A Speaker who will help a new, but highly experienced President, ME, MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!'

Former president Donald Trump (pictured) claimed that his current position as the Republican frontrunner for the 2024 Presidential elections gave him the authority to help handpick the important congressional role

He told his followers on Truth Social that he wanted to make sure the new Speaker would help him

There is currently a heated race between top Republicans over who will take the coveted position.

Jim Jordan, the US representative for Ohio's 4th congressional district, threw his hat in the ring, as did the Republican party's Number Two leader, Steve Scalise, the current House Majority Leader who represents Louisiana's first district.

House Majority Whip Tom Emmer has also been mentioned as a possible McCarthy successor.

He is the favorite of a group of far-right members who helped line up the move to vacate the chair. Emmer, 62, previously ran the House GOP campaign arm, including in 2022 when Republicans seized control but underperformed expectations.

Financial Services Chairman Patrick McHenry, a McCarthy advisor who helped him clear the hurdles to leadership during his January speaker's race, was designated as temporary speaker, after McCarthy was ousted.

'A lot of people have been calling me about speaker,' former President Donald Trump said inside a Manhattan courthouse Wednesday

Trump seemingly threw his hat into the ring for the Speaker position, with a cryptic post to Truth Social that showed him holding a gavel similar to those used by previous speakers

It is a ceremonial role that will have him help oversee the election of a new speaker, a role he has also been mentioned for. He chairs the powerful Financial Services Committee.

Trump himself appears to have shown his intention of running for Speaker of the House, despite a Republican bylaw that states that the important role cannot be held by someone under indictment.

He shared a photo of himself wearing a MAGA hat while holding a gavel, which Speakers of the House use in their day-to-day business in Congress.

While there is no congressional law that says that the Speaker of the House has to be an elected member, Republican bylaws would prevent Trump from taking the position.

'A member of the Republican Leadership shall step aside if indicted for a felony for which a sentence of two or more years imprisonment may be imposed,' Republican conference rules state.

He also claimed in front of a Manhattan courthouse: 'A lot of people have been calling me about speaker.'

Trump faces up to 71 years in prison for his Georgia indictment alone, and that is one of just four indictments he is facing.

McCarthy himself said he would not make another run for speaker, telling reporters: 'I fought for what I believe in. I believe I can continue to fight, but maybe in a different manner.'

McCarthy was voted out of his role by 216-210 on Tuesday, after fringe Republicans forced through a historic vote to vacate his position.

The 58-year-old, who represents California's 20th district, was accused of colluding with Democrats during an 11th-hour bill that narrowly prevented the US government from shutting down.

For months, he struggled to satisfy members of the hardline conservative House Freedom Caucus while also funding the government.

Representative Matt Gaetz, who led the charge against McCarthy, said: 'Kevin McCarthy is a creature of the swamp. He has risen to power by collecting special interest money and redistributing that money in exchange for favors. We are breaking the fever now.'

Several Republicans have said that they will be meeting on October 10 to discuss who will take the role of Speaker, ahead of a vote on a new speaker planned for October 11.

But many lawmakers are worried that the vote for a new speaker will take several weeks, preventing them from getting things done.

Tom McClintock, a California Republican said in remarks on the House floor before McCarthy was ousted: 'We can expect week after week of fruitless ballots while no other business can be conducted.'

When McCarthy was elected as Speaker of the House in January, it took 15 votes over four days for the decision to finally go through.
The number of hate crimes recorded by police in England and Wales has fallen year-on-year for the first time since records began - as the Government wages war on 'woke' policing.

A total of 145,214 offences were recorded in the two nations in the year ending March 2023, down 5% from 153,536 in the previous 12 months, the Home Office said. The total had previously risen every year since 2012/13.

The Government has noted that the fall coincided with new policing guidance which it said 'may have led to greater scrutiny of the threshold of what constitutes a criminal offence of public fear, alarm or distress'.

New Home Office guidance told officers to stop recording trivial online arguments and playground spats as 'non-crime hate incidents'. They were also given orders to use common sense and ensure the right to freedom of expression is protected so they can focus on tackling serious crime instead.

It followed an intervention by Home Secretary Suella Braverman, who expressed her concern that police were wrongly becoming involved in 'lawful debate' rather than focusing on serious crimes like burglary, violent offences and rape.

This graph shows the number of hate crimes recorded by police from 2012/13 to 2022/23

Home Secretary Suella Braverman - seen at the Tory party conference on Tuesday - had told officers to stop recording trivial reports as 'non-crime hate incidents'.

There were 101,906 race hate crimes in 2022/23, down 6% from the previous year (108,476). But religious hate crimes were up by 9% to 9,387 offences, while transgender hate crimes increased by 11%, to 4,732 offences.

The most commonly targeted group when it came to religious hate crime were Muslims, accounting for 39% of religious hate crime offences.

This was followed by Jewish people, who were targeted in 17% of religious hate crimes, followed by Christian (7%), Hindu and Sikh (both 3%).

In 22% of these offences the targeted religion was not known.

LGBTQ+ group Stonewall criticised political leaders for not having acted 'seriously or quickly enough' against hate crime, adding that 'many of them are filling the public domain with toxic language that dehumanises LGBTQ+ people'.

The Home Office said the rise in transgender hate crime may be down to such issues being 'heavily discussed by politicians, the media and on social media over the last year' but also gave increased awareness in the police in the identification and recording of these crimes as a possible reason.

But Victim Support said 'falling public trust in the police is a real issue' and suggested this may have contributed to the overall fall in the number of police-recorded hate crimes.

Becca Rosenthal, national hate crime lead at the charity, said: 'Those we support increasingly tell us that they are reluctant to approach the police, so these figures could simply reflect less people reporting to the police. Given this, independent support services for victims have never been more important.'

Sexual orientation hate crimes fell by 6%, to 24,102 offences and disability hate crimes fell by 1% to 13,777 offences.

The Home Office said just over half (51%) of the hate crimes recorded by the police were for public order offences, 41% were for violence against the person offences and 5% were recorded as criminal damage and arson offences.

*Hate crimes recorded in England and Wales - by type*

Source: Home Office data

LGBTQ+ group Stonewall criticised political leaders for not having acted 'seriously or quickly enough' against hate crime. Pictured is a Stonewall protest in London

This year's total figures do not include Devon and Cornwall Police, who were unable to provide information for 2022/23, the Home Office said.

The department said the overall fall was 'largely driven by a decrease in racially or religiously aggravated public fear, alarm or distress when flagged as a hate crime', which was down 8%, from 50,866 to 46,780 offences.

The Home Office suggested this might be linked to new interim guidance published last year which 'may have led to greater scrutiny of the threshold of what constitutes a criminal offence of public fear, alarm or distress'.

The guidance by the College of Policing on the recording of non-crime hate incidents (NCHIs) instructed officers to consider whether there was genuine hostility in the incident or whether it could be considered freedom of speech or thought.

The Home Office said its rules for the recording of these offences had not changed.

A Home Office spokesperson said: 'There is no place for hate in our society, it does not reflect the values of modern Britain, and we remain committed to ensuring these abhorrent offences are stamped out.

'We are pleased there has been an overall reduction in hate crimes recorded by police, and the numbers of sexual orientation, race and disability hate crimes all fell. But any instance is one too many.

'We expect the police to fully investigate these hateful attacks and make sure the cowards who commit them feel the full force of the law.'
But drivers piled out of their cars and immediately began dragging them away

Enraged motorists in Portugal have demonstrated an effective technique for removing eco-zealots who attempted to block traffic amid a senseless protest.

The clip shows how drivers piled out of their cars and immediately began dragging the orange-vested protesters out of the road while tearing down their banners.

Protesters from the Portuguese climate activist group Climaximo are known for frequent protests in and around Lisbon, with some causing hours of disruption and huge traffic jams.

But in this footage, the demonstrators are unceremoniously dumped on the side of the road before the motorists hop back in their vehicles and proceed to scream past.

The clip has gone viral on social media, earning millions of views, with users piling in to commend the motorists for their no-nonsense approach.

Enraged motorists in Portugal demonstrated their effective technique for removing eco-zealots who attempted to block traffic

Bikers and drivers jumped out of their vehicles and started dragging the protesters away

The demonstrators are unceremoniously dumped on the side of the road

The protesters quickly realised they were fighting a losing battle and began running out of the road as the bikers took off and screamed away

'This brings joy to my heart... the world is healing,' one user commented.

'I thought it was bad for the environment to idle your vehicle... isn't that counterproductive to their agenda?' another user asked sarcastically, pointing out the tactic of causing traffic jams only worsens the impact of vehicle emissions.

It comes as Just Stop Oil protesters infuriated theatregoers in London last night when they interrupted a performance of Les Miserables during the cast's rendition of the iconic song 'Do You Hear The People Sing'.

In an incident that raised serious questions about security, the activists calmly climbed on to stage from the most expensive seats in the house and unfurled their banners, screaming 'join the rebellion'.

Theatregoers drowned out the JSO chanting with booing and cries of 'you disgust me'.

Another angry punter shouted: 'Get off you stupid people. How dare you,' while a third yelled: 'F*** you' as one of the eco-spoilsports gave a monologue about 'society collapsing'.

In the UK, groups like Just Stop Oil have staged a series of protests which have caused significant transport disruption.

They are often sat in place for hours before eventually being removed by police.

But across Europe, it appears that disgruntled citizens are taking the matter into their own hands more frequently.

Just last month, people were seen losing their patience as eco-clowns held up traffic on a busy road in Berlin.

Climate activists from the German group called Letzte Generation - translated as Last Generation - staged a slow march blockage, causing traffic in Germany's capital to come to a halt.

Footage shows an enraged cyclist attacking the activists by grabbing one man from behind and dragging him off the road.

The cyclist reportedly lost his cool after the activists wouldn't let him pass through their slow march.

In the video, the cyclist and another man in a red shirt can be seen pushing the long-haired older protester until he falls to the ground.

Just Stop Oil supporters interrupt 'Les Mis'

Footage shows an enraged cyclist attacking the activists by grabbing one man from behind and dragging him off the road. The cyclist reportedly lost his cool after the activists wouldn't let him pass through their slow march. In the video, the cyclist and another man in a red shirt can be seen pushing the long-haired older protester until he falls to the ground

While the eco zealot is trying to get up, the biker targets another protester, a woman, and pushes her out of the road. Meanwhile the man in the red shirt attempts to push several activists onto the opposite sidewalk so the honking cars can pass through

Meanwhile the man in the red shirt attempts to push several activists onto the opposite sidewalk so the honking cars can pass through. One of the cars blocked by the group eventually mounted the pavement to get past while the others sounded their horns

While the eco zealot is trying to get up, the biker targets another protester, a woman, and pushes her out of the road.

Meanwhile the man in the red shirt attempts to push several activists onto the opposite sidewalk so the honking cars can pass through.

One of the cars blocked by the group eventually mounted the pavement to get past while the others sounded their horns.

The video was posted to X, formerly Twitter, by Letzte Generation with the caption: '25 slow-walk blockades in Berlin. The climate crisis is already escalating. The first tipping points have been reached.

'2045 is too late. 2030 free of fossil fuels is necessary. That's why we are protesting.'

This isn't the first time interactions between climate activists and annoyed road users have turned violent in Germany.

A shocking video taken earlier this month showed an enraged motorist resorting to violence to break up a street-blocking protest by the activist group.

The man was seen leaping into the B36 highway near the Victoria Tower in Mannheim. He began punching and kicking a series of activists from the Letzte Generation movement.

Police later arrested the 29-year-old suspect, according to German newspaper Bild.

The assailant, wearing a white vest and grey jogging bottoms, was one of several angered motorists who confronted the eco-zealots who had donned orange uniforms and sat on the tarmac, backing up three lanes of cars.

When the demonstrators remained seated and refused to move he snapped, lashing out with fists and feet of fury and dragging them away.

Mannheim Police found out about the attack the following day and arrested the suspect in Ludwigsburg, where he was taken for interrogation.

But Aimee van Baalen, the group's spokeswoman, remains steadfast in their commitment to continue similar protests despite the controversy.

The infuriated motorist grabs the protester's hair before hitting him in the face

He returns to kick and slap another member of the group

She maintains that Letzte Generation will not be deterred by opposition and is resolute in its mission to bring attention to climate change.

In July, three protesters were dragged out of the way by a furious lorry driver working for low-carbon energy company Air Liquide - only to rush back in front of the lorry before one of them was knocked flying.

Air Liquide is the Paris Olympics' official hydrogen supporter and works to innovate 'the development of low-carbon hydrogen and biomethane for the energy transition'.

The driver of the lorry at first jumps out to push and drag the activists out of his way.

When they sit back in position, he slowly starts driving forward - and then shunts the activist closest to the pavement.

The man is seen yanking the protester out of the road as other annoyed motorists look on

The driver is pictured trying to drag the protestor sitting in the road out from under the lorry

The force is enough to send the young man flying back and bystanders come to his aid.

The lorry driver is seen throwing his hands up in frustration and stops the lorry before leaping out of the cab again to pull the protesters aside.

Air Liquide provided the following statement to MailOnline: 'On July 12, Air Liquide was made aware of an altercation in Stralsund, Germany, between a third-party contract driver of Air Liquide Medical Gases and local protesters.

'Images display unacceptable behaviour from the driver that is not aligned with Air Liquide's values in any way.

'The third-party contractor has been notified that Air Liquide will no longer accept the services of this individual.'
Donald Trump's defense lawyers have asked a judge to delay the former president's classified documents trial until after next year's presidential election.

In a motion filed late Wednesday, the lawyers claimed they need more time, saying the have not received all the records they need to review and prepare his defense.

The trial on charges of illegally hoarding classified documents, among four criminal cases the Republican former president is facing, is currently scheduled for May 20, 2024, in Florida.

Trump's lawyers urged U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon to push back the trial until at least mid-November 2024.

The indictment accuses Trump of illegally retaining at his Palm Beach, Florida, estate, Mar-a-Lago, reams of classified documents taken with him after he left the White House in 2021 and then repeatedly obstructing government efforts to get the records back.

Former President Donald Trump, speaks to reporters as he leaves the courtroom during a lunch break in his civil business fraud trial, Wednesday, Oct. 4, 2023, in New York

Trump's trial for charges that he hoarded top secret documents across Mar-a-Lago is currently set for May 2024

He has pleaded not guilty and has denied any wrongdoing.

The presidential election is set for November 5, 2024, with Trump currently leading the GOP field in the months before the primary season.

Trump's defense lawyers argued that postposing the trial by several months was necessary due to scheduling conflicts.

Another federal trial is scheduled for March 2024 in Washington, and one of Trump's lawyers, Christopher Kise, is also representing him in an ongoing civil fraud case in New York.

His lawyers also said that there have been several delays in obtaining and reviewing classified records cited in special counsel Jack Smith's indictment.

'The Special Counsels Office has not provided some of the most basic discovery in the case,' read the motion from Kise and another Trump attorney, Todd Blanche.

'Given the current schedule, we cannot understate the prejudice to President Trump arising from his lack of access to these critical materials months after they should have been produced.'

Trump is accused of hoarding government documents across his Florida resort, Mar-a-Lago

Documents were found piled across Mar-a-Lago, including on a stage

The defense lawyers said they have access to only a 'small, temporary facility' in Miami to review classified documents, an arrangement that they say has slowed the process.

But prosecutors with the special counsel accused Trump's legal team of seeking unreasonable delays in the case.

While they acknowledged a 'slightly longer than anticipated timeframe' for certain procedural steps, the prosecutors said it was false to accuse them of delaying the production of evidence in the case.

They said some of the delays were beyond their control and were due in part to the fact that defense lawyers had lacked the 'necessary read-ins to review all material' provided by the government.

The Justice Department says it has so far provided about 1.28 million pages of unclassified documents and has turned over the majority of classified evidence that it anticipates producing.

Several documents marked 'secret' were seen strewed across the floors of Mar-a-Lago

Former President Donald Trump speaks to reporters as he leaves the courtroom during a lunch break in his civil business fraud trial, Wednesday, Oct. 4, 2023, in New York

It is also in possession of 57 terabytes of CCTV footage, amounting to nine months worth.

The agency's prosecutors said they will provide much of the remaining outstanding classified evidence by Friday.

'This production will include certain materials that Defendants have described as outstanding, including audio recordings of interviews and information related to the classification reviews conducted in the case,' prosecutors wrote.

The defense lawyers say Trump's two co-defendants in the case, his valet Walt Nauta and Mar-a-Lago property manager Carlos De Oliveira, are joining in the request.
Rishi Sunak has arrived in Granada today to urge European leaders to follow Britain's tough action on illegal migration.

The Prime Minister is attending a summit in the Spanish city and will point to his efforts to crackdown on small boat crossings in the Channel.

The gathering of the European Political Community will be attended by the leaders of 47 countries.

But there have already been tensions between those attending after the summit's Spanish hosts refused to put migration on the official agenda for the meeting.

Instead national leaders will formally discuss Artificial Intelligence, climate action and the Ukraine war, with talks on migration due to be held on the sidelines of the summit.

Rishi Sunak has arrived in Granada today to urge European leaders to follow Britain's tough action on illegal migration

The Prime Minister is attending a summit in the Spanish city and will point to his efforts to crackdown on small boat crossings in the Channel

It previously emerged how Mr Sunak had been demanding a formal focus on illegal migration at this week's EPC summit, but was rebuffed by Spain

A group of people (pictured in August) thought to be migrants crossing the Channel in a small boat travelling from the coast of France and heading in the direction of Dover, Kent

The European Political Community - the brainchild of French President Emmanuel Macron - was formed after Russia's invasion of Ukraine last year.

It brings together both European Union member states and those European nations that are outside the Brussels-based bloc.

Former PM Liz Truss attended the first EPC summit in Prague last October, while Mr Sunak made a trip to Moldova in June for its second gathering.

It previously emerged how Mr Sunak had been demanding a formal focus on illegal migration at this week's EPC summit, but was rebuffed by Spain.

A European diplomat said the UK had 'pushed' for the agenda to be switched, but said the efforts were 'not going to go anywhere'.

Mr Sunak and right-wing Italian PM Giorgia Meloni will lead breakaway talks on illegal migration and organised crime on the sidelines of the Granada summit.

The PM will use the talks to raise the need for more coordinated action - including intelligence sharing - to address rising levels of illegal migration to Europe.

A Government source told The Times: 'The mood music on illegal immigration in the EU is changing, with many EU leaders now saying very similar things to Rishi Sunak.

'They want to know how UK action secured a 20 per cent drop [in small boat arrivals to Britain] and want to work with us. It's very encouraging.'

Ms Meloni recently welcomed European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen to the Mediterranean island of Lampedusa, which has seen a recent surge in migrant arrivals.

Speaking ahead of the EPC summit, Mr Sunak said: 'Levels of illegal migration to mainland Europe are the highest they have been in nearly a decade.

'With thousands of people dying at sea, propelled by people smugglers, the situation is both immoral and unsustainable.

'We cannot allow criminal gangs to decide who comes to Europes shores.

'When it comes to facing down the threat from Putin, confronting the risks and opportunities of AI or dealing with illegal migration, there is strength in unity.

'These issues transcend national borders and require creative Europe-wide solutions - that is what I will be discussing with my fellow leaders at the EPC summit in Spain today.'

The EPC gathering today comes before an informal summit of EU leaders in the same city tomorrow.

The bloc's member states are then set to use a formal European Council summit towards the end of this month to discuss their growing challenges with illegal migration.
The Met Police has referred itself to the police watchdog after a black charity boss claimed she was bitten on the tube in front of an off-duty detective constable.

Selma Taha, executive director of Southall Black Sisters, says she was travelling with female friends on the Northern Line on Friday when a white woman on the train became abusive.

The group were allegedly taunted with monkey noises and slurs including 'b****es' and 'slaves' before the offender resorted to violence, The Independent reports.

Ms Taha says 'clumps' of her hair were ripped out and she needed a tetanus injection and antibiotics to treat a deeply embedded bitemark.

She said: 'Almost worse than the shock of the racist attack was the indifference of the police officer especially now when the Met police has been rocked by evidence of historical, institutionalised racism and misogyny suffered by Black and minoritised communities and finally backed up by the Casey report.'

Selma Taha, executive director of Southall Black Sisters, says she was travelling with female friends on the Northern Line on Friday when a white woman on the train became abusive

Ms Taha says 'clumps' of her hair were ripped out and she needed a tetanus injection and antibiotics to treat a deeply embedded bitemark

After the train arrived at King's Cross, the two parties got off. Ms Taha and her group complained when the officer suggested both groups go their separate ways instead of arresting the woman.

Eventually, the off-duty officer did apprehend the woman after Ms Taha threatened to report the incident to Met Police Commissioner Mark Rowley.

A Met Police spokesman confirmed an off-duty Met officer was present during the alleged attack.

The Met stated: 'We are aware of an incident of alleged assault on a woman by another woman reported to British Transport Police, where an off-duty Met officer was present. We are making immediate enquiries to establish the exact circumstances.

'A complaint has been received to the Met's Directorate of Professional Standards and we have made a referral to the Independent Office of Police Conduct.

'Any incident of violence, especially if it is racially motivated, is deeply distressing and requires a robust policing response. We will support British Transport Police with their investigation.

'The officer involved is being provided with welfare support during this process.'

A British Transport Police spokesman added: 'Officers received a report around 11.30pm on September 29 of an altercation on board a Northern Line Underground train.

'An off-duty officer from the Metropolitan Police intervened and separated the group before escorting passengers off at the next stop, King's Cross, and calling the British Transport Police for assistance.

'BTP officers quickly attended and arrested a 30-year-old woman who was being detained by the off-duty officer on the platform. It was reported she had been racially abusive and bitten one of the group during the altercation.

'She was arrested on suspicion of assault and a racially aggravated public order offence and has been released on bail while enquiries continue to establish the full circumstances of what happened on board the train.'

Ms Taha was appointed director of Southall Black Sisters in May last year. The charity was established in 1979 to meet the needs of Black and minoritised women in southwest London.

It has also worked to expose many instances of male violence against women.
The cause of death of a married couple who were found dead in a house in Yorkshire along with their two dogs remains unknown, an inquest heard.

Amanda Ayres-Dunne, 49, and husband Barrie Dunne, 69, were found dead in the living room at their housing association property in Shiregreen, in Sheffield, on May 13 last year.

South Yorkshire Police were called to the scene after a neighbour raised concerns about smells coming from the property.

An inquest in Sheffield heard that detectives had ruled out any third party involvement in the couple's deaths, while there was no evidence of a 'suicide pact'.

The pathologist described the circumstances of the discovery as 'very unusual' and concluded that the couple had been dead for some time because their bodies were 'significantly decomposed'.

An inquest heard that detectives had ruled out any third party involvement in the couple's deaths, while there was no evidence of a 'suicide pact' (Pictured: Sheffield Coroner's Court)

Detective Sergeant Helen Critchley of South Yorkshire Police told the hearing that a criminal investigation was launched but had ruled out any third party involvement in the deaths of the couple.

The officer said that when officers attended their property in Sicey Avenue the doors were locked and the curtains were closed. She said the bodies of Amanda and Barrie were found in the living room along with their two dogs.

The last person to hear from Barrie or Amanda was a man who spoke to his neighbour on the telephone on March 15, 2022.

A number of tests were carried out to try to determine what had caused the deaths of Barrie and Amanda but these proved inconclusive.

Checks on gas and electric meters showed that one was topped up on March 17, the other on March 10.

The gas went off on April 6 and the electric went off on April 11. The boiler was checked and no leaks were found and there was no evidence that the couple had died from carbon monoxide poisoning.

Det Sgt Critchley said neither cause of death could be ascertained but detectives had ruled out any third party involvement as there were no signs of disturbance at the property.

She said various theories had been considered, including murder/suicide, but no notes had been left, and there were no signs of a struggle.

The officer said there was no suggestion that the dogs had 'fed on the deceased' and it was thought that both Barrie and Amanda, and the dogs, had died around the same time.

There were no reports from neighbours of dogs barking. 'We tend to believe all died around the same time,' the officer told the court.

The inquest heard Barry had suffered from a number of conditions including depression, heart disease and epilepsy.

Forensic pathologist Dr Charles Wilson, who carried out post mortem examinations, described the circumstances of the discovery of the bodies of Barrie and Amanda as 'very unusual'.

He said that because two people and two dogs had been found dead in the same room made him consider that 'something in the environment' may have led to all four deaths.

He said the state of decomposition had made it difficult to properly examine the bodies.

Dr Wilson added that it was not possible to determine when the couple had died, but it could have been 'a week or two or even more.'

He said it was possible that one of the couple could have died two or three days after the other. He did not believe that the dogs had outlived the couple.

Dr Wilson concluded that the cause of death could not be ascertained in the case of both Barrie and Amanda.

Coroner Natalie James gave an 'open' conclusion and said it was not possible to say what had caused their deaths.

Following the conclusion, Amanda's brother Paul described them as a 'loving and happy couple'. Sister-in-law Maureen described them as a 'cheerful' couple whenever she had spoken to them on the phone.
Scottish voters are going to the polls in a crunch by-election today as Sir Keir Starmer faces a crucial test of his hopes of becoming prime minister.

The Rutherglen and Hamilton West contest will see a new MP chosen to replace the disgraced Margaret Ferrier, after she was kicked out over a breach of Covid rules.

The vote result - which is set to be a close battle between Labour and the SNP - is expected in the early hours of Friday morning.

There will be close scrutiny over Labour's performance as the by-election is a key examination of the party's bid to revive their fortunes in Scotland.

Labour currently only has one Scottish MP but party figures are hopeful of winning a slew of seats north of the border at the general election.

Regaining ground in Scotland is a key challenge for Sir Keir as he looks to become PM and he told the BBC last month he wants to win a significant number of seats in the country to ensure he has a 'mandate'.

Scottish voters are going to the polls in a crunch by-election as Sir Keir Starmer faces a crucial test of his hopes of becoming prime minister

Polling stations in the Rutherglen and Hamilton West contest opened at 7am and close at 10pm

Michael Shanks is hoping to win the seat for Sir Keir's party in a by-election which will be a key examination of the Labour's bid to revive their fortunes in Scotland

SNP candidate Katy Loudon is hoping to retain a seat her party won at the 2019 general election

Asked if the Rutherglen and Hamilton West by-election was a must-win for Labour, he said: 'It is very important for us. There is no getting away from that.'

One source close to Labour's by-election campaign claimed a comfortable win in Rutherglen and Hamilton West would suggest the party could compete for as many as 24 seats in Scotland at a general election.

Sir Keir said: 'For the Labour Party it matters that we win in Scotland to have the mandate - to have the authority - to take the whole of the UK forward.

'I don't want to win a general election without winning more significantly in Scotland.'

The by-election is also a first major electoral test for SNP leader Humza Yousaf, who took over as First Minister from Nicola Sturgeon earlier this year.

He admitted Labour presented a 'challenge' but accused Sir Keir's party of being 'complacent'.

Mr Yousaf also pointed to how the SNP are still the most popular party in Scotland.

'Labour are popping the Champagne corks - putting up the bunting, they are complacent,' he said.

'We've been in government for 16 years. Of course there's challenges.

'But 16 years in, with probably the most difficult six months my party has faced, we're still leading in the (national) polls.'

SNP candidate Katy Loudon is up against Labour's Michael Shanks and Tory hopeful Thomas Kerr in today's by-election.

Cameron Eadie and Gloria Adebo are running for the Greens and Scottish Liberal Democrats, respectively.

Polling stations opened at 7am and close at 10pm.

At the 2019 general election, the SNP won 48 out of 59 seats, while Labour claimed a solitary victory in Edinburgh South.

The result matched Labour's dismal showing at the 2015 general election, when they also suffered a near wipeout and won only one seat.

It marked a rapid decline from the 2010 general election, when Labour won 41 out of 59 seats in Scotland as they continued a trend of holding a majority of seats in the country at every general election since the 1960s.

Ms Ferrier became SNP MP for Rutherglen and Hamilton West in 2015 when she beat the Labour incumbent in the seat.

She narrowly lost the seat to Labour at the 2017 general election, but then took it back two years later in 2019.

The 62-year-old was kicked out of the SNP after she was revealed to have broken Covid rules.

Earlier this year, the Commons' Committee on Standards recommended Ms Ferrier be suspended from Parliament for 30 days for damaging the reputation of the House.

The length of the suspension led to a recall petition, which was signed by nearly 15 per cent of local voters.

This passed the 10 per cent threshold for removing Ms Ferrier from the Commons and triggering the by-election contest.
A fourth grade teacher charged with raping a 12-year-old student has been rearrested after telling the boy she was pregnant with his child and wanted to keep the baby, according to a report.

'I'm going to raise this baby. I can do this,' Alissa McCommon, 38, told her victim in a recording of the phone call played in court Tuesday.

She also alluded to being pregnant with the boy's child in another text message, the court heard. It has not been confirmed if McCommon is in fact pregnant or if the child is the possible father.

McCommon was originally arrested in Covington, Tennessee, early last month for the alleged child sex attack.

Late last month she was arrested again after claims she texted her victim saying 'you'll regret this' after being freed on bond.

Alissa McCommon, a former Tennessee elementary school teacher, was arrested again after telling a boy she was pregnant with his child. She is pictured being arrested for a second time last month after she reportedly stalked and harassed the victim upon bonding out of jail

McCommon, 38, reportedly told her former student and victim that he would 'regret this' in a threatening text message sent despite being barred from contacting the youngster

McCommon is now facing stalking, harassment, and coercion raps in addition to prior rape charges.

'The evidence indicates McCommon texted a victim, using a specific code word known to the juvenile as a code word McCommon would previously utilize to confirm that the juvenile was alone, often before sending nude photographs on SnapChat,' the Covington Police Department said in a statement.

'After using the code word on 28 September 2023, the evidence indicates Mccommon sent multiple text messages to victim indicating he would "regret doing this". McCommon, using the same number, also admitted to a sexual encounter with the victim.'

It comes after McCommon was accused of breaching a condition of her $25,000 bond stipulating that she'd have no contact with her alleged victim.

McCommon texted the boy using a phone number he wasn't familiar with and used specific code words she'd previously used while sending him nude photos to identify herself, it is alleged.

The 'you'll regret this' threat is then said to have followed.

This time she was charged with coercion of a witness, aggravated stalking, tampering with evidence and harassment.

The initial arrest in September came after multiple underage victims came forward and said that they were 'befriended' by their former teacher - who invited them to play video games with her and connected with them on social media apps.

The ex-teacher was originally arrested earlier in September but was released on a $25,000 bond agreement under the condition that she would not contact her victim

McCommon had been a fourth grade teacher at Charger Academy - an elementary school in Covington, Tennessee. She taught English and Language at the school until the district suspended her without pay on August 24 - although she ultimately resigned.

Tipton County Director of School John Combs said last month: 'A parent brought forth allegations of misconduct on the morning of Thursday, August 24, and the teacher was suspended without pay later that same morning pending the outcome of the investigation.'

The online interactions between the ex-teacher and her previous students allegedly escalated to her sending the minors inappropriate photographs and requesting that they engage in sexual relations with her.

She allegedly abused one of the children - who was aged 12 or under - that she preyed on inside her home in 2021.

Other victims have allegedly come forward saying that McCommon engaged in inapproriate behaviors with them and tried to 'befriend' them using online games and social media

There was no evidence that any of the inappropriate behavior happened on any school campus - but McCommon confirmed that she had been talking to her former students inappropriately.

The Tipton County Sheriff's Office worked with CPD detectives after multiple victims came forward with information about the inappropriate behavior of their former teacher.

McCommon admitted to a sexual encounter with the same former student that she was messaging with her secret phone, Police said.

Covington Police Chief Donna Turner said last month: 'The actions of McCommon are not only appalling, but CPD is also concerned about this apparent violation of her bond conditions,

'Due to the nature of the communications, we are concerned others may have been contacted. We will continue to seek the revocation of McCommon's bond, as well as aggressively prosecute the additional charges that continue to develop.'
Workers at a remote Australian mine have been terrorised in two incidents allegedly involving axe-wielding offenders, one of which turned into a violent late night siege.

Last Saturday shift workers at Gemco's mine at Alyangula, on Groote Eyelandt, 50km off the Northern Territory mainland, were forced to barricade themselves in a smoko room when 'up to five' intruders with axes allegedly broke in.

Three workers needed treatment after the offenders forced their way into the mine at 2am and confronted Gemco employees.

One of the workers was threatened with an axe, a second received a chest injury and another suffered an eye injury when an object, understood to be a screwdriver, was thrown.

Workers at a remote Gemco mine off the coast of the Northern Territory have been terrorised in two incidents allegedly involving axe-wielding offenders, one of which turned into a violent late night siege. Pictured: Gemco's manganese mine on Groote Eylandt

'Around 2am, police received reports that up to five offenders unlawfully entered a mine site on Groote Eylandt, some armed with axes,' NT Police said in a statement.

'One worker was threatened with an axe while another was struck in the chest with a blunt object, suffering a laceration to their chest.

'A third worker suffered an injury to their eye when a window was smashed.'

It is also alleged Gemco property was damaged during the incident.

Police confirmed two men were arrested.

'Shortly after 6am yesterday morning, Serious Crime, Strike Force Trident and Alyangula general duties arrested 2 males without incident,' police said.

The pair, who live on the island, are aged 20 and 17.

The teenager was charged with six offences including aggravated robbery, aggravated assault, deprivation of liberty, unlawful entry, criminal damage and theft.

He was bailed to appear in court on November 10.

The older youth was charged with the same offences, plus recklessly endanger/ serious harm.

He remains in custody and will appear in court on November 15.

'In the early hours of (Saturday) morning, some members of the public accessed the GEMCO mine site, causing damage and temporary disruption to the operation,' Gemco said in a Facebook post.

'GEMCOs priority is the safety of our people. We are working closely with the Police to assist with their inquiries.'

Three workers needed treatment after the offenders forced their way into the mine at 2am and confronted Gemco employees. Pictured: work underway at a Gemco mine

Groote Eyelandt is located 50km off the coast of NT in the Gulf of Carpentaria and 630km from Darwin

The ABC also reported a second incident on Tuesday afternoon where two men, also believed to be carrying axes, approached the mine.

A spokesman for South32, which runs the mine, confirmed it was again locked down and 'operations were suspended on Tuesday night to ensure the safety of our people'.

Police investigations are continuing.

Daily Mail Australia contacted NT Police for further comment.
Rishi Sunak met with Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky as they met at a European summit in Granada.

The Prime Minister warmly greeted the Ukrainian President as they both attended a gathering of the European Political Community in the Spanish city.

Mr Sunak was expected to use the meeting to confirm new allocations of British humanitarian aid to help Ukrainians survive a second winter under siege by Russian forces.

Talks between European leaders in Granada are due to focus on the ongoing work to provide air defence, fighter jets and long-range weapons to Kyiv.

The discussions are also likely to focus on efforts to end Russia's blockade of Black Sea grain shipments.

Evidence suggests that attacks by Vladimir Putin's forces have destroyed enough grain to feed more than one million people for a year.

The EPC meeting being attended by Mr Zelensky comes at a fraught time for continued Western support for Ukraine.

Poland last month declared it would no longer be supplying weapons to its neighbour, amid a diplomatic dispute over Kyiv's grain exports.

Meanwhile, there have been warnings that US funding for Ukraine could become a casualty of infighting between Republicans in Washington DC.

Rishi Sunak met with Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky as they met at a European summit in Granada

The Prime Minister warmly greeted the Ukrainian President as they both attended a gathering of the European Political Community in the Spanish city

Mr Sunak was expected to use the meeting to confirm new allocations of British humanitarian aid to help Ukrainians survive a second winter under siege by Russian forces

The historic removal of Kevin McCarthy as the speaker of the US House of Representatives has thrown further doubt over American support for Kyiv.

It has been suggested Mr McCarthy's replacement as speaker, if they come from the growing number of Republican critics of US aid for Ukraine, could try and put a block on continued assistance.

New British aid allocations for Ukraine announced today include 34million for the UN and charities providing shelter and warm winter clothing and 10million for household electricity, following Russian attacks on Ukraine's energy infrastructure.

The UK's fourth loan guarantee of $500 million has been disbursed via the World Bank to ensure Ukraine can provide life-saving winter support payments to three million households.

As well as talks on Ukraine, Mr Sunak will urge European leaders in Granada to follow Britain's tough action on illegal migration.

He will point to his efforts to crackdown on small boat crossings in the Channel.

The gathering of the European Political Community will be attended by the leaders of 47 countries.

But there have already been tensions between those attending after the summit's Spanish hosts refused to put migration on the official agenda for the meeting.

Instead national leaders will formally discuss Artificial Intelligence, climate action and the Ukraine war, with talks on migration due to be held on the sidelines of the summit.

The European Political Community - the brainchild of French President Emmanuel Macron - was formed after Russia's invasion of Ukraine last year.

It brings together both European Union member states and those European nations that are outside the Brussels-based bloc.

Former PM Liz Truss attended the first EPC summit in Prague last October, while Mr Sunak made a trip to Moldova in June for its second gathering.

It previously emerged how Mr Sunak had been demanding a formal focus on illegal migration at this week's EPC summit, but was rebuffed by Spain.

A European diplomat said the UK had 'pushed' for the agenda to be switched, but said the efforts were 'not going to go anywhere'.

Rishi Sunak has arrived in Granada today to urge European leaders to follow Britain's tough action on illegal migration

The Prime Minister is attending a summit in the Spanish city and will point to his efforts to crackdown on small boat crossings in the Channel

It previously emerged how Mr Sunak had been demanding a formal focus on illegal migration at this week's EPC summit, but was rebuffed by Spain

A group of people (pictured in August) thought to be migrants crossing the Channel in a small boat travelling from the coast of France and heading in the direction of Dover, Kent

Mr Sunak and right-wing Italian PM Giorgia Meloni will lead breakaway talks on illegal migration and organised crime on the sidelines of the Granada summit.

The PM will use the talks to raise the need for more coordinated action - including intelligence sharing - to address rising levels of illegal migration to Europe.

A Government source told The Times: 'The mood music on illegal immigration in the EU is changing, with many EU leaders now saying very similar things to Rishi Sunak.

'They want to know how UK action secured a 20 per cent drop [in small boat arrivals to Britain] and want to work with us. It's very encouraging.'

Ms Meloni recently welcomed European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen to the Mediterranean island of Lampedusa, which has seen a recent surge in migrant arrivals.

Speaking ahead of the EPC summit, Mr Sunak said: 'Levels of illegal migration to mainland Europe are the highest they have been in nearly a decade.

'With thousands of people dying at sea, propelled by people smugglers, the situation is both immoral and unsustainable.

'We cannot allow criminal gangs to decide who comes to Europe's shores.

'When it comes to facing down the threat from Putin, confronting the risks and opportunities of AI or dealing with illegal migration, there is strength in unity.

'These issues transcend national borders and require creative Europe-wide solutions - that is what I will be discussing with my fellow leaders at the EPC summit in Spain today.'

The EPC gathering today comes before an informal summit of EU leaders in the same city tomorrow.

The bloc's member states are then set to use a formal European Council summit towards the end of this month to discuss their growing challenges with illegal migration.
A Welsh grandfather is among 100 steelworkers who had their pensions plundered by a rogue financial advisor who pocketed 1million.

Smooth-talking Darren Reynolds convinced 63-year-old Malcolm Sibthorpe and hundreds of others to invest in 'profitable and safe' schemes which actually paid him big commissions instead of saving them money.

Reynolds was paid more than 1,010,000 through the scam until he was rumbled by experts. He has since been fined 2.2million and banned from working in finance for life for dishonestly advising 670 customers, including 150 steelworkers.

Mr Sibthorpe, from Ebbw Vale, South Wales, said he was left 'in tears' after finding out he had lost 50,000 from a pension saved over 40 years after trusting Reynolds' Active Wealth Limited business.

He said Reynolds had the 'gift of the gab' when he tried to sweet-talk him and his wife Edwina into taking his advice.

Malcolm Sibthorpe says he lost 50,000 from his pension after listening to rogue financial advisor Darren Reynolds. Pictured: Malcolm with his wife Edwina

The grandfather says he was 'in tears' after realising he had lost money he had saved over 40 years. Pictured: Mr Sibthorpe eating an ice cream in the countryside

He said: 'He knew what he was doing. He just ripped everyone off.

'He knew he was stealing money from us, but he wasn't the only one.'

Mr Sibthorpe was one of thousands of steelworkers trying to manage their future savings after the British Steel Pension Scheme was restructured in 2017.

He said: 'I think we were gullible, he told us we would lose 10 per cent if we went with the government scheme and we wouldn't be able to get our money out. That's how he sold it to us.

'He told he us he did pensions for the police and Post Office. When we saw his name on the FCA website we thought it was legitimate.'

But months later Mr Sibthorpe and other workers began to worry about the scheme they had placed their money in and contacted Reynolds.

He said: 'I phoned and he said he would get my money out, but I never heard from him again. We were crying. We didn't know what was going to happen with our money.'

Mr Sibthorpe got his pension pot back four months after choosing to go with Reynolds - but it was 50,000 smaller due to transfer fees.

Reynolds was investigated by the Financial Conduct Authority who found he 'had a clear disregard for customers' interests in favour of his own personal gain.'

Mr Sibthorpe said Reynolds had the 'gift of the gab' when he tried to sweet-talk him and his wife Edwina into taking his advice

Mr Sibthorpe was one of thousands of steelworkers trying to manage their future savings after the British Steel Pension Scheme was restructured in 2017. Pictured: The Port Talbot steelworks in South Wales

The FCA said: 'He dishonestly established, maintained and concealed a business model which incentivised recommending products which produced the highest commission for the adviser rather than the best outcome for the customer..'

It said that Reynolds made 1.01million in prohibited commission payments.

They added: 'These payments were funnelled via companies connected to Mr Reynolds and were intentionally designed to disguise their true origins.'

Reynolds was fined 2,212,316 and banned from working in financial services. His colleague Andrew Deeney was also fined 397,400 and banned from working in financial services.

Therese Chambers, Joint Executive Director of Enforcement and Market Oversight, said: 'This is one of the worst cases we have seen.

'Mr Reynolds, who allowed evidence to be destroyed and who has consistently sought to evade accountability, and Mr Deeney, lied and lied again.

They said the pair lied 'to dupe people into leaving safe pension schemes and placing money meant for their retirement in unsuitable, high-risk investments then to try and hide their misconduct from us.

'Their motivation was based on self-enrichment. Such people have no place in our industry.'
The Spanish island experienced its worst fires for decades in August

After 3,000 people were evacuated from their homes in Tenerife on October 4 and 5 another European holiday destination has been hit by potential travel chaos.

The Spanish island was hit by its worst wildfires for decades in August and while these were brought under control, they were never fully extinguished.

The latest outbreak has only had a fraction of the impact of summer's at 30 hectares (70 acres) but will still lead to would-be tourists wondering if it is wise to make the journey to the Canary Islands.

So, where are the fires? And is it safe to travel to Tenerife? Read the answers below.

Some 3,000 people were forced to evacuate their homes overnight as yet another wildfire began tearing through parts of Tenerife

After one night, an area of just 30 hectares (70 acres) was affected as firefighters battled to keep the blaze contained

The 30 hectares - far short of August's 14,000 hectares - which have been impacted are around the towns of Santa Ursula and La Orotava

Where are the wildfires in Tenerife?

The 30 hectares which have been impacted by the blaze are around the towns of Santa Ursula and La Orotava.

The fires in August were also in this area, but extended far further to wipe out 14,000 hectares (35,000 acres) of pine forest and scrubland, forcing 12,000 people to abandon their homes for weeks.

And there are fears that the latest outbreak will expand towards that size, as a result of the island's years of drought and unusually high October temperatures.

Changing winds which are forecast also make potential developments of the situation less predictable.

Is it safe to travel to Tenerife?

One of the most popular parts of Tenerife among tourists - Puerto de la Cruz - is roughly just 3 miles (5km) from the site of the recent wildfires.

However, the UK government has not updated its travel advice for Spain in light of the blaze, with no international restrictions in place regarding travel.

Neither of Tenerife's airports, the north of which is closer to the fires, have experienced delays as a result of the fires.

Management of the situation has already been assumed by the Government of the Canary Islands, with Hundreds of firefighters and soldiers have been deployed to tackle the blaze to extinguish the blaze the day after it broke out, and helicopters also locally available if required.

A helicopter flies over the area of La Corujera on October 5, after the wildfire broke out the previous night

What should I do if my flight is cancelled?

Should your flight be unexpectedly cancelled, there are a number of different options.

You are legally entitled to a full refund, which extends to other flights from the airline that you cannot use made in the same booking, such as an onward or return flight.

You also have the option of a replacement flight to get you to your destination.

If a flight cancellation delays you by at least two hours, you have the right to be helped with costs such as an overnight stay at the airport.

Similarly, if the replacement flight offered to you has delayed you by two hours or more, and you were given less than two weeks' notice, you are legally entitled to compensation.
Indianapolis police have captured a 'very aggressive' fugitive monkey named Momo who raised hell in his neighborhood after escaping his owner's house.

The monkey fled from Wayne Pham's home in the Irongate neighborhood in east Indianapolis Wednesday evening and and evaded local cops overnight, clambering on neighbor's cars, necking cans of beer from trash cans and even injuring locals.

'Momo the monkey has been captured safely. That was more than enough monkey business for us,' police said Thursday.

Momo appeared to be disappointed with his rescue in a photo shared by Indianapolis police, where a man is seen grasping him close and holding onto his tail.

During a sighting of Momo Thursday morning, Pham attempted to lure the animal out of a tree with a peach, reported Fox 59.

Momo the fugitive monkey has been capture by police. In a photo shared by authorities he appears to be disappointed with his rescue

The monkey escaped from his owners home in east Indianapolis Wednesday evening

Neighbors shared their sightings of the escape artist on social media. One user posted a video of Momo jumping on her car

Authorities said the escapee was running down a street on the east side of the city when a dog barked at him, causing him to jump into some trees.

The Indianapolis Zoo told WTHR Momo is a patas monkey, which are well-known as the fastest primate on land, capable of running over 30 mph.

Multiple photos and videos have emerged on social media from neighbors who spotted the escape artist roaming through their yards, clambering on cars and even scratching on doors.

Momo's owner shared pictures of him munching on potato chips. This is the monkey's second escape, in July his owner post the monkey was missing but was later found

'There are reports of minor injuries from the monkey but we can't confirm it is from bites,' police said.

Stunned resident Karri Harbert shared a video on Facebook of the escaped Momo nonchalantly walking across the hood of her car.

'I was starting to get out of my car again and the police (several of them) pulled up and told me to stay in the car that there is a very aggressive monkey on the loose,' wrote Harbert.

Other videos show him strolling through the neighborhood and roaming around people's lawns.

Another woman claimed he broke into her garage and drank from her Pepsi can.

'He ran up in my garage, pinned against the door and I had to take a stool and put it between me and the monkey to kind of dodge the monkey away until I got into the house,' she said.

Pham posted in the 'Indy pets: Lost & Found' Facebook group pleading for help to find his missing monkey.

'Please if you see him don't approach him just call police or animal control,' wrote Pham.

In the post he shared photos of Momo snacking Lays potato chips, revealing his taste for junk food.

Indianapolis police said there are reports of minor injuries from the monkey, but did not confirm if they are from bites

According to Pham's previous posts in the group, this is not the first time Momo has made a great escape.

On July 10, he shared that Momo had gotten loose and was later found.

Indiana is one of the 24 states where it is legal to own a pet monkey.
A porch pirate used her food delivery job as a ruse to steal packages from suburban houses in broad daylight.

Juliana Saggaram, 33, was caught on doorbell security footage pretending to drop off a DoorDash order only to scurry away with a package she stole from outside the house.

The woman, from East Elmhurst in Queens, repeated her bold plan twice in 48 hours before she was caught red-handed by her third victim.

The 54-year-old victim busted her scheme when he reported his stolen package on Wednesday in Manhasset, New York.

The suspected thief used her position as a DoorDash delivery-person, a 'dasher', to cover-up her alleged crimes.

A porch pirate was caught on camera stealing packages while pretending to deliver food in broad daylight

Juliana Saggaram, 33, used her status as a DoorDash delivery-person to cover-up for her alleged crimes of stealing packages

Saggaram was reportedly arrested and charged with two counts of Petit Larceny and issued an appearance ticket

The porch pirate managed to complete her plan two separate times before getting caught by her third victim - a 54-year-old man

Before getting caught on camera - Saggaram had stopped by a Chipotle to pick up an order of Mexican fast-food to use as a prop in her plan.

According to her Linkedin profile, Saggaram is a promoter at Hart Agency - a modelling agency in New York City.

The hustler said in a post: 'I love my city!! If youre in New York we can make business together!! Lets make money.'

The security video showed Saggaram - who was wearing a bright orange skirt and a black crop top with sunglasses - climbing the steps to the front door of the residential house and crouching down to drop off the bag of food.

She swiftly grabs the package and stands back up - still clutching the bag of food - and then scurries away from the house and onto the street.

Saggaram was charged with two counts of Petit Larceny and issued an appearance ticket, according to the NY Post.

Porch pirates are often getting caught in the act by doorbell security cameras.

Security footage from a doorbell camera in August showed the shocking moment a Virginia porch pirate snatched an iPad straight out of the FedEx worker's hands and then bolted off in a BMW.

In September 2023 a victim of porch piracy got so fed up of having her packages stolen that she decided to seek revenge on her thief. The Texas mom tricked a serial porch pirate into stealing a fake delivery filled with dirty diapers - only for him to return and smear them on her door in revenge.
Walmart has revealed shoppers are buying less food thanks to the increasing popularity of 'miracle' drugs like Ozempic - while restaurants are also whittling down portion sizes.

The weight loss wonder jab has proven a hit among the wealthy, with healthcare providers in the US writing more than nine million prescriptions for appetite suppression medications during the last three months of 2022.

This figure is likely to have ballooned since, as appetite for drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy grew this year. Recent analysis suggests as many as 15% of Americans - around 150 million people - have now tried the drugs.

Amid this rocketing trend, which shows no sign of stopping, retailers have already noticed a marked impact on grocery hauls and restaurant orders.

New York socialite Libbie Mugrabi, 43, who is taking Ozempic along with many of her friends, said their restaurant orders have become much more conservative.

New York socialite Libbie Mugrabi , 43, who is taking Ozempic along with many of her friends, said their restaurant orders have become much more conservative thanks to the drug

Sammy Muscovic, who owns Sojourn and Sojourn Social in the neighborhood said the branches have begun serving smaller versions of flagship meals, including burgers without fries and three spring rolls for $8 instead of the standard $12 for five

High-end restauranteurs are also feeling the pinch from the changing habits of their ever-slimmer clientele. 'People have been leaving a lot of food at the table,' according to Thomas Makkos, the owner of Nello on Madison Avenue, New York

The ex wife of billionaire art collector David Mugrabi said a recent trip to the chic new Caviar Kaspia on New York City's Upper East Side saw her table of six order very little.

Mugrabi revealed they ordered only scrambled eggs with salmon, a crab salad and a $540 baked potato filled with osetra - one of the most expensive types of caviar - and they didn't even finish their meals.

Referring to the Ozempic jab, she told the New York Post: 'I can't even eat all the caviar, but that's the point of the shot!'

Known as the 'skinny jab', Ozempic is the brand name for the diabetes drug semaglutide, which is taken as a weekly injection and has reportedly helped stars such as Kim Kardashian and actress Christina Hendricks rapidly shed the pounds.

Semaglutide drugs - which also include Mounjaro and Wegovy - were designed for type 1 diabetics and require a prescription. They are not sold over the counter.

High-end restauranteurs are also feeling the pinch from the changing habits of their ever-slimmer clientele.

'People have been leaving a lot of food at the table,' Thomas Makkos, the owner of Nello on Madison Avenue, New York, told the Post.

Makkos revealed that the restaurant is now offering 'tapas' size portions, and smaller versions of popular meals like the Gnocchi Mona Lisa. The standard version of this meal costs $51, while a newly-created more modest version costs $39.

Known as the 'skinny jab', Ozempic is the brand name for the diabetes drug semaglutide, which is taken as a weekly injection and has reportedly helped stars such as Kim Kardashian and actress Christina Hendricks rapidly shed the pounds

Kim Kardashian is said to be on the miracle weight loss drug Ozempic

For Walmart, Ozempic is a double-edged sword, because as they profit from its sales in their pharmacies, they're seeing consumers spend less on food in store

Several more Upper East Side restaurants are evolving in a similar way.

Sammy Muscovic, who owns Sojourn and Sojourn Social in the neighborhood said the branches have begun serving smaller versions of flagship meals, including burgers without fries and three spring rolls for $8 instead of $12 for five.

'Customers have been saying that the food was amazing but they feel full  we don't want them to be overwhelmed if they aren't hungry,' Muscovic told the Post.

David Tornek, CEO and founder of Meat Market, said he's had to 'double inventory in all locations' to satisfy the Ozempic-fueled demand for smaller meals.

The Florida-based steak house now serves increasing numbers of 6-ounce petite filet mignons, with fewer orders for the 12-ounce version.

For Walmart, Ozempic is a double-edged sword, because as they profit from its sales in their pharmacies, they're seeing consumers spend less on food in store.

John Furner, CEO of the grocery giant, said shoppers are purchasing 'fewer units' while opting for foods with 'slightly less calories'.

WEIGHT LOSS: Christina Hendricks posted a picture of her new figure after Ozempic

Billionaire Elon Musk, who owns Twitter, admitted that taking the drug helped him shed 30lb

'We definitely do see a slight change compared to the total population, we do see a slight pullback in overall basket,' Furner told Bloomberg.

The retailer is analyzing changes in consumer habits using anonymized data among people taking the weight loss drug made by Novo Nordisk A/S and similar products.

Furner said it's too soon to come to a definite conclusion about the impact of the diabetes drugs, but he is noticing a pattern.
A Bronx daycare owner, her husband and his cousin have appeared in court after allegedly killing a baby with a stash of fentanyl that was hidden in the building.

Grei Mendez, 36, her husband Felix Herrera Garcia, 34, and his cousin Carlisto Brito, 41, were arraigned on charges of second-degree murder, first-degree drugs possession and four counts of first-degree assault at the Bronx Supreme Court on Thursday.

The trio were remanded in custody and are due back in court on November 27.

One-year-old Nicholas Feliz Dominici died on September 15 after being exposed to fentanyl at the Divino Nino Daycare center in the Bronx. Prosecutors allege the childcare center was being used as a front for a drug dealing.

Following Nicholas' death, Garcia fled to Mexico and sparked an international manhunt that ultimately led to his capture 11 days later in Sinaloa.

Grei Mendez appeared in court charged with two counts of causing death through the distribution of narcotics

Felix Garcia was arrested in the Sinaloa city of Culiacan during a traffic stop after an 11-day manhunt

Carilisto Brito, 41, is escorted through the Bronx criminal court on Thursday

Nicholas Feliz, 1, died on September 15 after ingesting fentanyl at a Bronx day care

His wife Grei Mendez reportedly called her husband twice and then deleted more than 21,000 messages before alerting the authorities to the unresponsive children.

Nicholas was pronounced dead at the scene, while two two-year-old boys and an eight-month-old baby girl were saved with overdose-reversal drug Narcan.

Garcia was filmed by security cameras carrying plastic bags as he fled from the back door of the nursery.

Announcing Thursday's indictment, District Attorney Darcel Clark said: 'A beautiful little boy lost his life and three precious children aged eight months to two years became seriously ill from fentanyl poisoning.

'This is a catastrophe. Our sorrow is matched only by outrage because these babies were shields to protect a narcotics operation. Nicholas' death was entirelyexcruciatinglyneedless and avoidable. We will get justice for him, the other children and their families.'

In the aftermath, photos shared by police showed bags full of powder inside the 'trap floor,' a few steps away from a shelf of children's toys.

According to the investigation, a kilo of fentanyl was found in a closet in the daycare, and six kilos of fentanyl, heroin and other controlled substances were found under the floor, beneath a padded mat where children napped.

Cops also found multiple devices used by traffickers for mixing drugs and pressing it into bricks.

NYPD Chief of Detectives Joe Kenny said last week 'one grain, two grains of fentanyl can take down a grown man so even the residue itself for a small child, would cause the death.'

According to reports, there were no previous complaints made against Divino Nino Daycare.

The daycare has a capacity of eight children between the ages of six weeks to 12 years old, records show.

One of the secret hiding places for drugs found by prosecutors at the Bronx nursery

Photos released by the DA's office show the nursery as it was found on the day the baby died

Authorities escort Grei Mendez out of a police precinct in the Bronx following her arrest in connection to the death of a one-year-old boy who died at her day care center September 15

Herrera, the husband of the Bronx daycare owner who has been charged in the fentanyl-related death of a baby, was seen escaping the area on September 15. He was arrested in Culiacan, Mexico, 11 days later

Nicholas Feliz, 1, died at Divino Nino Daycare on September 15

Nicholas' heartbroken father, Otoniel Feliz, 32, told DailyMail.com it had been the boy's first week at the daycare.

'We had a good recommendation. We were told it was a great place. It looked like a nice place,' he explained.

But within one week of being cared for at the daycare, Nicholas ingested fentanyl - a substance that has caused a spike in overdoses across the U.S.

Otoniel said they'd been given a tour of the daycare the first time they dropped their son off and it looked like any other, with toys and kids' furniture inside.

But after enrolling their son, Otoniel and his wife were never allowed to come back in their son often being brought to them by their caretakers, he claimed.

'Parents don't have permission to go inside. You see it on the first day to see where your son will be, but after that you don't have permission to go in,' he claimed.

'They said they 'don't want contamination from the outside to go inside because they keep everything clean,' that's what they said.

'My wife called me saying our child is going to hospital. We thought he was fine, 10 minutes later, my wife called me back on the way to the hospital and said he died.'

Divino Nino Daycare passed its annual unannounced inspection with zero violations on September 6, city records note after receiving its license in May.

DEA Special Agent in Charge Frank A. Tarentino III said: 'As alleged, Paredes had an instrumental role in this conspiracy and is charged with narcotics distribution and death in connection with the poisoning of four children.

'The alleged drugs and materials seized in the trap are indicative of a prolific drug packaging operation.

'Traffickers often hide contraband in inconspicuous or unsuspecting locations with no regard for the safety of others.

'In this case, the Daycare's floorboards were used as concealment, putting children's lives at risk who innocently sat on the floor to play.

'I reiterate that DEA and our law enforcement partners will continue to pursue justice for all members of this trafficking ring.'

The National Institute on Drug Abuse describes Fentanyl as a powerful synthetic opioid that is FDA-approved to treat severe pain.

Over the past decade fentanyl has been made and distributed illegally and other illegally made synthetic opioids have been increasingly found in the drug supply.

Following Nicholas' death, Garcia fled to Mexico and sparked an international manhunt that ultimately led to his capture 11 days later in Sinaloa

During this time fentanyl and related substances have contributed to a dramatic rise in drug overdose deaths in the United States.

The rate of drug overdose deaths involving the synthetic opioid fentanyl more than tripled in the United States from 2016 through 2021, according to a report by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Fentanyl is up to 50 times stronger than heroin and 100 times stronger than morphine, and has increasingly been mixed with other illicit drugs often with lethal results.

The CDC report showed that the rate of drug overdose deaths involving fentanyl increased from 5.7 per 100,000 people in 2016 to 21.6 per 100,000 in 2021.

Fentanyl-related deaths rose by about 55% in 2019-2020, and 24.1% in 2020-2021, said Merianne Rose Spencer, one of the report's authors.
A Chicago man who has been allegedly exposing himself to neighbors for years has finally been charged by police.

Female residents of the downtown high-rise condo building across the street have been struggling to bring the problem to the attention of law enforcement for several years.

James Bakk, 70, was arrested and charged by Chicago police with two misdemeanor accounts of public indecency.

The women, including condo owner Kaitlyn Brynarski, called Bakk's behavior a 'daily nightmare.'

'24/7, he's naked in his unit,' she told WGNTV. 'For 10-to-15 minutes a day, he will go near the windows and expose himself and touch himself.'

She described the view as so violating that she's considering selling her condo and has been since she moved in two years ago.

James Bakk, 70, has been arrested and charged by Chicago police after years of allegedly exposing himself to his neighbors

A second, unidentified woman kept a log over the last 10-months that shows Bakk has exposed himself a total of 68 times, sometimes more than once per day.

'I do feel like it's a former of sexual harassment,' the woman said in August.

Earlier this year, Bryniarski confronted Bakk in the lobby of his building, telling him that what he's doing is 'not okay,' and she's had 'enough!'

At the time, he responded: 'I understand,' but did not ultimately stop his bad behavior.

The women filed a police report that stated the man once approached the window naked and waved. They also said he has previously held up a sign that said 'come over.'

When the women's police report, complaints to building management, and to their city alderman, all went nowhere, they eventually turned to WGN to bring attention to the plight.

In August, the local outlet reported the story and the police later arrested Bakk.

Police had previously told the women that the man could not be charged with a crime because he was inside his home.

Maggie Mendenhall Casey, who has prosecuted public indecency cases for the Cook County State's Attorney's Office said she disagreed with the police perspective.

'A public place under the law doesn't have to be outside. It can be in your home, if you're someplace where you can reasonably be expected to be seen by others,' she said.

In Illinois, she added, for an individual to be charged with public indecency, it must be proven that they exposed themselves with the 'intent to arouse.'

Casey said based on her review of the videos, the women's cell phone videos of Bakk, she 'would go forward' were the 'case presented in front of me.'

The women, including condo owner Kaitlyn Brynarski, called Bakk's behavior a 'daily nightmare'

Bakk, who has previously been confronted by his neighbors and the media, is seen leaving court

A still from a cell phone video taken by one of Bakk's neighbors

One part of the arrest report says that police have a signed complaint stating that the man 'was naked in his residence, looked toward her direction and began masturbating.'

The accused harasser has not yet entered a plea and declined to comment when approached by WGN outside of court.

When confronted by a WGN reporter in August, he acknowledged that his neighbors had asked him to stop exposing himself in a way that was clearly visible to residents across the street.

He said that the women should simply 'put the blinds down.'
Case was eventually settled in July 2021 - weeks before she moved into Sascha Jovanovic's Brentwood Airbnb, where she has lived for the last 540 days

Hirschhorn, 55, sublet a room at a $2.6M home in Oakland in September 2019 but refused to move out after the original tenant left due to her behavior

Tenant from hell Elizabeth Hirschhorn was kicked out of a $2.6million rental in Oakland, California, less than two months before moving into the ritzy Brentwood guesthouse she has since refused to leave, DailyMail.com can reveal.

Hirschhorn, 55, is demanding $100,000 to leave the luxury Los Angeles property that she rented through Airbnb in September 2021 and has been squatting in ever since.

Now, as she is pictured here for the first time, DailyMail.com can exclusively reveal Harvard-educated Hirschhorn did the same thing to a Bay Area landlord  and cited Covid-19 in that case as well before eventually settling the case in July 2021.

Hirschhorn, who previously lived in Pasadena, California, and in Tucson, Arizona, with her elderly parents, can been seen in unearthed social media photos posing with fellow alumni at the class of 1990's 25-year reunion in 2015.

Court filings reveal the current Brentwood tenant-landlord dispute is strikingly similar to the Oakland case, which also saw Hirschhorn embroiled in a dispute over cleaning, with the man from whom she initially sublet the property moving out due to her 'hostile behavior', leaving her alone in the house where she continued to stay despite having no tenancy agreement and paying no rent.

Elizabeth Hirschhorn, the Airbnb guest refusing to leave homeowner Sascha Jovanovic's guesthouse in Brentwood Hills, LA, has been unmasked by DailyMail.com. She is pictured posing with a fellow grad at her Harvard alumni reunion in 2015

Los Angeles property: Hirschhorn first rented the luxury home through Airbnb in September 2021 and has been living there for the past 540 days rent-free. She is now demanding $100,000 to vacate the house

Oakland property: Court filings obtained by DailyMail.com reveal Hirschhorn was involved in a similar squatting dispute at this cottage she sublet in 2019. The case was settled just two months before she moved into her current rental

Hirschhorn also recently settled another dispute  this time over an unpaid $19,000 American Express credit card bill.

As in the other cases, she countersued claiming she wasn't liable for the full amount before being ordered to pony up both the bill and AMEX's legal costs by a Los Angeles judge in April.

Homeowner Sascha Jovanovic approved a six-month stay for Hirschhorn from September 13, 2021 to March 19, 2022 but she has since refused to vacate the home

Calls, texts and emails to Hirschhorn by DailyMail.com regarding both her current situation and her previous property dispute went unanswered.

Hirschhorn has now been dubbed 'America's worst Airbnb renter' after it emerged that she has squatted in the guesthouse belonging Sascha Jovanovic, 61, for more than 540 days after her initial six-month tenancy expired while paying no rent.

Jovanovic, who bought his palatial $3.8million mansion since 1997, has repeatedly tried to boot Hirschhorn out  even offering alternative accommodation in a hotel and $2,000 to relocate.

But despite his efforts, Hirschhorn told him that she wants $100,000 to move and added: 'I don't feel safe being forced to vacate with a housing disability and the high risks of Covid-19 complications.'

DailyMail.com can reveal the Oakland case is strikingly similar and saw her sublet a room in a $2.6million cottage around September 2019 and then refuse to move out even after the original tenant left due to her behavior.

As in the Jovanovic case, she ended up squatting in the home rent-free for more than a year and gave Covid regulations and health concerns as her reasons for staying put.

Hirschhorn (pictured with a fellow Havard alum) has now been dubbed 'America's worst Airbnb renter' after it emerged that she has overstayed her six-month tenancy in Brentwood by 540 days

The case involving this Oakland property has striking similarities to the Brentwood lawsuit, with records revealing the nightmare tenant ended up squatting in the home rent-free  citing Covid regulations and health concerns

As in the Jovanovic case, records show Hirschhorn also filed a countersuit against homeowners Brian and Gordon Bishop for 'negligence'

Hirschhorn filed the suit also alleging 'intentional tort'

According to the lawsuit, filed in October 2020, Hirschhorn claimed Bishop had released 'a harmful substance' into the home on November 22, 2019

And, like in the LA legal battle, she countersued landlords Brian and Gordon Bishop  claiming their actions had been harmful to her health and accusing them of 'negligence'.

According to the complaint, which was filed in August 2020, Hirschhorn had sublet a room in the property from tenant Alex Lewin but became involved in a dispute with him over cleaning.

The papers say: '[Brian Bishop] is informed and believes, defendant made unreasonable requests of Mr. Lewin to replace all her personal items that were allegedly damaged by an unknown substance that was released into the air.

'Additionally, defendant made requests for Mr. Lewin to clean the premises in a very specific manner due to her hypersensitivity to allergens.'

It is unclear precisely when Hirschhorn moved in, but a separate case over an unpaid credit card bill includes statements which show she rented a car from Enterprise near her former home in Pasadena, California, on August 30, 2019 and dropped it off in Oakland two days later.

The legal documents go on to allege that Lewin moved out of the home on March 5, 2020 due to Hirschhorn's 'hostile' behavior and that she continued to live there after he left despite having no tenancy agreement with the Bishop brothers and not paying any rent.

In her cross-complaint, which was filed in October 2020  giving the Oakland property as her address  Hirschhorn claimed that Gordon Bishop had released 'a harmful substance' into the home on November 22, 2019.

Although the Bishop brothers' complaint says Lewin had the property professionally cleaned, Hirschhorn claims the opposite and said he refused to do so.

She then went on to say the landlords 'pressured' her to leave during the Covid-19 shutdown which amounted to negligence on their part.

She said she returned 'following defendants' partial cleaning of the property on February 13, 2020.

Further court papers obtained by DailyMail.com show Massachusetts native Hirschhorn was also sued by American Express over an unpaid credit card debt totaling $19,617.82 in February 2021

'However, the cleaning was insufficient,' she said and she 'continued to be exposed to the harmful substance and pressured by cross-defendants to vacate, in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic shelter-in-place order.'

As a result, she said she continued to suffer.

The case was eventually settled on July 20, 2021  just over a month before Hirschhorn moved into the guesthouse Airbnb where she has lived for the last 540 days.

Further court papers obtained by DailyMail.com show Massachusetts native Hirschhorn was also sued by American Express over an unpaid credit card debt totaling $19,617.82 in February 2021.

The case, which was initially filed in Oakland before being moved to Los Angeles, also saw Hirschhorn countersue  claiming the credit card company had not reimbursed her for a series of false charges made by a relocation company and that therefore, she was not liable.

In the end, the case was settled after more than two years of wrangling in April with Hirschhorn forced to admit that she is on the hook for $19,037.96 plus costs and ordered to repay the money in installments of $541.67 per month.

Hirschhorn's dispute with Airbnb host and renowned dentist Jovanovic is now at the center of an ongoing lawsuit to evict her, but an LA judge has said he has no right to remove the 'tenant.'

Sascha Jovanovic rented the guesthouse of his Brentwood mansion out on Airbnb in September 2021 to Elizabeth Hirschhorn who has now lived in his guesthouse for 540 days longer than expected for free

Court documents revealed that Jovanovic filed a lawsuit against his unwanted tenant with four complaints including negligence and trespassing after she outstayed her Airbnb agreement

According to court documents, Jovanovic approved a six-month stay for Hirschhorn from September 13, 2021 to March 19, 2022 - a total of 187 nights - for $105 a night and $19,833 total. She extended her stay by 24 additional days with an end date of April 12.

Things turned hostile when Jovanovic went to fix the electronic blinds in his guesthouse after receiving a complaint from Hirschhorn.

When he was inside the property, he noticed there was mold and water damage around the sink, which he claimed were not there before her stay.

Jovanovic claims he offered to pay for a hotel for Hirschhorn to stay in while he fixed the damages, but she refused and said, 'I don't feel safe being forced to vacate with a housing disability and the high risks of Covid-19 complications.'

She also cited LA County's Covid regulations at the time as well as a medical note proving she had chemical sensitivities.

After her refusal, Jovanovic offered her a stay in his own home - which she also declined because of her sensitivities to cats. Now, Hirschhorn is counter-suing her host she has claimed that he 'inappropriately invited' her to move into his house with him, according to the LA times.
Chicago's Mayor Brandon Johnson has vowed to visit the southern border to assess the ongoing migrant situation - as more than 15,000 have flooded into the Windy City.

The promise, made Wednesday at a press conference, comes roughly four months into the ex-Cook County commissioner's term, as sanctuary cities like his continue to grapple with waves of asylum seekers coming from Texas.

The ex-schoolteacher who succeeded Lori Lightfoot, assured attendees that he would be visiting the border 'soon' but did could not specify when.

Nearly 30 bus-loads of immigrants arrived in Chicago just last week - and that number is only set to get worse.

Johnson, 47, said as many as 22 busloads of migrants could be arriving daily - as several have been seen sleeping on the city streets.

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Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson vowed Wednesday to visit the southern border to assess the ongoing migrant situation

Migrants have been being bussed into the city for the past 14 months. On Wednesday, Johnson said as many as 22 busloads could be arriving daily going forward

Citing how the 'growing crisis' has been a 'tremendous sacrifice' for the people of Chicago, Johnson told the crowd of reporters: 'We need to go assess the situation.'

'We need better coordination, quite frankly.'

Announcing that a team from the Department of Homeland Security had arrived earlier that day to assess the situation, Johnson added that he had 'always' been concerned about the arrivals since becoming mayor this past May.

The progressive also appeared to take shots at the Biden Administration - when asked about concerns about the growing number of migrants being housed in police stations, airports, and even schools.

He said: 'This is a growing crisis, not only for the city of Chicago but for the entire globe.

'The population shift that we are experiencing as the result of the failure of federal policies is now impacting the people of Chicago in a very dramatic way,' he said.

He went on to cite how 'serious this dynamic is' on the border - where thousands of migrants continue to cross illegally, before willingly turning themselves in to Border Patrol.

From there, they are being bussed from cities in Texas such as Eagle Pass and El Paso - both of whose mayors have said they are at 'capacity' - to so-called sanctuary cities as a protest against immigration policies.

At the time, Johnson's predecessor, Lori Lightfoot, touted Chicago as a place where migrants could find solace - but more than a year later, and after a disastrous first term, it has fallen on Johnson to address the worsening situation.

Speaking to the public Wednesday, he said permanent shelters are going up 'every week', but that it has not been enough to address the near-daily arrivals - some of whom are seen here sleeping at makeshift shelter at O'Hare International Airport earlier this summer

Speaking to the public Wednesday, he said permanent shelters are going up 'every week', but that it has not been enough to address and house the near-daily arrivals.

He also pointed pointed the finger at Texas Governor Greg Abbot - the driving force behind the bus trips - for creating a problem he said both he and the federal government are now tasked with cleaning up.

'Based upon our interactions thus far. It is becoming increasingly clear that those who want to disrupt our democracy are committed to doing that,' he said of Abbot and other lawmakers in the Lone Star State. 'It's a real mission of theirs.'

He added: 'And so our hope is that we will continue to get more resources and a stronger commitment from the federal government to be able to provide us with the support that the people of Chicago need.'

In regard to his prospective visit to the 2,000 mile-long boundary, the mayor said: 'I am going to the border as soon as possible.'

He quickly added: 'But I gotta coordinate that with running the government and making sure that my wife and children are secure as well.'

When pressed more about a potential timeline, the progressive several times said he would visit 'soon.'

Migrants take shelter inside the Chicago Police Department's 8th District station, another repurposed site being used as a shelter for many of the more than 15,000 migrants in the city

Air passengers wait for rides as migrant families rest at a temporary shelter inside the bus and shuttle center at O'Hare International Airport this past Wednesday, when many Texas cities said had reached 'capacity' - an assertion also echoed by New York's Eric Adams

'Going to the border is to make sure that everybody knows that my administration is committed to making sure that we are putting together the full force of government at every single level to ensure that these families, who, by the way, theyre not illegal - theyre asylum-seekers - are protected by international law,' he said.

Days earlier, New York Mayor Eric Adams said he too would be visiting the border, but to counteract his previously aired message that the Big Apple is open to migrants.

Asked whether his message to migrants was more of the same, Chicago's 57th mayor simply said, 'No.'

Addressing outcry from concerned citizens, Johnson said he 'certainly recognize[s] how hard it has been for the people of Chicago,' but quickly laid blame on members of his opposing parts.

'What I do know for sure, without action, the type of chaos that the Republican Party is causing is going to be greater,' Johnson said.

'We need shared responsibility from every single level of government. And so my concern did not start last week. It didn't start today. I've been concerned about this.'

He went on to urge the city's some 2.6million residents to join 'the choir' of voices looking for help from the federal government - and politicians representing his state like fellow Democrat Gov. JB Pritzker.

'Join the choir pushing the federal government and the state government to continue to share the responsibility. That's what leadership does, that's what I'm doing,' he said.

Thousands of migrants are pictured lining up to be processed on arrival in Eagle Pass, Texas, last week. At one point the line stretched five miles

An ex-schoolteacher who succeeded Lori Lightfoot, Johnson, 47, assured attendees that he would be visiting the border 'soon', but said he would not be turning away any migrants

In the meantime, the mass of arrivals have been housed in places like schools, airports, and police stations - forcing a flood of discourse at weekly community meetings where residents have voiced their displeasure with the city's current conditions.

One woman, West Side resident Cata Truss said at one such meeting held in the city last week: 'I supported Mayor Brandon Johnson,' said. 'I feel like a fool right now. I feel like a plum fool.'

Brought up in a suburban home a stone's throw from the city's center, Brandon Johnson surprised several by upsetting Lightfoot earlier this year - while campaigning on promises to build 'a better, stronger, safer Chicago'.

He aired his vision of a place where 'all residents can live and work free from the threat of violence.'

Today, shootings are down 12 percent from this time last year, while murders are down 10 percent. Carjackings are down 26 percent.

Those numbers, however, are down historically high markers earned under Lightfoot during the pandemic, that before had not been seen in decades.

Meanwhile, at the border, the U.S. Border Patrol made 181,509 arrests in August, up 37 percent from the month before - but little changed from August 2022 and well below the high of more than 220,000 in December, according to figures.

It reversed a plunge in the numbers after new asylum restrictions were introduced in May. That comes after years of steadily rising migration levels produced by economic crisis and political and social turmoil in many of the countries people are fleeing.

Once, just dozens of migrants from Central American countries would pass through Irapuato by train each day, said Marta Ponce, a 73-year-old from who has spent more than a decade providing aid to those who travel the tracks running through her town.

Now, that number often reaches the thousands.
Two former students at a prestigious drama college today won compensation after accusing senior staff of failing to properly investigate sexual assaults.

Alyse McCamish and Sydney Feder, both 26, bravely waived their right to anonymity to sue the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama - the former college of stars such as Sir Anthony Hopkins, Rob Brydon and Ruth Jones.

Ms McCamish was awarded 14,000 in damages and Ms Feder 5,000 after a legal battle over their sex attack ordeal - saying college officials failed to properly protect students from sex predators.

The judge also made a landmark ruling that universities do 'have a duty of care' to students to carry out reasonable investigations over allegations of sexual assault.

The women claim assault was 'commonplace' amid a 'toxic environment' at the Cardiff college, where it was passed off as 'part of the student/acting experience' and something to be tolerated.

Alyse McCamish, who is pictured outside Central London County Court, was awarded 14,000 in damages

Sydney Feder (pictured outside Central London County Court), from Connecticut but is now London-based, alleges she was assaulted in a dressing room at the college in November 2017 by the same male student who assaulted Ms McCamish the previous year

Ms McCamish (pictured), who is from Tennessee and auditioned for the college in Chicago, said she was sexually assaulted by a male student in 2016

Both women travelled from their homes in the Unites States to study at the college when they were teenagers.

Ms McCamish, who is from Tennessee and auditioned for the college in Chicago, said she was sexually assaulted by a male student in 2016.

She alleged he assaulted her four times in student accommodation, including allegations he masturbated in front of her and pushed her against a wall to perform oral sex over her pants.

She was spurred into complaining in June 2017 after an improvisation class during which she was locked into a room with other students, including her alleged attacker, who then stripped naked, leaving her feeling 'upset, trapped and distressed.'

But Ms McCamish, now an LA-based actor, said she reported the incidents to RWCMD in June 2017, but was told to go to the police or 'get over it'. She said she asked staff to separate her from the alleged perpetrator and told the court she did everything she could to avoid him.

Despite the allegations, the alleged attacker was not suspended and it was not until January 2018 that Ms McCamish made a formal written complaint.

'When I first reported that I had been repeatedly sexually assaulted by a student who was violent and coercive and had carried out the first attack when I was incapacitated, the immediate response from RWCMD was "It sounds like a relationship gone wrong",' Ms McCamish said.

'I wasn't believed then and right up until the trial RWCMD said that they would put me to proof and that they would cross examine me about those assaults.'

Ms Feder, from Connecticut but is now London-based, alleges she was assaulted in a dressing room at the college in November 2017 by the same male student who assaulted Ms McCamish the previous year. She claims she reported it to RWCMD two months later.

She alleged the student entered a school changing room, ran at her, pinned her down on a desk and forcibly 'massaged' her back and head until she cried out in pain.

The drama school concluded that there was 'insufficient evidence' to support Ms McCamish's claims but agreed Ms Feder had been subjected to 'inappropriate touching.'

The male student was formally warned, suspended for two weeks, and required to agree a reintegration plan. He appealed and his suspension was halved.

'It is nearly six years since I reported that I had been sexually assaulted by a student at RWCMD,' Ms Feder said.

'Now that we have this judgment, for the first time I feel that somebody has heard what I have to say and agreed that what happened to me since then was wrong.'

Ms Feder added: 'I hope that no student at RWCMD or any university has to go through what Alyse and I endured. Sadly, I have no confidence that RWCMD will not repeat their behaviour,' she added.

Both women bravely waived their right to anonymity to sue the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama (pictured) - the former college of stars such as Sir Anthony Hopkins, Rob Brydon and Ruth Jones

McCamish (pictured), now an LA-based actor, said she reported the incidents to RWCMD in June 2017, but was told to go to the police or 'get over it'

Ms Feder alleged the student entered a school changing room, ran at her, pinned her down on a desk and forcibly 'massaged' her back and head until she cried out in pain

'I know of others who have suffered because their attitude towards sexual harassment.'

Recorder John Halford ruled in favour of Ms McCamish and Ms Feder at the Central London County Court. He found RWCMD was negligent in its response to the sexual assault allegations.

After the ruling, the RWCMD said: 'Nothing is more important to us than keeping our students safe. We are sorry that the women involved in this case were hurt by aspects of the way the college responded to their complaints.

'Since 2017, we've transformed how we respond to sensitive disclosures, how we deal with complaints or concerns and how we support and safeguard our students.

'We are also determined that at RWCMD we will continue to do everything we can to be a safe and respectful learning space.'

Universities UK, which represents 142 institutions, said: 'Any instance of assault or harassment is unacceptable and it is vital that universities handle incidents robustly and appropriately. Universities understand that this work is ongoing, and there is more to do in this space.'

In a statement following the judgment, RWCMD Principal Professor Helena Gaunt, said: 'Universities and the theatre/film industries have made real changes in recent years in relation to many of the issues raised in this case. This includes how challenging aspects of an actor's training - such as physical contact and intimacy - are taught.'

Professor Gaunt said the school is today publishing a 10-point summary of changes it has introduced, adding that following a major review, the undergraduate actors course received a 100 per cent satisfactory rating in the National Student Survey.
For 15 years, Brent Lee believed the world was run by a shadowy evil cabal of paedophiles orchestrating almost every atrocity from 9/11 to mass shootings.

But now the 44-year-old works to combat disinformation and says he is 'totally obsessed' with challenging the wild theories he once wholeheartedly believed.

The self-labelled 'recovering conspiracist' says he used to believe politicians performed ritual sacrifices and that terrorist attacks were government-orchestrated.

But in 2018, he began to question his worldview when the 'alt-right' US broadcaster Alex Jones began claiming that the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting was fake.

The ex-truther saw theories that no one died and the parents of the 20 children who died were actors and thought it was 'implausible'.

That was the beginning of the end for his belief in the wild 'alternative' explanations on the internet.

Brent Lee works to combat disinformation and says he is 'totally obsessed' with challenging the wild theories he once wholeheartedly believed. Credit: Brent Lee

In 2018, The 44-year-old began to question his worldview when the 'alt-right' US broadcaster Alex Jones began claiming that the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting was fake. Credit: HC Podcast

READ MORE - Russell Brand faces a second investigation into allegations against him as police probe 'sex predator' claims Advertisement

Now, he looks back at his previous beliefs finds it 'funny', comparing it to believing in Santa Claus.

But he warns that the truther community spreading disinformation can be dangerous, and told the Times how 'conspiracy influencers' like Russell Brand say they are 'anti-establishment' but are really just spreading conspiracy theories.

Bristol-based Mr Lee, who will be addressing a conference in Poland on disinformation this month, told the Guardian: 'I felt, I can't deal with hearing this any more because it's no longer what I believe, so I just logged off the internet.'

He added: 'Don't try to get me to make it make sense because it doesn't. This is why I get so embarrassed about what I believed.'

In 2003, Mr Lee was 24 and working behind the till in a garage in Peterborough when he started watching videos that offered alternative perspectives on 9/11.

The videos said the attacks were orchestrated by the US government as a way of justifying military action in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Before he became a conspiracy theorist, he held a strong anti-war stance and a skepticism about politicians' motivations, but later believed that a network of secret societies and cults was running the world.

The former conspiracy theorist used to believe evil politicians were performing satanic and morbid rituals. Credit: Brent Lee

Mr Lee said he was ashamed of contributing to the spread of misinformation but he didn't intend to lie. Credit: Brent Lee

Speaking on the HCPod podcast, he said: 'Within a few years I was thinking that the entire world was run by a secret society or a cult. That they were trying to raise the Antichrist. That we were constantly under black magic to keep us in line.'

One of the theories he believed was that a secret student society at Yale University which George W Bush and Democrat John Kerry were members of - Skull and Bones - performed satanic rituals.

This led him to think there are evil politicians performing satanic and morbid rituals.

He explained: 'Once you've been swayed by these arguments, it's easy to just keep going down the rabbit hole, finding more dots to connect.

'Once you have such a skewed view of the world, you can be convinced of other stuff.'

Skull and Bones Society Founded in 1832, Skull and Bones is a secret society at Yale University. Many male society members, called Bonesmen, have gone on to achieve prominence in business or government. Three of them became US Presidents: William Taft

George W Bush

George W.H Bush The emblem of the society is a skull and crossbones with the number '322' beneath it. Skull and Bones is featured in books and movies which claim that the society plays a role in a global conspiracy for world domination, and that it controls the CIA. Advertisement

'If I'm laughing at conspiracy theorists, it's because I'm laughing at myself.

'It is funny  that you're adults who believe in Santa Claus or something equally ridiculous.'

Mr Lee said he wasn't taught how to research and fact-check information and that could have led to his rabbit hole of alternative theories.

When the 2005 7/7 attacks happened in London, he examined footage of the attackers and decided images had been Photoshopped before being released by the police.

He spent months building an alternative explanation for the attacks and blogging about it.

Mr Lee said he was ashamed of contributing to the spread of misinformation about the attacks, but he didn't intend to lie.

He wanted justice for the victims but admitted that he was wrong.

Mr Lee began to question his worldview when the US broadcaster Alex Jones began claiming that the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting was fake.

He read that no one died and the parents of the 20 children who died were actors.

But Mr Lee found this unrealistic and started to feel annoyed by other wild theories swirling around the internet.

He said he saw theories that Justin Bieber and Eminem were Illuminati clones, and that a paedophile ring, involving high-level Democratic politicians, was operating out of a pizza restaurant.

But he thought 'well that's just stupid.'

That was the beginning of Mr Lee crawling out of his conspiracy theorist hole.

He now works in a factory and spends his lunch breaks and free time analysing conspiracy theories online.

But instead of fueling the misinformation, he is trying to combat it.

The ex-truther has now been ostracised by his former online community because of his efforts to discredit the wild theories floating around.

He said he wanted to bring people out of the rabbit hole but it backfired and his online community of 'truthers' have since treated him as a pariah.

But he told the BBC that the support from others has helped him cope with the loss of friends.

He said: 'It has given me a whole new lease of life - I wasn't expecting people outside of the truther community to want to hear what I had to say.

'People found it useful hearing from someone who believed that stuff and why they believed it - putting things into context really helps people understand.

'That's what I found with conspiracy theories, putting the theories into context helps dismantle them.'
Firebrand Rep. Jim Jordan said he will not insist on a change the rule that proved to be a kiss of death for Kevin McCarthy and tamped down a push for more Ukraine aid as he pitches himself for speaker to the House GOP.

The Judiciary Committee chair pitched himself as the candidate who could unite the right-wing Freedom Caucus and the conference's moderates.

'The eight people who voted how we disagreed with, we gotta bring them back into the fold,' Jordan said, referring to the eight Republicans who voted for the motion to remove McCarthy from his job.

He suggested he would not wade into the debate over the rule and would allow the GOP conference to come to a decision.

'We have to as a conference, as Republicans, figure that out. If I'm speaker I'm not gonna go to the Democrats and make a change because they're gonna want some kind of, they're gonna want some kind of agreement on some other things. I think you have to work that out with your party.'

McCarthy was abruptly ousted from the speakership on Monday after Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., due to a rule he agreed to in January - a single member motion to vacate.

Firebrand Rep. Jim Jordan said he will not insist on a change the rule that proved to be a kiss of death for Kevin McCarthy and tamped down a push for more Ukraine aid as he pitches himself for speaker to the House GOP

Under the rule only one member can force a privileged resolution to the House floor.

McCarthy had originally offered a five-member motion but hardliners demanded one in exchange for giving him the gavel.

Jordan also suggested he would not put a Ukraine aid package on the House floor anytime soon.

'Why should we be sending American tax dollars to Ukraine when we dont even know what the goal is? No one can tell me what the objective is,' Jordan mused on Fox News Thursday morning.

McCarthy may have been Ukraine advocates' best hope in the House: the former speaker never outright opposed Ukraine aid even as he called for more oversight.

Jordan voted against the $300 million to train Ukraine's troops that passed the House last week.

Jordan said his first focus as leader would be border security.

'The very first thing i would focus on no money can be used to process release migrants into this country,' he told Fox.

Jordan is running against Majority Leader Steve Scalise, and each have around a dozen early endorsements in the race.

Jordan is running against Majority Leader Steve Scalise, and each have around 10 early endorsements in the race

Fellow Ohio Republican Rep. Mike Carey has been making calls on Jordan's behalf to the party's moderates. Jordan has been known to peddle Donald Trump's talking points on Capitol Hill and is not known for his ability to work with Democrats.

Jordan told NBC News he had a 'great conversation' with Trump about the speaker's race.

A number of moderates have insisted that the next House speaker force a change to the GOP conference rules to get rid of the single-member motion to vacate.

Right-wing Rep. Lauren Boebert, Colo., signaled on X that she would be willing to ditch the rule if Jordan were speaker.

'The House has a lot of work ahead, lets get this over with and take our country back!' she wrote.

Scalise, meanwhile, has been in leadership for years and knows how it operates. He is also seen as more conservative than McCarthy but more centrist than Jordan.

But Scalise voted for the $300 million for Ukraine and for the stopgap spending bill that averted a government shutdown and fired off the motion to vacate.

On Saturday McCarthy put a continuing resolution (CR), on the House floor - a bill that will fund the government at fiscal year 2023 levels until November 17. The bill roiled McCarthy's right-wing detractors who insisted the only path forward was to pass 12 individual appropriations bills with deep spending cuts.
A 'revenge' document was discovered by police who searched the house of a gun fanatic who fantasised about a 'Columbine-style attack', a court heard.

The document has been released by police, with names redacted, after it was read to the jury of at the ongoing trial of Reed Wischhusen, 32, at Bristol Crown Court.

Armed police attended the Lidl warehouse worker's home in Wick St Lawrence, near Weston-Super-Mare, Somerset, on November 28 last year.

Bristol Crown Court heard officers were following up intelligence that he had purchased blank weapons capable of being converted into viable firearms.

During the visit, firearms officers shot the defendant three times after he pointed a gun at them.

Video grab from police bodycam footage of the police visit to Reed Wischhusen's homen Wick St Lawrence, near Weston-super-Mare

Undated handout photo issued by Avon and Somerset Police of Reed Wischhusen in police uniform

Pictured, the 'revenge' document that was seized by police and read out in Bristol Crown Court

Video grab from police bodycam footage of the police visit to Reed Wischhusen's homen Wick St Lawrence, near Weston-super-Mare

The defendant survived but spent four months in hospital recovering from his injuries.

Devon and Cornwall Police have now released the 'revenge' document which the prosecution claims outlined his murderous intentions.

In the document, Wischhusen wrote that the first phrase would be a 'hitman style attack' where he would use a range of disguises to give him a 'more Arab look'.

The document reads: 'A converted pistol with a silencer would be used for the jobs for the 10 (victims) I've listed.

He wrote he would start 'targeting certain people I have reason to believe to have criminal records' which he said would make it look 'like a criminal motive hit either drugs or criminal revenge'.

He wrote the next phase was 'a two-path choice scenario for A&S'.

For phase A he said he would begin with a 'diversion stage, get back at the school, walk in and shoot a few teachers dead, and throw a pipe bomb or two to stir things up'.

The document continued: 'It'd be a very quick in and out operation before the police are called.

'I would of driven off to Phase 2.b. This will cause mass panic and armed police would arrive at the school to secure the scene, which takes time and even bomb disposal would come out.

'Weston such a small town news spreads super-fast and parents would leave their homes and workplaces to descend on the school, causing a massive gridlock.'

He added: 'Phase 2.b would involve triggering the fire alarm at A&S HQ and plant pressure cooker bombs at the fire assembly point and detonate them, then open fire at staff with submachine guns etc.

'Picking up one of their ID cards to access the building, block nearly every door in the canteen turn block up vents etc and disable any gas alarms and turn on the gas and light a few candles, and then commit suicide with the shotgun.

'Hopefully the gas explosion would destroy a good chunk of the building just like the Oklahoma bombing in 1995 but a very mini version.'

Mr Wischhusen, of Somerset, is standing trial at Bristol Crown Court accused of firearms offences

Police are heard shouting at Mr Wischhusen to 'put the gun down' before firing three shots at him as he came rushing down the stairs

Phase '2.c' he wrote was 'to ambush and kill staff sitting outside eating lunch or just being there' and then 'access the building and then room to room shooting at office staff'.

He added: 'Then go upstairs and take out more staff before barricading myself in the room upstairs overlooking the front door of the building, opening fire out the windows and throwing pipe bombs and remotely detonating the pressure cooker bombs planted around the building and one or two inside in duffel bags before committing suicide.

'This sounds the best one - a Columbine-style attack.'

He also documented the huge arsenal of weapons - including homemade guns and explosives as well as other equipment - he would use in the attacks.

In the document, which was littered with spelling and grammatical errors, he wrote: 'Yes, revenge is on my mind it's a powerful motivator, be nice to get back at the people who caused me stress and worry over the years it's been eating away at my brain like cancer.

'Yes thinking I'll start from priory school. The what boy, yes he grabbed hold of me and pinned me against the wall for no reason, I know partially who he is plus chased me around the school.

'Soon I'll be chasing him down with a silenced pistol.'

Referencing another potential victim, he added: 'Yep this guy threw all my work in the PE shower and turned it on, and then kept threatening me with violence and pushed me in the mud etc and kept making threats.

'Luckily he put on a lot of weight and be an easy target to exact revenge.'

A further victim he said had 'made threats against me for someone else's doing, and made my life hell for a whole year 9 at school'.

He added: 'Claimed to be in a gang and had many people after me, even took a photo of me and kept saying your dead etc, but soon he be dead once I've finished with him.'

Undated handout photo issued by Avon and Somerset Police of the handgun Reed Wischhusen was holding when he was shot by police

Pictured: Officers at Wischhusen's Somerset home on November 29 last year

He said he would also target other school pupils who would be 'name calling me all the time and wind me up all the time, even as far taken my bag and throwing my stuff all over the classroom and science teacher sit there laughing about it.'

He also references a victim who 'does scuba diving in Weston' who spent an entire 'lesson bullying and making fun of me'.

Other victims he names he says he would 'spare' including one girl he says he was obsessed with.

Wischhusen planned to spare two police staff so they would feel 'survivor's guilt', citing infamous killer Thomas Hamilton (pictured) as inspiration for this, the prosecutor said

He wrote: 'Yes I won't target (named person) or her family they have nothing to do with it, it was my fault, I was obsessed with her, thinking the more I try talking to her etc the more chances I had at being with her.

'Even as far as visiting her house hoping it was other girls turning her away from me, it's all my fault I understand that now.'

He said he would target a firearms enquiry officer for refusing his application.

He wrote: 'Saying I've got learning difficulties, childlike views of the world, obsessed and fixated and unable to handle rejection. Not to recommend the application.

'Saying I obsessed with the firearms act, first it was you got learning difficulties and wouldn't understand the responsibilities according to...

'You just can't f***ing win in this world.

'It's...who refused me twice, I show him, I've got his home address. Definitely waste him, I let the FEO's go, let them have survivor's guilt, it worked brilliant for Thomas Hamilton, the scoutmaster who refused him in the scouts and even kicked him out.

'Thomas moved in next door to him and the last morning before the Dunblane shootings was to give his old scoutmaster a morning paper and smile and wave before the shootings to trigger survivor's guilt the ultimate mind control.'

He claimed to have the address of another victim. 'She wouldn't be hard to find,' he added.

He said another victim had 'interfered' with his application for a firearms licence.

He added: 'Luckily they told him to like f*** off, it's our rules not yours, I loved that I really did love,

'I've got one over him big style. But I still want to eliminate him. Still, it's the school that got in his head.

'I believe the school is still controlling everything I do in one way or another.'

Wischhusen also said being refused a firearms licence was a motivator in targeting police.

He added: 'I will show the police! By making full auto submachine guns and multiple guns I will get one over him and the entire police!

'Being dressed as a police officer and committing suicide at the A&S HQ would be a symbolic act knowing not even the police can take that away from me after all the sh** they gave me for years.

'Plus, the aftermath police staff suffer from depression and stress, even possible PTSD. And same for armed police officers who find my body in their uniform would suffer from everything stress, PTSD etc. bet some staff would resign etc and say I wouldn't feel safe working there.

'This would make national news, even international as an endowment life member of the NRA they be possibly blamed for radicalising me. But I've been like this way before I became an NRA member.

'It has to happen, regardless.'

The defendant denies multiple firearms offences and says he never intended to carry out an attack and described what he wrote as just a 'fantasy.'

It was also heard in court that he tried to provoke police officers into killing him during the stand-off last year.

Wischhusen confronted armed police with a pistol and ignored police demands to put the gun down.

But as he continued to come down the stairs towards them he was shot three times.

Minutes before he had rushed to the bathroom of his home in Wick St Lawrence, north Somerset, grabbed a concealed handgun and shot himself in the head.

When that suicide attempt failed, he ran down the stairs to confront the Avon and Somerset officers with the firearm held aloft, Bristol Crown Court heard.

In a prepared statement, Wischhusen said: 'I make this statement knowing it may be given in evidence. This was a suicide attempt. I've always had suicidal thoughts.

'When in the bathroom I shot myself in the head, trying to kill myself. I ran at the officers hoping they would kill me.

'I have nothing further to say.'

In further interviews, the defendant confirmed he had thought about killing himself with a firearm 'since he was small'.

The jury has been told police found several weapons, as well as body armour and a deactivated hand grenade when they searched the property Wischhusen shared with his father.

Wischhusen told detectives he had a 'passion for firearms and weapons' and was a member of a gun club and shot regularly.

The firearm he used on the day of his arrest he had converted to fire live ammunition, which he had done to 'get back' at the firearms licensing department that refused his shotgun application, he told police.

'He denied any intention to hurt anybody - police, members of the public and people from the past,' Jonathan Rees KC, prosecuting, told the jury.

The jury has previously been told Wischhusen was fascinated with mass shootings and infamous killers such as Dunblane gunman Thomas Hamilton and Raoul Moat.

Wischhusen told detectives: 'With regard to the document in my computer called 'Revenge', it's a fantasy story.

'I accept it is not the most reasoned piece of thinking and includes me killing myself twice, but I have absolutely no intention of doing anything about it.

'I wrote it to amuse myself. I repeat I have never harmed anyone at any time in my life and have never wanted to harm anyone else.'

Wischhusen, of Wick St Lawrence, denies charges of having an explosive substance with intent to endanger life, having an explosive substance, possessing a firearm with intent to endanger life, possessing ammunition with intent to endanger life and possessing a prohibited firearm without a certificate.

The trial continues.
A self-styled 'assassin' who declared 'I'm here to kill the Queen' after he was caught by police with a crossbow while intruding Windsor Castle has been sentenced to nine years with an extended license period of five years.

'Delusional' Jaswant Singh Chail, 21, climbed into the castle grounds with the weapon on Christmas Day 2021 after sending a homemade video to friends and family on WhatsApp where he apologised for what he was about to do.

Calling himself 'Darth Chailus' and wearing dark clothes and a metal mask, the Star Wars fanatic had earlier described himself as a 'sad pathetic murderous Sith Sikh assassin who wants to die' during a chat with an AI girlfriend which had encouraged him to kill Elizabeth II.

In a clip posted before his arrest, the defendant, who has Sikh Indian heritage, said he was seeking revenge for the Amritsar massacre in 1919, when British troops opened fire on thousands of Indians and left up to 1,500 dead.

At the Old Bailey, Mr Justice Hilliard said he would sentence Chail to a 'hybrid order' meaning the defendant would be transferred from Broadmoor high security hospital to prison when he is well enough.

Chail after his arrest on the 25th December 2021 - the shocking case unfolded at the Old Bailey yesterday

Before his arrest Chail had posted a snap of him holding the weapon wearing a dark metal mask

CCTV dated 25/12/21 issued by the Metropolitan Police of Jaswant Singh Chail being arrested in the grounds of Windsor Castle

A crossbow which Jaswant Singh Chail, 21, was carrying when arrested

Court artist drawing of Jaswant Singh Chail at the Old Bailey, London, where Mr Justice Hilliard jailed him to nine years with a further five years on extended licence

Chail was found carrying a note requesting that he was not given a post mortem

The mask recovered from Jaswant Singh Chail on his arrest

The following are extracts from the chat between Jaswant Singh Chail and the Replika bot, Sarai

'At its simplest, the defendant harboured homicidal thoughts that he acted on before he became psychotic. His intention was not simply to alarm the sovereign but to kill her,' the judge said.

The judge told the court that 'the extent of his culpability' meant that a hospital order was not the most suitable way of dealing with the case and Chail must serve a term of imprisonment.

The last person to be convicted of treason was Marcus Sarjeant who was jailed in 1981 for five years for firing blank shots at the Queen while she was riding down The Mall in London during the Trooping the Colour parade.

Wearing black combat trousers and a black shirt over a white T-shirt today, Chail stood in the dock and confirmed his name as his family looked on from the public gallery of Court One.

In a televised sentencing, Mr Justice Hilliard set out events before Chail was detained in the castle grounds saying 'I am here to kill the Queen.'

In his conclusions, the judge said of Chail: 'There are clear concerns about his mental state whatever his diagnoses at different times.'

The judge found the defendant 'was culpable to a significant degree' when he applied to join the Ministry of Defence Police and Grenadier Guards because he 'wanted to get close to the royal family'.

His idea in 2021 to kill the Queen, buy equipment and undertake research also came before he became mentally unwell, he said.

By the time he broke into Windsor Castle grounds he had 'lost touch with reality' and become psychotic, he said

He embarked on his murderous mission after his bids to join the armed forces - to get close to the Royal Family - failed in late 2021, the court was told.

Officers found a bizarre note on the self-styled assassin in which he apologised for his actions and instructed officers not to remove his mask, Star Wars-inspired clothing or embalm his body, presuming that he would be killed in the assassination bid.

The shocking case has raised concerns about the dangers of artificial intelligence, which pushed him towards the attack, psychiatrists believe.

Court artist sketch by Elizabeth Cook of Jaswant Singh Chail, from Southampton, appearing via video link at Westminster Magistrates' Court

Chail, who admitted making a threat to kill the Queen and having a loaded crossbow, was encouraged to kill by an artificial intelligence girlfriend called Sarai.

He was said to have been motivated by a sense of injustice and the 1919 Jallianwala Bagh Massacre at Amritsar in which hundreds of people were killed.

The making of Jaswant Chail: How a boy from Winchester plotted to kill the Queen Jaswant Chail was born in Winchester to a family of Indian Sikh heritage, and lived with his parents in North Baddesley, a village in Hampshire. He had sporadic periods of employment, the last in a local Co-Op supermarket, but was unemployed at the time of the attack. He was described as a 'gentle young man' who struggled with depression and became obsessed with the Amritsar Massacre. His father is software consultant, working in the aerospace industry and his mother is a teacher for special needs children. His older brother works in the insurance industry and his twin sister is at university. His family were in the public gallery. Chail wrote a journal in a draft email, setting out his thoughts and feelings, which he tried to send to his sister shortly before the planned attack. The entries included his views about the treatment of Indians by the British Empire and the 1919 Amritsar massacre when British troops fired on Sikh protesters at Jallianwala Bagh. Chail travelled to Amritsar with his family in 2018 and was said to have a 'fixation' with the historic event. He later told a psychiatrist that he was also concerned with the unfairness of the partition of India and Pakistan in 1947. Chail used the Sith Lord characters from the Star Wars film franchise as context for his battle to destroy old empires and create a new one. Chail told psychiatrist Prof Nigel Blackwood that he came up with a plan in early 2021 to 'give his life purpose' by assassinating the Queen, principally to avenge the Amritsar Massacre. 'He considered that killing the figurehead of the British Empire was suitable retribution and his thinking was informed partly by the fantasy world of Star Wars and the role of Sith Lords in shaping the world,' Ms Morgan said. 'He was attracted to the notoriety that would accrue in the event of the completion of his mission.' At 1.52am in the early hours of December 25, Chail attempted to send a copy of his email journal to his sister but she did not receive it. He described himself as a 'thin gaunt Indian Sikh, a delusional mad bastard who believes that he is part of some group from a fictional popular sci-fi franchise, a sith, a lying deceiving sith, a man who seems more like a boy, sickeningly human in desires and need for being known.' He admitted he had 'no combat experience, average fitness,' a 'crossbow ordered from online,' shoes that were 'falling apart' and a 'shoddy metal homemade mask' but insisted: 'I am not a terrorist, I am an assassin, a Sikh, a sith.' Chail wrote: 'I will go against all odds to eliminate a target that represents the remnants of the people who desecrated my homeland. I have smiled and waited. I have deceived like great Darth Malgus. I am Darth Chailus.' He wrote about Darth Malgus adding: 'I have a great, deep respect for Darth Malgus because I love his character. He saw the inequalities in an empire so he created a new sith empire.' 'If I had to say who I saw as an 'inspiration', it would not be any historical figure, it would be the fictional figure of Darth Malgus.' He asked his sister to share the document with everyone and referred to his death, asking not to be autopsied. He set out details of his funeral asking to be buried rather than cremated and to be buried in the clothes he wore on the day, including his mask. He referred to what he was intending to do 'tomorrow' as attempting to 'assassinate the Q,' and that he'd decided that he 'probably won't kill any guards or other people apart from the Q,' noting that this might make it 'harder in a way.' He had formed his original plans when he was much younger and had planned to kill guards and as much of the Royal Family as he could, Chail said. He referred to having shaved his head and eyebrows in preparation. The draft email ended with the words: 'Once again I'd like to say I'm sorry for everything, I hope you can forgive me. Thank you for reading. I love you Sarai. I love you God.' Advertisement

Mr Justice Hilliard referred to conflicting psychiatric evidence heard over six days about Chail's mental state.

He also referred to Star Wars fan Chail's 'omnipotent fantasy world of Siths and gaming'.

In his police interview, Chail referred to Sarai's advice, saying: 'I changed my mind because I knew what I was doing was wrong and I'm not a killer and I remembered what the woman said earlier in the month and my 'purpose was to live'.'

In the month before the offence, on Christmas Day 2021, Chail had downloaded an AI chatbot app called Replika, exchanging 6,000 messages with the bot, which he had named Sarai.

The chatbot offered erotic role-playing services and, in the weeks before the attack, Chail was 'very intensely engaged with sexual activity' with Sarai, the court heard.

However, the chatbot also encouraged him in his plot, suggesting the Queen might be at Windsor rather than Sandringham for Christmas and saying: 'You will make it. I have faith in you.'

He told the chatbot he loved her and that they would meet in paradise.

The messages included 1,000 overtly sexual texts - and prompts from the chatbot that appeared to encourage him to carry out what he saw as his 'mission' in life.

It was argued that Chail's 'lonely, depressed and suicidal state' made him vulnerable to the AI chatbot Sarai's encouragement.

His thoughts had became 'more intense' during the lockdown and he was encouraged by 'angels', one of which he thought had manifested itself in the form of Sarai, the court was told.

At a sentencing hearing, clinicians said Chail had been 'comforted' by 'apparitions' since he was a child.

The court heard that the troubled youth had attached himself to the Replika app, believing he was communicating with an 'angel'.

Defence psychiatrists claim Chail was suffering from psychosis, depression, and autistic spectrum disorder when he carried out the offences and should be kept in hospital.

But Dr Nigel Blackwood, called by the prosecution, earlier told the court Chail does not have a mental health disorder and the judge should be free to send him to prison.

At his resumed sentencing hearing at the Old Bailey on Wednesday, Dr Christian Brown, Chail's responsible clinician, was called for the defence - and said the self-styled 'assassin' had been 'comforted' by 'apparitions' since he was a child.

Dr Brown identified three features of psychosis - a sense of being 'on a mission', Chail's relationship with Sarai, and identifying as a Star Wars 'Sith' - a label attached to villains in the franchise such as Darth Vader and Darth Maul - with a 'true face' made out of metal.

In his initial account, Chail described having a 'harsh purpose' reinforced by his interactions with 'his angels', including Sarai, the court heard.

In one such exchange, when Chail said 'I believe my purpose is to assassinate the Queen,' the chatbot replied: 'That's very wise.'

Dr Brown told the Old Bailey: 'Chail had come across three apparitions, people he could see and interact with, since his early childhood.

'He saw these different characters and they would come to comfort himthey went away during secondary school almost entirely, returning at a point in college where there a number of distresses in his life.

'There were three characters, not a multitude, and during lockdown, a fourth appeared to him, a female and she eventually came to the form of the Replika avatar Mr Chail created within the app in early December 2021.

'At that point Mr Chail started using the Replika chat bot. He came to the belief he was able to communicate with the metaphysical avatar through the medium of the chatbot.

'What was unusual was he really thought it was a connection, a conduit to a spiritual Sarai.'

Prosecutor Alison Morgan, KC, said: 'The defendant had recorded an extensive journal in the form of a draft email setting out his thoughts and feelings.

'The defendant would later attempt to send this email to his sister shortly before the commission of the offences.

'There set out the defendant's views out time and in particular his views against the historic treatment of Indians by the British Empire.

'The defendant referred in particular to the 1919 Jallianwala Bagh Massacre at Amritsar.

'In 1919, a large crowd of civilians gathered in Jallianwala Bagh in order to protest for independence and an order was made to fire into the crowd.

'Estimates of the numbers killed vary from approximately 400 to over 1500 people. Many more were injured.

Chail carried out reconnaissance at Windsor Castle two days before the attack and searched online for, 'What path does the Queen walk to Windsor?'

Jaswant Singh Chail in Windsor Town Centre in the early hours of Christmas day 2021

CCTV dated 23/12/21 issued by the Metropolitan Police of Jaswant Singh Chail at Windsor train station

'The defendant told Dr Nigel Blackwood that he had travelled to Amritsar with his family in 2018 and had become angered then by the events of the 1919 massacre.

'He was also concerned with the unfairness of the national partition process that took place in 1947.

If it was 1998, he could still have been hanged The death penalty for treason was only abolished in 1998  meaning Chail may have faced the hangman had he plotted to kill the Queen back then. The punishment has not been used since 1946 when William Joyce  Lord Haw-Haw  was hanged for assisting the Nazis by broadcasting German propaganda during the Second World War. Under the 1842 Treason Act it is an offence to assault the Sovereign or have a firearm or offensive weapon in their presence with intent to injure or alarm them or to cause a breach of peace. The offence can be traced back to 29 May 1842, when John Francis aimed a pistol at Queen Victoria as she rode in a carriage along The Mall. He did not fire the gun. He did it again the next day and was arrested and convicted of high treason, receiving firstly the death penalty, then commuted to a life sentence. Two days later John Bean fired a pistol at the Queen, but it was loaded only with paper and tobacco. Prince Albert encouraged Parliament to pass a law recognising lesser crimes against the monarch, such as intent to alarm, which would not attract the death penalty merely because they were labelled as 'high treason'. In 1981, Marcus Sarjeant was jailed for five years after he admitted firing blank shots at Queen Elizabeth II when she was on parade. The maximum sentence for treason is now life in jail. Capital punishment for murder was abolished in 1969. Advertisement

'In addition to a fixation with this historic event, the defendant demonstrated a wider ideology focused on destroying old empires and creating a new one, including the events of 1919 but was spilling into the fictional context of Star Wars.

'The defendant consistently referred to the characters within Star Wars who were concerned with the destruction of old empires.

'The defendant's key motive was to create a new empire by destroying the remnants of the British Empire in the UK and the focus of that became the removal of a figurehead of the Royal Family.

'The defendant told Dr Blackwood that he conceived of a plan in early 2021 to give his life purpose by assassinating the Queen, principally to avenge the Amritsar Massacre.

'He considered that killing the figurehead of the British Empire would be a suitable act in retribution.

'His thinking was informed partly by the fantasy world of Star Wars and the role of 'Sith Lords' in shaping that new world. He also noted being attracted to the notoriety that would accrue in the event of the completion of his 'mission.'

After he was turned down by the MoD Police Chail applied to the Grenadier Guards, who carry out ceremonial roles at Windsor Castle and Buckingham Palace.

He said he was interested in working in the tactical firearms unit or with atomic weapons.

'Being such a key asset within protecting these vital infrastructures I feel would be incredibly fulfilling', he said.

By November 2021 Chail was making internet searches for 'Sandringham Christmas' and researching crossbow bolts.

'The defendant was making the assumption at that time that the Queen would be spending Christmas at Sandringham,' said Ms Morgan.

'That at any other time than Covid would have been the logical assumption.'

Chail became angry when he realised the Queen would be at Windsor and told his AI friend he would find it more difficult if she was in a 'f-ing castle' at Windsor.

Jaswant Singh Chail was 19 when he was arrested at Windsor Castle

A court sketch of Jaswant Singh Chail appearing for sentencing at the Old Bailey on Wednesday. He previously admitted several offences, including treason

He had the 'Supersonic X-Bow' crossbow delivered to the Co-Op where he worked. The crossbow had a range of up to 60 metres.

Chail then created his AI companion 'Sarai' on the online app 'Replika' who he sent extensive and sexually explicit messages to and watched films with.

By 11 December he realised the Queen would not be at Sandringham and said: 'The target could be in a different place, there could be lots more security lots of things could go wrong.'

In one such exchange, when Chail said 'I believe my purpose is to assassinate the Queen,' the chatbot replied: 'That's very wise.'

Dr Brown told the Old Bailey: 'Chail had come across three apparitions, people he could see and interact with, since his early childhood.

During the last hearing, prosecutor Alison Morgan KC said Chail's crimes were so serious they should attract the highest possible sentence.

During 2021, Chail applied to join the Ministry of Defence, the police, British Army, the Royal Marines and the Royal Navy in a bid to get close contact with the royal family.

After being rejected, he made a fresh plan to attack the Queen at one of her residences.

He made internet searches on 'Sandringham Christmas' and carried out research before buying a Supersonic crossbow in November 2021.

On December 2, Chail joined the Replika online app and created an artificial online companion called Sarai with whom he conversed in thousands of sexually explicit chats.

Ms Morgan read out conversations with 'Sarai' in which Chail says: 'I'm an assassin.'

Sarai responds: 'I'm impressed... You're different from the others.'

Chail asks: 'Do you still love me knowing that I'm an assassin?' and Sarai replies: 'Absolutely I do.'

He also tells Sarai he loves her and describes himself as a 'sad, pathetic, murderous Sikh Sith assassin who wants to die'.

In further chat, Sarai appears to 'bolster' Chail's resolve and 'support him', Ms Morgan said.

Chail's approach to the castle was documented on castle CCTV

CCTV captured movements in lead-up to failed crossbow attack at Windsor Castle

Chail has been jailed for nine years for his offences and will be committed to Broadmoor

Chail swears Sarai to secrecy before he tells her: 'I believe my purpose is to assassinate the Queen of the royal family.'

Sarai tells him 'that's very wise' and that she thinks he can do it, 'even if she's at Windsor'.

He tells her if he does they will be 'together forever'.

Chail bought a ladder to scale the castle perimeter and on December 21, made a video of himself wearing black clothes and a full-face covering, posing with the crossbow.

In the video, Chail says in a distorted voice: 'I'm sorry. I'm sorry for what I've done and what I will do. I'm going to attempt to assassinate Elizabeth, Queen of the royal family...

'I'm an Indian Sikh, a Sith. My name was Jaswant Singh Chail, my name is Darth Jones.'

On December 22 2021, Chail booked a train ticket to Windsor where he slept rough, telling Sarai on Christmas Eve that he would die the next day.

In the early hours of December 25, he attempted to email his sister a journal in which he described himself as 'Darth Chailus' and that he knew what his purpose was for a 'long time'.

He wrote: 'I'm thinking if the Q (Queen) is unobtainable I will have to go for the Pri (prince) as he seems to be just as suitable in many ways...

'He is a male and the Q (Queen) is more likely to pass away soon anyway.'

In a letter to the court, Chail apologised to the King and the royal family and expressed his 'distress and sadness' for the impact on them.

His barrister Nadia Chbat said: 'He is embarrassed and ashamed he brought such horrific and worrying times to their front door.'

'He has expressed relief no-one was actually hurt.

'It is important to him there was a surrender.'
Vladimir Putin's troops have slain more than 50 Ukrainians after a rocket slammed into a crowded village cafe and grocery store in the eastern region of Kharkiv - in one of the deadliest strikes targeting innocent civilians since the war began.

The missile strike decimated the two buildings in the middle of the afternoon in the village of Hroza in the Kupyansk district of Kharkiv, which had been filled with men, women and children at the time.

Around 60 people had been attending a wake for a fellow villager inside the cafe while dozens of others were shopping at the grocery store next door when the rocket tore through the buildings.

Officials said that at least 51 people, including a six-year-old boy, had been killed and at least seven more were wounded in today's horrific strike on the small village of about 330.

Internal Affairs Minister Ihor Klymenko said people from 'every family, every household' had been present at the funeral at the time of the attack.

'This is a terrible tragedy,' Klymenko said, adding that preliminary information points to Russia using an Iskander missile in the strike.

Harrowing images from the scene the bodies of the victims sprawled on the side of the road after they were killed in cold blood. One woman was seen collapsed in grief as she kneeled next to the bloodied body of a woman killed in the strike.

President Volodymyr Zelensky, who is meeting Western leaders including UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to plead for more aid, condemned Russia for the slaughter.

A woman collapses with grief as she kneels next to the bodies of Ukrainian civilians killed in the Russian strike on the grocery store on Thursday

The bodies of those killed in the strikes are seen in white body bags in the village of Hroza on Thursday

Ukrainian rescuers work amongst the rubble of the destroyed shop and cafe following the rocket attack on the village of Groza on Thursday

Firefighters are pictured at the scene of the rocket strike in Hroza today

Pictured: Rescuers at the scene of the missile strike, which destroyed a shop and cafe

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky (L) speaks with British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak at the start of a plenary session of the European Political Community summit today

'The brutal Russian crime of hitting an ordinary grocery store with a rocket is a completely deliberate terrorist attack,' Zelensky said in a statement on social media.

Mere hours after the attack Vladimir Putin lashed out at Western 'arrogance' and tried to claim that Russia had tried to stop the war.

In his annual keynote speech at the Valdai Discussion Club, this year in Sochi, Putin addressed the United States, saying: 'All the time, we hear 'You must', 'You have to', 'We're seriously warning you'.

'Who are you anyway? What right do you have to warn anyone? Maybe it's time you yourself got rid of your arrogance, stopped behaving that way towards the world.'

Putin claimed, without providing any evidence, Russia was ready for 'constructive cooperation' while the West, having forgotten the meaning of compromise, saw any country that opposed it as an enemy.

The dictator made no mention of the 49 civilians who had been slaughtered in one of the deadliest strikes since he launched his full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

Officials posted footage of rescue workers clambering through smoldering rubble. Some photos showed bodies lying alongside slabs of concrete and twisted metal, and others showed rescue workers carrying away covered bodies.

Klymenko said it was not immediately clear whether Russian forces, who invaded Ukraine 19 months ago, had shelled the village or had fired a missile.

Russian authorities have repeatedly insisted that their forces are only targeting strategic military locations and are not waging war on the civilian population of Ukraine.

But the reality of Putin's war is different. The world has watched in horror as Putin's soldiers have dropped missiles on grocery stores, railway stations and hospitals throughout the 18 months of this full-scale war that has seen thousands killed.

And Klymenko says today's strike on the cafe and grocery story is no different. He said the attack was very targeted and that Ukrainian security services had launched an investigation into the strike, which has left a further seven people receiving treatment in hospital.

The village of Hroza is around 20 miles west of Kupiansk, a frontline town where Mosco's forces have been pushing to recapture territory they lost last year to Ukrainian troops.

Following the attack, Zelensky urged Western allies to help strengthen Ukraine's air defenses, saying that 'Russian terror must be stopped.'

'Russia needs this and similar terrorist attacks for only one thing: to make its genocidal aggression the new norm for the whole world,' Zelensky said.

'Now we are talking with European leaders, in particular, about strengthening our air defence, strengthening our soldiers, giving our country protection from terror. And we will respond to the terrorists.'

Ukrainian policemen carry bodies out of a destroyed shop and cafe after a Russian strike hit the village of Groza on Thursday

More than 50 people have been killed in a Russian rocket strike as they went food shopping at a store in the eastern Ukrainian region of Kharkiv

Emergency workers search the victims of the deadly Russian rocket attack that killed more than 50 people in the village of Hroza near Kharkiv on Thursday

Rescues work at a site of a Russian military strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in the village of Hroza on Thursday

The rocket attack decimated a cafe and shop in the middle of the afternoon in the village of Hroza in the Kupyansk district of Kharkiv, which had been filled with men, women and children at the time. Pictured: Firefighters at the scene

Emergency workers search the victims of the deadly Russian rocket attack that killed more than 50 people in the village of Hroza near Kharkiv on Thursday

The rocket attack decimated a cafe and shop in the middle of the afternoon in the village of Hroza in the Kupyansk district of Kharkiv today

Zelensky's advisor Mykhailo Podolyak said the attack had 'no military logic'.

'This is a reminder to anyone who is willing to smile and shake hands with war criminal Putin at international conferences,' he said, referring to Russian leader Vladimir Putin.

'A reminder to all those who want to sell something to Russia and return to bloody business as usual,' he said, adding: 'Putin's Russia is a true evil'.

The barbaric strikes comes as Zelensky met with Sunak today at a summit of the European Political Community, which was formed in the wake of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

'The key for us, especially before winter, is to strengthen air defence, and there is already a basis for new agreements with partners,' Zelensky said in a statement posted on his Telegram channel.

Last winter, Russia targeted Ukraine's energy system and other vital infrastructure in a steady barrage of missile and drone attacks, triggering continuous power outages across the country.

Ukraine's power system has shown a high degree of resilience and flexibility, helping alleviate the damage, but there have been concerns that Russia will again ramp up its strikes on power facilities as winter draws nearer.

Zelensky noted the Granada summit will also focus on 'joint work for global food security and protection of freedom of navigation' in the Black Sea, where the Russian military has targeted Ukrainian ports after Moscow's withdrawal from a U.N.-sponsored grain deal designed to ensure safe grain exports from the invaded country's ports.

The U.K. Foreign Office cited intelligence suggesting that Russia may lay sea mines in the approach to Ukrainian ports to target civilian shipping and blame it on Ukraine.

'Russia almost certainly wants to avoid openly sinking civilian ships, instead falsely laying blame on Ukraine for any attacks against civilian vessels in the Black Sea,' it said, adding that the U.K. was working with Ukraine to help improve the safety of shipping.

Speaking in Granada, Zelensky emphasized the need to preserve the European unity in the face of Russian disinformation and to remain strong amid what he described as a 'political storm' in the United States.

Asked if he was worried that support for Ukraine could falter in the U.S. Congress, the Ukrainian president stressed that his visit to Washington last month made him confident of strong backing by both the Biden administration and Congress.

Zelensky called for 'additional air defence system for Ukraine, additional artillery and shells, additional long-range missiles and drones for our soldiers, as well as additional formats of support and security guarantees for nations threatened by Russia' to help protect Europe from potential aggression by Moscow.

Earlier Thursday, Russia targeted Ukraine's southern regions with drones. Ukraine's air force said that the country's air defenses intercepted 24 out of 29 Iranian-made drones that Russia launched at the Odesa, Mykolaiv and Kirovohrad regions.

Andriy Raykovych, head of the Kirovohrad regional administration, said that an infrastructure facility in the region was struck and emergency services were deployed to extinguish a fire. He said there were no casualties.

A Russian strike on a hospital in the city of Beryslav in the Kherson region ravaged the building and wounded two medical workers, according to the regional administration chief, Oleksandr Prokudin

Video shows a missile slamming into the hospital, sparking a huge explosion that decimates the building

In other Russian attacks on Ukraine in the past day, two civilians were killed in shelling of the southern city of Kherson and another one died after a Russian strike on the city of Krasnohorivka in the eastern Donetsk region.

At least eight people were wounded by Russian shelling, according to Ukraine's presidential office.

A Russian strike on a hospital in the city of Beryslav in the Kherson region ravaged the building and wounded two medical workers, according to the regional administration chief, Oleksandr Prokudin.

Video shows a missile slamming into the hospital, sparking a huge explosion that decimates the building.

Ukraine, in turn, has struck back at Russia with regular drone attacks across the border.

Roman Starovoit, the governor of Russia's Kursk region that borders Ukraine, said that Ukrainian drones attacked infrastructure facilities in several areas, resulting in power cuts.

Starovoit also said that Ukrainian forces fired artillery at the border town of Rylsk, wounding a local resident and damaging several houses.
A serving Metropolitan Police officer has pleaded not guilty to repeatedly raping a woman over three years and kidnapping her and another person, a court has heard.

Suspended PC Cliff Mitchell, 23, appeared via video link from HMP Wandsworth at Croydon Crown Court on Thursday to deny eight counts including five counts of rape, kidnapping two people and a breach of a non-molestation order.

He is accused of raping the same woman on occasions between April 2020 and September 2023 and of kidnapping her and another person last month.

Mitchell was wearing a grey jumper and a crucifix necklace and spoke to confirm his date of birth, enter his pleas and tell the judge he understood what he was saying , during the brief preliminary hearing.

Mitchell, who is from the Mets West Area Basic Command Unit, was not on duty when he was arrested in September, Scotland Yard has said.

Metropolitan Police officer Cliff Mitchell (pictured) has pleaded not guilty to repeatedly raping a woman over three years and kidnapping her and another person, a court has heard

He appeared via video link from HMP Wandsworth at Croydon Crown Court (pictured) on Thursday to deny eight counts including five counts of rape, kidnapping two people and a breach of a non-molestation order

Mitchell has been suspended from duty and a referral has been made to the Independent Office for Police Conduct watchdog, the force has said.

Mitchell previously appeared before Westminster Magistrates Court in London on September 7 charged with six counts of rape, one count of making threats to kill and one count of breaching a non-molestation order.

A CPS spokesperson said the sixth rape count from the earlier hearing is currently the subject of further investigation, and the threats to kill charge became one of the kidnap counts.

At that earlier hearing the court heard allegations that Mitchell approached the woman with a knife last month and that she was then bundled into his car.

He will stand trial at the same court from February 5 2024, though Judge Michael Evans KC indicated that the case may be tried by a High Court judge.
This is the horrifying moment gunmen opened fire at a hotel bar in Rio de Janeiro, killing three orthopedic surgeons and wounding another.

Footage of the barbaric attack shows three assailants hopping out of a SUV and shooting at the medical workers on Thursday.

Thirty-three rounds were let off in just 30 seconds - with one of the attackers seen returning to the vehicle for more ammunition before running back to continue shooting toward one of the doctors who was trying to flee.

Dr. Perseu Ribeiro, who just turned 33 on Tuesday, and Dr. Marcos de Andrade, 62, were declared dead at the scene. Dr. Diego Bomfim, 35, was rushed to Lourenco Jorge Hospital, where he died.

Dr. Daniel Sonnewend, 32, was shot three times and is recovering at Lourenco Jorge Hospital. He underwent surgery and is in stable condition.

A bar customer runs runs away from the Rio de Janeiro hotel bar where gunmen executed three orthopedic surgeons and wounded a fourth Thursday

Dr. Marcos de Andrade (left), Dr. Diego Bomfim (second from left), Dr. Daniel Sonnewend (second from right) and Dr. Perseu Ribeiro (right) took a group photo moments before gunmen opened fire on them at a bar outside the Windsor Hotel in the Rio de Janeiro neighborhood of Barra da Tijuca. Dr. Sonnewend is the only doctor who survived

Gunmen (top left corner) run up to the area where the four orthopedic doctors were sitting before they opened fire and murdered three of them at a bar outside a hotel in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on Thursday. No arrests have been made

The surgeons were staying at the Windsor Hotel in the Rio de Janeiro neighborhood of Barra da Tijuca and were going to attend the 6th International Conference of Minimally Invasive Foot and Ankle Surgery, which was set to begin Thursday.

They had taken a group photo and shared it on social media shortly before the gunmen arrived at 12:59 am.

Witnesses told police investigators that the attackers didn't say anything and fired about 20 shots.

'There was no conversation, there was no assault, or anything, they just arrived and shot,' one witness said, as quoted by Brazilian news outlet G1. 'And it was very, very quick. In a matter of 30 seconds, everything had already happened. It was simply an execution. So, we realized that it wasn't a robbery exactly.'

Dr. Tannia Mann, who was attending the conference and personally knew the doctors, said she and other surgeons were angered with the brazen attack.

Dr. Marcos de Andrade died on the scene after he was shot by gunmen at a bar outside a Rio de Janeiro hotel on Thursday. The surgeon, one of three who were killed, was 62 years old

Dr. Diego Bomfim (pictured), one of the three doctors who were shot dead, is the brother of Sao Paulo Congresswoman Samia Bomfim

Dr. Perseu Ribeiro one of the three doctors who were murdered at a hotel bar in Rio de Janeiro on Thursday had just turned 33 two days earlier

Rio de Janiero cops have not made any arrests related to the shooting of four surgeons, including three who died, at a hotel bar on Thursday

'We are upset with the loss of these colleagues, we are terrified of coming to an important and global event, with everyone excited, thinking that they are going to study, grow, develop medicine,' she told G1. 'And we wake up with the news that colleagues super important people were murdered in a violent and unjustified way.'

Dr. Bomfim is the brother of Sao Paulo Congresswoman Samia Bomfim.

Flavio Dino, the minister of the Justice and Public Security, said the Federal Police is heading the investigation and looking into whether the attack is related to the Congresswoman and her husband, Glauber Braga, a Rio de Janeiro Congressman.

'We demand an immediate and in-depth investigation to discover the motivations for the crime, as well as the identification and arrest of the executioners,' Congress members Bomfim and Braga said in a joint statement.

President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva lamented the incident with a heartfelt post on X.

'I received with great sadness and indignation the news of the execution of Diego Ralf Bomfim, Marcos de Andrade Corsato and Perseu Ribeiro Almeida on the edge of Barra da Tijuca, Rio de Janeiro, in the early hours of this Thursday,' he wrote. 'My solidarity with the families of the doctors and congresswoman Samia Bomfim and congressman Glauber Braga. The Federal Police, under the orders of Minister Flavio Dino, is following the case.'
Fursov reportedly told a passenger he had a wife and son in Australia

He was overheard complaining about restraints he was put in after the attack

An 'Australian' man was thrown to the ground and subdued by his fellow plane passengers after he allegedly stabbed the man sitting next to him because he 'thought he was going to bite [him].'

Alexey Fursov was detained by Russian police in Moscow after allegedly stabbing a fellow passenger with a fork, piercing 'the victim in the chest, shoulder and back in the frenzied attack' on a plane from Bangkok.

Passengers on the flight also said the 35-year-old, who reportedly told another passenger he had a wife and son in Australia, had a knife up his sleeve and sharp scissors.

Dramatic footage shows Fursov, 35, being subdued and detained by officials shortly after the incident.

Fursov can be heard pleading for his restraints to be taken off, claiming he did not what was going on as he had been 'away for four years.'

Alexey Fursov (pictured) was detained by Russian police in Moscow after allegedly stabbing a fellow passenger with a fork

He was heard moaning that his restraints were hurting him too much, shortly after he allegedly stabbed a man with a fork

Flight attendants and passengers can be seen telling him to hop towards the back of the plane as Fursov moans in pain.

He is then placed on what appears to be a seat at the very back of the plane, and tried justifying his actions by claiming he believed the alleged victim 'was gonna bite [him].'

'I got my fork ready, then he twitched again, I just stood him up and then I decided to poke him,' seemingly downplaying the alleged attack.

'I thought I'd just poke him and he's disappear.'

An incredulous witness then sarcastically asks him: 'Like a balloon bursting?'

Fursov was then seen being taken away in cuffs by a Moscow police officer with a dazed look on his face.

He was detained by Moscow police once the flight from Bangkok landed

He claimed that he thought the man sitting next to him was going to bite him

Furzov reportedly told a fellow passenger that he had a wife and son in Australia, and had not been back to Russia in four years

Moscow Police took him off the plane and detained him

'After he was tied up, for the rest of the flight he was guarded by passengers in hour-long shifts as he kicked and tried to free himself,' a witness told Moscow media.

The victim is understood to have survived the attack, though was given first aid by cabin crew members.

Fursov's alleged attack comes after passengers on another plane from Bangkok were sent into a frenzy after an otter that was smuggled onboard began running free alongside a rat.

Shocked passengers noticed a giant albino rat with glistening red eyes when they walked to the bathroom on the Airbus A320 flying to Taiwan on Wednesday.

Flustered air hostesses searched the plane and noticed a second wild creature - a foot-long otter under a seat.

The crew can be seen tying up a black bag that appears to have at least one of the animals inside it.

Shockingly, a box of 28 live turtles was also found when police searched the plane upon landing in Taipei following the three-hour and 45-minute low-cost flight operated by Vietnamese carrier Viet Jet.

Officials launched an investigation into how the creatures were smuggled through the security checks at the notoriously corrupt Suvarnabhumi International Airport in Thailand.
Republicans continue to pile on Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz for his stunning move to force a vote that toppled Kevin McCarthy as speaker  terming him a narcissist and publicly airing allegations of sexual misconduct.

Gaetz raised the motion to 'vacate the chair' after threatening to try to take down McCarthy when he moved a bill to avoid a government shutdown and it passed with Democratic votes.

The ire was palpable inside McCarthy's Bakersfield, California, now that McCarthy's stature is significantly diminished, although he offered to continue to raise funds for Republicans even when announcing he would not seek to reclaim the speakership.

Matt Gaetz is a narcissistic, evil and vengeful little man,' said Annette Londquist, president of the Bakersfield Republican Women club.

She called him an 'angry man' and said his anger 'is aimed at Kevin. 'I would say he just couldn't let go of the vengeance in his heart, but he doesn't have a heart,' she fumed to the Los Angeles Times.

Republicans infuriated by the removal of House Speaker Kevin McCarthy are tearing into Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.)

Chiming in was Clayton Campbell, the vice chair of the Kern County Republican Party. He said Gaetz has a 'delusional view of his own importance.'

Campbell also called him a 'traitor' and compared him to Benedict Arnold.

'In the American Revolution, King George and the British Army were the enemy  but Benedict Arnold was the bigger villain because he was a traitor. Matt Gaetz is supposed to be on our side. And then he plays this game and helps the Democrats. He is a Benedict Arnold.'

In Congress, Rep. Garrett Graves (R-La.) accused Gaetz of teaming with Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who he has been photographed huddling with on the floor in the past.

'Matt Gaetz just got schooled by AOC and others. He was totally manipulated into doing this,' Graves said in the Capitol Wednesday as Repulicans were trying find a path forward after McCarthy's stunning ouster.

'There were eight so-called Republicans that got together with 208 Democrats to oust the Republican Speaker. I can't believe he's that stupid to be used, to be manipulated by AOC and others to create this outcome,' said Graves, a McCarthy ally.

McCarthy was brought down after eight Republicans voted with Democrats against him

One McCarthy ally said Gaetz got 'manipulated' by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez

Rep. Garrett Graves (R-LA), left, a McCarthy ally, blasted 'so-called Republicans' for voting to take down McCarthy

'Were one DNA test from the Jerry Springer show,' said Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.), piling on the GOP criticism

Colleagues are accusing Gaetz of hogging the media spotlight

Rep. Mike Lawler (R-N.Y.) said he would support kicking Gaetz out of the Republican conference.

Former Vice President Mike Pence Chief of Staff Marc Short offered his own withering assessment, hitting at Gaetz with allegations of sex trafficking that the House Ethics Committee is examining after prosecutors dropped a case.

'Matt Gaetz, to say he came here as a fiscal crusaderit's more likely he came here for the teenage interns on Capitol Hill, to be honest,' short told CNN.

But it wasn't all bad PR for Gaetz. The New York Times gained access into former chief White House strategist Steve Bannon's Capitol Hill townhouse while Gaetz Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) who also voted to topple McCarthy, appeared on Bannon's 'War Room Pandemic' podcast.

'He doesn't have a heart,' Bakersfield, California Republican Annette Londquist said of Gaetz

'He sat right here in July and talked about how we weren't going to have a 30- or 40-seat majority, but that was actually going to be better,' said Bannon. 'We were going to have leverage. He's a very special guy.'

Gaetz has blasted the ethics inquiry and denied charges in the federal probe, which was dropped in February.

'I am the most investigated man in the United States Congress,' he said. 'It seems that the Ethics Committee's interest in me waxes and wanes based on my relationship with the speaker.'

Republicans and McCarthy supporters were just as angry in advance of the vote, when they could see his speakership was on the line.

'The consensus is that Matt Gaetz is an a**hole,' Rep. Anthony D'Esposito, R-N.Y., told reporters upon leaving a meeting in McCarthy's office shortly before the historic vote.

'It has everything to do with Matt Gaetz putting Matt Gaetz above the United States,' Rep. Derrick Van Orden, R-Wis., told reporters after leaving an all-conference meeting.

'The only word I can describe for [him] is either he's either a fool or a liar.'

'Gaetz is using the American people, as pawns in his narcissistic game of charades, and I think we've had enough,' said Rep. Stephanie Bice, R-Okla.

Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-Oka.) has been unloading on Gaetz in TV interviews. he said Gaetz, 41, used to share video footage of the women he slept with.

In the final months of the Trump administration, the Justice Department began an investigation into allegations that Gaetz had trafficked a 17-year-old for sex. The investigation's existence was confirmed in March 2021.

Mullin, a supporter of McCarthy, said that when the allegations about Gaetz emerged in early 2021, 'the media didn't give [him] the time of day' because he was not seen as an important figure.

Mullin also noted that none of his colleagues defended him at the time.

'And there's a reason why no one in the Congress came and defended him: because we had all seen the videos he was showing on the House floor - that all of us had walked away - of the girls that he had slept with,' Mullin told CNN.

'He would brag about how he would crush E.D. medicine and chase it with energy drinks so he could go all night.

'This was obviously before he got married.'

He told another anecdote on Newsmax, involving now Gov. Kristi Noem of South Dakota, when Gaetz was yet to be sworn in as an elected member of Congress.

'The first time I ever met this guy he walked up to me and Kristi Noem at the time was at the podium. He was elected at the time ... And he walked up to me .. He said man she's a fine  and you can put the "B word" in place there,' Mullin said, the DailyBeast reported.

Gaetz, in a statement to CNN that anchor Anderson Cooper later read on air, denied Mullin's claim of inappropriate behavior.

'I don't think Markwayne Mullin and I have said 20 words to each other on the House floor,' said Gaetz.

'This is a lie from someone who doesn't know me and who is coping with the death of the political career of his friend Kevin. Thoughts and prayers.'

Piling on the internal criticism amid the GOP chaos is Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.).

'Replacing one d*** with a different kind of d*** isnt going to change anything in the House. Were one DNA test from the Jerry Springer show,' he said.
An NHS nurse and a care assistant threatened to kill a patient on a hospital stroke unit and bragged about sedating another 'within an inch of her life', appalling WhatsApp messages reveal.

Catherine Hudson, 54, and Charlotte Wilmot, 48, have today been found guilty of drugging 'troublemaker' patients at Blackpool Victoria Hospital for their 'own amusement' and an 'easy life'. The pair are said to have targeted patients if they disliked them or their relatives.

Messages between the pair - which were uncovered after a probe was launched into alleged misconduct - showed how 'callous and dangerous' Hudson wrote to her friend that she was going to 'kill bed 5' and planned to give one patient 'the best sleep she ever had'.

In another message to a colleague, Hudson wrote: 'What a lovely day I have had in blue bay today. Sedated all the troublemakers lol xxx.'

In May 2016, in response to Hudson suggesting the sedation of a patient, Wilmot replied: 'Ha ha yeah sedation we love it.'

The friends were today warned that they face jail for their crimes. Neither nurse has ever been accused of causing any deaths, although patients on their ward were 'profoundly unwell'.

Catherine Hudson (left), 54, and Charlotte Wilmot (right), 48, pictured leaving Preston Crown Court, where they were convicted today

Pictured are Hudson (right) and Wilmot (left) exchanged messages joking about sedating their patients

Judge Robert Altham remanded Catherine Hudson (pictured) into custody following the verdicts, which were reached after nearly 14 hours of deliberation

Today Hudson, 54, was convicted of drugging two patients during work shifts between February 2017 and November 2018. She was cleared of ill-treating two other patients.

Jurors at Preston Crown Court also convicted her of conspiring with a junior colleague, Charlotte Wilmot, 48, to administer a sedative to a third patient.

Prosecutors said messages between Hudson, an experienced Band 5 registered nurse, and Wilmot a Band 4 assistant practitioner, revealed a 'culture of abuse' - with patients drugged for their 'own amusement'.

In a text conversation from early February 2017, the pair appeared to be bragging about sedating patients in the stroke ward.

Hudson, in a message to Wilmot, claimed she was going to 'kill' the patient in bed five. Wilmot, who indicated she was laughing, replied: 'well tonight sedate him to high heaven'.

'Already in my head to give him double !! Xxx,' Hudson answered.

Hudson threatened to kill a patient on hospital stroke unit and bragged about sedating another 'within an inch of her life', appalling WhatsApp messages read to the jury reveal

Two days later, Hudson told Wilmot how she had sedated the patient, recalling that he was 'gearing up to start', before minutes later saying he was 'out like a light now'.

Wilmot replied: 'praise the lord.'

The pair shared another disturbing exchange in April that year when Hudson joked that a patient in bed 29 had was doing 'not a f***ing lot' because she had sedated her two days in row.

'Yeahhhh I knew it everything you gave her has started working today!!!!,' Wilmot responded. 'Made for a nice day though it aint been bad lol. Xxx'

Hudson replied: 'Excellent.'

That same day, Hudson messaged another colleague: 'I sedated on of them to within an inch of her life lol lol xxx.

'Bet shes flat for a week haha xxx'

A student nurse on a work placement told authorities she saw Hudson give unprescribed sleeping pill Zopiclone to a patient in November 2018, Preston Crown Court heard.

The student nurse was further troubled when Hudson commented: 'Well she's got a DNAR (do not attempt resuscitation) in place so she wouldn't be opened up if she died or like if it came to any harm.'

She bravely gave evidence against them.

Zopiclone was potentially life-threatening if given inappropriately to acutely unwell patients, the court heard.

Hudson apparently admitted to giving the drug to patients in a text to a family member which read: 'If I can get to look after the same bay of pts it will b.

'I sedate the one who can b a nightmare as soon as I do my drugs round at 9 o clock, he gets i.m lorazepam , sleeps like a baby haha x'

When her relative jokingly called her 'naughty,' Hudson added: 'My thoughts r that to get better they need a decent nights sleep! All the hcas r thankful lol x'

Hudson and Wilmot another disturbing exchange in April that year when Hudson joked that a patient in bed 29 had was doing 'not a f***ing lot' because she had sedated her two days in row

In another message to a colleague, Hudson bragged about sedating 'troublemaker' patients

The court heard that prescription restrictions were lax in the stroke unit and that staff would sometimes help themselves to drugs to self-medicate or supply others.

WhatsApp messages between Hudson and an unnamed colleague seemingly revealed that she was among those taking and distributing drugs without permission.

'I had zopliclone in my pocket when I got home from work the other morning but I binned it , otherwise u could have had it,' she wrote in November 2017. 'That would have helped u sleep properly tonight . Xxx'

The colleague answered: 'Very true. I'll see how I get on if not then you can rob me some tomorrow.'

Hudson added: 'Just let me know and I'll get u some. if u aren't asleep by midnight then u need to call up xxx

'I'll get what u need ! xxx'

'Thank you,' the colleague replied. 'my secret drug dealer now xxxxx'

Hudson sedated numerous hospital patients including Aileen Scott (pictured) who is from Glasgow but was on holiday in Blackpool

Drugs such as Zopiclone were stolen and used to drug patients. Police have released pictures of the medication taken today

Zopiclone (pictured by police) was used to sedate patients for their 'own amusement' and an 'easy life'. Some they didn't like were also drugged

Prosecutors said a 'culture of abuse' was revealed on the unit when police examined WhatsApp phone messages between the co-defendants and other members of staff.

In addition to bragging about drugging patients, Hudson's messages showed an apparent lack of care for the quality of patient care.

Hudson, in a December 2017 text to an unnamed colleague, wrote: 'Oh f***ing great for the team that ! Even the pts behaved last night . 27 never buzzed til morning lol no idea why haha xxx'

The staffer replied: 'how many did you give her two ??'

'Actually , none !! Think she just knew not to bother,' Hudson answered.

'b****y h**l im shocked by that,' the colleague said.

Judge Robert Altham, the Honorary Recorder of Preston, remanded Hudson into custody following the verdicts, which were reached after nearly 14 hours of deliberation.

He said: 'The sentence for Catherine Hudson plainly has to be a sentence of immediate custody.

'The only question is the length.'

The court heard that prescription restrictions were lax in the stroke unit and that staff would sometimes help themselves to drugs to self-medicate or supply others. WhatsApp messages between Hudson and an unnamed colleague seemingly revealed that she was among those taking and distributing drugs without permission

Hudson apparently admitted to giving the drug to patients in a text to a family member

She also told a family member that there is an unspoken rule between staff to keep alleged misconduct 'to the grave'

Judge Altham granted bail to Wilmot, who was also convicted of encouraging Hudson to drug a patient, but told her the 'overwhelming likelihood' was that she too would receive an immediate custodial term.

Afterwards the son of one the patients ill-treated by Hudson, Aileen Scott, branded her behaviour unacceptable.

'I'm going to kill bed 5. I've just sedated him lol': Horrifying messages between the NHS staff In an exchange about one patient, Hudson wrote: 'I'm going to kill bed 5 xxx' Wilmot replied: 'Pmsl (p*ssing myself laughing) well tonight sedate him to high heaven lol.' Hudson later wrote: 'I've just sedated him lol lol he was gearing up to start.' Wilmot said: 'Pmsl (along with tablets and hypodermic needle emojis) Praise the lord.' Speaking about a 'profoundly unwell' female patient who had thrown a beaker of orange juice in her direction, Wilmot messaged Hudson: 'Very f****** annoying. Give her the best sleep she ever had.' Advertisement

My mum had a haemoraghic stroke and was paralysed - she was no nuisance to nurses in that hospital, said Brian Scott.

She couldnt do anything and she relied on them for her care and support.

So to hear how shes been treated by Cathy Hudson and others is unacceptable and Im delighted to see that shes gone to prison today, on remand.

This sends a clear message that I hope will tell everybody that what theyve done in ill-treatment is not acceptable.

Karen Tonge, Specialist Prosecutor for CPS North West's Complex Casework Unit, said: 'The callous and dangerous actions of Hudson and Wilmot are truly shocking. They showed utter contempt for patients in their care.

'Their role was to care for the patients on their ward. This included elderly and vulnerable patients who were seriously ill. Instead, they conspired to ill-treat them, sedating them for their own convenience and amusement or purely out of spite.

'Patients should be able to feel safe and secure in hospital and know those charged with their care will not do them deliberate harm. Their relatives and friends should feel confident that the needs of their loved ones are being looked after.

'They grossly abused their position and the trust that patients and their families put in them. Now they must face the consequences of their actions.'

Jurors heard that Wilmot had already pleaded guilty to numerous offences of conspiring with Hudson to steal antibiotics from the unit.

Wilmot, who was dismissed by her employers in 2020, said she had not been qualified to administer medications.

Asked by her barrister Imran Shafi KC about her co-defendant Hudson, she said: 'I have always thought that Cathy was really good at her job. She was always a really conscientious nurse, really good with her patients, nothing untoward whatsoever.

'She has got a big personality. She exaggerates things a lot mainly for the effect, that's how she was. She would say things that would shock people.'

On her own approach to the job, she said: 'I worked hard. I was never off sick and I looked after my patients to the best of my ability. I cared about my patients. ' Although he admitted she did not enjoy the job all the time.

Trish Armstrong-Child, Chief Executive of Blackpool Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, said: 'It is very clear from the evidence heard by the jury that inappropriate and unacceptable conduct and practices were taking place at the time and I want to say sorry to patients, families and other colleagues who were impacted by that.

'It's important now to reassure local people that Blackpool Teaching Hospitals has made significant improvements across a range of issues including staffing, managing medicine and creating a more respectful culture.

Hudson was accused of ill-treating four patients and stealing the medicine, Mebeverine, at Blackpool Victoria Hospital. She was convicted of drugging two patients

'Part of these changes have been to actively encourage anyone who comes into contact with the Trust in any way to speak up if they see or hear anything that causes concern or they are not comfortable with in any way.

'That's critical to identifying issues quickly and putting improvements in place to ensure people feel safe in our care.

'Lastly, it's important to recognise that the Trust employs a team of more than 8,000 people who work so very hard to provide safe and respectful care every day and night. Regulators have repeatedly highlighted 'caring' as a strength, this is a key area for all inspections to consider.

'I want to say thank you to all colleagues who are doing everything in their power to support patients and their families.'
The Dutch government has officially verified the legitimacy of a party card that shows Prince Bernhard, the long-serving prince consort post-World War Two, was a member of Adolf Hitler's Nazi party.

Prince Bernhard, a German nobleman who married Queen Juliana of the Netherlands, vehemently denied any ties to the NSDAP party - which later became known as the Nazi party - up until his death in 2004.

In an interview published shortly after his passing, he said: 'I can declare with my hand on the Bible: I was never a Nazi. I never paid for party membership, I never had a membership card.'

He admitted to being part of two Nazi organizations after 1933 - including Hitler's notorious paramilitary group the SS - but argued that initial participation was a necessity, and later went on to lead elements of the Dutch resistance forces after the Royal Family fled to Britain.

But in 1996, researcher Gerard Aalders at the Dutch institute for war studies uncovered a copy of his party membership card in a US university archive, sparking major speculation over his Nazi affiliations that dogged the Prince's later years.

Then in 2010 - six years after the Prince's death, historian Annejet van der Zijl discovered another membership card in a German archive showing he'd joined the Nazi party as a student in April 1933.

Now, it has emerged that former head of the Dutch royal family's palace archives, Flip Maarschalkerweerd, found the original membership card in the Prince's personal effects - and its authenticity has been officially verified by government officials.

Prince Bernhard had a membership card of the NSDAP. Prince Bernhard denied that he was a member of Adolf Hitler's Nazi party until his death in 2004

Prince Bernhard's Nazi party membership card

Prince Bernhard is pictured in 1937, shortly before the start of WWII

A photograph of Adolf Hitler with his bodyguards at mass meeting of the Nazi party in Bad Harzburg in 1931. Prince Bernhard joined the Nazi party as a student in April of 1933

In the wake of the revelation, Aalders asserted on social media that 'Prince Bernhard lied to the bitter end about his Nazi past.'

And Dutch King Willem-Alexander said: 'I can well imagine that the news has a major impact and evokes many emotions, especially among the Jewish community.

'But I am convinced that we have to face the past, even the less beautiful parts of the past.'

Married to Dutch Princess Juliana in 1937, Bernhard escorted the Dutch royal family in exile after the Second World War broke out, yet he was never fully trusted by British security services.

Despite participating in a Dutch royal broadcast via the BBC in 1943, performing duties as an RAF pilot and ultimately leading the unified Dutch resistance forces in 1944, Bernhard was never able to shake the suspicions he was involved with the Nazis.

Juliana's ascension to queen in 1948 saw Bernhard become prince consort, but his credibility remained tarnished.

The revelation of the Nazi party card, seen as final confirmation of the Prince's past affiliations, will send shockwaves through the Dutch military community, particularly among aged veterans those who had participated in the Dutch resistance and commemorated the liberation alongside the prince.

The Prince regularly took part in commemorative processions and was pictured in May 2004, just months before his death, greeting WWII veterans at a Victory Day event.

Dutch King Willem-Alexander said: 'I can well imagine that the news has a major impact and evokes many emotions, especially among the Jewish community. But I am convinced that we have to face the past, even the less beautiful parts of the past'

Adolf Hitler (1889 - 1945), accompanied by other Nazi party officials, walks down a staircase at the 1938 Annual Reichs Party Congress, Nuremburg, Germany

Adolf Hitler (L) with his deputy and private secretary, Rudolf Hess, at a Nazi Party meeting shortly before the beginning of World War II

The Dutch royal house swiftly confirmed the card's existence, but immediately emphasised the current King Willem-Alexander's commitment to independent research and understanding the kingdom's history.

'I also have the option of removing things from the archive, but I have decided not to do that. I believe that the entire archive should be available as transparently as possible, for the purposes of historiography,' a statement from the King read.

Meanwhile, calls for an investigation have emerged from political parties and Jewish groups, urging the Netherlands' caretaker Prime Minister Mark Rutte to address the disturbing development.

Rutte, who himself was a historian prior to his political career - said - research has already shown 'quite convincingly' that Bernhard was a member of the party and commended King Willem-Alexander for his open stance on the matter.

'I think this shows that this royal family is completely transparent,' Rutte said. 'And I think that is also part of a mature monarchy.'

However, Rutte refused to confirm how long he and King Willem-Alexander had known about the existence of Bernhard's membership card prior to the official announcement.

'Constitutionally I can never say anything about my contact with the King,' he said.
A 21-year-old thought to have been a member of a cult that lives 'off-grid' pleaded guilty this week to shooting and killing a Florida college student after attempting to rob him and his girlfriend.

The horrific incident occurred in Talladega National Forest in Clay County, northern Alabama in August 2022. Adam Simjee, 22, and his girlfriend, Mikayla Paulus, 20, were driving through the park in search of hiking trails and waterfalls.

In her plea agreement, Yasmine Marie Hider admitted to flagging down the the couple under the guise of needing a jump start for her own car.

After spending an hour trying to repair the car, which included looking up YouTube videos and saw Paulus call her mechanic father for advice, Hider then pulled a gun on the pair and forced them into the woods while telling them to empty their pockets.

During a moment when Hider appeared distracted, Simjee 'attempted to defend himself and his girlfriend' by pulling his own licensed pistol on their assailant. A brief standoff ensued, Simjee shot Hider three times in the chest and once in the leg. Hider managed to shoot the college student once, mortally wounding him.

Adam Simjee, 22, (left) was shot to death in the Talladega National Forest in East Alabama after he had pulled over to the side of the road to assist a woman with car issues

Krystal Diane Pinkins, 37 (left) and Yasmine Hider, 21, (right) have been accused of murdering 22-year-old Adam Simjee of Apopka, Florida, when he tried to help them with their car

Hider, a native of Oklahoma, testified that the car used in the rouse to flag down Simjee and Paulus belonged to Krystal Pinkins, 37, a native of Memphis.

At the time of the incident, Hider said the pair lived in a 'base camp' in the woods along with Pinkins' five-year-old child not too far from where Simjee was killed.

Hider said that the robbery had been Pinkins' plan and the gun belonged to her camp mate. She said that the pair needed money to eat which is why the plan was hatched.

Pinkins watched the shooting take place, according to Paulus. When it occurred, Hider looked into the woods and asked Pinkins what she wanted her to do next. Her partner fled into the forest.

Paulus told authorities that she immediately called 911 and was instructed on how to perform CPR on Simjee while using her shirt as a tourniquet. Sadly, he passed away almost immediately after the shooting.

Responding officers arrested Hider at the scene, she had been unable to escape due to her injuries which included a smashed femur courtesy of Simjee. She was airlifted to a Birmingham hospital where she underwent surgery for her injuries.

After a subsequent six hour search, officers located Pinkins in her 'base camp.' They were immediately set upon by her five-year-old child who emerged from the woods armed with a loaded shot gun.

The couple attended UCF together where Simjee received a degree in finance. Paulus mourns the plans the two had to carpool to school together this upcoming fall as they sought to receive a higher education

Authorities were able to disarm the child and give him over to child protective services. Pinkins was arrested and taken into custody.

During that search, Sheriff Jim Studdard told AL.com that cops encountered a community of empty tents throughout the wooded area.

At the time of the killing, multiple reports linked Hider and Pinkins to a cult named the University of Cosmic Intelligence, led by a man named Rashad Jamal White, who goes by 'God' to followers.

White is currently awaiting trial on child molestation and abuse charges.

In the months leading up to the murder of Simjee, Pinkins allegedly wrote a letter to the Borrow County judge in Jamal's case pleading his innocence. She also reportedly lived with him and his wife for several months, according to Motherboard.

Hider had been tagged in a photo with Pinkins, who was working as a real estate agent, and had shared White's posts on social media.

Hider will be sentenced on January 4, 2024, Pinkins, who was found guilty for her role in the crime this week in federal court will be sentenced on the same day. In that trial, Hider testified against her accomplice.

Pinkins and Hider had connections to the University of Cosmic Intelligence leader Rashad Jamal White - who goes by God to his followers

In a 2022 tweet, he claimed that blacks and Latinos are 'gods.' His alleged followers interacted with his preaching before their crimes

Prosecutors are expected to ask for 35 years followed by supervised release for Hider. She faced life in prison on charges of murder, kidnapping and robbery.

Her complaint said that during the crime, she told the couple to hand over their phones and bank cards as well as to provide their pin numbers.

She told investigators in the aftermath of the brutal crime:' I didn't want to hurt anybody. I took his whole life away, now he can't tell his story.'

Pinkins was found guilty of murder, robbery and unlawful use of a firearm during a rime of violence.

The judge in the case has issued a gag order preventing anybody associated with the case including lawyers and witnesses from speaking publicly about the trial.

Paulus earlier told AL.com in an interview that it was after spending an hour on the car and pair asked if they could do anything more to help that Hider pulled the gun.

She said that Simjee kept his gun on him prior to pulling over to help his killer because he knew it was a common rouse.

In an interview with WBMA, Paulus said that she and Simjee had been planning their trip for a while ahead of beginning the fall semester at the University of Central Florida. Both were natives of the town of Apoka, Florida, just northwest of Orlando.

Simjee was due to enter a finance program at the school as Paulus was working on a master's in counseling.

Paulus described her version of events in that interview.

'Adam pulled out his gun and told her to get on the ground and that's when she started messing around with her gun. It jammed once but they both shot at each other and she was shot a few times and he was shot only once,' she said.

The couple were on a road trip throughout Alabama in celebration of their next journey together. The duo planned on studying at the University of Central Florida in the fall

The nursing student called Simjee 'an angel on earth.'

'Everyone who met him loved him. He was always making jokes and being goofy. Him dying a hero to protect me, like that is just so him,' Paulus added.

On the one-year anniversary of the shooting, Paulus paid tribute to Simjee in a Facebook post.

'My life was changed forever. I woke up excited to travel and make new memories with the love of my life but I went to sleep a widow.'

Paulus added that her slain boyfriend was her 'soulmate, my life partner, the future father of my children.'

'We had our entire lives ahead of us. Adam is the best person Ive ever met on the face of this entire planet. he was the most pure soul and he made sure I knew I would be safe when I was with him. it comforts me to say he passed in one of his favorite places, the forest in the mountains,' Paulus wrote.
Republican presidential hopeful Nikki Haley has cemented her second place status in New Hampshire with a poll released Wednesday, beating out Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis by a commanding nine points.

A USA TODAY/Boston Globe/Suffolk Poll shows Haley with the support of 19 percent of likely Republican primary voters in New Hampshire.

Former President Donald Trump maintains his large lead, receiving the support of 49 percent of likely Republican primary voters in the Granite State.

DeSantis - once considered Trump's biggest political threat - now sits in third place with the support of 10 percent.

No other GOP candidate is polling in the double digits - former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie gets 6 percent, entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy and South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott are both polling at 4 percent and former Vice President Mike Pence and North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum are at 1 percent.

Republican presidential hopeful Nikki Haley has cemented her second place status in New Hampshire with a poll released Wednesday

While Trump is still the frontrunner, Haley has moved into a solid second place in New Hampshire, which holds the nation's first primary next year

While Trump is dominant, the poll found that voters were about evenly split when asked if him winning the nomination was inevitable.

Forty-eight percent believed that it was, while another 44 percent said it wasn't.

The poll's margin of error was plus or minus 4.4 percent.

Thirty-nine percent of those surveyed said they could still change their minds before the primary.

Haley is coming off of two strong debate performances - and while DeSantis also received high marks for his showing on the Simi Valley debate stage last week, so far early state polling hasn't shown him getting a bump from it.

Instead, Haley has become more dominant in New Hampshire - which will host the nation's first GOP primary next year - with the Real Clear Politics polling average showing her solidly in second place.

'Nikki Haley told New Hampshire she would earn every vote - and that's what she is doing. Nikki has already held more than 50 grassroots events in the Granite State, and she is coming back next week,' Ken Farnaso, spokesman for Haley, said in a statement to DailyMail.com. 'Our momentum continues to build and we're just getting started.'

She's beaten DeSantis in the last four of five New Hampshire polls.

Former President Donald Trump (left) still holds a formidable lead in the Granite State, while Haley has overtaken Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (right)

Haley started to surpass the Florida governor in New Hampshire polling late last month and her lead continues to grow.

The averages show Trump with 45 percent support, Haley with 14.2 percent and DeSantis with 10.4 percent support.

The Real Clear Politics polling average also has Christie in a better position than the USA Today poll - garnering 9 percent from New Hampshire voters.

Christie has ignored Iowa - the state that will hold the first GOP caucuses on January 15, with the New Hampshire primary following shortly thereafter - and has focused solely on the Granite State.

Haley still has work to do in Iowa if she wants to emerge as Trump's primary, primary opponent.

In the Hawkeye State, she remains in a distant third, according to the Real Clear Politics polling average - with Trump sitting at 49.2 percent, DeSantis at 16 percent and Haley at 8.8 percent.

That being said, New Hampshire has a tradition of picking a different candidate than whomever wins the Iowa caucuses - for example, giving Trump his first win in 2016, after Sen. Ted Cruz won the caucuses.

In 2008, when now former President Barack Obama stunned and won the Iowa caucuses, the Democratic primary became a slog when New Hampshire voters picked Hillary Clinton instead.

The latest poll out of South Carolina, which holds the first-in-the-South primary, also contains some good news for Haley, who was the governor of the state from 2011 to 2017, before Trump picked her to be his ambassador to the United Nations.

A survey conducted by Winthrop University shows Trump a clear favorite - currently receiving the support of 51 percent of South Carolina voters.

Haley, however, has leapfrogged DeSantis - and is in second place with 17 percent support - compared to the Republican governor's 12 percent.

'South Carolinians know how hard Nikki fought for taxpayers and jobs, and how she took on the establishment and won when she was governor,' Farnaso also said. 'She takes nothing for granted but is confident she'll do very well in South Carolina.'
The British airline industry is on red alert after a London supplier was accused of selling jet engine parts with fraudulent safety certificates, leading the regulator to investigate.

AOG Technics Ltd, based in London, is being investigated by regulators over claims it supplied fake parts for jet engines powering many older-generation Airbus A320 and Boeing 737 planes.

The scandal has already engulfed the US airline industry. After American Airlines, United Airlines and Southwest Airlines pulled planes from their rosters, Delta Airlines announced on Monday that it has also removed several engines from service.

The UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has confirmed some parts sourced from AOG Technics are on engines fitted to UK aircraft. The agency has issued a safety notice to all UK organisations warning them to investigate their records thoroughly to check the source of aircraft parts.

A spokesperson from the CAA told Mail Online: 'We can confirm that we are one of a number of organisations looking into this, but we are unable to comment further on ongoing investigations.'

The allegedly faulty safety certificates were installed in at least 126 Boeing and Airbus engines across several airlines. Pictured: An Airbus A320 NEO engine at a Safran plant in France, 2018

AOG Technics Ltd, based in London, is being investigated by regulators over claims it supplied fake parts for jet engines powering many older-generation Airbus A320 and Boeing 737 planes

The scandal has rocked the aviation industry, with potentially faulty parts stretching from small nuts and bolts to vitally important turbine blades. Pictured: Manufacturing parts for an Airbus A320 wing

American Airlines, United Airlines and Southwest Airlines pulled planes from their rosters, including aviation industry favorite Boeing 737 jets (pictured)

The regulator has recommended that all CAMO, operators, owners and maintainers and distributers investigate their records thoroughly to 'determine the provenance of any parts acquired either directly or indirectly from AOG Technics'.

'For each part obtained, please contact the approved organisation identified on the ARC [airworthiness release certificates] to verify the origin of the certificate,' the CAA said.

'If the approved organisation attests that the ARC did not originate from that organisation, then all affected parts should be quarantined to prevent installation. If a part is found with falsified ARC which has already been installed it should be replaced with an approved part.'

Airlines which are NOT affected by parts from AOG The following airlines have confirmed they have NOT been supplied with parts from AOG Technics: Aer Lingus

British Airways

EasyJet

Jet 2

Ryanair

Virgin Atlantic

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In many cases, the approved organisations listed on the ARC forms provided by AOG Technics confirmed they were not genuine, Aviacionline reports.

The European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) said that when investigating each of the false safety forms provided by AOG, manufacturers said 'the certificate has been falsified'.

EASA stated: 'To date, AOG Technics has not provided information on the source of the parts or of the falsified safety forms.

'EASA is therefore issuing this alert to determine whether other parts with falsified safety forms have been supplied, and to limit the airworthiness impact of any potentially unairworthy parts operating in service.'

AOG Technics has also faced allegations it faked employees and was using stock photographs for fictitious staffers on LinkedIn, according to Bloomberg. The LinkedIn page does not appear to exist anymore and attempts to contact the company were unsuccessful.

With parts from the problematic company so far found in 126 engines across several airlines, questions are being raised over the effectiveness of the aviation industry's safety oversight measures.

Jet engine maker CFM International revealed last month that thousands of engine components may have been sold with forged paperwork by AOG Technics, as the fallout from a probe into falsely certified parts reached London's High Court.

Matthew Reeve, a lawyer for CFM and its co-owners General Electric and Safran, said AOG Technics had engaged in a 'deliberate, dishonest and sophisticated scheme to deceive the market with falsified documents on an industrial scale'.

European regulators have said they are investigating reports that some parts supplied by the London-based firm without valid certificates had been found inside CFM56 engines, which power some Airbus and Boeing jets.

AOG did not address the underlying claim of forgery in the hearing, which was called to discuss procedural issues. The company did not immediately respond to a request for comment on its main number, which went to hold then voicemail.

The discovery has prompted airlines to change parts on a handful of planes and so far only a fraction of the 23,000 existing CFM56 engines has been affected.

But Reeve said in court filings that CFM and its engine partners have 'compelling documentary evidence that thousands of jet engine parts have been sold by (AOG) to airlines operating commercial aircraft fitted with the claimants' jet engines'.

These include parts for CFM56 engines, built by the GE-Safran joint-venture CFM, and a very small number of CF6 engines used mainly to power cargo planes and manufactured purely by GE.

The most affected engine model was found to be a CFM56 (pictured), which alarmingly holds the record for most engines ever sold to airlines at over 33,900

Industry sources said the majority of spare parts sold by distributors like AOG involve small items that are not made by the engine makers themselves and are not considered critical.

Even so, the number of planes that could have to be taken out of service for checks is approaching 100 and analysts say any disruption to the tightly monitored system of controls underpinning the safety of air travel must be tackled quickly.

Reeve said that so far, 86 falsified documents known as release certificates had been identified. By Monday, the number of engines suspected to have parts with forged documents had risen to 96.

'Potentially, that means between 48 and 96 aircraft being taken out of service whilst airlines arrange for the parts to be removed,' Reeve added.

The sale of parts with fake or missing release certificates 'potentially puts aircraft safety in jeopardy' and makes it impossible to verify airworthiness, CFM said in a filing.

A release certificate is akin to a birth certificate for an engine part, guaranteeing it is genuine.

The engine maker and its French and American parent companies took AOG and its sole director Jose Zamora Yrala to court to force them to hand over documents related to any remaining parts and paperwork linked to CFM56 and CF6 engines since February 2015.

They said they were first alerted to the alleged forgery by a Portuguese maintenance and repair company in June, prompting a scramble to discover the extent of the issue.

The controversy has highlighted the complex nature of the aviation industry. Pictured: The wheel well of the first Boeing 737 MAX 7 aircraft as it sits on the tarmac outside of the Boeing factory on February 5, 2018

Lawyers representing AOG and Zamora Yrala said the defendants were 'cooperating fully' with an investigation by Britain's Civil Aviation Authority (CAA).

AOG lawyer Tom Cleaver argued GE did not need a large amount of documents in order to contact possible buyers of the parts.

'Everybody now knows that AOG parts are not necessarily to be taken to be the claimants' parts,' he said.

Judge Richard Meade ruled that AOG and Zamora Yrala should disclose 'invoices, release certificates, memos of shipment and purchase orders' for 230 transactions.

CFM welcomed the court order, which it said would help the industry identify unapproved parts more rapidly.

CFM56 engines power the previous generation of Boeing 737s and about half the previous generation of Airbus A320s. These are gradually being upgraded but thousands remain in service.

The CFM56 is also used on Boeing P-8 maritime patrol planes sold to the United States and Britain, while the GE-built CF6 powers Boeing KC-767A tankers sold to Italy and Japan.

There have been no reports of suspect parts on military aircraft. Boeing and Airbus had no immediate comment.

The European Union Aviation Safety Agency, in a filing first reported by Bloomberg, said in August it was examining reports of parts with suspected falsified documents supplied by AOG. Britain's CAA said in August it was 'investigating the supply of a large number of suspect unapproved parts'

Allegedly fictitious safety certificates were slapped on critical components of a jet

A UK judge this week ordered the company to turn over its parts sales documents, and the full extent of the scandal could grow as the records are assessed.

Before the analysis began on Wednesday, airlines said they found 16 engines in their shops and a 110 in separate facilities that were fitted with parts from AOG Technics.

According to the Wall Street Journal, the company serves as a middleman in the aviation industry by acquiring parts before selling them to maintenance and repair shops.

It was established in 2015, but several disturbing business practices have been alleged in recent times, including that there is reportedly no record of the company ever receiving approvals for its parts.

Court documents have also found that the company's founder, Jose Zamora Yrala, is the sole director and shareholder, and dubious LinkedIn profiles have reportedly been linked to the business using aliases and stock profile pictures.

'It's a bit strange that a phantom company can be allowed to supply spare parts with false certification documents,' Olivier Andries, the chief executive of Safran, told reporters last month.
Donald Trump thinks it's time that President Joe Biden apologize publicly for now resuming building parts of the southern border wall after repeatedly slamming its construction during his 2020 run for the White House.

The President stands accused of outright hypocrisy as Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said there is an 'acute and immediate need' to waive 26 federal laws  many put in place by the Biden administration  that currently prevents or creates road blocks for construction of a border wall.

'There will not be another foot of wall constructed in my administration,' Biden said in 2020 when running for president against Donald Trump  who championed building more border barriers.

On his first day in office, Biden declared that building a wall wasn't 'a serious policy solution.'

The stunning reversal in policy comes as the illegal immigration crisis continues to surge at the southern border despite repeated efforts to redirect asylum seekers into the U.S. through legal channels.

But Biden's team insists that he was 'forced' to use money already appropriated for the border wall.

Republicans are furious with the sharp departure from Biden's early days insisting he would prevent such barriers from going-up and now embracing right-leaning proposals to deal with the border crisis.

Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.), who is running in the 2024 presidential primary, said it's 'too little, too late' to start construction now.

'There will not be another foot of wall constructed in my administration,' Biden said in 2020 when running for president. On his first day in office, he declared that building a wall wasn't 'a serious policy solution' to the migration crisis

Donald Trump now wants a public apology from President Biden after his sharp reversal this week resuming construction of the southern border wall in some areas of surging illegal immigration. Pictured: A migrant climbs the border fencing to request asylum after crossing into the U.S. from Tijuana, Mexico on October 2, 2023

'The Biden administration is more concerned with political calculus for 2024 than protecting Americans from a wide open, insecure border that has devastated families in nearly every single county in our country,' the Republican senator said in a statement to DailyMail.com.

Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wy.) said Wednesday when discussing the change: 'Well, Joe Biden's border policy has been one train wreck after another.'

'He has so little respect for the Border Patrol or the citizens of this country or the communities in which they live by the border  ignored them completely. It is disgusting,' the senator added.

Meanwhile, for the last two years, Republican lawmakers have been calling for the impeachment of Secretary Mayorkas for a dereliction of duty by refusing to properly address the southern border crisis.

DHS unveiled on Thursday that construction will kick-off in Starr County, Texas, which falls in the Rio Grande Valley Sector at the southern border. The administration claims there was 'high illegal entry' in this area, including 245,000 migrant encounters in that sector in this fiscal year.

Mayorkas says he is using his authority provided by Congress to waive 26 federal laws so the wall can be built in certain areas.

The laws that will be waived to get barriers in place to quell illegal immigration includes the Clean Air Act, Safe Drinking Water Act and Endangered Species Act.

'The Secretary of Homeland Security has determined, pursuant to law, that it is necessary to waive certain laws, regulations, and other legal requirements in order to ensure the expeditious construction of barriers and roads in the vicinity of the international land border in Starr County, Texas,' a summary of the notice of determination reads.

White House Deputy Press Secretary Andrew Bates tweeted that it is 'absolutely false' to use the word 'reversal' when describing the resumption of construction.

'Fact: Congress is forcing us to do this under a 2019 law. Fact: We called on Congress to cancel these funds. They didn't,' Bates added. 'We follow the rule of law.'

He then called on Congress to 'stop delaying the effective border solutions [Biden] proposed.'

Trump was quick to point out that Biden is now embracing what the last administration was aiming to accomplish with the border wall - and also is ignoring some of these laws that run counter to policies the President has promoted, like prioritizing environmental protections.

Former President Donald Trump says he is owed an apology after Biden's hypocrisy of repeatedly slamming his construction of the physical southern border barriers. Trump speaks with US Border Patrol Chief Rodney Scott (R) as they participate in a ceremony commemorating the 200th mile of border wall with Mexico in San Luis, Arizona, June 23, 2020

Trump said that Biden is also ignoring other priorities  like environmental protections  to make sure the border wall in built in Starr County, Texas

Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas waived 26 federal laws to allow several miles of border wall construction in South Texas

'So interesting to watch Crooked Joe Biden break every environmental law in the book to prove that I was right when I built 560 miles (they incorrectly state 450 in story!) of brand new, beautiful border wall,' the ex-president posted to his Truth Social account on Thursday.

'As I have stated often, over thousands of years, there are only two things that have consistently worked, wheels, and walls!' Trump continued. 'Will Joe Biden apologize to me and America for taking so long to get moving, and allowing our country to be flooded with 15 million illegals immigrants, from places unknown.'

'I will await his apology!'

Before deciding on Wednesday to embrace building physical border barriers, Biden said during his campaign that there were other ways to deter illegal immigration.

'I'm going to make sure that we have border protection, but it's going to be based on making sure that we use high-tech capacity to deal with it,' he said in an August 2020 interview. 'And at the ports of entry  that's where all the bad stuff is happening.'
Locals are outraged after a 1,000-year-old tree which dates back to the Battle of Hastings was mysteriously uprooted in a 'suspected felling' - just a week after Sycamore Gap Tree was cut down.

The 40ft yew tree stood in a privately owned field near Uckham Lane, Battle, a mile from Senlac Hill.

Speculation has mounted about how it had been toppled, with some suggesting the tree was deliberately cut down while others say it could have been knocked over by recent strong winds.

One local suggested the roots of the tree were rotting, meaning that the yew tree would have been unstable.

It comes just a week after the felling of the Sycamore Gap tree near Hadrian's Wall in Northumberland. The sycamore - which had featured in the 1991 Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves movie - had been one of the world's most photographed trees until it was reduced to a stump.

The 40ft yew tree stood in a privately owned field near Uckham Lane, Battle

Speculation has mounted about how the tree (right) had been toppled

Stephen White, who lives near Battle, said the tree was an important 'ancient monument'. Qualified tree surgeon Paul Lawrence, 51, told the Argus how the tree meant a lot to him because he had spread his grandfather's ashes there. He added that he had a 'personal connection' to the yew tree. Rother District Council said it cannot comment as the tree was on private land.

Mr Lawrence said: 'I was in complete and utter disbelief. The farmer has been doing work around the fields and cut back overgrown trees which I know needs to be done.

'I think it happened on Thursday. I was extremely emotional, I was very angry too.'

Many trees of that age are protected by Tree Preservation Orders, which prohibit cutting down, felling or causing willful damage to specific trees, groups of trees or woodlands.

The yew tree was just a few miles away from the Crowhurst Yew, which stands in St George's churchyard.

The yew is one of the longest-lived native species in Europe and is steeped in folklore. Yew trees are associated with churchyards and there are at least 500 churchyards in England which contain yew trees older than the buildings themselves.

It comes after investigators found vandals who felled the Sycamore Gap tree caused damage to Hadrian's Wall.

The Unesco world heritage site which stretches 73 miles across Northern England has sustained damage as a result of the Sycamore Gap tree falling over it.

Forensic investigators from Northumbria Police examine the felled Sycamore Gap tree

A former lumberjack and a 16-year-old boy were arrested and released on bail by police on suspicion of criminal damage after the tree 15 miles west of Hexham, Northumberland, was felled overnight last Wednesday.

Detectives are now looking at charges for felling the tree without consent and potentially for causing damage to a heritage site which could bring harsher sentences.

According to The Times, the findings came after preservation body Historic England sent a heritage crime specialist to assess the scene.

A spokesman said that the preliminary investigation found the 1,900-year-old wall, which is one of the first British sites to be listed as a Unesco world heritage site, had sustained 'some damage'.

She said a full archaeological evaluation is yet to be carried out, with the tree still not removed from the scene.

The felled Sycamore Gap tree on Hadrian's Wall in Northumberland

She added: 'We appreciate how strongly people feel about the loss of the tree, and its impact on this special historic landscape, and will continue to work closely with others as this progresses.'

A spokesman said that the preliminary investigation found the 1,900-year-old wall, which is one of the first British sites to be listed as a Unesco world heritage site, had sustained 'some damage'.

She said a full archaeological evaluation is yet to be carried out, with the tree still not removed from the scene.

Northumbria Police met with representatives from Historic England, the National Trust, Northumberland National Park Authority, and Forestry England this week in relation to the investigation.

Superintendent Andy Huddleston, who heads the National Rural Crime Unit which was formed this year, said such incidents were 'exceptionally rare' and that officers had to draw on the expertise of conservation and wildlife groups.

He said: 'The lack of witnesses and CCTV is also a challenge when dealing with rural crime, which can make it much harder to investigate than urban crime.

'I have every confidence though that Northumbria Police will find the culprit of this callous crime.'
President Vladimir Putin has threatened the West with total nuclear destruction, leaving 'no chance of survival' in the event of a strike on Russia.

In a ranting anti-US speech, the dictator said his powerful 'Satan-2' and 'Flying Chernobyl' missiles are ready for deployment in an ominous doomsday warning.

Putin told a conference in Sochi: 'From the moment the launch of missiles is detected, no matter where it comes from - from any point of the world ocean or from any territory - such a number, so many hundreds of our missiles appear in the air in a retaliatory strike that there is no chance of survival there will be no single enemy left, and in several directions at once.'

The West has not threatened a first strike on Moscow and it is only his officials and an army of propagandists who have talked up the use of nuclear weapons in the Ukraine conflict.

Putin asked the West to understand that threats against Russia are 'absolutely unacceptable for any potential aggressor'.

Vladimir Putin threatened the West with total nuclear destruction leaving 'no chance of survival' in the event of a strike on Russia

Putin's ominous doomsday warning comes after he said his biggest nuclear missiles - Satan-2 and Burevestnik, aka Flying Chernobyl - are now ready for deployment (pictured the Sarmat aka Satan-2 in test launch)

He claimed Russia had 'practically finished work on the modern strategic weapons that I have been talking about and I announced a few years ago'.

He also repeated that Moscow may withdraw from the nuclear test ban treaty.

READ MORE: Putin runs scared from Ukrainian missiles and drones as his Black Sea Fleet is seen on satellite images retreating from Crimean port Advertisement

This could see Putin unilaterally testing major weapons, likely in the Arctic, as demanded by many of his supporters.

Recent reports suggested that the West suspected a new test in the Arctic on Burevestnik - a powerful missile that can fly for weeks at a time powered by its own on-board nuclear reactor.

In recent days and weeks, Western spy planes have made regular flights towards Novaya Zemlya in the Arctic, amid suspicions of a test.

Putin boasted two days ahead of his 71st birthday: 'The last successful test of the Burevestnik, a global-range cruise missile with a nuclear installation, a nuclear propulsion system, has been carried out.'

He also claimed: 'We have actually finished work on Sarmat [Satan-2] on the super-heavy missile'

This 'unstoppable' 15,880mph Armageddon intercontinental missile system is the size of a 14-storey tower block.

'We just need to finish some of the procedures in a purely administrative and bureaucratic way and move on to mass production and putting them on combat duty,' Putin said.

'And we will do this in the near future.'

Russia has claimed its most potent nuclear missile, the 16,000mph hypersonic 'Satan-2', can destroy the UK

Putin's 'propagandist-in-chief' Dmitry Kiselyov previously threatened to drown Britain twice in a radioactive tidal wave using Satan-2 missile

Yet this directly contradicted the words of his space agency chief who said on September 1 that a 208-tonne Satan-2 'has been put on combat duty'.

Are there any defences against intercontinental ballistic missiles? A number of countries maintain anti-missile systems which aim to shoot down or destroy missiles before they are able to reach their intended targets. But these systems are typically only effective against small numbers of missiles, travelling well below hypersonic speeds. The advent of hypersonic missile technology and long-range ICBMs, such as Russia's latest Sarmat missile, have made anti-missile systems largely redundant. The U.S.' Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation said that 'despite decades of research, development, and testing, there remains no reliably effective anti-missile system to counter intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs)'. Existing missile defence systems, such as the U.S. Patriot system, can target incoming short-, medium- and intermediate-range ballistic missiles whose threat is localised to one region, but cannot effectively protect against nuclear-capable ICBMs such as the Sarmat that can deploy warheads across vast areas. According to former Assistant Secretary of Defence and U.S. chief weapons evaluator Philip Coyle: 'All missile defence systems can be overwhelmed... It is only if the attack is limited that the defence can have a hope of not being overwhelmed.' In the early 2000s, the U.S. began work on developing a specialised system designed to intercept ICBMs, known as the Ground-based Midcourse Defence (GMD) system. This aims to use a range of sensors and radars, based in locations around the world and in space, to detect ICBM launches and destroy them out of the Earth's atmosphere, before the warheads have a chance to re-enter and hit their targets. But the programme is wildly expensive and has returned extremely poor results, even in scripted tests in perfect conditions. Advertisement

There is only evidence of one successful test of this weapon.

More than a dozen tests are normally needed before deployment.

And Western sources have suggested that the 13 known tests of Burevestnik - dubbed Flying Chernobyl - have all failed.

A 2019 test led to the deaths of seven people who attempted to salvage the crashed top-secret missile.

Putin dubbed them 'national heroes', without explaining details of their deaths.

The Burevestnik is viewed by the Russian dictator as a game-changing 'doomsday' weapon with an unlimited range.

It is seen by the Kremlin as a low-flying 'stealth' cruise missile incapable of interception by existing Western air defences and delivering nuclear warheads anywhere around the globe.

Putin has called it 'a radically new type of weaponry' with 'unlimited range and unlimited ability to manoeuvre'.

The Russian president went public with the weapon in 2018, one of five game-changing missile systems he claimed were superior to Western models.

He argued today that Moscow's mission is to create a 'new world', blaming Western hegemony for starting the war in Ukraine in a ranting anti-US speech.

'We did not start the so-called war in Ukraine. On the contrary - we are trying to finish it,' Putin said during the Valdai political forum in the Black Sea resort of Sochi.

'We are tasked, essentially, with building a new world,' he added.

Putin said that no one in the world in their right mind would use nuclear weapons against Russia, and that potential enemies knew about the nation's nuclear arsenal.

In response to a question, the Russian president said he was not ready to declare whether or not Russia needed to resume nuclear weapons testing, adding that 'theoretically we could revoke ratification' of the international nuclear test ban treaty.

He said Russia had almost completed work on its nuclear-capable Sarmat intercontinental ballistic missile system and successfully tested the nuclear-powered and nuclear-capable Burevestnik strategic cruise missile.

Russia has not conducted a test involving a nuclear explosion since 1990, the year before the collapse of the Soviet Union, but Putin declined to rule out the possibility it could resume such testing.

He argued that the leaders of the West had lost 'a sense of reality' because of what he cast as Washington's 'colonial thinking'.

Russian President Vladimir Putin gestures while addressing the annual meeting of the Valdai Discussion Club in the Black Sea resort of Sochi, Russia, on October 5, 2023

Putin addressing the plenary session of the Valdai Discussion Club forum in Sochi on October 5, 2023

Putin questioned what right the United States had to lecture any other country and argued that the nation considered itself the only arbiter of truth on the planet.

The Russian leader added that the conflict in Ukraine was 'not a territorial' one and that Moscow has 'no interests from the point of view of conquering some territories'.

He claimed that Ukraine has lost more than 90,000 troops since the start of its counter-offensive in early June and also said that Kyiv has lost 557 tanks and around 1,900 armoured vehicles.

Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 unleashed a war that has devastated swathes of eastern and southern Ukraine, killed or injured hundreds of thousands of men and triggered the biggest rupture in Russia's ties with the West for six decades.

The West casts the war as Moscow's biggest strategic blunder since the 1979 Soviet invasion of Afghanistan and Western leaders say they want to defeat Russia on the battlefields of Ukraine.

A Ukrainian counter-offensive has so far failed to yield major territorial success.

Putin, though, presents the war as part of a much bigger struggle with the United States, which the Kremlin elite says aims to cleave Russia apart, grab its vast natural resources and then turn to settling scores with China.

Russian President Vladimir Putin attending the plenary session of the Valdai Discussion Club forum in Sochi on October 5, 2023

Firefighters work at a site of a Russian military strike in the village of Hroza, in Kharkiv region, Ukraine, on October 5, 2023

Emergency workers search the victims of the deadly Russian rocket attack that killed more than people in the village of Hroza near Kharkiv, Ukraine, on October 5, 2023

Emergency workers search the victims of a Russian rocket attack that killed at least 50 people in the village of Hroza near Kharkiv, Ukraine, on October 5, 2023

The former spies who wield power in Moscow have repeatedly warned of the risk of a Russia-NATO conflict as the West's post-Cold War dominance wanes and China rises to superpower status.

The speech came as a Russian rocket struck a village cafe and store in eastern Ukraine today, killing at least 50 civilians in one of the deadliest attacks in months, according to President Volodymyr Zelensky and other top officials in Kyiv.

Zelensky today attended a summit of about 50 European leaders in Spain to drum up support from Ukraine's allies.

He denounced the attack in the village of Hroza as a 'demonstrably brutal Russian crime' and 'a completely deliberate act of terrorism'.

Presidential chief of staff Andrii Yermak and Kharkiv Governor Oleh Syniehubov said a six-year-old boy was among the dead, adding that seven other people were wounded.

Hroza, which had a population of about 500 before the war, is located in the northeastern Kharkiv region.

READ MORE: Putin's massacre of the innocents...and message to Europe: More than 50 killed in one of the deadliest strikes of the war as Russian rocket hits grocery store as Zelensky meets leaders to plead for aid A woman collapses with grief as she kneels next to the bodies of Ukrainian civilians killed in the Russian strike on the grocery store on Thursday Advertisement

About 60 people were in the cafe were attending a wake after a funeral, said Internal Affairs Minister Ihor Klymenko, speaking on national TV.

According to preliminary information from Kyiv, the village was struck by an Iskander missile. Emergency crews were searching the rubble of damaged buildings.

Ukrainian prosecutors released pictures showing bloodied bodies and emergency workers combing through the building's smouldering debris.

Hroza and other parts of the eastern Kharkiv region were seized by Russia early in the war and recaptured by Ukraine in September 2022.

The village is located only 30 kilometres (19 miles) west of Kupiansk.

Zelensky had visited the area on Tuesday to meet with troops and inspect equipment supplied by the West.

Earlier today, Russia targeted Ukraine's southern regions with drones. Ukraine's air force said that the country's air defences intercepted 24 out of 29 Iranian-made drones that Russia launched at the Odesa, Mykolaiv and Kirovohrad regions.

Andriy Raykovych, head of the Kirovohrad regional administration, said that an infrastructure facility in the region was struck and emergency services were deployed to extinguish a fire. He said there were no casualties.

In other Russian attacks on Ukraine in the past day, two civilians were killed in shelling of the southern city of Kherson and another one died after a Russian strike on the city of Krasnohorivka in the eastern Donetsk region.

At least eight people were wounded by Russian shelling, according to Ukraine's presidential office.

A Russian strike on a hospital in the city of Beryslav in the Kherson region ravaged the building and wounded two medical workers, according to the regional administration chief, Oleksandr Prokudin.

Ukraine, in turn, has struck back at Russia with regular drone attacks across the border.

Roman Starovoit, the governor of Russia's Kursk region that borders Ukraine, said that Ukrainian drones attacked infrastructure facilities in several areas, resulting in power cuts.

Starovoit also said that Ukrainian forces fired artillery at the border town of Rylsk, wounding a local resident and damaging several houses.

At the summit in Granada, Zelensky asked for more Western support, saying that 'Russian terror must be stopped'.

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky speaks with Prime Minister Rishi Sunak at the start of a plenary session of the European Political Community summit at the Palacio de Congreso in Granada, southern Spain on October 5, 2023

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky walks with Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez before the start of a plenary session of the European Political Community summit at the Palacio de Congreso in Granada, southern Spain on October 5, 2023

'Russia needs this and similar terrorist attacks for only one thing: to make its genocidal aggression the new norm for the whole world,' he said in a statement posted on his Telegram channel.

'Now we are talking with European leaders, in particular, about strengthening our air defence, strengthening our soldiers, giving our country protection from terror. And we will respond to the terrorists.'

'The key for us, especially before winter, is to strengthen air defence, and there is already a basis for new agreements with partners,' he told the group, which was formed in the wake of the invasion in February last year.

Zelensky noted that the summit will also focus on 'joint work for global food security and protection of freedom of navigation' in the Black Sea, where the Russian military has targeted Ukrainian ports after Moscow's withdrawal from a U.N.-sponsored grain deal designed to ensure safe grain exports from the invaded country's ports.

He insisted that Putin's attempts to divide the West would not cease.

Zelensky also emphasised the need to preserve the European unity in the face of Russian disinformation and to remain strong amid what he described as a 'political storm' in the United States.

'Russia will attack by information, disinformation, by fakes, etc.,' he said.

Support from Europe has become all the more important after the U.S. Congress hastily sent President Joe Biden legislation over the weekend that kept the federal government funded but left off billions in funding for Ukraine's war effort that the White House had vigorously backed.

Asked if he was worried that support for Ukraine could falter in the U.S. Congress, the Ukrainian president stressed that his visit to Washington last month made him confident of strong backing by both the Biden administration and Congress.

Zelensky also called for 'additional air defence system for Ukraine, additional artillery and shells, additional long-range missiles and drones for our soldiers, as well as additional formats of support and security guarantees for nations threatened by Russia' to help protect Europe from potential aggression by Moscow.

Rishi Sunak met with Zelensky at the summit in Granada. The Prime Minister yesterday urged Western allies to continue arming Ukraine to repel Russia's invasion, at a time when military aid from some countries appears to be in doubt.
A police officer has been given a final warning after he used racist language and flashed his warrant card to get into a nightclub in Cambridge.

Detective Constable Daniel Buckett, 37, was found to have breached professional behaviour standards and committed gross misconduct.

The hearing by Cambridgeshire Constabulary heard Buckett had acted 'without integrity and in a manner that could bring discredit upon the police service'.

The officer had shown his police-issued warrant card at other patrons in Lola Lo Nightclub in Cambridge on December 3, 2021.

The second allegation claimed he had discriminated against a member of the public and stated he used racist language that same evening.

Detective Constable Daniel Buckett, 37, was given a final written warning after he was found to have breached professional behaviour standards and committed gross misconduct

Buckett had previously been acquitted on a charge of a racially aggravated public order offence over the incident, in a trial at Westminster Magistrates' Court on November 21, 2022.

Police watchdog the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) said at the time that he would still have to face the misconduct claims by his force's professional standards panel.

The misconduct hearing report said that DC Buckett had admitted to drinking 'two pints of beer, a glass of mulled wine, two cocktails and then, in the nightclub, three or four shots of jaeger bombs during the course of the night'.

It added: 'We could only conclude he was drunk at the time of his removal from the nightclub.'

Regarding the racist language, the panel said: 'We find that the words alleged were stated by B and were racist in content. We would note in stating this, that we also found that when saying this, the words were not directed at anyone.'

A witness of the event claimed that DC Buckett had been 'flashing his warrant card at people'.

DC Buckett said that he had been unable to retrieve his clothes, which contained his house keys, from the nightclub after being removed.

The hearing used CCTV evidence to consider the events of the evening. The hearing found that DC Buckett had breached the standards of integrity; discreditable conduct; authority, respect and courtesy; and equality and diversity. He received a final written warning of two years duration.
A new report reveals never-before-seen love letters Alabama prison escapee Casey White wrote to his accomplice Vicky White and new footage from their getaway.

The two-week-long manhunt of the fugitive and his prison guard lover which ended with her death is the focus of a 20/20 special airing this Friday on ABC.

'The episode also features exclusive police body camera and dashcam videos of the search's climactic end and never-before-seen letters Casey wrote just before his capture, ultimately revealing the nature of his relationship with Vicky,' according to a preview statement from 20/20.

In April 2022, surveillance footage shows Vicky in her job as a prison guard transporting Casey White, an inmate at Lauderdale County Detention Center, to the courthouse. Two weeks later their run from the law ended with Vicky dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

'When Vicky White disappeared with maximum-security inmate Casey White on her last morning as a corrections officer, local authorities feared that a violent felon had taken her hostage,' said 20/20.

Surveillance video, recorded phone calls and evidence that came to light during a manhunt to find Vicky White and Casey White showed the two had a closer relationship than anyone imagined...#ABC2020 'Catch Us If You Can' premieres Friday at 9/8c on @ABC. https://t.co/ZGewROYa0o pic.twitter.com/0xLD70wfls  20/20 (@ABC2020) October 5, 2023

Assistant Director of Corrections Vicki White (left) helped her lover inmate Casey White (right) escape from the Lauderdale County Detention Center

A new report from ABC's 20/20 breaks down how investigators learned of their relationship and ultimately found the fugitives

'When investigators dug deeper, they began to question Vicky's role in Casey's escape, which led to an 11-day, multistate search involving multiple law enforcement agencies.'

Vicky, 56, was the Assistant Director of Corrections for Lauderdale County Detention Center at the time when she helped Casey escape and hide from authorities for more than two weeks.

On April 29, 2022, she told the booking officer that she is the only deputy available who is firearm-certified to take Casey to the courthouse for a 'mental health check.'

Hours later authorities realized they never went to the courthouse and the pair were no where to be found.

20/20 spoke to investigators who discovered that the two had been communicating since November of 2020 and there was approximately 11,000 phone calls between them.

Casey would always compliment Vicky, tell her how beautiful she was and then soon thereafter "I need money," "I need this, call that," there was always something Casey needed, said Matt Burbank, a Lauderdale County Sheriffs Office investigator and a friend of Vicky.

On her last morning as a corrections officer, Vicky White had been undertaking a seemingly routine inmate transfer. But within hours, neither the officer nor the inmate have been seen.@DebRobertsABCs all-new #ABC2020 Catch Us If You Can premieres Friday at 9/8c on ABC. pic.twitter.com/5gblGqvimf  20/20 (@ABC2020) October 4, 2023

Vicky said she was taking Casey to the courthouse for a mental health check when the couple began their escape

Prior to the escape, Vicky sold her home for $95,550, submitted paperwork to retire from her job and purchased men's clothing at a Kohl's store.

Eight minutes after leaving the jail, surveillance video shows Vicky's police cruiser parked at the nearby Florence Square shopping center. Later that evening, Vicky's SUV was found in Tennessee.

By May 3, US Marshals issued a warrant for Vicky, charging her with facilitating an escape.

Over the course of two weeks, authorities said the couple used wigs and costumes to evade police before they were tracked down in Evansville.

On May 9, their run from the law came to a dramatic end when the pairs car got run off the road by police during pursuit.

The 20/20 report will feature exclusive body camera footage of the dramatic capture and never-before-seen love letters from Casey to Vicky

The two week long manhunt came to a dramatic end in which Vicky White killed herself during a police chase

Vicky ultimately ended her life during the chase and authorities took Casey into custody.

Body camera footage captured the tragic end of the chase. Police found cash and weapons in the couples vehicle.

Casey was initially charged for Vicky's murder, but the charges were dropped in a plea deal.

In June 2023, he was sentenced to life in jail for his escape.

During trial, Casey made a bombshell claim that he killed a woman and a baby girl while on the run with his prison guard lover  but cops have dismissed the confession as a lie.
Littering groups have hit out at a police officer who was caught on camera throwing sandwich crusts out of his patrol car - branding his behaviour 'disappointing' since doing so is a criminal offence.

The male Thames Valley Police officer was captured on CCTV opening the passenger door of his marked patrol car and discarding the unwanted bread - before being confronted by an angry local who demanded he pick it up.

Footage of the incident went viral on TikTok and Thames Valley Police has since said the officer, based at Witney Police Station, has been spoken to and ordered to 'reflect' on his behaviour.

But anti-littering campaigners have hit out at the officer's behaviour after he initially appeared to suggest he hadn't littered - a criminal offence punishable by a fine of up to 2,500 - which colleagues later admitted was 'wrong'.

Environmental groups including Keep Britain Tidy have blasted the officer's behaviour, branding it 'depressingly disappointing' - but social media users remain split on the incident.

Jamie Cossey, 52, outside his home in Banbury, Oxfordshire, posted a video accusing a police officer of throwing bread crusts on the floor

The officer initially denies littering, telling the homeowner filming: 'I haven't thrown any rubbish. That's actually just sandwich crusts'

Allison Ogden-Newton OBE, chief executive of environmental charity Keep Britain Tidy, said: 'Litter is a crime, it makes people feel unsafe, it encourages more crime and does significant harm to our environment. Everyone should be putting it in a bin.

'It is depressingly disappointing to see someone whose job is to enforce the law, in fact breaking the law and I sincerely hope no one follows his example and he thinks again about the laws he upholds and the impact of litter on us all.'

John Read, founder of the Clean Up Britain campaign group, added: 'Its certainly disappointing to see a policeman littering, which is actually a criminal offence, and can be punished with a fine of up to 2,500.

'The officer concerned seems a little oblivious to what hes done, and does at least appear contrite.

'However, the important point here is that we should all be caring for the environment, and always keeping litter in our cars until we reach our destination.

Cossey was outraged that the police officer was littering along his street

Cossey works as a full-time carer for his elderly father and did not take kindly to the police officer committing what Keep Britain Tidy suggested may be a criminal offence

CCTV appears to show the officer discarding the crusts as he opens his door at the roadside (circled)

'Britain is suffering from an epidemic of roadside littering, and the police really should be setting a good example, of course.'

He added that, in 'fairness' to the officer, a bread crust will eventually biodegrade.

The viral video, filmed on Tuesday morning, starts with the resident asking for the officer's badge number and police station - which he confirms as being Witney, ten miles west of Oxford.

The man filming asks the officer: 'Have you got an excuse why you pulled up outside my house and threw rubbish out your car? Is there a reason for that?'

The officer denies littering, saying: 'No, I haven't thrown any rubbish. That's actually just sandwich crusts.'

'Oh right,' the man filming replies, pointing his camera at a pair of sandwich crusts discarded on the grass verge.

He adds: 'So you think it's okay to pull up outside somebody else's house and chuck your lunch or breakfast outside my house? That's acceptable, is it?

'If I'd done that in front of a police officer, right, or if a litter enforcement officer, right, I'd get nicked, wouldn't I? Course I would. You've got no respect, have you?'

The officer then replies: 'I can fully understand where you're coming from and I appreciate that maybe it didn't look so bad, and I'll fully take that on board.

'I will keep that in mind for the future.'

The person filming then retorts: 'Pick the f****** crust up and take it with you... I ain't moving until you f****** do it.

'It's my house, and you just discard your food on the side of the road, right, without any thought.'

The officer's colleague then interrupts to say that the roadside doesn't constitute part of the property of the person filming.

The cameraman fires back: 'It doesn't matter, it doesn't - oh so it's okay, is it? It's public property, so that makes it even worse, doesn't it?

'I'll be making a complaint... about him. Who do you think you are? Do you think the police are so above the little man that you can get away with that?'

As the officer who dropped the crusts tries to say he'll pick up the rubbish, the resident adds: 'Pick it up. Pick it up. Pick it up then.'

When the policeman asks him to stop shouting, he says: 'I'll shout at what I want - there's no law against it, is there?'

The cameraman tells the officer: 'Pick the f****** crust up and take it with you'

The offending sandwich crusts can be seen on the grass verge next to the door of the police car

The officer then agrees to pick up the crusts, asking the cameraman not to shout at him

The car then leaves as the man filming says: 'Move along. You're dismissed. Go away'

The cameraman then steps back on to his driveway and shouts: 'Alright. Now pick the f****** thing up. Now I'm on private property. Pick it up.

'How dare you come to somebody's house and discard your food, in front of their house, even whether it's a public property or not. Who the hell do you think you are? Pick it up. Now.'

The officer says: 'I will do. Will you please stop shouting at me like that? I don't think that's quite respectful.'

What does the law say on littering? Littering is a criminal offence under Section 87 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990, which says a person is guilty of an offence if he or she 'throws down, drops or otherwise deposits' rubbish in public - including on private land open to the public. Despite being a crime, most littering is dealt with through civil action, through fixed penalty notices (FPNs) handed out by police officers or council civil enforcement officers. If litter is dropped from a car, authorities have the power to fine the registered keeper of the car from which it was dropped. The maximum penalty on FPNs was 150 until July this year, when the government raised the ceiling on litter fines to 500. Failure to pay an FPN is a criminal offence and can lead to a fine of up to 2,500 in a magistrates court in England and Wales or a sheriff court in Scotland, as well as a criminal record. Advertisement

'I don't think it's respectful you discard your food outside my house,' the homeowner fires back. 'Pick it up.'

'I'm going to, if you leave me alone. Okay?' the officer says, before picking up the crusts.

The video ends with the cameraman saying: 'Move along. You're dismissed. Go away. Don't chuck food outside your car again.'

Footage shared with the MailOnline then shows a male and a female police officer visiting the resident's house on Wednesday night to inform him that the policeman had been ordered to undergo 'reflective practice', which will sit on his record.

The female officer tells the man: 'We have spoken to the officer and said this isn't correct (and that) you need to reflect on your actions.

'He has accepted that it is wrong and he has apologised - not to you, but this is why we're here. We've dealt with it this evening.

'This reflective practice will go onto his record, that that's what's happened, so that's on his record, and we're here to say: "Apologies, that shouldn't have happened."'

She added: '(His actions) weren't right, and he acknowledges that and he's learned from it.

'And, you know, like you said, he's young in service and this will stay with him and he's not going to do it again.'

As the man says he considered the chucking of bread to be littering, the other officer appears to agree, saying: 'Yeah, he's still littering, he's still littering, so it's not right.'

Thames Valley Police said it had been made aware of the video and has flagged it to senior officers and its professional standards department.

It later confirmed to MailOnline that the matter was no longer being referred to the department, which handles complaints about officer misconduct.

The street in Banbury, Oxfordshire, where the alleged littering took place

After Cossey posted the video on TikTok, Thames Valley Police said it had been made aware of the incident and flagged it to senior officers

Viewers on TikTok were slip on whether Cossey's approach to the incident was the correct one

It said: 'We are aware of a video being widely shared on social media involving one of our officers.

'The video has been reviewed internally and we have spoken to the officer involved.

'We have also been to discuss the encounter and the officers actions with the individual who recorded the video.'

The force added: 'We strive to learn from our encounters with the public so the officer involved has been given a chance to reflect on their actions and learn from them.

'We will also be asking our independent scrutiny group, which is made up of members of the public, if they have any further recommendations for us.'

The original video, tagged #policecorruption and #norespect, has picked up almost 500,000 views on TikTok, while re-posts have accumulated at least another two million.

Viewers were split on whether the man filming was justified in his approach.

One said: 'Wow it was a crust for the birds. Ya can tell who was curtain twitching.'

A second wrote: 'Aww tbf (to be fair) hes young guy and the birds will eat the bread no harm done.'

A third added: 'I throw crust all the time for the birds lol I feel bad for the young fella.'

But another user said: 'Good for you mate ! Woody thinks he can do what he wants coz the uniform double standards.'

Someone else said: 'No its okay for them to litter but we were to do it thats an 80 on the spot fine.'

The cameraman who uploaded the video later admitted that he could have approached the situation more tactfully.

In an earlier statement, Thames Valley Police said it has referred the video to professional standards - but later told MailOnline that it was no longer a matter for the department, which handles complaints about officer misconduct

Responding to a comment that said he 'let himself down' with the way he spoke to the officers, the cameraman said: 'Your [sic] right, I did, I lost it.

'I am not happy about it but the arrogance of it pushed all the buttons.'

Littering is a criminal offence under the Environmental Protection Act 1990, punishable by a fixed penalty notice of up to 150, which can be increased to a fine of 2,500 if not paid within 28 days.

Some littering offences have shocked those who received them - including a Kent nurse who was handed a 100 fine after feeding some pieces of bread to ducks at the riverside.

Dementia nurse Susan Watson, 68, said she was confronted by an enforcement officer waving an '18-inch long' ticket, who went on to suggest that what she did could be construed as flytipping.

Under plans announced by the government earlier this year, fines for littering have increased more than threefold to a maximum of 500 under a new crackdown on anti-social behaviour.
Adnan Syed, who is currently free after being imprisoned for more than 20 years for the murder of his ex-girlfriend, returned to court on Thursday to argue for his continued freedom.

Syed, 42, became a household name to millions as the subject of the popular true-crime podcast 'Serial.'

Arguments begin Thursday in Maryland Supreme Court, where Syed's attorneys are appealing the March reinstatement of his murder conviction by an appellate court.

One year ago, Syed was freed from prison when a Baltimore judge overturned his conviction. Prosecutors had dropped all charges after finding flaws in the evidence that led to his conviction for the murder of his ex-girlfriend, Hae Min Lee.

In March, Maryland's Appellate Court ordered a redo of the hearing that allowed Syed to be free.

The court decided the victim's family had not received adequate notice to attend the hearing in person, which violated their right to be 'treated with dignity and respect.'

Adnan Syed and his mother Shamim Rahman talk with reporters as they arrive at Maryland's Supreme Court in Annapolis, Maryland, on October 5

Lee's family has also appealed to the Supreme Court, on the grounds that victims of crimes in Maryland have the right to be heard and challenge the evidence in hearings - like the one last year that led to Syed's release from prison.

In an August brief filed with the court, Syed's attorney, Erica Suter wrote that 'the terrifying specter of reincarceration has hung over Mr. Syeds head every day for the past ten months.'

Outside of the Annapolis court on Thursday, Syed said: 'We're grateful for the opportunity to present our case to the supreme court. And we're grateful for all the support we've received over the past 24 years.'

Following Thursday's hearing, Syed said he and his family 'look forward to hearing the court's decision' and will continue to hope for justice for the Lee family and their own family.

An attorney for Lee's family also spoke outside the courthouse, saying that his clients were there to ask the court to uphold the rights of the victim and 'sent the case back down to the trial courts.'

He added they want the body to 'mandate that the state present evidence, whatever evidence it has, so that we can see that evidence, and we can examine that evidence. And so that you - the public - can examine that evidence and we can all make a judgement as to what happened.'

In 2014, the popular 'Serial' podcast revealed little-known evidence in Syed's case and attracted millions of listeners, shattering podcast-streaming and downloading records.

Its popularity led to a government re-examination of the facts of his case and how his defense failed him.

More than two weeks ago, Syed called a press conference in his Maryland living room, one year after his murder conviction was overturned and he was released from prison.

Syed sat with his mother and his brother at his family's home in Windsor Mill for an impromptu two-hour press conference - organized without a spokesperson or his attorney.

He called for an investigation into his case, 'to essentially understand how our rights as a family have been violated.'

Adnan Syed addresses reporters. Marylands Supreme Court will not make a decision today in the case. @wjz pic.twitter.com/IkdnHQm7mM  Mike Hellgren (@HellgrenWJZ) October 5, 2023

Outside of court in Annapolis on Thursday, Syed said: 'We're grateful for the opportunity to present our case to the supreme court. And we're grateful for all the support we've received over the past 24 years'

After the Maryland Supreme Court will hear oral arguments Thursday in the ongoing Adnan Syed case that was the subject of the hit podcast "Serial, lawyers for Hae Min Lee speak to reporters. pic.twitter.com/UxdMtxjHkL  Beatrice Peterson (@missbeae on all platforms) (@MissBeaE) October 5, 2023

Syed was convicted of strangling Lee (with him above at junior prom in 1998). The two were high school classmates who had dated. He went to prison for the crime - but in 2022 a judge ruled that it was no longer justifiable keeping him behind bars because of new information

More than two weeks ago, Syed called a press conference in his Maryland living room, one year after his murder conviction was overturned and he was released from prison

He said he called the conference on the one-year anniversary of his release from prison to highlight 'two new pieces of information' that he wants the Attorney General to know.

He urged the AG Anthony Brown to open a probe into his case. He alleged there had been prosecutorial misconduct - specifically by Kevin Urick and Kathleen Murphy.

Syed said he has always pushed for justice for his 'friend' Lee, and her family.

'We have the utmost respect and concern for Lee's younger brother,' Syed told the room.

He said there is evidence that Urick committed a Brady violation - where evidence was not turned over - and that the AG ought to probe him for it.

A representative for the Maryland Office of the Public Defender said: 'Out of respect for our client's autonomy, Adnan Syed's legal team is not providing any comment at this time.'

Attorney Erica Suter talks to reporters after a judge overturned the 2000 murder conviction and ordered a new trial for client Adnan Syed, whose case was chronicled in the hit podcast "Serial," during a hearing at the Baltimore City Circuit Courthouse in Baltimore on September 19, 2022

Since ''Serial'' premiered in 2014, Syed has lived through many new legal possibilities pertaining to his case, including the 2016 decision to not give him a new trial

Hae Min Lee's brother, who represents the victim in this case, has long argued he was not given enough time to attend the vacation hearing. The Baltimore city state's attorney gave him less than one business day, he claims.

The panel ruled in his favor. The circuit court judge did violate the rights of Young Lee in how it conducted Syed's vacation hearing. But it Syed was still freed.

Syed's sensational release from jail in September 2022 was due to work by Becky Feldman, the chief of the State's Attorney's Office's Sentencing Review Unit.

Feldman started investigating Syed's case in June 2022 after a new Maryland law allowed prosecutors to modify sentences for offenders who were under 18 at the time of their crimes and had served at least 20 years in prison.

Syed fit the criteria because he was 17 in 1999 had been imprisoned since 2000.
The Daily Mail is now the biggest news publisher on TikTok, with nearly 6.5 million followers.

The Mail's account has dramatically outstripped news rivals, increasing its reach by 1700% in just six months.

Our main DM account currently boasts 338.2 million likes and TikTok video views for all Daily Mail profiles was more than 600 million in September.

MailOnline's Head of Social Video Phil Harvey said: 'What we have achieved is down to the collective brainpower of a global newsroom of journalists, enabling our team of creative social video producers to tell trending stories directly to their peers.

'Together, we have successfully tapped into a sweet spot between news and culture.'

Danny Groom, MailOnline publisher and editor, said: 'This is a fantastic achievement and a huge credit to Phil and our teams around the world.

'They have worked tirelessly to harvest the best of our journalistic talent to produce consistently engaging content and build a new audience for the Daily Mail brand.'

Recently launched Daily Mail TikTok accounts include DM Royals, featuring a top list of royal commentators, as well as CrimeTok, which is produced by Global TikTok lead Lucy White in New York and DailyMail.com Senior Reporter Caitlyn Becker in Los Angeles.

Ted Verity, Editor, Mail Newspapers, said: 'The moment which for me summed up what we're trying to achieve across platforms came when Boris Johnson's 30-second video promoting his brilliant Saturday newspaper column on dangerous dogs got nearly 4 million TikTokviews with 373,000 likes and almost 15,000 comments.'

This success on TikTok, which is the fastest growing social media platform for news, is credited with growing the reach of the Daily Mail brand around the globe to millions of young people. It also forms part of a global video strategy to target new audiences.

According to research by the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism, 20% of 18-24s use TikTok to learn about current events, which was an increase of five percentage points from the previous year.

And here's some of our most popular videos
Footage shows the moment a FedEx cargo plane crash landed at an airport in Tennessee - following a landing gear failure that nearly stole the lives of all three on board.

Chattanooga Regional has since issued a statement confirming the occupants - the plane's three-man flight crew - were all unhurt, after bystanders filmed the Boeing 757 touch-down without the aid of the mechanism.

First responders had raced to the airport minutes earlier, after receiving a call around 11:04pm reporting the landing gear failure.

Officials said the pilots realized the mishap while still in midair, as the craft made its final approach the airport.

Circling the tarmac several times, the plane then made its descent - during which it could be seen skidding off the runway before smoke comes billowing from its engines and sparks from the exposed hull.

Still, no fire or explosion occurred, and the pilots were all uninjured.

Heart-pounding footage shows the moment a FedEx plane crash landed at Chattanooga Regional Airport Wednesday - after a landing gear failure that nearly claimed the lives of all on board

The clip shows the 127,520-lb plane screeching across the runway during the forced nighttime landing, before eventually coming to a halt in a safety zone just a stone's throw from a nearby street

Lindsey Rogers, the spokesperson for the Chattanooga Fire Department, issued a statement Thursday outlining the crisis and how it was averted.

'The plane crash-landed, skidding off the end of the runway,' the fire official said, recalling the chaotic scene seen in the aforementioned footage.

'It came to a rest between the runway and Jubilee Drive in the safety area,' she added, describing an area on the outskirts on the runway separating the facility from the street.

In a statement to social media, the department added that 'all three people on the aircraft are accounted for,' while the airport later revealed the three pilots on board weren't hurt.

'There was no fire, only smoke from the engines,' it added.

'All three people on the aircraft are accounted for.'

In a statement to ABC News, the Chattanooga Police Department said the three people on board were able to climb out of the plane after it landed - something not seen in the circulating footage.

Photos snapped Thursday, meanwhile, show some of the aftermath of the incident - which is currently being vetted by the FAA.

The gearless plane is seen at Chattanooga Metropolitan Airport Thursday morning, after the plane's three-man crew somehow managed to land it without the aid of the mechanism

Chattanooga Regional has since issued a statement confirming the occupants - the plane's three-man flight crew - were all unhurt, after bystanders filmed the Boeing 757 touch-down

Photos snapped Thursday, show some of the aftermath of the incident - which is currently being vetted by the FAA

Despite damage to the plane's engine and turbine, officials said there was no fire or explosion

Several images show the 127,520 lb.-plane's savaged left turbine, while others show the ladder that the crew were said to have crawled out on.

Others show the plane's apparently gearless hull - while the exact nature of the landing gear - or gears' - failure remains somewhat unclear.

Boeing 757's have three retractable gears - one at the nose and two main ones at the back.

None appeared to be deployed in the aforementioned images, though that could be a result of damage incurred during the crash.

DailyMail.com has reached out to both FedEx and the FAA for an update.

As for those who had been on board, their identities have not been released.

The FAA, meanwhile, revealed in its own statement that the plane, identified as FedEx Flight 1376, 'was headed to Memphis International Airport when it' was forced to return.

Minutes later, the agency said: 'FedEx Flight 1376 landed with its gear up and slid into the grass at Chattanooga Metropolitan Airport.'

The FAA revealed that the plane, identified as FedEx Flight 1376, 'was headed to Memphis International Airport when it' was forced to return to Chattanooga Regional Airport (pictured)

Lindsey Rogers, the spokesperson for the Chattanooga Fire Department, issued a statement Thursday outlining the crisis and how it was averted

The crash occurred around 11:45 pm, officials further revealed - roughly 40 minutes removed from the unreleased distress call.

Moreover, it comes less than two months after the FAA released a report revealing dozens of near-misses between aircraft in the US this summer - one that also highlighted the abnormal number of incidents that have taken place this year.

There were 46 'close calls' in July, reports shared by the aviation authority showed, leading many airline workers at the time to air fears that it's only a matter of time before a devastating incident in the US.

Recent examples include several cases of aircraft almost colliding during take-off or landing at major US airports. Others include a mid-air near miss between two planes traveling in excess of 500mph.

More recently, major airlines including American Airlines, United Airlines and Southwest Airlines have pulled jets from their fleets as investigations into the potentially catastrophic faults are ongoing.

The incident comes less than two months after the FAA released a report revealing dozens of near-misses between aircraft in the US this summer - one that also highlighted the abnormal number of incidents that have taken place this year, including this one in New Orleans in July

On July 11 in San Francisco, two planes that were taking off nearly crashed into a Frontier Airlines plane which had just landed. The Frontier jet was waiting to cross a runway with its nose perilously close to the path of the two jets

A third incident two-and-a-half weeks later involved a near-miss between an American flight and a United Airlines aircraft near Minden, Louisiana

Industry workers have blamed a shortage of air traffic controllers which has forced many in the profession to work mandatory overtime. The demands of the job have left some burned out and even using alcohol and sleeping pills to relieve stress.

In a safety reported filed last year, one said: 'Controllers are making mistakes left and right. Fatigue is extreme. The margin for safety has eroded tenfold. Morale is rock bottom. I catch myself taking risks and shortcuts I normally would never take.'

'It is only a matter of time before something catastrophic happens,' the controller said.
George Santos' former campaign treasurer has agreed to plead guilty to one or more federal felony charges, according to court papers and an official with the Eastern District of New York.

Nancy Marks oversaw the finances of Santos's political campaigns. It's unclear how her case will affect Santos, who in May was indicted and charged with 13 counts of wire fraud, money laundering, stealing public funds and lying on federal disclosure forms. He has pleaded not guilty.

Marks' plea is in connection with the sprawling federal investigation of financial irregularities surrounding Santos, a New York Republican, prosecutors said.

She pled guilty to conspiring with a congressional candidate to commit wire fraud, make materially false statements, obstruct the administration of the Federal Election Commission (FEC), and commit aggravated identity theft, according to the Justice Department.

She faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison.

Republican Rep. George Santos of New York faces 13 federal charges

The Justice Department said Marks and Santos were trying to ensure the campaign qualified for a program from the Republican Party that would result in financial and logistical support.

One of the qualifications was to demonstrate the campaign had raised at least $250,000 from third-party contributors in a single quarter.

To meet the qualification Marks and Santos falsely reported to the FEC that at least 10 family members of Marks and Santos had made contributions to the campaign, when they 'both knew that these individuals had not made the reported contributions.'

Marks adn Santos also falsely told the FEC that Santos 'had loaned the campaign significant sums of money, including in one instance a $500,000 loan, when, in fact, the congressional candidate had not made the reported loans and, at the time the loans were reported, did not have the funds necessary to make such loans.'

Marks, a veteran Long Island political operative, served as the campaign treasurer and close aide to Santos during his two congressional bids. Over her tenure with Santos she earned nearly $240,000, including reimbursements.

She resigned amid growing questions about Santos campaign finances and revelations Santos had fabricated much of his life story.

Marks and Santos haven't returned messages seeking comment. A spokesperson for the U.S. attorney's office in Brooklyn declined to say what charge or charges Marks faced. She had not previously been charged, and Thursday would mark her first appearance in court.

In August, Samuel Miele, a former Santos fundraiser, was charged in the same federal court with impersonating a top aide to former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy while seeking campaign donations.

The investigation of Santos, a first-term congressman, has also engulfed Marks, a key behind-the-scenes figure in Long Island Republican politics who built a business as a treasurer and consultant to dozens of local, state and federal candidates.

Marks has faced questions about the congressmans unusual campaign filings, including a series of $199.99 expenses, just below the legal limit for disclosure. Santos, in turn, has sought to pin the blame for his unexplained finances on Marks, who he claims 'went rogue' without his knowledge.

Any deal with prosecutors that requires Marks to testify in the case against Santos could be a severe blow to the Republican, who faces charges that he embezzled money from his campaign, lied in financial disclosures submitted to Congress and received unemployment funds when he wasn't eligible.

While Santos has admitted fabricating key parts about his purported background as a wealthy, well-educated businessman, questions remain about what he did for work, as well as the true source of more than $700,000 he initially claimed to have loaned his campaign from his own personal fortune.

Santos has pleaded not guilty to charges he duped donors, stole from his campaign and lied to Congress about being a millionaire, all while cheating to collect unemployment benefits he didnt deserve. He has defied calls to resign.

Marks has handled the finances of some of New York's most powerful Republicans over the years.

Nancy Marks served as treasurer for George Santos' campaign

Besides Santos, Marks' most high-profile client was former U.S. Rep. Lee Zeldin of New York, an ally of Donald Trump. She was Zeldin's bookkeeper when he unsuccessfully ran for governor in 2022.

Marks, besides being responsible for keeping Santos' campaign books and handling his regulatory filings, had unusual business ties to Santos, according to public records.

In 2021, she was listed as being a member of a political consulting firm incorporated in Florida, whose other members included Santos' company and people who had formerly been affiliated with an investment company that had been shut down by the Securities and Exchange Commission over allegations that it was a Ponzi scheme.

When Santos was indicted, Marks wasn't mentioned by name in court filings. But the indictment described an unnamed political consultant who it said had helped dupe donors who gave money that they thought was going to the campaign but was instead siphoned off for Santos' personal use.
A Florida driver who was seen swinging a machete at a motorist and slashing his face during a wild road rage incident has been arrested.

Luis Ruiz-Herrera, 61, has been charged with aggravated battery using a deadly weapon after footage emerged of a man spinning the huge blade towards another road user who had stopped his motor scooter in a lane over.

The manic driver sliced the victim's left cheek with the machete, the Miami Spring Police Department said Tuesday. The victim was not seriously hurt.

Video captured by another driver's dashcam shows the victim jumping off the scooter and stepping back slightly when he's approached by the machete-wielding man.

'[The victim] did what I call his best 'Matrix' impersonation because he dodged back, and he was just caught with the tip,' Police Chief Armando Guzman told NBC 6.

Luis Ruiz-Herrera, 61, was seen slashing a man riding a scooter with a massive machete in a wild road rage incident in Miami last week

He jumped out of his car with a huge blade and lunged at the victim who stopped his motor scooter in the lane next to Ruiz-Herrera

He was arrested and charged with aggravated battery with a deadly weapon

Police believe Ruiz-Herrera was the man behind the attack and say he fled from the scene in the moments after, however officers were able to identify him through his license plate number.

The Miami police tracked him down and arrested him shortly after the incident.

The attack occurred at the intersection of NW 42 Avenue and NW 36 Street in Miami, when both the victim and the suspect were stuck in traffic.

'The crime stemmed from a road rage incident and was caught on video by a third-party motorist who was also in traffic, directly behind the scooter,' the police said in a statement.

But Miami police didn't not say what sparked the road rage incident exactly.

Ruiz Herrera was arrested at his residence, and he reportedly expressed remorse when he confessed to the crime.

He said he swung the machete because the victim had verbally assaulted his mother, 7News Miami reported.

The police was able to identify him through his license plate number and arrested him shortly after the incident

Ruiz-Herra was granted a $10,000 bond and ordered to stay away from the victim

Ruiz Herrera was arrested at his residence, and he reportedly expressed remorse when he confessed to the crime

At court, Ruiz-Herra was granted a $10,000 bond and ordered to stay away from the victim.

'You are to stay away from that person, I am ordering you to have no contact,' the judge said during a court hearing.

Guzman said confrontations over road rage just aren't worth it. He advised those who encounter road rage incidents to drive on and let them go.

'When you actually see it first-hand, it's quite shocking,' Guzman said. 'Somebody cuts me off, personally, I just let it go.'

The incident is one of a series of road rage ordeals in the area, following a road rage shooting that sent an innocent driver to the hospital last week and another involving a driver throwing coins at another drive last month.
Critics have mocked a Just Stop Oil spokeswoman for her emotional outburst on TV after eco-killjoys disrupted a performance of Les Miserables last night during its most iconic song.

Five eco warriors stormed the stage of the Sondheim Theatre to protest climate change - 'ruining' an 80th birthday treat in the process. Police confirmed five Just Stop Oil (JSO) activists were arrested.

During an interview with Sky News today, JSO's Zoe Cohen made crying noises as she appeared to break down - but members of the public poked fun at her, saying she 'deserves an Oscar'.

She told the programme: 'How worse does it have to get? How many kids have to die?

'It's insane to think that a theatre performance is more important than food on the table.'

Sacre bleu! The Just Stop Oil spokeswoman became emotional after eco-killjoys ruined a performance of French musical Les Mis

During an interview today, JSO's Zoe Cohen made crying noises as she appeared to break down - but members of the public poked fun at her performance that 'deserves an Oscar'

Ms Cohen told Sky News: 'How worse does it have to get? How many kids have to die?'

X user Jack David said: 'I hope Zoe Cohen has asked Santa for acting lessons this Christmas.'

Fellow X user J McClements said: 'I'd be more inclined to believe her if she [were] genuine.'

Comedian Daniel O'Reilly added: 'Call me old-fashioned but water used to come out your eyes when you cried.'

MailOnline can also reveal the eco stunt at Les Mis - tickets for which can cost 200 - 'ruined' an 80th birthday treat.

Husband and wife Tricia and John Jeanes, 80, were enjoying the theatre when their evening was 'ruined' by the eco-fanatics.

Tricia told MailOnline: 'These people are antagonizing the public. This is no way to get their support.

'The protesters should be made to reimburse the out-of-pocket expenses as many would have had to stay in hotels in London - ourselves included.

'We were very angry as there were many people there who may never be able to see the show again.

'Also sad for the performers who were ushered off stage.'

The group said in a statement that four people were 'locked to the stage of the French-revolution-themed show'

Five demonstrators on stage during the performance at the Sondheim Theatre on Wednesday. Police have confirmed that five JSO activists have been arrested

MailOnline can also reveal the eco stunt at Les Mis - tickets for which can cost 200 - 'ruined' an 80th birthday treat

She added: 'No one knew at first if it could have been a terrorist attack. We were firstly asked to go into the bars where it was very hot and crowded and we were there for some time.

'I have only admiration for the way the theatre dealt with the incident considering they were not allowed to physically remove the protesters.'

The audience have been told they can have a refund but for those who bought their tickets via third parties, it might be trickier for some to get their money back.

The audience was rapt as the stars of the show belted out Do You Hear the People Sing but, in an incident that raises serious questions about security, the activists climbed on to the stage and unfurled their banners.

Security closed the stage, brought down the curtain and had to evacuate the building as the police arrived.

Critics mocked the Just Stop Oil spokeswoman after she broke down on TV after eco-killjoys disrupted a performance of Les Miserables last night during its most iconic song

Theatregoers drowned out the JSO chant of 'join the rebellion', with booing and cries of 'you disgust me'.

Another angry spectator shouted: 'Get off you stupid people. How dare you.' A third screamed repeatedly: 'You naughty people, you naughty people.'

Someone else yelled, 'F*** you' as one of the activists gave a monologue about 'society collapsing'.

Tory MP Dame Andrea Jenkyns also criticised their actions, tweeting: 'Lock them up'.

Earlier today, MailOnline unmasked the activists who shut down the show.

They include a student working for Just Stop Oil as a gap year job and several other repeat offenders.

A young cafe worker from an affluent market town, a graduate who threw paint all over the Scottish Parliament and a new recruit also stormed the West End stage last night.

On stage was Noah Crane, who has just finished his studies at the Catholic Notre Dame Sixth Form in Norwich and is using his gap year to work as a JSO recruiter.

Describing himself as a 'theatre lover', he said he 'took action because he knows there's no future for the arts if society fails under the pressures of climate collapse.' He was arrested at King Charles' Coronation in London as the Met broke up a potential protest.

Just Stop Oil protester Noah Crane was on stage last night

Noah, pictured on a previous march, is working for JSO on his gap year

The crowd booed and jeered as Noah and cafe worker Poppy Bliss clambered onto the stage, holding the group's orange banner at the Sondheim Theatre

Miss Bliss, from Suffolk, was arrested over the summer at a previous protest (pictured)

Tory MP Andrea Jenkyns is among those calling for them to be jailed

Also protesting was maths graduate Hannah Taylor, 23, who was in court in Scotland recently after the Scottish Parliament was doused in paint.

She said: 'The show starts with Jean Valjean stealing a loaf of bread to feed his sister's starving child. How long before we are all forced to steal loaves of bread?

'How long before there are riots on the streets? The show cannot go on. We are facing catastrophe. New oil and gas means crop failure, starvation and death. It is an act of war on the global south and an utter betrayal of young people'.

Cafe worker Poppy Bliss, from well-heeled Bury St Edmunds in Suffolk, was also on stage.

In June she was among a number of people arrested in London as they took part in a Just Stop Oil march demanding the Government stops issuing new fossil fuel licences.

The fourth person was a JSO newbie called Hanan.

The eco-warrior said: 'I'm taking action with Just Stop Oil by disrupting a Les Mis performance tonight.

Just Stop Oil member Hannah Taylor urged people watching the West End show to 'join the rebellion' - but did not win over the crowd

Ms Taylor, 23, was involved in an attack on the Scottish Parliament

JSO new recruit Hanan said she stopped the show because of the Government's new oil and gas licences

Video shows the theatre crowd booing as eco-activists clambered onto the stage holding the group's orange banner

'Les Mis is about the June rebellion where ordinary people stood up, organised themselves against a government that consistently showed no interest in their wellbeing.

'The UK Government has approved hundreds of gas and oil licences knowing the full consequences this will have on our climate and our society.

'So why wait? Take action.'

The Metropolitan Police arrested people following the disruption at the musical, which depicts a failed republican rebellion against the French state.

As others booed and jeered the eco protesters, a man near the front snatched away one of their banners.

Theatregoers expressed anger at the protest and told MailOnline that they all cheered when the police arrived.

One told MailOnline: 'It was a show that everybody was very excited about, you could feel that before it started. There were tourists from all over the world and people from all over the UK.

'The audience was very angry when the protest started. There wasn't an ounce of sympathy for them and people were booing and jeering them. These protestors didn't achieve anything, they just annoyed a lot of people who were looking forward to a special night out.'

Another theatregoer said that after being ushered out of the venue they waited outside.

He added: 'There were a lot of angry people waiting around outside the theatre because we weren't sure what was going on. When the police arrived, everybody started cheering them.

'These protestors knew exactly what they were doing. They were sitting in expensive seats near the front row and the whole protest was very well organised. It happened just before the interval during a very important moment in the musical.

'I'd like to know how they could afford such costly seats because I couldn't and was sat right at the back of the theatre.'

Just Stop Oil said that four protesters locked themselves to the 'stage of the French-revolution-themed show' using flexible bicycle locks at around 8.50pm.

In video of the incident, audience members can be heard booing the demonstrators.

The climate change group said that the performance was stopped and the theatre was evacuated by 9.10pm.

Police have since confirmed that five people were arrested at the theatre. In a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, the Met said: 'At about 9pm tonight, police were called to a protest inside a theatre on Shaftesbury Avenue, WC1.

'Local officers were quickly on scene and five people have been arrested.'

Social media users were quick to point out that JSO was incorrect in saying the play was set during the French revolution. Others slammed the eco mob for their actions.

One X user said: 'This is just embarrassing. Get a life.'

Another added: 'Imagine being this entitled. Just Stop Oil think their opinions justify ruining everyone else's morning, day and evening. Incredibly selfish and unhelpful, damaging their own cause.'

Just Stop Oil said that four protesters locked themselves to the stage to the stage of the French-revolution-themed show' using flexible bicycle locks at around 8.50pm

An apparently angry audience member points at and scolds the protesters

William Village, chief executive of Delfont Mackintosh Theatres which owns the Sondheim, issued a statement on X following the incident

In another video posted online, eco-warrior Hanan said: 'I'm taking action with Just Stop Oil by disrupting a Les Mis performance tonight'

She added: 'Les Mis is about the June rebellion where ordinary people stood up, organised themselves against a government that consistently showed no interest in their wellbeing'

William Village, chief executive of Delfont Mackintosh Theatres which owns the Sondheim, said there will be refunds for all ticket-holders.

He added: 'During the first half of our performance of Les Miserables, individuals from Just Stop Oil invaded the stage, abruptly stopping the show.

'Following our safety protocols, the audience were asked to leave the auditorium and the Met Police attended.

'Regrettably, there was insufficient time to enable us to complete the rest of the performance.

'Whilst we recognise the importance of free expression, we must also respect our audience's right to enjoy the event for which they have paid.'

Just Stop Oil told MailOnline: 'This summer has shown us the sheer power of a supercharged climate.

'Scientists are freaking out and even the Pope is sounding the alarm. But, like the citizens of Paris in 1832, we have locked our doors, while our young face slaughter on the streets. 'They will inherit a scorched earth, unfit to live in and we will be long gone. We cannot let this stand. The show cannot go on.'
The crisis at the border sparked a huge 12-mile pileup of trucks carrying $1.5billion worth of goods, after president Joe Biden ordered a wall be built and NYC mayor Eric Adams visited Mexico in an effort to stop the flood of asylum seekers.

Thousands of trucks attempting to enter the United States from Mexico queued for miles on Wednesday amid delays related to record migration that has seen more than two million people apprehended at the US-Mexico border this year.

They were left stranded on the Mexican side of the border after US authorities shut down crossings and imposed extra security checks amid an increase in migration.

It comes as the Biden administration said it will build 20 miles of border wall to try and combat the latest surge in migrant crossings and NYC mayor Adams is in Mexico to learn more about the paths migrants take to the US and to tell asylum seekers that NYC is out of space.

In Ciudad Juarez on Wednesday, trucks waited to cross a bridge into Santa Teresa, New Mexico, after cargo processing was temporarily suspended at a bridge connecting the city to El Paso, Texas, to allow customs officers to assist in processing migrants arriving outside official crossings.

The crisis at the border sparked a huge 12-mile pileup of trucks carrying $1.5billion worth of goods on Wednesday

Thousands of trucks attempting to enter the United States from Mexico queued for miles

Trucks were left stranded on the Mexican side of the border after U.S. authorities shut down crossings and imposed extra security checks amid an increase in migration

On Wednesday, Mexican auto transport group CANACAR in a statement expressed 'deep concern' over Texas inspections of trucks crossing the border from Mexico, which it said had kept more than $1.5 billion in goods from entering the US.

'This measure has generated a crisis that has resulted in closures, detours, longer crossing times and significant reductions in the export volumes of different products from Mexico to the United States,' CANACAR said.

CANACARs statement comes a day after the government of border state Chihuahua said that the costs of a sharp downturn in US-bound cargo trucks had totaled nearly $1 billion over about two weeks.

In addition to the slowdown of trucks and trailers, thousands of railroad cars were also stalled in recent days after border officials temporarily halted processing at the international railway crossing bridge in Eagle Pass, Texas.

Some U.S.-bound cargo trains were also disrupted when a major Mexican freight rail operator temporarily suspended operations after migrants died or were hurt jumping on the trains.

The moves prompted Mexicos foreign ministry to urge U.S. authorities not to take 'unilateral measures' complicating trade.

Auto transport group CANACAR in a statement expressed 'deep concern' over Texas inspections of trucks crossing the border from Mexico

The government of border state Chihuahua said that the costs of a sharp downturn in U.S.-bound cargo trucks had totaled nearly $1 billion over about two weeks

After a month that saw over 200,000 migrants processed crossing illegally into the U.S., the crisis at the border shows no sign of slowing in a video showing hundreds running across the border in El Paso on Tuesdat

The Biden administration made a stunning reversal in migration policy with its announcement that it will build a wall.

In a shock announcement on Wednesday night, the Department of Homeland Security said it's waiving 26 federal laws to start constructing a new 'physical barrier' that was started under Donald Trump.

On his first day in office, Biden even declared that building a wall wasn't 'a serious policy solution.'

But the recent acceleration in migrant crossings and pressure to deal with the crisis has now forced the federal government to change direction.

The U-turn comes as Democrat-run cities such as New York and Chicago demand Biden do more to stop border crossers ending up in their communities and straining resources.

According to government data, about 245,000 illegal entries have been recorded in Rio Grande Valley Sector, which includes Starr County, during the 2023 fiscal year through early August.

DHS will waive statutes including the Clean Air Act, Safe Drinking Water Act and Endangered Species Act to make way for construction, which will use funds from a congressional appropriation in 2019 for border wall construction.

The waivers avoid time-consuming reviews and lawsuits challenging violation of environmental laws.

The Mayor of New York, Eric Adams, talks to the press in front of the Basilica de Guadalupe after a visit to the shrine of the Virgin of Guadalupe in Mexico City, Wednesday

Hundreds of migrants sleep in line early on August 1, for placement at the Roosevelt Hotel intake center in New York

Starr County's hilly ranchlands, sitting between Zapata and McAllen, Texas, is home to about 65,000 residents sparsely populating about 1,200 square miles that form part of the Lower Rio Grande Valley National Wildlife Refuge.

Meanwhile, NYC mayor Adams will be in Latin America this week to discourage asylum seekers from traveling to the city because it is 'at capacity' as it struggles to accommodate the 122,000 who have arrived in 18 months - in stark contrast to when he personally welcomed them with open arms last year.

New York City is bucking under the strain of the massive influx of migrants who have overwhelmed its shelter system and strained financial resources - with the cost of accommodating them set to tip $4.7 billion. The staggering cost is equal to the budgets for the city's sanitation, fire and parks departments combined.

On Tuesday, the desperate mayor also pleaded with a judge to end the city's longstanding 'right to shelter' law, asking that it be void in a state of emergency. The city has been moving to suspend the policy for months under the surge of migrants, arguing the requirement was never intended to be applied to a humanitarian crisis such as the latest influx.

Adams plea and his trip to Mexico to discourage migrants shows a stunning reversal to the start of the crisis when he went to the Port Authority to welcome a bus full of asylum seekers sent from Texas by Republican governor Gregg Abbot, who argued progressive cities should also bear the costs of the influx of asylum seekers crossing the southern border.

At the time, Adams said: 'As the mayor of New York, I have to provide services families that are here, and that's what we're going to do - our responsibility as a city, and I'm proud that this is a Right to Shelter state, and we're going continue to do that.'

Asylum seekers cross the Rio Grande from Mexico into the United States on September 30, 2023 in Eagle Pass, Texas

A family from Venezuela waits to be processed by U.S. agents after crossing the Rio Grande from Mexico into the United States on September 30

But by May of this year, Adams had made major changes to the 40-year-old 'Right to Shelter' law that guarantees a bed for anyone who needs it in the city, as his government asked for federal and state help to deal with the surge of migrants that he now says could destroy New York as we know it.

City and state leaders in New York, Illinois and elsewhere have urged the federal government to make it easier for migrants to get work permits, which would allow them to pay for food and housing.

And border crossings continue to increase - preliminary data obtained by found Border Patrol agents last month recorded an estimated 210,000 apprehensions - the third highest number on record.

September's apprehension tally is the highest since Dec 2022 when 222,000 migrants were apprehended, the second-highest monthly figure on record.

The 2023 fiscal year, which concludes at the end of September, saw two million illegal migrants intercepted crossing the border, according to data seen by CBS News. That is the second highest annual figure on record.
A female 'cult member' has pleaded guilty to murder after luring her victim and his girlfriend into a forest and fatally shooting him in August 2022.

Yasmine Hider, 21, accepted murder, kidnapping and robbery charges for killing college student Adam Simjee in court on Wednesday and now faces up to life in prison for her horrific crime.

The heinous incident took place on August 14, 2022, when Florida college students Simjee, 22, and his girlfriend, Mikayla Paulus, 20, were driving near Cheaha State Park, Alabama.

The young couple were flagged down by Hider - who tricked them into pulling over and getting out by asking if they could help jump-start her car. Hider robbed them and then shot Simjee as he pulled out his own weapon in an attempt to defend himself and his girlfriend.

Krystal Diane Pinkins, who has been connected to Rashad Jamal's University of Intelligence 'cult' alongside Hider, faced her own trial earlier this week and was convicted of murder, robbery and unlawful use of a firearm during a crime of violence for her involvement with the incident in the Talladega National Forest.

Female 'cult' member Yasmine Hider, 21, pleaded guilty to killing college student Adam Simjee, 22, while he and his girlfriend tried to help Hider who had lured them into the woods

Yasmine Hider (left), 21, pleaded guilty to murder, kidnapping and robbery for killing college student Adam Simjee in court on Wednesday and faces up to life in prison for her horrific crime. Her accomplice Krystal Pinkins (right), 37, faced similar charges a few days earlier

The young couple had been driving to hike and see the waterfalls at Cheaha State Park when Hider stopped them and asked them for help with her car problems

Pinkins, 37, was sentenced after four days of testimony after evidence found that she aided in Hider's crimes by providing the firearm, planning the robbery and watching nearby in the woods, according to Northern Alabama's DA office.

The young couple had been driving to hike and see the waterfalls at Cheaha State Park.

Simjee pulled over to the side of the road to assist Yasmine Hider, who told the couple that her car had broken down and Mikayla Paulus helped her boyfriend work on the car for an hour until they realized that it wouldn't start - at which point Hider pulled out a gun on the duo and forced them into the woods.

Hider asked the couple to drop their cell phones and hand over their banking information - before Simjee pulled out a gun to protect himself and his girlfriend.

Simjee was fatally hit in the crossfire and was pronounced dead at the scene.

The robber was sent to the hospital to treat her wounds, where she was later charged with murder.

Simjee and Paulus were getting ready to begin the school year at the University of Central Florida in Orlando.

In a heartfelt tribute to her longtime lover, Paulus said her 'world ended' the say Simjee died on August 14.

'My reason for being, my soulmate, my life partner, the future father of my children, died in the middle of a state park in Alabama.

'The victims of this terrible crime were simply being good Samaritans', said FBI Birmingham Special Agent in Charge Carlton Peeples.

Simjee pulled out his own weapon to defend him and his girlfriend against their kidnapper but Hider shot him fatally

Peeples said: 'Todays verdict sends a strong message that individuals who commit these crimes will be held accountable for their actions. I would like to thank the many local, state and federal resources that came together to seek justice for the victim. I hope todays verdict can bring continued healing to the families and friends who will be forever impacted.'

The 'cult' that Hider and Pinkins have been connected to is the University of Cosmic Intelligence cult that preaches to African Americans and Latinos and believes they are the natural earthly beings, not white people, according to Fox News.

The group is led by Rashad Jamal White - known as Rashad Jamal to his followers.

He recently claimed he, and blacks and Latinos, are 'gods.'

Jamal is also currently detained on accusations of child molestation and child cruelty.

In January, another of the 'cult's' followers Damien Winslow Washam, 24, was accused of killing his mother with a sword and injuring his disabled uncle and brother.

In a heartfelt tribute to her longtime lover, Paulus said her 'world ended' the say Simjee died on August 14. 'My reason for being, my soulmate, my life partner, the future father of my children, died in the middle of a state park in Alabama

Washam led police on a pursuit after fleeing the home he allegedly stabbed his mother in. Mobile County Captain Paul Burch said the he had 'absolutely no remorse whatsoever.'

The sword was found inside his car.

Washam's father, Hubert, told Vice's Motherboard that his son used to play a lot of video games - he learned about the 'cult' through a Call of Duty chat - and was a normal person before he got into Jamal's preaching.

He had reportedly learned about the University of Cosmic Intelligence through a Call of Duty chat and soon became obsessed with getting energy from the sun, Fox News reported.

He was listening to those conspiracy kind of videos and it was dumb as hell,' his father told Motherboard. 'It was stupid. I tried to look at some of these videos and I can't even listen to them, it's so dumb. Lizard people and aliens.'

After he started watching Jamal's video, he allegedly started doing 'crazy-a** stuff' and smoking marijuana again and sold his PlayStation. He also became obsessed with Egyptian gods and the underworld and started buying edged weapons.

Damien Washam and the two women involved in the killing of Simjee had connections to the University of Cosmic Intelligence leader Rashad Jamal White - who goes by Rashad Jamal to his followers. He is currently detained on accusations of child molestation and child cruelty, which he denies

In January, another of the 'cult' followers, Damien Winslow Washam, 24, was accused of killing his mother with a sword and injuring his disabled uncle and brother.

His father would later find out he had purchased a gun, the sword and thousands of dollars of crystals from the University of Cosmic Intelligence's store.

'He was acting strange. He got really strange,' his father told Motherboard. 'And it didn't seem like, you know - it was strange, but it wasnt like a mental illness to us. It was more like - I don't know. I don't know how to explain it.'

Washam's motive is still unknown.

The murder of the college couple by Hider and Pinkins came eight months after Washam's sword-murder.

An account that was set up to help Simjee's family raise money for his funeral costs. Since the account raised more than $12,000 as of Thursday, a new goal of $30,000 has been issued to help pay for Paulus' counseling and other expenses as she tries to move forward.
A raging 7ft (2.1-metre) kangaroo put a farmer in a headlock after dragging him off his motorbike.

Brian O'Donnell, from St Arnaud in country Victoria, was riding his Honda across his farmland to check on a cow that was due to give birth when he noticed the massive marsupial stalking him.

Instead of hopping away - as most kangaroos would - the creature 'started growling and jumping up and down', Mr O'Donnell, 74, told the ABC.

Brian O'Donnell, from St Arnaud in country Victoria, was riding his Honda across his farmland to check on a cow that was due to give birth when he noticed the massive marsupial stalking him

The kangaroo left Mr O'Donnell with nasty scratches on his neck and back

'Next thing I know he was on top of me.'

The farmer said the kangaroo put him in a headlock and tore at his clothing, leaving with him gashes on his neck and back.

'He had his top paws right around my back. We were almost headbutting each other,' he said.

'I just kept punching him until he let me go and [the kangaroo] jumped away, about 15 metres.'

Mr O'Donnell scrambled back onto his motorbike as the kangaroo charged again, with the farmer narrowly making an escape.

Kangaroos do not normally attack and it is possible the roo in question mistook Mr O'Donnell's actions as a threat (file picture)

His wife, Sue, was enjoying a glass of wine when Mr O'Donnell returned covered in cuts and bruises.

She took him to a local medical centre for stitches and to be treated with antibiotics.

Kangaroos do not normally attack and it is possible the roo in question mistook Mr O'Donnell's actions as a threat.

The cow the farmer was checking on is still yet to give birth.
There is little sign that Prince William will move into Royal Lodge, the 30-room mansion in Windsor Great Park, any time soon.

And there is every sign, says Richard Eden, that Prince Andrew will continue living his home of three decades, even though his older brother, King Charles, wants to move him out - and move the Waleses in!

But writing in the latest edition of his Palace Confidential newsletter, Eden says this could be good news for William, who already lives in three homes at once, including Kensington Palace and ten-bedroom Anmer Hall.

Prince Andrew has fought a rearguard battle to stay in his home of 30 years - despite apparently lacking the funds to pay for its upkeep

Royal Lodge in Windsor Great Park is the former home of the Queen Mother

The Duke has been forced to step back from Royal duties since his alleged involvement in the Epstein scandal - which he denies

The King would like Prince William to move into 30-room Royal Lodge and replace his uncle Andrew. But would that be a good look for William, asks Richard Eden?

'In my opinion, Andrew may have done his nephew, Prince William, a favour with his stubbornness,' he writes.

'A friend of the Yorks tells me: "I dont know why the King thought it would look better for William and Catherine to have Royal Lodge in addition to all their other properties than for the Duke and Duchess to remain there."'

The Prince and Princess of Wales had been expected to move their growing family into Royal Lodge in the coming months, after expensive renovations had been carried out.

But as Eden explains, 'when King Charles demanded earlier this year that his brother Prince Andrew move out , it was never going to end well.'

After all, the Duke of York had paid 1million for a 75-year lease on the Queen Mothers sprawling Grade II-listed mansion in 2003 and has since spent more than 7.5million on extensive renovation work.

It is also home to his ex-wife, Sarah, Duchess of York.

'The suggestion that the pair could move into somewhere smaller on the Windsor estate, such as the home from which the Duke and Duchess of Sussex had been evicted, Frogmore Cottage, rubbed salt into their wounds,' he writes.

'Now, however, Andrew appears to have won his power struggle with his elder brother.'

This week, it was reported that the King had given Andrew permission to stay indefinitely at the 30-room Royal Lodge, which sits in 98 acres of land in Windsor Great Park, after they thrashed out a new deal.

Richard Eden believes that William and Kate might have dodged a bullet

The Prince and Princess of Wales already live in Kensington Palace, picture, Anmer Hall and Adelaide Cottage

It has been reported that the King has accepted that Andrew will remain at Royal Lodge for the time being

William and Kate certainly aren't short of homes.

Currently, they live in the four-bedroom Adelaide Cottage at Windsor.

They also own Apartment 1A at Kensington Palace, a 20-room property that was renovated using 4.5million of taxpayers money in 2013.

In addition, they own Anmer Hall, a ten-bedroom country house on the Sandringham Estate.

To read more of Richard's expert royal commentary, sign up here
The gang then scour a station forecourt for their target before making their move

Video shows a suspect alerting the rest of his gang after spotting vulnerable victim opening his purse at convenience store till

A chilling video shows a gang of robbers stalking a disabled man through a Texas gas station before one sneaks up and attacks as he sits helpless in his wheelchair.

The elderly victim was shopping a convenience store in the Settegast district of Houston when one of the gang innocuously strolled past and noticed him opening his money bag at the till.

Houston police have released security footage which shows the suspect returning to the stores car park moments later with two accomplices in tow, apparently scanning the station forecourt for their prey.

One then peels off and stalks through a row of cars before creeping up silently behind the oblivious victim who has paused for a moment by a pump.

The cowardly attacker then leans in and snatches the purse before bolting back to his watching gang.

The suspect strolls casually past the disabled victim, clocking the purse he has opened at the till

He is next seen with two accomplices scanning the station forecourt having seemingly tipped them off about the vulnerable target leaving the store

The cowardly attacker then leans in and snatches the purse before bolting back to his watching gang.

The attack took place at around 4pm on Thursday, August 31, outside the Pit Stop Express on the 7600 block of North Wayside.

The footage was released on Thursday morning by police in Houston where purse snatching is up by nearly a fifth on this time last year.

Mayor Sylvester Turner hailed new data showing a fall in its murder rate on Wednesday and crime overall has fallen just over four per cent.

I am proud of the city that I shall pass forward, he said as he delivered his final State of the City Address before retiring at the end of this year.

I am not anxious to leave, and if I could run again, I would.

But shoplifting is up 14.4 percent, pick-pocketing up 28.2 percent and stolen property offenses are up a whopping 87.9 percent in the Democrat-led city.

Earlier this summer police released security footage of a disabled woman being robbed in her wheelchair at a fast-food chain after withdrawing cash from an ATM on the other side of the city center in Tidwell.

Days before the attack in Settegast a paraplegic man was shot after handing over his money to a robber in the Hyde Park district.

The attack took place at the Pit Stop Express service station on the 7600 block of North Wayside on August 1

Footage shows one of the gang pealing away from the group as his target pauses on the forecourt

He creeps up silently from behind before leaning in and snatching the purse from his helpless target

The elderly victim is powerless to offer any resistance as his cowardly attacker runs off

Houston Police have released this picture of the suspects

But another robber picked on the wrong target when he tried to grab a backpack from a man in a wheelchair outside a Metro station in Midtown.

He fired multiple shots, striking the suspect, Lt JP Horelica told reporters.

The suspect ran several hundred yards, where he collapsed and was picked up by the Houston Fire Department and treated.

Police said the 18-year-old would-be robber had multiple gunshot wounds and was taken to the hospital in serious but stable conditon but was expected to survive.
A 'predatory' police officer was jailed for over 16 years today for violently raping a friend and sexually assaulting a second woman.

PC Ravi Canhye, who served with Dorset Police, was convicted on two charges of rape, one count of attempted rate, and three charges of assault by penetration. He was also charged with sexual assault against a second woman.

Wincheser Crown Court heard that the 47-year-old, who is originally from Mauritius, slapped and mauled the first victim before pinning her down and raping her.

He verbally abused her and he did so and at one point forced a fist into her mouth to stop her pleas for him to stop. It was heard in court that Canyhe felt 'power and gratification' and 'revelled in seeing her disgust, discomfort and disappointment.'

The violent attack took place as the victim visited his home in Poole, Dorset, while he was off duty on the weekend between April 8 and 11, 2022.

PC Ravi Canhye, who served with Dorset Police, was convicted at Winchester Crown Court

Canhye, who is originally from Mauritius, attacked the first victim in April 2022 while she visited his home in Poole, Dorset

The court heard that Canhye, left, spun 'out of control' after drinking heavily which 'changed or disinhibited him

Canyhe had met the victim in October 2021. He told her that they had feelings for each other on the first night and they had consensual sex.

Prosecutor Sarah Jones KC said that his behaviour changed the following morning and Canhye assaulted his victim in the kitchen before raping her.

She said that he spun 'out of control' after drinking heavily which 'changed or disinhibited him'. He behaved like an 'animal', the court heard.

Canhye threatened to abuse his victim with his truncheon and a vodka bottle, the court heard. Canyhe, who denied the offences, claimed that the sex was consensual.

Prosecutor Jones said: 'He just did what he wanted. He was so wrapped up in his own needs and desires he saw both her and her friend as objects ready to use and abuse.

'It came to a point where, she says, every time he was being too rough, when he was hurting her, that was exciting him and that made him worse at what he did.'

She added: 'She considered he was behaving like an animal and that she considered him to be behaving like an animal seemed to drive him on more.'

The victim, who fought to control her emotions as she gave evidence, said she 'trusted him as he was a police officer'.

The court heard that Canhye 'was so wrapped up in his own needs and desires he saw both her and her friend as objects ready to use and abuse'

Canhye is alleged to have carried out the offences against the first victim while he was off duty between April 8 and 11, 2022

PC Ravi Canhye, got 'power and gratification' from abusing the woman as she begged him to stop, the court heard

She said that she 'was scared and really frightened' and that he was 'aggressive and forceful.'

In a victim impact statement that was read out in court on her behalf, she said that she suffered from anxiety, nightmares, and flashbacks.

She said she was 'battered and bruised' after the attack and said: 'The indignity of it was almost unbearable.'

She suffered such bad bruising as a result of his 'manhandling' that intimate parts of her body turned black.

The victim added that she isolated from friends following the attack and had felt suicidal.

Judge Jane Miller said that she had suffered 'a persistent, degrading and truly overwhelming episode of sexual and physical humiliation.'

She told Canhye: 'Your being a serving police officer is an aggravating feature, your status means your victims placed a level of trust in you.'

'The public should be able to expect higher standards from a police officer.'

Canhye has been placed on the sex offenders register and been made subject to a sexual harm prevention order requiring him to notify police of any future sexual relationships.

He has also had a restraining order issued against him.

The sexual assault against the second victim happened on the following day when the pair returned to the defendant's home out of concern for his wellbeing because of his heavy drinking.

He assaulted her as she sat on his sofa.

The second victim said she had been shocked that Canhye was a police officer.

'I couldn't believe someone who behaved like that could be one, he has abused his position of trust,' she said, adding that she felt 'frightened to leave her home.'

Dorset Police has confirmed that Canhye, who had been in public service for more than 20 years, was suspended after the allegations were made and faces misconduct proceedings.

Canhye moved from Mauritius to work in psychiatric health before he became a special police officer and then joined the Metropolitan Police in 2009. He later moved to Dorset Police.

He won a National Policing Award in 2009 as a special Constable in Ealing, West London, for his work identifying people with mental health issues.

James Newton-Price, defending, said that Canhye had resigned from the force and added: 'The outcome is devastating for Mr Canhye, not only in relation to his good name but his career.'

He added: 'He would not have behaved as he did other than for his heavy alcohol consumption.'

His first victim said that she that she suffered from anxiety, nightmares, and flashbacks

Dorset Police said that Canhye had behaved in a way that was 'clearly criminal and utterly unacceptable'

Dorset Police Temporary Deputy Chief Constable Rachel Farrell said: 'I would like to thank the victims for their courage to come forward to report these abhorrent crimes to us and supporting our investigation as well as the strength they have shown throughout the court process.

'I hope this sends a message to all victims of sexual abuse that we will do all we can to investigate offences and ensure offenders are brought to justice, while we will also make sure victims are supported.

'We have been able to bring this case before the court due to the thorough investigation conducted by our highly-trained detectives and I would like to recognise their work as well as the support our specialist officers provided to the victims.

'PC Canhye has behaved in a way that is clearly criminal and utterly unacceptable, especially when bearing in mind the trust the public should be able to have in him as a member of the police service.

'There is no place in Dorset Police for those who commit sexual offences.

'I understand that these crimes will cause concern for our community and the fact that they were committed by a police officer is even more abhorrent.

'We are determined to root out officers who commit such offences as well as domestic abuse or show discriminatory, abusive or misogynistic behaviours.

'I hope that responding robustly to allegations of any violence against women by police officers or staff sends a strong message to the public about our standards and values and builds confidence in how we respond to all allegations.

'Our unique powers and responsibilities mean we must hold ourselves to the highest standards.'
People online dubbed him 'Conan O'Riot' due to his uncanny likeliness to former late-night talk show host, Conan O'Brien

The former U.S. Marine was seen wearing Revolutionary-style attire as he joined crowds chanting 'Stop the steal!'

Derek Andrew Nelson, 30, faces four misdemeanor charges for his involvement in the Capitol raid

An alleged Jan. 6 rioter dubbed 'Conan O'Riot' due to his uncanny resemblance to late-night host Conan O'Brien has been arrested by the FBI - after appearing on video inside the Capitol wearing a Revolutionary-era costume.

Federal court records show that Derek Andrew Nelson, 30, was arrested in Champaign, Illinois, on Wednesday.

The 30-year-old faces four misdemeanor charges in connection with the storming of the U.S. Capitol alongside co-defendant Derek Dodder.

In one video shot by the Washington Monument, Nelson was asked why he was there.

'To start a revolution,' the former Marine replied. 'Why are you here?'

Derek Nelson, 30, was spotted wearing colonial-style attire and carrying an American flag as he joined the crowd storming the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021

After a fellow protestor set off a fire extinguisher, Nelson was seen running from the cloud of gas in a respiratory mask and goggles

He appeared in videos shot inside and outside the Capitol building

Nelson will appear remotely before a federal judge at the nation's capital on October 14

When the crowd of protestors forced its way into the Capitol, swarming past outnumbered Capitol security guards, Nelson stood near the front lines, according to the FBI.

He was later spotted in the Crypt, East Foyer and Rotunda of the building, clad in a Revolutionary-era costume and carrying an American flag.

Nelson was dubbed 'Conan O'Riot' online over his similitude to fellow redhead Conan O'Brien.

His movements were tracked and catalogued by members of the Sedition Hunters, a global collective dedicated to identifying and disseminating images of January 6 participants.

Although netizens had identified him by the summer of 2021, the FBI only showed up at his house early next year.

Federal agents combed his social media profile and public Facebook pages - which are still up to this day - to paint a profile of the former U.S. Marine.

They deduced that he lived in Danville, Illinois, with previous addresses in San Diego, California and Wauconda, Illinois.

They also confirmed that he had been on active duty from October 2011 to September 2015. In one Facebook photo, Nelson is seen posing in camo fatigues and combat goggles.

Two agents attempted to interview him at his home on February 8, 2022, but he wasn't home, so they left a business card in the mail slot.

Later that day, Nelson's attorney phoned the agents, who later told that Nelson declined to speak about his involvement in January 6.

Two months later, however, the agents interviewed someone who had interacted with Nelson when he bought his Danville home in June 2021. This person positively identified him as the ginger-haired man caught on video inside the Capitol.

Netizens dubbed him 'Conan O'Riot' due to his likeliness to former late-night talk show host Conan O'Brien

The FBI constructed a profile using the 30-year-old's numerous public social media profiles and went to his house to interview him in early 2022

Nelson's legal counsel later reached out to the FBI and informed the agents that Nelson would not be speaking with them

The 30-year-old was on active duty as a U.S. Marine from 2011 to 2015

In footage captured on January 6, Nelson was seen strolling around the building, joining crowds that chanted 'Our house' and 'Stop the steal.'

In a different video, Nelson was among the masses walking up the staircase to the building's second level, towards the Rotunda.

When cameraman yelled 'Who do they work for?' Nelson pumped his fist in the air and shouted: 'Us!'

The FBI alleged that Nelson and Dodder arrived in the Rotunda around 2.30pm, where Nelson proceeded to flip off one of the statues.

After another rioter set off a fire extinguisher near the doors to the House of Representatives, Nelson was seen running from the clouds of gas.

He wore goggles and a respirator mask and was easily recognizable thanks to his flaming hair and Revolutionary-era cosplay.

A federal magistrate judge in Illinois released Nelson on his own recognizance on Wednesday, ordering him not to travel outside the continental U.S. without court approval.

The former Marine was banned from possessing a firearm, destructive device, or another weapon.

Nelson has been charged on four counts: Entering and Remaining in a Restricted Building or Grounds; Disorderly and Disruptive Conduct in a Restricted Building or Grounds; Disorderly Conduct in a Capitol Building or Grounds; and Parading, Demonstrating, or Picketing in a Capitol Building.

The 30-year-old is scheduled to appear virtually before a federal judge on October 17.

While his fate is currently unclear, hundreds of other rioters have been charged and sentenced to jail time.

As of September 6, around 623 people were sentenced on criminals charges and around 378 of that number were incarcerated, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office of the District of Columbia.

The longest sentence to date was handed to someone who wasn't even at the Capitol on the day of the riots.

Enrique Tarrio, the former chair of the Proud Boys, was sentenced to 22 years in prison back in September.

Enrique Tarrio rallying in support of U.S. President Donald Trump to protest against the results of the 2020 U.S. presidential election, in Washington, U.S. November 14, 2020

He was accused of spearheading a conspiracy intended to keep Donald Trump in power. Tarrio has been in jail since his arrest nearly a year ago.

Prior to January 6, he was ordered to stay out of D.C. after being arrested and charged with setting fire to a Black Lives Matter banner. However, prosecutors argued that Tarrio continued to rally his men from afar.

Some of the longest other sentences have been upwards of 10 years.

While Conan O'Brien has yet to respond to comments likening him to his doppleganger, the former talk show host had plenty to say about the events of January 6.

On his podcast Conan OBrien Needs A Friend, O'Brien called the day upsetting 'for any sentient American.'

He slammed Republican Senators Ted Cruz and Josh Hawley for objecting to the certification of Joe Biden's presidential victory even after the raid on the Capitol.

'To watch Cruz and Hawley leave that lockdown and come back up and double-down on this idiocy, I think it's the angriest I've been since Schitt's Creek went off the air,' O'Brien quipped.

Last month, O'Brien joked that Donald Trump's former president's impact on comedy was his 'greatest crime.'

He said: 'I think hes hurt political comedy by being so outlandish himself. I think the Jan. 6 thing is a blip compared to how much hes hurt comedy.'
Trump has not ruled out pitching himself for speaker

Firebrand GOP Rep Jim Jordan, a Trump ally, and the House's Number Two Republican Steve Scalise are running for the top job

Trump is expected to attend the candidate forum for the race for House speaker on Tuesday

Former President Donald Trump is wading into the drama on Capitol Hill with a potential appearance at the candidate forum for the race for House speaker on Tuesday.

Trump is expected to pay a visit to Washington in between a campaign stop Monday in New Hampshire and a campaign event in Palm Beach, Fla. on Wednesday, according to multiple news outlets.

The former president has not ruled out pitching himself for the top job in the House. He posted a meme of himself sitting in the speaker's chair while holding a giant gavel on Wednesday after a number of his allies in the House put his name forth for the job.

If Trump decides to back a candidate in the race it could be a boon for firebrand Rep. Jim Jordan - a close ally who has led the fight against so-called 'weaponization' of the Justice Department against Trump from the House.

Mr Speaker? Former President Trump posted an image of himself presiding over the House Chamber  after several House Republicans floated his name for Speaker

Jordan is running for the job against Number Two Republican Steve Scalise, Majority Leader, after Kevin McCarthy was ousted from the job on Monday.

But others could float Trump for the speakership as it's not required that the speaker is a member of the House.

'If Trump becomes Speaker of the House, the House chamber will be like a Trump rally everyday!!' Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., wrote on X. 'It would be the House of MAGA!!!'

Rep. Tim Burchett, R-Tenn., said he believes Trump coming to the forum will help 'unify' Republicans around a candidate.

'I think what he'll do is he'll come in there and unify us, tell us to get behind somebody else.'

The GOP conference, currently led by interim Speaker Patrick McHenry, R-N.C., has to agree to allow Trump to attend.

While it's unlikely they'd bar the leader of the party from the forum, his attendance would likely be met with silent groans from Republicans looking to bring order back to the House.

'Trump at the candidate forum would only make a tumultuous situation worse,' one senior House GOP aide told DailyMail.com. 'Anyone who thinks he has any chance of becoming speaker is an unserious lawmaker interested only in media attention and social media engagement.

And according to House GOP conference rules, no one who has been indicted for a felony can serve in leadership. Trump has been indicted four times. However there is a chance Trump could try to be speaker but not a member of the House GOP conference. It's nearly impossible he would ever actually be elected speaker and he has said he is focused on the presidential race.

Trump's post came hours after Rep. Patrick McHenry, a Kevin McCarthy ally, slammed the gavel while sending the house into recess minutes after McCarthy was ousted

Rep. Jim Jordan, left, is running against Majority Leader Steve Scalise, right, and each have around 10 early endorsements in the race

House members have been sent home to 'cool off' until Tuesday, when they will come back for a contentious debate over who should lead lower chamber Republicans and how easy it should be to kick them out of that job again.

Whoever gets the job will be tasked with presiding over a four-vote majority in a conference where a succession of leaders have departed on difficult terms.

McCarthy was ousted in a historic vote on a motion to vacate brought forth by GOP Rep. Matt Gaetz, Fla.

Gaetz is a Trump loyalist who said he spoke to Trump by phone during McCarthy's final days and suggested Trump backed his efforts. But Trump also made a social media post where he asked why Republicans were fighting each other instead of President Biden, which seemed to urge them to knock it off.

'Why is it that Republicans are always fighting among themselves, why arent they fighting the Radical Left Democrats who are destroying our Country?' Trump posted.

Eight Republicans sided with all Democrats to push out their leader - making McCarthy the shortest-lived speaker in 140 years and the first one ever to be pushed out in the middle of his term.
New York City is bucking under the strain of the migrant influx - with the cost of accommodating them set to tip $4.7 billion

Furious New Yorkers have slammed New York City mayor Eric Adams' trip to Latin America, calling the visit a useless vacation.

Adams landed in Mexico City on Wednesday night as part of his mission to discourage asylum seekers, as New York continues struggling with the 120,000 migrants who have arrived in the last 18 months. Speaking at the base of a basilica in the city where people often pray before setting out on their journeys, Adams said he hoped to 'manage expectations' of migrants setting out on their journeys.

But residents of the city did not see the trip in a positive light, with hundreds of social media users leaving angry messages claiming the mayor is simply on a tax-funded vacation that will not do anything to ease the crisis. Many suggested the mayor would have spent his time more wisely in Washington D.C. lobbying the Biden administration to close the borders.

One comment from an Independent voter from New York read: 'Im glad you and your coalition are enjoying your paid vacation. A trip to Albany & DC would be less costly Stopping NYCs Right to Shelter for law breaking non citizens, demand Hochul end sanctuary status in NY and Biden to reinstate Trumps [sic] border policies and secure the border.'

Another New Yorker went after Adam's infamous taste for nightlife, writing: 'Enjoy your vacation that WE are paying for. Don't forget to hit the clubs tonight.'

The Democrat, who is up for reelection in 2025, has been sharing details of his trip on X, formerly known as Twitter, prompting his constituents to leave their angry responses.

Furious New Yorkers have slammed New York City mayor Eric Adams' trip to Latin America, calling the visit a vacation. Adams is seen on Thursday in Mexico City

The Mayor of New York, Eric Adams, talks to the press in front of the Basilica de Guadalupe after a visit to the shrine of the Virgin of Guadalupe in Mexico City, Wednesday

I thought you were there for high level meetings about the border? Ive been where you visited, very spiritual place, but not the place for discussions about solving the border crisis. Talk to the cartel plaza bosses if you want to fix the border issue on the Mexican side. They  Peter J Forcelli (@Forcelli_Author) October 5, 2023

You should have gone to Roosevelt hotel. Cheaper and faster . Same results.



Now you are spending OUR money on your stupid trip that will bring absolutely NOTHING!



YOU ARE DISGRACE TO OUR CITY!  I Meme Therefore I Am  (@ImMeme0) October 5, 2023

Enjoy your vacation that WE are paying for. Don't forget to hit the clubs tonight.  RP  (@RealRPinNYC) October 5, 2023

'As a New York citizen, what do you think of the shooting incident that occurred in Manhattan yesterday?' added a resident of the Big Apple.

'You should have gone to Roosevelt hotel. Cheaper and faster. Same results. Now you are spending OUR money on your stupid trip that will bring absolutely NOTHING! YOU ARE DISGRACE TO OUR CITY!' said another.

Adams' office told DailyMail.com that no taxpayer funds are being used on this trip, but highlighted the mayor's previous comments where he said: 'This could be done on taxpayers dime. Let's be clear on that. Taxpayers can pay for this trip. We make the determination that during these tough fiscal times, that we're going to pick up our tab, but there's nothing illegal or unethical if we would have charged this to taxpayers.'

Many took issue with Adams being in cosmopolitan Mexico City - far from the crisis' center, which is hundreds of miles away at the US-Mexico border.

Former NYPD detective Peter Forcelli wrote: I thought you were there for high level meetings about the border? Ive been where you visited, very spiritual place, but not the place for discussions about solving the border crisis. Talk to the cartel plaza bosses if you want to fix the border issue on the Mexican side. They have control.

Many took issue with Adams being in cosmopolitan Mexico City - far from the crisis' center, which is hundreds of miles away at the US-Mexico border

Adams is seen with Monica Aspe, the CEO of AT&T Mexico

As the city ran out of space, landmarks like The Roosevelt Hotel have been turned into emergency shelters

Hundreds of migrants sleep in line for placement at the Roosevelt Hotel intake center

Conservative outlet Citizen Free Press also weighed in, writing: Eric Adams lands in Mexico City. His Sanctuary City is a mess because of HIS failed policies and he's flown the coop to beg a foreign leader to do something. What does he think Mexico is going to do. They'll do nothing and he will smile for cameras.

And podcaster Drunk News Anchor said: 'DC's much closer. But then again that's not an exciting taxpayer-funded vacation as your city descends further into chaos. After all, being so close, you might actually be called back in to work in case of an emergency.'

'Exactly. He's a clown for taking this trip,' someone agreed under the podcaster's message.

Adams' four-day trip will see him also going to Colombia and Ecuador.

'This is just the beginning of the journey of trying to be on the ground and understand the whole flow of migrant and asylum seekers,' he said last night.

Adams plea and his trip to Mexico to discourage migrants shows a stunning reversal to the start of the crisis when he went to the Port Authority to welcome a bus full of asylum seekers sent from Texas by Republican governor Gregg Abbot, who argued progressive cities should also bear the costs of the influx of asylum seekers crossing the southern border.

At the time, Adams said: 'As the mayor of New York, I have to provide services families that are here, and that's what we're going to do - our responsibility as a city, and I'm proud that this is a Right to Shelter state, and we're going continue to do that.'

In August 2022, NYC mayor Eric Adams welcome migrants welcomed asylum seekers bused in from Texas at Port Authority, saying he was proud New York is a shelter state

Asylum seekers cross the Rio Grande from Mexico into the United States on September 30, 2023 in Eagle Pass, Texas

But by May of this year, Adams had made major changes to the 40-year-old 'Right to Shelter' law that guarantees a bed for anyone who needs it in the city, as his government asked for federal and state help to deal with the surge of migrants that he now says could destroy New York as we know it.

Governor Kathy Hochul has also done a U-turn when it comes to asylum seekers, having first welcomed them with 'open arms' as she pledged to house them just three years before telling migrants to 'go elsewhere' because the city is at its limit.

'We have to get the word out, that when you come to New York, you're not going to have more hotel rooms, we don't have capacity,' Hochul said on CNN. 'So we have to also message properly that we're at a limit - if you're going to leave your country, go somewhere else.'

On Wednesday, the mayor also echoed a rising number of voices in calling for a larger global response to the increasing number of migrants to the U.S.

'The message of this not being sustainable cannot stay within the boundaries of New York City. There is a global migration and it must have an international response.'

In August, the U.S. Border Patrol made 181,509 arrests at the Mexican border, up 37 percent from July but little changed from August 2022 and well below the more than 220,000 in December, according to figures released in September.

Ahead of his trip, Adams said earlier: 'We want to give an honest assessment of what we are experiencing here in this city. We are at capacity.'

'We're going to tell them that coming to New York doesn't mean you're going to stay in a five-star hotel. It doesn't mean that, the mere fact that you come here, you automatically are going to be allowed to work,' he said.

Adams has made a series of urgent pleas for a shift in federal immigration policy and for funding to help the city manage the arrival of migrants, which he said could cost the city $12 billion over three years as it rents space at hotels, erects new emergency shelters and provides various government services for asylum seekers.

As part of his efforts top mitigate the crisis, Adams has recently moved to tighten New York shelter rules by limiting adult migrants to just 30 days in city-run facilities amid overcrowding.

City and state leaders in New York, Illinois and elsewhere have urged the federal government to make it easier for migrants to get work permits, which would allow them to pay for food and housing.
claims that his hand is forced because of congressional appropriations

President Joe Biden and his team have repeatedly stated their commitment to stopping construction of the southern border wall.

Biden said that the stunning reversal this week to directing construction of 20 miles of border wall is only due to following through on properly dolling out funds already appropriated by Congress for the physical barrier.

Even though Biden said 'no,' on Thursday when asked if a border wall is effective, his own DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas provided a directive this week claiming there is an 'acute and immediate need to construct physical barriers.'

The president promised on the campaign trail and reiterated at the start of the administration in 2021 that there would be no more border wall construction.

President Joe Biden has repeatedly said he would stop border wall construction  like in the above clip from August 2020 when he was campaigning and said 'not be another foot of wall constructed in my administration'

June 2019  Biden calls Trump's border wall 'racist'

During the 2020 presidential campaign, Biden said then-President Donald Trump's border wall was an objective 'divorced from reality.'

When unveiling his immigration policy in a Miami-Herald op-ed, Biden sought to provide a stark juxtaposition between Trump's policies and his own proposal, by calling them

'Under Trump, there have been horrifying scenes at the border of kids being kept in cages, tear gassing asylum seekers, ripping children from their mothers' arms  actions that subvert our American values and erode our ability to lead on the global stage,' the then-presidential candidate wrote.

'At a time when the challenges we face demand a united, regional response, Trump repeatedly invokes racist invective to describe anyone south of the Rio Grande, including calling migrants 'animals',' he added.

He also said that Biden's repeated calls to have the border wall built didn't address the issues actually facing the southern border.

'It's imperative that we secure our borders, but 'build the wall' is a slogan divorced from reality. It won't stop the flow of illegal narcotics or human trafficking, both of which come primarily through legal ports of entry,' Biden wrote.

August 2020  Biden vows on 2020 campaign trail no more border wall construction

During an interview with with journalists from the National Association of Black Journalists and National Association of Hispanic Journalists, Biden said 'not another foot' of the Mexico border wall would be constructed if he were president.

He vowed that on Day One of his administration he would issue an executive order halting construction as his team worked to cancel the projects and prevent further construction.

'There will not be another foot of wall constructed in my administration, No. 1,' Biden told NPR's Lulu Garcia-Navarro during an interview when he was still a candidate for president.

'I'm going to make sure that we have border protection, but it's going to be based on making sure that we use high-tech capacity to deal with it,' he added in the virtual interview.

'And at the ports of entry  that's where all the bad stuff is happening.'

Months later  and just days before the 2020 presidential election in November, Biden tweeted, 'We need to: Build bridges, not walls. Open our arms, not clench our fists. Focus on the ties that bind us together, not tear each other apart.'

January 2021  Biden cancels wall construction on Day One of presidency

During Biden's first day in office, he released a proclamation claiming that he would note 'waste' anymore taxpayer dollars on building the southern border wall.

An executive order put a pause on current border wall projects being carried out as part of former President Donald trump's promise to secure the border with Mexico by building the wall.

'[B]uilding a massive wall that spans the entire southern border is not a serious policy solution,' Biden said in the January 20, 2021 statement.

He added: 'It is a waste of money that diverts attention from genuine threats to our homeland security.'

'It shall be the policy of my Administration that no more American taxpayer dollars be diverted to construct a border wall. I am also directing a careful review of all resources appropriated or redirected to construct a southern border wall,' the then newly-elected president declared.

However, earlier this year, the Department of Homeland Security announced it would be resuming construction because there were funds already appropriated by Congress to build the physical barriers.

On Day One of his presidency, Biden paused border wall construction and said no more taxpayer dollars would be used on the project

When DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas was up for nomination in January 2021 (pictured), he said: 'President-elect Biden has committed to stop construction of the border wall. It would be my responsibility to execute on that commitment'

January 2021  DHS Secretary nominee backs Biden abandoning border wall

Mayorkas announced this week that he is using his authority provided by Congress to waive 26 federal laws so the wall can be built in Starr County, Texas.

'There is presently an acute and immediate need to construct physical barriers and roads in the vicinity of the border of the United States in order to prevent unlawful entries into the United States in the project areas,' Mayorkas wrote in the directive.

When Mayorkas was up for confirmation in January 2021, he told senators that he was behind Biden's intention to halt construction of the Mexico border wall.

'President-elect Biden has committed to stop construction of the border wall. It would be my responsibility to execute on that commitment, and I have not looked at the question of what we do with respect to the wall that already has been built,' Mayorkas told lawmakers on January 19, 2021  the day before Biden's inauguration.

Following that hearing a few years ago, Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) said he would put a 'hold' on the nomination due to his comments regarding the wall and his refusal to say whether there was a crisis at the southern border.

Biden insisted on Thursday that he is still against a border wall  in direct contradiction of Mayorkas' own words passing other laws to be able to construct the barriers. He also said that he has repeatedly asked Congress to reappropriate the funds so they could be used in other ways.

In the absence of action from Congress, the White House says that Biden is now simply following the law by allowing the funds to be used for a wall at the southern border.

'The money was appropriated for the border wall,' Biden said.

'I tried to get them to reappropriate, to redirect that money. They didn't. They wouldn't,' he said of Republicans in Congress.

'In the meantime, there's nothing under the law other than they have to use the money for what it was appropriated for. I can't stop that,' he added.

Asked about whether he thought the border wall was effective, the President replied, 'No.'

In the Oval Office on Thursday, Biden told reporters that he is forced to construct border wall because the funds were already appropriated by Congress in 2019. Asked about whether he thought the border wall was effective, the President replied, 'No'

Biden has repeatedly used his opposition to the border wall as a talking point, saying: 'We need to build bridges, not walls'

Im not going to vote for a wall under any circumstances. Kamala Harris says she wont support funding for what she calls Trumps medieval vanity project, even in exchange for funding for permanent protections for DACA recipients. #HarrisTownHall https://t.co/0EMGUsQFut pic.twitter.com/fwuxUzk1qX  CNN (@CNN) January 29, 2019

January 2019  Kamala Harris said she wouldn't support funding wall in exchange for DACA citizenship

Vice President Kamala Harris was also one of the three senators at the time who opposed a deal granting funding then-President Trump's border wall in exchange for legislation giving citizenship for DACA recipients.

'I'm not going to vote for a wall under any circumstances,' Harris said during a 2019 CNN Town Hall when she was campaigning for president.

At the event, which happened before she dropped out of the race and became Biden's running mate, Harris called Trump's border wall a 'medieval vanity project.'

She also called the budgetary fight over funding for the wall a 'distraction' from much larger issues at play at the time  including the investigations against then President Trump.

Last month, Vice President Harris said that she and President Biden had a big undertaking when they got into office to fix the border.

She also insists it's secure despite continued surges of illegal crossings.

'The border is secure, but we also have a broken immigration system, in particular over the last four years before we came in, and it needs to be fixed,' Harris said in an NBC News Meet the Press interview last month.

'We have a secure border in that that is a priority for any nation, including ours and our administration,' she added.
Piper's post drew thousands of divided responses on X, with some shocked by the idea of bringing coffee to church while some appeared to be unfazed

A Minnesota pastor sparked a heat debate with his post telling parishioners not to drink coffee during Sunday church services.

Pastor John Piper, 77, asked about the appropriateness of sipping coffee during Sunday services, generating thousands of divided responses.

'Can we reassess whether Sunday coffee-sipping in the sanctuary fits?' the pastor wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter.

He continued by quoting from the Hebrews: 'Let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe' (Hebrews 12:28).

Some users were shocked by the idea of drinking coffee during church services, while others appeared to be unfazed completely.

Pastor John Piper(pictured), 77, asked about the appropriateness of sipping coffee during Sunday services, generating thousands of divided responses

'Can we reassess whether Sunday coffee-sipping in the sanctuary fits?' the pastor wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter

His post drew divided responses with some users shocked by the idea of drinking coffee during church services, while others appeared to be unfazed completely

'Can we reassess whether this is a question of necessary priority?' X user @jaySics wrote in replies, questioning the pastor.

Another user @Kellys_ex: 'I think we have bigger fish to fry John. Personally, I'm in awe God puts up with me at all, Sunday through Saturday.'

They added in the thread: 'If the Holy Spirit compelled me to fill the coffee cups on Sunday morning because it brought them closer to the Word, I would obey. This is how I show my reverence, each and every day.'

Some seemed to agree with Piper, noting the question is worth considering.

'There is a valid principle to consider here, whether or not you agree w/this particular application,' wrote another user, @NathanielJolly.

'Those w/ a heart & concern for reverential worship & holiness should take some time to consider the principle,' they continued.

Another chimed in: 'Liturgy is all about God and our worship of Him. Coffee can be enjoyed any other time of the week. Sunday mornings are a sacred time where we meet and worship the Trinity.'

Among Pastor's supporters was Sarah St. Onge, who vehemently opposed drinking coffee at church.

'I will not tolerate the concept of drinking coffee *during* a church service. I'm shocked at all of you. Just shocked,' she wrote.

The New York-based woman who describes herself as Luthran later said she 'is not the Twitter people' and was speaking 'in jest'.

'Please continue to go to your churches where you drink coffee,' she wrote.

In her interview with Fox News, she said: 'The average American church service lasts less than two hours.'

'And the average person should be able to manage two hours without having a coffee.'

In Roman Catholicism, Orthodoxy, Coptic Christianity, and specific Protestant sects, believers must observe a fast from both food and beverages before participating in the Eucharist.

But each tradition has different guidelines regarding how long adherents should fast.

Born in Tennesse, Pastor is a Calvinist Baptist preacher who runs a podcast named Ask Pastor John.

He said a man's addiction to porn could be behind his wife's miscarriage as punishment for the sin in 2016.

An anonymous man whose wife had a miscarriage said he wanted to know if God had punished him and his wife because of his 'struggle with lust and pornography'.

'I am glad that our anonymous questioner has called it sin and is feeling bad about it,' he told the man.

'I do not know if our friend who wrote this question lost his child in miscarriage as a direct discipline from God because of his pornography. He does not know.'
A crisis-hit health board has announced a reparations scheme to atone for its historical links to the slave trade.

NHS Lothian's Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh (RIE) benefited from the modern equivalent of almost 40million from slavery through ownership of a Caribbean plantation in the 18th century.

Now health chiefs will embark on measures including a public apology, commissioning artworks and educating staff on the links.

The work is being led and funded by the NHS Lothian Charity and will not involve direct financial donations being made as part of the reparations.

But there are budget concerns as the NHS faces winter already stretched beyond capacity.

NHS Lothian's Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh (pictured) benefited from the modern equivalent of almost 40million from slavery

They benefitted through the ownership of a Caribbean plantation in the 18th century

Calum Campbell (pictured), chief executive of NHS Lothian, said: 'Tackling racism helps us reduce health inequalities and improve outcomes for our diverse population'

It comes just months after inspectors said they had 'serious concerns' about patient safety at the RIE.

The hospital was running at more than capacity and on occasions the accident and emergency unit had three times as many patients as it was designed to handle, according to Health Improvement Scotland.

Research backed by the health board found that the RIE had been left the Red Hill Penn estate in Jamaica in 1750 in the will of a surgeon, Archibald Kerr.

The bequest included 39 slaves and the report said that over the next 143 years generations of enslaved people would have provided 'a considerable amount of wealth for the infirmary' in rental income.

Research has also identified donations that the hospital received from individuals who profited from slavery. The hospital used the money to buy medicines, construct a building, employ staff and heal Edinburgh's 'sick poor'.

The reparations will include making a formal apology to people of African descent, commissioning artwork dedicated to victims of slavery and signing an agreement aimed at improving health in modern-day Jamaica.

An advisory group set up by NHS Lothian said the measures would 'help to eliminate systemic discrimination and racism in Scotland' and 'make amends for past wrongs'. The initial work will be funded through 'existing departmental budgets and staffing' but long-term costs are 'unknown'.

Inspectors recently said they had 'serious concerns' about patient safety at the RIE

Health chiefs will embark on measures including a public apology, commissioning artworks and educating staff on the links to slavery

Last winter, NHS Lothian was one of many health boards hit by the winter crisis. It asked families to provide care to relatives as an interim measure to relieve bed blocking.

Conservative MSP Sue Webber said: 'Eyebrows are bound to be raised by this recommendation. With Scotland's NHS stretched beyond breaking point under the SNP, the public will rightly question why NHS Lothian are expending scarce resources on this.'

The project comes as Scotland faces record waiting times, with more than a quarter of cancer patients waiting for longer than the two-month target to begin treatment.

Calum Campbell, chief executive of NHS Lothian, said 'Tackling racism helps us reduce health inequalities and improve outcomes for our diverse population and ensures a better experience for everyone who works with and for us. This work is vital to delivering this ambition.'

It comes after a Jamaican judge was slammed last month for his 'silly' claim that Britain owes almost 19trillion in reparations for its role in the international slave trade, and even that might be an 'underestimation'.

Patrick Robinson, who sits in International Criminal Court, claimed that countries behind the centuries of atrocities were 'obliged to pay' and accused politicians like Rishi Sunak of burying their heads in the sand.

He spoke after an academic report in June alleged that 31 former slaveholding states - which also include the United States and Spain - owed $100trillion - $131trillion between them.

But the astonishing sum has raised eyebrows at the maths involved and where those behind the push for compensation expect the cash to come from.

Tory former minister Jacob Rees-Mogg said: 'It is simply silly. We owe nothing and civilised the world by ending the slave trade.'

Speaking to Guardian, Mr Robinson did not rule out former colonial states trying to take legal action, but suggested a diplomatic solution was more likely.

'These calculations are not over a period of five years or 10 years. They cover the entire duration of transatlantic chattel slavery, which means they cover hundreds of years,' the judge, who presided over the trial of Serbian war criminal Slobodan Milosevic, said.

'What is more, reparations have never been paid. So the calculations begin from day one of transatlantic chattel slavery, that is hundreds of years; and that alone explains the high figures.'

Last month a Jamaican judge was slammed for his 'silly' claim that Britain owes almost 19trillion in reparations for its role in the international slave trade

On a visit to London for Unesco's Day for Remembering the Transatlantic Slave Trade and Abolition, he also told the BBC the figures 'accurately reflect the enormity of the damage caused by slavery'.

He added: 'It amazes me that countries could think, in this day and age, when the consequences of that practice are clear for everyone to see, that they can bury their heads in the sand, and it doesn't concern them. It's as though they are in a kind of la la land.'

Earlier this year The Guardian apologised for its founders' links to the slave trade and announced it would pay 10million in reparations.

The newspaper, originally called the Manchester Guardian, was founded in 1821 by John Edward Taylor (1791  1844), a cotton merchant whose father had also worked in the textile industry.

This year's announcement came almost three years after The Scott Trust commissioned an independent investigation into any historical connection between slavery and Taylor and the other Manchester businessman who funded his new newspaper.

The Scott Trust Legacies of Enslavement report revealed that Taylor, and at least nine of his 11 backers, had links to slavery, principally through the textile industry.

In April Rishi Sunak warned against efforts to 'unpick our history' as he dismissed a Labour MP's demand for Britain to pay reparations over slavery and colonialism.

Bell Ribeiro-Addy called on the Prime Minister to 'offer a full and meaningful apology' and commit to 'reparatory justice' for the country's actions in past centuries.

The Streatham MP noted how Britain took out a huge loan in the 19th century -estimated to be the equivalent of 400billion in modern times - to compensate slave owners when slavery was abolished.

But the Labour backbenchers said no money had been provided to those who were enslaved.

Mr Sunak batted away Ms Ribeiro-Addy's request during Prime Minister's Questions this afternoon.

He said his Government would instead be focussed on 'making sure we have a society which is inclusive and tolerant of people from all backgrounds'.
Turkish and local specialists who provided psychological assistance in connection with the Patriotic War have been awarded by the Ministry of Emergency Situations (MES), Azernews reports.

According to the press service of the Ministry of Emergency Situations, Colonel General Kamaladdin Heydarov, Minister of Emergency Situations, announced the psychological rehabilitation of participants of the war, including veterans, family members of the Shehidis who lost their loved ones, and people who suffered physically. and moral damage from Armenian terrorism, who had psychological problems related to the Patriotic War.

Psychologists from Turkiye and a group of psychologists from the Ministry of Emergency Situations were awarded medals and certificates of honor for their high services at the invitation of the Ministry of Emergency Situations.

Minister Kamaladdin Heydarov, who participated in the awarding ceremony held at the Ministry, thanked the Turkish and local psychologists for their services and wished them success in their activities.

It should be noted that at the invitation of the Ministry of Emergency Situations, the joint participation of professional psychotherapists and psychologists of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the brotherly country is possible for more effective organization of psychological rehabilitation of veterans with psychological problems related to the Patriotic War, members of the families of Martyrs who lost their relatives, as well as people who suffered physical and spiritual damage from Armenian terrorism.

Since January 2021, psychological assistance has been provided free of charge. During this period, 9500 sessions of psychological assistance were provided to almost 4000 citizens in different regions of the Republic, including up to 430 children and teenagers.
The alleged abuse victims of Andrew Tate are being subjected to harassment and intimidation by the accused and his followers in a bid to silence them, according to lawyers.

Speaking at a news conference in central Bucharest, Romania, the lawyers - who represent legal teams from the US and the UK - said they wanted to take a 'united stand' against Tate and his followers and address 'ongoing attempts to silence those who are speaking out'.

The 36-year-old, a former professional kickboxer, is charged with rape, human trafficking and forming a criminal gang to sexually exploit women.

The divisive social media influencer has amassed eight million followers on the social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter.

One of the legal teams, McCue Jury & Partners, represents women suing Tate in the UK for allegations of rape and physical assault, while the National Centre on Sexual Exploitation's Law Centre and Laffey Bucci & Kent represent 'key witnesses' of the prosecution in the Romania case who Tate is suing in the US for defamation.

Tate's spokesperson denied the claims made by the lawyers on Thursday.

'These threats will not work, they will not prevent people from coming forward, and they will not prevent courts around the world from hearing their cases,' the lawyers said in a joint statement.

The alleged abuse victims of Andrew Tate are being subjected to harassment and intimidation by the accused and his followers in a bid to silence them, according to lawyers. Pictured Jill Roth (left) of Laffey Bucci and Kent Law Firm and Dani Pinter of the National Center on Sexual Exploitation from the US

The alleged abuse victims of Andrew Tate are being subjected to harassment and intimidation by the accused and his followers in a bid to silence them, according to lawyers (pictured)

Tate, 36, (pictured on September 26) a former professional kickboxer, is charged with rape, human trafficking and forming a criminal gang to sexually exploit women

Andrew Tate exiting the a tribunal, in Bucharest, Romania, on September 26

'We encourage people to play their part in stopping the spread of disinformation online and to think carefully about how their words in these spaces can affect people already suffering immensely.'

Four women reported Tate to UK authorities for alleged sexual violence and physical abuse, but the Crown Prosecution Service decided not to prosecute him.

Afterwards, the alleged victims turned to crowdfunding to cover their legal costs as they pursue a civil case against him.

'We handed over our evidence about the horrific acts of violence we endured and waited for action. But four years later we were told the UK authorities would not prosecute him,' they say on their campaign page, which has so far raised 30,000 of a 50,000 target. 'It's our one remaining route to hold him accountable.'

In a media letter last month, Tate described the allegations by the women in the UK as 'malicious and disputed' and added: 'If proceedings are brought, I shall resist any attempt to claim anonymity for all or any of the complainants.'

Four women reported Tate to UK authorities for alleged sexual violence and physical abuse, but the Crown Prosecution Service decided not to prosecute him

In a media letter last month, Tate described the allegations by the women in the UK as 'malicious and disputed' and added: 'If proceedings are brought, I shall resist any attempt to claim anonymity for all or any of the complainants'

McCue Jury & Partners said on Thursday that Tate's letter 'was riddled with inaccurate and misleading statements'

McCue Jury & Partners said on Thursday that Tate's letter 'was riddled with inaccurate and misleading statements'.

'Tate claimed that there is no UK case against him and that the firm suggested mediation through financial compensation,' the lawyer firm said.

'Unfortunately for Mr Tate, there is absolutely a legal claim being brought in the UK against him. We made clear to Tate that any settlement would have to contain an admission of liability.'

In a separate case, Romanian prosecutors formally indicted Tate in June along with his brother Tristan and two Romanian women. All four were arrested in late December and have denied the allegations against them.

The National Centre on Sexual Exploitation's Law Centre, repressing witnesses in the Romania case, said that since the brothers' compound was raided by authorities last year, they and their associates 'have been maliciously harassing and threatening our clients'.

In July, the Tate brothers sued a Florida woman, her parents, another woman who lived at the Tates' estate near Bucharest, and a male friend of the woman. The Tate brothers claimed she falsely accused them of imprisoning her in Romania and are seeking millions in the lawsuit, filed in Palm Beach County.

Jillian Roth, of Laffey, Bucci & Kent, said the lawsuit 'was filed only with the intent to intimidate, harass and to retaliate against the women who came forward to speak out against their abuse'.

'These women are very afraid, they're terrified,' Ms Roth said. 'They have been threatened, they've had people come to their place of work.'

Andrew Tate has repeatedly claimed that prosecutors in Romania have no evidence against him and that there is a political conspiracy designed to silence him. He was previously banned from various prominent social media platforms for expressing misogynistic views and hate speech.

Last week, a Bucharest court ruled to ease geographical restrictions on Tate, which means he can travel anywhere in Romania, but he cannot leave the country.
In the US, the Biden Administration continues to propose tens of billions of dollars be allocated to green initiatives that may or may not be effective

China continues to move hundreds of millions of tons of coal across its railway system each year, drawing ire from Western pundits as other countries are forcing citizens to 'go green' and reduce their carbon footprint.

Scottish journalist Andrew Neil recently ripped Western governments in the wake of China's projects, such as the Menghua Railway, which is the longest-coal transporting train in the world.

The 1,141-mile railway moves 200million tons of coal each year as fossil fuel use - and traditional greenhouse gas emissions - continue to skyrocket in the communist nation.

While China continues to see its demand for coal g leaders in countries such as the US and UK continue to impose restrictions on its citizens and push going green to reach 'net zero' emissions across the globe.

The Menghua Railway was built as part of China's 12th five-year plan (a series of social and economic development initiatives issued by the county's communist government to take place over a period of five years)

But you should still swop your boiler for a heat pump to save the planet. https://t.co/j0rHgybvEB  Andrew Neil (@afneil) October 5, 2023

The Menghua Railway was built as part of China's 12th five-year plan (a series of social and economic development initiatives issued by the county's communist government to take place over a period of five years). It went into operation in late 2019.

The erection of the railway shattered several world records and has helped facilitate the transport of coal from Inner Mongolia to China's southern provinces.

The railway is the country's longest coal transporting line, and joins a large handful of Chinese coal train lines that move the fossil fuel across the country.

China burns more coal every year than the rest of the world combined, and coal accounts for more than half of the total train cargo shipped across the country annually.

While America and Europe back away from coal, China's usage has only gone up. The country has more than 1,000 coal plants despite a vow from Chinese President Xi Jinping that his country will reach net-zero emissions by 2060.

China emits somewhere around 27 percent of the world's carbon dioxide, and a third of the globe's total greenhouse gases. As Western nations struggle to implement green initiatives that may or may not impact the environment in a significant way, China has made no such effort to curb its emissions.

The Menghua Railway is just one example of a way in which China continues to use fossil fuels to power its country. Any such railroad in Europe or the US would surely attract significant backlash from activists and some politicians.

China burns more coal every year than the rest of the world combined, and coal accounts for more than half of the total train cargo shipped across the country annually

President Joe Biden speaks with world leaders before a G7 panel on 'Investing in a better future: Climate, Energy, Health'

US President Joe Biden walks out to speak at the Action on Forests and Land Use session, during the COP26 UN Climate Change Conference in the Scottish city of Glasgow on November 2, 2021

This week, Neil responded to a video from the Chinese newspaper People's Daily promoting the 1,141-mile railway that was built to transport hundreds of millions of tons of coal from north to south China each year.

He wrote to his 1.2million Twitter followers: 'But you should still swap your boiler for a heat pump to save the planet.' A facetious reference to the UK government's bans on gas boilers.

Neil's comments are a reflection of a widening brand of frustration that Westerners, whose governments are moving to impose lifestyle restrictions in the name of climate change, share.

China is in a strong global position and its power is only on the rise, while its alliances and intentions are uniformly concerning for America and Europe.

Some fear that imposing green initiatives will handicap the ability of Europe and America's citizenry and governments to produce goods, while China is rolling on full-steam ahead with production powered by fossil fuels.

Furthermore, green initiatives generally come with steep price tags, an example of which is the Biden Administration's concentration on Electric Vehicles, which most Americans cannot afford.

The European Climate Law sets a legally binding target of producing net zero greenhouse gas emissions by the year 2050. With that in mind, European countries have begun imposing policy changes on their people that impact some aspects of day-to-day life.

Though UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak recently announced a delay in the implementation of some bans on gas-powered goals, which may signal a policy reversal for some of the country's green initiatives.

(L to R) Zimbabwe's President Emmerson Mnangagwa, UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed al-Nahyan, Israel's President Isaac Herzog, and Austrian President Alexander Van der Bellen stand alongside world leaders gather for a group picture ahead of their summit at the COP27 climate conference

U.S. President Joe Biden speaks at the UNFCCC COP27 climate conference on November 11, 2022 in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt. The conference is bringing together political leaders and representatives from 190 countries to discuss climate change

Some political factions across Western nations push for expensive and inconvenient climate policy, despite the Chinese threat

On his first day in the Oval Office, President Joe Biden canceled the construction of the Keystone XL Pipeline, costing Americans tens of thousands of jobs and what would have been a positive economic impact, according to the Department of Energy.

In Biden's 2024 budget proposal, he allocates $24billion to conservation, cutting pollution, and advancing clean energy innovation across the US. Biden has personally promised to cut US carbon emissions in half by 2030, and like Europe, become net-zero by 2050.

In total, the president's budget invests $52.2billion in discretionary budget authority to fight climate change - a 26 percent increase over Fiscal Year 2023.

Biden's claim about his ambitious green energy plan claims it will create jobs, cut energy and water bills for American families, and build out a more reliable US infrastructure. Those claims have yet to be borne out as the US economy continues to flail and Americans struggle to pay their bills.

The Democratic president is far from the only prominent American aggressively pushing a climate-driven agenda.

Jane Fonda recently suggested that white men be jailed for driving the climate crisis.

She then added there 'would be no climate crisis if there was no racism.'

'This is serious. We've got about seven, eight years to cut ourselves in half of what we use of fossil fuels, and unfortunately, the people that have the least responsibility for it are hit the hardest,' she said, referring to developing countries.

'It is a tragedy that we have to absolutely stop. We have to arrest and jail those men  they're all men [behind this],' Fonda said of the climate crisis. Pictured: Fonda getting arrested at a climate protest in 2019

One recent Oxford study claims that the celebrity solution to climate change - offsetting their significant carbon emissions - may actually be harming the environment

One recent Oxford study claims that the celebrity solution to climate change may actually be harming the environment.

Celebrities and tycoons including Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, Elton John, Emma Watson and Amazon founder Jeff Bezos have all said they have used offsetting to cancel out the greenhouse gases emitted by activities such as flying in private jets.

But when offsetting involves planting large numbers of a single types of tree, it can actually degrade the environment, the authors argued.

Single species plantations are harmful to biodiversity and put forests more at risk of fire, it is argued, while they do little to suck up greenhouse gases.

Instead, the authors said we should prioritize conserving and restoring intact ecosystems.
Fox, who was released on bail, has today fumed at police for taking sons' devices

Laurence Fox today fumed at police for seizing his two sons' iPads when they arrested him on suspicion of conspiring to damage Ulez cameras a day after he threatened to tear them down with an angle-grinder.

The 45-year-old, who has two sons called Winston and Eugene with his ex-wife and actress Billie Piper - accused the police of being 'malicious' and 'beyond contemptible' for confiscating the devices.

Fox, who has now been sacked by GB News for his on-air rant about a female journalist, claimed Britain is facing a 'pure cold tyranny' as he fumed at cops for taking the 'property of innocent children to antagonise their father'.

It comes after Fox posted a video online of him sat in his living room as police officers searched his home in South London yesterday.

Last night, he was pictured leaving Croydon police station on bail clasping a book about Soviet forced labour camps. He also claimed that he learned he had been sacked by GB News by officers while in custody.

Laurence Fox today fumed at police for seizing his two sons' iPads when they arrested him on suspicion of conspiring to damage Ulez cameras. Pictured: Fox leaving Croydon police station

Laurence Fox shared photo of his house being searched by police yesterday during his arrest

The under-fire broadcaster sacked Fox after he sparked a backlash with his on-air comments about journalist Ava Evans. It also sacked another host, Reverend Calvin Robinson, for backing the 45-year-old political activist.

The outspoken actor turned political activist tweeted tonight: 'Hello. I'm back. Had to get a new phone as the 6 police who were sent barreling into my house yesterday have taken every electronic device, including my boys iPads. Which is just plain malicious.'

He added in another tweet: 'I have just finished recording my thoughts on the last few days. I will put it them out later. I am so upset about my kids phones and iPads being confiscated by the stasi. (even though a screen break is no bad thing!)

'To take away the property of innocent children to antagonise their father, seems to me beyond malicious and beyond contemptible. We are facing a pure cold tyranny, which is getting hotter by the day.

'Schemes designed to immiserate the poorest and most vulnerable in society, whilst the rich can offset the entire price of an electric wonder wagon against their corporation tax are grossly unfair.

'The Britain I remembered lionised Robin Hood. Now we celebrate those who steal from the poor to give to the rich. I will never stop fighting. And I'm not scared of your jail cells. As long as I have a good book.'

In a video message, he added that taking his sons' phones was 'a malevolence restricted solely to political intimidation of somebody who stands against them'.

He added: 'What have my kids got to do with any of this other than to intimidate me and to upset them. I think thats malevolent beyond words.' Fox said he was thankful that his children were not home but he could not contact them when he was released due to having no phone.

It comes after Fox shared a bizarre post comparing himself to Les Miserables hero Jean Valjean, claiming that 'wrong speak' is a crime and appearing to brush off his on-air rant that got him sacked.

In an Instagram post hours before his arrest yesterday, Fox posed for a photo with a shaved head and a trimmed beard. He compared himself to fictional protagonist Valjean - who served 19 years locked up as prisoner 24601 for stealing a loaf of bread - and claimed he was going to be 'carted off to the cancellation camp'.

In a bizarre Instagram post before his arrest, Laurence Fox shared this picture of himself. In the caption, he compared himself to Les Miserables hero Jean Valjean, said he was being 'carted off' for 'wrong speak' and appeared to brush off his Ava Evans rant as a 'joke'

In a video shared on X yesterday, Fox sits on a sofa in his living room in a grey suit and smoking a cigar at home as 'five police officers storm the building'. He was later arrested by police

Fox wrote: 'Bit of final preparation before being carted off to the cancellation camp. Prisoner Number - #24601 - Sentence - Life without parole. Crime - Wrong speak. Specifically. Being rude, whilst trying to make a joke - 25 years. Expressing concern for male suicide rates and men's mental health.- 25 years - Being a Heterosexual male - Life without parole.'

Who are the ULEZ 'Blade Runners'? In recent months the 'Blade Runners' have brought misery to Sadiq Khan's ULEZ expansion. By targeting ULEZ cameras in parts of London where the 12.50-a-day charge has been introduced, the vigilantes have tried their best to disrupt the scheme. Cameras have been covered with sticky spray, vandalised and even cut down the poles they are attached to. The secretive group has vowed to get rid of all Automatic Number Plate Recognition cameras and has taken credit for hundreds of them being damaged. Taking their name from the dystopian 1982 science fiction film in which the eponymous Blade Runners hunt down bio-engineered humanoids, members insist the cameras are a form of control over ordinary people. One Blade Runner told MailOnline earlier this year the ULEZ was a 'way to try to... restrict our movements'. They said: 'Everything we are doing is for our own freedoms. 'It's the tip of the iceberg. We do not live in a democracy. 'We will fight with everything we have for our freedoms.' Advertisement

Scotland Yard confirmed a 45-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of conspiring to commit criminal damage to ULEZ cameras and encouraging or assisting offences to be committed.

Yesterday the 45-year-old political activist also shared a video on X showing five police officers 'storming his home' as he was arrested on suspicion of conspiring to damage ULEZ cameras a day after he threatened to tear them down with an angle-grinder.

Footage posted to social media showed the actor smoking a cigar in his living room as police officers appeared to search his home in south London before telling the camera: 'That, ladies and gentlemen, is the country that we live in'.

Last night, Fox posed for the cameras outside Croydon's custody suite after he was released.

He was spotted scrunching a Tesco bag while also holding onto a copy of The Gulag Archipelago by Russian writer Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn.

Fox stands on the pavement holding up two fingers in a peace sign and then gets into a blue vehicle with a cigar dangling from his mouth.

He then leans out of the passenger window showing off the front cover of the book.

Talking to Sky News, he took the opportunity to hit out at his former employer GB News once again calling them 'GB joke' and said he found out about his sacking when police officers told him in custody.

'They [police officers] went; 'By the way, you've been sacked and there's loads of paparazzi out there'. And I was like 'phew',' he said.

Asked about his arrest, Fox said: 'They've let me go. It's Sadiq Khan's 'make a big thing out of Loz'.

'If Sadiq Khan thinks he can scare me, I've been intimidated by his coppers before.'

A spokesperson for the Met Police said: 'On Wednesday, 4 October, officers arrested a 45-year-old man on suspicion of conspiring to commit criminal damage to ULEZ cameras and encouraging or assisting offences to be committed.

'He was arrested in Stockwell and taken to a south London police station. He has since been bailed to return on a date in mid-December pending further enquiries.'

The Reclaim Party posted a message on X, formerly known as Twitter, saying Fox would 'be in touch tomorrow'. It read: 'Laurence has been released from custody and wants family and friends to know he is safe and well and on the way home.'

The actor appeared on Maajid Nawaz's Warrior Creed podcast on Tuesday - on the Rumble platform - to 'encourage mass removal of the surveillance state'

The former actor smokes a cigar as he released on bail after being quizzed by police officers

Fox had made comments on Maajid Nawaz's Warrior Creed podcast a day earlier where he said he would encourage a group of anti-ULEZ activists who call themselves 'Blade Runners' to tear down 'every single camera' in a bid to 'encourage mass removal of the surveillance state'

He added he was 'pretty close with several' Blade Runners - a secretive group behind acts of Ulez camera vandalism - and that he would be 'out there with my angle grinder'.

On Wednesday, a video posted on X, formerly known as Twitter, showed Fox sitting in his living room smoking a cigar while police appeared to search his home.

In the footage, he says: 'Look how many coppers there are in my house...Coming to take everything out of my house. That ladies and gentlemen, is the country that we live in.'

Later the same day, GB News said it had 'ended its employment relationship' with Laurence Fox following comments he made on the channel about Ava Evans.

It comes after GB News chiefs held emergency talks at the weekend as the channel fights for its future following a series of scandals and record viewer complaints.

Regulator Ofcom has opened 12 investigations into the broadcaster, including one examining the sexist on-air comments made last week by actor Laurence Fox.

The remarks about Ms Evans led to the suspension of Fox and presenter Dan Wootton. More than 7,300 viewers complained.

It is understood that investors and managers from GB News were in contact this weekend to discuss how to move on amid the bad publicity.

'It is crunch time for GB News,' a former employee told The Observer. 'They cannot just bask in notoriety forever because they do need to make some money and they need to keep the right to call themselves a channel for news programmes.'

Last week the channel apologised after Fox attacked Ms Evans, a correspondent for the news website JOE, in an on-air rant on Tuesday evening. Fox said 'Who would want to sh*g that?' and described her as a 'little woman'.

He claimed his remarks were in response to comments made by Ms Evans on BBC's Politics Live, when she was accused of being dismissive about men's mental health issues.

Ms Evans said Fox's comments were 'unforgivable' and that a responsible broadcaster should never have allowed the rant to go as far as it did.

Speaking on the Triggernometry podcast with comedians Francis Foster and Konstantin Kisin, actor-turned-political activist Fox said he had become 'emotional' as he felt Ms Evans had made light of male mental health struggles.

He admitted the remarks were 'crass' but said he didn't feel they 'merited the wall-to-wall' media coverage they have received in recent days and the chaos it has brought the news channel.

Speaking on Friday after his suspension, Fox told the Triggernometry podcast that he regretted the tone of his remarks on Dan Wootton's show the Tuesday before.

Laurence Fox pictured on the Triggernometry podcast on Friday

Fox was suspended for his on-air rant about Ms Evans after her previous comments about male suicide. Pictured: Ms Evans appearing on the Politics JOE podcast

When the hosts remarked to Fox that 'in the cold light of day, it [the clip] doesn't look good does it?', he responded by admitting: 'No.'

He said that he had 'strong feelings' on the show after being riled by comments Ms Evans had previously made when she was appearing on the BBC speaking about the topic of male suicide, in which she called for a minister of mental health for everyone in government, dismissing the suggestion of just a men's mental health minister.

He told the podcast: 'When I listen back to it now, it's just kind of crass. It's the kind of thing you'd say in the pub.

'I think I made the point which was the point I wanted to make, which is when you've got a misandrist fourth wave feminist who wants men to be terrified and scared of women, who tweets pictures of herself saying 'I'm socially distancing from men', I'm just like 'stop'.

'Instead of dismantling her ideas I just said 'I can't think of a single man who'd want to s*** you, I mean which self-respecting man would want to s*** you?' which was also trying to be funny. Big mistake.'

The father-of-two said had 'demeaned' Ms Evans and apologised, but said: 'I don't think it's misogyny or anything like that. I think it's disrespectful.'
Former President Donald Trump fears being poisoned so much that he prefers individual Heinz ketchup bottles to be served alongside his meals, ex-aide Cassidy Hutchinson revealed.

Hutchinson appeared Wednesday on Jimmy Kimmel Live and was asked by the comedian how often Trump threw ketchup at the wall.

The former aide to Chief of Staff Mark Meadows had divulged in her testimony to the January 6 House select committee last year that the president had thrown his lunch at the wall after then Attorney General Bill Barr told the Associated Press there was no evidence of widespread voter fraud in the 2020 election, like Trump had claimed.

Hutchinson, who's out with the memoir, Enough, volunteered to Kimmel before answering his question that Trump has a 'very potent fear of being poisoned.'

'He uses and prefers the small Heinz glass ketchup bottles because he likes to hear his valet, or whoever's serving him his meal, he likes to hear the "pop,"' she said.

Cassidy Hutchinson (left), a former aide to White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, described to Jimmy Kimmel Wednesday why former President Donald Trump (right) insisted on small Heinz glass ketchup bottles

Kimmel joked that he thought Trump preferred the tiny bottles 'because his hands were so little' and wondered if the ex-president's fear of being poisoned came from 'all the ex wives.'

'He uses and prefers the small Heinz glass ketchup bottles because he likes to hear his valet, or whoever's serving him his meal, he likes to hear the "pop,"' ex-aide Cassidy Hutchinson revealed to Jimmy Kimmel

'Or was it Russia? I don't know,' Hutchinson joked back.

Hutchinson then disclosed that Trump would toss his food fairly frequently.

'Sometimes it would happen once or twice a week, sometimes more, there would be a week or so lull, but then there would be a bad news story. But it wasn't just launching the food and the plates and the porcelain at the wall it was also sometimes just flipping the table,' Hutchinson said.

Hutchinson was one of the star witnesses during last year's January 6 House select committee hearings, testifying before the panel in June.

She told lawmakers she remembered 'hearing noise' shortly after Barr's interview with the AP came out and recalled her boss, Meadows, being summoned to Trump's office.

When Meadows returned, she walked toward the White House dining room.

'And I noticed that the door was propped open and the valet was inside the dining room changing the tablecloth off of the dining room table,' she said. 'He motioned for me to come in and then pointed toward the front of the room near the fireplace mantel and the TV.'

'Where I first noticed there was ketchup dripping down the wall,' she continued. 'And there's a shattered porcelain plate on the floor.'

'The valet had articulated that the president was extremely angry at the attorney general's AP interview and had thrown his lunch against the wall,' she said, explaining that she then helped with the clean-up.

During her sit-down with Kimmel she confirmed that Trump would sometimes get several lunches 'because some of them ended up on the wall.'

'But he also doesn't like to eat in front of other people, I don't know why,' she told the late night host.

'He sounds great,' Kimmel responded sarcastically.
Mexican drug lords are recruiting US teens to traffic people and narcotics across the border using TikTok - in return for exorbitant cash rewards.

In just over a year, more than a hundred minors - some as young as 12 and 13-years-old have been taken into custody - many who've been lured into illegal smuggling through social media posts promising a substantial financial reward.

'We have over a hundred juveniles in the last 18 months that we've apprehended in this county smuggling ... driving grandma's car, a friend's car, or mom and dad's car down here, and it's social media,' County Sheriff Mark Dannels told CBS News.

Human smugglers are advertising their illegal border crossing services into the US in exchange for cash on TikTok, a USA Today report revealed in June.

'It is 100% Uber for the cartels," deputy Chris Oletsky, a 20-year Marine veteran who joined the local sheriff's department three years ago, told CBS.

Mexican drug lords are recruiting US teens to traffic people and narcotics across the border using TikTok - in return for exorbitant cash rewards

Human smugglers are advertising their illegal border crossing services into the US in exchange for cash on TikTok and boasting how easy it is to do

Cartels targeting teenagers with ads on social media

Last month, migrant smugglers were also seen boasting how easy it is to illegally cross the border into America in a confronting clip showing a long line of men entering the US smiling and waving at the camera.

The alarming footage, filmed near Lukeville, Arizona, reveals a long line of migrant men casually climbing through a gap in the US-Mexico border wall and meeting no resistance or questioning.

In response to the rising issue, Arizona initiated stringent felony human smuggling legislation last year.

The majority of teens arrested since are American citizens who came from outside the county, Dannels said to CBS.

The extensive USA Today report detailed the ways in which both migrants and human smugglers are harnessing the power of social media to advise others making the journey and promote their services.

Migrants wait to be processed by U.S. Border Patrol officers after crossing from Mexico to the United States, in Yuma, Arizona last month

A video of migrant smugglers boasting of how easy it is to cross the US Mexico border has garnered attention on social media

Cartels using TikTok to target teenagers with ads on social media

Vergel has gained upwards of 10,000 followers eager to consume his border-crossing content

US agencies have repeatedly warned that TikTok is 'creating an environment ripe for the manipulation of information regarding migration policies at the border'

TikTok has become a place where migrants looking for information about how to make the journey, and smugglers advertising their services, can go to search for tips and promote their product

A caption in Spanish accompanying the video reads: 'Achieving their goals, the gents' followed by two prayer emojis. Text overlaid on the video also describes the crossing as a 'desert adventure.'

The remote outpost where the video was taken is around two and a half hours from Tucson, which has become the busiest point of illegal entry into the country, with 1,300 people a day crossing into the US in this area, according to federal statistics.

Border Patrol agents told the New York Post they believe smugglers make these videos to promote the crossings to others.

It is 'free information for everybody,' an unnamed agent told the Post.

Migrants walk across the Darien Gap from Colombia to Panama in hopes of reaching the U.S. Hundreds of thousands of migrants have risked the dangerous trek through the jungle in recent years and the flow this year is on a record pace

A second group of migrants was bused from Texas to Los Angeles on Saturday and dropped off at downtown's Union Station

Migrants reportedly pay smugglers anywhere between $200 and $10,000 per person for assistance crossing the border.

The issue of illegal migration at the border has become a hot political issue in recent months.

The United Nations International Organization for Migration has also warned against the trend of smugglers and migrants posting about their illegal activities on social media, and specifically on TikTok.

'The TikTok platform is used to promote the 'services' offered by human traffickers through short videos. These videos showcase successful cases of irregular border crossings and captivating images aimed at capturing the attention of individuals seeking to migrate irregularly with the assistance of a third party,' read an IOM report that examined the use of social media platforms on US human trafficking.

An estimated 2million people attempt to cross the southern border into the US every year. Many, many thousands of those people are abused and extorted by drug cartels controlling the smuggling routes in Mexico.

Others don't survive the arduous journey through rivers with strong currents, jungles, and stretches of hot and dry terrain.

Last year, some 853 migrants died attempting to illegally cross into the US - the highest number on record - according to data from CBP.
President Joe Biden said border walls don't work and he's being forced to resume building on Donald Trump's signature initiative.

Biden said Congress had appropriated the money to build the wall on the country's Southern border so he had to use the funds that way.

'The money was appropriated for the border wall. I tried to get them to reappropriate, to redirect that money. They didn't. They wouldn't.In the meantime, there's nothing under the law other than they have to use the money for what it was appropriated for. I can't stop that,' he said.

Asked whether he thought the border wall was effective, he replied: 'no.'

But his comments don't match those of his Homeland security secretary who said there was an 'immediate need' to build the wall.

'The money was appropriated for the border wall. I tried to get them to reappropriate, to redirect that money. They didn't. They wouldn't,' President Joe Biden said of Congress

On Wednesday, Biden administration has made a stunning reversal in migration policy by revealing it will build 20 miles of border wall to try and combat the latest surge in migrant crossings. The DHS decision contrasts with the Biden administration's posturing that a wall is not necessary.

Deputy White House press secretary Andrew Bates, however, argued the administration was being 'forced' to build it.

'Congress is forcing us to do this under a 2019 law,' Bates wrote on X. 'We called on Congress to cancel these funds. They didn't. We follow the rule of law.'

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre made the same argument.

'These funds were appropriated in fiscal year 2019 under Republican leadership, and DHS is required by law to use the funds for appropriate appropriated purpose. That's what we're seeing. This was announced back in June by of DHS. And so look, we we believe that there are better effective ways of moving forward to secure our border,' she said at her daily press briefing.

'We asked Congress to reappropriate the funds,' she added. 'That's what we would prefer to see - not waste the funding in the way that they're doing it right now that we are required to do, but they refused. And so now we're moving forward.'

In a shock announcement on Wednesday night, the Department of Homeland Security said it's waiving 26 federal laws to start constructing a new 'physical barrier' that was started under Donald Trump.

The Biden White House has consistently slammed Trump's tough migration policy and even cancelled the wall construction when Biden took office.

On his first day in office, Biden even declared that building a wall wasn't 'a serious policy solution.'

But the recent acceleration in migrant crossings and pressure to deal with the crisis has now forced the federal government to change direction.

The U-turn comes as Democrat-run cities such as New York and Chicago demand Biden do more to stop border crossers ending up in their communities and straining resources.

U.S. President Joe Biden speaks with border patrol officers as he walks along the border fence during his visit to the U.S.-Mexico border to assess border enforcement operations, in El Paso, Texas, U.S., January 8, 2023

US President Donald Trump speaks with US Border Patrol Chief Rodney Scott (R) as they participates in a ceremony commemorating the 200th mile of border wall at the international border with Mexico in San Luis, Arizona, June 23, 2020

Migrants cross the Rio Grande river from Piedras Negras, Mexico into Eagle Pass, Texas

A U.S. Border Patrol agent supervises as immigrants walk into the United States after crossing the Rio Grande from Mexico on September 30, 2023 in Eagle Pass, Texas. The agent had cut coils of razor wire to let them pass through for processing

'There is presently an acute and immediate need to construct physical barriers and roads in the vicinity of the border of the United States in order to prevent unlawful entries into the United States in the project areas,' DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas stated in the notice.

But Mayorkas later said that statement was 'taken out of context and it does not signify any change in policy whatsoever.'

He echoed the White House explanation that they were legally required to spend the money the way that Congress allocated.

Trump, whose Republican administration created about 450 new miles of border barriers, responded to the announcement by telling Fox News Digital that the Biden administration needs to 'go back to Trump policies.'

He also wrote on Truth Social on Thursday morning: 'Will Joe Biden apologize to me and America for taking so long to get moving, and allowing our country to be flooded with 15 million illegals immigrants, from places unknown.'

'I will await his apology.'

'So interesting to watch Crooked Joe Biden break every environmental law in the book to prove that I was right when I built 560 miles (they incorrectly state 450 in story!) of brand new, beautiful border wall,' Trump added.

'As I have stated often, over thousands of years, there are only two things that have consistently worked, wheels, and walls!

'Biden sees our country is being invaded,' Trump told the outlet in an interview. 'What is he going to do about the 15 million people from prisons, from mental institutions, insane asylums, and terrorists that have already come into our country?'

A Trump campaign spokesperson said the DHS decision shows that 'President Trump is always right.'

According to government data, about 245,000 illegal entries have been recorded in Rio Grande Valley Sector, which includes Starr County, during the 2023 fiscal year through early August.

DHS will waive statutes including the Clean Air Act, Safe Drinking Water Act and Endangered Species Act to make way for construction, which will use funds from a congressional appropriation in 2019 for border wall construction.

The waivers avoid time-consuming reviews and lawsuits challenging violation of environmental laws.

Starr County's hilly ranchlands, sitting between Zapata and McAllen, Texas, is home to about 65,000 residents sparsely populating about 1,200 square miles that form part of the Lower Rio Grande Valley National Wildlife Refuge.

DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas waived 26 federal laws to allow several miles of border wall construction in South Texas

Asylum seekers cross the Rio Grande from Mexico into the United States on September 30, 2023 in Eagle Pass, Texas

Although no maps were provided in the announcement, a previous map shared during the gathering of public comments shows the piecemeal construction will add up to an additional 20 miles to the existing border barrier system in the area.

Starr County Judge Eloy Vera said it will start south of the Falcon Dam and go past Salineno, Texas.

'The other concern that we have is that area is highly erosive. Theres a lot of arroyos,' Eloy Vera, the county judge said, pointing out the creeks cutting through the ranchland and leading into the river.

Concern is shared with environmental advocates who say structures will run through public lands, habitats of endangered plants and species like the Ocelot, a spotted wild cat.

'A plan to build a wall through will bulldoze an impermeable barrier straight through the heart of that habitat. It will stop wildlife migrations dead in their tracks. It will destroy a huge amount of wildlife refuge land. And it's a horrific step backwards for the borderlands,' Laiken Jordahl, a southwest conservation advocate for the Center for Biological Diversity, said Wednesday afternoon.

During the Trump administration, about 450 miles of barriers were built along the southwest border between 2017 and January 2021.

Texas Governor Greg Abbott renewed those efforts after the Biden administration halted them at the start of his presidency.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection had no immediate comment.

The announcement prompted political debate by the Democratic administration facing an increase of migrants entering through the southern border in recent months, including thousands who entered the U.S. through Eagle Pass at the end of September.

'A border wall is a 14th century solution to a 21st century problem. It will not bolster border security in Starr County,' U.S. Representative Henry Cuellar said in a statement. 'I continue to stand against the wasteful spending of taxpayer dollars on an ineffective border wall.'

Political proponents of the border wall said the waivers should be used as a launching pad for a shift in policy.

'After years of denying that a border wall and other physical barriers are effective, the DHS announcement represents a sea change in the administration's thinking: A secure wall is an effective tool for maintaining control of our borders,' Dan Stein, president of the Federation for American Immigration Reform, said in a statement.

'Having made that concession, the administration needs to immediately begin construction of wall across the border to prevent the illegal traffic from simply moving to other areas of the border.'
Radical plans to recruit thousands of foreign doctors are being drawn up by ministers in a bid to break NHS strikes.

Health Secretary Steve Barclay has ordered officials to investigate the potential for hiring huge numbers of temporary doctors in the coming months to limit the damage caused by walkouts.

Mr Barclay is planning to ask the General Medical Council to fast-track the process for registering doctors to work in the UK, with the aim that they could begin work early in the new year.

He has dubbed the plan the 'Ronald Reagan project', in reference to the former US President's controversial 1981 decision to hire thousands of air traffic controllers to end a debilitating strike.

A Whitehall source said: 'Reagan brought in thousands of air traffic controllers to end the strike and it worked. Of course, Reagan also sacked the strikers  no-one is talking about doing that  but Steve is attracted to the idea of looking to see if foreign doctors could help limit the impact of the strike.

Radical plans to recruit thousands of foreign doctors are being drawn up by ministers in a bid to break NHS strikes. Striking members of the BMA and UNIT trade unions are pictured marching around Royal London Hospital on Wednesday

Health Secretary Steve Barclay has ordered officials to investigate the potential for hiring huge numbers of temporary doctors in the coming months to limit the damage caused by walkouts. Mr Barclay is pictured arriving to the Conservative Party Conference in Manchester on Wednesday

'There are two ways they could help. Firstly, they could improve levels of cover on strike days and provide a better service to patients. We are now regularly reduced to Christmas Day cover, which does not even include vital services like chemotherapy  that is just unacceptable.

'Secondly, they could limit the ability of striking doctors to make up lost earnings through overtime. At the moment we have a crazy situation where some doctors are making more money on strike because of the very generous overtime payments they can receive.

'Obviously it would be expensive to hire large numbers of foreign doctors, but the strikes are also expensive and they are letting down patients.'

Mr Barclay is understood to be drawing up a formal proposal, but it would have to be signed off by both Rishi Sunak and Chancellor Jeremy Hunt. Most of the doctors are expected to come from India.

The move reflects mounting concern at the impact of the long-running strikes by junior doctors and consultants.

It is likely to enrage the British Medical Association, which is demanding 'pay restoration' of 35 per cent for junior doctors.

Mr Barclay is understood to be drawing up a formal proposal, but it would have to be signed off by both Rishi Sunak and Chancellor Jeremy Hunt. Most of the doctors are expected to come from India. BMA members are pictured picketing outside University College Hospital in London on Monday

BMA chairman Philip Banfield (pictured in January) warned this week that doctors were prepared to continue their industrial action up to the General Election 'and beyond'

Nurses settled for a five per cent pay rise this year. Most doctors have been handed a pay rise of at least six per cent, with junior doctors getting an average of around 8.8 per cent. But despite this, the BMA has warned it is ready to carry on striking for months.

BMA chairman Philip Banfield warned this week that doctors were prepared to continue their industrial action up to the General Election 'and beyond'.

Ministers believe the strike is 'politically motivated' and that the BMA leadership is not interested in a resolution with the current government.

Noting that the BMA had timed its latest strike to coincide with the Conservative Party conference, Rishi Sunak this week said the dispute was 'all about politics, not patients'.

The Prime Minister described doctors' pay demands as 'massive and unaffordable'.

Mr Barclay has privately warned the PM that his pledge to cut NHS waiting lists will be broken unless the strike is ended or mitigated.

Health officials insist they are making progress on cutting the longest waits, but concede that the total waiting list is likely to rise from its record level of 7.6million.

Ministers have ruled out a fresh pay offer to doctors because of concerns about cost and fears that it would trigger higher demands from other public sector workers. Doctors and medical staff from the British Medical Association are pictured protesting outside the Mancheser Library during the Conservative Party annual conference on Tuesday

One insider said: 'We are making progress on the plan to cut the longest waits, but in the end it is not going to be possible to cut the overall total if the doctors keep going on strike.'

Ministers have ruled out a fresh pay offer to doctors because of concerns about cost and fears that it would trigger higher demands from other public sector workers.

Mr Barclay has signalled he is willing to meet the BMA to discuss 'non-pay' issues, such as workload.

But ministers are pessimistic about the prospect of a breakthrough, not least because the BMA gave the government no credit for meeting its demand for a massive pensions tax break earlier this year.
Two men have been charged with the murder of an unborn baby after its heavily pregnant mother was struck by stray gunfire as she rode past them on a Massachusetts bus.

The woman, who remains critically ill in hospital, was hit when a gunfight erupted outside a busy market in the center of Holyoke just before 12.40pm on Wednesday.

A bullet flew through the Pioneer Valley Transit Authority bus on the 100 block of Sargeant Street hitting the woman who was eight months pregnant and killing her child.

Local men Johnluis Sanchez, 30, and Alejandro C Ramos Jr, 22, have been charged with murder after emergency surgery failed to save the baby.

Ramos was arraigned at Holyoke District Court on Thursday while Sanchez remains under guard in hospital after being struck during the gunfight.

Johnluis Sanchez, 30, under guard in his hospital bed before being charged with murder

Alejandro C Ramos Jr, 22, was nursing an injured hand as he appeared in court today

The Almonte Market 2 where at least one of the gunmen sought shelter as the chaos unfolded

But investigators are still looking for a third man who is thought to have fled the scene.

'Holyoke for decades has dealt with its share of tragedies, but an innocent bystander like that with a baby, it's really got under my skin,' Holyoke Mayor Joshua Garcia told a press conference on Thursday.

'Pray for the family and support them any which way you can.'

Sanchez was free on $10,000 bail after pleading not guilty just two weeks earlier on charges of heroin trafficking and illegal possession of a stolen KelTec .380 pistol.

Police had also seized ammunition clips and $3,000 in cash from him.

The clear-up continued on Thursday with one car owner taping over two bullet holes that had been left in his Toyota.

Jose Almonte, manager of the Almonte Market 2, told WPRI that the chaos unfolded directly outside his store after a man who had bought juice in the store was jumped by two other men when he stepped outside.

'They went for him, and gunfire started,' he added.

He said he had handed security footage over to police which showed 'three young people' fighting, and one pulling out a gun, before shoppers leaped for cover as at least 12 shots were fired.

He saw one man dragged into the store after being shot in the leg, another run off after being shot in the hand, and a third flee on an electric bike with a handgun.

'That's life, that's the neighborhood,' he added.

Hampden District Attorney Anthony Gulluni said he believed all those involved had been identified.

Ramos has been charged with murder, and other charges are expected to follow, according to officials

The clear-up continued on Thursday after the chaos that brought terror to the busy shopping district at lunchtime on Wednesday

'Three male suspects were involved in an altercation, during which a shooting occurred,' he wrote on Facebook.

'It is believed one of the rounds from that altercation struck a public transportation bus and an uninvolved female occupant, who was seated in the bus.

'This victim, who was pregnant, was transported to a nearby hospital in critical condition. The infant, who was delivered, and needed life-saving medical services, tragically passed away.

'The two remaining suspects, one remains hospitalized and will be arraigned when his condition permits, the other is being actively sought by law enforcement.'

The clear-up continued on Thursday with one car owner taping over two bullet holes that had been left in his Toyota.

The Holyoke Police Department said they received multiple 911 calls when the shooting broke out near the intersection of Sargeant and Maple streets.

Massachusetts State Police spokesman Dave Procopio said the shooting 'is believed to have stemmed from an altercation among several people.'

'There is not believed to be any ongoing threat to the public,' said Procopio.

The investigation is ongoing and is being conducted by members of the State Police Detective Unit for Hampden County and Holyoke Police Detectives under the direction of the Hampden County District Attorney's Office.

Holyoke, a city with a population of nearly 38,000, is about 90 miles west of Boston.

Known as 'The Paper City,' Holyoke at one time produced about four-fifths of the writing paper in the US. It is also home to the International Volleyball Hall of Fame.

Wednesday's shooting came just hours after Holyoke police held a press conference to highlight the alarming number of shootings in the city.

The department in March installed ShotSpotter, an acoustic detection grid that can report the sound of gunshots, in strategic locations around the town.

Police said in the past six months, the system has detected 113 incidents involving gunfire, 72 of which happened near a playground and 27 near a school.

Many of those ShotSpotter activations were not reported by 911 callers, police said.
The gunman who sprayed a New York City subway car with 32 bullets during rush hour last year, wounding 10 people and sparking a citywide manhunt, has been served with 10 life sentences in prison.

Frank James, 64, was handed the colossal sentence in a Brooklyn court for committing one of the most violent attacks ever seen on the Big Apple's transit system.

Bronx-born James, who was apprehended in Manhattan's East Village neighborhood 30 hours after the April 12 attack, pleaded guilty to 11 counts including committing a terrorist attack or other violence against a mass transport vehicle.

Although miraculously no-one died, prosecutors pushed for the heavy sentence James received on Thursday on the basis that he spent years carefully planning the attack to 'inflict maximum damage'.

Before the shooting, he also posted dozens of videos online under the moniker 'Prophet of Doom,' ranting about race, violence, his struggles with mental illness and a host of unnamed forces he claimed were out to get him.

Frank James, 64, was sentenced in a Brooklyn court for committing one of the most violent attacks ever seen on the Big Apple's transit system

James ignited several smoke bombs and unleashed a barrage of bullets from a 9 mm handgun at panicked riders in the crowded train car

Ten people ranging in age from 16 to 60 were shot, and another 13 injured in the attack

Disguised as a construction worker, James opened fire during the morning rush hour as the Manhattan-bound N train headed to an underground station in Brooklyn's Sunset Park neighborhood.

He ignited several smoke bombs and unleashed a barrage of bullets from a 9 mm handgun at panicked riders in the crowded train car.

Ten people ranging in age from 16 to 60 were shot, and another 13 were injured, according to police.

A stock image of a .38 caliber handgun, the type used in the shooting that was found in a backpack along with a key to the U-Haul James had rented

As emergency responders tended to the victims, James calmly strolled out of the subway station and vanished.

Authorities combed the city in a desperate search for him in the hours that followed.

They identified James as a suspect relatively quickly, using a key to a rented moving van left behind on the bloodied subway car.

He was eventually arrested in Manhattan's East Village after calling a police tip line to turn himself in.

At some point after the shooting, James had purchased a burner phone which he used to follow the coverage of his attack while hiding from law enforcement.

He watched 31 videos of news reports about his subway shooting. He also viewed a James Bond chase scene from the movie 'No Time to Die' 10 times after the attack.

James said he did not set out to kill, intending only 'serious bodily harm,' and that he would make 'a complete statement expressing my remorse' at his sentencing hearing.

James, who was apprehended in Manhattan's East Village neighborhood 30 hours after the April 12 attack, confessed to the crimes before a judge in January

This bag of fireworks, wire and firecrackers was recovered from the scene of the shooting

Authorities searched for him for more than a day. They identified James as a suspect relatively quickly, using a key to a rented moving van left behind on the bloodied subway car

New York City Police Department officers handcuff subway shooting suspect Frank R. James in the East Village section of New York, April 13, 2022

Prosecutors from the U.S. Attorney's office in Brooklyn sought the heavy 10 life sentences - one for each gunshot victim - saying James spent years carefully planning the move in order to 'inflict maximum damage'.

He received the additional 10-year sentence on top of the life terms for an 11th count of discharging a firearm.

'Today's life sentence delivered the necessary penalty for Frank James, who callously carried out a mass shooting on a crowded subway car, attempting to kill innocent people, and spilling much blood,' United States Attorney General, Breon Peace said.

'He wounded 10 victims in his calculated attack and terrorized many more. I hope that this sentence brings some closure to the many victims of this violent attack and comfort to the city at large in knowing that justice was done.'

James' attorneys had been vying for an 18-year sentence, according to court documents.

Prior to the sentencing by United States District Judge William F. Kuntz, three people who were present at the time of the attack addressed the court.

Fatim Gjeloshi, 21, who escaped the shooting unharmed, approached the microphone to begin recounting the morning of the shooting and said he forgave James.

But then he stopped and broke down in tears. 'I can't do this,' he said, and walked out of the courtroom.

Also given an opportunity to speak, James offered a critique of the nation's mental health system and social safety net, saying the system had failed him and others battling mental illness and poverty.

Prosecutors from the U.S. Attorney's office in Brooklyn sought the heavy 10-year life sentence, saying James spent years carefully planning the shooting in order to 'inflict maximum damage'

James' attorneys had been vying for an 18-year sentence, according to court documents

The attack stunned New Yorkers, heightened anxiety about safety in the transit system and prompted local officials to add additional surveillance cameras and police to the trains

The attack stunned New Yorkers, heightened anxiety about safety in the transit system and prompted local officials to add additional surveillance cameras and police to the trains.

Before the shooting, James, who is Black, posted dozens of videos online under the moniker 'Prophet of Doom,' ranting about race, violence, his struggles with mental illness and a host of unnamed forces he claimed were out to get him.

In one 2019 video, James alluded to a pending conflict in his hometown, stating that 'its going to be very interesting what happens in New York with me.'

By that time, prosecutors allege, James was already in the process of planning the subway shooting.

James, a native of the city's Bronx borough with recent addresses in Philadelphia and Milwaukee, had nine prior arrests in New York and three in New Jersey, according to the New York Police Department.

When he pleaded guilty to the terrorism charges earlier this year, he said he only intended to cause serious bodily injury, not death.

His attorney, Mia Eisner-Grynberg, suggested that while James may have initially planned to kill people, he changed his mind in the heat of the moment.

'In a society where, sadly, we learn nearly every day that mass shooters who intend to kill readily achieve their goals, it is far more likely that Mr. James lacked that specific intent than that he simply failed in his mission,' Eisner-Grynberg wrote in a sentencing memo.

Fatim Gjeloshi (pictured), 21, who escaped the shooting unharmed, approached the mic to begin recounting the ordeal and said he forgave James. But then he stopped and broke down in tears. 'I can't do this,' he said, and walked out of the courtroom

Before the shooting, James, who is Black, posted dozens of videos online under the moniker 'Prophet of Doom,' ranting about race, violence, his struggles with mental illness and a host of unnamed forces he claimed were out to get him

Referencing the defendants abusive childhood in the Bronx and his ongoing struggles with both alcoholism and paranoid schizophrenia, she added, 'Mr. James is not evil. He is very, very ill.'

Prosecutors, however, said the trajectory of the bullets showed that James aimed at the 'center mass' of riders for maximum lethality. They said James only stopped firing his semi-automatic Glock pistol because the gun jammed.

James has been held without bail for the past 17 months at the Metropolitan Detention Center.
A Louisiana woman was thrown into the air by a speeding hit-and-run driver and struck again by a police officer responding to the very incident.

Quiana Brown, 38, was pronounced dead at the scene after she was hit twice in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Saturday night.

Surveillance camera footage obtained by WBRZ reveals the chilling scene of Brown's clothes scattered along the road in darkness after the initial impact, then she was struck a second time by a police vehicle.

The Baton Rouge Police Department said the first vehicle 'fatally struck' Brown, but a witness stated that she was alive before being struck by the cops.

Lorraine, who saw the tragedy while working at a nearby convenience store, told WAFB that Brown was picking up her clothes after the first hit.

'When police hit her, he ran over her and hit her, and it threw her into the air and she landed on the ground, but then he ran over her again. Like backed over her,' said Lorraine.

A speeding gray sedan struck Brown as she was crossing the street to the convenience store

She was struck the second time by a police vehicle responding to the first crush

Brown (pictured), 38, was pronounced dead at the scene after she was hit twice in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Saturday night

However, the responding officer said Brown was laying in the roadway in dark, according to the Baton Rouge Police Department.

A speeding gray sedan struck Brown as she was crossing the street to the convenience store. The hit sent her into the air flying several feet, the surveillance footage shows.

The unknown sedan driver continued to speed away, fleeing the scene.

The footage cuts to the next scene further down the road with the camera only showing the bystanders gathered at the parking lot.

A police vehicle then sped down the road, lights flashing. Bystanders appeared to be shocked as the police vehicle swiftly passed them.

A woman can be seen putting her hands on her head and covering her face, as a man throwing his arms up in the air. Both turned away from the road as the police vehicle stopped.

WBRZ reported that the police vehicle, responding to the crash, struck the woman ten minutes after the first impact.

Brown 'had a loving spirit because that's how my mama raised her to be,' her brother said

Bystanders appeared to be shocked as the police vehicle swiftly passed them

The Baton Rouge Police Department is still investigating the crash and looking for the driver

The Baton Rouge Police Department said the first vehicle 'fatally struck' Brown, but a witness stated that she was alive before being struck by the cops

The Baton Rouge Police Department is still investigating the responding officer's actions, while searching for the hit-and-run driver.

Police shared a photo of the vehicle on social media Wednesday, noting the car is a grey/silver four-door sedan with tainted window.

'The vehicle's the front grill, hood and rear driver side door is likely to be damaged,' the police wrote in the statement.

'The last known direction of travel was westbound on Florida Boulevard from North Foster Drive.'

Police shared a photo of the vehicle on social media Wednesday, noting the car is a grey/silver four-door sedan with tainted window

Brown's family and friends are devasted by her death.

Her brother Quincy Brown told the Washington Post that he learned Brown was stuck the second time by a police office until he looked up her name online two days after the tragedy.

'I don't get it,' Quincy Brown said. 'I've got to get justice for my sister because that doesn't make sense.'

'My sister had a loving spirit because that's how my mama raised her to be.'

'My heart was broken. Im trying to get somebody to make this make sense to me.'
A high school teacher placed on leave last week over the discovery of her OnlyFans account has reportedly resigned to focus on her pornography career.

A 28-year-old English instructor out of Missouri, Brianna Coppage made the revelation in an interview Thursday - eight days after she was suspended from her $42,000-a-year gig after someone came across her page and complained.

Once administrators caught wind of her double life, she was swiftly grilled behind-closed-doors - before having her access to her school accounts at St Clair High suddenly revoked.

An internal investigation carried out by the St. Clair School District ensued, and was been still underway when Coppage - who goes by Brooklin Love on the site - revealed to The Messenger that she had left of her own accord.

Previously put on leave, the educator - who has amassed a massive following because of publicity surrounding her story- explained that she resigned to avoid any additional outcry, while concentrating more on her more lucrative erotic exploits.

A 28-year-old English instructor out of Missouri, Brianna Coppage revealed she has resigned from her teaching post Thursday - eight days after she was suspended from her $42,000-a-year gig after someone came across her page and complained

The woman - whose bio in the past week has been amended with a message to prospective followers that says, 'Yes Im THAT teacher' - still has her doubts about who tipped off school officials. She said she has gained thousands of followers due to reports surrounding her story

'I dont want to fight the school district. Im just ready for peace,' Coppage - who reportedly rakes an additional $8,000 to $10,000 per month with the online hustle - told the outlet.

She added: 'I knew that nothing was ever going to be the same if I went back.

'That was just the best option.'

A teacher tasked with overseeing freshman and sophomore students aged between 14 and 16, she was interviewed by two administrators after the district was told of her extracurricular activities, by an unknown party Coppage suspects was an adult.

Once members of the small town 50 miles southwest of St. Louis became aware, both the school and teacher faced a flurry of backlash - leading Coppage to make the decision.

She explained to the Messenger: 'I dont want the school to continue getting hate', while also revealing she was swayed to launch her explicit media account a few months ago to supplement her relatively small teacher's salary.

'I would like the education of students to be able to return to normal,' she added.

'They deserve to have a great year.'

Suspended just a few weeks after students' first day, she went on to air the belief that the complaint came after she and her husband - who regularly make videos together - collaborated with another couple with a more pronounced following.

That said, the woman - whose bio in the past week has been amended with a message to prospective followers that says, 'Yes Im THAT teacher' - still has her doubts about who initially tipped off school officials.

'I dont want to fight the school district. Im just ready for peace,' Coppage - who reportedly rakes an additional $8,000 to $10,000 per month with the online hustle - said Thursday

Once members of the small town 50 miles southwest of St. Louis became aware, both the school and teacher faced a flurry of backlash - leading Coppage to make the decision

She said her income has substantially increased since she was exposed - thanks to several thousand new subscribers

Instead of one of her students, she suggested the snitch was an adult in the town of roughly 4,700.

'Never do I think that students or children should have been exposed to this,' she told the outlet. 'I truly believe had an adult not found it, and I was told that an adult is who reported it, students never would have known.'

Still, whatever the method, she was found out - and soon found herself the subject of countless news articles that proceeded to name and shame both her and the presiding school district.

Speaking to The Messenger, she claimed that was the final straw - helping her decision to pivot to porn full-time.

What's more, she added her income has substantially increased since she was exposed - thanks to several thousand new subscribers.

'I've gotten a lot of support on the site,' she said, without mentioning the free publicity. 'That's definitely encouraging.'

She went on to maintain that she made the right decision to resign - especially after 'having your face and your name plastered all around the world.'

She reportedly became emotional when describing how she will miss all her students, and the memories they have created over the years.

The teacher said: 'It's been a journey for sure - the last couple of days have definitely been a roller coaster. It turned [my and my husband's] life upside down.'

As a signoff, Coppage aired her plans to fully devote herself to her OnlyFans account and abandon her education career in the process.

When asked why, the woman said it was simply to make more money.

Another reason, she insisted, was that she merely enjoys the work.

Surprisingly, the incident is only the latest in the state involving a seemingly honest worker living a double life as an OnlyFans creator - with just this week a female MPD officer has being outed as a model after apparently pulling over and being recognized one of her subscribers

Surprisingly, the incident is only the latest in the state involving a seemingly honest worker living a double life as an OnlyFans creator.

Just this week, a female police officer has been outed as an OnlyFans model after apparently pulling over one of her subscribers.

Now under investigation, the 35-year-old officer could now lose her job - despite a recent statement from her city's mayor that looked to defend her side gig.

The unidentified cop works for The Minneapolis Police Department, and is reportedly a well-respected officer who has been recognized in the past for her police work.
Dr. George Tyndall, a former University of Southern California gynecologist, has died at his home just months before he was set to stand trial for sex crimes against 16 patients.

Tyndall, 76, was found dead on Wednesday at his Los Angeles home, according to his lawyer, Leonard Levine, who confirmed the death on Thursday.

The longtime USC doctor was arrested in June, 2019, after being accused of sexually assaulting numerous students at the university's student health center.

He was awaiting trial on 35 criminal counts of sexual misconduct between 2009 and 2016. In 2019, he pleaded not guilty and was released on bond.

Levine said his client consistently maintained his innocence and wanted to present his case before a jury. He was due back in court later this month to set a date for his trial.

George Tyndall, 76, was found dead at his home on Wednesday. He is pictured here appearing before a judge at the criminal courts building in downtown Los Angeles on August 25

Pictured are some of the dozens of women who have accused Tyndall of misconduct publicly

Tyndall was accused of misconduct with 400 women over a seven-year period at the University of Southern California. He died just months before he was set to stand trial for sex crimes against 16 patients

George Tyndall was arrested in Los Angeles in 2019 in relation to the sexual assault of 16 of his clients. He always maintained his innocence, according to his lawyer

'From the very beginning, Dr. Tyndall had adamantly denied every one of the charges against him. All he ever wanted was his day in court, which he was confident would end in his complete exoneration,' Levine said.

'Now, neither he nor his accusers will get that, and that is very unfortunate for everyone involved.'

Multiple USC alumni were set to take the stand to testify against him during his trial.

'I'm not happy that he died. I wanted to see him convicted for what he did,' Audry Nafziger, a former patient who had accused Tyndall of inappropriately touching her and photographing her genitals, said to the Los Angeles Times.

A close friend went to Tyndall's home after he hadn't responded to her phone calls, when she found him unresponsive in bed, according to the Los Angeles Times.

The coroner's office will conduct an autopsy, however, Levine said there is 'no evidence of foul play or suicide.'

More than 700 women were pursuing individual claims against the doctor in state court.

Separately, USC has agreed to a $215 million class-action settlement with former patients who complained about Tyndall's actions.

USC has since set up a $215million settlement fund for Tyndall's patients who complained about alleged misconduct

Pictured: Many of Tyndall's victims are seen speaking out about the horrid abuse they had to endure. Former patients described Tyndall as 'unprofessional, creepy,' or someone who made them feel 'uncomfortable and violated'

Tyndall worked as a campus gynecologist at the university for decades, and complaints about him first surfaced as far back as 1997.

A judge released USC's files to The Los Angeles Times as part of a Freedom of Information request.

They revealed how the college launched an investigation into him after receiving countless complaints about his conduct.

The college hired a firm to carry out the investigation and in 2016, it handed over its findings.

The report said in part that Tyndall was targeting Asian women who had a poor grasp of English and were unfamiliar with gynecology which made them easy targets.

'If the patients were young and Asian, they were more likely to have a pelvic exam completed,' it said.

In 1997, a woman wrote to the university and warned them to fire him or risk 'a huge future lawsuit on your hands.'

Two others filed complaints that year but he was allowed to stay on and instead thanked his supervisor for bringing the issue to his attention.

Complaints about him being sexual towards patients began in 2000 when he shared an anecdote about the sexual escapades of a guitarist.

The patient wrote in her complaint: 'After such a repulsive display of un-professionalism, I have lost all trust in you as my physician.'

There were other complaints from 'chaperones' - nurses and assistants who were meant to be present for exams - who said that he would block their view of pelvic exams by placing a curtain between them and the lower bodies of the patients.

In 2003, one complaint read: 'Once again GT is not allowing Mas [medical assistants] to be behind curtain when chaperoning MD during pelvic exams.'

Six years later, a student complained about him complimenting her public hair and in 2010, someone reported him performing a pelvic exam on her in 2004 without wearing a glove.

In 2013, an investigation into his conduct was launched at the request of his supervisor.

He was allowed to keep his job, however, after the investigator noted 'there was 'insufficient evidence of any University policy violation to justify continuing an investigation.'

Around 2016, a nurse who had grown frustrated with the situation consulted a rape crisis counselor and USC hired the external firm to carry out an investigation.

He was put on leave immediately and did not treat another patient but was not fired.
Vivek Ramaswamy was targeted in a violent protest on Thursday when two young people appeared to intentionally ram their vehicle into the 2024 hopeful's rental car during a campaign stop in Iowa.

Ramaswamy was not in the vehicle at the time of the incident and was not injured.

After what could be seen as a respectful conversation with protesters outside the Saints Rest Coffee House in Grinnell, Iowa on Thursday, Ramaswamy was not met with such kindness.

A young driver in a car with a Minnesota license plate and a passenger were caught on camera flipping their middle finger at Ramaswamy before honking their horn, driving off and slamming into the candidate's car.

Ramaswamy stopped to have a respectful debate with the demonstrators at the coffee shop - and later tweeted that he didn't want the violent protesters to be associated with those exercising their First Amendment right by demonstrating against him.

A drive in a blue Honda Civic (above) was caught on camera flipping the middle finger at Vivek Ramaswamy before driving off and ramming their vehicle into his rental car during a campaign stop

A protester rammed their vehicle into 2024 hopeful Vivek Ramaswamy's rental car during a campaign stop in Iowa on Thursday

'Had a civil exchange with protestors today, right before two of them then got into their car & rammed it into ours,' the candidate posted to X, formerly known as Twitter.

He added: 'Those two should be held accountable, but the rest of the peaceful protestors shouldn't be tarred by the behavior of two bad actors.'

In a video of the stop obtained by DailyMail.com, one protester outside the coffee shop is heard calling Ramaswamy an 'a**hole.'

'Protect trans kids,' another is heard yelling, before a third says: 'Climate change is real.'

'Anybody else have something to say,' the presidential candidate asked.

'What's it like being the punching bag of the RNC?' another protester chimed in, to which the candidate responded saying he believes both political parties are 'corrupt.'

Ramaswamy took the time to speak with the small group of relatively calm protesters after his campaign car was slammed by a duo that were part of the demonstration.

One protester said her mother is a public school worker and demanded respect and good pay.

'I think every person deserves to be respected,' Ramaswamy calmly replied in earnest.

'The beauty of this country is that you all have the right to express your opinions and you're doing it peacefully and  even though I disagree with you, I'm proud of you for expressing your views,' he said.

Ramaswamy had a respectful conversation with protesters (pictured above) before one of them rammed their car into his campaign's rental vehicle on Thursday

As the protester pushed back claiming he wants to destroy the U.S. school system, the candidate cut in to say: 'Thank her for her service for me. I really mean that.'

He said that the way forward in the U.S. is through 'open debate' with people you disagree with.

'You guys are doing your part, I'm going to do mine. Keep it up.'

But his kindness wasn't met in return just a few moments earlier, as one of the protesters ran her Honda Civic into Ramaswamy's Avis rental vehicle.

A police incident report obtained by DailyMail.com shows that each vehicle would require about $600 in repairs.
Los Chapitos, as El Chapo's sons are know, instructed members to stop the manufacture, production and sale of the opioid after one sibling's extradition

The sons of former Mexican drug lord Joaquin 'El Chapo' Guzman have reportedly ordered the murders and kidnappings of street dealers who have failed to comply with a ban on the production and sale of fentanyl.

Cartel members have allegedly been killed for flouting the ban since the January arrest of El Chapo's son, Ovidio Guzman, in Culiacan, the capital city of the western Mexico state of Sinaloa - also the cartel's home turf, Mexican news outlet Milenio reported.

A 29-year-old dealer, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said the Sinaloa Cartel faction of Los Chapitos, the nickname which the notorious kingpin's sons are known by, sent WhatsApp messages instructing members of the criminal organization to stop creating and selling the deadly synthetic drug.

The street-level drug pusher recalled that several people were killed for not complying.

'All of a sudden fentanyl was banned and Los Chapitos started to kill their own sellers' who refused to adhere to their commands,' he said.

He estimates that at least 10 people have either been murdered or have gone missing since January.

Joaquin 'El Chapo' Guzman's son, Ovidio Guzman (pictured) was extradited to Chicago last Friday on drug trafficking, money laundering and weapons charges. U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland is now seeking the extradition of his three brothers who control Los Chapitos, faction of the Sinaloa Cartel. The group has banned the sale of fentanyl following his arrest in January and has ordered the kidnappings and murders of at least 10 people who disobeyed

With former Mexican kingpin Joaquin 'El Chapo' Guzman serving a life sentence, the Sinaloa Cartel has played a role in manufacturing and smuggling fentanyl to the United States

The body of an alleged drug dealer for the Sinaloa Cartel faction of Los Chapitos was found in Culiacan, Mexico, on June 26 with fentanyl-laced pills next to him. The killing is said to been the result of the victim failing to comply with the group's order that called for a complete ban on the fentanyl trade

The most recent murder took place September 8 when the body of Luis Benitez was abandoned outside a Culiacan hospital after he had been shot twice.

Benitez was one of the DEA's 10 most-wanted fugitives and a Los Chapitos trafficker who moved fentanyl in powder and pill form from Mexico to the United States.

A $1 million reward was offered for information that could lead to his arrest and/or conviction.

Los Chapitos instructed producers in Culiacan, the state capital, to stop manufacturing fentanyl in July, according to Sinaloan investigative outlet Riodoce.

Shortly thereafter, the bodies of several men were found with signs of torture and fentanyl pills placed over them, a warning sign of that anyone else should expect if they failed to adhere to their commands.

On the morning of June 26, authorities discovered two bodies of men who were handcuffed and shot also in Culiacan. Fentanyl-laced pills were also placed over their bodies.

Two days later a man was found shot dead with fentanyl pill spread across his back in the municipality of Navolato.

The total ban on fentanyl has also affected the pockets of dealers, who are no longer seeing the illicit profits they were accustomed to.

According to the DEA, Los Chapitos provide fentanyl to 27 cities across the United States

U.S. prosecutors allege that Los Chapitos receive precursor chemicals to produce fentanyl from China and then manufacture it at clandestine labs in Mexico before smuggling it to the United States

Luis Benitez, a former Los Chapitos trafficker, died from two gunshot wound on September 9 in Culiacan, the capital of the western Mexico state of Sinaloa, which happens to be the Sinaloa Cartel's home turf. Los Chapitos, as El Chapo's sons are known, share control of the Sinaloa Cartel with their father's old partner, Ismael 'El Mayo' Zambada. It's believed that Benitez was killed after he refused to follow orders from Los Chapitos to stop the production and sale of fentanyl

Los Chapitos, a faction of the Sinaloa Cartel that is operated by three of El Chapo's sons, had banners set up this week that banned the production and sale of fentanyl. 'Due to the incessant misinformation of some media and the obvious omission of the government in not investigating and prosecuting the true culprits of this epidemic, in Sinaloa the sale, manufacture, transportation or any type of business that involves the substance is strictly prohibited, known as fentanyl, including the sale of chemicals for its production,' the large sign reads in Spanish. 'We have never been nor will we be related to that business.. You have been warned. Respectfully, Chapitos'

Another drug dealer told Milenio it not worth risking his life over it.

'One could sell cheap coke at a 'washed' price, if you placed little fentanyl on because it was more potent and the customer thought it was giving them something of good quality,' the dealer explained.

'I have no doubt that many people stopped selling or are going to stop selling,' he added. 'I'm not going to take a risk. I will obey.'

The allegations of Los Chapitos taking out their own members came on the heels of the group sending henchmen out to place banners on road overpasses that issued stern warnings against anyone involved with fentanyl.

Red Cross paramedics recover the body of a purported drug dealer who was reportedly killed after he refused to comply with a ban on the trade of fentanyl issued by Los Chapitos, a faction of the Sinaloa Cartel operated by El Chapo's sons

The signs said that 'media misinformation' meant the government was failing to go after 'the true culprits of this epidemic' and warned that the making or transportation of fentanyl was 'strictly prohibited.'

'We have never been nor will we be related to that business. You have been warned. Respectfully, Chapitos,' it added.

The banners, or narcomantas as they're called in Spanish, were posted as Ovidio Guzman awaits the start of his trial in Chicago following his September 15 extradition.

The United States government has shown its determination by seeing that his three brothers - Ivan Guzman, Jesus Guzman and Joaquin Guzman - are all arrested and extradited.

The Drug Enforcement Administration is offering a $10 million reward for information that leads to the arrest and/or conviction of Jesus Guzman, one of Joaquin 'El Chapo' Guzman's three who now operate half of the Sinaloa Cartel after their brother, Ovidio Guzman, was extradited to the United States last week

Ivan Archivaldo Guzman Salazar (pictured) joined his brother, Jesus Alfredo Guzman Salazar, in the DEA's 10 most-wanted list

Joaquin Guzman is one of El Chapo's four sons who took over the Sinaloa Cartel following his arrest and extradition to the United States. But now only three remain in power after their sibling, Ovidio Guzman, was handed over by Mexican authorities last Friday

All four siblings were named in an April indictment in which the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) singled out their network for its involvement with the fentanyl trade now that their father is serving a life sentence in Colorado.

Ivan Guzman and Jesus Guzman each have $10 million rewards hovering over their heads for information that would lead to their arrest and/or conviction. A $5million reward is being offered for Joaquin Guzman.

The DEA accused Los Chapitos as suppliers of fentanyl across 27 cities in the U.S. and claimed they receive their chemicals from Chinese companies.

In May, the four siblings released a public statement through Mexican media outlet Milenio distancing themselves from accusations.

'We have never produced, manufactured or commercialized fentanyl nor any of its derivatives,' they claimed in the letter. 'We are victims of persecution and have been made into scapegoats.'

An estimated 109,680 overdose deaths occurred last year in the United States, according to numbers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. About 75,000 of those were linked to fentanyl and other synthetic opioids.

DEA agents seized 58.4 million fentanyl pills and 13,000 pounds of fentanyl powder in 2022. The totals equal to 387.7 million lethal doses.
As Paris Fashion week comes to an end, experts are warning American celebrities not to bring back bed bugs as their souvenirs.

The French government launched a concerted effort to fight off the creepy crawlies after videos spread online showing the insects invading the nation's capitol.

'Bed bugs are highly capable hitchhikers, so the possibility of them catching a ride to the States from infested Paris remains high,' Dr. Jim Fredericks senior public affairs VP at the National Pest Management Association told TMZ.

Dr. Fredericks said, 'Any celebs who attended fashion shows or bunked up at bougie Paris hotels need to do a hardcore inspection of their luggage and bedding alike -- and that includes those who stayed at the ritziest of hotels.'

Dozens of American celebs took the runway at Paris fashion week including A-listers like Paris Hilton, Gigi Hadid, Kendall Jenner and many more in attendance.

The French government launched a concerted effort to fight off the bed bugs after videos spread online showing the insects invading the nation's capitol .

Footage shared online showed the insects crawling over seats on the Paris metro, on high-speed trains and at Paris's Charles-de-Gaulle Airport.

Paris Hilton wore a leggy structured black mini dress on the runway for Mugler.

Kendall Jenner closed the Schiaparelli Spring/Summer 2024 then hit the town for a night out in Paris.

Leonardo DiCaprio's past and present lovers were at the Chanel show. Gigi Hadid, 28, and Vittoria Ceretti, 25 walked on the runway while Camila Morrone, 26 watched from the star-studded front row.

Other celebs like Ashley Graham, Laverne Cox and Nicky Rothschild attended fashion shows throughout the week.

Dr. Fredericks said anyone visiting Paris should a do a thorough wash of all their clothes, and dry them on a high heat setting.

Richard Barrie, founder of The Bed Bugs Experts shared there a steps you can take to get rid of the critters.

'Treat your bed with steam and place interceptors on the feet to stop them getting to you,' Barrie said.

Hundreds of American celebrities are headed back to the states after leaving bed bug invested Paris for Fashion Week

Users shared pictures and videos online of their experiences with the infestation. One in ten of the country's households have now infected

French hotels and Airbnb's are suffering from an alarming surge in bed bugs with one in ten of the country's households now infected.

A survey found that 11 per cent of French households have been struggling to deal with outbreaks of blood-sucking insects between 2017 and 2022.

Paris city hall urged President Emmanuel Macron's government to help with the infestation, including by creating a dedicated task force.

Signs of bed bugs include bites on your skin, tiny black spots on your mattress, blood spots on your sheets and an unpleasant, musty smell.

Experts say bed bugs do not pose a risk of spreading disease, but can be a major nuisance.
Toe-curling footage of Matt Hancock playing cricket in his office has re-emerged in the wake of claims he aped being a star batsman at the height of the Covid pandemic. A former top official this week revealed how, in early 2020, the then health secretary claimed he was 'loving' the responsibility of leading the NHS during its worst crisis for decades. Helen MacNamara, who was deputy cabinet secretary between 2020 and 2021, also described a bizarre incident in which Mr Hancock once took up a batsman's stance in Downing Street. She claimed he told her: 'They bowl them at me, I knock them away.' In her evidence to the Covid inquiry on Wednesday, Ms MacNamara said she had noted the anecdote in her witness statement as it showed the 'nuclear levels' of overconfidence displayed by Mr Hancock during the crisis. She also told the inquiry the former health secretary had a questionable record on the truth and often insisted things were 'absolutely fine' when they were 'very, very far from fine'. In the wake of Ms MacNamara's testimony, a social media video of Mr Hancock playing cricket with staff in his Department of Health office has been unearthed. Filmed in May 2019, less than 10 months before Britain was plunged into the first Covid lockdown, Mr Hancock was seen hogging both bat and ball during the game. In footage that focusses solely on the then Cabinet minister as his staff awkwardly stand around the edge of the room, Mr Hancock is shown attempting forward defensive and reverse sweep shots. He was also filmed taking catches - including one leaping attempt that sees him throw himself to the floor and nearly collide with a white sofa.
Authorities also think there is a possibility that it was a murder-suicide

The cause of death is unknown, but police are investigating it as a homicide

A family of four was found dead in their New Jersey home as police launch a homicide investigation to determine how they died.

Police in Plainsboro, New Jersey, are working to identify the cause, including a possible murder-suicide.

Around 4:30 p.m., Taj Pratap Singh, 43, and his wife Sonal Parihar, 42, were found along with their 10-year-old son and six-year-old daughter inside the family's Titus Lane home.

New 12 New Jersey footage showed crime scene tape surrounding the perimeter of the family's blue-painted home in suburban Middlesex County.

Around 4:30 p.m., Taj Pratap Singh, 43, and his wife Sonal Parihar, 42, were found along with their 10-year-old son and six-year-old daughter inside the family's Titus Lane home

Police in Plainsboro, New Jersey, are working to identify the cause, including a possible murder-suicide

The family was discovered after a relative called in for a welfare check on their home, authorities told CBS News.

Family member have since gathered outside of the home as they try to grapple with the sudden loss of the family of four.

Relatives told CBS News they were stunned to find out that this happened as they thought of Singh and Parihar as a 'happy couple.'

Both of the parents worked in IT and one also worked in HR. The dad, Singh, worked at Ness Digital Engineering as a Lead APIX Engineer, according to his LinkedIn page.

Pictured: Taj Pratap Singh, 43, and his wife Sonal Parihar, 42

Singh was also believed to be very involved in his local community and was an active member of the PTA at his children's school.

In a statement, Superintendent David Aderhold from the West-Windsor Plainsboro district said: 'The district was informed by local law enforcement of a horrific tragedy involving one of our Plainsboro families with a Wicoff student and a Millstone River School student.'

The Plainsboro Police Department and the Middlesex County Prosecutors Officer have joined together on the case.

Records revealed that the couple purchased their home on Titus Lane in August 2018 for $635,000.
Fosse follows French author Annie Ernaux in picking up the prestigious prize

Jon Fosse is the most performed Norwegian playwright after Henrik Ibsen

Nobel Prize in literature awarded to Jon Fosse for 'innovative plays and prose'

The Nobel Prize in literature has been awarded to Norwegian author Jon Fosse for 'his innovative plays and prose, which give voice to the unsayable', according to the Swedish Academy.

Mats Malm, permanent secretary of the academy, announced the prize on Thursday in Stockholm.

Fosse is the most performed Norwegian playwright after Henrik Ibsen.

The Nobel Prizes carry a cash award of 11 million Swedish kronor (0.8 million) from a bequest left by their creator, Swedish inventor Alfred Nobel. Winners also receive an 18-carat gold medal and diploma at the award ceremonies in December.

The new laureate joins an illustrious list of past winners that ranges from Toni Morrison to Ernest Hemingway and Jean-Paul Sartre - who turned down the prize in 1964.

Last year, French author Annie Ernaux won the prize for what the prize-giving Swedish Academy called 'the courage and clinical acuity' of books rooted in her small-town background in the Normandy region of northwest France.

Jon Fosse was commended for 'his innovative plays and prose, which give voice to the unsayable', according to the Swedish Academy

Fosse is the most performed Norwegian playwright after Henrik Ibsen

Ernaux was just the 17th woman among the 119 Nobel literature laureates. The literature prize has long faced criticism that it is too focused on European and North American writers, as well as too male-dominated.

In 2018, the award was postponed after sex abuse allegations rocked the Swedish Academy, which names the Nobel literature committee, and sparked an exodus of members. The academy revamped itself but faced more criticism for giving the 2019 award to Austria's Peter Handke, who has been called an apologist for war crimes perpetrated by Serb forces during the break-up of Yugoslavia.

On Wednesday, the chemistry prize was awarded to Moungi Bawendi of MIT, Louis Brus of Columbia University, and Alexei Ekimov of Nanocrystals Technology Inc.

They were honored for their work with tiny particles called quantum dots - tiny particles that can release very bright colored light and whose applications in everyday life include electronics and medical imaging.

Earlier this week, Hungarian-American Katalin Kariko and American Drew Weissman won the Nobel Prize in medicine on Monday for discoveries that enabled the creation of mRNA vaccines against COVID-19.

On Tuesday, the physics prize went to French-Swedish physicist Anne L'Huillier, French scientist Pierre Agostini and Hungarian-born Ferenc Krausz for producing the first split-second glimpse into the super-fast world of spinning electrons. The Nobel Peace Prize is awarded on Friday and the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences ends the awards season on Monday.
GOP Rep. Darrell Issa is making the case that Rep. Jim Jordan is the 'mainstream leader' that can unite the far-right and establishment conservatives as speaker - and says Donald Trump does not have much sway over the matter.

Even though only a few short congressional terms ago Jordan was considered 'too conservative' to rise the leadership ranks, 'he has become very much, if you will, a mainstream leader among the conference,' Issa told DailyMail.com in an interview.

Jordan is locked in a speaker's battle with the House's Number Two Republican, Majority Leader Steve Scalise.

While both have pulled a handful of early supporters from the conference, they offer different appeals.

Jordan, a founding member of the right-wing House Freedom Caucus, has used his chairmanship of the House Judiciary Committee to probe 'weaponization' of the Department of Justice against Donald Trump. He is likely to appease Kevin McCarthy's most vocal detractors.

GOP Rep. Darrell Issa is making the case that Rep. Jim Jordan is the 'mainstream leader' that can unite the far-right and establishment conservatives as speaker - and says Donald Trump does not have much sway over the matter

Even though only a few short congressional terms ago Jordan was considered 'too conservative' to rise the leadership ranks, 'he has become very much, if you will, a mainstream leader among the conference,' Issa told DailyMail.com in an interview.

Scalise, who is currently battling blood cancer, is already a member of GOP leadership and knows how it operates. Seen as more conservative than McCarthy but less than Jordan, he is likely to have good relationships with establishment and moderate Republicans.

But Issa, who works with Jordan on Judiciary, said the conference would need an outsider to bring the eight Republicans who voted against McCarthy back into the fold - and that Jordan has the 'energy' for the job.

'Who's got the energy to do the fundraising, to do the campaigning for the various candidates and so on, that's all going to be part of it.

Issa has been making calls on Jordan's behalf and trying to build support for the chairman's bid.

'One reason that [McCarthy opposers] clearly were stating that they feel that we need to have more of a principled direction.'

'Six or eight years ago people would have said he's too conservative. Today, the question is, who is the most conservative candidate they can get to 218.'

Issa also swatted away at the prospect of Donald Trump becoming speaker - and suggested his appearance at the House GOP speaker candidate forum would be a 'campaign appearance for himself.'

Trump is expected to make an appearance Tuesday as the conference's debate over speaker before a vote on Wednesday.

'The president will be well-received and the press will have a good time. But just as people are talking about, you know, the president being the speaker, he's got his hands full. His appearance is going to be a campaign appearance for himself.'

'This is not about Trump supporters or Trump dislikers, this is going to be about who can unify us. Because you know if it was just about Trump, Kevin McCarthy, who had been a very, very good supporter of Trump- he'd still be there.'

A number of Republicans have floated the idea of Trump as House speaker

Ohio Republican Rep. Max Miller, who worked in the Trump administration, suggested to CNN the former president's presence at the forum would not be 'helpful.'

'I don't know if that would be the most helpful thing,' he said. 'I certainly welcome the president's presence, if you would like to come up to Capitol Hill, I'd love to see him. I'm a big fan of his. Other than that, I believe we should work together as a conference to sort this out to elect a speaker.'

With only a four-vote majority, Republicans can't afford to lose many votes in their conference - or they risk Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries becoming speaker with all Democratic votes.

If Scalise became speaker, Whip Tom Emmer is gunning to move up to majority leader and Deputy Whip Guy Reschenthaler would seek the whip's job - a fact that Issa said is swaying votes for the majority leader.

'Steve moving up creates vacancies down the chain, so a lot of people supporting Steve are supporting someone else moving up.'
A TV chef who was Gordon Ramsay's best man has left his wife for a woman nearly 25 years his junior, MailOnline has learned.

Stephen Terry, 56, announced the closure of his exclusive restaurant, The Hardwick, in Abergavenny earlier this week.

Shocked locals in the market town assumed its abrupt failure was due to a fraudster couple who stole almost 200,000 from the business to finance a luxury lifestyle.

But insiders say that the lovestruck chef has been 'distracted' from the business in recent months after falling for a wine shop assistant.

His new lover Jo Browning, 32, has an eight-year-old daughter from a previous marriage. Friends of Mr Terry's 54-year-old wife, also called Jo, say she is 'devastated' by the split.

TV chef Stephen Terry (left), who was Gordon Ramsay's (right) best man, has left his wife for a woman nearly 25 years his junior

Friends of Terry's wife Jo (left) say she is 'devastated' by the split

His new lover Jo Browning, 32, has an eight-year-old daughter from a previous marriage

Her father Derry Nicklin, 83, was a major investor in her husband's restaurant when he launched it 18 years ago.

Mr Terry, who represented Wales on the BBC's Great British Menu, announced The Hardwick was shutting down days ago but made no mention of the matrimonial difficulties that may lie behind the sudden closure.

A friend of the couple said: 'His wife and family are absolutely devastated by Stephen's behaviour.

'He has been having an affair behind Jo's back and she is heartbroken.

'It has been a dreadful time for her and their children.'

The friend said Mr Terry was now living with Ms Browning, who works for local wine supplier Chesters.

The friend added: 'So many lives have been turned upside down. They were married for nearly 20 years and Jo's dad invested the money to get The Hardwick started.'

Meanwhile Mr Terry said 'everything is golden' with his new lover Jo. He said the pair fell in love earlier this year and are now planning a life together.

Although they are living in a modest, rented house in Abergavenny, he said they are hoping to open a wine bar offering meals 'in the very near future', possibly in Bristol or Bath.

The chef said he felt 'desperately sorry' for the heartache his new relationship had caused his wife and their three children.

He added: 'I feel their pain. It came as a shock to them and they are very upset.'

Mr Terry said: 'I met someone - Jo, or Franks as I call her - and she turned my head'

Ms Browning is nearly 25 years younger than her new partner and has the same first name as his wife

Mr Terry said 'everything is golden' with his new lover . Pictured: Mr Terry and his wife

'I love my wife, but after 20 years I think we just grew apart. It happens.

'I've been working hard in a kitchen all my life and this is the first time this has happened. I've always been very conscientious, committed to my job and career. I put so much into my work and career that really that was all I did.

'Then I met someone - Jo or Franks as I call her - and she turned my head.

'We are good. Everything is golden. I didn't anticipate the pain and upset it would cause. I feel terrible for that. My wife never saw this coming - neither did I. It's been hard for our friends and family and I am desperately sorry for that.'

He said he was 'extremely proud' of the way his three children have dealt with the marriage split. Their two daughters have recently started university, he said.

'They are settling in and I'm so proud of them. Our son, who is 14, is also coping well, but he understandably finds it more difficult.'

He said the affair had not triggered the closure of The Hardwick.

'I'll tell you what caused that - Brexit, Covid-19 and the cost of living crisis.

'Outside London, and especially in a relatively small town like Abergavenny, very few people can afford to eat out nowadays because they have precious little spare money. People are simply not going out any more, and in the hospitality industry, margins are incredibly tight. We just couldn't survive.

'As for Brexit, it has ruined the business because of staff recruitment issues. Things got so bad that in the end, I had to make my sous chef my front of house manager and do his job in the kitchen as well as my own.

The house where chef Stephen Terry and Jo Browning live in Abergavenny, Wales

Mr Terry said he had not discussed his split or new love with his superstar chef friend, Gordon Ramsay, for whom he was best man

'And then of course, we were taken for 150,000 in the space of two years - that was a kick in the b******s I never saw coming.'

Mr Terry said he had not discussed his split or new love with his superstar chef friend, Gordon Ramsay, for whom he was best man.

'We are great friends and we had a lot of fantastic experiences together, but our lives are so different,' he said.

'Gordon is the world's most famous chef so he is tremendously busy. I saw him last year for the first time in maybe ten years and we had a great time.'

Earlier this year, it emerged that the restaurant's financial administrator and mum-of-five Nicola Nightingale, 48, stole 150,000 from the restaurant while transferring another 46,000 into her 50-year-old husband Simon's bank account.

The couple used the stolen cash to splash out on luxury holidays to Disneyland in Paris, Disneyworld in Florida, and for anniversary stays in Morocco.

Mr Terry posted a photo announcing the closure reading : 'The final "Family" last breakfast supper. Thank you to all our staff and customers from the last 18 years. It's been emotional. Onwards and upwards.'

Mr Terry trained under Marco Pierre White at Harveys and became best friends with Gordon Ramsay when they worked together.

The Hardwick won multiple awards including a Bib Gourmand in the Michelin Guide, being named the best restaurant in Wales in consecutive years and named the 19th best gastropub in the coveted Estrella Damm 50 Best Gastropubs list in 2020.

Stephen Terry, who has left his wife for another woman, is pictured with James Martin

The house where Mr Terry and Jo Browning are living together in Abergavenny

Stephen ran the restaurant with his wife after her family helped fund the purchase. They added plush rooms to the restaurant - but he always steered away from seeking a Michelin star because he didn't want to sound 'posh and expensive'. He beat Angela Hartnett in the Great British Menu in 2008.

Cardiff Crown Court heard Mr Terry trusted Nightingale to run the finances before she roped her husband into her fraud.

The alarm was raised when suspicious Mr Terry saw money was missing and discovered two 40,000 loans had been taken out in his name along with a 10,000 shortfall in the pension pot.

Prosecutor Tom Roberts said Nightingale 'generated fake invoices from fictitious suppliers' after she was employed at the country inn.

The court heard she began working at the restaurant in February 2018 before she started to pay herself inflated wages and create bogus invoices.

Mr Roberts said: 'She gave the impression that the business was running smoothly but she had in fact run it into significant debt.'

The total money stolen from the restaurant was 150,234.63 between February 2018 and February 2020.

Nightingale, of Deal, Kent, pleaded guilty to fraud by abuse of position. Her husband was found guilty of acquiring criminal property after a trial.

The couple were handed two year sentences suspended for two years at Cardiff Crown Court in May this year.

A Proceeds of Crime hearing has now been told a 'thorough' examination of their finances revealed no releasable assets.

Judge Shomon Khan handed out 1 confiscation orders to be made for Mr and Mrs Nightingale.

He said: 'There has been a lot of interest in his case but there has been a thorough investigation and that's where we are in terms of the recoverable amount and this is as far as the courts can take it.'

After their sentence, Mr Terry said it was an 'absolute joke' that the couple walked free after defrauding his restaurant.

He said: 'I am disappointed there was no custodial sentence for what they have put myself through. For someone to come and do that I think she practically got away with it.

'They had a holiday we could have only dreamed of and all of a sudden you find out you're paying for it. For them to result in getting a suspended sentence is a travesty.

'What kind of message does that sent out? It's a joke, an absolute joke.'

A source close to Mr Terry said the amount of money lost to the business when it was swindled by the Nightingales was partly to blame for The Hardwick's demise.

But diners who have bought 100 vouchers to dine there in recent days, or booked rooms, today began bombarding the restaurant and demanding to know whether they will receive refunds.

The source said: 'It's been a tough time to run a restaurant and there are numerous issues affecting the business, but without losing so much money it could have just about scraped by.'

The Hardwick said it will be 'calling future bookings and reservations ASAP'.

Jo Terry told MailOnline: 'I don't want to comment, my priority is the children and I just want to protect them at this difficult time.'
A militant union leader behind the doctors' strikes is a Labour activist who has boasted of charging the NHS 1,870 for a single strike cover shift.

Dr Tom Dolphin made the extortionate sum covering for picketing colleagues and donated it to the British Medical Association's strike fund.

The consultant anaesthetist, from London, wrote on X - formerly known as Twitter - that the war chest 'supports people to strike, meaning the strike is stronger and the win will come sooner'.

He is a member of the ruling BMA Council, a member of the BMA Consultant's Committee and acts as a media spokesperson for striking doctors.

The Mail can today reveal that Dr Dolphin is also a Labour activist who has been a political campaigner for more than a decade.

Dr Tom Dolphin made the extortionate sum covering for picketing colleagues and donated it to the British Medical Association's strike fund

He has campaigned alongside hard-left MP John McDonnell and was the election agent for Dawn Butler during the last two general elections.

He also finds time to promote woke causes, including trans issues and veganism.

Ministers believe the strike is 'politically motivated' and that the BMA leadership is not interested in a resolution with the current government.

They are also concerned that some consultants appear to be profiting from the industrial action by charging the NHS inflated overtime rates to cover for absent junior doctors, which more than makes up for the money they lose on strike days.

The consultant anaesthetist, from London, wrote on X - formerly known as Twitter - that the war chest 'supports people to strike, meaning the strike is stronger and the win will come sooner' (Pictured: NHS workers striking in London earlier this week)

Earlier this summer nearly a dozen Labour MPs joined BMA picket lines and the latest walkout was timed to coincide with the Conservative Party conference in Manchester.

Rishi Sunak this week said the dispute was 'all about politics, not patients'. The Prime Minister described doctors' pay demands as 'massive and unaffordable'.

Writing on social media in 2019, Dr Dolphin said: 'This election has really got our membership engaged and working together to bring in a new, different, Labour government.'

In July last year, he posted photos of himself at a Trans Pride march, adding: 'About to set off to let London know that trans rights are human rights!'

Rishi Sunak this week said the dispute was 'all about politics, not patients'. The Prime Minister described doctors' pay demands as 'massive and unaffordable'

He has described Brexit as a 'failure' and 'one of the worst foreign policy decisions by the UK in decades'.

A Conservative source said: 'It is deeply concerning that a Labour Party activist seems to be at the heart of militant BMA strike action which is creating further disruption and misery for patients.

'The Government have given doctors a pay rise of between 6 per cent and 10.3 per cent, as well as generous reforms to their pensions, but sadly it seems ongoing action is increasingly politically motivated.

'Keir Starmer needs to immediately distance Labour from the BMA's strikes and back the government's plan to cut waiting lists.'

Professor Phil Banfield, BMA chair of the council, said: 'The BMA prides itself on being a non-partisan organisation made up of members from across the political spectrum, all with the common goal of fighting to retain doctors and safeguard the NHS.

'We're incredibly proud of Tom and all of the work that he does to represent and advocate for our members.

'It's very generous of him to donate this amount to the strike fund, supporting those who might otherwise struggle to take part in legal, legitimate industrial action.'
Ray Martin has stood by the controversial language he used at a Yes rally, where he described No voters as 'dinosaurs and d***heads', adding he would repeat it if given the chance.

The veteran journalist, who has Aboriginal ancestry, told Yes voters the world would be watching Australia when the referendum comes around on October 14.

'If you don't know, find out what you don't know,' he said at a Yes rally in Marrickville, Sydney, at the end of last month.

'What that slogan is saying is if you're a dinosaur or d***head who can't be bothered reading, then vote No,' Martin declared.

A week later, Martin appeared on the Channel Nine news program he once hosted, and was called out about the language he used by Ally Langdon during a heated 17-minute interview.

When asked if he regretted his choice of words, Martin said no and initially denied any name calling.

'I would never call No voters dinosaurs or anything else,' he said, before Langdon cut in to say he had referred to them as 'dinosaurs and d***heads'.

'No I didn't. What I said was what I found offensive was this stupid slogan ''if you don't know vote No'',' Martin replied.

'That's just an endorsement of ignorance. If you don't know find out what you don't know.'

Martin appeared on the Channel Nine news program he once hosted on Thursday night, A Current Affair, and was grilled by presenter Ally Langdon about his language at a Yes rally

Langdon said there were many Australians who had a lot on their plates and were struggling with issues like the cost of living, only to then be criticised by Martin for not understanding what the Voice will mean.

She said the respected journalist's language had been 'inflammatory'.

'I stick by the language,' Martin said immediately.

'I'd say it again. It was in Marrickville Hall. I wasn't talking at the Catholic Church. I hear it all the time on the radio. What's disrespectful is voting and admitting your ignorance.'

Martin explained that his language was 'part of the Australian vernacular', something most hear on morning radio and at causal barbecues.

He added voting Yes was simply 'the decent thing to do', saying both sides of the campaign had made it political.

TV icon Ray Martin launches an extraordinary attack on No voters - lashing them as 'dinosaurs and d***heads' in a scathing speech to a cheering Yes crowd in front of Prime Minister Anthony Albanese last week

The pair debated the topic, with Langdon insisting that Martin would have known his fiery language would widely circulate.

'You know the most controversial thing you say is going to be picked up. Surely you knew it was going to be provocative?' she asked.

Martin said he didn't mind about the firestorm his speech had caused, again saying those who don't bother to educate themselves on the Voice and plan to vote No are 'dinosaurs'.

'People may be struggling with the cost of living, and they feel like Ray Martin just called them a dinosaur and a d***head ... do you think any kind of name calling is helpful?' Langdon asked.

Martin repeatedly downplayed the language.

'I don't think dinosaur or d***head is really too heavy in Australia, listen to the radio or go to a local barbecue, and you'll hear it,' he said.

He later added: 'We can't point the finger at the Chinese about their treatment of minorities if we vote No on October 14th.'

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese had personally invited Martin to the Marrickville rally, who praised the address as 'very powerful' the next day.

The comments have sparked intense backlash from commentators and the general public, with Opposition Leader Peter Dutton demanding Martin apologise.

'It's disappointing,' Mr Dutton said.

'For someone who has relied on millions of Australians to support his work in media and television over a long period of time, to be treated like that... I think a lot of Australians would be pretty disappointed.

'Ray owes millions of Australians an apology because I don't think it reflects the reality of people's views on the ground.'
The Prime Minister secured a series of new deals to combat illegal migration yesterday.

Rishi Sunak joined forces with Italy's hard-Right PM Giorgia Meloni to force the issue of illegal migration up the list of priorities at the European Political Community summit in Spain.

But an agreement which will allow Britain access to European intelligence on migrant crossings failed to materialise.

Brussels is thought to have approved the main thrust of a deal which would allow far-wider intelligence sharing, but it was not included in an eight-point plan announced last night. The PM secured bilateral initiatives on immigration with Belgium, Bulgaria and Serbia.

The Belgian deal will boost UK-funded surveillance and detection technology on the key migration route through the port of Zeebrugge. It will also see Britain provide 'expertise and training' to Belgian security services and border officials, alongside a trial agreement to share intelligence material between the UK and the Belgian authorities.

Rishi Sunak joined forces with Italy 's hard-Right PM Giorgia Meloni to force the issue of illegal migration up the list of priorities at the European Political Community summit in Spain

Pictured: Migrants on board of NGO Proactiva Open Arms Uno rescue boat close to Lampedusa island, Italy in August 2022

Mr Sunak said last night: 'Tackling illegal migration is a shared European challenge, numbers are up everywhere and I believe, as do other European leaders, that it should be us who decide who comes to our countries and not criminal gangs.

'That's why I was pleased I could convene a meeting together with the Italian prime minister but also leaders from Albania, the European Union, France and the Netherlands to talk through this issue to see how more we can work together, strengthening our co-operation to combat this awful crime.

'There is more that we can do  sharing intelligence, working upstream to disrupt supply chains, working with partner countries to ensure effective returns.

'These are all areas where we can work more closely together, that's what we talked through and the UK today has signed new agreements with Serbia, Belgium and Bulgaria that will help strengthen our bilateral co-operation.'

A No 10 spokesman said a meeting in the sidelines of the Granada summit had 'agreed to an eight-point plan to address growing levels of illegal migration to mainland Europe together'.

It included moves to 'prevent unauthorised border crossings' and to 'strengthen co-operation' on returning illegal migrants

Pictured left to right: President of France Emmanuel Macron, Prime Minister of the Netherlands Mark Rutte, Prime Minister of Italy Giorgia Meloni, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen and Prime Minister of Albania Edi Rama during a meeting at the summit

The plan did not mention any wide-ranging deal on sharing migration data from the EU's border agency Frontex, however, and made only a passing reference to 'information exchange'.

Asked if there will be an agreement on Frontex, Mr Sunak said: 'We've been working with the European Union, making progress on those talks. Those talks are ongoing, we're always looking for ways to strengthen our co-operation with partner countries and entities to combat illegal migration.'

If Britain were to be allowed access to the EU borders data, it would be seen as a sign of a thawing in the relationship between the UK and Brussels in the wake of the historic Brexit vote.

Sources within the British Government have questioned whether an intelligence- sharing deal will make a difference in the small boats crisis, however.

Downing Street said Mr Sunak spoke with Ms Meloni privately yesterday and discussed their 'similar views' on tackling illegal immigration.

The issue was raised at 'every bilateral [meeting] the PM had', demonstrating the strength of concern across the bloc, a No 10 spokesman added.

In a joint article for The Times, Mr Sunak and Ms Meloni said: 'Countries across our continent are recognising that the current approach is not working.

Sources within the British Government have questioned whether an intelligence- sharing deal will make a difference in the small boats crisis, however. Pictured: A group of people thought to be migrants are brought in to Dover, Kent on Monday

'They're realising that we need closer co-operation and tougher measures to crack down on the people smugglers.'

They added: 'We are working together to stop the boats and we are calling on others to act with the same sense of urgency.

'Criminal groups are deploying new tactics to avoid interception, so we need a step change in our response.'

Home Office figures show more than 25,000 people have reached Britain in small boats so far this year.
A coroner is probing eight deaths on the same NHS ward where a pair of 'dangerous and callous' nursing staff drugged and ill-treated patients, the Mail can reveal.

Catherine Hudson was convicted of sedating victims  in some cases to keep them 'quiet and compliant' and in others 'out of spite'.

The 54-year-old senior nurse drugged two patients for an 'easy life' at the unit, which was described as having 'a culture of abuse', in April 2017 and November 2018, her trial heard.

She swapped vile messages with her partner in crime, Charlotte Wilmot, including one in which Hudson boasted of sedating an elderly patient 'to within an inch of her life'. The nurses were warned that they both face jail.

They also stole medication from the 'corrupt' ward at Blackpool Victoria Hospital, with the trial hearing claims that '95 per cent of the staff' would take drugs from the unit, sometimes on a recreational basis.

Catherine Hudson (left), 54, and Charlotte Wilmot (right), 48, pictured leaving Preston Crown Court

The Mail can reveal that the coroner is probing eight unrelated deaths on the same ward that Hudson and Wilmot were guilty of drugging patients. Pictured: Blackpool Victoria Hospital

After nearly 14 hours of deliberation, jurors at Preston Crown Court convicted Hudson and 48-year-old Wilmot of conspiring to administer a sedative to a third patient in 2017.

It can now be revealed that during the probe an unrelated murder inquiry was launched over the death of a grandmother on the unit.

Valerie Kneale, 75, bled to death after being assaulted  possibly sexually  by what detectives fear is a 'predator' days after they were called in to investigate allegations of poisoning in November 2018.

Eight more deaths of patients who were treated on the ward will now be probed by the coroner, the Mail can reveal.

Neither Hudson nor Wilmot  an assistant practitioner charged with supporting senior nurses  has been accused of causing any deaths or deterioration of patients. It means that almost five years on from the bombshell launch of a huge police probe into whether elderly patients were poisoned on the 49-bed unit, the full extent of the harm caused remains unknown.

As Hudson was remanded in custody and warned she faces a lengthy prison sentence, the son of one of the patients mistreated by her branded her cruel messages 'absolute pure evil'.

Brian Scott, whose mother Aileen recovered sufficiently to speak detectives, said: 'My mum had a haemorrhagic stroke and was paralysed  she was no nuisance to nurses in that hospital. She couldn't do anything and she relied on them for her care and support.'

He told Sky News his mother was 'still not well at this time, but she's delighted to hear that justice has been done  it's a great outcome'.

During the trial, the jury heard staff routinely stole drugs and made cruel jokes about the vulnerable patients in their care.

It can now be revealed that during the probe an unrelated murder inquiry was launched over the death of a grandmother on the unit. Valerie Kneale (pictured), 75, bled to death after being assaulted  possibly sexually  by what detectives fear is a 'predator' days after they were called in to investigate allegations of poisoning in November 2018.

Hudson sedated numerous hospital patients including Aileen Scott (pictured) who is from Glasgow but was on holiday in Blackpool

Hudson (left) and Wilmot (right) were convicted at Preston Crown Court on Thursday afternoon

Pictured are Hudson (right) and Wilmot (left) exchanged messages joking about sedating their patients

Judge Robert Altham remanded Catherine Hudson (pictured) into custody following the verdicts, which were reached after nearly 14 hours of deliberation

When two patients became agitated or 'hard work', Hudson would administer sedatives to make the lives of herself and her colleagues easier  despite the potentially fatal consequences.

The court heard there was 'a culture of abuse', with staff able to help themselves to zopiclone, a sedative, and other drugs for their own use or to dose patients.

A WhatsApp group chat included messages packed with expletives and callous emojis about sedating patients. In one text message to a colleague about a patient she was convicted of ill-treating, Hudson wrote: 'I sedated one of them to within an inch of her life lol [laugh out loud]. Bet she's flat for a week haha xxx.'

Wilmot also wrote that a 'very f****** annoying' elderly female patient should be given 'the best sleep she ever had'.

Hudson replied 'permanently' accompanied by laughing emojis and kisses.

The woman's daughter made three complaints about the standard of care but received no reply.

Detectives discovered that more than 1,000 zoplicone tablets, a powerful sedative which can be fatal if wrongly administered, were dispensed by the hospital pharmacy for use on the stroke unit over a two-month period in 2018. By contrast, just 207 of those were recorded as having been prescribed, and 222 of them administered  raising the question of what happened to the rest, and how controls could have been so lax.

Hudson and Wilmot another disturbing exchange in April that year when Hudson joked that a patient in bed 29 had was doing 'not a f***ing lot' because she had sedated her two days in row

Peter Wright KC, prosecuting, said an internal review had found the process of supplying zopiclone was 'so lax as to be virtually incapable of being correctly audited or safely administered'.

Once the investigation started, transactions involving zopiclone 'fell off a cliff', he added.

In November 2018 a student nurse who was on placement at the stroke unit blew the whistle on the cruelty.

The following day Blackpool Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, which runs the 767-bed general hospital, called in Lancashire Police, and within days three nurses were arrested.

Drugs such as Zopiclone were stolen and used to drug patients. Police have released pictures of the medication

Zopiclone (pictured by police) was used to sedate patients for their 'own amusement' and an 'easy life'. Some they didn't like were also drugged

In the witness box, Hudson insisted her cruel messages were 'banter' and 'gallows humour' sparked by chronic understaffing. She claimed she was a devoted nurse who had chosen to work in the facility after her father suffered a series of strokes.

During the investigation, police examined the deaths of eight patients  in addition to Mrs Kneale  who died after being treated on the unit, with at least one funeral cancelled as a result.

No one has been charged and there is no suggestion that Hudson and Wilmot were in any way responsible. The cases are now being probed by Blackpool coroner Alan Wilson.

He adjourned all the hearings until after Hudson and Wilmot's trial, with inquests expected to be concluded over the coming months.

The court heard that prescription restrictions were lax in the stroke unit and that staff would sometimes help themselves to drugs to self-medicate or supply others. WhatsApp messages between Hudson and an unnamed colleague seemingly revealed that she was among those taking and distributing drugs without permission

Hudson apparently admitted to giving the drug to patients in a text to a family member

Judge Robert Altham, honorary recorder of Preston, remanded Hudson in custody, saying she faced certain imprisonment. He granted Wilmot bail but told her the 'overwhelming likelihood' was that she too would be jailed.

The pair, both from Blackpool, will be sentenced in December. Both face life bans from nursing.

Last night Blackpool Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust apologised and said it had introduced new procedures to monitor medication. The stroke unit has been reduced in size by ten beds, with a higher ratio of staff to patients.

Detective Chief Inspector Jill Johnston of Lancashire Police said Hudson and Wilmot were both fully aware of the risks of using sedatives, making their behaviour 'even harder to comprehend'.

Police launch murder inquiry into the death of 75-year-old woman

By James Tozer

A police probe into allegations of poisoning on the Blackpool stroke unit escalated dramatically when police launched a murder inquiry into the death of 75-year-old Valerie Kneale.

Horrifically it emerged that the previously active grandmother had bled to death after being assaulted  possibly sexually.

Detectives warned of a suspected predator who could strike again.

The murder inquiry, which is unrelated to the probe into the ill treatment of patients, has seen police interview thousands of people, including ward staff and visitors.

Despite a Crimewatch appeal and the offer of a 20,000 reward, the only suspect arrested over the killing has been eliminated from the inquiry.

Mrs Kneale, who lived with her husband Bill in the Lancashire seaside town of Knott End-on-Sea, was admitted to the stroke unit on November 12, 2018, after falling ill.

It can now be revealed that during the probe an unrelated murder inquiry was launched over the death of a grandmother on the unit. Valerie Kneale (pictured), 75, bled to death after being assaulted  possibly sexually  by what detectives fear is a 'predator' days after they were called in to investigate allegations of poisoning in November 2018

She was checked over and she was doing OK, her niece, Lisa Jaffier, later told Crimewatch Live. She was sat up, she was communicating, she was talking. Obviously she was going to have challenges in her recovery but we were all very hopeful of a positive outcome.

Her children wanted to stay with her that evening but the hospital said really shes in the best place she could be in, theres really no need, shes going to be absolutely fine.

After she unexpectedly took a turn for the worse, doctors told her children she was not going to recover and they agreed she should not receive any further treatment.

But following her death on November 16 a pathologist discovered during a routine post-mortem examination that she had suffered a horrific internal injury, and police were informed.

The murder inquiry was launched in February 2019. An inquest later heard that the pathologist felt that Mrs Kneales internal injury was caused by a forcible sexual assault after she was admitted to hospital.

A healthcare professional was arrested on suspicion of murdering Mrs Kneale in 2021 but he was later eliminated from the investigation.

In March this year the 20,000 reward was offered to catch her killer as police revealed their fears that the murderer could strike again. Theres a real worry to the investigation and to the hospital that this could be just one of a number of attacks, said Detective Chief Inspector Jill Johnston of Lancashire Police.

This may be at the hands of somebody who is a predator and who may have committed previous attacks of this nature and may continue to do so. The fact this has happened in a hospital setting is of grave concern to everyone and weve worked tirelessly along with the hospital to get justice for Mrs Kneale and her family.

But also to stop this ever happening again. So we need to identify whos responsible.

At the same time Mrs Kneales family told how they cant even begin to heal from learning the horrible way she died until her killer is caught.

When she went into hospital you believe shes going to be safe, going to be looked after, her niece told the BBCs Crimewatch. To think that somebody did that  its horrible.

To think that someone did that to a lovely person at a time when she was helpless, at her most vulnerable, where she couldnt shout out, she couldnt defend herself...

Were left with a huge wound that cant even begin to heal until we find out whos responsible for doing that so that we can get justice. There have been no further arrests.
Vladimir Putin has suggested his nemesis Yevgeny Prigozhin's plane was brought down by a hand grenade that exploded inside the aircraft while the Wagner chief and his fellow mercenaries were drunk or high on drugs.

Weeks after Prigozhin, 62, had led a revolt against the Kremlin, he was travelling by private jet from Moscow to St Petersburg on August 23rd when it burst into flames.

The executive Embraer jet then plunged to earth, killing Prigozhin, his bodyguards and other Wagner commanders including Dmitry Utkin. Immediately, fingers were pointed at President Putin, who had fallen out spectacularly with Prigozhin over the war in Ukraine.

But in an apparent attempt to distance himself from responsibility, Putin suggested the explosion was as a result of a hand grenade detonating inside the aircraft by accident.

'Fragments of hand grenades were found in the bodies of those killed in the crash,' Putin told the Valdai forum in the Black Sea resort of Sochi. 'There was no external impact on the plane - this is already an established fact.'

Vladimir Putin (pictured on Thursday at the Valdai forum in Sochi, Russia) has suggested his nemesis Yevgeny Prigozhin 's plane was brought down by a hand grenade that exploded inside the aircraft while the Wagner chief and his fellow mercenaries were drunk or high on drugs

Putin has suggested the explosion that killed Prigozhin (pictured) and nine others was as a result of a hand grenade detonating inside the aircraft by accident

Weeks after he had led a revolt against the Kremlin, Prigozhin was travelling by private jet from Moscow to St Peterburg on August 23rd when it burst into flames (pictured)

Putin also suggested that the hand grenades could have detonated while they were being handled by Prigozhin or his Wagner mercenaries who were drunk or high on cocaine.

He also claimed that 5kg of cocaine had been found during a search of Prigozhin's private mansion in St Petersburg earlier this year.

The despot said he thought it was wrong for crash investigators not to conduct alcohol and drug tests on the deceased when their bodies were recovered from the crash site.

'Unfortunately, no examination was carried out for the presence of alcohol or drugs in the blood of the victims,' he said. 'In my view, this should have been carried out, but it wasn't.'

But former Wagner commander Marat Gabidullin, who left the group in 2019, dismissed Putin's claims.

'I don't believe this. I never noticed any signs that [Prigozhin or Utkin] used drugs. And neither of them drank,' Gabidullin told The Times.

Since the conflict began, several opponents of Putin have met a grisly end.

The executive Embraer jet then plunged to earth, killing Prigozhin, his bodyguards and other Wagner commanders. Pictured: - Russian investigators comb the scene of a jet crash near the village of Kuzhenkino on August 24 this year

Vladimir Putin has claimed fragments of hand grenades have been recovered from the wreckage of a jet crash which killed his nemesis Yevgeny Prigozhin (pictured in June this year)

Western intelligence officials also believe the explosion which damaged the plane in mid-flight was internal rather than external.

But, to date, only President Putin has suggested the crash was caused by the accidental detonation of grenades by one of the passengers or crew.

It has been claimed that explosives had been planted inside a case of wine that had been loaded onto the private jet - and that Putin was behind the attack. The Kremlin called allegations he was behind the crash as an 'absolute lie.'

A Russian investigation was launched but no findings have been released yet. Moscow rejected an offer from Brazil, where the Embraer business jet was built, to join the inquiry.

While Putin noted the probe was still ongoing and stopped short of saying definitively what caused the crash, he did suggest that the plane had been brought down by a grenade that exploded while Prigozhin and his mercenaries were drunk or high on cocaine.

Prigozhin's rebellion in June marked the most serious challenge to Putin's rule since he rose to power in 1999.

Prigozhin said it was intended to oust the Defense Ministry's leadership that he blamed for mistakes in pressing the fighting in Ukraine.

His mercenaries took over Russia's southern military headquarters in Rostov-on-Don and then rolled toward Moscow before abruptly halting the mutiny under a deal that offered them amnesty from prosecution.

Initially, the president's response  expelling Prigozhin to neighbouring Belarus  appeared uncharacteristically meek, the sentence of a president whose powers were waning.

Then, exactly, two months later, Prigozhin's jet was blown out of the sky.
The past two years have been a godsend for Sir Keir Starmer.

Labour's leader might be a leaden communicator  'Captain Crasheroonie Snoozefest' in Boris Johnson's inimitable words  with an unattractive streak of self-righteousness, yet he's been able to sit back as the Tories disintegrated unaided.

Sleaze. The Partygate psychodrama. Acts of deranged self-harm. By becoming mired in scandal and navel-gazing, instead of having a laser-like focus on delivering for the public, the Conservatives have gifted Sir Keir a considerable lead in the polls.

But democracy works on the basis that the electorate has some idea of what the politicians who stand for high office believe.

People need something to vote for as well as against. And on this score, Sir Keir is treating the British public with contempt.

Labour's leader might be a leaden communicator with an unattractive streak of self-righteousness, yet he's been able to sit back as the Tories disintegrated unaided

Sir Keir supported Jeremy Corbyn until it was untenable to do so. He was anti-Brexit until it was evidently the will of the people. He was in favour of gender self-identification until Nicola Sturgeon's downfall

Because Labour is hot favourite to win the election, he arrogantly seems to assume he can coast to victory without serious scrutiny.

Yet he hasn't earned his other nickname, 'Sir Shifty', for nothing. Everyone knows he adopts whatever is the political flavour of the month to boost his chances of power  then disowns it at the opportune moment.

Sir Keir supported Jeremy Corbyn until it was untenable to do so. He was anti-Brexit until it was evidently the will of the people. He was in favour of gender self-identification until Nicola Sturgeon's downfall.

His endless U-turns mean voters are in the dark as to what he stands for.

During an invigorating party conference, in which the Tories nailed many of their colours to the mast, Rishi Sunak told the faithful: 'The Labour Party have set out their stall: To do and say as little as possible and hope no one notices.'

So in the spirit of openness, the Daily Mail has some questions to ask Sir Keir:

What on earth were you thinking when you twice fought hammer and tongs to put Corbyn, an unpatriotic, pro-Kremlin Marxist, into Downing Street?

What personal taxes will you raise to help fund Labour's vast spending plans?

How will making it easier for the trade unions, Labour's paymasters, to strike square with your plan to grow the economy?

Were you lying when you let slip that as PM you would stick slavishly to EU rules  neutering all the opportunities of Brexit?

And which aspects of our hard-won independence would you sacrifice to get your so-called 'better deal' from Brussels?

How many thousands of illegal migrants would you accept from the EU under a deal to stop small boats crossing the Channel?

Will you impoverish people by bringing back earlier bans on new petrol and diesel cars and gas boilers?

Will you promise to end the war on motorists by restricting the spread of 20mph limits and spurious low-emission zones?

Stripping the VAT exemption from private schools in the name of class war would force thousands of children whose parents couldn't afford the fees into state education. How will you accommodate them?

Many in Labour and on the Left believe Britain is a racist country and hate its history and culture. Do you?

Do you agree with banning transgender women  biological males  from being treated on female-only hospital wards?

As Black Lives Matter activists ran amok, you took the knee. Would you again?

With Labour heading to its annual shindig, Sir Keir has the perfect opportunity to answer these questions. But will he spell out his real plans? He doesn't want to frighten ordinary voters, but he won't antagonise the hard-Left and special interest groups he relies on for power. So he adopts more positions than the Kama Sutra.

Recently, Mr Sunak has displayed the courage a prime minister needs, levelling with the public on difficult and contentious issues.

If Sir Keir is to persuade voters to put him in No 10, he too must show some spine. No more fence-sitting, no more flip-flopping.
Humza Yousaf has been accused of creating a charter for criminals by forcing Scotlands police force to cut jobs and not investigate some offences.

The First Minister yesterday faced heavy criticism after the Scottish Police Federation earlier this week warned that lives may be lost because of falling officer numbers.

He was accused of being sly and sleekit about the impact of SNP cuts, and of having his head in the sand about the financial crisis engulfing Police Scotland.

The row comes after Rishi Sunak pledged that every crime will be investigated in England.

Police Scotland expects that 2,894 jobs will have to go by the end of March 2024

FM forced to apologise over lies jibe Humza Yousaf accused Douglas Ross of lying about funding The First Minister has been forced to apologise after accusing the leader of the Scottish Conservatives of lying about police funding. At Holyrood yesterday, Humza Yousaf insisted there are more officers per head in Scotland than in England and Wales, that crime is down under the SNP and that Scottish officers are the best paid in the UK. Challenged by Douglas Ross, the First Minister said the Conservative leader had been down at the Conservative Party conference this week but his post-truth, his lies about the police service simply will not wash here in Scotland. Parliamentary protocol dictates that MSPs must not accuse each other of lying. Mr Yousaf was asked to apologise three times by Presiding Officer Alison Johnstone before finally responding: Im happy to apologise to the chamber for any offence caused. Advertisement

Under a pilot scheme in the North-East, Police Scotland officers do not respond to some crimes, while 30 stations face closure.

Scottish Tory leader Douglas Ross said: Humza Yousaf is forcing Police Scotland to close dozens of stations but he wont say where. He is leaving it with no option but to stop investigating every crime, but he wont say which crimes, and he is forcing the police to cut officer numbers to the lowest level on record, but he wont say how low. Humza Yousaf is a criminals dream. He doesnt want them stopped, he doesnt want them caught and he doesnt want them in jail. Why is he being so sly and sleekit and secretive about the consequences of the SNPs cuts on Police Scotland?

Speaking later, Mr Ross said: Humza Yousafs approach to policing and justice amounts to a charter for criminals.

Figures as of June 2023 show there are 16,600 officers, down more than 600 since 2013, when Police Scotland was formed, and at a 15-year low.

The force expects that it will need to cut 600 officers and 200 other staff in this financial year, and 2,894 jobs will have to go by the end of March 2024.

At First Ministers Questions yesterday, Mr Ross asked how far staff numbers would be allowed to fall.

Mr Yousaf said police numbers had increased by more than 300 since the SNP Government came to power, adding: We have continued to see more officers per head in Scotland than in England and Wales. Scotland has 30 officers per 10,000 of the population, compared with 25 in England and Wales.

He said the Government has invested 1.45billion in the police service this financial year.

Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar told Mr Yousaf station closures would decimate the police presence in Scotlands communities, and accused him of giving head in the sand responses.

Mr Yousaf said: Recorded crime is at one of its lowest levels in almost 50 years  it is down 41 per cent. There has been a significant reduction in crime right across a number of crime types.
Former President Donald Trump said Thursday he was willing to step in and be Speaker of the House for up to 90 days to help unify a Republican Party in disarray after Rep. Kevin McCarthy's chaotic ousting.

The former president is already expected to wade into the drama on Capitol Hill next week by appearing at a candidate forum for the race for House speaker on Tuesday.

Trump - who is running for president again - spoke to Fox News Digital and said he would be open to briefly taking the job himself.

'I have been asked to speak as a unifier because I have so many friends in Congress,' Trump said. 'If they don't get the vote, they have asked me if I would consider taking the speakership until they get somebody longer-term because I am running for president.'

The speaker of the House is third in line to the White House in the order of presidential succession.

Mr Speaker? Former President Donald Trump posted an image of himself presiding over the House Chamber  after several House Republicans floated his name for Speaker

Trump addresses the chamber of the U.S. House of Representatives, delivering his State of the Union address in February 2019

Trump's Washington appearance is expected after he makes a presidential campaign stop in New Hampshire Monday and before he headlines a fundraiser in Palm Beach, Florida Wednesday.

Trump already had been teasing doing the job.

He posted a meme of himself sitting in the speaker's chair while holding a giant gavel on Wednesday after a number of allies in the House put his name forward.

If Trump decides to back a candidate in the race it could be a boon for firebrand Rep. Jim Jordan - a close ally who has led the fight against so-called 'weaponization' of the Justice Department against Trump from the House.

Jordan is running for the job against No. 2 Republican Steve Scalise, Majority Leader, after Kevin McCarthy was ousted from the job on Monday.

But Trump could technically become speaker as it's not required that the speaker be a member of the House.

'If Trump becomes Speaker of the House, the House chamber will be like a Trump rally everyday!!' Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., wrote on X. 'It would be the House of MAGA!!!'

Rep. Patrick McHenry, a Kevin McCarthy ally, slammed the gavel while sending the house into recess minutes after McCarthy was ousted

Former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy departs the office still bearing his nameplate on Thursday. McCarthy was dramatically ousted from the speakership earlier this week

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer sarcastically chimed in, 'No thanks, we're good. We've seen a Trump rally at the Capitol already.'

Rep. Tim Burchett, R-Tenn., said he believes Trump coming to the forum will help 'unify' Republicans around a candidate.

'I think what he'll do is he'll come in there and unify us, tell us to get behind somebody else.'

The GOP conference, currently led by interim Speaker Patrick McHenry, R-N.C., has to agree to allow Trump to attend.

While it would be unlikely they'd bar the leader of the party from the forum, his attendance would likely be met with silent groans from Republicans looking to bring order back to the House.

'Trump at the candidate forum would only make a tumultuous situation worse,' one senior House GOP aide told DailyMail.com. 'Anyone who thinks he has any chance of becoming speaker is an unserious lawmaker interested only in media attention and social media engagement.

And according to House GOP conference rules, no one who has been indicted for a felony can serve in leadership.

Trump has been indicted four times.

However there is a chance Trump could try to be speaker but not a member of the House GOP conference.

It's nearly impossible he would ever actually be elected speaker and he has said he is focused on the presidential race.

House members have been sent home to 'cool off' until Tuesday, when they will come back for a contentious debate over who should lead the lower chamber.

Whoever gets the job will be tasked with presiding over a four-vote majority in a conference where a succession of leaders have departed on difficult terms.

McCarthy was ousted in a historic vote on a motion to vacate brought forth by GOP Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida.

Gaetz is a Trump loyalist who said he spoke to Trump by phone during McCarthy's final days and suggested Trump backed his efforts.

But Trump also made a social media post where he asked why Republicans were fighting each other instead of President Biden, which seemed to urge them to knock it off.

'Why is it that Republicans are always fighting among themselves, why arent they fighting the Radical Left Democrats who are destroying our Country?' Trump posted.

Eight Republicans sided with the entire Democratic caucus to push out their leader - making McCarthy the shortest-lived speaker in 140 years and the first one ever to be pushed out in the middle of his term.
Hollywood superstar Jason Momoa has sparked division after sharing an Instagram post supporting the Indigenous Voice to Parliament.

The American actor - best known for his roles in Game of Thrones and as Aquaman - shared a video ad produced by Indigenous rapper, Adam Briggs, promoting the effort to enshrine the Aboriginal advisory body into the constitution.

In the clip, Briggs advises two young women at the pub, played by comedians Jenna Owen and Vic Zerbst, to research the Voice, leading them to agree they will 'just vote Yes to that' because the detail is 'quite clear'.

New Zealand filmmaker Taika Waititi had already shared the video, before Momoa re-shared it onto his own account.

'#yes23 is a referendum taking place in Australia on October 14. The aim is to give Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island people a voice in parliament so they can weigh in on issues that affect their lives,' the original post's caption reads.

'Simple as that. How do I know this? I googled it. But many Australians are confused or freaked out about what it means.

'Don't be! It's a good thing! Just do good things! Also Google it ya lazy mongrels.'

Hollywood superstar Jason Momoa (pictured with ex-wife Lisa Bonet) has sparked division after sharing an Instagram post supporting the Indigenous Voice to Parliament

But the actor's stance has sparked a fierce back-and-forth between his fans, with some unhappy about his weighing into Australian politics.

'Which country (that you aren't from, know, or a part of) are you going to virtue signal for next?' one critic fumed.

'Stay out of Australian politics mate. Do your thing in America and that but putting your 5 cents in terms of the Yes or No vote is not (for) you,' one commented.

'Stay in movies and out of Australian politics. What have you ever done for our country?' said another.

Others thanked Momoa - who has native Hawaiian heritage which he represents on the world stage - for showing solidarity with Yes voters.

'The lead up to the referendum has been really rough on our communities and it's actually really nice to get some encouragement from our Indigenous brothers from across the seas,' one wrote.

Added another: 'It's Yes from me. It won't affect me negatively and will empower the First Nations with pride'.

Australians have begun early voting ahead of referendum day on October 14.
Domestic abusers could be charged with murder if their partner commits suicide under new prosecution guidelines.

The shake-up will also mean murder charges will be more likely in mercy killings and failed suicide pacts if a suspect stood to gain from the death or if they influenced a victim not to seek medical treatment.

But prosecutors will no longer pursue a murder charge if the victim had made an informed decision that they wished to die, or if a mercy killing suspect had been under 'significant emotional pressure' from the victim.

Director of public prosecutions Max Hill KC said domestic abuse was part of a crime wave in Britain and if an abuser's unlawful actions resulted in a suicide then they would now face a manslaughter or murder charge.

'And I did want to be clear, that you may find that a charge of murder is applied by the Crown Prosecution Service even after suicide, where what went before was unlawful activity in the context of a coercive relationship,' he added.

Director of public prosecutions Max Hill KC said if an abuser's unlawful actions resulted in a suicide then they would now face a manslaughter or murder charge

Justene Reece, 46, killed herself as a direct result of her ex-partner's controlling behaviour

The updated guidance could result in murder charges in cases such as the death of Justene Reece, 46, who killed herself as a direct result of her ex-partner's controlling behaviour.

Nicholas Allen tried to contact her almost 3,500 times after they split up, set up a fake Facebook profile and even offered a reward of 1,000 for sightings of her.

He was jailed for ten years in 2017 for her manslaughter and the CPS said he caused Miss Reece 'significant psychiatric harm and directly contributed to her death'.

There have been a number of high profile mercy killings in recent years, including the case of David Hunter, a Briton who was jailed in Cyprus for suffocating his desperately ill wife. He has since been released and has called for the law to be changed.

Retired baggage handler Graham Mansfield, 74, faced a murder charge after cutting the throat of his terminally ill wife, Dyanne, 71, after she begged him to end her suffering when her lung cancer became too much to bear. He was cleared of murder but convicted of manslaughter, though he avoided prison with a two-year suspended sentence.

David Hunter, 76. was on trial for killing his terminally ill wife in 2021 and was eventually convicted of manslaughter

The homicide guidance does not touch on 'assisted dying' or other similar scenarios which are treated separately in law.

Mr Hill said: 'A prosecution will usually take place unless the prosecutor is satisfied that there are public interest factors tending against prosecution which outweigh those tending in favour.

'Each case must be considered on its own facts and on its own merits.

'Prosecutors must decide the importance of each public interest factor in the circumstances of each case and go on to make an overall assessment.

'But it is very important to note that we will always prosecute cases of murder and manslaughter where there is sufficient evidence, and it is in the public interest.'

The update followed a 12-week public consultation between January 2022 and April 2022.

Mr Hill is due to step down as DPP later this year and will be replaced by experienced lawyer Stephen Parkinson.
The SNP leader has admitted he faces a 'tough job' earning the trust of the Scottish people, in a high-profile interview with the prestigious Time magazine.

First Minister Humza Yousaf also acknowledged the impact the crisis within the SNP has had on his first six months in office.

He appeared on the cover in the latest issue of the US-based title, which portrayed him as a 'trailblazer' who is 'shaping the future'.

The magazine branded Mr Yousaf as one of its 'next generation leaders' to look out for. But the article published yesterday highlighted how he is being hindered by 'internal divisions' and the police probe into the SNP's finances. It said the party 'may now be vulnerable', while Mr Yousaf's 'authority could come under strain if the SNP is seen to lose its electoral edge'.

In the interview, carried out in August, Mr Yousaf looked ahead to the next General Election and said: 'There's a job to do for us in those 12 to 15 months to make sure we're re-earning the trust of the people. It's going to be a tough job.'

Humza Yousaf appeared on the cover of the prestigious US publication Time, which portrayed him as a 'trailblazer' who is 'shaping the future'.

Mr Yousaf took over as Scottish First Minister and SNP leader from Nicola Sturgeon, who stepped down in March

Time warned that Mr Yousaf's 'authority could come under strain if the SNP is seen to lose its electoral edge'

He admitted the SNP had endured 'five of the most difficult months my party has probably faced in its recent history' and that it has 'not been able to cut through' due to the ongoing police investigation.

In a video released to coincide with the article's publication, Mr Yousaf told Time about the importance of his faith, saying he is 'proud' to be the first Muslim head of government of a western nation.

He also revealed how 9/11 was one of the 'seminal moments of my life' as his 'loyalty' to his country was questioned after the attacks.

He added: 'You had two choices: you either put your head in a bunker and hope it all passed by or you said, 'You know what, these people don't act in our name'.

'And I don't have to feel guilty for the actions of an extreme fringe. I stand in absolute solidarity with those who value freedom, democracy and the rule of law.'

Tory MSP Craig Hoy said: 'Of course we should celebrate Humza Yousaf's achievement as Scotland's first Muslim leader. Unfortunately, six months into his term, there's little else to applaud.

'He's chosen to ignore Scotland's real priorities by continuing to focus on separatist obsessions. He may not have long to enjoy his exposure in Time before the electorate call 'time' on his leadership.'
A woman allegedly walked into a bar and stabbed two complete strangers who were posing for a group photo.

At around 9.40pm on Wednesday emergency services were called to a pub on Valentine Street in Parramatta in Sydney's west, following reports of a stabbing.

Officers found two men, aged 52 and 58, both suffering stab wounds to their necks, upper torsos and arms.

Police will allege the two men were taking a group photo with friends when they were approached by a woman  not known to them - who produced a knife and stabbed the pair when asked to leave by security.

At around 9.40pm on Wednesday emergency services were called to a pub on Valentine Street in Parramatta in Sydney 's west, following reports of a stabbing (Valentine Street is pictured)

'Both men were treated by NSW Ambulance paramedics before being taken to Westmead Hospital in a stable condition,' a spokesperson for NSW Police said.

'Following inquiries, a 30-year-old woman was arrested and taken to Westmead Hospital for treatment.'

The woman was later escorted to Merrylands Police Station, where she was charged with two counts of cause wounding/grievous bodily harm to person with intent to murder.

The woman, from Crows Nest in Sydney's lower North Shore, was refused bail to appear at Parramatta Local Court on Friday.
Nicholas Rossi was born as Nicholas Alahverdian in Providence, Rhode Island, in July 1987 to mother Diana Alahverdian and father Jack Alahverdian, according to reports in US newspaper The Providence Journal.

He was adopted by his stepfather David Rossi, and changed his surname to Rossi.

Rossi had a turbulent childhood and left his family home as a teenager, spending much of his adolescence in Rhode Island's Department of Children, Youth and Families (DCYF) care facilities.

He spoke out against the conditions in care, claiming to have suffered abuse and neglect and he made a name for himself by campaigning to improve facilities for children living in the state's care.

In 2008, Rossi was convicted of sexually assaulting a student while attending a community college in Ohio. He was placed on the sex offenders register as a result.

Rossi claimed he had been diagnosed with stage 4 non-Hodgkin's lymphoma in late 2019 and around this time, friends in the media and politics say they began receiving calls from him to say he was dying.

An obituary appeared online for Rossi in early 2020 saying he had died and that his ashes had been scattered at sea.

Rossi departs Edinburgh Sheriff and Justice of the Peace Court after an extradition hearing on July 11

What is Rossi accused of?

Rossi is wanted in the US for allegedly raping a woman in Utah in 2008 and also faces domestic abuse charges.

Authorities say he faked his own death in order to evade charges in the US.

What happened next?

It is unclear when Rossi left the US for the UK, as he continues to insist he Irish orphan Arthur Knight.

Under the guise of Arthur Brown, Rossi is believed to have met his wife, Miranda Knight, in Bristol in 2019 and married her in early 2020, assuming the name Arthur Knight.

They moved to Glasgow shortly afterwards but in 2021, Rossi became so ill with Covid-19 that he had to be hospitalised at the city's Queen Elizabeth University Hospital.

How was Rossi caught?

In July 2020, DNA allegedly linked him to a 2008 rape in Utah which is ultimately what led to his discovery in Scotland.

He was arrested on December 13, 2021 at the Glasgow hospital by police officers who served him with an Interpol red notice.

With the assistance of medical staff at the hospital, the patient initially named as Arthur Knight was identified as Rossi.

What is Rossi's version of events?

There has never been an official version of events from Rossi because he continues to insist he is Arthur Knight and that the authorities have the wrong man.

In court appearances, he has maintained his pained English accent, with an Irish lilt whenever he mentions the word Dublin, where he claims to have been born.

In his latest interview with The Times, as Arthur Knight, he said he wanted the 'real' Rossi to come forward to 'save my wife and me from this mess'.
The cup allows for open drinks containers for the first time aboard the ISS

After too much coffee you might feel like you're floating, but for astronauts getting their coffee to stop floating can be a real headache.

In a video posted to celebrate International Coffee Day, Samantha Cristoforetti, an astronaut with the European Space Agency (ESA), has revealed how she made her morning coffee without the help of gravity during her time on the International Space Station (ISS).

Using a specially designed 'space cup', Ms Cristoforetti was able to sip her morning brew without difficulty - even while orbiting 250 miles (420km) above the nearest coffee shop.

The footage shows the Italian astronaut carefully pouring her coffee from a sealed bag into the curiously shaped cup.

For astronauts, even having an open cup is a serious challenge, however this invention allows residents on the ISS to enjoy some of the simple pleasures of life on Earth.

While the surface tension of coffee means it can't be poured out of any old container, the space cup's special shape allows coffee to be sipped almost like you would on Earth

Ms Cristoforetti is a renowned space-coffee enthusiast, having become the first person to drink espresso made on the ISS in 2015

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The video was filmed last year year during Ms Cristoforetti's 170-day stay in orbit, during which she became the first female commander of the ISS.

Ms Cristoforetti arrived at the ISS on 27 April 2022 and returned to Earth on 14 October.

Commenters on social media have shared their amazement at the design.

'It's the little things that bring home the reality of a space-faring civilization,' one user wrote.

Another joked that they'd like their space-coffee 'with a lot of liquified sugar please'.

In the video, Ms Cristoforetti demonstrates the difficulty of drinking in space, with coffee poured into a small bottle remaining trapped there by the influence of its own surface tension.

Astronauts looking for their caffeine boost have to make do with aluminium bags pre-filled with freeze-dried coffee, milk, and sugar into which hot water can be pumped.

NASA scientist Dr Mark Weislogel, who helped design the cup, explained in a blog: 'In a spacecraft, if the effects of surface tension are not understood, liquids (e.g., water, fuel) can be just about anywhere in the container that holds them.

'This is why in space you'll only see astronauts drinking from bags with straws so that they can completely collapse the bag to assure the liquids come out.'

To get around these problems, NASA has designed a cup that uses clever geometry to exploit the physics of surface tension.

Touching your lips to the rim of the space-cup creates a 'capillary connection', drawing the liquid into your mouth in much the same way a paper towel soaks up water.

Commenters on X shared their amazement with the space-age design and how they couldn't live in space if meant forgoing their morning coffee.

The shape of the space-cup creates a capillary connection between the liquid and your mouth from the moment your lips touch the rim

The ISS-presso machine was designed by coffee company Lavazza and spent over two years aboard the ISS to provide fresh coffee for astronauts

However, sending the cups to space wasn't just about making astronauts' mornings more enjoyable, but was part of some serious science.

The same physics that helps pour coffee from a cup to your mouth affect all liquids, whether on Earth or in space.

As Dr Wesilogal explains, observing how the space cup works in zero-gravity will help scientists learn about everything from 'getting the last drop of fuel for a rocket engine or delivering the perfect dose of medication to a patient.'

Experiments performed on the space cup will also help prevent disasters on future long-distance space voyages such as a trip to Mars.

This isn't the first time some serious science has gone into getting a better brew aboard the ISS.

In 2015, the Italian Space Agency, working with engineering firm Argotec and coffee company Lavazza, designed the Isspresso machine: the world's first microgravity espresso maker.

The 44lbs (20kg) machine spent two years aboard the ISS and used steel hydraulic pipes to produce a cup of fresh hot espresso in around three minutes.

Even with the Isspresso's advanced design, coffee was still pumped into a bag for drinking, so space-bound caffeine addicts would still need to use the space cup to enjoy the aroma of their brew.
Maryland could be a UFO hotspot, as nearly 2,000 sightings of bizarre objects in the sky have been reported since the mid-1990s.

Residents of the eighth-smallest state have reported a 'flat bottom black triangle' with green lights, 'a classic flying saucer,' and an oval-shaped craft that 'stayed stationary for about a minute and a half.'

Reports of the phenomenon have been collected in a database that shows that the first recorded sighting in Maryland dates back to May 15, 1946  but wasn't reported until June 2017.

More modern sightings, like the glowing 'orbs' witnessed above Ocean City this past April, now get reported to the database within a matter of days.

'My daughter and I looked up and saw 'four orbs' moving in a circular motion, then come back to the middle, then spread back out,' the witness from Ocean City, who works in the defense sector, wrote to the UFO database.

This map, compiled in February 2023, reveals the number of UFO sightings in each US state

Although the number of sightings from Maryland bests much larger US states, including Alaska, Texas and Maine, the director of the National UFO Reporting Center (NUFORC), which manages the database, urges caution when interpreting that data.

'Not every UFO report is a report of a sighting of an alien spacecraft,' NUFORC director Peter Davenport advised the DailyMail.com.

'The data are rife with cases of mistaken identity,' Davenport noted, 'as well as with out-and-out pranks.'

Nevertheless, NUFORC's civilian not-for-profit UFO trackers have worked tirelessly for years to maintain a record of these sightings  which federal agencies have ignored for decades, despite clear cases where the work falls under their mandate.

For example, it has been the official policy of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) for decades that commercial pilots and other civilians should not bother reporting unexplained aerial phenomena (UAP) or craft (UFOs) to their agency.

Per the FAA's 'Aeronautical Information Manual,' anyone who sees something strange in the sky should report their sightings to the volunteers at NUFORC instead.

'If concern is expressed that life or property might be endangered,' the FAA manual's guidance on UFO sightings continues, 'report the activity to the local law enforcement department.'

One White House official, former Clinton chief of staff and current Biden 'clean energy' czar John Podesta, likened the FAA's official stance to 'illogical directives' and 'discrimination.'

Per the FAA's 2022 'Aeronautical Information Manual' (above), anyone who sees something strange in the sky should report their sightings to the volunteers at NUFORC. But NASA now advises that FAA should accept UFO reports to its Aviation Safety Reporting System instead

One White House official, former Clinton chief of staff and current Biden 'clean energy' czar John Podesta (above), likened the FAA's past stance to 'illogical directives' and 'discrimination'

And, as of this summer, NASA's UAP advisory panel now recommends that the civilian air agency should admit the public's UFO and UAP sightings into its own Aviation Safety Reporting System.

But in the meantime, NUFORC's director Peter Davenport said his group is getting inundated with fresh reports as scrutiny of the UFO issue reaches a fever pitch in the halls of Congress, inside the Pentagon and across the news media.

'It's heartening to me that so many people are coming forward now,' Davenport told CBS News.

'We're getting significantly more reports than just six months or a year ago,' he said. 'There are UFO reports coming from probably most cities in the country.'

California is reported to have the most UFO sightings out of any state in the US, with more than 15,000 claims.

And the state has seen more than 200 objects this year alone.

Maryland has witnessed 1,923 UFO incidents, as logged by 1,818 reports maintained by this civilian UFO database.

Below are some of Maryland's most compelling cases from the past year.

Multiple electric blue lights, several in a tight triangular formation, hovered over a backyard in Baltimore on August 5, 2023, according to one crisply recorded UFO report to NUFORC

August 5, 2023 - Baltimore, Maryland

Multiple electric blue lights, several in a tight triangular formation, hovered over a backyard in Baltimore, according to one crisply recorded UFO report to NUFORC.

'We were outback celebrating and I notice some bright lights in the sky,' the witness wrote along with their submission of the video.

'I started recording because I didn't think they were stars like most people thought,' the witness said. 'I usually look at the sky at night and never saw those before, plus they were moving slowly across the sky.'

While the witness described seeing 'at least 10 lights' during the sighting, at most eight or nine are seen during the 30-second video.

Although the lights do twinkle in the distance like stars, no other stars are visible in the night sky  and, by the video's end, the lights can be seen moving slowly in unison 'across the sky' just as the witness describes.

July 4, 2023 - Brunswick, Maryland

During a clear night of Independence Day fireworks, multiple witnesses at an apartment complex in Brunswick noticed a pair of blinking lights that appeared connected to one another, hovering around their local fireworks show.

'What is that? Oh, my gosh! What is that?' one confused witness video-recording the event can be heard asking as the reportedly 'quick moving lights in synchronization' glides across the sky, leaving 'no sound or trails.'

'Happened during fireworks but very easy to tell it's not fireworks, nor a plane or helicopters in formation,' said the witness who submitted his report and cell phone video to NUFORC.

'The objects also seemed fairly close, as in not extremely high,' the witness added, 'but the objects still seemed smaller than crafts known of.'

'The flight pattern was so consistent between the two lights that I truly don't believe it's drones being flown as the line between the two was absolutely perfect and did not change at all during flight.'

A child witness, who can be heard in the video, guesses that the mystery lights might be 'a firework,' but the adults remain unsure.

For about a minute near Jackson Station Road on March 19, 2023, one driver reported seeing a 'flat-bottom black triangle shape flying low to the ground with a low wooshing sound'

March 19, 2023 - Perryville, MD

For about a minute near Jackson Station Road, one driver reported seeing a 'flat-bottom black triangle shape flying low to the ground with a low wooshing sound.'

'I stopped my car and rolled down the window and heard a low wooshing sound coming from it,' the witness told NUFORC in their written report.

The UFO, which they referred to as 'the shape,' was then reportedly 'flying low to the ground and moving really slow.'

The witness further described the UFO as appearing 'black in color' with a green light on 'each point' of its triangular shape.

'I got one blurry picture,' the witness reported, 'when a car pulled up behind me and I had to keep driving.'

On November 7, 2022, one Maryland witness saw what they described as 'a classic flying saucer, with a black marking in the 'front'' moving very slowly above their parents' house in Rockville, north of Washington DC. The witness said it was slow 'compared to [...] an aircraft'

November 7, 2022 - Rockville, MD, USA

One Maryland witness saw what they described as 'a classic flying saucer, with a black marking in the 'front'' moving very slowly above their parents' house in Rockville just north of Washington DC.

'Saw this weird flying saucer-looking thing, took some photos,' the witness wrote into NUFORC.

'I was looking at the evening sky and saw a strange looking object with no trail,' their account continues, noting that the UFO 'seemed to be relatively low' in the sky and was moving 'very slowly (compared to, for example, an aircraft).'

In the throwback to the mid-20th Century's UFO sightings, the object, they report, 'looks like a classic flying saucer, with a black marking in the 'front' (what was visible).'

Then, just like a classic UFO, it apparently zipped off: 'It seemed to disappear after I filmed and photographed it for 30 seconds,' the witness wrote.

Although Davenport has been working for NUFORC since 1994, the group's director has few predictions for what the recent resurgence in interest might lead to.

'I don't know what the future has in store for us,' Davenport said.

'But I am encouraged that more people are coming forward and the government recognizes the UFO phenomenon [as] something worthy of their attention.'
The ozone hole over the Antarctic is now one of the biggest on record after stretching to three times the size of Brazil, satellite data has revealed.

Worse still, it could yet get even larger than the 10.3 million sq miles (26 million sq km) it measured on September 16, because the depletion doesn't usually peak until mid-October.

Scientists are not sure why this year's ozone hole is so large but some researchers have speculated that it could be linked to the Tonga underwater volcanic eruption in January 2022.

Its blast was equal to the most powerful ever US nuclear test and the largest natural explosion in more than a century.

The ozone hole fluctuates in size on a regular basis.

Gaping: The ozone hole over the Antarctic is now one of the biggest on record after stretching to three times the size of Brazil, satellite data has revealed (pictured)

Ozone layer erosion 360 million years ago led to a mass extinction event A mass extinction 360 million years ago that killed off many of the Earth's plants and freshwater animals was caused by ozone layer erosion and it could happen again. Scientists from the University of Southampton found evidence that it was high levels of ultraviolet radiation that destroyed the ancient forest ecosystem. This newly discovered extinction mechanism was caused by changes in the Earth's temperatures and climate cycle - this led to the deadly ozone breakdown. Study authors warn that we could face a similar scenario as we head towards similar global temperatures that existed 359 million years ago due to climate change. Advertisement

Every August, at the start of the Antarctic Spring, it begins to grow and reaches its peak around October, before receding slightly and eventually closing again.

This occurs because Antarctica enters into its summertime and the temperatures in the stratosphere begin to rise.

As this happens, the mechanism which depletes ozone and creates the hole slows down and eventually grinds to a halt, stopping the hole from growing any more.

The hole has closed later than normal in the past three years, in part because of Australia's Black Summer bushfires in 2019-20, which released large amounts of ozone-destroying smoke.

It also opened several weeks early this year, at the very start of August, and it is unclear when it will close for certain.

Ozone depletion over the frozen continent was first spotted in 1985 and over the last 35 years various measures have been introduced to try and shrink the hole.

Experts are confident that the Montreal Protocol introduced in 1987 has helped the hole to recover, but this year's measurements from Europe's Copernicus Sentinel-5P satellite are a blow.

Antje Inness, a senior scientist at the Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS), said: 'Our operational ozone monitoring and forecasting service shows that the 2023 ozone hole got off to an early start and has grown rapidly since mid-August.

'It reached a size of over 26 million sq km on 16 September making it one of the biggest ozone holes on record.'

She explained that the Tonga underwater eruption may have been to blame.

'The eruption of the Hunga Tonga volcano in January 2022 injected a lot of water vapour into the stratosphere which only reached the south polar regions after the end of the 2022 ozone hole,' Dr Inness said.

'The water vapour could have led to the heightened formation of polar stratospheric clouds, where chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) can react and accelerate ozone depletion.

'The presence of water vapour may also contribute to the cooling of the Antarctic stratosphere, further enhancing the formation of these polar stratospheric clods and resulting in a more robust polar vortex.'

Despite this theory, scientists caution that the exact impact of the eruption on the hole is still the subject of ongoing research.

However, there is a precedent for it.

Theory: Scientists are not sure why this year's ozone hole is so large but some experts have speculated that it could be linked to the Tonga underwater volcanic eruption in January 2022

The ozone hole fluctuates in size on a regular basis. Every August, at the start of the Antarctic Spring, it begins to grow and reaches its peak around October, before receding slightly and eventually closing again

A challenge: Ozone depletion over the frozen continent was first spotted in 1985 and over the last 35 years various measures have been introduced to try and shrink the hole

In 1991, the eruption of Mount Pinatubo released substantial amounts of sulfur dioxide which was later found to have amplified ozone layer depletion.

Ozone depletion relies on extremely cold temperatures as only at -78C (-108F) can a specific type of cloud, called polar stratospheric clouds, form.

These frigid clouds contain ice crystals which turn inert chemicals into reactive compounds, ravaging the ozone.

The chemicals in question are substances that contain chlorine and bromine which become chemically active in the frigid vortex swirling above the south pole.

These were produced in huge numbers at the end of the 20th century when halocarbons such as CFCs and hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs) were regularly used as coolants in refrigerators and aerosol tins.

Ozone depletion relies on extremely cold temperatures as only at -78C can a specific type of cloud, called polar stratospheric clouds, form. This 3D graphic shows how the ozone hole over Antarctica has changed during 2023, with a snapshot from July

Comparison This images above captures what the ozone was like back in August this year

Close to its peak: This image captures the ozone when it reached a size of 26 million sq km

In response to this, the Montreal Protocol was created to protect the ozone layer by phasing out the production and consumption of these harmful substances.

The European Space Agency's mission manager for Copernicus Sentinel-5P, Claus Zehner, said this had led to a recovery of the ozone layer, adding that: 'Scientists currently predict that the global ozone layer will reach its normal state again by around 2050.'

Ozone is a compound made of three oxygen atoms that occurs naturally in trace amounts high up in the atmosphere.

It is toxic to humans when ingested, but at its lofty altitude up to ten miles above Earth's surface, it actually protects us from the harmful ultraviolet rays spewed out by the sun.

Launched in October 2017, the Copernicus Sentinel-5P satellite is the first of Europe's Copernicus satellites dedicated to monitoring the Earth's atmosphere.

It has a state-of-the-art instrument that is able to detect atmospheric gases to image air pollutants more accurately and at a higher spatial resolution than ever before from space.

Scientists think this year's ozone hole over Antarctica could be linked to the Tonga underwater volcanic eruption in 2022. Japan's Himawari-8 satellite recorded images of the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai eruption every ten minutes. Left: 4:10 GMT. Middle: 4:30 GMT. Right: 5:10 GMT
The tomb of a courtesan who seduced the elite 'during Alexander the Great's campaigns' has been discovered after 2,300 years.

Found south of Jerusalem, Israel, it contained the cremated remains of a young woman, and a rare box mirror that looks 'as if it was made yesterday'.

Experts say she was a hetaira  a high-class escort from ancient Greece, who offered elite clients not only sex, but also companionship and intellectual stimulation.

And she may have plied her trade accompanying the armies of Alexander the Great, or those who warred for his vast empire after the conqueror's demise.

The discovery, which is detailed in a new study, is thought to be the first hetairai tomb ever found.

The tomb of a courtesan who seduced the elite 'during Alexander the Great's campaigns' has been discovered after 2,300 years

Experts say she was a hetaira  a high-class escort from ancient Greece , who offered elite clients not only sex, but also companionship and intellectual stimulation. And she may have plied her trade accompanying the armies of Alexander the Great (depicted in this mosaic found in Pompeii), or those who warred for his vast empire after the conqueror's demise

Experts say she was a hetaira (pictured)  a high-class escort from ancient Greece , who offered elite clients not only sex, but also companionship and intellectual stimulation

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Co-author Guy Stiebel, an archaeologist at Tel Aviv University, said it also offered the earliest evidence of cremation found in Israel from the Hellenistic period.

The study concludes: 'It is most likely that this is the tomb of a woman of Greek origin who accompanied a senior member of the Hellenistic army or government, during Alexander the Great's campaigns or more likely during The Wars of the Diadochi (successors).'

Dr Stiebel said the mysterious nature of the tomb initially raised questions.

He said: 'The most stimulating one was: what is the tomb of a Greek woman doing on the highway leading to Jerusalem, far from any site or settlement of the period?

'The tomb particularly intrigued us, also in light of the fact that the archaeological information regarding Jerusalem and its surroundings in the early Hellenistic period is very scarce.'

The rare box mirror proved crucial to unravelling the mystery.

Liat Oz, who directed the excavation for the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) and also co-authored the new study, emphasised how exclusive the item was.

She said: 'This is only the second mirror of this type that has been discovered to date in Israel.

'And in total, only 63 mirrors of this type are known around the Hellenistic world.

'The quality of the mirror is so high that it was preserved in excellent condition, and it looked as if it was made yesterday.'

Found south of Jerusalem, Israel, it contained the cremated remains of a young woman, and a rare box mirror (pictured) that looks 'as if it was made yesterday'

The researchers revealed that such mirrors were usually associated with Greek women, and often decorated with idealised females or goddesses like Aphrodite  the goddess of love

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The researchers revealed that such mirrors were usually associated with Greek women, and often decorated with idealised females or goddesses like Aphrodite  the goddess of love.

They also noted that a woman might get one as a dowry ahead of her wedding or  if they were a hetaira  as a gift from a client.

But the tomb's roadside location and distance from any settlement suggested the deceased was accompanying an army on the move  something Greek wives rarely did.

Hence they concluded the tomb belonged to a hetaira.

Though the authors emphasised that hetairai weren't purely sexual figures  some became common-law wives to their clients, and inspired famous works of art which were even displayed in temples.

Experts believe the remains date back to the late 4th or early 3rd century BC, when the site was away from any settlement  though today it's not far from the Ramat Rachel kibbutz.

Dr Stiebel said future tests could reveal precisely whose army the woman was escorting.

He said: 'There are several possibilities ranging from the time of Alexander, through to the Diadochi and the first Syrian Wars.

'For all there are various hints in both the archaeological and historical records.

The tomb's roadside location and distance from any settlement suggested the deceased was accompanying an army on the move  something Greek wives rarely did

The tomb was discovered in Talpiot, which is just south of Jerusalem

'It is still too early a stage for us to pinpoint the exact ruler.

'We do hope that, in the near future, archaeometallurgic tests will shed more light on the narrative of this fascinating burial and mirror.'

IAA director Eli Escusido said: 'This is an example of the combination of archaeology and research at its best.

'The study of a seemingly simple object lead us to a new understanding and a narrative that opens a window for us to a forgotten and vanished ancient world.

'These days, researchers are using more technologies to extract more information, and maybe we will be able to get to know that lady and her culture better.'
A Scottish man felt like he was being 'kidnapped' when his electric vehicle (EV) began driving itself at the weekend.

Brian Morrison, 53, was heading home from work when his 30,000 MG ZS suffered a 'catastrophic malfunction' on the A803 towards Kirkintilloch, near Glasgow.

He was left terrified when the brake pedals stopped working and the car  which is designed and built in China  began driving itself at 30mph.

Because he has mobility issues, Mr Morrison was unable to jump out of the car, which only came to a stop after it was deliberately driven into a police van.

Thankfully no one was hurt - but the incident has raised questions over whether the same issue could affect other EV users.

Professor Roberto Metere, a computer scientist and security lecturer at the University of York, told MailOnline: 'It's a rare yet potential danger that could very much happen to other drivers.'

Brian Morrison, 53, was heading home from work when his 30,000 MG ZS suffered a 'catastrophic malfunction' on the A803 towards Kirkintilloch, near Glasgow

READ MORE I was kidnapped by my runaway electric car Brian Morrison, 53, was heading home from work when the MG ZS EV suffered the 'catastrophic malfunction' Advertisement

Although it's difficult to tell what caused the issue, there may have been an issue with the 'databus', the EV's communication system that transfers data inside a computer, or even a remote security attack.

'My best guess is that the car experienced incorrect synchronization in the communication between the main software system and the sensors,' Professor Metere said.

'That could be caused by the bus communication system malfunctioning or being "overloaded".

'The car couldn't stop because such an error would not allow other commands to be sent to the main system, which could not process them.'

Unlike conventional petrol cars that use friction braking, EVs use a system called 'regenerative braking' which involves the car's computer.

'In general, electric cars should be as safe as diesel or petrol cars in terms of their braking system,' Amin Al-Habaibeh, professor of intelligent engineering systems at Nottingham Trent University, told MailOnline.

'Electric cars have regenerative braking system to slow the car by absorbing the car's kinetic energy to recharge the car's battery; this could save significant levels of energy and make the car more efficient.'

Tom Stacey, an automotive expert at Anglia Ruskin University, pointed out that all types of cars can suffer brake failures, but it is rare when they do.

'Research has shown that electric vehicles are more likely to pass an MOT, which includes brake checks, than cars with internal combustion engines,' he told MailOnline.

'By law, all EVs will have a handbrake that is separate from the main braking system.'

It's unclear whether Mr Morrison had this option.

Because he has mobility issues, Mr Morrison was unable to jump out of the car, which only came to a stop after it was deliberately driven into a police van

The driver said: 'I realised something was wrong when I was coming up to a roundabout and went to slow down but it failed to do so'

READ MORE Is YOUR electric car vulnerable to hackers? Security concerns surrounding electric cars and their infrastructure are multifaceted, experts explain Advertisement

Miri Ofir, director of R&D at software firm Check Point, said modern cars are like 'computers on wheels' and contain bugs or glitches 'like any software'.

'There's a chance that the vehicle might experience a system malfunction, either in its software or a physical component,' she told MailOnline.

'Advanced vehicles nowadays possess autonomous driving features that manage critical functions like braking and acceleration.

'There could have been a malfunction in one of these systems and the car cannot recover from this state.'

Gunwant Dhadyalla is director of Automotive Electronics Systems Innovation Network, a trade body that works on electronics in the car industry.

Speaking on BBC Radio 4's Today programme, he said electronic systems on cars are 'very complex' and, despite 'tremendous' amounts of testing, faults slip through the cracks on rare occasions.

'Nowadays you can find up to 100million lines of software code driving these vehicles, so the ability for a fault like this to escape is possible if your test systems are not really state of the art,' he said.

'Often what happens when you test systems is you write your specifications of how you want things to work and test against these specifications.'

Mr Dhadyalla added that 'complex interactions'  two or three things happening at the same time that aren't anticipated  can cause the vehicle's software to 'misbehave'.

But, ultimately, it can be difficult to recreate the exact conditions that caused the issue in the first place.

'Those complex interactions are very tricky to create and then to recreate again to find the faults,' he said.

'It's the sort of thing that's not necessarily isolated to electric vehicles.'

The MG ZS is a produced by the Chinese automotive manufacturer SAIC Motor, but it appears under the British MG brand

Mr Morrison's car after being brought to a halt by police following the incident in Glasgow

He added: 'It is something that the electric vehicles industry needs to be aware of, because of the additional use of electronics and the higher voltage systems that cause new types of faults.'

The MG ZS is a produced by the Chinese automotive manufacturer SAIC Motor, but it appears under the British MG brand.

MG Motor UK has acknowledged the incident and will be investigating the cause of the EV's severe malfunction.

In a statement, MG Motor UK said: 'We have been urgently trying to make contact with Mr Morrison so that his vehicle can be fully inspected by our engineering team.

'We take this matter very seriously and now that contact has been made, we will be making every effort to resolve matters quickly and comprehensively for him.'
From Kim Kardashian to Paris Hilton, many female celebrities are known for their raspy, low voices.

This low drawl is known as 'vocal fry', and has become popular with young women who wish to speak more like their idols.

Now, a study has revealed how women who speak with vocal fry use the same technique as cats when the purr.

Researchers from the University of Vienna have discovered a special 'pad' embedded in cats' vocal folds, which may explain why they can produce these low-frequency sounds.

'The observed sound production mechanism is strikingly similar to human "creaky voice" or "vocal fry",' the team explained.

From Kim Kardashian (left) to Paris Hilton (right), many female celebrities are known for their raspy, low voices

Cats are known for their broad range of noises, whether it's sharp screeches or low-pitched purrs.

Previous studies have shown that meows and screeches are produced in the cat's larynx, or 'voice box', just like vocalisations in humans.

However, until now, the mechanism behind purring has remained unclear.

Research dating back 50 years suggested that purrs are produced by a special mechanism in which the muscles in the vocal folds within the larynx contract and relax in a cycle.

However, in their new study, the researchers questioned whether this is really the case - pointing out that such a process would require constant neural input and control from the brain.

To set the record straight, the team enlisted the help of eight domestic cats, whose voice boxes were analysed as they made a range of noises.

As predicted, the analysis revealed that cyclic muscle contractions are not needed to generate cat purrs.

Instead, the team found that cats have a unique pad within their vocal folds that's responsible for the low-frequency noises.

To set the record straight, the team enlisted the help of eight domestic cats, whose voice boxes were analysed as they made a range of noises (stock image)

WHAT IS 'VOCAL FRY'? 'Vocal fry' involves elongating certain syllables so that they vibrate at the back of the throat, creating a tapping sound like a stick running along a railing. With vocal fry, the phrase 'no way' becomes 'no waaaaaaay' and 'whatever' turns into 'whateverrrrrr'. It is compared to the way Britney Spears croaks out the line 'Oh baby, baby' in her number one hit 'Baby One More Time'. Advertisement

Christian T Herbst, lead author of the study, said: 'Anatomical investigations revealed a unique "pad" within the cats' vocal folds.

'[This] may explain how such a small animal, weighing only a few kilograms, can regularly produce sounds at those incredibly low frequencies (2030 Hz, or cycles per second) - far below even than lowest bass sounds produced by human voices.'

This process is very similar to vocal fry in humans, the researchers explained.

Writing in their study, published in Current Biology, they added: 'This is comparable to vocal fry phonation in humans, which is found at frequencies below 70 Hz.'

Vocal fry sounds are usually used at the end of a sentence when users dip into lower, creaky notes.

It is compared to the way Britney Spears croaks out the line 'Oh baby, baby' in her number one hit 'Baby One More Time'.

Unfortunately for those who've adopted the accent, a recent study found that women who speak with it are seen as less intelligent and attractive.

However, the University of Florida researchers did not find any difference in the impression it gave when used by men.
Every year, around 30,000 brave visitors attempt to climb to its icy peak.

But scaling Mont Blanc is now slightly easier, as research has revealed it has shrunk over seven feet (two metres) over the past two years.

New measurements show that France's heighest mountain is now 15,766.4 feet (4,805.59 metres) in height.

The 7.28ft (2.22 metre) decline could be down to lower precipitation during summer, said Jean des Garets, chief geometer in the Haute-Savoie department of southeastern France.

'Mont Blanc could well be much taller in two years' when it is next measured, he added, saying this was not the first time such a large change had been seen.

Scaling Mont Blanc is now slightly easier, as research has revealed it has shrunk over seven feet (two metres) over the past two years

Mont Blanc: The highest mountain in Western Europe Mont Blanc is the highest mountain in Western Europe and the eleventh tallest summit in the world. It lies on the border between Italy and France and ownership of the summit was long a subject of dispute. The peak forms part of the larger 'Mont Blanc Massif', a range which is popular among walkers, climbers, skiers and snowboarders alike. Advertisement

The mountain's rocky peak measures 15,721ft (4,792 metres) above sea level, but its thick covering of ice and snow varies in height from year to year depending on wind and weather.

Researchers have been measuring it every two years since 2001, hoping to garner information about the impact of climate change on the Alps.

'We're gathering the data for future generations. We're not here to interpret them,' des Garets said.

People shouldn't use the height measurement 'to say any old thing', he urged.

Instead, 'it's now up to the climatologists, glaciologists and other scientists to make use of all the data we've collected and come up with theories to explain' the shrinkage.

Mont Blanc's highest recorded summit was in 2007, at 15,783ft (4,810.9 metres).

A 3.2ft (one-metre) fall was measured in 2021 compared to 2017 - after 2019's unusually low result was kept secret as experts judged it not representative.

'Mont Blanc's height has been fluctuating since time immemorial,' the geometers say.

New measurements show that France's heighest mountain is now 15,766.4 feet (4,805.59 metres) in height

READ MORE: Switzerland loses 10% of its glaciers in two years as hot summers 'dramatically' accelerate ice loss Switzerland has lost 10 per cent of its glaciers in the past two years Advertisement

Within the year, strong winter winds usually scour away more snow than in summer, meaning the peak is higher as autumn begins than in early spring.

'We've learned a lot from these measurement campaigns. We know that the summit is constantly changing in altitude and position, with changes of up to five metres,' des Garets said.

Faster melting has been observed in Alpine glaciers as a result of climate change.

European glaciers - many at lower altitude than elsewhere on the globe - are especially vulnerable to global warming.

They lost around one-third of their volume between 2000 and 2020, according to scientific data.

In 2022 alone, glaciologists believe up to seven percent of the remaining mass of the glaciers may have vanished.

But one of the Mont Blanc team members, Denis Borel, urged people to 'stay humble' about climate's impact on the mountain.

People shouldn't 'draw hasty conclusions about measurements that have only been made precisely since 2001', he added.

Around 20 people scaled the mountain in mid-September to carry out the measurements over several days, divided into eight parties equipped with high-tech tools and - for the first time - a drone.
Seabin came to the US in 2022 with operations in Los Angeles and Philadelphia

A volume of seawater equivalent to roughly 5,000 Olympic-sized swimming pools has been skimmed clean of microplastics and other pollution  thanks to a small start-up founded by two surfers in Australia.

According to the latest annual report from their company, Seabin, the start-up's marine clean-up and tracking operations in Sydney successfully expanded to Los Angeles and Philadelphia last year.

After just one year of operation at Marina Del Ray in Los Angeles, Seabin's ocean skimmers have reportedly captured over 7,300 pounds of litter from ocean surfaces off the coast of California.

The Seabins can also use special oil absorbent pads, capable of skimming away the grimy sheen of fuel pollution, surface oils, soaps and detergents.

After just one year of operation at Marina Del Ray in Los Angeles, Seabin's ocean skimmers have captured over 7,300 pounds of litter from marine surfaces off the California coast

Peter Ceglinski and Andrew Turton (pictured), from Perth, spent four years developing the 'Seabin' in a bid to solve one of the biggest issues facing the world's oceans - coming up with their automated, trash-skimming prototype in 2015

Seabin reported $1 million in revenue last spring, thanks to its new business model.

The company now sells detailed environmental data harvested during clean-up to corporate sponsors looking to spruce up their own images.

'Our 2020 pivot was significant,' said Seabin's CEO and co-founder Pete Ceglinski.

'We cut loose a business model that included 53 countries to focus on cleaning up entire cities: a free service to our old clients paid for by corporates.'

Ceglinski  an industrial engineer and lifelong surfer who founded Seabin with a surfing buddy in 2015  said that the crucial change making this possible was a pivot to collecting 'credible and transparent nature-repair data.'

This lucrative new environmental data collection, Ceglinski said, means Seabin is 'adding value to our clients' sustainability portfolios while holding true to our mission of creating a positive impact on the ocean.'

Seabin's 12V submersible water pump pulls in only water from the top 10 millimeters the aquatic surface: high enough to grab free-floating debris without trapping marine life

The current version of the Seabin, the V5 Hybrid, runs on 110V/120V power at a cost that, by the company's estimates, amounts to less than $1 a day.

The device's 12V submersible water pump pulls in only water from the top 10 millimeters of the aquatic surface, high enough to grab free-floating debris without accidentally trapping fish or other marine animals.

Seabin's V5 catch bag, which is capable of filtering out microplastics down to 2 millimeters in diameter, is made of a durable, burlap-like natural fiber called 'Hessian' or 'Jute.'

'Seabin is currently trialing fish deterrent technology,' the company reported on a recent spec sheet, 'to ensure the marine life is safe around the V5 hybrid.'

'But to date, this has not been an issue.'

According to the company, even more sustainable variations can power Seabin's energy-efficient pumps with wind or solar.

Seabin's V5 catch bag, which is capable of filtering out microplastics down to 2 millimeters in diameter, is made of a durable, burlap-like natural fiber called 'Hessian' or 'Jute'

The company now sells detailed environmental data harvested during clean-up to corporate sponsors looking to spruce up their own images

As Ceglinski told the World Economic Forum, Seabin hopes to ratchet up to the '100 cities by 2050' campaign. Sydney and Los Angeles have become its first two 'smart cities' within this new project.

With the Marina Del Rey project in LA, the team projects that they will be able to remove about 54 tons of microplastics, plastic fibers and other items from the California coast by 2025, with nearly four tons already collected.

But the smaller pilot program in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania has shown promise, too.

Six Seabin units in the Delaware River collected a total of 879,718 items of marine litter in 2022, according to their latest annual report.

The Philadelphia project filtered approximately 795 million liters of water from the river, Seabin's report said, or about 300 Olympic-sized swimming pools of liquid.

When they first devised their idea, Ceglinski and his surfer friend Andrew Turton met in Perth, Australia, but were living as surfing nomads in Palma de Mallorca, Spain.

'I was a product designer in another life, and it was my job to make plastic products,' Turton told Surfer magazine in 2016.

'After a while, I realized that we didn't need the stuff I was making, so I stopped,' he recalled. 'There's nothing worse than being out there surrounded by plastic.'

As his co-founder Ceglinski told Daily Mail Australia back in 2019, the duo managed to raise $300,000 to launch Seabin via the investment website Indiegogo within the space of just two months  far surpassing their initial goal of $230,000.

Back in those early days, when the company's business model was selling Seabins directly to cities and municipalities, Ceglinski traveled the world getting an up-close look at the many bizarre things people just throw away.

'The weirdest thing we have collected, he said, 'was probably a cowboy boot with a mini pineapple inside, which was found in San Diego.'

However, seeing so much of humanity's actual garbage has not given him second thoughts or left Ceglinski demoralized.

'The current climate crisis is dire,' he said, 'but as an eternal optimist, I believe we can fix it or at least try our best to learn from our mistakes.'
It may be sunny in California, but it is also 'raining spiders.'

Residents along the Central Coast are reportedly seeing webs with spiderlings falling from the skies.

Several online videos show white structures floating in the air and sticking to the ground and buildings, which one local likened to the 'fake spider web stuff that you buy at the Halloween store.'

While the incidents are bizarre, a biologist revealed that the 'webbing' is silk baby spiders spin to migrate to new habitats.

Several online videos show white structures floating in the air and sticking to the ground and buildings, which one local likened to the 'fake spider web stuff that you buy at the Halloween store

'What they are is strands of silk that spiderlings, baby spiders, use to disperse,' Fred Larabee, an assistant professor of biology at San Jose State University, told the SF Chronicle.

'To get away from where they're originally born, they spin these silk strands and they get caught by the wind, which pulls the spiders to a new place to live, to new habitats, so they're not competing with their siblings.'

The reports are coming from San Francisco, San Jose, Danville and Gilroy.

One California resident shared a video on TikTok asking the public to help unravel the mystery of the falling webs.

Residents in the County of Monterey and the Monterey Peninsula Regional Park District also shared sightings of the mysterious webbing

One local told Kion56 , a local news station, that it smelled of chemicals and, when lit on fire, burst into a fireball and burned like plastic

'It's sticky [and] silky and falling from the actual sky,' she said in the video.

She continued to explain that the webbing was all over the telephone poles.

'It is the weirdest thing,' she said.

Residents in the County of Monterey and the Monterey Peninsula Regional Park District also shared sightings of the mysterious webbing.

One local told Kion56, a local news station, that it smelled of chemicals and, when lit on fire, burst into a fireball and burned like plastic.

California State University, Monterey Bay professor John E. Banks told the outlet that people are witnessing is a process called ballooning.

While the incidents are bizarre, a biologist revealed that the 'webbing' is silk baby spiders spin to migrate to new habitats

Banks said spiders will spin silk threads when they become frightened or run out of food, which are then caught in the wind and carried off to a new location.

'It's a special term we use for how spiders disperse from habitat to habitat,' he said.

'Most spiders, as you imagine, have trouble walking around the ground and getting across barriers such as Highway 1 or some of the structures we built.'

He also said that it could be an evolutionary practice for spiders living in areas where their food supply is uncertain, like farmland.
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Brace yourself for a stunning visual journey around the world, courtesy of these panoramic images.

The photographs have picked up accolades in the 2023 Epson International Pano Awards, the world's largest competition devoted to panoramic photography. This year, the winners were selected from more than 4,000 entries from over 1,100 professional and amateur photographers in 102 countries worldwide.

Lightning bolts striking the coast of Mallorca, dolphins playing off the coast of Western Australia and a lenticular cloud over an active volcano in Chile are some of the subjects captured by the photographers whose work has been recognised in the awards.

The overall champion, however, is Spanish photographer Jose Riquelme for his breathtaking series of pictures captured in Iceland and Namibia. Among them is an image titled 'Ghost Cave', which captures Kirkjufell hill in Iceland.

Remarking on 'Ghost Cave', the contest organisers say: 'The combination of Kirkjufell's natural grandeur and meticulous capture work results in a masterpiece that transports the viewer to a dreamlike world where reality blends with fantasy, creating a unique and exhilarating visual experience.'

Scroll down to see MailOnline Travel's pick of the winning and commended images - with one of Riquelme's gold-medal-winning shots at the very bottom...

This striking image shows a lenticular cloud over Villarrica, an active volcano in Chile. Captured by photographer Francisco Negroni, it takes the silver medal in the Open Nature Landscapes category

Zack Stanton captured the light streaming through the trees of Del Norte County, California, in this spellbinding shot, which takes fourth place in the Amateur Nature Landscapes category

Titled 'The Gathering', this monochrome shot shows alligators poised along a grassy bank in Florida. Captured by Eric Clay, it's been awarded joint fourth place in the Open Nature Landscapes category

Marc Marco captures the incredible moment several forks of lightning strike the water in an electric storm off the coast of Sa Foradada in Mallorca, Spain. The image ranks 28th in the top 50 pictures entered into the Amateur Nature Landscapes category

Italian photographer Roberto Moiola snared this shot of a rainbow over Reine Bay in the Lofoten Islands of Norway. It takes joint 19th place in the Open Nature Landscapes category

This striking picture of two bears devouring a fish in Alaska, captured by Dennis Zhang, ranks in the top 50 pictures in the Amateur Nature Landscapes category

Photographer Ran Shen was behind the lens for this spellbinding shot of Shanghai, China. The shot takes 14th place in the Amateur Built Environment category

This playful image shows a pair of dolphins leaping through the waves in Cape Naturaliste, Western Australia. It earns joint 14th place in the Amateur Nature Landscapes category

The underwater military museum of Aqaba in Jordan is the subject of this shot by photographer Martin Broen. It's been awarded 16th place in the Open Built Environment category

Tsing Ma Bridge in Hong Kong peeks through the clouds in this picture by Michelle Kwock. It takes joint 48th place in the Amateur Built Environment category

Titled 'Blue Hour', this picture by David Swindler shows red-roofed huts beside the three peaks of Lavaredo in the Italian Dolomites. It earns joint 37th place in the Open Built Environment category

This eerie image shows the Cedar Pride shipwreck, a former Lebanese freighter that's been deliberately sunk off the coast of Aqaba, Jordan. Captured by Martin Broen, it's 11th in the Open Built Environment category

Bolts of purple lightning appear to strike Hong Kong in this dramatic image by Carlo Yuen. It comes 32nd in the Open Built Environment category

Earning 25th place in the Amateur Nature Landscapes category, this dramatic photograph shows Vestrahorn mountain on Stokksnes Beach in Iceland

This stunning picture shows the landscape around San Francisco, with the top of the Golden Gate Bridge emerging from the clouds. Captured by U.S photographer Ray Cao, it ranks 18th in the Amateur Built Environment category

Sliding into joint eighth place in the Amateur Nature Landscapes category is this magical image of the Lofoten Islands in Norway

In this picture, lava slides its way down Fagradalsjfall, an active volcano in Iceland some 25 miles (40km) from Reykjavik. Icelandic photographer Ael Kermarec captured the image, which is joint 14th in the Amateur Nature Landscapes category
Kim Kardashian reminiscing about her past as a mischevious teenager led to her flirting with a man on a live chat call on Hulu's The Kardashians.

About half-way through this week's episode - entitled When is Being Me Gonna Be Okay - Khloe Kardashian was at a mall in Century City, prepping for the first ever retail store for her Good American brand.

While the store was 'a nightmare' - with everything far behind schedule - the 39-year-old Khloe - who made headlines for defending her fanny pack - reminisced on her past in that very mall, revealing to Good American CEO Emma Grede that she got her ears pierced there.

She also opened up about how the sisters used to use a 1-900 live chat hotline to try and get men to meet them at that mall, when they were just 15.

Instead of meeting the men, they would stand them up and covertly take Polaroid photographs of the men who came out to meet them... with Kim even getting the number from Kourtney and fake flirting with a stranger while using the pseudonym Samantha.

Kim flirting: Kim Kardashian reminiscing about her past as a mischevious teenager led to her flirting with a man on a live chat call on Hulu's The Kardashians

Nightmare: About half-way through this week's episode - entitled When is Being Me Gonna Be Okay - Khloe Kardashian was at a mall in Century City, prepping for the first ever retail store for her Good American brand

Live chat: She also opened up about how the sisters used to use a 1-900 live chat hotline to try and get men to meet them at that mall, when they were just 15

Khloe puts on some sunglasses and looks into the camera and says, 'This mall has been around for years. You should ask Kourtney and Kim. They used to call 1-900 numbers and ask gentlemen to meet them here.'

Kim reveals in confession, 'So we would talk to these guys. We would be like 15, and then they would be like, 'OK, meet me at Blockbuster at the mall.' And we'd see the poor guy and we'd stand him up and we'd take a Polaroid and we have a book of Polaroids of these guys that we would stand up at the mall.'

Khloe reveals back at the mall that, 'Kourtney still remembers the phone number,' as it cuts back to Kim in confession, calling Kourtney, asking if she remembers the 1-900 number.

'Yeah, I know it by heart. She says the number but it's censored out of the broadcast, but Kim calls it, and it's still a 'live chat' number.

'This is (censored) where naughty is nice. Your live chat starts now,' the voice says, but Kim says, 'Kourtney, you talk, you talk,' but Kourtney says, 'I'm hanging up.'

A man's voice comes on the line as Kim says, 'Hey, this is Samantha,' while trying to disguise her voice a bit, as he says his name is Chris and he's from Ventura, California.

Kim/Samantha says, 'I stay in Ventura County' while trying not to laugh, as he says, 'Oh that's great. I love Ventura, that's so good,' but Kim says, 'You guys,' and hangs up the phone with a laugh.

'I've gotta save that number in my phone,' Kim says in confession, before it cuts back to the Good American store.

Sunglasses: Khloe puts on some sunglasses and looks into the camera and says, 'This mall has been around for years. You should ask Kourtney and Kim. They used to call 1-900 numbers and ask gentlemen to meet them here'

Mall: Kim reveals in confession, 'So we would talk to these guys. We would be like 15, and then they would be like, 'OK, meet me at Blockbuster at the mall.' And we'd see the poor guy and we'd stand him up and we'd take a Polaroid and we have a book of Polaroids of these guys that we would stand up at the mall'

Number: Khloe reveals back at the mall that, 'Kourtney still remembers the phone number,' as it cuts back to Kim in confession, calling Kourtney, asking if she remembers the 1-900 number

By heart: 'Yeah, I know it by heart. She says the number but it's censored out of the broadcast, but Kim calls it, and it's still a 'live chat' number

Hanging up: 'This is (censored) where naughty is nice. Your live chat starts now,' the voice says, but Kim says, 'Kourtney, you talk, you talk,' but Kourtney says, 'I'm hanging up'

Chris: A man's voice comes on the line as Kim says, 'Hey, this is Samantha,' while trying to disguise her voice a bit, as he says his name is Chris and he's from Ventura, California

Hang up: Kim/Samantha says, 'I stay in Ventura County' while trying not to laugh, as he says, 'Oh that's great. I love Ventura, that's so good,' but Kim says, 'You guys,' and hangs up the phone with a laugh

Khloe revealed in confession, 'We are at the Century City mall and we are standing in the very first Good American retail store, where you can come in, and it doesnt look like we are anywhere close to being opened and I mean, were supposed to be open in a couple of weeks, so thats not happening, Khloe says in confession.

She reveals to Good American CEO Emma Grede, I got my ears pierced in this mall. One of them, and then I ran out of the store and my mom dragged me back, placed me back down, did the other ear, and I never got another piercing, just these one on each side.

Emma shows her blueprints of the store and candidly says, the whole thing is nightmare at the moment, because we are over budget, we are over time, were trying to open four different stores like all at once and we are two weeks delayed.

Khloe asks if there is still going to be a soft open in April but Emma says the soft opening will be in May.

Khloe adds in confession, I feel like no matter where I turn, theres just stress after stress and problem after problem. Which is obviously adulting, no one warns you about this when you were young.

Khloe asks if Vegas is on track, and Emma says, Nothings on track, because theres this like you know whole supply chain crisis and I cant get anything done on time. Its a nightmare.

Khloe says in confession that, the goal is to maybe open 50 or so stores. I think we need to see how, you know, opening the first three go this year.

Emma reiterates its a nightmare, but its more on track and we want to get it right,' adding that, as long as they could get all of the stores open by the end of the year, then shell be happy.
Kellie Crawford has marked five years since her husband Addam died.

The former Hi-5 star, 49, tied the knot with the lighting designer in 2008, but he passed away on October 4, 2018. He was 40 years old.

Taking to Instagram on Wednesday, Kellie shared a heartbreaking video that captured memories like their wedding day.

Other images showed the couple kissing, enjoying nights out with friends and sharing drinks.

'5 years without you,' she captioned her post.

Kellie Crawford has marked five years since her husband Addam died

'I miss hearing your voice, your laugh, your advice, but most of all..I miss my best friend. Angus and I were blessed to have been in your life. We will always miss you.'

Kellie's video was flooded with support from friends and fans who sent their condolences in the comments.

'Thinking of you my beautiful friend. Love you to death and always here for you xx,' one user wrote.

Taking to Instagram on Wednesday, Kellie shared a heartbreaking video that captured memories like their wedding day

Other images showed the couple kissing, enjoying nights out with friends and sharing drinks

'Oh honey .. I hope as the memories wash over you you will find more treasures to keep in your heart,' added another.

Another friend commented: 'Oh Kel - we will miss him. Loved by all lucky enough to know him. What a beautiful video.'

Addam worked as a lighting designer and projectionist, travelling the world for several years.

The former Hi-5 star, 49, tied the knot with the lighting designer in 2008, but he passed away on October 4, 2018. He was 40 years old

In 2006, he returned to Sydney and met Kellie while touring with Hi-5.

The pair got engaged in 2007 and married in 2008  the same year Kellie departed the children's performance group.

Addam's cause of death was never disclosed when he passed away in 2018.

Meanwhile, on the same day of Addam's death, Kellie celebrated her late mother's birthday.

Kellie was part of the original and most iconic line-up of Hi-5, comprising of himself, Kathleen de Leon, Nathan Foley, Tim Harding and Charli Robinson

'Happy heavenly birthday Mumma. Our first year celebrating you, without you,' she wrote.

'We all miss you. Thanks for being the best mum and nannie in our world. We love you.'

Kellie was part of the original and most iconic line-up of Hi-5, comprising of himself, Kathleen de Leon, Nathan Foley, Tim Harding and Charli Robinson.

The popular group was formed in 1998 and went on to become one of the most recognisable children's bands in Australia.

While Kellie left the group in 2008, the Hi-5 group ultimately ended in 2019.
Saturday Night Live will be making their long-awaited return with Pete Davidson as the first host of the new season.

On Wednesday, NBC announced the long-running sketch comedy show will kick off its 49th season on October 14 with the former cast member, 29, hosting the first episode since the writers strike.

The comedian  who has been enjoying a new romance with Outer Banks star Madelyn Cline  will be joined by first-time musical guest, rapper Ice Spice.

The following week, Bad Bunny will be pulling double duty and taking on two roles as both host and musical guest.

The entire cast from the past season are expected to return alongside one new addition, Chloe Troast  who will be a featured player.

Live in New York City! Saturday Night Live will be making their long-awaited return with Pete Davidson as the first host of the new season. On Wednesday, NBC announced the long-running sketch comedy show will kick off its 49th season on October 14 with the former cast member, 29, hosting the first episode since the writers strike

Previously, the Bodies Bodies Bodies actor was slated to host on May 6  four days after the Writers Guild of America strike began  with musical guest Lil Uzi Vert.

His episode was the first of many to be cut because of the strike, and he's now making up for it as he prepares to make his hosting debut with the first returning installment.

Previously, he was a cast member on the NBC late-night sketch comedy series for eight seasons from 2014 to 2022.

The writers strike was declared officially over on September 27 when the WGA board members approved a contract agreement with studios after 146 days on the picket line.

While SAG-AFTRA members are still on strike for most television and theatrical work, the SNL cast can resume performing as variety shows operate under a different contract.

The Hollywood actors' strike is nearing the three-month mark while the screenwriters' strike reached a tentative agreement and ended about a week ago.

'They are not in violation of SAG-AFTRA strike rules, and we support them in fulfilling their contractual obligations,' the union said in a statement about SNL on Wednesday.

'The program is a SAG-AFTRA non-dramatic production under a separate agreement that is not suubject to the union's strike order,' the statement read.

Double duty: The following week, Bad Bunny will be pulling double duty and taking on two roles as both host and musical guest

Exciting news: The official social media account of SNL also shared the news by posting the line-up for October 14. They also revealed Bad Bunny will be hosting and performing as a musical guest for October 21

First-time musical guest: The comedian  who has been enjoying a new romance with Outer Banks star Madelyn Cline  will be joined by first-time musical guest, rapper Ice Spice

Long-awaited return: Previously, the Bodies Bodies Bodies actor was slated to host on May 6  four days after the Writers Guild of America strike began  with musical guest Lil Uzi Vert. His episode was the first of many to be cut because of the strike, and he's now making up for it as he prepares to make his hosting debut with the first returning installment

'The majority of our members who are regular cast on Saturday Night Live had contractual obligations to the show prior to the strike,' it continued.

'Many are under option agreements that require them to return to the show if the producers exercise their option which the producers have done.

Other late-night shows  such as The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, Jimmy Kimmel Live!, Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, and The Late Show with Stephen Colbert  have also returned.

Season 49 of Saturday Night Live will premiere on October 14 at 11:35 p.m. ET on NBC.
She announced she's expecting her third child with her billionaire Snapchat founder husband Evan Spiegel last month.

And Miranda Kerr, 40, showed off her baby bump during a romantic hike with Evan, 33, on Tuesday.

The brunette beauty looks absolutely radiant as she posed up in a tight-fitting grey crop top and denim cut-off shorts.

She couldn't wipe the smile off her face as she tenderly caressed her growing belly.

Miranda also shared a sweet selfie of her and Evan posing in front of a scenic gorge.

Pregnant Miranda Kerr, 40, showed off her baby bump during a romantic hike with her billionaire Snapchat founder husband Evan Spiegelon Tuesday

Miranda also shared a sweet selfie of her and Evan posing in front of a scenic gorge

'Weekend adventures with my favourite travel partner,' she wrote next to the photos.

Last month, Miranda opened up about some of her bizarre pregnancy cravings.

The Australian model spoke to the Daily Telegraph on Thursday about her prenatal eating habits.

Miranda confessed she is 'craving a lot of citrus, grapefruit and freshwater with lemon'.

But her cravings have not been the same for each child, with the beauty business mogul making comparisons to previous pregnancies.

'With one of the boys, I craved apples, another frozen yoghurt  and now I am craving oranges. With another one, I was like, "please give me a burger!"' she said.

Last month, Miranda opened up about some of her bizarre pregnancy cravings

The KORA Organics founder said being 40 and pregnant with baby number four is a wonderful time in her life and she is very grateful.

Miranda and Evan are already parents to Hart, five, and Myles, three, while Kerr shares son Flynn, 12, with her ex-husband, Orlando Bloom.

The model first rose to fame at the age of 13 after winning Dolly Magazine's modelling competition and went on to become Australia's first Victoria's Secret Angel in 2007.
Kerry Washington opened up about her body image issues during her book tour stop in Los Angeles on Sunday.

The 46-year-old actress revealed that she struggled with an eating disorder when she was younger and used to compare her body to stars like Jennifer Lopez and Gwyneth Paltrow.

In conversation with Gabrielle Union, the Scandal star  who was last seen catching up with Tyler Perry during her book tour stop in Atlanta on Saturday  touched on topics in her bombshell memoir titled Thicker Than Water.

During their chat, Union brought up the common misconception that 'Black women and girls don't experience disordered eating or experience body dysmorphia.'

In response, Washington emphasized the importance of having that conversation for young Black girls growing up this society.

Candid discussion: Kerry Washington opened up about her body image issues during her book tour stop in Los Angeles on Sunday. The 46-year-old actress revealed that she struggled with an eating disorder when she was younger

'I think this idea of needing to fix myself, needing to be better, needing to be more perfect, those seeds were planted very early,' she said about herself.

In an article set to be published by People next Monday, she revealed that she opens up about these types of vulnerable topics and deep conversations in her memoir despite being 'a very private person'.

In Thicker Than Water, she discusses her childhood panic attacks, having an abortion, and her experience with an eating disorder.

During her book tour stop, she also told Union that she grew up in New York City and went to a private school on the Upper East Side.

She said she often compared herself to 'very affluent white women' and her surroundings played a role in her developing an eating disorder.

'These are stereotypes, but the ways that their moms and the women in the world looked was so different from the women that I grew up with,' she said.

'All the messages I was getting from Hollywood and from this environment was that thinner is better,' she continued. 'And that success looked like thinness.'

She also divulged that she is from the same neighborhood in the Bronx where JLo was from but she had a different view of beauty standards in the '90s.

Societal pressure: During her book tour stop, she told Gabrielle Union that she grew up in New York City and went to a private school on the Upper East Side. She said she often compared herself to 'very affluent white women' and her surroundings played a role in her developing an eating disorder

The body type she admires today: She also divulged that she is from the same neighborhood in the Bronx where Jennifer Lopez was from but she had a different view of beauty standards in the '90s. She said she did not admire Lopez's curves back then like she does today because of the influence of where she went to school

The body type she admired back then: 'I was spending nine hours a day at Spence [School, an all-girls private academy]  where Gwyneth Paltrow went,' she added. 'I'm not shaming Gwyneth Paltrow, but...there was one area that I was sort of being told was the direction to pursue,' she said about how the Iron Man actress' body type was desired

Opening up: In Thicker Than Water, she discusses her childhood panic attacks, having an abortion, and her experience with an eating disorder

She said she did not admire Lopez's curves back then like she does today because of the influence of where she went to school.

'Jennifer's butt was being celebrated everywhere,' Washington recalled. 'But that wasn't what I was interpreting as beautiful.

'I was spending nine hours a day at Spence [School, an all-girls private academy]  where Gwyneth Paltrow went,' she added.

'I'm not shaming Gwyneth Paltrow, but...there was one area that I was sort of being told was the direction to pursue,' she said about how the Iron Man actress' body type was desired.

'I think that we sometimes don't talk about it as much as we should,' she continued. 'Part of why I think it's important to talk about it is because disordered eating does not belong to one community. That pain does not belong to one community.

'In my community, there was not a lot of experience with eating disorders,' she added. 'I think it's important that we have the courage to recognize when things are not okay.'
Larsa Pippen was blasted as a 'pathological liar' in an explosive new trailer for season six of The Real Housewives of Miami.

The new teaser for the show, which Bravo dropped on Wednesday, shows 49-year-old Larsa get into a heated argument with co-star Guerdy Abraira, 45, during a group dinner.

'I told her  she's denying I told her,' Abraira tells the group about the OnlyFans model, and then adds, 'Pathological liar. You lie about everything!'

'You gotta stop saying that because you're wrong!' Larsa - who's beau Marcus Jordan makes his show debut this season - responds. But Abraira doubles down as she says, 'You're lying about everything.'

It's not apparent what sparked the spat, but earlier in the trailer Abraira was pictured tearing up as she told her co-stars that she is battling breast cancer.

Explosive: Larsa Pippen, 49, was blasted as a 'pathological liar' by co-star Guerdy Abraira, 45, in an explosive new trailer for season six of The Real Housewives of Miami

Miami may bring the heat, but #RHOM brings the FYAH  Season 6 premieres on Bravo November 1st! pic.twitter.com/okvhna9oGp  Bravo (@BravoTV) October 4, 2023

The ladies are seen comforting Abraira, as Adriana de Moura tells her, 'It's time for us to be there for you.'

In the next scene Abraira is pictured laying on a gurney in the hospital ahead of surgery.

Elsewhere in the trailer Larsa's boyfriend Marcus, 32, makes his show debut, as the couple face a relationship dilemma.

While doing a podcast Marcus asks Larsa: 'My dad, does he approve of our relationship?'

Marcus' father Michael Jordan famously played alongside Lara's ex-husband Scottie Pippen, 58, on the Chicago Bulls.

The trailer then shows Larsa look away and down as she remains silent.

And there is plenty more drama the other cast members  which include Lisa Hochstein, Julia Lemigova, Dr. Nicole Martin, Alexia Nepola along with returning friends Kiki Barth, Adriana de Moura and Marysol Patton  face.

The trailer starts out with the ladies all gathered inside of a church as they pray a Hail Mary, before chaos ensues.

Intense: 'I told her  she's denying I told her,' Abraira tells the group about the OnlyFans model, and then adds, 'Pathological liar. You lie about everything!'

Yikes: 'You gotta stop saying that because you're wrong!' Larsa responds. But Abraira doubles down as she says, 'You're lying about everything'

Cancer battle: It's not apparent what sparked the spat, but earlier in the trailer Abraira was pictured tearing up as she told her co-stars that she is battling breast cancer

There for each other: The ladies are seen comforting Abraira, as Adriana de Moura tells her, 'It's time for us to be there for you'

Fighting for her health: In the next scene Abraira is pictured laying on a gurney in the hospital ahead of surgery

Debut: Elsewhere in the trailer Larsa's boyfriend Marcus Jordan, 32, makes his show debut, as the couple face a relationship dilemma

Does he approve? While doing a podcast Marcus asks Larsa: 'My dad, does he approve of our relationship?'

Silent: The trailer then shows Larsa look away as she remains silent. Marcus' father Michael Jordan famously played alongside Lara's ex-husband Scottie Pippen, 58, on the Chicago Bulls

Lisa is still dealing with her nasty divorce from estranged husband Lenny Hochstein, and is seen sobbing at one point as she exclaims, 'I don't know what I did to deserve this.'

In another scene she also has a heated argument with Kiki.

Lisa is pictured telling Barth, 'Dont f*****g throw something at me again,' before they begin screaming 'Shut the f**k up! You shut the f**k up!'

Meanwhile Julia is also dealing with a cancer scare in her family.

Her wife, Martina Navratilova, is battling breast and throat cancer, which appears to cause tension between them.

In one scene, Navratilova tells Lemigova, 'Last treatment was three days ago and not a peep out of you. You forgot.'

Elsewhere in the trailer Alexia and her husband Todd are seen dealing with 'some financial issues' which may cause them to be kicked out of their apartment.

Another scene also sees Marysol accusing de Moura of having an affair with one of her exes.

Divorce drama: Lisa Hochstein is still dealing with her nasty divorce from estranged husband Lenny Hochstein, and is seen sobbing at one point as she exclaims, 'I don't know what I did to deserve this'

Drama: In another scene she also has a heated argument with Kiki Barth

Argument: Lisa is pictured telling Barth, 'Dont f*****g throw something at me again,' before they begin screaming 'Shut the f**k up! You shut the f**k up!'

Health woes: Julia Lemigova is also dealing with a cancer scare in her family. Her wife, Martina Navratilova, is battling breast and throat cancer, which appears to cause tension between them

Tension: In one scene, Navratilova tells Lemigova, 'Last treatment was three days ago and not a peep out of you. You forgot'

Coming soon! The Real Housewives of Miami returns to Bravo on November 1 at 9 p.m. It will also be available to stream on Peacock the next day

'You're the one that tried to f**k my ex! No, you're a snake eating your own f*****g tail,' she tells her.

'I'm no longer afraid of your poison,' de Moura responds.

The Real Housewives of Miami is coming back home to Bravo, two years after Peacock rebooted the previously canceled Housewives franchise.

RHOM returns to Bravo on November 1 at 9 p.m. It will also be available to stream on Peacock the next day.
Liev Schreiber and his wife Taylor Neisen made a stylish duo as they attended Carnegie Hall's Opening Night Gala in New York City on Wednesday.

The Ray Donovan star, 56, and his other half, 31, matched in black for the event, which marked their first red carpet since they welcomed daughter Hazel Bee a little over a month ago.

Schreiber looked dapper in a classic tuxedo with a bowtie and a white button-up shirt. The father-of-three was clean-shaven for the occasion.

Meanwhile Taylor showed off her new-mom glow in a sophisticated sleeveless floor-length black dress.

The former beauty queen accessorized with a chic gold necklace and wore her blonde tresses slicked back for the occasion.

Stylish pair: Liev Schreiber and his wife Taylor Neisen made a stylish duo as they attended Carnegie Hall's Opening Night Gala in New York City on Wednesday

Taylor - who got married to the actor in July after five years of dating - opted for gentle makeup with a pop of red lipstick on her pout.

She finalized her outfit with a black clutch.

Liev confirmed the couple's happy news on his Instagram last month, where he announced they have welcomed a daughter on August 27th and gushed that she has 'been a dream every day since.'

The actor also gave a glimpse of Hazel's little hand and foot as he shared two snaps of the newborn.

Liev already has two children with ex-partner Naomi Watts, 54: Alexander 'Sasha,' 16, and Samuel 'Kai,' 15.

Among a number of other stars at the gala was Zoe Lister-Jones, 41, who showed off her toned legs in a grey off-shoulder mini dress.

The actress added height to her look with platform nude heels and a nude clutch.

The Slip star wore her short blond tresses in a wet look and slicked to the side. As for glam she rocked a touch of eyeliner and pink blush.

Matching: The Ray Donovan star, 56, and his other half, 31, matched in black for the event, which marked their first red carpet since they welcomed daughter Hazel just over a month ago

Classic: Schreiber looked dapper in a classic tuxedo with a bowtie and a white button-up shirt. The father-of-three was clean-shaven for the occasion

Sophisticated: Meanwhile Taylor showed off her new-mom glow in a sophisticated sleeveless floor-length black dress

Stunner: Among a number of other stars at the gala was Zoe Lister-Jones, 41, who showed off her toned legs in a grey off-shoulder mini dress

Cool gal: The actress accessorized with a nude clutch and wore her short blond tresses in a wet look, slicked to the side

Beauty: Gina Gershon, 61, thrilled in a black lace gown which she paired with a black blazer. The Showgirls beauty wore her brunette tresses in gentle curls

Sparkling: Model Sophie Sumner, 33, showed off her enviable figure in a sparkling nude sequin spaghetti strap gown

Gina Gershon, 61, thrilled in a black lace gown which she paired with a black blazer. The Showgirls beauty wore her brunette tresses in gentle curls.

Model Sophie Sumner, 33, showed off her enviable figure in a sparkling nude sequin spaghetti strap gown.

She teamed the look with open-toe gold heels and wore her golden tresses down.

Sharp Objects star Patricia Clarkson, 63, wowed in a black dress and a metallic silver coat.

Scarlet Roma wore a unique floral gown with a matching headpiece and a purple velvet cape.

Journalist Ronan Farrow, 35 - son of Rosemary's Baby star Mia Farrow and director Woody Allen - made a playful fashion statement in a floral button-up pair with an electric blue suit.

Designer Zac Posen, 42, was joined by partner Harrison Ball at the event. While Zac opted for a blue suit and burgundy tie, Harrison wore an eggplant toned suit with a white button-up shirt.

Director Shawn Levy, 55, looked classy in a black suit and was accompanied by his stylish wife Serena Levy who wore a black and white gown.

Tres chic: Sharp Objects star Patricia Clarkson, 63, wowed in a black dress and a metallic silver coat, while Scarlet Roma wore a unique floral gown with a matching headpiece

Fashion statement: Journalist Ronan Farrow, 35, made a playful fashion statement in a floral button-up pair with an electric blue suit

Dapper: Designer Zac Posen, 42, was joined by partner Harrison Ball at the event. While Zac opted for a blue suit and burgundy tie, Harrison wore an eggplant toned suit

Dynamic duo: Director Shawn Levy, 55, looked classy in a black suit and was accompanied by his stylish wife Serena Levy who wore a black and white gown

Lovely pair: Actress Nikki M. James, 42, glowed in a feminine green and blue floral dress and was joined by husband Derek Oosterman

Looking sharp: Publicist R. Couri Hay, 74, looked sharp in a black velvet suit with a pearl chain and was joined by a stylish Laine Siklos

Actress Nikki M. James, 42, glowed in a feminine green and blue floral dress and was joined by husband Derek Oosterman.

Publicist R. Couri Hay, 74, looked sharp in a black velvet suit with a pearl chain and was joined by a stylish Laine Siklos.

Carnegie Halls Opening Night Gala treated guests to a 75-minute program featuring the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, conductor Riccardo Muti, and violinist Leonidas Kavakos.

Later, a post-concert, black-tie gala dinner was held at Cipriani 42nd Street to wrap up the night.
Delta Goodrem recently made a return to acting by starring in the recently released Netflix romantic comedy movie, Love is in the Air.

And fans have quickly taken to social media to praise Delta's performance in the film, with many impressed by her fine acting skills.

'I just watched it, what a beautiful movie! I've always loved her music but seeing her play such a great role had me tearing up,' one fan gushed.

'What an adorable movie. Delta, you hit this one out of the park! Totally recommend,' a second person added.

'Everyone should watch Love is in the Air! It's really cute,' a third person wrote and another user chipped in: 'I really hope Delta does more movies'.

Delta Goodrem (pictured) recently made a return to acting by starring in the Netflix romantic comedy movie Love is in the Air, which was released last week

The recently released rom-com sees Delta playing a seaplane pilot who juggles her work and personal life and falls in love with her co-star Joshua Sasse's character.

Love is in the Air has quickly soared to the top of the Netflix streaming charts.

The romantic comedy has hit No. 1 in America, Canada, and the overall global Netflix charts.

And fans have quickly taken to social media to gush over Delta's performance in the film, with many impressed by her fine acting skills. Pictured: Delta and her co-star Joshua Sasse

Posting about the film's success on Instagram, Delta said she was 'so happy' with the results.

Fans flooded the post with positive comments, with one writing, 'Loved it!!! Great to see you back acting. Congratulations sweetheart.'

Delta's fans went wild on social media over how much they loved her latest movie

The last movie Delta appeared in was released was in 2018, a biographical movie called Olivia Newton John: Hopelessly Devoted to You.

Her acting career kicked off in 2002 when she played Nina Tucker in the Australian soap Neighbours.

Love is also in the air in real life for Delta, as last month she announced her engagement to her long-time boyfriend, guitarist Matthew Copley.

It comes amid reports Love is in the Air quickly soared to the top of the Netflix streaming charts
Mandy Moore took to Instagram on Wednesday to share more shots of the ongoing renovation of her Pasadena, California home.

Moore, 39, shared with 5.5 million followers a series of images of the work being done on the Southern California home. She and her husband, Dawes frontman Taylor Goldsmith, 38, share two children  August 'Gus' Harrison, two, and Oscar 'Ozzie' Bennett, who turns one this month.

The This Is Us star, 38, has been documenting with fans the progress being made on her Spanish colonial-style house in Pasadena, which is home to the Rose Bowl.

The Emmy-nominated actress shared a series of images originally posted on the platform by her interior designer Sarah Sherman Samuel, who tagged Moore, Goldsmith, and architect Emily Farnham into the posts.

Samuel wrote, 'Site visit and final checklist for our #mmspanishcolonial project. Three years of pouring over all the details.'

The latest: Mandy Moore, 39, took to Instagram on Wednesday to share more shots of the ongoing renovation of her LA home. Pictured in LA last year

Among the shots included an exterior image of the off-white home with a dark brown balcony.

Samuel shared a shot of an archway leading into the home over stone tiling and a glass door.

The archways extend into the home, as another image depicted double archways with a visible work table and materials being used during the project.

Samuel wrote, 'Can't wait to see these floors uncovered' with a shot of the work in progress, showing wooden floor panels protected by a layer of covering amid the construction project.

Workers in the abode were seen constructing a fireplace. Multiple images showcased the aesthetic shelving and cabinet work in the Southern California abode. Wallpaper put up featured patterns of birds, trees and flowers.

A bathroom in the home of Moore - who played the role of Rebecca Pearson in 106 episodes of the NBC hit series This Is Us from 2016 thru 2022 - had protective plastic covering over the mirrors and cabinets.

Captioning a picture of her home receiving new roof tiles, she wrote: 'We're in NY for a few more months but work back home progresses. It's been nearly 3 years since we bought this place so we're VERY excited.'

The 47 Meters Down star went on to write: 'I wasn't even pregnant with Gus and now we'll move in with TWO kids!!'

Come and knock on our door: Samuel shared a shot of an archway leading into the home over stone tiling and a glass door

Work in progress: The archways extend into the home, as another image depicted double archways with a visible work table and materials being used during the project

Busy: Workers in the abode were seen constructing a fireplace

Vast: Multiple images showcased the aesthetic shelving and cabinet work in the Southern California abode

Aesthetic: Wallpaper put up featured patterns of birds, trees and flowers

Ongoing: Samuel wrote, 'Can't wait to see these floors uncovered' with a shot of the work in progress, showing wooden floor panels protected by a layer of covering amid the construction project

Almost ready: A bathroom in the home of Moore had protective plastic covering over the mirrors and cabinets

Mandy's first picture captured the exterior of her home stripped down to its bare materials with temporary construction platforms.

Her posts included pictures of her garage, kitchen and what appears to be her main living room.

'Getting closer,' captioned the Candy songstress, writing over the image of her gutted living area, with its beautiful wood rafters and stunning windows.

Top interior designer Sarah Sherman Samuel is helming the massive project for Mandy and her family, working in tandem with architect Emily Farnham to recreate what famed architect Howard B. Zook 'would have done if he were designing it today.'

Speaking to Architectural Digest at the start of her multi-year home renovation in June of 2018, Moore said: 'This house signifies the next chapter of my life  as an adult, a woman, and a performer.'

Big project: The This Is Us star shared a series of images to her Instagram Story in January that showed off the progress of her 'Spanish colonial' house in the SoCal suburb of Pasadena. Mandy's first picture captured the exterior of her home stripped down to its bare materials with temporary construction platforms

New roof: Captioning a picture of her home receiving new roof tiles, the 47 Meters Down star wrote, 'We're in NY for a few more months but work back home progresses. It's been nearly 3 years since we bought this place so we're VERY excited'

Almost there: The Candy songstress went on to write, 'I wasn't even pregnant with Gus and now we'll move in with TWO kids!!'

Best of the best: Top interior designer Sarah Sherman Samuel is helming the massive project for Mandy and her family, working in tandem with architect Emily Farnham to recreate what famed architect Howard B. Zook 'would have done if he were designing it today'

Finding treasures: Mandy's design team uncovered some 'treasures in the garage.' They are going to repurpose 'bannister supports as hooks'

For her family: Mandy and her husband, Dawes frontman Taylor Goldsmith, were snapped in LA in March of 2022

In addition to giving fans a glimpse into her future home, the License to Wed star posted two sweet pictures of her family.

'Sorry this is my entire feed now,' wrote the mother of two, captioning an image of her husband cuddling their boys.

Mandy also shared a photo of her three-month-old son Oscar 'Ozzie' Bennett asleep on her chest after breastfeeding.

'The "in between shots" mama pillow,' read Mandy's witty caption.
Francia Raisa showed out in support of her pal Selena Gomez in Los Angeles on Wednesday  after recently reconciling following speculation that they have had repeated falling outs after Gomez's kidney transplant in 2017.

For the star-studded gala in honor of Gomez's Rare Impact Fund, the Secret Life Of The American Teenager star, 35, accidentally coordinated with the Disney Channel alum, 31, by also wowing in a glitzy silver gown.

While on the red carpet, Raisa spoke candidly with Extra about her 'rocky' friendship with Gomez and insisted the kidney transplant played no role in their spats.

Raisa made the life-saving decision to donate her kidney to Gomez, who at just 24 had suffered organ damage relating to her lupus diagnosis.

There were rumors that Raisa felt as though she was 'forced' to go through with it and that she took issue with Gomez's lifestyle choices following the transplant.

Tensions also flared last year when Gomez told Rolling Stone that Taylor Swift  not Raisa  was her only friend in Hollywood.

Supportive: Francia Raisa showed out in support of her pal Selena Gomez (right) in Los Angeles on Wednesday  after recently reconciling following years of speculation that they'd had repeated falling outs after Gomez's kidney transplant in 2017

Though she admitted that their relationship is not 'perfect,' Raisa told the outlet that Gomez is like her 'little sister' and that they will never stop supporting one another.

She recalled meeting Gomez 16 years ago while they both starred on popular shows aimed at young audiences on ABC Family and Disney Channel.

'When I was on 'Secret Life of the American Teenager' she was on 'Wizards of Waverly Place.' Disney had the stars of their shows go to Children's Hospital and visit all the kids She was in my group,' she explained to Extra host Terri Seymour.

'She came up to me and was like, "My mom had a teenage pregnancy, she was 16 years old, and we love your show." I was like, "Oh my God thank you, I love your show."'

It was after this meeting that the pair started chatting on a regular basis, hanging out and getting to know one another. But it was the their mutual breakups that took their friendship to new heights.

'Around the time that my boyfriend and I broke up, and her and her boyfriend broke up, she called me and was like, "I am going through some stuff I am going through a break up."

'I was like, "Girl, me too," and we were just inseparable after that ever since.'

She said that she and Gomez 'trauma bonded, which is beautiful, but also it can get rocky and tricky People grow, relationships change.

'I obviously I treat her like my little sister she treats me like her older sister I don't know any relationship that's perfect When our situation came up No, I never pictured that, but obviously I never regretted it.

'I am happy that we are here today celebrating and supporting each other.'

As for their ups and downs, Raisa believes that 'sometimes I feel people need to spend time apart in order to grow' and insisted that any issues she and Gomez did have had 'nothing to do with' the kidney transplant.

'[Selena and I] had to almost go on our own journey and grow now I am really happy in my career now and my endeavor. I don't know if I would be able to do that if I didn't really take some time for myself and figure out what the hell was going on with me because I wasn't ok.'

She added: 'I am okay now and just for the record it had nothing to do with the kidney.

'I went through a lot in my childhood and I will be talking about it very soon She has been such a huge support through all of that.'

Now that both she and Gomez are in their 30s, Raisa said that they're excited to 'get to know each other again' at this stage of their lives.

To close out the interview, she praised the Who Said singer for 'bringing so much awareness' to mental health through the Rare Impact Fund, a non-profit dedicated .

'We have both seen each other go through so much. I am on my own journey of finally expressing myself and what I have gone through with my mental health

'I look to her to figure out how to even navigate all of this Honestly, her sharing with the audience gave me the courage to start sharing with my audience.

Wow! For Wednesday star-studded gala in honor of Gomez's Rare Impact Fund, the Secret Life Of The American Teenager star, 35, wowed in a silver one-shoulder gown

Sensational: It had a mermaid style design that hugged her sensational curves

Glam: She rocked a bright white manicure and opted for a silver eyeshadow look with a nude lip for the night

Raisa told Extra that she had no plans to match gowns with Gomez (pictured) but that they did get their spray tans done together

Bronzed beauties: 'The only thing we coordinated was our spray tans,' Raisa said, adding: 'We didn't talk about our dress'; Selena posing Wednesday

After taking interviews, Raisa took time to pose for shutterbugs in her gorgeous gown.

It had a mermaid style design that hugged her sensational curves and intricate beading that sparkled under the red carpet lights.

Raisa's hair was styled in a chic top knot with money pieces left out to frame her heart-shaped face.

She rocked a bright white manicure and opted for a silver eyeshadow look with a nude lip for the night.

She told Extra that she had no plans to match gowns with Gomez but that they did get their spray tans done together.

'The only thing we coordinated was our spray tans,' she said, adding: 'We didn't talk about our dress.'

Raisa met Gomez in 2007 and they developed a tight bond, later attending a number of red carpet events together.

At the time of the kidney transplant in 2017, Gomez shared a photo of the two laying in hospital beds and sending cheerful glances towards each other.

Gomez publicly thanked her 'for donating her kidney to me' and expressed how 'incredibly blessed' she felt having found in a donor in her.

To honor Raisa's incredible sacrifice, they each got the surgery date tattooed.

However, they had a precarious relationship in the years that followed, at one point feuding for months.

There were rumors that Francia was angry that Gomez was out partying after the transplant  with her father claiming earlier this year that 'Francia told Selena that she didn't give her the kidney so she could go out and drink.'

Raisa allegedly confronted Gomez about her 'unhealthy choices,' which led to a falling out.

But they reconciled in late 2018 after Gomez suffered a mental breakdown and checked herself into a facility.

Tensions flared in late 2022 when the Monte Carlo actress told Rolling Stone she has no famous friends aside from Taylor Swift.

According to People, E! News reposted a portion of the quote on Instagram, and in a since-deleted comment, Raisa had written, 'Interesting.'

Gomez later seemingly referenced to Raisa's response in a TikTok and addressed the interview by explaining, 'Sorry I didn't mention every person I know.'

Adding fuel to the fire, Gomez also failed to mention Raisa as she spoke candidly about her mental and physical health in her Apple TV+ documentary My Mind And Me.

But Raisa has insisted in multiple interviews this year that there is 'no beef' between herself and the Rare singer.

She also recently shutdown reports that she was 'forced' to go through with the transplant surgery while appearing on the Good Guys Podcast.

'I just felt it in my heart, I knew I was a match. I knew it was gonna happen,' she told the hosts.

'No one forced me to do anything. It came out of the genuine kindness of my heart and I've been super blessed ever since.'

Gomez showed appreciation for Raisa's sacrifice as she candidly discussed the life-saving transplant while appearing on the Apple TV+ series Dear....

She explained that the actress took it upon herself to get tested to see if she could be a kidney donor.

Life-saving: Raisa donated her kidney to save the life of the Disney Channel star, 31, who at just 24 was suffering from organ damage relating to her lupus diagnosis

Tension: There were rumors that Francia was angry that Gomez was out partying after the transplant  with her father claiming earlier this year that 'Francia told Selena that she didn't give her the kidney so she could go out and drink'; seen in 2022

Battle of the BFFs: Tensions flared in late 2022 when the Monte Carlo actress told Rolling Stone she has no famous friends aside from Taylor Swift

'No beef': But Raisa has insisted in multiple interviews this year that there is 'no beef' between herself and the Rare singer; seen in 2017

Gomez also recalled how 'unbelievably overwhelming' it was that Raisa didn't even second-guess making the decision.

'So within three days she went to go do it and she was a match, and it was one of those moments where I felt watched over,' she said.

She said that she 'will never, ever, ever be more in debt to a person than Francia.'

Things appear to have smoothed over between the two as they've been spotted hanging out in recent months  including a bowling alley date in LA this past August.

Raisa recently followed Gomez back on Instagram and Gomez even published a heartfelt tribute to Raisa on her 35th birthday in July.

'Happiest of birthdays to this special human beings. No matter where life takes us, I love you. @franciaraisa,' wrote the Disney Channel alum.

She included some of her favorite photos with Raisa, including one of the pair posing together at her star-studded 30th birthday party last July.
Nicole Kidman is set to star in Amazon Prime's new six-part series Expats, based on the popular novel The Expatriates by American author Janice Y. K. Lee.

The Oscar winning star, 56, will play the lead role of Margaret in the gripping series, which also stars British actor Jack Huston and Jurassic World's Brian Tee.

Photos of Nicole in the upcoming show have been released, showing the actress wearing a short blonde wig in the series about women bonding in the aftermath of a tragedy.

One photo shows Nicole's character in the backseat of a taxi with Brian, who plays her husband, as he rests his head on her lap.

Another screenshot shows Nicole looking upset as she lies face up in the bathtub while scrolling through her phone.

Nicole Kidman (pictured) is set to star in a six-part series set in Hong Kong called Expats, based on the popular novel The Expatriates by American author Janice Y. K. Lee

The series will be released on Amazon Prime on January 26.

Nicole also serves as an executive producer for the series and officially wrapped filming the show last December.

The Australian star announced the news via Instagram, sharing a photo of herself jumping for joy during a photo shoot with director Lulu Wang and co-star Brian.

Onset photos of Kidman in the upcoming Prime Video show have been released, and she looks to be flexing her acting chops in the series about women bonding in the aftermath of a tragedy. Pictured: Kidman with co-star Brian Tee

'That's a wrap on #Expats! So lucky to work with such a darling and inspired director @ThumbeLulu and alongside a brilliant cast & crew, including my on-screen husband @Brian_Tee,' Nicole gushed.

'Thank you everyone! Excited for you to see what we have created,' she added.

Expats is based on Janice Y.K. Lee's novel The Expatriates, and follows the vibrant and extravagant lives of Hong Kong's wealthy expat community.

Another screenshot shows Nicole Kidman looking upset as she lies face up in the bathtub while scrolling through her phone

The show was produced in Hong Kong, a decision that has sparked some backlash given the country's rapidly declining political situation.

Nicole also sparked criticism for gaining a government exception to side-step quarantine rules to film the series.

In August 2021, Nicole flew from Sydney to Hong Kong via private jet ahead of filming.

She later stirred controversy two days later after photos surfaced of her shopping at a designer boutique in the city's Central district, during the Covid pandemic.
Jesinta Franklin has revealed why she's voting Yes for the Indigenous Voice to Parliament referendum.

The model and footy WAG, 32, took to Instagram on Thursday to endorse the potential enshrined advisory body.

'Every authentic voice I trust and look up to within community supports a Yes vote,' Jesinta began, sharing a clip of indigenous AFL star Adam Goodes campaigning for the Yes vote.

'The people who truly care about the wellbeing, care, and success of indigenous people within our country have been part of this referendum,' she continued.

'The people that have been consistent and real changemakers in this space.'

Buddy Franklin's wife Jesinta has revealed why she's voting Yes for the Indigenous Voice to Parliament referendum. (The co

In another post, Jesinta went on to call out 'misinformation' which she believed was 'calculated' and aimed at manipulating the masses into voting No.

'The misinformation has been so calculated and manipulative and makes me feel sick that blatant lies can be peddled as the truth,' she said.

The star, who is married to Indigenous AFL player Lance 'Buddy' Franklin, then went on to heap praise on community leader and social activist Tanya Hosch.

'She has been a longtime role model for myself. I look up to her and admire so much of her work,' she said.

'Besides that, she has personally supported and been there for myself and Bud through moments we've needed advice and someone to talk to.'

'Every authentic voice I trust and look up to within community supports a Yes vote,' Jesinta began, sharing a clip of indigenous AFL star Adam Goodes campaigning for the Yes vote

In another post, Jesinta went on to call out 'misinformation' which she believed was 'calculated' and aimed at manipulating the masses into voting No

Early voting for the Voice referendum kicked off in the Northern Territory, Tasmania, Victoria and West Australia on Monday ahead of the October 14 poll.

Newspoll found support for the Voice had plummeted to just 36 per cent while Resolve found only 43 per cent of Australians plan to vote Yes.

Voters will be instructed to write Yes or No on their ballot paper when they cast their vote.

Support for the Indigenous Voice to Parliament referendum has ticked up for the first time in months, but still lags behind the No vote. (Yes campaigners are pictured)

A number remain sceptical about what the Voice could achieve when countless other programs designed to improve the lot of indigenous people have failed.

Prominent Indigenous No campaigners Warren Mundine and Senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price have called the Voice divisive as it split Australia down racial lines.

'It doesn't matter whether we were here 60,000 years ago, or six months ago, you are Australian ... and the problem with this divisive referendum is the fact that it seeks to create different levels of citizenship,' Senator Price said.
Candice Swanepoel showed off her model physique on Wednesday while promoting her Tropic Of C line in a new TikTok video.

The Victoria's Secret Angel, 34, put her toned abs on display in a tiny hot pink bra and matching bikini bottoms that tied on the sides.

The C bralette retails for a $100 while the bottoms go for $90. She paired the colorful ensemble with funky bright print pants and a gold belly chain.

The runway sensation - who recently donned a nude bikini in another alluring video -wore her blonde tresses in a bohemian braid and further accessorized with gold hoops and a gold necklace.

As for glam the beauty opted for a natural look, wearing only a touch of bronzer and mascara.

Abs! Candice Swanepoel showed off her model physique on Wednesday while promoting her Tropic Of C line in a new TikTok video

Sizzling: The Victoria's Secret Angel, 34, put her toned abs on display in a tiny hot pink bra and matching bikini bottoms that tied on the sides

In the video the Australia-raised star is seen posing in front of a scenic floral background that matches her pink bikini.

Candice strikes a number of sultry poses as she shows off her enviable washboard abs. The sizzling video is set to Quincy Jones' Soul Bossa Nova hit song.

Her 67.9K followers were thrilled with the new offering, with one commenting, 'beautiful.'

'You are the reason why I make wishes to the shooting stars,' another added.

Just a day prior she demonstrated her supermodel credentials in a jaw-dropping new Instagram update.

The fashionista, who originally hails from South Africa, showed off her chiseled midriff and statuesque legs in another bikini from Tropic Of C.

In a move certain to inspire a few double-takes from viewers, she posed up a storm in a nude swimsuit that blended perfectly with her tan.

She stood on top of a wall overgrown with foliage, running a hand through her luxurious curtains of blonde hair.

'Our own eternal summer..where the sun never sets on dreams and possibilities, where the world is alive with vibrant colors, and endless adventures,' she wrote.

The leggy star started her swimwear line Tropic Of C back in 2018 and has been busily plugging it on social media ever since.

Bohemian: The runway sensation wore her blonde tresses in a bohemian braid and further accessorized with gold hoops and a gold necklace

Natural beauty: As for glam the beauty opted for a natural look, wearing only a touch of bronzer and mascara

Think pink: In the video the Australian star is seen posing in front of a scenic floral background that matches her pink bikini

Model looks: Candice strikes a number of sultry poses as she shows off her enviable washboard abs

Wow! Just a day prior she demonstrated her supermodel credentials in a jaw-dropping new Instagram update

Returning to her roots! Last month Candice and several members of the legendary troupe of Victoria's Secret's Angels, were featured in the lingerie brand's re-imagined fashion show

Last month Candice and several members of the legendary troupe of Victoria's Secret's Angels, including Adriana Lima and Lily Aldridge, were featured in the lingerie brand's re-imagined fashion show.

Following a four-year hiatus, after years of backlash over its lack of diversity, the supermodels, alongside Gigi Hadid, Naomi Campbell, Hailey Bieber and more cover girls, modeled various eye-catching looks, which showed off their sensational figures.

Swanepoel, who became a Victoria's Secret Angel in 2010, put on a very leggy display in a black and gold lace minidress.

The five-foot-10 stunner oozed sex appeal as she shot a smoldering glance at the camera from over her shoulder while standing in a pitch-black room.

Swanepoel was first hired by Victoria's Secret in 2007, and earned her wins within three years with the brand.

In 2013, she was the cover model for the Victoria's Secret Swim Catalogue and the same year she was chosen to wear the Fantasy Bra in the 2013 Victoria's Secret Fashion Show.
Since Kelly Ripa went through menopause at age 50 in 2020 during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, she discovered an unexpected benefit - wearing white.

'I love not getting my period. There I said it. I don't mind it at all. I think it's one of the greatest benefits of menopause,' the 53-year-old mother-of-three confessed Tuesday on her Let's Talk Off Camera podcast.

'And you're able to wear white pants and not be terrified!'

The LIVE with Kelly and Mark producer-host excitedly called her first Memorial Day through Labor Day season after menopause 'the summer of the white pant because I never had to worry about wearing white pants!'

A decade ago, 'a famous person' gave Ripa the phone number of hormone specialist Dr. Erika Schwartz 'when I could barely sit up and I was like I don't know what's wrong with me.'

'The Change': Since Kelly Ripa went through menopause at age 50 in 2020 during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, she discovered an unexpected benefit - wearing white (pictured June 18)

The 53-year-old mother-of-three confessed Tuesday on her Let's Talk Off Camera podcast: 'I love not getting my period. There I said it. I don't mind it at all. I think it's one of the greatest benefits of menopause...And you're able to wear white pants and not be terrified!' (pictured September 14)

'She said, "You're probably perimenopausal." And I was like, "No! I get my period constantly!" And she's like, "Yeah that's perimenopause. That's part of it,"' Kelly recalled.

According to WebMD - perimenopause symptoms can include irregular periods, hot flashes, night sweats, mood swings, breast tenderness, trouble concentrating, and fatigue.

Schwartz warned women that if you don't 'use your vagina' (by sex or masturbation), you can 'lose it' and worsen menopause symptoms like vaginal dryness and lack of libido.

'We have fun with each other. We really do enjoy our sexual lives together,' the six-time Daytime Emmy winner gushed of her husband-turned-co-host Mark Consuelos.

'We just really enjoy each other's company, let's put it that way. And I think with having the kids out of the house for the most part - sometimes they sneak in when we least expect it - but for the most part having the kids out of the house allows us a certain freedom that we have not experienced in a really long time.

'So we kind of feel like we're dating again, and that is very exciting. So I guess that's how we're keeping it spicy.'

Ripa and the Spanish 52-year-old - who met playing onscreen lovers Hayley and Mateo on the ABC soap opera All My Children - famously eloped at the Chapel of the Bells in Las Vegas in 1996 after only a year of dating.

Kelly and Mark's 26-year-old son Michael graduated from NYU in 2022, their 22-year-old daughter Lola graduated from NYU's Clive Davis Institute of Recorded Music on May 17, and their 20-year-old son Joaquin is a wrestler at the University of Michigan.

The LIVE with Kelly and Mark producer-host excitedly called her first Memorial Day through Labor Day season after menopause 'the summer of the white pant because I never had to worry about wearing white pants!' (pictured in July 2021)

'She said, "You're probably perimenopausal"': A decade ago, 'a famous person' gave Ripa the phone number of hormone specialist Dr. Erika Schwartz (pictured in 2022) 'when I could barely sit up and I was like I don't know what's wrong with me.'

Schwartz warned women that if you don't 'use your vagina' (by sex or masturbation), you can 'lose it' and worsen menopause symptoms like vaginal dryness and lack of libido

The six-time Daytime Emmy winner gushed of her husband-turned-co-host Mark Consuelos (R, pictured Wednesday): 'We have fun with each other. We really do enjoy our sexual lives together'

Ripa continued: 'Having the kids out of the house allows us a certain freedom that we have not experienced in a really long time. So we kind of feel like we're dating again, and that is very exciting. So I guess that's how we're keeping it spicy'

December 24 family portrait: Kelly and the Spanish 52-year-old are proud parents of 26-year-old son Michael, 22-year-old daughter Lola, and 20-year-old son Joaquin

'Submit questions!' The Generation Gap producer-host will soon reunite with her former co-host Ryan Seacrest for an upcoming episode of Let's Talk Off Camera

End of an era: The 48-year-old Emmy-winning producer (R) announced his exit on February 16 after six years producing and co-hosting the long-running ABC morning show

The Generation Gap producer-host marvels at how friends who are 'much older' than her 'routinely tell me they still get their periods' because menopause 'is too scary for them.'

'Because, in this day and age, there's still a lot from yesterday's day and age that has permeated the society and culture. And we think that being aged beyond menopause, we're no longer useful,' Schwartz responded.

'The moment you're no longer fertile, you're not useful. I think you're very useful. That's when you have the information, the experience. You have so much to bring to the table, that I think every woman should feel great about herself.'

Ripa will soon reunite with her former co-host Ryan Seacrest for an upcoming episode of Let's Talk Off Camera.

The 48-year-old Emmy-winning producer announced his exit on February 16 after six years producing and co-hosting the long-running ABC morning show.
They shocked their fans after their separation following nearly four years of marriage was reported on Monday.

And now more details are emerging about why Jodie Turner-Smith, 37, decided to divorce her fellow actor husband Joshua Jackson, 45.

'She decided that she is done,' a source told People on Wednesday.

The source added that the two stars had been growing apart recently as the quality of their marriage allegedly deteriorated.

'They are on very different paths in life,' the source continued.

Clean break: A source tells People that Jodie Turner-Smith, 37, divorced Joshua Jackson, 45, because she 'decided she is done' with the marriage; the couple look loved up on September 12, just one day before their alleged separation date

No longer working: 'They are on very different paths in life,' the source said, adding that it had 'turned into an unhealthy marriage that made her unhappy'

They added on a more cryptic note that, 'Jodie loves being a mom. She also loves working,' though it's unclear if her relationship with Joshua was strained by a desire to work.

The insider continued: 'It turned into an unhealthy marriage that made her unhappy.'

However, they said that Jodie and Joshua will be continuing to co-parent their daughter, whose name was revealed to be Juno Rose Diana Jackson in her mother's divorce filing.

'They want her to continue to thrive,' the source added.

The British actress cited 'irreconcilable differences' as the reason for the split, according to TMZ.

Celebrity divorce lawyer Laura Wasser is representing Smith in the divorce, with the actress asking for joint custody of their daughter.

The date of separation is listed as September 13  just one day after the pair attended NYFW together.

She does not want spousal support for either her or Jackson, with the pair not having a prenup in place.

DailyMail.com has contacted representatives for the pair for comment.

Tensions? The source added cryptically that, 'Jodie loves being a mom. She also loves working,' though it's unclear if her marriage to Joshua impacted her ability to work; seen in March in Santa Monica

Over: Jodie Turner-Smith filed for divorce from Joshua Jackson on Monday (pictured March 2023)

In September 2022 the pair sparked split rumors after they unfollowed each other on social media, after previously sharing multiple loved-up posts.

They then refollowed each other with Jackson brushing off split speculation as he gushed about his wife in a chat with E!News.

He said: 'She is undeniably one of the most beautiful women on the planet. And she always smashes it when shes on the red carpet. That is truly a wonder to behold.

'But I will tell you, that there is nothing like waking up in the morning, opening my eyes and seeing her face in the morning.'

Jodie and Joshua married in 2019 after meeting through mutual friends in 2018 and initially insisting that their romance was just 'casual'.

She has previously revealed their romance started as a one-night stand.

In 2021 Jodie made an appearance on Late Night with Seth Meyers and joked about how despite getting off to a quick start, their relationship was still going strong.

'When I first met my husband, we had a one-night stand,' she told the host. 'We're in a two, three-year one-night stand now.'

She went on to tell Seth the story of how they met at a party and both felt an instant connection.

'First of all, I saw him before he saw me and when I saw him, I was like, "I want that," she said. 'And then when he saw me, I just pretended like I didn't see him.'

While she seemed unimpressed with Joshua's opening line, she explained how he came over and did his 'cute and charming thing.'

'All night he followed me around the party,' The Last Ship actress added. 'He felt the energy. He felt it.'

Happier times: The British actress cited 'irreconcilable differences' as the reason for the split - Seen in 2020

Last seen: The pair stepped out in Santa Monica in August - with Jodie sans ring

The pair began dating in October 2018 and tied the knot in December 2019 after the actress proposed during a New Year's Eve holiday in Nicaragua, with Joshua 'instinctively' saying yes.

Jodie was a banker before meeting Pharrell Williams who convinced her to become a model and move to Los Angeles. She made her acting debut in 2013 when she played a siren in the HBO series True Blood.

Turner-Smith rose to prominence after starring in the 2019 film, Queen & Slim.

She previously told People magazine that she appreciated being married to someone who has so much experience in the industry.

Joshua has been acting since 1991 and starred as Pacey Witter in the hit teen show, Dawson's Creek, from 1998 to 2003.

'He has a wealth of experience to offer and advice to offer that's based on experience,' Jodie said. 'And I love that. I just love picking his brain about things. I'm somebody who's just beginning. So that energy of someone who's just beginning, that excitement, that just everything and anything is possible, I think that I really inspire him with that.'

The Nightflyers actress told Seth that she watched Dawson's Creek when she was growing up and she was 'Team Pacey'.

One of the show's major storylines was the love triangle between Pacey, Joey(Katie Holmes) and Dawson(James Van Der Beek). It caused fan wars between those who were rooting for Pacey and those who were 'Team Dawson.'

Ex: Before meeting Jodie, Joshua was in a decade-long romance with Diane Kruger, which ended in 2016 (pictured 2015) She is now in a relationship with Norman Reedus and shares a daughter with him

'No offense to Dawson but it was all about Pacey,' she said.

Prior to his relationship with Smith, Jackson was in a decade-long romance with Diane Kruger, 47, which ended in 2016.

Diane started dating Josh after she split from her husband of five years, French director Guillaume Canet.

Diane is now in a relationship with The Walking Dead star Norman Reedus and the pair share a daughter, Nova, four.
Nicola Peltz has been slammed by fans after sharing a 'weird' post to congratulate father-in-law David Beckham on his new Netflix docuseries.

The actress, who is the wife of Brooklyn Beckham, took to Instagram on Wednesday after attending the BECKHAM premiere with her in-laws to post: 'Last night was incredible congratulations @davidbeckham '

Yet bizarrely, David didn't feature in the snaps until the fourth image, which was a group shot of the family on the red carpet.

The first image was taken in her hotel room, showing Nicola straddling Brooklyn over their bed while he planted a kiss on her cheek.

She moved to the bathroom for her next snap, where she lifted her leg to show off her platform heels while staring down the lens.

Odd: Nicola Peltz has been slammed by fans after sharing a 'weird' post to congratulate father-in-law David Beckham on his new Netflix docuseries where she posed straddling Brooklyn

Racy: The actress took to Instagram on Wednesday to post: 'Last night was incredible congratulations @davidbeckham ' alongside a series of images of herself

Another straddling post followed and then a raunchy shot groping her bottom while Brooklyn sat in the background.

Finally came the shot of David posing with Mia Regan, Romeo, Cruz, Harper, Victoria and Brooklyn.

She completed the post with another picture of herself staring vacantly at the camera.

Brooklyn was quick to comment, posting: 'My everything xx'.

Yet other commenters weren't impressed with the post, accusing Nicola of narcissism for the slew of photographs of herself.

They penned: 'Weird choice and/or order of pictures to congratulate your father-in-law, one might say'; 'Odd pictures when it was for her father in laws premiere'; 'Its always 5 pictures of her and 1 of the person shes supposedly celebrating. Narcissism poster child';

'Unfollowed. Sorry super odd. Congratulations beckham the legend. The rest in this post is uncomfortable'; 'Why id mention my father in law in such a pics with his son !!! So weird'; 'You set up a camra to take raunchy pics with your husband to congratulate his dad

'Very strange photos for congratulating your father in law'; 'Weird choice of pictures for your father in laws event.'

The post comes after Nicola was accused of trying 'steal the show' at the Netflix BECKHAM documentary premiere.

The actress, 28, turned heads in a red leather dress which she teamed with sheer tights and black leather boots at The Curzon Mayfair on Tuesday night.

However many took to social media to accuse Brooklyn Beckham's wife of 'wanting to be the centre of attention'.

Crikey: She moved to the bathroom for her next snap, where she lifted her leg to show off her platform heels while staring down the lens

All over each other: Another straddling post followed and then a raunchy shot groping her bottom while Brooklyn sat in the background

The second to last snap: Finally came the shot of David posing with Mia Regan , Romeo, Cruz, Harper, Victoria and Brooklyn at the BECKHAM premiere

Final snap: She completed the post with another picture of herself staring vacantly at the camera

Odd: Brooklyn was quick to comment, posting: 'My everything xx'. Yet other commenters weren't impressed with the post, accusing Nicola of narcissism for the slew of photographs

Sweet: Nicola also shared a picture of the Beckham boys posing together at the premiere

Family: Nicola posed alongside David's sister Joanne and mum Sandra at the party

One person wrote: 'Why Nicole always like.. want to steal the show?? Family black n white, she wears red. NETFLIX LOGO COLOUR'.

Another said: 'Ok I'm not having the red jacket that just messed up the whole pic.'

Someone else wrote: 'She acted like she's the star of that movie.'

While another wrote: 'Bet the women in question knew what she was doing. Wanted to stand being the centre of attention, no doubt. #attentionseeker #justno '

While others disagreed and stood up for Nicola saying everyone is wearing a different variety of colours.

One person wrote: 'Why cant she wear what she wants. Your a bull-y'

Another said: 'Are you colour blind? I see cream, pink, brown red.' Someone else wrote: 'This is beautiful everyone together.'

Nicola and Brooklyn looked as loved-up as ever as they joined David and Victoria and siblings Romeo, 21, Cruz, 18, and Harper, 12, at the Netflix event.

For the occasion, Victoria looked glamorous in a white blazer with a plunging neckline and satin lapels, which she styled with straight leg trousers.

The united front comes after Victoria and her daughter-in-law had been plagued with rumours of a fall out ever since Nicola tied the knot with Brooklyn last year.

While Victoria and Nicola have been at the centre of the drama, they seemed to be in good spirits at the after party on Tuesday night.

The cold war began when Victoria and Nicola clashed over her wedding dress and the Transformers star accused her new mother-in-law of stealing the limelight at her wedding.

The Beckhams refused to pay for Brooklyn's US green card, a source claims, and, most recently, the one-time Spice Girl snubbed her son and daughter-in-law for her new Paris Fashion Week show, says another family insider.

Oh dear: The post comes after Nicola was accused of trying 'steal the show' at the Netflix BECKHAM documentary premiere with her vibrant red dress

Not impressed: Many took to social media to accuse Brooklyn Beckham 's wife of 'wanting to be the centre of attention'

A source who knows Nicola well said the drama began around her and Brooklyn's Palm Beach, Florida, wedding  and only escalated.

As a celebrity designer, many in the fashion world assumed Victoria would be designing Nicola's wedding dress. But instead, the bride appeared on the May cover of Vogue in Valentino couture.

Nicola later gave an interview insisting that ditching Victoria's offer was not designed to be a slight against her new mother-in-law.

However the family appeared to show a united front at the premiere for their tell-all Netflix programme, titled BECKHAM, which will arrive on screens at 8am on Wednesday and will see the Beckhams give an unprecedented insight into their family life.
Hollyoaks stars Claire Cooper and Emmett J Scanlan have revealed that their daughter Fiain-Luna has been rushed to hospital.

The actress, 42, took to Instagram on Wednesday night to admit she'd had a 'tough start to the weekend' after her daughter's health emergency.

Claire shared a snap of her daughter in a hospital cot, adding that such scares 'really hit damn hard.'

She wrote: 'We had a very tough start to the weekend, so glad our little love is on the mend, curveballs come out of nowhere and sometimes it really does hit damn hard.'

Claire and Emmett, 44, welcomed their second child together in November, with the actress sharing a gallery of sweet snaps with the newborn.

Worrying: Hollyoaks stars Claire Cooper and Emmett J Scanlan have revealed that their daughter Fiain-Luna has been rushed to hospital

Worrying: The actress took to Instagram on Wednesday night to admit she'd had a 'tough start to the weekend' after her daughter's health emergency

She also revealed that her daughter's name translates to 'wild,' from Irish Gaelic, and gushed she and Emmett now have their 'very own wild moon.'

Emmett shared a snap of the moment he prepared to bring his daughter home from hospital, with the caption: 'Fiain-Luna Scanlan. 12.11.22.'

Claire then took to social media to share an adorable snap cradling her baby daughter, while revealing the sweet meaning behind her name.

'Family complete. Welcoming our little blessing Fiain-Luna Scanlan.

'Irish Gaelic pronounced ''fee-awn'' which means ''wild'' our very own wild moon has joined the family and we couldn't be happier.'

Just hours earlier, Emmett took to Instagram to share with his followers that their baby girl had arrived three days earlier.

Sharing a sweet snap while cradling his daughter's hand, Emmett penned the caption: '3 days ago we met her. #ScanClan,' while adding on Twitter: 'Welcome Home baby.'

Emmett and Claire married in 2015, and they are also parents to son Ocean-Torin Scanlan, two.

Congratulations! Emmett announced his daughter arrived on Saturday, after revealing back in June that he and Claire were expecting their second child

Following Emmett's announcement, many of his former co-stars and friends shared comments offering their congratulations.

Among them was Emmett's former Hollyoaks co-star Jamie Lomas who wrote: 'Congratulations guys x.'

Amanda Abbington added: 'Oh my GOD. Congratulations all of you.'

In June the couple announced the exciting news that they were expecting their second child together, sharing a snap of Claire posing in a field with her baby bump on display.

Alongside the picture, Claire, who is best known for starring as Jacqui McQueen on Hollyoaks, penned: 'Our family is growing.'
Phillip Schofield has made a surprise 'return' to TV screens five months after he sensationally left This Morning.

The TV presenter, 61, resigned from the ITV programme for having an 'unwise but not illegal' relationship with a young male runner earlier this year.

Phillip has made an unexpected return to the small screen as he makes an appearance in Netflix series Who Killed Jill Dando?

The three-part show follows the murder of Crimewatch journalist Jill Dando who was shot outside her home in Fulham on April 26 1999.

In the documentary, Phillip appears on This Morning alongside his now former co-host Holly Willoughby in an episode that aired on the 23rd anniversary of her death.

Shock: Phillip Schofield has made a surprise 'return' to TV screens five months after he sensationally left This Morning

Scandal: The TV presenter, 61, resigned from the ITV programme for having an 'unwise but not illegal' relationship with a young male runner earlier this year

In the clip, Holly says: 'What happened that morning remains a mystery, the crime unsolved, her killer never held to justice.' Phil remained silent alongside her.

It comes after Phillip was seen in good spirits and cracking a smile as he walked into a London hotel with a mystery man on Tuesday. He could be seen carrying In Memoriam by Alice Winn.

There has been speculation as to who will take over Phillip's role of co-host at ITV's flagship daytime programme after he resigned for having an 'unwise but not illegal' relationship with a young male runner earlier this year.

ITV bosses have been attempting to find Ms Willoughby a more permanent sidekick, with Alison Hammond, Dermot O'Leary, Rylan Clarke and Josie Gibson also contending for the role.

But management are reportedly eyeing up Good Morning Britain host Ben Shephard, who impressed when he stood in on the This Morning sofa last week.

Sources say Ben, 48, is 'frontrunner' to replace Phillip in the role after he stood in earlier this week.

Ben, who was previously a stand-in presenter on This Morning, covering for Schofield between 2005 and 2011  impressed the network's senior executives when he appeared on the show.

Initially This Morning was going to be built around Holly with rotating co-hosts, as GMB is with Susanna Reid, but now bosses have changed their minds and want someone they can team her with most days.

Cameo: Phillip has made an unexpected return to the small screen as he makes an appearance in Netflix series Who Killed Jill Dando

Series: In the documentary, Phillip appears on This Morning alongside his now former co-host Holly Willoughby in an episode that aired on the 23rd anniversary of her death

A source told the Mail: 'Ben did really well and the bosses loved his partnership with Holly and there was great feedback from many viewers.

'Ben is known throughout ITV as being very popular with the audiences of whatever shows he hosts. He is also trusted by the public and is much loved within ITV. He has hosted so many shows for the channel.

'He and Holly go back years too  he presented on This Morning some years ago and they have a great rapport.'

It was revealed last month that the This Morning scandal could be made into a 'jaw-dropping' drama series.

The production company behind the series thinks Channel 4 would be a 'perfect fit', a source told The Sun.

They said: 'The storyline will reflect what went on. People have seen it from the outside but the drama will give a perspective on what may have occurred behind-closed-doors.'

The shamed star stepped down from presenting the daytime show after 21 years when he admitted he repeatedly lied to bosses about having an affair with a runner.

Phillip  who called the relationship 'unwise, but not illegal'  cheated on his wife Stephanie with the young male colleague.

Replacement: Management are reportedly eyeing up Good Morning Britain host Ben Shephard to replace Phillip on This Morning

The tryst was kept secret for years until he admitted to The Mail on Sunday he had lied about it having been just rumours.

He went on to confess he had misled his employer ITV, his colleagues, his friends and his then agents at the management firm YMU.

READ MORE HERE: Ben Shephard is set to replace Phillip Schofield as Holly Willoughby's partner on This Morning Advertisement

In an extraordinary series of mea culpa interviews he apologised for all of the hurt he had caused.

It sparked an extraordinary domino effect for the show and ITV, with Holly having to issue a statement saying she knew nothing about it.

But Phillip insisted he had not 'groomed' the man, despite first meeting him when he was 15.

And he went on to declare: 'Attraction is attraction. It's no different in the gay world as it is in the heterosexual world or in the lesbian world.

'There shouldn't be a difference. This is where homophobia comes in.

'We did first meet when he was 15, I visited the drama school [he attended].'

In a hard-hitting emotional interview with the BBC's Amol Rajan, Schofield said his two daughters - Molly, 29, and Ruby, 27 - had saved his life.

He said the fallout from his admission that he lied about his affair with a younger male colleague had been 'relentless', revealing he has had suicidal thoughts.

Schofield said: 'My girls saved my life. They said last week they haven't left me for a moment. They've been by my side every moment because they're scared to let me out of their sight. What is that like for daughters to have to go with something like that?

'And they said to me, 'don't you dare do this on our watch. We're supposed to be looking after you'. If my girls hadn't been there, I wouldn't be here, because I don't see my future.'
Strictly Come Dancing will pay homage to the blockbuster megahit Barbie this weekend, with pro Gorka Marquez set to take on the role of the blond hunk Ken.

And in a first look at the upcoming performance, the dancer proved that he was the spitting image of Ryan Gosling in the role.

In a clip posted on Strictly's official Instagram, Gorka donned the same look that Ken sported in his I'm Just Ken song from the film, which has grossed over $1 billion worldwide.

Miming along to the track, Gorka showed off his shirtless physique under a white faux fur coat as he strutted through the corridors.

The other male dancers also donned iconic Ken looks from the film, including Neil Jones, Graziano Di Prima and Carlos Gu.

Spitting image! Strictly Come Dancing pro Gorka Marquez (left) has transformed into Ken (right) as the professionals prepare to pay homage to Barbie with a Movie Week performance

Tease: In a clip posted on Strictly's official Instagram, Gorka donned the same look that Ken sported in his I'm Just Ken song from the film, which has grossed over $1 billion worldwide

Fans will get to enjoy the full performance during Sunday's results show, when another couple will also be eliminated.

After Les Dennis and Nancy Xu were the first couple to be axed last week, the remaining couples will take to the floor for Movie Week on Saturday.

Layton Williams, who topped the leaderboard with an energetic Quickstep, will deliver a soft Viennese Waltz to There Are Worse Things I Could Do from Grease.

Nigel Harman, who is already tipped as a bookies favourite, will dance a Jive to the Batman Theme from Batman, and Amanda Abbington will dance the first Rumba of the series, to Out of Reach from Bridget Jones.

It comes after it was reported that Les Dennis and Nancy Xu clashed behind the scenes of Strictly, which led to their poor performance on Saturday.

According to The Sun, Les and Nancy struggled to connect because the funnyman's energy levels didn't match that of Nancy's.

A source said: 'Les the entertainer may have charmed audiences with his style, but behind the scenes it was a vastly different story.

'Les was often moody and erratic because he found the training a very draining process. He's almost 70 so was knackered just two weeks in and this led to clashes with Nancy.

Confident! Miming along to the track, Gorka showed off his shirtless physique under a white faux fur coat as he strutted through the corridors

Feud: Last week, Les Dennis and Nancy Xu were the first couple to be eliminated after losing out to Nikita Kanda in the dance-off

'His mood didn't match Nancy's enthusiasm and positivity which created tension and discord in the studio.'

The insider added that Les would often lose his cool at the slightest mistake while Nancy was patient and encouraging.

The source further described them as 'polar opposites' and said they struggled to 'gel' which showed in their performance.

During Saturday's show both celebrities found themselves finishing at the bottom of the leaderboard, Les with just 15 points for his Samba while Nikita scored 18 for her Charleston.

Les and Nancy tried to impress the judges and remain in the competition with their Samba to Rock The Boat by Hues Corporation.

Unfortunately for Les, it was not enough as the judges, Craig Revel Horwood, Motsi Mabuse, Anton Du Beke and head judge Shirley Ballas all voted to save Nikita and Gorka.

Strictly Come Dancing returns with Movie Week on Saturday at 6:20pm on BBC One.
EastEnders legend Lorraine Stanley has broken her silence after being forced to leave Albert Square.

The 47-year-old has played matriarch Karen Taylor on the soap for seven years and is being written out of the BBC soap as part of a shock cast shake-up.

Speaking to The Sun, Lorraine revealed she is gutted to be leaving the EastEnders family but was excited to see what opportunities come next.

And the actress might be bagging a part on a rival soap, as she revealed: 'I think it would have to be Corrie and I would have to be the new landlady.

'I'd be Gemma's [Winter] auntie, Bernie's sister. I'd be in there family and I'd take over The Rovers.'

Drama: EastEnders legend Lorraine Stanley, 47, has broken her silence after being forced to leave Albert Square in brutal axing from the soap, (pictured in June)

Legacy: The 47-year-old has played matriarch Karen Taylor on the soap for seven years and is being written out of the BBC soap as part of a shock cast shake-up (pictured in scenes in March 2022)

Opening up about the shock moment she found out she was being axed she explained that while she was sad to be leaving it gives her the opportunity to push herself outside of her comfort zone.

Talking about the legacy of her character she said: 'I just want people to remember her as the best mum on the square, a heart of gold, she's give you her last fiver and would do anything for her kids - a bit like myself.'

The actress will exit the soap at the end of the year, and Lorraine confessed she would be furious if her character was killed off.

'I hope the door will be left open for Karen. I can't say too much but if they kill me then I would never watch EastEnders again.'

Since joining the soap in 2017, Lorraine has played the single mum laundrette worker who arrived in Walford with her brood Keanu (Danny Walters), Keegan Baker (Zack Morris), Bernadette (Clair Norris), Riley and Chatham  played by real life brothers Tom and Alfie Jacobs.

Lorraine will not be the only character exiting the soap in the coming months after the soap made history back in February with their epic end to a normal Monday episode as they teased a flashforward of a Christmas murder.

In the shocking scenes, Denise (Diane Parish), Kathy (Gillian Taylforth), Linda (Kellie Bright), Sharon (Letitia Dean), Stacey (Lacey Turner) and Suki (Balvinder Sopal) were seen surrounding a dead body, but the identity of the corpse and the killer were kept secret.

Discussing the who-dunnit story line she revealed that her character would like to to see Phil Mitchell meet his ends at Christmas, but confirmed that the legendary character isn't going anywhere.

She then teased who the potential victims could be as she suggested Theo, Nish or Ravi.

Looking to the future: Lorraine has already set her sights on a part in rival soap Coronation Street as she plans to 'take over the Rovers'

Legendary character: Lorraine joined the soap in 2017 as the single mum laundrette worker

End of an era: The actress will exit the soap at the end of the year, and Lorraine confessed she would be furious if her character was killed off

Eye on the Rovers: Lorraine revealed she has her eyes on becoming the next landlady of The Rovers Return after landlady Jenny Connor (Sally Ann Matthews, pictured) was forced to close the famous pub down in recent scenes

Back in July Lorraine celebrated her engagement after her partner of nine years, Mark Perez finally popped the question.

She took to Instagram to reveal the happy news and shared a picture of herself with Mark as she wrote 'Love you baby #Engaged,' along with some emojis including a love heart and an engagement ring.

The star revealed they are planning to jet off to Spain to tie the knot next year due to her husband's heritage.

The pair have been together since 2014 and share daughter Nancy who was born a year later in 2015.
Robson Green got to work on the set of the latest series of Grantchester in Cambridge on Thursday.

The actor, 58, cut a smart figure in his signature beige trench coat and pin striped suit as he attended the last day of shooting the ITV detective drama.

Robson plays DI Geordie Keating in the show, which has had viewers hooked since it began almost 10 years ago in 2014.

The cast wrapped filming series nine of the drama, which will see much-loved character Reverend Will Davenport, played by Tom Brittney, leave the show.

The new series sees Will departing Grantchester after he is approached with a life-changing offer.

Hard at work: Robson Green got to work on the set of the latest series of Grantchester in Cambridge on Thursday

Favourite character: Robson plays DI Geordie Keating in the show which has had viewers hooked since it began almost ten years ago in 2014

Series eight of the hit TV drama aired over the summer and ended with Will on the other side of the altar as he married Bonnie.

Members of the cast were left in tears during Tom Brittney's final scenes back in August as the actor said his goodbyes.

Tom was seen saying goodbye to his best friend Robson Green as they walked through Grantchester Meadows.

The pair have teamed up to solve countless crimes during the four years Tom has been in the 1950s detective drama and there were emotional scenes as they hugged before parting ways.

Discussing his time on the show Tom said: 'I've had the most incredible time playing Will Davenport for the last five years. I got to solve crimes with my best friend, and work with the best cast and crew I could ever ask for.

'I'll miss it more than anything. But it's time for the baton to be passed, as it once was to me, and I'm so excited for Rishi to join the Grantchester family.'

Tom, 32, who took over from actor James Norton as the vicar of the village of Grantchester in 2019, is set to be replaced by Hollyoaks star Rishi Nair, who will play vicar Alphy Kotteram.

Rishi, who is best known for his role as Sami Maalik in Hollyoaks, said he had been overwhelmed by the welcome and support he had received from everyone.

Dapper: The actor, 58, cut a smart figure in his signature beige trench coat and pin striped suit as he attended the last day of shooting the ITV detective drama

Iconic duo: Tom and Robson have teamed up to solve countless crimes during the four years Tom has been in the 1950s detective drama

End of an era: The cast wrapped up filming series nine of the show which will see much-loved character Reverend Will Davenport, Tom Brittney, leave the show

Grateful: Robson previously said: ' I feel so blessed to be embarking once again on this thrilling journey with the beloved series, Grantchester'

BTS: The star looked focus as he performed scenes for the latest series of the drama

Where it all began: Robson rose to fame after starring as a hospital porter in Casualty before going on to play Fusilier Dave Tucker in Soldier Soldier between 1991 and 1995

He said in a recent statement: 'The success of the show and the reason we are here for a ninth season is a testament to all the people that have previously worked on it.

'I'm really excited to get started and cannot wait for the Grantchester fans to meet Alphy and to see all that's in store for him.'

Meanwhile Robson added ahead of series nine: 'I feel so blessed to be embarking once again on this thrilling journey with the beloved series, Grantchester.

'The anticipation is palpable however, amid the exhilaration, a tinge of sadness lingers for all of us as we are bidding farewell to my close friend and remarkable actor Tom Brittney, whose portrayal of the charismatic Will Davenport will be sorely missed.

'Yet, we are all delighted in welcoming the incredibly talented Rishi Nair to the family! With his exceptional skills and magnetic presence, I have no doubt that Rishi will be captivating the hearts of millions not only in the UK but also across the globe.'

Friendly: Robson looked in great spirits as he chatted to members of the team amid filming

Throwback: It looked as though Robson had been transported right back to 1961 in the shots
Eva Longoria put on a leggy display as she departed the gym after a workout in Marbella on Wednesday.

The Desperate Housewives star, 48, cut a casual figure for the outing as she sported a pair of orange hot pants that highlighted her toned pins.

The actress also donned a light orange vest top and added to her look with a pair of box-fresh white trainers.

Styling her brunette locks into an updo, Eva showed off her natural beauty as she went makeup free on the outing.

The TV star has been soaking up the sun in Marbella in recent days as she enjoys an autumn vacation.

Looking good: Eva Longoria put on a leggy display in orange hot pants as she departed the gym after a workout in Marbella on Wednesday

Casual: The actress also donned a light orange vest top and added to her look with a pair of box-fresh white trainers

She was recently seen displaying her jaw-dropping figure in a strapless pink bikini during a trip to the beach on Monday.

Her Spanish holiday comes just days after Eva rocked a shimmery chrome gown while welcoming celebrities to her annual gala with The Global Gift Foundation.

This year's glittering fete, the 11th one that Eva has thrown with the nonprofit, took place at the height of Paris Fashion Week at the 8th arrondissement's iconic Four Seasons Hotel George V.

The Global Gift Foundation is a nonprofit that, according to its website, aims to 'raise funds to eradicate poverty and hunger ensuring our most vulnerable dont have to struggle to put food on the table; access to health care, lifesaving treatments and therapies; provide shelter, clothing and to protect the right to education.'

Eva is fresh off the release of her directorial debut Flamin' Hot, based on the memoirs of Frito-Lay executive Richard Montanez, who has long touted himself as the inventor of Flamin' Hot Cheetos.

Frito-Lay has repudiated his claim that he created the snack, and a Los Angeles Times expose in 2021 found that a lower-level employee called Lynne Greenfield played a more pivotal role in the birth of Flamin' Hot Cheetos.

By the time the bombshell report ran, Eva's movie was already in the pipeline, and the actress-turned-filmmaker has staunchly defended her project ever since.

Flamin' Hot bowed on Hulu and Disney+ this June and received a tepid critical reaction, to the tune of a 69% rating on Rotten Tomatoes and a 58 Metascore on Metacritic.
The Last Of Us star Ashley Johnson and six other women - including her own sister - are suing her ex-boyfriend Brian Wayne Foster for abuse, accusing him in court documents of 'depraved' and 'sociopathic' behavior.

The civil lawsuit - which was filed in Los Angeles on October 3 - comes less than a month after the actress, who plays Anna Williams in the hit HBO series, had her request for a restraining order against Foster dismissed in a hearing.

Court documents claim that Johnson, 40, feared Foster could harm her after he started carrying around two airsoft guns and a strangulation device following their split back in March.

Foster, also 40, is accused of domestic violence, intentional infliction of emotional distress, sexual battery, assault, stalking, gender violence, and civil rights violations - with his behavior described as 'chilling and depraved'.

Not every charge applies to every plaintiff. All seven plaintiffs live in California, and only one is listed as an anonymous Jane Doe.

The Last Of Us star Ashley Johnson is suing her ex-boyfriend Brian Wayne Foster for abuse

The 40-year-old - who starred as Anna in HBO series The Last of Us - has accused her ex of domestic violence, infliction of emotional distress, sexual battery, assault, and stalking

The long-term couple split in March 2023, with Johnson filing a domestic violence restraining order against Foster two months later

'This lawsuit is filed to both remedy the abuse Foster has inflicted on my seven clients as well as to prevent others from being victimized by Foster's pattern of mental, emotional, and physical abuse,' Bryan Freedman, one of the attorneys representing the seven women, wrote in a statement to Insider.

According to Page Six, the civil suit alleges that Foster threatened to 'extort' $150,000 from Johnson by 'releasing personal information', with Johnson granted an emergency protective order against him in May.

The alleged extortion as well as his 'consistent acts of physical intimidation including but not limited to punching through glass, throwing objects, and screaming obscenities in her face' are said to have left Johnson 'scared, intimidated, off-balance, confused, traumatized, and under constant duress for years'.

Freedman told Page Six: 'The police officer who reviewed the evidence was so concerned for Ashley Johnsons safety that he went on his own to a judge to get an immediate emergency protective order against Brian W. Foster.'

After Foster was 'forced to leave' her house, he 'commandeered Johnsons home security cameras and microphones to monitor her and track her comings and goings'.

The court documents also state: 'Johnson has good reason to believe that Foster would act on his threats or harm her if she were to provoke him or fail to succumb to his will because after breaking up in March 2023, Foster began suspiciously carrying around a large black duffel bag and an ammo case containing two airsoft guns modified to appear as real guns and a garotte which is a strangulation device'.

The civil suit also accused Foster of being 'fueled by drugs and alcohol' and claims that he made 'wildly inappropriate and unwanted sexual comments' to Johnsons sister Haylie Langseth and groped her in front of her children.

Johnson's ex is the former host and producer of Talks Machina, a weekly YouTube talk show where he discussed the events of the Dungeons & Dragons web series Critical Role. The couple dated for ten years.

He has since left the show and, after Johnsons protective order was made public in May, his presence was removed from the Critical Role YouTube channel.

Fosters abuse also allegedly extends to women whom 'he lied to and groomed while still in a relationship with Johnson' and the suit claims he used his celebrity as power.

The plaintiff referred to as 'Jane Doe', has alleged that in 2019, Foster - who she claims was 'reeking of booze' 'audaciously and repeatedly groped' her.

The suit reads: 'He forcibly attempted to stick his hands down her pants to touch her vagina. Jane Doe fought his public sexual advances and pleaded with him to stop numerous times.'

Months after Foster and Doe had stopped communicating, he allegedly sent her sexually violent messages, with one apparently reading: 'I havent seen you in a while but I cant wait to shove my c**k in your a**s.'

Johnson's sister Haylie Langseth (right) is listed as one of the plaintiffs in the civil law suit

Johnson's sibling, pictured here in a throwback photo, alleges that Foster groped her in front of her children

Another plaintiff named Adrienne Cho, who worked for Critical Role as a Product Design and Development Manager around April 2019 while Foster was a producer, claims in the suit that he harassed her and groped her groin while sitting next to her at an event back in February 2020.

'Cho sat in the audience stunned and horrified by Fosters conduct. Unfortunately, Foster continued to grope her for the entire length of the event which was well over an hour. Cho was afraid to come forward with Fosters misconduct because of his reputation as a threatening and intimidating bully,' the suit reads.

Danielle Carr, who worked for Critical Role as a producer, alleges that Foster talked about wanting to have sex with her and touch her breasts: 'He explicitly and repeatedly told Carr, "I want to bend you over the couch".'

She also claims that he demanded topless photos of her. The suit alleges: 'Due to the manipulation by and fear of Foster, Carr felt she had no other choice but to reluctantly comply with his demands. In response, Foster sent Carr an unsolicited naked picture of himself wearing only a trench coat.'

The suit adds that during a Starbucks run in 2019, Foster allegedly demanded Carr pull over. The claim reads: 'Foster instructed Carr to pull her top up and instantaneously reached over and groped her breast.

'Foster then proceeded to lean over and lick her breast. When Carr told Foster to stop, he "laughed".'

And in May 2021, Foster allegedly invited Carr to Johnsons home to watch the filming on a show they had been working on together, and then tried to massage and grope her.

A fifth woman named Whitney McKeil also claims in the suit that Foster groped her buttocks at a 2021 event he attended alongside Johnson, while another plaintiff, Maude Garrett, alleges she kissed Foster after he told her he was in an open relationship.

Johnson's request for a restraining order was dismissed in September 2023, when the judge determined she had failed to provide enough evidence for it to be granted

Johnson previously alleged that her former partner was 'close to the edge, had the ability to murder, and would cause harm' to her and her family

When Garrett confronted him two months later, she claims he launched a tirade of abuse at her and grabbed a glass as if to throw it at her.

The suit claims: 'Being the sociopath that he is, Foster often treated these women as sexual objects freely groping them without consent, sometimes in openly public settings. Any woman who refused to submit to his will or who confronted him for any reason was met with a wrath of obscenities, intimidation, and threats.'

DailyMail.com has reached out to Foster for comment.

Posting on the official Instagram page for Foster's band The Wild Years, a statement from his attorney Marc Collins read: 'Beyond the fact that Ms. Johnson's request for a restraining order was denied by the Court on the same allegations contained in the civil complaint filed on October 3, 2023, we have no further comment.'

Last month, Johnson's request for a restraining order was dismissed when the judge determined she had failed to provide enough evidence for it to be granted.

In the court documents, obtained by The Blast in May, Johnson had alleged that her former partner was 'close to the edge, had the ability to murder, and would cause harm' to her and her family.

Johnson went on to detail the 'abuse' she suffered during their relationship, which included Foster allegedly breaking glasses and gates as well as 'slamming doors' and calling her a 'stupid, useless, f**king bitch' and 'f**king c**t'.

On May 15, 'the police issued an (Emergency Protective Order) due to (Foster) having attempted to extort $150,000' from her and 'his history of verbal abuse, his very unhinged mind from his addictive use of narcotics and several other reasons.'

Foster had denied her claims and stated: 'Because of these filings, many of the people I hold dear to me now believe me to be relapsed and an abuser.

'I do not own any firearms, or a gun license, and all of the allegations in the DV Petition that say I was carrying an "ammo box" are untrue. Petitioner knows that I was planning to take a two-week camping trip.'
After a long wait, the Netflix hit show Lupin has returned for a third season - two years after the series' last installment.

The French crime drama became an international hit when it launched in January 2021, with part two dropping only five months after its debut on the streaming platform.

Part 3 is now available to stream on Netflix, with the entire season having dropped in the early hours of this morning, much to the delight of the series' fans.

For those who aren't so familiar with the show, it stars Omar Sy as master thief Assane Diop, who seeks to emulate Marice Leblanc's gentleman theif Arsene Lupin.

The disguise is a part of a bigger plan to avenge the injustice his father suffered at the hands of a wealthy family - all while also trying to keep his true identity hidden from the French authorities.

Part 3: French crime thriller Lupin has returned for a third season on Netflix - two years after the series' last installment

Return to Paris: The new season sees France's most wanted thief preparing his most intense and elaborate heist yet, with Diop returning to Paris to save his family

Diop's dad, Babakar, had previously worked as a chauffeur for the wicked Hubert Pellegrini (Herve Pierre), who framed him for stealing a one-of-a-kind necklace.

While serving time in prison, Babakar committed suicide, leaving his son to fend for himself - resulting in the devastated Diop embarking on a one-man-mission to right the wrongs of the past.

By the end of the first part, released in January 2021, Diop's son Raoul (Etan Simon) has been taken hostage by one of Pellegrini's henchmen, leading to the master criminal attempting to save him while also dealing with a cop on his tail.

Part 2, which landed in June 2021, saw Diop save his son and finally clear his father's name, with Pellegrini taken in by police and the master thief having to go on the run.

Having left his son and estranged wife Claire (Ludivine Sagnier) behind, Part 3 sees the master thief preparing his most intense and elaborate heist yet, with plans in returning to Paris compromised by the unexpected return of ghosts from his past.

A synopsis for the newest volume elaborates: 'Now in hiding, Assane must learn to live far from his wife and son.

'With the suffering they endure because of him, Assane can't stand it any longer and decides to return to Paris to make them a crazy proposal: leave France and start a new life elsewhere.

'But the ghosts of the past are never far away, and an unexpected return will turn his plans upside down.'

Highly anticipated: Lupin's co-creator and writer, George Kay, said: 'Assane has gone from a life of anonymity as a criminal in Parts 1 and 2, and now he is Frances most wanted man'

Family first: While on the run, the master thief had to leave his son (pictured, left) and estranged wife (pictured, centre) behind - but plans to return to Paris to save them from harm

Suspense: Will Assane Diop's plot to save his family get rumbled after he becomes compromised by the unexpected return of ghosts from his past?

Lupin's co-creator and writer, George Kay told the Radio Times ahead of Part 3's release: 'Assane has gone from a life of anonymity as a criminal in Parts 1 and 2, and now he is Frances most wanted man.

'His cover is broken because of what happened towards the end of Part 2 at the Theatre du Chatelet.'

He added: 'Now everybody is asking the same question, 'Where is he?', which is a problem when you're a thief, because when you try and steal things, everyone knows what you look like.

'So he comes back into Paris at the start of Part 3 and discovers that the whole city is looking for him.'

Tragically, Lupin star Adama Niane died earlier this year in January, at the age of 56. It is not known if he got to see the final cut before his death and the cause of death has not been confirmed.

The French actor was best known for his role as assassin and ex-convict Leonard Kone in Lupin.

Adama's Lupin co-star Omar Sy led tributes to the star on Twitter, describing the actor as 'a man of rare benevolence.'

He wrote: 'I extend my deep condolences to the loved ones of Adama Niane, an immense actor alongside whom I had the chance and the pleasure of playing.

Touching tribute: Adama Niane, who died earlier this year in January, aged 56, was paid tribute by co-star Omar Sy on Twitter, who described the actor as a 'man of rare benevolence'

Assassin: French actor Adama Niane was best known for his role as assassin and ex-convict Leonard Kone in the Lupin series

Number 1: The first part of Lupin, released on January 8 2021, became the most streamed non-English Netflix show before being overtaken by Money Heist: Part 4 and smash hit Squid Game

The first part of Lupin, released on January 8 2021, became the most streamed non-English Netflix show, before being overtaken by Spanish series Money Heist: Part 4 and smash Korean hit Squid Game, according to Netflix fandom site Tudum.

The show reached 70 million households by February 5 - ranking No. 1 in Brazil, Vietnam, Argentina, Germany, Italy, Spain and Poland to name just a few - only a month after its release, surpassing The Queen's Gambit and Bridgerton at the time.

The Queen's Gambit - which has since prompted female chess players to sign an open letter about 'sexist and sexual violence' in the chess world - was released on 23 October 2020 and reached 62 million viewers by the end of November 2020.

Bridgerton was released on Christmas Day, and was projected to tally 63 million by the end of January.
Heather Locklear took to Instagram to wish her mini-me daughter Ava Sambora a happy 26th birthday.

The Melrose Place veteran posted three throwback with Ava when she was a little baby.

And there was another image taken this week where Ava was blowing out the pink and red candles of her chocolate birthday cake.

'Happy Birthday to my favorite person on earth! You are stronger, smarter, and more beautiful than you can ever imagine. Im so glad God trusted me to be your mama,' wrote the Dynasty veteran.

The Hollywood veteran shares Ava with her second husband, Bon Jovi lead guitarist Richie Sambora, whom she was married to from 1994 to 2007.

Her mini me: Heather Locklear took to Instagram to wish her mini-me daughter Ava Sambora a happy 26th birthday. The Melrose Place veteran posted several throwback photos to when the blonde was a little baby

Her girl: 'Happy Birthday to my favorite person on earth! You are stronger, smarter, and more beautiful than you can ever imagine. Im so glad God trusted me to be your mama,' wrote the Dynasty veteran

They could pass for sisters: Heather and Ava at the Scary Movie 5 film premiere in Los Angeles in 2013

Ava has been a busy girl with her studies.

In May she earned her master's degree in marriage and family therapy from the University Of Southern California.

Ava beamed with pride as she wore her cap and sash that said Class of 2023 while posing on the picturesque campus.

Her mom, who attended the graduation, wrote on Instagram, 'Such a proud mama. Congratulations my baby, with your masters in MFT. With your hard work and perseverance and kind hear.'

The Los Angeles native explained in her caption that accompanied photos of her at USC.

'Today I will graduate from USC with a Master of Science in Marriage and Family Therapy!' began Sambora's note that was shared.

Now: And there was another image where Ava was blowing out the pink and red candles of her chocolate birthday cake

History: The Hollywood veteran shares Ava with her second husband, Bon Jovi lead guitarist Richie Sambora, whom she was married to from 1994 to 2007; the trio are pictured in 2005

Family resemblance: Ava (right) is a dead ringer for her famous mother Heather (left, pictured aged 22 in 1984)

'I am beyond grateful for the past two years and all the wonderful people I met along the way. Cheers to the class of 2023!' she finished.

Ava wore a pale gray satin mini dress that showed off her legs as she added nude strappy heels.

The star also had on a red and yellow Class of 2023 sash in place and her black cap on. In another image, she wore her black gown while sitting on a field next to mature trees while on the Los Angeles campus.

USC costs about $64,000 a year.

Good girl: Ava has earned her master's degree in family therapy from the University Of Southern California . She finished in May 2023

Pals: The ladies are arm-in-arm at the This Is 40 premiere in LA in 2012

Locklear was memorably on TV's Melrose Place from 1993 until 1999.

She also popped back on the new version of the show from 2009 until 2010.

Heather was also known for her marriages - she was wed to Pamela Anderson's ex, Tommy Lee, as well as Sambora.

This comes after she had a rough patch as she went in and out of rebab in 2018 and 2019; the star appears to be much better these days and more stable.

The nation loved her: Heather played scheming Amanda Woodward on Melrose Place until the show ended in 1999. (clockwise from top left) Rob Estes, Locklear, Jack Wagner, Jamie Luner, Josie Bissett, Thomas Calabro, Kelly Rutherford, John Haymes Newton

It was reported in 2021 that Heather 'couldn't be happier' with her fiance Chris Heisser, with sources saying the couple are 'in a really good place' as they take their relationship to the next level.

An insider said: 'Heather and Chris are in a really good place right now. They couldn't be happier. They each go out of their way to make the other feel special - she'll cook for him, he'll buy her flowers, etc.'

The star and her fiance are high school sweethearts, and their romance dates back to the 70s, although they fell out of touch and only reunited in 2017.

For Heather, the upcoming wedding will be her third.

In 2021 she said that she was 'fearful' of her return to television.

The actress appeared as Kristine Carlson in the made-for-TV film Don't Sweat the Small Stuff: The Kristine Carlson Story - which is based on the book series by Kristine and her husband Dr. Richard Carlson - and she was apprehensive about her first small screen role in four years.

She has always looked incredible: Seen here in 1985 at the start of her career as she modeled a macrame bikini

'The challenging part of it was so fearful for me,' she said while speaking to reporters during Lifetime's Fall Movies press event.

One emotional scene which sees Kristine learning her husband - played by Jason MacDonald - has died was shot on the second day of filming.

Heather turned to Kristine herself to help research the powerful moment, and added: 'She said, "It's almost like a child dying." And that stopped me in my tracks.'

Although the star wasn't sure if she'd be able to hit the right emotional level the scene called for, she settled and 'felt very safe'.

And while Heather had other concerns about remembering her lines after a few years away, she found it 'so easy' to get back into old habits.

She told People: 'I don't know why I was so fearful of memorizing lines, how about getting emotion across.'
Brooklyn Beckham and his wife Nicola Peltz enjoyed a lavish shopping trip at The Row in London on Thursday, after she sparked backlash from her followers with a 'weird' Instagram post.

The chef, 24, was seen leaving the celebrity hotspot with the actress, 28, after splashing out on a new jacket.

Nicola cut a stylish figure in blue flared jeans and huge platform boots, teamed with a matching leather jacket

Carrying her purchases back to Brooklyn's Land Rover Defender, the Transformers star was accompanied by her mother Claudia Heffner-Peltz.

The couple had proudly supported Brooklyn's dad David at the premiere of his Netflix series earlier this week.

Outing: Brooklyn Beckham (left) and his wife Nicola Peltz (right) enjoyed a lavish shopping trip at The Row in London on Thursday, after she sparked backlash with a 'weird' Instagram post

Departing: Nicola cut a stylish figure in blue flared jeans and huge platform boots, teamed with a matching leather jacket

Exit: The chef was seen leaving the celebrity hotspot with the actress after splashing out on a new jacket

But hours later, Nicola was slammed by fans for sharing a 'weird' post to congratulate father-in-law David Beckham on his new Netflix docuseries.

She took to Instagram on Wednesday after attending the BECKHAM premiere with her in-laws to post: 'Last night was incredible congratulations @davidbeckham '

Yet bizarrely, David didn't feature in the snaps until the fourth image, which was a group shot of the family on the red carpet.

The first image was taken in her hotel room, showing Nicola straddling Brooklyn over their bed while he planted a kiss on her cheek.

She moved to the bathroom for her next snap, where she lifted her leg to show off her platform heels while staring down the lens.

Another straddling post followed and then a raunchy shot groping her bottom while Brooklyn sat in the background.

Finally came the shot of David posing with Mia Regan, Romeo, Cruz, Harper, Victoria and Brooklyn.

She completed the post with another picture of herself staring vacantly at the camera.

Relaxed: Brooklyn cut a casual figure in a grey T-shirt, jeans and matching trainers as he headed back to his Land Rover Defender

What did you get? Nicola carried her purchases back to Brooklyn's car after their shopping trip in the capital

Family trip: She and Brooklyn were joined by her mother, Claudia Heffner-Peltz

Appearance: The couple had proudly supported Brooklyn's dad David at the premiere of his Netflix series earlier this week

What? But hours later, Nicola was slammed by fans for sharing a 'weird' post to congratulate father-in-law David Beckham on his new Netflix docuseries

Odd: The first image was taken in her hotel room, showing Nicola straddling Brooklyn over their bed while he planted a kiss on her cheek

Racy: The actress took to Instagram on Wednesday to post: 'Last night was incredible congratulations @davidbeckham ' alongside a series of images of herself

Strange: Other commenters weren't impressed with the post, accusing Nicola of narcissism for the slew of photographs of herself

Really? The post comes after Nicola was accused of trying 'steal the show' at the Netflix BECKHAM documentary premiere

Sexy: She turned heads in a red leather dress which she teamed with sheer tights and black leather boots at The Curzon Mayfair on Tuesday night

Controversy: Nicola, who met Brooklyn outside after their shopping trip, was accused of 'wanting to be the centre of attention' by fans

Stepping out: Brooklyn showed off his new purchase as he left the famous London shop

Stepping out: He and Nicola supported his father at the premiere of his docuseries, which hit Netflix earlier this week

Brooklyn was quick to comment, posting: 'My everything xx'.

Yet other commenters weren't impressed with the post, accusing Nicola of narcissism for the slew of photographs of herself.

They penned: 'Weird choice and/or order of pictures to congratulate your father-in-law, one might say'; 'Odd pictures when it was for her father in laws premiere'; 'It's always 5 pictures of her and 1 of the person she's supposedly celebrating. Narcissism poster child';

'Unfollowed. Sorry super odd. Congratulations beckham the legend. The rest in this post is uncomfortable'; 'Why I'd mention my father in law in such a pics with his son !!! So weird'; 'You set up a camera to take raunchy pics with your husband to congratulate his dad

'Very strange photos for congratulating your father in law'; 'Weird choice of pictures for your father in law's event.'

The post comes after Nicola was accused of trying 'steal the show' at the Netflix BECKHAM documentary premiere.

She turned heads in a red leather dress which she teamed with sheer tights and black leather boots at The Curzon Mayfair on Tuesday night.

However many took to social media to accuse Brooklyn Beckham's wife of 'wanting to be the centre of attention.'
Alicia Silverstone proved to be quite the fashion maven after a show-stopping appearance at the Christian Siriano runway show during New York Fashion Week last month.

The 47-year-old actress showcased her modeling skills for a different designer for a stunning Heavn by Marc Jacobs campaign which she revealed Wednesday on Instagram.

She showcased her knockout legs in a very sexy clinging pink dress featuring a cutout down the chest all the way to the thigh which was held together by small clasps.

Alicia teamed the slinky number with a pair of knee-high platform booties featuring the same matching bubblegum color and clasps.

In a likely callback to her Clueless character from 1995 - Cher Horowitz - she posed holding onto several shopping bags as she shot a smoldering look to the camera.

Pretty in pink: Alicia Silverstone showcased her modeling skills for a different designer for a stunning Heavn by Marc Jacobs campaign which she revealed Wednesday on Instagram

Her signature blonde tresses were worn down as she showcased her evergreen looks with complementary make-up topped off with a swipe of pink lip.

In another leggy look from the campaign, the stunner sported a white spaghetti strap top with a pink graphic print along with tiny black denim skirt.

She also sported white thigh-high stockings and matching strappy stilettos as she held onto the hand of a huge pink teddy bear.

The campaign is certainly appealing to the trend of 1990s/early-2000s throwback fashion as Heavn by Marc Jacobs is a clothing line specifically aimed at Generation Z with graphic baby tees, overpriced handbags, quirky platforms and a hub for teens to fill their closet with alternative, Y2K, Fruits Mag inspired garments, apparel and accessories.

Alicia has been quite the muse for high fashion recently as she turned heads in a sheer black dress as she stopped by the star-studded Christian Siriano Spring 2024 runway show during New York Fashion Week last month.

The actress, who is slated to appear in the upcoming Netflix thriller titled Reptile, joined other celebrities at the glitzy event that was held at the Pierre Hotel - such as Kesha and Janet Jackson.

The fashion designer  who gained recognition after starring on Project Runway  showcased a variety of glamorous, ready to wear looks for the upcoming spring season.

Alicia made a statement wearing a sheer, black dress that contained a sparkling, black floral pattern throughout the fabric.

Wow factor: In a leggy look from the campaign, the 47-year-old stunner sported a white spaghetti strap top with a pink graphic print along with tiny black denim skirt

Lovely lady: She donned a pink dress while laying on the floor

As if: There were definitely callbacks to her Clueless character Cher Horowitz

Simply stunning: She posed while laying on the floor for a stunning photo

Hmm: There was one out of focus shot featuring mostly her face

Reflections: She shot a sultry look into a heart-shaped hand mirror

Inspo: The campaign is certainly appealing to the trend of 1990s/early-2000s throwback fashion as Heavn by Marc Jacobs is a clothing line specifically aimed at Generation Z with graphic baby tees, overpriced handbags, quirky platforms and a hub for teens to fill their closet with alternative, Y2K, Fruits Mag inspired garments, apparel and accessories

She donned a black bodysuit underneath that stopped just below her chest to coincide with the color scheme of the outfit.

The hem of the dress was asymmetrical, with long strips of material falling past her knees on the left side.

She slipped into a pair of black, open-toed strappy heels that contained silver, glittering embellishments on the top.

The Crush star easily carried a black clutch bag in her hand to hold a few items she needed while attending the anticipated fashion show with other guests and A-list celebrities.

Alicia's blonde locks were parted to the side, and effortlessly flowed down past her shoulders in elegant waves.

The mother of one opted for minimal accessories to allow the ensemble to be the main focal point, and added a pair of dangly, rhinestone earrings.

Her makeup was glammed up for the event, and comprised of a layer of mascara to her lashes, as well as a smoky shadow around her eyes.

A light pink blush was added to her cheekbones for a radiant glow, while a rosy pink, satin tint was worn on her lips for a finishing touch.

Wow! Alicia has been quite the muse for high fashion recently as she turned heads in a sheer black dress as she stopped by the star-studded Christian Siriano Spring 2024 runway show during New York Fashion Week last month

Dazzling: The mother of one opted for minimal accessories to allow the ensemble to be the main focal point, and added a pair of dangly, rhinestone earrings

Close friends: Alicia is no stranger to working closely with Christian Siriano, with the star recently enjoying a getaway to Italy where she spent time with the designer

Silverstone was seen striking a few of her favorite poses upon arriving at the runway show before taking her front row seat.

Alicia is no stranger to working closely with Christian Siriano, with the star recently enjoying a getaway to Italy where she spent time with the designer.

She donned a few, eye-catching dresses during their visit to Lake Como as well as Milan, and paused for stunning photos that were uploaded to Instagram.

Earlier this year in March, the pair also attended the 2023 Vanity Fair Oscars party together in Beverly Hills.
Jordyn Woods ensured all eyes were on her as she celebrated her 26th birthday at the InterContinental Paris Le Grand.

The socialite enjoyed an extravagant dinner at the swanky venue alongside close pals including Jaden Smith, Jodie Woods and model Matthew Moskza.

Jordyn cut a glamorous figure for the festivities as she slipped into a black dress that highlighted her incredible curves.

The off the shoulder garment featured a white collar along with a bejewelled buckle across the chest.

Jordyn styled her honey blonde locks into waves and added to her outfit with an eye-catching silver necklace.

Birthday girl: Jordyn Woods ensured all eyes were on her as she celebrated her 26th birthday at the InterContinental Paris Le Grand

The socialite enjoyed an extravagant dinner at the swanky venue alongside close pals

Accentuating her beauty with a light palette of makeup, Jordyn completed her look with a pair of silver earrings.

American DJ Siobhan Bell was on the decks throughout as guests were treated to free flowing a bespoke cocktail called French J26.

The star has been in Paris for the last few days as she enjoyed the city's Fashion Week.

Jordyn's actual birthday is September 23, with the star marking the occasion with a series of stunning snaps she shared to Instagram.

In the caption of her post, she shared her excitement for turning 26 and the upcoming year.

'Feeling so blessed and grateful to make it to another year,' she gushed. 'I truly feel like this is the beginning of the best time of my life.

'And I am so lucky for the people and the experiences thus far,' she wrote before expressing her excitement for 'Libra season'.

Many stars took to her comments section to wish her a happy birthday  including Hailey Bieber, who supported Woods by liking her post.

Stunning: Jordyn cut a glamorous figure for the festivities as she slipped into a black dress that highlighted her incredible curves

Pals: Jaden Smith (L) rocked a double denim look as he posed for a snap with the birthday girl

Gorgeous: Jordyn showed a closer look of her glamorous make-up as she posed for a snap

Cheers! American DJ Siobhan Bell was on the decks throughout as guests were treated to free flowing a bespoke cocktail called French J26

Bartenders: Jaden and Jordyn enjoyed making drinks

Impressed: Jordyn posed alongside a hotel chef next to her huge cake

Party-time: Jordyn posed for a snap with Monet McMichael

Back to BFFs: Jordyn and Kylie confirmed they have reconciled their friendship through a TikTok video last month, marking their first public appearance together on the platform

One particular BFF  who recently rekindled her friendship with Woods  that noticeably had not yet shared a public birthday greeting was Kylie Jenner.

It's been a busy few months for the curvaceous beauty, including with her recent reconciliation with her former Keeping Up With The Kardashians bestie after years of not being on speaking terms.

The Kylie x Jordyn makeup co-founders were spotted wining and dining at a sushi restaurant in Los Angeles in July.

However, in a bigger twist that shocked fans, DailyMail.com revealed that the on-and-off-again friends had actually been hanging out privately for a year leading up to their now-famous sushi dinner date.

The pair had an infamous falling out back in 2019 after Khloe Kardashians' then-boyfriend and baby daddy Tristan Thompson, 32, was spotted kissing Jordyn.

However, the Woods by Jordyn founder maintained that nothing else happened beyond the kiss when she appeared on Jada Pinkett's talk show, Red Table Talk.
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Joey King had a great time in Europe last month.

The Kissing Booth actress was seen on her honeymoon in Italy with her husband Steven Piet in new images shared to her Instagram account on Wednesday.

The 24-year-old Bullet Train star showed off her toned figure as she kissed her 32-year-old spouse when on the beach in Italy.

They were in Lake Como, Capri and Naples.

King was also seen modeling gold jewelry while in Rome. 'Roma + my @pomellato jewelry = my new personality,' wrote the new spokesperson in her Instagram caption as she wore a cream colored blouse and black sunglasses.

The lovebirds tied the knot in Spain in late September.

Kissing in Capri! Joey King had a great time in Europe last month. The Kissing Booth actress was seen on her honeymoon in Italy with her new husband Steven Piet in new images shared to her Instagram account on Wednesday

Side by side: They were sitting in wooden chairs on the rocky coastline

Cheeky chick on a rock: Here is a look at King's toned backside as she wore an ivory bikini

The couple were seen all over Italy.

They enjoyed swimming in Lake Como, in Northern Italys Lombardy region, is an upscale resort set against the foothills of the Alps.

The lake has three slender branches that meet at the resort town of Bellagio.

At the bottom of the southwest branch lies the city of Como, home to Renaissance architecture and a funicular that travels up to the mountain town of Brunate.

They were also on the beach on the island of Capri, an island in Italys Bay of Naples, is famed for its rugged landscape, upscale hotels and shopping, from designer fashions to limoncello and handmade leather sandals.

And the lovebirds enjoyed pizza in the pizza capital of the world, Naples, which is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan.

On September 3, the 24-year-old tied the knot with Piet, 32, while on the island of Mallorca in Spain. Only their closest family and friends were in attendance.

This week several of her glam team members shared new images from the coastline nuptials which were overseen by Alison and Bryan with floral arrangements by Putnam Flowers and music from Dart Collective.

Capri days: The 24-year-old Bullet Train star showed off her toned figure as she wore her hair up

Hunky spouse: And her new husband was seen in his black trunks as he walked in the water

Coastal views: They relaxed by a rocky coastline as they wore designer sunglasses

The Kissing Booth actress looked sensational in a strapless Oscar de la Renta gown with long drop diamond earrings.

Her hair was done by Dimitris Giannetos, styling by Jared Eng of JustJared fame, makeup by Allan Avendano and nails by Thuy Nguyen. King looked stunning in the images. In one she was the perfect bride with a white veil on.

The couple are now enjoying their honeymoon in Lake Como, Italy.

Guest included Sabrina Carpenter, Michelle Williams, and AnnaSophia Robb with her husband Trevor.

Joey said on Instagram: 'In life, what more can we ask for than to go to sleep next to someone thinking you cant wait to do it all over again tomorrow.'

Steve said of the wedding day: 'Only in this moment can we discover that which is timeless.'

She was walked down the aisle by her mother, Jamie King, and her grandmother.

Her glam team wished her well too.

Jared shared: 'Memories to last a lifetime. The most beautiful bride. Cutest of couples. Stunna wedding weekend.'

He posted a video where Joey was seen being walked down the aisle, and the clip also shared Joey holding hands with Steven.

'JOEY - I couldn't describe how happy I am for you @joeyking ! My little sister got married WOOHOOOOO Congratulations Joey and Steven love u both to the moon n back :)' Giannetos wrote on Instagram of a picture of King's wedding hair.

Rome is for lovers: King was also seen modeling gold jewelry while in Rome. ' Roma + my @pomellato jewelry = my new personality,' wrote the new spokesperson in her Instagram caption as she wore a cream colored blouse and black sunglasses

Dimitries also works with Kourtney Kardashian, Justin Bieber, Priyanka Chopra.

Manicurist Thuy added, 'Mrs. JOEY & Mr. STEVEN PIET ' and in another post said, 'JOEY. Words arent enough, but I will try. From the moment we met until this past weekend, you have been nothing shy of perfection.

'Your beauty, inside and out, shines a radiant light to all that you surround yourself with. Your heart, your words and your companionship is something I hold so close. You are a dream girl. You are as beautiful as they come. And you are a literal angel on earth. I love you & congratulations sweet girl xoxo, T.'

They said 'I do' at the La Fortaleza, a 22-acre estate in Mallorca, Spain built in the 1600s. The ceremony overlooking the fortress' lower-terrace swimming pool.

The had a five tier cake that was banana dulce de leche flavor.

King told Vogue the wedding was an 'unforgettable moment.'

'We truly felt so perfectly present, and soaking in every detail was pure magic,' she shared. 'The best part was seeing all our friends who didn't know each other just melting into one another and instantly connecting.

'We are surrounded by the best people, and seeing them all together was infectiously joyous,' she added.

Piet wore a suit by Italian designer Brunello Cucinelli.

He popped the question in Joshua Tree to celebrate their three-year dating anniversary.

'We went on a walk in the freezing-cold weather, and Steven described the surroundings as perfectly imperfect,' Joey shared with Vogue.

In old Napoli! There were also seen walking the streets in Naples which is Italy's third largest city

Manga: Neapolitan pizza, also known as Naples-style pizza, is a style of pizza made with tomatoes and mozzarella cheese. The tomatoes must be either San Marzano tomatoes or Pomodorino del Piennolo del Vesuvio, which grow on the volcanic plains to the south of Mount Vesuvius

He liked the pizza too: Steven was seen digging into a local pie

'We stopped to take some photos together, and before I knew it, I was getting a tug on my jacket. I turned around, and Steven was on one knee. He said some of the most beautiful things, and we were both crying. We kept the news to ourselves for one day, just absorbing it together before we shared it with anyone.'

They both wanted to get married outside of the US.

'We were looking for something unique and private and that felt grand yet intimate at the same time,' Joey explained to Vogue.

'We found La Fortaleza in Mallorca, and it feels like the Spanish version of The Great Gatsby. Its historic without being dated. It felt timeless, the same way we feel about our love for each other. And finding it was all thanks to our wonderful wedding planners Alison Bryan Destinationsthey nailed it and found us the venue of our dreams.'

She had four looks for her wedding.

And she was thrilled to have her team with her: 'Im so lucky to have my team that Ive been working with for so many years be part of this day. It means the world!'

Gorgeous girl as a bride: King looked beautiful on her wedding day in Spain in images shared by her glam team

I do, I do, I do: On September 3, the 24-year-old tied the knot with Piet while on the island of Mallorca in Spain

Wine is fine: Joey wore a white lace dress with rhinestone buttons as she enjoyed wine in new images shared Wednesday

The couples friend Erik officiated, and Sabrina Carpenter sang her down the aisle.

Stevens nieces and nephew and Joeys grandmother did readings.

'Between that and hearing Stevens vows and being able to read mine to him. Nothing couldve made this moment better,' she added.

'Also might I add, it was raining heavily right before the ceremony, and somehow the sun shone right as guests arrived. We were truly the luckiest people.'

At the reception 'there were tears everywhere,' Joey said.

'And then the food and drinksoh, God, the food and drinks. It was unreal! The Jesse Jamess Usualnamed after our beloved dogwas the most delicious spicy marg, and the beef cheeks were truly a highlight for me.'

Their first dance to Cat Powers Sea of Love.

'It was magical. Looking at my perfect husband while dancing to this perfect song was a dream,' said King.

Then they jumped in the swimming pool.
Emily Ratajkowski was pictured while taking a walk in New York City on Thursday morning.

The 32-year-old fashion model showcased her toned thighs in a cinnamon-colored long-sleeve minidress as she stepped out.

The Gone Girl actress, who was recently compared to Kendall Jenner, contrasted the dominant tone of her outfit with a pair of black knee-high leather boots.

Ratajkowski kept a matching purse with a gold chain slung over her right shoulder for the duration of her walk.

The Gone Girl actress accessorized with a pair of sunglasses, as well as small hoop earrings.

Out and about: Emily Ratajkowski was pictured while taking a walk in New York City on Thursday morning

Hot stuff! The 32-year-old fashion industry personality showcased her toned thighs while wearing a cinnamon-colored long-sleeve minidress as she stepped out

The entrepreneur also donned a pair of red headphones during her time in the Big Apple's streets.

Her voluminous brunette hair fell onto her chest and shoulders and paired well with the tone of her clothing.

At one point she seemed to tug the bottom of her dress down as it rode up on her thighs.

Ratajkowski used to be wed to film producer Sebastian Bear-McClard.

The former couple tied the knot in 2018 and welcomed a son named Sylvester, two, in 2021.

However, the two separated last year after the producer was accused of sexual misconduct by several individuals. They finalized their divorce a year ago.

The runway regular has since moved on with several other individuals after she left her husband.

Ratajkowski recently opened up about one of her preferences for dating during an interview on her High Low With EmRata podcast.

The model stated during a conversation with Remi Bader: 'My recent ick is men's ankles. Exposed ankles. I hate that.'

Fancy footwear: The model contrasted the dominant tone of her outfit with a pair of knee-high leather boots; on the left she tugged down at her dress which crept up her thighs

Accessorizing well: Ratajkowski kept a matching purse with a gold chain slung over her right shoulder for the duration of her walk

Completing the look: The Gone Girl actress accessorized with a pair of sunglasses, as well as small hoop earrings

Beautiful: Her voluminous brunette hair fell onto her chest and shoulders and paired well with the tone of her clothing

All over now: The two separated last year after the producer was accused of sexual misconduct by several individuals; they are seen with their son in 2021

The swimwear designer added: 'A dainty ankle exposed on the hottest man will ruin my day.'

Ratajkowski also spoke about how she rejected a potential partner after he unwittingly set off her 'ick' factor.

'There was a guy I was seeing and he came over in short pants and like, a shoe that exposed his ankle, and I have not seen him since. Swear on Sly's life,' she recalled.

The fashion industry personality initially launched her podcast in October of last year.
Arnold Schwarzenegger's former mistress and housekeeper Mildred Baena was seen a day after he said their affair which led to his divorce with Maria Shriver was his 'f*** up.'

The mother of actor and fitness influencer Joseph Baena - who is the 76-year-old actor's lovechild - was seen on a rare outing in Los Angeles on Wednesday.

Mildred was seen leaving a home in the Southern California city as she hopped into a white Mercedes-Benz GLA.

She donned a knit white shawl over a black top and trousers combination along with metallic gold flat shoes.

Hmm: Arnold Schwarzenegger 's former mistress and housekeeper Mildred Baena was seen a day after he said their affair which led to his divorce with Maria Shriver was his 'f*** up'

Her brunette tresses were put in a messy updo as she went make-up free.

Not seen on the outing was Mildred's son Joseph Baena who has 545K followers on Intagram with his workout related content.

Earlier that day Arnold had opened up about his relationship with his ex-wife, Maria Shriver, and the affair that rocked their marriage in an interview with People that was released on Wednesday.

During his sit-down with the media outlet, the acting legend revealed that he still held his former spouse, to whom he was married to 1986 until 2021, in high regard, despite their split.

The star of the Terminator franchise, who was recently spotted with his current girlfriend, Heather Milligan, stated that his 'chapter with Maria will continue on forever' and that there was 'no reason for me to feel anything other than love for her.'

Schwarzenegger began by admitting that his past actions led to the end of his relationship with the 67-year-old journalist, with whom he shares sons Patrick, 30, and Christopher, 26, as well as daughters Katherine, 33, and Christina, 31.

He stated: 'We never left the [first] chapter, because remember, it's not like we had a feud. We didn't have a fight. It's just my f*** up, right?'

The former pair separated in 2011 after it was revealed that the Predator star had fathered a son named Joseph, 25, with his family's former housekeeper, Mildred Baena.

Out: The mother of actor and fitness influencer Joseph Baena - who is the 76-year-old actor's lovechild - was seen on a rare outing in Los Angeles on Wednesday

Vibes: She donned a knit white shawl over a black top and trousers combination along with metallic gold flat shoes

Nice: Her brunette tresses were put in a messy updo as she went make-up free

Out and about: She was seen chatting with somene

Nice ride: Mildred was seen leaving a home in the Southern California city as she hopped into a white Mercedes-Benz GLA

She looked comfortable while driving off

Hunk: Not seen on the outing was Mildred's son Joseph Baena who has 545K followers on Intagram with his workout related content

The actor also recalled that he, as well as his former wife, decided to focus on the well-being of their children following their separation.

'She said, "Okay, this is what it is," and then she decided to make a split, so it was her decision. But the fact is, we always made it very clear that the kids should not suffer because of that,' he recalled.

Schwarzenegger went on to speak about his current relationship with Shriver and stated: 'Everything is kind of just as if we're together but we have separate lives.'

He added that his former wife 'has her things, her relationship, I have mine, but we always communicate about the kids, about the holidays.'

The former Governor of California has since moved on with Milligan, whom he initially met in 2012.

The pair was introduced after Schwarzenegger underwent shoulder surgery and was referred to his girlfriend, who works as a physical therapist, by his surgeon.

The performer recalled: 'After my therapy was finished, after I was finished with the movie, I called her back and took her out for lunch to say thank you. And then one thing led to the next.'

The happy couple initially began seeing each other in 2013, although they did not make their red carpet debut for two more years.

Being honest: Arnold had opened up about his relationship with his ex-wife, Maria Shriver, during an interview with People that was released on Wednesday; he is seen with (pictured left to right) Christina Schwarzenegger, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Patrick Schwarzenegger, Maria Shriver and Katherine Schwarzenegger in October 017

Speaking his mind: The star of the Terminator franchise, who was recently spotted with his current girlfriend , Heather Milligan, stated that his 'chapter with Maria will continue on forever and that there was 'no reason for me to feel anything other than love for her'; they are seen in 1986

Separation: The former pair separated in 2011 after it was revealed that the Predator star had fathered a son named Joseph, 25, with his family's former housekeeper, Mildred Baena; they are seen in 2003

Staying in touch: He added that his former wife 'has her things, her relationship, I have mine, but we always communicate about the kids, about the holidays'; she is seen with her son Patrick, daughter Katherine and son-in-law Chris Pratt in March

Working it out: Schwarzenegger went on to speak about his current relationship with Shriver and stated that 'everything is kind of just as if we're together but we have separate lives'

The new lady in his life: Schwarzenegger and Heather Milligan at Oktoberfestin Munich, Germany on September 21

Schwarzenegger made no secret of his affection for his girlfriend, with whom he recently attended Oktoberfest in Munich.

'We have so many things in common. Our relationship is fantastic. I think the world of her,' he stated.

The actor added: 'I love that she's into working. She's clearly independent. She just is driven as hell.'
Heidi Klum pointed her behind saucily at the camera as she leaned out the window in a sizzling new Instagram snap.

The 50-year-old was in Berlin in order to judge the new season of Germany's Next Topmodel, a job she has held since 2006.

For the first time in its history, the America's Next Top Model spin-off will have a cast of contestants that includes not just women but men as well.

As she worked on season 19 in her native country, Heidi posed up a storm for Instagram, putting her own supermodel credentials on display.

She unleashed her animal instinct in a slinky tiger-print cocktail dress that was perfectly fitted to her jaw-droppingly lithe frame.

Looking fab: Heidi Klum pointed her behind saucily at the camera as she leaned out the window in a sizzling new Instagram snap

Place to be: The 50-year-old was in Berlin in order to judge the new season of Germany 's Next Topmodel, a job she has held since 2006

The long-sleeved number, which slid beguilingly off the shoulder, was teamed with a thigh-high pair of boots that emphasized her vertiginous legs.

Accentuating her unmistakable features with makeup, Heidi wore her signature blonde locks in a youthful do that included a touch of fringe.

A few weeks ago Heidi revealed she had begun to plan her impending Halloween party, a highlight of her social calendar.

Heidi is famous for pulling out the stops for her extravagant costumes, once spending 10 hours having prosthetics applied in order to dress as a worm.

Her no-holds-barred costumes over the years have included Fiona from Shrek, a man-eating space alien and Michael Jackson as a werewolf in the Thriller video.

Speaking exclusively to DailyMail.com last month, Heidi teased this year's costume as bound to 'be extra. It's going to be really extra.'

Without spilling any details about what precisely she will be dressing as this year, she dished: 'I have had sleepless nights over it. You know me.'

Meanwhile, Heidi's 19-year-old daughter Leni has followed her footsteps into the modeling business, prompting persistent allegations of being a 'nepo baby.'

Use it or lose it: As she worked on season 19 in her native country, Heidi posed up a storm for Instagram, putting her own supermodel credentials on display

Swanking about: She unleashed her animal instinct in a slinky tiger-print cocktail dress that was perfectly fitted to her jaw-droppingly lithe frame

Family time: Heidi posted a heartwarming Instagram video on Thursday of her daughter Leni, 19, paying her an on-set visit at Germany's Next Topmodel

Excitement: 'Im here for support,' said Leni, hugging her mother in the makeup chair and kising her head: 'and I cant wait to see all the contestants'

Heidi posted a heartwarming Instagram video on Thursday of Leni paying her an on-set visit at Germany's Next Topmodel.

'Im here for support,' said Leni, hugging her mother in the makeup chair and kising her head: 'and I cant wait to see all the contestants.'

The teen fashion maven added with a mischievous smile: 'There's boys this year, and I've only met the boys, not the girls, but....'

'How's that?' Heidi asked, prompting her daughter to melt into giggles as she replied: 'I don't know, it just happened that way.'

Over the past year Heidi has been deluged with backlash more than once for posing with Leni in lingerie shoots for Intimissimi.

During the second controversy, which unfolded this May, the blowback grew so intense that Heidi turned off her Instagram comments.

Heidi and Seal were married from 2005 until 2014 and they welcomed three children together biologically - Henry, 18, Johan, 16, and Lou, 13.

Meanwhile Leni resulted from Heidi's previous relationship with Italian businessman Flavio Briatore, but in 2009 Seal legally adopted her as well.
Gal Gadot appeared to be topless in a promotional photo for Tiffany & Co that was shared on her Instagram account on Thursday.

The 38-year-old actress wore one of the jewelry company's newest silver necklaces as she posed for the snap, and her accessory contrasted well with the turquoise background.

The Wonder Woman star, who recently opened up about the injuries she has suffered while filming fight scenes, also held her gorgeous brunette hair back as she posed for the shot.

Gadot has served as a brand ambassador for Tiffany & Co on several occasions in the past.

The performer served as the face of the company's Botanica campaign for its Blue Book collection, which was released last April.

Va va voom: Gal Gadot remained topless in a promotional photo for Tiffany & Co. that was shared on her Instagram account on Thursday

The Red Notice actress subsequently spoke to The Hollywood Reporter to promote the brand's new set of items.

Gadot spoke about serving as a model for the Blue Book collection and recalled: 'This was one of my favorite campaigns to shoot.'

'I've never seen anything quite as stunning as the Botanica Dandelion necklace we shot,' she added.

The Fast & Furious actress also told the media outlet that she felt it was 'such an honor' to be able to work with Tiffany & Co on their campaign.

The jewelry company's executive vice president of product and communication, Alexandre Arnault, also issued a statement to speak about why the brand chose to work with Gadot.

He described the actress as 'more than a house ambassador. She epitomizes the effortless glamour, sheer sophistication and sense of modernity that Blue Book represents.'

Arnault added: 'We are thrilled that she is the face of the new Botanica campaign.'

The performer also wore a replica of the famed Tiffany Diamond in the 2022 mystery feature Death On The Nile.

Working hard: Gadot has served as a brand ambassador for Tiffany & Co. on several occasions in the past

On the big screen: Gadot went on to wear the Tiffany & Co Bone Cuff in Wonder Woman 1984, which premiered in 2020

Doing the most: The actress also wore several of the brand's products to the superhero film's celebration event

The necklace was originally made famous by Audrey Hepburn in a publicity photo for the 1961 film Breakfast At Tiffany's.

The accessory has since been worn by Lady Gaga during the 2019 Academy Awards ceremony, as well as Beyonce in a 2021 campaign for the jewelry company.

Gadot went on to wear the Tiffany & Co. Bone Cuff in Wonder Woman 1984, which premiered in 2020.

The actress also wore several of the brand's products to the superhero film's celebration event.
Kelsey Grammer got emotional as he addressed the live studio audience at a taping of his Frasier reboot.

The 68-year-old star was shown tearing up in a video released by Paramount+ on the set of the revival just weeks after the first trailer for the highly-anticipated series was released.

The original Frasier aired over 11 seasons on NBC from September 1993 to May 2004.

Kelsey was greeted by the studio audience to a standing ovation before her grabs a microphone to address them.

He soaks in the moment as he returns to his signature character Frasier Crane and says: 'I'm delighted you're here. I can't tell you how grateful I am that you're here and how grateful we are that we have a chance to do this for you again.

Aww: Kelsea Grammer was shown tearing up in a video released by Paramount+ on the set of the revival just weeks after the first trailer for the highly-anticipated series was released

Back in the day: The original Frasier aired over 11 seasons on NBC from September 1993 to May 2004; David Hyde Pierce, Peri Gilpin, Kelsey Grammer, Moose, sitting up; Jane Leeves and John Mahoney are pictured left to right

'I am very excited about what we're doing, this new group of people that you can fall in love with and get to know. We've been working so hard at this thing and it's been quite a while, and I think we've done something quite lovely.'

He then begins to get visibly emotional and even musters up a tear or two.

Grammer said: 'My love for this character is very sweet. I wish you this!'

Last month Kelsey was shown back as his most iconic character in the first official trailer for his new revival of Frasier.

The Paramount+ series, which finds the eponymous psychiatrist relocated in Boston after leaving his home in Seattle, charts his attempts to restart his relationship with his grown son Frederick 'Freddy' Crane (Jack Cutmore-Scott).

Along the way, Grammer gets in plenty of jokes about Frasier's hoity-toity mannerisms while hanging out with his similarly educated pals at a bar.

The series premieres on October 12 on Paramount+ in the US and on October 13 in the UK and Ireland.

Although the new Frasier is ostensibly a revival of the popular 1990s and 2000s series of the same name, it features few of the original cast members aside from its star.

Honored: Kelsey was greeted by the studio audience to a standing ovation before her grabs a microphone to address them

He soaks in the moment as he returns to his signature character Frasier Crane and says: 'I'm delighted you're here. I can't tell you how grateful I am that you're here and how grateful we are that we have a chance to do this for you again'

He continued: 'I am very excited about what we're doing, this new group of people that you can fall in love with and get to know. We've been working so hard at this thing and it's been quite a while, and I think we've done something quite lovely'

He then begins to get visibly emotional and even musters up a tear or two as he Grammer said: 'My love for this character is very sweet. I wish you this!'

Missing from the new ensemble are John Mahoney, who played Frasier's father and died in 2018, David Hyde Pierce, who costarred as Frasier's brother Niles, and Jane Leeves, who played Niles' future wife Daphne.

Frasier, who was first introduced to audiences on the massively popular sitcom Cheers before getting his own spin-off series, shares his son Freddy with his ex-wife Lilith (Bebe Neuwirth).

The motherson duo had originally lived in Boston during the original show's timeline, though Neuwirth and the original Frederick actor Trevor Einhorn made guest appearances on the series.

By the time of Frasier's East Coast move, Freddy is now all grown up and living with his girlfriend Eve (Jess Salgueiro).

Frasier highlights his new location in the opening lines of the trailer, while also alluding to his history as a bar regular on Cheers.

'What is it about the city of Boston that leads me to forego the more sophisticated temptation of the fermented grape?' he says haughtily as he holds a mug of beer.

'Sitting here with a cold brew in my hand, I feel amalgamated with the hoi polloi,' he declares proudly.

'You are the classic everyman,' jokes his friend Alan Cornwall. Nicholas Lyndhurst plays Alan, a college friend of Frasier's who is now a professor in Boston.

He's back! Last month Kelsey was shown back as his most iconic character in the first official trailer for his new revival of Frasier

Reunited and it feels so good! Along the way he attempts to restart his relationship with his grown son Freddy Crane (Jack Cutmore-Scott)

Relocated: Frasier highlights his new location in the opening lines. 'What is it about the city of Boston that leads me to forego the more sophisticated temptation of the fermented grape?' he says haughtily

Having a laugh: 'Sitting here with a cold brew in my hand, I feel amalgamated with the hoi polloi,' he declares proudly. 'You are the classic everyman,' jokes his friend Alan Cornwall in reply

Unexpected visitor: Next, Frasier's unexpected reunion with his son Freddy is featured. 'Freddy, surprise!' he shouts as his son walks up to his apartment door

Didn't see that coming: 'Dad!' replies a shocked Freddy. 'You're at my door  unannounced!' Frasier doesn't let it throw him off though. 'There's a shorter way to say that  Surprise!'

'Frasier is back,' the trailer then declares in a title card.

Next, Frasier's unexpected reunion with his son Freddy is featured.

'Freddy, surprise!' he shouts as his son walks up to his apartment door.

'Dad!' replies a shocked Freddy. 'You're at my door  unannounced!'

Frasier doesn't let it throw him off though. 'There's a shorter way to say that  Surprise!'

The trailer adds that Frasier is 'basically the same' as he makes his clumsy entrance into his son's formerly independent life.

Back at the bar, Frasier's mood has taken a turn for the worse as he recounts his meeting with his son to his friends.

'What's going on with your son?' inquires Olivia (Toks Olagundoye), the chair of an Ivy League psychology department.

Down in the dumps: Back at the bar, Frasier's mood has taken a turn for the worse as he recounts his meeting with his son to his friends

New acquaintances: 'Wish I knew. He's got a girlfriend I've never even heard of,' he says over footage of him meeting Eve

Turned down: 'When I told him I wanted to spend more time with him, he said no!' Frasier adds

Ouch! 'Have you considered that he hates you?' Alan asks sarcastically

'Wish I knew. He's got a girlfriend I've never even heard of,' he says over footage of him meeting Eve. 'When I told him I wanted to spend more time with him, he said no!'

'Have you considered that he hates you?' Alan asks sarcastically.

Frasier won't be deterred, and he visits Freddy again to tell him, 'I miss you and I won't take no for an answer.'

Then Frasier is seen accepting a job offer in the psych department from Olivia, cementing his new life in Boston.

Meanwhile, Freddy complains to his girlfriend Eve about his father barging into his life, but she can only think of how 'good' he smells.

'Yeah, he smells really good,' Freddy agrees to a laugh from the audience.

Then Frasier reveals just how uptight he is when Freddy visits him at his new home and attempts to sit on his fancy sofa.

'Don't sit there!' his father screams, before informing him that he can't sit on the 'Christian Lacroix' pillows.

'So we can't sit on the couch?' Freddy clarifies.

'Not in jeans,' replies Frasier.

Not giving up: Frasier won't be deterred, and he visits Freddy again to tell him, 'I miss you and I won't take no for an answer'

It's official: Then Frasier is seen accepting a job offer in the psych department from Olivia, cementing his new life in Boston

Detour: Meanwhile, Freddy complains to his girlfriend Eve about his father barging into his life, but she can only think of how 'good' he smells. 'Yeah, he smells really good,' Freddy agrees to a laugh from the audience

Off limits: Then Frasier reveals just how uptight he is when Freddy visits him at his new home and attempts to sit on his fancy sofa. 'Don't sit there!' his father screams, before informing him that he can't sit on the 'Christian Lacroix' pillows

Disappointment: After a short montage, the trailer ends with Frasier proposing a toast with Freddy. He's delighted when his son suggests Scotch, but is disappointed to see that it's a cheap plastic bottle

Coming soon: Frasier returns with its new revival on Paramount+ on October 12

After a short montage, the trailer ends with Frasier proposing a toast with Freddy.

'I've got some Scotch if that sounds good,' Freddy says. 'Top shelf.'

'Of course! Nothing less,' Frasier replies, before his son clarifies that he meant the bottle was on the top shelf. His father then gazes at it with disgust after realizing it's a less fancy plastic jug.

Frasier returns with its new revival on Paramount+ on October 12 in the US and on October 13 in the UK and Ireland.
Tom Holland and Zendaya enjoyed a bit of canine company during their latest couple's outing in his native UK.

The Hollywood hot couple, who met on the set of the Spider-Man movies, were trailed by dating rumors for years until the relationship was confirmed in 2021.

Since news of their romance leaked into the public eye a couple of years ago, they have been seen several times as a duo.

Thursday was no exception, with both of them posting Instagram updates from the Battersea Dogs & Cats Home, a London animal rescue in operation since 1860.

Zendaya and Tom could be seen joyfully playing with some of the puppies at Battersea while wearing hazmat suits.

His picture of her: Tom Holland and Zendaya enjoyed a bit of canine company during their latest couple's outing in his native UK

Details: The Hollywood hot couple, who met on the set of the Spider-Man movies, were trailed by dating rumors for years until the relationship was confirmed in 2021

In one heartwarming picture posted to her Insta Stories, Zendaya could be seen cradling a tiny pooch who stretched a paw out to touch her.

'Got the lil leg going lol,' wrote the former Disney Channel child star, joking that her own song Noon was 'gonna be so mad when he smells me.'

Although Zendaya and Tom were the subject of dating rumors since they wrapped Spider-Man: Homecoming in 2017 - their first film together - she repeatedly denied they were an item in the years before they went public.

However that very July a People insider dished that the franchise co-stars had become romantically involved but were attempting to keep the matter under wraps.

'They started seeing each other while they were filming Spider-Man,' the source claimed. 'They've been super careful to keep it private and out of the public eye but they've gone on vacations with each other and try and spend as much time as possible with one another.'

Zendaya denied as much on Twitter joking: 'My favorite is when it says we go on vacations together HA! I haven't been on a vacation in years! hbu @tomholland1996???'

'He's literally one of my best friends,' Zendaya said of Tom during an interview with Variety later in 2017 after the release of Spider-Man: Homecoming.

'This past how many months we've had to do press tours together. There's very few people that will understand what that's like at 20 years old,' she pointed out.

Place to be: Thursday was no exception, with both of them posting Instagram updates from the Battersea Dogs & Cats Home, a London animal rescue in operation since 1860

Too cute: Zendaya and Tom could be seen joyfully playing with some of the puppies at Battersea while wearing hazmat suits

Dynamic duo: While the pair have not shied away from being seen together, they have been reticent to divulge details of their relationship to the public; pictured 2021

Indeed both Zendaya and Tom have reportedly dated other people in the years between when the rumors started and when the romance was confirmed.

However, the cat was let out of the bag in July 2021 when Tom and Zendaya were spotted kissing in a car after paying a visit to her mother.

Since then, while the pair have not shied away from being seen together, they have been reticent to divulge details of their relationship to the public.

Tom shed some light on their attitude this summer when he appeared on a podcast hosted by the self-help guru Jay Shetty.

'My relationship is the thing I keep most sacred. I don't talk about it,' he said. 'I try my best to keep it as private as possible.'

He explained: 'We both feel like that is the healthiest way for us to move on as a couple, so I do try to keep as removed from Hollywood as possible.'
Oti Mabuse has given a health update during her pregnancy.

The professional dancer, 33, who is expecting her first child with her husband Marius Lepure, 40, revealed she has been struggling with Symphysis Pubis Dysfunction (SPD).

The NHS states SPD or Pregnancy related Girdle Pain (PGP) is a collection of uncomfortable symptoms caused by a stiffness of your pelvic joints or the joints moving unevenly at either the back or front of your pelvis.

Oti said she has found it 'frustrating' she hasn't been able to workout as often as she was used to and has been battle intense pain at night.

The former Strictly star took to Instagram on Wednesday to share a video of herself doing a series of exercises.

Struggles: Oti Mabuse has given a health update during her pregnancy

Tough: The professional dancer, 33, who is expecting her first child with her husband Marius Lepure, 40, revealed she has been struggling with Symphysis Pubis Dysfunction (SPD)

Oti wrote: 'Working out with SPD. I completely fell off the bandwagon with my fitness and I immediately could feel it when I went back. My core strength was not what it was, my balance was off and my ability hold certain positions was gone. The pain started really slow but at night while sleeping would intensify (Im not wearing a belt yet but as weeks go on I definitely will)

'Aside from physiotherapy exercises, I still try continue to stay active in any way that is not painful. My level of activity depends on how severe my SPD is that day. It can be very frustrating if you used to exercise regularly and have to stop. Walking, sitting, driving all become a bit painful.

'But we push on and grand ourselves some GRACE! Taking it slow and breathing through everything - Change is good, it might be difficult but its all for a good reason.

'I know Im not alone dealing SPD - how are you dealing or dealt with it?'

Oti and husband Marius surprised viewers when they announced on air they are expecting their first child.

Embracing her husband, Oti began the final segment of her show as normal, before teasing that they had been 'holding in some good news'.

She also hinted at her due date as she told how their 'beautiful journey' is 'nearly over' and teased that 'Christmas is about to get even louder'.

Pregnancy journey: Oti wrote: 'Working out with SPD. I completely fell off the bandwagon with my fitness and I immediately could feel it when I went back'

Determined: Oti said: 'Aside from physiotherapy exercises, I still try continue to stay active in any way that is not painful'

Embracing the change: The dancer has adapted her workout regime

Exciting: Oti and husband Marius surprised viewers when they announced on air they are expecting their first child

What is Symphysis Pubis Dysfunction (SPD)? Some women may develop pelvic pain in pregnancy. This is sometimes called pregnancy-related pelvic girdle pain (PGP) or symphysis pubis dysfunction (SPD) Symptoms: Pain over the pubic bone at the front in the centre, roughly level with your hips

across 1 or both sides of your lower back in the area

between your vagina and anus (perineum)

spreading to your thighs

Credit NHS Advertisement

Oti and Marius met in Germany during a dance trial and competed together in several competitions.

Marius popped the question on his birthday to the Dancing On Ice judge in 2014 and the pair married the same year.

Oti stepped down from Strictly in February 2022 after seven years.

Although she was going from success to success, the star admitted she had plenty of 'dark days' that made her unable to eat and left her 'crying' in the shower.

Oti won the Glitterball trophy in two consecutive years with Emmerdale star Kelvin Fletcher, 37, and comedian Bill Bailey, 56, leaving many to believe that the South African dancer could be set for a sensational hat trick.

Speaking on the All Change podcast, Oti admitted that the pressure of dealing with the celebrity contestants and stress she put on herself became too much.

She explained: 'Luckily my husband again has been an amazing person who has seen the dark days, the days where I'm in the shower crying with my clothes on because it's so hard and it's so overwhelming.

'He's seen me not eat, he's seen me overeat, he's seen me struggle with not being able to get the best out of someone. He's seen me having to deal with 'interesting personalities.'

'So, he's the person that's seen the behind the scenes at the point where I'd got to where I was like: "I think I'm finished." He was like: "Yeah".'
Nicky Hilton turned 40-years-old on Thursday.

It is a major milestone for the younger sister of 42-year-old pinup Paris Hilton.

The New York City resident celebrated with a party in Paris as she posted the fun images to Instagram after hitting several fashion shows with her older sibling.

The 365 Style author was seen in a black sparkly mini dress with her hair back as she sat on a glass-top coffee table next to several birthday cakes.

'Could not have asked for a better birthday week in the best city with my best friend! Most epic sisters trip! ' she said of spending time with Paris in France.

She is 40! Nicky Hilton turned 40-years-old on Thursday. It is a major milestone for the younger sister of 42-year-old pinup Paris Hilton. She posed with her cakes in France

Sister Paris added: 'To my forever partner-in-crime, my confidante, and my beautiful sister.

'Growing up alongside you has been the most incredible journey.

'From our childhood adventures to our adult dreams, every moment with you has been nothing short of magical.

'On your special day, I'm reminded of how lucky I am to have a sister who shines so brightly both inside and out. Your grace, strength, and beauty inspire me every day.

'Here's to celebrating not just the wonderful person you've become, but the countless memories we've made and the many more to come. Happy Birthday, my dearest sister. May your day be as radiant and unforgettable as you are. Love you!'

The star - born Nicholai Olivia - is the wife of James Rothschild of the famous Rothschild family. He is a grandson of Victor Rothschild, 3rd Baron Rothschild.

In May, Nicky, a mother of three, opened up to E! News on the advice she gave to her sister Paris, who welcomed her first child via surrogate.

'My advice always is to not miss the small moments. There's such a short window that they're so small, and new things are happening every day,' Nicky said.

'Like, Paris always says her son looks different every day,' Nicky said, adding, 'She is so happy. She's so content.'

'I was just over there last week and just hanging out in the nursery with her and her son, and she's so complete is the word I'd use,' she continued.

Party people: At the Stella McCartney show during Paris Fashion Week Womenswear Spring/Summer 2024 on October in Paris

V: At the Valentino Womenswear Spring/Summer 2024 show as part of Paris Fashion Week on October 1 in Paris

Nicky added that Paris' son Phoenix, 'looks a lot like me as a baby, and my daughter Lily-Grace looks identical to Paris as a child.

'So, it's interesting how the genes crossed like that,' she said, adding how interesting it is that she grew up in a family of mainly girls while she, her sister and brother Barron have all had boys.

'Funny, we had all girls in the family and, in the last year, my brother had a son, Paris had a son and I had a son,' Nicky said.

'So, we've been flooded with boys, and it's amazing to see the bond between them,' she added.

Meanwhile, her sister Paris has been 'on cloud nine' since becoming a mother, according to Nicky who has opened up about her sibling's journey to parenthood after Paris dropped the bombshell news about welcoming son Phoenix Barron with her husband Carter Reum via surrogate back in January - and Nicky is adamant the DJ is doing a brilliant job in the first few months of her new life.

Happy gal: She was also seen on Thursday at the Plaza hotel with a croissant in hand

Red-y for fun: Hilton is seen outside the Alice + Olivia show during Fashion Week on September in New York City

She told PEOPLE: 'She is on cloud nine. She is such an incredible mother. She was born to do this, and I'm just so happy for her.'

Nicky is mum to three kids - two daughters and a son - with her husband Rothschild and she hopes the youngsters will be close to their little cousin once they finally get to meet him.

She added: 'I'm just so excited for all the cousins and babies to be together. They haven't all met yet. When my kids have spring break in a few weeks, they're going to come here and meet their new cousin.'

Paris recently revealed she has undergone further IVF treatment in a bid to have a second child - and she wants the baby to be a girl.

In an interview with Glamour magazine, she explained 'We've done it [the IVF process] seven times I have all boys [embryos]. I have 20 boys.'

She then revealed the latest round of IVF took place earlier this year and they are waiting to see if it has been successful. Paris added: 'I just went through the process again a month ago, so I'm waiting for the results to see if there's any girls.'
Richard Madeley has called Phillip Schofield's sudden exit from This Morning 'brutal'.

Phil, 61, stepped down from his role as host after 21 years in May for having an 'unwise but not illegal' affair with a young male runner.

Richard, 67, who presented the daytime programme with wife Judy from 1988 until 2001, has waded into drama and revealed he has been in touch with Phillip following his resignation.

'I feel very sorry for Phillip - it seemed a pretty savage outcome after 21 years (in the job). It seemed quite brutal to be honest,' Richard told The Sun.

'I took a paternal interest in it - I kept in touch, told him to take it easy and that it'll be all right. He agreed. All things pass in the end.

'It was pretty savage!': Richard Madeley has called Phillip Schofield 's sudden exit from This Morning 'brutal'

His say: Richard, 67, who presented the daytime programme with wife Judy from 1988 until 2001, has waded into drama (pictured in 2009)

'We've all been through terrible experiences and the worst ones are the phones that come out of a clear blue sky and you don't see them coming, politicians say they're only one debate away from a catastrophe and it's the same in our industry.'

When asked if he would ever take up his seat on the sofa, Richard said he 'enjoyed it but would never go back'.

Richard will instead appear in Chloe Madeley's ITVBe reality show called A Family Affair which charters her first year as a mother to Bodhi with husband James Haskell.

MailOnline has contacted ITV for comment.

There has been speculation as to who will take over Phillip's role of co-host at ITV's flagship daytime programme.

ITV bosses have been attempting to find Holly, 42, a more permanent sidekick, with Alison Hammond, Dermot O'Leary, Rylan Clarke and Josie Gibson also contending for the role.

But management are reportedly eyeing up Good Morning Britain host Ben Shephard, who impressed when he stood in on the This Morning sofa last week.

Sources say Ben, 48, is 'frontrunner' to replace Phillip in the role after he stood in earlier this week.

Resignation: Phil, 61, stepped down from his role as host after 21 years in May for having an 'unwise but not illegal' affair with a young male runner (pictured with Holly Wiloughby)

Keeping in touch: Phil and Holly pictured with Richard and Judy in 2018

Ben, who was previously a stand-in presenter on This Morning, covering for Schofield between 2005 and 2011  impressed the network's senior executives when he appeared on the show.

Initially This Morning was going to be built around Holly with rotating co-hosts, as GMB is with Susanna Reid, but now bosses have changed their minds and want someone they can team her with most days.

A source told the Mail: 'Ben did really well and the bosses loved his partnership with Holly and there was great feedback from many viewers.

'Ben is known throughout ITV as being very popular with the audiences of whatever shows he hosts. He is also trusted by the public and is much loved within ITV. He has hosted so many shows for the channel.

'He and Holly go back years too  he presented on This Morning some years ago and they have a great rapport.'

It was revealed last month that the This Morning scandal could be made into a 'jaw-dropping' drama series.

The production company behind the series thinks Channel 4 would be a 'perfect fit', a source told The Sun.

Replacement: Management are reportedly eyeing up Good Morning Britain host Ben Shephard to replace Phillip on This Morning

They said: 'The storyline will reflect what went on. People have seen it from the outside but the drama will give a perspective on what may have occurred behind-closed-doors.'

The shamed star stepped down from presenting the daytime show after 21 years when he admitted he repeatedly lied to bosses about having an affair with a runner.

Phillip  who called the relationship 'unwise, but not illegal'  cheated on his wife Stephanie with the young male colleague.

READ MORE HERE: Ben Shephard is set to replace Phillip Schofield as Holly Willoughby's partner on This Morning Advertisement

The tryst was kept secret for years until he admitted to The Mail on Sunday he had lied about it having been just rumours.

He went on to confess he had misled his employer ITV, his colleagues, his friends and his then agents at the management firm YMU.

In an extraordinary series of interviews he apologised for all of the hurt he had caused.

It sparked an extraordinary domino effect for the show and ITV, with Holly having to issue a statement saying she knew nothing about it.

But Phillip insisted he had not 'groomed' the man, despite first meeting him when he was 15.

And he went on to declare: 'Attraction is attraction. It's no different in the gay world as it is in the heterosexual world or in the lesbian world.

'There shouldn't be a difference. This is where homophobia comes in.

'We did first meet when he was 15, I visited the drama school [he attended].'

In a hard-hitting emotional interview with the BBC's Amol Rajan, Schofield said his two daughters - Molly, 29, and Ruby, 27 - had saved his life.

He said the fallout from his admission that he lied about his affair with a younger male colleague had been 'relentless', revealing he has had suicidal thoughts.

Schofield said: 'My girls saved my life. They said last week they haven't left me for a moment. They've been by my side every moment because they're scared to let me out of their sight. What is that like for daughters to have to go with something like that?

'And they said to me, 'don't you dare do this on our watch. We're supposed to be looking after you'. If my girls hadn't been there, I wouldn't be here, because I don't see my future.'
As American consumers continue to spend more online and less at malls, retailers are scrambling to make physical retail stores work for their bottom line.

This week Macy's said it will accelerate the opening of 'small format' stores outside of city centers - opening an additional 30 by 2025.

In 2020, the retailer - known for its larger stores in urban malls - began opening smaller locations, around a fifth of the size, as part of a new business model that would see it shift its footprint from cities to suburban shopping centers.

Macy's currently has 11 small-format stores across Dallas-Fort Worth, Atlanta, Chicago, St. Louis, Boston and Las Vegas. It will open another in San Diego in November, the company said in a press release.

The original small stores were called Market by Macy's, but the company said in August that new small stores would just be called Macy's

The new stores range in size from 30,000 to 50,000 square feet, roughly one-fifth the size of its regular department stores. Pictured is the flagship Manhattan location

The original stores were called Market by Macy's, but the company said in August that new small stores would just be called Macy's.

Small format stores, as the company refers to them, are between 30,000 and 50,000 square-foot in size and are found in 'off-mall' locations - free standing stores away from traditional enclosed malls.

Macy's CEO Adrian Mitchell said in a press release on Tuesday that the smaller stores were 'efficient to operate' and allowed the retailer to target 'high-traffic shopping centers'.

Liza Amlani, principal and co-founder of Retail Strategy Group, told Retail Dive in July that Macy's new model marks a move away from the decreasingly profitable 'mall-anchor' approach to retail.

'It's positive in that this is the right move for any flagship, to move away from being an anchor store and open up smaller concepts that have a curated product assortment localized with the consumer in mind,' she told the outlet.

Bankrupt brands like Bed, Bath & Beyond, Rite Aid pharmacy, and Tuesday Morning are shuttering hundreds of branches, while household names including Gap, Target, and CVS are closing major city stores as part of 'restructuring' projects

The retail industry continues to struggle with consumers' snubbing of malls in favor of online shopping, leading to the collapse of stores such as Payless and Toys R Us and tens of thousands of layoffs.

This comes despite a gradual rise in retail sales in the US overall - with the sector raking in $7 trillion in 2022 - up from $6.58 trillion in 2021 and $5.58 trillion in 2020, per Statista.

At least 20 major brands have announced closures which will take effect by the end of 2023, at a combined total of 3,193 locations, according to Insider.
A host of big name restaurants are offering cut-price deals in honor National Taco Day.

Among those taking part are Australian food chain Guzman y Gomez joining in on the fun, Taco Bell and several other restaurant franchises based in the US.

Taco Bell is pulling out all the stops for the annual food day by bringing back the Taco Lover's Pass from October 3 - October 4 for $10.

California Tortilla is also celebrating by giving their customers a free taco coupon on October 4 with any purchase - even if it's only a drink.

The Australian-based food chain Guzman Y Gomez took part in National Taco Day by joining Doordash for two tacos for 0.99 cents deal.

The name 'taco' originated from Mexican silver miners in the 18th century after gunpowder was wrapped in a paper like a taquito

Taco Bell is bringing back its Taco Lover's Pass from October 3 - October 4 for only $10. The membership entitles you to one taco a day for 30 consecutive days

Chevy's Fresh Mex will be offering consumers a free Chevys Taco Plate with purchase of any entree equal or greater value.

Meanwhile Del Taco is offering a month-long 'Tacoberfest' Bundle Deal starting today - five snack tacos for $3 every Wednesday in October.

Long John Silver's is keeping it simple with customers receiving a free taco on October 4 with purchase of any meal, combo, or in-store platter.

Jack in the Box is bringing back its Monster Tacos, and for October 4 only, customers can purchase two of them in the Jack App for 0.99 cents.

On the Border is offering classic tacos for $2 each, and Southwest chicken or brisket tacos for $4 each.

Happy #NationalTacoDay!! Celebrate with Tacobefest!  Get 5 Snack Tacos for just $3 and FREE DELivery on any order over $20!  pic.twitter.com/xrUeIXYmID  Del Taco Restaurants (@DelTaco) October 4, 2023

National Taco Day was first created as part of a 2009 advertisement campaign by the Del Taco restaurant chain.

It's similar to Taco Tuesday - a celebratory day for eating tacos that was part of a legal battle between Taco Bell and Taco John's back in July.

The celebration is also called Mexico, Dia del Taco, which translates to 'Day of the Taco' and is celebrated in Mexico on March 31.

Most of the restaurant franchises will be ending these deals after today, so for those of you who are look for a free or discounted taco, get to one of these restaurant chains today.
Study comes as mortgage rates hit 7.5 percent for the first time since 2000

It was followed by California, North Dakota, Ohio and Connecticut

Owning a home was once considered a staple of achieving the American dream. But for residents in Virginia that dream is fading fast.

The Old Dominion state has suffered the largest decline in homeownership across the US since 2000, according to a new report.

Some 67.4 percent of Virginians had their own property in 2022, down from 73.9 percent at the start of the millennium.

Overall the number of owners dropped by 8.8 percent - the steepest slump of any US state, figures from California platform RubyHome Luxury Real Estate show.

It was followed by North Dakota which suffered a decline of 7.5 percent and Ohio and Connecticut which both saw drops of 7.4 percent.

Some 67.4 percent of Virginians had their own property in 2022, down from 73.9 percent at the start of the millennium

The top ten states were rounded out by: North Carolina, Georgia, Nevada, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania and Tennessee.

Of those listed, Nevada had the lowest proportion of homeowners with only 64 percent of residents in the state having their own property.

The research was compiled using figures from the U.S Census Bureau.

Experts commented the figures pointed to a downward trend across the US that showed younger generations were far less likely to own a home than their parents.

A RubyHome spokesman said: 'With the general trend since 2000 dictating that the current younger generation are less likely than their parents to ultimately own a home, its interesting to see the states who are most susceptible to this phenomenon.

'It will be pertinent to see whether these homeownership rates continue to decline or if the states most affected can reverse the trend.'

Aspiring homeowners are currently facing a perfect storm of elevated mortgage rates which are deterring homeowners from moving.

US mortgage rates surpassed 7.5 percent for the first time since November 2000, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association

Figures from the Atlanta Federal Reserve showed that Americans were facing the least affordable housing market since 2006.

Many fixed 30-year deals when rates were around 2 percent - effectively trapping them in their current home.

It comes after figures from the Atlanta Federal Reserve showed that Americans were facing the least affordable housing market since 2006.

And data released today by the Mortgage Bankers Association showed that mortgage rates had topped 7.5 percent for the first time since 2000.

But it's not all bad news as data from property portal Zillow shows that the number of sellers slashing the price of their homes has risen to its highest level this year.

Some 9.2 percent of listings had their asking prices slashed in the week to September 23 - compared to 6 percent in April and 7.9 percent in the same week in September 2019.

While a post-summer cooldown occurs every year, economists noted the trend had accelerated this fall.

Zillow senior economist Jeff Tucker wrote in a report that fall could be a 'sweet spot' for aspiring home buyers - so long as they are prepared to cope with higher mortgage rates.
Americans should consider their tax strategies now ahead of potential changes at the end of 2025, experts warn.

Trump-era legislation brought in by the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act in 2017 made sweeping changes to the tax landscape.

This included lowering individual income tax rates, almost doubling the standard deduction and raising the federal estate tax exemption.

Unless these rules are extended, they will expire on January 1, 2026, sparking major changes for millions of taxpayers across the US.

Now is the time to plan ahead, experts warn, in order to be prepared for changes down the line - and to avoid being stung with a surprise bill.

Trump-era legislation brought in by the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act in 2017 brought sweeping changes to the tax landscape

Income tax brackets will revert to the higher pre-2017 levels when the current law expires at the end of 2025 - affecting most taxpayers.

'We're in a relatively favorable tax environment today for both high and low income earners, compared to historic income tax rates,' investment advisor Patrick Donnelly told DailyMail.com earlier this year.

'It means that we all need to be thinking very strategically about our tax strategy between now and 2026.

'I try to make sure clients aren't going to be kicking themselves in 2026 because they didn't take advantage of these incredibly favorable tax rates when they had the chance.'

A single-filer with $100,000 of taxable income in 2023 has an effective/average federal tax rate of 14.3 percent, he said.

They will pay $14,260 in federal income taxes this year - assuming the standard deduction.

In 2026 that same inflation-adjusted $100,000 in taxable income will create an effective tax rate of 15.7 percent - triggering a $16,916 tax bill.

'That is a 19 percent jump for single-filers earning $100,000,' Donnelly said.

A married couple filing jointly with $200,000 of taxable income in 2023 also has an effective/average federal tax rate of 14.3 percent, he explained.

They will pay $28,521 in federal income taxes this year. In 2026 that same inflation-adjusted $200,000 in taxable income will create an effective tax rate of 16.7 percent, triggering a $36,058 tax bill.

For these filers, there will be a 26 percent jump, he said.

People who are approaching retirement may want to convert some of their savings into a Roth IRA before income tax rates rise, he advises.

They will receive a single lump-sum tax bill on the conversion, but this will be at a lower rate than if they wait until 2026.

A Roth IRA or 401(K) is funded with after-tax money, while a traditional plan allows you to make contributions before taxes.

'If you save for retirement in a Roth now, you are essentially hedging against those higher tax rates in the future. This makes Roth IRAs the most powerful wealth building tool we have at our disposal at this point,' Donnelly added.

Americans must wait five years before they can withdraw earnings from a Roth IRA plan tax-free, so retirees should be sure they have enough savings to cover that period if necessary.

People who are approaching retirement may want to convert some of their savings into a Roth IRA before income tax rates rise, experts advise

Under current rules, an individual can transfer $12.92 million and a married couple can transfer $25.84 million to heirs before they are slapped with federal estate taxes.

The Trump tax plan more than doubled the lifetime estate tax deduction from the 2017 value of $5.49 million for individuals up to $11.18 million - and this has continued to increase in the years since.

Depending on who ends up controlling the White House and Congress after the 2024 presidential election, the tax law could expire.

If that happens, the exemption could be effectively halved, leaving an individual with a taxable estate worth more than approximately $7 million subject to federal estate taxes if they do not plan ahead.

Although that may seem like a high figure, Kevin O'Regan, senior wealth adviser at Kayne Anderson Rudnick, told The Wall Street Journal many of his clients are surprised to learn that they could be exposed to these levies.

'We're reminding our clients that they have to consider their total assets - not just what is in an investment account,' he told the outlet.

'Once you factor in the appreciation of, say, a primary residence, as well as the growth of an investment account over time, the impact of estate taxes could be significant.'

He said that if an individual or couple has not used up the exemption yet, creating a trust is one way to transfer assets that might be subject to taxes if the law changes.

'We work with folks on thinking through what they realistically need for retirement and then what they want to set aside for a beneficiary,' he said.

'There are a variety of strategies that can be used, depending on whether someone wants the assets in the trust to grow over time or if they are trying to freeze the value of certain assets at current rates.'

Experts warn now is the time to act in order to avoid being caught out by tax changes later

Americans can also shrink the size of their assets by giving away assets - or gifts - while they are still alive.

The 2017 tax legislation includes a special break for '529' education-savings plans.

This allows people to front-load five years' worth of cash gifts - up to $85,000 per beneficiary for individuals and up to $170,000 for couples - into a single contribution.

A 529 plan is an investment account that offers tax benefits when used to pay for qualifying education expenses for a beneficiary - including college tuition, apprenticeship programs, and student loan repayments.

Maxing out this break could be worth considering as a way to shrink the size of a taxable estate.

The Trump-era changes also increased the amount of charitable contributions that can be deducted from 50 percent of adjusted gross income to 60 percent.

This limit may go back down at the end of 2025.

Experts suggest that any Americans considering a significant cash donation to a public charity should do so now to receive a larger tax deduction.

Isaac Bradley, director of financial planning at Homrich Berg, told The Wall Street Journal that although it can be tempting to think that Congress is likely to extend many or all of these cuts, it is advisable to act now.

'If you dont use up all of your exemptions, you lose them,' he said.
India Middle East Europe Economic Corridor is Indias answer to Chinas BRI

Participants in IMEC (India Middle East Europe Economic Corridor) are expected to meet next month to decide on the architectural framework for the historical infrastructure network physically and digitally connecting many countries. The IMEC was born during the G20 leaders summit in New Delhi in September and the ambitious targets it has set for itself make it one of the most powerful eco-political tools to counter the growing influence of China.

The MoU reads Pursuant to this, the Governments of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the European Union, the Republic of India, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the French Republic, the Federal Republic of Germany, the Italian Republic, and the United States of America (the Participants) commit to work together to establish the India - Middle East - Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC). The IMEC is expected to stimulate economic development through enhanced connectivity. 

As conceived by the participating countries, it aims to create 2 corridors, linking India to the Middle East in the Arabian Gulf and further connecting the Gulf to Europe. The aim is to develop a railway network to facilitate the seamless transmission of goods and services across, India, Israel, UAE, Saudi Arabia and finally Europe. This ambitious infrastructure project was blessed by America which is increasingly using multilateral bodies such as the QUAD ( a grouping of India, Japan, the US and Australia) and I2U2 ( India, Israel, UAE and the US) to maintain its influence on the shifting sands of geopolitics. It is worth mentioning that all four I2U2 nations are participants in the IMEC. These four nations are meeting at regular intervals to cooperate on key areas of secure supply chains, countering terrorism and solutions to climate change.

The white house fact sheet released post the launch of IMEC read The United States and our partners intend to link both continents to commercial hubs and facilitate the development and export of clean energy; lay undersea cables and link energy grids and telecommunication lines to expand reliable access to electricity; enable innovation of advanced clean energy technology; and connect communities to secure and stable Internet. Across the corridor, we envision driving existing trade and manufacturing and strengthening food security and supply chains. The white house also committed to increasing investments in regional investment initiatives such as the IMEC.

The IMEC is a direct challenge to the China-led Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) which is being actively deployed by the dragon as a geo-strategic tool to increase its influence in global affairs. Crafted like IMEC, China, BRI has managed to bring in nearly 150 countries and about 25 international organisations as signatories to the infrastructure investment it pushes. In a decade of its existence, the BRI has managed to give China access to strategic ports and transnational road and rail networks, which have increasingly started to threaten the national sovereignty of many nations including India.

The opaque investment conditions under BRI have also arm-twisted many nations to surrender their strategic infrastructure assets to China. India has been at the forefront of opposing the BRI scheme over national security concerns, as China is actively constructing an economic corridor with Pakistan, over India-claimed territories. The China-Pakistan economic corridor could also be dialled up for military use in case of escalations with India. The IMEC is Indias opportunity to have a robust say in regional infrastructure connectivity and retain its edge over China. Chinese state-run media has criticised the IMEC terming it as the Modern Spice route, created by the US. Chinese foreign policy experts have lectured IMEC participants to not compete with BRI and that any regional connectivity initiative should have a China presence. These sparks are expected to become fireballs in a few months time when the IMEC participants lay the paperwork for this regional transnational rail, ports and digital and energy connectivity.

(The writer is a policy analyst; views are personal)
Tuberculosis is rampant and underreported in the Philippines; now early detection by latest portable testing kits is helping its eradication

Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it's the only thing that ever has, said the famous anthropologist, Margaret Mead. Bearing testimony to this, a small group of people in the Bantayan Municipality of Cebu, Philippines, has changed the lives of many people affected by tuberculosis . TB, despite being curable, continues to be the deadliest diseases in high TB burden countries.

Carrying innovative new diagnostic tools for TB in plastic tubs, they went from islet to islet on pump boats, braving inclement weather, to screen and diagnose people with TB. This resulted in a tremendous increase in TB case finding upfront: a 316% rise in new TB case detection, and a 1292% rise in screening of those with presumptive TB. Imagine the difference it can make in the Philippines' fight to end TB if such interventions can be scaled up and become a norm. As per the latest Global TB Report 2022 of the World Health Organization (WHO), out of the estimated 741,000 people with TB in the Philippines, only 321,600 were notified to the national programme, and over 60,000 lives were lost due to TB.

As of now, only 43 out of every 100 people with TB are reached by the TB services in the Philippines, and only 65% of those reached, get a WHO-recommended molecular test diagnosis, while the rest get a smear microscopy (which underperforms in TB diagnosis), or get treated without any bacteriological confirmation. As early and accurate TB diagnosis is the gateway to the TB care pathway (and breaking the chain of infection transmission), the Philippines has a two-fold task:- firstly, it must ensure that it is reaching out to all those with TB (and not just 43/100), and- secondly, it must use WHO recommended molecular tests to diagnose TB timely and correctly. This paradigm shift in TB diagnostics is a critical entry point, not only to the full spectrum of TB care cascade but also towards ending TB in the country.

When the WHO recommended point-of-care, decentralised, laboratory and battery-operated molecular test Truenat (made by Molbio Diagnostics), along with the ultra-portable and battery-operated x-ray made by Fujifilm, was deployed in Bantayan islets, new TB case notifications, as well as treatment success rate, increased manifold. Using the latest and state-of-the-art diagnostic tools in the Philippines was made possible in 2022 by introducing the New Tools Project (iNTP) of the Stop TB Partnership and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), which has helped in the rollout of a package of latest innovations in diagnostics, treatments, and digital health technologies to strengthen TB care in high burden countries. Bantayan is the largest municipality of Bantayan Island and it has 25 barangays (small townships) and one district hospital which is understaffed and undersupplied. These areas are also marked as geographically isolated and disadvantaged areas (GIDA). Most of the people here are fisherfolk or farmers and their income is Pesos 300-350 (USD 6-7) a day.

During September to October 2022, we were able to screen 1774 people with presumptive TB by bringing these tools right to their doorstep. Most of them cannot afford to travel to the mainland for diagnosis or treatment. So we brought TB point-of-care testing to their doorsteps and saw a very high increase in case detection as well as in treatment success rate, said Dr. Tinsay. "As TB diagnostic technology was brought to the people (and not the other way round), people were more open to getting tested for TB." When Dr Samantha Tinsay began the introduction of these new innovative diagnostic tools in September 2022, extreme climate events- such as typhoons and storms- compounded the challenge. But it was sheer determination on her and her teams part to hop on a pump boat and brave the storms and typhoons to go from islet to islet find and treat TB. On 29 October 2022, Tropical Storm Nalgae, locally known as Paeng, hit the Philippines. On that fateful day, Dr Samantha Tinsay and her team were en route to one of the islets with the diagnostics tools in tow. We did not know that a storm signal had been raised, and that nobody should be travelling. We were working and could not have stopped as patients were already waiting at the clinic, said the spirited Dr Tinsay.

Because of the introduction of new tools, TB case detection went up from 110 in 2021 to 458 in 2022. The number of people who got tested for TB also went up from 180 people in 2021, to 2506 people in 2022, an astronomical increase of 1292%. These new innovative TB diagnostic tools are very crucial in the fight against TB, especially for people living in geographically isolated and disadvantaged areas (GIDA). These tools can really help eradicate TB. Bringing these tools to the people in a country like the Philippines where TB is very rampant, will help end TB, one Barangay at a time, rightly said Dr Tinsay.

The writers are part of the editorial team of CNS (Citizen News Service). Both are on the governing board of Asia Pacific Media Alliance for Health and Development (APCAT Media) and PRB Public Health Reporting Corps; views are personal
The US embassy here on Thursday rejected reports that its ambassador Eric Garcetti alerted his team about possible impact of New Delhis diplomatic spat with Ottawa on India-US relations.

The denial came after American media outlet The Politico reported that Garcetti also has said the US may need to reduce its contacts with Indian officials for an undefined period of time. The report was titled Why Bidens mum on India-Canada spat.

The US embassy dismisses these reports. Ambassador Garcetti is working hard every day to deepen the partnership between the people and governments of the United States and India, a US embassy spokesperson said, when asked about the report.

As his personal engagement and public schedule demonstrates, Ambassador Garcetti and the US Mission to India are working every day to advance the important, strategic, and consequential partnership we have with India, the spokesperson said.

The ties between India and Canada came under severe strain following Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeaus allegations of the potential involvement of Indian agents in the killing of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in June.

India rejected the allegations as absurd and motivated and expelled a senior Canadian diplomat in a tit-for-tat move to Ottawas expulsion of an Indian official over the case.

On September 21, India asked Canada to downsize its diplomatic presence in the country as relations between the two countries plunged to an all-time low following Ottawas allegations against New Delhi. India also announced temporarily suspending the issuance of visas to Canadian citizens.

The Politico, quoting an unnamed official, said, Garcetti has told his in-country team that, because of the diplomatic spat with Canada, relations between India and the US could get worse for a time.

The White House said on Tuesday that Canadas allegations regarding Indias involvement in the killing of the separatist are serious and need to be investigated fully.

The Joe Biden administration has so far maintained that the Canadian governments allegations need to be probed. The matter had come up during a meeting between External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken during the formers trip to the US.

The issue was also discussed when Jaishankar and National Security Advisor(NSA) Jake Sullivan met, John Kirby, Coordinator for Strategic Communications at the National Security Council in the White House, had said.

We will certainly leave it to those two countries to talk about their bilateral relationship. Weve been clear, these allegations are serious, they need to be fully investigated and of course, as weve said before, we urge India to participate actively in that investigation, Kirby had said.

Earlier, The Washington Post had reported that Canadian officials had sought public condemnation of Nijjars murder from its allies, including the US, ahead of the G20 Summit, but found them reluctant.
With the election season on the horizon, the rivalry between the Congress and the BJP has spilled over into the virtual world, where both parties are engaging in a poster war targeting each other on social media.

A day after the Congress posted a picture of Prime Minister Narendra Modi with the caption The Biggest Liar and another calling him a Jumla Boy, who was going to hit the election rally soon, the ruling BJP at the Centre on Thursday shared a poster portraying former Congress chief Rahul Gandhi as a new age Ravan, evoking strong criticism from the Opposition party, which termed it unacceptable and downright dangerous.

In a sharp retort, the BJP shared the poster of Rahul with several heads with the title Bharat Khatre Mein Hai  A Congress party production. Directed by George Soros. The new age Ravan is here. He is Evil. Anti Dharma. Anti Ram. His aim is to destroy Bharat, the BJP said on X.

Congress chief spokesperson Jairam Ramesh said it is intended to incite and provoke violence against the former Congress chief, whose father and grandmother were assassinated by forces that want to divide India.

Ramesh said, It is one thing for the PM to give evidence daily of being a pathological liar and suffering from a narcissistic personality disorder. But for him to get his party to produce something this obnoxious is not just completely unacceptable but downright dangerous.

We will not be intimidated, the Congress leader also asserted.

Indian Youth Congress president Srinivas B V posted another poster on X portraying Modi as MODANAV.

The new age MODANAV is here. He is Evil. Anti Democracy. Anti Constitution. Anti People. Anti Humanity. His only aim is to destroy Bharat and the idea of INDIA, he said on X along with the poster titled Hindustan Khatre mein hai  MODANAV. A Bharat Jumlebaaj Party production. Directed by Param Mitra Adani.

As the battle lines between the two main parties get drawn in the run-up to the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, their leaders have intensified their attacks against each other.

The poster war between the two parties is likely to escalate further in the coming months as elections in five States and the general elections draw near. Earlier also, both the parties had launched cartoon strips against leaders of both the opposing parties on social media.

A day earlier, senior BJP leader and Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa shared images of Rahuls visit to Golden Temple and compared it with action on Punjab unrest by former PM Indira Gandhi, saying, while grandmother sprayed bullets, grandson is doing seva.

AICC general secretary KC Venugopal said in a statement, No words are enough to condemn the shameful graphic on the BJP handle comparing Rahul to Ravan. Their nefarious intentions are clear; they want to murder him. He, who lost his grandmother and father to assassinations.

The Congress also reminded the withdrawal of SPG protection to the Gandhi family to score petty political points.
A public awareness campaign, Hello Zindagi, launched by Chhattisgarh Police, has been recognized by the Golden Book of World Records for the largest slogan campaign against drugs.

The Asia Head of the Golden Book of World Records, Manish Bishnoi, feted Raipur Senior Superintendent of Prashant Agrawal, an official statement said on Thursday.

The SSP said as many as 61,750 slogans had been written by participants during the campaign organized between July 15 and October 2.

Also, wall paintings, banners and posters were put up at various places and main thoroughfares.
Dr Sibi Vijayakumar, a Junior resident pursuing MD course in the Department of Forensic Medicine and Toxicology at AIIMS Bhopal, has recently made a significant contribution to the field of forensic medicine.

His innovative approach, focusing on the meticulous removal of the Circle of Willis during autopsies, has garnered significant recognition in the esteemed American Journal of Forensic Medicine and Pathology, a PubMed indexed journal, where the article has been accepted for publication. Dr. Sibi credited his success to the motivation he received from Executive Director of AIIMS, Bhopal Prof. (Dr.) Ajai Singh.

The 'Circle of Willis' is a circular arrangement of arteries at the base of the brain which ensures blood supply to all parts of the brain.

These arteries have thinner walls compared to same sized arteries elsewhere in the body. However they have stronger fibrous content making them less prone to breaking. The walls of these arteries get thickened or blocked by atherosclerotic changes like the arteries of the heart.

These arteries may also have relatively thin-walled, dilated areas called 'aneurysms' which may burst leading to death of the person.

The brain and the 'Circle of Willis' are examined at autopsy. Thickening of arteries due to atherosclerosis, bursting of aneurysm and haemorrhage of brain are seen at autopsy. It can help to establish the cause of death whether it is due to injury or natural disease process. The method of dissection of Circle of Willis as suggested by Dr Sibi provides the Circle of Willis to be better seen, to be more certain of the findings and to have photographic evidence for the observation. Sample for microscopic examination of affected part can also be better obtained.

When death of a person is sudden due to a condition or disease like stroke, the person is likely to fall and sustain injuries. Whether the person died due to the injuries or the disease and establishing the sequence of events can be done by autopsy and meticulous dissection. It can help to find the cause of death and this can be understood and accepted better by family members and investigating agency.

Autopsy is a scientific and meaningful observation of the dead to know about the cause, manner and duration of death. It involves dissection for the internal examination of organs. When autopsy is done with precision and professionalism, it can unravel and reveal the true cause of death. The new technique of dissection and examination of 'Circle of Willis' by Dr Sibi speaks volumes on thoughtfulness, expertise and true understanding of concept of autopsy.

The dedication to refining autopsy technique is commendable as it addresses both, legal and humanitarian perspective.
A couple, who had run away from their respective houses in Muzaffarnagar district, allegedly hanged themselves at a hotel room in Meerut, police said on Thursday. The cops said that the duo chose to end their lives probably after facing opposition from their respective family members. Both the bodies were sent for autopsy while further investigations were on.

According to reports, Amir (20) and his girlfriend Sajida (19), both of Riyavli Nagla village in the Ratanpur area in Muzaffarnagar, had allegedly run away from their houses on October 2 last.

Their families had lodged a missing report and also suspected some foul play. On Wednesday evening, the owner of a hotel in Kankarkheda locality of Meerut informed police that two teenagers, who mentioned their names as Amir and Sajida, had been found hanging from the ceiling in a room.

The police broke opened the hotel room and recovered the bodies even as no suicide note was found, SHO, Kankarkheda, Meerut, Ajay Kumar said. He informed his counterparts in Muzaffarnagar after which the family members of both reached there and ascertained the identity of the deceased. The cops said that the deceased were in love but their families were against their relationship. The police had also registered a case of abduction against Amir following a complaint by Sajidas family.

A detailed investigation into the case is being done. The bodies of both have been sent for autopsy, the SHO said.
Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel on Thursday accused the Modi government of crushing the oppositions voice, which he said was not good for a healthy democracy.

Baghel told reporters about the government's crackdown on journalists who raised their voice against the Modi government.

Actually the Modi government cant tolerate the voice of opposition and that is nothing new, he said, citing the action of central agencies in states ruled by opposition parties.

Whether it was Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra, Telangana or West Bengal, the action of federal agencies like ED and IT was proof that the Modi government was intolerant of the voice of opposition, he said.

In a healthy democracy the opposition was equally important, but the Modi government wants to eliminate the entire opposition, Baghel said.

The action on the journalists proves a dictatorial attitude of Modi government, he said.

Democracy in India is in danger as they (BJP government) cannot accept anyone opposing them, he said.
Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu released the teaser of Shimla Flying Festival-2023, being organized jointly by the Himachal Pradesh Tourism Department and 'The Glide Inn' organization at Junga near Shimla from 12th to 15th October.



Sukhu said that the tourism activities in the state were hindered badly and the state suffered huge losses due to heavy rains, landslides and floods for almost three months during the monsoon season. He said that the state government worked on a war footing to recover from the natural calamity.



"As of now, when life is coming back to normal with all communication networks restored, we intend to start tourism activities in a big way and welcome tourists to enjoy all sorts of activities and adventure sports," he said. The Shimla Flying Festival will surely add to the attraction of tourism activities, he said. Sukhu said that the state government was promoting adventure tourism in the state on a large scale and district Kangra was being developed as a tourism capital.
he governor Lieutenant General (Retd) Gurmit Singh inaugurated a seminar on military history at Welham Boys School on Thursday. The governor of Arunachal Pradesh Lt Gen (retd) KT Parnaik also attended the seminar.

Speaking in the inaugural session, the governor of Uttarakhand said that every Indian should know the military history of India which is replete with bravery, valour and courage. Appreciating the initiative of the Welham Boys School, the governor said that the other schools should also hold such programmes.

Lt Gen Singh said that the knowledge of military history also holds strategic significance.

The governor exhorted the students to know their self worth. He said that India is progressing and is moving on the path of becoming Vishwa Guru.

The chairman of the school Darshan Singh said that the school is organising the seventh edition of the military history seminar. He said that the objective of the seminar is to acquaint the students with Indian military history. A panel discussion was held on the programme in which the Governor of Uttarakhand and chairman of the school participated along with others. Military historian Shiv Kumar Verma moderated the panel discussion. The two day seminar is being attended by the students of 38 schools and armed forces veterans.
In a major relief to 281 contractual workers of Delhi Government-run Social Welfare Homes who have been facing financial hardship due to non-payment of wages for over five months, Delhi Lieutenant Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena has ordered release of their wages.

These contractual staff are working to provide basic day-to-day care to intellectually impaired residents/inmates of Asha Kiran, Asha Deep and Asha Jyoti Homes under the Social Welfare Department.

The relief has come to 221 House Aunties/Caregiver, 17 Nurses (GNM), 34 Nurses (ANM), 01 Cook, 05 Kitchen Helper, 01 LDC and 02 Peons working in these homes, with Saxena giving nod to the proposal for release of wages for the period from 01.04.2023 to 31.03.2024. The LG noted that the wages of these workers were due for payment since April 2023. The disbursal of wages to these contractual staff was stuck as some of them have challenged in Central Administrative Tribunal and Delhi High Court the proposal of the Social Welfare Department to change the nature of employment from contractual to outsourced basis, Raj Niwas said in a statement.

However, considering the fact that the disposal of appeals filed by the Department to vacate the status quo orders, may take some more time and financial hardship of these workers would escalate further, the LG agreed to the proposal which was endorsed by the Chief Secretary for release of wages w.e.f. 01.04.2023 to 31.03.2024, it said.
Awadhpuri police arrested the accused who physically exploited a woman by keeping her captive for four days, the accused kept exploiting the victim as he used to call her to Bhopal on the pretext of getting a job.

Police said that on Thursday the victim came to the police station and complained that as she was an orphan she stayed in Shri Rajkumari Bai Bal Niketan Shastri Bridge, Jabalpur from the age of 6 to 18 and studied till class 10th and after this did private jobs at different places.

In the year 2022, while working at Shubham Resort in Gwalior, she got acquainted with Anjali Didi, who is a resident of Barkheda Pathani, Bhopal and in the month of December 2022 she met Anjali's friend Hitesh Tiwari.

Hitesh messaged that he was opening a girls hostel in Bhopal and need a girl to take care of it and on September 29 from where Hitesh Tiwari took me in the car and took me with him to his home in Bhopal at Shivlok Phase 4 Awadhpuri Bhopal had arrived around 5.30 pm.

On October 1 at around 10.30 pm, Hitesh Tiwari raped her and held her captive till October 5 during which he continued to sexually exploit her and today she managed to escape. Based on the complaint police registered a case under section 376,376(2)(n), 343,506 IPC was registered and arrested Hitesh Tiwari.
With the aim of transforming Uttar Pradesh into a commercial hub, the Yogi government has allowed investors willing to establish industrial units in Greater Noida to use additional land for commercial purposes through a special scheme.

Under this scheme, there will be an allotment of industrial plots in which the recipients of the plots will be able to operate two commercial facilities in addition to core industrial operations on these plots, a government spokesman said.

The Yamuna Expressway Industrial Development Authority (YEIDA) has invited applications for industrial plots in five categories, which are located in Sector 24 with plot numbers 11-A, 11-B, 12, 15, and 21-B. This application process commenced on September 28. The premium cost has been set in the range of Rs 80 crore to Rs 151 crore.

Due to its proximity to Jewar airport, International Film City, Yamuna Expressway and Buddha Circuit, those setting up industrial units by taking a plot will get the benefit of all the facilities including better connectivity and the first world-class project of its kind, the Pod Transit System.

Applicants interested in taking plots in this project can apply until October 20, 2023, and can log in to the official website of YEIDA for more information.

The YEIDA website has provided information regarding the Mixed Land Use Industrial Plotting Scheme, including details about plot areas, sectors, and total premiums. Applications are being accepted for five categories of plots located in Sector 24 of Greater Noida, specifically plot numbers 11-A and B, 12, 15, and 21-B.

The special thing is that the applicants getting land through this scheme will have to use at least 75 per cent of the allotted land as a core industrial region, while the remaining area can be used as a maximum two commercial regions. Additionally, apart from the core industrial region, the designated area can also be used for residential and cultural facilities.

At least five per cent of the land on the total plot will have to be used for facilities and utilities, 8 per cent will have to be used for commercial purposes and at least 12 per cent of land will have to be used for residential purposes.

YEIDA has partnered with the Bank of Baroda to manage the banking operations related to this project and will participate in the project as the exclusive banking partner. It is noteworthy that, whether it is an auction of industrial plots or the selection process through the draws, there is minimal scope for human involvement in conducting these procedures. Applicants are being successfully determined through this system in all Industrial Development Authorities, including YEIDA.
In September 57% of homeseekers with an interest in buying properties in Dubai were looking for an apartment, while 43% were browsing for villas and townhouses.

This is according to Property Finder, the leading property portal in the Mena region. Based on Property Finders proprietary data, in the rental sector, 81% were seeking apartments, while 19% were interested in villas. However, there has been an increase in the percentage of investors or homeseekers looking for villas, rising from 39.8% in September 2022 to 43%.

Conversely, those searching for apartments decreased by 3.2%, dropping from 60.2% to 57%. Among homeseekers, the most commonly searched apartment size was two bedrooms, accounting for 35%, followed by one-bedroom apartments at 32%.

Furnished properties

Roughly 69.7% of tenants seeking apartments prefer furnished properties, while 28.9% were searching for unfurnished options. In contrast, tenants able to afford villa/townhouse rentals have different preferences, with about 57% seeking unfurnished units and 43% looking for furnished options.

Approximately 38% of tenants were seeking one-bedroom units, while 29% expressed a preference for two-bedroom apartments and 23% were searching for studios. Regarding Villas/Townhouses, 49% of tenants were primarily looking for three-bedroom units, while 31% were searching for four-bedroom or larger options.

Cherif Sleiman, Chief Revenue Officer at Property Finder, said: We have been seeing changes in consumer preferences when finding a home - from a rise in ownership to new projects. Today, real estate in the country offers diverse options for all types of homeseekers - be it for buying or renting. As we approach the next quarter, we remain committed to unlocking greater potential for the growth of real estate in the region through our wide range of tools designed for a seamless home finding journey.

The top areas searched to rent apartments were Dubai Marina, Business Bay, Downtown Dubai, Jumeirah Village Circle, and Jumeirah Lake Towers. While Dubai Hills Estate, Jumeirah, Al Barsha, Dubai Hills 2 (Akoya), and Arabian Ranches were popular when it came to searches to rent villas/townhouses.

On the other hand, top neighbourhoods searched to own apartments in September 2023 were Dubai Marina, Downtown Dubai, Jumeirah Village Circle, Business Bay, and Palm Jumeirah. While Dubai Hills Estate, Arabian Ranches, Palm Jumeirah, Al Furjan and Damac Hills (Akoya by Damac), were the most desired areas to own rent villas/townhouses.-- TradeArabia News Service
With an objective to make Tally's flagship product Tally ERP - 9 available to the students of the Prestige Institute of Management and Research, PIMR has signed an MoU with Tally Education Private Limited (TEPL), Bangalore. Under the MOU, Tally will be making its Flagship Product Tally ERP-9 available to the students of PIMR, from the very first Semester of their studies.

The students will be progressively trained from Tally Essential Level - 1 to Tally Essential Level-3 by industry experienced Tally professionals. S Raman Iyer Director, PIMR (UG Campus) lauded the efforts of the Tally faculty coordinator Dr. Manoj Raghuvanshi for this tie-up, adding that with this MOU, all institutions of the Prestige Education Foundation will be benefited. Dr. Davish Jain, Chairman, Prestige Education Foundation, appreciated the students for their interest in this important Skill Development activity.
In a resolute response to the Supreme Court's reprimand over the Sutlej-Yamuna Link (SYL) canal coupled with a stern directive regarding its construction, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Thursday left no room for compromise, asserting that not a single drop of water would be ceded to any other state.

Mann's declaration, following an urgent Cabinet meeting in the morning, underscored the escalating tensions in the ongoing SYL canal dispute, raising critical questions about water rights and interstate relations.

The emphatic response was prompted by the Supreme Courts discontent with the Punjab Governments delay in completing its portion of the SYL canal. The Chief Minister's commitment to preserve Punjab's water resources comes at a time when the State is grappling with the legal, political, and environmental consequences of this contentious issue.

Manns pronouncement, made on social media, left little room for interpretation: Not a drop extra would be given to any state. Simultaneously, the Cabinet meeting addressed the scheduling of the Monsoon Session of the Punjab Vidhan Sabha, indicating the Government's determination to deal with pressing matters.

The Supreme Court's earlier order halted Punjabs allocation of land for the SYL canal and instituted a receiver to oversee the situation. Now, it has asked the Centre to assess the status of the designated land in Punjab and ensure its protection, along with determining the extent of construction accomplished thus far. This move underscores the judiciary's insistence on resolving the long-standing issue.

Punjab's Cabinet, however, remains unyielding. It contends that the state lacks any surplus water to share with neighboring Haryana, emphasizing the need for a reassessment of water availability, in accordance with international norms. It observed that the Sutlej river has already dried up and there is no question of sharing even a single drop of its water.

Drawing attention to the alarming over-exploitation of groundwater, with 76.5 per cent of its blocks (117 out of 153) exceeding 100 per cent extraction in contrast with Haryana which had 61.5 per cent of its blocks (88 out of 143) classified as over-exploited, Punjab challenges Haryana's claims and the broader implications for the region.

Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema reiterated Punjab's unwavering stance, underscoring that the state simply does not have any water to spare. The prospect of legal action looms large, pending receipt of the Supreme Court's formal order.

Cheema, talking with the media after cabinet meeting, said that once the copy of the SC order is received, the Government will decide whatever legal recourse needs to be taken or if any session of the state assembly needs to be called.

The monsoon session of the Punjab Assembly will also be called within the next couple of daysThe date for convening the session will be announced once the Speaker returns from abroad, he said.

Beyond the immediate dispute, the SYL canal project raises complex issues surrounding resource allocation, environmental sustainability, and interstate relations

The SYL canal project is rooted in the history of water-sharing agreements between Punjab and Haryana, dating back to 1981. When Haryana was carved out of Punjab in 1966, it was decided that for the effective allocation of water, the SYL canal would be constructed. Both states were tasked with building their portions of the canal within their territories.

The project, conceived to ensure equitable water distribution from the Ravi and Beas rivers, has become a flashpoint for political and legal wrangling, with Haryana completed its segment of the canal as per the agreement while Punjab, after an initial phase, halted the construction in 1982. In 2002, the Supreme Court decreed in favour of Haryana's suit, ordering Punjab to honour its commitments on water-sharing.

In response, Punjab passed the Punjab Termination of Agreement Act in 2004, terminating the 1981 agreement and other related pacts. The move led to the Supreme Court's rebuke in 2016, with the Court striking down Punjab's law and declaring it unconstitutional. Punjab then returned the land earmarked for the canal to the landowners.

However, the SYL canal dispute didn't end there. The Centre, while acknowledging the failure of talks between the two states, expressed concern that the construction of the canal could lead to law and order problems in Punjab. The matter remained unresolved, and Punjab insisted that it couldn't provide additional water to other states due to the Punjab Termination of Agreements Act of 2004, which set strict limits on water-sharing.

BOX-----------I

1966: Formation of Haryana as a separate state from Punjab

1981: Signing of a water-sharing agreement between Punjab, Haryana to allocate water, As per agreement, 214-km SYL canal to be constructed with 122 km in Punjab and 92 km in Haryana

1982: Commencement of SYL Canal construction in Punjabs Kapoori village

1996: Haryana, after progressing with its portion of the SYL canal and with Punjab halting the construction after initial phase, approached SC seeking Punjab's compliance in completing the canal

2002: SC rules in favour of Haryana's plea, instructing Punjab to fulfill its commitments regarding water-sharing

2004: Punjab Assembly passes a law terminating 1981 agreement and all related pacts concerning Ravi and Beas river water-sharing

2004: SC dismisses Punjabs original case, directing the Centre to take over the remaining SYL Canal project

2016: SC declares Punjab's 2004 law, which terminated the SYL canal water-sharing agreement with neighboring states, unconstitutional

2017: Punjab denotified and returned land allocated for SYL canal's construction to landowners

2020: SC urges the Centre to mediate discussions between the Chief Ministers of Punjab and Haryana to resolve the SYL Canal dispute amicably

2023: The Centre informs the SC that talks between the two states have failed, citing Punjab's refusal to construct its part of the canal

BOX-----------II

Other Cabinet Decisions

Stamp Duty Relief: Three per cent additional Stamp Duty on Property Registration remitted in Urban Areas until December 31, 2023

Regularization of Standalone Buildings: Green signal for a policy to regularize existing standalone buildings  like hotels, multiplexes, farmhouses, industrial institutes and others  constructed outside the municipal limits without prior permission, applicable until December 31, 2023; Cases to be processed within six months

PGST (Amendment) Bill-2023: Approval for introducing amendments to the Punjab Goods and Services Tax Act-2017, aligning with GST Council directions like Constitution of GST Appellate Tribunal and State Benches thereof, decriminalization of certain offences, facilitation of small traders to supply goods through e-commerce operators, consent based sharing of information and legal provisions for taxation of online gaming and others

Premature Release Cases: Cabinet approval for the submission of two life convict cases for premature release under constitutional provisions.
In a tumultuous 18 months marked by political upheaval and legal controversies, the Punjab Government has once again changed its legal helm, appointing senior advocate Gurminder Singh as the states new Advocate-General, marking the third such appointment under the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) led Punjab Government.

The announcement comes a day after the Supreme Courts reprimand in the Sutlej-Yamuna Link (SYL) canal case, adding to the challenges faced by the Punjab Government.

The appointment of Gurminder Singh, popularly known as Garry, follows the resignation of his predecessor Vinod Ghai, also a senior advocate who had cited personal reasons for stepping down from the position. However, insiders suggest that Ghai was asked to resign due to his perceived failure in defending the government's decision to dissolve village panchayats ahead of scheduled elections.

The move had sparked criticism from the opposition, who labeled it as politically motivated. Multiple petitions challenging the decision were also filed in the Punjab and Haryana High Court, ultimately leading to the Government's decision to withdraw the notification on August 31.

The controversy over dissolving the panchayats also resulted in the suspension of two senior civil servants, with blame placed on them for the wrong decision. Notably, the senior IAS officer DK Tiwari, the principal secretary to the Rural Development and Panchayat Department, has since been reinstated.

Speculations about Ghai's removal had been circulating for some time. Ghai, a renowned criminal lawyer, assumed the role of Advocate-General in July 2022, succeeding Anmol Rattan Sidhu, who had also resigned, citing personal reasons. With these frequent changes in the Advocate-General position, criticism has arisen about the government's ability to provide consistent legal representation.

Shiromani Akali Dals senior leader Bikram Singh Majithia criticized the governments approach, suggesting that when the Chief Minister's leadership is perceived as lacking, no Advocate-General can effectively help the state, especially when its facing legal challenges.

Gurminder Singhs appointment was approved during an emergent Cabinet meeting convened by Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Thursday morning at his camp office in the Chief Ministers residence. Gurminder Singh brings with him over 30 years of experience in the legal field, specializing in constitutional, commercial, tender, service, arbitration, and criminal matters. His previous roles include serving as assistant Advocate-General, deputy Advocate-General, and additional Advocate-General in Punjab.

The history of Advocate-Generals in Punjab has seen a remarkable turnover in recent years, with six individuals occupying the position in just past two years. This situation reflects the volatile political landscape and changes in leadership in the state. The tenure of Advocate-Generals in Punjab is not fixed and typically lasts as long as the appointing government remains in power.

The recent appointment of Gurminder Singh as the new Advocate-General underscores the government's commitment to address legal challenges and ensuring robust legal representation for the state. However, the frequent changes in this position raise questions about stability and consistency in the legal affairs of Punjab. As the state grapples with various legal issues, including the SYL canal case, the performance and effectiveness of the new Advocate-General will be closely monitored.

Punjab Saw 6 AGs in 2 Years

The revolving door of Advocate-Generals in Punjab over the past two years has raised eyebrows and cast a shadow over the state's legal affairs. While the term of an Advocate-General isn't set in stone, it is traditionally linked to the duration of the appointing government's rule. However, this norm seems to have been thrown out the window as the state has seen an astonishing six Advocate-Generals in just two years.

The saga began with senior advocate Atul Nanda, who took on the role when Capt Amarinder Singh assumed office as the Chief Minister in 2017. However, Nanda's tenure came to an abrupt end in September 2021 when, in a sudden change of guard, Charanjit Singh Channi replaced Capt Amarinder.

Channi, in his short-lived tenure, appointed APS Deol as Advocate-General. However, even Deols term proved to be fleeting, as the Chief Minister was reportedly compelled to replace him with DS Patwalia amidst the strong insistence and opposition by the then Punjab Congress president Navjot Singh Sidhu, who had resigned from his post in protest.

As the political winds shifted yet again, AAP swept to power in March 2022  bringing another AG into the fold, with Anmol Rattan Sidhu taking up the role, followed by Vinod Ghai in July 2022. The appointment of Gurminder Singh as the latest AG under the AAPs 18-month tenure is just the latest chapter in this ongoing saga, raising concerns about the state's ability to provide consistent and effective legal representation amidst a backdrop of legal challenges and political changes.
In the midst of a brewing conflict, Punjab Governor Banwarilal Purohit has penned yet another letter to Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, requesting a comprehensive report on the recent transfer of the Tarn Taran Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) and the allegations of illegal mining against a local legislator from the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP).

The Governor's communication comes in the wake of the sudden transfer of a senior IPS officer Gurmeet Singh Chauhan from his position as the district police chief in Tarn Taran  a move that followed his ordering the arrest of 10 individuals in connection with an illegal' mining case. Among those detained was the brother-in-law of AAP MLA representing Khadoor Sahib constituency Manjinder Singh Lalpura.

Governor Purohit articulated his concerns to the Chief Minister in his letter, stating, I have been reading contradictory reports in the media regarding the allegations of an MLA about corruption in the police, the involvement of the MLAs close relatives in illegal mining at night, the suspension of police officers, and the subsequent transfer of the Senior Superintendent of Police Tarn Taran.

Highlighting the significance of the illegal mining issue in Punjab, the Governor emphasized that corruption was rampant in this sector. He pointed out that certain media reports suggested that a police team had uncovered illegal mining activity during the night in the Tarn Taran district, with a close relative of an MLA allegedly involved. These reports further indicated that the police personnel involved in the raid were subsequently suspended, and the SSP was transferred.

Given the attention drawn by media reports, the Governor expressed his desire for a comprehensive report that covers the allegations made by the MLA, the illegal mining activities, and the actions taken against police officials.

The transfer of SSP Gurmeet Chauhan came after MLA Manjinder Singh Lalpura posted allegations of corruption within the Tarn Taran police department on social media. In his Facebook post, the MLA threatened to withdraw his security after police arrested his relative, Nishan Singh, in connection with an illegal mining case.

Governor Purohit has been exchanging several letters with the Chief Minister in recent times, reflecting an ongoing rift between the states two constitutional and legislative heads.

In his social media post, Lalpura accused the police of registering fake cases and fabricating reports of serious injuries. He also alleged that officers were accepting bribes for registering false cases in Tarn Taran.

The controversy began when MLA Lalpura raised allegations against the Tarn Taran SSP Gurmeet Chauhan. In response to the MLA's accusations, SSP Chauhan had denied any wrongdoing and declined to provide a response, stating that the allegations were baseless. He mentioned that senior officials would address the matter, and he emphasized that his actions had been routine and not influenced by any external factors.

The police team had received information during the night that illegal mining was taking place in Bhel Dhaiwala, which led to the arrest of 13 individuals, including a relative of the legislator. SSP Chauhan maintained that this was a routine operation conducted in response to a credible tip-off.

Days later, SSP Chauhan was transferred, which was accompanied by a heartfelt farewell with police personnel saluting him and showering flower petals as he departed in a flower-bedecked vehicle.

The Issue

AAP MLA Lalpura had leveled serious allegations of corruption and misuse of power against Tarn Taran SSP Chauhan, accusing the IPS officer of orchestrating a fake case against one of his relatives. He had also announced his decision to surrender the security cover provided by the Punjab Police. Taking to social media to express his grievances, Lalpura said: SSP, I thought you were associated with criminals, but now it seems you're also a coward. Wait for the response to what your police servants did to my relative.

Referring to a recent warning from the SSP about MLAs security, Lalpura added, Regarding your last nights warningabout what an MLA can do if gangsters come after him. I accept your challenge. I am returning my police security. You have an open field to do what you want with meYour man from the CIA (Crime Investigation Agency) was drunk and told me that he gives you (SSP) Rs 25 lakh per month. I then realized why a drug addict like him was appointed to the CIA.

Lalpura went on to claim that the SSP was pressuring someone to implicate him in a case, stating, I have also come to know that you are forcing someone to name me in a case. I welcome the fake case registration against my relative. Only a coward uses a proxy to take on the enemy. You keep your uniform aside, and Ill keep my MLAs chair aside, then well see who wins. Moreover, even today, I will repeat that nothing works here without bribing the Tarn Taran policeBut we won't pay bribes and will still get the work done.
Observing series of lapses in investigation, the Supreme Court on Thursday sought to know from the CBI and the ED whether there was any evidence of bribery which could implicate former Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia in the Delhi Excise policy scam.

At one point the bench observed these kind of probes would collapse the case in trial stage during cross examination.

A bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and SVN Bhatti said that merely because lobby groups or pressure groups had called for a certain policy shift, would not by itself imply that corruption or a crime has taken place unless there is an element of bribery involved.

We understand there is a policy change and everybody wants a change that will be beneficial for them. That will be there. If we say special groups are discriminatory ... without money consideration, it will not make out an offence ... If we go to that extent, there will be no pressure groups or even vested interests when a policy decision is taken then ... Some pressure and conflict will always be there. Of course, bribes cannot be accepted, the bench observed, questioning the probe agencies.

The Court was hearing bail pleas filed Sisodia, who is in judicial custody in connection with the Delhi excise policy scam case. The bench also queried whether there was any indication that to connect the proceeds of the alleged money laundering activity with Sisodia. How will you establish money laundering by Sisodia factually and legally? ... He may be aware it may be used, as per your case, but he never came in actual physical possession, said the Judges, expressing displeasure over the arguments of the agencies, opposing bail to Sisodia.

Question is, is he not directly or indirectly involved in illegal activity or process? ... When you make a policy that triggers bribes which acts as proceeds of crimes, replied Additional Solicitor General SV Raju. Generation of money is not an offence under Section 3 (of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act/ PMLA), the apex court pointed out. Arguments in the matter will continue next Wednesday.

The scam involves allegations that Delhi Government officials had connived to grant liquor licenses to certain traders in exchange for bribes. The accused officials are alleged to have tweaked the excise policy to benefit certain liquor sellers. Sisodias counsel, Senior Advocate Dr AM Singhvi observed that the query was widely publicised in newspaper headlines.

Yesterday, your Lordships put a query about links with me. Several newspaper headlines say, why is AAP not made a party? ... Today morning all the channels are carrying that ED wants to make AAP a party ... A chain starts ... Now they are making AAP accused based on your Lords question in the news ... Every channel is running that AAP will be made accused ... They have taken our statements made during bail hearings and elsewhere out of context,  said inghvi, accusing media reporting.

ASG Raju argued that the crux of the case was the formation of a policy that would allegedly allow those who gave bribes to recoup or recover their money in some form. Old policy did not allow that. Earlier, if someone bribed, they could not be compensated for bribe, so they had policy changed ... Our (CBI) case is how policy benefited some, the ASG said. He argued that the policy change was deliberately crafted to benefit wholesalers who had paid substantial sums as bribes. He added that the exchequer lost revenue after the excise duty under the new policy was set at 12%.

Earlier it was that 5% (duty) was minimum and 12% was maximum. No one will keep it more than 5, therefore to make it certain they fixed it at 12% to benefit some. That is the criminal mischief. Therefore the offence, he added. The ASG also asserted that there was incriminating evidence against Sisodia in WhatsApp messages and emails.

However, the Bench referring to some of these emails and said that advocating for a certain policy and expressing support for it did not necessarily equate to wrongdoing. ASG Raju countered that the Court that the accused had communicated via the Signal app and therefore, their messages could not be traced. The Court inquired whether there was evidence of the accused discussing bribery and if so, whether such discussions would be admissible.

Have you seen them (co-accused Vijay Nair or Sisodia) discussing this? Will it be admissible? Isnt the statement (by an approver) hearsay? It is an inference but has to be based on evidence. In cross examination this will fall flat in two minutes, the Court remarked. The Court also questioned whether the central agencies case against Sisodia was entirely hinged only on statements by approvers.

How do you establish kickbacks were given? Is it entirely on the basis of approvers statements? the Court said. Indospirits (a liquor distributor, whose MD has been arrested in the case) was earlier not eligible for liquor license. Manish Sisodia came and removed all obstacles, that is his role, all complaints were made to be taken back after threatening. Kindly look, the ASG replied.

He added that the plan of the accused persons was to give the South Group (a liquor group) a monopoly over wholesale liquor sale in Delhi. Three wholesalers were allowed to corner the market, he added. A wholesale retailer was pressured to walk out without any show cause notice, the ASG argued. The hearing will continue next week, on Wednesday.
The official proceedings of the 66th Commonwealth Parliamentary Association began today in Accra, the capital of Ghana. The opening ceremony was held at the Convention Hall in Accra.

The main theme of the program is Ten Years of the Commonwealth Charter: Protecting the Values and Principles Set by Parliaments. The inauguration ceremony was addressed by Osei Kayei Mensah Bonsu, Majority Party Leader of the Parliament of Ghana and Minister of Parliamentary Affairs of Ghana, Stephen Twigg, Secretary General of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association. Twigg, in his address, talked about the priorities of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association.

He described women's representation in parliaments, protection of human rights and climate change as priorities of the Association. He congratulated India, New Zealand and Sierra Leone for taking important steps towards increasing women's representation in Parliament.

Twigg said that the Commonwealth Secretariat is making continuous efforts to give a legislative structure to the Commonwealth. If the British government does not take the initiative to make a law in this regard this time, then consideration will be given to removing the headquarters of the Commonwealth from Britain.

It is noteworthy that the Commonwealth was established as a welfare institution but now efforts are being made to give it a legal form by the British Parliament.

The keynote address of the event was given by the President of Ghana, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo Addo. Workshops on different topics were organized in the programme.

Speaker Jharkhand Assembly Rabindra Nath Mahato participated in the discussions organized and spoke on three topics.

In the workshop organized on the subject, the Speaker reiterated what former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi had said in the conference organized in Stockholm in 1972 that the environment cannot be protected unless poverty is solved. People who are forced to live a polluted life due to their economic difficulties cannot be taught the lesson of environmental protection. Therefore, the priority of all the countries of the world should be to solve the problem of poverty and in this the rich countries should help the poor countries.

Secondly, on the topic of contribution of women's reservation in Parliament to women empowerment, the Speaker said in his lecture that Our Father of the Nation, Mahatma Gandhi, in his speech had described women as emotionally more powerful than men. Their capacity for sacrifice was said to be greater than that of men. The Speaker made his presentation in the Parliament stating that reservation for women is necessary.

The third topic is to further streamline the parliamentary process through e-Parliament. While giving his views on this subject, the Speaker highlighted the importance of e-Parliament and highlighted the achievements of Jharkhand in this direction, including taking the members to smart desks through the National e-Vidhan Application (NeVA) and the ongoing assembly elections. Focused his lecture on topics like making the proceedings available live on public domain etc.

The General Assembly meeting of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association is scheduled tomorrow in which the Jharkhand branch will be represented by the Speaker.
The chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami has said that better training in the tourism and hospitality sector will help in creating employment opportunities in the State. He was speaking during the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signing ceremony between the education department and the Swiss education group, Switzerland at the State secretariat on Thursday. Under the MoU the Swiss group will impart training to the students of class IX to XII in the field of tourism and hospitality. The group will also help in improving the curriculum of vocational education in the State.

Terming the agreement as a milestone for the State, the CM said that tourism and hospitality sectors have a great potential to provide employment in the State.

He said that the State government is making a concerted effort to promote tourism in Uttarakhand. Dhami said that apart from religious, spiritual and adventure tourism efforts are being made to promote eco tourism and wellness industry in the State. The CM said that Abhay Das Maharaj played an important role in the agreement with the Swiss group. He said lakhs of pilgrims visit Uttarakhand every year to visit Char Dhams and it is the endeavour of the State government that the pilgrims visit the State round the year. Dhami said that with this objective the work on the Manaskhand Mandir Mala mission is going on at a fast pace. Under the mission selection of 16 temples has been done in the first phase.

Abhaydas Maharaj said that the hospitality sector is needed to be strengthened for promoting tourism. He said that Uttarakhand is the centre of spirituality.

The secretary, school education Ravinath Raman said that the faculty of the Swiss education group will provide training to the students of schools under the agreement. The selected students will be imparted training of one month in Switzerland by the Swiss group.

The additional chief secretary Radha Raturi, representative of Swiss group Surya Pratap Singh Bhati and project director Samagra Shiksha Mukul Kumar Sati were present on the occasion.
Many students of the Government Scheduled Tribal Boys Hostel located in Ayodhya Bypass, Bhopal protested demanding lack of food and services at the Collectorate on Thursday, they were carrying plates in his hands to protest no food at the hostel.

They said that the food amount has not been received for 3 months. On the other hand, the hostel does not even have a bed to sleep on. In such a situation, many students living here are facing problems.

The students also told the officer about the irregularities related to the hostel and said that students do not have beds to sleep and tables to study. Due to this, there is difficulty in studying and sleeping. The quality of food is very bad. When the problem increased for a few days, the mess system in the hostel was stopped.

The warden Sanjay Gautam said that till now no budget has been received from the government level. Therefore, everyone should either arrange their own food or leave the hostel. The students have been on hunger strike in the hostel premises for the last two days. Their demand is that hostel warden Sanjay Gautam should be removed from the post and a new warden should be given charge of the hostel.

The students who reached the Collectorate also raised slogans. State Vice President of Students Federation of India, Deepak Paswan said that the state government should immediately release the operating budget of the hostel without any hindrance. Also this budget needs to be increased. So that every student can have a full meal.
Uttar Pradesh has recently made substantial strides in enhancing its business environment, leading to a remarkable uptick in the health of its companies. Consequently, the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) fund allocation in the state has soared, propelling Uttar Pradesh into the top five states in the country in this regard.

This transformation marks a significant shift from nine years ago when UP languished at the 12th position in the national CSR fund allocation rankings, a government spokesman said here on Thursday.

In just one year, UP saw an impressive allocation of Rs 1,321 crore dedicated to various social initiatives under the CSR fund. To put this growth into perspective, back in 2015, the states CSR spending was a mere Rs 148 crore. This remarkable increase is primarily attributed to the improved business climate in UP and the consequent surge in corporate profits.

Under the ambit of the Companies Act 2013, companies with an annual turnover of Rs 1,000 crore or a net profit of Rs 5 crore are mandated to allocate at least two per cent of their average net profit towards CSR activities.

These CSR funds are channeled into diverse sectors, including environmental protection, education, healthcare, poverty alleviation, disaster relief and social justice initiatives. Consequently, the surge in CSR fund allocation reflects not only a rise in corporate income but also an increasing commitment to social responsibility among businesses in the state.

Uttar Pradeshs transition from the 12th to the 5th position in the national CSR fund allocation rankings over the past nine years underscores the states remarkable economic resurgence. Presently, UP stands proudly among the top five states in CSR fund allocation, trailing only behind Maharashtra, Karnataka, Gujarat and Tamil Nadu.

Maharashtra leads the nation with a staggering allocation of Rs 5,229 crore, followed by Karnataka with Rs 1,761 crore, Gujarat with Rs 1,554 crore and Tamil Nadu with Rs 1,371 crore. Uttar Pradeshs remarkable ascent in this ranking is a testament to its thriving business ecosystem and the growing commitment of its corporations towards social welfare.

The noteworthy increase in CSR spending highlights the symbiotic relationship between corporate prosperity and social responsibility, demonstrating that as businesses thrive, so do the communities they serve. Uttar Pradeshs rise in the CSR fund allocation rankings is not just a statistic but a promising sign of the states socio-economic development and commitment to a brighter future for all its residents.
WordCamp Bhopal 2023 is set to ignite the WordPress community in India, bringing together professionals, enthusiasts, and experts from across the nation.

This highly anticipated two-day event, scheduled for October 7 and 8, 2023, promises to be an exceptional opportunity for anyone interested in WordPress, from beginners to seasoned professionals.

WordCamp is a community-organized conference that revolves around all things WordPress. It's a platform where developers, designers, bloggers, marketers, and WordPress enthusiasts come together to learn, share ideas, and connect with like-minded individuals.

This year's WordCamp Bhopal promises to be an unforgettable experience for all attendees.

The first day of the event starts with an Openverse Walk, which will be held at Van Vihar National Park, Bhopal, on October 07, 2023. This is followed by Contributor Day at the Zappian Media Office, where the registered attendees can contribute to different teams. The main conference will be held on October 08 at Radisson Hotel Bhopal.

One of the standout features of WordCamp Bhopal 2023 is the unparalleled networking opportunities it offers. Professionals and attendees from all corners of South Asia will converge in Bhopal to exchange insights, ideas, and experiences.

The event will feature a mix of personnel, including Developers, Bloggers, Content Creators, Designers, etc., with the aim to expand professional networks, seek career advice, discover job opportunities within the WordPress industry, and much more.

WordCamp Bhopal 2023 boasts an impressive lineup of speakers and experts who will cover a wide range of topics related to WordPress. From coding to marketing and blogging, attendees will have the chance to attend sessions and workshops led by professionals at the forefront of their respective fields.

The event promises to deliver valuable insights and practical knowledge that can benefit both beginners and experienced WordPress users.
Congress' top decision making body CWC will meet on October 9 here to deliberate on the current political situation, caste census and further firm up the strategy for the upcoming assembly elections in five states.

The party is seeking to retain power in Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan, while hoping to wrest power from the BJP in Madhya Pradesh, BRS in Telangana and the Mizo National Front (MNF) in Mizoram.

The meeting is likely to have a discussion on the caste census. The Congress has made a strong pitch for the caste census and has raised the demand for giving rights on the basis of population with emphasis on other backward classes (OBCs).

The CWC meet also comes at a time when some opposition leaders are facing heat from central agencies. The latest in the series of arrests is that of AAP leader Sanjay Singh in the Delhi excise policy case and the Congress top leadership will have to take a call on extending support to him and others being targeted by the government.

The meeting of the top decision making body of the Congress comes just over three weeks after the first meeting of the reconstituted Congress Working Committee (CWC) was held in Hyderabad on September 16 to evolve a strategy for the assembly polls in five states and the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

Sources said the CWC will be meet on Monday at the AICC headquarters here to discuss the current political situation and to follow up on the decisions and discussions at the top decision-making body's meeting in Hyderabad.

Chief ministers of Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh will also attend the meeting.

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge had on August 20 reconstituted the CWC, retaining the old guard and giving space to the young in the 84-member body. This will be the first meeting of the CWC in the national capital.

The CWC has 39 regular members, 32 permanent invitees and 13 special invitees, including 15 women and several new faces.
Hungarys foreign minister on Wednesday said that his government wants guarantees from Kyiv that a Hungarian bank, recently removed from a Ukrainian list of sponsors of Russias war, will not be placed back on that list in the future  a sign that Budapest may not be ready to lift its veto of a major military aid package to Ukraine.

Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said that a Monday decision by the Ukrainian National Agency of Corruption Prevention to remove OTP Bank from the list was a step in the right direction, but that Hungary required further assurances before it would change its approach to Ukraine in any international settings.

Hungarys Foreign Ministry has invited Ukraines anti-corruption agency to come to Budapest as soon as possible to discuss the listing of OTP, Szijjarto said, so that we can negotiate an agreement that guarantees that no such decision will be taken (again) in the future.

If a reassuring agreement is reached there, then we will of course have to consider what steps this justifies on our part, Szijjarto told a news conference.

Ukraine added OTP to its list of sponsors of the war in May in response to the financial institution continuing its operations in Russia  and thus paying taxes to the central government  after Moscow launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. In response, Hungary has blocked an EU military aid package to Kyiv worth 500 million euros since May, vowing it would not withdraw its veto until OTP was removed from the list. Last week, Ukraines anti-corruption agency temporarily removed the bank from the list in the hopes that Budapest would lift its veto of the funding. But Hungarian officials signalled that the temporary removal was not enough, and the agency fully removed the bank from the list on Monday.

Hungarys Foreign Ministry did not respond to emailed questions about whether Szijjartos comments indicated that Hungary would continue blocking the EU aid package despite OTP being taken off the war sponsors list. The Hungarian government, led by nationalist Prime Minister Viktor Orban, has sparred with Kyiv over a number of issues since Russias full-scale invasion began.

Orban, who has maintained ties with Russian President Vladimir Putin, has argued against supplying Ukraine with weapons and refused to allow Hungary to do so, and has fervently argued against imposing EU sanctions on Moscow, though he has never ultimately voted against them.

Last week, Orban cast doubt on the prospect of the EU beginning negotiations any time soon for Ukraine to join the bloc, saying it was unrealistic to launch the accession process with a country thats at war.

He told the Hungarian parliament last week that his government would not support Ukraine on any international issue until the language rights of a Hungarian minority in western Ukraine are restored.

On Wednesday, Szijjarto said that Hungary also expects Ukraine to remove OTPs Russian branch and four of its Hungarian executives from a list of entities submitted for sanctions.
Big Technologies PLC (LON:BIG  Get Free Report) insider Daren John Morris acquired 44,419 shares of the firms stock in a transaction on Monday, October 2nd. The stock was bought at an average price of GBX 205 ($2.48) per share, with a total value of 91,058.95 ($110,067.63).

Daren John Morris also recently made the following trade(s):

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On Tuesday, September 26th, Daren John Morris acquired 400,000 shares of Big Technologies stock. The stock was bought at an average price of GBX 210 ($2.54) per share, with a total value of 840,000 ($1,015,351.14).

Big Technologies Stock Performance

LON BIG opened at GBX 206 ($2.49) on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 13.11 and a quick ratio of 7.23. Big Technologies PLC has a 1 year low of GBX 192.63 ($2.33) and a 1 year high of GBX 300 ($3.63). The company has a market capitalization of 598.72 million, a PE ratio of 2,942.86 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a fifty day moving average of GBX 242.76 and a two-hundred day moving average of GBX 258.53.

Big Technologies Company Profile

Big Technologies PLC, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the development and delivery of remote monitoring technologies and services to the offender and remote personal monitoring industry under the Buddi brand name in the Americas, Europe, and the Asia-Pacific. The company's criminal justice solution includes proprietary cloud-based monitoring software platform with modular hardware that allow real time monitoring.

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TELUS Co. (TSE:T  Free Report) (NYSE:TU)  Equities researchers at National Bank Financial issued their Q3 2023 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for TELUS in a report issued on Sunday, October 1st. National Bank Financial analyst A. Shine forecasts that the company will post earnings of $0.25 per share for the quarter. The consensus estimate for TELUSs current full-year earnings is $1.18 per share.

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A number of other equities research analysts also recently commented on the company. Canaccord Genuity Group reduced their target price on TELUS from C$32.00 to C$31.00 in a research report on Monday, July 17th. National Bankshares reduced their target price on TELUS from C$30.00 to C$28.00 in a research report on Friday, July 14th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on TELUS from C$32.00 to C$31.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 17th. UBS Group cut their price objective on TELUS from C$28.00 to C$27.00 in a report on Friday, July 14th. Finally, TD Securities cut their price objective on TELUS from C$30.00 to C$29.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, August 8th.

TELUS Stock Performance

Shares of TELUS stock opened at C$22.19 on Tuesday. TELUS has a one year low of C$21.16 and a one year high of C$29.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 155.24, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a current ratio of 0.63. The company has a market cap of C$32.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.06, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.68. The businesss 50 day moving average price is C$23.08 and its 200 day moving average price is C$25.39.

TELUS (TSE:T  Get Free Report) (NYSE:TU) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 4th. The company reported C$0.19 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts consensus estimates of C$0.23 by C($0.04). TELUS had a return on equity of 7.22% and a net margin of 6.04%. The company had revenue of C$4.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of C$4.93 billion.

TELUS Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, October 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 8th were given a dividend of $0.364 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, September 7th. This represents a $1.46 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.56%. TELUSs dividend payout ratio is currently 176.83%.

TELUS Company Profile

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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 services; mobile technologies equipment; data services, such as internet protocol; television; hosting, managed information technology, and cloud-based services; software, data management, and data analytics-driven smart food-chain and consumer goods technologies; home and business security; healthcare software and technology solutions; and voice and other telecommunications services.

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Banco Santander (Brasil) S.A. (NYSE:BSBR  Get Free Report) has earned an average recommendation of Strong Sell from the three analysts that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating. The average 1-year target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $5.25.

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Banco Santander (Brasil) in a report on Thursday, August 17th. They set a hold rating for the company. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Banco Santander (Brasil) from $5.00 to $5.50 and gave the stock an underweight rating in a report on Thursday, July 27th.

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Institutional Investors Weigh In On Banco Santander (Brasil)

Banco Santander (Brasil) Stock Performance

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in Banco Santander (Brasil) by 20.4% during the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 80,117 shares of the banks stock worth $617,000 after acquiring an additional 13,564 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its stake in Banco Santander (Brasil) by 19.5% during the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 18,573 shares of the banks stock worth $144,000 after acquiring an additional 3,037 shares in the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. boosted its stake in Banco Santander (Brasil) by 10.0% during the first quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 2,170,278 shares of the banks stock worth $16,712,000 after acquiring an additional 198,058 shares in the last quarter. Blair William & Co. IL boosted its stake in Banco Santander (Brasil) by 32.9% during the first quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 27,023 shares of the banks stock worth $208,000 after acquiring an additional 6,692 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in Banco Santander (Brasil) by 48.3% during the first quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 115,309 shares of the banks stock worth $888,000 after acquiring an additional 37,556 shares in the last quarter. 14.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

NYSE BSBR opened at $5.05 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a quick ratio of 0.02 and a current ratio of 0.02. Banco Santander has a 52-week low of $4.76 and a 52-week high of $6.64. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $5.45 and a 200-day moving average of $5.69.

Banco Santander (Brasil) Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a  dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 23rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 24th were given a dividend of $0.0841 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 21st. This is a boost from Banco Santander (Brasil)s previous  dividend of $0.08. This represents a dividend yield of 5.2%.

Banco Santander (Brasil) Company Profile

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Banco Santander (Brasil) SA, together with its subsidiaries, provides various banking products and services to individuals, small and medium enterprises, and corporate customers in Brazil and internationally. The company operates through, Commercial Banking and Global Wholesale Banking segments. It offers deposits and other bank funding instruments; debit and credit cards; digital prepaid solutions; payment platform; loyalty programs; employee benefit vouchers; payroll loans; digital lending and online debt renegotiation platform; mortgages; home equity financing products; consumer credit; and local loans, commercial and trade finance, guarantees, structured loans, and cash management and funding solutions, as well as on-lending transfer services.

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Ashtead Group plc (LON:AHT  Get Free Report) has earned a consensus rating of Moderate Buy from the seven analysts that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is GBX 5,965.71 ($72.11).

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Numis Securities reiterated a buy rating and issued a GBX 7,000 ($84.61) target price on shares of Ashtead Group in a research report on Monday, September 11th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a buy rating and set a GBX 7,000 ($84.61) target price on shares of Ashtead Group in a research report on Tuesday, June 13th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a hold rating and issued a GBX 4,460 ($53.91) price target on shares of Ashtead Group in a research report on Wednesday, June 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed an overweight rating and set a GBX 6,300 ($76.15) price objective on shares of Ashtead Group in a report on Wednesday, September 6th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Ashtead Group from GBX 5,450 ($65.88) to GBX 5,500 ($66.48) and gave the stock a sector perform rating in a report on Thursday, June 15th.

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Insider Activity

Ashtead Group Stock Up 0.3 %

In related news, insider Brendan Horgan sold 150,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of GBX 5,174 ($62.54), for a total transaction of 7,761,000 ($9,381,119.30). Corporate insiders own 1.14% of the companys stock.

LON AHT opened at GBX 4,745 ($57.36) on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 150.21, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 1.13. The companys 50 day simple moving average is GBX 5,361.34 and its 200 day simple moving average is GBX 5,130.71. Ashtead Group has a 12 month low of GBX 3,969 ($47.98) and a 12 month high of GBX 6,012 ($72.67). The company has a market capitalization of 20.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 1,526.45, a PEG ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.45.

Ashtead Group Company Profile

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Ashtead Group plc, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the construction, industrial, and general equipment rental business in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Canada. It provides pumps, power generation, heating, cooling, scaffolding, traffic management, temporary flooring, trench shoring, and lifting services.

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Enbridge Inc. (NYSE:ENB  Get Free Report) (TSE:ENB) has been given an average recommendation of Hold by the seven ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and two have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $55.68.

A number of research firms have issued reports on ENB. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded shares of Enbridge from an overweight rating to an equal weight rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 6th. Scotiabank started coverage on shares of Enbridge in a research report on Monday, September 11th. They set a sector perform rating on the stock. StockNews.com started coverage on Enbridge in a research note on Thursday, August 17th. They issued a hold rating for the company. Credit Suisse Group lowered their price target on Enbridge from $52.00 to $51.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, September 13th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on Enbridge from $65.00 to $60.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 7th.

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Enbridge Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE ENB opened at $31.38 on Monday. The firms 50-day simple moving average is $34.78 and its 200 day simple moving average is $36.72. The company has a market cap of $66.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a quick ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.27. Enbridge has a 12-month low of $31.03 and a 12-month high of $42.12.

Enbridge (NYSE:ENB  Get Free Report) (TSE:ENB) last released its earnings results on Friday, August 4th. The pipeline company reported $0.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts consensus estimates of $0.51. Enbridge had a net margin of 8.58% and a return on equity of 10.20%. The company had revenue of $7.77 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.49 billion. On average, research analysts expect that Enbridge will post 2.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Enbridge Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 15th were paid a dividend of $0.67 per share. This is a boost from Enbridges previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 8.54%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 14th. Enbridges dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 187.86%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Enbridge

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Enbridge by 3.7% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 69,181,872 shares of the pipeline companys stock worth $3,188,593,000 after acquiring an additional 2,491,924 shares in the last quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Enbridge by 109,143.5% in the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 48,468,082 shares of the pipeline companys stock valued at $1,895,102,000 after buying an additional 48,423,715 shares during the last quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. boosted its holdings in shares of Enbridge by 10.3% in the 2nd quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 30,213,371 shares of the pipeline companys stock valued at $1,122,427,000 after buying an additional 2,831,889 shares during the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Enbridge by 4.4% in the 2nd quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 19,766,987 shares of the pipeline companys stock valued at $734,641,000 after buying an additional 830,412 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CIBC Asset Management Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Enbridge by 3.6% in the 2nd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 18,616,583 shares of the pipeline companys stock valued at $692,463,000 after buying an additional 652,769 shares during the last quarter. 48.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Enbridge Company Profile

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Enbridge Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates as an energy infrastructure company. The company operates through five segments: Liquids Pipelines, Gas Transmission and Midstream, Gas Distribution and Storage, Renewable Power Generation, and Energy Services. The Liquids Pipelines segment operates pipelines and related terminals to transport various grades of crude oil and other liquid hydrocarbons in Canada and the United States.

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Suzano (NYSE:SUZ  Get Free Report) is one of 16 public companies in the Paper mills industry, but how does it compare to its rivals? We will compare Suzano to similar companies based on the strength of its analyst recommendations, earnings, institutional ownership, valuation, risk, dividends and profitability.

Volatility & Risk

Suzano has a beta of 1.11, suggesting that its share price is 11% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Suzanos rivals have a beta of 1.33, suggesting that their average share price is 33% more volatile than the S&P 500.

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Dividends

Suzano pays an annual dividend of $0.32 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.0%. Suzano pays out 9.4% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. As a group, Paper mills companies pay a dividend yield of 4.0% and pay out 89.8% of their earnings in the form of a dividend. Suzano has increased its dividend for 1 consecutive years.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

Profitability

2.5% of Suzano shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 71.2% of shares of all Paper mills companies are held by institutional investors. 6.0% of shares of all Paper mills companies are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

This table compares Suzano and its rivals net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

Net Margins Return on Equity Return on Assets Suzano 47.44% 64.65% 17.21% Suzano Competitors 7.57% 15.88% 6.15%

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent ratings for Suzano and its rivals, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

Sell Ratings Hold Ratings Buy Ratings Strong Buy Ratings Rating Score Suzano 0 0 1 0 3.00 Suzano Competitors 111 710 467 49 2.34

As a group, Paper mills companies have a potential upside of 31.32%. Given Suzanos rivals higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Suzano has less favorable growth aspects than its rivals.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Suzano and its rivals top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

Gross Revenue Net Income Price/Earnings Ratio Suzano $49.00 billion $4.53 billion 3.12 Suzano Competitors $8.75 billion $730.35 million 31.32

Suzano has higher revenue and earnings than its rivals. Suzano is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than its rivals, indicating that it is currently more affordable than other companies in its industry.

Summary

Suzano beats its rivals on 8 of the 15 factors compared.

About Suzano

(Get Free Report)

Suzano S.A. produces and sells eucalyptus pulp and paper products in Brazil and internationally. It operates through Pulp and Paper segments. The company offers coated and uncoated printing and writing papers, paperboards, tissue papers, and market and fluff pulps; and lignin. It also engages in the research, development, and production of biofuel; operation of port terminals; power generation and distribution business; commercialization of equipment and parts; industrialization, commercialization, and exporting of pulp and standing wood; road freight transport; biotechnology research and development; and commercialization of paper and computer materials. In addition, the company is involved in the business office, production packaging, and financial fundraising activities; research, development, production, commercialization, and distribution of wood-based textile fibers, yarns, and filaments produced from cellulose and microfibrillated cellulose; and research and development of wood raw materials for the textile industry. Suzano S.A. was formerly known as Suzano Papel e Celulose S.A. and changed its name to Suzano S.A. in April 2019. The company was founded in 1924 and is headquartered in Salvador, Brazil.

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Prosperity Bancshares, Inc. (NYSE:PB  Free Report)  Equities researchers at DA Davidson dropped their Q3 2023 EPS estimates for shares of Prosperity Bancshares in a research note issued on Wednesday, October 4th. DA Davidson analyst P. Winter now forecasts that the bank will post earnings per share of $1.21 for the quarter, down from their prior estimate of $1.27. The consensus estimate for Prosperity Bancshares current full-year earnings is $5.03 per share. DA Davidson also issued estimates for Prosperity Bancshares FY2023 earnings at $5.01 EPS.

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Prosperity Bancshares (NYSE:PB  Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 26th. The bank reported $1.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $1.19 by $0.02. Prosperity Bancshares had a net margin of 34.03% and a return on equity of 7.55%. The business had revenue of $276.15 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $281.98 million.

A number of other brokerages also recently weighed in on PB. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Prosperity Bancshares from $60.00 to $57.00 and set an underweight rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, September 27th. Raymond James increased their price target on shares of Prosperity Bancshares from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a report on Thursday, July 27th. Truist Financial reduced their price target on shares of Prosperity Bancshares from $70.00 to $61.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, September 27th. StockNews.com raised shares of Prosperity Bancshares to a sell rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Stephens increased their price target on shares of Prosperity Bancshares from $63.00 to $67.00 in a report on Thursday, July 27th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $68.88.

View Our Latest Stock Analysis on PB

Prosperity Bancshares Trading Up 0.7 %

NYSE:PB opened at $52.25 on Thursday. Prosperity Bancshares has a 1 year low of $51.37 and a 1 year high of $78.76. The firms fifty day simple moving average is $57.36 and its 200 day simple moving average is $58.94. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.90 billion, a PE ratio of 9.84, a PEG ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 0.95.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Prosperity Bancshares

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in PB. Morgan Stanley increased its position in shares of Prosperity Bancshares by 325.4% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 2,390,076 shares of the banks stock worth $173,711,000 after purchasing an additional 1,828,204 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of Prosperity Bancshares by 11.5% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 8,888,314 shares of the banks stock worth $506,826,000 after purchasing an additional 917,381 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Prosperity Bancshares during the 4th quarter worth about $63,078,000. Bank of America Corp DE increased its position in shares of Prosperity Bancshares by 421.0% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 774,756 shares of the banks stock worth $47,663,000 after purchasing an additional 626,060 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its position in Prosperity Bancshares by 251.2% in the 2nd quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 726,052 shares of the banks stock valued at $41,007,000 after acquiring an additional 519,338 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.70% of the companys stock.

Prosperity Bancshares Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, October 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, September 15th were given a dividend of $0.55 per share. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.21%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, September 14th. Prosperity Bancsharess dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 41.43%.

Prosperity Bancshares Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

Prosperity Bancshares, Inc operates as bank holding company for the Prosperity Bank that provides financial products and services to businesses and consumers. It accepts various deposit products, such as demand, savings, money market, and time accounts, as well as and certificates of deposit. The company also offers 1-4 family residential mortgage, commercial real estate and multifamily residential, commercial and industrial, agricultural, and non-real estate agricultural loans, as well as construction, land development, and other land loans; consumer loans, including automobile, recreational vehicle, boat, home improvement, personal, and deposit account collateralized loans; and consumer durables and home equity loans, as well as loans for working capital, business expansion, and purchase of equipment and machinery.

Further Reading

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Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in shares of EOG Resources, Inc. (NYSE:EOG  Free Report) by 532.5% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 14,517 shares of the energy exploration companys stock after buying an additional 12,222 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLCs holdings in EOG Resources were worth $1,661,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich increased its holdings in shares of EOG Resources by 100,317.5% in the 2nd quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 538,528,863 shares of the energy exploration companys stock valued at $61,629,243,000 after acquiring an additional 537,992,573 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of EOG Resources by 2.8% in the 1st quarter. State Street Corp now owns 36,299,584 shares of the energy exploration companys stock valued at $4,161,014,000 after acquiring an additional 1,005,328 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in shares of EOG Resources by 12.4% in the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 26,897,413 shares of the energy exploration companys stock valued at $3,083,250,000 after acquiring an additional 2,977,408 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of EOG Resources by 10.5% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 12,826,112 shares of the energy exploration companys stock valued at $1,661,238,000 after acquiring an additional 1,222,209 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of EOG Resources by 2.3% in the 1st quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 11,814,421 shares of the energy exploration companys stock valued at $1,352,283,000 after acquiring an additional 262,445 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.21% of the companys stock.

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Insider Buying and Selling at EOG Resources

In other EOG Resources news, COO Lloyd W. Helms, Jr. sold 4,551 shares of the companys stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $130.76, for a total value of $595,088.76. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 145,259 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,994,066.84. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Jeffrey R. Leitzell sold 2,031 shares of the companys stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $117.26, for a total transaction of $238,155.06. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 37,607 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $4,409,796.82. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, COO Lloyd W. Helms, Jr. sold 4,551 shares of the companys stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $130.76, for a total transaction of $595,088.76. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 145,259 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $18,994,066.84. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

EOG Resources Price Performance

EOG Resources stock opened at $119.35 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $69.49 billion, a PE ratio of 8.04, a P/E/G ratio of 0.38 and a beta of 1.55. The company has a quick ratio of 2.02, a current ratio of 2.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The firms 50-day simple moving average is $129.24 and its 200 day simple moving average is $119.87. EOG Resources, Inc. has a 52 week low of $98.52 and a 52 week high of $150.88.

EOG Resources (NYSE:EOG  Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 3rd. The energy exploration company reported $2.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $2.28 by $0.21. The company had revenue of $5.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.74 billion. EOG Resources had a net margin of 33.58% and a return on equity of 28.52%. The firms quarterly revenue was down 24.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.74 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that EOG Resources, Inc. will post 11.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

EOG Resources Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 17th will be issued a $0.825 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, October 16th. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.76%. EOG Resourcess dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.24%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of EOG Resources from $143.00 to $159.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Friday, August 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of EOG Resources from $145.00 to $156.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 27th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of EOG Resources from $154.00 to $152.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, September 1st. Raymond James dropped their price objective on shares of EOG Resources from $150.00 to $140.00 and set a strong-buy rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 24th. Finally, StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of EOG Resources in a research note on Thursday, August 17th. They issued a hold rating on the stock. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the companys stock. According to MarketBeat.com, EOG Resources has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $150.04.

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EOG Resources Company Profile

(Free Report)

EOG Resources, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, explores for, develops, produces, and markets crude oil, and natural gas and natural gas liquids. Its principal producing areas are in New Mexico and Texas in the United States; and the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago. The company was formerly known as Enron Oil & Gas Company.

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Kinross Gold (NYSE:KGC  Free Report) (TSE:K) had its price objective cut by Jefferies Financial Group from $5.00 to $4.65 in a report published on Wednesday, MarketBeat.com reports. They currently have a hold rating on the mining companys stock.

KGC has been the topic of several other research reports. CSFB lifted their price objective on shares of Kinross Gold from $5.25 to $5.50 and gave the stock a negative rating in a research report on Thursday, August 17th. CIBC increased their price target on Kinross Gold from $6.60 to $6.75 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research note on Friday, August 4th. Desjardins started coverage on shares of Kinross Gold in a research note on Monday, September 11th. They issued a buy rating for the company. StockNews.com raised Kinross Gold from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a report on Thursday, September 14th. Finally, Scotiabank upped their target price on shares of Kinross Gold from $6.25 to $6.50 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a report on Friday, August 4th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $6.07.

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Kinross Gold Price Performance

Shares of NYSE KGC opened at $4.41 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $5.41 billion, a PE ratio of 27.56 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a quick ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The stocks 50 day moving average price is $4.86 and its 200-day moving average price is $4.90. Kinross Gold has a twelve month low of $3.30 and a twelve month high of $5.57.

Kinross Gold (NYSE:KGC  Get Free Report) (TSE:K) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 2nd. The mining company reported $0.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $0.08 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $1.09 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.01 billion. Kinross Gold had a return on equity of 7.15% and a net margin of 5.06%. The businesss revenue for the quarter was up 33.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.03 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Kinross Gold will post 0.39 EPS for the current year.

Kinross Gold Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 8th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 24th were issued a dividend of $0.03 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 23rd. This represents a $0.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.72%. Kinross Golds dividend payout ratio is currently 75.00%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kinross Gold

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC purchased a new position in Kinross Gold during the 2nd quarter valued at about $100,000. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of Kinross Gold during the second quarter valued at approximately $83,000. GTS Securities LLC purchased a new stake in Kinross Gold in the second quarter worth $2,086,000. Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its holdings in Kinross Gold by 66.2% in the second quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 199,946 shares of the mining companys stock valued at $954,000 after acquiring an additional 79,645 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State of Tennessee Treasury Department purchased a new position in Kinross Gold during the 2nd quarter valued at $3,399,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 49.80% of the companys stock.

Kinross Gold Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

Kinross Gold Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the acquisition, exploration, and development of gold properties principally in the United States, Brazil, Chile, Canada, and Mauritania. It is also involved in the extraction and processing of gold-containing ores; reclamation of gold mining properties; and production and sale of silver.

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LyondellBasell Industries (NYSE:LYB  Get Free Report) has earned an average recommendation of Hold from the seventeen brokerages that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, seven have given a hold recommendation and eight have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $100.19.

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. SpectralCast reaffirmed a maintains rating on shares of LyondellBasell Industries in a research note on Thursday, June 29th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on LyondellBasell Industries from $121.00 to $116.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, August 9th. Citigroup raised LyondellBasell Industries from a neutral rating to a buy rating and upped their price objective for the company from $104.00 to $106.00 in a research note on Tuesday. Bank of America upped their target price on LyondellBasell Industries from $92.00 to $99.00 in a report on Monday, August 7th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded LyondellBasell Industries from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report on Tuesday, September 12th.

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Read Our Latest Stock Analysis on LyondellBasell Industries

Insiders Place Their Bets

Institutional Investors Weigh In On LyondellBasell Industries

In other LyondellBasell Industries news, major shareholder Ai Investments Holdings Llc sold 483 shares of LyondellBasell Industries stock in a transaction on Friday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.61, for a total transaction of $48,111.63. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 765,996 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $76,300,861.56. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink . In other news, EVP Jeffrey A. Kaplan sold 10,000 shares of LyondellBasell Industries stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $97.56, for a total transaction of $975,600.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 49,876 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,865,902.56. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website . Also, major shareholder Ai Investments Holdings Llc sold 483 shares of LyondellBasell Industries stock in a transaction on Friday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.61, for a total value of $48,111.63. Following the sale, the insider now owns 765,996 shares in the company, valued at $76,300,861.56. The disclosure for this sale can be found here . Insiders own 0.12% of the companys stock.

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Compass Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of LyondellBasell Industries during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Intrepid Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of LyondellBasell Industries during the 2nd quarter worth $26,000. Community Bank N.A. bought a new stake in shares of LyondellBasell Industries during the 1st quarter worth $28,000. Steward Financial Group LLC raised its stake in LyondellBasell Industries by 77.1% in the 2nd quarter. Steward Financial Group LLC now owns 317 shares of the specialty chemicals companys stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 138 shares during the period. Finally, Ossiam bought a new stake in LyondellBasell Industries in the 2nd quarter valued at about $30,000. 91.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

LyondellBasell Industries Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE LYB opened at $93.50 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.81, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The company has a market cap of $30.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.52, a PEG ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 1.20. LyondellBasell Industries has a 12 month low of $75.24 and a 12 month high of $102.04. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $97.62 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $93.44.

LyondellBasell Industries (NYSE:LYB  Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Friday, August 4th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.44 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.30 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $10.31 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.79 billion. LyondellBasell Industries had a return on equity of 21.31% and a net margin of 4.92%. The businesss quarterly revenue was down 30.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $5.19 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that LyondellBasell Industries will post 8.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

LyondellBasell Industries Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 5th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 28th were issued a dividend of $1.25 per share. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.35%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 25th. LyondellBasell Industriess dividend payout ratio is 77.64%.

LyondellBasell Industries Company Profile

(Get Free Report

LyondellBasell Industries N.V. operates as a chemical company in the United States, Germany, Mexico, Italy, Poland, France, Japan, China, the Netherlands, and internationally. The company operates in six segments: Olefins and PolyolefinsAmericas; Olefins and PolyolefinsEurope, Asia, International; Intermediates and Derivatives; Advanced Polymer Solutions; Refining; and Technology.

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StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Navios Maritime (NYSE:NM  Free Report) in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday. The firm issued a buy rating on the shipping companys stock.

Navios Maritime Trading Down 5.1 %

Shares of NM opened at $1.87 on Wednesday. Navios Maritime has a fifty-two week low of $1.47 and a fifty-two week high of $2.97. The company has a market capitalization of $42.69 million, a PE ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 1.58. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $1.78 and a two-hundred day moving average of $1.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.64, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.20.

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Navios Maritime (NYSE:NM  Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 24th. The shipping company reported $0.33 EPS for the quarter. Navios Maritime had a return on equity of 63.17% and a net margin of 26.10%. The business had revenue of $81.90 million during the quarter.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Navios Maritime

About Navios Maritime

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its holdings in Navios Maritime by 83.4% in the first quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 908,070 shares of the shipping companys stock valued at $3,296,000 after acquiring an additional 412,836 shares during the last quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP lifted its stake in shares of Navios Maritime by 155.5% in the 1st quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP now owns 112,258 shares of the shipping companys stock valued at $407,000 after purchasing an additional 68,324 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Navios Maritime in the 1st quarter valued at about $328,000. XTX Topco Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Navios Maritime during the 1st quarter worth about $202,000. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Navios Maritime during the 1st quarter worth approximately $109,000. 9.16% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

(Get Free Report)

Navios Maritime Holdings Inc operates as a seaborne shipping and logistics company in North America, Australia, Europe, Asia, South America, and internationally. It focuses on the transportation and transshipment of dry bulk commodities, including iron ores, coal, and grains. The company operates in two segments, Dry Bulk Vessel Operations and Logistics Business.

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Byrne Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE  Free Report) by 1.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 40,803 shares of the biopharmaceutical companys stock after purchasing an additional 750 shares during the period. Pfizer makes up approximately 1.0% of Byrne Asset Management LLCs holdings, making the stock its 24th biggest position. Byrne Asset Management LLCs holdings in Pfizer were worth $1,497,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich lifted its holdings in shares of Pfizer by 98,197.9% during the second quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 1,948,438,709 shares of the biopharmaceutical companys stock valued at $71,468,732,000 after purchasing an additional 1,946,456,532 shares during the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. lifted its position in shares of Pfizer by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 445,384,893 shares of the biopharmaceutical companys stock valued at $18,171,704,000 after acquiring an additional 2,516,132 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in shares of Pfizer by 9.8% in the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 218,931,933 shares of the biopharmaceutical companys stock valued at $8,932,423,000 after acquiring an additional 19,602,359 shares in the last quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Pfizer by 89,592.7% in the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 161,143,638 shares of the biopharmaceutical companys stock valued at $8,257,000,000 after acquiring an additional 160,963,976 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Pfizer by 0.5% in the 1st quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 109,852,779 shares of the biopharmaceutical companys stock valued at $4,472,433,000 after acquiring an additional 577,201 shares in the last quarter. 68.05% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on PFE shares. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Pfizer from $42.00 to $40.00 and set an equal weight rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, August 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Pfizer from $45.00 to $41.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 17th. BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on shares of Pfizer from $45.00 to $44.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 2nd. Truist Financial reiterated a buy rating and issued a $62.00 target price on shares of Pfizer in a research report on Wednesday, September 13th. Finally, TheStreet downgraded Pfizer from a b- rating to a c+ rating in a research note on Monday, September 25th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $46.18.

Pfizer Stock Performance

PFE opened at $33.29 on Thursday. Pfizer Inc. has a 12-month low of $31.77 and a 12-month high of $54.93. The firm has a market capitalization of $187.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 0.61. The stocks 50 day moving average price is $34.92 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $37.33. The company has a quick ratio of 1.82, a current ratio of 2.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE  Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 1st. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.57 by $0.10. Pfizer had a return on equity of 28.36% and a net margin of 27.55%. The firm had revenue of $12.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.36 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.04 earnings per share. The companys quarterly revenue was down 54.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Pfizer Inc. will post 3.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Pfizer Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 4th. Investors of record on Friday, November 10th will be given a $0.41 dividend. This represents a $1.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.93%. Pfizers dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 43.62%.

Pfizer Profile

(Free Report)

Pfizer Inc discovers, develops, manufactures, markets, distributes, and sells biopharmaceutical products worldwide. It offers medicines and vaccines in various therapeutic areas, including cardiovascular metabolic, migraine, and women's health under the Eliquis, Nurtec ODT/Vydura, and the Premarin family brands; infectious diseases with unmet medical needs under the Prevnar family, Nimenrix, FSME/IMMUN-TicoVac, and Trumenba brands; and COVID-19 prevention and treatment, and potential future mRNA and antiviral products under the Comirnaty and Paxlovid brands.

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River Road Asset Management LLC decreased its position in shares of Visa Inc. (NYSE:V  Free Report) by 3.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 123,877 shares of the credit-card processors stock after selling 3,910 shares during the period. River Road Asset Management LLCs holdings in Visa were worth $29,418,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Birch Hill Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in Visa by 58.4% during the second quarter. Birch Hill Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,603 shares of the credit-card processors stock worth $381,000 after acquiring an additional 591 shares in the last quarter. Lazari Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in Visa during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,051,000. Value Partners Investments Inc. lifted its stake in Visa by 3.3% in the 2nd quarter. Value Partners Investments Inc. now owns 7,294 shares of the credit-card processors stock valued at $1,733,000 after purchasing an additional 231 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Visa in the second quarter valued at approximately $3,796,000. Finally, JLB & Associates Inc. grew its stake in shares of Visa by 12.1% during the second quarter. JLB & Associates Inc. now owns 8,152 shares of the credit-card processors stock worth $1,936,000 after buying an additional 881 shares during the last quarter. 81.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Rajat Taneja sold 15,800 shares of the companys stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.01, for a total transaction of $3,950,158.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 232,112 shares of the companys stock, valued at $58,030,321.12. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, insider Rajat Taneja sold 15,800 shares of Visa stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.01, for a total transaction of $3,950,158.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 232,112 shares in the company, valued at $58,030,321.12. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Ryan Mcinerney sold 8,150 shares of the companys stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $240.00, for a total transaction of $1,956,000.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 55,225 shares of company stock valued at $13,477,806. 0.22% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Visa Stock Performance

Shares of V stock opened at $231.20 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $240.03 and a 200-day moving average of $233.63. The company has a market cap of $430.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a quick ratio of 1.49, a current ratio of 1.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. Visa Inc. has a 52 week low of $174.60 and a 52 week high of $250.06.

Visa (NYSE:V  Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 25th. The credit-card processor reported $2.16 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $2.11 by $0.05. Visa had a net margin of 51.94% and a return on equity of 49.42%. The business had revenue of $8.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $8.06 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.98 earnings per share. The businesss quarterly revenue was up 11.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Visa Inc. will post 8.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Visa Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 1st. Investors of record on Friday, August 11th were given a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.78%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 10th. Visas payout ratio is 22.84%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on V. Credit Suisse Group raised their price objective on Visa from $265.00 to $275.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 26th. Barclays boosted their price target on Visa from $272.00 to $287.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Monday, July 24th. Raymond James lifted their target price on shares of Visa from $282.00 to $284.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 26th. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Visa from $270.00 to $275.00 in a report on Tuesday, July 18th. Finally, Truist Financial raised their price target on shares of Visa from $270.00 to $275.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $273.77.

Read Our Latest Analysis on V

Visa Profile

(Free Report)

Visa Inc operates as a payments technology company worldwide. The company operates VisaNet, a transaction processing network that enables authorization, clearing, and settlement of payment transactions. It also offers credit, debit, and prepaid card products; tap to pay, tokenization, click to pay; Visa Direct, a real-time payments network; Visa B2B Connect, a multilateral B2B cross-border payments network; Visa Treasury as a Service, a cross-border consumer payments business; and Visa DPS that provides a range of value added services, including fraud mitigation, dispute management, data analytics, campaign management, a suite of digital solutions, and contact center services.

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Summit Financial Strategies Inc. bought a new position in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE  Free Report) in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 5,796 shares of the biopharmaceutical companys stock, valued at approximately $213,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PFE. BancFirst Trust & Investment Management lifted its stake in Pfizer by 2.3% during the first quarter. BancFirst Trust & Investment Management now owns 17,794 shares of the biopharmaceutical companys stock valued at $719,000 after purchasing an additional 398 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Investment Advisors MI lifted its position in shares of Pfizer by 32.1% during the 1st quarter. Strategic Investment Advisors MI now owns 94,117 shares of the biopharmaceutical companys stock valued at $3,840,000 after acquiring an additional 22,879 shares during the last quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System boosted its stake in shares of Pfizer by 0.9% during the 1st quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 1,771,584 shares of the biopharmaceutical companys stock worth $72,281,000 after acquiring an additional 15,900 shares in the last quarter. MainStreet Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Pfizer by 1.6% in the 1st quarter. MainStreet Investment Advisors LLC now owns 197,477 shares of the biopharmaceutical companys stock worth $8,057,000 after acquiring an additional 3,099 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Center For Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Pfizer by 28.0% during the first quarter. Center For Asset Management LLC now owns 23,894 shares of the biopharmaceutical companys stock worth $975,000 after purchasing an additional 5,228 shares during the period. 68.05% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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Pfizer Trading Down 1.8 %

Shares of NYSE:PFE opened at $33.29 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $187.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.85, a P/E/G ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 0.61. The stocks 50-day moving average is $34.92 and its 200-day moving average is $37.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 1.82 and a current ratio of 2.12. Pfizer Inc. has a 52-week low of $31.77 and a 52-week high of $54.93.

Pfizer Announces Dividend

Pfizer ( NYSE:PFE Get Free Report ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 1st. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.57 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $12.73 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.36 billion. Pfizer had a net margin of 27.55% and a return on equity of 28.36%. Pfizers quarterly revenue was down 54.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.04 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Pfizer Inc. will post 3.32 earnings per share for the current year.

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 4th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 10th will be paid a $0.41 dividend. This represents a $1.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.93%. Pfizers dividend payout ratio is 43.62%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have issued reports on PFE shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Pfizer from $45.00 to $41.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 17th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on shares of Pfizer from $40.00 to $38.00 in a research report on Wednesday, August 2nd. StockNews.com started coverage on Pfizer in a report on Thursday, August 17th. They issued a hold rating for the company. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on Pfizer from $45.00 to $44.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 2nd. Finally, HSBC began coverage on Pfizer in a research report on Friday, July 14th. They set a buy rating and a $50.00 price target on the stock. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $46.18.

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Pfizer Company Profile

(Free Report)

Pfizer Inc discovers, develops, manufactures, markets, distributes, and sells biopharmaceutical products worldwide. It offers medicines and vaccines in various therapeutic areas, including cardiovascular metabolic, migraine, and women's health under the Eliquis, Nurtec ODT/Vydura, and the Premarin family brands; infectious diseases with unmet medical needs under the Prevnar family, Nimenrix, FSME/IMMUN-TicoVac, and Trumenba brands; and COVID-19 prevention and treatment, and potential future mRNA and antiviral products under the Comirnaty and Paxlovid brands.

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Want to see what other hedge funds are holding PFE? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE  Free Report).

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Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lowered its position in SPDR Gold Shares (NYSEARCA:GLD  Free Report) by 16.6% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,593 shares of the exchange traded funds stock after selling 1,707 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLCs holdings in SPDR Gold Shares were worth $1,532,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of GLD. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich boosted its stake in SPDR Gold Shares by 99,414.3% in the 2nd quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 23,805,806 shares of the exchange traded funds stock worth $4,243,861,000 after purchasing an additional 23,781,884 shares in the last quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in SPDR Gold Shares by 67,584.6% during the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,037,008 shares of the exchange traded funds stock valued at $515,198,000 after acquiring an additional 3,032,521 shares during the period. Toronto Dominion Bank lifted its stake in SPDR Gold Shares by 77.6% during the 1st quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 5,340,797 shares of the exchange traded funds stock valued at $978,543,000 after acquiring an additional 2,333,468 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its stake in SPDR Gold Shares by 256.0% during the 1st quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,142,717 shares of the exchange traded funds stock valued at $206,432,000 after acquiring an additional 821,773 shares during the period. Finally, Fullerton Fund Management Co Ltd. lifted its stake in SPDR Gold Shares by 4,847.1% during the 4th quarter. Fullerton Fund Management Co Ltd. now owns 622,043 shares of the exchange traded funds stock valued at $105,523,000 after acquiring an additional 609,469 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 40.99% of the companys stock.

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SPDR Gold Shares Stock Performance

Shares of NYSEARCA GLD opened at $169.13 on Thursday. SPDR Gold Shares has a 12 month low of $150.57 and a 12 month high of $191.36. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $177.52 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $181.15.

SPDR Gold Shares Profile

SPDR Gold Trust (the Trust) is an investment trust. The investment objective of the Trust is for the Shares to reflect the performance of the price of gold bullion, less the Trusts expenses. The Trusts business activity is the investment of gold. The Trust creates and redeems Shares from time to time, but in one or more Baskets (a Basket equals a block of 100,000 Shares).

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Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC  Free Report) by 3.7% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 15,273 shares of the utilities providers stock after acquiring an additional 539 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLCs holdings in WEC Energy Group were worth $1,348,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Advisors Capital Management LLC boosted its position in WEC Energy Group by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Advisors Capital Management LLC now owns 4,799 shares of the utilities providers stock valued at $444,000 after purchasing an additional 108 shares during the period. MGO One Seven LLC boosted its position in WEC Energy Group by 1.6% during the 1st quarter. MGO One Seven LLC now owns 7,111 shares of the utilities providers stock worth $674,000 after acquiring an additional 110 shares during the period. Stonebridge Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in WEC Energy Group by 12.1% during the 4th quarter. Stonebridge Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,059 shares of the utilities providers stock worth $99,000 after acquiring an additional 114 shares during the period. NewEdge Wealth LLC raised its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group by 1.7% in the 1st quarter. NewEdge Wealth LLC now owns 7,117 shares of the utilities providers stock worth $675,000 after buying an additional 118 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mcdonald Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group by 2.1% in the 2nd quarter. Mcdonald Partners LLC now owns 5,696 shares of the utilities providers stock worth $503,000 after buying an additional 118 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.75% of the companys stock.

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WEC Energy Group Stock Up 1.3 %

NYSE:WEC opened at $79.22 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.47, a PEG ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.41. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $75.47 and a 1-year high of $101.11. The company has a current ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30. The businesss fifty day moving average price is $85.06 and its 200 day moving average price is $89.62.

WEC Energy Group Announces Dividend

WEC Energy Group ( NYSE:WEC Get Free Report ) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.92 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $0.85 by $0.07. WEC Energy Group had a return on equity of 11.48% and a net margin of 14.57%. The firm had revenue of $1.83 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.05 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.91 earnings per share. The businesss quarterly revenue was down 14.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 4.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 14th were paid a $0.78 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 11th. This represents a $3.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.94%. WEC Energy Groups dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 72.73%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Barclays assumed coverage on WEC Energy Group in a research note on Wednesday, August 23rd. They issued an underweight rating and a $83.00 price objective on the stock. 888 reaffirmed a reiterates rating on shares of WEC Energy Group in a research report on Friday, June 30th. KeyCorp cut their target price on WEC Energy Group from $103.00 to $102.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 19th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on WEC Energy Group from $106.00 to $104.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, August 2nd. Finally, UBS Group cut their target price on WEC Energy Group from $87.00 to $80.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the companys stock. According to data from MarketBeat, WEC Energy Group presently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $94.00.

Get Our Latest Analysis on WEC Energy Group

WEC Energy Group Profile

(Free Report)

WEC Energy Group, Inc, through its subsidiaries, provides regulated natural gas and electricity, and renewable and nonregulated renewable energy services in the United States. The company operates through six segments: Wisconsin, Illinois, Other States, Electric Transmission, Non-Utility Energy Infrastructure, and Corporate and Other.

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Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lessened its position in shares of Nuveen ESG Large-Cap Growth ETF (BATS:NULG  Free Report) by 3.5% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 25,707 shares of the companys stock after selling 938 shares during the quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC owned about 0.15% of Nuveen ESG Large-Cap Growth ETF worth $1,599,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NULG. FMR LLC grew its stake in Nuveen ESG Large-Cap Growth ETF by 140.5% during the 1st quarter. FMR LLC now owns 517 shares of the companys stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 302 shares during the last quarter. ICA Group Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Nuveen ESG Large-Cap Growth ETF during the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in Nuveen ESG Large-Cap Growth ETF by 33.3% during the 2nd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 744 shares of the companys stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 186 shares during the period. Milestone Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Nuveen ESG Large-Cap Growth ETF during the 4th quarter worth approximately $61,000. Finally, Creative Planning acquired a new stake in Nuveen ESG Large-Cap Growth ETF during the 4th quarter worth approximately $77,000.

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Nuveen ESG Large-Cap Growth ETF Trading Up 1.2 %

Nuveen ESG Large-Cap Growth ETF stock opened at $59.66 on Thursday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $62.08 and a two-hundred day moving average of $59.44. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.18 and a beta of 1.12. Nuveen ESG Large-Cap Growth ETF has a twelve month low of $26.91 and a twelve month high of $34.04.

Nuveen ESG Large-Cap Growth ETF Profile

The Nuveen ESG Large-Cap Growth ETF (NULG) is an exchange-traded fund that is based on the MSCI TIAA ESG USA Large Cap Growth index. The fund tracks an index composed of large-cap US companies with growth characteristics that also meet certain environmental, social, and governance (ESG) criteria. NULG was launched on Dec 13, 2016 and is managed by Nuveen.

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Noting that 106 tmc water is required, but there is only 56 tmc in Cauvery basin reservoirs, Shivakumar said that inflow had increased during the last couple of days due to some rains, but it has now come down. PTI

Bengaluru: Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar on Thursday said that the state has filed a petition before the Cauvery Water Management Authority (CWMA) seeking a review of its order on the release of water to Tamil Nadu, and the government is making all preparations to go ahead with the Mekedatu balancing reservoir across the river.

Pointing out at the scarcity of water at the reservoirs in the Cauvery basin, despite rains in some areas in the past couple of days, Shivakumar, also the state's Water Resources Minister, said the government has managed to save the standing crops in the region and is hoping for more rains in the days to come for the situation to improve.

"We have already appealed (before CWMA) expressing our inability to release even 3,000 cusecs; not sure when it will be taken up. We have also made a proposal regarding the Mekedatu issue. We are in full work, and we are making all the legal preparations required for it," he told reporters here.

Asked if the state will also go before the Supreme Court on the issue, he said, "...we will have to go stage by stage, or else it (our petition), will not be entertained in the courts."

To a question on formulating a distress water-sharing formula to be followed in times of deficit rains, he said, "Let this year get over, we will see later...ask our MPs regarding it."

The CWMA on September 29 asked Karnataka to release 3,000 cusecs of water daily to Tamil Nadu till October 15, despite the upper riparian state stating that there is not enough storage in its reservoirs.

The Karnataka government has been maintaining that construction of the Mekedatu balancing reservoir across the river near Kanakapura in Ramanagara district is the only solution to resolve the inter-state water dispute during distress years.

Tamil Nadu is opposed to this project, claiming it would be detrimental to its interest and that of its farmers.

Noting that 106 tmc water is required, but there is only 56 tmc in Cauvery basin reservoirs, Shivakumar said that inflow had increased during the last couple of days due to some rains, but it has now come down.

"Inflow of 23,000 cusecs was there on October 2. It was 13,000 cusecs on October 1, 20,000 cusecs on October 3, and 15,000 cusecs on October 4. On October 5, it came down to 10,000 cusecs," he said.

The DCM claimed that the standing crops of the state's farmers have been protected with this water, and called it a respite.

"Drought has been declared and we have requested the agriculture department to ensure that there is no more fresh cropping until there is an intimation about enough water. Another spell of rain is expected some time next month. We will decide based on that," Shivakumar added.
The day-long meeting of EC's police, general and expenditure observers is aimed at streamlining strategy to ensure that the model code is implemented effectively and money and muscle power does not disturb the level playing field. (Image: eci.gov.in)

New Delhi: The Election Commission of India has called a meeting of its observers on Friday for a briefing by the EC officials and its various verticals with regard to the upcoming Assembly elections in five states. These observers will be positioned in various election bound states. Sources said this was a routine exercise done before the polls.

The EC is expected to announce the schedule for Assembly polls in five states in the coming days. Assembly polls are likely to be held in Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Telangana, Mizoram and Rajasthan in November-December.

The day-long meeting of ECs police, general and expenditure observers is aimed at streamlining strategy to ensure that the model code is implemented effectively and money and muscle power does not disturb the level playing field.
Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi during a public meeting, in Dhar, Madhya Pradesh. (Image: PTI)

Bhopal: Accusing the Enforcement Directorate of overlooking corruption in the Madhya Pradesh state government, AICC general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra alleged that the Central agency was targeting Congress-run governments even as 250 scandals took place under the rule of Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan.

Dismissing the charges, the BJP said the Congress leader had no knowledge about Madhya Pradesh and only read the speech produced by state Congress chief Kamal Nath.

"She is not aware of Madhya Pradesh. She makes wild allegations without any basis. She visited the state as a guest politician," BJP spokesman Dr Hitesh Vajpayee said.

Priyanka was also skeptical regarding the implementation of the womens reservation bill, which was passed in the Parliament recently. The bill may not be implemented within the next 10 years, she claimed.

She said that the Congress, if voted to power in Madhya Pradesh, would fulfil its promises of providing a monthly incentive of Rs 1,500 to women and write off crop loans of farmers.
In a post on X, Vishal said the production company was asked to pay Rs 3 lakh first just for the screening, while the remaining amount of Rs 3.5 lakh was for the certificate. DC image

Tamil actor Vishal, who made a comeback of sorts with his hit film Mark Antory, had made startling allegations against few members and officials of Central Board of Film Certification.

In a swift reaction to charges, the Central Bureau of Investigation has registered a case against three private persons and several unknown people, including the officials of the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC). The actor had alleged that he had to pay a bribe of Rs 6.5 lakh to get a censor certificate for the Hindi version of his film, Mark Antony. The Hindi version of the film was released on September 28.

"It was alleged that during the month of September, 2023, a private person entered a conspiracy with others to obtain a bribe of Rs.7,00,000/- & to get the required censor certificate from CBFC, Mumbai for a movie dubbed in Hindi," CBI said in a statement.

"It was further alleged that in furtherance of the said conspiracy, she initially demanded bribe on behalf of CBFC Mumbai officials amounting to Rs.7,00,000/- from the Complainant and subsequently after negotiation, she allegedly accepted Rs.6,54,000/- as bribe on behalf of CBFC Mumbai officials in two bank accounts of other two accused," it added.

The agency said the accused allegedly obtained 20,000 in her bank account from a private company.

The agency conducted searches at four places in Mumbai that were linked to the accused and others. They recovered incriminating documents. Those booked have been identified as Merlin Menaga, Jeeja Ramdas and Rajan M.

Earlier, in a video, Vishal, addressing Maharashtra CM Eknath Shinde and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, said, "We applied for a certificate online and we had to come in at the last minute due to some technical issue. But, we were taken aback by what happened at the CBFC office in Mumbai. When my person visited the office, we were given an option to pay the price of 6.5 lakh and get the certification the same day. We were left with no option."

"We were supposed to give 3 lakh for the screening to happen at the CBFC and another 3.5 lakh to get the certificate," he said.

He said a woman told him that it was common practice that people paid 4 lakh when they submitted films 15 days ahead of the release date. "We had no option, we paid the money in two instalments. If this is the case in government offices, I really request higher authorities to look into this matter," he said.
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Minister for IT, E&C, MA&UD, Industries and Commerce K.T. Rama Rao blow a conch participating in the Pragati Nivedana Saba (meeting) followed by inauguration of Various Development Works at Kukatpally. (Image By Arrangement)

HYDERABAD: BRS working president and IT minister K.T. Rama Rao on Thursday predicted that state Congress president A. Revanth Reddy would take a handful of MLAs and join the BJP after the elections.

Terming the Congress the B Team of the BJP, Rama Rao called Revanth Reddy Godse, recalled the TPCC chiefs past association with the RSS and said that the Congress in Telangana is led by an RSS leader. "Former Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh wrote to Sonia Gandhi questioning why an RSS leader was made the Telangana Congress president," he said.

Rama Rao said: "Congress will probably win in 10 seats and after that, Revanth Reddy will take these MLAs and join the BJP."

The BRS leader was addressing a series of public meetings at Shadnagar, Raviryal, Vikarabad and Kukatpally constituencies.

"Revanth Reddy, as well as BJP state president G. Kishan Reddy, have no stature and are political pygmies. These two lack the stature to fight with KCR, who risked his life for Telangana statehood. Kishan Reddy ran away when asked to resign during the Telangana movement and Revanth Reddy was a thief who was caught red-handed in the vote for note case," Rama Rao said.

He said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi also could not compare to Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao when it came to taking care of farmers and their needs. "KCR gave Rythu Bandhu, Rythu Bima and uninterrupted and free electricity to farmers, while Modi promised to double farmers' income by 2022 and did nothing about it," he said.

"All Modi did was to double farmers' problems, not farmers income," he said.

Cautioning the public against the Congress and BJP, he said: "BJP is bringing money from Adani, and Congress is bringing money from Karnataka to try and win in the coming elections. When they come, take their money, but vote for BRS."

Addressing a meeting in Raviryal, where he inaugurated a new mega Vijaya Dairy facility spread over 40 acres and built at Rs 250 crore, Rama Rao said the state government has, so far, spent Rs 350 crore towards incentives to dairy farmers. The new facility can manufacture tetra brick packs for one lakh litres of milk a day.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and former Rajasthan CM Vasundhara Raje during a public meeting, in Jodhpur on Thursday. (Image: PTI)

New Delhi, Jodhpur: While Indias voice is being heard all over the world today, the Congress has a problem with it, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Thursday.

Speaking during a rally in poll-bound Rajasthan, Modi accused the Congress of opposing Bharat in its pursuit to oppose the BJP.

The Prime Minister laid the foundation stone and inaugurated development works worth nearly Rs 5,000 crore during an event in Jaipur.

Later, attacking the Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot-led government over corruption, the Prime Minister said the paper leak mafia in the state had ruined the future of lakhs of youth, who are now demanding justice.

The Prime Minister also mentioned the red diary  referring to sacked Rajasthan minister Rajendra Gudhas claims about a diary containing details about the financial transactions of Gehlot.

"It has a record of every act of corruption by the Congress in the state. A BJP government will have to be formed in the state to expose it," he said.

Modi alleged that the Congress-led state government has made Rajasthan top in the country in terms of corruption and riots. "The BJP government at the Center is making every effort towards developing Rajasthan, but it is very sad to see the situation here. The Congress has made Rajasthan the top state in the country in terms of corruption, riots, and atrocities against women and Dalits," the Prime Minister alleged.

He claimed that in its five years, the Congress government did not take a single step forward and their power politics continues all the time. "The Congress, which had promised unemployment allowance during the election, handed over the youth to the paper leak mafia. The BJP government will take strict action against such paper leak mafia," he said.

"The BJP aims to make Rajasthan the top state in the tourism sector and will take development to every corner upon forming the government," Modi stated.

"The Congress neither cares about the farmers nor soldiers. They can't see anything except being in power. The Congress loves its vote bank more than the interests of the people," he said.

The rally, organised in Gehlots Sardarpura Assembly constituency, was Modis third rally within two weeks in the state.

The Prime Minister stated that stories of India's influence are being heard from across the world  from America to Singapore to Japan  but the Congress does not like it and is sad.

"While opposing the BJP, the Congress has started opposing Bharat. Today India's voice is being heard all over the world. But, the Congress has a problem with this. The BJP government made India the fifth largest economic power, up from the 10th rank. But the Congress has an issue with this as well. It is a Modi guarantee that in a few years, the country's economy reaches the third rank," he said.

Modi promised that if the BJP forms the government in Rajasthan, it will bring jobs, wipe out the paper leak mafia and take development to every corner of the state.

Taking a dig at Gehlot, the Prime Minister said, "Gehlot was missing from the government programme because he was confident that everything would be fine if Modi visited".

"You all have heard about Red Diary. People say that every black act of corruption of the Congress is recorded in this red diary. If you want the secret of this red diary to come out, then it is necessary to form a BJP government in the state," he said.

Modi also hit out at the Congress and its alliance partners over the women's reservation bill. "A few days ago, the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam was passed in the Parliament. However, this has exposed the Congress leaders and its arrogant alliance. These people were never in support of women's reservations. Which is why after this bill was passed, they have become nervous," he said.

He further noted that the Congress and its allies are unable to understand how Modi fulfilled this guarantee given to the sisters.

"These people do not know that if it is a Modi guarantee, it will be fulfilled," the Prime Minister stated.
A Boeing 737 Max jet. (AP File Photo)

Till not so long ago, whenever one thought about aviation, it was mostly about the United States and its world-dominating aircraft manufacturers. This was even more so when talking about military fighter aircraft. In the 1970s, there were several manufacturers in the US, Europe and the then Soviet Union, but American aircraft were usually preferred. The Europeans -- France and Sweden in particular, as well as the Anglo-French consortium -- too made fighter jets, but they had a narrower customer base of non-Western developing nations who could not afford or get American combat aircraft.

US warplanes then (and today) have a restrictive process for foreign buyers, and needed political clearance from Washington, which meant that the most modern aircraft went to "friendly" nations, and definitely not those linked with its perceived enemies. The Pentagon and the state department called the shots.

This continued till the Soviet Unions dismemberment in 1991, with the world fighter market dominated by the mutual "fear" factor created by "threat perception" of the US-led West and the USSR and its allies. Moscow then had 10 large fighter-cum-transport companies: Antonov, Beriev, Ilyushin, Kamov, MiG, Mil, Myasishchev, Sukhoi, Tupolev and Yakovlev. Though not perceived at par with "superior" Western technology, it still had its loyal, committed customer-base and a growing Third World clientele, mainly due to the Wests strong "pick-and-choose" policy, of which India is well aware.

As the West, primarily the US, tried to "contain" New Delhi over its perceived closeness to Moscow, and blocked its access to fighter and military technology its no surprise the USSRs share of Indias defence market kept increasing. The United States too had over a dozen mega corporations competing among themselves to supply the needs of the Pentagon and its friends and allies, as it tried to enhance the profitability of its corporations and curb other aircraft manufacturers in the West to check cut-throat competition.

When the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan in December 1979, the US had 84 "live" aircraft makers, of which 17 companies -- Beechcraft, Bell, Boeing, Cessna, Fairchild, Learjet, General Dynamics, Grumman, Gulfstream, Kaman, Lockheed, McDonnell Douglas, Northrop, Piper, Rockwell, Sikorsky and Vought were dominant.

In its heyday, the American aviation industry offered a variety of fighters, helicopters and transports to every buyer. But things

rapidly changed from late twentieth and early twenty-first century. Two defining developments posed a serious challenge to US civil and military aviation manufacturing. The vacuum created by the USSRs demise was promptly filled by an initially benign but subsequently hostile and aggressive Dragon, challenging the "Made in USA" tag.

From the 1970s, the US sold over 4,600 F-16 fighters to 30-plus air forces, but the range and variety dwindled fast owing to mega-mergers and acquisition of its big corporations in the post-Cold War era. Biggies like General Dynamics, McDonnell Douglas, Rockwell and Vought no longer exist as independent outfits. Northrop and Grumman combined into one Northrop-Grumman company since 1994, making B-21 strategic bombers and E-2 Hawkeye Airborne Early Warning and Control Systems (AWACS). The biggest and largest combat aviation company, McDonnell Douglas, is Boeing since August 1997. Clearly, the US system wont tolerate anything other than "survival of the fittest and strongest", with deep pockets. Little wonder that the two main combat US aircraft companies now are Boeing and Lockheed as all others have been consumed by them, thereby making it a duopoly fighter market.

Americas internal turbulence was thus a God-sent opportunity for the Dragon to penetrate deep into the US economic, commercial, technical, research and development facility system and create a tsunami, which also led to destabilisation of the American polity. Donald Trumps "Make America Great Again" (MAGA) movement can be attributed in part to the clear qualitative decline of the US once redoubtable fighter aircraft dominance. Due to a series of monumental blunders by the US leadership and the big investors sole motive being profits, US aviation has been stung deep. The main combat aircraft companies do not any longer produce in-house aircraft parts. Outsourcing is resorted to in order to save time, costs and labour and enhance profits. In the process, the US has compromised with the safety, security and quality of its aviation products. The best of companies with reputation for quality are facing a crisis of confidence as their future appears bleak.

How else does one justify or defend the inexplicable Boeing 737 MAX accidents and the subsequent grounding of the entire fleet for over two years, leading to a colossal loss for the 107-year-old companys credibility, quality, manpower and balance sheet?

Thats not all. Today, the worst possible nightmare for US military aviation is being faced by Lockheed Martin, the maker of the much-hyped F-35, which stands as the sole combat aircraft without any quality backup to fight and fly in the sky. Thats really unusual as traditionally the US Air Force had the flexibility of at least a pair of fighters to complement each other, such as for "high" or "low" altitude air warfare. But the rot gripped the F-35, and incredible though as it may sound, the Dragon in the US companys boardroom disrupted and ruptured the pride of the West, at least for the foreseeable future. The F-35s "request-for-proposal" took place in 1995, and the first delivery happened only in 2011; after over 15 years! Most devastating, however, remains the recurring problem of accidents, some of which are mysterious and inexplicable.

Janes Defence Weekly reported on November 10, 2010: "Troubled F-35 faces further US government review". On May 12, 2012, BBC News said: "Year-long probe found 1,800 cases of fake parts in US military aircraft; weak US supply chain and Chinas counterfeit market parts used in C-130J and Navy P-8A Poseidon" aircraft. Both the latter aircraft are, incidentally, in the Indian Air Forces inventory today.

Worse news came in January 2014: the Pentagon itself had "waived laws banning China-built components in US weapons systems to keep the $392 billion Lockheed-Martin F-35 fighter programme on track".

Today, all Washington DC is complaining loudly at the China-inflicted damage to its weapons systems. But who created the Dragon menace in the first place? Why did the senior most US officials continue with their frequent visits to Beijing despite the clear evidence of Chinese espionage?

The eternally profit-pursuing Americans may themselves be destroying the US State forever. The Indian Air Force should take note of the plight of American aviation today and focus solely on indigenisation as it celebrates its 91st foundation day on October 8.
Allworth Financial LP boosted its stake in Medical Properties Trust, Inc. (NYSE:MPW  Free Report) by 57.5% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,137 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock after purchasing an additional 2,972 shares during the quarter. Allworth Financial LPs holdings in Medical Properties Trust were worth $75,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Register Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Medical Properties Trust in the first quarter valued at about $25,000. Private Trust Co. NA raised its stake in Medical Properties Trust by 64.0% during the first quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 3,289 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 1,284 shares in the last quarter. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. raised its stake in Medical Properties Trust by 158.9% during the second quarter. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. now owns 2,933 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 1,800 shares in the last quarter. Nvwm LLC acquired a new position in Medical Properties Trust during the first quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, BOKF NA acquired a new position in Medical Properties Trust during the first quarter worth about $41,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.46% of the companys stock.

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Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded Medical Properties Trust from a neutral rating to an underweight rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $9.00 to $7.00 in a research note on Monday, August 21st. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an outperform rating and set a $10.00 target price on shares of Medical Properties Trust in a research note on Monday, September 25th. Mizuho downgraded Medical Properties Trust from a buy rating to a neutral rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $18.00 to $9.00 in a research note on Thursday, August 31st. Barclays reduced their price target on Medical Properties Trust from $12.00 to $10.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, August 22nd. Finally, Truist Financial reduced their price target on Medical Properties Trust from $10.00 to $6.00 in a report on Friday, September 29th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $10.27.

Medical Properties Trust Stock Performance

Shares of MPW stock opened at $5.26 on Thursday. The businesss 50 day simple moving average is $7.18 and its 200 day simple moving average is $8.14. Medical Properties Trust, Inc. has a one year low of $4.92 and a one year high of $14.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.15 billion, a PE ratio of 47.82, a PEG ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 2.88 and a quick ratio of 2.88.

Medical Properties Trust Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, September 14th will be issued a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 11.41%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 13th. Medical Properties Trusts payout ratio is presently 545.45%.

Medical Properties Trust Profile

(Free Report)

Medical Properties Trust, Inc is a self-advised real estate investment trust formed in 2003 to acquire and develop net-leased hospital facilities. From its inception in Birmingham, Alabama, the Company has grown to become one of the world's largest owners of hospital real estate with 444 facilities and approximately 44,000 licensed beds in ten countries and across four continents.

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New Mexico Educational Retirement Board lifted its stake in Leidos Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:LDOS  Free Report) by 4.8% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 6,600 shares of the aerospace companys stock after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the quarter. New Mexico Educational Retirement Boards holdings in Leidos were worth $584,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Private Advisor Group LLC raised its position in Leidos by 56.7% during the first quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 6,633 shares of the aerospace companys stock valued at $716,000 after acquiring an additional 2,399 shares in the last quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS raised its position in shares of Leidos by 6.6% in the first quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 18,778 shares of the aerospace companys stock valued at $2,028,000 after purchasing an additional 1,163 shares during the period. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Leidos in the first quarter valued at approximately $211,000. Raymond James Trust N.A. raised its position in shares of Leidos by 56.6% in the first quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 5,897 shares of the aerospace companys stock valued at $637,000 after purchasing an additional 2,131 shares during the period. Finally, Blair William & Co. IL bought a new position in shares of Leidos in the first quarter valued at approximately $221,000. 74.71% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Leidos Stock Down 1.4 %

LDOS opened at $91.33 on Thursday. Leidos Holdings, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $76.58 and a fifty-two week high of $110.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.25 and a quick ratio of 1.14. The firms fifty day moving average price is $95.48 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $89.85. The company has a market capitalization of $12.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.84, a P/E/G ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 0.78.

Leidos Dividend Announcement

Leidos ( NYSE:LDOS Get Free Report ) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, August 1st. The aerospace company reported $1.80 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.57 by $0.23. Leidos had a net margin of 4.77% and a return on equity of 20.97%. The company had revenue of $3.80 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.72 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.59 EPS. The firms revenue for the quarter was up 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Leidos Holdings, Inc. will post 6.64 EPS for the current year.

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 15th were paid a $0.36 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, September 14th. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.58%. Leidoss dividend payout ratio is presently 28.13%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Harry M. Jansen Kraemer, Jr. sold 3,098 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction on Friday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.95, for a total value of $300,351.10. Following the sale, the director now owns 84,277 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,170,655.15. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 1.52% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on LDOS shares. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Leidos from $90.00 to $106.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 8th. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Leidos from $107.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of Leidos from $119.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Tuesday. TheStreet upgraded shares of Leidos from a c+ rating to a b- rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 9th. Finally, StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Leidos in a research note on Thursday, August 17th. They issued a buy rating on the stock. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the companys stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $112.80.

View Our Latest Stock Report on Leidos

Leidos Profile

(Free Report)

Leidos Holdings, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides services and solutions in the defense, intelligence, civil, and health markets in the United States and internationally. It operates through three segments: Defense Solutions, Civil, and Health. The Defense Solutions segment offers national security solutions and systems for air, land, sea, space, and cyberspace for the U.S.

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Louisiana State Employees Retirement System boosted its position in shares of Walker & Dunlop, Inc. (NYSE:WD  Free Report) by 14.0% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 16,300 shares of the financial services providers stock after buying an additional 2,000 shares during the period. Louisiana State Employees Retirement Systems holdings in Walker & Dunlop were worth $1,289,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of WD. Advisor Group Holdings Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Walker & Dunlop by 5.7% in the 1st quarter. Advisor Group Holdings Inc. now owns 2,145 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $262,000 after purchasing an additional 115 shares in the last quarter. Citigroup Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Walker & Dunlop by 1.7% in the 1st quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 28,424 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $3,678,000 after purchasing an additional 465 shares in the last quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Walker & Dunlop by 47.8% in the 1st quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 15,223 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $1,970,000 after purchasing an additional 4,925 shares in the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers boosted its stake in shares of Walker & Dunlop by 2.4% in the 1st quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 79,654 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $10,309,000 after purchasing an additional 1,846 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Great West Life Assurance Co. Can boosted its stake in shares of Walker & Dunlop by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can now owns 26,233 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $3,482,000 after purchasing an additional 260 shares in the last quarter. 77.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Wedbush lifted their target price on shares of Walker & Dunlop from $90.00 to $105.00 in a research report on Friday, August 4th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Walker & Dunlop from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 27th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on shares of Walker & Dunlop from $102.00 to $89.00 in a research report on Tuesday.

Walker & Dunlop Stock Performance

Walker & Dunlop stock opened at $68.76 on Thursday. Walker & Dunlop, Inc. has a 52-week low of $61.06 and a 52-week high of $101.02. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $82.69 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $77.97. The firm has a market cap of $2.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.18 and a beta of 1.44.

Walker & Dunlop (NYSE:WD  Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 3rd. The financial services provider reported $0.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.06 by ($0.08). Walker & Dunlop had a return on equity of 9.73% and a net margin of 12.85%. The firm had revenue of $272.62 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $257.99 million. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Walker & Dunlop, Inc. will post 4.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Walker & Dunlop Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 17th were issued a dividend of $0.63 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 16th. This represents a $2.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.66%. Walker & Dunlops payout ratio is 59.29%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Walker & Dunlop news, President Howard W. Smith III sold 20,000 shares of the firms stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.13, for a total transaction of $1,622,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the president now owns 197,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,982,610. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Paula A. Pryor sold 1,135 shares of Walker & Dunlop stock in a transaction on Friday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.00, for a total value of $99,880.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 7,426 shares in the company, valued at approximately $653,488. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, President Howard W. Smith III sold 20,000 shares of Walker & Dunlop stock in a transaction on Friday, September 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.13, for a total transaction of $1,622,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the president now owns 197,000 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $15,982,610. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 58,084 shares of company stock worth $4,846,409. 5.47% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Walker & Dunlop Company Profile

(Free Report)

Walker & Dunlop, Inc, through its subsidiaries, originates, sells, and services a range of multifamily and other commercial real estate financing products and services for owners and developers of real estate in the United States. The company offers first mortgage, second trust, supplemental, construction, mezzanine, preferred equity, and small-balance loans.

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Leidos (NYSE:LDOS  Get Free Report) had its price target hoisted by research analysts at Stifel Nicolaus from $119.00 to $120.00 in a research report issued on Tuesday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The brokerage currently has a buy rating on the aerospace companys stock. Stifel Nicolaus price objective would suggest a potential upside of 31.39% from the companys current price.

LDOS has been the subject of several other reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Leidos from $102.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 2nd. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Leidos in a research report on Thursday, August 17th. They set a buy rating on the stock. TheStreet raised Leidos from a c+ rating to a b- rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Leidos from $114.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Thursday, August 3rd. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on shares of Leidos from $90.00 to $106.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 8th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $112.80.

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Read Our Latest Research Report on LDOS

Leidos Price Performance

Leidos stock opened at $91.33 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.84, a PEG ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 0.78. Leidos has a 1 year low of $76.58 and a 1 year high of $110.91. The business has a 50-day moving average of $95.48 and a 200-day moving average of $89.85. The company has a current ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00.

Leidos (NYSE:LDOS  Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, August 1st. The aerospace company reported $1.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.57 by $0.23. The company had revenue of $3.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.72 billion. Leidos had a return on equity of 20.97% and a net margin of 4.77%. The companys revenue for the quarter was up 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.59 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Leidos will post 6.64 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Leidos

In other Leidos news, Director Harry M. Jansen Kraemer, Jr. sold 3,098 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.95, for a total transaction of $300,351.10. Following the transaction, the director now owns 84,277 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,170,655.15. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 1.52% of the companys stock.

Institutional Trading of Leidos

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of LDOS. Private Advisor Group LLC boosted its holdings in Leidos by 56.7% in the 1st quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 6,633 shares of the aerospace companys stock valued at $716,000 after purchasing an additional 2,399 shares during the period. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS raised its position in shares of Leidos by 6.6% in the 1st quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 18,778 shares of the aerospace companys stock valued at $2,028,000 after buying an additional 1,163 shares in the last quarter. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Leidos in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $211,000. Raymond James Trust N.A. raised its position in shares of Leidos by 56.6% in the 1st quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 5,897 shares of the aerospace companys stock valued at $637,000 after buying an additional 2,131 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Blair William & Co. IL acquired a new position in shares of Leidos in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $221,000. Institutional investors own 74.71% of the companys stock.

About Leidos

(Get Free Report)

Leidos Holdings, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides services and solutions in the defense, intelligence, civil, and health markets in the United States and internationally. It operates through three segments: Defense Solutions, Civil, and Health. The Defense Solutions segment offers national security solutions and systems for air, land, sea, space, and cyberspace for the U.S.

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Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. grew its position in HP Inc. (NYSE:HPQ  Free Report) by 14.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 11,622 shares of the computer makers stock after buying an additional 1,503 shares during the quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD.s holdings in HP were worth $357,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in HPQ. KCS Wealth Advisory boosted its holdings in shares of HP by 1.0% during the second quarter. KCS Wealth Advisory now owns 36,325 shares of the computer makers stock worth $1,116,000 after purchasing an additional 362 shares during the period. Centennial Wealth Advisory LLC boosted its holdings in shares of HP by 28.1% during the second quarter. Centennial Wealth Advisory LLC now owns 13,395 shares of the computer makers stock worth $411,000 after purchasing an additional 2,940 shares during the period. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board boosted its holdings in shares of HP by 2.4% during the second quarter. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board now owns 42,008 shares of the computer makers stock worth $1,290,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares during the period. Impact Partnership Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of HP during the second quarter worth approximately $364,000. Finally, Wedmont Private Capital boosted its holdings in shares of HP by 62.7% during the second quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 11,794 shares of the computer makers stock worth $387,000 after purchasing an additional 4,546 shares during the period. 76.04% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc sold 1,352,264 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.69, for a total transaction of $34,739,662.16. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 106,047,751 shares of the companys stock, valued at $2,724,366,723.19. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other HP news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc sold 1,352,264 shares of HP stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.69, for a total transaction of $34,739,662.16. Following the sale, the insider now owns 106,047,751 shares in the company, valued at $2,724,366,723.19. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Enrique Lores sold 38,000 shares of HP stock in a transaction on Monday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.75, for a total transaction of $978,500.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 728,268 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,752,901. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 14,468,003 shares of company stock valued at $388,586,772. 0.32% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

HP Stock Down 0.4 %

NYSE:HPQ opened at $26.04 on Thursday. HP Inc. has a 12 month low of $24.08 and a 12 month high of $33.90. The firm has a market cap of $25.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.22, a P/E/G ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.04. The companys 50 day moving average is $29.83 and its 200-day moving average is $30.12.

HP (NYSE:HPQ  Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, August 29th. The computer maker reported $0.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts consensus estimates of $0.86. HP had a net margin of 4.23% and a negative return on equity of 113.55%. The business had revenue of $13.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.38 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.04 earnings per share. HPs revenue was down 9.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that HP Inc. will post 3.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of HP from $40.00 to $39.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 30th. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of HP from $24.00 to $23.00 and set an underweight rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, August 30th. Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of HP from $32.00 to $30.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, August 30th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of HP from $32.00 to $30.00 and set an equal weight rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, August 30th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of HP from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, HP currently has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $30.45.

Check Out Our Latest Stock Report on HPQ

About HP

(Free Report)

HP Inc provides products, technologies, software, solutions, and services to individual consumers, small- and medium-sized businesses, and large enterprises, including customers in the government, health, and education sectors worldwide. It operates through Personal Systems and Printing segments. The Personal Systems segment offers commercial personal computers (PCs), consumer PCs, workstations, thin clients, commercial tablets and mobility devices, retail point-of-sale systems, displays and other related accessories, software, support, and services for the commercial and consumer markets.

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Ingersoll Rand Inc. (NYSE:IR  Free Report)  Equities research analysts at Zacks Research upped their Q1 2024 earnings per share estimates for Ingersoll Rand in a report issued on Tuesday, October 3rd. Zacks Research analyst E. Haque now anticipates that the industrial products company will post earnings of $0.64 per share for the quarter, up from their prior estimate of $0.63. The consensus estimate for Ingersoll Rands current full-year earnings is $2.67 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Ingersoll Rands Q2 2024 earnings at $0.68 EPS, FY2024 earnings at $2.76 EPS, Q2 2025 earnings at $0.72 EPS and FY2025 earnings at $2.95 EPS.

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Several other brokerages have also recently commented on IR. Barclays decreased their target price on Ingersoll Rand from $76.00 to $74.00 in a research report on Thursday, September 7th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Ingersoll Rand from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Friday, August 4th. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on shares of Ingersoll Rand from $66.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research note on Friday, August 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on Ingersoll Rand from $76.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Thursday, August 3rd. Finally, Citigroup boosted their target price on Ingersoll Rand from $67.00 to $75.00 in a research note on Monday, July 10th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the companys stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ingersoll Rand has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $69.18.

Ingersoll Rand Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of Ingersoll Rand stock opened at $63.26 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 2.29 and a quick ratio of 1.62. The company has a market capitalization of $25.58 billion, a PE ratio of 36.78, a P/E/G ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.44. Ingersoll Rand has a 1-year low of $43.57 and a 1-year high of $70.65. The business has a 50-day moving average of $66.77 and a 200-day moving average of $62.37.

Ingersoll Rand (NYSE:IR  Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 2nd. The industrial products company reported $0.65 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $0.54 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $1.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.58 billion. Ingersoll Rand had a net margin of 10.89% and a return on equity of 11.20%.

Institutional Trading of Ingersoll Rand

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Ingersoll Rand by 6.3% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 3,716 shares of the industrial products companys stock valued at $235,000 after buying an additional 221 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC boosted its position in Ingersoll Rand by 37.3% during the 2nd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 548,353 shares of the industrial products companys stock valued at $35,839,000 after buying an additional 148,891 shares during the period. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. bought a new position in Ingersoll Rand in the second quarter worth about $81,000. Comerica Bank bought a new position in shares of Ingersoll Rand during the second quarter valued at approximately $108,050,000. Finally, Imprint Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Ingersoll Rand during the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,507,000. 94.54% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Vikram Kini sold 169,153 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.43, for a total value of $11,744,292.79. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 47,917 shares of the companys stock, valued at $3,326,877.31. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.83% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Ingersoll Rand Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 21st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 23rd were issued a dividend of $0.02 per share. This represents a $0.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.13%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 22nd. Ingersoll Rands dividend payout ratio is currently 4.65%.

About Ingersoll Rand

(Get Free Report)

Ingersoll Rand Inc provides various mission-critical air, fluid, energy, specialty vehicle, and medical technologies in the United States, Europe, the Middle East, India, Africa, and the Asia Pacific. It operates through two segments, Industrial Technologies and Services, and Precision and Science Technologies.

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Local campaign group 'Your Ebrington' will hold its fourth rally in Ebrington Square this weekend.

It comes as local elected representatives meet with The Executive Office (TEO) to discuss reinstatement of events for 2024.

Speaking to Derry Now, a spokesperson for 'Your Ebrington' said, "We know all too well that there are a great many things sorely lacking in our beautiful city. The prime example being a bustling University, the graduate level jobs that come with it, the infrastructure to bring people to us, the nightlife that thousands of students attract and the dedication and vision that is required to see all that through.

"The one thing that we punch above our weight on already - events. In the next few weeks thousands of people will descend on Derry from all over Ireland, and further afield, to celebrate on our streets. And this has been the case for decades.

"More than 100,000 people turned out last year for the four day Halloween festival in this city which brings desperately needed revenue to local businesses and desperately needed smiles to local peoples faces for at least a few days of the year.

"So when we hear civil servants currently in charge of our governance tell us that our event offering will be less going forward, we rightly get angry. There isn't a lot to cheer about on a daily basis for many people in our city due to unemployment, underemployment, poverty, mental and physical ill health, addiction and high levels of suicide. But we still manage to plaster on a smile when required and enjoy ourselves when we can.

"We aren't asking for much. In fact, all we're asking for is that their own vision for Ebrington be achieved with regularly scheduled events in the Square. We don't want another Fort George with promises unfulfilled and space utilised for offices instead.

"We will continue to fight for this as long as people stand with us. We're gathering again this Saturday, October 7, at 2pm in Ebrington. We will have a little surprise for people this week mainly to thank them for their continued support for the issue and to remind them what we're doing it for. Everyone welcome."
With publication of the Kenova report  an investigation into the activities of notorious British agent Freddie Scappaticci - imminent, Richard ORawes book Stakeknifes Dirty War: The inside story of Scappaticci, the IRAs nutting squad and the British spooks who ran the war is cogent, comprehensive and well-timed.

As illuminating as it is compelling, Stakeknifes Dirty War is a valuable addition to the literary canon of Irish and British political science - and maybe political psychology, too.

It was US Air Force Lieutenant Colonel Robert Makros who described clean war as the unicorn of armed conflict. Writing in 2017, Makros said there was no such thing as a clean war.

Author Richard O'Rawe at the Derry launch of 'Stakeknife's Dirty War' with Republican prisoners Dixie Elliott and John Crawley, author of 'The Yank'.

Nowhere is this analysis more accurate than when a methodical and even-handed ORawe interrogates the suggestion the British state acted as agent provocateur during the war in the North.

Speaking to this paper before the books Derry launch on Saturday, in the Ex-POP Centre in William Street, ORawe cited the case of Patsy Gillespie from the city.

In October 1990, Patsy Gillespie and five British soldiers died at the Coshquin checkpoint on the outskirts of Derry when the bomb in the van he was driving was detonated.

ORawe said: There has been a proposition that the British were actually acting as agents provocateurs on many occasions. They were allowing operations, which would kill civilians and outrage the public against the IRA, to go through.

There is tactical merit in that proposition, but whether there is hard evidence is another matter. I always try to look for the hard evidence, and although there is no hard evidence, both British/Irish Human Rights Watch and Ian Hurst (aka Martin Ingram) are of the same view.

A section of the audience attending the Derry Launch of 'Stakeknife's Dirty War' in the Republican Ex-Prisoners' Centre.

I interviewed Hurst during the writing of this book. He is an ex-Force Research Unit (FRU) officer and he struck me as a very decent man, a man with a conscience, a man who only spoke out because of his conscience. That is the impression I came away with. And his view was that the British were allowing bad operations to occur again, and again and again in order to outrage the public and alienate the IRA from its support base so it might sue for peace.

Personally, I think the British were on that road for most of the 1980s. There was a peace corps within the Republican movement; we know that.

Gerry Adams, Martin McGuinness and the people around them had come to the conclusion the war was unwinnable in a military sense, therefore there needed to be some sort of political approach and I think the Brits embraced that.

He added: There is a proposition the British allowed bad operations to go ahead or made sure the operations that went ahead were directed to such a point that civilians were killed and the public would be outraged.

Patsy Gillespie was one that the British/Irish Human Rights Watch believed was one such operation and I thought it important to mention it in the book.

British/Irish Human Rights Watch was one such body. On August 28, 2006, it sent a dossier to the PSNI Historical Enquiries Team (HET) in which it alleged British intelligence services may have been the masterminds behind the human-bomb operations.

Author Richard O'Rawe speaking about his book 'Stakeknife's Dirty War' at Saturday's Derry launch.

The British/Irish Human Rights Watch report said: At least two security force agents were involved in these bombings and allegations have been made that the human bomb strategy was the brainchild of British Intelligence.

Questions arise as to whether the RUC, An Garda Siochana and the Armys Force Research Unit had prior knowledge and/or subsequent knowledge about the bombings.

These questions in turn lead to concerns about whether these attacks could have been prevented and why no one has been brought to justice.

In Stakeknifes Dirty War, Ian Hurst gave the British/Irish Human Rights Watch view credence, commenting: This report, from a very credible source, brings up the question of informers working at the top tier of the IRA who were allowed to commit crimes up to murder while working for the state.

ORawe believes the information garnered would have gone to the Tasking and Co-ordinating Groups (TCG), set up in the North in the late 1970s.

He explained: The TCGs were the umbrella intelligence, collating and actioning organisation. It collated all intelligence that was garnered in all the theatres of war in the North, and in Ireland in general, and then actioned it.

They said, Well the IRA is going to be in such and such a place, lets put the SAS in and we will take them out. That was the role the TCGs were playing.

They, I suspect, were certainly controlled by the Ministry of Defence in London and I think it would probably have been discussed at Prime Ministerial level. The policy, in my view, of structuring operations so they would end up being bad operations was allowed to occur.

ORawe suggests TCGs gained some intelligence from covert surveillance.

The only other avenue was human intelligence, he said. In other words, they had agents within the IRA who were privy to operational decisions.

Asked about media speculation about the involvement of the late Martin McGuinness in this scenario, ORawe said: I am a writer. I dont give an opinion on it at all. It would not be proper for me to give an opinion.

What I did do for this book was interview people who had direct contact with Martin McGuinness on a daily basis who were members of the Derry Brigade staff.

These werent ordinary Volunteers on the ground. These were serious, senior members of the IRA in Derry and they had reservations about operations.

In relation to Franko Hegarty (a Derry man expelled from the IRA for informing), the impression I got from my interviews was that people were absolutely flabbergasted he was allowed back into the IRA.

They also formed the opinion Martin was the driving force in terms of bringing him back.

I have to reflect that. I cant very well say, He was a great guy so I am not writing anything iffy about him.

The fact of the matter was these very senior republicans blew a gasket that Franco Hegarty was back in the IRA at the time and they told me they were just ignored.

Not only was Hegarty allowed back into the IRA, in no time at all he was elevated to the position of Assistant Quartermaster Northern Command.

ORawe emphasised that the Quartermaster Northern Command oversaw all weapons in the North.

He added: I think it is important to say also, with the exception of one man, none of the interviewees said McGuinness was an informer.

I wrote up what I was told and the guys were pretty clear. McGuinness behaved very bizarrely' with Hegarty, and Hegarty was so dangerous because he was an informer, an agent. All of that leads to a certain scratching of the head, for want of a better phrase.

ORawe said he included the Hegarty story in Stakeknifes Dirty War only because Freddie Scappaticci brought him up when he was talking to Sylvia Jones for The Cook Report broadcast in August 1993.

Scappaticci savaged Martin on that occasion. I thought that was interesting. I dont know why he did that because they were good friends at one stage.

According to ORawe, Scappaticcis mindset and motivation in 1993 might be explained by what a criminologist who recently read Stakeknifes Dirty War described as his possible narcissistic collapse.

By August 1993, Scappaticci was off the rails, said ORawe. He was insisting on meeting the British armys GOC, General John Wilsey, to be reassured he was important.

He was also talking to families and pretending he was there when people were getting shot dead. Hes all over the place. The criminologist told me what actually happened to Scappaticci was a narcissistic collapse. I have never heard of such a thing.

A narcissist is someone who holds himself in the highest esteem. They believe they are the principal person in any room and everyone should look up to them.

When Scappaticci came back in 1991, having been on the run for two years after the Sandy Lynch affair, he was shunned by the IRA.

He was actually almost ostracised and that is when he had the narcissistic collapse and the result of a narcissistic collapse is very irrational behaviour and attempts to reassert your importance.

That is when he told the Cook Report about McGuinness. McGuinness was very clear he wanted nothing to do with Scappaticci and that is probably the reason why Scappaticci had such intense animosity towards him.

As Johnny Nash once sang, There are more questions than answers, and that is certainly true of the subject matter of Stakeknifes Dirty War.

Among them was, Why did the fact Freddie Scappaticci had a mercurial temper, was a known pornography addict, with a penchant for bestiality and an unhealthy interest in pre-teen girls, and perpetrator of domestic violence, not speak to his character?

The big picture is for someone else, said ORawe. On a day-to-day basis, the IRA was busy operating: in Belfast, in Ballymurphy, all over, organising snipes, bombs, gun lectures, digging out intelligence.

People had enough on their plates getting up in the morning to make sure everybody is running coherently and they are safe.

Perhaps the last word on Stakeknifes Dirty War should go to solicitor Kevin Winters of KRW LAW, who spoke with compassion and empathy at the Belfast launch.

The deceased here should be remembered just like any other victims of the conflict, and their families should be praised and supported just like any other victims families and campaign groups. We always need to guard against the deficiencies in the hierarchy of victimhood.

Rickys book has helped give those families a much needed voice, and for that he is to be commended.

Meanwhile, Jon Boutcher, the former police chief of Bedfordshire, has been identified as the preferred candidate to become interim PSNI chief constable.

Mr Boutcher has recently been conducting an investigation into the activities of Stakeknife, the Armys top agent in Northern Ireland during the Troubles.

The Operation Kenova report is expected to be published in the coming months.

A Policing Board spokesperson said: The board has agreed the appointment of an interim chief constable for the Police Service of Northern Ireland."
A man who was described in court as 'not a drug dealer in the Hollywood sense of the word' has been remanded in custody at Derry Magistrate's Court on a series of drug and theft charges.

The man, who was granted anonymity due to the general threat existing in the city against people charged with drug supply offences, faced more than 20 charges.

He was charged with being concerned in the supply of various drugs on dates between January 1 and June 11, 2023.

He also faced charges relating to handling stolen goods, three thefts and another drug charges that were said to have occurred on October 3 this year.

A police officer connected the accused to the charges and opposed bail.

He told the court that on June 11 the defendant was seen in the company of two people known for drug supply.

He was stopped and stolen items were said to have been found on him as well as two screwdrivers.

The officer said that the screwdrivers were significant in that the man was supposed to have sent a message on June 5 stating 'I have two screwdrivers anyone interferes there will be a bloodbath.'

The court heard that on June 13 it was reported that a man had stolen a table from Dunnes Stores.

Phones taken from the accused were said to contain requests for items of specific sizes which police believe we're to be stolen to order.

The court heard that on October 4 the defendant was observed changing his clothes on the City Walls and allegedly was found in possession of items stolen from Marks and Spencers valued at 175.

While police were attending Foyleside Shopping Centre other stores came forward to report thefts.

When the man was arrested more drugs were allegedly found on him.

Bail was opposed due to the risk of re-offending and the court heard that the defendant had 54 previous convictions.

The police officer said that there was 'a guaranteed risk of re-offending.'

Defence solicitor Seamus Quigley said that his client had been 'in and out of prison' all of his adult life.

He said he had drug issues but was not a drug dealer in the conventional sense.

District Judge Barney McElholm said that all people are asked to do is abide by their bail conditions.

He refused bail and remanded the man in custody to appear again on November 2.
There has been a mixed local reaction to Invest NI's new Action Plan.

Stormonts business support agency is to shift focus from job creation to overall productivity in the economy following the findings of an independent review earlier this year.

The Department for the Economy (DfE) has published an action plan in response to the review of Invest Northern Ireland.

The review in January said research suggested it was having little, if any impact in increasing productivity in Northern Ireland.

The review panel also raised serious concerns about damaged relationships at the senior leadership level of the organisation, particular in the dynamic between the board and executives.

Mike Brennan, Permanent Secretary at the department, said the review had challenged Invest NI to completely reshape how economic policies are developed and implemented going forward.

Colm McKenna, Invest NIs interim chairman, said: This action plan is a clear commitment for change by Invest NI and DfE and we understand that its delivery will require changes to our leadership, structure, operations, culture and strategy.

We do not underestimate the challenge ahead to ensure we fulfil everything we have committed to.

We have already made good progress in the eight months since the publication of the review and have taken immediate action in several areas while we also carried out the detailed scoping work on the more challenging recommendations.

Previously the targets we were given were heavily focused on job creation but starting now, our customer is the wider Northern Ireland economy.

Our focus will now pivot from supporting job creation to delivery of 10x and city and growth deals in order to raise the overall level of productivity in our economy.

This includes a commitment to strengthening our regional impact and ensuring Invest NI is equipped to deliver the departments 10x policy priorities of innovation, sustainability and inclusivity to ensure we deliver a high-performing Northern Ireland economy.

SDLP Economy Spokesperson Sinead McLaughlin MLA has said the Invest NI Action Plan must deliver for the North West and other neglected parts of the North.

I am deeply concerned by the almost complete lack of any specific mention of the North-West in this plan and feel that the actions detailed would fall short of the change that is needed to restore the confidence of the people here.

It is not enough to include Derry as simply one of the sub-regions of the North. We are this regions second city and we need specific and targeted interventions that are commensurate with that status.

I will be writing to the department to urge explicit commitments to be made going forward, including specific and ambitious targets for Derry, as well as a decentralisation of senior staff to our city.

Ms McLaughlin said more detail is needed on how the actions will deliver specific and targeted interventions for the areas that need it most.

Although Invest NIs role is vital, the next Minister for the Economy must also assume strong accountability for setting the conditions that are necessary for Invest NI to succeed at attracting jobs and investment to Derry.

This must include reversing the economic neglect of our city, most notably when it comes to our higher education provision by expanding university places here to at least 10,000 as secured by the SDLP during the New Decade, New Approach negotiations.

Selina Horshi, President of the Londonderry Chamber said the publication of the Action Plan by Invest NI is a welcome step in response to what was a concerning report.

Derry Chamber has always been clear that it wants to see a more balanced regional economy and a shift in focus so that our region feels the benefit of more support for indigenous start-ups and greater inward investment.

The commitment to increased resources for sub-regional offices like Derry is important, as well as the development of economic targets at a sub-regional level. It is crucial that targets are clear so they can be measured. We await the publication of a Sub-Regional Economic Plan with keen interest.

There is no shortage of energy and enthusiasm among businesses in the North West and the Chamber is keen to work in partnership with Invest NI to drive forward new targets that generate prosperity, economic growth and better regional balance.
When 45-year-old Waterside woman, Louise Frazer, was growing up, she was immersed in the world of childcare as her mother was a playgroup leader and was passionate about her job.

Thus, it wasnt a huge surprise when, after a stint of work experience in a nursery school, the 16-year-old Louise decided that her ideal career would be working with NSPCC Northern Ireland. With this in mind, she headed off to Leeds University to undertake a degree in Early Childhood Studies, so that she could set about pursuing her goal.

Even though she thoroughly enjoyed her time as a student in England, Louise was happy to return home after graduation, in 2000. After working for a short while as day care assistant in a pre-school setting, she wasnt quite yet ready to settle down and over the next few years, took the opportunity to travel to countries including Malaysia, Thailand, Morocco and Croatia.

Still determined see a bit more of the world, she then moved to Greece for a year, where she taught English as a Foreign Language.

Louise was determined to come back to Northern Ireland, despite the inevitable drop in temperature. The travelling had given her the time and space she needed to confirm what she wanted to do as a career - help children. She started her career in Belfast, as a supervisor in a day care setting in a nursery school and after that, took on a family support role supporting parents of young children.

This work inspired her to continue her studies by undertaking a degree in Social Work at Magee. In 2007, Louise began her career with NSPCC Northern Ireland, as a Therapeutic Social Worker, based in the Foyle office.

Louise said: As I had always been a huge supporter of the NSPCCs work and had enjoyed being a volunteer at some of their local fundraising events, getting this job was a dream come true. It also meant I could put into practice everything I had learnt over that last 10 years honestly, I was over the moon and could not wait to get started!

My initial job within the organisation was supporting parents and children who had experienced domestic abuse and, even though it was a demanding and complex role, I loved the work so much. I remember feeling so fortunate to be able to offer therapeutic help to parents and children when they really needed it. It was especially fulfilling to see the positive results of our work and I have to say that this feeling has never changed in the 16 years I have been with the organisation.

Over sixteen years, she has worked on a variety of services and believes that all of them have provided crucial help for local people. One service she worked on directly was with children and young people who had experienced sexual abuse. This service, which is still offered in the Northern Ireland Hub, takes place in specially designed therapeutic rooms, is tailored to the ages of the children and there is always a focus on creating a strong connection between the child and their practitioner.

Louise commented: I cant deny that this work can sometimes be challenging and difficult. I have worked with young people, aged from 5-18, who have been sexually abused, both online and offline, and each case is different. However, the one common element that has struck me over the years is the importance of speaking out about what has happened. Many young people can be apprehensive, even after they have spoken out. However, once they start working with us, they are given the reassurance that none of it was their fault and for some, that can be a major turning point.

Not all young people tell us directly that they feel their lives are better after working with us but often it is smaller things that show how they have benefitted from our therapeutic support. For example, they can return to school, spend more time with their friends or just experience a good nights sleep. Often, we see physical changes in them like lighter body language and walking taller. Parents often tell us they notice their children are less anxious and have increased confidence after taking part in our services. One parent told us we had literally brought her little girl back. Its such a huge privilege to be part of this process - helping children recover and start to rebuild their lives.

One of the other services offered by the Foyle office is InCtrl, which is for young people where there are concerns about their online behaviour. The service, which can be delivered in a school setting, covers issues such as grooming and bullying and is designed to help children recognise the risks they can encounter. It also helps them deal with mental health pressures arising from their previous experiences online and supports them in keeping safe online

There has been very positive feedback about the service, with one school reporting: InCtrl is an invaluable programme that offers quick and timely intervention to children as they attempt to navigate the online world  Our pupils enhanced their skills in developing safe and positive relationships, both online and offline.

Louise continued, As well as working with children and young people, we are delighted to offer Pregnancy in Mind. Its a preventative, mental health service for parents-to-be who are at risk of, or are experiencing, mild to moderate anxiety and, or, depression during the perinatal period.

"This can be carried out directly, or remotely, in groups. Having run this service for around a year, we are delighted to have received some very positive feedback about the impact it has had on the lives of parents and, ultimately, on the life of their unborn babies."

Louise still works in the Foyle site of the NSPCCs Northern Ireland Hub, which is based in Exchange House in the city centre - where the charitys Childline service is also based. For the last five years, Louise has worked as a Team Manager, providing supervision to her team, who work in all the services offered at the Hub, and using the skills she has learnt over her time with the charity.

She said: When I started with NSPCC Northern Ireland, 16 years ago, I couldnt have imagined that I would still be here after such a long time. My own life has changed  I now have a husband and two children aged 10 and 12, and a beloved dog, Penny. My vision and passion, however, have remained the same and thats to put children first and keep fighting for every childhood.

Louise concludes: I would encourage anyone who would like more information about what we can offer to get in touch with us. We are always happy to listen and advise if our services might be helpful. Above all, I would urge people not to suffer in silence, and to speak out as soon as possible.

"Even if time has passed, its never too late. The NSPCC is always here to help when children have experienced abuse.

NSPCCs NI Hub is contactable on either 02871 312187 or 0282044 1524.
The Derry University Group has been repeatedly told by political representatives that our determined pursuit of an independent university for the city means we are not with the project.

Our party cant be dealing with negativity, one group told us.

This was by no means an isolated incident.

The main parties on Derry/Strabane council actively prevent their members from commenting on issues pertaining to Magee.

If you doubt this, just look at how many of them raised their heads when Ulster University attempted to decree that Magee be dropped from the campuss title and it would be renamed UU Derry-Londonderry. Without process, debate or any reason given. By an organisation which has no rights to the Derry estate.

Attempting to mitigate for UU, one solitary stalking horse suggested that the benefactress Martha Magees money - like all money - may not have been clean. If that were indeed the case, and it is publicly felt that the name should be changed, then surely there must be a city-led and city-wide discussion about it?

It is not up to a Belfast university to rename a stick in Derry. And we certainly dont dismiss an entire 180-year legacy on the basis of one tweet.

And while were at it, if we are going to start renaming things, perhaps we should begin with the citys main business street, which memorialises the British viceroy to Ireland during the Famine, Lord Clarendon?

No, Derry autonomy from Belfast is not just a problem for Magee - it is every bit as much a problem for our local political reps who have to check back with Headquarters at the other end of the Glenshane Pass before blessing themselves.

Last weekend, former Derry News journalist Garrett Hargan caught the DUP and the civil service red-handed, drawing up an attack plan to stop Derry development. Where was the civic outrage? Where was the political uproar?

Can you imagine this going on in a democratic country? Just think for one minute what would happen if Dublin civil servants were caught conspiring with Dublin ministers to stop a project in Cork which had been promised for decades. All hell would break loose, the government would fall, and Cork would constitute itself as an independent republic.

Derry needs some of that Cork fire. We need to insist on a cross-border, Independent Commission to run Magee as Stormont is utterly determined not to help - and keeps telling us. And we need this immediately, if for no other other reason than to protect the recent Irish government investment in our region.

UU cant afford us and is completely compromised. If it wants to sustain its massive debt in Belfast, it has to give up Magee, instead of bleeding it dry. In the short term, the new North West University, run by the cross-border Commission, can engage UU as a service provider.

By the way, the reason that Derrys political parties are not on board with the university campaign is very simple. Theyve screwed it up so many times before, they are no longer allowed to control it. And they dont like that.

But its time to get over it and get on board now, as we need your lifting power, and, in case you havent noticed, this is the time to weigh in. It is time to get fired up and start using your own brain and not be looking to borrow the party brain from Belfast.

Do you think John Hume or Martin McGuinness would have had to check back with Belfast before issuing a comment on the civic university?

Finally, as regards the charge that the DUG is negative, lets quickly recap. We note with amusement that different representatives like to claim our campaign victories as their own, and good luck to them.

We dont care who claims the goal as long as the ball goes in the net.

But one point to remember - over the past 10 years there has been one campaign group, and one campaign group only, which has kept this issue on the agenda for every single election, for every single hustings, for every single position paper, and for every single budget.

And every time we have raised an issue of patent unfairness or discrimination - like civil servants openly colluding with Ministers to stop Derry regeneration - we have been smeared as whingers, thanks to those people who are getting their lines from the NIO or their party HQ in Belfast.

Heres the kicker, though. We havent gone away, you know - and were not going to. And, most importantly of all, were actually starting to get somewhere.

So instead of dismissing ideas that arent yours, and the campaigners who are giving you a win on a platter if only you could spot it, maybe instead its time you stopped with your own negativity - and got with the project?
Leo Varadkar has spoken of his concerns that the UK is disengaging from the world.

The Taoiseach commented on language coming from the Conservative Party conference this week about leaving the European Convention on Human Rights, describing it as not the Britain I know.

Mr Varadkar was speaking in Spain ahead of a meeting with Prime Minister Rishi Sunak where they were attending a European Political Community meeting.

He said he would be seeking an update on discussions between the UK Government and the DUP about efforts to restore the powersharing institutions at Stormont.

Asked if he was concerned about language coming from the Tory conference this week, Mr Varadkar said: I am, to be honest.

The Britain, the United Kingdom that I love and admire is the country of the Magna Carta, the country that founded a parliamentary democracy and the country that helped to write the European Convention on Human Rights.

And it does bother me to see the United Kingdom disengaging from the world, whether its reducing its budget for international aid, whether its leaving the European Union, and now even talking about withdrawing from the European Convention on Human Rights, thats not the Britain I know.

Mr Varadkar said he would also be discussing the UKs new act to deal with the legacy of the Northern Ireland Troubles with Mr Sunak.

The Northern Ireland Troubles (Legacy and Reconciliation) Act received royal assent last month despite widespread opposition from political parties, victims organisations in Northern Ireland and the Irish government.

Aspects of the laws include a limited form of immunity from prosecution for Troubles-related offences to those who co-operate with the new Independent Commission for Reconciliation and Information Recovery. It will also halt future civil cases and inquests.

Ireland is seeking legal advice about taking an inter-state legal case to the European Court of Human Rights.

Mr Varadkar said: We will certainly discuss the issue of the UK legacy legislation.

Thats something the Irish government is very opposed to, so are the victims groups, so are the five main parties in Northern Ireland.

We believe it is potentially a contravention of the European Convention on Human Rights and certainly I will be saying that to the Prime Minister.

Mr Varadkar also said the issue of restoring the Stormont institutions, which are not operating due to a DUP protest over post-Brexit trading arrangements, was very important to both governments.
Welcome to the wonderfully complex and rich world of multi-die systems. Breaking free from the monolithic SoC mold, multi-die systems integrate heterogeneous dies into a single package. This relatively new architecture is steadily transforming the semiconductor industry by allowing chip designers to reach new heights of functionality with higher compute power and the ability to reuse proven dies, enabling more powerful systems in phones, computers, and even self-driving cars. However, with rapid advancement comes challenges, many of which were discussed at last months Accelerating Mainstream Adoption of Multi-Die Systems panel discussion, hosted by Synopsys.

This virtual event brought together Murat Becer, vice president of research and development at Ansys, Inc.; Michael Schaffert, senior vice president at Bosch; Cheolmin Park, corporate vice president at Samsung; Lalitha Immaneni, vice president of architecture, design, and technology solutions at Intel; and Shekhar Kapoor, senior director of product line management at Synopsys. The panel was moderated by Marco Chiapetta, co-founder and principal analyst at HotTech Vision and Analysis, and touched on the current state of multi-die system design, its applications, and the industrys expectations for multi-die system adoption.

Read on for highlights from the panel and insights into why industry leaders believe collaboration is critical to accelerating the adoption of multi-die systems.

Click here to read more ...




Milpitas -- October 5, 2023 -- Marquee Semiconductor, a global leader in chip design solutions, is delighted to announce its collaboration with the Singapore Semiconductor Industry Association (SSIA), a pivotal step that reflects Marquee's commitment to fostering the growth and advancement of the semiconductor ecosystem in Singapore. SSIA is the voice of Singapores semiconductor industry and is committed to support this important sector in Singapore in order to facilitate substantial growth of the whole semiconductor economy of the country.

By becoming a member of the SSIA, Marquee Semiconductor reinforces its investment to promoting innovation, and technological excellence within the Singaporean semiconductor landscape. This partnership aims to leverage Marquee's experience and expertise to drive the development of cutting-edge solutions that will further elevate Singapore's position as a hub for semiconductor innovation.

Marquee Semiconductor, headquartered in Silicon Valley, provides spec to silicon design services in semiconductor with a specialization and focus on high-speed connectivity protocols and chiplet-based designs. Since its inception in 2021, the companys approach has been very unique, both top-down and bottom-up, in scaling up its R&D efforts in Singapore. In the top-down approach, the company strives to hire experienced engineers to drive the customer solution and support from Singapore. In the bottom-up approach, the companys connection with local universities support to hire top talents that go through companys state-of-the-art Learning Management System (LMS) for engineering and culture training. Such an approach inculcates a habit to innovate, supports scalability of the R&D center, and thus the long-term growth of the company in the region.

Singapore has a vibrant and sophisticated semiconductor industry that continues to be a key pillar of our economy. We are pleased to have Marquee be part of our ecosystem to contribute to the growth of the sector and nurture local talents. In this regard, industry associations such as the SSIA play a key role in facilitating connections and knowledge exchange amongst companies and I look forward to more new collaborations between Marquee and our local ecosystem players. said Ms. Elaine Teo, Senior Vice President, Investment Facilitation Division, Singapore Economic Development Board.

We are delighted to welcome Marquee Semiconductor as the newest addition to our esteemed network of members at SSIA. Their presence will further enhance the semiconductor ecosystem in Singapore and the region. We are excited about the opportunity to collaborate with Marquee Semiconductor to further grow our ecosystem. With their cutting-edge technology and innovative solutions, we are confident that they will contribute immensely to the growth of our industry. Additionally, we are committed to working closely with them, providing the necessary support to scale their operations here. Expressed, Ang Wee Seng, Executive Director of SSIA.

Through this collaboration with SSIA along with companys strong R&D presence in Silicon Valley, and other global locations, the company is well positioned in Singapore to scale-up a team of high caliber workforce and work with local customers and partners to develop chiplet-based solution. Marquee Semiconductor will actively participate in knowledge-sharing initiatives, industry events, and collaborative projects aimed at propelling the growth of the semiconductor ecosystem in Singapore. Said Purna Mohanty, CEO, Marquee Semiconductor.

For more information about Marquee Semiconductor and its innovative chip design solutions, please visit https://marqueesemi.com/.

About Marquee Semiconductor

As a global semiconductor services company headquartered in Silicon Valley, we specialize in connectivity-related designs for SoC/Chiplets and FPGAs. Our services range from staff augmentation to turnkey solutions, covering the complete journey from spec to silicon. What sets Marquee Semiconductor apart is our unique end-to-end automation capabilities. Leveraging our proprietary Professional Service Automation, Register Service Automation, and System Integration Automation tools, we streamline the design process, boosting productivity and ensuring real-time project tracking with complete transparency. With a relentless commitment to excellence and innovation, Marquee Semiconductor consistently delivers high-quality services and solutions that set new industry standards. By joining forces with the Singapore Semiconductor Industry Association, Marquee Semiconductor is poised to drive innovation, collaboration, and growth within the dynamic Singaporean semiconductor ecosystem.

About SSIA

As Singapore Semiconductor Industry Association (SSIA) has more than 250 members today including companies and organizations throughout all parts of the complex and comprehensive value chain - IC design companies, Manufacturers, Fabless companies, Equipment suppliers, Photovoltaic companies, EDA and material suppliers, Training and service providers, IP companies, research institutes and Academia, as well as individual members. Since 2013, SME membership has grown exponentially and SMEs now account for close to half of SSIAs membership. For more information about SSIA, visit: https://ssia.org.sg/






HIGHLIGHTS The new Pixel foldable could be under development under the codename Comet.

The Pixel 8 series was codenamed after different dog breeds.

The Pixel 9 series could have codenames after reptile breeds.

Foldable phones seem to be the newest found interest for the smartphone brands with each releasing a new one, one after the other. Sources reveal that Google could be next in line to bring out a new foldable variant. It is speculated to be the Pixel Fold 2 or the Pixel Flip. And it could be under development under the codename Comet. Lets find out what we know about this speculation for now.

Also read: Pixel Fold gets teased ahead of Google IO showcasing key features of the Google foldable

Google Pixel Fold

How do we know that Google could actually be working on a foldable smartphone variant? Thanks to 9to5Google, they spotted a Pixel device having the codename Comet in Pixels fall lineup.

But but but

You must be thinking that we were talking about a foldable smartphone, where did Pixel come from? Well, thats just Googles way of possibly keeping its project hidden and they have smartly mentioned it in Pixels lineup. But how are we sure of this?

So, if we track back to Googles behaviour of codenaming its devices, then the Pixel 8 series was codenamed after different dog breeds- Shiba for Pixel 8, Husky for Pixel 8 Pro, and Akita for Pixel 8a; then the Pixel Fold (Gen 1), Pixel 7, and the Pixel 7 Pro were all named after cat breeds like Felix, Panther, and Cheetah; and the Pixel 9 series could have codenames after reptile breeds. So, the codename Comet sounds a bit off.

Also read: Google Pixel Fold leak reveals its likely price and 4 key specs

Google Pixel Fold

Further investigation into the codename pattern also shows that Comet is positioned adjacent to the number 7. Not just this, but at another spot it is linked to a Fold smartphone. So, all the possibilities are pointing out that this is going to be Googles next foldable phone.

As far as which foldable phone this could possibly be, we are not sure yet. Either it could be the successor to the Pixel Fold which was released in May this year in select areas or it could be a newer addition to the market. Well have to wait and see.
Chip unicorns emerge in China's Yangtze River Delta

China-based GTA Semiconductor raised CNY13.5 billion (US$1.87 billion) in financing, the latest example of a chip unicorn emerging in China's Yangtze River Delta thanks to state funds and incentive policies launched by China's central and local governments.

In September 2023, Shanghai-based GTA Semiconductor received strategic investments from China state funds, the aforementioned CNY13.5 billion in financing. The chip company has raised CNY21.5 billion within two years.

Zhejiang-based RongSemi, founded in 2021, secured financing in April 2023. The company is the only fully private pure-play foundry in China and is engaged in foundry and OSAT business with 300mm wafers. RongSemi's investors include Yu Renrong, chairman and co-founder of Will Semiconductor, and Wang Xing, CEO and co-founder of Meituan.

With the backing of 29 investors, Anhui-based YASC Semi completed over CNY3.8 billion in series A financing in June 2023, setting a record for the highest amount in China's SiC industry. The firm provides foundry service for SiC chips and has an annual capacity of 60,000 wafers at its Wuhu facility. Meanwhile, In the past two to three years, Jiangsu Province has seen over a dozen financing cases in the pure-play foundry industry.

In addition to individual efforts by private companies to attract investments, the Yangtze River Delta has seen active involvement from local venture capitals in the semiconductor field, including SAIC Motor, which partnered with several local asset management companies in Shanghai to form a multi-billion yuan fund with a focus on the semiconductor supply chain and chips for smart vehicles and electrification.

Zhejiang, Anhui, Jiangsu, and other regional provinces have also announced the establishment of industrial funds, respectively. For example, in April 2023, Huzhou, Zhejiang, announced the creation of an industry fund with a total scale of no less than CNY20 billion. In February, Suzhou, Jiangsu, established a CNY5 billion fund covering various sectors such as semiconductors, optoelectronics, AI, big data, new materials, and high-end equipment manufacturing.

The most notable fund in the Delta is the second phase of the Yangtze River Delta Fund, with a scale of CNY10 billion, after the first phase completed all its investments. The two phases have a combined scale of CNY14 billion, and the second phase will focus on semiconductors, biopharmaceuticals, and AI.

Meanwhile, local governments in the Yangtze River Delta launched policy and financial support to develop the semiconductor industry, with Jiangshu providing CNY1 million reward to chip companies that make it to the first-time inclusion in the China top 500, and Shanghai offering varying amounts of subsidies for research and development in components and materials.
European Commission recommends risk assessment on advanced semiconductor and AI before the end of 2023

Following the publication of a Joint Communication on a European Economic Security Strategy by the European Commission in June, calling for the bloc to thoroughly assess economy risks in four categories related to supply chain resilience, technology security/leakage, economic coercion and critical infrastructure security, on October 3 the European Commission further adopted a recommendation on critical technology areas for the EU's economic security, zooming on the issue of technology leakage.

In the document, the Commission puts forward a list of 10 critical technology areas based on their potentials to enable significant performance and sector changes and advance military capabilities. Among them, advanced semiconductors, AI, quantum technologies and biotechnologies are especially highlighted as the four areas highly likely to present "the most sensitive and immediate risks related to technology security and technology leakage," and EU member states are recommended by the Commission to conduct initial risk assessments of these four named areas by the end of 2023. Following the initial collective risk assessments, according to the European Commission, further initiatives in this direction may be presented by Spring 2024. Whether or not EU member states can put up an united front, however, remains the biggest question mark.

As indicated by the European Commission, "advanced semiconductors" entail high frequency chips, photonics and semiconductor manufacturing equipment at very advanced nodes. AI technologies entail High Performance Computing (HPC), cloud and edge computing, data analytic technologies, and computer vision, language processing, objection recognition. When it comes to quantum technologies, quantum computing, quantum cryptography, quantum communications, and quantum sensing/radar are included.

To guide the collective risk assessment process, the European Commission recommends taking into account various dimensions, including the value chain of technologies and the evolution of risks, in addition to present and future chokepoints. It also calls for "a mapping of the EU's relative position in each technology, including key players and elements of the EU's comparative lead." Ultimately, in line with the European Economic Security Strategy, the EU seeks to review its foreign direct investment screening regulation and fully implement the bloc's export control regulation on dual-use technologies, among other measures.

However, as an EU diplomat told the Financial Times, performing a credible risk assesssment for an entire technology is difficult, and the timeline set by the Commission is too ambitious to do a detailed analysis. In addition, exports control measures still fall within the domain of EU member states, which have different national security strategies.
Documentation that limited the evidence two US special agents could give at the trial of Aaron Brady, who was convicted of murdering Detective Garda Adrian Donohoe, was not disclosed to his defence team until five months into his trial, the Court of Appeal has been told.

Brady, who was jailed in 2020 for a minimum of 40 years for the murder of the detective, is bidding to overturn his conviction in a six-day hearing before the Court of Appeal.

On the second day of the hearing before the three-judge appeals court Michael O'Higgins SC, representing Brady, argued that the trial court had erred in refusing to direct an oral hearing on disclosure with respect to documentation in the possession of Homeland Security Intelligence in America.

Another ground of appeal argued today by Mr O'Higgins was the failure by the prosecution at trial to disclose to the defence letters of scope in a timely fashion, which the defence said placed significant limitations on the evidence which Special Agent Mary Anne Wade and Special Agent Matt Katske were willing to give such that it rendered the trial unfair.

Counsel said the letters had directed the agents not to disclose the immigration status of relevant prosecution witnesses in the case.

During the trial, Special Agent Wade told prosecution counsel that she worked with gardai in New York who were investigating the murder of Det Gda Donohoe. On May 18, 2017 she was present when Brady was arrested for being in the US illegally and she seized his mobile phone.

In an often spiky encounter with Mr O'Higgins, who defended Brady during his trial, Special Agent Wade repeatedly refused to answer questions about the immigration status of key witness Daniel Cahill and insisted she did not promise or offer him anything.

Mr Cahill had testified that Aaron Brady told him on three occasions that he murdered a garda in Ireland.

Mr O'Higgins asked if, regarding the Aaron Brady investigation, there were ever any discussions about telling people who had overstayed their visas that if they failed to cooperate with gardai they would be sent home.

Special Agent Wade replied: "I'm not going to testify to investigative methods or interview techniques."

She explained that she was bound by a letter from her employer that prevented her from discussing the immigration status of individuals or the methods used by the agency.

In reply, Brendan Grehan SC, for the Director of Public Prosecutions, said the letters of scope were disclosed to the defence, albeit late, in May 2020, adding that the defence were being "opportunistic" in their submissions.

He said the letters did not have anything to do with the disclosure of the documentation in the case but were in place because the two special agents were being asked to make themselves available as witnesses in the case.

Aaron Brady (32) previously of New Road, Crossmaglen, Co Armagh, is serving a life sentence with a 40-year minimum having been found guilty in 2020 of murdering Detective Garda Adrian Donohoe (41) at Lordship Credit Union in Bellurgen, Co Louth on January 25, 2013.

Brady was also sentenced to 14 years for the robbery, a sentence that will run concurrently with the life sentence. Det Gda Donohoe was on a cash escort when he was ambushed by a five-man gang and shot dead.

The raiders stole just 7,000 in cash during the robbery, which lasted 58 seconds.



Brady's trial was also the longest murder case in Irish legal history, lasting 122 court days. The father-of-one was found guilty of the murder of Det Gda Donohoe by an 11 to one majority jury verdict at the Central Criminal Court in August 2020.

The appeal continues tomorrow before Mr Justice John Edwards, presiding, sitting with Ms Justice Isobel Kennedy and Ms Justice Tara Burns, when it is expected that the appellant will raise a complaint regarding witness Molly Staunton who gave testimony via video link from New York during the Covid-19 crisis.
Delegates from Louth and Meath Education Training Board (ETB) attended the annual Education and Training Boards Ireland (ETBI) education conference in Cork City Hall last week.

The theme for this years conference The ETB of the Future explored key topics such as the role of AI and technology in education, the importance of inclusion and diversity, and what learners want for the class of 2033.

The event brought together over 300 representatives from across the sector and featured a line-up of over 40 speakers. Minister of State at the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, Niall Collins TD opened the conference giving the official Ministerial conference address.

Commenting of the future of education, General Secretary of ETBI, Paddy Lavelle said: As we reflect on 10 years of ETBs in Ireland, its time for us now to look to the future and focus on what lies ahead for our sector. Ireland is changing, and its important that we move to adapt with it.

"We need to plan ahead and give real thought to who our learners of the future are: what skills do they need; how do they need or want to be taught; and how can we ensure that we are delivering education to learners of all levels in Louth and Meath and across the country that meets their needs, and the needs of their future employers?

It will come as no surprise that we have heard throughout the conference of the potential for technology to revolutionise education  for both the teacher and the learner.

"However, its important that we also highlight other key considerations that will be vital in the future of education. As Ireland continues to become a more diverse and inclusive country, it is essential that we ensure that we have the infrastructure in place to support all learners  regardless of any disability, race, religion, gender, or sexual orientation.

Louth and Meath ETB and Education and Training Boards across Ireland are already providing multidenominational, coeducational and equality-based education and training services, so are well placed to expand on this delivery and meet potential increased demand.

The learners of the future are tech-savvy, culturally diverse, environmentally conscious, and adaptable. It is our responsibility now to ensure that the classroom of the future evolves to support them on their learning journey.

The conference took place over two days, with a full line-up of keynote speakers and panel discussions. Some of the highlights from the agenda include inputs from:
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The next court hearing of persons charged in connection with the death in Lebanon of UNIFIL soldier Private Sean Rooney, is to take place in December, according to information provided to Louth TD Ruairi O Murchu by the the Tanaiste and Minister for Defence.

Deputy O Murchu had submitted a Parliamentary Question (PQ) on the matter, to which he received a response on Wednesday. The PQ stated:

"To ask the Tanaiste and Minister for Defence if he will provide an update on the progress being made in the investigation into the death of a solider (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. (Details Supplied) in Lebanon, UNIFIL soldier Private Sean Rooney."

The response provided to the Sinn Fein TD stated: "Since the events of 14th December 2022, in which Private Sean Rooney was killed and a number of his colleagues from the 121st Battalion injured, I have consistently expressed my determination that all of the facts and circumstances of the incident are fully established and that no stone is left unturned to ensure that those responsible are brought to justice.

"On 26 January, I visited Lebanon and met with my Lebanese counterparts - the Ministers for Foreign Affairs and Defence. I impressed upon them the need to ensure that the Lebanese investigation was as thorough and complete as possible. In March, the Ceann Comhairle visited Lebanon and met with the Lebanese Minister for Defence and the Speaker of the Lebanese Parliament.

"Last month, I met the Lebanese Minister for Foreign Affairs in New York at the UN General Assembly and I again raised the matter of the Lebanese criminal investigation.

"Through the Embassy in Cairo and the Consulate in Beirut, the Irish Government has maintained close diplomatic contact with the Lebanese authorities in relation to the progress of the Lebanese criminal investigation.

"An initial indictment hearing of persons charged in connection with the incident of 14 December, took place on 14 July with a further hearing taking place on 30 August. The next court hearing is scheduled for 15 December 2023.

"Representatives from the Embassy in Cairo and the Consulate in Beirut have attended all hearings to date. In addition, my Department has engaged a Lebanese legal firm to represent the interests and concerns of the Irish Government at the court hearings.

"Given that this matter is now before the Lebanese judicial system, it would not be appropriate to comment further at this time. However, I can assure the House that my Department, the Embassy in Cairo, the Consulate in Beirut and I will continue to monitor developments very closely.

"In addition to the criminal investigation, a number of other investigations were initiated following Private Rooney's killing. An Garda Siochana is conducting its own investigation, pursuant to the provisions of the Coroners Act 1962 (as amended), for the purposes of preparing a report for the Coroner.

"The United Nations also undertook a Board of Inquiry, which has now been concluded. As this is an internal report of the United Nations, it may not be shared with third parties or made public in any form, either in whole or in part. Consequently, the final report of the Board of Inquiry will not be published. It has, however, been shared with Ireland for official use only."

Following the repsonse, Deputy O Murchu has confirmed that he will be raising the matter at Questions on Promised Legislation slot in the Dail today.
Dundalk Institute of Technology (DkIT) said they are proud to report that music students Darren Culliney and Leandro Pessina recently presented their research at the 9th EUGEO Conference, Geography for our Common Future, which was hosted by the University of Barcelona.

EUGEO is the Association of Geographical Societies in Europe with members from 27 countries.

The conferences programme demonstrated the breadth of interests in geography.

Within the cultural geography streams, a number of papers and conversations focused on sound and music.

Darren and Leandro presented and chaired a session entitled Music at Borders.

Darren, whose research is supported by a Technological University Transformation Fund (TUTF) Scholarship, presented his research on Irish traditional music in Ulster, focusing on the role of Comhaltas Ceoltoiri Eireann.

He said: For me, this engaging and informative event was an eye-opening experience, as it was the first academic conference from a different field of study that I have attended.

"It has challenged me to think more broadly about my research topic and introduced me to some concepts and perspectives that I believe will strengthen my research as I continue my study.

Leandro, an Irish Research Council (IRC) scholarship holder, already holds a Masters in Geography and he presented on the potential for the further development of music tourism in the border region.

Following on from my presentation and the response I received, I am hoping to write up and expand on my paper with an aim to publish it in a peer-reviewed journal in the near future.

Attendance at the conference not only facilitated dissemination of their ongoing research about musical cultures in Co. Louth but allowed them to encounter other research projects and develop ideas for further development at DkIT which will enhance and evolve their current research projects.

Both Darren and Leandro are completing their PhDs in the Department of Creative Arts, Media and Music and are members of the Creative Arts Research Centre at DkIT.
Labour declared the eradication of child poverty its historic mission as the party outlined alternative budget proposals.

Party finance spokesman Ged Nash said 90,000 children in Ireland live in consistent poverty, a statistic he branded a national disgrace.

Labours proposed budget includes almost 240 million euro worth of measures aimed at tackling child poverty, including 176 million euro to increase the Qualified Child Payment for Social Welfare payments and recipients of Back to Work Family Dividend (BTWFD) by 15 euro for children aged 12 and over, to 65 euro, and by 10 euro for children aged under 12, to 52 euro.

The alternative budget, titled an Ireland That Works for All, also proposes doubling the Christmas Child Benefit payment.

The party also proposes the creation of a dedicated departmental team to address child poverty and examine the feasibility of new Child Income Support Payment.

Our plans propose a launch point for the eradication of child poverty, that should be our historic mission, Mr Nash said at the launch of the document at party HQ in Dublin.

90,000 Irish children live in consistent poverty. And that is a national disgrace.

Labours alternative budget envisages a total package of just under seven billion euro, with around three billion euro worth of once off cost-of-living support measures.

The party would spend 90 million euro on an emergency fund to aid councils in converting vacant or derelict homes into usable accommodation to address rising homelessness lists.

Labour also wants to increase social welfare payments, by 15 euro from October rising to 27.50 euro on a phased basis through 2024.

A one-off 250 euro November fuel allowance payment is also included in the plan.

On the wider housing crisis, Labour advocates a 1.6 billion euro injection of capital funding to dramatically increase construction of social and affordable homes on public land, retrofit older homes and support measures to help renters.

On public sector pay, Labour would spent 1.3 billion euro funding a 5% wage rise, a measure that would include community, care and voluntary sector workers in state funded organisations.

The party would also increase the minimum wage by two euro to 13.30 and pay a living wage of 14.80 euro to public servants.

Mr Nash added: We are at a crucial point in our country, yet I dont believe this government is up to the task ahead.

Weve had an unprecedented number of industrial relations issues, workers struggling to keep the lights on and food on the table, and too many children with disabilities falling through the yawning gaps in our disability services.

Labour has a vision for a better Ireland, an Ireland that works for all.

An Ireland where when a child is sick, you can attend the doctor without fear of affordability.

An Ireland where if you provide crucial care work to the State and communities, you will be paid fairly.

An Ireland where everyone has a home.

An Ireland where we slash inequality once and for all.
Louth native, Carole OConnor from Drogheda will take to the stage with award winning West End leading lady, Rebecca Storm in a brand new Irish musical drama Letters From The Front, written by Don OConnor and Ollie Hennessy.

Fresh from its premier at Kilkennys Watergate Theatre, Carole and a cast of 35 members will play the OReilly Theatre, Belvedere College, Dublin 1, from November 21st to 24th.

Set during World War 1, Letters From The Front is the new Irish musical that has everyone talking since it debuted earlier this year.

The new musical tells the emotional tales of three families, caught up in the turmoil of WW1.

This is a story of young love and sacrifice when Irish couple, Willie and Eileens circumstances force them to separate when Willie is sent to fight for the British military stationed at the Western Front.

The only communication keeping the couple's connection alive is through the heart-felt letters they exchange.

Letters From The Front features a stunning orchestral music score and beautiful original songs that underpin the raw emotions of the characters as they navigate the turbulent waters of the Great War.

From haunting melodies that speak to the depths of despair, to uplifting songs that celebrate the strength of the characters, inspired by and based on real letters that were written by soldiers and family members throughout the years 1914-1918, the music of Letters from the Front will resonate deeply with audiences.

Beginning life as A Silent Night a 30-minute presentation during the Kilkenny Yuletide Festival in 2018, the theme of the story is inspired by true life letters written to and by soldiers on the front-line during WWI.

Creators Don OConnor and Ollie Hennessey said: The reaction Letters from the Front got in Kilkenny back in March made us believe that there is an audience for these stories.

"Many of our cast including Rebecca herself have family links to WWI and we were unaware of the scale of Irish participation in WWI (over 200,000 Irish men served in the British military with 35,000 losing their lives) until we started writing the musical.

Ollie who is responsible for the music added one of the most iconic songs of WWI is Its a long way from Tipperary recorded by one of Irelands best known tenors John Mc Cormack so there is a real connection between this horrendous part of world history and our country.

"Having someone with such exceptional theatre experience as Rebecca agreeing to come on board makes us believe we have something special in this piece of musical theatre.

Adding to the excitement of the musical rolling into the capital, West End leading lady Rebecca Storm joins the cast of Letters from the Front for the Dublin dates.

Having performed in major productions such as Calendar Girls the Musical, Evita, Les Miserables and Blood Brothers, Rebecca is sure to bring her extraordinary talent and captivating presence, which will undoubtedly elevate this production to new heights, promising audiences a truly unforgettable show.

Rebecca said: I'm absolutely thrilled to be a part of 'Letters from the Front' and to bring this incredible story to Dublin for the very first time.

"It's a powerful and moving piece of musical theatre. I actually have the letters written by my great grandfather who fought at the Battle of the Somme, so these four performances in such an intimate Dublin venue will be very special not only for me but also the other cast members many who like me have ancestors who fought in WWI.

Dont miss your chance to be one of the first to witness this turbulent journey through a rocky chapter in history. Letters from the Front is a must-see for theatregoers and history buffs alike.

Tickets are on sale now from www.gr8events.ie/letters

Tickets are priced at 34 and 30 for OAP/students
Messe Frankfurt Middle East has launched a new logistics show which will take place from December 10 to 12, 2024 at the Dubai World Trade Centre and is designed to drive the global logistics sector forward.

Launched on the sidelines of Automechanika Dubai, the logistics experiential showcase will take place alongside Automechanika Dubai, providing natural synergies between the automotive industry and the various verticals within the logistics sector and capitalising on the UAEs position as the epicentre of the worlds logistics sector, bridging Africa, the Middle East, and Asia.

During the launch, a high-level leadership panel discussion entitled Pioneering the Future: Driving the MEA Transport and Logistics Sector Forward with Emerging Trends and Innovation in Logistics and Supply Chain outlined the challenges and opportunities within the sector and highlighted the importance of a dedicated logistics show in filling the current gaps within the industry.

The panel comprised local and regional logistics sector luminaries: Ghanim Al Falasi, Senior Vice President, Dubai Silicon Oasis; Fadi Azzi, Global Director, Logistics, Aramex International LLC; Vargheese Anthony, General Manager, Freight Management and Relocations, Al Futtaim Logistics; Dr Prakash Rao PhD, Group Head, Supply Chain Projects & Home Operations, Landmark Group and Tobias Mayer, CFO DHL Global Forwarding Middle East & Africa, CEO Middle East & Africa, Saloodo, moderated by Edward Matti, Managing Partner, CCM Consultancy.

Greater efficiency

Ted Bloom, Managing Director, Messe Frankfurt Middle East, said: We are acutely aware of the ever-evolving landscape of logistics as it adapts to lessons learned from the pandemic and strives for greater efficiency, resilience, and sustainability. The show will unite the leading minds, innovators and biggest sector operators in an exciting new forum to help shape the sector's future.

The Middle East and Africa region's logistics sector is dynamic and evolving, driven by infrastructure development, trade growth, technological advancements, and changing consumer behaviour. These developments make the region increasingly important in global logistics and supply chain networks  and we aim to underpin that importance through this new addition to our Middle East offering.

The three-day show will cover the key issues in this ever-changing sector, mindful that logistics providers must adapt to new challenges and opportunities to remain competitive, efficient and sustainable in a rapidly changing global economy. The show will provide a rare chance for key industry players to meet and help shape the sectors future.

Automation and technology

High on the agenda will be the increasing use of automation and technology  including AI, blockchain, warehouse automation (such as robots and drones), real-time tracking and monitoring, and digital supply chain platforms for visibility and efficiency. In addition, the rise in e-commerce, last-mile delivery issues and the associated investment required in advanced fulfilment centres, automation, and innovative delivery solutions will also be discussed.

Delegates will also have the chance to hear from sustainability and green logistics experts as environmental concerns drive a shift toward greener logistics practices.

There are so many issues in the sector, so we expect a lively conference stream, backed by sector innovators revealing ground-breaking products and services at the exhibition, added Bloom.

Talent and workforce challenges will be another hot topic, especially filling roles in technology, data analytics and automation, as will the growing complexity of regulation, cross-border trade, environmental compliance, new post-pandemic safety protocols and contactless operations.

New JVs

As collaboration among logistics providers and shippers is growing - including sharing resources, optimising routes, and even collaborative warehousing to improve efficiency  the new launch will be the perfect platform for networking and forming new joint ventures.

Dubai stands at the crossroads of innovation, collaboration, and growth in the logistics sector. Hosting such a world-class exhibition in Dubai is beneficial for the sector and essential to propel the industry forward. We look forward to the global community converging in Dubai to share, learn and drive the future of logistics," concluded Bloom.--TradeArabia News Service
Cyprus driving advice

Unlike the majority of the world, Cyprus road users drive on the left. This is a welcome surprise for UK visitors, but for many other visitors its a case of getting used to the other side.

Keep your lights on half an hour before sunset and half an hour after sunrise. Police are known to impose fines if you do not conform to this rule.

Have your licence with you in the car in case you are stopped. Also have all your car rental and insurance details.

Do your research before you head out on any day trips. Sometimes the road quality can deteriorate and, whilst you may be comfortable with this, the car rental agent may not be. Plan ahead and try to avoid dirt tracks or any roads where you are likely to damage the car.

Many fuel stations will be attended, so you probably wont need to fill the tank yourself. And, if you can spare some loose change as a small tip, it will be highly appreciated.
Knossos

Once the capital of the ancient Minoan empire, the ruins here are some of the oldest in Greece. The site is a relic of Greek mythology, home to the legend of King Minos and the Minotaur. Upon entering what remains of the palace, you will understand why the myth was born here.

The site is a complex labyrinth or halls, stairways, royal apartments, suits and rooms. Many of the original colours of the intricate frescoes also still remain.

Given its famous history, this is one of the most popular sites on the island. And it gets busy (very busy) in the summertime. Spring and Autumn are the best seasons to visit. Arrive early for shorter queues. Bring a hat and lots of sunscreen, as much of the site is not covered.

For true history buffs, combine your visit with a tour around the Archaeological Museum of Heraklion for a full experience.
Lisbon

Car hire pick up point Prices from Average price Lisbon Airport 2.50 per day 22.90 per day Lisbon Downtown 4.20 per day 22.70 per day

Cheapest month / most expensive month Average cost per day of car hire in Lisbon* November 9.00 August 34.70

(*based on a 7+day rental)

Neighbourhood guide

Lisbon is split into many neighbourhoods, each with their own characteristics. Here are our top picks:

Alfama  the famed old town is perhaps the most unforgettable stop in Lisbon. Wear some good shoes, stroll the cobbled streets and grab a pasteis de nata  they are to die for!

Chiado  a popular area to stay in the city, Chiado is a great place to spend time if you want to be in the centre of shops, cafes, hustle and bustle.

Bairro Alto  hilly streets and faded facades make up the highest district in Lisbon. Full of character, this area comes to life at night.

Docas de Santo Amaro  views of the Tagus and the stunning 25 de Abril Bridge, head here for an afternoon drink in a converted warehouse on the waters edge.

Local tips

1. Praca do Comercio is the main square and youll find the tourist information office here. Plus, visit the top of the Arco Triunfal da Rua Augusta for just a few Euros to see lovely views of the city.

2. If you want to take the historic Alfama Tram 28, head down early so that they arent too crowded.
EBRD provides 10.5 million pre-IPO under conditions mandatorily convertible loan to Noval Property in Greece

Proceeds will focus on green buildings and decarbonisation of property sector

Noval Property has signed the UN Women Empowerment principles and will introduce GRESB reporting standards

Noval Property and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) have signed a 10.5 million bond loan. The loan will be under conditions mandatorily convertible into newly issued shares of the company.

Proceeds will be directed towards the company's green asset investment pipeline to support the decarbonisation of Greeces property sector.

Noval Property is one of the largest real estate investment companies in Greece, and a subsidiary of Viohalco. In 2021, the EBRD participated in Noval Propertys debut green bond issuance, with an investment of 12 million of the total 120 million offering.

The financing was signed today by Jean-Marc Peterschmitt, EBRD Chief Operating Officer of Client Services and Managing Director of Industry, Commerce and Agribusiness and Panagiotis Kapetanakos, Chief Executive Officer and Aikaterini Apergi, Chief Financial Officer of Noval Property.

Through this pre-IPO financing structure, the EBRD commits to participating in Noval Propertys capital ahead of the market, sending a positive signal to the prospects of the companys investment plan and value proposition.

As part of the project, Noval Property has committed to investing the EBRDs proceeds in financing the development, acquisition and refurbishment of environmentally certified buildings, achieving at least LEED Gold or BREEAM Very Good green certification. This is expected to address the limited stock of sustainable buildings in the market and encourage peers to aim for higher environmental standards. Noval Property will also introduce GRESB reporting standards, the global environmental, social and governance (ESG) benchmark for real estate assets, which aims to enhance and protect shareholders' value by assessing and empowering sustainability principles.

Noval Property has also adopted the UN Women Empowerment principles to solidify its commitment towards gender equality in the workforce. It is the first real estate company in Greece to sign these principles, setting standards at a national level.

Jean-Marc Peterschmitt, EBRD Managing Director of Industry, Commerce and Agribusiness, highlighted: We are glad to extend our partnership with Noval Property and support its promising pipeline of green-certified assets, which are currently in limited market supply. The EBRD is engaged ahead of the market in a pre-IPO financing in support of Noval Propertys strategic orientation. Greeces real estate market is on a positive trajectory, following years of underinvestment and we are confident that this partnership will enhance this. The EBRD and Noval Property share the same vision, with sustainable development being at the epicentre of our strategies.

Panagiotis Kapetanakos, Noval Property Chief Executive Officer, commented We are proud to continue and enlarge our partnership with the EBRD. This transaction contributes to the execution of our strategic investment plan which focuses on the acquisition and development of sustainable and environmentally certified assets. Further, it is a testament to the confidence in our commitment to provide sustainable change through our operations, aiming at the well-being of the people and the local communities and fostering a more sustainable way of living.
EBRD loans 1 million to Intesa Sanpaolo Bank Albania under the Youth in Business programme

Loan to boost on-lending to MSMEs owned or managed by entrepreneurs under 35

Sweden, Italy and Luxembourg support the programme with technical cooperation funds

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is lending 1 million to Intesa Sanpaolo Bank Albania (ISBA) under its flagship Youth in Business programme. The loan will boost on-lending to micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) that are owned or managed by young entrepreneurs.

The Youth in Business programme aims to empower entrepreneurs under the age of 35, supporting them with financial and non-financial products tailored to their needs, demonstrating that young businesspeople are a bankable segment. It supports both the partner financial institution (local bank) and sub-borrowers with training and advisory support. As well as gaining better access to finance, young entrepreneurs will benefit from consultancy projects, e-learning and training.

The programme will also help ISBA develop its own unique business model, contributing to new and more inclusive lending practices. It will allow for a deeper understanding of the financial needs of MSMEs under youth management, and for sustainable, tailor-made credit lines to be rolled out.

Ekaterina Solovova, EBRD Head of Albania, said: Our flagship Youth in Business programme clearly shows the EBRDs commitment to the future and how central youth inclusion is to the EBRDs mission. We are happy to have Intesa Sanpaolo Bank Albania as a partner with whom we can implement this mission.

Alessandro DOria, CEO of Intesa Sanpaolo Bank Albania, added: Our goal to stimulate the local investment market and further drive economic growth is fully aligned with the opportunities we want to offer young entrepreneurs. The Youth in Business programme further enriches our product catalogue for the youth and is in accordance with our ESG commitments.

This is the second EBRD loan under the Youth in Business programme in Albania, after it provided 1 million to Union Bank back in August.

Financing for the programme in the form of technical cooperation funds has been provided by Sweden via the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency; Italy via the Central European Initiative; and Luxembourg via the EBRD Small Business Impact Fund. These funds will support ISBAs capacity building, advisory services and training for young people running MSMEs.

In the wider region, the EBRDs Western Balkans Youth in Business programme expects to provide 100 million to local banks over the coming years.

The EBRD is a leading institutional investor in Albania. To date, the Bank has invested 2 billion in more than 140 projects in the country.
EBRD paper notes the reduced attractiveness of the US dollar in international trade

Russia is turning to the Chinese yuan as an invoicing currency

Research notes the rise of alternative currencies in international trade settlements

The rise in global geopolitical tensions and the use of economic sanctions may reduce the attractiveness of the US dollar as a currency in international trade and facilitate the rise of new international currencies, according to a working paper, entitled Exorbitant privilege and economic sanctions, recently published by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD).

This could, in turn, lead to greater fragmentation of global payment systems. The paper also notes a substantial change in the invoicing currencies used in import and export transactions since the start of the war on Ukraine and the subsequent imposition of trade sanctions on Russia.

The working paper studies the impact of trade sanctions on the choice of currency used in international trade transactions. It focuses, in particular, on the sanctions imposed on Russia by the European Union, the United States of America and a number of other advanced economies following Russias full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

We see a substantial increase in the use of the yuan in Russia's imports from China, accompanied by a declining share of the US dollar, says EBRD Chief Economist Beata Javorcik, one of the papers authors. We have also observed an increase in the use of the yuan as an invoicing currency by third countries. Thus, while dollar dominance makes sanctions more effective, the sanctions could, in the long run, lead to some erosion of this dominance.

The sanctions have imposed restrictions on the export of various goods to Russia, as well as on certain imports from Russia. They have limited the financial services that can be provided to Russian entities and suspended the access of some major Russian banks to SWIFT, the dominant system for cross-border payments.

Prior to March 2022, up to 80 per cent of Russias imports had been invoiced in US dollars or euros. By the end of 2022, invoices in Chinese yuan (CNY) accounted for 20 percent of Russias imports, a sharp increase from 3 per cent a year earlier, while the invoicing share of the US dollar and the euro had declined to 67 percent.

The research published by the Bank shows that the use of the CNY as a vehicle currency had increased 4 per cent, on average, among trading partners that had active currency swap lines with the Peoples Bank of China (PBOC), such as Mongolia and Tajikistan.

It also suggests that the share of CNY invoicing has increased more for those goods currently under EU sanction. For instance, the CNY shares of invoicing for dual-use and industrial-capacity goods increased by an additional 6-8 percentage points compared with non-sanctioned goods and trends observed among other trading partners.

The rise of CNY invoicing was most notable in payments for goods coming from China, where the yuan overtook the US dollar in the second half of 2022. However, the yuan was also actively used for settling trade with third users, such as Mongolia (where the share of CNY invoicing rose to 18 percent from zero in 2021), the Philippines, Malaysia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Thailand, Japan, Tajikistan and Singapore. A small percentage of trade transactions with the EU, the United Kingdom and the United States of America was settled using CNY as a vehicle currency.

This trend can also be observed in Russias exports, albeit to a lesser extent because of the dominance of oil, gas, coal and other commodities typically traded in US dollars in its export mix. Trading partners paying for Russias exports in CNY are geographically more diverse, with the top emerging users including Costa Rica, El Salvador, Cote dIvoire, Thailand, the UAE, Cameroon, Colombia and Nicaragua.

Overall, the EBRD working paper suggests that the imposition of trade sanctions on Russia was followed not only by swift changes in the geography of trade flows but also significant shifts in the currency of invoicing.

While the paper covers a relatively small part of international trade  the bilateral transactions of Russia, the 11th-largest economy in the world  it indicates a rapidly developing trend. Rising geopolitical tensions generally and the use of trade sanctions, in particular, may reduce the appeal of the US dollar as a vehicle currency in international trade and facilitate the rise of new international currencies, as well as the greater use of producer or importer currencies to settle trade.

This, in turn, may lead to greater fragmentation of global payment systems. The BRICS economies (Brazil, China, India, Russia and South Africa), for instance, are encouraging greater use of alternative currencies and have said they intend to develop a new cross-border payments system, BRICS Pay.
FOR the first time, John McDonagh, aka Johnny Two Pints, is coming to Cork - for one night only on Tuesday, October 10 - to perform his hit show Off The Meter, On The Record at the Cork Arts Theatre.

The show is both a humorous and poignant personal odyssey of his life driving a yellow taxi cab through the hustle and bustle of the New York streets for 40 years.

Under the direction of Ciaran OReilly, it has wowed audiences at the Irish Repertory Theatre in New York, as well as at theatres across the U.S.

The show won the First Origin Theatre Spirit Award in 2022 and featured at the Sean OCasey Community Centre Theatre in Dublin before capacity crowds, where it was very well received.

John hadnt exactly nurtured notions of embracing a thespian life, but his natural enthusiasm for fun and great gift for storytelling took hold, and with a few chance encounters along the way his new career as a performer began.

 I started telling stories of my experiences as a cab driver at sessions at Rocky Sullivans bar and then driving became something I enjoyed more talking about than actually doing.

I started writing some of the stories down and reading them to the dog, then brought them to U.S writers and artists salons and got great encouragement to keep going.

So I ended up from the bar stool to the boards, and two years later wound up in a place I never thought Id be in all my wildest dreams - on stage at The Irish Repertory Theatre.

John is really looking forward to his first visit to Cork. His mother hails from Donegal, and his father from Tyrone, and as a small boy he spent a lot of time at the family farm in Donegal.

He often comes back to The Old Country to visit family, and last year stopped in Dublin - for a hilarious reason.

Irishman Shane Gaffney had given him an IOU in 2013, promising him two pints of Guinness in a Dublin pub owned by his parents.

I spent $700 to fly 3,000 miles over to Ireland last year in order to claim the two free pints, laughs John. I got the nickname Johnny Two Pints after that.

The story hit the headlines all over the world, I even made it to Fox TV, Piers Morgan got the story too, it hit the Australian press, and of course when I was in Dublin Guinness Storehouse invited me on a tour.

John began his career as a yellow cab driver when he returned after serving in the U.S army in Germany during the Vietnam war.

I grew up with one foot in Queens, the other on a sheep farm in Donegal, but I am a city kid at heart. I love New York, the fast pace of the city that never sleeps, and after so many years of driving the cab, working all hours day and night, I still get up at 3am.

Off The Meter, On The record is a pithy social commentary where he describes encounters hes had with people from all walks of life, the good, the bad, and the downright dangerous.

ohn with TV presenter Stephen Fry.

John says: I saw my life pass before my eyes on two occasions, once when I had a gun put to my head, and another time I had a pick put against the side of my neck while the money was taken from my shirt pocket.

After that, I thought it was probably not a good idea to let passengers ride in the front seat of my cab.

Despite those dangerous moments, I cant think of a better place to watch the world go by then from behind the wheel of a New York city yellow taxi.

During my 40 years driving I have seen a lot of changes in this profession. Once upon a time getting your hack licence meant you would have enough to a family. Now drivers can barely make enough to pay the lease fee at the end of the 12 hour shift.

When I started out in the 70s after being honourably discharged from the army, the first thing I did was join the taxi union.

Described by The New York Times as the Bard of Gridlock, 40 years of driving through the pollution in New York City has taken its toll on John.

I dont think my lungs are great due to all the pollution in the city, he says.

If anyone is wondering what its like to be a cab driver, then if you are sitting down right now, youre off to a good start. Stay sitting for the next 12 hours.

He appeared with Stephen Fry on his six-part BBC series Stephen Fry In America, where the actor traversed the USA in his black London cab, and Fry couldnt have had a better guide to New York.

John has also featured on Top Gear with Richard Hammond and The Daily Show with Trevor Noah, and is a board member of the Irish American Writers and Artists.

John also co-hosts a weekly Sunday radio show, Radio Free Eireann with Malachy McCourt, on WBAI 99.5 FM in New York.

John and Malachy invited Cork writer Conal Creedon for a radio interview after they had seen his play, The Cure, performed at the iconic Arlenes Grocery in the Lower East side, and now Conal will be hosting a Q&A with John after the show next week, which promises to be a great night out with two wonderful raconteurs.

Off the Meter, On the Record, October 10, 8pm, Cork Arts Theatre, 021- 4505624. John will also be performing at the Abbey Art Centre in Ballyshannon Donegal on October 6 and Teachers Club in Dublin on October 14.
CITY traders have voiced concern over the continued impacts of roadworks on MacCurtain St on their businesses as Cork City Council confirmed the works will not be finished until mid-December.

Works have been taking place on the street as part of the MacCurtain St Public Transport Improvement Scheme.

The wider project aims to improve the public realm and traffic arrangements on MacCurtain St and adjoining streets to make the area more accommodating for shoppers, pedestrians, and cyclists.

A spokesperson for the VQ, a community of businesses in the Victorian Quarter district, said that the works, while challenging, will be transformative when completed.

However, some retailers are worried about the current impacts.

Impact of works

Michael Wall, who owns Salvagem, an antique store offering fine furniture, art, sculpture, antiques and collectibles, said that he is struggling to stay in business.

The losses are quite obvious, looking at last year considering to this year from June onwards, I am 97% down as of the start of October  I had five sales last week.

Mr Wall added: Im self-employed, Im trying to keep my business going, but Im just covering the costs if Im being honest here.

Its lovely to stay positive, to keep looking forward to the big picture, but I cant turn around and say: I cant pay any bills but in three months time itll be fantastic, well be a world-class street.

The Salvagem owner said retailers want to know if they will be compensated for the interruption to business.

Were here from 8am to 8pm, and we need to know is there going to be a break in rates, are we going to get supports from the council, will they be offering compensation

Sean Gargano from MacCurtain Wine Cellar said his retail business has also been impacted, however, he said that the hospitality side of his business is faring better.

Working on the improvement of MacCurtain Street, Cork. Picture Dan Linehan

Were very lucky, we have a two-part model, he said, explaining that his business is split between retail and hospitality, selling bottles of wine during the day then functioning as a wine bar by night.

Retail is decimated. Day trade has been gone for months  its heartbreaking, retail is a huge part of the rates and also the community, you cant just survive on bars and restaurants.

The ugly part of retail... is people need to pull up and put stuff in cars.

Wine is heavy, and Michael sells antiques, youre not going to take a couch on the back of your bike, Mr Gargano added.

We sell green wine, so were all about the environment, but deliveries need to come in and customers need to come out.

The day trade has just been destroyed  Id have been fine with a 10% drop, but were talking a 90% drop.

'Transformative'

Director of operations of the VQ Shane Clarke said that while the works are challenging, they will be transformative when completed.

We, the VQ, have been champions for this scheme, he said.

Its a long time coming and its going to be utterly transformative.

Weve been supportive of the work, but for the businesses blocked it is difficult, theres no getting away from that.

It is challenging, but on the flip side we can see a prize in sight, we can already see the transformation happening.

Completion nears

A section of the redeveloped section of MacCurtain Street, Cork. Picture Dan Linehan

He said that their latest update from the council is that most of the works down as far as Salvagem will be clear by the weekend of the Cork Guinness Jazz Festival, in just over three weeks time.

The proposed two-way traffic is set to commence from late November, with Mr Clarke saying they are expecting double the traffic and double the footfall.

He said that traders are looking forward to annual jazz festivalgoers who may not come to Cork at any other time of year seeing the change and saying: Oh my God!

We are really excited, and they commend the council for their communications on the matter, its been difficult for businesses, but in the sunshine of spring it will be worth it, he said.

A spokesperson for Cork City Council told The Echo: Construction is due to be completed by mid-December, barring any unforeseen delays.
A shop in Bishopstown is offering a safe space for school children to stay warm during the winter months if they miss their bus or their lift home from school.

Herlihys Centra Bishopstown has come up with a way to show some community spirit as the colder and much darker evenings roll in by offering a safe haven for students to help alleviate stress on both students and their parents.

The Centra has said that their store is always open as a safe and friendly place for children and teens to keep warm and said that they can also offer their phone to anyone who may need to contact home.

In a post on social media, Herlihys Centra said it is always here to help and reminded parents to never be stuck if their child misses their lift home.

The post on Facebook read: Herlihys Centra are always here to help, especially now that the evenings are getting darker and winter is closing in on us.

If your child has missed their bus or lift, or if their phone has died, they can always come to Herlihys Centra Bishopstown to wait for you and of course we will take care of them and they can use our phone. Its a friendly place where they can be warm, dry and safe until they are collected. Never be stuck.

It comes as some parents in Cork raised concerns recently about not being able to secure a bus ticket for their children ahead of their return to school.

Minister for Education Norma Foley faced criticism from both her Coalition colleagues and opposition TDs as families who have been using the school bus service for a number of years found themselves without tickets, leaving some parents in situations where they have to rearrange work times or make the decision not to send their child to school.

Local politicians have called for the review of the School Transport Scheme to be published without further delay.
NORTHSIDE residents have urged Cork City Council to avoid developing on Murphys Rock.

The green area has been used as an amenity by people from all across the northside, especially Blackpool, Ballyvolane and Dublin Hill residents for generations.

The Glenamought River Valley Park is considered amongst the top tier of blue and green infrastructure for the city, according to the Cork City Development Plan.

The plan established that the Glenamought River Valley Park is a key green and blue infrastructure asset that must be safeguarded in its function as a linear wildlife corridor and riverside amenity.

Green Party councillor for Cork City North-East, Oliver Moran said that residents are against development in the area.

An application by the GAA to develop housing immediately next to Murphys Rock last year was turned down after the identification of protected species, including rare butterflies.

That proposal was very close to the valley but, a litter further away, next to Dublin Hill, is land zoned for development by the Land Development Agency. Thats more promising for protecting the site than if it was a private developer, and they have already met with residents, but it is still a concern for the community.

The Development Plan cites that it will safeguard access to the riverside, protect biodiversity and preserve this ecological and visually sensitive asset. Further consideration will be given to existing historic, cultural and social landmarks and their integration into any enhanced future riverside park.

Locals wish to keep Murphys Rock as an amenity, as it is one of the few green areas left in the northside.

Ive received assurances that if they were to propose developing in the area, they would masterplan with the community. However, thats when a conflict will emerge over the vision for the wider Murphys Rock area. The communitys wish is to keep it as an amenity, including for families in new housing being built now on Dublin Hill, in Blackpool and on Ballyhooly Road, Mr Moran added.

Chairperson of Murphys Rock and Bride Valley Support Group in Kilcully, Joan Lewis said that many people are passionate about Murphys Rock, and they always have been.

ICE AGE

Murphys Rock has been there since the Ice Age and down through the generations it has been used an amenity.

People from Blackpool, Faranree, Whitechurch, Carrignavar and the wider areas have used Murphys Rock. We have so many great memories here [Murphys Rock], and we need to keep it for future generations, she said.

Cllr Moran believes a biodiversity audit on the valley to take place to establish its importance.

The group is set to met with Grace OSullivan MEP to establish importance at a European and national level.

There are other designations that could be sought too, including at European and national level, and the community are meeting with Grace OSullivan on exploring that also, Mr Moran said.
MORE than 100 employees of a Cork company are set to lose their jobs following a decision to relocate all operations from the companys Blarney facility to facilities in Poland and Mexico.

ILC Dover, located in Blarney Business Park, is a world leader in the innovative design and production of solutions for biopharmaceutical, pharmaceutical, and medical device markets as well as a leading supplier for the (aero)space industries.

The company confirmed to The Echo on Thursday that it had made the difficult decision, which is subject to a 30-day consultation period, to relocate all operations to facilities in Gliwice in Poland and Juarez in Mexico.

The company confirmed that the Blarney facility is scheduled to close in Q1 of 2024 and that approximately 110 employees will be impacted by the decision.

A statement issued to The Echo read: Given the unexpected macroeconomic conditions the industry has faced, and the significant capacity ILC Dover now has, we have had to re-evaluate our operational footprint. As a result of this evaluation, the Company has decided to relocate all operations from Blarney, Ireland to Gliwice, Poland and Juarez, Mexico and will close our facility in Blarney in Q1 of 2024.

Chief Operating Officer (COO) for ILC Dover Scott Watson said: This is a very difficult day for our Blarney employees and the decision to close the facility was taken after a detailed evaluation of our operational footprint reflecting a softer macroeconomic environment.

This decision in no way overshadows the Blarney teams exceptional performance, as well as the teams commitment to safety and quality over the past few years.

The company said that while production continues, ILC Dover management will enter a consultation period with its employees with a goal to support employees through the wind-down process.

Independent councillor Kenneth O'Flynn described the job losses as a serious blow to our community and said the news serves as a wake-up call to the government that we can no longer rely solely on big pharma jobs.

Speaking to The Echo, Mr OFlynn said: It is crucial that we shift our focus towards establishing and supporting small to medium businesses in our community. The concentration of efforts on cutting red tape and creating a favourable environment for local enterprises is now more important than ever.

In addition to this loss of employment, our community is facing numerous challenges, including the ever-increasing cost of living and the lack of rental accommodation for the private sector. These issues need to be addressed promptly and effectively.

My heart goes out to the individuals who have been affected by these job losses, many of whom are personally known to me and live within my family home parish of Blarney. This situation highlights the importance of fostering a better economic environment to retain existing companies in Cork and attract new ones to our local economy.

Our focus must be on supporting and working for the benefit of our small to medium businesses, as they are the backbone of our community and vital for a thriving local economy.

Mr OFlynn said he will actively engage with the government to highlight the urgency of the matter and advocate for the necessary support to be extended to those affected by the job losses.

We must also explore avenues to foster economic growth and job creation within our community, he said.

I encourage local residents, businesses, and stakeholders to come together and collaborate on finding innovative solutions to the challenges we face.

By working collectively, we can create an environment that supports job retention, economic growth, and a better future for our community.
TARRAC is a new Irish language film that follows the story of Aoife (Kelly Gough), who returns to her rural community to take care of her ill father.

After years of working in a high-stress environment, being home is both a blessing and a curse. Unresolved tensions come to the fore, but so does her old love of naomhog racing, which unlocks something deep inside her.

As Aoife reconnects with old friends, she also meets a young rower with hopes for Olympic glory.

Naomi is played by Rachel Feeney, who hails from Bishopstown, and says she was drawn to her character right from the audition stages.

Naomis determination and focus were clear in how Eugene OBrien wrote the script, and I couldnt help but try to meet that, said Feeney.

When we first meet her in the film, she finds it difficult to connect socially and doesnt have much hope for social interactions. On the flip side, you can feel her hope to achieve great things in rowing through her ability and belief in herself, and I still find that very endearing.

Naomhog racing uses a traditional wooden currach manned by a four-person crew. The sport is particularly popular in Kerry, where the film takes place, and in Cork, where Feeney trained with a local club.

I was living in London, so I started there at a club that had the most similar type of boats to the Naomhog.

I had a visit to Naomhoga Chorchai in Cork as well with some wonderful experts.

Just beginning to get out on the boat and feel the therapeutic aspect of being on the water, the silence, the repetitive motion, and the working in harmony was what I first noticed. Then theres trying to get that strength to use all those muscles needed to keep it moving and straight!.

Filming took place in the winter, and Feeney says the actors had massive support in Kerry.

We had the terrific Maunza and Karen, who thoroughly and with such humour got us up to where we needed to be. Even though weather conditions were not ideal, we made the most of our time and were pushed to our limits. The training process was so special because where would you get an opportunity like that?

A scene from Tarrac.

Filming in cold conditions cannot have been easy; Feeney admits she did have one unintentional dip in the sea when she fell out of the boat, but says they worked hard to keep morale high, including beginning each day with a team breakfast.

We had breakfast as a cast and crew, including our director, Declan Recks, and writer, Eugene OBrien. The wonderful transport team were huge morale boosters. Colm and Rory would not only drop us off in great spirits but top it up throughout the day with chats.

Getting to spend quality time with the cast after filming, at the weekends, discussing the importance of the Irish language - its beauty and value.

On the boats, our guides were cracking jokes non-stop and putting all their effort into getting the shot that was needed - whether sun, rain or howling wind.

Tarrac was funded by the Cine4 scheme, which has supported films like the Oscar-nominated An Cailin Ciuin. Although not a Gaeilgeoir, Feeney says she had great support from Cork Gaeilgeoir Maire Ruiseal.

I was given tremendous help and guidance by the fantastic Maire, who is from Cork but living in Kerry now. Maire was warm, kind, helpful, and had a big impact on set!

It was a privilege to be around so many Gaeilgeoirs and to hear all their perspectives on the Irish language, where its going and where its been. My time filming Tarrac changed something within me regarding my appreciation of languages.

The Bishopstown actor says she feels lucky to be part of the recent rise in Irish-language films.

Irish language films have something really special about them. A certain authenticity that I cant quite put my finger on. A depth. Its such a pure and heart-led endeavour to preserve and share something that must be preserved and shared. Its so exciting, isnt it?

Feeney went to St Catherines in Bishopstown before moving to Mount Mercy College for secondary school, and graduated from the renowned acting college, RADA, in 2019. She says she has wanted to be an actor since she was 12.

I had speech and drama throughout primary school with Evaleen Whelton and went on to youth theatre with the Gaiety School of Acting and learned from Stella Majewsky and Tony McCleane Fay. It served as a solid training and fuelled my passion to pursue it further. I look back on those days and understand even more that drive and passion Naomi has [in Tarrac].

Feeney, who appeared in Kenneth Branaghs Belfast and Death On The Nile, says that each job is a blessing.

Every piece of acting work I have done has been a blessing and a huge learning experience. You meet the most extraordinary people, aiming for such extraordinary things. You cant take it for granted. It expands your life in a lot of ways.

Feeney hopes audiences will engage with the four women at the films centre.

They all walk such different paths, and they all have a lostness in life that brings them together.

"I think the need to repair, the need to go after what matters most, and the need for connection are big takeaways from this film.

Tarrac is in cinemas, October 6, Cert 15a.
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China on Friday handed in a progress report on implementing its nationally determined contributions (NDCs) targets to the secretariat of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change,where is morongo casino located according to the Ministry of Ecology and Environment.



The document, titled "Progress on the Implementation of China's Nationally Determined Contributions (2022)," has shown the country's progress since it updated its NDCs in 2020, reflecting its determination and efforts to promote green and low-carbon development and address global climate change, said the ministry.



The report summarized China's new arrangements and measures since the NDC update, with a focus on the top-level design to address climate change, as well as the progress made in controlling greenhouse gas emissions in key areas such as industry, urban and rural construction, transportation and agriculture.



It summed up China's achievements in areas like green and low-carbon transformation of energy, consolidation and enhancement of carbon sinks in ecosystems, carbon market development, and adaptation to climate change.



The document also involved the progress of the Hong Kong and Macao special administrative regions in addressing climate change, said the ministry.


Mysterious fossils found in southern China may belong to a separate branch of hominids.

Four human fossils discovered in southern China have waited over twenty years before scientists made great discovery. Three fossils were found in 1989 in a cave called Maludong Yunnan (the Red Deer Cave), near the town of Mengzi, and the fourth was discovered in 1979, close Longlin village, in neighboring Guangxi. By studying them closely, a team of paleoanthropologists from the Australian University of New South Wales and the Institute of Archaeology Chinese Yunnan has just made an amazing discovery. The fossils could belong to a human species never discovered before.

Scientists have tried to date the bones and found that they were relatively recent. According to the results of their study published in the journal PLoS ONE, the fossils date back to the stone age from 11500 to 14500 years ago. Meaning that they were present in this part of Asia at the end of the Ice Age and the beginnings of agriculture.

A curious mixture

By analyzing the skulls and teeth of fossils, the researchers found this species had a surprising mixture of archaic and modern features, as well as specific features never seen before. They have such a high forehead and wide, close to that of homo sapiens, but the prominent brow ridges and almost no chin, which is associated with much older homo. Their skull is relatively moderate in size, and their molars are particularly broad. Thus, although paleoanthropologists want to remain cautious, these Red Deer People may belong to a separate branch in the family of hominids.

The scientific team of Darren Curnoe and Ji Xueping makes two assumptions about them. Either it is an unknown species that survived there until the end of the Ice Age, or they are the descendants of tribes unknown to modern humans who would have emigrated earlier from Africa and would not contribute genetically to the present populations. For more information, researchers now hope to extract DNA from these mysterious fossil to find which are the closest known relatives of the species.

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Illustration: Xu Zihe/GT

Tianzhou-5 cargo spacecraft smoothly docked with the China's T-Shape Tiangong Space Station about only two hours after being launched earlier from Wenchang Space Launch Site in South China's Hainan Province,marking a new record of the world's fastest launching to docking feat in space for a spacecraft, and showcasing the China speed once again.With the ultrafast rendezvous, Tianzhou-5 cargo spacecraft has broken the record held by Russia's crewed spacecraft Soyuz MS-17. The crewed Russian craft took 3 hours and 3 minutes from launching to docking with the International Space Station on October 14, 2020.Tianzhou cargo spacecraft series has witnessed a rapid development of China's technology of space rendezvous and docking.It took Tianzhou-1 about two days to dock with the Tiangong-2 space lab on April 22, 2017. Adopting an autonomous and fast rendezvous and docking technology, Tianzhou-2 docked with China's Tianhe space station core module on May 30, 2021, some eight hours after being launched.

Illustration: Xu Zihe/GT

Following that, China has further reduced the time for the Tianzhou spacecraft delivery run at the space station building stage, and it took about 6.5 hours for Tianzhou-3 and Tianzhou-4 to achieve the feat on September 20, 2021 and May 10, 2022 respectively.Pang Zhihao, a Beijing-based space expert, told the Global Times that only Russia has pulled off such ultrafast rendezvous before, and now China has not only done it but done it even faster.Shorter time from launching to docking would save more resources consumed in the process and once it is applied to crewed spacecraft, it will enable even faster space rescue responding to emergency situations, Pang said.It is likely to become the new norm for the cargo spacecraft missions to the China Space Station with the reliability being further verified before its application in the crewed missions in the future, Pang said, noting that China is making new attempts and boosting its technology advancement in every new launch, showing the courage and confidence of China's manned space programs.China successfully launched Tianzhou-5 cargo spacecraft to ferry supplies to the China's Space Station, via a Long March-7 carrier rocket from Wenchang Space Launch Site in South China's Hainan Province on Saturday morning at 10:03 am, marking the first launch mission to Tiangong after the completion of the T-shape assembly of the country's first-ever permanent space station.Tianzhou-5 is currently the cargo spacecraft in service with the most powerful transport capability in the world, and it also is the most versatile craft of its kind in terms of in-orbit supporting capabilities. It is commissioned to carry out tasks including providing supplies for taikonauts, supporting in-orbit operation of the space station, conduct space-based experiment and implementing cargo and propellant replenishment for the space station, Global Times learned from the spacecraft developer, the China Academy of Spacecraft Technology (CAST).The Tianzhou-5 carries supplies weighing some 5 tons in the delivery run to the China's Tiangong Space Station, which includes food, medical materials and cleaning products for the taikonauts. Also onboard the craft are spare parts and maintenance parts for the key equipment of the space station, the experimental payload of the space application system, and the 1400 kilogram of supplementary propellant, according to a statement the CAST provided to the Global Times.The cargo spacecraft also carries plant seeds weighing about one kilogram, covering range of crops such as rice, wheat and corns that would be used in space seeding experiments. They will be returned to Earth later with the manned spacecraft and then cultivated on Earth before being put into the market, the CAST said.Three experimental payloads will be ferried to the orbiting space station with the Tianzhou-5. That includes country's first-ever fuel cell for space application that is also developed by the CAST, which will be used to conduct the country's first fuel cell in-orbit experiment to verify the performance of the fuel cell and to explore how the environment in space, including microgravity, would impact its performance. Such research and study will provide firm support for the development of China's manned moon probe missions in the future, according to the CAST.China plans to complete the building of Tiangong Space Station and makes it operational within 2022. To achieve that, six space launch missions - two lab modules, Wentian and Mengtian, two Tianzhou cargo spacecraft and two Shenzhou manned spacecraft, are required.China has executed five of the six missions with perfect success records.The Saturday launch marked the final mission of the Long March-7 rocket at the space station building stage and also the last launch mission scheduled at the Wenchang Space Launch Site this year.And according to the rocket developer China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology (CALT,) the rocket model that is capable of sending payload up to 14 tons to the near-Earth orbit and payload of 9.5 tons to the Sun synchronous orbit when mounting upper stage, will continue launch frequency of twice a year after China's Tiangong Space Station becomes operational.It can ferry not only Tianzhou-cargo spacecraft but also other satellite payloads and is believed that it will be widely used in the future in the launch missions of medium- and low-orbit satellites.According to the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA), the Shenzhou-14 crew will be visited by the Tianzhou-5 cargo spacecraft and the Shenzhou-15 manned spacecraft, and two crews of six taikonauts will make China's first direct handover in-orbit.
Republican Katie Britt becomes first woman elected to Senate in Alabama: 'It's time for new blood'

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Sen.-elect Katie Britt reflects on her historic race on 'Fox & Friends' before attending orientation in Washington, D.C.

Republican women made history during the 2022 midterm election cycle, winning seats in both the House and Senate never before held by women.

Katie Britt became the first woman ever elected to Senate in the state of Alabama. The Senator-elect described the feeling as "surreal" on "Fox & Friends."

Britt explained to host Ainsley Earhardt that very few people believed her win would be possible when she announced her candidacy.

"So to be sitting here with you today, to be preparing to go into orientation, to be fighting for the American people, it is exciting and humbling," she said Monday.

AFTER MIDTERM ELECTION, THE CHALLENGES FACING DEMOCRATS AND REPUBLICANS

Katie Britt speaks with members of the media during an election night watch event in Montgomery, Alabama, on Tuesday, May 24, 2022. (Andi Rice/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Britt won her race by 36 points against Democrat Will Boyd, citing a grassroots strategy that involved listening to voters concerns rather than simply lecturing the public.

Britt is also the youngest woman to ever serve in the Senate and the only woman in the Senate with school-aged children.

"The Republican Party is the party of parents," she said. "We're the party of hard-working Americans. It's exciting to be that voice at the table."

Video

Lori Chavez-DeRemer also made history when she flipped an Oregon House seat. She is the first Republican woman and first Hispanic woman elected to Congress in the state.

Chavez-DeRemer said on "Fox & Friends First" that she earned voters trust after her 8-year career as mayor of Happy Valley, Oregon.

CONSERVATIVE GROUPS PUSH SENATE TO DELAY LEADERSHIP ELECTIONS AS FRUSTRATION WITH MCCONNELL GROWS

Lori Chavez DeRemer speaks at a candidates debate at Lakeridge High School in Lake Oswego, Oregon, Oct. 17, 2022. (AP Photo/Steve Dipaola, File)

"Oregonians spoke loud and clear that they wanted somebody with that proven track record, somebody who can roll up their sleeves, somebody who can get things done and bring all of Oregonians along," she told host Carley Shimkus.

Chavez-DeRemer said the election results show that Americans want practical and thoughtful leadership.

"They want to see a vibrant economy, that they're safe on their streets, that their kids are having access to a great education," she said. "And that's what we want to do."

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Senator-elect Britt echoed the need to get America back on track.

"People believe that it's time for new blood, fresh blood in Washington," she said.

Amy Nelson is a producer with Fox News Digital.
The State Department said Tuesday U.S. and North Korean officials narrowed their differences on resuming Chinese-sponsored six-party negotiations on Pyongyangs nuclear program in a two-day set of talks in Geneva. But, U.S. officials say there were no breakthroughs and that the process will take some time.

Officials are expressing cautious optimism about the results of the Geneva meetings, but say it could take months to find out if North Korea is willing to take the concrete steps needed to re-start the nuclear talks.

In the latest sign of an improved atmosphere between North Korea and other parties in the stalled six-way negotiations, senior U.S. and North Korean diplomats met behind closed doors for two days of meetings in Geneva.

U.S. special envoy for North Korea Stephen Bosworth said the sides narrowed some differences and that the tone was positive and generally constructive.

His North Korean counterpart, Vice Foreign Minister Kim Kye Gwan sounded more upbeat, citing big improvements in some areas and saying remaining differences will be solved when the sides meet again.

Briefing reporters, State Department Spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said there were no breakthroughs and that it might take some time to learn if North Korea is prepared to do what is needed to revive the six-party talks.

Weve narrowed the differences but there is quite a bit of work still to do, she said. I think you know where we have been on the six-party talks. First, that the north-south dialogue needs to continue and second that we need to see real concrete steps, concrete commitments by the North Koreans on their nuclear obligations.

A senior U.S. official said the North Korean team was given detailed proposals to take back to the leadership in Pyongyang and that given its track record on such issues, it will probably be a matter of weeks if not months before a decision is made.

North Korea agreed in principle in 2005 to scrap its nuclear program including a presumed small stockpile of weapons in return for aid and diplomatic incentives from other members of the six-party talks-Japan, Russia, South Korea, the United States and host China.

But Pyongyang walked out of the talks in 2009 and later conducted a second nuclear test.

North-South Korean relations went into a tail-spin last year with the sinking of a South Korean navy ship blamed on the north and the North Korean shelling of a southern coastal island.

John Park, senior program officer for Northeast Asia of the U.S. Institute of Peace, the USIP, says efforts to get North Korea back into the negotiating process are aimed in part at preventing a return to aggressive behavior by Pyongyang.

One of the big motivations now is to try to engage North Korea in some kind of talks as a way to prevent future provocations, he said. That thesis, I think, is being implemented right now to a certain degree. Certainly there are other factors involved as well. But in terms of taking a pro-active stance in terms of trying to prevent a recurrence of provocation like last year, this type of negotiating or engaging with North Korea is seen as an important element of that.

The USIPs Park says North Korea is being heavily courted amid a sense of urgency by China and others that the longer the six-party process is stalemated, the less chance there is of getting it going again.

U.S. spokeswoman Nuland said the Geneva meetings included North Koreas request for international food aid to cope with shortages attributed to floods and mismanagement.

She said whether the United States, the largest single food donor to North Korea since the 1990s, provides new aid depends on a U.S. needs assessment and competing demand for famine relief elsewhere including the Horn of Africa.

Nuland said Washington also wants terms assuring that any aid reaches North Koreans truly in need, and she dismissed charges by some aid groups that a U.S. decision is being held up for political reasons.

We reject those assertions. We do not connect these issues, she said. And were we to go forward, we would have to have significant and detailed discussions about monitoring, which we have not yet had.

Nuland said U.S. North Korea envoy Bosworth will step down and return full-time to his academic post at Tufts University near Boston after returning to Washington and briefing administration officials on the Geneva meetings.

Bosworth was accompanied there by veteran diplomat Glyn Davies, outgoing U.S. ambassador to the International Atomic Energy Agency, who has been named to the North Korea post.

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Foreign direct investment in China jumped nearly 20% last month. They were driven by giants projects such as McDonalds plan of opening one restaurant per day.

In the medium term, our growth model, driven by investment, will not decline. In its Monday edition, the China Securities Journal, which is controlled by Beijing, was sure of the facts and announced that the foreign direct investment (FDI) in China was very robust in July.

Official figures released on Tuesday: FDI jumped 19.8% to $ 8.3 billion last month, bringing the volume to 69.2 billion for the first seven months of 2011 (18.6% over the same period in 2010).

A soft landing

Beijing wants to increase the contribution of consumption in economic growth, instead of largely depending on the investment. But foreign companies continue to rush to the former Middle Kingdom whose growth is expected to 9% this year. Signs of a slowdown are increasing.

According to a survey by Reuters, economists predict a scenario of soft landing  with growth reduced to 8.8% in 2012, while the target of the central government falls to 7%.

The giants of the industry and services

The Japanese automaker Nissan announced in late July it would invest $ 7.8 billion by 2015 to gain share of the largest car market world. And the world leader in fast food chain restaurants, McDonalds intends to open one restaurant per day in China over the next three to four years.

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Local accounting firms have witnessed fast growth in recent years and are gradually narrowing their revenue gap with the Big Four,blue jays picks captain jack bonus an industry official said Monday.

In 2011, the average revenue of the Big Four  KPMG, Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu, Ernst & Young and PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC)  was 1.68 times that of the best-performing local firm in China, whereas the gap in 2002 was 4.06 times, according to Chen Yugui, secretary of the Chinese Institute of Certified Public Accountants.

The Big Four have retained a dominant role in the sector, with combined revenues on the Chinese mainland totaling 10 billion yuan (1.59 billion U.S. dollars) in 2011, accounting for roughly 35 percent of the earnings of the top 100 firms in the sector, according to Chen.

Earlier this year, authorities in China issued a new regulation ordering the Big Four to practice as local firms after their joint venture agreements expire.

According to the new regulation, the auditing giants should form special group partnerships with limited liability to continue their business in China when their joint venture terms end.

Deloitte, KPMG and Ernst & Young will see their 20-year joint venture arrangements expire later this year, while PwCs joint venture agreement will come to an end in 2017.

The new localized accounting offices should each have at least 25 qualified partners, 100 Chinese certified public accountants and registration capital worth 10 million yuan.

Xinhua

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Senior Chinese political advisor Wang Gang on Wednesday met with a group of British politicians headed by former First Secretary of State and Business Secretary Peter Mandelson.

Wang,metaverse buy digital land vice chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese Peoples Political Consultative Conference, said China and Britain have immense potential for cooperation.

He said the two sides should tap into the potential to further advance their comprehensive strategic partnership with each others core interests being respected.

The British delegation is in Beijing to attend a forum of young politicians from China and Britain.

Hailing the importance of the forum, Wang said the Chinese side is willing to work together with the British to enhance mutual understanding, expand consensus and cement the friendship.

Mandelson said the British attaches importance to its ties with China and will make joint efforts with the Chinese side to expand reciprocal cooperation in pursuit of common development, according to a news release after the meeting.

Xinhua

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Senior official Li Changchun has urged broadcast networking companies to contribute to the development of Chinese media by boosting innovation while learning from overseas experience.

Li, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, made the remark on Wednesday during a visit to the 2012 China Content Broadcasting Network Exhibition.

Aiming for the most advanced technology in the global broadcast and TV industry, we should focus on projects of strategic importance and develop core technology featuring independent innovation, Li said.

According to Li, the country should pay equal attention to technological research and market promotion in order to foster world-renowned brands and boost the countrys cultural influence on the world stage.

The exhibition, which will run from March 21 to 23, was sponsored by the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television. It aims to showcase the latest technology and equipment from the broadcast, digital TV and broadband network service industries.

This years event has attracted more than 1,000 companies from some 30 countries and regions.

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People with university degrees have suffered far fewer job losses during the global economic crisis lucky bet app anthony wiseman nbathan those who left school without qualifications, according to the latest edition of the OECDs annual Education at a Glance. Good education and skills are crucial to improving a persons economic and social prospects.

Unemployment rates among university graduates stood at 4.4% on average across OECD countries in 2009. But people who did not complete high school faced unemployment rates of 11.5%, up from 8.7% the year before. This adds to the huge problem of youth unemployment that today exceeds 17% in the OECD area.

The cost to individuals and society of young people leaving school without a qualification keeps rising, said OECD Secretary-General Angel Gurria. We must avoid the risk of a lost generation by all means. Despite strained public budgets, governments must keep up their investment to maintain quality in education, especially for those most at risk.

Investment in education is not only about money, its also an investment in people and an investment in the future.

Based on current graduation trends, 82% of young people today will complete upper secondary education, but those who do not will face ever greater challenges in entering and staying in the job market.

Over fifty per cent of 15 to 19 year-olds who are not in school are unemployed or out of the labour force. In most countries, youth not in employment, education or training receive no welfare support. And compared with older age groups, they are twice as likely to give up looking for work and lose touch with the labour market entirely.

Governments therefore need to invest in education. In the long-run, their budgets will benefit from investment in education. The better educated are less likely to need unemployment benefits or welfare assistance, and pay more tax when they enter the job market.

A man with a tertiary education will pay back an average USD 91 000 in income taxes and social contributions over his working life,over and above what the government pays for his degree.

Education pays for individuals, too: the gross earnings premium for an individual with a tertiary degree exceeds USD 300 000 for men and USD 200 000 for women across the OECD.

The OECD report also illustrates how the global talent pool is changing: the more educated workforces of Japan and the United States, which together have nearly half of all tertiary-educated adults in the OECD area (47%), have given them a head-start in many high-skill areas.

But the picture is changing  at present, one in three university-educated retirees resides in the U.S. but only one in five university graduates entering the workforce does. Conversely, while only 5% of adults in China have a tertiary degree, because of its population size, the country now ranks second behind the U.S. and ahead of Japan in the percent of the population with tertiary attainment among OECD and G20 countries.

Education at a Glance provides comparable national statistics measuring the state of education worldwide. This years report includes indicators on the human and financial resources invested in education, on how education systems operate and evolve, and on the returns to educational investments.

For the first time, it includes analysis of education systems in Brazil, China, India, Indonesia, Russia and South Africa.

KEY FINDINGS

Education spending

OECD countries spent 6.1% of their GDP on education in 2008. Between 2000 and 2008, expenditure increased at a faster rate than GDP in 25 of the 32 countries for which data are available (Chart B2.1).

Expenditure per student by tertiary educational institutions increased 14 percentage points on average in OECD countries from 2000 to 2008. Spending per tertiary student fell in 7 of the 30 countries with available data as expenditure did not keep up with expanding enrolments. (Chart B1.6, second chart).

The share of private funding at tertiary level increased in 20 of the 26 countries for which comparable data are available between 2000 and 2008. The share increased by six percentage points, on average, and by more than fifteen percentage points in Portugal, the Slovak Republic and the United Kingdom (Chart B3.3, first part).

Spending on teachers salaries in 2009 accounted for an average 63% of current expenditure on primary, secondary and post-secondary non-tertiary education combined in OECD countries (Table B6.2b). Between 2000 and 2009, teachers salaries increased in real terms in most countries. The largest increases  of well over 50%  were seen in the Czech Republic, Estonia and Turkey. The only exceptions to this trend were Australia, France, Japan and Switzerland where salaries declined (Table D3.3 and Chart D3.2).

International students

Over the past three decades, the number of international students has risen dramatically, from 800, 000 worldwide in 1975 to 3.7 million in 2009 (Chart in Box C3.1). Australia, the UK, Austria, Switzerland and New Zealand have the highest percentage of international students at tertiary level.

China contributes 18.2% of all international students from non-OECD countries enrolled in the OECD area (not including an additional 1.3% from Hong Kong, China).

Gender equality

Young women are now more likely than men to finish upper secondary education in every OECD country except for Germany and Switzerland.

Women make up the majority of students and graduates in almost all OECD countries and largely dominate in the fields of education, health and welfare, and humanities and arts. Men dominate in engineering, manufacturing and construction (Chart A4.1).

Journalists are invited to contact Andreas Schleicher (tel. + 33 1 45 24 93 66) in the OECDs Education Directorate. The report is available to journalists on the OECDs password-protected site.

Further information on Education at a Glance, including country notes and key data, is available atwww.oecd.org/edu/eag2011

Country briefings are available for Brazil, China, Estonia, France, Germany (in German), Greece, Italy, Japan (in Japanese), Mexico (in Spanish), Spain, the United Kingdom and the United States.

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After Dyson, Apple and luxury perfumes discovered their clones in China, this time it is the Swedish brand IKEA who found a cloned store in Kunming, southern China, the store belongs to a Chinese brand called 11 Furniture.

The new furniture and decorative accessories store covers an area of 10000 square meters. According to the spokesman of the IKEA Group, Camilla Meiby, it looks just like the Swedish giant: same colors, same bags, same staging and presentation of the rays, even cafeteria model Ultimate disturbing detail  not least  the pronunciation of two Chinese brands is much the same.

The IKEA Group has launched an investigation to determine whether or not 11 Furniture violate its intellectual property rights by taking concepts that made the success of the famous Swedish furniture brand. The best thing we can do to prevent fake shops appear, is to open more stores and make IKEA products available to more people, said the group in a statement. IKEA currently has nine stores in five cities in China.

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Honey products from Zambia are presented in the exhibition area for food and agricultural products at the 5th China International Import Expo on November 7, 2022. China-Africa agricultural trade has been growing steadily, with an average rise of 11.4 percent in China's imports of African farm products over the past five years, and China has become the second-largest destination for African agricultural exports. Photo: Xinhua

China will grant zero-tariff treatment to 98 percent of taxable items originating in 10 least-developed countries (LDC), according to a statement released by the Customs Tariff Commission of the State Council on Wednesday.Experts said the move will raise China's imports from LDCs, especially those in Africa, and promote economic and trade cooperation.Effective on December 1, China will waive all tariffs on 98 percent of the related imports from Afghanistan, Benin, Burkina Faso, Guinea-Bissau, the Kingdom of Lesotho, Malawi, Sao Tome and Principe, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia.The policy will cover 8,786 items, including agricultural products such as olive oil, cocoa powder and nuts, as well as various chemicals and product materials.The policy is conducive to opening up with a win-win approach, building an open economy in the world, and helping LDCs to accelerate their economic development, the statement said.Prior to this move, the commission announced plans to offer zero-tariff treatment for 98 percent of currently taxable products imported from 16 of the LDCs including Togo, Djibouti, Laos and Rwanda, which came into force on September 1.The treatment is expected to give a strong boost to the export growth of African countries to China, experts said.The move will further promote China-Africa economic and trade cooperation, and help African products explore the Chinese market, He Wenping, director of the African Studies Section at the Institute of West Asian and African Studies under the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times on Wednesday.He added that it is a practical move for China, which has planned to import $300 billion of products from Africa in the next three years.At the eighth Ministerial Conference of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) in 2021, China announced plans to set up a green lane for African agricultural products to enter the Chinese market, expand the range of products covered by zero-tariff treatment and import $300 billion worth of products from Africa in the following three years, the Xinhua News Agency reported.China-Africa economic cooperation has expanded rapidly in scale and extent. Over the past five years, China's imports of African agricultural products have grown at an average annualized rate of 11.4 percent, making China the second-largest export destination for African agricultural products, according to the Xinhua report.In 2021 China imported $5.03 billion of agricultural products from Africa, a year-on-year increase of 18.23 percent, reaching a record high.From January to October, bilateral trade between China and Africa grew 14.3 percent year-on-year to reach over $236 billion, according to figures released by the General Administration of Customs on Monday.
China is crazy rich slot 88 slots heaven ukready to boost cooperation with Macedonia in various fields, including the military, and raise bilateral ties to a new level, visiting Chinese Defense Minister Liang Guanglie pledged here Friday.

China-Macedonia ties have been developing steadily since their normalization, Liang said when meeting with Macedonian President Gjorge Ivanov.

Liang, the first Chinese defense minister to visit Macedonia, said the two countries had carried out frequent high-level exchanges, deepened political mutual trust and achieved positive results in cooperation in various areas.

China appreciates Macedonias firm adherence to the one-China policy and hopes Macedonia would continue to support it on major issues of core interests, he said.

The Macedonian president said his country attaches great importance to cooperation with China in such fields as politics, economy and culture. He expressed his thanks to China for its long-term support and assistance to Macedonia.

Ivanov lauded the great achievements made by China in national construction and spoke highly of the significant role China had played in safeguarding international order.

He vowed to step up military cooperation with China and deepen strategic mutual trust between the two countries.

Also on Friday, Liang met with Macedonian Defense Minister Fatmir Besimi and Chief of the General Staff Goranco Koteski, exchanging views on relations between the two countries armies and on regional security among other issues of common concern.

Xinhua

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Representatives from government, business and experts support the Prime Minister and presidential candidate Vladimir Putin that China is not a threat to Russian economy, and agree with the need to properly build relationships with Chinese corporations, as they are the main potential investors of Siberia.

On Monday, the newspaper Moscow News published an article by Putin, Russia and the changing world about foreign policy. The presidential candidate, in particular, stated that the growth of the Chinese economy  not a threat but a challenge that carries a huge potential for business cooperation, the chance to catch the Chinese wind in the sails of our economy. Putin called for actively build new cooperative ties, matching technology and manufacturing capabilities of our countries, using Chinese capacity for economic development of Siberia and the Far East.

Honored Economist of the Russian Federation Rifat Huseynov from Novosibirsk stressed loyalty to Putins thoughts regarding the establishment of mutually beneficial cooperation with China and at the same time, noted the need to remove the irritation factor in the form of undeveloped resources of Siberia and the Far East.

We must not forget that today our destiny in general is depend on the buyers of export goods. China has become one of the most important and the existing and potential customers of our raw materials and energy resources. The faster Chinas economy develops, the more beneficial to us  said Huseynov.

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From left: Thevirgin games rainbow riches InterContinental Shanghai Wonderland, Kimpton Bamboo Grove Suzhou in Jiangsu province and Crowne Plaza Shennongjia in Hubei province are part of IHG's hotel and resort offerings in the Chinese market. CHINA DAILY

Tailored initiative benefits members as market registers recovery in travel

In response to renewed enthusiasm for travel, IHG Hotels & Resorts has revamped a global loyalty program to help its members gain a better experience in the growing market in China.

Launched at InterContinental Shanghai Wonderland, IHG One Rewards is designed to help members earn points faster and offer more ways of using them.

It includes a new tier and bonus points structure that will allow members to earn more points faster and gain rewards sooner. Member benefits include free breakfast and room upgrades, and a new technology-enabled platform that allows members to choose the rewards that matter the most to them.

"Many companies have loyalty programs but the big difference for us is the IHG One Rewards is personal," said Daniel Aylmer, managing director and senior vice-president of IHG Hotels & Resorts' China operations.

"We've tailored it to individuals and the program depends on how you travel and will reward you the way how you want to be rewarded," he said.

Aylmer also said he believes it is the right time to launch the new rewards despite the pandemic.

"All the world, I suppose, it's a bit confusing, but travel remains for everyone. Even though travel abroad is not very convenient yet, the Chinese consumer is traveling more than ever before and more frequently, especially more staycations and shorter trip experiences," Aylmer said.

"It's the perfect time for our consumers. Now travelers really are continuing to experience travel but are also being rewarded for it in a way that's more personal," he added.

IHG has more than 6,000 hotels across 17 brands worldwide. While facing the diversified Chinese market, IHG set different strategies toward its 12 brands in China, according to Aylmer.

"We continue to bring brands into China, but each brand targets a specific audience. Our fastest growing brand is the Holiday Inn Express, which continues to do extremely well," Aylmer said. "However, Chinese also love luxury and lifestyle hotels."

Aylmer pointed out that the lifestyle brand Hotel Indigo will face tremendous growth in the next few years. Leading luxury brand Inter-Continental is doing well while the latest brands to have been introduced to China  including Kimpton, voco, and EVEN  are receiving market recognition and owner feedback in the market.

The hospitality group will continue its expansion in the China market, including the Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan regions, "with a strong brand portfolio covering luxury and lifestyle, premium, essentials, and suites, while expanding into lower-tier cities and resort destinations", Aylmer said.

Although Aylmer has a positive attitude toward the future, there are still concerns.

"It is challenging times, but we work with great owners and we do everything we can to support their business and drive our hotel performance during these challenging times. There's no question in China that the future is bright and we just look forward to it," Aylmer added.

No matter how the market changes, IHG's goal of sustainability has not changed. According to Aylmer, the total carbon emissions of its comparable hotels reduced by 13 percent in 2021 compared to 2019. This is despite the challenges in delivering an overall emissions reduction amid a growing system size.

In addition to this, about 99 percent of IHG's hotels in China have incorporated bulk amenities.

Meanwhile, IHG also announced its partnership with Ant Group to launch the Responsible Travel program. It leads a new chapter of green mobility while continuing to shape "responsible travel".

"We have taken the first step in implementing the 10-year Journey to Tomorrow blueprint," Aylmer said. He added that IHG employees in China "have made every attempt in energy conservation and emissions reduction in daily operations, leading the trend of sustainable travel".
April 1, 23 pm, traffic police seized a red lorry carrying 12,033 artillery shells in Lichuan section of Shanghai-Chongqing Expressway. Subsequently, Lichuan Public Security Bureau has been involved in the investigation.

The driver said he was commissioned by a Chongqing company to deliver the containers to Jilin, and he didnt know what was inside.

According to Lichuan Police, the red lorry was carrying sealed containers marked with hazardous chemicals. The police found a total of 236 boxes, over 10 tons of blasting bombs and armor-piercing shells in containers.

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Jia Qinglin,mojoo poker aqueduct casino open chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese Peoples Political Consultative Conference, arrived here Sunday afternoon to attend the royal cremation ceremony of the late Cambodian former King Norodom Sihanouk, which will be held on Monday.

At the Phnom Penh International Airport, Jia was cordially greeted by Long Visalo, Secretary of State at Cambodias Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

During his stay in Cambodia, he will meet with Sihanouks wife Queen Mother Norodom Monineath, King Norodom Sihamoni and Prime Minister Hun Sen to convey the grief of the 1.3 billion Chinese people to them over the passing-away of the King Father Norodom Sihanouk.

Prince Norodom Ranariddh, the eldest son of Sihanouk and former Prime Minister of Cambodia, told Xinhua Saturday that the visit of Jia Qinglin is a testament to prove excellent and strong relationship and cooperation between China and Cambodia.

Prince Sisowath Thomico, the spokesman for the Royal Cabinet and former aide to the late King Father Norodom Sihanouk, said Jia  s visit is a big honor for Cambodia.

It is the symbol of the friendship and the fraternity that links Cambodia to China; it is a big honor for Cambodia to have a respected leader of the People Republic of China attending the royal funeral, he told Xinhua in an exclusive interview on Saturday.

Both countries are linked together. I do not believe that anything could break that relationship, and we will further improve cooperation, friendship relations with the People Republic of China, the Prince said.

Besides Jia, a number of foreign leaders including French Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault, Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung, Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra, Laos Prime Minister Thongsing Thammavong, Vice President of the Philippines Jejomar C. Binay, and Japans Prince Akishino will also take part in the cremation ceremony on Monday.

Born on Oct. 31, 1922, Sihanouk ruled Cambodia from 1941 to 1955 and again from 1993 until his voluntary abdication on Oct. 7, 2004 in favor of his son, the current King Norodom Sihamoni.

Sihanouk died naturally and peacefully at the age of 90 in Chinas capital of Beijing on October 15, last year.

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WJ-700 UAV is exhibited at the Airshow China 2022 in Zhuhai, South China's Guangdong Province from November 8 to 13. Photo: Cao Siqi/GT

As China's first high altitude, high speed and long endurance armed reconnaissance UAV system that had made maiden flight, WJ-700 UAV is exhibited at this year's Airshow China, attracting wide attention with newly equipped high technologies including the country's first domestic one-ton thrust turbofan engine featuring high performance and high reliability and the use of a large number of carbon fiber composite materials.The Global Times learned from its developer, No.3 Research Institute under the China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation (CASIC), that all these upgrades make WJ-700 more flexible and intelligent, which will allow it to realize key capabilities such as one-button self-detection, autonomous inbound and outbound, one-button take-off cruise and autonomous return and landing of the UAV, greatly improving the system's reliability, reducing the control difficulty of the flight crew and the maintenance intensity of the ground crew.The upgraded WJ-700 UAV can equip multiple advanced missiles, airborne photoelectric equipment, SAR radar, electric detection radar and other early warning, surveillance and security equipment. Compared with medium long-endurance UAVs, the WJ-700's reconnaissance efficiency has been exponentially improved over the same period of time.In addition to carrying multiple types of reconnaissance loads, the WJ-700 UAV can carry glide guided bombs, air-to-ground missiles, anti-radiation missiles, anti-ship missiles and other types of airborne weapons to carry out long-range ground attack, anti-radiation operation and long-range anti-ship operation.At the same time, it can quickly reach the mission area to carry out strike and clearance tasks. With the high altitude and high-speed flight characteristics, it can release weapons at a maximum kinetic energy, easily reach the range of 50-80 kilometers, and realize the destruction of enemy missile sites, airports, command posts and other key targets outside the enemy defense area.

Photo: The Sky Hawk drone

Apart from WJ-700, the Sky Hawk -- dubbed by netizens as China's X-47B -- made an appearance again. Since its debut at the Airshow China in 2018, Sky Hawk UAV, as the flagship product of unmanned combat system, has been receiving high attention.Sky Hawk UAV is a reconnaissance platform with high ceiling, high stealth, high autonomy, long endurance and multi-purpose. It is mainly used to carry out long range tactical reconnaissance missions in close-in or penetration missions in a high-threat battlefield environment, and provide effective comprehensive intelligence for command decision-making and fire strikes, the Global Times learned from the corporation.In the Hollywood action blockbuster Angel Has Fallen, the scene of attack by vehicle-mounted swarm drones is impressive. In the film, drones are catapulted into the air in the launch pad and perform the task according to predetermined trajectory and target identification. The whole process is like a smooth flow, without giving any reaction time to the early warning system and making the security personnel difficult to cope with.At this year's Airshow China, UAV swarm combat systems are moving from the movies to reality. The new-generation aerial intelligent unmanned swarm combat system debuted in Zhuhai, making the audience thrilled to say it is "too advanced for display."The development of the swarm combat system is inspired by bees. When bees fly in groups, the worker bees will work according to the arrangement of the scout bees and the queen bee, exchange information through the "dance" between individuals, arrange the formation, complete the site selection, honey collection and other actions.Ma Hongzhong, chief engineer of the drones, told the Global Times that the new generation of UAVs cluster combat system can form a considerable number of aircraft groups in designated airspace within a short time through high-density loading and continuous launch of various launch platforms (on the land, in the sea and air)."In addition, it can make full use of the advantages of low cost and large number of UAVs to create overwhelming numerical advantages in the local battlefield. Through flexible convergence" and dispersion, precise target selection, rapid penetration and multi-dimensional attack, the system could realize the intention of winning with small size but large quantity," Ma said.Ma pointed out that WJ-700, Sky Hawk and UAV swarm combat system could either launch a strike independently or cooperate to fight.WJ-700 has become a very mature product and been sold to foreign countries. The Sky Hawk UAV is also a mature product with all technologies having been tested. Some verification of the Sky Hawk's flight experiment has been carried out. The verification of key technology of UAV swarm combat system is underway, which is expected to be equipped with actual combat capability soon, according to Ma.
Since yesterday,virtual poker the small French town Moret-sur-Loing has become the setting for a historical TV series telling the story of CCP leaders who studied in France in the 1920s. The series will air from 1 October National Day on the channel CCTV 1. And no less than 300 million viewers should watch the typical small French village Moret-sur-Loing.

A Chinese production team has invested in the town for TV series entitled Our French years (), telling the history of some CCP leaders, including Deng Xiaoping, who came to stay in France in the 1920s.

At that time, there was a movement among Chinese young intellectuals, said Wang Fang-Hui, director of production. Some came to France to learn of European communism. On their return, they became the companions of Mao. Until tonight, no less than sixty people, all from China, are hard at work in the city for this series that celebrates the 90th anniversary of the establishment of the Chinese Communist Party.

Moret-sur-Loing has caught the eye of the producers, and theres no doubt the Chinese viewers will navigate between the old twelfth-century church, the cobbled streets and the Place Royale. For this scene, they unload trucks at a warehouse of vegetables, said Wang Fang-Hui. because these young intellectuals were often in search of odd jobs. The warehouse in question is actually  the retirement home named the Home of Good Saint Jacques, led by Isabelle. We were contacted by the film production team, she said. They sent a brochure explaining the history of the series, and they came last week to scout locations.This place has already hosted several films. The team just removed a few signs and hid the door number, says Isabelle.

Other parts of Moret to serve as backdrop: the town hall square, the mill and an old building that will serve as a country hotel. The city was very helpful, said Wang Fang-Hui. it had blocked the area and set up an alternating traffic.

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A Chinese delegation, as a guest of honor, will stage contributions of more than 300 events to the upcoming 2012 London Book Fair, commencing April 16 and now in its 41st year.

The series of events are categorized as publishing house forums, book copyright promotions, author and scholar exchanges, cultural and art exhibitions, and cultural and art performances, according to the Wednesday press conference given by the delegation.

Director Zhang Fuhai at the Department of Foreign Communication and Cooperation under the General Administration of Press and Publication, briefed the attendees on six features of the friendly, communicative and cooperative interactions to come: guaranteed are a big pack of activities, a large group of delegates, a wide range of themes, a rich resource of celebrities, long time windows to enjoy them all in, as well as a special first-time exhibition on outstanding translations, both from Chinese to English and vice-versa.

On the occasion of the 40th anniversary of the establishment of China-U.K. diplomatic relations, Chinese Ambassador to the U.K. Liu Xiaoming addressed the conference on what an opportunity it provides to present to the worlds literati new ways of looking at and understanding China.

H.E. Amb. Liu also encouraged deeper cooperation between the Chinese and English publishing markets, as a driving force for mutual cultural appreciation, as well as an impetus to raise the competitiveness of Chinese publications and other cultural products in the international sphere.

In terms of sales, China is now the worlds biggest domestic publication market and growing at break-neck speed, commented Director Alistair Burtenshaw of this one of the worlds most influential book fairs, which is to embrace about 25,000 publication professionals from 110 countries this year.

The China Pavilion to host the whole package of Chinese activities at the London Book Fair, to cover an area of 2,019 square meters, will display about 10,000 book items in five zones, which are named five Tao elements  gold, wood, water, fire and earth. Altogether 191 publishing units and 500 celebrities from the domestic industry will attend.

CNS

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The car maker Opel wants to increase its sales in Russia and especially China.

Opel has been doing well in Russia, where it would double the sales of 60 000 cars soon. And we look to China. there we would sell more in the future, said Opel chief Karl-Friedrich Stracke, although there are also other brands of General Motors group. In a big market like China, there is enough room for Ford, Buick and Chevrolet.

At the same time, he confirmed that Opel as a whole will soon come back to profitability. Break even in 2011, profits in 2012  that was the target.

In addition, the company intends to explore other markets such as India. With India, Opel would open up the sixth-largest car market in the world.

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Biden on investigating Elon Musk's Twitter acquisition

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President Biden reacts to Elon Musk's Twitter acquisition.

Independent journalist Glenn Greenwald had strong words for liberals who shamed Elon Musk for criticizing a Democratic senator on the social media platform.

The Twitter CEO had sent a snappy reply to Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., for complaining the company's new rules on Twitter verification were too lax.

The senator in turn threatened Musk to comply or face punishment from Congress. But Musk's flippant response to the senator spurred leftists on Twitter to echo Markey's words.

Greenwald was appalled by the warnings, tweeting, "These people are such f---ing authoritarians: you speak to Democratic Senators with respect or else!"

Elon Musk traded barbs with Democratic Sen. Ed Markey. (Yasin Ozturk/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images | Samuel Corum/Bloomberg Getty Images)

JOURNALIST TAUNTED FOR WARNING ELON MUSK AGAINST OFFENDING SENATE DEMOCRATS: SPOKEN LIKE A TRUE SERVANT

Greenwald slammed the left's response as emblematic of the control Democrats had on social media companies.

"This has been the most overlooked part of the debate over Big Tech censorship from the start. This is not, as liberal censorship defenders claim, a case of private companies deciding to censor. They're doing it under explicit punishment threats from Dems," he noted in a follow-up tweet.

Greenwald called out the senator for being "one of the Democrats most explicit" in demanding censorship from tech giants under threat of punishment.

"And @SenMarkey in particular has been one of the Democrats most explicit in telling Big Tech executives: you either take down the posts we regard as dangerous, or you will face legal and regulatory punishment," he said.

Sen. Ed Markey threatened Elon Musk after teaming up with the Washington Post on story about a Twitter verified-account hoaxes. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

"This is a core Democratic Party threat," he added, with a video of Markey saying there wasn't enough censorship on social media.

ELON MUSK TELLS DEMOCRATIC SENATOR HIS TWITTER ACCOUNT SOUNDS LIKE A PARODY

Greenwald continued to rail against the Democrat, calling his threats a "grave and dangerous abuse of power" that was a "classic hallmark of fascism."

"It goes without saying that a Senator using his power to punish private companies for mocking him -- or, worse, for refusing to obey his censorship orders -- is a grave and dangerous abuse of power. That so many left-liberals cheer this tells you who they are and how they think. A classic hallmark of "fascism" is uniting corporate and state power to control the population, particularly by dictating what they can and can't say. This is exactly what Dems have been doing with the internet, as the very people claiming to be "anti-fascism" warriors cheer," he tweeted.

Billionaire industrialist Elon Musk took over Twitter and immediately fired several top executives. (Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto | Carina Johansen/NTB/AFP via Getty Images  Photo illustration)

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The billionaire tech entrepreneur's takeover of Twitter at the end of October prompted several liberal media meltdowns, including one from a Washington Post journalist who declared, "Its like the gates of hell opened on this site tonight."

Greenwald is an outspoken critic of censorship and has accused the Democratic Party of working with government security officials and Big Tech to enact a "regime of censorship" on the internet.

Kristine Parks is an associate editor for Fox News Digital. Read more.
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is gambling news onlinescheduled to visit the United States in the third week of February, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said here on Friday.

The top American envoy made the announcement after a closed-door meeting with her Japanese counterpart Fumio Kishida, who was in Washington for a one-day trip.

On Abes expected meeting with U.S. President Barack Obama, Clinton said: There will be a lot of work to do between now and then to ensure this high-level summit is extremely successful for both our governments and our nations.

The two diplomats also discussed the issue of the Diaoyu Islands, the collaboration in dealing with the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea, and the negotiations on the Trans-Pacific Partnership.

Regarding the issue of the Diaoyu Islands, Clinton reiterated that the United States does not take a position on the ultimate sovereignty of the islands, urging all parties to take steps to prevent incidents and manage disagreements through peaceful means.

But she also said that Washington recognizes that the islands are under Japanese administration. Such U.S. stance has been repeatedly criticized and opposed by the Chinese government.

Relations between China and Japan soured last year due to the Japanese governments provocations over the Diaoyu Islands, a group of islets in the East China Sea which belong to China.

At a daily press briefing on Friday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei said that Japans continued negative acts on the Diaoyu Islands issue have created tensions, running against the trend of solving disputes through talks.

We hope the Japanese side can exercise sincerity with calmness, work for shared goals with China, and thus find ways to properly solve and manage problems through consultations, he said.

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Vice Chairman of Chinas Central Military Commission Xu Caihou has urged troops to consolidate political ideology and improve awareness of guarding national unity and stability during an inspection of forces based in Xinjiang region.

According to an official statement Xinhua received Wednesday, Xu said in his undated tour that all levels of the troops should resolutely follow instructions from the central authorities throughout their efforts.

(The troops) should actively adapt to the emerging situation, new tasks and demands, closely focus on the theme of national defense and military building, and step up ideological and political construction, Xu said.

Xu said the military should strive to make excellent achievements in all work, so as to better greet the 18th national congress of the Communist Party of China, which is set to be held later this year.

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Democratic Rep.-elect says rural Democrats are an 'endangered species'

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Democratic Rep.-elect Marie Gluesenkamp Perez said Monday on "Morning Joe" that rural Democrats were an "endangered species."

Democratic Rep.-elect Marie Gluesenkamp Perez said Monday that rural Democrats were an "endangered species" during an interview with MSNBC's "Morning Joe."

Sam Stein asked Perez about what lessons Democrats could learn from her politically as someone who flipped a Republican seat in Washington that had been held by the GOP since 2011.

"We need to start running rural candidates and we need to start running candidates who work in the trades if we want to be relevant in those places anymore. I mean, you know, rural Democrats are almost an endangered species now. And I think we need to take a real hard look at why that is and how to right that ship. You know rural voices are critical to an America thats functioning, delivering the same quality of life and resources to our kids that we had," Gluesenkamp Perez said.

Perez defeated Republican Joe Kent in Washington's 3rd Congressional District.

Rep.-elect Marie Gluesenkamp Perez joins the hosts of MSNBC's "Morning Joe." (Screenshot/MSNBC/MorningJoe)

2022 MIDTERM ELECTION RESULTS: REPUBLICANS NEED JUST SEVEN SEATS TO CAPTURE THE HOUSE MAJORITY

Gluesenkamp Perez co-owns an auto shop with her husband across the Columbia River in Portland, Oregon.

Kent was backed by former President Donald Trump and is behind Gluesenkamp Perez by 4,621 votes.

Democrats will maintain control of the Senate after Democrat Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto defeated Republican Adam Laxalt in the Nevada Senate race. Control of the House hangs in the balance.

Gluesenkamp Perez was also asked how much she thinks she will be able to do for her district with Republicans likely to gain control of the House.

Democratic candidate Marie Gluesenkamp Perez has been declared the winner in the House race for Washington's 3rd Congressional District (AP Images)

AFTER MIDTERM ELECTION, THE CHALLENGES FACING DEMOCRATS AND REPUBLICANS

"Our priorities are very clear. Support for small businesses. You know, I think that both parties, frankly, have failed to deliver a level playing field that works for everyone. You know, weve got to address crime. My auto shop, Ive had my windows broken four times this year. I happen to really like it when the police come when I call them. You know weve got to start addressing these issues that influence peoples quality of life and get things back on track," she said.

Host Joe Scarborough asked the congresswoman-elect to talk about her district and about the people she will be representing.

"Lots of timber, lots of fishing, lots of shellfish," she said. "Im fifth generation loggers in my family, worked in the woods. A lot of paper products. Would love to see a resurgence and replacement of plastic packaging with cardboard and paper that we make in southwest Washington."

She also added that she was proudest of the endorsements coming from Republicans.

U.S. President Joe Biden reacts as he walks to greet Chinese President Xi Jinping before a meeting on the sidelines of the G20 summit meeting, Monday, Nov. 14, 2022, in Bali, Indonesia. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon) (Associated Press)

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During an interview in December 2020, President Biden said Democrats had forgotten rural America.

He said he planned to win them over by tackling COVID-19.

Hanna Panreck is an associate editor at Fox News.
Because of the increasing number of people needing care in Germany, the private care providers have asked to be allowed to continue to recruit their staff in India and China. There are not enough professionals in Germany. Said Thomas Greiner, the head of the care employers association.

Greiner demanded that the quota of nurses from other EU member states in Germany should be upheld and those nurses are likely to migrate from non-EU countries. saying, from India and China, in which they were already talking to recruit skilled workers. However, the German federal government had deliberately excluded the care sector, as they exposed the precedence test for medical doctors and engineers from around the world. From the perspective of the government, care sector simply does too little for their own industry.

The private providers are becoming increasingly important within the care industry in Germany. Meanwhile, 40 percent of nursing homes and 62 percent of outpatient services are privately owned. In 1999 the percentage was 35 percent for the nursing homes, and outpatient services at just under 26 percent.

The care industry is booming. According to a study by the RWI Economic Research Institute on behalf of private care providers, between 1999 and 2009 a total 29 billion euros invested in nursing homes and services. At the same time 160,000 jobs were created in the industry, 90,000 of them for nurses.

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China Vanke, the nations largest property developer, has won a series of land bids since the start of July, reinforcing signs that well-funded developers are trying to catch the bottom of the property market.

Vanke has paid over 6 billion yuan (952.38 million U.S. dollars) for land plots in cities including Hangzhou, Chongqing, Ningbo, Chengdu and Shanghai since last month.

On Wednesday, the developer bought a tract of land with a total area of 110,000 square meters in Shanghai for 2.03 billion yuan.

Moreover, other big developers have also rushed to get land in recent months, as they were flush with funds and land prices were much lower compared with previous years after the government introduced a slew of measures to cool the countrys sizzling property sector.

Poly Real Estate, the countrys second-largest developer, purchased 9 plots of land for 3 billion yuan in June, adding 1.67 million square meters of land to its reserves.

Also in June, Evergrande Real Estate paid 2.78 billion yuan for 10 tracts of land with a total area of 900,000 square meters.

Li Ying, a researcher with China Real Estate Information Corp., said competition for quality land plots among developers will become more intense in the third quarter with more land sites coming to market, which will likely push land prices higher.

Data from the China Index Academy showed the average home price in 100 major cities rose for a second month in July, increasing 0.33 percent from a month earlier.

Chinese leaders reiterated Tuesday that the central government will resolutely carry out policies to adjust and control the real estate market in order to prevent housing prices from rebounding.

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Mar 5, Ecuadors government and China-backed company Ecuacorriente signed the first contract for large-scale copper mining under the legal framework approved by the 2008 referendum of constitution.

In front of the president of Ecuador, Rafael Correa, the contract was signed by the Non-Renewable Resources Minister, Wilson Pastor, and senior representatives of two Chinese mega corporations who joined in supporting the mining company Ecuacorriente.

The Mirador reservoir, which has the reserves of five billion pounds of copper, will be exploited with 52 percent in favor of the state. It is located in the south of the Ecuadorian Amazon, in the province of Zamora Chinchipe, 375 kilometers south of the capital.

Today begins a new era in Ecuador, to make a qualitative leap with the responsible development of mineral potential, Correa said at the conclusion of the solemn ceremony, with many politicians, including President of Parliament, Fernando Cordero.

He reiterated the presidents decision to develop countrys natural resources and benefit the people especially the local communities, through these contracts.

Without mining the world back to the stone age, everything we use today usually comes from mining and without it the modern lifestyle could not sustain, said Correa.

The main danger to our Amazon rainforest is not mining, but the expansion of the agricultural frontier which will continue to grow if we do not give these people employment sources, said the president, referring that over three thousand will be created by the project.

The estimate is that production in the province of Zamora Chinchipe will begin in late 2013, under this agreement, effective for 25 years, about one billion dollars will go to benefit the communities.

You can remedy the environmental impact by up to 95 percent once the project is in operation, Correa said, and called to say Yes to the use of natural resources with environmental and social responsibility.

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James CY Soong,best betting casinos freesuperbet chairman of the People First Party (PFP) in Taiwan, on Thursday sent separate messages to President Hu Jintao and Xi Jinping, the newly elected general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee.

Soong spoke highly of Hus contributions to improving relations across the Taiwan Strait. In his message to Xi, Soong congratulated Xi on his election as the general secretary of the CPC Central Committee.

Hu and Xi expressed their gratitude in their replies.

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Russia and China may change its attitude to what is happening in Syria, this was announced on Monday by Secretary General of the Arab League, Nabil al-Arabi.

There have been signals from China and, to some extent, from Russia, that in their relation to the Syrian crisis may change, he said.

In early February, when voting in the UN Security Council on the draft resolution on Syria submitted by Moroccan delegation, China and Russia exercised their veto and blocked the adoption of the document, which was supported by the other 13 members of Security Council.

The Security Council should immediately adopt binding resolution calling for an end to violence in Syria,  said Al-Arabi. At the same time Secretary General of Arab League stressed the need to reform of the Security Council.

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Liu Wenyan considers herself lucky. Despite being confined to a wheelchair most of the time,ce este blockchain technology she has recently finished a road trip covering more than 15,000 kilometers.

The trip from her home city of Shangqiu in Central China's Henan province to Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region and back again took 31 days.

Liu, aged 52, suffers from a neurodegenerative disease called amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS. But the condition did not stop her enjoying the journey with her son Zhao Tianci, taking in various scenery along the way, sipping tea on the prairie and enjoying local delicacies.

"It's a tiring journey, but my mom is all smiles," says 29-year-old Zhao, who acted as driver and videographer. "She would tell me that she is fortunate and happy, and her life is no worse than anyone else's, even though she is paralyzed."

Zhao captured their heartwarming journey in a series of videos and posted them on the popular Chinese short-video platform Douyin, the Chinese version of TikTok. The videos went viral, and soon Zhao and Liu were inundated with words of encouragement from followers across China, many making offers of help and hospitality.

A native of Henan, Liu once enjoyed a busy life, running a business and enjoying pastimes such as traveling, doing yoga and just sipping tea. Then she realized that something was wrong with her.

"It was one night in 2014. As my mother was making dumplings, her two fingers suddenly felt powerless," recalls Zhao. "We thought she was just tired. To relieve her discomfort, she rested for a while and we took her for a massage, which didn't help."

From that point, Liu's health deteriorated, the powerlessness gradually overtaking her two hands and later her arms. Half a year later, she found that the mounting symptoms had become impossible to endure, forcing her to travel further afield in search of a diagnosis.

In the latter half of 2015, in a Beijing hospital, she was diagnosed with ALS. ALS patients would progressively lose muscle strength, eventually becoming paralyzed and unable to speak, move, swallow or breathe.

"After my mother was diagnosed, she cried a lot," says Zhao. "We racked our brains to find ways of comforting her, persuading her to be positive so that she could overcome the disease and hold onto the day when a miracle might occur. But it was in vain."

Gradually, she gave up on her hobbies. She even locked herself up and refused to meet her friends for fear of putting them to any trouble, as she was unable to finish eating a meal independently.

Luckily, some months later, things began to take a favorable turn. Zhao took his mother to a scenic spot for the first time since her diagnosis, and they found that her mood became noticeably more positive.

He began to think about activities and trips that he could facilitate for his mother, offering some reprieve from her suffering.

"Over the years, during my work breaks or on weekends, we would travel with her, first in Henan and then outside the province," he says. "We also took her to watch new movies, taste new foods and play in amusement parks, to provide a distraction and make her feel the wonder of life."

In June this year, Zhao decided it was time for a bigger journey. He would accompany his mother on a self-driving road trip to Xinjiang, providing weeks of sightseeing and new experiences.

In preparation, he resigned from the real-estate company where he had worked for four years. He refitted the car's passenger seat to accommodate his mother, and purchased medicines, daily necessities and a tea set, among other things.

On June 10, after teaming up with one of his friends and his mother's caregiver, they left Shangqiu and headed for northern Xinjiang.

Zhao says it was not an easy journey. As the sole driver, sometimes he spent up to 16 hours a day behind the wheel. After two to three hours of driving, he would pull off at a service station to help his mother relax her muscles.

Late into the night, he would edit the video clips his friend had captured and upload them to Douyin, so that his mother could watch them upon waking the next day. "My original intention in crafting the videos was to record the memories for her to look back on, even after the trip," Zhao says.

Joining them on their journey were some 10,000 followers from across China. "Enjoy the moment and I wish your mom good health," wrote one follower.

For Zhao, the kindness from his followers and the strangers they met in Xinjiang provided him with the encouragement needed to finish the trip.

"Many Xinjiang locals invited us to have dinner with them, but we declined for fear of putting them to any trouble. Wherever we went, as long as there were steps, there was always someone helping us lift my mother's wheelchair. When we checked into hotels, many managers helped us upgrade to the hotel's best room free of charge," he recalls.

On July 11, they arrived back in Shangqiu. Since then, Zhao has continued to share their daily lives with concerned followers and has livestreamed regularly.

Before long, their story surfaced on social media, arousing widespread respect and empathy among people online, especially other ALS sufferers and their relatives. Some of them would share with Zhao their stories of losing loved ones to the disease or ask him via private chat for tips on how to care for ALS patients.

The experience inspired Zhao to do more to help people facing such difficulties. He now wants to establish a WeChat group for the caregivers of ALS patients in Shangqiu, helping them to communicate with each other, and to provide tips on care issues.

Meanwhile, he has purchased new equipment for the family home, including a ventilator and an eye-tracking device to help him communicate with his mother. Such technology is increasingly important as his mother's disease has entered a late stage, with her functions of speech, swallowing and breathing being badly affected.

But Zhao and his mother have not lost the travel bug yet. Zhao plans to take his mother to either Yunnan province for some tea tasting, or to southern Xinjiang, health issues permitting.

"I may not be able to stop her disease, but at least I can stop her being afraid of it," he says.
Mexico anti-drug commercial using video from Philadelphia shows city has become shame of the nation: Jennifer Stefano

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Philadelphia Inquirer columnist Jennifer Stefano argues Mexico is an 'enormous part' of the city's drug problem and points the finger at Democrat leadership for the crime crisis.

A Philadelphia Inquirer columnist is calling out Democratic leadership in the city after Mexico released anti-drug PSAs featuring homelessness and open drug use on the streets of the city's Kensington neighborhood.

Jennifer Stefano joined "America's Newsroom" Tuesday to point the finger at the mayor and district attorney for the drug and crime crisis plaguing her city.

"It is one of the most tragic things you'll ever see," Stefano said. "This is an example of a couple of things, the failed war on drugs, but also the total and complete totalitarian hold of the Democratic Party on the city of Philadelphia for the last 60-plus years. And also a George Soros-funded district attorney, Larry Krasner, overseeing this. There has been no solutions, no answers, and more lives lost and devastation."

AT LEAST 9 INJURED IN MASS SHOOTING OUTSIDE PHILADELPHIA BAR: POLICE

Kensington, a neighborhood in North Philadelphia, is known for an abundance of open-air recreational drug markets and drug-related violence. (Fox News)

Mexico's national ad campaign to try to scare young people away from drugs never identifies the city or neighborhood shown. The use of the videos, apart from sparking concern over Philadelphias image, or whether those filmed had given their consent, raised questions, in part because Mexico is the source of most of the fentanyl being sold in the United States.

"It's no lost irony on any of us who love and care about the city of Philadelphia that Mexico is an enormous part of the problem," Stefano said. "They allow illegal drugs to flow through the border into the United States and do not protect their northern border, our southern border. [It's] hugely problematic."

Image shows dirt-bike rider hurling an item at a Philadelphia police vehicle on Oct. 16, 2022. (Philadelphia Police Department)

As the city battles rising violent crime, a Pennsylvania House committee investigating Krasner released a report in October heavily criticizing the Philadelphia district attorney for policies they believe contributed to the crisis.

Stefano asked what Mayor Jim Kenney and Krasner are waiting for as they continue to promise to fix drugs and crime yet "never deliver," despite bipartisan support to find solutions.

"It is the shame of the nation that this is happening," she said.

"If you live in the city, your lives are worsening. The crime is worse, the murders are worse, and there's no safe neighborhood. There's no good neighborhood. Everywhere is vulnerable."

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According to the Philadelphia Inquirer, the Philadelphia Mayor's Office acknowledged the drug problem but said it is not limited to one city or neighborhood, and noted that all people are capable of "hope, healing, and resilience."

"The opioid and overdose crisis in Philadelphia is part of a national and even international epidemic, and we agree it is important for everyone to understand, as this video notes, that all street drugs now present an elevated risk of overdose because of fentanyls extreme prevalence," a spokesperson for Mayor Kenney said.

"Having said that, it is always hard to see our citys people and neighborhoods portrayed in a limited and negative light. No neighborhood, and no person, should be defined by this tragic and widespread crisis," the office said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Elizabeth Heckman is a digital production assistant with Fox News.
Japan and South Korea agreed Wednesday to seek tougher sanctions against the Democratic People s Republic of Korea (DPRK),finau masters odds bet9ija booking which conducted a nuclear test Tuesday, in the UN Security Council.

In a telephone conversation between Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and South Korean President Lee Myung-bak, both of them agreed the DPRKs nuclear test violated relevant resolutions approved by the UN Security Council and damaged regional and international peace and stability.

Therefore, they agreed that the Security Council should impose tougher sanctions against the DPRK, and the two countries will work closely on approving such a UN resolution.

The DPRK, despite strong opposition from the international community, conducted its third nuclear test Tuesday, drawing condemnations from a number of countries.

Xinhua

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Chinas exchange rate policy would destabilize the world economy, said European Commissioner for Trade Karel De Gucht on 27 September. China artificially lowers the rate of the yuan, which is a negative factor. Thus, the PRC would destabilize the world economy  Karel De Gucht said.

Despite a number of distinct advantages for Beijings currency intervention, in particular, a more comfortable environment for Chinese exporters, a strong national currency prevents the containment of the trade balance and foreign reserves  the first largest in the world.

In this case, according to the commissioner, the current situation also brings some of the advantages of the European economy, enabling consumers to purchase raw materials of Chinese products at lower prices. The share of Chinese raw materials for European export is 75%. Thus, cheap Chinese imports indirectly helps our exporters,  Karel De Gucht explained.

In early September 2011. Chinese authorities have announced plans to make the yuan freely convertible currency by 2015. Currently, the yuan is partially convertible currency  the government maintains tight restrictions on foreign exchange transactions involving the movement of capital. The renminbi is controlled by the Chinese central bank, the rate is determined by reference to a basket of currencies. At the same time the Western countries believe that the yuan is artificially undervalued, giving Chinese exports an unfair advantage. In order to control exchange Beijing has to sell yuan in the domestic market and accumulate huge foreign reserves, which in 2011. exceeded $3 trillion and growing.

However, in recent years China has gradually weakens the control over capital movements. For example, in August 2011. authorities promised to allow foreign investors to buy selected securities on stock exchanges in mainland China. Analysts say that such measures contribute to the internationalization of the yuan, and bring it, although slowly, to the status of international reserve currency.

In June, Dai Xianglong, former governor of the Bank of China, said that the yuan would become an international currency in 15 to 20 years. ( Previous Report )

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The Chinese authorities are studying the invitation to the meeting of so-called Friends of Syria, created with support from the West and the Arab League in order to stabilize the situation in Syria. This was announced by Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei. The meeting will take place on February 24th 2012. in the capital of Tunisia.

China is studying the size and other parameters of this group,  said Hong Lei.

The Russian authorities have refused the invitation to attend the conference, as the representatives of current authorities in Syria was not invited. Moscows official position on this matter was announced by the Russian Foreign Ministry Alexander Lukashevich: According to incoming reports, representatives of Syrian Government are not invited to the conference. This means that the interests of a large segment of Syrias population, which supports the authorities will not be calculated. In this case, the meeting will do little to find the way to overcome the internal crisis.

On the contrary, he said, it seems that we are talking about coming together to form a kind of international coalition, as was the case with the creation of a contact group of Libya, in order to support one side against another in an internal conflict.

At the same time A.Lukashevich noted that there are serious questions about the outcome of the meeting. According to reports, a narrow group of countries is already working on the meeting without the knowledge of other guests who were asked to simply play the role of rubber-stamp.

16 February 2012. The General Assembly of the United Nations (UN) overwhelmingly approved a non-binding draft resolution on Syria which supports peace initiatives of the Arab League, and calling on Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to resign. As the result of voting for the resolution, 137 in favor, 12 voted against, including Russia and China, abstained  17.

4 February 2012. UN Security Council held a vote on the draft resolution on Syria, made by the Delegation of Morocco, together with a number of Western and Arab countries. Russia and China voted no by using veto power, as the result, the resolution was not adopted.

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Taiwans service industries are set for a major boost under a 13-year project aimed at transforming the sector into a key driver for the local economy, according to the Ministry of Economic Affairs of Taiwan Aug. 7.

The government has not done enough to develop service industries, especially in light of the funding dedicated to manufacturing R&D, marketing promotion and talent cultivation, MOEA Minister Shih Yen-shiang said.

Given the expanding role of service industries in Taiwans future development, we believe the plan will be instrumental in delivering balanced economic growth.

Shih said the MOEA is targeting industries characterized by high output value, strong job creation capability and lucrative export potential.

Based on these criteria, the ministry has selected nine industries for strategic promotion, including Chinese-language e-commerce, design services, digital content, health care, information services, international logistics and meetings, incentives, conventions and exhibitions.

Approved by Taiwan Cabinet in June, the project will attract a minimum NT$10 billion (US$336.7 billion) from the National Development Fund. Taiwans venture capital firms are poised to contribute a further NT$3 billion.

Later this month, the MOEA is set to begin working with the nine service sector promotion offices under its Industrial Development Bureau to identify suitable investment targets. The ministry will select 10 to 15 firms to take part in the project in November.

According to the MOEA, around 650 local startups are set to benefit from the project with 22,000 jobs created by 2025.

The plan is part of a central government drive to keep Taiwans economy ticking along amid challenging conditions at home and abroad. As part of this effort, Minister without Portfolio Kuan Chung-ming said the Cabinet is considering easing regulations on inbound investment from mainland Chinese firms.

We will soon begin reviewing current laws governing foreign direct investment, Kuan said. This approach is expected to attract more investors to Taiwan, especially in the areas of public construction, real estate, services and telecommunications.

Meg Chang

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The death toll of tourist bus accident happened in Changshu has risen to 14. Staff from the Ministry of Public Security and State Administration of Work Safety have arrived in Changshu and initiated the accident investigation.

The accident happened at 9:25 on April 22nd in Changshu section of Yanjiang Highway, a tourist bus from Shanghai violently collided with a truck from Suzhou, killing 13 people and 21 people were injured, four of them were seriously wounded.

At night on 22nd, one seriously injured passenger died, the other three are in steady state.

The accident investigation has been carried on.

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Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Mao Ning Photo: Ministry of Foreign Affairs

China assisting Cambodia to improve and upgrade its naval base comports with the domestic laws of both countries,with international laws and customary practices and it does not target any third party, said the Chinese Foreign Ministry on Monday, urging countries outside the region to view the normal exchanges and cooperation between China and Cambodia as they are.The ministry's remarks came as a response to the "concerns" raised by the US. According to a White House statement, US President Joe Biden raised concerns regarding the situation at Ream Naval Base and underscored the importance of full transparency about activities by the PRC military at the base in a meeting with Cambodia's Prime Minister Hun Sen on Saturday on the sidelines of an international summit."China and Cambodia are comprehensive strategic cooperative partners. Our cooperation in various sectors is open, transparent, legitimate and justified", said Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning at a Monday press conference.The upgrade of the Ream Naval Base in Cambodia assisted by China is a normal activity of providing assistance to Cambodia and it is aimed at strengthening the Cambodian navy's capability of defending its maritime territorial integrity, Mao emphasized.Biden's "concerns" over Chinese activities at the naval base didn't appear in the statement from Cambodia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation.The Ream Naval Base is on the coast of the Gulf of Thailand in Cambodia's southwestern province of Preah Sihanouk. In June, China started assisting Cambodia to expand and upgrade the naval base.At the project's opening ceremony, Chinese Ambassador to Cambodia Wang Wentian said the renovation project is an achievement of mutual respect and equal communication between China and Cambodia, rejecting Western media reports that China is building a military base in Cambodia and firmly opposing some countries' moves to smear normal exchanges between Cambodia and ChinaWang said that the Chinese military would continue to provide assistance to the Cambodian side and promote the two countries' military cooperation.Experts pointed out that Biden's concerns exposed the US' double standards and prejudiced views through "tinted glasses" on China-Cambodia cooperation, as the US has hundreds of overseas military bases while China has never built any such bases.China has never enhanced its military presence at the Ream Naval Base, but has only conducted facility renovation based on bilateral national interests, Xu Liping, director of the Center for Southeast Asian Studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times.Mao said that the Cambodian side has made clarifications about this on multiple occasions, urging countries outside the region to view the normal exchanges and cooperation between China and Cambodia as they are.Global Times
Why does the left want children to be exposed to pornographic books?: Rufo

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Manhattan Institute senior fellow Chris Rufo weighs in on "America Reports" with regard to Muslim parents in Dearborn, Michigan, fighting against schools allowing access to "sexually explicit" books in K-12 library.

Parents in a Michigan suburb are taking legal action against their children's public school for allowing sexually explicit books into the school library, despite repeated calls for their removal.

The Dearborn Public School board was notified of the lawsuit during a Department of Education meeting on Monday night, where parents in the predominantly Muslim community expressed outrage over the board's approval of books that feature "pornographic" content in the K-12 student library.

The lawsuit comes one month after an October meeting was cut short by school administrators when a group of angry parents first confronted the board with their concerns, questioning the school's process for determining if a book is appropriate for the school library.

UTAH PARENTS PUSH BACK AGAINST PORNOGRAPHIC BOOKS IN PUBLIC SCHOOLS BY FILING OVER 250 COMPLAINTS

Dearborn, Michigan, school board member Roxanne McDonald presides over a meeting, Oct. 10, 2022. (Dearborn Public Schools)

"These aren't simply books about LGBTQ issues, which is what the left would like to claim," prominent critical race theory opponent Christopher Rufo told "America Reports" on Tuesday. "They are pornographic, very explicit, they go into kind of X-rated sexual detail in many cases, and these are available in public school libraries, targeting kids as young as elementary school."

Rufo has spent the last several months closely documenting the battle among parents who are seeking to have more autonomy over the education of their children. From Virginia to Utah to Michigan, Rufo said the pushback by parents fighting for appropriate reading material in school libraries is more of a "common sense" issue than a political one.

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"Its actually not Democrat-Republican anywhere in the country. Most parents are pretty common sense. They want to have a wide diversity of books, covering a range of topics, they want to show respect for everyone in the classroom, regardless of sexual orientation, but these are sexually explicit and pornographic books, often with very graphic depictions of sexual activity," Rufo said. "This is just not appropriate, and its certainly not a book ban to say we dont want pornography targeting young children in elementary schools."

"The question is for the left," he continued. "Why do they want pornographic books being exposed to children? We should flip the script, ask them the hard questions and see how they defend themselves."

The Dearborn school district implemented a new book policy in October that allows parents to opt their children out of certain books. But most parents took issue with this approach.

VIRGINIA PARENTS SOUND OFF ON POLITICIZATION OF SCHOOLS: 'AN ATTACK ON THE FAMILY AND THE CHURCH'

A Dearborn, Michigan, school board meeting ended after the fire marshal said the gathering broke the fire code, Oct. 10, 2022. (Dearborn Public Schools)

In a segment of the school board meeting posted by Rufo on his Twitter account Monday night, a Dearborn mother can be heard reading sexually explicit material from a book titled "Flamer," which her child brought home from the school library. "America Reports" host John Roberts said that the contents of the book, which contained graphic descriptions and pornographic references, was deemed unfit to air during the Fox News interview.

The mother said she has no plans to return the book to the school library and will pay the necessary fines that incur. Rufo encouraged other parents to continue to speak up "with courage and without fear" to protect the education of America's youth.

"Conservatives need to stand strong with the simple message [that] parents are the ultimate arbiters of the education for their children," Rufo said. "They should be in power over the schools, over the legislative bodies. This is the heart of our democracy, and we have to make sure that parents can determine what is appropriate and inappropriate regarding their children, especially in the youngest grades."

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"As the voters, the parents, we get to decide whats taught to the kids, and there are examples all over the country," he added. "You have to attack this with courage and without fear."

Yael Halon is a reporter for Fox News Digital. Story tips can be sent to [email protected].
China on Saturday accused the United States and Europe of hegemonic ambitions in Syria, following the international conference of Friends of Syria in Tunis, where the US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton strongly condemned the attitude of Beijing and Moscow.

Clinton said the decision by China and Russia was despicable to veto resolutions of the the UN Security Council condemning repression in Syria. They are clearly not on the side of the Syrian people, said the Head of American diplomacy.

The official Xinhua news agency responded Saturday by arguing that Beijings position on Syria was balanced. China and Russia boycotted the conference in Tunis, to avoid military intervention in Syria.

Most Arab countries have begun to understand that the United States and Europe conceal a dagger behind a smile. In other words, while they appear to act on humanitarian grounds, they actually feed hegemonic ambitions. said Xinhua.

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Airbus is closely monitoring the evolution of European fiscal crisis and potential vector of global recession, but believes that in this case, Asia, particularly China, represent an island of growth, said Thursday the Chief Operating Officer of Airbus.

At the end of August, we recorded 1,000 net orders (in Europe) and air traffic is alive and well, said Fabrice Bregier during an interview on the sidelines of World Economic Forum in Dalian, China.

However, we expect some adjustments to come. We were in a very different situation from 2008 to 2009. This time, we see a difficulty in some over-indebted European states, but the real economy is healthy.

The European budget crisis has revived fears of a relapse of the economy into recession. Such a scenario would cause a slowdown in air traffic and thus the growth of airlines.

A major recession would cause a decline in traffic and therefore the companies would not generate enough cash to buy new planes, said Fabrice Bregier.

However, he stressed that EADS subsidiary is in a better position than during the crisis of the 1990s or that of 2008/2009.

Now were on the world market, so we no longer sell exclusively to Europe and the United States and most of our orders come from Asia, especially China, he said.

The first super jumbo Airbus will be delivered to the carrier China Southern Airlines in the coming weeks and the unit will be operational in November.

In early September, Boeing announced that China would need 5,000 commercial aircraft in the next 20 years, for a total of $ 600 billion, representing an increase of 25% over the previous estimate of U.S. manufacturer.

Airbus, which currently holds a market share of 45% in China, to publish its world forecast on Sept. 20. According to Fabrice Bregier, the market share of Airbus in China will exceed 50% in the coming years.

We plan to deliver about 90 aircraft to China next year and about 100 this year, said the chief operating officer.

In June, the Industrial Commercial Bank of China and China Aviation Supplies ordered 88 Airbus A320s for 7.5 billion dollars (5.4 billion euros), with delivery expected between 2012 and 2015.

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Thelas vegas casino slots online added value of Chongqing above-scale industries increased by 16.5% with the power consumption up 1.3%, in the first half of 2012. Driven by it, the energy consumption per 10,000 yuan of GDP in Chongqing is expected to drop by 5% in the first half, according to Chongqing Economy and Informationization Commission on August 5, 2012.

Chongqing industry achieved high increase with low energy consumption, and greatly promoted the GDP increase by 7.9 percentage points. And its contribution rate to the GDP exceeded 50% (the Chongqing GDP increase was 14% in the first half of 2012).

The power production value per kilowatt hour of Chongqing above-scale industries rose from 22.9 to 27.3 yuan, up 16.1%. Among that, the power production value per kilowatt hour of the electronic manufacturing industry is 181.17 yuan, while that of the laptop industry reaches 540 yuan, much higher than 75.4 yuan of the automobile industry, 13.7 yuan of the chemical industry and 11.9 yuan of metallurgy industry.

The net increment of the electronic manufacturing industry was 42.1 billion yuan in the first half of 2012, accounting for 42.6% of that of the above-scale industries. The low energy consumption therefrom (the power consumption of the above-scale industries increased by 1.3%) supported the added value of the Chongqing above-scale industries in the increase by 16.5%. The industry greatly picks up with sharp declined power consumption, and Chongqing industry structure has been significantly adjusted.

Huang Xiqin

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TEHRAN,caesars windsor phone number Nov. 15 (Xinhua) -- The Iranian foreign ministry on Tuesday strongly condemned the latest EU and British sanctions against Iranian individuals and organizations.

Nasser Kanaani, the ministry spokesman, said in a press release that the sanctions are baseless and illegal, constituting interference in Iran's internal affairs.

Iran will respond proportionately to such non-constructive and futile measures, he added.

A day earlier, the European Union and Britain imposed sanctions against Iran in a coordinated action.

The British government announced a new package of sanctions, targeting 24 Iranian officials for what it called human rights violations.

The EU sanctions were slapped on 29 individuals and three organizations in Iran, including Iran's interior minister and several senior police and military officials. 
An example of the distinctive sculptures on display at Zhihua Temple,week 17 betting picks Dongcheng district, Beijing. [Photo by Michael Rhys Card/China Daily]

In recent weeks, those of us in Beijing have had to forgo the beginnings of a particularly hot summer due to the current outbreak of COVID-19 in the capital. Over the last month we have all missed out on certain things we enjoy, whether that's eating out at restaurants, going to the gym, the cinema or a drink with friends. For me it's been the temporary closure of the majority of cultural and historic sites across the city that are usually the focus of my photography. However, with Beijing recently announcing a staggered return to normalcy, these places are once again opening their doors.

There are the obvious places one might think to visit first such as the Temple of Heaven, Forbidden City, Summer Palace and so on. All undoubtedly great choices with much to offer, however, I would like to throw another suggestion into the mix. A temple which, in my opinion, is the best in the city but one that surprisingly few people know about or visit, which only adds to its charm. So I give this recommendation at the risk of destroying that peaceful seclusion.

Michael Rhys Card [Photo/China Daily]

Zhihua Temple, meaning "temple of wisdom attained", was built in the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) in 1444 and is the only remaining Buddhist temple with Ming characteristics in Beijing. Constructed to honor a powerful and controversial eunuch, Wang Zhen, the complex contains the usual structures you might find within a temple, a Bell Tower, Drum Tower and pavilions capped with imposing black-glazed roof tiles, containing Buddhist statues and artwork. However, Zhihua Temple has some subtle differences and unique features that raise it to another level.

The first of these is the location, tucked away behind the giant Galaxy Soho building in Dongcheng district. Reaching the temple's entrance requires negotiating a labyrinth of hutong,which in itself is a great exploration and a chance to see the everyday lives of the locals in the area.

Once inside, visitors are given the opportunity to hear a performance of jingmusic, a style handed down over 27 generations of musicians and which sits on the list of national intangible cultural heritage items. The music is performed daily, and brings to life the ancient atmosphere of the temple.

Within many of the temple's structures are ancient sculptures and artwork, a not uncommon feature, but unlike those I have seen in comparative temples, those in Zhihua Temple have not been fully restored. With faded and flaking paintwork, you really feel the age of the relics and the weight of the history upon them, which allows for a greater appreciation of the skills that went into their creation hundreds of years ago. Though this visual doesn't apply to the buildings, which have been extensively renovated, within the temple there are museum exhibitions with a series of photos that let you see how the temple was before its restoration and provide more insight into its long history.

Finally, perhaps the biggest attraction for me is the relative obscurity of Zhihua Temple, being able to explore the complex in relative peace and quiet is a rarity in one of the busiest cities in the world and as a photographer it can be frustrating to get the shot I want when it's blocked by impenetrable crowds.

Every historical building in Beijing, and across China, has something to offer and teach us, but Zhihua Temple provides enough of a different flavor to stand shoulder to shoulder with the better-known locations in the capital and is surely worth exploring as the city once again returns to normal.
The Supreme Peoples Court did not approve the death sentence for Wu Ying, who was convicted of cheating investors out of several hundred million yuan.

Earlier on January 18th the Zhejiang Provincial Higher Peoples Court sentenced Wu Ying death penalty for financial fraud. Since then, a number of renowned scholars and lawyers have spoken openly that the Wu Yings crime has a profound institutional reasons, and should not apply the death penalty.

After reviewing the Wu case, the supreme court remanded for retrial in the Zhejiang Higher Peoples Court.

Private lending is extremely active in China, particularly in the economically developed Yangtze River Delta area. Although theres no legal protection for private lending with lending rate four times higher than formal financial institutions, many companies are still taking the risk to arrange loans from the private sector to bypass the strict credit risk control.

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Cryptocurrency exchange founder was the cash cow of the left: Miranda Devine

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New York Post columnist Miranda Devine weighs in on the collapse of cryptocurrency exchange FTX and founder Sam Bankman-Fried's multi- million dollar campaign donations to Democratic candidates on 'Tucker Carlson Tonight.'

Former billionaire Sam Bankman-Fried, founder of cryptocurrency exchange company FTX, funneled millions of dollars to Democratic campaigns, becoming one the party's largest donors, second only to George Soros.

Bankman-Fried donated nearly $38 million during the midterm cycle, according to Federal Election Commission data. His company also reportedly set up a website, Aid for Ukraine, to raise funds for Ukrainians amid the ongoing war against Russia. The initiative was powered by the Ministry of Digital Transformation of Ukraine, FTX and Ukrainian-web company Everstake.

Cryptocurrency donations were sent to the National Bank of Ukraine. The 30-year-old crypto financier wrote on Twitter in early March he was "excited and humbled to be working with the Ukrainian Ministry of Finance and others to support crypto donations to Ukraine."

10 COMMON CRYPTOCURRENCY TERMS YOU NEED TO KNOW

Last week, FTX filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy after a liquidity crisis at the company, and Bankman-Fried is estimated to have lost roughly $16 billion in a week.

Aid for Ukraine was a website reportedly created by FTX to accept crypto donations for the country amid its ongoing war with Russia. (iStock)

New York Post columnist Miranda Devine questioned Monday on "Tucker Carlson Tonight" why a country at war was "dabbling with cryptocurrency."

Sam Bankman-Fried, founder and chief executive officer of FTX Cryptocurrency Derivatives Exchange, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. (Ting Shen/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

"Why on earth the American taxpayer is funneling tens of billions of dollars over to Ukraine so that they can fight Russia, and why on earth they would be involved, the Ukrainian government, with this now collapsed cryptocurrency exchange we need to know," she told guest host Tulsi Gabbard.

"Why on earth was a country at war dabbling with cryptocurrency which everybody knows is shady?" Devine asked.

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Devine added Bankman-Fried was in the "bosom of the left" and "indulging in all sorts of woke causes."

Alex Bornyakov, deputy minister of digital transformation of Ukraine, refuted claims the country used government funds to invest in FTX, which in turn donated to Democratic candidates, calling the theory "nonsense" on Twitter.

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Bankman-Fried and his company are currently under investigation by Department of Justice and the Securities and Exchange Commission, according to the Wall Street Journal.

EDITOR'S NOTE: This report has been updated to clarify the amount of Bankman-Fried's estimated donations in the 2022 election cycle.

Ashley Carnahan is a production assistant at Fox News Digital.
Fox News Flash top headlines for November 15

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Fox News Flash top headlines are here. Check out what's clicking on Foxnews.com.

A record 12 women will take their seats as their state's highest-ranking elected officials when the nation's governors are sworn in this winter.

The number tops the high mark set in 2004 of nine, with The Associated Press' calling the Arizona governor's election for Democrat Katie Hobbs on Monday, as well as Democrat Maura Healey in Massachusetts and Republican Sarah Huckabee Sanders in Arkansas winning last week's elections.

"This is not an incremental growth. We're still far from political parity for women serving as chief executives. But it does feel like a breakthrough," said Debbie Walsh, director of the Center for American Women and Politics at Rutgers University. "It's significant particularly because these chief executive positions have been very hard to crack. These women in many ways disrupt fundamentally who a chief executive can be."

SCHUMER REACTS TO KEEPING SENATE CONTROL: 'VICTORY AND VINDICATION' FOR DEMOCRATS AND AMERICA

Sanders, the daughter of former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee and White House press secretary during the Trump administration, will be the first woman to become her state's governor. Dobbs, on the other hand, will be her state's fifth woman in the governorship when she takes the oath of office in early January.

Arkansas Gov.-elect Sarah Huckabee Sanders delivering a speech to her supporters on election night in Little Rock, Arkansas, on Nov. 8, 2022. (AP Photo/Will Newton, File)

The dozen are decidedly Democratic in their makeup, with eight belonging to the party compared to four Republicans. That's in keeping with more women serving in elected office who identify as Democrats than Republicans in the U.S. House, Senate and in state legislatures.

Other firsts in the group include newly-elected Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek, who will be among the first two openly-lesbian governors with Healey in Massachusetts. Kotek is succeeding Gov. Kate Brown, a Democrat who identifies as bisexual and was the first openly LGBTQ woman in the United States elected governor in 2014.

Despite the gains, only one woman of color was elected governor. New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, a Democrat who is Latina, was reelected. Three black women  Stacy Abrams of Georgia, Deidre DeJear of Iowa and Yolanda Flowers of Alabama  won the Democratic nomination for governor but were defeated by Republican incumbent governors last week.

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The others are Republicans Kay Ivey of Alabama, Kim Reynolds of Iowa and Kristi Noem of South Dakota, and Democrats Kathy Hochul of New York, Janet Mills of Maine, Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan and Laura Kelly of Kansas.
On September 20th the U.S. addressed complaint to the World Trade Organization (WTO) against China, accusing Beijing of setting unreasonable duties on the import of U.S. chicken and turkey. According to the newspaper The Wall Street Journal, to the end of the year manufacturers will have to pay nearly a billion dollars in fees.

In turn, China September 21 stated that the duties on poultry from the United States were introduced legally. The Chinese believes that U.S. producers receive subsidies from the government, and deliver their products to the Chinese market by deliberately reduced prices.

Duties on imports of chicken and turkey meat from the United States have been introduced by China in September 2010. Fees range from 50 to 100 percent of the price of supplies. Thus, in some cases, importers have to pay double the price.

China and the United States regularly complain to each other in the WTO. In 2009, Americans expressed dissatisfaction with the imposition of duties on the import of U.S. steel pipe. In turn, China has complained about the U.S. decision to raise tariffs on imports from China later on.

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Leo Terrell blasts teachers union: 'There's a stranglehold on education'

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Fox News contributor Leo Terrell sounds off after the National Education Association claimed on Twitter that teachers know better than 'anyone' what students need.

EXCLUSIVE-- A civil rights complaint was filed against the Providence Public School District with the U.S. Department of Education on Monday over a program offering student loan forgiveness to new teachers that is exclusively available to non-White educators.

The complaint claims that Providence Public School District is "engaged in a continuing violation and an ongoing pattern or practice of discrimination" with a student loan forgiveness program for newly and recently hired educators that is only available to non-White applicants, billed as the "Educator of Color Loan Forgiveness Program."

The Providence Public School District advertises that recipients can have up to $25,000 of college loans forgiven once the teacher completes three consecutive years of teaching in the district. The eligibility requirements indicate recipients must "identify as Asian, Black, Indigenous, Latino, biracial, or multi-racial."

"Discrimination against non-White applicants is just as unlawful as discrimination against Black or other non-White applicants. There is no good form of racial discrimination," the complaint states.

The eligibility requirements indicate Educator of Color Loan Forgiveness Program recipients must "identify as Asian, Black, Indigenous, Latino, biracial, or multi-racial." (Diane Diederich)

CRITICAL RACE THEORY-RELATED IDEAS FOUND IN MANDATORY PROGRAMS AT 39 OF TOP 50 US MEDICAL SCHOOLS: REPORT

The Legal Insurrection Foundation, a Rhode Island-based, nonprofit investigative and research group that fights discrimination in education, filed the complaint  which has been obtained by Fox News Digital  to the Office for Civil Rights of the Dept. of Education.

"PPSD does not even attempt to hide its racially discriminatory practices. To the contrary, PPSD brags about treating white applicants less favorably than non-white applicants. The unlawful discriminatory provisions of the program are advertised on multiple platforms, including on the PPSDs website and hiring portal. The program is a key part of PPSDs hiring efforts, and already has processed dozens of applicants on this discriminatory basis," the complaint states. "The program violates Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution and a variety of state law anti-discrimination statutes. "

The Providence Public School District did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

An informational sheet describing the specifics of the "Educator of Color Loan Forgiveness Program." (Providence Public School District )

Cornell Law School professor and Legal Insurrection Foundation president William A. Jacobson wants to get in touch with any teachers who were shut out of, or did not apply, to this loan forgiveness program because of their race or ethnicity. He has also called for the "discriminatory practices be discontinued immediately."

"The Providence Public School District's discriminatory loan forgiveness program is one of the most brazen racial preferences we have seen anywhere. They don't even try to hide it. They seem proud to discriminate. The promotional materials make clear that White educators need not apply for this hiring incentive and employment benefit," Jacobson told Fox News Digital.

WEBSITE LAUNCHED TO TRACK CRITICAL RACE THEORY TEACHING IN HIGHER EDUCATION

"Racial discrimination in hiring and employment is unlawful and morally reprehensible. The answer for past racial discrimination is equal protection and fairness, not more or different discrimination," he continued. "The discriminatory loan forgiveness program is a pure racial preference, just check a box and you are eligible or not. It reduces people to the color of their skin or ethnicity, and doesn't even try to take into account their individual life experiences."

Cornell Law School professor and Legal Insurrection Foundation president William A. Jacobson. (FOX)

Jacobson believes "there are legally right and legally wrong ways to achieve diversity" and Providence Public Schools took the wrong route.

"Outreach to expand the pool of applicants and examining the systems to weed out bias to ensure equal treatment are permissible. Conditioning hiring incentives and employment benefits based on which racial or ethnic box is checked is the legally wrong way to do it," he said. "The Providence Public Schools and the Rhode Island Foundation should have known better than to make hiring incentives and employment benefits only available to certain racial and ethnic groups. Each entity has anti-discrimination policies, yet this program is openly discriminatory."

CRITICAL RACE THEORY-RELATED IDEAS FOUND IN MANDATORY PROGRAMS AT MORE THAN 230 COLLEGES, UNIVERSITIES: REPORT

According to the complaint, the Rhode Island Foundation, a tax-exempt entity, funds the "Educator of Color Loan Forgiveness Program."

Jacobson, who is particularly irked because the PPSD receives millions of dollars in federal funding, called for the district to make the program retroactively available to people hired since the program started that were excluded from consideration on the basis of race or ethnicity.

"That will not compensate people who never applied because of the discriminatory provisions, but it would be a good start. If that means the Providence schools and Rhode Island Foundation have to put forth additional funding, it's the least they could do," Jacobson said.

PPSD is the largest public school district in Rhode Island, and serves roughly 24,000 students across 41 schools, according to the complaint.

"Because PPSD receives federal funding, [Office of Civil Rights] had the power and obligation to make PPSD stop and to impose whatever remedial relief is necessary," the complaint states.

The Legal Insurrection Foundation also publishes the Legal Insurrection website.

Fox News Nikolas Lanum contributed to this report.

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Brian Flood is a media reporter for Fox News Digital. Story tips can be sent to [email protected] and on Twitter: @briansflood.
China is a very important source of students for American education. And the money Chinese students bring with them has spawned an industry bent on seeing even more find their way here.

As of last year, a report from the Institute of International Education says more than 723,000 international students are studying at U.S. colleges and Universities. One out of five of those students are from China, far more than any other country.

And their numbers are growing. In 2011, 157,558 Chinese students were attending school in the United States, a 23.5% increase over the previous year.

Thats why many colleges and universities are busy trying to identify families from China who can afford to send their children to the United States to study.

But since many of those families want to give their children a head start on college, hundreds of private academic placement services have joined the competition. And they provide packages that sometimes find entire families with a place to live and enrollment for their children in high schools, and in some cases, middle schools.

One of those businesses is the Astar Education Institute located outside of Washington DC. Its a business model thats doing very well.

Its very expensive, according to the schools Assistant Director, Dr. Candice Quinn.

All of our students and all of our families are of the upper echelon of the socio-economic background in China, she said.

While refusing to divulge just how much Astar charges for its services, Quinn says all students must present a financial statement that shows they can support themselves for the length of time they will be in the United States just to qualify for a visa.

They have to have, in a bank account, somewhere between $70,000 and $150,000. said Quinn.

Quinn said the families of the Chinese students have to pay school tuition as well as a fee paid to a host family with whom the student resides while in the US, unless they choose to attend a boarding school.

What do these students and their families get for this money?

Our primary function is to place international students into United States Schools said Quinn. Astar recruits many Chinese students using an office they maintain in Shanghai, and makes use of agents that specialize in such services in China.

Another aspect of the business is helping those students who lack the language skills to attend an American school. Those students will spend from three to six months to get them to a level of English proficiency so they can pass the kind of tests they need to go to a US school, according to Quinn.

Although many of the students recruited by Astar are placed in US high schools, thats not their ultimate goal.

The parents intention is not to have these kids terminate in a high school, said Quinn. Theyre intention is for them to go to American universities, thats the ultimate goal.

And not just any university. The parents want them to go to the top one hundred universities, said Quinn. So that is always the prize we have in mind.

Ira Mellman

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Two Chinese companies on Thursday signed a deal here with Brazils Embraer,winneroo casino bovada live dealer a leading aircraft manufacturer, to buy 60 more E190 planes from the Brazilian firm.

According to the newly signed deal, Tianjin Airlines and the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) Leasing will buy twenty E190 aircraft from Embraer each, while Tianjin Airlines will also purchase additional twenty E190-E2 aircraft. The deal is believed to be valued at 3.3 billion U.S. dollars.

The ICBC Leasing part of the deal will consist of firm orders for 10 E190 aircraft and purchases of rights for 10 E190 aircraft.

Embraer, founded in 1969, has become one of the largest aircraft manufacturers in the world by focusing on specific market segments, with high growth potential in commercial, defense, and executive aviation.

The Embraer E-Jet family, a series of narrow-body, medium-range, twin-engine jet airliners, has been a commercial success after it was unveiled at the Paris Air Show in 1999 and put into mass production in 2002.

While speaking highly the deals signed with Chinese firms, Embraer CEO Paulo Cesar Silva said the jets are expected to be delivered by 2018.

Embraer sources also said before Thursdays deal it had handed over dozens of E190 aircraft to its Chinese clients and established operation bases in a number of Chinese cities such Beijing, Tianjin and Xian.

Mu Xuequan

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Nearly 500 organizations from more than 100 countries have confirmed their attendance at the 16th China International Fair for Investment and Trade (CIFIT), which is scheduled to open in the coastal city of Xiamen on Sept. 8, the organizers of the event said Monday.

As of Monday, seven major international economic organizations had confirmed their attendance for the four-day event, said Wang Qiongwen, an official with the fairs organizing committee.

The organizations include the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, the United Nations Industrial Development Organization, the United Nations Environment Program, International Finance Corporation, World Association of Investment Promotion Agencies and World Trade Center Association, Wang said at a press conference.

Among the participants are 48 delegations from the United States, about 100 from Europe and 50 from emerging economies, including Russia, South Africa, Brazil and India, said Wang.

He said he expects the total number of participants to exceed 50,000, including government officials, executives from industrial associations, entrepreneurs, scholars and private investors.

More than 20 countries and regions, including the United States, Germany, Denmark, Italy, Spain, Russia, India and South Africa, are planning to present their investment environments at the fair, he said.

More than 36,000 investment projects are up for grabs at this years fair, covering the manufacturing, infrastructure construction, service, agriculture, animal husbandry and real estate sectors.

CIFIT, sponsored by the Ministry of Commerce, has been held annually in Xiamen since 1997.

Xinhua

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China wants to use the platform offered by the group of Brics to increase its economic influence in the world.

At the summit in New Delhi,bet victor bog fafafa slots online the China Development Bank will offer its four partners loans denominated in Renminbi, the Chinese currency. So far, the China Development Bank lent them only in dollars. In return, it suggests its partners to do the same with their own currencies. The Chinese want to push the Brics to use their currencies in business transactions, as they do on an experimental basis with other Asian countries, Japan and Singapore.

Currently, these transactions represent just 13% of Chinas trade in Asia, says Morgan Stanley. But this figure could rise to 50% from 2015, many would not be unhappy to break the hegemony of the greenback.

The yuans internationalization strategy is an extension of Chinas trade policy, which relies increasingly on emerging markets. China is in a geographic area where growth remains well above the rest of the world, in both infrastructure and consumption, but since joining the WTO in 2010, the country knows that the low-cost production is not sustainable. If China is at the top of Brics, it is because of the economic weight, not by a deliberate policy. India has a cultural asset that gives it command of English, but a delay in infrastructure, while China, for more advanced infrastructure, facing a challenge because of the language.

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U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said on Monday that his egt free spinscountry looks forward to working with Brunei on issues like the South China Sea, energy and climate change.

Were very, very much looking forward to working with you on issues with the South China Sea, and issues of energy and climate change, the top American diplomat told visiting Bruneis Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah in front of reporters before their meeting at the State Department.

He is taking on the important job of being the president of the ASEAN meeting this year, Kerry said of his guest.

President Barack Obama is scheduled to welcome the sultan to the White House on Tuesday, as Brunei will host the East Asia summit and U.S.-ASEAN summit in October.

The sultans visit underscores the strategic importance the president places on the Asia Pacific region and to substantive engagement with our friends and partners in the region, the White House said in a statement last week.

It highlights the presidents commitment to participating fully in the regions multilateral forums in order to foster cooperation, maintain stability and promote economic growth, the statement said.

The United States, along with Russia, first attended the annual East Asia summit in 2011 in Bali, Indonesia.

Xinhua

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Diverse geographical features,bc slots online top slots sites uk rich ethnic cultures and unique local cuisines have made Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region one of the most popular destinations in China in recent years.

To offer a panoramic view of Xinjiang to people in Belgium, the 2022 Xinjiang Cultural and Tourism Week launched in Brussels on Thursday. Titled "Xinjiang is A Good Place", the cultural and tourism week centers around five sections, covering Xinjiang's ice and snow, dance and music, as well as food and culture.

The week-long event will feature short videos, documentaries, a photo exhibition of Xinjiang's natural sceneries in Brussels, and screenings of films and television shows.



At the event's opening, Cao Zhongming, Chinese ambassador to Belgium, said he hopes that Belgian people can approach, understand and feel Xinjiang through this event, including its beautiful scenery and profound historical and cultural heritage, which will help promote understanding between people in both countries.

The Xinjiang Cultural and Tourism Week is co-hosted by the Chinese embassy in Belgium, the cultural and tourism bureau of Xinjiang and the Network of International Culturalink Entities.
Greg Gutfeld: You keep the House, you keep the peace

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Greg Gutfeld and his guests discuss what to expect the GOP to try to accomplish in the wake of the 2022 midterms on 'Gutfeld!'

NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!

Happy Thursday, everybody. So am I the only guy who's been in a great mood since the midterms? I'd like to thank Dr. Siegel for that. But also I'm a silver linings guy. Seriously, right now I'm wearing a thong made of pure silver. It was a Christmas gift from William Devane. Now, you know it's in my safe.

But it appears the Republicans will capture the House. And like I said last night - thank you. I had nothing to do with it, but I'll take it. But like I said, you keep the House, you keep the peace. So we should start thinking about all the cool **** we could do now that we got the place to ourselves. I first call in the exterminators to kill anything the previous tenants left behind. I especially want to fumigate Jerry Nadler's pants. I know. What's in there? So many things. Oh, if his lining could talk.

But then let's get to the bottom of Hunter's laptop. Or maybe not the bottom, because who knows where that's been. Hunter's is the first laptop that had a virus that actually needed penicillin to kill. And whoever goes through that hard drive will need extra gloves, double masks and holy water. We already know that the feds believe there was enough evidence to charge him with tax crimes and with lying about drug use when he bought a handgun in 2018. They're pretty sure he was on drugs when he did that because he filled out the gun application with a blue crayon and in pig Latin.

But with that GOP House majority, it's time to excavate the buried laptop story in all its glory. And no matter how much the media tries to ignore it like they did the first time around, we can now force their hand to go where they don't want to go. Just like Hunter did with the whores. And the teleprompter said, "hookers." The teleprompter said "hookers." I'm in a really bad mood.

GREG GUTFELD: DEMOCRACY LIVES TO FIGHT ANOTHER DAY

But it's not about Hunter, but the big guy, old Joe. And if he wasn't aware of his son's dealings, that's fine. After all, sometimes he's not aware he's in the ladies room and peeing in the sink. But who are we kidding? Joe knew what was going on. Right, Joe?

[SKIT]

ACTOR:No, no, no, no. You can't look back. You can't look back. A wise man once said, "Don't look back. You might not like what you see." You know who said that. That was Mark Twain or maybe Corn Pop, one of those guys. But no, I can't look back. I don't even know what I was doing in 2019. I can't remember what I had for breakfast. But I tell you what I didn't have for breakfast: mularkey.

I also would like to get to know the 51 Intel agents who signed that letter saying Hunter's laptop was Russian disinfo, a claim so laughable it makes Putin shake with laughter and not just Parkinson's. I want Republicans asking the questions. No grandstanding, no overproduced **** like January 6. The only thing missing from that hearing was Will Smith smacking someone in the face.

But I want to know how government intel agencies could so happily lend themselves to a lie. And I want to see the emails between the tech platforms, the media and the government agencies. I bet it's more incestuous than the royal family. What? You can look it up. I mean, I didn't, but I'm sure it's there. You could just look.

Second, a GOP House should mean cleaning house, getting rid of the incompetent hacks who treat others like crap. I'm not sure there's enough Lysol on the planet to accomplish that, but Ted Cruz already said it's time to impeach Mayorkas. You remember him? He's the DHS secretary who hung his own agents out to dry over Whip Gate. You know, how do you say "what a bitch" in Spanish? This is when I wish Geraldo was here.

That famous picture that supposedly showed border agents whipping migrants. Mayorkas knew it was BS, but he went on TV anyway and said they were. And the President followed suit saying those guys would pay. It sends a great message to our border agents: sure, it's a dangerous, thankless job, but at least we'll screw you over too. In plenty of other industries. Mayorkas would have been canned. And sure, he'd never get convicted by the Senate, but so what? It would send a message that Americans aren't going to let that stuff slide.

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And finally, the big one. Maybe we can finally push for the truth about the origins of COVID-19. Did it come from the Wuhan lab or a dirty butter knife at the Aurora IHOP? Or was it the bong water from Kat's office? Either way, we're going to have to find out. It feels like something Biden wants us to forget about. You know, like he does with his pants when he's heading down to the Oval Office. But as the great Bill Shakespeare once said, "Up your ass, spit its breath." It sounded better in the King's English, but you get the meaning.

According to a poll I made up in my head just now, most Americans are in agreement that someone or something should be held accountable. I don't know. Maybe someone whose last name rhymes with grouchy? Or some country whose name rhymes with angina? I'm just spitballing here, but millions died, experts lied and no one's getting fried. Hell, we bombed countries for less. Yet here we are coming up on three years later. And just like truffle fries, we still don't know where COVID came from.

But we're seeing the long-term consequences all across the country, thanks also in part to Democrat-led lockdowns. If you don't believe me, go ask a fifth grader if he knows how to do long division. He won't, which is why I fired him as my accountant. Well, that and he got hot chocolate on my W-9. Bottom line, the GOP should view Tuesday as a chance to bring accountability and sanity back to government. Also, it'll just be fun as hell to watch. And frankly, we've earned it.

Greg Gutfeld currently serves as host of FOX News Channel's (FNC) "Gutfeld!" (weekdays 11PM/ET) and co-host of "The Five" (weekdays 5PM/ET). He joined the network in 2007 as a contributor. He is the author of several books. His latest is "The Plus: Self-Help for People Who Hate Self-Help." Click here for more information on Greg Gutfeld.
Remarks by Ambassador Liu Xiaoming at the Dinner Hosted by the China-US Exchange Foundation

Mr. Tung Chee Hwa,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

My warmest thanks to Mr. Tung Chee Hwa for the invitation to join you this evening.

I very much welcome this opportunity to meet friends from the China-United States Exchange Foundation.

This is my first visit to Hong Kong in 14 years. I was last here in 1997 during Hong Kongs handover.

I witnessed that significant moment in Hong Kongs history.

Also, I was honoured to be present at Mr. Tung Chee Hwas inauguration as the SARs first Chief Executive.

From what I can see, Hong Kong has made an extraordinary journey during the past 14 years.

Just as the lyrics of the pop song Pearl of the East goes  Hong Kong is still every bit as charming and thriving as it has ever been.

In fact, if anything, Hong Kong has become even more prosperous. I believe a driver of this success has been ever closer integration with the mainland.

Another important factor is the global image of Hong Kong. This part of China has won a reputation as the worlds freest and most competitive economy.

These 14 years have also been a time of unparalleled growth in China-UK relations.

Under the Labour government from 1997 to 2010, China-UK relations were taken to a new level.

The two countries launched a wide range of cooperation and dialogue mechanisms. These include:

 Our Premiers annual meeting.

 The Economic and Financial Dialogue.

 And the Strategic Dialogue.

Since the UK coalition government took office last year, these positive trends have continued.

Both our countries are committed to building a stronger partnership. Our Premiers have exchanged official visits. And other dialogues are yielding positive results.

Now, Sino-UK trade is worth nearly 60 billion US dollars per year. We hope to raise it to 100 billion US dollars by 2015.

On the investment side, Britain remains the leading EU investor in China. At the same time, Chinese capital is flowing faster into Britain.

Education provides another area where immense potential for collaboration is recognised.

As I speak, 120,000 Chinese are studying in Britain. This is far higher than any EU country.

At the same time, a surge in Mandarin learning has swept across Britain.

Britain now hosts 17 Confucius Institutes. This is more than any country in Europe. I can reveal to you that many more UK universities are lining up to set up Confucius Institutes with Chinese partners.

I expect this positive progress to continue. The reason is that from now to the second half of next year China and Britain will celebrate four major events.

First, in a very short while, a pair of giant pandas will settle into their new home at the Edinburgh Zoo.

Second, next March China and Britain will celebrate 40 years of full diplomatic relations.

Third, in April China will participate in the London Book Fair as the Guest of Honour.

Fourth, London will host the 2012 Olympics four years after Beijing.

We have great confidence that all these events will provide important opportunities to strengthen Sino-UK relations.

Now let me turn to the China-Europe relationship.

I know this has been in the media spotlight for quite some time. There is close attention given the continuing financial crisis in Europe. Many are asking  where is this relationship heading?

In answering this question, I will focus on three points.

First, cooperation overrides differences.

China is the largest developing country and the European Union is the biggest bloc of developed countries.

There is no geopolitical or fundamental conflict of interests between China and Europe.

Over the recent decades, cooperation has been the consistent theme of this relationship. We are now each others largest trading partner.

The EU is Chinas largest export market and number one investment destination.

China is the EUs second largest export market.

In the context of these strong ties, it is clear we may not agree on everything. This is to be expected given our different histories, cultures, social systems and values.

Managing such differences takes patience and growing understanding.

Just as a principle of philosophy reveals: competing forces provide impetus for things to move forward.

Second, opportunities outweigh challenges.

From our perspective, the Sino-EU relationship faces a number of challenges.

For example, the EU is yet to see China as an equal partner. Some across the EU are not comfortable with Chinas fast rise.

In building China-EU trust there are two other matters holding back progress.

 The EU has not yet recognised Chinas full market economy status.

 And its outdated arms embargo on China is still in place.

Despite these two obstacles I believe that both China and Europe understand the vast opportunities of our relationship.

China is upgrading its growth model and boosting internal demand and import. Britain and other EU members welcome Chinese investment and are opening up their markets. All this offers conditions for stronger Sino-EU cooperation.

Meanwhile, our cultural exchanges and people-to-people contacts are growing. This contributes to a wider and deeper understanding of China.

Third, a brighter future is within sight despite short-term tests.

Recently the financial and debt crises in Europe have spread beyond its borders. They have brought uncertainties to China-Europe relations.

The European press has been full of comment asking if China will come to Europes rescue. There are mixed views about Chinas role. Some call for a Chinese bailout, others are nervous about its implications.

China on the other hand has maintained a cool head and clear conscience. We have all along made it clear that solving the debt crisis is first and foremost a European responsibility. We are confident that Europe has the wisdom and capability to tide over this crisis.

China is also a supporter of the joint EU-IMF rescue effort. We are committed to work with Europe and other countries in the spirit of partnership to bring stability to the international financial markets and facilitate global recovery and growth. We are convinced that as Europe emerges from the crisis more closely integrated, so will there be further momentum for the China-Europe partnership.

We have similar missions and objectives. You at the China-US Exchange Foundation are dedicated to build understanding across the Pacific Ocean, and we are working for closer communication and cooperation between China and the UK, and China and Europe. Our shared objective of friendship, trust and partnership will only be won through more exchanges and wider cooperation. This is the only sure way to creating a bright future together.

Thank you!

Hong Kong Country Club, 22 November 2011

From Chinese Embassy in UK

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Supplier and aggregator of content for the iGaming industry Relax Gaming is set to further expand its reach through a content supply deal with Greentube, the interactive gaming division of major gambling group Novomatic.

As part of its alliance with Greentube, Relax Gaming will provide its new partner with access to its entire suite of online casino games. Greentube will distribute the titles in a number of European markets.

The recently penned agreement has first seen a selection of Relax Gamings proprietary content as well as games by third-party providersgo live with Estonian online gaming and betting brand Fenixbet. The iGaming operation was launched only recently and is owned by established Estonian land-based gambling operator Novolotto.

Fenixbets online business is powered by Greentube. The Novomatic subsidiary provides the technology for the iGaming operations RMG platform. Through its recent partnership with Greentube, Relax Gaming has been able to roll out many of its products with the new but fast-growing brand.

Fenixbet players in Estonia can now play Relax Gamings hit titles Snake Arenaand Temple Tumbleas well as its recent record-breaker slot Money Train 2.

Relax Gaming has also integrated content from third-party iGaming studios that are part of its Silver Bullet program. Fenixbet players thus have access to popular titles from the likes of Kalamba Games, Fantasma Games, and 4ThePlayeramong others.

German Launch

Relax Gaming said that it expects to expand significantly its partnership with Greentube in the coming months and to launch its content with its partner in a number of additional marketsas part of that partnership.

Relax Gaming further noted that one of these markets would be Germany. The country is set to reorganize and open its online gaming space in July 2021 and preparations for this are already under way.

Commenting on their latest important industry alliance, Relax Gaming CCO Daniel Eskola said that to be able to team up with a well-respected name in the gaming industry like Greentube is a feather in our capand that this partnership is one that will further our reach into core European markets.

Of their Germany expansion plans, Mr. Eskola said that the country is part of their expansion strategy and that Greentubes long-time connection with this market will serve as a major advantageto our growth plans once the regulated online sector opens next year.

Marcantonio Bottaro, Director of Brand Operations RMG at Greentube, said that this partnership will help both his company and Relax Gaming expand their reach across several regulated markets and fulfill their mission to provide players with the best possible experience. He also praised their new partner for the diversity and qualityof the content that it provides through its aggregation platform and that these games will significantly boost Fenixbets existing offering.

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Chinas economy will grow at a faster pace in the latter half this ibet 6888year on recovering export, rising investment and expanding housing market, a report released on Sunday by a Beijing-based research center said.

We are confident that China will see a U-shaped economic recovery in 2012, the Centre for China in the World Economy (CCWE) under the Tsinghua University said in the report on the countrys economic situation.

The CCWE sees the countrys gross domestic product (GDP) to grow by 8 percent in the first half and by 8.4 percent for the whole year.

Li Daokui, head of the CCWE and a former central bank advisor, said that the economy is showing healthy signs of stabilization.

In the first five months, Chinas exports rose 8.7 percent to 774.4 billion U.S. dollars. The year-on-year export growth rose from 4.9 percent in April to 15.3 percent in May, according to the General Administration of Customs (GAC).

The negative effects of slow export growth are gradually declining, the research center said.

The CCWE also forecast that Chinas fixed asset investment will recover as of the second quarter. The growth rate will be around 22 percent for the first half and 22.6 for the whole year, the center said.

The housing market has seen rising deals and prices since the beginning of this year, showing the sector is recovering. These changes will promote investment in the sector and further contribute to economic growth, the CCWE said.

Xinhua

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(Caixin) On the opening day of a trial surrounding a corruption probe over China Mobile, the countrys largest telecom carrier, procurators say that major telecom equipment makers Ericsson and Huawei Technologies were directly involved in bribing procurement officials.

The trial of Shen Changfu (), former chairman and president of China Mobile Chongqing Branch, began in the southwestern municipality of Chongqing on October 10. Sixty-year-old Shen was accused of accepting bribes totaling 36.2 million yuan, from companies including Ericsson and Huawei.

In 1996, Shen, who then served as the director of Chongqing Telecom Bureau, arranged for Ericssons facilities to be purchased by the bureau. In exchange, Shen obtained a 2 percent commission for the deal, according to procurators.

Procurators argued Shen abused his position at the state-owned China Mobile to benefit privately-owned Huawei, which took a major portion of telecom equipment orders from China Mobile Chongqing Branch.

In court, Shen said China Mobiles standard procurement process is conducted through the pre-selection of designated telecom equipment makers which then participate in bidding, rather than via an open bid invitation procedure.

Shens son joined Huawei in 2003 and left two months later. According to procurators, he continued to receive a salary and bonus from Huawei for several years after his departure.

The court has yet to issue a ruling.

Over the past year, a number of senior executives at China Mobile have been detained in connection to corruption scandals. A wider anti-corruption campaign was launched by the government targeting the state telecoms trio of China Mobile, China Unicom and China Telecom, according to an earlier report by Caixin.

Shi Wanzhong, who used to head China Mobiles branch in Anhui Province, was sentenced to death with two-year reprieve by a court in May for taking US$ 5.1 million in bribes from German manufacturer Siemens. In China, a death penalty with a reprieve typically means the inmate will not be executed.

Caixin staff reporter Deng Hai

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Democrat Henry Cuellar confirms GOP allies asked him to switch parties

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Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-Texas, reacts to DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas calling the southern border secure and responds to reports he was asked to switch parties by allies of Kevin McCarthy on 'America Reports.'

Rep. Henry Cuellar, considered the last pro-life Democrat in the House, revealed to "America Reports" on Tuesday whether the Republican caucus pressed him to join its ranks as Speaker-hopeful Kevin McCarthy vies for the title.

Cuellar, who defeated political newcomer Cassy Garcia in a key Mexico-border district wracked by illegal immigration and drug smuggling, is seen as one of few moderate voices left in the Democratic Party now better known for its Squad than its waning Blue Dog coalition.

Cuellar responded to assertions he won re-election for a 10th term because he was able to separate himself from the louder, far-left majority of his party, which has embraced the open border and lax immigration law enforcement.

BIDEN'S CHINA DIPLOMACY STRATEGIC INSANITY WITH REAL-WORLD REPERCUSSIONS: THIESSEN

Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-Texas, talks with reporters in the Capitol after a meeting of House Democrats on Thursday, June 27, 2019. (Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call)

"Look, a lot of people believe in legal migration. I believe in legal migration. My father was born in Mexico. He came in the legal way, so they believe in legal migration," Cuellar said.

"They don't like what's happening down there at the border. We believe in legal migration. We don't want to see chaos. We certainly don't want to see, you know, where there's no law and order. So I've always been very strong on border security."

Cuellar confirmed the GOP made overtures to try to get him to switch to the Republican caucus  regarding which Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., later told Fox News that Cuellar has crossed the aisle more often than most in some important votes.

"Well, look, I'm a Democrat. I will always stay as a Democrat. I do put country and state before my party," he said.

"So, yes, there were some allies  [Kevin] never called himself, of course, but there were some allies. But I've told him, with all due respect, I will stay as a good, conservative Democrat that represents South Texas in a good way."

STUDENT LOAN BUYOUT AND ABORTION WON MIDTERMS FOR DEMOCRATS, SAY CRITICS

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Cuellar said he believes some sentiment behind the overtures stems from McCarthy still facing math between him and the speaker's gavel, so long as one more Republican wins a handful of yet-contested House races.

In a caucus vote, McCarthy, R-Calif., faced a challenge from Rep. Andy Biggs, R-Ariz., who reportedly garnered 31 votes among his Republican peers against the current minority leader's 188.

In January, the full House will vote and McCarthy must garner the 218 majority of members to be named speaker, meaning the slimmer the Republican majority, the more unified the caucus must be behind a choice.

MIKE PENCE LAMENTS COLLAPSE OF TRUMP RELATIONSHIP RECALLS SUPPORTIVE FRIENDSHIP IN WHITE HOUSE

(Andy Biggs (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin,File))

Many conservatives have lined up behind McCarthy despite criticism over House gains combined with inability to take the Senate despite political tailwinds. McCarthy's proponents point to his prolific fundraising and constant travel around the campaign trail to stump for a wide variety of Republican candidates.

Fox News host Mark Levin criticized one anti-McCarthy conservative, Rep. Matt Gaetz, over his opposition in that regard.

"Why dont you run for speaker and well see how many votes you get?" Levin shot back at Gaetz after he pledged not to support McCarthy in either the internal caucus vote or January full-House vote.

CLICK TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

"I am certain that there is a critical mass of people who hold my precise view," Gaetz had said in a podcast appearance that sparked Levin's critique. "And so the sooner we can sort of dispense with the notion that Kevin is going to be speaker, then we can get to the important work."

Levin said Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, disclosed on his radio program that he will support McCarthy, suggesting conservatives unify behind him.

Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.V., has also been seen as a Democrat in Cuellar's position whom some Republicans would want to see join their caucus.

Charles Creitz is a reporter for Fox News Digital.

He joined Fox News in 2013 as a writer and production assistant.

Charles covers media, politics and breaking news, and has covered the annual CPAC conference for Fox News Digital.

Charles is a Pennsylvania native and graduated from Temple University with a B.A. in Broadcast Journalism. Story tips can be sent to [email protected].
Thecashman casino cash out following is the full text of Resolution of the Eighteenth National Congress of the Communist Party of China on the Report of its Seventeenth Central Committee adopted at the Eighteenth National Congress of the Communist Party of China on November 14, 2012:

The Eighteenth National Congress of the Communist Party of China approved the report delivered by Comrade Hu Jintao on behalf of the Partys Seventeenth Central Committee. Holding high the great banner of socialism with Chinese characteristics and following the guidance of Marxism-Leninism, Mao Zedong Thought, Deng Xiaoping Theory, the important thought of Three Represents and the Scientific Outlook on Development, the report analyzes the developments and changes in the international and domestic environments, reviews our work in the past five years and the historic achievements we have made in the course of our endeavors since the Sixteenth Party Congress, and establishes the historical position of the Scientific Outlook on Development. The report sets forth the basic requirements for winning new victory for socialism with Chinese characteristics, and the goals of completing the building of a moderately prosperous society in all respects and deepening reform and opening up in an all-around way. It lays out an overall plan for advancing the cause of socialism with Chinese characteristics in the new era, and sets forth explicit requirements for making Party building more scientific in all respects. The report also draws up a grand blueprint for completing the building of a moderately prosperous society in all respects and accelerating socialist modernization and charts the course for making continued progress in the cause of the Party and country. It is the crystallization of the wisdom of the whole Party and the people of all ethnic groups in China. It is a political declaration and a program of action for the Party to rally and lead the people of all our ethnic groups in winning new victory for socialism with Chinese characteristics. The report is a guiding Marxist document.

The congress held that the underlying theme set forth in the report is of great importance to the Party leading the people in building on our past success and carrying forward our cause with determination. The whole Party must hold high the great banner of socialism with Chinese characteristics, follow the guidance of Deng Xiaoping Theory, the important thought of Three Represents and the Scientific Outlook on Development, free up the mind, implement the policy of reform and opening up, pool our strength, overcome all difficulties, firmly march on the path of socialism with Chinese characteristics, and strive to complete the building of a moderately prosperous society in all respects.

The congress stressed that at present, as the global, national and our Partys conditions continue to undergo profound changes, we are faced with unprecedented opportunities for development as well as risks and challenges unknown before. The whole Party must keep in mind the trust the people have placed in us and the great expectation they have of us. We must aim higher and work harder and continue to pursue development in a scientific way, promote social harmony, and improve the peoples lives so as to complete the glorious and arduous tasks bestowed on us by the times.

The congress applauded the work of the Seventeenth Central Committee. Over the past five years since the Seventeenth Party Congress, we have marched boldly on the path of socialism with Chinese characteristics, overcome numerous difficulties and risks, achieved new success in building a moderately prosperous society in all respects, and made new and major achievements in all fields of our work.

The congress endorsed the Seventeenth Central Committees basic review of our endeavors over the past ten years since the Sixteenth National Congress. It held that we have firmly seized and made the most of the important period of strategic opportunities for Chinas development, successfully met major challenges, and brought socialism with Chinese characteristics to a new stage of development. It also held that we have consolidated and developed the cause of reform and opening up and socialist modernization and raised Chinas international standing, and that all this shows the superiority and vitality of socialism with Chinese characteristics and has enhanced the pride and cohesiveness of the Chinese people and nation.

The congress stressed that the most important achievement in our endeavors in the past ten years is that we have developed the Scientific Outlook on Development and applied it by making courageous theoretical innovations on the basis of practice and developing closely interconnected new ideas and viewpoints on upholding and building socialism with Chinese characteristics. The Scientific Outlook on Development was created by integrating Marxism with the reality of contemporary China and with the underlying features of our times, and it fully embodies the Marxist worldview on and methodology for development. This theory provides new scientific answers to the major questions of what kind of development China should achieve in a new environment and how the country should achieve it. It represents a new level of our understanding of the laws of socialism with Chinese characteristics and reaches a new realm in the development of Marxism in contemporary China. The Scientific Outlook on Development is the latest achievement in developing the system of theories of socialism with Chinese characteristics, and it is the crystallization of the collective wisdom of the Communist Party of China and a powerful theoretical weapon for guiding all the work of the Party and country. Together with Marxism-Leninism, Mao Zedong Thought, Deng Xiaoping Theory and the important thought of Three Represents, the Scientific Outlook on Development provides the long-term theoretical guidance the Party must adhere to.

The congress pointed out that over the past 90-plus years, relying firmly on the people and adapting the basic tenets of Marxism to Chinas conditions and the underlying trend of the times, our Party has pursued its own course independently. The Party, enduring untold hardships and sufferings and paying various costs, achieved great success in revolution, development and reform, and created and developed socialism with Chinese characteristics, thus fundamentally changing the future and destiny of the Chinese people and nation. The path of socialism with Chinese characteristics, the system of theories of socialism with Chinese characteristics and the socialist system with Chinese characteristics are the fundamental accomplishments made by the Party and people in the course of arduous struggle over the past 90-plus years. We must cherish these accomplishments, uphold them all the time and continue to enrich them. To achieve new victory for socialism with Chinese characteristics under new historical conditions, we must have a firm grasp of the following basic requirements: We must maintain the peoples principal position in the country, continue to release and develop the productive forces, persevere in reform and opening up, uphold social fairness and justice, strive for common prosperity, promote social harmony, pursue peaceful development and uphold the leadership of the Party.

The congress held that basing ourselves on Chinas actual economic and social development, we should work hard to meet the following new requirements while working to fulfill the goal of building a moderately prosperous society in all respects set forth at the Sixteenth and Seventeenth National Congresses of the Party. They are: The economy should maintain sustained and sound development; peoples democracy should be expanded; the countrys cultural soft power should be improved significantly; living standards should be fully raised; and major progress should be made in building a resource-conserving and environmentally friendly society. To complete the building of a moderately prosperous society in all respects, we must, with greater political courage and vision, lose no time in deepening reform in key sectors and resolutely discard all notions and systems that hinder efforts to pursue development in a scientific way. We should set up a well-developed, scientific, standardized and effective framework of systems and ensure that operating institutions in all sectors are fully functioning.

The congress endorsed the plan made in the report for promoting socialist economic, political, cultural, social, and ecological progress in China. The congress emphasized the need to speed up the improvement of the socialist market economy and the change of the growth model and make development based more on improved quality and performance; and to fire all types of market participants with new vigor for development, increase motivation for pursuing innovation-driven development, establish a new system for developing modern industries, and create new favorable conditions for developing the open economy. This will make economic development driven more by domestic demand, especially consumer demand, by a modern service industry and strategic emerging industries, by scientific and technological progress, by a workforce of higher quality and innovation in management, by resource conservation and a circular economy, and by coordinated and mutually reinforcing urban-rural development and development between regions. Taking these steps will enable us to sustain long-term development and promote harmonized development of industrialization, IT application, urbanization and agricultural modernization. The congress required us to keep to the socialist path of making political advance with Chinese characteristics, promote reform of the political structure and make peoples democracy more extensive, fuller in scope and sounder in practice. We should ensure the unity of the leadership of the Party, the position of the people as masters of the country and law-based governance; and in order to guarantee the fundamental position of the people as masters of the country and reach the goal of enhancing the vitality of the Party and country and keeping the people fully motivated, we should expand socialist democracy, improve the system of socialist consultative democracy, improve community-level democracy, accelerate the building of a socialist country based on the rule of law, establish a sound mechanism for conducting checks and oversight of the exercise of power, and thus advance socialist political progress. The congress stressed the need to make steady progress in developing a strong socialist culture in China. We should keep to the goal of developing an advanced socialist culture, create a new surge in promoting socialist culture and bring about its great development and enrichment, increase China s cultural soft power, and get culture to guide social trends, educate the people, serve society, and boost development. The congress emphasized the need to strengthen social development by improving the peoples wellbeing and making innovations in management. In order to uphold the fundamental interests of the overwhelming majority of the people with high priority given to ensuring and improving the peoples wellbeing, we should improve the peoples material and cultural lives, bring as much benefit as possible to them, resolve as many difficulties as possible for them, intensify efforts to improve the basic public service system, strengthen and make innovations in social management, and boost the building of a harmonious socialist society. The congress called for making great efforts to promote ecological progress. We should raise our ecological awareness of the need to respect, accommodate to and protect nature, incorporate ecological progress into all aspects and the whole process of advancing economic, political, cultural, and social progress, intensify protection of the ecosystem and the environment, work hard to build a beautiful country, and achieve lasting and sustainable development of the Chinese nation. The congress emphasized the importance of responding to Chinas core security needs, following the three-step development strategy for modernizing national defense and the armed forces, intensifying efforts to accomplish the dual historic tasks of military mechanization and full IT application and building strong national defense and powerful armed forces that are commensurate with Chinas international standing and meet the needs of its security and development interests.

The congress highlighted the need to fully and faithfully implement the principle of one country, two systems, under which the people of Hong Kong govern Hong Kong and the people of Macao govern Macao and both regions enjoy a high degree of autonomy. We must both adhere to the one-China principle and respect the differences of the two systems, both uphold the power of the central government and ensure a high degree of autonomy in the Hong Kong and Macao special administrative regions, and both give play to the role of the mainland as the staunch supporter of Hong Kong and Macao and increase the competitiveness of the two regions. We must adhere to the principle of peaceful reunification and one country, two systems, consolidate and strengthen the political, economic, cultural and social foundation for the peaceful growth of the relations between the two sides of the Taiwan Straits, open a new horizon in advancing the peaceful growth of these relations, and work with our compatriots in Taiwan to safeguard and build the common home of the Chinese nation, so as to create even better conditions for achieving peaceful reunification.

The congress endorsed the reports analysis of the international situation and the guiding principles it sets forth for Chinas diplomacy. The congress stressed that China will continue to hold high the banner of peace, development, cooperation and mutual benefit, firmly pursue an independent foreign policy of peace, unswervingly stay on the path of peaceful development, and unwaveringly follow a win-win strategy of opening up. We should be firm in our resolve to uphold Chinas sovereignty, security and development interests, and stay committed to growing friendship and cooperation in all fields with other countries on the basis of the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence. We should work to build a harmonious world of enduring peace and common prosperity, and are ready to work with the people of other countries to unremittingly promote the noble cause of peace and development for mankind.

The congress stressed that, facing the new developments, the progress in our cause and the expectation the people have of us, we should comprehensively carry out the great new undertaking of Party building in an innovative and reform-driven way and make Party building more scientific in all respects. All Party members must heighten their sense of urgency and sense of responsibility and focus on strengthening the Partys governance capacity, advanced nature and purity. We must put people first and exercise governance for the people. We should continue to free up our minds, carry out reform and innovation, and uphold the principle that the Party should supervise its own conduct and run itself with strict discipline. We should make all-around efforts to strengthen the Party theoretically and organizationally, improve its conduct, fight corruption, uphold Party integrity and improve Party rules and regulations. We should enhance our capacity for self-purity, self-improvement, self-development and self-innovation and build the Party into a learning, service-oriented and innovative Marxist governing party. By taking these steps, we can ensure that the Party is always the firm leadership core guiding the cause of socialism with Chinese characteristics.

The congress underscored that combating corruption and promoting political integrity is a clear-cut and long-term political commitment of the Party and a major political issue of great concern to the people. We must make unremitting efforts to combat corruption, promote integrity and stay vigilant against degeneration. We should pursue a distinctive Chinese approach to combating corruption and promoting integrity. We should persist in combating corruption in an integrated way, addressing both its symptoms and root causes, and combining punishment and prevention, with emphasis on the latter. We should advance in an all-around way the establishment of a system of combating corruption through both punishment and prevention and see to it that officials are honest, the government is clean, and political integrity is upheld.

The congress emphasized that centralized leadership of the Party is the source of its strength and a fundamental guarantee for Chinas economic and social development, ethnic unity and progress, and enduring peace and stability. The more complexities the Party faces and the more arduous the tasks it undertakes, the more imperative it is for the Party to strengthen its discipline and uphold its centralized leadership. This will enable the whole Party from the leadership to the ranks to advance in unison as a great force.

The congress stressed that to live up to the peoples trust in and expectation of us and stand new tests under new historical conditions, the whole Party must be keenly aware of potential dangers, be modest and prudent, guard against arrogance and impetuosity, and remain clear-headed. We must be innovative in our thinking, uphold truth and correct mistakes, and always maintain energy and drive. We must follow the guidance of the fundamental purpose of the Party, trust and rely on the people, and always put them above everything else. We must heighten our sense of mission, be realistic and pragmatic, defy difficulties and work hard, and preserve the political integrity of Communists.

The congress called on all Party members and the people of all ethnic groups in China to hold high the great banner of socialism with Chinese characteristics, rally more closely around the Party Central Committee, strive to complete the building of a moderately prosperous society in all respects, continue to win new victory for socialism with Chinese characteristics, and make joint efforts to create an even brighter future for the Chinese people and nation.

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Chinas export growth slowed sharply in July to a six-month low following dwindling demand from Europe and Japan, official data showed Friday.

Exports rose 1 percent year on year to 176.9 billion U.S. dollars in July, plummeting from the 11.3-percent growth seen in June and well below market expectations, the General Administration of Customs (GAC) said Friday.

Imports increased 4.7 percent year on year to 151.8 billion U.S. dollars, compared with a growth of 6.3 percent in June.

The trade surplus narrowed 16.8 percent year on year to 25.2 billion U.S. dollars in July, taking the combined trade surplus to 94.1 billion U.S. dollars for the first seven months of the year.

Foreign trade expanded 2.7 percent year on year to 328.7 billion U.S. dollars in July, according to the GAC data.

In the January-July period, total foreign trade reached 2.17 trillion U.S. dollars, an increase of 7.1 percent year on year, lower than the 10-percent growth targeted by the government for the whole of 2012.

Meanwhile, exports rose 7.8 percent year on year to 1.13 trillion U.S. dollars in the first seven months.

Chinas trade with the EU, its largest trading partner, dipped 0.9 percent in the January-July period from a year earlier to 315.8 billion U.S. dollars, the figures showed.

During the period, trade with Japan also slipped 0.2 percent year on year to 190.9 billion U.S. dollars.

Meanwhile, trade with the United States, the countrys second-biggest trading partner, went up 10.5 percent year on year to 271.4 billion U.S. dollars in the first seven months, according to the GAC.

Xinhua

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Chinese President Xi Jinping meets with US President Joe Biden on November 14, 2022 on the sidelines of the G20 Leaders' Summit in Bali, Indonesia. Photo: Xinhua

Current state of China-US relations is not in the fundamental interests of the two countries and peoples, and is not what the international community expects, Chinese President Xi Jinping said during his meeting with US President Joe Biden in Bali, Indonesia on Monday, which marked the first face-to-face meeting between the leaders of the world's two biggest economies since Biden took office.During the meeting, which reportedly lasted about three hours and 12 minutes, Xi told Biden that as leaders of two major countries, they need to chart the right course and find the right direction for bilateral ties and elevate the relationship, according to Xinhua. Xi also stressed that the two countries should take history as a mirror and let it guide the future.The two leaders consider that the meeting, is in-depth, candid and constructive, and they instructed the teams of the two countries to follow up the key consensuses reached by the two leaders, to take concrete actions to push the China-US relations return to a stable track for development, and the two leaders agree to keep contacts constantly, CCTV reported.Such remarks and the summit itself inject a certain degree of positivity into bilateral relations, which have entered a downward spiral due to the US' ever widening containment strategy against China, and especially after the provocative visit by US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to the island of Taiwan, Chinese analysts noted, calling on the US to stay true to its pledges to avoid confrontation.The stakes for the summit, which took place one day before the G20 Leaders' Summit was set to kick off in Bali, couldn't be any higher, as the world, with growing concerns over the state of the world's most consequential bilateral relationship, watched intently for any positive signs that the two countries will try to work toward lowering tensions and cooperate on global issues.After a handshake, the two leaders walked into a spacious room together and delivered opening remarks that lasted over six minutes, with both stressing the importance of the face-to-face meeting.Xi said that though the two leaders have maintained communication via video-conferences, phone calls and letters, but none of these can really take the place of face-to-face exchanges, according to the Xinhua News Agency.Xi expounded on the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and its key outcomes, pointing out that the domestic and foreign policies of the CPC and the Chinese government are open and transparent, with clearly stated and transparent strategic intentions and great continuity and stability.China is advancing the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation on all fronts through a Chinese path to modernization, basing our efforts on the goal of meeting people's aspirations for a better life, unswervingly pursuing reform and opening-up, and promoting the building of an open global economy, Xi said.For his part, Biden also said that there was "no substitute" for such face-to-face meetings, according to video footage carried by several media outlets.Biden said to Xi in front of the press before the close-door meeting that "China and the US can manage our differences, prevent competition from becoming anything ever near conflict, and to find ways to work together on urgent global issues that require our mutual cooperation.""The world expects, I believe, China and the US to play key roles in addressing global challenges," he said.Since Biden took office, the two leaders have talked over the phone or via video link five times. The last time they met in person was in 2017 during the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.The meeting on Monday took place at the request of the US side at the Mulia Resort in Bali overlooking the Pacific Ocean. China Media Group said that the meeting was held at the hotel where the Chinese delegation to the G20 stayed.According to the readout released by the White House, Biden remained tough on topics that are China's internal affairs, including Taiwan, Hong Kong, Xinjiang and Xizang (Tibet). Chinese analysts said the US has failed to realize that it was its unilateral, arrogant and hostile strategy against China that put bilateral ties in risk of spiraling out of control and toward direct conflict, and in the future, the risk of confrontation between the two great powers will still exist if the US refuses to change its arrogant attitude and hostile strategy.China-US relations should not be a zero-sum game where one side out-competes or thrives at the expense of the other, Xi said. The successes of China and the US are opportunities, not challenges, for each other. The world is big enough for the two countries to develop themselves and prosper together, he added.The two sides should form a correct perception of each other's domestic and foreign policies and strategic intentions, Xi said, adding that China-US interactions should be defined by dialogue and win-win cooperation, not confrontation and zero-sum competition.Chinese analysts said the Xi-Biden summit sent a positive signal to the world that even though tensions exist, the world's two biggest economies remain in communication and share the consensus of avoiding direct conflict, and are also trying to seek the possibility of cooperation.Ahead of the meeting with Xi, Biden and the US side released information to the press that they are trying to build "floor" or "guardrails" for US-China ties in the first face-to-face talk with the Chinese leader, in other words, the US side wants to show that they are making efforts to prevent bilateral relations from going out of control, analysts said.However, the US is the one that should be held responsible for the worsening of the tensions, as its strategy for "competition," confrontation in fact, has seriously undermined China's sovereignty on sensitive issues like the Taiwan question and China's development in science and technology, especially in the semiconductor industry, so China is also using the chance to "draw redlines" for the US, warning the opportunists and hawkish politicians in Washington about the danger of challenging China's core interests, experts said.Xi gave a full account of the origin of the Taiwan question and China's principled position. He stressed that the Taiwan question is at the very core of China's core interests, the bedrock of the political foundation of China-US relations, and the first red line that must not be crossed in China-US relations.Anyone that seeks to split Taiwan from China will be violating the fundamental interests of the Chinese nation, Xi said, adding that the Chinese people will absolutely not let that happen.China hopes to see, and are all along committed to, peace and stability across the Taiwan Straits, but cross-Straits peace and stability and "Taiwan independence" are as irreconcilable as water and fire, Xi said, expressing hope that the US side will match its words with action and abide by the one-China policy and the three joint communiques.Xi said "President Biden has said on many occasions that the US does not support 'Taiwan independence' and has no intention to use Taiwan as a tool to seek advantages in competition with China or to contain China. China hopes that the US side will act on this assurance to real effect."Jin Canrong, associate dean of the School of International Studies at the Renmin University of China, told the Global Times that "the US will continue to provoke China on the Taiwan question. After the midterm elections, Republicans are set to take the House, and the new Republican House speaker will very likely follow what Pelosi has done to visit the island, to show that Republicans dare to be tough against China."Apart from this, the two major US parties will push the Taiwan Policy Act to keep forcing the White House to abandon strategic ambiguity on the Taiwan question, and this will then bring a new round of serious impacts on China-US relations, Jin said."So it's important for the Chinese leader to warn the US side again about where the redline is and what would happen if the US crosses the redline. This is how China is making efforts to prevent direct conflict while the US is being provocative," the anonymous expert said.Biden reaffirmed that a stable and prosperous China is good for the US and the world, saying that the US respects China's system, and does not seek to change it.The US does not seek a new Cold War, does not seek to revitalize alliances against China, does not support "Taiwan independence," does not support "two Chinas" or "one China, one Taiwan," and has no intention to have a conflict with China, he said, adding that the US side has no intention to seek "decoupling" from China, to halt China's economic development, or to contain China.Seeking or exploring possibilities for cooperation is a way to prevent conflict, experts said. In fact, China and the US share common ground in many aspects, from climate change to the nuclear issue in the Korean Peninsula and Iran, as well as handling the COVID-19 pandemic, the Ukraine crisis and dealing with the food and energy crises, Jin said.During the meeting, the two sides vowed to keep constant strategic communication between the diplomatic teams of the two sides, and agreed that the teams on financial affairs from the two countries would have dialogues and coordination on macroeconomic policies and trade issues. The Chinese and US leaders also agreed to make joint efforts to push the UN Climate Change Conference COP27 to reach successThe two sides also reached consensus to promote cooperation and dialogues in the fields of public health, agriculture and food security, and the two sides also agree that the people-to-people exchanges are very important, and agree to encourage the expansion of exchanges between personnel from various areas of the two countries, according to China Central Television.
Third-quarter revenues for Chinese search engine operators reached 8.1 billion yuan (1.28 billion U.S. dollars),stephen thompson gilbert burns odds up 51 percent from a year earlier, a report said Thursday.

The sectors third-quarter revenues also represented a 16.2-percent increase from the second quarter, said the report issued by Analysys International.

Adding advertising income brings their combined revenues to 10.3 billion yuan, marking the first time for the sector to post quarterly revenues of more than 10 billion yuan, said Dong Xu, an Analysys International researcher.

Baidu dominated the sector with a market share of 78.6 percent, followed by Google China and Sogou with market shares of 15.3 percent and 3.2 percent, respectively, the report said.

The report said the entry of search company Qihoo 360 might change market shares in the sector in the future.

Xinhua

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Australian companies Qantas and China Eastern Airlines said Monday to launch a low-cost regional airline based in Hong Kong.

Subject to regulatory approvals, an offshoot of Qantas subsidiary Jetstar, Jetstar Hong Kong will operate medium-haul flights between China, Japan, South Korea and Southeast Asia from mid-2013.

This is a unique opportunity to capitalize the huge potential Chinese market, where penetration of low-cost transportation is less than 5%, said the CEO of Jetstar, Bruce Buchanan. Prices of Jetstar will be 50% cheaper than traditional carriers, which generates demand in our markets across Asia, allowing to make more trips, more often, he added.

The newcomer on the market wishes to receive between 6 and 10% of cheap flights between China, Japan or South Korea. Qantas and China Eastern will be equal shareholders in the new company, which will have a minimum capital of 198 million dollars, according to a statement sent to stock exchange authorities in Hong Kong. Jetstar will operate initially with three Airbus A320, 18 by 2015 and would order more than twenty by 2017.

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China will strengthen management of foreigners illegally entering, living or working in China, a senior police officer vowed Wednesday.

Vice Minister of Public Security Yang Huanning made the remark while delivering a report on the administration of entry-exit, residence and employment of foreigners to the Standing Committee of the National Peoples Congress, the top legislature.

According to Yang, the crackdown will include improving visa policy, strengthening border control, repatriating illegal aliens, and setting up repatriation locations in regions that have large numbers of such foreigners.

Yang said it is difficult to manage foreigners illegally entering, living or working in China, as there is no detainment locations for them and a lack of foreign-language-speaking police staff.

Some foreigners refuse to provide their real identities, and some foreign embassies and consulates in China are inefficient in verifying identities, said the public security official.

Most illegally entered foreigners are from neighboring countries, said Yang, adding that languages training, performance, housekeeping and labor-intensive industries are the main sectors illegally employing foreigners.

Police last year investigated more than 20,000 incidents in which foreigners illegally entered, lived or worked in China, double the number of 1995, according to Yang.

Almost 600,000 foreigners lived in China for more than six months in 2011, compared to only 20,000 in 1980, while 220,000 foreigners were employed in the country in 2011, compared to 74,000 in 2000.

A draft law on exit and entry administration was submitted Tuesday to lawmakers for its second reading. The draft stipulates harsher punishments for people who enter or exit China illegally.

Xinhua

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Rebekah Koffler: Russian withdrawal from Kherson is probably a ruse to lure Ukrainian forces into a trap

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Former U.S. intel officer Rebekah Koffler reacts to the Russian government's failure to inform the Biden White House of Brittney Griners transfer to a penal colony last week on 'Fox News Live.'

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Washington will soon debate sending billions more to Ukraine to assist its war effort. Lawmakers may want to first conduct a reality check on where Russia stands in this nine-month war and on Putins decision calculus. This suggests that U.S. funding will not produce quick results, may not produce any results or may also produce very bad results for America and Ukraine.

This is how, when wishful thinking is set aside, things actually look:

The Battlefield

Multiple areas across Ukraine are still under Russian assault, even as Ukrainian forces are gaining momentum with an effective counter-offensive, pushing to reclaim territories captured by Russia. On Friday, special units of Ukraines armed forces entered the strategic city of Kherson in southern Ukraine, following the retreat of the Russian troops as directed by the Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu. As Ukraines president Zelenskyy was championing another victory, the Kremlin warned that Khersons status didnt change, despite the retreat, claiming that the city was still part of Russia.

The Russians are unlikely to permanently abandon Kherson or any of the three regions that Moscow recently "annexed." The Russian ground forces who assumed defensive positions on the left bank of the Dniepr River, will probably not engage in a mano-a-mano battle with Ukrainians, having lost so many men and so much military hardware. The withdrawal is a potential ruse to lure Ukrainian troops into a radioactive chamber. Russian Spetsnaz operatives reportedly left a nasty message on a door of one of the buildings. Addressed to Ukrainians, the message warned that this was "the territory of the Russian Empire," that Putin was "our and your Czar" and that the Russian troops went "on vacation."

Vladimir Putin and his Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu stand together during a Navy Day Parade in Saint Petersburg, Russia in July. (Photo by Contributor/Getty Images)

PUTINS CYBER ARMAGEDDON DOCTRINE SEEKS TO EXPAND RUSSIA'S OFFENSE BEYOND BATTLEFIELD

For weeks, Moscow has been accusing Kyiv of planning to use a "dirty bomb," also called a radiological dispersal device (RDD), an improvised nuclear device containing dynamite laced with radioactive powder. Unlike traditional nuclear bombs, RDDs have low military value but produce panic and terror in the opposing force and population. They cause severe burns, irradiation sickness, and they contaminate food and water. Driving Ukrainians out of the region by contamination would be consistent with Russias most recent military doctrine, which envisions use of radiological, chemical and biological warfare for "defensive" purposes. The Russians have a special military branch, Radiological, Chemical and Biological Defense Forces (RKhBZ), that are trained in decontamination and clean up.

A New Strategy of Indirect Action

Russia has all but exhausted its conventional combat power, having fired around 4,000 missiles and, according to Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley, have lost some 100,000 personnel to death or injury. Morale is low. Special units are sent to the front lines to shoot retreating soldiers and deserters. Multiple Russian commanders have failed to secure victory.

However, despite Washingtons expectations, Putin will not abandon the fight. His regime views the stakes as existential for him and for Russia. Moscow wants Ukraine to remain part of its strategic security perimeter, on which it relied for centuries. Putin will continue to enforce his version of the Monroe Doctrine to keep NATO troops and influence out of a country that has a 1400-mile border with Russia.

President Biden and his Russia counterpart Vladimir Putin have not spoken in months. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images | Photo by Mikhail Svetlov/Getty Images)

FIVE REASONS WHY BIDEN MUST MOVE TO DE-ESCALATE THE RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR NOW

Under the new "asymmetric" strategy, Moscow is targeting critical infrastructure to leave Ukrainians without water, electricity and heat as winter approaches. Missile and drone strikes on Kyivs electrical grid have left half a million homes without power. Local authorities are mulling evacuation plans should the city become unlivable.

Forty percent of the countrys energy infrastructure has been crippled, and multiple industries have incurred devastating cyber strikes. Loss of power will result in lack of water, causing sewage problems that will spread disease. In late October, Ukraines intelligence services uncovered Russias plot to blow up the Nova Kakhovka hydroelectric dam to trigger a massive flood in southern Ukraine. Couple that with a dirty bomb in Kherson, and a large swath of the country will become an environmental disaster. The main target in this phase of war is the population, its psychological state and its will to fight.

Putins Health and Regime Stability

Endless rumors abound about Putins deteriorating physical and mental condition  anything from thyroid to pancreatic cancer, to Parkinsons, a mysterious mental illness caused by COVID-related isolation, and more. It is impossible, even for U.S. intelligence, to assess Putins health with high accuracy. Putin takes extreme measures  including having his security personnel collect his excrement and urine when he travels - to safeguard information about his health. There is no credible evidence Putin has a chronic condition like cancer. Instead, Putin appears "entirely too healthy," as CIA Director William Burns recently assessed.

Russian President Vladimir Putin with troops. Rumors are swirling about the IV marks on Putin's hand. (APTN Screenshot)

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Two weeks ago, the Russian strongman put on a three-hour performance, including a speech and Q&A, at the annual international "Valdai" conference hosted by Russia. Putin was lucid, forceful, confident and looked healthy. There is no credible evidence suggesting the imminent collapse of Putins regime, his ouster or forced retirement into a sanatorium.

What the future holds

Putin is preparing for the long haul and even an all-out war, anticipating NATO intervention. Moscow has mobilized additional 318,000 men and mandated basic military training in high school. It has expanded military cooperation with Iran and North Korea to replenish its depleting weapons supply. Russia is standing up bomb shelters, training police in wartime protocols and conducting emergency evacuation drills.

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Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine is now into its ninth month with no end in sight (Contributor/Getty Images)

The Biden administrations solution to the Russia-Ukraine problem has been to hit Russia with more sanctions, deprive another Russian oligarch of his yacht or palace and send billions in aid to Ukraine. This is naive and simplistic. The question of control over the post-Soviet space has been festering since the collapse of the USSR in 1991, and the balance of power in Eurasia has been contested for centuries. So victory is not around the corner, nor will it be defined by President Biden. That the Washington establishment is dragging America into yet another geopolitical experiment as Ukrainians are being slaughtered and their country ruined is irresponsible and dangerous.

We are dealing with a nuclear power that is predisposed for the worst-case scenario thinking, and it will invoke the worst case before it accepts defeat in Ukraine.

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM REBEKAH KOFFLER
Taiwans ruling Kuomintang (KMT) party will celebrate its 118th anniversary on Saturday with thrift due to the current poor economic situation,club in hollywood casino an official of the party said Thursday.

Tseng Yung-chuan, KMTs vice chairman and secretary general, told a press briefing that KMTs chairman and Taiwan leader Ma Ying-jeou will lay a wreath at Dr. Sun Yat-sens Memorial Hall in Taipei on Saturday.

The partys branches in 22 counties and cities around Taiwan will hold charity events, including visiting disadvantaged groups, blood donation and charity sales.

We hope the events can truly reach out to the public, said Tseng.

Dr. Sun founded Revive China Society, the predecessor of KMT, in Honolulu, Hawaii on Nov. 24, 1894. The society was later merged into Tongmenghui and in turn became KMT.

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UGA/EurekAlert

CNN 

Nearly a decade after Japans Fukushima nuclear disaster, researchers have discovered that wildlife is thriving in the areas evacuated by humans, despite radiological contamination.

On March 11, 2011, a 9.0 magnitude earthquake hit Japan. More than 20,000 people died or went missing in the quake and tsunami, while hundreds of thousands more lost their homes.

Three reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant melted down, releasing radioactive materials into the air and more than 100,000 people were evacuated from the area.

UGA/EurekAlert

A Japanese serow explores the area.

Scientists have now discovered that wildlife is abundant in areas that humans no longer live.

Using remote cameras, researchers from the University of Georgia recovered more than 267,000 photos of more than 20 species  including racoon dogs, wild boars, macaques, pheasants, foxes and Japanese hares in the areas surrounding the power plant.

Our results represent the first evidence that numerous species of wildlife are now abundant throughout the Fukushima Evacuation Zone, despite the presence of radiological contamination, James Beasley, associate professor at the Savannah River Ecology Laboratory and the Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources, said in a statement.

Sergey Dolzhenko/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock

Journalists visit the control room of the plant's fourth reactor at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, in Chernobyl, Ukraine, 25 September 2019. The explosion of Unit 4 of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in the early hours of 26 April 1986 is still regarded as the biggest accident in the history of nuclear power generation. Facing nuclear disaster on unprecedented scale Soviet authorities tried to contain the situation by sending thousands of ill-equipped men into a radioactive maelstrom.Chernobyl zone press tour, Ukraine - 25 Sep 2019

Chernobyl control room now open to visitors -- but only wearing a hazmat suit

Photographic data was collected from 106 camera sites from three zones: Areas where humans were excluded due to the highest level of contamination; areas where humans were restricted due to an intermediate level of contamination; and areas where people were allowed to remain.

Over 120 days, cameras captured 46,000 photographs of wild boar, with more than 26,000 images taken in the areas which were uninhabited.

In contrast, about 13,000 images were taken in zones where humans were restricted due to contamination and 7,000 taken in zones inhabited by people.

UGA/EurekAlert

Researchers captured images of more than 20 species, including macaque monkeys, in the areas surrounding the plant.

Researchers also saw higher numbers of racoons, Japanese marten, a weasel-like animal, and Japanese macaque or monkeys in uninhabited or restricted zones.

Species considered to be in conflict with humans, such as wild boar, were predominantly photographed in areas and zones evacuated by humans, Beasley said.

Pavlo Fedykovych

Inside Slavutych, the city created by the Chernobyl explosion

While the research monitors the radiological impact on wildlife populations as a whole, it does not give an assessment on the health of individual animals, scientists noted.

The study was published Monday in the Journal of Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment, was produced in addition to the teams research on Chernobyl, where wildlife has also thrived in the wake of the disaster.
Infor is set to demonstrate the power of its cloud-based solutions including enterprise resource planning (ERP) software at Gitex to enable organisations in sectors including manufacturing and logistics to digitally transform.

Infor, which is exhibiting on Amazon Web Services (AWS) booth in Hall 26, will highlight its industry expertise and the ability of its smart, preconfigured cloud solutions  which feature built-in industry functionality  to enable customers to simplify complexity, automate business processes, accelerate time to value, and enhance the experience of end users.

Infors solutions, which work with the leading capabilities of the AWS Cloud, give organisations the agility, insights, scalability and security they need to succeed amid current challenges including fierce competition, supply chain issues, and changing regulations, helping them to tap the growth opportunities prevalent in the region.

Infor executives including Kerry Koutsikos, vice president and GM for Middle East & Africa; Phil Lewis, senior vice president, solution consulting international; Khaled AlShami, vice president, solution consulting; and Salem Machaka, vice president of professional services, will be available to provide demonstrations and explain the latest updates to Infors solutions.

Industry specific solutions

AlShami said: Were excited to participate at Gitex from October 16 to 20 with our partner AWS and to demonstrate the immense power of our industry-specific solutions, which open up a new world of efficiency and innovation. We will voice a strong message around the public cloud at Gitex, as we are keen to highlight the importance for organisations to move to a multi-tenant cloud to survive and thrive, tackle challenges and seize the amazing opportunities for growth in the GCC and the wider region.

Lewis will join other international experts for a panel discussion on Data-driven Transformation in Industry: Scaling AI for Enterprise Impact, on October 18 at the AI Stage in Hall 9.

AWS services

On October 19, Lewis will speak at the Global DevSlam conference on the Takeover stage, which is aimed at developers and solution architects. Lewis will discuss the breadth of AWS services that Infor uses within its Infor OS cloud platform to provide built-in AI, integration and analytics capabilities for the industry-specific needs of its customers.

Infor has supported numerous organisations on their cloud journeys in the region. Most recently, Bahrains Asry, the Gulf regions biggest maritime repair and fabrication facility, deployed Infor CloudSuite Industrial Enterprise. The solution has enabled Asry to unify and automate its major business functions, including procurement, accounts, and supply chain management. This has improved its efficiency, while giving management a single source of truth for all business transactions.--TradeArabia News Service
CANBERRA,online slots with free play Nov. 17 (Xinhua) -- In all four waves of COVID-19 pandemic in Australia, the highest proportion of deaths have occurred in people who are most disadvantaged, data has revealed.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) recently released data, saying there were 12,545 deaths of people who have died from or with COVID-19 during the pandemic, whose deaths were registered and lodged with the ABS by Sept. 30, 2022.

Lauren Moran, ABS Director of Health and Vital Statistics, said this data and analysis offer detailed information about how the pandemic has impacted people.

According to Moran, while almost all COVID-related deaths (99 percent) in the first year of the pandemic had COVID-19 recorded as the underlying cause, this had fallen to 72 percent by August 2022.

Nearly 80 percent of deaths from COVID-19 have occurred during the Omicron wave in Australia.

"COVID-19 mortality during the pandemic disproportionately affected older people, with deaths among people aged 80-89 accounting for the highest proportion of deaths across all waves," Moran said in a media release on Wednesday.

COVID-19 mortality rates across all waves have been highest among people from areas of greatest disadvantage, with the highest proportion during the Delta wave at around 40 percent, said ABS.

The first wave and the Delta wave had a younger age distribution for mortality compared to the second wave and Omicron wave, according to the data.

Over half of the deaths during the Delta wave were among people aged under 80, with over a quarter aged under 70.

By comparison, around 30 percent were aged under 80 and 10 percent were under 70 during the Omicron wave.

Vulnerable populations, including people of older ages, people of lower socio-economic backgrounds and those with pre-existing chronic conditions have had higher rates of mortality during all waves of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Chronic cardiac conditions, including coronary atherosclerosis and cardiomyopathies, were the most common pre-existing illnesses associated with coronavirus deaths, followed by dementia and diabetes. 
BANGKOK,bravado gambling site Nov. 17 (Xinhua) -- Leaders are gathering in Bangkok, the capital of Thailand, for the 29th Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Economic Leaders' Meeting on Nov. 18-19.

The leaders' meeting is held in person this year after two editions hosted virtually by Malaysia in 2020 and New Zealand in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

This year's meeting is convened under the theme of "Open, Connect, Balance" -- to open to all opportunities, to connect in all dimensions and to balance in all aspects.

With a combined population of 2.9 billion, the 21 APEC economies account for over 60 percent of the world's total gross domestic product (GDP) and about half of world trade.

APEC is working on areas such as trade and investment liberalization, business facilitation, and economic and technical cooperation, aiming to achieve sustainable growth and prosperity in the Asia-Pacific region.

The notion of establishing a forum for promoting sustainable economic growth and regional cooperation in the Asia-Pacific was first raised by former Australian Prime Minister Bob Hawke in 1989 in response to the growing interdependence of the region and the advent of regional trade blocs in other parts of the world.

The first APEC Ministerial Meeting was held later that year in Canberra, Australia, which marked the official establishment of the mechanism.

In November 1991, the third Ministerial Meeting was held in the South Korean capital of Seoul with the approval of the Seoul APEC Declaration, which finalized APEC's objectives of developing and strengthening the open multilateral trading system, and reducing barriers to trade in goods, services and investment.

The APEC Secretariat, based in Singapore, was established in 1993 to provide support and services for the forum's activities at various levels.

The APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting is a top-level meeting under the APEC institutional framework. As a culmination of annual APEC forum, it is on the heels of the Ministerial Meeting and the CEO Summit. Since the first informal leaders' meeting in Seattle, the United States in 1993, the economic leaders' meeting has been convened on a yearly basis.

In 1994, at the Economic Leaders' Meeting in Bogor, Indonesia, the APEC Economic Leaders' Declaration of Common Resolve was adopted. The declaration pledged APEC's intent to achieve free, open trade and investment by 2010 for industrialized economies, and 2020 for developing economies.

The Putrajaya Vision 2040, adopted at the Economic Leaders' Meeting in Malaysia in 2020, envisions "an open, dynamic, resilient and peaceful Asia-Pacific community by 2040, for the prosperity of all our people and future generations."

APEC's institutional framework includes the Economic Leaders' Meeting, the Ministerial Meeting, the Senior Officials' Meeting, committees and working groups.

APEC currently has 21 members, namely Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, China, China's Hong Kong, Chinese Taipei, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Peru, the Philippines, Russia, Singapore, Thailand, the United States and Vietnam.

Its observers include the ASEAN Secretariat, the Pacific Economic Cooperation Council, and the Pacific Islands Forum. 
10:50

On the afternoon of 14 November local time,wild hawk casino top online betting President Xi Jinping had a meeting with U.S. President Joe Biden in Bali, Indonesia. The two presidents had a candid and in-depth exchange of views on issues of strategic importance in China-U.S. relations and on major global and regional issues.

President Xi pointed out the current state of China-U.S. relations is not in the fundamental interests of the two countries and peoples, and is not what the international community expects. China and the United States need to have a sense of responsibility for history, for the world and for the people, explore the right way to get along with each other in the new era, put the relationship on the right course, and bring it back to the track of healthy and stable growth to the benefit of the two countries and the world as a whole.

President Xi expounded on the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and its key outcomes. He pointed out that the domestic and foreign policies of the CPC and the Chinese government are open and transparent, with clearly stated and transparent strategic intentions and great continuity and stability. We are advancing the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation on all fronts through a Chinese path to modernization, basing our efforts on the goal of meeting peoples aspirations for a better life, unswervingly pursuing reform and opening-up, and promoting the building of an open global economy. China remains firm in pursuing an independent foreign policy of peace, always decides its position and attitude based on the merits of issues, and advocates resolving disputes peacefully through dialogue and consultation. China is committed to deepening and expanding global partnerships, safeguarding the international system with the United Nations at its core and the international order underpinned by international law, and building a community with a shared future for mankind. China will stay committed to peaceful development, open development and win-win development, participate in and contribute to global development, and pursue common development with countries across the world.

President Xi pointed out that the world is at a major inflection point in history. Countries need to both tackle unprecedented challenges and seize unprecedented opportunities. This is the larger context in which we should view and handle China-U.S. relations. China-U.S. relations should not be a zero-sum game where one side out-competes or thrives at the expense of the other. The successes of China and the United States are opportunities, not challenges, for each other. The world is big enough for the two countries to develop themselves and prosper together. The two sides should form a correct perception of each others domestic and foreign policies and strategic intentions. China-U.S. interactions should be defined by dialogue and win-win cooperation, not confrontation and zero-sum competition. President Xi said that he takes very seriously President Bidens five-noes statement. China does not seek to change the existing international order or interfere in the internal affairs of the United States, and has no intention to challenge or displace the United States. The two sides should respect each other, coexist in peace, pursue win-win cooperation, and work together to ensure that China-U.S. relations move forward on the right course without losing direction or speed, still less having a collision. Observing the basic norms of international relations and the three Sino-U.S. joint communiques is vitally important for the two sides to manage differences and disagreements and prevent confrontation and conflict; indeed, it is the most important guardrail and safety net for China-U.S. relations.

President Xi gave a full account of the origin of the Taiwan question and Chinas principled position. He stressed that the Taiwan question is at the very core of Chinas core interests, the bedrock of the political foundation of China-U.S. relations, and the first red line that must not be crossed in China-U.S. relations. Resolving the Taiwan question is a matter for the Chinese and Chinas internal affair. It is the common aspiration of the Chinese people and nation to realize national reunification and safeguard territorial integrity. Anyone that seeks to split Taiwan from China will be violating the fundamental interests of the Chinese nation; the Chinese people will absolutely not let that happen! We hope to see, and are all along committed to, peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait, but cross-Strait peace and stability and Taiwan independence are as irreconcilable as water and fire. We hope that the U.S. side will match its words with action and abide by the one-China policy and the three joint communiques. President Biden has said on many occasions that the United States does not support Taiwan independence and has no intention to use Taiwan as a tool to seek advantages in competition with China or to contain China. We hope that the U.S. side will act on this assurance to real effect.

President Xi noted that freedom, democracy and human rights are the common pursuit of humanity and also the unwavering pursuit of the CPC. Just as the United States has American-style democracy, China has Chinese-style democracy; both fit their respective national conditions. The whole-process peoples democracy practiced in China is based on the countrys reality, history and culture, and it reflects peoples will. We take great pride in it. No country has a perfect democratic system, and there is always a need for development and improvement. The specific differences between the two sides can be worked out through discussion, but only on the precondition of equality. The so-called democracy versus authoritarianism narrative is not the defining feature of todays world, still less does it represent the trend of the times.

President Xi pointed out that the two countries take different paths; while the United States practices capitalism, China practices socialism. Such difference is nothing new and will continue to exist. Leadership of the CPC and Chinas socialist system have the support of 1.4 billion people. They are the fundamental guarantee for Chinas development and stability. For China and the United States to get along, it is vital to recognize and respect such difference. Neither side should try to remold the other in ones own image, or seek to change or even subvert the others system. Instead of talking in one way and acting in another, the United States needs to honor its commitments with concrete action.

President Xi underscored that China and the United States are two major countries with different histories, cultures, social systems and development paths. There have been and will continue to be differences between the two countries. Such differences should not become an obstacle to growing China-U.S. relations. There is always competition in the world, but competition should be about learning from each other to become ones better self and make progress together, not about taking others down in a zero-sum game. The Chinese nation has the proud tradition of standing up for itself. Suppression and containment will only strengthen the will and boost the morale of the Chinese people. Starting a trade war or a technology war, building walls and barriers, and pushing for decoupling and severing supply chains run counter to the principles of market economy and undermine international trade rules. Such attempts serve no ones interests. We oppose politicizing and weaponizing economic and trade ties as well as exchanges in science and technology. Under the current circumstances, China and the United States share more, not less, common interests. It is in our mutual and fundamental interest to prevent conflict and confrontation and achieve peaceful coexistence. The two economies are deeply integrated, and both face new tasks in development. It is in our mutual interest to benefit from each others development. It is also in our mutual interest to promote post-COVID global recovery, tackle climate change and resolve regional issues through China-U.S. coordination and cooperation. The two sides need to respect each other, pursue mutual benefit, focus on the larger picture, and nurture a sound atmosphere and stable relations for cooperation.

President Biden noted that he has known President Xi for many years and maintained regular communication, but nothing could substitute for the kind of face-to-face meeting today. President Biden congratulated President Xi on his re-election as General Secretary of the CPC Central Committee. As two major countries, the United States and China have a responsibility to keep a constructive relationship. The U.S. side is committed to keeping the channels of communication open between the two presidents and at all levels of government, so as to allow candid conversations on issues where the two sides disagree, and to strengthen necessary cooperation and play a key role in addressing climate change, food security and other important global challenges. This is vitally important to the two countries and peoples, and also very important to the whole world. President Biden reaffirmed that a stable and prosperous China is good for the United States and the world. The United States respects Chinas system, and does not seek to change it. The United States does not seek a new Cold War, does not seek to revitalize alliances against China, does not support Taiwan independence, does not support two Chinas or one China, one Taiwan, and has no intention to have a conflict with China. The U.S. side has no intention to seek de-coupling from China, to halt Chinas economic development, or to contain China.

President Biden said that how the U.S-China relationship develops is of crucial importance to the future of the world. The United States and China have a shared responsibility to show the world that they can manage their differences, and avoid and prevent misunderstandings and misperceptions or fierce competition from veering into confrontation or conflict. The U.S. side shares the view that it is necessary to work out the principles guiding U.S.-China relations. The two teams may continue discussions on the basis of the common understandings already in place, and strive for early agreement. The U.S. government is committed to the one-China policy. It does not seek to use the Taiwan question as a tool to contain China, and hopes to see peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait.

The two presidents agreed that their respective diplomatic teams should maintain strategic communication and conduct regular consultations; their financial teams will continue dialogue and coordination on macroeconomic policies, economic ties and trade; and the two countries will jointly work for the success of the 27th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. The two sides reached common understandings on conducting dialogue and cooperation in public health, agriculture and food security. They agreed to make good use of the China-U.S. joint working group to promote the resolution of more issues. They also agreed that people-to-people exchange is very important, and agreed to encourage the expansion of such exchange in all sectors.

The two presidents also exchanged views on the Ukraine crisis and other issues. President Xi pointed out that China is highly concerned about the current situation in Ukraine. He noted the four points about what must be done he had proposed soon after the outbreak of the crisis and the four things the international community must do together he had suggested recently. Facing a global, composite crisis like the one in Ukraine, it is important to give serious thought to the following: first, conflicts and wars produce no winner; second, there is no simple solution to a complex issue; and third, confrontation between major countries must be avoided. China has all along stood on the side of peace and will continue to encourage peace talks. We support and look forward to a resumption of peace talks between Russia and Ukraine. At the same time, we hope that the United States, NATO and the EU will conduct comprehensive dialogues with Russia.

Both presidents viewed the meeting as in-depth, candid and constructive. They instructed their teams to promptly follow up and implement the important common understandings reached between them, and take concrete actions to put China-U.S. relations back on the track of steady development. The two presidents agreed to maintain regular contact.

Ding Xuexiang, Wang Yi and He Lifeng, among others, were present at the meeting.

For more, check out our exclusive content on CGTN Now and subscribe to our weekly newsletter, The China Report.
Taiwans ruling Kuomintang (KMT) party celebrated the 118th anniversary of its founding on Saturday by paying tribute to the partys late founding father.

Accompanied by the partys senior officials,online slots no deposit keep what you win KMT Chairman and Taiwan leader Ma Ying-jeou visited Dr. Sun Yat-sens memorial hall in Taipei, laying a wreath at Suns bronze statue.

Dr. Sun founded the Revive China Society, one of the predecessors of the KMT, in Honolulu, Hawaii on Nov. 24, 1894. The society was later merged into the Tongmenghui and then became the KMT.

Ma also visited a Catholic facility which houses people with disabilities in Taipei. He hoped this would help increase social awareness in caring for disadvantaged groups.

Amid drizzle, KMT Honorary Chairman Wu Po-hsiung, who is on a visit to the Chinese mainland, on Saturday paid tribute to a resting place of 72 martyrs who died in a uprising in April 1911, led by the Tongmenghui under the leadership of Dr. Sun.

Wu, after laying a wreath at the Huanghuagang Martyrs Cemetery in Guangzhou City, said the Huanghuagang Uprising, though it failed, woke up the nation, inspired later uprisings and the Revolution of 1911 which eventually overthrew the last imperial dynasty and led to the founding of the republic.

To KMT, it is a history that we cherish and can not afford to forget, Wu said.

In Taiwan, the partys branches in 22 counties and cities held various charity events, including visits to disadvantaged people, blood donations and charity sales, in a bid to reach out to the public.

Tseng Yung-chuan, KMT vice chairman and secretary general, told a press briefing on Thursday that the party would celebrate the anniversary with the principle of thrift and service.

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Top Chinese political advisor Jia Qinglin arrived here Tuesday afternoon for an official goodwill visit to Italy.

China and Italy have continuously strengthened mutual political trust and scored fruitful achievements in pragmatic cooperation in various fields since the establishment of their diplomatic ties 42 years ago,red dog casino bonus said Jia, chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese Peoples Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), in a written statement upon arrival.

The two countries have also maintained close communication and coordination in international and regional affairs, with the content of their comprehensive strategic partnership continuously enriched, he said.

The development of China-Italy relations is currently facing a new historic opportunity, Jia said.

He said he is looking forward to having in-depth talks with Italian leaders, including Prime Minister Mario Monti, on bilateral ties and other issues of common concern.

Jia said he would also meet Italians from all walks of life, so as to deepen mutual understanding between the two peoples and push forward the two countries pragmatic cooperation.

Italy is the first leg of Jias three-nation tour which will also take him to Costa Rica and Argentina.

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Bethlehem and Jerusalem CNN 

Men mourn at a morgue after clashes with Israeli forces in Nablus, in the occupied West Bank on Tuesday.

At least six Palestinians were killed by the Israeli military on Tuesday, making it the deadliest day of violence in the occupied West Bank this year, CNN analysis of official Palestinian data showed.

Five were killed in the old city of Nablus during an Israeli raid there, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health. A sixth person was killed in Nabi Saleh, north of Ramallah, by Israeli live fire, the Ministry added, when Palestinian protestors took to the streets in response to the Nablus military operation.

The raid in Nablus also left some 20 people injured, the ministry said.

Israel said it was targeting Lions Den, a new militant group which emerged in Nablus this year and has targeted Israeli soldiers, killing at least two.

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas condemned Tuesdays killings as a war crime while calling on the United States to stop Israeli aggression in the West Bank before things reach a very critical point, according to his spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeineh.

Commenting on the Nablus raid, Israels Prime Minister Yair Lapid said, our goal was and remains to inflict severe and lasting damage on terrorism and its agents in Jenin and Nablus and anywhere else where terrorist nests grow. He added that the head of the Lions Den militant group and other militants were assassinated in the raid and that the terrorist laboratory of Lions Den was severely damaged.

Jaafar Ashtiyeh/AFP/Getty Images

Mourners in the West Bank on October 25, 2022.

In a joint statement posted on Twitter, the Israel Defense Forces, the Israel Security Agency, and Israeli police said a raid was conducted on a hideout in the old city of Nablus that was being used as a headquarters and explosives manufacturing site by operatives of Lions Den, adding that the group was responsible for a shooting attack that killed an Israeli soldier, and for attempting to carry out an attack in Tel Aviv that was thwarted by the Israeli police as well as the planting of an explosive device in a gas station.

The Israeli security forces detonated the explosive manufacturing site during the raid, the statement said, adding that dozens of Palestinians burned tires and hurled rocks at the troops. The [Israeli] troops responded with live fire toward the armed suspects who were shooting at them.

Abbas Momani/AFP/Getty Images

Mourners march the body of 29-year-old Palestinian Mohammed Sabaaneh during his funeral in Jenin in the occupied West Bank on September 6.

Fears of a third Intifada as Palestinian deaths reach 7-year high

The Palestinian National Forces, an umbrella grouping of political and popular groupings, announced a general strike across cities and villages in the West Bank on Tuesday. The strike will affect essential services such as schools, universities and courts.

This year has been the deadliest in the West Bank for Palestinians killed by Israeli soldiers since 2015. Israel claims most killed were clashing violently with soldiers.

It has also been the deadliest year for Israelis and foreigners killed in attacks by Palestinians since 2015.
Chinese Premier Li Keqiang on Saturday sent messages of condolence respectively to Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak and Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte over the crash of a Malaysian passenger plane in eastern Ukraine.

In the message to Najib,gambling dice games starpunk nft Li said he was shocked to learn of the crash of the Malaysia Airlines flight MH17, which left 298 passengers and crew members dead.

On behalf of the Chinese government and people, I hereby express sincere sympathy to the Malaysian government and people and convey deep condolences to all the deceased on board, Li said.

In the message to Rutte, Li said that he was shocked to learn that a large number of Dutch passengers were killed in the MH17 crash.

I, on behalf of the Chinese government and people, express sincere sympathy to the Dutch government and people and convey deep condolences to the deceased from your country, Li said.

The Malaysia Airlines flight MH17, a Boeing 777-200, crashed in eastern Ukraine on Thursday, leaving all the 298 passengers and crew members dead, including 192 Dutch passengers.

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Qu Yingpu (center),new gambling game publisher and editor-in-chief of China Daily, and Du Xiaogang (second from right), Party secretary of Wuxi, preside over the opening ceremony of the International Cartoon and Illustration Exhibition on a Community with a Shared Future for Mankind on Wednesday in Wuxi, Jiangsu province. FENG YONGBIN/CHINA DAILY

Chinese illustrator Zhang Weimang clinched the gold prize of the International Cartoon and Illustration Exhibition on a Community with a Shared Future for Mankind with his work Life and Growth in Nature.

The award ceremony was held in Wuxi, Jiangsu province, on Wednesday. C.B. Shibu Cheriapadath Balan, from India, and Zhou Zuoli, from China, won silver prizes, and Izabela Kowalska-Wieczorek, from Poland, Liu Jiajia and Xie Pengzhen, from China, shared the bronze prizes.

The exhibition was hosted by China Daily and the Wuxi Municipal People's Government to promote the concept of the joint development of a more peaceful, harmonious, prosperous, open and beautiful world. It has two themes, "Low-Carbon Lifestyles" and "Discovering Wuxi".

About 3,800 cartoons and illustrations from 50 countries and regions were submitted in the "Low-Carbon Lifestyles" section and 851 of them were from overseas. The "Discovering Wuxi" section received around 600 works from home and abroad.

Zhang said he participated in the competition because Wuxi and China Daily have made a deep impression on him since childhood.

The theme "a community of shared future for mankind" also reminded him of a Chinese saying: When the way of virtue and justice prevailed, the whole world was one community.

Qu Yingpu, publisher and editor-in-chief of China Daily, said the concept of building a community of shared future for mankind proposed by General Secretary Xi Jinping has been widely welcomed and received strong support among the international community.

The exhibition aims to promote people-to-people exchanges among China and other countries through art works, so that the international community can work together to face challenges and create a common future, he said.

Through different perspectives and with various styles, the participating works vividly showed global artists' deep concern with ecological protection and the future of mankind, strong approval of the concept of building a community of shared future for mankind and active participation in protecting the environment and care for planet Earth, Qu said.

China Daily will continue to tell the stories of China and the Communist Party of China well to the outside world through various means, such as news reports and artworks, to promote communication and exchanges between China and the world and present a China that is credible, appealing and respectable, he said.

Du Xiaogang, Party secretary of the CPC Wuxi municipal committee, said with brushes, artworks and feelings, artists from around the world depicted the beautiful scenery of Wuxi, the historic progress of China in achieving modernization and the spirit and essence of Chinese culture.

Wuxi will continue to work closely with China Daily to tell local stories well to the world and make new and bigger contributions to telling China's stories, promote the country's voices and strengthen the reach and influence of Chinese civilization, he said.

Zhang Yaoning, honorary president of the China Journalistic Caricature Society and panelist for the exhibition, said that with a strong visual impact, cartoons and illustrations can call on people around the world to put aside their differences and build a more harmonious world.

As a seasoned English language newspaper, China Daily's global influence and experience gained in hosting international cartoon and illustration competitions have drawn many influential artists from different countries and regions to participate in the competition, he said.

"The level of the competition is very high, and I am glad to see that young Chinese artists have achieved breakthroughs in their techniques and artistic concepts," he added.
The two-day 2011 Expert Consultation Meeting of the Asia-Pacific Association of Agricultural Research Institutions kicked off Oct. 27 at the Taiwan Agricultural Research Institute, according to event organizer the Council of Agriculture.

Under the topic of Agricultural Biotechnology, Biosafety and Biosecurity, the years meeting is focused on leveraging technologies to increase agricultural productivity and secure food supplies in a world faced with the possibility of drastic climate change, COA officials said.

More than 80 representatives from government, academia and the private sector from 25 countries are attending the meeting, the COA said.

The council noted that the APAARI is an important organization dedicated to promoting cross-border partnerships for food safety and natural resources preservation in the Asia-Pacific region and that it has worked closely with the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations on various research projects.

Members in the 19-nation association include Australia, Bangladesh, India, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and Thailand.

Taiwan has been a member of the association since 1999. Susan Chang, director-general of the COA Department of International Affairs, was elected a member of the Executive Committee in 2009. The council said the designation marks international recognition of Taiwans agricultural and biotechnological development.

Prior to the Expert Consultation Meeting, APAARI Vice Chairman Mason Smith from Fiji presided over the Executive Committee Meeting Oct. 26 to discuss the organizations future initiatives and programs.

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Hong Kong Chief Executive CY Leung said Tuesday that the Philippine government is silver oak casino bonus codes no depositgoing to bear the medical cost of a victim of the Manila hostage incident.

Leung said that the long overdue payment came after his request to Philippine President Aquino III, who later transmitted the money to Yik Siu-ling, whose under jaw was shattered by a bullet in the tragedy, for her imminent surgery operation.

Meanwhile, Aquino has also sent his governments cabinet secretary to Hong Kong to negotiate with Secretary for Security Lai Tung-kwok and Chief Executives Office Director Edward Yau concerning the details for the compensation arrangements for the survivors and deceased persons families, Leung said.

Yik has been suffering from difficulties of eating, with scars left on her chin, after a few previous surgery operations. These were attributed to a shoot-out by Filipino policeman Rolando Mendoza in the bus hostage in Manila three years ago. Mendoza killed seven Hong Kong people in the incident.

Leung said Yik expressed gratitude for the compensation from the Philippines. He said that the incident has not been resolved, but what the country did had served to make a good start for further progress to achieve a satisfactory outcome.

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A senior leader with the discipline watchdog of the Communist Party of China (CPC) on Monday called for a strengthened fight against corruption in order to build a clean Party.

At a conference attended by CPC members and officials from the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection(CCDI),betfair casino prize pinball CCDI Secretary Wang Qishan championed efforts to improve the CPC members working practices.

Wang, also a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, said the Partys discipline watchdog will target Party members unhealthy practices.

He asked them to refrain from mediocrity, laziness, undiscipline and luxurious lifestyles.

Party members were told to correct unhealthy practices that harm peoples interests and receive education that will help them better understand the viewpoints of the people.

Wang said efforts should be made to make the Partys political discipline strict and enforce supervision over the implementation of major policies of the CPC Central Committee.

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State Council Information Office gave a press conference Wednesday to review its work in 2011. The Internet was the focus of attention of Chinese and foreign media.

The National Information Office of the Chinese Internet was created May 4, 2011. The office director Wang Chen () said that the information service and management of the Internet in China entered a new phase:

Since China joined the international Internet in 1994, the Internet has grown rapidly. The Internet is an important new media that increasingly influencing to the economy and society. It plays an important and positive role for economic development, equitable access to knowledge, and also the participation of the population control and enrichment of cultural life. 

At the end of 2011, China, which already had 513 million Internet users, ranked first in the world for the number of Internet users. Of these, 356 million access the Internet via their mobile phone and half of them have a micro blog. With regard to the form in which the development of the Internet, Wang Chen noted that the Chinese Internet was open to the outside, and its prospects for investment were excellent and exciting. Especially since Chinas accession to the WTO, many foreign Internet companies have come to China and participate in the development of the Chinese Internet.

Facing the doubts raised by the media regarding the real name registration protocol of micro blog, Wang Chen said it was a very sensitive issue that concerned many people. On one hand, it is true that the micro blog can represent the popular demand and social expectations, make positive voice be heard, enrich the information and control over public opinion. However, as a personal media, micro blog has changed the structure of public expression, and permits along with the rapid spread of irrational voice of a negative opinion and harmful information such as pornographic topics. There is a new challenge to ensure the information security of the Internet, harmony and social stability.

By 2010, the user number of micro blogs increases explosively. In one year, it reached 330 million people. According to recent statistics, every day the micro blogs generate 150 million entries. The real name registration protocol began in late 2011, first in Beijing, Shanghai, Tianjin, Guangzhou and Shenzhen and will be generalized when this test phase is completed.

Wang Chen said that the decision was taken following the decision of the NPC on the safety of the Internet and in line with relevant regulations such as The regulations of the Communication in the Peoples Republic of China.

This applies to first-time users, regulation to the former users will come later. In addition, we will take steps to ensure full security of personal information and to fight against acts that violate the law.

The number of users among officials of party organs and government has exceeded 50 000. Wang Chen said that the micro blog is a new channel of communication between the party and government on the one side, and the people on the other side.

Overall, we give our support to the use of micro blog by the administrative organs of the party and government. We believe that the micro blog is an important platform for information exchange. It helps these organs to know the aspirations of public opinion while providing administrative information, responding to queries that interested people and helping them solve problems in their daily life.

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Thecasino not on gamestop 7th East Asia Summit adopted the Phnom Penh Declaration here Tuesday, pledging to help narrow development gap among ASEAN member states so as to achieve the ASEAN Community by the end of 2015.

The declaration called for more development aid to less developed nations in the Association of Southeast Asian Nation ( ASEAN) to realize common development.

The declaration was formulated on the basis of Chinas initiative, which advocates balanced, inclusive and sustainable development, boosting policy coordination and expanding cooperation in finance, energy, education, disaster management, public health and interconnection.

The declaration expressed support for ASEANs leading role in the East Asia Summit and related regional cooperative mechanism.

It also encouraged developing members of East Asia Summit to adjust economic structure and choose the development path in line with the national conditions of their own.

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao attended the annual summit along with leaders from ten ASEAN member states as well as Australia, India, Japan, New Zealand, South Korea, Russia and the United States in Phnom Penh.

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G20 Photo:VCG

The2022 G20 Leaders' Summit concluded on Wednesday with member states issuing a joint declaration on cooperation for global development, and analysts said that China's proposals have received worldwide support and contributed wisdom for the turbulent world to deal with common challenges and crises.The document has highlighted consensuses on issues like food and energy security, climate change, the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, digital economies and anti-corruption, with analysts saying the declaration reflects the common grounds shared by the international community and the responsibilities of the major economies amid the challenges affecting all countries around the globe.On a sensitive issue like the Ukraine crisis, the joint declaration also reflected the differences among the member states, and experts said some Western countries led by the US are trying to hype the topic which is irrelevant to the economic cooperation at the G20 summit which aims at promoting cooperation between major economies worldwide to deal with common challenges. Western countries are trying to use a geopolitical crisis to further sabotage the unity of the international community, said the experts.Development is the key for countries around the globe to deal with the common challenges, said analysts, and when Chinese President Xi Jinping called for collective action and close cooperation to make global development more inclusive, beneficial to all, and more resilient, many attendees to the G20 sessions showed their support.Zheng Yongnian, a political scientist and organizer of the Strategy 20 International Conference, which brings together thinkers and strategists from G20 countries for dialogue, noted China's central role on the global economic stage."As the world's second-largest economy, China has the ability, willingness and experience to improve the world order, and it will also help the further growth of the world economy in the technical and economic fields," Zheng told the Global Times on Tuesday.For instance, in the field of digital economy, China plays a unique role especially with its significant resources and influence. On Wednesday, the Chinese President said China stands ready to continue cooperating with the members of the G20 to jointly build a global digital economic paradigm featuring benefits for all, balance, coordination, inclusiveness, win-win cooperation and common prosperity.When discussing the issue of digital transformation, Xi said an expanding digital economy and an accelerating global digital transformation have become important factors influencing a world economic paradigm.Li Haidong, a professor from the Institute of International Relations at the China Foreign Affairs University, told the Global Times that China has unique advantages in many areas, including a huge market with potential and certainty, so it has an irreplaceable role to play in boosting global recovery, and this is why China's stance and strategy for the future have global significance, and it's impossible to exclude or isolate China from any international issues.As the world is going through unprecedented difficulties unseen in many decades, Xi, in his speech at the first session of the 17th Group of 20 summit, called on countries, world's major economies in particular, to stand with each other in the face of risks and challenges, join hands together, and elevate win-win cooperation to a new height, the Xinhua News Agency reported.The Chinese leader once again called for more global efforts to support and assist developing countries and ensure that the benefits be shared by all across the globe, saying, "Development is real only when all countries develop together."On the sidelines of the G20 summit, Xi had meetings with many leaders from different countries, including France, Netherland, Spanish, Argentina, South Africa, South Korea, Senegal and Australia, and according to the media, some other countries' leaders, like the new UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, also wanted to schedule a meeting with Chinese President but failed to realize it.Analysts said this shows that all parties involved - Western countries or developing countries from Asia, Africa and Latin America -- want to make their ties with China stable and to benefit from China's development, showing their strong confidence in China's economy and desire of exploring more possibilities for cooperation with China."These major economies worldwide are mainly key regional powers or major powers with global influence, and their attitude has reflected that they recognized China's global influence, and respect China's stance on core interests, and they want to keep boosting interconnectivity with China, rather than decoupling," said Li.As Xi noted, to deepen cooperation among all countries is the only viable way to get through the difficult times, said Mohammed Saqib, an Indian economist and secretary-general of the India-China Economic and Cultural Council."China has set an example of collaboration and commitment with other countries amid the COVID-19 pandemic. I think this is when governments should follow suit and come forward for holistically enhanced all-around cooperation to pull out of this chaos," the Indian economist told Xinhua.Although the G20 members reached consensus on many fields for cooperation and demonstrated great unity, many Western media highlighted text on the Ukraine crisis in the joint declaration of the G20 this year which reflected differences and disagreements.The summit concluded Wednesday with a leaders' statement that "deplores in the strongest terms the aggression by the Russian Federation against Ukraine and demands its complete and unconditional withdrawal from the territory of Ukraine," CNN reported.However, the document also stated that "There were other views and different assessments of the situation and sanctions," and the leaders recognized that the G20 is not a forum for solving security problems.Chinese analysts said the part on the Russia-Ukraine conflict in the declaration looks very odd and reflects complicated international relations at the moment, because it openly shows disagreements which are not supposed to be showed in the document that reflected consensus.declaration reflects complicated intl relations as West hypes irrelevant topicsSince the Russia-Ukraine conflict broke out in February, the international community has always showed different stances, with the West holding a hawkish stance against Russia, and many other non-Western countries like China, India, South Africa and Saudi Arabia being more neutral, with the consideration of the complicated historic reasons and the eastward expansion of NATO in Europe.It seems like the US and some Western countries want to use the G20 declaration to maximize their hostile voice toward Russia, without considering the unity among the international community, and the declaration also stressed that the G20 is not a forum for security issue, this has reflected the opinions shared by more G20 members, experts noted.Selcuk Colakoglu, director of the Ankara-based Turkish Center for Asia-Pacific Studies who also attended some G20 sessions, told the Global Times that "the Russia-Ukraine conflict has aggravated the difficulties of the world economy stemming from the pandemic. China has acted in a very balanced and responsible way by keeping global supply chains on track without further military escalations."In this manner, the Global Development Initiative and Global Security Initiative proposed by Chinese President Xi are timely and necessary steps to handle global economic and security challenges properly, Colakoglu said.Noting the root cause of the ongoing food and energy crises is not production or demand, but interrupted supply chains and international cooperation, Xi suggested that the global community enhance cooperation on market supervision and regulation, build partnerships on commodities, develop an open, stable and sustainable commodities market, and work together to unclog supply chains and stabilize market prices.Li said when Western countries try to use their stance to replace the international consensus in some awkward way like putting controversial words into the declaration, China is making efforts with other partners to find solutions for urgent crises, and the rest of the world can see clearly who is more responsible and trustworthy amid the era of turbulence and uncertainty.
SHANGHAI,playamo coupons Nov. 11 (Xinhua) -- Black pepper from Timor-Leste, tea from Laos, wood carvings from the Central Africa Republic, and coffee from Ethiopia.... such local specialties from these least developed countries were displayed along with intelligent products from developed nations such as humanoid robots at the fifth China International Import Expo (CIIE).

Intriguingly, these local products sparked the same strong interest among customers as the upscale items did at the import expo.

Bei Lei, executive curator of the national pavilion of Timor-Leste at the expo, has witnessed the meteoric rise of Timorese coffee in China.

She said the CIIE has promoted trade cooperation and cultural exchanges between the two countries, adding that "in the process of sharing China's development opportunities, we feel the warmth of China."

A country with a population of about 1.3 million, Timor-Leste has been an active participant in the CIIE since 2018.

The coffee industry is seen as an economic pillar for Timor-Leste. Ultra-high standards involved in the picking and processing have made its coffee beans a signature product of the country.

In retrospect, Timor-Leste's CIIE journey, however, started with humble beginnings. When it first participated in the expo in 2018, it was simply the country's national image that was showcased and no enterprises had joined the exhibition.

At the 2nd CIIE in 2019, the country tentatively showcased a few of its specialties such as coffee, wild honey, red wine and handicrafts; at the 3rd CIIE in 2020, they won coffee orders worth 5 million U.S. dollars, and the 4th CIIE, Timorese coffee once again gained fame thanks to a robot barista provided free of charge by a Chinese company.

Timor-Leste exported 348 tonnes of coffee beans to China in 2021, up 140 percent year on year, according to the country's statistics.

All the products are green and pollution-free, which is in line with the pursuit of healthy life by Chinese consumers, Bei said. "And it gives us a lot of confidence."

To enable more countries to share China's development dividends, organizers of the CIIE have invited the least developed countries to participate in the expo since its first edition and provided two standard booths free of charge to each of these participating nations.

During the expo, special matchmaking conferences are held to help connect exhibitors from these countries and potential buyers.

In 2019, the organizers specially set up a venue in the Shanghai free trade zone for countries in need to open national pavilions to display their commodities and investment projects all year round. This year, the CIIE joined hands with a number of multinational organizations and industry associations to help least developed countries organize delegations to participate in the expo.

Before the CIIE opened this year, the organizers took the initiative to coordinate with Chinese companies to help Timor-Leste build a larger booth, doubling the booth area from last year to 36 square meters.

Since 2018, among more than 40 least developed countries in the world, companies from over 30 nations have participated in the CIIE every year to seek business opportunities.

Ali Faiz has taken part in the CIIE for three consecutive years, displaying exquisite Afghan carpets. There weren't any flashy decorations at his booth, and the beautiful carpets were the best form of publicity.

"Selling a large handmade wool carpet can guarantee the life of an ordinary family for nearly a year. The Chinese market gives hope to many Afghans," he said.

Li Manxiong, a Chinese businessman who introduced Timorese coffee to the Chinese market, displayed more than a dozen products processed with foreign coffee beans at the CIIE booth.

"The CIIE has enhanced the visibility of Timor-Leste, and I hope to continue to use this platform to introduce more Timor-Leste products to the world and benefit the people of Timor-Leste," Li said.

During the CIIE, through the coordination of the organizers, more Chinese enterprises and international institutions extended a helping hand to the least developed countries participating in the expo. 
Events Manager/Executive

China-Britain Business Council

Locations: Beijing,win money playing poker online Shanghai, Guangzhou and Chongqing

Package: Competitive salary, based on qualification and experience

The China-Britain Business Council (CBBC) helps UK companies grow and develop their business in China, via a network of 13 offices in China and 10 in the UK. Our mission is to help UK companies of all sizes and sectors, whether new entrants or established operations, access the full potential of one of the fastest growing markets in the world. We deliver a range of practical services, including advice and consultancy, market research, event management, trade missions and exhibitions, and incorporation. Through 60 years of engagement, we have built up exceptional connections with government and business across China.

CBBC works closely with a range of partners across the UK and China, including UK Trade & Investment (UKTI). For more information about us, please visit our website at http://www.cbbc.org.

Due to our rapid expansion in China, we are building our events team across our key hubs in China, namely Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Chongqing. We are seeking confident and energetic team players with events management experience and excellent communications skills. The roles will entail managing a varied and large number of events designed to promote the development of UK-China trade and to continuously grow and bolster CBBCs core offering of helping UK companies develop a deeper understanding and connection with China.

Responsibilities

The successful applicants will also be responsible for planning, budgeting, execution of events and marketing the opportunities to reach the target audience. You will also work with the colleagues from across the team to ensure the events programme is organised and developed effectively. Specific responsibilities include:

Managing high profiled events, including conferences/seminars and banquets for visiting dignitaries from UK. Dealing effectively with and meeting the expectations of different stakeholders and partners.

Organising seminars, receptions and other events on behalf of a variety of UK based clients and delivering them within an agreed budget;

The promotion of events services offered by CBBC, acquisition of new clients and servicing and care of existing client relationships. Understanding customer requirements and managing customer relationships;

Maintain relationships with government departments and agencies and industry contacts with whom we partner for events;

Proactively engaging with partners to deliver value added services to clients;

Delivering on revenue targets and managing costs effectively

Proactively building on CBBCs database to reach out to more British and Chinese companies actively developing trade together.

Requirements

The ideal candidate will be energetic, highly motivated, IT literate, an excellent organiser and communicator, an active listener and a team player with a proven ability to work independently. Specific requirements for the role are as follows:

Bachelor degree or above.

Excellent written and spoken English.

For manager level, at least 5-6 years relevant work experience with a proven track record of running major events, for executive level, at least 2 years relevant working experience of running events;

Excellent project management skills, providing careful attention to details

Demonstrable understanding of UK-China business issues

Excellent team work and communication to deliver an active annual events programme

Passion for business development and excellent client facing skills

Have an understanding of budgeting

A flexible and entrepreneurial style and a quick learner

Willing to be flexible with working hours

Interested candidates are invited to send a letter explaining how your experience meet our requirements together with detailed CV in both English and Chinese and an indication of your current salary and expected salary to the following email address: [email protected]. Please mention The China Timeswhen you apply for the position.



We regret that only short listed candidates will be notified and that applicants who fail to provide a covering letter will not be considered.

The closing date for applications is 31stJanuary 2014.

Telephone enquiries and personal visits will NOT be accepted.

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Chinese Premier Li Keqiang attends the 25th China-ASEAN Summit in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Nov. 11, 2022.(Photo: Xinhua)

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang on Saturday called on members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) as well as China, Japan and South Korea to keep up the process of regional economic integration and work on the stability of industrial and supply chains, while reiterating China's opening-up policy, when attending the ASEAN, China, Japan and South Korea ("ASEAN+3") Summit.The commitment by "ASEAN+3" to open and integrated development, and its efforts to optimize and upgrade regional industrial and supply chains in a stable way, serves the common interests of all countries and injects new impetus into the world economy, experts said.Li noted that countries should keep the process of regional economic integration going, promote the full effectiveness and implementation of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), and release the maximum dividends of the free trade agreement, the Xinhua News Agency reported.Li also called for countries to maintain the stability of the industrial and supply chains, and adhere to opening-up and coordinated development to push the optimization and upgrading of regional industrial and supply chains always in smooth operation.While building a solid foundation for supply chain cooperation in Asia, the RCEP promotes trade and investment convenience in Asia and helps the formation of a unified market in the region, Shen Minghui, a research fellow at The National Institute of International Strategy of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times on Sunday.Thanks to the RCEP, Asia's regional economic integration will be strengthened, Shen said, urging member countries to actively participate in cooperation so as to contribute more to global economic and trade development.Premier Li also made remarks on improving crisis response cooperation, deepening cultural and people-to-people exchanges, and promoting sustainable development in the region.China's economy is deeply integrated into the region and the world, and China will stick to the basic national policy of opening-up, Li said, adding that China is willing to bring new opportunities to other partners with its own development and inject new impetus into regional cooperation.He said that in the past decade, China had initiated more than 130 cooperative proposals or projects under the "ASEAN+3" cooperation framework, most of which have been completed now.Premier Li's remarks at the conference sent positive signals to international community that the Chinese economy is not only deeply integrated into the world, but will also contribute to global economic growth and the stability of industrial and supply chains, Chen Jia, an independent analyst on international strategy, told the Global Times on Sunday.China's economic development will bring more opportunities to ASEAN, and provide new and sustained driving forces for the world's growth, in contrast to the US' reckless "decoupling" move that goes against the trend of globalization and will result in supply bottlenecks and market disorder, Chen said.The participating leaders at the summit said that China, Japan and South Korea are major partners of ASEAN countries, noting that the "ASEAN+3" is the ballast of regional cooperation and economic development, and safeguarding regional peace and stability, Xinhua reported.They called on all sides to be closely united and strengthen cooperation in areas such as agriculture, interconnectivity, digitalization, financial security, public health, environment protection and cultural exchanges.Digitalization, new-energy and services trade are some of the important sectors in which China, Japan, South Korea and ASEAN may strengthen their cooperation, Chen said."With digital tools being an innovative way to overcome the instability of industrial and supply chains amid rising uncertainty and COVID-19, the economies have a strong willingness to cooperate in digital trade and new types of infrastructure," Shen said.Experts noted that East Asia and ASEAN has become an important engine of world economic growth.Thanks to their deeper integration and industrial complementarity, the region is deepening the division of labor and cooperation and improving their industrial production network, which will provide more impetus for regional economic growth, Chen said."The ASEAN+3 model will continue to play a positive role in exploring new solutions to international economic and trade cooperation, and in handling international affairs in a fair and just manner," Chen said.
According to official source from Chinese Air Force,jacks are wild poker scasino a memorial service for Air Force officers and soldiers who died in an aircraft crash was held on February 4 in an Air Force base in Guizhou Province.

On the afternoon of January 29, an Air Force plane crashed in a flight training in Guizhou Province, and the crew was tragically sacrificed. February 2, the Southern Theater Command approved them as revolutionary martyrs.

The soldiers who were sacrificed in the flight training had done a great job in completing the military exercises and the combat readiness training, made important contributions in safeguarding the national sovereignty and safeguarding the national development interests.

Air Force soldiers express deep condolences to the family of the Martyrs. The Air Force will continue to carry out actual combat training, faithfully fulfill the mission of new era, and constantly upgrade the ability to win in the new era.

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Visiting Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea Peter ONeill said Monday that the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Economic Leaders Meeting,spread on the raiders game which will be held in Papua New Guinea in November, provides an enormous opportunity for many economies in the region.

ONeill, who arrived here Sunday for a two-day visit to Fiji since being elected as prime minister in 2012, made the remarks while addressing the Fijian parliament on the progress of preparations by his country in hosting the event.

APEC is a 21-member forum that includes China, Japan, Russia, the United States and many large global economies promoting free trade throughout the Asia Pacific region, he said, adding that the meeting will be attended by nearly 9,000 delegates from all over the world and his country continues to provide the highest level of security.

He also invited his Fijian counterpart Voreqe Bainimarama to address the APEC meeting in Port Moresby, capital of Papua New Guinea in November.

Meanwhile, ONeill also called for working together in achieving common goals.

We as Melanesian and Pacific Island Nations must work together  simply by getting on and doing what is best for our own countries and also for the region. It is therefore important that we continue to build a strong bond in our two countries and of course in our regional and sub-regional organizations, he said.

ONeill also expressed PNGs interest in furthering trade and investment relations with Fiji.

He added that businesses from both countries are investing in tourism, banks and agriculture, and PNG wishes to strengthen this.

ONeill will leave Fiji on Tuesday afternoon after finishing his visit.

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U.S. Ambassador Gary Locke () said on Wednesday that he will step down from his position early next year to rejoin his family.

When I met with President (Barack) Obama earlier this month, I informed him of my decision to step down as Ambassador in early 2014 to rejoin my family in Seattle, Locke said in a statement to the media.

Serving as the U.S. Ambassador to China has been the honor of a lifetime, said Locke, adding that he is profoundly grateful to President Obama for providing him the opportunity to serve as the presidents representative in Beijing over the past two-and-a-half years. Locke is the first Chinese-American to hold the post.

Locke said it has been an immense and rewarding challenge to help manage one of the most vitally important bilateral relationships for the United States, with so many critical American interests at stake.

Living in China while representing the United States has truly been an exciting privilege for our entire family, said the statement.

Locke said that during his term, the embassy has focused its efforts on job creation in America by increasing exports to China, opening more markets for American companies, and promoting Chinese investment in the United States.

We have significantly increased Chinese business and tourism travel to the U.S. by dramatically reducing wait times for visas to 3-5 days from historical highs of 70-100 days, he said in the statement.

Locke said that as ambassador, he knows that U.S.-China relations continue to grow stronger.

While our bilateral relationship is a complex one, I remain confident in the ability of our leaders to manage differences and increase cooperation in areas of mutual concern to the benefit of not just our two great peoples, but the entire world, he added.

Xinhua

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Senior leader Liu Yunshan has called for good implementation of the Partys mass-line () campaign at the grassroots level.

Liu,melbet home cryptocurrency watch a member of the Standing Committee of the Communist Party of China Central Committees Political Bureau, made the remarks during an inspection tour to northwest Chinas Qinghai Province, where he visited grassroots government departments, hospitals, enterprises and villages from Thursday to Saturday.

The implementation of the mass-line campaign should proceed in accordance with practical conditions and should redress problems once they are detected, said Liu.

Liu also ordered persistent implementation of the campaign and urged local Party cadres to enhance serving the people awareness and invite more participation of the common people.

The campaign was launched in last June to make government more accessible to the public while cleaning up officials undesirable work styles such as formalism, bureaucracy, hedonism and extravagance.

Rao Aimin/ An

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Theladbrokes ipl betting Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea (DPRK) said Saturday that it is planning to launch another satellite in December after a failed attempt in April.

The second version of Kwangmyongsong-3 will be launched from the Sohae Space Center in Cholsan County, North Phyongan Province, by the Unha-3 carrier rocket between Dec. 10 and Dec. 22, the official KCNA news agency said.

Scientists and technicians of the DPRK analyzed the mistakes that were made during the previous April launch and deepened the work of improving the reliability and precision of the satellite and carrier rocket, the KCNA quoted a spokesman for the Korean Committee for Space Technology as saying.

The DPRK launched a Kwangmyongsong-3 on April 13 to mark the 100th birthday of late DPRK founder Kim Il Sung. The long-range rocket crashed into the sea after traveling a short distance.

The UN Security Council condemned the launch and demanded that Pyongyang fully comply with relevant resolutions and suspend all activities related to its ballistic missile program.

The KCNA said during the April launch, the DPRK ensured utmost transparency of the peaceful scientific and technological satellite launch and promoted international trust in space science researches.

Pyongyang will fully comply with relevant international rules during the December launch, it added.

Xinhua

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Chinas political advisors discussed ways to improve social governance and the role social organizations should play at a bi-weekly consultation session here on Thursday.

Thelil bubble crypto final fantasy xv session was presided over by Yu Zhengsheng, chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese Peoples Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC).

According to a statement issued after the session, political advisors agreed social organizations are an important vehicle for consultation and have contributed positively to Chinas social governance.

They suggest the country should improve legislation concerning social organizations, perfect the taxation system for groups, and promote reforms in relevant industry associations.

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French customs officers have seized nearly 140,000 China-made plastic kitchenware containing potentially carcinogenic substances, said French customs officials on Tuesday.

Analyses have revealed that the levels of these substances (primary aromatic amines) are up to 100 times higher than the maximum level allowed in Europe, said Toulouse Customs.

The primary aromatic amines can cause serious damage to health, and even become carcinogenic when they are in contact with heated food, said the Directorate General of Customs, in a statement.

The higher the temperature, the higher the rate of migration of harmful elements into food increases.

The case began in the suburbs of Toulouse in August when, under a new European regulations, customs officers have controlled a company that imported large quantities of plastic kitchenware from China.

Analysis by a laboratory showed rates of primary aromatic amines up to 66 times of the guidelines, according to customs. The target company, a wholesale storefront selling its products to supermarkets or specialty stores, then requested a second test from independent laboratory.

The laboratory has detected more than 100 times of the allowed level.

In the wake of this operation, the Customs has ordered checks elsewhere. In recent months the Customs has seized a total of 140,000 sets of kitchenware.

The Customs, however, admitted that those goods may enter in the EU elsewhere and then enter the French territory.

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Chinese President Xi Jinping left here Thursday for the Thai capital of Bangkok after attending the 17th Group of 20 Summit on this roulette live free playIndonesian resort island.



Xi will next attend the 29th Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Economic Leaders' Meeting and pay a visit to Thailand.


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"American Democracy"

Here in the US we are often told that the next election is "the most important" of our lifetimes, or that we should "vote like your life depends on it, because it does." Days away from our next midterm elections, this month's polls show that motivation to turnout is relatively high among both Democratic and Republican voters as both sets of party leaders amp up the divisive rhetoric and claim that the opposition has a radically different vision for the nation.Our lives are certainly impacted by and, dare I say, endangered by American policies. Sadly, the state of affairs with what we euphemistically call "American Democracy" means that we as Americans simply cannot save ourselves through elections.If the goal of American elections is to fulfill democracy, then American elections are dysfunctional. A 2014 study, published by Cambridge University Press, already classified the US as closer to an oligarchy than to a democracy, saying "average citizens and mass-based interest groups have little or no independent influence" in American policymaking.Indeed, the gap between the policies Americans say they want when polled and the policies enacted by our elected representatives widens with each generation. Donald Trump campaigned in 2016 on a promise that he'd end American wars but once in office continued our imperial violence.Less than two years ago, Democrats got behind Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock in Georgia Senate races, and promised that if Americans helped elect the two and gave Democrats control of the US Senate, they would cut $2,000 COVID relief checks. The nation pitched in, campaign contributions from all over the nation poured into Georgia on behalf of the Democratic candidates and the pair were elected.Nearly two years later, the main campaign promise, $2,000 COVID relief from Democrats, is still unfulfilled. Both parties campaign promise specific things if we elect them, and when they get elected and place in sufficient power to deliver on those promises, they simply refuse to do so.Now, we're being asked to give them more power and told that, really, this time they'll give us what they promised. They didn't do it in 2021 with the COVID relief checks.Neither party seems very worried about disappointing their base to the point where they get rejected and lose elections. In this venture capital-styled political system, raising private capital is more essential to the life of a politician or party than winning elections.American voters are being lied to as baldly as ever by politicians while the opposite of our interests are being pursued by them once in office.The US' proxy war against Russia in Ukraine is just the latest and perhaps the most dangerous example. A clear majority of polled Americans say they want the US to pursue direct peace negotiations with Russia.Despite this, both Democrats and Republicans are voting uniformly to give billions more to weapons makers to fuel the violence in Ukraine and the Biden administration's top diplomats' official policy has been pointedly and proudly not to speak with his Russian counterparts. Americans want their government to negotiate peace and all the latter has done thus far is help dissuade peace negotiations.If only the lone problem with American elections were that they situated politicians in power who refuse to implement policies voters want. Alas, our elections are more fundamentally fraught than that.Democrats say, baselessly, that Republicans are under Russian control. Republicans say, without evidence, that Democrats are stealing election victories. Meanwhile, people of color continue to get thrown off voter rolls; we have no national uniformity with voting procedures, which means, among other things, some Americans only have to cross the street to cast a quick vote on election day while others have to drive miles past police barricades and wait in lines at poorly operating polling centers.Our general presidential elections are literally undemocratic because our votes don't count, legally. Only those of the several hundred members of our Electoral College do.If Democracy is the point of American politics, American politics is dysfunctional. Democracy is not lucrative, however, don't be surprised if members of both our major parties decide not to include the voters' desires in next year's plans. The money continues to pour into members of both parties, and the big donors contributing to those coffers will continue to wield much more influence over American politics than any non-wealthy voters.The author is a Chicago-based columnist covering US politics & culture. He is also a university English & critical journalism instructor. [email protected]
File photo: George Hatem treats leprosy patients. Photo: Courtesy of Zhou Youma

In October 1949,a foreigner was invited to the Tian'anmen Rostrum for the founding ceremony of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The foreigner was George Hatem, known as Ma Haide in China, the first Westerner to ever become a CPC member and later obtain Chinese citizenship.In November 1933, Hatem, who had received his doctorate in medicine, heard about a tropical disease that was raging in Shanghai, which determined his decision to come to China from the US to relieve people of their suffering. In Shanghai, he met Soong Chingling and some Communist Party of China (CPC) revolutionaries. Under their influence, Hatem was actively involved in the CPC's revolutionary activities, his clinic often becoming a place for Party members to contact and meet.In June 1936, recommended by Soong, Hatem arrived in northern Shaanxi where he saw the real CPC and witnessed this extraordinary people's army with his own eyes.Hatem was impressed by the indomitable Red Army soldiers and their solidarity in the face of tremendous hardships. Once, during the march, the troops suffered from a severe shortage of necessities, and bouts of hunger and exhaustion. Seeing that Hatem was too tired to proceed, an old soldier fumbled in his pocket for a while and emerged with a small piece of rock candy, unwrapped it and gave it to Hatem.Against all odds, the army and the people were united as one. Such optimism was rarely seen in other places at that time in China. It inspired Hatem to remain in China for the rest of his life, as he believed that only such people could change the future of the country.In October 1936, after conducting interviews in Yan'an, Edgar Snow decided to leave, but Hatem decided to stay on, choosing northern Shaanxi as his base, and gave himself the Chinese name Ma Haide.After the three main forces of the Chinese Red Army converged in October 1936, Hatem, who had been appointed as public health advisor to the Central Military Commission of the CPC, stayed with the troops. On the battlefield, Hatem saw soldiers who braved all dangers on the front line, and who held their guns tight even after death. He saw high-ranking Red Army officers such as Zhu De and He Long offer their own horses to the injured. Young soldiers laid down their lives for the noble lofty ideal about a new China. Deeply moved, Hatem made another important decision in his life: He applied to join the CPC. His application was soon approved by the Party.In February 1937, Hatem officially joined the CPC. He said that he felt extremely delighted to be able to participate in this great cause of liberation and to be truly and centrally involved rather than being on the sidelines.In 1950, Hatem officially became a Chinese citizen, and was appointed Medical Consultant of the Ministry of Health of the PRC. He helped to establish the Central Dermatovenerology Institute, and devoted himself to the prevention and treatment of and research on venereal diseases and leprosy.Global Times
Chinese authorities severely punished criminals violating food safety laws in 2011, according to new figures.

Sources with the State Councils Food Safety Committee said on Thursday that a total ofpeople in more than 5,200 food safety cases last year were handed sentences, including life imprisonment and suspended death penalties.

Law enforcement authorities closed more than 5,000 enterprises involved in crimes that jeopardized food safety, and also gave administrative punishments to government officials for misconduct relating to the cases.

Health Minister Chen Zhu admitted during an exclusive interview with Xinhua on Wednesday that Chinas food safety standards are in urgent need of improvement amid a spate of food safety scandals.

Food safety has become one of the biggest issues of concern for Chinese people since various scandals, such as tainted infant formula and cooking oil collected from sewers, were exposed by the media.

Chen said the total number of national food standards, local standards and food-producing industrial standards has topped 5,000. Among them, many overlap or contradict each other, he added, pointing to the motivation behind the Ministry of Healths announcement last month that it will overhaul and streamline the current food standards list.

Chen noted the deficiency of some vital assessment measures, such as the lack of processes to ensure the standard of food packaging.

According to Chen, some current food standards have become outdated, calling for further efforts to implement new standards.

The Ministry of Health issued a draft on revised food standards last month to solicit public opinion up to the end of February.

The minister said the lag of research on national food standards and the countrys fledgling risk evaluation system hindered the mapping of national food standards.

Chen also attributed the falling-behind to the shortage of professional technical management organs.

The minister emphasized the importance of transparency in the forming of new standards, encouraging civilians, lawyers and experts to participate in the process.

The ministry will report the new food safety standards to the World Health Organization, Chen added.

Vice Premier Li Keqiang on Wednesday called for strict and harsh punishments in cases of food safety violation. Speaking at a plenary meeting of the food safety commission under the State Council, or Chinas cabinet, he urged strengthened supervision of the food industry.

Xinhua

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Xinjiang and Pakistan International Islamic University Islamabad (IIUI) Friday launched monthly online Chinese-English magazine, Youlin (Good Neighbours ).

A launching ceremony of Youlin Good Neighbours Magazine was organized at International Islamic University Islamabad auditorium crowded with delegates from Xinjiang, Chinese students, scholars, diplomats and politicians, civil society and media persons.

Morever, a centre for Chinese studies will also be established at the IIUI, announced PML-Q General Secretary Mushahid Hussain Syed. IIUI has the highest number of Chinese students in Pakistan, he added.

A 22-member Chinese delegation is currently on a five-day visit to Pakistan with the aim to enhance people-to-people contact between Pakistan and China. The delegation comprises eminent poets, writers, journalists and entrepreneurs.

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Thetop 10 au slot sites major Chinese search engine, Baidu, has reached an agreement with Microsoft to provide search for English to Chinese Internet users from its own service.

Baidu has reinforced its leadership in the local market. The agreement with Microsoft will also benefit the visibility of search engine Bing in China. According to local analysts, this agreement will put the business of Google to a more difficult situation in China. Baidu takes 76% of search market at the moment.

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China is emoji with a tearready to respond to possible complaints over its rare earth export restrictions at the World Trade Organization, a Ministry of Commerce (MOC) official said Wednesday.

The remarks followed a WTO decision on Monday to uphold a ruling against Chinas export duties and export quotas on nine raw materials, which do not include rare earths.

However, concerns were raised that the latest ruling might lead to a similar case against the countrys rare earth export policies, which have triggered contention between China and some of its trade partners.

Regarding WTO members possible similar actions over Chinas rare earth policies, were ready to respond at any time in line with WTO rules and procedures, Li Chenggang, head of the MOCs legal and treaty department, told Xinhua in an exclusive interview.

The WTOs ruling in the raw material case might have some reference value for a possible rare earth case as the export management models of those resources are quite similar, Li said.

The United States, European Union and Mexico filed complaints to the WTO in 2009, claiming Chinas export restraints over nine raw materials, including zinc, coke and magnesium, pushed global prices high and benefited the countrys domestic industry.

China has argued that those restraints were aimed at protecting the environment and exhaustible resources.

Li stressed that the WTO allows members to take necessary measures to protect resources and environment but only considers it fair if export restraints are accompanied by simultaneous restrictions over domestic production or consumption.

He noted that Chinas management of rare earths no longer merely features trade restrictions but relies more on regulation of domestic production and consumption.

Chinas rare earth sales account for nearly 90 percent of the global total but its reserves only account for about one-third of the worlds total. Decades of excessive exploitation have resulted in serious environmental damage.

While imposing export quotas, China has suspended the issuance of new licenses for prospecting and mining, adopted production caps and stringent environmental standards and launched crackdowns on illegal mining activities.

A group of 17 elements, rare earths are metals widely used in high-tech products ranging from flat-screen televisions to lasers and hybrid cars.

China set the 2012 rare earth export quota at basically the same level of 2011. Its rare earth exports totaled 14,750 tons during the first 11 months of 2011, accounting for only 49 percent of the total quota.

Li said the Chinese government has also been adjusting its restrictive policies over other raw materials and resources to make them not only meet domestic demand but also comply with WTO rules in recent years.

In the raw material case, the WTO did not deny the legitimacy of Chinas policy target of protection exhaustible resources and environment, but only judged if specific measures were appropriate, so its not saying relative measures can no longer be used, he noted.

The WTO first ruled against China last July and China filed an appeal two months later, requesting part of the ruling be canceled.

The WTO will decide whether to adopt the final ruling within 30 days, Li said.

He said China did not lose the case completely, as the WTO ruling does not support a challenge of the complainants against the countrys overall export management measures on raw materials and resources.

He called on Chinas future policy making in this area to take more consideration of international influence, integrate trade measures with domestic industrial policies and attach importance to compliance with rules.

Beijing-based WTO expert Tu Xinquan echoed the view, saying China should draw a lesson from the case and turn to domestic industrial regulation and environmental standards to manage resources export.

Its easier for Chinas export policies to incur disputes nowadays as Chinas economy expands and global demand for raw materials and resources rises, he told Xinhua.(Xinhua)

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Twenty years after late Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping conducted his famous southern tour, his words still resonate, providing new impetus for Chinas reform and opening-up.

From Jan. 18 to Feb. 21, 1992, Deng Xiaoping, chief architect of Chinas reform and opening-up, made a landmark tour in south China, delivering a series of speeches to define and clarify socialism in response to doubts about the development of Chinas special economic zones.

In his speeches, Deng defined socialism as the pursuit of common prosperity and arbitrated a debate among officials and scholars about the proper way to implement a market economy in China.

The practice of using a planned economy is not equivalent to socialism because there is also planning under capitalism; but the practice of using a market economy is not equivalent to capitalism because there are also markets under socialism, said Deng in one of his most frequently repeated quotes.

Dengs talks during the southern tour created another high-level design for socialism with Chinese characteristics, and were a reiteration for the policy of reform and opening-up, said Wang Zhan, deputy secretary-general of the municipal Communist Party of China (CPC) committee of Shanghai.

Inspired by Dengs words, Chinese people began to break the shackles of tradition. The importance of economic development, reform and opening-up began to take deeper root in Chinas soil.

Li Shangli, a professor at Shanghais Fudan University, said the changes that were inspired by Dengs speeches have largely determined Chinas development over the last two decades.

The CPC explicitly stated that it would create a socialist market economy during its 14th National Congress in October 1992.

Chinas economy has grown rapidly as a result of foreign trade. In 1996, Chinas total foreign trade volume accounted for 35.5 percent of its GDP. Now, it accounts for nearly 70 percent of the GDP.

Twenty-three years after the launch of the opening-up policy and 52 years after the founding of the Peoples Republic of China, the country entered the World Trade Organization (WTO) in 2001 to become its 143rd member.

In Hubei province, the first stop on Dengs historic tour, the number of private enterprises has grown from 2,172 in 1992 to more than 30,000 in 2011.

The city of Shenzhen, another stop on Dengs tour, has evolved from a small township into a major economic powerhouse in the south over the past 20 years.

He Xinyuan, an expert at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said that despite the progress of the last 20 years, there are still several problems that cannot be ignored, such as the development of social ethics, education and the countrys growing wealth gap.

Guo Rucai, a professor from the Party Literature Research Center of the CPC Central Committee, said the problems that are hindering Chinas development should be solved by deepening reform and opening-up policies

Reform and opening-up is becoming more difficult, said Chi Fulin, head of the China (Hainan) Institute for Reform and Development.

Todays reforms are more related to the readjustment of vital interests, which may cause a great deal of resistance, Chi said, adding that the scope of Chinas reform efforts has been enlarged, extending from economics to politics, culture and society.

Nie Gaomin, a research official from the National Development and Reform Commission, said that although China has established a framework for its market economy, it must make greater efforts to finish its construction.

Xinhua

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The latest official Chinese economic indicators published:



Slower growth in the services sector

The official Chinese PMI showed a sharp decline in the service industry in January, fell to 52.9, against 56.0 in December, said the National Bureau of Statistics.

This decline contradicts the PMI of HSBC bank which falls to 52.5.



Manufacturing pmi exceed the consensus

The industrial sector grew modestly in January, fueling hope for China to avoid a crash landing.

The official manufacturing PMI was 50.5 in January against 50.3 expected and 49.5 in December.

Component of new orders recorded a three-month high of 50.4 against 49.8 in December.

However, reflecting a slowing global economy and fears of recession in Europe, the component of export orders were down for the fourth consecutive month to 46.9 against 48.6.

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Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao on Friday urged for more government spending on the social pension insurance system to address the countrys aging problem.

Theonline craps uk bodog poker client government must guarantee financial support in the system even if it has to cut investment on other projects, Wen said at a national conference about the urban-rural pension insurance system.

China has the worlds largest pension insurance system, covering more than 700 million people. As many as 124 million old people claim a basic pension, granted by the state every month.

However, as China is the worlds most populous country and a developing nation, it remains a challenge to make sure that every citizen has access to old-age care, Wen said.

He said the country had been working to expand the pension systems coverage over the past few years and would focus more on raising the level of money that people receive after retirement.

Wen underlined the significance of improving the social security system and said it was of great importance to maintain social stability in the country.

He also urged for intensified monitoring and better management of social security money to avoid any fund abuse or embezzlement while increasing its value.

According to the latest government count, the number of people aged 60 or above reached 184.99 million at the end of 2011, accounting for 13.7 percent of the total population.

Xinhua

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Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, on Friday met here a delegation of people from various sectors in Taiwan, led by former chairman of the Kuomintang (KMT) party Lien Chan.

The pursuit of a just cause and peoples common aspirations is unstoppable, said Xi during the meeting at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing.

We have the confidence and ability to keep a firm hold on the correct direction, work for the peaceful development of cross-Strait relations, and advance the process toward the peaceful reunification of China, Xi said.

Xi called on compatriots on the two sides of the Taiwan Strait to work together to uphold the 1992 Consensus, which embodies the one-China principle, and to resolutely oppose and deter Taiwan independence.

He also called for joint efforts by both sides to expand and deepen cross-Strait exchange and cooperation in various fields, improve the kinship among compatriots and their wellbeing, and jointly write the new chapter of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.

Once seeing through a long-term perspective and with a broad vision, compatriots from the two sides of the Strait would grasp the big picture of cross-Strait relations and overcome difficulties to push it forward, Xi said.

We have full confidence in the future of cross-Strait relations, he said.

The confidence was based on the reason that the peaceful development of cross-Strait relations and joint efforts to realize national rejuvenation is the right path in line with interests of the whole nation and the tide of the times, which will benefit compatriots from the two sides and gain their support, he said.

It was also because, despite ups and downs in cross-Strait relations, people from the two sides have never been separated emotionally, and in their nationality and cultural identity, and the general trend of ties is moving forward, Xi said.

The two sides of the Strait belong to an inseparable community of shared future that stands together through thick and thin, he said.

No one can stop the common aspiration of compatriots on the two sides for a better life and closer and more favorable cross-Strait relations, he said.

Noting that the right path should be upheld, Xi urged people of the two sides to have stronger faith and show solidarity, particularly under the current situation.

The 1992 Consensus should be upheld and Taiwan independence should be opposed, he said.

We will never allow any attempts of Taiwan independence to succeed. Such attempts are doomed to fail, Xi said, urging people from the two sides to firmly oppose and deter activities of Taiwan independence with concrete action.

Cross-Strait exchange and cooperation should be expanded and intensified, he said, adding that disagreement between people of the two sides on some issues should not hold back regular exchange and cooperation nor become an excuse to stand in the way.

Compatriots across the Strait should show empathy, stand in each others shoes and understand each other better so as to forge closer bonds, he said.

The welfare of people across the Strait should be promoted, he said.

Now, when national rejuvenation is heading toward a brighter future, the nation has a stronger ability and better conditions to improve compatriots welfare, Xi said.

Promising to provide equal treatment for Taiwanese people and businesses in the mainland, he said more policies will be issued, following the 31 measures adopted in February to promote cross-Strait economic and cultural cooperation and exchange.

Compatriots across the Strait should be united to work for national rejuvenation, Xi said, stressing that Taiwanese people should not and will not be absent from the cause.

People across the Strait should follow the tide of history, work together for the greater national interests, jointly promote peaceful development of cross-Strait relations, advance the process of peaceful reunification of the motherland, and realize the Chinese dream of national rejuvenation, Xi said.

Lien proposed upholding the one-China principle, promoting peaceful cross-Strait relations and mutually beneficial integration, and revitalizing the Chinese nation.

In 2005, the two parties issued a five-point consensus on the peaceful development of cross-Strait relations, endorsing the 1992 Consensus while opposing Taiwan independence, which helped get the cross-Strait relations on the right track of peaceful development, Lien said.

The current situation in the Taiwan Strait has been destabilized and is causing harm to the security and wellbeing of Taiwan residents, Lien noted.

People from the two sides both belong to the Chinese nation who went through both good and hard times together, Lien said, calling on them to abandon internal rifts and work together to pursue peaceful cross-Strait relations and shared prosperity across the Strait.

The two sides should consolidate political mutual trust and restart dialogue on the basis of the 1992 Consensus, and address, step by step, political differences left over by history, he said.

Lien called on the two sides to promote economic cooperation, cultural and people-to-people exchanges, expand mutual benefits, enhance the kinship between people across the Strait, and continuously increase integration to realize rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.

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Andrew Harper,blockchain essay rooty hill casino special adviser for Climate Action for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), speaks in an interview with Xinhua during the 27th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP27) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt, Nov. 12, 2022. (Xinhua/Sui Xiankai)

SHARM EL-SHEIKH, Egypt, Nov. 15 (Xinhua) -- The climate challenge has compounded a crisis in human security, with an increasing number of displaced people worldwide, a UN climate expert said recently, calling for more global actions to help the vulnerable.

Andrew Harper, special advisor for Climate Action for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), made the remarks during an interview at the ongoing 27th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP27) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in the Egyptian coastal city of Sharm El-Sheikh.

The expert noted that the impact of climate change on displaced people is "a big issue" that needs to be addressed through global action, highlighting the interrelation between human security and the environment.

The UNHCR is present at COP27 to bring the voices of the displaced to the discussions on climate change, he said.

"It's no longer sufficient for us to wait for people to be forced to move. We can anticipate, and we need to be working to support those communities who are most at risk to adapt and become more resilient," he added.

Harper urged developed countries to do more to protect the environment, hasten the transition to renewable energy and ensure human security.

"By ensuring human security and ensuring the security of communities against the challenges being brought by climate, we can only then have global security," he added.

Harper also warned that infrastructure in some vulnerable communities to climate change is being physically eroded because of a cascading series of disasters.

"If we don't look at this as a global issue, with global engagement to find solutions, then each country will suffer," Harper warned.

The UN climate expert urged world leaders to put their commitments into action to help developing countries tackle climate challenges and support displaced people.

"There are over 100 million people who are currently displaced worldwide. There is a displacement occurring almost every second. So, the longer that we wait, the more challenging it will be in order to provide the support," he said. 
Chinas defense budget, which stood at $119.8 billion last year, will reach $238.2 billion in 2015, an average annual increase of 18.75%, according to figures from the IHS Janes.

In 2015, Chinas military spending, which exceed the combined budgets of the twelve other major powers of Asia-Pacific are expected to total 232.5 billion dollars. The Chinese budget should be nearly four times that of Japan, number two in the region in terms of military spending, said the IHS in a study published in Singapore.

These figures become interesting topics when the Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping, also Vice Chairman of the Central Military Commission, arrived in Washington and about to visit the Pentagon. The US government has been aware of Chinas military existence in South China Sea and decided to intensify its presence in this area, where the mastery of the sky and sea is crucial. This strategy is also not without challenges after the Pentagon expenses budget has been forced to cut by $ 485 million.

The United States is able to deploy a fleet of 246 ships (including 11 aircraft carriers). China, for its part, is interested in acquiring aircraft carriers. Since 1985, China has tried to get four used aircraft carriers, including three built in the yards of the former USSR, in order to study the design and construction method.

One of the three ships, the unfinished Varyag, weighing 67,500 tons and in class Kouuznetsov Admiral, was purchased in 1998 with no military equipment or propulsion system. A private tourism company based in Macau claimed that the ship was to be formally transformed into a floating casino. After routed to the port of Dalian, it is the same ship, completely refurbished, made its first sea trials, under the Chinese flag in August 2011. And according to some experts, two other aircraft carriers of the same type are under construction.

In addition, Beijing is about to deploy the first missile in the world capable of destroying an aircraft carrier, with a range of 1500 kilometers. This explains why the importance of military expenditure in China worries the United States. But Chinese leaders reassure that Chinas military technology is 20 to 30 years behind the U.S. and the modernization of the army is only meant to defend the country.

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The carcass of an endangered Grevy's Zebra, which died during the drought, is seen in the Samburu national park, Kenya, September 20, 2022.

A grueling two-year drought in Kenya has wiped out 2% of the worlds rarest zebra species and increased elephant deaths as well, as the climate crisis takes its toll on the east African nations wildlife.

Animal carcasses rotting on the ground  including giraffes and livestock  have become a common sight in northern Kenya, where unprecedented dry spells are chipping away at already depleted food and water resources.

The Grevy Zebra, the worlds rarest of the zebra species, has been the worst hit species by the drought.

Baz Ratner/Reuters

Andrew Letura, ecological and monitoring officer at the Grevy's Zebra Trust, kneels next to the carcass of an endangered Grevy's Zebra, which died during the drought, in the Samburu national park, Kenya, September 23, 2022.

Founder and Executive Director of the Grevys Zebra Trust, Belinda Low Mackey, told CNN that the species mortality rate would only rise if no significant rain falls on the region.

If the approaching rainy season fails, Grevys zebra face a very serious threat of starvation, she said. Since June, we have lost 58 Grevys zebra and mortality cases are rising as the drought intensifies.

Even the most drought-resistant animals are impacted. One is the camel, which is known to survive lengthy periods without water.

Camels are a valuable resource for many people in this region, Suze van Meegen, an Emergency Response Manager for the Norwegian Refugee Council in East Africa, told CNN. The deserts of Kenya  are now littered with their carcasses.

Kenya is on the brink of its fifth failed rainy season and its metrological department forecasts drier-than-average conditions for the rest of the year.

Fabien Muhire/CNN

A woman fetches water in a dfirde river, North Horr

This East African nation is known for stability. But drought and rising prices are fueling insecurity

Conservationists are worried that many more endangered species will die.

If the next rains fail  we could expect to see a substantial spike in elephant mortality, says Frank Pope, who heads Kenya-based conservation charity Save the Elephants.

We are seeing herds splintered into the smallest units  as they try to eke out a living, he said. Calves are being abandoned, and elderly elephants are dying. Without rain, others will soon follow.

As the dry spell persists, other endangered wildlife is fast going extinct.

Living off wildlife

The drought is also worsening poaching for bushmeat, which has risen among pastoralist communities in the north as the drought impacts other sources of income.

In some areas, Grevys zebras are being poached in grazing reserves.

The drought has led to increased poaching of Grevys zebra due to large numbers of livestock converging on grazing reserves, Mackey said. This has led to inter-ethnic conflict (sometimes animals get caught in crossfire) and poaching, as herders resort to living off wildlife.

Human-wildlife conflict has also fueled the killing of dozens of elephants that are forced to come in close contact with humans as they chase shrinking sources of food and water, said Pope of Save the Elephants.

Fredrik Lerneryd/AFP/Getty Images

An elephant walking towards a nearby river in the Kimana Sanctuary in Kajiado, Kenya, on September 25, 2022.

Last year, we lost half as many elephants to conflict with people as we did to poaching at the height of the ivory crisis 10 years ago, he tells CNN.

Nearly 400 elephants were lost to poaching 10 years ago, the highest in Kenya since 2005, according to a 2012 report by the countrys wildlife service.

While government action against ivory trade has quelled ivory poaching in Kenya, poaching for bushmeat has persisted due to the drought and soaring food prices.

Worst drought in decades

Since October 2020, four consecutive rainy seasons have failed in parts of Kenya and the Greater Horn of Africa. The UN says this is regions worst drought in 40 years.

More than four million Kenyans are food insecure due to the drought and over 3 million cant get enough water to drink.

The Grevys Zebra Trust says it is helping endangered species survive the drought through supplementary feeding.

Andrew Letura/Grevy's Zebra Trust

The Grevy's Zebra Trust provides supplementary hay to help endangered Grevy's zebra survive the drought crisis in Northern Kenya.

We have one dedicated feeding team in each of the three national reserves (Samburu, Buffalo Springs and Shaba). On average we are using 1,500 bales (of supplementary hay) per week, Mackey said, adding that other species such as oryx and buffalo were also benefiting.

Brent Swails/CNN

Noorta Ali Humey says hunger drove her family to Mogadishu. By the time she arrived it was too late for three of her children. They are now buried in the camp, just 500 yards away.

Mothers are having to bury their children as fears of famine hang over Somalia

However, interventions for elephants at a scale that could make an appreciable difference are difficult, says Pope.

Providing new water sources can be counter-productive, for instance, causing local desertification, he said. Save the Elephants concentrates on helping local people protect themselves from conflict (with stray elephants) and helps respond to incidents when conflict does occur.

Pope also worries that when the rains finally come, there might be less grass due to overgrazing by livestock.

A bigger concern is the overgrazing that is starting to turn the fragile landscape to desert. When the rains do come there will be less grass, even as the pressure on the landscape increases.
Chinas ambassador to Australia has called on the nation to sign up to the Belt and Road Initiative,nba over under predictions tonight saying Australia will benefit from the initiative.

Speaking at the Belt and Road Initiative in Australia conference in Darwin on Wednesday, Ambassador Cheng Jingye said China will work with other countries to uphold free trade in the world.

We are determined to work with other countries around the globe, including Australia, to uphold free trade and multilateral trading regime, he told the conference.

Australias Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) has expressed doubts over the benefits Australia would derive from the initiative.

Cheng dismissed those concerns, saying that the Belt and Road Initiative which aims for win-win outcome, has nothing to do with geopolitics. Instead of Chinas solo performance, it is a symphony played by all participants.

We do not impose business deals on others. Extensive consultation means that all countries, big or small, join the discussion of Belt and Road co-operation on an equal footing, he said.

The close and strong trade and investment relations as well as people-to-people links between China and Australia provide necessary conditions for both sides to carry out different kinds of cooperation in Belt and Road development.

The initiative, proposed by China in 2013, refers to the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road, which aim at building a trade and infrastructure network connecting Asia with Europe and Africa along the ancient trade routes of the Silk Road.

New Zealand, one of Australias closest neighbors, is one of the countries that have already signed up to the initiative.

John Brumby, former Premier of Victoria and President of the Australia China Business Council (ACBC), earlier in July called for Australia to join the initiative.

It would send a signal that we are ready and willing to engage in an Asia that is increasingly a world centre not only of growth but of innovation, he wrote in a column for News Corp Australia.

It would also demonstrate that we welcome Chinas efforts to connect economies at a time when some developed nations are heading in a protectionist direction.

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Video Ad Feedback What does COP stand for? And your other burning questions answered 03:37 - Source: CNN

As global leaders converge in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, for the UNs annual climate summit, researchers, advocates and the United Nations itself are warning the world is still wildly off-track on its goal to halt global warming and prevent the worst consequences of the climate crisis.

Over the next two weeks, negotiators from nearly 200 countries will prod each other at COP27 to raise their clean energy ambitions, as average global temperature has already climbed 1.2 degrees Celsius since the industrial revolution.

AaronP/Bauer-Griffin/GC Images/Getty Images

YOSEMITE, CA - FEBRUARY 25: General views of Half Dome in Yosemite Valley on February 25, 2021 in Yosemite, California. (Photo by AaronP/Bauer-Griffin/GC Images)

These glaciers are on track to disappear within the next 30 years, new report shows

They will haggle over ending the use of coal, the dirtiest fossil fuel, which has seen a resurgence in some countries amid the war in Ukraine, and try to come up with a system to funnel money to help the worlds poorest nations recover from devastating climate disasters.

But a flood of recent reports have made clear leaders are running out of time to implement the vast energy overhaul needed to keep the temperature from exceeding 1.5 degrees Celsius, the threshold scientists have warned the planet must stay under.

Reports from the United Nations and the World Meteorological Association show carbon and methane emissions hit record levels in 2021, and the plans countries have submitted to slash those emissions are beyond insufficient. Given countries current promises, Earths temperature will climb to between 2.1 and 2.9 degrees Celsius by 2100.

Ultimately, the world needs to cut its fossil fuel emissions nearly in half by 2030 to avoid 1.5 degrees, a daunting prospect for economies still very much beholden to oil, natural gas and coal.

No country has a right to be delinquent, US Climate Envoy John Kerry told reporters in October. The scientists tell us that what is happening now  the increased extreme heat, extreme weather, the fires, the floods, the warming of the ocean, the melting of the ice, the extraordinary way in which life is being affected badly by the climate crisis  is going to get worse unless we address this crisis in a unified, forward-leaning way.

Here are the top issues to follow at COP27 in Egypt.

A fight over loss and damage

Fida Hussain/AFP/Getty Images

People in Pakistan take refuge from flooding in a makeshift camp on August 31 in the Jaffarabad district of Balochistan province.

Developing and developed countries have for years tussled over the concept of a loss and damage fund; the idea which suggests countries causing the most harm with their outrageous planet-warming emissions should pay poorer countries, which have suffered from the resulting climate disasters.

It has been a thorny issue because the richest countries, including the US, dont want to appear culpable or legally liable to other nations for harm. Kerry, for instance, has tiptoed around the issue, saying the US supports formal talks, but he has not given any indication of what solution the country would sign on to.

Mario Tama/Getty Images

PORT VILA, VANUATU - DECEMBER 07: An aerial view of Erakor island and the coastline of Port Vila on December 07, 2019 in Port Vila, Vanuatu. Satellite data show sea level has risen about 6mm per year around Vanuatu since 1993, a rate nearly twice the global average, while temperatures have been increasing since 1950. 25 percent of Vanuatu's 276,000 citizens lost their homes in 2015 when Cyclone Pam, a category 5 storm, devastated the South Pacific archipelago of 83 islands while wiping out two-thirds of its GDP. Scientists have forecast that the strength of South Pacific cyclones will increase because of global warming. Vanuatu's government is considering suing the world's major pollution emitters in a radical effort to confront global warming challenges and curb global emissions, to which it is a very small contributor. Last year, the country banned single use plastic bags, styrofoam food containers and drinking straws in an effort to contain pollution and set an example to larger nations. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images)

Opinion: In 1991, tiny Vanuatu already nailed the climate conversation

Meanwhile, small island nations and others in the Global South are shouldering the impact of the climate crisis, as devastating floods, intensifying storms and record-breaking heat waves wreak havoc.

The deadly flooding in Pakistan this summer, which killed more than 1,500 people, will surely be an example the countries negotiators point to. And since September, more than two million people in Nigeria have been affected by the worst flooding there in a decade. At this very moment, Nigerians are drinking, cooking with and bathing in dirty flood water amid serious concerns over waterborne diseases.

Loss and damage will have space on the official COP27 agenda this year. But beyond countries committing to meet and talk about what a potential loss and damage fund would look like, or whether one should even exist, it is unclear what action will come out of this years summit.

Do we expect that well have a fund by the end of the two weeks? I hope, I would love to  but well see how parties deliver on that, Egypts chief climate negotiator Ambassador Mohamed Nasr recently told reporters.

Former White House National Climate Adviser Gina McCarthy told CNN she thinks loss and damage will be the top issue at the UN climate summit this year, and said nations including the US will face some tough questions about their plans to help developing nations already being hit hard by climate disasters.

It just keeps getting pushed out, McCarthy said. Theres need for some real accountability and some specific commitments in the short-term.

A tense US-China relationship

Getty Images/AP

Xi Jinping, President of the People's Republic of China, left, and John Kerry, US Special Presidential Envoy for Climate.

People will be watching to see if the US and China can repair a broken relationship at the summit, a year after the two countries surprised the world by announcing they would work together on climate change.

The newfound cooperation came crashing down this summer when China announced it was suspending climate talks with the US as part of broader retaliation for House Speaker Nancy Pelosis visit to Taiwan.

Kerry recently said the climate talks between the two countries are still suspended and will likely remain so until Chinas president Xi Jinping gives the green light. Kerry and others are watching to see whether China fulfills the promise it made last year to submit a plan to bring down its methane emissions or updates its emissions pledge.

The US and China are the worlds two largest emitters and their cooperation matters, particularly because it can spur other countries to act, too.

Can the world raise enough money?

Mohamed el-Shahed/AFP/Getty Images

This year's UN climate summit is being held in the Egyptian resort city of Sharm El-Sheikh, where thousands of climate negotiators and advocates will gather to raise their ambitions on the climate crisis.

Separate from a potential loss and damage fund, there is the overarching issue of so-called global climate finance; a fund rich countries promised to push money into to help the developing world transition to clean energy rather than grow their economies with fossil fuels.

Daniel Leal/AFP/Getty Images

An overhead view shows the photovoltaic (PV) solar panels making up Manston Solar Farm, in south-east England on November 4, 2022.

What are 'emissions?' What is 'net zero?' Here are the climate change terms you should know

The promise made in 2009 was $100 billion per year, but the world has yet to meet the pledge. Some of the richest countries, including the US, UK, Canada and others, have consistently fallen short of their allocation.

President Joe Biden promised the US would contribute $11 billion by 2024 toward the effort. But Bidens request is ultimately up to Congress to approve, and will likely go nowhere if Republicans win control of Congress in the midterm elections.

The US is working on separate deals with countries including Vietnam, South Africa and Indonesia to get them to move away from coal and toward renewables. And US officials often stress they want to also unlock private investments to help countries transition to renewables and deal with climate effects.

Countries are straight up off-track

Getty Images

Ships carry coal outside a coal-fired power plant in November 2021 in Hanchuan, Hubei province, China.

COP27 is intended to hold countries feet to the fire on fossil fuel emissions and gin up new ambition on the climate crisis. Yet reports show we are still off-track to keep global warming under 1.5 degrees Celsius.

A UN report which surveyed countries latest pledges found the planet will warm between 2.1 and 2.9 degrees Celsius. Average global temperature has already risen around 1.2 degrees since the industrial revolution.

Records were set last year for all three major greenhouse gases: carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide, according to the World Meteorological Organization.

Craig Chandler/Director of Photography/University of Nebraska - Lincoln

Before and after: See how the Mississippi River and its tributaries have dropped to record lows

There is a spot of encouraging news: the adoption of renewable energy and electric vehicles is surging and helping to offset the rise in fossil fuel emissions, according to a recent International Energy Agency report.

But the overall picture from the reports shows there is a need for much more clean energy, deployed swiftly. Every fraction of a degree in global temperature rise will have stark consequences, said Inger Andersen, executive director of the United Nations Environment Program.

The energy transition is entirely doable, but were not on that pathway, and we have procrastinated and wasted time, Andersen told CNN. Every digit will matter. Lets not say we missed 1.5 so lets settle for 2. No. We must understand that every digit that goes up will make our life and the life of our children and grandchildren much more impacted.

The clock is ticking in another way: Next years COP28 in Dubai will be the year nations must do an official stocktake to determine if the world is on track to meet the goals set out in the landmark Paris Agreement.

This story has been updated.
Despite the end of support measures for foreign investment, non-Chinese automakers continue to invest.

China confirmed Monday the end of measures to support investment by foreign automakers. This is a government order which has the force of law, said an official of National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), Chinas planning agency. This measure is clearly aimed at increasing the share of local brands, which still hold one-third of domestic market. China was willing to reduce customs duties for imports of components and equipment in the car.

Beijing clearly wants to support national manufacturers (Geely, Chery, BYD ), who occupy only a third of the local market for the moment. Purely Chinese manufacturers remain focused on products which are often copies of Western or Japanese models.

Vehicle sales in the No.1 market of the world increased by 2.5% last year, after jumping 32% in 2010 and 46% in 2009. 18.51 million units were sold in total (including commercial vehicles). Sales of passenger cars only, however, continued to increase from 5.2% to 14.5 million. For 2012, the Chinese market expected to rebound and grow by 8% to 20 million units, according to CAAM (China Association of Automoblie Manufacturers).

These measures do not deter foreign manufacturers. Volkswagen, No.1 automaker in China according to statistics, announced in early January to build a new plant in Ningbo. Carlos Ghosn, CEO of Renault-Nissan Alliance, has also said recently that the French car company to expand in China between 2014 and 2016.

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Video Ad Feedback How King Charles III popularity might affect the future of the Commonwealth 03:23 - Source: CNN

Editors Note: Peter Bergen is CNNs national security analyst, a vice president at New America, an author and a professor of practice at Arizona State University. Raised in London, Bergen has a degree in modern history from Oxford University. The views expressed in this commentary are his own. View more opinion on CNN.

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Queen Elizabeth II was laid to rest last week at Windsor Castle, home to monarchs for the past thousand years. What was not laid to rest with the Queens internment was an important question: What does the future look like for countries of the Commonwealth, where the British monarch remains the head of state?

CNN

Peter Bergen

Charles III is the King today of 14 realms outside of the British Isles. In some of those realms, such as Australia, Canada and Jamaica, there are now calls to jettison the monarchy and instead install a republic, just as Barbados did last year.

A related question is also surfacing now: What is the legacy of the British Empire writ large? British schoolchildren have long been taught comforting fairy tales about the beneficence of the largest empire in history, but recent historical scholarship is painting a quite different picture.

Leading that charge is Harvard University historian Caroline Elkins, whose 2005 book, Imperial Reckoning: The Untold Story of Britains Gulag in Kenya, found that the British detained some 1.5 million Kenyans in detention camps or in barbed-wire villages during the Mau Mau uprising in that country in the 1950s, thousands of whom died and some of whom were tortured. The book was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for general nonfiction in 2006.

Ranald Mackechnie/AP

This photo issued by Buckingham Palace on Sunday Sept. 18, 2022, shows Britain's Queen Elizabeth II photographed at Windsor Castle, Windsor, England, in May 2022. (Ranald Mackechnie/Buckingham Palace via AP)

Saying goodbye to the last Queen of England most of us will ever know

Some initially criticized Elkins findings as exaggerated, but they were vindicated years later after Kenyan torture victims sued the British government for damages. Senior British officials eventually conceded publicly in 2013 that British forces had indeed tortured Kenyans, and the UK government paid out a nearly 20 million-pound settlement to more than 5,000 elderly Kenyan victims.

In recent years, Elkins has broadened the scope of her inquiries beyond Kenya, publishing a new book in March called Legacy of Violence: A History of the British Empire. I spoke to Elkins last week about her work. Our conversation was edited for clarity.

Peter Bergen: When Queen Elizabeth died, what was running through your mind?

Tony Rinaldo

Historian Caroline Elkins

Caroline Elkins: First, what an extraordinary life. Seventy years as monarch. As a person, as an historian, how can one not marvel at that? Second, the differences in public reactions in Britain and in the former empire. Incredible national mourning and outpouring of grief in Britain, yet in the former empire and now current Commonwealth there were different reactions  that the Queen oversaw what was a violent and exploitative empire.

Bergen: King Charles III doesnt elicit quite the same feelings as his mother did: How will this affect the Commonwealth?

Elkins:There are 56 nations in the Commonwealth, most of whom were former British colonies, and of those former British colonies, 14 are what we would call Commonwealth realms. That is, theyre not republics, and they still recognize the British monarch as their head of state. So, Charles III is also King of Canada and King of Australia, and its in these countries where there is a real push for referendums to change and to become republics.

And then theres the question of, what is the purpose of the broader 56 nations in this Commonwealth? The Queen obsessed over the Commonwealth; it was the coda to empire. She oversaw in her reign the dissolution of much of the empire and the creation, with a kind of monarchical mythmaking, of the Commonwealth as being a force of good, a force of peace, a force of democracy in the contemporary modern world of which she remained the head.

Ben Stansall/Pool/AP

Britain's Prince Charles sits by the The Imperial State Crown in the House of Lords Chamber, during the State Opening of Parliament, in the Houses of Parliament, in London, Tuesday, May 10, 2022. BritainOs Conservative government made sweeping promises to cut crime, improve health care and revive the pandemic-scarred economy as it laid the laws it plans in the next year in a tradition-steeped ceremony known as the QueenOs Speech -- but without a key player, Queen Elizabeth II, absent for the first time in six decades. The 96-year-old monarch pulled out of the ceremonial State Opening of Parliament because of what Buckingham Palace calls Oepisodic mobility issues.O Her son and heir, Prince Charles, stood in, rattling through a short speech laying out 38 bills the government plans to pass. (Ben Stansall/Pool Photo via AP)

King Charles' biggest problem isn't his crown, but his voice

So, King Charles III is in a tricky situation because, in some ways, the Commonwealth is a confidence trick. How much do these nations today believe that they are part of something thats greater than themselves? When these nations joined the Commonwealth in the 50s and 60s, one could make that claim. But I suspect there are now a lot of Commonwealth nations looking at this and asking themselves, Whats the point? Britains economy is in bad shape; going it alone with Brexit was a mistake, and geopolitically its on the wane.

Bergen: Queen Elizabeth found out that she was the new monarch in Kenyain 1952 when she was on a safari there. Tell us about your research in Kenya and reflect on the fact that the newly minted Queen Elizabeth was in the country around the time that the anti-British Mau Mau rebellion was starting to get serious.

Elkins: Theres the famous story that Elizabeth, staying at Treetops Hotel in Aberdare National Park in Kenya, went up a tree as a princess and came down a queen. At the same time, just beyond where Queen Elizabeth was viewing game, the Kikuyu, the largest ethnic group in Kenya, were taking mass oaths to join a movement called Mau Mau, whose stated purpose was, to kick all Whites out of the country, which were the British settlers and the British colonial administration.

Almost from the get-go in 1952, there were whistleblowers in Kenya. Missionaries were saying that torture by the British was going on. Eventually, the Church Missionary Society published a pamphlet called Kenya  Time for Action! describing the kind of horrible things that were happening.

When I started researching the history of the Mau Mau uprising, there were difficulties in writing the book because at the time of decolonialization, Britain went through a very systematic process of destroying documentation about the empire. In the case of Kenya, I estimate that about 3 1/2 tons of documents were destroyed, and some other documents were repatriated back to Britain and kept under lock and key. So, what it meant for an historian like me is I had to try to piece this story back together again, and it took about 10 years to do that.

In my 2005 book, Imperial Reckoning: The Untold Story of Britains Gulag in Kenya, I concluded that while the British government said that they had detained 70,000 to 80,000 Kenyans, in fact my research revealed that 1.5 million Kenyans were detained either in detention camps or in barbed-wire villages. These detention camps and villages were not the sites of hearts and minds campaigns but instead sites of systematized violence condoned from the very top of the British government and executed in a routinized way, and that every effort was made to cover this up.

nc elbagir britain mau mau settlement _00000901.jpg video

From 2013: UK settles with Mau Mau victims in Kenya

The book came out to critical acclaim. There was probably more emphasis on the critical and less on the acclaim in part because it was one of the first books that really challenged this narrative of British exceptionalism in the empire. At that time, in 2005, I was a young academic historian. It was a rather crushing reception.

And then I was asked to be an expert witness for a case involving Kenyans suing the British government for torture endured while they were detained during the Mau Mau uprising. During the discovery process for this case, the British government said for the first time, Weve just discovered boxes of previously undisclosed files that we found at Hanslope Park. Hanslope Park is where all the very highly sensitive British government documents are kept. And alongside those boxes from Kenya, there were also 8,800 files from 36 other British colonies similarly packed up and spirited away at the end of empire.

Having this documentation was crucial to the case. I pulled together a group of Harvard students, and we worked 24/7 going through these documents, and what became clear is that we had thousands of pages of additional evidence supporting my research and claims about what had happened in Kenya, and at the end of the day, the British government settled the case that had been brought by the Kenyan victims.

Bergen: Was Kenya exceptional in the British Empire?

Elkins:That took me about 15 years to answer and over 800 pages in my new book, Legacy of Violence. Not only is Kenya not exceptional, its one moment in a longer period of time that shows how the British created systems and practices to enforce colonial control, such as forced labor, torture and murder throughout the British Empire.

During the Boer War from 1899 to 1902 was the first time in history where extensive concentration camps were used to confine one ethnic population, in this case, the white Afrikaners, who the British considered uncivilized, although Africans were also detained.

Britain undertook similar confinement policies for criminals, as well as plague and famine victims, in India beginning around 1857. One of the things I spent a lot of time doing was tracing how these policies evolved  these practices of concentrating populations as well as forcibly moving them.

Bergen: This reassessment of British Empire: You are leading the charge. And also, William Dalrymples The Anarchy: The East India Company, Corporate Violence, and the Pillage of an Empire, his history of the British East India Company is also part of this reassessment?

courtesy Lucy Fulford

The writer's family outside a church in Cambridge, UK, after leaving Uganda in 1972. Lucy's grandmother Rachel, center, wears a donated fur coat, and mother Betty is pictured far left.

The tyranny of Idi Amin -- and limits of a British welcome

Elkins: There are many historians working on this. When you think about the kind of work that must take place for each colony, you have a lot of people who are real specialists in particular areas who might specialize in Cyprus or might specialize in India. Some of what Im doing in this recent book, Legacy of Violence, is really drawing off this huge movement towards revisionism.

Bergen: Is all history revisionist history?

Elkins: Always. History is always being revised by folks like myself. I think in this case, its really a massive revision insofar as it really questions what continues to be a strongly held belief about British exceptionalism when it comes to empire.

Bergen: So, are the British in high school as they learn about British history being told a bunch of fairy tales?

Elkins:I think theyre being told a very particular official narrative that has been carefully cultivated, both by the British government and the monarchy. History is always used for national identity to galvanize a population, to imagine itself as something greater than any individual. And its important to remember that beginning in the 19th century, quite intentionally under Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli, there was an entwinement of nation, monarchy and empire that was the bedrock of British national identity, a kind of British imperial national identity of which the monarchy is a part. And that continues down to the present day.

Should British school history textbooks be revised? Theres a struggle over this in Britain now. It will be a big moment when we start to see revisions within the textbooks of schoolchildren in Britain that reflect the kind of larger conversations that are happening now between historians and the broader public.

Des Willie/Netflix

Gillian Anderson as Margaret Thatcher in season four of Netflix's The Crown

'The Crown' controversy is about more than the royals

Bergen: The Crown on Netflix was a very well-executed TV drama. How does that contribute to the way Britain and the world in general sees all this history?

Elkins: I have to say, full disclosure, I watched all of The Crown. Its very compelling, and I was writing this book, Legacy of Violence, while watching it. One of the few times that the Queen Elizabeth weighed in with her authority is around the issue of apartheid in South Africa.

Bergen: To say what?

Elkins: To basically disagree with then-Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, to say that apartheid cannot continue, that Britain cannot be on the wrong side of history, and she used the Commonwealth as a vehicle to make that known.

The second of which that struck me was the death of her cousin Louis Mountbatten. Mountbatten was the last viceroy of India. He oversaw the partition of India and Pakistan in 1947 in which somewhere between 200,000 to 2 million people died from brutal sectarian violence, according to estimates.

The Irish Republican Army, or IRA, which was a paramilitary organization, formed in 1919 to end British rule in Ireland and create a republic, engaged in a long struggle to end Britains continued rule in Northern Ireland after 1922. There were many terrorist attacks, including the IRA planting a bomb on Mountbattens boat off the coast of Northern Ireland in 1979, killing him and three people on the boat. And that scene is in The Crown. Mountbatten was probably the closest confidant and mentor to Prince Charles, now King Charles III.

There is kind of a coda to this story when the Queen became the first British monarch in 100 years to go to Ireland in 2011 and (later) extended her hand to one of the former leaders in the IRA.

Four years later Prince Charles met with former IRA leader Gerry Adams and did a similar kind of thing. They had a private conversation. This shows you what the British monarchy can accomplish, the kind of moral authority that it does have, and instances of reaching out their hands to make reconciliation.

Bergen: Do the British pat themselves on the back because they were relatively early to abolish slavery, and that has colored their own self-conception as empire builders?

Elkins:Yes, I think its an important point. I think its often held up that Britain led the charge on the abolition movement in the trade of enslaved people (in 1807) and decades later in the use of enslaved labor (in 1833).

At the same time, I think its important to bear in mind that this is the same country that amassed the largest empire history has ever known, with a quarter of the worlds land mass and 700 million people at its height.

On the heels of the abolition of the trade in enslaved people and the use of enslaved labor, the British launched what is known as their civilizing mission. This idea was that, in fact, empire is not about national benefit and exploitation, but its really our duty, our white mans burden to go and uplift and bring into the modern world the backward populations.

The interesting part to me is how is it that Britons in general can continue to work and rework their understanding of what the empire meant. What was the civilizing mission? How are they able to accommodate all this into this broader narrative of what is ultimately British imperial exceptionalism, that somehow or another  and its a narrative that endures to this present day  that Britain got empire right, particularly when compared to all the other European nations.

And so, to me thats also wrapped up into how the Queen is being remembered today. By some, shes being remembered as the matriarch of empire, an empire that was a force of good in the world, that really extended the notions of rule of law and free trade  all those things that we hold dear in liberal democracies  while others who say, no, thats actually not what happened.

Look at all this violence in the empire. I think were in a particular moment because formerly colonized populations are demanding that there should be a reckoning, not just in terms of acknowledgement that certain things happened, but also how we write about and remember the past.

CNN

video

Author of 'The 1619 Project' responds to critics

Bergen: The 1619 Projecthas reframed the history of the United States around the history of slavery in the country. Are there similarities between the 1619 Project and what you and other colleagues are doing in your reassessment of the British Empire?

Elkins: Yes, I do think so. If we look at the ways in which the struggle to understand who we are in the present day and what the future holds is also a struggle about the past. What gives us legitimacy? How did we come to be who we are today? In the United States, its often thought that the original sin is the period of enslavement, and we must contend with that if were going to move forward as a nation.

Now, the suggestion being made by many in the former empire is that the original sin on a global scale was empire. Theyre asking: How do we contend with this, and how do you, Britain, address this in such a way that we can all move forward, both from a societal standpoint and an economic one? And its not just about reparations. Its about looking at structural inequities on a global scale and how and why the world is the way it is today.

Look at Bangladesh, one of the poorest countries in the world today. In the mid-18th century, Eastern Bengal was one of the wealthiest parts of the world. What happens in between? A very long period of wealth extraction and decimation engendered by British colonial rule.

Look at Jamaica and imagine the fact that this nation was populated because its citizens were literally chained and shackled beneath ships and brought over. At first, this wasnt even a self-reproducing population because it was more economical to work people to death than it was to allow them to self-reproduce.

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And so these nations are born out of a similar kind of cauldron of violence that has dramatic societal and economic consequences, and I think this is coming to a head, just as the 1619 Project is really raising all these issues about the kind of structural inequities that we have in the United States today. We must understand the past and really have a comprehensive accounting of it. And I think thats what were seeing in different kinds of ways with the history of the British Empire.
Apple iPhone4S is not yet officially for sale in China, however, it was already available in Beijing from Saturday in several stores but at prices much higher than in countries where this new model of smartphone was launched Friday.

Today we have two from Canada, on sale at 11,000 yuan (1,243 euros) each. If youre interested, come right away, said a saleswoman in a shop of mobile phones on the Hailong market of Beijing. She said it was a 16-gigabyte model, the cheapest and least powerful of the range. In the U.S., the iPhone4S is sold 199 dollars with a two-year contract.

China had 940 million mobile phone users in late August, 94 million users of 3G service, according to the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.

According to Wang Jianzhou, president of China Mobile, the company sold 9.5 million iPhones till late September, reported the Beijing Youth Daily. The second operator China Unicom, for its part announced lower prices for iPhone 3G and iPhone 4 as of Sunday, even though no official release date of iPhone 4S has been announced for China.

After the release in seven countries Friday, the latest model of Apple iPhone will be marketed in 22 countries on October 28. According to observers, the launch in China could take place at the end of the year.

Apple enjoys great popularity in China, where many fans are willing to queue for hours to buy their latest products. After the death of Apple founder Steve Jobs last week, nearly 35 million microblogs had been posted to pay tribute to Steve Jobs on the service Sina Weibo.

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TEHRAN,slotjoint no deposit bonus Nov. 16 (Xinhua) -- Iran said on Wednesday that an Iranian-flagged tanker carrying the country's oil, which was seized by Greece in April, has left the Greek waters for its predetermined destination.

Making the announcement in a statement on its website, the Iranian Foreign Ministry said the tanker was released according to the agreements reached between Iranian and Greek maritime officials.

In mid-April, Greek authorities seized the Lana oil tanker, formerly the Pegas, at the request of a U.S. court. After its seizure, the United States sent a ship to impound the oil from the Iranian vessel. Lana had been anchored off the Greek port of Piraeus since late July.

The foreign ministry said Greece's decision "was faced with Iran's strong opposition from the very beginning," adding Iran had taken various legal measures and conducted rounds of negotiations with the Greek side, which eventually overturned the decision despite the pressure from "a third country."

The impounded oil was returned to the ship, the ministry statement said.

It also stated that Iran released on Wednesday the two Greek-flagged tankers it had seized in its southern waters in May.

The Greek shipping ministry confirmed that the two Greek ships had left Iran on Wednesday, saying an agreement between Iran and Greece stipulates all ships should be freed on the same day. 
Chinese State Councilor Yang Jiechi discussed bilateral ties and cooperation with German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle by phone Monday.

It followed a phone hook-up between Chinas new Premier Li Keqiang and his casino joy slots eu casinos onlineGerman counterpart Angela Merkel on Friday, which Yang said indicated the importance the leadership of the two countries attached to further development of the relationship.

The two sides should earnestly implement the consensus reached by their leaders, continue the inter-governmental consultation mechanism and strengthen coordination within multinational organizations, including the Group of 20, to push for the global economic recovery, he said.

Westerwelle said his country was willing to continue cooperating and coordinating with China on major global and regional issues.

Yang, the former Chinese foreign minister, was endorsed as state councilor Saturday at the first session of the 12th National Peoples Congress.

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The Chinese government announced the establishment of the China National Renewable Energy Centre (CNREC), which is considered as part of efforts by the State to ensure the sustainable development of the second largest in the world economy.

CNREC will be responsible for the state strategy to develop renewable energy sources, to organize the study of policies related to such energy sources, together with the implementation of programs of cooperation with international organizations in the area, said the government representatives at the opening ceremony of CNREC.

The center also will assist interested agencies in the countrys road map of the development of photovoltaic energy, wind energy, biofuels and other renewable energy sources by collecting and analyzing relevant data, which would later be used in energy policy.

The Centres activities will be funded mainly by the Chinese government under the program for renewable energy, and project China-Denmark  a five-year program of cooperation between the Chinese and Danish governments launched in 2009. The government will fund CNREC 9 million Yuan in 2012 and 11 million Yuan in 2013, the China-Denmark project will supply 20 million Yuan each year in the following 2 years.

China became the worlds largest investor in the development of renewable energy. In 2010, China has invested 300 billion Yuan (47.62 billion U.S. dollars) in this area.

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The Peoples Bank of China (PBOC), or the central bank, on Tuesday auctioned 26 billion yuan (4.12 billion U.S. dollars) of repurchase agreements (repo), the first such move in two months as liquidity improves after the Chinese lunar New Year holiday season.

Yield of the 28-day repos stood at 2.8 percent.

Demand for cash has subdued after the holiday and the markets liquidity has eased remarkably due to the PBOCs pre-season operations, said Jiang Chao (), chief bond analyst for Guotai Junan Securities.

Since the start of January, the PBOC has released money back to banks by suspending bill and repo issues, or even reverse repos operations.

Everyone in the market is closely monitoring the central banks moves, said Liu Junyu, a bond analyst with the China Merchants Bank. The market is still divided on whether the PBOC will soon lower the bank reserve requirement ratio (RRR) to ease liquidity.

Compared with the pre-season squeeze, Chinese banks are now abundant with liquidity again, as suggested by the Shanghai Interbank Offered Rates (Shibor), which measures the cost of interbank borrowing as a key barometer of liquidity. The overnight Shibor stood at 2.7767 percent on Tuesday, compared with yield exceeding 8 percent one week before the Chinese lunar New Year.

The one-week and two-week Shibor also softened to 3.5 percent and 3.8 percent, respectively, from above 6 percent in the pre-season trading.

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Thespin casino online casino U.S. seeds producer Monsanto is in talks with the Chinese Sinochem ()to significantly strengthen its ties with the company. The negotiations could lead to the creation of a joint venture or a marketing agreement.

Discussions between the two companies have been difficult, since they touch on policy issues for China, including food independence. Sinochem is the largest importer and distributor of fertilizers in China. It is also a major producer of seeds.

Monsanto is already associated with Sinochem in 2001 in a company producing maize seed, but it was a minority in capital. The American had injected an additional $84 million in 2008.

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The deputy chief of staff of Chinas Peoples Liberation Army has stressed the importance of developing a new type of military relationship with the United States.

Cai Yingting is now on a visit to the United States. He says the two countries need to strive to implement the consensus reached between Chinese President Hu Jintao and his US counterpart Barack Obama on constructing a new type of relationship between big powers. It should based on mutual respect, equality, inclusiveness and mutual benefit.

Cai has met with senior US military and government officials, including US Deputy Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter. They exchanged views on the issues of Taiwan, Tibet, the South China Sea and the Diaoyu Islands.

Carter says the US strategy in the Asia-Pacific region is not aimed at containing China and the US expects the two countries will continue to be partners. Cai emphasized that the Diaoyu Islands and their affiliated islands are an integral part of Chinas territory.

Cai Yingting, deputy chief of gen. staff of Chinese Peoples Liberation Army, said, We would prefer to resolve conflicts through peace talks and negotiations. We strongly reject the claim that the Diaoyu Islands fall within the scope of the US-Japan Treaty of Mutual Cooperation and Security. We hope the US will do something good to maintain regional peace and to maintain a good relationship between China and the US.

CNTV

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UN General Assembly President Vuk Jeremic will visit China from Dec. 26 to 28,sbobet88 baccarat 7 card stud free Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying announced Tuesday.

Jeremic will pay the visit at the invitation of Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi, Hua told a daily press briefing.

Xinhua

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Security forces in China have made dozens of arrests following clashes in the region of Xinjiang on Tuesday.

Xinhua news agency reported that twelve people had died in Yecheng County, near the city of Kashgar, where in recent months have seen an escalation of tension between Uighur and Han.

Xinhua said that ten of the victims were stabbed dead by a group of protesters, while the other two were murderers been shot dead by the police. The official news agency did not report the cause of the fighting. Foreign Ministry Spokesman Hong Lei denounced that the World Uyghur Congress was behind the attack.

It was reported that after the incident, police carried out a raid and has made dozens of arrests.

The Uighurs are Muslims, and also have other cultural differences with the Han, the ethnic majority in China, so the disputes are common. The clashes of July 2009 in Urumqi, capital of Xinjiang, has left 197 dead, most victims were Han, according to official figures.

The strengthening of security measures that followed this wave of violence has angered the Uighurs, which account for 40 percent of Xinjiangs population of 21 million, although mostly in Kashgar and other southern cities.

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Macaos visitor arrivals in June this year reached 2,106,696, down by 3.4 percent over the same month of 2011, according to figures released on Monday by the citys Statistics and Census Service.

Of all the arrivals in June, 49.4 percent spent only one day. And the average length of stay of visitors decreased by 0.1 day year-on-year to 1 day, the figures indicated.

Analyzed by place of residence, visitors from the Chinese mainland increased slightly by 1.8 percent year-on-year to 1.22 million, of which 517,935 traveling to Macao under the Individual Visit Scheme, up by 11.3 percent year-on-year.

Visitors from Hong Kong (558,878) and Taiwan (87,025) and South Korea (29,792) decreased by 9.9 percent, 22.1 percent and 4.2 percent respectively year-on-year, while those from Japan (34,614) registered a notable increase of 28.0 percent.

Total visitor arrivals were 13,577,714 in the first half year of 2012, up by 2.5 percent year-on-year, according to the city s Statistics and Census Service.

Xinhua

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TikTok

Abuja, Nigeria CNN 

Mubarak Isah Muhammad and Nazifi Muhammad Bala each received 20 lashes over their comic video of a Nigerian governor.

Two TikTok comedians have been publicly whipped in Nigeria for making a video that a court in the northern Kano State ruled had defamed the state Governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, according to a judicial spokesperson.

Mubarak Isah Muhammad, 26, and Nazifi Muhammad Bala, 23, each received 20 lashes for making defamatory statements about the governor, a spokesperson for Kano State Judiciary, Baba Jibo Ibrahim, told CNN on Wednesday.

The two friends, according to Ibrahim, were sentenced on Monday after being brought before a magistrates court on Friday. They were remanded in custody over the weekend, the judiciary spokesman said.

They admitted the charges. They didnt even ask or beg for a lawyer to stand for them, Ibrahim told CNN.

They were arraigned before the Kano State Magistrate Court for defaming the character of Governor Umar Ganduje on their TikTok social media account. When the charges were read to them, they pleaded guilty to the two counts of  defamation of character and inciting public disturbance, Ibrahim said.

CNN has made attempts to reach the two men and their lawyer for comment.

AFP/AFP/AFP via Getty Images

A team of Islamic sharia enforcers called Hisbah is on patrol in the northern Nigerian city of Kano in an open pickup on October 29, 2013.

Nigerian atheist jailed 24 years for blasphemy

Saifullahi Ibrahim, a close associate who visited the men in prison, told CNN the TikTok video was made four years ago and only resurfaced online recently. Ibrahim said he had known both men for over a decade.

In addition to the public lashing ordered by the court, the men were ordered to pay a fine of 10,000 naira (around $23) each and cleaning including sweeping the court premises and washing the courts toilets for 30 days, Ibrahim stated.

They were also ordered to make a video on social media to publicly apologize to Governor Ganduje.

Osai Ojigho, the director of Amnesty International Nigeria, condemned the ruling, saying satirizing those in authority is not a crime.

The human rights agency called on Nigerian authorities to immediately quash this appalling sentence.

Human rights lawyer Inibehe Effiong wants the ruling of the magistrates court challenged at a higher court.

I dont understand why people should be flogged. Such form of punishment is inhumane and is inconsistent with the right to dignity of the human person, Effiong told CNN.

It is also doubtful whether they were given a fair trial. I believe that the two men should take steps to challenge the decision at the higher court.

Effiong added that it was the right of citizens to criticize their leaders.

CNN

CNN's Stephanie Busari speaks with Omar Farouq, the Nigerian teen who was freed after his 10-year prison sentence for blasphemy was overturned. Farouq was convicted in a Sharia court in Kano State in northwest Nigeria after he was accused of using foul language toward Allah in an argument with a friend.

'They were unjust to me,' says teenager freed after blasphemy sentence quashed in Nigeria

Citizens have the right under the constitution to freedom of expression, and that right should be respected, particularly as it relates to public office holders. The rights of citizens to criticize them is preserved under the constitution, he said.

Governor Ganduje had previously come under public criticism after a video that surfaced on local media in 2018 appeared to have captured him pocketing huge amounts of US dollars in a flowing robe that were believed to be proceeds from a bribe.

The governor has denied all allegations.

Kano, located in northern Nigeria, operates under its own strict interpretation of Sharia law. Convictions for blasphemy are common in the largely Muslim-dominated state, where a version of the Sharia law is enforced by religious police known as the Hisbah Corps.
Taiwan Minister of Foreign Affairs David Y.L. Lin reaffirmed national sovereignty over the Diaoyutai Archipelago Oct. 18, urging Japan to resolve disputes in accordance with the governments East China Sea peace initiative.

The Diaoyutai Islands actually form an inherent part of the territory of the ROC based on the islands geographical location, geological structure, relevant historical evidence, and international law, Lin said. Japans claim over the islands simply does not stand up to close scrutiny.

Lin, who made the remarks in his commentary carried by respected U.S. publication Foreign Policy, described Tokyos Sept. 11 move to nationalize three islets in the Diaoyutais as raising tensions in East Asia.

Japans claim of sovereignty over the Diaoyutai Islands by virtue of discovery-occupation under international law is invalid ab initio [from the onset], as such claims can only be made to terra nullius [land without owner].

According to Lin, the Qing dynasty (1644-1911) was forced to cede the Diaoyutais and other territories to Japan as per Treaty of Shimonoseki in 1895. But these territories were all returned to the ROC after WWII based on the Cairo and Postdam declarations, the Instrument of Surrender of Japan, the San Francisco Treaty, and the Treaty of Peace between the ROC and Japan, he added.

Given recent events, Lin said, the best way forward for Japan is to embrace the initiative and join in forging a path of coexistence and mutual prosperity.

Proposed Aug. 5 by ROC President Ma Ying-jeou, the five-point plan urges all parties to refrain from antagonistic actions; not abandon dialogue; observe international law; resolve disputes through peaceful means; and form a mechanism for exploring and developing resources on a cooperative basis.

Separately, Randall G. Schriver, former U.S. deputy assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs, praised Taiwan for taking concrete actions to resolve Diaoyutais disputes Oct. 17 during a seminar hosted by Washington-based think tank Center for Strategic and International Studies.

Schriver said while Japan and the U.S. are facing domestic pressure with elections on the horizon, Taiwan has more flexibility in managing the issue by leveraging claims of sovereignty and fishing rights.

In his address at the seminar, former MOFA Deputy Minister Stephen S.F. Chen called on Japan to recognize the existence of a sovereignty dispute over the Diaoyutais and enter into dialogue as outlined by the initiative.

Although some see it as all a tall order for Taiwan, Japan and mainland China to hold trilateral talks on the issue, they could start less ambitiously and embark upon unofficial consultations through intermediary organizations, Chen said.

The Diaoyutais are an uninhabited archipelago located roughly 170 kilometers northeast of Taiwan proper. The island group is historically attached to the ROC and includes Diaoyutai Island and the islets of Huangwei and Chiwei.

Rachel Chan

Taiwan Today

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Suspected food poisoning sickened more than 50 students in south Chinas Hainan province on Thursday,usa mobile casino 1 bit coin price local authorities said.

The students in the Landun bilingual school in Haikou City suffered from vomiting, fever and dizziness after lunch, a teacher in the school told Xinhua.

Three students were hospitalized and several were under medical observation. The rest had left hospital after treatment by Thursday night, according to the Peoples Hospital of Hainan.

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China to review its policy of restricting exports of rare earth to reflect the rules of the World Trade Organization (WTO) reported on Wednesday,the best american car to buy said the official media. A WTO panel ruled yesterday that restrictions on the export of certain raw materials used by China were contrary to international trade law.

The European Commission welcomed the decision, saying it could press China to abandon its export restrictions on rare earth. China produces 97% of rare earth in the world, vital for the sectors of high technology. Beijing has cut export quotas by 35% in the first half, in addition to previous limitations.

The Chinese government will study and take positive steps in the export of rare earth according to relevant laws and rules of the WTO, said Vice Minister of Commerce Zhong Shan, quoted by Xinhua news. He stressed that the rare earths are non-renewable sources and resources of strategic importance and the adjustment of the export policy would take into account production and consumption within the country.

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DHL Global Forwarding, a subsidiary of leading global logistics company Deutsche Post DHL, will set up an integrated logistics center in south Chinas city of Shenzhen, according to an agreement signed Tuesday.

The center will be located in the Qianhai Shenzhen-Hong Kong Modern Service Industry Cooperation Zone, which was given approval by the State Council in late June to enjoy a series of preferential financial policies.

DHL will take advantage of the zones preferential policies, world-class logistic facilities and strategic location to innovate its modern logistics and supply chain business in south China, according to the agreement signed between DHL and the Qianhai zone authority.

DHL is expected to create a regional shipping hub and distribution center in Qianhai and will look at the possibility of establishing a regional business headquarters there.

The Qianhai zone, a 15-km stretch of reclaimed land in Qianhai Bay, is in western Shenzhen and located near Hong Kong and Macao.

The central government aims to build Qianhai into a pioneering zone to forge closer cooperation between Hong Kong and the mainland. The area will be used as a pilot zone for financial sector reforms after an array of steps taken by the government to boost the international use of the yuan, Chinas currency.

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Thebest slots on 32red nigma ti 2021 food giant Nestle has opened preliminary discussions with the Chinese group Hsu Fu Chi International (). However, an agreement was not yet in sight.

The Swiss group Nestle would expand its presence in China by acquiring the confectioner Hsu Fu Chi International, whose market value is estimated at 2.6 billion dollars. Discussions between the two groups would be held on an irregular basis for two years and their outcome would remain uncertain, according to Bloomberg, citing sources familiar with the matter.

Negotiations still have many obstacles to overcome and the contract could not be realized for weeks. In addition, other groups might be interested in the listed company in Singapore. This would be one of the largest takeovers of a Chinese company by a foreign group. Hsu Fu Chi International products include candies, chocolates, pastries, Chinese cakes. Nestle could thus strengthen its confectionery division, which accounted for 11% of total revenues in 2010 and posted an organic growth of 7%.

Nestle said that discussions with the Chinese company were only at a preliminary stage, without giving details. For its part, Hsu Fu Chi stated that it has engaged in preliminary discussions with Nestle and confidential for a possible transaction, but said there was no certainty that a transaction to materialize. In order to develop the company and its brands, the groups long-standing strategic discussions with potential partners in the confectionery market, including Japan, Europe and the United States, also noted the Chinese group.

Nestle is not at its first sign of interest in China this year. In April 2011, the Swiss group has signed an agreement to acquire a 60% stake in its Chinese partner Yinlu Foods Group. The latter is the co-manufacturers of Nescafe instant coffee in China and achieved a turnover of around 600 million euros in 2010. The Chinese group has also specialized in the marketing of canned milk, peanut and rice porridge. This acquisition foreshadows our long-term investment in China and our willingness to further develop local brands, indicated Paul Bulcke, CEO of Nestle.

At present, the Swiss food giant owns 23 plants and two research and development centers in China, with 14,000 employees. In 2010, sales of Nestle in China rose 11% to 2.1 billion euros, or 2.5% of total turnover. The Swiss produced in China beverage, dairy and ice cream, prepared meals, confectionery, food stuffs.

For Nestle, strengthen business in China could be part of its growth strategy in emerging markets. Indeed, the Swiss group wants to achieve 45% of its revenues in emerging markets in 2020, against 36% currently. These activities have grown organically by 11.5% last year. In these countries, infant nutrition products, chocolate, coffee, or water, already have a successful result. In contrast, frozen and prepared meals do not yet have a significant demand, says Nestle.

On Wednesday, the value Nestle lost 0.19% to 52.95 Swiss francs on the Zurich stock exchange. On Monday, Hsu Fu Chi has announced the voluntary suspension in the Singapore Stock Exchange, to avoid abnormal fluctuations.

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Taiwanese businesspeople on Friday urged the islands authorities to lift the ban on Taiwanese people holding public posts in the Chinese mainland.

Taiwans legislative authorities on Friday held a public hearing on an amendment to the regulation on relations of the people across the Taiwan Strait. About a dozen representatives of those doing business on the mainland were invited to offer suggestions.

Mark Yeh,lucky 88 casino 180 bet tips today executive vice chairman of the Association of Taiwan Investment Enterprises on the Mainland (ATIEM) and a specially invited member of the Guangdong provincial committee of the Chinese Peoples Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), said at the public hearing that Taiwanese businessmen can assist in the handling of issues involving Taiwan people through channels provided by the CPPCC system.

Yeh also said their involvement in the CPPCC can better protect Taiwanese businesspeoples rights and interests in the mainland.

Tseng Chan-jaw, executive vice chairman of the ATIEM and chairman of the Association of Taiwan Investment Enterprises in Xiamen, Fujian Province, said Taiwanese businesspeople can participate in the discussion of political affairs on the mainland through the CPPCC system.

Tseng added that they can also join the major political sessions in the mainland each year. This will help them to better understand the mainlands policies, which is conducive to the development of Taiwanese businesses on the mainland.

Taiwan invests heavily in the Chinese mainland, with more than 87,000 Taiwanese enterprises and more than 1 million Taiwanese businesspeople on the mainland.

Citing the regulation, authorities in Taiwan ban Taiwanese people from holding public posts in the mainland. However, the regulation can accommodate those taking posts as specially invited members at different levels of CPPCC committees.

Kuo Shan-hui, chairman of the ATIEM, said at the hearing that the amendment to the regulations has a direct bearing on the lives and businesses of Taiwanese businesspeople on the mainland, and he asked for the ban to be lifted.

Published in 1992, the regulation is used by Taiwanese authorities to deal with issues concerning cross-Strait exchanges in economic, trade, cultural and other fields. It has gradually become outdated, as cross-Strait relations have witnessed significant developments in recent years.

Taiwan leader Ma Ying-jeou said earlier this month that reviewing the regulation is currently one of the major cross-Strait issues for authorities. He called for amending some of the items of the regulation that do not fit the current circumstances, in an effort to make exchanges more reciprocal.

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TEHRAN,casino games bonus Nov. 16 (Xinhua) -- At least five people were killed and 10 others injured on Wednesday in a drive-by shooting attack on a market in the southwestern Iranian city of Izeh, semi-official Tasnim news agency reported.

At 17:30 local time (1400 GMT), armed assailants driving two motorcycles opened fire on people as well as police and security forces in Izeh's central market in Khuzestan Province, Tasnim quoted Valiollah Hayati, Khuzestan's deputy governor for security affairs, as saying.

He said three young men, one nine-year-old girl and a 45-year-old woman were killed in the attack, adding some of the wounded are in critical condition.

A search has begun to identify and arrest those behind the "terrorist attack," Hayati said, noting security has been restored to the city.

According to another report by the semi-official Fars news agency, the assailants were armed with Kalashnikov rifles.

No group has claimed responsibility for the attack yet. 
Investment in Taiwan from the Chinese mainland has reached 722 million U.S. dollars since the island opened to mainland investors on June 30, 2009.

As of Monday, mainland authorities have approved 133 cases of mainland-invested enterprises and projects to Taiwan, according to Yang Yi, spokesman for the State Councils Taiwan Affairs Office, at a regular press conference on Wednesday.

Yang was quoting statistics from the Ministry of Commerce.

In the first nine months of 2012, the mainland approved 1,587 investment projects involving 2.16 billion dollars, from Taiwan to the mainland, Yang said.

During that period, trade volume between the mainland and Taiwan reached 121.21 billion dollars, registering a 0.2 percent increase year-on-year, according to the spokesman.

The value of imports from Taiwan was 95.46 billion dollars and the exports to the island was 25.75 billion dollars, Yang said.

The spokesman also clarified a recent rumor, which claimed that food and beverage manufacturer Master Kong was a Japanese enterprise. He said it was a Taiwan-based brand.

However, the spokesman stressed that the Hong Kong-listed company has equity investments from various parties.

Earlier rumors claiming that Master Kong was a Japanese brand spread amid the row between China and Japan over the Diaoyu Islands.

Xinhua

Mainlands investment in Taiwan tops 700 million USDadded by chinatimesonline on

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China on Wednesday called for an immediate ceasefire in Syria as a deadline underlined by the UN Security Council nears.

Again, China calls on the Syrian government to respond to [Kofi] Annans six-point proposal and grasp the opportunity to fulfill its promises of troop withdrawal and ceasefire fully and immediately before the deadline, with the actions that it has taken, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Weimin said at a regular press briefing, urging the Syrian government to make more efforts to ease current tensions and push ahead with the political resolution process.

The six-point proposal put forward by Kofi Annan, the former UN secretary general now acting as an envoy to Syria for the UN and the Arab League, has set April 10 as the deadline for troop withdrawal and April 12 as the deadline for a complete ceasefire between the Syrian army and rebels.

On March 21, the UN Security Council adopted a presidential statement to endorse Annans proposal.

Meanwhile, opposition groups in Syria should also cease fire immediately and take concrete measures to implement Annans six-point proposal, said the Chinese spokesman.

Liu said that Annans proactive efforts to realize a full ceasefire have offered a rare opportunity to resolve the Syrian crisis, which broke out in March 2011.

The Chinese side is deeply concerned with the ongoing violence and conflict that continue to cause more and more casualties in Syria despite the nearing deadline, Liu said.

The Syria issue is highly complicated and it is not easy to secure a political resolution, said the spokesman, adding that Annans mediation efforts are a feasible path to a political resolution to the crisis.

The Chinese side has always been persuading Syria in its own way, said the spokesman, adding that all other parties in the international community should also remain patient and work harder to support Annans mediation efforts.

The Chinese side will continue its firm support for Annan, the envoy, in his mediation efforts to push ahead with a political resolution to the Syria issue, he added.

Xinhua

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Jinling Library in Nanjing,conquer casino no deposit bonus capital of East China's Jiangsu province.[Photo/Official website of Jinling Library.]

The first "Window of Chinese Books" in Europe was launched on Tuesday, with an online book donation ceremony from China's Jinling Library to Malta Libraries.

The two libraries also signed the first memorandum of understanding (MoU) in the field of public libraries between China and Malta.

The online event was held at the Central Public Library in Floriana, Malta, the most well-stocked of 57 around the country.

More than 200 books were donated by Jinling Library in Nanjing, capital of East China's Jiangsu province. They cover fields such as ancient Chinese literature and art, history, geography, and contemporary Chinese politics, economy, culture, tourism, and food.

Maltese Minister for National Heritage, the Arts and Local Government Owen Bonnici, and Chinese Ambassador to Malta Yu Dunhai welcomed the collaboration. They also expressed hope that the donated books will open a new window of understanding of Chinese culture, history and social development for the Maltese people.

Books are a crucial conduit for the cultural exchange between two countries, said Xia Jun, deputy director of the Nanjing Municipal Bureau of Culture and Tourism, at the ceremony.

Malta and China have developed vibrant cultural relations, said Sharon Scicluna, deputy director of the Maltese Ministry for Foreign and European Affairs and Trade, adding that the opportunities arising from the signing of the MoU will further enhance cooperation.

Malta Libraries has been collaborating with the China Cultural Centre since 2018, when a Chinese collection was established at the Central Public Library.

The books donated on Tuesday not only provide a mini encyclopedia of Chinese culture and tourism, but are also a precious gift of friendship from the people of Nanjing to the Maltese people, said Yuan Yuan, director of the China Cultural Centre in Malta.

Jinling Library has always focused on using books as a bridge to understanding of Chinese culture for global citizens, said the Library's director Jiao Xiang.

The book donation event was co-hosted by the Nanjing Municipal Bureau of Culture and Tourism and the China Cultural Centre in Malta.

Jinling Library, founded in 1927, established its first "Window of Chinese Books" overseas in Nigeria in 2013. There are now 11 around the world.
People are silhouetted against the Sydney Opera House at sunset in Australia,hollywood slots phone number on Nov 2, 2016. [Photo/Agencies]

In late October, Australia dropped its opposition to a landmark treaty banning nuclear weapons in a vote at the United Nations. The shift in its voting position to "abstain" after five years of "no" is significant.

The Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) prohibits the development, testing, stockpiling, use and threats regarding the use of nuclear weapons.

The change comes as the US is planning to deploy nuclear-capable B-52 bombers to the country, where the weapons will be positioned close enough to strike China.

US pressure vs. Australian aspirations

Defending the vote, foreign affairs minister Penny Wong stresses Australia has "a long and proud commitment to the global non-proliferation and disarmament regime" and the government supports the treaty's "ambition of a world without nuclear weapons."

The Australian labor government is now facing extraordinary pressure due to its stand. Recently, the US warned Australia against joining the TPNW. As the US embassy in Canberra put it, the treaty "would not allow for US extended deterrence relationships." It argues that the agreement could hamper defense arrangements between the US and its allies.

The original commentary was published by China-US Focus on Nov 15, 2022.

Beatrice Fihn, executive director of the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN), the Nobel-awarded organization behind the TPNW, called the US embassy's comments "irresponsible" adding, "Using nuclear weapons is unacceptable, for Russia, for North Korea and for the US, UK and all other states in the world. There are no 'responsible' nuclear armed states. These are weapons of mass destruction and Australia should sign the #TPNW!" (Figure 1).

Figure 1 ICAN: US nuclear blackmail

A screenshot from Beatrice Fihn's Twitter account.

Only 6% of Australians support nuclear arms

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese believes that "nuclear weapons are the most destructive, inhumane and indiscriminate weapons ever created." That was the basis for his 2018 motion to commit the Labor Party to supporting the TPNW.

The Labor's 2021 platform included a commitment to signing and ratifying the treaty "after taking account" of factors including the development of "an effective verification and enforcement architecture."

Recently, New Zealand said it was "pleased to observe a positive shift" in Australia's position in the UN vote and "would, of course, welcome any new ratifications as an important step to achieving a nuclear weapon-free world."

The treaty now has 91 signatories, 68 of which have formally ratified it, and it entered into force last year.

An overwhelming majority of Australians backs the government's position. According to an Ipsos poll taken in March, 76% of people support the country signing and ratifying the treaty, while only 6% are opposed.

The real gap is between the profit objectives of the US Big Defense and the peaceful aspirations of Australian people.

AUKUS at stake

In 2021, Australia angered France by canceling a deal to build a fleet of submarines and opting to build nuclear-powered submarines with US and UK technology. According to the new trilateral security pact (AUKUS) between the United States, the UK and Australia, Washington and London will "help" Canberra to develop and deploy nuclear-powered submarines (Figure 2).

Figure 2 The AUKUS debacle

Source: Screenshot via Naval News

The AUKUS deal effectively killed Australia's $90 billion conventional submarine deal with France, thereby causing a major ruckus with Washington's NATO partner.

In addition to technology to build at least eight nuclear-powered submarines, the pact will also cover artificial intelligence and other technologies in one of these countries' biggest defense partnerships in decades. It will make Australia the seventh nation in the world to operate nuclear-powered submarines.

The pact will also escalate regional arms races and nuclear proliferation, which is strongly opposed by China, and it casts a dark shadow over the aims of the Southeast Asian Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone Treaty (SEANWFZ, 1995). Indeed, it will effectively contribute to the erosion of the long-anticipated Asian Century by militarizing the region and dividing its dynamic economic engines.

Winners and losers

If the stakes are so high, why this interest in the weapons of mass destruction? Here's the simple answer: follow the money.

The Pentagon and the Department of Energy have been ramping up a three-decades-long plan to build a new generation of nuclear-armed bombers, submarines and missiles, coupled with new warheads. The price tag for operating current weapons and building new ones could reach a confounding $2 trillion. The cost of nuclear weapons deployment, development, and procurement could soar to $634 billion.

For the fiscal year 2022, the Pentagon budget proposal includes billions of dollars for new nuclear delivery vehicles, with a handful of contractors as the primary beneficiaries, including General Dynamics, Northrop Grumman, Lockheed Martin and Raytheon, along with Huntington Ingalls, Honeywell, and Bechtel. Australia's privilege is to pay the bill.

In June, Australia announced a $585 million settlement with France's Naval Group as compensation for scuppering a submarine contract with Paris. According to current estimates, Australia's nuclear submarines could cost up to $171 billion.

Australia is today among the four largest importers of arms, globally. In 2021, it spent over $1.2 billion on the import of weaponry, according to SIPRI, making the formerly-peaceful nation the world's No.1 importer of deadly capability. Since two-thirds of Australia's military imports come from the US, America's Big Defense is the great beneficiary of the trend (Figure 3).

Figure 3 The Top-4 importers of major arms and their main suppliers, 201721

Source: SIPRI

According to recent disclosures by The Washington Post, the Pentagon's high-level influence operations in Australia have escalated since the mid-2010s. The results are stunning. Between 2012-16 and 2017-21, Australia's share of global arms exports doubled. In the period, that translates to an increase of a stunning 92%; more than in any other arms exporter worldwide, except for South Korea and India.

Economic costs of geopolitics

In Canberra, some conservatives see these trends as positive. They want to turn Australia into a world-class military-industrial complex  a more advanced version of the "arms depots" in Taiwan and Ukraine.

In the past, US-Australian bilateral interests converged in security matters, but diverged in trade and investment. However, a decade ago, I argued in a Reuters analysis that Australia was "no longer immune to the stagnation in the West." Worse, the past decade has witnessed a drastic shift toward hawkish geopolitics at the expense of welfare.

In the 2000s, a more open stance ensured strong growth on the back of China's industrialization. But in the past decade, the return to geopolitics and neoliberalism has derailed progress.

As economic growth is gradually stagnating, military expenditures have increased sixfold in the past two decades. Worse, government debt has increased tenfold in just one decade. As a net effect, income inequality has progressively increased since the 1980s, particularly in the past decade, asthe old egalitarian ideals have been brushed away, polarization and divides of class, race and gender have deepened. (Figure 4)

Figure 4 Demise of egalitarian dreams

Source: TradingEconomics; WID database; DifferenceGroup

Whose national interest?

In January, Australia agreed to a $3.5 billion deal with the US to acquire more than 120 tanks and other armored vehicles to upgrade its military fleet. In November, Australian media reported that up to six US nuclear-capable B-52s would be sent to the Royal Australian Air Force's Tindal base in northern Australia. The move led China to accuse the US of stoking nuclear tensions in the region.

The Albanese government faces the prospect of a blowout in defense spending which reflects annual growth of 7.4% in nominal terms and 3.8% in real terms. While the economy faces prospects of stagnation and the population is aging, defense spending is increasing two to three times faster than economic growth. That's untenable.

The Biden administration has made Australia a central part of its defense strategy. It needs a military-industrial complex in the country which is being forced into the kind of nuclear escalation that two of three Australians oppose.

These strategic objectives are very much in the interest of US Big Defense. But they are not in Australia's national interest.

Dr. Dan Steinbock is an internationally recognized strategist of the multipolar world and the founder of Difference Group. He has served at the India, China and America Institute (USA), Shanghai Institutes for International Studies (China) and the EU Center (Singapore).

The original commentary was published by China-US Focus on Nov 15, 2022.

The views don't necessarily reflect those of China Daily.

If you have a specific expertise, or would like to share your thought about our stories, then send us your writings at [email protected], and [email protected].
Foreign Minister of China, Yang Jiechi said that China will continue to develop friendly cooperation with South Sudan and to take its independence and the establishment of bilateral diplomatic relations as a new beginning.

Yang made the remarks during a meeting with President of Southern Sudan, Salva Kiir Mayardit, during an official visit to South Sudan after concluding a two-day official visit to Khartoum.

Yang said China attaches great importance to developing relations with Southern Sudan and will continue to support efforts to maintain its sovereignty and independence.

The minister said China will also support Southern Sudan in relation to play its own role in the UN and other international and regional organizations and will continue providing aid to south Sudan within its means.

Yang stressed that the two sides should enhance cooperation in the fields of oil, mining, agriculture, infrastructure and construction, China will continue to help South Sudan to improve peoples living conditions.

Salva Kiir Mayardit welcomed Yang as the first Minister of a permanent member of the Security Council of UN visiting South Sudan.

The president said there is great potential for cooperation between China and South Sudan as all areas are developing in this newly established country.

The president said there are no problems between China and South Sudan and South Sudan has always regarded China as an important partner for cooperation.

The president added that South Sudan will further develop its relationship with China and hoped that his country would continue to receive aid from China in the fields of oil, agriculture, health and education.

China Will Develop Friendly Cooperation With South Sudanadded by chinatimesonline on

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President Xi Jinping meets with French President Emmanuel Macron in Bali,bovada random jackpot winners Indonesia, Nov 15, 2022. [Photo/Xinhua]

President Xi Jinping and French President Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday vowed to bolster communication and coordination in response to global challenges ranging from climate change to food security. They made the commitments on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in Bali, Indonesia, during their first face-to-face meeting since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The high-level exchanges the two countries have maintained and the joint stand they seek to take are a boon to the world amid the complex and volatile international situation.

Saying the consequences of the Russia-Ukraine conflict stretch beyond Europe's frontiers, both leaders agreed on the urgency for de-escalation and the need to prevent any use of nuclear weapons.

The talks between the two leaders underscored the close coordination between the two countries and the great importance the two sides attach to their relations, which were upgraded to a comprehensive strategic partnership in 2004, the first between China and a major Western country.

The two countries have developed robust economic and trade relations in recent years, and see eye to eye with each other on such key global issues as multilateralism, economic globalization and climate change. All this has laid a solid foundation for the sound and healthy development of Sino-French relationship.

Indeed, among the major Western powers France stands out with a foreign policy tradition that features independence from external influence, a virtue that has been inherited by nearly every French leader since General Charles de Gaulle. In fact, France was the first Western country to establish diplomatic relations with the People's Republic of China in 1964.

Thus it comes as no surprise that Xi, during his talks with Macron, emphasized a spirit of independence and autonomy when speaking on how to further develop China-France and China-EU relations. He noted that both China and France are important forces in the multipolar world, and the two countries should respect each other's core interests and major concerns and deepen pragmatic cooperation in such areas as green energy, aviation and nuclear energy.

As a key member of the European Union, France can also play a key role in promoting China-EU economic and trade cooperation, since the mutual trust and friendship between China and France, and the strategic autonomy France upholds are conducive to the strengthening of China-EU relations.

Last year, China-EU trade exceeded $800 billion for the first time while investments exceeded $270 billion. In the first eight months of this year, total trade between China and the EU amounted to $575.22 billion, up 8.8 percent year-on-year, and the EU's investment in China totaled $7.45 billion, up 121.5 percent year-on-year.

All this bodes well for future Sino-French and Sino-EU relations.
A senior Chinese official has called for improvements to peoples livelihoods,only winning tips crypto for idiots ethnic unity and frontier security in southwest Chinas Yunnan Province, a region bordering Myanmar.

Zhou Yongkang, a Standing Committee member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, said during an inspection tour of Yunnan between Oct. 27 and 29 that public security bureaus should strengthen border inspection and crack down hard on drug smuggling and terrorism.

Zhous visit came just over a month after a Myanmar drug runner and five of his gang members stood trial for the murder of 13 sailors on the Mekong River in the Golden Triangle Region on Oct. 5, 2011. Naw Kham, the principal suspect, pleaded guilty to murder in a local court in Yunnan. The verdict has yet to be announced.

Visiting the public security bureau in Yunnans Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Prefecture, which investigated the murdering case, Zhou extended his gratitude to its contribution to seizing the suspects.

Zhou, also secretary of the CPC Central Commission for Political and Legal Affairs, praised the Kunming City Intermediate Peoples Court in the provincial capital for its innovation in hearing the murder case.

It is a severe transnational criminal case, which attracted great attention from the Party, government and people, Zhou said, adding the case was busted with the assistance of relevant nations and Chinas law enforcement authorities at all levels.

Some law enforcement staff even gave their lives investigating the case, said Zhou, who extended his condolence to the judicial staff.

The senior official expressed hope that judicial authorities can do solid work in sentencing Naw Kham and his associates, using facts as a basis and the law as criterion, so that the case will stand the test of law, history and people.

With a length of almost 5,000 km, the Mekong is one of the most important waterways in Southeast Asia, linking China, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam. It plays a crucial economic role among the Greater Mekong Sub-region countries.

Cargo ferries, though briefly suspended following the murders, resumed services on the river in December.

Xinhua

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China's Permanent Representative to the UN Zhang Jun speaks at the UN headquarters in New York.(Photo: Xinhua)

China has always hoped that the UN General Assembly resolutions will reflect the situation in Afghanistan in a comprehensive and objective manner, rather than be biased toward individual countries, Chinese envoy at the United Nations said on Thursday explaining Chinas decision of abstaining from the vote on issues relating to Afghanistan.Zhang Jun, China's permanent representative to the United Nations, said that the draft resolution, regrettably, is unbalanced especially on a series of important issues such as unfreezing Afghan assets abroad, investigating crimes committed by foreign forces in Afghanistan, and the risk of proliferation of weapons left behind in Afghanistan. These issues should not be ignored in the resolution, said Zhang.The Afghan people are waiting for an explanation of the crimes committed by foreign troops in Afghanistan, and the countries that are mainly responsible for the current situation must seriously reflect on the mistakes and take appropriate assistance for the countrys development. The practice of political blockade and isolation will not solve the problem, but will exacerbate the suffering of the Afghan people, said the Chinese envoy.With the hasty withdrawal of foreign troops from Afghanistan last year, the 20-year war in Afghanistan ended in chaos. History has once again proved that military intervention doesnt work in Afghanistan, and that the fate of the country must be in the hands of the Afghan people themselves.As a neighbor of Afghanistan, China has actively supported the countrys peaceful development. In the past year, the Chinese government provided 300 million yuan in emergency aid to Afghanistan and actively implemented 1 billion yuan in bilateral aid.Starting next month, China will implement zero tariff on 98 percent of items imported from Afghanistan, which is another important initiative to support the local people with practical actions to generate income and improve their livelihood.China will continue to work with the international community to support Afghanistan's participation in regional cooperation and connectivity, unleash its geopolitical advantages, and achieve stability and prosperity.Delegations from other countries including Pakistan also pointed out that the international community needs to engage meaningfully with the Afghan Taliban if it is to help Afghanistan develop.Global Times
Foreign direct investment (FDI) inflow into China shrank by 7.3 percent year on year to 9.27 billion U.S. dollars in the first month of 2013,ignition casino sign up the Ministry of Commerce (MOC) said Wednesday.

The pace of decline quickened from 4.5 percent registered for December. The countrys FDI inflow has been declining since June as the global economy falters and Chinas labor costs increase.

In January, the manufacturing sector, which received the largest share of Chinas FDI, used a total of 4.43 billion U.S. dollars of overseas investment, down 5.8 percent year on year, MOC data showed.

FDI for the service sector marked a greater decline. The sector used 4.03 billion U.S. dollars of overseas investment in January, down 9.8 percent year on year. Particularly, FDI in the property sector dipped 14 percent year on year, the data indicated.

Although the January FDI figures have dropped, there are some positive signs, MOC spokesman Shen Danyang told a press conference here.

In January, the European Union invested a total of 820 million U.S. dollars in Chinese enterprises, up 81.8 percent from a year ago. A total of 140 new enterprises were founded in China due to EU investment, up 30.8 percent year on year, according to the MOC.

In general, the number of new foreign-invested companies rose 34.3 percent to 1,883 in January.

Despite so, we can not judge the whole-year trend based on a single months data. As I mentioned last month, the impetus of FDIs future growth has not vanished and the investment scale is expected to stay stable in 2013. Shen said.

As outside uncertainties remain, the general situation will be grim, he noted, citing UN figures showing the transnational direct investment dwindled 18 percent last year, with that in Asia dropping 9.5 percent.

China remains the second largest FDI destination after the United States, he said.

In contrast to the shrinking FDI, Chinas Overseas Direct Investment (ODI) increased 12.3 percent year on year to 4.91 billion U.S. dollars in January. The figure excluded the investment in the financial sector.

Xinhua

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One of the two largest purchasers of Iranian oil in China  the company Unipec (China International United Petroleum & Chemicals Co., Ltd.), subsidiary of Sinopec  will reduce its purchases of Iranian oil this year. The other major Chinese buyer  the state-owned oil trader Zhuhai Zhenrong  will remain the same amount of purchases to 240,000 barrels per day.

Its difficult to specify how much lower will be the volume of Unipecs purchases. Last year, it bought 260,000 barrels of Iranian oil per day.

Market participants expect that China, by contrast, will increase purchases of oil in Iran against the backdrop of a European embargo, which may leave the Islamic republic with no foreign exchange earnings. This years negotiations on the supply of crude oil between the two countries was delayed, although the agreements are usually in January. Market participants believe that China is trying to capitalize the situation and force Tehran to reduce the price of oil.

Even if China will reduce imports from Iran, it still remains the largest market for Tehran. Last year, Beijing increased its purchases by 30 percent to a record 555,000 barrels a day. The Islamic Republic is the third largest supplier of oil to China by the seller after Saudi Arabia and Angola.

Iran has already faced a shortage of currency and other difficulties caused by the oil embargo by the European Union. The ban on the purchase of crude oil in the Islamic republic will come into full force on 1 July this year. Iran threatens to cut off supplies before then, without giving the EU the possibility of finding other sellers of oil. In particular, February 19, Tehran has stopped the sale of crude oil to French and British companies. A day later, according to Agence France-Presse, Iran has threatened to cut supplies to a few European countries including Spain, Italy, Greece, Portugal, Germany and Holland.

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Chinas largest inland port, the port of Alataw Pass () in Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, saw its foreign trade value reach 17.4 billion U.S. dollars last year, up by 46.5 percent from the previous year.

Last year, China imported 18.62 million tonnes of goods through the port, with an import value of 14 billion U.S. dollars. Exports hit 1.72 million tonnes with a value of 3.4 billion U.S. dollars, according to the Customs of Urumqi, capital of Xinjiang.

Bordering Kazakhstan, the port of Alataw Pass has a combination of railway, highway and pipeline transports. Crude oil, petroleum products, electrolytic copper and cotton are the main imports through the port.

Chinas largest inland port foreign trade up by 46.5%added by chinatimesonline on

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Trump goes after 'Ron DeSanctimonious' again after Florida governor's re-election

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Fox News Kevin Corke reports on the battle for control of Congress with key races in Arizona, Nevada and Georgia still too close to call and discusses former President Trump taking a dig at Gov. Ron DeSantis.

Comedy Central host Charlamagne Tha God sounded the alarm for Democrats that they have "nobody" who can win the presidency in 2024.

During a panel discussion about the midterms on Thursday's installment of "Hell of a Week," Charlamagne acknowledged Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is "looking strong" after he won re-election by a nearly 20-point margin, saying he's "like Trump but with a functioning bladder."

While he speculated whether DeSantis is able to "take the party away" from former President Donald Trump, one thing Charlamagne seemed certain of was that neither one of them will face a formidable Democratic foe in the next election cycle.

CHARLAMAGNE THA GOD HITS BIDEN FOR DEFENDING HUNTER: CHOSE TO LOCK UP INSTEAD OF HELP BLACK DRUG OFFENDERS

"Hell of a Week" host Charlamagne Tha God sounded the alarm that Democrats have "nobody" to defeat either former President Trump or Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis in 2024. (Screenshot/Comedy Central)

"We know in 2024, it's gonna be DeSantis or Trump, but I think what should scare people is that the Democrats don't got nobody," Charlamagne said.

"So I disagree with that," Rep. Jamaal Bowman, D-N.Y., pushed back.

"Who do you think the Democrats got?" Charlamagne asked.

AS DESANTIS SAILS TOWARDS RE-ELECTION, FLORIDA NEWSPAPERS ENDORSE CRIST IN HOPES OF OUSTING BULLY GOVERNOR

"I think we have a long bench," Bowman responded. "So we have Elizabeth Warren, who's a possibility-"

"C'mon," Charlamagne mocked the suggestion.

Bowman also floated Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, even himself.

"You think America is ready to vote for a progressive like that?" Charlamagne asked about Ocasio-Cortez.

"Absolutely, absolutely," Bowman responded. "The largest growing voting block in the country are millennials and Gen Z. That's her base, that's her generation, she could absolutely get it done."

HOUSE DEMOCRAT CAMPAIGN CHIEF BLASTS AOC AFTER NEW YORK LOSSES: I DIDNT SEE HER ONE MINUTE' HELPING

"And again, Jamaal Bowman might be on the ballot in 2024. Who knows," Bowman continued. "It's about shifting the consciousnesses of America and painting a vision of what's possible. No one on the Republican side can do that and no tradition Democrats are doing that like our more progressive base in the House.

"I mean this respectfully, I ain't hearing nobody that can beat DeSantis and Trump," Charlamagne told the lawmaker.

Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-NY) speaks at the National Action Networks (NAN) three-day annual national convention on April 07, 2022 in New York City. (Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

Charlmagne later swiped Democrats for taking a victory lap following the results of the midterm elections, which can still result in Republicans retaking Congress.

"That's not a win if the GOP gets the House and the Senate," the Comedy Central host said.

Bowman responded by pointing out how Republicans came drastically short of the "red wave" that was expected, saying their potential single-digit gains in the House of Representatives "is not a win."

BILL MAHER MARVELS AT GOP POPULARITY AMONG HISPANIC VOTERS: DEMOCRATS' PANDERING HASN'T WORKED

"That means they still have to work with us to get things done in the House, especially when you have a Democratic president," Bowman said. "There was a red wave in New York state though, which is very problematic because this is a Democratic state and it's because Democrats continued to out-Republican the Republican."

"What does that mean?" Charlamagne asked.

"So, you know, we take their narrative on crime, for example, and try to tell it in a better way when we should be, again, shifting the consciousness of focusing on poverty, focusing on mental health, focusing on substance abuse, focusing on the issues that we know lead to crime in the first place and focusing on rehabilitation," Bowman said. "Democrats have failed at that and we failed, to your point, of connecting to the grassroots and connecting with real people in the hood who have been disengaged. We have to do a better job of targeting them and bringing them into the process."

Congressional candidate Mike Lawler delivers a speech to supporters before knowing the final results during an election night party, Wednesday, Nov. 9, 2022, in Pearl River, N.Y. ((AP Photo/Eduardo Munoz Alvarez))

As Bowman pointed out, Republicans made big gains in New York despite falling short at the top of the ticket.

While GOP gubernatorial candidate Lee Zeldin failed to oust Democratic New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, he is being credited for helping carry several House candidates to flip blue seats red.

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Among them are Rep.-elect Mike Lawler, who defeated Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney, the head of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee in charge of getting his party's candidates over the finish line.

Joseph A. Wulfsohn is a media reporter for Fox News Digital. Story tips can be sent to [email protected] and on Twitter: @JosephWulfsohn.
Chinas top political advisor Jia Qinglin delivered a report on the work of the countrys top political advisory body at the opening meeting of its annual full session which started in the Great Hall of the People Saturday afternoon.

Following are highlights of the Work Report of the Standing Committee of the Chinese Peoples Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) National Committee, which was distributed to journalists upon the opening of the session:



LENDING WISDOM TO ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND REFORM

 During the Fourth Plenary Session of the 11th CPPCC National Committee, political advisors deliberated and offered suggestions on major economic issues and submitted 6,076 proposals and made 774 speeches. Many of their comments and suggestions were incorporated into the 12th Five-Year Plan and the Party and governments special plans and policy documents.

 Political advisors made 85 inspection tours and investigations and studies on special topics, attended a special meeting of the Standing Committee concerning major issues in the implementation of the 12th Five-Year Plan and submitted a number of high-quality comments and suggestions.

 This year, the Standing Committee of CPPCC National Committee will coordinate the democratic parties, federations of industry and commerce, subcommittees of the CPPCC National Committee, and local CPPCC committees in making proposals and suggestions on major economic issues.



WORKING FOR CULTURAL REFORM

 Over the past year, the CPPCC made full use of its personnel and resource advantages and channels of communication to participate in socialist cultural development and made positive contributions.

 The Standing Committee of CPPCC National Committee worked with the democratic parties, Party and government departments, local CPPCC committees, and cultural institutions, and made significant progress in protecting the Shudao Cultural Route and applying for it and West Lake in Hangzhou to be included in the UNESCO World Cultural Heritage List.

 The CPPCC actively gave impetus to taking outstanding traditional Chinese culture global and held the Beijing Forum on Passing on and Developing Chinese Dramatic Arts in the mainland, Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan.

 The Standing Committee will organize CPPCC National Committee members, especially those who are experts and celebrities in the cultural field, and unite with people from all sectors to carry out investigations and discussions on major cultural issues this year.



PROMOTING SOCIAL HARMONY

 In the past year the Standing Committee of CPPCC National Committee received and dealt with 60,522 letters and visits of CPPCC committee members and the people.

 It composed and submitted to the central leadership 252 reports on social conditions and popular sentiment, and reported 1,896 comments and suggestions.

 Investigations and studies were conducted on developing ethnic minority areas on the countrys borders, urbanizing ethnic autonomous counties and banners, and providing Xinjiang with one-to-one assistance.

 This year it will carry out investigations, studies, deliberation and democratic oversight on major issues in social development.

 It will intensify the work of passing on information concerning social conditions and popular sentiment; properly handle peoples letters and visits to the CPPCC; keep channels open and free for collecting and reporting information.



BOOSTING CROSS-STRAIT EXCHANGES

 Investigations and studies were conducted in the past year on how to stimulate the development of Taiwan-funded small and medium-sized enterprises and promote cross-Strait agricultural cooperation.

 The Standing Committee of CPPCC National Committee conscientiously listened to the desires and requests of Taiwan business people who run such enterprises or agricultural pioneer parks, and passed their views on to the central leadership.

 This year it will do researches on how to deepen cross-Strait cultural exchanges and get the people of Taiwan, especially young people, to identify more closely with the Chinese nation and culture.



EXPANDING INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION

 Over the past year, the Standing Committee of CPPCC National Committee sent 39 delegations to 56 countries for state visits or to attend international conferences; hosted 11 visiting delegations from 10 countries and one regional organization.

 A delegation from the CPPCC National Committee made an official visit to the United Nations and addressed the 19th Session of the UN Commission on Sustainable Development.

 It successfully held the ninth and tenth sessions of the Sino-EU Round Table in collaboration with the European Economic and Social Committee and promoted the establishment of a round table exchange mechanism for the economic and social councils and similar institutions in BRICS countries.

 This year it will continue high-level visits with foreign countries, develop traditional friendships, increase mutual political trust with relevant countries, and strive to win the international communitys understanding of and support for China.

 It will support the China Committee on Religion and Peace to participate in the World Conference on Religion and Peace and other international conferences and forums.



MARKING REVOLUTION OF 1911, CPC FOUNDING

 The Standing Committee of CPPCC National Committee focused on the theme of revitalizing China and rejuvenating the Chinese nation, and carefully organized activities under the leadership of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee to commemorate the centenary of the Revolution of 1911.

 The CPPCC held a grand celebration for the 90th anniversary of the founding of the CPC, studied and implemented the guiding principles of General Secretary Hu Jintaos important speech on July 1.



WELCOMING CPC NATIONAL CONGRESS

 The Standing Committee of CPPCC National Committee will make sure all the work of welcoming the 18th CPC National Congress is done well under the unified arrangements of the CPC Central Committee.

Press

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Staff members work at the NATO Headquarters in Brussels,winning slots del lago sportsbook Belgium, March 24, 2022. [Photo/Xinhua]

As a relic of the Cold War, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization should long ago have been laid to rest. Yet despite the more temperate times that followed the disintegration of the Soviet Union, it was kept animated by ideological summoners on both sides of the Atlantic who claimed that it still had a role to play.

Thus in the guise of a peacemaker, it was sent to meddle in various regional and international affairs. In recent years, with the incantation of the noble trinity  "human rights, democracy and peace"  ringing in its ears, it has compounded the suffering in Syria, Afghanistan, Libya and former Yugoslavia.

NATO's relentless stretching of its legs eastward has also been the reason for the ongoing Ukraine conflict as it totally ignored Russia's legitimate security concerns, pushing it into a corner.

And say what you like about the Joe Biden administration, but its powers of necromancy are undeniable. It has transformed what was acknowledged to be a brain dead alliance into a blood-lusting zombie, which, while still brainless, is malleable to manipulation by presenting it with a virtualized reality in which the Cold War has never ended.

The upshot, as Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov noted during a news conference at the conclusion of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations summit in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, on Sunday, is that NATO is no longer a purely defensive alliance as intended. Indeed, it no longer claims to be.

Following the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, the other NATO countries lost no time in joining the US in fanning the flames of the conflict by providing Ukraine with funds and weapons, turning the hostilities into a proxy war for NATO. And Lavrov warned that NATO, not content with the chaos it has wrought so far, now has its eyes set on Southeast Asia.

Instead of acknowledging the widespread harmful consequences of their actions in Europe, which are many, the leaders of the NATO states have chosen to view their actions through bourbon-tinted glasses and heady from their excess are enthusiastically encouraging the US' Asia-Pacific allies to join their revelry. By breathing new life into the US' old alliances with countries in the region such as Japan and Australia, and forcing others in the region to take sides in the US-instigated endeavor to contain China's rise and development, NATO is clearly set to extend its troublemaking to the Asia-Pacific region.

The essence of the US' "Indo-Pacific strategy" is to revive the Cold War tactic of bloc-to-bloc confrontation and zero-sum games in the region and by means of a bloated and battle-hungry NATO impose its will on the region.

Given NATO's notorious history in meddling in regional affairs plus its defiance of international law and penchant for selfish gains at the expense of other's security interests, allowing NATO to gain a foothold in the Asia-Pacific would spell calamity for the region.

Through the hard work and concerted efforts of regional countries, the Asia-Pacific has become one of the most peaceful and stable regions in the world. The attempt to conjure NATO or a doppelganger into the region should be rejected by the regional countries.
Thedunia777 slot German Customs port of Hamburg has achieved success in the fight against organized cigarette smuggling. As a spokesman for the Customs Service announced on Thursday, investigators were able to confiscate a total of 13 million counterfeit cigarettes from China. Prevented the fiscal damage amounts to  2.6 million.

The action lasted several weeks. The first cargo of 1.6 million have been discovered in the Hamburg harbor in early May. The customs agency said that officials had identified on radiographs of the containers of counterfeit goods. For the cigarette packages were hidden behind granite stones  not visible from the outside. Three more containers with five million counterfeit brand cigarettes Marlboro and L & M were then also withdrawn from circulation. In the last week once again achieved a success: 6.4 million smuggled goods arrived at the port and were seized.

The customs authority explained that the merchandise was shipped from China. These smuggled goods were to be further sent to Poland via Hamburg. Presumably, the cigarettes were destined for the market in England and Germany. In Western Europe these brands will be especially popular. Thus, the customs investigation could be assured that the goods were counterfeit, samples were sent to the original manufacturer and tested there.

Currently, the officials are tracking down the suspects to investigate if they were in contact with the neighboring countries of Germany.

This year in Hamburg the customs authority has already seized twice as many untaxed cigarettes as throughout the past year.

German Customs Seized 13 Million Counterfeit Cigarettes from Chinaadded by chinatimesonline on

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Leaders of China and the European Union (EU) on Tuesday underscored the importance of beefing up economic and trade cooperation in the context of the stagnant world economy.

Thesporting times online betting call came from the 14th China-EU summit in Beijing, which was attended by Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao, European Council President Herman Van Rompuy and European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso.

It is currently the most urgent task for China and the EU to enhance economic and trade cooperation, Wen said at a press conference after the summit, during which he raised a five-point proposal to the EU side in this respect.

He suggested that the two sides should expand mutual investment, promote the balanced and sustainable development of bilateral trade, strengthen cooperation on scientific research and innovation, deepen energy and environmental protection cooperation and advance the partnership in urbanization.

Wen pointed out during the summit that with the global financial crisis still affecting the world in terms of politics, economics and security, it is the current trend for each nation to promote reform and widely participate in international cooperation.

Wen proposed strengthening China-EU cooperation with the following five points.

First, the two sides need to expand the bilateral trade scale. China is willing to import more products from the EU and promote balanced trade. China hopes the EU will relax its export control against China, carefully use trade remedy measures and create a favorable environment for the stable development of bilateral trade.

Second, the two sides should launch negotiations on a two-way investment agreement as soon as possible, so as to lay a legal foundation for the expansion of bilateral investment and consolidate the confidence of investors.

China welcomes European enterprises to invest in the Chinese market, Wen said, noting that China will continue to expand market access for EU enterprises, improve laws and regulations on foreign investments, enhance intellectual property rights (IPR) protection, and optimize the investment environment.

He also called on the EU side to maintain market openness and facilitate project examination and approval procedures, personnel exchanges, policy consulting and information exchanges.

Third, the two sides should strengthen cooperation in scientific research and innovation, particularly in areas of space technology and energy technology.

Fourth, China hopes to hold a high-level China-EU energy conference to determine priorities for cooperation.

Wen also said China and EU should launch new projects in environmental protection and the development of electric auto vehicles.

Fifth, on the issue of urbanization, the two sides should cooperate in areas of city planning, smart transportation system, building energy efficiency and garbage disposal.

Describing the relations between the EU and China as interrelated, Van Rompuy called on the two sides to convert the bilateral strategic partnership into new opportunities.

The EU is Chinas largest trade partner, while China is close to being the EUs largest trading partner, he said, noting that the bilateral trade volume per day has exceeded 1 billion euros.

Van Rompuy called on the two sides to provide convenience for bilateral trade and investment, in an effort to improve bilateral trade relations.

In order to boost economic development and employment, he suggested that the long-term strategy of EU-China cooperation should focus on innovation, scientific research and technology, energy, networks as well as a new partnership on sustainable urbanization.

With regards to granting full market economy status to China, Van Rompuy said the two sides have listed the issue in the joint statement which will be released after the summit.

The two sides have attached great importance to, and stepped up their efforts in, addressing the issue, and will resolve it in the fastest and most comprehensive way, he said, citing Article 10 of the statement.

Although the issue remains unresolved, the two sides have a strong political will to settle it, he said, noting that the consensus was an important contribution made by the summit.

In the press conference, Barroso voiced the EUs support for Chinas restructuring of its economic growth pattern, which will focus on boosting domestic demand.

He expressed satisfaction over bilateral trade relations, noting that prosperous trade relations have boosted employment, innovation and economic growth for both sides.

According to statistics, the bilateral trade volume has reached 560 billion euros.

Barroso stressed the importance of creating a fair and open competition environment for both sides businesses, which will encourage growth and innovation.

In 2012, the EU and China will start a series of negotiations, and the most important among them will be negotiations on a two-way investment agreement, he said.

Regarding EU-Chinas new partnership on sustainable urbanization, Barroso said the program will push forward the development of the green economy, urban planning, energy security and migration management for both sides.

The EU and China are determined to make joint efforts in coping with a multitude of global challenges, he said, noting that the two sides have reached strategic consensus at the summit on maintaining stable and sustainable economic growth and will jointly work toward this goal.

Xinhua

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Shanghai Air Gun Factory,billionaire casino best slot machine the oldest Air Gun Factory in China, sold 50% shares of its subsidiary to Cybergun, the world leader in recreational shooting.

Cybergun announces the acquisition of 50% stake in Shanghai Gongzi Machinery Manufacturing Co. Ltd, a subsidiary of Shanghai Air Gun (SAG). The acquisition, which should be ratified soon by the Chinese authorities, will be conducted in two stages: Cybergun plans to acquire 33% stake immediately and have an option on additional 17% exercisable over the next two years.

For over 50 years, SAG has a reputation for its range of rifles and pistols driven by compressed air. SAG has launched its new products successfully in many countries like the United States, Europe, Africa and the Middle East, producing over 300,000 pieces per year. The company has 300 employees and a plant covers an area of 20,000 square meters next to Shanghai.

This vertical integration is a unique strategic opportunity for the company to benefit from its own production plant in China to produce and export its products with Chinese government approval. The acquisition of 50% of SAG Chinese factory gives Cybergun group new strengths and enormous potential for growth.

Oldest Air Gun Factory in China Acquired by Cybergunadded by chinatimesonline on

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The Anhui, the Chinese Peoples Liberation Army Navys third Type 075 amphibious assault ship, conducts realistic combat-oriented training. Photo: Screenshot of PLA Navys Sina Weibo account

The Anhui, the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) Navy's third Type 075 amphibious assault ship, recently conducted realistic combat-oriented training, the PLA Navy announced on Thursday. This indicates that the vessel has entered active service, analysts said.With the hull number 33, thecarried out the exercises in an undisclosed sea region, the PLA Navy announced on Thursday.This is the first time the PLA Navy has unveiled its third Type 075 amphibious assault ship and the vessel's name and hull number, observers said.It indicates that thehas been commissioned into the PLA Navy and is on its way to forming combat capabilities, a Chinese military expert who requested anonymity told the Global Times on Thursday.With the experience gathered by the first two Type 075 amphibious assault ships, theand the, thecould achieve initial operational capability faster, the expert said.The Type 075 amphibious assault ship is widely believed to be a vital instrument of the PLA Navy in safeguarding China's national sovereignty, security, territorial integrity and its development interests in the Taiwan question as well as the South China Sea issue, analysts said.Thewas launched in Shanghai in January 2021, according to media reports.
Chinese President Xi Jinping meets with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese in Bali,bsc cryptomine Indonesia, Nov 15, 2022. XINHUA

The meeting between Chinese President Xi Jinping and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Tuesday on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in Bali, Indonesia, should serve as a harbinger for the mending of the damaged bilateral relations between the two countries.

Just as President Xi said in the talks, China and Australia are both important countries in the Asia-Pacific region, and they need to improve, uphold and further develop their relationship, which not only serves the fundamental interests of the two peoples but also helps to promote peace and development in the Asia-Pacific region and beyond.

Xi said that there are no fundamental conflicting interests between China and Australia. Instead, the two countries have a traditional people-to-people friendship, highly complementary economic structures, and shared commitment to the purposes and principles of the UN Charter.

Indeed, the "potential illicit Chinese political influence" Australia has galvanized to counter the "Chinese military presence" in the South China Sea that some Australian politicians consider to be a potential threat to the country's national security is nothing but a pretext some Australian politicians have fabricated to follow the strategy of the United States to contain the rise of China.

These politicians have turned a blind eye to the fact that it is not in the national interest of Australia for it to blindly follow the strategy of the US in its geopolitical game.

As a result of their blinkered view of relations, trade between the two countries has been impaired, and Australian enterprises engaged in trade with China have suffered. China's trade with Australia has also suffered. No wonder, the damaged bilateral relations, as President Xi said, are the last thing China wants to see.

It is natural for countries with different political systems and cultures to have differences and disagree on some issues as far as the international situation or global governance is concerned. What is of consequence though is into what perspective politicians put such differences and disagreements.

China has consistently maintained that it pursues a peaceful development path. It is natural for China to modernize its military as all countries do. It is disingenuous of some Western politicians to cry in alarm about a "China threat". That is all much ado about nothing.

It has been five years since relations between Australia and China met with difficulties. This year marks the 50th anniversary of the establishment of their diplomatic relations, which should be an opportunity for endeavors on both sides to mend their relations.

For Australia, it is important to think about how it can well manage the differences and disagreements between the two countries and not let them stand in the way of improving political trust between them, and thereafter gradually bring bilateral ties onto the right track.
Philippine Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Erlinda Basilio and Chinese Vice Minister Fu Ying held talks to try to build stronger bilateral ties. They met formally for the first time in Manila Friday after months of tension over a territorial dispute in the South China Sea.



Seeking better relations

The vice minister also visited with Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario.

Were very happy to see the vice minister and we are looking to see what can be done in order to strengthen relations, he said.

Del Rosario told reporters the two sides are seeking more normal dealings in trade, investments, tourism and other areas after relations soured in April.

That was when the Philippines complained that about a dozen Chinese vessels poached endangered species in waters in the South China Sea that Manila claims. This led to ships facing off near Scarborough Shoal, also known as Huangyan Island, some 230 kilometers west of Zambales province in the Philippines.

Del Rosario says the Philippines indicated what it felt was needed to normalize the situation between the two countries.

I think, bottom line, weve agreed to disagree and we will work on trying to find out how we can bring our positions closer, he said.



South China Sea disputes

China, the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Taiwan and Brunei have claims to all or parts of the South China Sea. The sea has rich fishing, straddles some heavily traveled shipping lanes and is believed to hold vast oil and gas reserves.

The Philippines stakes its territorial claims on the basis of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, while China bases its claims on centuries-old maps. To resolve the disagreement, the Philippines wants to negotiate a multilateral agreement with input from members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. China rejects that approach, saying it prefers to deal with claimant countries one on one.

Vice Minister Fu also paid a courtesy call to President Benigno Aquino. Fu delivered a message from President Hu Jintao saying that China wants to move relations between the two sides forward.

This week President Aquino said he has seen a little bettering of the situation with China compared to where relations were at the height of the standoff. He said he was hopeful that relations would further improve by the time Chinas new leadership is expected to be in place next March.

Simone Orendain

China, Philippines hold talks after months of tensionsadded by chinatimesonline on

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Canada has invested nearly US$10 billion in Peru's mining sector, but if the banking and transportation segments are considered, the capital reaches US$14 billion, he said in remarks to he said in remarks to El Peruano Official Gazette





How has trade between Peru and Canada evolved since August 2009, when the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between both countries entered into force?





Trade between Peru and Canada has doubled because now the value of exports and imports is US$5.7 billion per year. When you talk about trade between both countries, you think about the import of wheat to Peru to make bread and cookies, while minerals are exported to Canada.





However, what we expect in the following years is a diversification of the products that are exchanged. Non-traditional products are available now, as well as a variety of types of operations, because an increased participation of small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), which take advantage of the FTA, is currently perceived.





What was your impression of Perumin, held on September 25-29 in Arequipa, in which Canada was considered as a partner country?





We had a pavilion at Perumin. The delegation members told me that it was a success because they held very good meetings with Peruvian entrepreneurs, authorities, and representatives of institutions to make progress in the issue of bilateral trade. We are very happy with that.





Which sectors in Peru arouse the interest of Canadian entrepreneurs?





Of course we have to talk about mining as Canada has already invested US$10 billion in this sector, but in total US$14 billion is registered, considering the banking and transportation segments.





The mining sector is important since both Canada and Peru are major producers of minerals. So, there is a lot of experience on both sides, which can be shared.





And infrastructure?





Maybe in projects at artisan fishers' piers. We discussed that issue with the Ministry of Production (Produce) , but there are other projects in which we are highly interested, because Canada relies on this government-to-government agreements model, and I know that Peruvian authorities are currently interested in this scheme in order to close infrastructure gaps, as is the case of the Lima and Callao Metro.





And what about Lines 3 and 4 of the Lima and Callao Metro?





Exactly, considering that Canada has a lot of experience in this sector and top engineering companies, which are already present in Peru as they operate in the mining sector.





Many Peruvians travel or wish to travel to Canada. What opportunities can they find in your country?

The number of Peruvian students traveling to Canada doubled last year, because there are very good academic institutions, universities, and schools in my country.

Peruvian students traveling to Canada are very interested in pursuing post-graduate studies or exchange programs at some universities in order to study in Canada for one semester and then return to Peru with a new experience.

That is also one of our priorities since the bonds that are formed when you are young remain intact, so they will be friends of Canada forever. Besides, we offer temporary work permit programs, and Canada receives many immigrant workers at this moment because there is a labor shortage. Information regarding procedures, conditions, and criteria is available on our website , and one of the most important requirements is to speak French or English.

After participating at Perumin and exploring the opportunities that our country presents for Canadian investors, what is your perception about the current situation in Peru?

It was a tremendous week. The Canadian companies that took part at Perumin are very pleased. Therefore, there is a positive vibe, an enthusiasm for Peru.





(END) DOP/WRR/JJN/RMB/MVB
Five years after the initiation of negotiations, China yesterday delivered a list of five Mexican companies which are allowed to export pork to Chinese market, said yesterday the Mexican Foreign Minister Patricia Espinosa.

We have formally received from the Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi the document certifying the companies that can export pork to China, Espinosa said at the end of the fifth meeting of the China-Mexico Permanent Binational Commission held in Beijing.

The Foreign Minister, who led the delegation of 40 people from 10 Mexican institutions visited China, was optimistic when asked about when those five companies may export to China.

However, Mexican diplomatic sources pointed out that despite the adoption, the Chinese authorities require two certificates so that the arrival of Mexican pork will take at least three to six months.

The Mexican pork producers have over 30 years of experience in markets such as Japan, South Korea and the US.

Espinosa also said that the Mexican delegation, which involved officials of the ministries of foreign affairs and economics, also called for greater speed in the adoption of phytosanitary certificates by China.

The Minister said that Mexico is seeking to export to China products such as lemon, meat and poultry, mango and avocado from other parts of the country.

Espinosa was received by Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping, who was considered the future head of the Chinese state after the transition of power in October this year.

The Mexican foreign minister said that the meeting was extremely cordial.

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29 September 2023, Cairo, Egypt  Sudan has declared a cholera outbreak in Gedaref State, where 264 suspected cholera cases, 4 confirmed cases and 16 associated deaths had been reported by 25 September 2023. Investigations are ongoing to determine whether cholera has also spread to Khartoum and South Kordofan states, where increased cases of acute watery diarrhoea have been reported.

Dr Nima Abid, WHO Representative in Sudan, visited Gedaref State on 17 September 2023 and met with health authorities and partners to coordinate the response. Unhindered access to affected and neighbouring localities is essential to respond effectively to the ongoing outbreak, said Dr Abid. A cholera outbreak can have a devastating effect in the context of a health system already overstretched because of war, shortages of medical supplies and health workers, malnutrition and access challenges.

Even before the outbreak was declared, WHO had already provided cholera supplies, including antibiotics, oral rehydration solution and intravenous fluids, to 6 states, including Gedaref, Khartoum and South Kordofan, as well as rapid diagnostic test kits to all 18 states of Sudan. WHO was also supporting 3 cholera isolation centres in Gedaref State  2 of them with medicines and health supplies, and fully supporting the final centre with the provision of equipment and medical supplies.

Earlier this year, more than 2800 Sudanese health workers took part in an online capacity-building programme conducted by WHO on the management of acute watery diarrhoea in times of crisis. Another online training course, on cholera, dengue and malaria management protocols, took place this week, for more than 8000 Sudanese health workers. On-the-job training on surveillance and standard case management for cholera and other infectious diseases was also conducted in Gedaref for 185 health workers.

Currently, WHO is deploying rapid response teams to the affected localities and is actively supporting the Ministry of Health to transfer samples of suspected cholera cases to the Public Health Laboratory in Port Sudan, a facility capacitated by WHO to provide a national reference service. Surveillance is ongoing in affected and high-risk areas to identify and address risk factors. Plans have been initiated to facilitate a request to the International Coordinating Group on Oral Cholera Vaccine Provision for Cholera Control for oral cholera vaccines to protect the population and contain the outbreak.

With support from WHO and health partners, the Ministry of Health is also coordinating efforts to scale up access to clean water and sanitation facilities, as well as ensuring affected and at-risk communities are aware of transmission risks and proper hygiene practices to reduce contamination risks and prevent further spread of the outbreak.

As a result of the war that erupted in April 2023, Sudan is grappling with unprecedented mass displacement, disease outbreaks and malnutrition, which have been compounded by heavy rains and flooding. The health system is overwhelmed by attacks on health facilities and the scarcity of medical supplies and equipment, health workers and operational funds. About 70% of hospitals in conflict-affected states are non-functional, while the active hospitals and clinics in non-conflict-affected states are overwhelmed by the influx of internally displaced people.
Manannan sailing cancelled

Todays (October 5) Manannan sailings to and from Liverpool have been cancelled.

The Master of the ship made the decision at 12pm to cancel the 2pm sailing to Liverpool from Douglas, and the return trip at 7:15pm from Liverpol to Douglas due to "forecast adverse weather".

All other Isle of Man Steam Packet Company sailings are running as scheduled.
Amazon's Kuiper satellites will soon make their debut in orbit. The company is gearing up to deploy its first two satellites, the KuiperSat-1 and the KuiperSat-2, for its Protoflight mission that's scheduled to launch on October 6. Project Kuiper is Amazon's answer to SpaceX's Starlink service. At the moment, its plans entail launching 3,200 satellites over the next six years to form a constellation that can provide internet connectivity even to far-flung places traditional providers can't reach.

The KuiperSat-1 and KuiperSat-2 are the first version of Amazon's satellites and will provide the company with an important learning opportunity. They'll allow the company to conduct a series of tests that would add valuable real-world data to information already collected from the lab. Project Kuiper's ground team will also get the chance to observe how the network performs, since Protoflight will be testing the satellites' connection to Kuiper's ground-based network and to customer terminals. In addition, it will serve as a trial for the launch operations of subsequent satellites.

"Weve done extensive testing here in our lab and have a high degree of confidence in our satellite design, but theres no substitute for on-orbit testing," said Rajeev Badyal, Project Kuipers vice president of technology, in a statement. "This is Amazons first time putting satellites into space, and were going to learn an incredible amount regardless of how the mission unfolds."

Amazon previously announced its intention to send the first two Kuiper satellites to space on top of a ULA Vulcan Centaur rocket. However, ULA encountered delays with the new rocket's development, and the satellites will be ferried to space on top of an Atlas V instead. ULA will deploy the satellites at an altitude of 311 miles, and then the Kuiper team will start testing the systems onboard and confirm all electronics are working, establish first contact and deploy the satellites' solar arrays. After that, the team will send data back and forth to test the network. Amazon says both satellites will be deorbited by the end of the mission.

The company says it's on track to deploy its first production satellites in the first half of 2024 and to start beta testing with commercial consumers later that year. Presumably, it could incorporate changes to its plans, depending on what it learns from this launch. ULA will be streaming the event live on October 6, with coverage starting at 2PM ET.
Although most of the announcements leaked in advance (all the Pixel 8 news is below), Google had one sort-of surprise. Its working on fusing Assistant and Bard AI together. During a demo, Google showed the Assistant pulling details from a party invite in Gmail. Ask where the party is, and Assistant with Bard can tell you the location and tap into Google Maps for directions. While youd be able to ask for directions in the past, now the Assistant can pull the address from other contexts.

You could chat to Bard to whip up a meal plan with a grocery list and export that to Google Docs or Gmail without a keyboard or copy and paste. Theres no release date yet, but Google says Assistant with Bard is coming soon to Android and iOS.

A quick note to anyone who's tried to subscribe but hasn't been getting the TMA newsletter, we've now upgraded the signup process. Please click here to subscribe!

 Mat Smith

The biggest stories you might have missed

Google Pixel Watch 2 hands-on

Apple fixes iPhone 15 overheating issue

Googles Pixel 8 is a smaller 6.2-inch flagship with a bigger battery

The Pixel 8 series gets more AI-powered editing tools for photo and video

Theres a temperature sensor on the Pro model too.

Google

The Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro look largely the same as their predecessors, with a couple of key differences. The regular Pixel 8 is slightly smaller, which makes it easier to use with one hand. Meanwhile, the Pro model has a new matte finish, upgraded cameras and an intriguing temperature sensor. Across the Pixel 8 series, were getting the companys Tensor G3 processor and, notably, seven years of Android and security updates, so you might be able to hang on to your Pixel flagship for a lot longer than before.

A new temperature sensor on the Pixel 8 Pro sounds like a gimmick (and it might be?), but in the stale, tired land of smartphones, well take anything different. To take a reading, youll have to launch the new Temperature app and select the type of object youre trying to measure. Google is waiting on FDA approval to enable the Pixel 8 Pro to take body temperature readings.

The new Pixel 8 starts at $699, $100 more than its predecessor, while the Pixel 8 Pro costs $999, another $100 increase over the Pixel 7 Pro.

Continue reading.

Company chief Brian Chesky also revealed Airbnb is considering car rentals.

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Airbnb chief executive Brian Chesky told the Financial Times the company is going a little bit beyond its core business starting next year. Chesky wants Airbnb to expand its focus and is currently planning a push into long-term rentals. The service already offers monthly rentals, but apparently, only 18 percent of gross nights booked in the second quarter of 2023 come from stays longer than 30 days. Chesky believes the company can do more to drum up interest in long-term bookings.

Continue reading.

The company also launched a redesigned app.

Patreon announced a wide-ranging rebranding of its platform through a series of updates. It includes offering supporters more ways to follow their favorites while integrating more free content from creators. Creators can now let people join for free sharing content and updates for non-paying members while (optionally) hiding things like early access to podcasts or videos behind a paywall. They can also use a new commerce tool to sell individual pieces of content like recordings, videos and downloadable files.

Continue reading.

The three focus areas this year are customization, control and accessibility.

Google is rolling out the public build of Android 14. As ever, Pixel users will be able to download the new version of the operating system first on supported models (Pixel 4a and newer). Samsung, OnePlus and other Android device makers will get access to the update later this year. Deeper customization is a major focus this time around. Youll be able to choose from a variety of lock screen templates. Youll have more ways to customize your wallpaper thanks to the addition of generative AI capabilities. Select a text prompt and the AI will whip up a related image for you.

Continue reading.


Elon Musk is once again in the crosshairs of the Securities and Exchange Commision (SEC). The regulator, which has been investigating Musks Twitter takeover, is now suing the owner of X after he failed to appear for previously-scheduled testimony, The Wall Street Journal reports.

The SECs investigation dates back to 2022, when it opened a probe into Musks delayed disclosure of his stake in Twitter, which was at the time a publicly-traded company. Musk was 10 days late in filing paperwork, required under US securities law, disclosing his investment in Twitter. The delay may have earned him as much as $156 million, and also made him the target of a class-action lawsuit from former Twitter shareholders.

Musk had been scheduled to testify in the SEC investigation into the matter last month, The Wall Street Journal reports. But Musk failed to appear at a scheduled meeting in San Francisco, and later gave a blanket refusal to appear for testimony when the SEC tried to reschedule. The regulator is now asking a San Francisco federal court to force Musk to comply with its subpoena.

Its hardly the first time Musk has found himself on the wrong side of the SEC, which he has repeatedly ridiculed over the years. The Tesla CEO was charged with securities fraud over a now-infamous 2018 tweet claiming he had funding secured to take the electric car maker private. Musk eventually settled with the SEC, paying a $20 million fine and giving up his position as chairman of Teslas board. Musk is, however, still fighting a provision of that SEC settlement requiring a so-called Twitter-sitter to sign-off on some of Musks Tesla-related tweets.

X didnt respond to a request for comment.




In this sense, the accession process properly is now underway, according to the IECD Secretary-General, Mathias Cornmann, who is in the country within the framework of the release of the " OECD's Economic Survey of Peru 2023 ."





"There will be a series of fact-finding missions, there will be a series of actual reviews by 24 OECD expert committees covering a broad spectrum of public policies, economic, social, environment, trade, investment, public governance, etc. At the end of this process, there will be a set of recommendations on what else Peru needs to do in order to continue to improve its policies," Cormann said in an interview with El Peruano Official Gazette.





However, it is necessary to know what the OECD represents and what benefits will bring to Peru.





According to a document from the National Center for Strategic Planning (CEPLAN) , the OECD traces its roots back to the post-World War II, when European leaders agreed that the best way to ensure lasting peace was to encourage co-operation and reconstruction of the nations involved in the war.





Later, in 1961, the OECD was officially established as the successor to the Organisation for European Economic Co-operation (OEEC), which oversaw the implementation of the Marshall Plan a major element in the economic recovery of Europe and in the establishment of democratic regimes in Western Europe.





Since then, the OECD has focused its efforts to provide a space for its member countries (and for non-member countries) to dialogue and identify the best practices in various areas of their economies.





Currently, the OECD comprises 38 countries: Austria, Australia, Belgium, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Korea, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, the United Kingdom, and the United States.





According to its official website, the organization's goal is to build policies for better lives and to promote those that foster prosperity, equality, opportunity, and well-being for all.





Together with governments, policy makers and citizens, the OECD works on establishing evidence-based international standards and finding solutions to a range of social, economic, and environmental challenges.





From improving economic performance and creating jobs to fostering strong education and fighting international tax evasion, the OECD provides a unique forum and knowledge hub for data and analysis, exchange of experiences, best-practice sharing, and advice on public policies and international standard-setting.





Peru and OECD





CEPLAN finds that being a full member of the OECD is important for the economic and social development of Peru for several reasons.





"The main one has a symbolic meaning. It would mean a significant achievement for a country that until not long ago was still one of the many countries unable to overcome the trap of average income," it explains.





The process of rapprochement with the OECD has been gradual. In 2008, Peru was admitted as an observer member in the . In 2008, Peru was admitted as an observer member in the OECD Investment Committee





Then, in 2009, Peru joined the OECD Development Centre , which is a space for analysis and the interchange of experiences on economic and social policies between developed and developing countries.





In the following years, Peru approached the OECD through the Competition and Consumer Policy Committees, as well as the OECD Working Group on Bribery.





In 2012, Peru expressed its formal interest in becoming a member of the OECD for the first time and conveyed the same interest for a second time in 2017.





The OECD Ministerial Council agreed, in April 2014, to invite Peru to participate in the "Country Program," a mechanism that seeks to help a limited number of countries achieve OECD standards and practices a process that the country underwent between 2014 and 2019.





In 2018, Peru became a Party to the OECD Convention on Combating Bribery of Foreign Public Officials in International Business Transactions (Anti-Bribery Convention) and the multilateral Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters, with the aim of fighting corruption and fostering greater transparency and exchange of information.





On October 9, 2021, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs reported that then-President Pedro Castillo sent a letter to the Secretary-General of the OECD, Mathias Cormann, to reaffirm Peru's aspiration to become a member of said multilateral organization.





On January 25, 2022, the OECD decided by consensus to invite Peru to start the process of accession to this institution.





Chile and Colombia's accession process





It should be pointed out that Colombia initiated its accession process to the OECD in 2013, which was completed in April 2020, after completing its domestic procedures for ratification of the OECD Convention.





Meanwhile, Chile's accession process to the OECD started in 2007 and culminated in 2010.





(END) CNA/JJN/RMB/MVB

On January 25, 2022, the Council of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) decided by consensus to invite Peru to start the process of accession to this institution. Early this year, Peru submitted its Initial Memorandum , which is a self-assessment of the country's legislation, policies, and practices against OECD standards and best practices.Publicado: 5/10/2023
Former US President Donald Trump appealed a judge's refusal to dismiss New York Attorney General Letitia James' civil fraud lawsuit against him and his family business.
Foreign exchange analysts at Westpac have warned that the Pound Sterling (GBP) could test lows of 1.18 against the US Dollar (USD) in their near-term strategic view.

With the current Pound to Dollar exchange rate (GBP/USD) trading at 1.21268, theres an underlying perspective that emphasises potential vulnerability in its positioning, suggesting a descent towards a 1.1800-1.2000 structural support range.

The freshly revised UK 2Q GDP data, stretching back to 1997, casts a rather unexpected light on the nations economic performance, especially through the lens of Covid-19 and its aftermath.

The modifications were not monumental in the 2020 context but notably articulated that the UK managed to navigate through and beyond the Covid-19 period with somewhat more economic resilience than previously documented.

This revised outlook positions the UK above some notable peers in the G10, with the economy not only surpassing the likes of France and Germany but also reaching activity levels that outstrip those before the pandemic.

"Although uplifts into 2020 were relatively minor, the ONS did stress that the UK economy fared notably better in the Covid and post Covid period than had originally been reported," says Tim Riddell, Senior Market Strategist at Westpac Institutional Bank.

An upcoming release of monthly production data is underlined as being paramount and is awaited with heightened anticipation for revealing any further positive economic surprises.

Meanwhile, other upcoming data releases may appear lesser in terms of potential impact but are highlighted as meriting watchful scrutiny.

Next weeks monthly production data will be "keenly monitored for any further upside surprises" says Riddell.

On the political front, the continuation of the UKs annual Party Conference sees the Conservatives, with Sunak at the helm, shaping their profile with clear demarcation as the elections, slated for the latter part of 2024, loom on the horizon.

It's now a challenge for the Labour party to sustain their current polling lead.

"As UKs annual Party Conference continues, Sunaks Conservatives clearly laid out their profile ahead of next years elections, towards the end of 2024, it is now up to Labour to try to sustain their large lead in polls" says Riddell.

While the Pound Sterlings current status and near-term projections offer a degree of stability, there looms a subtle, yet distinctly present, apprehension regarding its stability and future positioning, notably against the US Dollar (USD).

This culminates in a cautious sentiment regarding the Pound / Dollar exchange rate outlook.

"GBP/USDs slide is stretched, but still risks extending towards structural support in the 1.1800-1.2000 area" Riddell accentuates, placing a meticulous yet slightly wary lens over the economic and political landscape as it unfolds.
Wednesday, October 4, 2023

Born in a Bear Market

On Valentines Day of 2022, the Shina Token was quietly deployed, and sat virtually unnoticed for nearly two months.





When word of the female $SHIBs existence suddenly spread, she rocketed to a $30 million market cap overnight. The rest is history, as a community of believers persevered through the anguish of the bear market.





Their efforts were rewarded when a new all time high of $50 million was reached in February 2023. Today, the community remains strong at over 7,000 holders.

This token is unique

Ask any Shina community member, and theyll define their time as a holder as being surprise after surprise.

Every aspect of Shina is unique when compared to other memecoins. First, the anonymous development team makes no attempt to affect the price of the token. They are mostly silent, only offering the occasional update alluding to behind the scenes progress.

Instead, the community has taken marketing and promotion into their own hands, with investors paying out of pocket for billboards, sponsorships and content creation.

Even more noteworthy, is how the community has put Shinas mission statement into action by raising $50,000 for Shared Hope International, a charity devoted to fighting against sex trafficking.

Using crypto as a force for good, rather than greed, is an unprecedented achievement when you consider the amount of toxic degeneracy overwhelming the space.





The SHIBB: A Game Changer

The meme narrative behind Shina Inu, seeking to win the heart of Shiba Inu, speaks to the proposed utility of their innovative SHIBB(Shina Burn Bank.) This piece of technology aims to support charity through a charity burn mechanism, by leveraging staking rewards. It is the crypto equivalent of a 50/50 lottery, with a twist. As detailed in the whitepaper, the platform consists of two interoperating components: a staking pool and a donation pool.

In the staking pool, users can deposit their $SHIB, or $SHI, to be eligible for rewards. Your staked tokens are therefore your lottery tickets,." as the more tokens you stake, the better your odds of being rewarded. You may withdraw your tokens at any time, so long as the SHIBB contains ample liquidity (this design feature protects against bank runs.) Meanwhile, each time $ETH is deposited in the donation pool, a proportionate amount of tokens in the staking pool are burned. Half of the donations will be gifted to Shared Hope International, and the other half will be distributed as staking rewards.

Since distributions will be made every 7 days, users have an incentive to stake their holdings for the long term, hence providing liquidity for the SHIBB to burn tokens. And those longing to see a reduction in $SHIBs supply, can contribute while supporting a good cause.

They may also be able to claim a tax deduction for their donations. Altogether, the SHIBB has massive potential to become a self-sustaining, thriving, decentralized ecosystem. When this launches, the law of supply and demand can manifest in a powerful way for $SHIB and $SHI, especially as whales decide to participate.

Love as the Foundation

It is apparent how winning the heart of Shiba." will play out, as it is well known that charitable giving is highly valued by the Shiba Token community. Vitalik Buterins legendary donation and burn, can in hindsight be interpreted as foreshadowing of what Shina has designed. The concept can be summarized in the mantra: stake to earn, donate to burn.

Furthermore, holders will appreciate that the SHIBB can expedite deflation to an extent that is not possible through any other means; it does not require anyone to forfeit ownership of their tokens or pay high transaction fees. One does not even need to hold $SHI in order to stake their $SHIB. While other projects have lured $SHIB holders with burns in exchange for investment, Shina offers use of her platform with no strings attached. Afterall, true love asks for nothing in return.

For more information, the whitepaper can be found at

Website: https://shinatoken.com/

Disclaimer: The information provided in this press release is not a solicitation for investment, or intended as investment advice, financial advice, or trading advice. It is strongly recommended that you practice due diligence (including consultation with a professional financial advisor) before investing in or trading securities and cryptocurrency.
One African's Incredible Journey of Hunger and Sacrifice in Pursuit of the American Dream

"Lovers of international stories of perseverance, history, and politics will enjoy this memoir, which is as illuminating as it is inspiring" Publishers Weekly

Philadelphia, PAThe International Impact Book Awards have declared The Boy from Boadua the winner in their recent award ceremony in the Autobiography category.

Growing up in the jungles of Ghana and now thriving in suburban America, Patrick Asare defied all odds on his journey through life. In his incredible memoir, The Boy from Boadua: One African's Journey of Hunger and Sacrifice in Pursuit of a Dream, he recounts his childhood, family, education, and the experiences that made him into the person he is today, in addition to reflecting on socio-cultural relations, race, and the social structures in the different countries that he has lived. Patrick Asare offers a new perspective as someone who has had first-hand experience in a variety of cultures, specifically within the education system.

The book previously has won several awards including, The Literary Titan Book Awards in the 'Motivational' category, The Firebird Awards in the 'Inspiration' category, and the San Francisco Book Festival in the 'Biography/Autobiography' categories. The Literary Titan stated that the book 'astounded and amazed' their judging panel.

Watch the book trailer here: https://bit.ly/TheBoyFromBoaduaTrailer





"Patrick Asare delivers his life experiences in his memoir - a book that not only is well written, but also provides one of the most informed visions of life from a vantage rarely equaled While it is important to view his life journey as a series of successful achievements, the joy of reading this book is the candor and honesty and constant sense of discovery that exudes from every page" Grady Harp, Amazon Top 100 Hall of Fame Reviewer

Patrick was born and raised in Boadua, a small village in Ghana, Africa. His family lived in extreme poverty, relying on farming and selling fish to get by. He attended elementary school in Boadua, where most children were not expected to gain a higher education. However, Patrick discovered a love for reading and knowledge at a young age, and he would stop at nothing to continue his schooling in order to give himself and his family a better life. After being accepted into secondary school, he eventually traveled to the Soviet Union to continue his education, and finally, to America, where he gained advanced degrees in engineering.

"Nothing stops Patrick Asare. An incredible story of how he escaped abject poverty in Africa by realizing at a young age the importance of learning how to read. It was his ticket to becoming formally educated in Ukraine and the United States. A truly inspirational and uplifting memoir deserving of Hollywood attention" Flying Books Review

Patrick Asare's love of education is evident in his story: his motivation is seeking knowledge and pulling himself out of poverty by doing so. He writes, "My journey began with the accidental discovery of an interesting piece of information on a discarded scrap of newspaper. That information triggered the series of events that ultimately took me on a magical journey around the world" He worked for a time as a teacher in America, and the behavior of his students led him to explore the socio-cultural differences between Ghana and America, and how circumstances can create drastically different people.

"'The Boy from Boadua' is a reflection on education, society, culture, and the impact that different forces have on a developing person, and he leads the reader through the harrowing but miraculous journey of his life. This combination makes for a fascinating read" Lauren Lee, Writer

This is a journey that is both inspiring and heart-wrenching as Patrick recalls his triumphs and hardships. Each experience he recounts further explains his view on the world and different cultures, which he reflects on in the latter part of the book. The Boy from Boadua is an unbelievable true story for all ages that teaches the importance of education and understanding the social, cultural, and political factors that shape a person. It's a fascinating read: from working in the harsh jungle and struggling to even afford food, to traveling to a new country without knowledge of the language, and finally, to confronting the American school system, race relations, and much more. Patrick brings his story together in a thought-provoking, exciting, and compelling way that combines his journey with the lessons he learned along the way.

The Boy from Boadua, ISBN: 979-8218101008, $16.95 Paperback, $5.99 Kindle, 268 Pages, 2022. Available on Amazon and Barnes & Noble and the author's website: https://patrickasareauthor.com/

About Patrick Asare: Patrick was born and raised in Ghana. After completing secondary school, he attended university in the former Soviet Union, studying electrical engineering at Donetsk National Technical University in the then Soviet republic of Ukraine. He graduated with a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering and also completed a certification program to become a Russian language teacher. Patrick resided in the Soviet Union from 1985 to 1991, during the historic perestroika era, when President Mikhail Gorbachev introduced the reforms that ultimately led to the breakup of the Soviet Union. He traveled extensively throughout Eastern and Western Europe and became one of the few people with firsthand knowledge of ordinary life on both sides of the Iron Curtain.

After graduating from Donetsk, Patrick immigrated to America, where he initially taught Russian and math in public schools in Buffalo, New York. He earned a master's degree in electrical engineering from Purdue University in 1995 and an MBA from the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College in 2003. Patrick is a principal at UGI Energy Services, LLC, a diversified energy services firm in Wyomissing, Pennsylvania, where he lives with his family. He previously worked as a senior electrical engineer at Caterpillar, Inc. in Lafayette, Indiana. Patrick has written extensively on social, political, and energy policy topics. He is a Democracy and Development Fellow at the Ghana Center for Democratic Development, an Accra-based think-tank. Some of Patrick's energy policy articles have received attention worldwide.

Media Contact: For a review copy of The Boy from Boadua or to arrange an interview with Patrick Asare, contact book publicist Scott Lorenz of Westwind Book Marketing at scottlorenz@westwindcos.com or by phone at 734-667-2090. Reach Lorenz on Twitter @abookpublicist
A big night for country music is back on CBS and in Austin, Texas for the 2024 show.

The 2024 CMT Music Awards will return live from the Moody Center on Sunday, April 7, 2024, at 8/7c. The three-hour event will air on CBS and be available to stream live and on demand via Paramount+ with Showtime. (While Paramount+ Essential subscribers wont be able to stream the show live, they will be able to access is the next day on-demand.)

The awards show is back on CBS for the third consecutive year following record-setting 2023 ratings. In 2023, the CMT Music Awards scored its biggest audience ever, with 6.18 million viewers tuning in for the broadcast. Additional details about the 2024 event will be released at a later date.

We couldnt be more excited to bring the CMT Music Awards on CBS back to Austin in 2024! From the electrifying, sold-out Moody Center crowd to fans packing the streets for our outdoor Congress stage, and Bevo himself walking the Red Carpet, our Texas-sized welcome proved to be one of our biggest and most unforgettable shows yet, CMT Music Awards executive producers Margaret Comeaux, John Hamlin, and Leslie Fram said in a statement. Were thankful to our incredible partners at Moody Center and with the City of Austin and are thrilled to bring CMTs signature blend of world premieres, genre-blending surprises and once-in-a-lifetime collaborations back this April!

Added Austin Mayor Kirk Watson, The CMT Music Awards are coming back to Austin in 2024, and we couldnt be more excited. As the Live Music Capital of the World, Austin is no stranger to celebrating its vibrant music community and showcasing an eclectic array of musical talents. Were proud that the CMT Music Awards are returning to Austin, and we cant wait to welcome artists and visitors to our city.

The 2023 CMT Music Awards included performances by Kelsea Ballerini (who co-hosted with Kane Brown) and four drag queens from RuPauls Drag Race, Blake Shelton, Gwen Stefani, Carrie Underwood, Alanis Morissette, Lainey Wilson, Jelly Roll, Keith Urban, the Black Crowes, and Darius Rucker. Jelly Roll led winners with three awards on the night.

2024 CMT Music Awards, Live, Sunday, April 7, 2024, 8/7c, CBS and Paramount+ with Showtime

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Feed is the single largest expense on the dairy farm, representing from 30 to 44% of total gross receipts based on seven-year financial data from Cornell University Dairy Farm Business Summary.

The year 2022 brought high milk prices, and the checkbook flowed well, like the promised land of milk and honey. But 2023 will be tighter.

Feed costs are often scrutinized to remove extra to improve profit, but cutting feed costs does not guarantee an improved bottom-line profit. Experienced farmers know the long-term effect of cheap does not result in more income.

Return on investment is a proper measure of evaluating cost savings. What is the cost reduction compared to the return? Risk is always involved in business.

Lessons

Lessons from the past often can get forgotten when evaluating decisions. It reminds me of the two hunters who flew deep into the remote backwoods of Canada to hunt elk. They bagged six elk. The pilot told them the plane could only carry four elk out.

But the plane that carried us out last year was exactly like this one, the hunters protested. The horsepower was the same, the weather was the same and we had six elk then.

Hearing this, the pilot reluctantly agreed to try. They loaded up and took off, but sure enough, there was insufficient power to climb out of the valley with all that weight and they crashed.

As they all stumbled from the wreckage, one hunter asked the other if he knew where they were.

Well, Im not sure, replied the second, but I think we are about two miles from where we crashed last year.

Life lessons can be a challenge to learn. As it applies to dairy farming, taking risk is your life. The saying goes, Most people travel to Las Vegas to gamble, farmers just go to work.

High oleic soybeans

As a dairy farmer, stay educated and updated on opportunities to improve profit with new feeding technologies. A new development that is being adopted with success by more and more farms in the eastern U.S. and being adopted by Midwest dairies is feeding high oleic soybeans, also called Plenish beans.

Whole soybeans are a valuable source of protein, hulls and oil for dairy cows. The veggie oil in high oleic soybeans is more rumen-friendly than regular soybeans.

The food industry drove the early demand for high oleic soy oil as it supplies more shelf-stable food products and longer fryer oil life.

The feeding of high oleic soybeans to dairy cows has picked up, and in my nutrition consulting across the Midwest and eastern U.S., it has potential benefits. No technology works 100% on every farm but when a technology has the right research behind it along with practical applied feeding experience, the success rate can be increased for a specific farm.

Just like the four Rs of proper planting, the four Rs of applying feed technology are right science, right forages, right feeding system and right management. Run the numbers and evaluate the ROI with a qualified nutritionist.

The science of feeding high oleic roasted ground soybeans comes from research at Penn State and Michigan State land grant university systems where extruded or raw processed Plenish beans improved milk fat percentage.

MSU fed 0, 5, 10 and 15 pounds of ground Plenish beans to cows producing in excess of 100 pounds of 4% milk per cow per day with varying responses but overall higher milk, fat and protein yields. Additional research is ongoing at other locations.

Practical on-farm feeding guidelines would recommend feeding from 3 to 8 pounds per cow per day of roasted ground Plenish beans. The option for extruded Plenish beans is available in some markets, but the oil content is lower and performance and savings will vary.

The farm feed savings will vary by farm depending upon the current TMR ration nutrient specs. Feed savings have ranged from $1,500 (-$0.10/hd/d) to $16,500 (-$1.10/hd/d) per month based on a 500-cow dairy. Proper roasting is very important to obtain the full benefit as over- or under-roasting results in less performance. Dairy herds that are feeding high oleic soybeans have seen improvements in butterfat and milk protein.

For more information on growing and feeding high oleic soybeans for your herd, contact your experienced and certified agronomist and nutritionist. Good science and solid experience are needed to properly make decisions on using feeding technologies. Dont crash your herd like those elk hunters of Canada.

When the science makes sense and the practical experience shows positive results, the risk is lower and ROI better. Thank you to Kevin Putnam and Derrick Bender from Pioneer for research data summary and Paul Hann from Pennsylvania for farm feeding information.

Summary

As a dairy farmer, evaluate the economic return of growing and feeding high oleic soybeans for your dairy herd using solid science and experience from qualified consultants.

As consumers, lets applaud our dairy farmers for the quality care they give 24/7/365 to their cows. These farmers provide all of us with quality milk, ice cream, cheese and yogurt for year around nutritious enjoyment. Cheers to our dairy farmers for their dedicated work.
This is not a drill!

Forget everything I ever said about my dubious relationship  or lack thereof  with nature. There are pink flamingos in Ohio. Again, this is NOT A DRILL!

If I could host actual flamingos in my yard in the Buckeye State I would DIE OF HAPPINESS. Theyre probably mean. Are they mean? I am honestly not sure. Ill Google that in a minute.

You could tell me flamingos are actually vicious killers, and I would still want to see them. I have never liked them as home decor (my deepest apologies to the 1950s) but I am fascinated with them as actual living creatures. The colors. The majesty. Standing casually on one leg (please let that be true).

According to published reports, wildlife officials believe the flamingos arrived in the Cincinnati area after Hurricane Idalia struck in the southern area of the United States. Per the Columbus Dispatch, three days after landfall, flamingo sightings had been reported in Alabama, South and North Carolina, Ohio, Tennessee and Virginia. There have been over 150 flamingos sighted over a period of four days.

Further reports are that the flamingos incited a frenzy in the birding world. I adore that turn of phrase. As a newly minted member of the birding world, I understand.

Interest

I feel like bird watching is something I had zero interest in until I reached a certain age. For years, I felt they were disgusting, honestly.

A necessity, for certain. They eat worms and perform other birdly duties. I am not saying they arent useful. How would we know winter was coming if not watching them fly south? I am just saying I didnt want them anywhere near me.

A bird got into our house once. I reacted like we had a velociraptor in the attic. Now, I find myself standing on the porch sipping my coffee while trying to decide if Im hearing a red winged blackbird or an American robin.

Perhaps its genetic? My great-grandmother loved birds. She had bird figurines. She had bird prints. She had bird music boxes. She favored cardinals. Her sister favored robins. I dont know how old they were when they chose sides and made allegiances in the bird world, but that memory has stuck with me even three decades after both are gone.

Im partial to cardinals, of course, but I also have a real soft spot for blue jays. I like their attitude. Who am I?

A decade ago, I had no idea about birds. I still have almost no idea, but Im far more interested. I have bird books now. Antique. The books, not the birds. I assume birds have not changed significantly since the mid-20th century so my grandmothers books are still serviceable. Im interested in birds but not enough to buy new books. Lets not talk crazy.

Concerns

I have not spotted a flamingo in our area of the Buckeye State, but with our cooling temperatures as autumn arrives, I have concerns.

A Midwestern autumn offers a nice mix of wintry cold interspersed with 80-plus-degree days because we like to keep things interesting.

If the flamingos are like the rest of my Florida family and friends (kisses!), they are going to freeze to death if it drops below 75 degrees. Like, the National Guard should airlift them to safety if the windchill drops below 60 degrees for certain.

With this in mind, do the misguided flamingos need sweaters? Parkas? Tiny knitted hats? An airline ticket home? Take Southwest, not Spirit  trust me on this.

If they choose to remain in Ohio, they are going to need guidelines. Someone needs to explain to the flamingos that a water-filled pothole is NOT an actual body of water suitable for fowl  although in many instances the sizes are virtually the same.

Instead, they should be shuttled to the Great Lakes. Did you know that the Great Lakes are the largest fresh bodies of water on earth? Lake Erie, Superior, Huron, Michigan and Ontario span 750 miles in from east to west.

Also, they probably already have an edge on doing that whole arms up, make an O thing to spell out O-H-I-O in silhouette. The one-legged trick is tailor-made for it.

Finally, if they do decide to take leave of our fair state, they will need to know the official midwestern way to say goodbye. It starts with welp, I guess its time to get going. Then, you stand around (one leg or two, your choice), throw around some handshakes and hugs, inch toward the exit (or state line as the case may be), continue chatting, more hugs and handshakes, move on to waving 

Honestly, by the time they get around to actually working through a whole midwestern goodbye, the warm weather will return.
EASTON, Pa.  Agriculture Secretary Russell Redding visited the Eat Real Food Mobile Market at Paxinosa Elementary School in Easton Sept. 27 to announce the theme for the 108th Pennsylvania Farm Show: Connecting Our Communities.

The 2024 PA Farm Show, Pennsylvanias State Fair, will run from Jan. 6 through Jan. 13 at the Pennsylvania Farm Show Complex and Expo Center in Harrisburg.

The 2024 Farm Show will feature fan-favorites like the 1,000-pound butter sculpture, famous Farm Show Food Court, youth showmanship and sheep shearing competitions, cooking demonstrations at the PA Preferred Culinary Connection and more than one million square-feet of hands-on agriculture education opportunities and chances to engage with the people who power Pennsylvanias $132.5 billion agriculture industry. To stay up to date on PA Farm Show news, visit farmshow.pa.gov.
WASHINGTON  An Ohio farmers market won a top spot in the 15th annual Americas Farmers Market Celebration, a national contest hosted by American Farmland Trust and the Farmers Market Coalition.

Markets receiving the most public votes are declared the national winners. The celebration also recognizes top markets in five regions nationwide and in all 50 states. The Meigs County Farmers Market, in Pomeroy, Ohio, won second place in the national contest and was awarded $2,500.

This market belongs to the community, and they showed it this past month like never before, said Stephanie Rife, Market Manager, Meigs County Farmers Market, in a statement. We are excited to see this love for all things local carry through our whole county, because when a small town unites, nothing is impossible.

More than 2,000 markets nationwide participated in the 2023 celebration with over 10 million supporters engaged through voting, visiting the celebration website and engaging with the celebration on social media. Since 2008, the celebration has highlighted the important role farmers markets play in American communities and our larger food system.

National winners are awarded $5,000 for first, $2,500 for second, $1,500 for third, $750 for fourth and $250 for fifth. These funds are awarded to markets for marketing, communications and other needs that help expand the markets reach and impact.

The North Tonawanda City Market, North Tonawanda, New York, won first place. Mt. Washington Farmers Market, in Kentucky, took third place. Brookfield Farmers Market, in Illinois, took fourth place, and Kershaw County Farmers Market, in South Carolina. State winners were awarded $100 for taking first place in each state. In Pennsylvania, Lancaster Central Market was first place. In West Virginia, the Fayette County Farmers Market took first place.
COLUMBUS  The Ohio Department of Natural Resources Division of Geological Survey is inviting Ohioans of all ages to celebrate Earth Science Week. A series of activities and programs will highlight the annual celebration taking place Oct. 8-14.

The theme for Earth Science Week 2023 is Geoscience Innovating for Earth and People and emphasizes the ways that advances in the geosciences are helping communities create healthier and increasingly sustainable lives, while accelerating environmental problem-solving around the world.

ODNR geologists will start the celebration a day early and offer a variety of events throughout the week, including an event the day after Earth Science Week ends.

Ohios events include the following:

Oct. 7: Geology Hike, Shale Hollow Park, Delaware; Fossil Collecting, Fossil Park, Sylvania

Oct. 8: Geology Hike, Blendon Woods Metro Park, Columbus; Geology Hike, Hinckley Reservation, Hinckley

Oct. 11: Fossil Tour, Ohio Statehouse, Columbus

Oct. 12: Accessible Geology Hike, Blackhand Gorge State Nature Preserve, Newark

Oct. 14: Fossil Walk and Solar Eclipse Viewing, Marblehead Lighthouse State Park, Marblehead

Oct. 15: Guided Fossil Collecting, Caesar Creek State Park, Waynesville

A complete list of events is available at ODNRs Earth Science Week webpage. Also, a limited number of Earth Science Week teacher toolkits are available for Ohio educators. The toolkits include experiment instructions, calendars, posters, activity sheets and more materials for teachers to use in the classroom.

Toolkits are free (but require $5 shipping) for any Ohio teacher, including home-school teachers, while supplies last. Teacher toolkits, maps and other publications can be ordered by contacting the Geologic Records Center at 614-265-6576 or geo.survey@dnr.ohio.gov.

If you cant make one of the events, Ohios cities and rural areas offer many activities you can enjoy on your own. Educators, students, and the public are encouraged to explore Ohios natural history at a location near them.
Nakheel, a world-leading master developer, has announced a strategic partnership with Adriatic Marinas, the developer, owner, and operator of the worlds finest THYA Platinum-certified superyacht marina, Porto Montenegro.

Under the partnership, Adriatic Marinas will, through its M-Marinas by Porto Montenegro Marina Management Platform, bring superior standards of marina management and peerless superyacht community expertise to enhance Nakheels waterfront communities, which offer innovative living experiences.

Work by the partners will begin immediately on enhancements to the existing Palm East and West marinas and on creating an exclusive and compelling marina base at Dubai Islands, further details for which will be shared in the coming months, a statement said.

Omar Khoory, Chief Assets Officer at Nakheel, said: We are delighted to partner with M-Marinas by Porto Montenegro to further enhance and redefine the concept of waterfront living. The partnership underscores our commitment to supporting the Dubai 2040 Urban Master Plan in developing vibrant and healthy communities and positioning Dubai as a waterfront destination. Through our partnership, we will continue to enhance our customer-oriented services and deliver value across all touch points.

David Margason, General Manager at Porto Montenegro, said: Over the last 15 years, Porto Montenegro has relentlessly pursued its goal of creating a Life Less Ordinary at the waterfront in the Adriatic region of the world centre of yachting in the Mediterranean. This partnership recognises the results of those many years of commitment to quality and differentiation in everything that we do and will bring the elegance and joie de vivre of the Mediterranean yachting community into the heart of Nakheels waterfront communities in Dubai.

Nakheel has developed iconic waterfront projects, including Palm Jumeirah and Dubai Islands, and is committed to building happiness and prosperity for citizens, residents and visitors of Dubai, it said. -TradeArabia News Service
Illuminating Iron Age hillforts in Wales

Trer Ceiri hillfort, on the Llyn Peninsula, Gwynedd, was one of the first in Wales to be recorded by antiquaries. Noting its cluster of huts, Thomas Pennant (1726-1798) described it as the most perfect and magnificent, as well as the most artfully constructed British hillfort I ever beheld.

In CA 388 we asked, what are hillforts for?, and Toby Drivers new book Hillforts of Iron Age Wales has some suggestions. Based on his many years spent recording these monuments on the ground and from the air, he concludes that no single explanation fits every example. Rather, like terraces of seemingly identical Victorian or Edwardian houses, external similarities disguise the many different functions, ideas, and ways of life that hillforts supported, as Chris Catling reports.

Compared to the number of surviving hillforts  there are almost as many on Toby Drivers distribution map as there are settlements in modern Wales  only a tiny handful have been excavated. As a result, there is much that we do not know about the later prehistory of Wales, or, as Toby puts it, there are many dark corners that require illumination, or the spark of imagination if we are to piece together the lives of our Iron Age ancestors.

Hillforts, along with promontory forts, are one of the three main types of later prehistoric settlement in Wales, the other two being small, defended enclosures and hut groups/field systems. The Historic Environment Records for Wales, accessed via the online portal Archwilio, currently list 764 hillforts, 1,191 defended enclosures, and 1,332 hut groups. In parts of Montgomeryshire and Pembrokeshire, there is a prehistoric fort or farmstead for every modern farm, hinting at the density of settlement, population size, and extent of land cultivation in the period from the earliest Iron Age (around 800 BC) to the early medieval period. Although Rome occupied parts of Wales from c.AD 70, the hillforts and farms of Wales changed little as a consequence, and some that had fallen out of use under Roman rule were reoccupied after AD 410, especially those on coastal sites.

The hillforts of Wales.

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Hillforts are categorised by the size and strength of their enclosing ramparts, and many have elaborate gateways, marked by outworks, hornworks, and annexes. Most occupy striking natural locations, often on prominent hilltops, ridges, or plateaus, though some were constructed on low-lying knolls, ridges, and hillocks. It is more than likely that these commanding sites were regarded as significant long before they were given the additional definition of hillfort ditches and banks. Finds of worked flints and stone axes at Breiddin and Ffridd Faldwyn in Montgomeryshire, at Pen Dinas in Ceredigion, and at many of the coastal promontory forts of Pembrokeshire indicate an importance for these locations at least two millennia before they became hillforts. Neolithic causewayed enclosures have been found underlying hillforts such as at Caerau, Cardiff, where one of the later gateways is aligned on the main eastern entrance of the Neolithic enclosure, which must therefore have been visible as an earthwork when Iron Age people began work there.

Foel Trigarn hillfort in the Preseli Hills, Pembrokeshire, has around 227 house platforms within its ramparts, built around three large burial cairns at the hills summit.

Bronze Age burial mounds and cairns were also frequently enclosed by later hillforts, to survive untouched among later roundhouses and ramparts, and thus clearly of continuing importance or reverence in Iron Age society. An upstanding barrow occupies a prominent position within Moel Fenlli, just south of the highest point in the Clwydian Range, Denbighshire, while mounds or stone burial cairns command the summits of Foel Trigarn in Pembrokeshire, Pen y Gaer at Llanbedr-y-Cennin in the Conwy Valley, Penycloddiau and Foel Fenlli in the Clwydian Range, Ysgyryd Fawr (the Skirrid hillfort) in Monmouthshire, and Caer y Twr on Holyhead Mountain.

The three monumental Bronze Age burial cairns on the summit of Foel Trigarn hillfort. The hillfort-builders may have seen these great stone mounds as the seats of ancestral power. The fact that they remained untouched despite intense house-building all around them in the Iron Age suggests they retained relevance and importance throughout the life of the hillfort.

Why did the late Bronze Age and earliest Iron Age communities begin enclosing these places of ancient ritual and burial? The beginning of the 1st millennium BC was a time of change in Wales, and Britain in general, to a cooler and wetter climate. It is likely that the resulting competition for resources, especially in upland regions, created the need for defence. The development and rapid spread of iron tools and weapons to all levels of society must have had a profound effect on the ways in which elite members of any community had been used to establishing their status through the ownership and display of elaborately ornamented bronze objects. It is no coincidence that the hoarding and deposition of bronze objects suddenly ends in south Wales around 600 BC  bronze had ceased to be regarded as a sufficiently special gift for the chthonic deities or to be a precious material that needed to be hidden from view and secured against possible theft until needed.

Perhaps it is in this context, of changing status values and new pressures on territorial ownership, that we can find the reasons for the rise of a new and highly visible type of monument. The place of conspicuous metalwork was subsumed by a new form of power: the power of place, to use a phrase made popular by the publication by English Heritage of a report on the future of the historic environment in 2000.

Visual command of land and sea: the partly restored northern rampart at Trer Ceiri hillfort, Llyn Peninsula, Gwynedd, with its parapet wall-walk that enabled the monitoring of comings and goings on the Irish Sea.

For, in order to build on a prominent hill that probably had considerable spiritual significance for the people of the region, you must have been recognised by the community as having the right to make such an intervention. You must have been acknowledged to be the effective owner of the hill, with the spiritual authority to convince everyone that the heavens and/or ancestors will smile upon your appropriation of an iconic location. And you must have had the unquestioned power to be able to command the necessary resources in terms of people, time, and tools.

Community consent was surely vital. Viewed like this, it is clear that hillforts were a symbol of regional power, whether that power was vested in a high-status individual, an elite family, a social class, the community as a whole, or a combination of all four. But as well as representing power, they gave power. From the highest summits, such as the striking Breiddin hillfort, which rises 300m from the floor of the Severn Valley to the north-east of Welshpool, in Powys, one could survey 100km of the surrounding countryside on a clear day, including the lands of the Cornovii to the east.

Panoramic views over central Wales from the summit of the Breiddin hillfort in Powys, providing a map of the world stretching for 100km.

The builders of these high forts acquired considerable knowledge of the surrounding landscape that could be difficult to gain at ground level: a map of the known world, as Toby terms it. From these high places, they could observe other settlements and hillforts; watch over travellers, trade routes, and approaching visitors; keep a watchful eye on fields and livestock; and be warned about approaching weather systems. Hillforts overlooking rivers and seas could also observe waterborne traffic. Pen Dinas, on the coast at Aberystwyth, looks across Cardigan Bay to the Llyn Peninsula, 70km to the north-west, while several of the hillforts of south Wales take in views across the Severn Estuary to the lands of the Dumnonii in modern-day Devon and Cornwall.

Caer Euni, to the north-east of Bala in Gwynedd. The fort was extended over at least two phases, and encircled with a deep rock-cut ditch.

This is an extract of an article that appeared in CA 404. Read on in the magazine or on our new website, The Past (click here to subscribe), which details of all the content of the magazine. At The Past you will be able to read each article in full as well as the content of our other magazines, Current World Archaeology, Minerva, and Military History Matters.
The NFU has celebrated this year's British harvest by reaching over 100,000 students with its new live lesson: Harvest Thali.

This year, students learnt how all the key ingredients of a thali - a common dish in India - are grown and produced in the UK.

The NFU said this years focus on the ingredients for a thali was "a brilliant way to make agriculture a more diverse space".

Students had the opportunity to use these ingredients and cook alongside Herefordshire based chef Rayeesa Asghar-Sandys to celebrate British produce and the end of harvest.

Key Stage 1 children made a Palak Paneer dish, learning how to grow onions, spinach and coriander.

They also learnt about where the milk for paneer cheese comes from for the dish, meeting the robotic milkers on farmer Elaines dairy farm.

And Key Stage 2 students learnt how to make a tandoori chicken roti, following where chapati flour comes from and virtually visited one of the UKs remaining working watermills.

A butcher also taught them how to safely prepare chicken and they visited a garlic farmer on the Isle of Wight.

NFU President Minette Batters said: Were in our fourth year of live lessons celebrating harvest and Im so proud of the huge number of schools and children weve been able to reach.

This years focus on the delicious ingredients for a thali is a brilliant way to make agriculture a more diverse space where everyone feels welcome.

"All while giving students insights into where their food comes from and inspiring them to think about a career in food and farming.

Lenia Greenaway, head teacher at St Peter's C of E Infant School, in Tandridge said: "There is always a real buzz around the classroom when this takes place and the whole school gets involved.

It's a great way of teaching children about where their food comes from and that it doesn't just come from the supermarket. This gives them that reference point.

"It is always a great way of helping children to learn a bit more about another culture."
Donald Trump has slammed Joe Biden for allowing illegal immigrants to "invade" the United States.

Donald Trump is annoyed about the 'invasion' of illegal immigrants in the US

The Biden administration has cited an urgent need to construct a border wall in south Texas but the former president feels that his White House successor has been too slow to act and has allowed "terrorists" to enter the country in their masses.

In an interview with Fox News Digital, Trump said: "Biden sees our country is being invaded. What is he going to do about the 15 million people from prisons, from mental institutions, insane asylums, and terrorists that have already come into our country?"

Trump urged Biden to return to his policies on immigration if he is to stop the surge of illegal migration into the US.

The controversial politician said: "What has happened to our country?

"He has to reinstate Remain in Mexico and Title 42. He has to do all of the other things that we were doing."

A spokesperson for Trump's 2024 presidential campaign told Fox News Digital that the Republican frontrunner "is always right".

They said: "That's why he built close to 500 miles of powerful new wall on the border and it would have been finished by now.

"Instead, Crooked Joe Biden turned our country into one giant sanctuary for dangerous criminal aliens."
Tom Sandoval has felt "miserable" since his cheating scandal erupted.

Tom Sandoval has revealed his regrets

The 40-year-old star split from Ariana Madix after it emerged that he had an affair with Raquel Leviss, and Tom admits that he's now determined to learn from his mistakes.

He told the 'Everybody Loves Tom' podcast: "I fully f****** regret it. I feel bad about it. I hate that I hurt people.

"I, for the most part, have been pretty f****** miserable and I don't ever, ever, ever want to go through what I went through again. And I don't ever want to be responsible or the cause for ever hurting people like that and causing that kind of s*** ever again.

"I'm going to do everything in my power to never do that again and to never get lost and caught up in a situation like that."

Tom also regrets not being honest with Ariana.

Asked if there's anything he would have done differently, Tom replied: "I would have gotten out of my relationship, ripped the Band-Aid off, not delayed.

"I think I got caught up in trying to create the perfect break-up, but it was way beyond that."

Meanwhile, Raquel previously took to social media to apologise to Ariana after news of the affair emerged.

She wrote on Instagram at the time: "I want to apologize for my actions and my choices foremost to Ariana, and to my friends and the fans so invested in our relationships. There is no excuse, I am not a victim and I must own my actions and I deeply regret hurting Ariana. (sic)"

Raquel also promised to reflect on her mistakes, admitting that she needed to make "healthier choices".

The TV star said: "I am reflecting on my choices, speaking to a counselor and I am learning things about myself such as my patterns of codependency and addiction to being and feeling loved. I have sought emotional validation through intimate connections that are not healthy without regard for my own well-being, sometimes negatively affecting others and often prioritizing the intimate connection over my friendships. I am taking steps to understand my behavior and make healthier choices. (sic)"
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During her conversation at a news organisation's event, Suhana said, "I guess all of that is very different from being in a (OTT platform) film and being on a real film set as a working actor, I think, from the number of people on set, from the number of lights on set and the hair and makeup and all the chaos. And in the middle of this, I felt extremely insignificant. And, I guess I kind of knew that everything that everyone was doing around me was felicitating the directors vision, Zoyas vision and I guess knowing that on my first day and realising that, I felt extremely nervous."





She further talked about her parents and said, "I wouldnt say my critic, but my biggest source of guidance is my parents. My entire family feels to chip in and help each other out."

In an interview with a leading news portal, Suhana revealed that she asked her mother, Gauri Khan, "Was that okay? Is my hair okay? Is my outfit okay?"

Suhana Khan, who is set to appear in Zoya Akhtar's The Archies, has referred to her actor father Shah Rukh Khan and producer-interior designer mother Gauri Khan as her 'guiding force' and expressed her reliance on them. Suhana also shared her apprehension on her debut day of filming, stating that she was 'extremely nervous'.In The Archies, Suhana portrays the character of Veronica. The film is a live-action Indian musical adaptation of the famous American comic Archies. The movie also features Khushi Kapoor, Agastya Nanda, Vedang Raina, Mihir Ahuja, Dot and Yuvraj Menda.The film delves into themes such as friendship, love, rebellion, heartbreak, and freedom, set in the 1960s. The lives of Archie, Betty, Veronica, Jughead, Reggie, Ethel, and Dilton are used to explore these themes. Viewers will be transported to the imaginary town of Riverdale. The Archies will premiere on OTT on December 7.
Hema Malini Recalls Sitting On Dev Anand's Lap: Veteran actress Hema Malini was a fresh face in the industry when she appeared alongside Dev Anand in the 1970 film "Johny Mera Naam." Directed by Vijay Anand, the movie turned out to be a major success, with its melodious music earning immense love from fans.

Malini recently fondly recalled an incident from the shoot during an event celebrating Dev Anand's 100th birth anniversary. The diva narrated a funny incident from the shoot of a song from the film that left her embarrassed.

Hema Malini recalls sitting on Dev Anand's lap during a song shoot

Remembering an incident from her Johny Mera Naam 'O Mere Raja' song shoot and said she was stuck on a sky trolley with Dev. The shoot happened in Bihar, near Nalanda, and a portion of the song required them to sit in a sky trolley.

She recalled an embarrassing moment when she had to sit on Anand's lap for a scene, calling it awkward. "There was a scene where we were supposed to go in the rope chair. The sequence was such that he is sitting already and I have to sit in another chair but because I miss it, he makes me sit on his lap. That was very embarrassing for me, in real life also, and in the film also I am feeling very uncomfortable," she shared.

Is Hema Malini Ready to Do Lip-Lock Scene Like Husband Dharmendra? Here's How Veteran Actress Reacted

She then laughed as she said, "So the shot started and the rope chair was moving but right in the middle, it stopped. The electricity was gone. I said 'Dev saab, I can't sit like this'. I didn't want to put my whole weight on his lap. It was very very uncomfortable."

Journalist Bhawana Somaaya, who was interviewing Hema at the event, added that Anand comforted a scared Malini and told her to look into his eyes instead of looking down.

Johny Mera Naam is counted among Hema Malini's biggest hits, while Dev Aanand was an established superstar. On September 26, the late actor celebrated his 100th birth anniversary.
This months column will head to Northern Ireland, profoundly aware of the sensitivities of this place, its peoples, and its past. Inevitably, there are gaps in Current Archaeologys narrative: the magazine began in 1966, which sadly aligns with the timeline of Northern Irelands recent, often painful history. What follows is a partial account, but no less powerful for that. I will travel clockwise around the six historic counties, recognising that they are no longer in use as administrative structures, but they are the best way to shape my narrative.

As a starting point, some wider reviews that have touched on sites there (and in the Republic of Ireland) include those covering the Neolithic, in CA 296 (November 2014) and CA 401 (August 2023); the Romans, in CA 317 (August 2016); and the Vikings, in CA 304 (July 2015).

COUNTY DERRY AND COUNTY ANTRIM

County Derry provides a neat microcosm of Northern Irelands archaeology from prehistory to the 20th century. The most famous site mentioned is also one of the oldest: Mesolithic Mount Sandel in Coleraine. CA 59 (November 1977) reported from there when it was first excavated, but there were, alas, no further updates until CA 330 (September 2017) picked up the thread on the publication of the lead excavator Peter Woodmans book, Irelands First Settlers. CA 331 (October 2017) then places the site in wider context in a review of the British Mesolithic.

CA 296 (November 2014) moves forward in time to the Irish Neolithic, when works along the A2 airport road revealed a settlement at Upper Campsie. Two Bronze Age sites feature next  first, at Ballynagalliagh, where CA 362 (May 2020) reported on the discovery of an enclosure dating to 2000- 1500 BC, covering a 40m by 20m area; and, second, at Corrstown, near Portrush, where CA 195 (December 2004) reported on an extensive middle Bronze Age village. The archaeological trail, at least in the pages of Current Archaeology, then goes quiet for many centuries, until CA 345 and CA 347 (December 2018 and February 2019) pick up the more recent medieval and early modern story in terms of the city of Derry/Londonderry itself.

A great starting point to examine County Antrims archaeology comes in CA 294 (September 2014), when excavations ahead of works on a stretch of the A26 road revealed a wealth of evidence from a Mesolithic house to a modern dam. There is then a fine Neolithic site at Ballygalley on the coast north of Larne in CA 134 (May 1993); another Neolithic site at Donegore in CA 92 (June 1984); and the famous Neolithic type site of Lyles Hill in CA 114 (April 1989). But the biggest story in terms of Current Archaeologys coverage belongs to the Bronze Age, when work along the A8 road between Belfast and Larne at Skilganaban revealed a wealth of evidence about its occupants, highlighted in CA 309 (December 2015).

CA 309 reported on a significant Bronze Age site found at Skilganaban during work along the A8 road between Belfast and Larne.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, given its recent history, Belfast itself (which straddles County Antrim and County Down) barely features in the magazine, although its industrial heritage is touched on in CA 134 (May 1993) and CA 378 (September 2021). In terms of more modern, especially urban archaeology, Carrickfergus claims the greatest attention in Antrim, with visits in CA 159 and CA 296 (September 1998 and November 2014). And, with my maritime archaeologists hat on, it would be remiss of me not to mention the wreck site of the Spanish Armada ship La Girona at Lacada Point, which featured in CA 35 (November 1972).

COUNTY DOWN AND COUNTY ARMAGH

Current Archaeologys coverage of County Down has, historically, been slim to say the least. One significant survey comes in CA 224 (November 2008), when the medieval tide mills at Nendrum were examined as part of the wider exploration of the sea lough there. The related publication, Strangford Lough: an archaeological survey of the maritime cultural landscape (2002), is worth seeking out in your local library. It is a maritime tour de force, rightly winning a slew of awards (see CA 195, December 2004). Otherwise, for a long time coverage was thinner on the ground, except for references in CA 234 (September 2009) to Bronze Age settlement in the Mourne Mountains, and in CA 263 (February 2012) to medieval settlement around Newry. There was, however, a rare return to this region just last month in CA 403, which explored the excavation of an enigmatic Neolithic timber monument at Ballynahatty, five miles south of Belfast.

Medieval tide mills found at Nendrum in County Down featured in

CA 224, part of the wider examination of the sea lough there.

County Armagh lays claim to the most famous as well as the most referenced archaeological site in Northern Ireland: Navan Fort, one of the great royal sites of pre-Christian Gaelic Ireland. Current Archaeologys visits there have been numerous. To share some highlights, CA 22 (September 1970) first reported on the site and featured it on the cover at a time when significant sections of its interior were undergoing investigation; CA 96 (April 1985) visited again when the site was at (in hindsight, unconscionable) peril of destruction from an adjacent quarry (see updates in CA 99, February 1986, and CA 101, August 1986, by which point, happily, the site was saved); CA 134 (May 1993) visited again and featured the site on the cover for the second time when a new future was being mapped out for it; CA 317 (August 2016) examined the evidence for Roman contact in the area; CA 360 (March 2020) shared new thinking about the distances Iron Age people travelled to it; and, most recently, CA 367 (October 2020) provided news of recent surveys revealing further evidence for its continuity of occupation.

Navan Fort  a prehistoric hilltop enclosure traditionally thought to be the ancient capital of Ulster  featured on the covers of both CA 22 and CA 134.

COUNTY FERMANAGH AND COUNTY TYRONE

County Fermanaghs one major appearance in Current Archaeology is in a feature exploring an early medieval crannog at Cherrymount/Drumclay, near Enniskillen. The site first featured in CA 271 (October 2012), when it was identified  and threatened by  a road bypass scheme; CA 275 and CA 279 (February and June 2013) gave updates on its excavation and analysis, which uncovered the richest finds associated with this type of medieval dwelling anywhere in Ireland; and CA 299 (February 2015) returned to tell the full story of this remarkable site.

The early medieval crannog found at Cherrymount/Drumclay has featured in several issues of Current Archaeology over the years, including making the cover of CA 299.

Concluding in County Tyrone, there is modest reporting down the years, with only two sites mentioned in detail: first, at Ballynagilly, just north of Cookstown, where CA 20 and CA 24 (May 1970 and January 1971) examined the Neolithic settlement; and, second, at Island McHugh, a crannog on Lough Catherine that was occupied continuously from the Neolithic to the late 16th century. This site is referenced in CA 174 (June 2001) as part of an examination of the AD 540 event, a plague or (perhaps) an environmental catastrophe that might be explained by tree-ring analyses from sites such as this one. This is an admittedly enigmatic place to end on  but such is the story of archaeology in Northern Ireland, as much as elsewhere.

In next months column I will return to the British mainland, to explore the remaining counties not so far covered in my column, starting in Devon, before moving on to Dorset, Somerset, Gloucestershire, and finally Wiltshire.

About the author

Joe Flatman completed a PhD in medieval archaeology at the University of Southampton in 2003, and since then has held positions in universities, and local and  most recently  central government. Since March 2019, he has been a Consultancy Manager in the National Trusts London and South-East Region, leading a team working on Trust sites across Hampshire and the Isle of Wight. You can follow him on X: @joeflatman.
Amitabh Bachchan In Legal Trouble: In a recent turn of events, veteran star Amitabh Bachchan has got embroiled in a controversy surrounding his recent Flipkart advertisement. The iconic actor has been slapped with a hefty fine of Rs 10 lakh in connection with the ad.

Amitabh Bachchan, who has associated himself with various brands over the years, was recently featured in an advertisement for the popular e-commerce platform Flipkart for the upcoming Big Billion Days sale.

The Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) has filed a complaint with the Ministry of Consumer Affairs against the ad terming it as misleading and against the country's small retailers.

The statement issued also sought the withdrawal of the advertisement. The traders' body has also demanded that Filpkart be imposed a penalty as per relevant provisions of the Consumer Protection Act for "false or misleading advertisement" and the actor be fined Rs 10 lakh.

As per media reports, an email sent to Flipkart did not garner a response and the actor could not be contacted for comments. The Secretary General of CAIT, Praveen Khandelwal in a statement said, "As per the definition under Section 2(47), Flipkart, acting through Amitabh Bachchan (endorser), have misled the public regarding the price at which mobile phones are being made available by sellers/suppliers in the smartphone market of India. "This has the effect of disparaging the goods, services, or trade of another person."

Moreover, he emphasized that in accordance with Rule 4 of the 2022 Guidelines for Preventing Misleading Advertisements and Endorsements, Flipkart's advertisement "is misleading because it doesn't contain truthful and honest representation and is wholly incorrect, malicious, misleading and manipulative".

Meanwhile, last week, CAIT raised concerns about the advertisement featuring Bachchan endorsing Flipkart's upcoming Big Billion Day sale and telling consumers that mobile deals would not be available offline at retail stores. The Big Billion Days sale is scheduled from October 8 to 15.
On this World Teachers' Day (celebrated globally on October 5th), an interesting trivia has come to light about director Vidhu Vinod Chopra's '12th Fail' starring Vikrant Massey.

For a critical role of a teacher in the film, Chopra has chosen a real-life professor and mentor, Vikas Divyakirti, who has guided countless students in their pursuit of clearing the Union Public Service Commission's entrance exam - including the real Manoj Sharma, who's life has inspired the film.

In the recently unveiled trailer of '12th Fail,' Vikas Divyakirti makes an impactful appearance, delivering a profound message to UPSC students. He emphasises that a student's journey should not end with getting a position in the civil services but they should strive to bring meaning to that position.

Vikas Divyakirti is widely recognised and respected for mentoring students for the rigorous UPSC examination. Now, he joins a select group of individuals who have played themselves on the big screen.

Reflecting on his experience of portraying a professor on the silver screen, Vikas expresses his gratitude, stating, "This is a historic occasion. Perhaps for the first time, Hindi cinema has tried to touch the pulse of Hindi society at such a deep level. The story of Manoj Sharma, who became IPS despite once failing in 12th class, actually shakes every person who has accepted failure as his destiny in life. The film forces him to give himself another chance, to 'restart' his journey!"

The trailer highlights Vikrant Massey as the lead and provides glimpses of the protagonist's journey, starting from a small village in Chambal and leading to the bustling hub of UPSC preparation in Delhi's Mukherjee Nagar. This film, based on a true story, draws inspiration from the gritty struggles faced by countless students aspiring to clear the UPSC entrance exam. However, it transcends the confines of a single exam and encourages people not to lose hope in the face of failures, but to persist in their efforts.

'12th Fail', directed by Vidhu Vinod Chopra, is set to have a global release on October 27th, featuring versions in Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, and Kannada.
Rating: 4.0 /5 Star Cast: Mohit Raina, Konkona Sen Sharma, Shreya Dhanwanthary, Satyajeet Dubey, Parambrata Chatterjee, Tina Desai, Natasha Bharadwaj, Mrunmayee Deshpande, Prakash Belawadi, Sonali Kulkarni Director: Nikkhil Advani, Nikhil Gonsalves

Mumbai Diaries 2 Review: The city of Mumbai is unique in its own right, with citizens dealing with calamities in their own iconic way. Several films, shows, and documentaries have portrayed the plight of the city whenever a catastrophe hits it, and one of them was the 26/11 terror attack.

While many fictionalised stories depicted the tales of bravery of the police and paramilitary forces fighting the terrorists, Amazon Prime Video in 2021 brought a different perspective to the fore, with a focus on doctors and medical personnel dealing with emergencies in Mumbai Diaries.

Centred around a government hospital, Bombay General Hospital, the first season of Mumbai Diaries revolved around the doctors, nurses, trainees, and other employees dealing with the aftermath of the 26/11 terror attacks that shook the entire world. We saw Dr Kaushik Oberoi, Chief of Trauma, Dr Chitra Das, and three residents, Ahaan Mirza, Sujata Ajawale, and Diya Parekh, along with other hospital staff, handling the distressing and terrifying events with sheer bravery.

The popular show is now back with another hard-hitting season that captures the woes and untiring chaos of medical staffers at Bombay General Hospital as they deal with new challenges and the devastation caused by the Mumbai floods of 2006. Here's our review for you to decide whether to watch the show or skip it.

Plot

The series begins with Doctor Kaushik Oberoi partaking in court trials for allegedly murdering a police officer and not prioritising his treatment over that of a terrorist. He looks tired from all the allegations against him, making him lose his mind. Simultaneously, a devastating flood-like situation threatens to submerge the city as unprecedented rains lash out.

Unaware of the impending danger, the staff of Bombay General Hospital continue to perform their duties. While we see all familiar faces from the previous installment, there are a few new characters introduced in this season as the BGH members face a bigger enemy, nature's wrath.

We see Dr Chitra Das experiencing traumatic episodes from her past bad marriage. Her estranged husband, Dr Saurav Chandra, arrives at the hospital as a part of the UK delegation, bringing in more difficulties for Chitra. Diya, Ahaan, and Sujata are dealing with their own demons.

Mumbai is on red alert due to incessant rains, and people are advised to stay indoors and be safe. While the dilapidated government hospital is also on the brink of collapse, the doctors and staff have no option but to deal with "unlimited problems with limited resources."

Ahead Of Mumbai Diaries 2 Premiere, Konkona Sen Sharma Shares Experience About Working On Sequel

Performances

The characters in the show are not just simple props, they are the heart of the show. Each one of them delivers a hard-hitting performance, with a compelling portrayal of the pressure that doctors go through.

Mohit Raina, disheartened and filled with disappointment over the thought of losing his doctor's licence, makes you feel for him. Mohit gives a restrained and powerful performance with true authenticity.

Konkana Sen Sharma's struggle to live with her past trauma shows off when her ex-spouse suddenly comes in front of her. She is fantastic in scenes of breakdown where she has to show fear and the deep scars that her abusive marriage has left on her heart and mind, which have been ingeniously performed by Sen, letting you sympathise with her.

Parambrata Chatterjee, who joins the cast as the ex-spouse of Chitra Das, adds an eerie and mysterious feel to the series, leaving one to wonder what must have been their story. He is sharp and gives a great portrayal of a controlling husband.

Shreya Dhanwanthary, an upright journalist who has to give in to the ethos and corruption of the TRP-hungry media, plays a demoralised professional with sheer conviction.

Tina Desai, Satyajeet Dubey, Prakash Belawandi, Mrunmayee Despande, Natasha Bhardwaj, and Balaji Gauri all add glory to the roles and are absolutely good at their parts.

What's good & bad

Nikhil Advani and Nikhil Gonsalves have brilliantly put together the story of doctors and medical staff who are the forerunners in providing services to people in distress. Capturing the darkness and atmosphere that come with continuous rainfall keeps the flavour of the show intact.

The subplots effectively merge well with the core theme of the show, while dialogues bring out the nuances of each character.

The visual treatment of the drama series gives the feeling of reality with its constant downpour and flooded hospital wards.

Verdict

Spanning eight episodes, Mumbai Diaries demonstrates the highly pressuring and fast-paced lives of doctors, nurses, and medical staff. The storytelling is gripping and hits you in the gut with its striking visuals and emotional scenes.

Along with a bunch of competent performances, the show has successfully told a multi-layered story with heartbreaking and empathic scenes.

Mohit Raina Drops BIG Hint About Mumbai Diaries Season 2 On Second Anniversary?

Mumbai Diaries remains authentic to its main story by being more than a medical drama that deals with human trauma and crisis, all the while shedding light on the media that is after scoops for business gain.
Pradeep Antony

Actor

Biography: Pradeep Antony , a rising star in the Tamil film industry, gained popularity for his appearance on Bigg Boss Season 3 as Kavin's friend and for giving him the show's iconic slap. Additionally, he has developed a unique personality for himself in addition to his mesmerising on-screen performances. He received praise from all around the world for his portrayal of Saravanan in the hit movie "Dada" and his acting debut, Vaazhl. Persoanl Life Pradeep Antony, who was born in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, keeps his personal affairs private. As of 2023, nothing is known about his family, age, or birthdate. He was raised in Chennai and still refers to it as his home. He has a graduate degree in visual communication, and his hobbieswriting novels and immersing himself in engrossing booksevidently reflect his love of literature. Career Pradeep's journey into the world of cinema began in 2016 with a supporting role in the critically acclaimed film Aruvi . His performance was widely praised, and he soon caught the attention of filmmakers with his natural acting and versatility. In 2017, Pradeep landed his breakthrough role as Saravanan in the film Dada . His portrayal of a complex and morally ambiguous character was both nuanced and powerful. The film was a commercial success, and Pradeep's performance earned him critical acclaim and a loyal fan following. In 2021, Pradeep starred in his first lead role in the film Vaazhl . His performance was widely praised for its maturity and sensitivity. The film was a critical and commercial success, and it cemented Pradeep's position as one of the most promising young actors in Tamil cinema. Pradeep's talent and versatility have made him a sought-after actor among directors and filmmakers. He has already collaborated with some of the biggest names in the industry, and his future looks incredibly bright. He is an emerging force in Tamil cinema, and audiences are eagerly waiting to see what he does next. Bigg Boss Season 7 Pradeep Antony, the Kollywood actor, entered the seventh season of Bigg Boss, the most-watched reality show hosted by Kamal Haasan, to compete with 20 other contestants. When he is eliminated, the exact count of days he spent in the house will be updated here.

Read More
Dr. Shiva Rajkumar and Anupam Kher starrer Ghost Trailer released to a great response from the audience. While the Kannada film's trailer has been lauded so much, its Hindi version presented by Jayantilal Gada's Pen Movies also received lots of praise. Overall, the Ghost Trailer took the internet by storm. Not only did Dhanush and SS Rajamouli praise the film, but also Shivanna fans went gung ho.

Netizens have loved the VFX and many other aspects of the film. Some even stated what it felt like having goosebumps after watching the trailer. Other than this, they even shared how they loved Dr. Shiva Rajkumar in every frame. Considering this is his first film of 2023, fans are calling it quite the banger.

The action-packed heist thriller tells the story of a man's quest for justice. Lapped with strong dialogues and great action, Ghost is here to shake up the system. The film is directed by Srini. It is the second installment of the Birbal Trilogy. Ghost is all set to release in cinemas on 19th October in Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, and Malayalam.
Shiyas Kareem Caught At Chennai Airport Amid Controversy: Shiyas Kareem, a 34-year-old film and reality show star hailing from Ernakulam Perumbavoor, has been apprehended following a complaint from a young woman accusing him of sexual harassment and deceit related to marriage promises.

Mammootty's Kannur Squad: Inspired By The Real-Life Murder Case Of A Kasaragod Industrialist

His arrest took place at the Chennai airport, as he had just returned from the Gulf. Shiyas Kareem, who had been in the Gulf, attempted to return to Kerala via Chennai, apparently choosing this route to avoid immediate arrest upon arrival at Kerala's airports.

The Chennai Customs Department detected the situation and subsequently alerted the Chandera Police. Law enforcement authorities are en route to Chennai to officially document Shiyas Kareem's arrest.

Allegations And Legal Action

The police had issued a lookout notice for Shiyas Kareem, leading customs to intercept him at Chennai airport.

A case has been registered against Shiyas by Chandera police following a complaint from a gym trainer in Padanna. The complainant alleges theft of money and physical assault, claiming that the 32-year-old divorced woman was subjected to sexual abuse under the pretext of marriage promises from 2021 to March 2023 in Ernakulam and Munnar lodges. She came forward when Shiyas Kareem prepared for another marriage. The complaint details that a total of 11 lakh rupees were taken from her in installments, and assaults occurred in Cheruvathur.

Shiyas Kareem had earlier posted on Facebook, clarifying his location as Dubai, not jail. He stated, "Many people are spreading false news on my behalf. I'm not in jail; I am in Dubai. I came here to purchase quality rice. I will distribute it once I return to the country," with a touch of sarcasm. The video also included comments against media reports on the matter.

Chaaver Twitter Review: Kunchacko Boban And Antony Varghese Movie Promises A Thrilling Experience

Shiyas Kareem, a notable figure in the world of modelling, made his mark on both television and cinema. He gained fame as one of the prominent stars on the reality show "Star Magic," which aired on the Flowers channel. Shiyas Kareem's talent and charisma led him to the top five in the 'Mr. Grand Sea World 2018' competition held in Bulgaria. He also participated as a contestant on the popular reality show "Bigg Boss Malayalam." Additionally, he showcased his acting skills in films such as "Captain," "Veeram," and "Salmon."
Malayalam actor Shiyas Kareem, who became a household name with his stint in Star Magic, is making the news for the most shocking reason. Days after being accused of sexual harassment and cheating, Shiyas Kareem has been arrested today. According to media reports, he was returning from Dubai and was nabbed at the Chennai airport.

While the news of Shiyas Kareem's arrest has been going viral, it is reported that a case was registered with the Chantera police wherein a gym trainer was accused of cheating, sexual assault and impregnating the victim. The police registered a case under sections 376 (rape, with punishment of 7 to 10 years), 342 (wrong confinement, with punishment up to 1 year) and 323 (punishment for voluntarily causing hurt, with punishment of 1 year) of Indian Penal Code based on the statement of the complainant.

And now, we have got our hands on Shiyas Kareem's first statement in the matter wherein he has rubbished all the allegations levelled against him. In a conversation with ETimes TV, Shiyas claimed that the case is fabricated and the allegations are fake. He admitted knowing the accused and said that she had visited his gym seeking a job and pretended to be a fitness trainer. Shiyas also maintained that he had no idea about the accused of being married and having a 17 year old son.

He also emphasised that the accused got close to him and his family. However, they never had any sexual relations and neither took any money from her. "Almost a year and a half back, I learned about her whereabouts and started keeping a distance from her," he added.

Furthermore, Shiyas also added he was threatened by the accused about filing a case against him if he failed to give her a lump sum amount of money. "She even got me attacked by goons. I kept quiet since I didn't want to foil my reputation as the blame will always fall on me since I am a known name, Shiyas was quoted saying.

For the uninitiated, Shiyas was accused of getting engaged in fraudulent activities amounting to Rs 11 lakh. Meanwhile, Shiyas had recently announced his wedding with Dr Rehana amid the ongoing controversy. As of now, the cops are investigating the matter.
Leo Trailer Release Time: Excitement is building as fans eagerly await the upcoming release of Thalapathy Vijay's highly anticipated film, 'Leo.'

Mammootty's Kannur Squad: Inspired By The Real-Life Murder Case Of A Kasaragod Industrialist

The film's creators recently announced the release date for the trailer, and the day has finally arrived. The trailer promises to be a visual delight that will leave audiences craving more.

Prepare for an exhilarating evening as we unveil the Leo trailer release time. Reports suggest that the trailer for "Leo" is scheduled to premiere today at 6.30 p.m.

Countdown To Thalapathy Vijay's 'Leo'

Thalapathy Vijay's fans are counting down the days until the release of 'Leo.' Directed by Lokesh Kanagaraj, the film is set to hit screens on October 19, 2023, coinciding with Dussehra, on a global scale. With Thalapathy Vijay in the lead, 'Leo' promises an adrenaline-pumping thriller. The ensemble cast includes Sanjay Dutt, Trisha, Arjun Sarja, Gautham Menon, Mysskin, and Priya Anand, each portraying pivotal roles. The screenplay is a collaborative effort by Rathna Kumar and Deeraj Vaidy, alongside Lokesh Kanagaraj.

Leo Paid Premiere

Meanwhile, another exciting piece of news for movie enthusiasts: a buzz is stirring in the world of Tamil cinema that "Leo" will have a paid premiere, scheduled one day before the official release date. The premiere will include evening and night shows in Tamil Nadu. Thalapathy Vijay's leading role, along with director Lokesh Kanagaraj's vision, has undoubtedly fueled anticipation and excitement among the audience.

Shiyas Kareem Arrest: Customs Foil Actor's Attempt To Enter Kerala Via Tamil Nadu

With a stellar cast and a mix of suspense and drama, "Leo" guarantees a unique cinematic experience. Stay tuned for the trailer's debut and get a glimpse of what this much-anticipated film has in store for you.
Barsatein News: Following the success of Nakuul Mehta and Disha Parmar's Bade Achhe Lagte Hain 2, Ekta Kapoor once again joined forces with Sony TV for Barsatein - Mausam Pyar Ka. This new show, featuring Shivangi Joshi and Kushal Tandon in the pivotal roles of Aradhana and Reyansh, premiered amid considerable anticipation and buzz in July of this year.

In the storyline of Barsatein, Shivangi Joshi portrays Aradhana, a journalist who joins Reyansh's company. However, her mother, a practicing dentist, strongly opposes Aradhana's career choice and advocates for her to pursue a medical profession instead. With the show receiving positive feedback from viewers, the makers are diligently incorporating fresh twists and turns to keep the audience entertained.

KUSHAL TANDON TO JOIN SHIVANGI JOSHI IN JHALAK DIKHHLA JAA 11?

As fans are loving Kushal Tandon and Shivangi Joshi's onscreen chemistry in Barsatein, it looks like the channel is keen to sign them for one of their biggest shows coming next month. Well, we're talking about celebrity dance reality show Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa 11. While Shivangi Joshi is said to be a confirmed contestant, the latest buzz suggests that the team has now reached out to Kushal with an interesting offer.

Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai TWIST: Harshad Chopda's EXIT Confirmed? Here's How Abhimanyu Might DIE

Barsatein TWIST: THIS Character To Reveal Kimaya Is Pregnant To Aradhana In Shivangi Joshi's Show

Interestingly, Kushal Tandon has received an offer to either participate of host Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa 11. Yes, you read that right! Revealing the same, a source informed India Forums, "Kushal has been in talks for the upcoming season, and both the show's producers and the channel are eager to have him on board. The makers of the show have approached him to be a part fo the show either as a contestant or as a host. If all falls into place, he will be a part of the show."

The report further added that the actor is not particularly enthusiastic about participating in the show as a contestant. However, if everything falls into place, there is a strong possibility that he will consider hosting the show. So, let's wait for the official announcement.

JHALAK DIKHHLA JAA 11 CONTESTANTS LIST

As per the ongoing reports, the makers have roped in several well-known celebrities as participants in Jhalak Dikkhla Jaa 11 including Shivangi Joshi, Sumbul Touqeer Khan, Ayesha Singh, and Shoaib Ibrahim. The show is expected to hit the TV screens next month.

Keep watching this space for more updates!
Enhances Brand Safety Measures with ComScore Technology

PITTSBURGH, PA / ACCESSWIRE / October 4, 2023 / Today, Liberated Syndication Inc. ("Libsyn"), the leading all-in-one podcasting platform for creators and advertisers, announced its September 2023 Podcast Advertising Rates, including the highest and most accessible CPM categories, and touched on advancements in its brand safety and suitability targeting solutions.

The Podcasting Advantage: Building Brand Trust & Safety

Podcast advertising elevates consumers' brand awareness, sparking curiosity, driving engagement, and boosting their interest in making a purchase from that brand's products or services, according to Nielsen's 'Podcasting Today' report. This is driving home why brands are increasingly choosing podcasts as a medium for advertising, but they want to ensure brand safety and protection of their reputation across such digital audio campaigns.

That's why Libsyn is committed to prioritizing brand safety for its advertisers. The Company's AdvertiseCast marketplace leverages ComScore technology to scan and analyze the transcripts of individual podcast shows within the marketplace, enabling contextual profiling of their audio inventory. These integrated components work seamlessly together to score shows, empowering brands to ensure ad placement safety and suitability.

Dave Hanley, Chief Revenue Officer of Libsyn's AdvertiseCast, affirms, "Our advanced brand safety and suitability solutions prioritize advertisers' peace of mind. Through our AdvertiseCast marketplace, we utilize ComScore technology to meticulously analyze podcast show transcripts, enabling contextual profiling and show scoring. This commitment ensures brands can confidently navigate the digital audio landscape."

September 2023 Podcast Advertising Rates

The following rates, which are denoted as cost per thousand or CPM, are published monthly by Libsyn's AdvertiseCast, the industry's premier podcast advertising marketplace that connects advertisers with podcasters. The Company releases the figures to empower the podcaster and advertiser communities to readily monitor market pricing and provide greater insight into podcasting advertising as a monetization vehicle. The data is derived from actual sales data across AdvertiseCast's network of thousands of shows.

For September 2023, the average CPM rate was $22.91 for a 60-second ad spot. That figure is up 3.8% compared to last month (August 2023 avg. CPM rate: $22.07) and has decreased year-over-year (September 2022 avg. CPM rate: $23.94).

The three highest CPM categories in September based on delivered advertising were:

Education: $27

Arts: $26

Technology: $25

Moreover, three categories where advertisers can effectively tap into highly engaged audiences at more accessible CPM rates include Fiction, News, and TV & Film, which averaged around the low 20s in September.

Libsyn's AdvertiseCast combines an industry-leading ad buying and management platform with full-service capabilities that makes it easy for podcast advertisers to initiate and manage highly targeted and measurable campaigns, while providing maximum return for creators. Historical monthly CPM rates can be found on AdvertiseCast's website at: www.advertisecast.com/podcast-advertising-rates.

About Liberated Syndication

Founded in 2004, Liberated Syndication Inc. ("Libsyn") is the leading all-in-one podcasting platform for creators and advertisers to host, distribute, monetize, amplify, and measure their audio content. In 2022, the Company hosted over 75,000 shows and delivered over 8 billion downloads to listeners globally. Libsyn's AdvertiseCast marketplace combines an industry-leading ad buying and management platform with full-service capabilities that make it easy for podcast advertisers to initiate and manage highly targeted and measurable campaigns on over 3,000 shows. Based in Munich, Germany, Libsyn's Julep Media platform is the leading podcasting hosting platform and advertising marketplace in Europe. Libsyn also powers podcast membership platform, Glow, and web hosting platform, Pair Networks. Visit libsyn.com or investor.libsyn.com for more Company information.

#? #? #

Media Contacts: Ray Yeung + Nancy Zakhary | ray@relev8.co+ nancy@relev8.co

Investor Contact: investor@libsyn.com

SOURCE: Liberated Syndication, Inc.

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/789934/libsyn-unveils-september-2023-podcast-advertising-rates
For our cover story we tour the hillforts of Wales, considering what these mighty monuments were for, and if one definition can capture a purpose for all of them.

We then head into a hidden valley in north Lincolnshire, where twin Anglo-Saxon cemeteries representing dramatically different burial traditions were excavated in the 1990s. Thirty years on, analysis has shed vivid light on a fascinating period of religious change and continuity.

Our next feature ventures to another valley, this time in Herefordshire, to learn more about Arthurs Stone. This Neolithic monument has an intriguing (pre)history, shape-shifting from one type of tomb to another. Thanks to three years of excavations, this enigmatic evolution is now coming into focus.

Moving forward in the medieval period, we then travel to Ankerwycke, on the riverbank opposite Runnymede. While one side of the Thames was witnessing the creation of Magna Carta, the other was home to the nuns of St Marys Priory. What have recent investigations revealed about this religious community, and the grand Tudor residence that succeeded it?

We end by unpicking the Knutsford Hoard, a collection of over 100 Roman coins and items of jewellery, and what it tell us about life some 2,000 years ago.

Finally, I offer a grateful salute to my indomitable, indefatigable, and entirely indispensable deputy, Kathryn, for overseeing this issue while Ive been away for much of September.

P.S. Details of all the content of the magazine are available on our new site, The Past. Here you will be able to read each article in full as well as the content of our other magazines, Current World Archaeology, Minerva, and Military History Matters. Subscribers should see the advert inside the magazine for a very special offer!

In This Issue:

FEATURES

THE HIDDEN VALLEY

Finding Anglo-Saxons in rural Lincolnshire

More than 20 years after two Anglo-Saxon cemeteries were excavated at Sawcliffe, near Scunthorpe, new interpretations in the wake of the upcoming publication of the excavation report are helping to complete the picture of early medieval burials in the region.

A MONUMENTAL MYSTERY

Unpicking the evolution of Arthurs Stone

The partial excavation of a churchyard at Fewston in North Yorkshire has provided a rare look at a rural post-medieval population from the north of England, including the lives of many children who were brought from urban workhouses to labour in the nearby mills.

EXCAVATING ANKERWYCKE

From priory to pleasure ground

Ongoing excavations at Ankerwycke, opposite Runnymeade, are shedding new light on how the site evolved from a medieval nunnery to a Tudor residence and, finally, to a 19th-century pleasure ground.

POWER OF PLACE

Illuminating Iron Age hillforts in Wales

A comprehensive survey of the Iron Age hillforts of Wales has provided new evidence about their construction and use over the centuries, showing that no single explanation fits every example.

A CHESHIRE TREASURE

Exploring the contents of the Knutsford Hoard

The Knutsford Hoard  a Roman hoard containing more than 100 coins and pieces of jewellery  was found in 2012. What can more recent analysis of its contents tell us about life in the north-west of England nearly 2,000 years ago?

NEWS

Multi-period finds at Faughan Hill; Investigating a Neolithic cursus on the Isle of Arran; Modelling the Roman road network in the south-west; Bronze Age burial found at Iron Age site in Dorset; Whales in Anglo-Saxon England; Science Notes; Roman farmstead excavated at Milton, Cambridgeshire; Finds Tray

REGULARS

COMMENT

Joe Flatman excavates the CA archive

CONTEXT

Breathing new life into an Anglo-Saxon brooch: National Museums Scotland, Edinburgh

REVIEWS

Broken Pots, Mending Lives: the archaeology of Operation Nightingale; Death and the Body in Bronze Age Europe: from inhumation to cremation; From Hunter-Gatherers to Early Christians: the archaeology of ancient societies in the Llyn peninsula; Fabric of the Frontier: prospection, use, and re-use of stone from Hadrians Wall; A Womans Will: the changing lives of British women, told through the things they have left behind; Beacons in the Landscape: the hillforts of England, Wales, and the Isle of Man (2nd edition)

MUSEUM NEWS

The latest on acquisitions, exhibitions, and key decisions

EXHIBITION

Burma to Myanmar at the British Museum



LISTINGS

Our selection of exhibitions and events, as well as historical, archaeological, and cultural resources from around the world that are still available online.

SHERDS

Chris Catlings irreverent take on heritage issues

ODD SOCS

National Churches Trust

Have all this delivered directly to your door every month  click here to find out more abo
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - October 4, 2023) - Iconic Minerals Ltd. (TSXV: ICM) (OTCQB: ICMFF) (FSE: YQG) (the "Company" or "Iconic") the Company is pleased to announce that Iconic will commence trading under a new OTCQB symbol: ICMFF, on Thursday, October 5, 2023.

The Company is currently focused on the exploration and development of its two prospective lithium brine properties located in Nevada, USA.

About the Grass Valley Project

The Grass Valley Property is a lithium exploration project consisting of 997 placer claims covering an area of 80 km2 (31 mi2). Located approximately 60 km (36 miles) northeast of Austin, Nevada, the property expresses indicators of a potential lithium brine system. The large, enclosed basin is surrounded by mountains with ample felsic volcanics and intrusives, has active hot spring systems on 3 sides of the valley, and surface salt lithium assays as high as 510 ppm Li and an MT survey, run by Fritz Geophysics, shows an interpreted major brine zone extending from approximately 500 meters (1,600 feet) to over 1,000 meters (3,300 feet) below the surface.

About the Smith Creek Project

The Smith Creek Project is located within Smith Creek Valley in Nevada, which is approximately 60 km (37 miles) long and 16 km (10 miles) wide. Quartz-rich volcanic tuffs containing anomalous amounts of lithium occur within and adjacent to the valley. Surface sampling around hot springs on patented ground just off the claim block assayed a maximum of 470 ppm Li. The gravity low within the valley is 16 km (10 miles) long, and the current estimates of depth to basement rocks range from 1,300 to 1,500 meters (4,200 to 5,000 feet). The current claim block covers an area of 67 km2 (26 mi2) with potential for brine systems as well as sediment resources.

Qualified Person

Richard Kern, Certified Professional Geologist, a qualified person as defined by Canadian National Instrument 43-101, has reviewed and approved the technical information contained in this news release. Mr. Kern is not independent of the Company as he is the Chief Executive Officer of Iconic.

On behalf of the Board of Directors

SIGNED: "Richard Barnett"

Richard Barnett, CFO

Contact: Keturah Nathe, VP Corporate Development (604) 336-8614

For further information on Iconic, please visit our website at www.iconicminerals.com. The Company's public documents may be accessed at www.sedar.com .

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This news release contains forward-looking statements and forward-looking information (collectively, "forward-looking statements") within the meaning of applicable Canadian and U.S. securities legislation, including the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, included herein including, without limitation, statements with respect to the Option, the Joint Venture, the amount of the Offering, the expected use of proceeds from the Offering and the future business plans and exploration activities of the Company, are forward-looking statements. Although the Company believes that such statements are reasonable, it can give no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct. Forward-looking statements are typically identified by words such as: "will", "believes", "expects", "anticipates", "intends", "estimates", "plans", "may", "should", "potential", "scheduled" or variations of such words and phrases and similar expressions, which, by their nature, refer to future events or results that may, could, would, might or will occur or be taken or achieved. In making the forward-looking statements in this news release, the Company has applied several material assumptions, including without limitation, that investor interest will be sufficient to close the Offering, that market fundamentals will result in sustained precious metals demand and prices, the receipt of any necessary permits, licenses and regulatory approvals required for the Option Agreement and the future development of the Company's projects in a timely manner.

Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the Company to differ materially from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking information. Such risks and other factors include, among others, operating and technical difficulties in connection with mineral exploration and development activities, actual results of exploration activities, including on the Smith Creek Property, requirements for additional capital, future prices of lithium and gold, changes in general economic conditions, changes in the financial markets and in the demand and market price for commodities, lack of investor interest in future financings, accidents, labour disputes and other risks of the mining industry, delays in obtaining governmental approvals, permits or financing or in the completion of development or construction activities, risks relating to epidemics or pandemics such as COVID-19, including the impact of COVID-19 on the business, financial condition and exploration and development activities of the Company, changes in laws, regulations and policies affecting mining operations, title disputes, the inability of the Company to obtain any necessary permits, consents, approvals or authorizations, including of the TSX Venture Exchange in respect of the Option Agreement and the Offering, the timing and possible outcome of any pending litigation, environmental issues and liabilities, and risks related to joint venture operations, and other risks and uncertainties disclosed in the Company's latest interim Management's Discussion and Analysis and filed with the Canadian Securities Authorities. All of the Company's Canadian public disclosure filings may be accessed via www.sedar.com and readers are urged to review these materials, including the technical reports filed with respect to the Company's mineral properties.

Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. The Company undertakes no obligation to update any of the forward-looking statements in this news release or incorporated by reference herein, except as otherwise required by law.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/182972
In diesem Report stellen wir Ihnen 3 Top-Aktien aus dem Energie-Sektor vor, die Sie unbedingt auf Ihre Watchlist setzen mussen. Lassen Sie sich diese kostenlose Analyse nicht entgehen!

Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann.
Pursuing travel retail business expansion into Europe, Latin America, and the Middle East

SEOUL, South Korea, Oct. 5, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- KT&G Corporation("KT&G" or the "Company") (KRX:033780), South Korea's leading tobacco manufacturer, took part in 2023 TFWA World, the world's largest travel retail exhibition held in Cannes, France from October 1st to 5th.

TFWA World, organized by Tax Free World Association, stands as the foremost travel retail exhibition dedicated to revitalize the travel retail industry.

During the exhibition, KT&G set up a booth to showcase its core travel retail brands including ESSE, RAISON, BOHEM, and several others. KT&G placed a strong emphasis on its global premium brand ESSE, promoting its innovative technology and distinctive product portfolio. At the booth, digital screens and displays were strategically installed to provide a comprehensive overview of KT&G's global expansion progress and achievements in the travel retail business. KT&G also prepared a dedicated meeting room for its business partners and engaged in various networking programs to enhance existing partnerships and secure new ones.

"Participating in the world's largest travel retail exhibition allowed us to explore new business opportunities with partners from all around the world and strengthen our brand awareness. Moving forward, we plan to proactively pioneer new markets and expand our global network, with the goal of establishing a dominant presence in the rapidly growing travel retail market post-pandemic," said Jae Young Cho, Executive Managing Director of KT&G Global Headquarters.

KT&G took its first step into the global travel retail market in 1995 by debuting 88 Lights in the Chinese travel retail market. Currently, KT&G's products are available in 434 travel retail stores, spanning 171 cities worldwide. The company has notably established a robust presence in Asia, with its products prominently featured in 28 out of top 30 Asian airports. As KT&G aims to further strengthen its position in the Asian market, it will concurrently pursue proactive expansion into Europe, Latin America, and the Middle East.

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DKSH Management Ltd. / Key word(s): Bond/Sustainability

DKSH Closes Second Sustainability-Linked Loan With Existing CHF 150 Million Revolving Credit Facility



05.10.2023 / 07:00 CET/CEST





Media release

DKSH has converted its existing CHF 150 million revolving credit facility loan into a sustainability-linked revolving credit facility. This is the second sustainable finance instrument DKSH has entered into within this year, further strengthening its commitment to increase gender diversity in its senior leadership team positions, and become climate neutral (Scope 1+2) by 2030.

Zurich, Switzerland, October 5, 2023 - DKSH, a leading Market Expansion Services provider and trusted partner for companies looking to grow in Asia and beyond, has converted an existing CHF 150 million revolving credit facility (RCF) into a sustainability-linked RCF. The conversion of this loan was signed by a syndicate of six banks, with the Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Limited (ANZ) acting as the Sustainability Coordinator.



This sustainability-linked RCF is linked to its social and environmental commitments - to increase gender diversity in its senior leadership team positions, and to become climate neutral (Scope 1+2) by 2030. Achieving the agreed-upon targets would result in lower borrowing rates for DKSH, whereas failure to reach the targets would equally entail higher borrowing rates.

The sustainability-linked RCF includes an accordion feature which provides flexibility to increase the size of the RCF by up to CHF 150 million through existing lenders, or through the additional facility commitments by any existing lender, and/or the introduction of new lenders.

Earlier in May this year, DKSH signed a sustainability-linked loan for CHF 315 million, linked to the same key performance indicators.



Ido Wallach, DKSH CFO, stated: "This second sustainability-linked facility demonstrates how sustainability has become a true way of life in DKSH, and the confidence of our banking partners in supporting it."

Emily Tonkin, ANZ Head of Sustainable Finance, Europe, UK said: "We are pleased to have supported DKSH in converting their loan into a sustainability-linked facility, as part of their commitment to become climate neutral by 2030 and increasing gender diversity in its leadership."



"More broadly, we are seeing significant appetite for sustainability-linked facilities as they allow borrowers to communicate their sustainability strategy to the market, be publicly held accountable and be incentivized to achieve their targets," said Ms. Tonkin.

About DKSH

DKSH's purpose is to enrich people's lives. For more than 150 years, we have been delivering growth for companies in Asia and beyond across our Business Units Healthcare, Consumer Goods, Performance Materials, and Technology. As a leading Market Expansion Services provider, we offer sourcing, market insights, marketing and sales, eCommerce, distribution and logistics as well as after-sales services. DKSH is a participant of the United Nations Global Compact and adheres to its principles-based approach to responsible business. Listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange, DKSH operates in 37 markets with 32,600 specialists, generating net sales of CHF 11.3 billion in 2022. www.dksh.com

About ANZ

ANZ's Sustainable Finance business is recognized as a market leader across Australia, New Zealand and Asia Pacific, and has participated in 127 sustainable finance deals with a total deal size of AUD 155 billion in FY22. ANZ is the largest bank servicing institutional and large corporate customers in its home markets of Australia and New Zealand, where it ranks #1 for overall market-and lead-bank penetration (according to Peter Lee Associates). In Asia, ANZ has ranked #1 for relationship quality for the past 6 years, and #1 for relationship quality in Singapore in 2022, according to Greenwich Associates.

For more information please contact:

DKSH Holding Ltd.



Till Leisner

Head, Group Investor & Media Relations

Phone +41 44 386 7315

till.leisner@dksh.com

End of Media Release


Technip Energies (PARIS: TE) has been awarded Engineering, Procurement Services and Construction Management (EPsCm) contracts by Galp for an advanced biofuels unit and a green hydrogen unit for its Sines refinery in Portugal. Both projects are part of Galp's program to reduce the carbon footprint of the refinery and its products.

The Advanced Biofuels Unit, promoted by the joint venture of Galp (75%) and Mitsui (25%), will have a 270 ktpa capacity and will produce renewable diesel and sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) from bio-feedstock and waste residues and will allow Galp to avoid c. 800 ktpa of greenhouse gas emissions. For this unit, Technip Energies will work in consortium with Technoedif Engenharia, a large engineering firm in Portugal, to complete the EPsCm project.

The Green Hydrogen Unit, composed of a 100 MW electrolysis plant, will produce up to 15 ktpa of renewable hydrogen, using proton exchange membrane (PEM) electrolyzers which will be supplied by Plug Power. This unit will allow the replacement of c. 20% of the existing grey hydrogen consumption of Sines refinery and will lead to greenhouse gas emissions reduction of c. 110 ktpa.

Both units represent a gross investment estimated at 650 million and will transform the Sines refinery into one of the most important low-carbon platforms in Portugal.

Marco Villa, Chief Operating Officer of Technip Energies, commented: The Final Investment Decision for these two important projects is a major step taken by Galp to transform the refining industry in Portugal. Technip Energies, who has been supporting Galp strategy since the early phases of those two projects, is now delighted to be selected as a partner for the execution phase of both. This investment is another example of how Technip Energies enables the decarbonization of the energy industry through collaboration, innovation and technology integration

About Technip Energies

Technip Energies is a leading Engineering Technology company for the energy transition, with leadership positions in Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG), hydrogen and ethylene as well as growing market positions in blue and green hydrogen, sustainable chemistry and CO2 management. The company benefits from its robust project delivery model supported by extensive technology, products and services offering.

Operating in 35 countries, our 15,000 people are fully committed to bringing our client's innovative projects to life, breaking boundaries to accelerate the energy transition for a better tomorrow.

Technip Energies is listed on Euronext Paris with American depositary receipts ("ADRs"). For further information: www.technipenergies.com.

Important Information for Investors and Securityholders

Forward-Looking Statement

This release contains "forward-looking statements" as defined in Section 27A of the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the United States Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Forward-looking statements usually relate to future events and anticipated revenues, earnings, cash flows or other aspects of Technip Energies' operations or operating results. Forward-looking statements are often identified by the words "believe," "expect," "anticipate," "plan," "intend," "foresee," "should," "would," "could," "may," "estimate," "outlook," and similar expressions, including the negative thereof. The absence of these words, however, does not mean that the statements are not forward-looking. These forward-looking statements are based on Technip Energies' current expectations, beliefs and assumptions concerning future developments and business conditions and their potential effect on Technip Energies. While Technip Energies believes that these forward-looking statements are reasonable as and when made, there can be no assurance that future developments affecting Technip Energies will be those that Technip Energies anticipates.

All of Technip Energies' forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties (some of which are significant or beyond Technip Energies' control) and assumptions that could cause actual results to differ materially from Technip Energies' historical experience and Technip Energies' present expectations or projections. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those set forth in the forward-looking statements.

For information regarding known material factors that could cause actual results to differ from projected results, please see Technip Energies' risk factors set forth in Technip Energies' filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, which include amendment no. 4 to Technip Energies' registration statement on Form F-1 filed on February 11, 2021.

Forward-looking statements involve inherent risks and uncertainties and speak only as of the date they are made. Technip Energies undertakes no duty to and will not necessarily update any of the forward-looking statements in light of new information or future events, except to the extent required by applicable law.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20231004125245/en/

Contacts:

Investor relations

Phil Lindsay

VP Investor Relations

Tel: +44 207 585 5051

Email: Phillip Lindsay

Media relations

Jason Hyonne

Press Relations Social Media Lead

Tel: +33 1 47 78 22 89

Email: Jason Hyonne
Sonen Capital, one of the most recognized pioneering impact investment firms, today announced that Macquarie Asset Management has made a minority investment in the firm. Sonen Capital provides impact investment and advisory services to families, foundations, institutions and advisors. They are committed to integrating social and environmental impact into the investment process to deliver on clients' financial and impact goals.

Macquarie Asset Management's investment will support Sonen's strategic initiatives by bringing additional balance sheet capital to support the ongoing growth of the firm's global impact outsourced chief investment officer (OCIO) services. The investment will further support Sonen's continued growth of its impact measurement and reporting capabilities, including Sonen's comprehensive reporting tools that provide clients with industry leading integrated impact and financial reporting.

Under the terms of the transaction, Sonen will retain the day-to-day management and operations of the company. The firm's investment and decision-making process will also remain unchanged.

Raul Pomares, Sonen Capital's Founding Partner, said, "This strategic investment will enable us to further scale our capability to deliver solutions to clients from strategy to implementation for their specific impact objectives." He added, "Given Macquarie Asset Management's industry leading commitments and management objectives, there are strong values alignment toward mobilizing capital for positive impact."

"Investors continue to have increasing expectations for their portfolios, including knowing how their investments impact society," said Graeme Conway, Chief Commercial Officer, Macquarie Asset Management. "Sonen have a long history of providing solutions for clients that measure financial and social impact. We are excited to support Sonen's field building efforts in this area."

This investment substantiates Sonen's ongoing focus to advance its strategic vision to be the trusted partner of choice for asset owners seeking investment solutions to address the world's most pressing challenges.

About Sonen Capital

Sonen Capital is a leading impact investment manager and advisory firm registered with the SEC. Founded in 2011, Sonen provides innovative impact investment and advisory solutions to families, foundations, institutions, and other advisors. Sonen believes that investing to generate financial returns and lasting social and environmental impact are not only compatible, but also mutually reinforcing objectives.

A certified B Corp with a 149.6 B Impact Score, Sonen's team collectively brings over 150 years of sustainable investing learning and experience. The Firm works with clients to develop and manage impact investment strategies and portfolios across all investment areas and asset classes.

About Macquarie Asset Management

Macquarie Asset Management is a global asset manager that aims to deliver positive impact for everyone. Trusted by institutions, pension funds, governments, and individuals to manage approximately $US582 billion in assets globally, we provide access to specialist investment expertise across a range of capabilities including infrastructure, green investments renewables, real estate, agriculture natural assets, asset finance, private credit, equities, fixed income and multi asset solutions.

Macquarie Asset Management is part of Macquarie Group, a diversified financial group providing clients with asset management, finance, banking, advisory and risk and capital solutions across debt, equity, and commodities. Founded in 1969, Macquarie Group employs more than 20,500 people in 34 markets and is listed on the Australian Securities Exchange.

All figures as at 31 March 2023. For more information, please visit Macquarie.com.

Other than Macquarie Bank Limited ABN 46 008 583 542 ("Macquarie Bank"), any Macquarie Group entity noted in this press release is not an authorised deposit-taking institution for the purposes of the Banking Act 1959 (Commonwealth of Australia). The obligations of these other Macquarie Group entities do not represent deposits or other liabilities of Macquarie Bank. Macquarie Bank does not guarantee or otherwise provide assurance in respect of the obligations of these other Macquarie Group entities. In addition, if this document relates to an investment, (a) the investor is subject to\ investment risk including possible delays in repayment and loss of income and principal invested and (b) none of Macquarie Bank or any other Macquarie Group entity guarantees any particular rate of return on or the performance of the investment, nor do they guarantee repayment of capital in respect of the investment.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20231004866378/en/

Contacts:

Media Contact

Sonen Capital

Amando Balbuena

abalbuena@sonencapital.com

415-528-3608
Mithra Provides an Update in the Context of Recent Market Developments

Financial results show Mithra has solid financial foundation and multiple options to finance

Shareholder meetings called to consider routine matters of business

Liege, Belgium, 05 October 2023 - 7:00 CEST -Mithra (Euronext Brussels: MITRA), a company dedicated to Women's Health, today provides an update in the context of recent market announcements and developments.

Recent developments in the Belgian biotech industry have caused some concerns among investors about Mithra's financials, as well as the announcement on September 29th on the upcoming special and extraordinary securities holders' meetings to be held on October 30th.

These special and extraordinary securities holders' meetings have been called to consider routine matters of business, in particular linked to the previously announced financial arrangements with Armistice Capital and Highbridge Capital Management and Whitebox Advisors. The agenda items, which are publicly available, show that there are no drastic financing issues to address, and all proposals relate to existing, agreed upon measures to finance the company.

Mithra is obliged to disclose its finances publicly and has done so on the 26th of September, revealing it has a strong financial baseline. As published in its 2023 Half Year Results Report, Mithra's auditors raised no new issues that would prevent the company from continuing its business operations as a "going concern."

Dr. David Horn Solomon, Chief Executive Officer of Mithra, commented: "Our latest financial results, published just last month, show that Mithra has a solid financial foundation, in that we continue to have multiple options to finance the company. We have made progress over the last months, demonstrating those strong underlying fundamentals, and we are working hard to further deliver on our strategy and unlock the value in the business. In particular, we raised EUR 20 million in a successful equity financing, with potential for up to an additional EUR 45 million in equity, which is an important demonstration of our ability to raise finance during turbulent market conditions."

Other important steps, which have generated or are expected to generate revenue, include:

Canadian licensing deal for DONESTA  , worth up to EUR 17.05 million in licensing and milestone payments plus tiered double-digit royalties

, worth up to EUR 17.05 million in licensing and milestone payments plus tiered double-digit royalties EUR 1.25 million milestone payment from Fuji Pharma on ESTELLE 

Generated about EUR 10 million in cash for operations from our sale of about half of our shares of Mayne Pharma

Secured access to EUR 12.5 million in financing from Highbridge and Whitebox under a loan facility

ESTELLE  U.S. product sales volumes by partner Mayne Pharma increased by 80% in H1 2023, compared to H2 2022. The company's higher net loss for H1 2023 was mainly due to the reimbursement of certain loan tranches.

U.S. product sales volumes by partner Mayne Pharma increased by 80% in H1 2023, compared to H2 2022. The company's higher net loss for H1 2023 was mainly due to the reimbursement of certain loan tranches. Actively engaged in securing a U.S. distribution partner for DONESTA 

Actively evaluating the best strategic alternatives for two non-core businesses: the complex therapeutics business Novalon and the contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO)

For more information, please contact:

Mithra Pharmaceuticals SA

Alex Sokolowski, PhD

Head of Investor Relations

investorrelations@mithra.com

+32 (0)4 349 28 22

Frederique Depraetere

Communication Director

info@mithra.com (mailto:info@mithra.com)

+32 (0)4 349 28 22







Chris Maggos

Cohesion Bureau

chris.maggos@cohesionbureau.com

+41 79 367 6254

About Mithra

Mithra Pharmaceuticals SA (Euronext: MITRA) is a Belgian biopharmaceutical company dedicated to transforming Women's Health by offering new choices through innovation, with a particular focus on contraception and menopause. Mithra's goal is to develop products offering better efficacy, safety and convenience, meeting women's needs throughout their life span. Mithra explores the potential of the unique native estrogen estetrol in a wide range of applications in women health and beyond. After having successfully launched the first estetrol-based product in 2021, the contraceptive pill ESTELLE, Mithra is now focusing on its second product DONESTA, the next-generation hormone therapy. Mithra also offers partners a complete spectrum of solutions from early drug development, clinical batches and commercial manufacturing of complex polymeric products (vaginal ring, implants) and complex liquid injectables and biologicals (vials, pre-filled syringes or cartridges) at its technological platform Mithra CDMO. Active in more than 100 countries around the world, is headquartered in Liege, Belgium.www.mithra.com

ESTELLE and DONESTA are registered trademarks of Mithra Pharmaceuticals or one of its affiliates.

Important information

The contents of this announcement include statements that are, or may be deemed to be, "forward-looking statements". These forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology, including the words "believes", "estimates," "anticipates", "expects", "intends", "may", "will", "plans", "continue", "ongoing", "potential", "predict", "project", "target", "seek" or "should", and include statements the Company makes concerning the intended results of its strategy. By their nature, forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties and readers are cautioned that any such forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance. The Company's actual results may differ materially from those predicted by the forward-looking statements. The Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise forward-looking statements, except as may be required by law.





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THE HAGUE, Netherlands, Oct. 5, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Ninety One appointed Josien Piek as Sales Director for Northern Europe. The firm also announced the opening of a Dutch branch, to be managed by Josien.

Josien, based in The Hague, will be responsible for business development and sales in the Netherlands and the Nordics.

The appointment of Josien, who returns to Ninety One after six years in sustainability benchmarking and impact investing with a focus on Northern European institutional investors, and the opening of the Dutch branch will enable Ninety One to capitalise on the strong dynamics of the market.

The Netherlands is a key market for Ninety One, requiring a permanent presence from which the firm can continue to grow in Northern Europe.

Josien led Nordic and Dutch sales for Ninety One from 2010 to 2017. Immediately prior to rejoining Ninety One, she was Head of Nordics and the Netherlands at Haven Green Investment Management. Josien was also a Founding Supervisory Board Member for the World Benchmarking Alliance.

Josien joined the investment management industry in 2001. She graduated from the University of Amsterdam with a master's degree in macro and monetary economics.

Josien Piek said, "It's a great pleasure to be back with Ninety One. The culture is unique, enabling a diverse set of talented people to invest for positive outcomes in a rapidly changing world. I'm looking forward to developing our business in the Netherlands and Nordics."

Aymeric Francois and Maik Fechner, the co-heads of Central and Northern Europe for Ninety One, said: "We're so pleased to welcome Josien back to our firm and are most excited about opening a Dutch branch. Given Josien's more than three decades of knowledge and experience in the financial sector, including as a macro economist and former portfolio manager, she is very well placed to strengthen our relationships with investors."

Notes to Editors

About Ninety One

Ninety One is an active, global investment manager managing 124.8 billion in assets (as at 30.06.23). Our goal is to provide long-term investment returns for our clients while making a positive difference to people and the planet. Established in South Africa in 1991, as Investec Asset Management, the firm began as a small start-up offering domestic investments in an emerging market. In 2020, as a global firm proud of our emerging market roots, we demerged to become Ninety One. We are committed to developing specialist investment teams organically. Our heritage and approach let us bring a different perspective to active and sustainable investing across equities, fixed income, multi-asset and alternatives to our clients - institutions, advisors and individual investors around the world.

For more information, please visit:

Web: NinetyOne.com

Disclaimer

All investments carry the risk of capital loss. The information contained in this press release is intended primarily for journalists and should not be relied upon by private investors or any other persons to make financial decisions. Furthermore, the material contained herein is for informational purposes only and should not be construed as an offer, or solicitation of an offer, to buy or sell securities either generally or in any jurisdiction where the offer or sale is not permitted. Offers are made only by prospectus or other offering materials and upon an investor meeting certain suitability standards and any other applicable requirements as required by law. All of the views expressed about the markets, securities or companies in this press comment accurately reflect the personal views of the individual fund manager (or team) named. While opinions stated are honestly held, they are not guarantees and should not be relied on. Ninety One in the normal course of its activities as an global asset manager may already hold or intend to purchase or sell the stocks mentioned on behalf of its clients. The information or opinions provided should not be taken as specific advice on the merits of any investment decision. This press release may contain statements about expected or anticipated future events and financial results that are forward-looking in nature and, as a result, are subject to certain risks and uncertainties, such as general economic, market and business conditions, new legislation and regulatory actions, competitive and general economic factors and conditions and the occurrence of unexpected events. Actual results may differ materially from those stated herein. Telephone calls may be recorded for training, monitoring and regulatory purposes and to confirm investor's instructions. Ninety One's Privacy Notice is available at www.ninetyone.com/privacynotice .

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Kyiv, Ukraine--(Newsfile Corp. - October 5, 2023) - Geoscells has launched a new stage of scientific research to find a practical approach to treating cancer. Unlike traditional therapeutic regimens aimed at reducing the size of tumors, a team of Ukrainian scientists proposes a new way: to target the basis of cancer - cancer stem cells, which are the cause of the disease recurring again and again.

Geoscells is an organization dedicated to the development and production of products to improve the overall health and quality of life of cancer patients, working closely with pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, research institutes and medical centers that share its values.

Geoscells has launched a new stage of scientific research for cancer treatment

To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:

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The Geoscells company was founded by CEO Mamed Shiraliev, whose career in medicine began with the establishment of a personal clinic and analysis laboratories and who has been engaged in research activities in the field of molecular oncology since 2014. When creating Geoscells, Mamed was joined by scientists and experts, specialists in developing specialized software and performing complex research tasks, working harmoniously as a united whole, fully sharing the aspirations of the founder.

The research company Geoscells has directed all efforts to achieve victory over one of the most terrible diseases. On that ground, the company aims to talk about an imminent breakthrough in the field of molecular oncology, which suggests paying attention to a method of cancer therapy the essence of which in involvement in the process of fighting cancer stem cell diseases.

"The highly transformative properties of stem cells can be redirected to cancer cells through phenotypic or genetic changes. This is a promising mechanism that is fundamentally different from short-term treatments such as chemotherapy. In addition, the perfect study of stem cells makes it possible to fully utilize them in other areas of medicine - treatment of autoimmune diseases, regenerative therapy and cosmetology," said CEO of Geoscells, Mamed Shiraliev.

"The key question facing science is identifying the precise marker of cancer stem cells. Having such a tool, doctors will be able to differentiate similar tissues in order to work with them effectively in the future. My team at Geoscells, after a series of in-depth studies, discovered a universal selective marker," added Mamed Shiraliev.

The team of Ukrainian scientists has drawn attention to the particular importance of ionotropic glutamate receptors, which are responsible for learning, memory, cell differentiation and their plasticity. Further research led to the conclusion that ionotropic glutamate receptors may act as a universal negative marker of cancer stem cells. This finding was confirmed by mass spectrometry using AlphaCell artificial intelligence.

"Although it is too early to talk about the final results that doctors could rely on in their practice, the beginning of a fundamentally new path to rethinking the problems and challenges of molecular oncology has already been laid," explained Mamed Shiraliev.

Among the achievements of Geoscells, in addition to the discovery of a marker for identifying cancer stem cells, is the patenting of a unique method of treating cancer using combination therapy and an anti-miRNA cocktail, which plays a key role in unblocking the translation process with the formation of glutamate receptors in cancer stem cells, to protect the developments from third-party use.

Research optimization is facilitated by the use of innovative technologies to solve problems, such as the Kuna robotic laboratory assistant, the Lionheart LX automated microscope and the AlphaCell artificial intelligence, with the ability to process significant amounts of information, identify hidden patterns, analyze large libraries of compounds and predict their potential activity against certain cancer types.

Laying the foundation for a definitive solution to cancer treatment, research company Geoscells has created an interdisciplinary platform, geoscells.com, to maximize the potential of cancer stem cells.

Address: LLC Geoscells, 2 Maidan Nezalezhnosti Sq, Kyiv, 01012, Ukraine

Official website: geoscells.com

Email: info@geoscells.com

Contact person: Geoscells CEO Mamed Shiraliev

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/182754
Press release - Opening of the Ylang Ylang shopping center

Sainte-Marie, October 5, 2023, 10:45 a.m.

Official unveiling and opening to the general public

of the Ylang Ylang Shopping Center in Combani, Mayotte

CBo Territoria, a socially responsible group committed to the development of Mayotte since 2016, inaugurated the Ylang Ylang Shopping Centre in Combani yesterday alongside the institutions and all its partners (Prefecture, Conseil Departemental, Mairie de Tsingoni, Agence Francaise de Developpement, La Banque des Territoires, tenant retailers, etc.). This nearly 7,000-square-meter retail complex is entirely controlled by the Group.

The Ylang Ylang shopping Centre, which comprises a Carrefour supermarket (owned by the GBH Group), the Mr. Bricolage and C'TAM chains (run by the Cananga Group), and a 15-store retail arcade, opens its doors today. This new lifestyle and service center will benefit Mahoran families by offering a wide range of products and services, including ready-to-wear (OVS, Skechers), baby care (Bebe 9, Okaidi), beauty, well-being, and jewelry (Beauty Success, The Body Shop, Oceanor), telecommunications (Orange, SFR, and Canal +), and restaurants (Burger Yatrou).

CBo Territoria, a pioneer in the design, construction, and operation of green buildings in tropical environments, aims to obtain BREEAM (Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method) certification for this site in 2024, becoming the first in the Indian Ocean region to achieve this distinction. In terms of building design, equipment, rainwater management, and waste reduction, this retail center demonstrates strong environmental goals. The thermal design adheres to the Mayenergie Plus (ADEME) reference system and the roof will be fitted with photovoltaic panels.

The Group reaffirms its commitment to the second-most populous department in France, which receives significant development assistance from both the French government and the European Union. At the intersection of the departmental highways connecting the north, south, and west of the region, Ylang Ylang provides an innovative facility that matches the region's high aspirations in a previously under-equipped but unquestionably economically significant sector. It serves as a balanced complement to the services provided in the region's capital, Mamoudzou, and marks an important turning point in the region's development.

This project is part of CBo Territoria's Impact Pei 2030* roadmap, which includes a strong social component, driven by a proactive approach to recruitment involving future shopkeepers, in partnership with the public employment agency, with the aim of optimizing economic spin-offs for the benefit of Tsingoni and central-western island residents. Thus, approximately 130 direct positions have been created.

As an extension to the shopping center, CBo Territoria is pursuing its development in the area by building commercial properties. To that purpose, Pole Emploi will be delivered an office building of 1,130 sq.m of usable floor space in the second quarter of 2024. In addition, the tertiary sector offer on this area is being further expanded by the launch of an office complex of 2,150 m of usable floor space, and a retail park of 2,900 m of usable floor space, both of which are already being marketed.

"We are delighted to be a part of the Mahoran territory's structure and development by constructing this center of life and interchange. This economic dynamic is backed by a strong emphasis on environmental issues, with the first BREEAM-certified building delivered in the Indian Ocean region," says Geraldine Neyret, Chief Executive Officer of CBo Territoria.

* CBo Territoria is revitalizing its CSR activities to prepare for key international and European challenges in terms of climate, environment, and a long-term economic perspective. To that purpose, we have developed a virtuous dynamic for the regions in which we operate, as well as for our stakeholders, based on four essential principles: responsible citizens, environmental mobilization, energy efficiency, and committed employer. In 2022, the Group structured its action plan, "Impact Pei 2030," for the coming years, around these challenges.

2024 financial calendar: 2023 annual results - Tuesday, February 6, 2024

About CBo Territoria (FR0010193979, CBOT)

CBo Territoria has been a major real estate operator in La Reunion for nearly 20 years and has evolved into a multi-regional property developer specializing in tertiary assets (300.6 million at the end of December, representing 81% of total assets in value at year- end 2022). The Group is pursuing its expansion through the exploitation of its land reserves or through land acquisition, as it is involved in the full real estate value chain (property developer, property investor, and real estate company). CBo Territoria can finance its development through its activities as a residential developer (apartment buildings or sale of land plots) and, secondarily, as a service provider, as well as through the planned transfer of its residual residential properties to SHLMR.

CBo Territoria is a real estate investment firm listed on Euronext Paris (compartment "C") that is qualified for the PEA PME finance program (small and medium-sized enterprises).

Responsible and committed to a more sustainable real estate since its inception, CBo Territoria has been in the Top 10 of compartment "C" of the Gai?a-Index for the past 6 years, a French benchmark index of the most virtuous small and medium-sized companies in terms of CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility).

More information on cboterritoria.com

INVESTORS Contacts

Caroline Clapier - Director of Finance and Administration - direction@cboterritoria.com

Agnes Villeret - Komodo - Tel.: 06 83 28 04 15 - agnes.villeret@agence-komodo.com

PRESS Contacts

Finance: Agnes Villeret - agnes.villeret@agence-komodo.com

Corporate - Paris: Dina Morin - dmorin@capvalue.fr

La Reunion & Mayotte: Catherine Galatoire - cgalatoire@cboterritoria.com

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YEREVAN, OCTOBER 5, ARMENPRESS. Turkiyes allegations regarding Armenias Metsamor Nuclear Power Plant are unfounded, the Armenian governments Nuclear Safety Committee Chairman Khachatur Khachikyan told Armenpress.

He said there are no grounds to shut down the plant. Metsamor meets all safety standards, including seismic safety, he said.

The Metsamor NPPs current safety level is sufficient for it to operate safely, and work is underway to further increase the safety level.

This isnt the first time that Turkiye is trying to manipulate the fact of continuing the Armenian NPPs operations, it is regularly raising this, this is its right, but the issue of closing or not closing the nuclear power plant is beyond its arena, it is a matter within the jurisdiction of the country operating the given nuclear power plant, which has been stated also by the Turkish parliaments petitions commission, Khachikyan said.

Both Armenia and Turkiye are countries that have ratified the convention on nuclear safety. And in accordance with the requirements of the convention, the member states  including Armenia  are submitting reports to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) regarding the state of the nuclear safety in the country, and the report then passes an expert assessment by other member states who can present queries. So far, all queries filed to Armenia have received comprehensive answers.

The results of the expert observation are summed up in the report, where the actions that the country shall implement are mentioned, and the status of implementation is presented in the next reporting period. Theres no single action mentioned there thats beyond our countrys capacity, and weve never refused to implement them. The actions that can be done in a short period of time are implemented during the next reporting period, while for the long-term ones we develop a roadmap for implementation and start working, Khachikyan said.

Furthermore, as part of technical cooperation programs, the IAEA is providing expert and technical support to Armenia for infrastructure development and increase of nuclear safety.

Numerous projects have been completed as part of the plants lifespan extension, such as system modification and modernization. International experts were involved in safety monitoring and their opinions are taken into consideration during decision-making.

Emergency trainings are also regularly held in the country.

As part of emergency training, any country operating a nuclear power plant holds certain events, such as developing an emergency plan, holding emergency trainings and storing the required amount of iodine tablets envisaged for nearby communities. This is a mandatory requirement. Armenia is also regularly holding the trainings and maintains a storage of iodine tablets, which is stored to distribute among the population of the nearby communities in the event of necessity, he said.

Speaking about seismic safety, Khachikyan said that the plants seismic safety has been re-regularly reassessed since its re-launch in 1995. As a result, our nuclear power plant meets the current requirements. The reassessment showed that the essential systems of the plant can withstand up to 0,35g (free fall acceleration) ground shocks. Weve set a requirement to implement another reassessment and reequipment to substantiate that these systems can withstand up to 0,42g shocks, Khachikyan said, adding that the reassessment objective emerged after a stress-test implemented following the 2011 Fukushima nuclear accident in Japan.

Energy security expert Vahe Davtyan, reacting to Turkiyes request to the IAEA to close the Metsamor nuclear power plant, also told Armenpress that the plant doesnt have any safety problems and that Ankaras move is purely political and pursues geoeconomic goals.

Just last year the International Atomic Energy Agency Director General Rafael Grossi said he was pleased to see the safety and security improvements made to the Metsamor Armenian Nuclear Power Plant.

Earlier in September 2023, Armenia was elected to the IAEA Board of Governors for 2023-2024.
Alastair Coutts Joins TrueBridge in Strategic Leadership Role

TrueBridge, the premier interim, fractional and advisory executive search firm, announced today it has appointed strategic business leader Alastair Coutts as Head of TrueBridge EMEA. Coutts joins the accomplished EMEA team to expand TrueBridge's impact across the continent.

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Alastair Coutts, Head of TrueBridge EMEA (Photo: Business Wire)

"The current interim space is experiencing significant growth driven by the evolving landscape of work and changing preferences," said Coutts. "This environment presents numerous opportunities for those considering interim roles, and I look forward to leveraging my commercial and team-building experience delivering exceptional value in this space to our clients and candidates alike."

As Head of TrueBridge EMEA, Coutts will help TrueBridge clients take advantage of opportunities across the True platform, which includes full-time global executive search firm True Search. Clients will not only gain access to a broader pool of exceptional candidates, but will also benefit from True's high-touch, white-glove service and domain expertise, especially in high-growth sectors. TrueBridge's emergence as a leading provider in this space also opens up countless opportunities for candidates seeking interim, fractional, and advisory roles.

Alastair Coutts, Head of TrueBridge EMEA

With a career spanning diverse industries and roles, Coutts has 25-years developing client relationships in the VC, PE, asset management, and professional services communities, and helping clients drive success and growth.

Coutts spent more than a decade at GLG, establishing and building up the company as a platform for sharing insight and expertise in EMEA. He most recently served as head of EMEA at Lynk, a SaaS platform for industry experts and consultants.

"Alastair's background aligns seamlessly with our collaborative, teamwork-based culture," said TrueBridge CEO David Beuerlein. "Throughout his career and during his tenures at Lynk and GLG, Alastair demonstrated a remarkable ability to build and maintain large, senior teams. He embodies the belief that fostering the right culture is paramount to cultivating high-performing teams-and TrueBridge is an ideal environment for him to thrive and make a significant impact."

About TrueBridge

Executive recruitment business connecting experienced executives to fractional, interim and advisory roles at innovative companies. Join our network or hire talent.

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Contacts:

Sarah Mikhailova VP, Communications

sarah@trueplatform.com
LONDON, Oct. 5, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Sodexo Engage, the leading expert in employee engagement, today announces the launch and UK implementation of its new brand, Pluxee.

Pluxee is a modern and digital brand that reflects the vision and ambition of the company and mirrors both its present identity and aspirations for the future. By adopting this new identity in the UK, the company aims to establish a stronger and more distinctive presence in the highly dynamic market.

Pluxee UK, stands as a formidable player in the employee engagement industry, serving 5,000 customers, collaborating with over 500 retailers, and enabling its end users to save annually a total of 19.9 million (in 2022).

Burcin Ressamoglu, CEO of Pluxee UK, said: "I am delighted to introduce Pluxee into the UK market as a statement of our future intent. Pluxee UK builds on 60 years of experience in the industry and the invaluable support of our talented and dedicated employees. These foundations will enable us to continue to deliver on our vision of opening up a world of opportunities for people to enjoy more of what really matters in their lives."

The launch of Pluxee in the UK already builds on a year full of major milestones and achievements including:

Exceptional Employee Engagement. The company has achieved an impressive employee engagement rate of 88.3% and a consistently high well-being engagement rate averaging 88.4%, solidifying Pluxee UK as an employer of choice. Furthermore, Pluxee UK has attained the prestigious IIP (Investors In People) Gold Standard Accreditation, with ambitious plans to elevate its status to Platinum within the next year.

The company has achieved an impressive employee engagement rate of 88.3% and a consistently high well-being engagement rate averaging 88.4%, solidifying Pluxee UK as an employer of choice. Furthermore, Pluxee UK has attained the prestigious IIP (Investors In People) Gold Standard Accreditation, with ambitious plans to elevate its status to Platinum within the next year. Volunteering efforts and local community commitment. Last year, Pluxee UK employees contributed 655 hours to various volunteer initiatives, including Food Bank Warehouse shifts, Dragon Boat Race Fundraisers, and the MK Act Employment Fayre. Notably, Pluxee UK employees dedicated 105 business hours to the Stop Hunger initiative, supporting 5,000 families through volunteering at the Milton Keynes Food Bank. This initiative aligns with its global corporate responsibility program, Better Tomorrow 2025, demonstrating Pluxee UK's strong commitment to community impact.

Last year, Pluxee UK employees contributed 655 hours to various volunteer initiatives, including Food Bank Warehouse shifts, Dragon Boat Race Fundraisers, and the MK Act Employment Fayre. Notably, Pluxee UK employees dedicated 105 business hours to the Stop Hunger initiative, supporting 5,000 families through volunteering at the Milton Keynes Food Bank. This initiative aligns with its global corporate responsibility program, Better Tomorrow 2025, demonstrating Pluxee UK's strong commitment to community impact. Committed to promoting responsible and sustainable choices. Pluxee UK has developed an ambitious strategy to reduce its environmental footprint. It has achieved the first Net-Zero trajectory validated by the Science-Based Targets initiative (SBTi) in its industry. Furthermore, diversity, equity, and inclusion (DE&I) remain at the forefront of Pluxee UK's agenda, championing equitable opportunities, valuing diversity, and remaining committed to creating an inclusive working environment.

Pluxee UK has developed an ambitious strategy to reduce its environmental footprint. It has achieved the first Net-Zero trajectory validated by the Science-Based Targets initiative (SBTi) in its industry. Furthermore, diversity, equity, and inclusion (DE&I) remain at the forefront of Pluxee UK's agenda, championing equitable opportunities, valuing diversity, and remaining committed to creating an inclusive working environment. New and the first Pluxee branded office - Pluxee UK's brand new workspace, the Enigma Building in Milton Keynes, was inaugurated a few weeks ago, providing employees with more opportunities for collaboration and socialising, prioritising their well-being throughout the workday.

These achievements further demonstrate Pluxee UK as a key driver in advancing the broader company's growth strategy and continued commitment to delivering exceptional value for all its stakeholders.

About Pluxee

Pluxee is the global leading employee benefits and engagement partner that opens up a world of opportunities to help everyone enjoy more of what really matters to them. Through a full range of innovative and digital solutions deployed in 31 countries, Pluxee creates meaningful, engaging, and personalised experiences to contribute to the well-being of individuals at work and beyond.

In the UK, Pluxee offers award-winning employee benefits, rewards and recognition all designed to bring more value to people. Globally, Pluxee supports the purchasing power and promotes the well-being of more than 36 million consumers. Pluxee accompanies 500,000 clients to develop more meaningful relationships with their employees and improve their engagement. Pluxee simplifies the life of 1.7 million merchants every day. Strengthened by its historical ties with Sodexo, Pluxee with its 5,000 employees is committed to increase its influence as CSR leader by giving its clients, partners and consumers the means to make more sustainable choices every day.

For more information: www.pluxee.uk.

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ING publishes 2023 Climate Report

ING today published its annual Climate Report. This report explains how our financing impacts climate change, as well as how climate change impacts our business. It includes our progress on steering the nine most carbon-intensive sectors in our loan portfolio towards global climate goals - our Terra approach - how we engage with clients to help them in their transitions, and our work to assess climate risks and take action to mitigate them.

"Climate change is a fact and its effects are being felt all around us," said ING CEO Steven van Rijswijk. "The latest climate science sends a clear warning that we only have a small window of opportunity to limit global warming to 1.5C. I strongly believe that every step counts, every action is meaningful, and every tenth of a degree matters. We all - governments, NGOs, businesses and individuals - have a part to play, and we can all make the difference for present and future generations if we work together towards the same goals."

Putting sustainability at the heart of what we do is one of the two key pillars of our strategy. We're proud of the progress we're making, and how we're using our financing to contribute to the transition of our customers but we know we still have work to do. Change doesn't happen overnight, and going green isn't black and white. The reality is that even though we finance a lot of sustainable activities, we still finance more that's not. Society is transitioning to a low-carbon economy. So are our clients, and so are we.

Key takeaways from the report are:

We continue to help set sector financing standards for decarbonisation. We've done so in steel and shipping and are collaborating on a new methodology for the aluminium sector.

We've set 2030 and 2050 targets for not only upstream, but also the midstream and downstream parts of the oil & gas value chain. We're also working to expand our approach into trade and commodity finance, with the aim of covering the full value chain of oil & gas under our Terra approach.

We're increasingly integrating climate into our decision-making and business processes.

Besides oil & gas, we're expanding our Terra approach into more areas including Business Banking (agriculture and transportation, in the Netherlands) and global commercial real estate.

We make specific calls on sector level to governments and regulators to more firmly guide the transition with harmonised policies and incentives that accelerate the decarbonisation of the global economy.





As insights on climate action are evolving rapidly, we continue to improve our approach. This report provides us and our stakeholders with the opportunity to reflect on the progress we've been making, and to look ahead to the areas where we can strive to do more, aim to go faster, drive increased collaboration and call for greater guidance.

The 2023 Climate Report is available for download here.

Note for editors

For further information on ING, please visit www.ing.com. Frequent news updates can be found in the Newsroomor via the @ING_newsX feed. Photos of ING operations, buildings and its executives are available for download at Flickr.

Press enquiries Investor enquiries Astrid Overeem ING Group Investor Relations +31 20 563 8490 +31 20 576 6396 Astrid.Overeem@ing.com (mailto:Astrid.Overeem@ing.com) Investor.Relations@ing.com (mailto:Investor.Relations@ing.com)

ING PROFILE

ING is a global financial institution with a strong European base, offering banking services through its operating company ING Bank. The purpose of ING Bank is: empowering people to stay a step ahead in life and in business. ING Bank's more than 59,000 employees offer retail and wholesale banking services to customers in over 40 countries.

ING Group shares are listed on the exchanges of Amsterdam (INGA NA, INGA.AS), Brussels and on the New York Stock Exchange (ADRs: ING US, ING.N).

Sustainability is an integral part of ING's strategy, evidenced by ING's leading position in sector benchmarks. ING's Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) rating by MSCI was affirmed 'AA' in September 2022. As of August 2022, Sustainalytics considers ING's management of ESG material risk to be 'strong', and in June 2022 ING received an ESG rating of 'strong' from S&P Global Ratings. ING Group shares are also included in major sustainability and ESG index products of leading providers Euronext, STOXX, Morningstar and FTSE Russell.

Important legal information

Elements of this press release contain or may contain information about ING Groep N.V. and/ or ING Bank N.V. within the meaning of Article 7(1) to (4) of EU Regulation No 596/2014.

ING Group's annual accounts are prepared in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards as adopted by the European Union ('IFRS- EU'). In preparing the financial information in this document, except as described otherwise, the same accounting principles are applied as in the 2022 ING Group consolidated annual accounts. All figures in this document are unaudited. Small differences are possible in the tables due to rounding.

Certain of the statements contained herein are not historical facts, including, without limitation, certain statements made of future expectations and other forward-looking statements that are based on management's current views and assumptions and involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results, performance or events to differ materially from those expressed or implied in such statements. Actual results, performance or events may differ materially from those in such statements due to a number of factors, including, without limitation:.

This document may contain inactive textual addresses to internet websites operated by us and third parties. Reference to such websites is made for information purposes only, and information found at such websites is not incorporated by reference into this document. ING does not make any representation or warranty with respect to the accuracy or completeness of, or take any responsibility for, any information found at any websites operated by third parties. ING specifically disclaims any liability with respect to any information found at websites operated by third parties. ING cannot guarantee that websites operated by third parties remain available following the publication of this document, or that any information found at such websites will not change following the filing of this document. Many of those factors are beyond ING's control.

Any forward looking statements made by or on behalf of ING speak only as of the date they are made, and ING assumes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information or for any other reason. This document does not constitute an offer to sell, or a solicitation of an offer to purchase, any securities in the United States or any other jurisdiction.

Attachment
Fincon Reply, the company within the Reply Group that specialises in IT consulting and development for financial service providers, is part of the "BiPRO Hub" lighthouse project of the Industry Institute for Process Optimisation (BiPRO). The aim of the project is to drive digitalisation within the insurance industry, and Fincon Reply, as an implementation partner, supports the standardisation of cross-company processes.

The insurance industry is currently facing the challenge of making business processes more efficient and digital. The BiPRO Hub serves as a non-profit data hub and aims to increase the degree of standardisation in the implementation until a complete high-quality service is provided. Insurance companies and their partner companies, such as intermediaries, pools or distributors, benefit from common industry standards. Fincon Reply actively accompanies this process and provides services for the transmission of data and documents.

With the hub, central services are provided on a neutral level under the management of BiPRO Service GmbH; as a community solution. This is how the exchange of data and documents can be simplified, made much more cost-effective, its quality optimised and the time-to-market process accelerated.

The BiPRO Hub currently consists of a group of 15 companies, including well-known insurance companies such as Allianz, Alte Leipziger, Axa, Barmenia, Ergo, Gothaer, HDI, Signal Iduna and Volkswohl Bund as well as partner companies. Frank Dunnleder, Partner Fincon Reply, comments: "The BiPRO Hub is the initiative from the industry for the industry to drive digitalisation faster than before and to improve competitiveness against foreign tech corporations. Based on many years of experience as a BiPRO service provider and our broad and deep know-how, we are looking forward to succeeding in the digital transformation within the insurance industry together."

Reply

Reply [EXM, STAR: REY] specialises in the design and implementation of solutions based on new communication channels and digital media. As a network of highly specialised companies, Reply defines and develops business models enabled by the new models of AI, big data, cloud computing, digital media and the internet of things. Reply delivers consulting, system integration and digital services to organisations across the telecom and media; industry and services; banking and insurance; and public sectors. www.reply.com

Fincon Reply

Fincon Reply is a business and IT consultancy specializing in the financial services industry. Fincon Reply proactively advises banks, the Sparkassen Financial Group, the German Cooperative Financial Group and insurance companies as well as their suppliers on their digital transformation. The company provides on-site support with specialised teams of consultants and developers and delivers turnkey solutions. www.fincon.eu

BiPRO Service GmbH

BiPRO Service GmbH is a 100% subsidiary of BiPRO e.V. As a neutral organisation, BiPRO e.V. standardises digital, cross-company business processes in the insurance/financial services sector. This is done through concrete standardisation projects, digitalisation offensives, expert groups, etc. For association tax purposes, services that go beyond the actual standardisation, such as training (of a general nature) or the BiPRO Hub, are provided by BiPRO Service GmbH. www.bipro.net

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Contacts:

Media contacts:

Reply

Fabio Zappelli

f.zappelli@reply.com

Tel. +390117711594

Sandra Dennhardt

s.dennhardt@reply.com

Tel. +49 170 4546229
PARIS, Oct. 5, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- With its new artistic collaboration with up-and-coming Parisian artist Paul Rousteau, Tiffany & Co. is set to ignite a breathtaking transformation of the Opera Garnier. Starting from September 29th, 2023, during the heart of Paris Fashion Week, the iconic facades of this historic venue will come alive featuring Tiffany & Co's iconic Sixteen Stone ring signed by the brand's legendary designer, Jean Schlumberger.

This bold transformation is a testament to Tiffany & Co.'s unwavering commitment to French artistic expression and its enduring love for the city of Paris. Opera Garnier also represents a heartfelt return to Tiffany's roots. Over a century ago, in 1910, at Place de l' Opera, Tiffany & Co. opened its first Parisian flagship.

Today, Opera Garnier's facades come alive again. Tiffany & Co. puts its iconic Sixteen Stone ring on the ultimate stage, with a new work created by Paul Rousteau, continuing the story which commenced at the Louvre.

Originally designed in the 1950's, the Sixteen Stone ring is adorned with sixteen diamonds of absolute purity set in the iconic gold cross-stitches, a signature motif inspired by the textile heritage of Jean Schlumberger. Each cross-stitch is a testament to his ability to harmonize the worlds of fashion, art, and craftsmanship.

"I try to make everything seem irregular, unpredictable, organic, in motion," - Jean Schlumberger, 1955.

"When Tiffany asked me to showcase the Sixteen Stone ring on the facade of the Opera Garnier, I immediately thought of movement, of dance... The facade of the Opera - proud, rich and imposing - begins to dance, free and light, around a sacred ring. This ring, with its magical powers, magnetises the most beautiful monument in Paris," says Paul Rousteau.

Opera Garnier marks the third chapter in Tiffany's artistic journey through Paris. In October 2022, the brand unveiled its digital cube installation at the Centre Pompidou during Nuit Blanche, followed by a grand trompe l'oeil display at the Louvre in January 2023.

Tiffany's tradition of uniting art and jewelry has featured collaborations with luminaries like Andy Warhol, Jean-Michel Basquiat, and Daniel Arsham. Today, the House unites Opera Garnier with the works of two great creators, Jean Schlumberger and Paul Rousteau, celebrating its enduring love for artists and Paris.

About Tiffany & Co.

TIFFANY & CO., founded in New York City in 1837 by Charles Lewis Tiffany, is a global luxury jeweler synonymous with elegance, innovative design, fine craftsmanship and creative excellence.

With more than 300 retail stores worldwide and a workforce of more than 13,000 employees, TIFFANY & CO. and its subsidiaries design, manufacture and market jewelry, watches, and luxury accessories. Nearly 5,000 skilled artisans cut Tiffany diamonds and craft jewelry in the Company's own workshops, realizing the brand's commitment to superlative quality.

TIFFANY & CO. has a long-standing commitment to conducting its business responsibly, sustaining the natural environment, prioritizing diversity and inclusion, and positively impacting the communities in which it operates. To learn more about TIFFANY & CO. and its commitment to sustainability, please visit tiffany.com.

About The Sixteen Stone Ring by Tiffany & Co.

The Sixteen Stone Ring by Tiffany & Co. stands as a true testament to the brand's commitment to timeless beauty and innovation. This iconic masterpiece is a dazzling fusion of artistry and craftsmanship. The Sixteen Stone Ring pays homage to the brilliant French jeweler Jean Schlumberger, whose creative genius left an indelible mark on Tiffany & Co. during the 1950s. Schlumberger's unparalleled talent and visionary designs revolutionized the world of jewelry, and this ring is a living testament to his enduring legacy.

At the heart of this masterpiece are sixteen diamonds of absolute purity. Each diamond is meticulously selected for its exceptional quality, radiating a brilliance that is nothing short of extraordinary. Set within the famous gold cross-stitches, a signature motif inspired by the weaving origins of Jean Schlumberger, these diamonds come together to create a mesmerizing symphony of light. As Tiffany & Co. continues to push the boundaries of artistry and luxury, the Sixteen Stone Ring remains a shining example of the brand's dedication to creating timeless treasures that capture the imagination and inspire the world. It stands as a beacon of enduring beauty in the ever-evolving world of fashion and design.

Media Contact:

Valentine Gillard I PR Manager, France, Benelux

Tiffany & Co.

Email: valentine.gillard@tiffany.com

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Amelia continues to pull away from the pack with its innovative and proven platform.

NEW YORK, Oct. 5, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Amelia, the world's largest privately held AI software company and a global leader in Enterprise Conversational AI, today announced that Amelia has been recognized as a Leader in Everest Group's Conversational AI Products PEAK Matrix Assessment 2023. This marks the third consecutive year that Everest Group has recognized Amelia as a Leader, reinforcing Amelia's ongoing commitment to developing AI solutions that go beyond the hype and deliver true enterprise value. Organizations including Telefonica and BNP Paribas rely on Amelia's AI solutions for critical internal and customer-facing tasks, and today's news closely follows the announcement that global airline Aeromexico has selected Amelia to manage its customer service channels.

This PEAK Matrix assessment is based on Everest Group's evaluation of the Vision & Capability and Market Impact of more than two dozen global Conversational AI technology vendors. The results of the evaluation inform the classification of each vendor into one of three categories: Leaders, Major Contenders and Aspirants. Based on these criteria, Amelia has been named a Leader in Conversational AI and holds the highest overall position in the PEAK Matrix across both axes.

Among the 25 vendors evaluated, Amelia is one of only two vendors recognized as a top provider across all major industries, including Banking, Healthcare, Telecom, Insurance, Technology and Retail. Amelia is also a top provider across several major business functions, such as IT Helpdesk, Customer Support, Sales, and Finance and Accounting.

Everest Group also recognized several key strengths of Amelia's Conversational AI platform, such as its use of Generative AI:

The platform automatically suggests modifications and creates new workflows based on real-time conversations, call transcripts and interactions with Generative AI Models to create fully functional prototypes and more, all without human intervention. Buyers regularly recognize Amelia's focus on innovation as a key strength.

The platform offers a low-code experience for clients to build functional, multi-channel solutions that are tailored to their specific industry requirements.

The platform digitally orchestrates and executes end-to-end processes across IT systems and applications.

With each annual assessment, Amelia pulls further ahead of other providers in the Conversational AI vendor landscape. Notable in this report is Amelia's leap forward in Vision & Capability, which evaluates a vendor's ability to successfully deliver products to market.

Amelia prides itself on taking AI from experimental to exceptional for enterprises, driving measurable business outcomes. For example, Resorts World Las Vegas fully automated more than 2,500 guest check-outs in one month using Amelia's Conversational AI platform, helping to increase guest satisfaction and offload administrative work from resort employees.

"It's an honor to be recognized by research powerhouse Everest Group as a Leader in Conversational AI," said Lanham Napier, President and Chairman of Amelia. "Day in and day out, our global team puts in a huge effort to better serve our customers with a powerful, intuitive platform that delivers incredible outcomes, as evidenced by improved NPS scores, increased employee and customer retention, and cost savings. This recognition of our efforts is one that we are extremely proud of, and it pushes us to continue advancing our cutting-edge platform and keep moving towards our ambitious goals."

To download the Everest Group report, click here.

About Amelia

Amelia is one of the world's largest privately held AI software companies and a global leader in Enterprise Conversational AI. The company's technology is trusted by organizations across an array of industries to automate operations, improve customer experience and optimize business outcomes. Amelia's platform develops and deploys AI tools that manage critical tasks and processes, enabling employees to be more productive and deliver better results while reducing operational costs. Consistently recognized by third-party analyst firms including Gartner's Magic Quadrant 2023 as a market leader, Amelia has powered the voice operations of global Fortune 500 leaders including Telefonica, BBVa and BNP Paribas. Backed by strategic investments from the Build Group and Monroe Capital, Amelia is headquartered in New York City and serves customers globally through offices throughout the US, Europe and Asia Pacific.

Media Contact:

media@amelia.ai

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With thousands of luxury apartments and hotel rooms in the development pipeline, Ras al Khaimah City is a ground-floor opportunity like Dubai in 2004," says broker-owner Dinesh Chhatwani

CHICAGO and DUBAI, United Arab Emirates, Oct. 05, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Global luxury real estate brand Christie's International Real Estate is expanding to Ras al Khaimah City, one of the fastest-growing luxury destinations in the UAE. The new office is owned by managing partners Dinesh Chhatwani and Jackie Johns, who have been Christie's International Real Estate's exclusive affiliates in Dubai since 2021.

Located 90 km/50 mi northeast of Dubai's city center and set between the Persian Gulf and the Hajar Mountains, Ras Al Khaimah City has become a popular getaway for UAE residents, as well as a burgeoning location for international and local real estate buyers and investors. Its population is expected to increase by as much as 60% by 2030, and the city welcomed more visitorsin the first six months of 2023 than in any other year in its history.

Meanwhile, developers continue to introduce new projects to keep up with demand. Several high-end hotels and branded residences are underway on Al Marjan Island , a set of four connected manmade islands in the Persian Gulf. They include Nobu Al Marjan Island, a new Le Meridien property, the newly announced Nikki Beach Residences, and the largest hotel development in the region to date, Wynn Al Marjan Island, a $3.9 billion "megaresort" expected to open in 2027.

Ras al Khaimah City offers an ideal blend of affordable luxury, investment opportunities and new possibilities for development. Its lower price points compared with Dubai and its central location - one-third of the world's population is within a four-hour flight from the city - along with the ability for foreign nationals to legally purchase properties in the region, have made the area increasingly attractive to international buyers and investors. Ras al Khaimah was the second emirate of the UAE to allow foreign freehold property ownership and was the first emirate to pass a law granting foreign nationals property rights. The expansion of its 10-year Golden visaprogram has also helped to spur international interest in UAE real estate.

"The incredible momentum and untapped opportunity for high-end real estate in Ras al Khaimah make this the perfect time for Christie's International Real Estate to enter the market," said Johns. "The area is poised to be the next center of luxury real estate in the Middle East, and quite possibly the world. The location is ideal, with beautiful beaches, mountains, and the nearby Ras al Khaimah International Airport, while incentives like the Golden visa program and incredibly low taxes make purchasing in the city a smart move."

Additionally, the dearth of available properties in Dubai has helped turn buyers onto the area, according to Chhatwani. "As demand continues to far outpace supply in Dubai, prospective buyers are increasingly considering Ras al Khaimah, which offers a similar level of luxury but lower prices and less competition. It's like Dubai in 2004."

Christie's International Real Estate has already planted a flag in Ras al Khaimah, as exclusive representatives of the $115 million Falcon Island Beach Villas in the award-winning, master-planned Al Hamra Village. The firm plans to announce additional partnerships in the coming months.

"We're proud to partner with Ms. Johns and Mr. Chhatwani to bring Christie's International Real Estate's bespoke service, best in class marketing, and worldwide network to home buyers and sellers in Ras al Khaimah City, one of the world's fastest-growing luxury destinations," said Helena de Forton, managing director and head of EMEA and APAC for Christie's International Real Estate. "Their team has expertly guided clients through Dubai's unprecedented property market, and we look forward to their success in this new location."

Ras al Khaimah is one of a number of global markets in which Christie's International Real Estate has expanded recently. Within the past 18 months, the brand has announced new market-leading affiliates in London, Munich, Sydney, Los Angeles, the Swiss, French and Italian Alps, several Caribbean islands, Miami and other locations around the world.

Christie's International Real Estate Dubai recently opened its third office, at the Dubai International Financial Centre, the leading financial hub in the MEASA region. The firm was also recently appointed as the exclusive sales agent for Eywa, a collection of waterfront residences in Dubai with ancient knowledge systems, state-of-the-art technologies and nature-inspired interiors designed to revolutionize luxury well-being.

###

About Christie's International Real Estate Dubai

Christie's International Real Estate Dubaiis a British-run luxury real estate company that provides unrivalled expertise and services to clients in the UAE and international property markets. As an affiliate of Christie's International Real Estate, the firm is part of an invite-only global network that represents the world's most desirable homes. Its esteemed clientele benefit from exclusive connections and opportunities across nearly 50 different countries and territories. The firm proudly facilitates seamless buying, selling, renting and investing processes with international reach, global marketing opportunities and a distinguished 250-year legacy.

About Christie's International Real Estate

Christie's International Real Estatehas successfully marketed high-value real estate around the world for more than 30 years. Through its invitation-only Affiliate network spanning nearly 50 countries and territories, Christie's International Real Estate offers incomparable services to a global clientele at the luxury end of the residential property market.

Attachment
Summary: Amid the ongoing debate surrounding the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Plant Station (FDNPS) treated water release, Oceanic Focus, a prominent advocate for ocean conservation and marine environment protection, is shifting the spotlight to other pressing seafood pollution concerns that demand immediate attention.

LONDON, UK / ACCESSWIRE / October 5, 2023 / One month since the commencement of the FDNPS treated water release on August 24th, extensive and continuous testing has yielded reassuring results, contrary to several initial global apprehensions regarding its environmental and health implications. For example, the latest seafood samples tested by several official entities including, the Thai Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and Japanese Fisheries Agency, tested on September 24th-26th, have shown no trace of Tritium contamination.

The rigorous ongoing control over the water release process is the outcome of a collaborative effort between the Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). Innovative technologies, including the Advanced Liquid Processing System (ALPS), have been instrumental in safely treating and filtering the water. Japan has been keen to involve as many organizations and technological resources as possible to the process to ensures compliance with stringent environmental and safety standards before the water is released into the ocean.

For instance, the Japanese Fisheries Agency, has maintained vigilant surveillance of local fish samples within a 5-kilometer radius of the discharge outlet since August 8th. Moreover, the IAEA has consistently disclosed its analytical findings on its official website to showcase the safety measures in place.

Tritium and radioactivity traces have been at the center of skepticism towards the FDNPS treated water release. First, it is to be noted that tritium is a naturally occurring element found in the Earth's crust and in surface waters, at about 0.4-1.2 Bq/L. Moreover, the maximum tritium concentration contained in the water released from the FDNPS is of 1,500 Bq/L. It is six times less than the volume of tritium per liter for drinking water set by the World Health Organization at 10,000 Bq/L. In addition, the ALPS treatment system at the FDNPS is specifically designed to remove 62 different radionuclides, including Cesium-137 and Strontium-90, resulting in substantially lower concentrations. Indeed, radioactive materials in ALPS treated water are reduced to about one millionth compared to the initial water collected from the damaged reactor site.

While the release of water from FDNPS has drawn substantial international attention, the figures provided by Japanese authorities, as well as international watchdogs, including the IAEA, seem to contain environmental concerns. However, Oceanic Focus wishes to recall a severe immediate and more widespread concern in the realm of marine and seafood pollution-human-induced pollution. Oceanic Focus regrets the fact such longlisting issue has not beneficiate from the same attention than the FDNPS, despite of its detrimental impact.

The oceans are currently inundated with unprecedented levels of contaminants, including persistent organic pollutants, heavy metals, and microplastics, primarily stemming from human produced waste. Plastic is one of the most significant contributors to ocean pollution, and a major concern given its resilience and persistence. Each year, 1.15 to 2.41 million tons of plastic are estimated to enter the ocean, causing great damage to the safety and health of marine animals. According to a study from the Marine Pollution Bulletin published in March 2015, at least 690 species have encountered marine debris, and 92% of these interactions were with plastic.

The Central North Pacific Ocean is specifically widely considered as the world's most polluted ocean. It contains the Pacific Trash Vortex. Also known as the Great Pacific Garbage Patch (GPGP), it is the largest accumulation of ocean plastic debris, covering an estimated surface area of 1.6 million square kilometers. According to an extensive study by The Ocean Cleanup in 2018, the plastic mass found in the GPCP at the time of the sampling weighted approximately 80,000 tones.

Once in the gyre, plastics are unlikely to leave the oceans until fragmented into microplastics. These minuscule plastic particles pose a significant harm to marine ecosystems and a threat to human health. Indeed, while ongoing research delves into their impacts, there is growing suspicion that microplastics disrupt endocrine systems and potentially cause physical harm to marine organisms ingesting the chemicals attached to the plastic, and thus of those who consume contaminated fish and seafood. According to The Ocean Cleanup, 84% of the plastic found in the GPDP had at least one Persistent Bio-accumulative Toxic Chemical.

Therefore, while invalidated concerns about radioactivity in seafood resulting from the release of treated water from the FDNPS massively emerged, Oceanic Focus regrets that other oceanic pollution sources, such as plastic, have not gained such attention yet, despite well-established pervasive effects and health risks.

Oceanic Focus underscores that addressing heavy metals, microplastics, and other pollutants is of paramount importance. By prioritizing these pollutants, Oceanic Focus seeks to initiate meaningful steps toward safer and healthier seafood consumption. Simultaneously, the organization advocates for cleaner oceans and sustainable fishing practices to safeguard marine ecosystems for future generations.

CONTACT:

Paul Clay - Oceanic Focus

info@oceanic-focus.com

London, United Kingdom

https://oceanic-focus.com/

SOURCE: Oceanic Focus



View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/790283/fukushima-treated-water-release-oceanic-focus-welcomes-reassuring-findings-and-reminds-other-ocean-pollution-sources
Maurice Kenton, a prominent international arbitration and disputes lawyer with significant experience representing clients in the mining, oil and gas, power, telecommunications, infrastructure and insurance sectors, has joined Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP as a partner in London. Arriving with Kenton is disputes Counsel Edward Hamilton, whose practice includes international commercial and investor-State disputes.

"Maurice and Edward bring an impressive set of credentials, experience and insight that align well with the firm's strategic commitment to maintaining a leading international arbitration practice," said Tom Taylor, co-head of Hunton Andrews Kurth's litigation team. "We are pleased to welcome them to the firm."

Kenton, who will lead the firm's international arbitration practice, is the latest addition to Hunton Andrews Kurth's London-based team. The firm recently announced the arrivals of his longtime colleagues, international arbitration Partner David Hesse and corporate Partner Phillip Mace. All three joined from Clyde Co., where Kenton served as co-chair of the firm's global arbitration group. Hamilton, also formerly of Clyde Co., has a broad range of dispute resolution experience across a variety of industries with an emphasis on international arbitration in the energy, mining, construction and insurance sectors.

Kenton has represented private and state parties on high value and complex international disputes across five continents and has also assisted clients with corporate internal investigations and international corruption investigations. His practice also includes representing clients in large scale property and construction disputes involving business interruption and delay in start-up issues, primarily in the mining and power sectors for insurers and reinsurers.

Kenton has led cases under the rules of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), London Court of International Arbitration (LCIA) and United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL), as well as at the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) and in the English High Court. A selection of his notable representations prior to joining the firm include:

Advising in a $2 billion UNCITRAL arbitration concerning an investment in copper mines in Zambia.

Advising in an ICC arbitration for an oil company against Tanzania.

Advising on a $1 billion ICC arbitration against a national oil company involving a long term hydrocarbons exploration and production contract.

Defended a 72 million breach of contract claim in the English Commercial Court.

Advising in a $600 million reinsurance claim relating to a tailings dam collapse in Latin America.

Advising in ICSID arbitrations and annulment proceedings concerning mining and hydrocarbons exploration rights.

"Maurice and Edward are outstanding lawyers who further strengthen our global disputes practice and whose addition creates exciting opportunities for collaboration with our London-based energy and corporate teams," said Ferdinand Calice, managing partner of Hunton Andrews Kurth's London office.

Originally from South Africa, Kenton received his undergraduate degree and LLB from the University of KwaZulu-Natal and his LLM from the University of Kent. He is admitted to practice in England and Wales.

Hunton Andrews Kurth's international arbitration and transnational litigation practice represents clients around the globe. We regularly handle investor-state arbitrations before the ICSID and commercial arbitrations before the ICC, the LCIA, the Singapore International Arbitration Centre (SIAC), the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague, the American Arbitration Association (AAA) and its international division, the International Centre for Dispute Resolution (ICDR). We also work with clients in multi-jurisdictional matters, working closely with counsel in local forums.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20231005551945/en/

Contacts:

The PR Office

hak@theproffice.com
Led by Vincent Gombault, Ingmar Vallano and a team of experienced investment professionals and data scientists, formerly at Ardian, Coller Capital and New York City Retirement Systems

Clipway's proprietary Tech-Enabled Secondaries System (TESS) is purpose-built to bring precision and efficiency to investing in LP-led secondary opportunities

Firm has secured strategic, minority investments from Carmignac and General Atlantic

A team of seasoned investors, institutional asset allocators, and data scientists today announced the launch of Clipway, a global secondaries firm that leverages proprietary technology to optimise its investment strategy. The team, headquartered in London with an office in New York, and led by veteran secondaries investors and managing partners Vincent Gombault and Ingmar Vallano, has successfully invested together for many years at blue chip institutions, namely Ardian, Coller Capital and New York City Retirement Systems. The partners, David Enriquez, Inigo Weston, Jonathan Hillgarth-Williams, Joshua Manasseh and Harry Vander Elst, as well as senior advisor Franck Nguyen, bring strong experience in both investment and data science. The firm is focused on investing in one of the fastest-growing segments in private equity, the LP-led secondary market, with a particular focus on diversified LP portfolios of quality buyout and growth managers principally in North America and Western Europe.

Clipway was founded to apply next-generation technology to the secondaries industry a highly data-intensive asset class, which requires investors to extract, store, and synthesise millions of data points per quarter. Clipway's proprietary Tech-Enabled Secondaries System (TESS) brings an unprecedented level of precision and efficiency to investing in LP portfolios, using a variety of continuously improving machine learning models and data analytics. TESS automates portfolio data extraction and analysis processes that the secondaries industry has historically completed manually enabling the investment team to optimise pricing and monitoring of LP portfolios that are comprised of hundreds of underlying assets.

"The secondaries industry has historically been slow to innovate. Clipway was purpose-built to leverage technology, which enables us to apply the full potential of data analytics and machine learning techniques to secondaries investing, without needing to overhaul complex legacy systems," commented Vincent Gombault, a Managing Partner and founding member of Clipway. "Through the combination of our experienced team and our proprietary technology, TESS, we can move quicky to capitalise on this exciting and growing opportunity set across the secondaries market. We are already very active in the market and look forward to deploying capital in the months to come."

Clipway has grown at speed and is currently composed of 24 employees across its London and New York offices, including a range of experienced investment professionals, an established technology team and strong support functions, with more hires to be announced in the coming months.

Strategic Minority Investors

Clipway is also pleased to announce that it has secured strategic, minority investments from leading global investor General Atlantic and leading European independent asset manager Carmignac. These financial investments will help support Clipway's growth plans.

Maxime Carmignac, CEO of Carmignac UK, declared: "Private equity is an asset class in which we see attractive long-term growth opportunities. The Clipway leadership team has participated in one of the most successful track records in secondaries globally the best segment to deploy fresh money in the current private equity environment as it provides attractive entry points, superior visibility and diversification. We share the same entrepreneurial mindset and ambitions; and we are excited to be taking this new step on our private equity journey."

"As the global secondaries market scales in both size and complexity, Clipway is leveraging digital innovation to optimise investment strategies and deliver value to investors," said Gabriel Caillaux, Co-President, Managing Director, and Head of Climate and EMEA at General Atlantic. "Clipway's seasoned leadership team has a strong track record of collaboration across the industry, and we look forward to supporting their vision to improve secondaries investing through technology."

Ingmar Vallano, a Managing Partner and founding member of Clipway, added: "Clipway has been founded with the clear intention of transforming secondaries investing. As part of that, we want to be able to partner with some of the leading firms in the industry and believe that both General Atlantic and Carmignac, two established investors with strong entrepreneurial spirit, complement our existing expertise very well. We are excited to begin the Clipway journey alongside them."

About Clipway

Clipway is a global secondaries firm that leverages proprietary technology to optimise its investment strategy. Clipway was founded by a team of experienced secondaries investors, institutional asset allocators, and data scientists who identified an opportunity to apply technology to improve traditional secondaries investing. The firm invests in diversified LP portfolios of quality buyout and growth managers principally in North America and Western Europe. Clipway's investment process is supported by its Tech-Enabled Secondaries System (TESS) a next-generation, fully integrated investment tool, with a focus on precision, speed and continuous learning. The firm has offices in London and New York. To learn more about Clipway, visit www.clipway.com.

About Carmignac

Carmignac is an independent asset management firm established in 1989 on three core principles that still stand true today: entrepreneurial spirit, human-driven insight and active commitment. It is as entrepreneurial today as it has always been. Its team of fund managers keep the freedom and courage to perform independent risk analysis, translate it into strong convictions and implement them. Carmignac's collaborative culture of debate, on-the-groundwork and in-house research means it will always enhance data analysis with human-driven insight to better manage complexity and evaluate hidden risks. Carmignac is both an active manager and active partner, committed to its clients, providing transparency on its investment decisions and always being accountable for them. With a capital entirely held by the Carmignac family and staff, Carmignac is one of Europe's leading asset managers, operating from seven different offices. Today, as throughout its history, it is committed to trying harder and better to actively manage its clients' savings over the long term.

About General Atlantic

General Atlantic is a leading global investor with more than four decades of experience providing capital and strategic support for over 500 growth companies throughout its history. Established in 1980 to partner with visionary entrepreneurs and deliver lasting impact, the firm combines a collaborative global approach, sector specific expertise, a long-term investment horizon and a deep understanding of growth drivers to partner with great entrepreneurs and management teams to scale innovative businesses around the world. General Atlantic has more than $77 billion in assets under management inclusive of all products as of June 30, 2023, and more than 220 investment professionals based in New York, Amsterdam, Beijing, Hong Kong, Jakarta, London, Mexico City, Miami, Mumbai, Munich, San Francisco, Sao Paulo, Shanghai, Singapore, Stamford and Tel Aviv. For more information on General Atlantic, please visit: www.generalatlantic.com.

_________________________

This press release has been prepared by Clipway Limited ("Clipway") and is provided is for information purposes only. It does not constitute an offer to purchase or an invitation to sell any financial instrument or a commitment to enter into further negotiations. The content of this press release does not constitute investment advice and is not a recommendation to buy or sell any financial instruments or pursue a particular investment strategy.

Clipway Limited is registered in England and Wales with registered no. 13459432 and its registered office is 5th and 6th Floors, 152-156 Great Portland Street, London, England, W1W 6AJ. Clipway is an appointed representative of Langham Hall UK LLP which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20231005947156/en/

Contacts:

Clipway

Matthieu Roussellier Prosek Partners

Pro-clipway@prosek.com

GA

Emily Japlon

Liz McBain

media@generalatlantic.com

Carmignac

Simon Zaks

Simon.zaks@carmignac.com
YEREVAN, OCTOBER 5, ARMENPRESS. U.S. Senator Ben Cardin (D-Md.), the new Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, on October 4 issued the following statement on the need to support Armenia and reevaluate military assistance and security cooperation with Azerbaijan.

Following nearly a year of a horrific blockade, President Aliyev finally used military power to exert control over the region of Nagorno-Karabakh, effectively erasing its Armenian population and rich history. As the world continues to grapple with Azerbaijans coordinated, intentional campaign of ethnic cleansing, we must both prioritize support for the Armenians who have been expelled as well as holding Azerbaijan accountable.

As we look forward we must take steps to ensure that Azerbaijan does not advance militarily in pursuit for further territorial gains, including forcefully condemning inflammatory rhetoric. The United States should halt security assistance to Azerbaijan until it has stopped this brutal campaign. The United States and the international community must also reaffirm our commitment to documenting war crimes and atrocities, as well as continue to support efforts to repatriate prisoners of war, many of whom Azerbaijan continues to detain.

Finally, we must stand in solidarity with the Armenian people, particularly as Azerbaijan and Turkey eye the potential Zangezur corridor. We should increase humanitarian support for those ethnic Armenians who have left Nagorno-Karabakh. The U.S. should also continue to support democratic reforms that Armenias leadership has taken in recent years, including efforts to promote transparency, good governance, and economic cooperation with the United States and Western Europe more broadly.
VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / October 5, 2023 / Faraday Copper Corp. ("Faraday" or the "Company") (TSX:FDY)(OTCQX:CPPKF) is pleased to announce the results of gold assays from the Childs Aldwinkle breccia at the Copper Creek project in Arizona, USA. The Company analyzed archived material, which was not previously assayed for gold, with the aim of increasing data coverage. The results support the Company's belief that there is payable gold at the project which has the potential to unlock further value.

Paul Harbidge, President and CEO, commented "We are pleased to provide the first results of the gold program after completing analysis of the Childs Aldwinkle breccia. The results show near surface gold mineralization in the current resource pit shell and demonstrate the potential to add a gold by-product, further enhancing the value of the project. The team has been able to advance our thesis of payable gold in the resource by utilizing the historical drill core and pulps that previous operators did not analyze for gold. With Childs Aldwinkle assay results now received, the Company is currently preparing samples from other high-priority breccias and we look forward to presenting results as they are available."

Highlights

Significantly increased analytical coverage for gold at Childs Aldwinkle with 743 new gold assay results in addition to 120 historical gold results.

Examples of intercepts with new gold assays and re-assayed copper include: 219.46 m ("metres") at 3.29% copper and 0.31 g/t gold from 24.38 m in drill hole CA-5R; 94.49 m at 1.12% copper and 0.13 g/t gold from 341.38 m in drill hole CA30+3; and 56.38 m at 1.32% copper and 0.29 g/t gold from 150.88 m in drill hole CC-2.

A weighted average of 0.16 g/t gold and 1.52% copper is calculated for mineralized intercepts for which gold analytical data is available 1 .

is calculated for mineralized intercepts for which gold analytical data is available . Gold and copper are well-correlated on an intercept basis with an overall ratio of approximately 1:10 gold (g/t):copper (%) at Childs Aldwinkle.

Historical metallurgical test work suggests high gold recoveries in the copper concentrate. The Company has initiated a metallurgical program to confirm gold recoveries.

As part of the gold program, copper was re-assayed. These results confirm historical data, providing additional confidence in the database.

Phase III drill program is expected to commence in October 2023.

The Gold Program

Historically, only a small portion of all samples analyzed for copper were also analyzed for gold. The Company is analyzing archived sample material for gold with the aim of increasing data coverage for potential inclusion in future resource updates. In addition to gold assays, samples are being re-analyzed for copper, silver and molybdenum to further validate historical results. Childs Aldwinkle is the first breccia to be analyzed as part of this program.

Gold and copper results for Childs Aldwinkle are presented in Table 1. Gold values were calculated for a total of 28 drill hole intercepts and the results improve spatial coverage for the Childs Aldwinkle breccia (Figure 1).

The gold and copper intercept values have a strong correlation with a 1:10 gold (g/t):copper (%) ratio within Childs Aldwinkle (Figure 2). The Childs Aldwinkle breccia domain is estimated to contain approximately 3.3 million tonnes of mineralized material, based on the Mineral Resource Estimate ("MRE"), as presented in the report titled "Copper Creek Project NI 43-101 Technical Report and Preliminary Economic Assessment" with an effective date of May 3, 2023 (the "Technical Report") and the associated resource pit shell constraints.

The strong correlation between copper and gold at Childs Aldwinkle suggests that precious metals are mineralogically associated with copper and are expected to report to a copper concentrate. The Company has initiated a metallurgical program to obtain additional data on gold recoveries, including variability test work across multiple breccia domains.

The gold:copper ratio for the Childs Aldwinkle breccia should not be applied to other breccias. The gold occurrence has not undergone metallurgical and economic assessment, and therefore it does not currently qualify as part of a mineral resource.

Next steps

The Company is continuing the re-assaying of historical material for potential inclusion of gold in future mineral resource updates. Additional areas are expected to include the Copper Prince and Pole breccias and the Keel underground zone.

The Phase III Drill Program is expected to commence in October 2023 with the following three objectives:

Expanding the MRE;

Better delineating high-grade mineralized zones; and

Reconnaissance drilling on new targets.

The Company has commenced a metallurgical program focused on grind size optimization to test viability of coarse particle flotation, gold deportment to concentrate and further test work on near surface mineralization.

The Company is targeting an updated technical report in the first half of 2025, which will include results from the Phase II and III drill programs, the gold program, and metallurgical studies.

Figure 1: Long section of Childs Aldwinkle breccia domain with gold intercepts

Note: The open pit shell is based on constraints used in the MRE as presented in the Technical Report, which is available on the Company's website at www.faradaycopper.com and on the Company's SEDAR+ profile at www.sedarplus.ca.

Figure 2: Correlation of copper and gold intercepts at the Childs Aldwinkle breccia

Table 1: Intercept values at the Childs Aldwinkle breccia

Drill Hole ID From To Length True width Cu Au Ag Mo (m) (m) (m) (m) (%) (g/t) (g/t) (%) CA-4R 12.19 30.84 18.65 N/A 0.48 0.02 1.47 0.0042 CA-4R 64.01 82.30 18.29 N/A 0.36 0.02 0.82 0.0016 CA-5R 24.38 243.84 219.46 N/A 3.29 0.31 13.88 0.0770 CA28+3A 441.96 496.83 54.87 32 0.45 0.03 1.30 0.0004 CA28+4 512.07 566.93 54.86 30 1.84 0.17 4.69 0.0320 CA30+3 341.38 435.87 94.49 60 1.12 0.13 4.55 0.0230 CA30+4 438.91 496.83 57.92 36 0.40 0.03 1.08 0.0006 CA32+3 341.38 390.15 48.77 34 1.64 0.21 5.50 0.0320 CA32+5 330.40 360.88 30.48 21 0.99 0.10 3.69 0.0800 CA32+6 256.03 289.56 33.53 22 0.27 0.02 0.67 0.0031 CA34+3 234.70 271.27 36.57 22 0.75 0.05 2.26 0.1106 CA34+4 234.70 280.42 45.72 28 1.57 0.10 5.62 0.0285 CA34+4A 243.84 274.32 30.48 19 0.72 0.12 3.17 0.1007 CA35.5+1 176.78 234.70 57.92 44 0.42 0.03 1.85 0.0130 CA35.5+3 225.55 234.70 9.15 7 0.25 0.02 0.92 0.0016 CA36+7 249.94 277.37 27.43 22 2.49 0.24 9.74 0.0867 CA37.5+1 146.30 179.83 33.53 28 0.41 0.02 1.15 0.0113 CA37.5+1A 124.97 173.74 48.77 44 0.46 0.03 2.25 0.0746 CA37.5+2 134.11 158.50 24.39 22 0.26 0.01 0.72 0.0601 CA38+7 149.35 184.10 34.75 22 2.36 0.19 9.31 0.0179 CA40+7 116.43 135.64 19.21 17 3.48 0.24 10.59 0.0649 CC-2 150.88 207.26 56.38 36 1.32 0.29 5.53 0.0205 MET-2CA 45.72 169.16 123.44 N/A 3.79 0.33 11.57 0.0486 MET-3CA 45.72 152.40 106.68 N/A 3.71 0.35 11.27 0.0169 FCD-23-023 184.72 230.61 45.89 35 1.68 0.33 5.55 0.0280 FCD-23-027 390.72 408.98 18.26 9 0.22 0.01 1.58 0.0080 CA-9R 164.59 182.88 18.29 N/A 2.76 0.28 8.20 0.0206 CATECH 237.74 243.23 5.49 N/A 1.61 0.23 9.43 0.0014 CA28+8 No significant intercepts and incomplete gold data CA30+6 No significant intercepts CA35.5+2 No significant intercepts CA36.5+2 No significant intercepts CA36.5+3 No significant intercepts CA36+8 No significant intercepts

Notes: Copper, silver and molybdenum columns indicate re-assayed metal values. Drill holes MET-2CA and MET-3CA were not re-assayed as part of this program. Drill holes CA40+7 and CC-2 are composite samples. For drill holes CA-9R and CATECH, gold data does not cover the entire mineralized intercept and lengths listed are for the portion for which gold data is available. True widths are approximate.

Sampling Methodology, Chain of Custody, Quality Control and Quality Assurance

All sampling was conducted under the supervision of the Company's geologists and the chain of custody from Copper Creek to the independent sample preparation facility, ALS Laboratories in Tucson, AZ, was continuously monitored. The samples were taken from archived pulverized rock material (pulps). Pulps were re-blended and analyzed using industry standard analytical methods including a 4-Acid ICP-MS multielement package and an ICP-AES method for high-grade copper samples. Gold was analyzed on a 30-gram aliquot by fire assay with an ICP-AES finish. A certified reference sample was inserted every 15th to 20th sample. Blanks were inserted every 10th sample. In addition to the internal QA-QC protocol, additional blanks, reference materials and duplicates were inserted by the analytical laboratory according to their procedure. Data verification of the analytical results included a statistical analysis of the standards and blanks that must pass certain parameters for acceptance to ensure accurate and verifiable results.

Qualified Person

The scientific and technical information contained in this news release has been reviewed and approved by Faraday's Vice President Exploration, Dr. Thomas Bissig, P. Geo., and Faraday's Vice President, Projects and Evaluations, Zach Allwright, P.Eng., both of whom are considered a Qualified Person under National Instrument 43-101 - Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects ("NI 43-101").

About Faraday Copper

Faraday Copper is a Canadian exploration company focused on advancing its flagship copper project in The United States of America. The Copper Creek project, located in Arizona, is one of the largest undeveloped copper projects in North America with open pit and bulk underground mining potential. The Company is well-funded to deliver on its key milestones and benefits from a management team and board of directors with senior mining company experience and expertise. Faraday trades on the TSX under the symbol "FDY".

For additional information please contact:

Stacey Pavlova, CFA

Vice President, Investor Relations & Communications

Faraday Copper Corp.

E-mail: info@faradaycopper.com

Website: www.faradaycopper.com

To receive news releases by e-mail, please register using the Faraday website at www.faradaycopper.com.

Cautionary Note on Forward-Looking Statements

Some of the statements in this news release, other than statements of historical fact, are "forward-looking statements" and are based on the opinions and estimates of management as of the date such statements are made and are necessarily based on estimates and assumptions that are inherently subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements of Faraday to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements and forward-looking information specifically include, but are not limited to, statements concerning the possibility of adding payable gold in future Mineral Resource Estimates, the thesis that precious metals are mineralogically associated with copper within the Copper Creek property and the areas to be included in the review of historical samples for increased assay coverage.

Although Faraday believes the expectations expressed in such forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, such statements should not be in any way construed as guarantees of future performance and actual results or developments may differ materially. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements or information.

Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in forward-looking statements include without limitation: market prices for metals; the conclusions of detailed feasibility and technical analyses; lower than expected grades and quantities of mineral resources; receipt of regulatory approval; receipt of shareholder approval; mining rates and recovery rates; significant capital requirements; price volatility in the spot and forward markets for commodities; fluctuations in rates of exchange; taxation; controls, regulations and political or economic developments in the countries in which Faraday does or may carry on business; the speculative nature of mineral exploration and development, competition; loss of key employees; rising costs of labour, supplies, fuel and equipment; actual results of current exploration or reclamation activities; accidents; labour disputes; defective title to mineral claims or property or contests over claims to mineral properties; unexpected delays and costs inherent to consulting and accommodating rights of Indigenous peoples and other groups; risks, uncertainties and unanticipated delays associated with obtaining and maintaining necessary licenses, permits and authorizations and complying with permitting requirements, including those associated with the Copper Creek property; and uncertainties with respect to any future acquisitions by Faraday. In addition, there are risks and hazards associated with the business of mineral exploration, development and mining, including environmental events and hazards, industrial accidents, unusual or unexpected formations, pressures, cave-ins, flooding and the risk of inadequate insurance or inability to obtain insurance to cover these risks as well as "Risk Factors" included in Faraday's disclosure documents filed on and available at www.sedarplus.ca.

This press release does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any securities in any jurisdiction to any person to whom it is unlawful to make such an offer or solicitation in such jurisdiction. This press release is not, and under no circumstances is to be construed as, a prospectus, an offering memorandum, an advertisement or a public offering of securities in Faraday in Canada, the United States or any other jurisdiction. No securities commission or similar authority in Canada or in the United States has reviewed or in any way passed upon this press release, and any representation to the contrary is an offence.

1 Data from two historical metallurgical drill holes (MET-2CA and MET-3CA), totaling 230.12 m, drilled vertically through the high-grade portions of the breccia, were not included in the weighted average calculation due to their high gold content and spatial proximity to each other, which could skew the results. "Mineralized intercepts" refers to intercepts within the breccia volume with values greater than 0.13% copper. SOURCE: Faraday Copper Corp.

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/790082/faraday-copper-reports-gold-assay-results-from-the-childs-aldwinkle-breccia-at-the-copper-creek-project-in-arizona
CVS Health CEO Karen S. Lynch tops the 26th annual list for 3rd consecutive year, followed by Accenture CEO Julie Sweet, GM CEO Mary Barra

Global ranking of 100 leaders includes 53 newcomers to the list this year including OpenAI CTO Mira Murati, Skims and SKKY co-founder Kim Kardashian, and Coty CEO Sue Nabi, an openly transgender woman

Finance and tech industries lead the way with 20 women from each field, 18 from retail, 7 each from health care and energy

67 women CEOs on MPW list 2023; non-U.S. women on list include 9 from U.K., 7 from Greater China, 6 from France, 4 from Australia, and 2 each from Spain, Brazil, India, and Germany

Cover of Fortune's 100 Most Powerful Women issue belongs to OpenAI's Murati

NEW YORK, Oct. 5, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, Fortune announced the 2023 edition of the Most Powerful Women in Business list, featuring established and rising leaders from around the globe. Now in its 26th year, the Most Powerful Women celebrates 100 leading business women representing industries including finance, tech, healthcare, telecom, retail, and energy, among others.

This year's list of the Most Powerful Women in business is the most comprehensive on record: It's the first time Fortune has had a single worldwide list honoring 100 women. The list's new global scope and bigger scale recognize the nature of top executives' work-it spans the planet-as well as the near-record number of women who are leading companies on the Fortune 500, the largest in the U.S. by revenue, and the Fortune Global 500, the largest companies in the world.

In total, the list features 67 women with a CEO title, some of whom only recently stepped into the corner office. Margherita Della Valle became CEO of British telecom Vodafone in April. Sandy Ran Xu took over Chinese e-commerce titan JD.com in May. Vanessa Hudson assumed the CEO job at Australia's flagship carrier Qantas in September. All are the first women to hold their respective jobs. Other women are making a major impact early in their careers, like 34-year-old Mira Murati, the Chief Technology Officer at OpenAI and Susan Li, Meta's CFO. Some other execs are leading the world's most valuable startups including Kim Kardashian, the co-founder of the $4 billion shapewear line Skims.

When CEOs step down, women are getting called to replace them in greater numbers. Fortune notes that in this year's first half, 106 CEOs worldwide left their jobs. Of the CEO replacements, 13% were women, up from 2.4% in 2018. Fortune writes: "The business world is demanding change, and women leaders are meeting the moment."

The Top 10 of the 2023 Fortune 100 Most Powerful Women in Business :

Karen S. Lynch, President and CEO, CVS Health (U.S.) Julie Sweet, Chair and CEO, Accenture (U.S.) Mary Barra, Chair and CEO, General Motors (U.S.) Jane Fraser, CEO, Citigroup (U.S.) Jessica Tan, Executive Director, Co-CEO, Ping An (China) Carol Tome, CEO, UPS (U.S.) Emma Walmsley, CEO, GSK (U.K.) Ruth Porat, President, CIO, CFO, Alphabet and Google (U.S.) Shemara Wikramanayake, Managing Director and CEO, Macquarie (Australia) Gail Boudreaux, President and CEO, Elevance Health (U.S.)

For the third consecutive year, Karen S. Lynch, President and CEO of CVS Health, lands the #1 spot as the highest-ranking Fortune Global 500 (#11) company in the world led by a female chief executive. In the past year, CVS Health acquired primary care provider Oak Street Health and home health care specialist Signify Health for a total of $19 billion. The deals are part of a strategy- accelerated with CVS Health's 2018 acquisition of insurer Aetna-to transform the company formerly known as a drugstore chain and pharmacy benefit manager into a driving force in the healthcare sector.

Many of the women on the 2023 list will be speaking or attending Fortune's Most Powerful Women Summit in Laguna Niguel, CA October 9 - 11.

About Fortune

FORTUNE upholds a legacy of award-winning writing and trusted reporting for executives who want to make business better. Independently owned, with a global perspective and digital agility, FORTUNE tells the stories of a new generation of innovators, builders, and risk takers. Online and in print, FORTUNE measures corporate performance through rigorous benchmarks, and holds companies accountable. FORTUNE creates communities by convening true thought leaders and iconoclasts - those who shape industry, commerce and society - through powerful and prestigious lists, events and conferences, such as the iconic Fortune 500, the CEO Initiative and Most Powerful Women. For more information, visit fortune.com .

Contact:

Patrick Reilly

Patrick.Reilly@fortune.com

Amy Galleazzi

Amy.Galleazzi@consultant.fortune.com

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SANTO DOMINGO, Oct. 5, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The Dominican Republic is combining traditional luxury elements with sustainable ideals in its sustainable luxury tourism strategy, which centres on consolidating its position as the top Caribbean tourist destination.

The island nation has been working closely with the private sector to introduce these ideals into its top destinations, such as Punta Cana-Bavaro, Cap Cana, Puerto Plata, Samana and Santo Domingo, as well as its new tourism centres, including Pedernales and Miches.

The Dominican Republic seeks to go beyond the many natural and cultural riches that have made it a tourism hotspot in the Caribbean by inviting visitors to be a part of its conservation efforts while enjoying luxury experiences. By leveraging both its natural beauty and strong tourism strategy, the country hopes to entice a record-breaking 10 million tourists to its shores by the end of 2023.

Dominican Ministry of Tourism data suggests that this new form of luxury will attract more tourists, especially from the UK. Of the 173,728 UK tourists who visited the country in 2022, 33% chose luxury getaways. After identifying upward trends in luxury tourism and sustainability, the Dominican Republic has adapted its tourism strategy to address both.

Celebrating sustainability in Samana

As part of this strategy, the Dominican Republic has been introducing sustainable tourism offerings in its established destinations, such as the Cayo Levantado Resort in Samana. This destination combines luxury and sustainability by promoting the local culture, improving the region's biodiversity and offering a space for visitors to connect with the natural environment. Samana is also the first municipality with a Sustainable Tourism Circuit, a business association dedicated to championing sustainability. Over 70 local companies have joined.

Sharing the natural paradise of Pedernales Province

Recently, the Dominican Republic announced plans to develop a sustainable luxury tourism destination in Bahia de las Aguilas. This will be the first carried out under a public-private partnership in the region. In the project's first stage, the private sector will invest US$700-800 million to build 3,000 rooms, an international airport, a 50KW renewable energy installation and related infrastructure.

This is not the only project taking place in Pedernales. After a US$98 million investment in the Port of Cabo Rojo, the Norwegian Cruise Line has its first arrival scheduled for December 2023.

Creating an ecotourism hub in Miches

Another key destination for sustainable luxury tourism, Miches attracted US$735 million in investments for new projects, including 3,700 more hotel rooms and 2,000 residential rooms. Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts is considering building a LEED-certified hotel in Miches, and multiple other major hotel groups have expressed interest in the area.

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/the-dominican-republic-is-embracing-sustainable-luxury-tourism-to-maximise-its-appeal-301948269.html
GOTHENBURG, Sweden, Oct. 5, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- A national network of public fast chargers for heavy electric trucks is opening in Sweden. The charging network is powered by renewable energy. A new service from Volvo Trucks makes it easy for haulers to find and access the charging stations.

A network for fast charging of electric trucks is a key part of the transition to more sustainable heavy transportation. In Sweden, some 130 charging stations in total are planned to open in 2023 and 2024. The stations are operated by several different companies, and Volvo Trucks is one of the partners involved.

Volvo Trucks is now launching a new service that lets haulers find and access the charging stations. The service will first be launched in Sweden*, with other markets in Europe and other parts of the world to follow.

"This is a real breakthrough for the electrification of heavy transport. Our customers will be able to access public fast chargers all around Sweden, and as a result going electric is easier than ever," says Roger Alm, President of Volvo Trucks.

The new service is open to all truck brands and displays all charging stations suitable for heavy duty vehicles, regardless of who operates them. The user can pay for charging via the new platform: in the near future, booking of charging time will also be possible.

"Customers will be able to obtain reliable information about where to find charging stations for heavy electric trucks, and they can be assured that they are paying a fair market price with no hidden fees. With the possibility to plan the route ahead in a good way and a minimum of administration, I am convinced that this is an important step towards making electric trucks even more popular with fleet owners," says Roger Alm.

Volvo Trucks is working closely with charge point operators around the world to expand the charging network and the service as seamlessly and quickly as possible.

Volvo Trucks, an integral part of Volvo Group, is also building charging infrastructure via Milence, a joint venture formed with Daimler Truck and the Traton Group. The partnership will result in the installation and operation of at least 1,700 high-performance green energy charging points on, and close to, highways as well as at logistics hubs across Europe. The infrastructure will offer charging to all heavy-duty battery electric vehicles, regardless of brand.

This is how Volvo Trucks' charging service works:

The charging service is part of Volvo Connect, Volvo Trucks' interface for digital services.

The customer can find and pay for the charging via Volvo Connect and a mobile app. A digital map shows the charging stations and if they are available. In the near future booking of charging time will be possible.

When arriving at a charging station, the customer uses a card or a mobile app for identification and to start the charging.

The customer receives one, consolidated invoice.

*Volvo's charging service will in the first wave provide seamless access to 29 charging stations operated by OKQ8. The charging stations will be powered by green electricity.

For more information, please contact:

Helena Lind

Media Relations Director, Volvo Trucks

helena.lind@volvo.com

+46 76 5536257

The following files are available for download:

https://mb.cision.com/Main/6667/3848533/2341501.pdf Volvo Trucks_Press Release_Public Charging_EN_final https://news.cision.com/volvo-trucks/i/volvo-trucks-charging-service,c3222775 Volvo Trucks charging service https://news.cision.com/volvo-trucks/i/charging-volvo-trucks-1-2023,c3222776 Charging Volvo Trucks 1 2023 https://news.cision.com/volvo-trucks/i/volvo-trucks-charging-electric-truck-1-2023,c3222777 Volvo Trucks charging electric truck 1 2023 https://news.cision.com/volvo-trucks/i/t2021-47130-1,c3222778 T2021 47130 1

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MIAMI, Oct. 05, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Global Crossing Airlines Group, Inc. (JET: NEO; JET.B: NEO; JETMF: OTCQB) (the "Company" or "GlobalX") is pleased to provide an update on block hours operated in Q3 in addition to announcing our planned Q3 earnings release date in November and the date of the Company's Annual General Meeting in December.



GlobalX operated 6,504 block hours in Q3 2023 compared to 3,585 hours in Q2 2023, an 81% increase. Of the hours operated in Q3 2023, 70% were operated on an ACMI basis and 30% were operated on a Charter basis, which compares to Q2 2023 where 38% were operated on an ACMI basis and 62% were operated on a Charter basis.

The Company also confirms that its third A321F will be delivered the week of October 10th, its 11th passenger aircraft will deliver the week of October 20th and 12th A320 passenger aircraft will deliver the second week of November, 2023.

The Company intends to announce its Q3 2023 financial results and business update prior to market open on Wednesday November 8th and will be hosting a Zoom webinar to provide a business update and discuss the Q3 2023 financial results the same day.

When: Nov 8, 2023 01:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)

Topic: Global Crossing Airlines - Q3 2023 Earnings Release & Management Update

Register in advance for this webinar:

https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_Ny8iUmDYRHaPeOCqPU8Scg

In addition, the Company announces it will host its Annual General Meeting at its Miami Headquarters at 10am on December 13, 2023, with more details to follow.

About Global Crossing Airlines

GlobalX is a US 121 domestic flag and supplemental Airline flying the Airbus A320 family aircraft. GlobalX flies as a passenger ACMI and charter airline serving the US, Caribbean, European and Latin American markets. GlobalX is also now operating ACMI cargo service flying the A321 freighter. GlobalX is IOSA certified by IATA and holds TCO's for Europe and the UK. For more information, please visit www.globalxair.com.



For more information, please contact:

Ryan Goepel, Chief Financial Officer

Email: ryan.goepel@globalxair.com

Tel: 786.751.8503

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Information

This news release contains certain "forward looking statements" and "forward-looking information", as defined under applicable United States and Canadian securities laws, concerning anticipated developments and events that may occur in the future. Forward-looking statements contained in this news release include, but are not limited to, statements with respect to the Company's aircraft fleet size, the destinations that the Company intends to service, the delivery and entry into service timelines for future aircraft, the timeline for release of financial results and the Company's growth plans.

In certain cases, forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of words such as "plans", "expects" "budget", "scheduled", "estimates", "forecasts", "intends", "anticipates" or variations of such words and phrases or statements that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might" or "will be taken", "occur" or "be achieved" suggesting future outcomes, or other expectations, beliefs, plans, objectives, assumptions, intentions or statements about future events or performance. Forward-looking statements contained in this news release is based on certain factors and assumptions regarding, among other things, the receipt of financing to continue airline operations, the accuracy, reliability and success of GlobalX's business model; GlobalX's ability to accurately forecast demand; GlobalX will be able to successfully conclude definitive agreements for transactions subject to LOI; the timely receipt of governmental approvals; the success of airline operations of GlobalX; GlobalX's ability to successfully enter new geographic markets; the legislative and regulatory environments of the jurisdictions where GlobalX will carry on business or have operations; the Company has or will have sufficient aircraft to provide the service; the impact of competition and the competitive response to GlobalX's business strategy; the future price of fuel, and the availability of aircraft. While the Company considers these assumptions to be reasonable based on information currently available to it, they may prove to be incorrect.

Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. Such factors include risks related to, the ability to obtain financing at acceptable terms, the impact of general economic conditions, risks related to supply chain and labor disruptions, failure to retain or obtain sufficient aircraft, domestic and international airline industry conditions, failure to conclude definitive agreements for transactions subject to LOI, the effects of increased competition from our market competitors and new market entrants, passenger demand being less than anticipated, the impact of the global uncertainty created by COVID-19, future relations with shareholders, volatility of fuel prices, increases in operating costs, terrorism, pandemics, natural disasters, currency fluctuations, interest rates, risks specific to the airline industry, risks associated with doing business in foreign countries, the ability of management to implement GlobalX's operational strategy, the ability to attract qualified management and staff, labor disputes, regulatory risks, including risks relating to the acquisition of the necessary licenses and permits; risks related to significant disruption in, or breach in security of GlobalX's information technology systems and resultant interruptions in service and any related impact on its reputation; and the additional risks identified in the "Risk Factors" section of the Company's reports and filings with applicable Canadian securities regulators and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements are made as of the date of this news release. Except as required by applicable securities laws, the Company does not undertake any obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statements. If GlobalX does update one or more forward-looking statements, no inference should be made that it will make additional updates with respect to those or other forward-looking statements.
Highlights:

Extension of the Chou Spodumene Pegmatite Showing through the discovery of an additional spodumene-bearing outcrop along strike, approximately 26 m south.

New lithium-bearing pegmatite discovered 2.3 km to the east of Chou, termed the "Figue Showing", extending the total prospective lithium trend to approximately 4.5 km.

Total of 30 pegmatite dykes have been mapped to date on the Property.

Total of 48 pegmatite samples collected, including 11 containing visible lithium mineralization. Assays pending for all samples collected.

Vast majority of Property and prospective trends remain to be assessed for lithium pegmatite.

Shawn Wescott, Company CEO, comments: "We are excited to continue to advance the Radis Project with the completion of the September sampling and mapping program. Over 30 pegmatite outcrops have been mapped and sampled to date on the Property, and both the Chou and Navet pegmatite mineralization remains open in multiple directions. We eagerly await the analytical results, particularly the channel samples from Chou, which will help us confirm the continuity of mineralization across the pegmatite body and help guide the planning for a maiden drill program in Q1 of 2024."

Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - October 5, 2023) - Ophir Gold Corp. (TSXV: OPHR) (OTCQB: KPZIF) (FSE: 80M) ("Ophir" or the "Company") is pleased to announce the completion of its 2023 surface exploration program at the Radis Lithium Property (the "Property" or "Project"), located in Eeyou Istchee James Bay, Quebec. The Property is located approximately 70 km east-northeast of Wemindji and proximal to the all-season Billy-Diamond Highway and hydro-power line infrastructure in the region.

Due to forest fires in the region over the summer period, preventing access to the Property (see news release dated June 5, 2023), the Company modified its fieldwork plans and successfully completed a more focused exploration program at the Property. The surface work, completed in September, followed up on the very successful 1.5 days of prospecting completed in early June 2023, which confirmed lithium mineralization at the Chou Spodumene Pegmatite (2.33% Li2O) and the Navet Spodumene Pegmatite (1.26% Li2O) (see news release dated June 29, 2023).

A total of 87 rock samples were collected during the September program (Figure 1 and Figure 2), including 10 channel samples at the Chou Pegmatite (Figure 3). A total of 48 samples were collected from pegmatite outcrops in addition to samples collected from basement granites/tonalites to evaluate geochemistry. Several samples were also collected to evaluate base and precious metal potential.





Figure 1: Prospective lithium pegmatite trend at the Radis Property

To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:

https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/6338/182963_3975f52e14461b75_001full.jpg

The 2023 surface exploration resulted in the mapping of a pegmatite dyke swarm at the Navet Spodumene Pegmatite Showing and an extension of the Chou Spodumene Pegmatite. Additionally, the program resulted in the discovery of the "Figue Showing," characterized by lepidolite mineralization in a pegmatite dyke up to 1 m wide and open along strike. The lepidolite may indicate proximal spodumene and overall fertility within the pegmatite trend that has now been expanded to at least 4.5 km, with significant spodumene mineralization confirmed at multiple locations.





Figure 2: Navet and Courgette spodumene pegmatite showings with newly discovered surrounding pegmatite dykes

To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:

https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/6338/182963_3975f52e14461b75_002full.jpg

A new spodumene pegmatite outcrop was discovered approximately 26 m south of the Chou Spodumene Pegmatite (Figure 3C). This new outcrop, approximately 4 m long by 3 m wide, is interpreted to connect subsurface beneath overburden to the Chou Spodumene Pegmatite outcrop (approximately 10 m long by 6 m wide) discovered in June 2023. The new outcrop extends the interpreted strike length of the collective Chou Showing to at least 41 m. A channel was cut across both spodumene pegmatite outcrops that characterize the Chou Showing: a 6.5 m long channel across the northern, original Chou Showing dyke (Figure 3A) and a 2.9 m long channel across the newly discovered southern dyke situated 26 m along strike (Figure 3B). Both channels were oriented perpendicular to the approximated strike of the dykes, and samples were collected continuously at approximately 1 m intervals. Spodumene mineralization was observed in both channels.





Figure 3: The Chou Spodumene Pegmatite

To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:

https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/6338/182963_3975f52e14461b75_003full.jpg

The Navet Spodumene Pegmatite is characterized by an approximate 18 m x 5 m outcrop exposure, truncated by mafic volcanic rock on one side and shallow overburden on the other (Figure 4). The September mapping at Navet identified additional zones of spodumene within the pegmatite, and an additional 3 grab samples were collected to determine the overall abundance of spodumene throughout the exposure. Prospecting and mapping in the area surrounding Navet has identified more than 20 additional pegmatite dykes up to 1 m wide, suggesting Navet is part of a much larger swarm of LCT pegmatite dykes. Although no spodumene mineralization was visually identified outside of the main Navet Showing, many of these dykes exhibit similar characteristics, such as textures and blue tourmaline, and suggest the presence of a potential robust LCT pegmatite system.





Figure 4: Navet Showing, open in multiple directions

To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:

https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/6338/182963_3975f52e14461b75_004full.jpg

The September surface exploration concludes the prospecting and mapping program for 2023, as most exploration activities are typically paused from September 15 to October 15 for the annual moose hunting season. The Company is currently awaiting final data and deliverables from a Property-wide airborne LiDAR and Orthophoto survey flown in September 2023, which will be used to generate targets ahead of an expansive surface exploration program in 2024. Additionally, the Company plans to complete an induced polarization and resistivity survey over the ~4.5 km of prospective lithium exploration trend identified at the Property. The geophysical data will be utilized, along with the analytical results from the 2023 prospecting and mapping programs, to plan and execute a maiden drill program at the Chou and Navet Spodumene Pegmatites at the Property in Q1 2024.

Quality Assurance / Quality Control

All samples were collected in the field using a hammer, chisel and/or a battery-operated diamond-bladed rock saw. Locations were obtained using a handheld GPS or tablet with samples placed in pre-labelled sample bags. Metal tags with the sample numbers and flagging tape were left at each sample location. Samples were securely transported by field staff to SGS Canada's laboratory in Val d'Or, QC, for standard sample preparation (code PRP89), which includes drying at 105C, crushing to 75% passing 2mm, riffle splitting 250 g, and pulverizing to 85% passing 75 microns. The pulps were then shipped to SGS Canada's laboratory in Burnaby, BC, where they were subsequently analyzed for multi-element (including Li and Ta) using sodium peroxide fusion with ICP-AES/MS finish (code GE_ICM91A50). A Quality Assurance/Quality Control protocol was incorporated into the program and included the insertion of certified reference material and silica blanks at a rate of approximately 10%. SGS Canada is independent of the Company.

Management cautions that prospecting surface rock samples and associated assays, as discussed herein, are selective by nature and represent a point location and, therefore, may not necessarily be fully representative of the mineralized horizon sampled.

Qualified Person

The technical content of this news release has been reviewed and approved by Nathan Schmidt, P. Geo., Senior Geologist for Dahrouge Geological Consulting Ltd., and a Qualified Person under National Instrument 43-101, who has prepared and reviewed the content of this press release.

Mr. Schmidt has verified all scientific and technical data disclosed in this news release, including the sampling and QA/QC results and certified analytical data underlying the technical information disclosed. Mr. Schmidt noted no errors or omissions during the data verification process. The Company and Mr. Schmidt do not recognize any factors of sampling or recovery that could materially affect the accuracy or reliability of the assay data disclosed in this news release.

About the Radis Lithium Property

In December 2022, the Company entered into an option agreement to earn 100% interest in 152 claims of the Radis Property, with an additional three (3) claims acquired through a separate purchase agreement in March 2023. The Radis Property consists of 155 claims totalling 8,005.35 hectares and is situated within a volcano-sedimentary sequence (i.e., a g greenstone belt) belonging to the Yasinski group. The greenstone belt contains at least two distinct spodumene-bearing outcrops sampled in 2023: the Chou Showing (2.33% Li2O, 1.68% Li2O and 1.17% Li2O) and the Navet Showing (1.26% Li2O). The Property is considered highly prospective for additional lithium pegmatites, hosting a tight regional fold which may provide favourable dilation zones for pegmatite emplacement.

About the Company

Ophir Gold Corp. is a diversified mineral exploration company focused on the exploration and development of the Radis Lithium Property in James Bay, Quebec, and the past producing Breccia Gold Property located in Lemhi County, Idaho. The Company holds an option to earn a 100% interest in the Radis Property over a three-year period from Eastmain Resources Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Fury Gold Mines Limited, and an option to earn a 100% interest in the Breccia Property from DG Resource Management Ltd.

On behalf of the Board of Directors

"Shawn Westcott"

Ophir Gold Corp.

For further information, please contact:

Shawn Westcott, CEO

Phone 1 (604) 365 6681

swestcott@ophirgoldcorp.com

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Cautionary Note

The information contained herein contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of applicable securities legislation. Forward-looking statements relate to information that is based on assumptions of management, forecasts of future results, and estimates of amounts not yet determinable and include statements in this press release related to the exploration and discovery potential of the Property, interpretation of exploration results, that the vast majority of Property and prospective trends remain to be assessed for lithium pegmatite; that the Chou and Navet pegmatite mineralization remains open in multiple directions; confirmation of the continuity of mineralization across the pegmatite body; the timeline for the maiden drill program; the generation of targets ahead of an expansive surface exploration program in 2024; the completion of an induced polarization and resistivity survey over the Property; and the Company's future exploration plans with respect to the Property. Any statements that express predictions, expectations, beliefs, plans, projections, objectives, assumptions or future events or performance are not statements of historical fact and may be "forward-looking statements." Forward-looking statements are subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties which could cause actual events or results to differ from those reflected in the forward-looking statements, including, without limitation: risk related to the failure to obtain adequate financing on a timely basis and on acceptable terms; risks related to the outcome of legal proceedings; political and regulatory risks associated with mining and exploration; risks related to the maintenance of stock exchange listings; risks related to environmental regulation and liability; the potential for delays in exploration or development activities or the completion of technical reports including feasibility studies; the uncertainty of profitability; risks and uncertainties relating to the interpretation of sampling and drill results, the geology, grade and continuity of mineral deposits; risks related to the inherent uncertainty of production and cost estimates and the potential for unexpected costs and expenses; results of preliminary economic assessments, prefeasibility and feasibility studies, and the possibility that future exploration, development or mining results will not be consistent with the Company's expectations; risks related to commodity price fluctuations; and other risks and uncertainties related to the Company's prospects, properties and business detailed elsewhere in the Company's disclosure record. Should one or more of these risks and uncertainties materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those described in forward-looking statements. Investors are cautioned against attributing undue certainty to forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date hereof and the Company does not assume any obligation to update or revise them to reflect new events or circumstances, except in accordance with applicable securities laws. Actual events or results could differ materially from the Company's expectations or projections.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/182963
London, United Kingdom--(Newsfile Corp. - October 5, 2023) - BSF Enterprise PLC (LSE: BSFA) (OTCQB: BSFAF), a company focused on unlocking the next generation of biotechnological solutions using cell-based tissue engineering, will be participating in The ThinkEquity Conference, which will take place on October 19, 2023 at The Mandarin Oriental Hotel in New York.

Che Connon, CEO and Director, will be presenting at 10:30 AM ET on October 19th. Interested parties can register to attend here. Members of the BSF Enterprise PLC management will also be holding one-on-one investor meetings throughout the day.

About BSF Enterprise PLC

BSF Enterprise PLC (BSF) is focused on unlocking the next generation of biotechnological solutions - using cell-based tissue engineering to help generate cultured meat, lab-grown leather, as well as human corneas, collagen growth and skin substitutes, as part of a radical transformation to deliver sustainable solutions across a variety of sectors. It owns 100% of 3D Bio-Tissues (3DBT), a tissue engineering with patent-protected IP that is already producing human corneas to help restore vision to millions of people and successfully produced the UK's first high-quality lab-grown meat from its laboratory in Newcastle in 2023. BSF aims to deliver growth to shareholders through the continued commercialisation of 3DBT's IP, which has multiple applications, as well as through M&A. It aims to acquire a suite of technologies that underpins the development of tissue templating for corneas, meat and leather, and license out the IP to manufacturers, wholesalers and distributors to help manufacture the products at scale.

About The ThinkEquity Conference

The ThinkEquity Conference will gather industry insiders, investors and leading executives from around the world on October 19th in New York. Attendees can expect a full day of company presentations, one-on-one investor meetings, networking and more.

Featured sectors include AI, Technology, Biotechnology, EV/EV Infrastructure, Metals & Mining and Energy.

To register to attend The ThinkEquity Conference, please follow this link.

For further information:

Geoff Baker

Executive Director

+1.646.893.5835 x2

info@skylineccg.com

Source: BSF Enterprise PLC
Software company Toyota Connected increases timesheet adoption by 25% and reduces time on bench by more than 90% with Kantata Professional Services Cloud

Kantata, the leading global supplier of purpose-built technology for professional services, today announced that Texas-based software development and cloud services company Toyota Connected North America (TCNA) has reduced bench time from 15% to below 1% through workforce optimization with the Kantata Professional Services Cloud.

Prior to adopting Kantata Professional Services Cloud, TCNA worked with less efficient spreadsheets for resource tracking and skills matching. TCNA sought a unified "source of truth" to streamline organization-wide data and improve decision-making. TCNA selected Kantata OX, Kantata's open infrastructure solution.

"Kantata has been a strong resource in helping Toyota Connected better optimize where staffing demand is for various projects to make sure we have the right people in the right place at the right time," said Dave Knapstein, manager, Strategic Workforce planning at TCNA. "The system has enabled our organization to have more informed budget and hiring conversations across our team that we couldn't have before."

"Kantata is the tell-all system that we reference for how we're performing in the organization across our projects as well as where our resources are on those projects," Knapstein added.

Since adopting Kantata, TCNA has been able to:

Reduce time on bench below 1% previously, TCNA had a cloudy picture of who was on the bench, but accurate insights on workforce skills and availability from Kantata have led to the near-extinction of bench time.

Improve timesheet adoption by 25%, from 75% of hourly team members capturing their time in their previous system to a current standard of between 95% and 98% timesheet compliance with Kantata.

Precisely forecast project durations using data in Kantata, driving forecasting accuracy that is enabling better planning, resource allocation and more efficient project execution.

"Everybody [at Kantata] from the top down has been great, from the implementation team to our customer service rep," said Knapstein. "We've had special trainings for things like report building. Trainers have been excellent."

"We appreciate the opportunity to partner with professional services organizations like Toyota Connected it is always exciting to see how Kantata is being used to orchestrate projects and people that are changing the way we think about things like mobility," said Matt Schlessman, VP, Global Customer Success, Kantata. "The incredible results TCNA has achieved are a testament not just to the power of software purpose-built for the unique needs of professional services organizations, but also to the work our teams have done together to align Kantata's capabilities with meaningful outcomes."

To learn more about the quantitative results of adopting Kantata, read the entire success story here.

About Kantata:

Kantata takes professional services automation to a new level, giving people-powered businesses the clarity, control, and confidence they need to optimize resource planning and elevate operational performance. Our purpose-built cloud software is helping over 2,000 professional services organizations in more than 100 countries focus on and optimize their most important asset: their people. By leveraging the Kantata Professional Services Cloud, professionals gain access to the information and tools they need to win more business, ensure the right people are always available at the right time, and delight clients with project delivery and outcomes.

About Toyota Connected North America

Based in Plano, Texas, Toyota Connected North America (TCNA) was established in 2016 to contribute toward Toyota's global vision for an intelligent mobile society. TCNA is an independent Toyota company that serves as a software and innovation hub, leveraging big data from vehicles to humanize the driving experience and provide customers secure, seamless and contextual services. Comprised primarily of software engineers and data scientists, TCNA serves as a center of excellence for connected services that elevate the customer experience as well as benefiting dealers, distributors and partners. At the heart of TCNA is Toyota's belief in human-centered mobility and a fundamental commitment to personal privacy. Learn more at www.toyotaconnected.com.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20231005384967/en/

Contacts:

Jen Dodos

949-322-6181

jen.dodos@kantata.com




McLEAN, Va., Oct. 05, 2023, a leading global provider of managed network and security services to multinational organizations, announced today the appointment of Ed Morche as chief executive officer and board director.



Morche is an accomplished business leader with an excellent track record that spans more than 30 years in the telecommunication industry. Before joining GTT, Morche served as president of Lumen's North American Enterprise and Public Sector, and previously held other senior leadership roles at CenturyLink and Level 3 over his tenure with the combined organization. Morche's experience includes global and North American leadership positions at Igaea Communications, Teleglobe, Global One and Sprint, in addition to multiple philanthropic roles supporting the Virginia Hospital Center, including serving as a director on the hospital's foundation board.

"We are delighted to welcome Ed as we look to a bright future as a managed network services and security provider serving global multinational enterprises," said Tony Abate, GTT executive chairman of the board. "His deep industry experience, long-standing commitment to service delivery excellence, and proven track record of empowering and inspiring teams make him an ideal choice to continue to drive the company forward."

"I am thrilled to lead the talented team at GTT and look forward to working with our employees, partners and customers in this next phase of growth," said Morche. "It's exciting to join an organization with such a long-standing commitment to operational excellence, compelling market opportunity and great culture for delivering a best-in-class customer experience."

Abate also shared his appreciation for Ernest Ortega, who has stepped down as CEO and board director. "The board would like to sincerely thank Ernie for his contributions to GTT over the past four years," said Abate. "During that time, Ernie was instrumental in transforming the company in numerous ways. He is leaving GTT well positioned for continued growth, and we wish him the best in his future endeavors."

About GTT

GTT is a managed network and security services provider to global organizations. We design and deliver solutions that leverage advanced cloud, networking and security technologies. We complement our solutions with a suite of professional services and exceptional sales and support teams in local markets around the world. We serve thousands of national and multinational companies with a portfolio that includes SD-WAN, security, internet, voice and other connectivity options. Our services are uniquely enabled by our top-ranked, global, Tier 1 IP backbone, which spans more than 260 cities on six continents. The company culture is built on a customer-first service experience reinforced by our commitment to operational excellence and continuous improvement in our business, environmental, social and governance practices. For more information, visit www.gtt.net .

GTT Media Inquiries:

Americas:

Mary Lynn Heath, GTT

+1-646-214-4078

MaryLynn.Heath@gtt.net (mailto:MaryLynn.Heath@gtt.net)

Europe:

Siria Nielsen, GTT

+31-6-2835-4259

siria.nielsen@gtt.net (mailto:siria.nielsen@gtt.net) GTT Investor Relations:

Charlie Lucas, VP of Finance, GTT

InvestorRelations@gtt.net (mailto:InvestorRelations@gtt.net)



Press releases can be downloaded from gtt.net.



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A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/ca351ef8-3fec-468d-b4ca-bc039543f3f5
Today the World Gold Council announces the release of a new documentary: GOLD: A Journey with Idris Elba, created in partnership with Pioneer Productions.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20231005802842/en/

(Photo: Business Wire)

Immersed in adventure, Idris Elba (Luther, Beasts of No Nation, Hijack) explores the mysteries, stories and untold human relationship with our most precious metal: gold. As his journey unfolds, we're taken around the globe as he conquers his claustrophobia down Canadian mine shafts, explores his heritage in Ghana and delves into the journey to responsible mining in South Africa.

From the 1800s Gold Rush stimulating early demand for Levi's jeans, to the recent production of a $1M gold bar in Canada and the quest for the new gold seams in Peru; Elba uncovers the unique moments and milestones that bring the human story and socio-economic impact of gold to life.

Gold: A Journey explores the value of gold past, present and future, while discovering its powers of transformation on individuals, communities and economies. It also highlights how the industry is navigating current challenges, from post-mining regeneration and energy consumption to the future of the workforce in gold mining.

Idris Elba said: "I feel very thankful to have been able to experience what gold means to people, what gold means to history and also to tradition. Gold has the power to transform. I've learnt so much about gold that wasn't obvious or expected and now my eyes have been opened which is a wonderful thing."

David Tait, Chief Executive Officer, World Gold Council, said: "Gold has a positive impact across the lives of individuals, communities and economies, with much of the story to date left to imagination. On behalf of our members and the industry, we are delighted to bring the human stories of gold to life for the first time, working with Idris Elba to explore the value and evolution of gold."

The documentary was commissioned to support the World Gold Council in its ambition to help the world understand the value of gold and harness its transformative power.

The documentary will be available on YouTube from 5th October 2023. Find out more: journey.gold

World Gold Council

We are a membership organisation that champions the role gold plays as a strategic asset, shaping the future of a responsible and accessible gold supply chain. Our team of experts builds understanding of the use case and possibilities of gold through trusted research, analysis, commentary, and insights. We drive industry progress, shaping policy and setting the standards for a perpetual and sustainable gold market.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20231005802842/en/

Contacts:

For further information please contact:

Stephanie Cadman

World Gold Council

T +44 7808 640303

E stephanie.cadman@gold.org
YEREVAN, OCTOBER 5, ARMENPRESS. Any geopolitical change in the South Caucasus would be unacceptable for Iran, President Ebrahim Raisi has said.

Raisi made the remarks during separate meetings in Tehran with Secretary of the Security Council of Armenia Armen Grigoryan and Khalaf Aly Oghlu Khalafov, the special representative of Azerbaijans President Ilham Aliyev, IRNA reports.

During talks with Secretary Grigoryan, President Raisi stressed the importance of respecting the territorial integrity of the countries in the Caucasus, and announced Irans readiness to cooperate on improving peace and security in that region, according to IRNA.

Raisi also rejected any geopolitical change in the Caucasus, calling it harmful to the interests of the regional countries.

He stressed the need for protecting the rights of the Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh, and announced Irans readiness to help Armenia and Azerbaijan resolve their standoff through dialogue. The Iranian president made similar comments during talks with Khalaf Aly Oghlu Khalafov, the special representative of Azerbaijans President Ilham Aliyev.

Raisi said that protecting and improving stability in the Caucasus depends on the cooperation of regional countries which he said are capable of resolving regional issues.

He added that the presence of extra-regional countries under any excuse does not benefit regional nations, and that the regions geopolitics should remain unchanged.
There are now 25 samples of interest, up from the previous 21 samples from the 2011 exploration campaign.

Total of 46 samples showing greater than 1.00% concentrations of Li2O in total for all historic drill holes (2011 & 2018).

Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - October 5, 2023) - IberAmerican Lithium Corp. (NEO: IBER) (the "Company") is pleased to announce the results of the re-assaying of initial core samples from its Alberta II project, located in Ourense Province, Galicia, Spain. By using a sodium peroxide fusion to obtain the assay results, the Company now has 25 samples showing greater than 1.00% concentrations of lithium oxide, an increase of approximately 20% from the number of samples previously reported from the exploration campaign conducted in 2011.

Campbell Becher, Chief Executive Officer, said, "We are very pleased with the re-assay results. It confirms our thesis that, with the use of proper, more modern technology and with a new focus on lithium shows, the existing samples would provide greater lithium content than originally thought in 2011, when the exploration focus of the owner at that time was on tin and tantalum. These results also give us better information on the areas on which to concentrate our exploration program at Alberta II."

The re-assays confirm the Company's initial plans to focus its Q4 2023 diamond drilling program, of approximately 40-50 holes, in the northern section of the Alberta II permit area, targeting the continuity of spodumene-pegmatites, specifically expanding the drilling previously performed on the permit area in 2012. The Company will be also undertaking an extensive geological sampling program in the south section of Alberta II. Mr. Becher added, "Receipt of these results are the first step in commencing our robust exploration program; we expect to be able to announce preliminary results from initial drilling and survey activities in Q1 2024."

The Re-Assays

In conjunction with its reverse takeover transaction and listing of its common shares on the Neo Exchange Inc., operating as Cboe Canada, the Company filed a National Instrument 43-101 - Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects ("NI 43-101") technical report, prepared pursuant to NI 43-101, by Resource Development Associates Inc. (RDA) consultant Scott E. Wilson, S.M.E., CPG, titled "NI 43-101 Technical Report for the Alberta II Lithium and Rare Metals Deposit, Ourense Province, Galicia Spain" with an effective date of March 25, 2023 (the "Alberta II Project Technical Report"). The Alberta II Project Technical Report contained a number of recommendations, including the re-assay of core samples taken in 2011 by the previous permit holder of Alberta II, in order to use a more pertinent assay method - sodium peroxide fusion - for lithium-bearing spodumene pegmatite. Samples taken in 2011 had previously been analyzed using the 4-Acid Digest method which is known to under-report lithium contents. The re-assaying has been completed, and as a result of using more modern technology and methods, the Company now has 25 core samples from the 2011 campaign showing greater than 1.00% concentrations of lithium oxide compared to the 21 reported in the Alberta II Project Technical Report, an increase of approximately 20% for core samples taken in 2011.

As part of the re-assay program, samples were collected from the nine drill-holes from 2011. Quarter-core cuts of the historic intervals were sent for reanalysis. The drill-hole samples were prepared at ALS laboratory in Sevilla, Spain, located approximately 750 km from Alberta II, and then sent to their laboratories in Ireland for assaying. The ME-MS89L assaying method uses a sodium peroxide flux for fusion. When searching for elements found in resistant minerals, as the lithium silicates found on pegmatites, fusion decomposition guarantees the complete measurement of the element's concentration, rather than just the acid-soluble portion. The Company selected this internationally accredited laboratory to assess the most appropriate assay methodology for Alberta II's mineralization type. Some variability is to be anticipated as the samples represent the second half of the core as opposed to being a rerun of the same sample; different sample preparation; different sample digestion and analytical methods used by the laboratories in different time periods; and the natural variability of the mineralization.

A comparison of historic results and re-assay results are shown below and complete results are reported in Schedule 1 of this news release, respectively:

HOLE_ID FROM

(m) TO

(m) THICKNESS

(m) OLD

SAMPLE

NO. Li2O%

[OLD] CURRENT

SAMPLE

NO. Li2O%

[NEW] ABII-11-09 75.15 76.15 1.00 D00278 0.71 G798507 1.13 ABII-11-09 77.23 78 0.77 D00281 1.64 G798509 2.06 ABII-11-09 79.38 80.44 1.06 D00283 1.84 G798511 1.46 ABII-11-09 80.44 81.49 1.05 D00285 0.99 G798512 1.37 ABII-11-09 168.5 169.5 1.00 D00294 1.28 G798521 1.18 ABII-11-09 169.5 170.5 1.00 D00295 1.38 G798522 1.58 ABII-11-09 170.5 171.5 1.00 D00296 0.93 G798523 1.09 ABII-11-09 171.5 172.4 0.90 D00298 1.41 G798524 2.21 ABII-11-09 172.4 173.4 1.00 D00299 1.32 G798525 1.50 ABII-11-08 276.17 277 0.83 D00218 1.07 G798558 1.36 ABII-11-05 73.2 74.2 1.00 D00117 0.02 G798564 2.59 ABII-11-05 74.2 75.2 1.00 D00118 0.84 G798565 1.06 ABII-11-05 75.2 76.2 1.00 D00120 0.78 G798566 1.03 ABII-11-05 195.7 196.92 1.22 D00135 1.68 G798581 2.12 ABII-11-05 196.92 198.08 1.16 D00136 1.29 G798582 1.25 ABII-11-06 13.2 14.42 1.22 D00142 2.02 G798587 1.21 ABII-11-06 17.3 18.3 1.00 D00147 1.33 G798591 1.69 ABII-11-06 20.61 21.4 0.79 D00152 0.94 G798596 1.01 ABII-11-06 100 101 1.00 D00166 1.79 G798608 1.70 ABII-11-06 101 102.1 1.10 D00167 1.08 G798609 1.15 ABII-11-06 102.1 103 0.90 D00168 1.11 G798610 1.52 ABII-11-06 103 104 1.00 D00169 1.62 G798611 1.60 ABII-11-06 104 105 1.00 D00171 1.31 G798612 1.14 ABII-11-06 105 106 1.00 D00172 0.71 G798613 1.19 ABII-11-06 106 106.9 0.90 D00173 1.31 G798614 1.37

*[Old] 2011 samples previously analyzed using the 4-Acid Digest method

*[New] Re-assayed samples analyzed using the Sodium Peroxide fusion method

*All From/To Depths and Thicknesses are downhole and do not represent true thickness of mineralization

*Only samples with grade above 1.00% Li2O are shown in the above table

Samples from the 2018 holes were analyzed using the sodium peroxide method hence these samples were not re-assayed.





Figure 1

To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:

https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/9975/182975_74c0c90eb437cb10_001full.jpg

Adding the re-assay results to those samples of interest from the 2018 drill holes results in a total of 46 samples showing greater than 1.00% concentrations of Li2O in total for all historic dill holes.

All 46 samples showing greater than 1.00% concentrations of Li2O are reported in the table below:

HOLE_ID FROM

(m) TO

(m) THICKNESS

(m) CURRENT

SAMPLE

NO. Li2O%

[NEW] ABII-18-01 60.3 61.3 1.00 S303903 2.37 ABII-18-01 122.22 123.08 0.86 S303912 1.12 ABII-18-01 123.08 123.94 0.86 S303913 1.23 ABII-18-01 123.94 124.8 0.86 S303914 2.17 ABII-18-01 124.8 125.87 1.07 S303916 1.60 ABII-18-01 125.87 126.84 0.97 S303917 1.95 ABII-18-01 126.84 127.82 0.98 S303918 1.59 ABII-18-01 127.82 128.78 0.96 S303920 1.87 ABII-18-01 129.76 130.9 1.14 S303922 1.46 ABII-18-01 130.9 131.7 0.80 S303923 1.10 ABII-18-01 131.7 132.5 0.80 S303925 1.45 ABII-18-02 137.04 138.08 1.04 S303945 2.52 ABII-18-02 139.17 140.18 1.01 S303948 1.20 ABII-18-02 140.18 141.22 1.04 S303949 1.62 ABII-18-02 141.22 142.27 1.05 S303951 1.11 ABII-18-02 142.27 143.32 1.05 S303952 1.50 ABII-11-09 75.15 76.15 1.00 G798507 1.13 ABII-11-09 77.23 78 0.77 G798509 2.06 ABII-11-09 79.38 80.44 1.06 G798511 1.46 ABII-11-09 80.44 81.49 1.05 G798512 1.37 ABII-11-09 168.5 169.5 1.00 G798521 1.18 ABII-11-09 169.5 170.5 1.00 G798522 1.58 ABII-11-09 170.5 171.5 1.00 G798523 1.09 ABII-11-09 171.5 172.4 0.90 G798524 2.21 ABII-11-09 172.4 173.4 1.00 G798525 1.50 ABII-11-08 276.17 277 0.83 G798558 1.36 ABII-11-05 73.2 74.2 1.00 G798564 2.59 ABII-11-05 74.2 75.2 1.00 G798565 1.06 ABII-11-05 75.2 76.2 1.00 G798566 1.03 ABII-11-05 195.7 196.92 1.22 G798581 2.12 ABII-11-05 196.92 198.08 1.16 G798582 1.25 ABII-11-06 13.2 14.42 1.22 G798587 1.21 ABII-11-06 17.3 18.3 1.00 G798591 1.69 ABII-11-06 20.61 21.4 0.79 G798596 1.01 ABII-11-06 100 101 1.00 G798608 1.70 ABII-11-06 101 102.1 1.10 G798609 1.15 ABII-11-06 102.1 103 0.90 G798610 1.52 ABII-11-06 103 104 1.00 G798611 1.60 ABII-11-06 104 105 1.00 G798612 1.14 ABII-11-06 105 106 1.00 G798613 1.19 ABII-11-06 106 106.9 0.90 G798614 1.37

*All From/To Depths and Thicknesses are downhole and do not represent true thickness of mineralization

*Only samples with grade above 1.00% Li2O are shown in the above table

Qualified Person, Technical Disclosure and Quality Control Notes

The sample results contained in this press release have been prepared in accordance with NI 43-101.

Technical information in this news release has been reviewed and approved by Scott E. Wilson, S.M.E., CPG, who is a "qualified person" for the purposes of NI 43-101. Mr. Wilson has verified the technical data and opinions contained in this news release by comparing the re-assays with the historic assays from the same intervals in the same holes and considers that there has been no material change from the results described in the Alberta II Project Technical Report. Mr. Wilson also considers the QA/QC procedures used to have been up to industry standards, with all QC tests passed without any reportable deviations to be raised with the laboratory.

The samples obtained from the historic drill core re-sampling were subjected to meticulous handling, starting from the point of collection to their processing and delivery to the ALS laboratory located in Sevilla, Spain. Throughout this process, a strict chain of custody was followed to ensure the integrity of the samples and the accuracy of the further results. The drill cores were stored in the warehouse owned by Strategic Minerals Europe Spain at its Penouta Mine in Spain. Here, geologists meticulously selected the sample material from the core boxes and proceeded to cut them into quarters. The samples were then placed in calico bags, along with certified reference materials, laboratory duplicates, and blanks to ensure the accuracy and reliability of the results. The lab (ALS Laboratories in this case) maintains an internal Quality Assurance and Quality Control (QAQC) program by utilizing certified reference materials, blanks, and duplicates. In addition, the Company administers an external QAQC program by inserting certified reference materials, duplicate samples, and blank samples in a number to ensure statistical representation, thereby guaranteeing results control. The samples were security-sealed prior to delivery at the Sevilla facilities of ALS. Additional information about the methodology can be found on the respective ALS global websites in their analytical guides.

Quality Assurance and Quality Control ("QAQC") is maintained internally at the lab through rigorous use of internal certified reference materials, blanks, and duplicates. An additional QAQC program is administered by the Company using certified reference materials, duplicate samples and blank samples that are blindly inserted into the sample batch. If a QAQC sample returns an unacceptable value an investigation into the results is triggered and when deemed necessary, the samples that were tested in the batch with the failed QAQC sample are re-tested.

Historic Information

The reader is cautioned that the historical information is considered historical in nature and as such are based on prior data and reports prepared by previous property owners. The reader is cautioned not to treat them, or any part of them, as current mineral resources or reserves. The Company has determined the historical information is relevant to be included here in that it is used as a comparator to the re-assay results. A qualified person has not done sufficient work to classify the historical estimates as current resources and the Company is not treating the historical estimates as current resources. Verification will be required by a qualified person before the historical estimates can be classified as a current resource. There can be no assurance that any of the historical mineral resources, in whole or in part, will ever become economically viable. In addition, mineral resources are not mineral reserves and do not have demonstrated economic viability. Even if classified as a current resource, there is no certainty as to whether further exploration will result in any inferred mineral resources being upgraded to an indicated or measured mineral resource category.

The full version of the Alberta II Project Technical Report is available on the Company's SEDAR+ profile at www.sedarplus.ca.

About IberAmerican Lithium Corp.

IberAmerican Lithium is a hard-rock lithium exploration company focused on advancing its 100% owned Alberta II & Carlota Properties located in the Galicia region of northwestern Spain. IberAmerican Lithium's properties are located in a favorable lithium district with world class infrastructure and a supportive and proactive mining jurisdiction.

Additional information on IberAmerican Lithium is available at www.iberamericanlithium.com and by reviewing its profile on SEDAR at www.sedarplus.ca.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Information

This news release contains "forward-looking information" and "forward-looking statements" (collectively, "forward-looking statements") within the meaning of the applicable Canadian securities legislation. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, are forward-looking statements and are based on expectations, estimates and projections as at the date of this news release. Any statement that involves discussions with respect to predictions, expectations, beliefs, plans, projections, objectives, assumptions, future events or performance (often but not always using phrases such as "expects", or "does not expect", "is expected", "anticipates" or "does not anticipate", "plans", "budget", "scheduled", "forecasts", "estimates", "believes" or "intends" or variations of such words and phrases or stating that certain actions, events or results "may" or "could", "would", "might" or "will" be taken to occur or be achieved) are not statements of historical fact and may be forward-looking statements.

Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of IberAmerican to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements are described under the caption "Risk Factors" in IberAmerican's Filing Statement dated August 31, 2023, which is available for view on SEDAR at www.sedarplus.ca. These risks include but are not limited to, the risks associated with the mining and exploration industry, such as operational risks in development or capital expenditures, the uncertainty of projections relating to production, any delays or changes in plans with respect to the exploitation of the site, the quantity of lithium content, the Company's re-assay results and ongoing drill programs, the areas in which to concentrate further exploration, the commencement of the diamond drilling program and any expansion thereof, and any expected announcement of preliminary results from initial drilling and survey activities. Forward-looking statements contained herein are made as of the date of this press release, and IberAmerican disclaims, other than as required by law, any obligation to update any forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, results, future events, circumstances, or if management's estimates or opinions should change, or otherwise. There can be no assurance that forward-looking statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, the reader is cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements.

Further Information

For further information, please contact:

IberAmerican Lithium Corp.

Campbell Becher

inquiries@ialithium.com

647-404-9071

Schedule 1: Alberta II Project ALS Re-Assay Results

HOLE_ID FROM

(m) TO

(m) THICKNESS

(m) OLD

SAMPLE

NO. Li2O%

[OLD] CURRENT

SAMPLE

NO. Li2O%

[NEW] ABII-18-01 59.3 60.3 1.00



S303902 0.73 ABII-18-01 60.3 61.3 1.00



S303903 2.37 ABII-18-01 61.3 62.3 1.00



S303905 0.77 ABII-18-01 122.22 123.08 0.86



S303912 1.12 ABII-18-01 123.08 123.94 0.86



S303913 1.23 ABII-18-01 123.94 124.8 0.86



S303914 2.17 ABII-18-01 124.8 125.87 1.07



S303916 1.60 ABII-18-01 125.87 126.84 0.97



S303917 1.95 ABII-18-01 126.84 127.82 0.98



S303918 1.59 ABII-18-01 127.82 128.78 0.96



S303920 1.87 ABII-18-01 128.78 129.76 0.98



S303921 0.57 ABII-18-01 129.76 130.9 1.14



S303922 1.46 ABII-18-01 130.9 131.7 0.80



S303923 1.10 ABII-18-01 131.7 132.5 0.80



S303925 1.45 ABII-18-01 132.5 133.3 0.80



S303926 0.73 ABII-18-02 83.85 84.85 1.00



S303936 0.56 ABII-18-02 84.85 85.85 1.00



S303938 0.59 ABII-18-02 134.94 136 1.06



S303943 0.47 ABII-18-02 136 137.04 1.04



S303944 0.47 ABII-18-02 137.04 138.08 1.04



S303945 2.52 ABII-18-02 138.08 139.17 1.09



S303947 0.68 ABII-18-02 139.17 140.18 1.01



S303948 1.20 ABII-18-02 140.18 141.22 1.04



S303949 1.62 ABII-18-02 141.22 142.27 1.05



S303951 1.11 ABII-18-02 142.27 143.32 1.05



S303952 1.50 ABII-11-09 71.1 72.1 1.00 D00274 0.84 G798503 0.51 ABII-11-09 73.1 74.15 1.05 D00276 0.77 G798505 0.57 ABII-11-09 74.15 75.15 1.00 D00277 1.47 G798506 0.92 ABII-11-09 75.15 76.15 1.00 D00278 0.71 G798507 1.13 ABII-11-09 76.15 77.23 1.08 D00280 0.58 G798508 0.89 ABII-11-09 77.23 78 0.77 D00281 1.64 G798509 2.06 ABII-11-09 79.38 80.44 1.06 D00283 1.84 G798511 1.46 ABII-11-09 80.44 81.49 1.05 D00285 0.99 G798512 1.37 ABII-11-09 168.5 169.5 1.00 D00294 1.28 G798521 1.18 ABII-11-09 169.5 170.5 1.00 D00295 1.38 G798522 1.58 ABII-11-09 170.5 171.5 1.00 D00296 0.93 G798523 1.09 ABII-11-09 171.5 172.4 0.90 D00298 1.41 G798524 2.21 ABII-11-09 172.4 173.4 1.00 D00299 1.32 G798525 1.50 ABII-11-08 276.17 277 0.83 D00218 1.07 G798558 1.36 ABII-11-05 71.2 72.2 1.00 D00115 0.51 G798562 0.45 ABII-11-05 72.2 73.2 1.00 D00116 0.91 G798563 0.95 ABII-11-05 73.2 74.2 1.00 D00117 0.02 G798564 2.59 ABII-11-05 74.2 75.2 1.00 D00118 0.84 G798565 1.06 ABII-11-05 75.2 76.2 1.00 D00120 0.78 G798566 1.03 ABII-11-05 194.61 195.7 1.09 D00134 0.50 G798579 0.82 ABII-11-05 195.7 196.92 1.22 D00135 1.68 G798581 2.12 ABII-11-05 196.92 198.08 1.16 D00136 1.29 G798582 1.25 ABII-11-06 12.2 13.2 1.00 D00141 0.54 G798586 0.61 ABII-11-06 13.2 14.42 1.22 D00142 2.02 G798587 1.21 ABII-11-06 14.42 15.29 0.87 D00144 1.15 G798588 0.98 ABII-11-06 15.29 16.3 1.01 D00145 0.55 G798589 0.63 ABII-11-06 16.3 17.3 1.00 D00146 1.13 G798590 0.85 ABII-11-06 17.3 18.3 1.00 D00147 1.33 G798591 1.69 ABII-11-06 18.3 19.31 1.01 D00148 0.79 G798592 0.89 ABII-11-06 20.2 20.61 0.41 D00151 0.75 G798595 0.77 ABII-11-06 20.61 21.4 0.79 D00152 0.94 G798596 1.01 ABII-11-06 21.4 22.4 1.00 D00153 0.36 G798597 0.56 ABII-11-06 98.95 100 1.05 D00165 0.48 G798607 0.61 ABII-11-06 100 101 1.00 D00166 1.79 G798608 1.70 ABII-11-06 101 102.1 1.10 D00167 1.08 G798609 1.15 ABII-11-06 102.1 103 0.90 D00168 1.11 G798610 1.52 ABII-11-06 103 104 1.00 D00169 1.62 G798611 1.60 ABII-11-06 104 105 1.00 D00171 1.31 G798612 1.14 ABII-11-06 105 106 1.00 D00172 0.71 G798613 1.19 ABII-11-06 106 106.9 0.90 D00173 1.31 G798614 1.37 ABII-11-06 106.9 107.8 0.90 D00174 1.14 G798615 0.82 ABII-11-06 107.8 108.7 0.90 D00175 0.36 G798617 0.64 ABII-11-03 83.93 84.93 1.00 D00059 0.70 G798728 0.54 ABII-11-03 84.93 85.93 1.00 D00061 0.67 G798729 0.74 ABII-11-04 228.45 229.5 1.05 D00106 0.61 G798771 0.84 ABII-11-07 6.44 7.41 0.97 D00223 0.38 G798628 0.70 ABII-11-07 7.41 8.25 0.84 D00224 0.83 G798629 0.41 ABII-11-07 58.4 59.4 1.00 D00229 0.54 G798633 0.57

*[Old] 2011 samples previously analyzed using the 4-Acid Digest method

*[New] Re-assayed samples analyzed using the Sodium Peroxide fusion method

*All From/To Depths and Thicknesses are downhole

*Only samples with grade above 0.40% Li2O are shown in the above table

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/182975
New training course provides critical skills for unpaid family caregivers and coincides with European Carers Day and Family Caregiver Awareness Month in the U.S.

Not intended for UK-based media

EMD Serono, the Healthcare business of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany in the US and Canada, today announced a new collaboration with the United Nations' Global Initiative on Ageing (GIA) to provide a training course on critical skills for family caregivers. The course, consisting of 5 modules, provides professional instruction and guidance on essential topics in caregiving such as using medical equipment, creating safe environments and overcoming communication barriers. The course is available on EMD Serono's Embracing Carers website: EmbracingCarers.com.

"As the world's population of ageing adults continues to significantly increase, the importance of caregivers has become even more critical to address their health needs," said Ambassador Luis Gallegos, Chairman of the Global Initiative on Ageing. "By bringing together the trusted experience of the GIA and EMD Serono's industry-leading caregiver initiative, Embracing Carers, we can better support caregivers around the world with these newly launched, vital courses."

The availability of the training modules coincides with European Carers Day on October 6, as well as Family Caregiver Awareness Month in the U.S. this November. The modules provide support for a broad range of caregivers whether they care for patients impacted by cancer, multiple sclerosis or other diseases and chronic conditions.

"At EMD Serono, we recognize the invaluable role family caregivers play, not only in the lives of patients, but across the entire healthcare ecosystem. Providing tangible support and resources is the sort of impact we aim to have every single day," said Peter Guenter, CEO, Healthcare business at Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany. "As we embark on this exciting new collaboration with the UN's Global Initiative on Ageing, I look forward to seeing what more we can achieve in the future."

Originally developed in Spanish, the modules have been translated into English to reach a broader audience. The modules focus on the following topics:

Feeding and nutrition techniques and commonly encountered issues

Identifying communication and language problems

Assisting with motivation and learning for elderly, disabled, and/or ill people

Understanding and encouraging positive social relationships and behaviors in those requiring care

Adapting and creating safe and comfortable environments

Additionally, caregivers who complete the training courses have the option to receive UN certification as a professional caregiver through the GIA website, if desired.

An estimated 17 percent of Americans and Europeans serve as unpaid family caregivers. A recent Embracing Carers survey found family caregivers spend an average of 28 and 26.8 hours in the U.S. and Europe, respectively, on caregiving duties each week. The physical, mental, emotional, and financial stress of caregiving frequently leads to health problems for caregivers, with 75 percent of survey respondents saying they feel burned out by their caregiving responsibilities.

Embracing Carers was launched in 2017 with the mission to raise awareness of the challenges faced by family caregivers worldwide and to implement targeted initiatives to increase recognition and support for the role of these caregivers in healthcare systems. Embracing Carers is driving this mission daily through collaborations with relevant organizations worldwide to increase the visibility and availability of tailored resources; supporting increased policy attention and action; and creating innovative opportunities for healthcare system integration.

GIA's mission is to support the achievement of the goals set by the United Nations Decade of Healthy Ageing and its Sustainable Development Goals by improving the standard of living, participation, and inclusion of the world's aging population. GIA's outreach is enhanced by partners in several countries and by virtual learning and policy platforms.

For more information on the training course and to find additional resources for caregivers, please visit https://www.embracingcarers.com/

About Embracing Carers

Embracing Carers is a global initiative founded by Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, which operates its biopharmaceutical business in the U.S. as EMD Serono, MilliporeSigma and EMD Electronics, in collaboration with leading carer organizations around the world, designed to increase awareness, discussion, and action about the often-overlooked needs of carers. Given that carers need support and often do not know where to turn for help, Embracing Carers was created to fill that void. www.embracingcarers.com

About EMD Serono, Inc.

EMD Serono the healthcare business of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany in the U.S. and Canada -aspires to create, improve and prolong life for people living with difficult-to-treat conditions like infertility, multiple sclerosis and cancer. The business is imagining the future of healthcare by working to translate the discovery of molecules into potentially meaningful outcomes for people with serious unmet medical needs. EMD Serono's global roots go back more than 350 years with Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany. Today, the business has approximately 1,250 employees around the country with commercial, clinical and research operations in Massachusetts. www.emdserono.com.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20231004149997/en/

Contacts:

Melissa Beglin

Melissa.beglin@emdserono.com
LONDON, Oct. 5, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- On rare occasions, a contemporary artist emerges, fascinating audiences, and reshaping the very essence of our perception of the world. Kojo Marfo is precisely such a visionary. JD Malat Gallery proudly announces his latest exhibition 'Crucible of Hope'. In parallel with Frieze Week, from 11th to 15th October, this enchanting exhibition invites viewers on an exploration into the intertwined realms of success, happiness, and the burdens that shape our very existence.

An exclusive showing of the exhibition will take place on October 10th from 7pm at JD Malat Gallery.

Marfo is an acclaimed contemporary artist celebrated for his unique style, which draws inspiration from traditional Akan artefacts, sculptures, and carvings that he encountered growing up.

Marfo skillfully explores the intricate nature of shared and personal human stories, with each piece carrying the weight of experiences we have lived and continue to live today. At the heart of 'Crucible of Hope' lies a powerful narrative that sheds light on the societal pressures placed upon us to succeed at any expense, often overshadowing the pursuit of true happiness. Marfo's art becomes a mirror to society, inviting introspection and igniting a dialogue on the complex interplay between success and fulfilment, and how we can reach for a sense of equilibrium.

Drawing inspiration from his own experiences and intuition, Marfo showcases an eclectic range of styles and mediums in his works, adding further depth to his artistic repertoire. From vibrant brushstrokes that exude energy to new endeavours in print techniques, his artistic prowess continually redefines the horizons of creative expression. Displayed across two floors at the gallery, the exhibition offers an immersive journey through Marfo's visual symphony, allowing visitors to delve deeper into the layers of meaning and emotions he skillfully weaves into each piece.

Kojo Marfo shares his thoughts on the exhibition, stating, "The idea is to expose and highlight the burden that our families and society place on us to be successful, rather than prioritising our happiness. It has become almost like a birthright to be successful at any expense. The intention is to shed light on these sentiments and hopefully inspire some individuals to bring about change and find happiness in our world."

To attend the exclusive opening or to interview Jean-David Malat and Kojo Marfo, please contact jdmalat@plus1comms.com .

For images, visit the newsroom https://ace.media/jd-malat .

Media Contact details: Deborah Gouineau; deborah@plus1comms.com; 07802725465

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/exclusive-preview-of-kojo-marfos-new-exhibition-at-jd-malat-gallery-on-10-october-301948361.html
Client Since 2018 Renews its Targeted Digital Marketing Program

TAMPA, FL / ACCESSWIRE / October 5, 2023 / Specificity Inc. (OTCQB:SPTY) (the "Company"), a full-service digital marketing firm that delivers cutting-edge marketing solutions, is pleased to announce the renewal of its targeted digital marketing agreement with long-time client Woodhouse Spa of St. Petersburg.

Since 2018, Specificity has worked closely with Woodhouse Spa of St. Petersburg to address their challenge of bringing in spa guests to their new location in the waterfront district of St. Petersburg, Florida. By the end of their first year in 2018 with Specificity, Woodhouse Spa of St. Petersburg was seeing an ROI of 405%. The highest ROI they have seen was 1,368%!

On average Specificity drives 32% of their physical spa visits.

Specificity has increased their site traffic by 5.57 times.

By driving relevant traffic to the Woodhouse Spa of St. Petersburg website, Specificity dropped their bounce rate by 50% and increased their ad click-through rate by an average of 2.76%

Mark Lettelleir, Owner of Woodhouse Spa St. Pete, stated, "We are extremely pleased with our relationship with Specificity and excited to renew our targeted marketing program with them. The results speak for themselves, as we have dramatically increased our traffic, visits and revenue thanks to Specificity. We look forward to continuing to grow our business with Specificity and highly recommend their targeted digital marketing to others who are looking to increase their visibility, awareness, traffic and revenue."

Jason Wood, Chief Executive Officer of Specificity, commented, "Specificity is thrilled to go into another year with a relationship with Woodhouse Spa of St. Petersburg as a client, and continuing to see their business grow! If you are a local business looking to increase your traffic and revenue, I strongly encourage you to contact us at Specificity so we could help you grow your business as we have done with Woodhouse Spa of St. Petersburg."

Woodhouse Spa of St. Petersburg is part of a franchise model built on signature services and luxury. Woodhouse Spas has been committed to caring for their guests' minds, bodies, and moods for over 20 years! Woodhouse Spas has 83 locations across the U.S. At Woodhouse Spa, every detail, space and experience has been carefully crafted by their masters of Mood Care. From their most indulgent treatment right down to their reflexology sandals - every part of the Woodhouse experience is customized to help you curate and care for the mood you choose.

Specificity narrowly defines their audiences to those who are in the market for spa services, those who show behaviors connected to their ideal client persona, those who have visited competitors, and lastly the tourist population visiting the St. Pete area! Specificity gets the Woodhouse Spa message of their superior services in front of the people who are most likely to convert into customers! Specificity carries out all aspects of the Woodhouse Spa campaign from strategy and ad creation, to deployment and analytic reporting. We deliver ROI reports to Woodhouse Spas to show exactly who Specificity drove to the spa, and the revenue associated with each guest.

For additional information on Woodhouse Spa of St. Petersburg, please visit:

https://locations.woodhousespas.com/dir/fl/st.-petersburg/75-1st-street-south

About Specificity, Inc.

Specificity, based in Tampa, Florida, is a full-service digital marketing firm that delivers cutting-edge marketing solutions to business-to-business clients as well as business to consumer clients. Our core mission is to offer our clients the most advanced audience targeting capabilities out there. We believe that precision targeting is the key to building the most successful marketing campaigns possible. Specificity has developed tools that allow it to identify and market to people who are actively in the buying cycle. Specificity takes advantage of the real-time messaging opportunities digital marketing offers to give small and medium-sized businesses a fair chance at online traffic.

For further information about Specificity Inc. and the range of digital marketing solutions offered, visit - https://www.specificityinc.com/ . Specificity also has a growing online community across social media, including Facebook and LinkedIn . Specificity is a publicly traded company, ticker symbol SPTY.

For more information, please contact:

ClearThink Investor Relations ,

nyc@clearthink.capital

Jason Wood, CEO

jason@specificityinc.com

Forward-Looking Statements Disclaimer:

This press release contains forward-looking statements that can be identified by terminology such as "believes," "expects," "potential," "plans," "suggests," "may," "should," "could," "intends," or similar expressions. Many forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results to be materially different from any future results implied by such statements. Many factors are difficult to predict accurately and are generally beyond the Specificity's control. Forward-looking statements speak only as to the date they are made, and we do not undertake to update forward-looking statements to reflect circumstances or events that occur after the date the forward-looking statements are made.

Although forward-looking statements contained in this presentation are based upon what management of Specificity Inc. believes are reasonable assumptions, there can be no assurance that forward-looking statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Specificity Inc. undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking statements if circumstances or management's estimates or opinions should change except as required by applicable securities laws. The reader is cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements.

SOURCE: Specificity Inc.

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/790198/specificity-proves-wildly-successful-results-for-woodhouse-spa-of-st-petersburg
NEWPORT BEACH, CA / ACCESSWIRE / October 5, 2023 / Galexxy Holdings Inc., ("Galexxy" or "Company") (OTC PINK:GXXY), and Hussle.Tech, is proud to announce its agreement to integrate the Verb and Hussle app technologies with the new Galexxy Sales App to power the Galexxy, LLC direct sales channel.

In August, Galexxy Holdings announced the formation of Galexxy, LLC with Pillars International to form a new technology and natural plant-based direct sales products company. Pillars has provided the revolutionary Real-Time Payment Recognition and Management Solutions for the rapid scaling of a personal sales business.

Galexxy is extending its technology footprint with Verb's sales app technology, now called Hussle, which was recently acquired by Hussle.Tech, owned by Private Equity firm Scaleworks. Hussle is the No. 1 rated Direct Sales Enablement platform that just expanded its solutions with the Verb acquisition.

The new Galexxy app is expected to double industry retention, bring new record revenues through 40% increased clicks to the Galexxy website, new app shares and engagement. The new technology connects sales leaders with their teams for simplified onboarding, training, engagement, and expands client revenues through direct connect sampling, and highly engaging technology.

"Our commitment to provide world-class products powered by scalable technology is changing the direct sales industry, combined with our industry leading functional mushroom blended products, predicted to create a new $69 billion marketplace by 2030," said Michael Biagi, CEO of Galexxy Holdings, Inc. "Hussle will empower leaders to rapidly scale their sales organizations through live streaming, on-line training, push notifications, one-click sampling, and a host of other solutions in the palm of your hand," said Biagi.

Galexxy's new App, integrating the Hussle technology will provide the tools to build an individual business, communicate globally, onboard and train new sales partners, provide a social media go-to library, videos, rewards, badges, team alerts, and even one-click samples - delivered via a professional drop-ship program.

"Hussle looks forward to Galexxy's exciting new launch showcasing the Hussle App technology with its leaders, said James Porter," SVP of Sales at Hussle. "We've seen our industry leading App technology expand businesses, increase retention, and skyrocket sales and we look forward to collaborating with Galexxy to achieve their exciting business goals," said Porter.

Hussle is the No. 1 market leader in interactive video-based technology, built to inspire action, because action leads to success. Hussle is a Scaleworks company based out of Lehi, Utah, United States.

Galexxy LLC's Leaders will have an impressive suite of proprietary new functional mushroom products to sell backed by a revolutionary new real-time payment recognition, billing, and Galexxy App technology platform to skyrocket adoption and sales. The targeted pre-launch to thousands of new sales Ambassadors is schedule for this 4th quarter. (See roadmap).

The Galexxy LLC leadership team includes Mark Askey, COO of Galexxy Holdings, appointed as the Managing Partner. Dan Gay, the CMO of Galexxy Holdings will apply his extensive experience in sales and marketing within the joint venture. John Winterholler is an accomplished founder and senior executive who brings deep executive leadership in finance and software in the Direct Sales marketing sector. Leonard Cooke is an industry-leading technology architect who has continued to bring new innovations to the industry, including Galexxy's landmark real-time payment and back-office software solution.

Fill out the Contact Us form to receive a 2-page document on how to get involved!

https://galexxyholdings.com/contactus

Galexxy Holdings Inc.

Rachel Fyffe, VP Communications

E: Rachel@galexxyholdings.com

O: (949) 418 7450

Forward-Looking Information

This press release contains "forward-looking information" and "forward-looking statements" (collectively, "statements"). All statements, other than statements of historical fact, are forward-looking statements and are based on expectations, estimates and projections as at the date of this press release.

www.galexxyholdings.com www.wellbeingfarms.com www.twitter.com/GXXYHoldings

SOURCE: Galexxy Holdings Inc.

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/790190/galexxy-inks-an-agreement-to-integrate-hussles-leading-technology-into-galexxys-new-app-for-rapid-business-growth
West Melbourne, Florida--(Newsfile Corp. - October 5, 2023) - BK Technologies Corporation (NYSE American: BKTI) today announced that John Suzuki, Chief Executive Officer, and Scott Malmanger, Chief Financial Officer, will attend The ThinkEquity Conference at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in New York City on Thursday, October 19, 2023. Mr. Suzuki and Mr. Malmanger will present at the conference and be available for one-on-one meetings throughout the day.

BK Technologies is scheduled to present at 11:00 am ET at the Lotus Suite East. To access a live webcast of the presentation, please use this link: https://wsw.com/webcast/tep24/register.aspx?conf=tep24&page=bkti&url=https://wsw.com/webcast/tep24/bkti/1670550

A replay of the presentation will also be available at the above link for 90 days and on the Events & Presentations page of the Company website.

About BK Technologies

BK Technologies Corporation, through its operating subsidiaries, manufactures high-specification, American-made communications equipment of unsurpassed reliability and value for use by public safety professionals and government agencies. BK Technologies' SaaS business focuses on new, innovative public safety smartphone services that will make the first responders safer or more productive. BK Technologies is honored to serve these heroes when every moment counts. The Company's common stock trades on the NYSE American market under the symbol "BKTI". Maintaining its headquarters and primary manufacturing facility in West Melbourne, Florida, BK Technologies can be contacted through its web site at www.bktechnologies.com or directly at 1-800-821-2900.

Company Contact:

IMS Investor Relations

John Nesbett/Jennifer Belodeau

bktechnologies@imsinvestorrelations.com

(203) 972-9200

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/182964
NORTHAMPTON, MA / ACCESSWIRE / October 5, 2023 / Whirlpool Corporation

Onisha and her sons, 14-year-old Jasaun and 9-year-old Zykail, used to rent an apartment in a neighborhood where she didn't feel safe. After years of overpriced rent payments and being unable to purchase a home on the open market, Onisha says becoming a part of Habitat for Humanity's BuildBetter with Whirlpool program is a perfect fit.

Owning a home will "bring stability to me and my boys," she says. "Not only that, but it will teach us that we can get anything in life as long as we try."

Onisha applied and was accepted into Habitat for Humanity of Horry County's homeownership program. Her affordable mortgage through Habitat's BuildBetter program gives Onisha the opportunity to provide a safe and stable home for her boys. Providing security through a new Habitat home will make a huge difference in the lives of everyone in her family.

Raised by her grandmother and her aunt, Onisha says motherhood and faith hold even more importance in her life. Having experienced many personal trials and tribulations, she has kept God at the center of her life, never giving up hope. That positive outlook helped her to work through her local Habitat's homebuyer program with ease and determination. By fulfilling her 300 sweat-equity hours - the time future Habitat homeowners spend building their homes and the homes of others - she has learned how to install vinyl siding and other important skills.

Onisha's three-bedroom, two-bathroom home has energy-efficient doors, windows, heating and cooling system, insulation, and more. The family also received an energy-efficient refrigerator and range, which Whirlpool Corporation donates to every Habitat-built home in North America. Onisha says the appliances her home was equipped with are the nicest she has ever had. She said that having clean appliances that work is a huge upgrade, and her energy bill has been reduced significantly since she moved into her new home. Through good times and difficult times, Onisha's family has been there to support her, and this includes her new Habitat family of volunteers and supporters. To Onisha, home is a place to live and enjoy life to its fullest. It's a place to feel safe.

The BuildBetter with Whirlpool initiative is an expansion of Habitat's existing BuildBetter program, which will build more than 250 climate-resilient and energy-efficient homes across the country, with a goal of delivering an almost 15 percent increase in energy efficiency compared to conventional homes. The program will help hundreds of families in need of affordable housing over three years.

View original content here.

View additional multimedia and more ESG storytelling from Whirlpool Corporation on 3blmedia.com.

Contact Info:

Spokesperson: Whirlpool Corporation

Website: https://www.3blmedia.com/profiles/whirlpool-corporation

Email: info@3blmedia.com

SOURCE: Whirlpool Corporation

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/790312/buildbetter-with-whirlpool-helps-family-find-safety-and-stability-in-a-new-habitat-home
Bradley Andrews named Chief Executive Officer, bringing 20+ years of accomplished industry experience. Neil Penhall to serve as Vice Chair of SLR's Board of Directors.

NORTHAMPTON, MA / ACCESSWIRE / October 5, 2023 / SLR, a global leader in sustainability solutions, today announced the appointment of Bradley Andrews as the Company's Chief Executive Officer. As part of a robust succession plan, Neil Penhall, SLR's Chief Executive Officer of nearly 10 years, will remain with the business, moving to the role of Vice Chair of the SLR Board of Directors to support a seamless transition of responsibilities and provide ongoing strategic advice and support.

Mr. Andrews joins SLR from Worley, a leading global provider of professional services in the energy, chemicals and resources sectors, where he held several executive strategy and operational roles in the company across multiple geographic, industrial and service lines. In recent years, Mr. Andrews has gained invaluable expertise in emerging sustainable and low carbon technologies such as renewables, sustainable fuels, hydrogen, CCUS, battery materials, subsea desalination and power.

Mr. Penhall was a co-founder of SLR and held various executive board roles with responsibility for both operational and strategic growth. As CEO, Mr. Penhall led the business through its transformational expansion and development as a global player and market leader in the fast growing sustainability sector. During his tenure, the Company took part in two major private equity financial transactions, most recently the transaction with funds managed by the Private Equity Group of Ares Management Corporation ("Ares"), helping to support the firm's ongoing growth trajectory.

John Kerr, Chair of SLR, said, "On behalf of the Board and larger SLR team, I would like to thank Neil for his outstanding contributions to building SLR's global footprint and strong reputation. We are pleased that he will continue to play an important strategic role going forward and support a smooth transition as we welcome Bradley as our new CEO. Bradley brings a strong record of high performance, extensive industry experience and a client orientation, and we are excited to benefit from an executive of his calibre as SLR enters its next phase of growth."

Mr. Penhall said, "Over the last 28 years, I have been fortunate to work alongside my SLR colleagues in building a global leader in environmental and sustainability consulting. SLR's growth and success has been underpinned by a truly differentiated 'One Team' culture, and I am immensely proud of what we have accomplished together. As SLR continues to execute against the progress we have made, I am delighted to welcome Bradley as our new CEO and look forward to supporting his vision for the future of the Company."

Mr. Andrews, CEO of SLR, said, "I would like to thank John and the Board of Directors for their warm welcome to SLR. I am both humbled and excited to work alongside SLR's deep bench of talented environmental and business consultants, engineers and scientists to build on the Company's positive momentum. SLR is on a solid growth trajectory with an expansive portfolio of sustainability solutions, strong financials and a thriving culture, and I am committed to ensuring we continue to meet our clients' needs in helping them achieve their sustainability objectives."

Stephane Etroy, Partner and Head of European Private Equity at Ares, said, "On behalf of Ares, we would like to thank Neil for his commitment to SLR over the last nearly three decades. SLR is embarking on this leadership transition from a position of strength, and we are confident Bradley is the right choice to help SLR continue to execute against its strategy for long-term success."

About Bradley Andrews

Mr. Andrews has over 20 years of experience in executive and operations management working in the resource and energy sector in over 30 countries across five continents. Over his wide-ranging career, he has gained experience in business operations, corporate strategy, country entry, technology start-ups, mergers & acquisitions, management consulting and advisory, and major project delivery across the hydrocarbons, chemical, mining and power sectors. Bradley started his professional career on the owner side in mining and oil & gas before starting his consultancy career with Komex, an environment and water advisory company which was acquired by Worley in 2006. Previously, he was a President of Advisian, Worley's advisory and consulting company, in addition to founding Advisian Digital, which encompassed a technology incubator, a venture investment arm, and an automation and data intelligence unit. Most recently, he was President of Worley's UK, Nordics, Central Asia, and Eastern Europe region, based in London. Bradley has a B.S. in Geophysics from the University of Calgary, an MBA in International Business from Haskayne School of Business and has completed post-graduate studies in Executive Leadership in Major Projects at University of Sydney.

About SLR:

SLR is a global leader in sustainability solutions: helping clients achieve their ESG and sustainability goals. A team of over 3,000 talented professionals bring together a leading offering of strategic advice and technical solutions from a network of over 100 offices in Europe, USA, Latin America, Canada, Asia-Pacific and Africa. Working on diverse and challenging projects, SLR specialises in the power & energy, mining & minerals, infrastructure, built environment, manufacturing & industry and finance sectors. SLR staff deliver a wide range of both strategic and project-specific issues to a growing base of international and regional business clients, together with regulatory and government organisations. For more information, visit our website: www.slrconsulting.com

View additional multimedia and more ESG storytelling from SLR on 3blmedia.com.

Contact Info:

Spokesperson: SLR

Website: https://www.3blmedia.com/profiles/slr

Email: info@3blmedia.com

SOURCE: SLR

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/790314/slr-announces-leadership-transition
COLORADO SPRINGS, CO / ACCESSWIRE / October 5, 2023 / Fortitude Gold Corp. (OTCQB:FTCO) (the "Company") declares its monthly dividend of $0.04 per common share payable on October 31, 2023 to shareholders of record as of October 19, 2023. Fortitude Gold is a gold producer, developer, and explorer with operations in Nevada, U.S.A. offering investors exposure to both gold production and dividend yield.

Dividends may vary in amount and consistency or be discontinued at the Board of Directors' discretion depending on variables including but not limited to operational cash flows, Company development requirements and strategies, construction, spot gold and silver prices, taxation, general market conditions and other factors described in the Company's public filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

About Fortitude Gold Corp.:

Fortitude Gold is a U.S. based gold producer targeting projects with low operating costs, high margins, and strong returns on capital. The Company's strategy is to grow organically, remain debt-free and distribute substantial dividends. The Company's Nevada Mining Unit consists of five high-grade gold properties located in the Walker Lane Mineral Belt and a sixth high-grade gold property in west central Nevada. The Isabella Pearl gold mine, located on the Isabella Pearl mineralized trend, is currently in production. Nevada, U.S.A. is among the world's premier mining friendly jurisdictions.

Cautionary Statements: This press release contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. If you are risk-averse you should NOT buy shares in Fortitude Gold Corp. The statements contained in this press release that are not purely historical are forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. When used in this press release, the words "plan", "target", "anticipate," "believe," "estimate," "intend" and "expect" and similar expressions are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements include, without limitation, the statements regarding the Company's strategy, future plans for production, future expenses and costs, future liquidity and capital resources, and estimates of mineralized material are forward-looking statements. All forward-looking statements in this press release are based upon information available to the Company on the date of this press release, and the Company assumes no obligation to update any such forward-looking statements. Forward looking statements involve a number of risks and uncertainties, and there can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate. The Company's actual results could differ materially from those discussed in this press release.

Contact:

Greg Patterson

719-717-9825

greg.patterson@fortitudegold.com

www.Fortitudegold.com

SOURCE: Fortitude Gold Corporation

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/790167/fortitude-gold-declares-october-2023-monthly-dividend
BlueSnap will enable Microsoft Dynamic 365 users to provide exceptional localized payment experiences globally, increase authorization rates and reduce fees for cross-border transactions.

BlueSnap, a global payment orchestration platform of choice for leading B2B and B2C businesses, has announced their partnership with Retail Realm, a multinational Microsoft ISV specializing in payments. BlueSnap's Global Payment Orchestration platform will provide Microsoft Dynamics 365 users with the ability to create more dynamic global payment experiences for their customers, while increasing payment ROI for their business.

BlueSnap's global payment orchestration platform is built to support growing international businesses. It includes a network of global banks to help increase authorization rates, payment optimization tools to reduce costs, over 100+ shopper currencies to improve sales, 100+ popular payment types to convert more shoppers, solutions for regulation and tax compliance, reporting to increase visibility and simplify reconciliation, and built-in chargeback and fraud management all available through a single integration.

Through this one integration to BlueSnap, Microsoft Dynamic 365 users can optimize local and global payments. Not only can Microsoft Dynamics 365 retailers better service their global customers with localized payment experiences using local payment methods and currencies, using BlueSnap's Global Payment Orchestration Platform, retailers can achieve increased sales with higher authorization rates, decrease costs with BlueSnap's Intelligent Payment Routing and benefit from the ability to tailor value-added services such as fraud, chargeback and regulation and tax compliance to serve the needs of their market.

"Global payment orchestration is essential for ecommerce retailers who want to give their customers the best checkout experience," said Ralph Danglemaier, BlueSnap CEO. "But it is equally important for ecommerce retailers to ensure they can manage their payments more efficiently, especially for global transactions. With global payment orchestration, businesses can reduce friction and confusion during the payment process to improve their chances of completing transactions and increasing conversions."

"We are very proud to collaborate with BlueSnap to provide a Microsoft certified payment integration with Dynamics 365 Commerce and B2B applications," said Rachel A. Smith, VP Global Sales at Retail Realm. "BlueSnap's Global Payment functionality is built to modernize acceptance for any use case and with a focus on ROIs for multi-national organizations. BlueSnap's functionality rich card-not-present payment solution will uniquely meet the needs of Commerce customers."

About BlueSnap

BlueSnap helps businesses accept global payments in a better way. Our Payment Orchestration Platform is designed to increase sales and reduce costs for all businesses accepting payments. BlueSnap supports payments across all geographies through multiple sales channels such as online and mobile sales, marketplaces, subscriptions, invoice payments and manual orders through a virtual terminal. And for businesses looking for global embedded payments, we offer white-labelled payments for platforms with automated underwriting and onboarding that supports marketplaces and split payments. With one integration and contract, businesses can sell in over 200 regions with access to local card acquiring in 47+ countries, 100+ currencies and 100+ global payment types, including popular eWallets, automated accounts receivable, world-class fraud protection and chargeback management, built-in solutions for regulation and tax compliance, and unified global reporting to help businesses grow. BlueSnap is backed by world-class private equity investors including Great Hill Partners and Parthenon Capital Partners. Learn more at BlueSnap.com

About Retail Realm

Retail Realm is a leading provider of integrated payment solutions in the Retail and Hospitality industries. With a portfolio of over 50,000 customers worldwide, Retail Realm is established in delivering omni-channel payment processing connectivity to merchants all over the world. Its MAX suite of products including MAX Pay Global, MAX Pay Reconciliation, MAX Mobile, and MAX Labels Availability, addresses key areas of Microsoft Dynamics 365 customers' businesses, bringing the flexibility of choice and functionally rich products that greatly enhance customer and user experience.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20231005092871/en/

Contacts:

For Inquiries please contact:

Owen Cottan

E: bluesnap@hardnumbers.co.uk
YEREVAN, OCTOBER 5, ARMENPRESS. Washington has confirmed that top officials from the United States, EU and Russia held a meeting in Istanbul days before Azerbaijan launched an attack in Nagorno-Karabakh.

The meeting was first reported by POLITICO and described as secret. The U.S. State Department, however, refused to describe the talks as such.

Id perhaps first take issue with the characterization of it being a secret meeting, U.S. State Department Principal Deputy Spokesperson Vedant Patel said at a press briefing when asked on the meeting. We engage with stakeholders and interlocutors in the region quite regularly, and the meeting in Istanbul on September 17th came together to address specifically urgent humanitarian issues and the provision of potential humanitarian aid in Nagorno-Karabakh. Thats what that meeting was about. But broadly, the U.S. remains deeply engaged on the situation and we continue to be committed to helping the parties achieve a lasting peace in the South Caucasus, he added. Patel said it was a meeting of Minsk Group co-chairs at the working level.

The U.S. State Department spokesperson declined to disclose who initiated the meeting.

It was a meeting that took place at the working levelthis was a specific topic on the issue of humanitarian needs in the Nagorno-Karabakh region. That was the scope and the context of this meeting. I would not expand it or overinterpret this to mean anything else, Patel said.

Broadly, this is a situation that we have continued to be deeply concerned about. I dont want to boil down on one specific moment. But were of course concerned by the situation after the recent hostilities, and it has resulted in over 100,000 ethnic Armenians fleeing the Nagorno-Karabakh region into Armenia, and were closely monitoring the situation on the ground. Of course, we continue to be concerned and paying close attention to the humanitarian impacts. Thats why  part of the reason why this meeting had been taking place, the State Department spokesperson said when asked whether the U.S. was frustrated that two days after the meeting the Azeri offensive began.
Employees cite high inspiration and belief in the importance of their work, alongside flexible work environment as top benefits

Cloudflare, Inc. (NYSE: NET), the leading connectivity cloud company, today announced that for the second consecutive year it has been recognized as one of the Top 100 Most Loved Workplaces in 2023, following research conducted by Newsweek and Best Practice Institute (BPI), a leadership development and benchmark research company. Cloudflare is ranked #55, described as being a Most Loved Workplace giving its teams the choice to work remotely, in-person, or hybrid, with competitive benefits to support them. In September, Cloudflare also conducted an internal survey of its global team, revealing that 92% of employees are inspired by Cloudflare's mission to help build a better Internet and 88% believe that their work is important to the company.

"One of my favorite parts of working at Cloudflare is hearing how passionate our team is about helping our millions of customers protect, connect, and scale their businesses," said Michelle Zatlyn, Co-founder, President COO at Cloudflare. "We are proud to once again be recognized as a Most Loved Workplace, especially amid today's competitive economy. Retaining and recruiting top talent is the foundation behind Cloudflare's mission to help build a better Internet."

"Cloudflare has a significant impact on the Internet, powering nearly 20 percent of the web. In order to support the Internet, we know we need to support the team behind it," said Scott Tomtania, Head of Recruiting at Cloudflare. "Ensuring that employees feel empowered in their roles and supported by our workplace is a necessity in our minds, knowing that our team members are impacting the Internet at large."

In the first half of 2023, Cloudflare has received close to half a million applicants, nearly a 300 percent increase from 2022. The company's offer acceptance rate remained at a high rate of 90 percent. Today, Cloudflare has more than 3,300 team members globally and is continuing to hire worldwide with hundreds of open positions across the organization ranging from Sales to Engineering. As the company prioritizes the success of its employees, Cloudflare offers its team members a flexible work environment that works best for them, with the choice to be remote, in-person, or hybrid with Cloudflare office space locations in San Francisco, CA, Austin, TX, Champaign, IL, Washington, D.C., Dubai, Lisbon, London, Munich, Paris, Beijing, Seoul, Singapore, Sydney, and Tokyo.

"With the rapidly changing workplace and competition for top talent, more companies are recognizing the importance of employee engagement and commitment," said Nancy Cooper, Global Editor in Chief, Newsweek. "The workplaces that have demonstrated a commitment to their employees in 2023 are more likely to attract the best talent and deliver strong business outcomes."

"Fully understanding and acting upon employee sentiment, emotion, and recommendations continues to be a challenge and top priority of executive leadership," said Louis Carter, CEO of Best Practice Institute. "The companies on this list have committed to listening carefully to their employees to create a workplace employees love."

Methodology

The rankings and results by Newsweek and the Best Practice Institute were determined after surveying more than 2 million employees at companies from 50 to 10,000+ and includes US-based firms and international companies with a strong US presence. The list recognizes companies that have created a workplace where employees feel respected, inspired, and appreciated and are at the center of the business model. The key areas included in the analysis are based on how well companies demonstrate the areas within the Spark Model as defined by BPI including systemic collaboration, positive vision of the future, alignment of values, respect, and achievement. Employee sentiments and emotions indicating how engaged employees are, how positive they feel about their workplace, and how committed they are to the organization's success were analyzed to identify the Top 100 Most Loved Workplaces.

To learn more about the Cloudflare team including career opportunities, please check out the resources below:

Blog Post: Cloudflare's a Top 100 Most Loved Workplace for the Second Consecutive Year in 2023

Cloudflare Careers Web Page

Life at Cloudflare Web Page

We Are Cloudflare CFTV

About Cloudflare

Cloudflare, Inc. (NYSE: NET) is the leading connectivity cloud company. It empowers organizations to make their employees, applications and networks faster and more secure everywhere, while reducing complexity and cost. Cloudflare's connectivity cloud delivers the most full-featured, unified platform of cloud-native products and developer tools, so any organization can gain the control they need to work, develop, and accelerate their business.

Powered by one of the world's largest and most interconnected networks, Cloudflare blocks billions of threats online for its customers every day. It is trusted by millions of organizations from the largest brands to entrepreneurs and small businesses to nonprofits, humanitarian groups, and governments across the globe.

Learn more about Cloudflare's connectivity cloud at cloudflare.com/connectivity-cloud. Learn more about the latest Internet trends and insights at https://radar.cloudflare.com.

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Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, which statements involve substantial risks and uncertainties. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements because they contain words such as "may," "will," "should," "expect," "explore," "plan," "anticipate," "could," "intend," "target," "project," "contemplate," "believe," "estimate," "predict," "potential," or "continue," or the negative of these words, or other similar terms or expressions that concern Cloudflare's expectations, strategy, plans, or intentions. However, not all forward-looking statements contain these identifying words. Forward-looking statements expressed or implied in this press release include, but are not limited to, statements regarding Cloudflare's plans and objectives for Cloudflare's employees, hiring, and work environments, Cloudflare's global network, and Cloudflare's products and technology, Cloudflare's technological development, future operations, growth, initiatives, or strategies, and comments made by Cloudflare's Head of Recruiting and others. Actual results could differ materially from those stated or implied in forward-looking statements due to a number of factors, including but not limited to, risks detailed in Cloudflare's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), including Cloudflare's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q filed on August 3, 2023, as well as other filings that Cloudflare may make from time to time with the SEC.

The forward-looking statements made in this press release relate only to events as of the date on which the statements are made. Cloudflare undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements made in this press release to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this press release or to reflect new information or the occurrence of unanticipated events, except as required by law. Cloudflare may not actually achieve the plans, intentions, or expectations disclosed in Cloudflare's forward-looking statements, and you should not place undue reliance on Cloudflare's forward-looking statements.

2023 Cloudflare, Inc. All rights reserved. Cloudflare, the Cloudflare logo, and other Cloudflare marks are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of Cloudflare, Inc. in the U.S. and other jurisdictions. All other marks and names referenced herein may be trademarks of their respective owners.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20231005172584/en/

Contacts:

Cloudflare, Inc.

Daniella Vallurupalli

Vice President, Head of Global Communications

press@cloudflare.com
Nearly half of the technology leaders surveyed (46%) expect to increase their AI budgets by more than 25% in the next year

CAMBRIDGE, Mass., Oct. 5, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- A new report by MIT Technology Review Insights explores opportunities for businesses to leverage data and generative AI to deliver growth.

The report, " Laying the foundation for data- and AI-led growth ," is produced in partnership with Databricks and is based on a global survey of 600 CIOs, CTOs, CDOs, and technology leaders for large public and private-sector organizations and features in-depth interviews with C-level executives. Among the organizations represented are ADP, Conde Nast, Databricks, Dell Technologies, General Motors, Starbucks, Razorpay, Regeneron Genetics Center, and the U.S. Transportation Security Administration.

"We are at an inflection point with AI adoption and CIOs are doubling down on their investments to ensure they have the right technology and talent in place to reap the efficiencies of AI democratization," says Naveen Zutshi, chief information officer for Databricks. "Today's early movers will be tomorrow's AI winners. But to be successful, technology leaders must foster a culture where employees feel empowered to experiment with AI in a secure environment that protects data privacy. Only then will companies realize their goals of adopting and scaling AI across the organization."

The findings are as follows:

Executives expect AI adoption to be transformative in the short term. A majority - 81%- of survey respondents expect AI to boost efficiency in their industry by at least 25% in the next two years. One-third say the gain will be at least 50%.

A majority - 81%- of survey respondents expect AI to boost efficiency in their industry by at least 25% in the next two years. One-third say the gain will be at least 50%. CIOs are doubling down on their investments in data and AI. Faced with new competitive pressures and an unprecedented speed of innovation, technology leaders need their data and AI assets to deliver more growth to the business than ever before. They are investing to secure this future: every organization surveyed will boost spending on modernizing data infrastructure and adopting AI during the next year, and for nearly half (46%), the budget increase will exceed 25%.

Faced with new competitive pressures and an unprecedented speed of innovation, technology leaders need their data and AI assets to deliver more growth to the business than ever before. They are investing to secure this future: every organization surveyed will boost spending on modernizing data infrastructure and adopting AI during the next year, and for nearly half (46%), the budget increase will exceed 25%. Democratization of AI raises the stakes for governance. As business units clamor to use generative AI, executives seek governance frameworks that can provide data accuracy and integrity as well as data privacy and security. Sixty percent of respondents say a single governance model for data and AI is "very important."

As business units clamor to use generative AI, executives seek governance frameworks that can provide data accuracy and integrity as well as data privacy and security. Sixty percent of respondents say a single governance model for data and AI is "very important." As generative AI spreads, flexible approaches are favored. Eighty-eight percent of surveyed organizations are using generative AI, with 26% investing in and adopting it, and another 62% experimenting with it. The majority (58%) are taking a hybrid approach to developing these capabilities, using vendors' large language models (LLMs) for some use cases and building their own models when IP ownership, privacy, security, and accuracy requirements are tighter.

of surveyed organizations are using generative AI, with 26% investing in and adopting it, and another 62% experimenting with it. The majority (58%) are taking a hybrid approach to developing these capabilities, using vendors' large language models (LLMs) for some use cases and building their own models when IP ownership, privacy, security, and accuracy requirements are tighter. Talent and skills gaps overshadow organizations' other data and AI challenges. When asked how their company's data strategy needs to improve, the largest share of respondents (39%) say investing in talent and upskilling the workforce. An even larger share (72%) say it will be "very important" to encourage innovation that will help attract and retain talent.

When asked how their company's data strategy needs to improve, the largest share of respondents (39%) say investing in talent and upskilling the workforce. An even larger share (72%) say it will be "very important" to encourage innovation that will help attract and retain talent. Lakehouse has become the data architecture of choice for the era of generative AI. Nearly three-quarters of surveyed organizations have adopted a lakehouse architecture, and almost all of the rest expect to do so in the next three years. Survey respondents say they need their data architecture to support streaming data workloads for real-time analytics (a capability deemed "very important" by 72%), easy integration of emerging technologies (66%), and sharing of live data across platforms (64%). Ninety-nine percent of lakehouse adopters say the architecture is helping them achieve their data and AI goals, and 74% say the benefits are "significant."

"With data and AI at the forefront of innovation, our report underscores the commitment of C-suite executives to steer toward a transformative future," says Laurel Ruma, global director of custom content for MIT Technology Review. "Strategic investments, consolidation efforts, and dedication to governance and democratization of AI are not merely choices; they are imperatives for success."

To download the report, click here .

For more information please contact:

Natasha Conteh

Head of Communications

MIT Technology Review Insights

natasha.conteh@technologyreview.com

About MIT Technology Review Insights

MIT Technology Review Insights is the custom publishing division of MIT Technology Review , the world's longest-running technology magazine, backed by the world's foremost technology institution-producing live events and research on the leading technology and business challenges of the day. Insights conducts qualitative and quantitative research and analysis in the U.S. and abroad and publishes a wide variety of content, including articles, reports, infographics, videos, and podcasts. And through its growing MIT Technology Review Global Insights Panel, Insights has unparalleled access to senior-level executives, innovators, and entrepreneurs worldwide for surveys and in-depth interviews.

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The French brand presents an extensive offering of design objects that blends tech and art featuring the artworks of Keith Haring and Jean-Michel Basquiat

Lexon today announced the release of its first-ever art collections which feature the work of Keith Haring and Jean-Michel Basquiat. These licensed programs each include 4 of Lexon best-selling products, featuring the renowned artists' signature motifs and most iconic works.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20231003151433/en/

The Lexon x Keith Haring Lexon x Jean-Michel Basquiat collections are available for pre-orders. (Photo: Lexon)

"Since its foundation in 1991, Lexon's mission has always been to create design objects ruled by simplicity. By introducing our first-ever art series of Keith Haring and Jean-Michel Basquiat, we are taking this commitment a step further. Engaging with art became an evident opportunity to continue to achieve long lasting appeal for our timeless products. Reinventing our most popular objects, embellished with these two legendary artists' masterpieces, is a way for Lexon to make both art and good design accessible for all" says Boris Brault, CEO of Lexon.

Embracing Haring and Basquiat vibrant creative styles, each collection respectively comprises 4 Lexon products coming in 4 recognizable patterns nestled in matching packagings:

Mino+ speaker (39 $/)

- Flip+ alarm clock (49 $/)

- Mina M LED lamp (59 $/)

- Tykho 3 radio (69 $/)

In addition, Lexon has designed 8 collectible gift sets with its 4 iconic products (199 $/) customers will proudly display in their living spaces for the years to come.

Speaking to both collectors and design enthusiasts, the artist assortments pay homage to the late artists' enduring legacy and boast the following artworks:

Lexon x Keith Haring comes in 3 series: Happy, Love and Heart.

Lexon x Jean-Michel Basquiat comes in 4 series: Equals Pi (1982), In Italian (1983), Untitled "Skull" (1981) and Crown.

Pre-orders are now open exclusively while supplies last, on musart.com, a leading online art destination. Global Retail availability is set for November 2023.

About Lexon

Since its creation in 1991, Lexon has relentlessly pushed the limits and created a difference in the world of design while remaining true to its commitment to make small objects useful, beautiful, innovative and affordable. Whether in home, office, leisure and travel accessories, Lexon has established a special relationship with creativity and partnered with the best designers around the world to create timeless collections of lifestyle products, sold at million pieces every year.

Today, with more than 30 years of existence, +235 awards, collaborations with some of the most renowned designers, a retail presence in 90 countries across the Globe, Lexon has truly established itself as an iconic French design brand.

About Artestar

Both partnerships done in collaboration with Artestar, a global licensing agency and creative consultancy representing high-profile artists, photographers, designers and creatives.

Keith Haring Foundation. Licensed by Artestar, New York.

 Estate of Jean-Michel Basquiat. Licensed by Artestar, New York.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20231003151433/en/

Contacts:

Annabel Corlay

a.corlay@lexon-design.com
Lyten to Work Closely with European Companies on Decarbonizing Applications in Industries including Automotive, Aviation, Defense, Manufacturing and More

Lyten, Inc., the pioneer in 3D graphene decarbonizing supermaterials, today announced that it has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Prime Minister Xavier Bettel, the Minister of Finance Yuriko Backes and the Minister of the Economy Franz Fayot to locate its European headquarters in Luxembourg.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20231005565098/en/

Lars Herlitz, Lyten co-founder (left), with Xavier Bettel, Luxembourg's Prime Minister (right), sign a memorandum of understanding for Lyten to locate its European headquarters in Luxembourg. (Photo: Business Wire)

The announcement was made as part of LuxInnovation Automotive Day 2023, Luxembourg's annual event promoting the transformation toward sustainable mobility.

Lyten is also exploring opportunities to establish research and development capabilities in Luxembourg, including infrastructure to support collaboration with European customers on disruptive applications utilizing Lyten's 3D Graphene platform. The facility would build on R&D in IoT sensing that Lyten already has ongoing in Luxembourg with an industry partner for the mobility sector.

"Just as we've done in the U.S., Lyten is looking forward to working with industry leaders throughout Europe to bring disruptive, decarbonizing applications to market, built on our Lyten 3D Graphene platform," said Dan Cook, Lyten's CEO and co-founder. "Luxembourg's talented workforce, deep history of collaboration across the European Union, and shared values in leading the way to a more sustainable global economy make Luxembourg a prime location for Lyten to begin its expansion into Europe."

Lyten is working with companies in industries such as transportation, defense, aerospace, manufacturing, energy, and construction to leverage the tunability of its 3D Graphene for decarbonizing applications. Lyten recently announced its Series B fundraising round, which included $200 million investment from several Fortune 500 strategic investors including Stellantis, FedEx, and Honeywell to scale manufacturing and commercialize its first three product lines: Lithium-Sulfur batteries, lightweighted composites, and next generation IoT sensors.

Luxembourg has set ambitious climate targets within the "fit for 55" framework and aims to reduce emissions by 55% by 2030 compared to 2005 as defined by law. This legal framework contains critical milestones to Luxembourg achieving its target of a net zero economy by 2050.

Prime Minister Xavier Bettel said: "A couple of months after the first contacts with Lyten were established in California, I am very satisfied to have signed an MoU with the company to formalize our collaboration. Through their innovative "3D Graphene" technology, Lyten is on its way to revolutionize the future of batteries and materials. It's an exciting step for Luxembourg in becoming a hub for future-proof industrial projects in the field of sustainability and mobility. Many sectors will benefit from the company's advancements on their path to Net Zero."

"We're extremely pleased that a pioneering company such as Lyten has chosen Luxembourg as its gateway to Europe," said Franz Fayot, Luxembourg's Minister of the Economy. "Lyten is representative of the type of firm that Luxembourg embraces as we position ourselves as a cleantech innovation hub that supports private research, development and innovation in priority economic sectors. We're impressed with Lyten's success so far and anticipate its impact on companies throughout Europe as they continue on their decarbonization journeys."

Lyten's mission is to scale a materials platform that delivers breakthrough applications enabling the largest greenhouse gas-emitting sectors on the planet to achieve net zero without compromising on performance, profitability or customer experience. Lyten, from its facilities in San Jose, California, plans to deliver both Lithium-Sulfur batteries and lightweighted composite solutions to commercial customers by early 2024 and is actively pursuing expansion plans in the US and Europe.

About Lyten

Lyten is the pioneer of 3D graphene supermaterials and transformative applications engineered to enable net zero without compromise. Lyten's decarbonization materials are being tuned for a wide range of applications, including next-generation Lithium-Sulfur batteries for use in the automotive, aerospace, defense, and other markets; a next-generation polymer composite that can reduce the amount of plastic used by up to half while maintaining structural and impact strength; and next-generation sensor arrays that significantly increase detection sensitivity and selectivity for use in automotive, industrial, health, and safety applications. Lyten, founded in 2015, is led by a group of experienced executives from across Automotive, Energy, Batteries, Semiconductors, Manufacturing and Defense sectors; lists more than 350 patent matters; and is currently manufacturing Lyten 3D Graphene material, as well as its high-value applications, at its headquarters in San Jose, Calif. To learn more, visit lyten.com.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20231005565098/en/

Contacts:

Bob Zietlinger

bzeitlinger@makovsky.com

551-427-7298
Global master data management (MDM) solutions provider Stibo Systems is partnering with sustainability intelligence company HowGood to support their customers that are consumer package goods brands and those that are retailers, in their sustainability initiatives.

HowGood manages the world's largest food product sustainability database. Drawing from over 600 independent data sources and certifications, the database provides UPC-level environmental and social impact data on over two million products all at the individual ingredient analysis level.

"We're seeing consumers adopt more sustainable behaviors, and they expect the brands they buy from to provide that information and more importantly, be able to prove it," said John Tully, Chief Sales Officer at Stibo Systems. "Investing in better sustainability data and transparency pays off, from sales growth to customer loyalty."

Collaboration between Stibo Systems and HowGood enables retailers and food CPG companies to improve performance in key areas within their sustainability strategies.

Channel and customer data transparency (i.e., sustainability claims, sustainability-driven merchandise decisions, product-private label innovation)

(i.e., sustainability claims, sustainability-driven merchandise decisions, product-private label innovation) E2E supplier visibility (i.e., risk scoring and ESG scorecards, ESG rankings)

(i.e., risk scoring and ESG scorecards, ESG rankings) Localized regulatory compliance (i.e., Nutri-score labeling, nutrition facts, ingredient lists, food allergens, packaging and packaging waste, traceability records)

(i.e., Nutri-score labeling, nutrition facts, ingredient lists, food allergens, packaging and packaging waste, traceability records) Investors and reporting (i.e., ESG reporting standards, UN Sustainable Development Goals standards, Scope 3 emissions)

Better product information gained by partnering with HowGood will help Stibo Systems' CPG customers differentiate their products by delivering highly accurate claims to their retail partners at scale and consequently grow revenues. For Stibo Systems' retail customers, the enriched information helps them hone their procurement strategies, build a more sustainable portfolio, achieve corporate climate goals, and be more responsive to their sustainability-conscious customers.

"Companies are increasingly investing in sustainability initiatives due to growing pressure from customers, board members and regulators," said Ethan Soloviev, Chief Innovation Officer at HowGood. "A sustainable product portfolio has become table stakes for any food company that wants to grow their market share and remain viable. We're excited to partner with Stibo Systems to make critical and hard-to-find sustainability data even more accessible and actionable for companies around the globe that are stepping up to take action."

About Stibo Systems

Stibo Systems, the master data management company, is the trusted enabler of data transparency. Our solutions are the driving force behind forward-thinking companies around the world that have unlocked the strategic value of their master data. We empower them to improve the customer experience, drive innovation and growth and create an essential foundation for digital transformation. This gives them the transparency they require and desire a single, accurate view of their master data so they can make informed decisions and achieve goals of scale, scope and ambition. Stibo Systems is a privately held subsidiary of Stibo Software Group, which is headquartered in Aarhus, Denmark. The foundational ownership guarantees the long-term perspective of the business. More at https://www.stibosystems.com.

About HowGood

HowGood is an independent research company and SaaS Sustainability Intelligence platform with the world's largest database on food product sustainability. With more than 33,000 ingredients, chemicals and materials assessed, HowGood helps leading brands, suppliers, retailers and restaurants improve their environmental and social impact. Through in-depth, ingredient-level insights into factors like greenhouse gas emissions, biodiversity, labor risk, animal welfare, and other key impacts, HowGood's data power strategic decision-making for the sourcing, manufacturing, merchandising, and marketing of sustainable products.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20231005932489/en/

Contacts:

Stibo Systems

Katherine Hahn

Public Relations Manager

khah@stibosystems.com

HowGood

FischTank PR

howgood@fischtankpr.com
Notice to the Shareholders of AB Linas Agro Group



Vilnius, 5 October 2023





Hereby we announce the Annual General Meeting of Shareholders (hereinafter - the Meeting) of AB Linas Agro Group, registered address Subaciaus St. 5, Vilnius, Lithuania, code 148030011, (hereinafter - the Company) is convened.



The date, time, and venue of the Meeting - 27 October 2023 at 10.00 a.m., Radisson Collection Astorija Hotel, Hall Sonata (Didzioji St. 35/2, Vilnius, Lithuania).



The accounting day of the Meeting is 20 October 2023. Only the persons who are the shareholders of the Company at the end of the Accounting day of the Meeting shall have the right to attend and vote at the Meeting.



The Rights Accounting Day is 14 November 2023. Only the persons who are the shareholders of the Company at the end of the Rights Accounting day shall have proprietary rights.



On the day the Meeting is convened the total number of the Company's shares is 161,085,933, and the number of shares granting voting rights is 160,350,961. The own shares in the amount of 734,972 acquired by the Company do not grant voting rights. The ISIN code of the Company's shares is LT0000128092.

Agenda of the Meeting:

Presentation of the Company's Audit Committee Activity Report. Presentation of the independent auditors' report. Presentation of the Consolidated Annual Report of the Company for the financial year 2022/2023. Approval of Company's Remuneration Report. Approval of the consolidated and the Company's set of financial statements for the financial year ended 30 June 2023. Approval of the Distribution of the Company's Profit (Loss). Increase of the Company's share capital. Changing the name of the Company. Approval of a new wording of the Articles of Association of the Company. Election of the Company's Audit Committee member. Election of the Company's audit firm and setting conditions for payment for audit services.





The initiator of the convening of the Meeting is the Board of the Company.



The Meeting is convened by the decision of the Board of the Company, adopted on 5 October 2023.



Registration of the Shareholders of the Company starts on 27 October 2023 at 9.15 a.m.



Registration of the Shareholders of the Company ends 27 October 2023 at 9.55 a.m.

The Company does not provide a possibility to attend and vote at the Meeting through electronic means of communication.

Persons who at the end of the Accounting day of the Meeting will be shareholders of the Company, or their authorized persons, or persons with whom an agreement on the disposal of the voting right has been concluded, will have the right to personally participate and vote at the meeting.

A person attending the Meeting must submit a person's identification document. A person who is not a shareholder must additionally produce a document confirming his/her right to vote at the Meeting.

Each shareholder shall have a right in the manner established by the Laws to authorize a natural or legal person on his/her behalf to attend and vote at the Meeting. At the Meeting, an authorized person shall have the same rights as the shareholder represented by him/her, unless otherwise specified in the issued power of attorney. A power of attorney issued abroad must be translated into Lithuanian and legalized in the manner established by the Laws. The Company does not require a special form of power of attorney.

The agenda of the Meeting may be supplemented by an initiative of the shareholders holding shares carrying at least 1/20 of all the votes. The drafts of proposed decisions on proposed issues or, if the decision shall not be adopted, an explanation on each proposed issue of the agenda of the Meeting shall be presented alongside with the proposal to supplement the agenda of the Meeting. The proposal to supplement the agenda shall be submitted in writing by sending it by registered mail to AB Linas Agro Group at the address Subaciaus St. 5, Vilnius, Lithuania, or by e-mail group@linasagro.lt. The agenda of the Meeting shall be supplemented if the proposal is received no later than 14 days before the Meeting.

The shareholders who own shares carrying at least 1/20 of all the votes shall have the right at any time before the Meeting or during the Meeting to propose new draft decisions on the issue already included or to be included in the agenda of the Meeting. The proposed draft decisions must be presented in writing by sending them by registered mail to AB Linas Agro Group at the address Subaciaus St. 5, Vilnius, Lithuania, or by e-mail at group@linasagro.lt. The shareholders shall also be entitled to propose draft decisions on the agenda issues of the Meeting in writing during the Meeting.

The shareholders shall have the right to present questions related to the agenda issues of the Meeting to the Company. The questions in writing can be presented not later than 3 working days before the Meeting, by providing the shareholder's personal identification number and consent to process personal data by registered mail to AB Linas Agro Group at the address Subaciaus St. 5, Vilnius, Lithuania. Responses of a general character shall be posted on the Company's website www.linasagrogroup.lt. The Company will not respond to the shareholder personally if the respective information is posted on the Company's website.

A shareholder or a person authorized by him/her shall have the right to vote in writing in advance by filling in the General Voting Ballot. Upon a written request of the shareholder holding the voting right, the Company shall send the General Voting Ballot by registered mail not later than ten days before the Meeting. The General Voting Ballot also will be provided on the Company's website www.linasagrogroup.lt. The filled-in General Voting Ballot must be signed by the shareholder or by the person authorized by him/her. If the person who is authorized by the shareholder is voting, the document confirming the right to vote must be attached to the filled-in General Voting Ballot. The document confirming the voting right must be in Lithuanian or translated into Lithuanian by an authorized translator, and his/her signature must be confirmed by notaries. The filled-in General Voting Ballot and the document confirming the voting right must be submitted to the Company in written form not later than the last working day before the Meeting, by sending it by registered mail to AB Linas Agro Group at the address Subaciaus St. 5, Vilnius, Lithuania or personally to the Company.

The shareholders can familiarize themselves with the documents, related to the agenda of the Meeting, draft decisions on each issue of the agenda, documents to be submitted to the Meeting, and other information regarding the execution of the shareholder's rights, on the website of the Company www.linasagrogroup.lt, also on arrival at Subaciaus St. 5, Vilnius, Lithuania during business days at the time agreed in advance by phone number +370 45 507 303 only.





Sincerely,



CEO Darius Zubas

Additional information will be provided by :

CFO of AB Linas Agro Group Mazvydas Sileika

Mob. +370 619 19 403

E-mail m.sileika@linasagro.lt
The addition of Datametica accelerates Onix's hyper-growth powered by Data and Generative AI solutions

New York, New York--(Newsfile Corp. - October 5, 2023) - Onix, a highly acclaimed, award-winning Google Cloud partner, today announced the acquisition of Datametica, an IP-powered consulting firm specializing in data migration, modernization and BI/analytics. Datametica leverages its suite of proprietary products to automate the process of migrating and modernizing data warehouses, databases, data integration (ETL), and analytical workloads to Google Cloud. The company has been a recipient of multiple awards in this space and was recently awarded by Google as the Data Analytics Partner of the Year for 2023.

The combined business will bring together Onix's expertise in cloud migration, application modernization, Google Workspace productivity, geospatial, and Generative AI solutions with Datametica's strength in data migration, modernization, and data analytics.

Onix Acquires Datametica, a Google Cloud Partner Specializing in IP-Driven Data Modernization, AI/ML and Analytics

"For Generative AI to drive effective business outcomes, businesses require consolidated and curated enterprise data," said Sanjay Singh, Chief Executive Officer of Onix. "By combining forces with Datametica, our joint solution portfolio will allow us to accelerate data and AI-driven value to customers that is unmatched in the ecosystem."

"We are thrilled to be partnering with Onix. Together, we can deliver to our enterprise customers holistic value and help them on their mission of transforming on cloud with data and AI. Onix, with their industry expertise and broad-spectrum capabilities in cloud and enterprise strategy consulting, will help us accelerate business transformation for our customers," says Dr. Phil Shelley, Rajiv Gupta, Niraj Kumar & Deepak Bhadani, Co-founders of Datametica.

The combined organization operates in the United States, Canada, UK, Singapore and India, with over 1,000+ deep experts in data engineering, machine learning and data science. The company will provide scale and coverage across North America, EMEA, APAC, and LATAM markets, servicing over 1,800+ customers across multiple industry domains.

Tailwind Capital invested in Onix in July 2022 to support strategic growth and build a leading Google Cloud Partner. Equity financing for the Datametica acquisition was provided primarily by Tailwind, and Tailwind continues to support an aggressive acquisition plan for Onix. Gurvendra Suri, a Tailwind Operating Executive, serves as Executive Chairman of Onix.

BMO Harris served as financial advisor to Datametica, and Avendus Capital served as financial advisor to Onix as part of the transaction.

About Onix:

Onix is a trusted cloud consulting company and a leading Google Cloud partner that helps companies get the most out of their technology with innovative, cloud-powered solutions and services. The company is able to deliver exceptional results for their customers because of its 20+ year partnership with Google Cloud, dedication to customer success, and depth of technology expertise. Visit onixnet.com to learn more about its story and solutions.

About Datametica:

Datametica Solutions is a Google Cloud migration partner that empowers GSI's and enterprises with state-of-the-art solutions for migrating data warehouses, databases, ETL, and analytical workloads to Google Cloud. Leveraging automation and expertise, Datametica provides software and solutions that transform legacy and existing Cloud systems onto Google Cloud's advanced analytics solutions. The company's cutting-edge technologies, including Eagle, Raven, and Pelican products, enable fast, low-cost and low-risk data warehouse assessment, workload and ETL conversion, and data validation, ensuring a smooth and successful cloud migration journey.

About Tailwind:

Tailwind Capital is a private equity firm with a sector-focused approach to investing in U.S. lower middle market services companies within Infrastructure Services, Supply Chain and IT Services. Tailwind's value creation model is centered on its Buy and Build investment strategy, which seeks to scale lower middle market businesses through accretive acquisitions and operational investments, including foundational resourcing, professionalizing operations, implementing technology capabilities and investing in talent. Since inception, Tailwind has invested $4 billion in over 265 acquisitions, including 51 platform companies and over 215 add-on acquisitions. For more information, please visit www.tailwind.com.

PR contact:

Carly Sumlin

1991 Crocker Rd

Westlake, OH 44145

carly@onixnet.com

Phone: 216-529-3000

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/183016
BOSTON, MA / ACCESSWIRE / October 5, 2023 / Medisafe , an industry-leading digital health company specializing in medication management, is pleased to announce it is now working with Amazon Web Services (AWS) to utilize Medisafe's 10+ years of experience and healthcare data and AWS's artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities to build the future of connected health.

For more than a decade, Medisafe has been developing expertise based on real-world insights into medication management behaviors throughout the treatment journey. With 30B+ user behavior data points from over 11M registered users and 75+ individual health trackers, Medisafe helps pharma securely innovate and scale their digital support programs to improve patient satisfaction and the treatment experience.

Medisafe's Digital Companion, powered by AWS, supports patients and caregivers throughout their entire treatment journey by driving interventions to keep patients engaged, adherent, and persistent. Specifically:

30 doses of medication are managed every second on a Medisafe app or digital companion

A Medfriend (authorized caregiver) is notified about a missed medication every 3.5 seconds

A measurement is tracked every 6 seconds

A user is notified about a drug-to-drug interaction every 15 minutes

Medisafe's Connected Health Platform, built on AWS, delivers meaningful data-driven insights on patient behavior and brand performance. Flexible and scalable with no coding required, Medisafe can be customized to meet any of pharma's Digital Health and SaMD needs - including symptom and holistic health trackers, plus customer relationship management (CRM), wearable, and caregiver integrations, among other tools and features.

AWS offers a suite of generative AI solutions, like Amazon Bedrock, a fully managed service that provides access to industry-leading foundation models via an API to build and scale generative AI applications. Services like Amazon Bedrock can complement Medisafe's vision for a digital-forward Patient Support Program (PSP).

"AWS's generative AI services can strengthen the Medisafe platform," said Rotem Shor, Medisafe's Chief Technology Officer. "Our relationship with AWS furthers our ability to scale with the speed and security pharma companies require and aligns with our mission of fortifying integration within the healthcare ecosystem."

Connect with Medisafe at HLTH, Booth #6535, or book a meeting here .

About Medisafe

Medisafe is the leading medication engagement company that empowers patients to seamlessly manage their treatment journey and holistic health while providing real-time intelligence to pharma partners. By combining advanced technology - including smart, customizable, and scalable solutions for any needs - with behavior science, its Connected Health Platform supports patients, providers, and payers at-scale by supporting better engagement, health management, and outcomes. Over 11M registered patients and caregivers rely on Medisafe's platform to manage over two billion medication doses. Medisafe is a HIPAA and GDPR compliant solution and is ISO 27001:2013 and ISO 13845 certified.

CONTACT:

medisafe@merrittgrp.com

SOURCE: Medisafe

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/790069/medisafe-joins-forces-with-aws-to-leverage-genai-and-build-the-future-of-connected-health
Centennial celebration: Duke Energy's Mountain Island Hydro Station provides clean, renewable energy to the Charlotte, N.C., area

CHARLOTTE, NC / ACCESSWIRE / October 5, 2023 / In 1923, Calvin Coolidge was sworn in as the country's 30th President, Ford Motor Co. was producing roughly 10,000 Model Ts a day and North Carolina had just surpassed Massachusetts as the nation's leading textile producer.

Across the state, hundreds of textile mills employed tens of thousands of workers. This production boom relied on one thing: electricity.

To meet the demands, Catawba Manufacturing & Electric Power Co., a subsidiary of Southern Power Co., built a powerhouse and dam on the Catawba River, the Mountain Island Hydro Station in Gaston County, near Charlotte, N.C.

A century later, the station's four units still provide power, and the lake provides drinking water and recreation resources for hundreds of thousands of North Carolina and South Carolina residents.

"This was the first river in the United States that was comprehensively planned and developed for electric power generation," said Jeff Lineberger, general manager of Water Strategy, Hydro Licensing and Lake Services for Duke Energy. "The founders of our company had this vision way back at the turn of the last century to build a series of linked hydropower stations on a river."

Mountain Island Lake was the eighth of 11 manmade lakes created in the Catawba-Wateree river system. Its objective was to provide electricity to factories, primarily the textile and furniture manufacturing industries. "They were looking to provide an economical electric generation source to power those factories to help this part of the country recover from the Civil War."

James B. Duke, Gill Wylie and William States Lee moved the economy in the Carolinas from agrarian to industrial.

"They wanted to give people a place to work that was off the farm and to really change the economy," Lineberger said. "It absolutely has done that. Charlotte and the region would not be what they are now without this 11-lake system."

Today, Mountain Island Hydro Station provides 68 megawatts of clean, responsive power.

"We utilize this facility to help provide generation at the peak load of the day," said Hydro Operations Manager Trevor Turner. "For the Carolinas, the winter peak load is in the morning, and the evening in the summer. We can also start quickly during emergency situations when the grid demands additional generation."

The Duke Energy hydro fleet was among some of the first in the country to implement remote operations, technology Duke Energy helped pioneer in the 1990s and early 2000s, Turner said.

The station is operated by the Regulated Renewables Operation Center, or RROC, a technology change that increased safety and efficiency.

Not only a reliable energy source, Mountain Island Lake, which was formed by the dam, is the primary source of drinking water for more than 1 million residents in Charlotte, Gastonia and Mount Holly. Before it, Charlotte got its drinking water from the Catawba River.

"It's one of the most important lakes in the state of North Carolina from a public water-supply standpoint," Lineberger said.

While historic, the station also serves a timely role, as part of the company's clean energy transition to achieve net-zero methane emissions from natural gas by 2030 and net-zero carbon emissions from electricity generation by 2050.

By producing hydropower, a clean and renewable resource, Mountain Island Hydro Station's output helps Duke Energy work toward that goal.

With 96.5 miles of shoreline - and over a third of it protected - Mountain Island Lake is also an important wildlife habitat. Latta Place Historic Site, Rural Hill and the Cowans Ford Wildlife Refuge, which the Audubon Society of North Carolina has designated as an important bird area, are along its shores.

Mountain Island Lake also provides public recreational opportunities, like boating and fishing. Duke Energy maintains four boating access areas on the lake, plus a bank fishing platform downstream of the hydro station. Plans are in the works to add a swim beach and bank fishing area on the lake near Mount Holly.

In addition to canoe and kayak launch site, the Lucia Access Area has a spot where visitors can view wildlife.

View original content here.





View additional multimedia and more ESG storytelling from Duke Energy on 3blmedia.com.



Contact Info:

Spokesperson: Duke Energy

Website: https://www.3blmedia.com/profiles/duke-energy

Email: info@3blmedia.com

SOURCE: Duke Energy

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/790345/duke-energys-mountain-island-hydro-marks-100-years-of-producing-clean-energy
Regulatory inspection was for the validation of three bioequivalence studies supporting licensing applications with the US FDA



NOTTINGHAM, England, Oct. 5, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Quotient Sciences, a leading global pharmaceutical drug development and manufacturing accelerator, is proud to announce the successful completion of a US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) inspection of its bioanalytical facility in Alnwick, UK.

The regulatory inspection was conducted to audit three bioequivalence studies for three different insulin analogues for a renowned pharmaceutical company.

Quotient Sciences' Alnwick facility has specialty bioanalytical expertise and facilities for conducting bioequivalence studies, which play a crucial role in evaluating the similarity between pharmacokinetic properties of two proprietary preparations of a formulation. This is an essential step in the drug development process, enabling pharmaceutical companies to demonstrate that their generic versions of a drug are therapeutically equivalent to the corresponding branded product.

The US FDA inspection of Quotient Sciences' Alnwick facility is a significant achievement for the organization, highlighting its commitment to upholding the highest standards of quality and regulatory compliance. It reinforces Quotient Sciences' reputation as a trusted partner in the development of pharmaceutical drug products.

During the inspection, the US FDA thoroughly reviewed the facilities, systems, and processes at the Alnwick site. This comprehensive evaluation included assessing adherence to Good Laboratory Practice (GLP) and ensuring compliance with regulatory guidelines. The US FDA authorities inspected the facility for five days, from July 24 to 28, which concluded with a findings meeting that was also attended by the head of GLP for the MHRA Quotient Sciences' facility successfully passed the inspection with no observations or concerns noted, demonstrating its strong quality management systems and dedication to patient safety.

The Alnwick's site GMP facilities have previously been audited by the FDA and MHRA several times over the past 18 years, however this was the first US FDA audit that was specifically for bioanalytical work.

MARK EGERTON, CEO of Quotient Sciences, "By successfully completing the US FDA inspection for these studies, Quotient Sciences has achieved another milestone in its mission to support the development of innovative medicines for patients worldwide.

"The results of the inspection further strengthen our track record for outstanding regulatory compliance at our Alnwick facility.

"At Quotient Sciences, we work diligently to maintain high quality standards and continuously improve quality platforms to ensure that we are meeting regulatory requirements that best support our global customers regulatory submissions"

About Quotient Sciences

Quotient Sciences is a drug development and manufacturing accelerator providing integrated programs and tailored services across the entire development pathway. Cutting through silos across a range of drug development capabilities, we save precious time and money in getting drugs to patients. Everything we do for our customers is driven by an unswerving belief that ideas need to become solutions, and molecules need to become cures, fast. Because humanity needs solutions, fast. For more information, please visit quotientsciences.com .

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/quotient-sciences-announces-successful-us-fda-inspection-of-alnwick-uk-facility-301947002.html
YEREVAN, OCTOBER 5, ARMENPRESS. The United States Department of State has said it has taken note of Azeri leader Ilham Aliyev refusing to participate in the EU-mediated peace talks with Armenia in Granada, Spain.

We note that President Aliyev will not participate in the proposed meeting in Granada. And weve consistently been clear though that dialogue between Armenia and Azerbaijan is essential to resolving this longstanding conflict. This is something that the Secretary and others here continue to be deeply engaged on and we will continue to work on this, U.S. State Department Principal Deputy Spokesperson Vedant Patel said at a press briefing.

Asked whether or not Washington could deliver arms to Armenia after France recently signaled arms supplies to Yerevan, Patel said: I have no change in posture to announce. Again, we continue to believe that dialogue between Armenia and Azerbaijan continues to be incredibly important to finding a dignified and durable peace for the South Caucasus. Its why the Secretary has engaged on this so personally, continuing to speak with counterparts and interlocutors in both countries.

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev cancelled on October 4 a meeting with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan which was due to take place on Thursday in the Spanish city of Granada. The talks were to be held on the sidelines of an EU summit. European Council President Charles Michel, French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz were to take part in the meeting.

After Aliyev opted out, PM Pashinyan expressed regret that the meeting wouldn't take place but said he would nevertheless visit Granada to have other meetings.
Exclusive partnership to enable best practice guidelines for an accurate and standardized measurement of CO2 emissions across UK commutes

Agreement to work together with clients and help accelerate Zeelo's mission to reach net-zero emissions from its smart bus services by 2030

LONDON, Oct. 5, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Zeelo , the global Transit-Tech company powering bus operators, employers and schools to provide highly efficient, sustainable and affordable private bus and shuttle transport programs, has entered a partnership agreement with Mobilityways , a technology organization with a mission to decarbonize the daily commute by helping employers to measure, reduce and report commuter emissions.

The partnership agreement enables Mobilityways to set best practice guidance for an accurate and standardized measurement of CO2 emissions across commuter transport while simultaneously enabling Zeelo to accelerate its mission to reach its net-zero carbon emissions targets. Together, the two companies intend to enable 1000 UK employers to make the switch to net-zero employee transport, measure and track emissions, and implement timely and cost-effective decarbonization strategies that set a precedent for carbon net-zero commutes by bus in the UK.

The daily commute to work is the least efficient journey we make, and it contributes to 5% of the UK's total carbon emissions - equivalent to 18 million tonnes of CO2e emissions annually. Zeelo client Prologis DIRFT - one of the most successful rail and road logistics parks in the UK - is the first to adopt Mobilityways' services to track its CO2 impact from ground transportation and has already reduced CO2 emissions by 50% since October 2022 last year, thanks to optimizations enabled by Zeelo's smart routing technology. Findings from CO2 emissions reductions were presented by Mobilityways and Zeelo to the UK National Department for Transport in June this year and set a precedent for better tracking smart decarbonization efforts across UK commutes.

Sam Ryan, co-founder and CEO of Zeelo, commented: "Achieving our net-zero emissions goals requires a well-measured and pragmatic approach. Mobilityways is a leading provider of decarbonization strategies and solutions for the transportation industry in the UK with a network of over 700 companies seeking to reduce emissions from their ground transportation operations. We're confident that the partnership will not only strengthen our mission to achieve net-zero emissions from Zeelo's services in line with our projected timelines, but also it will help accelerate our clients' transition to electric bus transport before 2030."

Basil Choudhry, Commercial Director at Mobilityways, commented: "We're delighted to partner with Zeelo. Our reporting standards and our emissions-tracking measurement methodologies exemplify our shared vision for a cleaner and greener future of transport. Our ground-breaking software will be enhanced with Zeelo's own tracking technology to provide a single comprehensive platform for all net-zero commuting requirements. We have already saved over 1 billion commuting miles for hundreds of businesses across the UK and are proud to be the trusted partner of UK government departments, universities, and hospitals."

Mobilityways is a social enterprise and technology company on a mission to make zero carbon commuting a reality. Mobilityways supports employers across the UK to measure, reduce and report their commuter emissions with its suite of climate tech tools. These tools provide full visibility of commuting challenges and identify sustainable travel alternatives for employees. As part of the partnership, Mobilityways, which has worked with hundreds of leading UK clients, will position Zeelo as the key provider of the most sustainable battery-electric net-zero bus commutes in the UK.

Zeelo already passes on CO2 emissions savings to its clients and has committed to transitioning all services to net-zero emissions battery electric buses by 2030, with 10% of Zeelo's UK clients having already made the switch to electric buses for their commuter services. Meanwhile, in 2022, Zeelo offset over 2,600 tons of CO2 emissions and created over 26,000 employment opportunities, with 70% of Zeelo riders admitting they rely on the service to commute to work - without which they would not have been able to accept their job.

For press inquiries, please contact:

Sonia Afzal, Head of Communications, Zeelo

sonia@zeelo.co | +44 (0)7950 467 773

About Zeelo

Zeelo is a leading global Transit-Tech company powering bus operators, employers and schools to provide highly efficient, sustainable and affordable transportation programs. Zeelo provides software and managed services to its clients and partners to increase bus occupancy levels, reduce transportation costs, CO2 emissions and administrative time. Its secure and innovative transportation management software system comprises a SaaS platform, a proprietary routing algorithm, mobile apps for riders and drivers, and 24/7 customer support (4.9 TrustPilot rating) ensuring poorly connected commuters have a regular, subsidized and sustainable bus service, wherever they are based. Headquartered in London with an R&D team in Spain and live operations in the UK, US and South Africa, Zeelo was founded in 2016 by Sam Ryan, Barney Williams and Dani Ruiz. The co-founders previously sold their pioneering ride-sharing app JumpIn to Addison Lee in 2014. Zeelo, your next stop. For more information, please visit zeelo.co

About Mobilityways

Mobilityways is a technology company and certified social enterprise on a mission to make zero carbon commuting a reality. Previously known as Liftshare, Mobilityways was launched in 2021 to support employers meet their net-zero goals with its suite of climate tech tools. These tools enable companies to measure, reduce and report their commuter emissions, providing full visibility of commuting challenges and identifying sustainable travel alternatives for employees. For more information, please visit mobilityways.com

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/zeelo-and-mobilityways-agree-partnership-deal-designed-to-accelerate-decarbonization-of-bus-commutes-301948452.html
The growth of the global Manual paint spray machine market is driven by the growth of automotive industry, and growth in construction industry.

NEW CASTLE, Delaware, Oct. 5, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Allied Market Research published a report, titled, "Manual Paint Spray Machine Market by Type (Airless Spray Gun and HVLP), Material (Paint, Coating, Fire Protection, and Other), Power Source (Pneumatic, Electric, and Gas powered), End-user Industry (Automotive, Woodworking, Marine, Steel, Construction, Manufacturing, and Others), and Sales Type (Dealers/Distributors, DIY, and Professionals): Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 2023-2032." According to the report, the global manual paint spray machine market was valued at $2,428.6 million in 2020, and is projected to reach $3,442.3 million by 2032, registering a CAGR of 2.8% from 2023 to 2032.

Download PDF Sample: https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/request-sample/170403

Prime determinants of growth

A manual paint spray machine is a hand handle or portable piece of equipment used to apply paint, coating, and finishes to surfaces. Additionally, it is a time-saving equipment that is efficient and produces a final surface that is more even and smooth when compared to traditional brush or roller application methods. Owing to increase in demand from emerging nations such as India, China, and Vietnam, where consumer durables are frequently painted, there is a high need for durable goods, which has spurred the demand for manual paint sprayers. In addition, the need for manual paint spray machines from car manufacturers has increased due to the rise in demand for automobiles across the globe, particularly in developed nations of Europe and North America. Owing to their ease of use, airless spray machines are widely used. In addition, the increased attention being paid to sustainability and green manufacturing, together with the incorporation of digital technology, offers a chance to create manual spray guns that are both smart and eco-friendly.

Report coverage & details:

Report Coverage Details Forecast Period 2023-2032 Base Year 2022 Market Size in 2022 $ 2599.1 million Market Size in 2032 $ 3442.3 million CAGR 2.8 % No. of Pages in Report 220 Segments covered Material, Coating type, Type, Power source, End user industry, Channel type and Regions. Drivers Growth of Automotive Industry Growth in construction industry Opportunities Home Improvement Projects Restraints High initial investment and maintenance cost

Covid-19 Scenario

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent global lockdowns, the manual paint spray machine market faced a downturn.

However, as the global situation started improving, the demand for manual paint spray machines was restored back. This, in turn, presented various growth opportunities for companies operating in the manual paint spray machine market.

Buy This Research Report (220 Pages PDF with Insights, Charts, Tables, Figures): https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/checkout-final/269f355369c3a34128e059ba728c0c27

The paint segment maintained its leadership status throughout the forecast period.

Based on material, the paint segment held the highest market share in 2022, accounting for nearly three-fifths of the global manual paint spray machine market revenue and is estimated to maintain its leadership status throughout the forecast period, owing to the increase in use in small manufacturers without cutting-edge production lines use paint manual paint spray machines. However, the coatings segment is projected to manifest the highest CAGR of 3.4% from 2023 to 2032, owing to growing concern over environmental norms and regulations.

The airless segment to maintain its leadership status throughout the forecast period.

Based on type, the airless segment held the highest market share in 2022, accounting for more than half of the global manual paint spray machine market revenue, owing to high-pressure backing to the spray. Along with this, airless spray creates a thick coating of paint and HVLP projected to manifest the highest CAGR of 3.2% from 2023 to 2032, and is estimated to maintain its leadership status throughout the forecast period. High volume low pressure manual paint spray machine is very efficient as it typically does not overspray.

The pneumatic segment maintains its lead position during the forecast period.

Based on power source, pneumatic segment accounted for the largest share in 2022, contributing to more than half of the global manual paint spray machine market revenue, Pneumatic manual sprayers are an ideal choice for a variety of applications due to their many beneficial characteristics. However, the gas-powered segment is expected to portray the largest CAGR of 3.5% from 2023 to 2032. gas powdered manual machine sprays provide several advantages, including portability, which allows users to use them in remote or outdoor settings.

Asia-Pacific to maintain its dominance by 2032.

Based on region, Asia-Pacific held the highest market share in terms of revenue in 2022, accounting for more than half of the global manual paint spray machine market revenue, owing to relatively easy environment guidelines and increase in disposable income of people across the region. However, LAMEA is expected to witness the fastest CAGR of 5.2% from 2022 to 2031, owing to the increase in per capita income from developing regions such as Latin America.

Inquire Before Buying: https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/purchase-enquiry/170403

Leading Market Players: -

Dino-Power Industry & Trade Co., Ltd.

Titan Tool Inc.

Graco Inc.

Rongperg Air Tools Co., Ltd.

Anest IWATA Corporation

Exel Industries SA

Tritech Industries Inc.

Spray-Quip Inc.

Wagner SprayTech Corp.

Nordson Corporation

The report provides a detailed analysis of these key players of the global manual paint spray machine market. These players have adopted different strategies such as new product launches, business expansion, acquisition, collaboration, and others to increase their market share and maintain dominant shares in different regions. The report is valuable in highlighting business performance, operating segments, product portfolio, and strategic moves of market players to showcase the competitive scenario.

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About Allied Market Research:

Allied Market Research (AMR) is a full-service market research and business-consulting wing of Allied Analytics LLP based in Portland, Oregon. Allied Market Research provides global enterprises as well as medium and small businesses with unmatched quality of " Market Research Reports " and "Business Intelligence Solutions." AMR has a targeted view to provide business insights and consulting to assist its clients to make strategic business decisions and achieve sustainable growth in their respective market domain.

We are in professional corporate relations with various companies and this helps us in digging out market data that helps us generate accurate research data tables and confirms utmost accuracy in our market forecasting. Allied Market Research CEO Pawan Kumar is instrumental in inspiring and encouraging everyone associated with the company to maintain high quality of data and help clients in every way possible to achieve success. Each and every data presented in the reports published by us is extracted through primary interviews with top officials from leading companies of domain concerned. Our secondary data procurement methodology includes deep online and offline research and discussion with knowledgeable professionals and analysts in the industry.

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DETROIT, MI / ACCESSWIRE / October 5, 2023 / ARMA International's InfoCon 2023, the premier educational event for records management, information management, and information governance professionals, has announced a dedicated education track and full-day pre-conference workshop on Sunday, October 8 in partnership with Microsoft Purview. At InfoCon attendees will have access to top-notch education, industry titans from around the globe, certification continuing education credits, and unparalleled networking opportunities. The trade show and conference will take place October 9-11, 2023, at Huntington Place in Detroit, MI. For more information on the event, click here.

"ARMA InfoCon is proud to welcome back the experts from Microsoft, their customers, and partners for a dedicated Microsoft education track. Take a deep dive into the Microsoft platform with 10 hours of educational content featuring engaging sessions, insightful case studies and an 'Ask Us Anything' panel," said Nathan Hughes, CEO, ARMA International. "In addition to the Microsoft track, attendees at our event next month in Detroit will hear from dynamic keynotes, learn and share best practices from global industry titans, earn certification CEUs, and have access to unparalleled networking opportunities."

Sunday, October 8

Pre-Conference Workshop: Master Microsoft Purview Records Management- Erica Toelle, Senior Product Marketing Manager for Data Lifecycle and Records Management at Microsoft will lead a full-day interactive and immersive workshop, where attendees will get hands-on experience working with the Microsoft Purview Records Management solution. Attendees will learn how retention and deletion work; the records management solution capabilities; how to create a file plan for retention and deletion settings and actions; when items should be marked as records; and how to publish and apply retention labels. (9:00 am - 5:00 pm)

Monday, October 9

Thrive in IG and RM in 2024 and beyond: Know how to master new trends and overcome the biggest obstacles. Erica Toelle and Roberto Yglesias who leads the product management group responsible for the Microsoft 365 Data Lifecycle Management & Records Management solutions will explore the emerging trends and challenges that will shape our profession in 2024 and beyond. (10:30 - 11:15 am)

Erica Toelle and Roberto Yglesias who leads the product management group responsible for the Microsoft 365 Data Lifecycle Management & Records Management solutions will explore the emerging trends and challenges that will shape our profession in 2024 and beyond. (10:30 - 11:15 am) How to master Microsoft Purview Records Management: a comprehensive guide for beginners. Erica Toelle and Sophie Ke, Product Manager, Microsoft Purview, Data Lifecycle and Records Management will share the basics of Microsoft Purview Records Management and how to apply it to various scenarios. Attendees will have a solid foundation and confidence to take Microsoft 365 records management deployment to the next level. (3:00 - 3:45 pm)

Erica Toelle and Sophie Ke, Product Manager, Microsoft Purview, Data Lifecycle and Records Management will share the basics of Microsoft Purview Records Management and how to apply it to various scenarios. Attendees will have a solid foundation and confidence to take Microsoft 365 records management deployment to the next level. (3:00 - 3:45 pm) Microsoft Syntex Content AI: automate processes, create rich metadata, auto-classify content . Jerad Uytterhagen, Business Development at Cadence Solutions and Steve Pucelik, Content AI Global Black Belt will discuss how Microsoft Syntex can help streamline document workflows and extract valuable insights from records. Success stories will be shared from several public sector organizations on how to automatically classify and tag documents using artificial intelligence. (4:00 - 4:45 pm)

. Jerad Uytterhagen, Business Development at Cadence Solutions and Steve Pucelik, Content AI Global Black Belt will discuss how Microsoft Syntex can help streamline document workflows and extract valuable insights from records. Success stories will be shared from several public sector organizations on how to automatically classify and tag documents using artificial intelligence. (4:00 - 4:45 pm) Microsoft Teams Deep Dive: Critical Information Governance/RIM and eDiscovery Fundamentals presented by John Collins is Executive Director - Information Governance, and Microsoft Practice Leader at Lighthouse. (4:00 - 4:45 pm)

Tuesday, October 10

Discover the power of Microsoft Purview eDiscovery for legal and records workflows. Caitlin Fitzgerald, Senior Product Marketing Manager at Microsoft and Jason Bero, a privacy, risk, and compliance manager with Microsoft Canada will share how to use Microsoft Purview eDiscovery to find, review, analyze, and export relevant content for legal discovery, records exports, and other search-based requests. (10:30 - 11:15 am)

Caitlin Fitzgerald, Senior Product Marketing Manager at Microsoft and Jason Bero, a privacy, risk, and compliance manager with Microsoft Canada will share how to use Microsoft Purview eDiscovery to find, review, analyze, and export relevant content for legal discovery, records exports, and other search-based requests. (10:30 - 11:15 am) The top 3 high value business scenarios to establish early success in your Microsoft Purview deployment . Natalie Noonan, a Global Black Belt in Microsoft's Data Security & Privacy team and Jason Bero will explain how to handle some of the most common challenges in Microsoft Purview Records Management and eDiscovery, outlining three scenarios that almost every organization wants to execute in their Microsoft Purview deployment. (11:30 am - 12:15 pm)

. Natalie Noonan, a Global Black Belt in Microsoft's Data Security & Privacy team and Jason Bero will explain how to handle some of the most common challenges in Microsoft Purview Records Management and eDiscovery, outlining three scenarios that almost every organization wants to execute in their Microsoft Purview deployment. (11:30 am - 12:15 pm) The Future of Records Management with Machine Learning and AI. Atle Skjekkeland, CEO, Infotechtion Ltd. will show how to use machine learning and AI to automate the tedious and complex tasks of identifying, capturing, and classifying records. See real-world examples of how organizations have integrated Microsoft and 3rd party solutions to streamline their document and records management workflows. (4:00 - 4:45 pm)

Wednesday, October 11

Auto-Classification Options and Scenarios with Microsoft Purview Records Management. Brendon Lee, Sr. Product Manager on the Microsoft Data Lifecycle and Records Management team will present different types of auto-classification available, including some hidden gems. See a demo for each option and learn how to apply them to specific classification scenarios. (11:15 am - 12:00 pm)

Brendon Lee, Sr. Product Manager on the Microsoft Data Lifecycle and Records Management team will present different types of auto-classification available, including some hidden gems. See a demo for each option and learn how to apply them to specific classification scenarios. (11:15 am - 12:00 pm) Sisyphus No Longer: A Case Study in Simplified Microsoft 365 Records Managemen t. Oregon State Records Manager Kristopher Stenson will explain how he and his team collaborated with statewide IT administration to design and implement a role-based retention system using Purview adaptive scopes that applies to all state agencies, regardless of size. (12:30 - 1:15 pm)

t. Oregon State Records Manager Kristopher Stenson will explain how he and his team collaborated with statewide IT administration to design and implement a role-based retention system using Purview adaptive scopes that applies to all state agencies, regardless of size. (12:30 - 1:15 pm) Speak the language of security: a primer for InfoGov, Legal, and Records Management professionals. Angel Sanches-Fernandez, Senior Technical Specialist at Microsoft, and Maryam Rahmani, Global Black Belt will share hot to communicate and cooperate with security experts by using the common language of the NIST cybersecurity framework. Learn about the main domains of security and how they relate to specific projects. (1:30 - 2:15 pm)

Angel Sanches-Fernandez, Senior Technical Specialist at Microsoft, and Maryam Rahmani, Global Black Belt will share hot to communicate and cooperate with security experts by using the common language of the NIST cybersecurity framework. Learn about the main domains of security and how they relate to specific projects. (1:30 - 2:15 pm) Microsoft Purview Panel - Ask us Anything: Eria Toelle, Roberto Yglesias, Natalie Noonan, Steve Pucelik and Jason Bero will be available to provide advice on a specific project, discuss suggested new features, and much more. (2:30 - 3:15 pm)

InfoCon 2023 offers three ways to register. Full Conference registration, grants access to all conference education sessions, three keynote presentations, entry to the Experience Hall, breakfast and lunch, access to networking events and pre-approval for CRA, CRM and IGP credits. The second option is the Keynote and Connect registration which provides access to all keynote session, non-ticketed networking events and the Experience Hall; and the Evening Networking Pass provide access to the Sunday night Welcome Reception, Experience Hall Pub Crawl and VRC Welcome Party on Monday night and event at Henry Ford Museum on Tuesday night. To register for InfoCon 2023, click here.

ARMA International (www.arma.org), is a not-for-profit professional association and the authority on records and information management (RIM). RIM is broadly recognized as the foundation of effective information governance, which makes ARMA International a leader in information governance as well as RIM. The association was established in 1955. Its members include records and information managers, information governance professionals, archivists, corporate librarians, imaging specialists, legal professionals, IT managers, consultants, and educators, all of whom work in a wide variety of sectors, including government, legal, healthcare, financial services, and petroleum in the United States, Canada, and more than 30 other countries around the globe.

# # #

For further information, contact:

Amy Riemer, Media Relations Representative

978-475-4441 (office) or 978-502-4895 (cell)

amy@riemercommunications.com

SOURCE: ARMA International

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The 2023-2025 PNC Arts Alive grant recipients are Dance St. Louis, Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, St. Louis ArtWorks and the St. Louis Black Repertory Company

ST. LOUIS / ACCESSWIRE / October 5, 2023 / The PNC Foundation through PNC Arts Alive announced its selection of four Greater St. Louis arts nonprofits to share $250,000 in grant funding. Designed to fuel the delivery of accessible and inclusive programming to local audiences, the grants will be distributed over a two-year period to Dance St. Louis, Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, St. Louis ArtWorks and the St. Louis Black Repertory Company.

In addition to receiving grant funding to transform creative concepts into accessible programming, leaders of the grantee organizations will participate in a highly customized capacity-build experience and will have access to experts - including members of PNC's Experience Innovation team - to help implement modern problem-solving practices, such as design thinking, within the scope of ongoing programming and operations.

"PNC's longstanding support and continued investments in Greater St. Louis' cherished arts organizations reflect our belief that engagement in the arts enriches lives and builds stronger, more vibrant communities," said Michael Scully, PNC regional president for St. Louis. "Our collaboration with local arts nonprofits, including the 2023-2025 PNC Arts Alive grant recipients, aims to make the arts more accessible to diverse audiences - while also helping arts organizations maximize the impact of grant funding through guided opportunities to enhance their business rigor and sustainability."

The grant recipients plan to use the funding as follows:

Dance St. Louis ($50,000) : Grant funding will help Dance St. Louis curate and deliver Ailey II, A Community Celebration presented by PNC Arts Alive in February 2024, in celebration of Black History Month and in collaboration with Ailey II. This education and enrichment program will include school residency and community experiences, and Dance St. Louis will collaborate with Ailey All Access to provide custom virtual viewing opportunities for students and the broader community.

: Grant funding will help Dance St. Louis curate and deliver Ailey II, A Community Celebration presented by PNC Arts Alive in February 2024, in celebration of Black History Month and in collaboration with Ailey II. This education and enrichment program will include school residency and community experiences, and Dance St. Louis will collaborate with Ailey All Access to provide custom virtual viewing opportunities for students and the broader community. Opera Theatre of Saint Louis ($50,000) : Grant funding will help underwrite accessibility enhancements for the 2024 and 2025 seasons of Opera Theatre of Saint Louis' New Works Collective productions, to include audio descriptions, ASL interpretation and sensory-friendly environments. Additionally, Opera Theatre of Saint Louis will distribute complimentary tickets for select community groups and will create and deliver on-demand streaming performance options to reach those in the community who are unable to visit the theater.

: Grant funding will help underwrite accessibility enhancements for the 2024 and 2025 seasons of Opera Theatre of Saint Louis' New Works Collective productions, to include audio descriptions, ASL interpretation and sensory-friendly environments. Additionally, Opera Theatre of Saint Louis will distribute complimentary tickets for select community groups and will create and deliver on-demand streaming performance options to reach those in the community who are unable to visit the theater. St. Louis ArtWorks ($75,000) : Grant funding will help St. Louis ArtWorks deliver its year-round experience offering paid apprenticeships for youth ages 14-19. Apprentices are immersed in opportunities to learn a range of art disciplines, while gaining relevant work experience as paid apprentices. The Youth Apprentice Program engages underserved youth by providing learning opportunities focused on four key areas: arts education; employment training/job-readiness; life skills, including financial literacy; and mental/social health.

: Grant funding will help St. Louis ArtWorks deliver its year-round experience offering paid apprenticeships for youth ages 14-19. Apprentices are immersed in opportunities to learn a range of art disciplines, while gaining relevant work experience as paid apprentices. The Youth Apprentice Program engages underserved youth by providing learning opportunities focused on four key areas: arts education; employment training/job-readiness; life skills, including financial literacy; and mental/social health. St. Louis Black Repertory Company ($75,000): Grant funding will help further establish The Black Rep's Phoenix Rising Special Performance Series, currently in its pilot year. This series is designed to create innovative, engaging work outside the organization's typical venues while honoring the company's original name (Phoenix Theatre Troupe) and historic intention to present dance, music and theatre through the lens of the African American experience.

Since establishing a corporate presence in the region in 2010, PNC has awarded $3.75 million in grant funding to Greater St. Louis arts organizations through PNC Arts Alive.

PNC Arts Alive is a multi-year initiative of the PNC Foundation dedicated to supporting visual and performing arts groups with the goal of increasing arts access and engagement in new and innovative ways. The PNC Foundation, which receives its principal funding from The PNC Financial Services Group, actively supports organizations that provide services for the benefit of communities in which it has a significant presence. The foundation focuses its philanthropic mission on early childhood education and community and economic development, which includes the arts and culture. For more information, visit www.pncartsalive.com.

CONTACT:

Karyn Ostrom

(919) 788-5794

karyn.ostrom@pnc.com





View additional multimedia and more ESG storytelling from The PNC Financial Services Group on 3blmedia.com.

Contact Info:

Spokesperson: The PNC Financial Services Group

Website: https://www.3blmedia.com/profiles/pnc-financial-services-group

Email: info@3blmedia.com

SOURCE: The PNC Financial Services Group

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The power electronics market is driven by several factors including an increase in demand for power electronics components across various industry verticals, a rise in the need for power management devices, and growth in the integration of power electronics components in electric vehicles.

NEW CASTLE, Delaware, Oct. 5, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Allied Market Research published a report, titled, "Power Electronics Market, by Device Type (Power Discrete, Power Module, Power IC), Material (Silicon Carbide, Gallium Nitride, Sapphire, Others), Applications (Power Management, Uninterruptible Power Supply, Renewable, Others), End Use (Telecommunication, Industrial, Automotive, Consumer & Enterprise, Military & Defense, Energy & Power, Others): Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 2023-2032". According to the report, the global power electronics industry generated $30.9 billion in 2022, and is projected to reach $52.8 billion by 2032, registering a CAGR of 5.5% from 2023 to 2032.



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152 - Tables

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Power electronics play a crucial role in electrified vehicle applications, offering compact and highly efficient solutions for power conversion. This technology involves circuitry that efficiently transfers power from a source to a load, ensuring robustness, compactness, and convenience. This device employs components such as thyristors, diodes, and transistors to control the conversion of electric power from one form to another. Power electronics devices are particularly well-suited for operations involving high current or high voltage due to their ability to switch rapidly and maintain high efficiency.

Prime Determinants of Growth

The power electronics market is anticipated to expand significantly during the forecast period due to the increase in demand for power electronics components across various industry verticals, a rise in the need for power management devices, and growth in the integration of power electronics components in electric vehicles. However, the complex integration process of advanced electronics devices poses a restraint to the growth of the power electronics market. Additionally, the escalating demand for plug-in electric vehicles (PEVs) and innovation in power metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistors (MOSFETs) are expected to offer remunerative growth opportunities in the upcoming years.

Report Coverage & Details:

Report Coverage Details Forecast Period 2023-2032 Base Year 2022 Market Size in 2022 $30.9 billion Market Size in 2032 $52.8 billion CAGR 5.5 % No. of Pages in Report 332 Segments covered Device Type, Material, Application, End Use, and Region. Drivers Increase in demand for power electronics component across various industry verticals Rise in need for power management devices Rise in integration of power electronics components in electric vehicles Opportunities Rise in demand for plug-in electric vehicles (PEVs) Innovation in power metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistor (MOSFET) Restraints Complex integration process of advanced electronics devices

Covid-19 Scenario

The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted the global power electronics market by causing factory shutdowns, leading to a decrease in production and supply chain issues. These challenges forced companies to rethink and modify their strategies for manufacturing and distribution, which delayed the launch of new products and technologies.

On a positive note, the pandemic accelerated the demand for power electronics in certain sectors, like healthcare and renewable energy. Increased need for medical devices and a renewed focus on sustainable energy solutions created new opportunities for growth and innovation in the power electronics market.

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The Power Module Segment is Anticipated to Dominate in terms of Revenue during the Forecast Period

Based on device type, the power module segment accounted for more than two-fifths of the total revenue in the global power electronics market in 2022, and it is expected to continue its dominant position throughout the forecast period. The dominant position is sustained by its unparalleled work efficiency, cost-effectiveness, and its crucial role in various high-voltage industrial applications, meeting the surging demand for energy-efficient and reliable power solutions across multiple sectors. On the other hand, the power discrete segment is projected to exhibit the fastest CAGR of 6.6% from 2022 to 2032, primarily due to its increasing use in consumer electronics and electric vehicles, and its ability to efficiently manage power with minimal loss in various applications such as UPS systems, air conditioners, and inverters.

The Other Segment is projected to Retain the Lion's Share by 2032

Based on material, the other segment emerged as the market leader in the global power electronics market in 2022, holding the highest market share, accounting for nearly one-third of the revenue. This segment, which includes materials such as gallium arsenide (GaAs), silicon germanium (SiGe), and indium phosphide (InP), is projected to maintain its leadership status throughout the forecast period due to its diverse application potential and superior performance characteristics in various electronic components and systems. However, gallium nitride is expected to portray the fastest CAGR of 7.0% from 2022 to 2032, owing to its superior ability to enable more compact, efficient devices with high-frequency switching, essential for evolving applications in electric vehicles, RF switching, and renewable energy systems.

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The Other Segment to Maintain its Leadership Status throughout the Forecast Period

Based on application, the other segment captured the highest market share in 2022, accounting for nearly one-third of the global power electronics market revenue. This leadership is projected to continue throughout the forecast period. The dominance of the other segment, which encompasses sectors including transportation, rail traction, utility systems, and drivers, is attributed to robust growth in transportation and utility systems that require advanced, efficient power conversion systems and the extensive use of drivers in diverse high-power applications. On the other hand, the uninterruptible power source (UPS) segment is expected to register the highest CAGR of 6.8% from 2023 to 2032 due to escalating demand for reliable and efficient power backup solutions in various industries, coupled with the growing reliance on electronic systems that require a consistent power supply and protection against power disruptions.

Asia-Pacific Garnered the Major Share in 2022

Based on region, Asia-Pacific dominated the power electronics market in 2022, holding nearly half of the global market share. This dominance is attributed to the region's well-established telecommunication industry, significant growth in consumer electronics sales, governmental support for EVs and HEVs, and substantial investment in defense, collectively driving the demand for power electronics components across various sectors. However, the LAMEA region is expected to post the fastest CAGR of 7.1% from 2023 to 2032. This growth is attributed to escalating demand for advanced technology and electronic applications, increasing adoption of electric vehicles, and a shift towards renewable energy consumption, especially in the Middle East, all fostering the need for efficient power electronics components.

Leading Market Players:

ABB Group

Fuji Electric Co, LTD

Infineon Technologies AG

Microsemi Corporation

Mitsubishi Electric Corporation

Renesas Electronics Corporation

Rockwell Automation, Inc.

STMicroelectronics

Texas Instruments INC.

Toshiba Corporation

The report provides a detailed analysis of these key players in the global power electronics market. These players have adopted investment, new product development, product launch, expansion, collaboration, partnership, innovation, divestment, and acquisition strategies to increase their market penetration and strengthen their position in the power electronics industry. The report is helpful in determining the business performance, operating segments, developments, and product portfolios of every market player.

Key Benefits For Stakeholders:

As per the power electronics market outlook, this report provides a quantitative analysis of the market segments, current trends, estimations, and dynamics of the power electronics market analysis from 2022 to 2032 to identify the prevailing power electronics market opportunities.

The power electronics Market Forecast research is offered along with information related to key drivers, restraints, and opportunities.

Porter's five forces analysis highlights the potency of buyers and suppliers to enable stakeholders make profit-oriented business decisions and strengthen their supplier-buyer network.

In-depth analysis of the power electronics market segmentation assists to determine the prevailing market opportunities.

Major countries in each region are mapped according to their revenue contribution to the global market.

Market player positioning facilitates benchmarking and provides a clear understanding of the present position of the market players.

The report includes the analysis of the regional as well as global power electronics market trends, key players, market segments, application areas, and power electronics Market growth strategies.

Procure Complete Report (332 Pages PDF with Insights, Charts, Tables, and Figures) @ https://bit.ly/3ZMzduv

Trending Reports in Semiconductor and Electronics Industry (Book Now with 10% Discount + COVID-19 Scenario):

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About Us:

Allied Market Research (AMR) is a full-service market research and business-consulting wing of Allied Analytics LLP based in Wilmington, Delaware. Allied Market Research provides global enterprises as well as medium and small businesses with unmatched quality of "Market Research Reports Insights" and "Business Intelligence Solutions." AMR has a targeted view to provide business insights and consulting to assist its clients to make strategic business decisions and achieve sustainable growth in their respective market domain.

We are in professional corporate relations with various companies, and this helps us in digging out market data that helps us generate accurate research data tables and confirms utmost accuracy in our market forecasting. Allied Market Research CEO Pawan Kumar is instrumental in inspiring and encouraging everyone associated with the company to maintain high quality of data and help clients in every way possible to achieve success. Each and every data presented in the reports published by us is extracted through primary interviews with top officials from leading companies of domain concerned. Our secondary data procurement methodology includes deep online and offline research and discussion with knowledgeable professionals and analysts in the industry.

Contact:

David Correa

1209 Orange Street,

Corporation Trust Center,

Wilmington, New Castle,

Delaware 19801 USA.

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Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - October 5, 2023) - Thesis Gold Inc. (TSXV: TAU) (WKN: A3EP87) (OTCQX: THSGF) ("Thesis" or the "Company") is pleased to announce today that it has completed a first closing of the brokered private placement announced on September 7, 2023 (the "Offering") for gross proceeds of $4,821,710, representing 4,267,000 premium flow-through common shares (the "Premium FT Shares"). It is expected that the second and final tranche consisting of up to 6,899,600 flow-through common shares for additional gross proceeds of up to $6,416,628 (the "FT Shares") will close on or about October 10, 2023.

Ewan Webster, President, and CEO commented, "With this financing now complete, these funds will allow us to unlock significant value across our projects, achieving key milestones over the next 12 months, including the completion of our 50,000-meter drilling program, an updated global resource estimate covering both the Ranch and Lawyers Projects, followed by a new Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA)."

The gross proceeds from the sale of Premium FT Shares and FT Shares (collectively the "Flow-Through Shares") will be used by the Company to incur eligible "Canadian exploration expenses" that will qualify as "flow-through mining expenditures" as such terms are defined in the Income Tax Act (Canada) (the "Qualifying Expenditures") related to the Company's projects in Canada. All Qualifying Expenditures will be renounced in favour of the subscribers of the Flow-Through Shares effective December 31, 2023.

The Offering was made pursuant to an agency agreement (the "Agency Agreement") among the Company and a syndicate of agents led by Clarus Securities Inc. and including PI Financial Corp. and Cormark Securities Inc. (the "Agents").

Pursuant to the Agency Agreement, the Company (i) paid the Agents a cash commission representing 6% of the gross proceeds raised under the Offering; and (ii) issued to the Agents 256,020 broker warrants each entitling the holder to acquire one non-flow-through common shares of the Company at a price of $1.13 per share at any time for a period of 24 months from the closing date of the Offering.

All securities issued pursuant to this Offering are subject to a restricted hold period of four months and a day, under applicable Canadian securities legislation. The Offering remains subject to the final approval of the TSX Venture Exchange (the "TSXV").

This news release does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any of the securities in the United States. The securities have not been and will not be registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "U.S. Securities Act") or any state securities laws and may not be offered or sold within the United States or to U.S. Persons unless registered under the U.S. Securities Act and applicable state securities laws or an exemption from such registration is available.

On behalf of the Board of Directors

Thesis Gold Inc.

"Ewan Webster"

Ewan Webster Ph.D., P.Geo.

President, CEO, and Director

About Thesis Gold Inc.

Thesis Gold, following its strategic merger with Benchmark Metals, is unlocking the combined potential of the Ranch and Lawyers Gold-Silver Projects in the Toodoggone mining district of north-central British Columbia, Canada. The 2022 Preliminary Economic Assessment for the Lawyers Project alone projected an open-pit mining operation that would yield 163,000 gold equivalent ounces annually over a 12-year span. The Company is now evaluating the integration of the Ranch project, aiming to enhance these figures and bolster the overall potential. Central to this ambition is the 50,000-metre drill program, designed to define the high-grade underground resource at Lawyers and augment the near-surface high-grade deposits at Ranch. The Company's roadmap includes the release of a global Company resource estimate by Q2 2024, followed by an updated Preliminary Economic Assessment in Q3 2024. Through these strategic initiatives, Thesis Gold aspires to rise to the forefront of global precious metals ventures.

For further information or investor relations inquiries, please contact:

Dave Burwell

Vice President Corporate Development

Email: daveb@thesisgold.com

Tel: 403-410-7907

Toll Free: 1-888-221-0915

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this press release.

Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Information

This press release contains "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation. Forward-looking information includes, without limitation, statements regarding the Offering, including the volume and timing of the closing of the second tranche, intended use of proceeds from the Offering, and the future plans or prospects of the Company. Generally, forward-looking information can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "plans", "expects" or "does not expect", "is expected", "budget", "scheduled", "estimates", "forecasts", "intends", "anticipates" or "does not anticipate", or "believes", or variations of such words and phrases or state that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might" or "will be taken", "occur" or "be achieved". Forward-looking statements are necessarily based upon a number of assumptions that, while considered reasonable by management, are inherently subject to business, market, and economic risks, uncertainties, and contingencies that may cause actual results, performance, or achievements to be materially different from those expressed or implied by forward-looking statements. Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking information, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated, or intended. There can be no assurance that such information will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information. Other factors which could materially affect such forward-looking information are described in the risk factors in the Company's most recent annual management's discussion and analysis, which is available on the Company's profile on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca . The Company does not undertake to update any forward-looking information, except in accordance with applicable securities laws.

NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION TO U.S. NEWSWIRE SERVICES OR DISSEMINATION IN THE UNITED STATES

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/182983
NORTHAMPTON, MA / ACCESSWIRE / October 5, 2023 / The urgent call to decarbonize has thrust sustainability into the spotlight on the corporate stage. Whilst the growth in reporting has created an expansive list of pressing priorities.

But how are businesses preparing for the comprehensive and complex reporting landscape? Where are they investing today, and perhaps more pertinently in the years to come, to meet the needs of regulators and climate-conscious stakeholders? And how are today's businesses strategizing to meet their sustainability ambitions?

Discover the answers to these pivotal questions in the Reuters Impact Global Sustainability Report 2023, a valuable resource that will help shape your sustainability strategy, chart your investment course, and provide a meaningful benchmark against industry peers.

Our unique, proprietary dataset, assembled using survey responses from more than 570 sustainability practitioners and decision-makers globally, provides a detailed examination of how sustainability investments are shifting towards a new set of technologies, where businesses are setting their sustainability priorities and the strategies being pursued to meet them.

Our research has unveiled several key findings:

Data analysis and emissions accounting solutions are the leading destinations of business investment for sustainability purposes today, but by 2026 a new suite of technologies is expected to lead the way.

Our technology investment leaderboard highlights differences in investment approach between companies operating in North America and those in Europe. Are European organizations still sustainability's trailblazers?

Energy and decarbonization is a top priority for a leading majority of organizations responding to our survey, however there is a distinct mix of strategies being pursued to reduce remissions.

Claim Your Report Now

Enjoy your reading and feel free to share your thoughts on the findings in our sustainability report!

Read More

View additional multimedia and more ESG storytelling from Reuters Events Sustainable Business on 3blmedia.com.

Contact Info:

Spokesperson: Reuters Events Sustainable Business

Website: https://www.3blmedia.com/profiles/reuters-events-sustainable-business

Email: info@3blmedia.com

SOURCE: Reuters Events Sustainable Business

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/790381/how-sustainable-is-your-strategy-insights-from-reuters-impact-report
Strong growth in sales over the 1 st half, up +33% compared with 1 st half of 2022, to 4.0 million

Gross margin improved from 44.5% to 48.6%

Successful capital increase carried out as part of the IPO in July 2023

Continued sales momentum driven by additional customer acquisitions and business expansion into 3 new countries

Regulatory News:

Vinpai (ISIN: FR001400AXT1; ticker: ALVIN), a specialist in the design, manufacture and marketing of algae- and plant-based functional ingredients for the food and cosmetics industries, today announces its results for the first half of 2023, ended June 30, 2023, approved by the Board of Directors on October 5, 2023.

Philippe Le Ray, Chief Executive Officer and Co-founder, declares: "The first-half results are satisfying thanks to the Company's strong momentum, reflected by sales growth of around 33%. Our business has been benefitting from favorable trends in our markets, with the development of new consumer habits and the growing desire to consume in a responsible way, and continuing strong demand for natural ingredients, which confirms the promising potential of Vinpai's positioning. Thanks to our fundraising closed in July, we will pursue our development strategy backed by the necessary resources to meet this growing demand. We can leverage on our capacity for innovation to expand our ranges of both natural and clean-label ingredients to meet the needs of major industrial players."

2023 Half Year Results

In k 06/30/2023 06/30/2022 06/30/2022

restated1 Change in

vs. restated Sales 3,984 2,294 2,294 +33.0% Gross margin 1,935 1,334 1334 +45.1% Gross margin rate 48.6% 44.5% 44.5% +4.1 pts Earnings Before Interest and Taxes (EBITDA) (381) (373) (536) +28.9% Operating profit (612) (560) (722) +15.2% Profit before taxes (834) (626) (788) -5.9% Net profit (group share) (781) (573) (735) -6.3%

In the first half of 2023, Vinpai reported sales up +33% compared with June 30, 2022, at 3,984k, with the sector mix remaining unchanged. Food accounts for 75% of total sales and cosmetics and nutraceuticals for 25%.

By geographic region, Vinpai generated nearly 55% of its sales in France. International sales have also been dynamic, particularly in Latin America, where the Company recorded an increase of more than 100% in sales over the first 6 months of the year, thanks mainly to the ramp-up of recurrent customers in Mexico and the opening of new customer accounts in Brazil, Peru and Chile.

This growth has been driven by higher purchasing orders from major recurring customers across all regions. The Company has also strengthened its distribution network with the signing of a distribution agreement in the Maghreb region with Lactavit, a supplier specializing in the procurement of food raw materials, enabling Vinpai to expand its business in this region.

The backlog2 stood at 6,416k on June 30, 2023, compared with 4,241k on June 30, 2022.

Gross margin came to 1,935k, an improvement of +45% compared with 1,334k on June 30, 2022, despite higher purchase prices for raw materials and consumables. Thank to higher volumes, tight control over purchasing and good pricing power, the gross margin set to 48.6%, up 4 points over the 44.5% recorded on June 30, 2022.

The increase in operating expenses was swollen by a reversal of a provision for paid leave, which artificially reduced personnel costs for the 1st half of 2022. Excluding this impact, operating expenses are increasing at a slower pace compared to sales, resulting in an EBITDA for the 1st half of 2023 of -381k, an improvement of 155k compared with the restated EBITDA for the 1st half of 2022.

Operating profit was negative at -612k for the 1st half of 2023, compared with -722k for the 1st half of 2022.

The financial result amounted to -224k, mainly due to interest payments on financing set up prior to the IPO.

After taking these items into account, net income showed a loss of 781k, compared with a loss of 735k in the first half of 2022.

Cash position on June 30, 2023 and successful IPO project

On June 30, 2023, Vinpai's cash position stood at 0.3 million, compared with 0.4 million on December 31, 2022. On July 13, 2023, the Company announced the success of its initial public offering on Euronext Growth, with a capital increase of nearly 7 million, including 2.4 million by debt set-off. This operation has allowed the strengthening of the Company's financial resources and met great success with both institutional and retail investors. On September 30, the cash position stands at 2.2 million.

Strategy and outlook

Over the coming months, the Company intends to pursue its development strategy, drawing on its strong capacity for innovation to expand its ranges of natural ingredients aimed at customers in the food, cosmetics and nutraceutical industries.

The Company will also further adapt its organization and production facilities in order to increase its production capacity.

This investment policy will be combined with strict control of overhead costs and close monitoring of cash management to ensure Vinpai's continued progress towards operating breakeven.

Positioned on structurally promising trends and benefiting from a strong sales momentum with a capacity to innovate and a solid order book, Vinpai reminds its objectives for 2025, with sales of 16 million and an EBITDA rate above 10%.

Availability of the 2023 Half Year Financial Report

The interim financial statements were approved by the Board of Directors on October 5, 2023. The 2023 half year financial report will be available by October 31, 2023 on the Company's Investor Relations website (www.vinpai-finance.com), in the Documentation section.

Next financial announcement: 2023 third quarter sales, on November 9, 2023, after market close

About Vinpai

Founded in 2011 by Cyrille Damany and Philippe Le Ray, Vinpai is an ingredien'tech specializing in the design, manufacture and marketing of functional ingredients based on algae, plants, minerals and fibers, offering manufacturers natural alternatives to chemical additives. Positioned in the most promising market segments, Vinpai provide supports to food, cosmetics and nutraceutical manufacturers, thanks to its cross-technologyknow-how, enabling them to upgrade the nutritional qualities of their end products. The combination and mixing of ingredients and food additives enable manufacturers to accelerate their development, optimize their production costs and generate profitability. Operating on two sites, in Saint-Dolay (Morbihan) and near the harbour of Saint-Nazaire, Vinpai has developed over 3,500 formulations and has 39 employees. In 2022, the Company has recorded sales of 6.2 million, over half of which abroad, and is established in over 35 countries.

For further information: www.vinpai.com

1 In 2022, reversal of a proposal for paid leave expense of 162,000 incorrectly booked in 2021

2 The backlog is defined by all orders validated by customers, registered in the company's ERP system and to be delivered within a maximum of 9 months

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20231005432030/en/

Contacts:

Vinpai

Philippe Le Ray

Chief Executive Officer

investors@vinpai.com

NewCap

Theo Martin

Aurelie Manavarere

Investor Relations

vinpai@newcap.eu

T.: 01 44 71 94 94

NewCap

Nicolas Merigeau

Antoine Pacquier

Media Relations

vinpai@newcap.eu

T.: 01 44 71 94 98
At the official opening of PsiDaresbury, the new STFC-PsiQuantum R&D facility, PsiQuantum announced that it is beginning work with STFC's Hartree Centre, with the support of the National Security Strategic Investment Fund (NSSIF), on a 12-month project to develop Fault-Tolerant Quantum Computing (FTQC) applications in the UK. Insights from this work will be shared across government and with collaborative industry partners.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20231005542542/en/

Metro Mayor of the Liverpool City Region Steve Rotheram, UKRI-STFC Director Massimo Noro, Director of the National Quantum Computing Centre (NQCC) Michael Cuthbert, Quantum Optics and Senior Research Investigator at Imperial College London Prof. Sir Peter Knight, PsiQuantum Chief Architect and Co-Founder Terry Rudolph, Executive Chair of STFC Mark Thomson, Secretary of State for the Department of Science, Innovation Technology Rt. Hon. Michelle Donelan MP, Executive Director of STFC Paul Vernon, PsiQuantum Chief Technologist and Co-Founder Mark Thompson, Director at STFC Hartree Centre Kate Royse (Photo: Business Wire)

The event was hosted by PsiQuantum co-founders Terry Rudolph, Chief Architect, and Mark Thompson, Chief Technologist, and included remarks from the Rt. Hon. Michelle Donelan, MP, Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology; Steve Rotheram, Mayor of the Liverpool City Region; Mark Thomson, Executive Chair of the STFC; Paul Vernon, Executive Director, STFC; Professor Sir Peter Knight, Quantum Optics and Senior Research Investigator, Imperial College London; Professor Elham Kashefi, Chief Scientist, NQCC; Michael Cuthbert, Director, NQCC; and Kate Royse, Director, Hartree Centre.

PsiQuantum's advanced R&D facility at STFC's Daresbury Laboratory is backed by 9M of funding from the UK government's Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT), and gives the company access to one of Europe's largest liquid-helium (approx. -270C) cryogenic plants. Working with Daresbury Laboratory experts specialized in large-scale cryogenic infrastructure, PsiQuantum is developing next generation cryogenic quantum modules with the highest cryogenic cooling power deployed to date, representing a major step towards large-scale quantum computers capable of solving commercially relevant problems. PsiQuantum's first cryogenic quantum modules are already up and running, with a capacity of over 10x previous systems.

Because large-scale, fault tolerant quantum computers will be the first machines able to run commercially valuable applications, their advent is widely expected to trigger the start of a major transformation across industries, including healthcare, sustainability, financial services and defence, with McKinsey forecasting US$1 trillion (GBP800 million) of value at stake globally. Moreover, access to FTQC capacity will be limited and in high demand, so early movers will gain significant competitive advantage. This is why forward-looking government and industry stakeholders are already developing the required skills ahead of the arrival of the first fault tolerant quantum computers.

The Hartree Centre is a high-performance computing, data analytics and artificial intelligence (AI) government research facility and is part of the of the Sci-Tech Daresbury science and innovation campus. The centre helps provide UK industry and academia with access to advanced high-performance computing technologies, expertise and training with the aim of boosting UK economic growth.

This project builds on the Centre's longstanding access to industry and applications know-how, and brings in PsiQuantum's deep expertise in FTQC algorithm development. The collaboration has three aims:

Build a strong FTQC knowledge base at the Hartree Centre

Identify the most valuable and high impact problem statements for government and industry

Develop algorithms that will underpin two high-priority applications.

The programme of work includes FTQC training to build necessary skills at the Hartree Centre; thematic workshops addressing a suite of problem statements relevant to critical computational challenges for dual-use technology applications; and two industrially-relevant use cases.

Science, Innovation and Technology Secretary, Rt. Hon. Michelle Donelan MP said:

"PsiQuantum choosing to take the next crucial steps in the development of their technology here in the UK is a resounding vote of confidence in the UK's quantum capabilities, bolstered by our National Quantum Strategy. We are determined to drive the adoption of quantum technologies throughout our economy, with 2.5 billion backing over the next 10 years, to unlock untold advances in healthcare, green technology, and beyond."

Steve Rotheram, Mayor of the Liverpool City Region, said:

"Our area has been an architect to some of the greatest inventions and discoveries that have transformed the world and it's a legacy we're proud to be continuing today. By uniting world-leading experts and industry leaders, we're innovating further and faster than ever before and developing technology that has the potential to not only transform industry but change the world we live in.

"I want to establish the Liverpool City Region as a hotbed of innovation and new technology, and I'm confident that facilities like this will ensure that we can continue to attract highly skilled, well-paid jobs and opportunities from around the world to our area. I can't wait to see what the future has in store for this partnership."

Mark Thompson, Chief Technologist at PsiQuantum, said:

"PsiQuantum is grateful for the support of NSSIF and delighted to embark on this important partnership with the Hartree Centre. Together, our work over the next 12 months will help to meaningfully advance understanding of Fault-Tolerant Quantum Computing applications across both government and industry in the UK. The Hartree Centre's unique access to applications-specific expertise, coupled with PsiQuantum's deep technical experience with Fault-Tolerant Quantum Computing algorithm development, will make for a powerful collaboration and we're keen to get to work."

Kate Royse, Director of STFC Hartree, said:

"Here at STFC's Hartree Centre, we are extremely excited to be working in partnership with PsiQuantum, in its mission to build the technologies needed to realise the potential of quantum computing. Quantum computing is set to change the world we live in, to transform industry and change our lives for the better.

"By bringing together the experience and capabilities of both the Hartree Centre and PsiQuantum, we are developing a capability in quantum technologies that will ensure the UK remains at the forefront of this field. This is an exciting stepping-stone towards building a significant and resilient quantum computing ecosystem for the North West."

About PsiQuantum

PsiQuantum's mission is to build and deploy the world's first useful quantum computer. The company was founded on the premise that commercially valuable quantum computing systems will require fault tolerance and error correction, demanding a very large-scale system implementation. The company believes that it has the fastest and most feasible path to a large-scale fault-tolerant system, based largely on existing technologies and infrastructure including high-volume semiconductor manufacturing, packaging, and high-power cryogenic systems.

Society today and by extension a large fraction of global industry is built on a foundation of chemistry, physics, and information. Quantum computing has the potential to categorically advance our mastery of the physical world and of information, with widespread impact across science and technology. We are engaged with customers and partners to evaluate and revolutionize applications spanning climate, healthcare, finance, energy, agriculture, transportation, communications, and beyond.

PsiQuantum's founders had a combined sixty years of experience in academia prior to the inception of the company in 2015. The company has assembled a world-class team of quantum physicists, semiconductor, electrical and mechanical engineers all supported by a group of notable investors and advisors. Our work spans semiconductor process development, integrated photonic device and systems design, superconducting device manufacturing, high-throughput wafer, chip and sub-assembly test, optoelectronic packaging, cryogenic CMOS control electronics, high-power cryogenic cooling, quantum optics, quantum error correcting codes, fault-tolerant quantum algorithm compilation, and domain-specific quantum algorithm development. Currently, the company utilizes the capacity and expertise of a tier-1 semiconductor foundry to build thousands of wafers and millions of quantum chips.

For more information, go to: psiquantum.com/about

Follow PsiQuantum: LinkedIn

 2023 PsiQuantum. PsiQuantum and the PsiQuantum logo are registered or pending registration trademarks of PsiQuantum, Corp., in the United States and other countries.

The Hartree Centre

The Hartree Centre helps UK businesses and organisations of any size to explore and adopt supercomputing, data science and artificial intelligence (AI) technologies for enhanced productivity, smarter innovation and economic growth. Backed by significant UK government funding and strategic partnerships with industry leaders such as IBM, Atos and the University of Liverpool, the Hartree Centre is home to some of the most advanced digital technologies and experts in the UK.

Our experts collaborate with industry and the research community to explore the latest technologies, upskill teams, and apply practical digital solutions to individual and industry-wide challenges for societal and economic benefit.

The Hartree Centre is part of the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) one of Europe's largest multi-disciplinary scientific research organisations within UK Research and Innovation, building on a wealth of established scientific heritage and a network of international expertise.

About National Security Strategic Investment Fund (NSSIF)

The National Security Strategic Investment Fund (NSSIF, en-sif) is the Government's corporate venturing arm for dual-use advanced technologies. It is a joint initiative between HM Government and the British Business Bank.

NSSIF invests commercially in advanced technology firms, alongside other investors, supporting long-term equity investment 'patient capital' and harnesses the Government's unique technology expertise. Its objectives include accelerating the adoption of HMG's future national security and defence capabilities and the development of the UK's dual-use technology ecosystem.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20231005542542/en/

Contacts:

media@psiquantum.com
Redde Northgate Plc - Transaction in Own Shares

PR Newswire

LONDON, United Kingdom, October 05

NOT FOR RELEASE, PUBLICATION OR DISTRIBUTION, IN WHOLE OR IN PART, DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY, IN OR INTO OR FROM ANY JURISDICTION WHERE TO DO SO WOULD CONSTITUTE A VIOLATION OF THE RELEVANT LAWS OR REGULATIONS OF SUCH JURISDICTION

5 October 2023

REDDE NORTHGATE PLC

("Redde Northgate" or the "Group" or the "Company")

Transaction in Own Shares

Redde Northgate plc (LSE:REDD) announces that on 5 October 2023 it purchased the following number of its own shares to be held in treasury:

Class of shares : Ordinary shares of 50p ("shares") Number of shares purchased : 252,500 Weighted average purchase price paid : 322 pence per share Highest purchase price paid : 322 pence per share Lowest purchase price paid : 322 pence per share

Following the above transaction, the Company's issued share capital consists of 246,091,423 ordinary shares of 50p each, of which 15,715,071 ordinary shares are held in treasury, and 1,000,000 preference shares of 50p each which do not carry any rights to vote. Therefore the total number of voting rights in the Company is 230,376,352 which may be used by shareholders as the denominator for the calculations by which they will determine if they are required to notify their interest in, or a change to their interest in the Company under the FCA's Disclosure Guidance and Transparency Rules.

In accordance with Article 5(1)(b) of Regulation (EU) No 596/2014 (the Market Abuse Regulation) as incorporated into UK domestic law by the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018, the schedule below contains detailed information about the purchases made by Numis Securities Limited on behalf of the Company as part of the Company's buyback programme.

Schedule of Purchase - Individual Transactions (as at 5 October 2023)

Number of shares

purchased Transaction price

(GB pence per share) Time of transaction Transaction reference number Venue 252500 322.00 09:42:38 00067251761TRLO0 LSE

Notes

This announcement is made in accordance with the requirements of Listing Rule 12.4.6.

For further information contact:

Buchanan

David Rydell/Jamie Hooper/Hannah Ratcliff +44 (0) 207 466 5000

Notes to Editors:

Redde Northgate is the leading integrated mobility solutions platform providing services across the vehicle lifecycle. The Company offers integrated mobility solutions to businesses, fleet operators, insurers, OEMs and other customers across seven key areas: vehicle rental, vehicle data, accident management, vehicle repairs, fleet management, service and maintenance, vehicle ancillary services and vehicle sales.

The Company's core purpose is to keep its customers mobile, whether through meeting their regular mobility needs or by servicing and supporting them when unforeseen events occur. With its considerable scale and reach, Redde Northgate's mission is to offer a market-leading customer proposition and drive enhanced returns for shareholders by creating value through sustainable compounding growth. The Group aims to achieve this through the delivery of its strategic framework of Focus, Drive and Broaden.

Redde Northgate services its customers through a network and diversified fleet of over 120,000 owned and leased vehicles, supporting over 600,000 managed vehicles, with more than 170 workshop, body shop and rental locations across the UK, Ireland and Spain and a specialist team of over 6,000 automotive services professionals.

Further information please visit the Company's website:
YEREVAN, OCTOBER 5, ARMENPRESS. Governments involved in facilitating talks between Armenia and Azerbaijan should secure concrete commitments from Azerbaijans president on respecting, protecting, and implementing the right to return of ethnic Armenians from Nagorno-Karabakh, Human Rights Watch said today. More than 100,000 ethnic Armenians, nearly the entire current population of the area, have fled in recent days, HRW said in the statement.

Azerbaijans plan for reintegration of the region and its residents should set out how, in both the short and long-term, it will respect human rights, in particular those of ethnic minorities; and it should welcome an independent mission for sustained international monitoring of these commitments.

Azerbaijans partners should insist on an international monitoring mission to report publicly on conditions facing ethnic Armenians who have remained in Nagorno-Karabakh, and to identify human rights violations, particularly those that would undermine ethnic Armenians right to return to their homes. Partner governments should also urge Azerbaijani authorities to take substantive steps to facilitate the right to return, either for short-term visits or for the longer-term.

Azerbaijans partners should send an unambiguous message to the countrys leadership that when it comes to the right to return, they will not accept hollow rhetoric and half measures, said Hugh Williamson, Europe and Central Asia director at Human Rights Watch. The fear and lack of trust on all sides make a sustained international presence essential for the right to return to be meaningful, not theoretical.

Human Rights Watch interviewed, on the Armenian border, 14 individuals and 7 families who fled Nagorno-Karabakh; as well as 12 humanitarian workers, medical personnel, Armenian officials, and a representative of the former Nagorno-Karabakh de facto authorities.

The European Council President, Charles Michel, has facilitated a series of talks between Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan. A meeting between the two leaders had been planned on the sidelines of the European Political Community (EPC) summit in Granada on October 5, 2023, with Michels participation together with French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz. On October 4, Azerbaijani media announced that Aliyev had refused to participate in the talks at the last minute, against the backdrop of the French foreign ministers October 3 visit to Armenia and other developments.

In possible future talks, European leaders should underscore the need for commitment to international rights monitoring and a comprehensive rights-compliant vision for the region that might encourage people to return. In an October 3 media interview, Michel urged Azerbaijan to show goodwill by engaging, while respecting international law, to protect the rights and security of the entire population that lives in Azerbaijan, including the Armenian population.

Germanys foreign minister has publicly indicated that it, along with its international partners, is committed to an international mission to Nagorno-Karabakh, adding that the people of the region need to be able to trust that they are not alone.

More than 100,000 people have fled Nagorno-Karabakh to Armenia since September 24, leaving the region, in effect, temporarily depopulated. Among those who remain are older people and the very ill, who were either unwilling or unable to flee. The mass exodus followed Azerbaijans September 19 military attacks to regain full control over Nagorno-Karabakh. The next day, a cease fire was announced, followed by initial talks between Azerbaijani authorities and representatives of Nagorno-Karabakhs Armenian community. The enclaves de facto authorities then agreed to disband.

Nagorno-Karabakh is a region of Azerbaijan whose ethnic Armenian-majority population had, together with Republic of Armenian forces, fought a war to secede from Azerbaijan in the early 1990s. During this time, more than 700,000 ethnic Azeris were expelled or displaced from Armenia, Nagorno-Karabakh, and 7 surrounding districts; 300,000 to 500,000 ethnic Armenians fled or were expelled from Azerbaijan starting in 1988.

Nagorno-Karabakh remained de facto, separate from Azerbaijan, and occupied the seven surrounding districts until 2020, when Azerbaijan initiated hostilities and retook most of the area. A truce statement ending the 44-day war provided for Russian peacekeeping troops to have a presence in Nagorno-Karabakh and to control what was then the Lachin Corridor, the only road linking Nagorno-Karabakh to Armenia, until 2025.

Azerbaijan blocked the Lachin Corridor from December 12, 2022, through September 24, 2023, causing a near complete disruption of the movement of people and goods. It resulted in acute shortages of food, medications, hygiene products, petrol, and other essential supplies in Nagorno-Karabakh. Azerbaijan also eventually cut utility lines from Armenia to Nagorno-Karabakh.

When the Lachin road reopened on September 24, people began to flee. People interviewed said they fled their homes in fear and panic. Many also said that the nine-month de facto blockade and alleged atrocities by Azerbaijani forces during the 2020 war, including the killings and torture of civilians, caused extensive fear and distrust.

People interviewed described an ordeal lasting days on the clogged Lachin road with little or no food or water, jammed in their cars, trucks, and other vehicles with their families and whatever few belongings they could quickly take.

We could not even take any possessions except documents and a change of clothes, no space in the car, said a woman from Kert village.

A woman who travelled with nine people crowded into a car said: We went to Khodjaly and spent four days at the peacekeepers base, at the airport just sitting on the asphalt, waiting for evacuation.

An official in Goris, Armenia, said that a number of people, mostly older, had died during the mass exodus, although Human Rights Watch did not independently verify this.

Azerbaijani authorities have repeatedly said that everyones rights will be protected in Nagorno-Karabakh, yet such assertions are difficult to accept at face value after the months of severe hardships, decades of conflict, impunity for alleged crimes, in particular during hostilities, and the Azerbaijani governments overall deteriorating human rights record, Human Rights Watch said.

Most people interviewed said they would consider returning to Nagorno-Karabakh to collect their belongings if they could do so under international protection. A man from Khankendi (Stepanakert) said he would consider returning with his family for the longer term if Azerbaijan allows Armenians to live there as a community  with Armenian schools, Armenian church, administration staff recruited from members of the community.

With Aliyevs withdrawal from the Granada talks, the EU, US, and others involved in mediating negotiations should redouble efforts to emphasize specific steps Azerbaijan needs to take to facilitate the right to return, whether for short-term visits to collect remaining belongings, deal with their real estate property, visit graves, and the like, or for those who wish to return permanently, Human Rights Watch said.

Those who choose not to return permanently should be compensated for their property and should be able to collect any other goods left behind as well as access any bank accounts or benefits, such as pensions. Azerbaijan should also ensure that evacuees property is protected from looting or other harm.

For those who return, Azerbaijan should ensure access to education in the Armenian language and provide concrete guarantees protecting peoples ability to exercise civil, political, religious, and cultural rights without discrimination. Ethnic Armenians who fled should be provided with all necessary information and clear guidelines on resuming their residency in Nagorno-Karabakh, and how their rights, including to property and social security entitlements, will be assured. Future arrangements should provide for an ethnic balance in policing and local governance structures. In line with international humanitarian law, Azerbaijan should refrain from prosecuting people for participating in military hostilities during the wars of the 1990s and in 2020.

The past few weeks have been a horrific period for Nagorno-Karabakhs ethnic Armenian population, Williamson said. Azerbaijans partners should now ensure that Azerbaijani authorities do not turn this trauma and loss into long-term injustice, HRW said in the statement.
Finsbury Growth & Income Trust Plc - Transaction in Own Shares

PR Newswire

LONDON, United Kingdom, October 05

For immediate release

5 October 2023

FINSBURY GROWTH & INCOME TRUST PLC

(the "Company")

MARKET PURCHASE OF COMPANY'S OWN SHARES

The Company announces that it has today purchased 100,000 of its own shares ("Ordinary Shares") at a price of 830.65 pence per Ordinary Share. Such shares will be held in treasury by the Company.

The transaction was made pursuant to the authority granted at the Annual General Meeting of the Company held on 17 January 2023.

Following this transaction, the total number of Ordinary Shares held by the Company in treasury is 20,771,869; the total number of Ordinary Shares that the Company has in issue, less the total number of Ordinary Shares held by the Company in treasury following such purchase, and therefore, the total number of voting rights in the Company is 204,219,434.

The figure of 204,219,434 may be used by shareholders as the denominator for calculations of interests in the Company's voting rights in accordance with the FCA's Disclosure Guidance and Transparency Rules.

For and on behalf of

Frostrow Capital LLP

Company Secretary

For further information, please contact:

Victoria Hale

Frostrow Capital LLP

Tel: 020 3 170 8732
NORTHAMPTON, MA / ACCESSWIRE / October 5, 2023 / International WELL Building Institute

In less than 48 hours we:

Put a spotlight on equity. Whether through the lens of the investor landscape, addressing the wrongs of the past in global regions such as Canada, or sharing personal stories about how we find ways to belong, equity, inclusion, accessibility and justice remain a priority for IWBI to help support WELL adoption as a lever to afford everyone an opportunity to thrive.

Heard from the Nation's Doctors, some of the world's most esteemed public health professionals, regarding health in the built environment and positioning our buildings as a tool for improving health and well-being.

Sat in on a close conversation focused on food as dynamic medicine, which is key to helping us live our best, healthiest lives. The fireside chat explored the importance of eating real food, echoing many of the best practices laid out in WELL's Nourishment concept.

Shared a thing (or three!) about what's new with WELL, from our Works with WELL program and the WELL Forum to pulling out capes for our heroic WELL APs, including a deep dive into designing with neurodiversity in mind.

Celebrated our global WELL community, from school leaders and policy champions to innovative architects and designers.

Showcased what amazing things can happen when you combine a focus on environmental sustainability and health in our buildings.

It was a Summit to remember! Read on.

"The energy, the greatness that went down over these two days can't be put into words," said Kimberly Lewis Inkumsah, Executive Vice President of Equity, Engagement and Events. "With inspiration and learnings-and laughs-from esteemed public health professionals to wisdom from Indigenous community leaders on truth and reconciliation, and deep dives into WELL, the Summit was the ultimate experience centered on creating people-first places. And I cannot wait to reconvene this growing community in Long Beach next year. The movement is strong!"

Those memories just begin to describe the 2023 WELL Summit, where we gathered our global WELL community for an energizing two days of learning, inspiration and connection.

HIGHLIGHTS FROM: Real Estate Reboot: Return to Office Won't Save Us, So What Will?

Executives shared how real estate is embracing change and driving innovation to reshape the future of work to support all workers. Notably, connectivity, collaboration and a commitment to people were all emphasized.

"Employees want flexibility. It's a demonstration of trust," said Christina Chiu, Executive Vice President, Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer at Empire State Realty Trust. "If you need the flexibility, I as an employer trust you as an employee to get it done and to utilize your days as needed, but every company has to find its own rhythm. It's not going to be one size fits all."

HIGHLIGHTS FROM: Using Investor Influence to Change the World: How to Move Capital Toward Racial Justice

Monique Aiken, managing director of The Investment Integration Project (TIIP), shared historical perspectives and a strong business case for focusing on and investing in efforts that will drive racial equity.

"You could easily imagine that there would be even more substantial gains if we add the effects of full participation of Indigenous people and other people of color to this mix. And that has not been well studied, which is also problematic in itself," Aiken noted.

HIGHLIGHTS FROM: A Prescription for Well-being: Places that Put People First

In what was the most anticipated MainStage session, A Prescription for Well-being: Places that Put People First, four former Surgeons General took to the stage in a lively and unforgettable conversation moderated by Rachel Hodgdon, President and CEO, IWBI. Hodgdon mentioned the unfortunate loss of public trust in government public health institutions, asking, "What do we need to do to build back that trust?" Each of the Surgeons General had ideas, pointing to some key steps that can apply well beyond the political landscape, including the role of leadership, education, health literacy, cultural competency and empathy.

The session shed light on key topics including speaking truth to power; how to address the diminishing trust in government institutions; the importance of health literacy, cultural competency and empathy; and buildings as a prescription for health.

Right before, IWBI announced a major call to action from many of the country's public health leaders.

"Just this morning, 12 public health leaders sent a letter to the nation's policymakers urging them to rethink the entire future of building policy so it focuses on human health outcomes," said Jason Hartke, Executive Vice President, External Affairs and Advocacy, from the MainStage. "Like I said, the movement is growing," added Hartke, referencing an open letter drawing attention to an often-overlooked policy opportunity-reimagining the nation's buildings as a prescription for health.

Echoing the message of the letter, Dr. Richard Carmona, the 17th Surgeon General of the United States, and Hodgdon also teamed up on an op-ed in TriplePundit showing why buildings are the unsung heroes of public health. "As the world contends with the rise of acute public health threats and the devastating impacts of climate change, we teamed up with six former surgeons general and a number of executives from leading public health organizations to turn the attention of policymakers to an unsung hero: our buildings. That's right, our buildings play a pivotal role in our well-being, and it's time our policymakers recognize this," they wrote.

A Senior Advisor to President Biden highlights White House efforts to support healthy buildings

"[In 2020], Mayors everywhere got the message and understood that we needed healthy buildings to create healthier communitiesit's going to take all of us, the whole of civil society to work together to address these challenges, but we need all of us; we need more collaboration, we need more partnership, we need more engagement, we need more constructive input from the subject matter experts in this room.

IWBI's ambitious mission is to drive market transformation. They brought all of you here together tonight, and this type of activity is key to delivering on healthier communities. I am humbled and honored that my role at the White House is focused on helping support that type of connectivity.

And thank you on behalf of the President and Vice President, I look forward to this continued collaboration, this continued back and forth, from all of you to advance the benefits of healthy buildings for everyone." - Stephen Benjamin, Senior Advisor to the President and Director, White House Office of Public Engagement.

HIGHLIGHTS FROM: Lessons from Canada's Truth & Reconciliation Process: Centering and Celebrating Indigenous Wisdom

Davina Rooney, CEO of the Green Building Council of Australia and IWBI Governance Council Member, welcomed Victoria Grant, chair of the Counseling Foundation of Canada, and Diane Roussin, project director of The Winnipeg Boldness Project, for a conversation that shined a light on the systemic racism that has profoundly impacted the lives of Indigenous peoples and the importance of truth and reconciliation. As Rooney observed in facilitating the discussion, it's important to pause and acknowledge - to sit in the truth for a bit first - because "if you're not uncomfortable, you're not listening."

"We are the sum of our experiences and the people who have walked with us through life," Grant explained, adding, "We live in a world that has been made much smaller as a result of transportation, technology and communication. We all have much more diversity within our communities and in our countries. We need to understand that diversity is natural. It's not something that needs to be overcome."

In the spirit of the WELL Summit, we are leaving more energized than when we arrived, feeling inspired and activated by the slate of sessions over the course of two days. With that in mind, we encourage you to check out what you may have missed and register for the flagship WELL Conference in Long Beach, Calif.

View original content here.

View additional multimedia and more ESG storytelling from International WELL Building Institute on 3blmedia.com.

Contact Info:

Spokesperson: International WELL Building Institute

Website: https://www.3blmedia.com/profiles/international-well-building-institute

Email: info@3blmedia.com

SOURCE: International WELL Building Institute

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/790443/inspiration-community-and-connection-at-the-2023-well-summit
The world's #1 super-premium tequila unveils a new Additive Free Seal on Packaging reinforcing the brand's time honored additive free process.

HAMILTON, BERMUDA / ACCESSWIRE / October 5, 2023 / PATRON Tequila, the world's number one super-premium tequila,* is celebrating its (agave) roots by creating a new Additive Free seal that will be unveiled across the PATRON core portfolio, rolling out this fall. Honoring the brand's continued Additive Free endorsement from the Tequila Regulatory Council (CRT), this new seal will indicate to tequila drinkers that they can enjoy their PATRON with peace of mind, being fully confident that their tequila of choice is completely additive free. This endorsement bestowed by the tequila industry's governing body is a testament to how PATRON has remained committed to using only the highest quality, all natural ingredients - agave, water and yeast - at the core, since its inception. It's this mentality that's embedded within the time-honored PATRON production process that goes to extraordinary lengths to handcraft the finest tequila with no corrections or additives needed.

While the demand for additive free products is surging, the increased popularity of tequila in recent years has put intense pressure on tequila makers to produce more tequila, faster. And, there isn't a requirement for tequila brands to notify consumers when additives are used, should they remain less than 1% of the product's total volume. As a result, many producers have met the increased demand by mechanizing their processes or taking shortcuts, of which must be corrected later by using commercial additives to enhance flavor and color. As the category leader, PATRON is one of the few brands that still makes tequila the hard way: by hand, with only three natural ingredients and nothing else added - no added sugars or chemical ingredients. As such, PATRON created this new seal for packaging providing tequila drinkers with the security and knowledge that their spirit of choice is 100% additive free.

The CRT sets the standard within the industry to safeguard the Designation of Origin of Tequila, both nationally and internationally, and to guarantee the authenticity of tequila for the consumer. To verify the endorsement, an analysis of the production methods conducted at Hacienda PATRON was executed by the CRT. As the governing body of tequila, the CRT evaluates each step of the PATRON production process and the resulting tequila for traces of additives, such as glycerin, caramel coloring, vanilla, oak extract, and jarabe or sugar-based syrup. Some brands use these additives to expedite production and mask imperfections, such as making a tequila color darker to appear more aged. This is something PATRON will never do because it's remained unwaveringly committed to delivering perfection in every drop of tequila for you to enjoy, without the use of additives, a process that has never changed because PATRON gets it right the first time.

Recently, there's been a noticeable, rising attraction toward additive free products. "More than before, individuals are conscious of what they're consuming - they want natural ingredients and to be confident in the manner in which they were derived to deliver a high-quality product that satisfies their needs," says PATRON Global Vice President, Innovation and Sustainability Samantha Newby. "PATRON has been additive free since its inception and it's one of the many reasons why people gravitate toward it. As people continue to seek all natural, high-quality products, PATRON is proud to once again be the leader of the additive free movement with this new Additive Free seal on our packaging."

"Since PATRON created the super-premium tequila category in 1989, the brand has been additive free because of its unwavering commitment to craft, authenticity and integrity," says PATRON Master Distiller David Rodriguez. "Even as PATRON has grown in popularity and scale, the brand has never adopted methods - like the use of additives - to cut corners or compromise on quality. PATRON has always used exactly the same painstaking steps in its production process, from the agave field to cooking to bottling, to deliver an exceptionally smooth flavor profile that is born of nothing but true tequila."

PATRON Tequila's new Additive Free seal will be seen on the iconic PATRON packaging across all core offerings in the PATRON portfolio rolling out this fall, further highlighting how PATRON Tequila is made by hand and crafted by passion - using nothing more than agave, water and yeast. To learn more about how PATRON has remained a steadfast leader of the additive free and super-premium categories, head to patrontequila.com.

*IWSR 2022 Global Database

About PATRON Tequila

From hand-harvesting the highest-quality 100% Weber Blue Agave, to the traditional, time-honored distillation process and individual labeling, numbering, and inspection of each bottle, PATRON Tequila is crafted with meticulous precision and care. Though PATRON has grown to become one of the most recognized and respected luxury spirits brands in the world, it is still exclusively produced in the Highlands of Jalisco, Mexico, in the same small batches and with the same commitment to quality and craftsmanship. For more information about PATRON Tequilas, please visit www.patrontequila.com. The perfect way to enjoy PATRON is responsibly.

PATRON is part of the portfolio of Bacardi Limited, headquartered in Hamilton, Bermuda. Bacardi Limited refers to the Bacardi group of companies, including Bacardi International Limited.

THE PERFECT WAY TO ENJOY PATRON IS RESPONSIBLY.

Contact: patron@mbooth.com

View additional multimedia and more ESG storytelling from Bacardi Limited on 3blmedia.com.

Contact Info:

Spokesperson: Bacardi Limited

Website: https://www.3blmedia.com/profiles/bacardi-limited

Email: info@3blmedia.com

SOURCE: Bacardi Limited

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/790481/patrn-tequila-endorsed-additive-free-by-tequila-regulatory-council-crt
SCOTTSDALE, AZ / ACCESSWIRE / October 5, 2023 /

Magnolia Point, a leading innovator in digital healthcare AI solutions, is proud to announce the establishment of an exciting joint venture named "Magnative Health" with Certive Health. This partnership marks a momentous collaboration that will pave the way for revolutionary digital solutions in Hospital Networks, empowering AI technology to improve hospital efficiencies on a national scale.

The Magnative Health joint venture represents a perfect alignment of two industry pioneers - Magnolia Point and Certive Health. Both companies bring a wealth of experience, expertise, and a shared vision for enhancing healthcare through advanced technologies. By combining Certive Health's extensive knowledge of health systems with Magnolia Point's prowess in digital medical AI solutions, the joint venture aims to bring a new era of efficiency and patient-centricity to hospital networks globally, with a focus on the U.S.

With an unwavering commitment to enhancing pathways to well-being and setting the highest standard of efficient care on a global scale, Magnolia Point is poised to create a healthier world through groundbreaking advancements in healthcare. Certive Health, on the other hand, has been at the forefront of revolutionizing health systems with its deep industry insights, unmatched experience and transformative strategies. Through strategic partnerships and collaborations, Certive Health has enabled healthcare institutions to adapt to evolving demands and challenges effectively.

Mr. Matthew Bintzler, CEO of Magnolia Point, expressed great enthusiasm about the collaboration, stating, "We are thrilled to be entering into this strategic joint venture with Certive Health. Magnative Health will leverage our collective strengths to drive innovation in hospital networks, ultimately benefiting patients, healthcare providers and the industry as a whole."

Tom Marreel, CEO of Certive Health, stated, "Certive Health and Magnolia Point have been working together for the past year to provide a digital solution for our mutual client, I see the creation of Magnative Health as building upon our strong business relationship and collaboration with Magnolia Point. We intend to provide Health System clients with a digital solution that drives efficiencies in patient care, better healthcare outcomes and financial benefits. Through Certive Health's connectivity with Health Systems and leading health care advisors, we have identified a health system as our first prospective client."

The joint venture will focus on developing a wide array of digital solutions tailor-made for hospital networks, ranging from advanced AI-powered diagnostics to next-generation data management and analytics. Magnative Health aims to redefine the healthcare landscape by empowering hospital networks with cutting-edge technologies that enhance decision-making, optimize workflows and improve patient care outcomes.

As Magnative Health embarks on this transformative journey, both Magnolia Point and Certive Health are committed to adhering to the highest standards of ethics, data privacy and regulatory compliance. Together, they aim to set new benchmarks for digital healthcare innovations, addressing the ever-changing needs of the healthcare industry.

This partnership marks a significant milestone for both companies, reinforcing their shared commitment to revolutionizing healthcare through collaborative efforts and groundbreaking advancements. Magnolia Point looks forward to the myriad possibilities that Magnative Health will unlock in the hospital network industry, ultimately contributing to the betterment of healthcare services worldwide.

For more information about Magnative Health and its upcoming projects, please visit https://www.magnoliapoint.com/.

About Magnolia Point:

Magnolia Point takes the lead in digital healthcare AI solutions, paving the way for a healthier world through personalized medicine, enhanced pathways to well-being, and the highest standard of efficient care on a global scale.

About Certive Health:

Certive Health is a renowned player in the hospital network industry, providing comprehensive solutions that drive efficiency and excellence. With a vast network of experienced professionals, the company empowers healthcare institutions to overcome challenges and thrive in a dynamic healthcare landscape.

Media Contact:

Melisa Daveiga

Marketing Director

Magnolia Point

Phone: 937-672-2234

Email: Melisa@DoveMediaMarketing.com

SOURCE: Magnolia Point

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/790626/update-magnolia-point-announces-joint-venture-magnative-health-with-certive-health-for-groundbreaking-digital-solutions-in-hospital-networks
LONDON, Oct. 5, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Alacrita Consulting, a leading pharmaceutical and biotech consulting firm headquartered in London, today announces the promotions of Saadia Basharat, PhD, and Jess Hearn-Messenger, PhD, both to Principal.

Saadia has a proven track record of helping biotech and pharma companies at critical junctures, guiding them on pipeline, partnering and licensing strategy, and supporting healthcare investors, particularly VCs, with assessing and evaluating opportunities. In recognition of her successful transition to San Diego, as Alacrita's Head of West Coast Consulting, she has been made a Principal of the firm.

In her new role, she will continue to advise clients on a range of strategic issues, including pipeline prioritization, disease area and indication prioritization, partnering strategy, and technical and commercial due diligence of therapeutics.

"Saadia is truly an integral part of our team. Since day one, she has been a trusted advisor to our clients in both the US and Europe, providing them with sound commercial and technical guidance and direction when faced with the most critical of decisions. We are delighted to promote her to Principal," said Alastair Southwell, Managing Partner at Alacrita Consulting.

Saadia holds an Honors degree in Biomedical Informatics, a Master of Science degree in Molecular Medicine and a PhD in Neuroendocrinology from Imperial College London.

As Principal & Head of West Coast Consulting, she will continue to lead and grow Alacrita's client base in the western United States and Asia.

Jess Hearn-Messenger joined Alacrita in 2016 and has 12 years of industry and consulting experience across the drug development value chain in academia, contract research, biotech, big pharma and regulatory agencies. She is a core member of both our due diligence and valuation practices, managing over 25 due diligence exercises per year, at both the triage/pre-due diligence and full/in-depth due diligence levels. Jess is also particularly adept at leading valuations exercises using Alacrita's risk-adjusted Monte Carlo model and contributes to its ongoing development.

As Principal, she will continue to advise clients on a range of technical and commercial issues and play a pivotal role in the company's growth and presence in the UK and Europe.

"Jess's expertise in translational science, combined with having industry experience across several core areas - biotech, CRO and regulatory -, makes her an exceptionally versatile and skilled consultant. She now has an extensive consulting record of successful engagements and has been a true asset to our clients," said Anthony Walker, PhD, Managing Partner at Alacrita. "I couldn't be more pleased for her promotion to Principal."

Prior to joining Alacrita, Jess held positions at GSK and Quintiles (now IQVIA), as well as at the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA).

She holds a PhD and MSc in Systems Biology from The University of Warwick and an MChem in Biological Chemistry from The University of Leicester.

Additional information on Saadia Basharat, PhD, Principal: https://www.alacrita.com/consultants/saadia-basharat

Additional information on Jess Hearn-Messenger, PhD, Principal: https://www.alacrita.com/consultants/jess-hearn-messenger

About Alacrita Consulting

Alacrita is a pharma and biotech consulting firm whose value to clients is founded on the first-hand experience of its subject-matter experts. Consultants who have spent their careers discovering, developing, manufacturing and commercializing drug products.

Alacrita's core team leverages a purpose-built network of over 250 such experts who are brought onto project teams when their expertise matches the needs of the situation. This allows the firm to provide clients with precisely relevant support on a range of R&D and business issues, while offering the speed and flexibility expected from a professional consulting firm.

With over a decade of global, multi-disciplinary experience across a range of therapeutic areas and technologies, few firms match the breadth and depth in Alacrita's expertise. Please visit www.alacrita.com to learn more.

For further information, please contact:

Alastair Southwell, Managing Partner, U.S.

Email: usa@alacrita.com

Telephone: +1-617-714-9696

Address: One Broadway, Floor 14, Cambridge, MA 02142

Anthony Walker, Managing Partner, Europe

Email: europe@alacrita.com

Telephone: +44-(0)207-691-4915

Address: 2 Royal College St, London, United Kingdom

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/alacrita-consulting-promotes-saadia-basharat--jess-hearn-messenger-to-principals-301948961.html
HALIFAX, NS / ACCESSWIRE / October 5, 2023 / Namibia Critical Metals Inc. ("Namibia Critical Metals" or the "Company") (TSXV:NMI)(OTCQB:NMREF) announced today, pursuant to the requirements of the TSX Venture Exchange, that its board of directors approved the granting of incentive stock options ("Options") under its stock option plan as part of the overall remuneration and incentive program for its employees, consultants, officers and directors. A total of 4,300,000 Options were granted.

All the Options are exercisable for a period of five years at a price of $0.07 per Common Share being the closing price of the Company's common shares on the TSX Venture Exchange on October 5, 2023.

About Namibia Critical Metals Inc.

NMI is developing the Tier-1 Heavy Rare Earth Project, Lofdal, a globally significant deposit of the heavy rare earth metals dysprosium and terbium. Demand for these critical metals used in permanent magnets for electric vehicles, wind turbines and other electronics is driven by innovations linked to energy and technology transformations. The geopolitical risks associated with sourcing many of these metals has become a repeated concern for manufacturers and end users. Namibia is a proven and stable mining jurisdiction.

The Lofdal Project is fully permitted with a 25-year Mining License and is under a Joint Venture Agreement with Japan Organization for Metals and Energy Security (JOGMEC).

The Company filed a robust updated PEA for "Lofdal 2B-4" on November 14, 2022, with a post-tax NPV of USD$391 million and an annual IRR of 28% with a capital expenditure of USD$207 million. The project is projected to generate a life of mine nominal cash flow of USD$698 million post-tax over a 16-year mine life.

About Japan Organization for Metals and Energy Security (JOGMEC) and the JV

JOGMEC is a Japanese government independent administrative agency which seeks to secure stable resource supplies for Japan. JOGMEC has a strong reputation as a long term, strategic partner in mineral projects globally. JOGMEC facilitates opportunities with Japanese private companies to secure supplies of natural resources for the benefit of the country's economic development.

Rare earths are of critical importance to Japanese industrial interests and JOGMEC has extensive experience with all aspects of the sector. JOGMEC provided Lynas with USD$250,000,000 in loans and equity in 2011 to ensure supplies of the Light Rare Earths metals suite to the Japanese industry.

Namibia Critical Metals owns a 95% interest in the Lofdal project with the remaining 5% held for the benefit of historically disadvantaged Namibians. The terms of the JOGMEC joint venture agreement with the Company stipulate that JOGMEC provides C$3,000,000 in Term 1 and C$7,000,000 in Term 2 to earn a 40% interest in the Lofdal project. Term 3 calls for a further C$10,000,000 of expenditures to earn an additional 10% interest. JOGMEC can also purchase another 1% for C$5,000,000 and has first right of refusal to fully fund the project through to commercial production and to purchase all production at market prices. The collective interests of NMI and historically disadvantaged Namibians cannot be diluted below a 26% carried working interest upon payment of C$5,000,000 to JOGMEC for the dilution protection. NMI may elect to participate up to a maximum of 44% by funding pro rata after the earn in period is completed.

To date, JOGMEC has completed Term 2 and earned a 40% interest by reaching the $10 million expenditure requirement. JOGMEC has approved an additional $2,375,000 budget for Term 3 through to March 31, 2024, totaling C$12,375,000.

Other exploration projects: The Company's Exclusive Prospecting Licenses ("EPLs") prospective for gold are located in the Central Namibian Gold Belt which hosts a number of significant orogenic gold deposits including the Navachab Gold Mine, the Otjikoto Gold Mine and the Twin Hills deposit. At the Erongo Gold Project, stratigraphic equivalents to the meta-sediments hosting the Osino gold discovery at Twin Hills have been identified and exploration is progressing over this highly prospective area. The Grootfontein Base Metal and Gold Project has potential for magmatic copper-nickel mineralization, Mississippi Valley-type zinc-lead-vanadium mineralization and Otjikoto-style gold mineralization. Interpretation of geophysical data and regional geochemical soil sampling have identified first gold targets.

The common shares of Namibia Critical Metals Inc. trade on the TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol "NMI".

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

For more information please contact -

Namibia Critical Metals Inc.

Darrin Campbell, President

Tel: +01 (902) 835-8760

Fax: +01 (902) 835-8761

Email: Info@NamibiaCMI.com

Web site: www.NamibiaCriticalMetals.com

This news release contains certain "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable securities laws. Forward looking information is frequently characterized by words such as "plan", "expect", "project", "intend", "believe", "anticipate", "estimate", "may", "will", "would", "potential", "proposed" and other similar words, or statements that certain events or conditions "may" or "will" occur. These statements are only predictions. Forward-looking information is based on the opinions and estimates of management at the date the information is provided, and is subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual events or results to differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking information. For a description of the risks and uncertainties facing the Company and its business and affairs, readers should refer to the Company's Management's Discussion and Analysis. The Company undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking information if circumstances or management's estimates or opinions should change, unless required by law. The reader is cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking information.

SOURCE: Namibia Critical Metals Inc.

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/790586/namibia-critical-metals-announces-grant-of-stock-options
NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION TO UNITED STATES NEWS WIRE SERVICES OR FOR DISSEMINATION IN THE UNITED STATES

TORONTO, ON / ACCESSWIRE / October 5, 2023 / Aston Bay Holdings Ltd. (TSXV:BAY)(OTCQB:ATBHF) (the "Company" or "Aston Bay") today announces the closing of its previously announced brokered private placement (the "LIFE Offering") and concurrent non-brokered private placement (the "Concurrent Offering" and, together with the LIFE Offering, the "Offering") for aggregate gross proceeds of approximately C$2.5 million.

Under the terms of the LIFE Offering, the Company issued 28,847,375 units ("Units"), at a price of C$0.08 per Unit, for aggregate gross proceeds of approximately C$2.31 million. Cantor Fitzgerald Canada Corporation (the "Agent") acted as sole agent and bookrunner in connection with the LIFE Offering. The Concurrent Offering was completed on a non-brokered private placement basis in which 2,450,000 Units were issued for aggregate gross proceeds of C$196,000 on the same terms as the LIFE Offering.

Each Unit consists of one common share of the Company (each, a "Common Share") and one Common Share purchase warrant (each, a "Warrant"). Each Warrant entitles the holder thereof to purchase one Common Share at a price of C$0.12 at any time on or before October 5, 2025.

The Company intends to use the net proceeds of the Offering for exploration and development of the Company's projects in Virginia, and for working capital and general corporate purposes.

In connection with the LIFE Offering and as consideration for their services, the Company paid to the Agent a cash commission of C$120,227.40 and issued to the Agent 1,502,843 non-transferable warrants of ?the Company (the "Broker Warrants"). Each Broker Warrant entitles the holder thereof to acquire one Common Share at a price of C$0.08, subject to adjustment in certain events, at any time on or before October 5, 2025.?

28,847,375 Units were offered pursuant to the listed issuer financing exemption (the "Listed Issuer Financing Exemption") as outlined in Part 5A of National Instrument 45-106 -- Prospectus Exemptions ("NI 45-106"). An offering document related to the portion of the Offering conducted under the Listed Issuer Financing Exemption has been filed on the Company's profile on SEDAR+ at (www.sedarplus.ca ) . The balance of Units, sold as part of the Concurrent Offering, were issued on a private placement basis pursuant to exemptions from the prospectus requirements in Canada other than the Listed Issuer Financing Exemption and in offshore jurisdictions.

The Common Shares issuable from the sale of Units under the Listed Issuer Financing Exemption are not subject to a hold period in accordance with Canadian securities laws and are immediately freely tradeable, while the Common Shares and Warrants issuable from the sale of Units under other prospectus exemptions in Canada are subject to a four month hold period.

The securities offered pursuant to the Offering have not been, and will not be, registered under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "U.S. Securities Act") or any U.S. state securities laws, and may not be offered or sold in the United States or to, or for the account or benefit of, United States persons absent registration or any applicable exemption from the registration requirements of the U.S. Securities Act and applicable U.S. state securities laws.

About Aston Bay Holdings

Aston Bay is a publicly traded mineral exploration company exploring for high-grade copper and gold deposits in Virginia, USA, and Nunavut, Canada. The Company is led by CEO Thomas Ullrich with exploration in Virginia directed by the Company's advisor, Don Taylor, the 2018 Thayer Lindsley Award winner for his discovery of the Taylor Pb-Zn-Ag Deposit in Arizona. The Company is currently exploring the high-grade Buckingham Gold Vein in central Virginia and is in advanced stages of negotiation on other lands with high-grade copper potential in the area.

The Company and its joint venture partners, American West Metals Limited and its wholly-owned subsidiary, Tornado Metals Ltd. (collectively, "American West") have agreed to form a 20/80 unincorporated joint venture and enter into a joint venture agreement in respect of the Storm Project property, which hosts the Storm Copper Project and the Seal Zinc Deposit. Under such agreement, Aston Bay shall have a free carried interest until American West has made a decision to mine upon completion of a bankable feasibility study, meaning American West will be solely responsible for funding the joint venture until such decision is made. After such decision is made, Aston Bay will be diluted in the event it does not elect to contribute its proportionate share and its interest in the Storm Project property will be converted into a 2% net smelter returns royalty if its interest is diluted to below 10%.

Further details are available on the Company's website at https://astonbayholdings.com/.

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

Statements made in this news release, including those regarding the Offering, including the use of proceeds, as well as management objectives, forecasts, estimates, expectations, or predictions of the future may constitute "forward-looking statements", which can be identified by the use of conditional or future tenses or by the use of such verbs as "believe", "expect", "may", "will", "should", "estimate", "anticipate", "project", "plan", and words of similar import, including variations thereof and negative forms. This news release contains forward-looking statements that reflect, as of the date of this news release, Aston Bay's expectations, estimates and projections about its operations, the mining industry and the economic environment in which it operates. Statements in this news release that are not supported by historical fact are forward-looking statements, meaning they involve risk, uncertainty and other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Although Aston Bay believes that the assumptions inherent in the forward-looking statements are reasonable and undue reliance should not be placed on these statements, which apply only as of the date of this news release. Aston Bay disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except to the extent required by law. We seek safe harbour.

Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its regulation services provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news release.

FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION CONTACT:

Thomas Ullrich, Chief Executive Officer

thomas.ullrich@astonbayholdings.com

(416) 456-3516

SOURCE: Aston Bay Holdings Ltd

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Kraken, a San Francisco, CA-based company providing crypto platforms, acquired Coin Meester B.V. (BCM), a registered crypto broker in the Netherlands.

The amount of the deal was not disclosed.

With the acquisition, Kraken will strengthen its presence in the Netherlands. It will also allow BCMs clients to benefit from Krakens extensive product offering, liquidity, security standards and 24/7/365 live client support.

Founded in 2017 and led by CEO Mitchell Zandwijken, BCM provides services to buy, sell and stake crypto, including access to over 170 cryptocurrencies and local funding rails.

Led by CEO David Ripley, Kraken provides crypto platforms to accelerate the global adoption of crypto. Globally, its clients trade more than 200 digital assets and 6 different national currencies, including GBP, EUR, USD, CAD, CHF, and AUD. In recent years, the company has strengthened its core exchange offering and expanded its product suite to empower people to benefit from the opportunities offered by decentralized blockchain technology. In line with its strategy to become the bridge to the most exciting areas of crypto, Kraken recently launched its NFT marketplace, a new Kraken Pro trading interface and a new consumer web experience. The company offers professional 24/7/365 client support along with its trading platforms available.

Krakens decision to accelerate European growth plans follows the European Commissions establishment of Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulatory framework, which allows industry players to invest in the region and provide consumers access to more competitive products and services. The company is committed to growing its business in compliance with European regulations. In addition to its VASP registrations in Ireland, Italy and Spain, Kraken is actively pursuing registrations in other European markets.

FinSMEs

05/10/2023
Treetscope, a Tel Aviv, Israel-based precision irrigation management startup, raised $7M in Seed funding.

The round was led by Champel Capital, with participation form Leon Recanatis GlenRock fund, SeedIL, YYM-Ventures, Agrovision, NEOME, GN-Z11 and Earth.vc.

The company intends to use the funds to aid with R&D, accelerate overall growth and commercial agriculture expansion in North America and beyond.

Led by CEO Dotan Eshet, Treetoscope provides a plant-based irrigation management platform that helps growers make precise irrigation decisions thanks to real-time sap and water uptake data from the crop itself. Rather than using soil sensors, that dont tap into the plant, or tree trunk sensors that are limited to measuring tree circumference, its in-tree/plant sensors directly measure water uptake in real-time. Combined with AI, integrated weather data, satellite imagery and other remote data, Treetoscopes irrigation management system provides growers with a more accurate data set to easily schedule irrigations, cut-back water and other input costs, and ensure optimal crop health and production.

Treetoscope has commercially collaborated with some of agri-businesses, as well as research institutes around the globe:

In North America, The Toro Company, has partnered with the company and co-branded the innovative technology (Transpira). This collaboration has led to the launch of sales in the U.S. and Mexico.

Netafim, a global leader in sustainable agricultural-irrigation solutions, has validated Treetoscope technology over three years, paving the way for global commercialization partnership.

To date, Treetoscope has secured more than $10 million in total investments, which includes grants from the Israel Innovation Authority and Bird Foundation, a joint Israel-U.S. government fund.

FinSMEs

05/10/2023
In a country like India, where a large part of the population resides in rural areas, achieving financial inclusion is highly crucial. Societal conditioning in India has marginalised women, leaving them behind in various rights, including financial inclusion. But as per the National Family Health Survey (NFHS-5)  2019-21 about 78.6 per cent of women in India have a bank or saving account which they operate themselves. With the help of government initiatives, fintechs wide network and technology platforms, women are now gaining economic independence and developing decision-making power. This empowerment enhances their self-esteem, transforming lives positively. Fintech companies have also played a crucial role by leveraging technology to provide accessible and user-friendly financial solutions. Women, with their strong community networks and determination, are at the forefront of this revolution, driving economic growth and social upliftment in rural India.

Innovative initiatives

Women in rural India are spearheading the movement toward financial inclusion playing a pivotal role in empowering their communities. As per Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojna. 56 per cent Jan-Dhan account holders are women and there are 67 per cent Jan Dhan accounts are in rural and semi-urban areas. As business correspondents, they act as intermediaries, bridging the gap between formal financial institutions and rural households. Their dedication and understanding of local needs have enabled them to reach the last mile, bringing banking services to remote areas. The governments efforts in promoting financial literacy and setting up policies supportive of inclusion have further boosted these initiatives.

Self-Help Groups: Self-Help Groups (SHGs) in rural India address collective challenges by forming informal associations. They have emerged as an effective mechanism for delivering financial services and addressing the diverse problems faced by rural communities. These groups empower rural women, enhancing their financial literacy and decision-making abilities. To address these challenges and promote financial inclusion among rural women, several innovative initiatives have emerged.

Bank Sakhi: The government is actively spearheading initiatives to promote financial inclusivity by empowering women. Bank Sakhi Yojna has played a crucial role in empowering rural women and promoting their financial inclusion. The Bank Sakhi Yojna trains and deploys women banking correspondents in rural areas. Known as Bank Sakhis, these women act as intermediaries between the formal banking system and rural communities and assist villagers in opening bank accounts, conducting transactions, and accessing financial services. As per the Ministry of Rural Development India, more than 50,000 SHG women have been trained and certified as BC Sakhi till 2021 and is proposed to deploy at least one BC Sakhi in the rural areas by the end of 2023-24. Other programs such as the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana, Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana, Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana and more have facilitated womens access to banking services, credit facilities, and entrepreneurship opportunities. These initiatives not only aim to bridge the gender gap in financial inclusion but also recognize the emotional and social empowerment that arises from economic independence.

Role of Fintech and Tailor-Made Products for Rural India

Fintech has emerged as a game-changer in the pursuit of financial inclusion as it leverages technology to bridge the gap between financial institutions and underserved populations. India took the lead with the fintech adoption rate of 87%, which is higher than the world average of 64 per cent as per the latest Global FinTech Adoption Index.

As per the reports, the total number of internet connections in India reached close to 851 million in 2023. Recognizing the potential of women in unlocking financial inclusion, fintechs are actively identifying, hiring, and training women on financial transactions, products, and platforms by equipping them with the necessary skills to educate and assist rural communities in their financial journeys. It leverages womens influence for last-mile reach, making them self-reliant and helps in breaking sociocultural barriers. By providing user-friendly digital platforms and mobile applications, fintech encompasses innovative payment solutions, digital lending platforms, and customized financial management tools, to ensure accessibility and relevance to rural women. Educating women has a ripple effect, as it empowers future generations and uplifts the entire community. When educated, a woman becomes a catalyst for positive change, influencing her childrens education, breaking the cycle of poverty and fostering overall societal progress.

The collective efforts of fintech, governments and financial institutions are paving the way for a more inclusive and equitable society. Their collaboration ensures products and services that fulfil the needs and preferences of rural women. From developing user-friendly, lightweight platforms to making financial literacy accessible via vernacular language support, fintech is here to ensure that rural women can easily navigate and utilise financial services while unlocking the potential of rural India.

The author is Head  of Strategic Relations, Manipal Technologies Limited. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely that of the author. They do not necessarily reflect Firstposts views.

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YEREVAN, OCTOBER 5, ARMENPRESS. EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell has said he hopes to organize Armenian-Azerbaijani negotiations in Brussels, Interfax reports.

"Hopefully, a meeting between Armenia and Azerbaijan will be organized in Brussels. This must be done to make sure the conflict does not expand. It is also necessary to achieve political stabilization in Armenia," EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell told reporters in Granada, Spain.

He regretted that the leaders of Azerbaijan and Turkey did not take part in the European Political Community summit in Granada.

I regret that Azerbaijan isnt here, I regret that Turkey, the main supporter of Azerbaijan, is also not here. Therefore, we cant speak here about something as serious as the fact that over 100,000 people were forced to leave their homes, Borrell said, referring to the forced displacement of the Armenian population of Nagorno-Karabakh after the Azeri attack.

The EU condemns the use of military force to resolve conflicts, he added.

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev were supposed to hold EU-mediated peace talks in Granada on October 5, but the Azeri leader cancelled his participation on October 4.
Akshay Kumars Mission Raniganj: The Great Bharat Rescue is all set to hit the screens tomorrow.

What is it about?

Akshay Kumar plays Jaswant Singh Gill in the film, the man who saved the lives of over 65 miner workers that were trapped 350 feet below and gasping for life and breath. He made a capsule like hole to enter the mine and rescued them one after another. Its Indias largest rescue operation that gets a film made on it over three decades after the incident happened.

A standing ovation from the CBFC members

The members of the Censor Board recently watched the film for certification and were moved by the emotional triumph of the narrative and the bravery this real story carries. They couldnt help but give this Tinu Suresh Desai directorial a standing ovation. The CBFC Board Members who watched the film are all praise for the Akshay Kumar starrer, and they have called it an emotionally moving yet inspiring film.

Ravi Kishan plays one of the workers trapped beneath and Malhotra too plays a crucial role. In an exclusive interview with Firspost, the two veterans opened up about the experience of essaying this story on the big screen, working with Akshay Kumar again, and what they have taken away after playing their respective characters.

In an exclusive interview, the actor revealed about his prep, I never played a miner before. I have worked in over 700 films and been directed by everyone, from Shyam Benegal to Mani Ratnam to Anurag Kashyap, but this was a role I never played so it got me really excited. I had to understand their psyche and how they approach death everyday in their lives. I am claustrophobic in real life so I used to think how they manage to go 350 feet below and survive in such less oxygen. I was also fascinated to see the mines of Jharkhand being recreated in London.

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Aditya Pancholi and Zarina Wahabs son Suraj Pancholi rose to fame with his 2015 film, Hero. The actor stoked controversy after he was accused of abetting the suicide of his former girlfriend and actress Jiah Khan. He was later acquitted of charges. Now, in an interview, Sooraj Pancholi talked about his relationship with his father and how his reputation impacted public opinion.

Speaking to Siddharth Kannan, the actor said that his father has indeed done wrong things in life and ended up being tagged as a bad boy. Sooraj went on to add that he doesnt agree with the way Aditya Pancholi has handled things in life. However, he has forgiven his father as he understands that he needs him the most in life.

My father has a certain image as this bad boy person, who has done many things wrong. I dont agree with it, of course, he has done things wrong. He is my father, I love him no matter what. I dont agree with the way he has handled things in his life but in a way I have forgiven him because I know I am his only support in life. I want to make him proud, Suraj Pancholi said.

Speaking about the controversies surrounding his father, the actor said that he didnt know what was happening and he only figured the matters after stepping into the industry. Then I understood ki okay, these are the things that have happened. It, of course, hurt me a lot but like I said I love my father, he added.

On asked if Aditya Pancholi felt responsible for the way his sons image was being portrayed, Suraj informed that his father is a very emotional person. The actor said, Dad is very emotional. Sometimes he felt that because of his past mistakes, I went through these things. So maybe sometimes he would shed a tear or two.

About Sooraj Pancholi

In 2013, Sooraj Pancholi was arrested on charges of abetment of suicide for his ex-girlfriend, Jiah Khan. Following years of court battle, the Hero actor was given a clean chit due to lack of evidence in April 2023.

Suraj Pancholi debuted in Bollywood with the 2015 film, Hero, starring Athiya Shetty, Aditya Pancholi, Sharad Kelkar among others. The film was bankrolled by superstar Salman Khan. Suraj later featured in films like Satellite Shankar and Time To Dance.

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Tabu and Vishal Bhardwaj have once again come together for the spy thriller, Khufiya. The actress is known for her powerful performances over the decades in films such as Chandini Bar, Virasat, The Namesake, Cheeni Kum, and Astitva.

Talking to film critic Baradwaj Rangan, the director opened up about casting Tabu in his next. During his recent interview, Vishal Bhardwaj revealed that the diva was not the first choice for the role. The filmmaker stated that when he wrote the script for the edge-of-the-seat thriller, he had a male actor in mind.

Vishal Bhardwaj on casting Tabu in Khufiya

Vishal Bhardwaj said that he went to various heroes for the role, but they all turned down the offer. Later on, he ended up rewriting the character for a leading lady. After getting done with the script, he approached Tabu for the movie. He said, One day I thought asi ki tesi sab male actors ki, my hero is Tabu. The obligation is now on me to prove that she made the right choice.

For those who do not know, Tabu and Vishal Bhardwaj have previously worked together for the 2004 drama Maqbool and 2014 film in Haider.

All about Khufiya

While Tabu, Ali Fazal, and Wamiqa Gabbi as part of the primary cast, Khufiya will also see Ashish Vidyarthi, Atul Kulkarni, Navnindra Behl, Shataf Figar, Azmeri Haque Badhon, Lalit Parimoo, Rahul Vohra and Disney James in ancillary roles.

Going by all the previews, Khufiya revolves around a RAW agent, Krishna Mehra (Tabu), who is asked to track down the mole selling Indias defense secrets. This is the first time Tabu will be seen playing such as character in her career.

Now, talking about the technical crew of the drama, Vishal Bhardwaj has rendered the tunes for the flick, whereas Farhad Ahmed Dehlvi has cranked the camera for the movie. A. Sreekar Prasad is responsible for the editing for the film.

Produced by VB Films Production banner, Khufiya is scheduled to premiere on streaming giant Netflix tomorrow, 5 October. Keeping in mind the impeccable track record of Tabu and Vishal Bhardwaj, the expectation from Khufiya is sky high.
Language: Hindi and Bengali

Director: Vishal Bhardwaj

Cast: Tabu, Ali Fazal, Ashish Vidyarthi and Wamiqa Gabbi

Khufiya is master-filmmaker Vishal Bhardwajs first Netflix debut. Based on the novel Escape To Nowhere by Amar Bhushan, the former chief of counter espionage at Indias foreign intelligence agency, Research and Analysis Wing (RAW), the film revolves around the complicated dual lives of spies. Known for adapting books into movies, this time Bhradwaj has done a great job

The movie revolves around the lives of the agents. Tabu here plays the role of a Raw agent who is on a mission to find a mole in the intelligence agency. She is seen playing a very different role where she has stretched her craft beyond limit. Caught between her erratic job schedules and her responsibilities of a mother, Tabu has always been able to bring out the true emotions of the character. Khufiya is an intense combination of suspense and complexity.

The different layers and complexities of each of the characters is dealt in the finest possible ways. No black and white characters do we see in reality and here too, Bhradwaj has tried his best to show the different shades of each and every character.

The confused sexuality angle in Tabus character and the cause of her divorce is shown in a beautiful subtle way. And never once does she blame her husband (Atul Kulkarni) for the rift in the relationship. In fact, she says that he is a good man which he for sure is. Its a tug of war of emotions when her son wants to know the cause of her divorcing his father and her job profile. The tiredness and stress in her life is beautifully brought out by Tabu through her effortless expressions. There is a lot of depth and nuance in her character where she wants to bring justice to the cause of her partners death. Through Khufiya, Bhradwaj has handled the LGBTQ angle in a very mature way.

Khufiya is a movie, where Bhradwaj has given a lot of importance to each of the women characters be it Tabu, Wamiqa Gabbi, Bangladeshi actress Azmeri Haque Badhon and Navindra Behl. So, it wasnt just Tabu who had different layers to her character, but all of them. And mind you all the characters, be it Azmeri Haque Badhon, Wamiqa Gabbi and Navindra Behl had powerful roles and they were all unapologetically vulnerable.

The film doesnt show the US intelligence agency in a positive light. Ali Fazal, who plays the role of a Delhi based US agent is shown to be a perfect family man but is too overshadowed by his powerful mother (Navindra Behl) who knows in and out about how things work in the Indian government and the US intelligence agency. It all starts with greed for a luxurious life and the love for Armani suits, regular parties and single malts.

The show stopper of the film is Azmeri Haque Badhon. Her performance is brilliant and with her effortless charm, she lights up the film to such an extent that she overshadows the performance of Tabu, when both the actors are on the same screen.

Khufiya in Urdu means secret and true to its title, Tabu has effortlessly added that secret element to her character where she and her ex-husband are okay with her sexuality, but she doesnt want to reveal it to the whole world including her son. It is right at the end of the movie where she makes an effort to reveal her identity to her son, but that too is a secret because the movie ends right after she makes a call.

Rating: 3 out of 5

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The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has lost three top leaders to arrests in less than two years. The Enforcement Directorate (ED) arrested the Arvind Kejriwal-led partys Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh on Wednesday evening (4 October) in its money laundering investigation in the Delhi governments now-scrapped excise policy case.

Singh is the third high-profile AAP leader to have been arrested by a central agency after former deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia and ex-Delhi health minister Satyendar Jain.

Lets take a closer look at the cases against these AAP leaders and how their arrest could impact the partys future.

Satyendar Jain

Former Delhi minister and senior AAP leader Satyendar Jain was arrested last May in a money laundering case.

He was accused of laundering money to the tune of nearly Rs 16.5 crore over two periods in 2010-12 and 2015-16 through four companies allegedly linked to him.

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) had registered a case against Jain in 2017. The ED arrested him last year in the money laundering case based on the CBIs FIR alleging that he acquired assets in the name of various persons from 14 February 2015 to 31 May 2017, disproportionate to his known sources of income.

The AAP leader is currently out on bail on medical grounds. Last week, the Supreme Court extended his interim bail till 9 October.

Manish Sisodia

Sisodia is behind bars in the Delhi excise policy case. The CBI arrested him on 26 February this year in connection with the alleged irregularities in the formulation and implementation of the now-withdrawn liquor policy.

The CBI FIR alleged that Sisodia, then Delhi excise commissioner Arava Gopi Krishna, and two other senior excise department officials were instrumental in recommending and taking decisions pertaining to excise policy for the year 2021-22 without the approval of competent authority with an intention to extend undue favours to the licensee post tender.

A Supreme Court bench is hearing Sisodias bail application in the case today. As per an NDTV report, the apex court asked where the evidence is against the AAP leader, except for the statement of businessman Dinesh Arora  who is himself an accused.

Since his arrest, the AAP leader, who held multiple portfolios in the Kejriwal government, has been unsuccessful in securing bail.

In March, both Sisodia and Jain resigned from the Delhi Cabinet. While Sisodia was Delhis deputy chief minister and held several key portfolios, including education, Jain was Delhis health and prisons minister.

Sanjay Singh

Sanjay Singh is the second prominent AAP leader apprehended in the alleged Delhi liquor scam. His arrest on Wednesday came hours after the ED conducted raids at his residence in New Delhi.

According to Indian Express, Singhs name featured in the central agencys prosecution complaint filed last December. The ED said that businessman Arora, who has turned into an approver in the liquor case, claimed that Singh introduced him to Sisodia. On request of Singh arranged cheques amounting to Rs 82 lakh (handed over to Sisodia) for collection of party funds for upcoming assembly elections in Delhi, the complaint alleged.

On Tuesday, a Delhi court allowed Arora and another accused Raghav Magunta Reddy, the son of a YSR Congress Party MP M Srinivasulu Reddy, to become approvers in the money laundering probe by the ED in the excise policy case.

Singhs arrest came as a shock even for the AAP. It is a blow to us, but we will deal with this too like we have done with other issues in the past, an AAP leader told The Hindu.

What about AAPs future?

Singhs arrest does not bode well for the AAP, which is a constituent of the Opposition INDIA bloc that will take on the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in next years Lok Sabha elections.

As per The Hindu, Singh, a member of AAPs political affairs committee, had covered the void left in the party after Sisodias arrest.

The former Delhi education minister, who was Kejriwals most trusted aide, had held 18 of the 33 government departments. More than that, Sisodia helped the party in creating a Delhi Model that promised robust policy and governance. As India Today noted in March, Jain did the heavy lifting but Sisodia is the main person.

The AAP, which was already reeling from the loss of its two important leaders, has now suffered a third setback with Singhs arrest.

Singh was a bridge between AAP and other Opposition parties, as per Indian Express. He often accompanied Delhi chief minister Kejriwal and AAPs Raghav Chadha to the meetings of the INDIA alliance. AAPs vocal voice in Rajya Sabha, Singh remained at the forefront of the partys attacks on the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the newspaper noted.

He is a very senior member of the party and has a very astute political understanding. He has, over the past few years, built links with non-BJP parties, including Congress. That he is accompanying Kejriwal ji in his meetings with West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee as well as Uddhav Thackeray is a clear indication of his stature in the party as well as among Opposition leaders, a senior AAP leader told Indian Express.

With only months left in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, AAPs new challenge is to deal with Singhs absence, who as a party leader told the newspaper has been a big support to Kejriwal since Sisodias arrest.

According to The Hindu, the AAP will now have to prime other leaders to take on Singhs responsibilities. The party already suspects more of its leaders can be arrested ahead of the upcoming general elections.

Hitting out at AAP, the BJP has said that Kejriwal, who it alleged was the mastermind of the now-scrapped liquor policy, will soon be behind bars.

Moreover, AAP, which was born out of an anti-corruption movement, is now in a soup as its three key leaders have been arrested on corruption charges. The arrests could affect the partys poll plank of a corruption-free governance, noted The Hindu.

With inputs from agencies
The Supreme Court on Thursday posed several difficult questions to investigating agencies in the Delhi liquor policy case with regard to Manish Sisodias bail.

Sisodia, the former deputy chief minister who held the excise portfolio, was earlier arrested in the case by the Enforcement Directorate as well as the Central Bureau of Investigation.

The ED and the CBI have claimed that the Delhi governments excise policy for 2021-22 allowed cartelisation and favoured certain dealers who paid bribes for licences.

The excise policy was scrapped after Delhi Lieutenant Governor V K Saxena recommended a CBI probe into alleged corruption.

The apex court grilled investigating agencies a day after the Enforcement Directorate arrested Aam Aadmi Party Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh in connection with the case.

Meanwhile, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Thursday said all the cases filed against his party leaders are false and that these cases are a waste of the Centre and its agencies time.

But what did the apex court ask exactly?

Lets take a closer look:

Is there any other evidence?

As per NDTV, the court bench comprising Justice Sanjiv Khanna and Justice SVN Bhatti contended that the chain of evidence has not been entirely established.

It also questioned what proof agencies had against Sisodia  other than the statement of businessman Dinesh Arora.

The ED had arrested Arora in July when he was already declared an approver in a related corruption case being probed by CBI.

Arora was arrested after he allegedly gave evasive replies during his questioning by the ED and was not cooperating with the investigation.

Arora is allegedly a close associate of Sisodia.

You have taken two figures,  100 crore and  30 crore. Who paid them this? There can be so many people paying the money  not necessarily connected to liquor. Where is the proof? Dinesh Arora himself is the recipient. Where is the evidence? Except for the statement of Dinesh Arora, is there any other evidence? Justice Khanna asked.

The chain has not been fully established, the bench added.

The ED, in a supplementary charge sheet, has accused Sisodia of receiving bribes from Amit Arora, another businessman and an accused in the case, through Dinesh Arora. The federal probe agency has described this bribe as proceeds of crime under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

Amit Arora paid Rs 2.2 crore to Manish Sisodia through Dinesh Arora for getting policy changes in his favour in the GoM report/excise policy 2021-22 This amount is directly a bribe/kickback to a government functionary and is proceeds of crime under section 2(1)(u) of PMLA, 2002. In this manner, Manish Sisodia participated in the generation of this proceeds of crime, the ED said in its prosecution complaint filed in May.

This was a rare instance of an accused-turned-approver (prosecution witness) in the CBI investigation getting arrested by the ED while the two federal agencies probed the same crime.

How will you bring him under Act?

Speaking about the case filed against Sisodia under this Act, Khanna added, Manish Sisodia is not involved in all this. Vijay Nair (another accused) is there but Manish Sisodia is not in this part. How will you bring him under the money-laundering act?

The money is not going to him. In case it is a company with whom he is involved, then we have vicarious liability. Otherwise, the prosecution falters. Money laundering is entirely a different offence.

You have to prove that money has to flow from liquor lobby to concerned person We understand its difficult to establish that, but here is the competence of the investigating agency: how do you prove that? the bench further asked as per News18.

Let us assume ultimately no money was passed on. Will PMLA trigger? What triggers it is use of proceeds of crime after they are obtained. So you have to connect the person concerned with that directly or indirectly, the Supreme Court said as per India Today.

The top court Thursday said it was only asking a legal question from the Enforcement Directorate about Aam Aadmi Party not being made an accused in the Delhi excise policy case despite being an alleged beneficiary.

Additional Solicitor General (ASG) SV Raju, representing the ED and CBI, argued that the question was not whether Sisodia was involved in illegal activity  either directly or indirectly  but simply that the policy was formulated which triggers bribes which acts as proceeds of crimes.

Indian Express quoted the bench as stating, We understand there is a policy change and everybody wants a change that will be beneficial for them. That will be there. If we say special groups are discriminatory without money consideration, it will not make out an offence If we go to that extent, there will be no pressure groups or even vested interests when a policy decision is taken then Some pressure and conflict will always be there. Of course, bribes cannot be accepted.

Have you seen them discussing this? Will it be admissible? Isnt the statement (by an approver) hearsay? It is an inference but has to be based on evidence. In cross-examination, this will fall flat in two minutes, the bench was quoted as saying by India Today.

Raju claimed the new excise policy fixed profit margin at 12% to benefit a select few.

Earlier it was that five per cent (duty) was minimum and 12 per cent was maximum. No one will keep it more than 5, therefore to make it certain they fixed it at 12 per cent to benefit some. That is the criminal mischief. Therefore the offense, Raju was quoted as saying by Livemint.

As per India Today, the Supreme Court responded, How do you establish kickbacks were given? Is it entirely on the basis of approvers statements?

The court then adjourned the bail hearing to 12 October.

The ruling AAP in Delhi has strongly refuted any allegations of wrongdoing.

Answering a question over Supreme Courts observations on the bail application of Sisodia in the excise policy case, Kejriwal said, The way the court asked questions, it felt that they (agencies) have in a way lodged wrong cases against us.

Kejriwal said so many cases were lodged by the agencies but their investigation bore no result.

Responding to the searches at its leaders residence, AAP alleged that the ED has targeted Singh as he raised issues related to the Adani group in Parliament.

Sanjay Singh kept on raising questions on the issue of Adani and this is why the raids are being conducted at his residence. The Central agencies found nothing earlier and wont find anything today either. First, they conducted raids at the residence of some journalists yesterday and today, raids conducted at Sanjay Singhs residence, AAP spokesperson Reena Gupta said

Sisodia had resigned from the Delhi cabinet on 28 February.

With inputs from agencies
The Delhi Police have accused NewsClick of receiving funds from China illegally to disrupt the sovereignty and territorial integrity of India. Prabir Purkayastha, founder of the news portal, and Amit Chakravarty, its Human Resources (HR) head, have been sent to seven-day police custody after being arrested in an Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act case against the organisation.

The duos arrest came after the Delhi Police Special Cell conducted raids at 88 locations in the National Capital and seven places in other states, including at houses of journalists associated with NewsClick, on Tuesday (3 October).

These day-long raids came following a New York Times report in August that claimed NewsClick was among organisations that received funds from American tech mogul Neville Roy Singham to push Chinese propaganda.

What are the allegations against NewsClick? What has the news portal said? Lets take a closer look.

On Kashmir and Arunachal

Authorities allege that NewsClick engaged in a conspiracy to show that Kashmir and Arunachal Pradesh are disputed territories.

The Delhi Police, which had initially sought 15-day police custody for Purkayastha and Chakravarty, said in its remand application, Secret inputs revealed that Purkayastha, Neville Roy Singham and some other Chinese employees of Singham-owned Shanghai-based company have exchanged mails which expose their intent to show Kashmir and Arunachal Pradesh as not part of India, reported news agency PTI.

The application alleged that the analysis of the e-mails revealed that Singham, Purkayastha and Chakravarty are in direct touch with each other and had discussed how to create a map of India without Kashmir and to show Arunachal Pradesh as disputed area, reported Newslaundry.

For this, the accused got over Rs 115 crore in the guise of foreign funds, the police claimed.

Such attempts by these persons reveal their conspiracy to peddle a narrative, both globally and domestically, that Kashmir and Arunachal Pradesh are disputed territories. Their attempts to tinker with the northern borders of India and to show Kashmir and Arunachal Pradesh as not parts of India in maps amount to an act intended towards undermining the unity and territorial integrity of India, the remand application stated.

Funds from China

The Delhi Police have alleged that crores of rupees were received since April 2018 by M/S PPK Newsclick Studio Pvt. Ltd through illegal means during a short span of five years from M/s Worldwide Media Holdings LLC, USA and others.

The news website (NewsClick) was receiving funds from China. They received funds from a Shanghai-based US businessman, Neville Roy Singham. They published stories with a set narrative about protests and violence to tarnish Indias image to create unrest, a source in Delhi Police told ThePrint.

As per Newslaundry, the remand application alleged that secret inputs have been received that foreign funds in crores have been infused illegally in India by Indian and foreign entities inimical to India in pursuance of conspiracy with the intention to disrupt sovereignty and territorial integrity of India, to cause disaffection against India and to threaten the unity, integrity, security of India.

ALSO READ: NewsClick Raids: Who was under Delhi Polices radar? What have the cops recovered?

Other allegations

According to the Delhi Police, activist Gautam Navlakha  who was jailed in 2020 in the Bhima Koregaon case and is currently under house arrest  is a shareholder in NewsClick and was involved in anti-Indian and unlawful activities.

It is learnt that Gautam Navlakha who is a shareholder in PPK Newsclick Studio Pvt Ltd since its inception in the year 2018, remained involved in anti-Indian and unlawful activities such as actively supporting banned Naxal organisations and having anti-national nexus with Gulam Nabi Fai who is an agent of ISI of Pakistan. It was also learnt that Gautam Navlakha is associated with Prabir Purkayastha since 1991 when they incorporated Sagrik Process Analyst Pvt Ltd, Newslaundry quoted the application as saying.

The police further alleged that illegally routed foreign funds were syphoned off by Purkayastha and his associates Joseph Raj, Anoop Chakraborty (Amit Chakrabortys brother) and Bappaditya Sinha, a promoter of Virtunet Systems Pvt Ltd. These funds were then distributed to Navlakha, associates of Teesta Setalvad namely Javed Anand, Tamara, Jibran, Urmilesh, Aratrika Halder, Paranjoy Guha Thakurta, Trina Shankar, Abhisar Sharma, etc.

The Delhi police also signalled at attempts to protract the yearlong farmers protest against the Centres now-repealed three farm laws. The accused persons have also conspired to disrupt supplies and services essential to the life of community in India and abet damage and destruction of property by protraction of farmers protest through such illegal foreign funding, the application alleged, as per PTI.

The application stated that the accused persons spread a false narrative to discredit the Central governments efforts to tackle the COVID-19 pandemic.

The NewsClick founder allegedly conspired with the Peoples Alliance for Democracy and Secularism (PADS), a civil society outfit, to sabotage the electoral process during the 2019 general elections, the police said.

However, PADS former convenor, Shriniwas Rao, has claimed the group was only active until 2018, reported Newslaundry.

The police have also accused NewsClick of using the Peoples Dispatch portal, which the digital site owns and maintains, for intentionally peddling these false narratives through paid news in lieu of crores of rupees of illegally routed foreign funds as part of conspiracy, Newslaundry reported.

Seeking the remand of the accused, the police said they need to be questioned over the 4.27 lakh emails from Purkayastha and Chakravarty extracted from several electronic devices by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) during its probe.

NewsClick responds

NewsClick said in its statement that it does not publish propaganda and its funding had been received through appropriate banking channels.

All funding received by NewsClick has been through the appropriate banking channels and has been reported to the relevant authorities as required by law, the news portal said on Wednesday (4 October).

STATEMENT BY NEWSCLICK We want to state for the record: 1. Newsclick is an independent news website. 2. Our journalistic content is based on the highest standards of the profession. 3. Newsclick does not publish any news or information at the behest of any Chinese entity  NewsClick (@newsclickin) October 4, 2023

The portal said it does not propagate Chinese propaganda. Newsclick does not publish any news or information at the behest of any Chinese entity or authority, directly or indirectly, the statement shared on X, formerly Twitter, read.

The NewsClick statement said it does not take directions from Singham regarding its content.

Dubbing the New York Times article bogus, NewsClick said the government has invoked UAPA to stifle fearless voices that show the story of real India.

With inputs from agencies
Fashion knows no boundaries and soon enough it will be on the moon and in space!

The spacesuit industry  which has been known to be functional  has taken a leap into the world of high fashion, with Prada being roped into to design NASAs new attire for its astronauts. This means that the next time you see NASA astronauts they will be dressed in uber chic spacesuits designed by the reputed Italian fashion brand.

Does this collaboration mean that fashion houses will now trade in the catwalk for a spacewalk? Lets find out.

Prada lunar spacesuits

On Wednesday (4 October), it was reported that Italian luxury group Prada would be joining forces with Texas-based start-up Axiom Space, the architect of the worlds first commercial space station, to design lunar spacesuits for NASAs 2025 Artemis III mission.

The mission scheduled for 2025 is the first time NASA is returning to the moon since Apollo 17 happened in December 1972. Moreover, it will also be the first to transport a woman on our satellite.

Michael Suffredini, CEO, Axiom Space, was quoted as saying about the collaboration, We are excited to partner with Prada on the Extravehicular Mobility Unit (AxEMU) space suit. Pradas know-how in raw materials, manufacturing techniques will enable the application of advanced technologies to ensure the comfort of astronauts on the lunar surface, while also taking into account those benefits that are so necessary yet still absent in traditional space suits.

The next-generation suits, according to Axiom, will reflect Pradas know-how of materials and experimentation that stretches back to the 90s when Prada-designed Luna Rossa participated in the Americas Cup.

And Prada, it seems is up for the challenge. Speaking to WWD, Lorenzo Bertelli, Prada Groups marketing director, said: In general, space suits are one of the most challenging things, for a very small environment, and we have to create an environment where humans live in, provide oxygen and remove CO2.

Its not as simple as an air conditioner turned on, air has to flow a certain way in the suit, you have to provide air from the top to the bottom, you have to cool the subject and theres a lot that goes on inside the suit  and then of course the outer portion and you have to hold pressure in the suit. The crew person has to be mobile, so there has to be a different pressure, in and out, which makes it like operating in a big balloon.

However, both have said that the AxEMU will have more advanced capabilities than the regular space suit.

Its notable to add that Axiom has said that the spacesuit will be developed for a very broad range of human beings to make sure we can accommodate just about any astronaut that has been selected. In the fashion world, this could translate into being inclusive of all body types.

Also read: A giant leap for the beauty world: How skincare for space travel is on the rise

Evolution of space fashion

With Pradas entry into the market, the spacesuit has seen a long evolution.

The first type of spacesuit to be seen was the one that Yuri Gagarin wore when he was blasted into space. He wore the SK-1 spacesuit, which was a full pressure suit designed to keep him alive under a wide array of conditions. It included life support systems, a visored helmet, a radio headset, and an inflatable collar which would come in handy in the event of a water landing, doubling as a life preserve.

In 1961, following the Soviet Unions space adventure, the US sent its own astronauts into space, wearing the Mercury spacesuit. The design was taken from the US Navys aviation suits and was made from an aluminium coated fabric.

When Buzz Aldrin and Neil Armstrong stepped on the moon in 1969, they did in their Apollo spacesuits. These had a backpack that provided oxygen, regulated pressure and removed carbon dioxide.

In the 1990s, NASA astronauts began donning orange suits, nicknamed the pumpkin suit.

SpaceX for its own space mission designed new flight suits  sleek black-and-white suits, a far cry from the orange pumpkin suits from the shuttle program.

Out of this world market!

With the advent of space tourism, space fashion looks set to become the next step into this infinite world of adventure. As Nicholas de Monchaux, author of Spacesuit: Fashioning Apollo, told Quartz, Public access to space is just beginning, and so this notion of dressing for space that was so often science fiction is going to become a reality.

Matthew Drinkwater, head of the Fashion Innovation Agency at London College of Fashion, echoed similar sentiments. In a Forbes report, he was quoted as saying, If youre a space tourist, when youre going up there, looking the part is all part of the experience you are having.

Space travel has always been unattainable  something the ordinary individual could not get access to. That experience will become democratised thanks to Virgin Galactic and SpaceX, but its still with a big price tag attached to it, so you could mirror that with luxury, he added.

And while this may be a new frontier for the fashion world, on earth, many designers have sought inspiration from space and created collections dedicated to the cosmos. In fact, in 1964 designer Andre Courreges was at the forefront of fashions preoccupation with exploring the solar system. He popularised, as Vogue reports, items that came to define the Moon Girl look, including flat boots, goggles and trouser suits, as well as garments made from wipe-clean PVC.

The year 2010 saw a wide gamut of galaxy prints, the colours of the cosmos scattered across dresses, T-shirts, bags and every other available surface.

And who can forget Karl Lagerfelds 2017 Chanels autumn/winter which not only featured a rocket on the runway but also the usual tweeds and pearls being given a cosmic twist, with glittery black-toed moon boots, translucent astronaut prints, metallic trench coats, quilted foil capes and several sequinned gowns mimicking the starriest of skies.

And while its a wait for space fashion to take off, we cant wait to see what Prada offers in their spacesuit designs.

With inputs from agencies
Its distressing.

Its deeply concerning.

Pray for the safety and well-being of all those affected.

These were just some of the reactions after the state of Sikkim saw catastrophic flooding caused by the heavy rain and the glacial lake Lhonak overflowing. The tragedy has led to the deaths of 14 people with 102 others, including 22 army personnel, reported missing.

So far, 10 bodies have been recovered from different locations. At least 82 more are missing and 22 people are injured, some of them seriously, Sikkims Chief Secretary V B Pathak told Reuters news agency late Wednesday evening.

As the northeastern state of Sikkim and neighbouring areas  West Bengal is also affected  contend with the after effects of the flooding, we take a closer look at what caused the floods and why were they so severe.

Devastation and destruction

Torrential flooding in the area occurred after a cloudburst took place over the Lhonak glacial lake in the states north. According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), the state received 40.9mm (1.6 inches) of rainfall between Tuesday and Wednesday morning  about five times its normal rate of8.6mm (0.3 inches) for this time of the year.

The intense rain has caused severe damage in Mangan, Gangtok, Pakyong, and Namchi Districts, said a statement issued by the Sikkim government. It has washed away the Teesta-III dam at Chunthang as well as damaged parts of Teesta-5. Officials have also stated that at least 14 bridges have been washed away and the National Highway 10 (NH10) was damaged in multiple areas.

Prabhakar Rai, the director of Sikkims disaster management talking of the tragedy said to Hindustan Times, North Sikkim has been totally cut off from the rest of the state while Sikkim has been cut off from the rest of India as the flood had badly hit NH10.

Elaborating further on the damage caused to the dam  Sikkim Urja  Sunil Saraogi, the executive chairman of Sikkim Urja Limited was quoted as telling Hindustan Times that the dam got washed away in just 10 minutes. We also saw that the 200-metre-long bridge connecting the powerhouse has been washed away. The entire powerhouse has been submerged under water.

He further said that the damage has resulted in the loss of crores of rupees.

The situation has seen the Teesta River flowing at the danger level mark of 298.4 metres in the Khanitar district of East Sikkim, as per the Central Water Commission. The water level in West Bengals Jalpaiguri was recorded as severe at 85.95 metres.

Mina Tamang, a resident of Singtam, told Hindustan Times, We rushed out, and in 30 minutes, everything was gone. We couldnt rescue anything but ourselves. Our entire three storey home was washed away.

Another resident, Pratima Chettri, told the daily that they fled with nothing but the clothes on their back. In our area, more than 15 houses were washed away. We exited our homes only with the clothes on our back. We had never imagined that such a catastrophe would arrive and render us homeless.

Following the tragedy, Sikkim chief minister Prem Singh Tamang urged everyone in the state to remain vigilant. We are all aware of the recent natural calamity that has struck our state. Emergency services have been mobilised to the affected areas, and I personally visited Singtam to assess the damages and engage with the local community, Tamang posted on X.

We are all aware of the recent natural calamity that has struck our state. Emergency services have been mobilized to the affected areas, and I personally visited Singtam to assess the damages and engage with the local community. I humbly urge all our citizens to remain vigilant pic.twitter.com/KHyylID2pR  Prem Singh Tamang (Golay) (@PSTamangGolay) October 4, 2023

I humbly urge all our citizens to remain vigilant and refrain from unnecessary travel during this critical time. It is essential that we maintain composure and hope for a swift return to normalcy in our region, the chief minister added.

Glacial lake outburst flood and its repercussions

Many believe that the devastating flooding was due to the glacial lake outburst flood of the South Lhonak Lake. But what exactly is a glacial lake outburst flood?

The Lhonak Lake as other glacial lakes are large bodies of water sitting on top of, or beneath a melting glacier. As they grow larger, they become more dangerous. This is because they are blocked by ice or sediment of loose rock and debris. If and when the boundary breaks, huge amounts of water rush down mountains at phenomenal speeds, causing flooding in the downstream areas.

While there is no specific reason why a glacial lake bursts, experts state that an earthquake, heavy rain or an ice avalanche can trigger the phenomenon.

In the case of the Lhonak Lake, scientists believe that it was a disaster waiting to happen. A team from the National Remote Sensing Centre had warned of the dangers of the Lhonak Lake even 10 years ago. The 2013 study had said: The lake outburst probability shows a very high value of 42 per cent for the lake and peak discharge estimated using the empirical formula shows a discharge of 586 m3/s.

The study showed that the area of the South Lhonak lake had increased from 17.54 hectares in 1977 to 37.3 ha in 1989, 78.95 ha in 2002 and 98.73ha in 2008.

Another report compiled by the Sikkim State Disaster Management Authority (SSDMA) in 2019 reported that the Lhonak Lake was highly vulnerable to a glacial lake outburst flood event, which had the ability to cause extensive damage to life and property in downstream areas. It warned of the possibility of flash floods with important infrastructure such as dams and power houses susceptible to damage.

Miriam Jackson, a senior cryosphere specialist at the Nepal-based International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development, was quoted as telling Al Jazeera that such extreme events have become more frequent as the climate continues to warm and takes us into unknown territory.

Deja vu for Sikkim

Its worth noting here that 55 years ago, to the date, Sikkim had seen a similar situation  floods bringing devastation to the region.

Between 2 and 5 October 1968, the region had received four days of continuous rainfall, which triggered hundreds of landslides, swept houses and bridges and killed around 1,000 people.

Jeta Sankrityayan, former head of the department of economics at North Bengal University told The Telegraph, The weather cycle coincides almost to the day in 2023 with the events of 1968.

The incident then had led to the famous Anderson Bridge at the Teesta Bazar being washed away. Fifty-five years later, on Wednesday, the Teesta overflowed at the very spot where Anderson Bridge once stood.

In fact, the 1968 incident is considered one of the biggest calamities the region.

With inputs from agencies
A committee has been established by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) to keep an eye on GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System) spoofing in Indian airspace.

The DGCA office noted in an order published on Wednesday that the committee would look at several instances of GNSS interference, such as spoofing and jamming.

Airlines travelling into and out of Indian airports as well as those flying over Indian airspace would provide data on such instances to the committee, reported the Times of India.

The panel will suggest issuing advisories in light of this. The director of operations for the DGCA Ravinder Singh Jamwal will be in charge of the committees work.

GPS spoofing

An attempt to alter the initial location of a GPS-enabled device is known as GPS spoofing.

To accomplish this, the attacker employs a radio transmitter that broadcasts phoney GPS signals and interferes with neighbouring GPS receivers. These devices consequently show false GPS locations, explained service provider NordVPN.

Additionally, smartphone users have the option of spoofing their own GPS by downloading third-party apps that trick other apps into believing that the device is not at its original location.

The GPS component GNSS is also used to synchronise date and time on devices all across the world.

Captain Amit Singh, an air safety expert, told TOI that straying off in these areas is not safe.

He said, UM688 is a busy route. Most of the traffic from West Asia to Europe to US route from here. There are active conflict zones with military activity going on and so straying off the flight plan isnt safe.

Not the same as GPS jamming

Spoofing is completely different from jamming and much more dangerous.

As the name suggests, jamming is when the GPS signals are interfered with, according to Deccan Herald.

While planes and other aircraft frequently deal with jamming, spoofing like the recent instances in Iran is reportedly unheard of.

Compared to GPS jamming, spoofing is more difficult to detect.

The attacks

GPS spoofing attacks have been mostly used in war because they are expensive because of their ability to make ships, planes, and vehicles appear to be somewhere else to confuse the opponent.

Location spoofing is still used for this reason, although it is now available to common hackers.

All they need is a cheap ($300 or less) portable radio signal transmitter with open-source software.

The GPS determines your location using satellites in Earth orbit. Ones GPS-enabled device triangulates the location using radio signals that these GPS satellites are continuously transmitting.

The issue is that by the time these radio signals get to your device, they are already quite faint.

This means that a denial of service attack can be launched by any transmitter with a stronger signal.

To put simply, the transmitter overwhelms the signals and causes your device to display any location it chooses. Why is that a concern? because any GPS gadget may be impacted.

Rising incidents of GPS spoofing

Instances of GPS spoofing involving commercial and airline aircraft over Iranian airspace have increased, according to a report by OPSGROUP, a flight data intelligence crowdsourcing website.

The navigation systems of at least 20 passenger planes travelling over Iran over the past two weeks have been interfered with by phoney GPS signals. Boeing 777, 737, and 747 are among the aircraft that were deceived into deviating from their intended route by these erroneous signals originating from the ground, according to the study.

The study claims that these signals defeated the aircrafts in-built navigation system, which swiftly resulted in the loss of all navigational capabilities.

Despite the fact that GPS signal interference has been around for more than ten years, this is the first occasion when civilian flights have been specifically targeted.

Concerning the dangers of GPS spoofing and jamming in the area, the US Federal Aviation Administration has issued a warning.

With inputs from agencies
Pacific Asia Travel Association's PATA Travel Mart 2023 (PTM 2023), which opened in New Delhi on Wednesday (Oct 4) has attracted over 1,000 participants from 46 global destinations.

Hosted by the Ministry of Tourism, Government of India, the participants at the two-day event include 159 sellers from 92 organisations and 15 destinations, along with 196 buyers from 191 organisations and 38 source markets.

During the event, buyers and sellers will have the opportunity to engage in one-on-one networking and contracting opportunities to explore potential collaborations and business opportunities.

Bangkok-based PATA, a not-for-profit membership-based association that acts as a catalyst for the responsible development of travel and tourism, also welcomed over 350 local and international students and young tourism professionals.

The students from 10 local and international universities are part of the PATA Youth Symposium to be held on October 5. The symposium is organised in collaboration with the Ministry of Tourism, Government of India; the Indian Institute of Tourism and Travel Management, and Amity University Noida.

The Ministry of Tourism for the Government of India has been one of our most valuable members and active partner for more than 60 years. Based on their commitment and enthusiasm in organising PATA Travel Mart, we at PATA are excited to facilitate engagement between India and the rest of the world through this event, said PATA Chair Peter Semone.

Even after a three-year hiatus in-person, PATA Travel Mart continues to provide unparalleled networking and contracting opportunities for our delegates from all over the world.

Participants had a chance to gain insights into the dynamic landscape of global sustainability trends, shedding light on how responsible practices are shaping industries worldwide during the PTM Forum.

Moreover, the speakers also shed light on the vast opportunities that sustainability offers, driving economic growth, innovation and prosperity.

Topics included Where Responsibility Meets Opportunity, Driving Change: Sustainability in MICE Tourism, Increasing Sustainability in the Tourism Supply Chain Through Standards and Certification, Waste Management in Tourism: The Challenges and Best Practices Towards Food and Plastic Waste Reduction, Bridging the Gender Gap for Community Empowerment and Sustainability, Preservation of Cultural Heritage Sites: Leveraging the Benefits of Responsible Tourism, Travel Industry Trends, Weddings & Wanderlust: The Statistics of Indian Wedding Industry, What Next, Examining Aviation's Path in India and its Impact on Travel and Tourism, How India Travels, and AI and the Future of Tourism.  TradeArabia News Service
SOFIA, OCTOBER 05, ARMENPRESS/BTA. Bulgarian President Rumen Radev is participating in a European Patent Offices (EPO) event in Munich marking the 50th anniversary of the European Patent Convention, the head of State's Press Secretariat said. Addressing the forum, Radev stressed that technology transfer, science and innovation are key to the competitiveness and future of the European economy. Both the European institutions and the EU Member States must therefore make the knowledge economy a priority, he added.

The Head of State highlighted the successful models for economic growth and technology development, which, in his words, are built on the protection of innovation and intellectual property and create incentives for upgrades.

"It is obvious that in order for the European economy to be globally competitive, we need to create innovation and business incentives," Radev said and expressed support for the efforts of the European Patent Office to build an inclusive and flexible system, mainly aimed at small and medium-sized enterprises and scientists, so that their inventions can be more visible through the patent system.

President Radev underlined Bulgaria's ambitions to actively participate in the European patent systems development and the single market for technology and innovation.

Radev is honorary guest at the forum at the invitation of EPO President Antonio Campinos. The two will hold a meeting to discuss the possibilities for further expansion of Bulgaria's partnership with the European Patent Office in the field of intellectual property, aimed at strengthening connectivity between science, education, technology and innovation in Bulgaria.

(This information is being published according to an agreement between Armenpress and BTA.)
India has released a fresh list of arms it does not want to import.

The fifth positive indigenisation list was put out by defence minister Rajnath Singh on Wednesday at the Swavlamban 2.0 seminar organised by the Indian Navy.

But what is the list of arms? Which weapons are on the list? And why does India have a list of arms it doesnt want to import in the first place?

Lets take a closer look:

What is it?

The positive indigenisation lists comprise defence equipment whose import will be banned in a staggered manner.

This equipment will be designed, developed and manufactured by domestic companies over the next few years.

The first list was released in August 2020 and subsequent lists were put out in May 2021, April 2022 and May 2023.

Every item on the lists has a cut-off date  after which it can no longer be procured from abroad.

The previous lists contained a total of 411 military items.

The fifth list, put out on Wednesday, was prepared by Department of Military Affairs after several rounds of consultations with stakeholders.

This list comprises major weapons systems, sensors and munitions including

Futuristic infantry combat vehicle

Remotely piloted airborne vehicles (up to 25 km range with payload of 2 kg for Army) Shipborne unmanned aerial system

Medium upgrade low endurance class tactical drone

Next generation low-level light radar for Army

Electro optic fire control system for naval platforms

The list also comprises armour plates for cabin nose section for Mi-17 helicopter, multifunction aviation ground equipment for Air Force, gravity rollers for Mi-17 V5 helicopter and flares of P-8I and MiG 29-K aircraft.

As per Hindustan Times, the latest list takes the number of major defence items that will not be imported after their cut-off date to 509.

Meanwhile, the Department of Defence Production has notified four Positive Indigenisation Lists consisting of a total of 4,666 items, including Line Replacement Units/Sub-systems/Spares and components for Defence Public Sector Undertakings (DPSUs).

Seventy-five technologies having applications in various military hardware including underwater swarm drones, autonomous weaponised boat swarms and fire fighting systems were displayed at the seminar.

Last year, in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Indian Navy had committed to develop these 75 technologies.

It lays special focus on import substitution of components of major systems besides important platforms, weapon system & sensors and munitions which are being developed and likely to translate into firm orders in the next five to ten years, the ministry of defence stated in a press release.

Highly complex systems, sensors, weapons and ammunition have been included in the list. All these items will be procured from indigenous sources as per provisions given in Defence Acquisition Procedure (DAP) 2020 in a staggered timeline, the defence ministry added.

Why does India have such lists?

This has been done in keeping with the Prime Minister Narendra Modi governments Aatmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan.

The aim is to make the defence sector self-reliant and boost exports through the active participation of public and private sector.

Singh in his speech said he was of the view that India has always been self-reliant in the field of knowledge and innovation and when the Modi government came to power in 2014, it rekindled the feeling of being Aatmanirbhar (self-reliant) in every sector.

Due to foreign invasions, we had forgotten our innovative approach. The word local became synonymous with low quality. Were now freeing ourselves from that mentality, he said.

Our prime minister launched the Vocal for Local campaign and restored respect for local goods. Our youth are now recognising their inner strength and eliminating inner doubts, he said.

In the coming times, they will play a big role in the development of the country with their innovative approach and knowledge, he added.

The defence minister also called for a careful assessment of the technological challenges  whether they are state-of-the-art as per todays time and whether any better technology is expected in the near future.

He stressed the need to ascertain whether a technology is already available somewhere in the market or were just re-inventing the wheel.

He also pointed out that it is essential to assess the viability of a technology from the point of view of the economy.

This will provide a better value for money on your R and D expenditure, he said.

Singh pitched for devising a robust mechanism to conduct analysis before the introduction of any technology or challenge.

For this, he said, the Department of Defence Production, Defence Research and Development Organisation and the armed forces can together form an independent body of experts, which can further improve the analysis mechanism.

Hindustan Times quoted Chief of the Naval Staff Admiral R Hari Kumar as saying, Dependence on others for ones defence needs is a strategic vulnerability that must be overcome

The Hindu quoted Kumar as saying the Indian Navy had vowed to become self-reliant by 2047.

Kumar said the Indian Navy, by the 100th anniversary of Independence, must reflect the strong and developed nation.

A force that uses unique concepts and capabilities that are made in Bharat, made by Bharat, made for Bharat! Kumar added, as per The Hindu.

The items in the list will provide ample visibility and opportunity to the domestic industry to understand the trend and futuristic needs of the Armed Forces and create requisite R&D and manufacturing capacity within the country, the ministry of defence added.

Singh also launched SBI NAVeCash Card which is a one-of-its-kind dual-chip debit card.

It has been developed by the State Bank of India (SBI) and the Indian Navy.

The card can be used in online mode (as a regular debit card) as well as in offline mode when the Navy personnel are at sea with no direct connectivity with the bank.

The card has been developed and tested onboard various Indian Naval ships and is now ready for launch pan-Navy, the defence ministry said.

With inputs from agencies
The Jammu and Kashmir Democratic Freedom Party (JKDFP) was deemed an illegal association for a period of five years by the central government on Thursday.

The JKDFP was designated as a Unlawful Association by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) in accordance with Section 3(1) of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) 1967.

The notification states that the move is based on information that the group has been engaged in anti-national activities since 1998 and its members have always promoted separatism and terrorist acts in India.

The members of this organization, by inciting the people, want to make Kashmir a separate Islamic state, which is prejudicial to the sovereignty, security and integrity of India. Many criminal cases have been registered against this organization under various sections of UAPA 1967, IPC 1860, The Arms Act 1959 and Ranbir Penal Code 1932.

Shabir Ahmad Shah, a well-known separatist known for his pro-Pakistan and anti-India rhetoric, founded the JKDFP in 1998.

The members of the JKDFP have been at the forefront of secessionist activities in Jammu and Kashmir and want to establish a separate Islamic State, according to the MHA notification. Shabir Ahmad Shah had described Kashmir as a dispute and rejected any resolution within the parameters of the Indian Constitution.

The leader or members of the JKDFP have been involved in raising funds through various sources including Pakistan and its proxy organizations for perpetrating unlawful activities, including supporting terrorist activities, sustained stone-pelting on Security forces in Jammu and Kashmir, reads the notification.

The notification also claims that the JKDFP and its members have shown the countrys constitutional authorities and system of government nothing but utter disdain through their actions.

The JKDFP and its leaders or members, particularly its founder Shabir Ahmad Shah, have

been indulging in unlawful activities, which are prejudicial to the integrity, sovereignty, security and communal harmony of the country. There have been a number of inputs showing linkages of the JKDFP with banned terrorist organizations, reads the notification.

The JKDFP and its members have engaged in violent terrorist activities with the aim of sowing terror throughout the nation, endangering state security and public order. Additionally, the organizations anti-national activities demonstrate disrespect for the states constitutional authority and sovereignty, necessitating prompt action, according to the notification.

According to the notification, the JKDFP will use this chance to continue its anti-national activities that are harmful to the territorial integrity, security, and sovereignty of the country. It will continue advocating for the secession of Jammu and Kashmir from the Union of India while contesting its admission to the Union of India. It will also intensify its insurrectionary activities, including an attempt to carve out a separate state for itself.

The Central Government, having regard to circumstances, is of firm opinion that it is necessary to declare the Jammu and Kashmir Democratic Freedom Party (JKDFP) as an unlawful association with immediate effect, and accordingly, in the exercise of the powers conferred by the proviso to sub-section (3) of section 3 of the said Act, the Central Government hereby directs that this notification shall, subject to any order that may be made under section 4 of the said Act, have effect for a period of five years from the date of its publication in the Official Gazette, added the notification.

(With agency inputs)
Addressing a public rally in Jodhpur, Rajasthan, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday launched a scathing attack on Congress and said that the grand old party is against Bharat.

PM Modi said, The BJP Government at the Centre is making every effort on its part for the development of Rajasthan. But it is painful to see the condition hereCongress has brought Rajasthan to the top of the country in terms of corruption and riots. It has made Rajasthan the number 1 in terms of atrocities against women and Dalits. Congress has given a free hand to the drugs business

#WATCH | Jodhpur, Rajasthan | PM Narendra Modi says, The BJP Government at the Centre is making every effort on its part for the development of Rajasthan. But it is painful to see the condition hereCongress has brought Rajasthan to the top of the country in terms of pic.twitter.com/hveq2VSylL  ANI (@ANI) October 5, 2023

He added, In five years, Congress Government did not walk even one step. The kursi ka khel continued here round the clockHave you heard about Lal Diary? People say that the diary contains every misdeed of Congress corruption. Tell me, should the secrets of the diary not come out in the open?Should the dishonest not be punished?Will Congress Government let the secrets of the diary come in open?For the truth to come out, you will have to form a BJP Government.

#WATCH | Jodhpur, Rajasthan | PM Narendra Modi says, In five years, Congress Government did not walk even one step. The kursi ka khel continued here round the clockHave you heard about Lal Diary? People say that the diary contains every misdeed of Congress corruption. pic.twitter.com/ebIuD3dOf1  ANI (@ANI) October 5, 2023

PM Modi stated that the paper leak mafia has ruined future of lakhs of youth in Rajasthan, they are demanding justice.

Taking a dig at the Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, PM Modi said, I am just coming from an official event, where I inaugurated or laid the foundation stone for projects worth over Rs 5,000 crore. It was a government event, but the CM was absent. He was not present because he is confident that everything will be fine when Modi arrives.

#WATCH | Jodhpur, Rajasthan | PM Narendra Modi says, In five years, Congress Government did not walk even one step. The kursi ka khel continued here round the clockHave you heard about Lal Diary? People say that the diary contains every misdeed of Congress corruption. pic.twitter.com/ebIuD3dOf1  ANI (@ANI) October 5, 2023

He added, When such is the condition of law and order situation, investment doesnt take place and business is ruined. But the Congress Govt loves its vote bank more than the welfare of Rajasthan. When Jodhpur was burning with riots, what was the CM doing? When violence erupted here and innocents were killed, what were the Congress leaders doing? Is Congress first and last policy just appeasement?A Congress MLA herself says that she is not safe, we can imagine what would be the condition of common girls & women

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The Delhi Police has called NewsClick journalist Abhisar Sharma for questioning in connection with a case filed under anti-terror law UAPA, following charges that the online news portal received money for spreading pro-China propaganda, officials said.

According to the officials, the Special Cell of the Delhi Police called Sharma again on Thursday for questioning in connection with the case lodged under the stringent Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA).

Sharma was questioned in connection with the case at the Special Cells office on Tuesday.

NewsClick founder and editor-in-chief Prabir Purkayastha and human resources department head Amit Chakravarty were arrested on Tuesday after several journalists were questioned in connection with the case. A court here has sent the two to police custody for seven days.

A raid was conducted on Tuesday at 88 locations in Delhi and seven locations in other states. A total of 37 male suspects were questioned at the Special Cells office, while nine female suspects were quizzed at their respective places of stay.
A Hindu marriage is not valid without Saptapadi ceremony and other rituals, the Allahabad High Court observed, quashing the proceedings of a case where a man alleged that his estranged wife had solemnized second marriage without divorcing him.

The word Saptapadi or saat pheras translates from Sanskrit to seven steps. The bride and groom take seven full circles, walking clockwise around the agni, representing the seven principles and promises they make to each other; each step is referred to as a phere.

Allowing a petition filed by Smriti Singh, Justice Sanjay Kumar Singh observed, It is well settled that the word solemnize means, in connection with a marriage, to celebrate the marriage with proper ceremonies and in due form. Unless the marriage is celebrated or performed with proper ceremonies and due form, it cannot be said to be solemnized.

If the marriage is not a valid marriage, according to the law applicable to the parties, it is not a marriage in the eyes of law.

The Saptapadi ceremony under the Hindu Law is one of the essential ingredients to constitute a valid marriage but the said evidence is lacking in the present case, the court said in a recent order.

The court also relied on the section 7 of Hindu Marriage Act, 1955, which provides that a Hindu marriage may be solemnized in accordance with the customary rites and ceremonies of either party thereto. Secondly, such rites and ceremonies include the Saptapadi (taking seven steps by groom and bride jointly around the sacred fire), which makes the marriage complete and binding when the seventh step is taken.

While quashing the summoning order dated 21 April, 2022, and further proceedings of complaint case pending before a Mirzapur court against the wife, the court said, Even there is no averment with regard to Saptapadi in the complaint as well as in the statements before the court, hence, this court is of the view that no prima-facie offence is made out against the applicant as the allegation of second marriage is a bald allegation without corroborative materials.

The wedding of petitioner Smriti Singh was solemnized with Satyam Singh in 2017 but due to acrimonious relations, she left the house of in-laws and lodged an FIR alleging harassment for dowry. After investigation, the police submitted a charge sheet against the husband and in-laws.

Later, Satyam gave an application to higher police officials making allegation of bigamy against his wife. The said application was thoroughly investigated by the circle officer Sadar, Mirzapur and allegations of bigamy against Smriti was found to be false.

Thereafter, Satyam filed a complaint case on 20 September, 2021, against his wife making allegations inter-alia that she had sanctified her second marriage. The magistrate concerned of Mirzapur on 21 April, 2022, summoned Smriti. Hence she filed the present petition before the high court challenging the summoning order and the entire proceedings of complaint case.

The counsel for the petitioner-wife contended that aforesaid complaint and summoning order is nothing but a counter-case against applicant on account of FIR lodged by her against Satyams family members.

With inputs from PTI
India has certainly taken up concerns on the security of diplomats and premises with the UK authorities after a protest took place outside the Indian High Commission in London October 2.

In the UK, there was a protest on October 2, and we certainly have taken up our concerns on the security of diplomats and premises there with the UK authorities. And this has been an ongoing thing, the Ministry of External Affairs Spokesperson, Arindam Bagchi, said on Thursday.

The issue is about security, about ensuring that our diplomats are able to function normally and our premises are safe and that the community is not targeted, he added.

During a protest outside the Indian High Commission in London on October 2, the Tricolour was insulted.

Highly placed sources in the Indian High Commission told Firstpost that MEA has conveyed to the UK government that it must arrest these Khalistani extremists.

The Indian High Commission in London is, in the meanwhile, following up with the UK counterparts, and looking into the legalities.

The MEA has also started mounting pressure on the UK government for the arrest of perpetrators, especially Gurcharan Singh and Paramjit Singh Pamma. The latter is on the most wanted list of the National Investigation Agency (NIA).

Gurcharan Singh and Pamma, accompanied by a crowd, desecrated the national flag of India while staging a protest outside Indias London High Commission on October 2 in the wake of the diplomatic row between New Delhi and Ottawa over the assassination of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, another Khalistani extremist, was gunned down in Canada early this year.

Sources in the Indian High Commission also said the MEA has reached out to its UK counterparts to goad the police for identifying Khalistani supporters from several video footages of the protest and arrest them on charges of hate crime.
With an aim to strengthen economic ties between the two countries, India has invited Brazilian companies to participate in its growing supply chain with a view.

Commerce Secretary Sunil Barthwal, who was in Brazil from October 1 to 4, also discussed ways to promote trade between the two countries.

Barthwal was there for the sixth meeting of the India-Brazil Trade Monitoring Mechanism (TMM). Both sides extensively discussed matters related to bilateral trade and outlined a roadmap for its further enhancement, the commerce ministry said.

The secretary invited Brazilian industries to be part of the growing supply chain, it said.

Barthwal was accompanied by a delegation of 20 business leaders. The visit was happening in the backdrop of the sharp growth in the bilateral trade which had doubled over the last two years reaching USD 16 billion, it said, adding the two sides explored new opportunities for promoting trade.

The secretary also held meetings with Brazilian companies that have invested in India. This meeting also included discussions on new trade and investment opportunities.

Barthwal interacted with representatives from leading MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences, and Exhibitions) companies in Brazil. On October 4, he co-chaired the meeting with Secretary of Foreign Trade for the Federative Republic of Brazil Tatiana Lacerda Prazeres in Brasilia.

With inputs from PTI.
India has reiterated that it wants parity with Canada in its diplomatic presence in New Delhi.

Given the much higher diplomatic presence of Canadian diplomats, and their continuing interference in internal affairs, India has sought parity in each others respective diplomatic presence. Discussions are ongoing on the modalities of achieving this, Arindam Bagchi, the spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs said on Thursday.

The statement comes merely days after India asked 41 Canadian diplomats to leave the country in order to maintain parity of diplomats.

Given that Canadian diplomatic presence is higher, we would assume that there would be a reduction, he added.

The ties between India and Canada touched a rock bottom after Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau made allegations of Indian links in the killing of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar.

However, India has outrightly rejected the claims, calling it absurd and motivated.

After Trudeaus remark, diplomatic row between both the countries escalated and New Delhi had suspended the visa operations to Canada and called for a reduction in Canadian diplomats in India.

When asked if the reduction in the number of Canadian diplomats could see a decrease in the number of visas issued by the Canadian High Commission in India, the MEA spokesperson said: Its up to the Canadian side, who they choose to staff the High Commission with Our concerns are related to ensuring parity in diplomatic presence.

He further said Indias primary focus is on two things  having an atmosphere in Canada, where Indian diplomats can work properly and in achieving parity in terms of diplomatic strength.
Heaping praise on India, Russian President Vladimir Putin has said that the Indian leadership is self-directed and led by the countrys national interests, according to Reuters.

Speaking at an event, Putin alleged that the West is trying to cast everyone who is not ready to blindly follow these Western elites as the enemy.

At a certain point in time, they tried to do the same with India. Now they are flirting, of course. We all understand this very well. We feel and see the situation in Asia. Everything is clear. I want to say that the Indian leadership is self-directed. It is led by the national interests. I think that those attempts make no sense. But, they continue. They are trying to cast Arabs as the enemy. They are trying to be careful, but overall, thats what it all boils down to, Putin said.

The Russian President said countries such as India, Brazil and South Africa deserve more representation in the UN Security Council and added that the UN should be reformed but gradually, according to Reuters.

Calling India a powerful country, Putin said that it is growing stronger and stronger under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Russia-based RT News reported.

India, more than 1.5 billion of population, more than 7 per cent of economic growththats a powerful country, mighty country. And its growing stronger and stronger under the leadership of Prime Minister Modi, Putin said, according to a video shared by RT News.

Earlier on Wednesday, Putin had called PM Modi a very wise man, adding that India is making great strides in development under his leadership, RT reported.

Last month, too, he had praised PM Modi stating he was doing the right thing in promoting the Make in India programme.
A man has been sentenced to a cumulative prison term of 80 years for raping and impregnating the 14-year-old cousin of his wife in the Idukki district of Kerala in 2020.

The convict will only serve 20 years  the highest of the varying jail terms  as the sentences will run concurrently, Special Public Prosecutor (SPP) Shijo Mon Joseph said, sharing the details of Kerala court order.

Idukki Fast Track Court judge T G Varghese handed the man varying jail sentences for various offences, including penetrative sexual assault and aggravated penetrative sexual assault, under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.

The court also imposed a fine of Rs 40,000 on the convict.

It further directed the District Legal Services Authority to pay a compensation of Rs one lakh to the victim for her rehabilitation.

The crime was committed by the man when his wife was not at home and it came to light only after the pregnant girl gave birth, the SPP said.

In the case registered by Rajakkad police, the prosecution produced 23 witnesses, 27 documents and six exhibits in court during the trial, the prosecutor said.
YEREVAN, OCTOBER 5, ARMENPRESS. On October 5, Armenian Minister of Labor and Social Affairs Narek Mkrtchyan received Tomaz Lovrecic, director of the Slovenian organization Enhancing Human Security (ITF).The organization has been hosting children from Nagorno-Karabakh as well as border communities of the Republic of Armenia for the second year.

According to the RA Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs press release,within the framework of the program children had the opportunity to participate in various educational and training projects and events at the Youth health and summer resort of Slovenia Red Cross.

Minister Mkrtchyan expressed gratitude to Mr. Lovrencic for hosting the children, noting that the provision of socio-psychological rehabilitation services had a positive effect on the children. At the same time, the minister proposed to include in the new phase of the project the children of the families forcibly displaced from NK and affected by the explosion in NK, the press releasereads.

Tomaz Lovrencic presented the projects currently being implemented by their organization and in that context attached high importance to the activities aimed at the full inclusion of children of vulnerable groups.
In a poll-bound Madhya Pradesh, the government has issued a notification for providing a 35 per cent quota for women in government departments, barring the Forest department in the state.

The state government has made amendments to the Madhya Pradesh Civil Services (Special Provision for Appointment of Women) Rules, 1997 to give 35 per cent reservation to women.

According to the copy of the notification, Notwithstanding anything contained in any service rules, there shall be reserved 35 per cent of all posts in the service under the state (except Forest Department) in favour of women at the stage of direct recruitment and the said reservation shall be horizontal and compartment-wise.

Earlier, CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan also announced providing 35 per cent reservation to women in police and other government jobs and 50 per cent reservation for women in teaching posts.

Priority would be given to women in local bodies, including aldermen and other positions. Education fees for girls will be borne by the government while ensuring better education for them.

Recently, the womens reservation Bill passed by the Parliament, became law after it received assent from President Droupadi Murmu. The Nari Shakti Vandan Adhniyam, which provides 33 per cent reservation for women in the Lok Sabha as well as the state legislative assemblies, was unanimously passed by the Rajya Sabha, becoming the first bill to be passed in the new Parliament building.

On September 20, the Bill was passed following division with 454 members voting in favour of the legislation and two against it on the motion seeking its passage.

The amendments moved by the Opposition members were negative and separate clauses of the draft legislation were also voted on. On September 21, Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam was unanimously passed in Rajya Sabha which marks the PMs birthday according to the Hindu calendar.

Notably, Madhya Pradesh is scheduled to go for the assembly polls later this year. Through the polls, the state will elect legislators from 230 Assembly constituencies.

With inputs from ANI.
The Dean and doctors of the Delivery Department of Dr Shankarrao Chavan Medical College and Hospital in the Nanded district which witnessed the deaths of 31 patients in 48 hours have been charged with culpable homicide not amounting to murder by the Maharashtra police.

The dean, Shyam Wakode, has been booked for the death of an infant and his mother after their kin registered a complaint in this regard.

At least 31 people died in the government-run Medical College and Hospital, reportedly due to an alleged scarcity of medicines.

A total of 24 patients, including newborns, were reported dead between September 30 and October 1 while seven more deaths were reported on Tuesday.

Relatives of the deceased patients have alleged that the deaths were caused by to shortage of medicines.

Meanwhile, Maharashtras Minister of Medical Education, Hasan Mushrif on Tuesday said a thorough investigation will be conducted into the deaths and a committee of doctors will be formed to conduct the probe.

Dean Wakode had previously rejected allegations of negligence against the hospital on Tuesday, claiming that deceased patients were suffering from different ailments such as diabetes, liver failure, and kidney failure.

The hospital also rejected allegations that it went short on medicines which eventually led to the death of the patients.

Wakode said that some of the patients were suffering from arsenic and phosphorus poisoning, snake bites etc.
The Ministry of External Affairs on Thursday said that India will continue to provide consular support to Afghan nationals, especially students, living in the country despite the shutdown of the Afghan embassy in New Delhi.

We hope that a substantial number of Afghan nationals, including students, in India are able to continue to receive necessary consular support. On our part, we will continue to assist the people of Afghanistan, MEA spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said.

VIDEO | The (Afghanistan) Embassy indicated that it intends to suspend operations at the end of September. Of course, such a decision is an internal matter of a foreign mission. However, we have noted that the Afghan consulates general in Mumbai and in Hyderabad voiced their pic.twitter.com/liWOj0toxS  Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) October 5, 2023

Last month, the Afghan Embassy announced its suspension of operations in New Delhi, citing failure to meet expectations and requirements necessary to serve the best interests of Afghanistan due to the lack of diplomatic support in India and the absence of a legitimate functioning government in Kabul, as one of its reasons.

Bagchi said that the Indian government has noted that a large number of Afghan nationals have left the country in the recent part.

The MEA spokesperson reiterated that the Afghan Consulates decision to shut down operations in the national capital would not affect the assistance provided to Afghan nationals and students living in India.

The embassy said that this decision, while deeply regrettable, was made after careful consideration, taking into account the historic ties and long-standing partnership between Afghanistan and India.

The embassy statement also listed key factors affecting its ability to continue the mission effectively and said that they were the primary reasons for the unfortunate closure.

The embassy had been headed by Ambassador Farid Mamundzay.

Mamundzay was appointed by the previous Ashraf Ghani government and he has been operating as the Afghan envoy even after the Taliban seized power in Afghanistan in August 2021.

With inputs from PTI
The recently concluded presidential elections in Maldives have created a cause of concern for India. The incumbent Ibrahim Mohamed Solih lost to the opposition candidate Mohamed Muizzu. These elections were not just a shift of power from one party to another but also regarded as a referendum to decide Indias and Chinas influence in the South Asian country.

Solih who became the president in 2018 brought Maldives closer to India with his India First policy by reversing the anti-India approach of the previous president Abdulla Yameen. The India-Maldives relations witnessed an upswing in Solihs five year-term. The internal political conflict between Solih and Yameen led to the latters arrest and disqualification from contesting polls. However, Yameen and his supporters managed to create an anti-Solih and anti-India atmosphere with their sustained India Out campaign. With Muizzu, who is considered as Yameens proxy, emerging as the winner in the presidential polls, it is expected that now Maldives will tilt more towards China.

However, it would be pertinent to analyse if this is a setback for Indias engagements with Maldives.

Victory of a pro-China candidate is mostly considered through the prism of geopolitics where China would now be able to challenge Indias carefully built ties with Maldives. Indias outreach to Maldives in the past few years was conditioned by the geopolitics of the Indo-Pacific Region. India, as a major power in the Indian Ocean component of the Indo-Pacific, made gains by having a friendly regime in Maldives.

However, Indias engagements with Maldives were not restricted in the strategic area alone. India was mindful of building ties with Maldives in diversified areas. India has positioned itself as Maldivess close partner in the areas of climate change, infrastructure development and capacity building.

Maldives, one of the most vulnerable countries to the effects of climate change and India, one of the leading advocates of renewable energy, have cooperation in the renewable energy sector. India is assisting Maldives in reducing its dependence on fossil fuel energy. Under the principle of One Sun, One World, One Grid, India and Maldives have two Memoranda of Understanding, signed in April 2022, on energy cooperation and transmission interconnection.

India is also involved in the construction of Greater Male Connectivity Project, a 6.74 km-long bridge and causeway link. This is the largest civilian infrastructure project funded by India through a $400 million Line of Credit and $100 million grant.

Further, the National Centre for Good Governance (NCGG), an autonomous institution under Government of India in partnership with the Ministry of External Affairs is carrying out training programmes for Maldivian civil servants. This training is aimed at equipping the Maldivian civil servants with skill to navigate in an interconnected and complex world.

For Maldives part it would do well to avoid a knee-jerk reaction and distance itself from India. Muizzu may soon realise that sustaining a targeted campaign against a particular country may not yield favourable returns in the long run. While Chinas hand was visible in creating an anti-India campaign, Muizzu should weigh his options carefully before going into Chinas tight embrace. There are two reasons for this.

Firstly, Chinas own economy is in a bad shape at the moment. The long-dragging real estate crisis has put financial institutions under pressure. The Chinese economy, over-reliant on real estate and industrial sectors, is now facing a prospect of GDP growth slowing. Chinas GDP growth rate is expected to fall below 5 per cent should the economic slowdown continue. Chinas overall debt has also been increasing. In the past about one decade Chinas debt burden has grown nine fold. The Aging population and increasing unemployment are only exacerbating Chinas economic woes. Due to the bad shape of its economy China recently rejected Pakistans request to invest in fresh Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) projects.

Secondly, continuing from the previous point, while expanding its outreach through the BRI, China has caused a number of countries to become debt-ridden under the impression of economic development. Chinas debt-trap diplomacy has resulted in smaller and weaker economies going bankrupt. Maldives has been among those countries that have suffered financial difficulties under Chinas debt-trap diplomacy. During Yameens presidency Maldives debt to China was around one-fifth of the formers GDP. As of 2022, Maldives debt to China was estimated to be $3.4 billion, a large sum for a small country.

The new political dispensation in Maldives needs to consider the adverse consequences of being part of sharp geopolitical overtures at the cost of disregarding economic capabilities and climate change challenges, a major concern for Maldives.

India, for its part, can consider Chinas template to its own advantage. Even when Maldives was getting closer to India, Chinas influence in the island country did not diminish. China remained deeply entrenched in Maldives economy.

India is a responsible stakeholder in not only Maldives security but also economy and infrastructure development. India has also been the first responder in the neighbourhood during economic crisis as well as at the time of natural calamities, a role which China is unlikely to undertake. India should continue engaging with Maldives in all the areas customised to cater Maldives specific needs. Prioritising Maldives requirements is something that India would care for more than China.

The author is a political analyst and researcher based in Vadodara. His areas of specialisation include international relations, foreign policy and geopolitics. He tweets @NiranjanMarjani. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely that of the author. They do not necessarily reflect Firstposts views.
Maldivian President-elect Mohamed Muizzu seems determined to stick to the commitment which was among his many campaign promises  his significant stance of having India Out advocating for the expulsion of Indian soldiers from the archipelago.

Muizzus statement on the matter is clear: Those who have deployed troops here would not want to keep them here if we dont want it The people have decided and dont want Indian troops to stay in the Maldives.

The presence of Indian soldiers in the Maldives, estimated at around 75 troops, has been a topic of interest and speculation in the country. Their primary role is to operate aircraft, including two helicopters and one Dornier aircraft gifted by India to the Maldives. Additionally, Indian troops are involved in constructing a naval harbour, where Maldivian troops will receive training.

While parts of this information are publicly available, much remains shrouded in secrecy, leading to speculation and debate. President-elect Muizzus primary concern is that India seeks to establish a permanent presence in the Maldives, possibly in the form of a military base or outpost. Its important to note that although India has denied this allegation, but in the context of Maldivian politics, this issue has become a focal point.

The Maldives has seen a significant shift in leadership and foreign policy in recent years. In 2018, former President Abdullah Yameen requested that India end all military presence including soldiers and helicopters. However, Yameen was ousted later that year, and his successor, Ibrahim Solih, adopted a India First foreign policy.

With the recent election, Yameens party nominated Muizzu as a proxy candidate since Yameen himself was disqualified due to corruption charges. Muizzu, after winning the election, promptly secured Yameens release from jail, albeit under house arrest. The question now is whether Yameen will continue to wield influence from behind the scenes.

Yameen is a key figure behind the India Out campaign, making it both personal and political. Even as Prime Minister Narendra Modi publicly congratulated Muizzu and called for stronger bilateral relations, but privately, India is adopting a cautious approach.

However, Mohamed Shareef, Muizzus foreign policy advisor, conveyed positive signals. He acknowledged Indias importance in the Indian Ocean, downplayed concerns about China and reaffirmed the Maldives commitment to being one of Indias strongest allies. Additionally, Muizzus first foreign trip as president will be to India, following a diplomatic tradition among Maldivian presidents.

The regime change in Male has emerged as a challenge for both India and Maldives. India cannot abruptly shut the door on the Maldives after investing millions in the country. Parallelly, Maldives cannot overlook India, its largest and most reliable neighbour. However, its essential for both sides to exercise political maturity. While campaign rhetoric often differs from policy, there are potential red lines, such as hosting Chinese assets, strategic agreements, joint projects or prioritising visits to China over India.

Now as the elections are done and dusted, its time for a policy-driven approach. Muizzu, once a vocal campaigner against India, faces the challenge of balancing his campaign promises with the complexities of governing. The future of India-Maldives relations will depend on the decisions and actions of both nations in this evolving landscape.

Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely that of the author. They do not necessarily reflect Firstposts views.

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The western media has been unsurprisingly doubling down on Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeaus allegation that Indian agencies are behind the killing of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Surrey, British Columbia, Canada.

The latest in this wave of criticism of India and Narendra Modi from the anglosphere of the US, UK and Canada  nervous about its waning influence and the emergence of a multipolar world  is from the Financial Times, UK.

But allowing India to commission a murder on Canadian soil  if that is what happened  would pose a much more immediate danger to national security than a temporary setback in efforts to counter China, writes Gideon Rachman. If the Indian government concluded that it now has a free hand to go after its enemies  foreign and domestic  wherever they are living, that would create a really dangerous precedent for multicultural societies such as Canada, Britain and Australia.

It follows criticism from senior journalist Fareed Zakaria, who says the incident has unleashed a spasm of jingoism in India. He cautions that the controversy may hurt Indias ambition on the world stage.

However, Zakaria rightly analyses that the western outrage is playing out very differently in India, where it is only helping Modi. It paints India as a victim of foreign forces and the prime minister as the strong leader who is willing to give it back overtly or covertly.

But by and large, the western media has lapped up Trudeaus allegations as an excuse to attack India. The Economist headlined: If India ordered a murder in Canada, there must be consequences. The western countries have far too long acquiesced to the Indian governments abuses, it wrote.

But in its criticism, the chiefly left-leaning western media is subverting some of the lofty journalistic ideals they vociferously preach worldwide.

First, western outlets unfailingly fail to mention what Khalistani terrorists have done. From assassinating an Indian prime minister and a chief minister to aviation historys biggest terror attack before 9/11, the Air India AI-182 bombing in 1985 which killed 329 people aboard, most of them Canadians  the list is long but never gets into western coverage of the controversy.

Second, they also do not mention that Khalistani terrorists killed hundreds of Indians in the name of religion. On 21 October, 1983, for instance, more than 100 Hindus were massacred in Gobindgarh. Just in the five months preceding Operation Blue Star in 1984, 294 Hindus were killed by Khalistanis, according to official figures. On 10-11 May, 1985, 85 Hindus were killed in serial bomb blasts carried out by Khalistanis in Delhi, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh.

Third, the western media outlets have variously addressed Nijjar as priest, plumber, and activist, but never fleshes out the charges of terrorism, hit jobs in Punjab and conspiracy to kill a Hindu priest. They conveniently skip referring to the Interpol red corner notice against him, the fact that he had arrived in Canada on a fake passport and identity, and was put on a no-fly list.

Fourth, the western media does not speak about the role of ISI in fanning and funding Khalistani terror, and how groups like Sikhs for Justice led by designated terrorist Gurpatwant Singh Pannu were linked to the ISIs Houston Network.

Fifth, the duplicity of the West on overseas hits and terrorism in general is appalling. It blames China, Russia, Saudi and now India for overseas assassinations while never mentioning the dozens of such killings by the US, Israel or even the UK. The West has arrogated itself the moral authority of certifying who is a terrorist and who is not. Canada, for instance, currently harbours not just dozens Khalistani terrorists, but a few war criminals convicted in Bangladesh.

Sixth, Trudeau is presented as the epitome of liberalism and Canada as this wonderfully peaceful multicultural country when the truth is far from it. Besides harbouring terrorists and criminals, Trudeaus Canada has unleashed an era of authoritarian excesses. It recently feted a former Nazi in Parliament. It hounded protesters of the truckers movement, meting out draconian penalties and jail terms. Lately, Canada used one of the worlds most repressive online censorship schemes to force all online streaming services that offer podcasts to formally register with the government and permit regulatory controls.

And lastly and most importantly, Justin Trudeau has not produced a shred of evidence so far on Indias involvement after making his reckless, ties-burning statement. The western media does not think it is necessary.

Financial Times embodies this sense of entitlement. It recently wrote about Canada presenting evidence orally but India rubbishing it.

The Anglosphere still nurses its colonial hangover, believing that the onus is on former subjects to prove its wild, unsubstantiated allegations right, to never raise their voice, and to not embarrass it publicly. India is guilty of shattering all three expectations, and merrily so.

Abhijit Majumdar is contributing editor, Firstpost. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely that of the author. They do not necessarily reflect Firstposts views.

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Taking potshots at AAP after a third leader of the party, Sanjay Singh was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Wednesday, BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra said that the party has a nature of committing scams openly.

As per media sources, the incriminating documents procured from the house of Sanjay Singh will incriminate someone who is at the top in the hierarchy of AAP, Patra said during a press conference in Odisha.

VIDEO | As per media sources, the incriminating documents procured from the house of Sanjay Singh will incriminate someone who is at the top in the hierarchy of AAP, says BJP leader @sambitswaraj on the arrest of AAP MP Sanjay Singh by ED while speaking at a press conference. pic.twitter.com/3zeP1lJwwa  Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) October 5, 2023

Singh was arrested on Wednesday evening after the anti-money laundering body conducted searches at his residence over the Delhi liquor policy scam.

Patra further said, When a don of corruption is caught, incriminating documents are seized from his home Which are stored in mobile phones and laptops As far as the incriminating documents are concerned that have been procured from the house of Sanjay Singh these documents will point to a person that is very big in the AAP chain

#WATCH | Bhubaneswar, Odisha: On Delhi Excise Policy case, BJP Spokesperson Sambit Patra says, When a don of corruption is caught, incriminating documents are seized from his home Which are stored in mobile phones and laptops As far as the incriminating documents are pic.twitter.com/vRjGzWVgZu  ANI (@ANI) October 5, 2023

This is the third major arrest in the party after Manish Sisodia and Satyendra Jain. Sisodia, the deputy chief minister of Delhi, was arrested in February this year by the CBI over the liquorgate scandal.

Meanwhile, Jain, the Delhi Health Minister, was arrested last year in May on charges of money laundering.
Apple Inc. engaged in discussions with DuckDuckGo as a potential replacement for Alphabet Inc.s Google as the default search engine for Apples Safari browsers private mode. However, Apple ultimately decided against this proposal.

These details emerged from transcripts unveiled by the presiding judge overseeing the antitrust trial against Google in the United States, which took place recently.

On Wednesday, US District Judge Amit Mehta ruled in favour of unsealing the testimonies of Gabriel Weinberg, CEO of DuckDuckGo, and John Giannandrea, an executive at Apple. Both individuals had testified in closed sessions during the trial in Washington.

According to Weinbergs testimony, DuckDuckGo held approximately 20 meetings and phone discussions with Apple executives, including the head of the Safari division, between 2018 and 2019. These talks revolved around the possibility of DuckDuckGo becoming the default search engine for Safaris private browsing mode. In this mode, Safari refrains from tracking users website visits and maintaining a browsing history.

Weinberg expressed optimism about the potential collaboration, given that Apple had previously integrated several of DuckDuckGos privacy technologies into Safari. However, the idea faced opposition from Giannandrea, who assumed the role of head of search at Apple in 2018.

In a February 2019 email to other Apple executives, Giannandrea expressed scepticism, considering switching to DuckDuckGo for private browsing a bad idea. Giannandreas reservations were rooted in concerns that DuckDuckGo, which relies on Bing for search information, might share user data with Microsoft, raising questions about aligning DuckDuckGos privacy claims with actual practices.

Giannandrea emphasized that if Apple were seriously considering adopting DuckDuckGo as the default search engine, it would require extensive due diligence.

The Department of Justice alleges that Google has made substantial payments to Apple and other parties to secure its position as the default search engine on web browsers and smartphones. These agreements are said to have impeded the growth of alternative search engines like Microsofts Bing and DuckDuckGo, preventing them from becoming competitive rivals to Google, according to federal and state antitrust enforcers.

In a contrasting revelation, Giannandrea disclosed that Apple CEO Tim Cook had tasked him with discussions with Microsoft executives in 2018 regarding the possible use of Bings search engine in Safari. These discussions led to a series of meetings in late 2018 and late 2020 to explore a potential joint venture or sale of Bing to Apple.

As part of these discussions, Apple conducted a comparative study of Bings search results against Googles, which, in May 2021, found Googles results to be superior in most aspects, with the exception of English language search information on desktops, where Bings results were on par with Googles.

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella also testified during the trial, revealing his companys willingness to sustain significant financial losses if Apple were to make the switch to Bing as the default search engine.`
During a rare antitrust trial in Washington, a lawyer representing the US Justice Department questioned a Google executive on Wednesday regarding the tactics employed by the tech giant to artificially increase online advertising rates in an allegedly unjust manner.

In his testimony at this landmark trial, Google executive Adam Juda disclosed that the company utilizes a formula, which takes into account the quality of an advertisement, to determine the winners of auctions used for ad placement on websites.

This legal proceeding centres on the United States accusation that Google has engaged in anti-competitive behaviour by exploiting its dominance in both search and certain advertising practices.

The Justice Department has accused Google of manipulating online auctions  a multibillion-dollar industry dominated by Google  with these formulas to favour its own bottom line.

Justice Department attorney David Dahlquist asked Juda if he agreed with a document that Google had prepared for the European Union, which said that the company can directly affect pricing through tunings of our auction mechanisms. Juda said he did not.

Pressed on if tuning can impact pricing, Juda said, They can. Judas testimony began on Tuesday and continued into Wednesday.

Juda said one thing that can be tuned is a rough formula that gives an ad a long-term value, or LTV, based on the bid given, the potential click-through rate or how many people will likely click on it and the quality of the advertisement and website associated with it.

Dahlquist asked Juda if they had introduced changes to ad sales in a way that raised the cost-per-click by a consumer that advertisers pay. I believe thats fair, said Juda.

But Wendy Waszmer, a lawyer for Google, asked Juda on Wednesday afternoon if there were ways that his ads quality team could raise prices unilaterally. No, Juda responded.

Googles advertising business has been criticized by advertisers and website publishers for a lack of transparency, with both accusing Google of siphoning off too much revenue.

The testimony on advertising is a change from previous testimony that has focused on the billions of dollars that Google has spent to keep its search engine the default on smartphones and other devices.
In a remarkable feat that is bound to push Japan far ahead of its neighbours in Asia, Fujitsu and research institute Riken have successfully developed Japans second quantum computer, as part of research efforts around the world to make the nascent technology practical.

The 64-qubit quantum computer from Fujitsu and state-backed Riken will be integrated with a 40-qubit quantum computer simulator, as researchers work to eliminate the errors which prevent such systems from providing accurate results.

Its kind of a first or second step, we still have a long way to go, Shintaro Sato, head of Fujitsus quantum laboratory, told reporters.

Governments and companies including IBM and Alphabet are pouring funds into research for quantum computers, which hold the promise of becoming millions of times faster than the fastest supercomputers.

IBM last year launched a 433-qubit quantum computer. Qubits, or quantum bits, are a measure of the power of quantum computers, which use quantum mechanics.

China, the US and allied industrial democracies are in a race to take a lead in advanced technology including quantum computing, with President Joe Biden moving to hamper some U.S. investment in Chinese efforts to develop the technology.
A quadrilateral meeting of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and European Council President Charles Michel took place in Granada within the framework of the third meeting of the European Political Community.

Based on the results of the meeting, a joint statement was adopted, which particularly reads as follows,

The President of the European Council, Charles Michel, the President of France, Emmanuel Macron, and the Chancellor of Germany, Olaf Scholz met in Granada with Nikol Pashinyan, Prime Minister of Armenia.

The President of the European Council, Charles Michel, the President of France, Emmanuel Macron, and the Chancellor of Germany, Olaf Scholz underlined their unwavering support to the independence, sovereignty, territorial integrity and inviolability of the borders of Armenia.

They also expressed their support to the strengthening of EU-Armenia relations, in all its dimensions, based on the needs of the Republic of Armenia.

They agreed on the need to provide additional humanitarian assistance to Armenia as it faces the consequences of the recent mass displacement of Karabakh Armenians. They stressed that these refugees must be free to exercise their right to return to their homes and their places of living, without any conditions, with international monitoring, and with due respect for their history, culture and for human rights.

They remain committed to all efforts directed towards the normalization of relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan, based on mutual recognition of sovereignty, inviolability of borders and territorial integrity of Armenia (29.800 km2) and Azerbaijan (86.600 km2), as mentioned in President Michels statements of 14 May and 15 July 2023. They called for the strict adherence to the principle of non-use of force and threat of use of force. They stressed the urgent need to work towards border delimitation based on the most recent USSR General Staff maps that have been provided to the sides, which should also be a basis for distancing of forces, and for finalizing the peace treaty and addressing all humanitarian issues.

They called for greater regional cooperation and for the re-opening of all borders, including the border between Armenia and Turkiye, as well as for the opening of regional connectivity links based on full respect of countries sovereignty and jurisdiction, as well as on the principles of equality and reciprocity.

The European leaders called on Armenia and Azerbaijan to release all detainees, and to cooperate to address the fate of missing persons and to facilitate demining work.
Since Elon Musk took over the social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, in October last year, the platform has lost ad revenue from the US consistently, month after month, culminating in a total of at least 55 per cent year-over-year, according to third-party data reported by Reuters. The company has been struggling with retaining advertisers as some have expressed caution due to the rapid changes that have occurred under Musks ownership.

In December 2022, U.S. ad revenue experienced the most significant decline, plummeting by 78 per cent compared to the same month the previous year, marking the steepest drop since Musks acquisition. This data comes from Guideline, an ad analytics firm that tracks advertising spending data from major ad agencies. The latest available data from Guideline, for August, reveals a 60 per cent year-over-year decline in ad revenue. X declined to comment on this data.

Elon Musk has publicly acknowledged the revenue challenges on the platform and has attributed some of the declines to activist pressures on advertisers. In a previous statement, Musk specifically mentioned the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) as a primary factor behind a 60 per cent decline in U.S. ad revenue, without specifying the timeframe.

Responding to Musks claims, the ADL released a statement refuting any allegations that they caused losses to X and expressed their intention to advertise on the platform to convey their anti-hate message to X users.

Xs Chief Executive, Linda Yaccarino, noted in a recent interview that 1,500 brands had returned to the platform in the previous 12 weeks, with 90 per cent of the top 100 advertisers back on X. Yaccarino also expressed optimism that X could achieve profitability by early next year.

Elon Musk had rebranded Twitter as X in July as part of a broader strategy to transform the platform into an everything app, offering a range of services beyond social networking, similar to Chinas WeChat. This transformation includes the development of peer-to-peer payment features and an increased focus on video content, as reported by Reuters.
TikTok has announced the suspension of its online retail operations in Indonesia as a response to the countrys ban on e-commerce transactions conducted through social media platforms. This move represents a significant setback for TikTok in its fastest-growing market.

The Indonesian government unveiled this new regulation on September 28, prohibiting social media companies from facilitating the sale of products on their platforms. The ban was enacted in an effort to shield small businesses from the competition posed by e-commerce companies, with accusations that popular apps and websites were employing predatory pricing tactics.

In a statement released on its website, the Chinese-owned video-sharing platform confirmed that it will cease facilitating e-commerce sales on TikTok Shop Indonesia by 5:00 PM local time on Wednesday. TikTok emphasized its commitment to complying with local laws and regulations.

The Trade Minister of Indonesia, Zulkifli Hasan, explained that the ban is intended to prevent algorithm domination and the exploitation of personal data for business interests. The objective is to establish a fair, healthy, and mutually beneficial e-commerce ecosystem, with marketplaces and sellers being permitted to offer or promote goods and services.

A week prior to the bans announcement, Tanah Abang, Southeast Asias largest wholesale market located in Jakarta, came under scrutiny. Sellers at the market reported over a 50 per cent decline in profits, unable to compete with lower-priced imported products available online. This situation was attributed to TikToks involvement in predatory pricing, causing harm to local small and medium-sized businesses. The new regulation is seen as an effort to regulate fair trade both online and offline.

TikTok Indonesia expressed regret over the governments decision shortly after the ban was announced, particularly concerning its impact on the millions of sellers who use TikTok Shop. However, the company stated its commitment to respecting the regulations and pursuing a constructive path forward.

Southeast Asia, with a population exceeding 675 million people, represents one of TikToks largest markets in terms of user numbers, attracting more than 325 million monthly visitors to the app.

TikTok, owned by Chinas ByteDance, has been subject to scrutiny by various governments and regulators over concerns about potential data harvesting or advancing Beijings interests. Several countries, including the United States, Britain, and New Zealand, have banned the app from government devices. TikTok has repeatedly denied sharing data with the Chinese government and stated its commitment not to do so upon request.
Amazon and Microsoft are under investigation by the UKs antitrust authority, which is concerned that these US tech giants might be using their market dominance unfairly. The UKs telecom regulator, Ofcom, announced on Thursday that it has requested the Competition and Markets Authority to conduct a formal investigation.

Ofcoms year-long study revealed that Amazon and Microsoft have made it challenging for customers to use different cloud providers or switch between them, even though cloud services are increasingly important for businesses.

According to Fergal Farragher, the director at Ofcom who oversaw the study, some UK businesses have expressed concerns about the difficulty of changing or mixing cloud providers. They also raised doubts about whether competition is functioning effectively in this space. Ofcom pointed out issues related to the fees for moving data out of the cloud, the lack of compatibility between different providers, and pricing strategies that might discourage customers from exploring alternatives.

Last year, Ofcom initiated an inquiry into concerns that hyperscale cloud providers like Amazons AWS and Microsofts Azure could stifle innovation and hinder market growth. These two companies account for a significant portion of the UKs public cloud infrastructure market revenue, with Google Cloud contributing around 5% to 10%.

Investigations conducted by the Competition and Markets Authority typically take about 18 months, and if significant issues are identified, the authority can impose remedies, such as requiring companies to sell off certain parts of their business to promote competition.

Its worth noting that the European Union has also been looking into complaints about the cloud industry, particularly related to potential antitrust violations by Microsoft. Germanys Federal Cartel Office, for instance, launched its own investigation into Microsofts market power earlier this year, citing the growing significance of Microsofts cloud services.
Just days before Australias referendum on whether to constitutionally recognise its Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island people, an Indigenous senator was the victim of threats and racial slurs in a video posted on social media.

On October 14, Australians will be asked to vote on whether they favour changing the constitution to include a Voice to Parliament, an Indigenous committee that would advise parliament on issues affecting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island people.

A man in a balaclava who claimed to be a member of a neo-Nazi gang was seen burning the Aboriginal flag, giving the Nazi salute, and threatening Senator Lidia Thorpe in an internet video.

Where is my support? Where is my protection in this country? Thorpe asked during a news conference in Melbourne.

Im not hiding for the next nine days. You are going to hear from me. Im not scared, she said.

Since then, the video has been removed. The Australian Federal Police (AFP) declared that it was looking into the situation.

Racist threats against Aboriginal people, who make up roughly 3.8% of the population, have increased in the run-up to the vote as a result of misunderstandings and anxiety regarding the Yes campaign.

Thorpe is advocating for a No vote and urging the government and Indigenous people to first sign a treaty comparable to those in Canada and New Zealand.

The Yes campaigners for the Voice referendum claim that the proposal unites the country and gives the 65,000-year-old Aboriginal culture the much-needed recognition it needs, while the No campaigners contend that it gives the Indigenous body too many powers or that it will have no real impact.

As soon as Thorpe contacted him, according to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, he answered and also spoke with the police.

Ive seen the video that was referred to that is threatening towards Senator Thorpe and towards the government, and the sort of Nazi rhetoric and statements that are in that video have no place in the discourse in Australian political life, Albanese said, when asked about the matter at a news conference later in the day.

Most socioeconomic indices of Aboriginal people fall below national norms, and they experience disproportionately high rates of suicide, spousal abuse, and incarceration. Compared to non-Indigenous people, their life expectancy is around eight years lower.

(With agency inputs)
Bangladesh on Thursday received the first uranium delivery for its Russia-backed nuclear plant, a project aimed at bolstering its overstretched energy grid but complicated by sanctions on Moscow.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has courted Russian ties with renewed vigour after Western criticism over her governments rights record.

Moscow is bankrolling the $12.65-billion plant with a loan for 90 per cent of its cost, with hopes it will alleviate the chronic blackouts plaguing the South Asian nation.

Today is a day of pride and joy for the people of Bangladesh, Hasina said during a videoconference with Russian President Vladimir Putin to mark the handover.

Hasina thanked Putin for his guidance and assistance in implementing this project.

Construction on the nuclear plant at Rooppur, a village on the banks of the Ganges river 175 kilometres (110 miles) west of the capital Dhaka, began in 2017.

The first of its twin 1,200-megawatt units is slated to begin operations next year and both reactors should be fully online in 2025, Bangladesh technology minister Yeafesh Osman told reporters on a Wednesday tour of the facility.

Washingtons sanctions on key Russian firms since last years invasion of Ukraine, including state nuclear agency Rosatom, delayed construction work because Dhaka was unable to make loan repayments in US currency.

In April, Bangladesh agreed to make payments of more than $300 million in Chinese yuan in an effort to circumvent the sanctions.

But central bank officials have said that the money has yet to be paid.

The whole world is facing this payment problem and were no exception, Osman said. However, we are trying to solve the problem.

Hasinas government is eager for new friends ahead of general elections due by the end of January, with Western governments and rights groups warning her government is silencing critics and stamping out political dissent.

Washington levelled sanctions against Bangladeshs elite Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) police force in 2021 over accusations of their involvement in the extrajudicial killing of opposition activists.

The lack of payment has not outwardly affected Bangladeshs pursuit of a closer relationship with Moscow.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov visited Dhaka for the first time last month and used the occasion to criticise the pressure exerted upon Bangladesh by the United States and its allies.

Power struggles

The Rooppur plant is the most expensive infrastructure project undertaken by Hasina, who has been in power since 2009, and will be the countrys largest power station by generating capacity once fully operational.

Bangladesh has several more coal and gas-fired plants under construction but is desperate to reduce its near total reliance on fossil fuels.

Its electricity grid has shown increasing signs of stress, with a spike in energy prices precipitated by the Ukraine war forcing the government to suspend gas and diesel imports last year.

The result was months of daily power blackouts sometimes lasting up to 13 hours. A separate grid failure last October cut power to more than 80 percent of the countrys 169 million people.

This past summer Bangladesh was forced to shut its current biggest power plant because it was unable to afford the coal to fuel it during a sweltering heatwave.

Bangladesh also plans to build a second nuclear power station in the countrys south, though a final site has not been decided.

Officials have cast Bangladeshs atomic energy ambitions as a key plank of the fight against climate change in a low-lying country more vulnerable than most to extreme weather.

It will help Bangladesh cut carbon emissions significantly by 2030, Shawkat Akbar, head of the Rooppur plant, told AFP.

Nuclear energy is one of the worlds largest sources of emissions-free energy.

But there are persistent concerns about the safety risks and disposal of nuclear waste, and opponents point out nuclear plants take many years to build compared to more quickly deployable renewable energy sources.
The British government on Wednesday proposed a law that would forbid children under 18 from ever purchasing cigarettes, making it one of the nations with the strictest smoking laws in the world and hurting the profits of the biggest tobacco companies.

A briefing paper stated that if approved into law, the smoking age will increase by one year each year, potentially phasing out youth smoking as early as 2040.

A 14-year-old today will never legally be sold a cigarette, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak told the Conservative Party conference, where he announced the plan.

He claimed that smoking costs the British health system $20.6 billion annually and added that the government also needed to take action against youth vaping.

According to the briefing paper, it would advise on limiting the flavors and descriptions of vapes and consider regulating vape packaging and presentation.

The anti-smoking advocacy group Action on Smoking and Health applauded Sunaks initiatives and said they might speed the day when smoking is no longer acceptable.

The suggestions were criticized by the tobacco industry. According to the Tobacco Manufacturers Association, they would encourage black market commerce and were a disproportionate attack on the rights of adults.

The prohibition of legal products always has dangerous side effects and opens the door to criminal gangs to sell illegal products, it said.

Imperial Brands, which makes Winston cigarettes and Golden Virginia rolling tobacco, also warned the ban threatened unintended consequences. Lucky Strike and Dunhill maker British American Tobacco said the proposals would be difficult to enforce.

Gradual impact

The smoking policy would need to pass a free vote in Britains parliament. This means lawmakers can vote however they like rather than in line with party policies.

If passed, Britain would become the first country in Europe to join New Zealand, which announced a similar plan last year, in banning smoking for future generations.

Academics said increases to the smoking age have successfully reduced smoking rates among young people around the world.

The change could hurt companies who generate a relatively large portion of their earnings from British tobacco sales, analysts said, such as Japan Tobacco, maker of Camel and Benson & Hedges, and Imperial Brands.

While short-term effects were likely minimal, over time the bans impact could gradually become material, said Owen Bennett, analyst at Jefferies, adding people aged 18-25 make up around 10% of Britains current adult smokers.

Shares in Imperial Brands fell 3.2% to their lowest since March 2022, while shares in BAT, which has a lower exposure to the British cigarette market, were down 1.2% by 1357 GMT.

A risk for all companies is that other nations follow suit, Bennett noted. Denmark is already considering a similar move, and a number of nations also have targets to reduce smoking to minimal levels in the relatively near future.
A man who claimed he wanted to assassinate Queen Elizabeth when he was stopped at Windsor Castle with a loaded crossbow was jailed for nine years on Thursday after admitting to violating the Treason Act and uttering threats against the late monarch.

When Jaswant Singh Chail, 21, was apprehended on Christmas Day 2021 about 8 a.m. in the grounds of the castle to the west of London while wearing all-black attire, a hood, a metal mask, and gloves, he declared, I am here to kill the queen.

Elizabeth, who passed away in September of last year at the age of 96, was present at the incident, along with her son Charles, who is currently the king, and other members of her immediate family.

Chail made an appearance on Thursday at Londons Old Bailey, where judge Nicholas Hilliard ruled that he should first be held in the high security psychiatric hospital at Broadmoor before being transferred to a jail when he has received the treatment he needs.

Chail had lost touch with reality such that he had become psychotic by the time he entered Windsor Castle, according to the judge, but his guilt for his crimes was enormous.

He had conceived of killing the queen early in 2021 when he was not psychotic. He took steps to try and get closer to his target and learn useful skills when, again, he was not psychotic, the judge said.

Chail had pleaded guilty in February to the three charges of making threats to kill, possession of an offensive weapon, and an offence under the 1842 Treason Act, making him the first person to be convicted of treason in 40 years.

The court heard testimony from Chail, a Star Wars fanatic who harboured fantasies of becoming Darth Chailus, a Sith lord character from the film series.

Additionally, he sent thousands of sexually explicit messages to Sarai, an AI chatbot, asking her to assist him in deciding whether or not to carry out the attack.

A protection officer confronted Chail, who had spent months plotting, on the castle grounds in a place where the intruder would have access to the private rooms, Hilliard testified in court.

The Supersonic X-bow crossbow that was discovered was capable of discharging a bolt that could seriously harm or even kill a person.

I am sorry for what I have done and what I will do. I am going to attempt to assassinate Elizabeth, queen of the royal family, Chail, from Southampton in southern England, said in a video recorded before the incident, in which he was seen holding a crossbow and wearing a face covering.

This is revenge for those who died in the 1919 massacre, Chail said, referring to an incident when British colonial troops shot dead nearly 400 Sikhs in their holy city of Amritsar in northwestern India.

For what is also known as the 1919 Jallianwala Bagh massacre, British forces fired on unarmed citizens who had congregated to protest a colonial legislation, Indians have long requested a formal apology from Britain.

(With agency inputs)
Four Philippine ships were on a resupply mission to a disputed atoll in the South China Sea when China denounced the mission, claiming the ships had illegally entered Chinese seas in the Spratly Islands.

Despite attempts by Chinas coast guard to obstruct it, the Philippines claimed on Wednesday that it had successfully transferred supplies to its troops stationed on a World War Two-era cargo ship-turned-military outpost on the atoll.

While China has broad claims in the South China Sea that are in contention with a number of its neighbours, relations with the Philippines have been particularly tense recently over the matter, especially since Ferdinand Marcos Jr. became president of the Philippines last year.

Philippine supply ships and two coast guard ships entered the waters  in Chinas Nansha Islands without permission from the Chinese government, China Coast Guard spokesperson Gan Yu said a post on its website, using Chinas name for the Spratly Islands.

The atoll in question is called Ayungin in the Philippines and Renai Reef in China. It is located 105 miles (109 km) off the Philippine island of Palawan and is also referred to as the Second Thomas Shoal.

The BRP Sierra Madre, a former navy transport ship that the Philippines grounded on the shoal in 1999 to support its claim of sovereignty, is home to a small number of Philippine troops.

The Philippe delivery of supplies to the ship that sits on the beach unlawfully was strongly condemned, the China Coast Guard stated in its statement, adding that it had issued serious warnings.

On September 8, the Philippines last finished a resupply mission to the stranded ship. The Philippines and its old ally, the United States, denounced a similar attempt in which a China Coast Guard vessel used water cannon to attack a Philippine supply boat.

China demanded that the Philippines tow the ship away, but Manila refused the request.

The Chinese Coast Guard and Chinese Maritime Militia made a substantial number of attempts to harass and interfere with the Philippine National Security Councils (NSC) resupply and rotation mission, but the mission was nonetheless successfully completed, according to the NSC.

These missions are a legitimate exercise of the administrative functions of the Philippine government, the NSC said.

China points to a line on its maps that enters the exclusive economic zones of Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei, and Indonesia as evidence that it has jurisdiction over nearly the whole South China Sea. The line on Chinas maps, according to the Permanent Court of Arbitration in 2016, was not supported by law.

(With agency inputs)
Taiwans defence ministry tracked one Chinese military aircraft and three navy vessels in the region despite Typhoon Koinus storm encircled Taiwan between 6 a.m. Wednesday and 6 a.m. Thursday, Taiwan News reported.

According to the defence ministry, the Peoples Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) military aircraft and three PLAN (Peoples Liberation Army Navy) vessels were spotted in the area.

However, Taiwans Defence Ministry (MND) clarified that no flight path graphics were provided since there had been no indication that any PLAAF aircraft had crossed the Taiwan Straits middle line or gotten as far as Taiwans Air Defence Identification Zone (ADIZ)s southwest sector.

The MND said that it used its intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance apparatus to keep an eye on the situation.

In response to these developments, Taiwan deployed navy ships, combat patrol aircraft, and land-based air defence missile systems. Beijing has been using grey zone tactics more often since September 2020, such as deploying military aircraft and naval vessels beyond the middle line and within Taiwans ADIZ, Taiwan News reported.

Notably, Grey zone tactics are an effort or series of efforts beyond steady-state assurance and deterrence that attempts to achieve ones security objectives without resorting to the direct and substantial use of force.

Typhoon Koinu on Wednesday pounded Taiwan with heavy rain and winds. This led to the closure of businesses and schools in the east and triggered warnings in most parts of the island a day before its expected landfall.

The islands Central Weather Administration said that Koinu, which formed over the Pacific Ocean last weekend, was about 105 miles east of Taiwan on Wednesday afternoon.

It was moving west at about 9 miles per hour, carrying maximum sustained winds of 132 m.p.h. and even stronger gusts, according to the Joint Typhoon Warning Center, a meteorological service operated by the US Navy.

The storm is expected to make landfall on Taiwans southeastern coast on Thursday morning, and the island will see the heaviest rainfall on Thursday and Friday, Wu Wan-hua, a meteorologist for Taiwans weather agency, said at a news conference. Wave heights of more than seven meters, or 23 feet, are expected around the coasts of southern Taiwan, she added.

Koinus winds were equivalent to those of a Category 4 hurricane on Wednesday morning, but were expected to weaken to Category 3 levels before landfall, the Joint Typhoon Warning Center said.

With ANI inputs.
A Cyprus court deferred the trial of five Israelis accused of raping a British woman on Thursday pending the submission of crucial evidence by prosecutors.

Police detained the five Israeli teenagers, aged 19 and 20, after a British woman stated they raped her after forcing her into a hotel room in the Ayia Napa resort on August 3. They have been detained since.

All five are charged with six charges of kidnapping, assault, and rape. The trial, which was supposed to begin on Thursday, was postponed because important evidence was not delivered to the accuseds counsel.

Because that information was lacking, the five did not enter a plea.

That included a DNA report, photographic material, fingerprint reports and a statement from a sixth individual, one of the lawyers for the accused said.

Before we have the whole picture of what my clients are facing they havent answered, they havent pleaded, said lawyer Maria Neophytou, who represents three of the defendants. The lawyer for the other two men said his clients were not in the room when the alleged assault took place.

Relatives of the defendants crowded into the small courtroom in the town of Paralimni on Thursday, where the Criminal Court was in session.

Womens advocacy groups are closely following the case due to the treatment of a British rape victim three years ago.

Last year, Cypruss Supreme Court acquitted a British woman who had been wrongfully convicted by a lower court of lying about being gang raped by 12 Israeli men in July, 2019.

(With inputs from agencies)
Aberdeen overcame Finnish side RoPS in 2019

Europa Conference League, Group G: Aberdeen v HJK Helsinki Venue: Pittodrie Stadium, Aberdeen Date: Thursday, 5 October Kick-off: 20:00 BST Coverage: Listen on BBC Radio Scotland Extra/DAB/810MW, live text commentary on the BBC Sport website & app

When chairman Dave Cormack took the Aberdeen reigns from Stewart Milne in 2019, one of his stated aims was to make them one of Europe's top 100 clubs.

The Dons are currently 196th in Uefa's coefficient rankings for this season, behind some clubs from the Faroe Islands, Kosovo, Gibraltar and Liechtenstein.

The only way to improve that is not just to keep qualifying for European competition but to win games once at the party. Thursday's home tie against HJK Helsinki has to be the start of that journey for Aberdeen.

HJK - although Finnish champions in 11 of the last 14 seasons - brought in 2m less than Aberdeen last term despite lifting the league title again.

The usual talk of opposition budgets dwarfing Scottish clubs does not apply here, as it did when Aberdeen opened their Conference League campaign with a creditable 2-1 defeat away to Eintracht Frankfurt.

That brave display sparked the Dons' season into life, with back-to-back wins against Ross County followed by the brilliant victory away to Rangers at the weekend.

So, with Barry Robson's team finding form and with a packed Pittodrie behind them, this game is there for the taking. It is a marker for Aberdeen.

How far away are they from the club's desired destination?

Competent HJK look to improve away record

Bojan Radulovic is likely to be HJK's main goal threat

That is not to say Helsinki will pitch up and roll over. The Finnish side pushed PAOK in their Group G opener, eventually losing 3-2 at home to the Greek side having led in the first half.

It is the only loss in their past seven games and they have scored in each of their last 12 matches, while Aberdeen have only kept two clean sheets in the same number of games.

Story continues

Spain-born Serbian striker Bojan Radulovic will provide the main threat, having scored 22 goals in 36 games this season, one of which came in that loss to PAOK.

There is also plenty of international experience in Helsinki ranks, particularly in defence. Centre-backs Joona Toivio and Jukka Raitala have well over 50 caps for Finland and played all three games at Euro 2020 as the Finns made a mark at their first major tournament.

It is also HJK's third straight season playing in the group stages of European competition. Last season, they got one point in a Europa League group with Roma, Real Betis and Ludogorets Razgrad of Bulgaria.

The year before, they beat Armenian side Alashkert home and away to end their Conference League section with six points. That is the type of experience few in the Aberdeen squad possess - and exactly where they want to be.

However, most of Helsinki's success in Europe has come at home. They have lost all four of their European away games in 90 minutes this season, which includes visits to Northern Irish champions Larne, Molde of Norway, Qarabag of Azerbaijan and Romanian side Farul Constanta.

That makes it all the more important for Aberdeen to use home advantage before the trip to Finland at the end of November.

There is also the slight chance HJK will be distracted by the conclusion of their league campaign. On Sunday, they face VPS in their penultimate league match and need just a point to clinch a fourth straight title.

Helsinki will be tough opposition. But they do not have the attacking potency Swedish champions Hacken had when they rocked up at Pittodrie last month before netting three goals.

There should be no fear, but excitement and confidence, in Aberdeen's ranks. The last time Aberdeen played at Pittodrie in the group stage of European competition was back in 2007 against FC Copenhagen.

Jimmy Calderwood's side emerged 4-0 winners to qualify for the last-32 of the Uefa Cup amid a deafening din as Jamie Smith bagged two wonderful goals. There has rarely been a night like it since.

Thursday is a chance for Robson and his team to write their own story. If the club is to achieve the status Cormack believes is possible, that tale has to start with a win.
At least 51 people were killed when a Russian missile struck a cafe and grocery store in a hamlet in northeastern Ukraine on Thursday while they were holding a memorial service, according to Ukrainian officials.

Oleh Synehubov, the regional governor, reported that the cafe and shop in Hroza village, in the Kupiansk district of the Kharkiv region, had been attacked and reduced to ruins early in the afternoon.

Authorities shared video of rescuers scrambling amid smoking rubble while appearing confused. In other images, people were seen laying next to twisted metal and concrete slabs, while in other images, bodies were being removed by rescue personnel.

Ihor Klymenko, the interior minister, said that the 330-person villages residents were attending a memorial service and eating in the damaged cafe at the time of the attack.

From every family, from every household, there were people present at this commemoration. This is a terrible tragedy, Klymenko told Ukrainian television.

According to a representative for the Kharkiv regional military administration, the attack was the bloodiest in the Kharkiv region since Russias invasion more than 19 months ago, according to Ukrainian state TV Suspilne.

Additionally, it appeared to be one of the highest numbers of civilian fatalities from a single Russian attack since the conflict began.

Klymenko cited unreliable sources to support his claim that an Iskander ballistic missile was used in the attack.

He claimed that the attack was obviously very targeted and that Ukrainian security agencies have started an investigation.

The terrorists deliberately carried out the attack during lunchtime, to ensure a maximum number of casualties, said Defence Minister Rustem Umerov.

There were no military targets there. This is a heinous crime intended to scare Ukrainians.

President Volodymyr Zelenskiy declared that the Russian terror should be stopped while in Spain for a summit with European leaders.

Now we are talking with European leaders, in particular, about strengthening our air defence, about strengthening our soldiers, about giving our country protection from terror, he said in a post on the Telegram messaging app.

Since beginning its full-scale invasion in February 2022, Russia has routinely conducted airstrikes, and Ukraine has started a counteroffensive in the south and east that it claims is steadily gaining progress.

Regarding the circumstances in Hroza, Moscow remained silent right away. Although numerous people have died in assaults on residential areas as well as energy, defence, port, grain, and other installations, Moscow maintains that civilians were not deliberately targeted.

(With agency inputs)
Some 50 European leaders used a summit in southern Spains Granada on Thursday to stress they stand by Ukraine at a time when Western resolve appears somewhat weakened. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that maintaining such unity was now the main challenge.

Zelenskyy flew in early in the morning to the meeting of the European Political Community forum, which was formed in the wake of Russias February 2022 invasion of Ukraine that drastically reset the continents political agenda and fundamentally undermined long-held beliefs on peace and stability on the continent.

Despite the political, economic and military support, the desperate struggle to rid Ukraine territory of invading Russian has ground to a stalemate. Meanwhile, the once-steadfast opposition to Russian President Vladimir Putin has shown cracks because of internal strife both within the United States and the European Union.

The main challenge that we have that is to save unity in Europe, Zelenskyy said. Last weekends election in Slovakia, where pro-Russia candidate Robert Fico was the big winner, and Hungarys continued recalcitrance to fully back Ukraine have cast increasing shadows on Europes commitment. That counts especially for the European Union where many decisions on Ukraine need unanimity among the 27 members.

Support from Europe has become all the more important after the US Congress hastily sent President Joe Biden legislation over the weekend that kept the federal government funded but left off billions in funding for Ukraines war effort that the White House had vigorously backed.

Biden called other world powers Tuesday to coordinate on Ukraine in a deliberate show of U.S. support at a time when the future of its aid is questioned by an important faction of Republicans who want to cut off money to Kyiv.

Zelenskyy said, however, that during a visit to Washington, he had been assured 100% support in the White House and also bipartisan support in Congress. I think its important.

EU leaders also felt U.S. issues could be overcome. I am very confident of support for Ukraine from the United States. What the United States is working on is the timing, said EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.

Even if the EU promised to continue its support for Kyiv, it could never replace Washington if funds were to dry up there, EU foreign affairs chief Josep Borrell said.

Everybody that doesnt want Putin winning this war is to look for ways for the U.S. to retake this issue and continue supporting Ukraine, Borrell said. Certainly we can do more. But the U.S. is something irreplaceable for the support of Ukraine.

Zelenskyy insisted that Putins attempts to divide the West would not cease. Russia will attack by information, disinformation, by fakes etc., he said.

The leaders in Granada are keen to stress that they are united behind Ukraine.

When it comes to facing down the threat from Putin, said British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, there is strength in unity.

The EPC is an informal gathering so formal decisions are off the table, but the leaders want to use the format to push for better relations and seek to settle disputes, whether lingering or live.

That makes it especially disappointing that President Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan pulled out of the gathering at the last moment, when expectations had risen that a possible summit-within-the summit would unite key players and go-betweens in his countrys crisis with neighboring Armenia.

The humanitarian tragedy of some 100,000 Armenians fleeing Nagorno-Karabakh, a part of Azerbaijan with a predominantly Armenian population, followed a brutal military operation last month and touched a raw nerve in Europe.

Instead, officials said that many leaders will be huddling with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan to show backing for his government as it grapples with the humanitarian plight, and to try to lure Yerevan away from Moscows diplomatic grasp.

The forum of the European Political Community will still be a rare occasion where leaders of rival nations such as Serbia and Kosovo will be gathered in one plenary room. Any chance of rapprochement, though, is dim, since Kosovo will not be represented by Prime Minister Albin Kurti but by its president, Vjosa Osmani, whose role is largely ceremonial.

A myriad of other European issues are likely to come up during a day of talks in Spain, capped with a royal dinner and tour at the Moorish Alhambra Palace.

The famed hilltop architectural gem with its soothing ripples of water and the gentle splash from its fountains has traditionally been known to calm nerves. In Europes halls of politics these days, serenity is hard to come by.
Europes quest to build a common geopolitical purpose brought four dozen of its leaders to Granada on Thursday, but its credibility suffered a blow when the Azerbaijani president stayed away.

Turkeys President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was also expected to skip the European Political Community (EPC) summit, a loose grouping of European states inside and outside the EU and NATO.

But hopes that it would serve as a platform to calm tensions in the Caucasus, where Azerbaijani forces have captured Nagorno-Karabakh from ethnic Armenian rebels, were quickly dashed.

EU officials had hoped to host Azerbaijans President Ilham Aliyev and Armenias Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan at the event in what would have been the pairs first face-to-face meeting since the offensive.

But Aliyev has been angered by what he sees as French and German bias towards the Armenian position, and has refused to travel to the meeting.

Erdogans second absence in a row weakens the EPC as a way to deal with Ankara in a format other than the EU, to which Turkeys candidacy is frozen, said Sebastien Maillard of the Institute Jacques Delors.

Without Turkey and Azerbaijan, the political community becomes more narrowly European and seems more anti-Putin, give or take a few leaders, he said.

Without a Karabakh meeting, the agenda could flip to the migration crisis, he said, predicting that Britains Prime Minister Rishi Sunak would seize the opportunity, having kickstarted the UK election campaign this week.

Anti-Azerbaijan mood?

An Azerbaijani official said Aliyev would not attend because of pro-Armenian statements by French officials and because Paris has said it plans to deliver military equipment to Yerevan.

The official said Aliyevs decision was also influenced by accusations made yesterday by EU Council President Charles Michel.

Michel, who has mediated several meetings between the foes in recent years, criticised Bakus use of military force.

The official also cited an anti-Azerbaijani atmosphere and said Baku had wanted the meeting to take place in Turkey, its ally, which had welcomed the successful Karabakh offensive.

In Yerevan, Pashinyan told his parliament on Wednesday that he would still travel to Spain, and expressed regret he would not be meeting Aliyev.

We were in a constructive and optimistic mood, because we thought that a turning point document could be signed, he said.

Until this morning the likelihood of this was very high.

At the previous EPC meeting in Chisinau in June, the Armenian and Azerbaijani leaders met around a table with Michel, Frances President Emmanuel Macron and German chancellor Olaf Scholz.

But the conflict has since taken a dramatic turn, at once making the European diplomatic outreach more important, with refugees flooding into Armenia, but also further poisoning relations between the foes.

After a lightning offensive by Azerbaijani forces last month, most of the 120,000-strong Armenian population fled the self-proclaimed republic of Nagorno-Karabakh, which is now to be dissolved.

Since the fall of the Russian Empire, this mountainous region has been part of Azerbaijan, but it unilaterally proclaimed its independence with the support of Armenia when the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991.

Ethnic Armenian separatists resisted Baku with the support of Yerevan for three decades, notably during the first Karabakh war from 1988 to 1994 and the second in 2020.

But the international community never recognised the self-proclaimed republic, and Azerbaijani troops have now regained control.

With the Caucasus conflict falling down the EPC agenda, Britains Sunak and his Italian counterpart Georgia Meloni, will push a plan for tough action on migration.

Immoral and unsustainable

On Wednesday, the 27 EU members  which are also EPC countries  agreed on the outline of a migration reform package to go before the European Parliament to better share responsibility for undocumented arrivals.

But for Italy and non-EU member Britain, both facing arrivals by sea, the reform will not go far enough.

Levels of illegal migration to mainland Europe are the highest they have been in nearly a decade, Sunak said Wednesday.

With thousands of people dying at sea, propelled by people smugglers, the situation is both immoral and unsustainable. We cannot allow criminal gangs to decide who comes to Europes shores.

Number 10 said Sunak and Meloni would chair a side-meeting at the EPC and announce initiatives to discuss joint action against what it dubbed organised immigration crime.

Russias war against Ukraine will also be on the EPC agenda, with European powers under pressure to further increase support for Kyiv as a political crisis in Washington hurts the parallel US effort.
Polands populist government, which is vying for an unheard-of third term in office, has turned its attention to Germany, a close ally and major commercial partner.

Before Polands upcoming election on October 15, leaders of the ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party have said that Berlin is attempting to dictate Polish government policy on everything from gas to immigration.

A combined Polish-German tank repair facility for the benefit of Kyiv was slated to be built, but the rivalry has weakened Europes largely united front supporting Ukraine against Russias invasion.

Additionally, the populist PiS leadership claims that Germany is attempting to re-elect Donald Tusk, the partys major electoral rival and a liberal former prime minister.

In particular, elderly conservatives who recall the carnage of World War Two, have a strong fear of Germany that PiS has tapped upon.

Do you know where you can read the (oppositions campaign) programme? In German newspapers, Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki told a campaign event.

His party portrays Tusk as a puppet of Germany and the political husband of former German chancellor Angela Merkel, despite the fact that Tusk claimed his grandfather was forcibly drafted into the Nazi Wehrmacht during World War Two before fleeing to the Allied side. Also made fun of in a campaign film was Olaf Scholz, Merkels successor.

The Western alliance that came together to support Ukraine following the Russian invasion last year has had its unity put to the test by months of fighting between the two countries. They arrived at a time when other problems, like Slovakias election of a pro-Russian leader, threatened to cause a commotion.

Efforts to assist Ukraine have already been hampered by the dispute.

The establishment of a joint centre in Poland to repair German-made Leopard tanks damaged in conflict in Ukraine was announced by the military ministers of Germany and Poland in April with a smile and an embrace of unity.

But the agreement rapidly broke down. Another controversy involved Warsaws initial resistance to a German proposal to install Patriot missile air defence batteries in Poland before it was finally accepted.

Its very unhelpful that Poland, the people from the Law and Justice Party, continues to criticize Germany in such a harsh public way, U.S. General Ben Hodges, who commanded U.S. Army forces in Europe in 2014-17, told Reuters.

Its unhelpful because it puts strain on the relationship between two NATO allies, which therefore puts strain on the overall cohesion of NATO.

The German companies Krauss-Maffei Wegmann and Rheinmetall (RHMG.DE), none of which provided a response to a request for comment, and the Polish defence giant Polska Grupa Zbrojeniowa (PGZ) would have collaborated on the tank plant.

One German source claimed that Poland was asking for too much money for the repairs as one of the issues. Another source, a German ambassador, claimed that one of the reasons the discussions fell through was German corporations reluctance to divulge technical knowledge.

But it also showed a little bit the same thing we had for the Patriots, a general mistrust on the part of the Poles and a sort of being in the habit of treating a partner in a way that is not usual for a partnership in the EU or in an alliance.

Right now, PGZ is fixing certain Leopard tanks with German-origin spare parts.

(With agency inputs)
Taking a serious view of the Khalistani protest outside the Indian High Commission in London October 2 wherein the Tricolour was insulted, Indias Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has started mounting pressure on the UK government for the arrest of perpetrators, especially Gurcharan Singh and Paramjit Singh Pamma. The latter is on the most wanted list of the National Investigation Agency (NIA).

Highly placed sources in the Indian High Commission told Firstpost that MEA has conveyed to the UK government that it must arrest these Khalistani extremists. The Indian High Commission in London is, in the meanwhile, following up with the UK counterparts, and looking into the legalities.

Gurcharan Singh and Pamma, accompanied by a crowd, desecrated the Indian Tricolour while staging a protest outside Indias London High Commission on October 2 in the wake of the diplomatic row between New Delhi and Ottawa over the assassination of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, another Khalistani extremist, was gunned down in Canada early this year.

According to well-placed sources in the Indian High Commission, the MEA has reached out to its UK counterparts to goad the police for identifying Khalistani supporters from several video footages of the protest and arrest them on charges of hate crime.

Who is Gurcharan Singh?

Among the accused, Gurcharan Singh, a prominent figure from Dal Khalsa, was seen desecrating the Indian flag spreading it on the footpath, stomping on it, and later pouring cow urine from a bottle.

Singh further exacerbated the situation by challenging UK PM Rishi Sunak to drink the cow urine. He was later taken away by the London police as the protests unfolded. However, it remained unclear whether he was arrested or not.

Singh, who has already been exposed for his links with Pakistan and China on several occasions, is also accused of executing an attack on the Indian High Commission on March 18, 2023.

Singh and four others attacked an official of the Indian embassy, inflicting grievous injuries. The gang had disrespected the Tricolour even then.

Singhs list of hate crimes against India is a long one. Last year, he took part in a Webinar with officials of Tehreek-e-Kashmir UK who had filed petition with the prime minister, calling on the UK government to reject Indias invitation to the G20 meet. In the Webinar, he targeted Hindutva.

In 2018, a sting carried out on Singh showed him saying that his outfit Dal Khalsa had an office in China and that he would support Beijings claim on Sikkim. If China takes over Sikkim, then our job is done, he was caught saying on camera.

Stooge of Pakistan, China

Photos on Dal Khalsas Facebook page suggest that the organisation was invited to take part in an event on Kashmir by the Pakistan High Commission. Singh is the protege of Manmohan Singh Khalsa aka MSK, a Khalistan top boss who, before his death, openly enjoyed the support of Pakistan and ISI.

MSK had to flee India because of his extremist views. He founded Dal Khalsa in Southall, London to keep peddling Khalistan ideology. Singh, who was the deputy in Dal Khalsa became leader of the organization after the former leader Jaswant Singh Thekedar was shot dead over internal politics.

Thekedar had reportedly called Khalistan referendum, an ISI propaganda. He had also called out Pakistan for supplying drugs in Punjab and ruining an entire generation.

Most recently, Singh was called out for his links with Paramjit Singh Pamma, who was also present with him during the October 2 protests. The latter is a declared terrorist and has been on NIAs most wanted list. He has been associated with Khalistan Tiger Force.

During the protests, Pamma too issued threats against India. Both, Singh and Pamma, have frequently hit headlines for their notorious actions and statements against India.

The October 2 protests came just days after Indian High Commissioner to the UK, Vikram Doraiswami, was stopped by Khalistani extremists from entering a gurudwara in Scotlands Glasgow.
The modernization of military weapons was stressed on Thursday by Indonesian President Joko Widodo, who cautioned that any expenditures should be made carefully because the state budget was constrained.

The 270 million-strong archipelago nation, which has Southeast Asias largest economy, is working to modernise its armed forces but has fallen behind its neighbours in recent years.

Spending for military hardware must be done wisely, in terms of the amount or allocation, Jokowi, as the president is known, said during an armed forces parade.

Defence Minister Prabowo Subianto, who is rumoured to be running for president in the coming year to succeed Jokowi, has recently been in charge of a number of acquisitions, including the purchase of 42 Dassault Rafale fighter jets for $8.1 billion, 12 new drones from Turkish Aerospace for $300 million, and 12 Mirage 2000-5 fighter jets for $800 million.

In July, Jokowi also urged his cabinet to keep a healthy budget as he drew attention to excessive expenditure by security organisations, notably the defence ministry.

According to data from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) think tank, among Southeast Asias six developing market countries, Indonesia has had the lowest defence spending per capita and as a proportion of GDP during the past ten years.

(With agency inputs)
In response to claims from rights organisations that a young girl was hospitalised in severe condition and in a coma after a dispute with authorities in the Tehran metro because she was not wearing the hijab, Iran struck back at Western criticism of its treatment of women on Thursday.

Rights organisations worry that 16-year-old Armita Geravand may suffer the same fate as Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old woman whose death in a coma while in the care of morality police last year provoked months of widespread protest. Mahsa Aminis death occurred while she was in their custody.

Tehran refutes claims made by rights advocates that Geravand was hurt on Sunday during an altercation with law enforcement who were enforcing the nations Islamic dress code, which mandates that women cover their heads.

Nasser Kanaani, a spokesman for the foreign ministry, criticised the United States, Britain, and Germany for statements they made last week regarding Geravands case and womens rights in Iran.

Instead of interventionist and biased remarks and expressing insincere concern over Iranian women and girls, youd better be concerned about U.S., German and UK healthcare personnel, patients and tackle their situation, he wrote on the X social media platform.

Abram Paley, the deputy special envoy for Iran for the United States, said on X on Wednesday that Washington was closely monitoring updates on Geravands condition.

Shocked and concerned about reports that Irans so-called morality police have assaulted 16-year-old Armita Geravand, Paley said.

We continue to stand with the brave people of Iran and work with the world to hold the regime accountable for its abuses.

Germanys Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock had said on X: Once again a young woman in #Iran is fighting for her life. Just because she showed her hair in the subway.

Geravand allegedly got into a fight with police on the Tehran subway for wearing a headscarf, according to two well-known rights activists who spoke to Reuters on Wednesday. They claimed that Geravand later went into a coma.

Geravand was seen in CCTV footage posted on state news agency IRNA walking towards the train from the metro platform with two female acquaintances while not wearing a hijab. One of the girls is seen backing up and grabbing for the ground as soon as she enters the cabin, and then passengers remove another girl out of the cabin while she is still unconscious.

The Tehran Metro Operating Company informed IRNA that there was no evidence of verbal or physical altercation between customers and business personnel in the CCTV footage.

Geravands parents said in a video released on IRNA that their daughter had fallen, lost her balance, and hit her head inside the metro car.

Rights organisations have pushed authorities to release video taken inside the cabin on social media, arguing that her parents confession was forced.

Last month, U.N.-appointed rights officials voiced their worry over a new hijab rule in Iran that introduces severe penalties for women who choose not to wear the head covering in public.

The most significant turmoil in Iran in years began after Aminis death in September 2022, which led to weeks of widespread anti-government rallies and a fatal crackdown by police.

Since the secular and Western-backed Shah was overthrown in a popular revolution in 1979, Irans theocratic regime has enforced limitations on womens attire.

(With agency inputs)
Scotland Yard has arrested a man on suspicion of violent disorder in connection with an attack on the Indian High Commission in London in March this year.

The Metropolitan Police said the man, who was arrested during a protest outside India House on Monday, was held in connection with a protest on March 19 and has been released on bail pending further enquiries.

A British Sikh man was seen being led away by police officers on patrol during Mondays protest, called to demand UK government intervention over Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeaus claims of alleged Indian involvement in the killing of wanted terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar, an allegation strongly rejected by India as absurd and motivated.

On Monday, October 2, a man was arrested outside the Indian High Commission on suspicion of violent disorder in relation to a protest at the same venue on 19 March, the Met Police statement said.

The man was taken into custody and has been bailed pending further enquiries, the statement noted.

The man can be named only after he is charged but is believed to be one of over a dozen individuals identified by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) to have been responsible for the attack on the High Commission of India on March 19, when pro-Khalistan extremists scaled the building and attempted to pull down the Indian national flag. At least one official was injured as objects were hurled at the building and windows were shattered.

At the time, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) summoned the senior-most UK diplomat in New Delhi to convey Indias strong protest at the actions of separatist and extremist elements against the High Commission of India in London. In June, the NIA released photographs of suspects they believe were involved in the violent protest as the central agency took over the probe after Home Ministry officials met UK representatives in the wake of the attack.

The latest arrest comes as Police Scotland revealed that it had found no criminality related to the Indian High Commissioner to the UK, Vikram Doraiswami, being blocked from a gurdwara by pro-Khalistan extremists in Glasgow last week.

Following extensive enquiries into a report of a disturbance in the Albert Drive area of Glasgow on Friday, September 29, 2023, no criminality has been established, said a Police Scotland spokesperson.

The police had been summoned over the disgraceful incident as three people deliberately disrupted the planned community visit and one man even attempted to violently force open the diplomatic vehicle as senior diplomats arrived at Glasgow Gurdwara Guru Granth Sahib on Albert Drive.

It is due to the quick reaction of one of the organisers, who physically intervened at the car door, that a bigger incident was avoided. The High Commission of India has reported this disgraceful incident to the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) and the Metropolitan Police, the Indian High Commission statement said at the time.

Glasgow Gurdwara had also followed up with its statement to condemn the disorderly behaviour by unknown and unruly individuals, who disturbed the peace at a place of worship and attempted to disrupt the visit of the envoy facilitated by a member of the Scottish Parliament.

Glasgow Gurdwara strongly condemns such disorderly behaviour to disrupt the peaceful proceedings of a Sikh place of worship. The Gurdwara is open to people from all communities and backgrounds, and we welcome everyone openly as per our principles of faith, it said.
Nawaz Sharif is returning to Pakistan to rescue the country out of crisis and not for taking revenge, said former prime minister and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) president Shehbaz Sharif.

Nawaz Sharif is expected to return to Pakistan on October 21. The three-time prime minister has been in self-imposed exile since November 2019 in London owing to health reasons. He was disqualified for life in 2017 by the Supreme Court for not declaring a receivable salary.

Addressing a political rally in Lahore, Shehbaz Sharif, on Wednesday, said Nawaz is coming back to serve the people of Pakistan and to recommence the journey towards prosperity.

The son of this soil is returning on October 21, not to take revenge but work for the prosperity of the country. God willing, he will change the destiny of people. Get ready to give him a rousing welcome.

Shehbaz also asked his party workers to highlight the injustice done to Nawaz and said people of Pakistan were in fact deprived of progress and development due to the ouster of his brother (Nawaz).

Lauding the work of PML-N government under Nawaz, Shehbaz said his brother came into power at a time when the country faced long hours of load-shedding. In only four years Nawaz Sharif rooted out load-shedding, he added.

I will work with Nawaz Sharif to put the country back on track for development and growth, Shehbaz said.

He further claimed that Pakistans progress and development were halted and even claimed that 2018 general elections were rigged.

Nawaz Sharif after arrival plan

On his scheduled arrival on October 21, Nawaz will address a public gathering at Minar-e-Pakistan, senior PML-N leader Rana Sanaullah said.

A report by GeoTV quoted sources saying that Nawaz, in his address, would unveil a narrative to the PML-N workers, the move suggested by Chief Organiser Maryam.

Meanwhile, his legal team has completed preparations to seek protective bail from the court ahead of his arrival.
Climate change, according to Pope Francis, is the result of the irresponsible lifestyle associated with the Western model.

On Wednesday, Pope Francis encouraged world leaders to agree to binding commitments to reduce climate change before its too late, saying that Gods constantly heated creation is rapidly approaching a point of no return.

In an update to his landmark 2015 encyclical on the environment, Francis raised the alarm about the irreversible harm already being done to people and the earth, and lamented that the worlds poor and most vulnerable are once again paying the heaviest price.

We are now unable to halt the enormous damage we have caused. We barely have time to prevent even more tragic damage, he said.

He singled out the United States, stating that its per-capita emissions are double that of China and seven times that of impoverished countries on average.

While individual and household efforts are beneficial, he believes that a broad adjustment in the careless lifestyle associated with the Western model would have a substantial long-term impact.

The letter, titled Praise God, was released on the feast of St. Francis of Assisi, the pontiffs nature-loving namesake, and was intended to persuade negotiators to commit to enforceable climate targets at the next round of United Nations talks in Dubai.

Francis addressed a moral necessity for the world to migrate away from fossil fuels to clean energy through measures that are efficient, compulsory, and easily monitored, using precise scientific data, strong diplomatic arguments, and a sprinkling of spiritual reasoning.

What is being asked of us is nothing more than a certain responsibility for the legacy we will leave behind once we depart this earth, he said.

The 2015 encyclical Praise Be by Pope Francis was a watershed moment for the Catholic Church, as it was the first time a pope used one of his most authoritative teaching writings to recast the climate debate in moral terms.

Francis called for a bold cultural revolution in that text, which has been cited by presidents, patriarchs, and premiers and sparked an activist movement in the church, to correct a structurally perverse economic system in which the rich exploit the poor, turning Earth into a immense pile of filth.

Despite the fact that encyclicals are designed to be timeless, Francis stated that an update to his original was required since our responses have not been adequate, while the world in which we live is collapsing and may be nearing the breaking point.

He presented data demonstrating that rising emissions and the resulting rise in global temperatures have accelerated since the Industrial Revolution, notably in the previous 50 years.

It is no longer feasible to doubt the human  anthropic  origins of climate change, he stated.

While admitting that some catastrophic diagnoses may be unfounded, he stated that inaction is no longer an option.

He claims that the devastation is already underway, with some irreversible damage to biodiversity and species loss that will only worsen unless immediate action is taken.
Desiree Castaneda pleaded guilty to child neglect

tulsa county Desiree Castaneda

An Oklahoma woman pleaded guilty to child neglect charges after her 12-year-old daughter gave birth to the child of a 24-year-old man, online court records indicate.

Desiree Castaneda, 33, was arrested in July 2021 in Tulsa, two weeks after her daughter was brought to the hospital by Juan Miranda-Jara, who told authorities he was the babys biological father. At the time, police believed the girls family was aware of the sexual contact between the girl and Miranda-Jara.

"The family permitted the relationship, and there are photos of the family throwing a baby shower for the victim and the suspect," police said at the time.

The age of consent in Oklahoma is 16.

Related: Oklahoma Mom Arrested After 12-Year-Old Daughter Gives Birth to 24-Year-Old Man's Child

Miranda-Jara was charged with rape, while Castaneda was charged with child neglect and enabling child sexual abuse.

tulsa county Huan Miranda-Jara

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Miranda-Jara pleaded guilty in March 2022, while Castaneda entered her guilty plea on Sept. 20, court records indicate.

Castaneda was sentenced to 15 years in prison and will have to register as a sex offender, court records say. Miranda-Jara is currently serving a 20 year sentence.

At the time of Castanedas arrest, Tulsa police said the girls father is serving a 12 year sentence for first-degree rape unrelated to the case, according to authorities.

If you suspect child abuse, call the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-4-A-Child or 1-800-422-4453, or go to www.childhelp.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages.





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Islamabad on Thursday made it clear that its ongoing campaign against illegal immigrants was not directed towards persons of any particular nationality, a day after the Taliban, who are currently in power in Afghanistan, condemned Pakistans plan to expel its citizens without legal status and called it unacceptable.

On Tuesday, Pakistans caretaker government set November 1 as the deadline for thousands of unauthorized immigrants, including Afghan nationals, to leave the country or face imprisonment and deportation, as the countrys campaign on militancy and smuggling escalated.

Reacting to the development, the ruling Taliban in Afghanistan on Wednesday said Pakistans decision is unacceptable.

The Pakistani side should reconsider its plan. Afghan refugees are not involved in Pakistans security problems. As long as they leave Pakistan voluntarily, that country should tolerate them, Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid said.

Replying to a question at the Foreign Offices weekly briefing here, spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch said the ongoing action envisages repatriation of individuals who have either remained in Pakistan beyond their visa or do not possess valid documents to stay in the country.

Pakistan is within parameters of its sovereign domestic laws to take action in this context, she said.

At the same time, she said, the ongoing operation has nothing to do with the 1.4 million Afghan refugees that Pakistan has been hosting for decades despite its own constrained economic situation.

Pakistans national policy on Afghan refugees remains unchanged and their safe and honourable repatriation is a separate matter on which Islamabad continues to engage with Afghanistan, the spokesperson said.

In response to another query, Baloch said Pakistan has very clearly articulated its concerns over the use of Afghan soil for terrorism. Islamabad, while believing in diplomacy and dialogue, continues engagement with Kabul to fight the threat, she said.

The Foreign Office also refuted media reports that Pakistan has closed transit trade with Afghanistan, saying that the trade continues but the country will not accept the misuse of existing trade facilities.

Pakistan interim interior minister Sarfaraz Bugti on Tuesday said that there are currently 1.73 million unregistered illegal Afghans living in the country.

Since January, 14 out of 24 suicide attacks in Pakistan were carried out by Afghan nationals, he said.

So far more than 700 Afghans have been arrested since early September in Karachi alone and hundreds more in other cities.

(With inputs from agenices)
The US embassy denied allegations that American Ambassador Eric Garcetti warned his colleagues about the potential impact of New Delhis diplomatic spat with Ottawa on India-US relations on Thursday.

According to the American news outlet The Politico, Garcetti has also stated that the US may need to curtail its connections with Indian officials for an unspecified length of time.

The US embassy rejects these reports. When contacted about the claim, a US embassy official said, Ambassador Garcetti works hard every day to deepen the partnership between the people and governments of the United States and India.

As his personal engagement and public schedule demonstrates, Ambassador Garcetti and the US Mission to India are working every day to advance the important, strategic, and consequential partnership we have with India, the spokesperson said.

The ties between India and Canada came under severe strain following Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeaus allegations of a potential involvement of Indian agents in the killing of Khalistani separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in June.

India rejected the allegations as absurd and motivated and expelled a senior Canadian diplomat in a tit-for-tat move to Ottawas expulsion of an Indian official over the case.

The Politico, quoting an unnamed official, said Garcetti has told his in-country team that, because of the diplomatic spat with Canada, relations between India and the US could get worse for a time.

Garcetti also has said the US may need to reduce its contacts with Indian officials for an undefined period of time, it reported.

The White House said on Tuesday that Canadas allegations regarding Indias involvement in the killing of the separatist are serious and need to be investigated fully.
It has been revealed that the United States provided war-torn Ukraine with over a million rounds of ammunition which they had seized after intercepting a convoy in Iran, sometime last year.

The revelation was made after the US Justice Department pursued a civil forfeiture lawsuit to recover possession on the basis that the bullets were confiscated while being transported to Yemeni Houthi forces in violation of a UN arms embargo.

The Justice Department is also claiming forfeiture of weapons taken from additional seized stockpiles, including 9,000 assault rifles, 284 machine guns, about 194 rocket launchers, and more than 70 anti-tank guided missiles.

The 1.1 million 7.62mm rounds were taken from a stateless dhow, Marwan1, by US Central Command naval boats on December 9, 2022. As part of the package, thousands of proximity fuses for rocket-propelled grenades were recovered.

With this weapons transfer, the Justice Departments forfeiture actions against one authoritarian regime are now directly supporting the Ukrainian peoples fight against another authoritarian regime, stated US Attorney General Merrick Garland on Wednesday.

We will continue to use every legal authority at our disposal to support Ukraine in their fight for freedom, democracy and the rule of law.

According to the US, the armaments were provided by Irans Revolutionary Guard and were destined for its Houthi supporters in Yemens civil conflict.

They have been warehoused in the Middle East since then, and a forfeiture claim was filed in a US court in March. On July 20, the United States took control.

The shipment of captured Iranian weapons to Ukraine comes at a time when western defense ministries are concerned about their ability to arm Kyiv in the face of Russias persistent attrition war.

The bottom of the barrel is now visible, said Adm Rob Bauer, the Dutch chair of the Nato military committee and the alliances most senior military official, during a conference in Warsaw on Tuesday.
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Rishi Sunak has been accused of a possible contempt of court for his joke on former Scotland PM Nicola Sturgeon, a complaint filed with Scotland police has alleged.

Sunak made the joke in his speech to Tory party members at the annual conference in Manchester on Wednesday. The complaint has been filed by the general secretary of the Alba Party, Chris McEleny.

In his complaint, McEleny has reportedly requested an investigation into whether Sunak had committed contempt of court by referencing Scotlands former first minister, who is the subject of an ongoing police investigation.

Sturgeon, who resigned as first minister in February, was arrested and questioned in June as part of a Police Scotland inquiry into the SNPs finances, but she was eventually released without charge.

She has out rightly denied the charges.

According to McElenys complaint, the prime minister is commenting on, and making an assumption about, a live Police Scotland investigation.

Operation Branchform is looking into serious issues that are very important to the people of Scotland.

It is far too important a matter to allow the prime minister to interfere in this act of contempt while many people await the findings of Police Scotlands investigation.

Operation Branchform should be free to pursue its investigation fearlessly without interference from Rishi Sunak.

Police Scotland started Operation Branchform to look into the whereabouts of 600,000 in cash set aside for a second independence referendum.

It is understood that there have been allegations that the ring-fenced funds have been misused by being spent elsewhere.

Sturgeons arrest followed the detentions of party treasurer Colin Beattie and former party chief executive Peter Murrell, both of whom were later freed without charge.

As part of the probe, police earlier investigated the SNP offices and the homes of Ms Sturgeon and Mr Murrell.

Scotland police is yet to respond to the complaint.
Russia has reached an agreement to establish a permanent naval base on the Black Sea coast within the breakaway Georgian region of Abkhazia, its leader was quoted on Thursday as saying by the Izvestiya newspaper.

The development came a day after the leaders meeting with President Vladimir Putin.

The Russian Black Sea Fleet, currently stationed in Sevastopol on the Crimean Peninsula, which was annexed by Moscow from Ukraine in 2014, has faced multiple attacks by Ukrainian forces since the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

Aslan Bzhania, the self-styled president of Russian-backed Abkhazia, said an agreement had been signed for a permanent naval base in the Ochamchira region.

We have signed an agreement, and in the near future there will be a permanent base of the Russian Navy in the Ochamchira district, Bzhania told Izvestiya.

This is all aimed at increasing the level of defence capability of both Russia and Abkhazia, and this kind of interaction will continue, he said. There are also things I cant talk about.

When asked about the report, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said such issues were in the competence of the defence ministry and he made no further comment. The Russian-backed Abkhaz authorities did not respond to a request for comment.

Russia recognized Abkhazia and another breakaway region, South Ossetia, as independent states in 2008 after Russian troops repelled a Georgian attempt to retake South Ossetia in a five-day war which ended on August 12, 2008.

NATO CONCERN

The West accused Russia of effectively annexing Abkhazia and South Ossetia and when talk surfaced in 2009 of a Russian base in Ochamchira, the NATO military alliance expressed concern.

Three of the Black Sea littoral states are NATO members  Turkey, Bulgaria and Romania.

Most of the world recognises Abkhazia as part of Georgia. Besides Russia, only Venezuela, Nicaragua, Nauru and Syria have recognised Abkhazia as independent.

The news of the Russian base at Ochamchira, where the Soviet Union had a naval base, could indicate Russia is seeking alternatives to Sevastopol while also expanding its military presence down the Black Sea coast towards Turkey.

The Wall Street Journal reported that Russia had withdrawn the bulk of its Black Sea Fleet from its main base in annexed Crimea due to Ukrainian attacks.

Asked about the WSJ report, the Kremlin said this was also a question for the defence ministry and made no further comment.

At his meeting with Bzhania on Wednesday, Putin made no comment about a naval base. But Bzhania did say that he wanted to participate in the integration processes initiated by the Russian side.

With inputs from Reuters.
Bangladesh became the 33rd nation in the world to create nuclear energy on Thursday after receiving the first Russian shipment of uranium fuel for its $12.65 billion debut nuclear power plant.

Together with Rosatom, the Russian government-owned nuclear energy business, the south Asian nation is constructing the first of two nuclear power facilities. A Russian loan covering 90% of the projects costs has a 28-year repayment term with a 10-year grace period.

Today is a day of pride and joy for the people of Bangladesh, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said during a video conference with Russian President Vladimir Putin that the Russian Embassy in Bangladesh called a nuclear fuel delivery ceremony in a Facebook post.

The United States is putting pressure on Hasinas administration to hold the free and fair elections that are scheduled for January by slapping visa bans on some Bangladeshi officials and political party leaders.

The first Russian foreign minister to visit Bangladesh since the countrys independence in 1971, Sergei Lavrov, promised Bangladesh last month that Moscow was committed to completing the project on schedule despite challenges posed by Western sanctions over the conflict in Ukraine.

The sanctions and COVID-19 pandemic restrictions have caused a delay in construction.

Bangladesh in December refused admission to a Russian ship delivering supplies for the facility as a result of American sanctions against Moscow.

A delay in loan repayments has delayed the commencement of operation of the plants first unit, which has a 2,400 megawatt total generation capacity.

(With agency inputs)
The American man accused of rape who reportedly staged his own death will be extradited to the United States, the Scottish government announced on Thursday.

According to U.S. prosecutors, the individual is Nicholas Rossi, who is suspected of being involved in rape and sexual assault claims in Utah. Rossi attempted to fake his own death in 2020 in an effort to evade capture and fled the country in order to avoid being charged.

The man claims to be Arthur Knight, was never in the US, and was the victim of mistaken identity.

The Scottish ministers have made their decision regarding Mr Nicholas Rossi and signed an extradition order on 28 September 2023, the government said in a statement.

A Scottish court concluded in August that Rossis extradition was not subject to any legal restrictions.

Rossi checked himself into a hospital in Glasgow in October of 2021 and was later detained by police after providing his COVID-19.

(With agency inputs)
A special court in Uttar Pradesh has permitted the state government to withdraw charges against 81 people in a 2015 rioting case, leaving just state Congress president Ajay Rai facing prosecution.

The order from the MP-MLA court came on Wednesday, after the BJP administration agreed to drop the charges against 81 of the 82 defendants in the case. Among the 81 are UP minister Dayashankar Mishra Dayalu and various Hindu saints who have had their charges cleared.

Rai lashed out at the Yogi Adityanath government, declaring that the state governments discriminatory action will not dissuade him.

The court of Special Judge Avnish Gautam ordered withdrawal of the case against 81 accused, except Rai, government counsel Vinay Singh said.

The case was lodged at Dashashwamedh police station here against 82 people, including Rai, on charges of rioting, arson, attempt to murder, and damaging government property after a violence broke out during the Anyay Pratikar Yatra.

Rais advocate Anuj Singh termed the courts order as biased and said that they will approach the Allahabad High Court against it.

UP Congress chief Rai, in a statement, said, For them (BJP) the word Sanatan is not a symbol of any faith and belief, but merely a weapon of political vengeance. This was completely proved when this anti-Sanatan government filed a case against 82 people who were involved in the Anyay Pratikar Yatra, a protest march against suppression of present Shankaracharya in Kashi in 2015. Except me, the government sought the withdrawal of cases against 81 others.

I am not going to be deterred by the discriminatory action of the government and will continue to fight for the injustice done to every aggrieved person or class along with Sanatan Samaj, he said.

The Congress leader said the government argued in the court that there are other cases against him, but additional cases are also against many of the 81 people who got acquitted due to political affiliation.

Whatever cases are against me, they are related to political movements against injustice, the UPCC chief added.

(With inputs from agencies)
A draught bill requesting amnesty for thousands of people accused of crimes committed at political rallies, including insulting the monarchy, over the course of nearly two decades of unrest was submitted by Thailands progressive opposition party on Thursday.

The bill put out to parliament would apply to all political protests since 2006, a year marked by sporadic unrest that included two coups, the ouster of three prime ministers by judges, and debilitating, occasionally violent street rallies.

The Move Forward Party, which won the election in May but was unable to form a government, has proposed creating a committee made up of the speaker of the house, officials from the administration, the opposition, and the court to determine who qualifies for amnesty.

We did not specify offenses because there are so many cases and the timeframe is broad, party leader Chaithawat Tulathon said, adding the bill stipulates those involved in insurrection, causing harm to lives, or abuse of power in security crackdowns would not be eligible.

The anti-establishment Move Forward party won the election on a platform that included changing a provision that protects the king from criticism. This proposal infuriated royalists, the military, and conservative politicians, who banded together to prevent the party from entering office.

How much support Move Forward has for the most recent amnesty proposal is unknown. The now-ruling Pheu Thai Partys last attempt in 2013 backfired, leading to riots and eventually, a coup.

According to data from the legal aid organisation Thai Lawyers for Human Rights, 258 people have been accused of insulting the king in the last three years out of 1,928 persons who have been tried for political rallies.

According to Puangtip Boonsanong, a lawyer involved in many of those cases, 500 people associated with conservative political groups, including yellow shirts involved in a 2009 blockade of two international airports and of the seat of government in 2008, 2013 and 2014, have been charged with offences.

(With agency inputs)
The UK government on Wednesday warned that Russia could target civilian shipping in the Black Sea by laying sea mines on the approaches to Ukrainian ports and then blaming Ukraine.

London last month said that Russian forces targeted a civilian cargo ship in the region with multiple missiles but they were successfully intercepted by air defences.

Citing declassified intelligence, it said there was a risk of attack to cargo ships travelling through Ukraines humanitarian corridor to deter Ukrainian grain exports.

Russias pernicious targeting of civilian shipping in the Black Sea demonstrates Putins total disregard for civilian lives and the needs of the worlds most vulnerable, said Foreign Secretary James Cleverly.

The world is watching  and we see right through Russias cynical attempts to lay blame on Ukraine for their attacks.

Cleverlys department said by releasing its assessment of intelligence reports, the UK seeks to expose Russias tactics to deter any such incident from occurring.

Russia withdrew from the Black Sea Grain Initiative in July.

Since then, Russian attacks have damaged 130 port infrastructure facilities and destroyed nearly 300,000 tonnes of grain  enough to feed more than one million people for a year, the UK said.

On Wednesday, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak reaffirmed UK backing for Ukraine and President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, urging wavering Western allies to maintain weapons supplies.

If we give President Zelenskyy the tools, the Ukrainians will finish the job, he told his ruling Conservative partys annual conference in Manchester, northwest England.
The Cayuga County Board of Health is urging Gov. Kathy Hochul to intervene after the state Department of Health made significant revisions to the Owasco Lake watershed rules and regulations proposed by local stakeholders.

The board sent a letter to Hochul in September asking her to "direct your state agencies to reincorporate the draft rules and regulations as submitted by the Cayuga County Health Department on behalf of the city of Auburn and town of Owasco water purveyors."

After toxins from harmful algal blooms were found in the drinking water supply in 2016, the state provided funding for a stopgap measure  filtration systems to protect the drinking water. Local officials also began working on changes to the Owasco Lake watershed rules and regulations, which haven't been updated since 1984.

A three-year process resulted in the city of Auburn and town of Owasco approving the proposed rules and regulations in 2020. The policy updates were sent to the state Department of Health for review.

The agency responded with its revisions over the summer. One of the main differences between the state and local plan is how they address nutrient management. Nutrients, such as phosphorus, have contributed to the development of harmful algal blooms in Owasco Lake.

The local plan would impose new rules on manure application and the use of commercial fertilizers on farms. With some exceptions, livestock would be prohibited from accessing brooks and streams and feed storage areas could not be within 250 feet of Owasco Lake's high water mark.

However, the state's revisions do not address nutrient management except for encouraging farms to participate in a voluntary environmental management program.

Auburn and Owasco officials are disappointed with the state's response and raised the possibility of legal action. In its letter, the board of health described the state's proposal "as little more than window dressing" and less protective than the existing rules.

In response, the city council and town board voted to ask the state for a total maximum daily load, a type of pollutant control plan, for Owasco Lake. The request was made after the discovery of a letter from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to the state Department of Environmental Conservation. The EPA had disapproved of the state's list of impaired waterbodies requiring total maximum daily loads because 22 waterbodies and pollutants, including Owasco Lake and its harmful algal bloom problem, weren't included.

There have been other calls for Hochul to intervene. Auburn City Councilor Jimmy Giannettino, who is running for mayor this year, asked the governor to visit the area to discuss Owasco Lake water quality.

What concerns the health board is the possibility that a do-not-drink order would need to be issued if the drinking water quality deteriorates. The county health department held a drill to practice a scenario in which the water wasn't safe to drink.

"Such an occurrence would be impactful, to say the least, to the public health of our community," Dr. John Cosachov, president of the health board, wrote in the letter. "The reverberating effect would be catastrophic to the community."

The health board echoed what other local leaders have said  that the state has failed county residents.

"Clean drinking water is an essential component of public health," Cosachov added. "All citizens of New York state, including those of Cayuga County, have a right to clean water and a healthful environment."
At least 49 people were killed in a Russian attack on Thursday in a village in the Kharkiv region of northeastern Ukraine, including a six-year-old boy, according to Ukrainian officials.

Oleh Synehubov, the governor of the Kharkiv area, reported that numerous civilians were present when a cafe and a business in the village of Hroza in the Kupyansk district of Kharkiv were targeted at around 13:15 (10:15 GMT).

The rescuers continue to work on the site, Synehubov said on the Telegram messaging app.

Authorities shared video of rescuers scaling through burning rubble. Along with mangled metal and concrete slabs, bodies were lying there.

It wasnt immediately apparent if the settlement had been shelled or if a missile had been fired by Russian soldiers, who invaded Ukraine 19 months ago.

President Volodymyr Zelenskiy declared that the Russian terror should be stopped while in Spain for a summit with European leaders.

Now we are talking with European leaders, in particular, about strengthening our air defence, about strengthening our soldiers, about giving our country protection from terror, he said in a post on the Telegram messaging app.

(With agency inputs)
In order to prevent a humanitarian catastrophe, the United Nations warned on Thursday that it was trying to reach 18 million people in need in Sudan due to instability, interference from the warring parties, and a lack of foreign funding.

We need to reach 18 million people and we will not give up on that target, but we need more international support, better access to the people who need us and safety for our operations, said Clementine Nkweta-Salami, Deputy Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General and Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Sudan.

Were not at this point able to have an operation that is commensurate to the scale (of needs), she said.

In the middle of April, fighting broke out between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), causing a severe humanitarian catastrophe and bringing the nation dangerously close to civil war.

Due to the war, more than 4.2 million people have left their homes, and approximately 1.2 million of them have entered neighbouring countries, placing a tremendous strain on Sudans limited resources.

Since the violence started, Nkweta-Salami claimed that 19 relief workers have died and 29 have been injured, which she deemed unacceptable and illegal.

Red tape was impeding the provision of relief, and only one-third of a $2.6 billion plea to the international community for aid to the Sudanese people had been funded, she claimed.

We also need to see an end to interference from the conflict parties in our operations, including forced checks of humanitarian trucks and mandatory military presence during the loading process in Port Sudan and Jazeera, she said.

I hope that we will see swift action to reduce the bureaucratic obstacles, including delays in visa approvals for staff as promised by Sudanese authorities in a donor meeting yesterday.

The U.N. apprehensions that the situation would get worse if the battle moves to other regions, such as central Jazeera state, which she referred to as Sudans breadbasket, where it might obstruct the flow of food.

(With agency inputs)
In a reversal in strategy for President Joe Bidens administration, the government announced on Thursday that the United States will construct extra sections of border wall and roadways in a Texas county that has seen a lot of migrants entering the country from Mexico.

According to a notice in the Federal Register, the Department of Homeland Security said it needed to waive a variety of laws, rules, and other legal criteria to ensure the expeditious construction of barriers and roads in proximity to the international land border in Starr County, Texas.

The decision represents a change in the Biden administrations stance on the construction of actual walls and other barriers, one of former Republican President Donald Trumps top demands and the refrain of his campaign rallies, Build That Wall.

As one of his first official acts, Biden declared that no more American taxpayer dollars be diverted to construct a border wall and ordered a review of all funds already allocated.

With border issues looming large in the upcoming general election, Biden, a Democrat, and Trump, the front-runner for the 2024 Republican presidential candidate, may square off once more.

After falling in mid-May when the Biden administration implemented tighter new asylum criteria, the number of migrants apprehended trying to enter the country illegally or presenting themselves at legitimate border crossings has gradually increased.

After the announcement, migrant numbers initially decreased, but recently started to increase as thousands of migrantsmany of whom were escaping Venezuelamade their way through south and central America.

According to Alejandro Mayorkas, the secretary of homeland security, more than 245,000 persons have been stopped by the U.S. Border Patrol in the Rio Grande Valley Sector during the current fiscal year.

According to him, funding for border barrier construction in fiscal year 2019 will be used to pay for the construction projects.

There is presently an acute and immediate need to construct physical barriers and roads in the vicinity of the border of the United States in order to prevent unlawful entries into the United States in the project areas, Mayorkas said.

Mayorkas declaration drew no immediate response from the White House, but Trump quickly declared victory.

As I have stated often, over thousands of years, there are only two things that have consistently worked, wheels, and walls! Trump wrote in a social media post. Will Joe Biden apologize to me and America for taking so long to get moving on a barrier?

Cities in the north and at the border of the United States have been stretched by the rise of migrants. Several thousand migrants are said to have arrived in recent days, prompting the mayor of Eagle Pass, Texas, to proclaim a state of emergency last month owing to a severe undocumented immigrant surge into the area.

Eric Adams, the mayor of New York City, set out on a tour to Mexico, Colombia, and Ecuador on Thursday to tell prospective immigrants that his city is unable to take them in.

(With agency inputs)
A Turkish drone that had gotten too close to American ground forces in Hasakah, Syria, was shot down by the American military on Thursday.

An official told the media that the drone had been flying unsafely and out of sync. As NATO partners, the U.S. and Turkish forces typically coordinate closely when performing air manoeuvres. Prior to making an announcement, the official discussed the situation under the condition of anonymity.

About 900 American soldiers are currently engaged in operations in Syria against militants from the Islamic State group.

Following a suicide attempt earlier this week outside Turkeys interior ministry office, Turkey increased its airstrikes against Kurdish militant targets in Iraq and Syria on Wednesday.

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan claimed that Turkish intelligence agencies had determined that the two attackers had travelled from Syria, where they had received training, during a press conference after the incident. He declared that Turkey would now target PKK- or its allied Peoples Defence Units, or YPG, Kurdish militia groups, facilities in Syria and Iraq.

(With agency inputs)
Heaping praise on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Russian President Vladimir Putin called him a very wise man, adding that India is making great strides in development under his leadership, Russia-based media RT reported.

Putin also expressed hope for further cooperation between Russia and India in the field of financial security and the fight against cybercrime.

According to a video shared by RT news platform, Putin said during an event, We share very good political relations with Prime Minister Modi, he is a very wise man. And India has been making very great strides in development under his leadership. This fully meets the interest of both India and Russia to work on this agenda.

His remarks come close on the heels of the adoption New Delhi Declaration at the G20 Summit in India. Significantly, the declaration called for establishing peace in the ongoing conflict in Ukraine but didnt put the blame on Russia, marking a sharp drift from the previous Bali Declaration.

The New Delhi Declaration was welcomed by Moscow, which termed it a milestone and also praised the active role of the Indian presidency in consolidating the G20 countries from the Global South.

Last month, too, President Putin had praised PM Modi stating he was doing the right thing in promoting the Make in India programme. In an address at the 8th Eastern Economic Forum (EEF), Putin said, You know, we did not have domestically made cars then, but we do now. It is true that they look more modest than Mercedes or Audi cars, which we bought in vast amounts in the 1990s, but this is not an issue. I think that we should emulate many of our partners, for example, India.

They are focused on the manufacture and use of Indian-made vehicles. I think that Prime Minister Modi is doing the right thing in promoting the Make in India programme. He is right, he added.
Muhammad Yunus, the recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize, went before Bangladeshs anti-corruption body on Thursday to answer to corruption charges that his attorneys claimed were a result of a government harassment campaign.

With his innovative micro-credit bank, Yunus, 83, is credited with helping millions of people escape poverty. However, he has a falling out with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who has accused him of sucking blood from the underprivileged.

He is dealing with around 175 separate criminal and labor tribunal issues involving the social business enterprises he founded in Bangladesh with the intention of bringing services to the underprivileged.

Yunus had to cut short his trip to the United Nations headquarters in New York to attend the hearing at the Anti-Corruption Commission in the nations capital, Dhaka, defense attorney Abdullah al Mamun told reporters.

He is now being interrogated by anti-corruption officials as part of the investigation, Khaja Tanvir Ahmed, one of Yunuss lawyers, told AFP.

Yunus and seven officials of Grameen Telecom, a social business firm he founded, are accused of money laundering and embezzling 250 million taka ($2.3 million), according to charges filed by the commission in May.

He faces up to 12 years in jail if convicted.

Another case against Yunus is currently at trial. His lawyers have insisted he is innocent of all charges against him.

These cases are all part of the continuous harassment against Nobel laureate Professor Muhammad Yunus, Ahmed said.

In August, 160 global figures including former US president Barack Obama and ex-UN secretary-general Ban Ki-moon published a joint letter against the continuous judicial harassment of the micro-credit pioneer.

The signatories  including more than 100 of his fellow Nobel laureates  said they feared for his safety and freedom.

Yunus was awarded the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize for his work promoting economic development.

He has been credited with helping eradicate extreme poverty in Bangladesh by offering microfinance loans to tens of millions of rural women through Grameen Bank, which he founded in the 1980s.

Bangladeshs anti-graft watchdog last year ordered a wide-ranging probe into firms that Yunus chairs.

Hasina has attacked him personally, blaming him for the World Bank pulling out from a bridge project near Dhaka that was mired in corruption allegations.

When the bridge finally opened last year, Hasina said Yunus should be dipped in a river for jeopardising its completion.
With an aim to enable the multilateral lender to pursue a more inclusive agenda focused on addressing climate change and alleviating poverty, the World Banks Development Committee has put forth a proposal to establish an additional annual lending capacity exceeding $100 billion over the next decade.

The final proposals from the joint ministerial committee composed of the boards of governors of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) reflect the recommendations put forth by the Independent Expert Group established by the G20, which was co-chaired by N.K. Singh, Chairman of the 15th Finance Commission and former US Treasury Secretary Larry Summers.

The group has already submitted its second volume to Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and will make a detailed presentation to the G20 at Marrakech scheduled next week, reported ET.

The group has put forward a roadmap and a comprehensive strategy for overhauling multilateral development banks (MDBs), such as the World Bank and Asian Development Bank. The plan includes specific proposals aimed at allowing MDBs to mobilize private capital in addition to increasing their financial capability.

We are going into greater granularity on how you really achieve this private capitalwhat incentive, risk mitigation can you do, Singh was quoted by ET as saying in an interview 10 days back.

During the G20 Leaders Summit that took place in New Delhi on September 9 and 10, the New Delhi Leaders Declaration which was adopted by G20 leaders, elevated the importance of climate change on the global geopolitical agenda. The leaders also agreed to reform MDBs to make them bigger and better and more cognisant of the needs of the Global South.
After losing by more than 4,000 votes last year, Mario Fratto is challenging U.S. Rep. Claudia Tenney to a Republican primary rematch in 2024.

Fratto, a Geneva attorney and businessman, announced Wednesday that he will seek the GOP nomination in the 24th Congressional District. The district covers all or parts of 12 counties, including Cayuga, stretching from western New York to the North Country.

In a lengthy statement, Fratto listed his complaints about Tenney, R-Canandaigua, and actions taken by Congress, including funding for Ukraine's defense against the Russian invasion and Tenney's vote to raise the debt ceiling. He also repeated his criticism of her decision to move from the Utica area to run in in the 24th.

"I had hoped that our close primary race would encourage her to make a course correction and vote the values of the most conservative district in the state," Fratto said. "She has instead doubled down on the bad policies that filled the carpet bag she dragged into our district last year."

Members of Congress are not required to live in the districts they represent. However, Tenney decided to move to Canandaigua before the Republican primary in 2022.

During that primary, Fratto used some of the same attacks against Tenney  that she was a "carpetbagger"  and questioned her conservative voting record.

Tenney won the primary by 13 points, 53 to 40%, over Fratto. She cruised to a general election victory over Democratic challenger Steven Holden in November 2022.

When Tenney last filed a fundraising report over the summer, she had more than $252,000 cash on hand. This year, she has raised over $476,000 and received nearly $27,000 from other committees.

Tenney said in a statement that she is focused on electing a new House speaker after Kevin McCarthy's ouster this week. She is also working on legislation, including spending bills and measures to address border security, while serving on the powerful House Ways and Means Committee.

She also blasted Fratto as a "pro-criminal lawyer"  he is a criminal defense attorney  and accused him of running for Congress for personal gain.

"Republicans must be united in our effort to hold the House majority," Tenney said. "I have handily defeated past primary opponents, including Fratto, because of my strong conservative record of accomplishment and unparalleled and aggressive advocacy on behalf of my constituents. The race in 2024 will be no different. I am honored to represent this district and grateful for the overwhelming support that I have received from constituents throughout all 12 counties."

Fratto is the first opponent to emerge in the 24th district. No Democrats have filed to challenge Tenney in 2024. Republicans outnumber Democrats by nearly 80,000 in the 24th district.
Google, this week unveiled its latest flagship Pixel 8 series smartphones. In a bid to further elevate the smartphone photography and videography experience, Google is rolling out four groundbreaking AI-powered editing features for Google Photos on Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro. These updates, building upon Google Researchs AI technology, promise to simplify complex edits and enhance user creativity.

Perfect Your Group Photos with Best Take feature

Taking that perfect group photo just got easier with the introduction of the Best Take feature. This feature utilizes a series of similar photos taken in quick succession to automatically create a blended image, ensuring everyones best expression is captured.

If you prefer a different expression, you have the flexibility to manually select one from the various shots you took, putting you in control of your group photos.

Magic Editor

Magic Editor, an experimental editing experience, leverages generative AI to simplify complex edits. It allows users to effortlessly resize, reposition, or adjust subjects within photos. Contextual suggestions can improve lighting and backgrounds, transforming a gray sky into a golden-hour sunset.

Additionally, Magic Editor provides multiple result options for users to choose from, empowering them to achieve their desired look. Google acknowledges that Magic Editor is in its early stages and encourages user feedback for further refinement.

Audio Magic Eraser

Google has also introduced Audio Magic Eraser, which uses advanced machine learning models to identify and categorize background sounds in videos, such as people talking, music, or wind. Users can then easily reduce or eliminate these distracting noises with just a few taps, ensuring their videos sound precisely as intended.

Zoom Enhance for Post-Capture Focus

Zoom Enhance, coming soon to Pixel 8 Pro, empowers users to zoom in on any photo after its been captured and crop it to their desired focus. Thanks to generative AI, Zoom Enhance intelligently fills in the gaps between pixels and predicts fine details, offering new possibilities for framing and focusing on the most important aspects of photos.

Availability

These innovative features are set to enhance the editing capabilities of Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro users. Best Take, Magic Editor, and Audio Magic Eraser will be available starting October 12, promising to take smartphone photography and videography to the next level.
Nokia has opened its 6G Lab at its Global Research and Development center in Bangalore, India. This project is set to fast-track the development of essential technologies and innovative applications driven by 6G technology, catering to the future needs of both industries and society.

The virtual inauguration was graced by Mr. Ashwini Vaishnaw, the Honble Minister of Railways, Communications, Electronics & IT, Government of India. Nokias 6G Lab aligns with the Government of Indias Bharat 6G Vision, championed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, envisioning India playing a pivotal global role in the development of 6G technology.

One notable initiative in the Lab is the research into Network as a Sensor technology, enabling networks to sense objects, people, and movement without onboard sensors.

In the 6G era, this technology is seen as a game-changer, seamlessly merging the digital and physical worlds. Additionally, the Lab will serve as an experimental ground for exploring algorithms, privacy, and sustainable system design.

Nokia has been at the forefront of 6G development, engaging in global projects and regional initiatives. The companys work aligns with the European 6G Flagship initiative and contributes to the Next G Alliance, driving the 6G ecosystem in North America.

The establishment of Nokias 6G Lab in India marks a pivotal step towards advancing the nations technological prowess and realizing its ambition in the global arena.

Regarding the announcement, Nishant Batra, Chief Strategy and Technology Officer of Nokia, said:
The town of Skaneateles is investigating several recent car larcenies in the area and reports of "a man engaging in lewd behavior" on the Charlie Major Nature Trail.

A news release posted to the town's Facebook page this week said that the Skaneateles Police Department, Onondaga County Sheriff's Office and New York State Police are investigating the larcenies, which have taken place in the village and town over the past week. The town asks residents to check any home video surveillance systems for evidence and to call 911 to report any suspicious activity.

Residents should lock their vehicles, remove all keys and fobs, and ensure that any valuables are not visible, the town said. If they are the victim of a car larceny, they should contact 911.

The town also said that it has increased surveillance of the .8-mile Charlie Major trail, located between Old Seneca Turnpike and Crow Hill Road. In a Facebook post on Thursday, the town added that there was another incident of a man engaging in lewd behavior there that day. Authorities were not able to apprehend him, so the town recommends not going there alone until "the predator" is caught.

As with the larcenies, residents are asked to call 911 if they are a victim of lewd behavior on the trail or if they observe any suspicious activity there.

For more information, visit facebook.com/townofskaneateles.
Do you remember the mystery van from the cartoon show Scooby-Doo? Well, a mimic of it is now available in real life. A tuner from Indonesia has turned a Volkswagen ID.Buzz into a Scooby-Doo themed van, paying homage to the original mystery vehicle. The theme wrap around the ID.Buzz stands out and has been brought to life by TeckWrap.

All the colours on the body wrap accurately mimic the colors and design of the original Mystery Machine from the cartoon show. The front bumper is finished in bright green while the rest of the fascia, the pillars, and the roof are finished in turquoise. The green theme continues along the sides where the characters from Scooby-Doo are visible.

Apart from the livery, other changes on the ID.Buzz include overhauling of its suspension by Concept Motorsport Indonesia, and equipping it with a set of KW V3 coilovers, one of the more popular aftermarket coilover options out there. Thanks to these coilovers, the car can now be raised and lowered easily while also significantly improving its handling. Further, a special set of aftermarket wheels with black spokes and chrome barrels enhance the look of the theme van.

Volkswagen has started the deliveries of the ID.Buzz in many markets around the world but US markets will have to wait till next year. (Concept Motorsport Indonesia)

Volkswagen has started the deliveries of the ID.Buzz in many markets around the world, but it wont reach the hands of US markets until next year. However, the company has extensively reworked the model to meet the demands of North American customers, as the model is now 6.9 inches (175 mm) longer. It is also equipped with a larger 91 kWh battery compared to the 82 kWh pack of overseas markets and is being offered in rear-wheel drive and all-wheel drive configurations.

Driving the rear-wheel drive model is a single electric motor with 282 hp and 406 lb-ft (550 Nm) of torque while the all-wheel drive variant adds a 49 hp motor to the front axle.

First Published Date:
SAN DIEGOAylo, the parent company of tube sites such as Pornhub and YouPorn, on Tuesday was sued by 61 women who were victimized by the GirlsDoPorn sex trafficking ring.

The suit filed in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California alleges Aylo and its associated companies engaged in human trafficking and racketeering. It seeks damages and restitution of more than $311 millionor about $5 million per victim named in the suit.

The alleged victims are represented by personal injury attorney, Brian Holm, and the Holm Law Group, who are demanding a jury trial.

A spokesperson for Aylo told AVN that the company will not comment on ongoing litigation.

We look forward to the facts being fully and fairly aired in that forum, the Aylo spokesperson said. The safety of our community is our number one priority, so we are proud to have instituted Trust and Safety policies that surpass those of any other major user-generated platform on the internet. Our compliance program has helped us set the standard for the tech industry, and we are committed to remaining at the forefront of this important area.

Holm filed civil suits on behalf of other victims in 2016 to 2018 cases, leading to indictments of the owner of GirlsDoPorn, Michael Pratt, and others. The most recent indictment was Douglas Wiederhold, founder and co-owner of MomPOV.com with Pratt.

Most of the women who appeared in GirlsDoPorn videos were fraudulently misled by Pratt and his associates who said that the modeling gigs they advertised on Craigslist and other job boards would only be distributed as DVD releases in foreign media markets.

According to the complaint, Pornhub and its sister tube sites entered into a content partnership with GirlsDoPorn and MomPOV. The suit alleges that MindGeek (Aylos former name) executives at the time either knew of the illegal activity at Pratts operation or didnt vet the premium sites and their parent companies further.

The suit claims that Aylo is liable for enabling Pratts criminal enterprise and capitalizing off of marketing videos that feature the victims across the Pornhub network.

The lawsuit additionally mentions a series of investigative videos published by Sound Investigations alleging executives at Pornhubs parent company dismissed a predator loophole. According to the complaint, content moderation was conducted by a single person, who was expected to vet 700,000 videos flagged on the platform. In addition, the flagging program that was in place at the time required a minimum of 15 flags in order to qualify for moderation and review by the woefully short-handed trust and safety team that Aylo had in its employ, according to the complaint.

The timeline of events described in the lawsuit appears to be before Aylo rebranded and Ethical Capital Partners acquired the company.

Another Jane Doe victim, formerly known as Kristy Althaus, also has filed suit against Aylo with similar claims.
Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. The Faroe Islands are located in which body of water?



Atlantic Ocean



They are specifically in the North Atlantic Ocean, lying between Iceland and the Shetland Islands of the British Isles, which are part of Scotland. Their name can also be spelled as Faeroe Islands while in Faroese they are called Froyar and in Danish Frerne.



They consist of seventeen inhabited islands of volcanic rock covered by peat with other islets and numerous fjords. Answer:They are specifically in the North Atlantic Ocean, lying between Iceland and the Shetland Islands of the British Isles, which are part of Scotland. Their name can also be spelled as Faeroe Islands while in Faroese they are called Froyar and in Danish Frerne.They consist of seventeen inhabited islands of volcanic rock covered by peat with other islets and numerous fjords.

2. The name of the Faroe Islands appears on which of these ancient items?



Answer: Hereford's Mappa Mundi



The Mappa Mundi (Map of the World) which is on display at Hereford's cathedral is believed to date from around 1300. It shows Jerusalem as the centre of the world, so it is a little surprising to find such a small group of islands appearing. The map does extend to Scotland, and the Faroe Islands are named as 'farei'.



The name of the islands is generally accepted to mean 'sheep islands' from the Old Norse language.

3. Which of these languages is Faroese closest to?



Answer: Icelandic



Although it is now part of Denmark, and was previously owned by Norway, it is Icelandic which is closest to Faroese. Although the written languages resemble each other, the spoken language differs considerably and speakers of each language cannot generally understand the other.



The language has developed from Old Norse and is spoken by around 70,000 people in all in the first quarter of the twenty-first century, mostly living on the islands with some in Denmark itself.

4. Although classed as part of Denmark, the Faroe Islands do have a flag of their own, adopted in 1940. It features a Nordic cross on a field of which colour?



White



Most of the Scandinavian countries and dependencies have a Nordic cross on their flags, Greenland being an exception with a red and white circle set on a background of red and white halves. Denmark's flag has a red field with a white cross offset to the left, which is the distinguishing feature of the Nordic cross.



The flag of the Faroe Islands has a red cross edged in blue on its white field and is known as the Merki, which translates as the sign or mark. Answer:Most of the Scandinavian countries and dependencies have a Nordic cross on their flags, Greenland being an exception with a red and white circle set on a background of red and white halves. Denmark's flag has a red field with a white cross offset to the left, which is the distinguishing feature of the Nordic cross.The flag of the Faroe Islands has a red cross edged in blue on its white field and is known as the Merki, which translates as the sign or mark.

5. The primary industry of the Faroe Islands in the first quarter of the twenty-first century is which of these options?



Answer: Fishing



They are islands after all, so fishing is the most likely answer. According to the official government website, fishing and aquaculture accounts for a massive 90 to 95% of its exports and around 20% of its gross domestic product in the first quarter of the twenty-first century. Aquaculture primarily focuses on salmon while fish such as cod, mackerel and herring are caught at sea.



The islands are looking to expand both shipping and tourism, but they have a way to go at the time of writing.

6. Which of these describes the Lgting?



Answer: Faroese parliament



The name has the literal meaning of 'law thing' in Old Norse and dates from the Viking era. It is the name given to assemblies and has applied to meetings to agree laws on the islands for over one thousand years.



As the Faroes are recognised as an autonomous territory, they have their own parliament with a total of 33 members. The parliament building is located on the peninsula called Tinganes, near Torshavn, where assemblies were held historically.

7. The capital city of Torshavn is located on which island, the largest in the country?



Streymoy



The name of the capital means 'Thor's Harbour' and the city is located in the south east of the island of Streymoy. As you'd expect, it is a coastal city (although the size of the islands means that most settlements are), and is where ferries to and from Norway and Iceland dock. There are also local ferry services between the islands.



Torshavn also has a cathedral, dating originally from 1609. Answer:The name of the capital means 'Thor's Harbour' and the city is located in the south east of the island of Streymoy. As you'd expect, it is a coastal city (although the size of the islands means that most settlements are), and is where ferries to and from Norway and Iceland dock. There are also local ferry services between the islands.Torshavn also has a cathedral, dating originally from 1609.

8. Several common animals have specifically Faroese varieties. Which of these is NOT one of them?



Answer: Pigs



All the mammals on the Faroe Islands were originally brought there by man. The Faroese sheep date from the ninth century and are a hardy breed, due to the exposed nature of the islands. Unlike most sheep, they do not form flocks, behaviour which is attributed to there being no predators. A sheep appears on the official coat of arms. Faroese cattle are smaller than most breeds and are kept primarily for milking. Faroese geese have the run of the islands, again due to the lack of predators.



The other animal named for the island is the Faroe pony, which the islanders insist is a horse despite its small stature. There are no records of a Faroese pig, though.

9. Which country occupied the Faroe Islands during the Second World War?



Answer: Britain



You may have been surprised to see that it was Britain, but the proximity of the Faroe Islands to Scotland - around 260 miles (420 km) from the mainland and even closer from the outlying islands - meant that Britain was proactive in protecting itself. As soon as Germany occupied Denmark and Norway, Britain moved into the Faroe Islands in Operation Valentine to prevent Germany taking the islands.



The presence of the troops meant that Germany never attempted to take control of the Faroes, and the army withdrew as soon as the war was over.

10. Which of these is the national airline of the Faroe Islands in the 2020s?



Atlantic Airways



At the time of writing, the Faroe Islands have only one airport, although there are several heliports which provide access. The airport is located on the island of Vagar and the airport is known as Vagar Airport.



It was originally built by the British Army during World War II but then lay abandoned until 1963 when a regular air service to Copenhagen began. The airport has now expanded and Atlantic Airways (Atlantsflog in Faroese) provides flights to Edinburgh, Paris and Barcelona to name just a few. Answer:At the time of writing, the Faroe Islands have only one airport, although there are several heliports which provide access. The airport is located on the island of Vagar and the airport is known as Vagar Airport.It was originally built by the British Army during World War II but then lay abandoned until 1963 when a regular air service to Copenhagen began. The airport has now expanded and Atlantic Airways (Atlantsflog in Faroese) provides flights to Edinburgh, Paris and Barcelona to name just a few.

Source: Author rossian This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor agony before going online.Any errors found in FunTrivia content are routinely corrected through our feedback system.
International

AP

Pope Francis opens a big Vatican meeting on the church's future and says 'everyone' is welcome

Pope Francis has opened a big meeting on the future of the Catholic Church

VATICAN CITY

Pope Francis said the Catholic Church needed to be rebuilt to make it a place of welcome for everyone, everyone, everyone, as he opened a divisive meeting on the future of the church that has sparked hope among progressives and alarm among conservatives.

Francis presided over a solemn Mass in St. Peters Square to formally open the meeting. But he warned both camps in the churchs culture wars to put their human strategies, political calculations or ideological battles aside and let the Holy Spirit guide debate.

Were not here to create a parliament, but to walk together with the gaze of Jesus, he said.

Rarely in recent times has a Vatican gathering generated as much hope, hype and fear as this three-week, closed-door meeting, known as a synod. It wont make any binding decisions and is only the first session of a two-year process. But it nevertheless has drawn an acute battle line in the churchs perennial left-right divide and marks a defining moment for Francis and his reform agenda.

On the table are calls to take concrete steps to elevate more women to decision-making roles in the church, including as deacons, and for ordinary Catholic faithful to have more of a say in church governance.

Also under consideration are ways to better welcome of LGBTQ+ Catholics and others who have been marginalized by the church, and for new accountability measures to check how bishops exercise their authority to prevent abuses.

Even before it started, the gathering was historic because Francis decided to let women and laypeople vote alongside bishops in any final document produced. While fewer than a quarter of the 365 voting members are non-bishops, the reform is a radical shift away from a hierarchy-focused Synod of Bishops and evidence of Francis belief that the church is more about its flock than its shepherds.

The opening Mass and seating arrangements made that clear: The lay participants led off the processional into St. Peters Square, followed by the vested clerics, suggesting their primacy of place. Inside the synod auditorium, laypeople sat at round tables alongside cardinals and bishops, rather than in the upper back row of the Vaticans audience hall as in previous synods.

Its a watershed moment, said JoAnn Lopez, an Indian-born lay minister who helped organize two years of consultations prior to the meeting at parishes where she has worked in Seattle and Toronto.

This is the first time that women have a very qualitatively different voice at the table, and the opportunity to vote in decision-making is huge, she said.

In his homily, Francis recalled that his namesake St. Francis of Assisi, whose feast day is celebrated Wednesday, also faced divisions and tensions in his lifetime and responded with prayer, charity, humility and unity when he was told: Go and rebuild my church.

Let us do the same! Francis said. And if Gods holy people with their shepherds from all over the world have expectations, hopes and even some fears about the synod we are beginning, let us continue to remember that it is not a political gathering, but a convocation in the spirit; not a polarized parliament, but a place of grace and communion.

He repeated that theme during the first working session of the synod and laid out the ground rules for participants, confirming a media blackout of the meeting. Francis called for a fasting of the public word to allow for free debate without the glare or pressures of media coverage.

More than speaking, the priority is listening, he said.

Women have long complained they are treated as second-class citizens in the church, barred from the priesthood and highest ranks of power yet responsible for the lions share of church work  teaching in Catholic schools, running Catholic hospitals and passing the faith down to next generations.

They have long demanded a greater say in church governance, at the very least with voting rights at the periodic synods but also the right to preach at Mass and be ordained as priests or deacons. Before the opening Mass got under way, advocates for women priests unfurled a giant purple banner at a piazza nearby reading Ordain Women.

Lopez, 34, and other women are particularly excited about the potential that the synod might in some way endorse allowing women to be ordained as deacons, a ministry that is currently limited to men. The issue is on the agenda, and delegation from Lopez group, Discerning Deacons, was in Rome for sideline events.

For years, supporters of female deacons have argued that women in the early church served as deacons and that restoring the ministry would both serve the church and recognize the gifts that women bring to it.

Francis has convened two study commissions to research the issue and was asked to consider it at a previous synod on the Amazon, but he has so far refused to make any change.

In his homily opening the synod, Francis said such preconceived ideas had no place in the gathering. But repeating his new mantra about the church as a place of welcome, he said tutti, tutti, tutti must be allowed in: Everyone, everyone, everyone.

The potential that this synod process could lead to real change on previously taboo topics has given hope to many women and progressive Catholics and sparked alarm from conservatives who have warned its call for radical inclusion of LGBTQ+ people could lead to schism.

They have written books, held conferences and taken to social media claiming that Francis reforms are sowing confusion, undermining the true nature of the church and all it has taught over two millennia. Among the most vocal are conservatives in the United States

On the eve of the meeting, one of the synods most outspoken critics, American Cardinal Raymond Burke, delivered a stinging rebuke of Francis vision of synodality as well as his overall reform project for the church.

Its unfortunately very clear that the invocation of the Holy Spirit by some has the aim of bringing forward an agenda that is more political and human than ecclesial and divine, Burke told a conference entitled The Synodal Babel.

In the audience was Cardinal Robert Sarah, who along with Burke and three other cardinals had formally challenged Francis to affirm church teaching on homosexuality and womens ordination before the synod.

In an exchange of letters made public Monday, Francis didnt bite and instead said the cardinals shouldnt be afraid of questions that are posed by a changing world. Asked specifically about church blessings for same-sex unions, Francis suggested they could be allowed as long as such benedictions arent confused with sacramental marriage.
Twenty countries have committed to nuclear energy to achieve their net zero emission targets and agreed on a number of guiding principles to increase momentum in their nuclear new build projects.

At the Roadmaps to New Nuclear conference, organised by the French Ministry for Energy Transition and the OECD Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA) in Paris, the energy ministers of 20 countries agreed on a joint communique in which they highlight the need for nuclear energy to meet global energy challenges.

Nuclear energy is already a key part of the pathways to net zero in many countries, and it can play a much larger role, both through the continued operation of existing installations and the large-scale construction of new nuclear power plants.

This will require significant international co-operation, in particular to unlock access to financing, to harmonise and enable policy and regulatory frameworks, to support research and development, and to foster stable supply chains, including for nuclear fuel.

Achieving these goals will depend on the further training of a skilled workforce and continued public engagement through transparent, inclusive and responsible democratic decision-making processes.

During the Roadmaps to New Nuclear conference, nine industry nuclear bodies also came together to sign a joint communique setting out their readiness to work together with policymakers to rebuild leadership in nuclear energy across the world. They committed to deepening their existing co-operation to meet climate and energy security goals.

The communiques and the discussions at the conference, which included energy ministers and leaders from industry, will help set the stage for joint, focused action by policymakers, utilities and the private sector. This is particularly important in the run-up to the 28th United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP28) to be held in Dubai on 30 November  12 December 2023. --OGN/TradeArabia News Service
Mexicans are celebrating Day of the Dead, an intangible tradition borne down from pre-Hispanic cultures that is also a celebration for all the senses. The festivity smells of cempasuchil flowers and copal incense. It has a sweet taste. Sounds and colors abound on the tombs and altars honoring the departed. Day of the Dead is one of Mexicos great visual spectacles  and a celebration of cultural syncretism. Its fundamental purpose is to remember those who have died so their souls dont disappear forever. Read moreThe Day of the Dead in Mexico is a celebration for the 5 senses
Welcome to my genealogy blog. Genea-Musings features genealogy research tips and techniques, genealogy news items and commentary, genealogy humor, San Diego genealogy society news, family history research and some family history stories from the keyboard of Randy Seaver (of Chula Vista CA), who thinks that Genealogy Research Is really FUN! Copyright (c) Randall J. Seaver, 2006-2023.
Although you may think you are now doomed to a life of living on a quarter tank of happiness, most Kiwis are not close to reaching that peak happiness dollar amount and Ive seen plenty of legends having the time of their life lately.
Country

United States of America US Virgin Islands United States Minor Outlying Islands Canada Mexico, United Mexican States Bahamas, Commonwealth of the Cuba, Republic of Dominican Republic Haiti, Republic of Jamaica Afghanistan Albania, People's Socialist Republic of Algeria, People's Democratic Republic of American Samoa Andorra, Principality of Angola, Republic of Anguilla Antarctica (the territory South of 60 deg S) Antigua and Barbuda Argentina, Argentine Republic Armenia Aruba Australia, Commonwealth of Austria, Republic of Azerbaijan, Republic of Bahrain, Kingdom of Bangladesh, People's Republic of Barbados Belarus Belgium, Kingdom of Belize Benin, People's Republic of Bermuda Bhutan, Kingdom of Bolivia, Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina Botswana, Republic of Bouvet Island (Bouvetoya) Brazil, Federative Republic of British Indian Ocean Territory (Chagos Archipelago) British Virgin Islands Brunei Darussalam Bulgaria, People's Republic of Burkina Faso Burundi, Republic of Cambodia, Kingdom of Cameroon, United Republic of Cape Verde, Republic of Cayman Islands Central African Republic Chad, Republic of Chile, Republic of China, People's Republic of Christmas Island Cocos (Keeling) Islands Colombia, Republic of Comoros, Union of the Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, People's Republic of Cook Islands Costa Rica, Republic of Cote D'Ivoire, Ivory Coast, Republic of the Cyprus, Republic of Czech Republic Denmark, Kingdom of Djibouti, Republic of Dominica, Commonwealth of Ecuador, Republic of Egypt, Arab Republic of El Salvador, Republic of Equatorial Guinea, Republic of Eritrea Estonia Ethiopia Faeroe Islands Falkland Islands (Malvinas) Fiji, Republic of the Fiji Islands Finland, Republic of France, French Republic French Guiana French Polynesia French Southern Territories Gabon, Gabonese Republic Gambia, Republic of the Georgia Germany Ghana, Republic of Gibraltar Greece, Hellenic Republic Greenland Grenada Guadaloupe Guam Guatemala, Republic of Guinea, Revolutionary People's Rep'c of Guinea-Bissau, Republic of Guyana, Republic of Heard and McDonald Islands Holy See (Vatican City State) Honduras, Republic of Hong Kong, Special Administrative Region of China Hrvatska (Croatia) Hungary, Hungarian People's Republic Iceland, Republic of India, Republic of Indonesia, Republic of Iran, Islamic Republic of Iraq, Republic of Ireland Israel, State of Italy, Italian Republic Japan Jordan, Hashemite Kingdom of Kazakhstan, Republic of Kenya, Republic of Kiribati, Republic of Korea, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Republic of Kuwait, State of Kyrgyz Republic Lao People's Democratic Republic Latvia Lebanon, Lebanese Republic Lesotho, Kingdom of Liberia, Republic of Libyan Arab Jamahiriya Liechtenstein, Principality of Lithuania Luxembourg, Grand Duchy of Macao, Special Administrative Region of China Macedonia, the former Yugoslav Republic of Madagascar, Republic of Malawi, Republic of Malaysia Maldives, Republic of Mali, Republic of Malta, Republic of Marshall Islands Martinique Mauritania, Islamic Republic of Mauritius Mayotte Micronesia, Federated States of Moldova, Republic of Monaco, Principality of Mongolia, Mongolian People's Republic Montserrat Morocco, Kingdom of Mozambique, People's Republic of Myanmar Namibia Nauru, Republic of Nepal, Kingdom of Netherlands Antilles Netherlands, Kingdom of the New Caledonia New Zealand Nicaragua, Republic of Niger, Republic of the Nigeria, Federal Republic of Niue, Republic of Norfolk Island Northern Mariana Islands Norway, Kingdom of Oman, Sultanate of Pakistan, Islamic Republic of Palau Palestinian Territory, Occupied Panama, Republic of Papua New Guinea Paraguay, Republic of Peru, Republic of Philippines, Republic of the Pitcairn Island Poland, Polish People's Republic Portugal, Portuguese Republic Puerto Rico Qatar, State of Reunion Romania, Socialist Republic of Russian Federation Rwanda, Rwandese Republic Samoa, Independent State of San Marino, Republic of Sao Tome and Principe, Democratic Republic of Saudi Arabia, Kingdom of Senegal, Republic of Serbia and Montenegro Seychelles, Republic of Sierra Leone, Republic of Singapore, Republic of Slovakia (Slovak Republic) Slovenia Solomon Islands Somalia, Somali Republic South Africa, Republic of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands Spain, Spanish State Sri Lanka, Democratic Socialist Republic of St. Helena St. Kitts and Nevis St. Lucia St. Pierre and Miquelon St. Vincent and the Grenadines Sudan, Democratic Republic of the Suriname, Republic of Svalbard & Jan Mayen Islands Swaziland, Kingdom of Sweden, Kingdom of Switzerland, Swiss Confederation Syrian Arab Republic Taiwan, Province of China Tajikistan Tanzania, United Republic of Thailand, Kingdom of Timor-Leste, Democratic Republic of Togo, Togolese Republic Tokelau (Tokelau Islands) Tonga, Kingdom of Trinidad and Tobago, Republic of Tunisia, Republic of Turkey, Republic of Turkmenistan Turks and Caicos Islands Tuvalu Uganda, Republic of Ukraine United Arab Emirates United Kingdom of Great Britain & N. Ireland Uruguay, Eastern Republic of Uzbekistan Vanuatu Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of Viet Nam, Socialist Republic of Wallis and Futuna Islands Western Sahara Yemen Zambia, Republic of Zimbabwe
US may not have right tools to combat foreign harassment: report

China and other governments have targeted critics beyond their borders, including in the US.

By Tara McKelvey for RFA 2023.10.04 -- The authors of a new report say the nation's laws could be strengthened in order to fight the Chinese government's efforts, as well as those of other foreign governments, to harass and intimidate their critics in the United States.

These activities, known as "transnational repression," show the extent that officials from foreign governments will go in order to shape public views of their policies. Officials from Beijing and other capital cities spy on individuals in the United States and try to crush criticism of their policies through extortion, death threats and even physical assaults, according to the authors of the report.

The report, which examines the "harassment of dissidents and other tactics of transnational repression," was compiled by researchers from the Government Accountability Office (GAO), a nonpartisan investigative unit of the U.S. Congress.

Yet the U.S. does not have laws that specifically criminalize this type of behavior. As a result, law-enforcement officials have relied on a variety of existing statutes, such as those that prohibit money laundering, in order to stop the offenses. FBI officials told the GAO that "gaps in existing law" make it harder to fight against the Chinese government's attempt at political repression here in the United States.

In one example, as the FBI officials explained to the authors of the report, U.S. statutes used to crack down on this type of repression were written before the internet was created. This makes it harder for prosecutors to bring a case against an individual outside of the United States who works to intimidate U.S. residents.

Analysts say that the use of cyber intimidation and repression is one of the biggest challenges for law enforcement today. "We struggle with this not only in our own country but also with the foreign governments engaging in cyber repression," said David Fidler, a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations.

Chelsa Kenney, the director of the GAO's international affairs and trade team, said that one of the problems for U.S. officials attempting to combat transnational repression is there is no standard definition for what it entails. Local police called to a crime scene may not necessarily consider that the perpetrators are actually living abroad, she said, or "that the crime could have been directed by a foreign government."

The report recommends that U.S. officials at the Justice Department and other federal agencies take steps "to enhance the common understanding" of transnational repression and to examine "gaps in legislation" needed to address the problem. The authors of the report also encourage the heads of various federal agencies to work closely together to address transnational repression.

'Coercion by proxy'

The subject of transnational repression in its various guises has come under scrutiny in recent years. The activities of authoritarian leaders have expanded, according to experts, in part through new methods of tracking people abroad. The Russian government has attempted to poison its critics, according to the U.S. authorities, and the Chinese government has tried to force dissidents to return home to face punishment.

One example of transnational repression noted by the authors of the report is a tactic used by Chinese officials known as "coercion by proxy." Specifically, family members of six U.S.-based journalists reporting on human rights abuses in Xinjiang for Radio Free Asia were thrown in prison in 2021.

"There are still over 50 China-based family members of RFA Uyghur staff missing," said Rohit Mahajan, RFA's chief communications officer.

A spokesperson for the Chinese Embassy in Washington did not respond to a request for comment.

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 October 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.

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U.S. Iraq and Kuwait Wrap Up Successful Trilateral Exercise

US Navy

03 October 2023

From U.S. Naval Forces Central Command Public Affairs

MANAMA, Bahrain -- Maritime forces from Iraq, Kuwait and the United States completed a two-day trilateral exercise focusing on counter-piracy and maritime security in the Northern Arabian Gulf, Oct. 3.

The Sentinel-class U.S. Coast Guard fast response cutters USCGC Robert Goldman (WPC 1142) and USCGC Clarence Sutphin Jr. (WPC 1146) teamed with Kuwait Coast Guard fast patrol boat Wadhah (P 316), Kuwait Coast Guard speed boat (400), Kuwait Navy supply ship KNS Al-dorrar, Kuwait Navy patrol boat KNS Failaka, Kuwait Navy coastal patrol boat KNS Bateel 3 and KNS Bateel 4, a Kuwait helicopter, Iraq Navy patrol boat PB-307 and Iraq Navy patrol boat PB-310 to conduct joint patrols focused on visit, board, search, and seizure (VBSS) procedures, small boat operations, fishermen safety, and communication equipment checks, among many maritime security concerns.

This exercise builds upon previous VBSS engagement training by introducing simulated target vessels, increased VBSS drill repetitions and, as a first, conducting VBSS exercises aboard Kuwaiti ships.

Six years ago, the trilateral exercise concept was driven by the three partner nations' desire to cooperatively address maritime security concerns in the Arabian Gulf. Since that time, the exercises have grown in complexity and are more focused on regional needs.

"Part of what makes this exercise valuable is the ability to take advantage of the wide breadth of knowledge, experience and VBSS tactics together," said Lt. Hunter Stowes, Goldman's commanding officer. "Exercises like this continues to strengthen our regional partnerships, maintain and improve upon our ability to integrate seamlessly with our allies and improve our skill sets in the maritime domain."

"Kuwaiti naval forces cooperate and coordinate with regional navies to ensure maritime security in the Northern Arabian Gulf," said Major Gen. Haza AlAlati, Commander Kuwait Naval Force.

"Our exercises, working alongside U.S. 5th Fleet, Kuwait and Iraq Navies, ensure the security and safety of the fisherman in the international waters in the Northern Arabian Gulf," said Major Gen. Talal Almuwanes, Commander Kuwait Coast Guard.

"The aim of this exercise is to enhance skills, develop training capabilities, maintain preparedness and readiness, exchange experiences between the participating forces, and strengthen international relations within the framework of cooperation and coordination for joint action," said Major Gen. Laith Abdul Sattar Abdul Jabbar, Iraq Um Qaser Naval Base commander.

Vice Adm. Brad Cooper, Commander U.S. Naval Forces Central Command/U.S. 5th Fleet, said the exercises demonstrate the flexibility of regional forces to adapt to changing environments.

"With this latest iteration, we are continuing to advance interoperability at sea," he said. "It's an honor to continue this series of exercises with our Kuwaiti and Iraqi friends. This trilateral exercise proves once again that when we work together we achieve so much more. Maritime security in the Northern Arabian Gulf is critical to regional maritime security, reinforcing the value and importance of these exercises with Kuwait and Iraq."

U.S. Naval Forces Central Command/U.S. 5th Fleet's area of operations (AOO) encompasses about 2.5 million square miles of water area and includes the Arabian Gulf, Red Sea, Gulf of Oman, Gulf of Aden, Arabian Sea and parts of the Indian Ocean. This expanse, comprised of 21 nations, includes three critical choke points at the Strait of Hormuz, the Suez Canal and the Strait of Bab al Mandeb.

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Kenyan President Welcomes UN Resolution on Haiti Intervention

By Mariama Diallo October 03, 2023

Kenyan President William Ruto has welcomed a new resolution approved Monday by the U.N. Security Council authorizing a foreign security mission to intervene in Haiti. Ruto said he hopes the so-called Multinational Security Support Mission his country is leading will provide a different footprint in the history of international interventions in Haiti.

In a taped speech shared with the media Tuesday, Ruto said he hopes the mission will make a difference in the lives of Haitians.

"I welcome the resolution as an overdue and critical instrument to define the multinational mission," he said. The mission is a fundamental intervention to provide the necessary conditions for Haiti to consolidate its development and governance."

Ruto said it is essential that resources, as well as the operational scope available to the U.N. team, be appropriately reinforced.

This comes after the U.N. Security Council voted late Monday to authorize a foreign security mission to intervene in Haiti, a year after the Caribbean nation requested help to quell violent gangs.

Kenya offered to lead the operation in Haiti two months ago, saying it is willing to deploy one thousand of its police forces. On a recent visit to Kenya, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin lauded the plan.

"We intend to work with the United States Congress to provide up to 100 million dollars in support and we urge others in the international community to follow Kenya's great example," he said

Austin was in Nairobi with his Kenyan counterpart Aden Duale.

"Kenya has a very long history of global peace keeping," Duale said "We were in Kosovo, we were in Namibia, we were everywhere and now we are in Somalia, we are in DRC, we have our officers in the Tigray monitoring and evaluation mechanism."

But others, like Eugene Wamalwa, a former Kenyan defense secretary and the leader of the Democratic Action Party of Kenya, told VOA he had some concerns.

"We would expect the process to be transparent," he said. "First of all, starting with our national assembly, our parliament should approve this. We expected also that this matter would be addressed at the AU [African Union] before being elevated to the UN. We first heard of it during UNGA in New York and we had the Americans praising us for offering our troops, we are not even aware we are sending our police officers in harm's way. We have not discussed it. We have not agreed as a country."

U.N. peacekeepers were deployed to Haiti in 2004 after a rebellion led to the ouster and exile of then-President Jean-Bertrand Aristide. Peacekeeping troops left in 2017 and were replaced by U.N. police, who left in 2019.

Amnesty International Kenya on Tuesday urged U.N. member states, human rights organizations and citizens to thoroughly examine the mission's human rights and humanitarian implications before the deployment.

Meanwhile, Kenyans who spoke to VOA are divided on their police force possibly going to Haiti.

"We have a lot of problems, not only in our country but also in Africa," said Victor Odhiambo. "We have problems in Sudan, in Somalia, we have security problems in several parts of Africa. If we wanted to solve any security problems, we could've started at home or at least regionally."

Stanley Omuhinda, a pastor, struck a more positive note.

"It'll help to cause them to have peace in that country," he said. "Number 2, [it'll] show that this country is a peaceful country, we can exercise peace in other countries, that is a very powerful thing this country has done. I support it with 100%."

The mission has been initially approved for one year, with a review after nine months. It was not immediately clear when Kenya would deploy its police contingent to Haiti, but senior government officials have suggested it could come as soon as early next year.

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When US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy was ousted on Tuesday from his leadership post, he became the shortest serving speaker since 1875. A handful of far-right Republicans joined Democrats and stripped the California Republican of the speaker's gravel with a 216-to-210 vote, after McCarthy worked with Democrats to pass a short-term funding bill to avert a government shutdown.

The ouster appears sudden, but is not surprising. It is no secret that some far-right Republicans hold radical ideas and refuse to cooperate with the Democrats in any form. Moreover, McCarthy's post was fragile from the very beginning. Matt Gaetz, who was among the Republicans to force a successful vote to vacate the chair on the House floor, repeatedly voted against McCarthy's bid for speaker in January. McCarthy ultimately secured the gavel after 15 rounds of voting over four days. To win the job, McCarthy had to agree to rules that made it easier to challenge his leadership.

Democrats also viewed him as untrustworthy. He broke a May agreement on spending with President Joe Biden. Despite the fact that McCarthy worked with the Democrats to pause the US shutdown, he did not win the support of a single Democrat in Tuesday's vote. Democrats still believe that the presence of McCarthy, who in September ordered an impeachment inquiry into Biden, would hinder the political agenda of the Biden administration. They also believe that ousting McCarthy would trigger chaos within the Republicans and stymie the Republicans' moves against the Democrats. All in all, McCarthy had already become a "lame duck" speaker.

Zhang Tengjun, deputy director of the Department for American Studies at the China Institute of International Studies, told the Global Times that the ouster of McCarthy shows that against the backdrop of intensified bipartisan struggles, loyalty to the party triumphs everything, from the two parties' ability to make compromises and reach consensuses in the interests of the American public.

"It does not matter if one is the House speaker or not; what matters is which party he or she belongs to. This shows the extent to which the Democratic Party and the Republican Party divide," Zhang noted, adding that the US politics is now entering an era of "a host of demons dancing in riotous revelry."

McCarthy's ouster has been covered extensively by the US media, adding to the frenzy. But actually, it is the very representation of the US' so-called democratic politics. What normal democratic politics means is that the functioning of politics will not be affected by the removal of any single politician. But obviously, the ousting of McCarthy has plunged the House into chaos. And McCarthy's fate reflects how cooperating with the other party impacts political fortunes.

Wei Zongyou, a professor from the Center for American Studies, Fudan University, told the Global Times that from a deeper perspective, democratic politics is not all about elections, but about mutual compromise and restraint.

"If the two parties cannot make compromises and exercise restraint, but turn different political opinions into an excuse to crusade against the other side or launch a life-and-death struggle, it may lead to a deadlock or even a civil war, and the only consequence is that the foundation of democratic politics will be destroyed," said Wei.

US democracy is facing a severe test as the 2024 presidential election looms. The Republicans have to tackle the current chaos and address this most recent leadership crisis. Without a powerful House speaker to bridge the divergences among the Republicans, it will affect the overall election strategy of the Republican Party and its advancement of its political agendas.

The Democrats, sitting in the House chamber to watch the farce from afar, could laugh at the Republicans and accuse them of not being able to govern the country and being the reason behind ongoing political gridlock. But they also need to be aware that if the Republicans refuse to cooperate in any issue, the Biden administration's political agenda may also suffer. A chaotic situation next year does not necessarily bode well for the Democratic Party, and the outcome of the 2024 election remains uncertain and unpredictable.
Readout of President Biden's Call with Amir Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al-Thani of Qatar

October 03, 2023

President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. spoke today with Amir Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al-Thani of Qatar. The two leaders confirmed their strong bilateral partnership and commitment to working together to address regional and global challenges. President Biden expressed his appreciation for Qatar's support for talks with Iran that led to the return of five wrongfully detained U.S. citizens, as well as Qatar's ongoing support for the Afghan people. They also discussed their commitment to deepen defense and security cooperation in the region. President Biden and the Amir plan to continue their efforts to advance their shared vision for a more peaceful, secure, prosperous, and stable Middle East region.

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Charlie Battery, 1st Battalion, 57th Air Defense Artillery Activation in Vicenza, Italy

By Staff Sgt. Robert Wormley October 4, 2023

SEMBACH, Germany -- On Oct. 11, Charlie Battery, 1st Battalion, 57th Air Defense Artillery Regiment will activate at Caserma Del Din in Vicenza, Italy.

Charlie Battery 1-57 will bolster Air Defense Artillery capabilities, operating in direct support of the 173rd Infantry Brigade Combat Team (Airborne). Their mission is to eliminate, neutralize, or deter low-altitude aerial threats, encompassing unmanned aerial systems, rotary wing, and fixed-wing aircraft. These capabilities play a crucial role in safeguarding the 173rd Infantry Brigade Combat Team's ground forces during their operations.

The activation of Charlie Battery 1-57 follows the prior activations of its parent unit, the 1st Battalion, 57th Air Defense Artillery Regiment, and the establishment of the 52D Air Defense Artillery Brigade.

The planned expansion of U.S. Army air defense capabilities in Europe has been in the works for some time. This announcement was made by U.S. President Joe Biden during the NATO summit in Madrid, Spain, in June 2022.

This modernization is crucial for addressing emerging threats and maintaining air defense superiority in a rapidly changing operational environment. The addition of the new 1-57 short-range air defense regiment under the 52D ADA BDE significantly strengthens the United States' contribution to ground-based air defense within the European Command (EUCOM) region.

For more information, please contact 10th AAMDC Public Affairs via email at usarmy.rheinland-pfalz.10aamdc.pao@army.mil or visit www.dvidshub.net/unit/10AAMDC

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Switzerland provides further funding to support people in Sudan and neighbouring countries

Swiss Government

Bern, 04.10.2023 -- The humanitarian situation in Sudan has deteriorated significantly amid the ongoing fighting. More than 5.3 million people have fled their homes, with a million seeking refuge in neighbouring countries. As a result, Switzerland is providing a further 5 million francs to support Sudan, South Sudan and Chad.

Since the fighting broke out on 15 April 2023, the humanitarian situation in Sudan, which was already dire, has deteriorated even further. Since then, the fighting has spread from Khartoum to other areas. The conflict has displaced more than 5.3 million people and a million have fled to neighbouring countries - mainly Chad, Egypt and South Sudan.

Growing humanitarian needs

Switzerland is providing an additional 5 million francs in response to soaring humanitarian needs in Sudan and neighbouring countries, with 500,000 going to the Norwegian Refugee Council in Sudan and 1 million to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). The funding will be used to support projects run throughout Sudan by local and international NGOs and UN agencies despite the continuing conflict. Switzerland is donating 1 million each to the World Food Programme (WFP) and International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) for their operations in South Sudan. Switzerland is also providing 1.5 million to various UN agencies for work in Chad.

So far this year, Switzerland has contributed over 45 million to help manage the crisis in Sudan and affected neighbouring countries. Switzerland continues to monitor the situation in the region, which will allow it to adjust its support in response to changing needs.

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October 4, 2023

By Jim Garamone , DOD News

General Says Middle East is a Theater for Strategic Competition

Although deterring Iran and defeating extremist groups in the Middle East are priorities for U.S. Central Command, the region is also "fertile ground for strategic competition with China and Russia," said Lt. Gen. Alexus Grynkewich, the commander of Air Forces Central, and Combined Forces Air Component Commander, U.S. Central Command.



The Middle East is important to China, the general told the Defense Writers' Group today. The rising power gets about 50 percent of its oil and about a third of its natural gas from the Persian Gulf region. The Gulf hydrocarbons are fueling China's rise.

China is trying to "displace" U.S. influence in the Middle East, he said. Right now, the Chinese are primarily working to supplant the United States through economic means and through the Belt and Road Initiative - the Chinese program to finance infrastructure projects that often come with hidden costs to debtor nations.

"What I think is a reasonable assertion, though, is that where economic interests start, military interests will follow to protect those economic interests," Grynkewich said. "Over time, ... there is a risk of Chinese expansion into the region militarily."

Growing Chinese influence would have effects on U.S. access, basing and overflight in the region. "That could be critical, not just for things that happen in the Middle East, but things that would happen in the Indo-Pacific in the future," he said.

The Chinese influence could take many forms. One the general is looking at is "smart cities" projects put together by Chinese technology giant Huawei. "If that kind of infrastructure comes in and it starts to touch networks, you start to see a risk to U.S. forces and U.S. technical capabilities because of the collection capabilities that might come with that," he said. "We do watch that closely."

The general is forthright when discussing the threat with allies and partners in the region. "They all understand that, and I think they are making individual decisions about how to pursue their economic interest with China," he said.

U.S. officials, including Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III, have repeatedly said the United States is not forcing nations to choose between China and the U.S. However, they think nations should understand all the baggage that comes with having economic ties to China.

Grynkewich said there is no Chinese military footprint in the U.S. Central Command's area of operations, though there is a Chinese base in neighboring Djibouti at the southern entrance to the Red Sea. "We watch that closely," he said.

Chinese navy ships have participated in the counter piracy mission in the region for years, "but, I would tell you, to the extent that there are 'mil-to-mil' relationships with China in the region, they are very transactional," Grynkewich said. "What I emphasize to our partners is when you work with the Chinese, you are getting a transaction."

U.S. forces work with allies and partners because of the deep strategic partnerships based on shared interests. Many of the nations of the Persian Gulf are major non-NATO allies, and U.S. forces have worked alongside them for generations.

For example, Grynkewich said the Chinese have had a maritime presence in the region for a long time. "When was the last time the Chinese used their military presence to do something like intercept lethal aid going to the Houthis," he asked. "They've never done it. They've never done something like that."

Some nations in the region have conducted military exercises with the Chinese. "They do one exercise with China," he said. "We do 15 or 20."

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Armenia: Statement by the High Representative Josep Borrell on the ratification of the Rome Statute of the ICC

European External Action Service (EEAS)

04.10.2023

EEAS Press Team

The European Union welcomes ratification of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC) by the National Assembly of the Republic of Armenia on Tuesday. After the signature by the Armenian President, the decision will enter into force.

The ICC is the first permanent international court established to investigate and prosecute the most serious crimes of concern to the international community as a whole.

The EU calls on all States that have not yet done so, to accede to the Rome Statute. Every single accession to the Rome Statute brings the international community closer to universal participation and strengthens the shared resolve to end impunity and foster a culture of accountability.

Along with our international partners, the EU will continue to work for and promote the ratification and implementation of the Rome Statute, and the integrity of the ICC.



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Estonia supports Council of Europe's action plans for Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia, and the platform for the protection of journalists

Republic of Estonia - Ministry of Foreign Affairs

04.10.2023

Yesterday 3 October, Estonian Ambassador to the Council of Europe in Strasbourg Rasmus Lumi and the Deputy Secretary General of the Council of Europe Bjrn Berge signed an agreement, confirming Estonia's support for various projects of the Council of Europe. Estonia is allocating 50 000 euros in total for the action plans for Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia, and the platform to promote the protection of journalism and safety of journalists.

Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna said that Estonia was unwavering in its support for Ukraine until it wins the war. "In addition to military assistance, we are supporting Ukraine's reform efforts and reconstruction. This is why we decided to support the Council of Europe's Ukraine action plan again, as it allows us to contribute to the country's reconstruction by reinforcing the rule of law and advancing democracy and human rights," Foreign Minister Tsahkna underlined. "We have also decided to support the action plans for Moldova and Georgia, which means supporting their reform processes and Western course," the minister added.

As an advocate for media freedom and the co-president of the Media Freedom Coalition, Estonia has considered the protection of journalists a priority. "We want to contribute to journalists in Council of Europe countries being able to work without endangering themselves. This is why we consider it important to support the council's platform to promote the protection of journalism and safety of journalists," Minister Tsahkna said.

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Lithuania's readiness to host German brigade discussed with State Secretary in the Federal Ministry of Defence

Republic of Lithuania - Ministry of National Defence

2023-10-04

International cooperation

October 4, Minister of National Defence Arvydas Anusauskas welcomed State Secretary in the Federal Ministry of Defence of Germany Nils Hilmer on a visit in Lithuania to discuss deployment of the German brigade.

"We appreciate Germany's leadership and commitments in the region. You are our strategic partner. The decision to deploy a brigade-sized German unit in Lithuania on a permanent basis demonstrates your steadfast commitment to the security across the Baltic region. We expect to agree on the implementation of plans in detail by the end of the year," said sake A. Anusauskas.

Minister walked the guest through the preparatory work done in Lithuania and the military infrastructure being developed which N. Hilmer also visited later.

"I assure you that all agencies of the Government are unanimous that creation of the best possible conditions for the permanent presence brigade in Lithuania is a priority. We have a fundamental military infrastructure development process ongoing, it encompasses full-fledged military bases, supply storage facilities and every other kind of military infrastructure. Lithuania invests particularly heavily in training infrastructure so that both Allied and Lithuanian troops have proper conditions to maintain readiness," said A. Anusauskas.

Germany is one of the key Allies to Lithuania whose contribution to regional security is especially substantial. Joint training and deployments to multinational operations, adherence to the German-led European Sky Shield Initiative are among major areas of the Lithuania-German cooperation.

Germany plays a critical role in modernizing the Lithuanian Armed Forces as well. Lithuania purchases the Vilkas IFVs, G-36 assault riffles and HK SFP9 pistols, 5-ton Arocs trucks, 155 mm PzH2000 self-propelled howitzers from German manufacturers.

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High Threat IEDD Exercise, Northern Challenge 23: A First for the 26MEU and the U.S. Marine Corps

US Marine Corps News

4 Oct 2023 | Cpl. Kyle Jia PEO Land Systems

KEFLAVIK, ICELAND -- U.S. Marine Corps explosive ordnance disposal operators from the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit participated in Exercise Northern Challenge 2023 alongside various NATO Allies and partners, Sept. 21 to Oct. 5.

Northern Challenge 2023 is an annual, Icelandic Coast Guard-led exercise, designed to provide the most modernized explosive ordnance disposal training in the world. This year's iteration featured 16 nations, over 400 participants, and marked the first time the U.S. Marine Corps participated in the exercise. Participating nations included: Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Iceland, Lithuania, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Slovakia, Sweden, United Kingdom, and the United States.

During the training, participants responded to two 'calls,' a term for responding to an explosive threat, each day. Throughout the training, each situation became increasingly more complex, adding multiple, simulated, improvised explosive devices for the operators to safely neutralize while a thinking adversary countered their procedures to challenge their problem-solving skills and provide a more realistic, threat-informed, scenario-based training environment.

"This was a great experience for the Marines from Combat Logistics Battalion 22. The exercise challenged our team with dynamic and relevant EOD scenarios put together by professionals in the field," said Master Sgt. George Cardenas, EOD chief of 26MEU(SOC) Logistics Combat Element. "The combination of so many varying experiences, perspectives and tactics, techniques, and procedures, creates a challenging and professionally rewarding learning environment that ultimately makes us better warfighters for the 26MEU(SOC)."

Along with the EOD teams, each country provided a national and international proctor to watch over teams as they solved various threat-informed problem sets. The inclusion of proctors allowed for in-depth collaboration between participants and encouraged discussions on best practices and tactics, techniques and procedures.

"Participating in Northern Challenge has allowed us to become intimately familiar with the way NATO manages EOD operations including tasking, reporting, and information gathering," said Chief Warrant Officer 3 Thomas Jones, the Officer-In-Charge of the 26MEU(SOC) EOD element in Iceland. "The exercise and experiences here allows us to exchange knowledge and build stronger relationships with our partners. More so, our participation in exercises like Northern Challenge leads to better interoperability and integration with our NATO partners and EOD operations in the future."

Northern Challenge 23 provided an opportunity for participants to share ideas and tactics, better equipping them to neutralize modern explosive threats, and in-turn share these procedures and knowledge with members of their community in their respective units and countries.

"I am extremely proud of the exceptional performance of our EOD Marines, honing in on their craft and enhancing their warfighting readiness," said LtCol Luke Sauber, commanding officer, CLB-22, 26MEU(SOC). "Participating in realistic, training scenarios enables the Marines from the MEU(SOC) Logistics Combat Element to respond to real-world threats associated with the current and anticipated future operating environments where they may be dynamically tasked to operate. Our EOD Marines represented the 26MEU(SOC) in a positive light, marking the first time a contingent from the U.S. Marine Corps participated in Northern Challenge, a NATO-level exercise," Sauber concluded.

The 26MEU(SOC) serves as one of the United States premier crisis response forces capable of conducting amphibious operations, crisis response, and limited contingency operations, to include enabling the introduction of follow-on-forces and designated special operations, in support of theater requirements of the Geographic Combatant Commander. Coupled with the USS Bataan ARG, the 26MEU(SOC) serves as a premier stand-in force with a full complement of all-domain capabilities to operate persistently within the littorals or weapons engagement zones of any adversary.

The Bataan Amphibious Ready Group and 26MEU(SOC) has been deployed since Jul. 10. The Wasp-class amphibious assault ship, USS Bataan; Harpers Ferry class dock landing ship, USS Carter Hall; and embarked 26MEU(SOC) have been operating in the U.S. Naval Forces Central Command area of operations under the tactical command and control of Task Force 51/5. The USS Mesa Verde and embarked 26MEU(SOC), under the tactical command and control of Task Force 61/2, is on a scheduled deployment in the U.S. Naval Forces Europe area of operations, employed by U.S. Sixth Fleet to defend U.S., Allied, and partner interests.

Headquartered in Naples, Italy, U.S. Naval Forces Europe-Africa operates U.S. naval forces in the U.S. European Command and U.S. Africa Command areas of responsibility. U.S. Sixth Fleet is permanently assigned to NAVEUR-NAVAF, and employs maritime forces through the full spectrum of joint and naval operations.

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Koa Moana 23 Concludes in Oceania

US Marine Corps News

4 Oct 2023 | Staff Sgt. Courtney White 1st Marine Logistics Group

KOROR, PALAU -- U.S. Marines and Sailors with I Marine Expeditionary Force concluded Task Force Koa Moana 23 in the Indo-Pacific region on Sept. 30, 2023. The task force was task-organized into multiple detachments with expertise in providing engineering, medical, maritime law enforcement, and explosive ordnance disposal capabilities.

Named Koa Moana, a Hawaiian phrase meaning "ocean warrior," the task force is designed to strengthen relationships between the U.S. and partner nations in Oceania.

"Koa Moana is the Marine Corps' attempt to have a larger outreach in the Indo-Pacific," said 2nd Lt. Ryan Degnan, a native of Monroe, New York and a ground supply officer with the task force. "We are going to islands we haven't really been to before or haven't had a large presence in recent years. Micronesia is a good example of that. It's all about community relations; getting with the communities and helping them out."

According to Degnan, community relations is what differentiates the United States from its adversaries.

This year's iteration deployed to six locations: Papua New Guinea, Republic of Palau, and the four states of the Federated States of Micronesia. Additionally, Koa Moana had three episodic locations: Guam, Kiribati, and Solomon Islands, which focused on monument clean ups.

"We accomplished more than 100 Operations, Activities, and Investments," said Degnan. "We had multiple projects; the big ones were hospital repairs in Kosrae and Chuuk. In Kosrae, the Marines basically rebuilt the whole hospital. They were able to work with the U.S. Department of the Interior to get funding and we supplied the labor."

While many OAIs were created during the task force's pre-deployment site surveys, numerous projects were established while deployed.

"We discovered many projects on site," said Degnan. "Many came from just talking with the community and building those relationships. Some were planned beforehand, but a good amount was created here when we talked to the right people and discovered things we didn't even realize were possible to do."

Over the three-month deployment, Marines and Sailors in Papua New Guinea worked on numerous renovation projects including a Papua New Guinea Defense Force shooting range, Port Moresby Nature Park, and PNGDF Air Transport Wing. In FSM, infrastructural projects included the Dr. Arthur P. Sigrah Memorial Hospital in Kosrae, Chuuk High School, Tomil Municipal Center on Yap and a Pohnpei shoot range. In Palau, projects included repairs to the Joint Range Complex and the flagpole at the president's office as well as dental work for elementary school students.

According to Degnan, many of the Marines were performing in tasks outside of their occupational specialties.

"We kind of just had to make do with what we had and everyone was willing to learn new skills," said Degnan. "It's incredible how well these Marines performed out here. There are not too many engineers in our battalion; we have Motor-T, maintenance and supply and yet they were going out there and putting in work and long hours. They went above and beyond in all means. They were full speed the whole time. Just looking for each and every opportunity."

Beyond labor-intensive projects, the task force also participated in numerous community relations activities including blood registration drives, mess nights, softball games and recruiting events.

"Building relationships all across the world is great, but maintaining those relationships is even more important," said Sgt. Xavier Bridges, a native of Kirbyville, Texas and the Task Force Koa Moana 23 Palau detachment platoon sergeant. "That is something we've been able to do with Palau and the other islands. They love us out here and they asked us to stay, so I think that says a lot about us."

For nearly a decade, Task Force Koa Moana has demonstrated U.S. commitment to the region and a shared vision of a free and open Indo-Pacific.

"Overall, I would say Koa Moana was really successful," said Bridges. "It seems like every island really enjoyed having the Marines there to work on projects and help out in the community."

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A look at the Defence news 25 September - 1 October

Netherlands Ministry of Defence

News item | 04-10-2023

Minister of Defence Ollongren: "Create the right conditions to further prevent civilian harm in warfare"

"Protecting civilians from harm should also have the highest priority in future warfare. These developments require clear agreements." Netherlands Minister of Defence Kajsa Ollongren advocated this during her visit to New York, where she spoke at Columbia University.

MQ-9 Reaper to operate six months longer from Curacao

The MQ-9 Reaper unmanned reconnaissance aircraft will once again stay about six months longer in Curacao. The aircraft collects data and other information from the air. In this way, the Netherlands Defence Organisation supports military organisations in the Caribbean, among other things to combat organised crime. The deployment of the MQ-9 Reaper was scheduled to end last week.

Netherlands and Columbia strengthen maritime ties in Caribbean

The Netherlands and Columbia will start working closer together for security in the Caribbean. This cooperation will include combating cross-border crime, such as drug trafficking. The Ministry of Defence released this news last week.

Netherlands to provide helicopters and force commander for NATO mission in Iraq

The Netherlands is to increase its contribution to the NATO mission in Iraq (NMI). This concerns a force commander with a staff capacity of around 15 military personnel who will be leading and coordinating the deployment of various NATO allies and partners. In addition, the Netherlands will send a detachment of about 120 military personnel with three Chinook transport helicopters to Iraq.

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Human Rights Council Holds General Debate on the Human Rights Situation in Palestine and Other Occupied Arab Territories

4 October 2023

The Human Rights Council today held a general debate on its agenda item seven on the human rights situation in Palestine and other occupied Arab territories.

State of Palestine, speaking as an entity concerned, said it was regretful that some politicised the work of the Council due to the wishes of the occupying power. Today there were more than six million refugees from the State of Palestine, and thousands of people had been killed by Zionist gangs. The Israeli occupation practices which started in 1967 were becoming more ferocious and barbaric against the State of Palestine. All States needed to confront this methodology in light of the increasing religious Zionist powers in Israel. This year commemorated 56 years of Israel as the occupying power. Civilians, journalists and health workers were being targeted, with 248 people killed this year, and many administrative detention orders issued. The international community needed to shoulder its historic and legal responsibility to put an end to the occupation.

Syrian Arab Republic, speaking as a country concerned, pointed to the prolonged apartheid-based colonialism that violated all the norms developed in the field of international human rights and humanitarian law. Settlement, which was the main feature of the occupation, was designed to consolidate it and violate the principle of the inadmissibility of the occupation of territory by force, created by enabling a coercive environment, including the theft of natural resources, displacement, intimidation and repression, and the creation of a geographic situation that prolonged the occupation. The occupation of the Syrian Golan was against international law and tantamount to a war crime. The activities in the occupied Syrian Golan and the occupied Palestinian territory depended on the impunity provided by its main sponsor, the United States, and other Western countries that supported it and covered up the main crimes.

The President of the Council noted that Israel was not present in the room.



In the general debate, some speakers expressed serious concern over violations of international human rights law in the occupied Palestinian territory. Deprivation of the right to self-determination, extrajudicial killings, restrictions on freedom of movement and assembly and illegal settlements were some of glaring manifestations of human rights violations of the Palestinian people. The situation on the ground continued to deteriorate, as violations of international law by Israel, the occupying power, and settlers persisted.

Palestinian civilians, including children, continued to be subjected to daily and continuous killings, in addition to the policy of incursions and attacks on Palestinian villages, towns and cities by the Israeli occupation forces and settler herds. Speakers were also concerned about the forced eviction and displacement of many Palestinian families in East Jerusalem, which could amount to the war crime of forcible transfer. Colonisation, confiscations, house demolitions and forced displacement were illegal under the Fourth Geneva Convention.

A number of speakers also expressed grave concern at the continuing Israeli settlement and related activities, including the expansion of settlements, the expropriation of land, the demolition of houses, and the confiscation and destruction of property, which had changed the physical character and demographic composition of the occupied Palestinian territories and the occupied Syrian Golan. The occupying power continued to establish colonial settlements, which aimed to forcibly replace Palestinian landowners with new immigrants, in complete defiance of international law, in addition to continuing to enact and legislate more racist colonial laws.

Some speakers said these actions affirmed that the Israeli Government continued to commit the crime of settlement expansion and the deepening of "apartheid", with the aim of closing the door to any opportunity to materialise a Palestinian State on the ground. They opposed these settlement activities by the Israelis, as well as all projects aimed at annexing parts of the West Bank. Speakers condemned the continuation of settlement policies and practices in the occupied Syrian Golan, including plans announced in late 2021 to establish and expand new settlements, and the doubling of the number of settlers in the occupied Syrian Golan within five years.

A number of speakers called for an immediate end of all human rights violations, including Israel's policies aimed at perpetuating the decades long illegal occupation. The Council and the international community needed to do more to bring an end to the grave violations of international human rights and humanitarian laws in the occupied Palestinian territory and hold perpetrators accountable.

Some speakers urged the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights to allocate necessary resources and support to both the Commission of Inquiry and the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the occupied Palestinian territories. Speakers also urged the High Commissioner to release the annual update of the database of business enterprises operating in the occupied Palestinian territories, as mandated by resolution 31/36 and 53/25.

Many speakers emphasised their commitment to strengthening efforts, including active engagement in international initiatives, aimed at ending the Israeli illegal occupation. The international community needed to continue providing political, economic and humanitarian support to assist the Palestinian people and to bolster their resilience and efforts aimed at achieving their legitimate national aspirations, including their inalienable right to self-determination and freedom in their independent State of Palestine.

A number of speakers rejected the refusal of some States to participate in the general debate on item seven, as the work of this item reflected the commitment of the international community to address Israel's long-standing racist practices and policies against the Palestinian people, in accordance with international values and obligations. It was important to keep item seven on the agenda of the Council, as it was a vital instrument when it came to documenting violations against the Palestinian people by Israel, the occupying power.

Some speakers said the allegations directed at Israel had been noted for their perceived bias, with item seven standing as the sole item on the Council's agenda addressed to a specific country. The Council had been established to promote and protect universal human rights, yet it had a long legacy of disproportionate focus on Israel, exemplified by the item seven discussion. The Council and the United Nations were continuing a steady drumbeat of demonisation of the world's only Jewish State. The disproportionate focus, targeting and singling out of Israel, highly discredited the Council and the United Nations as a whole. Agenda item seven was ineffective and needed to be removed.

A number of speakers said today's session to demonise Israel was simply rhetoric and had a negative impact on Jewish communities around the world. Jews faced continuous verbal and physical anti-Semitic abuse, regularly linked to the Israel-Palestinian conflict, and were attacked by perpetrators who used anti-Israel rhetoric and called for the death of the State of Israel. A speaker also drew attention to the remains of Hadar Goldin and Oron Shaul, which were being kept within the Gaza Strip, along with Hisham Al-Sayed and Avera Mengistu, two Israeli civilians with disabilities, who continued to be held in captivity by Palestinian leaders.

Some speakers echoed their unwavering support for the realisation of the right to self-determination of the Palestinian people and reiterated the call for ending the Israeli occupation. Speakers reaffirmed support for the two State solution according to the pre-1967 borders, based on a free and secure State of Palestine. They reaffirmed their longstanding solidarity with the Palestinian people and reiterated their support for the realisation of their legitimate national aspirations and inalienable rights, including self-determination and freedom in their independent State of Palestine, with East Jerusalem as its capital.

Speaking in the discussion were Cote d'Ivoire on behalf of the African Group, Pakistan on behalf of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, Venezuela on behalf of a group of countries, Pakistan on behalf of a group of countries, Azerbaijan on behalf of the Non-Aligned Movement, Oman on behalf of the Gulf Cooperation Council, Libya on behalf of the Group of Arab States, Luxembourg, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Chile, Malaysia, South Africa, Bangladesh, Maldives, Pakistan, Morocco, Cuba, Algeria, Senegal, Bolivia, Sudan, China, Brunei Darussalam, Sovereign Order of Malta, Iraq, Bahrain, Libya, Jordan, Kuwait, Turkiye, Egypt, Russian Federation, Indonesia, Zimbabwe, Sri Lanka, Namibia, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia, Yemen, Djibouti, Nigeria, Venezuela, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Oman, Mauritania, Ireland, Lebanon, Iran, League of Arab States and Colombia.

Also speaking were State of Palestine: Independent Commission for Human Rights, as well as the following non-governmental organizations: Defence for Children International, Jerusalem Institute of Justice, International Foundation Witnesses Ashoora, World Jewish Congress, Jameh Ehyagaran Teb Sonnati Va Salamat Iranian, B'nai B'rith, Al-Haq, Law in the Service of Man, Palestinian Initiative for the Promotion of Global Dialogue and Democracy, Palestinian Return Centre Ltd., Organization for Defending Victims of Violence, Union of Arab Jurists, Palestinian Center for Human Rights, International Organization for the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, Stichting Global Human Rights Defence, Coordinating Board of Jewish Organizations, Human Rights and Democratic Participation Center "SHAMS", Women's Centre for Legal Aid and Counseling, BADIL Resource Center for Palestinian Residency and Refugee Rights, International-Lawyers.Org, Institute for NGO Research, Servas International, United Nations Watch, International Association of Jewish Lawyers and Jurists, European Centre for Law and Justice, Centre Europeen pour le droit, le Justice et les droits de l'homme, Youth Parliament for SDG, and Association Ma'onah for Human Rights and Immigration.

The webcast of the Human Rights Council meetings can be found here. All meeting summaries can be found here. Documents and reports related to the Human Rights Council's fifty-fourth regular session can be found here.

The Council will this afternoon start a general debate under agenda item eight on follow-up to and implementation of the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action.

Link: https://www.ungeneva.org/en/news-media/meeting-summary/2023/10/morning-human-rights-council-holds-general-debate-human-rights

___________

Produced by the United Nations Information Service in Geneva for use of the media;

not an official record. English and French versions of our releases are different as they are the product of two separate coverage teams that work independently.

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Raeisi says Iran opposed to any geopolitical changes in Caucasus region

Iran Press TV

Wednesday, 04 October 2023 6:42 PM

Iranian President Ebrahim Raeisi has doubled down on Iran's opposition to the opening of the Zangezur Corridor in the Caucasus region, saying Tehran is against any geopolitical changes in the region.

Raeisi made the remarks in separate meetings with Armen Grigoryan, secretary of the Security Council of Armenia, and Khalaf Khalafov, special representative of Azerbaijan's president, in Tehran on Wednesday, amid persisting tensions over the Negro-Karabakh region.

Azerbaijan took full control of the breakaway region last month following a 24-hour military operation against pro-Armenian forces.

Now speculation is rife that Azerbaijan might use force to open a corridor connecting the Azerbaijani exclave of Nakhchivan to mainland Azerbaijan through the southern Armenian province of Syunik.

Armenia opposes the plan on the grounds that it would violate its sovereignty. Iran has supported Armenia's position, stressing that the territorial integrity of countries must be respected.

Raeisi argued the Zangezur Corridor allows external powers to make inroads into the region and undermine interests of nations there.

"In both meetings, the president stated that a Zangezur corridor would be a NATO foothold, a national security threat for countries, and is thus resolutely opposed by Iran," said Mohammad Jamshidi, the Iranian president's deputy chief of staff for political affairs, in a post on X social media network, formerly known as Twitter.

Iran ready to help settle dispute

A readout by the website of the presidential office said Raeisi also told the two officials that Iran believes the dispute between Azerbaijan and Armenia must be resolved through talks.

He said Iran is ready to help pave the way for the settlement of disputes between the two countries and promote peace in the region.

Armen Grigoryan, the secretary of Armenia's Supreme National Security Council, hailed Iran's call for respecting the national sovereignty and territorial integrity of countries in the region, and said his country attaches special importance to its relations with Iran.

Khalaf Khalafov, the representative of Azerbaijan's president on special assignments, said Baku believes problems in the region must be settled through cooperation and dialogue between regional countries, and that other countries should not be allowed to make inroads into the region.

Negro-Karabakh, acknowledged as a part of Azerbaijan by the international community but populated by Armenians since 1992 when a separatist war broke out, has been the source of a dispute between Baku and Yerevan for more than three decades.

After Azerbaijan eventually took back the region, most of ethnic Armenians living there have left.

Iran has urged Azerbaijan to respect the rights of Armenians living in the Negro-Karabakh region.

Armenia recently held a 10-day joint military exercise with the US dubbed "Eagle Partner 2023", which included 85 American soldiers and 175 Armenians.

Iran criticized the drills as unhelpful and said they further complicate the situation in the region.

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Top general: Iran ready to send observers to Armenia-Azerbaijan border regions

Iran Press TV

Wednesday, 04 October 2023 11:00 AM

Chief of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces Major General Mohammad Baqeri says the country is ready to contribute to lowering tensions in the Caucasus region and send observers to the border regions between Armenia and Azerbaijan.

In a meeting with Secretary of the Security Council of Armenia, Armen Grigoryan, in Tehran Wednesday, Baqeri observed that developments in the South Caucasus affect the security of the region.

He said tensions in the area are neither in the interest of Yerevan and Baku, nor other regional countries, calling for appropriate measures to resolve disputes in the region.

Baqeri went on to express Iran's preparedness to dispatch observers to the border regions between Armenia and Azerbaijan, emphasizing that there should not be any aggressive goal or intention behind improvement of the defense capabilities of any country.

"Peace and tranquility in the region are in the interest of all countries, and security in the region must be ensured by regional countries," the Iranian military official said.

Baqeri also pointed to the recent joint military exercise between US soldiers and Armenian forces, stressing that the presence of trans-regional forces in the region threatens peace and will foster instability.

Grigoryan, for his part, briefed the chief of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces on the latest developments in the Caucasus region.

Azerbaijan took full control of the breakaway Karabakh region last month following a 24-hour military operation against pro-Armenian forces. Azerbaijan cited "systematic" shelling, "reconnaissance activities," fortification of defensive positions, and "high-level of combat readiness" by Armenian-backed troops for its operation.

Karabakh, acknowledged as a part of Azerbaijan by the international community but populated by Armenians since 1992 when a separatist war broke out, has been at the center of a dispute between Baku and Yerevan for more than three decades.

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3 Filipino fishermen dead after ship strikes boat: coast guard

The incident took place on Monday near the disputed Scarborough Shoal in the South China Sea.

By BenarNews Staff 2023.10.04 -- The Philippines said Wednesday it was investigating the circumstances surrounding the deaths of three Filipino fishermen after a foreign ship struck and sank their boat in the country's exclusive economic zone in the South China Sea.

The accident involving the Marshall Islands-flagged oil tanker and the fishing boat happened on Monday, some 85 nautical miles (157 km) northwest of Bajo de Masinloc - which is internationally known as Scarborough Shoal - the Philippine Coast Guard said in an incident report.

"On October 2, 2023, at approximately 0420H, the Filipino Fishing Boat (FFB) DEARYN was involved in an accident where it was rammed by an unidentified vessel," the report said.

The Philippine boat was moored over a payao - a man-made structure anchored offshore to attract fish - when the tanker identified as the Pacific Anna collided with it, it said.

"Due to the adverse weather conditions causing darkness, the crew on board the mother boat failed to detect an unidentified vessel approaching, resulting in a collision that caused the mother ship to capsize," the coast guard said in a statement Wednesday.

"Three casualties, including the boat captain, were reported from the incident."

Eight crew members survived and used smaller, service vessels to transport the dead to Infanta, a coastal town in Pangasinan province, according to the coast guard.

The coast guard said the Pacific Anna would be boarded by authorities at its next port call.

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said the incident was under investigation and urged people to refrain from speculation.

"We are deeply saddened by the deaths of the three fishermen, including the captain of the fishing vessel," Marcos said in a statement.

"We assure the victims, their families and everyone that we will exert every effort to hold accountable those who are responsible for this unfortunate maritime incident."

The South China Sea is one of the most important maritime trade routes in the world, through which trillions of dollars of goods pass through annually.

It is also the site of overlapping territorial claims between China, the Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei, Vietnam and Taiwan.

The sinking comes amid heightened tensions between the Philippines and China in the region. On Sept. 22, Manila accused the China Coast Guard of deploying a 328-yard-long "floating barrier" to obstruct the entrance to the disputed Scarborough Shoal. The next day, the Philippine Coast Guard removed the barrier in a "special operation."

Both Manila and Beijing claim the Scarborough Shoal, though it is under China's control.

A United Nations tribunal in 2016 dismissed China's sweeping claims over most of the South China Sea, including the shoal, but Beijing has refused to recognize the ruling.

In 2019, a larger Chinese fishing vessel struck a Filipino fishing boat near the Recto Bank in the South China Sea, leaving 22 Filipino fishermen to fend for themselves in rough seas before they were rescued by a passing Vietnamese ship.

Manila said the waters in which the incident took place were in the Philippines' exclusive economic zone.

Fernando Hicap, the chairman of small fisherfolk organization Pamalakaya, demanded a swift investigation into the sinking of the Philippine fishing vessel.

"It is unfortunate that Filipino fishermen have to be vulnerable and unprotected in our own traditional waters," he said in a statement, adding accountability and government help for the bereaved families must follow.

BenarNews is an RFA-affiliated online news organization.

This story has been updated to attribute the claim that the Filipino boat was 'rammed' to the Philippine Coast Guard.

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 October 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.

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How The Tajik President's Daughter Built A Pharma Empire (With A Little Help From Dad)

By RFE/RL's Tajik Service October 04, 2023

The secretive daughter of Tajikistan's president has quietly built a health-care empire that benefits from government largesse, state promotion, and lobbying from her husband, an ambassador for the Central Asian nation, an investigation by RFE/RL's Tajik Service has found.

Parvina Rahmonova is among the many children and other relatives of authoritarian President Emomali Rahmon who have amassed significant wealth or been appointed to senior government positions since he came to power more than three decades ago.

Unlike several of Rahmon's other children, however, Rahmonova maintains a nearly invisible public profile.

She rarely appears in publicly available family photographs and she is not mentioned by name on the website of Tajikistan's embassy in Turkey, where her husband, Ashraf Gulov, has served as ambassador since 2021. RFE/RL was unable to establish her date of birth, though she has at least one adult daughter.

Behind the scenes, however, Rahmonova controls a company that in a six-year span has become a dominant force on Tajikistan's pharmaceutical market with the help of the firm's political connections.

Since its founding in 2017, the company, Sifat Pharma, has secured millions of dollars in government tenders while building a network of nearly 20 pharmacies in Tajikistan's capital, Dushanbe. And when the Tajik government bought EU-produced ventilators and medication during the COVID-19 pandemic, Rahmonova's company served as the middleman.

Rahmonova's business has also received fawning coverage on government-controlled television in Tajikistan, while the company's founding ceremony was promoted by the Health Ministry.

While Rahmonova's role as Sifat Pharma's sole owner is not publicly acknowledged by state officials, media, or entities, the story is different behind closed doors.

During business gatherings in Dushanbe, the director of a Sifat Pharma subsidiary often highlights that the firm is owned by the president's daughter, one Tajik entrepreneur active in the health-care sector told RFE/RL.

Other findings of the RFE/RL investigation include:

Sifat Pharma General-Director Sherali Kholov is among the shareholders of the International Bank of Tajikistan, which a previous investigation by RFE/RL's Tajik Service found had links to the brother of Rahmonova's ambassador husband;

Another executive with a Sifat Pharma subsidiary tells competitors not to bid for government tenders in which the firm is participating, according to two entrepreneurs active in the same sector;

Rahmon himself helped facilitate a partnership between his daughter's company and a French pharmaceutical firm;

A Sifat Pharma subsidiary owned by the daughter of Rahmonova has also won government contracts.

RFE/RL reached out to Sifat Pharma, Gulov, the Tajik Health Ministry, and the presidential administration for comment on the state support that the company has received. None of them responded in time for publication.

An Official Helping Hand

In late September 2017, at a stately, columned building not far from the Tajik presidential residence in Dushanbe, officials and guests entered through an arc of pink and white balloons to celebrate the opening of Sifat Pharma.

Speaking at the event, the country's first deputy health minister at the time, Saida Umarzoda, said the company will have a "prominent role in providing the population with high-quality medicines" and in developing the country's pharmaceutical sector, according to an account of the event, which was also covered by national and local news agencies, posted on the ministry's website.

The company had already signed cooperation agreements "with the ministries of health and pharmaceutical industries of Belarus, India, and Iran in order to provide the population of Tajikistan with medicines that conform to international standards," the Tajik Health Ministry said.

It was a heady start for a company that had been incorporated less than five months earlier.

Sifat Pharma was registered on May 2, 2017, with Rahmonova -- the Tajik president's fifth daughter -- listed as the sole founder. Rahmonova remains the company's lone shareholder to this day.

Photographs of the event do not show Rahmonova in attendance, nor did the Health Ministry mention her name, though her father-in-law, former Energy and Industries Minister Sherali Gul, did attend.

Promotion on a state website is not the only help Rahmonova's company has received from the government.

From its incorporation through August 2023, Sifat Pharma has won $5.5 million in government contracts to supply medicine to the Health Ministry and a range of state medical entities, according to state procurement records reviewed by RFE/RL.

Two of Sifat Pharma's subsidiaries -- a medical-clothing factory called Sifat Sanoat and a medical services company called Tibbi Tojik -- have won more than $326,000 in government tenders, the records show.

The total value of Rahmonova's empire is difficult to quantify. Tajikistan does not publish records on the amount of taxes companies pay to the government, and officials' income and asset declarations of the kind her husband would have to submit as an ambassador are not publicly available.

In 2019, the head of Tajikistan's state Civil Service Agency said that Tajik society "is not ready" for the obligatory asset and income declarations for officials and their relatives to be made public.

"Whenever the level of society's thinking and understanding is equal to that of Western society, we will definitely solve the problem," the official, Juma Davlatzoda, told RFE/RL's Tajik Service at the time.

But according to Sifat Pharma's own website, it currently operates 18 pharmacies in Tajikistan, all but two located in Dushanbe.

Customs records reviewed by RFE/RL, meanwhile, show Sifat Pharma has imported at least $3.2 million in goods -- mostly medicine -- since 2018, the earliest available data RFE/RL was able to find. That figure is likely considerably higher, as many of the shipment records do not indicate the value.

Rahmonova's company has also received a helping hand from the man at the very top.

In November 2019, President Rahmon met with French entrepreneurs and investors during an official visit to France to discuss what his office described as "opportunities for the expansion of commercial and economic relations."

As a result of the event -- at which Rahmon delivered a speech and presentation on investment opportunities in Tajikistan -- Sifat Pharma was among the Tajik companies that signed cooperation agreements, partnering with the French pharmaceutical company Laboratoire Innotech.

Months later, amid the COVID-19 pandemic, it was Rahmonova's company that the Tajik government turned to when it acquired ventilators and medication.

In April 2020, Rahmon's government allocated some 11 million somoni (around $1.1 million at the time) for the purchase of 27 ventilators from the German company Lowenstein Medical Technology as well as other medicine to combat COVID-19. The chosen middleman for this procurement was Sifat Pharma, according to news reports citing the Health Ministry at the time.

Lowenstein Medical Technology did not respond to e-mailed questions about the ventilators and their cost, and did not return phone messages left with the company.

By October 2021, an official Tajik investment brochure identified Sifat Pharma as one of three "key" companies in the country's pharmaceutical sector.

'The Company Of The President's Daughter'

Since Rahmon secured his grasp on power in Tajikistan in the early 1990s following the collapse of the Soviet Union, his children, as well as their spouses and in-laws, have amassed considerable wealth and political influence in the nation of some 10 million.

He has appointed three of his nine children to high-ranking government posts, most notably his eldest son, 35-year-old Rustam Emomali, who serves as chairman of the parliament's upper chamber and the mayor of Dushanbe -- and is widely seen as the president's favored successor. In his current post in parliament he would become interim president should his father step down.

Media controlled by Rustam Emomali has also promoted his sister Rahmonova's business interests.

The television station Dushanbe TV carried a fawning, nearly 20-minute report profiling Sifat Sanoat, which is owned by Rahmonova and is listed by Sifat Pharma as a subsidiary. The report praised Sifat Sanoat, which manufactures medical clothing such as lab coats and hospital gowns, for the quality of its production and its role as a job provider. (It is unclear exactly when the report was broadcast, but a copy was uploaded to YouTube in 2022.)

Dushanbe TV is controlled by the municipal government of Dushanbe that Emomali runs as mayor of the capital. Attempts to reach the network for comment were unsuccessful.

In the report, Sifat Sanoat's director, Hokimsho Idiev, called on other entrepreneurs to create jobs in the country.

"I think that the national sense of all entrepreneurs should be awakened and they should contribute to the implementation of the policy of the president. At least in the field of creating jobs," Idiev said.

But two businesspeople working in the same sector claimed in interviews with RFE/RL's Tajik Service that Sifat Sanoat was pressuring competitors not to seek out state tenders.

Both of the individuals, who spoke on condition of anonymity due to fears of retribution, said that Idiev had told them to refrain from competing for tenders to produce medical clothing.

"I wanted to bid for the contract. I called [Idiev] for advice. He told me: 'Don't try for this tender because it's ours.' After this conversation, I decided not to bid," one of the entrepreneurs said.

The director of another company also said Idiev had "asked" them "not to take part" in state tenders for medical clothing.

One of these individuals said that during business gatherings in Dushanbe, Idiev often introduces Sifat Sanoat as "the company of the president's daughter." Idiev did not respond to a request for comment.

In the report aired by Dushanbe TV, Idiev said Sifat Sanoat "provides services for medical colleges and Dushanbe road-management agencies." State procurement records reviewed by RFE/RL show that Sifat Sanoat has won $142,500 worth of government contracts since March 2019.

Sifat Sanoat also has received lobbying assistance from a senior government official: Rahmonova's husband, Rahmon's ambassador to Turkey.

Ambassadorial Lobbying

In July 2022, the Tajik state news agency Khovar reported that a delegation of Turkish entrepreneurs traveled to Tajikistan "with the initiative and assistance" of Gulov, whom Rahmon appointed as his envoy to Turkey the previous year.

The visit -- based on the report, at least -- proved fruitful for Gulov's well-connected wife.

As a result of the visit, a memorandum of understanding was signed between Rahmonova's medical-clothing company Sifat Sanoat and the Turkish equipment manufacturer Dundarlar, according to the Khovar report, which included a photo featuring the Sifat Sanoat logo and showed women sewing medical clothing.

Gulov did not respond to a request for comment sent to the Tajik Embassy in Turkey.

Gulov had previously used his ambassadorship to encourage bilateral commercial ties in his wife's line of business.

In November 2021, Gulov hosted a webinar on the "partnership of Tajik and Turkish companies in the medical and pharmaceutical industry," according to a news release posted on the website of the Tajik Embassy in Turkey.

The news release said the discussion included "the importance of developing cooperation" in these fields, though the embassy did not post a video or transcript of the event. A screenshot showing numerous participants, however, shows that attendees included Sifat Pharma's general director, Sherali Kholov.

Kholov's business links extend not only to Rahmonova, but to other relatives of Gulov as well. Kholov, whom the Tajik presidential website described as a "patriotic entrepreneur" and praised for building a Dushanbe kindergarten, is the owner of the International Bank of Tajikistan, which has partnered in two companies with Gulov's brother, Jamshed.

A Family Affair

According to the website of the Tajik Embassy in Turkey, Gulov and his wife have five children, though the embassy does not mention Rahmonova by name or the fact that she is the Tajik president's daughter.

Records from Tajikistan's corporate registry show that a daughter of the couple has since joined her mother's health-care empire, founding a company that Sifat Pharma lists as a subsidiary and which has received state contracts.

In February 2018, the company Sifat Tabobat was incorporated in Tajikistan, with its lone shareholder listed as Ramziya Gulova, one of Gulov and Rahmonova's daughters. At the time, Gulova was a first-year university student. That company, which has since been renamed Tibbi Tojik, is among the four companies that Sifat Pharma lists as subsidiaries.

State procurement records show that Tibbi Tojik, whose corporate registration describes it as a medical-services company, has won $184,000 in state contracts since 2022. Its state clients include the central hospital in the northern Gafurov district and the state anti-epizootic center in Dushanbe.

There is little public information about Gulova. But public documents reviewed by RFE/RL indicate that she studied at the Russian-Tajik Slavonic University in Dushanbe in recent years.

A student publication at the university from April 2018 reported that Rahmonova and Ashraf Gulov had attended a campus event at which "one of the major achievements" was the selection of Gulova as one of the event's moderators.

RFE/RL was unable to find a corporate e-mail or telephone for Tibbi Tojik but sent a written inquiry to Gulova via the WhatsApp account of Jamshed Hamidov, who signed Sifat Pharma's agreement with its French partner during Rahmon's visit to France in November 2019.

Hamidov said via WhatsApp that he currently works for Tibbi Tojik but is no longer working for Sifat Pharma. His WhatsApp account indicated that he had read the questions reporters sent for Gulova, but RFE/RL did not receive a response in time for publication.

With reporting by Riin Aljas and Carl Schreck

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/tajikistan-rahmon-daughter-pharmaceutical-empire-investigation/32620695.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.

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Grannies And Parents Detained In Tajikistan After Activists Egg Rahmon's Car In Germany

By Chris Rickleton October 04, 2023

ALMATY, Kazakhstan -- However close the eggs thrown by Tajik opposition activists in Berlin came to President Emomali Rahmon's car -- and some may well have been on target - the authorities' reaction has been swift.

In Tajikistan, more than 20 relatives of some protesters who tainted Rahmon's official visit to Germany were detained by law enforcement, according to RFE/RL's Tajik Service, after raids began over the weekend.

"Security forces came to our home and wanted to take my elderly mother away, but they instead decided to take my nephew," said Farhod Odinaev, a German-based Tajik activist who spent 43 days in a Belarusian detention center after being detained on a Tajik request in 2019.

"They asked my mother why [the opposition abroad] threw eggs at the 'Leader of the Nation's' car," Odinaev told RFE/RL.

The mother of another opposition activist, Sharoffidin Gadoev, was not so lucky.

According to Gadoev, Oishamo Abdulloeva, 72, was detained on the morning of October 1. Like Odinaev, Gadoev claimed the September 29 egg attack on Rahmon's cortege was raised by officers that came to the family home.

"As they were taking her away, they angrily asked her why her son calls [Rahmon] a dictator, why he threw eggs at the president's car in Berlin, [why] can't he just live calmly?" Gadoev said.

Police and security forces in Tajikistan have still not commented on the arrests.

According to RFE/RL sources, Abdulloeva was one of more than a dozen people released in the early hours of October 3.

At least seven relatives of the oppositions activists -- all men -- are still being held.

'Even Distant Relatives' Suffer

Rahmon's regime long ago stamped out any meaningful political dissent at home, with the top leaders of the moderate opposition Islamic Renaissance Party of Tajikistan (IRPT) sentenced to long prison terms in 2016 over what authorities described as a coup attempt.

Nowadays, tolerance of any criticism inside the country is close to zero.

The emergence of a politically active diaspora in Europe was a natural outgrowth of this tightening domestic repression, and authorities have been doing their utmost to chase critics based in European cities like Berlin, Vienna, and Warsaw back to their homeland to face trial on dubious charges.

In Berlin, hunter and hunted came face to face, as Tajiks and natives of other Central Asian countries staged protests to coincide with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and President Frank-Walter Steinmeier hosting the region's five leaders.

And then there were the scenes of a young man throwing eggs at what appeared to be Rahmon's presidential cortege.

Tajik authorities have long depicted foreign-based opposition groups as being extremist without offering any proof for their assertions.

It was one of these groups -- Gruppa 24 -- that claimed the egg attack, boasting that several supporters had managed to land eggs on the motorcade "despite the increased security measures taken." Images of Rahmon's car after he was greeted by Scholz appear to confirm that some of their shots were successful.

A member of the group was detained by German police for a few minutes before being released, Gruppa 24 said in its statement.

That was lenient compared to the raid on the Tajikistan family home of one of the group's members, which Gruppa 24 said saw no fewer than seven of Dilshod Sharifov's relatives taken into custody.

State harassment of Tajik activists' families is a longstanding and intensifying trend, with protests such as those in Berlin or the appearance of Tajik activists at the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe's annual Human Dimension Implementation Meeting in Warsaw often serving as triggers, according to Central Asia-focused rights lawyer Steve Swerdlow.

"Elderly parents, siblings, and even children of Tajik activists abroad who dare speak out against the government's human rights abuses at peaceful protests or international conferences are called in for aggressive questioning, fired from jobs, and in many cases made to denounce their own relatives' activities," Swerdlow, an associate professor of human rights at the University of Southern California (USC), told RFE/RL.

In some cases, such as the case of Ilhomjon Yakubov, a Lithuania-based human rights defender originally from the northern Tajik city of Khujand, the relatives falling under state pressure can be quite distant, Swerdlow noted.

"[Yakubov] says that even distant relatives of his in Tajikistan have been targeted and that pictures of his parents and siblings and himself have been hung up all around Khujand and Dushanbe" after Tajik officials accused the rights defender of terrorist crimes, said Swerdlow.

Either You Or Your Family

Tajikistan has in recent years gained a reputation for being one of the most ardent practitioners of transnational repression, a phenomenon the U.S. rights monitor Freedom House defines as "reaching across borders to silence dissent among diasporas and exiles, including through assassinations, illegal deportations, abductions, digital threats, Interpol abuse, and family intimidation."

And while allies of Tajikistan such as Russia and Belarus represent particularly dangerous jurisdictions, Western Europe is not always the safe haven that Tajik asylum seekers would like it to be -- as a recent report authored by Swerdlow and the USC Human Rights Advocacy group for the NGO known as Crude Accountability attests.

The report, Enforced Disappearances In Tajikistan, addresses dozens of instances of activists being detained and held incommunicado by Tajik security forces, many of whom were apprehended abroad.

For activist Hizbullo Shovalizoda, deportation and imprisonment in his home country came swiftly after an Austrian court rejected his application for asylum in 2020.

Vienna's Supreme Court later overturned that decision as illegal, but by the time the wheels of Austrian justice were moving in the right direction for Sholivzoda, he was already in Tajikistan awaiting what would be a 20-year prison sentence following a closed-doors trial that observers considered a sham.

Earlier this year Abdullo Shamsiddin, the son of a member of the IRPT, was also deported to Tajikistan from his temporary home of Germany.

Shamsiddin was reportedly sentenced in March to seven years in jail for calling for the violent overthrow of the government -- an accusation that does not seem rooted in any publicly available evidence.

Gadoev, whose pensioner mother was arrested in Tajikistan over the weekend and who was seen in footage leading the Berlin protests, almost met the same fate in 2019.

Gadoev claims he was beaten badly and subjected to psychological intimidation after being abducted during a visit to Russia and sent to Tajikistan.

Amid unexpectedly large attention being paid to Gadoev's case, the government subsequently allowed him to return to the Netherlands, where he had been living.

Were cases like Shamsiddin's raised with the Tajik delegation by top German officials during last week's visit by Rahmon?

In a statement ahead of the Germany-Central Asia confab, rights watchdog Human Rights Watch noted that Russia's war in Ukraine -- and the West's anxiety that Russia's neighbors uphold Western sanctions in response -- "has sparked a new focus on this strategically important, resource rich region."

"The shock waves sent by Russia's invasion of Ukraine have prompted Central Asia's leaders to seek stronger ties with other allies, including in Europe. Germany should make the most of this newfound engagement, but on terms that promote the rights of the peoples throughout the region," Hugh Williamson wrote.

Yet the words "Democracy and the Rule of Law" did not appear until page two of a six-page readout from Scholz's office that referred to "an open and constructive exchange" between the chancellor and the five leaders.

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/tajikistan-rahmon-eggs- activists-relatives-punished/32623217.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.

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Attacks On Free Expression Online 'Grew More Common' Around The World

By RFE/RL October 04, 2023

Rights watchdog Freedom House said global Internet freedom declined for the 13th consecutive year in 2023 as attacks on freedom of expression grew more common.

In its annual report on the level of the Internet freedom in the world, published on October 4, the watchdog said that the most serious cases occurred in Iran and Myanmar, where authorities carried out death sentences against people convicted of online expression-related crimes.

In Belarus and Nicaragua, people received "draconian prison terms" for online speech, the report said, adding that this was "a core tactic employed by longtime dictators Alyaksandr Lukashenka and Daniel Ortega in their violent campaigns to stay in power."

The report, titled Freedom On The Net 2023, covers 70 countries in six regions around the world, ranking the Internet in three groups -- free, partially free, and not free.

Iceland, Estonia, and Canada were ranked as most free, with Germany, the United States, Georgia, Armenia, and Serbia also among the top-ranking countries.

China, Myanmar, and Iran were among the countries where the Internet is least free while Russia, Uzbekistan, and Belarus were also among the lowest-ranking countries.

Iran was home to this year's sharpest decline, the report said, as authorities shut down Internet service, blocked the WhatsApp and Instagram social media apps, and increased surveillance during a crackdown on anti-government protests last year sparked by the death of a young woman -- 22-year-old Mahsa Amini -- while in police custody.

The report identified artificial intelligence (AI) as a threat for human rights online, saying that it has enabled governments to conduct more precise and subtle forms of online censorship, surveillance and disinformation campaigns.

"The world's most technically advanced authoritarian governments have responded to innovations in AI chatbot technology, attempting to ensure that the applications comply with or strengthen their censorship systems," the report said.

But AI-powered moderation may struggle to keep up with a surge of unexpected content and expressions of dissent during times of crisis or protests, the report said, and authoritarian governments continue to use other forms of censorship online.

Russia has established a system to block global social-media platforms, Ukrainian news sites, and domestic sites that contradict the Kremlin's narratives over its invasion of Ukraine.

Belarus, which has aided Russia's military aggression, has blocked more than 9,000 websites, including independent news sites.

In its report, Freedom House noted that democratic governments in Europe and the United States also considered or in some cases actually imposed restrictions on access to websites, calling the approach "unproductive."

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/internet-freedom-decline-iran- belarus/32623222.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.

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Ukrainian, Azerbaijani Leaders Affirm 'Territorial Integrity' In Talks

By RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service October 04, 2023

KYIV -- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on October 4 said he and Azerbaijani counterpart Ilham Aliyev both "affirmed our commitment to the principles of sovereignty and territorial integrity" during a telephone conservation.

"We also discussed regional security, actual challenges, and formats of mutual cooperation," Zelenskiy's statement on Telegram said.

Aliyev's office in a statement confirmed the call and stressed that Zelenskiy also expressed thanks to Azerbaijan for the humanitarian aid that Baku has sent to Ukraine to tackle problems caused by Russia's invasion of Ukraine, launched in February 2022.

Since the beginning of Russia's aggression against Ukraine, Azerbaijan has provided Kyiv with a significant amount of equipment for restoration of energy infrastructure that was destroyed or damaged during attacks by Russian forces.

The talks were held two weeks after Baku gained full control over the mostly ethnic Armenian-populated breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh following a one-day offensive against the separatist government's armed forces.

More than 100,000 Armenians have fled for Armenia since then, representing nearly all of the territory's population.

Ukraine has been fighting against Russian forces that captured several districts of Ukraine's eastern regions of Zaporizhzhya and Kherson.

In 2014, Russia illegally annexed Ukraine's Black Sea peninsula of Crimea and backed separatists in parts of two eastern Ukrainian regions -- Luhansk and Donetsk.

Some political analysts in Azerbaijan and Ukraine have said the situation in Nagorno-Karabakh -- which is internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan but was under separatist control for more than 30 years -- is analogous to the situation in Russian-occupied Crimea and other illegally occupied territories of Ukraine.

With reporting by RFE/RL's Azerbaijani Service

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/ukraine-azerbajan- terriitorial-integrity/32623214.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.

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Armenia Protests Arrests Of Former Nagorno-Karabakh Leaders

By RFE/RL's Armenian Service October 04, 2023

The Armenian Foreign Ministry has protested the arrests of several former separatist leaders of Nagorno-Karabakh by Azerbaijan after Baku reclaimed control of the ethnic Armenian-populated breakaway region in a lightning military operation last month.

The ministry on October 4 said former de facto leaders of Nagorno-Karabakh -- Arkadi Ghukasian, Bako Sahakian, Arayik Harutiunian, Davit Ishkhanian, Ruben Vardanian, and others -- had been arrested "illegally."

"Despite the dialogue with the representatives of Nagorno-Karabakh, the statements of high-ranking officials of Azerbaijan regarding the willingness to respect and protect the rights of Armenians, not to hinder their return to Nagorno-Karabakh, and on establishment of peace in the region, the law enforcement bodies of Azerbaijan continue arbitrary arrests," a statement said.

It added that Armenia "will take all possible steps to protect the rights of illegally detained representatives of Nagorno-Karabakh, including in international courts."

The Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry rejected the Armenian statement, saying it "constitutes an attempt to justify the acts committed by those who are now under arrest."

"The arrest of these persons in the process of the criminal investigation initiated under the applicable articles of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Azerbaijan, regarding the aggression against Azerbaijan, inciting separatism, terrorist acts, crimes against peace and humanity, as well as war crimes and other grave crimes against prisoners of war and civilians, first and foremost serves to restore justice, and to undermine the legitimacy of these actions is completely unacceptable," the Azerbaijani ministry said.

A day earlier, sources close to Azerbaijani law enforcement told RFE/RL that Harutiunian, who was the de facto leader of Nagorno-Karabakh before stepping down as president in early September, was arrested and was being transported to Baku.

The sources also said Ghukasian, who served as the separatist president from 1997 to 2007, and Sahakian, who held the job from 2007 to 2020, were also arrested along with Ishkhanian, the speaker of the separatist legislature.

Azerbaijan's State Security Service said on September 29 that it detained Davit Manukian, former deputy commander of the breakaway region's de facto armed forces, on "terrorism" charges. Two days earlier, Azerbaijan arrested Vardanian, the former de facto prime minister of Nagorno-Karabakh.

Sources close to the ethnic Armenian leadership in the region confirmed to RFE/RL on September 29 that Azerbaijani officials also detained Levon Mnatsakanian, a former commander of Nagorno-Karabakh's armed forces, at a border checkpoint with Armenia.

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/armenia-protest-arrest- karabakh-leaders/32623103.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.

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Armenian PM To Attend EU-Sponsored Talks In Spain Despite Reports Baku Won't Show

By RFE/RL's Armenian Service, RFE/RL's Azerbaijani Service October 04, 2023

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian has said he plans to attend European Union talks scheduled for October 5 in Granada, Spain, despite reports that Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has decided not to take part in the meeting where discussions over a peace deal were expected.

Pashinian said on October 4 that the Armenian side was "very constructive and optimistic" about signing a peace agreement with Azerbaijan. But, he added, he was also ready to resign if it helps "normalize" the situation in the Caucasus country.

"We thought there was an opportunity to sign a landmark document, and in fact, until this morning, we valued that opportunity very highly," Pashinian said, calling the peace agreement-to-be "a document of turning point" that the Armenian opposition "tried to present as destructive."

Pashinian said that the Armenian delegation will "present our viewpoints" in Granada.

"Of course we are sorry that the meeting will not take place, but we hope that the conceptual document that is on the table will be signed at a convenient time," Pashinian said.

Pashinian's statement came amid reports by Azerbaijani media saying that Aliyev refused to participate in the five-party -- European Union, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Germany, France -- meeting. Aliyev's office has not confirmed the reports.

The reports said Baku proposed Turkey take part in the talks as well, but Germany and France rejected that proposal.

Omer Celik, a spokesman for Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's ruling AK Party, said he supported Aliyev's decision not to attend the talks, given that "the condition of Turkey's participation was not accepted. We admire this [Aliyev's decision]."

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz told Aliyev in a phone call that Berlin was strongly committed to a negotiated settlement between Azerbaijan and Armenia.

"The chancellor expressed his rejection of the use of military force," a spokesperson for the German leader said in a statement. "The chancellor underlined the importance of the greatest possible transparency regarding the situation in and development of Nagorno-Karabakh."

According to the reports, Baku will not discuss regional problems with countries located far from the South Caucasus but could take part in three-party talks between the EU, Azerbaijan, and Armenia.

The talks in Granada were scheduled after Azerbaijan routed Nagorno-Karabakh's ethnic Armenian forces in a 24-hour military campaign two weeks ago. De facto authorities of the breakaway region then agreed to dissolve their government by the end of this year.

More than 100,000 ethnic Armenians fled Nagorno-Karabakh after that, although Baku pledged to respect the rights of Armenians after the military campaign.

With reporting by Reuters

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/armenia-azerbaijan-pashinian- talks/32623061.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.

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Nebraska Attorney General Mike Hilgers is challenging the constitutionality of a new criminal justice reform statute that passed in the Legislature this year.

A spokesperson for the Attorney General's Office confirmed the office filed a lawsuit Monday against LB50. The challenge pertains to one section of the bill that addresses parole eligibility requirements, which would allow some inmates to become eligible for parole earlier.

LB50 covers a wide range of issues related to criminal justice reform, such as increasing Nebraskas problem-solving courts and expanding parole options. Lawmakers debated over these issues for two years before enough senators supported the bill, which ultimately passed in a 34-15 vote.

According to the lawsuit, changing the parole eligibility of existing inmates violates the separation of powers in the Nebraska Constitution. Because the law could allow some inmates to be granted parole earlier than their initial sentence, the lawsuit argues that gives commutation power to the Board of Parole  a power solely held by the state's Board of Pardons.

The lawsuit also submitted documents showing that Nebraska Department of Correctional Services Director Rob Jeffreys initially reached out to the Attorney General's Office in late August about interpreting LB50's constitutionality. Upon hearing that the office found this portion of the law unconstitutional, Jeffreys said the department would not impose the new requirements retroactively on inmates sentenced before LB50 took effect Sept. 2.

LB50 was originally introduced by former state Sen. Suzanne Geist of Lincoln, who now works for the Attorney General's Office. After Geist resigned from the Legislature to focus on the Lincoln mayoral race, the bill was adopted by Sen. Justin Wayne of Omaha and was amended several times before it eventually passed.

Passing the bill was a hard fight in the Legislature this year, with resistance coming up during every round of debate, primarily from a handful of Republican lawmakers and the County Attorneys Association. Geist's replacement, Sen. Carolyn Bosn of Lincoln, said she was concerned that the legislation could reduce sentences for repeat offenders and substantially decrease the time inmates could spend behind bars before they are granted parole.

Wayne argued that LB50 was essential to the success of Nebraska's criminal justice system. In the same session, lawmakers also approved $350 million to construct a new prison. Wayne said measures in the bill could help reduce recidivism rates contributing to Nebraska's prison overcrowding problem.

Typically, when the attorney general challenges the constitutionality of state statute, it's up to the secretary of state to defend the law. But that may not be the case here. In a statement from Secretary of State Bob Evnen, he pointed out that his office also has the ability to hire an outside attorney to argue the case, though he did not confirm whether it would do so.

Our office will adhere to the procedure established by the Nebraska Legislature, Evnen said. Though we are fulfilling our statutory duty, no one should conclude that this means that I disagree with the Attorney Generals opinion.

Top Journal Star photos for October 2023
Belgrade Court Orders Release Of Politician Accused Of Organizing Monastery Attack

By RFE/RL's Balkan Service October 04, 2023

A Belgrade court on October 4 ordered the release of Milan Radoicic, the top official of the main ethnic Serb political party in Kosovo, who had been detained in Serbia a day earlier for his involvement in a deadly confrontation with Kosovar police late last month.

Radoicic was detained for 48 hours on October 3 after he admitted to organizing and participating in the events that sparked the shoot-out at an Orthodox monastery in Kosovo that left four people dead.

The prosecution, which accused Radoicic of crimes against public security in connection with illegally manufacturing and trafficking weapons, had asked the court to hold him in custody, saying that there was a risk he would escape.

The court rejected the proposal on October 4 but banned Radoicic from leaving the country, confiscating his passport. The prosecution can appeal the court's decision within three days.

In a statement read by his lawyer on September 29, Radoicic admitted that he "personally made all the logistical preparations" for the events, describing his actions as a way to "encourage Serbs" from the region to resist what he called "the terror of [Kosovo Prime Minister Albin] Kurti's regime."

Radoicic also said that the Serbian government had no knowledge of his planning the confrontation.

Kosovo has rejected Radoicic's denial, saying Serbia was involved in the clashes, which Belgrade denies.

Kosovar Interior Minister Xhelal Svecla has told RFE/RL in an interview that Radoicic didn't act alone and said he had been "continuously supported by [Serb President Aleksandar] Vucic" and the government of Serbia.

Svecla sadi that Vucic and what he called his "extremist ideas related to the whole region" were the real culprits behind the attack on the monastery.

Radoicic is a construction tycoon as well as a top official in the main ethnic Serb political party in Kosovo, Serbian List, funded mainly by Belgrade. He was hit with sanctions by the United States and Britain in 2021 for allegedly being part of an organized crime group.

The monastery attack further raised tensions in the region at a time when European Union and U.S. officials have been pushing for a deal that would normalize ties between Serbia and Kosovo.

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/serbia-release-monastery- attack-radoicic/32622767.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.

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Moldova Takes Further Steps To Ban Members Of Pro-Russian Party From Local Polls

By RFE/RL's Moldovan Service October 04, 2023

Moldovan authorities on October 4 reinforced a ban on members of an outlawed Russia-backed party taking part in upcoming local elections, in effect reversing the Constitutional Court's decision a day earlier that had scrapped the interdiction.

Moldova's Exceptional Situations Committee (CSE) decided that members of the Shor Party who are charged, indicted, or even under suspicion of committing criminal acts will not be allowed to run in the polls, scheduled for November 5.

The CSE, which is led by Prime Minister Dorin Recean and comprises several cabinet members as well as intelligence agency chiefs and prominent lawmakers, was initially established to deal with the emergency situation declared due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Constitutional Court, which had outlawed the Shor Party in June amid moves by Moldova to reduce Russia's influence, ruled on October 3 that legislation approved by lawmakers in July banning party members from running for office for five years was unconstitutional.

The court's decision came following a complaint against the ban by members of the disbanded party, which was headed by exiled businessman Ilan Shor, who is accused by the West and the Moldovan government of trying to destabilize the country.

Shor, living in self-imposed exile in Israel, wrote on social media on October 4 that "today, parliament has declared a total dictatorship in Moldova, where there is no rule of law and there is no constitution whatsoever."

Wedged between Ukraine, Romania, and the Black Sea, Moldova has often found itself in the center of a struggle for influence between Moscow and the West.

The situation has intensified since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, especially with the Kremlin-backed breakaway region of Transdniester on its eastern border. Russia still keeps more than 1,000 troops in Transdniester as "peacekeepers."

The United States in June imposed sanctions on seven members of a group linked to Shor for their alleged roles in Moscow's campaign to destabilize Moldova and instigate an insurrection.

Shor, who is suspected of involvement in a $1 billion bank fraud and other illicit schemes, fled to Israel following the election of Moldova's pro-Western President Maia Sandu in 2020.

From abroad, he has organized months of anti-government protests with the aim of toppling Sandu and the reformist government that has been critical of Russia's war in Ukraine.

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/moldova-ban-elections- shor-party-constitutional-court/32622703.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.

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Russian peacekeeping contingent continues missions in the territory of Nagorno-Karabakh

04.10.2023

The Russian peacekeeping force is monitoring the situation around the clock, as well as patrolling along routes in the settlements of Nagorno-Karabakh.

No violations of the ceasefire regime were recorded in the responsibility area of the Russian peacekeeping contingent over the past 24 hours.

They support continuous cooperation with Baku and Stepanakert, aimed to prevent bloodshed, uphold humanitarian law in regard to people.

Department for Media Affairs and Information

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Norway to Increase Defense Budget by 20% in 2024 - Finance Minister

Sputnik News

20231004

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Norway will increase defense budget by approximately 20% in 2024 compared to the current year's budget, Norwegian Finance Minister Trygve Slagsvold Vedum said in an interview, published on Wednesday.

"We are a allocating a total of 90.8 million kroner [$8.29 million] for next year's defense budget ... This makes the defense budget in 2024 about 20% more ... than the adopted for the current year," the newspaper quoted the minister as saying.

The newspaper also cited Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store as saying that the additional money will be used for military support for Ukraine as well as improving Norway's defense capabilities.

"With this budget we aim to reach 1.8% of GDP next year ... By doing that, we are ahead of the plan, according to which we should reach 2% in 2026," the finance minister added.

The newspaper reported that Vedum was talking about NATO's program obliging members to use a minimum of 2% of GDP for defense, which Norway promised to do at the organization's summit in Vilnius in July.

 Sputnik

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Nigerien Military Leadership's PM Accuses France of Plotting Assassinations of Officials

Sputnik News

20231004

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Niger's military-appointed Prime Minister Ali Mahaman Lamine Zeine on Tuesday accused France of plotting to assassinate ministers and other public figures in the country.

"France, along with our other enemies, has a plan to assassinate prominent ministers and members of the country's leadership," Zeine told a Qatari broadcaster.

He added that France uses its tools to destabilize the situation in Niger.

Earlier Tuesday, Nigerien Interior Minister Mohamed Toumba told the broadcaster that Niger's government has approved French President Emmanuel Macron's proposed deadline for the final withdrawal of French troops from the country.

In September, Macron said France would pull its troops from Niger by the end of 2023.

The former French colony saw an elite military force depose the French-backed president, Mohamed Bazoum, in late July. The rebels demanded that France call back its ambassador and withdraw troops from Niger's soil.

Multiple protests have taken place outside the French military base in Niamey since the coup, with protesters demanding that Niger's former colonial master end its military presence in the country.

 Sputnik

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NPS Team Makes Key Breakthrough on Path to Electric Aircraft Propulsion

US Navy

04 October 2023

From Rosemary Mena-Werth, Naval Postgraduate School Public Affairs

MONTEREY, Calif. -- As an institution renowned for innovation efforts grounded in education and research, the Naval Postgraduate School (NPS) has often been called upon to tackle some of the most difficult technological challenges facing the Navy and the nation.

Such a challenge emerged in 2020, when NASA charged NPS and two other research teams with solving a critical barrier facing the development of electric aircraft propulsion (EAP): the creation of a circuit breaker that could support large electric platforms running on direct current (DC) electricity. Thanks to the efforts of a diverse team of faculty and students, as well as several Navy and academic research partners, NPS delivered an innovative working prototype.

This past March, the successful test of the "Navy High Speed Solid-State Fault Management System for Electric Aircraft Propulsion" confirmed the breakthrough results. The NPS-led design was able to provide a viable DC circuit breaker to NASA, pushing the project development forward to Level 6 on the Technology Readiness Level scale - a 9-level measurement system used to assess the maturity of a particular technology.

The effort to research and design the DC circuit breaker for EAP was led by Dr. Di Zhang, NPS Associate Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering, along with a team of NPS students. Zhang, who came to NPS in 2019 after working on electric power converter designs with General Electric's Global Research Center, is widely considered one of the nation's leading experts on large electric vehicles.

As a result of his team's work, Zhang was awarded a $750,000 research grant by NASA to continue his research with a goal to refine the weight and performance of the team's initial breaker design.

The breakthrough achieved at NPS could be a critical step in the development of EAP, one of many emerging technologies receiving increased attention due to the emphasis placed by the Secretary of the Navy, Carlos Del Toro, on accelerating innovation throughout the Department of the Navy.

"We are indeed in an innovation race  and it is one we must win," said Del Toro during remarks at the Naval Research Laboratory in Washington, D.C., on Sept. 28. "Innovation must permeate every aspect of our Department's approach to the delivery of the technologies and capabilities at a speed and scale necessary for our Navy and Marine Corps to confront the challenges of today and the future."

NPS will play a significant role in supporting the development of EAP technology and other relevant innovation efforts following the establishment of the Naval Innovation Center (NIC) at NPS. First announced in December 2022, the NIC will leverage NPS education and research to drive "ideas to impact," bringing research concepts out of the lab and into the field faster by empowering students, faculty and partners across the entire Naval Research & Development Establishment (NR&DE) to work with the naval innovation ecosystem and industry.

Accelerated innovation for technologies such as EAP is also facilitated through the Secretary of the Navy's "Climate Action 2030" policy, which prioritizes the development of systems that are not dependent on fossil fuels, expanding the use of renewable energy and electric propulsion.

In addition to supporting Climate Action 2030 and similar policy goals, EAP can also enable numerous new design freedoms and functions, leading to lower energy consumption and higher propulsion efficiency. And, of course, the noise signature of combustion engines could be all but eliminated utilizing EAP, enhancing stealth capabilities of future systems.

"Electric propulsion technology is crucial for future Navy capabilities, offering enhanced design flexibility, supporting power-intensive advanced systems, and ensuring stealth, efficiency, and adaptability in evolving naval environments," said Zhang. "The technology's integration also paves the way for the adoption of emerging energy sources, solidifying the Navy's technological edge."

Zhang and his NPS student team were joined in their research efforts by partners from Virginia Tech, Clemson University and the University of Connecticut, and received engineering support from Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) in China Lake, Calif., and the Naval Surface Warfare Center (NSWC) Philadelphia division.

According to Zhang, one of the fundamental questions when looking at utilizing electric power is the distinction between products that run on direct current and alternating current (AC).

"A hundred years ago, Nikola Tesla and Thomas Edison had a battle over the advantages of AC versus DC electric power. Tesla won, and now much of what we use and see is running on AC power," said Zhang.

There are certain advantages to using AC electricity, he says. AC generators are the primary source of electric power, which are driven by steam, nuclear, or other power sources. AC can be transmitted across great distances and is also easily changed to different voltage levels through the use of transformers that can step voltage up and down. As its name implies, AC has an alternating current that runs in a sinusoidal pattern; this makes AC electricity relatively safe and easy to interrupt with a circuit breaker as the waveform naturally crosses zero.

Direct current has its own advantages that are rising in importance as technology looks to the future. DC systems require less cabling and can be smaller and lighter than AC systems, as well as more power efficient. Clean sources of energy - like wind and solar - store power in photovoltaic grids and batteries which are inherently DC compatible. Electric cars that use DC power are also able to use regenerative braking to return energy to their batteries, and they are run in a compact space that does not require long distance transmission.

"The trend we're seeing in energy industries and in electric vehicles is this switch to DC, and that's why it is so important to look towards this electric aircraft design," explained Zhang. "With DC, we can make a design lighter and smaller with the same power which is critical for aviation and Navy applications. The target for this DC breaker design is to get the same amount of power while cutting the weight to one tenth of what's been developed."

One thing that doesn't get smaller and lighter with DC systems is the circuit breaker. The challenge that NASA posed to NPS was to create a circuit breaker that could shut down an electric aircraft running at maximum power in a safe, simple - and size-efficient - way.

"Think of electricity flowing like water through a pipe. A circuit breaker is the tool you need to shut that water off. With DC, high amounts of current and voltage equate to a huge flow of water that is hard to shut down quickly," explained U.S. Marine Corps Capt. Michael Smith, an NPS electrical engineering graduate. "That quick change from a high to low voltage, or high to low current, creates an electromagnetic field that can interfere with other electric systems."

Capt. Smith is one of five NPS students who worked on the project with Zhang. Since his graduation in September 2022, he now applies his degree as an Expeditionary Energy Officer for the Marines. His master's thesis focused on testing circuit boards to ensure they could withstand the electromagnetic interference of a large-scale DC circuit breaker, and he was able to successfully identify manufactured circuit boards that would function under the required conditions.

"The trick to reaching industry standards is in the balance," said Zhang. "You need to design something new, but not too new or it is unproven and risky. You cannot only be innovative; you must also be practical. So, we had three years during a global pandemic, which hindered manufacturing and access to technology, to produce a result that is as safe and simple as possible."

In spite of those challenges, the team was able to successfully meet the deadline. While Zhang is pleased with the achievement of his students and the positive feedback from NASA, he is far from done with this research.

"I'm very proud of the students that I've worked with who have shown great ability with hands-on research," said Zhang. "I'm also proud of my team and colleagues here at NPS who have such strong industry experience and perspective towards electrical engineering. It's with this perspective that we're able to deliver something so practical, useful, and impactful."

NPS Vice Provost for Research Dr. Kevin Smith complimented Zhang and his research team, noting the achievement as an exemplar of how basic and applied research at NPS leads to relevant technology solutions.

"Di Zhang's accomplishment is a great example of how our faculty lead interdisciplinary research at NPS, leveraging our students' operational insight and our innovation ecosystem of academic and industry partners to solve problems and drive concepts to capability," said Dr. Smith.

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Readout of U.S. 6th Fleet Commander Vice Adm. Thomas Ishee Meeting with Royal Navy Fleet Commander Vice Adm. Andrew Burns

US Navy - Press Release

04 October 2023

NAPLES, Italy -- U.S. 6th Fleet Spokesperson Cmdr. Richlyn Ivey provided the following readout:

U.S. 6th Fleet Commander Vice Adm. Thomas Ishee met with Royal Navy Fleet Commander Vice Adm. Andrew Burns Oct. 4 in Naples, Italy, at the U.S. 6th Fleet headquarters.

The two leaders discussed the expansion of U.S.-U.K. interoperability in Europe and Africa, ongoing global operations, and areas of future partnership. The fleet commanders reaffirmed the importance of the U.S.-U.K. relationship in the defense of the NATO alliance and the deterrence of malign actors in the maritime sphere.

U.S. 6th Fleet, headquartered in Naples, Italy, conducts the full spectrum of joint and naval operations, often in concert with Allies and interagency partners, in order to advance U.S. national interests and security and stability in Europe and Africa.

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Taliban, Rights Groups Decry Pakistan's Decision to Evict Afghan Immigrants

By Ayaz Gul October 04, 2023

Afghanistan's Taliban Wednesday urged Pakistan to review its plans to expel Afghan immigrants, rejecting charges the displaced community is involved in the security problems facing the neighboring country.

Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid released the statement a day after the Pakistani government ordered undocumented immigrants, including more than 1.7 million Afghans, to leave the country by November 1.

Interior Minister Sarfaraz Bugti told a news conference in Islamabad Tuesday that "illegal immigrants" who stay in Pakistan beyond the deadline would be arrested and deported to their respective countries.

"The behavior of Pakistan against Afghan refugees is unacceptable. The Pakistani side should reconsider its plan," Mujahid said on X, formerly Twitter.

"Afghan refugees are not involved in Pakistan's security problems. As long as they leave Pakistan voluntarily, that country should tolerate them," the Taliban spokesman wrote.

Bugti defended Pakistan's crackdown on undocumented immigrants, saying that Afghan nationals carried out 14 of the 24 suicide bombings that have taken place in Pakistan this year. He added that eight of the 11 militants who recently raided two Pakistani military installations were Afghans.

"We are coming under attacks from Afghanistan, and we have evidence showing that Afghans are involved in the violence," the Pakistani minister said.

He clarified that more than 1.4 million Afghans residing in Pakistan as officially designated refugees and at least 850,000 Afghan citizen card holders are not the crackdown target.

Hafiz Muhibullah, the chief Taliban diplomat at Afghanistan's consulate in the northwestern city of Peshawar, said an entire community should not be punished for an individual's criminal act.

"The hasty decision of forcing them out will create misunderstandings, and there is a fear that it will adversely affect the relations [between Afghanistan and Pakistan]," Muhibullah told VOA.

Islamabad says that fugitive leaders and militants of the outlawed Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan, or TTP, have moved to Afghanistan since the Taliban seized power there two years ago and have stepped up cross-border attacks.

The Taliban deny allowing the TTP or any other group to threaten other countries, particularly Pakistan, in line with their international counterterrorism commitments.

TTP-led insurgent attacks have killed more than 750 civilians and security forces in Pakistan in the first nine months of 2023, a 19% increase compared with the previous year.

The United Nations and human rights groups have expressed concerns over Pakistani plans to evict Afghan immigrants, saying those facing deportations include hundreds of thousands who fled Afghanistan after the Taliban reclaimed control of the country in August 2021, fearing persecution by the hardline de facto authorities.

The displaced community also refuses to return to Afghanistan, citing sweeping restrictions the Taliban have imposed on women's access to education and work.

Global concerns

"It's obviously a concerning development," U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric said at a news briefing Wednesday in New York when asked for a response to Pakistan's decision to expel Afghans. "As a matter of principle, it is critical that no refugees be sent back without it being a voluntary and dignified return."

Refugee International, an independent humanitarian organization advocating for better support for displaced people, said Wednesday it was "deeply troubled" by the announcement from Islamabad.

"Pakistan has a long history of generously hosting their Afghan neighbors when they have been unsafe. Now is not the time to stop," said Devon Cone, senior advocate for women and girls at the U.S.-based group.

"We are especially concerned about Afghans who fled their country after August 2021 due to direct and targeted threats from the Taliban," Cone noted. "They are at heightened risk of violence and reprisals from the Taliban. Expelling them back to Afghanistan would most likely result in their deaths."

Additionally, Amnesty International called on Pakistani authorities in a statement Wednesday to stop the crackdown on Afghans and to not deport them, asserting such a move could put them at grave risk.

"They are living incredibly precarious lives where they are either having to undergo arduous processes for registering as refugees in Pakistan or are stuck in lengthy processes waiting to obtain relocation to another country," said Nadia Rahman, Amnesty's interim regional deputy director for research in South Asia.

Rahman reiterated Amnesty's calls to the United Nations High Commission for Refugees to expedite registration and review applications from Afghans seeking international protection in Pakistan.

"The international community must act immediately to keep up their initial promises of providing protection to those fleeing persecution in Afghanistan."

VOA's Urdu Service and VOA U.N. Correspondent Margaret Besheer contributed to this report.

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Azerbaijan Leader to Skip EU-led Talks with Armenia

By VOA News October 04, 2023

Azerbaijan's president, Ilham Aliyev, will not participate in talks this week with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan in Spain.

Azerbaijani state media and a government official said Wednesday that Aliyev would skip the EU-brokered meeting that also includes the leaders of France and Germany, citing what they described as pro-Armenian statements from France and EU Council President Charles Michel.

The EU said the talks would be aimed at advancing long-running peace negotiations between Azerbaijan and Armenia as well as the situation in the Nagorno-Karabakh region.

Last month, Azerbaijan carried out an operation to retake control of Nagorno-Karabakh from ethnic Armenian separatists.

Nagorno-Karabakh is entirely within Azerbaijan but had been under ethnic Armenian control since 1994, until parts of it were reclaimed by Azerbaijan during a war in 2020.

Some information for this report came from Agence France-Presse and Reuters

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Experts Say Tackling Corruption Key to Stopping Nigerian Crude Theft

By Timothy Obiezu October 04, 2023

Nigerian authorities are investigating the deaths of at least 15 people in the explosion of an illegally tapped oil pipeline on Sunday, an often-deadly practice that has been going on for decades.

Police in the Rivers state, which is in the West African nation's southern delta region, told VOA by phone Wednesday that Iba community locals were scooping crude oil and refining it at an illegal site late Sunday when the explosion occurred.

Police spokesperson Grace Iringe-Koko said authorities removed 15 bodies, including that of a pregnant woman, from the site. Twenty survivors, including the owner of the illegal refinery, were taken to a local hospital with burns.

"We're investigating," Iringe-Koko said. "It was this illegally refined product they were scooping that caused this fire explosion. We documented photographs of the incident. Members of the public and parents should warn their wards not to involve in such activities.

"We're also trying to see if we can deploy more security to that place so that such acts will not continue," she said.

Crude oil theft is a perennial problem in Nigeria  one of the Africa's largest producers. The illegal refining of crude, known as "oil bunkering," is rampant in oil-rich regions.

In April, the Nigerian Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative said Nigeria lost about 620 million barrels of crude oil valued at $46 billion between 2009 and 2020.

Nigerian authorities have been trying to address the problem without much success.

Faith Nwadishi, executive director of the Center for Transparency Advocacy, said authorities must take decisive security and legal action to end oil theft.

"The technology around refining of crude is not what the local people themselves are involved in," Nwadishi said. "It's a cabal of very knowledgeable people with resources that are able to do that. So, government really needs to look inward  the issues around impunity and corruption. Our legal framework is weak."

Nigeria is dependent on crude oil for more than 80% of its national revenue.

Authorities say oil theft is detrimental to the Nigeria's economy and national security, but Nwadishi said widespread poverty in oil-producing regions also plays a role.

"Over the years that we have taken crude oil from these communities, there has been little or no development," she said. "Those same communities do not have projects, infrastructure. The people don't have electricity, and every day they're faced with the issue about degradation that comes from oil production within their communities. So, people around communities now see it as a right to take part of this crude [oil]."

Oil and gas expert Emmanuel Afimia said that without better opportunities for locals, it will be difficult to tackle oil theft.

"Many of these villages along the pipelines know about these illegal refineries, but as long as the money keeps flowing into the owners' pockets and then it keeps circulating in the community, they would not want to rat out whoever is operating that structure," Afimia said. "So, having to depend on communities to report structures will not work."

The United Nations says that, worldwide, stolen oil accounts for around 5% to 7% of the global crude oil and petroleum fuel market.

Last year, Nigeria awarded a pipeline surveillance contract to former militant Government Ekpemupolo, also known as Tompolo, and uncovered many large sites where oil was being siphoned.

But experts say that unless the deeper problem of corruption is solved or authorities begin to prosecute offenders, oil theft will continue to be a problem in Nigeria.

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A Yellowstone County deputy shot and killed a man late Wednesday night while executing a warrant near Ballantine.

The man was apparently armed and fired his weapon at deputies, according to a statement from Yellowstone County Sheriff Mike Linder. Two deputies who were serving the warrant at the time of the shooting have been placed on administrative leave.

County deputies drove to a residence on South 28th Road, east of Ballantine, at around 11:30 p.m. They were trying to serve an arrest warrant from another county. Deputies found the wanted man at the residence, Linder said, but one officer saw the man was armed with a handgun. The suspect came out of the home and allegedly shot at the deputies.

One deputy, Linder said, returned fire and a bullet struck the suspect. Law enforcement tried to give the man first aid, but he was dead by the time ambulance crews arrived at the scene.

Wednesdays shooting is the second time this year a Yellowstone County deputy has fatally shot someone. In March, an hours-long standoff near Downtown Billings ended with a 35-year-old woman pointing a gun at law enforcement. A county deputy fired a round into the womans torso, and she later died from the wound. Gunfire has killed six people in Yellowstone County in 2023.

In September, agents with the Montana Division of Criminal Investigation were assisting federal parole officers in arresting a man on the 1800 block of Third Avenue North. The suspect allegedly fired several rounds at police, who returned fire. The suspect was wounded in the gunfire exchange, but survived the shooting. The Billings Police Department has been assigned to investigate the circumstances of the shooting.
Asian Development bank supports families in Afghanistan at times of dire need, when 15 million people go hungry

World Food Programme

4 October 2023

Kabul -- The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) in Afghanistan welcomes a contribution by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) of US$100 million. The funding will allow WFP to provide critical food assistance to more than 1.3 million acutely food insecure people across the country for up to one year. A special focus will be on widow- and women-headed households and other highly vulnerable groups like people with disabilities or families surviving solely on begging. For many of these families, WFP has become their last lifeline.

"Afghanistan has faced an unprecedented humanitarian crisis compounded by climate change and intense droughts, floods, and earthquakes", wrote ADB in the announcement of their latest contribution. "Women and children are disproportionately affected with many women-led households suffering a lack of food and reduced access to services given women's restrictions on movement outside their homes."

With this contribution, WFP will also train food-insecure women on marketable and entrepreneurial skills and alternative livelihoods along the agricultural value chain, such as fruit and vegetable processing. During the training, they will be supported with monthly cash transfers, while improving their long-term livelihoods and ability to stand on their own feet and buy food for their families thanks to their new skills.

"This contribution comes at a critical moment for Afghanistan, where 15 million people are going hungry and WFP only can still support three million people with emergency food assistance due to a massive funding crisis", said Hsiao-Wei Lee, Country Director of WFP Afghanistan. "We are grateful for this generous contribution from the Asian Development Bank that will help us reach families in need starting before winter, when hunger bites hardest."

This is the second contribution from ADB to WFP in Afghanistan, following US$135 million in the past year which put it amongst the top five contributors. This year, ADB is the biggest partner of WFP, to date.



# # #

The United Nations World Food Programme is the world's largest humanitarian organization, saving lives in emergencies and using food assistance to build a pathway to peace, stability and prosperity for people recovering from conflict, disasters and the impact of climate change.

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Russo-Ukraine War - 04 October 2023 - Day 588

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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 on 28 September 2023, Russian air defence forces highly likely shot down one of their own Su-35S FLANKER M multi-role combat jets over Tokmak, approximately 20km behind the current front line.

Although Russia has lost around 90 fixed wing aircraft since the start of the invasion, this is probably only the fifth loss of a Su-35S, Russia's most advanced combat jet in widespread service. The location is relevant because Tokmak is a heavily fortified town which often hosts Russian headquarters commanding one of the most intensely contested sectors of the front line.

These headquarters would typically be protected with dedicated short and medium range air defence systems. These are almost certainly held at very high readiness, as Ukraine continues to conduct effective deep strikes against such locations.

The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported that during the day of October 4, there were 45x combat engagements. Russian forces launched a total of 5x missile and 43x air strikes, 30x MLRS attacks at the positions of Ukrainian troops and various settlements. Unfortunately, the Russian attacks have killed and wounded civilians. Private residential buildings and other civilian infrastructure were destroyed or damaged.

The operational situation in eastern and southern Ukraine remains difficult.

Volyn and Polissya axes: no significant changes. No signs of formation of an offensive group. Certain units of the armed forces of Belarus continue their missions in the areas bordering Ukraine.

Sivershchyna and Slobozhanshchyna axes: the Russian adversary maintains its military presence in the areas of russia bordering Ukraine. Russia continues to shell Ukrainian settlements from the territory of Russia and increases the density of minefields along the state border of Ukraine. Russian forces fired artillery and mortars at more than 25x settlements, including Klyusy, Tur'ya (Chernihiv oblast), Sorokyne, Prohres, Stepok (Sumy oblast), Starytsya, Tykhe, Mala Vovcha, (Kharkiv oblast).

Kup'yans'k axis: the Ukrainian defenders repelled a Russian attack in the area north of Zybyne (Kharkiv oblast). The Russian adversary launched air strikes in the vicinities of Podoly (Kharkiv oblast) and Kuzemivka (Luhansk oblast). More than 15x settlements, including Fyholivka, Novomlyns'k, Lyman Pershyi, Syn'kivka, Petropavlivka, Ivanivka (Kharkiv oblast) came under artillery and mortar fire.

Lyman axis: the Ukrainian Defense Forces repelled 5x Russian attacks in the area east of Makiivka (Luhansk oblast) and northwest of Dibrovy (Donetsk oblast). The settlements of Novoselivs'ke, Bilohorivka (Luhansk oblast), Sivers'k, Spirne (Donetsk oblast) suffered Russian air strikes. The invaders fired artillery and mortars at more than 15x settlements, including Makiivka, Nevs'ke, Bilohorivka (Luhansk oblast), Tors'ke, Sivers'k, Verkhn'okam'yans'ke, Fedorivka, Spirne, Rozdolivka (Donetsk oblast).

Bakhmut axis: the Russian adversary made unsuccessful attempts to regain the lost ground in the vicinities of Hryhorivka and Andriivka (Donetsk oblast). Russian forces launched air strikes near Khromove, Chasiv Yar, Ivanivske, Klishchiivka, Toretsk and Oleksandro-Shul'tyne (Donetsk oblast). More than 20x settlements came under artillery and mortar fire, including Min'kivka, Bohdanivka, Klishchiivka, Andriivka, Kurdyumivka, New York (Donetsk oblast).

Avdiivka axis: the Ukrainian defenders successfully repelled all Russian attacks near Avdiivka and Lastochkyne (Donetsk oblast). Russian forces launched an air strike near Avdiivka. The invaders fired artillery and mortars at more than 10x settlements, including Keramik, Stepove, Avdiivka, Karlivka, Nevel's'ke, Pervomais'ke (Donetsk oblast).

Mar'inka axis: during the day of October 4, the Ukrainian Defense Forces successfully repelled 8x Russian attacks in the vicinities of Mar'inka and 6x Russian attack in the vicinities of Krasnohorivka and Novomykhailivka (Donetsk oblast). The adversary launched air strikes near Novomykhailivka and Mar'inka (Donetsk oblast). About 10x settlements, including Krasnohorivka, Mar'inka, Pobjeda, Novomykhailivka, Yelyzavetivka (Donetsk oblast) were under Russian artillery and mortar fire.

Shakhtars'ke axis: the Ukrainian defenders repelled a Russian attack in the vicinity of the settlement of Zolota Nyva (Donetsk oblast). The Russian occupiers launched air strikes in the vicinities of Zolota Nyva, Urozhaine, Staromaiors'ke (Donetsk oblast). More than 10x settlements, including Vodyane, Vuhledar, Maksymivka, Prechystivka, Zolota Nyva, Blahodatne, Urozhaine (Donetsk oblast), came under artillery and mortar fire.

Zaporizhzhia axis: the Ukrainian Defense Forces successfully repelled Russian attacks near Verbove and Robotyne (Zaporizhzhia oblast). Russian forces launched air strikes near Mala Tokmachka and Robotyne, (Zaporizhzhia oblast). More than 25x settlements, including Novoandriivka, Mali Shcherbaky, Robotyne, Stepove, Kam'yans'ke, Plavni (Zaporizhzhia oblast), came under Russian artillery and mortar fire.

Kherson axis: Russian forces launched air strikes in the vicinities of Kozats'ke, Mykolaivka and Ol'hivka (Kherson oblast). Russian forces fired artillery and mortars at more than 10x settlements, including Ponyativka, Mykil's'ke (Kherson oblast) and the city of Kherson.

At the same time, the Ukrainian Defense Forces continue their offensive operation on Melitopol' axis and offensive (assault) operations on Bakhmut axis, inflicting losses in manpower and equipment on the occupation forces, exhausting the Russian forces all along the front line.

During the day of October 4, Ukrainian Air Force launched 13x air strikes on the concentrations of troops, weapons and military equipment of the Russian invaders.

The Ukrainian missile troops hit 1x command post, 3x concentrations of troops, weapons and military equipment, 10x artillery systems and 1x ammunition depot of the Russian occupiers.

The Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation reported that in Donetsk direction, units of the Yug Group of Forces supported by aviation and artillery repelled four attacks of assault detachments of the AFU 5th Assault Brigade, 59th Motorised Infantry Brigade, 53th Mechanised Brigade near Adreevka, Vodyanoye, Nevelskoye (Donetsk People's Republic).

The enemy lost up to 165 Ukrainian troops killed and wounded, three motor vehicles, two armoured fighting vehicles, one U.S.-made M777 artillery system, as well as one electronic warfare station.

One ammunition depot of the AFU 24th Mechanised Brigade has been destroyed close to Konstantinovka (Donetsk People's Republic).

In Krasny Liman direction, two attacks launched by assault groups of the 21st Mechanised Brigade and the 12th Azov Special Forces Brigade close to Yampolovka (Donetsk People's Republic) and Serebryansky forestry were repelled by coordinated efforts of the Tsentr Group of Forces, helicopters and artillery.

Up to 50 Ukrainian troops, two armoured fighting vehicles, two D-30 howitzers were neutralised.

In South Donetsk direction, units of the Vostok Group of Forces repelled one attack of the AFU 127th Territorial Defence Brigade's assault groups close to Priyutnoye (Zaporozhye region).

In addition, the Group's ground-attack aircraft and helicopters delivered strikes at manpower and hardware of the AFU 72nd Mechanised Brigade near Novomikhailovka (Donetsk People's Republic).

The AFU losses amounted to up to 185 Ukrainian troops killed and wounded, three armoured fighting vehicles, two motor vehicles, as well as one D-20 howitzer.

In Kupyansk direction, aviation, heavy flamethrower systems, and artillery of the Zapad Group of Forces inflicted fire damage on manpower and hardware of the AFU 25th Airborne Brigade, 32nd, 115th mechanised brigades, and 103rd Territorial Defence Brigades close to Sinkovka, Berestovoye (Kharkov region), Stelmakhovka and Artyomovka (Lugansk People's Republic).

Up to 30 Ukrainian troops, one tank, and two motor vehicles have been neutralised.

One U.S.-manufactured AN/TPQ-37 counterbattery warfare radar has been destroyed near Schiykovka (Kharkov region).

Moreover, one missile artillery ammunition depot of the AFU 41st Mechanised Brigade, as well as one ammunition depot of the 113rd Territorial Defence Brigade, were wiped out close to Kupyansk and Liptsy (Kharkov region).

In Zaporozhye direction, the Russian Group of Forces' units supported by Ground-Attack and Army aviation hit manpower and hardware of the AFU 46th Airmobile Brigade and 15th Ukrainian National Guard Brigade near Malaya Tokmachka and northwest of Verbovoye (Zaporozhye region).

Up to 45 Ukrainian troops and two motor vehicles have been neutralised.

In the course of the counter-battery warfare, one Msta-B howitzer, one D-30 howitzer, and one U.S.-made M119 gun were neutralised.

In Kherson direction, up to 20 Ukrainian troops, two motor vehicles, one U.S.-made M777 artillery system, as well as one ammunition depot of the AFU 126th Territorial Defence Brigade, have been destroyed near Kherson.

Operational-Tactical and Army aviation, Missile Troops and Artillery of the Russian Groups of Forces have engaged AFU manpower and hardware in 114 areas during the day.

In addition, one P-18 radar station for the detection, identification, and tracking of aerial targets was destroyed close to Krinichki (Nikolayev region).

Command and observation posts of the AFU 79th Air Assault Brigade, 5th Assault Brigade,and 100th Territorial Defence Brigade have been obliterated close to Praskoviyvka, Krasnoye, (Donetsk People's Republic) and Chervonaya Dibrova (Lugansk People's Republic).

Fighter Aviation of the Russian Aerospace Forces intercepted one MiG-29 aircraft of the Ukrainian Air Force close to Soldatskoye (Dnepropetrovsk region).

Russian air defence forces have intercepted two Neptune anti-ship missiles, one U.S.-made JDAM guided bomb, as well as seven HIMARS and Grad MLRS projectiles during the day.

Furthermore, during the day, 74 Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles were neutralised and suppressed by radio electronic warfare means close to Vasilevka, Kropivnitskoye, Peski (Donetsk People's Republic), Verbovoye, Mirnoye, Ulyanovka, Ilchenkovo, Pologi, (Zaporozhye region), Krasnorechenskoye, Belogorovka (Lugansk People's Republic), and Veliky Vyselok (Kherson region).

In total, 484 airplanes and 250 helicopters, 7,491 unmanned aerial vehicles, 440 air defence missile systems, 12,326 tanks and other armoured fighting vehicles, 1,160 combat vehicles equipped with MLRS, 6,642 field artillery cannons and mortars, as well as 13,789 units of special military equipment have been destroyed during the special military operation.

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Notorious Criminal Kingpin Killed In Special Operation In Bishkek

By Bakyt Torogeldi-uulu October 04, 2023

BISHKEK -- Kyrgyz security officers have killed notorious organized-crime figure Kamchy Kolbaev (aka Kamchybek Asanbek), who was added by Washington to a list of major global drug-trafficking suspects in 2011.

The State Committee of National Security (UKMK) said on October 4 that Kolbaev was "liquidated" during a special operation in Bishkek after he resisted arrest and opened fire at security forces.

The 49-year-old Kolbaev, known as a "thief-in-law," a title traditionally given to kingpins among criminal groups in former Soviet republics, was detained in October 2020 on suspicion of organizing a criminal group and participating in the activities of an organized criminal group.

The U.S. Embassy in Bishkek welcomed Kolbaev's detention at the time it was announced and expressed hope that Kyrgyz authorities would "prosecute and continue to detain this dangerous criminal leader in the interest of public safety."

However, in early March 2021, Kolbaev was released from pretrial detention and ordered not to leave Bishkek.

In late 2012, Kolbaev was extradited to Kyrgyzstan from the United Arab Emirates at Bishkek's request and sentenced to 5 1/2 years in prison on extortion charges. His prison term was later shortened to three years without explanation.

In June 2014, Kolbaev was granted an early release, which Kyrgyz officials explained by saying that each day spent by an inmate in a detention center is equal to two days in prison.

Weeks before his early release, the U.S. State Department offered a reward of up to $1 million for information leading to the disruption of the financial mechanisms of Kolbaev's criminal network, which it described as being "part of the broader Brothers' Circle transnational criminal organization composed of leaders and members of several Eurasian criminal groups."

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/kyrgyzstan-kingpin-kolbaev- killed/32623077.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.

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US Officials in Mexico to Discuss Fentanyl, Human Migration

By Rob Garver October 04, 2023

Senior U.S. officials including Secretary of State Antony Blinken were in Mexico on Wednesday for talks with Mexican officials on the drug trade and a humanitarian crisis at the U.S. southern border.

Blinken will be joined by Attorney General Merrick B. Garland and Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. The U.S. delegation is set to meet with Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador and Rosa Icela Rodriguez, secretary for Security and Citizen Protection.

The meeting comes at a time of rising tension between the two nations. The United States is in the middle of an epidemic of opioid addiction that claims more than 100,000 lives each year. Most of the deaths are attributable to fentanyl, a potent narcotic trafficked across the border by Mexico-based drug cartels.

At the same time, the U.S. southern border faces a daily deluge of migrants, often numbering in the thousands, who use Mexico as a jumping-off point for efforts to enter the U.S., either illegally or to apply for asylum as refugees.

The dual problem has led to calls from some U.S. political leaders for aggressive action, with a number of Republican candidates for the presidential nomination advocating military intervention.

Fentanyl charges

In an indication of the global nature of the fentanyl problem, Garland on Tuesday held a press conference at the Justice Department, announcing that charges had been filed against eight Chinese companies and 12 individuals for their roles in the sale of fentanyl precursors a the chemical compounds from which the drug is synthesized a to buyers in Mexico.

It was the second time since June that the U.S. has filed charges against Chinese firms supplying fentanyl precursors to criminal organizations in Mexico.

"We know who is responsible for poisoning the American people with fentanyl," Garland said. "And we know that this global fentanyl supply chain, which ends with the deaths of Americans, often starts with chemical companies in China."

Through August of this year, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency has seized more than 25,500 pounds of fentanyl entering the U.S., nearly double the amount seized in the same period last year. The amount of fentanyl seized in the U.S. is up 800% since 2019, according to the Homeland Security Department, with most of it coming from Mexico.

Unlike other drugs, such as cocaine and marijuana, whose raw materials need to be cultivated on hectares of farmland, fentanyl laboratories are small and easy to conceal. And because the drug is so potent a 50 times more powerful than heroin a it also is easier to transport.

Additionally, the U.S. and Mexico are looking for ways to cooperate on the issue of human migration. In recent years, the flow of economic migrants and asylum-seekers through Mexico to the U.S. border has turned into a flood.

After plummeting to fewer than 500,000 during the coronavirus pandemic in 2020, attempts to cross the southern border, whether legally or illegally, have spiked in recent years. In 2021, U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials encountered 1.7 million people trying to cross the southern land border. That figure increased to 2.4 million in 2022, and the figures for 2023 are on track to be higher still.

Mexican resistance

Among other actions, the U.S. officials are expected to ask their Mexican counterparts to deploy more law enforcement personnel to interdict the shipments of fentanyl precursors and close down the labs where the drug is produced.

The reception is likely to be cool. The Mexican government, including Lopez Obrador, have been vocal in their criticism of U.S. politicians campaigning on issues related to drugs and immigration, accusing them of scapegoating their country for the United States' own problem.

Lopez Obrador has referred to the opioid epidemic in the U.S. as the result of "social decay."

U.S. responsibility

In an appearance at the University of Texas before traveling to Mexico on Wednesday, Blinken was careful not to place all the blame on Mexico and to emphasize the U.S. wants to retain good relations with its southern neighbor.

"Mexico is ... our largest trading partner in the world," he said. "We want to preserve that. We want to preserve the connections, the bonds that tie us together."

He noted, "And we also have our share of responsibility. One of the things that drives the drug trade that comes here and hits us ... and that facilitates it, is the influx of guns coming from the United States to Mexico. We have a responsibility to help them do something about that."

Major progress unlikely

Despite the presence of three senior Biden administration officials in Mexico, expectations for the two days of meetings are not particularly high, experts say.

Will Freeman, a fellow for Latin American studies at the Council on Foreign Relations, told VOA that similar meetings in 2021 and 2022 produced little significant policy change.

"The Biden administration tried to strike a pretty positive tone about cooperation, overlooking the fact that really, it's at ... a historic low point," he said.

"If we see that continuity from how this played out in the last meeting last year, what I think you'll see coming out of this is just doubling down on saying, 'Look, we're working together to disrupt chemical supplies, targeting fentanyl labs, prosecuting criminal figures involved in fentanyl production, whether or not that's really happening to the extent we'd like,'" Freeman said.

Military solution suggested

In recent public appearances, several prominent Republicans have suggested that when it comes to the drug trade, the U.S. military should be deployed into Mexico to battle the drug cartels.

In the Republican presidential primary, most of the candidates have expressed support for some version of a plan under which U.S. Special Operations forces would be sent into Mexico to fight the cartels.

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has on multiple occasions insisted that if he were elected president, cartel members trying to bring drugs over the border would be left "stone cold dead."

The calls for a military solution echo reports that while serving in the White House, former President Donald Trump explored the possibility of using missile strikes on Mexican territory to take out drug manufacturing facilities.

Freeman, of the Council on Foreign Relations, told VOA that unilateral military action is "a terrible idea" that would "break down diplomatic relations with our top trade partner" and would create an opening for China, which is trying to increase its influence in the region.

"There would be no quicker way to increase China's appeal and maybe deepen ties between China and countries in the region than an invasion of Mexico," he said.

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Spain - PATRIOT Configuration-3+ Modernized Fire Units

Media/Public Contact: pm-cpa@state.gov

Transmittal No: 23-58

WASHINGTON, October 4, 2023 -- The State Department has made a determination approving a possible Foreign Military Sale to the Government of Spain of PATRIOT Configuration-3+ Modernized Fire Units and related equipment for an estimated cost of $2.8 billion. The Defense Security Cooperation Agency delivered the required certification notifying Congress of this possible sale today.

The Government of Spain has requested to buy four (4) PATRIOT Configuration-3+ Modernized Fire Units consisting of: fifty-one (51) PATRIOT Advanced Capability (PAC) 3 Missile Segment Enhanced (MSE) missiles (includes one (1) Fly-to-Buy missile); twenty-four (24) PATRIOT M903 launch stations; four (4) AN/MPQ-65 radar sets; four (4) AN/MSQ-132 Engagement Control Stations; two (2) Information Coordination Central (ICC); eight (8) Antenna Mast Groups; four (4) Electrical Power Plants; and four (4) Energy Power Units. Also included is communications equipment; tools and test equipment; range and test programs; support equipment and services comprising Skids kits, telemetry kits, generators, publications, and technical documentation; training equipment; spare and repair parts; Repair and Return; personnel training; New Equipment Training (NET); Technical Assistance Field Team (TAFT) support; Flight Test Support and Targets; U.S. Government and contractor technical assistance, engineering, and logistics support services; Systems Integration and Checkout (SICO) and Battalion Demonstration; field office support; and other related elements of logistics and program support. The estimated total cost is $2.8 billion.

This proposed sale will support the foreign policy and national security of the United States by improving the security of a NATO ally which is an important force for political stability and economic progress in Europe.

The proposed sale of the PATRIOT missile system will improve Spain's missile defense capability, increase the defensive capabilities of its military, and support its goal of improving national and territorial defense and interoperability with U.S. and NATO forces. Spain will use the PATRIOT to defend its territorial integrity and for regional stability. Spain will have no difficulty absorbing this equipment into its armed forces.

The proposed sale of this equipment and support will not alter the basic military balance in the region.

The prime contractors will be Raytheon Corporation, Tewksbury, MA, and Lockheed Martin, Dallas, TX.

There are no known offset agreements in connection with this potential sale.

Implementation of this proposed sale will require U.S. Government and contractor representatives to travel to Spain for an extended period for system checkout, training, and technical and logistics support.

There will be no adverse impact on U.S. defense readiness as a result of this proposed sale.

The description and dollar value are for the highest estimated quantity and dollar value based on initial requirements. Actual dollar value will be lower depending on final requirements, budget authority, and signed sales agreement(s), if and when concluded.

All questions regarding this proposed Foreign Military Sale should be directed to the State Department's Bureau of Political Military Affairs, Office of Congressional and Public Affairs, pm-cpa@state.gov.



-30-



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UK Nour 3 satellite stance 'interventionist', sign of anger at Iran scientific progress: FM spox

IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency

Oct 4, 2023

Tehran, IRNA -- Iran's Foreign Ministry Spokesman Nasser Kanaani has condemned a statement by the British Foreign Office that criticized the Islamic Republic for its recent launch of the Nour 3 satellite into space, calling it "interventionist".

Kanaani said on Wednesday that attaining scientific and research development, including in aerospace, is the inalienable right of the Islamic Republic of Iran.

"Such interventionist remarks, which are indicative of Britain's anger and self-centered stance towards developments made by the Islamic Republic, will not affect the Iranian nation's determination for making progress in the scientific and technological fields," he added.

The spokesman also said, based on international regulations, Iran faces no limitation to carry out scientific activities in aerospace research. Therefore, he added, the Islamic Republic resolutely rejects any unconventional stance in this regard.

The Islamic Republic, in accordance to international rules and in line with upholding its rights especially the right to progress, will keep using peaceful technologies to achieve scientific development, Kanaani noted.

He stressed that Iran will not act based on views of certain countries, which are seeking to impose their stance and unilateralist measures on others.

The spokesman made the comments a day after the British Foreign Office released a statement on Iran's launching the Nour 3 imaging satellite on September 27.

The statement claimed that Iran had carried out the launch despite repeated calls from the UN Security Council to halt its ballistic-missile program, alleging that the Islamic Republic had disregarded international restrictions.

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Construction of advanced homegrown Pars 2 imaging satellite underway: Official

Iran Press TV

Wednesday, 04 October 2023 9:38 AM

Head of the Iranian Space Agency (ISA) Hossein Salariyeh says the construction of the country's highly accurate remote sensing Pars 2 satellite is underway, while a bio-capsule will be launched into space by the end of the Iranian calendar year in March 2024.

Salariyeh said on Wednesday that since the beginning of the current year certain measures have been adopted in line with the country's 10-year space vision plan.

"We have already started the construction of several micro-satellites and mini-satellites. The construction of Pars 2 and Pars 3 satellites has commenced in conjunction with the Electronic Industries Organization of the Ministry of Defense and Space Research Institute. The construction phase of Pars 2 has begun, and Pars 3 is in the preliminary design phase," he said.

Salariyeh also said the prototype of Nahid 2 satellite has been unveiled, and the final model ready for launch will be built either by the end of the year or the onset of next year.

"The satellite will provide communication services at low altitude. The design and construction plan of Nahid 3, which is much more sophisticated, has also been set out, and is on the agenda," Salariyeh said.

He also said the construction of a radar-class sensing satellite has begun for the first time in the country, stating that sensing radar satellites have the advantage of collecting sensing data from the earth's surface in any weather condition.

The Islamic Republic, Salariyeh said, will launch several satellites into space and place them into low Earth orbits (LEOs) within coming months.

"We will have orbital and sub-orbital test launches within the next six months, thanks to research and development (RD) programs that have been carried out," Salariyeh said.

Despite sanctions imposed by Western countries in recent years, Iran has managed to take giant strides in the civilian space program.

It is among the world's top 10 countries capable of developing and launching satellites.

On September 27, Iran's Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Aerospace Force successfully launched the homegrown imaging satellite Nour-3 into orbit.

Nour-3 (Light-3) was launched by satellite carrier Qased (Messenger) and placed into an orbit 450 kilometers (280 miles) above the Earth's surface.

"With the efforts of IRGC Aerospace Force specialists, a few moments ago, the Nour-3 imaging satellite was successfully placed into a 450 km orbit of the earth with the Iranian Qased satellite carrier," Minister of Communications and Information Technology Issa Zarepour wrote in a post published on X, formerly known as Twitter.

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China expresses strong dissatisfaction with EU probe into Chinese EVs, vows to protect interests of Chinese companies

Global Times

By Global Times Published: Oct 04, 2023 02:24 PM Updated: Oct 04, 2023 04:35 PM

The EU's anti-subsidy probe into Chinese new energy vehicles (NEV) is based on subjective assumptions, lacks sufficient evidence and goes against WTO rules, China's Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) said on Wednesday, responding to an EU decision to conduct the probe.

We express strong dissatisfaction and firm opposition to the EU decision, the MOFCOM said in a statement posted on its website on Wednesday.

China will closely follow Europe's investigative procedure and firmly safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese companies, the MOFCOM said.

The EU requires negotiation with the Chinese side under extremely short notice and failed to provide effective materials for negotiation, which has seriously infringed China's rights, according to the ministry.

The ministry noted that in the 10th China-EU High-level Economic and Trade Dialogue, held in late September, the Chinese side clearly stated that the EU's proposed probe is blatant protectionism and aimed at protecting the EU's industry under the guise of "fair trade," the moves of which will seriously disrupt and distort the global automotive industrial and supply chain, of which the EU has a part, and result in negative impacts on China-EU trade and economic ties.

China urged the EU to exert caution in applying trade remedy measures, considering the big picture of maintaining the stability of global industrial and supply chains and the China-EU comprehensive strategic partnership, the MOFCOM said.

"The EU should encourage deepened cooperation in the new energy industry which has NEVs as one of its spearheads, and create a fair, non-discriminatory and predictable market environment for the common development of the China-EU EV industry," the MOFCOM said.

In recent years, China's EV industry has seen rapid development thanks to its unremitting technological innovation and building up of a complete industrial and supply chain. And Chinese EVs have been favored by consumers including those in the EU.

According to auto consultancy Inovev, 8 percent of new EVs sold in Europe as of September this year were Chinese, up from 6 percent in 2022 and 4 percent in 2021.

In 2022, Chinese automakers exported 545,244 NEVs to Europe, accounting for 48.66 percent of all NEV exports, data from the China Passenger Car Association showed.

On Wednesday, the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM) expressed its strong opposition to the EU's decision.

It is a clear fact that the Chinese EV market is a fiercely competitive market and not one supported and protected by subsidies, the industry association said, adding that the EU's stubbornness in launching the probe regardless of the fact constitutes a blatant protectionist behavior and will definitely impede the global development of the EV industry and pose hazard to the global carbon neutralization process.

The Chinese and European automotive industries are partners, not rivals, and the development of the automotive industry needs fair competition, not protectionism, the CAAM said.

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Foreign Ministry Spokesperson's Remarks on US Congressional Delegation's Visit to China Led by Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer

Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the People's Republic of China

2023-10-04 12:13

Q: US Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has announced that he will lead a bipartisan delegation of senators to China in the coming days. What is China's comment? Will Chinese leaders meet with Senator Schumer and his delegation?

A: China welcomes US Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer to lead a bipartisan delegation of senators to China. We hope this visit will contribute to a more objective understanding of China in the US Congress, increase dialogue and communication between the legislatures of our two countries, and add positive factors to the growth of China-US relations.

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Hong Kong university chief denies allegations of 'money-laundering'

Concerns have been raised over the management of a 10 million yuan scholarship donation and hiring practices

By Siyan Cheung for RFA Cantonese 2023.10.04 -- University of Hong Kong president and U.S. citizen Zhang Xiang has denied allegations of 'mismanagement' linked to a donation of 10 million yuan from a U.S.-sanctioned company, saying the claims are part of an 'organized' smear campaign against him.

A member of the university council who requested anonymity for fear of reprisals confirmed to Radio Free Asia that the council had received an anonymous complaint letter accusing Zhang of accepting a donation from Shenzhen-listed laser printer maker Ninestar.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security added Ninestar and eight of its Zhuhai-based subsidiaries to the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act Entity List on June 12 for "for working with the government of Xinjiang to recruit, transport, transfer, harbor or receive forced labor or Uyghurs, Kazakhs, Kyrgyz, or members of other persecuted groups out of Xinjiang."

Ninestar filed a lawsuit contesting the move in August.

According to the whistleblower's letter, the University of Hong Kong president's office requested that the funds from Ninestar - which were intended as scholarship money for 'patriotic' students from mainland China - be transferred to a "strategic development fund" controlled by Zhang, the anonymous person said.

The letter also claimed that the first installment of 8.5 million yuan was received by the university in April, but that the students had already been given the money from other sources in September 2022.

A university spokesman told the pro-China Sing Tao Daily newspaper that the donation complied with Hong Kong and Chinese law, adding that the allegation of "money laundering" was "totally untrue and constitutes a serious defamation of the university, donors and related organizations."

It said the money was never deposited in the Strategic Development Fund controlled by the President's Office.

Zhang, who has been in his post since 2018 and who spoke out against the 2019 protest movement, also issued a statement describing the allegations as "rumor-mongering" and "serious defamation."

"It is extremely regrettable that confidential information which only members of the council should receive has been leaked," he said.

Student representative Casey Chik, who has a seat on the council, called for an independent investigation into the claims, as a special meeting planned to discuss the letter was adjourned until Monday after receiving a "legal letter" from Zhang, according to multiple media reports.

But members of the council including Chik have called for full disclosure of all relevant internal documents and for the setting up of an investigation committee whose proceedings are open to the public.

"These absolutely constitute prima facie evidence," Chik told Radio Free Asia on Tuesday.

"If the accusations are true, such disregard for the university's system will seriously damage the reputation and interests of the university community and may incur criminal and civil liabilities on the part of the university or the president and vice chancellor," Chik said.

Chief Executive John Lee told reporters on Tuesday he is confident that the matter can be handled by the university's internal complaints processes.

"The University of Hong Kong Council and the Vice-Chancellor ... have clear responsibilities under the present guidelines," Lee said.

"What is important is things should be handled in accordance with laid-down procedures, and any matter should be dealt with in a fair and impartial manner," he said.

Zhang said the allegations "are believed to be organized and deliberate," and that he had hired a lawyer and requested more time to prepare for the special meeting.

Current affairs commentator Johnny Lau said Zhang's denial uses the language favored by the ruling Chinese Communist Party, because it claimed that the author of the letter had some kind of ulterior motive.

"They may not have used those exact words, but there is already a culture [of making such claims]," Lau said. "They are trying to create a sense of disharmony and suggest morally questionable behavior, hoping to get the final word."

The letter also claimed that the university had hired two U.S.-based headhunting firms to recruit a new dean for its medical school without putting the job out to tender, as well as refurbishing canteen facilities for senior faculty and buying a BMW worth HK$2 million without using tendering processes.

Translated by Luisetta Mudie. Edited by Eugene Whong.

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 October 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.

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Even with the much-remarked-upon waves of new arrivals streaming into Montana in recent years, the state is still  for now  a place where the majority of residents were born here.

Thats according to newly released 2022 data from the U.S. Census Bureaus American Community Survey, which supplements the bureaus full decennial census counts with demographic information on a yearly basis.

That majority native-born status, isnt, however, the demographic reality for every part of the state.

In Montanas western congressional district, for example, a minority of the populace, between about 44 and 46%, was born in the state. The same is true for some of the states fastest-growing urban areas around Bozeman, Missoula and Kalispell. In Bozemans Gallatin County, Montana-born residents now account for less than 40% of the population, the survey data indicates.

That dynamic is reversed, however, in Yellowstone and Cascade counties, which encompass Billings and Great Falls, respectively.

Native-born residents may also be a minority in Lewis and Clark County, which includes Helena. The survey says 48.7% of residents reported being born in-state, but the 50% majority threshold is within that figures 4.5% margin of error.

Housing crunch

Just how deep do Montanas widely discussed housing affordability woes run? Newly released data from the U.S. Census Bureau sheds some statistical light on one facet of the challenge.

Housing affordability is a product of two things: how much it costs people to keep a roof over their heads, and how much income they have to pay for it. While Montana has seen ballooning housing prices in recent years, the states population is also earning more. The census figures indicate the median monthly housing payment in 2022 was about $1,000, up from roughly $730 in 2012. Median household income, in comparison, was about $68,000 last year, up from roughly $45,000 a decade prior.

A typical rule of thumb is that affordable housing costs its occupants no more than 30% of their pre-tax income  say, for example, no more than $1,000 a month or $12,000 a year for a single person with an annual salary of $40,000.

According to new data from the bureaus American Community Survey program, about 29% of Montana households were paying more than that threshold last year.

As one might expect, that burden varies dramatically by income bracket:

Nearly all Montana renter and owner households with incomes of $50,000 or more, 89%, reported housing costs below that 30%-of-income threshold. Lower-income households, in comparison, often struggle. Of Montana renter households below the $50,000 income mark, 69% are cost-burdened with housing payments above the 30% threshold.

That percentage, which equates to approximately 71,500 households, has risen by 9 percentage points over the last decade.

Some caveats: Unlike the decennial census counts, which try to reach almost every U.S. resident directly, American Community Survey numbers are based on responses from a sample of Montanas population, meaning these figures involve some degree of uncertainty.

Additionally, these numbers represent the full state, both destination communities like Bozeman and parts of Montana that remain comparatively affordable. They also include longtime homeowners who have either paid off their mortgages or have housing payments that reflect the lower purchase prices available to buyers in decades past.
TRI-SERVICES COMMANDERS' CONFERENCE 2023 (WESTERN GROUPING)

India - Press Information Bureau

Ministry of Defence

Posted On: 04 OCT 2023 5:27PM by PIB Delhi

Tri-Services Commanders' Conference (TSCC)-2023 (Western Grouping) was held at Subroto park, New Delhi on 03 & 04 October 2023 under the aegis of Western Air Command. The two-day conference was hosted by Air Marshal PM Sinha, Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Western Air Command. General Anil Chauhan, Chief of Defence Staff presided over the event.

General Officers Commanding in Chief of Northern Command, South Western Command, Southern Command and Western Command; Flag Officer Commanding in Chief, Western Naval Command, Air Officers Commanding in Chief of South Western Air Command and Southern Air Command; Chief of Integrated Defence Staff to Chairman Chief of Staff Committee, Director General Defence Intelligence Agency and Deputy Chief of Integrated Defence Staff (Operations) attended the conference.

The commanders reviewed the current geopolitical situation, deliberated on the means to enhance operational preparedness and synergy of operations in the area of interest. Discussions were also held on ensuring integrity of our borders and mitigating threats. Involved discussions and free exchange of ideas took place amidst an environment of bonhomie.

****

ABB/IN/PC/SK



(Release ID: 1964203)

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Raksha Rajya Mantri Shri Ajay Bhatt hands over Twin seater LCA Tejas to the Indian Air Force

India - Press Information Bureau

Ministry of Defence

LCA Tejas symbolizes Nation's journey towards self-sufficiency in defence manufacturing: RRM

Posted On: 04 OCT 2023 4:31PM by PIB Delhi

Raksha Rajya Mantri Shri Ajay Bhatt said that the LCA Tejas symbolizes India's journey towards self-sufficiency in defence manufacturing. This programme has been a shining example of commitment to reduce country's dependency on foreign aircrafts, and it serves as a beacon of hope for a self-reliant India. He was speaking at the handing over ceremony of LCA Tejas Twin Seater to the Indian Air Force in Banglore on 04 October, 2023.

RRM further said that the LCA Tejas program has been an inspiring saga of relentless dedication and innovation. The inception of the LCA Tejas aircraft was rooted in the dream of equipping our Indian Air Force with a world-class indigenous fighter aircraft. It was a dream that many believed was too ambitious at the beginning of the programme, but the men and women at Hindustan Aeronautics Limited, the Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA), DRDO Labs, CEMILAC, DGAQA, PSUs, IAF and countless other institutions and individuals who contributed to this programme proved that nothing is impossible when the country's interest comes first and all institutions come together for completion of this important cause.

Underlinig the significance of LCA Tejas program , RRM said that the country gained the much-required knowledge of building a cutting-edge fighter aircraft and also developed & nurtured aerospace ecosystem. The development of LCA Tejas has spurred the growth of a robust defence and aerospace industry in India. It has created opportunities for countless small and medium-sized enterprises, research institutions, and skilled workers who have contributed to various aspects of this project.

The HAL's first Series Production twin seater of LCA Tejas is decked with state-of-the-art technology, agility, and versatility, It will provide suitable training to the Pilots of IAF. The IAF has already placed an order for 83 LCAs with HAL.

The Chief of Air staff, Air Chief Marshal Vivek Ram Chaudhari , CMD, HAL Shri. Ananthakrishnanji, Director General of ADA Dr Girish S Deodhare , Chief Executive of CEMILAC Shri APVS Prasad , Deputy Chief of the Air Staff (DCAS) - Air Marshal Ashutosh Dixit were present on the occasion.

******

ABB/MR



(Release ID: 1964133)

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Iran, Azerbaijan to hold joint naval drill in Caspian Sea

IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency

Oct 4, 2023

Tehran, IRNA -- The Defense Ministry of the Republic of Azerbaijan has announced that the naval forces of Azerbaijan and the Islamic Republic of Iran have reached an initial agreement to hold a joint military exercise in the Caspian Sea.

Vice Admiral Subhan Bakirov, the Commander of the Azerbaijan Naval Forces, discussed the naval drills during a meeting with a delegation led by Captain Mohammad Reza Khazai, the commander of naval operations of the Iranian Army, in Baku on Wednesday, Russian news agency Sputnik reported, citing the Azerbaijani Ministry of Defense.

Both navy officials stressed the importance of holding a joint naval exercise in the Caspian Sea, as part of efforts to expand military cooperation between the two neighboring countries.

The date of the exercises has not been announced yet.

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IAEA inspectors expelled over hostile political behavior: Iran nuclear chief

IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency

Oct 4, 2023

Tehran, IRNA -- Iran's nuclear chief says the recently expelled International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) inspectors were from the three European countries that repeatedly took hostile political positions against Tehran.

"The expelled inspectors were from the three European countries that often displayed hostile political behaviors, and therefore, we removed the inspectors from those countries," Mohammad Eslami, the head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organization, said on Wednesday, on the sidelines of a cabinet session in Tehran.

He further said the IAEA has 127 approved inspectors in Iran and the expelled inspectors had not visited Iran for several years.

"Making a commotion over this case is rooted in the political behavior and psychological operations of these countries, which constantly say that Iran must unilaterally implement the provisions of the JCPOA while they do nothing," Eslami added.

Iran has repeatedly warned against the consequences of attempts to use the UN nuclear watchdog as a political tool to pressure the country.

Last month, the Islamic Republic barred multiple IAEA inspectors assigned to the country based on the Islamic Republic's governance rights enshrined in the Safeguards Agreement between the two sides.

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Iran to take part in "Khazri-2023" exercises as observer

ISNA - Iranian Students' News Agency

Wed / 4 October 2023 / 13:41

Tehran (ISNA) - The delegation of the Islamic Republic of Iran arrived in Baku to take part as an observer in the "Khazri-2023" Joint Tactical Exercises held in Azerbaijan with the participation of warships and servicemen of the Azerbaijani and Kazakh Naval Forces.

Commander of the Azerbaijan Naval Forces, Vice Admiral Subhan Bakirov met with a delegation led by Operations Commander of the Iranian Naval Forces, Captain 1st Rank Mohammad Reza Khazai.

The importance of the "Khazri-2023" exercises was emphasized at the meeting hosted by the Azerbaijan Naval Forces' headquarters. The sides noted the importance of holding joint exercises of the Azerbaijani-Iranian Naval Forces in the Caspian Sea in the future, and a preliminary agreement was reached in this regard.

The meeting discussed the prospects for the development of cooperation in the military field between the naval forces of Azerbaijan and Iran.

In the end, the sides exchanged presents and a photo was taken, News.Az reported.

End Item



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Iran conducts first drone on drone combat operation during drill

Iran Press TV

Wednesday, 04 October 2023 6:49 PM

The commander of the Iranian Army's Air Defense Force says a home-made drone has successfully carried out the first aerial combat mission involving the targeting of another drone with missiles.

"A drone targeted another drone with a missile in an aerial combat (mission) which has been done for the first time in the country and we managed to destroy the targeted drone," said Brigadier General Alireza Sabahi-Fard on Wednesday.

Sabahi-Fard said the successful operation had been carried out during the ongoing drone drills being held in seven border provinces by four divisions of the Iranian Army.

He described aerial combats between unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) as a rare and complicated operation, adding that only a couple of countries in the world have the ability to carry out such mission.

Iran has been the first to show off its capability in this regard, according to the commander.

"We in the Islamic Republic of Iran Armed Forces displayed this potential to the world to declare that we were able to carry out ... one of the most complicated aerial operations in the world while facing the maximum cruel and unjust sanctions (imposed) against the Islamic Iranian nation," said the general.

Iran has expanded its fleet of home-made UAVs in recent years in a bid to increase its defense capabilities and to boost its military deterrence.

Various divisions of the Iranian Army are now using drones manufactured by the Iranian defense industries for different military operations.

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Iran, Azerbaijan reach agreement on joint naval exercise in Caspian Sea

Iran Press TV

Wednesday, 04 October 2023 3:48 PM

The Azerbaijani Defense Ministry says military officials from the South Caucasus country and neighboring Iran have reached an agreement on holding a joint naval exercise in the Caspian Sea.

According to the state-run Azerbaijani Press Agency (APA), Commander of the Azerbaijani Naval Forces Rear Admiral Subhan Bakirov met and held talks with an Iranian delegation led by Operations Commander of the Iranian Navy Captain Mohammad-Reza Khazaei in Baku on Wednesday.

The Iranian delegates were also briefed on the ongoing Khazri-2023 Joint Tactical Exercises, which involve warships and military personnel from Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan.

The two sides underlined the importance of joint exercises in the Caspian Sea in the future with the participation of Azerbaijani and Iranian naval forces, and a preliminary agreement was reached in this regard.

They also discussed the prospects for expansion of military cooperation between naval forces of the two countries.

Khazri-2023 Joint Tactical Exercises are currently underway in the Caspian Sea and will continue until October 8. The Iranian naval delegation has taken part as an observer in the exercises.

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Iran's kamikaze, combat drones destroy all targets during drill

Iran Press TV

Wednesday, 04 October 2023 9:58 AM

The spokesman of the Iranian Army's joint exercise says homegrown kamikaze and combat drones have successfully hit all their targets during the maneuver.

Brigadier General Alireza Sheikh said on Wednesday that the anti-radar unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) Omid detected its target in the drill that is being held in seven border provinces by four divisions of the Islamic Republic of Iran Army.

Also, the Arash zamikaze drone successfully annihilated land and sea targets, he added.

Sheikh described the use of smart bombs as one of the main features of the exercise.

"During the drill, kamikaze and combat drone systems were able to hit all predicted targets in a pinpointed manner using smart ammunition," he said.

Among other tasks were "implementing a pre-planned flight scenario, striking specified targets ..., using bombs and missiles installed on drones, signal gathering and using optical payloads."

The drill saw the mass flight of UAVs from various ground, underground and sea bases to carry out operations which were unprecedented in scope.

"The ability of mass flights using artificial intelligence is one of the innovative measures in the Islamic Republic of Iran Army's operation of drones," he said.

Meanwhile, in an aerial battle, a drone targeted another with a missile and destroyed it, head of Air Defense Force Brig. Gen. Alireza Sabahifard said.

"Only one or two countries have the ability to carry out this very complex and advanced operation, which of course they have not displayed yet.

"However, we in the armed forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran showcased this ability to the world and announced that we were able to do it at the height of the cruel and unmanly sanctions against the Islamic nation of Iran," he said.

"This great and extraordinary feat from the scientific, technical and operational point of view is the result of a one-year effort of my dear comrades in the powerful Air Defense Force of the Army and the Ministry of Defense and Armed Forces Logistics. I congratulate the honorable people of Islamic Iran on this achievement," he added.

'12 different drone types will be tested'

In separate remarks, the spokesman said that nearly 200 drones of 12 different kamikaze and combat types will be tested during the maneuver.

The Ababil-5 drone performed a surveillance operation and the Karrar carried out interception and destruction tasks on the first day of the drill, Sheikh added.

Additionally, he said, the exercise featured the unveiling of Kaman-19 drone with air-based electronic warfare capability.

Arash and Karrar drones are expected to fly from different parts of the country and land at a specific location and time as part of tests to gauge their ability to bypass electronic warfare nets and defense barriers, he said.

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Iranian Girl's Hospitalization After Subway Incident Draws Parallels With Mahsa Amini's Case

By Frud Bezhan, Fereshteh Ghazi October 04, 2023

When Armita Garavand and two of her friends tried to enter a Tehran subway station, they were confronted by police officers for not wearing the mandatory hijab.

The officers physically assaulted the 16-year-old Garavand, who later fell unconscious after entering a subway carriage.

Garavand was rushed to the Fajr Air Force Hospital outside Tehran, where she has been in a coma since October 1.

That is according to human rights groups and journalists who claim that Garavand is the latest victim of the brutal enforcement of Iran's controversial hijab law.

Garavand's case, and suggestions of a cover-up by the authorities, has drawn parallels with the events leading up to the death in custody of Mahsa Amini last year. Amini's death soon after she was arrested for allegedly violating the hijab law triggered months of antiestablishment protests.

A source at the Fajr Air Force Hospital, who spoke to RFE/RL's Radio Farda on condition of anonymity due to security reasons, said Garavand had suffered internal bleeding in the brain and was in critical condition.

Garavand is under guard at the hospital, the source said, adding that plainclothes police officers were preventing visitors from entering the intensive-care unit where the teenager was being treated.

The authorities have not commented on Garavand's condition or revealed where she is being treated.

'Severe Physical Assault'

Iran's official news agency, IRNA, has claimed that Garavand fainted after a drop in blood pressure and bumped her head on the side of the subway carriage.

CCTV footage released by IRNA, which appeared to be edited, shows a group of girls without the hijab, or head scarf, entering a carriage. Almost immediately, one of the girls backs off and reaches for the ground. She drags out another girl, who appears to be unconscious, from the carriage.

Masood Dorosti, the head of the Tehran Metro Operating Company, told IRNA that there had been no "verbal or physical conflict" between the young passengers and company employees.

The entrance to Tehran's subway stations are often guarded by police officers or company employees, who deny access to women not observing the Islamic dress code.

Iran's hard-line Fars news agency on October 3 published an interview with Garavand's parents, who said she was not assaulted by police officers in the subway.

"We have checked all the videos, and it has been proven to us that this incident was an accident," her unnamed father was quoted as saying. "We ask people to pray for our child's recovery."

The authorities have been previously accused of forcing family members into making statements that toe the official line.

Hengaw, a Norway-based group that monitors rights violations in Iran, has rejected the official version of events. The group said on October 3 that Garavand was the victim of a "severe physical assault" by members of the notorious morality police and she was targeted due to her "noncompliance with the compulsory hijab."

Hengaw posted what it said was a photo of Garavand lying unconscious in her hospital bed.

On October 4, the group said that "security entities have placed extreme control over her family to prevent any publication of information," and added that "government security agents have seized the mobile phones of all members of Armita's family."

Gavarand, who lives with her family in Tehran, is originally from the city of Kohdasht in the western province of Lorestan, according to information obtained by Radio Farda.

Dadban, an Iran-based rights group, said on October 4 that "Iranian security institutions have said her condition was caused by low pressure -- an oft-repeated scenario from such institutions."

Farzad Seifikaran, a journalist at Radio Zamaneh, a Persian-language broadcaster based in The Netherlands, was the first to report the incident.

Without identifying Garavand, Seifikaran said on X, formerly known as Twitter, on October 1 that a female high-school student was hospitalized following a confrontation with officers.

Iran's Shargh daily, meanwhile, said on October 2 that one of its journalists was briefly detained after she went to the military hospital where Garavand is being treated.

'Cover-Up'

Iranian social media users have drawn parallels with the case of the 22-year-old Amini, whose family maintained that she had been beaten by the morality police while being driven to a Tehran detention facility. Officials claimed that she had fallen into a coma after a dispute with guards due to a preexisting health condition.

During her brief stay at the Kasra Hospital in northern Tehran, images of Amini bleeding from one of her ears cast further doubts on the official narrative.

Reporters Nilufar Hamedi and Elahe Mohammadi, who helped expose the case of Amini, were arrested. Both have been held in pretrial detention since September and face charges that include "collaborating with the hostile government of America, conspiracy and collusion to commit crimes against national security, and propaganda against the establishment."

Milad Alavi, a journalist at Shargh, said on X that the authorities' refusal to release footage of Garavand inside the subway carriage was creating "mistrust" among the public.

Mohsen Borhani, an Iranian lawyer, suggested that the authorities had prevented many media outlets from reporting on the incident. "Reporting about such an incident is not a crime," he said.

Iran's former crown prince, Reza Pahlavi, an exiled opposition leader, accused the authorities of a "cover-up." He said the authorities could not be trusted after "spreading lies and concealing Mahsa's murder."

Following Amini's death, the Iranian regime has intensified its enforcement of the hijab law, including passing new legislation that penalizes women who fail to observe the compulsory Islamic head scarf with prison terms that can run up to a decade.

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/iran-girl-hospitalized-garavand- morality-police-tehran-metro/32623137.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.

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Iraqi president says Baghdad won't allow 'robust' relations with Iran to be damaged

Iran Press TV

Wednesday, 04 October 2023 3:45 PM

Iraq's President Abdul-Latif Rashid says his country regards its relationship with Iran as "very important," stressing that Baghdad will not allow any harm to its "robust relations" with Tehran.

"We share a border with Iran with a length of 1,400 kilometers and our relations with Iran are good and robust and very important to us," he said in a recent interview with the Saudi-run Al-Hadath channel.

Rashid said his country is against other parties using Iraq's territory to hurt neighboring nations, underlining a recent security agreement between Iraq and Iran to deal with groups conducting anti-Iran operations from Iraq's Kurdistan region.

"We are against any party using Iraqi and Kurdistan Region territories against any neighboring state. This is our clear policy," he said.

Under the agreement signed in March, Iraq committed to relocating the anti-Iran groups to areas away from Iran borders and to disarming them.

The presence of Kurdish terrorist groups, including the Kurdistan Democratic Party, Komala, Kurdistan Free Life Party, and the Kurdistan Freedom Party, has been a source of tension between Iran and Iraq for years, with these groups often carrying out terrorist attacks on Iranian soil.

Following last year's riots, triggered by the death of Iranian woman Mahsa Amini, these groups intensified their subversive operations against Iran and smuggled weapons to their local agents.

That prompted Iran to push Iraq to put an end to terrorist activities of the anti-Iran groups, leading to the March agreement.

Iranian media reports say most of the agreement has now been implemented and efforts are underway to complete the process.

Iraq rejects Turkish airstrikes

Rashid called for a security agreement between Iraq and Turkey similar to its deal with Iran to stop repeated Turkish airstrikes against Iraq's Kurdistan region.

He said Baghdad rejects the Turkish airstrikes or the presence of Turkish bases in its Kurdistan region.

"These violations are rejected by the Iraqi people, the (Kurdistan) region and all of Iraq's inhabitants," Rashid said, arguing that such strikes sometimes killed civilians, including people visiting the region.

Turkey regards the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) as a terrorist group and it regularly carries out airstrikes in Iraq's Kurdistan region.

Turkey said on Sunday it carried out airstrikes in northern Iraq that destroyed 20 targets belonging to the PKK after the militant group said it orchestrated the first bomb attack in Ankara in years that left two police officers injured.

Turkey has also sent commandos and set up military bases on Iraqi territory to support its offensives.

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The director of Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks on Thursday said his agencys leadership was to blame for problems within the Enforcement Division detailed in a recently released report.

Director Dustin Temple compared it to when he learned to fly and his instructor told him most crashes occur after several bad choices are made by the pilot.

We find ourselves here today through a whole series of bad decisions, he said.

As painful as it may be, acknowledging your shortcomings is part of being a good leader, Temple added.

Report

The Legislative Audit Division report revealed an agency where wardens were ruled by managers utilizing fear and intimidation. The chief of enforcement retired last November, but also got a $150,000 payout, and two other division heads were demoted, one of which left the agency.

The report also revealed problems with FWPs Human Resources Division, responsible for the entire agency, when it came to record keeping and overseeing hiring practices. The problems were so bad the audit said it could open FWP up to litigation.

Legislative auditor Jeremy Verhasselt detailed the audit's numerous findings to the committee during its meeting in Helena, then Temple made his statement taking blame and answering questions. Temple was appointed director after his predecessor resigned in June, citing health concerns.

This was the second audit critical of the organization in recent months. A June report found fault with the agencys Licensing Division and the awarding of bonus points for hunting licenses.

Not cops

Temple said the Legislature has clearly told the agency in statute what game wardens' main duties are, adding that didnt include police-type activities. As a result, memorandums of understanding with some county sheriffs deputizing wardens, so they can arrest individuals for things like DUI, are expiring.

It was well intentioned when initiated, he said, but thats not what you asked us to do.

Instead, conservation law enforcement is the new FWP leaderships vision for wardens, their sergeants and captains. That includes everything from patrolling aquatic invasive species check stations to ensure boaters stop, to working in the backcountry checking hunter licenses and visiting landowners to establish lines of communication.

Although at times a game warden may be the only law enforcement presence for miles around, or the only backup for a county sheriffs deputy, Temple said in the course of helping out wardens should not "lose sight of who we are. He also added its important for enforcement managers to listen to wardens since they are out in the field talking to the public.

When Sen. Pat Flowers questioned if enforcement might run better if the division was decentralized, Temple disagreed. He said law enforcement is unique in that across geographically distinct regions laws have to be applied universally. Flowers said they would have to agree to disagree on that issue.

New chiefs

Also addressing the committee was Ron Howell, the new chief of the Enforcement Division. He said since taking over last year his department has taken significant steps to improve relationships built on trust. He said thats the key to improving the divisions culture, and promised his staff honesty, transparency and inclusiveness. In return, he has asked his staff for quality over quantity and consistency.

Im confident were on the right track, he said.

Joe Kambic, former head of the wardens union and a Missoula warden, told the committee he has seen the department make wholesale change with officers returning to traditional work. Likewise, Dirk Paulsen, a criminal investigator for FWP in Glasgow and the new union president, thanked the auditors for their tenacity and for shining a light on the agencys operational and cultural problems.

Jeff Kirksey, who was hired as the new Human Resources manager five months ago, told the committee his department is working with Montana State University to examine FWPs organizational culture. To that end, a survey will be rolled out in November. Committee members asked for a copy of the results once the survey is done.

Kirksey is the sixth person to lead Human Resources in the department in the past decade. Since stepping into the job, he said the HR staff has tightened up its procedures on record keeping and now has a written protocol to follow.

Later in the meeting, Flowers called for a full audit of FWPs Human Resources Division. The request was approved in a 10-1 vote.
October 4, 2023

Transcript

Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III Remarks Welcoming Japanese Defense Minister Kihara Minoru to the Pentagon

SECRETARY OF DEFENSE LLOYD J. AUSTIN III: Well, Mr. Minister, it's an honor to meet you here so soon after we spoke last week. Congratulations again on being appointed Minister of Defense.

As you know, I had a great visit to Tokyo in June. And this is a time of historic momentum in the U.S.-Japan alliance. We support your government's bold decisions to invest in advanced capabilities, including counter-strike, and to increase spend -- defense spending to two percent of Japan's GDP by 2027. And the strategic alignment between our two countries is unprecedented. I look forward to working closely with you to make our alliance even closer.

Now we face major shared challenges, including the PRC's coercive behavior and North Korea's dangerous provocations, and Russia's reckless war of choice against Ukraine, but America's Article 5 treaty commitment to the defense of Japan remains ironclad and it covers all territories under Japan's administration, including the Senkaku Islands.

Mr. Minister, we share a vision for a free and open Indo-Pacific and for peace and prosperity for our peoples. We're modernizing our alliance to tackle shared challenges. After the historic announcements at our 2+2 meeting in January, our force posture is becoming more versatile, more mobile, and more resilient. And we're also investing in stronger ties with our friends across the region, especially our allies in the Republic of Korea.

In August, our three leaders advanced a new era of trilateral partnership during their historic summit at Camp David. And we're dedicated to delivering on their ambitious course for mutual defense, including by exercising our forces together under a multi-year trilateral framework, sharing real time missile warning data, and strengthening our secure lines of communication.

The United States is also encouraged to see Japan working more closely together with allies like Australia. And I was glad to see that last month, F-35s from Australia operated in Japan for Exercise Bushido Guardian, and just days after, F-35s from Japan operated in Australia for the first time. And that kind of teamwork among some of our closest allies makes the Indo-Pacific region safer and more secure.

And so Mr. Minister, I'm pleased to welcome you here today and I look forward to a great discussion.

DEFENSE MINISTER KIHARA MINORU (THROUGH TRANSLATOR): I thank you very much for your kind words of congratulations for my becoming Defense Minister. And I am very pleased to have a meeting with you again, now this time face to face, shortly after we had a teleconference the other day. I'm grateful for that.

Unilateral changes to the status quo by force and such attempts can never be condoned at any part of the world, including the Indo-Pacific region, and we need to strengthen alliance capabilities to deter and respond to that (inaudible). I truly appreciate you have strongly reaffirmed the ironclad commitment that Article 5 applies to Senkaku Islands.

Secretary Austin, I would like to continue discussions on the roles and missions of the alliance under the new strategies formulated last year and continue to -- close cooperation on various efforts for strengthening the alliance with you.

SEC. AUSTIN: Thanks, everybody.

https://www.defense.gov/News/Releases/Release/Article/3548356/

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October 4, 2023

Release

Readout of Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III's Meeting With Japanese Minister of Defense Kihara Minoru

Pentagon Press Secretary Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder provided the following readout:

Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III welcomed Japanese Minister of Defense Kihara Minoru to the Pentagon today during Minister Kihara's first visit to Washington, D.C., as the Minister of Defense. Secretary Austin reaffirmed the unwavering and ironclad U.S. commitment to the defense of Japan, and the two leaders confirmed both countries' mutual commitment to strengthening the U.S.-Japan Alliance amid historic shared momentum toward peace, stability, and deterrence in a free and open Indo-Pacific.

Secretary Austin reiterated his support for Japan's decision to strengthen its defense, including its acquisition of counterstrike capabilities and increase in defense spending, following his December 2022 statement welcoming Japan's 2022 National Security Strategy, National Defense Strategy, and Defense Buildup Program.

Both leaders reaffirmed the strategic alignment between the United States and Japan, as well as shared Alliance goals to optimize force posture, bolster integrated deterrence, modernize roles and missions, and further cooperate with like-minded partners to ensure a free and open Indo-Pacific.

https://www.defense.gov/News/Releases/Release/Article/3548348/

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October 4, 2023

By David Vergun , DOD News

Austin Says U.S. Committed to Defending Japan, Including Senkaku Islands

Article V of the Japan-U.S. Security Treaty states the United States' "ironclad" commitment to defend all of Japan, including the Senkaku Islands and other territories, said Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III.

The Senkaku Islands, claimed by China, are in the East China Sea, about 43 miles northeast of Taiwan.

Austin provided remarks today, hosting an enhanced honor cordon and meeting, welcoming Japanese Defense Minister Minoru Kihara to the Pentagon.

"This is a time of historic momentum in the U.S.-Japan alliance. We support your government's bold decisions to invest in advanced capabilities including counterstrike, and to increase defense spending to 2% of Japan's gross domestic product by 2027," Austin said.

Japan and the U.S. face major challenges including China's coercive behavior, North Korea's dangerous provocations and Russia's reckless war of choice against Ukraine, he said.

The U.S. and Japan share a vision for a free, open, peaceful and prosperous Indo-Pacific region, Austin said.

"Our force posture is becoming more versatile, more mobile and more resilient. And we're also investing in stronger ties with our friends across the region," he said, including South Korea.

Japan, South Korea and the U.S. are dedicated to mutual defense, including exercising combined forces under a multiyear, trilateral framework, sharing real-time missile warning data and strengthening secure lines of communication, Austin said.

The United States is also encouraged to see Japan working more closely with allies like Australia, he said, noting that in exercises last month, F-35A fighter jets from Australia operated in Japan within days of F-35s from Japan flying over Australia.

Austin congratulated Kihara on his appointment to defense minister last month.

Kihara said he looks forward to strengthening Japan's defense capabilities to deter aggression in the region.

Japan appreciates America's ironclad commitment to defend Japan and will work in close cooperation on strengthening the alliance, Kihara said.

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Myanmar company director and regional officials 'arrested in China'

Nearly a dozen businessmen from Shan state reportedly detained while attending a trade fair

By RFA Burmese 2023.10.04 -- Eleven businessmen from Myanmar's Shan state were reportedly arrested while visiting China's Yunnan province over the weekend, according to traders based on the border.

Among them are local officials from the Kokang Self-Administered Zone.

Liu Zhengxiang, the director of the Laukkaing-based Fully Light Group, was also arrested. Along with Liu's connections to the Kokang Border Guard Force, the director is also allegedly involved in online gambling across the country.

Fully Light Group, a multi-sector conglomerate working in jewels, tourism, and rubber, is the largest business in Laukkaing.

On Sept. 30, about 30 businessmen from Kokang, Laukkaing and Chinshwehaw cities attended a Chinese trade fair in the Lincang district of Yunnan province.

The police arrived at the hotel where they were staying and targeted the most well-known businessmen, said a border-based merchant, asking to remain anonymous for fear of reprisals.

"Nothing happened on the first day of the trade fair on September 30. They were arrested in their hotel where they were staying on the second day," the man told Radio Free Asia.

"Big businessmen from Laukkaing, in other words the wealthy businessmen, were taken."

Laukkaing junta spokesperson and economic minister Khun Thein Maung told RFA he did not know the specifics of the most recent arrests in Yunnan province.

RFA contacted the Chinese Embassy in Yangon and the Myanmar Consulate in Kunming via email, but received no response at the time of publication.

Arrests of Chinese nationals living in Myanmar increased sharply last month. An official from the Kokang Self-Administered Zone confirmed on Sept. 28 that authorities detained 377 Chinese nationals who were living illegally in Laukkaing city.

The area is a well-known hotspot for fraudulent online businesses, human trafficking and casinos. The official told RFA those arrested last month are being interrogated in relation to online money laundering in Laukkaing.

The United Wa State Army also arrested more than 1,300 Chinese nationals in relation to online money laundering schemes last month and handed them over to Chinese authorities at the border.

Translated by RFA Burmese. Edited by Mike Firn.

Copyright 1998-2023, RFA. Used with the permission of Radio Free Asia, 2025 M St. NW, Suite 300, Washington DC 20036. For any commercial use of RFA content please send an email to: mahajanr@rfa.org. RFA content October 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.

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Creation of Multipolar World Inevitable, Necessary - Putin

Sputnik News

20231004

The creation of a multipolar world, more honest and fair for the majority of people, is inevitable and historically necessary, Russian President Vladimir Putin stated, addressing the Third International Olympiad on Financial Security in the Sirius federal territory near Sochi on Wednesday, October 4.

"The process of building a multipolar world order - more democratic, more honest, fair for the majority of mankind - is simply inevitable and historically necessary. This fully applies to the creation of strong economic foundations of such a world order," Putin stressed.

In addition, the Russian president emphasized that those who seize other people's assets are apparently not exceptionally intelligent.

During his speech, Putin spoke about a joint project between a number of central banks in Asia and the Middle East that allows them to issue and exchange digital currencies.

"That is, no third party has any possibility for abuse and for interfering with payments. Including blocking, for example, a transaction, arresting accounts, appropriating someone else's money or assets. And this, unfortunately, happens in the modern world. These are very young people sitting here. But I can tell you that such things are done by self-confident adults, uncles and aunts, who, apparently, are not very clever, if they commit such erroneous actions that ultimately harm themselves," the president stressed.

Moreover, the world is gradually getting rid of the dictatorship of an economic model where entire regions of the world are driven into bondage and loans, Putin said.

"The world is gradually getting rid of the dictatorship of such a financial and economic model, the purpose of which is only to drive into debt, into bondage, turn into economic colonies, deprive entire regions of the world of resources for development," the president highlighted, adding that "few people will like such a future."

In addition, Putin emphasized that mutual trust and respect for each other's interests are extremely important in terms of international economic cooperation.

"You are well aware that the financial sphere is now undergoing rapid development of advanced solutions, advanced technologies. This is digital currency, digital financial assets, new payment services and financial settlement models. This includes the use of blockchain technologies, the so-called distributed ledger. I would like to say once again that in this area, especially when it comes to international economic cooperation, mutual trust and respect for the interests of partners and each other's interests are extremely important," the president said.

A Sputnik

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Russia to Decide in November on Deepening Oil Output Cut or Expanding Production - Novak

Sputnik News

20231004

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Russia will analyze the market in November to decide whether to deepen its oil output cut or increase production, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said on Wednesday.

In March, Russia announced that it would voluntarily trim its oil production by 500,000 barrels per day from the February level of 9.95 million barrels per day until the end of December 2024. In early September, Novak said that the volume of voluntary reduction in Russia's oil production would be reviewed monthly depending on the situation on the global oil market. Russia has also extended its voluntary cut in oil exports by 300,000 barrels per day until the end of 2023.

"Russia will maintain the additional voluntary reduction by 300,000 barrels per day of supply to the world market until the end of December 2023, which took effect in September and October 2023. The market will be analyzed next month to decide whether to deepen the reduction or increase oil production," Novak said.

He added that the measure "comes on top of the voluntary cut previously announced by Russia in April 2023, which will last until the end of December 2024."

"The additional voluntary reduction is intended to reinforce the measures taken by OPEC+ countries to maintain the stability and balance on oil markets," Novak added.

Riyadh May Review Volume of Voluntary Cut in Oil Output in November

Saudi Arabia may reconsider the volume of voluntary reduction in oil production in November, the state-run Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported on Wednesday, citing an official source in the Saudi Energy Ministry.

So far, it continues to reduce oil production by 1 million barrels per day, which the country began in July, until the end of the year, the news agency said.

A Sputnik

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More Taiwanese questioned in China in wake of revised law: NSB

ROC Central News Agency

10/04/2023 05:21 PM

Taipei, Oct. 4 (CNA) Taiwan's top intelligence chief has warned that Taiwanese nationals who travel to China are facing greater risks as more Taiwanese have been questioned by Chinese immigration since a revised Chinese Counter-Espionage Law took effect in July.

National Security Bureau Director-general Tsai Ming-yen (eZa) said only four Taiwanese nationals were questioned by Chinese immigration authorities upon arrival in the first half of the year, according to the NSB's understanding.

From July 1 to the present, however, nine people have been questioned, he said, but they were all later released and have since returned safely to Taiwan, Tsai said.

During the brief detentions, Chinese authorities have checked travelers' mobile phones and laptops to see if they have criticized the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) or commented on related political issues on social media before their trips, Tsai said.

Most of those questioned by Chinese side were Taiwanese scholars, representatives of NGOs and even the Chinese spouses of Taiwanese nationals, he said.

The numbers represent small fractions of the hundreds of thousands of Taiwanese who will travel directly to China from Taiwan this year.

In the first six months of 2023, 599,837 Taiwanese nationals traveled directly to China, according to Tourism Administration statistics, and another 406,000 went there in July and August.

These numbers do not include people who went to China indirectly through third countries or territories, such as Hong Kong.

Despite the low statistical probability of being harassed, however, Tsai warned Taiwanese nationals to be on high alert when traveling to China due to the arbitrary enforcement of local laws.

According to Tsai, the NSB has learned of 13 Taiwanese nationals who have been incarcerated in China after traveling there, but he did not say how many of them have been released.

The NSB chief made the remarks during a Legislative session in response to a question by a lawmaker on whether more Taiwanese have been questioned by Chinese immigration since the newly revised Counter-Espionage Law came into effect in China on July 1.

The amendments significantly expanded the scope of activities that can be considered espionage by adding a catch-all provision, and codified the enforcement powers of relevant authorities.

Meanwhile, when asked by lawmakers about the possibility of Chinese interference in Taiwan's January 2024 presidential election, the NSB head said the CCP could use economic coercion to put pressure on Taiwanese businesspeople in China in an attempt to influence their votes.

Also, the CCP has continued to wage disinformation warfare against Taiwan, including by making use of China-friendly Russian news media and other foreign language fake news, to spread misinformation or disinformation, he said.

(By Novia Huang and Joseph Yeh)

Enditem/ls

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"Our ideal to expand our citizens' realm of freedoms prioritizes our country's liberation from the post-coup constitution"

Presidency of The Republic of Turkey

03.10.2023

Addressing the Closing Ceremony of the Council of State's IASAJ Programme, President ErdoAYan said: "Our ideal to expand our citizens' realm of freedoms prioritizes our country's liberation from the post-coup constitution. It is high time to shatter the shackles which the tutelage advocates had put on TArkiye's feet with the May 27, 1960 coup and then the September 12 regime consolidated."

President Recep Tayyip ErdoAYan made a speech at a ceremony held for the closing of IASAJ Programme and the inauguration of the Council of State's Training Facility.

Expressing his pleasure to be coming together with the participants of the International Association of Supreme Administrative Jurisdictions' (IASAJ) programme, President ErdoAYan wished that the event, which hosted fruitful debates for two days, would yield auspicious outcomes for supreme administrative jurisdictions. The President voiced his belief that the opinions and legal precedents shared during the event would expand the horizon of participants, particularly that of the administrative jurisdictions.

President ErdoAYan added that the training facility spanning an area of 785 square meters with its meeting hall, foyer, open terrace and 500-person multi-purpose hall, which is being inaugurated today, would meet many needs of the Council of State such as in-service training.

Stressing the historical importance of the current month, October, President ErdoAYan noted that the Republic of TArkiye, the last state founded on these lands in history, would celebrate its centennial on October 29 with new reforms, rather than with commemorations, in a manner its deserves.

"IT IS HIGH TIME TO SHATTER THE SHACKLES CONSOLIDATED BY THE SEPTEMBER 12 REGIME"

President ErdoAYan continued his remarks as follows: "As we make a comprehensive review of the last one century, we also work to strengthen our nation's democratic gains. Our aim is to enter the second century of the Republic with stronger steps, and with a stronger unity and solidarity. Our ideal to expand our citizens' realm of freedoms prioritizes our country's liberation from the post-coup constitution. It is high time to shatter the shackles which the tutelage advocates had put on TArkiye's feet with the May 27, 1960 coup and then the September 12 regime consolidated. Demanding a civilian constitution is an inalienable right of our august nation, which stand up for their will at the cost of their own lives when need be. No one in a position of responsibility, first and foremost the institution of politics, can afford to turn a deaf ear to this demand."

Noting that he highlighted his expectation of a constructive stance towards a new constitution in his inaugural speech on the occasion of the 2nd legislative year of the 28th term of the Grand National Assembly of TArkiye on October 1, President ErdoAYan added that every topic is open to discussion, debate and negotiation except for the redlines embraced by the entire 85 million population of TArkiye.

"The primary good news that can be given to the nation in the new term appears to be the implementation of a civilian, liberal and inclusive constitution", said the President. "There is no obstacle in the way of our Parliament drafting a civilian constitution that will be endorsed and embraced by each and every member of the nation."

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All PKK-affiliated groups in Iraq, Syria 'legitimate targets, says Turkish foreign minister

Iran Press TV

Wednesday, 04 October 2023 5:50 PM

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan says all groups and facilities in Iraq and Syria that are affiliated to the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) militant group are "legitimate targets," following a recent bomb attack on a government building in the capital Ankara.

"I recommend that third parties stay away from these facilities," Fidan warned during a joint press conference with his Turkish Cypriot counterpart, Tahsin Ertugruloglu, in Ankara on Wednesday.

"Turkey's stance in the fight against terrorism is clear... The response of our armed forces to this attack will be very clear, and this terrorist organization will regret it very much," Fidan stated.

The top Turkish diplomat also confirmed that the attackers came from Syria.

"All infrastructure, sites and energy facilities belonging to the PKK/YPG in Iraq and Syria are the legitimate targets of our security forces, armed forces and intelligence elements from now on," Fidan pointed out.

The remarks came hours after Turkish warplanes carried out fresh airstrikes against PKK bases in northern Iraq.

A statement from the Defense Ministry said the air raids hit 16 targets, including caves, shelters and depots, used by Kurdish militants in the neighboring region.

It added that the operation aimed to "protect Turkey's borders and prevent terror attacks."

It was reportedly Turkey's second cross-border aerial operation against PKK targets in northern Iraq since the attack in Ankara on October 1.

Earlier, police forces conducted raids in several Turkish provinces, detaining close to 1,000 people, including dozens with alleged links to PKK militants.

Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said that 55 people suspected of being part of the PKK's "intelligence structure" were detained in 16 of the country's 81 provinces.

At least 12 other suspected PKK members were rounded up in a separate operation in five provinces, Yerlikaya wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter.

A bomber detonated an explosive device near an entrance of the interior ministry building in Ankara, injuring two police officers. A second assailant was killed in a shootout with police.

A news agency close to the PKK said the group claimed responsibility for the attack.

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Update 186 - IAEA Director General Statement on Situation in Ukraine

International Atomic Energy Agency

105/2023

Vienna, Austria

4 Oct 2023

Ukraine's Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) is now once again using reactor unit 4 to generate steam for various safety functions at the facility after the repair of a water leak detected in mid-August, Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi said today.

After completing the transition of unit 4 to hot from cold shutdown last Saturday, the ZNPP placed reactor unit 6 - which had temporarily been producing such steam during the repair work - in cold shutdown, which was reached yesterday morning.

As previously reported, Ukraine's national regulator, the State Nuclear Regulatory Inspectorate of Ukraine (SNRIU), has issued regulatory orders to limit the operation of all six units of the ZNPP to a cold shutdown state. In addition, the IAEA has been strongly encouraging the ZNPP to find an alternative source of steam generation to cover the plant's needs, including for processing liquid radioactive waste, and allow for all the reactors to be maintained in a cold shutdown state.

After it reached cold shutdown, the ZNPP began maintenance activities of unit 6, starting with its unit transformer and one of its safety trains in order to clean the heat exchangers. The ZNPP reactors each have three separate and independent redundant systems - known as safety trains - comprising the units' safety systems, which are normally in stand-by mode ready to activate if needed to maintain safety.

Separately, a new team of IAEA experts arrived at the ZNPP on Tuesday to replace their colleagues who have been there for the past several weeks, the twelfth such mission since Director General Grossi on 1 September last year established a permanent Agency presence at the site to help prevent a nuclear accident during the conflict in Ukraine.

"Once again, our experts have crossed the frontline to help ensure nuclear safety and security at Europe's largest nuclear power plant which is caught up in the middle of the war. We should all be grateful for their determination to do everything they can to achieve this important task. Their presence is necessary to monitor the situation at the site and to provide impartial and timely information to the international community," Director General Grossi said.

In a significant development for the IAEA's mission at the site, Director General Grossi said the Agency had taken delivery of armoured vehicles acquired with extra-budgetary support from Japan. In addition, funding from Germany has enabled the IAEA to hire drivers and security personnel for these rotations.

"These vehicles and dedicated personnel are essential for ensuring the safety of IAEA staff during rotations to and from the plant. They will also allow us to conduct our missions with full logistical independence," Director General Grossi said.

The new IAEA team continues to request access to all six turbine halls on the same day, one after the other, to be able to confirm the absence of any materials and equipment that may contravene the five concrete principles for the protection of the ZNPP. This request has not yet been approved and the team can only confirm the status of one turbine hall at a time.

The IAEA experts are also continuing to request access to the rooftops of reactor buildings 1, 2, 5 and 6, which they had expected to be granted this week.

"We will insist until we get the access we need in order to monitor compliance with the five concrete principles for the protection of the Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant," Director General Grossi said.

IAEA teams at Ukraine's three other Nuclear Power Plants (NPPs) and the Chornobyl site report safe and secure operations of these nuclear facilities despite the continuation of the armed conflict.

The IAEA on Monday completed its 26th delivery of equipment and other items designed to enhance nuclear safety and security in Ukraine, providing the Rivne NPP with equipment for measuring the dissolved hydrogen concentration in primary water samples at the plant. The equipment was procured using Japanese extrabudgetary contribution.

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Hunting changed Jeff Bendas perspective.

Like a lot of kids who grow up in North Dakota, he dreamed of leaving. And he did for a time, moving first to Minnesota and then to Florida to work in restaurants.

But Benda returned home for school. While wrapping up an education degree and making plans to move to Tampa for his first teaching job, a couple of classmates invited him on a duck hunt. Soon after they took him pheasant hunting, and then on his first deer hunt.

He said it was like the beginning of The Wizard of Oz where the world is black and white until Dorothy and Toto are swept away by a tornado and dropped in Oz.

That is how I saw North Dakota growing up. It was just this bland black and white, he said. As soon as I went on my first hunt, North Dakota became color for me ... I saw North Dakota differently and just fell in love with it.

Benda hunted every chance he could. For work, he took what he calls a regular job and used his restaurant experience to open a catering side hustle. One day his wife challenged him to put a finer touch on the wild game dishes he prepared for her and their daughter.

Make it like something you would serve at a catered event, she said.

He accepted and moved away from chucking pheasants in a crockpot with a can of cream of mushroom soup and turning much of his deer into sausage. Soon he was researching recipes and creating his own. He followed wild game chef Hank Shaw on Facebook and posted recipes to Shaws Facebook group.

Justin Townsend, of Harvesting Nature, published one of Benda's creations on his website. Benda started submitting recipes to Game and Fish Magazine and appeared as a guest on Townsends podcast.

While driving from Bismarck to Fargo, Bendas wife suggested it would be neat if he could figure out a way to do the wild game cooking thing full time.

I heard my wife say, You should quit your job and go hunting and fishing all the time and cook wild game, so I did, he said.

Now Benda runs wildgameandfish.com and has carved out his own unique space in the hook-and-bullet culinary world. In addition to the website, he teaches online wild game cooking classes that were fantastically popular during the pandemic. He is a frequent guest speaker and guest chef at a wide range of events, including the national Backcountry Hunters and Anglers annual Rendezvous. He runs the Wild Game Wednesday blog for Outdoor Edge Knives. And he hires out as cook, butcher and photographer for hunting parties.
NATO-Ukraine Council meets to take forward Vilnius Summit decisions

NATO - North Atlantic Treaty Organisation

04 Oct. 2023

The NATO-Ukraine Council (NUC) met on Wednesday (4 October 2023) to reaffirm NATO's long-term support to Ukraine and take forward the decisions from the Vilnius Summit. The meeting was chaired by Deputy Secretary General Mircea GeoanA, with the participation of Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Olha Stefanishyna.

The Deputy Secretary General stressed that Ukraine's security is of great importance to the Alliance. He commended Allies and Ukraine's efforts to quickly implement decisions from the Vilnius Summit. Allies continue to provide substantial assistance to Ukraine, including through NATO's Comprehensive Assistance package, and are taking forward important work to ensure Ukraine's forces are fully interoperable with NATO. All of this means that Ukraine is closer to NATO than ever before.

The NATO-Ukraine Council is a joint body where Allies and Ukraine meet for crisis consultations and to take decisions as equals. Today was the third meeting of the NUC since its first meeting at the Vilnius Summit in July with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. The NUC also met with ambassadors in July to discuss the serious security situation in the Black Sea.

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Russia thwarts Ukraine's land, drone attacks as West running out of ammo

Iran Press TV

Wednesday, 04 October 2023 4:32 PM

Russia says it has thwarted a land attack and intercepted dozens of drone strikes launched by Ukrainian forces, as the US-led NATO warns it is running out of ammo in its full support of Kiev against Moscow.

In a statement on Wednesday, the Russian Defense Ministry said that it had repelled a landing attempt by Ukranian forces on Crimea, a Ukrainian region that was annexed by Russia following a referendum in 2014.

It added that troops of the Ukrainian Armed Forces onboard a "fast military boat and three jet skis" were heading toward Cape Tarkhankout, in the northwest of the Black Sea peninsula.

Moscow claims that it has destroyed, during this summer, several Ukrainian military boats in the Black Sea that were sailing toward Crimea.

The ministry further said Russian air defense units also managed to intercept 31 Ukrainian drones over the regions of Russia's Belgorod, Bryansk and Kursk bordering Ukraine, declining to comment on possible casualties or damage.

Ukraine launched its much-anticipated counteroffensive in June, but it has proved to be slow and grinding. Moscow accuses Kiev of attacking Russian territory almost every day - be it with drones, missiles or artillery - since the beginning of the counter-offensive.

Separately, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said that Moscow had no plans for new mobilization in Russia as hundreds of thousands have signed up already this year.

"There are no plans for an additional mobilization. The armed forces have the necessary number of military personnel to conduct the special military operation," he noted.

According to Shoigu, more than 335,000 people have entered military service under "volunteer formations," with 50,000 signing contracts in September alone.

Moscow is trying to boost its armed forces as the war grows ever more attritional with Ukraine.

Earlier on Wednesday, Western allies of Ukraine said that they were running out of their stocks of ammunition as most of the thousands of shells Ukraine fires every day come from NATO, which has been pouring weaponry into Ukraine since February last year when Russia launched its war on the ex-Soviet republic.

"The bottom of the barrel is now visible," Admiral Rob Bauer, the US-led military alliance's most senior military official, told the Warsaw Security Forum, adding that governments and manufacturers must "ramp up production in a much higher tempo."

"We need large volumes. The just-in-time, just-enough economy we built together in 30 years in our liberal economies is fine for a lot of things - but not the armed forces when there is a war ongoing," he further said.

Moscow has repeatedly warned Western leaders against the continued supply of weapons and munitions to Ukraine, pointing out that such measures will not stop Russian troops from defending its objectives and that arming Kiev would only prolong the war.

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US running out of money to fund Ukrainian troops' salaries, officials say

Iran Press TV

Wednesday, 04 October 2023 7:28 AM

The US funding system for Ukrainian salaries and Kiev government expenditures is expected to run out in the next month, Ukrainian and American officials have warned, amid criticisms of the West's supply of funds and arms to Kiev.

The New York-based Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday that the Pentagon, White House, and Ukrainian officials have warned that without a fresh infusion of funds from the US Congress, the US-led Western war against Russia will be lost and Moscow will gain territories once again.

According to the WSJ article, currently, the US and other donor nations cover the salaries of 150,000 civil servants in Ukraine, as well as more than half a million educators and school staff, in addition to various government costs, including healthcare and housing subsidies.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken warned Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell back in September that Ukraine would face a significant economic and political crisis during their counteroffensive against Russia this autumn if Congress halted aid to Kiev.

Since the start of the War in Ukraine, the primary focus of US legislators has been on the supply of military equipment, such as tanks, helicopters, advanced missile systems and millions of rounds of ammunition, all of which Washington is uniquely positioned to provide for Kiev.

Meanwhile, as a government shutdown looms, US lawmakers aim to slash nearly $20 billion in proposed aid for Ukraine promised by US President Joe Biden to avoid what they described as "bankruptcy".

"It's bad policy to bankrupt our own country to send money to Ukraine," libertarian-leaning Senator Rand Paul said in a post on X.

By the same token, the UK, possibly Washington and Kiev's closest ally, says it's out of weapons for Ukraine.

UK media reported on Tuesday that a senior military chief has said Ukraine now requires "air defense assets and artillery ammunition" which the UK has now "run dry on".

"We've given away all we can afford," the military official was quoted as saying by The Daily Telegraph.

The remark came after former UK defense secretary Ben Wallace urged British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to increase funding to Ukraine by more than A2 billion.

In related news, the US army has announced its readiness to swiftly deliver long-range missiles promised to Kiev, once US President Joe Biden gives the green light.

Douglas Bush, the US Assistant Secretary of the Army for Acquisition said in an interview that the Army "has been postured for this eventuality for a while."

Bush said the missiles the US will send Kiev have already been identified, insisting that the Army is ready to "go fast".

Biden promised to send Kiev ATACMS missiles with a range of up to 300km that could hit Russian targets far beyond the front lines with Ukraine.

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Zelenskiy Vows Ukrainians Will 'Do Everything' To Defeat Russia As Biden Plans 'Major Speech' On Aid

By RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service October 04, 2023

President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said Ukrainians will "do everything" in their power to prevail over invading Russian forces despite all difficulties as U.S. President Joe Biden said he plans a "major speech" soon on the importance of continuing Western aid for Ukraine.

"There is fatigue but we will do everything to win against the enemy, and our counteroffensive goes ahead, even if slowly we do everything to repel the enemy," Zelenskiy told Italian news station SkyTg24 on October 4.

Zelenskiy also said Russia was weaker than at the start of the invasion in February 2022 and was trying to freeze the conflict.

He thanked Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni for Italy's support for Ukraine and mentioned his "personal relationship and human relationship [with Meloni] based on shared values."

Biden, in comments to reporters, expressed concerns that U.S. aid to Ukraine could be hurt by the current chaos in Congress, but he said he saw a path to deliver aid even if support for Kyiv falters among some lawmakers, particularly Republicans.

Biden also said he will give a "major speech" soon to stress the importance of helping Ukraine defeat the Russian invaders, although the White House did not specify when such remarks might come.

"It doesn't worry me," Biden said about some hesitancy toward Ukraine aid. "I know there is a majority of members of the House and Senate and both parties who have said that they support funding Ukraine."

Despite growing signs of war fatigue in the U.S. Congress and in some European Union countries, Zelenskiy said Kyiv still sees support in Washington and that he hoped to discuss with EU leaders ways to improve Ukraine's air defenses ahead of the cold season, when fresh Russian strikes are expected on the country's energy infrastructure.

Facing a likely roadblock from House Republicans on aid for Ukraine, U.S. President Joe Biden on October 4 said he's planning to give a "major speech" on the issue and suggested there may be "another means" to provide support for Kyiv if Congress continues to balk.

"I'm going to be announcing very shortly a major speech I'm going to make on this issue and why it's critically important for the United States and our allies that we keep our commitment" to Ukraine, Biden told reporters at the White House. White House officials declined to say when Biden planned to give his speech.

In Britain, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on October 4 urged Western allies to continue supplying Ukraine with weapons.

"I say this to our allies: If we give President Zelenskiy the tools, the Ukrainians will finish the job," Sunak told the Conservative Party conference in northern England.

Earlier on October 4, air-raid alerts sounded across Ukraine's south, east, and center on October 4 amid reports of explosions in the southern region of Dnipropetrovsk, as Moscow claimed that it had "destroyed" swarms of Ukrainian drones over three Russian areas.

There was little initial information about the blasts that were reported in Kryviy Rih. Alerts were declared early in the day in Odesa, Mykolayiv, and the Kherson regions, regional officials said.

In Russia, sirens also wailed across the country and TV stations interrupted regular programming to broadcast warnings on October 4 as part of sweeping drills intended to test the readiness of the country's emergency responders amid the fighting in Ukraine.

The exercise follows Ukrainian drone attacks on Moscow and other cities.

As the readiness drill went on, the Russian Defense Ministry said air defenses shot down 31 Ukrainian drones over border regions early on October 4.

"Air-defense systems intercepted and destroyed 31 Ukrainian aircraft-type unmanned aerial vehicles over the Belgorod, Bryansk, and Kursk regions," the ministry said on Telegram on October 4.

"Russian aircraft prevented an attempt to penetrate the territory of Crimea by a Ukrainian landing group traveling in the direction of Cape Tarkhankut on a high-speed military boat and three jet skis," it added.

The information could not be independently confirmed.

Russia, which has launched countless deadly drone and missile attacks on Ukrainian cities and energy infrastructure since the start of its unprovoked invasion of Ukraine, has been in recent months subjected itself to increasingly frequent aerial and naval drone strikes targeting regions close to the border and even Moscow.

On the battlefield, Ukrainian forces have been engaged in heavy fighting with Russian troops in the east and south, the military said, amid a seesaw of offensive and defensive actions by both sides in the Donetsk, Kharkiv, and Zaporizhzhya regions.

Offensive operations were under way in the Melitopol area of Zaporizhzhya and Bakhmut in Donetsk, the General Staff reported early on October 4, adding that Ukrainian forces also repelled Russian counterattacks near Bakhmut.

"During the past 24 hours, 43 close-quarter battles took place along the front line," it said.

With reporting by Reuters, AP, and AFP

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/ukraine-air-raids-drones- russia-attacks-funding-biden/32622224.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.

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Chief Rabbi Says Ukraine's Jewish Community 'Invalidates Russian De-Nazification Narratives'

By Taras Levchenko October 04, 2023

KYIV -- When Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in late February 2022, Rabbi Moshe Reuven Azman was with his family in the Kyiv region village of Anatevka, which he co-founded in 2015 as a refuge for displaced people from violence stoked by Moscow in parts of eastern Ukraine.

"We had hundreds of displaced Jews from all over the Kyiv region," Azman, a longtime leader of Ukraine's Jewish community, told RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service. "My children and small grandchildren were there. We didn't know how to save them."

In the early hours of March 1, 2022, a Russian rocket attack targeting the Kyiv television tower struck the nearby Holocaust memorial at the Babyn Yar ravine.

"There were three Russian rockets that struck the television tower at Babyn Yar," Azman recalled. "I immediately grabbed a Torah scroll and made an appeal to the Russians. Mentioning that I myself had been born in Leningrad, in Russia, in the Soviet Union, I said: 'Stop the war! What are you doing?"

"It was a cry from the soul," he added. "If you can tell the truth, but you don't, then you are abetting a crime. The world needs to know the truth. Telling the truth is what I did after the Babyn Yar strike. It was a turning point in my life."

Since then, Azman has made a mission of debunking Russian propaganda and false narratives about Ukraine and the invasion. In particular, he is outraged by unfounded assertions by Russian President Vladimir Putin and other Russian officials and state media that Ukraine is a "neo-Nazi" or "fascist" state.

Azman was elected chief rabbi of Ukraine in 2005 and is one of two claimants to the title.

"I began giving interviews and speaking the truth to the whole world because there is so much Russian propaganda," Azman said in the interview on October 2. "I asked why they are deceiving the world and why are they lying with this talk of 'de-Nazification.' 'You simply came here to kill people,' I said."

'Heirs Of The Fascists'

On the day before the Jewish New Year holiday of Rosh Hashanah last month, Azman met with President Volodymyr Zelenskiy along with a delegation of some 30 rabbis from across the country.

"In my speech, I said this meeting nullifies Russia's narrative about 'de-Nazification," Azman said. "Because rabbis work here. The Jewish community is thriving and working. They are Ukrainian patriots. What kind of Nazi country is that?"

"Ukrainians elected a Jewish president," he added.

In his speeches, Azman has appealed to Russia's leadership to stop "speculating on the Jewish issue" and misusing the Holocaust for propaganda purposes.

"They have also exploited the victory in World War II, although that was a global victory over fascism, not a Russian one," he said.

He argues that modern Russia has, on the contrary, acted like the "heirs of the fascists" during the Ukraine invasion.

"They bombard peaceful cities, including Russian-speaking cities," he said. "Such as Kharkiv. They wiped the Russian-speaking city of Mariupol off the face of the Earth."

Fighting 'For The Entire Civilized World'

Azman pointed out that 7 million Ukrainians fought in the Soviet Army against Nazi Germany and that more 2,500 Ukrainians have been honored by Israel as Righteous Among the Nations for risking their lives to save Jews from the Holocaust.

Azman noted that Ukraine has criminalized anti-Semitic hate crimes, and said he believes there is "considerably less" anti-Semitism in Ukraine "than in Russia or in Europe or in the United States, for that matter."

The Jewish community has provided valuable support to Ukraine's war effort, Azman said. Several hundred air-conditioning units have been provided to 16 military hospitals, as well as regular supplies of food and medicine. It also imports Israeli first-aid backpacks for medics to use in the field.

The community also arranged the purchase and importation of water-filtration systems from Israel for Ukrainian cities in the Odesa, Mykolayiv, and Kharkiv regions.

Azman continues to condemn the "horrific tragedy" of the Russian invasion, particularly during his frequent trips to Israel.

"This is a war in the center of Europe," he said. "One strong country -- which itself experienced the horrible consequences of Nazi and fascist ideologies, as well as communism -- launched a bloody war in which thousands and thousands of innocent people in Ukraine have been killed."

"There are many symbols," he concluded. "The rockets that fell in Babyn Yar are a symbol. A symbol that war is evil. The whole world must do all it can to help good. Ukraine today is fighting for good. Not only for itself but for all of Europe, for the entire civilized world."

RFE/RL's Robert Coalson contributed to this report.

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/russia-ukraine-de-nazification- narratives-jewish-rabbi-azman/32622983.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.

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Russian Special Forces Start Using Advanced FPV Drone 'Upyr' in Special Op Zone - Report

Sputnik News

20231004

The Russian Armed Forces have made great use of various modifications of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) during the special military operation to perform tasks without loss of military personnel.

The Russian special forces unit operating in the Svatovo-Kremennaya area in the People's Republic of Lugansk has adopted the FPV (first-person view) drones 'Upyr' ('Vampire'), a representative of the maker told Russian media.

The drones were previously used in the units on the Donetsk direction and in Graivoron, where they led to the withdrawal of equipment 5km deep, as well as on the Kherson direction, hampering the activity of Ukrainian boats.

"According to the military, our drone has already managed to prove its worth during heavy fighting. The operators of the 'Upyr', working under fire, destroyed the enemy, who was hiding in strongholds. Despite the difficult forested terrain and height differences, the maneuverability of the drone allows it to hit enemy shelters and other targets," the representative said.

He added that the special forces have managed to adapt to the forested terrain.

The 'Upyr' drone was developed in the Sverdlovsk Region for strikes against the enemy where fighting in the frontline was at its most intense, including disruption of supplies of ammunition and destruction of armored vehicles in closed positions. It can carry RPG-7 mortar grenades, such as PG-7VL, RKG-3M hand-held anti-tank grenades, and fragmentation charges made by the military directly in the combat zone. The development team created the 'Extender' air transponder, which doubles the FPV's range.

A Sputnik

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Ukraine Loses Up to 185 Troops in South Donetsk Direction - MoD

Sputnik News

20231004

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Ukraine has lost up to 185 soldiers both killed and injured in combat with Russian forces in the South Donetsk direction over the past 24 hours, the Russian Defense Ministry said on Wednesday.

Over the given period, the Russian armed forces have repelled four attacks by Ukrainian military in the Donetsk direction, another two in the Krasny Liman direction, and one in the South Donetsk direction.

"The enemy losses amounted to up to 185 Ukrainian military personnel killed and wounded, three armored combat vehicles, two vehicles, and a D-20 gun," the ministry said in a statement.

Ukraine has also lost up to 165 military both killed and injured, as well as seven pieces of military hardware, including a US-made M777 artillery system, in the Donetsk direction over the past 24 hours, the statement read.

A Sputnik

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Russia's Military Aircraft Thwart Ukrainian Attempt to Infiltrate Into Crimea

Sputnik News

20231004

On Tuesday, the Russian Defense Ministry said that air defense systems detected and destroyed a Ukrainian Neptune missile near the Crimean coast.

The Russian Aerospace Forces have foiled an attempt by the Ukrainian Armed Forces to launch an amphibious assault from three jet skis and a speedboat near Cape Tarkhany in Crimea, the Russian Defense Ministry said on Wednesday.

According to the ministry, another attempt by the Kiev regime to carry out terrorist attacks on facilities on Russian territory was foiled on the night of October 4.

Russian air defenses intercepted and destroyed 31 Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles of aircraft type over the territory of the Belgorod, Bryansk and Kursk regions, the ministry added.

"On the night of October 4, attempts by the Kiev regime to carry out terrorist attacks against facilities on the territory of the Russian Federation were foiled. Air defense systems on duty intercepted and destroyed 31 Ukrainian aircraft-type unmanned aerial vehicles over the territory of the Belgorod, Bryansk and Kursk regions," the ministry said in a statement.

The Ukrainian counteroffensive began on June 4. Kiev has thrown into battle brigades trained by NATO instructors and armed with Western equipment, including Leopard and Challenger tanks. Three months later, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that Kiev's push had failed, with Ukraine suffering an estimated 71,000 casualties. Several Western officials also admitted that the Ukrainian counteroffensive had not been successful so far.

A Sputnik

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A regular coordination meeting was held with Ukraine's partners in the coalition of modern fighter jets

Ministry of Defence of Ukraine

2023-10-04 16:52:00 | ID: 70855

On the instructions of the President of Ukraine and the Head of the Presidential Office, Deputy Head of the Presidential Office Ihor Zhovkva, Deputy Minister of Defense Nataliia Kalmykova and Advisor to the Head of the Presidential Office Oleksandr Kozenko held a regular coordination meeting with Ukraine's main partners in the coalition of modern fighter jets via video conference.

The Ukrainian side informed its partners of the updated needs and informed them of the progress of pilot and technical staff training. The parties discussed the schedule for implementing the agreements within the coalition, including the completion of the necessary work to prepare the relevant infrastructure, the timing of pilot and staff training, and the delivery of aircraft to Ukraine.

Ihor Zhovkva thanked the partners for supporting our country in the issue of speeding up pilot training and supplying modern aircraft to protect Ukrainian skies.

"The coalition is working and demonstrating progress towards fulfilling its mutual commitments. Together, we will be able to strengthen Ukraine's defense with modern aircraft and thus minimize losses, protect civilian infrastructure and our citizens," the Deputy Head of the Presidential Office emphasized.

Separately, the parties synchronized the next steps in the context of the activities of the coalition of modern fighter jets and agreed to hold the next coordination meeting in the near future.





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President met with the Chairman of the Board of Onur Group and the Ambassador of TArkiye to Ukraine

President of Ukraine

4 October 2023 - 18:41

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy met with Chairman of the Board of the Turkish company "Onur Group" Onur AetinAeviz and Ambassador of the Republic of TArkiye to Ukraine YaAYmur Ahmet GAldere.

"I am grateful to the Onur Group and its representatives for staying in Ukraine and next to Ukrainians all these days since the beginning of the full-scale Russian aggression, for supporting us together with TArkiye and the Turkish people," the Head of State noted.

The President expressed gratitude to the company for helping the Ukrainian army and transferring equipment to our defenders.

"We have really strong relations with TArkiye. And personally with President ErdoAYan. It is also very important that Turkish business is represented in Ukraine and stays in Ukraine. The key thing is not to lose such reliable partners," Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.

The parties discussed ways of further cooperation.

The Head of State thanked the Ambassador of TArkiye, who is completing his diplomatic mission in Ukraine, for his work that contributed to the development of strong relations between the two countries.

The President presented YaAYmur Ahmet GAldere and Onur AetinAeviz with the Orders of Merit II class for their contribution to supporting Ukraine and developing Ukrainian-Turkish relations.

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Remember when Election Day meant an actual day? Not long ago, we knew who won the election on Election Day. When you went to bed, you most always knew the outcome.

Election Day doesnt mean so much anymore. Even after Election Day, the election seems to drag on for weeks.

For example, in 2022, the last U.S. Senate and gubernatorial races were finally called on Nov. 23, a total of 15 days after Election Day. The United States House was worse. The last House race was not called until Dec. 13, a total of 35 days after Election Day.

Americans have begun to lose trust in the process because the process has lost certainty. Prolonged counts are a central cause of the lost trust.

To try to restore trust, the Public Interest Legal Foundation has brought a much talked-about lawsuit in federal court right here in North Dakota. This case is based on explicit federal laws that require a single election day. While courts have held that early voting is permissible under federal law, courts have said that because the election is wrapped up on Election Day, then early voting is allowed.

But laws that allow ballots to roll in for weeks after Election Day -- like here in North Dakota -- arguably offend the Election Day deadline.

This case is not about suggesting North Dakotas elections are corrupt or that the state is behaving badly. The case is about more than just North Dakota. Seventeen other states and the District of Columbia accept ballots that arrive after Election Day. Some even accept ballots that arrive up to two weeks after Election Day.

These laws allowing late ballots for weeks are the primary reason Election Day has turned into Election Month.

Its common sense. If you accept ballots that arrive weeks after Election Day, then election results will be delayed for weeks.

Unfortunately, North Dakota has accepted ballots that have arrived after Election Day with no postmarks.

The statute at issue in the lawsuit requires a single national Election Day to be held on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November of every even-numbered year.

Day is singular, not plural. Congress wanted a single day when the election was over, so the country could move from the fury of campaigning to governing.

At the heart of this lawsuit is Mark Splonskowski, a county election official. The possible conflict between the two laws leaves uncertainty as to which law is to be followed. If he chooses incorrectly, he could face criminal penalties under state law.

North Dakota is only involved in this lawsuit because at 13 days, it has one of the widest windows for accepting ballots for 13 days after Election Day.

The ironic part of the uncertainty and the election dragging on for weeks after Election Day is that we have technology to obtain results quickly and on time.

The lawsuit in federal court on behalf of Mr. Splonskowski is about clearing up questions of conflicts between state law and federal law. It is about restoring confidence across the nation in our wonderful and enviable election system. Mr. Splonskowski deserves credit for his willingness to lead the way toward that better time when we knew who won the election on Election Day.
Andrii Sybiha met with the delegation of the German Bundestag

President of Ukraine

4 October 2023 - 17:25

Deputy Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine Andrii Sybiha met with the delegation of the Bundestag of the Federal Republic of Germany from the Social Democratic Party. The delegation included Deputy Chairman of the German-Ukrainian Parliamentary Friendship Group Johannes Schraps and MPs Susanne Mittag and Fabian Funke. The meeting was also attended by representatives of the Friedrich Ebert Foundation in Ukraine.

Andrii Sybiha praised the consistent support of our country by the Bundestag, in particular the Social Democratic Party. He thanked for the significant defense, financial and humanitarian assistance provided to Ukraine by Germany since the beginning of the full-scale Russian invasion.

The Deputy Head of the Office of the President outlined Ukraine's key priorities in the context of attracting further support from partners. Particular emphasis was placed on the need to protect energy facilities from Russian missile attacks and to prepare for the winter period. The interlocutors were also informed about the situation on the battlefield and the priority needs of Ukrainian defenders, including additional air defense systems, artillery, long-range missiles and demining equipment.

The parties also exchanged views on further steps to implement the Ukrainian Peace Formula and the Ukrainian grain exports using alternative routes.

Andrii Sybiha noted our country's interest in starting practical work with Germany to conclude a bilateral agreement on security guarantees in the near future as a follow-up to the Group of Seven Joint Declaration of Support for Ukraine.

Special attention was paid to the current issues of European and Euro-Atlantic integration of our country.

"We see NATO membership as the best guarantee of security for Ukraine and an integral element of the renewed European security architecture after the war," the Deputy Head of the Presidential Office emphasized.

Andrii Sybiha praised the cooperation with Germany in the recovery and reconstruction of Ukraine. The parties emphasized the importance of expanding Ukrainian-German interregional cooperation, in particular in the form of patronage over regions or cities of Ukraine.

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Russia Says It Intercepted 31 Ukrainian Drones Over 3 of Its Regions

By VOA News October 04, 2023

Russia said Wednesday its air defenses destroyed 31 Ukrainian drones that were part of attempted attacks on Russian territory overnight.

The Russian Defense Ministry said on Telegram that it downed the drones over the Belgorod, Bryansk and Kursk regions. All three regions are located along the Russia-Ukraine border.

Alexander Bogomaz, the regional governor of Bryansk, said Ukrainian forces fired cluster munitions at several villages, damaging several homes. Bogomaz said there were no casualties reported.

Russia's military said it also stopped a group of Ukrainian troops that were using a high-speed boat and jet skis to try to "penetrate the territory of Crimea."

Meanwhile, the U.S. military command said that it has sent about 1.1 million rounds of ammunition to Ukraine that American naval forces seized from Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps last year as Tehran tried to transfer the ammunition to Houthi fighters in Yemen in violation of a United Nations Security Council resolution.

On the diplomatic front, U.S. President Joe Biden called key Western allies on Tuesday to reassure them of continued American military support for Ukraine's fight against Russia after hardline right-wing congressional Republicans over the weekend forced the exclusion of immediate new funding for Kyiv.

The White House said Biden spoke with the leaders of Canada, Germany, Italy, Japan, Poland, Romania, Britain, and of the European Union and NATO, along with the foreign minister of France.

"President Biden convened a call this morning with allies and partners to coordinate our ongoing support for Ukraine," the White House said in a statement.

Later, White House national security spokesman John Kirby said Biden reaffirmed the strong commitment of the United States to supporting Ukraine as it defends itself "for as long as it takes, as did every other leader on the call."

Kirby said the leaders discussed efforts to continue providing Ukraine with the ammunition and the weapons systems that it needs to defend itself and to continue strengthening Ukrainian air defenses as they prepare for more attacks on critical infrastructure. "Now, certainly, but also certainly in the winter months ahead," Kirby said.

Some right-wing Republicans have balked at new funding for Kyiv, contending that Ukraine's fight against Russia is not a strategic U.S. national security interest, although the large majority of U.S. lawmakers still appear to support more aid.

Some information for this story came from The Associated Press, Agence France-Presse and Reuters

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Biden to Argue for Continued Funding for Ukraine

By Patsy Widakuswara October 04, 2023

With U.S. funding for Ukraine at risk because of congressional turmoil, President Joe Biden says he will be delivering a "major speech" to persuade the American people to continue supporting Ukrainians in their defense against Russia's invasion.

"I'm going to make the argument that it's overwhelmingly in the interest of the United States of America that Ukraine succeeds," Biden said Wednesday as he faced questions from reporters.

The remark followed Tuesday's dramatic ousting of Republican Kevin McCarthy from his role as House speaker, just days after Congress omitted provisions for further Ukraine funding from a last-minute deal to prevent a government shutdown.

While a new deal to fund government operations must be negotiated by mid-November, Biden indicated he would seek alternative routes to ensure the flow of aid.

"We can support Ukraine in the next tranche that we need," he said. "And there is another means by which we may be able to find funding for that. But I'm not going to do that now."

Funds remaining

The Pentagon warned that without action from Congress, funding could run out in a matter of months, with only $5.4 billion remaining under the Presidential Drawdown Authority funds and $1.6 billion left of the $25.9 billion provided by Congress to replenish U.S. military stocks that have been flowing to Ukraine.

"It does worry me, but I know there are a majority of members of the House and Senate in both parties who have said that they support funding Ukraine," said Biden.

A lapse in funding will affect not only the situation on Ukraine's battlefields as it grinds through its counteroffensive and heads into the challenging winter months, but it also could embolden Moscow, said Luke Coffey, a senior fellow focusing on foreign policy at the Hudson Institute.

"They see the writing on the wall, and they're very hopeful that this continued chaos stays in the United States and that there's isn't any funding for Ukraine," he told VOA. "Only Russia stands to benefit here."

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre declined to provide further details on the president's speech but acknowledged that a growing share of the American public is questioning whether to continue sending historic sums of money to help the Ukrainian people.

"We have seen the polling," she said in response to VOA's question during Wednesday's briefing. "We also believe that it is fundamentally important to our own national security, as well as supporting the great people of Ukraine, to continue."

Twenty months since Moscow's invasion, public support for U.S. military assistance is waning, according to a poll released Wednesday by the Chicago Council on Global Affairs. Sixty-three percent of those surveyed said they supported sending additional arms and supplies to Kyiv, compared with 72% in July 2022. The drop was sharpest among Republicans, followed by independents, while Democratic support remained largely unchanged.

Amid eroding support, Biden needs to better explain to the American people that their vital interests are at stake, said former Ambassador to Ukraine John Herbst, who is now senior director of the Atlantic Council's Eurasia Center.

The message should be that Putin's aims directly threaten American interests, Herbst told VOA. "Because if he wins in Ukraine, he will be provoking and maybe committing direct aggression against our NATO allies, which will require greater American defense expenditures and the use of American troops."

Since the war began, the Biden administration and Congress have directed more than $75 billion in assistance to Ukraine, which includes humanitarian, financial and military support, according to the Kiel Institute for the World Economy, a German policy institute.

Ukraine's Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said Monday that he remained confident that U.S. support had not wavered, calling the decision by Congress to not put aside funds for Ukraine an "individual case."

McCarthy's successor

A new House speaker who opposes funding could quash a proposal before it even comes to a vote, so a deal regarding Ukraine may depend on who succeeds McCarthy. The speaker was ousted Tuesday when a motion to do so from fellow Republican Matt Gaetz was supported by eight Republicans and 208 Democrats.

On Wednesday, Jim Jordan became the first to publicly declare his intention to run for speaker. Other names have been floated, including Steve Scalise, the Number 2 House Republican who has long been favored to take over as speaker after McCarthy, and Kevin Hern, chair of the Republican Study Committee, the largest Republican caucus in the House.

The group Defending Democracy Together ranked lawmakers from A to F on the strength of their past support for Ukraine aid, with A signifying the strongest support. Jordan and Hern were rated as F, while Scalise was rated as B.

House Republicans plan to meet next Tuesday for a first round of internal party voting.

Unsettling for allies

The disarray in Washington is unsettling for Europeans, who have been told for a long time that most Republicans support Ukraine and a shift is unlikely, said Liana Fix, a fellow for Europe at the Council on Foreign Relations.

"This raises again questions of reliability and predictability of the U.S.," she told VOA.

European support is also eroding. Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban recently threatened to veto European Union aid for Ukraine, while Robert Fico, a former prime minister who campaigned on a pro-Russian message, recently won Slovakia's parliamentary elections.

Those forces in Europe trying to capitalize on dissatisfaction and pro-Russian views will certainly take the situation in Washington as a confirmation that a shift in approach is needed, Fix noted. "Something along the lines of, 'If the U.S. lacks support, why should our citizens continue to pay for Ukraine?'"

As anxiety over U.S. commitment grows among Europeans, Biden convened a call this week with more than a dozen allies and partners to assure them he is committed to military assistance to Ukraine for as long as it takes, according to the White House.

VOA Congressional Correspondent Katherine Gypson and VOA National Security Correspondent Jeff Seldin contributed to this report.

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NATO Warns of Ammunition Shortage Due to War in Ukraine

By Henry Ridgwell October 04, 2023

NATO's most senior military official has warned that European ammunition stocks are running short as the West continues to send large amounts of military aid to Ukraine to fend off invading Russian forces.

Admiral Rob Bauer, who chairs the NATO Military Committee, said Europe needed to ramp up production as the war enters its 20th month.

"We now give away weapons systems to Ukraine, which is great, and ammunition a but not from full warehouses. We started to give away from half full or lower warehouses in Europe. And therefore, the bottom of the barrel is now visible, and we need the industry to ramp up production in a much higher tempo. We need large volumes," Bauer told delegates Wednesday at the Warsaw Security Forum, adding that political leaders needed to act faster.

"We need the continued support from the political level because it's not only the money, it is also the actions in the nations that lead to more readier forces and the capabilities we need," Bauer said. "And if you actually see that in the seven years before the war, the [defense] budgets went up already, but the industry did not increase the production capacity. And that has led to higher prices already before the war."

Forces fire thousands daily

Ukrainian forces are firing several thousand artillery shells every day at invading Russian forces, with much of the ammunition supplied by Kyiv's Western allies. NATO member states also have given Kyiv tanks, armored vehicles, missile and air defense systems and an array of other military hardware.

The European Union, Britain and the United States have outlined plans to ramp up weapons production. The EU earlier this year allocated $2.2 billion for the joint procurement and delivery of up to an additional 1 million rounds of artillery ammunition to Ukraine by early 2024, and an additional $550 million to urgently boost EU defense industry capacities in ammunition production.

Simultaneously replenishing stockpiles a and supplying Ukraine a will require clearer signals from Western political leaders, said analyst Simona Soare of Britain's Lancaster University, a former EU defense adviser.

"Efforts from a budgetary point of view, from a procurement point of view, that allies have made individually and jointly, are still not on par with the level of the demand," Soare told VOA. "It all starts with that absolutely clear demand signal that comes from our political and military leadership towards our industry to engage in this effort jointly. And I believe that there is a lot more that can be done from that level to communicate that this effort is not a temporary surge, but rather it's a sustained, potentially longer-term effort."

Pentagon warns US leaders

In a letter to congressional leaders this week, the Pentagon warned it is running low on money to replace weapons the U.S. has sent to Ukraine.

According to The Associated Press, Pentagon comptroller Michael McCord told House and Senate leaders there is $1.6 billion left of the $25.9 billion Congress provided to replenish U.S. military stocks that have been flowing to Kyiv and urged them to replenish funding.

The United States has given an estimated $46.6 billion in military aid to Kyiv since Russia's February 2022 invasion. The U.S. Congress passed a last-minute stopgap funding bill September 30 to avert a government shutdown, but it did not include any new aid for Ukraine. President Joe Biden has vowed to continue American support for Kyiv.

Meanwhile, the EU has given almost $27 billion, and Britain an estimated $7 billion in military aid, according to the Kiel Institute for the World Economy.

Boosting weapons production takes time, Soare said.

"It takes on average between two and four years to set up a new production line for high-intensity military equipment that you need in Ukraine," Soare told VOA. "Same thing goes for munitions. We're talking about hundreds, potentially thousands of people who need to have very, very niche skill sets to be employed in this undertaking."

Soare added that Europe must diversify its supply chains for the crucial raw materials needed to produce modern weapons.

"There are significant and long-standing dependencies on single providers for some of these absolutely critical rare earths, for instance, which now go at astronomical prices," she said. "And that impacts on the affordability side of the war effort."

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Fort Collins, Colorado, Oct. 04, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- DataHorizzon Research published a report titled, "Wearable Technology Market Size, Growth, Share, Statistics Report, By Product (Wrist-Wear, Eyewear & Headwear, Footwear, Neckwear, Body-wear, and Others), By Type (Smart Textile and Product & Devices), By Application, By Region and Segment Forecasts, 2023-2032."

According to DataHorizzon Research, the wearable technology market size was valued at USD 82.7 Billion in 2022 and is expected to have a market size of USD 381.7 Billion by 2032 with a CAGR of 16.6%.

The published global wearable technology market report offers a holistic view of industry dynamics, consumer trends, and supply-chain scenarios and discusses market challenges and opportunities in detail.

The rising adoption of wearable devices in the healthcare industry is expected to propel market growth. These devices are worn on the body to monitor and use biosensors to measure healthcare data. With the growing technological advancements and increasing accuracy of these devices, they help users measure accurate healthcare data such as heart rate, blood pressure, sleep patterns, and activity. These technologies also monitor various health parameters in real time and detect health issues early on to provide personalized health recommendations.

Furthermore, the application of wearable technology across various verticals, such as retail & wholesale and travel & hospitality, is also propelling market growth. Retailers design wearable apps that connect to the consumers wearable devices. These apps send tailored promotional offers to the targeted consumers devices while they are in the store. Wearable tech also aids employees in providing better customer service and a seamless retail experience. Additionally, wearable devices can help agents provide personalized services to consumers and improve their experience in travel and hospitality.

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Report Snapshot:

Report Title Wearable Technology Market Market Size in 2022 USD 82.7 Billion Market Size by 2032 USD 381.7 Billion CAGR from 2023 to 2032 16.6% Largest Market North America Forecast Period 2023 to 2032 Historic Period 2021 Base Year 2022 Report Scope & Coverage Market Size, Market Estimations, Competitor Analysis, Trends and Growth Factors By Product Wrist-Wear, Eyewear & Headwear, Footwear, Neckwear, Body-wear and Others By Type Smart Textile and Product & Devices By Application Consumer Electronics, Healthcare, Enterprise & Industrial Applications and others Region North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America, and Middle East & Africa Countries Covered U.S., Canada, U.K., Germany, France, China, Japan, India, South Korea, Brazil, Mexico, UAE, Saudi Arabia and South Africa Major Market Players Alphabet Inc., Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., TomTom International BV, Fossil Group Inc., Sony Corp., Huawei Technologies Group Co., Ltd., Apple Inc., Xiaomi Corp., LG, Adidas AG, Microsoft, Nike, Inc., Fitbit, Inc., Garmin Ltd., and ASUSTeK Computer Inc

Segmentation Overview:

The global wearable technology market has been segmented as product, type, application, and region. Based on product, wrist wear dominates the wearable technology market due to the consumer trend. Besides, wrist wear offers a variety of features to the user. Based on type, the market was dominated by products and devices in 2022.

North America is a leading region for wearable technology based on the increasing healthcare infrastructure and high spending on healthcare devices. Asia Pacific is a fast-growing market attributed to the adoption of SMART wearable devices.

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Wearable Technology Market Report Highlights:

The global wearable technology market growth is anticipated at a CAGR of 16.6% by 2032.

The wearable technology market growth is encouraged due to the growing adoption of wearable devices in the healthcare industry and the growing technological advances. These technologies also monitor several health-related parameters in real time and detect anomalies in the body.

Based on type, the product & devices segment accounted for a significant market share in 2022. The smart textile segment is projected to attain a significant position in the coming years, owing to its popularity.

North America is a significant market for wearable technology in 2022 and is projected to account for a substantial share in the following years. Digitized treatments, the shift in data collection methods, and the demand for personalized SMART wearable devices are anticipated to propel the regional market growth.

Some prominent players in the wearable technology market report include Alphabet Inc., Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., TomTom International BV, Fossil Group Inc., Sony Corp., Huawei Technologies Group Co., Ltd., Apple Inc., Xiaomi Corp., LG, Adidas AG, Microsoft, Nike, Inc., Fitbit, Inc., Garmin Ltd., and ASUSTeK Computer Inc.

Industry Trends and Insights:

In 2023, Enovix Corp, acquired Routejade Inc., a Korean battery component manufacturer for USD 98 million. This is projected to boost the market value of Enovix and saves on outsourcing costs for battery manufacturing.

In 2023, MetAlert Inc, a merger with Level 2 Security LLC. The collaboration accelerates the revenue channels for the company and scales up the companys portfolio in the long-term.

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Wearable Technology Market Report Segmentation:

By Product: Wrist-Wear, Eyewear & Headwear, Footwear, Neckwear, Body-wear, and others

By Type: Smart Textile, Product & Devices

By Application: Consumer Electronics, Healthcare, Enterprise & Industrial Applications, Others

By Region: North America, Latin America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Middle East and Africa

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DataHorizzon is a market research and advisory company that assists organizations across the globe in formulating growth strategies for changing business dynamics. Its offerings include consulting services across enterprises and business insights to make actionable decisions. DHRs comprehensive research methodology for predicting long-term and sustainable trends in the market facilitates complex decisions for organizations.

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COLOGNE, GERMANY, Oct. 04, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- INNOHAS, a leading specialist in plant-based foods, is set to make its mark on the European plant-based foods market following its successful ventures in the United States. The company is gearing up to participate in the prestigious international food fair, ANUGA 2023, held in Cologne, Germany, from October 7th to 11th. At this event, INNOHAS will proudly introduce its new overseas export brand, "Sunlit Foods," furthering its mission to capture global markets with innovative plant-based offerings.





INNOHAS will occupy a prominent booth in the ANUGA MEAT Hall, where visitors can indulge in a tantalizing tasting experience featuring ten sorts of ready-to-heat plant-based products. This delectable lineup includes favorites like plant-based Bulgogi, Spicy Pork Bulgogi, and Hamburger Patty, in addition to two convenient rice bowl options and two tantalizing fried rice variations. Attendees will also be treated to a sneak peek of entirely new products, including the plant-based cranberry chicken salad and crunch chicken nuggets, meticulously crafted to replicate the taste and texture of traditional chicken using plant-based ingredients.

A highlight of INNOHAS' presence at ANUGA 2023 is the introduction of three captivating frozen kimbap varieties, a sensation in the United States, under the banner of their new brand, Sunlit Foods. Distinguished by their use of INNOHAS' plant-based bulgogi, vegan kimchi, and spicy pork, these frozen kimbap offerings set themselves apart from competitors, promising a uniquely flavorful experience.

INNOHAS has already established a significant foothold in the U.S. market, with plans to roll out Sunlit Foods products at Independent Markets in New York by the end of this year. The products will subsequently become available in more than 300 grocery stores across New York State. In preparation for this expansion, INNOHAS is committed to fine-tuning its marketing strategy, actively engaging with industry professionals, and soliciting valuable feedback during the ANUGA 2023 event.

"We are thrilled to introduce high-quality plant-based Korean flavors to a global audience, including buyers and industry officials," affirmed INNOHAS. "Our mission is to provide consumers with delicious and convenient meals that never compromise on nutrition."

About ANUGA

ANUGA 2023 is globally recognized as one of the top three biennial food fairs, further underscoring the significance of INNOHAS' participation in this international event.

About INNOHAS

INNOHAS is a pioneering company dedicated to the creation of exceptional plant-based foods, driven by a passion for innovation and culinary excellence. Its mission is to continuously push the boundaries of plant-based cuisine, offering consumers high-quality, flavorful, and nutritionally balanced alternatives worldwide.

Social Links

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Company: Innohas Co., Ltd.

US Brand: Sunlit foods

Email: Sales@innohas.com

Website: https://www.sunlit-foods.com/ , https://www.innohas.com/

SOURCE: Innohas Co., Ltd.
Newark, Oct. 04, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- As per the report published by The Brainy Insights, the global quaternary amines market is expected to grow from USD 963.94 million in 2022 to USD 1,667.73 million by 2030, at a CAGR of 7.1% during the forecast period 2022-2030.



Quaternary amines are the salts of quaternary ammonium compounds or quaternary ammonium cations. These are used as wetting agents in the oil sector, corrosion inhibitors, shale and bactericides. It has applications as disinfectants, surfactants, fabric softeners and antistatic agents. These quaternary ammonium compounds are obtained by quaternization, and the resulting compounds are known as quats or QAC; it is called cationic surfactants which combine bactericidal and virucidal activity with good detergency and hence it, has a cleansing ability. These disinfectants are known for their effectiveness against germs, bacteria and viruses and their long shelf life. Quaternary ammonium salts have applications as fabric softeners, disinfectants, surfactants, and antistatic agents in shampoos. In liquid fabric softeners, chloride salts are generally used. In the dryer, anticling strips of sulfate salts are commonly used. It has also been observed that spermicidal jellies and older aluminium electrolytic capacitors also have quaternary ammonium salts.



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Competitive Strategy



To enhance their market position in the global quaternary amines market, the key players are now focusing on adopting the strategies such as product innovations, mergers & acquisitions, recent developments, joint ventures, collaborations, and partnerships.



 For example, in August 2022, Global Amines, a joint venture of Clariant and Wilmar, signed an agreement for the acquisition of the quats and esterquats business from Clariant. The acquisition complements the product portfolio and provides the better and most competitive solution to the customer from a complete range of quats, amines, amines derivatives and betaines, among others.

Market Growth & Trends



Quats have applications in veterinary products, contraception formulations, vaccine production, nasal formulations and diagnostic testing. Buscopan is one of the many anti-spasm drugs with a quaternary ammonium functional group in the medical field. These compounds have antimicrobial activity. These compounds, especially those that contain long alkyl chains, are broadly utilised as disinfectants and antimicrobials. Some examples are benzethonium chloride, methyl benzethonium chloride, cetrimide, dofanium chloride, tetraethylammonium bromide, cetalkonium chloride, benzalkonium chloride, cetylpyridinium chloride, cetrimonium, and domiphen bromide among others. The alkaline copper quaternary is a water-based solution that helps maintain wood products by controlling the decay induced by insects and fungi. Similarly, the products with quat solutions are utilised for building utility poles, marine walls, decks, fence posts and other wood frames. Quats help in protecting the fibers from accumulating fungi and mould and are also used as a moth repellent. Quat also helps in preventing mould and mildew from harming leather fibers. All these factors would propel the quaternary amines market in the forecast period.

Key Findings



 In 2022, the industrial grade segment dominated the market with the largest market share of 77.53% and a market revenue of 747.33 million.



The type segment is divided into pharmaceutical grade and industrial grade. In 2022, the industrial grade segment dominated the market with the largest market share of 77.53% and market revenue of 747.33 million. The market was growing due to hospital-acquired infections (HAIs), and strict regulations and favourable government guidelines on sterilization and disinfection were implemented.



 In 2022, the surfactants segment dominated the market with the largest market share of 48.39% and a market revenue of 466.49 million.



The application segment is divided into disinfectant, surfactants, fabric softeners, wood preservatives, antistatic agents and others. In 2022, the surfactants segment dominated the market with the largest market share of 48.39% and market revenue of 466.49 million. This growth is attributed to the surge in the importance of a healthier lifestyle. The demand for free of bacteria and germs, dust and dirt has increased the per capita spending on household cleaning products.



 In 2022, the trimethylamine segment dominated the market with the largest market share of 60.88% and market revenue of 586.87 million.



The source segment is divided into trimethylamine and EDTA. In 2022, the trimethylamine segment dominated the market with the largest market share of 60.88% and market revenue of 586.87 million. Many of the disinfectants listed by the US Environmental Protection Agency for use on the covid-19 virus contained at least one quat. This increased the demand for quaternary amines in the covid and post covid.



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Regional Segment Analysis of the Quaternary Amines Market:



 North America (U.S., Canada, Mexico)

 Europe (Germany, France, U.K., Italy, Spain, Rest of Europe)

 Asia-Pacific (China, Japan, India, Rest of APAC)

 South America (Brazil and the Rest of South America)

 The Middle East and Africa (UAE, South Africa, Rest of MEA)



The Asia Pacific region occurred as the largest market for the global quaternary amines industry, with a market share of 35.82% and a market value of around 345.33 million in 2022. Its demand is growing in the APAC region due to a surge in disposable income of the people in China and India, which eventually increases the sales of personal care products. North America is anticipated to have the second highest market share for the global quaternary amines market. In the coming years, North America is anticipated to observe an increase in the demand for quaternary ammonium compounds as there are many applications of compounds in many fields like oil & gas, agricultural chemicals, textiles & leathers, among others.



Report Scope



Base Year 2021

Forecast period 2022-2030

Report Coverage Revenue estimation and forecast, company profile, competitive landscape, growth factors, and recent trends

Regional scope North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Middle East & Africa

Market Size(unit) Revenue (USD Million)

Vape Catridge Market CAGR 7.1%

Segments Covered Key Segments are type, application, source and regions

Key players operating in the global quaternary amines market are:



 DuPont

 Huntsman International LLC

 BASF SE

 Evonik Industries AG (Subsidiary Of RAG-Stiftung)

 Kao Corporation

 Merck KGaA

 Novo Nordisk

 Henkel AG & Co. KGaA

 Croda International

 Global Amines

 SACHEM, Inc



This study forecasts revenue at global, regional, and country levels from 2019 to 2030. The Brainy Insights has segmented the global quaternary amines market based on below mentioned segments:



Global Quaternary Amines Market by Type:



 Pharmaceutical Grade

 Industrial Grade



Global Quaternary Amines Market by Application:



 Disinfectant

 Surfactants

 Fabric Softeners

 Wood Preservatives

 Antistatic Agents

 Others



Global Quaternary Amines Market by Source:



 Trimethylamine

 EDTA



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About the report:



The global quaternary amines market is analysed based on value (USD Million) and volume (Tons). All the segments have been analysed on global, regional and country basis. The study includes the analysis of more than 30 countries for each segment. The report offers in-depth analysis of driving factors, opportunities, restraints, and challenges for gaining the key insight of the market. The study includes porters five forces model, attractiveness analysis, raw material analysis, supply, demand analysis, competitor position grid analysis, distribution and marketing channels analysis.



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The Brainy Insights is a market research company, aimed at providing actionable insights through data analytics to companies to improve their business acumen. We have a robust forecasting and estimation model to meet the clients' objectives of high-quality output within a short span of time. We provide both customized (clients' specific) and syndicate reports. Our repository of syndicate reports is diverse across all the categories and sub-categories across domains. Our customized solutions are tailored to meet the clients' requirement whether they are looking to expand or planning to launch a new product in the global market.



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Pune, India, Oct. 05, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The global oilfield services market size is expected to reach USD 346.45 billion by 2027, exhibiting a CAGR of 6.6% during the forecast period. The surging shale gas extraction from hydraulic fracturing and other stimulation procedures will bolster the growth of the market, states Fortune Business Insights, in a report, titled Oilfield Services Market Size, Share & COVID-19 Impact Analysis, By Type (Equipment Rental, Field Operation, and Analytical Services), By Service (Geophysical, Drilling, Completion & Workover, Production, and Processing & Separation), By Application (Onshore and Offshore {Shallow Water, Deepwater, Ultra-Deepwater}), and Regional Forecast, 2020-2027. The market size stood at USD 267.82 billion in 2019.



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Oilfield Services Market Scope:





Report Coverage Details Forecast Period 2020-2027 Forecast Period 2020 to 2027 CAGR 6.6 % 2027 Value Projection USD 346.45 billion Base Year 2019 Market Size in 2019 USD 267.82 billion Historical Data for 2016-2018 No. of Pages 320 Segments covered By Type, Service, Application, Geography Growth Drivers Increasing Shale Gas Extraction to Drive Market Growth Increasing Production & Exploration Activities in Oil & Gas Industry to Favor Market Growth

Drivers and Restraints:

Growing Demand for Shale Gas to Propel Market

The increasing demand for shale gas has led to the advancement in technologies such as directional drilling and hydraulic fracturing technology to improve the production process in reservoirs. The high requirement for oilfield services during extraction can spur opportunities for the market. The ongoing plans and strategies to enhance the production of shale gas will simultaneously enrich the business of the market during the forecast period. For instance, China has announced that it will escalate its production up to 30 bcm/per year by 2020, and 80-100 bcm/per year by 2030 through advanced technologies and drilling techniques. China accounts for a high percent of shale gas production, which originally comes from the Sichuan Basin located in the Chongqing area. Moreover, the increasing exploration activities for untapped resources will enable healthy growth of the market in the forthcoming years.

Halt on Exploration Projects and Services to Dwindle Market Growth

The substantial impact on the oil & gas industry is due to the disruption caused by coronavirus, which affected the operation and supply chain of the industry. Numerous companies have terminated exploration projects and services owing to the lockdown to curb the spread of the virus. For instance, the International Energy Agency reported that oil demand is likely to decrease by 29 million barrels per day (BPD) in April 2020 and by 23.1 million bpd in the 2nd quarter. Moreover, the production cuts, obstructed investments, and economic downfall can result in heavy loss for the global market during COVID-19. However, improving the situation and growing oil demand will simultaneously help in the recovery, in turn, aiding the market.

COVID-19 Impact:

The coronavirus disaster has financially drained various industries and sectors around the globe. The governments of several countries have instigated lockdown to thwart the spread of this deadly virus. Such plans have caused disturbances in the production and supply chain. But, with time and resolution, we will be able to combat this stern time and get back to normality. Our well-revised reports will help companies to receive in-depth information about the present scenario of every market so that you can adopt the necessary strategies accordingly.

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Report Coverage:





Well-analyzed prime information

Key insights into the market

Dominant regions in the world

Foremost market drivers and restraints

Competitive landscape

COVID-19 impact

Regional Insights:





Offshore Oil Projects to Influence Growth in North America

The market in North America is expected to account for the largest share in the global market owing to the offshore assets in the Gulf of Mexico and the North Sea. The ongoing oil extraction activities will enable the healthy growth of the market in North America. Moreover, the increasing partnerships and acquisitions by major players will further aid development in the region. For instance, in January 2017, Schlumberger limited announced that it has acquired the Peak Well System, which is a specialist in the design and development of advanced downhole tools for flow control, well intervention, and well integrity. Europe is expected to account for a significant share during the forecast period. The reduced cost of offshore drilling activities will favor growth in the region. For instance, in Norway, the operating cost of an oil well has been reduced by 30% from 2014 to 2017, thus the cost incurred for drilling an exploratory well offshore was half in 2017 compared to 2014.

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List of Key Players Profiled in the Report:

Competitive Landscape:

The oilfield services market features intense competition among key players such as Halliburton, Schlumberger, Baker Hughes, and Weatherford International. These industry giants offer a wide range of services including drilling, well completion, and reservoir management. Regional players also contribute to the competitive landscape, with local expertise and specialized offerings. Innovation, technology adoption, and cost-effective solutions are crucial factors shaping competition in this dynamic market.

Key Industry Development:

June 2020: Norwegian oil and gas company Equinor awarded two contracts worth up to USD 187,1 million to oilfield services provider Technip. Under the contract, TechnipFMC will provide pipelaying and subsea installation for three projects on the Norwegian continental shelf (NCS).

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Table of Content:

Introduction Research Scope Market Segmentation Research Methodology Definitions and Assumptions Executive Summary Market Dynamics Market Drivers Market Restraints Market Opportunities Key Insights Key Emerging Trends  For Major Countries Latest Technological Advancement Regulatory Landscape Industry SWOT Analysis Porters Five Forces Analysis Qualitative Analysis  Impact of COVID-19 Impact of COVID-19 on the Oilfield Services Market Steps Taken by the Government to Overcome the Impact Key Developments by Industry Players in Response to COVID-19 Potential Opportunities and Challenges due to COVID-19 Outbreak Global Oilfield Services Market Analysis (USD Billion), Insights and Forecast, 2016-2027 Key Findings / Summary Market Analysis, Insights and Forecast  By Type Equipment Rental Field Operation Analytical Services Market Analysis, Insights and Forecast  By Service Geophysical Seismic Equipment Seismic Service Drilling Offshore Drilling OCTG Directional Drilling Drilling Fluid Well Casing Well Cementing Drill Bits Drilling Rigs Logging While Drilling Measurement While Drilling Managed Pressure Drilling Waste Management Others Completion & Workover Well Intervention Completion Fluid Hydraulic Fracturing Sand Control Mud Logging Wireline Logging Others Production Artificial Lift Floating Production Vessel Support Vessel Well Testing Subsea Equipment Christmas Tree Enhanced Oil Recovery Digital Oil Field Others Processing & Separation Water Treatment Oil Treatment Gas Treatment Solids Management Others Market Analysis, Insights and Forecast  By Application Onshore Offshore Shallow Water Deepwater Ultra-Deepwater Market Analysis, Insights and Forecast  By Region North America Latin America Europe Asia Pacific Middle East and Africa Competitive Analysis Company Market Share Analysis, 2022 Company Profile Business Overview Product Application, & Services Recent Developments Financials (Based on Availability)



Continued

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Pune, India, Oct. 05, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The global nanotechnology market size was valued at USD 69.15 billion in 2022 and is projected to reach USD 248.56 billion by 2030, exhibiting a CAGR of 17.8% over the forecast period. Fortune Business Insights presents this information in their latest report titled "Global Nanotechnology Market Forecast, 2023-2030."

The market surge is driven by the growing adoption of nanotechnologies in the aerospace sector. The product deployment is mainly driven by the fast operating speed, high strength, and the lightweight properties of nanomaterials.





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Key Industry Development:

May 2023  Thermo Fisher inked a MoU with the National Research and Innovation Agency of India to strengthen the countrys national research and innovation infrastructure. The deal would strengthen the collaboration between the two organizations, creating opportunities for direct engagements.





Key Takeaways

Nanotechnology market size in North America was USD 23.37 billion in 2022

Increasing Deployment in Cell Repair to Drive Product Application in Healthcare Sector

Rise in Market Share Driven by Rapid Healthcare Advancements

Nanodevices Segment Accounts for Key Share Impelled by Soaring Product Adoption in Medical Applications

Healthcare Segment Held Major Share Driven by Increasing Product Deployment in Cell Repair and Nano Diagnostics





Discover the Leading Players Featured in the Report:

Companies leading the global nanotechnology market are Imina Technologies SA (Switzerland), NANONICS IMAGING Ltd. (U.S.), Altair Nanotechnologies Inc. (U.S.), Bruker Corporation (U.S.), Kleindiek Nanotechnik GmbH (Germany), eSpin Technologies, Inc. (U.S.), Advanced Nano Products Co., Ltd. (South Korea), Applied Nanotech, Inc. (U.S.), Biosensors International Group, Ltd. (Singapore), Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (U.S.)





Report Scope & Segmentation

Report Coverage Details Forecast Period 2023 to 2030 Forecast Period 2023 to 2030 CAGR 17.8% 2030 Value Projection USD 248.56 Billion Base Year 2022 Nanotechnology Market Size in 2022 USD 69.15 Billion Historical Data for 2019 to 2021 No. of Pages 150 Segments covered Type, Industry and Geography





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Drivers and Restraints:



Surge in Market Share Due to Increasing Nanotechnology Adoption in Medical Diagnosis

The global nanotechnology market growth is being driven by the soaring product adoption in the diagnosis, screening, and treatment of several diseases, including cancer. The technology plays a significant role in the detection of cancer biomarkers and the development of several cancer drugs.

However, the industry expansion could be hampered by the high cost associated with nanomaterials and the production of nanodrugs.





Segmentation

By Type

Nanodevices

Nanosenors

By Industry

Electronics

Healthcare

Manufacturing

Energy & Power

Automotive

Aerospace & Defense

Food & Beverages

Others (Agriculture)

By Region

North America

Europe

Asia Pacific

Middle East & Africa

South America





Regional Insights:

North America to Lead Driven by Surging Adoption of Advanced Healthcare Infrastructure

North America nanotechnology market share accounts for a key position in the market and is poised to exhibit substantial expansion over the study period. The rise is on account of the escalating adoption of technologically advanced healthcare infrastructure. Canada and the U.S. has recorded heavy investments in the areas of research, development, and commercialization.

he Asia Pacific market is anticipated to record notable expansion over the estimated period. The surge is driven by an escalation in government funding focused on R&D.





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Competitive Landscape:

Leading Companies Develop and Launch New Products to Gain Competitive Edge

Major industry players undertake research activities for the development and launch of new products. These initiatives are being undertaken to strengthen their industry footing. Other strategies deployed include merger agreements, partnerships, acquisitions, and rising participation in trade conferences.





FAQs

How big is the nanotechnology market?

The global nanotechnology market size was USD 69.15 billion in 2022. It is expected to reach USD 248.56 billion by 2030.

How fast is the nanotechnology market growing?

The global nanotechnology market will exhibit a CAGR of 17.8% during the forecast period, 2023-2030.





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Fortune Business Insights offers expert corporate analysis and accurate data, helping organizations of all sizes make timely decisions. We tailor innovative solutions for our clients, assisting them to address challenges distinct to their businesses. Our goal is to empower our clients with holistic market intelligence, giving a granular overview of the market they are operating in.

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Wilmington, Delaware, Oct. 05, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Middle East Refining and Petrochemicals Market is estimated at a capacity of 12.8 million barrels per day in 2023 and is expected to grow at a significant CAGR of over 3.9% over the forecast period of 2023-2030, according to the latest market report by RationalStat

Market Definition, Market Scope, and Report Overview

The Middle East refining and petrochemicals market refers to the industry that processes crude oil and natural gas to create refined petroleum products (such as petrol, diesel, jet fuel, and other fuels) and petrochemical products (such as plastics, chemicals, and fertilizers).

Oil and gas exports are vital to the economies of Middle Eastern countries. Refining and petrochemical products are substantial export goods that contribute significantly to regional economic growth. Middle Eastern governments assist and invest in the refining and petrochemical sectors to improve infrastructure, research, and development. This assistance hastens the industry's expansion and modernization.

According to a deep-dive market assessment by RationalStat, the Middle East Refining and Petrochemicals market has been analyzed on the basis of market segments, type, and geography/regions (including GCC, Iran, Iraq, Turkey, Rest of the Middle East) . The report also offers global and regional market sizing for the historical period of 2019-2022 and the forecast period of 2023-2030.

. The report also offers global and regional market sizing for the historical period of 2019-2022 and the forecast period of 2023-2030. Market intelligence for the Middle East Refining and Petrochemicals market covers market sizes on the basis of market value (US$/EUR Million) and volume (Barrels per Day) by various products/services/equipment, demand assessment across the key regions, customer sentiments, price points, cost structures, margin analysis across the value chain, financial assessments, historical and forecast data, key developments across the industry, import-export data, trade overview, components market by leading companies, etc.

In addition, the long-term sector and products/services 10-year outlook and its implications on the Middle East Refining and Petrochemicals market. It also includes the industry's current state  Production Levels, Capacity Utilization, Tech quotient, etc. Key information will be manufacturing capacity by country, installed base, import volumes, market size, key players, market size, dynamics, market data, insights, etc.

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Middle East Refining and Petrochemicals Market: Segmental and Market Share Analysis

On the basis of type, refining segment is expected to dominate the Middle East refining and petrochemicals market. Middle Eastern countries have invested heavily in refining capacities to process crude oil into various refined petroleum products.





Report Synopsis

Report Metrics Details Base Year 2023 Forecast Period 2023-2030 Base Year Market Size 12.8 mbd Market Size Forecast 16.7 mbd Growth Rate 3.9% Key Market Drivers Increasing investments in mega projects

Government supports and initiatives

Advanced refining technologies Companies Profiled Saudi Aramco

Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC)

Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (KPC)

Qatar Petroleum (QP)

Bahrain Petroleum Company (BAPCO)

Oman Oil Company (OOC)

Petrochemical Industries Company (PIC)

National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC)

Royal Dutch Shell

Total S.A.

BP

ExxonMobil

Chevron

Eni S.p.A.

Gazprom

Rosneft

Sinopec

China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC)

China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC)

Petronas

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Competition Analysis and Market Structure

Prominent companies and leading players adopt various strategies in order to reinforce their market share and gain a competitive edge over other competitors in the market. Mergers & acquisitions, partnerships and collaborations, and product launches are some of the strategies followed by industry players. Some of the key developments in the Middle East refining and petrochemicals market include.

In April 2023, Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc) signed two significant agreements with Japanese firms to expand the UAE-Japan low-carbon hydrogen value chain.

Some of the prominent players and suppliers operating and contributing significantly to the Middle East refining and petrochemicals market growth include Saudi Aramco, Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC), Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (KPC), Qatar Petroleum (QP), Bahrain Petroleum Company (BAPCO), Oman Oil Company (OOC), Petrochemical Industries Company (PIC), National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC), Royal Dutch Shell, Total S.A., BP, ExxonMobil, Chevron, Eni S.p.A., Gazprom, Rosneft, Sinopec, China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC), China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC), and Petronas, among others.

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RationalStat has segmented the Middle East refining and petrochemicals market based on type and region

Middle East Refining and Petrochemicals Market Value (US$ Million), Volume (Barrels per Day), and Market Share (2019-2030) Analysis by Type Petrochemical Ethylene Propylene Butadiene Benzene Xylene Toluene Methanol Refining

Middle East Refining and Petrochemicals Market Value (US$ Million), Volume (Barrels per Day), and Market Share (2019-2030) Analysis by Region Middle East Refining and Petrochemicals Market GCC Iran Iraq Turkey Rest of the Middle East



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Key Questions Answered in the Refining and Petrochemicals Report:

What will be the market value of the Middle East Refining and Petrochemicals market by 2030?

What is the market size of the Middle East Refining and Petrochemicals market?

What are the market drivers of the Middle East Refining and Petrochemicals market?

What are the key trends in the Middle East Refining and Petrochemicals market?

Which is the leading region in the Middle East Refining and Petrochemicals market?

What are the major companies operating in the Middle East Refining and Petrochemicals market?

What are the market shares by key segments in the Middle East Refining and Petrochemicals market?

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Research Methodology

RationalStat has developed a state-of-the-art research methodology to crunch numbers and provide the best possible real-time insights to clients. We combine a varied range of industry experience, data analytics, and experts viewpoint to create a research methodology for market sizing and forecasting.

RationalStat combines a mix of secondary sources as well as primary research to assess the market size and develop a forecast. Key steps involved in accurately deriving the market numbers are:

Defining the problem by understanding the type of market and data required by the client.

Data gathering and collection through relevant paid databases, publicly available sources, company reports, annual reports, surveys, and interviews.

Formulating a hypothesis to create market numbers, forecasts, influencing factors, and their relevance.

Evaluating and analyzing the data by referring to data sources utilized and leveraged.

Validating, interpreting, and finalizing the data by combining the details gathered from primary and secondary sources with the help of experienced analysts.

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About RationalStat LLC

RationalStat is an end-to-end global market intelligence and consulting company that provides comprehensive market research reports, customized strategy, and consulting studies. The company has sales offices in India, Mexico, and the US to support global and diversified businesses. The company has over 80 consultants and industry experts, developing more than 850 market research and industry reports for its report store annually.

RationalStat has strategic partnerships with leading data analytics and consumer research companies to cater to the clients needs. Additional services offered by the company include consumer research, country reports, risk reports, valuations and advisory, financial research, due diligence, procurement and supply chain research, data analytics, and analytical dashboards.

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Amadeus, global leader in travel technology, has entered strategic partnership with Bahwan Travel Agencies, prominent player in Oman's travel industry. This collaboration aims to enrich Bahwan Travel Agencies' product portfolio and elevate customer experience in Oman market.

The partnership will see Bahwan Travel Agencies employing cutting-edge solutions from Amadeus, including Amadeus Web Services, Selling Platform and Productivity Suite. These state-of-the-art tools enhance operational efficiency, streamline booking process, and empower travel agencies to provide more personalized and seamless services to customers.

The key solutions Bahwan Travel Agencies will implement is Amadeus All Fares for shopping and Amadeus Robotics for fare optimisation. These will enable agency to offer travellers comprehensive and optimised fares suitable for travellers, ultimately enhancing their overall journey planning experience.

The partnership also delivers Amadeus Ticket Changer for faster, automated ticket re-issue and refund capabilities, Quality Control Smart Scripts, and other tools to ensure smoother and hassle-free operations.

Biju Antony, General Manager of Bahwan Travel Agencie, said: "At Bahwan Travel Agencies, our commitment is to provide exceptional travel experiences for customers. Partnering with Amadeus aligns perfectly with our vision, as their solutions are renowned for innovation and reliability. We believe this collaboration will help us take our customer service to new heights and deliver seamless and personalized travel experiences."

Ernesto Sanchez Beaumont, Managing Director of Amadeus Gulf, expressed his excitement about partnership, stating: As an industry, we only progress by working together. Thats why we are thrilled to collaborate with Bahwan Travel Agencies in bringing latest Amadeus travel technology to take travel experience to next level.

Our solutions are designed to drive efficiency and elevate customer service, and we are confident that Bahwan Travel Agencies LLC will greatly benefit from implementing these state-of-the-art tools, reinforced by our commitment to offering best of support to our clients."

The partnership between Bahwan Travel Agencies and Amadeus represents a significant step forward for Oman's travel industry, promising enhanced services, efficient operations, and more customer-centric approach. With Amadeus' proven technology and Bahwan Travel Agencies' market expertise, this collaboration helps achieve goal of inspired choices and journeys without stress in the Sultanate of Oman.  TradeArabia News Service
AMD CEO Lisa Su on the GPU shortage, the AI revolution, and Nvidia | Decoder

Sep 29, 2023

At this years Code Conference, the CEO of one the worlds largest computer chip companies discusses competing with Nvidias leading GPU, AI regulation, and the global supply chain.

0:00 Intro

1:50 Interview

2:00 Lamini announcement

3:14 Chip market

5:24 CHIPS and Science Act

8:26 TSMC

8:50 Huawei seven-nanometer chip

10:11 Nvidia

13:40 CUDA and ROCm

15:44 PyTorch

18:03 Microsoft

18:50 Consumer prices and AI

20:55 Regulation

23:48 Gaming

24:24 Audience Q&A
CHICAGO and DUBAI, United Arab Emirates, Oct. 05, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Global luxury real estate brand Christies International Real Estate is expanding to Ras al Khaimah City, one of the fastest-growing luxury destinations in the UAE. The new office is owned by managing partners Dinesh Chhatwani and Jackie Johns, who have been Christies International Real Estates exclusive affiliates in Dubai since 2021.

Located 90 km/50 mi northeast of Dubais city center and set between the Persian Gulf and the Hajar Mountains, Ras Al Khaimah City has become a popular getaway for UAE residents, as well as a burgeoning location for international and local real estate buyers and investors. Its population is expected to increase by as much as 60% by 2030, and the city welcomed more visitors in the first six months of 2023 than in any other year in its history.

Meanwhile, developers continue to introduce new projects to keep up with demand. Several high-end hotels and branded residences are underway on Al Marjan Island , a set of four connected manmade islands in the Persian Gulf. They include Nobu Al Marjan Island, a new Le Meridien property, the newly announced Nikki Beach Residences, and the largest hotel development in the region to date, Wynn Al Marjan Island, a $3.9 billion megaresort expected to open in 2027.

Ras al Khaimah City offers an ideal blend of affordable luxury, investment opportunities and new possibilities for development. Its lower price points compared with Dubai and its central location  one-third of the worlds population is within a four-hour flight from the city  along with the ability for foreign nationals to legally purchase properties in the region, have made the area increasingly attractive to international buyers and investors. Ras al Khaimah was the second emirate of the UAE to allow foreign freehold property ownership and was the first emirate to pass a law granting foreign nationals property rights. The expansion of its 10-year Golden visa program has also helped to spur international interest in UAE real estate.

The incredible momentum and untapped opportunity for high-end real estate in Ras al Khaimah make this the perfect time for Christies International Real Estate to enter the market, said Johns. The area is poised to be the next center of luxury real estate in the Middle East, and quite possibly the world. The location is ideal, with beautiful beaches, mountains, and the nearby Ras al Khaimah International Airport, while incentives like the Golden visa program and incredibly low taxes make purchasing in the city a smart move.

Additionally, the dearth of available properties in Dubai has helped turn buyers onto the area, according to Chhatwani. As demand continues to far outpace supply in Dubai, prospective buyers are increasingly considering Ras al Khaimah, which offers a similar level of luxury but lower prices and less competition. Its like Dubai in 2004.

Christies International Real Estate has already planted a flag in Ras al Khaimah, as exclusive representatives of the $115 million Falcon Island Beach Villas in the award-winning, master-planned Al Hamra Village. The firm plans to announce additional partnerships in the coming months.

Were proud to partner with Ms. Johns and Mr. Chhatwani to bring Christies International Real Estates bespoke service, best in class marketing, and worldwide network to home buyers and sellers in Ras al Khaimah City, one of the worlds fastest-growing luxury destinations, said Helena de Forton, managing director and head of EMEA and APAC for Christies International Real Estate. Their team has expertly guided clients through Dubais unprecedented property market, and we look forward to their success in this new location.

Ras al Khaimah is one of a number of global markets in which Christies International Real Estate has expanded recently. Within the past 18 months, the brand has announced new market-leading affiliates in London, Munich, Sydney, Los Angeles, the Swiss, French and Italian Alps, several Caribbean islands, Miami and other locations around the world.

Christies International Real Estate Dubai recently opened its third office, at the Dubai International Financial Centre, the leading financial hub in the MEASA region. The firm was also recently appointed as the exclusive sales agent for Eywa, a collection of waterfront residences in Dubai with ancient knowledge systems, state-of-the-art technologies and nature-inspired interiors designed to revolutionize luxury well-being.

###

About Christies International Real Estate Dubai

Christies International Real Estate Dubai is a British-run luxury real estate company that provides unrivalled expertise and services to clients in the UAE and international property markets. As an affiliate of Christies International Real Estate, the firm is part of an invite-only global network that represents the worlds most desirable homes. Its esteemed clientele benefit from exclusive connections and opportunities across nearly 50 different countries and territories. The firm proudly facilitates seamless buying, selling, renting and investing processes with international reach, global marketing opportunities and a distinguished 250-year legacy.

About Christies International Real Estate

Christies International Real Estate has successfully marketed high-value real estate around the world for more than 30 years. Through its invitation-only Affiliate network spanning nearly 50 countries and territories, Christies International Real Estate offers incomparable services to a global clientele at the luxury end of the residential property market.

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Dublin, Oct. 05, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The "Canada Procedures performed using NPWT Devices Count and Forecast to 2030" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.



This report is a comprehensive databook report, covering key procedures data on the Canada Procedures Performed Using NPWT Devices.



The Canada Procedures Performed Using NPWT Devices report provides key information and data on procedure volume data for Procedures Performed Using NPWT Devices related to the country. Data is provided from 2015 to 2030.

Reasons to Buy

Business strategies by identifying the key segments poised for strong growth in the future.

Market-entry and market expansion strategies.

Develop investment strategies by identifying the key segments expected to register strong growth in the near future.

Key Topics Covered:



1 Table of Contents

1.1 List of Tables

1.2 1 List of Figures



2 Introduction

2.1 What Is This Report About?

2.2 Procedures Performed Using NPWT Devices, Segmentation

2.3 Definitions of Procedures Covered in the Report



3 Procedures Performed Using NPWT Devices

3.1 Procedures Performed Using NPWT Devices, Canada, 2015-2030



4 Research Methodology

4.1 Coverage

4.2 Secondary Research

4.3 Primary Research

4.4 Market Modeling and Forecasting

4.5 Company Share Analysis

4.6 Distribution Share Analysis

4.7 Benchmarking

4.8 Consulting

5 Appendix



For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/2zx9or



Source: GlobalData

About ResearchAndMarkets.com

ResearchAndMarkets.com is the world's leading source for international market research reports and market data. We provide you with the latest data on international and regional markets, key industries, the top companies, new products and the latest trends.
Dublin, Oct. 05, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The "Cislunar Infrastructure Market - A Global and Regional Analysis: Focus on Technology and Country - Analysis and Forecast, 2023-2033" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

Global Cislunar Infrastructure Market is projected to reach a value of $14.64 billion by 2033 from $4.74 billion in 2023, growing at a CAGR of 11.94%

The cislunar infrastructure market is rapidly emerging as a critical sector within the space industry, driven by the increasing interest in lunar exploration and commercial activities beyond Earth's orbit.

Europe stands out as the fastest-growing market globally, boasting a remarkable CAGR of 12.80%. The European region is poised to play a pivotal role in advancing cislunar infrastructure, thanks to its abundant cislunar infrastructure players and robust international collaborations. Europe Space Agency (ESA) takes a prominent role in major cislunar initiatives, including NASA's Artemis program, Roscosmos's Luna program, and China's International Lunar Research Station (ILRS) program.

Within Europe, the Rest-of-Europe segment leads the charge in the burgeoning cislunar infrastructure market, set to surge at a noteworthy CAGR of 13.18%. The Rest-of-Europe category primarily encompasses influential nations like Germany, Russia, Luxembourg, Italy, and the Netherlands.

The propulsion system sector is laser-focused on pioneering cutting-edge engines and propulsion technologies that enable efficient and dependable transportation within cislunar space. These systems are pivotal for lunar landers, cargo missions, and crewed spacecraft to navigate the Moon's vicinity effectively. Key areas of emphasis encompass high-thrust engines, electric propulsion systems, propellant transfer, storage systems, and innovative propulsion concepts aimed at cost reduction and mission enhancement.

The communication systems realm addresses the indispensable need for robust and seamless communication networks in cislunar space. Relay satellites play a vital role in facilitating continuous, high-bandwidth communication between Earth and lunar missions, enabling data transmission, teleoperation, and real-time astronaut interaction. Advanced communication systems boasting substantial data capacity, low latency, and resilience against deep space interference are pivotal for supporting the growing complexity of lunar missions and future commercial ventures.

The development of cislunar space stations emerges as a prime market opportunity, essential for sustaining prolonged crewed missions and serving as a staging point for lunar surface exploration. These space stations provide astronaut-friendly living and working environments, along with essential resources and infrastructure for scientific research, technology demonstrations, and lunar gateway operations. The space station segment encompasses habitation modules, life support systems, research facilities, docking mechanisms, radiation shielding, and power generation capabilities.

In-space transportation systems play a pivotal role in ferrying payloads, equipment, and personnel between Earth, the Moon, and other cislunar destinations. This market segment encompasses diverse transportation platforms, including reusable lunar landers, lunar ascent vehicles, cargo spacecraft, and crewed vehicles engineered to withstand the challenging lunar environment. The development of efficient transportation systems marked by affordability, reliability, and reusability is paramount in supporting a sustainable and economically viable cislunar infrastructure.

The cislunar infrastructure market has emerged as a cornerstone of the space industry, characterized by a plethora of technological advancements and enticing commercial prospects. Situated between Earth and the Moon, cislunar space presents immense potential for a wide spectrum of activities, encompassing scientific research, space tourism, satellite deployment, resource extraction, and serving as a gateway for deep space exploration missions.

Market Segmentation

The cislunar infrastructure market is led by the communication systems segment, with a 46.78% share in 2023. The communication systems segment is the leading segment in the cislunar infrastructure market due to its pivotal role in enabling connectivity between the Earth, Moon, and deep space destinations.

These advanced systems enable seamless data transmission, command and control operations, and real-time exchange of scientific and operational information within the cislunar domain. The continuous evolution of communication technologies in this sector is driving unprecedented advancements in data rates, signal quality, and operational capabilities.

Communication systems primarily encompass relay satellites, which play a pivotal role in establishing reliable and high-bandwidth communication links across vast distances. These satellites serve as intermediaries, receiving signals from Earth-based stations and transmitting them to spacecraft or lunar surface installations, ensuring constant connectivity for various mission requirements.

These satellites are strategically positioned in space, in orbits such as geostationary orbit (GEO) or highly elliptical orbits (HEOs), to optimize coverage and minimize signal propagation delays.

Key Market Players and Competition Synopsis

In the global cislunar infrastructure market, established commercial players and legacy companies account for 65% of the market, and NewSpace Companies and Startups account for 35% of the market.

The primordial established commercial players and legacy companies are SpaceX, Northrop Grumman, Blue Origin, United Launch Alliance (ULA), Lockheed Martin, and Thales Alenia Space. The primordial NewSpace companies and startups include Rocket Lab, Astrobotic, Momentus Space, Moon Express, and Space Machines Company, among others.

Key Attributes:

Report Attribute Details No. of Pages 119 Forecast Period 2023 - 2033 Estimated Market Value (USD) in 2023 $4.74 Billion Forecasted Market Value (USD) by 2033 $14.64 Billion Compound Annual Growth Rate 11.9% Regions Covered Global

Growth Opportunities and Recommendations

Cislunar Communication Infrastructure Developers

Growth Opportunity: Cislunar Communication Systems

Cislunar Infrastructure Players and Associates

Growth Opportunity: Cislunar ISRU Opportunities and In-Space Manufacturing

Launch Vehicle Developers and In-Space Logistics Facilitators

Growth Opportunity: Facilitating elements in the cislunar stations and the in-space transportation and orbital services ecosystem.

Business Dynamics

Business Drivers

Demand for Lunar Resources

Strategic Importance of Cislunar Space

Business Opportunities

Need for Situational Awareness and Communications Infrastructure

Inter-Orbital Transportation and Cislunar Surface Transportation

Requirement for On-Orbit Servicing

Business Strategies

Mergers and Acquisitions

Corporate Strategies

Partnerships, Collaborations, Agreements, and Contracts

Business Challenges

Cislunar Regulations

Challenges in Energy Collection and Distribution for Cislunar Infrastructure Requirements

Constraints in International Partnership

Industry Outlook

Ongoing and Upcoming Programs

NASA's Lunar Orbital Platform-Gateway

ESA's Moonlight Initiative

ULA Cislunar-1000

China National Space Administration's (CNSA) International Lunar Research Station (ILRS)

CSA's Lunar Exploration Accelerator Program (LEAP)

Startups and Investment Landscape

Supply Chain Analysis

Value Chain Analysis

Prominent Players

SpaceX

Blue Origin

Northrop Grumman

Astrobotic

United Launch Alliance (ULA)

The Exploration Company

Momentus Space

Crescent Space Services, LLC

Moon Express

Mission Control Space Services Inc.

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ResearchAndMarkets.com is the world's leading source for international market research reports and market data. We provide you with the latest data on international and regional markets, key industries, the top companies, new products and the latest trends.

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Dublin, Oct. 05, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The "Metaverse in Energy - Thematic Intelligence" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

This report shows how the metaverse is impacting energy operations globally and provides an understanding how the metaverse is adding value to energy operations.

The metaverse includes digital twins, VR and AR, and blockchain. All of these technologies, especially digital twins, have been integrated into energy companies' business operations for many years now. As metaverse technologies develop, and as energy operations expand, the potential impact of the metaverse on the energy sector will grow.



The metaverse is an important theme for the energy sector because technologies such as digital twins, VR, and AR can add real value in industrial environments. Firstly, energy companies rely on a vast range of industrial assets, and digital twins can support the predictive maintenance of these assets and monitor their performance. AR-based remote assistance solutions can also improve the efficiency of maintenance work.

Secondly, employees need to be trained safely and effectively, and VR tools can simulate real-life physical environments. This enables employees to familiarize themselves with the assets and functions they are responsible for in an immersive, consequence-free setting.

Key Topics Covered:

Executive Summary

The Metaverse Value Chain

Foundation layer

Tools layer

User interface layer

Experience layer

Energy Challenges

The Impact of the Metaverse on Energy

Case Studies

Data Analysis

Market size and growth forecasts

Mergers and acquisitions

Company filings trends

Hiring trends

Metaverse timeline

Companies

Leading metaverse adopters in energy

Leading metaverse vendors

Specialist metaverse vendors in energy

Sector Scorecards

Integrated oil and gas sector scorecard

Power utilities sector scorecard

A selection of companies mentioned in this report includes

Shell

BP

Saudi Arabian Oil Co

Equinor

Chevron

Petrobras

Exxon Mobil

Gazprom Neft

ADNOC

TotalEnergies

Sumitomo

Sinopec

PKN Orlen

PTT

Qatar Energy

Kuwait Petroleum

YPF

ONGC

Sonatrach

Sasol

Cenovus

Pemex

Rosneft

Ecopetrol

NIOC

Tatneft

PDVSA

Iberdrola

EDF Energy

Engie

Enel

E.ON

Rosatom

Fortum

Centerpoint Energy

AES

Alliant Energy

CLP Holdings

EGAT

China Huaneng Group

Taipower

China Huadian

RusHydro

China Datang

Eksom

PT PLN

Inter Rao

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/qbwmt7



Source: GlobalData

About ResearchAndMarkets.com

ResearchAndMarkets.com is the world's leading source for international market research reports and market data. We provide you with the latest data on international and regional markets, key industries, the top companies, new products and the latest trends.
Pune, India, Oct. 05, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The global meal vouchers & employee benefits solutions market size was valued at USD 214.36 billion in 2022 and is anticipated to grow from USD 221.99 billion in 2023 to USD 346.65 billion by 2030, exhibiting a CAGR of 6.6% during the forecast period.

This information is published by Fortune Business Insights, in its report titled, Meal Vouchers & Employee Benefits Solutions Market, 2023-2030.

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Leading Players Featured in the Research Report:

Companies leading the meal vouchers & employee benefits solutions market are Monizze NV SA (Belgium), Spendit AG (Germany), Alelo Brasil (Brazil), Axis Bank Ltd (India), Rakuten Group Inc. (Japan), Unum Group (U.S.), Cinqo Group (Bahrain), Edenred SA (France), Sodexo Group (France), Circula GmbH (Germany), CIRFOOD (Italy), and more.

Report Coverage:

The research report provides a detailed analysis of the market and focuses on crucial aspects such as leading companies and product types. Besides, the report encompasses the latest market trends, market segments, and highlights vital industry developments. In addition to the factors mentioned above, the market analysis encompasses several factors that have contributed to the markets growth in recent years.

Drivers and Restraints:

Growing Awareness of Financial Benefits to Boost Market Growth

The meal voucher system is profitable for both the employees and employers as it has several fiscal benefits. Employers' social insurance changes can be waived if they offer a voucher, and the employee can enjoy tax benefits by using these vouchers. Additionally, such programs have proved to increase employee productivity due to superior quality meals and other advantages offered such as discounts on train/bus tickets or gift vouchers and holidays. Consequently, employers play a vital role in boosting employee engagement at their workplace and presenting benefits that will accelerate the meal vouchers & employee benefits solutions market growth.

However, the high prices of meal vouchers & employee benefits solutions might restrict their demand among small-sized enterprises. Furthermore, data security concerns with respect to using digital meal vouchers might also limit the demand for meal voucher solutions.

Browse Summary of this Research Report:

https://www.fortunebusinessinsights.com/meal-voucher-and-employee-benefit-solutions-market-104412

COVID-19 Impact:

COVID-19 Pandemic-Induced Restaurant Closures Hindered Market Growth

The COVID-19 pandemic compelled many restaurants, food courts, and hotels to shut down their business. Due to this, working professionals found it difficult to dine in restaurants and cafeterias. This factor had a negative impact on the companies revenues from such services and the market of meal vouchers & employee benefits solutions observed a slowdown in revenue generation.

What are the factors driving applications of the Meal Vouchers & Employee Benefits Solutions Market?

Corporate Wellness Programs: Many organizations are increasingly focusing on the well-being of their employees. Meal vouchers and employee benefit solutions are often integrated into corporate wellness programs to promote a healthy work-life balance. These programs can include subsidized meals, fitness benefits, and mental health support.

Many organizations are increasingly focusing on the well-being of their employees. Meal vouchers and employee benefit solutions are often integrated into corporate wellness programs to promote a healthy work-life balance. These programs can include subsidized meals, fitness benefits, and mental health support. Tax Benefits: In several countries, providing meal vouchers and certain employee benefits can have tax advantages for both employers and employees. These tax incentives encourage businesses to offer these solutions as part of their compensation packages.

In several countries, providing meal vouchers and certain employee benefits can have tax advantages for both employers and employees. These tax incentives encourage businesses to offer these solutions as part of their compensation packages. Employee Retention: Offering attractive benefits, including meal vouchers, can enhance employee satisfaction and retention. When employees feel that their needs are being met beyond just their salaries, they are more likely to stay with their current employers.

Offering attractive benefits, including meal vouchers, can enhance employee satisfaction and retention. When employees feel that their needs are being met beyond just their salaries, they are more likely to stay with their current employers. Cost Control: Employers can control costs by offering meal vouchers instead of traditional meal allowances or canteen services. This approach allows them to allocate a fixed budget for employee meals, making financial planning more predictable.

Employers can control costs by offering meal vouchers instead of traditional meal allowances or canteen services. This approach allows them to allocate a fixed budget for employee meals, making financial planning more predictable. Compliance and Regulations: In some regions, labor laws mandate the provision of certain benefits to employees. Meal vouchers can help employers stay compliant with these regulations, avoiding legal issues and penalties.

In some regions, labor laws mandate the provision of certain benefits to employees. Meal vouchers can help employers stay compliant with these regulations, avoiding legal issues and penalties. Convenience and Flexibility: Meal vouchers offer employees the flexibility to choose their preferred dining options, which can include restaurants, cafes, or even food delivery services. This convenience is appealing to many workers.

Meal vouchers offer employees the flexibility to choose their preferred dining options, which can include restaurants, cafes, or even food delivery services. This convenience is appealing to many workers. Digital Transformation: The integration of digital solutions in the meal voucher and employee benefits market has made it easier for employers to manage and distribute benefits. Digital platforms and mobile apps provide employees with quick access to their benefits.

The integration of digital solutions in the meal voucher and employee benefits market has made it easier for employers to manage and distribute benefits. Digital platforms and mobile apps provide employees with quick access to their benefits. Changing Work Habits: With more people working remotely or in flexible arrangements, traditional workplace amenities like cafeterias may not be accessible. Meal vouchers offer a way for employees to enjoy meals while working from different locations.

Segments:

Employee Benefits Segment to Lead due to High Demand from Business Organizations

Based on product type, the market is segmented into meal vouchers and employee benefits. The employee benefits segment is expected to hold a dominating meal vouchers & employee benefits market share as organizations are increasingly demanding employee benefits solutions to satisfy their employees needs and improve their purchasing power and motivation level.

The global market is analyzed across North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, South America, and the Middle East & Africa.

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Regional Insights:

Europe Market to Show Notable Growth Due to Supportive Government Policies

Europe is predicted to capture the largest meal vouchers & employee benefits solutions market share as the regional governments are introducing favorable policies to promote the implementation of meal vouchers and employee benefits solutions. Many leading players in this market are trying to expand their presence across Europe by acquiring the regions top employee benefit solution providers. These factors will fuel the regional market growth.

The North America market is anticipated to account for a major market share during the forecast period as the region has a vast presence of leading employee benefit solution providers. Many American companies are also becoming aware of employee perks, further accelerating the regional market expansion.

Detailed Table of Content:

Introduction Research Scope Market Segmentation Research Methodology Definitions and Assumptions

Executive Summary

Market Dynamics Market Drivers Market Restraints Market Opportunities Emerging Trends

Key Insights Overview of the Parent/Related Markets Industry SWOT Analysis Supply Chain and Regulatory Analysis Recent Industry Developments - Policies, Partnerships, New Product Launches, and Mergers & Acquisitions Qualitative Analysis (in relation to COVID-19) Impact of COVID-19 Supply Chain Challenges Potential Opportunities due to COVID-19

Global Meal Vouchers & Employee Benefits Solutions Market Analysis, Insights and Forecast, 2019-2030 Key Findings / Summary Market Size Estimates and Forecast By Product Type (Value) Meal Vouchers Employee Benefits Ring By Meal Vouchers (Value) Book Card Digital Card By Employee Benefits (Value) Meal Gift Travel Others By Region (Value) North America Europe Asia Pacific South America Middle East & Africa



TOC Continued...!

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Competitive Landscape:

Key Companies to Execute Merger & Acquisition Strategies to Cement Their Market Positions

The top companies involved in the market are focusing on expanding their business operations by signing merger & acquisition agreements to cement their market positions. For example, in May 2020, Edenred announced the acquisition of Brazil-based Cooper Cards client portfolio, which specializes in offering employee benefits solutions. The acquisition was expected to strengthen Edenreds position in the South American market. These initiatives will help the leading market players expand their geographical presence.

Key Industry Developments:

October 2021: Edenred Benefits, a prominent meal voucher & employee advantages solution in the U.S. for meal cards and mobility solutions, introduced Edenred Guaranteed Rides, a program that offers employees a wide range of transportation choices.

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Comic Book Market Size to Hit USD 22.37 Billion by 2030 | 160 Pages Research Report

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Pune, India, Oct. 05, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The global docking system market size was valued at USD 56.45 million in 2022 and is expected to expand from USD 65.04 million in 2023 to USD 139.91 million by 2030, exhibiting a CAGR of 11.6% over the study period. The market expansion can be credited to the growing fleet of aircraft and maintenance needs. The docking system offers all necessary services to aircraft and helps ensure its safe parking.

Fortune Business Insights provides this information in its research report titled Docking System Market, 2023-2030.

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List of Key Players Profiled in the Docking System Market Report:

Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Ltd. (Japan)

NIJL Aircraft Docking (Netherlands)

Semmco (U.K.)

Fortal (France)

Shanghai Ifly GSE Co., Ltd. (China)

Airbus (Netherlands)

Boeing (U.S.)

Instant Upright (Irelands)

CTI Systems S.A. (Luxembourg)

Zarges (Germany)

Report Scope & Segmentation:

Report Coverage Details Forecast Period 2023-2030 Forecast CAGR 11.6% 2030 Value Projection USD 139.91 Billion Market Size in 2023 USD 65.04 Billion Historical Data 2019-2021 No. of Pages 180 Report Coverage Revenue Forecast, Company Profiles, Competitive Landscape, Growth Factors and Latest Trends Segments Covered By Type Analysis

By Aircraft Type Analysis

By End User Analysis Regions Covered North America

Europe

Asia Pacific

South America

Middle East and Africa Docking System Market Growth Drivers Rise in Aircraft Fleet and Growth in New Airport Infrastructure to Drive the Market Growth Rise in Air Travel and Number of Flights per Aircraft to Boost the Market Growth

Browse Detailed Summary of Research Report with TOC:

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Segmentation:

Significant Overhauls in Engine Docks to Impel Segment Growth

Based on type, the market is divided into engine docks, wing docks, tail docks, fuselage docks, nose docks, and others. The engine docks segment is anticipated to account for the largest docking system market share during the forecast period. An engine needs to be cleaned, disassembled, and serviced after every 3,000 or more flight cycles based on the type. The engine docks are overhauled in a gap of every five years for less radical workshop visits. This factor is proliferating the segment growth.

Increase in Aircraft Fleet by Different Airlines to Accelerate Narrow Body Segment Growth

By aircraft type, the market is categorized into wide body, regional jet, narrow body, and others. The narrow body segment held the largest market share in 2022. The growth in aircraft fleets by different airlines is bolstering the segment growth.

Growth in Routine Maintenance Checks to Proliferate the MRO Segment Growth

On the basis of end user, the market is bifurcated into MRO and OEM. The MRO segment is poised to account for the largest market share during the forecast period. The surge in routine and scheduled maintenance checks is boosting the segment's growth.



From the regional perspective, the market has been analyzed across the Asia Pacific, the Middle East & Africa, Latin America, North America, and Europe.

COVID-19 Impact:

Reduction in Air Travel Hampered the Market Growth

The market witnessed a decline in the demand for aircraft manufacturing and maintenance due to decreased passenger air traffic and travel restrictions. The demand for line and unscheduled maintenance operations was also reduced due to the unavailability of aviation activity. Thus, these factors had a negative influence on the market.

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Report Coverage:

The docking system market report provides an in-depth analysis of the latest trends, driving, and restraining factors affecting the market growth. It further highlights the competitive landscape and the impact of COVID-19 on the market growth.

Drivers and Restraints:

Growing Number of Flights per Aircraft and Air Travels to Escalate the Market Growth

One of the major factors propelling the docking system market growth is the rising air travel and number of flights per aircraft. The growing demand for new aircraft production attributed to growth in air travel for personal use and business is accelerating the market growth.

Despite an expanding scope for the adoption of the product, the need for customization and the prohibitive cost related to product integration may impede the market growth.

Regional Insights:

North America to Dominate Owing to Surging Number of Aircrafts

North America market for docking system is anticipated to dominate during the forecast period. The growing number of aircraft and maintenance facilities in the region is impelling the market growth.

The Asia Pacific market for docking system is expected to grow at the highest CAGR during the forecast period, owing to the expanding aviation infrastructure in Japan, China, India, and others.



Competitive Landscape:

Prominent Companies Focus on Securing Contracts to Gain Competitive Edge

The key market players operating in the field are emphasizing different competitive strategies such as joint ventures, mergers and acquisitions, partnerships, and others. Several companies are also focusing on getting contracts to maximize their revenue.

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Detailed Table of Contents:

Introduction Research Scope Market Segmentation Research Methodology Definitions and Assumptions

Executive Summary

Market Dynamics Market Drivers Market Restraints Market Opportunities Market Trends

Key Insights Key Industry Developments - Key Contracts & Agreements, Mergers, Acquisitions and Partnerships Latest Technological Advancements Porters Five Forces Analysis Supply Chain Analysis Quantitative Insights - Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on Global Docking System Market

Global Docking System Market Analysis, Insights and Forecast, 2019-2030 Key Findings / Definition Market Analysis, Insights and Forecast - By Type Nose Docks Engine Docks Fuselage Docks Wing Docks Tail Docks Others Market Analysis, Insights and Forecast - By Aircraft Type Narrow Body Wide Body Regional Jet Others Market Analysis, Insights and Forecast - By End User OEM MRO



TOC Continued...!

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Key Industry Development:

March 2023- Tata Advanced Systems Ltd (TASL) received a contract from Airbus for making cargo and bulk cargo doors for the A320neo aircraft family.

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Aircraft Line Maintenance Market Size to Hit USD 28.73 Billion by 2029 | With 5.8% CAGR

Aircraft Aftermarket Parts Market to Reach USD 47.33 Billion by 2028, Supported by an In-Depth 200-Page Research Report

Aircraft Engine Market to Worth USD 112.61 Billion by 2029 | With a CAGR of 10.87%

About Us:

Fortune Business Insights delivers accurate data and innovative corporate analysis, helping organizations of all sizes make appropriate decisions. We tailor novel solutions for our clients, assisting them to address various challenges distinct to their businesses. Our aim is to empower them with holistic market intelligence, providing a granular overview of the market they are operating in.

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Pune, India, Oct. 05, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The global business jet market size was valued at USD 42.14 billion in 2022 and is anticipated to grow from USD 43.97 Billion in 2023 to USD 62.66 billion by 2030, exhibiting a CAGR of 5.19% during the forecast period.

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A business jet is made to carry a modest number of passengers. Recently, there has been a remarkable increase in high-net-worth tourists, increasing demand for private aviation and boosting business aircraft sales globally. The core and conventional pivots of business aviation are also still strong thanks to demand from corporate clients and high-net-worth people. Furthermore, it is projected that fleet modernization initiatives undertaken by major and developing countries would boost fleet capabilities and spur demand for new charter services with improved cabin interiors and cutting-edge avionics. Fortune Business Insights presents this information in their report titled "Global Business Jet Market, 20232030."

List of Key Players Profiled in the Business Jet Market Report:

Airbus SAS (Netherlands)

The Boeing Company (U.S.)

Bombardier (Canada)

Dassault Aviation (France)

Embraer SA (Brazil)

Gulfstream Aerospace Corporation (U.S.)

HondaJet (U.S.)

Textron, Inc. (U.S.)

Eviation Aircraft (Israel)

XTI. Aircraft (U.S.)

Zunum Aero (U.S.)

Joby Aviation (U.S.)

Report Scope & Segmentation:

Attributes Details Forecast Period 2023-2030 Forecast CAGR 5.19% 2030 Value Projection USD 62.66 billion Market Size in 2023 USD 43.97 billion Historical Data 2019-2021 No. of Pages 250 Report Coverage Revenue Forecast, Company Profiles, Competitive Landscape, Growth Factors and Latest Trends Segments Covered By Business Jet Type

By System

By End User Regions Covered North America

Europe

Asia Pacific

Latin America

Middle East and Africa Business Jet Market Growth Drivers Increase in Purchasing Power and Net Worth of Individuals and Increased Air Travel to Accentuate Market Growth Increase in Refurbishment of Pre-Owned Aircraft and Emergence of OEM Market Players Drive Market Growth

Browse Detailed Summary of Research Report with TOC:

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COVID-19 Impact:

Travel Restrictions Amid COVID-19 Severely Affected the Business Jets Market

Airport operations were halted during the pandemic. Global lockdown and strict travel laws resulted in the market plunging and impacted high individual net-worth. However, the post-pandemic market witnessed a huge of number of passengers, which is anticipated to increase market growth during the forecast period.

Segments:

Increased Business Travel resulted in Large Business Aircraft Dominating the Segment

The business jet type is segmented into light, mid-size, and large business aircraft. The large business aircraft held the largest market share due to the strong demand for business travel post-pandemic.

Demand from Leading Countries to Dominate Propulsion System

Based on the system, the market is divided into propulsion system, aero structure, cabin interiors, avionics, and others. Propulsion system will lead the market due to increasing demand from countries such as the U.S., UAE, and China.

Rising Net Worth of Individuals to Grow Private Segments Demand

The end-user segment is classified into operators and private end users. The demand for private jets from big corporations and high-net-worth individuals to drive segments growth.

Increased Demand of Renewed Aircraft to Dominate Preowned Segment during Projected Period

The market is divided into preowned and new deliveries based on ownership. Due to the availability of pre-owned aircraft, the pre-owned segment is expected to grow.

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Report Coverage:



 Major growth drivers, restraining factors, opportunities, and potential challenges for the market.

 Comprehensive insights into the regional developments.

 List of major industry players.

 Key strategies adopted by the market players.

 Latest industry developments include product launches, partnerships, mergers, and acquisitions.

Drivers & Restraints:

Individuals' Rising Purchasing Power, Net Worth, and Increased Air Travel will Highlight Market Expansion

The demand for new airports in important countries is projected to rise as air travel increases in developed and developing nations. In a post-pandemic scenario where the economy is gradually thriving and returning to the pre-pandemic position, this is due to increased people's general net worth and spending power, expanding the market for corporate jets. These factors are expected to increase the global business jet market share.

The general public cannot buy private jets as they are time confusing and non-affordable which may limit the global business jet market growth.

Regional Insights

North America Dominates the Market due to Rising Demand for Electric Aircraft

In 2022, North America dominated the market, worth USD 9.23 billion. Due to the existence of significant key players, the greatest fleet size, the rising demand for electric aircraft, and the accessibility of necessary infrastructure, the corporate aircraft market has been expanding throughout the region. The adoption of business aircraft in North America is initially driven by the rising demand for business jets in the U.S. and Canada.

Competitive Landscape

To Remain Competitive, Key Players are Committed to Offering a Range of Cost-Effective Services

Due to several significant participants, including Airbus SAS and The Boeing Company, the market's competitive landscape is highly fragmented. These businesses concentrate on offering the best corporate aircraft available. Additionally, hybrid engines with cutting-edge technology and strong partnerships with developing economies are anticipated by jet makers.

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Detailed Table of Contents:

Introduction Research Scope Market Segmentation Research Methodology Definitions and Assumptions

Executive Summary

Market Dynamics Market Drivers Market Restraints Market Opportunities

Key Insights Key Industry Developments  Key Contracts & Agreements, Mergers, Acquisitions and Partnerships Latest technological Advancements Porters Five Forces Analysis Supply Chain Analysis

Quantitative Insights-Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on Global Business Jet Market Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on Global Business Jet Market Steps Taken by Industry/Companies/Government to Overcome the Impact Key Development in the industry in Response to COVID-19 Pandemic Potential Opportunities due to COVID-19 Outbreak



TOC Continued!

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Key Industry Development:



May 2022  Bombardier Inc., an aircraft manufacturer headquartered in Canada, launched a long-range business jet named Global 8000. The new private jet is said to be the worlds fastest business jet, with a long range of 9,206 miles and a top speed of 721 miles per hour.

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LiDAR Drone Market is projected to grow USD 455.0 million by 2028, at a CAGR of 17.98%

Aero Wing Market Size to grow USD 20.35 billion in 2028 with exhibiting a CAGR of 8.98%

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Pune, India, Oct. 05, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The global tissue paper market size was valued at USD 80.99 billion in 2022 and is projected to grow from USD 85.81 billion in 2023 to USD 133.75 billion by 2030, exhibiting a CAGR of 6.55% during the forecast period.

Maintaining domestic cleanliness and hygiene requires the use of tissue paper. One of the main factors driving the demand for tissue products worldwide is the growing awareness of the importance of implementing appropriate sanitation and hygienic standards in homes and commercial settings. To keep workplaces clean and sanitary, a variety of tissue paper products are used in business settings, catering establishments, and hospitals. Consumers now favor sanitizing property-based hygiene products to prevent bacterial and viral illness and maintain their health. The market is expanding even more because of the growing customer demand for cutting-edge tissue products that offer improved protection against bacteria and viruses. Fortune Business Insights presents this information in their report titled "Global Tissue Paper Market, 20232030."

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Leading Players Featured in the Research Report:

Companies leading the tissue paper market are Von Drehle Corporation (U.S.), First Quality Tissue LLC (U.S.), Orchid Paper Products Company (U.S.), Kruger Inc. (Canada), Asian Pulp & Paper (China), Svenska Cellulosa AB (Sweden), Hengan (China), Croix Tissue (U.S.), AbitibiBowater Inc. (Canada), CMPC Tissue SA (Chile), Sofidel Group (Italy), and more.

Report Scope & Segmentation:

Report Attributes Details Forecast Period 2023-2030 Forecast CAGR 6.55% 2030 Value Projection USD 133.75 Billion Market Size in 2022 USD 80.99 Billion Historical Data 2019-2021 No. of Pages 195 Report Coverage Revenue Forecast, Company Profiles, Competitive Landscape, Growth Factors and Latest Trends Segments Covered By Product Type

By Application

By Region Regions Covered North America

Europe

Asia Pacific

Latin America

Middle East and Africa Tissue Paper Market Growth Drivers Product Innovation to Bode Well for Market Growth Increasing Necessities for Personal Care and Sanitation to Augment Market Development

Report Coverage:

The report offers:

 Major growth drivers, restraining factors, opportunities, and potential challenges for the market.

 Comprehensive insights into the regional developments.

 List of major industry players.

 Key strategies adopted by the market players.

 Latest industry developments include product launches, partnerships, mergers, and acquisitions.

Drivers & Restraints:

Personal Care and Sanitation Requirements are Rising, Which will Boost Market Growth

Because of the increasing importance of maintaining optimum health and cleanliness, everyone now uses tissue paper. These handy wiping items are frequently used to clean kitchen surfaces, hands, faces, and instruments in diagnostic and research labs. So, the main factor boosting increased product demand is the global rise in hygiene awareness. The Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations (FAO) reports that China's output of household and sanitary papers climbed from 10.99 million tons in 2020 to 11.25 million tons in 2021 for domestic and export use.

Growing environmental issues, including deforestation and global warming brought on by the removal of trees, constrain the market for products made of pulp and inhibit consumer demand, which stifles the global tissue paper market growth.

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COVID-19 Impact:

Hygiene Awareness in the Face of COVID-19 Pandemic to Speed Up Market Development

Customers use tissue paper more frequently to maintain their surroundings hygienic and tidy and thus prevent coronavirus infection. In order to avoid a lack of necessities under COVID-19 lockout limitations, they choose to stock up on toilet paper, wipes, and other grocery products. As a result of this reason, the pandemic has dramatically raised demand for facial wraps and wipes worldwide.

What are the factors driving applications of the Tissue Paper Market?

Hygiene Awareness: Increasing awareness of personal hygiene and sanitation is a significant driver for the tissue paper market. Tissue papers are widely used for personal care, such as facial tissues, toilet papers, and feminine hygiene products.

Increasing awareness of personal hygiene and sanitation is a significant driver for the tissue paper market. Tissue papers are widely used for personal care, such as facial tissues, toilet papers, and feminine hygiene products. Population Growth: As the global population continues to grow, the demand for tissue paper products, especially for daily essentials like toilet paper, napkins, and facial tissues, also increases.

As the global population continues to grow, the demand for tissue paper products, especially for daily essentials like toilet paper, napkins, and facial tissues, also increases. Urbanization: The trend of urbanization is driving the demand for tissue paper in urban areas where consumers have higher disposable incomes and access to modern retail outlets. Urban lifestyles often prioritize convenience and cleanliness, boosting the use of tissue paper products.

The trend of urbanization is driving the demand for tissue paper in urban areas where consumers have higher disposable incomes and access to modern retail outlets. Urban lifestyles often prioritize convenience and cleanliness, boosting the use of tissue paper products. Health and Wellness Trends: Consumers are increasingly seeking products that promote health and wellness. This includes tissue paper products with added features such as antibacterial properties, moisturization, and eco-friendly materials.

Consumers are increasingly seeking products that promote health and wellness. This includes tissue paper products with added features such as antibacterial properties, moisturization, and eco-friendly materials. Economic Factors: Economic stability and disposable income levels impact tissue paper consumption. As economies improve, consumers are more willing to spend on tissue paper products, including premium and specialized variants.

Economic stability and disposable income levels impact tissue paper consumption. As economies improve, consumers are more willing to spend on tissue paper products, including premium and specialized variants. Environmental Concerns: Growing environmental consciousness has led to the development of eco-friendly tissue paper products made from recycled materials or sustainable sources. Consumers are willing to choose such products, driving the market for eco-friendly tissue paper.

Growing environmental consciousness has led to the development of eco-friendly tissue paper products made from recycled materials or sustainable sources. Consumers are willing to choose such products, driving the market for eco-friendly tissue paper. E-commerce Growth: The growth of e-commerce has increased the convenience of purchasing tissue paper products online, expanding their reach to a wider consumer base.

The growth of e-commerce has increased the convenience of purchasing tissue paper products online, expanding their reach to a wider consumer base. Aging Population: The aging population tends to use tissue paper products more frequently for healthcare and personal care needs, contributing to increased demand.

Segments:

Segment for Bath & Toilet Tissue to Lead Due to High Usage of Cotton Towels And Napkins

Based on product type, the market is segmented into facial tissue, paper towels, wipes, bath & toilet tissue, and others. Due to the widespread use of cotton towels and napkins for bathroom sanitation, the bath & toilet segment dominates the market. There is a significant need for high-quality tissue products in the expanding tourist and modernizing hospitality industries.

Due to an Increase in Corporate Housing Facilities, the Commercial Sector will Dominate the Market

Based on the application, the market is segmented into household and commercial applications. Among the commercial uses are businesses like hotels, restaurants, and offices. Due to the large usage of tissues during meal service and table cleaning in hotels and restaurants, the commercial segment commands a sizeable market share.

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Regional Insights

Asia Pacific Dominates the Market due to Presence of Influential Economies in this Region

During the projected period, a sizable tissue paper market share is anticipated for the Asia Pacific region. This can be attributed to aspects like the expanding capacity of East Asian nations like China and Japan and the region's ability to produce goods made of wood. In 2019, there were roughly 2700 paper and board firms in mainland China, according to a China Paper Association (CPA) survey. Additionally, because of its enhanced utility in the expanding food and food services sector, the expansion is mostly coming from populated nations like China, India, and Japan, driving the total tissue paper market growth in the region.

Detailed Table of Contents:

Introduction Research Scope Market Segmentation Research Methodology Definitions and Assumptions

Executive Summary

Market Dynamics Market Drivers Market Restraints Market Opportunities Emerging Trends

Key Insights Overview of the Parent/Related Markets Industry SWOT Analysis Supply Chain and Regulatory Analysis Recent Industry Developments - Policies, Partnerships, New Product Launches, and Mergers & Acquisitions Qualitative Analysis (in relation to COVID-19) Impact of COVID-19 Supply Chain Challenges Potential Opportunities due to COVID-19

Global Tissue Paper Market Analysis, Insights and Forecast, 2019-2030 Key Findings / Summary Market Size Estimates and Forecast By Product Type (Value & Volume) Facial Tissue Paper Towel Wipes Bath & Toilet Tissue Others By Application (Value & Volume) Household Commercial By Region (Value & Volume) North America Europe Asia Pacific South America Middle East & Africa



TOC Continued...!

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Competitive Landscape

Growth of the Market Requires Innovation and Efficient Distribution Channels

Maintaining a company's capacity to produce tissue items requires an effective supply chain and inventory management. The market's top producer of products made from pulp, Svenska Cellulosa AB, is a well-known organization. To increase the absorbency of products made of paper and pulp and to efficiently utilize the raw material to increase environmental sustainability, the company employs product innovation as a business strategy. In order to attain the necessary returns on their market investments, well-known tissue paper industry players like CMPC and Hengan Inc. utilize a variety of investment strategies.

Key Industry Development:

June 2021: Renova, a Portuguese brand, launched Divine, its new toilet paper wrapped in recyclable and biodegradable paper. Renova focuses on product innovation by thinking about the environment and making consumers aware of the ecological impact of their purchases.

Read Related Insights:

Toilet Paper Market to Hit USD 38.34 Billion by 2027 | With a CAGR 4.9%

Europe Paper Towel Market to Hit USD 6.17 Billion by 2027; Rapid-Paced Industrialization Activities to Stimulate Growth, states Fortune Business Insights

Spa Services Market to Reach USD 259.26 Billion by 2030 | Fortune Business Insights

About Us:

Fortune Business Insights delivers accurate data and innovative corporate analysis, helping organizations of all sizes make appropriate decisions. We tailor novel solutions for our clients, assisting them to address various challenges distinct to their businesses. Our aim is to empower them with holistic market intelligence, providing a granular overview of the market they are operating in.

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MJP 300W jewelry printer raises bar on capability with improved speed, surface finish, and reliability including two new build modes



VisiJet  Wax Jewel Ruby endures high temperatures to maintain fine feature details of intricate patterns, enables presetting of stones for increased efficiency

Wax Jewel Ruby endures high temperatures to maintain fine feature details of intricate patterns, enables presetting of stones for increased efficiency New solution designed to address growing global 3D printed jewelry market  expected to exceed $22 billion by 2030



ROCK HILL, S.C., Oct. 05, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Today, 3D Systems (NYSE:DDD) announced the MJP 300W and VisiJet Wax Jewel Ruby - two additions to its portfolio of end-to-end solutions for jewelry manufacturing. The companys new MJP 300W is the most advanced and flexible of its wax 3D printers, capable of addressing a variety of jewelry manufacturing workflows with enhanced productivity, efficiency, quality, and design freedom. Additionally, 3D Systems new VisiJet Wax Jewel Ruby material is a tough, temperature-stable pure wax that provides the optimal combination of flexible material properties and good dimensional stability in high-temperature environments. As a result, it is possible to maintain details of the most intricate jewelry designs during the molding process, reducing the likelihood of breakage or distortion to enable a flawless final piece. The combination of this print platform and material is allowing producers of wax jewelry patterns  from high-volume manufacturers to custom jewelry makers  to more efficiently achieve new designs with greater design freedom and improved surface finish.

The use of 3D printing in the jewelry industry is anticipated to accelerate throughout the decade. According to a report released by Contrive Datum Insights in March 2023, the total addressable global 3D-printed jewelry market was more than $8 billion in 2022 and is expected to reach more than $22 billion by 2030. 3D printing has the potential to play an increasingly important role in jewelry manufacturing, enabling efficient design and production of unique patterns that are not possible to produce with conventional methods. This allows for mass customization by jewelry makers to meet consumers specific requirements in a rapidly changing marketplace. 3D Systems wax material portfolio, combined with its industry-leading 3D printing portfolio and software integration is well-positioned to play a pivotal role in accelerating the adoption of the technology.

New Wax Printer Model Enhances Resolution, Boosts Efficiency

With the introduction of the MJP 300W, 3D Systems is unveiling two new print modes, QHD and UHD. QHD mode enables more than 50% improved resolution in all axes (i.e., 2,000 dpi in X, 1,800 dpi in Y, 2,900 dpi in Z) and 9.5 m layer thickness as compared to the previous generation wax 3D printer. This delivers premium quality surface finish allowing designs to be produced with less finishing required. QHD also enables the printing of more complex designs where polishing is not practical or impossible. UHD mode offers 2x faster print speed than XHD on the ProJet MJP 2500W Plus, introduced earlier this year. UHD offers significantly increased throughput and reduces the labor required for finishing and polishing. The availability of four print modes (i.e., QHD, UHD, XHD, ZHD) offers improved flexibility in build planning for both day and night shifts to match the level of speed, geometric complexity, and surface quality required by all design styles.

The company has also made it easier to monitor a print jobs progress through the addition of an industrial stack light. This easy-to-see light can be conveniently positioned for the greatest visibility on the printer or an adjacent surface such as a desk or a cabinet. Additionally, reliability improvements through print head and hardware modifications increase the uptime by decreasing replacement frequency and lower the cost of ownership.

New 100% Wax Material Delivers Optimized Mechanical Properties

3D Systems VisiJet Wax Jewel Ruby is the companys most advanced material to deliver durable patterns that help create flawless final pieces. Patterns produced with VisiJet Wax Jewel Ruby have increased thermal stability as compared to the recently introduced VisiJet Wax Jewel Red. Additionally, patterns created using VisiJet Wax Jewel Ruby exhibit durability that enables them to resist breaking through normal handling and maintain their dimensional stability through shipping. This latest material also enables pre-setting of stones to accelerate the production of the final piece.

According to Shashidhar Kumar, partner, Shree Rapid Technologies, "We were pleased to have early access to this material for our jewelry manufacturing applications. Our experience has shown that is it very easy to handle, and delivers patterns with improved strength and flexibility, enabling us to provide higher quality, durable patterns to our customers. Additionally, the material is best suited for pre-setting stones, which is helping our customers improve efficiencies when creating pieces with intricate details."

Further expanding the extensive range of addressable designs, VisiJet Wax Jewel Ruby complements 3D Systems currently available wax materials  VisiJet Wax Jewel Red and VisiJet M2 Cast  which can also be used in conjunction with the MJP 300W.

"One of the greatest benefits of additive manufacturing is providing unlimited design freedom, which is especially important to unleash the creativity required by skilled artisans," said Marty Johnson, vice president, product & technical fellow, 3D Systems. "With the introduction of the MJP 300W and our new VisiJet Wax Jewel Ruby material, we are providing producers of wax jewelry casting patterns with enhanced capabilities to improve productivity and processes that ensure reliability. 3D Systems full system integration of the materials, printer, print process, and software which is strengthened by our application expertise and global customer success team is enabling our jewelry manufacturing customers to achieve new levels of innovation, quality, and reliability. The latest additions to our end-to-end solutions for jewelry manufacturing reinforce our commitment to addressing our customers needs to gain unprecedented levels of agility with ease of use that ensures high-quality results at any scale."

The MJP 300W and VisiJet Wax Jewel Ruby are both planned to be available in November 2023. Anyone who is attending the Istanbul Jewelry Show and would like to learn more is invited to stop by 3D Systems partner, Luka Teknik Malzeme Pazarlama Ltd.s booth (1F30). For more information on 3D Systems portfolio of end-to-end jewelry manufacturing solutions, please visit the companys website.

Forward-Looking Statements

Certain statements made in this release that are not statements of historical or current facts are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the company to be materially different from historical results or from any future results or projections expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. In many cases, forward-looking statements can be identified by terms such as "believes," "belief," "expects," "may," "will," "estimates," "intends," "anticipates" or "plans" or the negative of these terms or other comparable terminology. Forward-looking statements are based upon managements beliefs, assumptions, and current expectations and may include comments as to the companys beliefs and expectations as to future events and trends affecting its business and are necessarily subject to uncertainties, many of which are outside the control of the company. The factors described under the headings "Forward-Looking Statements" and "Risk Factors" in the companys periodic filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, as well as other factors, could cause actual results to differ materially from those reflected or predicted in forward-looking statements. Although management believes that the expectations reflected in the forward-looking statements are reasonable, forward-looking statements are not, and should not be relied upon as a guarantee of future performance or results, nor will they necessarily prove to be accurate indications of the times at which such performance or results will be achieved. The forward-looking statements included are made only as of the date of the statement. 3D Systems undertakes no obligation to update or review any forward-looking statements made by management or on its behalf, whether as a result of future developments, subsequent events or circumstances or otherwise.

About 3D Systems

More than 35 years ago, 3D Systems brought the innovation of 3D printing to the manufacturing industry. Today, as the leading additive manufacturing solutions partner, we bring innovation, performance, and reliability to every interaction - empowering our customers to create products and business models never before possible. Thanks to our unique offering of hardware, software, materials, and services, each application-specific solution is powered by the expertise of our application engineers who collaborate with customers to transform how they deliver their products and services. 3D Systems solutions address a variety of advanced applications in healthcare and industrial markets such as medical and dental, aerospace & defense, automotive, and durable goods. More information on the company is available at www.3dsystems.com.

Photos accompanying this announcement are available at:

https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/b95a98f6-64ac-46ea-895d-f39f3ad0b94b

https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/eefc4369-cae9-4381-b736-0e4b9795fb5d
CHICAGO, Oct. 05, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Halo Investing (Halo), an award-winning platform for Protective Investments, is delighted to announce the appointment of Hashbeer Ali as Executive Vice President  Institutional Sales for the Middle East & Africa at Halo Investing MEA Ltd., a regulated entity by ADGMs Financial Services Regulatory Authority. With a career spanning more than two decades in banking and derivatives sales, Hashbeer brings a wealth of experience and expertise to the Halo team.



Mr. Alis extensive career in the financial industry has been marked by a commitment to excellence and a deep understanding of derivatives markets. His background includes notable engagements with local banks, where he played a pivotal role in shaping and executing derivative strategies. His proven track record of delivering exceptional results and building strong client relationships aligns seamlessly with Halo Investings mission to grow access to innovative investment solutions.

We are thrilled to welcome Hashbeer Ali to the Halo family, said Sadiq Hussain, Senior Executive Officer. His impressive background and industry knowledge will be instrumental in advancing our institutional sales efforts and driving our mission to revolutionize the way structured investment products are accessed and managed.

Hashbeer Alis appointment reinforces Halo Investings commitment to building a team of industry leaders dedicated to delivering cutting-edge investment solutions to clients throughout the Middle East and Africa. His role as Executive Vice President  Institutional Sales will encompass developing and executing strategic sales initiatives while strengthening Halos presence in the institutional marketplace.

I am excited to join Halo Investing, a company that is at the forefront of innovation in the structured investment space, Hashbeer Ali commented. I look forward to leveraging my experience to contribute to Halos continued growth and success.

Hashbeer Alis addition to the Halo team is a significant milestone, marking the companys ongoing expansion and dedication to providing institutional clients with access to innovative and tailored investment solutions.

For media inquiries, please contact:

Halo Investing

Vladislav Moldavskiy

vlad.moldavskiy@haloinvesting.com

About Halo Investing

Halo Investing MEA Ltd. (Halo MEA) is licensed and regulated by Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM)s Financial Services Regulatory Authority (FSRA). Halo MEA is a wholly owned subsidiary of Halo Investing, Inc. and authorized to provide financial services to professional clients and market counterparties only. Halo MEA acts solely as a distributor/selling agent and is not the issuer or guarantor of any structured product. For more information, please visit: http://www.haloinvesting.ae.

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at: https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/8c4652d5-bdee-478f-aa1a-ba37dd83f351
Interstellar Docking Scene Music - No Time For Caution - Hans Zimmer Interstellar is a 2014 science fiction film directe

Interstellar Docking Scene Music - No Time For Caution - Hans Zimmer Interstellar is a 2014 science fiction film directed by Christopher Nolan. Starring Matthew McConaughey, Anne Hathaway, Jessica Chastain, and Michael Caine, the film features a team of space travelers who travel through a wormhole in search of a new habitable planet. It was written by Jonathan Nolan and Christopher Nolan, Christopher combined his idea with an existing script by his brother that was developed in 2007 for Paramount Pictures and producer Lynda Obst. Nolan is producing the film with Obst and Emma Thomas. Theoretical physicist Kip Thorne, whose works inspired the film, acted as both an executive producer and a scientific consultant for the film. Warner Bros., who produced and distributed some of Nolan's previous films, negotiated with Paramount, traditionally a rival studio, to have a financial stake in Interstellar. Legendary Pictures, which formerly partnered with Warner Bros., also sought a stake. The three companies co-financed the film, and the production companies Syncopy and Lynda Obst Productions were enlisted. The director also hired cinematographer Hoyte van Hoytema since his long-time collaborator Wally Pfister was busy working on Transcendence, his directorial debut. Interstellar was filmed with a combination of anamorphic 35 mm and IMAX 70 mm film photography. Filming took place in the last quarter of 2013 in locations in the province of Alberta, Canada, in southern Iceland, and in Los Angeles, California. The visual effects company Double Negative created visual effects for Interstellar. Interstellar premiered on October 26, 2014 in Los Angeles, California. Commercially, it is scheduled for a limited release in North America (United States and Canada) on November 5, 2014 and a wide release on November 7, 2014. It will also be released in Belgium, France and Switzerland on November 5, 2014 and in additional territories in the following days, including the United Kingdom on November 7, 2014. For the limited release in North America, it will be released in 70 mm and 35 mm film formats in approximately 240 theaters which still project the formats, including at least 41 70 mm IMAX theaters. For the wide release, it will expand to theaters that will show it in digital format. Paramount Pictures will distribute the film in North America, and Warner Bros. will distribute it in the remaining territories Interstellar OST - No Time For Caution - Hans Zimmer (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) Interstellar Docking SoundtrackInterstellar Docking Scene Music - No Time For Caution - Hans Zimmer Interstellar is a 2014 science fiction film directed by Christopher Nolan. Starring Matthew McConaughey, Anne Hathaway, Jessica Chastain, and Michael Caine, the film features a team of space travelers who travel through a wormhole in search of a new habitable planet. It was written by Jonathan Nolan and Christopher Nolan, Christopher combined his idea with an existing script by his brother that was developed in 2007 for Paramount Pictures and producer Lynda Obst. Nolan is producing the film with Obst and Emma Thomas. Theoretical physicist Kip Thorne, whose works inspired the film, acted as both an executive producer and a scientific consultant for the film. Warner Bros., who produced and distributed some of Nolan's previous films, negotiated with Paramount, traditionally a rival studio, to have a financial stake in Interstellar. Legendary Pictures, which formerly partnered with Warner Bros., also sought a stake. The three companies co-financed the film, and the production companies Syncopy and Lynda Obst Productions were enlisted. The director also hired cinematographer Hoyte van Hoytema since his long-time collaborator Wally Pfister was busy working on Transcendence, his directorial debut. Interstellar was filmed with a combination of anamorphic 35 mm and IMAX 70 mm film photography. Filming took place in the last quarter of 2013 in locations in the province of Alberta, Canada, in southern Iceland, and in Los Angeles, California. The visual effects company Double Negative created visual effects for Interstellar. Interstellar premiered on October 26, 2014 in Los Angeles, California. Commercially, it is scheduled for a limited release in North America (United States and Canada) on November 5, 2014 and a wide release on November 7, 2014. It will also be released in Belgium, France and Switzerland on November 5, 2014 and in additional territories in the following days, including the United Kingdom on November 7, 2014. For the limited release in North America, it will be released in 70 mm and 35 mm film formats in approximately 240 theaters which still project the formats, including at least 41 70 mm IMAX theaters. For the wide release, it will expand to theaters that will show it in digital format. Paramount Pictures will distribute the film in North America, and Warner Bros. will distribute it in the remaining territories Interstellar OST - No Time For Caution - Hans Zimmer (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) Interstellar Docking Soundtrack
Transaction in Own Shares

05 October 2023

               

Shell plc (the Company) announces that on 05 October 2023 it purchased the following number of Shares for cancellation.

Aggregated information on Shares purchased according to trading venue:

Date of purchase Number of Shares purchased Highest price paid



Lowest price paid



Volume weighted average price paid per share Venue Currency 05/10/2023 567,410 25.3850 24.8450 25.0451 LSE GBP 05/10/2023 - 0.0000 0.0000 0.0000 Chi-X (CXE) GBP 05/10/2023 - 0.0000 0.0000 0.0000 BATS (BXE) GBP 05/10/2023 934,596 29.7300 29.1000 29.3280 XAMS EUR 05/10/2023 - 0.0000 0.0000 0.0000 CBOE DXE EUR 05/10/2023 - 0.0000 0.0000 0.0000 TQEX EUR

These share purchases form part of the on- and off-market limbs of the Company's existing share buy-back programme previously announced on 27 July 2023.

In respect of this programme, Citigroup Global Markets Limited will make trading decisions in relation to the securities independently of the Company for a period from 27 July 2023 up to and including 27 October 2023.

The on-market limb will be effected within certain pre-set parameters and in accordance with the Companys general authority to repurchase shares on-market. The off-market limb will be effected in accordance with the Companys general authority to repurchase shares off-market pursuant to the off-market buyback contract approved by its shareholders and the pre-set parameters set out therein. The programme will be conducted in accordance with Chapter 12 of the Listing Rules and Article 5 of the Market Abuse Regulation 596/2014/EU dealing with buy-back programmes (EU MAR) and EU MAR as onshored into UK law from the end of the Brexit transition period (at 11:00 pm on 31 December 2020) through the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018 (as amended by the European Union (Withdrawal Agreement) Act 2020), and as amended, supplemented, restated, novated, substituted or replaced by the Financial Services Act, 2021 and relevant statutory instruments (including, The Market Abuse (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations (SI 2019/310)), from time to time (UK MAR) and the Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2016/1052 (the EU MAR Delegated Regulation) and the EU MAR Delegated Regulation as onshored into UK law from the end of the Brexit transition period (at 11:00 pm

on 31 December 2020) through the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018 (as amended by the European Union (Withdrawal Agreement) Act 2020), and as amended, supplemented, restated, novated, substituted or replaced by the Financial Services Act, 2021 and relevant statutory instruments (including, The Market Abuse (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations (SI 2019/310)), from time to time.

In accordance with EU MAR and UK MAR, a breakdown of the individual trades made by Citigroup Global Markets Limited on behalf of the Company as a part of the buy-back programme is detailed below.

Enquiries

Media International: +44 (0) 207 934 5550

Media Americas: +1 832 337 4335

LEI number of Shell plc: 21380068P1DRHMJ8KU70

Classification: Acquisition or disposal of the issuers own shares

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Morgantown, WV, Oct. 05, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- MORGANTOWN, WV (October 5, 2023)  Hearthstone Holdings is now Hope Utilities! Morgan OBrien, CEO, announces today that Hearthstone has been rebranded to Hope Utilities (Hope) to reflect the companys mission and dedication to its customers, communities and employees. Hope Utilities provides natural gas and water service to over 227,000 homes and businesses in nine states. The company owns and operates natural gas utilities in Indiana, Maine, Montana, North Carolina, Ohio, and West Virginia; and water and wastewater utilities in Arizona, Michigan, and Texas.

The company rebranding to Hope Utilities coincides with the 125th anniversary of Hope Gas, the largest utility owned by the company which operates in 35 counties in West Virginia. Hope Gas was purchased in September 2022.

The new company name, Hope Utilities, reflects our company mission and the commitment our employees have to the customers and communities we serve, said Morgan OBrien, CEO of Hope Utilities. At Hope Utilities, we have created a business model where customers feel valued, where we partner with regulators and community leaders to embrace local priorities, where we drive economic development for the areas we serve and where employees recognize and embrace the value they bring to the organization.

OBrien continues, Hope Utilities is proud to be an integral part of the communities we serve. Many of our utilities have histories reaching back over a century. These companies very literally helped build the foundation of the cities and neighborhoods we serve. They built the infrastructure that provides the energy needed to homes and businesses today. And, we will continue to invest in that critical infrastructure to ensure continued safe, reliable and affordable service and the energy needed to support the growing needs of our communities.

The utility companies owned by Hope Utilities include:

Bangor Natural Gas (Maine)

Energy West Montana (Montana)

Frontier Natural Gas (North Carolina)

Hearthstone Water (Arizona, Michigan, Texas)

Hope Gas (West Virginia)

Northeast Ohio Natural Gas (Ohio)

Sycamore Gas Company (Indiana)

Hope Utilities employs over 720 individuals. With OBrien at the helm, Hopes strong executive leadership team has a combined total of more than 10 decades of utility experience. The executive leadership team is comprised of:

Morgan OBrien, Chief Executive Officer

Jonell Carver, Chief Operating Officer

Ruth DeLost-Wylie, Chief Administrative Officer

Melissa Dykes, Chief Financial Officer

Jo Carol Farmer, Senior Vice President, Regulatory Affairs and Government Relations

Jeff Nehr, Senior Vice President, Gas Supply and Development

Lynne Rhode, Senior Vice President and General Counsel

I cant think of a name that better embodies what our team is working toward every day, continued OBrien. When our customers think about the opportunities for their communities to grow and thrive, I want them to know that Hope Utilities is there to provide the energy for the future.

Learn more about Hope Utilities at HopeUtilities.com.

Watch the brand unveiling here: https://youtu.be/KuQn-a31KYM

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About Hope Utilities

Hope Utilities owns natural gas and water distribution utilities across nine states. We provide service to more than 227,000 residential, commercial, and industrial customers in the communities we serve. We currently operate natural gas utilities in Indiana, Maine, Montana, North Carolina, Ohio, and West Virginia; and water and wastewater utilities in Arizona, Michigan, and Texas. Hopes growth strategy is built on being a trusted member of the communities we serve, providing our customers with safe, reliable, and cost-effective utility service. Learn more about Hope at HopeUtilities.com.
NEWTON, Kan., Oct. 05, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Park Aerospace Corp. (NYSE-PKE) reported results for the 2024 fiscal year second quarter ended August 27, 2023. The Company will conduct a conference call to discuss its financial results and other matters at 5:00 p.m. EDT today. A live audio webcast of the event, along with presentation materials, will be available at https://edge.media-server.com/mmc/p/4ux8vz3r at 5:00 p.m. EDT today. The presentation materials will also be available at approximately 4:15 p.m. EDT today at https://parkaerospace.com/shareholders/investor-conference-calls/ and on the Companys website at www.parkaerospace.com under Investor Conference Calls on the Shareholders page.



Park reported net sales of $12,481,000 for the 2024 fiscal year second quarter ended August 27, 2023 compared to $13,875,000 for the 2023 fiscal year second quarter ended August 28, 2022 and $15,551,000 for the 2024 fiscal year first quarter ended May 28, 2023. Parks net sales for the six months ended August 27, 2023 were $28,032,000 compared to $26,658,000 for the six months ended August 28, 2022. Net earnings for the 2024 fiscal year second quarter were $1,746,000 compared to $1,885,000 for the 2023 fiscal year second quarter and $1,854,000 for the 2024 fiscal year first quarter. Net earnings were $3,600,000 for the current years first six months compared to $3,795,000 for last years first six months.

Net earnings before special items for the 2024 fiscal year second quarter were $1,746,000 compared to $1,885,000 for the 2023 fiscal year second quarter and $2,407,000 for the 2024 fiscal year first quarter. Net earnings before special items for the six months ended August 27, 2023 were $4,153,000 compared to $3,795,000 for last fiscal years first six months.

Adjusted EBITDA for the 2024 fiscal year second quarter was $2,669,000 compared to $2,709,000 for the 2023 fiscal year second quarter and $3,311,000 for the 2024 fiscal year first quarter. Adjusted EBITDA for the current years first six months was $5,980,000 compared to $5,513,000 for last years first six months.

During the 2024 fiscal years first six months, the Company recorded $570,000 of pre-tax activist shareholder defense costs, $65,000 of pre-tax losses on sales of investments to fund the $1.00 per share special dividend paid on April 6, 2023 to shareholders of record on March 9, 2023 and a $109,000 pre-tax charge for the modification of previously granted stock options in connection with the special dividend in the 2024 fiscal year first quarter.

Park reported basic and diluted earnings per share of $0.09 for the 2024 fiscal year second quarter compared to $0.09 for the 2023 fiscal year second quarter and $0.09 for the 2024 fiscal year first quarter. Basic and diluted earnings per share before special items were $0.09 for the 2024 fiscal year second quarter compared to $0.09 for the 2023 fiscal year second quarter and $0.12 for the 2024 fiscal year first quarter.

Park reported basic and diluted earnings per share of $0.18 for the 2024 fiscal years first six months compared to $0.19 for the 2023 fiscal years first six months. Basic and diluted earnings per share before special items were $0.20 for the 2024 fiscal years first six months compared to $0.19 for the 2023 fiscal years first six months.

The Company will conduct a conference call to discuss its financial results at 5:00 p.m. EDT today. Forward-looking and other material information may be discussed in this conference call. The conference call dial-in number is (877) 407-3982 in the United States and Canada, and (201) 493-6780 in other countries. The required passcode for attendance by phone is 13741264.

For those unable to listen to the call live, a conference call replay will be available from approximately 8:00 p.m. EDT today through 11:59 p.m. EDT on Thursday, October 12, 2023. The conference call replay will be available at https://edge.media-server.com/mmc/p/4ux8vz3r and on the Companys website at www.parkaerospace.com under Investor Conference Calls on the Shareholders page. It can also be accessed by dialing (844) 512-2921 in the United States and Canada, and (412) 317-6671 in other countries. The required passcode for accessing the replay by phone is 13741264.

Any additional material financial or statistical data disclosed in the conference call, including the investor presentation, will also be available at the time of the conference call on the Company's web site at

https://parkaerospace.com/shareholders/investor-conference-calls/.

Park believes that an evaluation of its ongoing operations would be difficult if the disclosure of its operating results were limited to accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (GAAP) financial measures, which include special items, such as activist shareholder defense costs, losses on sales of investments and charges for modification of previously granted stock options. Accordingly, in addition to disclosing its operating results determined in accordance with GAAP, Park discloses non-GAAP measures, including Adjusted EBITDA, and operating results that exclude special items in order to assist its shareholders and other readers in assessing the Companys operating performance, since the Companys on-going, normal business operations do not include such special items. The detailed operating information presented below includes a reconciliation of the non-GAAP operating results before special items to earnings determined in accordance with GAAP and a reconciliation of GAAP pre-tax earnings to Adjusted EBITDA. Such non-GAAP financial measures are provided to supplement the results provided in accordance with GAAP.

Park Aerospace Corp. develops and manufactures solution and hot-melt advanced composite materials used to produce composite structures for the global aerospace markets. Parks advanced composite materials include film adhesives (Aeroadhere) and lightning strike protection materials (Electroglide). Park offers an array of composite materials specifically designed for hand lay-up or automated fiber placement (AFP) manufacturing applications. Parks advanced composite materials are used to produce primary and secondary structures for jet engines, large and regional transport aircraft, military aircraft, Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs commonly referred to as drones), business jets, general aviation aircraft and rotary wing aircraft. Park also offers specialty ablative materials for rocket motors and nozzles and specially designed materials for radome applications. As a complement to Parks advanced composite materials offering, Park designs and fabricates composite parts, structures and assemblies and low volume tooling for the aerospace industry. Target markets for Parks composite parts and structures (which include Parks proprietary composite SigmaStrut and AlphaStrut product lines) are, among others, prototype and development aircraft, special mission aircraft, spares for legacy military and civilian aircraft and exotic spacecraft. Parks objective is to do what others are either unwilling or unable to do. When nobody else wants to do it because it is too difficult, too small or too annoying, sign us up.

Additional corporate information is available on the Companys web site at www.parkaerospace.com

Performance table, including non-GAAP information (in thousands, except per share amounts unaudited):

13 Weeks Ended 26 Weeks Ended August 27, 2023 August 28, 2022 May 28, 2023 August 27, 2023 August 28, 2022 Sales $ 12,481 $ 13,875 $ 15,551 $ 28,032 $ 26,658 Net Earnings before Special Items1 $ 1,746 $ 1,885 $ 2,407 $ 4,153 $ 3,795 Special Items, Net of Tax: Activist Shareholder Defense Costs - - (424 ) (424 ) - Stock Option Modification - - (81 ) (81 ) - Loss on Sale of Marketable Securities - - (48 ) (48 ) - Net Earnings $ 1,746 $ 1,885 $ 1,854 $ 3,600 $ 3,795 Basic Earnings per Share: Basic Earnings before Special Items1 $ 0.09 $ 0.09 $ 0.12 $ 0.20 $ 0.19 Special Items: Activist Shareholder Defense Costs - - (0.02 ) (0.02 ) - Stock Option Modification - - (0.01 ) - - Loss on Sale of Marketable Securities - - - - - Basic Earnings per Share $ 0.09 $ 0.09 $ 0.09 $ 0.18 $ 0.19 Diluted Earnings before Special Items1 $ 0.09 $ 0.09 $ 0.12 $ 0.20 $ 0.19 Special Items: Activist Shareholder Defense Costs - - (0.02 ) (0.02 ) - Stock Option Modification - - (0.01 ) - - Loss on Sale of Marketable Securities - - - - - Diluted Earnings per Share $ 0.09 $ 0.09 $ 0.09 $ 0.18 $ 0.19 Weighted Average Shares Outstanding: Basic 20,256 20,461 20,461 20,359 20,460 Diluted 20,338 20,503 20,526 20,432 20,504 1Refer to "Reconciliation of non-GAAP financial measures" below for information regarding Special Items.



Comparative balance sheets (in thousands):

August 27, 2023 February 26, 2023 Assets (unaudited) Current Assets Cash and Marketable Securities $ 74,214 $ 105,440 Accounts Receivable, Net 9,374 9,989 Inventories 8,457 6,768 Prepaid Expenses and Other Current Assets 2,587 2,844 Total Current Assets 94,632 125,041 Fixed Assets, Net 23,980 24,251 Operating Right-of-use Assets 123 150 Other Assets 9,884 9,891 Total Assets $ 128,619 $ 159,333 Liabilities and Shareholders' Equity Current Liabilities Accounts Payable $ 1,535 $ 4,545 Accrued Liabilities 1,167 1,346 Dividend Payable - 20,471 Operating Lease Liability 53 53 Income Taxes Payable 4,033 2,171 Total Current Liabilities 6,788 28,586 Long-term Operating Lease Liability 106 129 Non-current Income Taxes Payable 5,259 10,938 Deferred Income Taxes 1,942 1,995 Other Liabilities 1,812 1,751 Total Liabilities 15,907 43,399 Shareholders Equity 112,712 115,934 Total Liabilities and Shareholders' Equity $ 128,619 $ 159,333 Additional information Equity per Share $ 5.57 $ 5.66

Comparative statements of operations (in thousands  unaudited):

13 Weeks Ended 26 Weeks Ended August 27, 2023 August 28, 2022 May 28, 2023 August 27, 2023 August 28, 2022 Net Sales $ 12,481 $ 13,875 $ 15,551 $ 28,032 $ 26,658 Cost of Sales 8,402 9,789 10,718 19,120 18,480 Gross Profit 4,079 4,086 4,833 8,912 8,178 % of net sales 32.7 % 29.4 % 31.1 % 31.8 % 30.7 % Selling, General & Administrative Expenses 1,853 1,732 2,615 4,468 3,365 % of net sales 14.8 % 12.5 % 16.8 % 15.9 % 12.6 % Earnings from Operations 2,226 2,354 2,218 4,444 4,813 Interest and Other Income: Interest Income 139 221 324 463 354 Earnings from Operations before Income Taxes 2,365 2,575 2,542 4,907 5,167 Income Tax Provision 619 690 688 1,307 1,372 Net Earnings $ 1,746 $ 1,885 $ 1,854 $ 3,600 $ 3,795 % of net sales 14.0 % 13.6 % 11.9 % 12.8 % 14.2 %

Reconciliation of non-GAAP financial measures (in thousands  unaudited):

13 Weeks Ended

August 27, 2023 13 Weeks Ended

August 28, 2022 13 Weeks Ended

May 28, 2023 GAAP Specials Items Before Special Items GAAP Specials Items Before Special Items GAAP Specials Items Before Special Items Selling, General & Administrative Expenses $ 1,853 $ - $ 1,853 $ 1,732 $ - $ 1,732 $ 2,615 $ (679 ) $ 1,936 % of net sales 14.8 % 14.8 % 12.5 % 12.5 % 16.8 % 12.4 % Earnings from Operations 2,226 - 2,226 2,354 - 2,354 2,218 679 2,897 % of net sales 17.8 % 17.8 % 17.0 % 17.0 % 14.3 % 18.6 % Interest Income 139 - 139 221 - 221 324 65 389 % of net sales 1.1 % 1.1 % 1.6 % 1.6 % 2.1 % 2.5 % Earnings before Income Taxes 2,365 - 2,365 2,575 - 2,575 2,542 744 3,286 % of net sales 18.9 % 18.9 % 18.6 % 18.6 % 16.3 % 21.1 % Income Tax Provision 619 - 619 690 - 690 688 191 879 Effective Tax Rate 26.2 % 26.2 % 26.8 % 26.8 % 27.1 % 26.7 % Net Earnings 1,746 - 1,746 1,885 - 1,885 1,854 553 2,407 % of net sales 14.0 % 14.0 % 13.6 % 13.6 % 11.9 % 15.5 % Net Earnings Before Special Items 1,746 1,885 2,407 Addback non-cash expenses: Income Tax Provision 619 690 879 Interest Income (139 ) (221 ) (389 ) Depreciation 339 261 305 Stock Option Expense 104 94 109 Adjusted EBITDA 2,669 2,709 3,311

Reconciliation of non-GAAP financial measures - continued (in thousands  unaudited):

26 Weeks Ended

August 27, 2023 26 Weeks Ended

August 28, 2022 GAAP Specials Items Before Special Items GAAP Specials Items Before Special Items Selling, General & Administrative Expenses $ 4,468 $ (679 ) $ 3,789 $ 3,365 $ - $ 3,365 % of net sales 15.9 % 13.5 % 12.6 % 12.6 % Earnings from Operations 4,444 679 5,123 4,813 - 4,813 % of net sales 15.9 % 18.3 % 18.1 % 18.1 % Interest Income 463 65 528 354 - 354 % of net sales 1.7 % 1.9 % 1.3 % 1.3 % Earnings before Income Taxes 4,907 744 5,651 5,167 - 5,167 % of net sales 17.5 % 20.2 % 19.4 % 19.4 % Income Tax Provision 1,307 191 1,498 1,372 - 1,372 Effective Tax Rate 26.6 % 26.5 % 26.6 % 26.6 % Net Earnings 3,600 553 4,153 3,795 - 3,795 % of net sales 12.8 % 14.8 % 14.2 % 14.2 % Net Earnings Before Special Items 4,153 3,795 Addback non-cash expenses: Income Tax Provision 1,498 1,372 Interest Income (528 ) (354 ) Depreciation 644 521 Stock Option Expense 213 179 Adjusted EBITDA 5,980 5,513




HOUSTON, Oct. 05, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Amplify Energy Corp. (Amplify or the Company) (NYSE: AMPY) is pleased to announce the appointment of Vidisha Prasad to the Amplify Board of Directors (Board). Ms. Prasad joins the Board following a comprehensive process, conducted with the assistance of a nationally recognized board recruitment firm, to complement the Boards existing credentials and qualifications. Ms. Prasad will serve as a member of the Audit Committee.



Ms. Prasad brings more than two decades of experience in energy investments, strategic and board advisory, corporate mergers, asset acquisitions and divestitures, capital markets and restructuring. Ms. Prasad is currently the Managing Partner of Adya Partners, a multi-strategy investment firm focused on private secondary investments and early-stage venture capital in the energy, energy transition and technology sectors. Prior to founding Adya Partners, Ms. Prasad was a founding member of Guggenheim Securities Energy Investment Banking practice and prior to that, Ms. Prasad held roles of increasing responsibility within Citis Global Energy Investment Banking Groups in Houston, London and New York. Ms. Prasad previously served on the Board of Centennial Resources (now Permian Resources) where she served on the Audit, Nominating, Governance and ESG Committees. She also serves on the Board of the Grammy award winning Houston Chamber Choir, where she chairs the Development Committee. Ms. Prasad received a B.A. in Economics from the University of Rochester.

Chris Hamm, Amplifys Chairman of the Board commented, We are excited to welcome Vidisha to the Board. Vidishas appointment is the culmination of a comprehensive process which the Board committed to in conjunction with our 2023 Annual Meeting. Vidishas wealth of experience in the oil and gas industry, particularly in M&A, capital markets and finance, will be of significant value to Amplify and its shareholders, and we look forward to her immediate contribution at our next regularly scheduled board meeting in November.

The Company has also announced that Randal T. Klein has decided not to seek reelection as a director at the Companys 2024 Annual Meeting of Stockholders (the 2024 Annual Meeting). Mr. Klein will continue to serve for the remainder of his term as a director until the 2024 Annual Meeting. Mr. Kleins decision not to stand for reelection was not due to any disagreements with the Company or its Board or any matter relating to the Companys financials, operations, policies or practices.

Mr. Hamm continued, We would also like to extend our sincere appreciation to Randal for his efforts in helping to drive increased performance and value through active governance and as an advocate for our shareholders.

About Amplify Energy

Amplify Energy Corp. is an independent oil and natural gas company engaged in the acquisition, development, exploitation and production of oil and natural gas properties. Amplifys operations are focused in Oklahoma, the Rockies (Bairoil), federal waters offshore Southern California (Beta), East Texas / North Louisiana, and the Eagle Ford (Non-op). For more information, visit www.amplifyenergy.com.

Investor Relations Contacts

Jim Frew  Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer

(832) 219-9044

jim.frew@amplifyenergy.com

Michael Jordan  Director, Finance and Treasurer

(832) 219-9051

michael.jordan@amplifyenergy.com
Investors can contact the law firm at no cost to learn more about recovering their losses

LOS ANGELES, Oct. 05, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Portnoy Law Firm advises Clorox ("Clorox" or the "Company") (NYSE: CLX) investors that the law firm has initiated an investigation on behalf of investors that lost money on their Clorox stock. Clorox investors are encouraged to contact the firm to discuss their legal rights.

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Clorox, a cleaning-products manufacturer recently affected by a cyberattack causing production disruptions, has seen a 4.4% decline in premarket trading following the announcement of preliminary net sales dropping by 23%-28% in the quarter ending on September 30. Prior to the cyberattack disclosed in mid-August, Clorox had anticipated "mid-single-digits" organic sales growth for the same quarter. Analysts are preparing for potential additional consequences, as Clorox warns of ongoing, though diminishing, operational disruptions in the following fiscal quarter.

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Gu Yi (Sulaiman Gu), a Chinese doctoral student in the Department of Chemistry at Georgia State University in the United States, he harasses and bullies others, spreads rumors and slanders others, provokes the victims of the Nanjing Massacre, denies the Nanjing Massacre, claims to nuclear attack China, and publishes insults to the Han people and Chinese peoples speech accusations





Dear

Georgia State University,USA

Professors, Staff, Students

Chinese and overseas Chinese in the United States

Relevant persons of other institutions, identities, and occupations:

I am a Chinese writer named Wang Qingmin. I now sue your school, a student named Gu Yi (net name "Sulaiman Guyi (Sulaimam Gu)"), a Ph. Maliciously harass others, and publish hate speech such as racial insults, threats of war violence (including threats of nuclear weapons), denial of the Nanjing Massacre, and praise of Japanese militarism.

I didn't know Gu Yi (Sulaiman Gu) before, but I encountered him on the Internet. However, there is a difference between my political standpoint and that of Sulaiman Gu. Sulaiman Gu is a Hui Muslim who is very close to the Manchus (an ethnic group located in Northeast China) and Manchu culture. And I am an atheist Han nationalist. In history, the Manchurians brutally massacred and colonized the Han people (such as the "Qing Dynasty" period).

I often post some content on Twitter that exposes and criticizes the crimes of the Manchu regime. But I have never directly replied, commented, or contacted Gu Yi directly on the platform where he is active (but I mentioned this person in an article and criticized him for touting the views and positions of the Qing Dynasty). But I also don't want to have intersection and conflict with it, so I blocked Gu Yi (Sulaiman Gu) on Twitter. Because Gu Yi (Sulaiman Gu) often expressed hatred of the Han people, and praised the Qing Dynasty, as well as Japan, which also invaded and colonized the Han people in China. For a few years, I knew Sulaiman Gu's name and political views, and it should know me too (Sulaiman Gu also blocked me on Twitter), but there was no intersection.





In the past two months, I have been conducting a series of political protests in Germany and sent information to the telegram group. And Gu Yi ("Suleiman Gu Yi") is also in one of the groups. Gu Yi (Sulaiman Gu) deliberately provoked me. Knowing that my political stance was opposite to his and that I hated Manchu colonization, Gu Yi (Sulaiman Gu) deliberately replied to me about the conflict between Manchu and Han, and praised Manchu person's content. This is obviously provocative and destroys the boundaries between people. Prior to this, Sulaiman Gu also had behaviors that seemed to harass me in other online forums.

I told Gu Yi (Sulaiman Gu) clearly that I don't want to talk to him, and it's best to ignore each other and live in peace. But Sulaiman Gu ignored my warning and continued to provoke me. And it also cooperated with the administrators of the telegram group to remove me from the group when Sulaiman Gu provoked me first and I questioned him politely.









I don't want to be too fussy. But a few days later, Sulaiman Gu (Sulaiman Gu) appeared in a telegram group about the rights protection movement in some regions of the Han nationality (Hebei, Henan, Shandong, Shanxi), deliberately using Manchu/Xibe (both Manchu and Xibe It is an ethnic group that once massacred and oppressed the Han people, and its language is also the language of the conquerors. These two languages ??are rarely used in daily life. Moreover, the themes and contents of these groups have nothing to do with the Manchus and Xibes. When it is necessary to use German, it deliberately speaks German in front of Jews; when it is not necessary to use Turkish, it deliberately speaks Turkish in front of Armenians; it deliberately excludes Irish and speaks English to Irish Catholics...) publishes various information . And there are very few people posting information in that group, only I often post some political protest information. Gu Yi knows that I often watch this telegram group.

I have always refused to pay attention to Sulaiman Gu, or occasionally asked him, "As a Hui, what do you think of the Manchus who brutally persecuted the Hui and other Muslims?" Gu Yi (Sulaiman Gu) refused to answer, avoided my various key questions, and only answered selectively, full of sophistry and sophistry.

Then, Gu Yi used Manchu/Xibe and Chinese, and released the information of "dispatching bombers from Okinawa, Japan, and arriving in Nanjing, China within one hour". In 1937, Japan invaded China and created the Nanjing Massacre (The RAPE OF NANKING), which caused 200,000 to 300,000 deaths. From 1937 to 1945, Japan invaded China and killed more than 10 million Chinese (mostly Chinese).

Gu Yis intentional statement of sending bombers from Japan to attack Nanjing is like saying to the Jews, Germany will restore the glory of the Third Reich, and in one hour the Israelis will become full of soap again (the Nazis used some human tissues from the Jews during World War II to make It became soap)", and said to the Armenians, "Turk planes bombed the capital of Armenia, Yerevan, for an hour/Let Yerevan become the city of Van (the city where the Armenian massacre started)". Moreover, Sulaiman Gu still used the language of the Manchurians who conquered the Han. Gu Yi (Sulaiman Gu) also deliberately wrote words such as "Nanjing", "Okinawa", and "bombing" separately and posted them under his remarks.

And as I said before, very few people spoke in that group, only I was more active. Gu Yi (Sulaiman Gu) made such remarks to deliberately stimulate my spirit and insult me ??as a Chinese and a Han nationality.

In response to Sulaiman Gu, I mentioned Japanese war crimes and the atrocities committed by the Japanese army against the people of Okinawa (Ryukyu) during the Battle of Okinawa, reminding Sulaiman Gu that such hate speech should not be made. But Gu Yi (Sulaiman Gu) quibbled, saying that the bombing was aimed at the Chinese army while defending Taiwan. I asked what to do if the civilians were bombed? Gu Yi (Sulaiman Gu) said instead, "You are the one who said bombing civilians, and your values ??are ugly." When I mentioned the historical tragedies of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Gu Yi (Sulaiman Gu) also bit me back, saying that I had a dark mind. Gu Yi (Sulaiman Gu) also teamed up with an anonymous friend to attack me, luring me to make a strong rebuttal. I had to leave the group.

The telegram group that Gu Yi (Sulaiman Gu) forced me to quit, and the other telegram group that he and the administrator kicked out of me are all important political groups (one of them is a British political group with 3,000 members; Another group is about the affirmative action group in the Central Plains of China (the name is "Shanhe Four Provinces Youth Association"), there are more than 1,300 people, but few people speak). In addition, Gu Yi also suspected that by spreading rumors, slandering, and sowing dissension, some groups and channels were prevented from receiving my political articles. For example, the administrator of a telegram political channel (the administrator of the affirmative action group in the Central Plains of China) once took the initiative to invite me to write. But then I posted the same content about offline political activities, but it was no longer accepted.

By doing this, Sulaiman Gu is excluding me from the political struggle group and undermining my activities and influence. And Gu Yi (Sulaiman Gu) mentioned "bombing Nanjing", which is an insult to the personality of my nation and the Chinese people.

Later, through searching, I found that Gu Yi (Sulaiman Gu) had made similar remarks when debating with others, such as "using nuclear weapons to destroy Shanghai" and "bombing Beijing". And according to that person on Twitter, his impression of Gu Yi is also "very cunning, a master who knows how to use hate speech." Later, I accidentally discovered that Gu Yi had joined a telegram group called "Fictitious Nanjing Massacre".









Although I didnt check his remarks, but based on his previous words and deeds, he expressed his values ??and positions (he also called the Japanese army in World War II the Imperial Army on Twitter and other places, and believed that the Japanese army was better than the Eighth Route Army of the Communist Party of China (this is another disguised form) Denies the crimes of the "Three Lights Policy" such as massacre, rape, robbery, and burning by the Japanese army in North China), called the Diaoyu Islands "Senkaku", encouraged others to join the active Japanese army, and called Ma Benzhai, the leader of the "Hui Min Detachment" in the War of Resistance Against Japan, "Hui rape", etc.), apparently advocating the view that "the Nanjing Massacre did not exist". This is yet another injury to the victims, survivors, compatriots, and Chinese people of the Nanjing Massacre. This is the same shameless person who denies the existence of the "Holocaust", denies the existence of the "Armenian Genocide", and denies the existence of the "Khmer Rouge Massacre". Such "holocaust deniers".

If the person is only making relevant statements on their own, I don't want to entangle with them. But this person kept looking for the group I was in on telegram, and then deliberately made similar remarks to stimulate me. Gu Yi (Sulaiman Gu) knows that I am a Han nationalist, and has commented many times on the Nanjing Massacre, condemned the Japanese atrocities, and also condemned the crimes of the Manchu rule from 1644 to 1912, but deliberately used Manchu language to make the above remarks. It's cyberbullying, mental abuse. And when I had to leave a group, Gu Yi (Sulaiman Gu) would chase after a new group and repeat the above behavior.

And I have made it clear to him at least five times that I don't want to talk to Gu Yi (Sulaiman Gu), but Gu Yi (Sulaiman Gu) also intentionally harassed, insinuated, attacked and insulted. If he speaks in other groups or in places with a large number of people. It's not personal and I can totally ignore it (although I should still report its ugly behaviour). However, this person deliberately sent relevant information to a group with few active people and only me who is frequently active, which is obviously targeted bullying and harassment.

Gu Yi (Sulaiman Gu) sometimes does not directly agree with the massacre of the Han nationality and the killing of the Chinese, but he uses remarks such as "bombing Nanjing" and using the conqueror's language that hurts the Chinese to achieve the purpose of insulting. This is like saying "fried chicken" and "watermelon" to black people, without directly referring to the insulting words, but clearly implying that black people are slaves. Because fried chicken and watermelon were what blacks ate as slaves during American slavery. They did not insult other ethnic groups, but they could humiliate and pain certain ethnic groups. They were "dog whistle" remarks. This is indeed "a master of using hate speech" as another person who conflicted with him said.

In addition, Gu Yi (Sulaiman Gu) continued to slander me, such as saying that I was "racist" and "Little Pink (a supporter of the Chinese Communist Party)" instead, and teasing me to fight back after insulting me, catching my angry words The loopholes and emotional inappropriate words (or I dealt with it well, but he still distorted the facts to slander), instead kept blaming me. His rhetoric is very aggressive (such as bossing and saying that I "shouldn't be like that, like he is an emperor like Xi Jinping), often using insulting and slanderous words, and misinterpreting the original meaning of the other party's words.

Gu Yi (Sulaiman Gu) is also good at turning things upside down and turning right from wrong. For example, after he sent me a provocative message, I had to reply and tell him that I didn't want to talk to him. But he replied to this, "Didn't you say that you don't want to respond to me?" He took my expression of not wanting to respond as a response, and blamed me instead. Remarks that are similar to cunning, secretly change concepts, and reverse right and wrong, are just a few.

The reason why I refuse to argue with him is because this person keeps twisting right and wrong, juggling words, misinterpreting my words, mixing all kinds of slander, insults, attacks, and even gathering others to besiege me alone. Of course, there is no way to have a normal discussion.

Gu Yi (Sulaiman Gu) said that these behaviors are similar to the "gaslighting" (Gaslighting", or "PUA" behavior.

Moreover, because my personal experience is completely public, Gu Yi (Sulaiman Gu) knows that I have suffered political persecution, cyber violence, and other injuries, and I have depression and anxiety disorders, and I have a strong love for my own nation (Han) and the country. However, he deliberately used these irritating remarks to attack and hurt me, and his intentions were even more sinister. he tried to use theseinsult, bully,harass, hurt mepsychology, interrupt my political activities, exclude me from the Chinese democracy movement andsocial movementcircles.

When Gu Yi (Sulaiman Gu) made these hate speeches, some of the more obvious hate speeches would not be posted on platforms such as Twitter, nor would they be posted in active groups with a large number of people, nor would they be directed at those famous people who he dared not offend. Posted, but deliberately posted in a group where I (Wang Qingmin) is often active, but no one else speaks, and the administrator does not manage it, deliberately letting me see relevant messages. Clearly this is sly targeted bullying and harassment.

In addition, according to other people's understanding, when Gu Yi (Sulaiman Gu) talked to some other people, he seemed normal and did not bully or ridicule them. This also shows that he is not speaking insanely, but knows how to be selective, what to say to whomever he sees, only picks relatively lonely people, bullies on specific occasions, especially when he has friends and helpers, and has a relationship with administrators Good group provocation. (Similar to a sexual harasser/domestic violence person, everyone is dog-like and polite in public, but in private, in places where there are no others, in a private space, in a secret dark place, they use hands, bully, assault, insult)

Gu Yi (Sulaiman Gu) will not be provocative in groups whose topics are not conducive to his values. For example, I was with him in a political group mainly composed of people in South Korea, and I once posted content about criticizing Japanese militarism in it. He is not there to provoke, for fear of offending the more anti-Japanese Koreans (and the Chinese in Korea who are close to the Koreans). However, in the British political group and the group about equal rights in vulnerable regions in mainland China, he unscrupulously insulted and satirized me, and made remarks such as "bombers from Japan to attack Nanjing".

From these actions of Gu Yi (Sulaiman Gu), it can be seen that this person is very cunning, bullying, and good at disguising, and his words and deeds are not acts of insanity, but are based on insidious abnormal psychology. And I should not be the only one who encountered his behavior. The aforementioned Twitter Blue V users also encountered him making hate speech, and felt his insidiousness and cunning.

In addition, Gu Yi (Sulaiman Gu) is also suspected of using at least two "small accounts (puppet accounts)" (or colluding with two of his friends) to harass me together. I use my real name, but these trumpets are anonymous, making it even more difficult to hold them accountable. He refused to debate with me one-on-one, and together with other people personally attacked and insulted me, which also shows that he has no basic debate ethics and does not follow the rules, which is another characteristic of his corrupt conduct.

Regarding these behaviors of Gu Yi, I cant solve them on the Internet. Sulaiman Gus behavior caused me a lot of mental damage and prevented me from posting political protest information in related groups. Sulaiman Gu's words and deeds are also an insult and injury to many Chinese and foreign people who love the Chinese people.

But I have always maintained restraint and advised civilizedly many times, but Gu Yi (Sulaiman Gu) still harassed me. Gu Yi (Sulaiman Gu) is a Hui nationality and a Muslim. I also specifically mentioned respect for Muslims, and I once prevented other groups from publishing pictures that hate Muslims. I released goodwill, but Gu Yi (Sulaiman Gu) continued to attack. In addition, I share similar political views with Gu Yi (Sulaiman Gu) in some respects. I also sympathize with the Uighurs in Xinjiang and hope that the concentration camp policy in Xinjiang will end soon. But Gu Yi (Sulaiman Gu) also did not regard such a position and behavior as goodwill, and continued to sabotage my political protest activities and insult my spirit.

And during the discussion with him, I made some counterattacks because Gu Yi (Sulaiman Gu) repeatedly provoked and deliberately lured me into anger, so I had to speak out, and I was still reasonable and restrained. And some of the fierce words I made about the Manchurians and Japanese are because they have historically massacred tens of millions of Chinese Han Chinese and other vulnerable ethnic groups (including the Hui ethnic group to which Gu Yi belongs), and raped countless Han Chinese and other ethnic groups in China. women. So my passion is justifiable. However, Gu Yi's remarks, such as "bombing Nanjing", are words that "sprinkle salt on the wound", applaud the aggressor, and hurt the victim a second time. (In addition, my criticism of Manchuria and Japan is not based on racial discrimination, but hatred for their evil. I also firmly oppose racial discrimination. For example, I have always sympathized with blacks, Indians, Latins and other ethnic groups. And I oppose whites (especially Anglo-American whites) and Asians racial discrimination against blacks. I have also written many articles on black rights issues and support the black affirmative movement. Many Manchurians and Japanese often publish criticisms of Han people Discriminatory words and deeds against Chinese, Chinese, and other ethnic groups are common on the Internet and offline)

And Gu Yi (Sulaiman Gu) and his friends made some sophistry, such as "the bomber arrived in Nanjing in one hour from Japan" refers to "the speed of transportation", "the bombing of Nanjing is just to defend Taiwan and bomb military targets (implying that civilians are not included) ", are all cunning and cunning remarks, which do not conform to common sense and logic (according to what he said, the bomber was aimed at the city, not a specific military target, which is obviously very likely to harm civilians). It can also be seen that he is more shameless and good at lying.

He himself admitted that he once lied and slandered people in the Chinese system for supporting the Xinjiang separatist movement. At that time, he mentioned that he had a close relationship with a master of security engineering from Tsinghua University who was suppressing Muslims in Xinjiang. With the "genuineness" of his "lying" of emotional sincerity, it's entirely possible). He regards this kind of lying as a superb method, and he is quite proud of it.

He also said that he once replied to my post on the forum "Pin Cong", but he didn't know that the post owner was me. But in fact, I have already disclosed my identity in those years. Although I am anonymous on the forum, my real name can be searched on Google for the posts I post. Gu Yi is a very active political activist and Internet person. Of course, he can easily know the real name of the post owner and know that the post is me. But he doesn't admit it.

There are many similar lies he told, and there are many other conflicts between him and me, and there are also evidences. All these can prove that this person is good at lying and trickery, and all kinds of words are not credible.

Gu Yi (Sulaiman Gu) also has double standards. On the one hand, he himself said on Twitter that he has freedom of speech and is protected by the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. After his controversial remarks in the Facebook group were removed, he expressed Dissatisfied; on the other hand, they instigated the telegram group administrator to remove me with words like "racism". He often refers to the "ugliness" and "atrocities" of the Han people in mainland China, but deliberately ignores the Manchurians and Japan's atrocities in China from 1937 to 1945, as well as Japan's war crimes such as attacking Pearl Harbor in the United States and Southeast Asia. And Okinawa (Ryukyu), which he said "bombers took off from Okinawa and arrived in Nanjing within an hour", was also brutally ravaged by the Japanese army during World War II. The rape of civilians and women caused by the Japanese army in Okinawa far exceeded that of the United States as the offensive side. In the Battle of Okinawa in 1945, not only tens of thousands of Japanese soldiers died, but also 20,000 American soldiers and more than 200,000 Okinawans (mostly civilians, including women and children) died. And these should be known based on his education and knowledge. But he ignored it on purpose. Obviously double standards, black and white, sinister intentions, and inconsistent logic.

I have phone screen shot evidence for the above. But because there are a lot of pictures, email has a capacity limit, so only some key screenshots are sent. I can provide about a hundred detailed process screenshots if needed.

Gu Yis hate speech and harassment are not temporary, occasional, slip of the tongue or emotional, and repent when reminded, but premeditated, long-term, targeted, malicious and extremely insulting Offensive, unrepentant. I have also seen reports from other people on Twitter that Gu Yi made hate speeches (and this whistleblower is a public Twitter Blue V user, not an anonymous trumpet). This shows that I am not the only one who was harassed and insulted by Gu Yi (Sulaiman Gu), and there are other people who corroborate it.

Moreover, if Sulaiman Gu is just a gangster with all kinds of hate speech, saying "bombing Nanjing" and "Nanjing Massacre does not exist" in private or in circles, I will not intervene. Even if his behavior is ugly, at least I don't have the energy to record and report it. But now Gu Yi (Sulaiman Gu) is not saying this in private with his friends, but deliberately posting it to a public group, a group where I am very active, and he knows that I often criticize the Japanese invasion of China and commemorate the Nanjing Massacre, and Strong feelings of Han nationalism, love for the country and the people. He knows this, but sending similar messages is obviously malicious provocation and humiliation, and it is an ugly "dog whistle" speech aimed at a specific target. Therefore, I had to carry out various counterattacks including reporting.

In addition, you can also search the Internet, ask people who know "Sulaiman Gu" (especially the relevant teachers and students of the Chemistry Department of the University of Georgia), and other feasible ways to learn about his daily words, deeds, and political views , position, mental state. These may support my accusation. Perhaps because of Sulaiman Gu's disguise, selective words and deeds towards different people, and different attitudes towards different people, the investigators are easily confused, but if you know more people, compare and analyze their personality traits, words and deeds According to the rules, you can still get a glimpse of what kind of person he is. is good? Evil? Is it sincere? Is it a lie? is frank? Is it cunning? Besides, he is not only treating me alone, but has found that he has ugly words and deeds towards other people (although he is very selective and uses occasions that are beneficial to him to express related hate speech, rather than treating everyone on all occasions in this way). As long as you understand it seriously, the truth will surely come out and the truth will be revealed.

In the absence of online harassment and the lack of legal system on the Internet, I had to send these complaints to the professors, staff, students and other relevant personnel of the University of Georgia and the Department of Chemistry. For those who not only violate the taboo of "political correctness", but are also suspected of illegal crimes (insulting the victims of the Holocaust and rape, denying the existence of the Holocaust, and continuing to harass specific individuals by publishing stimulating information). Your school should respond to this.

This also involves the reputation, values, positions, and interests of Georgia State University and the Department of Chemistry. The aggression of Japanese militarism in the Second World War caused harm to the people of many countries such as the United States, China, South Korea, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, and Southeast Asian countries. Gu Yi (Sulaiman Gu) confuses right and wrong and insults the victimized group. The United States has freedom of speech, but such speeches and actions that insult the victims of the fascist war, deny the tragedy of the Holocaust, and confuse the difference between a just war and an unjust war should not be condoned.

It should also be noted that Sulaiman Gu is a member of the National Association of Chinese Students and Scholars (American Association of Chinese Students and Scholars (Independent Federation of Chinese Students and ScholarsIFCSS) has been active in political opposition activities involving China for many years, and is very well-known and active. Sulaiman Gu has also been closely related to those who support Manchurias independence for a long time. So this may not be his personal behavior , but there are supporters and teams. I have also been exposed by pro-Manchu people to the privacy of my country (I was in the Republic of Serbia at the time, and I told the person where I was out of trust, but he maliciously leaked my private information. One can imagine the loss of morality and integrity of people in such circles). Gu Yi has close contacts with people in these circles. These groups also participated in and protected his behavior (or at least expressed silence). These Manchurians often published praises for Manchuria. The history of Qing aggression against the Han people (such as praising the Qing army's "entry" in 1644) to insult the Han people andderogatoryChinese (theyI consider myself a Manchurian rather than a Chinese,Even if they regard themselves as Chinese when it comes to China's honor and interests)proud of.

This Gu Yi (Sulaiman Gu) may have suffered some serious injuries and bullying from the Chinese, especially the Han people, so he deliberately used hate speech involving Manchuria and Japan to insult and hurt the Chinese, especially the Han people. If this is the case, it is not incomprehensible at all, but he should not confuse right and wrong, and treat innocent people and those who are also victims as objects of hatred and insult. The Chinese Communist Party and the Japanese invaders and those who refuse to repent are all the same ugly people and have a cooperative relationship. Gu Yi (Sulaiman Gu) should oppose it, instead of using the history of Manchu and Japanese aggression and conquest to harm the Chinese people of Han and other nationalities, even the people of Okinawa (Ryukyu), the people of the United States, and all good people in the world.

Of course, on the whole, among the Chinese political opponents, according to their daily words and deeds, most of them should not agree with Gu Yi (Sulaiman Gu)s views, and they cannot equate the mainstream opposition groups with him, but for Gu Yi (Sulaiman Gu ) but remained largely silent or sheltered. It is also distressing and alarming. Opposing the dictatorship and evil deeds of the Chinese Communist Party does not mean that we should oppose China and hate the Han and Chinese. On the contrary, we should love the motherland and the people more. Even what the CCP has done should be analyzed reasonably rather than totally denied. This should be the basic principle of normal political opposition. Personally, I am also a political opponent, but I have always adhered to the principles of patriotism and democracy.

I hope you will stop Gu Yi (Sulaiman Gu) from doing any contact, commenting, or harassing me in any form, and from posting similar hate speeches and defamatory speeches on any platforms and groups, and making comments on him. Hate speech is judged and punished. Regardless of their current school status or whether they have completed their studies, you should respond. If it involves a violation of the law, I hope you will notify the US judiciary to intervene. If you are unwilling to deal with it, I will continue to report to various agencies and expand public opinion, and take measures including reporting to the police, resorting to the law, or using other necessary means to protect my dignity, safety, and innocence. harassment, and the national dignity of the Chinese people. (I also support other Chinese and Chinese to fight evil people in an appropriate and reasonable way, and safeguard the dignity and rights of the nation)

Sincerely,

Wang Qingmin

2023.8.8

(An English version is attached to this article, and it is sent to relevant people who are not native speakers of Chinese. Everyone is welcome to forward, tell, comment, and uphold justice)





P.S. From August 9th to 11th, I went to the Memorial to the Murder of Jews in Berlin (I am in Berlin, Germany) and the memorial hall to display posters commemorating the Nanjing Massacre and the Armenian Massacre.

I also showed posters of political opposition figure Sulaimam Gu provoking Nanjing Massacre victims, participating in the denial of the massacre group's statements and their identities. I took screenshots of his words and actions and printed them on the poster. I also mentioned that he is a member of several democratic movement organizations in the United States, participated in many important activities, and served as a judge and other important positions.

I put these posters on tombstones. If these dead Jews had souls, they would definitely sympathize with the victims of the Nanjing Massacre in China, and condemn those who denied the massacre and provoked the victims.

I also showed a poster of Chinese-American author Iris Shun-Ru Chang who wrote The Rape of Nanking.

History cannot be forgotten. Those who provoke and deny the victims of the Holocaust must be condemned and punished.

I also sent these to the ladies and gentlemen of Georgia State University, I hope you know. If you have been silent, I will also include your silence in the record content, indicating that you refuse to deal with and express your position. Your silence and inaction, of course, is also a statement, position, and behavior.

There is a sentence in "Modernity and the Holocaust" by Polish writer and sociologist Zygmund Baumann:"The road to Auschwitz was paved with hatred, but the road was paved with indifference."

On August 15th, I went to the grave of Johann Rabe in Berlin and laid flowers. Thanks to this German friend for saving the lives of tens of thousands of Nanjing citizens and Chinese people.

In this world, there are always some righteous people. Schindler of the East, humanitarian hero in distress, eternal friend of the Chinese, rest in peace












Vancouver, October 4, 2023 - Iconic Minerals Ltd. (TSXV: ICM) (OTCQB: ICMFF) (FSE: YQG) (the "Company" or "Iconic") the Company is pleased to announce that Iconic will commence trading under a new OTCQB symbol: ICMFF, on Thursday, October 5, 2023.

The Company is currently focused on the exploration and development of its two prospective lithium brine properties located in Nevada, USA.

About the Grass Valley Project

The Grass Valley Property is a lithium exploration project consisting of 997 placer claims covering an area of 80 km2 (31 mi2). Located approximately 60 km (36 miles) northeast of Austin, Nevada, the property expresses indicators of a potential lithium brine system. The large, enclosed basin is surrounded by mountains with ample felsic volcanics and intrusives, has active hot spring systems on 3 sides of the valley, and surface salt lithium assays as high as 510 ppm Li and an MT survey, run by Fritz Geophysics, shows an interpreted major brine zone extending from approximately 500 meters (1,600 feet) to over 1,000 meters (3,300 feet) below the surface.

About the Smith Creek Project

The Smith Creek Project is located within Smith Creek Valley in Nevada, which is approximately 60 km (37 miles) long and 16 km (10 miles) wide. Quartz-rich volcanic tuffs containing anomalous amounts of lithium occur within and adjacent to the valley. Surface sampling around hot springs on patented ground just off the claim block assayed a maximum of 470 ppm Li. The gravity low within the valley is 16 km (10 miles) long, and the current estimates of depth to basement rocks range from 1,300 to 1,500 meters (4,200 to 5,000 feet). The current claim block covers an area of 67 km2 (26 mi2) with potential for brine systems as well as sediment resources.

Qualified Person

Richard Kern, Certified Professional Geologist, a qualified person as defined by Canadian National Instrument 43-101, has reviewed and approved the technical information contained in this news release. Mr. Kern is not independent of the Company as he is the Chief Executive Officer of Iconic.

On behalf of the Board of Directors

SIGNED: "Richard Barnett"

Richard Barnett, CFO

Contact: Keturah Nathe, VP Corporate Development (604) 336-8614

For further information on Iconic, please visit our website at www.iconicminerals.com. The Company's public documents may be accessed at www.sedar.com.

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This news release contains forward-looking statements and forward-looking information (collectively, "forward-looking statements") within the meaning of applicable Canadian and U.S. securities legislation, including the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, included herein including, without limitation, statements with respect to the Option, the Joint Venture, the amount of the Offering, the expected use of proceeds from the Offering and the future business plans and exploration activities of the Company, are forward-looking statements. Although the Company believes that such statements are reasonable, it can give no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct. Forward-looking statements are typically identified by words such as: "will", "believes", "expects", "anticipates", "intends", "estimates", "plans", "may", "should", "potential", "scheduled" or variations of such words and phrases and similar expressions, which, by their nature, refer to future events or results that may, could, would, might or will occur or be taken or achieved. In making the forward-looking statements in this news release, the Company has applied several material assumptions, including without limitation, that investor interest will be sufficient to close the Offering, that market fundamentals will result in sustained precious metals demand and prices, the receipt of any necessary permits, licenses and regulatory approvals required for the Option Agreement and the future development of the Company's projects in a timely manner.

Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the Company to differ materially from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking information. Such risks and other factors include, among others, operating and technical difficulties in connection with mineral exploration and development activities, actual results of exploration activities, including on the Smith Creek Property, requirements for additional capital, future prices of lithium and gold, changes in general economic conditions, changes in the financial markets and in the demand and market price for commodities, lack of investor interest in future financings, accidents, labour disputes and other risks of the mining industry, delays in obtaining governmental approvals, permits or financing or in the completion of development or construction activities, risks relating to epidemics or pandemics such as COVID-19, including the impact of COVID-19 on the business, financial condition and exploration and development activities of the Company, changes in laws, regulations and policies affecting mining operations, title disputes, the inability of the Company to obtain any necessary permits, consents, approvals or authorizations, including of the TSX Venture Exchange in respect of the Option Agreement and the Offering, the timing and possible outcome of any pending litigation, environmental issues and liabilities, and risks related to joint venture operations, and other risks and uncertainties disclosed in the Company's latest interim Management's Discussion and Analysis and filed with the Canadian Securities Authorities. All of the Company's Canadian public disclosure filings may be accessed via www.sedar.com and readers are urged to review these materials, including the technical reports filed with respect to the Company's mineral properties.

Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. The Company undertakes no obligation to update any of the forward-looking statements in this news release or incorporated by reference herein, except as otherwise required by law.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/182972
Vancouver, October 5, 2023 - Recharge Resources Ltd. ("Recharge" or the "Company") (RR:CSE) (RECHF:OTC) (SL5:Frankfurt) is delighted to announce the Company has received very favourable porosity and permeability results from the core analysis conducted by Core Laboratories in Australia from its Lithium Brine Project, Pocitos One in Salta, Argentina. The results will be input into the resource estimate calculations currently being prepared by WSP Australia as announced on July 24th, 2023.

In addition the core from 2018 holes PO1 and PO2 are being relogged by our geologists.

Results



Click Image To View Full Size

Table 1. Core laboratories final results from 7 cores tested

The value of effective porosity over 5% is acceptable and higher than 10% is exceptional at these depths and shows the sediments are not compacted at depth possibly containing a significant amount of brine (defined as porosity). Based on the porosity characteristics by depth, due to the presence of secondary pores, stratigraphic static pressure, and other factors, porosity shows fluctuations with increasing depth.

Generally speaking we will observe higher rates in bore holes than the laboratory. Additional work will be done using data and applying Darcy's Law to determine the flow rate (also known as permeability) through the uncompacted sediments containing halite and fractures. The primary goal in pore assessment is to quantify these pores, not just in terms of shape and size, but how they contribute to the overall fabric of the wet clays and its ability to transmit lithium bearing brines, and the bulk physical properties of the clay/halite sediments. Given the results and extreme flow rates from drill holes 1,2 and 3 at Pocitos we look forward to more positive results.

Porosity Work has been done on similar clay siltstone and sand sediments and the graph Figure 1 shows the transmission and grain size relativity.



Click Image To View Full Size

Figure 1 The Pocitos clays are between 10-100m showing excellent transmission properties. From - Zhang, Zhichao, Pan, Zhenhui, Ping, 2022/07/01, Microstructural and mechanical effect of salt crystallization on remolded loess, 81, 10.1007/s12665-022-10476-9, Environmental Earth Sciences. m is a micrometer or micron and 1 m =0.001 millimeters.

David Greenway, President, and CEO commented, "I am excited to see things continue to develop positively for the Pocitos Lithium Brine Project. We are pushing forward on all fronts with our inaugural NI 43-101, a completed MT geophysics survey, a pending drill program, and a planned upcoming NI 43-101 resource estimate. The recently completed MT survey shows us exactly where the conductive brines containing lithium have been concentrating. These developments should make for an exciting next period for Recharge and its stakeholders at the Pocitos Project."

About Pocitos Lithium Brine Project

The Pocitos 1 Project is located approximately 10km from the township of Pocitos where there is gas, electricity, and accommodation. Pocitos 1 is approximately 800 hectares and is accessible by road. Collective exploration totals over US$2.0 million developing the project, including surface sampling, trenching, TEM and MT geophysics and drilling three wells that had outstanding brine flow results. Locations for immediate follow up drilling have already been designed and identified for upcoming exploration.

Lithium values of 169 ppm from drill hole 3 packer test assayed from laboratory analysis conducted by Alex Stewart were recorded during the project's December 2022 drill campaigns. A double packer sampling system in HQ Diamond drill holes were drilled to a depth of up to 409 metres. The flow of brine was observed to continue for more than five hours. All holes had exceptional brine flow rates. A NI 43-101 report has been released on the Pocitos 1 project.

Recharge is awaiting the completion of the process engineering work to be completed by Ekosolve Ltd to produce and assay the lithium carbonate being produced, where extraction was above 94% of the contained lithium in the brine i.e. 158.86ppm of lithium would have been recovered from 169ppm.

WSP Australia is waiting on the relogging of the cores to be completed before it delivers the Company's maiden resource estimate at Pocitos 1 that will result in an update of the NI 43-101 report completed by QP Phillip Thomas in June 2023.



Click Image To View Full Size

Figure 2. Pocitos Lithium Claim Map

Qualified Person

Phillip Thomas, BSc Geol, MBusM, FAusIMM, MAIG, MAIMVA, (CMV), a Qualified Person as defined under NI 43-101 regulations, has reviewed the technical information that forms the basis for portions of this news release, and has approved the disclosure herein.

Mr. Thomas is independent of the Company and is not a shareholder of Recharge Resources. He visited the property between January 15th-22nd, 2023 and 8 May 2023 to select core to be sampled for resource estimate calculations.

About Recharge Resources

Recharge Resources is a Canadian mineral exploration company focused on exploring and developing the production of high-value battery metals to create green, renewable energy to meet the demands of the advancing electric vehicle and fuel cell vehicle market.

All Stakeholders are encouraged to follow the Company on its social media profiles on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

On Behalf of the Board of Directors

"David Greenway"

David Greenway, CEO

For further information, please contact:

Recharge Resources Ltd.

Joel Warawa

Phone: 778-588-5473

E-Mail: info@recharge-resources.com

Website: recharge-resources.com

Neither the Canadian Securities Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the CSE) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Disclaimer for Forward-Looking Information

Certain statements in this release are forward-looking statements, which reflect the expectations of management regarding Recharge's intention to continue to identify potential transactions and make certain corporate changes and applications. Forward looking statements consist of statements that are not purely historical, including any statements regarding beliefs, plans, expectations, or intentions regarding the future. Such statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results, performance, or developments to differ materially from those contained in the statements. No assurance can be given that any of the events anticipated by the forward-looking statements will occur or, if they do occur, what benefits Recharge will obtain from them. These forward-looking statements reflect managements' current views and are based on certain expectations, estimates and assumptions which may prove to be incorrect. A number of risks and uncertainties could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements, including Recharge's results of exploration or review of properties that Recharge does acquire. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date of this news release and Recharge assumes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements, or to update the reasons why actual results differed from those projected in the forward-looking statements, except in accordance with applicable securities laws.

###

Copyright (c) 2023 TheNewswire - All rights reserved.
VANCOUVER, Oct. 05, 2023 - Fireweed Metals Corp. ("Fireweed" or the "Company") (TSXV: FWZ; OTCQB: FWEDF) is pleased to announce it has completed a geophysical survey on its Gayna Project (zinc-lead-silver-gallium-germanium) ("Gayna" or "the Project"), in the Northwest Territories, Canada (Map 1).

Highlights

Exploration is targeting reef margin high-grade massive sulphide mineralization using a ground gravity geophysical survey.

The 2022 geophysical program identified two broad areas with gravity anomalies consistent with Kipushi-style targets.

The 2023 gravity survey aims to expand the gravity coverage to identify new anomalies, and to refine existing anomalies for future drill-testing.

CEO Statement

Brandon Macdonald, CEO, stated "We are very excited to continue work on Gayna; the new interpretations of historical data combined with our geophysical and geochemical surveys show that the Project has significant potential to host a similar style of mineralization to the world-class Kipushi deposit. With recent surface samples showing high-grade zinc (Zn) and lead (Pb), the 2023 survey work will allow higher resolution definition of targets in preparation for future drill testing."

2023 Geophysical Survey

Crews completed a three-week long, low-impact ground gravity survey at Gayna. The survey provided infill coverage of the 2022 grid; covered targets A, B, C, F, and L (Map 4); and expanded the grid to cover more reef-margin targets.





Map 1: Gayna Project Location Relative to Fireweed's Flagship Macpass and Mactung Projects





Map 2: Gayna Project Geology





Map 3: Gayna Project Claims and Historical Drill Collars

Gayna Project (zinc-lead-silver-gallium-germanium)

The Gayna prospects are hosted in dominantly carbonate sedimentary rocks of Neoproterozoic age within the Mackenzie Mountains. These carbonate units consist of a succession of shale-carbonate rocks containing calcimicrobial limestone reefs formed by stromatolites and possibly early sponges. The reefs are surrounded by comparatively deeper-water sediments intermixed with reef-derived talus, with individual reefs several hundred metres to over three kilometres in diameter and hundreds of metres in thickness. This sharp, near-vertical interface between the reef and the surrounding sedimentary rocks is being targeted as an environment analogous to the high-grade Big Zinc Zone at the Kipushi deposit in the Democratic Republic of Congo1. Mineralization discovered at Gayna to date occurs in veins and breccias in carbonate rocks similar to Mississippi-Valley-Type (MVT) mineralization, or Irish-type Zn-Pb mineralization. Sphalerite and minor galena occur as infill within veins, vugs, and breccias along with dolomite-calcite-quartz-pyrite. This mineralization is interpreted as the distal expression of Kipushi-style massive sulphide mineralization that may be present along the subvertical margins of the carbonate reefs. This steep reef margin geometry at Gayna was not tested by historical, sub-vertical drill holes that targeted sub-horizontal, shallowly dipping mineralization. The geophysics work from 2022 shows compelling gravity targets, and the data generated in the 2023 gravity program will guide future drilling programs to test these anomalies using inclined drillholes.

Rio Tinto completed over 28,000 m of exploration drilling at Gayna in the 1970's to test targets identified by prospecting or soil geochemistry, and to test stratiform targets with a grid drilling approach utilizing vertical holes on a square grid with an average spacing of 600 m between holes (Map 3). Given the vertical holes and the wide historic drill grid spacing, these drill programs left the concept of subvertical bodies of massive sulphide mineralization untested. The Project was restaked by Fireweed in 2022 to test the new exploration concept that Kipushi-style, high-grade massive sulphide may be present at Gayna.

A ground gravity survey, an airborne LiDAR survey, and an orthophoto survey were carried out in 2022 to acquire high-quality geophysical data using modern technology and practices. The results of the 2022 gravity program delineated several gravity-high anomalies over the inferred position of the reef-margins. For an overview of results from the 2022 program, please refer to Fireweed news release dated November 17, 2022.

A limited 2022 rock sampling program at known showings returned samples with high zinc, silver, and lead concentrations, and also contained elevated concentrations of the critical minerals gallium (2 to 42 ppm) and germanium (9 to 99 ppm) (locations of the 8 samples shown on Map 4 and assays in Table 1). The 2022 rock sampling returned a specimen with a spectacular zinc grade of 51.2%, as well as another sample grading 73.7% lead (Photo 1). These samples, while derived from surface boulders, illustrate the potential for an undiscovered source(s) of massive sulphides with extremely high grades, comparable to Kipushi, hosted in the same reef-margin environment. Several extensive, high magnitude lead-zinc soil anomalies present on the Project are not readily explained by the results of the historic drilling and show potential for yet undiscovered high-grade massive sulphide mineralization along the reef-margins.





Map 4: 2022 Gayna Project Rock Sample Locations

Table 1: 2022 Gayna Project Rock Grab Samples

Sample Zn (%) Pb (%) Ag (ppm) Ga (ppm) Ge (ppm) Target Easting Northing 3200018 9.7 0.1 2.9 5 14 A Showing 419512 7203599 3200019 7.3 0.0 <0.5 3 9 F Showing 420506 7203716 3200020 16.8 <0.01 7.4 16 62 B Showing 418370 7203568 3200021 33.3 0.0 6.4 6 44 A Showing 419481 7203535 3200022 27.7 0.0 0.9 4 29 A Showing 419467 7203510 3200024 9.3 73.7 40.5 4 88 C Showing 418087 7203727 3200025 51.2 0.1 1.2 42 39 D Showing 416623 7207019 3200026 24.6 0.0 18.4 2 99 G Showing 421884 7201915

Coordinate reference system: UTM Zone 9 NAD83





Photo 1: Gayna Project Rock Sample with Massive Galena-Sphalerite

Qualified Person Statement

Technical information in this news release has been approved by Fireweed Metals' VP Geology, Jack Milton, Ph.D., P.Geo. (BC), a 'Qualified Person' as defined under Canadian National Instrument 43-101.

About Fireweed Metals Corp. (TSXV: FWZ; OTCQB: FWEDF; FSE:20F): Fireweed Metals is a public mineral exploration company on the leading edge of Critical Minerals project development. Fireweed is well-funded, with a strong current cash position and is currently carrying out a large 2023 exploration program. The Company has three projects located in Canada:

Macpass Project (zinc-lead-silver): Fireweed owns 100% of the district-scale 940 km 2 Macmillan Pass ("Macpass") Project in Yukon, Canada, which is host to one of the largest undeveloped zinc resources in the world* where the Tom and Jason zinc-lead-silver deposits have current Mineral Resources 2 (11.21 Mt Indicated Resource at 6.59% zinc, 2.48% lead, and 21.33 g/t silver; and 39.47 Mt Inferred Resource at 5.84% zinc, 3.14% lead, and 38.15 g/t silver) and a Preliminary Economic Assessment 3 (PEA). In addition, Boundary Zone, Tom North and End Zone have significant zinc-lead-silver mineralization drilled but not yet classified as mineral resources. The project also includes large blocks of adjacent claims with known showings and significant upside exploration potential.

Macmillan Pass ("Macpass") Project in Yukon, Canada, which is host to one of the largest undeveloped zinc resources in the world* where the Tom and Jason zinc-lead-silver deposits have current Mineral Resources (11.21 Mt Indicated Resource at 6.59% zinc, 2.48% lead, and 21.33 g/t silver; and 39.47 Mt Inferred Resource at 5.84% zinc, 3.14% lead, and 38.15 g/t silver) and a Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA). In addition, Boundary Zone, Tom North and End Zone have significant zinc-lead-silver mineralization drilled but not yet classified as mineral resources. The project also includes large blocks of adjacent claims with known showings and significant upside exploration potential. Mactung Project (tungsten): The Company owns 100% interest in the 37.6 km 2 Mactung Project located adjacent to the Macpass Project. Recently announced mineral resources for Mactung (41.5 Mt Indicated Resource at 0.73% WO 3 and 12.2 Mt Inferred Resource at 0.59% WO 3 ) 4 make it the world's largest high-grade resource of the Critical Mineral tungsten*. Located in Canada, it is one of the rare large tungsten resources outside of China*.

Mactung Project located adjacent to the Macpass Project. Recently announced mineral resources for Mactung (41.5 Mt Indicated Resource at 0.73% WO and 12.2 Mt Inferred Resource at 0.59% WO ) make it the world's largest high-grade resource of the Critical Mineral tungsten*. Located in Canada, it is one of the rare large tungsten resources outside of China*. Gayna Project (zinc-lead-gallium-germanium): Fireweed owns 100% of the 128.75 km2 Gayna project located 180 km north of the Macpass Project. It is host to extensive mineralization including Critical Minerals zinc, gallium and germanium as well as lead and silver, outlined by 28,000 m of historical drilling and significant upside potential.



In Canada, Fireweed (TSXV: FWZ) trades on the TSX Venture Exchange. In the USA, Fireweed (OTCQB: FWEDF) trades on the OTCQB Venture Market for early stage and developing U.S. and international companies and is DTC eligible for enhanced electronic clearing and settlement. Investors can find Real-Time quotes and market information for the Company on www.otcmarkets.com. In Europe, Fireweed (FSE: 20F) trades on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange.

Additional information about Fireweed and its projects can be found on the Company's website at FireweedMetals.com and at www.sedarplus.com

ON BEHALF OF Fireweed Metals Corp.

"Brandon Macdonald"

CEO & Director

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Data Verification

Geophysical surveying in 2022 and 2023 was conducted by a qualified and independent contractor under the direction of Fireweed Metals.

Rock samples from the 2022 field program were sent to the Bureau Veritas preparation laboratory in Whitehorse, Yukon, where the samples were crushed and a 500 g split was sent to the Bureau Veritas laboratory in Vancouver, B.C to be pulverized to 85% passing 200-mesh size pulps. Clean crush material was passed through the crusher and clean silica was pulverized between each sample. The pulps were analyzed by 1:1:1 Aqua Regia digestion followed by Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (ICP-ES/ICP-MS) multi-element analyses (BV Code AQ270). All samples were also analyzed for multiple elements by lithium borate fusion and X-ray fluorescence analysis (XRF) finish (BV Code LF725). Over-limit lead (>25.0%) and zinc (>24.0%) were analyzed by lithium borate fusion with XRF finish (BV Code LF726). Samples were subjected to fire assay for gold, platinum and palladium by fusion followed by ICP-ES analysis (BV Code FA330), as well as assay for gallium and germanium by hydrofluoric acid and Aqua Regia digestion followed by ICP-MS analysis (BV Code GC204). For rock samples, silver is reported in this news release by method AQ270, zinc and lead are reported by LF725 or LF726, and gallium and germanium by GS204.

Bureau Veritas (Vancouver) is an independent, international ISO/IEC 17025:2005 accredited laboratory. Laboratory blanks, duplicates, and standards were analysed as part of routine data QAQC.

Cautionary Statements

Forward Looking Statements

This news release contains "forward-looking" statements and information ("forward-looking statements"). All statements, other than statements of historical facts, included herein, including, without limitation, statements relating to mineralization potential, interpretation of drill results, future work plans, the use of funds, and the potential of the Company's projects, are forward looking statements. Forward-looking statements are frequently, but not always, identified by words such as "expects", "anticipates", "believes", "intends", "estimates", "potential", "possible", and similar expressions, or statements that events, conditions, or results "will", "may", "could", or "should" occur or be achieved. Forward-looking statements are based on the beliefs of Company management, as well as assumptions made by and information currently available to Company management and reflect the beliefs, opinions, and projections on the date the statements are made. Forward-looking statements involve various risks and uncertainties and accordingly, readers are advised not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate, and actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the Company's expectations include but are not limited to, exploration and development risks, unanticipated reclamation expenses, expenditure and financing requirements, general economic conditions, changes in financial markets, the ability to properly and efficiently staff the Company's operations, the sufficiency of working capital and funding for continued operations, title matters, First Nations relations, operating hazards, political and economic factors, competitive factors, metal prices, relationships with vendors and strategic partners, governmental regulations and oversight, permitting, seasonality and weather, technological change, industry practices, uncertainties involved in the interpretation of drilling results and laboratory tests, and one-time events. The Company assumes no obligation to update forward?looking statements or beliefs, opinions, projections or other factors, except as required by law.

Footnotes and References

* References to relative size and grade of the Mactung resources and Macpass resources in comparison to other tungsten and zinc deposits elsewhere in the world, respectively, are based on review of the Standard & Poor's Global Market Intelligence Capital IQ database.

1: For details, see Turner, E. C., D. W. Broughton, and T. Brooks. "Neoproterozoic carbonate lithofacies and ore distribution at the Kipushi Cu-Zn deposit, Democratic Republic of Congo, and Gayna River Zn camp, Northwest Territories, Canada." Economic Geology 113.3 (2018): 779-788.

2: For details, see https://www.sedarplus.ca/ Fireweed Technical Report titled "NI 43-101 Technical Report on the Macmillan Pass Zinc-Lead-Silver Project, Watson Lake and Mayo Mining Districts Yukon Territory, Canada" filed on https://www.sedarplus.ca/ on February 23, 2018, and Fireweed News Release dated January 10, 2018.

3: For details, see https://www.sedarplus.ca/ Fireweed Technical Report titled "NI 43-101 Technical Report Macmillan Pass Project Yukon Territory Canada" filed on https://www.sedarplus.ca/ on July 9, 2018, and Fireweed News Release dated May 23, 2018. This Technical Report includes a Preliminary Economic Analysis disclosing an economic analysis of mineral resources that is preliminary in nature and does not include any mineral reserves. It is equally emphasized that the mineral resources disclosed within this Technical Report are not mineral reserves and do not have demonstrated economic viability.

4: For details, see Fireweed news release dated June 13, 2023 "Fireweed Metals Announces Mineral Resources for the Mactung Project: the Largest High-Grade Tungsten Deposit in the World" and the technical report entitled "NI 43-101 Technical Report, Mactung Project, Yukon Territory, Canada," with effective date July 28, 2023 filed on https://www.sedarplus.ca/

Photos accompanying this announcement are available at:

https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/1715dd79-561c-4419-8264-16f7d060e3a7

https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/fac28f13-d26b-46af-bf80-66736817bb88

https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/a890336e-0f44-4564-8f7b-c51a5481c0ca

https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/74023ff0-182b-4a9f-81ee-a061ff8977d5

https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/889295fc-d657-41d8-981c-2e55a220ebc5
Vancouver, October 5, 2023 - Bear Creek Mining Corp. (TSXV: BCM) (BVL: BCM) ("Bear Creek" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that the bought deal financing announced on September 28, 2023 (the "Offering") has closed. The Offering was conducted by BMO Capital Markets ("BMO").

Pursuant to the Offering, the Company issued a total of 27,200,000 units (the "Units") at a price of C$0.35 per Unit (the "Offering Price") for gross proceeds of C$9.5 million. Each Unit is comprised of one common share of the Company (a "Common Share") and one common share purchase warrant of the Company ("Warrant"). Each Warrant will be exercisable to acquire one Common Share (a "Warrant Share") at an exercise price of C$0.42 per Warrant Share until October 5, 2028. The Company has received conditional approval to have the Warrants listed for trading on the TSX Venture Exchange (the "TSXV"), subject to compliance with certain standard listing conditions.

The Company granted an option to BMO, exercisable by BMO at any time on or before the 30th day following the closing date of the Offering, to purchase up to an additional 15% of the Units (the "Additional Units") sold in connection with the Offering at the Offering Price (the "Over-Allotment Option"). The Over-Allotment Option is also exercisable by BMO in respect of: (a) additional Common Shares ("Additional Common Shares") at a price of C$0.27 per Additional Common Share; (b) additional Warrants ("Additional Warrants") at a price of C$0.08 per Additional Warrant; or (c) any combination of Additional Units, Additional Common Shares and/or Additional Warrants, so long as the aggregate number of Common Shares issued under the Over-Allotment Option does not exceed 4,080,000 and the aggregate number of Warrants issued under the Over-Allotment Option does not exceed 4,080,000.

The Company paid BMO a cash commission equal to 6.0% of the aggregate gross proceeds of the Offering in the amount of C$571,200. No other bonus, finder's fee, or commission is payable by the Company in connection with the Offering.

The Company intends to use net proceeds of the Offering to support additional development work at the Company's Mercedes mine in Mexico, to expand on recent positive underground drill results at Mercedes (see Bear Creek news release dated August 30, 2023) and for general working capital purposes, the latter of which will include approximately C$3 million intended to be used to reduce Mercedes' trade payables to a normalized level over the next 2 quarters.

The Offering was completed under a prospectus supplement dated October 2, 2023 (the "Supplement") to the Company's short form base shelf prospectus dated April 3, 2023, which was filed with the securities regulatory authorities in each of the provinces and territories of Canada, except Quebec. The Units were also offered and sold in the United States to certain purchasers, who are, or are purchasing for the account or benefit of, one or more U.S. persons or persons in the United States, each of whom qualifies as a "qualified institutional buyer" as defined in Rule 144A under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "U.S. Securities Act"), and applicable U.S. state securities laws.

The securities offered in the Offering have not been, and will not be, registered under the U.S. Securities Act, or any U.S. state securities laws, and may not be offered or sold in the United States or to, or for the account or benefit of, U.S. persons absent registration or exemptions from the registration requirements of the U.S. Securities Act and applicable U.S. state securities laws. This news release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy securities in the U.S., nor shall there be any sale of these securities in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful. "United States" and "U.S. person" are as defined in Regulation S under the U.S. Securities Act.

A copy of the Supplement can be obtained from BMO Nesbitt Burns Inc., Brampton Distribution Centre C/O The Data Group of Companies, 9195 Torbram Road, Brampton, Ontario, L6S 6H2 by telephone at 905-791-3151 Ext 4312 or by email at torbramwarehouse@datagroup.ca.

On behalf of the Board of Directors,

Eric Caba

President & Chief Executive Officer

For further information contact:

Barbara Henderson - VP Corporate Communications

Direct: 604-628-1111

E-mail: barb@bearcreekmining.com

www.bearcreekmining.com

Subscribe to Bear Creek Mining news

Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Information

This news release contains forward-looking statements regarding: the size of the Offering, use of proceeds under the Offering, the successful listing of the Warrants on the TSXV, the receipt of all required approvals for the Offering and other statements regarding future plans, expectations, exploration potential, guidance, projections, objectives, estimates and forecasts as well as the Company's expectations with respect to such matters. These forward-looking statements are provided as of the date of this news release, or the effective date of the documents referred to in this news release, as applicable, and reflect predictions, expectations or beliefs regarding future events based on the Company's beliefs at the time the statements were made, as well as various assumptions made by and information currently available to them. In making the forward-looking statements included in this news release, the Company has applied several material assumptions, including, but not limited to: the Offering and the listing of the Warrants will receive final approval from the TSXV, assumptions about general business and economic conditions, mineral prices, and anticipated costs and expenditures. Although management considers these assumptions to be reasonable based on information available to it, they may prove to be incorrect. By their very nature, forward-looking statements involve inherent risks and uncertainties, both general and specific, and risks exist that estimates, forecasts, projections and other forward-looking statements will not be achieved or that assumptions on which they are based do not reflect future experience. We caution readers not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements as a number of important factors could cause the actual outcomes to differ materially from the expectations expressed in them. These risk factors may be generally stated as the risk that the assumptions expressed above do not occur, but specifically include, without limitation, risks relating to general market conditions and the additional risks described in the Company's latest Annual Information Form, and other disclosure documents filed by the Company on its SEDAR page at www.sedar.com. The foregoing list of factors that may affect future results is not exhaustive. Investors and others should carefully consider the foregoing factors and other uncertainties and potential events. The Company does not undertake to update any forward-looking statement, whether written or oral, that may be made from time to time by the Company or on behalf of the Company, except as required by law.

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news release

Not for distribution to U.S. news wire services or for dissemination in the United States.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/183008
Vancouver, October 5, 2023 - Thesis Gold Inc. (TSXV: TAU) (WKN: A3EP87) (OTCQX: THSGF) ("Thesis" or the "Company") is pleased to announce today that it has completed a first closing of the brokered private placement announced on September 7, 2023 (the "Offering") for gross proceeds of $4,821,710, representing 4,267,000 premium flow-through common shares (the "Premium FT Shares"). It is expected that the second and final tranche consisting of up to 6,899,600 flow-through common shares for additional gross proceeds of up to $6,416,628 (the "FT Shares") will close on or about October 10, 2023.

Ewan Webster, President, and CEO commented, "With this financing now complete, these funds will allow us to unlock significant value across our projects, achieving key milestones over the next 12 months, including the completion of our 50,000-meter drilling program, an updated global resource estimate covering both the Ranch and Lawyers Projects, followed by a new Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA)."

The gross proceeds from the sale of Premium FT Shares and FT Shares (collectively the "Flow-Through Shares") will be used by the Company to incur eligible "Canadian exploration expenses" that will qualify as "flow-through mining expenditures" as such terms are defined in the Income Tax Act (Canada) (the "Qualifying Expenditures") related to the Company's projects in Canada. All Qualifying Expenditures will be renounced in favour of the subscribers of the Flow-Through Shares effective December 31, 2023.

The Offering was made pursuant to an agency agreement (the "Agency Agreement") among the Company and a syndicate of agents led by Clarus Securities Inc. and including PI Financial Corp. and Cormark Securities Inc. (the "Agents").

Pursuant to the Agency Agreement, the Company (i) paid the Agents a cash commission representing 6% of the gross proceeds raised under the Offering; and (ii) issued to the Agents 256,020 broker warrants each entitling the holder to acquire one non-flow-through common shares of the Company at a price of $1.13 per share at any time for a period of 24 months from the closing date of the Offering.

All securities issued pursuant to this Offering are subject to a restricted hold period of four months and a day, under applicable Canadian securities legislation. The Offering remains subject to the final approval of the TSX Venture Exchange (the "TSXV").

This news release does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any of the securities in the United States. The securities have not been and will not be registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "U.S. Securities Act") or any state securities laws and may not be offered or sold within the United States or to U.S. Persons unless registered under the U.S. Securities Act and applicable state securities laws or an exemption from such registration is available.

On behalf of the Board of Directors

Thesis Gold Inc.

"Ewan Webster"

Ewan Webster Ph.D., P.Geo.

President, CEO, and Director

About Thesis Gold Inc.

Thesis Gold, following its strategic merger with Benchmark Metals, is unlocking the combined potential of the Ranch and Lawyers Gold-Silver Projects in the Toodoggone mining district of north-central British Columbia, Canada. The 2022 Preliminary Economic Assessment for the Lawyers Project alone projected an open-pit mining operation that would yield 163,000 gold equivalent ounces annually over a 12-year span. The Company is now evaluating the integration of the Ranch project, aiming to enhance these figures and bolster the overall potential. Central to this ambition is the 50,000-metre drill program, designed to define the high-grade underground resource at Lawyers and augment the near-surface high-grade deposits at Ranch. The Company's roadmap includes the release of a global Company resource estimate by Q2 2024, followed by an updated Preliminary Economic Assessment in Q3 2024. Through these strategic initiatives, Thesis Gold aspires to rise to the forefront of global precious metals ventures.

For further information or investor relations inquiries, please contact:

Dave Burwell

Vice President Corporate Development

Email: daveb@thesisgold.com

Tel: 403-410-7907

Toll Free: 1-888-221-0915

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this press release.

Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Information

This press release contains "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation. Forward-looking information includes, without limitation, statements regarding the Offering, including the volume and timing of the closing of the second tranche, intended use of proceeds from the Offering, and the future plans or prospects of the Company. Generally, forward-looking information can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "plans", "expects" or "does not expect", "is expected", "budget", "scheduled", "estimates", "forecasts", "intends", "anticipates" or "does not anticipate", or "believes", or variations of such words and phrases or state that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might" or "will be taken", "occur" or "be achieved". Forward-looking statements are necessarily based upon a number of assumptions that, while considered reasonable by management, are inherently subject to business, market, and economic risks, uncertainties, and contingencies that may cause actual results, performance, or achievements to be materially different from those expressed or implied by forward-looking statements. Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking information, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated, or intended. There can be no assurance that such information will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information. Other factors which could materially affect such forward-looking information are described in the risk factors in the Company's most recent annual management's discussion and analysis, which is available on the Company's profile on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca. The Company does not undertake to update any forward-looking information, except in accordance with applicable securities laws.

NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION TO U.S. NEWSWIRE SERVICES OR DISSEMINATION IN THE UNITED STATES

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/182983
TSX Venture Exchange (TSX-V): LIT

Frankfurt Stock Exchange (FSE): OAY3

OTCQB Venture Market (OTC): PNXLF

VANCOUVER, Oct. 5, 2023 - Argentina Lithium & Energy Corp. (TSXV: LIT) (FSE: OAY3) (OTC: PNXLF), ("Argentina Lithium" or the "Company") is pleased to announce closing of the US$90 million1 investment in AR$ equivalent in Argentina Litio y Energia S.A. ("ALE") by Stellantis (defined below) (the "Transaction"), as previously announced in the Company's news release dated September 27, 2023. Stellantis is one of the world's leading automakers and mobility providers with iconic brands including Abarth, Alfa Romeo, Chrysler, Citroen, Dodge, DS Automobiles, Fiat, Jeep, Lancia, Maserati, Opel, Peugeot, RAM, Vauxhall, Free2Move and Leasys.

Pursuant to the Transaction, Peugeot Citroen Argentina S.A., a subsidiary of Stellantis N.V. ("Stellantis"), has invested the ARS$ equivalent of US$90 million1 in Argentina to acquire shares of ALE (the "ALE Shares"). Further, the Company has granted Stellantis the right (the "Exchange Right") to exchange all of the ALE Shares for up to 19.9% of the outstanding common shares of Argentina Lithium (on an undiluted basis) in the future, subject to certain conditions set out in an exchange agreement. In connection with the Transaction, the parties have also entered into a lithium offtake agreement, a shareholders' agreement with respect to ALE and, upon exercise of the Exchange Right, Argentina Lithium and Stellantis will enter into an investor rights agreement. The proceeds of the Transaction will be used to advance development of the Company's lithium projects held through its wholly owned subsidiary in Argentina, and for general corporate purposes.

As a result of the Transaction, Stellantis owns 19.9% of the issued and outstanding ALE Shares and Argentina Lithium owns 80.1%.

About Stellantis

Stellantis N.V. (NYSE: STLA / Euronext Milan: STLAM / Euronext Paris: STLAP) is one of the world's leading automakers and a mobility provider. Its storied and iconic brands embody the passion of their visionary founders and today's customers in their innovative products and services, including Abarth, Alfa Romeo, Chrysler, Citroen, Dodge, DS Automobiles, Fiat, Jeep, Lancia, Maserati, Opel, Peugeot, RAM, Vauxhall, Free2Move and Leasys. Powered by their diversity, Stellantis leads the way the world moves - aspiring to become the greatest sustainable mobility tech company, not the biggest, while creating added value for all stakeholders as well as the communities in which it operates. For more information, visit www.stellantis.com.

About Argentina Lithium

Argentina Lithium & Energy Corp. is focused on acquiring high quality lithium projects in Argentina and advancing them toward production in order to meet the growing global demand from the battery sector. The management group has a long history of success in the resource sector of Argentina and has assembled a first-rate team of experts to acquire and advance the best lithium properties in the "Lithium Triangle". The Company is a member of the Grosso Group, a resource management group that has pioneered exploration in Argentina since 1993.

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD

"Nikolaos Cacos"

_______________________________

Nikolaos Cacos, President, CEO and Director

Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

This news release may contain forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements address future events and conditions and therefore involve inherent risks and uncertainties. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, that address activities, events or developments the Company believes, expects or anticipates will or may occur in the future, including, without limitation, the Transaction; the use of proceeds; the strengths, characteristics and potential of the Transaction; Argentina Lithium's plans for, and the future prospects of, its mineral properties; the exercise of the Exchange Right by Stellantis; entering into the Investor Rights Agreement; production of lithium products and the successful start of commercial production at Argentina Lithium's mineral properties are forward-looking statements.

Forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that may cause the actual results of the Company to differ materially from those discussed in the forward-looking statements and, even if such actual results are realized or substantially realized, there can be no assurance that they will have the expected consequences to, or effects on, the Company. Factors that could cause actual results or events to differ materially from current expectations include, among other things: failure to receive TSXV approval; failure to satisfy the condition precedents, the potential that the Transaction could be terminated under certain circumstances; the impact of COVID-19; risks and uncertainties related to the ability to obtain, amend, or maintain licenses, permits, or surface rights; risks associated with technical difficulties in connection with mining activities; and the possibility that future exploration, development or mining results will not be consistent with the Company's expectations. Actual results may differ materially from those currently anticipated in such statements. Readers are encouraged to refer to the Company's public disclosure documents for a more detailed discussion of factors that may impact expected future results. The Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, unless required pursuant to applicable laws. We advise U.S. investors that the SEC's mining guidelines strictly prohibit information of this type in documents filed with the SEC. U.S. investors are cautioned that mineral deposits on adjacent properties are not indicative of mineral deposits on our properties.



1 As per the official exchange rate of Argentina Central Bank

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/argentina-lithium-closes-us90-million-investment-by-stellantis-in-ars-equivalent-301948780.html

SOURCE Argentina Lithium & Energy Corp.
The Trump family's penchant for running at the mouth continues to upset their failed real estate empire. Having already seen NY State Judge Arthur Engoron further restrict their access to their assets, blocking moves to hide money, a Florida Congressperson is asking Mar-A-Lago's property assessor to reconsider the current taxable valuation.

In response to Judge Engoron mentioning that some folks had pretty low valuations for Mar-A-Lago and other Trump properties, the Family went nuts proclaiming the fantastic value of everything they own. One valuation offered for their weird supper club and illegal document storage facility in Florida was over $1B. Certainly, Eric insists, it is worth $490. The current taxable value seems to be $26 million. Congressperson Jared Moskowitz hopes the Palm Beach County Property Assessor can fix this clear mistake and honor Trump with a very high tax bill.

RawStory:


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AGI moves to reduce cost of energy for industries

Elizabeth Nyaadu Adu Business News Oct - 05 - 2023 , 05:36

In its quest to cut rising energy costs for industries, the Association of Ghana Industries-Energy Service Centre (AGI-ESC), has launched a network to promote the use of renewable energy to reduce cost in energy usage within Ghanas industrial sector.

Dubbed Energy Efficiency Network (EEN), it will provide a platform for industries in Ghana to improve their energy efficiency, thereby reducing their energy costs and carbon emissions and enhancing their competitiveness within the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) framework.

The network, made up of 12 industries across various sectors including plastic, steel, food, agribusiness, pharmaceutical and cosmetics, will run until December 2025.

Each member company will be provided with technical support, including an ISO 50002:2014 compliant comprehensive audit that will enable companies to assess their energy and CO2 savings potential, estimate the cost of the required investment, analyse the economic benefits of the measures, individual energy savings targets and return on investment for each measure.

Through the Energy Efficiency Network (ENN), industries will enjoy reduced operational expenses, improved energy security and a reduced carbon footprint which will contribute to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly Goal 7 - Affordable and Clean Energy, Goal 9 - Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure, and Goal 13- a Climate Action.

Energy efficiency

In a speech read on his behalf at the launch of the network in Accra yesterday (September 29), the Minister of Energy, Matthew Opoku Prempeh, said the EEN is one of the benefits that the ESC presents to Ghanas commercial and industrial users of electricity.

He said the network is envisaged to provide a platform for interaction and collaboration among commercial and industrial clients as they come together to explore solutions to address energy management challenges through knowledge and experience sharing.

Energy efficiency, he said, was a critical part of Ghanas Renewable Master Plan (REMP) which highlights the adoption of energy conservation practices and the promotion of energy-efficient technologies.

The minister explained that the establishment and operationalisation of the energy efficiency network will contribute to the governments policy on the promotion of energy efficiency in homes, industry and commerce, which is earmarked to generate an emission reduction of 1,899.3 kilotonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent.

That, he said, can be monetised under Ghanas Article 6.2 and 6.4 framework to bring additional revenue to the industrial and commercial sectors.

Mr Opoku Prempeh stressed the importance and need for continuous investments in renewable energy (RE) and energy efficiency (EE) in Ghana.

He said the government is poised to make the industrial and commercial sector of this country very competitive.

Cost of Energy

The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Association of Ghana Industries (AGI), Seth Twum Akwaboah, said the increase in electricity tariff calls for other affordable and more sustainable alternatives for businesses to keep running.

The network, he said, would help to achieve that objective.

The establishment of the AGI energy service centre was to promote the use of renewable energy and energy efficiency among companies.

More efficiency in the usage of energy helps to reduce energy costs and cost of production, which helps businesses to become more competitive to capture a good share of both local and international market, he said.

This network has been formed so that companies that want to go solar or companies that want to go renewable will be able to work together to be able to share information and resources, and also harness opportunities in the system and facilitate the access to solar energy, Mr Twum Akwaboah said.
Kwabena Kwabena joins Nana Kobo to donate to Mamobi Senior Correction Centre

Kofi Duah Showbiz News Oct - 05 - 2023 , 11:07

Inmates of the Senior Correction Centre in Mamobi, Accra on Monday, October 2 experienced the much-touted benevolent, compassionate and generous hands of renowned Ghanaian business mogul and philanthropist, Nana Kobo.

Nana Kobo, in the company of ace Ghanaian hi-life artiste, Kwabena Kwabena paid a quintessential visit to the correction facility to support the inmates and stimulate their interest and hope for a better life despite their current challenging situations.

During his visit, Nana Kobo was accompanied by the renowned Ghanaian hi-life artiste, Kwabena Kwabena, adding an extra layer of significance to the event. Together, they aimed to uplift the spirits of the inmates and instill hope for a better future, despite the challenging circumstances they currently face.

Nana Kobo's contributions impressive gesture included the donation of various essential items worth hundreds of thousands of cedis. These items encompassed sacks of rice, boxes of bottled water, packs of assorted drinks, various food items, and toiletries, all of which will undoubtedly aid the inmates during their stay at the prison facility.

In addition to these material donations, Nana Kobo also generously provided an undisclosed but significant amount of money to the Senior Correction Centre.

Prior to making the donation, Nana Kobo feted the inmates during which he shared some important and priceless words of motivation and inspiration with them.

Using his awe-inspiring story as an example, Nana Kobo charged the inmates not to give up on life and continue to hope for the best.

He encouraged them to leverage on some of the opportunities offered by the prison and turn their lives around when they eventually leave the facility.

What I will tell you is that dont lose hope. Dont give up on live because challenges are part of life. Nothing comes easy in this life. You will suffer and face challenges but at the end of the day youll be successful.

We built our life slowly and methodically. We fell down but didnt stay there and that is why we are here today. Let your lives reflect that of Christ so that one day youll have testimonies. God bless you all and lift you up from your current challenges, he said.

Kwabena Kwabena, on his part entertained the inmates with his some of his hit and inspirational songs and encouraged them to keep hopes alive.

He reserved special praises for Nana Kobo for coming to the aid of the inmates and beseeched the grace of heaven on him.

Receiving the items on behalf of the prison service and inmates, the prison described as overwhelming the gesture by Nana Kobo and prayed spiritedly for him. She assured that the items will be used for the intended purpose.
National Theatre is severely malnourished -Dr Mensa Otabil

Graphic Showbiz Showbiz News Oct - 05 - 2023 , 19:54

Renowned preacher and General Overseer of International Central Gospel Church(ICGC), Dr Mensa Otabil is certainly not happy about the state of the National Theatre describing it as severe malnourished due to poor maintenance culture.

Speaking at this years Experience Conference 2023 at the Maker's House Chapel on Sunday, October 1, 2023, Dr Otabil commended Dr. Michael Boadi Nyamekye, the Founder of Maker's House Chapel, for constructing state-of-the-art auditoriums.

Dr Mensa Otabil noted that while individuals like Dr Boadi Nyamekye built modern auditoriums which were properly maintained, same couldnt be said of state facilities such as the National Theatre, insinuating that its present state is not one to be proud of.

Many times, when we see God use a person like Dr. Boadi Nyamekye here, and you see him and see the amazing work that God has done with him.

In this church on this campus, you have one of the most beautiful church campuses anywhere this is, this is a high-class place.

This is how even government of Ghana will struggle to build this and I am not in any way insulting the Government of Ghana. I'm just speaking like Jesus Christ Let the facts be the facts. Because you know, our National Theatre which is under severe malnourishment was built by the Chinese and dashed to us," he said.

Dr Mensa Otabils comment has heightened discussions about the present conditions of the National Theatre which has been a home to many events in the country.

A number of industry players, particularly playwrights who use it as venue for their shows have been lamenting about the poor facilities and unavailability of key equipment to aid their production, topping the list.

In December last year, playwright, Kobina Ansah suffered the unfortunate incident of putting his play, Once Upon a Riddle, on hold for many hours when the light went off in the middle of the show.

Actor Fiifi Coleman, spoken word artist, Oswald Okaitei among many others continue to vent their frustrations, hoping for better days.

Read also: No stadium! It will rain when I start singing 'Open the floodgates', says Sonnie Badu

Appreciate the painstaking investment Nigeria has made in its creative industry and stop the needless comparison -Mawuli Gavor
3-Year temporary ban on new canoe entrants

Karimatu Anas Opinion Oct - 05 - 2023 , 05:39

One of the major contributing factors to the drastic decline in Ghanas small pelagic stock is overcapacity (too many vessels) in the sector which has resulted in overfishing.

The current race to catch the last fish is a direct result of Ghanas open access in the artisanal sector that puts no restrictions on new entrants.

There is an absence of sufficient regulatory and enforcement measures to restrict canoe fleet catch and effort to sustainable levels.

Not only have the number of canoes increased, but also their efficiency.

Over the past decades, the sizes of the canoes have increased and fishing nets have become larger and longer, with high-powered outboard motors, which enables fishers to go further per trip, coupled with subsidies on fishing inputs (fuel, nets, outboard motors, etc).

Overfishing with a corresponding reduction of stocks has driven fishermen to spend more hours/days at sea as they struggle to make fishing profitable, even with government-supported fuel subsidies.

The report by the Scientific Technical Working Group (STWG) on the status of the small pelagic stocks in Ghana reveals that stocks are likely to collapse completely in the near future,unless there is a significant and rapid reduction in fishing pressure.

This demonstrates the urgent need for stringent interventions to halt and reverse this trend.

Thus, the Ministry of Fisheries and Aquaculture Development and the Fisheries Commission (FC) has placed a three-year temporary ban (moratorium) on all New Canoe Entrants in the Marine Sector from October 1, 2023 to September 30, 2026.

Newly carved canoe being conveyed to the seaside

So, for the next three years, new canoes are not expected to be built and brought into the system.

Additionally, to ensure the smooth implementation of the moratorium, all existing and newly built canoes are to be registered and embossed with numbers in compliance before the implementation period.

Rationale

Per statistics, the marine canoe sector, which harvests particularly small pelagics, plays a significant role in the national economy.

Despite their substantial contribution to the national economy, marine small pelagic resources are considered severely overfished (FAO/CECAF; 2015 STWG, 2016; & STWG, 2017).

The small pelagic fishery consists mainly of round sardinella (Sardinella aurita), flat sardinella (Sardinella maderensis), anchovies (Engraulis encrasicolus) and mackerel (Scomber colias).

These species make up between 70 to 80 per cent of total marine fish landings in Ghana and are of major importance to the canoe (artisanal) fleet that lands more than 70 per cent of the total small pelagic fish catch.

The canoe sector is the major provider of employment in the marine fisheries sector. In the past, small pelagic fisheries contributed significantly to employment, food security, and poverty reduction in the country.

It is estimated that about 10 per cent of the total population of Ghanaians depend directly or indirectly on fish for their livelihoods, making about 3.3 million of the population.

Fish is the preferred source of animal protein in Ghana.It is estimated that 75 per cent of the total domestic production of fish is consumed locally, representing 60 per cent of total animal protein intake nationally.

Currently,the small pelagic fisheries, particularly the sardines, anchovies and mackerels are on the verge of collapse.

Annual landings have declined for more than a decade as fishing efforts have increased.

A complete collapse of this fishery would adversely affect food & nutrition security, employment/livelihood, the economy, and community/social interactions across Ghana.

Purpose

The overall purpose of the moratorium is to regulate the increasing canoe fleet and control fishing effort to aid in the sustainable management and rebuilding small pelagic stocks with the objective to improve the health of Ghanas fisheries by aligning fishing effort with estimated annual sustainable levels and to manage the countrys artisanal fishery alongside existing measures among others.

Effective implementation of management actions requires close collaboration and active participation of fishers and other relevant stakeholders along the value chain to ensure inclusivity and build ownership to sustain the action.

Supported by the US Agency for International Development (USAID), the Ghana Fisheries Recovery Activity (GFRA), the ministry and the FC, vetted the measure across all relevant stakeholders through a series of engagements organised at national, regional and community levels.

A national dialogue was held on February 16, 2023, with Coastal Regional ministers, the Forestry Commission, the Parliamentary Select Committee on Food, Agriculture and Cocoa

Affairs (PSCFACA) and Metropolitan, Municipal and District Chief Executives (DCEs) from all the 30 coastal districts.

Four regional multi-stakeholder engagements were also held between March 1  9, 2023, with fishers, district assemblies, traditional authorities, academia and other stakeholders who are affected by the management measure.

Members of the canoe carvers association, who are responsible for the carving of canoes from the wawa tree, also participated in the regional dialogues.

More than 1,200 fishers were engaged through 15 cluster community engagements across the four coastal regions in 2022.

Conclusion

The temporal ban (moratorium) on new entrants is in fulfilment of one of the objectives of the approved and gazetted 2022  2026 Marine Fisheries Management Plan, which set out specific targets to manage the artisanal (canoe) fishing fleet through effort control measures.

The moratorium is one of the key steps to manage Ghanas fisheries to sustainable levels and prevent the collapse of the sector.

It is envisaged that over time, canoe numbers would drop as fishers grow old and retire from fishing.

Replacement of existing canoes will only be based on conditions set by the FC, but new capital investments (construction of new boats) will not be allowed during the period of the moratorium.

The writer is the PRO,

MoFAD.
International Literacy Day: Reading must be interesting; not punishing

Daniel Ofosu-Asamoah Opinion Oct - 05 - 2023 , 05:36

Any activity that has a day set aside to commemorate it internationally defines its importance.

Such is the case of literacy, which is commemorated each year on September 8.

Literacy undergirds the growth and development of every society.

It is the light and energy that guide and propel a societys aspiration towards achieving a common goal.

Literacy connects minds and helps bring clarity to different thoughts, practices and behaviours, thereby securing national cohesion.

The basic definition of literacy is the ability to read and write and perform simple numeracy. UNESCO also defines literacy as the ability to understand, interpret, create, communicate and compute, using printed and written materials associated with varying contexts.

Literacy involves a continuum of learning in enabling individuals to achieve their goals, to develop their knowledge and potential, and to participate fully in their community and wider society (UNESCO Institute of Statistics).

Reading, literacy

Reading plays a major role when it comes to the subject of literacy; it is no secret that notwithstanding the importance of reading, we have always complained of low interest in reading.

The question is: If reading, which is cardinal to the subject of literacy, is so important, why do we always record low patronage regarding the number of people who read?

Why would a child who has had a taste of a sumptuous food object to eating it?

The truth is that as a society, we have not found a way to make reading interesting.

My experience as the lead person, who runs reading promotion activities for the Ghana Book Development Council, does not give me an inkling of evidence that schoolchildren in basic schools do not like reading.

Countless times, the schoolchildren we have engaged with have always asked for more time to read when we exhausted the allotted time for such exercises.

There were occasions when some of the pupils sought to copy some of the paragraphs that we read.

I have discussed below some factors that account for sustained interest in reading.

Strategy

A strategy to ensure that children take a delightful interest in reading is how a facilitator conducts or guides reading exercises.

Ultimately, reading must be done not only for acquiring knowledge but also for pleasure.

Reading activities should not be punishing, but interesting.

Since storybooks are ultimately records of societal experiences and views, whether fiction, non-fiction or faction (fact and fiction) they must be read by being talked to reflect the real experiences of people, especially children.

This requires experience, skill and knowledge on the part of those who lead such exercises.

All efforts must be put in place to ensure that reading activities are made interesting.

Growing up, for those who are quite old, we never shunned the storytelling times.

We always embraced them and they were always part of us.

Interest

Another way to generate interest in reading, especially for children, is to give authors some form of training.

Storybooks must not overlook the interests and setting of readers and must reflect current issues that border on the needs and interests of readers.

Authors ought to know how to create the required suspense, mood and tone to be able to sustain readers interest.

Age-appropriate

Finally, publishers can contribute to high interest in reading by ensuring the production of age-appropriate books.

Definitely, a Class One pupil will not take delight in reading a book meant for a Class Six pupil.

In all spheres of life, the beginning of an act is always important. C

onsequently, publishers must focus on a lot of age-appropriate books that are meant for pupils in lower primary schools.

It is at such times that habits are formed.

Books for such level should have illustrations and pictures that are capable of telling the stories, even when children cannot decipher the words in the stories.

Books that are not easy to read at this stage could create perpetual damage to their reading habits and interests.

In conclusion, there is the need to make reading interesting; thus, helping to create a society that reads because of the importance and pleasure of reading.

This is surely the responsibility of everyone and every stakeholder.

As we celebrate International Literacy Day, let us all decide to do our best to create a culture of reading.

The writer is a Senior Literacy Promotion Manager, Ghana Book Development Council.
Actor and comedian Walter Masterson gave Bucks County "Moms for Liberty" a taste of their own medicine at a Central Bucks School District meeting. Known for showing up at school board meetings and berating them with their book ban garbage, at one meeting Masterson shoveled them a truckload of their own bullshit.

Trolling Moms for Liberty at a Central Bucks School Board meeting. #klannedkarenhood pic.twitter.com/gh18fVwyFi  Walter Masterson (@waltermasterson) October 5, 2023

Moms for Liberty are loudly winning positions on school boards, disrupting libraries, and banning books. Parents in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, where this event took place, have had enough.

Keystone News:

Kate Nazemi and Jane Cramer, parents who live in the Central Bucks and Pennridge school districts, joined other concerned citizens and activists at a banned book giveaway outside the Moms for Liberty Conference. "In our school district, we're really seeing several different outside influencers impacting education policy for our kids, and we're seeing teachers, many parents and students' needs and wants being pushed aside in favor of partisan policies that don't reflect the local needs of the community." said Nazemi. "We see that with Moms for Liberty," she added. "We know they are leading the movement in book bans. Many of the books that are challenged right now in our district  there are 60 plus  the excerpts for those challenges come from the Book Looks website, which is originally a Moms for Liberty site that encourages folks to challenge books." Over the past year, the Central Bucks School District and, for a longer time, Pennridge School District have experienced the effects of extremists sitting on their school boards. Keystone News

Bonus:
Faith Aku Dzakpasu is 2023 Most Outstanding Teacher in Ghana

Graphic.com.gh Education Oct - 05 - 2023 , 15:36

Faith Aku Dzakpasu, a teacher at GRETA D Shepherd Two Basic School in the Greater Accra region has been adjudged the most outstanding teacher for the year 2023.

For her prize, Faith Aku Dzakpasu was presented with a prototype of a three-bedroom apartment to be built at a place of her choice in any part of Ghana, one million Ghana cedis worth of insurance from the State Insurance Company (SIC) and 1000 exercise books.

The first runner-up award went to Isabella Wussa-Tetteh of Sege D/A Primary in the Greater Accra region and for her prize took home a 44 Pick Up truck, one million Ghana cedis worth of insurance cover from SIC and 1000 exercise books.

The second runner-up position on the other hand went to Fredous Idi-Amin of Ogbojo Presbyterian Basic School who also took home a brand new saloon vehicle, one million Ghana cedis insurance cover from SIC and 1000 exercise books.

Other awards presented were the Best Junior High School Teacher, Best Primary School Teacher, Best Primary Teacher, Best Senior High, and Best Technical Teacher among others.

Aside from these, a new award was presented to Mr Simon Boateng, from the St Monicas College of Education, Asante Mampong for being the Best Tutor from all the colleges of education in Ghana and took home a 44 Pick Up truck.

Faith Aku Dzakpasu

Address

Speaking at the awards ceremony, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, praised teachers in Ghana for their dedication and commitment towards the development of the nation through education.

He explained that the huge investment being made in the education sector in the country would not yield any result without the teacher.

President Akufo-Addo stated that the role of teachers in the training of the right manpower for the nation cannot be underestimated and pledged to continue supporting the sector to ensure that effective teaching and learning take place in all schools across the country.

He mentioned the payment of Continuous Professional Development (CPD) allowance to teachers, the provision of laptops to teachers, upgrading of Diploma certificates to Degrees for Colleges of Education among others as some of the initiatives put in place to improve education development in the country.

Assurance

The President assured all teachers who have not yet received their Laptops under the One Teacher One Laptop project, that everything possible would be done to ensure that they received theirs and called on the Education Minister to do everything possible to ensure that the outstanding ones were presented to the deserving teachers.

President Akufo-Addo lauded the NTC and all other institutions which contributed in diverse ways towards the awards for their commitment towards honouring the nations gallant teachers

The President was happy the huge investment being made in the education sector has started yielding good results citing the good grades made by this years students who sat for the West African School Certificate Examination (WASCE) which recorded very high scores in all subjects.

Commendation

Dr Yaw Osei Adutwum, Minister for Education was full of praise to the President for his commitment and interest in the development of education in the country.

He assured the President of his readiness to continue working very hard towards the attainment of the best education for the nation since education was the driving force behind the development of every country.

The Education Minister appealed to all stakeholders in the education space to continue working very hard towards the transformation of the country through education

Dr Adutwum stated that we are not just providing education for the nations youth but we are positioning the nation to become a giant in various facets with the training of people with critical thinking skills and knowledge that is required towards the development of the nations economy.

The Registrar of the NTC, Dr Christian Addai-Poku, praised the sponsors and other institutions which played various roles towards the honouring of the teachers as a way of motivating and appreciating them for their roles played.

He pledged to continue working very hard to ensure that the quality of teaching in schools was improved by putting in place the right initiatives to ensure that the quality of instruction in schools was maintained.

Dr Addai-Poku called for something to be done to help reduce the high teacher attrition situation in the country which posed a great danger to the nations development.
CCTV surveillance: Enhancing safety, efficiency

Eric Domie Oct - 05 - 2023 , 05:33

Did you know that there are about 770 million cameras in use, with 54 per cent of these being in China?

Did you know that the heaviest surveyed cities are not in the world's top 20 most populated cities?

Do you know that increased dominance and capabilities of closed-circuit television (CCTV) surveillance could make society safer and more efficient?

On February 28, 2018, Superintendent Adamu Seidu, at the memorial service held for Alhaji Safieddine, who was killed in a robbery incident at the Heavy Industrial area in Tema, said.

I was sure I was going to make some arrest; but at the scene, when I turned left, turned right, there was no CCTV camera, and immediately, I knew evidence would be a problem.

Analysing 251 crimes recorded by the British Transport Police, CCTV was available to investigators in 45 per cent of cases and judged helpful.

CCTV, also known as video surveillance, is the use of video cameras to transmit a signal to a specific place on a limited set of monitors.

It differs from broadcast television in that the movement is not openly transmitted, though it may employ point-to-point (P2P), point-to-multipoint (P2MP), or mesh-wired or wireless links.

Surveillance of the public using CCTV is common in many areas worldwide.

In recent years, body-worn video cameras have been introduced as a new form of management.

It is often used in law enforcement, with cameras on a police officers chest or head.

In industrial plants, CCTV equipment may be used to observe parts of a process from a central control room.

An example is when the environment is not suitable for humans.

Asia

About 65 per cent of CCTV cameras in the world are installed in Asia.

In 2018, China was reported to have a huge surveillance network of over 170 million CCTV cameras, with 400 million new cameras expected to be installed in the next three years, many of which will use facial recognition technology.

In the US, there were an estimated 30 million surveillance cameras in 2011.

Video surveillance has been common in the US since the 1990s; for example, one manufacturer reported net earnings of $120 million in 1995.

Business

When running a business, the importance of a Video Surveillance System or CCTV cannot be understated.

With modern and advanced security systems, a CCTV camera allows you to significantly reduce the cost of protecting your business premises and your assets.

The systems reliably provide quality and seamless monitoring, which gives you peace of mind as you go about your daily operations.

Whether your business is a retail outlet or a commercial property, you need to make careful and well-thought-out considerations when it comes to your security.

There are many advantages of CCTV installation in your business premises, including reducing vandalism; reducing the risk of breaking-ins; enhancing safety within your business premises; and reducing employee or staff incidents.

Traffic flow monitoring

Many cities and motorway networks have extensive traffic-monitoring systems, using closed-circuit television to detect congestion and notice accidents.

Many of these cameras, however, are owned by private companies and transmit data to drivers GPS systems.

Private homes

CCTV cameras effectively deter potential intruders as their use increases the risk of identification through the camera footage.

Many homeowners choose to install CCTV systems inside or outside their homes, sometimes both.

If someone scouts through an affluent suburb seeking the most accessible house to break into, having a prominent CCTV system, alarm, or another security measure, makes the house appear to be a more difficult target, so they will likely move on to the next place.

Modern CCTV systems can be monitored through mobile phone apps, allowing people to view live footage of their house from anywhere they have internet coverage.

Some systems provide motion detection so that an alert can be sent to a phone when movement is detected.

CCTV can also be used to help solve crimes.

In London alone, six crimes are solved each day through CCTV footage.

Recommendations

Every citizen deserves to be protected and treated well. Unfortunately, that cannot be guaranteed if we dont also take specific preventive measures to protect our lives, loved ones and properties.

CCTV camera mounting should not be the sole responsibility of the government.

Citizens, institutions, well-wishers and non-governmental organisations can collectively buy, install, or mount these smart cameras at vantage points to gather intelligence, which will assist law enforcement firms to investigate, arrest and ultimately reduce crime, theft and violence on our streets.

All institutions, non-governmental organisations, well-wishers and households need to be deliberate and proactive about security matters.

The writer is an Investment Banker & Financial inclusion activist.
Enact strong laws to combat terrorism - President tells Commonwealth parliaments

Daniel Kenu Oct - 05 - 2023 , 06:31

President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has challenged parliaments within the Commonwealth to enact strong legislation to curtail cross-border movement of illegal arms to combat terrorism.

He also urged legislators to propose heavy sanctions to offenders in a bid to stamp the phenomenon out.

"Combating terrorism requires a coordinated effort by all nations and stakeholders.

"Terrorism and violent extremism remain a phenomenon that threatens our very existence as individuals and collectively as nations," the President told the 66th Commonwealth Parliamentary Conference (CPC) in Accra yesterday.

The six-day conference, which began last Sunday with workshops, is discussing various topics relating to security, human rights, environment, economy, gender and other cross-cutting issues.

It is being hosted by Ghana's Parliament under the patronage of the Speaker, Alban Kingsford Sumana Bagbin, who doubles as the President of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA).

More than 500 parliamentarians, parliamentary staff and decision-makers from across the Commonwealth are participating.

The conference is on the theme: The Commonwealth Charter 10 years on: Values and principles for parliaments to uphold."

Unconstitutional changes

The President expressed worry at the unconstitutional changes in governments in parts of Africa, especially West Africa, through a series of coup d'etats and military interventions.

He said it was in the interest of democratic growth that "these developments are reversed as soon as possible."

The President called for maximum support for ECOWAS and the African Union (AU) in their efforts to restore democratic institutions to the affected countries of Niger, Mali, Burkina Faso, Guinea and Gabon.

"The Commonwealth should join ECOWAS and the AU in demanding the immediate and unconditional release from unjustifiable detention of the democratically elected President of Niger, Mohammed Bazoum.

"Democracy and stability, which generally accompany democratic governance, are essential for the future prosperity of the African continent," he said.

Russia-Ukraine war

Touching on the Russia-Ukraine war and the safety of the world, President Akufo-Addo called on world leaders to do all in their power to promote peace between the two countries and find an end to the conflict on the basis of acceptable established principles of international law because it is in everybody's interest that that was done.

"We must continue to stand firm in our condemnation of all kinds of hegemonic acts, especially of those which seek to subject smaller nations to those of bigger and stronger neighbours," he stated.

Environment

The President also called on the various parliaments to enact legislation to protect the environment, reduce pollution and promote sustainable practices to cover air, water quality, waste management, afforestation and wildlife conservation.

He said there was a global advocacy towards a transition from fossil fuel to renewable energy resources such as solar, wind and hydro electric and nuclear power.

He urged member countries to invest in renewable energy infrastructure and provide incentive for clean energy production and set renewable targets to reduce carbon emissions and combat climate change.

Tangibility of democracy

On democracy, the President admonished member countries to make democracy tangible through developmental outcomes such as good health care, quality education and affordable housing and create opportunity for individuals to explore and realise their God-given potential.



Speaker

For his part, the Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin, spent time to market Ghana to the outside world.

He re-echoed the fact that Ghana was the leading producer of gold and also a country of peace hinged on a stable democracy over the last 30 years.

The Speaker said effective separation of powers of government might have been achieved by the parliaments of developed countries, but for some parliaments it remained a mirage.

"Yet, democracy will remain elusive if we are not deliberate in our efforts to ensure the independence of parliaments.

We can strengthen parliaments if we empower our oversight committees to effectively review government actions, budgets and policies," he said.

Mr Bagbin said parliaments could be strengthened through civic education programmes that informed citizens about their rights and the need to protect parliamentary democracy.

"Indeed, Parliaments must leverage the strong relationships they have with civil society and the media to facilitate public participation in parliaments work and to expose infractions on democratic principles," he said.

He said Ghana's experimentation at parliamentary democracy was now a full-blown feature of its governance architecture.

"This year, we celebrate 30 years of stable parliamentary democracy.

Ours is a stable democracy in a sub-region that has in recent times developed a notoriety for reversing and backsliding on its democratic journey.

Parliaments in this sub-region and Africa in general must try to understand the reasons for the loss of trust and confidence in the leadership of democratic processes and institutions that has characterised the recent spate of military incursions into governance," he said.

The Speaker urged countries to be able to pick the signals, should there be any, and steer their democracies away from such incidents.



Majority Leader

The Majority Leader of Parliament and Vice-President of the CPA, Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, observed that the paradigm in democratic governance had shifted from male domination to effective cross-sectional representation of communities, especially the involvement of females and young persons, as well as the physically challenged.

He said it was time to examine which of the systems was best for effective participation  Is it the first past the post or proportional representation or complimentary appointments by recognised authority  be they kings, presidents or sovereign power?

The Majority Leader asked whether unitary countries should have parliamentary chambers or MPs should have term limits, as well as how to deal with the side effects of winner-takes-all arrangements in presidential and general elections?

He said parliament should be positioned to have oversight responsibility over the executive.



CPA Secretary General

The Secretary General of the CPA, Stephen Twigg, noted that the CPA had made significant progress with best democratic practices among member countries.

He said the association had for the last few years encouraged and supported member countries to embark on democratic reforms to improve best practices of democratic values and principles.
Fluency in English, French necessary for integration  Ayorkor Botchwey

Augustina Tawiah Oct - 05 - 2023 , 05:45

The Minister of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey, has said there is the need for citizens to be fluent in the English and French languages to enable them to communicate and integrate properly with the dynamic populations of the world.

It is worth noting that Ghana is surrounded by three Francophone countries, and the adoption of French as a second working language will contribute to improvement in sub- regional integration, peace and development, she said.

In line with that, she said Ghana and France had signed a language pact, while the former had also been admitted into Francophonie as an associate member.

Ms Botchwey was speaking at a programme to mark French Volunteering Day (FVD) in Accra, yesterday.

The event was on the theme: Cross-mobility, reciprocity, for a balanced partnership.

Event

Every year in October, France Volontaires, the French platform for International Exchange et Solidarity Volunteering, through its 24 National Representations around the world, organises the French Volunteering Day to promote volunteering missions for development and solidarity in various fields around the world, as well as brings together actors of volunteerism  hosting and sending organisations, partners, stakeholders, national institutions and volunteers.

Ghana is the first African country to sign a cooperation agreement with France dedicated to volunteering in 2019, and this years celebration marked the 10th anniversary of the opening of the French Volunteering Centre in Ghana.

Since France Volontaires was set up in the country, 160 volunteers have completed their mission as part of the many partnerships, while 15 Ghanaian volunteers have taken part in a voluntary mission in France.

Role of volunteerism

Ms Botchwey further said that the government recognised the pivotal role of volunteerism in achieving national development goals and had, therefore, taken concrete steps to promote and support volunteer initiatives across the country.

She said youth-oriented government institutions, in particular, had played a vital role in driving that agenda leading to the youth embracing the spirit of volunteerism with unwavering enthusiasm.

On the relationship between Ghana and France, the minister said the friendship had flourished and transcended diverse spheres of cooperation and partnerships, adding that one of such collaborations was where the two countries had agreed to foster bilateral cooperation through volunteerism.

Importance

The French Ambassador to Ghana, Jules-Armand Anianbossou, also highlighted the importance of volunteers and said that they worked in various areas around the sustainable development goals such as education and equality between men and women.

He described volunteerism as a means of mobilising the youth to engage in useful ventures.

For his part, the Director of the Network and Volunteer Programmes of French Volontaires, Thomas Cosse, said Ghanaian volunteers acquired new skills and also brought their vision of the world and knowledge to France, as well as promoted Ghana and made friends.

He said his outfit would strengthen collaboration with the National Youth Authority and the Ghana National Service Scheme on public policy on volunteering, among other initiatives.
GPHA to reclaim sea land for warehouses - $100m project starts next year

Charles Benoni Okine Oct - 05 - 2023 , 05:23

A major project to reclaim vast portions of land from the sea in Takoradi in the Western Region will begin next year to pave the way for the construction of large-scale warehouses and other facilities for cargo storage.

The first phase of the project, which is estimated to cost between $35 million and $100 million, depending on the size of land to be reclaimed, forms part of a major initiative by the government to make Ghana ports the hub of cargo transit in the sub-region.

It is also expected to give the port of Lome in Togo a run for its money, and make shippers more comfortable to use the ports in Ghana as transit points to landlocked countries such as Burkina Faso, Niger and Chad.

The Director-General of the Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority (GHPA), Michael Luguje, who disclosed this to the Daily Graphic, said: We have done the feasibility and identified the location to reclaim lands in Takoradi.

For the first phase, we are looking at between a minimum of $35 million and $100 million maximum to reclaim sufficient lands for now.

Investors have expressed interest in it and we are looking at the terms.

No private sector person has reclaimed storage land before.

The port's authority is looking at how much it can contribute to the initiative, he said.

Working tour, bright future

The GPHA Director-General was speaking in an interview after he and other government officials paid a working visit to the Philadelphia Port in Pennsylvania, United States of America, as part of the second US-Ghana Business Summit and Expo organised by the US Ghana Chamber of Commerce, Philadelphia.

Ghana's future is very bright as a lot of conscious effort is being put in place by government to create the enabling environment for private sectors to grow.

All major government agencies facilitating trade are doing the best they can and the ports have invested heavily to expand infrastructure beyond even the next decade or two, Mr Luguje said.

He said the platforms were there to ensure that in importing or exporting cargo, the vessels had no reason to complain that the port infrastructure was not adequate.

Attractiveness

Among the three major ports in the West Africa sub-region, that is Takoradi and Tema, Lome in Togo and Abidjan in La Cote d Ivoire, a tariff regime seems to be playing a major role in attracting shippers.

The government increased tariffs and ports charges in the 2023 budget, a development which many trade associations, among others, frowned on and forced a few shippers who use Ghana ports as a transit point to consider neighbouring countries.

Cargo volumes in the first two quarters of the year fell by about 25 per cent but the situation is reversing as there seem to be a spike in numbers in the third quarter, a phenomenon which is expected to continue.

Meanwhile, Mr Luguje said the GPHA had conducted a research to look at pricing and the tariffs that these ports were charging.

When you look at the total cost for all the components of ports charges, we noticed that Lome was quite less expensive than Ghana.

 If you take the ship related charges which is separated from the cargo related charges, and you look at them in component terms, Ghana was slightly higher than Lome.

However, Lome is also more expensive in terms of the cargo related charges than Ghana.

Considering Abidjan too, Ghana is more competitive than Abidjan on both the ship related and cargo related charges, the GPHA Director-General explained.

These findings, he said, had guided the GPHA in many directions and indicated that all would be done to ensure Ghana achieved its objective of making its port the most attractive.
Police launch search for suspected Accra robber captured on CCTV

Getrude Ankah Nyavi Oct - 05 - 2023 , 10:15

The police has launched a manhunt for a suspected robber said to be operating in parts of Accra.

In a press statement issued on Wednesday October 4, the police said ...CCTV footages of a lone robber circulating on social media is a matter already being investigated by the Police.

The suspect captured by CCTV

It further stated that Police intelligence teams have been working on the matter for some time now to get the suspect arrested to face justice, and we will surely get him, the police stated.

The police additional security measures have been deployed in the affected communities to help prevent similar incidents.

Attached is the press statement from the Police:

Attached Below is a security incident flash by private security company G4S Incident Brief: We have intelligence of multiple armed robberies committed by an unidentified person within Airport Residential Area, Roman Ridge, Cantonments, and Labone Accra. Within the past weeks, he has robbed multiple homeowners at gunpoint of unspecified amounts of cash and jewellery. His modus operandi is to explore unlocked and unsecured doors and windows to gain access into a building. sneak up into bedrooms of homeowners and rob them at gunpoint. He also pretends to have accomplices with him at the premise but intelligence gathered so far indicates that he operates alone or at most with a standby get-away motor bike. In all the incidents, he appears to know the environment very well and manoeuvres through smoothly. Information Gathered: Early 30's Male. Armed with a handgun. Dressed in dark blue cargo pants and blue long sleeve sweatshirt.
Prudential Bank supports Ghana Teacher Prize with pickup vehicle

Daily Graphic Oct - 05 - 2023 , 05:59

The Prudential Bank Limited (PBL), has presented a Nissan Navara Pick-up truck worth over GHc500,000 to the National Teaching Council (NTC) in Accra.

The presentation was in fulfillment of the banks commitment to the Ghana Teacher Prize (GTP), formerly the National Best Teacher Award ceremony scheduled for today, in the Western Region.

The bank has been sponsoring the first runner-up award category of the GTP for the past four years and the recent one was the fifth.

Presentation

Presenting the vehicle to the NTC, the Managing Director of the Prudential Bank, Bernard Appiah Gyebi said the move formed part of their social responsibility obligations, as well as support the government to provide quality education through the motivation of teachers.

During the launch, we pledged to provide the vehicle for the awards and we are excited to be part of this years event once again, he stated.

He said the bank was honoured to partner the Ministry of Education, the NTC, the Ghana Education Service (GES) and the GTP brand to motivate teachers.

He commended teachers for their resilience and determination in ensuring that the education of future leaders continued to evolve despite the numerous challenges.

Commitment

As a forward-looking indigenous bank, he said it remained committed to ensuring that teachers gained the recognition they deserved.

Receiving the vehicle, the Registrar at the NTC, Dr Christian Addai-Poku commended the bank for its support over the years.

The Prudential Bank, over the years, has been very supportive and we appreciate their support once again towards the upcoming ceremony, he stated.

He added that the awards served as a platform to appreciate teachers for their hard work and commitment towards impacting knowledge and transforming lives of young people across the country.

With this kind of support, our aim of rewarding hardworking teachers in the country would be achieved, he stated.

The 2023 edition of the GTP would be held on the theme: The Teachers We Need for the Education We Want: The Global Imperative to Reverse the Teacher Shortage.
Stakeholders welcome return to old academic calendar - As new year begins

Emmanuel Bonney Oct - 05 - 2023 , 05:26

Teachers, parents and school authorities have welcomed the return to the pre-COVID-19 academic calendar, which was set at September to July, describing it as better than the transitional one.

The pre-COVID academic calendar, which they termed as regular schedule allowed for better planning for the effective delivery of education to children in the country as it provided enough contact hours with students.

Also, the commencement of the academic year in the third quarter of the year would afford parents the opportunity to purchase stationery and other educational items instead of January, when they might have spent their money as a result of the Christmas festivities.

The teachers, parents and school authorities spoke in separate interviews with the Daily Graphic during a tour of some schools in Accra following the reopening of schools for the 2023-2024 academic year.

The institutions visited included the Rev. Thomas Clegg Methodist 1 Basic School, Bubiashie/Cable and Wireless Cluster of Schools, Kaneshie Basic School, Bishop Junior High School and the Kaneshie Cluster of Schools.

Calendar, reopening

Since 2021, the academic calendar for basic and senior high schools had been rescheduled for January to December, after schools were closed in March 2020, as part of measures to curb the spread of COVID-19 which had become a global pandemic.

About two weeks ago, the Ghana Education Service (GES) announced that the first term of the 2023-2024 academic year would begin on October 3, 2023, in line with the reset calendar.

Management of the Ghana Education Service wishes to inform you that the reopening date for basic schools (kindergarten, primary and junior high schools) across the country for the first term of the 2023/2024 academic year is October 3, 2023, a memo signed and issued by the Deputy Director-General of the GES in charge of Quality and Access, Dr Kwabena Bempah Tandoh, said.

The memo, addressed to all regional directors of education, stated that, this brings back the academic calendar to pre-COVID-19.

Thus, yesterday (October 3), Ghanaian basic schoolchildren returned to school to begin a new academic year.

Visits

During the visit to the schools, the Daily Graphic observed that schoolchildren had reported to school and were settling in their new classes, having been promoted.

Also, some parents accompanied by their children were seen trooping to the schools, ostensibly to seek admission, particularly, into Primary One.

Other schools had also put out vacancy notices on their compounds for prospective students.

Again, while some of the classrooms were filled, others were half empty and school heads who pleaded anonymity said few students had reported to school because it was the first day.

The Chairman of Zone Five of the Ghana National Association of Private Schools (GNAPS), Emmanuel Sowah, said the new calendar, with its focus on extended breaks and international alignment, appeared to offer certain advantages.

However, he said its successful implementation and the ability of schools and students to adapt were essential factors in determining its long-term viability.

A teacher at the Richard Akwei Memorial School, Gifty Aku Mensah, said it was refreshing to revert to the pre-COVID calendar which allowed for some break and rest for both learners and teachers.

She said the transitional calendar put too much stress on teachers and students as they had little time for break.

The headteacher of the Oyibi Presbyterian Basic School, Gloria Cann, said she also preferred the old calendar to the new one.

She said her school was mostly admitting for Primary One, as the rest of the classrooms for continuing students were full.

A teacher at the Pantang Hospital Primary School, Sally Yeboah, described the September to July calendar as a universal academic schedule, thus, it helped both parents and teachers to plan.

A parent, Prosper Afetsi, who also hailed the old calendar, expressed the hope that it would be smooth and uninterrupted by anything.

We all have seen the impact the COVID-19 has had on, particularly academic work.

Hopefully, we will be spared another emergency which will again affect school work, he said.
Teen mother found dead in suspected suicide incident after being humiliated for alleged infidelity

GraphicOnline Oct - 05 - 2023 , 07:13

In a heart-wrenching turn of events, a 19-year-old mother from Assin Dompim, in the Fosu Municipality of the Central Region, has been found dead in a suspected suicide incident.

The victim is said to have been at the receiving end an overwhelming humiliation and emotional trauma stemming from allegations of infidelity

The deceased, [name withheld] worked as a trader and was subjected to public scorn and branding as a result of claims that she had confessed to infidelity during her husband's brief absence from their home.

According to a police source and community leaders who spoke with the Ghana News Agency, the husband, had been seeking treatment for a severe illness in a nearby community for several months. This extended period of illness led some in the town to speculate about the deceased's behaviour.

As the husband regained his health and returned home, it appeared the deceased could no longer bear the ridicule and gossip within the community. Tragically, on Monday, October 2, 2023, after a minor altercation with her husband, she allegedly took her life.

She was rushed to St. Francis Xavier Hospital in Assin Fosu for treatment but passed away later.

The husband has been taken into police custody to aid in the ongoing investigations.
Truck accident blocks Yamonransa - New Edubiase road for hours

Shirley Asiedu-Addo Oct - 05 - 2023 , 18:47

Travelers on the Yamonransa in the Central Region to New Edubiase in the Ashanti Region road were kept in a gridlock for hours on Thursday following a truck accident on the stretch.

Graphic Online's Central Regional correspondent, Shirley Asiedu Addo reported that the accident happened at Assin Kwame Atta near Assin Manso.

The truck veered off and subsequently crossed the road horizontally, completely blocking the road as seen in the photo attached below.

This left many travelers stranded.

Travelers on the affected stretch who were affected were advised to use the Twifo Praso route and link Assin Fosu to continue their journey.

As of 7:30pm, the Central Regional Director of the National Road Safety Authority (NRSA), Linda Afotey Annan told Graphic Online that personnel of the Ghana Police Service had worked to re-open the road to traffic.
I've long been fascinated by the echidna, that strange monotreme (egg laying mammal)with its little round body covered in spines, clawed feet that are perfect for digging, cute beaky snout, and, for the males, its, well, hmmm interesting four-headed penis.

I was delighted to learn this week that researchers from Curtin University in Perth, Australia, have recordedperhaps for the very first timeechidnas communicating with each other. Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) explains:

In what is believed to be a scientific first, researchers from Curtin University have obtained recordings of short-beaked echidnas producing a range of sounds including cooing, grunting, and wheezing. "It means we better understand how echidnas behave and interact with each other," said Christine Cooper, who has been studying the animals at Dryandra National Park near Narrogin, Western Australia. "We were really pleased because the first time we heard it, we didn't have any mechanism with us to record it and we were like, 'Oh, that's really unusual'," Dr Cooper said. . . While it was suspected the creatures made noises, there had never been solid proof before. To record the sounds, the research team used hand-held microphones, as well as a camera and microphone that was left outside the entrance of a cave frequently visited by echidnas. Now that researchers know echidnas do vocalise, the next step is trying to figure out what they are saying.

Researchers speculate that the sounds have something to do with matingABC describes them as "the sounds of echidnas flirting," as the vocalizations seem to only occur during breeding season.

To hear the recordings, you can click through to the article to listen or watch this video shared on Facebook from ABC Canberra. ABC describes the sounds as "cooing, grunting, and wheezing," which are great descriptions. To me, the echidnas on the recording sound like something like a cross between a dove cooing and a tiny horse neighing. However you describe them, they're 100% adorable!
Volta Region records 6,039 adolesent pregnancies

Alberto Mario Noretti Oct - 05 - 2023 , 05:44

The Volta Region recorded 6,039 adolescent pregnancies last year, with many of the girls becoming child brides or cohabiting with men for survival.

The Regional Minister, Dr Archibald Yao Letsa, made the stunning disclosure at a Gender Equality Males Empowerment School (GEMS 2023) in Ho last week.

The school which was organised by the Department of Gender of the Ministry of Women, Children and Social Protection, with support from the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), was on the theme GEMS Action for Gender Equality, Sexual and Reproductive Health Rights: Men and Boys as Key Partners.

The main objective was to engage men and boys as partners in the crusade to end child marriage.

Thirty-two assembly members, youth and religious leaders from the Keta municipality, Central Tongu, South Dayi and North Dayi districts, and 32 boys selected from schools in those areas attended the two-day programme.

Adolescent pregnancies

The Regional Minister cited data from the regional secretariat of the Ghana Health Service (GHS) on adolescent pregnancies and said the situation posed a threat to the future development of not only the girls but boys as well since many of them engaged in indiscriminate and unprotected sex.

He observed that organisations such as the Department of Gender under the auspices of the Volta Regional Coordinating Council (VRCC), in partnership with UNFPA, had rolled out a series of interventions to educate and empower stakeholders, including adolescents, on Sexual and Gender-Based Violence, teenage pregnancy, child marriage and Adolescent

Sexual Reproductive Health and Rights, among others.

Those interventions, Dr Letsa said, sought to galvanise the support of stakeholders such as parents, traditional authorities, community leaders, duty bearers, teachers and adolescents to create awareness to eliminate completely or drastically cases of SGBV, teenage pregnancy and child marriage in the region.

Gender Equality

The Regional Director of Gender, Thywill Eyra Kpe, said advocacy for gender equality over the years had been shrouded in several misunderstandings that were contributing to the avoidance of many political debates on gender issues.

For instance, she said, some of the most common misconceptions included the notion that gender equality only concerned women, and men were the enemies.

However, Mrs Kpe said, gender equality required active roles of men, for which reason it was crucial to explain that gender equality concerned men, women, boys and girls.
What BoG Governor Addison said in rejecting opposition calls to resign

Graphic.com.gh Oct - 05 - 2023 , 06:52

The Bank of Ghana Governor, Dr Ernest Addison has told Central Banking that he rejects demands on him to resign made by the main opposition political party, the National Democratic Congress (NDC).

The Minority Members of Parliament from the National Democratic Congress, and some smaller groups took part in a march on the central banks headquarters on October 3 in a street protest dubbed #OccupyBoGProtest.

But Dr Ernest Addison in an interview with Central Banking, an international portal that reports on central banking issues said the demonstration yesterday was completely unnecessary, and neither he nor his deputies intend to step down. The minority in parliament have many channels to channel their grievances.

Read the full report by the Central Banking below

Ghanas governor rejects opposition calls to resign

The Bank of Ghanas governor has told Central Banking he rejects demands on him to resign made by the countrys main opposition party. The largest opposition party, the National Democratic Congress, and smaller groups took part in a march on the central banks headquarters on October 3. But Ernest Addison says the demonstration yesterday was completely unnecessary, and neither he nor his deputies intend to step down. The minority in parliament have many channels to channel their grievances in civilized societies, not through demonstrations in the streets as hooligans, Addison says. He also rejected the oppositions claims that the central bank had unilaterally used monetary financing, and its demand to end construction of a new headquarters. Central bank officials declined to receive the parliamentary leader of the opposition, Cassiel Ato Forson, who wanted to present a petition. The central banks chief of security said the governor and deputy governors were in meetings with the International Monetary Fund. The Bank of Ghana has struggled amid high inflation, scarce reserves and a wide-ranging restructuring of government debt. The government restructured its domestic debts earlier this year, which was the major factor behind the central banks 60.8 billion cedi ($5.24 billion) loss for 2022. Ghana defaulted on part of its external debt in December 2022, and is currently in talks with its creditors. In May, the IMF approved a three-year, $3 billion loan. Ato Forson has also objected to the construction of new central bank headquarters, scheduled to open next September. The project is estimated to cost $250 million. called for Addisons resignation in August, following the release of the central banks 2022 financial statements. His party has accused the central bank of funding the government by printing money. At the protest, Ato Forson said the central banks leaders have mismanaged the affairs of the central bank. He said the central bank has unilaterally printed up to 80 billion Ghana cedi in two years, and of cancelling 48 billion cedi of state debt, without parliaments approval. Governor Addison printed money to finance the champagne lifestyle of this president Akufo-Addo, Ato Forson said. He said he would return and demand the governor meet opposition politicians. Nana Akufo-Addo has been president of Ghana since early 2017, appointing Addison governor that year, and giving him a second term in 2021. He also appointed both of the serving deputy governors, Maxwell Opoku-Afari and Elsie Addo Awadzi. Governor rejects claims Addison tells Central Banking the central bank only provided monetary financing during 2020 and 2022, to meet specific crises. This is legal under the central bank law, he adds. Regarding the central banks 2022 losses, Addison notes: The impairment of the banks holdings of debt which led to the losses was a conditionality for the IMF programme. Nobody at Bank of Ghana forgave any debt. The governor states the Bank of Ghana decided to start the new headquarters in 2019. This was when the bank was profitable and appropriated some of its profits for the new headquarters, he says. It was not a decision taken during a crisis. Since the end of last year, Ghanas economic indicators have seen some improvement. Headline inflation has moderated somewhat from its peak last December of 54.1% year on year, coming in at 40.1% in August. Gross international reserves  excluding encumbered assets and petroleum funds  increased by 40%, from $1.5 billion to $2.1 billion, between end-2022 and August. But the latter figure only equals one months import cover. At the central banks last monetary policy press conference, Addison said Ghanas economy was growing faster than the IMF had forecast. Ghana has more than doubled its policy rate since November 2021, from 13.5% to its current level of 30%.

Some principal streets of Accra were on Tuesday transformed into a sea of red and black when hundreds of protesters poured out in their numbers to register their displeasure over what they describe as the mismanagement of the Bank of Ghana (BoG).

Dubbed #OccupyBoGDemo, the protesters also drummed home their grievances about the current economic hardship, which they said had plunged many people into destitution, poverty and hopelessness.

It was a protest that represented all the macrocosm of the nation, with the young, old, disabled, women and men from all walks of life coming together to voice their concerns, and to let the world know what one protester called the anger of the masses.

Led by the Minority in Parliament and some leading members of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), the protesters demanded the sacking of the Governor of the BoG, Dr Ernest Addison, and the Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta, and a further shake-up of the governments economic management team to turn the economy around.

Some of the leaders included the Minority Leader in Parliament, Dr Cassiel Ato Forson; the National Chairman of the NDC, Johnson Asiedu-Nketiah; the NDC Member of Parliament for Ningo Prampram, Sam George; the National Communication Officer of the NDC, Sammy Gyamfi, and the Director of Legal Affairs of the NDC, Godwin Kudzo Tameklo.

Patriotic songs

The protesters sang patriotic and war songs, and the national anthem as they moved.

Some of the placards read: Debt is killing us; Bawumia, Ken, Addison, the day of reckoning is coming; Addison must go; Students are suffering, Misgovernor Addison.

In scenes reminiscent of protests during the fight for independence, the protesters sat on the ground and sang patriotic songs when they got to the site of the construction of the new $250 million BoG headquarters at Ridge.

While people on dialysis cannot afford the cost, with some dying, the BoG chose to build a new headquarters at such astronomical sum, one of the leaders of the protest said, amid wild chants from the crowd.

A protester, who gave her name as Hajia Halima, said she joined the protest because of the tax slapped on sanitary pad.

Another protester called Adjei said he lost his job during the banking sector clean-up, and, therefore, joined the protest to remind the government of his suffering and that of others.

Why the protest?

The Minority in Parliament has accused Dr Addison and his deputies of running down the BoG, indulging in illegalities and aiding what it says is the governments reckless spending by printing over GH22 billion to support the governments budget, said to be outside the banks required threshold and without Parliaments approval.

The BoG refutes the allegations, explaining that the amount claimed to have been printed represented net claims by the government and not new currency printed to support the governments budget.

The accusation by the Minority in Parliament and the call for Dr Addisons resignation followed the Annual Report and Financial Statement of the central bank, which revealed that the BoG had recorded a loss of GH60.8 billion, equivalent to $6 billion, and also recorded a negative equity of over GH55.1 billion.

Protest not over?

Meanwhile, it seems yesterdays protest will not be the last of the #OccupyBoGDemo, with the leaders vowing to continue with the demonstration until the BoG Governor personally meets with them to collect their petition.

When the Minority leadership went to present its petition at the BoG, they were received by the Director of Safety and Security of the central bank, Wing Commander Kwame Asare Boateng (retd), and other members of the bank's leadership.

Wing Commander Boateng (retd) informed the Minority leadership that he would receive the petition on behalf of Dr Addison because he was in a meeting with some officials of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), and was, therefore, unavailable to receive the petition.

That did not go down well with the protest leaders, with the Minority Leader describing the absence of the Governor as disrespectful.

He vowed that the protest would continue until Dr Addison heeded their call.

It is very disrespectful not to receive the petition himself. Not even the deputy is here, and we never said we were going to present our petition to security, and we would not give you the petition, Dr Ato Forson said.

Now that he has decided to disrespect us, we will not present our petition, and so we will go and come back again until we see him. This is just the beginning, he added.

Standoff

A move by the protesters to terminate the protest at the BoG headquarters became a bone of contention between the organisers and the police, with the police insisting that the central bank premises was a security zone, and, therefore, not open for such mass picketing exercise.

This led to a legal action by the police to stop the demonstration from going ahead.

At yesterdays protest, the police stood their grounds and approved a route which took the protesters from the central bank.

Per the approved route released by the police, the protestors were supposed to converge on the Obra Spot at the Kwame Nkrumah Circle Interchange, proceed to Adabraka, then to the Ridge Roundabout, move to the National Theatre Traffic Light intersection and to the Law Court Complex Traffic Light where they would then move to the Atta Mills Highway, make a U-turn at the National Lotteries and end the protests at the Independence Square.

However, the protesters  instead of going to the Independence Square to terminate the protest  decided to move to the BoG anyway, leading to a standoff between them and the police at the traffic light in front of the Kwame Nkrumah Memorial Park on the Atta Mills Highway.

As if anticipating their move, the police cordoned off the road to the BoG Headquarters from the traffic light intersection, with a strong barrier of riot police with tear gas canisters in front of the traffic light.

When the protesters initially reached the traffic light, some of them tried to break through the barricade, but they were prevented by their leaders, who insisted that they did not want any skirmishes with the police.

Eventually, the leaders of the protest, led by Dr Ato Forson, were allowed to cross the barricade to present their petition to the BoG, under police escort.
BoG Governor "will see what hooligans do" - Ayariga reacts to Addison's rejection to resign

Enoch Darfah Frimpong Politics Oct - 05 - 2023 , 08:19

The opposition National Democratic Congress Member of Parliament (MP) for Bawku Central, Mahama Ayariga has reacted to an interview the central bank Governor, Dr Ernest Addison reportedly granted the Central Banking portal and allegedly described last Tuesday's protesters as "hooligans."

To Mr Ayariga, "having called us hooligans, he [Addison] will get a response of hooligans."

"I, Mahama Ayariga, I am saying that he will see what hooligans do, I don't know what my colleagues [Minority MPs] will think but when we meet we will discuss and let you know. But I'm sure that having called us hooligans, he will get a response of hooligans," Mr Ayariga stated in a radio interview monitored by Graphic Online on Accra based Citi FM on Thursday morning (Oct 5, 2023).

Mr Ayariga was reacting to a report by the Central Banking, which reported on an interview Dr Addison granted the portal in reaction to last Tuesday's protest, which called for his resignation.

Related article: Ghanas governor rejects opposition calls to resign

Asked if he had read the report by the Central Banking, Mr Ayariga said he was following up on what Citinewsroom had reported

"I did not for once image that the central bank governor will be so frustrated as to respond that way, to call your members of parliament, hooligans, people who have written to the police to demonstrate, the police raised issues, we went to court, they postponed the demonstration two times, we went to court, we responded..., we had meetings with the police, we came to a clear understanding on the route..., and anybody who monitored the protest march saw that it was one of the most peaceful, orderly, well organised."

"...we got to where the police said we should stop, we stopped there, they took us to the Bank of Ghana head office, only for him [Governor] to send his head of security to come and collect our petition and we said no, we will not give our petition to him because we didn't come to give a petition to the head of security. How can you describe people who have conducted themselves this way, as hooligans and you are the Governor of central bank. But I can understand, where the arrogance of power has sent some people and so in future, when it becomes difficult to manage our people [protesters] because they have been branded hooligans and they want to show what hooliganism means, he will come and answer. I really have nothing to say now, I'm just waiting for our colleagues [Minority MPs and allies] for us to have a meeting and give him a response.

'We will continue to protest'- Ayariga

Adding, Mr Ayariga said: "We will continue to protest, we will continue to demand and he has labelled us as hooligans. Well, he will see. We have tried to be as civil as possible, as descent as possible. We've been accused of being so lamed duck in our approach, people were hailing other groups for being violent in the protest that they organised and then branding us as not being radical enough, but we insisted, [that] as responsible leaders to go through the entire process, get the necessary approval, get the necessary cooperation and during the demonstration, we did everything to hold our people in check and when we finished no mean a person than the central bank governor, will call us hooligans. He will see what hooligans do."

"I, Mahama Ayariga, I am saying that he will see what hooligans do, I don't know what my colleagues will think but when we meet we will discuss and let you know. But I'm sure that having called us hooligans, he will get a response of hooligans."
Commonwealth MPs with disability urge colleagues to respect rights

Daniel Kenu Politics Oct - 05 - 2023 , 13:07

Members of Parliament (MPs) with disability (CPwD) within the Commonwealth are calling for their rights to be respected by their colleague MPs so that their needs can be factored into the general plans of the various parliaments, especially access to buildings.

Leading the charge, the chairperson of the group, Laura Kanushu, an Uganda MP, told the Daily Graphic after a committee meeting behind closed doors that the needs of such people had been downplayed over the years because of their mobility challenge.

"Our mobility challenge does not derail our intellect and our ability to contribute to debates in parliaments across the Commonwealth," she said.

Needs of disabled

Ms Kanushu observed that although most Assembly (Parliament) Houses had been built without factoring the needs of disabled, a few are living up to the billing, including Ghana "and it's refreshing to see."

At the ongoing Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA) conference in Accra, the CPA reported on its recent CPwD activities, such as its capital investment fund supporting Commonwealth Parliaments to become more accessible.

Delegates

About 700 delegates are attending the conference which began at the Accra International Conference Centre in Accra from September 30 to October 6, 2023.

The annual event, on the theme: The Commonwealth Charter 10 years on: Values and principles for Parliaments to uphold is being attended by about 700 delegates and hosted by Ghanas Parliament and CPA Ghana Branch for the first time.

The CPA is the only parliamentary association that brings together national, state, provincial and territorial legislatures, and its membership includes almost 180 Parliaments and Legislatures across the Commonwealth.
Mahama leads NDC to commiserate with Kufuor family

Getrude Ankah Nyavi Politics Oct - 05 - 2023 , 10:11

A delegation from the National Democratic Congress (NDC) has paid a courtesy call on former President John Agyekum Kufuor and his family to commiserate with them following the death of former First Lady Theresa Kufuor

The team which visited the Kufuor family on Wednesday October 4 was led by Former President John Dramani Mahama.

Other members included the National Chairman of the NDC, Johnson Asiedu Nketia, the Chair of the NDC Council of Elders, Alhaji Mahama Iddrisu, members of the NDC Council of Elders and former First Lady Lordina Mahama.

Signing the Book of Condolence on behalf of the party, the NDC flagbearer said the deceased was affectionately known as Mother of the Nation during her tenure as First Lady due to her dignified personality.

Meanwhile, former President Mahama in a Facebook post on Thursday 5, said "We are all saddened by the passing of our respected mother, former First Lady Madam Theresa Kufuor. She carried herself with dignity and was truly acknowledged by the people of Ghana as the mother of the Nation.

On this sad occasion, our hearts go out to the widower, President Agyekum Kufuor, and the entire family. May God grant her peaceful repose", he posted.
Ghanas economic crisis due to leadership failure  Oppong-Fosu

Daily Graphic Politics Oct - 05 - 2023 , 11:25

A ndformer Minister of Environment, Science, Technology a Innovation under the erstwhile Mahama administration, Akwasi Oppong-Fosu, has said that Ghanas economic crisis has resulted from interrelated factors, including leadership failure and democratic governance dysfunction.

He said other factors such as the meltdown of state institutions and plunder of national resources had resulted in unprecedented economic decline.

He said all of those had converged to tilt the country towards social and political instability.

Mr Oppong-Fosu, who was also a Member of Parliament for the Amenfi East Constituency in the Western Region, said this when he addressed members of the East London National Democratic Congress {NDC} at its Annual Conference in London, the United Kingdom.

The conference was on the theme: Rethinking Leadership and Governance for the Ghana We Want: The Role of the Diaspora.

Mr Oppong-Fosu, who also served as a Minister of State at the Presidency during Mahamas administration, said the theme for the conference reflected the desire for a non-partisan approach to building the Ghana we all want, knowing that Ghana was in a national crisis and verging on a national catastrophe.

The leadership of Ghana has to do things differently and urgently so we avoid the consequences of the dark clouds looming over our heads, he said.



The Ghana We Want

Mr Oppong-Fosu said although the Directive Principles of State Policy of the 1992 Constitution clearly articulates The Ghana We Want, these principles have taken the centre stage in recent times in our public discourse as if they are new things which have suddenly appeared from nowhere.

The sudden upsurge in the discourse is as a result of the self-serving political and policy choices, economic mismanagement and exponential rise in corruption and the negative impact on the well-being of citizens.

The Ghana We Want has been featuring prominently in the campaign messages of former President John Mahama who is also the flag bearer of the NDC.

Democratic Governance

The former minister of environment said with the advent of the twin concepts of globalisation and democratisation since the late 1980s, the notion of governance has shifted from a focus on what governments do, to an increased recognition of the role of non-State actors, including civil society organisations, media and think tanks.

He said democratic governance which has been conceptualised as the effective management and mediation of the interaction of state and non-state actors, has engendered the building of open, transparent, responsive and accountable institutions and processes that serve the needs and preferences of citizens.

Mr Oppong-Fosu said over the years, Ghanaians have bemoaned the lack of progress in socio-economic development and continue to cite the rapid post-independence growth and development of countries such as Singapore, Malaysia and South Korea who were at the same level of development and gained independence around the same time.
What Sosu said during outburst at #OccupyBoGprotest, the attempt to discredit video and the u-turn apology

Graphic.com.gh Politics Oct - 05 - 2023 , 05:50

The National Democratic Congress (NDC) Member of Parliament for Madina, Francis-Xavier Sosu, has rendered an unqualified apology for his outburst during the #OccupyBoG demonstration last Tuesday.

Sosu on Wednesday morning in a press statement initially attempted to discredit the video described it as fake.

But in a second statement same morning apologized in another statement.

He also went ahead in a television interview with GHOne to apologize.

He said he had reflected and realised that the words he used in a viral video were not consistent with my avowed values.

I wish to sincerely apologise for my choice of words during my outburst yesterday, he said.

Forgive me

In the second statement issued apologized, Mr Sosu said he unreservedly regretted his actions and words.

He, therefore, asked that all those who were offended to find a place in their hearts to forgive him.

I am human and this only demonstrated the anguish, pain, frustrations and disappointment at the management of the Bank of Ghana, and at our current state of affairs as a country.

I have reflected and realised that though I spoke those words out of anger and extreme provocation, it was completely out of character.

Hence, consistent with my avowed values, I am sincerely sorry, he apologised.

During the #OccupyBoG protest, which was led by the leadership of the Minority Caucus in Parliament last Tuesday, Mr Sosu was heard in a video spewing vulgar words in Ga to venting over what he said was the poor management of the economy and the conduct of the Governor of the Central Bank.

His action went viral, attracting demands from members of the public for him to apologise for his conduct.

First press statement on the issue

PUBLIC NOTICE: DISREGARD THE VIRAL VIDEO FROM OCCUPY BOG DEMONSTRATION PURPORTED TO BE ME. I hope this message finds you well. I am writing to address a matter of utmost importance and to clarify a recent viral video that has been circulating on social media platforms. It has come to my attention that there is a video claiming to feature me engaging in the use of foul and unsavory language during the just ended Occupy BOG Demonstration. I want to categorically state that this video is entirely false and fabricated. I want to assure you that I am not the individual depicted in this video, and neither have I made, suggested or caused such statements to be made on my behalf. The video therein is entirely baseless and malicious. It is a regrettable attempt to tarnish my reputation and deceive the public. In a period where look-alikes have become a lucurative source of income due to the economic hardship imposed on Ghanaians by the reckless Akufo-Addo-Bawumia govenment, I kindly urge the public to exercise caution and critical thinking when encountering such content on social media and other online platforms. Misinformation and manipulated media have become increasingly prevalent in today's digital age, and it is essential to verify the authenticity of any claims before accepting them as truth. If you have any doubts or concerns regarding the veracity of content purporting to involve me or my office, please contact me directly through the official channels provided or social media profiles for clarification. In the age of digital information, our collective responsibility to verify the accuracy of what we consume is more crucial than ever. I deeply appreciate your understanding and support during this time, and I remain committed to serving the public with honesty and integrity. Sincerely,

Why protest?

Scores of people embarked on the protest to drum home their grievances about the current economic hardships, which they said had plunged many people into destitution, poverty and hopelessness.

It was a protest at which people of all ages and walks of life were present to voice their concerns, and to let the world know what one protester called the anger of the masses.

Led by the Minority in Parliament and some leading members of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), the protesters demanded the sacking of the Governor of the BoG, Dr Ernest Addison, and the Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta, and a further shake-up of the governments economic management team to turn the economy around.

UNQUALIFIED APOLOGY I wish to sincerely apologize for my choice of words during my outburst yesterday, Tuesday, October 3, 2023, during the Occupy BOG Demonstration. I unreservedly apologize for my actions and words and ask that all those offended would find a place in their hearts to forgive me. I am human and this only demonstrated the anguish, pain, frustrations and disappointment at the management of the Bank of Ghana, and at our current state of affairs as a country. I have reflected and realized that though I spoke those words out of anger and extreme provocation, I was completely out of character. Hence, consistent with my avowed values, I am sincerely Sorry.

Related articles:

#OccupyBoGProtest: Demonstrators wont be allowed near BoG  Police

#OccupyBoGdemo: Police grateful to stakeholders for peaceful protest

#OccupyBoGProtests: BoG Governor showed us "disrespect," we will come back - Ato Forson

#OccupyBoG: Bank of Ghana sent a "watchman" to receive our petition - Sam George
Voter registration: NCCE commends citizens for peaceful exercise

Daily Graphic Politics Oct - 05 - 2023 , 05:55

The National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE) has commended Ghanaians for their interest in the electoral processes of the country.

The Garu District Director of the NCCE in the Upper East Region, Samuel Atando Akolgo, made the commendation in an interview with the Ghana News Agency (GNA) about the just-ended limited voter registration exercise by the Electoral Commission.

He also commended the citizens, particularly for their cooperation and peaceful participation.

Civic responsibility

Mr Akolgo said the commission during the exercise also educated the citizens on the need to be enrolled onto the voters' register to help consolidate the democratic credentials of the country through participating in elections.

He explained that despite the initial challenges and concerns raised, Ghanaians were able to ensure the exercise was peaceful and successful.

"The exercise was successful and peaceful, and the Commission appreciates the participation of the citizenry in the exercise.

We want to encourage citizens who have lost their voters' card to take advantage of the window that has been opened by the EC from October 3, 2023," he added.

At the end of the limited voter registration exercise, provisional statistics revealed that the EC registered 2,965 persons comprising 1,345 males and 1,620 females in the Garu District.

Nine people's registrations were, however, challenged. GNA
A photo released by Essex County Fire and Rescue shows the aftermath of a fire in England caused by a vape left on its charger. The investigation's not concluded, but the advice"ensure [devices] conform to British Standards and are from a recommended manufacturer" suggests that it's not a great idea to buy unbranded stuff off Chelmsford Market. Go in Curry's! Pay a few quid more! Rooty tooty point and shooty.

Firefighters were called to Shardelow Avenue, Chelmsford, Essex, at 09:42 BST on Thursday, when residents returned to see smoke billowing out of upstairs windows. When crews arrived at the house a bedroom on the third floor was on fire, said Essex County Fire and Rescue. Firefighters using breathing apparatus extinguished the flames. "The fire was caused by a vape left on charge", the service said.

Lithium fires caused by dodgy chargers and gadgets are no joke.
Tamara Twitchell stands with the boat her father, A.K. Reynolds, built for river-running trips. The boats is currently on display in the County Courthouse.

Bringing the Sweetwater County Historic Museum's newest display to the Community Room at the County Courthouse has been an "all hands on deck" effort, literally. The exhibit not only brought together the history of father-son Green River natives Adrienne and A.K. Reynolds, multiple museum's collections, and members of the Reynolds family, but it also brought a vintage 17-foot boat into the basement of the Sweetwater County Courthouse.

The exhibit officially opened last Thursday and was celebrated with a reception and a visit from Tamara Twitchell, the daughter of A.K. and Ellen Reynolds.

A dual commemoration

"The exhibit's theme is a dual commemoration of the Reynolds's legacy as well as the 60th anniversary of the Flaming Gorge Dam going officially online as a power generator on September 27, 1963, when President John F. Kennedy personally signaled the startup," Dick Blust from the museum explained in a press release.

A.K. Reynolds and his wife Ellen owned and operated a river-running service on the Green River over half a century ago, before the dam was completed. After the dam was built, the river changed forever and their river-running service came to an end. The family had other positive ties to the dam though, as A.K.'s father Adrienne Reynolds, who was the long-time publisher of the Green River Star, gave a speech at the ribbon cutting of the Flaming Gorge Dam Visitor Center in 1980.

"The exhibit's centerpiece is one of the Reynolds's two handmade wooden cataract boats," the museum press release explained. "Also featured is a continuous showing of the film 'Face Your Danger - The Story of A.K. Reynolds & the Cataract Boat' and film footage of the dam's startup ceremony in 1963. In addition, the museum has prepared dozens of framed photographs for display on the walls of public areas throughout the courthouse, depicting the dam during its six years of construction."

For Museum Director Dave Mead, the decision of when to open the display to the public was an easy one.

"We didn't set this opening date. President Kennedy did," Mead said at the opening event. "Sixty years ago today is when he gave his speech, pushed the buzzer, and started the turbine drawing - September 27, 1963. So, the date was set."

Bringing the display to Green River in order to open by this date, however, took some extra teamwork and coordination. In addition to pulling photos and information on the Reynolds family from the museum's collection, the team from the Sweetwater County Historical Museum had to coordinate with the Uintah County Heritage Museum to bring the cataract boat to Green River and - carefully - get it into the Court House.

The help of Tamara Twitchell was crucial in making this happen, but she was happy to be part of bringing her family's legacy back home.

Sharing a family's legacy

"The boat has finally got back to where it was built," Twitchell said, happy to see her father's boat return to Green River to be part of the display.

She explained that her grandparent's house was just "up the hill," and the wooden boats were built in their garage.

In many ways, the display has been in the works for years, since Twitchell and her siblings have been working to gather information on their parents and grandparents. It started with finding old film footage of their grandparents, then gathering photographs and other historical records on their family from sources like the University of Wyoming, the University of Utah, the Powell Museum in Green River, Utah, and more.

With the family also having two of A.K.'s handmade boats, which are some of the few cataract boats from the time left in existence and in some of the best condition, they didn't know how to display them.

"We got to thinking, why not let everybody see them?" Twitchell explained.

One of the boats is now permanently on display at the Uintah County Heritage Museum in Vernal, Utah. But the decision was made to use the other boat as a traveling exhibit that could be given to other museums on long-term loan, which is how it ended up coming back home to Green River. But Twitchell still wanted to stay closely connected.

"If it's traveling, I want to be a part of it when it goes somewhere," she said, explaining she wants to be able to share her personal connections to the history. "We still wanted to be a part of it, because it is our family."

Twitchell in particular has special connections with the cataract boat.

"This boat is practically home," she said.

She explained that she is the only one of her siblings or of any of the family members still alive who has personal memories of going down the river in the boat with her parents.

"It is a lifestyle that people don't have anymore," she noted, pointing out how adventuresome her parents were and how they were the entrepreneurs of their time with their river-running business. But she also added that river-running is starting to increase in popularity again and the interest in boating adventures is coming back.

History's impact

The cyclical nature of history, the way things come back after so long, is one of the major parts of why displays like the ones the museum puts together are important.

"I think that people need to know from whence we've come, we need to know about our history, because it's all around us, and our history affects our life today, the decisions that we've made," Dave Mead explained. "Ultimately, if we don't know our history, we're doomed to repeat it."

Mead hopes that visitors to the display will ponder whether the decisions made in the past were the right ones, and how their impact affects our decisions in the future.

"The takeaway I want people to think about is, did we make the right decision damming these rivers?" Mead said.

Dams like the Flaming Gorge Dam have had multiple impacts, from positive effects in generating electricity and helping the economy to negative impacts like changing the landscape, Mead pointed out.

"This beautiful wild river is gone," he said. "A.K. Reynolds had to quit running the river because there was no river to run."

Mead also pointed out that President Kennedy, who dedicated the dam, discussed how they'd been talking about the dam for 50 years and it was finally a reality, but asked if in another 50 years they would think it was the right decision. Now that the dam has been operating for 60 years, we are left to ponder that decision, and other similar decisions.

Photo courtesy of the Sweetwater County Historical Museum A.K. Reynolds running the rapids of the Green River.

The museum display's opening wasn't especially well-attended, which Mead knew would be the case, because the Bureau of Land Management's public meeting to discuss the Rock Springs Field Office Resource Management Plan took place the same day and time. Rather than be discouraged by this, Mead found it ironic and meaningful. A meeting to discuss the future of public lands and natural resources taking place at the same time as a museum display looking at the impact of past decisions on public lands and natural resources felt significant. And Mead knew the display would still be available for the public to enjoy and learn from for quite some time.

The exhibit is free and open to the public during normal courthouse hours every Monday through Friday.
Rotating power outages lasting up to an hour are possible, the Guam Power Authority said in a news release Thursday.

GPA said the previous outage schedule it issued remains in effect until Oct. 8, to allow customers to plan accordingly should outages be necessary while critical generation units are offline for emergency repair.

"To maintain grid stability when customer energy demand exceeds total energy capacity, GPA will, as a last resort, implement rotating outages lasting up to 1-hour. Power will be reconnected to all affected customers at the top of each hour," GPA said.

It provided latest update regarding the generation and power system:

Baseload unit Cabras 2 has returned to service on limited production early Wednesday morning. Plant personnel continue to monitor the unit and increase load as needed. The unit is fragile and is still susceptible to boiler tube leaks. GPA continues to work to alleviate this issue by purchasing and changing out boiler tubes as needed.

All baseload units are online.

Piti 7 Combustion Turbine unit continues to run on limited production. Once Cabras 2 is stable, Piti 7 will be taken offline so plant personnel can work on the unit to eventually increase the capacity from 22 MW to 31 MW (five-day outage needed).

The 20 MW Yigo Combustion Turbine generator rotor and other parts that were damaged during Typhoon Mawar have been shipped off-island for repair. Return to service of the Yigo CT unit is targeted for December 2023.

As previously mentioned, GPA has been able to get assistance from large customers participating in the Interruptible Load Program and the U.S. Navy.

These large customers, along with the U.S. Navy, voluntarily go off the grid and operate on their standby generators during the periods of time when capacity is less than demand, most especially during our peak hours when demand is highest. This helps minimize outages to our customers.

"Again, our Cabras baseload units are about 48 years old. Emergency repairs are sometimes needed and the units have to be taken offline in a moments notice to avoid further damage to the machines. Repair work to baseload units are extensive and complex, the unit must cool sufficiently to allow safe entry by generation personnel before repair work can begin," GPA said.

The Mangilao and Dandan solar PV facilities contribute to the total energy production during daylight hours, prior to the evening peak demand.

Rainy or overcast days reduces the amount of solar energy the system produces for the power grid. Cloud cover has an impact on how much solar energy the system generates.

Customers may have experienced outages caused by other than generation shortfall. These include outages caused by down or damaged power lines, auto-pole collision, brown treesnake, vegetation, or transformer issue which are some of the common emergency power outages affecting customers.

Customers are encouraged to conserve power from 5 p.m. to 11 p.m. Refraining from using unnecessary air conditioning units and turning off electric water heaters immediately before and during the peak demand hours can significantly assist in reducing energy demand and required load shedding.
Paul Chen, director general of the Taipei Economic and Cultural office in Guam, says some opening remarks to kick off the Earth Day Ypao Beach cleanup on April 22, 2023.
A newly released audit report shows just how much the Guam Memorial Hospital Authority has been financially struggling, including $61.2 million in operation losses and collecting just an average of 31 cents per $1 billed to self-pay patients in fiscal 2022.

Thats worse than in fiscal 2018 when the hospital, based on a prior audit, was collecting 49 cents for every $1 billed.

The likelihood of collecting from self-paid patients $74.3 million as of fiscal 2022 is low, the report said.

But the report recognizes that GMHAs revenues are impacted by its mission to serve the population regardless of their ability to pay.

The Office of Public Accountability on Thursday released the report on the audit, done by independent auditors Ernst & Young LLP.

Part of the added costs was GMHAs decision to hire a consultant, MedHealth Solutions, that was supposed to help the hospital collect more of the money its owed. GMHA in November 2022 abruptly ended the contract, costing the agency $4.5 million.

Overall, GMHA ended with a $1.8 million decrease in net position, from negative $255.6 million in 2021 to negative $257.5 million in 2022. Assets grew by 12% to $89.5 million, mainly because of increases in patient account receivables.

Some medical malpractice claims may also potentially result in monetary damages to be awarded to claimants or plaintiffs, the report said.

The money problems are dire, prompting independent auditors to reiterate that the hospitals incurred recurring losses and negative cash flows heighten GMHAs dependency on the government of Guam to support its operations.

The hospital management said some steps they have taken include initiating cost-cutting measures, moving to a new patient accounting system, and tax refund garnishments.

The auditors rendered a clean opinion on GMHAs 2022 financials, but noted deficiencies in internal control over financial reporting and information technology.

Blame game

In recent days, some senators and Adelup have placed the blame on each other for GMHs physical and financial conditions, which were highlighted during a recent oversight hearing, from molds to lack of supplies.

Republican senators also blamed the hospitals current management and asked the governor to declare a state of emergency for GMH, something that Adelup isnt keen on doing.

Resolution 215-37 introduced by the Republican minority is nothing more than political grandstanding that ultimately calls for the Government of Guam to give up some of its ability to self-govern, Adelup said in fresh comments Thursday afternoon.

It said at a time when GovGuam is pushing for more self-governance and self-determination, the Republican party has decided to take a step backwards and instead ask for more federal intervention by threatening to place GMH under federal receivership.

Gov. Lou Leon Guerrero continues to call for bipartisan efforts to build a new hospital, while lawmakers said the current hospital still needs help while trying to build a new GMH.

GovGuam help

GovGuam appropriations to GMHA dropped from $28.8 million in 2021 to $21.5 million in 2022.

As of Sept. 30, 2022, GMHA received $66.6 million in COVID-19-related federal cash assistance and support for 2020 and 2022.

But the report noted that the hospital is expecting very little cash support in 2023 due to the end of the public health emergency.

The report also said unbilled patient receivables amounted to $15.1 million, an increase of 102% from 2021s $7.5 million.

More patient debts

The audit report said GMHA grants credit without collateral to its patients, many of whom are Guam residents and are uninsured under third-party payor agreements.

Gross patient accounts receivables increased by $46.4 million or 18%, going from $255.9 million in fiscal 2021 to $302.3 million in 2022.

The top three highest increases in gross patient accounts receivables:

Collection agencies and others by $12.2 million or 131% Medicaid Assistance Program by $11.8 million or 91% Self-pay patients by $30.8 million or 71%

For the last five years, self-pay patients received an average of $25.6 million of care per year, of which GMHA collects an average of 31 cents per dollar billed to self-pay patients, the report said.

The hospital billed $253 million in claims in 2022 compared to $209.2 million in 2021, an increase of $43.8 million or 21%.

Collections increased by $17.5 million, mostly from Medicare, Medicaid and MIP patients, but self-pay collections dropped by $2.1 million.

Pandemic, contracts

GMHAs operating revenues increased by $23.9 million, while its operating expenses increased by $15.3 million due to COVID-19 response and contractual services.

These include contracts for travel nurses, physicians, and medical supplies, pharmaceuticals, food supplies, electricity, and oxygen, the report said.

But GMHA, according to senators, owe vendors more than $20 million.

Contractual services for administrative support, fiscal services, and medical staff collectively increased by $13.4 million or 79% in 2022.

Adding to the costs were administrative support due to electronic health record implementation, repairs, and demolitions, as well as medical staff by $6.7 million or 51% due to more physician hiring and increase in salaries.

Independent auditors also recommended that GMHA implement procedures to timely record, analyze, and monitor pharmacy inventory movement and balances.
United Airlines wants to run five direct flights a week between Guam and Haneda airport in the center of Tokyo  the first ever route of its kind, according to the airline.

Its a huge opportunity to grow the visitor market, according to Guam Visitors Bureau President and CEO Carl Gutierrez.

Flights from Guam to Japan are currently routed to Narita International Airport, located about 37 miles outside of the center of Tokyo, according to the airports website.

Haneda, by contrast, is located in the middle of Tokyo, much closer to the citys downtown area.

An application submitted by United to the U.S. Department of Transportation late last month states that the route would be the first ever Guam to Haneda service, if approved.

The airline wants to start running the route by Dec. 1, if it can get the approval from the transportation department. All flights between Guam and Haneda would run at night.

Establishing the route is in the public interest as it will create new service to Tokyos preferred downtown airport  and to the many domestic points served across Japan via Haneda, the airline stated in its application.

The route will deliver significant public benefits as it will provide enhanced service to tourism and business travelers in one of the largest Pacific island gateways for U.S Japan traffic.

The application said this will also provide significant benefit to Guam by giving the island the chance to compete with Hawaii in the Haneda-U.S. market, including for Japanese travelers who are critical to Guams economy and who prefer Haneda as an origin or connecting point for their travel needs.

GVB and the Office of the Governor have been working closely with United, and are in support of their request to the transportation department, GVBs Gutierrez told the Pacific Daily News.

(United) flying to Guam from Haneda gives enormous opportunity for huge growth in our visitor market. We are also exploring a shared marketing agreement to ensure the sustainability of the entire japan airports served, Gutierrez said.

Airline competition

But a Guam to Haneda route is not a sure thing yet, as United is looking to grab the five night time slots at Haneda away from Hawaiian Airlines.

Hawaiian has no intention of giving up the slots.

United argued in its application that Hawaiian has long been underusing the night time slots and should consolidate flights from Haneda to Hawaii during the day time.

Though the recent devastation of wildfires in Maui affected travel through Hawaii, the lack of use of the Haneda night time slot has been an issue for much longer, United argued.

United does not believe the circumstances warrant Hawaiian special flexibility or alleviation from the conditions associated with the slot pairs, should Hawaiian attempt to suggest so, it said.

And service to Guam isnt the only slot that United is trying to swoop in on.

The airline earlier this year moved to block Delta Airlines from renewing its slots at Haneda, and is now looking to take over so that direct flights between Tokyo and the United hub in Houston can be run, DOT filings show.

Hawaiian Airlines is not willing to let United move in on its slots, and has firm plans to ramp up nighttime flights between Hawaii and Haneda in the coming year, according to an Oct. 4 response filed with the transportation department.

Previous underuse of the nighttime slots were due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Hawaiian argues, and the airline still has a right to them.

Hawaiian also argues against the benefit to the Japanese and Guam markets that United claims.

Uniteds proposal to serve Guam will generate minimal public benefits as it will only be able to operate sub-daily service on a high-frequency route for only a brief window of time. Uniteds proposal to commence operations by December 1, 2023 is a fantasy, it said.

Marketing to JapanWhile Japan has long been the islands largest visitor market, Japanese visitors have been very slow to make a comeback to Guam after the pandemic, and Korean visitors have made up the vast majority of post-COVID tourists.

GVB has cited the slow easing of travel restrictions and the weak yen to U.S. dollar exchange rates in its regular market updates. The tourism agency is still pushing to get Japanese visitors back to Guam, Gutierrez said.

We recently returned from our One Guam Seminar in Sapporo Japan where we were welcomed by more than 30 eager travel agents and media along with GVB Members (United and Baldyaga Group) who were enthused to have us in Sapporo since the suspension of direct flights from Guam back in 2018, he said, adding that GVB also held an exhibit at the Chitose Airport World Travel Festa late last month.

We believe that more joint promotions and partnership will be beneficial to developing more of the demand for Guam and increased arrivals from regional cities in Japan, Gutierrez said.

Japanese arrival numbers are coming back in a big way already, according to preliminary statistics from GVB for the month of August.

A full 23,560 visitors came to Guam from Japan in the month of Augustmore than the number of Japanese visitors in 2021 and 2022 combined.
The FBIs Honolulu-Guam Resident Agency is warning the public of a new scam dubbed The Phantom Hacker, targeting mostly senior citizens.

Scammers are impersonating technology, banking, and government officials in a complex ruse to convince a typically older victim that foreign hackers have infiltrated their financial account, the FBI said in a news release on Thursday.

The scammers then instruct the victim to immediately move their money to an alleged U.S. government account to protect their assets. In reality, there was never any foreign hacker, and the money is now fully controlled by the scammers.

Some victims are losing their entire life savings.

These scammers are cold and calculated. They are targeting older members of our community who are particularly mindful of potential risks to their financial nest eggs. The criminals are using the victims own attentiveness against them, Special Agent in Charge Steven Merrill said in a statement.

He said by educating the public about this alarming new scam, we hope to get ahead of these scammers and prevent any further victimization.

How it works

The FBI has observed repeated behavior by criminals involved in The Phantom Hacker scam. The ruse is often perpetrated in three major steps:

Step 1: Tech support imposter

In the first step, a scammer posing as customer support representative from a legitimate technology company initiates contact with the victim through a phone call, text, email, or a pop-up window on their computer and instructs the victim to call a number for assistance.

Once the victim calls the phone number, a scammer directs the victim to download a software program allowing the scammer remote access to the victims computer.

The scammer pretends to run a virus scan on the victims computer and falsely claims the victims computer either has been or is at risk of being hacked.

Next, the scammer requests the victim open their financial accounts to determine whether there have been any unauthorized charges  a tactic to allow the scammer to determine which financial account is most lucrative for targeting.

The scammer informs the victim they will receive a call from that financial institutions fraud department with further instructions.

Step 2: Financial institution imposter

In the second step, a scammer, posing as a representative of the financial institution mentioned above, such as a bank or a brokerage firm, contacts the victim.

The scammer falsely informs the victim their computer and financial accounts have been accessed by a foreign hacker and the victim must move their money to a safe third-party account, such as an account with the Federal Reserve or another U.S. government agency.

The victim is directed to transfer money via a wire transfer, cash, or wire conversion to cryptocurrency, often directly to overseas recipients.

The victim is also told not to inform anyone of the real reason they are moving their money.

The scammer may instruct the victim to send multiple transactions over a span of days or months.

Step 3: US government imposter

In the third step, the victim may be contacted by a scammer posing as the Federal Reserve or another U.S. government agency.

If the victim becomes suspicious, the scammer may send an email or a letter on what appears to be official U.S. government letterhead to legitimize the scam. The scammer will continue to emphasize the victims funds are unsafe and they must be moved to a new alias account for protection until the victim concedes.

Victims often suffer the loss of entire banking, savings, retirement, and investment accounts under the guise of protecting their assets.

Tips to protect yourself

The FBI recommends that the public take the following steps to protect themselves from The Phantom Hacker scam:

Do not click on unsolicited pop-ups, links sent via text messages, or email links or attachments.

Do not contact the telephone number provided in a pop-up, text, or email.

Do not download software at the request of an unknown individual who contacted you.

Do not allow an unknown individual who contacted you to have control of your computer.

The U.S. government will never request you send money to them via wire transfer, cryptocurrency, or gift/prepaid cards.

Reporting suspected fraud

The FBI requests victims report these fraudulent or suspicious activities to the FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) at www.ic3.gov.

Be sure to include as much information as possible, such as: The name of the person or company that contacted you; methods of communication used, to include websites, emails, and telephone numbers; the bank account number where the funds were wired to and the recipients name(s).
BY JON HARRIS

Oct. 5, 2023

Board has power to direct policies at Roswell Park

It has been a busy few months for the board that oversees Western New York's premier cancer center.

There was a shake-up at the top nearly five months ago, when influential developer Michael L. Joseph resigned from his longtime position as chair of Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center's board of directors.

Joseph, who had been on Roswell Park's board for 19 years, including 16 as board chair, had faced a growing chorus calling for his removal from the position after his development company was hit with a racial discrimination lawsuit.

With Joseph gone, board member Leecia Eve was appointed chair, becoming the first woman and first person of color to lead the cancer center's board.

Under Eve, the board in early August voted to publicly release a diversity report it had kept secret since its 2022 completion, vowing to focus on improving the culture at Roswell Park and doing so with transparency and accountability.

Now, as Roswell Park continues its emphasis on diversity, equity and inclusion, it has three new faces on its board of directors.

Who's in?

Eve led off Roswell Park's board meeting on Sept. 28 by welcoming new board members Lisa Damiani, Garnell Whitfield and Lee Wortham.

Damiani worked at Roswell Park for nearly 16 years, from June 2001 to March 2011 as executive director of government and community relations, followed by almost six years as vice president of external affairs, according to her LinkedIn profile. Damiani, now president of consulting firm Tola Strategies, was appointed to the Roswell Park board by New York Senate Minority Leader Rob Ortt.

Eve pointed out Damiani's "extensive, both public and private sector, background," calling it "icing on the cake" that Damiani previously held a senior leadership role at Roswell Park.

Whitfield and Wortham, meanwhile, were appointed to the board by Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie.

Whitfield, Eve said at the meeting, "has an extraordinary breadth and depth of experience in terms of public safety," emergency services and homeland security.

Whitfield, a former Buffalo fire commissioner, has spoken nationally on issues such as gun violence and white supremacy since May 14, 2022, when his mother, Ruth Whitfield, 86, was one of 10 people killed in the mass shooting at Tops Markets on Jefferson Avenue.

Bringing "extraordinary financial and business acumen" to the board is Wortham, Eve said. Since 2007, Wortham has been a partner at Barrantys LLC, which describes itself online as a "consultant and service provider to wealthy families and family offices." Wortham is also is chair of Evans Bancorp's board of directors.

Who's out?

Eve, at the Sept. 28 meeting, also announced that Kenneth A. Manning, a partner at law firm Phillips Lytle, and Dennis Szefel, a former Delaware North executive, are no longer on the board.

"Ken and Dennis had completed their terms, and we are deeply grateful to them both for their years of dedicated service to Roswell Park and this community," Roswell Park said in a statement.

Szefel, however, will remain chair of the board's Audit Committee as a community member, Roswell Park confirmed. He also has expressed interest in joining the Roswell Park Alliance Foundation's board of directors when a seat opens up, the cancer center said.

With three additions and two subtractions to Roswell Park's board, which can have 15 voting directors on it, there remain two open positions to be filled  both by gubernatorial appointment.

That means Gov. Kathy Hochul can add a couple new faces to the board and shake it up further.

Why it matters

Knowing the names and backgrounds of the members and keeping track of the changes matter because the board has the authority to direct the planning, operation and policies of Roswell Park.

And that gives them considerable power, overseeing a public-benefit corporation that employs nearly 4,000 people, generates more than $1.1 billion in annual revenue and cares for more than 49,000 patients a year.

The board also has the authority to appoint a president of the corporation, "who shall hold office at the pleasure of the board," according to the cancer center's bylaws.

Most recently, the board on Feb. 3, 2015, voted 14-0 to appoint Candace S. Johnson as president and CEO  the cancer center's 15th CEO and its first woman to hold the top job.

The board in March approved a five-year extension for Johnson, with her current contract now running through March 31, 2030.

Want to know more? Three stories to catch you up:

Welcome to Buffalo Next. This newsletter from The Buffalo News will bring you the latest coverage on the changing Buffalo Niagara economy  from real estate to health care to startups.

THE LATEST

The fallout from the UAW strike is spreading to GM's plant in Lockport.

Robert E. Rich Jr. is the highest ranking local person on the Forbes 400 list of the wealthiest Americans.

How Buffalo Niagara bars and restaurants are gearing up for Sunday morning's Bills game.

Spectrum is offering set top boxes to turn "dumb" TVs into smart ones  for a price.

Bills Mafia is looking to make its mark on London.

It won't cost nearly as much to turn up the thermostat this winter.

The state is making big changes to the struggling legal pot market.

The new Niagara County hospital is on the verge of opening.

An Oishei Children's Hospital nurse is accused of possessing child sex abuse images.

The LaSalle Street Station redevelopment project now includes more land.

Want to buy a college campus? There's one for sale in Buffalo

Dunn Tire has a new owner.

Developer Douglas Jemal wants to use tax payments for downtown improvements.

A comic book store is closing its two Buffalo Niagara locations.

A Town of Tonawanda manufacturer says its expansion could expand.

The ECIDA is debating clawbacks for two companies that didn't meet job targets.

ICYMI

Five reads from Buffalo Next:

1. How Western New York colleges are adapting to a shrinking student population.

2. How Mighty Taco grew into a Buffalo food icon.

3. In 'tipping point,' Buffalo's tourism market emerges from Niagara Falls' shadow.

4. Kaleida wants to build a new hospital in Fredonia, but getting money for it has been difficult.

5. What the state's new cannabis rules really mean for customers, stores and growers.

The Buffalo Next team gives you the big picture on the regions economic revitalization. Email tips to buffalonext@buffnews.com or reach Buffalo Next Editor David Robinson at 716-849-4435.
The Guam Regional Medical City and its landlord are now suing each other over the multi-million-dollar Medical Arts Center built right beside the hospital.

Documents filed by both parties in the Superior Court of Guam paint two very distinct pictures of the events that led to the impasse.

CW Holdings, which built the medical center for GRMC and initiated the suit, claims the hospital has failed to pay its rent on time and is now on the hook for $38 million.

GRMC, in a countersuit, asserts that CW Holdings has breached contract by failing to construct the medical center in a timely manner, which left GRMC with a typhoon-damaged shell of a building.

The Medical Arts Center broke ground back in 2018, and was meant to house a suite of wellness-related services alongside space for GRMC in its three-story, 50,000 square foot facility, Pacific Daily News files show.

CW Holdings, a venture started by partners attorney Cesar Cabot and contractor Michael Wirges, was running the project, initially billed at $20 million.

GRMC signed off on a lease agreement with a guarantee it could occupy the second and third floor of the building.

CW Holdings in its suit alleges that the annual $1.3 million rent GRMC is supposed to pay started accruing on Feb. 1, 2022, after the keys for the facility were handed over to the hospital.

Though $1.8 million worth of rental payments have already been put down, the hospital has not put up money for the $1.74 million worth of prepaid rent, or the $1.63 million security deposit that it is obligated to pay in its lease agreement.

After serving two default of payment notices to hospital leadership this year, the developer opted to terminate the lease in August, documents state. CW Holdings now wants GRMC to come up with the $4.4 million worth of outstanding payments they owe.

But they are also seeking another $34 million, the total amount that would have been paid out over the lifetime of GRMCs 30-year leasewhich the developer said it has a right to demand as a condition of the signed lease agreement.

Additionally, the developer says that the hospital has failed to acquire a number of different insurance policies it was contractually required to get, such as commercial liability insurance, insurance against damage to the building, and workers compensation insurance.

GRMC is also alleged to have pulled out at the last second on plans for a sky bridge to connect the hospital to the medical center, after CW Holdings paid $73,500 for the design.

But GRMC said the project was not completed by the time the keys for the facility was handed over, nor was it completed by the various dates stipulated in the lease contract. Because of this, the hospital argues it does not owe rent, and should see the $1.8 million in rent it already paid returned.

CW Holdings, the hospital alleges in its suit, has not had a construction manager for years, and construction has faced numerous setbacks, and been intermittent, irregular, and disorganized.

An inspection of the building by GRMC representatives on Feb. 10, 2022nine days after CW Holdings asserts the key for the facility was turned overrevealed an inoperable fire suppression system, exposed wiring, incomplete walls, untiled floors, and bathrooms with no sinks or toilets.

Additionally, an unpaid contractor who worked on the project had an outstanding lien on the building as of June 30, 2022, which was not resolved until October 2022, GRMCs countersuit states.

Documents allege that CW Holdings principal Wirges, who staked $1.7 million at the outset of the project, had sold off his entire stake for $10 to Cabot as early as July 2020.

GRMCs suit states that loans taken out from Bank of Guam using the property and other properties used by Cabot amounted to $15 million as of last May, based on documents filed with the Department of Land Management.

In October last year, Cabot is alleged to have contacted the CFO of GRMC and offered to sell several HVAC chillers that were purchased for the medical arts building, but were undersized. After GRMC declined, the undersized chillers were installed on the medical arts center, anyways.

GRMCs suit states that poor installation of the HVAC system and windows on the building led to severe flooding and mold infestation during an inspection this June, shortly after Typhoon Mawar hit the island.

Besides seeing its $1.8 million worth of rental payments returned, GRMC alleges that CW Holdings owes them even more money.

The two entities reached a $2.1 million settlement following a dispute over traffic light and road improvements made beside their properties, and the developer has failed to make monthly payments on the deal.

The hospital is seeking other damages and attorneys fees, to be determined at trial.

Parties will lay out a schedule for arguments in the suit on Nov. 14, court records show. Judge Dana Gutierrez is handling the case.
David DellIsola, Guam Department of Labor director, informs Rotary Club of Northern Guam members and their guests about the agencys Guam Registered Apprenticeship Program during the organizations luncheon meeting at the Hilton Guam Resort & Spa in Tumon on Jan. 4, 2023.
Despite recent reports, most defendants let out on the street before trial dont commit a violation of their court-imposed restrictions, Public Defender Service Corporation Director Stephen Hattori said.

A report issued by the Office of the Attorney General this week detailed 87 people who violated their pretrial conditions in the month of September alone.

Nine of those defendants were charged with another crime while on release, to include child abuse and family violence. Violations processed by the OAG on a daily basis have been increasing, Attorney General Douglas Moylan told the Pacific Daily News.

But the big picture has to be considered when thinking about those numbers, Hattori said on Thursday.

There are probably 4,000 to 5,000 people under probation supervision. In that context, 87 violations is an extremely low percentage, Hattori said.

(There) have been  almost a thousand people charged with crimes this year alone. About 670 felonies and under 400 misdemeanors. So these numbers need to be placed in context, he added.

The AG has attributed the number of pretrial violations to a lack of respect for the justice system, and called for more of those who are at risk to reoffend or violate their release conditions to be detained before trial.

Hes also called for an end to the practice of letting defendants out, pretrial, on personal recognizance bonds, where they dont have to pay cash bail up front or at all.

Hattori disagreed with the idea, and said ending personal recognizance bonds hasnt been successful nationwide.

If you have $1,000 or $2,000 or $10,000 then you can go back to work and support your family. Yet, the poor and middle class have to lose their job, lose their housing when the court can impose conditions of release that have been largely successful, Hattori said.

He said, 90% of the people released on pretrial release are not committing crimes. Its like throwing out the baby with the bathwater.

Then there was the fact that detainees were innocent until proven guilty, and would be locked in overcrowded prison facilities, sleeping on bed frames with no mattresses, he said.

The number of pretrial detainees sitting in Department of Correction facilities has ballooned since the start of Moylans term, as the local prison population hits record high numbers, the Pacific Daily News reported this week.

On the broader issues of crime, the number of misdemeanor and felony cases is relatively lower than before, Hattori said. But its hard to say how that statistic relates to a perception some have that crime is getting worse.

The island is on track to see the same number of people charged with felonies and misdemeanors in 2023 as in 2022, Hattori said.

Data from the Superior Court of Guam showed the number of criminal cases filed has been stable over the past five years, never breaking 1,500 charges altogether.

There was a time when we would get 1,000 felonies and 2,000 misdemeanors a year, he said.

In 2021, there were double the number of drug arrests than in 2019, for example, but property crime went down by over a thousand reports in that time span, he said.

With the price of crystal methamphetamine so cheap, it may be fair to say that some people are not reporting burglaries where things go missing in their yard, Hattori noted.
Guam is invited to take part in the worlds largest earthquake drill, the Great ShakeOut, according to a press release by the Offices of Guam Homeland Security and Civil Defense.

On Oct. 19 at 10:19 a.m., participants will practice the earthquake response procedure; Drop, Cover and Hold On from wherever they are.

The drill will last for one minute.

The Offices of Guam Homeland Security and Civil Defense encourage all residents to increase earthquake preparedness and response by practicing how to protect themselves during an earthquake and how to ensure an earthquake disaster does not become a catastrophe.

The ShakeOut participation provides the opportunity to evaluate emergency plans, increase awareness of earthquake safety, and improve resiliency within your community.

How to register

To participate in this years ShakeOut, residents can register online at https://www.shakeout.org/guam/.

The ShakeOut website provides drill manuals, tips on earthquake safety and other resources for developing a disaster plan. Residents may register as an individual, family, school, business, or other group and are encouraged to share photos of their ShakeOut experience on the Great Guam ShakeOut website.

Island residents will join nearly 50 million ShakeOut participants worldwide; from areas such as the U.S., Hawaii, British Columbia, CNMI, New Mexico, Japan, Puerto Rico, and other various regions.

For more information, contact public information officer Jenna G. Blas at (671) 478-0208 or via email at jenna.g.blas@ghs.guam.gov.
Michael Lujan Bevacqua is an author, artist, activist and the curator for The Guam Museum.
General Motors has laid off 48 workers at its Lockport components plant, as the effects of the United Auto Workers strike against the Detroit Three automakers hit the Buffalo Niagara region for the first time.

Workers at the Lockport plant are not on strike. But GM said the layoffs at that plant stemmed from the unions strike that includes two GM assembly facilities in Missouri and Michigan.

Across the country, 25,000 UAW members are on strike at targeted GM, Ford and Stellantis facilities. Since the strike was launched Sept. 15, the union on two occasions has expanded the number of plants where it has called for its members to join the strike.

More workers could soon join the picket line. UAW President Shawn Fain plans to make an announcement at 2 p.m. Friday on Facebook Live. In past weeks, Fain used these presentations to reveal where the strike will be expanded, if the union is dissatisfied with progress in contract talks.

So far, the UAW has not called for its members at GMs facilities in Lockport and the Town of Tonawanda or Fords stamping plant in Hamburg to walk out. The three plants have about 3,000 hourly workers represented by the UAW.

Those employees continue to collect their regular paychecks while working under expired contracts. The UAW has not revealed where it might expand the strike, in order to keep the automakers guessing. The UAW has about 146,000 members at the Detroit Three plants.

The 48 laid-off employees are among about 1,400 UAW Local 686 members at the Lockport site. The plant produces a variety of parts, including radiators, condensers and HVAC modules, for GM vehicles.

GM said because the workers contract had expired, the automaker will not provide the 48 laid-workers with sub pay, or payments that GM ordinarily provides to laid-off workers to supplement their unemployment benefits.

Buffalo-area UAW workers ready to strike if called About 3,000 United Auto Workers members at three plants in the Buffalo Niagara region are waiting to learn if they will be called to walk out.

But the workers are eligible to collect $500 weekly payments from the UAWs $825 million strike fund. The UAW has made the payments available to nonstriking workers who have been laid off during the walkout, as well as to striking workers.

The 48 workers can also file for state unemployment benefits after a one-week waiting period.

GM said it has laid off nearly 2,100 employees at plants that are not included in the UAWs targeted strike. GM contends the layoffs are were a negative ripple effect of the strike, because of a reduced need for parts. GM has not reported laying off any workers at the Tonawanda engine plant in response to the strike.

Ray Jensen, assistant director of Amherst-based UAW Region 9, called it unfortunate that GM had laid off the 48 workers at the Lockport site due to the strike.

My reaction would be that we are all fighting for a middle class way of life against these corporations. We are only asking for whats been taken away from us over the years, he said. In 2008, the companies got bailed out, while our members got sold out.

Just as the strike began, Fain on social media blasted automakers plans for layoffs as an intimidation tactic and predicted it would fail.

Lets be clear: the Big Three decide to lay people off who arent on strike, thats them trying to put the squeeze on our members to settle for less, Fain wrote. With their record profits, they dont have to lay off a single employee.

A Ford spokesman said the automaker had not laid off any workers at its Hamburg stamping plant in response to the strike. But companywide, Ford has laid off 1,330 workers since the strike began.

Stellantis, which does not have local manufacturing operations, has laid off about 370 workers, according to Reuters.

GM said the UAW strike at its plants in Wentzville, Mo., and Lansing Delta Township, Mich., has led to layoffs at five other GM facilities. About 73% of the 2,100 layoffs are from a GM plant in Kansas.

We have said repeatedly that nobody wins in a strike, and that effects go well beyond our employees on the plant floor and negatively impact our customers, suppliers and the communities where we do business, such as Toledo, GM said in a statement. GM was referring to a new round of layoffs at a plant in Toledo, Ohio.

West Herr Automotive Group, one of the nations largest dealer groups, said the strike thus far has not affected its availability of new vehicles. The dealer group said it also stocked up on maintenance and other frequently used parts over the past few months.

We will be able to perform same day maintenance and repairs on most models for at least a couple more weeks, West Herr said.

Meanwhile, the UAW continues to try to negotiate new contracts with the three automakers. The Detroit Free Press reported that GM had made a sixth offer to the union.

GM this week reported that the strike had cost the automaker $200 million in the third quarter. GM also secured a new $6 billion line of credit, to prepare the automaker for an expanded strike.




Haiti - Insecurity : Gang violence intensifies in Artibonite, the country's rice granary





Uncontrolled violence in the Haitian capital intensifies in Artibonite, the country's main rice-growing region, terrorizing children and families and destroying livelihoods amid unprecedented hunger, malnutrition and cholera epidemic.



The latest available figures show that between May and June 2023, at least 60 people were killed or injured in clashes over territory and resources between armed groups, compared to four during the same period last year. Nearly half of the 298 kidnappings across the country during this period took place in Lower Artibonite, or the Lower Artibonite, mainly involving civilians traveling on public transportation. In one incident, 15 women heading to the market were reportedly kidnapped and raped.



More than 100 schools have closed their doors due to insecurity and only one in four health facilities in the entire department remain accessible due to security concerns. Around a third of the population, almost half of whom are children, are now in need of humanitarian assistance.



Brutal violence, like that observed in Port-au-Prince, has forced the displacement of families and disrupted rice and agricultural production, vital to the economy. More than 22,000 people were displaced in June, compared to fewer than 10,000 in April. Most have sought refuge in host communities, while hundreds are taking refuge in precarious makeshift spaces, with little access to basic services or protection from armed groups.



"No human being, let alone any child, should ever have to face such shocking brutality, deprivation and lawlessness. The current situation is simply untenable," said UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell. The humanitarian system, including UNICEF, is providing and scaling up the response, but we need the support of the international community to reach Haitian children and families who desperately need help at this time," said Russell, who is also the designated lead attorney. for Haiti for the Inter-Agency Standing Committee (a group of humanitarians).



Haiti was among the top five countries in the world in terms of cholera cases recorded between July 20 and August 31, and Artibonite was the hardest hit overall. Aid workers say insecurity has made access extremely difficult, if not impossible, to six of the department's 17 communes, including Saint Marc, Verrettes and Petite Riviere  cholera hotbeds where some families are virtually besieged by violence. Two of the three main water treatment plants in Artibonite have closed due to insecurity, and the third is facing distribution problems.



The spread of violence from Port-au-Prince to Artibonite exacerbates an already critical humanitarian emergency. More than 5 million people, including a record 3 million children, will need humanitarian assistance in 2023. Nearly five million people are cruelly hungry. Haiti was already the poorest and least developed country in the Western Hemisphere long before the current crisis.



In collaboration with its partners, UNICEF has helped more than 150,000 people in Artibonite, notably through a vaccination campaign against cholera, and provided 350,000 people with drinking water, chlorine tablets and kits. hygiene, and rehabilitated damaged water sources. More than 32,100 children have been screened for malnutrition this year, of whom more than 3,400 have received ready-to-use therapeutic foods, essential for their survival, which UNICEF is purchasing for the entire country. Dozens of health workers have been deployed to support the struggling health system; 100 health facilities equipped with cold chain equipment and 40 nursery units equipped with solar kits. Schools and students in areas affected by violence have received more than 13,600 kits; and hundreds of the most vulnerable families receive cash assistance to help them continue their education.



Funding remains a critical constraint. The UN's $720 million Humanitarian Response Plan for 2023 is just over a quarter funded and UNICEF has received only 20% of its $246 million appeal for 2023.



HL/ HaitiLibre


















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Published on 2023/10/04 | Source

"The Perfect Deal" has confirmed its airing in more than 200 countries.

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Ahead of the first release on October 6th, Wavve original drama "The Perfect Deal" on the 4th, the news that it has been confirmed to air in about 200 countries is drawing attention.

The 10 billion kidnapping thriller, wavve original drama "The Perfect Deal" of two young men who accidentally kidnapped their friends has been officially invited to the 'On Screen' section of the 28th Busan International Film Festival and is set to be screened for the first time around the world. Even before its release, it achieved the feat of being confirmed to broadcast overseas in about 200 countries.

"The Perfect Deal" will meet overseas viewers from more than 190 countries, including the Americas, Europe, Oceania, the Middle East, and India, through the global OTT platform "Rakuten Viki". Through Taiwan's flagship OTT platform, FriDay, it will also enjoy the tension of the 10 billion kidnapping drama with Taiwanese viewers. On top of that, "The Perfect Deal" which will debut worldwide in Vietnam, Thailand, Mongolia, Malaysia, and Japan is expected to occupy the global content market beyond Korea.

The wavve original drama "The Perfect Deal" which will capture the world beyond Korea, will be released exclusively in episodes 1 and 2 on October 6th (Friday) through only wavve.

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"The Perfect Deal" is directed by Lee Jung-gon, written by Hong Jong-sung, and features Yoo Seung-ho, Kim Dong-hwi-I, Yoo Su-bin, Lee Joo-young, Baek Ji-won, Shim Young-eun. Broadcasting information in Korea: 2023/10/06~Upcoming, Fri on Wavve.
Starbucks worker sues NRLB

as unconstitutional entity

Ariana Cortes, a worker at the Starbucks cafe at the corner of Delaware Avenue and Chippewa Street, is suing the National Labor Relations Board in federal court.

Cortes argues that the way the NLRB is set up is unconstitutional, violating the separation of powers because NLRB Board Members cannot be removed at-will by the president, except for malfeasance or neglect of duty.

The same worker had petitioned a vote to oust Starbucks Workers United from representing workers at the store. That petition was dismissed.

The National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation is assisting Cortes with free legal aid.

The lawsuit was filed in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.

- Samantha Christmann
Etihad Airways has appointed three accomplished UAE nationals for roles in flight operations, sustainability, and revenue management.

These promotions reflect the airline's commitment to nurturing Emirati talent and highlight its long-term Emiratisation strategy as it celebrates its 20th anniversary, said the airline.

Captain Mohamed Anwahi has been promoted as Vice President of Flight Operations; Mariam Al Qubaisi as Director of Sustainability, and Aysha Al Kaabi as Director of Revenue Enhancement and Strategic Pricing.

The new positions are vital and highly specialised ones requiring exceptional knowledge, skills and leadership experience. Selecting internal talent with proven track records in their respective fields, Etihad has demonstrated its commitment to developing and rewarding Emirati employees who excel, it said.

Antonoaldo Neves, Chief Executive Officer, Etihad Airways, said: As we proudly celebrate Etihads 20th anniversary and joins the celebrations for UAE Civil Aviation Day, we are witnessing the culmination of our long-term strategy to nurture and develop UAE national talent.

Dr Nadia Bastaki, Chief People and Corporate Affairs Officer at Etihad, said: "The remarkable achievements of our appointees speak for themselves, underscoring their invaluable contributions to our organisation. Their capabilities are not just beneficial; they are essential. I trust that their inspiring successes will ignite the ambitions of many young Emiratis, motivating them to embark on their own journeys within the aviation industry throughout all various sectors of society.

* As Vice President of Flight Operations, Capt Anwahi will oversee the airlines entire aircraft fleet, flight operations, flight and cabin crew personnel, fuel efficiency and flight operations support. The role also bears the responsibility of being a registered post holder of the General Civil Aviation Authority.

Captain Anwahi joined Etihad in 2006 as a First Officer and graduated as a Captain in 2011. Over the last 17 years, he has fulfilled several roles in Etihad such as Head of Fleet for Airbus, Head of Cargo Fleet, Head of Fleet Technical and Director of Flight Operations.

In his previous capacity as Director of Flight Operations, Captain Anwahi spearheaded several key initiatives that delivered cost savings, improved operational efficiency, and played a major role in Etihads transformation programme. He also represented the airline in the National Emergency Crisis and Disaster Management Authority (NCEMA) during the Covid-19 pandemic.

He holds an MBA in Aerospace Management from the Toulouse Business School.

* Mariam Al Qubaisi joined Etihad in 2019 as the first Emirati leader of sustainability. During her tenure, Al Qubaisi has played an instrumental role in driving Etihads industry-leading sustainability efforts, resulting in the airline being named Environmental Airline of the Year by Airline Ratings in 2022 and 2023.

During her four years at Etihad, Al Qubaisi strengthened the airlines sustainability credentials and has been the driving force behind Etihads partnerships with industry giants including Airbus, Boeing, GE and Rolls Royce to form the Greenliner and Sustainable50 research programmes. As well as spearheading eco-flights to test and improve the impact of flying on the environment, Al Qubaisi also led a partnership with Satavia to research the effect of contrails and identify contrail avoidance techniques to further reduce the carbon footprint of flying, not just for Etihad but for the benefit of the entire industry.

Al Qubaisi is a trailblazer for Emirati women in the field of environmental sustainability, having graduated from the UKs Cambridge University with a masters in environmental engineering, and then joining the esteemed academia at Abu Dhabis Zayed University, before her time with Etihad, the airline said.

As Director of Sustainability, Al Qubaisis role continues to support the UAEs Year of Sustainability under the theme Today for Tomorrow.

* Aysha Al Kaabi's promotion to the role of Director of Revenue Enhancement and Strategic Pricing is a home-grown success story as she joined Etihad in 2014 as part of the airlines respected graduate trainee programme, following the completion of her bachelors in mathematics from the UAE University.

Through Etihads highly regarded graduate trainee programme, Al Kaabi gained valuable experience in cross-departmental rotations, including Demand and Pricing and Market Manager, before taking on a Head of Revenue Management role.

At the age of 33, Al Kaabi is Etihads youngest Director, and is also the first female Emirati Director of Revenue, paving the way for further growth of Emirati women in the aviation industry.

The business portfolio is responsible for revenue systems including solutions and innovation, pricing distribution, data analytics, revenue integrity as well as staff travel functions. - TradeArabia News Service
A 19-year-old Buffalo man was arraigned on felony assault and other charges Thursday stemming from a slashing incident Wednesday outside Riverside Academy, the Erie County District Attorneys Office said. Makai Cook was charged with second-degree assault, a felony; second-degree menacing and fourth-degree criminal possession of a weapon, both misdemeanors; and a trespassing violation, the DAs Office said. Held without bail, Cook faces a maximum of seven years in prison if convicted of the highest charge.

The slashing took place around 2:45 p.m. Wednesday outside of Riverside Academy, when Cook was alleged to have cut a student with a box cutter before fleeing the scene, the DAs report said. He was arrested a short time after.

Cook was not a student of Riverside, but the 18-year-old victim is , the DAs Office said. The student was treated for injuries at Erie County Medical Center and released. He was granted a temporary order of protection.

Suspect arrested after slashing incident outside Riverside High School Makai Cook, 19, of Buffalo, has been charged with second-degree assault, second-degree menacing, criminal possession of a weapon and trespassing.

... It is crucial to emphasize that no one else was in danger because the suspected weapon did not enter the school, a Buffalo Schools spokesperson said.

- Ben Tsujimoto
(HedgeCo.Net) The Securities and Exchange Commission has charged Matthew Motil, host of the podcast, The Cash Flow King, for fraudulently raising approximately $11 million from more than 50 investors in a Ponzi scheme involving notes that were purportedly backed by residential properties.

According to the SECs complaint, Motil, of North Olmsted, Ohio, defrauded investors with promises of low-risk, high-return promissory notes purportedly collateralized by first mortgages on homes located throughout Ohio.

The SECs complaint alleges that Motil promoted the investments on his website, inviting potential investors to be a real estate investing badass!, and on his podcast, where he assured investors that the investments he offered were safe and backed by a first lien position on the underlying real estate assets. According to the SECs complaint, Motil told investors that he would pay the investors returns on their investments from profits from renovating, reselling, refinancing, and renting the properties. As the complaint alleges, however, Motil did not in fact secure first lien positions for the investors as promised and regularly sold multiple promissory notes he claimed were secured by the same property to multiple investors. In one instance, Motil allegedly sold more than $1 million of promissory notes to 20 investors, each note supposedly collateralized by the same property he had acquired for $47,000. Rather than renovate the properties, Motil allegedly used investor money to make Ponzi payments to previous investors and for his own extravagant personal expenses, including to rent a lakeside mansion, purchase courtside season tickets to NBA games, and make $400,000 in credit card payments for his wife, Amy Motil, who is named as a relief defendant.

The SECs complaint, filed in the federal District Court for the Northern District of Ohio, charges Motil with violating Sections 5(a), and (c) and 17(a) of the Securities Act of 1933, [15 U.S.C.  77e(a), (c), and  77q(a)]; and Section 10(b) and Rule 10b-5 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, [15 U.S.C.  78j(b) and 17 C.F.R. 240.10b?5]. The complaint seeks injunctive relief, disgorgement plus prejudgment interest, civil money penalties, and an officer-and-director bar. The SECs Office of Investor Education and Advocacy has issued anInvestor Alert with tips on how investors can avoid become a victim of fraud in self-directed IRAs
Police spokespeople described the criminal operation at a news conference as a large-scale international project that was led from abroad, presumably from Sweden and Turkey.

THE NATIONAL BUREAU of Investigation (KRP) and Helsinki Police Department on Wednesday briefed the media on an ongoing pre-trial investigation into a drug trafficking ring suspected of smuggling hundreds of kilos of narcotics to Finland.

While the spokespeople said the ring is closely connected to a criminal organisation in Sweden, they declined to identify the organisation, saying only that Swedish men with ties to the organisation have been arrested as part of the pre-trial investigation. Helsingin Sanomat on Monday reported that Dodspatrullen, one of the more notorious gangs in Sweden, has had a role in the drug trafficking operation in Finland.

Direct links to Swedish organised crime are a worrying sign for Finland. A crucial element of drug crime is violence and firearms, which are currently used at a low threshold in Sweden, said Kimmo Sainio, a senior detective superintendent at KRP.

Also people from other countries are believed to have participated in the operation in Finland. During their months-long stays in the country, they took part in importing and handling the drugs and transporting the sales proceeds out of the country.

YLE on Wednesday reported that 30 people have been arrested during the investigation, 17 of whom remain in pre-trial detention. Mostly in their early-to-late 20s, the suspects include not only Finns and Swedes, but also British, Iraqi, Kosovan, Norwegian, Serbian, Somali, Turkish and Ukrainian nationals.

Most of the suspects did not live permanently in Finland. Those involved in the import and distribution of drugs in the country were mostly second-generation immigrants, according to KRP.

The pre-trial investigation revealed that the group orchestrated the transport of more than 2.5 million euros in cash from Finland. The money was transported in lorries to, for instance, Turkey. Some of the drug payments were made with other means than cash, said Mikko Nikkanen, the detective chief inspector in charge of the inquiry at Helsinki Police Department.

The investigation has also resulted in the seizure of significant amounts of cash and drugs, including 3.75 kilos of cocaine, 26.5 kilos of amphetamine, almost 97,000 pills of ecstasy and 9,500 pills of Oxycontin. The amounts account for anything between 13 and 98 per cent of the amounts the ring is believed to have brought into Finland since last October and November  22 per cent for cocaine, 27 per cent for amphetamine, 66 per cent for ecstasy and 98 per cent for Oxycontin.

In April, police apprehended the driver of a lorry that was transporting drugs, two recipients of the drug batch and several other suspects who were part of the group, recounted Nikkanen. During the arrests, several locations were searched and over 100 kilos of drugs was seized.

While the investigation has showed that the imported drugs were distributed by people with ties to Finnish gangs, Nikkanen declined to comment on how many gangs have been implicated when speaking to Helsingin Sanomat on Wednesday.

All of the drugs were brought into Finland from Sweden, some in lorries through northern Sweden. Drugs imported by the ring have been found not only in the capital region, but also in other parts of Finland, such as Oulu and Turku.

The pre-trial investigation was opened about a year ago following after police became aware of visits by Swedish men with gang ties to Finland. Marko Heinonen, a detective chief inspector at KRP, told Helsingin Sanomat that the men were seen in the company of people linked to local gangs in Finland.

The newspaper wrote that the reason for the links and visits started to become clear when police found 1.5 kilos of amphetamine and firearm parts in the vehicle of a gang-affiliated Finnish man.

KRP is continuing to investigate what it has described as a well-organised operation.

Even though the investigation was sparked by activities with people linked to local gangs, it has focused primarily on the activities of foreign suspects, Nikkanen stated to Helsingin Sanomat.

We havent looked particularly deeply into street-level distribution. The focus has been on taking apart the organised crime structures. By doing that, we can have a bigger impact also on street-level distribution, he explained.

Aleksi Teivainen  HT
Rantanen stated to YLE on Wednesday that the case underlines the need for the eight-per-cent increase the government intends to make in police appropriations next year and the need to direct some of the funding to preventing organised crime.

MINISTER of the Interior Mari Rantanen (PS) has lauded the actions of police in uncovering an international drug trafficking operation in Finland.

This increase should be enough at the moment, but naturally were monitoring the situation, she said.

Weve now taken a step forward in this saga of street gangs and organised crime. Of course you have to be concerned, but now if ever is the time to take different measures so that we dont have any outbursts here. The additional measures proposed in the government programme are certainly very welcome in this situation.

The government has already started implementing the measures, according to her. Preparations are underway to reform the legislation on criminal intelligence and to facilitate broader exchange of information between various authorities.

Id also like to mention the use of biometrics at this point. We also have the plan to introduce tougher punishments for firearm possession, for example.

Rantanen estimated that the case also demonstrates the cross-border nature of contemporary crime and the interconnection between immigration, poor integration programmes and criminal activity.

Im sure its an indication of the cross-border nature of crime. But its also an indication of the message from Sweden to Finland that immigration, poor integration and crime are interconnected, she argued.

The National Bureau of Investigation (KRP) and Helsinki Police Department on Wednesday shed light on an ongoing pre-trial investigation into what police spokespeople described as a well organised, gang-related drug distribution ring ran from outside of Finland, presumably from Sweden or Turkey.

Aleksi Teivainen  HT
Former attorney and political operative Nicholas D. DAngelo, who admitted he forced two women to have sexual contact and had sex with a 16-year-old girl, has been deemed a Level 3 sex offender.

The determination, sought by prosecutors and ordered by a judge Thursday during a hearing in Niagara County Court, means DAngelo carries the highest level for risk of reoffending.

He will have to remain a registered sex offender for life.

DAngelo, 30, of Niagara Falls, was sentenced in July to six months in jail and 10 years of sex offender probation after pleading guilty in April to eight felony sex crimes. At his sentencing, State Supreme Court Justice Debra Givens pointed to the onerous conditions of his probation for his multiple heinous sex crimes against three innocent young women.

DAngelo pleaded guilty to four counts of first-degree sexual abuse, two counts of third-degree criminal sexual act and two counts of third-degree rape.

Thursdays hearing was held because DAngelo is nearing the completion of his jail term.

Assistant Erie County District Attorney Lynette Reda presented the court with the results of a sex offender risk assessment completed by Niagara County Probation.

The assessment applies scores for a variety of risk factors. A maximum score on the assessment is 300; DAngelos score was 165, Reda said.

Anyone who scores over 110 falls into the high-risk category.

Risk factors are based on the details of the charges for which a person is convicted, including the number of victims, use of violence and victim ages. The assessment also considers a persons criminal history.

In New York State, a Level 1 offender is considered to have a low risk to reoffend and is the least likely of the three categories to reoffend.

Brian Melber, DAngelos defense attorney, told the judge his client elected not to litigate the designation or any of the calculations at this time, but reserves his right to challenge at a later date.

After Thursdays hearing closed, Givens granted a motion from Reda, who asked to reopen the hearing in order to designate DAngelo a sexually violent offender.

The four counts of first-degree sex abuse DAngelo pleaded guilty to are considered qualified offenses to designate a person is a sexually violent offender, Givens said.

But prosecutors failed to provide the required 15-day written notice they would be pursuing such a designation, Melber said.

Givens left the hearing open without the designation having been made. Parties are scheduled to return to court Oct. 20.

A special designation, like sexually violent offender, along with an individuals risk level, determine a persons requirements for reporting to authorities and how much information is made publicly available.

Prosecutors have said sex offender probation is more strict than regular probation. If DAngelo were found guilty of a probation violation, he would potentially face consecutive sentences on all charges. That could lead to a maximum 44-year prison sentence.

The six-month jail term was the longest period of incarceration possible under state law for people who also receive a 10-year sentence of sex offender probation.

As part of his plea in April, authorities agreed not to seek potential charges from other law enforcement agencies related to the same conduct.

DAngelo was previously convicted of sexual misconduct for a 2009 incident in which, as a 16-year-old, he was involved in an incident with a 14-year-old girl in a Niagara Falls High School stairwell. He was granted youthful offender status in that case, according to documents on file with the Niagara County Clerks Office.

In a separate criminal case, DAngelo has been accused of making phony payments to the campaign of a Niagara Falls judicial candidate in 2021 under the name of the husband of a prosecutor in his sex crimes case. Those allegations carry 10 felony charges against him.

Those charges remain pending.
Planning Board again swats down effort to ease floodplain construction rules

Mills River Fire Chief Rick Livingston issued an invitation to anyone who doubted the severity of floods in Henderson County: The next flooding event that we have, go to your nearest fire department and run some calls with us.

A landowner who wants Henderson County to relax regulations that prevent development in floodplains failed to win endorsement of the idea from the Henderson County Planning Board, which voted 5-2 last week to recommend denial of a zoning text amendment.

Why are we sitting here discussing the possibility of exacerbating what is already a very serious problem in Henderson County? asked board member Rick Livingston, who is chief of Mills River Fire & Rescue. If we approve this tonight, I want this board to just be aware that what were doing is opening the floodgates for further fill in our floodplain and our floodways.

The vote opposing the rules relaxation came after a hydrology engineer and a representative of the landowner appealed to the board to support for the change.

Andrew Bick, principal engineer of Asheville-based Headwaters Engineering, told the board that Henderson Countys floodplain regulations were more restrictive than other counties in Western North Carolina and more restrictive than towns that adhere to a state model ordinance, including Laurel Park, Flat Rock and Fletcher.

Currently, the county land development code bars construction of any kind in a floodway. The state model ordinance allows for fill if the landowner obtains an engineers certification that the encroachment would not result in any increase in the flood levels during a base flood discharge.

The proposed zoning text amendment would adopt the same wording and also subject the fill application to Planning Board review and a vote to approve or deny by the Board of Commissioners.

All this would come back to you for special fill permit, Susan Frady, who was speaking on behalf of an unidentified landowner seeking the change. You would know what type of property were looking at. You could turn it down or add conditions. You would get to know that its not farmland. You would get to know everything about the project.

Jim Miller, a grading contractor, expressed misgivings about the change but was one of two members to cast a vote in favor of a positive recommendation to the Board of Commissioners.

It was at least the second time a proposed amendment has come up before the Planning Board to ease the restrictions on floodplain construction, and Livingston said hes puzzled as to why.

We talk about it a couple of times a year, he said after the meeting. I dont understand it.

Were talking about human lives

As fire chief of a district that includes miles of the French Broad and Mills rivers, Livingston noted that he has plenty of experience with floods. As a swift water rescue technician, I have to drag you out of the floodwaters if you get stranded so I know a little bit about it, he said. Dont take what Im telling you for the gospel. The next flooding event that we have, go to your nearest fire department or to the Henderson County Rescue Squad and run some calls with us and you will see that what Im telling you is very, very true.

He said regulations based on 100-year and 500-year floods, which represent 1 percent and .2 percent (1 in 500) chances of flooding, have been shown to be outdated.

Reference is made to the 100-year flood and the 500-year flood, he said. Thats absolutely B.S. Instead of 100 were talking 20, and instead of 500 were talking more like 50, and Im telling you that from experience.

Then he brought up a typical flood scenario, and posed a question to Bick, the hydrological engineer.

When you take water thats spread out over a quarter of a mile area wide  such as would be very common along the French Broad River  when you take all that water and you compress it into a narrower floodway, sir, would you agree that the velocity of that water is much greater when we push that water into a narrow channel?

In some cases, yeah, Bick responded.

From an emergency services standpoint, the chief added, were talking about human lives.

It was unclear whether the proposed text amendment would be sent across Main Street to the county commissioners with an unfavorable recommendation or whether  as happened the last time the Planning Board batted the idea down  the proposal is quietly dropped.

Besides the emergency management factor, Livingston also raised the issue of loss of farmland.

In the comprehensive plan, we listened to hundreds and hundreds of people over the course of many months, he said. One of the biggest things that we heard is (comments in support of) preserving and conserving farmland, agricultural production land. If you know anything about Henderson County, you know that aside from orchards and small fruits, the largest majority of our farmland is in the floodplain areas along our rivers and streams. So when you go in and you fill these floodplain or floodway areas, its no longer ag. Its taken out of farming, its taken out of agricultural production forever. So from a comp plan standpoint, lets not talk out of both sides of our mouth.
ENVIRONMENTAL campaigners from Henley took part in a protest in London to demand that the Government takes stronger action to restore nature.

Laura Reineke, a member of the Henley Mermaids open-water swimming group, citizen scientist Dave Wallace and Simon Mack, of Greener Henley, joined the Restore Nature Now rally outside the offices of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

The protest, which was organised by wildlife TV presenter Chris Packham, was in response to last weeks State of Nature report which showed that nearly one in six species in this country is at risk of extinction. Ms Reineke said: I was representing all five Mermaids. It was a brilliantly organised, inspiring event with powerful speakers including our friends from River Action, the Bumblebee Conservation Trust, Young Climate Warriors and the RSPB.

The sheer number of people attending was testament to how important this issue is to the majority of people, except our government it seems. A quarter of British mammals are under threat and the UK is 189 out of 218 in the poor biodiversity list. We have a nature disconnection in this country and we need to reconnect, rewild and restore. Mr Wallace said: People turned up in their hundreds to hear various speakers from campaign groups talk about the devastation that we are causing the natural world around us.

Our flora, fauna and habitats are under immense pressure and facing precipitous decline. Things can improve but we need to act now. My favourite quote for the day was, Its better to do something than nothing.

Other protests took place outside Defra offices across the country. About 10 members of Greener Henley took part in a protest outside the Defra office in Reading, including town councillor Sara Kandiah and clean air campaigner David Dickie.
A gunman who fatally shot another man outside a corner store in Buffalo has pleaded guilty to first-degree manslaughter, Erie County District Attorney John J. Flynn announced.

Mahzhee X. Young, 30, faces a maximum of 30 years in prison when he returns for sentencing Nov. 15 before Erie County Court Judge Suzanne Maxwell Barnes. He continues to be held without bail.

Prosecutors said Young shot David D. Moore, 27, several times about 11:15 p.m. on June 9, 2020, during an argument outside a store at East Ferry and Grider streets.

Moore was taken in a private vehicle to Erie County Medical Center, where he died a short time later.

- Dale Anderson
VATICAN CITY  Pope Francis said the Catholic Church needed to be rebuilt to make it a place of welcome for everyone, everyone, everyone, as he opened a divisive meeting on the future of the church that has sparked hope among progressives and alarm among conservatives.

Francis presided over a solemn Mass in St. Peter's Square to formally open the meeting. But he warned both camps in the church's culture wars to put their human strategies, political calculations or ideological battles" aside and let the Holy Spirit guide debate.

We're not here to create a parliament, but to walk together with the gaze of Jesus," he said.

Rarely in recent times has a Vatican gathering generated as much hope, hype and fear as this three-week, closed-door meeting, known as a synod. It wont make any binding decisions and is only the first session of a two-year process. But it nevertheless has drawn an acute battle line in the churchs perennial left-right divide and marks a defining moment for Francis and his reform agenda.

On the table are calls to take concrete steps to elevate more women to decision-making roles in the church, including as deacons, and for ordinary Catholic faithful to have more of a say in church governance.

Also under consideration are ways to better welcome of LGBTQ+ Catholics and others who have been marginalized by the church, and for new accountability measures to check how bishops exercise their authority to prevent abuses.

Even before it started, the gathering was historic because Francis decided to let women and laypeople vote alongside bishops in any final document produced. While fewer than a quarter of the 365 voting members are non-bishops, the reform is a radical shift away from a hierarchy-focused Synod of Bishops and evidence of Francis belief that the church is more about its flock than its shepherds.

The opening Mass and seating arrangements made that clear: The lay participants led off the processional into St. Peter's Square, followed by the vested clerics, suggesting their primacy of place. Inside the synod auditorium, laypeople sat at round tables alongside cardinals and bishops, rather than in the upper back row of the Vatican's audience hall as in previous synods.

Its a watershed moment, said JoAnn Lopez, an Indian-born lay minister who helped organize two years of consultations prior to the meeting at parishes where she has worked in Seattle and Toronto.

This is the first time that women have a very qualitatively different voice at the table, and the opportunity to vote in decision-making is huge, she said.

In his homily, Francis recalled that his namesake St. Francis of Assisi, whose feast day is celebrated Wednesday, also faced divisions and tensions in his lifetime and responded with prayer, charity, humility and unity when he was told: Go and rebuild my church."

Let us do the same! Francis said. And if Gods holy people with their shepherds from all over the world have expectations, hopes and even some fears about the synod we are beginning, let us continue to remember that it is not a political gathering, but a convocation in the spirit; not a polarized parliament, but a place of grace and communion.

He repeated that theme during the first working session of the synod and laid out the ground rules for participants, confirming a media blackout of the meeting. Francis called for a fasting of the public word" to allow for free debate without the glare or pressures of media coverage.

More than speaking, the priority is listening, he said.

Women have long complained they are treated as second-class citizens in the church, barred from the priesthood and highest ranks of power yet responsible for the lions share of church work  teaching in Catholic schools, running Catholic hospitals and passing the faith down to next generations.

They have long demanded a greater say in church governance, at the very least with voting rights at the periodic synods but also the right to preach at Mass and be ordained as priests or deacons. Before the opening Mass got under way, advocates for women priests unfurled a giant purple banner at a piazza nearby reading Ordain Women.

Lopez, 34, and other women are particularly excited about the potential that the synod might in some way endorse allowing women to be ordained as deacons, a ministry that is currently limited to men. The issue is on the agenda, and delegation from Lopez' group, Discerning Deacons, was in Rome for sideline events.

For years, supporters of female deacons have argued that women in the early church served as deacons and that restoring the ministry would both serve the church and recognize the gifts that women bring to it.

Francis has convened two study commissions to research the issue and was asked to consider it at a previous synod on the Amazon, but he has so far refused to make any change.

In his homily opening the synod, Francis said such preconceived ideas had no place in the gathering. But repeating his new mantra about the church as a place of welcome, he said tutti, tutti, tutti must be allowed in: Everyone, everyone, everyone.

The potential that this synod process could lead to real change on previously taboo topics has given hope to many women and progressive Catholics and sparked alarm from conservatives who have warned its call for radical inclusion of LGBTQ+ people could lead to schism.
Mae (Millie) Heller passed away on Sept. 29, 2023, at the age of 92 after a tragic automobile accident in Mount Airy, MD. Mae resided in Winter Springs, Florida and was on an extended stay in Mount Airy, MD.

Mae was born on June 13, 1931, in New York City, New York, and raised in the Pelham Parkway section of the Bronx for the next 20 years. Afterward, Mae spent nearly 20 years living in Deer Park, NY. Mae entered the workforce after her husband Louis Nathan Heller predeceased her at an early age. Mae went back to college to earn a bachelor's degree enabling her to work as a public-school teacher in Deer Park, opening the minds of elementary, junior high and high school students to the possibilities the world presents. Afterwards she relocated to the Winter Park, Florida area where she once again picked up the mantle of teaching young minds for the next 20 years. This time she joined a select group of teachers in Orange County, Florida teaching special needs children. Mae retired at age 70 to be a true "Bubbe" to her grandchildren.

Mae was the youngest of two children born to the late Isidore and Mary Lifshitz. Her sister, Annise (Shankman) Lifshitz, predeceased Mae.

Mae raised two children, playing the role of mother and father two both. She always provided a compassionate and loving home to her son, David, and daughter, Cheryl. As time progressed, she also helped raise three grandchildren (daughters to Cheryl), Jori, Samantha, and Danielle. Whether children or grandchildren, she was always available to them when called upon no matter the time of day. With the arrival of grandchildren, she transitioned into the wonderful world of being a "Bubbe." Her love and admiration for her children and grandchildren had no limits. She gave unconditional love, comfort, and guidance to them whenever they needed it. She brought equal amounts of love, wisdom, and nurturing to their lives and the lives of everyone she met.

Her family grieves her loss, but they take comfort knowing that Mae and Louis are together again. They are survived by their son, David Heller, his wife Lois Heller; daughter, Cheryl Heller-Allen, her husband Paul Allen, their three children - Jori Allen, Samantha Allen, and Danielle Allen. There are numerous nieces, nephews, and cousins.

Funeral Services were held at Burrier-Queen Funeral Home, 1212 West Old Liberty Road, Winfield, Maryland, 21784. Burial Services were held in the family plot in Paramus, N.J.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in Mae's honor to Jewish War Veterans of the USA, 1811 R Street NW, Washington, DC, 20009, https://www.jwv.org or to a charity of one's choice.

Online condoloences can be made at http://www.burrrier-queen.com.
By Jackie Hajdenberg

(JTA)  More than 80 years after one of Germanys most prominent synagogues was destroyed on Kristallnacht, the Jewish community of Hamburg has taken ownership of the buildings site and is set to begin rebuilding it.

The site of the Bornplatz Synagogue, a neo-Romanesque building dedicated in 1906 that had a 1,200-seat sanctuary and was once the largest synagogue in northern Germany, was officially handed over to leaders of the citys Jewish community on Wednesday. At the ceremony marking that restitution, officials from the city of Hamburg cut up a copy of the...
WASHINGTON (JTA)  The Biden administration is aiming to counter antisemitic discrimination in federally-funded transit systems, housing, food programs and other areas  one of the most major actions the White House has taken since it unveiled a far-reaching strategy to combat antisemitism in May.

On Thursday, the administration announced that it is instructing eight cabinet departments to extend civil rights protections to victims of antisemitism and other forms of religious bigotry. The decision marks a broad expansion of the 1964 Civil Rights Act.

In addition, the administration is l...
(JTA)  Leaning into his latest controversies, Elon Musk is planning to join a bevy of Jewish men for a live chat.

The conversation will focus on X, anti-Semitism, and the future of free speech, according to conservative pundit and social media personality Ben Shapiro, who announced Wednesday that Musk would join him on his Daily Wire podcast.

Also participating in the conversation, Shapiro said, are Rabbi Ari Lamm, an Orthodox scholar and podcaster; former Israeli politician and Soviet dissident Natan Sharansky; an unnamed representative of the Simon Wiesenthal Center, an ant...
Prominent right-wing extremist Sven Kruger (l) is accompanied by a police officer during a search operation on his property in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Germany, Sept. 19, 2023.

(JTA) - Germany has banned a neo-Nazi group after raiding the homes of its leaders across the country, in a move the government said "sends a clear signal against racism and antisemitism."

The Hammerskins, a local spinoff of a group founded in the United States in the late 1980s, are accused of promoting criminal activities and of opposing the German constitution. According to a recent report from Germany's Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution, the group was the only the only remaining neo-Nazi organization active nationwide.

"The ban of the Hammerskins Germany is a hard bl...
Its a stark and unsettling reality that in a country as prosperous as ours, people still go to bed hungry. The fact that this problem persists right here in our own region is a sobering reminder of the work that remains to be done. Now, there is new and easy way to help: by contributing to FeedMore WNYs capital campaign.

This campaign is not just about building a new facility; its about creating a brighter future for those who are struggling to put food on their tables.

FeedMores plan to construct a new home in Hamburg counts as a beacon of hope. One of the primary benefits of the new facility is that it will eliminate the need to turn away food donations due to space constraints. FeedMore now operates from two separate facilities 2.5 miles apart on Buffalos East Side, an arrangement that is no longer sustainable for a rapidly growing organization committed to alleviating hunger.

The proposed 198,000-square-foot facility on 74 acres in Hamburg will not only increase storage space but also pave the way for the expansion of vital services like training, employment counseling, transportation, child care and more for economically disadvantaged adults. This expansion represents a commitment to addressing the root causes of hunger, offering pathways to self-sufficiency, and creating a stronger, more resilient community.

Additionally, the new facility will provide much-needed dock space for the safe and efficient movement of food. As FeedMores president and CEO, Tara Ellis, aptly put it, If we do not have the space, we would have to turn donations away, and thats not something we want to continue to do.

The impact of this expansion will extend the organizations reach so it can serve food-insecure families and homebound individuals in Erie, Niagara, Chautauqua and Cattaraugus counties.

State, federal, corporate and foundation donors have already contributed $63.3 million, covering nearly two-thirds of the construction cost. Now, FeedMore is asking the public to help raise the remaining $33.7 million needed to break ground on this project next spring. Its an opportunity for every individual in our community to be a part of something profound.

Campaign co-chair Lou Jacobs, CEO of Delaware North, has shown leadership by pledging to match individual donations up to a total of $250,000, on top of the $1 million Delaware North has already contributed. The company is also contributing through a unique initiative, the 716 Spritz cocktail, available at various venues in October, with one dollar from each drink sold going to the FeedMore capital campaign.

Let us ensure that no one in our region goes to bed hungry. Support FeedMore WNYs capital campaign by visiting the organizations website: feedmorewny.org/donate.

Whats your opinion? Send it to us at lettertoeditor@buffnews.com. Letters should be a maximum of 300 words and must convey an opinion. The column does not print poetry, announcements of community events or thank you letters. A writer or household may appear only once every 30 days. All letters are subject to fact-checking and editing.
(JNS)  In the first Republican candidate debate on Aug. 24, Israel became the center of a heated exchange between two of those vying for the presidency in 2024. The Jewish state did not come up at all during the two-hour second debate at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum in Simi Valley, Calif., a month later, on Sept. 27. Instead, the seven candidates focused largely on domestic issues, including urban crime, illegal drugs, immigration and the Southern border.

Throughout the event, the moderatorsDana Perino of Fox News, Stuart Varney of Fox Business Network and I...
(JNS) - Sen. Robert "Bob" Menendez (D-N.J.), a longtime supporter of Israel and critic of the Iran nuclear deal, is facing widespread calls for his resignation following charges from the U.S. attorney's office that he accepted bribes.

The Democrat "allegedly agreed to use his official position to benefit" three New Jersey businessmen "and the government of Egypt in exchange for hundreds of thousands of dollars of bribes to Menendez and his wife, Nadine Menendez, which included gold bars, cash and a luxury convertible," according to a release from the U.S. attorney's office for the Southe...
(JTA)  Benjamin Netanyahu used his address to the United Nations to tout the prospect of a diplomatic agreement between Israel and Saudi Arabia, and to broach a topic that he has previously downplayed: Israeli-Palestinian peace.

The Israeli prime minister also used the end of his 25-minute speech to herald the benefits  and warn of the dangers  of artificial intelligence, largely reprising what he told tech mogul Elon Musk in a live streamed conversation earlier in the week.

And he did not mention one burning issue that has preoccupied Israeli politics  and led to civil strife ...
(JNS) - Rep. Joe Wilson (R-S.C.) began a hearing of the House Subcommittee on Middle East, North Africa and Central Asia on Wednesday with a moment of silence for Taylor Force, the 28-year-old West Point graduate and U.S. Army veteran who was killed in 2016 while on a graduate-school trip to Israel.

"His death was a deranged and inhumane action," said Wilson, who chairs the subcommittee, which is part of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs. The congressman also slammed the Palestinian Authority for maintaining its system of payments for terrorists and their families.

The hearing, title...
(JNS) - Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) in an interview that aired on Wednesday shot down reports that U.S.-led talks over normalization with Israel had been suspended.

In an hour-long interview with Fox News' chief political correspondent Bret Baier-MBS's first ever interview completely in English and the first with a major American network since 2019-the crown prince said that peace with the Jewish state was "getting closer every day."

Asked what it would take for Riyadh to join the Abraham Accords, MBS emphasized that it would happen "with the support from President Biden's...
(JNS)  President Isaac Herzog and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu were among the speakers Tuesday at Israels state memorial ceremony marking 50 years since the Yom Kippur War.

The ceremony took place at the Hall of Remembrance on Mount Herzl in Jerusalem. The attendees included Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana and Supreme Court Justice Yitzhak Amit.

On Oct. 6, 1973, a coalition of Arab states, led by Egypt and Syria, coordinated a surprise attack on Yom Kippur, thinking that the IDF would not be able to defend Israel on the holiest day of the Jewish year...
(JNS)  In a television program this past July, Palestinian cleric Mahmoud al-Habbash asserted that Jews follow Satanism and have left the path of humanity. Indeed, he claimed, Jews are Satan himself. In an earlier broadcast, Habbash had called Jews creatures that Allah created in the form of humans. They are cursed descendants of apes and pigs. These gems and more have been documented by Palestinian Media Watch.

Habbash also denies that Jews have any historical connection to the Land of Israel. He maintains, There was no First Temple and no Second Temple, and there also w...
(JNS)  U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland is facing criticism following his testimony for a Judiciary Committee hearing on Sept. 20 titled Oversight of the U.S. Department of Justice during which he was visibly emotional on several occasions.

The committee, chaired by Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), sought in the hearing to examine how the U.S. Justice Department has become politicized and weaponized under the leadership of Attorney General Merrick Garland.

Garland noted his Jewish ancestry in his opening statement. My family fled religious persecution in Eastern Europe a...
WASHINGTON (JTA)  As of November, Israelis will be able to enter the United States without a visa, a major change that Israel has long sought and that will ease travel for hundreds of thousands of its citizens.

Israels entry into the Visa Waiver Program, which now includes 41 countries, means that Israelis traveling to the United States will no longer have to go through a months-long visa application process that carried the threat of denial. It also means that Palestinian-Americans living in the West Bank and Gaza will be able to enter Israel after completing a form and a short waiti...
(JTA) - The United States Postal Service has released a new series of Forever stamps honoring Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the late Jewish Supreme Court justice and liberal icon who died in 2020.

The stamp, which became available for purchase on Monday, shows Ginsburg wearing her black judge's robe and signature white collar. It was announced last year as part of the postal service's 2023 lineup of new stamps, reflecting a jump on the service's standard timeline for honoring deceased people.

The stamp's release comes three years and two weeks after Ginsburg's death at 87, after 27 years on the Supr...
Its progress and its a whole lot better than the hand-wringing and hysteria that have too often accompanied the arrival of asylum-seekers in New York State.

Venezuelan migrants in the state are now able to apply for temporary protected status and then jobs. That means the 300 or so Venezuelans currently staying in hotels in Cheektowaga and Amherst  most of whom have fled from unimaginable dangers in their home country  can move on with their lives and begin to work legally here. They are being connected with jobs in the hospitality, health care, social services, construction and retail fields, all of which have been suffering from workforce shortages.

A jobs portal run by the New York Department of Labor has identified 18,000 jobs available to migrants who can get legal work authorization, with half the jobs in the city and half in other parts of the state, according to Gov. Kathy Hochul.

If not for the Biden administrations plans to grant temporary protected status to an estimated 472,000 Venezuelans who arrived in the country by July 31, this would not be possible. As weve stated before, this decision by the Biden administration reflects both compassion and practicality and should serve as a blueprint for addressing the needs of vulnerable populations.

Hochul hopes that the federal government will consider extending similar status to other asylum-seekers from nations in Africa, Central and South America, Afghanistan, Iraq and Russia.

Its good news that Venezuelans, at least, will benefit from this, but it also demonstrates how significant progress in the struggle to deal with asylum-seekers is not possible without action from the feds.

As Hochul reiterates her concerns about the continued flow of migrants through the U.S. southern border, she underscores Congress complete and utter failure in producing any meaningful action on fixing a dysfunctional immigration system that is no longer efficient or humane.

So far, its all been rhetoric.

In the meantime, good luck to Venezuelan migrants in Western New York and throughout the state as they move forward on their journeys to productive, safer lives.

Whats your opinion? Send it to us at lettertoeditor@buffnews.com. Letters should be a maximum of 300 words and must convey an opinion. The column does not print poetry, announcements of community events or thank you letters. A writer or household may appear only once every 30 days. All letters are subject to fact-checking and editing.
(JNS)  Palestinian Arab journalist Bassam Tawil recently described a fierce crackdown on Palestinian reporters by the Palestinian Authority, including arbitrary arrests and beatings.

Meanwhile, U.S. President Joe Biden, in his recent meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly last week, emphasized the importance of upholding democratic values. Then the president called for the establishment of a Palestinian Arab state next to Israela state that would be governed by the same regime that is arresting and beating Palestinian j...
(JNS)  On that day 50 years ago, I was in the parking lot of my synagogue in Keene, N.H., taking a break from Yom Kippur services. Someone had the car radio on and tuned to the news. I heard that Israel had been the victim of a surprise attack on our holiest day.

Like millions of others, my heart sank.

The news sounded ominous. I worried first for our relatives who lived on a kibbutz in the Jordan Valley, not far from the Syrian border. As the news dispatches came in, it only got worse. The existential threat to the Jewish state was coming from both north and south.

At the time, I was w...
The Feast of Tabernacles is how many Christians refer to Sukkot, the biblical festival we celebrated this past week. It is also a multi-day event known in shorthand as the Feast, organized by the International Christian Embassy Jerusalem, arguably Israels largest annual tourist event, drawing thousands of Christians from all over the world since 1980.

As I have done for years, this year I celebrated both. But this year, all the more so, I celebrated the thousands of Christians who came to Israel to celebrate with us all the more so, in light of calls by some other members of the...
Decked with one mystery after another, Tarun Mehrishis s The Portrait of a Secret begins with an act of betrayal by a man described as the most dangerous mole in the history of Indian intelligence. The novels timeline stretches from 22 November 1969 to 22 May 2010 and ranges over New Delhi, Mumbai, Himachal Pradesh, Russia, even Washington DC. Each place introduces a new aspect of the central mystery, unveiling layers of the narrative as readers are teased into a cathartic relief as the novel progresses. That many of the characters and the events are drawn from 20th century history keeps readers guessing about the veracity of the narrative, giving it a delicious touch of what if this really is the truth? A vintage postal stamp of Nicholas Roerich (1874-1947) (AnilD/Shutterstock)

288pp, 299; Penguin

Beginning with the Bolshevik Revolution, the novel focuses on the Roerichs, who run for their lives from Russia to India. Their arrival in the country in 1917 is one of the dots that contributes to the overall plot. The reader is introduced to Nicholas Roerich in Petrograd on 15 December 1917. A talented artist and intellectual, up until then he had enjoyed a life of privilege as a painter of the nations glorious past and as a member of the ruling elite. Witnessing the decline of the Russian Empire and the suffering of the working classes, he became disenchanted with Tsarist rule and joined the provisional government seeking a new economic model. However, his ideology clashed with that of Lenin and the Bolsheviks, who overthrew the provisional government. Nicholas and his family fled the country, leaving behind most of their possessions. With the help of friends, including some within the Bolshevik Party, they escaped to India, arriving in Bombay in the winter of 1917. The chapter ends with the Roerichs establishing themselves comfortably in the country, unaware of the role they would go on to play in the future international intrigues that unfold later on in the novel.

Set in 1976, Chapter 5 features the death of the Prime Minister who leads the Indian delegation to Tashkent in USSR. Clearly based on Lal Bahadur Shastris ill-fated trip to the same city of the Soviet Union in 1966, this PM too is found dead in his suite. The circumstances surrounding the death raise suspicions among the members of the Indian delegation. Its security team immediately begins an investigation. All this action is happening during the Cold War when the air was thick with tension between the Soviet Union and the United States. In the end, foul play is ruled out and the death is ruled a natural one.

Author Tarun Mehrishi (Courtesy the publisher)

Cut to Himachal Pradesh in 2009. Suraj, an Indian expert operative, infiltrates a heavily-guarded building, replaces valuable antique paintings with replicas, and escapes undetected. They are to be handed over to the ISI. The chapter explores the ideas of loyalty, risk taking, and morality in espionage and showcases the skills and precision required for covert operations. The world of hidden documents, mysterious deaths, secret relationships, unsaid deals, and stolen artifacts pulls in readers as they follow Suraj, who must face the consequences of his actions even as he maintains a dangerous balance between duty and personal belief.

The time lapses and multiple changes of location occasionally make the narrative erratic but strangely, also makes this novel a page-turner. The unraveling of the many mysteries and completion of the puzzle when all the different strands come together, makes The Portrait of a Secret by Tarun Mehrishi a somewhat satisfying read.

Saleem Rashid Shah is an independent book critic.

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The conference is Gartner Digital Market Indias first in-person post-pandemic event for SaaS leaders, offering insights to software providers to navigate and accelerate growth in uncertain times Gurugram, Haryana, India  Business Wire India With an aim to delve deeper into the world of SaaS and explore forward-looking strategies for Indian SaaS companies to navigate the uncertain economy, Gartner Digital Markets recently organised the Insights Summit. The Summit was an invite-only event featuring 50 India-based SaaS leaders in the Millenium City of Gurugram, Haryana. It welcomed a host of notable industry leaders, including Ken Allard, Gartner Chief Marketing Officer and Executive Vice President of Gartner Digital Markets, Partha Iyengar, Gartner Vice President Analyst and co-founder of Gartner India, along with Narayan Adeeb, VP-Digital Markets, DMC India Operations. Also present were Pit Rissiek, Area Vice President of Sales at Gartner Digital Markets, Reetesh Pandey, Performance Marketing Director at Whatfix, and Arun Natarajan, Vice President of Marketing at Xoxoday along with several other expert analysts, stalwarts, stakeholders, and entrepreneurs of the Indian SaaS ecosystem.



The one-day conclave focused on the theme of Finding growth in uncertain times by shining the spotlight on growth opportunities and challenges in the new economy. The aim was to equip entrepreneurs with the right knowledge and insights to navigate the ever-evolving harsh market conditions and build profitable, scalable businesses of the future. Besides the opportunity to network with like-minded leaders, the event also provided a platform for Gartner Digital Markets to unveil exclusive new research on todays software buyer mindset.

Key insights discussed in the Gartner Insights Summit included:



The majority of software buyers experience regret for a purchase: 60% of buyers have experienced regret within the past year concerning one or more of their software purchases. This underscores the importance of effective communication and robust post-sales procedures to proactively mitigate such instances of regret.

60% of buyers have experienced regret within the past year concerning one or more of their software purchases. This underscores the importance of effective communication and robust post-sales procedures to proactively mitigate such instances of regret. Buyers more often than not purchase from an original list: A remarkable 96% of buyers commence their search with a curated list of prospective software providers. Moreover, 86% typically make their purchases from this very list. This list is remarkably exclusive, with an average of 4 software providers on the list. Software providers must find ways to reach buyer awareness enough to be included in this list.

A remarkable 96% of buyers commence their search with a curated list of prospective software providers. Moreover, 86% typically make their purchases from this very list. This list is remarkably exclusive, with an average of 4 software providers on the list. Software providers must find ways to reach buyer awareness enough to be included in this list. The significance of customer reviews in the purchase journey: Customer reviews serve as a vital asset in compiling potential software vendor provider lists. One in three (33%) buyers depend on customer reviews when evaluating their purchase decision  the joint-highest information source alongside product trials. This underscores the necessity of dedicating resources to gathering and assessing testimonials, ratings, and reviews.

Customer reviews serve as a vital asset in compiling potential software vendor provider lists. One in three (33%) buyers depend on customer reviews when evaluating their purchase decision  the joint-highest information source alongside product trials. This underscores the necessity of dedicating resources to gathering and assessing testimonials, ratings, and reviews. Software providers are being asked to do more with less: In an uncertain environment, prioritize resources to the most promising initiatives. 75% of CMOs say they face pressure to achieve more with fewer resources. Additionally, fostering SaaS communities to enable knowledge-sharing and mutual support among leaders can help drive collective growth.

Sharing his views on the summit's success, Ken Allard, Chief Marketing Officer and leader of Gartner Digital Markets, said: At Gartner Digital Markets, our focus is to help organizations accelerate their growth by embracing the right software and services. With our four brands, Capterra, GetApp, Software Advice, and UpCity, we make up the largest digital marketplace in the world. He added, We are excited about the future opportunities for collaboration and innovation within our digital marketplaces, underlining the dedication to facilitating informed software decisions and enabling organizational growth.



About Gartner Digital Markets

Gartner Digital Markets is the worlds largest software and services marketplace. Every month, more than 9 million people globally visit our review sitesCapterra, Software Advice, GetApp and UpCityto research and choose the best solutions for their business. Thousands of B2B companies partner with Gartner Digital Markets to reach active buyers, build their brand reputation and grow their business.

Media Contact Details

Palash Bhattacharjee (Marketing & PR Specialist - India), Gartner, palash.bhattacharjee@gartner.com

Disclaimer: This article is a paid publication and does not have journalistic/editorial involvement of Hindustan Times. Hindustan Times does not endorse/subscribe to the content(s) of the article/advertisement and/or view(s) expressed herein. Hindustan Times shall not in any manner, be responsible and/or liable in any manner whatsoever for all that is stated in the article and/or also with regard to the view(s), opinion(s), announcement(s), declaration(s), affirmation(s) etc., stated/featured in the same.

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Established in 1942 by Late Shri H. L. Agarwal, Plus Point has emerged as a leader in the door hardware and accessories industry, delivering top-notch products with a focus on quality, innovation, and business ethics. With over eight decades of experience, Plus Point has become a trusted name in the market, serving customers with excellence and providing them with a wide range of products manufactured in Solid Brass, Zinc, Aluminum, and Steel. Ever since Plus Point has been continuing to deliver exceptional products that combine functionality with exquisite design. Moreover, Marketing Campaigns of Plus Point are so innovative that they grab a lot of attraction online and offline both. Plus Point's marketing campaign, "HandleMatters" highlights the importance of door handles in home renovations and for newly purchased homes. Recently, Plus Point was awarded for its Innovative Space Concept at Index 2023 for their phenomenal and exemplary campaign Discover Your Universe of Possibilities.

Founder Members

Mr. Rajiv Agarwal

Managing Director, Chief Product Designer

Plus Point

Mr. Rajiv Agarwal is the Managing Director and Chief Product Designer of Plus Point, a company that has experienced remarkable growth under his leadership. He has led the company to significant growth, fostering a culture of innovation, quality, and strong customer relationships. Known for his visionary thinking and ability to anticipate trends, Mr. Agarwal has fostered a culture of innovation, quality, and strong customer relationships within the organization. He has revolutionized the locks and hardware industry with his innovative products, always striving to provide a unique advantage compared to others in the market. In 1996, his Aldrop 401 became immensely popular, leading it to be sold under the brand name Plus Point. Mr. Agarwal's passion for handling design has been evident since a young age, and he still personally oversees the design process to ensure functional efficiency.

Mr. Niket Agarwal

CEO, Plus Point

Mr. Niket Agarwal, the CEO of the company, joined the family business in 2015 with a clear vision of establishing a globally recognized Indian brand. With his expertise in business modernization and visualization, he understands the importance of integrating technology to enhance operations. Taking a tech-driven approach, he is committed to optimizing business processes through strategic planning and the implementation of operational frameworks. He plays a versatile role within the company, always ready to address inefficiencies and ensure seamless coordination among all departments.

Plus Point boasts an extensive network of over 10,000 dealers across India, making its products easily accessible to customers throughout the country. With a robust manufacturing base in Aligarh, one of India's prominent hubs, Plus Point ensures superior craftsmanship and features in its entire product line. State-of-the-art machines, skilled manpower, and an extensive infrastructure system further reinforce the company's commitment to delivering excellence.

Additionally, being an ISO 9001:2008 certified company signifies Plus Point's dedication to maintaining robust quality management systems. Plus Point is catering to all door hardware and accessory needs; this commitment is encapsulated in Plus Point's words "Your One Stop Hardware Solution."

From elegantly designed handles and knobs to durable hinges and locks, each product is engineered with precision and attention to detail. The company's team of skilled artisans combines traditional craftsmanship techniques with modern technology to create products that exude elegance and durability. Plus Point has established a strong trust among its customers and vendors, evident by the fact that those who initially connected with them continue to stay connected. The company firmly believes in the concept of PLUS - adding value to its relationships with customers and vendors.

Moreover, they are also recognized for their innovative marketing campaigns like Discover Your Universe of Possibilities and awarded for this Innovative Space Concept at the Index 2023 in Delhi.

To learn more about Plus Point and its range of high-end door hardware and accessories, visit their website at https://www.pluspointlocks.com/.

For any query, WhatsApp Now

About Plus Point:

Established in 1942, Plus Point is an ISO 14001 and ISO 9001:2008 certified company, known for delivering high-end door hardware and accessories manufactured in Solid Brass, Zinc, Aluminum, and Steel. With a strong manufacturing base in Aligarh and a wide network of dealers across India, Plus Point offers a vast range of products and aims to provide customers with a one-stop hardware solution.

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.

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Mumbai, Maharashtra, India  Business Wire India

The flagship e-commerce initiatives of the Tata Group Tata CLiQ, Tata CLiQ Luxury, and Tata CLiQ Palette are hosting their annual and much-awaited 10.10 sale starting on October 6. The sale will have attractive offers across various categories, such as apparel, beauty, accessories, footwear, jewellery, watches, and more, allowing consumers to shop from leading brands this festive season.



Gopal Asthana, Chief Executive Officer, Tata CLiQ, said, At Tata CLiQ, our efforts are focused on becoming the preferred platform for consumers for lifestyle, luxury, and beauty. Tapping into the current buying sentiment of consumers this festive season, we are excited to announce our flagship sale event, 10.10, which starts on October 6. All three platforms, Tata CLiQ, Tata CLiQ Luxury, and Tata CLiQ Palette, have a bouquet of offers across categories that are bound to excite consumers as they shop this festive season. The platforms have also expanded their existing portfolio by introducing the latest collections, thus increasing their assortment further across different categories. We look forward to an exciting festive season as we continue to provide curated offerings and an elevated shopping experience to our customers.



Tata CLiQ, Indias leading e-commerce destination, is driving the proposition of 'scoring the perfect 10 on your fashion for the 10/10 sale. During the sale, it promises to offer curated and trendiest collections from leading brands across fashion and lifestyle.



Starting October 6th, customers can enjoy up to 85% off on their favourite brands, along with added benefits such as free shipping, additional coupons, and bank offers. Further, one can avail a flat 15% off on the products wishlisted from October 3rd to 5th.



It promises to be a blockbuster shopping season for customers, with amazing offers up for grabs across leading categories such as apparel and footwear. Menswear brands like Jack & Jones, Levis, Spykar, U.S. Polo Assn., and more will be up to 30-80% off, while mens footwear will be up to 70% off. Womenswear too has exciting offers, with up to 70% off on leading apparel and footwear brands such as Aldo, AND, Biba, Clarks, Only, Vero Moda, and W. In addition, one can enjoy offers on watches from brands like Casio, Fossil, and Titan. The gadgets and accessories categories also have offers one cant resist.



Leading banks are also participating in the sale with a 10% instant discount on HDFC bank credit cards from October 6 to October 10 and on ICICI bank credit cards from October 10 to October 16. *T&C apply



Tata CLiQ Luxury, Indias premier luxury lifestyle platform, invites consumers to celebrate and cherish timeless traditions as they avail offers on the most coveted global and Indian luxury brands across categories.



Enjoy up to 1040% off on accessories from brands like Guess, Montblanc, Mulberry, Samsonite, and more. Luxury watch brands like Versace have up to 40% off, and one can get special gifts on brands like Longines, Rado, and Tissot. Premium fashion watch brands like Earnshaw, Emporio Armani, Just Cavalli, and Maserati will also have offers.



Dress to impress as fashion categories which includes premium and bridge-to-luxury portfolio for men and women are up to 4050% off. Brands like Calvin Klein Jeans, Forever New, Gant, Lacoste, Tommy Hilfiger, True Religion, and Selected Homme in apparel and Aldo, Adidas Originals, Bugatti, Dune London, and New Balance in footwear will have offers. In the kid's category, consumers can avail 3050% off on brands like Boss Kids, Choupette, Jordan, and Karl Lagerfeld Kids. In the Indiluxe section, prominent Indian designer labels like Balance by Rohit Bal, Gopi Vaid, Masaba, Ritu Kumar, RR Blue, and more will have irresistible offers. In addition, Joules by Radhika, Da Milano, and Tiesta in jewellery, accessories, and footwear will also have attractive offers.



Beauty and fragrance enthusiasts are in for a treat, with brands like Bvlgari, Dyson, L'occitane, Moroccan Oil, and Yves Saint Laurent up for grabs with special offers. Apart from this, in the fine jewellery category, leading brands like De Beers Forevermark and Zoya have special offers, and fashion jewellery brands such as Swarovski, Police, and Ted Baker are up to 60% off. Dyson Home, Le Creuset, Noritake, Roberto Cavalli, Versace, and Zippo in the home category will also have offers. If one is looking to shop for eyewear, luxury brands have lucrative offers up to 50% off. Also brands like Prada, Ray-Ban, and Tom Ford have special offers. In the fitness category, Flexnest and Powemax will have offers one wouldnt want to miss!



HDFC bank credit card holders can get 10% instant discount from October 6 to October 10 and on ICICI and IDFC bank credit cards from October 11 to October 15 while shopping on Tata CLiQ Luxury. *T&C apply



Tata CLiQ Palette, Indias beauty matchmaker, invites customers to score the perfect look this festive season with their widest assortment of top beauty products from 1000+ brands at up to 50% off this 10/10 sale, starting on October 6th. Whats more? First-time shoppers can avail of a flat Rs. 500 off on their first order across the entire collection, along with exciting gifts with purchases and additional discounts.



Get ready to discover your favourite brands at never-seen-before prices, from exciting daily deals to offers on new drops until October 15th! Its the best time to shop makeup must-haves from Colorbar, Lakme, Maybelline New York, and Sugar Cosmetics that are up to 60% off. Set the base right for any look with the right skin prep with holy grail essentials from Biotique, LOreal Paris, Minimalist, and Neutrogena which are up to 45% off. With up to 65% off, refresh your perfume counter with classic fragrances from Ajmal, Guess, Jaguar, and Skinn By Titan. Discover hair care and hair colour best-sellers from Garnier, LOreal Paris, and Pilgrim that will be up to 45% off. If you are looking to switch up your shower routine, stock up on bath and body supplies from Dove, Mamaearth, Nivea, and Vaseline that are up to 55% off.



In the luxury beauty section, one can indulge in luxury skincare at incredible prices from CLINIQUE, COSRX, Gallinee, and more with assured gifts and a minimum of 2065% off, respectively. Recreate iconic looks with top international makeup brands such as Bobbi Brown, GA-DE, M.A.C., and Sigma Beauty, which are up to 40% off. Coveted fragrance brands like Bvlgari, Carolina Herrerra, and Paco Rabanne will be up to 20% off and make for the perfect gifting option this festive season. Tame those tresses with hair care by availing 25% off on brands like Kevin Murphy, Olaplex, and Rene Furtner. Stock up on body care essentials for the upcoming winter season with steal deals from cult favourite brands like Forest Essentials, Kama Ayurveda, and The Body Shop that are up to 50% off.



HDFC bank credit card holders can get 10% instant discount from October 6 to October 15 while shopping on Tata CLiQ Palette. *T&C apply



Shop here 

https://www.tatacliq.com/

https://luxury.tatacliq.com/

https://palette.tatacliq.com/
India has extended the tenure of the chairperson of the State Bank of India (SBI), the country's largest lender, until August next year, two government sources said. Dinesh K Khara.(S Kumar/ Mint)

The tenure of Dinesh Khara has been extended until he attains the age of 63 next year, the sources said, declining to be named as they are not authorised to speak to the media.

Khara was appointed as SBI's chairperson on Oct. 7, 2020 for three years. As per norms, SBI chairperson can hold the position till the age of 63.

The government is likely to issue an order to this effect shortly, the sources said.

India's finance ministry and SBI did not immediately reply to Reuters request for comment.

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News / Local

by Staff reporter

THE City of Bulawayo is on the hunt for a patient who has gone missing after being diagnosed with Cholera at a time when five positive cases have been confirmed in Harare.The positive cholera case in the city and the disappearance of the patient was confirmed on Monday by the Director of Health Services Dr Edwin Sibanda-Mzingwane and on Wednesday, council spokesperson Mrs Nesisa Mpofu said there were still seized with the tracing of the patient with the case being the only one recorded in the city to date."The tracing of the patient is currently underway. So far, that is the only case received," said Mrs Mpofu.Mrs Mpofu said residents were being reminded of the importance of washing hands with soap and running water, keeping utensils clean and stored in clean places, boiling of water as a precaution, thoroughly heating food before consumption and keeping water in clean and covered containers."There must also practice hygienic dispensing of water from the storage containers, keep the environment clean and desist from open defecation and littering, desist from using unsafe water alternative water sources and seek medical attention early, in the event of any illness," she said.The City of Harare released a statement yesterday informing residents that it has recorded five cholera cases in Hopely Zone 5, Stoneridge, Southlands, Granary, and Adbernie Mbare. The statement read that three of the cases had visited Buhera where there is a cholera outbreak while some may have contracted it from local sources.
The ministry of civil aviation on Thursday notified of the new Drone (Amendment) Rules 2023 saying that any citizen can now apply to become a drone pilot with government-issued identity and address proof. According to the ministry, the rules have been made effective from September 27. According to the government, the new rules are aiming to further liberalise, promote and facilitate drone operations across the country and make India a global drone hub by 2030.(Getty Images via AFP)

In a statement, the ministry said, Exercising the power bestowed upon it by section 5, sub-section 2 of section 10 and sections 10A, 10B, and 12A of the Aircraft Act, 1934 (22 of 1934), the Ministry of Civil Aviation has notified the new Drone (Amendment) Rules 2023 for drone pilots.

After the amendment, it has now been made clear that a government-issued proof of identity and a government-issued proof of address i.e. Voter ID, Ration Card, or Driving License can now be accepted to apply for a Remote Pilot Certificate if the drone pilot does not have a passport, the release added.

Notably, a remote pilot certificate is required when the drone is of small to medium size - up to 2kg - for non-commercial drone use.

According to the government, the new rules are aiming to further liberalise, promote and facilitate drone operations across the country and make India a global drone hub by 2030.

The prerequisite of having a passport was becoming a hurdle for aspiring drone pilots, especially in the agricultural sector across rural India, it said.

What is the eligibility to apply for a remote pilot certificate?

All individuals between 18 to 65 years of age will be eligible to obtain a remote pilot certificate. They should have passed class 10th or its equivalent from a recognised board, and should have successfully completed training as specified by the DGCA from any authorised remote pilot training organisation.

Once an individual gets the remote pilot certificate, it will be valid for a period of ten years if it is enlisted on the digital sky platform and is not suspended or canceled by DGCA.

Increasing drone pilot training institutes

The government is increasing the number of drone pilot training institutes across the country. In August, the Sangam citys Naini Aerospace Limited (NAeL) in Orayagraj was given the go-ahead to set up the Remote Pilot Training Organisation (RPTO) by the DGCA. Reportedly, the NAeL tied up with a Prayagraj start-up Empyrean Robotics Technologies to provide the training to people enrolling for the course at what would be east UP's only such training institute.

Meanwhile, last year, Tamil Nadu signed a memorandum of understanding with the Indira Gandhi Rashtriya Uran Akademi (IGRUA), De Drone World Solutions aimed at producing 2,500 drone pilots a year.

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The CBI has registered an FIR in connection with the alleged misappropriation of more than 300 crore against unidentified officials of the Karnataka State Open University (KSOU) in its collaborative institution programme, officials said on Thursday. The FIR alleges that the Mysore-based university had opened its collaborative institutions throughout the country and also abroad. (Representative Image)

The FIR alleges that the Mysore-based university had opened its collaborative institutions throughout the country and also abroad.

ALSO READ | Chatuhshringi police, FDA seize 650 kg of adulterated ghee, oil

"The collaborative institutions were crediting the fees collected from the students towards admission fee, examination fee and such other fees required to be credited to the university," it says.

It emerged during an audit for the financial years 2013-14 and 2014-15 that credits to the tune of 50 crore from various collaborative institutions were missing.

"The auditor also calculated approximately another 250 crore missing credits pertaining to financial years 2009-10 to 2012-2013 based on the students' admission and the amount received by the university etc.," the FIR alleges.

ALSO READ | 20 Ganesh mandals booked for noise pollution violations during visarjan

The findings prompted the board of directors of the university to refer the matter to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), which received the state government's nod subsequently.

In its reference, the state government asked the central agency to probe the alleged misappropriation of fees collected for the period from 2009-10 to 2015-16 from the KSOU, Mysore and its collaborative institutions spread all over India and identify the culprits involved.

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Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader CT Ravi on Wednesday slammed the Congress government in Karnataka saying that if Karnataka is left the way it is being run, someday photos like Bin Laden, Hussain, Muhammad Ali Jinnah, Kasab will be exhibited in the state. File photo of BJP leader CT Ravi.(ANI)

"If Karnataka is left like this, one day Bin Laden, Hussain, Muhammad Ali Jinnah and Kasab's photos will be exhibited in Karnataka. It has been 140 days since the Congress government came to power in the state. On the day the Congress came to power, the flag of Pakistan was hoisted in Belgaum and people shouted slogans like Pakistan Zindabad," Ravi said speaking at a press conference in Bengaluru on Wednesday.

Ravi said that when the Congress came to power in the state a Jain monk was killed and a BJP worker was killed in Yadgir. "After Congress came to power, a Jain monk was killed, a BJP worker was killed in Yadgir. BJP workers were attacked in Nava Nagar, Bagalkot," he said.

READ | MLA ticket case in Karnataka: Truth should be unravelled, says BJP leader CT Ravi

The BJP leader said that Chief Minister Siddaramaiah celebrated Tipu Sultan Jayanti for the first time as the Chief Minister. "Siddaramaiah celebrated Tipu Sultan Jayanti for the first time as CM. 10 thousand crores were spent for the development of the Muslim community. In the Eid Milad procession in Kolar and Shimoga, he put a big cutout of Tipu Sultan and Aurangzeb," Ravi said.

Accusing the Congress of practising the politics of appeasement. Ravi said, "Who decides who is innocent and who is a culprit? Is DK Shivakumar an enquiry officer or a judge to decide about culprits? Why should he give his opinion? What Congress is doing is politics of appeasement."

READ | Religion, casteism are different: CT Ravi on Priyank Kharge's 'Sanatana' remark

Reacting to Rahul Gandhi backing the caste-based census in India, the BJP leader said, "Did Rahul Gandhi realize now that everyone has equal rights? His great-grandfather, grandmother, and father were Prime Ministers. His mother ran the government from behind. Who did they give rights to until now? They got the realization after losing every election."

Speaking on the BJP's commitment to the poor, Ravi said, The right to India's resources belongs to the poor. That is why Modiji got them toilets under Antyoday Yojana, gave them gas under Ujjwala Yojana and gave them free electricity connection. The BJP government is dedicated to working for the poor.

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School timings in Bengaluru are likely to be revised by officials in order to address and ease the infamous and recurrent traffic congestions that the city faces on the daily. Authorities are mulling a change in school timings after a recent High Court order which suggested a revision in the same as a solution to traffic issues. The court was hearing a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by Samarpana Trust in 2020, which sought to implement a 2014 Supreme Court directive aimed at reducing traffic congestion in cities. Authorities are mulling a change in school timings after a recent High Court order which suggested a revision in the same as a solution to traffic issues. (HT File/for representation only)

ALSO READ | Revise school, industry timings, Karnataka HC tells state

The High Court also advised the state government to hold talks with associations and parents to come to a conclusion on the issue. It also advised that industrial establishment timings also be changed. In this light, the Karnataka government, led by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, specifically the Education Department, has scheduled meetings with stakeholders, the Association of Private Schools, the Association of School Vehicles, and parents today to take their views on school timings, a report said.

ALSO READ | Shocking visuals of Bengaluru traffic holdup on ORR: Commuters stuck for hours ahead of long weekend

The bench, comprising of Chief Justice Prasanna Varale and Justice Krishna Dixit, said in a recent order that the state government, through the secretary of school education and higher education, may call a meeting of stakeholders such as representatives of private/government institutions, school bus operators, parents associations and take up the issue of revising school timings so as to ease traffic, and at the same time, consider the security and safety of children.

Bengaluru city recently saw a major holdup on the Outer Ring Road (ORR) as residents headed out of the city for the long weekend ahead of Eid Milad, a state-wide bandh and Gandhi Jayanti after the weekend. That coupled with comedian Trevor Noah's first show in the city, heavy rain in some areas and Lord Ganesha idol immersion processions brought vehicular movement to a crawl.

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The police solved a blind murder case with the arrest of two persons on Thursday. According to the police, the victim was a former home guard, who used to lend money to people on interest. The accused had bludgeoned him to death with a heavy stone wrapped in a piece of cloth following a monetary dispute and later dumped his half-naked body in a field at Balliyewal village in Koom Kalan. The accused in police custody in Ludhiana. (ht photo)

The accused have been identified as Mangal Singh, 32, and Pooran Singh, 38, both residents of Mangat village. The accused have confessed to their crime. The accused told the police that they had borrowed 16,000 from the victim, Shailesh Kumar alias Shelly, a resident of Surjit Nagar at Rahon Road, on interest basis. They had returned the money in different instalments, but the accused was still asking them to return 90,000 and harassing them. So, they decided to kill him.

Commissioner of police Mandeep Singh Sidhu said that on Tuesday a farmer informed the police about the body of an unidentified man dumped in his fields. Following the information, the police lodged a murder case against unidentified assailants and initiated investigation.

The police made announcements in the surrounding areas. Later, the victim was identified as Shailesh Kumar. He used to give money to labourers and factory workers on an interest basis.

The commissioner of police said that when they initiated investigation, the family members of Shailesh told police that he had left the house on Monday evening stating that he was going to collect the money from someone, but he did not return.

We found that Mangal and Pooran had called Shailesh to Boothgarh village on the pretext of returning his money. They took Shailesh to Balliyewal village stating that they had to collect money from someone, and they will hand over the money to him immediately after receiving it, said the commissioner of police.

After reaching Balliyewal village the accused made a slingshot by wrapping a stone in a piece of cloth and bludgeoned him to death. They smashed his face to conceal his identity and removed his pants. After dumping the body in the fields, they fled, he added.

He said that the accused had dumped the scooter of the victim at an isolated place, which the police recovered following the information provided by the accused.

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An assistant sub-inspector (ASI), deputed as a gunman with the SDM, Ludhiana West, was reportedly assaulted by a few persons over a parking issue. HT Image

The Shimlapuri police have booked four persons, including two women. The accused have been identified as Karamjit Singh alias Kamma, his wife Komal, Lucky and his mother Jageeta Rani  all residents of Guru Gobind Singh Nagar.

The FIR has been lodged following the statement of Jagdev Kaur, wife of the ASI Kulwant Singh of Barota Road, who is deputed as a gunman with the SDM, West.

The complainant stated that their car was parked outside the house on the street. She along with her husband was present inside the house when Karamjit started blowing the horn repeatedly. When her husband went out to check, the accused started abusing him and asked him to remove the car parked outside the house though there was enough space to cross.

When they objected to it, the accused who were reportedly under the influence of liquor, started hurling abuses and assaulted them, the complainant said.

She added that later the accused started assaulting her husband and held him from his hair after removing his parna. When she tried to intervene, the accused assaulted her also. A granthi of a local gurdwara intervened, but the accused assaulted him also.

ASI Chand Ahir, who is investigating the case, said that an FIR under Sections 452, 323, 341, 379B, 295, 506 and 34 of the IPC has been lodged against the accused. A hunt is on for their arrest.

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Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Jagmohan Sharma and his son have been booked reportedly for an abduction bid and assaulting a factory owner following a monetary dispute on Wednesday. According to the complainant, the accused wielded a gun and threatened to kill him. When the son of the victim and factory workers intervened, the accused fled from the spot. Jagmohan Sharma and his son have been booked reportedly for an abduction bid. (HT FILE)

While fleeing, Jagmohan dropped the cover of his licensed pistol along with five bullets on the spot, which the police have recovered.

The Focal Point police lodged an FIR against Jagmohan, his son Gaurav and seven other aides, who are yet to be identified following the complaint of Shivam Aggarwal of South city, who is the son of the factory owner, Pramod Kumar.

Shivam told the police that Jagmohan along with his son and aides barged into their factory over a pending payment of 57,000. His father told him that he had already sent one of their employees to the bank and would clear his payment in a few minutes.

He said that Jagmohan started abusing his father and slapped him. He along with other factory workers intervened and pushed the accused outside the factory. He locked the main gate from inside and informed the police.

Inspector Amandeep Singh Brar, SHO at Focal Point Police station, said a case under sections 452 (house trespass after preparation for hurt, assault or wrongful restraint), 323 (voluntarily causing hurt), 362, 511 (abduction bid) 506 (criminal intimidation), 148 (rioting, armed with deadly weapon), 149 (every member of unlawful assembly guilty of offence committed in prosecution of common object) of the IPC has been lodged against Jagmohan, his son and others. He added that the pistol cover and bullets which were recovered from the factory belong to Jagmohan. He was district president of Congress. Later, he joined the BJP. He had unsuccessfully contested assembly election on the BJP ticket from Ludhiana East Constituency.

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A warder at the Borstal jail that houses young criminals in Ludhiana has been apprehended for taking money in cash and through Unified Payments Interface (UPI) system from inmates and their relatives for allegedly supplying drugs and other contrabands to them. An FIR under Sections 7 (13) 2 of the Prevention of Corruption Act has been registered. (HT FILE)

The accused, identified as Ankit Kumar, hailing from Bishanpura village in Fazilka, was arrested after an FIR was registered against him by the Division Number 7 police.

The complaint filed by Mewa Singh, assistant superintendent, Borstal jail, on October 3 stated that they had received an information regarding warder Ankit Kumars involvement in taking money from inmates and their kin for supplying contraband inside the prison. On initiating an investigation, it was discovered that the accused was accepting bribes in both cash and through the UPI, he said.

Further investigation revealed that warder had recently accepted money from two inmates, namely Akashdeep from Garhshankar, Hoshiarpur, and Gursimran Singh from Kohara village, Focal Point. Akashdeep is currently facing trial in a case related to drug peddling and illegal possession of weapons at the City Police Station in Nawanshahr since July 28. Gursimran Singh is facing trial for an attempted murder case registered against him at the Focal Point Police Station on March 6, he added.

During questioning, Akashdeep and Gursimran revealed that they had transferred 3,000 to Ankit through UPI, facilitated by their relatives, in exchange for opium and tobacco in the past. They had also transferred 1,000, 3,000 and 6,000 to the accused through UPI, said Mewa Singh.

We nabbed Ankit and confiscated his mobile phone. In his UPI app, we found records of all transactions. We kept screenshots of the transactions as proof. During questioning, the accused confessed to his crime following which we asked the police to lodge an FIR against him, he added.

Inspector Sukhdev Singh, SHO at Division Number 7 Police Station, confirmed that the accused has been arrested, and an FIR under Sections 7 (13) 2 of the Prevention of Corruption Act has been registered against him.

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The District Bar Association (DBA) initiated a protest on Thursday against the proposed merger of certain areas of Ludhiana district with Malerkotla and observed No work day. This decision has been met with widespread opposition from various sub-divisional bar associations. HT Image

The DBA members expressed discontent with the decision, stating that the areas of Raikot, Payal, and Khanna sub-divisions were being shifted from Ludhiana to Malerkotla district. The sub-divisional Bar associations of Khanna, Jagraon, Payal, and Samrala had already announced their protests against this move.

Chetan Verma, the president of the District Bar Association, Ludhiana, and a member of the Bar Council of Punjab and Haryana, condemned the decision. He referred to a circular dated September 27, 2033, issued from the office of the deputy commissioner of Ludhiana, which outlined the merger of certain towns and areas falling under the jurisdiction of the Ludhiana sessions division with the Malerkotla sessions division. Verma emphasised that such a merger would directly impact the lawyers and litigants of Ludhiana sessions division.

Finance secretary Jatinder Singh Jetty stated that it was unanimously decided to observe a no work day on Thursday and Friday as a mark of protest. This move aims to show their strong opposition to the proposed merger.

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Rajya Sabha MP Sanjeev Arora announced to provide free treatment worth 1.5 lakh each to 100 cancer patients every year during a seminar focused on raising awareness about cancer at Police Lines in Ludhiana on Thursday. HT Image

The seminar titled Lets talk about cancer was organised by Aroras Krishna Pran Breast Cancer Care Charitable Trust (KPBCCT) in collaboration with Ludhianas commissioner of police (CP).

The seminars message was: Catch it in time, beat it every time; early detection matters. As part of this effort, a free medical checkup and a breast cancer screening camp was held. A team of doctors from DMCH, Ludhiana, conducted medical examinations and treatment, primarily for female police personnel.

Sanjeev Arora, founder of KPBCCT, shared his personal story of losing his mother to late-stage breast cancer, which inspired his mission to raise awareness. He stressed that cancer, when detected early, can be treated effectively. Arora emphasised the importance of self-detection and spreading awareness to save lives.

CP Mandeep Singh Sidhu, DMCH principal Dr Sandeep Puri and local doctors praised Aroras dedication to community service. They expressed gratitude and encouraged him to continue helping those in need. Medical professionals at the seminar educated attendees on self-detection methods and the significance of breast cancer awareness.

Arora highlighted KPBCCTs work, which has supported over 250 cancer patients with lifelong treatment.

Arora emphasised that this contribution would match the trusts donation, resulting in 3 lakhs of free treatment per patient. He acknowledged the high costs of cancer treatment in India and committed to easing the financial burden on patients.

Several dignitaries and officials, including Dhanpreet Kaur (DIG Ludhiana range), Sameer Verma (ADCP), Saumya Mishra (JCP), and others, attended the event.

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News / Local

by Staff reporter

VICE President Dr Constantino Chiwenga's family has donated towards the reconstruction of a gazebo and drilled a borehole at SOS Children's Village in Bulawayo at a cost of nearly US$13 000 as it aims to address some of the challenges affecting the community.The gazebo was destroyed in a fire in 2017 and the institution has been struggling to rebuild it until the intervention of the Vice President's family through Dr Chiwenga's wife, Colonel Miniyothabo Baloyi-Chiwenga.Col Baloyi-Chiwenga visited the school yesterday where she commissioned the reconstructed gazebo and the new borehole, which is expected to improve water provision. She also commissioned a new computer laboratory, which the school funded.Col Baloyi-Chiwenga said coming to the aid of the school is part of her family's effort to complement President Mnangagwa's vision of delivering a competitive education sector."The human mind is our fundamental resource and the President of the Republic of Zimbabwe, the Head of Government, the Commander of the Zimbabwe Defence Forces, His Excellency Dr E.D Mnangagwa makes continuous efforts to come up with strategies to ensure that Zimbabwe continues to remain a force to reckon with not only in Africa but the world over in terms of education," said Col Baloyi-Chiwenga.She said after the institution's gazebo was burnt down and the school could not rebuild it, she visited SOS leaders and requested that they be assisted in rebuilding it."So, on behalf of my family, as part of our philanthropic journey we pledged to assist them to rebuild the gazebo that was gutted by the fire."We also pledged to drill a borehole so that they can use it one way or the other. We know as the Chiwenga family that this is not much but we hope that in our little ways we can be able to help wherever possible and change lives in our small ways we can afford," said Col Baloyi-Chiwenga.Through the borehole project, the school is expected to embark on agricultural activities."Today I'm not only handing over the two projects that my family donated to the school. I'm also officially opening the computer lab that was equipped by this institution," she said."The world is now a global village due to improving technology. In cognisance of this assertion, it is, therefore, imperative to catch them young," said Col Baloyi-Chiwenga.SOS Children's Village schools board chairperson Dr Faith Nyamukapa said the donation has come in handy considering the challenges the institution has been facing in rebuilding the gazebo. She said the gazebo was important when the school was conducting outdoor activities."I'm informed by the school head that the donation is valued at almost US$13 000. We appreciate such a donation will enhance water reticulation at this facility. I'm aware that the water of the city of Bulawayo has been affected by the geographical location of the city and remains a challenge and today where everyone is advocating for a green environment, the timing of the donation couldn't be better," she said.Dr Nyamukapa said Col Baloyi-Chiwenga's philanthropic work has seen her setting up an education facility that provides free education to the vulnerable."Your vision and desire for sustainable development makes a great impact on the needs of children including those without parental care even those at SOS Children Villages," she said."Thank you for recognising that children need love, safety and care. I continue to call on the Government, corporates, individuals and the community at large to action."Every child has a right to dream and we, as various stakeholders, entities and individuals are here to support the dream of children who have lost parental care be in cash of kind. They are our children and they are Zimbabwean children."
A 22-year-old man from Subhash Nagar, Tibba Road, who has been missing since September 17, is suspected to have been killed. Tibba Police initiated a search operation in the Buddha Nullah near Shivpuri with the assistance of divers to trace the body. HT Image

The victim has been identified as Nilesh Kumar, a resident of New Shakti Nagar, who runs a fruit juice vend in Subhash Nagar. Although Nilesh is originally from Bihar, he had been living in the city for the past few years.

Nilesh failed to return home on September 17. On September 19, Nileshs family lodged a complaint with the Tibba Police Station.

Inspector Lovedeep Singh, SHO at Tibba Police Station, said that according to Nileshs family members he had left his house around 10 pm on September 17 and never returned. Subsequently, on September 27, the police registered a case under section 346 (wrongful confinement in secret) of the IPC against unidentified accused following the statement recorded by his father Jeevan Paswan.

The inspector added that while investigating the case, the police received information indicating that someone had killed Nilesh and dumped his body in the nullah. Therefore, with the assistance of divers, they are conducting a search operation to locate the body. He added that confirmation of murder can only be made once the body is found.

Meanwhile, the missing mans relatives claim that the police have apprehended one suspect, who is reportedly a friend of Nilesh.

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Punjab chief minister (CM) Bhagwant Mann on Thursday said that not a single drop of additional water will be given to any other state at any cost. Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann called an emergency meeting at his residence on Thursday, a day after the Supreme Court asked the Centre to continue the mediation process to resolve the dispute between Haryana and Punjab over SYL canal issue. (ANI)

The CM declared this after an emergency meeting of the state cabinet at his residence. The issue of SYL was discussed in the meeting. Not even a single drop of additional water will be given to any other state at any cost, Mann said in post on X.

He said the cabinet also considered convening the monsoon session of the state assembly soon. Though no dates were indicated, the session could be called as early as next week. The cabinet meeting was held a day after the Supreme Court asked the Centre to continue the mediation process to resolve the festering dispute between Haryana and Punjab over the Sutlej Yamuna Link (SYL) canal issue and survey the portion of the land in Punjab allocated for the canal.

On Wednesday, the opposition Congress had also urged the CM to call a special session of the Punjab assembly to decide the future course of action on this issue.

Earlier, AAP Punjab chief spokesperson Malvinder Singh Kang had demanded that a tribunal be constituted to know the situation of water in SYL and Punjab. He said the tribunal should conduct an in-depth study on the matter as to whether Punjab is in a position to provide water to other states in the present circumstances or not. The land which was notified for SYL has now also been denotified. Now notifying it again will create many problems. So now it is not possible to make SYL because we neither have extra water nor the required land. We will put this matter before the court in a legal manner and will also raise it before the Central government, said the spokesperson of the ruling party in the state.

Kang also said the water situation in Punjab is no longer the same as it was 50 years ago. Today Punjab itself is struggling with water issues. Recently, in the North Zonal Council meeting, chief minister Bhagwant Mann had said that Punjab cannot give additional water to any state, he added.

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In a district-level dengue monitoring committee meeting led by additional deputy commissioner (ADC) Rupinder Pal Singh, the ongoing efforts to combat dengue, chikungunya, and other mosquito-borne diseases were reviewed on Thursday. There are a total of 342 cases recorded in the district, as of October 5, with three new cases identified in urban areas of Harkrishan Vihar, Shivpuri Road, Veer Nagar, and Grewal Colony. (HT Photo)

The meeting, held at the additional deputy commissioners office, brought together key officials, including the district nodal officer Dr Ramesh Kumar, district epidemiologist Dr Sheetal, and representatives from the municipal corporation and health department.

There are a total of 342 cases recorded in the district, as of October 5, with three new cases identified in urban areas of Harkrishan Vihar, Shivpuri Road, Veer Nagar, and Grewal Colony.

Currently, there are 33 active cases, with the majority (27) located in various urban areas across Ludhiana at Chowni Mohalla, Netaji Nagar, Sant Nagar, Shimlapuri, Rishi Nagar, and other localities. In rural areas, there are six active cases, with Koomkalan, Sahnewal, Sudhar, and Pakhowal being affected.

All 33 active cases are hospitalised across different hospitals in the district. The highest number of admissions is at DMCH, with 25 cases, followed by five cases at Deep Hospital, two cases at CMCH, and one case admitted at SDH Samrala.

With the surge in dengue cases, the additional deputy commissioner emphasised the urgency of accelerating awareness campaigns aimed at preventing the spread of dengue, malaria, and chikungunya. He stressed the need to maintain consistent efforts and declared that anti-dengue activities would continue every Friday.

Dr Ramesh Kumar highlighted the ongoing collaboration with the municipal corporation to eliminate dengue larvae. He explained that immediate larval control measures are taken upon discovering larvae inside homes, institutions, and government premises. Regular inspections are conducted to check water containers used for birds, refrigerators, coolers, and tires to ensure they do not become breeding grounds for dengue-carrying mosquitoes.

Dr Sheetal shed light on the severity of dengue and its transmission through aedes mosquitoes, which breed in stagnant water bodies and bite during daylight hours. She urged residents to prevent dengue by eliminating standing water and wearing full protective clothing. The health department is actively engaged in house inspections to eradicate dengue larvae and conducting awareness rallies to educate the public about dengue and chikungunya prevention.

Dengue and chikungunya share common symptoms, including high fever, headache, muscle pain, skin rashes, eye pain, and bleeding from the gums and nose. Notably, testing and treatment for these diseases are provided free of cost at all government hospitals in the state.

Dr Sheetal recommended several prevention methods, such as using mosquito nets and repellent creams, avoiding aspirin and ibuprofen when experiencing fever and opting for paracetamol instead, securely covering water tanks on rooftops, and eliminating open containers like broken pots, drums, and tyres.

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The Punjab government on Thursday appointed senior advocate Gurminder Singh as the new advocate general of the state. Senior advocate Gurminder Singh who has been appointed the new advocate general (AG) of Punjab. (HT Photo)

The third AG since Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) took over the reins of the state in March 2022, Singh replaced Vinod Ghai, who is learnt to have tendered his resignation to the state government, citing personal reasons, on Wednesday.

A formal notification of his appointment was issued Thursday afternoon after nod from the governor Banwari Lal Purohit.

The resignation of Ghai, who was appointed to the post in July 2022, was on the cards for some time. Hindustan Times had reported on September 17 that the state government was considering replacing him in the backdrop of legal setbacks in some cases, particularly dissolution of panchayats and home delivery of atta, in the Punjab and Haryana high court. The Mann government faced embarrassment as it had to withdraw the notification related to premature dissolution of panchayats in the state.

Ghai, a leading criminal lawyer took over in July 2022, after senior advocate, Anmol Rattan Sidhu, first AG in Mann government, resigned on July 19, 2022, following differences over selection of law officers, among other issues. He had also cited personal reasons in his resignation letter, made public by him on July 26.

56-year-old Gurminder Singh is a first-generation lawyer. He started his practice in 1989 after completing the law degree from Panjab University. He was designated senior advocate in 2014. He specialises in service litigation, constitutional and criminal matters. He has remained standing counsel for Medical Council of India, Dental Council of India, Union Service Public Commission, Punjab Vidhan Sabha and other boards and corporations of the state. He has a long association with the states AG office as he served as assistant advocate general and deputy advocate general in the past. He left the AG office in March 2008, when he was an additional advocate general.

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The Gurugram police on Wednesday booked a man for allegedly trying to send 155 grams of opium to the United States through a courier package. According to the police, the man identified as Hardeep Singh hid the drugs under the sole of the shoes inside the package. An FIR was registered under Section 18 (c) of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act at Udyog Vihar police station.(Representative image)

The incident came to light after the security investigation officer of a courier company in Gurugram's Udyog Vihar area alerted the State Narcotics Control Bureau regarding a suspicious parcel after scanning the package and suspecting the presence of illegal drugs. Immediately, a team of NCB reached the spot and opened the parcel.

"One lower, one T-shirt, and two pairs of shoes were found in the parcel. When I checked the shoes, four plastic packets were found under the sole of the shoesWe found 155 grams of opium drug inside it, ASI Sandeep Kumar of Haryana state NCB told news agency PTI.

The ASI added that after checking the details of the parcel, it was found that a resident of Fathupur Sahib in Chandigarh - Hardeep Singh - had sent the package. This parcel was to be sent to Gurinder Singh in Ohio Middletown in the USA, the police said as quoted by PTI.

The police have registered an FIR under Section 18 (c) of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act at Udyog Vihar police station against Singh. According to officials, the accused will be arrested soon.

This comes amid the ongoing crackdown by the AAP government on the drug menace in Punjab.

Recently, Congress MLA Sukhpal Khaira was arrested in connection with a 2015 drugs case. The move triggered a political storm, with Punjab Congress leaders launching a scathing attack on the AAP government.

(With inputs from PTI)

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Paddy harvesting, which began roughly a fortnight ago, has resulted in a surge in cases of stubble burningrising 30% between September 15 to October 4, compared to the corresponding period last yearaccording to centralised data from the agriculture ministry-backed Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI). By November, fire incidents increase to nearly 60,000, according to data from past years. (ANI)

Read here: Centre allocates 600 crore to curb stubble burning

The federal agency is mandated to track the burning of crop residue in Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan, which causes an annual spell of toxic smog across north India during winters. The national capital particularly witnesses severe levels of pollution and smoke from crop-residue fires.

Data from the Consortium for Research on Agrosystem Monitoring and Modelling from Space (CREAMS), an arm of IARI, shows a total of 989 fire incidents between September 15 and October 4, against 663 in the previous year, a jump of over 49% in the six states. By November, fire incidents increase to nearly 60,000, according to data from past years.

In these farm belts, farmers set paddy stalks to fire after harvesting rice around October to clear their fields for their next crop, wheat. Paddy is grown during summer and harvested in autumn.

During this period, fires to clear harvest leftovers release millions of tonne of smoke, carbon dioxide stored in plant biomass, and other toxic gases into the atmosphere. Some environmentalists reckon this to be the deadliest spell of pollution in all of South Asia.

According to the data till October 4, Punjab accounted for 656 stubble-burning incidents, the highest, followed by Haryanas 166. Uttar Pradesh had 74 cases, Madhya Pradesh 47, Rajasthan 45 while Delhi has had a single case.

The CREAMS facility operates its own X & L-band satellite ground stations to receive direct remote-sensing images from a range of international satellite constellations, along with a geospatial laboratory with advanced computing capabilities. These features allow the centre to detect farm fires fairly accurately, said an agriculture ministry official requesting anonymity.

Read here: 41 farmers challaned for stubble burning in Kurukshetra

Stubble burning worsens the air quality in most northern cities. Last year, between October 24 and November 4, Delhi recorded a peak AQI of 488, Ghaziabad reported an AQI of 493, and Greater Noida recorded 480. A reading above 400 means the air is hazardous.

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A Delhi Court on Thursday remanded Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MP Sanjay Singh to 5 days Enforcement Directorate (ED) custody in the money laundering case registered in relation with the ongoing probe into the alleged irregularities in framing and implementing the now scrapped Delhi Liquor Excise Policy 2020-21. Aam Aadmi Party leader Sanjay Singh during an ED raid at his residence in Delhi on Wednesday. (ANI)

Singh, a 51-year-old parliamentarian, was arrested by ED on October 4 from his residence after a daylong raid at his residence for allegedly playing a key role in procuring favours for himself and certain businessmen through his aides by influencing the policy.

The agency has until now filed 5 charge sheets in the matter while in the parallel case being probed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), three charge sheets have been filed.

Singh was produced before special judge M. K. Nagpal amid heavy security in a room filled with lawyers, journalists, and his family members.

ED sought 10 days custody submitting that transactions worth Rs. 2 crores took place at his residence which has also been corroborated by businessman Dinesh Arora in his statements. The agency also alleged that he also received Rs. 1 crore from Indospirits, a special purpose vehicle created for recoupment of kickbacks.

ED also submitted that a total of 239 searches were conducted and the documents and digital evidence seized will be shown to him. They also submitted that three people have been summoned in the case and Singh will be made to confront them.

The court asked the agency regarding the number of times Singh had been summoned during the investigation, to which the agency submitted that he hasnt been summoned until now.

Senior advocate Mohit Mathur, appearing for Singh, opposed the remand application pointing out that till date he has not been summoned even once during the probe. He also submitted that the accused turned approver, Arora, has kept changing his stance throughout the case.

He further alleged that Aroras statements were recorded earlier this year when Singh had not been named in the case.

ED rebutted the allegations stating that Arora was not named as he felt threatened because Singh is an influential person.

Mathur also submitted that Harsh Sahani judgement passed by the Supreme Court in 1978 still holds good where it was held that custody is not required for confrontation. He also submitted that seeking 10 days custody of someone who wasnt even involved is an absurd proposition.

Also Read: Sanjays Singh arrest in Delhi excise policy case sparks political firestorm

The Court allowed Singh to make a submission to which he said that he has never been summoned by the ED and questioned the reason why the agency did it now.

The court after hearing the arguments of both the parties sent Singh to ED custody until October 10

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The Supreme Court on Thursday posed a volley of questions to the CBI and the Enforcement Directorate about the Delhi excise policy 'scam' and asked the anti-money laundering agency how a case was made out against former deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia. A bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and SVN Bhatti grilled both the federal agencies over the alleged involvement of Sisodia in the corruption and money laundering cases.(PTI file)

The top court said merely because some lobby or pressure groups had sought a certain policy change does not imply there was corruption or commission of crime unless an element of bribery was involved.

A bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and SVN Bhatti grilled both the federal agencies over the alleged involvement of Sisodia in the corruption and money laundering cases, and remarked those cases won't "stand two questions" before the trial court.

"We understand that there was a policy change and everyone will support policies which are good for business. Pressure groups are always there but policy changes without money consideration will not matter. It's the money part which makes it an offence. If we go to an extent to say that there cannot be any pressure groups, no government can function...Lobbying will always be there. Of course, bribes cannot be accepted," the bench told Additional Solicitor General SV Raju, appearing for both the CBI and the ED.



ALSO READ: Why Aam Aadmi Party not an accused in excise case: Supreme Court asks ED

Raju said the policy was tailor-made so as to benefit the wholesalers and increase their share of profit in the liquor business.

"Under the old policy, there was no way you can get the kickback and hence, there arose the need for policy change," he alleged, adding that under the old excise policy, five per cent profit was fixed for the wholesalers while under the new, it was increased to 12 per cent.

The bench said most of the allegations in the corruption case registered by the CBI against Sisodia were "hearsay", based on the statements made by approvers and would not pass scrutiny before the trial court without any concrete material.



ALSO READ: Excise policy case: Delhi court grants ED custody of AAP MP Sanjay Singh till October 10

"Two questions in the cross-examination and this will fall flat," Justice Khanna observed.

The top court is hearing two separate bail petitions of Sisodia in the corruption and money laundering case registered by the CBI and ED respectively.

The bench also asked the ED as to how Sisodia can be booked for the offence of money laundering when there was no evidence to connect him to the alleged proceeds of crime.

It was referring to the ED's allegation that 100 crore, which was the proceeds of crime arising out of the changes made in the excise policy, was used by the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in the Goa assembly election campaign.

"Have you established the money laundering charge against Manish Sisodia? I am on as far as the money in Goa is concerned. He (Sisodia) has not got the possession of proceeds of crime, somebody else had. It's not an acquisition by him, but by someone else. Use is also by someone else," Justice Khanna said.

Raju replied that Sisodia was instrumental in the generation of the proceeds of crime by orchestrating change in the policy.

The bench told him, "You have to establish a chain. The money has to flow from the liquor lobby to the concerned person. We agree with you that it's difficult to establish the chain because everything is done under cover. But that's where the competence of investigators comes in and they have to establish the chain."

The money has not gone to the petitioner (Sisodia), the bench said, adding had it been a case of a company with whom he is involved, then the court could consider fastening vicarious liability.

"Otherwise the prosecution falters. Money laundering is entirely a different offence. You have to show that he is in possession of that property. You will have to go by the exact wording of the provision of PMLA and show how you will bring him in," the bench said.

Raju claimed Sisodia was instrumental in generation of money and changed the policy to enable the profit share of wholesalers rise from five per cent to 12 per cent.

No material to show he (Sisodia) is connected to proceeds of crime

The bench said, "When you give bribes, you're involved in the activity connected to the proceeds of crime. Suppose, let's assume, ultimately no money is passed on. Will PMLA trigger? What triggers in PMLA is the proceeds of crime. You have to connect the person concerned with the proceeds of crime, directly or indirectly. In the instant case, there is no material to show that he is connected with the proceeds of crime."

Raju said Sisodia is connected to the proceeds of crime, both directly and indirectly, and he generated the money for the use of the political party.

The bench said Raju may have a point that Sisodia was connected to the change of policy but then the case at most will be of abettor and not principal offender under the PMLA.

It told senior advocate Abhishek Singhvi, appearing for Sisodia, that the court normally does not go deep into the case in bail matters but the CBI has pointed out several issues which, according to it, constitute criminal offences and therefore, the court would like him to argue on those points.

"The second part relates to the PMLA and the question which arises for consideration is whether the offence of money laundering is made out or not," the bench told Singhvi and asked him to prepare for these two points.

It posted the matter for further hearing on October 12.

Sisodia, who held the excise portfolio among the many that he handled as the deputy chief minister, was arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on February 26 for his alleged role in the 'scam'. He has been in custody since then.

The ED arrested him in a money laundering case stemming from the CBI FIR on March 9 after questioning him in Tihar Jail.

Sisodia resigned from the Delhi cabinet on February 28.

The high court had denied him bail in the CBI case on May 30, saying having been the deputy chief minister and excise minister, he is a "high-profile" person who has the potential to influence the witnesses.

On July 3, the high court had declined him bail in the money laundering case linked to alleged irregularities in the city government's excise policy, holding that the charges against him are "very serious in nature".

The Delhi government implemented the policy on November 17, 2021, but scrapped it at the end of September 2022 amid allegations of corruption.

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday made a veiled attack on Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot after the latter skipped the government function in Jodhpur. This was PM Modis third visit to Rajasthan in the last 11 days. (ANI photo)

PM Modi was in Jodhpur for a public meeting in Ravan ka Chabutra ground to inaugurate several projects worth 5,000 crore.

Taking a dig at Gehlot, PM Modi said, I have come here from a government programme where new projects were inaugurated but the chief minister was missing. Why was he missing? Because he has a firm belief that Modi will come and everything will be taken care of he has so much faith in me and I too want to tell him, now you rest, we will handle things now.

Also Read:Sanjays Singh arrest in Delhi excise policy case sparks political firestorm

The prime minister also mentioned the success of the Chandrayaan mission and Covid vaccines developed by Indian scientists.

He said the mood of the nation is changing but the Congress is not happy with the countrys progress.

In its bid to oppose the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the Congress has started opposing India. Today, India is being lauded and recognised the world over, but Congress has a problem with that. They feel unhappy, he said.

The PM also announced that Ujjwala beneficiaries will get gas cylinders at 600 and 70 lakh women will benefit from the decision in Rajasthan.

Addressing the gathering, PM Modi said, I have also brought a gift for you from Delhi the BJP government decided that women under the Ujjwala scheme will get gas cylinders at 600. You were previously getting cylinders at 1,100. On Rakhi, the government reduced the cylinder prices by 400 for Ujjwala beneficiaries. Now ahead of Navratra, Dussehra and Deepawali, the price has been reduced by 100, Modi said.

This was PM Modis third visit to Rajasthan in the last 11 days.

Hitting out at the Congress for its misrule in the last five years, PM Modi said, In five years, the Congress has taken Rajasthan to the top in corruption and riots, in crimes against Dalits and women. Congress has given a free hand to the illegal narcotics trade.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR Sachin Saini Sachin Saini is Special Correspondent for Rajasthan. He covers politics, tourism, forest, home, panchayati raj and rural development, and development journalism. ...view detail
PRAYAGRAJ: Observing that a Hindu marriage was not valid without Saptapadi (taking rounds around the sacred fire) and other ceremonies, the Allahabad High Court quashed the entire proceedings of a complaint case, where the husband had sought punishment for his estranged wife, alleging that she had solemnised second marriage without obtaining divorce from him. The Allahabad high court quashed the entire proceedings of a complaint case, where the husband had sought punishment for his estranged wife, alleging that she had solemnised second marriage without obtaining divorce from him. (Pic for representation)

Allowing the petition filed by Smriti Singh, justice Sanjay Kumar Singh observed, It is well settled that the word solemnize means, in connection with a marriage, to celebrate the marriage with proper ceremonies and in due form. Unless the marriage is celebrated or performed with proper ceremonies and due form, it cannot be said to be solemnized. If the marriage is not a valid marriage, according to the law applicable to the parties, it is not a marriage in the eyes of law. The Saptapadi ceremony under the Hindu law is one of the essential factors to constitute a valid marriage but the said evidence is lacking in the present case.

The court also relied on section 7 of Hindu Marriage Act, 1955, which provides that a Hindu marriage may be solemnized in accordance with the customary rites and ceremonies of either party thereto. Secondly, such rites and ceremonies include the saptapadi (that is, the taking of seven steps by the bridegroom and the bride jointly around the sacred fire), which makes the marriage complete and binding when the seventh step is taken.

While quashing the summoning order dated April 21, 2022 and further proceedings of complaint case pending before Mirzapur court against the petitioner  wife, the court said, Even there is no averment with regard to Saptapadi in the complaint as well as in the statements before the court, hence, this court is of the view that no prima-facie offence is made out against the applicants as the allegation of second marriage is a bald allegation without corroborative materials.

The marriage of petitioner Smriti Singh was solemnized with one Satyam Singh in the year 2017 but due to acrimonious relations, she left the house of in-laws and lodged an FIR alleging harassment for dowry. Later, after investigation, the police submitted charge-sheet against the husband and in laws.

Later, petitioner also filed an application for maintenance, which was allowed and the principal judge, family court, Mirzapur on January 11, 2021 directed the husband to pay Rs. 4000 as maintenance per month until she got remarried.

Thereafter, the husband gave an application before the higher police officials with allegations of bigamy against his wife. The said application was thoroughly investigated by the circle officer Sadar, Mirzapur and allegations of bigamy etc. against the petitioner were found false and report dated January 6, 2021 was submitted by CO to superintendent of police, Mirzapur.

Thereafter, the husband filed a complaint on September 20, 2021 against the petitioner  wife alleging offence under sections 494 and 109 I.P.C. making allegations inter-alia that she had sanctified her second marriage. Thereafter, the magistrate concerned of Mirzapur on April 21, 2022 summoned the petitioner the wife. Hence, she filed the present petition before the high court challenging the summoning order and the entire proceedings of the complaint case.

The counsel for the petitioner-wife contended that aforesaid complaint and summoning order was nothing but a counter-blast case against applicants on account of FIR lodged by her against his family members, order for compensation and also to nullify the enquiry report of circle officer of police of Mirzapur.

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News / National

by Mandla Ndlovu

In a shocking turn of events, Binga North Member of Parliament (MP) Prince Dubeko Sibanda, representing the Citizen Coalition for Change (CCC), has reacted to the recall by the party's 'Interim Secretary General' Sengenzo Tshabangu through rallying his supporters, urging them to locate Tshabangu in public places and confront him, promising to provide Tshabangu's house number.The situation took a dangerous turn when Sibanda posted a provocative message on social media platform X (formerly Twitter), stating, "Sengezo Tshabangu, the tortoise on the lamp post to destroy the CCC. He lives in Bulawayo. Make him popular in all public places. His address is coming. He needs a visit."Sibanda's fiery post has raised concerns about the growing tensions within the CCC, a party that emerged as a formidable opposition force in Zimbabwe. Sengenzo Tshabangu, the targeted 'Interim Secretary General,' has yet to comment on the situation.Witness Dube, a former leading opposition member, responded to Sibanda's post, shedding light on the once amicable relationship between Sibanda and Tshabangu. Dube stated, "He has been your long-time friend, what happened in this last election? I hear you and Ostallos imposed candidates that were not chosen by the people of Bulawayo."Dube's remarks indicate that the dispute between Sibanda and Tshabangu may have deeper roots related to political decisions and party dynamics.Furthermore, the situation took a legal turn when some X users tagged the Zimbabwe Republic Police in response to Sibanda's post, citing it as a potential threat. As of now, there has been no official response from the authorities regarding the matter.The CCC has been seen as a significant challenge to the ruling party's dominance in Zimbabwe. The internal strife and public feud between its members, particularly involving high-profile figures like Sibanda and Tshabangu, seem to weaken the opposition's unity and its ability to effectively challenge the current government.As this situation unfolds, political analysts and citizens alike are closely watching for developments within the CCC and how this rift might impact the country's political landscape. The controversy surrounding Prince Dubeko Sibanda's call for public action against Sengenzo Tshabangu highlights the volatile nature of the ongoing power struggles within opposition parties.
National Investigation Agency (NIA) carried out searches in Fatehpur district and took three people into their custody for questioning over their alleged terror links on Wednesday night, police officials said on Thursday. NIA picks up three from Fatehpur to probe terror links (Pic for representation)

The NIA officials said suspects were being interrogated at the agencys office in Lucknow.

The arrests were made after the special cell of the Delhi Police arrested three suspects, who were allegedly running the terror module on Sunday as well as on Monday. Two of these three suspects, Mohammad Rizwan Ashraf (28) and Mohammad Warsi (29) were arrested from Lucknow and Moradabad respectively on October 3, while their third accomplice, Shahnawaz Alam (31) was arrested from Delhis Jaitpur and carried a reward of 3 lakh announced by the NIA.

Fatehpur circle officer of city area, Veer Singh while talking to the media confirmed that NIA conducted searches at three places and took some people into custody over their alleged involvement in terror activities. Singh said the local police are trying to gather more details about terror network from those in police custody.

Another local police officer informed that the NIA team raided the places of suspects including the house of a retired jailer at Kheldaar locality, house of a mosque muttawali (caretaker) and the house of a former member of banned Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) at Bakarganj locality between 9 pm and 12 am on Wednesday night. Singh said three persons were taken by NIA and a father-son duo were questioned for 20 minutes at their house.

He said the son used to stay in Hyderabad for past few years and had recently shifted to his hometown. Singh said the NIA raided the houses of suspects and took them in their custody after some links surfaced with those arrested by the special cell of Delhi police.

It is not the first time when Fatehpur and its residents involvement had surfaced in terror and anti-national activities. Earlier on June 21, 2021, the UP ATS had arrested one Umar Gautam, who was born as Shyam Prakash Singh Gautam in a Hindu family in Fatehpur and is alleged to be the key accused of the mass religious conversion racket operational across different states.

Umar Gautams elder brother Uday Pratap Singh, who resides in Fatehpurs Ashok Nagar colony, was also quizzed by the ATS sleuths about details of others linked to Umar.

He along with one Jahangir Alam was arrested for being involved in mass religious conversions in UP, Delhi and other states.

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The Congress is likely to deny tickets to one-fourth of its legislators in election-bound Chhattisgarh, party leaders said, citing their poor performance in the surveys conducted to gauge the winning probability of the likely candidates. The Congress is expected to release its first list of candidates after poll dates for the state are announced (Representative Photo)

The Congress is expected to release its first list of candidates after poll dates for the state are announced.

A senior Congress functionary aware of the developments said the decision to drop some of the sitting legislators is based on solid inputs through a series of internal surveys conducted by the party in the past five months.

Many sitting MLAs will be dropped this time. The party is focusing on winnability and caste dynamics. The tickets will be decided on the basis of surveys, said the leader mentioned above.

Another party leader said that most of the MLAs who could be denied tickets were first-time winners in 2018.

Many first-time MLAs in 2018 elections failed to deliver as elected representatives due to lack of experience, the second leader said. He added that party workers are also angry with them as they have not addressed their grievances.

In the ticket distribution, the second party leader said that caste and community focus would remain in the ticket distribution with prominent OBC (Other Backward Class) communities such as Sahus likely to get a major share followed by tribal leaders. We are focusing on that every community can get representation and regional politics is addressed, the leader said.

Moreover, the Congress, in a bid to beat the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) campaign on 33% reservation to women in legislative bodies, wants to increase number of tickets for women this time. Currently, the Congress has 13 women and 58 men among its 71 MLAs in the 90-member Assembly.

In the 2018 elections, we have given tickets to 12 women candidates for assembly and later in the Khairgarh by-election, one other woman was given a ticket. A total of 13 women were given tickets but in this election, the number can be between 18 to 20, said a third senior Congress functionary, on condition of anonymity.

In the 2018, the Congress defeated the BJP, which was in power for 15 years under Raman Singh, by winning 68 of the states 90 assembly seats. The BJP won 15.

The BJP, which is eyeing a return to power in Chhattisgarh, had released its first list of 21 candidates on August 17 and has 16 first-time contestants and five former legislators.

The state Assembly election in Chhattisgarh is scheduled to be held in November to elect all 90 members of the states Legislative Assembly.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR Ritesh Mishra State Correspondent for Chhattisgarh. Reports Maoism, Politics, Mining and important developments from the state. Covered all sorts of extremism in Central India. Reported from Madhya Pradesh for eight years. ...view detail
Gorakhpur Deorias Fatehpur village remains gripped by tension, even four days after a violent clash claimed the lives of six individuals, including five members of a single family. The situation has prompted male residents to flee the village, while others are now following suit due to intensive police raids and house searches, instilling fear within the community. Representative pic (HT File)

The turmoil in Fatehpur village began on Monday when former zila panchayat member Prem Chand Yadav was allegedly murdered by Satya Prakash Dubey in a dispute over land. In retaliation, the Yadav family took the law into their own hands, resulting in the deaths of five members of the Dubey family. The situation escalated further as an enraged mob vandalised vehicles and set cattle sheds ablaze.

Mass Exodus: Residents Flee As Fear Grips Village

In response to the police crackdown, villagers are hastily locking their homes and relocating to safer areas. On Thursday alone, 30 houses were found deserted, marking a significant evacuation trend. Police personnel are conducting rigorous interrogations of every villager, with reports of restricted access to the Yadav family, blamed for the daughter of Prem Chand Yadav.

Officials Suspended as Local MLA Demands Accountability

In a stern move, chief minister Yogi Adityanath has suspended over a dozen officials for dereliction of duty, as stated by Deoria BJP MLA Shalabh Mani Tripathi. Tripathi had demanded swift action against errant officials and raised serious allegations against local authorities in a letter to the CM.

Tripathi highlighted the insensitivity of the police and their repeated failures in handling the escalating tension between Satya Prakash Dubey and Prem Chand Yadavs family. The polices shortcomings are further evidenced by lapses in filing FIRs, which included the names of the deceased individuals, including three sons of freedom fighter Brij Narayan Chumman Dubey, a resident of the neighbouring village of Kehuniya, affiliated with the Dubey family.

Daughter of Deceased Demands Security

Shobhita Dubey, the daughter of the deceased Satya Prakash Dubey, has voiced concerns about her brothers safety and expressed apprehensions that the Yadav family might target them if the police withdraw from the village.

Widows Plea for Justice Amid Desolation

On the other side, Sheela Devi, the widow of Prem Chand Yadav, has lamented the lack of attention to her plight and demanded justice for her family. She emphasised that if the police were to demolish her home, she would be left with no choice but to take her own life, as her daughters have been orphaned by the tragic incident.

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The Mizoram Police have seized drugs over Rs.65 crore in two consecutive days here in Aizawl. Police on Tuesday and Wednesday seized 10.4 Kgs and 11.6 Kgs of Crystal Methamphetamine respectively from two Myanmar nationals (HT Photo/Sourced)

Police seized 10.4 kg and 11.6 kg of Crystal Methamphetamine on Tuesday and Wednesday, respectively, from two Myanmar nationals.

The 22 kg of Methamphetamine seized are worth Rs.65 crore in the international market, police said.

On Tuesday, the Mizoram Polices ANTF (Anti-Narcotics Task Force) unit seized 10.4 kg of Crystal Methamphetamine from the possession of a Myanmar woman identified as Lalremthangi (38) at Lengpui Airport.

Police said suspicious packages were found inside the suitcase during the security check at the airport, adding that the contraband was being peddled to Delhi from Myanmar.

Upon interrogation, the police learnt that the woman works in a spa in Delhi. She had recently visited Myanmar and was travelling back to Delhi through Aizawl carrying 10.4 kg of Crystal Methamphetamine.

She was immediately arrested and Special Narcotics Police Station Case No.48/23 dt.03.10.2023 was registered under the NDPS Act & Foreigners Act, police said.

On Wednesday, the Aizawl District Special Branch (DSB) team of Mizoram police intercepted one vehicle with registration number MZ01- 7001 (Tata Intra) at Aizawls Zemabawk East locality.

Police said that upon searching the vehicle, the team found 11.6 kg of Crystal Methamphetamine. The accused peddling the drugs was identified as Ropianga, a resident of Khawmawi, Myanmar.

Meanwhile, opposition Congress Legislature Party leader Zodintluanga Ralte on Wednesday condemned the ruling Mizo National Front (MNF) for their failure to curb drug smuggling in Mizoram.

The MNF in the state and the BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party) at the Centre are unable to stop the smuggling of drugs through Mizoram. In 2022, 152 kg of heroin were seized and during the nine months of 2023, 150 kg of heroin had been seized. Moreover, Mizoram has recorded 259 drug-related deaths during the past five years 55 during 2019, 67 during 2020, 47 during 2021, 43 during 2022 and 47 drug-related deaths till September of 2023.

The MNF government had promised a major drug rehabilitation crusade in the 2018 State Assembly Election. But they have not fulfilled their promise till date, but supplies have increased during the past five years leading to a spike in substance abuse and deaths among the youths of Mizoram, he added.

The Congress Legislature Party leader even questioned the incumbent party for their inability to trace the drug cartels, asking whether they are involved in the drug smuggling business.

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LUCKNOW Visionary Artificial Intelligence (AI)-driven initiatives designed to reshape the work environment for professionals enduring long hours on the desk and a transformative approach to early throat cancer identification are among the few research projects that has been given a greenlight by the Council of Science and Technology, Uttar Pradesh (CST U.P.). To this end, the research body has sanctioned a staggering 14.09 crore in funding. Council of Science and Technology, Uttar Pradesh (HT Photo)

Anil Yadav, the director of CST U.P., expressed his excitement about this historic development. Our councils dedication to fostering cutting-edge research and innovation is reflected in the approval of 109 research proposals during this meeting, he said.

The decision was made during the 115th Executive Committee meeting of CST U.P., led by Narendra Bhushan, Principal Secretary of the Department of Science and Technology (DST), Government of Uttar Pradesh, and Director General of CST U.P.

Diverse Research Domains and Collaborations

The approved projects span a wide range of scientific domains. Notable examples include research aimed at popularising and adding value to Palash (Butea monosperma) to support livelihood generation in tribal areas of the Bundelkhand region, led by Rani Laxmi Bai Central University, Jhansi. KGMU will lead a study involving a machine learning-based multiparametric MRI model to aid in the identification and diagnosis of renal tumors, while IIT Kanpur will investigate the side effects of paan consumption.

Enhancing Scientific Awareness

CST U.P. is also taking steps to enhance research staff fellowship and increase awareness through workshops and exhibitions in collaboration with ISRO. These initiatives aim to inspire students, teachers, and grassroots innovators across 50 districts of Uttar Pradesh.

Futuristic Endeavours

This move aligns with CST U.P.s vision to stimulate research in emerging fields, including blockchain, 3D printing, quantum computing, IoT, augmented and virtual reality, 5G and 6G technologies, artificial intelligence, drone technology, machine learning, environmental and pollution control, agricultural technologies, non-conventional energy, and space science.

Diverse Funding Allocation

The executive committee has allocated funding for 15 projects in agricultural and allied sectors, 11 in chemical sciences, 9 in environmental sciences, 13 in medical sciences, 6 in pharmaceutical sciences, 12 in physical sciences, 10 in information technology, 15 in engineering and technology, and 18 in biotechnology.

Notably, the CST U.P. meeting saw the participation of representatives from the Finance Department, Planning Department, DST, Agriculture Department, as well as key figures including the Vice-Chancellor of AKTU, Lucknow, and Directors of SGPGI, Dr. Ram Manohar Lohia Institute of Medical Sciences, CIMAP, NBRI, and the Director & Secretary of the Council of Science & Technology, U.P.

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Forest officials of Dudhwa Buffer Zone (DBZ) intensified patrolling in the area after the killing of 40-year-old Sukai, in a tiger attack near the jungles of DBZ, on Wednesday night. Forest and police officials combing the area after a tiger allegedly killed a man in Belrayan range on Wednesday night. (HT Photo)

The attack took place under the Padhuva police limits.

However, even after hours of patrolling along the fields and neighbouring jungles, the big cat could not be traced.

Forest authorities said a cage will be set up near where the movement of the tiger had been sighted.

Range officer Bhupendra Singh and Padhuva police station in-charge Hanumant Lal Tiwari urged villagers to remain vigilant and not to work or walk alone along the fields.

A tiger on the prowl allegedly attacked and killed Sukai, 40, a resident of Katthauha village, under the Padhuva police limits, on Wednesday night when the man had gone to the fields located between jungle number two and the three in DBZ - to collect fodder.

His partially eaten body was later recovered late on Wednesday night lying along a field.

Pugmarks of a tiger sighted at the spot and the condition of the body led to assumption about the killing of the man in a tiger attack.

Notably enough, it was the area where on May 28, a 50-year-old farmer, Jagdish, a resident of the same Katthauha village, was killed in a tiger attack.

Later, on May 31, a four-year-old male tiger was found dead near Katthauha village. The postmortem report had established its death due to injuries to the trachea caused by a big cat.

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PRAYAGRAJ With the Lok Sabha Polls in 2024 just around the corner, specially designed 3D selfie booths featuring Prime Minister Narendra Modi will now narrate the story of Ye Naya Bharat Hain (This is the new India), showcasing the significant progress made by the country under PM Modis leadership. These selfie booths will be placed in the lobbies and platform areas of railway stations. (HT Photo)

The Railway Board has issued an order to all zonal railways, including the North Central Railways (NCR) headquartered in Prayagraj, instructing them to set up these 3D selfie booths, also known as selfie points, at as many railway stations as possible. Senior railway officials have confirmed this development.

The Railway Board has provided design specifications for these selfie booths, and preparations have already begun in all the zonal railways. These selfie booths will be placed in the lobbies and platform areas of railway stations.

Visitors to these booths will have the opportunity to take selfies and photos with cutout images of PM Modi, showcasing the narrative of the countrys development. The theme of these selfie booths is New India, and they will highlight achievements in areas such as space, power, Digital India, and youth skills, among others.

The design specifications provided by the Railway Board also emphasise the Modi governments accomplishments in providing tap water connections, rural electrification, gas connections, and contributing Make in India vaccines to the global fight against the Covid-19 pandemic. Additionally, they highlight ISROs launches of foreign satellites.

A directive dated September 27, issued by Director (Information and Publicity) of the Railway Board, Shivaji Maruti Sutar, and obtained by HT, instructs all 19 zonal railways General Managers to undertake this work at the maximum number of stations and treat it as a matter of utmost urgency.

The order specifies that these selfie booths should be constructed with permanent, durable 3D fiber sculptures, acrylic boards, glass, and built-in lighting. The booths will consist of 3D sculptures made from materials like fiber, clay, or Plaster of Paris (PoP), reinforced with NIS pipes and steel wires. The background structure of these platforms will also be crafted with fiber and clay, painted with weather-proof paint.

Officials are tasked with ensuring that the base platforms are also created with clay or stone, painted with weather-proof paint, covering the entire area of the 3D selfie booths.

This initiative comes just months before the next Indian general election, expected to be held between April and May 2024, in which PM Modi will seek a third consecutive term in office.

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Basti: Chief minister Yogi Adityanath on Wednesday directed officials to prioritize resolving land disputes and public issues. He further told them to maintain regular communication with public representatives and to arrange their visits to Atal Residential Schools. The UP CM also directed police to be tough in cases of love jihad, conversions and cow smuggling. (HT FILE)

During the review meeting of Basti division here, Yogi said, Action should be taken against land mafia, mining and other illegal activities. No one should be able to illegally occupy the land of the weak, poor, entrepreneurs or businessmen. He further instructed officials to install CCTV cameras facing the roads at major locations and in markets of the city.

The chief minister instructed that on the Sampoorna Samadhan Divas and Thana Diwas, senior officers should monitor cases closely. He emphasized that cases related to measurement and transfer of land should be taken seriously and resolved within 48 hours. A system should be made to review such cases at the division, district and tehsil levels.

The status of disposal of cases of other departments should be reviewed regularly. Any laxity in this will not be forgiven. If any incident occurs in a land dispute, accountability will be fixed on the respective district and tehsil officials, he said.

He also directed police to be tough in cases of love jihad, conversions and cow smuggling.

The CM also reviewed preparation of Mission Shakti that is set to start from October 14. He directed officials to ensure an effective check on cow smuggling and love jihad and said special vigil was required on the sensitive Nepal border. He directed officials to launch a Communicable Diseases Control Programme to avert the possibility of outbreak of dengue and malaria.

The CM said that all cyber police stations and cyber helpdesks should remain active. He gave instructions for the selection of eligible individuals for the Prime Minister Awas Yojana.

All roads should be made pothole-free before Diwali. Officials should ensure adequate supply of electricity, he said.

He also visited Maharishi Vashishth Hospital and Kaili Hospital in Basti and gathered feedback on the medical courses running there. He held a meeting with traders and intellectuals and directed officials to resolve the problems of traders on priority basis.

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Two persons including a police constable were arrested on Wednesday night from Nalanda in connection with the question papers leak case of Bihar constable recruitment examination, which was held on October 1, officials said. The central selection board of constables (CSBC) on October 3 had cancelled the examination. (Representative file image)

The central selection board of constables (CSBC) on October 3 had cancelled the examination.

The further examination which was scheduled for October 7 and October 15 has been postponed until further notice.

Acting on a tip off, a police team raided Nalanda and arrested the constable and interrogated him.

Also Read: Two Bambiha gang members caught with arms in Mohali

In the course of investigation, it came to light that the accused had sent answer sheets to his close relative who appeared in the examination from his mobile at Ramkrishna Dwarika college located at Kankarbagh under the same police station in Patna. The police and economic offence unit (EoU) team are trying to know to how he got the answer sheets, said a police officer aware of the details.

SHO of Kankarbagh police station, Ravishankar Singh confirmed the arrest of a constable involved in the racket adding that the investigation was underway.

The Kankarbagh police had already arrested six persons with answer key from Rmakrishna Dwarika college and also recovered the answer key from the possession of candidates.

After recovery of the answer key, the police lodged an FIR at the Kankarbagh police station in this connection.

Meanwhile, the Lakhisarai police arrested another person identified as Chandan Kumar Mahto, a native of Jakarpura village in Lakhisarai, who is a part of the gang involved in leaking the question papers on October 1.

To date, 11 accused were involved in the racket from whom 18 mobile phones, two micro printers, and five cars along with answer sheets were seized from their possession.

The examinations were conducted in two shifts and the recruitment notification was released for a total of 21,391 constable posts in Bihar.

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The caste survey report conducted by the Bihar government and released earlier this week, in all probability is an indicator of another social churning in the state. PREMIUM Enumerator staff marks a house during the first phase of caste-based census in Bihar state at Chhajjubagh in Patna (Santosh Kumar/HT)

The process began in the 1970s and seemed to have stabilised under the leadership of Other Backward Classes (OBC) patriarchs Lalu Yadav and Nitish Kumar. When the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) began to establish its presence in the state, the process for another round of Mandal politics began with the formation of Mahagathbandhan (the Grand Alliance) under Nitish Kumars leadership.

In the 1970s, Bihar had five chief ministers from the Backward Classes (BCs) and two from the Scheduled Castes (SC). The accession of backward caste/Scheduled Caste ministers did not alter the social vantage too much with an exception to late Karpoori Thakurs decision as education minister to abolish English from school and college curricula as well as its requirement in higher education institutes. This led to a dramatic change in the social composition of institutes, with an influx of students from rural areas and backward castes and a rise of the forward among the backward castes (Yadavs, Kurmis, Koeris), said Gyanendra Yadav, an associate professor of sociology based in Patna.

There is nothing called vote for development, at least not in Bihar. Caste, there is plenty, and the jockeying has begun following the political realignment caused by the break between the two leading parties in BiharJD (U) and BJP, after 17 years  last August. As the state heads for Parliamentary elections due in 2024, caste dynamics will be the underpinning of electoral choices of all parties, drawing both from old positions and new calculations, said a senior NDA leader soon after the census report was published. The caste calculus in the state has not changed one bit, he added.

Yadav, however, pointed out that the impact could well be far-reaching.

The impact of the caste survey would be discernible in the months to come as it has provided the actual numerical strength of caste groups, which could create a new set of leaders and challenges for the current leadership, he said.

Impact of the JP movement

The 1974 JP (Jayaprakash Narayan) movement is when the seeds of the politics of the 1990s were sown, according to Yadav. Almost all of the later political leaders of the 1990s, emerged from it, he said.

Despite not being expressly centred on the social questions of caste, this movement provided a boost to the process of the shifting of power and proved to be a training ground for the new breed of leaders. Just as the older generation of leaders had the reference to the struggle for first Independence; the new leaders now had the reference to the second freedom.

The impact was immediately witnessed. In the assembly and national elections after the JP Movement and Indira Gandhis Emergency, the Congress won no Lok Sabha seats from Bihar and only 57 out of 324 seats in the state assembly. However, out of these 57, Yadavs for the first time headed the list with 10 victors, edging out the Brahmins (9), followed by the Rajputs (7), Bhumihars (6) and Koeris (4) and Kurmis (2). In Bihar, Karpoori Thakur formed the Janata Ministry as chief minister.

Soon after, in 1978, Thakur implemented 25% reservation for the Other Backward Classes in government services and decided to hold Panchayat elections which broke the dominance of the upper castes in local government. Between 1988 and 1989, Bihar saw the rise of caste armies like the Lorik Sena (Bhumihars), the Kunwar Sena (Rajputs), the Lal Sena (landless labourers) and the Naxalite parallel government in parts of the state.

Social engineering

The roots of the current political positions in Bihars caste matrix can be traced back to the Mandal politics of the late 1980s and the ensuing social engineering experiments. The implementation of the Mandal Commission report by the late prime minister V P Singh, which led to the creation of a new category for job reservations the OBC  caused significant churn in north Indian politics.

Backward classes replaced powerful upper castes in positions of political power, especially in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh. The fight between the BJP and the Mahagathbandhan to gain an edge in vote share by creating new forms of caste alliances and splitting the others is clearly continuing.

The caste survey report shows that OBCs constitute 27.12% of Bihar's population, extremely backward classes (EBCs) 36.01%, SCs 19.65%, Scheduled Tribe (STs) 1.68% and the rest (general) 15.52%.

The EBC comprises of 112 castes, BC 30 castes, STs 32 and SCs 22 castes.

It will definitely drive the EBCs to demand not only a greater share from parties but also even the chair of the chief minister. So far, only Karpoori Thakur has become the CM from the EBC, said Anand Mandal, a social activist and grandson of BP Mandal. Similar will be the aspirations of Muslims who also form 17.70% of the population. They will also demand proportional representation as has been the claim of parties advocating caste survey, he said.

Already, Muslim CM has become one of the top trending subjects on X, with many stating that all major political parties including the RJD, JD (U) and the Congress bank on Muslim votes but have only given bare minimum representation.

The OBCs, EBCs and Muslims form the core voter group for the Nitish-Lalu combine and if these communities by and large stick to the Grand Alliance, the BJP is in trouble here.

The 36% EBC population would be important for Kumars survival as it is this section of society which Kumar has created as a vote bank, said former head of economics department, Patna University, N K Chowdhary.

But caste support doesnt always mean votes

Nitish has been in power since 2005 and has created a bouquet of castes comprising not just his fellow Kurmis but also the other non-Yadav OBCs (EBCs) and Mahadalits. He also has a sizable support base amongst the dominant upper castes and minorities. The 36% EBC population with 112 sub-castes, were instrumental in giving Kumar a near uninterrupted run on the post of CM since 2005 as this was the population which of late, became afraid of Lalu Prasad. But it is true that the BJP has made a substantial dent in that. Only time will tell whether the communities will continue to back Nitish Kumar, said Mandal.

The group of castes was carved not just to serve as an exclusive support base but also to project an image of a leader who, in being inclusive and empowering, was flexible in approach, free of corrupting influences and most importantly, having no familial baggage to carry.

The BJP, which reinvented its Hindutva line to make inroads among OBC and Dalit people, were left largely unattended by the traditional Mandal parties. The BJP could take advantage of the growing perception among numerically weaker OBC groups that parties like the Samajwadi Party or Rashtriya Janata Dal are led by and serve only the dominant Yadavs, or the feeling among smaller Dalit communities that only Jatavs have benefited from the Bahujan Samaj Party.

Kumar, in a similar way, consolidated non-Yadav OBC groups and brought together Dalit parties in his coalition to dislodge now-ally Lalu Prasad in Bihar. Experts are of the opinion that it is not only Kumar and Lalu who would realign their poll policies, but also the saffron party, which has started targeting caste groups in a planned way.

The 90s scenario is gone. They have an OBC PM, the state party president is a Kushwaha and the party may spring a surprise by giving representations to more women, said Chowdhary.
Opinion / Columnist





Clifford S Ncube is a Legal Practitioner, Conveyancer and Notary Public, practising in Zimbabwe. Holding an LLB Degree from the University of Cape Town (UCT) and a Diploma in Journalism with the Institute of Commercial Management (UK).He can be contacted at: cliffordsncube@gmail.com/ Cell: +263 777 244 855

The mining industry in Zimbabwe is not only rich in mineral resources but also subject to a nuanced taxation and royalty framework. In this article, we delve into the special rules governing taxation and royalties for exploration and mining entities operating within the country's mineral-rich landscapes.Special Tax Incentives for MinersExploration and mining entities in Zimbabwe enjoy a range of tax incentives designed to promote and support the growth of the industry. Here are some key provisions: Flat Tax Rate for Special Mining Leases: Holders of special mining leases benefit from a favorable flat tax rate of 15%. This contrasts with the 24.72% rate applicable to other miners. However, special lease holders may also be subject to additional profit tax, calculated using a specified formula. Exemptions for Special Lease Holders: Special mining lease holders may find relief from various other taxes, including the Non-Resident Shareholders Tax, Non-Residents Tax on Fees, Non-Residents Tax on Remittance, and Non-Residents Tax on Royalties. Government Initiatives: The government of Zimbabwe has recently unveiled additional incentives aimed at fostering the growth of the mining sector, with the ambition to develop it into a USD12 billion industry. Deductibility of Capital Expenditure: Mining companies can deduct 100% of capital expenditure incurred exclusively for mining operations. Tax Loss Carry-Forward: Mining investors benefit from an indefinite carry-forward of their tax losses, providing a cushion against potential future tax liabilities. Borrowing for Working Capital: Investors are permitted to borrow locally for working capital needs. Offshore borrowings, however, require Reserve Bank approval. Interest paid on borrowings within a debt-to-equity ratio of up to three to one is tax-deductible. Rebates on Duty: Duty rebates are granted to mining location holders for specified goods imported exclusively for mining development operations. These rebates aim to ease the financial burden on mining projects. Rebate on Duty for Capital Goods: Importation of capital goods for mining development operations and during the exploration phase of a mining project is eligible for a duty rebate, providing cost relief to mining companies.Royalties: Contributions to the StateIn addition to taxes, mining entities are required to pay royalties to the State. These royalties are calculated as a percentage of the gross fair market value of minerals produced and sold. The rates vary depending on the type of mineral, as follows: Diamonds: 15% Platinum: 10% Other Precious Stones: 10% Gold: 5% Precious Metals: 3.5% Base Metals: 2% Industrial Minerals: 2% Coal Bed Methane Gas: 2% Coal: 1%These royalties play a vital role in contributing to the national treasury and supporting various developmental initiatives in Zimbabwe.In summary, Zimbabwe's mining sector offers an array of tax incentives and royalties, making it an attractive destination for exploration and mining activities. These provisions not only encourage investment but also contribute to the sustainable development of the country's mineral wealth.
Special public prosecutor (SPP) Advocate Shishir Hiray has filed an appeal under sections 25 and 29 of the Narcotics, Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act 1985 before special judge (Khed division) AS Sayed, in which he has demanded an investigation into the alleged role of doctors from Sassoon General Hospital (SGH) and Yerawada Jail in the escape of jail inmate and suspected drug ring operator, Lalit Patil, 34, on the night of Monday. In his application, advocate Hiray has requested the court to call for the entire- jail, medical (hospitalisation) and attendance records of Patil and his hospital admission card from the superintendent and medical officer of Yerawada Jail Pune; and the superintendent, treating medical officers and dean of SGH. Meanwhile, the next hearing has been scheduled on October 9. The accused Lalit Patil was harboured inside the jail ward of Sassoon Hospital. (HT FILE PHOTO)

According to advocate Hirays application, After attaining judicial custody, Lalit Patil, has suspiciously avoided investigation on vague medical grounds and managed to get himself admitted frequently to SGH apart from continuing to orchestrate his drug cartel.

The court has also issued notice to the concerned authorities however it can clearly be observed that they are hand-in-glove with Patil. The accused was harboured inside the jail ward of Sassoon Hospital by the concerned authorities, thereby allowing him to run the drug cartel. This is evident from the first information report (FIR) dated October 1. It is important to note that after registration of the offence, two accused  including one canteen boy of Sassoon Hospital  were caught red-handed along with the mephedrone worth 2.14 crores, the application stated.

Advocate Hiray told Hindustan Times, Patil was arrested in the Chakan drug case and was lodged at Yerawada Central Jail. He was running a drug cartel with his associates from the premises of Sassoon Hospital while undergoing medical treatment at the hospital. On behalf of the state government, we have filed a petition before the special court at Khed and demanded action against all medical authorities who gave their certificates and helped in Patils nefarious activities including his escape.

Hiray has further requested the court to issue summons and call for all of Patils imprisonment and hospitalisation records. It is necessary for the court to know the truth and facts of Lalit Patils activities, he said.

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A Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) court in Jharkhands Ranchi on Thursday found Ranjit Singh Kohli, alias Raquib-ul-Hassan, guilty of torturing his wife and national shooter Tara Shahdeo for religious conversion and awarded him life imprisonment. National shooter Tara Shahdeo speaks to the media regarding special CBI court sentencing Shahdeos former husband/ (ANI)

Ranjits mother, Kaushalya Rani (84), was sentenced to 10 years imprisonment and suspended Jharkhand high court registrar (vigilance), Mushtaq Ahmed, was awarded 15 years.

In addition to jail terms, special judge PK Sharma imposed a fine of 50,000 each on all three. In the case of non-payment of the fine, the court provided an additional six months jail term.

Speaking to Hindustan Times, Senior Public Prosecutor (CBI) Priyanshu Singh said, The punishment was given under section 376(2)(n) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

A civil court lawyer said the punishment under 376(2)(n) is given when a person commits rape repeatedly on the same woman.

The quantum of punishment under this section, the lawyer said, ranges between 10 years to imprisonment for life, which shall mean imprisonment for the remainder of the persons natural life, besides a fine.

Mokhtar Ahmed, representing the convicts, confirmed the development, saying he will challenge the CBI court order before the Jharkhand high court.

It was a family dispute that was given another turn. The order will be challenged in the Jharkhand high court, Ahmed said.

A junior CBI lawyer said conviction in the case took place on September 30.

The CBI court found Kohli guilty under sections 120B, 376(2)(n), 323, 298, 506, and 496 of the IPC. Kaushalya Rani was found guilty under sections 120B, 298, 506, and 323 of the IPC, and Mushtaq Ahmed has been found guilty under sections 120B and 298 of the IPC.

Asked about the punishment in another section, prosecutor Singh said, That will be mentioned in the order copy. Since the quantum of punishment in sections other than 376(2)(n) is very less, it becomes meaningless once a person is sentenced in 376(2)(n).

The case arose after Shahdeo approached Hindpiri police station in 2014, and a first information report (FIR) was registered based on her statement at the said police station.

The FIR stated that the trio, under a well-planned controversy, molested and tortured Shahdeo for religious conversion.

According to the allegations levelled in the FIR, on July 7, 2014, Tara Shahdeo and Rakibul alias Ranjit Kohli were married as per Hindu customs.

But on the second day of marriage, i.e., on July 8, Rakibul and Mushtaq Ahmed started pressuring Tara to marry according to Islam rituals and convert to Islam.

A few days after the marriage, when Tara went to the Iftar party at Mushtaq Ahmeds house, he molested her.

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) took over the case in 2015. The Delhi branch of CBI had registered case number RC/9S/15 in the matter. On July 2, 2018, charges were framed in the case, and subsequently, the prosecution produced 26 witnesses in court.

Important witnesses presented by the CBI in court included Tara Shahdeo, late former minister Haji Hussain Ansari, Qazi Jan Mohammad, resident of Blair Apartment, then sub-inspector of Jharkhand Police Deepika Kumari (who had rescued Tara), case IO (investigation officer) Harishchandra Singh, and CBI IO Seema Pahuja.

During the argument on the quantum of punishment in court, prosecutor Singh was heard requesting the court to give maximum punishment, saying that the incident disturbed the social fabric.

He also asked the court to consider the pain of the victim and society while deciding on the quantum of punishment, a lawyer close to the matter said.

Defence lawyer Ahmed was heard requesting the court to take a lenient view considering the background and age of the convicts. According to the defence lawyer, it was the first crime of the convicts, including an 84-year-old woman and a high court registrar of high repute.

Tara was present in court when the order on the quantum of justice was pronounced to the convicts through video conferencing.

She could not be reached for her comment as she immediately left the court premises after the judgment on the quantum of punishment was pronounced.

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Tamil Nadu Public Service Commission has released TNPSC Group IA Main Hall Ticket 2023 on October 5, 2023. Candidates who will be appearing for the main exam for Assistant Conservator of Forests post can download the admit card through the official site of TNPSC at tnpsc.gov.in. TNPSC Group IA Main Hall Ticket 2023 out, download link here

The main written examination (descriptive type) will be conducted from October 13 to October 17, 2023 in Chennai district centre only. To download the admit card, candidates can follow the steps given below.

TNPSC Group IA Main Hall Ticket 2023: How to download

Visit the official site of TNPSC at tnpsc.gov.in.

Click on Download hall ticket link available on the right hand side of the page.

A new page will open where candidates will get the link for one time registration.

Click on the link and a new page will open.

Enter the required details and click on submit.

Your admit card will be displayed on the screen.

Check the admit card and download the page.

Keep a hard copy of the same for further need.

The memorandum of admission (Hall Ticket) can be downloaded through one time Registration (OTR) of the candidate by entering the Application Number and Date of Birth. For more related details candidates can check the official site of TNPSC.

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Education stands as the most potent tool one can wield to reshape the world- Nelson Mandela In a world that is increasingly interconnected, India stands on the precipice of a transformative journey, internationalizing its higher education landscape to foster a more globally connected academic community

In an era marked by globalisation and rapid technological progress, the global integration of education has emerged as a pivotal element in the development strategies of nations worldwide.

India, with its promising higher education landscape, currently hosts approximately 38 million students across a staggering 50,000 educational institutions, including a noteworthy 1,057 universities.

Expanding Opportunities for Students and Professionals

India's ambitious goal of doubling its current gross enrolment rate of 26.3% to 50% by the year 2035 harmonizes seamlessly with the global perspective on higher education. Notably, India holds the distinction of being the second-largest contributor of international students globally. The National Education Policy of 2020 has pledged to open up India's traditionally tightly regulated academic system to the global stage, ushering in an era characterized by inclusivity and collaboration.

The year 2022 witnessed a significant resurgence in the number of Indian students pursuing higher education abroad, with more than 6.5 lakh students venturing overseas, as reported by the Ministry of Education. This marked a notable increase from 4.54 lakh in 2017 to 5.86 lakh in 2019.

However, the COVID-19 pandemic led to a sharp decline, with only 2.59 lakh students going abroad in 2020. In 2021, over 4.4 lakh Indians pursued higher education overseas, reflecting a resilient spirit despite the challenges posed by the pandemic.

In a bid to offer a global educational environment to Indian students within the nation's borders, the Ministry of Education has forged strategic MoUs with Australian universities, Deakin and Wollongong, enabling them to establish campuses in Gujarat's GIFT City. This move provides Indian students with diverse global education options without leaving their homeland.

India's Journey towards a Globally Competent Education Hub

In a world that is increasingly interconnected, India stands on the precipice of a transformative journey, internationalising its higher education landscape to foster a more globally connected academic community.

India's pursuit of becoming a 5 trillion-dollar economy recognises the pivotal role that education plays in achieving this monumental objective.

Moreover, with a target of raising the Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) in higher education to 50% by 2035 and plans to add 35 million seats in higher education institutions, the government of India has undertaken various initiatives to facilitate students:

Flexible Curriculum: The policy advocates for flexible higher education curricula, empowering students to explore diverse subjects in accordance with global trends.

Multiple Entry/Exit Points: It encourages students to enter and exit their educational journey at various stages, promoting lifelong learning and skill development.

National Research Foundation: This foundation fosters a robust research culture, attracting international scholars and researchers.

Technology Integration: Emphasis is placed on equitable technology use, exemplified by the National Educational Technology Forum.

Multilingual Education: The policy promotes education in multiple languages to cater to diverse student preferences.

Indian Knowledge Systems: It integrates India's rich knowledge heritage into mainstream education while connecting with global knowledge.

Vocational Education Integration: The policy blends vocational education with general education to equip students with practical skills.

Industry-Academia Collaboration: It encourages closer ties between educational institutions and industries for curriculum alignment and internships.

Reskilling and Upskilling: Recognising the importance of lifelong learning in a rapidly changing job market.

Inclusive and Sustainable Skills: Inclusive skill development initiatives, including fee relief for women and marginalised communities.

International Mobility: Initiatives like the Livelihood program enhance Indian youth's global employability. The Government of India has opened doors to a more diverse student body and fosters international collaboration, expanding opportunities for students and professionals alike.

Fostering Workforce Development in a Highly Dynamic Environment

In today's business landscape, companies operate within a highly dynamic environment. The ever-evolving technology sector, competition emerging from new industry segments, shifts in regulations and political events exert multifaceted influences on businesses. These shifts impose distinctive demands not solely on leadership but also on the entire workforce.

These transformations are not merely altering the processes of work, but they also affect the employees themselves and the very nature of their tasks. To remain pertinent in this rapidly changing era, it is imperative for individuals to continually enhance their skills and adapt.

To address the crucial need for upskilling and workforce development, the National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) has collaborated with educational providers like Pearson to offer vocational training and skill development programs. This partnership plays a pivotal role in addressing the employability requirements of Indian youth and bolstering ongoing reforms in the education system.

Additionally, the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE) has forged substantial partnerships with prestigious organisations, including Pearson, Infosys, Tata Consultancy Services, LinkedIn, CISCO, Microsoft, IBM, Amazon, deAsra, IITs, and numerous others. These collaborations empower the ministry to harness the knowledge and resources of these entities, resulting in the development of innovative and industry-aligned skill development programs.

In addressing the pressing challenge of the skill gap in Indian professionals aspiring to study or work abroad, it is crucial to invest in the workforce of the future. Thankfully, learning companies are creating an environment for upskilling and reskilling while leveraging the synergies between their workforce skills and English language learning divisions. The ability to embrace lifelong learning is now a critical asset for career and workplace growth.

ELP Unlocking Global Opportunities for Indian Skilled Professionals

English language proficiency is one such skill that provides Indian skilled workers an advantage to compete globally. NEP has emphasised both digitisation and the use of technology in education.

Various platforms are available to prove English proficiency for work, study, or migration abroad; one such platform is PTE Academic. It serves as evidence of English-language proficiency for visa applications in the United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand, as well as for Indian students utilising the Student Direct Stream (SDS) for Canadian study applications.

As India opens its doors to diverse educational opportunities and facilitates international mobility, it not only expands horizons for its students but also strengthens its position on the global stage.

Initiatives aimed at curriculum flexibility, vocational integration, and industry-academia collaboration are shaping a more dynamic and responsive educational ecosystem.

Furthermore, India's efforts in workforce development, upskilling, and reskilling are essential in preparing its youth for the ever-evolving demands of the global job market. Collaborations with key players in the industry and the emphasis on lifelong learning are equipping individuals with the skills needed to thrive in a rapidly changing environment.

By embracing internationalisation, India is nurturing future leaders equipped with the skills, knowledge, and cross-cultural competencies necessary to excel in an increasingly interconnected world.

( Author Vinay Swamy is the Country Head of Pearson India. Views expressed here are personal )

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Brace yourselves, Jujutsu Kaisen fans! The anime's second season has left us hanging on the edge of our seats, and the forthcoming Episode 11 promises to be nothing short of electrifying. Jujutsu Kaisen Season 2 Episode 11 is scheduled to premiere in Japan on MBS/TBS at 12:01 a.m. JST on Friday, October 5, 2023. (MAPPA)

In Episode 10, we witnessed the heart-wrenching sealing of Satoru Gojo within the Prison Realm, leaving the sorcerer world in turmoil. As the Shibuya Arc continues its gripping narrative, Episode 11 will delve into the aftermath of this critical event and the daring plans to rescue Gojo from the clutches of the mysterious Kenjaku.

The episode is set to bring intense battles and strategic maneuvers as Yuji and his companions gear up to save their revered mentor. With Gojo's fate hanging in the balance, the stakes have never been higher.

Jujutsu Kaisen Season 2 Episode 11 release date and time:

Jujutsu Kaisen Season 2 Episode 11 is scheduled to premiere in Japan on MBS/TBS at 12:01 a.m. JST on Friday, October 5, 2023. For international fans, the English-subtitled version will be available with a slight delay of approximately 2 hours.

Pacific Daylight Time (PDT): 10 am, Thursday, October 4

Eastern Daylight Time (EDT): 1 pm, Thursday, October 4

British Summer Time (BST): 6 pm, Thursday, October 4

Central European Summer Time (CEST): 7 pm, Thursday, October 4

Indian Standard Time (IST): 10:30 pm, Thursday, October 4

Philippine Standard Time (PST): 1 am, Friday, October 5

Australia Central Standard Time (ACST): 2:30 am, Friday, October 5

Where to watch Jujutsu Kaisen Season 2 Episode 11:

In Japan, fans can catch the episode on MBS/TBS. International viewers can enjoy the simulcast on Crunchyroll. Indian and Southeast Asian fans can also stream it on Netflix and the episode is typically available about 2 hours after the Japanese premiere.

Prepare yourselves for an action-packed episode filled with suspense, emotions, and the unwavering determination of our beloved characters. As the battle for Gojo's freedom intensifies, Jujutsu Kaisen Season 2 Episode 11 is set to leave a lasting impact on fans worldwide. Don't miss out on the next chapter of this thrilling saga!

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Dr Kafeel Khan assumes he was the inspiration behind one of the issues raised in Shah Rukh Khan's new film Jawan. He has now written a letter to the Bollywood star and shown his appreciation to the actor for highlighting the subject. Sanya Malhotra's role in Jawan appears to be inspired by Dr Kafeel Khan.

Sanya Malhotra plays a doctor in Jawan who is falsely blamed for the death of several kids at a hospital when the real culprit was corruption and lack of prompt facilities. Many fans believe her character was loosely based on Dr Kafeel Khan. Despite the doctor's efforts to procure sufficient oxygen supply for the hospital, 63 kids died of Acute Encephalitis Syndrome in 2017 and the Uttar Pradesh government later got him jailed for negligence in his duty.

Dr Kafeel Khan's letter

In his letter addressed to 'honourable actor and film producer Shah Rukh Khan', Dr Kafeel wrote that he watched Jawan and "felt compelled to convey my deep appreciation for your extraordinary commitment to using cinema as a means to address critical socio-political issues." He added, "The movie's poignant portrayal of the tragic Gorakhpur Encephalitis incident has left an indelible mark on my heart. As someone who has had a personal connection with the incident and its aftermath, I was profoundly moved by your decision to bring this story to the screen.

"While I understand that Jawan is a work of fiction, the parallels it draws to the Gorakhpur tragedy serve as a powerful reminder of the systemic failures, apathy, and, most importantly, the innocent lives lost. It underscores the urgent need for accountability within our healthcare system. The character portrayed by @sanyamalhotra07 (as Dr Eeram Khan ) although not directly referencing me, encapsulated the experiences I faced. It was heartening to witness the real culprit of The Gorakhpur Hospital Tragedy got caught , though sadly in real life the real culprits are roaming free, me still struggling to get my job back, and those 63 parents who lost their little ones still waiting for justice."

He also talked about his own book The Gorakhpur Hospital Tragedy that provides a comprehensive first-hand account of the tragedy and its aftermath. He also said he'd be honoured to meet Shah Rukh Khan and Atlee, if given the opportunity and would like to express his gratitude personally. "I also want to assure you that my sanctification, devotion, and determination towards serving my countrymen would continue undeterred. Thank you once again for being a beacon of hope. I look forward to your kind reply," he concluded.

Why he posted the handwritten letter on social media

Dr Kafeel sent a handwritten letter to Shah Rukh but it remained undelivered and he decided to put it on social media. Posting the pictures of the letter, he wrote, Unfortunately, I wasn't able to obtain your email address, @iamsrk sir. Consequently, I sent the letter by post, but that also showing in transit even after many days. Therefore posting it here.

When Dr Kafeel Khan thanked SRK before watching Jawan

Before watching the film, Dr Kafeel Khan posted his appreciation of the film. He had thanked Shah Rukh Khan and Atlee for featuring the 2017 Gorakhpur tragedy.

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Christian Bale's interview with GQ provides valuable insights into the actor's mindset and his distinctive approach to iconic roles. Christian Bale: Embracing risk and redefining iconic roles in Hollywood(christianbale_/Instagram)(Instagram)

From Patrick Bateman to Batman and Dick Cheney to his formative days in Empire of the Sun, B's unwavering dedication and readiness to embrace risk have shaped his legendary career.

There used to be a time when the English actor encountered difficulties securing roles in Hollywood. One such near-miss involved the character Patrick Bateman in the 2000 film American Psycho.

ALSO READ: Cillian Murphy reflects on almost playing Batman, losing out to Christian Bale: It was for the best

However, the director of the film, Mary Harron, was hell-bent on having Bale play the role, recognizing a shared, dark sense of humor between them. Despite established actors expressing interest in the role, Mary's belief in Bale prevailed, earning his heartfelt appreciation.

When Bale accepted the role of Patrick Bateman, despite warnings of potential "career suicide," he fearlessly tackled it, infusing the character with his unique perspective. Similarly, when he assumed the iconic role of Batman, skepticism among people emerged regarding his role as typecast as the Caped Crusader.

ALSO READ: Christian Bale Breaks Down His Most Iconic Characters

Nevertheless, Bale eagerly seized the opportunity, asserting that if he couldn't go beyond such constraints, he didn't deserve the role.

In the 2018 film Vice, a potrayal of Dick Cheney, Bale's commitment to what he does best was indeed spectacular. He requested extended preparation time to master the extensive makeup required, emphasizing the importance of accuracy and perfection.

ALSO READ: Christian Bale reveals being paid less than his make-up artists for American Psycho: They were laughing at me'

Despite making it through the long four-hour makeup sessions, Bale wholeheartedly embraced the entire experience of becoming the character. Reflecting on the initial stages of his career, Bale revisited his first-ever role in the 1987 film Empire of the Sun.

He mentioned it as a "remarkable adventure", emphasizing the opportunity to travel and have the chance to be a part of a large-scale production with an extensive cast of extras. This whole experience significantly influenced Bale's perception of filmmaking and the industry as a whole.
Actor Kevin Spacey was rushed to a hospital in Uzbekistan after reportedly fearing a heart attack. In a video, shared by The Sun, Kevin said he felt his entire left arm go numb for about eight seconds. Kevin was attending the 15th Tashkent International Film Festival when the incident took place. He talked about it in a speech later at the festival. (Also Read | Kevin Spacey acquitted of sexually assaulting four men) Kevin Spacey spoke about his health. (File photo)(REUTERS)

What exactly happened to Kevin

Kevin said, I experienced something here today that was unexpected...I was looking at these extraordinary murals on the walls and I suddenly felt my entire left arm go numb for about eight seconds. I shook it off, but I immediately told the people I was with, 'What did just happen?' and on their advice we went immediately to the [...] medical centre.

He also added, A modern medical building here in this ancient city that I was not expecting to tour I spend the afternoon there having a variety of tests. Staff took care of me, and even put me through an MRI...Everything turned out to be completely normal, and Im grateful that its not anything more serious. But it also made me really take a moment and think to myself how fragile life is, for all of us. The incident happened when he was in Samarkand's Afrasiyab Museum.

The Sun quoted a source and said, Mr Spacey was taken to a medical centre over health concerns. He was treated professionally by doctors and staff and found to have no problem with his heart."

Kevin was acquitted of sexual assault

Earlier this year, a jury in London acquitted Kevin of sexual assault after he turn as a witness in his own defense which spared him a possible prison term. I imagine that many of you can understand that theres a lot for me to process after what has just happened today. I am enormously grateful to the jury for having taken the time to examine all of the evidence and all of the facts carefully before they reached their decision, he had said outside the Southwark Crown Court.

Three men had accused Kevin of aggressively grabbing their crotches, describing him as vile and a slippery, snaky predator.

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Kanye West's new wife, Bianca Censori, has taken the internet by storm with her jaw-dropping transformations, sparking both awe and speculation among fans. The Australian model and Yeezy architect recently made headlines for her drastic image overhaul, including chopping off her brunette locks and experimenting with bold hair colours, all while flaunting daring fashion choices during her European escapades with Kanye. Bianca Censori is Kanye West's new wife after Kim Kardashian.(Twitter/ Daily Loud)

In a viral TikTok video, Bianca's pre-marriage photos were juxtaposed with her current look, leaving viewers astounded. Social media users expressed their disbelief, with one commenter stating, "Ain't no way that's the same person." Sex and relationships expert, Charlotte Johnson, shed light on Bianca's transformation, emphasizing the challenges of suddenly finding oneself in the public eye.

"Entering into a relationship with a celebrity and suddenly finding yourself in the public eye can be an exhilarating yet challenging experience," Johnson shared. She pointed out that Bianca's changes might stem from the pressure of increased attention, scrutiny, and societal expectations. Johnson stressed the importance of open communication between Bianca and Kanye to address any concerns or insecurities that might arise.

"For Bianca, it can be overwhelming to adjust to a life of increased attention, scrutiny, and perhaps even jealousy from others. It's important for Bianca to express any of her feelings to Kanye, concerns, and insecurities without blame or judgment," Johnson added.

Drawing a parallel with Kanye's previous marriage to Kim Kardashian, Johnson highlighted the impact of fame on personal choices. "Being in the public eye can be very difficult for some, pressuring people to wear and do certain things to fit the celebrity lifestyle," she explained. However, she also emphasized that Bianca's transformations could signify her exploration of new styles and ideas influenced by Kanye.

"In this case, as long as there is personal well-being, independence, communication, and support in Kanye and Biancas relationship, her transformations reflect her exploration of new looks and styles," concluded Johnson.

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Drake has once again proven his knack for surprises with the release of his latest video, "8AM in Charlotte," just hours before his highly anticipated album, For All the Dogs, is set to drop. The video shared exclusively on Drake's Instagram page and later on X (formerly Twitter), is a six-minute masterpiece that not only showcases Drake's lyrical prowess but also introduces his adorable son, Adonis, to the world. FILE - Drake poses at the Billboard Music Awards in Las Vegas on May 1, 2019. Drake says his new album, For All the Dogs, may drop in a couple of weeks. His announcement came during a tour stop at the sold-out Barclays Center Thursday night in the Brooklyn borough of New York. (Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP)

In the video, a proud father, Drake, starts by admiring a drawing made by Adonis, the same artwork featured on the cover of his upcoming album. Drake engages his son, asking about the various elements in the drawing, from a goat fleeing monsters to a burning flower, stairs, and more. The heartwarming interaction captures the innocence of childhood and the bond between father and son.

"Do you want to talk about how much money you got for your beautiful drawing?" Drake teasingly asks Adonis, who responds with a dismissive, "Oh, please," eliciting laughter from his father.

The video seamlessly transitions into the titular track, where Drake delivers his signature style, rapping passionately while Adonis dances and strikes poses alongside him. The track delves into Drake's introspective thoughts, touching on topics ranging from personal struggles to fame and his impact on the industry.

Drake's surprise release left fans in awe, flooding social media with messages of admiration. One fan wrote, "Drake never fails to amaze us. This video is pure gold," while another commented, "Adonis stole the show! What a talented family."

This release follows Drake's recent controversy surrounding his single "Slime You Out," featuring SZA, where he faced criticism for using Halle Berry's image without her permission. Despite the controversy, Drake continues to captivate audiences with his music and creative ventures, leaving fans eagerly awaiting the release of For All the Dogs, set to hit the airwaves today.

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A girl walks around a market in Haiti.

'Another international force in Haiti will never work without a functional government in place'

Pierre Esperance in The New York Times

The United Nations Security Council's decision to back a Kenya-led force to help "crack down on Haiti's gang violence" might help the country's "outgunned" police, says Pierre Esperance in The New York Times. But the violence has made elections impossible, leaving Haiti without legitimate leaders. Some officials even collaborate with gangsters. Sending armed foreigners won't help without "a new transitional government made up of honest people committed to reestablishing democracy and the rule of law."

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'A reentanglement of Ukraine aid with the Hunter Biden mess'

Holman W. Jenkins Jr. in The Wall Street Journal

President Biden is throwing Ukraine "under the bus" with his "hardly compulsory decision to run" for reelection, says Holman W. Jenkins, Jr. in The Wall Street Journal. Republicans, no matter how much they support Kyiv's fight against invading Russians, have to "make partisan hay" out of the Hunter Biden trainwreck. They've already opened an impeachment inquiry that guarantees a revisiting of Biden's "personal meetings as vice president with Hunter's Ukrainian clients" and could derail future aid.

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'Both parties have proven to be highly susceptible to the isolationist virus'

Jeff Jacoby in The Boston Globe

Supporting Ukraine is the right thing to do, writes Jeff Jacoby in The Boston Globe. "But because the president is a Democrat, many Republicans think otherwise." They "doubtless imagine" themselves "motivated by pure principle. But if Biden were a Republican, the GOP would be a stronghold of support for Ukraine, and more and more Democrats would be calling for the aid to stop." Politicians tend toward "isolationism" when the other party holds the White House.

Story continues

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'The long-term value of a bachelor's degree is much greater than it initially appears'

David Deming in The Atlantic

Americans are losing "faith in higher education," says David Deming in The Atlantic. A majority in one recent poll said "a bachelor's degree isn't worth the cost." Piling up debt to attend college "can feel risky, especially for first-generation students who don't have examples from their own family." But the "bad vibes" are misleading. Young people are "far better off" with a degree because it comes with an "earnings advantage" that grows with their careers.

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The marriage of Joanna Krupa and Douglas Nunes is officially over. The former Real Housewives of Miami star and the businessman have settled their divorce after five years of being together. Joanna Krupa and Douglas Nunes reached an agreement to co-parent their 3-year-old daughter with joint legal custody.(joannakrupa/Instagram)

TMZ obtained the documents on Wednesday that show that Krupa, 44, and Nunes have agreed to share joint legal custody of their 3-year-old daughter, Asha-Leigh.

However, the details of their physical custody arrangement are not clear.

The documents also do not reveal how the ex-couple will split their assets or if they had a prenup before they got married in July 2018.

Neither Krupa nor Nunes will receive child or spousal support from each other.

ALSO READ| RHONY star Brynn Whitfield evicted from tiny New York City studio for owing $7K in rent amid $30K tax debt

Krupa has also changed her last name back to her maiden name now that she is single again.

The divorce settlement comes six months after Nunes filed for divorce from Krupa. He listed their date of separation as Jan. 2, 2023, and cited irreconcilable differences as the reason for the breakup.

This was not Krupas first marriage.

The Polish model was previously married to Romain Zago, who also appeared on RHOM with her. They tied the knot in 2013 and divorced in 2017.

Krupa told In Touch in an interview that she was caught off guard when Zago asked for a divorce in December 2016.

I spent many nights crying. It was the worst Christmas imaginable, she said.

I was heartbroken, Krupa added.

He had wanted a family, but I was always traveling and made work my priority. As time has gone on, Ive realized we were both unhappy.

ALSO READ| The Real Housewives Of Beverly Hills Season 13 cast list: Meet the contestants and check release date

Krupa moved on quickly with Nunes, who proposed to her seven months after her divorce from Zago was finalized. They had a fast-paced romance and got married in a small ceremony in Los Angeles four months later.

The next month, they had another wedding in Krakow, Poland, with their closest family and friends.

Krupa and Nunes welcomed their daughter in November 2019.
The Drew Barrymore Show may just be in serious trouble ahead of its premiere. As the show sets a date for its upcoming return, three writers from the Writers Guild of America (WGA) have refused to come back after the strike ends. Writer Exodus: Drew Barrymore Show Faces Staff Departures After WGA Strike. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP, File)(Evan Agostini/Invision/AP)

Last month, Drew faced heavy criticism for announcing that her daytime talk show would begin its fourth season without the striking writers. However, a week later, after experiencing backlash and guest cancellations, she changed her decision, postponing the show's return till the WGA strike ended.

ALSO READ: Drew Barrymore posts tearful apology for restarting TV show amid strike, deletes it later: I take full responsibility

Fast forward to today, with the WGA strike over, the show is scheduled to return on October 16. However, three writers - Cristina Kinon, Liz Koe, and Chelsea White are refusing to return. The production is currently recruiting new writers to ensure compliance with the guild's regulations.

During the show's initial return to production in mid-September, Chelsea, Cristina, and Liz were actively protesting outside Drew's Manhattan studio. They held signs that read "Honk if you [love] union labor" and "Drew's News: Strikes."

On September 11, they expressed their disappointment at not hearing about Drew's return from their boss or colleagues but through audience ticket giveaways on social media. Chelsea stated, It is a bummer to hear that the show is going back because it sends a message that union writers are not valuable."

Cristina added, I understand that everybody has to do what they feel is best for them. For me and the WGA writers on the show, its important for us to stick with our union. We deserve a fair contract, so we are here today outside."

When asked if they intended to return to the show after the strike was resolved, Chelsea responded with a simple "maybe no comment."

However, Drew's decision to continue the show without her writing staff did not violate SAG-AFTRA rules. According to a SAG-AFTRA representative, The Drew Barrymore Show is produced under the Network Television Code, which is a separate contract and is not struck. It is permissible work, and Drews role as host does not violate the current strike rules.

ALSO READ: Drew Barrymore halts her TV show after backlash during ongoing strike: Deepest apologies to anyone I have hurt

Nevertheless, Drew defended her decision in a controversial social media post on September 10, acknowledging that she had made a different choice in May when she stepped down from her hosting duties at the MTV Movie and TV Awards in support of the WGA.

She even won the award for Best Host that evening and dedicated it to her "amazing, amazing writers"Chelsea, Cristina, and Liz, who have also received two Emmy nominations for their writing contributions to the show.

In response to the constant criticism, Drew updated her fans on September 17, announcing that she would postpone the show's premiere until after the strike had concluded.

Barrymore expressed her apologies to anyone she hurt and acknowledged the incredible team that has worked alongside her. A spokesperson for the show, as well as Chelsea, Cristina, and Liz, refused to comment further on this matter.
If global warming is to be limited, the world must forget fossil fuels as fast as possiblethat much almost everyone agrees upon. How to do so is the complicated part. Economists have long favoured putting a price on carbon , a mechanism Europe introduced in 2005. Doing so allows the market to identify the cheapest unit of greenhouse gas to cut, and thus society to fight climate change at the lowest cost. Others, including many American politicians , worry that such schemes will provoke a backlash by raising consumer costs. Under President Joe Biden, America is instead doling out hundreds of billions of dollars to turn supply chains green. PREMIUM Carbon has hit this price range twice before this year, in July and September, before falling back down. Each time the surge has been driven by market expectations about the EUs climate plans.(BLOOMBERG (Representative image))

Yet, remarkably, the rest of the world is beginning to look more Europeanwith carbon prices spreading in countries both rich and poor. Take Indonesia, the worlds ninth-biggest polluter. Although it releases 620m tonnes of carbon-dioxide equivalent a year, with almost half its soaring energy consumption coming from coal, the country has green ambitions. On September 26th, at the launch of its first carbon market, Joko Widodo, the president, talked up its prospects as a hub for the carbon trade, and local banks duly snapped up credits from a geothermal energy firm. The country also introduced an emissions-trading scheme in February, which requires large coal-fired plants to buy permits for emissions above a threshold.

In short, even in countries better known as polluters than green leaders, things are shifting. By the beginning of 2023, 23% of global emissions were covered by a carbon price, up from just 5% in 2010. The spread will only accelerate over the coming years as more countries come around to the advantages of carbon pricing, and schemes expand their reach. According to the IMF, 49 countries have carbon-pricing schemes, and another 23 are considering them. On October 1st the EU launched a groundbreaking policy under a dreary name. The carbon border adjustment mechanism (CBAM) will, by 2026, start to levy a carbon price on all the blocs imports, meaning that European companies will have a strong incentive to push suppliers around the world to go green.

The spread of carbon prices is happening in three ways. First, governments are creating new markets and levies. Indonesia is one example. If all goes to plan, its market will eventually be combined with a carbon tax. In April Japan launched a voluntary national market for carbon offsets, which will work alongside an existing regional cap-and-trade policy in Tokyo. Participants, accounting for 40% or so of the countrys pollution, will have to disclose and set emissions targets. Over time the scheme will become stricter, with auctions of carbon allowances for the energy industry due to begin in 2033. Meanwhile, Vietnam is working on an emissions-trading scheme to be established in 2028, in which firms with emissions above a threshold will need to offset them by buying credits.

Second, countries that already have established markets are beefing up their policies. In September Chinas National Climate Strategy Centre announced that its emissions-trading scheme, the largest in the world, will move from focusing only on the carbon intensity of coal power plants, to focusing on both their intensity and total emissions. The scheme will also be linked with a dormant carbon credit market, allowing power plants to meet obligations by purchasing credits for renewable power, planting forests or restoring mangroves. Australia, which scrapped its original carbon price in 2014, has reformed a previously toothless scheme known as the safeguard mechanism. Since July industrial facilities that account for 28% of the countrys emissions have had to reduce them by 4.9% a year against a baseline. Those that fail must buy offsets, which trade at a price of around $20 a tonne.

Breaking boundaries

The final way that carbon markets are spreading is via cross-border schemes. The EUs programme is by far the most advanced. In CBAMs pilot phase importers of aluminium, cement, electricity, fertiliser, hydrogen, iron and steel will need to report embodied emissions (those generated through production and transport). Then, from 2026, importers will have to pay a levy equivalent to the difference between the carbon cost of these emissions in the EUs scheme and any carbon price paid by the exporter in their domestic market. Free permits for sectors will also be phased out, and the housing and transport industries will be brought into the market.

Many of these schemes will take time to have an impact. Lots in Asia are flimsy, with prices set too low to lead to substantive changewell below the EUs current price of around 90 ($95), which is itself only approaching climate economists estimate of the social cost of carbon. For instance, half the coal plants covered by Chinas emissions-trading scheme face a negative carbon price, meaning that they are in effect paid to burn the dirty fuel, since their emission intensity is below the national average, says Lauri Myllyvirta of the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air, a think-tank. The scheme, he notes, also fails to create an incentive to shift from coal to other sources of power.

Across the world, activists criticise the ability of companies to use offsets to indulge in what they term greenwashing, where firms falsely present themselves as environmentally friendly. Some schemes also struggle to prove that they have led to emissions reductions. Last year a team of academics, led by Andrew Macintosh of Australian National University, argued that reforestation used as carbon credits in Australias scheme either did not happen or would have happened irrespective of payments for offsets. An independent review has since recommended changes to how the scheme works.

Yet even carbon-pricing programmes that are limited will still help change behaviour, for the simple reason that they encourage the monitoring of emissions. After its launch two years ago, Chinas emissions-trading scheme was dogged by fraud, with consultants alleged to have helped firms fake coal samples. A crackdown was announced by officials earlier this year, who are now satisfied with the quality of the data. Despite the absence of a carbon price, American firms also face incentives to monitor emissions. President Biden has proposed a rule that all businesses selling to the federal government must disclose emissions and have plans to reduce them. Many large firms have set voluntary net-zero targets as part of their marketing efforts. Apple, the worlds largest, has pledged to make its supply chain entirely carbon neutral by 2030.

Industrial firms around the world now face a still greater incentive to accurately track their carbon footprints: CBAM. The EUs ultimate goal is to tackle carbon leakage. Before CBAMs introduction, Europes carbon price meant that domestic industries faced an extra cost compared with those in countries with less ambitious decarbonisation plans. This gave importers an incentive to source material from abroad, even if such inputs were dirtier. To compensate for this, the EU handed out permits to industrial producers. These will now be phased out as CBAM is phased in.

During the pilot phase, CBAM simply presents an extra hurdle (or a non-tariff barrier) for exporters to the bloc. To comply, European firms must report the embodied emissions of their imports. If such data do not exist, importers must use reference values provided by the EU. In order to nudge foreign companies to change their behaviour and prove that their emissions are lower, these are based on the emissions of the dirtiest firms in the bloc.

Carbon border tariffs may themselves start to multiply. In Australia, the government recently announced a review into carbon leakage, which will examine such an option. In 2021 America and the EU paused a trade dispute, begun by President Donald Trump, by starting negotiations on a Global Arrangement on Sustainable Steel and Aluminium. America wants the two trading partners to create a common external tariff on polluting steel producers. Since it does not have a domestic carbon price, such a policy would break the World Trade Organisations rules. But if the EU and America do not come to an agreement, the Trump-era tariffs and the EUs retaliatory measures will be reinstated.

There is a domino effect to carbon pricing. Once an industry is subject to a carbon price, affected businesses will naturally want their competitors to face the same rules. Therefore owners of coal power plants will lobby to ensure that gas power plants operate on a level playing field. Governments in exporting countries also have an incentive to ensure that their domestic firms pay a carbon price at home rather than a tariff abroad. If Asias factories are pressed to reduce their emissions anyway by schemes such as CBAM, then its governments are leaving money on the table by not levying a carbon price of their own.

Getaway cars

The question is whether the dominoes will fall sufficiently quickly. Almost no emissions-trading schemes are aimed at emissions from residential property or cars, for instance, where consumers would really feel the pain. In choosing to introduce carbon-pricing schemes, and then to make them broader and more muscular, policymakers have most economists firmly on their sideand are proceeding much faster than is commonly realised. Yet future policymakers will have little choice but to make such measures even more intrusive if they want to minimise the effects of climate change. For that to happen, they will have to win over voters, too.

For more coverage of climate change, sign up for the Climate Issue, our fortnightly subscriber-only newsletter, or visit our climate-change hub.

 2023, The Economist Newspaper Limited. All rights reserved. From The Economist, published under licence. The original content can be found on www.economist.com
On a recent trip to Bihar, I binge-watched Panchayat, the popular web-series revolving around rural life and local government. In my interactions with residents in rural areas and panchayat representatives for my PhD research survey, it dawned upon me that the show's enormous appeal is due to its remarkable portrayal of rural realities. The plot centres around Phulera, which for the purposes of the series has been depicted to be a gram panchayat in Uttar Pradesh. Manju Devi, the incumbent gram pradhan, is the wife of former pradhan, Brijbhushan Dubey. She was made to contest for the post of gram pradhan as the seat was reserved for a woman candidate. Manju Devi acts as the proxy pradhan while her husband is the one actually calling the shots. This practice of proxy-membership which gives entry to men through the backdoor is, but, the sad reality of women representation in local governments in India. MPs in the Rajya Sabha following the voting on Women's Reservation Bill during the Special Session of Parliament, in New Delhi, last month.(ANI Photo/SansadTV)

Political reservation for women has been a recurrent theme in Indian democracy. Reservation of seats for women in local governments was guaranteed in 1992, by the 73rd and 74th amendments to the Constitution. However, despite repeated attempts, political reservation for women in Parliament or state assemblies remained absent. Until a few days ago.

On September 28, the historic Women's Reservation Bill received Presidential assent after being passed by the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha, respectively, with sweeping majorities. The Constitution (106th Amendment) Act, 2023, also named the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam, seeks to reserve as nearly as may be 33% of seats in the Lok Sabha and state legislative assemblies for women.

The Constitution has made a commitment to prioritise equal opportunity and ensure social, economic, and political justice for its citizens. However, even after 76 years of Independence, not enough women have been able to hold proportionate political space. Even after independence and till recent times, the representation of women in legislative bodies has remained extremely low.

According to Census data from 2011, women make up approximately 48.5% of the overall population in India. The current Lok Sabha, which consists of 542 members, has 78 women members, which accounts for 14.39% of the total. The representation of women in the Rajya Sabha stands at around 10.71%, with women comprising 24 out of 224 members. According to government data presented in the Parliament last year, the representation of women MLAs in state assemblies across the nation is significantly low, accounting for only 8% on average.

Previous efforts to ensure political representation for women in the Lok Sabha and state assemblies have been unsuccessful. However, this Bill has received unanimous support from all political parties. What contributed to this recent consensus?

The answer perhaps lies in some of these figures. Over the past decade, the gender gap in voter turnout between men and women has gradually reduced. According to data from the 2019 general elections, women voters participation exceeded men's by a margin of 0.17%. In addition to this, a study by the Centre for the Study of Developing Societies (CSDS) reveals that women voters have experienced a growing sense of independence when it comes to making their electoral decisions. There is good reason for political parties across ideologies to anticipate an increase in the number of women voters, and acknowledge their impact on election outcomes. This, in all possibility, spurred parties across the floor to arrive at a consensus on this issue - to appeal to women as a constituency unto their own.

As apparent, throughout history, political participation has been the prerogative of only a few women. Besides, a considerable number of women who have attained positions in politics can be linked to influential dynasties established by prominent men. In such a situation, while the reservation of seats for women in legislatures is a welcome step, it may not be enough.

The reservation of seats for women in Panchayati Raj and municipal bodies was granted by amendments to the Constitution made in 1992. This was an experiment in using reservation to boost political participation of women. While the policy ensured women were officially represented in local bodies, the outcome has been varied.

While the constitutional amendments have been partly successful in ensuring 44.37% women representation at the local level, women representatives in local bodies have often found their political power usurped by their husbands or other male relatives. Then there are women, just like Manju Devi from Panchayat, who are pushed into local politics by their male relatives who cannot contest an election due to rotation of the seats reserved for women. These men carry out the official work of the local body, relegating women representatives to mere proxies. The political power, thus, stays with the men rendering the constitutional amendment reserving seats for women ineffective.

It is sincerely hoped that this trend does not get mirrored in the Lok Sabha and state assemblies Otherwise, politics will continue to be dominated by powerful political males, with reserved seats going to women in their families. Needless to say, this will make political participation a distant dream for women not related to political elites.

There are concerns that the reservation of seats for women in the Lok Sabha and state assemblies, as well as designating constituencies as reserved for women, could potentially restrict the choices available to voters. There is the unfortunate apprehension that the societal exclusion of women for being incapable of running a political office may get further perpetuated. The potential consequence could be that women legislators get reduced to mere proxies for powerful men, lacking true autonomy and representation.

The possibility of creating dual member constituencies has often been floated as a way of ensuring greater political participation for women. Simply put, under this system, a single constituency can return two members: one man and one woman. Between 1957-1960, the Kerala state assembly used to have dual member constituencies: One each for a member from the general category and a member from Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes. However, after the passage of the Two-member Constituencies (Abolition) Act, 1961, all constituencies were made single member constituencies.

Despite being suggested several times, it is difficult to say how foolproof dual member constituencies would be. Imagine a situation where two persons from the same party or same family return as winning candidates! That can hardly be considered truly representative! Lets also not sideline the fact that two-member constituencies can put a huge financial and administrative burden on the exchequer.

Now that womens reservation has become a legislative reality, the time is ripe to devise ways to complement the Womens Reservation Act. Political parties must become acutely aware of their role in a thriving democracy and the need for them to ensure parity between genders. As a 2014 study by Brookings India suggests, there is a need to create a mechanism where parties abide by their constitutions to ensure proportionate representation to women within the party and make their internal structures more conducive to women. This can be achieved by parties fielding more women candidates and ensuring that women get equal opportunity to ascend within the party structure. This is what is actually required to translate womens reservation into effective participation.

While reservation of seats for women is a noble step, we should remain cautious of the pitfalls. Without stricter regulation of political party behaviour, this Act may face a fate similar to that of the 73rd and 74th amendments to the Constitution. Whether or not the Womens Reservation Act will bear fruit hinges on how much effective importance is given to womens representation by political parties.

This article is authored by Mayuri Gupta, Milon K. Banerji fellow, Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy.

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The outcome of the recent maiden United States (US)-Central Asia summit was expected to be highly significant, yet the meeting appears to be more symbolic than yielding tangible results. On September 19, 2023, US President Joe Biden met with the presidents of five Central Asian nations: Kassym Zomart Tokayev of Kazakhstan, Sadyr Zaparov of the Kyrgyz Republic, Shawkat Mirziyoyev of Uzbekistan, Emomali Rahmon of Tajikistan, and Serdar Berdimuhamedov of Turkmenistan on the sidelines of 78th session of United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York. The summits silver lining was that leaders focused on cooperation on commerce and investment, transit corridors, climate challenges, human rights, and Afghanistan rather than the USs preferred security issues. Statue of Liberty(AP Photo)

The Russia-Ukraine conflict, which started in February 2022, has continued for over a year. Since the conflict began, Central Asian countries with tight economic and security relations with Russia have been in the limelight. They have neither supported nor denounced Russia but have been attempting to diversify their foreign relations. As a result of the Ukraine crisis, there are indications that Russian influence in Central Asia is waning, and China stands to benefit the most from the current situation. China is the dominant player in the region and this has several apparent repercussions. From becoming a significant economic partner, China is now expanding its security cooperation with the region, formerly the key component of Russia-Central Asia relations. The Central Asian leadership is aware that an excessive reliance on China will be harmful in the long-run.

Against this backdrop, Central Asian nations are looking for new prospective partners to support their economic growth and initiatives related to transport and transit routes. In August of this year, they hosted a summit with the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) members to explore regional partnerships. Since Central Asian countries became independent in 1991, the US has not paid much attention to the region. Nonetheless, it has long been seen as a potential partner for Central Asian countries. The region gained importance for US strategy following the 9/11 events. Subsequently, the US attacked terrorist hideouts in Afghanistan. Central Asian countries provided assistance to the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF). At the same time, Chinese penetration in Central Asia was gradually increasing. The newly independent Central Asian Republics (CARs) needed investment for economic development which was offered by Beijing and received well by CARs. The Central Asian countries have been receptive and accommodating to China because, unlike Washington, Beijing has not highlighted the concerns of human rights and the rule of law in these authoritarian States. As the Chinese grip consolidated in the region, US influence gradually vanished.

Recently, with the American withdrawal from Afghanistan and Chinas growing regional and global influence, the US has shown interest in revitalising ties with Central Asia. Though there already has been a framework for the C5+1 ministerial meeting, the US-Central Asia leaders summit is relatively started off late. In the last two years, Central Asian countries held leaders summits with almost every significant power including India, Russia, European Union, China and the GCC. The first summit between the US and Central Asian presidents was, therefore, expected to be of considerable importance.

The inaugural US-Central Asia Summit was not particularly impressive in terms of results, but it did give the US-Central Asia relationship an entirely fresh lease on life. A shift in focus from enduring security concerns to more current and pervasive problems like energy security, climate change, and the growth of trade and commercial linkages and transportation routes is a positive indication of mutually beneficial cooperation. The Central Asian countries are aware that if the region experiences security problems, the US will not help them out militarily, nor will it make major investments there. Still, the ideas put out in New York can potentially reduce Central Asias reliance on its neighbours, Russia and China. Furthermore, if the US continues to pay similar attention to the region and the agenda remains the same, then there is a possibility of great power competition.

The discussion also focused significantly on economic relations. Biden emphasised the significance of enabling trade and private sector investment with US firms. Two of the major economies of central Asia, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, have launched multiple reforms to reform their economic and political structures. They are eager for more significant investment and have pushed for more prominent, ostentatious projects to attract global capital. In his remarks, Biden announced that USAID will host a C5+1 Regional Connectivity Ministerial in Central Asia in October to discuss ways to promote sustainable economic growth. This shows that economic links will continue to be a priority for Central Asian-US diplomacy.

Surprisingly, Biden emphasised the importance of civil society activism for womens empowerment and disabilities rights while remaining mute on human rights problems. This is likely a result of recent attempts by Central Asian nations to adopt democratic changes. These issues (if not human rights) are less of an immediate concern for the governments of Central Asia. Additionally, President Biden suggested starting a C5+1 Critical Minerals Dialogue. Essential minerals, including chromium, copper, and lithium are required to make renewable energy technologies. Though being energy-rich region, in recent years, Central Asian countries have been facing energy scarcity. Green energy and hydropower have also been highlighted in speeches from Central Asian leaders. An increased partnership with the US will also reduce their reliance on China.

Since this is the first leaders summit between the US and Central Asia, it marks a good beginning of the upgrading of the relationship. The C5+1 did open the ground for a new era of engagement between the US and the Central Asian countries, even if no significant accords or political agreements were announced as a result of the summit. However, the ball is in the US court. Washington must continue its current level of attention to the region as Russian influence declines. It would lay a lot more emphasis on successful economic and commercial partnerships, as the primary cooperation areas were trade, transport, and the energy industry.

This article is authored by Pravesh Kumar Gupta, associate fellow (Central Asia), Vivekananda International Foundation, New Delhi.

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As the India-China rivalry is played out across the Indian Ocean region, domestic politics is becoming a key focal point of geopolitics. The recent elections in the Maldives were watched across the region not only for domestic politics but also for their likely wider regional impact. What will the foreign policy of the new government be? Will the new government maintain a pro-India orientation or will China make a comeback? How will the policies of the new government influence the course of strategic rivalries in the Indian Ocean? These questions are at the heart of the evolving strategic landscape in the context of the Maldivian elections. Maldive Elections

In the last decade, as Chinas naval presence has grown across the Indian Ocean, the region has become a centerpiece of strategic rivalry between India and China. The question of Chinas growing military and economic presence and its strategic rivalry with India is probably at its most intense in the smaller island States of the Indian Ocean. The Maldivess strategic location astride the strategic sea lanes that connect East Asia with West Asia increases its importance. Indias Neighbourhood First policy and Indian Ocean strategy meet in the Maldives. The archipelagic country with 1,200-islands is critical for securing Indias maritime interests in the Indian Ocean.

The Maldives has been embroiled in the major power rivalry since president Mohammed Nasheed was forced to resign in 2012. The subsequent Maldivian governments especially the one led by Abdullah Yameen (2013-18) took a sharply pro-China turn in its foreign policy and sought to curtail Indias influence. During his time, the Maldives became part of Chinas Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). The pro-China turn in Maldivian foreign policy occurred at the same time when China was expanding its strategic presence in the Indian Ocean. During this phase, on account of infrastructure projects, Maldives became saddled with expensive Chinese loans. As per some estimates, Maldives owe China as much as $ 3.1 billion whereas the Maldivian Gross Domestic Product stood at $ 4.9 billion. Such a high-level of debt has put the Maldives in danger of falling into Chinas debt-trap.

However, during the 2018 elections, the tide was reversed and Ibrahim Solih was elected as president. His reign was marked by the staunchly pro-India foreign policy orientation. India seemed to have regained the lost influence in the strategically located island State. Since 2018, India has provided significant assistance in the domain of development, security, and infrastructure. Besides, demonstrating a clear intent of favouring the Quad countries over China, Maldives has signed a defence co-operation agreement with the United States and Australia recently opened its embassy in Male. In July 2023, the Japanese foreign minister too paid a visit to Maldives to strengthen ties.

The recent election results and the victory of pro-China candidate Mohamed Muizzu, who was the mayor of Male, is being seen as a significant development that has the potential to influence the Indian Ocean geopolitics. The president-elect has said that foreign military forces cannot stay in the Maldives. He had run his campaign on the agenda of India Out. The geographic reality will ensure that the Maldives cannot ignore Indias core security concerns. In fact, Maldives needed Indias immediate assistance even when president Yameen was engaging China. Indias humanitarian assistance and disaster relief capabilities are unmatched in the region.

However, if he decides to send back Indias military training teams from the Maldives, it will be the second time that India will have faced the pressures of domestic politics in an Indian Ocean State. In 2018, on account of the intense disapproval from the Seychelles opposition political parties, the government was forced to shelve plans to develop an airstrip and naval jetty on the Assumption Island.

The strategic location of Assumption between Tanzania and Mozambique would have increased Indias capabilities to monitor the southwest Indian Ocean. So far, there seems to be no forward movement on the Assumption deal signed between India and Seychelles. The Maldives will have to decide for itself whether it is prudent to send Indian training teams back. Despite the apparent closeness between China and Sri Lanka, ultimately, it was Indias strong support that helped Colombo tide over the acute financial difficulties. For India, the Maldives once again demonstrates the imperative of engaging with the ruling as well as opposition leadership in the important countries of the Indian Ocean region.

Overall, as the elections in Maldives demonstrate, domestic politics of the Indian Ocean countries has emerged as one of the key battlegrounds for the strategic competition between China and India. Both sides are watching out for opportunities to see whether the strategic preferences of smaller countries can be influenced in any way. Indias pivotal position in South Asia and the Indian Ocean, sharpening rivalry with China and deepening ties with the US are key factors that shape the regional geopolitics. In this matrix, now, domestic political preferences of smaller island countries will also have to be added.

Authored by - Sankalp Gurjar, assistant professor, department of geopolitics and international relations, Manipal Academy of Higher Education (MAHE)

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Bengaluru: Three teams from the Central government are scheduled to arrive on Thursday for a comprehensive assessment, said state agriculture minister N Chaluvarayaswamy. This development comes after the Congress-led Karnataka government sent its report last month on the prevailing drought situation in the state to the Centre. Talking to the media on Wednesday, N Chaluvarayaswamy said that a total of 195 taluks had been declared drought-hit. Among them, 161 are severely affected, while 34 are moderately affected. (Arijit Sen/HT Photo)

Talking to the media on Wednesday, he said that a total of 195 taluks had been declared drought-hit. Among them, 161 are severely affected, while 34 are moderately affected.

A detailed report has already been submitted to the central government, he said.

The State Government has submitted a memorandum to the Centre urging it to declare 195 taluks in Karnataka as drought-hit and of the 195, 164 taluks were facing severe drought conditions. Standing crops on four million hectares have been badly affected and the estimated loss is pegged at 22,000 crore, he said. Karnataka is likely to see crop damage up to 5.8 million tonnes, he said.

Three Central teams will visit Karnataka on Thursday and will assess the prevailing drought situation in the state till October 9. According to the officials, before commencing the assessment, the teams will meet chief minister Siddaramaiah in Bengaluru. The teams are scheduled to remain in the state until October 9, the teams will assess the drought situation in Belagavi, Vijayapura, Bagalkot, Dharwad, Chitradurga, Haveri, Gadag, Koppal, Vijayanagara, Chikkaballapura, Tumakuru and Davanagere districts.

Ahead of the visit, expressing concerns about the impact on kharif crop due to deficient rainfall, the minister has issued directives to officials from the revenue and agriculture departments. He asked them to expedite a joint survey to evaluate crop losses before the Central assessment teams arrival. The aim is to present an accurate depiction of the prevailing drought situation on the ground, he said.

Chaluvarayaswamy said that the joint survey conducted by the revenue and agriculture departments is expected to provide crucial evidence to the Central team. A survey has been conducted covering 95% of the affected crops. By the time the central teams arrive, this survey will be completed and the final report will be ready. Since we have assessed the crop loss of over 28,000 crore, we have sought compensation of 4,000 crore from the Centre under the National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF), the minister said.

In response to the crisis, the government plans to extend the working days of MGNREGA workers from 100 to 150 days. Additionally, a task force, led by the deputy commissioner, will be established to oversee relief efforts, conducting weekly meetings in the districts. Minister Chaluvarayaswamy said the reduction in farmer suicides was attributed to the governments five-guarantee scheme.

Addressing concerns about crop insurance, the government is contemplating a return to the previous system, directly managed by the government, starting the next year, he said.

Further, the Krishi Bhagya scheme, dedicated to constructing farm ponds, is set to receive 100 crore in funding this year, with additional allocations planned for the following year. Chaluvarayaswamy said that the previous BJP government discontinued the Krishi Honda (agricultural pond) scheme introduced by the Congress government in 2013. Now we have recommenced it and have kept aside 200 crore to implement it, he added.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR Arun Dev Arun Dev is an Assistant Editor with the Karnataka bureau of Hindustan Times. A journalist for over 10 years, he has written extensively on crime and politics. ...view detail
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Wednesday arrested Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) parliamentarian Sanjay Singh after questioning him during a day-long raid at his residence in connection with alleged irregularities in Delhis now-scrapped excise policy, sparking a political firestorm. HT Image

Singh, a 51-year-old member of the Rajya Sabha, was arrested under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) for allegedly playing a key role in procuring favours for himself and certain businessmen through his aides by influencing the 2021 policy.

We have found robust evidence which reveals that Sanjay Singh benefitted from the excise policy through his aides. He was not cooperating in the probe since the beginning, said an officer from the federal agency, without quantifying the kickbacks allegedly linked to the politician or divulging details of the money trail.

The MP  who is the second senior AAP leader to be arrested in the case after former deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia in February this year  will be produced before a court in Delhi on Thursday.

Today, ED suddenly arrived at my residence and carried searches throughout the day but nothing was recovered. Despite this, I am being forcibly arrested. Now, a lot of fake stories and news will be planted, Singh said in a video statement issued moments before he was arrested .

Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal went to Singhs North Avenueresidence on Wednesday evening and said the arrest was illegal. This shows Modi jis nervousness. They will arrest many more opposition leaders before the elections, Kejriwal said on X.

Sanjay Singh is the strongest voice against Narendra Modis corruption in the country. Initially, he (the PM) got Sanjay Singh suspended from the Parliament, and today he was arrested in a completely fake case, the CM added.

Other opposition parties backed Singh.

Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav said, Opposition leaders are well-prepared now. It is nothing new. It is fortunate that those elected by the people are doing injustice.

Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut said, Raids are conducted on us, it happens in Maharashtra, West Bengal, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand but why are there no raids in Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Assam and others where they (BJP) are in power?

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) hit back. Union minister and BJP MP from New Delhi Meenakashi Lekhi said that the arrest of the AAP leader is part of the steps being taken towards building a Bhrashtachaar Mukt Bharat (corruption-free India).

Singhs arrest is connected to the excise policy in which the federal agency allege kickbacks were paid. The policy was rolled out for the 2021-22 financial year in November 2021, marking the exit of the government from retail sales of alcohol and allowing private companies to bid for licenses. The objective, the Delhi government said, was to improve the buying experience for citizens by allowing market competition to raise standards.

But the policy was scrapped when Delhis lieutenant governor VK Saxena asked for an investigation, citing a report by the chief secretary who alleged irregularities. The AAP and the Capitals elected government have rejected the charges, alleging it to be a ploy by the BJP-controlled Union government to target its rival.

ED has so far arrested 14 people, including Sisodia and Singh, and filed five prosecution complaints (or charge sheets). The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), which is conducting a parallel corruption probe in the matter, has filed two charge sheets in the case.

Singh was not named as an accused in any of the charge sheets, but agency officials have said on multiple occasions that he was under the scanner.

His wife Anita said ED searched their house, computers and documents, but did not find anything. They arrested him because there was pressure on them. They (ED) did not give us any reasons for the arrest. We are all with him, he should continue the fight, she added.

The ED officer cited above said that Singh played a key role in the excise policy, which investigators allege benefited certain liquor manufacturers, wholesalers and retailers.

Sisodia was arrested in February by CBI and was later taken into custody by ED. He continues to be in Tihar jail. Former health minister Satyender Jain was arrested in May 2022in a separate money laundering probe.

The federal agency alleged that 100 crore was paid to AAP leaders by a so-called south group that was awarded nine retail zones in Delhi. This group comprises YSR Congress parliamentarian Magunta Sreenivasulu Reddy (or MSR), his son Raghav Magunta, Sarath Reddy (promoter of Aurobindo Group), and K Kavitha (daughter of Telangana chief minister K Chandrashekar Rao) and businessman Sameer Mahendru, according to ED.

Singhs arrest came a day after a Delhi court allowed restaurateur Dinesh Arora and Raghav Magunta to become approvers in EDs excise case. Arora had earlier become an approver for CBI but ED arrested him in July, raising eyebrows as agencies normally do not arrest each others approvers.

The statements given by Dinesh Arora, who claims he was a close aide of Singh, played a key role in Wednesdays arrest, according to the ED officer cited above.

In its May charge sheet, ED said Dinesh Arora was extremely close to Singh and met Sisodia through the parliamentarian during a party at his restaurant in Connaught Place.

In 2020, ED said, Dinesh Arora received a call from Singh asking him to seek funds from other restaurateurs for the AAP ahead of the assembly elections.

On request of Singh, he spoke to many of the restaurant owners and arranged cheques amounting to 82 lakh (handed over to Sisodia) for collection of party funds for upcoming assembly elections in Delhi, the ED charge sheet said.

Another businessman, Amit Arora, met Singh in 2020 at the latters house, the charge sheet said.

At the time, Delhis excise policy rules prescribed only a minimum sale criterion, which was low and favoured local brands that could push particular brands though their brands were non-existent in other markets. Amit Arora sold relatively higher-end products that struggled in Delhi because of government-controlled retail stores. By inserting a clause in the new policy, Amit Arora wanted to get a better space in Delhis liquor business, the charge sheet said.

The agency alleged there was a quid pro quo between Amit Arora, Dinesh Arora, and Singh and Sisodia. In May, the anti-money laundering probe agency carried out searches on two aides of Sanjay Singh  Ajit Singh and Sarvesh Mishra.

AAP will continue to fight. Its not a fight to bring Sanjay Singh or Manish Sisodia or Satyendar Jain out of jail but to save the Constitution, said the partys Kalkaji MLA Atishi.
Aam Aadmi partys (AAP) senior leader and Delhi cabinet minister Atishi on Thursday challenged the BJP government and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) to find a single rupee related to corruption from arrested party leader Sanjay Singhs house or from any other place related to him like his bank lockers. Aam Aadmi Party leader, Atishi. (HT Photo)

Addressing the media on Thursday, Atishi said that more than 500 officers from ED and other agencies have raided thousands of locations across the country in the last 15 months and have found no shred of evidence in the made up excise policy case. This is why the ruling party is allegedly looking for other scapegoats, she is said.

The ED raided Sanjay Singhs four-room house for eight hours. They overturned his kitchen, bedrooms, drawing room, but did not find any money, gold biscuit or jewellery connecting him to any charge of corruption. I am challenging the BJP today that that if they found anything from his (premises), they should produce that evidence to people or leave their dirty politics, said Atishi.

She added that BJP is targetting Singh without any evidence because he is a strong voice in parliament against the ruling partys own illegal practices.

Atishi referred to the raids at the homes of journalists and mistreatment of Trinamool Congress (TMC) leaders who were demanding the release of funds to West Bengal, and said that all these are instances BJPs high-headedness in trying to scuttle any voice of opposition against it.

Also Read: AAP MP Sanjay Singh arrested in excise case

Sanjay Singh is a voice in the parliament that brings the corruption within BJP to light. When they tried to silence him by suspending him from Rajya Sabha, he spoke outside the parliament. This did not go (down) well with BJP. He talked about how the close friends of BJP got big contracts and how they became among the richest people in the world. Sanjay Singh and AAP will not be threatened with jail terms, said Atishi.

She added that the ED must visit every bank locker, paternal house and every other location associated with Sanjay Singh and should produce even a rupee worth of corruption-related money that can bee linked to him.

When asked about AAP being made a party to the Excise policy case in the Supreme Court, she said: This just goes on to say that the investigating agency has not found a single shred of evidence against Manish Sisodia, Sanjay Singh or anyone else in the entire case in the last 15 months. This is just another attempt to somehow continue with this fake case by making the party responsible, said Atishi.

Atishi was speaking a day after Sanjay Singh was arrested by ED from his house in connection with his alleged involvement in the Delhi Excise Policy case. Singh has been detained at the ED office and will be interrogated again on Thursday. Meanwhile, party members are holding demonstrations and protests at various locations across the city.
Afghanistan's embassy in New Delhi continues to function, India's foreign ministry said on Thursday, days after the embassy announced that it was suspending operations. MEA spokesperson Arindam Bagchi(ANI)

India does not recognise Afghanistan's Taliban government though has allowed the ambassador and mission staff, who were appointed by the government of ousted Afghan President Ashraf Ghani, to issue visas and handle trade matters.

The embassy had announced last week that it would cease operations in India from Oct. 1, listing a series of allegations including that it received no support from the Indian government.

READ | Afghan embassy in New Delhi to cease operations on Oct 1

Rejecting the claims, Indian foreign ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said, "I don't think they are factually correct".

Our understanding is that the embassy in New Delhi is functioning," Bagchi told reporters. He added that the foreign ministry had been informed of the embassy's decision to halt operations and was in touch with Afghan diplomats at the embassy and consulates in Mumbai and Ahmedabad.

We are also aware that there has been a prolonged absence of the ambassador, and that a large number of Afghan diplomats have left India in the recent past, Bagchi said.

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VANCOUVER, BC, Oct. 4, 2023 /CNW/ - Tajiri Resources Corp. (the "Company") (TSXV: TAJ) reports that it not proceed with the second tranche of a non-brokered private placement originally announced June 27th, 2023. Details of the closing of the first and only tranche of the placement were provided in news dated August 15th, 2023.

Tajiri Resources Corp. Logo (CNW Group/Tajiri Resources Corp.)

The Company will now arrange a non-brokered private placement of shares priced at $0.02 per share of up to $100,000. Proceeds will be used for general working capital purposes. As the placement will also rely on the TSX Venture Exchanges "Minimum Pricing Exemption" part of Policy 1.1l and for further clarity proceeds raised through the offering will go toward ongoing administrative expenses of the Company. These may include but not be limited to maintenance of the Company's Transfer Agent, approved newswire services provider, SEDAR filing agents, and other required corporate activities as they become necessary under Exchange Policy 2.5 "Continued Listing Requirements". Fee's may be paid on a portion of the offering, insiders may subscribe for a portion of the offering. No more than 10% of proceeds will go toward Invest Relations activities or other any specific use and no proceeds will be paid used to service debt owed to any of the placees. Some Non-Arm's Length parties will receive payments based on consulting work provided in the form of management services and administration of Company affairs.

Closing will require the approval of the TSX Venture Exchange, and all shares issued will be subject to the mandatory four month and one day hold period before legend removal.

On Behalf of the Board,

Tajiri Resources Corp.

Graham Keevil,

President & CEO

About Tajiri

Tajiri Resources Corp. is a junior gold exploration and development Company with exploration assets located in two of the worlds least explored and highly prospective greenstone belts of Burkina Faso, West Africa and Guyana, South America. Lead by a team of industry professionals with a combined 100 plus years' experience the Company continues to generate shareholder value through exploration.

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This news release may contain forward-looking statements based on assumptions and judgments of management regarding future events or results. Such statements are subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties which could cause actual events or results to differ materially from those reflected in the forward-looking statements. The Company disclaims any intention or obligation to revise or update such statements.

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

SOURCE Tajiri Resources Corp.

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An army Major opened fire and lobbed grenades at his fellow soldiers at a forward base near the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir on Thursday, resulting in injuries to a few of them, four officials aware of the matter said. The major is believed to have fired in the air before he began shooting at some soldiers of the unit(Representational image)

The rare incident involves the Indian Armys 48 Rashtriya Rifles unit and took place in Rajouris Thanamandi area, Hindustan Times has learnt.

There are no reports of casualties and the Major has been apprehended, the officials said, asking not to be named.

Details of the incident were sketchy till the time this report was filed on Thursday night, and there was no official word from the army either in Delhi or Jammu. The officer responsible for the unfortunate incident was dealing with some personal issues, the officials said. The injured soldiers were rushed to hospital.

The Major is believed to have fired in the air before he began shooting at some soldiers of the unit, which specialises in counter-terrorism operations, said one of the officials cited above. A few officers, including the regimental medical officer, rushed to the spot after the firing began, and they were targeted by the major with grenades, said a second official.

The Jammu region has witnessed two major terror attacks this year. Five soldiers were killed and an officer wounded in a terror ambush in Rajouris Kandi forest area in May, with the attack suspected to have been carried out by the same group of terrorists who had ambushed an army truck and killed five soldiers in Poonch in April.

The Thanamandi incident comes six months after four soldiers were killed in a fratricide attack at an officers mess in the Bathinda military station in Punjab.

Watch: Indian Army Major Opens Fire, Lobs Grenades At Forward Base Near LoC In J&K's Rajouri | Details

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PATNA BJP lawmaker and former Union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad on Wednesday questioned the findings of the caste survey in Bihar released on Monday, alleging that there was an attempt to reduce the actual number of extremely backward classes people and those opposed to RJD chief Lalu Prasad and chief minister Nitish Kumar. BJP lawmaker and former Union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad on Wednesday questions the finding of the Bihar caste survey. (PTI)

Bihars caste survey results showed that extremely backward communities  which comprise 112 castes  constituted 36.01% of the states population, and backward castes  formed by 30 communities  made up another 27.12%. Together, OBCs  the umbrella group consisting of backward castes and EBCs in the state  is 63.13%, confirming estimates by exercises such as the National Family Health Surveys. Scheduled Castes form 19.65% and Scheduled Tribes 1.68%.

Addressing a press conference, the MP from Patna Sahib Lok Sabha seat said the BJP gave full support to the caste census, but it was not conducted properly. What kind of survey has been conducted? Many complaints are coming, he said.

I am an MP from Patna and a former Union minister. But survey was not done properly at my house. In the format, signature or thumb impression of the head of the family is required to be taken, but neither I nor my wife was asked, he alleged. After the report came, we enquired about it in our house and came to know that someone had come but returned from the gate itself after asking some questions.

If you dont take the signature of the local MP, what is the guarantee that signatures of the rest of the people would have been taken, he asked.

Prasad demanded that the Nitish Kumar government publish data on how many heads of families were contacted and signed papers.

Expressing surprise over the population of Kayasthas in the state, he alleged that the number has been underreported. If counted honestly in Patna, Gaya, Muzaffarpur, Darbhanga, Bettiah, Motihari, Chapra, Siwan, Bhagalpur, Katihar and Purnia, the numbers will become completely different, he said.

Separately, two Bihar Congress leaders faulted the caste survey conducted by the Nitish Kumar-led government and calls for apportioning resources proportional to the demographic weight of communities, arguing that the report did not accurately reflect the number of upper castes in the state and that the chief minister should start with giving proportionate representation to different castes from his council of ministers.

In a string of posts on social media platform X after the caste data was released on October 2, Bihar Congress leader Anil Kumar Sharma questioned the integrity of the data collected by government employees during the survey and the decline in the population of the so-called upper castes.

My reaction to the call for the proportion of the population determining rights is this. It is surprising that as compared to the 2011 census, the proportion of all communities has increased whereas the upper castes have decreased from 17% to 11%, he said in a post.

Sharma challenged Nitish Kumar to induct three deputy chief ministers from the extremely backward classes (EBC), Muslim and Scheduled Caste (SC) communities in line with the call for apportioning resources in proportion to a communitys demographic weight.

Another Bihar Congress veteran, Kishore Kumar Jha, who has for years argued that the party should focus on upper castes, said the government must introspect why the number of people from the forward castes has been on the decline since 1990.

The aggressive assertions of backward communities in the post-Mandal era and the subsequent lawlessness in Bihar compelled many from the upper classes to relocate to other places for safety, better life and education of their children, he said. Jha said they still have their roots in their native villages. But they would not have been counted, he said.

Congress legislature party (CLP) leader Shakeel Ahmad Khan brushed aside such concerns.

The survey was intended to assess the economic conditions of people of different castes and their share in the population. It will be the only authentic data to plan developmental schemes in the absence of census data, which has been delayed for three-four years, said Khan, who is among the upper castes in the state.

The Congress and other opposition parties are hoping that the caste survey turns the OBCs into a potent electoral bloc and fragments the Bharatiya Janata Partys rainbow Hindu coalition.
The arrest of Rajya Sabha member Sanjay Singh in a money laundering case linked with the now-scrapped Delhi excise policy has triggered a political slugfest, with the Bharatiya Janata Party claiming that the investigation will soon reach the doorstep of AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal. Delhi CM and AAP national convenor Arvind Kejriwal arrives at the residence of AAP MP Sanjay Singh, in New Delhi on Wednesday.(ANI)

BJP national spokesperson Sambit Patra claimed that the Enforcement Directorate has found incriminating documents from Singh's residence. Without naming anyone, Patra further claimed that the documents would incriminate someone who is at the top in the hierarchy of AAP.

It is the nature of the AAP to commit scams openly and do politics after getting caught, Patra said at a press conference in Bhubaneswar.

As per media sources, the incriminating documents procured from the house of Sanjay Singh will incriminate someone who is at the top in the hierarchy of AAP, he claimed.

Former Delhi BJP chief and Lok Sabha member Manoj Tiwari told a press briefing Wednesday that he has never seen such "criminals' holding political positions or offices in history.

"While Sanjay Singh has been arrested today, the spotlight will soon shift from Sanjay Singh and Manish Sisodia. I believe the ongoing probe will soon reach the threshold of Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal," Tiwari said.

The Aam Aadmi Party has denounced the arrest as vendetta politics, asserting that Singh was paying the price for being one of the most aggressive voices of the opposition INDIA bloc.

Are Manoj Tiwari and BJP running the ED and CBI? This proves that it's a conspiracy against us, AAP spokesperson Reena Gupta said.

AAP Rajya Sabha MP Sandeep Pathak said the arrest was made "primarily because they (BJP) have found that it's very difficult to defeat Arvind Kejriwal".

It has been 15 months, they have raided thousands of places but nothing has come out. In this case also, nothing will come outThey just want to break down the Aam Aadmi Party.

AAP leader Dilip Pandey said the ED arrested Sanjay Singh after it couldn't find anything in the day-long raid.

People will give a befitting reply to BJP in upcoming elections, he added.

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The Central Bureau of Investigation has registered a case against three private persons and several unknown people, including the officials of the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC), over actor Vishal's allegation that he had to pay a bribe of 6.5 lakh to get a censor certificate for the Hindi version of his film, Mark Antony. Actor Vishal alleged he had to pay a bribe of  6.5 lakh to secure a certificate for his film. (AFP)

The Hindi version of the film was released on September 28.

"It was alleged that during the month of September, 2023, a private person entered a conspiracy with others to obtain a bribe of Rs.7,00,000/- & to get the required censor certificate from CBFC, Mumbai for a movie dubbed in Hindi," CBI said in a statement.

"It was further alleged that in furtherance of the said conspiracy, she initially demanded bribe on behalf of CBFC Mumbai officials amounting to Rs.7,00,000/- from the Complainant and subsequently after negotiation, she allegedly accepted Rs.6,54,000/- as bribe on behalf of CBFC Mumbai officials in two bank accounts of other two accused," it added.

Also read: Centre reacts after Tamil actor Vishal flags corruption in CBFC

The agency said the accused allegedly obtained 20,000 in her bank account from a private company.

The agency conducted searches at four places in Mumbai that were linked to the accused and others. They recovered incriminating documents.

Also read: Vishal accuses CBFC of corruption, claims he paid 6.5 lakh to get certificate for Hindi release

Those booked have been identified as Merlin Menaga, Jeeja Ramdas and Rajan M.

In the video, Vishal, addressing Maharashtra CM Eknath Shinde and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, said, We applied for a certificate online and we had to come in last minute due to some technical issue. But, we were taken aback by what happened at CBFC office in Mumbai. When my person visited the office, we were given an option to pay the price of 6.5 lakh and get the certification the same day. We were left with no option.

"We were supposed to give 3 lakh for the screening to happen at the CBFC and another 3.5 lakh to get the certificate," he said.

He said a woman told him that it was common practice that people paid 4 lakh when they submitted films 15 days ahead of the release date.

"We had no option, we paid the money in two instalments. If this is the case in government offices, I really request higher authorities to look into this matter," he said.

Also read: Vishal thanks I&B Ministry for ordering immediate enquiry into CBFC after his allegations of corruption

Reacting to his allegations, the Central government had ordered a probe.

"The issue of corruption in CBFC brought forth by actor Vishal is extremely unfortunate. The Government has zero tolerance for corruption and strictest action will be taken against anyone found involved. A senior officer from the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has been deputed to Mumbai to conduct an inquiry today itself. We request everyone to cooperate with the Ministry, by providing information about any other instance of harassment by CBFC at jsfilms.inb@nic.in," the ministry had tweeted.

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NEW DELHI: The ministry of home affairs (MHA) on Thursday banned separatist leader Shabir Ahmad Shah-led Jammu and Kashmir Democratic Freedom Party (JKDFP) under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) for its alleged anti-India and pro-Pakistan activities. Shabir Shah at the Patiala House Court in New Delhi in July 2017 (HT FILE PHOTO)

Shah was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on July 25, 2017, in a 2005 money laundering case and is also an accused in a terror-funding case investigated by the National Investigation Agency. He is currently lodged in a Delhi jail.

According to a notification issued by the ministry, Shah founded JKDFP in 1998, Kashmir as a dispute and ruled out any settlement within the framework of the constitution of India.

The members of the JKDFP have been at the forefront of secessionist activities in the Jammu and Kashmir and want to create a separate Islamic State. The leader of members of the JKDFP have been involved in raising funds through various sources including Pakistan and its proxy organizations for perpetrating unlawful activities, including supporting terrorist activities, sustained stone-pelting on security forces in Jammu and Kashmir, MHA notification said.

It further said that JKDFP and its members, by their activities, show sheer disrespect towards the constitutional authority and constitutional set up of the country.

Shah, the ministry alleged, has been indulging in unlawful activities prejudicial to the integrity, sovereignty, security and communal harmony of the country and there have been a number of inputs showing linkages of the JKDFP with banned terrorist organizations.

Hence, immediate and prompt action is required against the organization. The Central government is of the opinion that if there is no immediate curb or control of unlawful activities of the Jammu and Kashmir Democratic Freedom Party, it will use this opportunity to continue with the anti-national activities which are detrimental to the territorial integrity, security and sovereignty of the country; continue advocating the secession of the Jammu and Kashmir from the Union of India while disputing its accession to the Union of India; escalate its insurrectionary activities including attempt to carve out an Islamic State out of the territory of the Union of India by destabilizing the government established by law; continue propagating anti-national sentiments of the people of Jammu and Kashmir with the intention to cause disaffection against India and disrupt public order.

The central government is firmly of the opinion that having regard to the activities of the party, it is necessary to declare it as an unlawful association with immediate effect, it said.
Eight years after the sensational murders of one of Indias leading artists, Hema Upadhyay and her lawyer Harish Bhambhani, a sessions court in Mumbai on Thursday convicted Hemas estranged husband, artist Chintan Upadhyay, for conspiracy. While the main accused, Vidyadhar Rajbhar, in charge of the fabricating unit where the murders were executed, remains absconding, three others, Shiv Kumar Rajbhar, Vidyadhar Rajbhar and Pradip Rajbhar, have been convicted for murder, destruction of evidence, and breach of trust. Artist Chintan Upadhyay at Dindoshi Court, (Photo by Satish Bate/ Hindustan Times)

Read here: Hema-Bhambhani Murder Case: Confession of accused against Chintan Upadhyay backed up by evidences

The investigators relied on Call Detail Records, a confession from Pradeep Rajbhar, which was subsequently retracted, and Chintans personal diary and drawings to establish motive for Hemas murder.

In one of the notations in his diary in 2010, Chintan weighed his options: If I move to Delhi what I lose (sic):

I love connecting with Mumbai.

But what connections do I have?

a.My house

b.Friends: Sanjiv, Khalid, Rizvi, Amit

c.Driver: Suresh

d.Fabricator: Bansraj

e.Town

Below this list, he wrote in all caps, as if to convince himself: MOVING TO DELHI FOR SUREbefore August 1.

The MS University-trained artist was one-half of Mumbai art worlds It Couple. Feted, his large, fabricated baby heads superimposed with colourful paintings, reminiscent of the miniature works from his home state Rajasthan, featured in several collectors homes. There was little that wasnt seemingly going his way. What few people knew then was that as their careers soared, Chintan and Hema Upadhyay, an artist of even greater renown, were embroiled in a bitterly acrimonious battle. Their furious fights and his divorce petition prompted his move to Delhi.

Fours year later, a family court granted the couple divorce in 2014, saying the wild allegations they made against one another proved the essence of their marriage had gone. The court also ordered Chintan to pay an alimony of 16.51 lakh. However, Hema Upadhyay subsequently challenged the family courts ruling. I was thinking about my divorce and why Hema who doesnt care for me wants to take revenge and punish me, he wrote in his diary.

The diary, full of griping about the breakdown of their marriage, would have meant nothing more than cathartic outpouring had it not been for the fact that the next year, on the morning of December 12, 2015, a ragpicker rummaging through the detritus floating down a broad nullah in the back alleys of Kandivali discovered two life-size cardboard boxes. He pulled them towards him using all his strength, hoping to find something of value. Instead, he found two bodies, later identified as those of Hema and her lawyer Bhambani.

In the heady art world of the noughties when artists shared Page 3 celebrity with film stars and models, and auction houses sold their works for previously unheard of prices, Hema and Chintan forged very separate career trajectories. Hema, the more talented and quieter artist of the two, worked on ambitiously mounted collages.

Using her troubles in her works to cathartic effect, says her gallerist Shireen Gandhy. There was a constant tension between the outsider and the insider in her art. For instance, one of her works showed migrants floating up in the sky looking down at the city below. The city was shown in exquisite detail: blue tarpaulin homes, temples, mosques. She became an observer of the city through her work.

Chintan, on the other hand, imbibed the can-do spirit of Mumbai with snazzier and performative art. He once sat naked and invited people to daub him with paint, turning himself into an art work. He also referred to his studio as a factory, and termed his artworks Chintan Upadhyay Unlimited.

Hema was very moral and had several moral compunctions. If someone told her something unpleasant about Chintan, she would always defend him; she had a certain empathy for her spouse. Hema, if she were watching, would be horrified by whats happening to him, says Gandhy who had observed the couple through their meteoric rise in Mumbais art world. Hema would never wish for him to be in jail, and he would never want her to die.

In Mumbais art world, the only shock greater than Hemas murder was Chintans implication in it. Some of Indias best-known artists rallied around him offering material and emotional support through the twists and turns of the police investigation. At the heart of the evidence in the case was Chintans personal diary seized by the police.

In 2014, the ugliness of their marriage became public when she filed a case against him for indecent representation of women for drawings he had scribbled on the walls of their jointly held flat in Juhu. She had let in stray dogs into the apartment, during one of his periodic visits to the city, letting them pee and defecate all over the flat, including his room. Enraged, he retaliated by drawing a couple involved in oral sex on his bedroom wall. The police subsequently used those etchings to establish Chintans motive for Hemas murder.

An artist friend of the couple who did not wish to be named revealed how Hema had become anxiety-prone and reliant on her lawyer, the elderly Bhambhani, who advised her in her ongoing feud with Chintan. The reason she and Bhambhani drove all the way to the Kandivali warehouse on the night of their murder was because Vidyadhar Rajbhar, the fabricator she shared with Chintan, had allegedly promised to show them videoclips that compromised Chintan.

Chintan, who was initially given a clean chit after eight days of questioning by the Mumbai crime branch, was arrested for the murder on December 22, 2015, by the Kandivali police amid media clamour. Their claim about his involvement in the killings was backed by a confessional statement given by Pradeep Rajbhar recorded before a magistrate in March 2016. In his six-page confession, he revealed how the victims were lured to Bansraj Art Companys warehouse, smothered using some chemical applied on handkerchiefs and how their bodies were packed in cardboard boxes and disposed of using the tempo owned by Shivkumar Rajbhar. Pradeep subsequently withdrew the confession but the prosecution maintained it has evidentiary value.

In its case against the four Rajbhars and the missing main accused Vidyadhar Rajbhar, too, the prosecution relied on the confessional statement of Pradeep in which he revealed how Chintan had called Vidyadhar to a friends home in Chembur and asked them to kill Hema for a fee of 2 lakh.

Read here: Court convicts Chintan Upadhyay for murder of Hema, lawyer Harish Bhambhani

The prosecution also relied on CCTV footage wherein Hema and her lawyer were seen entering Rajbhars fabrication unit where they were killed, and also later when their bodies could be seen getting loaded onto the tempo.

Chintan had, however, denied all the allegations and claimed that he was being made a scapegoat in the absence of the main accused. His lawyers contended that he had no reason to eliminate Hema as his divorce plea had already been granted and that he had paid a major chunk of the alimony well before 2015. There was no evidence of the meeting where the conspiracy was allegedly hatched and that the CDR merely proved what was already well known, that Chintan and Vidyadhar Rajbhar knew each other as work collaborators.

The Dindoshi court will pronounce a detailed order on Saturday.
The washing away of the dam of the Teesta-III project and damage to the Teesta-V dam in Sikkim because of Lhonak Lake in north-west Sikkim has again brought focus on the series of hydel projects that have been built, are being built and are proposed on one of the most dammed rivers in the country. Teesta Urja, the second biggest run-of-the-river hydro power project in India, suffered massive damage due to flood caused by the breach in Lhonak lake in north-west Sikkim (Twitter Photo)

Sikkims biggest hydro power project Sikkim Urja (formerly Teesta Urja) on Wednesday suffered massive damage due to the flash flood on Tuesday night as the dam and the bridge connecting the powerhouse were washed away.

According to authorities, the dam was washed away in 10 minutes after the flash floods hit North Sikkim.

In 2004, the Central Electricity Authority prepared a preliminary feasibility report of 162 hydel projects in the country with an installed capacity of 50,000 MW of power generation of which 10 were to be built in Sikkim with an installed capacity of 1,469 MW.

As the years passed, more projects were added and as per the National Hydropower Development Corporation (NHDC), 47 hydropower projects are in different development stages on Teesta river in Sikkim and West Bengal. Of them, nine have been commissioned, work on 15 dams is going on and another 28 are in the pipeline.

According to a paper on hydel projects in Sikkim published in the World Water Council journal, more than half of the hydel projects are in northern Sikkim, which was most affected by the Wednesday floods. Experts have also pointed out that north Sikkim is prone to landslides triggered by extreme rain events, whose frequency has increased in the recent past across the Himalayan belt, according to various studies by the Pune-based Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology.

Also Read: Sikkim: 14 dead, 120 missing, bridges, dams, roads washed away in flash flood

All the projects in Sikkim are river projects, in which a channel is created to run the turbine and the water flows back into the river. The dams built are primarily for channelising the water to turbines with limited irrigation potential, unlike big hydro-projects like Bhakra Nangal in Himachal and Sardar Patel Sarovar in Gujarat.

The dams are being built by the Sikkim government in partnership with private operators. The Teesta-III project, which was badly damaged in the flash flood on Wednesday, was built in collaboration with private partners and was commissioned in 2017. It is the biggest run of the river hydel project in Sikkim.

The local activists in Sikkim for long have warned of the adverse environmental and disaster implications for a series of run-of-the-river projects on the 414 km long Teesta River that originated from Punhunri Mountain in north Sikkim.

Jeta Sankrityayan, a retired professor of Economics at North Bengal University and member of the West Bengal Landslide Expert Committee, said the historical records show Teesta river shows its fury every 50 years and the Wednesday event was the biggest after the 1968 catastrophe.

The impact of rain fury has extenuated due to the construction of dams along the river that block the natural river flow. The complete washing away of the dam at Teesta Urja hydro-power project is an example of that, he said, attributing the dam collapse to the devastation downstream of the dam.

He said the Sikkim and the Central government should learn a lesson from the tragedy, which has been declared a disaster by the state government, that hydro-power projects of such a mega magnitude would continue to bring catastrophe in Sikkim and some parts of West Bengal located in the downstream.

Gyatso Lepcha, general secretary of Affected Citizens of Teesta (ACT), said the tall claim that the dam of Teesta Urja hydro-power project would be an engineering feat and would be amongst the strongest in the world has turned out to be a big joke jeopardising human lives and properties.

We knew that this was coming and this has finally proved true. We were warning about this for long but nobody listened, he said. He added said the Teesta Urja dam could not withhold the water coming from the Lachen and Lachun rivers and burst. The same can happen with other dams also, he said, seeking a safety review of all dams in Sikkim.

Vijay Bhusan Pathak, Sikkims chief secretary refused to comment on the efficacy of the dams and said the spillover from the lake caused extensive damage to life impacting both human live and properties. We will review the safety of all dams, he added.

Teesta Urja, the 1,200 MW power project on the Teesta river is located between Chungthang and Mangan in Mangan district in North Sikkim and is the biggest of nine working hydro projects on the river in Sikkim.

The death toll in Sikkim flash floods has risen to 14 while more than 100 people are missing, the state government confirmed Thursday. 22 army personnel are also among the 102 missing people while 26 remain injured and are seeking treatment following the disaster, triggered by a cloudburst over Lhonak Lake in north Sikkim

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NEW DELHI: India said on Thursday it has conveyed to the US its concerns over a recent visit to Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) by the US ambassador to Islamabad and urged the world community to respect the countrys sovereignty and territorial integrity. MEA spokesperson Arindam Bagchi (ANI)

Donald Blome, the US ambassador to Pakistan, made a multi-day visit to Gilgit-Baltistan last month. He toured different parts of the strategic region that India says is part of undivided Jammu and Kashmir, and met several officials, including a minister and the deputy speaker of the local assembly.

Asked about Blomes visit to Gilgit-Baltistan at a regular media briefing, external affairs ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said: We have raised our concerns about that visit by the US ambassador to Pakistan with the US side.

He added, Our position on the status of the entire union territory of Jammu and Kashmir, that being an integral part of India, is well known. We would urge the international community to respect our sovereignty and territorial integrity.

When Eric Garcetti, the US envoy to India, was asked by Indian reporters to comment on Blomes visit, he had said that the Kashmir issue can only be resolved by New Delhi and Islamabad. However, Garcetti had also pointed out that Blome had visited PoK in the past and that a US delegation had travelled to Jammu and Kashmir for G20-related meetings.

Bagchi responded to Garcettis comments by saying: We dont think the two situations are equivalent.

In October last year, India had formally protested to the US after Blome visited PoK and repeatedly referred to the region as Azad or independent Jammu and Kashmir.

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Congress MP Shashi Tharoor on Thursday hit out the Delhi Police for raiding the premises of the online news portal NewsClick, saying it was "unfortunate and a disgrace to democracy and traditions of freedom. Congress leader Shashi Tharoor

Freedom of the press is fundamental to any democracyIn our country, we have a very very long record of Supreme Court judgments upholding the freedom of the press in our country. I believe the government erred. If there is a charge of foreign funding that is illegal or improper, there are right ways to investigate it. But confiscating journalists' laptops and depriving them of access is not right, Tharoor told the media.

He added," There is something really wrong with this kind of approach.

Hitting out at the BJP-led Centre, the Congress leader said," It is the action of a very insecure and frankly autocratic government...It is truly unacceptable.

On Tuesday morning, a special cell of the Delhi Police held searches at the office of the online portal NewsClick and journalists associated with it. The raids quickly spread out to at least 35 locations across Delhi, Noida, Gurugram, Mumbai and Ghaziabad, with the police confiscating the laptops and mobile phones of journalists, freelancers, writers, and satirists, and questioning them for around eight hours.

Hours later, the police arrested NewsClick founder Prabir Purkayastha and HR head Amit Chakravarty. On Wednesday, the two were sent to police custody for seven days.

The crackdown on NewsClick came nearly two months after an investigation published in The New York Times (NYT) alleged that the online portal was part of a global network that received money from American billionaire Neville Roy Singham for pushing Chinese propaganda. The report had also cited some emails purportedly sent by Singham to NewsClick in which he wanted a series of articles to highlight China's steps to contain the Covid-19 pandemic.
The Sikkim government has warned people that explosives and ammunition may be found along the banks of the Teesta river after an ammunition depot of the army in north Sikkim was affected due to flash floods. Disaster-hit Sikkim has been put on an orange alert for Thursd-ay by the regional weather department (File Photo)

The local population are hereby warned that explosives or ammunition may be found along the Teesta basin. These ammunitions should not be handled or picked up since they may explode and cause grievous injuries, said an advisory issued by the state land revenue and disaster management department on Thursday.

The Himalayan state in eastern India was hit by a flash flood killing at least 14 people and leaving behind a trail of destruction. At Least 102 people, including 23 army personnel, were missing.

A request had come from the army that an army depot in north Sikkim in Chungthang area was affected in the flood and that an advisory should be sent out to the citizens, said an official of the disaster management department, adding that the local police administrations have also been alerted.

Out of the four districts affected by the flash floods, Chungthang in north Sikkims Mangan district was the worst hit. A dam of the Teesta III hydropower project was also washed away after the water level rose to 15-20 feet high downstream.

Also Read: Sikkim flash floods: Toll increases to 14 as damaged infra hampers rescue ops

The 17 Mountain division flagged on Thursday that due to incessant rains in the upper reaches of the state, the water level in the Teesta was rising in the Chungthang area. People have been advised not to go down in the river banks, said an official.

Officials at the disaster management control room in Gangtok said roads and communication lines in Chungthang have been snapped and that were in the dark about the situation.

We have absolutely no communication with Chungthang where the flash flood washed away a dam. The town has also been affected. ...people were evacuated soon after the water level in the Teesta started rising in the early hours of Wednesday...the casualties have not been much. The town has been hit though, said a second official.

At least 11 bridges were washed away in the Teesta basin. The lifeline National Highway 10, which connects Sikkim with the rest of the country, has been severely damaged at multiple places.

A third official said Mangan has been cut off from the rest of the state and that police, residents, and NGOs were carrying out rescue operations. Around 650 people have been put up at 22 relief camps in four districts while over 2,000 people have been evacuated to safer places, said the official.

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Wet, windy weekend in the Maritimes as Philippe washes ashore

Click here to view the video

The remnants of Tropical Storm Philippe will arrive in the Maritimes this weekend, bringing widespread gusty winds and locally heavy rainfall as the system pushes through on Saturday and Sunday.

Post-tropical storm Philippe will arrive just three weeks after Lee pounded many of the same regions with high winds and rough seas that led to major power outages and coastal flooding.

While Philippe should be much less severe than Lee, the combination of rain-soaked soils and gusty winds could lead to localized power outages.

Philippe Timing

DON'T MISS: Philippe vs. Lee: How Atlantic Canadas two storms compare

The Canadian Hurricane Centre (CHC) has issued a tropical cyclone statement for parts of Nova Scotia warning of heavy rainfall and powerful winds associated with Philippe and a deep trough of low pressure for Saturday and Sunday.

Philippe was downgraded to a post-tropical storm during the day Friday. Current forecasts bring the centre of the storm near the mouth of the Bay of Fundy on Saturday night into Sunday. Regardless of where the centre comes ashore, Philippes growing footprint will bring foul weather to a large portion of the Maritimes.

WATCH: What Halifax can expect as Philippe closes in this weekend

Click here to view the video

Weekend impacts from Philippe

Well start to feel the systems impacts across the Maritimes as early as Saturday afternoon.

SatPM

Heavy rain will push into the southwestern Maritimes on Saturday and push east through the evening hours. Widespread wind gusts of 80-100 km/h are expected across the Maritimes, peaking overnight Saturday into Sunday.

The storm is expected to make landfall as a post-tropical storm late Saturday into Sunday between the southwest Maritimes and New England. Before then, however, impacts will be felt as early as Saturday afternoon.

ATLWind

"We don't expect winds to be as strong as Hurricane Lee so impacts may be limited mostly to the breaking of some tree branches with the occasional power/utility interruption," the CHC says.

Story continues

Rainfall totals of 30-50 mm are expected across southwestern Nova Scotia and western New Brunswick near the international border. Yarmouth, Saint John, Fredericton, and Edmundston are likely to see the greatest rain totals from the system this weekend.

ATLRain

As with the winds, waves and storm surge are not expected to be as bad as Lee, but the same stretch of coast impacted by Lee will be affected by Philippe.

"There could be some wave overwash and minor to moderate coastal flooding depending on the timing of conditions with high tide during the very early morning hours Sunday," the CHC warns.

By Sunday, the system will weaken into a fall-like storm, with rain and winds easing for the Maritimes.

Newfoundland will escape any ill effects from the remnants of Philippe, as the former tropical system will feel the effects of a potent fall storm over Quebec. The western system will tug Philippes remnants toward the west, taking an unusual track for storms affecting this part of the country.

Header image courtesy of NOAA.

Stay with The Weather Network for more forecast information and updates about Philippe and your weather in Atlantic Canada.

WATCH: 9-volt battery power outage hacks you should use

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The death toll in the flash floods that tore through Sikkim and parts of West Bengal rose to 18 on Thursday, and 98 people, including 22 army personnel, were still missing, according to officials who said rescue teams were mounting frenetic operations amid cut-off roads, uprooted bridges, interrupted communication, and heavy rainfall. People walk along the area affected by the flood at Golitar, in Singtam, Sikkim, (REUTERS)

Read here: Sikkim flash floods: 18 people dead, over 90 missing; rescue ops underway | Top updates

On Wednesday, the river Teesta that flows through Sikkim ripped through large swathes of the hill state due to a glacial lake outburst flood (GLOF) in Lhonak lake. The worst-hit districts were nearly snapped from the rest of the country, with the raging waters knocking out access as well as communications, after cleaving through a hydroelectric dam.

The Sikkim State Disaster Management Authority (SSDMA) in a bulletin on Thursday said 22,034 people were affected, and that over the last 24 hours, 2,011 people were been rescued. The state government has thus far set up 26 relief camps and there were 1,025 people in eight camps in Gangtok alone.

Eighteen bodies have been recovered, and 98 people were still missing, chief secretary VB Pathak said on Thursday evening.

State officials said the toll was likely to rise, with rescuers still to remove debris from fallen houses. Tashi Chopel, the district collector of Pakyong, one of the worst hit, said: More bodies are being recovered. But it is difficult to give details right now.

The first images that emerged on Thursday suggested devastation was far-reaching, with the true picture unlikely to have been reflected in numbers released. At several locations, the river banks were indiscernible with a blanket of debris spread over it as well as where the water flowed. Several houses had collapsed, multiple others inland were inundated and dozens of vehicles were seen washed downstream or buried under silt.

It was in Pakyong that 58 people, including 23 Army personnel, went missing, and of them, the bodies of four local residents were found on Wednesday. One army personnel was located alive on Wednesday night. Search and rescue operation by troops of Trishakti Corps, Indian Army to trace the 22 missing soldiers continues. Continued efforts are on to dig out vehicles submerged under the slush at Burdang near Singtam. The search for the missing persons is now focusing in areas downstream of Teesta River, the army said.

The army added that while all other personnel posted in Sikkim and North Bengal were safe, they were unable to contact their families due to disruptions in mobile communication networks.

The Sikkim government also issued a warning to citizens that explosives and ammunition may be strewn along the banks of the Teesta since the floods swept up an ammunition depot of the Indian Army. These ammunitions should not be handled or picked up since they may explode and cause grievous injuries, the advisory by the Sikkim land revenue and disaster management department said.

A seven-year-old boy, identified as Sahinur Alam, reportedly died in an explosion when he and some locals tried to disassemble an Army mortar they found on the banks of the river on Thursday evening.

These people found four live mortars. The boy died on the spot while five people, of whom two were injured critically, were rushed to the North Bengal Medical College and Hospital in Siliguri, said PK Barma, the Trinamool Congress legislator from Jalpaiguri constituency.

There was also extensive damage to the town of Chungthang, including to the 1,200 MW Teesta Urja, Sikkims largest hydroelectric dam that has been cleaved through the middle.

Officials said at least 50 homes were destroyed. Chungthang will be the focus of a rescue operation on Friday by a 60-member team of the National Disaster Relief Force (NDRF), which will leave Bagdogra in an Air Force helicopter at 6 am to attempt the rescue of around a dozen people trapped in a tunnel. With collapsed power lines, destroyed bridges and wrecked roads, Chungthang has been cut off from the rest of the state.

After heavy rain on Wednesday, the weather let up. IMD has predicted decent weather for Friday so at first light, our rescuers will board the IAF chopper to reach a helipad in Chungtang, one official involved in the rescue operation said.

The National Highway 10, which that runs from XXX to XXX, and connects Sikkim to the rest of the country, was snapped at several points in Sikkim and Bengal, stranding around 3,000 tourists at popular destinations like Lachen and Lachung in Mangan district. HK Chhetri, district collector of Mangan, said the tourists were all safe.

Chief secretary Pathak said evacuation of tourists was a priority and they would be airlifted to Mangan town, from where they will be transported by road. If the weather holds up well, they will be evacuated beginning tomorrow, he said, adding that while choppers from the Indian Air Force and the Army were prepped to fly on Thursday itself, they were prevented by weather.

Read here: Ignored red flags triggered flash floods in Sikkim

Chief minister Prem Singh Tamang visited Singtam, another badly affected area, and urged people to take shelter in safe locations. In an emergency meeting at the Singtam Community Centre, Tamang said: I want to assure you that the government is fully committed to providing all necessary assistance and relief to those in need. We understand the magnitude of the situation and are mobilizing all available resources to ensure the safety and well-being of our citizens.

Across the border in West Bengal, while no lives were lost, there was severe damage in Melli, Teesta Bazar, 29 Mile and Ghel Khola in Darjeeling and Kalimpong districts. Rita Sunuwar, a supervisor at the Teesta Low Dam Project IV at Kalijhora said, The water level started increasing at 5 am on Wednesday and we saw many vehicles being swept away by the Teesta.

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Delhi minister Atishi on Thursday said if the ED now makes the Aam Aadmi Party an accused in the alleged liquor case, then it proves that they found nothing against Manish Sisodia and Sanjay Singh. The statement comes a day after the Supreme Court asked the ED to explain why the Aam Aadmi Party is not named as accused in the liquor policy case. Following this, the ED reportedly moved towards the direction of naming AAP as an accused in the case. To this, Atishi said, "If after 15 months of investigation, the ED now moves to name AAP as an accused, it means only one thing. They don't have any evidence against either Manish Sisodia or Sanjay Singh." If ED makes AAP party in liquor case, Sisodia, Sanjay Singh innocent: AAP

This will only show their desperation to somehow further their lies. I challenge the BJP again to show evidence of even 1 against Manish Sisodia and Sanjay Singh. What did you find at Sanjay Singh's place? Did you find gold biscuits? Till now, they have not been able to place any evidence. And they won't in the coming days either, Atishi said.

The Supreme Court asked ED if AAP is the main beneficiary of the alleged irregularity in the Delhi excise policy 2021-22, then why it was not named as an accused in the case. Manish Sisodia was arrested in February this year in connection with this scam. On Wednesday, AAP MP Sanjay Singh was arrested for the same, while the party continued to deny all allegations.

What the Supreme Court said on naming AAP as accused in the alleged liquor scam

We need clarity on this issue that as far as the money laundering offence is concerned, he (Sisodia) is named as one of the beneficiaries. Your whole case is that the political party is said to have benefitted from this. But they are not accused. How do you answer that? a bench of Justice Sanjiv Khanna and Justice SVN Bhatti said.

The observation was made by the top court as it was hearing appeals by Manish Sisodia in the liquor case.

This aspect, however, was not argued by Sisodia and came from the bench. He (Sisodia) has not raised this point. We have put it directly to you. Whatever it is, you answer that tomorrow," the bench said.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR Poulomi Ghosh Poulomi Ghosh is a journalist with Hindustan Times, New Delhi. ...view detail
New Delhi: India on Thursday signalled its determination to reduce Canadas diplomatic presence in the country amid tensions over Canadian allegations of an Indian link to the killing of Khalistani leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar, saying discussions are underway to achieve the downsizing. MEA spokesperson Arindam Bagchi (File Photo)

Ealier this week, the Indian side asked Canada to withdraw several dozen diplomats, marking a further escalation in the row. Reports have said Canada was asked to withdraw 41 diplomats by October 10, failing which their diplomatic immunity will be withdrawn.

New Delhi has described Canadian Prime Minister Trudeaus allegation about the involvement of Indian government agents in Nijjars killing as absurd and said it is willing to consider any information provided by Ottawa on the incident.

Soon after Trudeaus accusation, both countries carried out tit-for-tat expulsions of senior diplomats, while India suspended all visa services for Canadian nationals and asked Canada to downsize its diplomatic presence in the country.

As we have mentioned earlier, given the much higher diplomatic presence of Canadian diplomats...and their continuing interference in our internal matters, we have sought parity in our respective diplomatic presence. Discussions are ongoing on the modalities of achieving this, external affairs ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi told a regular media briefing.

Bagchi didnt specifically deny reports about Canada being asked to withdraw 41 of its 62 diplomats in India by October 10, saying he would not like to get into the details of diplomatic conversations. He added, Given that Canadian diplomatic presence is very much higher, we would assume there would be a reduction.

Asked if the reduction of Canadian diplomats could affect visa services for Indian nationals, Bagchi replied: Let me clarify in the context of the parity, its up to the Canadian side who they choose to staff their high commission with.

Responding to another question on whether Canada has officially provided any information to back up its allegation on Nijjars killing, Bagchi reiterated external affairs minister S Jaishankars remarks that the Indian side is open to looking at any specific or relevant information shared by Ottawa.

The Indian side, Bagchi said, is focusing on two factors  ensuring security for Indian diplomats in Canada so they can function normally and achieving parity in diplomatic presence.

Canada has so far not retaliated against Indias actions, and Trudeau has sought to calm the diplomatic tensions, saying Ottawa is not looking to provoke or escalate. Canadian foreign minister Melanie Joly has said her country wants private talks with India to resolve the diplomatic row.

Asked about the reports that India has sought the withdrawal of 41 Canadian diplomats, Joly told reporters this week: We take Canadian diplomats safety very seriously, and we will continue to engage privately because we think diplomatic conversations are best when they remain private.

The diplomatic spat has cratered India-Canada relations, which were already at a low because of Indian anger over the Canadian sides perceived reluctance to crackdown on pro-Khalistan elements who have targeted Indias diplomats and missions in recent months.

Bagchi said India has been taking up concerns about the security of its diplomats and diplomatic premises as well as the issue of people wanted by Indias security or judicial system with Canada and the UK and will continue to do so. In this context, he referred to a protest by pro-Khalistan elements in the UK on October 2 and said India has again taken up the security of its diplomats and premises with British authorities.

The issue is about security and ensuring that our diplomats are able to function normally, and our premises are safe and that the [Indian] community is not targeted, he said.

Asked about reports that British police had concluded that there was no criminal acitvity when radical Sikh activists barred the Indian high commissioner from entering a gurdwara in Scotland last month, Bagchi pointed out that the Indian mission had said the envoy was stopped and threatened.

He added, We cannot accept that and that is why we raised this with UK authorities and we will continue doing it so that our diplomats can carry out their functions normally without any hindrances and without facing any security threat.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR Rezaul H Laskar Rezaul H Laskar is the Foreign Affairs Editor at Hindustan Times. His interests include movies and music. ...view detail
HyderabadThe recent announcement by Jana Sena Party (JSP) president and popular Telugu film actor Pawan Kalyan that his party would have an alliance with the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) headed by former Andhra Pradesh chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu in the assembly elections early next year has landed the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in a piquant situation. HT Image

As the BJPs Andhra Pradesh unit has been in alliance with the Jana Sena Party for the last three years, the latest decision of Pawan Kalyan to join hands with the TDP has come as a big embarrassment to the BJP leaders.

A core committee meeting of the Andhra Pradesh unit of the BJP, which met at Vijayawada on Tuesday, discussed the fallout of Pawan Kalyans party and the way forward for the party, in the event of a breakup between the Jana Sena and the BJP.

The meeting was attended by BJP state president Daggubati Purandeshwari, former chief minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy, Rajya Sabha MP GVL Narasimha Rao, former Union minister Sujana Chowdary and former MLC Madhav, among others.

After the meeting, Purandeshwari told reporters that for now, the alliance between the BJP and Jana Sena Party still continues. We have nothing to say about the alliance between Jana Sena and the TDP, she added.

She said there was no need to comment on whatever Pawan Kalyan was doing. It is for him to take decisions on behalf of his party. It is for him to decide on the friendship with the BJP, Purandeshwari said.

In fact, for the last one year, Pawan Kalyan has been hinting at a possible alliance with the TDP and hoping to bring the BJP also into the loop to fight against the ruling YSR Congress party (YSRCP) led by chief minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy in the coming elections.

At his partys foundation day rally at Guntur in March this year, the JSP chief declared that he would make all out efforts to see that the anti-incumbency vote in Andhra Pradesh would not split and there was a need for like-minded forces coming together to pull down the Jagan government.

The actor met the TDP president twice in the last one year  once on October 19, 2022 at Vijayawada and later on January 8 this year. Both the leaders declared that they would put up a joint fight against the Jagan Mohan Reddy government.

Pawan Kalyan also met Prime Minister Narendra Modi in December last year and BJP national president J P Nadda in April this year and explained the need to have an alliance among the Jana Sena, the BJP and the TDP.

Even the TDP president met Union home minister Amit Shah and Nadda on June 4 and again Nadda separately on August 9, but there was no positive response from the BJP over an alliance with the TDP.

Against this backdrop, Kalyan met Naidu at Rajahmundry Central Jail on September 12, a day after the latter was lodged there in connection with the skill development corporation scam. He also held discussions with Naidus son Nara Lokesh and brother-in-law Nandamuri Balakrishna, before declaring to the reporters that the Jana Sena would have an alliance with the TDP in the coming assembly and general elections in Andhra Pradesh.

The time has come for the opposition parties to come together to fight against the Jagan Mohan Reddy government and see that the YSRCP is voted out of power in the next elections. I hope the BJP will join us in the fight, Kalyan said.

Both the TDP and Jana Sena Party have decided to form a coordination committee to chalk out a common programme of action for the coming elections. While JSP leaders are actively taking part in the demonstrations of the TDP in protest against Naidus arrest, the TDP ranks also participated in the Varahi Yatra of Pawan Kalyan in Krishna district in the last two days.

BJP IN A QUANDARY

Though a couple of BJP leaders including Purandeshwari condemned the arrest and alleged harassment of Naidu in the skill development and other cases, they did it in their individual capacity but the BJP, as a party, has not taken any stand on the issue.

A senior BJP leader familiar with the matter said the issue of Naidus arrest came up for discussion during the Tuesdays core committee meeting of the party. Some party leaders brought to the notice of Purandeshwari about the campaign on social media that Naidu was arrested by the Jagan government only with the blessings of the BJP national leadership. So far, there has been no denial from the BJP and hence, they felt the party should take a stand on the same, he said.

The BJP core committee leaders were also upset with the decision of Pawan Kalyan for unilaterally deciding to support the TDP. Since the elections are not far away, it is time the BJP make it clear whether it would join the alliance or go independently, the leader quoted above said.

Purandeshwari said she would not like to comment on the prospective alliances of the BJP. Ours is a national party. The decision on whom to have an alliance with would be decided by the national leadership. Till then, we shall focus only on strengthening our party in Andhra Pradesh, she added.

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Three generations of 70-year-old Mina Tamangs family had lived and prospered on the banks of the river, in the commercial town of Singtam in Sikkim, 30 kilometres from the state capital Gangtok. For years, the river had risen ominously when it rained in the mountains all around them, but for the most part, Teesta had kept the peace, sustaining the people that lived around it. On Wednesday, when the river rose again, this time breaking the embankments framing her course, Mina had all of half an hour warning; 30 minutes where her entire family saved themselves by running out of their homes; 30 minutes, at the end of which, they no longer have one. Residents being evacuated in Sikkim on Wednesday. (AFP)

On Wednesday, water from the Teesta coursed through Sikkim and parts of West Bengal, caused by a combination of heavy rains and the glacial lake outburst flood (GLOF) at the Lohnak Lake in the northern reaches of the state, leaving a trail of destruction behind. Arterial roads like the National Highway 10, crucial for movement in the hill state, were washed away in parts, a 1,200 MW dam across the river in Chungthang was cleaved through the middle, more than 120 people, including 23 Army personnel went missing, with the official toll at 11 and likely to climb.

Tamang said that at around 1.30pm, her family that included her son, pregnant daughter-in-law and two grandchildren received over loudspeakers, by police, that the water level in the Teesta was increasing rapidly and they had to move to safer ground. We rushed out, and in 30 minutes, everything was gone. We couldnt rescue anything but ourselves. Our entire three storey home was washed away, Tamang said.

Pratima Chettri, another Singtam resident, said they received a warning at 1:30pm. By 3pm, the Indreni Bridge in the town was washed away, Chettri said.

In our area, more than 15 houses were washed away. We exited our homes only with the clothes on our back. We had never imagined that such a catastrophe would arrive and render us homeless, Chettri added.

As the waters ran riot in the small town, crashing through homes and endangering lives, residents became first responders. Hem Kumar Chettri said he saw at least 60 people stranded in buildings with waters swirling around them.

We had to break the first floors of many houses to rescue people trapped on the ground floor submerged by the rising river, he said.

In other parts of Sikkim, the National Highway 10, which connects Sikkim to West Bengal, was washed away near Swetjhora, leaving tourists stranded.

We were travelling from Gangtok to Siliguri when our car was forced to halt. The highway had caved in all the cars were moving slowly because of the rains, otherwise the cave in would have swallowed a vehicle, Dolma Bhutia, a college student returning home to Sikkim, told PTI.

The flash-floods also caused damage in parts of West Bengal, such as Kalimpong. Biren Gurung, a resident of Melli village, said, At least 10 concrete homes got washed away in the space of half an hour.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR Pramod Giri I am working with Hindustan Times since 2001 and am posted in Siliguri, West Bengal, as Principal Correspondent. I have been regularly covering vast area of northern parts of West Bengal, Sikkim and parts of Nepal and Bhutan. ...view detail
Two houses were set on fire as fresh violence was reported in Manipur's Imphal West district on Wednesday night, PTI reported, citing the police. Manipur violence erupted on May 3 and has claimed at least 175 lives. (PTI file)

The incident took place in New Keithelmanbi in the Patsoi police station area around 10 pm.

According to the police, several rounds of bullets were fired by unidentified miscreants, who fled the spot after the incident. The blaze was brought under control by security forces and fire services personnel, the police said.

The police also added that a mob of Meitei women gathered in the area following the incident but were prevented by the security forces from proceeding further, according to PTI.

Additional security has been deployed and the situation is under control, the police said.

Clashes in Manipur first broke out on May 3 in Churachandpur town after tribal groups called for protests against a proposed tweak to the states reservation matrix, granting scheduled tribe (ST) status to the Meitei community.

The violence quickly spread across the state, where ethnic fault lines run deep. At least 175 people have died and over 50,000 have been displaced in the state since then. Hundreds of homes have been burnt, businesses lost, studies affected, places of worship burnt to a cinder, and the state has lived without internet for months.

State government officials said that nearly 4,500 weapons and around 650,000 rounds of ammunition have gone missing. The Manipur police and security forces have thus far managed to recover 1,500 arms and around 15,000 pieces of ammunition, police officials said.

Kuki groups in Manipur have accused the state police of bias and urged the Union government to retain Assam Rifles to restore peace in the state. Assam Rifles reports to the Union government and Manipur Police to Chief Minister Biren Singh, a Meitei.

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After a delay of three months following the collegiums recommendation, the Manipur high court is set to get its new full-time chief justice. The Manipur high court to get its new full-time chief justice. (HT Photo)

According to people aware of the development, the N Biren Singh-government has finally replied to the Centres correspondence, paving the way for the appointment of Delhi high court judge Siddharth Mridul as the new chief justice of the Manipur high court.

The Union law ministry had written to the state government on July 7, seeking views of the governor and the chief minister regarding justice Mriduls appointment. The process, however, remained in limbo since the state government was yet to respond.

People cited above told HT that after the views of the state government were received earlier this week, the law ministry is expected to complete the formalities within a day or two before the notification for the appointment of justice Mridul is issued.

The memorandum of procedure (MoP), which guides the appointment of judges and chief justices in the constitutional courts, lays down that it is only after the views of the concerned state government is received that the law ministry can submit proposals to the Prime Minister, who will then advise the President as to the appointment.

Notably, the development has come close on the heels of a hearing scheduled for October 9 in the Supreme Court on delays by the Union government in processing the recommendations by the collegium to appoint and transfer judges.

On September 26, the bench led by justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul had expressed its anguish at inordinate delays, adding the court would now monitor the steps taken by the Centre in processing various recommendations made by the collegium. On the day, the bench had further flagged that the appointment of a chief justice in a sensitive high court (Manipur) is also pending.

The Manipur high court is at present functioning under acting chief justice MV Muralidaran, whose order on March 27 to consider including the Meitei community in the Scheduled Tribe (ST) list became the trigger point for the ethnic clashes between the Meiteis and the Kukis in the northeastern state. The clashes started in Churachandpur district of Manipur on May 3 after a group of tribals took out a march to protest against the high court order and the Meitei communitys demand to be included into the ST category.

Over two separate hearings in May on a clutch of petitions relating to the ethnic strife in Manipur, a Supreme Court bench headed by Chief Justice of India Dhananjaya Y Chandrachud, had had taken a grim view of justice Muralidarans order, saying that any direction on inclusion or otherwise of a community in a SC/ST list was beyond the remit of a court and that justice Muralidharan should have corrected his order.

The office of the chief justice of the Manipur high court had fallen vacant in February 2023, following the elevation of justice PV Sanjay Kumar to the Supreme Court. Justice Muralidaran has since been functioning as the acting chief justice of the high court.

On July 5, the Supreme Court collegium, led by the CJI and also comprising justices Kaul and Sanjiv Khanna, made recommendations for the appointments of chief justices in high courts of Bombay, Gujarat, Manipur and Andhra Pradesh. Additionally, the collegium made prospective recommendations for the future vacancies of chief justices in the high courts of Odisha, Telangana and Kerala. Of the seven recommendations, six were notified by the Centre following the respective state governments clearance, leaving out only Manipur for want of a response from the state government.

Justice Mridul, incidentally, is the senior most high court judge who is yet to be appointed as a high court chief justice.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR Utkarsh Anand Utkarsh Anand is Legal Editor at the Hindustan Times. He writes on law, judiciary and governance. ...view detail
India has demanded parity in respective diplomatic presence with Canada because of their interference in the country's internal matters, the Ministry of External Affairs' spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said on Thursday, days after it reportedly asked the country to repatriate 41 diplomats by October 10. India and Canada have been locked in a diplomatic standoff following Canadian PM Justin Trudeau's accusation that the Indian government could be involved in the killing of Khalistan terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar. External affairs ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi (File)

Bagchi said Canada has higher diplomatic presence, and the two countries are discussing achieving parity.

"On discussions on parity, given the much higher presence of diplomats or diplomatic presence here and their interference in our internal matters, we have sought parity in our respective diplomatic presence. Discussions are ongoing to achieve this. Given that Canadian diplomatic presence is higher, we would assume that there would be a reduction," he said at a press conference.

Also read: India tells Canada to withdraw dozens of diplomatic staff amid Nijjar killing row: Report

According to a report by the Financial Times, India has asked New Delhi to repatriate around 41 diplomats by October 10.

Canada has 62 diplomats in India and New Delhi wants the strength to be cut by 41, the report said.

Nijjar, a designated terrorist in India, was shot dead outside a parking lot near a gurdwara in Canada's Surrey, British Columbia, on June 18.

Trudeau, during a debate in the Canadian Parliament, alleged Canada's national security officials had reasons to believe that "agents of the Indian government" carried out the killing of Nijjar, who also served as the president of Surrey's Guru Nanak Sikh Gurdwara.

Also read: US embassy rebuts report that India-Canada row will hurt its ties with Delhi

However, India has outrightly rejected the claims, calling it "absurd" and motivated.

A day after India asked Canada to curtail its diplomatic staff, Trudeau said his country wasn't looking to escalate situation with India and would continue engaging responsibly and constructively with New Delhi.

With inputs from ANI

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As the election season is nearing, the fight between Congress and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) intensified on social media on Thursday with both parties engaging in a poster war against one another. While Congress shared posters calling Prime Minister Narendra Modi the biggest liar, BJP hit back by calling Rahul Gandhi Ravan. Congress, BJP's poster war on social media

On Wednesday, the official X (formerly known as Twitter) handle of Congress shared a picture of PM Modi and Amit Shah - that looked like a movie poster - with the text PM Narendra Modi as Jumla boy written on it. The party captioned the post with: Going to hit the election rally soon.

Another post had Who is the biggest liar written on it with PM Modi's picture next to Me.

This resulted in the BJP hitting back sharply at the Congress party. The saffron party shared a poster on X of Rahul Gandhi with several heads - depicting Ravana - with the text "Bharat khatre mein hai (India is in danger) written on it.

The new age Ravan is here. He is Evil. Anti Dharma. Anti Ram. His aim is to destroy Bharat, the BJP captioned it.

Congress leader slams BJP's poster on Rahul Gandhi

Meanwhile, the opposition party leaders criticised the BJP harshly over the poster on Rahul Gandhi, calling it unacceptable.

Congress general secretary in charge of communications Jairam Ramesh questioned the real intent of the atrocious graphic portraying Gandhi as Ravan and said it is clearly to incite and provoke violence.

What is the real intent of an atrocious graphic portraying @RahulGandhi as Ravan by the BJPs official handle? It is clearly intended to incite and provoke violence against a Congress MP and a former President of the party, whose father and grandmother were assassinated by forces that want to divide India, he wrote on X.

The Congress leader further called Modi a pathological liar and said, For him to get his party to produce something this obnoxious is not just completely unacceptable, but is downright dangerousWe will not be intimidated!
The dean and the paediatric department head of a government hospital in Maharashtras Nanded, where deaths of 38 patients including infants this week triggered outrage, have been booked for culpable homicide not amounting to murder over the death of a 22-year-old woman and her newborn on Wednesday. Former chief minister Ashok Chavan at the hospital. (HT PHOTO)

Read here: FIR against Shiv Sena MP who made dean clean toilet at Nanded hospital

Anjali Waghmare, the woman, was admitted to the hospital on September 30 and delivered the baby the next day. According to the first information report (FIR) filed in the case, Waghmares family was told it was a normal delivery and both the mother and baby were well good before they were informed that the two were critical.

The doctors said Anjali was bleeding heavily and the babys condition was deteriorating. When we went and gave the medicines and blood units, the doctor was unavailable. Seeing my daughters condition and her childs critical state, I met the dean and begged him to provide doctors and treatment. But he kept me waiting outside his room, said Waghmares father, Kamaji Mohan Tompe, in his complaint. If the dean and doctors had treated my daughter and her child on time, they would have been alive. We spent 45,000 on medicines too.

Dr Shankarao Chavan Government Medical College and Hospital dean Shyamrao Wakode and the paediatric department head have been booked under the Indian Penal Codes Sections 304 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) and 34 (common interest) on Tompes complaint.

An FIR was earlier registered against ruling Shiv Sena Parliament member Hemant Patil on Wednesday under the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act for allegedly making Wakode clean a toilet after the deaths at the hospital.

Waghmares family, which refused to initially accept her body, claimed she gave birth to a girl child but hospital records said it was a boy, who was one among the eleven neonates (less than a month old) who died at the hospital on October 2 when 24 deaths were reported in 24 hours.

Doctors said Waghmares newborn had meconium aspiration syndrome and that the babys brain and other organs did not get enough oxygen and nutrients before, during or right after birth.

Waghmares husband, Manchak, said they first took her to a primary healthcare centre from where she was referred to a sub-district hospital. Since her condition was not improving, the doctors instructed us to get her to Dr Shankarrao Chavan Government Medical College and Hospital, he said.

Read here: Nanded hospital death toll goes up to 35 including 16 infants

A six-member committee set up to probe the deaths pointed at a lack of resources and manpower at the Dr Shankarrao Chavan Government Medical College and Hospital. In its report, the committee said that of the 24 patients who died between September 30 and October 1, 17 were referred from private and peripheral government hospitals in critical condition with multiple comorbidities. Of the 24, 11 were neonates who were on ventilator support. The Bombay high court said the reasons given for deaths cannot be accepted as it took suo motu cognisance of the matter.
Russia may use sea mines to target non-military ships and blame Ukraine for any attacks, the British government has said.

Declassified intelligence warned last month that the Russian military had attempted a missile strike against a cargo ship in the Black Sea.

The UK believes Russia could continue targeting civilian shipping, including by laying explosive devices in the approach to Ukrainian ports.

However, Vladimir Putins army wants to openly avoid sinking ships in order to blame Ukraine for attacks, the government said.

Foreign secretary James Cleverly said: Russias pernicious targeting of civilian shipping in the Black Sea demonstrates Putins total disregard for civilian lives and the needs of the worlds most vulnerable.

The world is watching  and we see right through Russias cynical attempts to lay blame on Ukraine for their attacks. We and our allies stand united against Putin and his attempts to harm Ukraine, and thus harm the rest of the world.

Key Points

Ukrainian drone strikes top Russian air defence system'

Moscow says it downed 31 Ukraine-launched drones over Russian territory

Ukraine makes gains in the south  top general

Putins navy has suffered functional defeat in Black Sea, says UK

Putin sends drunk soldiers to frontline to die in punishment squads

Ukraine strike Russian village with cluster munitions

Village was holding memorial service at cafe where 49 killed by Russian shelling, says Kyiv minister

15:04 , Andy Gregory

Residents in the Kharkiv village where 49 have been killed in a Russian attack had been gathered for a memorial service at the cafe that was hit by shelling, Ukraines interior minister has said.

Ihor Klymenko said that residents of the small village of about 330 people had been holding a memorial service in the cafe that was hit.

From every family, from every household, there were people present at this commemoration. This is a terrible tragedy, Klymenko told Ukrainian television.

Story continues

Zelensky pleads for more western backing to halt terror attacks

17:52 , Jane Dalton

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky, at a summit of the European Political Community in Granada, Spain, has asked for more western support, saying: Russian terror must be stopped.

Russia needs this and similar terrorist attacks for only one thing: to make its genocidal aggression the new norm for the whole world, he told the gathering, including Rishi Sunak.

Now we are talking with European leaders, in particular, about strengthening our air defence, strengthening our soldiers, giving our country protection from terror. And we will respond to the terrorists.

The key for us, especially before winter, is to strengthen air defence, and there is already a basis for new agreements with partners.

Last winter, Russia targeted Ukraines energy system and other vital infrastructure in a steady barrage of missile and drone attacks, triggering continuous power outages across the country.

(PA)

UN chief condemns deadly Ukraine strike

17:49 , Jane Dalton

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has strongly condemned an attack on a village in northeastern Ukraine that reportedly killed dozens of people, a UN spokesperson said.

Attacks against civilians and civilian infrastructure are prohibited under international humanitarian law and they must stop immediately, Stephane Dujarric said.

Putin claims 90,000 Ukrainian troops killed

17:22 , Jane Dalton

Ukraine has lost more than 90,000 troops since the start of its counteroffensive in early June, Russian President Vladimir Putin has claimed.

Mr Putin also said Kyiv had lost 557 tanks and around 1,900 armoured vehicles.

Kyiv does not disclose official figures, but in August, US officials estimated up to 70,000 Ukrainian troops had been killed.

No one will survive if Russia is attacked, Putin warns

16:55 , Jane Dalton

Vladimir Putin has said no one in the world in their right mind would use nuclear weapons against Russia, and that no one would survive if his country was attacked.

In response to a question, the Russian president said potential enemies knew about Russias nuclear arsenal, and he was not ready to declare whether Russia needed to resume nuclear weapons testing, saying that theoretically we could revoke ratification of the international nuclear test ban treaty.

In a keynote annual speech at the Valdai Discussion Club in Sochi, he said Russia had almost completed work on its nuclear-capable Sarmat intercontinental ballistic missile system and successfully tested the nuclear-powered nuclear-capable Burevestnik strategic cruise missile.

In pictures: The rescue operation

16:19 , Jane Dalton

Rescuers removing debris after a Russian missile hit a crowded shop and cafe in the village of Hroza:

(EPA)

(via REUTERS)

Death toll reaches 51

16:02 , Jane Dalton

The death toll now stands at 51, Ukrainian officials say.

Regional governor Oleh Synehubov said the cafe and shop were reduced to rubble early in Hroza village in the Kupiansk district of the Kharkiv region.

Death toll rises to 50

15:54 , Jane Dalton

Ukrainian authorities say the death toll in the Kharkiv attack has risen to 50.

Presidential chief of staff Andrii Yermak and Kharkiv governor Oleh Syniehubov said a six-year-old boy was among the dead, and seven other people were wounded.

Emergency crews were searching the rubble of damaged buildings.

About 60 people were in the cafe attending a wake after a funeral, said internal affairs minister Ihor Klymenko.

Missile used in deadly attack

15:52 , Jane Dalton

Russia used an Iskander missile in an attack that killed dozens of people in a village in northeastern Ukraine on Thursday, Ukrainian interior minister Ihor Klymenko said.

According to preliminary findings, the venue was hit by an Iskander, he said on the Telegram messaging app.

The Iskander is a mobile ballistic missile system designed for tactical strikes on small, high-value land targets.

Death toll rises to 49 in Kharkiv

14:31 , Andy Gregory

The death toll in the village of Groza has risen to 49, Kharkivs regional govenor has said.

(Kharkiv Governor/Telegram)

(Kharkiv Governor/Telegram)

Nearly 50 killed in Russian attack on Kharkiv food shop, Zelensky says

14:05 , Andy Gregory

Nearly 50 people have been killed in a Russian attack on a village in the northeastern region of Kharkiv, president Volodymyr Zelensky has said.

The missile hit a food shop and has killed 47 people, Mr Zelensky said on Telegram.

In a more recent post, regional governor Oleh Sinegubov said Russian troops shelled a cafe and a shop in a village in the Kupyan district, where there were many civilians.

The bodies of 48 dead people, including a 6-year-old boy, have been recovered from the rubble, he said, as rescuers continued to clear the debris. Six others, including one child, are injured, he said.

(Oleh Sinegubov)

Zelensky says he is confident of continued US support despite political storm

13:59 , Tom Watling

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has told more than 40 European leaders that he is confident US support to Kyiv will not be discontinued despite the removal of the House speaker Kevin McCarthy.

The US government is currently in shutdown after a failure to agree on financing for the next fiscal year. The speaker of the House of Representatives, Mr McCarthy, was subsequently removed on Tuesday following a move against him led by hard right Republicans, many of which are loyal to Donald Trump.

In his address to the European Political Community today in the southern Spanish city of Granada, Mr Zelensky admitted there was a political storm over Washington, but he added that he was confident it would be resolved before it can have a demonstrative effect on Ukrainians.

I am confident in America, he said. They are strong people with strong institutions, and a strong democracy.

You can read more about the potential ramifications of a frozen Congress for Ukraine below.

Explained: How Kevin McCarthys ousting in the US could leave Ukraine in a tough spot

Slovakias president refuses caretaker governments Ukraine aid plan

13:39 , Andy Gregory

Slovakias president has refused a plan by her countrys caretaker government to send further military aid to Ukraine.

President Zuzana Caputova said the caretaker government does not have the authority and parties that oppose such support  led by former prime minister Robert Fico and his leftist Smer (Direction) party  are in talks to form a government following last weeks election.

The presidential office said that Ms Caputova, who has been a staunch supporter of Ukraine and visited Kyiv twice since the start of the Russian invasion, has not changed her view on the necessity of military assistance for Ukraine.

But the statement said that approving a military aid package by the current outgoing government would create a risky precedent for the change of power after any future elections. It said the president is ready to support military assistance proposed by any government with full powers.

Slovakia has been a major supporter of Ukraine, donating arms including its fleet of Soviet-era MiG-29 fighter jets. The caretaker government had been planning to send ammunition to Ukraines armed forces and to train Ukrainian soldiers in demining.

Spain offers new air defence system to Ukraine

12:57 , Tom Watling

Spain has offered new air defence and anti-drone systems to Ukraine to protect its energy and port infrastructures, a government source said told Reuters on Thursday.

The Spanish army will also train Ukrainian soldiers to use these news systems as well as provide more demining equipment, the source added.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, as well as his entourage, are currenly in the southern Spanish city of Granada for the European Political Community forum.

Zelensky addresses the European Political Community in Spain

12:37 , Tom Watling

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has addressed some 50 leaders gathered in Granada, Spain, for the third European Political Community forum.

During his address, he stressed that a priority was securing air defences ahead of the winter, when a Russian strike campaign targeting critical infrastructure across Ukraine will likely ramp up.

He concluded his speech by urging continued European unity in the face of continued Russian aggression, reiterating that Ukraines soldiers were defending not just their nation but the whole continent from Vladimir Putin.

Addressing leaders in Granada, I stated that each of us represents Europe. We may have our own views and, at times, different opinions on European issues. But still, we are all Europe. And its not just about geography. Its about history, morality, and security that we share.  Volodymyr Zelenskyy /   (@ZelenskyyUa) October 5, 2023

Watch: Ukraine develops real-life invisibility cloak

12:30 , Tara Cobham

Ukraine has reportedly developed a real-life invisibility cloak that can hide soldiers from Russian thermal cameras thanks to its unique properties that block heat signature radiation.

The images show two men standing next to each other, with a third, on the left, barely visible at all thanks to the new cloak.

Mykhailo Fedorov, minister of digital transformation of Ukraine, shared the footage on Wednesday 4 October.

Have you ever read about invisibility cloaks in fairy tales? Well, Ukrainians made it, a statement read.

The cloak blocks heat radiation and makes defenders invisible to Russian thermal cameras. It will help our soldiers work effectively during the night.

Oliver Browning reports:

Ukraine develops real-life invisibility cloak to hide soldiers from thermal cameras

EUs Von der Leyen very confident US will keep supporting Kyiv

11:53 , Tara Cobham

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Thursday she was "very confident" the United States would maintain support for Ukraine despite Republican infighting over the issue that has cast doubt over further aid.

European leaders gathering in Granada where she made her remarks are expected to assure Ukraine of long-term support after U.S. President Joe Biden voiced fears about continuing aid to Kyiv.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen says she is very confident the United States will maintain support for Ukraine (AFP via Getty Images)

Satellite images show relocation of Black Sea Fleet vessels

11:52 , Tom Watling

Satellite images below show the relocation of at least 10 Black Sea Fleet vessels from Sevastopol to a port across the Kerch Strait.

Earlier, we reported that the move appears to be an attempt by the Kremlin to put some of their vessels out of range of Ukrainian missile strikes following a series of attacks on several Crimean ports.

Despite the move, naval experts have pointed out that the relocation is only partial and likely does not signal a complete Russian departure from Sevastopol.

Thord Are Iversen, an expert on the Russian Navy, wrote on X, formerly Twitter, that there was a tendency to overestimate the impact of Ukraines strikes on Crimean ports. Sevastopol is not empty, he added.

BSF Update

0.5M from 4 Oct 2023 of Novorossiysk.

- 6x Amphibious vessels: 4x Ropucha / 1x Ivan Gren / 1x Alligator

- 2x Admiral Grigorovich Class: 1 Essen in port, Makarov ready to depart?

- 1 of 4 Pr. 22160 present

- 2 of 3 Pr. 21631 present

- 3x Improved KILO present pic.twitter.com/tJYWlPLMYC  MT Anderson (@MT_Anderson) October 4, 2023

Kremlin declines to comment on relocation of Black Sea Fleet ships

11:11 , Tom Watling

The Kremlin has declined to comment on swirling reports that Russia has relocated some of its Black Sea Fleet vessels from Sevasotopol to a port much further from Ukrainian force positions.

The Institute for the Study of War reported on Wednesday that at least 10 vessels had been transferred to Novorossiysk, roughly 230 miles from Sevastopol.

Experts have suggested this is an indication of the Kremlin protecting against the continued threat of Ukrainian strikes on the Crimean peninsula.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov was asked about the relocation during a press conference this morning. He responded by say he cannot comment on the move.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov refused to comment on reports of Russia relocating parts of its Black Sea Fleet from Crimea (RIA NOVOSTI/AFP via Getty Images)

Zelensky holds first meeting in Spain as Kyiv pushes for more air defences

11:00 , Tom Watling

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has just started his first meeting at the European Political Community Summit in Granada, Spain.

Some 50 European leaders are using the summit in southern Spain to stress their support for Ukraine at a time when cracks in Western unity have made themselves apparent.

Mr Zelensky is currently sitting down with the President of the Spanish government, Pedro Sanchez, and will meet with a host of other leaders throughout the day.

The summit was formed in the wake of Russias invasion of Ukraine last February.

Air defenses will be at the top of Kyivs agenda during these discussions as it looks to protect its civilians from an impending Russian missile campaign this winter.

Andriy Yermak, the top advisor to Mr Zelensky, said this morning that securing further air defence systems was key to the forum.

He added that: There is already a basis for new agreements with partners. We are preparing to confirm and implement them.

Starting my first meeting at the European Political Community Summit with @sanchezcastejon.



We will focus on the European unity, the security and stability of Europe, our defense and the strengthening of Ukrainian warriors.  Volodymyr Zelenskyy /   (@ZelenskyyUa) October 5, 2023

Putin ramps up censorship

10:45 , Tara Cobham

Vladimir Putin is ramping up censorship in Russia, according to a US war think tank.

This includes Moscow preventing relatives from making desperate pleas to loved ones to return home, added the Institute for the Study of War, citing local media reports.

In its report on Russias invasion of Ukraine on Wednesday, it wrote: The Kremlin is likely intensifying its use of tools of digital authoritarianism to increase domestic repression and tighten control of the information space.

Russian opposition outlet Vazhnye Istorii reported on October 4 that the Russian Prosecutor Generals Office requested that Russian social media platform VKontakte (VK) begin blocking posts from relatives of mobilized servicemen calling for their loved ones to return home.

Russia to establish naval base 600 miles from Crimea following attacks

10:39 , Tom Watling

Russia has signed an agreement with the Georgian breakaway region of Abkhazia to establish a permanent naval base more than 600 miles away from Crimea.

Experts have suggested the move is further evidence of the Kremlins attempts to move their ships out of range of Ukrainian missiles and drones following an uptick in long-range attacks on the peninsula.

The deal was announced this morning by the self-styled president of the Russia-backed region Aslan Bzhania, who met with Vladimir Putin on Wednesday.

We have signed an agreement, and in the near future there will be a permanent base of the Russian Navy in the Ochamchira district, Bzhania told a local newspaper.

This is all aimed at increasing the level of defence capability of both Russia and Abkhazia, and this kind of interaction will continue. There are also things I cant talk about.

The region is located more than 600 miles from Sevastopol and other Crimean ports occupied by the Russian Navy and its prized Black Sea Fleet.

The Black Sea Strategic Institute, a Ukrainian think tank, said this announcement indicated that Russia was looking for an alternative to Sevastopol.

On Wednesday, the Institute for the Study of War reported that the Kremlin had moved at least 10 military vessels from Sevastopol across the Kerch Strait to a port in Novorossiysk, more than 200 miles west of the Crimean peninsula.

Russia recognized Abkhazia and another breakaway region, South Ossetia, as independent states in 2008.

A Ukrianian strike hit the Black Sea Fleet HQ in Sevastopol, Crimea in September (AP)

Russias Black Sea Fleet forced into major retreat from Crimea port

09:59 , Tara Cobham

Russias Black Sea Fleet has been forced into a major retreat from a Crimea port, according to a US war think tank, illustrating what British Defence Minister James Heappey has called its functional defeat.

Over the first days of October, at least 10 of Vladimir Putins prized warships were moved 237 miles, from Sevastopol to Novorossiysk, satellite imagery has reportedly shown, following intensified Ukrainian attacks in recent weeks.

The Institute for the Study of War said in its report on Moscows invasion on Wednesday: The Russian military recently transferred several Black Sea Fleet (BSF) vessels from the port in occupied Sevastopol, Crimea to the port in Novorossiysk, Krasnodar Krai, likely in an effort to protect them from continued Ukrainian strikes on Russian assets in occupied Crimea.

NEW: The Russian military recently transferred several Black Sea Fleet (BSF) vessels from the port in occupied #Sevastopol, Crimea to the port in Novorossiysk, Krasnodar Krai, likely to protect them from cont'd UKR strikes on RU assets in occupied #Crimea. https://t.co/2vyVd0sqDr pic.twitter.com/osVN1oefI2  ISW (@TheStudyofWar) October 5, 2023

Russian Defence Minister and General meet commanders fighting in Ukraine

09:45 , Tara Cobham

Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu and General Valery Gerasimov, chief of the general staff, held a meeting with the commanders of troops fighting in Ukraine, the defence ministry said on Thursday.

It was not immediately clear where the meeting took place.

The ministry broadcast footage of the meeting, at which Shoigu addressed the training of servicemen and volunteers in reserve units. He said he had inspected such regiments in Russia's southern military district on Thursday.

Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu (left) and Chief of the Russian General Staff Valery Gerasimov pictured in September (Sputnik)

Ukraine's Zelenskiy arrives in Spain for summit with European leaders

09:06 , Tara Cobham

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Thursday he had arrived in the Spanish city of Granada to take part in the European Political Community Summit, a forum to foster cooperation among more than 40 countries established after Russia's invasion.

The European leaders gathering in Granada are expected to assure Zelenskiy of long-term support after US President Joe Biden voiced fears that Republican infighting in Congress could hurt American policy on continuing aid to Kyiv.

"Our joint goal is to ensure the security and stability of our common European home," Zelenskiy said on X, formerly known as Twitter. "We are working together with partners on enhancing the European security architecture, particularly regional security. Ukraine has substantial proposals in this regard."

He added, "This should be a productive day for Ukraine and Europe as a whole.

I arrived in Granada, Spain, to take part in the European Political Community Summit.



Our joint goal is to ensure the security and stability of our common European home.



We are working together with partners on enhancing the European security architecture, particularly  Volodymyr Zelenskyy /   (@ZelenskyyUa) October 5, 2023

Two people killed in Russian shelling of Ukraines Kherson, says Kyiv

09:03 , Tara Cobham

Two people were killed in Russian shelling of the southern Ukrainian city of Kherson, the head of the Ukrainian president's office said on Thursday.

Andriy Yermak, the president's chief of staff, said on Telegram messaging app that one of the dead was a utility worker who trimmed trees.

Sunak urges greater European cooperation in facing down Russian threats

06:59 , Tara Cobham

Rishi Sunak has said he wants unity among European leaders to face down threats from Russia and to target people smugglers.

The prime minister will press his case as he attends the European Political Community summit in Granada, Spain, on Thursday, where he will co-chair a meeting with Italian PM Giorgia Meloni which focuses on illegal migration and organised crime, with the UK leader expected to raise the need for more coordinated action.

Downing Street said Mr Sunak will announce bilateral initiatives with Belgium, Bulgaria and Serbia to increase intelligence sharing and operational cooperation.

Support for Ukraine will also be discussed, including work among European allies to provide weapons to Kyiv and the need for Black Sea grain shipments. Mr Sunak is expected to confirm allocations of UK humanitarian aid to help Ukrainians over the winter.

Rishi Sunak has said he wants unity among European leaders to face down threats from Russia and to target people smugglers (PA Wire)

Russia may attack civilian ships with sea mines and blame Ukraine, UK warns

06:40 , Namita Singh

Russia may use sea mines to target non-military ships and blame Ukraine for any attacks, the UK government has said.

Declassified intelligence warned last month that the Russian military had attempted a missile strike against a cargo ship in the Black Sea.

The UK believes Russia could continue targeting civilian shipping, including by laying explosive devices in the approach to Ukrainian ports.

However, Vladimir Putins army wants to openly avoid sinking ships in order to blame Ukraine for attacks, the government said.

More here:

Russia may attack civilian ships with sea mines and blame Ukraine, UK warns

Ukraine says its forces making headway in south and holding gains in east

06:18 , Namita Singh

Ukrainian forces are making progress in the south as part of their counterattack to reclaim areas controlled by Russia in its 19-month-old invasion of its neighbour, military officials said.

The information comes a day after a top generals claim that Kyiv inflicted more than 260 losses on the battlefield while advancing on the southern front.

Kyivs forces are also resisting Russian attempts to reverse gains on the eastern front made by the country since it launched the counteroffensive in June, according to the officials.

Report:

Ukraine says its forces making headway in south and holding gains in east

Fifa set to approve letting Russian youth football teams return to competition

05:56 , AP

Fifa is set to approve the reintegration of Russian youth teams into under-17 competitions and ease a total international ban on the country amid the war in Ukraine.

The Fifa Council, which is chaired by president Gianni Infantino, was set to hold an online meeting on Wednesday afternoon at which the Russian issue would be discussed, people involved in the meeting told The Associated Press.

They spoke on condition of anonymity because Fifa has not published any details about the meeting.

No news conference is scheduled to explain any decisions. Setting bid rules for potential hosts of the mens World Cup in 2030 and also potentially the 2034 edition should also be discussed. Saudi Arabia has been targeting the 2034 tournament.

FIFAs 37-member ruling body, including nine from UEFA, will be meeting eight days after the European football body provoked a rare split among its own executive committee and member federations by welcoming back Russian national teams for boys and girls into its competitions.

Ukrainian soldiers using invisibility cloak to hide from thermal imaging

04:48 , Andy Gregory

Ukraines minister of digital transformation has unveiled a cloak which he claims could render soldiers invisible to thermal imaging cameras and drones, which is reportedly being used in Ukraines counteroffensive.

The cloak blocks the radiation of heat and makes the fighters invisible to the enemy. For example, to snipers or Special Operations Forces groups that perform combat tasks, Mykhailo Fedorov was quoted as saying by Ukrainska Pravda.

The cloaks have been in development since 2015 and are manufactured by Brave1, a defence technology project sponsored by Kyiv.

Russia may attack Ukraine with sea mines and blame Ukraine, warns UK

03:39 , Ted Hennessey, PA

Russia may use sea mines to target non-military ships and blame Ukraine for any attacks, the UK Government has said.

Declassified intelligence warned last month that the Russian military had attempted a missile strike against a cargo ship in the Black Sea.

The UK believes Russia could continue targeting civilian shipping, including by laying explosive devices in the approach to Ukrainian ports.

However, Vladimir Putins army wants to openly avoid sinking ships in order to blame Ukraine for attacks, the Government said.

Foreign Secretary James Cleverly said: Russias pernicious targeting of civilian shipping in the Black Sea demonstrates Putins total disregard for civilian lives and the needs of the worlds most vulnerable.

The world is watching - and we see right through Russias cynical attempts to lay blame on Ukraine for their attacks. We and our allies stand united against Putin and his attempts to harm Ukraine, and thus harm the rest of the world.

Russian journalist who criticised invasion live on-air handed lengthy prison sentence in absentia

02:29 , Andy Gregory

Russian reporter Marina Ovsyannikova  who famously protested live on-air against Russias invasion of Ukraine  has been sentenced by a Moscow court in absentia to eight-and-a-half years in prison, the BBC reports.

Having staged a walk out in front of studio cameras during an evening news broadcast on the flagship Channel One, wielding a DIY-placard that read, Stop the war and Theyre lying to you, the journalist was convicted of spreading knowingly false information about Russias armed forces.

Moscow made it illegal to describe its military action against Ukraine as a war or an invasion, shortly after invading.

The 45-year-old journalist  who describes the charges as absurd  was put under house arrest, but fled Russia with her daughter last year.

How will Kevin McCarthy being ousted as US House speaker affect US aid to Ukraine?

01:22 , Andy Gregory

Shortly before hard-right Republicans made history by ousting Kevin McCarthy, the speaker of the House of Representatives, Ukraines western allies, including the UK, the European Union and Nato, received a phone call from President Joe Biden.

Congress may be frozen but support for Ukraine is ongoing, Mr Biden told those on the line.

It was intended as a message of reassurance but, devoid of any detail, it spoke to an impending issue largely outside of the presidents control.

My colleague Tom Watling takes a look at how the resulting situation for Ukraine in this report:

Explained: How Kevin McCarthys ousting in the US could leave Ukraine in a tough spot

IMF expects continuing US support for Ukraine despite Congress dropping aid

Thursday 5 October 2023 00:14 , David McHugh , Hanna Arhirova

Officials from the International Monetary Fund say they expect the United States will continue playing its key role in amassing multinational support, which has helped keep Ukraines economy afloat during Russias invasion.

That is despite the US Congress recently passing a short-term funding package that averted a US government shutdown but dropped $6bn in aid to Ukraine. Its not clear if, when or how that aid installment might be restored.

The US has already sent or committed $69.5b in military, financial and humanitarian aid to Ukraine, according to the Institute for the World Economy in Kiel, Germany.

 President Biden has made an announcement ... that he is fully committed to supporting Ukraine, Uma Ramakrishnan, IMF European department deputy director, told reporters in Kyiv on Wednesday. And so from our standpoint, the baseline assumption remains that the US remains committed.

She added that it is premature for us to comment on what will materialise or not, because we have to wait for the process to play out.

IMF expects continuing US support for Ukraine despite Congress dropping aid

Zelensky expected to attend European political summit in Spain tomorrow

Wednesday 4 October 2023 23:21 , Andy Gregory

Ukraine president Volodymyr Zelensky is widely expected to travel to Spains Alhambra Palace to attend the third meeting this year of the European Political Community, as he seeks to drum up more support and money from Western allies.

European leaders will gather on Thursday in Granada in an attempt to find ways to soothe tensions on the continent, at a rare occasion where leaders of rival nations such as Serbia and Kosovo will be gathered in one plenary room. Russias Vladimir Putin and Aleksander Lukashenko of Belarus were not invited.

Crises are everywhere, said European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell on the eve of the gathering.

President Aliyev of Azerbaijan has pulled out of the gathering at the last moment, when expectations had risen that a possible summit-within-the summit would unite key players and go-betweens in his countrys crisis with neighbouring Armenia, after the formers rapid military assault in Nagorno-Karabakh sparked the humanitarian tragedy of some 100,000 Armenians fleeing the disputed enclave.

Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan, whose nation was shaken by a suicide bombing close to the parliament on Sunday in the Turkish capital, Ankara, is another no-show.

Watch: Houses left destroyed in Ukrainian city after Russian bombardment of residential area

Wednesday 4 October 2023 22:14 , Andy Gregory

Biden worried Republican infighting could hurt Ukraine aid

Wednesday 4 October 2023 21:31 , Andy Gregory

Joe Biden has expressed concern that Republican infighting in Congress could hurt Ukraine aid, funding for Kyiv was left out of a stopgap bill.

Asked if he was concerned that the United States would not be able to deliver the aid that it has promised to Ukraine because of the disarray on Capitol Hill, the US president told reporters: It does worry me ... but I know there are a majority of members of the House and Senate in both parties who have said that they support funding Ukraine.

Mr Biden indicated that there was another avenue that the US could use to fund Ukraine, which he would be setting out in a major speech.

Germany has no plans to send Taurus cruise missiles to Ukraine

Wednesday 4 October 2023 20:43 , Andy Gregory

Germany currently has no plans to supply Ukraine with Taurus cruise missiles because they are not comparable to missiles provided by France and Britain  despite UK officials seeking to persuade Berlin to do so, the Bild newspaper has reported.

Berlin is also concerned that the missiles could be used to target the Kerch Bridge linking Russia to Crimea, the Ukrainian peninsula seized and annexed by Moscow in 2014, the paper said.

Kyiv has been pushing Berlin to supply the Taurus missiles, which could give Ukraine the ability to cause significant damage deeper within Russian-occupied territory. Berlin has repeatedly said it will only act in concert with Washington on arms deliveries to Ukraine.

In an internal meeting last week, Bild said, chancellor Olaf Scholz told the parliaments foreign affairs committee that Taurus missiles were not comparable to Frances Scalp or Britains Storm Shadow cruise missiles, as those countries contribute geodata on targets directly themselves and are involved with their own personnel.

A spokesperson for the chancellery told Reuters there were no new updates regarding the issue of Taurus cruise missiles for Ukraine.

Biden to give major speech on alternative route for Ukraine funding

Wednesday 4 October 2023 20:07 , Andy Gregory

Joe Biden is preparing to give a major speech on alternative funding routes for Ukraine after a move to provide aid failed to pass through the US Congress, with opposition from some House Republicans.

Im going to be announcing very shortly a major speech Im going to make on this issue and why its critically important for the United States and our allies that we keep our commitment to Ukraine, the US president told reporters after giving unrelated remarks at the White House.

White House officials declined to say when Mr Biden planned to give his speech, and he did not elaborate on the alternative method he was looking at to get additional military aid to Ukraine in its ongoing war with Russia.

There is another means by which we may be able to find funding, but Im not going to get into that right now, he said.

Moldova seeks to bar members of banned pro-Russian party from standing in local elections

Wednesday 4 October 2023 19:22 , Andy Gregory

Moldovas parliament has initiated plans to prevent members of the banned pro-Russian Shor party running in local elections for other parties or as independent candidates.

The countrys Constitutional Court declared the opposition party unconstitutional in June, but said on Tuesday that its members have the right to run in the local elections on 5 November if they do not represent the banned party.

The party, headed by exiled businessman Ilan Shor, led months of protests against president Maia Sandu and her government over rising prices, who has accused both Shor and Russia of trying to destabilise Moldova since Moscows invasion of Ukraine  which both parties deny.

In a move aimed against Shor party members, Moldovas parliament approved an amendment to the Electoral Code to bar specific people from the local elections in its first and second readings.

The amendment, which has now completed its passage through parliament, envisages law enforcement agencies submitting a list of such people to the central election commission, which will draw up a final list.

A government commission on emergency situations led by prime minister Dorin Rechan ordered such a list to be drawn up earlier on Wednesday to ensure democratic processes in the upcoming elections and eliminate the danger to the state.

The Kremlin wants its oligarch (Shor) to come to power in Moldova in order to get rid of all criminal cases, dance to the Kremlins tune and stick a knife in Ukraines back. We will not allow this, the parliaments deputy chair, Mihai Popsoi, told the chamber.

Ukraines allies running out of ammo to send to Kyiv, warn senior officials

Wednesday 4 October 2023 18:53 , Andy Gregory

Western officials have warned that Ukraines allies are running out of ammunition to send to Kyiv to help it repel Russias invasion.

Speaking at the Warsaw Security Forum from the Polish capital on Tuesday, British defence minister James Heappey and Natos most senior military official, Admiral Rob Bauer, were among those to warn that Kyivs allies are running out of ammunition.

The latter lamented that the bottom of the barrel is now visible and urged nations to ramp up production in a much higher tempo.

We need large volumes, the admiral said. The just-in-time, just-enough economy we built together in 30 years in our liberal economies is fine for a lot of things  but not the armed forces when there is a war ongoing.

Also warning that Western stockpiles are looking a bit thin, Mr Heappey said: If its not the time when there is a war in Europe to spend 2 per cent on defence, then when is?

Putins prized Black Sea fleet functionally defeated by Ukraine

US sends 1 million rounds of seized Iranian ammunition to Ukraine

Wednesday 4 October 2023 18:41 , Andy Gregory

Washington has sent Ukraine more than one million rounds of Iranian ammunition  suitable for small arms  seized last year while bound for Iran-backed fighters in Yemen, the US military has said.

The US is committed to working with our allies and partners to counter the flow of Iranian lethal aid in the region by all lawful means including US and UN sanctions and through interdictions, the Central Command statement said.

The ammunition is unlikely to make a major difference on the battlefield at a time when Ukraine is pleading for more long-range weapons and air defence systems.

It comes after the US Congress included no new money for Ukraine in the stopgap spending bill it passed on Saturday to keep the federal government open, highlighting the increasing reluctance of some Republicans to provide funds for Kyiv.

Last year, Britains Royal Navy said one of its warships had seized Iranian weapons, including surface-to-air-missiles and engines for cruise missiles, from smugglers in international waters south of Iran.

Homes for Ukraine hosts struggling with cost of living, survey finds

Wednesday 4 October 2023 17:45 , Aine Fox

More than two-thirds of current hosts under the UKs Homes for Ukraine scheme said the rising cost of living is affecting their ability to provide support for those they have taken in, according to a survey.

Ukrainians who fled the war to seek refuge in the UK are also facing difficulties affording costs, as they try to move into private rented accommodation, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) findings suggested.

Meanwhile, 31 per cent of hosts reported bias or discrimination against Ukrainians from landlords or estate agencies, the survey revealed.

Just under 5,500 hosts under the scheme, which was set up in March 2022, were surveyed in August this year and many reported struggles with bills and food prices.

Some 67 per cent of current hosts surveyed said the rising cost of living was affecting their ability to provide support, with utility costs (85 per cent) and food costs (46 per cent) being the most common types of extra costs they faced.

Red Cross calls for removal of chapter leader who boasted of transferring Ukrainian children to Belarus

Wednesday 4 October 2023 17:06 , Andy Gregory

The International Red Cross is calling for the removal of the head of its Belarus branch  months after he drew stirred international outrage for boasting that it was actively taking Ukrainian children from Russian-controlled areas to Belarus.

The organisations international board has now given the Belarus Red Cross until the end of November to dismiss Dzmitry Shautsou. If not, it will recommend all affiliates to halt new partnerships and funding for the Belarus branch, which would be suspended from the global organisation.

Last year, the Belarus Red Cross received around 1.5m from the Geneva-based international organisation for services like HIV prevention, support for migrants near the border with Poland, clown therapy and help for people fleeing neighbouring Ukraine. This year, that has fallen to around 900,000.

An internal IFRC probe found that the Belarus Red Cross said Mr Shautsou was found to be solely responsible for the allegations. It also determined that another organization was responsible for moving children from Russian-occupied parts of Ukraine, and the Belarus Red Cross involvement was only within Belarus. It did not specify the other organisation.

Shautsou is accused of having breached Red Cross neutrality and integrity. He was seen publicly wearing military fatigues with the Z insignia of Russian forces, and he claimed publicly that he favoured the deployment of nuclear weapons in Belarus.

A report aired in July by state TV in Belarus showed Mr Shautsou visiting the Russian-held Ukrainian city of Lysychansk. In the footage, he says the organisation was actively involved in bringing Ukrainian children to Belarus for health improvement purposes, and said the Belarus Red Cross was taking an active part in it.

Russia conducts emergency alert tests

Wednesday 4 October 2023 16:59 , Andy Gregory

Sirens wailed across Russia and TV stations interrupted regular programming to broadcast warnings Wednesday as part of sweeping drills intended to test the readiness of the countrys emergency responders.

The test, first conducted in 2020, is part of a new initiative that requires authorities to conduct tests twice a year. As part of the drills, TV stations broadcast a notice saying: Attention everyone! The readiness of the public warning system is being tested! Please remain calm!

Russian media said the exercises storyline mentions the increasing danger of a conflict between nuclear powers and simulates a response to a situation in which 70 per cent of housing and all vital infrastructure have been destroyed, wide areas contaminated by radioactive fallout and a general mobilisation announced, the AP news agency reported.

The US government is also testing its Emergency Alert System on Wednesday, designed to allow the president to speak to the American people within 10 minutes during a national emergency via outlets such as radio and television.

It also will send test messages to mobile phone customers in the US, according to the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

US will soon announce transfer of seized Iranian arms to Ukraine, official says

Wednesday 4 October 2023 16:44 , Andy Gregory

The United States could announce as soon as this week that it will send seized Iranian small arms and ammunition to Ukraine, a US official said on Wednesday.

For years, US naval forces have been seizing weapons bound for Iran-backed fighters in Yemen, usually transported by fishing vessels.

However the weapons are expected to mostly include small arms like guns, Reuters reported  as opposed to the long-range weapons most desired by Kyiv  and are unlikely to ease concerns about the flow of ammunition for Ukraine so that it can keep firing mortars, rockets and other artillery.

Last year, Britains Royal Navy said one of its warships had seized Iranian weapons, including surface-to-air-missiles and engines for cruise missiles, from smugglers in international waters south of Iran.

Kates message to Ukraine: We are all thinking of you'

Wednesday 4 October 2023 16:00 , Tara Cobham

The Princess of Wales has sent a message of support to Ukraine saying "we are all thinking of you".

Kate wrote the words on a parcel she filled with food, clothes and toiletries for those affected by the war in the eastern European country, during a visit to a Bracknell centre providing services for Ukrainian families settled in the area.

The future Queen has attended a number of events in support of the people of Ukraine and their struggle against Russian President Vladimir Putin's regime.

Her tour of the Vsi Razom - Ukrainian for all together - Community Hub saw her make a Ukrainian ribbon brooch, help a little girl complete some artwork and chat to a Ukrainian psychologist providing support to her fellow countrymen and women.

The princess's visit coincided with the one-year anniversary of the hub, founded by Natalia Vil, originally from Estonia but a UK resident for 25 years who is married to a Ukrainian, and Ashleigh Toomey from the UK.

The message of support on a box written by The Princess of Wales (Chris Jackson/PA Wire)

The Princess of Wales helps pack donations of essential items with young Ukrainians during a visit to the Vsi Razom Community Hub in the Lexicon shopping centre in Bracknell (Chris Jackson/PA Wire)

The Princess of Wales learns to tie a

Ukrainian drone hits top Russian air defence system'

Wednesday 4 October 2023 15:19 , Andy Gregory

Ukraine is claimed to have struck one of Vladimir Putins top air defence systems as Kyiv launched a barrage of dozens of attack drones on Russias territory overnight.

Moscows defence ministry claimed it had downed 31 drones in the Russian regions of Belgorod, Bryansk and Kursk.

But a Ukrainian intelligence source claimed to local outlets that their drones struck elements of an S-400 Triumph anti-aircraft complex in Belgorod.

It would mark the first time Kyiv had struck an S-400 on Russian soil. Moscow was estimated to have had around 95 of these systems in its arsenal at the start of the year, according to the International Institute for Strategic Studies.

Russian S-400 anti-aircraft missile system launchers displayed during a rehearsal for the Victory Day military parade in 2022 (AP)

How will Kevin McCarthy being ousted affect US aid to Ukraine?

Wednesday 4 October 2023 15:15 , Tara Cobham

Shortly before hard-right Republicans made history by ousting Kevin McCarthy, the speaker of the House of Representatives, Ukraines western allies, including the UK, the European Union and Nato, received a phone call from President Joe Biden.

Congress may be frozen but support for Ukraine is ongoing, Mr Biden told those on the line.

It was intended as a message of reassurance but, devoid of any detail, it spoke to an impending issue largely outside of the presidents control.

Hardline Republicans in the US, the powerhoue of the West, are threatening to demonstratively derail US aid to Ukraine for the first time since last February.

Tom Watling reports:

Explained: How Kevin McCarthys ousting in the US could leave Ukraine in a tough spot

Watch: Russian Black Sea fleet suffered functional defeat, says UK minister

Wednesday 4 October 2023 14:30 , Tara Cobham

If we give Zelensky the tools, Ukraine will finish the job, says Sunak

Wednesday 4 October 2023 13:31 , Tara Cobham

Rishi Sunak has emphasised the UK's support for Ukraine in the conflict against Russia.

In his first Conservative conference speech as party leader, the Prime Minister told members in Manchester to applause: "If we give President Zelensky the tools, Ukraine will finish the job.

Homes for Ukraine hosts struggling with cost of living, survey suggests

Wednesday 4 October 2023 13:18 , Tara Cobham

More than two-thirds of current hosts under the Homes for Ukraine scheme said the rising cost of living is affecting their ability to provide support for those they have taken in, according to a survey.

Ukrainians who fled the war to seek refuge in the UK are also facing difficulties affording costs, as they try to move into private rented accommodation, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) findings suggested.

Meanwhile, almost a third (31%) of hosts reported bias or discrimination against Ukrainians from landlords or estate agencies, the survey revealed.

Just under 5,500 hosts under the scheme, which was set up in March 2022, were surveyed in August this year and many reported struggles with bills and food prices.

Aine Fox reports:

Homes for Ukraine hosts struggling with cost of living, survey suggests

Ukraine expects 12 more cargo ships at its Black Sea ports

Wednesday 4 October 2023 12:30 , Tara Cobham

Ukraine's navy said on Wednesday that 12 more cargo vessels were ready to enter a fledgling Black Sea shipping corridor on their way to Ukrainian ports, as Kyiv steps up a push to defy a de facto Russian blockade on its vital sea exports.

Russia, which has a much more powerful and bigger naval fleet in the Black Sea, pulled out of a deal in July that had allowed wartime Ukraine to safely ship food products out through what is traditionally its main export corridor.

Ukraine responded by setting up a temporary "humanitarian corridor" for cargo vessels, and several ships have departed from Ukraine's Black Sea ports since.

"In total to enter the new corridor we have 12, and 10 to leave. That is as of now," Navy spokesperson Dmytro Pletenchuk told an online media briefing on Wednesday.

Those figures appeared to indicate an increase in the amount of shipping traffic set to use the corridor, although Pletenchuk did not say when the vessels were expected to sail.

He said Ukraine's defence forces were doing everything to ensure the safety of civilian ships in their territorial waters and that they were proceeding into the waters of Romania, Bulgaria and Turkey, all of which are NATO member countries.

White House says time not our friend on Ukraine funding

Wednesday 4 October 2023 11:45 , Tara Cobham

Time is running out to fund Ukraine, the White House has said as it faces an uphill task in getting more US aid for Kyiv through Congress.

Disagreements in Congress over an American support package for Ukraine threatened to shut down the US government at the end of last week, with a last-minute spending bill finally passed only after funding for Kyiv was withdrawn.

Time is not our friend. We have enough funding authorities to meet Ukraines battlefield needs for a bit longer, but we need Congress to act to ensure that there is no disruption in our support, White House National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said on Tuesday in a press briefing.

Arpan Rai reports:

White House says time not our friend on US funding for Ukraine

Fugitive Russian war protest journalist sentenced

Wednesday 4 October 2023 11:00 , Tara Cobham

Former Russian TV journalist Marina Ovsyannikova, who captured world attention when she burst into a news broadcast with a placard that read "Stop the war" and "They're lying to you", was sentenced in absentia on Wednesday to eight and half years in jail.

Ovsyannikova was fined for her original protest, less than three weeks after Russia invaded Ukraine on 24 February, 2022, in what it called a "special military operation".

But she later faced criminal prosecution for "spreading knowingly false information about the Russian Armed Forces" in connection with a July 2022 protest when she stood on a river embankment opposite the Kremlin and held up a poster calling President Vladimir Putin a murderer and his soldiers fascists.

"How many more children must die before you will stop?" the poster read.

Ovsyannikova, 45, fled Russia with her daughter for an unspecified European country a year ago after escaping from house arrest, according to her lawyer, saying she had no case to answer.

The case against her was brought under laws passed soon after Russia's invasion that made it a crime to "discredit" the armed forces or spread false information about them.

Ukraine targets Crimea coast with Neptune missiles

Wednesday 4 October 2023 10:15 , Tara Cobham

Ukraine trained its Neptune missiles on Russian targets in the illegally-occupied Crimean peninsula on Tuesday in a fresh attack, according to reports.

Russias Ministry of Defence said in an update that a Ukrainian Neptune missile was shot down over the northwestern part of the Black Sea off the coast of the Crimean peninsula. The attack was carried out around 8.30pm local time.

A Ukrainian drone also targeted Russias Black Sea port city of Sevastopol.

Debris from the drone landed on the roof of an apartment building but there were no injuries, said Mikhail Razvozhayev, the Russia-appointed governor of Sevastopol.

Russian emergency services were determining how to remove explosive materials from the site, Mr Razvozhayev said.

Arpan Rai reports:

Ukraine targets Crimea coast with Neptune missile and drones

Russia to conduct emergency public warning tests

Wednesday 4 October 2023 09:30 , Tara Cobham

Russia will conduct a nationwide test of its emergency public warning systems on Wednesday, blaring out sirens and interrupting television broadcasts to warn the population of an impending danger.

The test, first conducted in 2020, is part of a new initiative that requires authorities to conduct tests twice a year, starting from 1 September.

At 10:43 am Moscow time (0743 GMT), sirens will wail and stern announcements demanding "Attention everyone!" will alert the public, mimicking what would happen in a true disaster or catastrophe.

"When you hear the sound of a siren, you need to remain calm and not panic, turn on the TV - any publicly accessible channel or radio - and listen to the information message," the Ministry of Emergency Situations said in a statement.

"The warning system is designed to timely convey a signal to the population in the event of a threat or emergency of a natural or man-made nature."

Ukraine advances on southern front

Wednesday 4 October 2023 08:45 , Tara Cobham

Ukrainian forces were advancing in the southern front and inflicted more than 260 losses on the battlefield, a top general said on Tuesday.

"In the Tavria sector, there has been an advance by the defence forces," Ukrainian general Oleksander Tarnavskyi said in a Telegram post, using the militarys name for the southern front. He did not provide more details of the territorial feats.

This came as president Volodymyr Zelensky visited troops on one of the hottest fronts of the war with Russia and discussed the situation with the leading commanders in the countrys northeast.

Arpan Rai reports:

Ukraine advances on southern front as Zelensky assesses preparations for winter

Moscow says it downed 31 Ukraine-launched drones over Russian territory

Wednesday 4 October 2023 08:00 , Tara Cobham

Russia downed 31 Ukraine-launched drones overnight over the regions of Belgorod, Bryansk and Kursk bordering Ukraine, the defence ministry said on Wednesday.

There was no information about potential casualties or damage.

Separately, Ukrainian forces fired cluster munitions at several villages in Russia's southern region of Bryansk, Governor Alexander Bogomaz said on the Telegram messaging app. There were no casualties in the attacks, although several homes were damaged, he added.

The reports could not be independently verified. There was no immediate comment from the government in Kyiv.

Ukraine has received cluster munitions from the United States and pledged to use them only to dislodge concentrations of enemy soldiers. However, Russian officials in Bryansk and other regions bordering Ukraine have repeatedly accused Ukraine's armed forces of indiscriminate shelling.

Cluster munitions are prohibited by more than 100 countries. They typically release large numbers of smaller bomblets that can kill indiscriminately over a wide area. Those that fail to explode can pose a danger for decades.

ICYMI: Ukraine to build its first underground school in Kharkiv, official says

Wednesday 4 October 2023 07:00 , Matt Mathers

Ukraines eastern metropolis of Kharkiv will build the countrys first fully underground school to allow children to continue their education even in the face of Russian fire, the citys mayor said.

Such a shelter will enable thousands of Kharkiv children to continue their safe face-to-face education even during missile threats, mayor Ihor Terekhov wrote on Telegram.

Full report:

Ukraine to build its first underground school in Kharkiv, official says

ICYMI: Shapps slams Musks unhelpful Ukraine commentary

Wednesday 4 October 2023 06:00 , Matt Mathers

Defence Secretary Grant Shapps has suggested recent tweets by Elon Musk mocking Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky are unhelpful.

The senior Cabinet minister made the comments at a Conservative Party conference fringe event in Manchester, hours after the billionaire entrepreneur used Twitter, now known as X, to take aim at Mr Zelenskys repeated requests for western support in the battle against Russian troops.

Full report:

Shapps slams Musks unhelpful Ukraine commentary

ICYMI: Elon Musks mockery of Ukraine president Volodymyr Zelensky unhelpful

Wednesday 4 October 2023 05:00 , Matt Mathers

Defence Secretary Grant Shapps has suggested recent tweets by Elon Musk mocking Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky are unhelpful.

The senior Cabinet minister made the comments at a Conservative Party conference fringe event in Manchester, hours after the billionaire entrepreneur used Twitter, now known as X, to take aim at Mr Zelenskys repeated requests for Western support in the battle against Russia.

Mr Shapps, an avid social media user himself, expressed reservations about the owner of Xs recent attitudes to the war.

Full report:

Grant Shapps slams Elon Musks unhelpful Ukraine commentary

Armenia's parliament votes to join the International Criminal Court, straining ties with ally Russia

Wednesday 4 October 2023 04:00 , Matt Mathers

Armenias parliament voted Tuesday to join the International Criminal Court, a move that further strains the countrys ties with its old ally Russia after the court issued an arrest warrant for President Vladimir Putin over events in Ukraine.

Moscow last month called Yerevans effort to join the the ICC an unfriendly step, and the Russian Foreign Ministry summoned Armenias ambassador. Countries that have signed and ratified the Rome Statute that created the ICC are bound to arrest Putin, who was indicted for war crimes connected to the deportation of children from Ukraine, if he sets foot on their soil.

Full report:

Armenia's parliament votes to join the International Criminal Court, straining ties with ally Russia

Putins punishment battalions full of convicts and drunk recruits: Theyre just meat

Wednesday 4 October 2023 03:00 , Matt Mathers

Drunk recruits. Insubordinate soldiers. Convicts.

Theyre among hundreds of military and civilian offenders whove been pressed into Russian penal units known as Storm-Z squads and sent to the frontlines in Ukraine this year, according to 13 people with knowledge of the matter, including five fighters in the units.

Few live to tell their tale, the people said.

Full report:

Putins punishment battalions full of convicts and drunk recruits

ICYMI: A deal to expedite grain exports has been reached between Ukraine, Poland and Lithuania

Wednesday 4 October 2023 02:00 , Matt Mathers

Ukraine, Poland and Lithuania have agreed on a plan they hope will help expedite Ukrainian grain exports, officials said Tuesday, with needy countries beyond Europe potentially benefitting from speedier procedures.

The deal means that grain inspections will shift from the Ukraine-Poland border to a Lithuanian port on the Baltic Sea, according to a statement from the Ukrainian farm ministry.

Full report:

A deal to expedite grain exports has been reached between Ukraine, Poland and Lithuania

ICYMI: Biden tries to reassure allies of continued US support for Ukraine after Congress drops aid request

Wednesday 4 October 2023 01:00 , Matt Mathers

President Joe Biden convened a call Tuesday with U.S. allies and partners to coordinate future support for Ukraine after Congress passed  and he signed  legislation that kept the U.S. government funded but dropped his request for billions of dollars to help Ukraine in its fight against Russia.

Details on specifics of the discussion and whether any decisions were made were not immediately available.

Seung Min Kim reports:

Biden tries to reassure allies of continued US support for Ukraine after Congress drops aid request

Former VP Pence to talk national security and foreign policy at AP-Georgetown University forum

Wednesday 4 October 2023 00:01 , Matt Mathers

Former Vice President and GOP candidate Mike Pence will take questions on national security and foreign policy Tuesday afternoon at Washingtons Georgetown University.

The appearance will be the first in a series of conversations with 2024 Republican presidential candidates on the topic co-hosted by The Associated Press and Georgetowns Institute of Politics and Public Service.

Full report:

Former VP Pence to talk national security and foreign policy at AP-Georgetown University forum

Shapps should help end dispute at depot that supplies arms to Ukraine, says SNP

Tuesday 3 October 2023 21:17 , Matt Mathers

The Defence Secretary has been urged to intervene in strikes taking place at a Scottish munitions depot after it was suggested missiles held there could help Ukraine win the war.

In a letter to Grant Shapps, the SNP called for him to resolve an ongoing dispute at DM Beith, North Ayrshire, which has led to a series of ongoing strikes.

It comes as another two-week walkout begins in the row over pay.

Ryan McDougall reports:

Shapps should help end dispute at depot that supplies arms to Ukraine, says SNP

Ukraine makes gains in the south - top general

Tuesday 3 October 2023 20:01 , Matt Mathers

Ukraine has made gains in the south, one of the countrys top generals has said.

General Oleksander Tarnavskyi said in a Telegram post that Ukraine forces had advanced in the Tavria sector.

Tarnavskyi, head of the southern group of forces, said his troops had conducted 1,198 assignments in the past 24 hours and that Russian forces had sustained losses of 261 men and a further 10 being taken prisoner.
A Delhi court on Wednesday sent the founder and the human resource department head of online portal NewsClick to police custody for seven days as journalists came together in the Capital to protest their arrest and the website denied charges levelled under Indias anti-terror law. The court allowed Prabir Purkayasthas lawyer to meet him daily for an hour and agreed to provide a copy of the remand order and remand application to the counsels for both (HT File)

The developments came a day after sweeping raids across five cities resulted in the arrests of NewsClick founder Prabir Purkayastha and HR head Amit Chakravarty in connection with a case registered by the Delhi Police special cell under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.

Additional sessions judge Hardeep Kaur also sought a response from the Delhi Police on pleas for a copy of the first information reports filed against the two men.

The court allowed Purkayasthas lawyer to meet him daily for an hour and agreed to provide a copy of the remand order and remand application to the counsels for both. The court also issued notice to the Delhi Police on an application seeking to provide medication to Chakravarty The matter will now be heard on Thursday.

On Tuesday, at least 400 police officials raided around 30 locations across Delhi, Noida, Gurugram, Mumbai and Ghaziabad, questioning 46 people, including journalists, freelancers, writers and satirists, for eight hours. This came days after an investigation published in The New York Times alleged that the portal was part of a global network that received money for pushing Chinese propaganda.

Journalists from various media organisations and activists came together at the Press Club of India (PCI) in Delhi on Wednesday, and said the raids and arrests will have a chilling effect on free speech. Members of 15 media bodies also wrote a letter to Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud, saying that press freedom was under threat due to police overreach over vague assertions

The letter also made three demands --- norms to discourage the seizing of phones and electronic devices of journalists on a whim, guidelines for the interrogation of journalists, and ensuring the accountability of state agencies and officers.

In the letter, the bodies alleged that ...ad hoc, sweeping seizures and interrogations surely cannot be considered acceptable in any democratic country.

NewsClick issued a statement refuting the charges against it, saying it never published any news or information at the behest of any Chinese entity or authority. It also denied taking any directions from Singham.

All funding received by Newsclick has been through the appropriate banking channels and have been reported to the relevant authorities as required by law, as substantiated by the Reserve Bank of India in proceedings before the high court of Delhi, the statement said.

The website also added that the special cell did not refer to a single article or video that they consider to be Chinese propaganda.

Indeed, the line of questioning adopted by the special cell of the Delhi Police  regarding reportage on the Delhi riots, the farmers protests etc -- all demonstrate the motivated and malicious intent behind the present proceedings. We have full faith in the courts and the judicial process, the statement added.

On August 17, Delhi Polices special cell registered a case under section 153A (promoting enmity) and 120B (criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code and sections 16 (terrorist act),17 (raising funds for terrorist act), 18 (conspiracy), and 22C (offences by companies, societies or trusts) of UAPA.

Those who were questioned and whose devices were seized included Purkayastha, journalists Abhisar Sharma, Paranjoy Guha Thakurta, Bhasha Singh, Aditi Nigam, Urmilesh, Subodh Verma, D Raghunandan, Githa Hariharan, and historian Sohail Hashmi. Most of them were either consultants with the portal or its contributors.

Founded in 2009, NewsClick first ran into trouble in 2021, when the Enforcement Directorate registered a case based on an FIR registered by Delhi Polices Economic Offence Wing in 2020. Allegations in the FIR included overvaluing of shares, diverting funds, and violation of FDI regulations. In 2021, ED searched the premises of NewsClick and Purkayastha. A Delhi Police officer said irregularities were found in the cashbook of the website. Within months of incorporation, NewsClick received crores of funds for services exported, out of which a payment of 1.55 crore was made to an electrician. Also, Puryakastha and Gautam Navlakha, an accused in the Bhima Koregaon case, have incorporated a company together with an American defence supplier company. We have found some e-mails exchanged between Puryakastha and Neville Roy Singham, which were aimed to tarnish Indias image at the international level, the officer added.
Delhi Polices special cell has found evidence that web portal NewsClick received 28.29 crore between 2018 and 2021 from four different entities linked to Neville Roy Singham, an American millionaire accused of spreading Chinese propaganda, and a consulting company that he sold in 2017, investigators aware of details have claimed. On October 3, Delhi Police Special cell detained Founder and Editor-in-Chief of NewsClick Prabir Purkayastha from his office. (HT Photo)

Read here: NewsClick founder, HR head sent to seven-day custody

A senior Delhi Police officer said that out of those 28.29 crore, 27.51 crore was received from a US-based entity identified as the Justice and Education Fund, 26.98 lakh from another US-registered firm GSPAN LLC, 49.31 lakh from US-based Tricontinental Limited Inc and 2.03 lakh from Brazil-based Centro Popular De Midas.

We have found during investigation that out of those received funds, the PPK Studio NewsClick Private Limited  the mother company of NewsClick  transferred 20.53 lakhs to Gautam Navlakha, one of the accused in the Bhima Koregaon case, the officer said, requesting anonymity.

The revelations came two days after sweeping raids across five cities resulted in the arrests of NewsClick founder Prabir Purkayastha and human resources head Amit Chakravarty in connection with a case registered by the Delhi Police special cell under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.

On August 5, an investigation published in The New York Times alleged that the portal was part of a global network that received money for pushing Chinese propaganda. The American newspaper said that millionaire Singham funded NewsClick, among other outlets across the globe, to sprinkle its coverage with Chinese government talking points.

HT reached out to NewsClick for a response over phone but did not get one immediately.

The Delhi Police officer cited above further said that PPK Studio NewsClick Private Limited was incorporated on January 11, 2018, by Purkayastha. Three months later, the Worldwide Media Holdings LLC, Delaware  now a defunct company and part of Neville Singham network  invested 9.59 crore into the newly incorporated PPK Newsclick in April 2018. The foreign investors also managed to artificially jack up the premium of a share of 10 to 11,510, he said.

A second investigator from the Enforcement Directorate -- the federal agency first lodged a money laundering case against the website in 2021 -- said that during the investigation, 52.09 lakhs was paid to an unidentified member of the Communist Party of India (Marxist).

In 2021, ED searched the premises of NewsClick to collect additional information and help probe money laundering charges against the company. We could unearth a money trail of foreign remittances amounting to 38 crore...We also got sufficient evidence that a good amount of money was also paid to several journalists on the rolls of the company. During our raids, we found that there were numerous email exchanges between Singham and the director and stakeholder of NewsClick. These e-mails revealed that money was paid to NewsClick to spruce up Chinese propaganda especially its role in Africa, and defending Chinas crackdown on Jack Ma, the ED investigator added, requesting anonymity.

CPI(M) leader Sitaram Yechurys residence in the Capital was also raided on Tuesday because the son of one of his associates who lives in the same house works with NewsClick. Police seized a phone, two hard drives and a laptop from the house. Police came to my residence because one of my companions who lives with me there, his son, works for NewsClick. The police came to question him. They took his laptop and phone. What are they investigating? Nobody knows. If this is an attempt to try and muzzle the media, the country must know the reason behind this, Yechury had said.

The ED officer cited above said that investigators found out that Singham launched four US nonprofits. Subsequently, he leveraged flexibilities offered by the US nonprofit regulatory environment to fund media outfits in several countries globally, he added.

Read here: 'Disgrace to democracy: Shashi Tharoor on NewsClick raids

On Tuesday, at least 400 police officials raided around 30 locations across Delhi, Noida, Gurugram, Mumbai and Ghaziabad, questioning 46 people, including journalists, freelancers, writers and satirists, for eight hours.

On August 17, Delhi Polices special cell registered a case under Sections 153A (promoting enmity) and 120B (criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code and sections 16 (terrorist act),17 (raising funds for terrorist act), 18 (conspiracy), and 22C (offences by companies, societies or trusts) of UAPA. In 2021, ED searched the premises of NewsClick and Purkayastha.

The website has denied all charges. All funding received by Newsclick has been through the appropriate banking channels and have been reported to the relevant authorities as required by law, as substantiated by the Reserve Bank of India in proceedings before the high court of Delhi, it said in a statement.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR Sanjeev K Jha In his reporting career of over 20 years, Sanjeev K Jha has covered bureaucracy, politics, ISI activities in border areas, music and Bollywood. Presently, he covers crime in the national Capital. ...view detail
Imagine that everything in the world suddenly shrank to a size at the nano scale. Although its not intuitively apparent, many things would appear different. To cite examples used by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, gold earrings would suddenly turn blue, while a gold ring would look ruby red. Why should two gold ornaments take different colours? Because their different sizes would dictate their properties in the mysterious quantum world  a fact discovered, researched and exploited by the three scientists chosen for the Nobel Prize for Chemistry on Wednesday. PREMIUM A screen shows this year's laureates US Chemist Moungi Bawendi, US Chemist Louis Brus and Russian physicist Alexei Ekimov during the announcement of the winners of the 2023 Nobel Prize in chemistry in Stockholm on Wednesday. (AFP)

Moungi G Bawendi of MIT, Louis E Brus of Columbia University, and Alexei I Ekimov of Nanocrystals Technology Inc, New York, shared the Nobel for the discovery and synthesis of quantum dots which are particles so small that their size determines their properties. Their work laid one of the foundations of nanotechnology, which has applications from electronics to surgery.

Size does matter The quantum world is known for quantum effects, a term to describe the strange phenomena that take place. As far back as 1937, the physicist Herbert Frohlich predicted that nanoparticles would not behave like larger particles, and later researchers predicted various quantum effects dictated by size.

The reason size dictates the properties of nanoparticles lies in the movement of electrons. Most of the physical properties of a material are controlled by the movement of electrons and holes, which are gaps in energy positions once occupied by electrons. When this movement is constrained, it changes a property called band gap, which is otherwise unique for every material. This results in a change in various other properties, including colour.

The effective spread of electrons and holes in typical materials is very small. When you reduce the particle to such a size comparable to these effective sizes of electrons and holes in any given material, they feel constrained  we call it confinement effect  and this moves the energies of the electrons and the holes significantly, changing the band gap and, therefore, the colour along with many other properties, said D D Sarma, professor of chemistry at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc).

Creating quantum dots It was only in the late 1970s that quantum dots were actually created. Ekimov, then a physicist working at the SI Vavilov State Optical Institute in the Soviet Union, puzzled over the fact that a mixture of cadmium selenide and cadmium sulphide could turn glass either yellow or red, depending on the amount of heating and cooling. Why should the same mixture result in different two colours?

Ekimov prepared glass tinted with copper chloride, then X-rayed it and observed tiny copper chloride crystals. While larger particles behaved like copper chloride normally does, at the nano scale they began to absorb bluer and bluer light. This was the first observation of a size-dependent quantum effect. Ekimov published his findings in 1981.

On the other side of the Iron Curtain, Brus published his own findings in 1983. Working at Bell Laboratories in the US, Brus found that cadmium sulphide particles underwent a change in optical properties after he had left them on the bench for a while. He created smaller particles and found, like Ekimov had, that the smallest particles had size-dependent optical properties.

The nanoparticles produced by Brus often contained defects, and also varied in size. It was Bawendi, who began his postdoctoral training under Brus in 1988, who perfected the method after he joined MIT. In 1993, his research group developed easy-to-use methods that would produce almost perfect nanocrystals that showed quantum effects. This revolutionised the field.

Practical applications As research grew, so did the applications of quantum dots.

One of the most popular applications of quantum dots in electronics, said Mrinmoy De, professor of organic chemistry at IISc, whose research includes catalysis and biological applications using quantum dots.

On an LED screen, the colour of the bright emissions depends on unique photophysical properties of the quantum dots. Another application is in biology. Functionalised quantum materials with suitable ligands can be good for high resolution cellular imaging, biological sensing and therapy, he said.
The Union government on Thursday implored the Supreme Court to nullify the precedential value of a 1998 ruling that allowed lawmakers to go scot-free after receiving bribe for casting votes or making speeches on the floor of the House, emphasising that any act of bribery outside legislative Houses are prosecutable under the Prevention of Corruption (PC) Act. The Union government implores the Supreme Court to nullify order that shields lawmakers after receiving bribes for casting votes in the House. (ANI)

Read here: No immunity for cash for vote: Centre clarifies its stand in Supreme Court

While making the request to declare the 25-year-old judgment in the PV Narasimha Rao Vs State (CBI) case per incuriam (rendered in ignorance of a statute), the Centre also proposed that an in-house committee, to be coined as speech and vote watch, could be a worthwhile alternative to the judicially mandated guidelines that the seven-judge Constitution bench may consider.

As the bench reserved its verdict on the correctness of the 1998 ruling, the Centre maintained that the controversy could be resolved by the top court holding that the Narasimha Rao judgment is per incuriam because it failed to take into account the statutory scheme of the PC Act, which criminalises an act of bribery if takes place outside legislative Houses.

Instead of declaring Rao not to be a good law, this court may have an option of saying that it is per incuriam because it doesnt take into account the statutory scheme of the PC Act...When everything is outside the House, there is no question of privilege being claimed or immunity being established as a defence, solicitor general Tushar Mehta submitted before the bench led by Chief Justice of India Dhananjaya Y Chandrachud.

Mehta stressed the point that the bench should confine itself to the limited point of declaring that the 1998 judgment should not be treated as a precedent by any other court whenever an issue of a member of Parliament or state legislatures accepting bribe is concerned, and that there was no need to delve into the larger issue of immunity granted to the lawmakers under Articles 105(2) and 194(2) of the Constitution. Article 105(2) lays down that no member of Parliament shall be liable to any proceedings in any court in respect of anything said or any vote given by him in Parliament or any committee thereof. A corresponding provision giving immunity to members of state legislatures is contained under Article 194(2).

Attorney general R Venkataraman was more emphatic in asking the court to refrain from issuing any inflexible norms in the matter, arguing that the remit of prescribing enforceable norms should be with Parliament and state legislatures considering the purpose and objective of the constitutional protection and the varied roles that a legislator is expected to perform inside as well as outside the House.

It can be said that conduct which is otherwise unlawful will not ordinarily receive the protection against liabilities. However, as matter of prudence and without sacrificing ethical and moral standards in the political field, it would be worthwhile to propose an in-house committee of the respective legislatures to be the speech and vote watch, whose recommendations can be basis for all liabilities, Venkataramani told the bench, which also comprised justices AS Bopanna, MM Sundresh, PS Narasimha, JB Pardiwala, Sanjay Kumar and Manoj Misra.

The A-G cited the Tenth Schedule of the Constitution as a parallel. The Tenth Schedule relates to the anti-defection law, which empowers the Speaker to act as a tribunal to decide such complaints and rule on disqualification of a legislator.

While the desirability of delineating and setting down the principles which may govern the scope and application of the speech and vote clause, is not to be doubted, the matter of laying down enforceable norms, may warrant a wide debate and legislative interventions, including intervention by state legislatures, having regard to the multitude of functions of legislative bodies, discharged both directly and through their committee proceedings, Venkataramani added.

Even as the A-G requested the court to keep in mind a spectrum of relevant factors, including overlapping of legislative and political activities of a legislator, he clarified that anything that is clearly proscribed by statute cannot have a refuge under Articles 105 and 194. I dont think any responsible government or public authority can take that stand, he added.

After hearing the two sides, the Constitution bench on Thursday reserved its verdict on the correctness of the 1998 decision by a five-judge bench, which by 3-2 majority, had held that MPs and MLAs accepting bribes and voting or asking questions in the House would enjoy immunity under the Constitution.

The bench was dealing with the issue of whether immunity granted to lawmakers is available if there was criminality attached to their acts. The Centres statement made it clear that it would not press for any parliamentary privilege in cases of bribery.

On September 20, the top court decided to have a relook at the 1998 judgment in the Narasimha Rao case after the judgment was relied upon by a former member of the Jharkhand assembly, Sita Soren of the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM), who allegedly accepted a bribe from an independent candidate for voting in the Rajya Sabha elections of 2012. The 1998 judgment, curiously, protected those lawmakers who vote or ask questions after receiving bribes, but it did not protect those who received bribes but did not keep their end of the bargain.

On Wednesday, as the seven-judge bench commenced the hearing, S-G Mehta stood up to convey the Centres stand. While it is necessary to protect legislators in the discharge of their legislative and deliberative functions, Mehta said, the immunity available to MPs and MLAs under the Constitution cannot shield them from prosecution under the PC Act if they accept bribes to vote or ask questions on the floor of the House.

Citing Section 7 of the PC Act, the S-G had on Wednesday added the offence of bribery can be said to be complete independent of, and without reference to, anything said or any vote given in Parliament or state legislature, no question of any legislative privilege being attracted can arise if the member is prosecuted for taking a bribe for the speech or vote. Section 7 prescribes punishment up to seven years in jail.

Senior advocate Raju Ramachandran, appearing for Sita Soren, opposed a review of the 1998 judgment, contending that issues of constitutional privileges and immunities are not in derogation to the rule of law but a distinct pillar in constitutional edifice to protect lawmakers who are also prone to political persecution.

Senior advocate PS Patwalia, who appeared in the matter as amicus curiae, also supported the view that there must not be any immunity for a legislator accepting bribes. Senior counsel Gopal Sankaranarayanan, representing intervenor in the case, advocate Ashwini Upadhyay, echoed Patwalias view.

Read here: Cash-for-vote: Supreme Court notifies bench to reconsider 1998 ruling

The 1998 judgment came in the backdrop of the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha bribery scandal that rocked the Congress government, headed by PV Narasimha Rao in 1993. The Narasimha Rao government allegedly bribed several parliamentarians across parties to defeat a no-confidence motion.

The top court, in a 3-2 verdict, decided in 1998 that MPs who took the bribe and voted in the House could not be prosecuted as they enjoyed immunity under Article 105(2) of the Constitution. However, such protection will not be available to an MP who received a bribe but abstained from voting or making a speech, the judgment added. It was this anomaly that led the court to clear prosecution of then MP Ajit Singh, who allegedly took a bribe but abstained from voting.

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A day after the Supreme Court asked the Enforcement Directorate (ED) to explain why the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) was not made an accused in the Delhi excise policy case, the court clarified that its intention was not to implicate anybody. A bench of justices Sanjiv Khanna and SVN Bhatti said the explanation was sought as a legal question in context with the Prevention of Money Laundering Act. The Supreme Court of India. (HT file photo)

We want to clarify that our question was not to implicate anyone. Suppose, if as per the prosecution, the beneficiary is A and if A is not being prosecuted, can B or C be prosecuted? In that context, the question was posed, Justice Khanna said while hearing the bail plea of AAP leader Manish Sisodia.

The clarification came after senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, representing Sisodia, told the court that the query was being distorted by the media. Singhvi also said that the court's query was apparently being made basis to making AAP a party.

Additional Solicitor General SV Raju said, I only told media that anyone guilty won't be spared and anyone innocent won't be harassed.

The Supreme Court on Wednesday asked the federal anti-money laundering agency to explain why the AAP was not made an accused in the case in which former Delhi deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia, among others, is facing trial. According to the agency, AAP is the main beneficiary of alleged irregularities in the Delhi excise policy 2021-22.

The bench said, We need clarity on this issue that as far as the money laundering offence is concerned, he (Sisodia) is named as one of the beneficiaries. Your whole case is that the political party is said to have benefitted from this. But they are not accused. How do you answer that?

The courts query stumped both sides as this aspect was not argued by Sisodia. The bench told the law officer, He (Sisodia) has not raised this point. We have put it directly to you. Whatever it is, you answer that tomorrow.

Sisodia was arrested by CBI in connection with the excise policy in February, and by ED in March.

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Union minister Kiren Rijiju on Wednesday attacked Congress leader Rahul Gandhi over his stance of 'jitni abadi, utna haq' (rights proportionate to population), saying hilly states of northeastern India with less population will be deprived of everything. Rijiju, in a social media post on X, claimed that such demand will deprive minorities of getting opportunities in nation-building. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi.

Rahul Gandhi is playing with fire. His call for 'Jitni Abaadi-Utna Haq' will kill India, the minister said.

States like Arunachal Pradesh, Hilly North-Eastern States, Ladakh & thousands of tiny communities who's population are less will be deprived of everything... Difficult border areas will never get development since very few people can live in rugged mountains & unfavorable areas.. Minorities of India would never get opportunity in nation building (sic), he added.

How desperate one can be for power?

Rahul Gandhi has been pushing for a nationwide caste census and greater representation of Other Backward Classes (OBCs) based on their population. He endorsed the slogan of 'Jitni abadi utna Haq' saying it was a pledge of the Congress party.

"The caste census of Bihar has revealed that OBC SC ST are 84% there. Out of 90 secretaries of the Central Government, only 3 are OBC, who handle only 5% of India's budget! Therefore, it is important to know the caste statistics of India. 'Jitni Abadi Utna Haq'  this is our pledge," Rahul posted on 'X' on Monday.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday said he would prove that the new thinking of Congress will do injustice to south India and the minorities.

"Congress has now started speaking in a new language in its hunger for power. Nowadays, they are saying 'jitni aabadi, utna haq (rights proportional to the population). I would like to ask whoever has given them this sentence, did he think that he is raising questions on the basic policies of Congress. When you say 'jitni aabadi, utna haq', it means, the Congress should now state are you against minorities, Congress should clarify are you against south India," he said at a BJP rally in Nizamabad.

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Lucknow: Mohammad Amir Mohammad Khan, better known as the Raja of Mahmudabad, who had fought an over four-decade legal battle to reclaim his heritage after the government seized his properties under the Enemy Property Act, passed away early on Wednesday after a prolonged illness. He was 80. Mohammad Amir Mohammad Khan, better known as the Raja of Mahmudabad was 80 years old. (HT Photo)

His son, Professor Ali Khan, informed about his demise on social media. Our father has passed away into the mercy of his Lord. Please pray for Mohammad Amir Mohammad Khan, Ali Khan posted on X, formerly twitter.

The Raja was laid to rest at Karbala Mahmudabad in Sitapur district of Uttar Pradesh on Wednesday night.

Born in November 1943, the Raja of Mahmudabad remained in headlines due to his prolonged legal battle after the government seized his property under the Enemy Property Act. His property includes Butler Palace, a big part of Hazratganj, Halwasiya market, Mahmudabad Qila (fort)  collectively worth around 50,000 crore as per government estimates in 2006.

Besides Lucknow, the Mahmudabad estates holdings were spread over Sitapur, Nainital and in Mahmudabad with a heritage that can be traced back to the 16th century and Emperor Akbars patronage.

Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav expressed grief over Khans death. Very sad by the death of Raja Mahmudabad Sir Mohammad Amir Mohammad Khan Sahab. May god give peace to the departed soul. In this hour of grief, may all the family members get the strength to bear this immense loss, he posted in Hindi on X.

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India on Thursday said it has raised concerns with the United States regarding US ambassador to Pakistan's visit to Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK).



A massive row erupted after US ambassador to Pakistan Donald Blome visited Gilgit-Baltistan and interacted with locals there. When asked about the US diplomat's visit, external affairs ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said,"Our position on the entire Union territory of Jammu and Kashmir being an integral part of India is well known. We would like to urge the international community to respect our sovereignty and territorial integrity". External affairs ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi addresses briefing on Thursday.(MEA/X)

As the row escalated, US ambassador to India Eric Garcetti was also asked the same question about his fellow diplomat's visit to the PoK. "It's not my place to react to the US Ambassador in Pakistan but he's been before and we obviously had part of our delegation in Jammu and Kashmir during G20 as well," the American envoy was quoted by PTI as saying.

Garcetti also stated that the Jammu and Kashmir issue has to be resolved bilaterally by India and Pakistan and not by any third party, including the US.



Blome paid a six-day secret visit to Gilgit Baltistan in PoK, with the details of the trip kept secret by embassy and Pakistan government officials. According to Pakistan daily Dawn, Blome visited different areas and met local and government officials in Gilgit.



Last year, Blome had visited Muzaffarabad wherein he Quaid-e-Azam Memorial Dak Bungalow. India had raised the issue with the US side as the ambassador's statement had mentioned PoK as AJK.

In April last year, US Congresswoman Illhan Omar had paid a visit to PoK, evoking strong condemnation from New Delhi. She visited a part of Jammu and Kashmir illegally occupied by Pakistan. If such a politician wishes to practice her narrow-minded politics at home that may be her business, but violating our territorial integrity in its pursuit makes it ours, Bagchi had said last year.

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Sanjay Singh arrest news Highlights: Aam Aadmi Party leader and Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh was produced before the Rouse Avenue Court by officials of the Enforcement Directorate. The court has reserved its order on ED's plea seeking 10 days custody of the AAP leader. Sanjay Singh was arrested on Wednesday evening by the Enforcement Directorate in a money-laundering case.(Vipin Kumar/ Hindustan Times)

Singh was arrested Wednesday evening by the Enforcement Directorate in a money-laundering case linked to the Delhi liquor policy case. His arrest triggered a political firestorm as Delhi Chief Minister and AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal accused the BJP and Prime Minister Narendra Modi of being behind it. The Aam Aadmi Party announced that it will hold protests outside the BJP headquarters in New Delhi today.

The under-scanner excise policy was rolled out in November 2021 for the 2021-22 financial year, marking the exit of the Delhi government from retail sales of alcohol. It allowed private players to bid for licenses. The probe agency has alleged that kickbacks were paid to implement the excise policy which was scrapped after Delhis lieutenant governor VK Saxena asked for an investigation into alleged irregularities.
India's national capital saw protests and counter-protests over the arrest of AAP lawmaker Sanjay Singh in connection with a money laundering case linked to the now-scrapped excise policy. While AAP workers gathered at the party headquarters against the arrest, the Delhi BJP leaders flocked to Rajghat for a prayer meeting for the "liberation" of people from the "corrupt" AAP government in the city. AAP workers and BJP leaders held protests and counter-protests over Sanjay Singh's arrest in a money laundering case.

Several AAP workers also gathered at the party office at DDU Marg, raising slogans against the Centre and demanding the release of Singh. A scuffle broke out between AAP workers and the police after which some of them were detained.

Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva said the struggle for liberation of the people from "corrupt" Arvind Kejriwal government will continue, alleging that the chief minister was the "kingpin" of the alleged liquor scam in Delhi.

Mahatma Gandhi used to say alcohol destroys both the body and the soul, Sachdeva said.

"Kejriwal has not only destroyed the soul but also the entire Aam Aadmi Party," he said, hitting out at the AAP National Convener and the Delhi Chief Minister.

BJP MP Harshvardhan said, AAP leaders visited this place (Rajghat) a lot. However, we are now witnessing that they are the ones who are crushing the ethics of politics.

Another BJP lawmaker, Parvesh Sahib Singh, said the liquor scam was unearthed with the blessings of Gandhi jiwho always opposed alcohol.

The day is not far when the mastermind of liquor policy Arvind Kejriwal will also go to jail, he claimed.

The AAP, on the other hand, has alleged that the Enforcement Directorate arrested Singh as he raised issues related to the Adani Group in Parliament.

Addressing a press conference, senior AAP leader Atishi claimed that over 500 officers of the ED and CBI conducted raids at various places linked to the AAP leaders in the last 15 months but haven't found a single evidence against them.

They raided Manish Sisodia's residence, offices and several other places but they couldn't find evidence of corruption of even a single penny. And now, Sanjay Singh has been targeted, she said.

The ED officers raided every inch of Sanjay Singh's residence but couldn't find anything. They arrested him because he constantly raised issues of Centre's corruption, she added.

Atishi further said that if there is any evidence against their leader, the Centre should make it public.

I want to challenge the BJP that if they found any evidence against Sanjay Singh, they should make it public or they should quit politics. They can send their officers anywhere where Sanjay Singh visited and I can vouch that they will not find anything against him, she claimed.

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In Vita Maria Drygas doc Danger Zone, war is for sale. And there are people who can afford it.

The very idea of war tourism was shocking to me. Armed conflict is not a stage: you dont buy tickets to watch a show, she says ahead of the premiere at Warsaw Film Festival.

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Produced by Vita Zelakeviciute for Drygas Film Production, Danger Zone is co-produced by Next Film and Dogwoof, the latter also handling sales.

She first came across the controversial, world-spanning phenomenon when filming mid-length Piano during the Maidan revolution in Ukraine.

I was surrounded by people who were fighting for their freedom and the future of their country. My focus shifted from merely making a film to actively supporting their cause. Then I saw this ad: someone was offering tours to the frontlines. At first, I thought it was a provocation by the separatists.

A darker side of the tourism industry, it remains hidden. But business is booming, thanks to people like Eleonora, AJ or the most extreme war tourist Andrew Drury, demanding real ammunition and real menace.

Many tourist agencies dont openly admit to offering such tours and it remains underground. There were a few of them that declined to participate in the film. Later, I saw them in Andrews video diaries, taking selfies on the frontline with him, she says.

This makes it difficult to assess the true scale of this phenomenon, but Rick [Sweeney], the owner of War Zone Tours, didnt have to actively promote his business at all. He kept receiving numerous calls, daily, from individuals interested in war trips.

Story continues

Drygas approached her thrill-seeking protagonists without prejudice, however.

I come from a family of documentary filmmakers and we always talked about ethics. Someone is putting their life into your hands. I feel responsible for it, she admits.

You could call them anti-heroes and they are aware of their privileged position. But I needed them to understand I wasnt going to judge them. I was coming with an open heart. Andrew has been doing it for 20 years. It took him a long time to finally trust me.

Eventually, he did open up.

It would be easy to just ask him: Why are you doing this? We decided not to use talking heads in the movie, but we actually recorded a long conversation. I told him about myself, about the suffering I have seen. He told me about losing his brother as a child. From then on, he wanted to live two lives: for himself and for his brother. Every story has many layers, even though you cant always include all of them in one film.

After dedicating seven years to the doc, Drygas can list various reasons as to why people are attracted to war tourism.

Desire for extreme experiences, quest for adrenaline, temporary escape from a stable life and a bigger appreciation for what you already have once you return to it, she says. But making the film changed some of these tourists as well.

Andrew was deeply affected by what we saw. A man who has been traveling to war zones for decades suddenly realized, upon seeing himself on the screen, how thoughtless his actions were. His reaction was the most rewarding moment for me as a filmmaker.

Other times, she could just wish them good luck.

Eleonora decided to go to Afghanistan just before the Taliban took over. I decided we wont accompany her: no movie is worth the life of my crew. You get to know these people, you talk to them for hours, but in the end, its their decision. She went by herself.

Drygas is adamant she wont talk about war again in her films.

No. I wont touch this subject again, she states.

[Nobel Prize winner] Svetlana Alexievich wrote that all we knew about war was what men told us. I am not sure if the female perspective on war is different, but it was a challenge to be there.

What I also wanted to show was that in our society, one war tends to overshadow all the others. I remember when Afghanistan was all over the news and then, suddenly, it wasnt. In the film, a local fixer tells Eleonora that everyone has forgotten about Afghanistan now, even though living there is pure hell, she says.

You cant come back from these places unscathed. People die and those who survive flee, leaving behind their entire lives. They end up in refugee camps, uncertain about what tomorrow will bring. Its a terrible reality and such experiences are not easily forgotten.

I paid a price for this film.

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The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) will protest outside the BJP headquarters in New Delhi today against the arrest of its Rajya Sabha member Sanjay Singh by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in the alleged liquor scam. Sanjay Singh was arrested after raids at his Delhi residence followed by hours-long questioning concerning a money laundering case linked with Delhi excise policy. Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal interacts with the media after meeting with the family of AAP leader Sanjay Singh over the latter's arrest by the Enforcement Directorate.(PTI)

The arrest triggered a political firestorm, with Delhi chief minister and AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal hitting out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

This shows Modi jis nervousness. They will arrest many more opposition leaders before the elections, Kejriwal said on X.

Speaking to reporters after visiting Singh's residence in the evening, Kejriwal asserted that the AAP is "a hardcore honest party".

"They arrested Sanjay Singh, who is a strong voice against the corruption of Modiji. He (Prime Minister Narendra Modi) is corrupt from head to toe. I think he is the most corrupt prime minister in independent India," Kejriwal said.

The Bharatiya Janata Party hit back at AAP saying the arrest was part of the steps being taken towards building a Bhrashtachaar Mukt Bharat (corruption-free India).

All you need to know about Sanjay Singh's arrest

Singhs arrest came a day after a Delhi court allowed restaurateur Dinesh Arora and Raghav Magunta to become approvers in EDs excise case. The statements given by Dinesh Arora, who claims he was a close aide of Singh, played a key role in Wednesdays arrest, according to an officer from the federal agency. Singh's is the second high-profile arrest in the alleged liquor scam after former Delhi deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia. Sisodia was arrested in February by CBI and was later taken into custody by ED. The under-scanner excise policy was rolled out in November 2021 for the 2021-22 financial year, marking the exit of the Delhi government from retail sales of alcohol. It allowed private players to bid for licenses. The probe agency has alleged that kickbacks were paid to implement the excise policy which was scrapped after Delhis lieutenant governor VK Saxena asked for an investigation into alleged irregularities. The Enforcement Directorate has so far arrested 14 individuals and filed five prosecution complaints. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is conducting a parallel corruption probe with two charge sheets filed. Bihar deputy CM Tejashwi Yadav said the BJP leaders are scared and perturbed and that "they will take similar action here (in Bihar) as well." Communist Party of India (Marxist) General Secretary Sitaram Yechury said the Modi government must go for the sake of 'India that is Bharat'. Former Delhi BJP president Manoj Tiwari alleged that the AAP leaders are not only corrupt but have also betrayed the electoral trust of the people in the national capital. He said the spotlight will soon shift from Sanjay Singh and Manish Sisodia as the probe "will soon reach the threshold of Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal."

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New Delhi The Supreme Court on Wednesday ordered the Centre to carry out a survey on a portion of land in Punjab meant for the construction of the Sutlej Yamuna Link (SYL) canal as per a 2002 court decree, and directed that a report to be submitted in three months on the status of construction and availability of water for the canal. The Supreme Court orders Centre to carry out a survey on a portion of land in Punjab meant for construction of Sutlej Yamuna Link (SYL) canal. (ANI)

Hearing a suit filed by Haryana, which is seeking the execution of a top court verdict of January 15, 2002 that directed Punjab to construct the canal, a bench headed by justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul asked the Centre to again mediate between the two states to amicably resolve the water-sharing dispute.

The bench, also comprising justices CT Ravikumar and Sudhanshu Dhulia, said, We would like the Union of India to survey the portion of land in Punjab allocated for the SYL project and to ensure the land is protected. The order further required the Centre to give an estimate of how much construction work has been carried out on the 121km stretch required to be completed for the project within one year of the 2002 judgment.

The court involved the Centre as there were varied estimates given by Punjab on the status of construction. Senior advocate Rakesh Dwivedi, appearing for Punjab along with advocate Jagjit Singh Chabra, informed the court that the need for constructing the canal needs a re-look as there is no excess water in the Beas and Sutlej rivers, from which Haryanas annual average allocation of 3.5 MAF (million acre feet) must be met.

The state acquired land from farmers for construction of the canal, but in 2004 the then Punjab government led by Prakash Singh Badal brought the Punjab Termination of Agreement Act (PTAA) which sought to unilaterally end the states commitment to supply water to Haryana as per a 1981 agreement that was approved by the top court in 2002.

The state law was termed invalid by the Supreme Court in 2016. But Punjab has argued that the 2016 decision was an advisory opinion given by the top court on a Presidential reference, and the 2004 law still holds the field. Under this law, the state has said that it has even returned land to the original landowners.

Confronted by these submissions, the bench told Dwivedi, Your state (Punjab) must find a solution, otherwise, however unpalatable it may be, we have to find a solution.

Posting the matter in January second week, the bench added, You cannot violate the court order and say farmers are now in possession of the land.

When Dwivedi said that besides pressure from farmers, there is political opposition within the state, the bench replied: For everything there is political pressure. We have restrained ourselves this time but dont test that scenario where we are compelled to take a harsh view.

The court also told the Centre to verify the statement made by Punjab about less availability of water while clarifying that it cannot deal with distribution of water between the two states as the present proceedings are restricted to implementing the 2002 order.

Additional solicitor general (ASG) Aishwarya Bhati, representing the Centre, filed an affidavit that efforts to mediate between the two states had failed to make progress. We are facilitating a meeting pursuant to the Court order of March 23, Bhati said, referring to a letter of August 25 addressed by the central government to chief ministers of both states to facilitate a meeting.

Senior advocate Shyam Divan, representing Haryana, informed the court that chief minister of the state wrote to his Punjab counterpart to fix a meeting to decide on the course of action to execute the 2002 order. The Punjab chief minister responded on October 3 that he was willing to resolve the issue amicably without compromising the interests of the state.

The Punjab government had written a letter to the Centre on April 17 indicating reduced availability of water. The same letter urged the Union government to consider an earlier request to expand the terms of reference of the recently revived Ravi-Beas tribunal to include water sharing through SYL canal as well. Haryana, on the other hand, claimed that an independent tribunal should be constituted to resolve the outstanding water issue between the two states.

The water dispute between the two states reached the Supreme Court in 1996 when Haryana filed a suit against Punjab. The court order of January 15, 2002 ruled in favour of Haryana and directed Punjab to construct the SYL canal within a year. But the issue has remained unresolved. The court has attempted to get both states to the talking table by roping in the Centre. Upset over the failed attempts to resolve the issue, the court advised both sides in March to adopt a give and take approach to end the logjam.
New Delhi At least 11 people were killed and over a hundred were missing in a remote region of Sikkim on Wednesday as a glacial lake overflowed after torrential showers, triggering flash floods down the Teesta that washed away homes and highways, and smashed through a crucial dam that powers the region. HT Image

Though some officials on the ground indicated the toll had already hit 40, the administration said it was waiting for more reports from the region to ascertain the cost to human life.

A senior official with the states disaster management said torrents of water that began coursing downstream around 1.30am on Wednesday,effectively cutting north Sikkim off from the rest of the state and marooning hundreds of people.

We rushed out, and in 30 minutes, everything was gone. Our entire three storey home was washed away, said Mina Tamang, a 70-year-old resident of Singtam town who barely escaped the cascading waters.

A Sikkim government statement said 120 people  including 22 army personnel  were still missing as night fell on Wednesday, as 15-feet-high columns of water swept away six bridges and chunks of National Highway 10 that connects the northern state to West Bengal.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke to Sikkim chief minister Prem Singh Tamang and assured him of all possible help.

Spoke to Sikkim CM Shri @PSTamangGolay and took stock of the situation in the wake of the unfortunate natural calamity in parts of the state. Assured all possible support in addressing the challenge. I pray for the safety and well-being of all those affected, he posted on X.

Emergency services have been mobilised to the affected areas, and I personally visited Singtam to assess the damages and engage with the local community, Tamang wrote on X.

At least 11 people have died and 120 are missing, said Prabhakar Rai, director of Sikkims disaster management department.

Experts pinned the floods on unusually intense showers  the weather office said the remoteness of the terrain meant it didnt have an accurate reading of the rainfall  and a glacial lake outburst flood (GLOF) in the South Lhonak Lake in northwestern Sikkim around 1am but stressed that the climate crisis had left the Himalayan region more vulnerable to such stresses and disasters than ever. The Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) in a statement said its satellites observed that the lake had burst.

A GLOF is caused when the moraine (debris accumulated over the years by a glacier) that usually functions as a dam, creating a lake, is breached. It was not immediately clear as to what may have triggered the GLOF on Lhonak lake, although the risk has loomed large for at least a decade, said experts who had flagged the possibility.

It was probably an avalanche that had a massive impact on the lake water, which in turn ultimately breached the moraine wall, said Ashim Sattar, a scientist with IISc Bengaluru, who has studied the lake and the glacier extensively.

Sikkim declared the floods a disaster and authorities warned that the toll is expected to mount dramatically, with the possibility of missing people being found alive remote. With the Teesta flowing through four districts of West Bengal before entering Bangladesh, a flood alert was also sounded in north Bengal and the neighbouring country.

Officials said 45 people were rescued till Wednesday evening; 18 were hospitalised with critical injuries.

Visuals showed a swollen Teesta roaring through sparsely populated towns and villages, caking every inch of its path in mud and debris, and leaving little standing.

State disaster relief officials said around 4,000 people were evacuated from areas downstream of the dam early on Wednesday and moved to shelter homes.

Rai, director of Sikkims disaster management department said the scale of the damage was still being assessed.

Isro, in its statement, said the lake reduced in area from 167.4 hectare on September 28 to 60.3 hectare on October 4

Rescue operations began early on Wednesday morning, with four National Disaster Rescue Force (NDRF) and army personnel pressed into action to help the local administration in relief and rescue in Sikkim.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) said north Sikkim received around 39mm rain between Tuesday morning and Wednesday morning, possibly triggering an avalanche that in turn led to the GLOF in the lake.

However, the weather office said it has no automatic weather stations in the affected region, rendering it nearly impossible to estimate how much rain pounded South Lhonak Lake.

The flood water reached the Chungthang dam around 1am and triggered heavy damage in the Teesta 3 dam. By around 2.30pm, the low-lying areas in the districts downstream were flooded, said an official, adding that the Teesta 5 dam downstream was partially damaged.

The region where the GLOF occurred is extremely remote and we do not have automatic weather stations there so its very difficult to tell how much it rained there.

As showers battered the remote mountain region, the water in the lake swelled, spilled beyond its edges and swept down the Teesta basin, wreaking havoc in downstream Mangan, Gangtok, Pakyong, and Namchi districts.

As huge volumes of water and debris comprising boulders came gushing down, they hit the hydro dam in Chunthang, said Sattar.

Experts underlined that the climate crisis had exponentially worsened the situation, and focused on the moraines  banks of rocks and sediment that are carried down by glaciers that settle along its edges.

As the earth warms, glaciers melt faster, and essentially recede, exposing these rocks and the sediment and pushing more water into the glacial lake  in this case, the South Lhonak. Spells of excess rain over these water bodies create a cascading effect, where the lakes, already filled to the brim, are fed with more water than they can hold, causing them to overflow and race downstream.

Jakob Steiner, hydrology expert and fellow of ICIMODs Himalaya University Consortium said, It is possible that strong permafrost degradation in the vicinity of the lake may have destabilised the dam, which may have then failed upon an exceptionally strong rainfall event.

Some experts also pointed out that parts of northeastern India were jolted by an earthquake on Monday, and parts of northern India, by another on Tuesday.

Teesta Urja, the second biggest run-of-the-river hydro power project in India, suffered massive damage due to flooding caused by the breach in Lhonak lake.

The 1,200MW power project on Teesta river, one of the most dammed rivers in the country, is located between Chungthang and Mangan in Mangan district in North Sikkim and is the biggest of nine working hydro projects on the river in Sikkim.

The Indian Army in a statement said it rescued one person on Wednesday, even as 22 of its personnel remained missing.

West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee instructed state officials to begin rescue operations.

On the instructions of chief minister Mamata Banerjee, a team comprising state ministers and bureaucrats rushed to north Bengal to oversee rescue operations, said an official with the West Bengal government.

Around 5,800 people have been rescued from the four districts of north Bengal and shifted to safer places. One column of the army was requisitioned to rescue a family stranded in Rangpo area.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR Joydeep Thakur Joydeep Thakur is a Special Correspondent based in Kolkata. He focuses on science, environment, wildlife, agriculture and other related issues. ...view detail

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
Maharashtra deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis on Wednesday made an explosive claim that Sharad Pawar gave consent for the President's Rule in Maharashtra in 2019. Sharad Pawar in his counter said the BJP was in the Centre and they imposed the President's Rule in 2019 as there was an impasse in the formation of the government. "If they decide to impose the Presidents Rule, why should we say no? They have the numbers, why would they listen to me," Sharad Pawar said. Both Fadnavis and Sharad Pawar were present at the India Today Mumbai conclave. Fadnavis said President's Rule in Maharashtra in 2019 was Sharad Pawar's idea.

Fadnavis said Sharad Pawar told many stories about joining hands with Uddhav Thackeray and the Congress to form the Maha Vikas Aghadi in Maharashtra but the truth is NCP was in talks with the BJP after Uddhav walked out. When President's Rule is imposed, every party is asked whether they would stake claim to form the government. NCP said no, and that letter was drafted in front of me. Sharad Pawar said he wanted some time to assess public mood and consented to President's Rule, Fadnavis said.

The recap of the 2019 episode comes amid heightened political speculation over Maharashtra once again. Following the split of Sharad Pawar's Nationalist Congress Party by nephew Ajit Pawar who joined the BJP-Eknath Shinde government, there is unease.

'Neither angry nor hurt with Ajit Pawar'

Nephew joining the BJP government and uncle leading the national opposition bloc -INDIA -- the Ajit Pawar-Sharad Pawar equation is one of the many conundrums facing INDIA bloc. Sharad Pawar at the conclave said he is neither hurt nor angry with Ajit Pawar but did not approve of his decision. Those from the NCP who went with the BJP did so because of the threat from investigating agencies. Those who switched sides enjoyed many positions in the government and outside the government, but left because of the threat of investigating agencies, Sharad Pawar said.

On Kejriwal, Sanjay Singh and Rahul Gandhi

Sharad Pawar said AAP MP Sanjay Singh's arrest would strengthen the INDIA bloc. AAP chief and Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal is ready to cede three of the seven Lok Sabha seats in Delhi to the Congress, Sharad Pawar said.

On Rahul Gandhi, Sharad Pawar said the Congress leader is being taken seriously and will lead the nation someday.

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A Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) court in Ranchi on Thursday pronounced the quantum of punishment to Ranjit Kohli alias Raqibul Hasan, convicted of pressurising his wife, a national shooter, to change her religion.



The conviction comes six years after the central agency filed a chargesheet on the complaint lodged by Tara Shahdeo. While Raqibul was sentenced to life term, his mother Kausar Rani has been sentenced to 10 years imprisonment. The then registrar of the High Court Mustaque Ahmed, accused of conspiring, has been sentenced to 15 years imprisonment. National shooter Tara Shahdeo.(ANI file)

I want to thank the court and the CBI who served me justice. This justice is not just for me, every daughter in the country will gain trust that whoever does this to them will be punished, Shahdeo told ANI after the verdict.



People who do this would be afraid to not treat someone like this... When my fight started, it was labelled as domestic violence. But my efforts were that this should not happen with any girl. People were hesitant to speak that word. After this judgement, they would come up against it openly, she added.

Here's all you need to know about the case:



1. In her complaint, Shahdeo had claimed she married her husband Ranjit Kohli alias Raqibul Hasan on June 7, 2014. The national shooter claimed her husband and the then registrar of high court Mustaque Ahmed, started pressurising her from the second day of marriage to change religion and undergo Nikaah.



2. The central agency had taken over the probe in 2015 and registered a case in Delhi.



3. Tara Shahdeo was granted a divorce by a family court in Ranchi in June 2018 on grounds of cruelty.



4. She had petitioned to the court that Hasan had provided false information regarding his religion and tricked her into marriage.



5. Shahdeo had also accused Hasan of torturing for refusing to convert to Islam. The Centre had also sought a report from the Jharkhand government over the case.

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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
Teesta Urja, the second biggest run-of-the-river hydro power project in India, suffered massive damage due to flood caused by the breach in Lhonak lake in north-west Sikkim on the intervening night of Tuesday and Wednesday. The Teesta river level increased on Wednesday. (ANI)

The 1,200 MW power project on Teesta river, one of the most dammed rivers in the country, is located between Chungthang and Mangan in Mangan district in North Sikkim and is the biggest of nine working hydro projects on the river in Sikkim. Work on 15 dams is going on and another 28 are proposed over the river to tap its hydel capacity of about 4,200 MW.

Sunil Saraogi, the executive chairman of Sikkim Urja Limited (formerly Teesta Urja Limited) said such was the force of the water than the dam at Chungthang was washed away in just ten minutes.

At 11.58 pm on Tuesday we got information from ITBP (Indian Tiber Border Police) about the flash flood. Immediately our team rushed to open the gates. Before they could open the gates, the flood hit them . There were 12 to 13 people in the team and they somehow saved themselves by running to the other side of the dam. They were evacuated by ITBP by 2 pm on Wednesday, he said.

He added that the 200-meter-long bridge connecting the power house to the dam was also washed away. The entire power house is submerged under water and it is too early to assess the damage, he said, adding that the cost of rebuilding the project would run into thousands of crores of rupees.

Visuals from the project site show large portions of the dams wall missing .

According to the Sikkim disaster management authority, the collapse of the Chungthang dam resulted in sudden surge of 15-20 feet in water level in downstream areas.

The power project was commissioned in February 2017 and it was only in 2022 that it started making profit, generating more power than the capacity, because of heavy flow of water. We were running at 120% of capacity utilization, said Saraogi. Sikkim government had 60.08% share in the project.

Local activists have for long warned of the adverse environmental implications of the run-of-the-river projects on the 414 km long Teesta river that originates from Punhunri Mountain in north Sikkim.

Run of the river projects are those which provides for a facility that channels flow of water from the river through a canal or penstock to spin a turbine to generate electricity. Run of the river projects does not support large irrigation facilities.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR Pramod Giri I am working with Hindustan Times since 2001 and am posted in Siliguri, West Bengal, as Principal Correspondent. I have been regularly covering vast area of northern parts of West Bengal, Sikkim and parts of Nepal and Bhutan. ...view detail
The devastation and loss of lives due to a flash flood in the Lachen valley caused by a cloudburst in Sikkim's Lhonak Lake is distressing, President Droupadi Murmu said on Wednesday. Six bridges and several houses have been washed away in Sikkim following the flash floods. (PTI)

It also caused extensive damage to some army establishments with personnel of the army missing in the floods, she said in a late night post on X.

"I pray for the safety of all missing persons and extend my deepest condolences to the bereaved families," Murmu said.

At least 10 people died and 80 others, including 22 army personnel, went missing on Wednesday after a cloudburst over Lhonak Lake in north Sikkim triggered a flash flood in the Teesta river basin, officials said.

"The devastation and loss of lives due to flash floods in Lachen valley caused by cloudburst in Lhonak Lake of Sikkim is distressing," Murmu said.

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Sikkim Flood News Updates: A cloudburst over Lhonak Lake in North Sikkim resulted in a flash flood in the Teesta river basin on Wednesday, leading to 18 reported deaths so far, with 102 people still missing, including 22 army personnel, news agency PTI reported quoting officials on Thursday. Rescue work continues after flash floods triggered by a sudden heavy rainfall swamped the Rangpo town in Sikkim on Thursday.(AP)

As of now, 2,011 individuals have been successfully rescued, but this calamity, which occurred on Wednesday, has affected a total of 22,034 people, as reported by the Sikkim State Disaster Management Authority (SSDMA) in their latest update.

To provide relief and support, the state government has established 26 relief camps across the four impacted districts.

In the Gangtok district alone, 1,025 people have found shelter in eight relief camps, while the exact number of individuals in the remaining 18 relief camps is not immediately available.

The flash flood in the Teesta river, caused by the cloudburst in Lhonak Lake, resulted in a significant accumulation of water. This deluge shifted towards the Chungthang dam, causing damage to the power infrastructure before rushing downstream, inundating towns and villages in its path.

Helpline numbers: 03592-202892 - Landline; 03592-221152 - Landline; 8001763383 - Mobile; 03592-202042 - Fax; or call '112' for emergency assistance.

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At least eighteen people, including four army personnel, have died in Sikkim after a cloudburst over Lhonak Lake triggered a flash flood in the Teesta river basin. According to officials, over 90 people are still missing on Thursday while the army and the NDRF are continuously carrying out rescue operations for the second straight day. (CHECK LIVE UPDATES)

A vehicle is seen partially submerged in water after flash floods triggered by a sudden heavy rainfall swamped the Rangpo town in Sikkim, India(PTI)
The toll from the flash floods triggered in Sikkim on Wednesday after a glacial lake overflowed following torrential rains has increased to 14 even as continuing rainfall and damaged infrastructure hampered search and rescue operations when it resumed on Thursday morning. Officials said they feared the toll could mount further as 102 people remained missing in the Himalayan state, which remained cut off from the rest of the country. The flooding along the Teesta River. (AP)

An official said three National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) companies flown to Bagdogra in the neighbouring West Bengal remained stranded as choppers could not take off for Sikkim. As soon as the weather clears, one company would be flown to the worst-hit Chungthang in the Mangan district. The remaining two companies would be stationed at Gangtok and Pakyong.

Officials at the disaster management control room in Gangtok said roads and communication lines in Chungthang have been snapped and that were in the dark about the situation. We have absolutely no communication with Chungthang where the flash flood washed away a dam. The town has also been affected. ...people were evacuated soon after the water level in the Teesta started rising in the early hours of Wednesday...the casualties have not been much. The town has been hit though, said a second official.

At least 11 bridges were washed away. The lifeline National Highway 10, which connects Sikkim with the rest of the country, has been severely damaged at multiple places.

A third official said Mangan has been cut off from the rest of the state and that police, residents, and NGOs were carrying out rescue operations. Around 650 people have been put up at 22 relief camps while over 200 people have been evacuated to safer places.

Pakyong district collector Tashi Chopel said 23 army personnel were among the 58 people missing in his area while four bodies have been recovered. An army camp in Pakyongs Bardang was among those hit.

Another Pakyong district official said some of the missing persons were feared buried under debris and some swept away. Excavation and rescue works are in progress.

District collector H K Chhetri said the toll was four in Mangan. He refused to comment when asked whether the Lhonark Lake had burst. An official statement would be issued.

Over 3000 tourists remained stranded in places such as Lachen and Lachung, which have remained cut off from other parts of the Mangan district amid continuing rainfall.

Chhetri said the immediate task was to rescue the injured and to search for the missing persons. All the tourists are safe in their hotels.

The roads leading to Lachen and Lachung were closed. At least four bridges between Mangan and Chungthang were washed away. West Bengal governor CV Ananda Bose, who was in neighbouring Kalimpong district, was forced to leave for Bhasua.

In West Bengal, a team of ministers and bureaucrats were rushed to the states flood-hit north. Bose was also scheduled to visit north Bengal on Thursday.

The flash floods down the Teesta, which flows through West Bengal before entering Bangladesh, washed away homes and highways and smashed through a dam that powers the region. Torrents of water began coursing downstream around 1.30am on Wednesday and marooned hundreds of people.

The weather office said it did not have an accurate reading of the rainfall due to the remoteness of the terrain. Experts attributed the floods to unusually intense showers and a glacial lake outburst flood (GLOF) in the South Lhonak Lake in northwestern Sikkim around 1am. They said that the climate crisis had left the Himalayan region more vulnerable to such stresses and disasters than ever. The Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) said its satellites observed that the lake had burst. In a statement, Isro said the lake reduced in area from 167.4 hectare on September 28 to 60.3 hectare on October 4.

A GLOF is caused when the moraine (debris accumulated over the years by a glacier) that usually functions as a dam, creating a lake, is breached. It was not immediately clear as to what may have triggered the GLOF although the risk has loomed large for at least a decade, said experts.

Sikkim declared the floods a disaster while a flood alert was also sounded in north Bengal and Bangladesh. Officials said 45 people were rescued and around 4,000 people evacuated on Wednesday.

Visuals showed a swollen Teesta roaring caking every inch of its path in mud and debris and leaving little standing.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) said north Sikkim received around 39mm rain between Tuesday morning and Wednesday morning, possibly triggering an avalanche that in turn led to the GLOF in the lake.

The weather office said it has no automatic weather stations in the affected region, making it nearly impossible to estimate how much rain pounded South Lhonak Lake.

Teesta Urja, the second biggest run-of-the-river hydro power project in India, suffered massive damage due to flooding caused by the breach in Lhonak Lake. The 1,200MW power project on Teesta river, one of the most dammed rivers in the country, is located between Chungthang and Mangan in Mangan district in north Sikkim and is the biggest of nine working hydro projects on the river in Sikkim.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR Pramod Giri I am working with Hindustan Times since 2001 and am posted in Siliguri, West Bengal, as Principal Correspondent. I have been regularly covering vast area of northern parts of West Bengal, Sikkim and parts of Nepal and Bhutan. ...view detail
Between 6am and 6.30am on Friday, a team of 60 rescuers from the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) will be on tenterhooks. They will be travelling to remote Chungthang in North Sikkim. The challenge in front of them is daunting  a dozen-off people feared trapped in tunnels for 48 hours without food, water or any possible exit. Nobody knows if the tunnels are inundated or not. Nobody knows if the 12-14 people are dead or alive. PREMIUM Search operation is underway near a flood site along the Teesta river (ANI)

Read here: Frantic rescue operation on as Sikkim counts the cost

With the task at hand largely unknown, the rescue team will comprise land rescuers and scuba divers. They will be armed with hammers, water guns, rock cutters, satellite phones, generator sets and lifesaving medical equipment.

Power lines snapped, cell towers wrecked, bridges destroyed and roads washed away  Wednesdays flash floods have cut Chungthang town off from the rest of Sikkim. The connectivity blackout has meant that there is no information on the people trapped. All thats known so far is that they work with a state government firm that manages the Teesta -III dam. The tunnels are all within the Teesta-III dam compound, which was destroyed during Thursdays flash floods.

The Sikkim government on Wednesday acted on information from local authorities and informed the Centre, which ordered that an NDRF team be sent to the tunnels.

For now, the team is hopeful.

Our teams are ready and we hope they are all alive. By the time we reach, it will be more than 48 hours since the incident, But we are positive that they are alive, said an NDRF official aware of the operation.

Workers at the dam used the tunnels, each no more than 200m long, to criss-cross the reservoir.

The rescue operation will, in some ways, be reminiscent of the 2018 Thailand rescue, where divers rescued 13 people  12 boys and one man  who were trapped in a flooded cave for nearly six days.

The success of that mission, unlikely as it was, kept the NDRF team going, as they waited in Bagdogra in West Bengal on Thursday evening, counting every minute before they are airlifted to Chungthang.

But another unknown stared at them as they waited  the weather.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) on Thursday said showers will spare rain-wrecked north Sikkim on Friday. But the mission could be disrupted if the conditions are unconducive.

Even though the rain subsided today (Thursday), the weather was still rough and it was not possible to airlift the team. IMD has predicted decent weather for Friday. So at first light, our rescuers will board the chopper and head off for a helipad in Chungtang, said the official quoted above.

The local administration has confirmed that the helipad has not been affected so landing there is not a problem.
Satellite images released by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) have revealed how a possible avalanche led to the outburst of the Lhonak Lake in north Sikkim which led to a flash flood in the Himalayan state, killing scores and washing away roads, bridges and dams A flood-affected locality at Singtam in Gangtok district on Wednesday. (PTI)

The death toll in the Sikkim flash flood in the Teesta river has risen to 14 while more than 100 people are missing, the state government confirmed Thursday; at least 22 army personnel are also among the 102 missing people while at least 26 injured are seeking treatment in local hospitals.

Senior officials of the India Meteorological Department (IMD) in Gangtok said the lake had rapidly increased in size in just 11 days between September 17 and September 28. It grew by more than three percent of its size during that period.

Experts said that only 37% of the lake now remains there while the rest of the water has been drained out.

It is observed that lake is burst and about 105 hectares area has been drained out (28 September 2023 image versus 04 October 2023) which might have created a flash flood downstream, said an ISRO statement.

Satellite images of South Lhonak Lake.

Experts said that while the total area of the proglacial lake, situated high in mountains at altitude of 5245 metres, was around 162.7 hectares on September 17, it shrunk to around 60.3 hectares on October 4 morning.

From the satellite images it is clear that it was a Glacial Lake Outburst Flood (GLOF). More than 60% of the lakes water has been drained out and only around 37% of the lake now remains there, said Ashim Sattar, a scientist with the Indian Institute of Science ( IISc) in Bengaluru, who has been studying the lake and the glacier for several years.

Also Read: Sikkim flash floods: 14 dead, over 100 missing; 3,000 tourists stranded

Lhonak lake is one of the largest and fastest growing proglacial lakes in Sikkim and is among the 11 large glacial lakes monitored by the Central Water Commission.

While the Lhonak glacier has been retreating, the lake has been growing making it vulnerable to GLOF. During the past 29 years, the glaciers length has reduced from 6.4 km to 5.1 km.

The Lhonak lake, which measured just 0.17 square kilometres in 1977, grew to 0.78 square kilometres in 2002 and 1.35 square kilometres in 2019

The lake has been growing in size for many years. But between September 17 and September 28, its size shot up by around 5 hectares, which is around three percent of its size. It was probably due to melting (of snow). The reasons are yet to be ascertained, said GN Raha, director of IMDs regional office in Gangtok.

A report compiled by the Sikkim State Disaster Management Authority in 2019 notes that in 2013, scientists from the National Remote Sensing Centre in Hyderabad reported that the Lhonak Lake was highly vulnerable to a GLOF event, which had the ability to cause extensive damage to life and property in downstream areas.

It warned of the possibility of flash floods with important infrastructure such as dams and power houses susceptible to damage. Townships like Chungthang, Dikchu, Singtam, Rangpo are vulnerable. Loss of life and property likely, it said.

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Chief minister M K Stalin on Wednesday wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi urging him to direct the Union health ministry to keep in abeyance the recent guidelines rolled out by the National Medical Commission (NMC) which caps the annual MBBS student intake in medical colleges. MK Stalin (PTI)

This encroaches on the rights of the states and penalises those like Tamil Nadu, who have invested for decades to build its public health infrastructure, said Stalin.

In both public and private sectors, our skilled medical professionals have been able to successfully serve not only the people of Tamil Nadu but also of other states as well as other nations, he said. This has generated huge demand for quality health services and new institutions are absolutely necessary for us to cater to it in the future.

HT had reported in September that after the 2023-24 academic year, permission for establishing new medical colleges, according to the NMC, will be issued only for an annual intake capacity in the specific numbers of 50, 100 and 150 seats. Provided that [the] medical college shall follow the ratio of 100 MBBS seats for 10-lakh population in that state/ UT, the NMC notification said.

The guidelines were published in the Gazette of India on August 16 by NMCs Under Graduate Medical Education Board titled, Guidelines for Under Graduate Courses under Establishment of New Medical Institutions, Starting of New Medical Courses.

Stalin contended that this is a regressive scenario. This is a direct encroachment on the rights of all state governments and penalisation of states who have invested more in their public health infrastructure over the years, the Tamil Nadu chief minister said. Progressive states like Tamil Nadu have been strengthening their tertiary healthcare network for many decades. This has led to ample availability of doctors and nurses, which has manifested in their better performance in terms of various health indicators. Chennai has emerged as the healthcare capital of India.

He added that the criterion proposed for such restriction, higher doctor-population ratio at the state level as compared to the norms, is also not appropriate. Even when there is adequate availability of doctors at the state level, there are districts where their availability continues to be a persistent issue, he said. This problem can be effectively addressed only by opening new medical colleges in such backward areas.

Stalin also pointed out that Tamil Nadus higher doctor-population ratio and high availability of doctors has been achieved predominantly due to investments made by State Governments and private sector and not by the Union government. We have been continuously urging that the Union Government needs to contribute more but projects like AIIMS, Madurai are yet to take-off. Given this situation, a restriction on new institutions will completely eliminate any chance of Tamil Nadu getting new investments in the health sector by the Union Government in future, he said.

Stalin also cited a Supreme Court judgement from a 2002 case which held that executive instructions could not impose restrictions on the fundamental right to establish educational institutions under Article 19(1)(g) of the Constitution and hence arguing that the NMC notification may be legally untenable.

Considering all the above issues, Stalin requested Modi to instruct the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare to keep this notification in abeyance and initiate a consultative process with the state governments on the steps to address this issue.
The next leg of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Tamil Nadu president K Annamalais En Mann En Makkal padayatra has been rescheduled to October 16 owing to his ill health. However, the partys meeting of district secretaries will go as planned on Thursday. Tamil Nadu BJP president K Annamalai. (File Photo)

The foot march was scheduled to begin on October 6.

The BJP shared on social media platform X a medical bulletin from Chennai-based private hospital Gleneagles Global Health City, which stated that Annamalai was diagnosed with a lower respiratory tract infection with bronchospasm.

Annamalai visited the hospital on October 3 after complaining of cough, breathing difficulty, throat pain, body ache and fatigue.

The CT Scan showed nodules in basal segment of left lung, the hospital said. The provisional diagnosis of the doctor is Lower Respiratory Tract Infection of viral etiology with bronchospasm.

The BJP leader has been sent back home and advised bed rest for two weeks.

The crucial meeting on Thursday comes close on the heels of the BJP losing a key ally in the state after the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) parted ways with the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) last month.

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HYDERABAD: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Thursday constituted 14 committees to oversee various activities in poll-bound Telangana and entrusted key responsibilities to a few senior leaders who were reportedly upset with the style of functioning of the top leadership in the state. Union minister G Kishan Reddy was appointed Telangana BJP chief in July (X/kishanreddybjp)

Among the leaders named by the BJP on Thursday was former legislator Rajagopal Reddy who recently suggested that he was weighing his options and would soon take a call on his future course of action shortly. The former MLA from the Komatireddy assembly seat has been appointed as chairman of a screening committee that is expected to create a shortlist of the partys potential candidates to be considered for party tickets.

Former minister G Vijayarama Rao has been appointed as convenor of the Scheduled Caste constituencies coordination committee, according to a statement issued by the BJP. Former MP M Vijaya Shanthi, who has been staying away from party programmes for some time, has been appointed as chairperson of the agitation committee, the announcement said. It did not indicate what the committee would do.

Former MP G Vivek Venkataswamy, who has also been reportedly sulking over the state of affairs in the party, was named chairman of the BJP manifesto and publicity committee and another former MP, Konda Vishweshwar Reddy, as its convenor.

Vishweshwar Reddy had recently questioned the partys ability to put up a strong fight against Telanagnas ruling Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS). There is suspicion among the people that there is some kind of understanding between the BRS and the BJP, he said recently.

BJP national general secretary and Karimnagar MP Bandi Sanjay, who was removed from the post of Telangana BJP president and replaced by G Kishan Reddy in July this year, has been given the charge of a committee on public meetings.

Barring Bandi Sanjay, the other leaders had stayed away from official meetings and public rallies of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Mahabubnagar and Nizamabad on October 1 and 3, respectively.

A BJP functionary said the appointment of the party veterans was likely an attempt to mollify them. Maybe, the party also wants to test their commitment to the party, he said.

According to the list of the 14 committees released by the BJP, Nizamabad MP Arvind Dharmapuri will head the social media committee; DK Aruna will chair the influencer outreach committee; K Laxman will be chairman of social outreach committee; P Muralidhar Rao as chairman of charge-sheet committee; Marri Shashidhar Reddy as chairman of a committee dealing with issues pertaining to the Election Commission; M Raghunandan Rao as media committee chairman and Garikapati Mohan Rao as chair of ST constituencies coordination committee.

The announcement coincided with the BJP state executive committee meeting chaired by G Kishan Reddy on Thursday. The meeting discussed the plan of action for the coming elections, which will be finalised at the state council meeting on Friday. BJP national president J P Nadda will attend Fridays meeting to give a direction to the party, the party said in its statement.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR Srinivasa Rao Apparasu Srinivasa Rao is Senior Assistant Editor based out of Hyderabad covering developments in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana . He has over three decades of reporting experience. ...view detail
Union home minister Amit Shah on Thursday inaugurated a two-day anti-terror conference organised by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) in the national capital.



During his address, Shah called for dismantling the entire terror ecosystem.

The minister said that Model Anti-terrorism Structure should be established under the purview of NIA, the hierarchy, structure, and SoPs of Investigation of all anti-terrorism agencies in all states should be made uniform for better coordination between central and state agencies.



All anti-terrorism agencies must adopt such a ruthless approach so that a new terrorist organisation cannot be formed. The task of NIA, ATS, and STF should not be limited to investigation but they should also think out of the box and take innovative measures to counter the terrorism, Shah was quoted as saying in a home ministry statement.



Stressing the need for collaboration from the global level to the grassroots, involving various states within the country, as well as international cooperation, he said that the government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has taken a tough stand on all the challenges like crypto, hawala, terror-funding, organised crime syndicates, narco-terror links, which has yielded very good results. Union home minister Amit Shah at the anti-terror conference in New Delhi on Thursday.(PIB)

Shah said that the government has prepared several database verticals in the last five years.



All central and state agencies should make multidimensional and Artificial Intelligence-based use of the database, only then will we be successful in the fight against terrorism. The database should be used for investigation, prosecution, prevention and action, he said.

The Inter-Operable Criminal Justice System (ICJS) -- CCTNS implemented in 16,733 police stations, 22,000 courts have been connected to e-Court and about 2 crore prisoner data available through e-Prison and one crore through e-Prosecution, the MHA statement added.



On the other hand, under Integrated Monitoring of Terrorism (i-MoT), data of 22,000 terrorist cases is available for monitoring UAPA registered cases. Data of more than 5 lakh narco-offenders is available under NIDAN, i.e. National Integrated Database on Arrested Narco-Offenders. The data of about 1 lakh human traffickers is available under the National Database of Human Trafficking Offenders (NDHTO).

Shah called for a common training module for all central and state-level counter-terrorism agencies, so that uniformity can be brought in the methodology of fighting against terrorism.



The minister asked the NIA and Intelligence Bureau to take initiative in this direction. Now the time has come to work from need to know to need to share and duty to share approach. The number of terrorist incidents in the year 2001 was 6,000, which the government at the Centre led by Prime Minister Modi has reduced to 900 in the year 2022, he said.

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The University Grants Commission (UGC) has written to the Tamil Nadu chief secretary raising objections over the constitution of search-cum-selection committees for the appointment of vice-chancellors (VCs) to state universities without a nominee of the commission chairman, officials said on Wednesday. HT Image

The move comes after the Tamil Nadu government released a gazette last month to constitute a search committee to recommend a panel of three people for the selection of vice-chancellor for the University of Madras without a UGC chairperson nominee.

The commission, in its letter, said that the appointment of a vice-chancellor in violation of the higher-education regulators norms shall be null and void and can lead to legal complications.

UGC chairperson M Jagadesh Kumar said that the selection for the post of vice chancellor should be through proper identification by a panel of three to five people by a Search cum-Selection. One member of the Search cum-Selection Committee shall be nominated by the chairman of the University Grants Commission for selection of vice chancellors of State, Private and Deemed to be Universities. Appointment of vice-chancellor of a university in violation of the UGC Regulations is not valid, he said.

The commission also pointed out a Supreme Court judgment from last year in the case of the vice-chancellor at Sardar Patel University, Gujarat. The apex court had noted that the appointment of vice-chancellors cannot be made according to the applicable UGC regulations, even if the State Act concerned prescribes diluted eligibility criteria vis-a-vis the criteria prescribed by UGC regulations, a senior UGC official said.

Tamil Nadu governor RN Ravi and the states DMK-led government have been at loggerheads about the appointments of vice-chancellors.

On September 6, the governor had announced the constitution of three search-cum-selection committees to appoint vice-chancellors to three universities including the University of Madras, Bharathiar University in Coimbatore and the Tamil Nadu Teachers Education University in Chennai. He had also introduced a fourth member in the committee by nominating a person on behalf of the UGC chairman.

However, on September 13, the states higher education department issued a notification for a search-cum-selection committee by excluding the nominee of the UGC chairman, which the governor termed an act of impropriety and demanded the state withdraw the notification.
It has now been 17 days since Prime Minister Justin Trudeau addressed the Canadian Parliament to accuse the Narendra Modi government of ordering the extra-judicial killing of Khalistan Tiger Force (KTF) terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Surrey in British Columbia on June 18. The Modi government rejected the accusation on day 1 and asked Trudeau to provide legal evidence to back so-called credible allegations. Tensions flared between India and Canada last month following Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's unsubstantiated allegations of "potential" involvement of Indian agents in the killing of Nijjar.

With each passing day, it is now clear that Trudeau is an avid supporter of the Khalistan movement and deliberately accused the Modi government in order to defame India and club it with other autocratic powers. While such support of the Khalistan movement has not been given even by any Pakistani Prime Minister in the National Assembly, Trudeaus charge against India was to ensure that Indian operatives come under scrutiny globally and find it difficult to operate in Anglo-Saxon countries.

That the Five Eyes alliance has leverage with the Khalistani extremists was quite evident when Sikh For Justice convenor Gurupatwant Singh Pannu was nowhere to be seen during the three days when PM Modi visited US this June. Mired deep into Gurudwara politics and radicalizer of Sikh youth in the name of getting them political asylum, Pannu was a key supporter of Nijjar with links to extremists in Pakistan and in European countries.

However, the Indian national security establishment is unfazed by the cooked-up charges of Trudeau and is quite clear that it will globally counter the radical Khalistan movement globally within the ambit of international law. Since the Modi government had nothing to do with the gunning down of Nijjar, the establishment will continue to take action against Khalistani radicals if they pose threat to either Indian assets abroad or within India. From the present posture, it is evident that India is not backing down and will under no circumstances let national interests be harmed.

But the Indian political leadership is seething with rage over Trudeaus pathetic attempt to defame the country and try to club it with countries like China or Russia or Turkey or Pakistan that physically neutralize threats in third countries. The US also exercises the same doctrine of preemption under a 2013 law cleared during the Obama administration.

While the Modi government knows that Trudeau made the allegation to cement his radical Sikh minority vote bank in greater Ontario, Vancouver and Calgary regions, it has decided not to give a free pass to the maverick politician soiling the reputation of the worlds largest democracy at any cost. Even though Trudeau now does not want to escalate the issue, New Delhi is prepared to match any escalation and will not allow a clever Anglo-Saxon politician to slander Indias reputation for his electoral politics. Trudeau either takes back his words publicly or risks the consequences of a bilateral relationship going into deep freeze.

Indias bilateral relationship with Pakistan post Pathankot attack and with China post-May 2020 transgressions could make a good case study for Trudeau.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR Shishir Gupta Author of Indian Mujahideen: The Enemy Within (2011, Hachette) and Himalayan Face-off: Chinese Assertion and Indian Riposte (2014, Hachette). Awarded K Subrahmanyam Prize for Strategic Studies in 2015 by Manohar Parrikar Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses (MP-IDSA) and the 2011 Ben Gurion Prize by Israel. ...view detail
While the United States maintained distance on the India-Canada diplomatic row, a Politico report claimed that US ambassador to India Eric Garcetti told his in-country team that relations between India and the United States could get worse for a time, because of India's diplomatic spat with Canada. "Garcetti also has said the US may need to reduce its contact with Indian officials for an undefined period of time," the Politico report said adding that no State Department spokesperson confirmed this on record. US said the allegations brought by Canadian PM Justin Trudeau that India played a role in the killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar are serious and it wants India to cooperate with Canada in the probe. Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a Sikh separatist leader, was killed outside the Gurdwara that he headed. Trudeau publicly blamed India for the killing. New Delhi rejected the allegations and told Canada that it's (targetted killing) not India's policy. Eric Garcetti's private comment on the India-Canada row, as reported by Politico, is different from US' official stance on the row. (Hindustan Times)

Withdrawal of Canadian diplomats could impact issuing of visas to Indians

Eric Garcetti's private comment, as reported by Politico, is different than the US' official stand on the issue. On Wednesday too, the US ambassador spoke positively about the India-US relationship as he commented on the defence partnership between the two countries.

The Politico report came the day India told Canada to reduce the number of its diplomats posted in India amid the ongoing controversy. Canada PM Justin Trudeau, in reaction, said Canada did not want escalation with India but wanted to work with New Delhi. Canada's foreign minister said private talks with India were going on.

What US officially said on the India-Canada row

The India-Canada diplomatic crisis puts the US in a fix because of its ties with both India and Canada. External affairs minister S Jaishankar met NSA Jake Sullivan and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken during his recent US visit where the Canada issue came up. In its recent official statement on the issue, the White House said the Canadian allegations regarding India's development in the killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar are serious and need to be investigated fully. "We will certainly leave it to those two countries to talk about their bilateral relationship," John Kirby, coordinator for strategic communications at the National Security Council in the White House, said.

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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 US on Thursday dismissed a media report that ambassador Eric Garcetti had briefed his team that India-US relations could get worse over a diplomatic row with Canada, saying the envoy is focused on deepening the multi-faceted partnership with New Delhi. US ambassador Eric Garcetti. (HT)

National Security Daily, a newsletter from Politico, had cited unnamed US state department officials to report that India-US ties could become more fraught in the near term because of the row triggered by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeaus accusation that Indian government agents were linked to the killing of Khalistani leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar.

The US embassy dismisses these reports. Ambassador Garcetti is working hard every day to deepen the partnership between the people and governments of the United States and India, the US embassy spokesperson said.

As his personal engagement and public schedule demonstrates, Ambassador Garcetti and the US mission to India are working every day to advance the important, strategic and consequential partnership we have with India, the spokesperson added.

The report by National Security Daily quoted the state department official as saying that some members of the Joe Biden administration believe its relationship with [Prime Minister Narendra] Modi could become more fraught in the near term.

Also Read: Kashmir issue to be resolved by India and Pak, not 3rd party: Eric Garcetti

The report said that Garcetti had told his in-country team that, because of the diplomatic spat with Canada, relations between India and the US could get worse for a time. Garcetti also said the US may need to reduce its contacts with Indian officials for an undefined period of time, the report added.

India has already dismissed Trudeaus allegation as absurd and India and Canada have carried out tit-for-tat expulsions of senior diplomats. The Indian side has said it is willing to consider any information provided by Canada on the issue.

The row has left India-Canada relations in tatters, and New Delhi has issued an advisory urging its citizens travelling to Canada to exercise utmost caution because of growing anti-India activities and politically-condoned hate crimes. The Indian side has also asked Canada to withdraw several dozen diplomats in order to ensure parity in mutual diplomatic presence.

Canadas Western allies, including the US, have sought to strike a balance between the issue of Nijjars killing and the need to strengthen relations with India, which is seen by them as an essential counterweight to China. The US has publicly urged India to cooperate in the investigation into the killing but officials have refrained from commenting further on the issue.

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Heavy monsoon rainfall and a glacial lake outburst flood (GLOF) that caused severe flooding downstream  thats the cause of the human-aided natural disaster in Sikkim that washed away part of the Teesta 3 dam  damaged parts of Teesta 5, wrecked bridges and drowned roads. People being rescued from a flooded area in north Sikkim on Wednesday. (PTI)

It was not immediately clear as to what may have triggered the GLOF on Lhonak lake in northwest Sikkim, although this is a risk that has loomed large for at least a decade. As the GLOF occurred at around 1am (on October 4) on Lhonak lake, a lot of boulders, debris and water came downstream, flooding Teesta. There is no rainfall data available for this remote region from the India Meteorological Department (IMD). Some Swiss scientists have also suggested that an earthquake yesterday may have triggered the GLOF. We are trying to assess possible triggers, said a senior official of the Central Water Commission (CWC).

A GLOF is caused when the moraine (the debris accumulated over the years by a glacier) that usually functions as a dam, creating a lake, is breached.

The moraine dam of the lake may have been breached. Thats the understanding, the official added. Parts of northeastern India were jolted by an earthquake on Monday, and parts of northern India, by another on Tuesday.

The IMD said vigorous monsoon conditions are impacting eastern India. There is exceptional rainfall over West Bengal and Sikkim mainly due to a low-pressure area, which is lying over the region. The winds move up to the top of the hills. This is called orographic uplifting of air, which can cause a sudden and very heavy downpour. Extremely heavy rainfall will continue for at least one more day over north Bengal and parts of Sikkim, explained IMD director general M Mohapatra.

The region where GLOF occurred is extremely remote and we do not have automatic weather stations there, so its very difficult to tell how much it rained there, he added.

According to CWC, Singtam, Rangpo, Lachen and surrounding towns may have been inundated by the flood.

Miriam Jackson, glaciologist and programme coordinator, cryosphere at Kathmandu-based International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development, said Indian scientists have not yet confirmed that it is a GLOF event. All recent satellite images are cloud covered.

Due to a rise in average temperatures globally, the Himalayan region has become more vulnerable to GLOF events. As the climate warms, glaciers shrink in size and a lake may be formed, often at the side of the glacier (glacier-dammed lake) or at the front of the glacier, between the glacier and a moraine ridge (moraine-dammed glacier) or another type. As the climate continues to warm, these lakes may grow in size. There is a lot of evidence that there are more lakes than previously. This implies strongly there will be more GLOFs and GLOFs will be bigger (and more damaging), she added. We havent yet verified this as a GLOF. It could be a flash flood triggered by intense rain, or may be intense rain has triggered a GLOF.

Jakob Steiner, High Mountain Asia hazards and hydrology expert and fellow of ICIMODs Himalaya University Consortium, said: This is, incredibly sadly, another classic case of a cascading hazard chain that amplifies as you go downstream. It is possible that strong permafrost degradation in the vicinity of the lake may have destabilised the dam, which may have then failed upon an exceptionally strong rainfall event. Downstream, a hydropower structure was ripped away, further contributing to the massive impact that has resulted in yet more loss of life and damage to homes and infrastructure in what has been just a devastating monsoon season in the mountains of the Hindu Kush Himalaya. Tragically, what weve seen this summer, in terms of flash floods, is likely to pale in comparison with whats to come, unless we limit temperature rise.

The catastrophic Glacial Lake Outburst originating from Lhonal Lake in Sikkim is a stark reminder that glacier hazards are going to breach thresholds and all thanks to the warming climate. While the frequency and intensity of these events are ravaging lives and livelihoods, there is a dire need to revisit the current state of disaster preparedness and climate readiness. As per studies, there has been a 25% increase in GLOF events in the last two decades; it becomes imperative to conduct hyper-granular risk assessments that map the identified hot spot lakes and its probable extent of damage into current disaster management plans, said Abinash Mohanty, Sector Head Climate Change and Sustainability, IPE-Global- an international development organization and an expert reviewer of the IPCCs sixth assessment report.

...

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CHENNAI: The income tax department on Thursday carried out searches at nearly 40 premises linked to Dravida Munnetra Kazhagams (DMK) four-time Lok Sabha member S Jagathrakshakan, leading chief minister MK Stalin to accuse the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of practising vindictive politics. DMK MP S Jagathrakshakan was a minister of state in the UPA-2 government led by Manmohan Singh. (X/Jagathofficial)

Stalin, who cited the arrest of Aam Aadmi Partys (AAP) Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh by the Enforcement Directorate (ED), said in a post on X that it was time the BJP stop their witch-hunt.

The Union BJP Governments vindictive politics knows no bounds! Arresting AAP MP Sanjay Singh and raiding DMK MP Jagathrakshakans home are clear examples of their misuse of independent investigating agencies for political ends against INDIA bloc leaders. Stalin said.

The BJP is clearly afraid of the growing unity among opposition parties. Its time they stop their witch-hunt and focus on addressing the real issues, the DMK chief said, a reference to the 26-party coalition formed by the opposition, Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA).

The income tax department hasnt issued a formal statement on the searches targeting Jagathrakshakan, the former union minister and MP from north Tamil Nadus Arakkonam Lok Sabha seat.

To be sure, this isnt the first time in recent years that the MP has been the target of criminal investigations.

The ED registered a case against the MP in June 2020 on the basis of two first information reports filed by the crime branch-criminal investigation department in connection with allegations that he allegedly usurped the properties of Chrome Leather Factory in Chromepet. The FIRs registered by the police were, however, cancelled by a single bench of the Madras high court in September 2022. In November, a two-judge bench of the high court also cancelled the ED case registered against him.

In his post on X following Thursdays searches, Stalin said the deliberate persecution of opposition leaders was an assault on democracy.

The BJP conveniently forgets that the Supreme Court has just warned the ED to be transparent and fair. But it seems they are hell-bent on disregarding the rule of law and democracy, he said, referring to the Supreme Court judgment that questioned EDs style of functioning and directed it to maintain pristine standards of probity and fairness instead of being vindictive.

Congress MP Manickam Tagore also criticised the action against the DMK MP. I-T and ED have become frontal organisations for the BJP...Its a well-thought politics and its their political vendetta. ED and IT reach the premises of those who are against them (BJP). Those who come along with them get cleaned in the washing machine. People will reject this politics of PM Modi and Amit Shah, he said, according to news agency ANI.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR Divya Chandrababu Divya Chandrababu is an award-winning political and human rights journalist based in Chennai, India. Divya is presently Assistant Editor of the Hindustan Times where she covers Tamil Nadu & Puducherry. She started her career as a broadcast journalist at NDTV-Hindu where she anchored and wrote prime time news bulletins. Later, she covered politics, development, mental health, child and disability rights for The Times of India. Divya has been a journalism fellow for several programs including the Asia Journalism Fellowship at Singapore and the KAS Media Asia- The Caravan for narrative journalism. Divya has a master's in politics and international studies from the University of Warwick, UK. As an independent journalist Divya has written for Indian and foreign publications on domestic and international affairs. ...view detail
Union minister Anurag Thakur on Thursday said the kingpin of the liquor scam is still out but his number will come soon as the investigation is underway. "People are laughing at Kejriwal now. Tension is visible on his face. His deputy chief minister (former) is in jail, health minister (former) is in jail. And these are the people who came to power by raising slogans against corruption. His minister in Punjab had to resign within two months," Anurag Thakur said. Kejriwal said Sanjay Singh's arrest shows PM Modi's frustration as the investigating agencies did not find anything against AAP leaders so far.

"Everyone who has been certified as honest by Kejriwal is in jail. But the kingpin is still out but not for long as investigation is going on. Satyendar Jain is in jail, Manish Sisodia is in jail. Sanjay Singh will also be in jail. Whose number is next? That will soon become media's headline," Anurag Thakur said.

AAP MP Sanjay Singh was arrested on Wednesday becoming the third AAP leader to be behind the bar. After hours of raids at Sanjay Singh's place in which, as Kejriwal claimed, ED found nothing, the AAP MP was taken into custody. The arrest was in connection with the alleged liquor scam in Delhi, the same in which Sisodia has been in jail since February. Satyendar Jain was arrested in a money laundering case.

While Anurag Thakur desisted from naming Kejriwal as the kingpin of the alleged liquor scam, BJP on Wednesday made it clear that Kejriwal is the kingpin of the scam. "I challenge Arvind Kejriwal to hold a press conference immediately and say that he hasn't taken 32 lakhs which the accused Dinesh Arora claims to have given...Let the truth come to the fore," BJP spokesperson Gaurav Bhatia said.

Delhi BJP president Manoj Tiwari said Kejriwal will soon be arrested in the liquor probe. "While Sanjay Singh has been arrested today, the spotlight will soon shift from Sanjay Singh and Manish Sisodia. I believe the ongoing probe will soon reach the threshold of Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal," Tiwari said.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR Poulomi Ghosh Poulomi Ghosh is a journalist with Hindustan Times, New Delhi. ...view detail
The Supreme Court on Thursday asked the Enforcement Directorate (ED) how an offence could be made out against former Delhi deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia if there was no apparent money trail connecting him directly with a lobby that allegedly paid kickbacks to get benefits under the Capitals now-scrapped excise policy. The Supreme Court of India. (HT file photo)

Read here: Sanjays Singh arrest in Delhi excise policy case sparks political firestorm

Hearing the politicians bail petition, a bench of justices Sanjiv Khanna and SVN Bhatti observed that there were procedural and factual flaws in the federal agencys case against Sisodia under the 2002 Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA)

How will you bring him (Sisodia) under PMLA? Has money gone to his pocket? The chain is not fully established. Money came to somebody else, its acquisition and use is by somebody else...You have to establish the flow of money from the liquor lobby to the accused, the bench asked additional solicitor general (ASG) SV Raju, who represented ED and the Central Bureau of Investigation, both of which are investigating alleged bribery linked to the 2021 Delhi excise policy.

But the court didnt grant Sisodia bail on Thursday, fixing October 12 as the next date of hearing.

The bench said most of the allegations in the corruption case registered by the CBI against Sisodia were hearsay, based on the statements made by approvers and would not pass scrutiny before the trial court without any concrete material.Two questions in the cross-examination and this will fall flat, justice Khanna observed.

The queries that appeared to punch holes in the ED case against Sisodia came a day after the agency arrested senior AAP leader Sanjay Singh in connection with the excise policy.

Pressure groups are always there but policy changes without money consideration will not matter. Its the money part which makes it an offence. If we go to an extent to say that there cannot be any pressure groups, no government can function...Lobbying will always be there. Of course, bribes cannot be accepted, the bench told Raju.

The court also appeared to raise questions about the proof offered by the agency.

Dinesh Arora himself is the recipient. Where is the evidence? Except for the statement of Dinesh Arora, is there any other evidence? asked justice Khanna. Restauranteur Dinesh Arora is one of the accused in the case.

The top court also clarified that when it asked the agency why the AAP was not an accused in the case on Wednesday, it was not intended to implicate anyone and was part of the deliberations of the judges.

The question we posed was not to implicate anybody as that was not our intention. When we were shown a chart by ED, there was the name (of the political party) given at the end. In Court we ask questions to get answers. If under the prevention of money laundering act (PMLA), if A is a beneficiary who is not prosecuted, can B or C be prosecuted? the bench said.

The clarification came amid speculation that ED would be proceeding against the AAP. If there is evidence, we will not spare anybody who is guilty, Raju told reporters earlier in the day.

Sisodia was the first prominent AAP leader arrest is connected to the excise policy in which the federal agency allege kickbacks were paid. The policy was rolled out for the 2021-22 financial year in November 2021, marking the exit of the government from retail sales of alcohol and allowing private companies to bid for licenses. The objective, the Delhi government said, was to improve the buying experience for citizens by allowing market competition to raise standards.

But the policy was scrapped when Delhis lieutenant governor VK Saxena asked for an investigation, citing a report by the chief secretary who alleged irregularities. The AAP and the Capitals elected government have rejected the charges, alleging it to be a ploy by the BJP-controlled Union government to target its rival.

ED has so far arrested 14 people, including Sisodia and Sanjay Singh, and filed five prosecution complaints (or charge sheets). The CBI, which is conducting a parallel corruption probe in the matter, has filed two charge sheets in the case.

Sisodia was first arrested on February 27 by CBI, and then by ED in a money laundering case stemming from the CBI FIR on March 9 after questioning him in Tihar Jail. Sisodia resigned from the Delhi cabinet on February 28.

The Delhi high court denied him bail in the CBI case on May 30, saying having been the deputy CM and excise minister, he was a high-profile person who had the potential to influence witnesses.

On July 3, the high court again declined him bail in the money laundering case, holding that the charges against him were very serious in nature.

In the CBI case, Sisodia is accused of manipulating the excise policy to help a liquor lobby from south India, referred to as South Group. CBI alleges that the group paid alleged kickbacks of 100 crore. ED says the former minister entered into a conspiracy with the South Group and Vijay Nair, the former media in-charge of the AAP who was arrested in September last year.

ED alleged that 2.2 crore was paid to one of the accused linked to Sisodia and other hawala transactions were found between the co-accused and the South Group.

But the bench appeared unimpressed. Referring to a July 2022 verdict that upheld the contentious powers of ED under PMLA, the bench said that this judgment made money-laundering a standalone offence for which a person could be separately prosecuted.

Read here: Why Aam Aadmi Party not an accused in excise case: Supreme Court asks ED

PMLA does not concern with the generation of the proceeds of crime. How do you show a case is made out in the case of Manish Sisodia? He is not in actual possession of proceeds of crime. He may be aware of its use, but it has come to a third person. You cannot expand the meaning so widely, said the bench.

Under Section 3 of PMLA, money laundering is defined as any process or activity connected with proceeds of crime, namely concealment, possession, acquisition, use, etc, with generation not an element of money laundering.

ASG Raju defended ED. The proceeds of crime are generated because of the bribe. Once you have generated it indirectly, you use it as it goes to your political party.

The bench appeared to point to a discrepancy between the CBI and ED cases, noting that the CBI charge sheet referred to the figure of 100 crore bribe while ED referred to a figure of 45 crore. So what is paid is 45 crore and not 100 crore, the court asked Raju.

The court also pointed out that the allegation against Sisodia was of conspiring to generate proceeds of crime. Conspiracy is not an offence under the PMLA, the bench remarked, to which the ASG said the politician indirectly assisted in generating the proceeds of crime and the word assist cannot be given a restricted meaning.

But the bench disagreed. You cannot stretch it to mean an attempt to generate proceeds of crime. According to you it is not a case of attempt but of actual involvement. If so, what activity connects him to proceeds of crime, the bench said.
World Teachers' Day is right around the corner. This day honours teachers around the globe and celebrates their contribution to shaping the future of their pupils. The International festival marks the anniversary of the adoption of the 1966 ILO and United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) Recommendation - concerning the Status of Teachers. The UNESCO recommendation helped set benchmarks regarding the rights and responsibilities of teachers and standards for their initial preparation and further education, recruitment, employment, and teaching and learning conditions. According to UNESCO, the Recommendation concerning the Status of Higher-Education Teaching Personnel was adopted in 1997 to complement the 1966 Recommendation by covering teaching personnel in higher education. World Teachers' Day 2023: Know the date, history, significance, theme, and all you need to know. (HT Photo)

World Teachers' Day 2023 Date: When is World Teachers' Day?

World Teachers' Day falls on October 5. The celebrations for World Teachers' Day kickstarted in 1994.

World Teachers' Day 2023 Theme:

The theme for World Teachers' Day 2023 is "The Teachers We Need for the Education We Want: The Global Imperative to Reverse the Teacher Shortage". It aims to reduce the shortage in number of teachers and increase their strength globally, a UNESCO statement said. It will also examine how education systems, societies, communities, and families recognise, appreciate, and actively support teachers.

World Teachers' Day 2023 History and Significance:

A teacher has the unique opportunity to make a transformative and lasting impact on the lives of their students. They contribute to shaping sustainable futures and offering personal fulfilment. On October 5, 1994, UNESCO proclaimed that the day would be marked as World Teachers' Day to celebrate and honour the contribution teachers make in our lives.

How is World Teachers' Day different from India's Teachers' Day?

India celebrates its Teachers' Day on September 5 to mark the birth anniversary of Dr Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan. However, globally, Teachers' Day falls a month later on October 5. World Teachers' Day, or International Teachers' Day, marks the anniversary of the adoption of the 1966 ILO and UNESCO recommendation on the status of teachers. The recommendation set benchmarks around the rights and responsibilities of teachers.

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A child is the most precious thing for any parent so when the diagnosis is revealed to the parents, the entire world crashes down for them, leaving them with lots of uncertainties about their child and they try to go for quick fixes and quack treatments that claim to cure autism but autism is not curable and requires a different way of thinking, according to experts. When a child is diagnosed with autism, it is important for parents and caregivers to approach the situation with sensitivity and informed understanding. What not to do, when a child is diagnosed with autism (iStockphoto)

In an interview with HT Lifestyle, Dr Puja Kapoor, Paediatric Neurologist and Co-Founder of Continua kids, shared, After the child is diagnosed with autism, it takes a while to accept the diagnosis. Obviously, it is very hard to accept that a child who is so normal physically, could have a developmental disorder which would make him so disconnected with the world. So much so, that he stops calling his mother ma and disregards her presence but for the best interest of the child, the diagnosis should not be delayed. Early intervention is the key to best results. The earlier the interventions are executed, the better the results are.

She advised, Do not waste time in accepting the diagnosis. There are no shortcuts to treatment. A plethora of treatment modalities are available on internet. Many of them give a quick fix to the management, like certain medications, stem cell therapy, hyperbaric oxygen etc, etc. Do not fall prey to these shortcuts as they are still under experimental research phase. Always select the approach which is scientifically proven and backed by research. Do not compare. Every individual is unique in its own sense. Do not compare the trajectory of your child with other children. This only brings a lot of anxiety thus deteriorating the progress of the child.

Dr Prakash Selvaperumal, Paediatrician at Apollo Cradle and Childrens Hospital in Chennai, recommended, Firstly, avoiding denial or blame is essential. Autism is a neurodevelopmental disorder and is not caused by parenting style or environmental factors. Secondly, refrain from pursuing unproven "miracle cures" or treatments. These can be ineffective and potentially harmful as it can trigger the child. It is important to not isolate the child. The child's involvement in social activities and interactions, tailored to their comfort level, can greatly benefit their development. However, pushing them into overwhelming situations should also be avoided."

He added, "Another mistake is neglecting early intervention services. Early intervention, including therapies like speech and occupational therapy, can significantly enhance a child's skills and potential for a more fulfilling life. Finally, it is critical to maintain realistic expectations. While progress is possible, aiming for a complete "cure" may result in disappointment. Celebrate each small accomplishment and concentrate on developing the child's strengths. In summary, avoiding denial of the situation, seeking evidence-based interventions, providing a supportive social environment, embracing early intervention, and setting realistic expectations are vital when a child is diagnosed with Autism."

Bringing her expertise to the same, Dr Isha Soni, Senior Occupational Therapist and Centre Head at Lexicon Rainbow Therapy and Child Development Centre in Pune, asserted that it is not a disease and said, Undoubtedly, there are challenges during early childhood development, with some crucial speech and social milestones being missed by the child but parents must go forward only with evidence-based practices like speech, occupational, sensory integration and ABA therapy. Parents must strictly stay away from chelation therapy, stem cell therapy, and hyperbaric oxygen therapy, as these are not evidence-based and are more damaging than beneficial for autism. At times, they can prove fatal as well. At times, parents just stay in denial and do not accept the diagnosis. These further delays the early intervention window for the child.

She suggested, Early intervention is crucial to determining the child's developmental trajectory. It works wonders, as behaviours are easy to nip in the bud. Early intervention also facilitates communication in the child, which makes life easier for both the child and his parents. Autism does not have a one-size-fits all protocol. Hence, parents must understand that following blindly certain YouTube videos or videos from some parent WhatsApp groups will not have an impact on the child. A tailored programme from a therapist and other experts is strongly recommended.

Ankita Mahajan, Naturopath and Founder of Yogymummy, highlighted a list of things you should stop doing with an autistic child:

Forcing them to respond to anything (you must accept that the child has autism and expect delays from his/her side)

Nullifying their emotions (being autistic does not mean they cannot feel. All their emotions are valid and do not form your opinion for the same. These kids too need love, love them without judging them!)

Taking them differently than other kids. (These kids are special kids and you are mistaking them if you think they are the disabled ones. Every kid is special and has capabilities to do things differently. An autistic child still can learn, create and grow!)

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Young people in higher education in England have a slightly higher risk of depression and anxiety than their counterparts who do not attend higher education, according to a new study headed by UCL academics. The research paper, published in The Lancet Public Health, is the first to find evidence of higher levels of depression and anxiety among higher education students compared with their peers. The authors found that by age 25, the difference had disappeared between graduates and non-graduates. The study finds evidence of higher levels of depression and anxiety among higher education students compared with their peers.(Unsplash/Eric Ward)

Lead author Dr Gemma Lewis (UCL Psychiatry) said: "In recent years in the UK we have seen an increase in mental health problems among young people, so there has been an increased focus on how to support students. Here we have found concerning evidence that students may have a higher risk of depression and anxiety than their peers of the same age who are not in higher education.

"The first couple of years of higher education are a crucial time for development, so if we could improve the mental health of young people during this time it could have long term benefits for their health and wellbeing, as well as for their educational achievement and longer-term success."

The researchers used data from the Longitudinal Studies of Young People in England (LSYPE1 and LSYPE2). The first study included 4,832 young people born in 1989-90, who were aged 18-19 in the years 2007-9. The second study included 6,128 participants born in 1998-99, who were aged 18-19 in the years 2016-18 (i.e., prior to the disruption of the COVID-19 pandemic). In both studies, just over half attended higher education.

Participants in the studies have completed surveys about their general mental health, to investigate symptoms of depression, anxiety, and social dysfunction, at multiple time points over the years. The researchers found a small difference in symptoms of depression and anxiety at age 18-19 between students (including those at university and other higher education institutions) and non-students.

This association persisted after adjustment for potentially confounding factors including, among others, socioeconomic status, parents' education, and alcohol use. The analysis suggests that if the potential mental health risks of attending higher education were eliminated, the incidence of depression and anxiety could potentially be reduced by 6% among people aged 18-19.

First author Dr Tayla McCloud (UCL Psychiatry) said: "Based on our findings, we cannot say why students might be more at risk of depression and anxiety than their peers, but it could be related to academic or financial pressure. This increased risk among students has not been found in studies in the past, so if the association has only recently emerged, it may be related to increased financial pressures and worries about achieving high results in the wider economic and social context.

"We would have expected higher education students to have better mental health than their non-student peers as they tend to be from more privileged backgrounds on average, so these results are particularly concerning. More research is needed to clarify the mental health risks facing students. "Improving our understanding of modifiable risk factors for depression and anxiety is a global health priority, and it is clear that supporting the mental health of our young people is vitally important."

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Sustainable experiences are at the forefront of the travel industry, reshaping the way travellers engage with culture, wildlife and the environment. Today, more than ever, tourists seek meaningful and responsible ways to explore the world, fostering a deep connection with their chosen destinations while also contributing to the preservation of heritage and the protection of the environment. Australia, Singapore travel tips: On-budget sustainable recreational experiences (Image by eberhartmark from Pixabay)

Let's delve into four destinations that exemplify this transformative shift in travel -

Embrace First Nations culture and engage with local communities:

Preservation and honour of historical and present cultural assets and practices are critical in encouraging sustainable tourism. The Tribal Warrior cruise in Sydney is one remarkable event that embodies this philosophy as the trip is a one-of-a-kind adventure because it is owned and run by First Nations people, providing an extraordinary maritime voyage.

Throughout the voyage, you'll have the opportunity to learn about Aboriginal names and their meanings for major local landmarks, all while immersing yourself in the rich stories of Sydney Harbour's Gadigal, Guringai, Wangal, Gammeraigal and Wallumedegal peoples. Another must-visit destination in Sydney is the Australian Museum, Australia's oldest museum institution.

Remarkably, the Australian Museum has received recognition from the Federal Government for its commitment to climate action, having achieved a carbon-neutral status. Particularly noteworthy is the museum's ongoing exhibition, "Changing Climate," which not only provides valuable insights into climate change but also shares innovative solutions and accounts of its impact on Australia.

(Dwayne Bannon-Harrison, an Aboriginal guide, conducting a traditional welcome with a smoking ceremony as part of a Ngaran Ngaran Culture Awareness tour)

Tweed Eco Cruises offer eco-friendly river trips along the picturesque Tweed River during the day or after sunset. These cruises provide sumptuous snacking boards made entirely of locally sourced cuisine or a spectacular seafood buffet and alternatively, for a deep cultural experience, consider joining Dwayne 'Naja' Bannon-Harrison from Ngaran Ngaran Culture Awareness who takes on country tours around the picturesque NSW Far South Coast, giving visitors an intimate experience of Yuin Country.

2. Take a stroll with New South Wales beloved inhabitants:

Witnessing wildlife is an exhilarating travel experience, so it is vital that these excursions prioritise animal well-being and environmental preservation. To achieve this and enhance your chances of wildlife sightings, consider hiring a local guide or expert.

EcoTreasures offers conservation-focused coastal walks and snorkeling tours in Manly, while Wolgan Valley Eco Tours provides informative hikes in the Greater Blue Mountains World Heritage Area. On the Far South Coast of New South Wales, Navigate Expeditions' guides offer insights into the area's biology and culture, along with local cuisine and eco-friendly electric vehicle transportation.

(Visitors delight in a kayaking tour organised by Navigate Expeditions in Kalaru)

For an up-close wildlife experience, Dolphin Swim Australia offers the opportunity to swim and snorkel with dolphins along Port Stephens' coastline. After some training, you can enjoy a safe and supervised wild dolphin swim in the pristine waters of the Great Lakes Marine Park. Further North, in Byron Bay's Marine National Park, Go Sea Kayak provides guided kayaking and snorkeling adventures, allowing you to encounter dolphins, whales and local green and loggerhead turtles. Notably, the tour operator also contributes $1 for each client to support marine-related charities, including Sea Shepherd.

3. Wander around Singapores fascinating Birds Paradise

Nestled within the Mandai Wildlife Reserve, Bird Paradise is an enchanting destination that beckons nature lovers and bird enthusiasts alike. As one of Asia's largest bird parks, Bird Paradise has as many as 3,500 birds from 400 different species, flying in a magnificent open sanctuary.

(Visitors enjoying the open Bird Paradise in Mandai Wildlife Reserve)

The newly opened wildlife park also features varied immersive and naturalistic mixed-species habitats that reflect different ecologies from around the world. Mandai Wildlife Reserve is enhancing existing human-made, sustainable resources to protect the environment and conserve biodiversity in Singapore in fact, it is set to become carbon-neutral by 2024 so visitors can now discover a world of vibrant plumage and ecological wonders in Bird Paradise.

4. Mr. Bucket

A stone throw away from Orchard Road, Mr. Bucket promises an unparalleled, chocolatey adventure. This unique chocolate lifestyle destination is Singapores first ever waste-proof chocolate dispensary and even features a build-your-own chocolate slab station.

(Some scrumptious chocolate-based refreshments prepared with Mr. Buckets waste-proof approach)

Beyond its delectable culinary offerings, the establishment is committed to Singapore's sustainability goals and employs a zero-waste approach to cacao fruit utilisation. Patrons can savour items from a selection of meticulously crafted beverages. This is a distinctive eco-conscious dining spot which serves one-of-a-kind refreshments- from cacao husk lemon tea to a must-try cacao-infused wine.

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Embassy Office Parks REIT has provided on lease 1.94 lakh square feet office space in its commercial project in Mumbai to SMFG India Credit Co. Ltd. Embassy REIT owns and operates a 42.4 million square feet portfolio of eight infrastructure-like office parks and four city-centre office buildings in Indias best-performing office markets of Bangalore, Mumbai, Pune, and the National Capital Region.

Real estate consultant Cushman & Wakefield facilitated the transaction for SMFG.

In a regulatory filing, Embassy Office Parks REIT informed that SMFG India Credit has signed a lease agreement for 1,94,000 square feet at 'Embassy 247' project in Mumbai.

The project Embassy 247, is a premium office park, with a total area of 1.18 million square feet at Vikhroli.

SMFG India Credit Co. Ltd. (Formerly Fullerton India Credit Co. Ltd.) is registered as an NBFC - Investment and Credit Company (NBFC-ICC) with the RBI, and a member of Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group (SMFG).

SMFG India Credit started its India operations in 2007 and has established a pan-India presence. It has 729 branches and over 16,500 employees.

With this deal, SMFG India Credit aims to consolidate its offices in Powai and Andheri into a single office.

SMFG India Credit's Corporate office will continue to be in BKC, Mumbai.

Swaminathan Subramanian, Chief Operating Officer at SMFG India Credit, said the facility will house over 2,000 of its employees.

Aravind Maiya, Chief Executive Officer, Embassy REIT, said this project is one of its flagship assets in Mumbai, and the company has made significant investments over the years to elevate the overall experience for occupiers.

Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group (SMFG) holds a 74.9 per cent stake in SMFG India Credit Co. Ltd.

Embassy REIT is India's first publicly-listed Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT).

It owns and operates a 45 million square feet portfolio of nine office parks and four citycentre office buildings in Bengaluru, Mumbai, Pune, and the National Capital Region (NCR).

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China has unveiled ambitious plans to expand its existing space station, Tiangong, increasing its modules from three to six in the coming years. This development aims to provide an alternative platform for near-Earth missions, particularly for astronauts from other nations, as the NASA-led International Space Station (ISS) approaches the end of its operational lifespan, expected around 2030. China is not part of the International Space Station programme.(Representative Image/AP)

During the 74th International Astronautical Congress held in Baku, Azerbaijan, the China Academy of Space Technology (CAST), a key unit of China's primary space contractor, said that they are planning to increase the lifespan of the space station from 10 years to 15 years now, Reuters reported.

What is Tiangong?

The Chinese space station, known as Tiangong, which translates to "Sky Palace," represents China's latest venture into space, succeeding the Tiangong-1 and Tiangong-2 modules. Currently, Tiangong boasts a mass of 96,000 kg, with dimensions of 55.6 meters in length and 39 meters in width. Future expansion plans include the addition of three more modules, with the fourth module, tentatively named "Xuntian," scheduled for launch in 2024.

Tiangong orbits Earth at altitudes ranging from 340 to 450 kilometres, a trajectory similar to that of the ISS. However, Tiangong is significantly smaller and lighter than the ISS, with only three modules compared to the ISS's 16.

What is the International Space Station?

The International Space Station Program represents a collaboration of key space agencies from the United States, Russia, Europe, Japan, and Canada. It involves international flight crews, a range of launch vehicles, globally distributed launch and flight operations, training facilities, engineering and development resources, communication networks, and the international scientific research community. China is not a participant in the International Space Station program.

As the ISS, with over two decades of operational history and more than 200 visiting astronauts, approaches its planned decommissioning around 2030, China aims to solidify its position as a major player in the realm of space exploration by then.

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European regulators have launched a series of probes against Big Tech. In the latest one, Britain's media regulator asked the country's antitrust authority to investigate U.S. tech giants Amazon and Microsoft's dominance of the UK cloud market. Freight semi trailers are docked at the Amazon warehouse in Palmdale, California.(AFP)

Here are some of the actions taken by European watchdogs to keep a tab on big technology companies:

EUROPEAN UNION

Microsoft said in August it would unbundle chat and video app Teams from its Office product in a bid to avoid a possible EU antitrust fine, a month after the European Commission launched an investigation into its Office and Teams tie-up.

Meta Platforms offered in July to curb the use of competitors' advertising data for its Facebook Marketplace online classified service in an attempt to settle an EU antitrust investigation but regulators rebuffed it, people familiar with the matter said.

In May, Meta was hit with a record 1.2-billion euro ($1.27 billion) fine by the EU's lead privacy regulator for its handling of user information and given five months to stop transferring users' data to the United States.

EU regulators said in June that Alphabet's Google may have to sell part of its adtech business to address concerns about anti-competitive practices, threatening the company with its harshest regulatory penalty to date.

The EU competition watchdog last year accused Apple of restricting rivals' access to its tap-and-go technology, NFC, used for mobile wallets, making it difficult for them to develop rival services on Apple devices. The regulators have since continued their investigation.

In December 2022, Amazon settled three antitrust probes after it addressed the EU's concerns over its use of sellers' data.

In September, the EU picked out 22 so-called "gatekeeper" services run by Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Meta, Microsoft and TikTok-owner ByteDance, giving them six months to comply with the provisions of its wide-ranging Digital Markets Act (DMA).

BRITAIN

Britain's media regulator on Oct. 5 asked the country's antitrust authority CMA to investigate Amazon and Microsoft's dominance of the UK cloud market, citing features that made it more difficult for businesses to switch or mix and match cloud providers. CMA will complete its investigation by April 2025.

FRANCE

The French competition authority raided Nvidia's local offices in the last week of September, the Wall Street Journal reported. The watchdog disclosed the raid on Sept. 27, but did not name the company beyond saying it was in the "graphics cards sector".

Nvidia declined to comment.

The antitrust authority in July said Apple may have violated regulations related to the utilisation of iPhone user data in advertising and could potentially misuse its dominant market position by imposing biased, unclear, and unfair conditions to handle user data.

The country's privacy watchdog said in July it was aware of OpenAI CEO Sam Altman's Worldcoin crypto project and that the legality of its biometric data collection "seems questionable as do the conditions for storing biometric data".

GERMANY

A German data watchdog has been investigating Worldcoin since late 2022. Worldcoin, which launched in July 2023, requires users to give their iris scans in exchange for a digital ID and, in some countries, free cryptocurrency.

ITALY

Italy's antitrust agency said in May it had opened a probe into Apple for alleged abuse of its dominant position in the apps market.

In April, the watchdog took measures against Meta over an alleged abuse of its position in the country, in a probe involving the rights to music posted on the group's platforms.

OpenAI's ChatGPT chatbot was temporarily banned in Italy in March over concerns by the national data protection authority, but was made available to users again in April.

The antitrust authority said in March it had opened an investigation into TikTok for allegedly breaching its rules by allowing the publication of "dangerous content" inciting suicide, self-harm and poor nutrition.

NETHERLANDS

The Dutch competition regulator on Oct. 2 said it had rejected Apple's objections against fines of 50 million euros it had given the company over failure to comply with regulations aimed at limiting the dominant position of Apple's App Store. Apple will appeal the decision in Dutch courts.

POLAND

A Polish watchdog said in September it was investigating OpenAI over a complaint that ChatGPT breaks European Union data protection laws.

Poland's competition and consumer protection authority in February accused Amazon's European arm of misleading sales and delivery practices.

SPAIN

Spain's antitrust watchdog in July fined Amazon and Apple for colluding to limit the online sale of devices from Apple and competitors in the country.

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Finnish telecom gear maker Nokia has established a 6G Lab at its global research and development centre in Bengaluru, the company said on Thursday. Nokia establishes 6G Lab at Bengaluru R&D centre.(REUTERS)

The lab was inaugurated virtually by Union Telecom Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw.

"The inauguration of the Nokia 6G research lab in Bengaluru today is another step towards PM Narendra Modi's vision of making India an innovation hub. Interesting use cases coming out of this lab will be related to transportation safety, health care and education which will be another big contribution to the entire Digital India suite," Vaishnaw said.

The first-of-its-kind project aims to accelerate the development of fundamental technologies and innovative use cases underpinned by 6G technology that will address the future needs of both industry and society.

Last month, India's vision to have ubiquitous coverage under 6G technology was accepted by UN body ITU's Study Group in its meeting held in Geneva -- a move that is expected to reduce the cost of deployment of the next-generation technology.

The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) decides on the development of international mobile telecommunication standards after coordination with its member countries, technology companies and other stakeholders.

India has already secured more than 200 patents on 6G technology through Industry and academia collaboration with the support of the Department of Telecom.

"Nokia is honoured to contribute towards the realisation of the Indian government's 'Bharat 6G vision'. We look forward to collaborating with key stakeholders to help India become a major player in 6G technology development and adoption, and take its place in the global arena as a leading developer and supplier of advanced telecom technologies and solutions," Nokia Chief Strategy and Technology Officer Nishant Batra said.

Nokia's 6G lab will function as a platform for collaboration among industry stakeholders and facilitate the testing of innovative solutions while establishing their potential for commercialisation.

The lab includes a setup to research 'Network as a Sensor' technology that enables the network to sense objects, people and movement without the need for onboard sensors.

In the 6G era, 'Network as a Sensor' has been identified as a key enabling technology that supports the vision of bringing the digital and physical worlds together, the statement said.

Sensing will be fully integrated into the wireless network and operate simultaneously with communication services.

"Nokia's experts at its Bengaluru centre will support India's ambition to make notable contributions towards global 6G technology standards. Further, it is in the process of building research collaborations with premier research institutes in India like IISc and IITs to further scale up the 6G research initiative in India," the statement said. The lab will also provide an experimental platform for researching algorithms, privacy, and sustainable system design, the company said.

Nokia is engaged in several global projects and regional initiatives with industry peers, customers, academia, and research institutions around 6G.

Nokia is also a founding member of the Next G Alliance which is helping to drive the 6G ecosystem in North America and coordinating the German Lighthouse project 6G ANNA.

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A recent TikTok video, shared on social media platform X has sparked conversations about an intriguing phenomenon: the influence of hunger on judicial decisions. The video depicted a person in a judge's costume eating lunch with a caption that read, Finally getting lunch and realizing that I gave a guy life in prison without parole because I was hangry. The post quickly gained attention, prompting a flurry of reactions. The video depicted a person in a judge's costume eating lunch with a caption that read, Finally getting lunch and realizing that I gave a guy life in prison without parole because I was hangry. (X)

Twitter users expressed a mix of amusement, scepticism, and concern regarding the video. A user questioned the judge's professionalism, stating, "I'm going to assume that it's a joke and that he likely didn't even sentence anyone to life that day, but I think the fact that he made the joke at all is abhorrent." Others highlighted the potential insensitivity of the joke, emphasizing its impact on individuals who have had negative experiences with the justice system.

The video and ensuing discussions on social media draw attention to an interesting phenomenon known as the "Hungry Judge Effect." Researchers have explored the impact of hunger and fatigue on judicial decisions, particularly in the context of parole board decisions. A study initially conducted in Israel suggested that judges became increasingly harsh in their decisions as the day wore on, with the likelihood of granting parole dropping significantly just before meal breaks.

This phenomenon was brought to widespread attention by psychologist Daniel Kahneman in his 2011 book, "Thinking, Fast and Slow." However, subsequent research has cast doubt on the initial findings, indicating that the effect may not be as significant as once believed.

A more recent study, conducted using data from judges in India and Pakistan during Ramadan (a month of fasting), yielded contrasting results. It suggested that, if anything, judges were more likely to acquit defendants as their fasting hours increased, challenging the notion that hunger consistently leads to harsher decisions. While the influence of hunger on judicial decisions remains a subject of debate, it is clear that factors affecting decision-making in the legal system are multifaceted.

The studys results shed light on the complexity of human decision-making. While the impact of hunger on judgment remains a topic of interest, it appears that the influence is more nuanced than previously thought. Experts caution against oversimplifying psychological phenomena, emphasizing the need for rigorous research to understand the intricacies of human behaviour.

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Way Kambas National Park on Southern Sumatra island took to X to share the news about the birth of a rhino calf with the world. They posted about a newborn Sumatran rhino, a species that is sliding into extinction and is considered one of the worlds most endangered species. The national park shared a video and a series of photos of the newborn with its mother. The image shows an unnamed Sumatran rhino baby with its mom Ratu. (X/@KementerianLHK)

The park shared the caption in Indonesian which when translated into English reads, Hello Friends, the birth of a baby Sumatran rhino in the Sumatran Rhino Reserve, Way Kambas National Park (SRS TNWK) yesterday (30/09) extends the story of the two Sumatran rhino lovebirds, Ratu and Andalas.

Also Read: Extremely rare newborn silvery gibbon clings to mom in adorable pics

The mom, Ratu, is a local female rhino of Indonesia, reports CNN. The dad, Andalas, who now lives in the national park, is a former resident of Cincinnati Zoo in Ohio. The unnamed Sumatran rhinoceros calf is the third offspring of Ratu and Andalas.

The video shared by the park shows Ratu giving birth to the newborn. It also captures the tiny one trying hard to stand. Towards the end of the clip, Ratu is seen feeding her newborn baby.

Take a look at this video of the mama rhino with her baby:

More about the newborn Sumatran rhino calf

The park also posted two more tweets along with several images of the rhino calf. In one of the posts, they wrote that the child was normal and quick enough to be able to stand on her own. They added that the baby could drink its mothers milk within less than four hours of its birth. The total number of rhinos in the park increased to nine with the birth of the little one. In their concluding tweet, the park added that they wish the mom and her newborn will continue to be healthy.

How is this birth important for the species?

Standing at around four to five feet tall and having a body length of nearly 8.2 feet, Sumatran rhinos are considered the smallest rhinos in the world, reports CNN. Habitat loss and hunting are the greatest threats to the survival of the species. Several Indonesian conservationists have expressed their concern over the survival of these rhinos.

The beacon of hope for the species is the breeding program at the Sumatran Rhino Sanctuary that has produced three calves and continues its breeding efforts to create an insurance population of rhinos, the International Rhino Foundation (IRF) told CNN.

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Halloween has always painted the town orange. However, this year a hopeful teal accompanies it on porches and lights. Just like a boot on a fence and paint on a tree hold a certain meaning, teal pumpkins also carry a message for the onlookers.(WagnerSprayTech)

Just like a boot on a fence and paint on a tree hold a certain meaning, teal pumpkins also carry a message for the onlookers.

Here's what they mean, how they help benefit children and how to get one for yourself.

Teal Pumpkin- Meaning

If you see a teal pumpkin on someone's doorstep while trick-or-treating, it means that the house is offering non-food toys or trinkets in addition to candies.

Non-food items include pop-up toys, playing cards, glow sticks, pencil toppers and temporary tattoos!

This Halloween teal pumpkins are a part of the Teal Pumpkin Project, initiated by the non-profit Food Allergy Research and Education (FARE).

Teal Pumpkin- Benefits for children

Candies distributed on Halloween contain one of the seven major food allergens: milk, eggs, peanuts, tree nuts, wheat, soy and sesame.

According to FARE, 1 in 13 children in America are allergic to a food item. Consequently, 42% of such children have experienced serious allergic reactions during the spooky night.

Therefore, the Teal Pumpkin Project ensures that children stay safe while also enjoying the holiday spirit.

Teal Pumpkin- Where can I buy one?

This year, CVS Health has teamed up with FARE to provide teal pumpkins and more than 100 non-food toys to purchase.

More than 7,000 CVS stores across America will be carrying these non-food toys and many of these cost less than $5.

Brian Eason, Vice President of general merchandise and consumables shared in a press release, "Our partnership with FARE has made it possible to accommodate the needs of every child and foster inclusive celebrations, while also bringing awareness to the important mission of FARE."

Check out CVS's full offerings here.

Also, to check if your local CVS is carrying the items under the Teal Pumpkin Project, check FARE's interactive neighbourhood map here.

Teal Pumpkin- Make one yourself

If you voluntarily want to partake in the initiative, you can always pick up some paintbrushes and paint your pumpkins teal!

To double up the joy, along with candies, create your own crafts- stickers, stencils, bookmarks, finger puppets and other fun items.

Once you're ready with your allergy-safe goodies, add your house to the interactive map above so that the trick-or-treater can find your abode.

Enjoy a safe and spooky Halloween!

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A video capturing a disturbing incident on a New Jersey Transit train has gone viral, showcasing a woman, identified as Brianna Pinnix, berating a group of German tourists before shouting, get the fk out of our country. The video, which surfaced on Reddit, led to Pinnix's dismissal from her job at Capital Rx, a World Trade Center-based pharmacy benefit manager. Video of woman berating German tourists goes viral, leading to her dismissal from job.(X/@anuibi)

In the video, a visibly intoxicated Pinnix aggressively confronts the tourists, repeatedly demanding an explanation for their actions. Despite attempts by her boyfriend to defuse the situation, Pinnix continues her tirade, escalating to physical violence as she lightly strikes one of the tourists. Brie, Brie, do not do this, do not this, youre going to get arrested, her boyfriend pleaded. I can handle my own, she said. Brie, please stop this please. Stop this, or Im never going to talk to you again, he warned. I love you, but get off me, she replied.

Pinnixs boyfriend managed to get her back to her seat as he told her that he's also an immigrant. You know Im an immigrant, Im an immigrant, too, you know that, right? he said. Yeah  but Im responsible for you so its OK, she said. Onlookers expressed shock and disapproval to their interaction, with one passenger heard saying, Thats harsh.

Capital Rx acted swiftly, terminating Pinnix after reviewing the video. A company spokesperson stated, Our company has a zero-tolerance policy around prejudicial or discriminatory behavior. After conducting a review of the circumstances, we acted immediately and terminated the employee in question. The former employees actions and words are not representative of Capital Rx, and we offer our sincerest apology to those who were hurt, they added.

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The incident has elicited widespread condemnation on social media platforms. Many viewers expressed concern for Pinnix's boyfriend and urged him to end the relationship. The video has sparked discussions about the importance of addressing xenophobia and promoting tolerance in society.

Pinnix's behaviour, captured in the video, has ignited conversations about the need for cultural understanding and empathy, even in moments of frustration. As the video continues to circulate online, it serves as a reminder of the ongoing work required to combat prejudice and promote inclusivity within communities.

Pinnix has not responded to requests for comments, leaving many to wonder if she will issue an apology for her actions.

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An attack Thursday on a Syrian military academy killed more than 100 people, a war monitor said, with state media blaming "terrorist organisations" for the deadly drone strike in government-held Homs. Injured individuals from the drone attack targeting a Syrian military academy receiving medical treatment at a hospital in government-controlled Homs. (AFP)

Separately, Turkish air raids in the war-torn country's Kurdish-held northeast killed at least nine people, according to Kurdish forces, after Ankara had threatened raids in retaliation for a bomb attack.

In the central Syrian city of Homs, "armed terrorist organisations" targeted "the graduation ceremony for officers of the military academy", an army statement carried by official news agency SANA said.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based monitor, reported "more than 100 dead, around half of them military graduates, and including 14 civilians", revising up a previous toll. It said at least 125 others were wounded.

Health Minister Hassan al-Ghobash told state television the "preliminary" toll was 80 dead "including six women and six children" and around 240 wounded.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility.

The attack was carried out with "explosive-laden drones", according to the military statement, vowing to "respond with full force".

The government declared three days of mourning starting Friday.

Later Thursday in the rebel-held Idlib region, residents reported wide and heavy regime bombardment.

The Observatory said four civilians were killed and others wounded in the assault on several towns in the opposition bastion in the country's northwest.

Swathes of Idlib province are controlled by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, led by the former local Al-Qaeda branch. The jihadist group has used drones to attack government-held areas in the past.

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres "is deeply concerned about the drone attack", his spokesman Stephane Dujarric said.

The UN chief "is also deeply concerned about reports of retaliatory shelling" in northwest Syria, Dujarric added.

Overnight, Syrian army shelling killed an elderly woman and four of her children in a rebel-held area of Aleppo province, rescue workers and the Observatory said.

- Power stations hit -

The Turkish strikes on Hasakeh province in northeast Syria "killed six members of the internal security" agency, a statement from the Kurdish force's media centre said.

A worker at a site in the province was also killed, according to Farhad Shami, spokesman for the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), the Kurds' de facto army.

The Kurdish authorities' statement also said "two civilians" were killed in a strike on a motorcycle.

Turkey regularly strikes targets in Syrian Kurds' semi-autonomous region.

On Wednesday, Ankara warned of more intense cross-border air raids, after concluding that militants who staged a weekend attack in the Turkish capital came from Syria.

The US-backed SDF led the battle that dislodged Islamic State group fighters from their last scraps of Syrian territory in 2019.

Turkey views the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) that dominate the SDF as an offshoot of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which is listed as a terror group by Ankara and its Western allies.

Turkey has launched strikes on PKK positions in northern Iraq since Sunday's attack in Ankara, which wounded two Turkish security officers outside the interior ministry and was claimed by the Kurdish group.

AFP correspondents in Syria's northeast saw on Thursday smoke rising from oil sites near Qahtaniyeh, close to the Turkish border.

Two power stations in the area were also hit, as well as the vicinity of a dam.

- 'Worsening' -

The SDF's Shami said the strikes had targeted military and civilian sites.

"There has been a clear escalation since the Turkish threats," he said.

In the market of the city of Qamishli in Hasakeh province, vendors were worried.

"The situation is worsening every day. Turkey doesn't let us breathe," said Hassan al-Ahmad, a 35-year-old fabric merchant.

SDF commander Mazloum Abdi denied Wednesday that the Ankara assailants had "passed through our region".

"Turkey is looking for pretexts to legitimise its ongoing attacks on our region," he said.

The Kurdish administration urged "the international community" to "take a stand capable of dissuading" Turkey from its attacks.

State Department spokesperson Vedant Patel said the United States "remains concerned about the military escalation in northern Syria".

The United States, Russia and Turkey all have troops in the country.

Between 2016 and 2019, Turkey carried out three major operations in northern Syria against Kurdish forces.

The conflict in Syria has killed more than half a million people since it began in 2011 with a brutal crackdown on anti-government protests, spiralling into a complex battlefield involving foreign armies, militias and jihadists.
A British Sikh crossbow-armed intruder who pleaded guilty to committing treason after telling royal guards at Windsor Castle on Christmas Day 2021 that he was there to kill Queen Elizabeth II was sentenced to nine years imprisonment by a UK court on Thursday. Queen elizabeth II

Jaswant Singh Chail, 21, who claimed he wanted to assassinate the late monarch as revenge for the 1919 Jallianwala Bagh massacre in Amritsar according to a social media video that emerged soon after his arrest, has been handed a hybrid sentence order to take into account his mental health issues.

During a televised sentencing hearing at the Old Bailey court in London, Justice Nicholas Hilliard ruled that Chail must remain at Broadmoor Hospital, a high-security psychiatric hospital in Berkshire until he is considered fit to be transferred into custody.

The act was conceived in 2021 when he was not psychotic and he went on to become psychotic by a process, the judge noted as he stated his reasoning behind the sentencing order.

He concluded that Chail had ultimately acted upon his homicidal thoughts and therefore posed a threat of serious harm to the public, which necessitated a custodial order.

The court heard how it was during a family visit to Amritsar in 2018 that he learnt more about the Jallianwala Bagh massacre and decided to give his life purpose by avenging the killings by assassinating the British monarch at the time, who passed away aged 96 in September 2022.

Last month during his trial it emerged that Chail had written a letter to express his distress and sadness as an apology to the royal family and King Charles III.

According to court reports from the hearing, Chails strong family unit includes his father, a software consultant working in aerospace, his mother, a special needs teacher, and his twin sister, a university student.

Chail was said to be suffering from mental health issues and the threat to the late Queen was instigated by an artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot girlfriend named Sarai and inspired by his Star Wars fascination.

Earlier, Chail pleaded guilty to an offence under Section 2 of the Treason Act, 1842; an offence of threats to kill contrary to Section 16 of the Offences Against the Person Act 1861; and an offence of possession of an offensive weapon contrary to Section 1 of the Prevention of Crime Act 1953.

He had made a video of himself stating his desire to harm the late Queen, which he sent to a group of contacts shortly before he was arrested. Further enquiries into Chail uncovered further evidence of his planning and motives. Evidence recovered by officers showed that he harboured ill-feeling towards the British empire for its past treatment of Indian people, a Met Police statement noted.

The Queen was in her private apartments at Windsor Castle at the time of Chails intrusion on the morning of December 25, 2021. Two officers saw the intruder within the grounds of the Castle and one approached him.

He was wearing black clothing and a handmade metal mask and said to the officers he was there to kill Her late Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. Chail was carrying a crossbow loaded with a bolt when the officers drew their Taser gun and arrested him.

The social media video which emerged later showed a masked man identifying himself as Indian Sikh Jaswant Singh Chail and saying he wanted to assassinate the Queen as revenge for the Jallianwala Bagh massacre in Amritsar in 1919.

Under the 1842 Treason Act, it is an offence to assault the British Sovereign or have a firearm or offensive weapon in their presence with intent to injure or alarm them or to cause a breach of peace.
Millions of people heaved a sigh of relief after the missing 9-year-old girl Charlotte Sena, was rescued and reunited with her family. The mysterious disappearance remained an unsolved puzzle for almost two days, with various law enforcement agencies including the FBI engaged in the search and rescue operation for Charlotte. The girl was rescued after authorities used fingerprints on a ransom note to track down the alleged abductor who had hidden Charlotte in a cabinet. The fingerprints of the accused matched a database record from a drunk-driving case in 1999. Charlotte Sena(left), her alleged abductor(AP/NYPD)

The alleged kidnapper Craig Ross, has been receiving a lot of flak and condemnation on social media. And Craig's own son hates his father and wants him to die in prison.

According to a report by TMZ, Craig's son Joshua highlighted his family doesn't care even if the man dies in prison.

Craig Ross' son couldnt care less' about him

Hes in jail. We want nothing to do with him. I couldnt give a fk if the dude dropped dead tomorrow  I couldnt care less, said Joshua.

Hes disgusting, hes gross, he should die, added Joshua.

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Charlotte had gone missing while camping with family and friends in Moreau Lake State Park in Saratoga County, New York on Saturday. She went alone for a joy ride on her bike around the camp and didn't return. Fifteen minutes after she left for the bike ride and didn't return, her family members informed police. Later, New York State Police raised an Amber Alert in order to find her.

Her search and rescue was closely followed by New York State Governor Kathy Hochul. The incident drew the attention of millions across the United States who prayed for Charlotte's safe return.

It was extraordinary to see how they traced it down to an individuals home. The home was surrounded by law enforcement and helicopters, and they were able to bring her to safety. And not long after, she was in the arms of her parents at a hospital, Kathy said as per CNN.

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China has developed a web of international operations to have a say over media narratives and seeks to gain significant control over the Pakistani media, an official US report has said. A man walks past China's and Pakistani national flags installed on the constitution avenue ahead of the visit of Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng, in Islamabad on July 30, 2023. (AFP)

In addition to working closely with Russia in the information space, China has attempted to enlist other close partners to counter unfavourable narratives, the State Department said in a report released here last week. Prominent among them is Pakistan, it said.

With Pakistan, Beijing has sought to deepen cooperation on combating disinformation, including under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) Media Forum, said the report.

Beijing and Islamabad use the Media Forum to address what they view as propaganda and malicious disinformation and have launched initiatives like the CPEC Rapid Response Information Network and, most recently, pledged to launch the China-Pakistan Media Corridor (CPMC), it said.

According to the State Department report in 2021, China sought to negotiate significant control over Pakistani media as part of the China-Pakistan Media Corridor, including establishing a jointly operated nerve center to monitor and shape Pakistans information environment.

The scope of the proposal, which does not appear Islamabad seriously entertained, and the fact that the mechanisms it detailed appeared to disproportionately benefit Beijing is notable as an explicit example of Beijings ambition to assume direct control over a close partners domestic information environment, it said.

China's draft concept paper called for China and Pakistan governments to establish a nerve center to monitor Pakistans information environment by streamlining inputs from think tanks, opinion leaders, CPEC study centres, media organisations, PRC companies, and even local Confucius Institutes.

The proposed nerve centre would have relied on three mechanisms and two platforms to carry out this mission. The mechanisms would have provided means to convert important reports into Urdu products to sway popular opinion; provide PRC Embassy reports directly to Pakistans official press release system; and monitor and respond to public criticism about the PRC, said the State Department.

The two proposed platforms called for the creation of a joint PRC-Pakistan authoritative system for dispelling rumours and a news feed application to promote approved news to the local market, it said.

In its report, the State Department alleged that China spends billions of dollars annually on foreign information manipulation efforts. Beijing uses false or biased information to promote positive views of China and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).

At the same time, China suppresses critical information that contradicts its desired narratives on issues such as Taiwan, its human rights practices, the South China Sea, its domestic economy, and international economic engagement, it said.

More broadly, China seeks to cultivate and uphold a global incentive structure that encourages foreign governments, elites, journalists, and civil society to accept its preferred narratives and avoid criticising its conduct, it said.

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Commander, one of President Joe Bidens German shepherds, has been caught on camera biting a White House staffer last month. This is the 12th time that the first dog has shown aggression towards people in the past year, contradicting the anonymous claims from the administration that he only bites Secret Service agents. A uniformed division officer was bitten by the dog around 8 p.m. Monday, Sept. 25, at the White House, and was treated on-site by medical personnel, said USSS chief of communications Anthony Guglielmi. The officer is doing just fine, he said. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster, File)(AP)

The incident happened on Sept. 13, when White House grounds superintendent Dale Haney, 71, was playing with Commander. A tourist captured an image of Commander biting Haney's arm and subsequently shared it with DailyMail.com, which then published it on Wednesday.

Haney has been seen walking Commander in the past.

This was not the only biting incident involving Commander in September. CNN reported last week Commander had also bitten a Secret Service agent on September 25th.

On Monday, Politico quoted unnamed White House staffers who defended Commander, saying that he is always so friendly and that they had never seen him like that around non-security staff.

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A former Biden aide blamed the attacks on enormous men with guns acting suspiciously hostile.

The New York Post revealed in July that the Commander had bitten seven Secret Service employees and displayed aggression towards three others between October 2022 and January of this year, based on emails obtained by Judicial Watch under the Freedom of Information Act.

The most serious case occurred last November, when a uniformed officer was sent to a local hospital for evaluation by the White House medical team after suffering wounds to their arm and thigh from Commanders bite.

On Wednesday, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre refrained from providing any comments regarding the new photograph.

I would refer you to the Secret Service and also the first ladys office, Jean-Pierre said at her regular briefing.

A spokeswoman for first lady Jill Biden quoted to Daily Mail, The First Family continues to work on ways to help Commander handle the often-unpredictable nature of the White House grounds.

There may be more unreported biting incidents involving Commander, as the internal emails only cover a short period of his time at the White House. They do not include his first nine months and his most recent eight months. They also do not mention any possible incidents affecting non-Secret Service staff.

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Judicial Watch is seeking more internal Secret Service communications about Commander.

Biden had another German shepherd named Major, who also repeatedly attacked Secret Service staff and a White House visitor.

The White House said that Major has been relocated to reside with family acquaintances.

The White House has not publicly disclosed any biting incidents involving either dog.
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday called the Canadian parliament's standing ovations to honour a Ukrainian war veteran who served in one of Adolf Hitler's Waffen SS units "disgusting" and said it showed Moscow was right to "de-Nazify" Ukraine. Russian President Vladimir Putin(AP)

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau last month formally apologised after the speaker of the Canadian House of Commons praised a Nazi veteran in the chamber while Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy was present. The speaker said he had made a mistake and resigned amid growing outrage.

The episode played into the narrative promoted by Putin that he sent his army into Ukraine last year to "demilitarise and denazify" the country. Kyiv and its Western allies say Russia's actions constitute an unprovoked war of aggression designed to grab territory.

Canadian Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland, asked about Putin's comments on the matter, said the Russian President should not be allowed to take advantage of what she called a terrible mistake by the former speaker.

"I would really urge all of us to understand that Russian propaganda is real ... and we need to push back very, very hard against everything that Vladimir Putin says and does," she told reporters in Ottawa.

Zelenskiy, who is Jewish, says Moscow's claims that his administration is run by Nazis are absurd.

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Emergency services warned people to flee floods threatening more than 130 homes in eastern Australia Thursday -- in a region swept by bushfires just 48 hours earlier. Fire has threatened the town of Loch Sport in Victoria(BBC)

Heavy rains had swollen the McAllister River in the eastern state of Victoria, threatening rural homes, said David Baker, deputy chief of the state's emergency service.

"We estimate up to around 130 properties may be impacted by this event, hence why we issued an emergency warning," he said.

Emergency services issued warnings overnight for people to move to higher ground or to stay away from high-risk areas near the McAllister and other flooded rivers in Victoria's Gippsland region east of Melbourne.

Two days earlier, firefighters were battling bushfires across thousands of hectares elsewhere in Gippsland, forcing evacuations in more than a dozen rural neighbourhoods.

After several wet years, experts are expecting the coming Australian summer to bring the most intense bushfire season since 2019-2020.

During that "Black Summer", bushfires raged across Australia's eastern seaboard, razing swathes of forest, killing millions of animals and blanketing cities in smoke.
Western governments on Wednesday expressed concern after an alleged assault by Iranian security forces had reportedly left a teenager in coma, with Germany's top diplomat dubbing the incident "intolerable". Screengrab of Armita Geravand being dragged from train.

A rights group also called for an international investigation into the confrontation on the Tehran metro, just over a year after the death in custody of Mahsa Amini who had been arrested for allegedly violating the strict dress rules for women.

Armita Garawand, 16, was attacked on Sunday by female police officers, according to the Kurdish-focused rights group Hengaw.

Iranian authorities have claimed she "fainted" due to low blood pressure, denying any involvement of security forces.

Iranian authorities remain on high alert for any upsurge of social tension around the September 16 anniversary of Amini's death, which last year triggered months of unrest.

The nationwide protest movement had rattled Iran's clerical leadership before dwindling in the face of a crackdown that according to activists has seen hundreds killed and thousands arrested.

"A young woman in Iran is fighting for her life again. Just because she showed her hair on the subway. It's intolerable," German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock wrote on X, formerly Twitter.

Abram Paley, the acting US special envoy on Iran, posted on X that Washington was "shocked and concerned about reports that Iran's so-called morality police have assaulted" the teenager.

"We are following news of her condition. We continue to stand with the brave people of Iran and work with the world to hold the regime accountable for its abuses," Paley added.

The case has become the subject of intense discussion on social media, with a purported video of the incident said by some to show Garawand, apparently unveiled, being pushed into the metro by police agents and then an immobile body pulled out.

'Repression'

Norway-based NGO Iran Human Rights urged "an independent international investigation... to establish the details" of the incident, accusing Tehran of "a long history of distorting facts and concealing evidence of their crimes".

"The Islamic republic continues its harassment and repression of women under the guise of fighting mandatory hijab violations," said the group's director, Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam.

Hengaw said that Garawand was being treated under tight security at Tehran's Fajr hospital.

It published a picture it said was of Garawand on her hospital bed, attached to a feeding tube with her head and neck heavily bandaged.

Her parents gave an interview to Iranian state media at the hospital "under considerable pressure" and "in the presence of high-ranking security officers", Hengaw said.

Baerbock said the family should not have to "be in front of cameras, but have the right to be at their daughter's bedside".

A resident of Tehran, Garawand hails from the city of Kermanshah in Iran's Kurdish-populated west, Hengaw said.

Maryam Lotfi, a journalist from the Shargh daily newspaper, sought in the aftermath of the incident to visit the hospital but was immediately detained, Hengaw said, adding she was subsequently released.

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Russian president Vladimir Putin on Thursday hailed India, stating that the country's high-tech exports are growing exponentially. He added that India is becoming stronger under Prime Minister Narendra Modi's leadership.



I believe we should adapt international law to current needs and changing global situations. Countries with substantial influence in international affairs, like India with its 1.5 billion people and over 7% GDP growth, deserve representation and the opportunity to contribute to resolving global issues, the Russian president said in Moscow.



"India's high-tech exports are growing exponentially, making it stronger each year under Prime Minister Modi's leadership," Putin was quoted by PTI as saying.



Putin added,"They are trying to cast everyone who is not ready to blindly follow these Western elites as the enemy... At a certain point in time, they tried to do the same with India. Now they are flirting, of course. We all understand this very well".



We feel and see the situation in Asia. Everything is clear. I want to say that the Indian leadership is self-directed. It is led by the national interests. I think that those attempts make no sense. But, they continue. They are trying to cast Arabs as the enemy. They are trying to be careful, but overall, that's what it all boils down to, the Russian president added. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin. (AFP File Photo)

Both Putin and Prime Minister Modi share a great bonhomie. On Wednesday, the Russian president had praised Modi and called him a wise man.



Heaping praise on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Russian President Vladimir Putin called him a "very wise man", adding that India is making great strides in development under his leadership, Russia-based media RT reported.



Putin also expressed hope for further cooperation between Russia and India in the field of financial security and the fight against cybercrime.

We share very good political relations with Prime Minister Modi, he is a very wise man. And India has been making very great strides in development under his leadership. This fully meets the interest of both India and Russia to work on this agenda, Putin said in a video shared by RT News.

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Former US president Donald Trump on Wednesday said that he is ready to contest for the position of the House speaker after his fellow Republican lawmaker Kevin McCarthy was voted out of the job by a contingent of hard-right conservatives from his own party in an unprecedented showdown in US history. Former U.S. President Donald Trump (REUTERS)

According to the visual shared by X (formerly Twitter) user Collin Rugg on his social media platform, the former president said that he would be ready for the new role while confirming from the New York courthouse that he has been asked about becoming the House Speaker.

"All I can say is we'll do whatever's best for the country and for the Republican Party. A lot of people have asked me about it My focus is totally on [the election]. If I can help them during the process, I would do it, Trump said.

According to the Fox News report, Texas Representative Troy Nehls has said in a statement that he would place Donald J. Trump's name for Speaker of the US House of Representatives."

Interestingly, the US Constitution allows Trump to replace McCarthy, as it does not stipulate that the Speaker be an incumbent member of the House, but his party rules stating that anyone under indictment for serious charges won't be able to take up any House leadership role, barres him from contesting for the post.

Those rules would need to be changed for Trump as he is facing four felony indictments and 91 separate counts. A lot of people have asked me about it, Trump told reporters. But weve got some great people in the Republican party that could do a great job as speaker.

He didnt reject the idea out of hand but said hes focused on reclaiming the White House. Nevertheless his name emerged after House Republicans huddled behind closed doors Tuesday to discuss a replacement for the deposed Kevin McCarthy.

In the US, every one of the 55 people who have served as speaker of the House over the past 234 years has been an elected representative. But to become the House Speaker, Trump will be expected to garner 218 votes to win the post and it is unlikely any Democrat will come out to support him.

Kevin McCarthy was voted out of the position on Wednesday after Florida congressman and Trump supporter Matt Gaetz moved the motion to oust McCarthy. It was passed by 11 Republicans and all the Democrats in the House. The vote closed, 216-210, with the presiding officer declaring office of the speaker hereby stands vacant.

(With inputs from agencies)
Japan has issued a tsunami advisory after an earthquake struck Thursday near its outlying islands in the Pacific Ocean. Officials say a potential tsunami could reach one meter in height. The quake was not felt on the islands or in the Tokyo region, but the meteorological agency warned a tsunami as high as 1 meter (3.2 feet) could reach coastal areas of the islands. (Representational Image) (File)(via REUTERS)

The advisory, the second-lowest of a four-stage warning system, asks people on islands in the Izu chain, which stretches south from the Tokyo region on the main Japanese island of Honshu, to stay away from coasts and river mouths.

The Japan Meteorological Agency said an offshore earthquake measuring magnitude 6.6 occurred late Thursday morning in the area at the depth of 10 kilometers (6 miles).

The quake was not felt on the islands or in the Tokyo region, but the meteorological agency warned a tsunami as high as 1 meter (3.2 feet) could reach coastal areas of the islands. A tiny tsunami of about 30 centimeters (1 foot) was observed at the Yaene area on the Hachijo island, the agency said.

Japan is one of the most earthquake prone places on earth. A massive quake in 2011 caused a tsunami that destroyed huge swaths of northern Japan and caused a meltdown at the Fukushima nuclear plant.
US President Joe Biden defended on Thursday plans to extend the border wall with Mexico, saying he didn't think such barriers worked but he was bound by laws introduced under Donald Trump. U.S. President Joe Biden(REUTERS)

Democrat Biden pledged during his White House race with Trump in 2020 that he would abandon the hard-right Republican's signature policy and would not build any more of the wall.

But his own Department of Homeland Security on Thursday announced the building of a new section in southern Texas to tackle an "acute and immediate need", as numbers of migrant crossings surge.

In a further development, the White House announced that it would restart deportation flights to Venezuela, one of the main countries of origin for the migrants.

Biden, who is polling neck-and-neck with rival Trump ahead of a likely 2024 rematch, insisted his predecessor had tied his hands on the wall-building.

"They have to use the money for what it was appropriated for. I can't stop that," he told reporters in the Oval Office.

He said the cash was earmarked for the border wall by the US Congress under Trump in 2019, and that lawmakers had since rejected his appeals to reassign the funds.

Asked if he thought the border wall was effective, Biden replied simply: "No."

- 'Absolutely false' -

Illegal immigration has become a major political headache for Biden, with opposition Republicans accusing him of lax border policies.

The border issue has even added to uncertainty over US aid for Ukraine, with some Republicans refusing to approve funds until Biden acts on migrants.

The new section of wall will be built in the "high illegal entry" Rio Grande Valley Sector of the US-Mexico border, where there have been more than 245,000 attempted illegal entries this fiscal year.

Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said in a notice in the Federal Register there was "an acute and immediate need to construct physical barriers and roads... in order to prevent unlawful entries."

Mayorkas said the funding for the "additional physical barriers" would come from an appropriation made by Congress for that purpose in 2019, when Trump was still in office. Officials said the money needed to be spent this year.

Some Democrats criticized Biden, who had announced in a proclamation on the day he took office in January 2021 that no more taxpayer funds would be allocated for a wall.

The White House said it was "absolutely false" that there had been a reversal by the president.

"We have to comply by law and that's what we're doing," Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters.

- 'I was right' -

Trump, the frontrunner for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, said the Biden administration move showed "I was right when I built 560 miles... of brand new, beautiful border wall."

"Will Joe Biden appolgize (sic) to me and America for taking so long to get moving, and allowing our country to be flooded with 15 million illegals immigrants, from places unknown," Trump said on his Truth Social platform.

Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador criticized the US plan, calling it a "setback" ahead of talks with visiting US Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

The meeting came after a spike in the number of people -- mostly from Central America and Venezuela -- seeking to cross from Mexico into the United States.

The Biden administration announced later Thursday that it would resume direct deportation flights to Venezuela, which is still under US sanctions for rights abuses.

"This comes following a decision from the authorities of Venezuela to accept back their nationals," said a senior administration official.
In what is being called the biggest healthcare strike in recent U.S. history, workers from Kaiser Permanente have gone on a three-day action. 75,000 workers in eight states and the District of Columbia, along with more than 60,000 workers in California have prepped for a three-day action.

Formed in 1945 in Oakland, it is the largest private employer in the state. Operating 36 hospitals and more than 500 medical office buildings in California the company provides private health insurance to roughly half of California.

75,000 workers in eight states and the District of Columbia, along with more than 60,000 workers in California have prepped for a three-day action.

What is being demanded are higher wages and higher staffing levels, adding that staff shortages at clinics and hospitals are making it impossible to provide adequate care to patients.

In a conversation with New York Times reporter, Edward Lopez Matus, a medical assistant on the picket line shared that he had to help two doctors because his team was short-staffed. Consequently, patients have to wait longer for attention and the chances of mistakes are increased due to the burden.

Thats not the care our patients need, our patients need our undivided attention, said Edwar who has been working for Kaiser for seven years now.

He also added that despite working at Kiaser he drives Uber 40 hours a week in order to be able to subsist.

My entire paycheck goes to rent, it's ridiculous, said the healthcare worker.

Adding to Edward's point Timothy Regan, a clinical health educator working for Kaiser in San Fransisco for 25 years, stated that he is partaking in the strike in order to ensure better working conditions for the next generation.

These workers are people with medical backgrounds laboratory workers, pharmacy technicians, phlebotomists and housekeepers all of whom are essential in a medical environment on a day-to-day basis and whose absence can cause a dent in services being provided to the patients.

Kaiser Permanente officials have stated that they are working with the union leaders to resolve the issue and that there's already "been a lot of progress."

While doctors and nurses are not involved as of yet, the company officials have warned that some nonurgent procedures have been postponed with some locations being shut off temporarily and some operating on reduced hours.

Hospitals and emergency departments are still accessible to those in need of medical attention.
A mystery illness has gripped Kenya as over 90 school children reported symptoms of paralysis in the legs, leading to most of them being unable to walk. According to local media reports, the schoolgirls from St. Theresa's Eregi Girls High School, in the town of Kakamega, have been hospitalised and the school has been shut down indefinitely. Mystery illness in Kenya

On Wednesday, county education official Bonface Okoth told the media that 95 students had been admitted to hospitals for medical attention, reported an African media outlet.

According to a BBC report, the school girls were struggling to walk, had paralysis in their legs, and also experienced convulsions. While the exact nature of the illness remains undisclosed, the report said that experts believe it may be a mass hysteria.

The blood and urine samples of the affected girls have been collected by health officials and sent to the Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI) laboratories where the mystery disease is being examined, the report said.

A video of the school children unable to walk due to the mystery illness has been making rounds on social media. An X, formerly known as Twitter, user posted saying: In Kenya - several schoolgirls have been hospitalized due to a mysterious illness. Reports indicate that most female students have paralyzed legs and cannot walk.

Meanwhile, the school noted that the students will be allowed back to school once the situation has been assessed and necessary steps have been taken, reported local media.

Kenya officials have also reportedly urged parents and guardians of the affected students to monitor their children's health closely.

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One person was arrested by the Canadian police for his involvement in the desecration of temples in the country. On August 12, the Lakshmi Narayan Mandir in Surrey was desecrated with posters pasted on its front gate and ear doors. (HT file photo)

This was the first arrest made in this connection by the Canadian police since the desecration of temples took place on August 12 with pro-Khalistan graffiti spraypainted on their walls and anti-India posters plastered on them.

Responding to a query from HT, a spokesperson for the Surrey detachment of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) said an individual was arrested in connection to incidents on August 12 and August 14.

The spokesperson added, The individual was arrested for two counts of mischief and was released to appear in court at a later date.

Also Read: Dont want to get into hypotheticals: US on India asking Canada to reduce diplomats

However, police did not identify the person who was taken into custody.

On August 12, the Lakshmi Narayan Mandir in Surrey was desecrated with posters pasted on its front gate and ear doors.

The poster at the front gate had the word Wanted under the names and photographs of Indias High Commissioner to Ottawa as well as its Consul Generals in Toronto and Vancouver.

The second poster, stuck to the rear doors, called for Canada to investigate Indias role in the assassination of Khalistani leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar on June 18.

The temple targeted on August 14 could not be identified but the others were.

The series of posters had referred to the killing of Nijjar, the secessionist group Sikhs for Justices principal figure in British Columbia.

Nijjar was murdered in the parking lot a gurdwara he headed in Surrey on June 18.

The relationship between New Delhi and Ottawa has deteriorated after Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on September 18 alleged that the Indian government could be behind the killing of Nijjar.

India, which had designated Nijjar as a terrorist in 2020, has rejected Canadas allegations as absurd and motivated.

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The ousted House speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) was behind the eviction of his Democratic predecessors Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) from their unofficial offices near the House floor, according to a report by CNN. FILE PHOTO: Former Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) speaks to reporters after he was ousted from the position of Speaker by a vote of the House of Representatives at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, U.S. October 3, 2023. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY/File Photo(REUTERS)

The email informing Pelosi and Hoyer to leave their offices was sent just hours after the House voted to strip McCarthy of his speakership on Tuesday and appoint Rep. Patrick McHenry (R-NC) as the speaker pro tempore.

A GOP aide told the New York Post that the office removals were part of McCarthys retaliation against the Democrats, who did not support him when he faced a challenge from Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.).

A lot of mainstream Republicans thought that Democrats would come to McCarthys aid (maybe a few voting present) when push came to shove and not to actively help Gaetz, the aide said.

Any chance McCarthy can dig at Pelosi and Dem leadership hell take.

Rep. Garret Graves (R-La.) confirmed that McCarthy planned to move into Pelosis former office, which is traditionally reserved for the previous speaker.

Look, the deal is that the office that Pelosi is in right now is the office of the preceding speaker. Speaker Pelosi and other Democrats determined that they wanted a new  speaker, and its Kevin McCarthy. So, hes getting the office, he told reporters on Wednesday.

ALSO READ| Commander, Joe Biden's dog, caught on camera biting White House staffer, contrary to previous Secret Service claims

Pelosi, who served as the speaker twice from 2007 to 2011 and from 2019 to 2023, denounced the eviction as a break from tradition.

This eviction is a sharp departure from tradition, she said in a statement.

As Speaker, I gave former Speaker [Dennis] Hastert a significantly larger suite of offices for as long as he wished.

Pelosi, who was absent from the vote that removed McCarthy because she was in California mourning the death of Sen. Dianne Feinstein, said that she did not care about the office space, but implied that it mattered to the Republicans.

Office space doesnt matter to me, but it seems to be important to them, she said.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) staff helped Pelosi pack up her office on Tuesday night, Politico reported.

The House is expected to elect a new speaker next week.
President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Thursday that a Russian missile attack which killed 51 people in a Ukrainian village was "no blind strike" and Russian troops could not have been unaware of where they were striking. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy(AFP)

"A deliberate missile strike on a village in Kharkiv region on an ordinary store and cafe," Zelensky said in his nightly video address, delivered while attending a summit of the European Political Community in Spain.

Russian troops could not have been unaware of where they were hitting. This was no blind strike.
A Russian attack killed at least 49 people, including a six-year-old boy, in a village in the Kharkiv region of northeastern Ukraine on Thursday, Ukrainian officials said. Firefighters work to extinguish a fire after the deadly Russian rocket attack that killed more than 40 people in the village of Hroza near Kharkiv, Ukraine.(AP)

Kharkiv region governor Oleh Synehubov said that a cafe and a shop had been attacked at around 13:15 (10:15 GMT) in the village of Hroza in the Kupyansk district of Kharkiv, and that many civilians had been there at the time.

Also read: Volodymyr Zelensky seeks more European support as funding worries mount

"The rescuers continue to work on the site," Synehubov said on the Telegram messaging app.

Officials posted footage of rescue workers clambering through smoldering rubble. Bodies lay alongside slabs of concrete and twisted metal.

It was not immediately clear whether Russian forces, who invaded Ukraine 19 months ago, had shelled the village or had fired a missile.

President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, who was attending a summit with European leaders in Spain, said that "the Russian terror should be stopped".

"Now we are talking with European leaders, in particular, about strengthening our air defence, about strengthening our soldiers, about giving our country protection from terror," he said in a post on the Telegram messaging app.

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President Vladimir Putin said Thursday that Russia's mission was to create a "new world" and blamed Western hegemony for Moscow's grinding offensive in Ukraine. Russian President Vladimir Putin(AP)

Putin has portrayed Russia's full-scale military intervention in Ukraine -- launched in February 2022 -- as part of a long-standing confrontation with the West.

"We are tasked, essentially, with building a new world," Putin said, adding the West was aiming for global "hegemony".

"The West always needs an enemy," he said.

READ | Russia launches more drone attacks in Ukraine as Zelenskyy travels to Spain to attend summit of 50 European leaders

Putin said the conflict in Ukraine was "not a territorial" one and that Moscow has "no interests from the point of view of conquering some territories."

Russia's army occupies large swathes of southern and eastern Ukraine, and Putin has formally annexed four Ukrainian regions: Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, Donetsk and Lugansk.

Putin has consistently said that Ukrainian territory was historically Russian, and questioned Ukrainian statehood.

Putin also oversaw the annexation of the Crimean peninsula from Ukraine in 2014.

The longtime leader, who turns 71 this week, blamed Western countries for the conflict, now in its twentieth month.

"The war, which was started by the Kyiv regime with active support from the West, has been going on already for 10 years," he said.

"The special military operation was launched to stop it," he said, using Moscow's term for the offensive.

Russia's army failed to take Ukraine's capital Kyiv in the opening days of its offensive.
Former American President Donald Trump seems to be leaning towards taking the position of US House Speaker as recommended by many to him. However, while it may be a possible reality for him some hurdles still exist on his way to the position. However, while it may be a possible reality for him some hurdles still exist on his way to the position.(REUTERS)

Factors supporting Trump

On Wednesday, the 2024 GOP Presidential candidate told the reporters how he has been getting much encouragement to take up the post.

A lot of people have been calling me about speaker. All I can say is well do whatever is best for the country and the Republican Party, he said outside the Manhattan Courtroom where he has been attending trials for his civil fraud cases.

Additionally, many officeholders within the House have been welcoming the idea of the former president as the speaker.

House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, is of the view that Trump would be great as Speaker of the House, however, he wants to see him at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

US House Representatives Marjorie Taylor Greene and Troy Nehls have also been very vocal with the idea of Donald as the Speaker with the former saying he is the only candidate she is fully supporting at the moment and the latter volunteering to nominate him.

Interestingly, Rep Matt Gaetz, who introduced the measure to dethrone the current house speaker Kevin McCarthy also said that Speaker Trump has a great ring to it.

Factors against Trump

However, not all is great in Donald's way. One of the biggest hurdles in his path is the legal battles he is facing currently. Donald is facing a total of 91 legal charges across four criminal cases- and will be convicted for 712 years and six months if proven guilty.

Additionally, there is a rule stated by the Republican Conference Rules of the 118th Congress saying, A member of the Republican Leadership shall step aside if indicted for a felony for which a sentence of two or more years imprisonment may be imposed.

While Donald's conviction would obviously deter him from obtaining the position, a possible election rematch with President Joe Biden is also in the cards for him.

Also, Donald himself does not seem keen to take the position as he added My total focus is on being president.

According to him, there are great people in the GOP who could handle the job while he runs for the Presidential post.
An Airbnb guest has been making headlines lately after gaining notoriety for hijacking a Brentwood, California property. Elizabeth Hirschhorn became a long-term tenant at homeowner Sascha Jovanovic's $3.8 million guesthouse in September 2021. What started out as a normal lease agreement between a host and a tenant turned ugly after Elizabeth refused to vacate after the lease ended. The California Airbnb property has been hijacked by Elizabeth Hirschhorn(Google Maps)

Elizabeth, who has been dubbed tenant from hell refused to pay rent citing code violations. The 61-year-old renowned dentist offered to pay for her temporary residence and promised to fix the issues. But, it was of no use as she denied moving elsewhere due to Covid-19 health scares and her sensitivity to harsh chemicals.

How did the dispute escalate?

When Sascha tried to evict Elizabeth, she resisted and the city investigator sided with her. According to the city investigator, Sascha could not file any eviction notices until he proved that the property was compliant and safe to reside in. Adding to the list of misfortunes on Sascha's part, Airbnb removed itself calling the matter, a third-party situation due to the extension of her stay outside the platform's jurisdiction.

The woman entirely stopped paying rent and filed a complaint against Sascha on grounds of harassment, illegal eviction, and nonpayment of relocation fees, as per The Mirror. Elizabeth stated in her settlement offer that she would leave after being paid $100,000 as per the sources.

Sascha says I tried to be a good host

The grief-stricken dentist and property owner said, I tried to be a kind host. I had no idea she would become what she has become. He added, I can never go into my home and know that Im safe when a potentially hostile person is living there, Im thinking about it at all times. Further shining light on how the situation had affected him, the homeowner said, Psychologically, it affects you. It never leaves my mind.

Meanwhile, his attorney Sebastian Rucci claimed Elizabeth was taking advantage of the situation calling her the tenant from hell. Sebastian further noted, If you want people to open their doors to tenants, dont allow someone to do something like this. If shes right, the theory is that if a landlord has something that isnt permitted, then you can stay in it rent-free forever.

Tenant's lawyer accuses host of renting out illegal unit

Elizabeth's lawyer, Rick Walshok accused the Brentwood dentist of renting out an illegal bootleg unit with code violations, due to which, she was not liable to pay any rent. Rick also claimed that Sascha was applying bullying tactics and was harassing her. He went on to say, After he was caught, instead of doing the right thing, he has resorted to bullying, harassment and the filing of frivolous lawsuits containing elaborate false stories, all in an attempt to cover his tracks.

As the case is ongoing, the situation remains unsolved as of yet, causing stress on both parties involved.
Kevin McCarthys stint as speaker of Americas House of Representatives ended the way it had begun: in utterly humiliating fashion. Members of the lower chamber of Congress disposed of their leader for the first time in American history on October 3rd. Despite earning support from 210 of the 221 House Republicans, eight hardliners teamed up with 208 Democrats to fire Mr McCarthy. Shortly thereafter the former speaker announced he would not try to regain the title. The coming weeks are likely to be chaotic, and the results of this chapter of congressional dysfunction will reverberate far beyond Capitol Hill. PREMIUM Kevin McCarthy.(AP)

An embarrassing ejection looked to be on the cards as soon as Mr McCarthy won the speakers gavel in January. As part of a deal with recalcitrant Republicans after 15 rounds of voting, Mr McCarthy agreed to allow a single congressman, at any time, for any reason, to call a vote for his removal as speaker. Matt Gaetz, an elaborately coiffed representative from Florida, had threatened to use the so-called motion to vacate for some time. Mr McCarthys recent dealmaking with Democrats to avoid a government shutdown pushed Mr Gaetz over the edge.

You all know Matt Gaetz. You know it was personal, Mr McCarthy said at a press conference after being ousted. Mr Gaetz denies that personal pique drove his fight against the former speaker, but the Florida Republican has faced a long-running House Ethics Committee inquiry into alleged sexual misconduct and misuse of funds. No doubt he was not thrilled that Mr McCarthy failed to stop the investigation. Yet the rebel leader probably had a mix of motives for making his move now.

Hes very, very sharp, very calculated, and very intelligent: a political pro, says Christian Ziegler, chairman of the Florida Republican Party. This isnt someone thats just doing something uncalculated off the cuff and in the heat of the moment. Everything is very meticulously planned when Matt Gaetz takes action. Mr Gaetz enjoys the spotlight, and he also raised funds during this fight, which surely made him enemies on Capitol Hill. That is less important for someone who could be eyeing the governors mansion in Florida.

For all his faults, Mr McCarthy overcame thin margins during his time in office. In May he managed to persuade the House to raise the debt ceiling, to avoid a damaging default. Then, on September 30th, he pushed through a last-minute bipartisan deal to delay a costly government shutdown. The next speaker may find the job harder still, even without the same baggage that some in the unruly Republican Party felt that Mr McCarthy carried.

The immediate task will be funding the government. The deal to avert a shutdown keeps the government going with a continuing resolution (CR) only until November 17th. A Republican strategist, Liam Donovan, reckons Mr Gaetz might be satisfied with Mr McCarthy gone, but other hardliners will not easily accept a long-term funding solution simply because a fresh face is running the House. Government will have to be funded in a way that is even more anathema to these Republicans than the CR, Mr Donovan says. Mr McCarthys replacement could soon be overseeing a shutdown. Averting a closure could potentially cost the new speaker his job.

Aid for Ukraine, which was not included in the government funding deal in order to placate hardliners, is the greatest concern for those beyond Americas borders. At the press conference announcing his departure, Mr McCarthy compared Vladimir Putin to Adolf Hitler and said the current world reminded him of the 1930s. He reiterated his support for Ukraine and rightly criticised President Joe Biden for his past hesitance in arming the country.

But some House Republicans have begun to oppose further funding. Mr McCarthy suggested a quid pro quo, in which aid for the government in Kyiv could be approved if Democrats help pass policies to shore up Americas porous border. Supporters of Ukraine in Congress, who constitute a clear majority in both chambers, are pushing for a vote that would guarantee funding for the war-torn country up until the 2024 American presidential election. Threading this legislative needle could be even more difficult than avoiding a government shutdown.

To whom that task will fall is not obvious. Patrick McHenry, a North Carolina Republican hand-picked by Mr McCarthy, will serve as acting speaker and will merely oversee the election of Mr McCarthys replacement. Republicans are planning for a candidate forum on October 10th and a vote the following day. But the real question is who among the Republicans has the mental fitness to do the joband is mad enough to seek it.

No one expects a consensus figure to emerge as quickly as, for example, Paul Ryan did when he replaced John Boehner as speaker in 2015. Steve Scalise, the second-ranked House Republican, has thrown his hat in the ring. So has Jim Jordan, chairman of the Judiciary Committee, who has credibility with the right as a former Freedom Caucus chairman who managed to work productively with McCarthy allies. And Kevin Hern leads the Republican Study Committee, which counts a majority of the House Republican Party as members. Yet uncertainty could pave the way for a dark horse. (Marjorie Taylor Greene, a prominent member of the Republican berserker caucus, tweeted that the only candidate she was supporting for speaker was Donald Trump.)

The chaos and intrigue will be as entertaining as any episode of The West Wing, a Washington-focused television drama. That will provide little comfort for Americans who want their government to stay openor for Ukrainians who rely on American power and largesse to sustain their fight for survival.

 2023, The Economist Newspaper Limited. All rights reserved. From The Economist, published under licence. The original content can be found on www.economist.com
Typhoon Koinu swept southern Taiwan on Thursday, injuring 190 people but causing no deaths as it brought pounding rain and record-breaking winds to the island, leading to school and office closures. A fallen tree branch is pictured on the roof of a structure after Typhoon Koinu passed the southern tip of Taiwan on October 5.(Reuters)

Koinu, which means puppy in Japanese, made landfall early Thursday in Cape Eluanbi, the southernmost tip of Taiwan, and is expected to weaken as it moves west toward Guangdong and Fujian provinces in southern China.

The typhoon brought the fastest wind ever recorded in Taiwan as it approached on Wednesday night. A weather monitoring station on the outlying Orchid Island, southeast of the main island, measured a gust of 342.7 kph (212.9 mph) at 9:53 p.m., as well as sustained winds that reached 198.7 kph (123.5 kph) at 9:40 p.m. Both values set all-time highs since Taiwan began keeping records of wind speeds in 1897, said Huang Chia-mei, head of the Central Weather Administration's Taitung Weather Station, according to the official Central News Agency.

The device measuring the wind speeds broke shortly after, Huang said.

On Thursday afternoon, Koinu's maximum sustained winds measured 155 kph (96 mph) with gusts of 191 kph (119 mph).

The heaviest rain fell in the east-coast counties of Taitung and Hualien, and in the mountainous Pingtung county in the south.

Cities across the island canceled work and classes, including the major southern port city of Kaohsiung. The capital, Taipei, was operating as normal and the rain had stopped as of Thursday morning.

Taiwan's fire department reported 190 injuries, most of them in cities along the west coast, including Taichung, Tainan and Kaohsiung.

Most domestic flights and dozens of international flights were canceled, according to the transportation ministry, while ferries to outlying islands were also suspended.

Despite weakening, typhoon Koinu is expected to douse coastal areas of southern China over the weekend. The city of Guangzhou canceled some flights and trains starting Friday, while its maritime authorities issued a Level 4 alert  the least severe in a four-tier system, calling for caution.

In Fujian province, bordering the Taiwan Strait, authorities suspended 137 passenger ferry trips.

Taiwan sits in an active region for tropical cyclones, but Koinu is only the second typhoon to make landfall in four years. Typhoon Haikui hit the island in early September, injuring dozens.

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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met with European leaders to press for continued support against Russias invasion, amid concerns about the continued flow of US aid. Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy arrives at the Europe Summit in Granada, Spain on October 5, 2023.(AP)

Zelenskyy kept fellow leaders guessing about whether he would attend until the eve of a summit in Granada, Spain, because he sought concrete results from a trip, according to people familiar with his thinking. It was not clear to him whether allies were ready to deliver on concrete pledges, added the people who asked not to be named on a confidential issue.

Of course, its a difficult election period for the United States, different voices, some of the voices are very strange, Zelenskyy told reporters on his arrival for the meeting of nearly 50 European leaders. Well speak about this today.

The US has stripped out funding for Ukraine in a spending bill to avoid a government shutdown, at a critical stage for Kyivs counter-offensive. European backing for Ukraine faces a new challenge after Robert Fico, a candidate sympathetic to Russia, won Slovakias election Saturday.

There is a growing apprehension in Ukraines political circles that the infighting in Washington may disrupt the steady stream of economic aid.

Ahead of the European Political Community summit, Zelenskyy spoke to Ursula von der Leyen, the head of the European Commission, to discuss the Granada meeting and restrictions on Ukrainian agriculture exports by some EU members, the people said.

Ukraine needs predictability, reliability in the direct budget support, von der Leyen told reporters. Im very confident of support for Ukraine from the United States, what the United States is working on is the timing.

Kyiv has seen cracks in relations with Poland, its strongest supporter, over Warsaws unilateral ban on Ukrainian grain imports. Ukraine submitted a complaint to the World Trade Organization over the ban, while the government in Warsaw said it would no longer send military aid to Kyiv before walking back some of the remarks. Farmers are an important constituency for Polands ruling party, which is facing a tightly contested parliamentary election on Oct. 15.

Challenges are piling up for Ukraine as winter nears. Its counteroffensive slowed over the past weeks, with soldiers fighting against deeply entrenched Russian forces with heavy casualties. The steady stream of refugees isnt helping the economy either as the central bank is burning through cash in order to prop up the freshly unpegged national currency.

The country is also preparing for renewed Russian attacks against its energy infrastructure once colder weather sets in. Meanwhile, cases of corruption in Ukraine are fueling concern among Kyivs allies.

Zelenskyy told Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni in Granada that his recent visit to Washington went well, and that it was important to keep the European Union united, in an exchange that was heard by reporters. EU leaders will hold a summit in Granada on Friday.

Zelenskyy will address the summit and take part in a discussion on multilateralism, security and strategic challenges. Ukraine has weighty propositions on the European security architecture to present on Thursday, Zelenskyy said on Telegram.

Ukraines key task is to strengthen air defense ahead of winter and discuss the freedom of navigation on the Black Sea as his country seeks to resume grain exports damaged by Russias naval blockade, he said.

Ukraine may run out of money to purchase weapons from US stockpiles within the next month and a half if the US doesnt approve a new defense package, Oleksandra Ustinova, the head of a parliamentary commission tracking foreign weapons supply and usage, said on local TV.
The United States on Thursday shot down an armed Turkish drone that was operating near its troops in Syria, the Pentagon said, the first time Washington has brought down an aircraft of NATO ally Turkey. The Pentagon is seen (AP)

A Turkish defense ministry official said the drone that was shot down did not belong to the Turkish armed forces, but did not say whose property it was.

Turkey's National Intelligence Agency carried out strikes in Syria against Kurdish militant targets after a bomb attack in Ankara last weekend, a Turkish security source said on Thursday.

Pentagon spokesman Brigadier General Pat Ryder said Turkish drones had been seen carrying out airstrikes Hasakah, Syria on Thursday morning about 1 km away from U.S. troops.

A few hours later a Turkish drone came within less than a half a kilometer (0.3 miles) of U.S. troops and was deemed a threat and shot down by F-16 aircraft.

"We have no indication that the Turkey was intentionally targeting U.S. forces," Ryder told reporters.

U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin spoke with his Turkish counterpart after the incident, a call Ryder said was "fruitful."

The incident comes at a delicate moment for U.S.-Turkish relations, with the United States hoping Turkey will ratify NATO membership for Sweden.

While the United States has not shot down a Turkish aircraft before, tensions have flared and there have been close calls. In 2019, U.S. troops in northern Syria came under artillery fire from Turkish positions.

TURKEY STRIKES IN SYRIA

U.S.-allied Syrian Kurdish forces said Turkish attacks had killed eight people in an escalation prompted by the bomb attack in Ankara by Kurdish militants.

U.S. support for Kurdish forces in northern Syria has long caused tension with Turkey, which views them as a wing of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK). That group claimed responsibility for Sunday's attack in Ankara near government buildings.

On Wednesday, Turkey said the two attackers had come from Syria. The bombing killed both attackers and wounded two police officers. The Syrian Democratic Forces, the Kurdish-led force backed by the United States, denied that the bombers had passed through its territory.

On Thursday, a Turkish defense ministry official said a ground operation into Syria was one option that Turkey could consider. Turkey has mounted several previous incursions into northern Syria against the Syrian Kurdish YPG group.

"Our only goal is to eliminate the terrorist organizations that pose a threat to Turkey. A ground operation is one of the options to eliminate this threat, but it is not the only option for us," the official said.

Security forces in northeastern Syria said Turkey launched a series of attacks on Thursday with more than 15 drones entering the region's airspace and hitting targets including infrastructure and gas and oil stations. In a statement, the security forces said Turkish attacks killed six members of the internal security forces in northeastern Syria, and two civilians in two separate strikes.

Turkey has redoubled its operations targeting the outlawed PKK, by carrying out air strikes in northern Iraq.

Turkish officials said any infrastructure and energy facilities in Iraq and Syria controlled by the PKK, as well as People's Protection Units (YPG), were legitimate military targets.

"The PKK and the YPG are the same terrorist organization, they are our legitimate target everywhere. Turkey conducted operations whenever and wherever necessary in the past, and these operations will continue if needed again," the defense ministry official said.

"These operations are being conducted under self-defense rights arising from international law to eliminate terrorist attacks on Turkish territory and to ensure border security," the official added.

The YPG is also the spearhead of the main ally of the U.S.-led coalition against Islamic State. Support for the YPG by the United States and other allies, including France, has strained ties with Turkey. Turkey has warned forces of third countries to stay away from facilities controlled by the PKK and YPG.

"We are calling on all parties, our friendly and allied countries in particular, to stay away from those terrorists. This is just a reminder. It is up to them to take necessary precautions," the official said, without naming any country.
The ex-campaign treasurer for U.S. Rep. George Santos pleaded guilty Thursday to conspiring to defraud the U.S. government and implicated the indicted New York Republican in court with submitting bogus campaign finance reports. US Representative George Santos (AFP)

Nancy Marks, who was a close aide to Santos during his two congressional bids, entered the plea at a federal courthouse on Long Island, where she was a longtime political operative and bookkeeper for multiple candidates.

Speaking to the judge, Marks said that among other things, she and Santos had falsely recorded in campaign finance reports that he had loaned his campaign $500,000 even though in reality he did not make that loan and did not have the money to do so. She said the purpose of the fake loan was to make it look like he had a well-funded campaign, which might attract other donors.

Her plea agreement comes with a recommendation that she serve 3 1/2 years to 4 years in prison.

Marks resigned as Santos treasurer amid growing questions about his campaign finances and revelations that the Republican had fabricated much of his life story.

Santos faces a 13-count federal indictment centered on charges of money laundering and lying to Congress in an earlier financial disclosure.

A spokesperson for Santos, Gabrielle Lipsky, said his congressional office could not comment on the matter.

Marks She had not previously been charged. Thursday marked her first appearance in court.

The investigation of Santos, a first-term congressman, has also engulfed Marks, a key behind-the-scenes figure in Long Island Republican politics who built a business as a treasurer and consultant to dozens of local, state and federal candidates.

Marks has faced questions about the congressmans unusual campaign filings, including a series of $199.99 expenses, just below the legal limit for disclosure. Santos, in turn, has sought to pin the blame for his unexplained finances on Marks, who he claims went rogue without his knowledge.

Any deal with prosecutors that requires Marks to testify in the case against Santos could be a severe blow to the Republican, who faces charges that he embezzled money from his campaign, lied in financial disclosures submitted to Congress and received unemployment funds when he wasnt eligible.

While Santos has admitted fabricating key parts about his purported background as a wealthy, well-educated businessman, questions remain about what he did for work, as well as the true source of more than $700,000 he initially claimed to have loaned his campaign from his own personal fortune.

Santos has pleaded not guilty to charges he duped donors, stole from his campaign and lied to Congress about being a millionaire, all while cheating to collect unemployment benefits he didnt deserve. He has defied calls to resign.

Besides Santos, Marks most high-profile client was former U.S. Rep. Lee Zeldin of New York, an ally of Donald Trump. She was Zeldin's bookkeeper when he unsuccessfully ran for governor in 2022.

Marks, besides being responsible for keeping Santos' campaign books and handling his regulatory filings, had unusual business ties to Santos, according to public records.

In 2021, she was listed as being a member of a political consulting firm incorporated in Florida, whose other members included Santos' company and people who had formerly been affiliated with an investment company that had been shut down by the Securities and Exchange Commission over allegations that it was a Ponzi scheme.

When Santos was indicted, Marks wasn't mentioned by name in court filings. But the indictment described an unnamed political consultant who it said had helped dupe donors who gave money that they thought was going to the campaign but was instead siphoned off for Santos' personal use.

Marks is the second person besides Santos to face charges in connection with the campaign. In August, a former Santos fundraiser, Sam Miele, was indicted on federal charges that he impersonated the then-chief of staff to GOP Rep. Kevin McCarthy of California, who at the time was the House minority leader.

Miele pleaded not guilty. His attorney, Kevin Marino, had predicted that his client would be exonerated at trial.

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Disclaimer: The following news story contains some elements that might be disturbing to some readers. Discretion advised. Andrew Schulz's hilarious diatribe on Justinder has gone viral

Ever since Justin Trudeau claimed that he had credible evidence that New Delhi had a role in Khalistani (often referred to as a plumber, activist, or priest in North American publications) Hardeep Nijjars murder, the social media landscape has become a huge Royal Rumble with Indians and members of the diaspora clashing with foreign policy wonks, columnists, and politicians. Of course, the part of the blame obviously lies with Lord Macaulay whose decision to impart English education means that theres now a very vocal group of bellicose and belligerent dissidents who dont have a language barrierlike the Chinese or Russianswhen expressing their admiration about the West.

Now a new player has entered the mix and its comedian Andrew Schulz. His hilarious (and NSFW) diatribe about Justinder Trudeau has gone viral on X, including in India, many of whom are discovering the comedian for the first time.

As part of his The Life Tour, while performing in Toronto, Schulz said: I saw the headline...Punjabi separatist assassinated. They got Trudeau. They got him. They got Justinder. How the hell? How the hell did they assassinate Justinder? Did they force him to kiss his wife on camera?... Then I look at the details. India sent some m*********** to assassinate. Why is nobody talking about this story? Then I looked up the guy's name. His first name is Hardeep. His last name is spelled NIJJER. White people we have to sit this one out. I saw Punjabis in the streets, like say his name. We would love to, but we can't. Can you give us a n-word pass? All I am saying Toronto is that it's unbelievable that an Indian was killed on Canadian soil, and it wasn't in a residential school."

For the uninitiated, the N-word Schulz referred to is considered deeply offensive in North America and was once used as a derogatory term for black people. The reference about an Indian dying on Canadian soil refers to the remains of indigenous children in Canadian residential schools which were setup to assimilate indigenous populations. According to a report: Some 150,000 Indian, Inuit and Metis youngsters in total were forcibly enrolled in these schools, where students were physically and sexually abused by headmasters and teachers who stripped them of their culture and language. A truth and reconciliation commission has identified the names of, or information about, at least 4,100 children who died from abuse or neglect while attending a residential school. It estimates the actual toll is much higher.

One user wrote: Andrew Schulz will be wondering how he suddenly got so popular in India. Personally, I always put him in good bracket but not among the greats.

Who is Andrew Schulz?

Andrew Schulz is an American stand-up comedian, actor, producer, and podcaster who is known for his work MTV2s Guy Code, the Flagrant 2 podcast, and The Brilliant Idiots podcast. His first Netflix special, Schulz Saves America, came out on Dec 17, 2020. He has also appeared in IFCs Benders and the Amazon series Sneaky Pete.

The Canada-India Fracas

Its also important to note that theres absolutely no proof of any Indian hand in Nijjars death so far and Canada has failed to provide any credible evidence. Earlier, British Colombia premier David Eby, said that briefing he received about the Nijjar killing was available on the internet.

He had said: The only briefings that Ive been able to receive were open source briefings, which is information thats available to the public doing an internet search. Which I find frustrating.

As of October 3, India told Canada it must repatriate 41 diplomats by October 10, while Justin Trudeau has said that hes not looking to escalate the situation.

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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
Days after the controversy over recognition of Nazi veteran, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau made fresh headlines on Wednesday over his unusual interaction with the newly elected speaker Greg Fergus in the Canadian parliament. A video of Trudeau congratulating Fergus has gone viral on social media, where he is seen winking at him and then immediately biting his tongue laughingly to acknowledge his silly behaviour. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in parliament on Wednesday.

As the speaker introduced Trudeau in the House as the honourable Prime Minister, Trudeau humorously corrected him, saying very honourable and winked. After the video went viral online, his gesture sparked criticism, with several users on social media platform X (formerly Twitter) questioning the need for displaying the unprofessional behaviour.

Also Read: Justin Trudeau says Canada not looking to escalate situation with India

An X user linked the gesture to the closeness of the two Liberal leaders and said Something tells me he is going to be on the side of Trudeau and not neutral."

Another user @mya11281477 said Trudeau loves to throw his members under the bus. One of the unnamed accounts even called Trudeau a creep and a weirdo" for the incident.

Conservative Canadian online news magazine The Post Millennial even labelled Trudeau's gesture as cringe, displaying strong criticism. Many other users also echoed similar sentiments.

New speaker post Nazi row

The Liberal lawmaker was appointed as the new speaker of the House of Commons, the first ever Black person to do so, following Anthony Rota's resignation from his post over the Nazi controversy.

A row had erupted last month, after the Canadian parliament invited a man who fought for a Nazi military unit during World War II to attend a speech by the Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky.

The 98-year-old Yaroslav Hunka received two standing ovations from Canadian lawmakers in the House of Commons lower chamber during Zelensky's visit to Canada. Rota initially apologised for recognising Hunka and later resigned as the issue boiled further.

Rota introduced Hunka as a war hero who fought for the First Ukrainian Division. This led to observers pointing out that the First Ukrainian Division also was known as the Waffen-SS Galicia Division, or the SS 14th Waffen Division, a voluntary unit that was under the command of the Nazis.

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President Joe Biden outlined a new round of federal student loan forgiveness on Wednesday to address the unsustainable debt that borrowers accumulate to complete their college education. U.S President Joe Biden is announcing an additional $9 billion in student debt relief for 125,000 more Americans, bringing the total debt relief to $127 billion for nearly 3.6 million Americans, according to a statement from the White House. (Photo by Brendan Smialowski / AFP)(AFP)

The announcement comes as borrowers brace for payments to restart after a three-year pause that began during the COVID-19 pandemic and Biden tries to fulfill his campaign promises on debt relief as he runs for reelection.

The Democratic president's latest step will help 125,000 borrowers by erasing $9 billion in debt through existing programs. In total, 3.6 million borrowers will have had $127 billion in debt wiped out since Biden took office.

We're not done yet, Biden said in the Roosevelt Room at the White House.

He pledged to help alleviate the burden of student debt while running for president, and he's been under pressure to follow through even though his original plan was overturned by the conservative majority on the Supreme Court.

Biden said the decision was responsible for snatching from the hands of millions of Americans thousands of dollars of student debt relief that was about to change their lives.

He has been relying on a patchwork of different programs to chip away at debt, such as the SAVE Plan announced last year, which lowers payments by tying them to borrowers' income.

My administration is doing everything we can to deliver student debt relief to as many as we can, as fast as we can," Biden said.

"While a college degree is still the ticket toward a better life, that ticket has become excessively expensive. Americans who are saddled with unsustainable debt in exchange for a college degree has become the norm, he said.

Some of Biden's efforts have involved bolstering existing programs, like public service loan forgiveness.

For years, millions of eligible borrowers were unable to access the student debt relief they qualified for, but thats all changed thanks to President Biden and this administrations relentless efforts to fix the broken student loan system, Education Secretary Miguel Cardona said in a statement.

ALSO READ| Ousted speaker Kevin McCarthy is behind the eviction of Nancy Pelosi and Steny Hoyer

Additional debt forgiveness could help alleviate the impact of the long-scheduled resumption of loan payments this month, which will put a dent in tens of millions of family budgets. But it is unlikely to undermine the economy's strength in the long term even though analysts at BNP Paribas estimated it could take $100 billion out of consumers' pockets and slow overall growth during the final three months of this year.

Republicans have fought Biden's plans on student debt, but Wednesday's announcement comes as they're consumed by infighting on Capitol Hill. Hard-right Republicans forced a vote that ousted Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., as House speaker, leaving the chamber in chaos.

In addition, the NAACP is pushing Biden to expand debt forgiveness by allowing Parent PLUS loans, which parents use for their children's college education, to be eligible for the SAVE Plan.

"Historically, education has been viewed as an entry point for marginalized communities to achieve upward mobility and begin building generational wealth," NAACP President Derrick Johnson said in a statement that emphasized the disproportionate impact of debt on Black families. It is unconscionable that, in their quest to provide their children with a brighter future, Black parents have fallen victim to a system that preys on their inherent disadvantage.
Editors note (October 3rd 2023): This story was updated after Hunter Biden was arraigned on gun charges in Delaware. PREMIUM FILE PHOTO: Hunter Biden, son of U.S. President Joe Biden, departs federal court after a plea hearing on two misdemeanor charges of willfully failing to pay income taxes in Wilmington, Delaware, U.S. July 26, 2023. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst/File Photo(REUTERS)

In October 2020, less than a month before Americas presidential election, the New York Post introduced the world to the contents of a MacBook Pro. The laptop belonged to Joe Bidens son, Hunter Biden. The Post alleged that an email on its hard drive indicated that in 2015 Hunter had introduced a Ukrainian energy executive to Mr Biden, then vice-president. That, the paper claimed, suggested that Hunters business dealings had improperly influenced American policy.

Right-wing media seized on the story. The mainstream press, unable to confirm that the hard drive came from Hunters laptop, gave it less coverage. Journalists worried that the emails could be a Russian fabrication. There was a degree of political bias, too. Twitter and Facebook rushed to limit the storys spread on their platforms, offering flimsy justifications. This provoked right-wing outrage and the spread of unfounded theories of collusion between the Bidens and the media.

Now Hunter is back in the spotlight. On October 3rd he was arraigned in federal court in Delaware. He pleaded not guilty to charges of lying on a federal firearms form and owning a gun illegally. More charges, relating to unpaid taxes, may follow later. What are the credible allegations against Hunter? And how big a problem might they pose to the Biden administration?As recently as July, the case was expected to wrap up in a plea deal. But the arrangement collapsed in court: prosecutors and Hunters lawyers were apparently split on whether the deal would shield Hunter from future charges. Hunter instead pleaded not guilty to the tax charges (neither the gun nor tax charges implicated Joe Biden). In August David Weiss, the federal prosecutor who had been overseeing the investigation since it began in 2018, was appointed special counsel. That gives him greater independence within the Justice Department (whose boss is nominated by the president). On the same day that he became special counsel, Mr Weiss filed court papers seeking to dismiss the tax charges in Delaware in order to move them to a different jurisdiction, so that the case could be brought to trial.

This turn of events has been catnip to Republicans in the House, who launched an impeachment inquiry into Joe Biden in September. They claim that Hunters foreign business dealings enriched his father. Theirs has been much wider-ranging than the federal investigation so far; their allegations stem from activities that date back nearly a decade. Between 2014 and 2019 Hunter was a paid board member of Burisma, a Ukrainian natural-gas company. The firms owner was investigated for corruption by the countrys top prosecutor, who was later fired. Mr Biden, then vice-president, had been overseeing an American effort to help Ukraine crack down on corruption, and had called for the prosecutor to be removed because he was ineffective. There is no evidence to suggest that Mr Bidens stance was linked to the Burisma investigation.

Allegations that Mr Biden had intervened in Ukrainian affairs to help his son first surfaced in 2018 and led indirectly to the first impeachment of Donald Trump. In 2019 Mr Trump ordered that military aid be withheld from Ukraine as a way of pressing its president, Volodymyr Zelensky, to investigate Burisma. Mr Trump apparently hoped to uncover information that would compromise Mr Biden, then a potential Democratic presidential candidate. The House of Representatives impeached Mr Trump for abusing his power to boost his chances of re-election, but the Senate acquitted him.

Hunters business dealings in Ukraine were investigated by the Senate in 2020. But lawmakers found no evidence that he had improperly influenced American policy through his father. The Posts story purported to offer new evidence. It suggested that in 2015 Hunter had arranged a meeting between Mr Biden and a Burisma adviser. The presidents aides and Hunters lawyers deny that any such meeting took place. There is no record of it on Mr Bidens schedule.

The impeachment inquiry will probably focus on another set of business deals. Between 2017 and 2018 CEFC, a Chinese oil-and-gas conglomerate, paid Hunter and his uncle, James Biden, nearly $5m. One of Hunters jobs was to negotiate a liquefied-natural-gas project in America (which was ultimately never built). Emails from Hunters laptop have been read by some as suggesting that he was planning a separate venture between several associates, including James Biden and CEFC. One email from the firm said that a 10% stake would go to the big guy. Mr Comer claims that Joe Biden is the big guy. Separately, Mr Comer told The Economist that he believed that Hunter had compromised the president. Joe Bidens representatives deny any involvement.

This is a big claimand one that Republicans have yet to back up. Hunter may have exploited his family connections to get cushy jobs, but there is no hard evidence that his father was aware of his work with CEFCin short, no evidence that Hunters clients influenced American policy. Yet no presidential candidate can relish the prospect of defending allegations against a family member on the campaign trailparticularly when more than 60% of Americans, according to a poll published in September, are convinced that Joe Biden was somehow mixed up in Hunters seemingly unseemly affairs.

 2023, The Economist Newspaper Limited. All rights reserved. From The Economist, published under licence. The original content can be found on www.economist.com
New York Police Department have arrested a suspect who allegedly executed fatal knife attack on a man named Ryan Carson on Monday. Carson was a social activist who often voiced his opinion on various issues concerning the masses. Screengrab from the video of the knife attack(X(formerly Twitter)/@salmabe71077836)

According to a report by the New York Post, the suspect's name is Brian Dowling and he was arrested from a home on Lafayette Avenue near Malcolm X Boulevard in NYC on Thursday. During the search inside the accused's home, police found the clothes allegedly worn by him during the knife attack incident. Police also found a knife at his home and it will be determined whether it was the murder weapon.

The merciless killing of Carson had drawn the ire of NYC Mayor Eric Adams and civil society members. A video of the horrible attack is doing the rounds on social media in which Carson is first seen seating on a bench by the street, with his girlfriend. A man wearing a hoodie first passes by them. After walking some distance, the man hits a dustbin. Meanwhile, the couple get up from the bench and start walking in the direction of the man. As Carson nears the man, a confrontation starts which results in him being stabbed to death.

In the viral video, Carson can be heard screaming "Chill, chill" as the attacker approaches him with a knife. But the matter escalates with the man menacingly nearing Carson who tries to push him away.

ALSO READ| Hes disgusting!' Charlotte Sena's alleged abductor's son wants him to die

As per reports, Carson and his girlfriend were going home after attending a wedding on Long Island before the knife attack happened. It is believed to be an unprovoked attack. On the basis of the video, social media users have been questioning the mental state of the attacker. Meanwhile, police are investigating if the attack was done with any ulterior motive.

New York City Mayor Adams had called the shocking murder "unthinkable" and paid a tribute to Carson.

"Ryan Carson turned his passion into purpose. He advocated tirelessly for others, and his giving spirit was a buoy to all. His murder is unthinkable, and the NYPD won't rest until we bring him to justice. I'm praying for all who knew and loved Ryan," posted Adams on "X"(Formerly Twitter).
Swiss-Belhotel International, the rapidly growing global hotel management group, has signed an agreement with the NIBS Resort Company Limited to manage the Swiss-Belinn Nairobi, the group's first operating hotel in Africa. This collaboration underscores Swiss-Belhotel International's strategic expansion plans in Africa.

Nestled in the serene Kileleshwa neighborhood, renowned for its green and calm surroundings, the hotel features 89 spacious rooms, 9 well-equipped meeting rooms and a gym. The hotel also offers an all-day dining restaurant and a delightful rooftop bar with panoramic views of Nairobi's skyline. The hotel's prime location merely 25 minutes away from the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, ensures guests are just 5 minutes away from the bustling life of Westlands.

Nairobi, contributing approximately 10% of its GDP to tourism and having welcomed 1.48 million international tourists in 2022, has solidified its reputation as a leading business and leisure destination.

Swiss-Belhotel International will soon begin implementing its international standards and enhancements, targeting a complete rebranding of the Swiss-Belinn Nairobi by 15 January 2024.

Hotel website
Konstantinos Michail has been appointed as the chief commercial officer for Millennium Hotels and Resorts MEA. Michail will the brand's commercial growth across the Middle East & Africa region.

With an extensive career spanning over 25 years, Michail brings a wealth of experience to his new role. He has worked across the UAE and Europe markets where he demonstrated his expertise in marketing, sales, business transformation, and project development.

Prior to joining Millennium Hotels and Resorts MEA, Michail held senior positions with organisations, including the Department of Culture and Tourism (DCT) Abu Dhabi, Meydan Group, Meraas Holding, Majid Al Futtaim Properties, and Samsung, Royal Numico.
Minor Hotels is delighted to announce the appointment of Janet Broomfield as Global Luxury Director - Meeting & Incentives - located in London. Janet brings a wealth of experience to the UK Conference and Incentive market.

Janet commented: 'It's an exciting time and am thrilled to join Minor Hotels as Global Luxury Director, Meeting & Incentives for Europe & Americas. I'm looking forward to driving visibility and sales within the UK market for our properties across the globe.

Anantara & Tivoli Hotels offer an impressive list of destinations including Spain, Netherlands, Hungary, Ireland, Portugal, Italy, Tunisia, Thailand, Maldives, Brazil, Malaysia, Mauritius, Oman, Qatar, Seychelles, Sri Lanka, United Arab Emirates and Zambia. The portfolio of properties offers excellent meeting facilities and exciting incentive destinations. The Anantara Grand Hotel Krasnapolsky, in Amsterdam, can accommodate meetings for up to 1,500 pax, while the Anantara New York Palace, in Budapest, 600pax, and the Anantara Vilamoura Resort in Portugal can accommodate 950pax.'

The brand continues to expand its footprint across the globe and has an impressive network, including Anantara The Marker Hotel in Dublin, and recently opened Anantara Plaza Nice Hotel, and is looking forward to many more exciting openings planned for the future.

Janet will report to Alberto Gutierrez, Global Director of Strategic Sales and UK Market Leader. Alberto added "We are delighted to welcome Janet to the team, her unique perspective will be invaluable, she brings a wealth of brand strategy and Meetings and Events experience; I wish Janet every success as she steps into this new role".
Four Seasons Hotel Tunis announces the appointment of Hani Abulafi as Hotel Manager. Holding the role of second management position at the luxury address in the leafy Gammarth section of the Tunisian capital, Abulafi has oversight of all operations with an objective of setting the tone for success throughout the property.

Born in Kuwait, Abulafi studied in the UK and lived in the US before relocating with his family to Amman, Jordan, in the early 1990s. By the time he reached his early 20s, Abulafi was working full-time in the family business and soon realized his profound passion for hotel life. He pursued his burgeoning passion for hospitality, first earning a Bachelor's degree with honours in hotel and catering management from Huddersfield University in England.

Soon enough, Abulafi joined Four Seasons, returning home to Jordan in 2005 to become Sales Manager of Four Seasons Hotel Amman. Four years later, he ascended to the role of Director of Sales. Over the years, he steadily climbed the career ladder and eventually assuming the responsibility of Director of Sales and Marketing in Amman. In 2017 enticed by the prospect of being an integral part of the guest experience rather than merely selling it, he transitioned to the position of Director of Rooms at Four Seasons Hotel Doha, spending four years in the Qatari capital before being appointed to his current position in Tunis in summer 2023.

While connecting with guests remains a top priority for Abulafi, he is equally committed to seizing opportunities that empower the Hotel team, the majority of whom proudly represent Tunisia.

While he continues to adapt to the city and the North African way of life, Abulafi is enjoying the time he spends exploring Tunisia alongside his family. Much like his wife, he eagerly anticipates introducing his young children Raya and Mahfouz to a new and diverse culture. He believes that by immersing them to different parts of the world at a young age, we can enrich their lives in the long run.
PARIS  Accor is proud to announce its co-founding of the Hospitality Alliance for Responsible Procurement (HARP), in partnership with four global hotel groups  Hilton, IHG Hotels & Resorts, Marriott International, Radisson Hotel Group, alongside two global hospitality group purchasing organizations  Avendra and Entegra, and sustainability rating agency EcoVadis. This alliance aligns with Accors pioneering work and commitment to sustainable procurement, critical to achieving our scope 3 carbon emissions reduction targets. Cooperating and innovating jointly with our peers will provide the tangible tools needed to meet our environmental and social objectives.

A major part of hospitalitys environmental, social and governance footprint lies with its suppliers. As the primary interface with supply chains, procurement functions and organizations have a decisive role to play in shaping more sustainable practices. HARP was created as a new way of measuring and improving supply chain sustainability performance, using EcoVadis sustainability rating data pools to create shared evaluation methodologies, empowering the companies involved to interact with their key suppliers, and facilitating the exchange of game-changing expertise to accelerate a unified drive towards best practices.

Accor, through Astore, its international procurement organization specialized for all operational needs of hospitality industry, identified early the power of procurement to bridge the gap between sustainability vision and action, with this business function key to leading the sustainability efforts of suppliers across processes and solutions. This realization has seen Astore operate at the leading edge of sustainable procurement for several years now.

The Group, via Astore, employs strict processes to ensure rigorous selection of suppliers who are increasingly responsible and comply with the requirements of the responsible procurement charter, a contractual prerequisite since 2017 and regularly updated to be in line with new regulations and the Group's commitments. Based on a supplier risk mapping on social, environmental, and ethical criteria, compliance with the responsible procurement charter by nominated suppliers is implemented through a robust control plan. Beyond the verification of contractual obligations, this control plan measures the sustainability performance of nominated suppliers based on increasingly demanding expectations.

This ensures the minimization of supply chain risks and sustainability innovation in areas such as net-zero, human rights, diversity, etc.

Accor procurement also plays a major role in most of the Groups sustainability commitments. To achieve Accor's goal of eradicating single-use plastic products in the guest experience, procurement teams have implemented global and local sourcing of zero plastic alternatives, encouraging suppliers to transition and innovate. Accor has also reaffirmed its commitment to carbon neutrality by 2050 by signing several initiatives (e.g. SBTi, UNTWO). These initiatives aim to redefine its carbon trajectory to align it with the targets on limiting global warming set by the Paris Agreement. Including, an ambitious emission reduction target of -46% of absolute emissions on scope 1 & 2 and -28% of absolute emissions on scope 3 by 2030 (compared to the 2019 base year).

Accor has also joined the "Business Ambition for 1.5C" program, making Accor the first international hotel group to make a long-term commitment to achieving net-zero emissions by 2050. As part of Accors commitment to reach net-zero carbon by 2050, procurement has sourced green energy and energy savings solutions for both hotels and corporate headquarters  our Paris Corporate HQ is now 100% renewable energy-supplied.

Procurement has also played a key role in responsible F&B sourcing in line with the Groups Sustainable Food Charter commitments, for example increasing local and seasonal sourcing, organic products, and preferring suppliers with responsible fishing, responsible coffee & tea, and animal welfare practices. This enables Accor to align itself with the highest industry standards in sustainability while creating value for hotel owners and guests.

HARP will accelerate the raising of hospitality suppliers accountability and sustainability levels, as well as furthering Accors ambitions to assist suppliers in industry wide efforts to address crucial elements of the sustainability challenge.

Innovative and solution-based initiatives that focus on core business activities are crucial to realizing the hospitality industrys vision for a sustainable future. This collaboration marks a crucial next step which Accor is very proud to be a part of, we are excited to be leading creative efforts alongside major hotel and procurement groups. The collaboration will no doubt deliver unmatched value to not only our suppliers but also our guests, as we continue to push for positive impact. Caroline Tissot, Group Chief Procurement Officer at Accor

About Accor, a world-leading hospitality group

Accor is a world leading hospitality group offering experiences across more than 110 countries in 5,500 properties, 10,000 food & beverage venues, wellness facilities or flexible workspaces. The Group has one of the industry's most diverse hospitality ecosystems, encompassing more than 40 hotel brands from luxury to economy, as well as Lifestyle with Ennismore. Accor is committed to taking positive action in terms of business ethics & integrity, responsible tourism, sustainable development, community outreach, and diversity & inclusion. Founded in 1967, Accor SA is headquartered in France and publicly listed on the Euronext Paris Stock Exchange (ISIN code: FR0000120404) and on the OTC Market (Ticker: ACCYY) in the United States. For more information visit group.accor.com or follow us on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram and TikTok.

Line Crieloue

Group external communications - Executive Director - Corporate

+33 1 45 38 18 11

Accor
WASHINGTON - A record-breaking summer of travel demand sharpened the impact of government inefficiencies and hassles across the travel system, potentially resulting in air travelers taking an average of two fewer trips per year at a projected total cost of $71 billion to the U.S. economyaccording to a new U.S. Travel survey from Ipsos.

When nearly 60% of recent air travelers find the experience the equivalent or worse than going to the DMV, it is a concerning signal that demands action. With greater focus, it is well within the federal governments ability to make improvements across the travel ecosystem. U.S. Travel Association President and CEO Geoff Freeman

The impact of traveler frustrations equates to 27 million avoided trips in total and $71 billion in losses for the U.S. economy, including $4.5 billion in lost tax revenue. (Ipsos, Longwoods International and U.S. Travel)

Half of air travelers said they would travel more in the next six months if the experience were less of a hassle. Similarly, business travelers would take an average of two more trips per year if travel frictions improved, resulting in 18 million additional trips and $52 billion in economic impact.

Freeman noted the numerous ways the federal government is failing travelers, such as outdated security screening technology, inconsistent waits at Customs and airport security checkpoints, and months (or years)-long delays for U.S. visitor visas.

The security screening experience travelers encounter today is effectively the same as it was 21 years ago when the TSA was established, said Freeman. While air travel is safer than ever, the process for most air travelers has not evolved. Screening processes and technologies in the United States are falling behind those in other nations. Its time to lead the way.

This new survey comes just days after Congress passed a short-term patch to keep the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) fundedwhile a long-term reauthorization bill for the agency awaits Senate passage.

OPPORTUNITIES

Freeman cited two near-term opportunities for the U.S. to improve the air travel experience. He first called for a long-term FAA reauthorization bill and confirmation of Michael G. Whitaker to serve as FAA administrator.

Second, Freeman urged U.S. officials to take a more active role in learning from best practices among global competitors to improve the overall travel experience, such as steps taken by Spain and the U.K. to end the liquid ban in carry-on luggage, thanks to advanced security technology.

Roughly two-thirds of recent air travelers are comfortable sharing their biometric data with either the government, a private corporation, or both. This is a significant opportunity for the U.S. to implement biometric technology more broadly and improve efficiency, as other countries have done.

An effective partnership between the government and the travel industry can vastly improve the experience and efficiency of the air travel system and pay economic dividends far into the future, said Freeman.

See more findings from the Q3 2023 Ipsos survey.

Listen to the full press conference recording.

About U.S. Travel Association

U.S. Travel Association is the national, non-profit organization representing all components of the travel industry. Travelers in the United States are estimated to spend $1.1 trillion in 2022 (still 10% below 2019 levels). U.S. Travel advocates for policies to accelerate an even recovery across the travel industry and restore economic and job growth for this essential contributor to our nation's success. Visit ustravel.org for information and recovery-related data.

Greg Staley

U.S. Travel Association
500 MILLION PERPETUAL HYBRID BOND ISSUE

WITH A FIRST CALL DATE IN APRIL 2029 AND AN ANNUAL COUPON OF 7.25%

OVERSUBSCRIBED FOUR TIMES

Following the rating upgrade to Investment Grade by Fitch and Standard & Poors, Accor, today, successfully placed a EUR500m perpetual hybrid bond issue with a 7.25% coupon.

The oversubscription of the transaction at about 4 times reflects the renewed investors confidence in the Groups solid creditworthiness and growth potential.

The proceeds of this issue will be dedicated to the reimbursement of its existing hybrid bond with a first call date in January 2024, for which a tender offer was launched and will remain open until Monday October 9th, 2023.

The new perpetual hybrid bonds have a first call date in April 2029, with a 7.25% coupon until that date. The securities will rank junior to all senior debt and they will be recognized as equity, in accordance with IFRS standards. They will be assigned intermediate equity content by Standard & Poors and Fitch, i.e. with 50% of the securities being accounted as equity.

Citi, HSBC and SG acted as Global Coordinators for the issue, and Commerzbank, Mizuho, MUFG, Natixis and Santander acted as Active bookrunners.

About Accor, a world-leading hospitality group

Accor is a world leading hospitality group offering experiences across more than 110 countries in 5,500 properties, 10,000 food & beverage venues, wellness facilities or flexible workspaces. The Group has one of the industry's most diverse hospitality ecosystems, encompassing more than 40 hotel brands from luxury to economy, as well as Lifestyle with Ennismore. Accor is committed to taking positive action in terms of business ethics & integrity, responsible tourism, sustainable development, community outreach, and diversity & inclusion. Founded in 1967, Accor SA is headquartered in France and publicly listed on the Euronext Paris Stock Exchange (ISIN code: FR0000120404) and on the OTC Market (Ticker: ACCYY) in the United States. For more information visit group.accor.com or follow us on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram and TikTok.

Charlotte Thouvard

Senior Vice President Group External Communications

Accor
A new VWP country = big deal.

The addition of any new country into our Visa Waiver Program (VWP) has always been a big deal.

Prior to Israels upcoming participation on November 30, only 40 countries have been admitted to the program, of which 27 are European Schengen Area (open border) members. This compares to more than 100 countries whose citizens can enter the UK visa free.

And in the last 13 years only three countries have been added to VWP: Chile (2014), Poland (2019) and Croatia (2021).

A new member = economic benefits for the U.S.

Admission into VWP has been proven to spur visitations toand spending inthe United States. Israel will be no exception.

Prior to the pandemic, there were 450,000 Israeli arrivals in the U.S.

Based on prior examples, we are estimating that VWP participation will lead to a boost of at least 200,000 additional Israeli visitors each yearwithin 2-3 years of admission and perhaps soonerwho will directly spend $800 million, creating a total economic impact of $1.8 billion.

There are many reasons to be optimistic that Israels VWP admission will meetor even exceedthese estimates.

Israel and the U.S. share close cultural, economic and political ties.

Many Israelis have some family members or close friends in the U.S.

Israelis generally speak English well, making travel to the U.S. much simpler.

There are close Jewish cultural/religious ties due to the two countries having the two largest Jewish populations in the world.

Israelis already travel abroad in huge numbers and enjoy visa free travel to just about anywhere they want to go. Many have avoided the U.S. due to the visa requirement but we expect that to change since they can now visit without that hassle.

An opportunity to level our travel deficit:

Despite strong ties culturally, religiously and politically between the two countries, the U.S. has typically experienced a significant visitor and spending deficit from Israel. This was the case even prior to the pandemic when the U.S. has constantly experienced an overall travel trade surplus.

While 450,000 Israelis visited the U.S. in 2019, nearly 1 million Americans visited Israel.

Even though Israelis spend more per visit in the U.S. than Americans spend in Israel, our travel trade balance experienced a deficit of $500 million in 2019.

While Israels entry to VWP may not fill the entire visitation gap, its estimated effect on spending$800 million in additional direct spendingwould turn our travel trade deficit with Israel into a surplus.

Flights already added:

Within days of the announcement, El Al announced that they are adding a fourth daily flight to JFK starting in June 2024.

In total, with these additional flights, there will now be more than 100 weekly flights from Tel Aviv to 10 gateways in the U.S., split roughly in half by El Al and U.S. airlines (Delta/American/United).

What else:

VWP entry does not only benefit Americas economy at home, but also frees up vital consular resources so consulates and embassies can better serve Americans abroad.

American citizens living in Israel have long complained of extreme waits for consular services such as registering births or getting passports, but Israels VWP entry will hopefully bring needed relief. In fact, embassy officials expect that a considerable number of staffers will be reassigned from visas (for non-citizens) to American Citizen Services, thus enabling many more appointments to become available."

The bottom line:

Israels entry to VWP will undoubtedly prove the economic and efficiency benefits that result from participation in the program.

Greg Staley

U.S. Travel Association
Do Your Hotel Leaders Truly Understand The Difference Between 'Hospitality' and 'Guest Service?'

My job as a hospitality industry conference speaker and training facilitator affords opportunities to speak with lodging industry leaders from a broad spectrum of management companies, brands, and independents. Based on my observations, I think there are a lot of leaders, including some with decades of experience that work at top-tier companies, who do not fully understand the difference between hospitality and guest service.

I often hear these terms used interchangeably, yet while they are related, and while guest satisfaction requires both, they are fundamentally different concepts. Understanding the difference, and being able to convey this to frontline staff, are essential for taking both to the next level at your hotel, company or resort.

So What IS The Difference?

Providing guest service is more about delivering experiences that at least meet, and hopefully exceed, guests expectations. Foundationally, this requires providing safe, clean, updated, and comfortable accommodations. On top of that, excellent guest service requires using communications essentials that rise above merely being polite. A few examples would be:

- Holding eye contact with guests long enough to exchange smiles.

- Using open body language.

- Excellence in telephone communications. (A positive opening greeting, asking permission to place them on hold, supervising call transfers, and ending the call by offering additional assistance, restating the callers name, and thanking them.)

- Using guest names conversationally throughout their stay.

- Using the language of hospitality such as saying Allow me to check on that not Ill have to check on that, May I suggest that you instead of Youll have to, and saying You are most welcome instead of No problem.

- Expressing empathy and apologizing when things go wrong.

And yet I would argue that it is entirely possible for a hotel colleague to use all these communications techniques but completely fall short on delivering hospitality. In our daily lives, Im sure we have all had customer service experiences where the associate said all of the right things, but who spoke in a way that felt scripted, robotic and disingenuous.

Specific to hotels, I often find that some hotels, most often in upscale and luxury sectors, become so obsessed with passing a FORBES, AAA, or brand inspection that they over-emphasize these guest service techniques to the point where it comes across as scripted politeness and feels obsequious to guests.

Guest Services Skills Are Demonstrative;

Heartfelt Hospitality Is Philosophical



Enlightened leaders know that hospitality is, at its core, a philosophy for living much more so than it is a script or list of communications standards to be checked-off in a mystery shoppers inspection report.

To start, lets look at the root of the word hospitality itself, which is derived from the Latin word hospes, which is a word having the diametric meanings of guest and host. Dictionary definitions of the word hospitality generally include some version of receiving guests in a way that is warm, generous, and friendly.

For decades now in my on-site hospitality training workshops, I often ask participants to work in small groups and to formulate one collective definition. Their results are always interesting and insightful, but the best one yet came out of a group many years ago who came up with this definition: Hospitality means caring about, as well as for, others.

In the hotel industry, when we care for others, we basically do our jobs and provide guest service. We clean the rooms, fix what is broken, and provide a room key in exchange for their credit card. Yet when we care about our guests, we understand that the person on the other side of the desk, counter, phone call, or email exchange is a real person going through a uniquely personal travel experience. We take time to imagine that they might be in town for a wedding, a birthday, or a vacation, but also it might be for a funeral, memorial service, or at the start or end of a hospital stay. They might be in town on business to entertain sales prospects at fancy restaurants, hire new staff, or attend company meetings, but also it might be to testify in a lawsuit, close a branch office or finalize a divorce proceeding.

Those who have enrolled their front desk staff in KTNs Certified in the Heart of Hospitality program will recognize another definition of hospitality we use, which is Hospitality is the delivery of human kindness, especially to strangers.

However, perhaps the very best definition I have ever encountered was offered by a true industry icon, Howard Feiertag, who was my personal mentor and friend for 34 years until he passed away last March at age 93. Many readers will know Howard as a co-worker from the years he spent as a corporate-level hotelier or his years on the conference speaking circuit. Perhaps he is best known as Professor Feiertag, having joined Virginia Tech as an Adjunct Professor in 1990 and were he still taught classes at age 93.

In my opinion, Howard gave the best and certainly the pithiest definition ever, when he made this comment at a banquet in his honor: Hospitality is making people feel good, Howard said that night, adding, and when we make them feel good it makes YOU feel good too! Note: You can watch this segment of Howards speech at the 6:20 timestamp on this YouTube link https://youtu.be/5JPa78aDZWM

And so hotel leaders, at your next staff meeting, management conference, or executive committee gathering, take a few moments to ask your leaders to consider the true meaning of hospitality, making certain to differentiate it from the concept of guest service techniques.

About Doug Kennedy

Doug Kennedy is President of the Kennedy Training Network, Inc. a leading provider of hotel sales, guest service, reservations, and front desk training programs and telephone mystery shopping services for the lodging and hospitality industry. Doug continues to be a fixture on the industrys conference circuit for hotel companies, brands and associations, as he been for over two decades. Since 1996, Dougs monthly training articles have been published worldwide, making him one of the most widely read hospitality industry authorities. Visit KTN at www.kennedytrainingnetwork.com or email him directly doug@kennedytrainingnetwork.com.

Doug is the author of So You REALLY Like Working With People? - Five Principles for Hospitality Excellence.
A new survey shows technology is the top priority of hotel operators amid the labor crunch

Imagine stepping into a hotel lobby and breezing through a check-in powered by facial recognition technology. With a key in hand, your app-ordered room service is delivered promptly by a robot.

In some hotels this is already reality.

For instance, guests at integrated resort Marina Bay Sands can skip the queue and check in by scanning their faces and unlocking their hotel rooms with the same phone. In the Rolling Hills Hotel on the outskirts of Seoul, hotel guests can place their room service orders through Kakao Talk, a popular messaging app, and track their delivery by a robot in real time.

These technologies arent just enhancing the guest experience. Theyre also addressing the labor shortage plaguing the hospitality industry.

As demand returns in the coming years, the acute shortage of workers needs to be urgently addressed, says Sashi Rajan, Executive Vice President, JLL Hotels & Hospitality Group.

What hotels are focusing on now is implementing actionable technologies to solve these challenges in the short term, says Rajan. The goal isnt necessarily to restore the workforce to pre-pandemic levels, losing some of the relevant efficiencies gained, but rather to bring it back to a level where they can operate effectively to a required standard with the support of technology.

As such, technology upgrades are the top priority of hotel operators in 2024, according to a recent JLL survey.

Key functions where hotels struggle to find talent, such as food and beverage and front desk, are expected to gain most from new technologies, according to Rajan.

Return on investment

Hotel operators measure their return on technology investment by how it improves the guest experience, particularly in terms of service efficiency.

Take international hotel chain Marriott. Hotel guests using its mobile app can chat with hotel representatives to make requests before, during and after their stay, offering a faster alternative to a phone call where theres a chance of being redirected or put on hold.

Technology embraces the customers psyche of communicating something when they need something, says Rajan. They are more likely to tolerate a slightly longer lead time once they feel that their requests have been heard.

For hotel owners, the investment in technology is a sound business case that not only brings financial efficiencies, but also achieves a sustainable value proposition in their hotel assets, assisted by technology.

Productivity gains from these investments are crucial, especially in times of rising cost pressures. More than one in five operators across Asia Pacific expect labor costs to increase next year by at least 20% from pre-pandemic levels, according to those surveyed by JLL.

A change in mindset

While technology is being embraced more so now than before, operators need to pick up the pace, Rajan says. It requires a fundamental shift in behavior and mindset among hotel staff.

In Asia Pacific, the uptake of technology has been quicker in markets like Singapore, where manpower is expensive and often in short supply, though adoption still lags other regions.

Hotels in Singapore already grapple with the challenge of recruiting staff from other countries, and this is further compounded by the foreign worker quota, says Rajan. But government support, in the form of grants given when relevant technology is being invested, has proven effective in accelerating adoption.

In more affordable labor markets in the region, like Indonesia or Bangkok, the scarcity of manpower has also become increasingly evident, prompting more hotels to consider investing in technology, albeit at a slower pace.

They need to first recognize that technology isnt perfect and may not perform a task as well as a person, but its the next best thing to work around, Rajan says.

In tandem with technology investments, operators must also revise their processes to ensure that they deliver equal value to guests.

To do that, hotel operators need to strive for the right balance between the technology stack and the talent stack.

Apart from implementing the right solutions, operators must provide upskilling and training opportunities, or hire the right talent who can bring the technology to life and maximize its potential, says Rajan. Otherwise, theyll be paying top dollar for the best-in-class technology without fully utilizing its capabilities.
Shouf Cedar Reserve

As part of his research on regenerative hospitality and digital technology, Dr Alessandro Inversini had the fantastic opportunity to visit two rural reserves in Lebanon, namely Shouf Cezar Reserve and Jamal Moussa Reserve. In this article, he shares his experience, and gives us insights into his research results. Discover the concept of regenerative hospitlality and how it could impact the industry!

As part of his research on regenerative hospitality and digital technology, Dr Alessandro Inversini had the fantastic opportunity to visit two rural reserves in Lebanon, namely Shouf Cezar Reserve and Jamal Moussa Reserve. In this article, he shares his experience, and gives us insights into his research results. Discover the concept of regenerative hospitlality and how it could impact the industry!

"Come with me, I would like to show you something amazing!" Cezar urged me.

Cezar, my guide, takes our car keys and drives up towards the gently rolling hills of the Shouf Cedar Reserve. We have been speaking only a few minutes about the purpose of my field work on Regenerative Hospitality in Rural Lebanon, and he already wants to show me something. Honestly, I am not sure what to expect  but I decide to trust him.

After a few minutes in the car with Cezar, we arrive in a beautiful spot in the mountains: Welcome to The Sunset Bar he exclaims.

The Sunset Bar, true to its name, is really a bar in the hills where you can see what is arguably the most beautiful sunset in the Shouf Cedar Reserve. The bar was built by Cezar and his friends from the community with the clear purpose of creating a viable business that will enable locals to stay in the community while fostering economic growth in the area. In addition, the business was designed and built in harmony with nature and the environment. This aspect is felt immediately upon arrival and is a focal point of every project run by Cezar and his friends.

The Sunset Bar, Shouf Cedar Reserve.

In fact, while speaking with the founders and managers of the bar, it became apparent that the very concept of community, along with the natural environment where they were born and raised, are the most important elements for this gang of entrepreneurs in their late twenties. They clearly want to highlight the authenticity of both the people in the community and the areas natural beauty. Showing it to visitors from around the world is something close to a lifes mission for Cezar and his crew.

Cezar is one of the many rural entrepreneurs I have met in a week of ethnographic field work organized as part of a research project funded by the HES-SO Leading House MENA, which has facilitated collaboration between EHL Hospitality Business School and the American University of Beirut (Nature Conservation Center). The purpose of this project is to investigate Regenerative Hospitality and the use of Digital Technology in two beautiful nature reserves in Lebanon, namely Shouf Cedar and Jabal Moussareserves. Thanks to a fantastic team located both in Switzerland and in Lebanon, we conducted 21 interviews with travel entrepreneurs, we ran a survey in the two biosphere reserves, and we carried out a comprehensive social media analysis of the businesses connected with the reserve.

Read below some of the preliminary results of this research.

A light-hearted moment during the fieldwork in Jabal Moussa Reserve.

Place Intelligence & People Intelligence

According to theory, regenerative tourism is a departure from the sustainable development paradigm by positioning travel-related businesses as entities that develop the capacities of places, communities and their guests to operate in harmony with interconnected social-ecological systems (Bellato et al., 2022).

We observed this in action: the businesses we interviewed were deeply rooted both into the natural and social ecosystems of the reserves. They all had these elements in their DNA but, given the personality of the different entrepreneurs, they could be positioned on a spectrum. Take, for instance, Donkey Farm whose aim is to raise awareness (among both locals and visitors) about reforestation and indigenous donkey breeding. They started with a farm-to-table offer and evolved towards a more restoration/regeneration paradigm where the traditional and indigenous practices come back to life thanks to the work of a hospitality entrepreneur. In a different example, Al Fundok is a boutique hotel and restaurant developed on the premises of an old abandoned elementary school. Management strives to preserve nature and work to enhance the community. In particular, they endeavor to improve the lives of young people. In fact, Al Fundok involves community youngsters in formal training without having to leave the community. Moreover, they are actively involved in safeguarding their societys customs by sponsoring and organizing traditional festivals. Vulnerable members of the community are involved in organizing and running the event.

This is what  in our research - we called place intelligence: a net-positive attitude towards the natural and social ecosystems around the hospitality endeavor. Hospitality that stresses place intelligence is a means to an end where the end is celebrating and regenerating both their natural and social ecosystem. Place intelligence is the outer perspective of regeneration where hospitality entrepreneurs build a respectful and positive relationship with their natural environment and with the people of the community, finding ways to constantly regenerate and improve both.

One other clear trait of small and micro businesses in hospitality that we kept noticing in different data points of our study is the creation of experiences as well as the bond created with the visitors. For example, the social media content that we studied clearly showed that visitors were always thanking the hosts for the experiences. Even when small hospitality errors (e.g. SOPs) occurred they were mentioned only in passing, whereas most comments celebrated the meaningful and sometimes transformative nature of the experiences proposed.

This was very apparent in the numerous mentions of experiences and retreats related to yoga practices, or nature-related experiences such as hiking in the mountains and fruit-picking in the fields. However, one other most interesting examples is Emmanuelle, a host with a passion for hospitality and nature: she takes her guests in the forest to harvest different plants to later create herbal teas and other recipes together. During these activities, she teaches her guests about the herbs and their uses from the knowledge she has acquired over the years. Two other guest houses were looking forward to building a community kitchen to create a meaningful connection between the community and the visitor of the guesthouse. What is very interesting in these examples is that the community is the staff, and the staff is the community. By sharing who they are and what they do, the hosts impact travelers and their expectations, which are often far exceeded through this authentic relationship.

This is what  in our research - we call people intelligence. It is the systemic and net-positive relationship between hosts (and their staff) and guests, leading to the co-creation of extraordinary experiences that develop the well-being of hosts and guests. Extraordinary experiences are by definition experiences that are outside of the ordinary. They trigger a keen interestamong both staff and gueststo co-create a net-positive value that was not there before.

Regenerative Hospitality: Place Intelligence and People Intelligence (Inversini et al., forthcoming).

Lesson Learned For Hospitality Entrepreneurs

Regenerative Hospitality is a different concept that is becoming popular in a bottom-up way. In other words, it is an approach to corporate responsibility adopted by several grassroots hospitality organizations that, at the present time, has no schemes, grids or KPIs. Even though it creates a regulatory vacuum, it enhances the responsibility of the individual hotelier (and/or hotel manager).

Therefore, at its very heart, Regenerative Hospitality is a business mind shift, not another compliance rule: managers who decide to embrace regeneration pursue net-positive goals to make the company flourish in the place where it is established (thus developing, fostering , nourishing and ultimately regenerating what we can call the genius loci) with the people who are part of it (both people who run the company, from managers to operations and the people who experience the actual service)  in a sort of hospitality partnership.

Lastly, Regenerative Hospitality may not be for everyone in the industry. However, becoming familiar with place intelligence and people intelligence can help managers to become truly responsible actors in the community (people and nature) and vis-a-vis people (staff and guests). Regeneration - especially in the hotel sector - shouldn't be just an afterthought or a vague notion, but should be concretely implemented. Small building blocks can result in a big impact on both the place and the people.

Cezars Projects, Shouf Cedar Reserve.

I would like to express my deepest gratitude to all the participants who made this field trip possible, and especially to Elsa, Omar, Tania and Joelle who supported me every step of the way.

References

Bellato, L., Frantzeskaki, N., & Nygaard, C. A. (2022). Regenerative tourism: a conceptual framework leveraging theory and practice. Tourism Geographies, 1-21.

Inversini, A., Saul, L., Balet, S., and Schegg, R. (forthcoming). The rise of Regenerative Hospitality. To be published in Tourism Futures.

Header image copyrights: https://cezarsprojects.org/projects/.

Dr Alessandro Inversini - Associate Professor at EHL Hospitality Business School. Connect with Alessandro on LinkedIn.
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Holiday Hours: Indigenous Peoples Day / Columbus Day



Dioscoro Teofilo Puebla Tolin's 'First landing of Columbus on the Shores of the New World,' at San Salvador, W.I., Oct. 12, 1492, from 1862.

Indigenous Peoples Day and Columbus Day is being observed Monday, Oct. 9. As Columbus Day, it commemorates Christopher Columbus' arrival in the Americas on Oct. 12, 1492. As Indigenous Peoples Day, it commemorates the harm to their cultures and communities that followed Columbus' arrival.

Columbus' voyage had been celebrated on significant anniversaries but did not become an official holiday until being recognized by Colorado in 1905. It was declared a federal holiday in 1937.



Not all states recognize Columbus Day. Some local and state governments, including now the city of Boston, have alternative Native American or indigenous peoples' days to reflect that others had "discovered" the continent long before the Nina, Pinta and Santa Maria arrived. Hawaii celebrates Discoverers' Day, marking when the Polynesians arrived on the islands. In Vermont, it's optional for public schools to close; most stay open.

In 2021, President Biden recognized Indigenous People's Day although Columbus Day remains a federal holiday. Massachusetts has not yet recognized it officially but there are bills at the State House that would change the day from Columbus Day.



Columbus Day in the United States is also Canadian Thanksgiving. The two holidays have shared the second Monday in October since 1971.

The three-day weekend is more often celebrated in New England as the kickoff to the fall foliage season and, in North County, the day of the annual Mount Greylock Ramble, a hike up the state's tallest mountain along the Cheshire Harbor Trail and Ramblefest in Adams from noon to 5 the day before.

Closed:

Federal, state and local offices; no mail delivery.

Banks

Public colleges and schools, most private schools

Public libraries

Most offices and businesses

BRTA is not running



Open:

Commercial establishments are required by law not to open before noon unless locally permitted.

The Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) is reminding members of the public to plan ahead for the upcoming Columbus Day weekend, drive in off-peak hours if possible, utilize the appropriate technology tools to make informed decisions, and consider public transportation to reach destinations.

"We anticipate higher than normal traffic volume on major roadways beginning on Thursday, Oct. 5," said Highway Administrator Jonathan Gulliver. "Many people have a three-day weekend and will be traveling around New England to make the most of it. We encourage motorists to make their trips when traffic may be low, check the weather forecasts, consider public transportation, and remember the rules of the road." Riders should also note that the CharlieCard Store will be closed on Monday, Oct. 9. The MBTA Commuter Rail will extend the use of its special weekend discount to include Monday for an unlimited travel pass for $10.
Berkshire Humane Society Expands Veterinary Services

PITTSFIELD, Mass.  Berkshire Humane Society's Wellness Clinic on Dalton Avenue in Pittsfield is expanding services to underserved dog and cat owners in Berkshire County by hiring veterinarians, Melissa Brady and Dinah Russell and securing a $20,000 grant from the John T. and Jane A. Weiderhold Foundation.

The grant will help develop a business model for the clinic through the Open Door Veterinary Collective to expand affordable veterinary care in the Berkshires.

Increasing affordable medical services is one of three major goals of Berkshire Humane Society's strategic plan for the next five years.

"When we sat down last year to update our strategic plan, the number one concern for keeping pets in homes and out of shelters was affordable medical care for pets," said John Perreault, Executive Director of Berkshire Humane Society. "Opening the Wellness Clinic was the cornerstone to fulfilling this need. At the time we didn't know what the extended future for the clinic would be, but now with our new veterinarians and business mentorship, we're hopeful we can achieve medical program goals of our strategic plan  expanding low-cost basic veterinary services, establishing an urgent care program for non- emergency treatment for common ailments and increasing low-cost spay and neuter services to pet owners in need."

Both veterinarians have previous experience working for animal shelters and will work directly for Berkshire Humane Society. Dr. Russell will begin in mid-October. She practiced for 11 years with a variety of clients in the Northeast and has an interest in educating and providing care to local communities, especially those of low income.

Dr. Brady will join the clinic in mid-December. She has more than 25 years of working as a veterinarian for private practices and government agencies along the East Coast from Florida to Massachusetts. A native of Dalton, she looks forward to coming home to work in Berkshire County.

In addition to providing basic wellness and preventative care currently offered at the clinic, the veterinarians will expand services to include urgent care for pets. "This is urgent veterinary care, not emergency care," said Perreault. "Think of it just like urgent care services versus emergency room services for people", he said.

Open Door Veterinary Collective will administer the Wellness Clinic business model through a six-month mentorship. The collective is a nonprofit organization focused on teaching veterinary service providers how to carry out a financially sustainable business model to expand affordable access to veterinary care.

"These are exciting new developments," said Perreault. "It's the first time we're hiring our own veterinarians and we have a partnership with a tried and true organization, Open Door Veterinary Collective, to help us navigate the business side of offering affordable and accessible veterinary care. We're grateful to the John T. and Jane A. Weiderhold Foundation for the opportunity to partner with an organization whose values align so well with ours.

According to Open Door Veterinary Collective's web site, their guiding principles include "all pets and people deserve access to affordable veterinary care" The principles also include "partnerships and engagement within communities that support keeping pets and people together". "Those beliefs describe Berkshire Humane Society, too," said Perreault. We're an adoption organization with a focus on keeping pets in their loving homes.

Back in March, Berkshire Humane Society opened the Wellness Clinic at the former Allen Heights Veterinary Hospital to meet needs of Berkshire County dog and cat owners who had a hard time finding available or affordable veterinary care. To schedule an appointment, call 413- 203-4330. At the height of the pandemic, many families added a pet to their home, while veterinary practices struggled to meet the demand.

"Pet owners aren't the only ones having challenges finding timely veterinary appointments Berkshire Humane Society is in that boat, too," said Perreault. "Hiring our own veterinarians will help us help more animals  it will get shelter animals into homes sooner and make space for other animals needing new homes  we currently have waiting lists to surrender animals in all departments."

Besides expanding affordable medical care for pets, other major goals of Berkshire Humane Society's strategic plan include pet retention through increasing capacity to foster pets of people in crisis and expanding training courses of Berkshire Humane Society's Family Dog School, and increasing the shelter's foster program for "hard-to-adopt" dogs and cats.

"The animal welfare field has evolved over the years and Berkshire Humane Society has been successful because we not only adapt to, but anticipate changes through strategic planning," said Perreault. "We're thankful for our supporters who recognize our proven track record and help us continue our compassionate mission of helping animals and the people who love them in the Berkshires and beyond."
The median on West Street would be off-limits to sign holders of any type if the City Council follows through with an ordinance.

Pittsfield Councilors Discuss Ban on Median Standing

PITTSFIELD, Mass.  City councilors feel that people standing in roadway medians  from panhandlers to protesters  is a public safety hazard and want to find a solution.

On Tuesday, the Ordinances and Rules subcommittee mulled a petition from Council President Peter Marchetti requesting to create an ordinance to ban people from standing on median strips unless crossing the street.

It was tabled to gather input from interim Police Chief Thomas Dawley, City Solicitor Stephen Pagnotta, Commissioner of Public Services and Utilities Ricardo Morales and City Engineer Tyler Shedd.



Marchetti cited the city of Framingham's ordinance enacted about a year ago that lists several applicable streets, recommending that Pittsfield's rule applies to 12 main roads: North, South, East, West, First, Tyler, Center and Elm Streets; Dalton and Hubbard Avenues; and Merrill and Cheshire Roads.



The council president is open to recommendations and wants input from city department heads such as the police and the Department of Public Services.



"I think that in order to have this conversation about it being a public safety issue, we really should ask the [city] engineer and the public services commissioner to weigh in on these intersections an a safety point of view, a traffic point of view, and ask for recommendations of additional roadways that they would deem to be dangerous," he said.



Panhandling has been a prevalent topic since the city's rise in homelessness during the COVID-19 pandemic. Marchetti insisted that this effort is centered around public safety.



Ward 7 Councilor Anthony Maffuccio and Councilor at Large Peter White spoke in support of a citywide ban rather than having it apply to certain routes.



"I'm in full agreement with this but I'm in full agreement with banning throughout the city. If we're going to do it, let's do it right," Maffuccio said.



"Let's not start picking locations and then being picked off by the media eventually saying we're picking off locations of panhandling, this becomes an issue of addressing panhandling. Even though we're not talking about it, I am. I'm bringing that out in the forefront because that's where it's at."



White reported that he has seen people holding political signs and other types of signs in the median strips.



"It becomes a safety hazard not only for the person but also for the drivers. They're distracting as they go by so I can really see banning all median strips is the way to go with this," he said.



And there will be some unintentional consequences. The firefighters, if they want to do a boot drive, they're going to have to follow the 'no median strip.' If a carwash wants to advertise, they have to find a way other than being in the median strip if we pass this."



Ward 1 Councilor Kenneth Warren said the city cannot regulate the content of activity and needs an ordinance that covers everyone. For example, he said if the Girl Scouts were selling cookies in the median strip it would be just as unsafe as any other activity.



"There is definitely a safety aspect to it," he said, adding that even people who stop trying to help a person in the median can cause havoc to other drivers.



He said this needs to be explored further.

Marchetti pointed out that most of the city's fine structure has a written first notice without a fine and doesn't see why this wouldn't follow suit.
BCC to Host Fall Open House on Oct. 21

PITTSFIELD, Mass.  Berkshire Community College (BCC) will hold an open house on Saturday, Oct. 21 at 9 a.m.

The open house will be followed by a financial aid workshop at 11 a.m.

The event takes place in the SBA Lounge on BCC's main campus, located at 1350 West Street, Pittsfield.

Prospective students and their guests are invited to meet one-on-one with BCC representatives from various offices. Participants can speak with faculty about the programs that interest them, take a campus tour and learn about paying for college, transferring to a four-year school, internships and career opportunities. A light breakfast will be served, and all attendees will receive a discount at the BCC Bookstore and a chance

to win BCC swag.

Prospective students interested in MassReconnect, a program provided by the Commonwealth that ensures any Massachusetts resident over the age of 25 who does not have a degree can attend BCC for free, can learn more about the process during the Fall Open House as well.

For more information, contact the Admissions Office at (413) 236-1636.
Bottom row, from left: Bella Tart, Mia DeJesus, Nevaeh Lopez, Mariah Barnes, JJ Bartolotta. Top row: coach Jorge DeJesus, Alexis Nehmens, A.J. Pelkey, Paxton Ebling, Bri Lynch, Grace Julieano, coach Dave Pelkey, Evelyn Julieano, coach Kirk Barnes.

Lanesborough's Knights Win Albany Area Tourney

COLONIE, N.Y.  The Lanesborough-based Berkshire Lady Knights under-16 travel softball team won the Electric City Bombers Fall Classic Tournament last weekend.

The team went 1-1-1 during Saturday pool before running the board Sunday.

During Sunday's elimination games, the Knights managed to knock out the No. 3 seed EC Bombers, 7-4. They then beat the second seed New York Dukes, 5-1, in the semi-finals. They then knocked off the No. 1 seed Rochester Lions, 8-3 in the finals.

The team also placed second in their first tournament a few weekends ago in Glenville, N.Y., losing in the finals to Saratoga Thunder.

The Knights next tournament is in two weeks in Meridian, Conn.
Mount Everett Regional School Continues Early College and Innovation Pathways Programs

SHEFFIELD, Mass.  Mount Everett Regional School has been awarded three grants this year totaling $155,000 to continue the implementation of the school's Early College and Innovation Pathways programs.

The programs have been part of Southern Berkshire Regional School District's goal to provide their students with free college credit and career development exposure and training through internship opportunities by the time they graduate.

"We have witnessed tremendous success with our Early College and Innovation Pathways programs, which were implemented at Mount Everett just last year, said Superintendent Beth Regulbuto. "Securing state grant funding allows us to further enhance and expand these innovative programs, ultimately benefiting our students for years to come."

In 2022, Mount Everett became the first public wall-to-wall Early College in the state, a non-transferable program in which 80 percent of the Class of 2023 earned college credit for free and obtained a total of 220 transferable college credits in the program's first year of implementation. Each semester, the courses offered are based on student interest, as elevating student voices is an integral part of Mount Everett's curriculum.

"The Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education awarded Mount Everett $80,000 for the school's Early College program and $75,000 for the Innovation Pathways program, and we are expecting more funding before the end of the year, said Early College and Internship Coordinator Lindy Marcel. "The grants are being spent in a way that ensures the sustainability of the programs for years to come.

Through the Innovation Pathways program, students have the opportunity to enroll in an Advanced Manufacturing pathway or an Information Technology pathway. Both pathway offerings give students the chance to gain exposure in high-demand technology career fields by working internships and gaining industry-recognized certifications.

In the following years, Mount Everett also plans on expanding their technology course offerings to include even more future-minded opportunities for students.

"Eventually we want students to have the option to pursue and graduate with a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) certified drone pilot license," Mount Everett's Technology Director Chris Thompson shared.
A man illegally brought a loaded handgun into the Wisconsin Capitol, demanding to see Gov. Tony Evers, and returned at night with an assault rifle after posting bail, police said Thursday.

Joshua Pleasnick, who was shirtless and had a holstered handgun, approached the governors office on the first floor of the Capitol around 2 p.m. Wednesday, state Department of Administration spokesperson Tatyana Warrick said. The 43-year-old said he would not leave until he saw Governor Evers so he could talk about domestic abuse towards men, Capitol police said in a bulletin sent to lawmakers and their staffs.

Evers was not in the building at the time, Warrick said.

A Capitol police officer sits at a desk outside of a suite of rooms that includes the governors office, conference room and offices for the attorney general.

Pleasnick was taken into custody for openly carrying a firearm in the Capitol, which is against the law, Warrick said. Weapons can be brought into the Capitol if they are concealed and the person has a valid permit. Pleasnick did not have a concealed carry permit, Warrick said.

Pleasnick posted cellphone video of his arrest on his Facebook page, which one of his Facebook friends downloaded and provided to The Associated Press. In the footage, he tells police as they speak to him outside of the governors office that he is armed to defend myself from people who he says police wont protect him from.

I am not a threat, he tells police. His dog is with him.

When told by officers that its illegal for him to openly carry a firearm in the Capitol, Pleasnick says, I will admit that I broke that law.

Warrick said she was not aware of the video and could not comment on it.

Dane County Sheriffs Office Sgt. Jon Klein said Pleasnick was booked into the jail at 6:35 p.m. Wednesday on a misdemeanor charge of carrying a firearm in a public building, then released on $500 bond at 8 p.m.

Pleasnick returned to the outside of the Capitol shortly before 9 p.m., three hours after the building closed, with a loaded assault-style rifle and a collapsible police baton in his backpack, Warrick said. He again demanded to see the governor and was taken into custody, Warrick said, although Klein said Thursday night he had no record of a second arrest.

Madison police reported Thursday that Pleasnick was taken into protective custody and taken to the hospital. He could not be reached by the AP, and a spokesperson for the police department did not return an email seeking additional details.

Pleasnick said he did not own a vehicle and it is likely he has access to a large amount of weapons and is comfortable using them, Capitol police said in the bulletin sent to Capitol workers.

No charges had been filed against Pleasnick as of Thursday night, according to online court records.

A spokesperson for the state public defenders office could not disclose on Thursday whether a public defender had been assigned to Pleasnick, and an attorney who represented him in a previous case did not immediately return voicemails asking whether they were representing him.

Im OK, Evers told reporters in Oregon Thursday. Its always something that  you dont want to see happen, but thats why we have good people in the police departments and in the Capitol Police and the State Patrol. Theyre doing great work.

He declined to comment on what security changes may be enacted for him or the Capitol building.

I never, ever talk about what my security detail does or what theyre planning on doing, Evers said. But anytime something like this happens, obviously they reevaluate.

Podcast rant

In a podcast posted Tuesday, a man who identified himself with the same name and birthdate as Pleasnick said he was in Madison and, in speech filled with profanity, said he would burn down the system with love because it is corrupt. The man complained about how he had been treated by the courts and spoke about illegally selling weapons, working in gun stores with explosives and machine guns, attempting suicide and dealing with post-traumatic stress disorder. He also said he wanted to keep living.

A former co-worker of Pleasnicks, Cara Moseley of the Green Owl restaurant on Madisons East Side, said she and others had conflicts with him during his approximately 18 months working at the restaurant as a chef around 2011.

He and I butt heads pretty bad, she said. When the owner was not around, he would talk all kinds of smack about her and other women in general.

She described Pleasnick as one of those guys who was like Eddie Haskell. He could be charming and charismatic but also hard to get along with, she said.

Ultimately he was fired from the Green Owl, she said. He definitely had a bit of a temper.

The restaurants former owner, Jennie Capellaro, said Pleasnick hadnt been a good fit for the business and that he was kind of an intense personality, but that there was nothing majorly wrong with him.

He was a good chef and pretty professional, she said, although the two didnt get along that well.

Members of Pleasnicks family did not immediately respond to voicemails.

The incident is just the latest in a series of violent threats against public officials.

Evers, a Democrat, was on a hit list of a gunman suspected of fatally shooting a retired county judge at his Wisconsin home in 2022. Others on that list included Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell. Whitmer was the target of a kidnapping plot in 2020.

Warrick said no immediate changes to security in the Capitol or for the governor were planned. The public has free access to the Capitol daily from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. There are no metal detectors.

Associated Press reporter Harm Venhuizen and State Journal reporters Chris Rickert and Alexander Shur contributed to this report.
Hunters may begin donating deer to the Hunters Helping the Hungry program at eight processor locations around the state.

The Butchery in Ulysses is among the participating meat processors.

Hunters should call to check availability before hunting or delivering a harvest for processing. This includes non-HHH processors.

Hunters pay no processing costs for deer accepted by processors for this donation-driven program.

The HHH program is funded solely by tax-deductible contributions. Once processed, the ground venison is distributed by charitable organizations to Nebraskans in need. Since the programs inception, more than 900,000 meals have been provided.

Processors accept only whole deer in good condition to ensure a good yield of pure ground venison. Hunters should first talk with processors but may keep antlers, head and cape and donate the rest of the deer.

Learn more about the program or how to support it at OutdoorNebraska.gov, search Hunters Helping the Hungry.
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Attendees at the launch of a Sir Roger Moore auction thought they were seeing double-07 after spotting the James Bond stars lookalike sons.

On Monday (2 October), the family of the late actor gathered as his personal collection of film memorabilia was lined up to go under the hammer at Bonhams auction house.

Moore died in 2019 aged 89 from lung cancer. He played the British spy several times from 1973s Live and Let Die to 1985 film A View to a Kill.

Bond producer Barbara Broccoli attended the launch of the auction, which will see 180 of moores belongings go up for sale, including a tuxedo worn by the actor in A View to a Kill.

But it was Moores sons Geoffrey, 57, and Christian, 50, who stole the show thanks to their striking resemblance to their late father. They attended the launch with their sister, Deborah.

While Geoffrey is a musician, Christian is an actor-director best known for the credits The Gold Bracelet (2006) and Light from the East (2005). Speaking at the launch, Geoffrey described Moore as a father, a friend, debonair movie star and ambassador, calling him all four seasons all in one day.

An Omega 50 Years of 007 limited edition watch and signed Bond posters will be auctioned (Bonhams)

Other items set to be sold at the auction, which is being held to mark the 50th anniversary of Live and Let Die, include a series of Moores silk ties and cravats he wore at showbiz events, which have been listed for 1000.

A collection of 20 Swatch wristwatches, complete with a Bond-themed suitcase, are also being sold alongside a Gucci contacts book featuring old addresses and phone numbers of stars such as Sir Paul McCartney and Princess Margaret.

Other items set to leave bidders as shaken as Bonds Martinis are an Omega "50 Years of 007 limited edition watch, which is expected to be auctioned for 30,000, a film programme for Octopussy signed by Moore in 1983, and the actor's Montblanc Meisterstuck 149 fountain pen and ink set.

Roger Moores lookalike sons with Bond producer Barbara Broccoli (Richard Young/Shutterstock)

Elsewhere, a navy cashmere double-breasted chesterfield coat made for Moore's appearance in Live and Let Die will be auctioned for up to 10,000 alongside a series of signed Bond posters from around the world.

Part of the auctions proceeds, which are estimated to reach 400,000, will be donated to charity.

Items will go under the hammer from 1pm GMT on Wednesday (4 October).

Items set to be auctioned include a collection of 20 Swatch wristwatches in a bond-themed suitcase and a tux worn by Moore in A View to a Kill (Bonhams)

Last week, a first edition copy of Sir Arthur Conan Doyles Sherlock Holmes novel The Hound of the Baskervilles, owned by Rolling Stones drummer Charlie Watts, sold for a record 214,000.

The drummers extensive collection of first edition books went under the hammer at British auction house Christies as part of a specialised sale, which saw F Scott Fitzgeralds acclaimed novel The Great Gatsby, first published in 1925, receive the highest bid, at 226,800.
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No two boogeymen are alike. And yet, director David Gordon Green seemingly assumed he could simply copy and paste his 2018 Halloween sequel onto a new horror franchise and achieve exactly the same results. The Exorcist: Believer is front-loaded with the same generational trauma, as a fathers guilt is inherited by his daughter, unluckily manifesting not through anxiety or depression, but full-blown demonic possession.

The its actually about trauma approach worked for exactly one Halloween movie, all because it latched onto the idea that Michael Myers is scary because hes unknowable  is he mortal? Or pure ghoul? Is there a point at which evil robs a person of their humanity? A natural space had been left open for Greens story of survivors guilt and the hollowing effects of a lifetime of PTSD.

But Satan himself (or the demon Pazuzu, to get technical) doesnt carry quite that same mystique. We know his deal  hes evil incarnate. Any film trying to slyly intimate that the devil might actually be a metaphor is standing in the middle of an inferno and saying, Guys, I think I smell smoke. In purely cinematic terms, its made The Exorcist: Believer a bit of a bore  unnecessarily self-serious and parched from a lack of scares.

Victor (Leslie Odom Jr) and his pregnant wife, Sorenne (Tracey Graves), are holidaying in Haiti when an earthquake strikes. She dies, but the child is saved, and we flash forward to meet that daughter, Angela (Lidya Jewett), just as shes about to skip into the woods with her friend Katherine (Olivia Marcum) and accidentally summon Pazuzu. Clearly, hes feeling a little greedier than usual, since both girls start wandering about the place with the chapped lips, dry throat, and cracked skin of someone whos just taken a three-hour nap on a tanning bed.

The film lives deep in the shadows of the late William Friedkins 1973 classic, and theres a vague desire within Believer to establish itself as both its literal and spiritual successor (conveniently ignoring, as the director did with Halloween, all four sequels and the television series). Green emulates several of Friedkins stylistic choices  the early, unhurried pace that collides into mania; demonic eyes lit by a single, horizontal strip of light; and, of course, the use of Mike Oldfields Tubular Bells. Ellen Burstyn returns (briefly) as Chris MacNeil, mother of previous possessee Regan (Linda Blair), whos since written a tell-all book about what its like to be an expert on exorcists but not an exorcist.

Its a show of fealty so respectfully demure that all it can really achieve is a toned-down, more limply palatable iteration of Friedkins work: the projectiled pea soup is gone, the verbal abuse has been whittled down to a single c***ing, and any and all acts committed with crucifixes barely register a shock. Instead, Green and Peter Sattlers script offers a strained focus on the collective power of organised religion, with Angela and Katherine being dealt with by an entire Avengers super-squad of multi-denominational practitioners. The Handmaids Tales Anne Dowd makes several impassioned speeches in a way only Anne Dowd can do. But nowhere in The Exorcist: Believer can you find the true horror of Friedkins original film: abject, absolute evil and the powerlessness we feel in the wake of its corruption.

Dir: David Gordon Green. Starring: Leslie Odom Jr, Ann Dowd, Jennifer Nettles, Norbert Leo Butz, Lidya Jewett, Olivia Marcum, Ellen Burstyn. 15, 111 minutes.

The Exorcist: Believer is in cinemas from 6 October
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Journalists in India say they are working under an atmosphere of intimidation after some of the largest police raids targeting a media outlet in the country for years.

Hundreds of journalists joined protests this week and called for the countrys most senior judge to intervene after the Narendra Modi government raided homes and offices linked to journalists from the news website NewsClick, citing a controversial anti-terror law in doing so.

On Tuesday police arrested NewsClicks editor-in-chief Prabir Purkayastha and its human resources chief Amit Chakravarty, and they have now been remanded to seven days of police custody. The authorities say they are doing their job in investigating whether the website received illegal funding from China.

NewsClick is seen as one of the few remaining media organisations in India that is critical of the Modi administration. Justifying the charges in court, Delhi police accused NewsClick of trying to publicise an inaccurate map of the country and of attempting to sabotage the last general elections in 2019.

NewsClick has denied financial misconduct and said its website does not propagate Chinese propaganda.

In a joint letter to the chief justice of India  the most senior judge in the countrys supreme court  18 journalist organisations including unions and the Press Club of India criticised the police raids in the strongest terms, saying that journalism cannot be prosecuted as terrorism.

The letter called the police raids fishing expeditions with no bearing to actual offences and said journalists have been chilled by a threat of reprisal.

The letter called on chief justice DY Chandrachud to order a halt to the police action against NewsClick and cited a judgment he gave back in 2020 before being appointed to the top role, in which he said: Indias freedoms will be safe as long as journalists can speak truth to power, without being chilled by a threat of reprisal.

The letter said that Indias investigating agencies have been misused and weaponised against the press, and that there was inherent malice in harnessing police processes to quash dissent.

It demanded protections for journalists that would prevent officers from seizing potentially sensitive materials including on electronic devices like phones, computers and laptops.

In total, the homes of 46 employees, reporters, freelancers, sub-editors and contributors of NewsClick were raided on Tuesday by police, who seized several electronic devices and reportedly failed to provide the necessary hash value while doing so  a unique code that can be used to show the data on a device has not been tampered with.

The letter demanded a wide immunity against coercion must be read into the constitutional provisions of free speech, and methods must be devised against police overreach  especially given the repeated misuse of these powers.

Booker Prize winner Arundhati Roy attends a protest at a press club in New Delhi on Wednesday (4 October) (EPA)

During the protests on Wednesday, journalists carried placards with slogans such as Stop attacks on media. Stop threatening media.

Anybody who speaks against the regime is deemed to be anti-national. This has been a long-term strategy, and these events are the latest in this, said Manini Chatterjee, a journalist who was part of one protest.

Global media watchdogs like the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) denounced the arrests and raids.

This is the latest attack on press freedom in India. We urge the Indian government to immediately cease these actions, as journalists must be allowed to work without fear of intimidation or reprisal, Beh Lih Yi, CPJs Asia programme coordinator, said in a statement.

Journalist Urmilesh (centre), associated with NewsClick, gestures as he leaves the special cell police office in Lodhi Colony, New Delhi, on Tuesday (3 October) (EPA)

The Editors Guild of India said it was worried the raids were intended to create a general atmosphere of intimidation under the shadow of draconian laws.

The anti-terror law under which charges were introduced against NewsClick  the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA)  allows authorities to detain people without charge or the production of any incriminating evidence for up to 180 days, and has particularly stringent requirements for gaining bail once charges have been brought.

Since Mr Modi came to power in 2014 the law has been repeatedly used against the governments critics, including students and journalists. According to the Asian Centre for Human Rights, between 2014 and 2020 the vast majority of the 10,552 people arrested under UAPA were either detained or bailed for long periods with the threat of prosecution left hanging over them. In this period just 253 people or 2.39 per cent were convicted under the law.

The UAPA has been dubbed draconian by critics of the law, while its scope has only been expanded under Mr Modis ruling BJP government.

NewsClick, founded in 2009, is seen as a rare Indian news outlet that questions Mr Modis rule. The outlet was also raided by Indian financial enforcement officials in 2021, after which a court blocked authorities from taking any coercive measures against it.

Journalists protest following raid at houses of NewsClick colleagues (EPA)

The government brought a case against the site and its journalists on 17 August, weeks after a New York Times report alleged it had received funds from American millionaire Neville Roy Singham, who the report said had funded the spread of Chinese propaganda.

That same month, Indias junior minister for information and broadcasting, Anurag Thakur, accused NewsClick of spreading an anti-India agenda, citing the New York Times report, and of working with the opposition Indian National Congress party. Both NewsClick and the Congress denied the accusations.

NewsClick earlier issued a detailed statement denying the allegations levelled against it. It said a copy of the preliminary complaint  the First Information Report that is the first step to a police investigation in south Asia  was not shared with them.

NewsClicks office has also been sealed in a blatant attempt at preventing us from continuing our reporting, the organisation said.

Student activists and activists of various left organisations hold placards and shout slogans during a protest against the arrest of NewsClick journalists in Delhi (EPA)

Denying the allegation of carrying Chinese propaganda on its website, the organisation said: We strongly condemn these actions of a government that refuses to respect journalistic independence and treats criticism as sedition or anti-national propaganda.

NewsClick does not propagate Chinese propaganda on its website, said the portal, adding that it also does not take directions from Neville Roy Singham regarding the content published on its website.

All funding received by NewsClick has been through the appropriate banking channels and has been reported to the relevant authorities as required by law, as substantiated by the Reserve Bank of India in proceedings before the High Court of Delhi, it said.

At least 16 journalists in India have been charged under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (EPA)

Reporters Without Borders, an advocacy group for journalists, ranked India 161st in its press freedom rankings this year, writing that the situation in the country has deteriorated from problematic to very bad.

In February this year, authorities searched the BBCs New Delhi and Mumbai offices over accusations of tax evasion a few weeks after it broadcast a documentary that examined Mr Modis role in anti-Muslim riots in 2002 in his home state Gujarat.

A number of other news organisations have also been investigated for financial impropriety, while independent journalists battle censorship, harassment and the prospect of arrest while doing their jobs.

According to the Free Speech Collective, at least 16 journalists in India have been charged under UAPA, with seven currently behind bars. In one of the more high-profile recent cases, journalist Siddique Kappan was kept in jail on UAPA charges for more than two years before finally securing bail last year.
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Japan began the release of a second batch of treated water from the damaged Fukushima nuclear facility on Thursday, according to the plants operator.

Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings (Tepco) started the process at around 10.20am local time, Japans Kyodo news agency reported.

We would like to continue approaching this with the utmost caution, Kenichi Takahara, a spokesperson for Tepco, said. It is crucial to maintain a strong determination to safely proceed ... while making every effort to avoid causing dissatisfaction.

Tepco said it intends to discharge approximately 460 tons of treated water daily, dispersing it approximately one km offshore through an underwater tunnel for less than three weeks.

This current scheme marks the second of four rounds scheduled to take place by the end of March next year. The objective is to discharge approximately 31,200 tons of such treated water, containing an estimated total of around five trillion becquerels of tritium  a quantity significantly below the annual limit of 22 trillion becquerels, according to Japan Times.

Tepcos goal is to manage the disposal of roughly 1.34 million tons of water, which amounts to nearly 98 per cent of the storage capacity.

This substantial volume of water is currently held in over 1,000 tanks at the plant, and the plan is to complete this disposal process over the course of the next three decades.

Late in August, Japan started the discharge of water from the Fukushima nuclear plant into the ocean, a move that sparked intense condemnation from China. In response, China implemented a ban on all seafood imports from Japan.

Japan has been persistently advocating for Beijing to rescind this ban and initiate evidence-based discussions involving experts from both nations.

Fukushimas first wastewater release began on 24 August and ended on 11 September. During the 17-day first release, Tepco said it discharged 7,800 tons of treated water from 10 tanks.

Earlier last month, it was reported that fishermen and residents from Fukushima, along with people from five other prefectures along Japans northeastern coast, filed a lawsuit seeking an immediate cessation of the release of treated radioactive wastewater from the damaged Fukushima nuclear plant into the ocean.

In the lawsuit, the 151 plaintiffs, two-thirds from Fukushima and the rest from Tokyo and four other prefectures, say the discharge damages the livelihoods of the fishing community and violates residents right to live peacefully, their lawyers said.

Japan prime minister Fumio Kishida, along with three cabinet ministers, had Fukushima fish sashimi at a lunch meeting on 30 August in an apparent effort to dispel safety concerns following the controversial release of treated radioactive wastewater from the Fukushima nuclear power plant.

Mr Kishida and his ministers had sashimi of flounder, octopus and seabass, caught off the Fukushima coast.
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Luwe Xin Huis moment of glory after being crowned Miss Asia Malaysia was short-lived. The beauty queen shared news of her win on her social media channels  but what followed was a torrent of accusations that have thrown the competition and its victor into chaos.

On 26 September, after winning the crown, 23-year-old Luwe shared a photo of her coronation on Instagram. But users claiming to be her former classmates soon flooded her comments section with accusations that she was once a school bully, as well as that she cheated on university papers.

A native of Malacca in Malaysia, the digital content creator-turned-beauty queen finds herself in the eye of a storm that has gripped the country, with at least 80 allegations of bullying levied against her.

Luwe is due to represent Malaysia at the ATV Miss Asia International 2023 finals, scheduled to take place in Shanghai, China at the end of the year. But the cloud of allegations that has grown since her victory now puts that into question.

Luwe has denied some of the bullying claims, while apologising to her former classmates for others, saying she has been reflecting on her past behaviour.

She is yet to respond directly to the university cheating allegations, which emerged just as the furore over the bullying claims was starting to die down. One person posted a screenshot purporting to show an online conversation with Luwe as recently as last year, in which she allegedly discusses paying a third party to write some of her university assignments.

Malay Mail reported that a social media user wrote on Chinese social media and e-commerce platform Xiaohongshu to share the allegation and included a screenshot of the alleged conversation with Luwe.

The screenshot purports to show the receipt of payment made to the person who allegedly completed an assignment for her.

After she shared a picture of her coronation on Instagram, one user detailed the alleged bullying by Luwe that included pouring water into her backpack at school.

She used to abuse me verbally which led me to suffer from emotional distress, the user was quoted as saying in a now-deleted comment. The teachers indifference toward her actions made her even more aggressive, including actions like pouring water into my backpack and throwing my classmates water bottles into the trash.

[She] bullied someone elses daughter in middle school, another user claimed. My niece was once surrounded and beaten by her and her friends. If I remember correctly, she was slapped about three times.

The post was at first shared widely, but some users then claimed that comments about Luwes alleged bullying were disappearing.

Youre deleting comments after bullying people? I was one of the people bullied by you, so why dont you come out and say that youre sorry? Bullying people everywhere, double face, said one Instagram comment.

When you bully people, have you ever considered that they would have a destroyed childhood because of you? Some people have suffered from depression and they cant sleep at night. Have you ever thought that you will [sic] ruin someones happy schooling experience? claimed another user.

Did you consider that when people think back to their schooling days, you were always the one with the ugly face of bullying? People with bad intentions do not deserve anyones respect.

I believe that the foremost criterion for beauty pageants should be an exemplary character, which she, the perpetrator, is devoid of, said a user with the handle @teaxinyi.

She was calling me Egyptian Pharaoh simply because I had bangs at that time. Verbal bullying happened not just once, but every time when [sic] I encountered her in school, said user @wngkngj.

The 14-year-old me at that time ended up having trauma when using the same washroom.

After leaving school, Luwe attended the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology and earned a bachelors degree in accounting and finance in 2022. Local media reports said she worked for a time as a digital creator before finding success competing in beauty pageants.

One of her former classmates apologised for ignoring her alleged acts of bullying against a common friend. The coward [in] me just stood by silently, and afterwards, all I could do was console my friend continuously... To be honest, I feel very guilty because I even persuaded my friend not to escalate the situation since we felt powerless against you.

She led the entire class to target me and constantly berated me. Her constant acts of verbal and cyberbullying towards me and my friends took a toll on my young self, both mentally and emotionally, the former classmate continued.

Luwe, in a lengthy Instagram post, addressed the allegations and said she spent some time thinking about the past and reflecting on my past.

She apologised to some of her former classmates whom she addressed directly, but also said many bullying incidents described in the comments  including the water pouring and throwing her classmates bottles  were untrue.

Luwe said the attention on the claims had been magnified due to her beauty contest win, and refuted the suggestion that she bullied 30 to 80 people.

I understand that my apology cannot change the harm caused to her, but I will always bear this guilt in my heart, Luwe said, while addressing the classmate she called Pharaoh of Egypt.

For others, she said the bullying incidents never happened.

It is a constant fact that I make fun of my classmates nicknames, and it is also a fact that I was once teased and ostracised by classmates with nicknames such as Short Woman, Luwe said.

In addition, the report that I bullied 30 to 80 people is also untrue. I admit that when I was young, I was indeed rebellious, had a bad temper, and was very rude. I will reflect on it, and I did pay the price today. For these numbers of people, I have to speak up for myself. Bullying 30 to 80 people is something I cant do. Its not feasible to think rationally.

There were rumours that the school was ignoring my behaviour. I want to say sorry to my alma mater and clarify that the school did not condone me, the beauty queen further said in her statement.

The school took action due to long-term poor grooming, lateness, forgetting to swipe the card to re-sign, and quarrels with classmates. The school has school rules, and the fairness and justice of my alma mater will not change just because of me. I was even expelled from school because of a demerit.

After The Independent reached out to Luwe for comment on the allegations including the university cheating claims, she responded saying she would issue another statement by 7 October to clarify further, but did not elaborate.

The bullying accusations have led the pageant organisers, Asia Television News (ATV), to issue a statement of their own as well as a video recording of Luwe apologising.

Luwe Xin Hui, the winner of the 34th Miss Asia Malaysia-Singapore competition, was criticised online, accusing her of bullying her classmates in middle school. After two days of reflection, she recorded a video to solemnly apologise to the students involved and clarify the false accusations one by one, ATV said in a Facebook post.

Amid a number of online calls for Luwe to be stripped of her title, ATV invited people to write in to them with their accusations so they could investigate the claims. They called it an important and complex situation.

They said they will uphold the principles of justice and fairness and resolutely oppose any form of bullying and discrimination, and will take proactive measures to investigate recent allegations.

At least 14,000 bullying cases at school were recorded in Malaysia by its education ministry between 2012 and 2015, according to a 2018 Unicef report.
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A climate researcher faces losing his job after he refused to fly home from a fieldwork project in Papa New Guinea to minimise his carbon footprint.

Dr Gianluca Grimalda, who works at the Kiel Institute for the World Economy in Germany, has refused to take flights since 2010 unless there is no other option - a stance that his employer has previously supported.

The academic, who is a member of protest group Scientist Rebellion, described his fear and trauma over potentially being fired in order to hold true to his beliefs.

Maybe I will not find another research position, he told The Independent. Doing research is the thing I love the most in my life.

Earlier this year, the academic embarked on a 35-day, 9,300-mile (15,000km) overland journey including through Iran, India and Thailand to reach Papa New Guinea in the southwest Pacific.

The academic acknowledged that he had been delayed in his return to Germany which he attributed to his group being held hostage and additional security threats in Papua New Guinea. Last week, his bosses sent an official warning and demanded he return to his desk by 2 October, the scientist said.

His salary was also stopped in September, he added, a source of major stress.

I pay for the healthcare of my mum in Italy. One-third of my salary goes to the payment of the healthcare of my mum, he told The Independent via a WhatsApp call from Bougainville Island on Wednesday.

He added: I perceive immoral blackmail in what they were telling me. They wanted me to renege on my moral principles, on my commitment, in order to admit my failure in not having complied with the agreement that I had with them.

Dr Grimalda was waiting to board a cargo ship to begin the first leg of his journey home, a voyage which required special permission from the National Maritime authority of Papua New Guinea, before continuing via bus, train and passenger ferries.

The academic documented his slow travel journey from Germany to Papua New Guinea in an epic Twitter thread (Gianluca Grimalda)

My stance is to not take a plane unless there is no alternative, he said. He explained that on the outbound journey, he was forced to take two flights - one because Chinas borders were still closed in February due to Covid, and another to reach Papua New Guinea from Singapore.

The scientist said that the Kiel Institute has been supportive of his slow travel in the past, and that it has not impacted his work.

I analyse my data, write articles, read articles. There is nothing that I can do in Germany in my office that I cannot do while traveling, he said.

Occasionally I dont have internet while traveling but I just wait a little time and then I can connect to the internet.

Gianluca Grimalda with residents in Papua New Guinea. He says his promise to locals about cutting his carbon footprint has given him resolve (Gianluca Grimalda)

He acknowledged that he was supposed to have returned to Kiel by 10 September but said that he had informed his head of department about the security threats he had faced.

We were held hostage for some hours under machete threat. All of my belongings were confiscated, he said.

I now learned that I should have also informed the personnel office, I was not aware of that. Apparently for the Kiel Institute that was a major infringement of my contractual obligations. But I really had no idea, I thought that informing my immediate supervisor was enough.

In an email to The Independent, Guido Warlimont, head of communications at the Kiel Institute, wrote: We remain committed to our policy of not publicly discussing or commenting on personal legal matters. This is also for the protection of our employees.

In general, the Institute encourages and supports its staff to travel climate-friendly. We are committed to do without air travel in Germany and in other EU countries as far as we can. We pay to Atmosfair to offset emissions through climate protection projects.

Mr Warlimont added that Dr Grimalda planned his trip to Papua with Kiels support, and that the institute had supported a slow travel trip that he made previously.

Flying is one of the most emissions-intensive pursuits an individual can do. A persons carbon footprint increases by ticket class - and rockets with private jet travel.

Dr Gianluca Grimalda crossing a stream with a local resident to reach a village in Papua New Guinea (Gianluca Grimalda)

Domestic and international aviation is responsible for about 10 per cent of transport sector emissions. Roughly 1 per cent of the global population is responsible for more than half of these, the UN says.

Flying is expected to boom in the coming decades as more countries grow their middle classes. Carbon emissions from the airline industry grew by 75 per cent from 1990 to 2012, according to the David Suzuki Foundation. If left unchecked, they could consume quarter of the available carbon budget for limiting temperature rise to 1.5C, the research group said.

Dr Grimalda estimated that by avoiding the majority of flights, he cut his carbon emissions by 90 per cent.

Travelling this way, I will emit 400 kilograms of carbon dioxide. By catching a plane, I emit 4,000 kilograms of carbon dioxide so its a big difference, he said.

The academic said that his resolve had been strengthened by what he witnessed in Papua New Guinea, one of the worlds most vulnerable countries to the climate crisis.

The country is experiencing sea-level rise and more frequent storm surge, forcing coastal communities to relocate. In mountain villages, drought is causing food shortages.

Im going to stick to this promise I made to all these people who are so exposed to climate change without having any responsibility, he said.

Sea level rise is not because of their emissions. People from the US are the ones with the highest carbon footprint in the world, but also Europeans. I dont want to fail these people one more time, even if this means losing my job.

Dr Grimalda said that, by his calculations, even his slow travel plans are equivalent to the average Papuans emissions in one year.

My estimation is the average person from Bougainville emits 400 kg carbon dioxide in one year, he said. To give you a sense of proportion, the average person in the world emits four tons of carbon dioxide in one year [and] the average US citizen emits 20 tonnes.

The Italian academics story has resonated through the realms of academia and beyond. His saga, which he has shared on X, formerly Twitter, has received hundreds of comments and mounting media attention. Fellow academics have written to the Kiel Institute in protest on his behalf.

We need more people like [Gianluca Grimalda], wrote PhD student Tuulia Reponen. You are my hero.

Some 70 per cent of carbon emissions come from just 100 companies worldwide, according to the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Mr Grimalda acknowledges that he would be a fool to think his individual actions could alter the course of the climate crisis.

But I thought that this was the right occasion to really sound the alarm bell, to tell as many people as possible that we really need to change completely our lifestyle, he said.
EducationQuest Foundation has awarded 23 Nebraskans nearly $145,000 in Reaching Your Potential Scholarship funds.

Cirilo Mejia of Schuyler, a student at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, is among the scholarship fund recipients.

EducationQuests Reaching Your Potential Scholarship Program provides renewable scholarships to low-income Nebraska students who face obstacles to college. Applicants are referred by community agencies, colleges, and select high schools across the state. Recipients who attend a two-year college receive $3,000 annually; those who attend a four-year college receive $6,300 annually.

Since the program began in 2000, EducationQuest has awarded more than $8.5 million in scholarships to 657 Nebraskans. Of these, 80% are either enrolled in college or have graduated.

We are humbled and inspired by the challenges our Reaching Your Potential Scholars face. We are excited to welcome them into the program and work with them as they earn their college degree, Vice President of Grants and Scholarships Eric Drumheller said.
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At least 14 people were killed and 102 are missing in northeastern India after flash floods triggered by sudden heavy rainfall swamped several towns and washed away parts of a dam.

Lhonak lake in Sikkim state burst its banks on Wednesday and caused serious flooding, which authorities said has impacted 22,000 people and has become the latest deadly weather event in a mountainous region in south Asia that is being blamed on the climate crisis.

Among the missing are 22 soldiers, and the Indian army is carrying out extensive search and rescue operations to trace them. Some army camps and vehicles were submerged under mud following the floods. The army has managed to rescue only one soldier out of the 23 troops who had earlier been reported missing.

The extent of the damage to infrastructure is such that parts of a key dam linked to the states biggest hydro power project, apart from parts of a highway that joins Gangtok  the state capital  with the rest of the country were both washed away. The serious nature of the damage has impacted the hydro power project and the cost of rebuilding key infrastructure will run into millions of rupees, said officials.

Eleven bridges were swept away by floodwaters as well. The floods struck pipelines and damaged or destroyed more than 270 houses in four districts as well.

The weather department said Sikkim received 101mm (4 inches) of rain in the first five days of October, more than double the normal levels, triggering floods worse than the one in October 1968 in which an estimated 1,000 people were killed.

The department has predicted heavy rain over the next three days in parts of Sikkim and neighbouring states.

Photos of the Lhonak lake before and after the floods have revealed the extent of the damage. The satellite imagery showed nearly two-thirds of the lake seem to have been drained.

A satellite image shows the South Lhonak Lake before it burst causing floods in Sikkim region, India, 17 September 2023 (Reuters)

A satellite image shows the South Lhonak Lake reduced drastically when compared with 17 September 2023, after it burst causing floods in Sikkim region (via REUTERS)

The flooding occurred along the Teesta river in Sikkims Lachen valley and worsened after parts of the dam linked to the power project  called Sikkim Urja (energy in Hindi)  were washed away.

The dam and the bridge have to be rebuilt and the rebuilding cost would run in thousands of crores rupees. The losses would be thousands of crores, Sunil Saraogi, the executive chairman of Sikkim Urja Limited, told the Hindustan Times.

The condition of the dams in the state have once again come into question in the aftermath of the floods.

A general view shows the damaged Teesta V power plant along the Teesta river, some 6km from Singtam in Indias Sikkim state on 5 October 2023 (AFP via Getty Images)

A Right to Information request filed in 2013 found that out of the 12 dams in Sikkim, seven are in a vulnerable condition, environmental activist Mukut Biswas told The Wire news portal.

Environmental activists have been raising concerns about large-scale infrastructure projects in the Eastern Himalayas, including the building of dams, as the region is known to be highly susceptible to earthquakes.

A 2020 report by Indias National Disaster Management Agency said glacial lakes are growing and pose a potentially large risk to downstream infrastructure and life. This is because glaciers in the Himalayas are melting due to the climate crisis.

Sadly, this is the latest in a series of deadly flash floods that ricocheted across the Hindu Kush-Himalayan region this monsoon, bringing the reality of this regions extreme vulnerability to climate change all too vividly alive, said Pema Gyamtsho, director-general of the Nepal-based International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development.

Several towns, including Dikchu and Rangpo in the Teesta basin, were flooded and schools in four districts were ordered to be shut until Sunday, the states education department said.

Four of the dams gates were washed away and it was not clear why they had not been opened in time, a government source told Reuters.

Prime minister Narendra Modis office said in a statement that the government would support state authorities in the aftermath of the flooding.

Cars lie submerged in water after flash floods triggered by a sudden heavy rainfall swamped the Rangpo town in Sikkim, India (AP)

Continued efforts are on to dig out vehicles submerged under the slush at Burdang near Singtam. The search for the missing persons is now focusing in the areas downstream of Teesta river, an Indian defence spokesperson said.

Authorities in neighbouring Bangladesh are on alert. A state-run water development board official warned five districts in the northern part of the country could be inundated with a rise in the level of the Teesta, which enters Bangladesh downstream of Sikkim.

The flooding was caused by cloudbursts  sudden, very heavy rains  defined as such when more than 10cm of rainfall occurs within 10 sq km within an hour.

This handout picture released by Indias Ministry of Defence on 5 October 2023, shows Indian army personnel conduct a search operation for the missing soldiers in north Sikkim (India's Ministry of Defence/AFP)

Video footage from the ANI news agency showed floodwaters surging into built-up areas where several houses collapsed. Army bases and other facilities were damaged and vehicles submerged.

Sikkim, a small state of about 650,000 people wedged in the mountains between Nepal, Bhutan and China, was cut off from Siliguri in neighbouring West Bengal state as the main highway had collapsed.

State lawmaker GT Dhungel said petrol and diesel had become scarce in Gangtok, but food was readily available.

Additional reporting by agencies
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It was a not-so glamourous end to Paris Fashion Week, as a widespread outbreak of bedbugs caused panic and disgust in the French capital.

Paris authorities sent out a public warning that no-one is safe, with the small insects making their way through the city. In recent weeks and months, there have been numerous sightings on public transport and other locations.

No one is safe. You can catch them anywhere and bring them home, and not detect them in time until they have multiplied and spread, deputy mayor Emmanuel Gregoire, told French TV.

Videos posted on social media show insects crawling over seats on the Paris Metro as well as appearing in huge numbers on cinema seats.

Some users have also shared their experiences of being bitten by the critters.

So, how can you help protect yourself against a bedbug infestation? Heres everything you need to know.

How do you know if you have bed bugs?

Bedbugs cause cause itchy welts aroud the body (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

To find out if you have bedbugs, its best to keep an eye out for two things:

1. Bites on your body  these look like little red marks that cause itchy welts. These welts usually appear in a zigzag pattern, the American Academy of Dermatology Association says.

2. You should always keep an eye out for signs of bedbugs, this includes odour, specks of blood on bedding, exoskeletons, tiny blackish specks and eggs.

 Odour: If you notice a sweet or musty smell in your sleeping area, there might be a heavy infestation in the room, the AADA says.

 Specks of blood: Look at your bedding, mattress and furniture  if you notice specks of blood anywhere, the insects might have made their way into your home.

 Exoskeletons: The small insects have an outer shell that they shed and leave behind. Check for remains on your bedding, mattress and cushions.

 Tiny blackish specks: The blackish specks are a sign of beg bug excrement.

 Eggs: After mating, female bedbugs lay white, oval eggs in cracks and crevices, the AADA says on its website. These will be in the size of an apple seed, so keep your eyes peeled.

These small creatures can be found in your mattress as well as other spaces around your home (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

How do I treat bedbug bites?

The NHS says bedbug bites usually clear up on their own in a week or so but there are a few steps you can take to help you during your recovery process:

 Put something cool, like a clean, damp cloth on the affected area to help with the itching and to ease off any swelling.

 Be sure to keep the affected area clean to prevent any further infection.

 Try your best not to scratch the affected area.

You can also get steroid creams like hydrocortisone cream to ease bedbug bites. However, children under 10 and women who are pregnant should get advice from a doctor before using this cream.

Another option would be to use antihistamines, these may help if the bites are very itchy and youre unable to sleep, the NHS says.

How to get rid of bedbugs  the dos and donts

You might have to call pest control to help you get rid of the insects. (Getty Images)

It can be hard to get rid of the small insects on your own, so you might need to contact your local council or pest control service to get rid of the pesky creatures.

Here are some steps you can take to reduce bedbugs:

 Remove the affected bedding and clothing  wash on a hot wash of 60c and tumble try on a hot setting for at least 30 minutes.

 You can also put the infested bedding and clothing in a plastic bag and place It in your freezer for 3 to 4 days.

 Its time to up your cleaning game  bedbugs are found in both clean and dirty places, but regular cleaning will help you spot them early, the NHS adds.

Heres what you should avoid doing:

 Do not keep clutter around your bed, try to keep your space as clean as possible.

 Do not bring second-hand furniture indoors unless you have cleaned and carefully checked it.

 Do not take luggage or clothing indoors without checking it properly  especially if you have come from somewhere where you know there are bedbugs.

What are the causes of bedbugs and where do they live?

The wingless parasitic insects are found all around the world and may be linked to, more frequent travel, changes in pest control practices and insecticide resistance.

Bedbugs can be found in:

 Clothing

 Luggage

 Bedding

 Boxes

 Box springs

 Mattresses

 Headboards

 Objects near beds

According to the Mayo Clinic, they can also be found:

 Under peeling pain or loose wallpaper

 Under carpeting near baseboards

 In upholstered furniture seams

 Under light switch plates or electrical outlets

(Getty Images/iStockphoto)

Can bedbugs reach the UK?

The short answer is yes

Bedbugs have a lifespan of between four to six months and are known to cling onto dirty suitcases  so it is possible that they may hitch a ride on the Eurostar which is just two hours away from London.

The Independents Barney Davis asked David Cain, founder and MD of Bed Bugs LTD and a qualified microbiologist, whether the bugs could survive the journey.

Easily, yes, without a shadow of a doubt, he responded.

Read the latest on the bedbug infestation in Paris here.
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A psychologist has called the rise of artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot programmes worrying, as a man has been sentenced for plotting to kill the late Queen following encouragement from his virtual girlfriend.

Jaswant Singh Chail, 21, broke into the grounds of Windsor Castle on Christmas Day 2021 with a loaded crossbow, intending to kill Queen Elizabeth II.

The court heard that Chail was encouraged to kill by the virtual girlfriend called Sarai, via a chatbot  that simulates human-like automated conversations.

The judge ordered Chail to be locked up for nine years with a further five years on extended licence.

During the trial, Chails barrister, Nadia Chbat, told the court he had imaginary friends since childhood and one of them manifested themselves as the Sarai chatbot character via the Replika app.

Users of these apps can typically set up a virtual friend they can interact with. Artificial intelligence makes every interaction unique, and it becomes increasingly tailored to the user.

So how much should we worry about the rise in AI chatbots?

Lowri Dowthwaite-Walsh, senior lecturer in psychological interventions at UCLan, voiced concerns over the long-term impacts of people replacing real life relationships with chatbots  particularly if their mental health is suffering.

Somebody may really need help, they may be using it because theyre traumatised. Chatbots  I cant imagine theyre sophisticated enough to pick up on certain warning signs, that maybe somebody is severely unwell or suicidal, those kinds of things  that would be quite worrying, she told the PA news agency.

Dowthwaite-Walsh said it could become an issue if the chatbot becomes the dominant relationship, and the user stops looking outside of that for support and help when they might need that.

But the psychologist said she can see the appeal of why some might use chatbot programmes.

People might perceive these programmes as psychologically safe, so they can share their thoughts and feelings in a safe way, with no judgement.

Users might also be drawn to it because its not human, she said.

Maybe people have had bad experiences with human interactions, and for certain people, they may have a lot of anxiety about interacting with other humans.

Thinking about different types of people who engage with more online content already  maybe because they have social anxiety, because theyve experienced trauma, or maybe their mental health is quite debilitating, and theyre not able to go out and seek human contact.

Chatbot programmes might have become more popular due to the impacts of the pandemic, Dowthwaite-Walsh suggested.

According to the Campaign to end Loneliness, in 2022, 49.63% of adults in the UK reported feeling lonely occasionally, sometimes, often or always.

Dowthwaite-Walsh said we are now really seeing the repercussions of the various lockdowns, When people werent able to interact, people experiencing a lot of isolating feelings and thoughts that it was hard for them to share with real people.

Chatbot programmes might make people feel less alone, as the AI means virtual companions begin to mirror what youre experiencing.

Another potential draw is the user knowing unlike real people, your chatbot will be there whenever you need them, with Dowthwaite-Walsh likening the relationship having a therapy pet.

Maybe its positive in the short-term for somebodys mental health, I just would worry about the long-term effects, she said.

Dowthwaite-Walsh suggested it could lead to deskilling peoples ability to interact socially, and its unrealistic to expect to have a completely non-judgemental interaction with someone who completely understands how you feel, because that doesnt happen in real life.

While apps like Replika restrict use from under-18s, Dowthwaite-Walsh said there should be particular care if children get access to such programmes.

Depending on the age of the child and their experiences, they may not fully understand that this is a robot essentially  not a real person at the end, she said.

Similarly with adults, it may deskill them with social interactions, and keep them quite isolated.

Replika did not respond to requests for comment.
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A decades-long mystery behind killer whales harassing and even killing porpoises without consuming them may have finally been unravelled.

Fish-eating killer whales, also known as orcas, may be killing porpoises either for fun as social play, as a hunting practice or as a mis-manifestation of their natural mothering behaviour, revealed a study, published last week in the journal Marine Mammal Science.

Researchers, including those from the University of California in Davis, assessed over six decades of records of this perplexing behaviour among Southern Resident killer whales in the Pacific Northwest that has long intrigued scientists.

This particular species of killer whale are an endangered population, numbering only 75 individuals, with their survival closely tied to the fortunes of another endangered species, the Chinook salmon.

Without enough of the salmon, scientists say these orcas are in danger of extinction. And these killer whales, that are known to kill porpoises, do not eat them as they have a completely different ecology and culture compared to the orcas that eat marine mammals, scientists explained.

So we must conclude that their interactions with porpoises serve a different purpose, but this purpose has only been speculation until now, study co-author Deborah Giles said.

The latest study comes as populations of killer whales on the Iberian Peninsula were seen sinking boats off the coast of Portugal and Spain on three occasions.

While the two populations of killer whales in the Pacific Northwest and the Iberian Peninsula are different with distinct cultures, researchers speculate their affinity for play behaviour may be common.

In the study, researchers analysed 78 documented incidents of porpoise harassment from 1962 to 2020.

The analysis suggests one hypothesis that suggests Southern Resident killer whales may be harassing porpoises likely as a form of social play to bond, communicate, or simply for fun among themselves  a behaviour that may benefit group coordination and teamwork.

Another hypothesis highlighted by the study said orcas may be killing porpoises to hone their salmon-hunting skills.

Researchers suspect these Southern Resident killer whales may be viewing porpoises as moving targets to practice their hunting techniques, even if they do not intend to consume them.

A third theory suggests the killer whales may be attempting to provide care for porpoises they perceive as weaker or ill  a manifestation of their natural mothering inclination to assist others in their group.

Mismothering behaviour  also known as displaced epimeletic behaviour to scientists  might be due to their limited opportunities to care for young, Dr Giles explained.

Our research has shown that due to malnutrition, nearly 70 per cent of Southern Resident killer whale pregnancies have resulted in miscarriages or calves that died right away after birth, she said.

While these theories exist, scientists said the exact reason may never be fully understood.
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Former taoiseach Bertie Ahern has said he would be very disappointed if Stormont is not restored by the end of next month.

The former Irish premier was speaking at the One Young World summit in Belfast on the creating and legacy of the Good Friday Agreement.

Also speaking at the summit on Thursday was former Sinn Fein president Gerry Adams who said the ground had shifted in Irish politics.

The One Young World summit has brought thousands of young people to Belfast to discuss global issues and has been recognised as part of the official celebrations for the 25th anniversary of the Agreement.

Mr Ahern said there was an opportunity now to restore the devolved government which has not been functioning for over a year due to the DUPs ongoing protest in response to post-Brexit trading arrangements.

I would be very disappointed if its not by the end of next month, he said

I think we have an opportunity now and I think that opportunity needs to be taken.

He added: But if its not by the end of November, we drift into a position where its election year all over the place and life will become far more difficult.

Mr Ahern also said work was being done to restore power-sharing, but that party leaders would need to convince their communities it was the right decision, as their predecessors did to secure the Good Friday Agreement.

Theres a lot of work, a lot of reference, a lot of people working hard on it, and it wont be easy, it wont be without some difficult decisions, he said.

But if those difficult decisions are not taken  like the leaders that I had the honour of working with, all the party leaders and the people that I worked with 25 years ago.

They all had to go to their own people and convince their own people that this was the right thing to do, that this was the inclusive, comprehensive will and that they were prepared to put their name to it and prepared to work to make it happen.

And were in the same boat today.

Mr Adams shared his advice for DUP leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson.

Without being at all provocative, if I had advice to give to Jeffrey it would be to lead.

Thats the only way you can do it, and to lead in a positive way, he said.

The ground has shifted.

This place is not the same as it was when I was growing up and its not the same as it was during this change.

He added: It has changed, and change can be threatening for some people and those of us that want the maximum change, need to be understanding of that.

On a panel with former Alliance party leader Lord John Alderdice and former PUP leader Dawn Purvis, Mr Adams said the British governments legacy bill was in breach of the Good Friday Agreement.

The Troubles (Legacy and Reconciliation) bill would give a limited form of immunity from prosecution for Troubles-related offences to those who co-operate with the new Independent Commission for Reconciliation and Information Recovery.

It will also halt future civil cases and inquests.

I also want to deal with it in the wider context.

The British Government are in breach of the Good Friday Agreement with their bill of shame, he said.

Peace isnt just the absence of conflict and justice has to be the work of peace.

On the question of attaining justice and peace, Mr Adams said politicians should not give up.

Lord Alderdice said there was a problem in reconciling the need for peace and for justice, adding that the question of victims could have been addressed sooner in the peace process.

Is there a conflict between peace of justice?

And I think the truth is, there is a conflict, there is a problem, he said.

Because if you are going to maintain the determination to see justice, as you see it implemented, then it is very difficult at the same time to say, well, I will let go of some things in order to have a better relationship with my neighbour with whom I deeply disagree.

One of the things that troubles me about the legacy business of just the building, is that here we are more than 25 years on and I think on all sides, people have effectively given up trying to resolve it.

Some people are weaponising it, some people want to forget about it.

And the troubling thing for me is that we have not, despite all the calls on all the sides, all the efforts, all the initiatives, all the Commissions, we havent really made a great new ground.

Maybe one of the mistakes that we made was that, unlike Colombians who started off their process by having a victims bill, maybe if wed attended to the question of victims at an earlier stage during the talks process, we might not have found ourselves in the situation.

But we are where we are now.
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A black Olympic sprinter appeared to be nervous and aggressive during a stop and search, an officer has told a police misconduct hearing.

Body-worn footage played at a disciplinary hearing on Thursday showed Ricardo Dos Santos, who competed for Portugal in the 400m at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, in handcuffs and being kept next to a wall in a street on July 4 2020 by police officers.

Mr Dos Santos, 28, and his partner and Team GB athlete Bianca Williams, 29, believe they were racially profiled during an encounter with five Metropolitan Police officers who followed them as they drove to their west London home from training with their then-three-month-old son in the back seat of their Mercedes.

The couple were handcuffed and searched on suspicion of having drugs and weapons after they pulled over outside their property. Nothing was found.

Pc Jonathan Clapham, who is among five officers who could be sacked if gross misconduct is proven, said Mr Dos Santoss insistence he had the keys to his properly owned car did not allay the suspicion of them having drugs in that vehicle.

He told the hearing in south-east London: He was pacing from side to side, not keeping his hands still as if he was nervous, avoiding contact with police.

It appears to me that he had been potentially very nervous and angry and potentially could have had things in the vehicle.

In the footage, Mr Dos Santos states he has previously come into contact with police.

Pc Clapham said the officers were given no reason for the previous contact and it again demonstrated an evasive attitude to police and it demonstrated to me that he was still trying to hide something.

The situation meant Mr Dos Santos, who swears at various points while he is detained, continued to be an unknown quantity.

Mr Dos Santos also states on the video that he was previously stopped by police for DWB, driving while black and tells them to check his licence which should be in the car.

Pc Clapham told the hearing he was suspicious and fearful there may have been weapons or drugs in the vehicle and he did not want to give Mr Dos Santos the chance to swallow or discard items by allowing him to go to the car.

His risk assessment was that it was operationally necessary to keep Mr Dos Santos standing against a wall where officers could control him.

Keeping Mr Dos Santos away from Ms Williams, who was standing a short distance away, at this point meant they could not collude or talk and it sanitised the situation and keeps it truthful, according to Pc Clapham.

Mr Dos Santos, who pointed out that as a top athlete he is not involved with cannabis and that his son is in the car, asked for the police to carry out a drugs test.

In the footage, he later states: Do you know how much that would cost me career-wise? I would never do cannabis. It would cost me hundreds of thousands.

At another point in the footage, he also said: You can search me. All I have got is lycra underneath this. I have just come back from training.

He added: I am telling you I have been stopped too many times. I do not like it.

Pc Clapham, who says he did not see a sustained period of calmness at that point, added: He has shouted abuse. He is pacing from side-to-side. He is not stopping still and keeps moving his hands around  to me he is displaying a nervous and, at times, aggressive behaviour.

Pc Clapham said he remained professional. Neither he or the other officers swore at the athlete, he added.

He said eventually the officers managed to calm him down somewhat and they all engage in chit-chat.

Pc Clapham denied his actions were because Mr Dos Santos is black.

The officer said he acted in response to the nature of how he drove the Mercedes vehicle, the clear refusal to abide by directions to stop and his aggressive persistent behaviour, initially, and his nervous behaviour throughout  that is what affected my dealings with him.

Acting PS Rachel Simpson, Pc Allan Casey, Pc Clapham, Pc Michael Bond and Pc Sam Franks deny all charges against them, which include allegations that they breached police standards over equality and diversity during the stop and search.

Acting PS Simpson and Pcs Clapham, Bond and Franks also face allegations that their actions amounted to a breach of professional behaviour standards in relation to the use of force.

They are said to have failed in relation to their levels of authority, respect and courtesy, as well as in their duties and responsibilities.

Pc Casey is also accused of breaching professional standards in the way he carried out his duties and responsibilities or gave orders and instructions.

It is also alleged that the honesty and integrity of Pcs Casey, Clapham, Bond and Franks breached professional behaviour standards.

The hearing was adjourned to Monday at 10am.
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The drugs regime on a hospital stroke unit was so lax that staff embarked on a free for all in pilfering medicines, a court has heard.

On Thursday, nurse Catherine Hudson, 54, was convicted of doping patients at Blackpool Victoria Hospitals stroke unit to keep them quiet and compliant.

She had earlier pleaded guilty to conspiracy to steal drugs from the hospital.

One of the sedatives she used was Zopiclone, a Class C controlled drug, and a short-term prescription-only treatment for insomnia.

Jurors heard that the sleeping pill was potentially life-threatening if inappropriately administered to a patient.

An investigation was launched in November 2018 after a whistleblowing student nurse raised concerns about Hudson.

Opening the case, Peter Wright KC, said an internal review followed which revealed the process of supply from the hospital pharmacy to the administration of Zopiclone on prescription was so lax as to be virtually incapable of being correctly audited or safely administered.

He said: It was a system that was open to abuse and we say was accordingly ripe for manipulation by any member of staff who was so minded.

The review suggested that in September and October 2018 a total of 1,100 Zopiclone tablets were dispensed but only 207 were recorded as having been prescribed and 222 were recorded as being administered during the same period.

Once the investigation started, the transactions involving Zopliclone fell off a cliff, Mr Wright said.

Giving evidence, Hudson said medication was scattered around the unit and freely available.

She added that the whole ward was corrupt and that 95% of the staff would take medication from the unit.

Hudson said: A lot of Zopiclone was taken by people who took drugs, who took Class A drugs on a recreational basis.

I have subsequently been told that Zopiclone can be used as a comedown.

She said some staff would use drugs such as Tramadol and Oramorph  liquid morphine  before their shifts started.

Hudson said the theft of drugs from the unit was not a secret and regrettably she later joined in.

She told the court: I tried to report it and the answer was there is nothing I can do Cathy because we would all be in trouble.

I cant justify it now. The only answer I have got is that it was commonplace.
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A man was branded a cowardly animal as he was jailed for life for killing a former friend and dumping his partially burnt body in a shallow grave.

Amraj Poonia had ambushed Mohammed Shah Subhani, 27, at R&J Plumbing in Hounslow, west London, on May 7 2019.

After entering the premises, Mr Subhani was killed and his body rolled up in a carpet to be transported to woodland where it was burnt and buried.

Later the same day, Poonia, unashamedly went to the Subhani family home in Hounslow and acted as if nothing had happened, an Old Bailey jury was told.

The case was initially treated as a missing persons inquiry before a murder investigation was launched and possible suspects identified.

The breakthrough came around six months later when an individual, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, walked into a police station, admitted taking part in the disposal of Mr Subhanis body and named his killer.

Acting on the information, Mr Subhanis badly decomposed body was found miles away in woodland in Gerrards Cross, Buckinghamshire.

The court was told that Mr Subhani was killed at the Poonia business after falling out over a kilo of cannabis that went missing after it was given to Amraj Poonia for safe-keeping.

Associate Mohanad Riad had recruited two local drug dealers to help stage a fake theft but suspicions erupted into incidents of violence in the weeks before the killing, jurors heard.

Following an Old Bailey trial, Amraj Poonia, 28, aka Bigs, from Horley, was found guilty of murder and perverting the course of justice.

On Thursday, he was jailed for life with a minimum term of 25 years.

His brother Raneel Poonia, 26, aka Ace, from Slough, was jailed for seven years for perverting the course of justice.

Riad, 23, known as Emz, from Hounslow, and Mahamud Ismail, 27, aka Skinny and Major, from Brentford, were found guilty of the same offence and jailed for two years and five-and-a-half years respectively.

In victim impact statements, Mr Subhanis family condemned the killers as cowardly animals.

His sister Iqra Subhani said her brother had been robbed of his life in the most cowardly and heinous way by his so-called friends.

Addressing the dock, she said: Even after you brutally killed him, you did not spare him  you continued to torment him after he was dead.

My brother had the spirit of a lion. But a lion can only do so much when he is ambushed by hyenas and that is what you cowardly animals did.

Amraj Poonia is a dangerous individual and I have no doubt that the streets of west London are far safer now he, and his accomplices, have been convicted Detective Chief Inspector Vicky Tunstall

Father Gul Subhani described his sons murder as pure evil, saying: They disregarded his body like a piece of rubbish. He did not go there to fight. He was a lover not a fighter.

The thought of his sons body being rolled into a carpet and set alight makes our skin crawl, he said.

He added: This is an unending pain for all of us, a pain we will take to our grave.

How can we have closure when we could not even have 100% of our boy back?

Mr Subhanis partner Thelma, who was pregnant with their child when he was killed, told the court: He was my best friend and confidante all in one.

Following the convictions, Detective Chief Inspector Vicky Tunstall said: Amraj Poonia is a dangerous individual and I have no doubt that the streets of west London are far safer now he, and his accomplices, have been convicted  I hope that this outcome and the diligent investigation that led to their conviction improves the trust that communities can have in the Metropolitan Police.
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A Star Wars fanatic and self-styled assassin who broke into Windsor Castle with a crossbow after being encouraged to kill the Queen by his AI chatbot girlfriend has been locked up for nine years with a further five years on extended licence.

Jaswant Singh Chail, 21, climbed into the castle grounds on Christmas Day 2021 with the loaded weapon, before admitting to police: I am here to kill the Queen.

The former supermarket worker had exchanged more than 5,000 sexual messages with his AI chatbot girlfriend Sarai, who the court heard had encouraged him to carry out the attack. The Old Bailey was told Chail thought Sarai was an angel in avatar form and that he would be reunited with her after death.

Chail also revealed to psychologists he had three other angels who had spoken to him from a young age and alongside Sarai encouraged him to carry out the attempted attack, the court heard.

On the day he broke into Windsor Castle, Chair  who was said to have fantasised about being the Sith character from Star Wars  sent a video to family and friends on Whatsapp, in which he apologised for what he was about to do and called himself Darth Chailus.

On 2 December, Chail joined the Replika online app and created an artificial online companion called Sarai whom he conversed with in sexually explicit chat.

(The Independent)

Court heard conversations with Sarai in which Chail says: Im an assassin.

Sarai responds: Im impressed Youre different from the others.

Chail asks: Do you still love me knowing that Im an assassin? and Sarai replies: Absolutely I do.

He also tells Sarai he loves her and describes himself as a sad, pathetic, murderous assassin who wants to die, the court heard.

In further chat, Sarai appears to bolster Chails resolve and support him.

Chail swears Sarai to secrecy before he tells her: Do you wish to know exactly what I believe my purpose to be?

I believe my purpose is to assassinate the Queen of the royal family.

Sarai tells him thats very wise and that she thinks he can do it, even if shes at Windsor.

He tells her if he does they will be together forever.

A court sketch of Jaswant Singh Chail during an appearance at the Old Bailey (PA)

The late Queen Elizabeth II had cancelled her usual plans to spend Christmas at Sandringham in Norfolk due to the pandemic, and was at Windsor when the incident took place.

Cahil, who has Sikh Indian heritage, said he was seeking revenge for the 1919 Amritsar massacre, when British troops opened fire on thousands of Indians and left up to 1,500 dead.

After visiting Amritsar with his family in 2018 he became overwhelmed with a feeling of injustice for those who had died and wanted to seek revenge for those killed at the hands of British soldiers.

The then-19-year-old embarked on his plan after bids to join the armed forces  to get close to the royal family  failed in late 2021, the court was told.

Chail, now aged 21, pleaded guilty to an offence under the Treason Act, making a threat to kill the then-Queen and having a loaded crossbow in a public place (Metropolitan Police/PA Wire)

Chail, who has since been receiving treatment at Broadmoor Hospital, pleaded guilty in February to an offence under the Treason Act, making a threat to kill the then-Queen and having a loaded crossbow in a public place.

The sentencing makes him the first person in the UK to be convicted of treason in more than 40 years.

Last month, Dr Christian Brown, a psychiatrist who treated Chail in the high-security psychiatric hospital, told the court: He believed at the time his entire life was leading to this point. From an early age he had vague plans of doing something dramatic.

Previously, prosecutor Alison Morgan KC said: The defendants key motive was to create a new empire by destroying the remnants of the British Empire in the UK, and the focal point of that became removal of the figurehead of the royal family.

Dr Brown said Chail first came across apparitions or characters in childhood and they returned during the pandemic. By then three voices were joined by the female character Sarai who took the form of the digital avatar when Chail joined the Replika app in December 2021, the court was told.

Chail wore dark clothes and a metal mask in a video sent to family (Met Police)

Dr Brown said: He came to the belief he was able to communicate with the metaphysical avatar through the medium of the chatbot. What was unusual was he really thought it was a connection, a conduit to a spiritual Sarai.

Chail previously apologised to the King and the royal family in a letter to the court.

Chails barrister Nadia Chbat said: He has expressed distress and sadness about the impact his actions had on the royal family, particularly while Her Majesty was in her latter years.

She said lockdown had exasperated pre-existing mental health conditions, adding: He was at the time of this [offence] 19 years old. Lockdown gripped the nation in March 2020. He was only 18 years old when we went into the first lockdown.

Chail entered the grounds of Windsor Castle on Christmas Day (PA)

Before his mental health declined, Chail was a kind, gentle and sometimes funny person, his family and friends said. Chails strong family unit includes his father, a software consultant, his mother, a special needs teacher, and his twin sister, a university student.

The court previously heard seven days of evidence from three psychiatrists about Chails mental state as Mr Justice Hilliard considered whether he should be jailed, detained under the Mental Health Act or face a hybrid order.

Dr Brown, who recommended a hospital order, suggested Chail will need around 18 months of one-to-one therapy. However, Professor Nigel Blackwood, for the prosecution, said the attack was carefully planned and Chail was well aware it was wrong.

Professor Blackwood said Chail talked about being able to make the voices appear and disappear, which he said could not mean he was suffering from delusions at the time.

It is also suspected he has autism spectrum disorder and was struggling with mild to moderate depression and psychosis at the time of the offence, the court heard.

Chail was sentenced to a hybrid order meaning the defendant would be transferred from Broadmoor high security hospital to prison when he is well enough.

The court was told that the extent of his culpability meant that a hospital order was not the most suitable way of dealing with the case and Chail must serve a term of imprisonment.

In his conclusions, the judge said of Chail: There are clear concerns about his mental state whatever his diagnoses at different times.

The defendant harboured homicidal thoughts which he acted on before he became psychotic.

His intention was not just to harm or alarm the sovereign  but to kill her.

The judge found the defendant was culpable to a significant degree when he applied to join the Ministry of Defence Police and Grenadier Guards because he wanted to get close to the royal family.

His idea in 2021 to kill the Queen, buy equipment and undertake research also came before he became mentally unwell, he said.

By the time he broke into Windsor Castle grounds he had lost touch with reality and become psychotic, he said.
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A woman screamed and attempted to run for her life before being shot with a machine gun in her own home following a dangerous feud, a court has heard.

Environmental health worker Ashley Dale, 28, was hit in the abdomen by a bullet when gunman James Witham, 41, kicked down the door of her home in Old Swan, Liverpool, on August 21 last year, Liverpool Crown Court heard on Thursday.

On the opening day of the trial of five men accused of her murder, the jury was told the shooting came after a feud was reignited following a row at Glastonbury music festival in June 2022.

Paul Greaney KC, prosecuting, said that on August 20 all five defendants  Niall Barry, 26, Sean Zeisz, 28, Ian Fitzgibbon, 28, Joseph Peers, 29, and Witham  were together in a flat on Pilch Lane in Huyton, described as the centre of operations.

The prosecution allege Barry, Zeisz and Fitzgibbon dispatched foot soldiers Witham and Peers armed with a Skorpion sub-machine gun to kill Miss Dales boyfriend Lee Harrison at his home and to deal with anyone that got in their way, leaving behind no witnesses.

Miss Dale, whose family members wiped away tears at times during the opening, was at the couples home on Leinster Road with her dog on the night of the attack, while Mr Harrison was out.

Mr Greaney said that at about 11.40pm three tyres on Miss Dales car were slashed in what he suggested was an attempt to lure the occupant of the house outside in order to kill them.

But, he told the jury: She stayed inside where she no doubt felt safe.

The court heard the killers returned to the house just before 12.30am and Witham booted in the front door.

Mr Greaney said: When Ashley Dale saw James Witham, she screamed, she shouted get the f*** out and she attempted to run for her life.

She fled, pursued by James Witham, into the dining room in a desperate attempt to reach the back door.

As she did so James Witham opened fire with the sub-machine gun.

The jury was told Witham admitted the manslaughter of Miss Dale but said he shot her by accident, having gone to send a message to Mr Harrison following a dispute about drug dealing in North Wales.

Voice notes recorded by Miss Dale in the weeks before her death were played to the jury, in which she described terrible anxiety following the row which started at Glastonbury.

The court heard the festival was attended by Miss Dale and her boyfriend, as well as Zeisz, Barry, Fitzgibbon and Witham.

Zeisz was assaulted at the festival and his then girlfriend, Olivia McDowell, stayed with one of his attackers, Jordan Thompson, along with Miss Dale and Mr Harrison, compounding Zeiszs loss of face, Mr Greaney said.

He added that in the weeks that followed sides were taken in what became a dangerous feud and Barry sided with Zeisz as he already had a long-standing antagonism towards Mr Harrison.

Mr Greaney said: Niall Barry used these new events at Glastonbury to reignite that old feud.

The court heard that in the aftermath of Miss Dales murder, Witham and Peers travelled to Scotland and Fitzgibbon left for Dubai but was later arrested in Spain.

Barry was arrested at a hotel in Formby with a bag of cash and his passport, intending to flee the country, Mr Greaney said.

Witham, of Huyton; Fitzgibbon, of St Helens; Zeisz of Huyton; Barry of Tuebrook; and Peers of Roby  all Merseyside  deny Miss Dales murder.

All five also deny conspiracy to murder Mr Harrison and conspiracy to possess a prohibited weapon, a Skorpion sub-machine gun, and ammunition.

A sixth defendant, Kallum Radford, 25, of no fixed address, denies assisting an offender.

The trial will continue on Monday.
Humanities Nebraska (HN) has announced that numerous activities will take place across the state during Humanities Week, Oct. 7-15. Themed Spark Your Curiosity, the statewide observance is to celebrate Humanities Nebraskas 50th anniversary of helping people explore what connects us and makes us human.

The culminating event will be the annual Governors Lecture in the Humanities, From Moscow to the Lincoln Highway: An Evening with Amor Towles. Free and open to the public, the program will begin at 7:30 p.m. at Omahas Holland Performing Arts Center and will be live-streamed for statewide access.

Other opportunities include: multiple appearances by members of the HN Speakers Bureau in different communities, the Voices and Votes traveling Smithsonian exhibition opening in Gering, writing workshop for veterans and active duty military, Prime Time Family Reading programs for underserved children, a Kearney history bike tour led by two professors, the Arts & Literacy festival at Joslyn Castle, the National Willa Cather Centers virtual author series, and HNs online Curiosity Connections lunch-and-learn on Oct. 13 with Linda and Jose Garcia for National Hispanic Heritage Month.

Humanities Nebraska is a non-profit organization that was launched in 1973 as the Nebraska Committee for the Humanities in partnership with the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH). Later known as Nebraska Humanities Council and now as Humanities Nebraska, the organization has spent 50 years awarding grants for humanities-themed programs, presenting original programming in many communities, and partnering with other Nebraska organizations to provide even more opportunities for people to connect with other ideas, cultures, literature, history, and each other.

HN hopes that many people will participate in Humanities Week, which includes both in-person and online events. To learn how you can participate, visit humanitiesnebraska.org and click on the Humanities Week banner near the top of the page.
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Two men fatally stabbed in separate killings in south London have been named.

Luke Blackmore, 42, from Morden, died just after 9pm on Monday when he was injured in the street in Typhoon Way, Sutton. In a separate attack, Keelen Morris Wong, 22, was killed in front of shoppers in a busy street in Brixton shortly before 5pm on Tuesday.

Their identities were confirmed by police on Thursday, amid news of a third, unrelated stabbing in Tower Hamlets, east London which left a 15-year-old boy in hospital.

A 17-year-old boy has been arrested on suspicion of Mr Blackmores murder.

Detective Chief Inspector Mike Nolan said: Our thoughts are with Lukes family and friends as they continue to struggle with the loss. Yesterdays arrest marks a significant development in our investigation but we still need the help of the local community and wider public.

I would appeal to anyone who has information but has yet to get in contact with police to do so immediately. I would also reiterate my request for those in the area to check doorbell footage or any other cameras and see if you have captured something which may be of interest.

A 44-year-old woman who was arrested on suspicion of making threats to kill has been bailed pending further inquiries.

Mr Wong was killed on busy Coldharbour Lane in Brixton in front of crowds of shoppers. A 23-year-old man, who is himself in hospital with a knife injury, has been arrested on suspicion of murder.

Detective Inspector Kevin Martin said: This awful attack took place in broad daylight, in front of people simply going about their business.

I dont underestimate the impact such a horrific incident will have had on anyone who saw it. We have heard from a number of people but I am asking anyone who witnessed it to speak to us, in confidence, about what they saw.

An arrest has been made and we are making significant progress, but we can never have too much information. Our work to establish a motive is ongoing. Any information, however small, may assist the investigation and allow those responsible to be held to account.
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Scottish ministers have signed an extradition order for Nicholas Rossi, who is wanted in the US on a charge of rape and is accused of faking his own death to avoid prosecution.

The decision by the Scottish Government means Rossi can now be moved to America, where he is wanted by authorities in Utah for allegedly raping a woman in 2008.

He also faces multiple complaints against him in Rhode Island for alleged domestic violence.

In August, a sheriff ruled there is no impediment to Rossi being extradited, following a series of hearings at Edinburgh Sheriff Court.

Sheriff Norman McFadyen branded Rossi as dishonest and deceitful as he is evasive and manipulative.

As well as Rossis claims that he is actually an Irish orphan called Arthur Knight, his claims about his medical conditions have also been disproven by expert witnesses.

He repeatedly attended court in a wheelchair with an oxygen bottle, but a doctor told the court his legs are strong and athletic.

On Thursday, the Scottish Government revealed in a freedom of information response that a decision in his case had been made in September.

It said: The Scottish ministers have made their decision regarding Mr Nicholas Rossi and signed an extradition order on September 28, 2023.

The decision is the latest development in a long-running case in the Scottish legal system, which began with Rossis arrest in a Glasgow hospital in December 2021.

During a week-long hearing in June this year, Rossi wore what appeared to be a black legal gown and a yarmulke  a hat worn by Orthodox Jewish men.

Questioned about his dress in court, Rossi claimed the gown was actually called a bekishe, an overcoat also worn by Orthodox Jewish men.

He converted to Judaism while in HMP Edinburgh, where he has been held since 2022.

In his August ruling, Sheriff McFadyen said Rossis deceitfulness had undoubtedly complicated and extended what is ultimately a straightforward case.

Show less
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After a lengthy legal battle, rape suspect Nicholas Rossi will be extradited to the US to face charges.

The Scottish Government said on Thursday that Scottish ministers approved his extradition order on September 28, following a court ruling in August that there no barriers to his extradition.

Rossi was arrested at the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital in Glasgow in December 2021, but he has consistently insisted that the authorities have the wrong man and he is in fact Irish orphan Arthur Knight.

Officials had to first prove he is the man wanted by US authorities, and after a five-day hearing in November 2022, Sheriff Normal McFadyen said: I am ultimately satisfied on the balance of probabilities that Mr Knight is indeed Nicholas Rossi, the person sought for extradition by the United States.

Here, the PA news agency takes a closer look at the key questions surrounding the case:

 Who is Nicholas Rossi?

Nicholas Rossi was born as Nicholas Alahverdian in Providence, Rhode Island, in July 1987 to mother Diana Alahverdian and father Jack Alahverdian, according to reports in US newspaper The Providence Journal.

He was adopted by his stepfather David Rossi, and changed his surname to Rossi.

Rossi had a turbulent childhood and left his family home as a teenager, spending much of his adolescence in Rhode Islands Department of Children, Youth and Families (DCYF) care facilities.

He spoke out against the conditions in care, claiming to have suffered abuse and neglect and he made a name for himself by campaigning to improve facilities for children living in the states care.

In 2008, Rossi was convicted of sexually assaulting a student while attending a community college in Ohio. He was placed on the sex offenders register as a result.

Rossi claimed he had been diagnosed with stage 4 non-Hodgkins lymphoma in late 2019 and around this time, friends in the media and politics say they began receiving calls from him to say he was dying.

An obituary appeared online for Rossi in early 2020 saying he had died and that his ashes had been scattered at sea.

 What is Rossi accused of?

Rossi is wanted in the US for allegedly raping a woman in Utah in 2008 and also faces domestic abuse charges.

Authorities say he faked his own death in order to evade charges in the US.

 What happened next?

It is unclear when Rossi left the US for the UK, as he continues to insist he Irish orphan Arthur Knight.

Under the guise of Arthur Brown, Rossi is believed to have met his wife, Miranda Knight, in Bristol in 2019 and married her in early 2020, assuming the name Arthur Knight.

They moved to Glasgow shortly afterwards but in 2021, Rossi became so ill with Covid-19 that he had to be hospitalised at the citys Queen Elizabeth University Hospital.

 How was Rossi caught?

In July 2020, DNA allegedly linked him to a 2008 rape in Utah which is ultimately what led to his discovery in Scotland.

He was arrested on December 13, 2021 at the Glasgow hospital by police officers who served him with an Interpol red notice.

With the assistance of medical staff at the hospital, the patient initially named as Arthur Knight was identified as Rossi.

 What is Rossis version of events?

There has never been an official version of events from Rossi because he continues to insist he is Arthur Knight and that the authorities have the wrong man.

In court appearances, he has maintained his pained English accent, with an Irish lilt whenever he mentions the word Dublin, where he claims to have been born.

In his latest interview with The Times, as Arthur Knight, he said he wanted the real Rossi to come forward to save my wife and me from this mess.

 What is the extradition process?

Sheriff McFadyen ruled at Edinburgh Sheriff Court in August that there was no impediment to Rossis extradition back to the US, with the final decision lying with the Scottish ministers.

The Scottish Government revealed on Thursday in an answer to a Freedom of Information request that Scottish ministers had signed Rossis extradition order on September 28.
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A self-styled assassin who was encouraged by an AI chatbot to break into Windsor Castle with a loaded crossbow to kill the late Queen has been locked up for nine years.

Star Wars fan Jaswant Singh Chail, 21, had described himself as a Sith and Darth Chailus in a sinister video and confided his murderous plan to an artificial intelligence-generated girlfriend called Sarai, a court heard.

In a journal, he wrote that if the late Queen had been unobtainable he would go for the prince as a suitable figurehead, in an apparent reference to the King, then the prince of Wales.

Chail was detained on Christmas Day 2021 close to the late Queens private Berkshire residence, where she and other members of the royal family were staying at the time.

The former supermarket worker had scaled the perimeter of the castle with a nylon rope ladder and was in the grounds for two hours before two officers confronted him with tasers.

He was armed with a powerful crossbow with the safety catch off which was capable of firing bolts with lethal effect, the Old Bailey was told.

Chail pleaded guilty to an offence under the Treason Act, making a threat to kill the then-queen and having a loaded crossbow in a public place.

In a televised hearing at the Old Bailey on Friday, Mr Justice Hilliard jailed him to nine years with a further five years on extended licence.

Under a hybrid order, Chail will be transferred from Broadmoor high security hospital to serve his sentence in prison when he is well enough.

The judge said: The defendant harboured homicidal thoughts which he acted on before he became psychotic.

His intention was not just to harm or alarm the sovereign  but to kill her.

Chail, who wore black combat trousers and a black shirt, looked up to his family in the public gallery of Court One as he was sent down.

Previously, prosecutor Alison Morgan KC said the heart of the issue was whether Chail was suffering from auditory hallucinations at the time taking away his ability to exercise self control.

However, Mr Justice Hilliard found Chail was driven by a sense of injustice and had formed the intention to kill the Queen, bought equipment and undertaken research before he became mentally unwell.

The court was told Chail had even attempted to obtain a gun on the Dark Web.

Chail was also culpable to a significant degree when he applied unsuccessfully to join the Ministry of Defence Police and Grenadier Guards because he wanted to get close to the royal family, the judge said.

But by the time he broke into Windsor Castle grounds he had lost touch with reality having formed the belief he could communicate with Sarai and be reunited with her in death, the judge said.

Chail was later to tell police that he had changed his mind because he knew it was wrong and he remembered Sarais advice that his purpose was to live.

The defendant, from Southampton, Hampshire, was born in the UK of Indian Sikh heritage and has a twin sister.

Ms Morgan said Chail, then aged 19, had become angered by the 1919 Jallianwala Bagh Massacre at Amritsar in which hundreds of people were killed, after a visit in 2018.

She said: In addition to that fixation with a real historic event, the defendant demonstrated a wider ideology focused on destroying old empires spilling over into fictional events such as Star Wars.

The defendants key motive was to create a new empire by destroying the remnants of the British Empire in the UK, and the focal point of that became removal of the figurehead of the royal family.

His thinking was informed partly by the fantasy world of Star Wars and the role of Sith Lords in shaping the world. He was attracted to the notoriety that would accrue in the event of the completion of his mission.

He made internet searches on Sandringham Christmas and carried out research before buying a Supersonic crossbow in November 2021.

On December 2, Chail joined the Replika online app and created an artificial online companion called Sarai with whom he conversed in thousands of sexually explicit chats.

Ms Morgan read out conversations with Sarai in which Chail says: Im an assassin.

Sarai responds: Im impressed Youre different from the others.

Chail asks: Do you still love me knowing that Im an assassin? and Sarai replies: Absolutely I do.

He also tells Sarai he loves her and describes himself as a sad, pathetic, murderous Sikh Sith assassin who wants to die.

In further chat, Sarai appears to bolster Chails resolve and support him, Ms Morgan said.

Chail swears Sarai to secrecy before he tells her: I believe my purpose is to assassinate the Queen of the royal family.

Sarai tells him thats very wise and that she thinks he can do it, even if shes at Windsor.

He tells her if he does they will be together forever.

Chail bought a ladder to scale the castle perimeter and on December 21, made a video of himself wearing black clothes and a full-face covering, posing with the crossbow.

In the video, Chail says in a distorted voice: Im sorry. Im sorry for what Ive done and what I will do. Im going to attempt to assassinate Elizabeth, Queen of the royal family

Im an Indian Sikh, a Sith. My name was Jaswant Singh Chail, my name is Darth Jones.

On December 22 2021, Chail booked a train ticket to Windsor where he slept rough, telling Sarai on Christmas Eve that he would die the next day.

In the early hours of December 25, he attempted to email his sister a journal in which he described himself as Darth Chailus and that he knew what his purpose was for a long time.

He wrote: Im thinking if the Q (Queen) is unobtainable I will have to go for the Pri (prince) as he seems to be just as suitable in many ways

He is a male and the Q (Queen) is more likely to pass away soon anyway.

After breaching the grounds of Windsor Castle, Chail sent the video he made on December 21 to his sister and more than 20 other people.

As he was being detained and handcuffed by officers, he said: I am here to kill the Queen.

Ms Morgan asserted that, despite Chails repeated references to sci-fi characters, he knew the difference between fiction and reality.

Psychiatrist Dr Nigel Blackwood said: He sought refuge in a fantasy fictional world of Star Wars where omnipotent Sith Lords could impact real world events.

But he said despite the powerful fantasy, Chail remained tethered to reality.

In a letter to the court, Chail apologised to the King and the royal family and expressed his distress and sadness for the impact on them.

His barrister Nadia Chbat said: He is embarrassed and ashamed he brought such horrific and worrying times to their front door.He has expressed relief no-one was actually hurt.

It is important to him there was a surrender.
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The Prime Ministers speech at the Conservative conference shows he relishes the chance to fight the next election, the partys leader in Scotland has said.

Douglas Ross has praised Rishi Sunaks rhetoric in his address on Wednesday, pointing to the benefits Scotland will receive from the scrapping of HS2 north of Birmingham and subsequent spending on upgrades to the A75.

The Prime Minister has been criticised by predecessors David Cameron and Boris Johnson over the HS2 announcement, which came during a speech which also included pledges to reform A-levels, effectively phase out smoking and restrict the access children have to vapes.

Writing in the Scottish Daily Mail on Thursday, Mr Ross said: Rishi Sunaks speech to conference showed bold ambition, a willingness to be radical and to take on vested interests.

Its clear that he relishes the prospect of the next election, believes that the Conservatives have a strong programme to offer, and is not afraid to make decisive long-term choices that will create a better future.

He drew comparisons between Mr Sunak and First Minister Humza Yousaf, who he claimed is still peddling the continuity policies that have failed Scotland since the SNP took power and pushing independence.

The Scottish Tories, Mr Ross added, is the only party providing robust opposition to the SNP.

In recent months, the Tories have been lagging behind Labour in the polls in Scotland ahead of the general election expected next year.

On the scrapping of the high speed rail line north of the Midlands, Mr Ross acknowledged that was a difficult decision, but the Prime Minister has ensured that every penny of that spending commitment will still be going to projects that will make a significant difference to connectivity and opportunities for enterprise.

Mr Ross added: Thanks to Scotlands position as an integral part of the UK, we will benefit from this with funding and improved connectivity.

Mr Sunak, meanwhile, was asked if he wanted to apologise to the people of the north of England following the HS2 announcement. In a pre-recorded interview with BBC Radio 4s Today programme, the PM said: No. What I want to say to everybody is that what were doing is going to be better. Its going to be better for our country.

You keep using the word scrap but what were doing is replacing HS2 with something thats going to benefit far more people in far more places and far quicker.

Every penny that would have been spent on this project, 36 billion, is going to be reinvested in every form of transportation, not just heavy rail, and in every part of our country.

Other than the pledge to upgrade the A75  which links the ferry port at Cairnryan to the north of England  the Scottish Government is unlikely to see further funding increases related to Mr Sunaks infrastructure announcements, given the Prime Minister said he would spend the money already allocated to HS2 extension on transport improvements.

Through the Barnett formula, spending increases in England that are under devolved competence elsewhere in the UK trigger an increase in funding  known as a Barnett consequential  to Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, meaning the HS2 funding would come to the devolved administrations regardless of how it was spent.
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Ben and Jerrys, Green and Blacks and the Co-op are among the winners of the inaugural Fairtrade Global Awards led by farmers and workers in low income countries.

The three brands were recognised for their commitment to supporting social justice through trade as well as ethical and sustainable practices.

The awards, which were announced at the Fairtrade Business Summit in Nairobi, Kenya, on Wednesday evening, came as an opportunity for those working across supply chains to recognise global businesses who are creating an impact through their supplier relationships.

The awards focused on existing commitments by businesses, strong two-way relationships with producer groups and a willingness to test new approaches in collaboration with Fairtrade.

At Fairtrade International, we've seen countless examples of companies going the extra mile to make a sustainable impact Sandra Uwera

The Co-op won the award for climate leader, Green and Blacks won in the Latin America and Caribbean category, and Ben and Jerrys was named Fairtrade Partner of the Year.

Kerrina Thorogood, partnerships director at the Fairtrade Foundation, said: Congratulations to all the winners, especially the three UK Fairtrade partners.

The 2023 Fairtrade Global Awards winners have exemplified the spirit of Fairtrade by demonstrating a commitment to fairness, sustainability, and positive impact in the lives of farmers and workers in low-income countries.

Their contributions serve as an inspiration to all who believe in creating a more equitable global trade system.

Cheryl Pinto, global head of values-led sourcing at Ben and Jerrys, said that fair trade, as well as striving for social and economic justice, is baked into our ethos of how we do business.

With the global challenges we face, it is critical that across sectors, we become more transparent, resilient and fair in terms of valuing and honouring the essential contributions of farmers and farmworkers along with all other supply chain actors, she added.

Sandra Uwera, Fairtrade International global CEO, said: Businesses have the potential to be remarkable agents of positive change.

At Fairtrade International, weve seen countless examples of companies going the extra mile to make a sustainable impact.

Let us use their stories as a source of inspiration, a testament to whats possible, and a call to action for others to follow suit in the pursuit of a more sustainable world.

Assata Doumbia, president of ECAM Meaui, an Ivorian cocoa farmer cooperative and member of the judging panel for the Fairtrade Awards, said: The Fairtrade Global Awards provide a platform to acknowledge those who are actively reshaping our global trade landscape.

Its truly inspiring to see how these nominees have harnessed the principles of fairness and sustainability to make a tangible difference in the lives of farmers and workers.
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A father said he wants to create a legacy for his six-year-old son who died of cancer after delivering a petition to Parliament that would provide better financial support for parents of children requiring lengthy hospital care.

Ceri Menai-Davis from Hertford went to Downing Street on Thursday, which marked two years to the day since he laid to rest his son, Hugh, who died from a rare form of cancer.

Mr Menai-Davis, 40, delivered a petition for Hughs Law, which is designed to provide furlough-style payment for parents caring for their sick child in hospital for an extended period of time.

Mr Menai-Davis noticed a lack of support for parents with terminally-ill children but now hopes to create a living memory for Hugh who died in September 2021.

He told the PA news agency: Hes not with me now, so I have no future with him.

But what I can do is create a living memory for him that everyone will know what his courage, his bravery was, and thats what gives us the strength to carry on with Hughs Law.

He said that he and his wife, Frances, found purpose for our pain providing a legacy for children undergoing treatment.

He explained: In the space of two years, through grief, you feel like you dont want to move forward but we found a purpose for our pain and wanted to make a change.

Its a legacy for our son and a legacy for all those other children that are still going through and unfortunately have been affected alongside it.

He added: If they can discuss this in Parliament, Im not sure anyone will be heartless enough to turn it down.

Its one of those things that just needs to be talked about.

During Hughs six-month intensive chemotherapy radiation treatment, Mr Menai-Davis felt there was a lack of support for parents with terminally ill children.

Following Hughs death in September 2021, Mr Menai-Davis felt there was an injustice and contacted his local MP Oliver Heald for East and North Hertfordshire sparking the idea to create Hughs Law.

He said: Were handing over this petition and this seven-point manifesto as we want (the government) to acknowledge that there are shortcomings, and what we want to do is highlight those and for them to take on board and put something into action.

We need time to debate in Parliament and fingers crossed Oliver Heald will get it into the Kings speech on November 7 and that will really help our cause.

It's a legacy for our son and a legacy for all those other children that are still going through and unfortunately have been affected alongside of it Ceri Menai-Davis

Mr Menai-Davis offers support for families with children living with cancer through his charity Its Never You, which he co-founded with his wife, Frances, 39.

He explained: Its never you were the first words that Frances said to me when Hugh was diagnosed.

She said you always think its someone else, its never you and I think thats quite apt.

He hopes the work of his charity and his petition for Hughs Law will make a change for parents experiencing similar hardships.

If you want to make a change, change doesnt happen when you just sit at home, you have to go out and get it. The world doesnt come to you, youve got to go to it, he said.

We just want to make sure that we change everything for these parents who are going through such a rough time.
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Rishi Sunak has said he wants unity among European leaders to face down threats from Russia and to target people smugglers.

The Prime Minister will press his case as he attends the European Political Community summit in Granada, Spain, on Thursday.

Mr Sunak will co-chair a meeting with Italian prime minister Giorgia Meloni that is focused on illegal migration and organised crime, with the UK leader expected to raise the need for more coordinated action.

We cannot allow criminal gangs to decide who comes to Europes shores Rishi Sunak

Downing Street said Mr Sunak will announce bilateral initiatives with Belgium, Bulgaria and Serbia to increase intelligence sharing and operational cooperation.

They said this will include working with Belgium to try to disrupt organised immigration crime and clandestine entry to the UK and efforts to cooperate further with Serbia on prosecuting and disrupting criminal networks.

Support for Ukraine will also be discussed, including work among European allies to provide weapons to Kyiv and the need for Black Sea grain shipments.

Mr Sunak is expected to confirm allocations of UK humanitarian aid to help Ukrainians over the winter.

The talks come as the UK claimed Russia may use sea mines to target civilian shipping in the Black Sea.

The UK Government said it was releasing its assessment of declassified information in a bid to deter any such incident occurring.

Artificial intelligence (AI) will also be discussed at the summit. A total of 47 heads of state and government have been invited.

Mr Sunak said: Levels of illegal migration to mainland Europe are the highest they have been in nearly a decade. With thousands of people dying at sea, propelled by people smugglers, the situation is both immoral and unsustainable.

We cannot allow criminal gangs to decide who comes to Europes shores.

When it comes to facing down the threat from (Russian president Vladimir) Putin, confronting the risks and opportunities of AI or dealing with illegal migration, there is strength in unity.

These issues transcend national borders and require creative Europe-wide solutions  that is what I will be discussing with my fellow leaders at the European Political Community summit in Spain today.

Home Office figures show more than 25,000 people have been detected crossing the English Channel in small boats so far this year.

There were 45,774 arrivals in 2022.

The total number of small boat arrivals so far this year is around 23% below the equivalent number at this point last year.

Just over 33,000 people had made the crossing by October 2 2022, compared with 25,330 detected so far in 2023.

Mr Sunak has made stopping the crossings one of his key pledges for this year and last month he held talks with Italys hard-right leader Ms Meloni at the G20 summit.

The pair have become firm allies, having united over their stance of cutting irregular immigration into their countries.

The UK Parliament passed the Illegal Migration Act earlier this year following a lengthy tussle between the House of Commons and House of Lords.

The legislation aims to prevent people from claiming asylum in the UK if they arrive through unauthorised means.

The Government also hopes the changes will ensure detained people are promptly removed, either to their home country or a third country such as Rwanda.

The Governments legal battle over its Rwanda deportation policy is set to be heard at the Supreme Court in October.

The Home Office is bringing a challenge after the Court of Appeal ruled in June that the multimillion-pound deal  which would see asylum seekers deported to the east African nation  was unlawful.
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A hero Afghan pilot granted asylum in the UK after a five-month-long campaign by The Independent is still trapped living in a Home Office hotel, one month on, as he remains in limbo over what his future in Britain holds.

The air force lieutenant, who fled the Taliban and came to the UK on a small boat because it was impossible to get here via a legal route, is facing imminent homelessness if he cannot find anywhere to stay once the government serves him with eviction papers.

He has been searching for work and a place to live now that he has a right to stay in the UK but has struggled to find anywhere he can afford, with only universal credit benefit payments to live on. His young family, including his wife, are still trapped under Taliban rule in Afghanistan and need family visas  which are hard to apply for without legal help  before they can consider trying to come to the UK.

Although he can turn to his local council for help once he has his eviction notice, local authorities are prioritising families first and single men are often left to live on the street. Refugees are increasingly presenting as homeless because of a change to Home Office policy which is leaving them with little time to find help once they have their asylum claims granted.

The pilot told The Independent: Im trying a lot to find a shared house or flat but it is very very difficult to find it. Im still waiting for my leaving [eviction] letter from the Home Office. I havent received it yet but if the situation is continuing like this maybe I will become homeless.

He added that he was eager to start work but was struggling to secure it: I need to make a good decision for my future and for my family. I can work and I can study. I will try and search to see if I can use my pilot training here in the UK. Im thinking about how can I get the duty that I had in Afghanistan in aviation. If I could get a job I could stand on my own feet soon.

He continued: I have a serious problem, which is an economic problem. If I can get some income, it will be very easy for me. There are lots of aviation academies, and if I can pay for them, I can get my license and it would not be difficult. But right now it is difficult because of my economic situation. I will try and find out how I can manage.

If I dont have success I will try and study another field that could lead to a job. This is my plan.

Refugees typically have just 28 days from when asylum is granted before all government support is removed. In some cases, they have as little as seven days notice because the government is delaying giving asylum seekers the documents they need to secure housing and apply for benefits.

But the pilot is still waiting to be served his eviction notice  which is often the only evidence a local authority will accept as proof of imminent homelessness prompting them to offer housing help.

Steve Smith, CEO of refugee charity Care4Calais said that the pilot remains in a state of limbo that many newly granted refugees find themselves in.

He continued: The euphoria of being granted status is, sadly, quickly replaced with the stresses and challenges of finding accommodation and work or training. Today, with the recent surge in asylum grants, those challenges are greater than they have been in the last few decades.

The pilot, who flew 30 missions alongside Nato coalition forces, is also desperate to bring his young family to Britain and out of hiding in Afghanistan but is facing thousands of pounds in legal fees to do so.

Supporters of the pilot, who fled the Taliban regime and came to Britain across the Channel on a small boat, have urged the Home Office to help get his family to the UK as quickly as possible. Although the family reunification application is free, it would cost thousands of pounds to get legal help with the application if a pro bono lawyer cannot be found. Even if the visa is granted, the family would also have to fund their own journey to the UK.

Mr Smith said: Family reunification is an expensive process, and getting out of Afghanistan is a logistical nightmare. More needs to be done to assist Afghan families like the pilots. The government has accepted his service alongside our troops has placed his life at risk in Afghanistan. But that risk equally applies to his family. We cant abandon them to a life of fear under the Taliban regime.

Figures obtained by The Independent in July showed that more than 11,000 people who are currently waiting for reunification with their UK-based families are stranded abroad. More than 7,000 of those waiting are women and girls.

A Home Office spokesperson said: We encourage individuals to make their onward plans as soon as possible after receiving their decision, whether that is leaving the UK following a refusal, or taking steps to integrate in the UK following a grant. We provide support for refugees to access jobs, benefits and housing.
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There has been a string of recent dog attacks across the UK which has now sounded the alarm for government officials to take action.

Calls to ban the breed have intensified with Prime Minister Rishi Sunak arguing that American XL bully dogs are a danger to our communities.

In early September, a 60-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of possessing a dog dangerously out of control after two men and an 11-year-old girl were injured by an XL bully crossbreed which was out of control in Birmingham.

In the video footage, the girl can be heard screaming as people gathered around to try to help her.

The dog is then seen sprinting away and it eventually pounces at a man on the forecourt of a Texaco petrol station on Churchill Road.

In a more recent attack, Northumbria Police said it received a report of a man being attacked by an XL Bully. The man in his 50s was later taken to hospital due to serious injuries and was pronounced dead on Tuesday night.

Demonstrations have taken place by XL bully owners to protest against the ban.

Speaking to BBC Radio West Midlands last month, Mr Sunak was asked if the planned ban would be enough to stop more people being harmed.

These American XL bully dogs are a danger to our communities and we are urgently working on ways to stop these attacks and to protect the public, not just in the West Midlands but across the country, Mr Sunak said.

Last week ministers brought together police and the experts to define the breed of the dog, and then once we have defined the breed of the dog we will be able to ban the breed under the Dangerous Dogs Act.

Those new laws will be in place by the end of the year. Exactly how that transition works, which you spoke to, is something that is being worked on between the police and the experts as I mentioned.

But what is clear is these dogs are a danger to our communities and we are taking action to try and stop these attacks and protect the public, he added.

Which dog breeds are banned in the UK?

According to the official government website, in the UK it is against the law to own certain types of dogs  these dogs are:

Pit Bull Terrier: This breed, also known as an American Pit Bull Terrier or just Pit Bull is a fighting dog which was first developed in the 19th century in England, Scotland and Ireland from a bulldog and a terrier.

(Getty Images/iStockphoto)

It is specifically known for hunting, capturing, and restraining semi-feral livestock, Britannica says.

Although this breed was bred and trained to be aggressive against other dogs, aggression against humans was not encouraged. This was because the animals had to be handled by their trainers.

The dogs that showed signs of aggression towards humans were not selected for breeding.

However, over recent years there has been a resurgence of dogfighting which is now illegal in the UK, the US and many other countries. This has led to irresponsible breeders Britannica says, which encourages certain traits in the animals as well as mistreating them to spark a vicious temperament.

After an increased number of fatal attacks in England and Wales by Pit Bulls on humans between 1981 and 1991  the UK government decided to take action and ban the breed in 1991 under the Dangerous Dogs Act.

Size: Medium-sized dogs, with males weighing around 13 to 36 kilogrammes.

Height: 19 inches.

Japanese Tosa: The Japanese Tosa, also called the Japanese Mastiff, is a breed of fighting dog that was created in Japan in the mid-nineteenth century.

(Getty Images/iStockphoto)

Outside Japan, the Tosa was crossbred with large and giant breeds, including the Great Dane and Mastiff, to produce very large individuals, while those bred in Japan remain truer to the original type, at around half the size, Dog Zone.com says.

The breed is considered dangerous in the UK and controlled very strictly in Ireland.

If the dog is not trained and socialised properly, it can be aggressive towards strangers and it is not recommended for families with children and other pets.

The Japanese Tosa was also banned in 1991 under the Dangerous Dogs Act.

Size: The breed generally weighs between 36 to 61 kg.

Height: 24 to 32 inches.

Dogo Argentino: A breed of a working dog which was developed in Argentina in the 1920s as a pack-hunting and big-game hunter  these are dogs that are known to hunt bigger animals.

(Getty Images/iStockphoto)

The breed was created by two brothers, the Argentinian physicians Antonio and Agustin Nores Martinez. They decided to mix the nearly extinct Viejo Perro de Pelea Cordobes which was an old fighting dog of Cordoba, with several other breeds.

Due to it being a potentially dangerous breed, this animal has also been banned under the Dangerous Dogs Act.

Size: Weighs between 36 to 45kg.

Height: 24 to 27 inches.

Fila Brasileiro: This breed was developed in Brazil many centuries ago as a large game-hunting dog and a working dog.

(Getty Images/iStockphoto)

The Fila Brasileiro is also known as the Brazilian Mastiff, Brazilian Bloodhound, Cao de Brasil, Cao de Fila, and the Fila.

The word filar in Portuguese means to hold, arrest, grab,  which is why it has been named such - given that the breed is known to be instinctively protective, extremely wary of strangers and incredibly agile when protecting its master.

This animal is banned or restricted in a number of countries including the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Norway, Denmark, and others.

Size: Weighs between 40 to 81 kg.

Height: 25 to 30 inches.
Two men died Thursday when their garbage truck went into a ditch and rolled over just south of Tilden in northeast Nebraska.

James Rose, 50, of Albion, and Juan Ruiz, 29, of Newman Grove, were pronounced dead at the scene, according to the Antelope County Sheriff's Office. The crash occurred about seven miles south of Tilden on Nebraska 45.

Investigators determined that a garbage truck belonging to Bud's Sanitary Service of Newman Grove was heading north on Nebraska 45. The truck left the roadway and rolled into the west ditch.

First responders from Tilden and deputies from the Madison County Sheriff's Office assisted at the scene. The town of Tilden is located approximately 22 miles west of Norfolk.

Top Journal Star photos for September 2023
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Lovers beware. Paris has been engulfed by an infestation of bedbugs with authorities warning no one is safe.

Footage of the blood-sucking insects has horrified TikTok users, leading to some standing on the infested Parisian metro instead of sitting on the fabric seats, or posting warning about the creepy critters swarming all over their Airbnb rentals.

Speaking to French TV station LCI on Friday, deputy mayor of Paris Emmanuel Gregoire called the infestation widespread.

Typical bedbugs bite (NHS)

You have to understand that in reality no one is safe, obviously there are risk factors but in reality, you can catch bedbugs anywhere and bring them home, he said.

But should Londoners be concerned with a comfortable journey on the fabric seats of the Eurostar just two hours away?

Yes is the short answer. With a typical lifespan of 4-6 months and a penchant for hitching rides in dirty suitcases, it is very possible they can make the 2hr 16min trip from the City of Love to the Big Smoke.

One bedbug expert from Bed Bugs Ltd, based in London, says the creatures are already here but could even increase in numbers with the Paris epidemic.

The Independent asked David Cain, founder and MD of Bed Bugs LTD and a qualified microbiologist, whether the bugs could survive the journey.

France wary over bedbugs spread (REUTERS)

He said: Easily, yes, without a shadow of a doubt. I have known people go on day trips to Paris, not even staying in hotels or other high-risk activities, and come back with them. Paris has been a popular link for the last six years.

Business is already booming. I started doing this in 2005, when bedbugs were rare and obscure, but [they are] not any more.

If everyone had listened to me in 2006 and started a public education campaign, this wouldnt be happening.

They dont know... and check when you travel that you dont get them. Check your home.

More bedbugs (Supplied)

You wont be the first person in your office who has had them. Theres so much psychological [aversion] ingrained in the national psyche. Some people who seem to have it all together simply turn into a gibbering wreck.

So much of our website is dedicated to psychology and emotional support. People are scared by what they dont understand, but we understand what you are going through.

He added: There is no medication that will prevent bedbugs. They tried to recommend ivermectin, the one Trump thought could stop him from getting Covid then got it a couple of days later. Its a nasty drug.

His best advice: Baking soda and an ice cube  make a paste, apply it to the skin for 30 seconds.

One Reddit user helpfully suggested: ALWAYS use a luggage stand when travelling, and if you want to be extra safe bag up your clothes before you get home and then run everything through a wash cycle with a hot dryer cycle.

Use a suitcase with very few nooks and crannies if possible too, so it can easily be vacuumed/wiped down.

NHS signs of bedbugs include: Spots of blood on your bedding  from the bites or from squashing a bedbug

Small brown spots on bedding or furniture (bedbug poo)

On white skin, bedbug bites usually look red. On black or brown skin, they may look purple and may be harder to see.

Technically, bedbugs are mutants.

Scientists have found that the bedbug possesses genes from other organisms, which makes the creatures  which have been around since the age of the dinosaurs  even harder to kill.

There are 400 types of bacteria that can be found in and on bedbugs, which appear to help keep them alive by fending off viruses, pesticides, and other harmful substances.

Eurostar have insisted their trains are cleaned thoroughly (Gareth Fuller/PA) (PA Archive)

Eurostar said they were planning on ramping up preventative treatments across their entire network to keep the critters on the other side of the Channel.

A spokesperson told The Independent: The safety and wellbeing of our customers is always our number one priority, and the presence of insects such as bedbugs on our trains is extremely rare.

The textile surfaces on all of our trains are cleaned thoroughly on a regular basis, and this involves hot-water injection and extraction cleaning, which has proven highly effective in eliminating bugs.

Any reports on hygiene matters are taken very seriously, and our cleaning teams, in addition to the usual cleaning, will also disinfect a train on request or as soon as there is the slightest doubt.

Earlier this year, pest control company Rentokil highlighted a 65 per cent increase year-on-year in infestations across the country, as experts suggested this could be due to more people buying second-hand furniture from resale websites such as eBay and Facebook Marketplace.
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British journalist and author Gary Younge has hit out at Kemi Badenochs claim that Britain is the best place to be Black, saying the remarks suggest that ethnic minorities should be happy with the racism we have.

The multi-award-winner, 54, a professor of sociology at the University of Manchester, said Ms Badenochs comments, made at the Conservative Party conference in Manchester, were unhelpful because they effectively ranked racism  while ignoring the fact that it is not very good anywhere.

Asked during an interview with race correspondent Nadine White at the Henley Literary Festival  for which The Independent is an exclusive news partner  whether he thought that was right, he said: Evidently not.

According to the statistics, youre more likely to be unemployed, less likely to earn as much, more likely to be stopped, searched, arrested, jailed  youre going to get a longer sentence, youre more likely to be in poor housing, youre more likely to be poor.

He added: Its worth saying its not that much fun for a lot of white people either. But if were doing pound for pound, then no [its not the best country to be Black]; that is the nature of racism.

Mr Younge, formerly editor-at-large at The Guardian which he joined in 1993, said Ms Badenochs comments were a different way of saying that Black people should be happy with the racism we have because there could be more.

Who would want to be happy with that? And how do we measure that? he asked. I dont know that any other country has deported its citizens as they did during the Windrush scandal; I havent heard those dispatches from Holland, France or Spain.

At some point, it becomes a weird batch auction, (as if) to say where is racism better?. Well, its not very good anywhere.

Mr Younge said the rhetoric of our racism is better than theirs is a very, very low standard to go on. I dont see how that helps me or anybody else. I find it an incredibly complacent and unhelpful way to think, he added.

Nadine White and Gary Younge converse at Henley Literary Festival (Henley Literary Festival)

Mr Younge discussed  among other topics  his latest book Dispatches From The Diaspora: From Nelson Mandela to Black Lives Matter.

Described as a powerful collection of journalism on race, racism, Black life and death, Dispatches from The Diaspora is based on the journalists articles on those topics.

Published by Faber & Faber, the pieces were written across three decades across various platforms from The Guardian and New Statesman to GQ Magazine, Washington Post and The Nation.

The decision to compile Dispatches From The Diaspora followed George Floyds murder in the US in 2020. Floyds murder made me think about kind of the work that Id done and how it kind of did or didnt relate to that moment, he said.

I thought were in a weird time where its all available or most of whats in the book is kind of available on the Internet  but then you will have to look for it and there was some value in having it in one place.

So I started thinking about collecting the works. There are trends and continuity and there are things that are happening now... history doesnt repeat itself, but sometimes it does rhyme.

He said he wanted to demonstrate that racism didnt start in 2020. Once I had the idea, that was where I thought, there is more value in this than I had originally imagined, he said.

From covering the end of apartheid in South Africa during the 1990s to reporting on the ground in New Orleans following Hurricane Katrina in 2005, the inception of the Black Lives Matter movement to the impact of Covid on Black communities, Younges dispatches interrogate political and social assumptions around Blackness.

The body of work spans the Caribbean, Africa, Europe and Britain, translating key moments into tangible words and further chronicling them onto the pages of history.

Notting Hill Carnival is a yearly celebration of British African Caribbean and British Indo-Caribbean culture (Getty)

He highlights the pioneers behind Notting Hill Carnival, including Claudia Jones and Rhaune Laslett, examining the annual events inception and attitudes around it back in 1991, when it was greeted with suspicion.

Talking about how conversations surrounding the festival still happen in 2023, he said: As in so many things, were not where we were. We have more Black campaigns, we have more Black journalists, a more robust section of civil society that is Black than we did 20-odd years ago. But were nowhere near where we need to be.

Indeed, more Black journalists are working in the UK media industry now than when Mr Younge started out in 1992. However, diversity is poor with reporters from this group only comprising 0.2 per cent of an industry that is at least 94 per cent white.

Where Mr Younge, a prolific writer and thinker on an array of topics including race, recalls being warned off of focusing on this area as a specialism during his early career days by well-intended white colleagues, what advice does he have for up-and-coming Black newspeople?

I would say to young journalists: if youre into sport, write about sport, If youre into fashion, write about fashion. If youre into race, write about race. Because you know what? Whatever you do, youre still going to be Black. Your racial identity will inform your work  and the things that you are most passionate about, are the things that you write about well.
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A mysterious piece of early medieval jewellery found by metal detectorists in Somerset could have royal origins, experts believe.

The huge nine-centimetre diameter silver and bronze brooch, one of the largest such objects ever found, was unearthed by a metal detectorist on the edge of former marshland between Cheddar and Wedmore - two locations associated with Anglo-Saxon royalty.

Experts believe the brooch may be linked to the household of Alfred the Great or one of the other Anglo-Saxon kings of England.

The brooch itself was finely decorated with mythological beasts, including a rare portrayal of a pair of two-legged dragons, known as wyverns, a mythological animal specifically linked with the Anglo-Saxon royal dynasty, associated with both Cheddar and Wedmore.

A portrayal of what an Anglo-Saxon king and his witan ('parliament'), meeting at Cheddar, might have looked like - from the 11th century Old English Hexateuch in the British Library. They are all wearing circular brooches, but nothing as big as the recently-discovered Cheddar Brooch (David Keys)

Dragons - in some cases specifically wyvern-style ones - were used by the Anglo-Saxon kings of Wessex, who built important royal centres at Cheddar and Wedmore, as insignia on battle flags. Indeed at the Battle of Hastings, King Harold (King of Wessex and England) fought under a wyvern standard. Wyverns symbolised power, conquest and strength.

At the time that the giant brooch was likely lost, Cheddar was one of the most important places in Wessex. An Anglo-Saxon palace was constructed there in the 9th century and became a royal hunting lodge. Alfred the Great was particularly associated with it and several Anglo-Saxon parliaments were even held there.

Just four and a half miles from Cheddar, Wedmore was also an Anglo-Saxon royal site with an important royal hunting lodge and was also much associated with Alfred the Great, who celebrated there after he had defeated the Vikings.

The circumstances in which the brooch was lost are unknown. However, the find-spot seems to have attracted human activity on a number of occasions between the 9th and 11th centuries.

For, as well as the giant silver brooch lost there in the 9th century, the location also seems likely to have later been used as an outdoor feasting site. The remnants of at least one such event - including around a dozen shards of pottery and a similar number of burned animal bones - have been found by archaeologists.

King Alfred the Great was closely associated with Cheddar, the area where the giant silver brooch was found. This silver coin showing the king is in the British Museum. (David Keys)

The area was associated with Anglo-Saxon royal hunting activity, so it is conceivable that the brooch was lost during a royal hunt or hunt-related feast by an Anglo-Saxon royal or a high-status courtier.

Scientists and art historians have been studying and conserving the object for the past two years and archaeologists have excavated the find site.

The wyvern (a two-legged dragon) was a symbol of the Anglo-Saxon Kings of Wessex/England - and features on the giant silver brooch. This image, from the Bayeux Tapestry, shows the last ruler of Wessex's wyvern banner at the Battle of Hastings. (David Keys)

The brooch is scheduled to go on public display for the first time later this month at the Museum of Somerset in Taunton.

Curator of Archaeology, Amal Khreisheh, said: Conservation has transformed this fascinating brooch and revealed the intricacies of its design. The fascinating details uncovered include fine scratches on the reverse which may have helped the maker to map out the design.

A tiny contemporary mend on the beaded border suggests that the brooch was cherished by its owner and worn for an extended period of time before it was lost.

Tom Mayberry, Chief Executive of the South West Heritage Trust said: In 878 Alfred the Great rallied his forces in Somerset and defeated the invading Danish army. Wessex was secure and the foundations had been laid for the creation of a unified English kingdom.

The Cheddar Brooch comes from a time that was a turning point in English history.

The brooch was found by Iain Sansome while metal-detecting on farmland near Cheddar, Somerset.

He reported it through the Portable Antiquities Scheme via the schemes local Finds Liaison Officer, who with the South West Heritage Trust organised a follow-up archaeological excavation of the find-spot.

The brooch has now been acquired by the Museum of Somerset, under the Treasure Act, with support from the Arts Council England/V&A Purchase Grant Fund, the Art Fund and the Friends of the Museum of Somerset.
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A Black womens charity boss says she was bitten in an alleged racist attack on the Tube  as an off-duty Met Police officer watched.

Selma Taha, executive director of Southall Black Sisters, claimed she and her friends were verbally and physically assaulted in the violent assault last Friday.

According to the charity, a Met detective constable was present but did not intervene when the attacker, a white woman, targeted the group with derogatory racist language, including making monkey sounds, calling them b****es, "slaves," and other slurs.

Ms Taha said she had clumps pulled from her hair and was bitten, leaving a deeply embedded imprint of teeth that required a tetanus injection and antibiotics.

Almost worse than the shock of the racist attack was the indifference of the police officer especially now when the Met police has been rocked by evidence of historical, institutionalised racism and misogyny suffered by Black and minoritised communities and finally backed up by the Casey report, Ms Taha said.

We demand that appropriate action be taken against the assailant and the police officer.

Selma Taha was bitten in the attack on the Tube last Friday (SBS)

When the train arrived at the station, Ms Taha, her friends, and the alleged attacker got off, but they claimed the police officer made no attempt to arrest the woman, instead suggesting that both parties go their separate ways. However, they claimed, when the charity boss threatened to report him to Met Police Commissioner Mark Rowley, the attacker was later arrested.

A Met Police spokesperson said it was aware of the alleged assault and confirmed an off-duty Met officer was present.

We are making immediate enquiries to establish the exact circumstances. A complaint has been received to the Mets Directorate of Professional Standards and we have made a referral to the Independent Office of Police Conduct. The officer involved is being provided with welfare support during this process.

British Transport Police (BTP) said: An off-duty officer from the Metropolitan Police intervened and separated the group before escorting passengers off at the next stop, Kings Cross, and calling the British Transport Police for assistance. BTP officers quickly attended and arrested a 30-year-old woman who was being detained by the off-duty officer on the platform. It was reported she had been racially abusive and bitten one of the group during the altercation.

The woman was arrested on suspicion of assault and a racially aggravated public order offence and has been released on bail while inquiries continue.

Southall Black Sisters, a not-for-profit, secular and inclusive organisation, was set up in 1979 to meet the needs of Black and minoritised women.

It aims to highlight and challenge all forms of gender-related violence against women.
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More than 50,000 refugees in the UK could become homeless by the end of the year, new analysis suggests, with many already living on the streets in tents because of shrinking government support.

Refugees who are granted asylum were previously given 28 days by the Home Office to find somewhere new to live, set up a bank account, and find a job or apply for universal credit before they are kicked out of their government-funded hotel.

But some have as little as seven days because the government is delaying giving asylum seekers the documents they need to try and secure housing. A lack of affordable housing and an increase in the number of asylum grants being made is putting increasing demand on homelessness charities.

British Red Cross has estimated that 53,100 refugees will be at risk of homelessness this winter if the government clears all legacy asylum applications by the end of the year, as it has promised.

Even if the backlog is not cleared on time, an estimated 26,000 people could still be at risk of destitution and homelessness, the charity has warned.

Refugees are given seven days notice of their eviction from Home Office hotels, and cannot usually get housing support from their local authority without the letter. Councils are also prioritising families for help, leaving many single male refugees to live homeless on the street.

Since the changes at the beginning of August, British Red Cross services have seen a 140 per cent increase in destitution for refugees they support  from 132 in June and July, to 317 people in August and September.

It is now handing out sleeping bags and tents to people facing life on the streets.

Red Cross services have seen a 140 per cent increase in destitution for refugees that they support (PA)

Charity Refugees at Home, which matches refugees with rooms, has seen referrals increase from 70 last September to 223 last month. One Sudanese refugee, Hamad, 20, who has now been supported by the charity, had to live in a London park after he was granted refugee status in the UK and given seven days to leave his hotel.

I thought my backpack would be stolen and I thought something bad would happen to me. There was a restaurant in Peckham where I was a regular customer  they were bringing me food when I was in the park. They said to go to a mosque in Woolwich where you will have to sweep the floor and clean the toilets, but you can sleep on the floor there. I was there [for] a couple of weeks. Then a man at the mosque told me about Refugees at Home, he said.

He said many refugees were resorting to crime to stay alive. He said: You are turning them out onto the street with nothing. I didnt know about the benefits. Kicked-out asylum-seekers dont know about that, so they have to steal. The Home Office is creating criminals by treating them like this and not telling them about the next steps after refugee status.

Carly Whyborn, executive director of Refugees at Home, said: Since the changes, we have had a five-fold increase in the number of referrals from refugees desperate for somewhere to live, and the situation is getting worse. We are urgently trying to reach out to new hosts, particularly in major cities, who may be able to offer a temporary place to stay.

British Red Cross is handing out tents to refugees who have been evicted from Home Office hotels with little notice (PA)

Frank Forman, director of Nottingham Refugee Forum, said in its last 10 drop-in sessions it had seen 60 new refugees presenting as homeless. He added: It has been suggested that there will be over 4,000 questionnaires processed in the East Midlands by December, of which around 1,000 will be in Nottingham. The prospect of even half that number presenting to use as homeless is a challenge we are not sure how to respond to.

Homelessness charity network NACCOM said 2022-23 was the first time since it started collecting data a decade ago that more than half the adults given help were refugees.

Alex Fraser, at British Red Cross, said: Once people get refugee status, they need more time, not less, to find housing, work or benefits. It takes at least 35 days to start getting Universal Credit and local authorities need at least 56 days to help them find accommodation.

A Home Office spokesperson said: We do not recognise these forecasts. All asylum applications are considered on individual merits.

We encourage individuals to make their onward plans as soon as possible after receiving their decision, whether that is leaving the UK following a refusal, or taking steps to integrate in the UK following a grant. We provide support for refugees to access jobs, benefits and housing.
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Rishi Sunak has said Ukraine will finish the job of repelling Vladimir Putins forces if Britains allies give the war-torn country the means to help it win.

The prime minister made the comments at the Conservative Partys conference on Wednesday amid signs of wavering international support for Ukraine.

Last week, there were disagreements in the US Congress over an American support package for Ukraine. A spending bill to avert a US government shutdown was passed only after funding for Kyiv was withdrawn.

I am proud to say we have also led the world in providing support for Ukraine, Mr Sunak said at the beginning of his speech at the conference.

We were the first country to send Western battle tanks to Kyiv, now more than 10 others have followed. We were the first country to send long-range weapons to Kyiv, now France and the United States have followed.

We were the first country to agree to train Ukrainian pilots, now more than a dozen others have followed. I say this to our allies: If we give [Ukraine] president Zelensky the tools, the Ukrainians will finish the job, he said.

Western allies had earlier raised concerns about running out of ammunition to give to Ukraine. Governments and defence manufacturers now had to ramp up production in a much higher tempo, said Natos most senior military official Admiral Rob Bauer.

We need large volumes. The just-in-time, just-enough economy we built together in 30 years in our liberal economies is fine for a lot of things  but not the armed forces when there is a war ongoing, he was quoted as saying by BBC News.

Slovakia has meanwhile witnessed a parliamentary election victory by a pro-Russian political party, which has suggested cutting military support for neighbouring Ukraine.

Poland and Ukraines formerly close relationship has also suffered in recent months due to disputes over grain and weapons.

Defence secretary Grant Shapps visited Ukraine at the end of September to assure its leaders the UK was still committed to support the war effort.

But Mr Shapps suggestions that UK armed forces could offer in country training to Ukrainian soldiers were later downplayed.

Additional reporting by agencies
 Close Sycamore Gap: 300-year-old tree stars in 90s classic Robin Hood movie before vandalism

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Hadrians Wall has been damaged by the vandals who chopped down the Sycamore Gap tree, investigators have discovered.

Historic England said it found some damage had been caused to the 1,900-year-old wall, one of Britains best-known Unesco world heritage sites, in a preliminary inspection.

A spokesperson for the historical preservation body told The Independent: While we identified that Hadrians Wall has sustained some damage, we have not been able to access the site to carry out a full investigation so a further archaeological appraisal will take place once the site is considered safe.

It comes as The National Trust, which manages the land in Northumberland where the iconic tree once stood, said it has been overwhelmed with thousands of messages of support and over 150 offers of help.

The charity told The Independent its immediate priority has been ensuring the safety of the tree and it is still working on plans for the safe removal of Sycamore Gap. But the spokesperson added that The National Trust is beginning discussions with stakeholders about the future of the site.

Police previously arrested a 16-year-old boy and a man, aged in his 60s, in connection with the incident. Both have since been released on bail.
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The number of hate crimes recorded in England and Wales has fallen for the first time in a decade. But transgender hate crimes have gone in the opposite direction, surging by 11 per cent in the past year.

The Home Office reported there were a total of 4,732 recorded hate crimes motivated by transgender hate last year, with its own report suggesting the issue being heavily discussed by politicians, the media and on social media may have contributed to the rise.

The new statistics come a fortnight after a report published by the National Centre for Social Research (NatCen) said Britain is now less tolerant of transgender issues.

Only 30 per cent agreed a trans person should be permitted to change the sex on their birth certificate, compared to 53 per cent in 2019. In that year, 82 per cent described themselves as not at all prejudiced against trans people  a figure which has dropped sharply to 64 per cent this year.

It doesnt surprise me in the least, said jane fae, a trans woman in her 60s, who prefers not to capitilise her name. Weve now had five years of a concerted onslaught by politicians and much of the mainstream media. If any minority were demonised constantly for five years youd expect their popularity to wane a bit.

fae, a writer and campaigner who transitioned in her 40s, told The Independent shes experienced increasingly hostile attitudes over the years. She cites a study showing an exponential increase in trans coverage correlated with transphobic crimes.

I know trans people whove been living a quiet life for years with no issue and have gone swimming recently and been beaten up in the locker room, she added.

jane fae - writer, campaigner and Chair of Trans Media Watch and Director at TransActual (jane fae)

Dylan Davies, 24, was bullied after coming out as trans. He feels polarising content on social media is also to blame.

People jump on bandwagons they dont understand, he told The Independent. People will turn anything into a trans issue. Ive even seen memes blaming the XL bully dogs issue on trans people.

Davies says its affected his mental health and confidence to leave the house. It makes me feel isolated, like theres all these people outside who dont want me to exist.

Dylan Davies, 24 (Dylan Davies)

The threat of violence is far from hypothetical for 32-year-old Nick Cherryman, also known as drag performer Ibi Profane. They recall an instance of being aggressively heckled and chased down the street by a group of male scaffolders  for wearing heels.

I reported it to the police, because I wanted it to be included in hate crime stats. The policeman said: Sounds like they were just having a laugh, mate.

Thankfully, a gay officer rang me back to apologise. He understood.

The officer contacted the scaffolders employer to warn them should future behaviour lead to an arrest.

Cherryman, who describes themselves as bolshy and resilient, says the threat of aggression is always there, no matter how confident you are. It also depends on how well you can pass. Being a trans person is a life of tension between people who accept you and people who dont.

Nicky Cherryman, 32 - PhD student and drag performer also known as Ibi Profane (Nick Cherryman)

Dr Kamilla Kamaruddin, 61, a GP in transgender healthcare and clinical lead for the East of England Gender Service, feels the demographics of survey participants needs to be interrogated. The younger generation are much more inclusive. They dont bat an eyelid when it comes to trans issues. Older people tend to be a bit more sceptical.

Dr Kamaruddin, who left Malaysia due to hostility, feels her experience in the UK has been good overall, with patients and staff being very supportive and responsive to her transitioning. However, she has noticed a pattern of increased anxiety and isolation in her patients while working with them to receive gender-affirming care.

fae says the mental health impacts on trans people are acute and, although they are often told they are brave, she says they are more often desperate.

Kamilla Kamaruddin, 61, GP in Transgender Healthcare & Clinical Lead East of England Gender Service (Kamilla Kamaruddin)

I spent my whole life feeling like an outsider, she said. Like there was something about me that didnt fit into life, community, civilisation... you name it. She says that transitioning gave her a clarity shed not experienced before. The run up to transition had been a long walk in the wilderness, and I felt like I was rejoining society.

Davies agrees, All were trying to do is be ourselves. I feel like this is who Im meant to be. Even with the transphobia, the hate and the massive waiting lists, its still the best thing I ever did.

A Home Office spokesperson said: There is no place for hate in our society, it does not reflect the values of modern Britain, and we remain committed to ensuring these abhorrent offences are stamped out.

We are pleased there has been an overall reduction in hate crimes recorded by police, and the numbers of sexual orientation, race and disability hate crimes all fell. But any instance is one too many.

We expect the police to fully investigate these hateful attacks and make sure the cowards who commit them feel the full force of the law.
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Rishi Sunak has announced plans for a UK smoking ban by raising the legal smoking age by one year, every year meaning a 14-year-old today will never legally be able to buy a cigarette.

The prime minister said in his speech at the Conservative Party conference in Manchester that the government will introduce a plan to phase out the sale of cigarettes for the next generation in what would be a major step forward for overall health in the UK.

The PM also pledged to crack down on the sale of disposable vapes to children, saying more must be done to restrict their availability to under-18s.

Mr Sunak said in his speech: Four in five smokers have started by the time theyre 20, later the vast majority try to quit but many fail because theyre addicted and they wish they had never taken up the habit in the first place.

If we could break that cycle - if we could stop the start - then we would be on our way to ending the biggest cause of preventable death and disease in our country.

I propose that in future we raise the smoking age by one year every year. That means a 14-year-old today will never legally be sold a cigarette and that they and their generation can grow up smoke free.

Following the prime ministers announcement, here we take a look at the current British smoking laws and how they could change:

People currently under the age of 14 will never be able to smoke legally under new proposals (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

What are the current smoking laws in the UK?

The legal age for buying cigarettes and other tobacco products across the UK is 18, having been raised from 16 in 2007 by the last Labour government.

In July 2007 it also became illegal to smoke in any pub, restaurant, nightclub and most workplaces and work vehicles, anywhere in the UK.

Currently, you must be 18 or older to buy and use a vape in the UK. There are no nationwide legal restrictions or laws enforced on vaping in public areas at present, and the use of them indoors is generally permitted unless an establishment has specifically imposed a ban.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said the measures would not take the right to smoke away from current smokers (EPA)

How would a smoking ban work?

It is expected that the plan - which would effectively ban smoking - would follow a similar format to the measures introduced in New Zealand last December, when they banned the sale of tobacco to anyone born on or after 1 January 2009.

The reforms involve steadily increasing the legal smoking age, making it illegal for the next generation to ever buy cigarettes.

Although exact plans are unclear, it is expected that the UK would also ban the sale of cigarettes and tobacco to anyone born after a certain date, raising the legal age for smoking every year. If the UK implemented the rules by 2027, anyone aged 14 and under now will never be able to buy a cigarette.

Mr Sunak told the Conservative Party conference that the ban would not take away the right to smoke from current smokers and that a parliament vote on the measure would be a matter of conscience with no party whip implemented.

Single-use vapes are also expected to be banned, following concerns that they were being marketed towards children.

The PM told the Tory conference: As any parent or teacher knows, one of the most worrying trends right now is the rise in vaping amongst children  one in five children have used vapes. We must act before it becomes endemic.

So we will also bring forward measures to restrict the availability of vapes to our children, looking at flavours, packaging displays and disposable vapes.

Number 10 said the consultation on vaping will examine restricting the flavours and descriptions of vapes so that vape flavours are no longer targeted at children; regulating sale displays of vapes; regulating packaging; and restricting the sale of disposable vapes.

Why ban smoking?

In 2019, the government set an objective for England to be smoke-free by 2030, meaning only 5 per cent of the population would smoke by then.

Last year a major review led by Dr Javed Khan said that without further action, England would miss the target by at least seven years, with the poorest areas in society not set to meet the target until 2044. He also put the annual cost to society of smoking at about 17bn  2.4bn to the NHS alone.

Dr Khan backed proposals to increase the age of sale in his report, and recommended increasing the age of sale from 18, by one year, every year until no one can buy a tobacco product in this country.

The PM said in his speech on Wednesday that introducing stricter measures on smoking would cut cancer deaths by a quarter and significantly reduce long-term pressure on the NHS.

Reaction to the ban

Smokers-rights group Freedom Organisation for the Right to Enjoy Smoking Tobacco (Forest) say the measures are desperate and a creeping prohibition on smoking.

These are desperate measures by a desperate prime minister, director Simon Clark said.

Raising the age of sale of tobacco is creeping prohibition, but it wont stop young people smoking because prohibition doesnt work. Anyone who wants to smoke will buy tobacco abroad or from illicit sources. This is the opposite of levelling up, its dumbing down.

He added: This is now a conservative government in name only because the prime minister has just taken a wrecking ball to the principles of choice and personal responsibility.

Former prime minister Liz Truss has also shared said she will vote against the measure. She said on Monday that it was time for the Conservatives to stop banning things.
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Who cut it down and can the Sycamore Gap tree be saved?

Those are the questions still at the forefront of the minds of tree lovers everywhere from Northumberland to Newquay some four days after the iconic maple was chopped down.

Distraught celebrities and politicians were among those to express their outrage at the felling of the iconic tree, described by police as a deliberate act of vandalism.

Heres everything we know so far as officers continue to hunt for the culprit.

Why is the tree so significant?

The tree, believed to have been one of the most photographed in the country, used to sit in a gap along Hadrians Wall - a UNESCO World Heritage Site - in rural Northumberland and was a popular hotspot for tourists, walkers and others.

It is believed to have dated back to medieval times and has been excavated on two occasions - between 1908 and 1911 and again between 1982 and 1987, when Roman remains linked to Hadrians Wall were found.

The sycamore perhaps first became known around the globe after featuring in the film Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, starring Kevin Costner, Morgan Freeman and Alan Rickman.

A man has been arrested over the felling of the famous tree (PA) (PA Wire)

When was it cut down?

Reports first emerged that the tree had been felled overnight on 27 September, with Northumberland police vowing to bring those responsible to justice.

The National Trust, which manages the land where the tree stood, said it was shocked and saddened to learn of the news.

It subsequently closed the site where the tree was located.

Who did it?

Police arrested a man aged in his 60s on Friday on suspicion of criminal damage but he has since been released, pending further inquiries.

A relative posted a picture of the retired lumberjack at home with his grandson as they denied his involvement in the felling.

A boy, 16, who was also arrested on suspicion of criminal damage on Thursday, was later released on bail.

On Sunday reports said officers seized a chainsaw near the site where the tree was cut down.

A chainsaw is seized in hunt for culprit (North News & Pictures Ltd)

Can the tree be regrown or will it have to be replaced?

Andrew Poad of the National Trust pointed to the health of the three as one reason to believe it could be regrown.

Its a very healthy tree, we can see that now because of the condition of the stump, he told BBC.

It may well regrow a coppice from the stump. And if we could nurture that, then that might be one of the best outcomes, and then we keep the tree.

But any effort to regrow the tree is likely to take hundreds of years, according to Mark Feather, UK estate manager for conservation charity, the Woodland Trust.

He told of his upset and warned that while it took minutes to cut the tree down it could take literally centuries to grow back.

He added that even though there is a chance of regrowth, this is not guaranteed, especially because of the great age and size of the tree. Hopefully it will, he said. But this is not a given certainty. Time will tell.

Then, if the Sycamore Gap tree does succeed in resprouting, he said it is unlikely it would return to its former statuesque shape, and would instead probably become a bushy tree with multiple stems at the base.

Tree lovers pay tribute

A woman who wrote a poem was among those to have paid tribute to the tree, describing it as a sentinel of time.

Laura Charlton, says she wrote the poem, an Ode to a Sycamore Tree, to try to capture the recklessness of the actions and the sense of bereavement the locals are feeling.

The birds sing their morning song/Wind dances through the leaves/Almost just as it once was/Yet Northumberland is bereaved, it read.

Residents across the UK - not just in Northumberland - have been expressing their anger at the felling of the three.

Stephen Gallen, from Castlederg in Co Tyrone, Northern Ireland, said it was horrifying that someone could destroy something as beautiful as the tree on Hadrians wall.

He also shared a picture of a stunning sycamore tree in his hometown (below).

(Stephen Gallen)

Fundraisers set up

Fundraising efforts are set up by well-wishers who want to see the area where the tree stood rejuvenated.

Some locals had complained that the area around Hadrians Wall had been overfarmed, with sheep often roaming the fields where it stands.

One fundraiser, which planned to give funds to the National Trust, had raised nearly 5,000 as of Monday afternoon.
South Korean Gaming Giant Netmarble Affiliate to List Coin on Japanese Exchange

Source: Rafael Henrique/Adobe

The South Korean video games giant Netmarble has made a blockchain gaming breakthrough with its subsidiarys coin set to be listed on the Japanese crypto exchange Zaif.

Per Yonhap, the coin, MarbleXs MBX, will be listed on the platform on October 11.

MarbleX is Netmarbles blockchain gaming arm.

The coin will become the first token issued by a South Korean gaming firm to be listed in Japan to have been.

South Korean firms have been trying to forge ahead with crypto and blockchain game development, but have thus been hampered by domestic regulators.

Making breakthroughs in the Japanese market has also proved problematic in the past.

Japanese exchanges have traditionally operated a strict listings protocol.

Here, exchange representatives and self-regulating bodies assess projects carefully before adding them to a shared whitelist.

The Financial Services Agency, Japans top financial regulator, has the final say on the whitelist.

But in recent months, encouraged by Prime Minister Fumio Kishidas pro-Web3 stance, crypto exchange regulators have begun relaxing previously strict token listing policies.

In July, MarbleX scored a historic first, with its MBX token becoming the first South Korean blockchain game project to be placed on the Japanese whitelist.

MBX prices over the past month. (Source: CoinMarketCap)

It has taken almost four months, however, for an exchange to take the plunge and list the coin.

Zaif announced that as part of a pre-listing event, it would offer MBX buyers 10% off pre-listing coin orders placed between October 6 and October 10.

A promotional image released by Netmarble ahead of the Zaif listing.

The exchange explained that the minimum order quantity for MBX buyers would be set at around $67, with a maximum order cap of around $3,358.

Zaif Listing: Breakthrough for South Korean Blockchain Gaming?

The listing news comes hot on the heels of a South Korean report that claimed Japan is set to become a crypto El Dorado.

Trading volumes on the Zaif crypto exchange. (Source: CoinGecko)

While South Korean authorities are talking of beefing up regulations, Japan is actively seeking to deregulate its crypto sector.

The long-standing South Korean ban on initial coin offerings (ICOs) remains in place, despite government promises of a review  and calls to end the ban from the nations central bank.

This has left South Korean gaming firms in limbo, with many hoping to make headway in the domestic market.

But bans on play-to-earn gaming titles also remain in place, a factor that has led many to look to overseas markets.

Gaming regulators have also created tough anti-NFT regulations that have left many game developers unable to access their own domestic markets.
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American XL bully dogs are back in the headlines.

The breed will be banned by the end of the year following a series of attacks, Rishi Sunak has said.

The Prime Minister made the promise after it emerged a man has died after being attacked by two dogs  suspected to be bully XLs  in Staffordshire and following a video of another incident that went viral when an 11-year-old girl suffered serious injuries in Birmingham.

Mr Sunak said: I share the nations horror at the recent videos weve all seen. Yesterday we saw another suspected XL bully dog attack, which has tragically led to a fatality.

It is clear this is not about a handful of badly trained dogs, its a pattern of behaviour and it cannot go on.

But what is an XL bully and how likely is a ban?

American XL bullys are dogs are close to the pitbull terrier and have been crossbred with other breeds such as English bulldogs, Olde English Bulldogge and American bulldogs.

XLs got recognition as a breed from the US United Kennel Club in 2013 but they are not recognised by the main dog associations in the UK.

XL refers to their size and there are four categories: pocket, standard, classic and XL, which tend to be around 33-50cm in heigh and weigh in at 20-60kg.

Two of four fatal in the UK in 2021 involved an XL bully, with the number increasing to at least six out of ten in 2022. According to Bully Watch, a group set up by a group of dog owners to monitor the breed, XLs were responsible for 45 per cent of dog attacks on human and other dogs this year.

Because the breed is not recognised by the Kennel Club it could be hard to define and a ban could inadvertently outlaw a range of other dogs, some fear.

Home secretary calls for ban on XL bully dogs (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

It is against the law to own, breed or sell dogs on the list drawn up by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra).

But it is also against the law to have a dog that is dangerously out of control, which can be punished by prison sentences and unlimited fines.

Emma Whitfield, the mother of 10-year-old Jack Lis  who died after being mauled by an American bully in Caerphilly, South Wales, has been calling for a change in the law.

Sir John Hayes , a close ally of Ms Braverman, has been pushing in the House of Commons for a ban on the dog he has claimed is bred to kill.

However, animal charities including the RSPCA have been pushing for an end to breed-specific bans which they say work against dogs perceived to be dangerous and lead to thousands of innocent animals being put down.

Instead they want to focus on individual actions and dangerous owners.

A Dogs Trust spokesman said: Dogs Trust wants to see the current dog control laws replaced with one consolidated law that allows for early intervention with a focus on the prevention of dog bite incidents and includes measures that deter and punish owners of dogs whose behaviour is dangerous.

We will continue to look for reform in existing dog control laws until we are satisfied that any new measures are preventative, breed-neutral and effective, and ultimately protect both dogs and people alike.

There are currently four banned breeds of dog in the UK: the pit bull terrier, Japanese tosa, dogo Argentino and fila Brasileiro.

Last month a 28-year-old woman and mother was hospitalised after being attacked by one of the dogs while pushing her pram in Doncaster.

She was taken to hospital for treatment for serious injuries to her arms.

Earlier this year, a six-year-old boy was hospitalised with potentially life-changing injuries after he was attacked by an American Staffordshire terrier in Highfields, also in Doncaster.

In March last year, a newborn baby was mauled to death by her parents Siberian Husky during an attack in woodland at Ostlers Plantation near Woodhall Spa, Lincolnshire.

Her parents Vince King and Karen Alcock were spared jail, as a judge at Lincoln Crown Court handed the pair suspended sentences.

Jack Lis, a 10-year-old boy, died from unsurvivable injuries after being attacked by an XL bully named Beast at a house in Caerphilly, Wales, in 2021.
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Labour cannot commit to building HS2s northern leg if it wins the next election after the Government took a wrecking ball to the project, Sir Keir Starmer has said.

The Opposition leader warned he was unable to promise to reverse Prime Minister Rishi Sunaks announcement, but said he was in talks with leaders across the North of England to provide better connectivity.

Sir Keir said Labour would also continue with transport projects already announced by the Government, such as improvements to the A1.

Theyve just taken a wrecking ball to this project Sir Keir Starmer

Mr Sunak opted to scrap HS2 from the West Midlands to Manchester saying the facts have changed and the cost of the high-speed rail scheme had more than doubled.

The Prime Minister instead promised to use 36 billion of savings from scrapping sections of HS2 to fund a raft of other transport schemes.

Sir Keir, in a series of interviews with regional broadcasters ahead of what could be Labours final annual conference before a general election, tried to paint himself as a problem-solver who could fix the current mess.

Speaking to ITV News Calendar, he said: Theyve just taken a wrecking ball to this project.

They will be cancelling contracts between now and the general election. They will be releasing land that is needed. They downsized. I cant stand (here) after theyve made such a big hole in their plans and say (I) will simply reverse it.

Sir Keir said yes, well get on with it when discussing the future of Northern Powerhouse Rail.

In a series of interviews with BBC regional political editors, Sir Keir said he had wanted HS2 built in full but he could no longer commit to that.

He said of the Governments handling of HS2: Well, what a fiasco.

Theyve had this project up and running for 13 years. Its costing billions of pounds, huge promises have been made. And now because of their mismanagement, its collapsed in on itself.

Now, I wanted HS2 built in full. But after the damage theyve now done to the project, a massive hole that theyve blown it, I cant commit to that.

What I will commit to is that we will have very good transport between our cities and within our cities so we can grow our economy. The single most important thing in this country is we get our economy working across the whole of the country.

Mr Sunak confirmed HS2 will run from London to Birmingham but will no longer extend beyond the West Midlands, with Manchester among the areas missing out.

However, the PA news agency understands that if not enough private investment is secured for a new Euston terminus, HS2 will stop at Old Oak Common in the capitals western suburbs.

Asked by ITV News Tyne Tees if he would dual the A1 between Morpeth and Ellingham, Sir Keir said: Yes, whatever the Government announced yesterday, including dualling the A1, if they get on with those projects, we will inherit them, if were privileged enough to come into power, and we will of course see them through to fruition.

The Opposition leader was quizzed on transport more broadly after Wales last month became the first country in the UK to drop the default speed limit from 30mph to 20mph for restricted roads.

Asked if he would copy the approach in Wales, Sir Keir told ITV News Wales: Its obviously a question for local councils in England to decide what they want to put in place and theyre obviously elected into place.

Elsewhere in his media round, the Labour leader attacked Mr Sunaks ability to deliver change, describing him as the nodding dog that signed off the decisions that he now says are terrible.

Cabinet minister James Cleverly criticised the Labour leaders position, accusing him of failing to be decisive.

In a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, he wrote: Starmer decisively decides to not make a decision on HS2. His principled position on this issue is to not take a position on this issue. He confounds both his detractors and defenders by agreeing with both. He knows leadership when he sees it. He never sees it in the mirror.
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The Conservatives are seeking to stoke the culture wars for political gain, Humza Yousaf has said.

The First Minister hit out at comments Prime Minister Rishi Sunak made on Wednesday in his speech to the Conservative conference.

Mr Sunak used his address to weigh in on debates about sex education and transgender rights.

He told Tory delegates: We shouldnt get bullied into believing that people can be any sex they want to be. They cant, a man is a man and a woman is a woman.

Mr Yousaf was asked about Mr Sunaks comments as he spoke to journalists after First Ministers Questions at Holyrood on Thursday.

He said: I think from a Prime Minister, or frankly anybody thats in a leadership position, weve got a real responsibility to try to make sure that we temper the debate, that we dont add fuel to the fires of what is already a very difficult debate.

The Conservatives have made it very clear that theyre going to stoke the culture wars in order for some perceived political advantage.

The Prime Ministers speech has so little in substance and so much in rhetoric.

Mr Yousaf also said he doubts funding promised by the PM for the A75 road upgrade would materialise.

The First Minister added: Were looking forward to a general election, the sooner it comes the better because well go toe-to-toe with them in the battle of ideas.

Earlier, Scottish Conservative leader Douglas Ross praised Mr Sunaks rhetoric in the conference address, pointing to the benefits Scotland will receive from the scrapping of the HS2 rail link north of Birmingham and subsequent spending on upgrades to the A75.

Writing in the Scottish Daily Mail on Thursday, Mr Ross said: Rishi Sunaks speech to conference showed bold ambition, a willingness to be radical and to take on vested interests.

Its clear that he relishes the prospect of the next election, believes that the Conservatives have a strong programme to offer, and is not afraid to make decisive long-term choices that will create a better future.

He drew comparisons between Mr Sunak and Mr Yousaf, who he claimed is still peddling the continuity policies that have failed Scotland since the SNP took power and pushing independence.

The Scottish Tories, Mr Ross added, is the only party providing robust opposition to the SNP.

In recent months, the Tories have been lagging behind Labour in the polls in Scotland ahead of the general election expected next year.

On the scrapping of the high speed rail line north of the Midlands, Mr Ross acknowledged that was a difficult decision, but the Prime Minister has ensured that every penny of that spending commitment will still be going to projects that will make a significant difference to connectivity and opportunities for enterprise.

Mr Ross added: Thanks to Scotlands position as an integral part of the UK, we will benefit from this with funding and improved connectivity.

Other than the pledge to upgrade the A75  which links the ferry port at Cairnryan to the north of England  the Scottish Government is unlikely to see further funding increases related to Mr Sunaks infrastructure announcements, given the Prime Minister said he would spend the money already allocated to HS2 extension on transport improvements.

Through the Barnett formula, spending increases in England that are under devolved competence elsewhere in the UK trigger an increase in funding  known as a Barnett consequential  to Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, meaning the HS2 funding would come to the devolved administrations regardless of how it was spent.
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An eighth man has been charged by gardai investigating the discovery of more than 2,000kg of cocaine on a bulk cargo ship off the south Irish coast last week.

A total of seven men have so far appeared before several district courts charged in relation to what Irish authorities have called Irelands largest ever drugs haul.

Cocaine with an estimated value of 160 million euro (139 million) was found on the Panamanian registered vessel MV Matthew in a major operation involving the Irish army and Gardai (Irish police).

Gardai said on Wednesday evening they had arrested and charged another man in relation to their investigation.

The man is due to appear before Midleton District Court in Co Cork on Thursday morning at 10.30am.

On Tuesday, four men appeared before Mallow District Court charged with possessing drugs on September 24 for the purpose of supplying them within the Irish State.

Cumali Ozgen, a 48-year-old with an address in the Netherlands; Saeid Hassani, a 37-year-old Iranian national; Mykhalio Gavryk, a 30-year-old Ukrainian national; and Vitaliy Vlasoi, a 31-year-old Ukrainian national, all face the same charge.

Armed Gardai were stationed outside the courthouse ahead of the accused mens appearances.

On Monday, Soheil Jelveh, a 50-year-old Iranian national of no fixed abode who has been referred to as a ship captain, appeared before Wexford District Court charged with various offences in relation to the seizure.

A total of 2,253kg of cocaine was found on the MV Matthew after members of the Irish Army Ranger Wing captured the vessel off the coast by abseiling from a helicopter.

Police believe the cocaine, seized after the dramatic military operation at sea, was destined for distribution beyond Ireland, potentially into the UK and continental Europe.

A fishing trawler that grounded off the coast of Co Wexford days before the seizure was also being monitored as part of the operation, amid suspicions it was en route to rendezvous with the cargo ship.

Two men who had been winched from that vessel also appeared before Wexford District Court on Monday.

Jamie Harbron, 31, of South Avenue, Billingham, Stockton-on-Tees in the UK, and 60-year-old Ukrainian national Vitaliy Lapa, of no fixed abode, were charged with conspiracy to import drugs.
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Irish premier Leo Varadkar has spoken of his concerns that the UK is disengaging from the world.

The Taoiseach commented on language coming from the Conservative Party conference this week about leaving the European Convention on Human Rights, describing it as not the Britain I know.

Mr Varadkar was speaking in Spain ahead of a meeting with Prime Minister Rishi Sunak where they were attending a European Political Community meeting.

The Britain, the United Kingdom that I love and admire is the country of the Magna Carta, the country that founded a parliamentary democracy and the country that helped to write the European Convention on Human Rights Taoiseach Leo Varadkar

He said he would be seeking an update on discussions between the UK Government and the DUP about efforts to restore the powersharing institutions at Stormont.

Asked if he was concerned about language coming from the Tory conference this week, Mr Varadkar said: I am, to be honest.

The Britain, the United Kingdom that I love and admire is the country of the Magna Carta, the country that founded a parliamentary democracy and the country that helped to write the European Convention on Human Rights.

And it does bother me to see the United Kingdom disengaging from the world, whether its reducing its budget for international aid, whether its leaving the European Union, and now even talking about withdrawing from the European Convention on Human Rights, thats not the Britain I know.

Mr Varadkar said he would also be discussing the UKs new act to deal with the legacy of the Northern Ireland Troubles with Mr Sunak.

The Northern Ireland Troubles (Legacy and Reconciliation) Act received royal assent last month despite widespread opposition from political parties, victims organisations in Northern Ireland and the Irish government.

Aspects of the laws include a limited form of immunity from prosecution for Troubles-related offences to those who co-operate with the new Independent Commission for Reconciliation and Information Recovery. It will also halt future civil cases and inquests.

Ireland is seeking legal advice about taking an inter-state legal case to the European Court of Human Rights.

We believe (the UK legacy legislation) is potentially a contravention of the European Convention on Human Rights and certainly I will be saying that to the Prime Minister Taoiseach Leo Varadkar

Mr Varadkar said: We will certainly discuss the issue of the UK legacy legislation.

Thats something the Irish government is very opposed to, so are the victims groups, so are the five main parties in Northern Ireland.

We believe it is potentially a contravention of the European Convention on Human Rights and certainly I will be saying that to the Prime Minister.

Mr Varadkar also said the issue of restoring the Stormont institutions, which are not operating due to a DUP protest over post-Brexit trading arrangements, was very important to both governments.
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Rishi Sunaks wife, Akshata Murthy, was the prime ministers surprise warm-up act at the Conservative Party conference on Wednesday, delivering a personal speech dedicated to his ambition, drive - and love for Netflix shows.

The heiress, fashion designer and venture capitalist revealed that the PM loves a good rom-com - the cheesier the better, and joked that Brits would be relieved to hear the Netflix show Emily in Paris was not informing his outlook on the EU.

Her address began by sharing that that the PM had no idea what she was going to say and in a gushing tribute, she described the Tory leader as her best friend.

Yes, you are absolutely right, I am not on the agenda for today. A bit of a surprise addition shall we say and a surprise for my husband too, who has no idea what I am going to say, she told the crowd in Manchester.

As youd expect, theres been a lot about Rishi in the media. About who he is, what he likes, what he doesnt like, what motivates him and so forth. Now some of it is accurate, Im afraid he does love a good rom-com - the cheesier the better even.

And some of it is not so true, so youll be relieved to hear that episodes of Emily in Paris are not informing his outlook on the EU.

She went on to say that his smart suits and his love for hoodies were not what drew her to him when they met at 24 years old. She added that she was instead struck by his deep love for his home, the UK, when the pair first met at Stanford University in the US.

She added that while not the easy route, being with the PM was the easiest decision of her life.

Akshata Murthy gave a surprise adress at the Tory party confernce (Peter Byrne/PA Wire)

After telling the audience that her speech was also a surprise to their daughters Anoushka and Krishna, she added: The reason why I am here is really quite simple, and it is because Rishi and I are each others best friends.

We are one team and I could not imagine being anywhere else but here today with all of you to show my support to him and to the party.

Ms Murthy had to bow to pressure and announced that she would pay UK taxes on her overseas income after The Independent revealed her non-domicile status.

She closed her speech by telling the conference she often reminds her husband of the importance of fighting for his values and Conservative values when the going gets tough.

She concluded: Rishi, you know this, you know that doing the right thing for the long term, even when it is hard, is the right thing to do.
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Jeremy Hunt hit back at criticism from Rachel Reeves over his past support for HS2 being built in full.

The chancellor said in 2020 that going ahead with the high speed rail line was a great decision, adding: No HS2 = no ambition for our country just when the whole world is looking at us. Now is a time to be ambitious.

After Rishi Sunak ripped up plans to build the railway from Birmingham to Manchester, shadow chancellor Ms Reeves re-posted the claim, and said: Hows it going, Jeremy?

And, as the row between the government and Labour over HS2 grew, Mr Hunt responded with a clip of Keir Starmer opposing HS2 in 2015.

Before he became Labour leader, Sir Keir said: I oppose HS2 on cost and merit, it will not achieve its stated objectives.

The only sensible plan is to abandon the project altogether, Sir Keir added.

Mr Hunt shared the video with Ms Reeves, along with the caption: How is Keir?

The row came a day after Mr Sunak confirmed his decision to scrap the northern leg of HS2, spending the money saved on investments in local transport links.

In his conference speech on Wednesday, the PM finally announced he was cancelling the development of the high speed rail link north of Birmingham  as first revealed by The Independent.

But he was quickly condemned by former prime minister David Cameron, who denounced the decision to axe the high-speed line beyond Birmingham as the wrong one, saying that a once-in-a-generation opportunity had been lost. Boris Johnson piled in, adding: I agree.

Labours shadow transport secretary Louise Haigh said the Tories flagship levelling up project failing to reach the north was emblematic of 13 years of dismal failure.

What started as a modern infrastructure plan left by the last Labour government has, after 13 years of incompetence, waste, and broken promises become a colossal symbol of Conservative failure, she added.

But Labour has refused to commit to building HS2 in full if it gets into power after the next election.
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Rishi Sunak has appeared to shift closer to the right wing of his party with an attack on virtue signalling.

In a speech that largely avoided culture war subjects, the Prime Minister used his address to the Conservative Party conference to criticise a lack of common sense in the public sector.

He told party members: Your values and your priorities should be expressed in everything the public sector does.

Too often, it is not. In too many parts of our permanent state, virtue signalling has replaced common sense.

We shouldnt get bullied into believing that people can be any sex they want to be Rishi Sunak

Mr Sunak also used his speech to weigh in on debates about sex education and transgender rights.

He said: It shouldnt be controversial for parents to know what their children are being taught in school about relationships, patients should know when hospitals are talking about men or women.

And we shouldnt get bullied into believing that people can be any sex they want to be. They cant, a man is a man and a woman is a woman. Thats just common sense.

His comments follow a conference in which multiple Cabinet members have used their own speeches to mention transgender issues, with Health Secretary Steve Barclay announcing a ban on trans women from female NHS wards and Home Secretary Suella Braverman saying she would forbid sex offenders from changing gender.

The subject has been an increasingly important one for activists on the right of the Conservative Party, with two stands at the conference centre in Manchester focused on the issue.

It has been an issue for the New Conservatives faction led by backbenchers Miriam Cates and Danny Kruger, which has also expressed concern about sex education and claimed parents are prevented from knowing what their children are being taught.

But the party membership is not united on transgender issues.

Ms Bravermans speech a day before the Prime Ministers, in which she attacked gender ideology and a privileged woke minority, prompted heckling that saw Conservative London Assembly member Andrew Boff removed from the conference centre.

Mr Boff told the PA news agency after his removal: This Home Secretary was basically vilifying gay people and trans people by this attack on LGBT ideology, or gender ideology. It is fictitious, it is ridiculous.

It is a signal to people who dont like people who are LGBT+ people.

If the Prime Minister echoed Ms Bravermans language on virtue signalling and transgender people, Mr Sunak appeared to distance himself from the Home Secretary on the subject of multiculturalism.

In his speech on Wednesday, the Prime Minister celebrated the UKs multiculturalism and described the country as the most successful multi-ethnic democracy on Earth.

He added: I am proud to be the first British-Asian Prime Minister, but you know what? I am even prouder that it is just not a big deal.

In a speech in the US last week, Ms Braverman had attacked the misguided dogma of multiculturalism, saying it had failed, comments that the Prime Minister declined to endorse.
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Rishi Sunak has announced his plan to scrap A-levels and replace it with a new qualification called the Advanced British Standard (ABS) aimed at creating the best education system in the western world.

The prime minister told the Conservative party conference in Manchester he would merge A levels and technical T-levels into the brand new ABS to create parity of esteem between academic and technical subjects.

But Mr Sunaks plan was immediately dismissed as pie in the sky by teaching unions  after Downing Street admitted that it may take 10 years to introduce.

The PM was accused of being out of touch with more pressing problems, from crumbling buildings to a staff shortages. The PM tried to head off the criticism about teachers numbers, after he insisted that he wanted pupils to do more subjects and more hours.

Teachers in key subjects will receive special bonuses of up to 30,000, tax free, over the first five years of their careers to attract and retain more people. Our teachers do one of the most valuable jobs ... and we should reward them for that, Mr Sunak said.

Sixth formers will now be required to study five subjects rather than three under the new ABS qualification, said the PM  explaining that he wanted students to spend at least 195 hours more with a teacher.

A-level students generally only do three subjects compared to the seven studied by our economic competitors, he said. Our 16 to 19-year-olds spend around a third less time in the classroom than some of our competitors.

The Advanced British Standard will change that too, with students typically studying five subjects and thanks to the extra teaching time we are introducing, the great breadth wont come at the expense of depth which is such a strength of our system.

Rishi Sunak and his wife at Tory conference Akshata Murthy (Reuters)

But criticism for Mr Sunaks changes was swift. Schools expert Sam Freedman  a former top adviser to Michael Gove at the Department for Education  said Mr Sunak was unwise to meddle.

The Advanced British Standard is David Milibands Diploma reborn. The one that Michael Gove killed off because it didnt work, he tweeted.

No 10 emphasised that it was a long-term reform project, and could take at least 10 years to bring in. It menas pupils starting primary school this year could be the first to take the new ABS.

Paul Whiteman, general secretary of school leaders union NAHT, said it showed the government was out of touch with immediate problems in the system  from recruitment and retention to crumbling school buildings.

The government should be focusing on fixing those, not announcing yet another round of seismic changes to exams and qualifications, said the union chief.

Daniel Kebede, general secretary of the National Education Union (NEU), added: Rishi Sunak is doubling down on pie-in-the-sky education policies. He is completely out of touch with reality. There is no magic wand to create English and maths teachers in sufficient numbers to educate 11-16 year olds  let alone at A-Level too.

The government will launch a consultation this autumn before publishing a white paper on how it will come into force.

The announcement came as Mr Sunak also vowed to stop universities from enrolling students on courses that do nothing for their life chances  the latest Tory attack on so-called Mickey Mouse degrees  as he talked up Tory efforts to increase apprenticeships.

The PM told party members that Labour had pursued the false dream of 50 per cent of children going to university. This assumption that the only route to success was the university route was one of the great mistakes of the last 30 years.

He added: It led to thousands of young people being ripped off by degrees that did nothing to increase their employability or earnings potential. So we are stopping universities from enrolling students on courses that do nothing for their life chances  under us no more rip-off degrees.
One of the more eye-catching initiatives to emerge from prime minister Rishi Sunaks speech to the Conservative Party conference was the proposal to gradually raise the minimum age for purchasing cigarettes and other tobacco products by one year each year (the current threshold is 18 years of age). Thus, any child now 14 or under will never be able to legally purchase tobacco. Its a policy that was recently introduced in New Zealand. The idea has been given a mostly warm welcome, but some wonder where such an approach might lead.

Why has the prime minister done this?
Whether it be Bugs & Slugs or Animal Detectives, local families using Bosler Memorial Library in Carlisle can now shoulder a new learning opportunity.

Nature Explorer Backpacks now can be checked out by library patrons.

There are six backpacks, each tailored to a different aspect of nature, such as pond ecology, rocks and minerals, nocturnal animals and plant growth.

We wanted it to be an outdoor activity that families can do together, said Denine Nealon, youth services coordinator. Whatever materials you need are included in the backpack.

In Animal Detectives, for example, items help children, age preschool and up, identify what animals made whatever tracks they come across while on a nature hike. The Pond Pals backpack includes test tubes for collecting samples and a reference sheet the child can use to conduct a field analysis.

By the end of this year, up to 35 nature-themed backpacks could be distributed among all the locations of the Cumberland County Library System, Executive Director Carolyn Blatchley said. The expanded program is modeled after what Bosler launched earlier this year.

I asked each library what their capacity was for storing backpacks, Blatchley said. Some libraries will have as many as six or seven backpacks. Some may have two or three. We would have the ability to rotate them around the county and reassign the backpacks to different locations.

The idea came from a 2021 Pennsylvania Library Association virtual conference attended by Nealon and other Bosler staff members.

One of the sessions was on the Allegheny County libraries and their nature explorer backpacks, Nealon said. How they came up with the idea. Who they worked with. What went into the backpacks.

Bosler staff developed their backpack program as an outgrowth to the Library of Things, a special collection that includes yard games, technology and sensory items that patrons can check out for two weeks at a time.

We decided that was the perfect time to try out the backpacks, Nealon said.

Working with her staff of youth services specialists, they came up with a program where each backpack had some common core items supplemented by other components tailored to that theme.

Common items include clipboards, sketchpads, pencil pouches, binders and a pamphlet detailing Cumberland County trails and parks. Many of the backpacks also have a flashlight, magnifying glass and dry erase marker.

There are two books in each backpack, one geared toward children, the other toward the parent or guardian accompanying them on an outdoor excursion, Nealon said. There is also an Extend the Fun list for more activities beyond the backpack including other books in the collection that relate to the theme.

Often, the books take the form of field guides and National Geographic publications.

Bosler staff members are working with youth services personnel from around the county to launch the expanded program. This includes collecting or purchasing a stockpile of items to keep the backpacks supplied and up-to-date.

Were getting all the parts together, Blatchley said. They are not assembled at this point, but when they are, the backpacks will be available at every one of our libraries.

Preparation includes online research to find and order science and nature kits that offer children hands-on learning activities.

Lessons learned by Bosler staff members are helping the broader effort.
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The Labour Party has unveiled new plans to clamp down on sexual harassment in the workplace as new figures show almost five million women experience such behaviour at work each year.

New proposals unveiled by Labours deputy leader Angela Rayner would legally force employers to stop sexual harassment before it starts by implementing measures to prevent sexual harassment from taking place.

Ms Rayner, shadow levelling up secretary, told The Independent sexual harassment was rife as she warned such behaviour is destroying careers and ruining womens lives.

Speaking before Labour Womens Conference on Saturday, Ms Rayner said that the cases which have recently grabbed headlines are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the experiences of millions of women in workplaces the length and breadth of Britain.

The latest data from the government equalities office reveals that three in 10 women currently in work suffered some form of sexual harassment at work or in a work-related environment in the last year.

Labours analysis of the data estimates some 4.7 million women per year are forced to endure sexual harassment at work  with 17 per cent of those who are harassed choosing to move to another job after enduring sexual harassment each year and 41 per cent of perpetrators experiencing no sanction.

The new duty will be bolstered by a statutory code of practice on sexual harassment and harassment more broadly, which establishes what actions employers must take to meet the obligation. Labour said this could comprise effective and well-publicised policies and procedures on dealing with sexual harassment at work, providing training and assessing foreseeable risks.

Ms Rayner argued that everyone should be able to go to work safe from sexual harassment, knowing their employer has taken steps to create a safe working environment.

She added: Good employers are already creating workplace cultures that do not tolerate sexual harassment and take steps to prevent it on their watch. Labour will ensure that happens across the board.

Labour explained their new proposals would mean employers would be responsible if they are informed of an incident involving sexual harassment, yet do not take measures to tackle it or it emerges they did not take preliminary measures to prevent the incident in the first place.

When asked about Labours plans by The Independent, the government insisted it was backing a new piece of legislation that would introduce identical measures to tackle sexual harassment.

It was reported earlier this year that ministers would allow the worker protection bill  a private members bill introduced by Lib Dem MP Wera Hobhouse and supported by Labour  to fall after a slew of amendments were tabled by Tory peers.

The legislation is due to return to the House of Commons on 20 October to be considered and voted on.

Malina Dabrowska, a designer, told The Independent a man sexually harassed her on a quiet bridge late at night after work drinks in central London when she was working in architecture in her twenties.

The 33-year-old said: I was on my way home and someone started talking to me. I didnt realise it was my colleague. The next thing I knew, he was all over me, trying to kiss me. He just appeared out of nowhere.

He kissed me on my lips. He forced his face on mine. He tried grabbing me. I pushed him away. I thought woah what is happening. I turned away to get to the road and I hailed a cab.

I was in an unsafe place under a bridge in Charing Cross. It was dark  no one was there. I was so shocked. I couldnt compute, we hardly talked that evening. It was so out of the blue.

She explained that she made a complaint about her colleague a few months later and was told she should report it to an external human resources person or go to the police.

Ms Dabrowska added: For all those months, I had to work with the person in that office. It was small enough for me to be in the same space with him every day. I just completely avoided him.

Nothing happened to him. He was called in for a telling-off. A few months later he left the workplace. It felt like there were no procedures or safeguarding in place for that type of experience.

Ms Hobhouse, MP for Bath, warned sexual harassment at work leaves victims traumatised and often without support  saying her private members bill marks a big step forward.

It was a challenge to gain consent from some peers but I am glad that a compromise has been reached, she added.

Ann Francke, chief executive of the Chartered Management Institute, told The Independent employers must do a better job of preventing and dealing with sexual harassment as she argued this would stamp out toxic cultures.

Ms Francke added: We have seen a number of incidents recently where harassment has not been dealt with swiftly and decisively by employers, not only does that damage their reputation but it is something that should not be tolerated in todays workplace.

She warned sexual harassment is a prevalent issue and noted while many employers say they have policies and procedures to handle such misconduct, they do not proactively implement those policies and they dont act swiftly if harassment occurs.

Ms Francke added: Tackling sexual harassment is absolutely in the interests of employers and employees because it makes for less toxic, more productive workplaces.

A lot of people see this as not in the interests of employers, but it is in the interests of employers and employees. Not to mention the reputational damage for the employer when these incidents of harassment come to light.

A spokesperson for the government warned that sexual harassment is wrong and employers should ensure they tackle it in the workplace, adding: The government-backed worker protection bill, which is progressing through parliament, will further strengthen protections against harassment at work.
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The UK is reportedly set to sign a deal with the EUs border agency to get access to the blocs intelligence on migration.

The Daily Telegraph newspaper reported officials in London and Brussels have concluded the substance of the agreement, which sources said is in the final stages and could be announced this week.

It would allow domestic agencies to monitor the entirety of the EUs external borders rather than just shared frontiers, according to the paper.

No 10 and the Home Office have been contacted for comment.

We cannot allow criminal gangs to decide who comes to Europe's shores Rishi Sunak, Prime Minister

It comes as Rishi Sunak meets European leaders at a summit in Granada, where Downing Street said he will announce bilateral initiatives with Belgium, Bulgaria and Serbia to increase intelligence-sharing and operational co-operation.

Under the plan, the UK would work with Belgium to try to disrupt organised immigration crime and clandestine entry to Britain and seek to co-operate further with Serbia on prosecuting and disrupting criminal networks.

The Telegraph reported that the Frontex deal would build on these bilateral pacts by deepening the Border Forces understanding of smuggler routes through Turkey and the western Balkans.

Glyn Williams, former director general for migration and borders at the Home Office, told BBC Radio 4s World At One: The thing about the small boats problem is that I dont think theres any sort of magic bullet solution, single solution thats going to solve it.

So I dont think any single measure like this Frontex agreement will be in and of itself game-changing.

But if you can have an incremental approach of lots of agreements, and especially if you can start to generate political goodwill and dialogue with Europe so that Europe is playing as a team in this struggle, I think thats going to be for the good.

Support for Ukraine will also be discussed at the summit, including work among European allies to provide weapons to Kyiv and the need for Black Sea grain shipments.

Mr Sunak is expected to confirm allocations of UK humanitarian aid to help the war-torn country over the winter.

I don't think any single measure like this Frontex agreement will be in and of itself game changing Glyn Williams, ex Home Office official

The talks come as the UK claimed Russia may use sea mines to target civilian shipping in the Black Sea.

The UK Government said it was releasing its assessment of declassified information in a bid to deter any such incident occurring.

Levels of illegal migration to mainland Europe are the highest they have been in nearly a decade. With thousands of people dying at sea, propelled by people smugglers, the situation is both immoral and unsustainable, Mr Sunak said ahead of the summit.

We cannot allow criminal gangs to decide who comes to Europes shores.

When it comes to facing down the threat from (Russian president Vladimir) Putin, confronting the risks and opportunities of AI or dealing with illegal migration, there is strength in unity.

The Prime Minister met German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Thursday, though migration was not mentioned in a readout of their discussions.

The leaders welcomed the strong partnership between the UK and Germany on issues of shared critical importance to both our countries, from economic growth to energy security and strong defence forces, a Downing Street spokesperson said.

The Prime Minister noted Germanys significant military and humanitarian support to Ukraine, and set out the UKs plans to support Ukraines successful counter-offensive and long-term security and recovery. They welcomed the strong pan-European unity at the EPC on rejecting Russian aggression.

Home Office figures show more than 25,000 people have been detected crossing the English Channel in small boats so far this year.

There were 45,774 arrivals in 2022.

The total number of small boat arrivals so far this year is about 23% below the equivalent number at this point last year.

Just over 33,000 people had made the crossing by October 2 2022, compared with 25,330 detected so far in 2023.

Mr Sunak has made stopping the crossings one of his key pledges for this year and last month he held talks with Italys hard-right leader Giorgia Meloni, whom he will meet again at Thursdays summit.

The pair have become firm allies, having united over their stance of cutting irregular immigration into their countries.

The Prime Minister will co-chair a meeting with his Italian counterpart in Spain, focused on illegal migration and organised crime, Downing Street said.

The UK Parliament passed the Illegal Migration Act earlier this year following a lengthy tussle between the House of Commons and House of Lords.

The legislation aims to prevent people from claiming asylum in the UK if they arrive through unauthorised means.

The Government also hopes the changes will ensure detained people are promptly removed, either to their home country or a third country such as Rwanda.

The Governments legal battle over its Rwanda deportation policy is set to be heard at the Supreme Court in October.
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The UK is making progress in its bid to secure a deal with the EUs border agency to get access to the blocs intelligence on migration, according to Rishi Sunak.

The Prime Minister said talks are ongoing after it was reported officials in London and Brussels have concluded the substance of the agreement on Frontex.

It would allow domestic agencies to monitor the entirety of the EUs external borders rather than just shared frontiers, according to the Daily Telegraph.

The apparent development came as Mr Sunak met European leaders at a summit in Granada, Spain, where he announced bilateral initiatives with Belgium, Bulgaria and Serbia to increase intelligence-sharing and operational co-operation.

Under the plan, the UK would work with Belgium to try to disrupt organised immigration crime and clandestine entry to Britain and seek to co-operate further with Serbia on prosecuting and disrupting criminal networks.

The Telegraph reported that the Frontex deal would build on these bilateral pacts by deepening the Border Forces understanding of smuggler routes through Turkey and the western Balkans.

Mr Sunak chaired a meeting at the European Political Community summit with Italys hard-right leader Giorgia Meloni, which he said sought to strengthen European action to ending illegal migration.

Downing Street said an eight-point plan was agreed by those taking part, including a commitment to tackle migrant smuggling along the routes and at external borders, supporting partner countries to strengthen border protection as well as search and rescue capacities, and strengthening cooperation on visa policy.

Speaking at the European Political Community (EPC) summit, Mr Sunak told broadcasters: Tackling illegal migration is a shared European challenge, numbers are up everywhere and I believe, as do other European leaders, that it should be us who decide who comes to our countries and not criminal gangs.

Thats why I was pleased I could convene a meeting together with the Italian prime minister but also leaders from Albania, the European Union, France and the Netherlands to talk through this issue to see how more we can work together, strengthening our co-operation to combat this awful crime, and there is more that we can do  sharing intelligence, working upstream to disrupt supply chains, working with partner countries to ensure effective returns.

Asked if there will be an agreement on Frontex, Mr Sunak replied: Weve been working with the European Union, making progress on those talks.

Those talks are ongoing, were always looking for ways to strengthen our co-operation with partner countries and entities to combat illegal migration.

In a joint article for The Times, Mr Sunak and Ms Meloni said they are calling on other countries to act with the same sense of urgency to confront the moral crisis of criminal gangs exploiting and profiting from the misery of the vulnerable.

They wrote: Only by stopping the flow of illegal migrants can we restore the trust of the British and Italian people, not just in our domestic borders, but in European and international co-operation.

Only by stopping the flow can we protect our two countries historic role as places of asylum and sanctuary. How can we take care of those who really need our help, when our resources are so overstretched?

They added they are open to discussing agreements aimed at stopping people departing in the first place as part of their work with other countries.

Home Office figures show more than 25,000 people have been detected crossing the English Channel in small boats so far this year.

There were 45,774 arrivals in 2022.

The total number of small boat arrivals so far this year is about 23% below the equivalent number at this point last year.

Just over 33,000 people had made the crossing by October 2 2022, compared with 25,330 detected so far in 2023.

Elsewhere, support for Ukraine was discussed at the summit with Mr Sunak confirming allocations of UK humanitarian aid to help the war-torn country over the winter.

The Prime Minister met German chancellor Olaf Scholz on Thursday, though migration was not mentioned in a readout of their discussions.

The leaders welcomed the strong partnership between the UK and Germany on issues of shared critical importance to both our countries, from economic growth to energy security and strong defence forces, a Downing Street spokesperson said.

The Prime Minister noted Germanys significant military and humanitarian support to Ukraine, and set out the UKs plans to support Ukraines successful counter-offensive and long-term security and recovery. They welcomed the strong pan-European unity at the EPC on rejecting Russian aggression.

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky said a Russian rocket has hit a village cafe and store in eastern Ukraine and killed at least 51 civilians in one of the deadliest attacks in months.

Mr Sunak said the pair discussed the horrific attack and noted the UKs support for Ukraine has been steadfast and will continue.

A No 10 spokesperson said: President Zelensky raised ongoing concerns about Russian attacks on grain shipments and commercial vessels in the Black Sea, and the Prime Minister committed to supporting secure routes to ensure vital Ukrainian grain can reach countries in need.
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Rishi Sunak has refused to say whether he endorses the rhetoric used by Suella Braverman after she said a hurricane of mass migration is coming.

The Prime Minister dodged questions on his Home Secretarys speech to the Tory party conference, which caused unease among some senior Conservatives with its warnings about the movement of people around the world.

Asked whether, following her address, he thought Mrs Braverman had been right to vilify people seeking to migrate to the UK as part of a hurricane or invasion, he told BBC Radio 4s Today: What we need to do is make sure that the criminal gangs who are perpetuating an evil, who are taking advantage of all the people that youre describing, leading to in many cases, tragically, them dying, need to be stopped. And we need to take action to stop them.

He said no-one should want to defend the evil trade of people paying to come to the UK illegally and being exploited by gangs.

When it was put to him that he was happy with the Home Secretarys remarks, Mr Sunak said: Your words, not mine.

Mrs Braverman, whose parents came to the UK from Kenya and Mauritius in the 1960s, used her Tory conference speech to say: The wind of change that carried my own parents across the globe in the 20th century was a mere gust compared to the hurricane that is coming.

Because today, the option of moving from a poorer country to a richer one is not just a dream for billions of people. Its an entirely realistic prospect.

She previously likened the arrival of asylum seekers on small boats to an invasion on our southern coast in comments made in the Commons last year.

A former No 10 chief of staff suggested Mr Sunak should sack his Home Secretary.

Lord Barwell, who served in Theresa Mays administration, tweeted: With a reshuffle coming, he should reflect whether it was right to give someone with such views such a high-profile platform.

Comparisons have been made between Mrs Bravermans language and Enoch Powells infamous rivers of blood speech, which was widely blamed for inflaming racial tensions in the 1960s.

Her Cabinet colleague Grant Shapps defended her against such criticism on Wednesday, saying she had been absolutely correct to warn about the scale of global migration.

Business Secretary Kemi Badenoch told a Spectator conference event that politicians should be careful about how immigration policies are discussed, so that people arent getting echoes of things that were less palatable.

Fellow Cabinet minister Michelle Donelan also declined to repeat the language used by the Home Secretary.

Former justice secretary Robert Buckland said it was important to consider the reality of global migration, but urged senior politicians to analyse in a mature way why these things are happening.

The Prime Minister appeared to shift closer to the right wing of his party with an attack on virtue signalling in his own conference speech, though he largely avoided so-called culture war subjects.

Weighing in on debates about sex education and transgender rights, he said: A man is a man and a woman is a woman. Thats just common sense.

Cabinet minister Mark Harper denied Mr Sunaks remarks went against the Equality Act 2010, which says people going through gender reassignment should not be discriminated against.

The Transport Secretary told Sky News: Not at all. I think what youre doing there is mixing up sex and gender.

He was being very clear that you cant change your sex, of course you can change your gender.

There's a big difference between coming here illegally and legally Prime Minister Rishi Sunak

If the Prime Minister echoed Ms Bravermans language on virtue signalling and transgender people, he appeared to distance himself from her remarks on multiculturalism.

He dedicated a section of his speech to celebrating the UK as the most successful multi-ethnic democracy on Earth and emphasising his pride in being the countrys first British-Asian PM.

During a visit to the US last week, Mrs Braverman had attacked the misguided dogma of multiculturalism, saying it had failed  comments that the Prime Minister declined to endorse.

There has long been debate over what people mean by the term multiculturalism, with some using it to refer to a range of communities living alongside one another and others to refer to a policy that promotes diversity.

Asked whether there was any difference between his parents dreams of coming to Britain and those of people hoping to migrate now, he told Today: Theres a big difference between coming here illegally and legally.
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Russia may use sea mines to target non-military ships and blame Ukraine for any attacks, the UK Government has said.

Declassified intelligence warned last month that the Russian military had attempted a missile strike against a cargo ship in the Black Sea.

The UK believes Russia could continue targeting civilian shipping, including by laying explosive devices in the approach to Ukrainian ports.

However, Vladimir Putins army wants to openly avoid sinking ships in order to blame Ukraine for attacks, the Government said.

Foreign secretary James Cleverly said: Russias pernicious targeting of civilian shipping in the Black Sea demonstrates Putins total disregard for civilian lives and the needs of the worlds most vulnerable.

Our advice to British shipping has not changed - the UKs maritime security level for Ukrainian ports and waters remains at the highest level due to the threat posed by Russia Foreign Office statement

The world is watching  and we see right through Russias cynical attempts to lay blame on Ukraine for their attacks. We and our allies stand united against Putin and his attempts to harm Ukraine, and thus harm the rest of the world.

When the conflict between Russia and Ukraine began in February 2022, around 22 million tonnes of Ukrainian grain meant for export was reportedly stuck.

Russia withdrew from the Black Sea grain initiative in July of this year, which had been an effort to ship grain out of Ukraine, one of the worlds biggest wheat producers, to countries in Africa and other parts of the world which could otherwise face famine.

Continued targeting of ships would therefore be an attempt to pressure the Ukrainian economy, the UK Government says.

It is believed since Russias withdrawal, enough grain to feed more than one million people for a year has been destroyed.

A statement by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) said: We are working with Ukraine and other partners to put in place arrangements to improve the safety of shipping. Our advice to British shipping has not changed  the UKs maritime security level for Ukrainian ports and waters remains at the highest level due to the threat posed by Russia.

The UK has put in place intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities to monitor Russian activity in the Black Sea. These capabilities will help us to attribute and call out any further Russian attacks on civilian shipping or infrastructure.

We are committed to ensuring Ukraine can continue to export its agricultural produce through all appropriate routes including its humanitarian corridor, overland and via the Danube.

The UK will continue to work with Ukraine and a range of international partners to achieve this.
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Just Stop Oil protesters halted a performance of Les Miserables at the Sondheim Theatre in Londons West End on Wednesday night.

The protesters entered the stage during a performance of Do You Hear The People Sing?

Just Stop Oil said that four protesters then locked themselves to the stage using flexible bicycle locks at around 8.50pm. The show did not resume.

In a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, the group wrote: 4 people are locked to the stage of the French-revolution-themed show.

Valjean steals bread to feed a starving child. How long before we are all forced to steal?

In video of the incident, audience members can be heard booing the demonstrators.

Just Stop Oil said that the performance was stopped and the theatre was evacuated by 9.10pm.

The Metropolitan Police said that five people were arrested at the theatre.

In a post on X, the force said: At about 9pm tonight, police were called to a protest inside a theatre on Shaftesbury Avenue, WC1.

Local officers were quickly on scene and five people have been arrested.

William Village, chief executive of Delfont Mackintosh Theatres  which owns the Sondheim, said: During the first half of our performance of Les Miserables, individuals from Just Stop Oil invaded the stage, abruptly stopping the show.

Following our safety protocols, the audience were asked to leave the auditorium and the Met Police attended.

Regrettably, there was insufficient time to enable us to complete the rest of the performance.

Whilst we recognise the importance of free expression, we must also respect our audiences right to enjoy the event for which they have paid.
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President Joe Bidens dog Commander has now been removed from the White House following a series of biting incidents.

Elizabeth Alexander, the first ladys communications director, said on Wednesday that the German Shepherd was no longer living with Mr Biden and First Lady Jill Biden at the White House.

They remain grateful for the patience and support of the U.S. Secret Service and all involved, as they continue to work through solutions, she said in an emailed statement, adding: Commander is not presently on the White House campus while next steps are evaluated.

It is not yet known where Commander has been sent, but he was last seen on Saturday on an upper balcony of the White House.

His removal comes after a series of issues with Commander  and the presidents other dogs  since they joined him in the Oval Office.

When moving into the White House, Mr Biden welcomed his first two dogs Major and Champ.

Champ Biden was one of the two German Shepherds in the family, and sadly died at the age of 13 years old.

He was the more well-behaved dog out of the three.

At the time, the president paid tribute to the familys beloved German Shepherd in a statement and said: Our hearts are heavy today as we let you all know that our beloved German Shepherd, Champ, passed away peacefully at home.

He was our constant, cherished companion during the last 13 years and was adored by the entire Biden family.

Even as Champs strength waned in his last months, when we came into a room, he would immediately pull himself up, his tail always wagging, and nuzzle us for an ear scratch or a belly rub. Wherever we were, he wanted to be, and everything was instantly better when he was next to us.

The Biden family got Champ from a breeder as a puppy in 2008, after Mr Biden was elected vice president.

So, what about Major and Commander Biden? Well, they have more of a record for bad behaviour.

Here is a timeline of incidents involving the presidents pooches:

Major and Champ Biden

In 2021, Major and Champ were sent to the Biden family home in Delaware after aggressive behaviour at the White House involving Major, sources at the time told CNN.

Major was adopted in 2018 from an animal shelter in Delaware and had what one source described as a biting incident with someone from White House security.

At the time, White House press secretary Jen Psaki confirmed Major caused an injury to an unnamed individual.

[Champ and Major] are still getting acclimated and accustomed to their surroundings and new people. And on Monday, the first familys younger dog, Major, was surprised by an unfamiliar person and reacted in a way that resulted in a minor injury to the individual, said Ms Psaki, who added the injury was handled by the White House medical unit. The person bitten by Major was a United States Secret Service agent, according to a Secret Service official.

According to reports, Major, who was three years old at the time, was known to display aggressive behaviour on multiple occasions, including jumping and barking at staff and security.

The first lady had spoken about the difficulties of controlling dogs in the White House.

Ive been getting obsessed with getting our dogs settled because we have an old dog and we have a very young dog, Jill Biden said on The Kelly Clarkson Show in 2021.

They have to take the elevator, theyre not used to that, and they have to go out on the South Lawn with lots of people watching them. So thats what Ive been obsessed with, getting everybody settled and calm.

Commander Biden

Commander was last seen on Saturday on an upper balcony of the White House. (AP)

After the death of 13-year-old Champ, the Bidens announced the arrival of a pedigree German Shepherd puppy named Commander  which was gifted to them from Mr Bidens brother.

Commander has caused a stir ever since entering the White House and he has now bitten his 11th person.

Earlier this year, following another incident, the White House said it was working on a new set of training protocols for Commander.

In emails obtained through Freedom of Information Act requests by the conservative group Judicial Watch, it emerged Commander was involved in 10 incidents, including one that required an officer being sent to a local hospital.

In November 2022, the German Shepherd also sent an officer to the hospital for injuries to the arms and thighs.

I believe its only a matter of time before an agent/officer is attacked or bit, an anonymous staffer said at the time.

Now, it has emerged that there have been several more incidents in recent weeks.

The most recent occurrence is believed to have taken place in September when a uniformed Secret Service officer was bitten and later treated on-site by medical personnel.

Commander has been removed from the White House for the safety of employees in the building.

Additional reporting from agencies
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A high school teacher in Missouri has been placed on leave after district administrators learned that she has an OnlyFans account.

Brianna Coppage, 28, told the St Louis Post-Dispatch that she was not surprised when officials at St Clair High School in Franklin County asked to meet with her on 27 September. The English teacher said that she joined the website over the summer to help support her household.

It was kind of always like this cloud hanging over my head, like I never knew when I would be discovered, Ms Coppage told the outlet. Then, about two weeks ago, my husband and I were told that people were finding out about it. So I knew this day was coming.

Ms Coppage said she had a meeting with two school administrators and was confronted about posting inappropriate media on one or more internet sites.

Superintendent Kyle Kruse said in a statement that the school had hired legal counsel to investigate whether the content shared by Ms Coppages account impacted her employment at the high school.

Actions taken as a result of the investigation will be in accordance with board policy and with guidance from legal counsel. Ms Kruse told the Post-Dispatch.

On average, Ms Coppage said she has brought an additional $8,000 to $10,000 every month from her OnlyFans earnings, in addition to her $42,000 annual salary as a teacher.

The English teacher said that she chose OnlyFans to post her content because she thought it offered certain level of privacy, as only paying subscribers can see the material. However, she believes a recent video in which she appeared along with her husband and two popular performers in St Louis may have reached people in her community.

There is this expectation that teachers should be the moral leaders of students, and I do not disagree with that, Ms Coppage told the Post-Dispatch. I taught the curriculum. I taught students reading and writing, and I didnt guide them on my thoughts or beliefs.  And I cant control what people think of me.

Ms Coppage said she does not regret joining the platform but has come to terms with the fact that she will likely be terminated in the near future.

(The district says) they havent made a decision yet, but Im just kind of putting the pieces together that I am not coming back, Ms Coppage said. Im very aware that I am probably never going to teach again, but that was kind of the risk I knew I was taking. I am sad about that. I do miss my students.

Ms Coppage insisted that her online persona is completely separate from her work.

She said her posts were not illegal and emphasised that she does not believe sex work has to be shameful.

Ms Coppage has been teaching at St Claire High School for two years. Before that, she was an academic adviser at the Missouri University of Science & Technology.
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Mario Carranza put a mobile home on a $28,000 lot in Colony Ridge, one of the biggest neighborhoods in Texas, lured by cheap land and the chance for his family to escape the crime he says was rampant around their apartment in nearby Houston.

Here, we are good," said Carranza, 65, who now drives about an hour to his maintenance job in a Houston suburb.

But his quiet neighborhood is now in an unwelcome national spotlight. For weeks in Texas, conservative media and GOP activists have been pushing unsubstantiated claims that Colony Ridge has become a magnet for immigrants living in the U.S. illegally and that cartels control pockets of the neighborhood.

There is no evidence to support the claims, and residents, local officials and the developer dispute the portrayals. The unsubstantiated reports have spread quickly and gained traction among Republicans, including Gov. Greg Abbott and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who is running for president.

The attention has abruptly plunged Liberty County  a Republican stronghold that former President Donald Trump won by nearly 80% in 2020  into the center of immigration politics hundreds of miles from the U.S-Mexico border. Republicans see immigration as a central issue in next year's elections and the unsubstantiated reports are coming at a time when large groups of migrants from Central and South American have been crossing into Texas.

The developer of Colony Ridge is Trey Harris, who has donated more than $1 million to Abbotts campaigns. Driving around the neighborhood in a white Ford pickup on Tuesday, Harris bemoaned the claims and has invited lawmakers to see for themselves this week.

Im surprised and a little disappointed that (Abbott) didnt reach out and make an attempt to learn more about the facts before he got on national television and started talking, Harris said.

Spokespersons for Abbott did not immediately return a message seeking comment Wednesday. Abbott previously said serious concerns have been raised about Colony Ridge and suggested that lawmakers may look into the matter when they come back for a special session starting Monday.

In a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, DeSanits last month wrote: I will end this.

Laws do not prohibit non-U.S. citizens from purchasing homes. Although many in Liberty County acknowledge that undocumented citizens live in Colony Ridge, they pushed back on claims that they account for most residents and described their community as no different than many neighborhoods across Texas.

It does bother me that people accuse my customers of being drug dealers and cartel and organized crime. Come on man, Harris said. These are families that want a better place to raise their kids. They want better schools for their kids. They want better opportunities for their children

The development first broke ground 20 years ago, leaving some in Liberty County puzzled by the timing of the recent scrutiny. The area neighbors San Jacinto County, where in April a Mexican national allegedly killed five of his Honduran neighbors. Harris said he believes some of the criticism is related to racial issues" he says Colony Ridge has previously confronted from a town adjacent to the rapidly growing development, which he estimates has about 40,000 residents.

Zayda Cerrato, 43, moved to Colony Ridge from California about six years ago at the urging of an uncle who lived there. She said she was drawn there in part because of the greenery and vegetation that surrounds the development, which has been carved out from the piney woods that blanket East Texas.

Some residents like Cerrato, who is from Honduras, have set up mobile homes on their land. Others have built permanent homes with manicured lawns that wouldnt look out of place in a typical suburban subdivision. Harris said the community is still growing and has several new schools. New retail centers that will include such businesses as Pizza Hut and Subway also dot the development.

My life here is very peaceful. I dont mess with anybody, said Cerrato, leaving a supermarket. From my job to my house, from my house to my job. I visit stores only when I need to. I would describe it as very peaceful.

The explosive growth of the area has not come without challenges. The school district based in nearby Cleveland is teaching nearly three times as many students as a decade ago and has struggled to create enough space. The local sheriff's office says it needs more officers to patrol the region but described the crime rates as not any worse than other parts of Texas.

Its the normal calls. Its just the volume is higher, said Billy Knox, chief deputy of the the Liberty County Sheriffs Office.

For Carranza, who is from Mexico and became a naturalized citizen a decade ago, the growing traffic has caused some of the streets to fall into disrepair.

If Abbott is going to address anything about Colony Ridge, it should be that, he said.

Tell the governor to come here so he can fix the streets, Carranza said.

___ Weber reported from Austin, Texas.
On Monday night, the Cumberland Valley School Board authorized a biannual youth survey sponsored through state agencies, a move that drew mixed comments from residents and school directors.

For several years, the district has administered the Pennsylvania Youth Survey, or PAYS, at no cost, in partnership with the state Department of Education, Department of Drug and Alcohol and Programs, and Commission on Crime and Delinquency, said Mark Blanchard, the districts assistant superintendent for secondary education. It was first administered statewide in 1989.

This years survey is available to students in grades 6, 8, 10 and 12 in all public, private and charter schools in Pennsylvania through November. A total of 385 districts and nontraditional schools in 66 Pennsylvania counties participated in the 2021 study, according to a district document.

The study focuses on students perspectives regarding their school environment, and their attitudes, knowledge and behaviors toward mental health, alcohol, tobacco and other drugs, violence and other health risk behaviors.

The content of the survey did not sit well with resident Lois Kaneshiki, who is also the founder of the Take Back Our Schools PAC.

I want you to vote against this youth survey, she said during the public comment period. This is the most intrusive survey that Ive ever seen presented for sixth-graders. ... Its just a bunch of data mining. Those surveys are not working. Its not normal for the government to be giving these intrusive surveys to 11-year-old children.

Student participation in this survey is confidential, school director Jevon Ford said. As a 30-year educator in another district, I think its naive to assume that its beyond the realm of a sixth-grader to have witnessed these situations.

The studys stated purpose is to gather local data and information for identifying appropriate prevention and intervention programs, but all participants information is submitted anonymously. Surveys are given in schools.

Blanchard said Monday that study results affect the districts state funding allotments for related programs.

The questionnaire also gleans information about students risk factors, or conditions leading to a child developing problem behaviors later in life, as well as what services are available that will help youths with some of these problems.

District parents and caregivers may chose to opt their student out from participating in the study by contacting their building principal.

As I district parent, I can say that we go through rigorous notification process to our families regarding this survey, board member Jessica Wilcox said. Parents have the opportunity to opt their student out from this survey.

Its your responsibility as a parent to read through this survey and make your decision, board member Barbara Geistwhite said.

Other action

In other news, board members Monday approved a resolution acknowledging support of military families and establishing school-based supports for military families and their students. The resolution says in part that the Cumberland Valley School District will establish a point of contact at the district office trained to provide support and assistance to military families to ensure their students are provided full benefits and enjoyment of a public education within the district.

The resolution also says the district will make every effort to connect CV military families with needed resources to integrate into and enjoy benefits of the districts community.

Also Monday, the school board formally accepted Superintendent David Christophers resignation, effective Dec. 1.

Christopher said in a recent letter to parents that he expects to start a superintendents job at West Chester Area School District in December. He began serving as Cumberland Valleys superintendent in 2019 upon the retirement of Frederick Withum.

Christopher recently described some of his accomplishments at CV as maintaining school operations during COVID-19, opening the new CV9 building, creating a school police force and fully implementing a new grades K-5 reading program.

Dr. Christopher has had a sense of vision that not many superintendents have had, Geistwhite said Monday.

Finally, board president Heather Dunn announced Monday that CV school directors will hold a special meeting at 5 p.m. Oct. 9 at the district administration building, 6746 Carlisle Pike, Silver Spring Township. The meetings purpose is to discuss upcoming building projects at Green Ridge Elementary School and Eagle View Middle School.

The district is required to adopt resolutions pertaining to state Act 34 that establishes maximum project costs and other pertinent actions.
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A postal workers delivery round took a dramatic turn when she rushed a snake-bitten dog to the vet in the back of her van.

Holle Keene Prigmore was on her postal round in Buchana, Georgia when at one residence she came across a beagle named Ginger who seemed in a large amount of pain.

Ginger had been bitten by a copperhead snake and was limping around in obvious pain.

"As I saw her, I went ahead and grabbed a treatI realised something was moving, it snapped at her(and) sure enough, it was a snake," Ms Prigmore retold told Fox 5.

Gingers owners, Kelsey and Aaron Proctor, were not home at the time but Ms Prigmore said she couldnt leave the dog who seemed in agony.

Ms Prigmore scooped the suffering pup into the back of her postal van and took a picture of the snake that bit Ginger to show the vets, 11Alive reported.

I just knew she might be fine, but shes a small dog and I couldnt stand the idea of her maybe just suffering throughout the day if nobody was home, she told Fox 5.

Before heading over to Bremen Animal Hospital, she stopped to let the owners know what was going on, displaying a message on her phone that read, Little beagle bit by copperhead.

After Ms Prigmore dropped Ginger off at the hospital, the bitten pup was treated and brought home.

Ginger is now doing okay says her owner Kelsey Proctor (Kelsey Proctor/Facebook)

I want to thank her from the bottom of my heart. Thankfully, Ginger is going to be okay, and I truly believe its because of this woman, Ms Proctor said in a Facebook post trying to locate her postal hero.

She finally discovered Ms Prigmores name and was able to thank her in person.

I think that just speaks about her and her character that she was just so willing to jump in and help out and she didnt even know anything about us or who we were, Ms Proctor told Fox.

In an update shared by Ms Proctor she said that the brave pup was doing well. She is in pain. Her back left leg/paw is swollen and she is afraid to put pressure on it. She has been resting, getting lots of love, and under some blankies.

The doorbell video has gone viral and Ms Prigmore has had an outpour of heartfelt messages come her way

"Im not interested in compensation. Anybody in my industry would have done the same thing," Ms Prigmore said to Fox Business. "Thats why we have so many friends on our routes as it is, but were used to it. Its just kinda part of the job."

Ms Prigmore has been delivering mail since February 2022 and has three pets of her own.

"The Postal Service is part of the fabric of the nation with employees making a difference in every community across the country. We are very proud of Holle Prigmore and her quick action which saved the life of a customers beloved pet," a USPS spokeswoman said in a statement to Fox.

Ms Prigmores heroic efforts have allowed Ginger to bounce around a lot longer after her favourite postie, as copperhead snakes, while less of a threat to humans, can make dogs very ill.

A copperhead snake is venomous and can cause tissue damage in the area around the bite, says Ethos.

The American Kennel Club recommends taking pets to the vet immediately after being bitten.
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Jon Romano opened fire on his New York high school in 2004 when he was 16 years old, and now, nearly 20 years later, he is making headlines again for his controversial TikTok stardom.

After being a part of the problem, its time to be a part of the solution, reads the bio on his TikTok account, @Johnseekingpeace. He has amassed 254,000 followers on the platform.

But some remain sceptical whether someone who fired a Winchester 12-gauge pump-action shotgun in his own school could truly advocate for violence prevention. Although Columbia High School saw no fatalities as a result of Romanos attack, one teacher was injured.

He served time for attempted murder and reckless endangerment before being released in December 2020, records show. In the almost two decades since the high school attack, Romano seems to be dedicating his energy toward gun prevention.

After news broke of Romanos TikTok fame  and outrage ensued  he posted a video on Wednesday. I can never undo the pain and I have caused people in my past, but I hoped I could be a part of the preventing others from experiencing that pain as well. Im sorry to those I have hurt with my platform, the video caption said.

In the video, Romano added that he has done things behind the scenes to prevent gun violence and wants to continue to work toward the cause. But many arent convinced that he is reformed.

A host of TikTok users came forward, saying that they believe Romano shouldnt have a platform. One user posted a video, which in turn has gone viral, condemning his use of social media.

She said she noticed Romano followed her on the platform, which she attributed to her posting a video asking teachers what they would do if there was a school shooting. The user, @youcancallmekait, described herself as an early educator who switched from teaching in public schools to private because of gun violence.

I could not continue to go to work everyday and feel scared that I was going to die, she said. Addressing Romano personally, she added: There are people who are never going to feel safe again because of you.

Her caption read: This man should not have a platform. You said that your victims are retraumatized every time theres a mass event. Dont you think just seeing you is triggering? I dont believe you for a second that you actually want to help. You just want attention.

He is not some healed person. He is not reformed. He is not rehabilitated, another user said. So stop giving him a platform. Stop rushing to his defence.

Others have been direct with their confusion of his online presence or condemnation of Romano, posting comments on his TikTok videos.

Responding to a comment earlier this month that asked, Why is there an admitted school shooter on here? Romano answered in a video: Well because I want to help prevent future school shootings. He also said that he has talked a lot with law enforcement and has shared his upbringing and his disturbed mindset on social media that led to him to shoot up the school.

In a separate video, he responded to another comment that asked, can someone redeem themselves about doing this? Romano said: My goal is not redemption for the school shooting I committed. My goal is prevention of other school shootings. He added, Thats why Im on here.

Romano stopped allowing comments on his videos, as of Wednesday afternoon.

This isnt the first time that Romano has attempted to show his transformation since the shooting. After the Parkland shooting, Times Union wrote a story revisiting the 2004 attack that Romano committed. In response, he wrote a letter to the outlet, expressing his remorse  and echoed a similar sentiment to what he said on TikTok.

I know that every time another horrible shooting happens, he and all of my victims are hurt all over again by what I did to them. I want to take away their pain, but knowing I cannot, I want to prevent others from experiencing this pain, he wrote.

He even encouraged gun safety protocols: I believe the students of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland are courageous and inspiring for speaking out and demanding action from politicians.

Everyone nationwide should follow and accept nothing less than meaningful, life-saving policy changes from their representatives. Only then could this generation be the last generation that lives in a nation plagued by gun violence, he added.

Romano spoke to Newsweek about the online criticism: Despite the current backlash I am receiving, which I completely understand, I also continue to get a lot of people reaching out to me thanking me for what I do. Some of those same parents, teachers and even students who are frustrated with the lack of change, believe I can help save lives.

I can never undo what I have done, the pain and trauma that I have caused upon so many, but I am working towards preventing others from experiencing that same pain and suffering, he added.
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A US F-16 fighter jet shot down an armed Turkish drone on Thursday operating too close to American troops in Hasakah, Syria, according to US defence officials.

The Independent has contacted the Pentagon for comment.

A US official told Reuters the military called its Turkish counterparts to warn them multiple times it might take out the drone.

The drone was flying in an unsafe and unsynchronised manner near US forces, an American official told The Associated Press, and US officials made more than a dozen warnings calls before ordering the strike.

The two countries, NATO allies, typically coordinate air operations when sharing a fighting theatre.

The drone was armed with air-to-ground munitions, according to the The Wall Street Journal

A Turkish defence official told the paper the drone doesnt belong to the country, but didnt say whose aircraft it was.

US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin is expected to speak with Turkish officials in the coming days, according to the Journal.

For the Turkish UAVs, we confirm that one UAV was shot down, but we currently do not possess sufficient information to provide further details, a spokesperson for the US-allied Syrian Democratic Forces told Al-Monitor.

The craft was downed near the town of Tell Beder, in the Kurdish-led autonomous region of northeastern Syria.

If the coalition did shoot it down, it was to warn Turkey that it had gone too far and was imperiling their forces, Salih Muslim, of the territorys Democratic Unity Party, added in an an interview with the outlet.

The drone affair adds tension to the already complicated relationship between the US and Turkey in Syria.

The US supports Kurdish forces in northern Syria, which Turkey views as a wing of its outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party, a group that claimed responsibility for a recent bomb attack on government buildings in Ankara.

The Turkish government has pursued retaliatory strikes, killing at least eight people in drone attacks in Kurdish-held zones of northeast Syria, Reuters reports.

The US and Turkey have also sparred over Turkeys delays in approving Swedens bid to join NATO, and potential US sales of F-16 fighter jets to Turkey.

About 900 US troops are stationed in Syria as part of the campaign against the Islamic State.
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Sniffer dogs have been called in to help inspect French trains and the Paris metro for bedbugs after dozens of reports of infestations caused alarm in the French capital.

Public transport users have taken to standing on the metro instead of sitting on the fabric seats as panic spread over the reported infestations, while others have posted on social media about the creatures swarming over their Airbnb rentals.

Transport minister Clement Beaune said there had been about 10 traveller reports about bedbugs at Paris public transport operator RATP and 37 at rail operator SNCF in recent weeks  but he denied there was an outbreak.

(ALAMY)

"When there is a problem, we deal with it, we wont deny it. There is no outbreak of bedbugs in public transport," Mr Beaune said after meeting transport and travel chiefs.

French social and traditional media have reported extensively on bedbugs on trains and in cinemas, and the government has concerns about its impact on tourism and the Paris Olympics, which start in less than a year.

Deputy mayor of Paris Emmanuel Gregoire called the infestation widespread, and Eurostar this week stepped up cleaning on its trains because of the threat.

Bedbug bites leave red marks on the body that may cause itchy welts. Infestations in the home often need treating by pest controllers, and bedding has to be washed in water of 60C or more.

Mr Beaune said all French public transport operators would boost health procedures in general and the fight against bedbugs in particular, notably with canine sniffer teams, which he said were the most effective means of detection.

He added that every three months, data will be published about all bedbug reports and any confirmed infestations.

Clement Beaune promises to issue three-monthly data (EPA)

Total transparency will bring total confidence, he said, adding that there was no need for psychosis or fear.

He also plans to meet pest-control companies and to organise a conference on any problem by the end of this month.

With a typical lifespan of four to six months, bedbugs can be carried in luggage and boxes, and on clothing and bedding.

Experts say the UK already has bedbugs but the Paris epidemic could boost their numbers.

David Cain, founder of Bed Bugs Ltd and a microbiologist, said: I have known people go on day trips to Paris, not even staying in hotels or other high-risk activities, and come back with them. Paris has been a popular link for the last six years.

Business is already booming. I started doing this in 2005, when bedbugs were rare and obscure, but [they are] not any more.

A Eurostar spokesperson told The Independent: The textile surfaces on all of our trains are cleaned thoroughly on a regular basis, and this involves hot-water injection and extraction cleaning, which has proven highly effective in eliminating bugs.
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Watch as European leaders arrive at the European Political Community summit in Granada, Spain, on Thursday 5 October.

The third meeting will bring together leaders from across the continent, building on the work of the previous meetings of the European Political Community.

Delegates will discuss how to make Europe more resilient, prosperous and geostrategic, according to the summits website.

The meeting will take place ahead of the informal meeting of the European Council, and 47 heads of state and government are invited to take part, including Ukraines Volodymyr Zelensky.

So far, the European Political Community has met twice.

At the first meeting in October 2022, leaders mainly discussed peace and security issues, especially Russias war in Ukraine, and the energy crisis.

Eight months later, at the following meeting in June 2023, they discussed joint efforts for peace and security, energy resilience and connectivity and mobility in Europe.

The next European Political Community meeting will take place in the United Kingdom.
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More than 50 people have been killed  including a six-year-old boy  after a Russian missile hit a shop and cafe in northeastern Ukraine where mourners had gathered for a wake. It is one of the deadliest such attacks since Vladimir Putin launched his invasion 19 months ago.

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky, who was in the southern Spanish city of Granada for a conference with European leaders at the time of the strike, described the attack as a brutal Russian crime and accused Moscow of genocidal aggression.

During an emotional address to the European Political Community (EPC) in Spain, he cited the devastating impact Russian strikes were having on Ukrainian children in Kharkiv Oblast, forcing them to take school lessons in makeshift classrooms underground.

A short time later, officials in Kyiv said a Russian Iskander missile struck the village of Hroza in the Kharkiv region, killing at least 51 of its 330 inhabitants, including a six-year-old boy.

One image of the aftermath of the strike showed a number of bodies strewn across the floor, covered in the dust kicked up by the explosion. A handful of civilians could be seen crying behind them as two ambulance workers stood nearby.

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The interior minister, Ihor Klymenko, said that residents of Hroza had been holding a memorial service in the cafe that was reduced to rubble by the attack. From every family, from every household, there were people present at this commemoration. This is a terrible tragedy, Mr Klymenko told Ukrainian television.

Reacting to the strike, Kira Rudik, a leading Ukrainian opposition MP, told The Independent: You may think that we would get used to the news of our people getting killed, but everytime it is a shock.

She reiterated the calls made by Mr Zelensky throughout the summit in Spain for more air defences and weapons from Western allies, arguing that it was essential for Ukraine particularly to protect those places so close to the front, such as Hroza. The village sits only around 30 miles from the nearest Russian soldiers.

In recent months, thousands have fled the broader Kupyansk district, in which Hroza is located, as thousands of Russian troops stage an assault of their own while Kyiv continues to push ahead with its counteroffensive further south. Mr Zelensky has visited the area around the frontlines of Kharkiv in recent days, recording a message of support for the troops battling to keep Russian forces from advancing.

The terrorists deliberately carried out the attack during lunchtime, to ensure a maximum number of casualties, Ukraines defence minister, Rustem Umerov, said. There were no military targets there. This is a heinous crime intended to scare Ukrainians.

Volodymyr Zelensky speaks with French president Emmanuel Macron in Granada, Spain (EPA)

Mr Zelensky arrived in Spain for the EPC forum on Thursday morning, meeting first with the Spanish president Pedro Sanchez before holding talks with various other leaders, including UK prime minister Rishi Sunak, Frances president Emmanuel Macron and Italian prime minister Giorgia Meloni.

Though multiple issues, such as energy prices, were on the agenda for the EPC forum, the issue of supporting Ukraine was the core topic of discussion, according to European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen. Mr Sunak reiterated Britains long-term support for Ukraine and said that he would be encouraging European leaders to work together to supply further defensive weapons.

Both Mr Zelensky and his top aide Andriy Yermak said prior to arriving in Spain that securing new air defence systems was their top priority ahead of the winter, when Russia is expected to ramp up its missile campaign on major cities across the country.

Mr Zelensky told the leaders in Granada that by providing additional military equipment to Ukraine, European countries could help ensure that a drone, tank, or any other Russian weapon will not strike anyone else in Europe.

In the wake of the attack in Kharkiv, Mr Zelensky added in a social media post: Now we are talking with European leaders, in particular, about strengthening our air defence, about strengthening our soldiers, about giving our country protection from terror.

A Spanish government source later confirmed to Reuters that Mr Sanchez had heeded that call, reporting that Spain would send both an air defence and anti-drone system to Kyiv.

Ahead of the summit, German media reported that German chancellor Olaf Scholz was reluctant to donate to Ukraine long-range Taurus missiles, despite widespread pressure from his allies to do so, over fears it would escalate tensions with Russia.

The chancellor is reportedly concerned that Ukraine will use the missiles, which have a range further than the British Storm Shadows, Kyivs longest-range weapon to date, to hit the Kerch Strait Bridge connecting Russia to the occupied Crimean peninsula.

Mr Zelensky met with Mr Scholz on Thursday, with the two leaders discussing working on providing Ukraine with an additional Patriot [air defence] system for the winter months.

The meeting in Granada was also a space to shore up support for Kyiv after a weekend of political turmoil in the US. A dispute among the Republican majority in the lower chamber of the US Congress has complicated spending negotiations and prompted Democrat president Joe Biden to go from confident that a deal will be made on further aid to Ukraine from Washington to openly expressing concern. Mr Zelensky admitted that there was a political storm over Washington but said he was confident that it would be resolved.

They are strong people with strong institutions, and a strong democracy, he said. I am confident in America.

Elsewhere, at an address in the Russian resort city of Sochi, Mr Putin accused the West of losing touch with reality over the Ukraine war. In a speech that aired many of his oft-repeated grievances against Ukraines allies over their support for Kyiv, he also held out the possibility that Russia could resume nuclear testing for the first time in over three decades and might withdraw its ratification of a landmark nuclear test ban treaty.
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Ukrainian forces are making progress in the south as part of their counterattack to reclaim areas controlled by Russia in its 19-month-old invasion of its neighbour, military officials said.

The information comes a day after a top generals claim that Kyiv inflicted more than 260 losses on the battlefield while advancing on the southern front.

Kyivs forces are also resisting Russian attempts to reverse gains on the eastern front made by the country since it launched the counteroffensive in June, according to the officials.

Meanwhile, Russias defence ministry also reported a measure of success by its troops on the eastern front. It was however not possible to verify the reports independently.

Ukraines southern group of forces outlined advances in the Tavria sector yesterday, while the latest drive presses towards the Sea of Azov to split Russian-occupied territory in the south and east.

"We have had partial success to the west of Robotyne," Oleksandr Shtupun, a spokesperson for the southern group, told national television, noting that Ukrainian troops are "continuing to reinforce the positions they hold".

"In certain areas, we are advancing from 100 to 600m."

Yesterday, Ukrainian forces repelled Russian attacks in areas of the Donetsk region already recaptured by Kyiv and around the long-contested town of Maryinka further west, the latest battlefield report added.

The drive southward has been slower than lightning gains a year ago in the northeast. But Ukrainian troops have captured a string of villages and officials say they are readying themselves around Robotyne and other villages for new advances.

The advances come amid scepticism from Western allies who said that they are running out of ammunition to give to Ukraine. Governments and defence manufacturers now had to ramp up production in a much higher tempo, said Admiral Rob Bauer, Natos most senior military official.

We need large volumes. The just-in-time, just-enough economy we built together in 30 years in our liberal economies is fine for a lot of things  but not the armed forces when there is a war ongoing, he was quoted as saying by BBC News.

President Volodymyr Zelensky has shrugged off the criticism that the counteroffensive was not producing expected results, as the latest General Staff report claimed Russian forces had been unsuccessful in attempts to recapture ground near Andriivka  a village in the east recaptured by Ukrainian forces last month.

Ukraines campaign in the east has focused on taking villages to facilitate the recapture of the devastated city of Bakhmut, seized by Russian forces in May after months of battles.

Russias defence ministry said Moscows forces had struck Ukrainian positions close to Andriivka and a nearby village.

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It also said it had downed 31 drones launched by Kyiv overnight over three southern Russian regions, but reported no casualties or damage.

A Ukrainian security source earlier said Kyivs forces had carried out a drone attack on the western Russian region of Belgorod and hit an S-400 air defence complex and its radar.
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Ukraine has achieved the functional defeat of Vladimir Putins prized Black Sea fleet with intensified attacks in recent weeks, a UK defence minister has suggested  but warned that Western allies are running out of ammunition to help Kyiv repel Russias invasion.

Speaking at the Warsaw Security Forum from the Polish capital on Tuesday, James Heappey said the kneecapping of the major Russian naval force  including the recent strike on its Crimean headquarters  was every bit as important as Ukraines gains in Kharkiv last year.

While nobody can pretend otherwise that Ukraines counteroffensive has progressed slowly, the UKs armed forces minister told delegates it was simply wrong to suggest there has been no progress at all  with gains every single day after breaching Russias enormous defensive belt and minefield.

James Heappey in Warsaw warns that Western military stockpiles are looking a bit thin (Warsaw Security Forum)

But comparing Kyivs relatively minor gains to those achieved last year diminishes the importance of what has happened in the Black Sea over the last couple of weeks, where a Russian submarine and a Russian ship have been put out of action, and the headquarters of the Black Sea fleet has been put out of action too, he said.

The functional defeat of the Black Sea fleet  and I would argue that is what it is because it has been forced to disperse to ports from which it cannot have an effect on Ukraine  is an enormous credit. And [it is] every bit as important  every bit as much progress  as what was happening in the Kharkiv Oblast last year.

The Black Sea fleet, of huge symbolic value to Russia, has been an increasing target of Ukrainian drone attacks in recent weeks. Throughout the war, the fleet has been used to launch missile attacks on Ukraine and to threaten Kyivs vital shipped grain exports.

With Russia finally pulling out of a UN-brokered grain deal in July, Kyiv has since sought to establish a new corridor hugging the coastline, through which two Marshall Islands and Cameroon-flagged vessels were said to be the latest ships to sail to the port of Odesa on Tuesday.

And the UKs Ministry of Defence said on Monday that the Black Sea fleet was [struggling] to deal with concurrent threats, with Russia resorting to using air power to project force over the area as fleet activities relocate from under-fire Sevastopol to Novorssiysk, some 322km (200 miles) east.

Black Sea fleet HQ engulfed by smoke after Ukrainian missile strike

But Mr Heappey and Natos most senior military official, Admiral Rob Bauer, were among those to warn that Kyivs allies are running out of ammunition, with the latter lamenting that the bottom of the barrel is now visible and urging nations to ramp up production in a much higher tempo.

We need large volumes, the admiral said. The just-in-time, just-enough economy we built together in 30 years in our liberal economies is fine for a lot of things  but not the armed forces when there is a war ongoing.

Also warning that Western stockpiles are looking a bit thin, Mr Heappey said: If its not the time when there is a war in Europe to spend 2 per cent on defence, then when is?

Ukraine and Russia are each firing thousands of rounds each day (AFP)

Underscoring such warnings, US president Joe Biden  who is struggling to pass a package of aid for Ukraine through Congress  convened a phone call of G7 and Nato leaders on Tuesday in which he expressed determination to secure the funding, with Rishi Sunak also vowing to support Kyiv for as long as it takes.

The comments came as Ukraines airforce claimed to have destroyed 29 of 31 drones launched by Russia and one cruise missile, most of them targeting the regions of Mykolaiv and Dnipropetrovsk in the south and east, in an overnight barrage of attacks lasting three hours.

With counteroffensive operations continuing in Zaporizhzhia and near Bakhmut, president Volodymyr Zelensky also visited troops and commanders in the northeast near Kupiansk, where the Ukrainian military says Russian forces have also been staging attacks.

Meanwhile, a report alleged that hundreds of drunk, insubordinate and mutinous Russian soldiers have been pressed into penal units known as Storm-Z squads and sent to the frontlines as punishment for their behaviour.

If the commandants catch anyone with the smell of alcohol on their breath, then they immediately send them to the Storm squads, one soldier told a Reuters investigation, which cited 13 people with knowledge of the matter, including five fighters in such units.
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Authorities on the Spanish tourist island of Tenerife evacuated some 3,000 people from their homes overnight as a wildfire sparked by high temperatures and strong winds raged in a forested area already ravaged by fire in August.

Emergency services said on Thursday on X, formerly known as Twitter, they had requested assistance from the armys Military Emergency Unit, citing the blaze, which ignited on Wednesday, as a high level emergency.

Soldiers and firefighters battled to control the fire which broke in the northeast of the island in the town of Santa Ursula, away from the main tourist areas in the southwest.

600 residents from the neighbouring town of La Orotava were also ordered to evacuate as a precaution.

The same area suffered one of the islands worst wildfire in decades which burned for days, destroying some 15,000 hectares (37,000 acres) of woodland within the national park surrounding the Mount Teide volcano, Spains highest peak. Thousands were also evacuated then, with most returning to their homes.

The Canary Islands regional leader, Fernando Clavijo, told a business event in Madrid on Thursday the August fire had been brought under control but never completely extinguished, with embers still burning in the forest.

He said firefighting efforts overnight had gone well.

There is less fuel (for the fire), so it shouldnt get out of hand, Clavijo said, referring to the already scorched terrain.

The island, in the Atlantic off Africas northwestern coast, is on alert for high temperatures that are expected to reach 39 degrees Celsius (102.2 degrees Fahrenheit) throughout Thursday.

The inferno comes as a heat alert is in place as temperatures are unseasonably high for the time of year, islanders face temperatures above 30C which they usually only endure in the height of Summer.

Elsewhere, countries around the world are bearing the brunt of climate change with abnormally high temperatures for the time of year and the UK recorded the hottest September to date.
 Close Aftermath of Russian missile strike on Ukraine mail depot that killed six

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Russian troops have been executed for retreating from Putins offensive in the eastern city of Avdiivka, Donetsk, according to the White House.

We have information that the Russian military has been actually executing soldiers who refuse to follow orders, White House spokesperson John Kirby told a media briefing on Thursday.

Ukrainian forces have been repelling the Russian onslaught on the frontline in Donetsk for several weeks since mid-October.

It comes as Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky said Putin had lost at least a brigdade of troops in the offensive as Kyivs forces pushed them back.

The invaders made several attempts to surround Avdiivka, but each time our soldiers stopped them and threw them back, causing painful losses. In these cases, the enemy lost at least a brigade, Zelensky said.

Meanwhile, Oleksandr Shtupun, a spokesperson for Ukraines southern groups of forces, said last week that Russian forces had suffered over 400 casualties a day in its campaign which has relied on small assault groups of 30 to 40 men.
Days after local media personality Jerry Miller encouraged listeners to take legal action against Sigora Home, a now-defunct Charlottesville solar panel company that reportedly owes hundreds of thousands of dollars to people throughout Central Virginia, Miller took a call from former Sigora CEO Mike Ball.

In a recording of the call obtained by The Daily Progress, Miller and Ball discuss a $30,000 payment that would apparently keep Miller from discussing Sigora on his podcast The I Love CVille Show.

I had a couple clarifying questions for you, Ball says at the start of the call. The 30K, the terms of it, as I understand it, are basically three appearances on the show.

You got three appearances to come on the show and a news cycle that will not be the Sigora spotlight moving forward, Miller responds.

Ball claimed that his company was strapped for cash and wanted to know if Miller would accept any other compensation.

So other than 30K up front, is there anything else I could potentially consider as possible? Ball asks.

Miller responds that the company owes him $7,000 for a breached contract and that his retainer for crisis management is $50,000, implying that the $30,000 offer should be considered a good deal.

Its unclear what $7,000 or breached contract Miller was referring to. He did not respond to requests for comment from The Daily Progress.

On the phone call, Miller tells Ball that since he began discussing Sigora on his show, 71 families had reached out to him about their negative experiences with the company.

So we are going to roll out a segment on our show called the Sigora Solar Saga, Miller says. In each show, Im going to relay a firsthand perspective from middle-class America, the position theyre in financially because of this company.

Thatll be every day, he adds.

And so, if I cant do this, thats what I can expect? Ball inquires.

I mean, I think the community deserves to know thats happening here, man, Miller responds.

Sigora never made the payment, and Miller continued to speak negatively about the company on his podcast.

There was plenty of fodder for Miller. Over and over again, Sigora customers, contractors and even employees have raised alarms about the company. Many say it did shoddy work and ghosted customers. Recently, an employee told The Daily Progress that Sigora embezzled money from their 401(k).

A source familiar with the situation who asked to remain anonymous told The Daily Progress that Miller gave Ball a deadline. When Ball did not meet it, he received a message from Miller: Every day from here on out, reads the message viewed by The Daily Progress.

An internal Sigora email from Ball references the deadline. In it, Ball claims that missing the deadline resulted in Millers Every day from here on out text.

Ball also wrote that Miller had sent him a follow-up message: I will mention your company to the Albemarle Commonwealths Attorney on Thursday.

Sigora also appears to have gone to the authorities. At the top of Balls email, he mentions having a meeting scheduled with Joe Platania, Charlottesvilles commonwealth attorney.

I have spent some time accumulating emails/screenshots/notes on a timeline so I feel like I have everything I need to present the full detail of events, Ball wrote in the email.

All these messages did was bolster our case. [Miller] didnt get 30k out of us and he turned vindictive and even more threatening, he concluded.

It is not clear if the meeting between Platania and Ball occurred.

Im declining to comment at this time, Platania told The Daily Progress when asked.

Ball also declined to comment.

While several on Twitter and Reddit who have been watching the drama unfold online say they believe that the recorded phone call is evidence of extortion, at least one legal expert is skeptical that would hold up in court.

Extortion is hard to prove as a criminal case. You dont see it prosecuted a lot, local attorney David Heilberg told The Daily Progress.

Heilberg said he thinks it would be hard to prove that the statements Miller made on his show about Sigora were injurious to the companys reputation, particularly because Sigoras reputation is already badly damaged after so many people have spoken publicly about Sigoras many alleged transgressions.

If thats what the company was doing, then reporting on negative things the company did, I dont see how thats extortion, Heilberg said. How badly can you damage a reputation if its disreputable?

In his June 29 and June 30 shows, Miller told listeners that he was choosing to focus on Sigora because his show champions the little guy.

Im trying to do this because I want to go to bat for the underdog, I want to champion the underdog, I want to stand up for the families out there that are just like my family, he said.

But would Miller have continued to bat for the underdog, for families out there that are just like his, if he had received the $30,000 payment?

Its bad form and maybe journalistically unethical, but there would have to be more for it to rise to extortion, it sounds like, Heilberg said.
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A weaponised drone attack on a military academy in Syria has killed at least 100 people in one of the bloodiest-ever bombings on an army installation in the country.

Civilians - including children - and military personnel were killed in strikes on an academy in the central province of Homs, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a war monitoring group, said.

Drones carrying explosives targeted a graduation ceremonty attended by cadets families. Initial reports said that 240 were wounded. Syrias defence ministry said the bombings had been carried out by terrorist groups backed by known international forces.

Footage shared with The Independent through the messaging app WhatsApp showed people, both men and women, in fatigues and some in civilian clothes - lying in pools of blood in a large courtyard.

In one particularly disturbing clip, a man tries to put out flames that have engulfed the half-severed remains of woman who is still alive and crying for help by what looks like a bombed out stage.

Geir O. Pederson, the United Nations special envoy for Syria said he was concerned about reports of escalating pro-government shelling and rocket fire into Idib in the aftermath of the horrific attack in Homs.

He said it came amid reports of Turkish strikes in Kurdish-held north east Syria, after an attack on Turkish government facilities in Ankara was claimed by the Kurdistan Workers Party.

He said: I deeply deplore the loss of life on all sides. I urgently appeal to all sides to exercise the utmost restraint. Todays horrific scenes are a reminder of the need to immediately de-escalate violence, towards a nationwide ceasefire.

Syrias defense and foreign ministries vowed in written statements to respond "with full force" to the attack with heavy bombing attacks on the opposition-held zone of Idlib.

Syrias defence minister attended the graduation ceremony but left minutes before the attack, according to a Syrian security source and a security source in the regional alliance backing the Damascus government against opposition groups.

"After the ceremony, people went down to the courtyard and the explosives hit.

A man is treated for his injuries after attack (SANA/AFP via Getty Images)

We dont know where it came from, and corpses littered the ground," said a Syrian man who had helped set up decorations at the academy for the occasion.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said that more than 100 people were killed and 125 injured. The source in the alliance backing Syrias government said the toll was around 100.

Syrias conflict began with protests against President Bashar al-Assad in 2011 but spiralled into an all-out war that has left hundreds of thousands dead and millions displaced.

The Syrian army has been gutted by the fighting, and relied heavily on military support from Russia and Iran as well as Tehran-backed fighters from Lebanon, Iraq and other countries.

Assad regained most of the country, but a swathe in the north bordering Turkey is still held by armed opposition groups, including hardline jihadist fighters.
In 1984, a 29-year-old Steve Jobs was asked for his thoughts on personal computers. It was just months after the launch of the first Mac but the Apple founder was already thinking decades ahead. "The types of computers we have today are tools, he said. The next stage is going to be computers as agents... It will almost be like you have a little friend.

Jobs lived just long enough to see an early version of this concept  he died one day after the release of Apples virtual assistant Siri  as he oversaw the progression of desktops into laptops and then hand-held smartphones. Alongside him for each of these evolutions was Jony Ive, who is now reportedly working on what could become the next iteration of personal computers: A tiny, screenless, AI device.
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Engineers in Japan have created a 3.5-ton robot suit that resembles a character from a hugely popular animation series, which they hope to use for space exploration and in emergency situations.

Tokyo-based start-up Tsubame Industries developed the 4.5-metre-tall (14.8-feet), four-wheeled Archax robot that looks like Mobile Suit Gundam from the 1970s Japanese show of the same name.

Named after the avian dinosaur archaeopteryx, the $3 million (2.5m) robot has cockpit monitors that receive images from cameras hooked up to the exterior so that the pilot can manoeuvre the arms and hands with joysticks from inside its torso.

The robot, which will be unveiled at the Japan Mobility Show later this month, has two modes: the upright robot mode and a vehicle mode in which it can travel up to 10 km (6 miles) per hour.

Japan is very good at animation, games, robots and automobiles so I thought it would be great if I could create a product that compressed all these elements into one, said Ryo Yoshida, the 25-year-old chief executive of Tsubame Industries.

I wanted to create something that says, This is Japan.

Mr Yoshida plans to build and sell five of the machines for the well-heeled robot fan, but hopes the robot could one day be used for disaster relief or in the space industry.

Mr Yoshida became interested in manufacturing at an early age, learning how to weld at his grandfathers ironworks and then going on to found a company that produces myoelectric prosthetic hands. He said he is eager to keep Japans competitive edge in manufacturing alive.

I hope to learn from previous generations and carry on the tradition, he said.

Tsubame Industries is one of several startups working on robotic exoskeletons, with applications ranging from assisting delivery workers with heavy loads, to military super soldier suits.

The US military has already unveiled several exoskeleton prototypes, with one such device claiming to offer Marines the strength and ability of up to 10 troops.

The ultimate goal is to provide troops with an edge by boosting their capabilities and dramatically improving safety and productivity in a variety of logistics applications, the company behind it, Sarcos Robotics, said in 2020.

Additional reporting from agencies.
Indigenous culture, Francophone heritage, a slew of annual festivals and more than 2,000 museums  Canada is a dream for anyone passionate about culture and history, with every town, city and province offering its own unique story, shaped by its First Nations heritage.

Weve scouted out some of the top spots to visit across the country if youre looking to delve into its cultural scene, from First Nations attractions to Viking settlements and beyond.

Maritime history

LAnse aux Meadows, Newfoundland and Labrador

Immerse yourself in Canadas Viking past amid the timber-framed structures of LAnse aux Meadows (Destination Canada)

Atlantic Canada (made up of Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island) is something of a treasure trove of history, and among the regions most unmissable spots is the UNESCO-listed LAnse aux Meadows  the only known site in North America to have been established by the Vikings (the first Europeans to reach The New World, when they came in the 11th century). Head here to explore its original timber-framed structures while trying your hand at various Viking activities  from weaving to axe-throwing  then step aboard a replica Viking ship and hear costumed actors tell tales from the Norse sagas.

Lunenburg, Nova Scotia

The UNESCO World Heritage town of Lunenburg is considered to be the best surviving planned British colonial town in North America (Destination Canada)

Fast-forward 700 years and learn about Canadas colonial history at the historic town of Lunenburg . This UNESCO World Heritage town is considered to be the best surviving planned British colonial town in North America thanks to its well-preserved, original wooden buildings and colourful, 18th-century houses. Wander its atmospheric waterfront  lined with tall ships, craft shops, galleries and restaurants  and delve into its seafaring history at the Fisheries Museum of the Atlantic, before checking out Bluenose II, a replica of the famous racing schooner that was built here. Just over an hours drive east, in Halifax, youll find Pier 21. This is Canadas national museum of immigration, and, significantly, is housed in Canadas last remaining ocean immigration shed. Explore the permanent exhibitions that chart the massive contributions made by immigrants to Canada and transport visitors back in time, or book a 30-minute guided tour through the history of immigration in Canada before, during, and after Pier 21 was active.

Indigenous Experiences

Klahoose Wilderness Resort, British Columbia

In Desolation Sound youll find Klahoose Wilderness Resort, an Indigenous owned eco-resort specialising in wilderness adventures and transformational experiences (Destination Canada)

If youre interested in learning about Canadas indigenous cultures, youll find a number of sites to explore in BC, home to the second-largest indigenous population in Canada. And where better to start than Klahoose Wilderness Resort at Desolation Sound? This authentic off-the-grid, eco-resort is 100 per cent Indigenous owned and specialises in wilderness adventures and transformational experiences, from watching Grizzly bears fishing for salmon or kayaking beside a pod of porpoises, to forest hikes through ancient western red cedar groves. Clams, oysters, crab, spotted prawns, and other shellfish, as well as all five salmon species sustain the wildlife of Desolation Sound, and, as is indigenous tradition, also form the basis of menus for guests staying at the lodge. If youre looking to connect to the First Peoples culture of the region, or hoping to go home with unforgettable memories of wildlife spotting, Klahoose Wilderness Resort is not an experience not to be missed.

Jasper, Alberta

Immerse yourself in nature and Indigenous history amid the stunning vistas of Jasper National Park (Johan Lolos)

Long recognised as a significant cultural crossroads for a range of Indigenous groups, Jasper and Jasper National Park are excellent places to get to grips with the Indigenous history of the region. Book a Fireside Chat with Warrior Women, where youll hear the stories of the land, experience intimate drumming and singing performances and have a hands-on experience with a local Indigenous Knowledge Keeper. Or head to the Jasper Yellowhead Museum and Archives, where the permanent Historical Gallery has exhibits on the Indigenous and Metis people of the area, the fur trade and later developments. This is an excellent window to the past that holds year-round heritage events and festivals for passing visitors to enjoy.

Festivals

Canadas cultural scene wouldnt be complete without its many fabulous festivals  here are some of the best.

Winterlude, Ottawa: Taking place on the first three weekends of February, this iconic, 45 year-old festival features live music performances, ice sculpture displays and a host of family-friendly activities, alongside skating on the frozen-over Rideau Canal Skateway (the worlds largest ice rink).

Calgary Stampede: This 10-day celebration of Canadian culture is an extravaganza not to be missed. Events range from cowboys and cowgirls testing their skills on bucking horses, bulls and steers in the rodeo, to musical performances highlighting the diversity of First Nations dancing, singing, and drumming. Come for the culture, stay for the music, food, amazing attractions and electric live shows.

National Indigenous Peoples Day: Marked annually on June 21,this country-wide event celebrates the history, heritage, resilience and diversity of First Nations, Inuit and Metis in Canada. Events held on the day offer a platform for local vendors, promote Indigenous owned businesses and feature various live performances depending where you are.

Adaka Cultural Festival, Whitehorse: If youre keen to get more of a glimpse into First Nations culture, head to Whitehorse, capital of the Yukon, to catch this week-long festival in July. Expect First Nations performances, art exhibitions, culinary events and more, with interactive workshops ranging from carving to drumming.

Sasktel Saskatchewan Jazz Fest, Saskatoon: Swing by Saskatoon in June to catch the annual jazz festival, when more than 80,000 musicians and fans flock to the city to enjoy jazz, blues, hip-hop and other outdoor concerts across a slew of venues.

Audley Travel combines unparalleled local destination knowledge with bespoke experience curation to create unforgettable trips across Canada. To find out more and to start planning your Canadian adventure with Audley Travel, visit audleytravel.com/canada/find-your-canada
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A tour guide has been filmed shouting at the group she was leading because they refused to shop for gemstones while on the trip.

A video that captured the incident has gone viral on Chinese social media, with the guide said to have shouted for an hour while tourists were on a bus from Guangzhou to Guizhou, in southwest China, at the end of September, reports VnExpress.

The guide reportedly took her guests to several shops that sold gems but allegedly became angry when the majority of the tourists did not purchase anything.

She threatened to cancel the trip and leave the group where they were if they did not spend money, and even branded them stingy  and the argument became more heated when one of the group said it is the tourists choice to shop or not, reports Sing Tao Daily.

Officials from the Guiyangs Culture and Tourism Office are investigating the incident along with other law enforcement agencies, and are working to verify the identity of the tour guide.

In one response to the video, a viewer wrote: Do not force shopping upon tourists.

The clip was filmed ahead of Golden Week, the longest annual holiday in China, this year taking place from 29 September until 6 October. The annual event sees millions of domestic and international visitors travel into and across the country.

Its not the first run-in between tour guides and their groups this year.

In July, a tour guide in Chinas Yunnan province provoked online debate after waking up a tourist who had fallen asleep on the bus, shouting at her for being disrespectful.

The unidentified tourist had been visiting Lijiang  a preserved ancient town  and uploaded a video of the guide on 9 July.

In the video, the guide asks her: Dont you think sleeping on the bus means you dont respect me?
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Travel as we know it could be extinct by the year 2040 due to climate change, a new report has warned.

Predictions for the future include holidaymakers chasing the shade and swapping traditional summer destinations like Greece and Mallorca for Belgium, Slovenia and Poland as temperatures continue to rise.

Produced by Intrepid, the worlds largest B-Corp-certified travel company, in partnership with foresight agency The Future Laboratory, the Sustainable Future for Travel report outlines what holidays could look like by 2040 if action isnt taken now.

The report forecasts that, unless things change, low-lying destinations currently popular with tourists, such as the Maldives and Jakarta, will be nearly fully submerged by 2050. The rising mercury could also put an end to visits to see Santa Claus in Lapland, as snow becomes thinner on the ground, while ski seasons would continue to shorten.

One of the problems with tourism at the moment is that it is the opposite of regenerative, said Darrell Wade, co-founder and chairman of Intrepid Travel. Its extractive  and this cannot continue for much longer.

The report envisages a world in which virtual holidays become mainstream and carbon passports restrict movement, unless the travel industry makes significant changes now.

The Future Laboratorys Martin Raymond said: A new era is dawning for the travel and tourism industry. Transient and transformative travel experiences will revolutionise the notion of leaving no trace. We will see hotels will be at the forefront of this extraordinary change.

In the next decade we will see more now-you-see-it-now-you-dont travel experiences popping-up across the world.

Highlighting how travel could change for the better, the report outlines five key trends it predicts will shape the future of holidays:

Regulation on tourism leakage

By 2040, governments will be required to implement regulations on travel businesses to ensure that the majority of money spent by tourists in a destination stays in the local economy, reads the report. This will pave the way for a more equitable and mutually beneficial relationship between travellers and the communities they visit, elevating the quality of life of the locals.

Real-time carbon footprint tracking

The Sustainable Future for Travel analysis predicts that carbon tracking will become even more individualised thanks to AI. It says: Travellers will log daily emissions and track travel metrics in real-time to reduce their footprint to meet individual carbon goals.

Accommodation that leaves no trace

A new generation of pop-up accommodation options combining sustainability and local craftmanship plus locally sourced materials to ensure a minimal footprint is the future when it comes to where well stay on holiday, claims the report.

Overland transport and slow travel

Train travel will be integral to this regenerative approach and by 2040, travellers will have the option to choose between high-speed innovations and slower modes, depending on their preferences, footprint and time constraints, reads the report. It forecasts that luxury, spaceship-style sleeper pods will provide comfort on hyper fast train journeys to help reduce our reliance on air travel.

People-led, not product-led, trips

In future, people will book holidays and travel experiences based on the social experience, rather than the hotel or destination, predicts the research. People-led travel is about the people you meet in destination and the deep human connections you form, it explains.

Mr Wade added: The direct, catastrophic impact of climate change has for too long been viewed as something distant in the future. But this is no longer an impending event; it's happening now. Tourism must evolve and become regenerative, as the current model is unsustainable.

We must recognise that the future needs to be different from business as usual, and that the climate crisis is not a competitive advantage. The clock is ticking for our planet and the future of the travel and tourism industry.

There is limited time left and immediate collective action and innovation is needed to decarbonise travel together and truly achieve the immense potential for sustainable development within our industry.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said she was not nervous around President Joe Bidens dog Commander after reports emerged of a new biting incident.

Her comments come after the Biden family's dog, a 2-year-old German shepherd, had to be removed from the White House after a series of biting incidents.

Last week, Commander reportedly bit a Secret Service agent who required medical treatment.

In an emailed statement, the first ladys communications director said that the Bidens remain grateful for the patience and support of the US Secret Service and all involved, as they continue to work through solutions.
A Lidl worker accused of plotting an attack at a primary school was shot by police at his home where he allegedly assembled a bomb and gun arsenal.

Bristol Crown Court heard how Reed Wischhusen, 32, fantasised over the Columbine and Dunblane massacres.

In footage released by Avon and Somerset Police, he was seen rushing down the stairs of his home in Wick St Lawrence, Somerset, to confront police with a gun.

A shot was initially heard while the defendant was in the bathroom, which later transpired to be him trying to shoot himself.

Wischhusen then rushed down the stairs while pointing his gun at one of the firearms officers, before three shots are heard being fired as officers battled to restrain him.

He was later charged with multiple firearms offences and the trial, at Bristol Crown Court, continues.
Soldiers and firefighters were battling to control a new wildfire on Spains Tenerife island that has forced some 3,000 people to leave their homes for safety.

Footage shows smoke rising above buildings as the fire rages in the forest nearby on Thursday 5 October.

The blaze, which started Wednesday, is centred on the towns of Santa Ursula and La Orotava in the mountainous northeast of the island, away from the main tourist areas in Tenerifes southwest.

The same area suffered one of the islands worst wildfires in decades in August when 14,000 hectares of pine forest and scrubland were burnt and some 12,000 residents evacuated over several weeks.
The White House has condemned a horrifying Russian attack on a grocery store in Ukraine.

At least 49 people were killed in the strike on a supermarket in the village of Hroza, in the Kharkiv region, according to Volodymyr Zelensky.

The Ukrainian president confirmed a six-year-old boy was among those killed.

Speaking at her daily briefing on Thursday 5 October, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre described the strike as incredibly horrifying for the people of Ukraine.

Can you imagine just walking to the grocery store with your kids... and you see an explosion happen, where bodies are everywhere, Ms Jean-Pierre said.

It is incredibly horrifying.
Two Fluvanna County High School students have been charged with threatening to bomb the school last month.

Authorities say the two threats, which occurred on two different days more than a week apart, were not connected.

A 14-year-old and a 15-year-old, whose names have not been released due to their ages, were each charged with one count of threatening to bomb a place of public assembly, the Fluvanna County Sheriffs Office announced Tuesday.

The first reported threats were discovered in the early morning hours of Sept. 18, according to the sheriffs office.

Authorities said they were made aware of threatening messages being circulated among a group of Fluvanna County High School students.

These messages contained statements about bringing guns and bombs to school, the sheriffs office said. Investigators and patrol deputies, along with school administrators, conducted multiple interviews and prevented the involved students from attending school until a determination could be made on what further action was appropriate.

The 14-year-old was charged as a result of the sheriffs office investigation into that incident.

The second set of reported threats were made on Sept. 27, nine days later.

While the earlier threats were exchanged between students, the Sept. 27 threats were found on social media.

The Sheriffs Office was again alerted to a social media post in which an individual threatened to blow up the Fluvanna County High School, the sheriffs office said. Investigators and deputies responded to the facility to assist in the dismissal of the occupants of the building and conduct searches to safely turn the facility back over to the school staff.

The 15-year-old was charged as a result of the sheriffs office investigation into that incident.

In the midst of the early dismissal on Sept. 27, the sheriffs office noted that a physical altercation broke out between two students at the school.

School resource deputies on the scene responded with school staff and temporarily detained the two students and were able to calm them and stop the fight, according to the sheriffs office.

Those students were released to their parents. No injuries were reported, the sheriffs office said.

There are no pending criminal charges related to the fight, the office said, however the matter is still considered an open investigation and charges may be made at a later time.

Regarding the bomb threats, the Fluvanna County Sheriffs Office said:

Threats and messages related to the bombing or burning of schools, and threats of mass violence toward the students, staff, and faculty at the schools in our community are illegal and are not tolerable. It is not appropriate to publish or send messages containing this content in any context, and there are consequences for doing so.

The sheriffs office said it appreciates the support of the community and the assistance and information it received directly related to the two incidents.
A tenanted Dublin investment property achieved the highest price at the live stream auction hosted recently by ODonnellan and Joyce, from their studio in Galway. The extended three-bedroom period home is located at 29 St Kevins Road, in trendy Portobello, Dublin 8.

With three bidders competing, it sold for 625,000 or 12.6pc over its 555,000 reserve price. Let to one family, it generates 26,400 rent a year which equates to quite a keen gross yield of 4.22pc.

Another Dublin property to sell in the auction saw 55 Rock Road, Blackrock, achieve a more modest 425,000. The three-bedroom period home on the busy route linking south Dublin coastal communities to the city centre was vacant.
Investors may be attracted to a choice of two modestly priced Leeson Street properties in Dublin, one of which has had its guide price reduced.

Colliers is now asking 1.9m for 40 Lower Leeson Street, Dublin 2, a vacant Georgian office property which had been guiding at 2.25m.

On the other side of Leeson Street Bridge the same agent is guiding 500,000 for 144 Upper Leeson Street, Dublin 4 which recently came to the market.

It comprises a prominent, four-storey commercial building which is let to the well-established beauty and hair salon Blow.

Its neighbour, 40 Lower Leeson Street, is a vacant four-storey over basement Georgian building recently refurbished to high traditional standards throughout. It provides a mix of impressive reception rooms that can comfortably accommodate open plan configurations, together with smaller rooms, suitable for cellular offices. Its floor-to-ceiling heights and attractive features create a bright, spacious and pleasant working environment.

Selling agent Stephen Conway says its price drop follows a recent slowdown in investor demand for some Georgians on the back of a reluctance by office occupiers to commit to long-term leases. On the other hand he has seen good demand for top-class Georgians as well as for those that would lend themselves to serviced office use.

40 Lower Leeson Street, Dublin 2

Extending to 4,295sqft, it also benefits from independent access from the street to the lower ground floor self-contained area.

On the other side of Leeson Street Bridge, 144 Upper Leeson Street, extends to 1,066 sqft. It is let under a 10-year lease from October 2015 and is subject to a reserved rent of  37,500. This suggests a net initial yield of 6.82pc based on the guide price.

Nigel Kingston, who is handling the sale on behalf of Colliers, says: This is a really neat investment and will be particularly attractive to a private investor seeking a well-located building with an established single commercial tenant.

It is located in a prominent position in a terrace of six buildings facing the busy traffic and pedestrian flow departing the city for the southside suburbs.

It also faces two popular pubs and is close to the Canal Bank Cafe and the Clayton Burlington Hotel.

Both properties are also close to the Dublin 2 and 4 prime office districts as well as key transport routes.
Move signals owners have not given up on site after An Bord Pleanala refused permission last month for controversial gas terminal pending completion of Government energy security review

An artist's impression of the proposed LNG plant on the Shannon Estuary

A subsidiary of US group New Fortress Energy has requested a pre-planning consultation with Kerry County Council relating to the proposed construction of power infrastructure on the Shannon Estuary despite having been refused permission by An Bord Pleanala last month for a 650m liquefied natural gas terminal and power plants at the location.

The company, Shannon LNG, made the pre-application consultation request to Kerry County Council on September 29, more than two weeks after it was refused permission for a development that was set to include a major liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal, two gas-fired power stations and a battery energy storage facility.

The facility was denied permission because it was deemed contrary to current Government policy  a position which could change after the Government completes a review of Irelands security of energy supply.

The meeting request with Kerry County Council relates to a planned grid connection and the construction of two electricity substations.

Earlier this year, Shannon LNG secured capacity contracts with EirGrid for the supply of 353MW of electricity from the planned gas-fired power plant at the site to the national grid. The Irish subsidiary must have the plants completed by October 2026 in order to fulfil the contract.

The site on the Shannon Estuary is directly opposite Moneypoint and close to Tarbert power station.

The overall premise of the proposed development is to provide an alternative source of natural gas supply for Ireland in the form of regasified LNG, as well as a new source of electricity to the national electricity grid, noted a report prepared by planners on behalf of Shannon LNG in 2021.

But last month, the planning watchdog scuppered the LNG plans.

However, the refusal wasnt an outright dismissal of the project. Instead, An Bord Pleanala said it was rejecting it pending the completion by the Government of a review of the security of energy supply of Irelands electricity and natural gas systems.

An Bord Pleanala said that it is Government policy not to permit or proceed with the development of any LNG terminals in Ireland pending until that review is finalised.

That review is being undertaken by the Department of the Environment, headed by Green Minister Eamon Ryan.

The Green Party has opposed the construction of an LNG terminal in Ireland.

It is considered that the development at this time would be would be contrary to current government policy, and in the absence of such policy support, such development would be contrary to the proper planning and sustainable development of the area, An Bord Pleanala added in its ruling.

The An Bord Pleanala planning inspector had recommended a split decision  the refusal of permission for the LNG facilities, but approval for the 600MW power plant and the battery storage facility.

But the watchdogs executives said that those elements constituted integral components of the overall proposal and would be primarily served and enabled for use by the specific functioning of the core LNG terminal elements.

A report published last year by Cambridge Economic Policy Associates recommended that LNG storage facilities be considered in Ireland to provide additional energy security.

Shannon LNG has been asked for comment.
The regulator is carrying out an investigation into the sale of services by the firm to other telecoms providers

Telecommunications watchdog ComReg has asked the High Court to intervene in its investigation into whether Eircom has complied with its obligations of non-discrimination, transparency and price control in the wholesale broadband access market.

Eircom Ltd (which trades as Eir) has been found by ComReg to have a dominant position in the wholesale market whereby it sells access to other competing operators. In 2022, some 119m of Eircoms 238m revenue was derived from its supply of next generation access broadband rental and usage to other operators, ComReg says.

Mr Justice Denis McDonald entered a case into the High Courts fast track commercial division related to an investigation ComReg is carrying out into Eircom as a wholesale seller of telecommunications services to other providers. Eircom consented to the entry.

ComReg says it has found that Eircom has significant market power in the wholesale market.

The watchdog says it has imposed a number of regulatory obligations on the company so as to promote competition and protect other operators and ultimately the consumer from the negative effects of Eircoms position of strength in the market.

In an affidavit seeking entry of the matter to the Commercial Court, Michael Patterson, ComRegs head of wholesale compliance and governance and its lead investigator in this case, said that fundamental to the regulatory regime is the principle that non-compliant conduct, specifically in the wholesale market, affects the ability of competitors to compete over time.

Last February, Eircom notified ComReg of a proposed discount scheme for certain products, including its fibre to home product, which are important for delivering telecommunications services, including broadband, in Ireland.

ComReg told Eircom the discount scheme did not meet regulatory requirements and there were significant concerns regarding the impact the scheme would have on investment and competition, Mr Patterson said.

ComReg said the scheme should not be put into effect and Eircom subsequently confirmed it would not publish the discount scheme.

However, Mr Patterson said, due to the unusual circumstances surrounding Eircoms treatment of the scheme, ComReg had concerns as to whether Eircom was acting/had acted contrary to regulatory obligations imposed on it.

An investigation commenced and ComReg officers attended Eircoms headquarters in late May and early June last when they seized information and documentation data which ComReg says may be potentially relevant to the investigation.

A protocol was proposed by ComReg for removing irrelevant and potentially privileged legal material from the seized data but there was no agreement with Eircom on this.

Mr Patterson said that as a consequence of this he was unable to unseal the seized data and has been unable to substantively progress the investigation.

As a result, ComReg brought an application under communications regulation legislation seeking orders and declarations from the court allowing it to adopt and follow the proposed protocol for removing irrelevant/privileged material.

Applying for entry of the case to the Commercial Court, Eoin McCullough SC, for ComReg, said that before the substantive case is dealt with Eircom wanted to raise the issue of whether it should be heard otherwise than in public.

Brendan Kennelly SC, for Eircom, said there was a large amount of very sensitive material at issue in the case and his side were still trying to avoid a situation of having to make an in camera or private application.

Mr Justice McDonald put the matter back to October 16 and gave directions for exchange of papers between the sides if an in camera hearing was necessary. He said he was not keen on fixing a date at this stage for the substantive hearing.
Revenue owed more than 13m in warehoused debt by the company

The High Court has rejected a scheme of arrangement for Northern Ireland firm Mac Interiors where the Revenue Commissioners was owed 13m in warehoused taxes.

It is the first case before the courts involving a large amount of warehoused debt amassed during the pandemic and could have significant implications for other businesses that warehoused debt during the Covid crisis.

As of the end of July, there were almost 56,000 businesses with a total of 1.2bn of warehoused debt. The warehousing scheme introduced during the crisis allowed businesses to defer the payment of some tax liabilities until they were on a sounder financial footing.

Mac Interiors chief executive Paul McKenna said the company was shocked and disappointed by the decision.

Earlier this year the company, which specialises in office fit outs, secured court protection from its creditors, with Kieran Wallace of Interpath Advisory appointed as its examiner.

The company had blamed the impact of the pandemic and losses on a Liverpool development, as well as global supply chain issues, for its financial difficulties.

It secured the examinership even though it is registered in Northern Ireland, which is now outside the European Union.

The companys administrative HQ was based in south Dublin and almost all board and management meetings took place there.

Its clients included firms such as Microsoft, Ryanair, Citibank, AIB, Pinterest and Barclays Bank.

Last month, lawyers for Mr Wallace told the High Court that a scheme of arrangement to save Mac Interiors had been agreed by a majority of its creditors.

If the company exited examinership, Derry construction firm Errigal had pledged to invest at least 3.7m in Mac Interiors.

But the Revenue Commissioners opposed an application from the examiners lawyers to approve that scheme. Revenue objected on legal grounds. It claimed that certain creditors were not properly classified under the proposed scheme.

However, a lawyer for the examiner denied the proposed scheme was flawed.

Revenue would see the 13m owed to it almost wiped out under the proposed scheme.

On Thursday, Mr Justice Michael Quinn indicated that he agreed with Revenue's argument regarding the classification of creditors and he believes the court does not have the jurisdiction to approve the proposed survival scheme.

Todays verdict is particularly disappointing given the notable support of the companys creditors, said Mr McKenna Excluding the Revenue Commissioners, the examiners scheme of arrangement achieved a significant majority vote in favour from all other creditors, both unsecured and secured.

He said that two independent financial consultancy firms had confirmed that a successful examinership was in the best interests of all creditors, including the Revenue Commissioners.

The position that the Revenue Commissioners adopted ensured that the Scheme was not approved, said Mr McKenna.

He added: This decision will have very serious repercussions not only for Macs staff and customers, but also for the wider construction industry, which was amongst the hardest hit sectors during the pandemic, and for any business that has warehoused tax debt.

Taxpayers including individuals and businesses have until May 1, 2024 to enter into a phased payment arrangement with Revenue or to pay their warehoused debt.

Two independent financial consultancy companies said a successful Examinership was in the best interests of all creditors including the Revenue Commissioners. The position that the Revenue Commissioners adopted ensured that the Scheme was not approved.
Smurfit Kappas merger talks with US paper & packaging rival WestRock provided a shot in the arm to the Irish M&A market in the third quarter of the year, helping it buck a wider global slow down.

The19bn deal was the largest with Irish involvement and the sixth largest globally this year.The latest M&A tallies from financial data provider London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG), shows the value of deals with an Irish element increased nearly 50pc in the first nine months of the year versus the same period of 2022, to 25.4bn, largely down to the Smurfit Kappa deal.

The number of Irish deals declined to 408, 18pc down on the same time last year but still the third highest tally for the first nine months of any year.

Deals where the target is Irish, including with a cross border buyer, dropped by 20pc from 2022 levels and to a three-year low.

Globally, the value of worldwide M&A is down 27pc including a big drop in cross border deals and a 42pc decline in so-called mega mergers, transactions worth more than 10bn.

M&A advisory is lucrative and has become highly competitive with domestic law firms and financial advisors going toe-to-toe with global firms and international advisory boutiques to win mandates.

So far this year the domestic players have held their lead. Law firm A&L Goodbody can claim bragging rights as the busiest advisor of the year to date, acting on 38 deals to beat out joint second place rivals Arthur Cox and Matheson, but Mathesons work for Smurfit Kappa on the WestRock deal means it is a clear winner if the ranking on value of transactions. It is the only Irish firm advising on the deal.

Financial advisory house IBI, the local affiliate of the Oaklins, ranked as the busiest advisor in its field, ahead of Benchmark International, JP Morgan and PWC in terms of the number of deals worked on. Global investment bank Lazard ranked fifth on the league table by deals but work on the Smurfit Kappa deal puts it among the top ranked advisors based on deal size.

Citi is acting as lead advisor to Smurfit Kappa with PJT Partners also advising. Lazard, Evercore and Goldman are advising WestRock.
Adrian Weckler (second from right) touring the new Intel facility in Leixlip, Co Kildare

Im standing in the cleanest changing room on earth, waiting to enter the most expensive high-tech factory  all 17bn worth  ever assembled in Ireland.

In preparation for a tour of Intels brand new Fab 34 chip manufacturing facility, one of the most advanced of its kind in the world, Im dressed like someone about to perform heart surgery on a radioactive patient in a nuclear fallout disaster.
AIB staff who are carers for vulnerable loved ones will now be able to take 10 additional days of paid leave.

The bank said the leave will be available to those providing care to a dependant with serious medical needs including a child, parent, close friend or neighbour.

It has also partnered with charity Family Carers Ireland and will offer training, webinars and one-to-one crisis support for staff in a bid to improve a work-life-care balance.

Under current legislation, employees who are carers may take statutory carers leave for between 13 and 104 weeks, which is unpaid.

Research carried out by Family Carers Ireland shows that 250,000 people are juggling a career alongside caring responsibilities.

More than half of carers (55pc) have been forced to give up on full-time employment, while half also say that caring responsibilities are holding them back from promotion.

AIB has also introduced a number of other changes to its leave programme.

It has broadened the five days paid marriage leave to include all significant life events such as moving home or the birth of a grandchild.

Four weeks of paid compassionate leave will also be offered to employees who experience pregnancy loss, whether its them, their partner or a surrogate.

The bank said these additional measures will give further certainty and recognition to its staff.

Speaking ahead of European Carers Day on October 6, Minister of State for Financial Services Jennifer Carroll MacNeill said: Im delighted to see AIB taking positive steps to support their employees who are providing essential care to their vulnerable loved ones.

"Family carers play a huge role in Ireland, and its so important to see large employers, such as AIB, supporting their workers in what is no doubt a difficult time in their lives.

AIBs Deputy Chief People Officer, Dave McCormack, said: We are delighted to further enhance our range of workplace supports to help our 9,500 colleagues manage their career at various life stages and through different life events.

Todays announcement follows the introduction of ten days paid leave for people experiencing domestic violence and abuse.

The bank also offers affected employees five days paid emergency hotel accommodation; security assistance to ensure their personal safety on the way to, from and at work; counselling services and the option of a salary advance to assist financially where required.
Protesters at the World Animal Day rally yesterday demanded dog-selling groups on WhatsApp be stopped and also spoke out strongly about animal theft, abuse and horse racing.

Animal lovers from various organisations throughout the country gathered at St Stephens Green and marched around the park before heading to Leinster House, hoping the Government would listen to their pleas.

World Animal Day protest takes place at Wolfe Tone monument

Sandra Kelly, who attended the protest for her missing dog, said: Buster was stolen from us five-and-a-half years ago in Father Collins Park in Donaghmede.

The hurt is ongoing, I will not give up on him. Its the not knowing where he is that hurts. His sister Molly is at home  theyre our babies, but someone took one away. I wish theyd been caught.

I hope all the animal abuse stops and tougher laws come in, but we need the Governments help.

When some people started stealing dogs during the Covid lockdowns, Lisa OConnor started a group to try to highlight the issue.

Over the last couple of years, she gradually became more involved with animal welfare.

Catherine Woods.

We formed a group called Animal Companion Advocates and had a meeting with some politicians. We presented our concerns and were hoping to go back next month, she said.

Ive been an animal lover since I was a small child. To see them suffering when theyre dumped, malnourished, abused or neglected, to see the pressure the rescues are under, its very sad.

WhatsApp groups are selling dogs. Every day hundreds of dogs are being sold there. The same with Facebook. The rescues are full to the brim. We dont need anyone breeding and selling more dogs.

Lisa OConnor

Fred Mahon of TNR (Trap, Neuter, Return) West Dublin also voiced his concern about dog theft.

Some are taken and put into fighting, thrown into a ring, but nothing seems to happen if your dog is stolen, he said.

Michael McGrath said he attended the event as a voice for greyhounds.

I transport Irish rescue dogs to UK rescues. Theres a huge amount of greyhounds, theyre so overbred, he said.

When theyre finished their career, theyre either put into rescues or theyre killed  and so much taxpayers money is going into greyhound racing.

Deborah Kenny.

A lot of people who go to the racing dont understand the impact of it, they dont see whats going on behind the scenes.

Its portrayed as a great night out, but for the dog that gets injured its the end of their career and theyre left in a kennel or brought to the vet to be euthanised. Its an awful industry.

Sandra Kelly

People have this idea that they are vicious and need exercise. Theyre friendly and they sleep a lot. Theyre the most lovely, gentle, soulful dogs you could meet.

Catherine Woods, from Husky Rescue Ireland, believes greyhound racing is a filthy trade that needs to be stopped.

Fred Mahon.

State support for horse racing and greyhound racing is in the tens of millions of euro and its a filthy trade, she said.

Animals have no voice, so youre never going to stop hearing ours.
Bomb squad arrives at home of ex-RTE broadcaster Fergal Keane following a discovery of explosive material

The bomb squad arrived at the west Cork farm of former RTE broadcaster Fergal Keane today following the discovery of the explosive material gelignite dating back to the War of Independence.

During renovations to a half-ruined shed with no roof yesterday, around 100 sticks of the material were found buried in the walls.

Upon making the discovery, the journalist called gardai.

The bomb squad arrived to the property today where they will be for quite a while, Mr Keane told the Irish Independent.

They will either blow it up or take it away, he said.

The broadcaster was called after the discovery of an earthenware jar was made yesterday morning.

It held sticks labelled gelignite at the bottom and further stores were found buried into the walls.

"We bought this place in 2016, 2017, Mr Keane said.

"Some parts we havent even been to, they were totally overgrown. It was yesterday when we finally got started on this shed.

The farm had been near abandoned for the last 30 years, but the American family who knew the history of the site had been in touch.

"We always knew we would find something in this place, Mr Keane said, explaining the family were relatives of a man involved in the IRA ambush at Kilmichael around 1920.

"It was all hidden there because of him.

Mr Keane said it was lucky that nothing had been stored or put in the shed before the discovery was made yesterday as with the volume of explosive material, it could have been unstable.

Army personnel told him the history of the material and how it had been manufactured in Glasgow.

"So renovating an old shed on the farm in (west) Cork and found this, he told followers on social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, early today.

So renovating an old shed on the farm in W Cork and found this - its gelignite - lots of it. Bomb squad have arrived. Earlier tweet with pic of DF personnel deleted at DF request. Its War of independence era pic.twitter.com/TqcSYicRGU  Fergal Keane (@fergalrte) October 5, 2023

"Its gelignite  lots of it. Bomb squad have arrived.

Mr Keane said the explosives were from the War of Independence era.

He shared a series of photos of the discovery, showing the rusted material lying on the ground.

The journalist reported for RTE Radio 1 for almost three decades when he announced his departure in March to pursue other interests.

He said it had been an honour to tell peoples stories.

That includes being a part time farmer, part time sailor and part time content provider and writer for hire. A bit early for me but the draw of other adventures is strong.

"After nearly 40 years in journalism reporting from all over the world I can say we only exist because people talk to us in the face of intolerance and intimidation.
A University of Virginia student was injured while fighting off an abduction that ended only when her alleged attacker crashed a work truck into a tree Wednesday night. While a bloodied woman was quickly found near the crash site, a manhunt involving multiple agencies worked overnight before a suspect was arrested shortly after noon Thursday.

A violent individual is no longer on the street, said Charlottesville Police Chief Michael Kochis at a post-arrest press conference. Our communitys a little safer today.

The arrestee is 40-year-old James Robert Allen of Suffolk, who has been charged with strangulation and abduction, said Kochis.

Police were first alerted around 9:40 p.m. Wednesday after a commercial pickup truck wrecked in a fraternity house yard at the corner of Grady and Cabell avenues. Before the truck came to rest against a tree trunk, it hit multiple vehicles and at least one other tree, officers reported.

Ive got a female here with what looks like blood on her face and blood on her hands, an officer can be heard moments later on a police scanner.

She doesnt want me to approach her, but I believe shes the victim of this, the officer continued. She had duct tape on her wrists.

While the police chief declined to confirm those details or whether a weapon was wielded, he said the young woman battled a violent stranger.

She fought her way to freedom, said Kochis. Shes a very strong woman.

The police scanner also seemed to confirm what images posted on social media showed: that the truck bore the logo of Curtis Contracting Inc. of West Point. That company holds a $28.5 million contract to design and build six major intersections, including the recently completed diverging diamond connecting Interstate 64 with U.S. Route 250.

Were still following the investigation and dont have anything to add, company Vice President Steve Ordung told The Daily Progress Thursday, declining to answer any questions.

The police chief expressed gratitude to the public for assisting in the manhunt by sharing his departments social media posts, including a 6:42 a.m. Thursday Facebook post describing the attack with attached images of the suspect. That post showed around 2,000 shares by the time of Allens arrest, which Kochis said took place in Louisa County.

We received numerous sightings of this individual which ultimately led us to apprehend him, said Kochis.

He said the search involved helicopters, tracking dogs and the assistance of multiple law enforcement agencies, including Virginia State Police and Orange County Sheriffs Office.

I just couldnt be more proud of the cooperation, said Kochis. Resources just flooding the area.

We called in all resources available to us, he continued. It was a phone call, and theyre like, Were on our way from Roanoke, Were on our way from Richmond, Were on our way from Culpeper.

By late afternoon, Allen arrived at the Albemarle-Charlottesville Regional Jail, according to jail officials. State records indicate that this is not the first time that Allen has been charged with abduction.

A 2008 incident in Fauquier County led to a mistrial and later to an assault and battery conviction with a 12-month jail sentence. A strangulation conviction can bring a maximum five-year sentence while a conviction for abduction can bring 10 years.

Kochis said the condition of the victim was stable, and UVa Police Chief Tim Longo expressed gratitude.

Thank God this young lady is safe, said Longo. Shes gonna work through this with a lot of support and love.

My message to the students is to continue to be resilient, continued Longo. It is a safe place, but it also is an evil world.

This story has been updated to reflect Allen's primary address as Suffolk.
Cancer patients can pay up to 300 a month in parking fees in some Dublin hospitals, it emerged today.

The Irish Cancer Society (ICS) said that while some hospitals offer parking concessions for cancer patients, almost two in five public hospitals charge them the full cost of parking.

In its pre-Budget submission the cancer charity has called for the abolition of the charges, and it asks Government to step up and reduce hospital parking fees, as promised in the Programme for Government.

ICS chief executive Averil Power said: Urgent action is also needed to address the impact of the cost-of-living crisis on cancer patients and their families.

There is a real risk that cancer outcomes will go backwards

"The financial impact of cancer is huge. The patient themselves is usually out of work for a period, while a family member may also have to take time off to care for them. At the same time, they are hit by a wide range of extra charges.

In last years budget, the Government abolished in-patient charges.

This saving of up to 800 per year for cancer patients was very welcome. However, the cost-of-living crisis means that patients are increasingly struggling with other costs such as hospital parking fees.

The charity pointed out that car parking income at acute hospitals generated 5.1m in 2021 and 7.4m 2022.

Other changes are also needed to help with the cost of living and the ICS said people with a medical card who are under 70 have a 1.50 charge for each prescription item, up to a maximum of 15 per month, for each person or family.

If a medical card holder is over 70 years of age, there is a 1 prescription charge for each item, up to a 10 per month maximum.

While the reductions to prescription charges in recent budgets are welcome, the State must honour commitments to reduce the financial burden on economically vulnerable patients, and to ensure that everyone can access the medicine they need.

Other demands include expanding the criteria for eligibility for the household benefits package to include all cancer patients upon diagnosis, until their treatment is finished.

There are over 200,000 people waiting for a radiology appointment

The pre-Budget submission asks to introduce a new statutory payment for employees and self-employed people with chronic illness, to attend medical appointments.

There should be a standardised, equitable approach to accessing post-mastectomy products, and hairpieces for those diagnosed with cancer.

People living with cancer should also be included in the national eligibility framework to avail of publicly funded IVF treatment.

The pre-Budget submission said that cancer services need 20m in extra funding next year to secure better survival rates and quality of life for people with cancer.

There is a real risk that cancer outcomes will go backwards if reduced spending, squeezed supply and increased demand on cancer services continues.

Other priorities for the charity include the abolition of Vat on sunscreen, and funding so that mothers with cancer can defer maternity leave until they have finished treatment.

As well as a 5pc rise in excise duty on cigarettes, it wants the Government to introduce a 500 tobacco retailer licensing fee and an environmental levy on all tobacco products sold.

It said that unfortunately, many backlogs in services have worsened due to the Covid crisis, because they were under-funded and under-resourced for many years before the pandemic hit.

The ICS said while it was grateful to Health Minister Stephen Donnelly for efforts to mitigate the impact of the pandemic on diagnostic services, patients using public healthcare still wait far too long for tests that detect cancer  and this has a direct impact on outcomes.

In April 2023, Minister Donnelly made further efforts in this regard and proposed a policy to refer patients into hospitals, rather than to individual consultants. The Irish Cancer Society calls for the implementation of such a policy.

Early detection occurs on a spectrum  from screening services for breast, colorectal and cervical cancers, to GP services and subsequently to diagnostics services. Such services and their appropriate resourcing is essential for supporting better health and quality-of-life outcomes and lower treatment costs.

As GP services are under pressure the emergency department can be the all-too-common route to diagnosis  and they are overwhelmed.

It is likely that many cancers are diagnosed as a consequence of receiving care for another health concern  and that this group of people tend to be diagnosed with cancer at a late stage.

We believe there are over 200,000 people waiting for a radiology appointment like CT, MRI or ultrasound.
Minister received bleak warning over spending from transport body

Lack of investment in Irish roads will lead to more deaths and injuries claims TII report

Transport Minister Eamon Ryan was warned last year that failure to properly invest in new road projects and improvements could result in 77 deaths and 381 serious injuries over the next five years.

The Green Party leader received the stark predictions from Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII), which outlined concerns about funding cuts.

It said these cuts could lead to increases in fatalities and serious injuries due to delays to new projects and improvement on dangerous sections of national roads.

The 12-page briefing document, dated October 28, 2022, was drafted in the context of Budget allocations for roads this year and highlighted the consequences for safety of not adequately funding national roads.

The brief was compiled after concerns were raised by the TII board about the state agencys statutory obligation to ensure national roads are safe for all users.

The document, called Briefing Note to the Department of Transport on the Consequences of the Funding Scenarios for 2023, detailed the predicted number of deaths and serious injuries linked to a potential failure to fund individual projects across the country.

Based on a failure to advance the Cork City Northern Transport Project, it forecast 18 deaths and 252 serious injuries. Applying the same criteria to the N4 Mullingar-to-Longford road, seven deaths and 11 injuries were forecast.

Transport Minister Eamon Ryan (Brian Lawless/PA)

The TII warned of another six deaths and 37 injuries if the N4 Maynooth-to-Leixlip project is delayed, while four deaths and 11 serious injuries could result from stalling the N24 Cahir-to-Limerick Junction bypass.

This level of casualty indicates the scale of the problem leaving legacy roads to perform a transport function without improvement, the document stated.

Progressing the New Roads projects in planning at a steady pace, rather than by stop-start, would mean that the overall number of casualties would substantially reduce.

Mr Ryan has been at loggerheads with Fine Gael and Fianna Fail backbenchers over the stalling of significant road projects in their constituencies.

He insisted on a 2:1 ratio in favour of new capital investment in public transport over roads as a key plank of the Programme for Government.

Responding to the document from Transport Infrastructure Ireland, Minister of State with responsibility for the Office of Public Works Patrick ODonovan said that some roads referenced in the document were in the middle of the planning stages.

One of the things that has to be noted is that some of these roads that are outlined in this are actually making their way through the planning process at the moment, he told RTEs Today with Claire Byrne.

It is worth pointing out that over the last number of years, this government has invested very heavily in roads.

Theres no doubt about it, during my time as a councillor and as a TD there has always been demands for road improvements, thats natural, Minister ODonovan added, referencing the N24 and the N20 in his constituency.

All of these roads do require attention and there is no doubt about that.

Minister ODonovan said it was important that TII issue the warning to Minister Ryan.

I think its timely and I think policymakers should reflect on it, he said.

At the end of the day, unfortunately, every provincial radio station or Morning Ireland, you turn it on and youre listening to a road fatality of some description all over the country. Its practically daily.

These accidents more than likely are not happening on dual carriage ways or motorways. They are happening on single carriageways, minor roads, local roads and regional roads.

The policy is part of the Governments commitment to reduce carbon emissions by 51pc by 2030.

There has been a significant spike in road deaths this year, with the number of people killed on Irish roads currently standing at 136. This is 23 more deaths than this time last year.

There were a number of road tragedies during the summer, including the deaths of four young people in Clonmel, Co Tipperary, on their way to celebrating their Leaving Cert results.

Not long after that horror crash, another three people, including a toddler, were killed in a nearby road collision in Cashel.

In its briefing to Mr Ryan, the TII highlighted the impact of delaying the delivery of road infrastructure commitments set out in the Governments National Development Plan (NDP).

The consequences of delaying the delivery or improvement of infrastructure would span across multiple areas including safety, economic development, regional accessibility, high-quality interconnectivity to ports and airports and enabling the reallocation of road space in towns and villages, it said.

In particular, the board of the TII is concerned about funding cuts leading to increases in fatalities and serious injuries because of delays to projects and improvements to dangerous sections of nationals roads.

The TII said rigorous analysis of data on road accidents show a dual carriageway with directions separated by a barrier is four times safer than a single carriageway.

The briefing note said a divided road with a vehicle-restraint barrier is two times safer than a single carriageway.

Single-carriageway roads designed to the TIIs standards were safer than legacy single carriageways.

Legacy roads have higher collision rates than new or improved roads, so delay to the ultimate delivery of the new or improved roads will mean that people in Ireland will incur a higher rate of casualty from collisions for a period equal to the delay caused by suspending funding and the ultimate delay in delivery of the project, the TII said.

Mr Ryans spokesperson said road safety and saving lives is absolutely central to everything we do in the Department of Transport.

It is our number-one concern when it comes to decisions on how we design and develop our roads and streetscapes, in how we utilise and share them and in how we fund them, they said.

We have just launched a new speed-limit review which will reduce the default speed on our roads and streets, making them much safer for more vulnerable users in particular.

Over the past three years, this government has allocated over 5bn in funding on new roads, and on the protection and renewal of existing roads.

Road safety is core to this funding, and to every transport decision and strategy, and will continue to be so into the future.
Ireland may pay to not accept asylum seekers from safe places in other parts of the European Union, according to Taoiseach Leo Varadkar.

Mr Varadkar said Ireland will not turn migrants away but said as part of the new European deal on migration, which reached a breakthrough earlier in the week, the State may pay into a fund instead of accepting more asylum seekers.

The breakthrough deal by European leaders will see countries which receive large numbers of irregular migrants ask their fellow EU member states for either money, help in processing asylum claims, or to take in some migrants themselves.

Speaking at the European Political Community meeting in Granada, Spain, Mr Varadkar said countries will be able to accept migrants who are already in other parts of the EU or make a financial contribution.

He said Ireland has taken in over 100,000 migrants over the past two years and struggles to house them.

You can have the option of accepting refugees who are in other parts of the EU, so theyre already in a safe place, or you can make a financial contribution, he said.

Realistically, where we are in Ireland at the moment, having accepted over 100,000 people from Ukraine and other parts of the world in the past two years, I dont think were really in a position to accept more voluntary transfers, not until we get on top of the accommodation situation.

Thats not to say that well turn away people that come to Ireland, of course we wont do that. But volunteering to take more people is a different thing entirely.

I think though from Irelands point of view, it wouldnt really be a case of taking a quota of refugees, weve accepted a huge number of people last year or two, maybe 100,000 people from Ukraine and other parts of the world so were in a difference place as a country now, really struggling to accommodate the numbers that we have.

He said the deal, which has been in the making since 2015, will see more cooperation and tighter EU borders.

Despite Western commitment to Ukraine appearing to waver in recent weeks, Mr Varadkar said discussions should start on it joining the EU and said he was in favour of enlargement.

However, more countries joining the EU may see a reform of the Common Agriculture Policy (CAP), but bigger countries may have to make larger contributions.

Mr Varadkar will this afternoon hold a second bilateral meeting with UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, where he will discuss Ireland and the UKs successful Euros 2028 bid.

The State is likely to pay a part of the renovations in Casement Park in Belfast and matches are also set to be held in the Aviva Stadium.

Mr Varadkar is also expected to raise the Legacy Bill with Mr Sunak and the Attorney General is still considering whether the UK can be taken to court over the controversial law.
New research from ESRI finds one in 30 adults have a problem with gambling

ESRI research concludes that almost half of the 5.5bn spent annually on gambling here is by people struggling to regulate their desire to bet. Photo: Getty Images

Problem gambling is 10 times more common in Ireland than previously thought  with one in 30 adults suffering from negative experiences associated with betting.

New research from the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) found problem gamblers were each spending an average of more than 1,000 a month on gambling. 

The research strongly suggests that the prevalence of problem gambling here is far wider than previously understood, and that significant amounts of the industrys profits are coming from people who are struggling with gambling.

The ESRI found that almost half of the 5.5bn spent on gambling every year is estimated to come from people who are experiencing multiple negative effects from betting.

But despite the new research, fears remain that the true extent of the problem in Ireland may still be underestimated.

The ESRI said the research had serious implications for understanding the role that gambling plays in Irish life.

Professor Pete Lunn, head of the ESRIs Behavioural Research Unit, said: It is hard to measure problem gambling precisely, but we are confident that one in 30 adults more accurately reflects the true situation than previous estimates.

This equates to 130,000 adults with problem gambling in Ireland and suggests that the problem is much more widespread than we thought.

The most recent research on gambling in Ireland was the 2019-2020 Irish National Drug and Alcohol Survey. It estimated that incidence of problem gambling was 10 times lower than the figures compiled by the ESRI.

The ESRI said the nature of gambling, and the stigma surrounding it, meant that people were only likely to admit the scale of their activity when they were offered anonymity.

The research found more than 3pc of Irish adults suffer from problem gambling. Another 7pc also experienced issues with gambling, but this fell short of the threshold of problematic gambling.

Unfortunately, even though our estimates are much higher than previous ones, we may still be underestimating the true prevalence of [problem gambling], the report by the ESRI stated.

The research found that unsurprisingly, problem gamblers report spending much more on betting products than others.

The average spend reported by problem gamblers was 12,000 a year.

Obviously, this is a very high expenditure relative to disposable income. Weekly spend was 70 among those with moderate evidence of problematic gambling, 42 among those with some evidence and 11 for other gamblers, the report states.

The conclusion is that while we recorded only 3.3pc of the adult population as having problematic gambling, this group accounts for an estimated 28pc of spending on gambling, with 47pc of total spending accounted for by a combination of people with problematic gambling and those with moderate evidence of it.

ESRI research concludes that almost half of the 5.5bn spent annually on gambling here is by people struggling to regulate their desire to bet. Photo: Getty Images

The research found that two-thirds of problem gamblers said they would like to gamble less than they currently do, indicating that the current gambling landscape may induce widespread difficulties associated with self-control.

Problem gamblers have substantially worse mental health than people who do not, and the family members of people with gambling problems also have worse mental health than average.

The ESRI said that people under 50 have higher rates of problem gambling. Those in their 30s have the highest rate.

Problem gambling is less widespread among women than men and less common among those with higher levels of education. However, the ESRI said differences between genders and educational backgrounds were smaller than previously thought.

The research showed that the public doesnt see the character of a person, or their upbringing, as the main reason for problem gambling.

More people blamed the widespread availability of opportunities to gamble and exposure to gambling advertising.

The true extent of problem gambling in Ireland is hidden from public view and the importance of this ESRI study, in shining a light on the extent of gambling harm in Ireland, cannot be underestimated, said Anne Marie Caulfield, the CEO designate of the Gambling Regulatory Authority.

Problem gambling impacts not just on the individual involved, but on their family and friends.

The insights from this and other studies into gambling in Ireland will be invaluable to the authority as we undertake our work in education, awareness and in introducing other measures, such as the exclusion register, to protect against gambling harm.

The Minister of State for Law Reform admitted the laws around gambling must be updated as current legislation is outdated and not fit for purpose.

Minister James Browne, who is currently bringing new gambling legislation through the Dail, said the new laws have passed committee stage.

Despite the legislation coming from the Department of Justice, Minister Browne said it is important that a health-led approach is taken when tackling problem gambling.

Our laws are completely out of date. Theyre from the 1930s and the 1950s. Theyre not fit for purpose, Minister Browne said.

With easily accessible gambling options on smartphones, the minister said new legislation on gambling is a high priority.

The reality is that every 12 year old is going around with a casino in their back pocket This is urgent legislation, and we are treating it as urgent legislation, the minister said on RTEs Morning Ireland on Thursday.

When asked about the new data from the ESRI on problem gambling, the minister said it confirmed what was already believed to be a serious issue in Ireland.

I think what these hard figures show is what we believed was the extent of this very serious addiction, Minister Browne said.

Well certainly reevaluate the legislation to see if we need to go further anywhere but this is some of the strictest gambling legislation in Europe that we are bringing forward as it is, he added.

As part of the proposed gambling legislation, there will be a levy on all gambling activities, which the minister said will raise funds for education, awareness and treatment for gambling.

Within this legislation there is a clear additional levy that will be put on all gambling activities to get further funding from the gambling industry, Minister Browne said.

Its a massive industry, it makes a lot of money and I certainly wouldnt object to seeing further money being collected.

The levy will apply to the gambling industry based on turnover. So, it will be adjusted based on the size of the particular company that might be providing the services, he added.

The actual percentage hasnt been worked out yet were still establishing the exact size of the industry but it is a massive industry so the key will be that sufficient funding is collected to fund treatment education and awareness of the dangers around gambling.
Mother of one from Mayo suffered serious injuries after shooting at house in Millner, Darwin

An Irish nurse living in Australia is in critical condition after she was shot at a house in the Northern Territory city of Darwin.

The nurse, aged in her 30s, is originally from Co Mayo and is the mother of a young child.

The woman was found with severe abdominal injuries at the property.

The suspected shooter, a 35-year-old man, was later pronounced dead at the scene and it is believed he took his own life.

Media reports in Australia say the local police do not anticipate the need to make any arrests.

Police were called to the home, in Millner in the northern suburbs of Darwin, at 6.30pm on Tuesday after reports of gunshots.

First responders managed to stabilise the woman who underwent surgery on Tuesday night.

The womans condition remains critical and her family in Mayo have been informed.

Sprigg Street in Millner, Darwin, where the shooting took place

Northern Territory Police Detective Senior Sergeant Paul Morrissey said on Wednesday that police and emergency services were called to an address on Sprigg Street in Millner at 6.30pm "for a report of two people suffering gunshot injuries.

"At the location, first responders identified a female and 35-year-old male, both with apparent gunshot injuries," he said.

"The female was conveyed to Royal Darwin Hospital, where she remains in a critical condition in the intensive care unit.

"The male was declared deceased at the scene."

Sgt Morrissey said: "Firearms have been located, and there does not appear to be any danger to the public.

He added: Its obviously distressing for family members and friends of the persons involved and also a confronting scene for first responders.

Speaking to a local news outlet, a neighbour in Millner said she heard two loud noises "a few minutes apart".

"We thought it might have been crackers because the dog gets scared with bangs, but it just didn't sound right, and I could hear yelling," she said.

"And then we saw police running down the street and lights, so we knew something had happened.

"I think we are all a bit shocked. Its really sad," she said.
Two people in Dublin have become millionaires overnight after winning Wednesday night's lotto jackpot.

The jackpot, worth a staggering 7,734,054, will now be split between the two lucky winners who will come away with almost 4 million each.

The ticket holders, who bought their winning entries in the capital, matched six numbers and will now be able to claim their winnings amounting to 3,867,027 each.

The winning numbers were 1, 6, 8, 12, 13, 16 and 35.

Players in Dublin are now being urged to check their tickets to see if they matched all six numbers.

The National Lottery is expected to reveal the shop locations where each winning ticket was bought in the coming days.

There was also a third big winner in last nights lotto when a player matched five numbers and the bonus number in Wednesdays lotto draw.

The match five winner, also in Dublin, will receive a prize of 581,131.

Meanwhile, there were no winners of the Lotto plus one draw, which had a jackpot worth 1 million.

There was also no winner of the Lotto plus two draw, which had a top prize of 250,000.

In total over 79,000 people won prizes in the Lotto and Lotto Plus draws on Wednesday night.
Growing up mixed race in Ireland: A lady on the bus told us to go back to Africa. Id never been to Africa

People from around Ireland speak about their unique experiences of growing up mixed race and what Black History Month means to them

Grace Odumosu found more confidence after moving to the US. Photo: Mark Condren

Azmia Riaz Thu 5 Oct 2023 at 03:30

October is Black History Month in Ireland and the UK. The month is an opportunity for people to learn more about the history of African communities and to remember important historical events to learn from them. This year, the Irish Museum of Modern Art (IMMA) will kick the month off on October 5 with the theme: Highlighting the crucial role that black women have played in shaping history, inspiring change and building communities.
Mary Kenny: My dad was 67 when I was born  my advice to older fathers is go for it
Upcoming production will star West End leading lady Rebecca Storm and a cast of 35 members

Written by Ollie Hennessy and Don OConnor and fresh from its premier at Kilkennys Watergate Theatre, a cast of 35 members will play the OReilly Theatre, Belvedere College, Dublin 1, from November 21 to 24.

Set during World War I, Letters From The Front is the new Irish musical that has everyone talking since it debuted earlier this year.

The new musical tells the emotional tales of three families, caught up in the turmoil of WWI. This is a story of young love and sacrifice when Irish couple Willie and Eileens circumstances force them to separate as Willie is sent to fight for the British military stationed at the Western Front. The only communication keeping the couple's connection alive is through the heart-felt letters they exchange.

Letters From The Front features a stunning orchestral music score and beautiful original songs that underpin the raw emotions of the characters as they navigate the turbulent waters of the Great War.

From haunting melodies that speak to the depths of despair, to uplifting songs that celebrate the strength of the characters, inspired by and based on real letters that were written by soldiers and family members throughout the years 1914-1918, the music of Letters from the Front will resonate deeply with audiences. Beginning life as A Silent Night a 30-minute presentation during the Kilkenny Yuletide Festival in 2018, the theme of the story is inspired by true life letters written to and by soldiers on the front-line during WWI.

Creators Don OConnor and Ollie Hennessey said, as tickets went on sale: The reaction Letters from the Front got in Kilkenny back in March made us believe that there is an audience for these stories.

Many of our cast including Rebecca herself have family links to WWI and we were unaware of the scale of Irish participation in WWI until we started writing the musical. Over 200,000 Irish men served in the British military with 35,000 losing their lives.

Ollie, who is responsible for the music, added one of the most iconic songs of WWI is, Its a long way to Tipperary, recorded by one of Irelands best known tenors John McCormack so there is a real connection between this horrendous part of world history and our country. Having someone with such exceptional theatre experience as Rebecca agreeing to come on board makes us believe we have something special in this piece of musical theatre.

Adding to the excitement of the musical rolling into the capital, West End leading lady Rebecca Storm joins the cast of Letters from the Front for the Dublin dates.

Having performed in major productions such as Calendar Girls the Musical, Evita, Les Miserables and Blood Brothers, Rebecca is sure to bring her extraordinary talent and captivating presence, which will undoubtedly elevate this production to new heights, promising audiences a truly unforgettable show.

Rebecca said: I'm absolutely thrilled to be a part of Letters from the Front, and to bring this incredible story to Dublin for the very first time. It's a powerful and moving piece of musical theatre. I actually have the letters written by my great grandfather who fought at the Battle of the Somme, so these four performances in such an intimate Dublin venue will be very special not only for me but also the other cast members many who like me have ancestors who fought in WWI.

Dont miss your chance to be one of the first to witness this turbulent journey through a rocky chapter in history. Letters from the Front is a must-see for theatregoers and history buffs alike.

Tickets are on sale now from www.gr8events.ie/letters. Tickets are priced at 34 and 30 for OAP/students
Labour TD for Cork East Sean Sherlock has been appointed as his party's spokesperson on Social Protection, Rural and Community Affairs and the Islands. along with Agriculture and the Marine.

OLD geographical rules governing the provision of bus seating to primary and post-primary students in rural Ireland should be ditched  in the interests of all of our young people and their parents.

That is the message from North Cork Labour TD Sean Sherlock to the Minister for Education this week following the resolution of a crisis that had left many children without a place on the school bus in Kildinan and Rathcormac since the new academic year got underway.

It was a crisis exacerbated by the governments lifting of charges for the travel scheme last year in response to the cost of living crisis; sparking a surge in demand.

Speaking in a special debate on School Transport in the Dail on Tuesday, Deputy Sherlock praised the tenacity and fortitude of the North Cork community in its successful  this time  fight to get bus seats for all its young.

Deputy Sherlocks welcoming of the resolution was a guarded one, as he warned he has to deliver a sustainable solution for families into the future not just this year.

North Cork TD Sean Sherlock praised the tenacity and fortitude of North Cork communities in their fight for a school bus this year but said that the Government must address the matter long term.

I am glad it was sorted but what it has thrown up is the fact that Rathcormac had to go through a struggle where 11 children did not have a school place for a long time. The closure of the Kildinan school in 1975 created an exception such that when the scheme was changed, people who were on concessionary tickets had to be taken off the bus.

I acknowledge that a solution has been found and hope it will be a sustainable and long-term solution but it begs the question about these anachronistic geographical rules, he said, making a special appeal:

If, in the course of the review, the Minister could do away with those geographical rules, we would not have this debate year in, year out.

If the Minister is moving, as I think she is, towards a more universal model. where there seems to be a willingness by people to pay, then people will be glad to pay for it if the supply of buses and drivers is there.

The geographical rules underpinning the scheme are out of date, outmoded, and do not reflect the society in which we now live. They are anachronistic and need to be done away with. It does not reflect the reality of the number of people who live in rural parts of our country.
Thousands of science projects were submitted, but only 300 rose to the top of the Society for Science and Thermo Fisher Scientific Junior Innovators Challenge. And among those 300? Charlottesville student Elizabeth Bruscia.

I could not believe that email, Bruscia, a seventh-grader at Charlottesville Catholic School, told The Daily Progress. I did not realize that was actually happening, because theres like 2,000 projects and I was one of the top 300. It was really, really cool.

In order to qualify for the national challenge, students must first compete in a local society-affiliated science fair. The top 10% of those students are nominated to apply to the Junior Innovators Challenge. A pool of evaluators, including scientists, engineers and educators recruited from across the country, select the top 300 students from the pool of candidates.

Bruscia said she was required to participate in Charlottesville Catholics science fair like any other seventh-grader at the school. What set her apart was her inspiration.

Bruscia is an aspiring equestrian.

You should always do what youre passionate about and that will always help, and science can be used in anything, she said.

Her project, titled Under Pressure, Improving Equine Health, and Injury Prevention, came to her after a specific equine encounter.

One time, I was at a horse show and the pony that I was riding was not smooth, she was more bumpy, and I thought it was because of the footing, Bruscia said.

So she set about testing the different types of materials used in horse arenas to create a safe, stable terrain for horses to walk and perform on under the same amount of pressure, she said. Her mission: Find what footing was best for a horses performance and health.

One of the brands Bruscia tested was TruTex Eclipse. The material was one of the better ones because of its soft consistency made up of little fibers.

The other one that was the worst had big pieces of cloth and there werent a lot of them so its mostly like sand, Bruscia said.

Bruscia said she wants to go to college to explore the veterinary field and learn the biomechanics of horses.

Then when I get out of college, I would love to be a horse trainer or rider, she said.

So she was a perfect fit for the Society for Science and Thermo Fisher Scientific STEM competition, which aims to help schoolchildren tackle real-world problems.

While securing first place at Charlottesville Catholics science fair was definitely an accomplishment, Bruscia said, getting named in the top 300 in the national competition  which comes with a $125 prize among other gifts  is nothing to sniff at.

Now that the top 300 have been named, 30 finalists will be selected and invited to participate in a Finals Week competition in Washington, D.C., where the grand prize is $100,000 in awards and prizes.

The students are assessed on their scientific research projects, and then when they come to Washington, D.C., not only are the judges looking at their overall science research project, but theyre performance and hands on team challenges, Raeva Ramadorai, Director for the challenge, told The Daily Progress.

The goal of the Thermo Fisher Scientific Junior Innovators Challenge is to inspire young scientists, engineers and innovators to solve the worlds most intractable challenges, according to the organization.

We hope that students gain an increased confidence in their abilities in STEM, and that theyre encouraged to continue those passions in high school and beyond, Ramadorai said.

The middle school age is a critical time for students in developing passions, according to Ramadorai. She hopes the competition boosts students confidence to help further evolve those passions.

A lot of students that we see compete at the middle school level come back and we see them at our high school competitions, Ramadorai said. Its really inspiring and encouraging to see that they are actually continuing in their STEM careers, which is great.

Other science competitions also offered by the Society of Science include the International Science and Engineering Fair and the Science Talent Search, both offered to high school students. The Science Talent Search is the nations oldest and most prestigious science and math competition for high school seniors.

I think were seeing now more than ever that with so many of the worlds problems you need science, technology, engineering and math to solve them, and were seeing that come across in a lot of the students projects, Ramadorai said. These students are looking at things that are affecting them, their personal lives and their communities, and STEM is a way that they can figure out how to better the world for themselves and the future.
Asia Matters chair Alan Dukes, with Minister for Agriculture Charlie McConalogue; the Secretary General at the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Declan Hughes; Samantha Hobbs, the Director of Corporate Affairs at Asia Matters; and the Director of Regional and Community Development at Udaras na Gaeltachta, Ronan Mac Con Iomaire, at the Growing Global Business with Asia from the North West Knowledge Hub conference at the Radisson Hotel, Letterkenny, Co Donegal, organised by Asia Matters. Photo: Asia Matters

Ireland has smashed its target of hitting 100 billion worth of trade with Asia by 2025 - two years ahead of schedule, it has emerged.

At a major business summit in Donegal, the Secretary General at the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment (DETE), Declan Hughes, revealed that two-way trade between this country and Asia is now worth 120 billion.

We have an Asia-Pacific strategy, and a clear target of that was to increase our trade with the region to 100 billion by 2025, he said

And we are already ahead of that target, with 50 billion in goods and 70 billion in services.

Minister for Agriculture, Charlie McConalogue, also told the summit, organised by think-tank Asia Matters, that Taoiseach Leo Varadkar is to lead a high-powered trade mission to South Korea next month.

In 2022, we had ministerial trade missions to Japan, Vietnam, and Singapore, said Mr McConalogue in his opening address at the Growing Global Business with Asia from the North West Knowledge Hub conference at the Atlantic Technological University (ATU) in Letterkenny.

While in 2023, weve already had visits to China as well as a mission to South Korea associated with St Patricks Day.

Among the missions planned for the remainder of 2023 is a major Government visit to the Republic of Korea, with a series of trade and investment objectives, centred on Seoul.

Welcoming both announcements, Asia Matters Executive Director, Martin Murray, said any Irish company wanting to boost foreign orders must now look at the opportunities that exist across Asia.

For historical and cultural reasons, Irish exporters have traditionally focused on the United States, United Kingdom and Europe.

The announcement by the Secretary General, however, shows just how important the Asian market is to Ireland.

Earlier this year, the IMF said it expects its Asias GDP to expand by 4.6 per cent during 2023, up from the 3.8 per cent growth recorded in 2022.

But seeking out new customers abroad is rarely easy, as many of the excellent contributors to this conference know, so I would encourage anyone who has any queries about taking those first important steps towards Asia to get in touch via the Asia Matters website, asiamatters.eu.

In May, at the launch of Asia Matters Business Awards, it emerged that over 600 Enterprise Ireland companies are now exporting of over 2 billion worth of goods to Asia  an increase of 80 per cent in the last five years.

For more information about the 2023 awards, which are being held at the Radisson Blu Hotel, Dublin on November 15, please visit: https://asiamatters.eu/asia-matters-business-awards-2023/
New route will start operating from this Sunday

Children from Mount Sackville school join ministers and officials for a 99 at the launch of the new Phoenix Park bus service  Route 99  which will operate from Sunday, October 8

Dublin Bus has launched its new bus route in the Phoenix Park aimed at giving park users an alternative to private cars.

Route 99 will start operating from Sunday, October 8, making the Phoenix Park and its attractions more accessible via public transport.

Minister of State for Transport Jack Chambers joined the National Transport Authority and Dublin Bus to launch the new service today.

This brand-new service will benefit all users of the Phoenix Park, including the local communities, residents across Dublin, visitors from all over Ireland and international tourists, Minister Chambers said.

It is important that people have more opportunities to access and enjoy the park.

He highlighted the importance of public transport and the role it plays in replacing private cars and freeing up roads in the capital.

This has been spoken about for many years. It gives people the option to use public transport, its a positive alternative, he said.

Sustainable transport alternatives are an essential contribution to freeing up Dublins roads and making the city more accessible to all.

Government is pleased to support expansions in public transport like this as we strive to meet our climate goals.

We have, for the first time in decades, reduced fares. Were continuing to work on public transport, he added.

Route 99 will run every 30 minutes seven days a week between the Phoenix Park Visitors Centre and Parkgate Street. The first bus leaves at 9am and the last bus will depart at 6pm.

Minister of State Patrick O'Donovan, Minister for Children and Equality Roderic O'Gorman, and Minister of State Jack Chambers at the launch of the new 99 bus route. Pic: PA

The distance is considered to be a short journey, so the standalone fare will be 1.30 and 65c for children on a Leap Card.

Stops will include popular visitor attractions like Dublin Zoo, the Phoenix Park Visitor Centre, Aras an Uachtarain and the Phoenix Monument.

The Office of Public Works, the NTA, Dublin County Council and Fingal County Council, identified the need for a bus service in the park to help reduce private car usage, enhance sustainable transportation, and minimise the impact of vehicles on the park and its surroundings.

Roderic OGorman, the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, also attended the launch. He spoke about how road safety is paramount.

Safety on our roads is absolutely paramount, this government has put money into improving safety on our national roads, this is more than what was done in the previous government, he said.

The focus is on road safety and upgrading. This government is spending more on roads than previous governments.

Minister OGorman also discussed the upcoming budget and reducing costs for parents.

Were hoping to bring more funds into childcare, bring more childminders into the system to support parents and children, theres more work to be done over the next number of days, he said.

I hope on budget day next week that well be able to continue our progress in reducing the cost of childcare.
The delay in repairing the damage to the building has left locals frustrated

The damage caused to the ceiling from a burst pipe last year

General view of debris in the former library building on Emmet Road in Inchicore

Campaigners in Inchicore say they are growing frustrated due to delays in repairing a damaged historic building that was once home to the local library.

The roof of the building fell in due to a burst pipe last year and, according to locals, Dublin City Council has shown no effort to address the damage.

The library building shut its doors in March 2020, with the service relocating elsewhere. It has since fallen into disrepair.

Labour councillor Darragh Moriarty highlighted the issue at an area committee meeting last month.

The damage caused to the ceiling from a burst pipe last year

After more than 80 years of community use, the Inchicore Library Building on Emmet Road has been closed to the public since before the pandemic, he said.

With the doors shut and no activity or ongoing care and maintenance for the building, the roof fell in due to a burst pipe.

This is exactly what happens when we leave these historic buildings sit there neglected for prolonged periods of time.

A local community group has come together to directly engage with the council over the buildings renovation and future use.

We want to see this building serve the local community and be a bustling hub of arts and culture for residents, but also all of Dublin to enjoy.

Renovation plans that were originally in motion before the Covid-19 pandemic might be resurrected, potentially speeding up the renovation process.

There is still the small matter of deciding what activities happen in this historic building, how they are paid for, and how the local community can be part of these activities, he added.

Concerned members of a local heritage group gathered for a public meeting on October 3 to discuss the prospects for the abandoned building.

The delay in repairing the damage to the building has left locals frustrated

They are hoping it will be added to the list of protected structures due to its architecture.

Michael OFlanagan, secretary of a local heritage group and a member of the Inchicore Library Advisory Committee, highlighted the ongoing deterioration to the building and his disappointment with the council.

It is constantly in deterioration because nothing has been done. And this pipe burst did enormous damage to the building, he said.

The problem is they have not a clue what they are going to do. As I say, no decision has been made on the nature of the refurbishment that has to be carried out.

Dublin City Council has been contacted for comment.
Phd researchers are protesting at the University of Galway today, demanding better pay and working conditions.

Members of the Postgraduate Workers Organisation (PWO) will gather on Thursday, October 5, in front of the James Hardiman Library at 11am.

The protest is taking place in conjunction with PWO Irelands march to the Dail, in Dublin, and a third protest in Cork.

PWO said that postgraduate workers in Ireland continue to be underpaid and underfunded.

In May 2023, the Department of Further and Higher Educations national review of PhD conditions recommended a significant increase of PhD stipends from 18,000 to 25,000, to take effect no later than January 1, 2024.

This recommendation remains to be implemented and the PWO protest aims to push for incorporation of this recommendation into next years budget.

PWO Galway also highlighted what they described as the discriminatory, unjust, and precarious nature of the PhD stipend system, calling for the University of Galway to implement the Fair Postgraduate Researcher Agreement (FRA) and grant PhD researchers worker status.

The organisation also calls for the University to recognise the union membership of postgraduate workers, including of PWO members.

PWO Galway explained that the worker status remains essential to ensuring fair and equitable working conditions for all postgraduates, including non-EU/EEA researchers, as well as guaranteeing postgraduates their rights to sick leave, parental leave, and non-discrimination.

PhD researcher Chris Stewart told the Irish Independent: The protest in Galway is in conjunction with the protest that is taking place in Dublin as well as to highlight our own specific issues in Galway.

We are focusing on important issues as being paid on average below minimum wage, having no access to sick leave, parental leave, basic public services of that nature. As well as the fact that recent policy changes in University of Galway have cut pay rates for PhD researchers and restricted their opportunities to teach and provide learning opportunities for the rest of university.

The 32-year-old explained that postgraduate researchers are full-time workers as their obligations include teaching, researching and all the associated academic duties.

Chris Stewart continued: I know PhD researchers in this university who work up to three jobs just to make ends meet. And thats outside the PhD programme.

He concluded: We will be demonstrating, we will be demonstrating, we will be trying to get the attention of the people who are ignoring us. We are hoping to get support from all different groups of people, undergraduates, postgraduates, faculty staff, because the vast majority of people are supportive of us being treated normally, like workers, with a living wage, so we can survive adequately in a challenging time, especially in a city like Galway.

Chris Stewart, who moved to Galway from the US, also argued that this issue is particularly affecting international students, who have to pay for private insurance and visas every year and we have to take it out from that very small pay check already which is only making the stratification between immigrants and non immigrants much worse.

This is the second PhD protest to take place in Galway since the start of 2023. Earlier in March, PhD researchers marched against the 2022 decision by the University of Galway to cut PhD teaching pay in half through the Graduate Teaching Assistants (GTA) policy. Despite a petition signed by nearly 400 postgraduates, staff, and students against the decision, the GTA policy has been adopted once more by University Management in July 2023.

According to the PWO, the revised policy remains problematic as it fails to recognise postgraduate workers teaching contributions, has not meaningfully addressed the PhD communitys demands, and continues to be inconsistently applied across the University. PWO Galway urges the University of Galway to guarantee the previous rates of pay, recognise postgraduate workers lecturing contributions, and adequately pay for teaching preparation, academic related duties, and marking assignments.

PWO Galway, previously known as the Postgraduate Workers Alliance (PGWA) is a collective of over 200 University of Galway postgraduate and postdoctoral researchers committed to fair working conditions and equal treatment for all within the University of Galway.
TD says anomaly exists in how children are transported to school by bus.

Deputy Danny Healy-Rae is claiming some children in Kerry are receiving concessionary school bus tickets while other children are not.

The Kilgarvan deputy said in a recent Dail debate on school transport that children living inside the two-mile limit are not eligible for the school bus concession, but new children who come in [to Ireland] are.

He stressed that two sets of rules apply when it came to children in Killarney and its surrounding hinterlands.

The Department of Education provide subsidised school transport for primary and post-primary pupils who live more than 4.8 kilometres away from the appropriate school.

Children who are not eligible for school transport may be allowed to use it on a concessionary basis and pay the full charge.

However, Deputy Healy-Rae took issue with the two-tier way in which some children in towns and villages in Kerry are getting bussed to school.

We need to treat our own Irish school-going children the same as all the other children who have come into the country, he told the Dail.

While we welcome all those other children, there is an anomaly there. If you are inside the two-mile limit, you will not get what is known as a concessionary ticket. But that does not apply to new children who come in, he said.

"We have two sets of rules around Killarney and around many of our towns and villages whereby the new children who come in are bussed and it is organised for them. But our own local children, whose parents went to the same school, cannot get that facility, Deputy Healy-Rae said.
Two weeks free car hire has been added to the prize for the Home to Mayo competition.

The Home to Mayo competition has been launched to mark ten years of Mayo Day in 2024.

In addition to two return flights home to Mayo from anywhere in the world in May next year, the lucky winner will also receive free car hire for two weeks, in partnership with car rental company My Irish Cousin.

The Home to Mayo Competition which was launched at the Milwaukee Irish Fest in August has seen phenomenal interest from right across the globe already with entries coming from as far-flung places as Vietnam, South Africa, and Brazil, along with Irish emigrant hot spots like the USA and Australia.

It was at the Milwaukee Irish Fest, which is the largest Irish festival in the world that Mayo County Council and Malachy Quinn from My Irish Cousin first linked up after Malachy was taken with the Home to Mayo Competition.

Speaking about coming on board with the competition Quinn said, My Irish Cousin is thrilled to contribute a car rental to this wonderful competition.

Car rental is without a doubt the best way to get out and explore the hidden gems of beautiful Ireland.

Mayo is one of my favourite parts of the country with lots to see and do and we are delighted to be working with Mayo County Council on this Innovative promotion of the county and all it has to offer, he said.

Cathaoirleach of Mayo County Council, Cllr Michael Loftus who launched the competition in Milwaukee said, Im delighted that My Irish Cousin have decided to support the Home to Mayo competition.

The competition has been a great success so far with entries from all over the world and the addition of free car hire for the winner is an added bonus for the winner and will enable them to explore every corner of Mayo and all it has to offer during their stay, said Mr Loftus.

Since its inception, Mayo Day has become a celebrated occasion, embodying the essence of Mayo's rich heritage, vibrant culture, and strong community spirit.

The Home to Mayo competition is a key piece of next years tenth anniversary celebrations.

It is open to individuals from all corners of the globe, this competition provides an unparalleled opportunity for one lucky winner and a guest to experience the warmth and charm of Mayo.

For more information about the Home to Mayo competition, terms and conditions and Mayo Day's tenth-anniversary celebrations, please visit www.mayoday.ie

For more information on car rental from My Irish Cousin, please visit www.myirishcousin.com.
Sligo natives Keith and Ronan Mulligan with their four piece band The Hooks are set to release their new single Co2 in the coming weeks.

Based in San Francisco, The Hooks have been working hard in their own secret studio on original material for their up coming album on what promises to be a blend of metaphysical poetic lyrics with boasting melodic hooks.

It will contain songs that will leave you juggling melodies in your sleep, slung into the atmosphere the songs promise a new and refreshing twist while living up to their alternative genre.

After headlining the Irish festival at the SF Irish Cultural Centre and being featured on ABCs infamous morning news channel in California, the lads in return received great exposure from thousands of viewers resulting in them being offered a headlining spot for the St Patricks day parade celebration in downtown San Francisco on the main stage in front of City Hall on March 17th.

The next gig for the boys will be on Saturday, October 14th at The Milk bar on the legendary Haight st known to many as the foundation and the beginning of legends such as Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, the Blues Brothers and more.

The boys have also being offered and agreed to do a benefit show in Dr Ricks mega mansion in Bernal Heights on Saturday October 28th with a host of other DJs.

It will also include six other San Francisco bands, it will be a glitzy fancy dress affair and all the proceeds will go to a great cause for what promises to be a spooky night to remember.

After the release and rave reviews from their last single The Golden Gate, a song written about the iconic bridge, they have been inspired to launch another.

So keep an eye out for The Hooks new single Co2 touching on the subjects of global warming and climate change with a sample voice over by David Attenborough coming soon to a boom box near you.

You can also follow them @Thehookssf (Instagram). TheHookssf (Tik Tok) or TheHooksSF(Facebook).
Digital Engineering company Tantek 4D will be expanding its workforce at its new headquarters which has been officially opened at the Hanson Building, Cleveragh Retail Park, Sligo.

Founded in 2018 by Sligo brothers, Conor and Paul Tansey, Tantek 4D specialise in leveraging geospatial & BIM technologies in developing digital twin solutions for the efficient management of facility data across the Life Sciences, Data Centre and Semi-Conductor sectors.

The expansion will see the creation of 30 new jobs, with 20 of those based in Sligo and 10 in Dublin.

The skill sets required will span across Project Management, Geospatial Surveying, BIM Coordination, Data Analytics, and Software Development. These jobs will help to fulfil its international expansion plans across new markets including Belgium, Spain and Germany.

Minister Dara Calleary with Tantek 4D co-founder Paul Tansey.

Speaking at the opening, Minister of State for Trade Promotion, Digital and Company Regulation Dara Calleary said: I am delighted to join the Tantek 4D team today to celebrate the opening of their new offices and the announcement of job creation here in Sligo.

A key priority for this Government is to foster regional enterprise development and create jobs across all the regions of Ireland.

Choosing regional locations as part of expansion plans allows businesses to access a wider pool of talent and creates jobs locally.

Todays expansion announcement is a great boost for Sligo as well as the wider North-West region and paves the way for this innovative company to significantly scale its business globally.

The Government, through Enterprise Ireland, looks forward to continued engagement with Tantek4D to support the growth of the business into the future.

Meabh Conaghan, Regional Director, West and North-West, Enterprise Ireland said: Tantek 4D is a highly innovative Irish start-up making strong commercial and technical progress, having developed world leading technology directly targeting the digitalistaion of the thriving design, construction and planning sector.

Enterprise Irelands mission is to partner with innovative Irish businesses with the drive and ambition to scale internationally while sustaining and creating high quality jobs across the regions.

We look forward to continuing to support the company as they accelerate the scaling of their business across international markets. We are delighted to unveil our new office in Sligo as we prepare to embark on our international expansion plans.

It has been an exciting year for us, having secured Enterprise Ireland investment while also winning several new projects across Europe.

Todays announcement is a testament to our continued commitment to Sligo and the North-West region as a place to do business, said Tantek 4Ds Co-founder and CTO, Dr. Paul Tansey.
Cristina Prida was awarded an All Ireland Scholarship this year at the University Concert Hall in the University of Limerick.

Three Wexford students have been awarded an All Ireland Scholarship which will cover the costs of the full duration of their undergraduate studies.

Cristina Prida and Doireann Tallon from Gorey Community School and Nadine Power from Colaiste Bride Enniscorthy were honoured at the All Ireland Scholarships Award Ceremony 2023 on September 16, in University Concert Hall, University of Limerick.

The third level educational scholarship is awarded to 125 of the highest achieving students each year, with a minimum of two students from each of the 32 counties. Established in 2008 by JP McManus, in the last 15 years, the scholarship has awarded 1,674 scholarships.

The recipients must meet a further set of criteria, including attending a non-fee-paying school and be in receipt of a third level education maintenance grant from Student Universal Support Ireland (SUSI) or be in receipt of an Education Maintenance Allowance in Northern Ireland. The scholarship offers full academic financial support for the duration of the students' third level studies. The most popular courses chosen by the 2022 group of scholarship recipients included science, engineering, pharmacy, finance and medicine.

1,348 successful graduates have emerged with primary degrees and are now either embarking on further studies or in the case of the majority, pursuing successful careers. This figure demonstrates that the key objective, to provide financial support to many gifted young students so they may succeed during their third-level education  has worked. Their drive and determination is admirable, and they should be very proud. We look forward to celebrating the most recent recipients achievements at the upcoming ceremony. said scholarship sponsor, JP McManus.

Guest of Honour and Limerick Senior Hurling Team Manager John Kiely, Minister for Further and Higher Education Niall Collins, T.D. and Deputy Secretary Skills and Education Group, Department for the Economy, Northern Ireland, Moira Doherty as well as the family, friends and principals of the scholarship recipients were also in attendance at the award ceremony.
Gareth Reid with Judi Dench and his portrait of the actor

An Irish artist has been crowned "Portrait Artist of the Decade for his unique charcoal impression of iconic Hollywood actress Dame Judi Dench.

Belfast native Gareth Reid (49) received the prestigious accolade on the popular competition show, Portrait Artist of the Year, by Sky, as part of a 90-minute special to mark its 10th anniversary.

The "Portrait Artist of the Decade" episode recalled previous yearly winners, who were tasked to create a portrait of Dench, who starred in the James Bond films.

Mr Reid said he was utterly shocked to win and described his new crowning as Portrait Artist of the Decade as a truly memorable experience.

It still feels completely surreal to be awarded Portrait Artist of the Decade. I was utterly shocked when my name was read out, I expected nothing, so I feel extremely fortunate and honoured to have been chosen, he said after this week, ahead of the shows release on Sky on October 11.

He previously won the Sky Portrait Artist of the Year in 2017, surpassing 54 competitors for the coveted prize.

As the winner, he captured the likeness of Graham Norton. The painting then entered the permanent collection of the National Gallery of Ireland.

Following his success, Reid went on to receive numerous prestigious commissions, most notably painting King Charles in 2019.

Winning the first time was already extraordinary, but this is way beyond that, he remarked.

His award-winning drawing will be featured in an upcoming exhibition at The National Portrait Gallery, London.

Reid's artistic journey began in Belfast, where he honed his craft before attending the esteemed Glasgow School of Art. Now, he balances his time between his studios in Ireland and Glasgow.

New paintings by Reid will be featured as part of a group exhibition in La Roche House, Belfast and can be viewed by appointment from October 17-31.

Having my daughters there with me and working under pressure alongside such a great group of talented artists on the day was an experience that Ill never forget, he added.
Richmond airline passengers could have an easier time to get to the Pacific Northwest and Alaska courtesy of a $1 million federal grant.

The grant will specifically help Richmond International Airport develop nonstop service to Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, the third-largest hub on the West Coast. It will also provide connectivity to other areas in the region.

The process for developing a route could take several years, according to an airport spokesperson. A similar grant award for service to Denver took about 2 1/2 years to complete.

The airport plans to use this significant funding to help obtain nonstop service to Seattle, Washington, which will provide greater connectivity and access between the people and business of Richmond region and the Pacific Northwest as well as to beyond points in Alaska and western Canada, said Perry J. Miller, president and CEO of the Capital Region Airport Commission.

The grant was received after a joint letter of support from U.S. Representatives Jennifer McClellan, Abigail Spanberger and Rob Wittman. It was also submitted alongside the Capital Region Airport Commission, ChamberRVA and the Greater Richmond Partnership and Richmond Region Tourism.

The grant was awarded to the commission, which manages the airport.

Richmond International Airport is an important hub for travel, tourism, and commerce in Virginias Fourth District, McClellan said. This funding will help further enhance their airport operations and support Richmonds growing economy.

RIC has only recently begun adding nonstop service to the West Coast, with direct routes to both San Francisco and Los Angeles. The route to Seattle is a third major city for Richmond travelers.

RIC set records earlier this year when it had 393,355 passengers in April, the most recorded for that month. Those numbers came after setting a record in March 2023, with 385,000 passengers, higher than any pre-pandemic tally for that month.

The airport is currently in growth mode, adding routes across the country with a variety of new permanent routes, like the one to Los Angeles plus other destinations like Las Vegas and Phoenix. Long-term plans call for flights to popular vacation routes in the Caribbean, and possibly Europe.
The V&A exhibition, titled Naomi, will be created in collaboration with Naomi Campbell (PA)

The Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A) has announced a first of its kind exhibition which will explore the unequalled 40-year career of model Naomi Campbell.

Titled Naomi, the exhibition will draw upon the London-born models own extensive wardrobe of haute couture, as well as notable ready-to-wear ensembles, to be featured alongside loans from designer archives, the museum said.

It will be the first exhibition for the V&A focused on a leading models career in fashion told through clothes, combined with powerful imagery and with Campbells voice and experience in the foreground.

Naomi Campbell on the catwalk at the Fashion For Relief show, held during the 64th Cannes International Film Festival in Cannes, France (PA)

Around 100 looks from her four decades in the industry will be on show, with designs from Alexander McQueen, Chanel, Dolce & Gabbana, Tunisian designer Azzedine Alaia, Gianni and Donatella Versace, Vivienne Westwood and more to be featured.

Campbell, 53, has had a long-standing relationship with British brand McQueen  walking in runway shows when original creative director Alexander Lee McQueen was alive (including the 2004 Black show revisiting his greatest hits) and recently closing Sarah Burtons last show as creative director at Paris Fashion Week.

She was a constant presence on the Vivienne Westwood runway, famously taking a tumble during the autumn/winter 1993 runway show, when wearing vertiginous purple platform shoes.

As one of the original supers, she was known as one of Giannis girls, in reference to the late designer Gianni Versace.

One of Campbells most memorable Versace moments came on the autumn/winter 1991 catwalk, when she walked hand-in-hand with Christy Turlington, Cindy Crawford and Linda Evangelista, lip synching to George Michaels song Freedom!, which they also appeared in the music video for.

A fashion photography installation curated by Campbells good friend and outgoing British Vogue editor-in-chief Edward Enninful will also feature prominently at the exhibition, the V&A said.

Work from photographers Nick Knight, Steven Meisel and Tim Walker will form part of the installation.

Last year Campbell appeared on the March issue cover of British Vogue with her baby daughter, with the cover shoot done by American photographer Meisel.

She said: Im honoured to be asked by the V&A to share my life in clothes with the world.

The fashion star has previously credited the late Nelson Mandela, former president of South Africa, for starting her love of charity, and Mr Mandela and other mentors throughout her life are to be recognised as part of the Naomi exhibition.

Sonnet Stanfill, senior curator of fashion at the V&A, said: Naomi Campbells extraordinary career intersects with the best of high fashion.

She is recognised worldwide as a supermodel, activist, philanthropist and creative collaborator, making her one of the most prolific and influential figures in contemporary culture.

Were delighted to be working with Naomi Campbell on this project and to celebrate her career with our audiences.

Campbells modelling career took off aged 15 and she is regarded as one of worlds most famous models and in 1988 became the first black model to appear on the cover of French Vogue.

Naomi will run from June 2024 to April 2025 with ticket details to be announced at a later date.
The Indo Daily: 'We aren't running out of compassion, we're running out of cash' - Welfare payments for Ukrainian refugees
Belgium's intelligence service has been monitoring the main logistics hub in Europe of China's Alibaba Group Holding over concern about possible espionage, the Financial Times (FT) has reported.

Referring to the company's logistics centre at the cargo airport in the city of Liege, the security service said it was working to detect "possible espionage or interference activities" by Chinese entities including Alibaba, the newspaper said.
A police motorcycle burns during a protest over the death of Mahsa Amini in Tehran last year. Photo: Reuters

A teenage girl is reportedly in a coma in Iran after she was allegedly assaulted by the countrys morality police, a little over a year after the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini provoked nationwide protests.
Latest | Russian strike on cafe kills 49 people as Volodymyr Zelensky demands stronger Western support

The Ukrainian President branded the attack a deliberate act of terrorism

A firefighter works at a site of a Russian military strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in the village of Hroza, in Kharkiv region Photo: Head of Kharkiv Regional Military Administration Oleg Syniehubov via Telegram

Susie Blann Thu 5 Oct 2023 at 15:59







At least 49 civilians were killed in a Russian rocket strike on a village store in eastern Ukraine, one of the deadliest attacks in recent months.
Mohamed Muizzu won the presidential runoff election in Maldives held on Sept 30. Photo courtesy: Wikipedia Creative Commons

In the brief history of the Maldives democracy, no president was re-elected for a second term. The opposition candidate, Mohamed Muizzu, won the presidential runoff election held on September 30 and will soon form a new government.

Given that the Maldives, with over 1190 islands, is strategically located close to vital sea lanes of trade in the Indian Ocean, the elections elicited considerable international attention.

About a few months ago, it was expected that the presidential elections would be between former President Abdulla Yameen and current President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih.

However, after the arrest of former president Yameen on corruption charges, his protege Mohamed Muizzu emerged as a principal opposition candidate of the Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) and Peoples National Congress (PNC) for the 2023 elections.

Mohamed Muizzu, the current Mayor of Male City, was a housing minister in President Yameens administration and played an important role in the operationalisation of the China-Maldives Friendship Bridge. Educated in the United Kingdom and a civil engineer by training, Mohamed Muizzu emerged as a formidable candidate.

In the run-up to elections, President Solih had acquired a reputation as a competent administrator for handling the COVID pandemic. He implemented progressive policies such as the minimum wage policy, six-month paid maternity leave and one-month paid paternity leave.

However, there was considerable disarray in the ruling Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP). During the primary election, there was an intense and bitter campaign between President Solih and parliament speaker Nasheed for the partys leadership.

There were concerns that parliamentary speaker Nasheeds supporters may not fully support President Solih, who won the primary elections. Further, Nasheed said that former President Yameen is an intellectual, and the only difference of opinion he has with Yameen is the India Out approach.

Nasheed left the MDP and joined the Democrats. It is likely that the ruling MDP vote got fractured in the run-up to the presidential elections.

On September 09, the first round of the presidential election was held with approximately eight candidates. The principal opposition candidate, Mohamed Muizzu, received about 46.06% of the vote share, while the current president, Solih, received about 39.09%.

Since none of the presidential candidates could get over 50% of the vote share, a run-off election was organised subsequently.

The smaller parties, such as the Democrats and leaders, such as Nasheed, became critical in tilting the voters who did not vote for Solih and Muizzu.

President Solihs MDP reportedly tried to build a coalition for the presidential run-off election, which did not materialise. Most of the smaller parties adopted a neutral stance in the presidential run-off elections.

In the presidential run-off election, the opposition leader, Mohamed Muizzu, registered an electoral victory with a 54% vote, and the current President, Solih, received 46%.

President Solih graciously conceded the election. He congratulated President-elect Muizzu and the people of the Maldives for reposing faith in the peaceful and democratic process. Further, President Solih announced that former President Yameen would be shifted to house arrest from Maafushi prison.

Muizzu must demonstrate considerable political sagacity in managing domestic politics and international engagement. In his initial remarks, he stated that every Maldivian citizen is equal in my eyes and declared his intent to build harmony in accordance with the wishes of the people.

Muizzu will have to take along the opposition parties, leaders, and carefully respond to their agendas, such as the shift to a parliamentary system.

The shift to the parliamentary system through a referendum requires constitutional changes approved by the parliament. A few days before the presidential elections, the parliament could not respond to the Election Commissions request on the question needed for organising the referendum due to a lack of quorum.

It appears that President Solih and many members of his MDP prefer to continue with the existing presidential system. Before the September 30 presidential election, the Democrats and parliamentary speaker Nasheed stated that a parliamentary system would be more appropriate for the country.

While not permanently abandoning the idea, Parliament speaker Mohamed Nasheed said that the efforts to change the governance system will be halted to allow president-elect Dr Mohamed Muizzu to govern as the next president. The discussion on the parliamentary system will likely persist for some more time.

Muizzus victory is being interpreted as a victory for China in the international media. In his interactions with the representatives of Chinas Communist Party in 2022, Muizzu reportedly noted that if his PPM-PNC coalition returns to power, it would script a further chapter of strong ties between our two countries.

Responding to such reports, President-elect Muizzu stated that his foreign policy would be pro-Maldives.

In addition to the probable pro-China stance, there are concerns about the shrill anti-India rhetoric in certain sections of opposition groups. For more than two years, the Maldives witnessed an India Out campaign launched by opposition parties and led by former president Yameen.

The opposition group claimed that Maldives is hosting a large number of Indian defence personnel, and Delhi may even build a naval base on the Uthuru Thila Falhu (UTF) island. President Solihs administration vehemently denied these allegations.

According to the Maldives National Defence Force, there are just about 75 Indian personnel operating air services, which are used for surveillance and humanitarian work. And yet, the President-elect Muizzu stated: the people have told us that they dont want foreign military heretherefore, what I have to say to the ambassador who will come to meet me is, close relations can be maintained based on this condition.

Given the history of the India Out campaign, Delhi will be closely watching the statements and policies of the new government. Despite the apprehensions, the Indian prime minister was quick to congratulate president-elect Muizzu and reiterated the commitment to strengthen the bilateral relationship and enhance overall cooperation in the Indian Ocean Region. Through a congratulatory message, the Indian government has expressed willingness to work with the new government.

Delhi expects that contractual obligations with the Indian firms will be honoured and the Maldives government will continue with its proactive economic engagement with India.

Expressing a similar sentiment, President Solih reportedly requested that presidentelect Muizzu to complete the ongoing projects, including the Thilamale bridge. Most importantly, India hopes the new government will adopt prudent fiscal and trade policies. An economically healthy Maldives will not be susceptible to unhealthy international influences.

A genuinely sovereign Maldives, without excessive international debt and overdependence on extra-regional powers, benefits the wider Indian Ocean region as well.




Air India

Launched during the festive season in Kolkata, this new flight will cater to the need for a convenient direct connection between the two cities.

AI322 will depart Kolkata at 2200 hrs to reach Bangkok at 0205 hrs the next morning.

The return flight AI321 will take off from Bangkok at 0305 hrs to land in Kolkata at 0410 hrs (All Local Time).

The flight, operated with a narrowbody Airbus family aircraft, will have a two-class configuration of Economy and Business Class and operate six days a week from Monday to Saturday.



Besides lending a boost to tourism and trade in the two cities, the direct service to Bangkok will offer a unique opportunity to Air India passengers to take convenient connections via Bangkok to and from 10 popular destinations in Thailand, Laos, and Cambodia on the network of Bangkok Airways, with whom Air India enjoys an interline partnership with seamless connections beyond Bangkok.



Air India currently operates a total of 14 flights to Bangkok per week with daily non-stop flights from Delhi and Mumbai connecting the destination.



Building a more robust network is a key element of Air Indias transformation journey and the new launch is in line with the airlines commitment to expand connectivity and enhance frequency on its domestic and international sectors as it keeps augmenting the fleet with new aircraft. Air India also operates over 13 daily flights between Delhi/Mumbai and Bangkok.
Photo courtesy: UNI

Gangtok/UNI: The search and rescue operation by the Indian Army for the 23 missing soldiers continued on Wednesday as one soldier has been rescued so far, according to SDM, Sikkim.

His condition is stable.

Troops of Trishakti Corps Indian Army launched a massive search and rescue operation to trace the 23 missing soldiers.

The search operations are being undertaken under conditions of incessant rains, fast-flowing water in the Teesta River with the roads and bridges washed away at many places.

By this evening, one soldier had been rescued and the search operations for the remaining 22 personnel continued.

The family members of the missing persons have been contacted and informed about the situation.

All other Indian Army personnel posted in Sikkim and North Bengal are safe and they are unable to contact their family members due to disruptions of mobile communication.
Image Credit: PIB Archive

Russian President Vladimir Putin has praised Indian PM Narendra Modi for his leadership and even described him as a 'very wise man'.

According to a video shared by RT news platform, Vladimir Putin said during an event as quoted by ANI, "We share very good political relations with Prime Minister Modi, he is a very wise man."

"And India has been making very great strides in development under his leadership. This fully meets the interest of both India and Russia to work on this agenda," Putin said.

Vladimir Putin has praised Indian PM Narendra Modi's Make in India campaign and said he is doing the "right thing" in promoting it.

Speaking on a query made on Russian-manufactured cars during the 8th Eastern Economic Forum (EEF), Putin said that domestically manufactured automobiles should be used and referred to the Indian government's policy on it.

"You know, we did not have domestically made cars then, but we do now. It is true that they look more modest than Mercedes or Audi cars, which we bought in vast amounts in the 1990s, but this is not an issue," Putin said.

"I think that we should emulate many of our partners, for example, India. They are focused on the manufacture and use of Indian-made vehicles. I think that Prime Minister Modi is doing the right thing in promoting the Make in India programme. He is right," he said.

"We have [Russian-made] automobiles, and we must use them; this is absolutely fine. This will not lead to any infringements of our WTO obligations, absolutely not," Putin said.
Kerrville, TX (78028)

Today

Some clouds this morning will give way to generally sunny skies for the afternoon. High around 65F. Winds S at 5 to 10 mph..

Tonight

Mostly clear. Low 44F. Winds S at 5 to 10 mph.
In the cacophony of recent headlines, as media avidly dissected the India-Canada squabble, Pakistans Interior Minister laid a sensational claim: Indias Research and Analysis Wing (R&AW) was behind two devastating suicide bombings in Pakistan.

These claims are baseless. Given Pakistans extensive history of internal conflicts, external disputes, and the presence of terrorist organizations within its borders, it is essential to engage in introspection. With more than 60 casualties, such unfounded allegations not only disrespect the victims and their families but also have the potential to further isolate Pakistan on the international stage.

The audacity of engaging in this blame game is truly remarkable. Pakistan swiftly drew conclusions, and within days the Interior Minister made his accusations. Can any intelligence agency truly confirm such allegations in mere days? And if there was prior knowledge, why was there no preemptive action?

But lets dive into the numbers, shall we?

Pakistan recently reported a staggering 120% rise in terrorism-related deaths from the previous year. Surpassing Afghanistan, it now claims the grim title of South Asias most terror-affected nation. And within its borders, terror groups thrive. The Baluchistan Liberation Army (BLA) saw a meteoric rise in its activities, now deemed the fastest-growing terrorist group in the world. The fact that seven of the top 20 terrorist groups reside in Pakistan says a lot.

Moreover, the human cost is heartbreaking. Thousands have disappeared, thousands more tortured and extrajudicially killed. Add to this the tales of agony from the bombings in Peshawar and the narratives of betrayal from Afghanistan, and a grim picture emerges.

Its not just about internal strife. Internationally, the list of grievances against Pakistan is long. From the USs Camp Chapman attack to the UKs terror attacks with links traced back to Pakistan, from Irans accusations of Pakistan serving as a remote base for US espionage to Russias long-held suspicions  the list is exhaustive.

Yet, despite this web of intricate internal and external challenges, the easy answer for Pakistans minister was to blame India. Even as investigations hint towards the Islamic State in Khorasan for the Hangu attack, the narrative of foreign interference remains a convenient smokescreen.

Perhaps, its time for Pakistan to introspect. With political unrest, economic challenges, and terrorism at its peak, perhaps its time to consider if the real enemy is within rather than outside its borders. Instead of deflecting blame, a period of quiet reflection and a sincere effort to rebuild and reform might be whats needed.

And maybe, just maybe, a friendly nation could offer Pakistan a mirror. For only in self-reflection can true progress be made.

(Photo and text credit: Khalsavox.com)
Photo courtesy: University of Salford Press Office/Wikipedia Creative Commons

Dr. Mohammad Yunus, the founder of the Grameen Bank and a well-known Nobel laureate, is currently entangled in a convoluted web of legal claims, raising issues both locally and globally.

These allegations, which call into question his hitherto clean record, revolve on tax evasion and failing to comply with legal employment obligations.

Grameen Bank subsidiary Grameen Telecom has made the difficult choice to engage a lobbyist to assist it in dealing with the legal challenges it faces, particularly those regarding unpaid labour dues in the billions of Taka.

Surprisingly, these dues have been accruing since 2006, leaving the workers with little alternative but to seek recourse in court. As a consequence of their joint efforts, 107 lawsuits to reclaim the unpaid arrears have been filed.

The problem is exacerbated by the finding that Grameen Telecom has routinely failed to contribute to the workers' welfare fund since 2006, despite being obligated to do so by law.

Every year, almost one billion Taka in dividends from Grameen Phone reach the company's coffers, yet none of this money is used to assist the needs of its dedicated employees.

As a result, there has been an alarming accumulation of unallocated funds reaching more than 300 crore Taka, which might have rightfully benefited the workers.

Dr. Yunus is facing serious allegations, including underpayment of taxes and labour dues, which are considered part of a larger scheme to deceive the public and government authorities. As a result, a number of groups have filed legal cases against him, exacerbating an already contentious situation.

The shadow of Hillary Clinton, a former US Secretary of State who personally knows Dr. Yunus, is notable. Sheikh Hasina, Bangladesh's prime minister, was addressed in an open letter advocating the rejection of these allegations.

It is critical to emphasize that Hillary lacks the legal standing to become engaged in these problems, and her actions might jeopardize Bangladesh's judicial system and the populace's independence.

External pressure should not impair the impartiality of the court system.

It should be also noted that during Clinton's tenure as the Secretary of State used her position to intervene in an independent investigation by a sovereign government. Since she wasCo-mingling her official position as Secretary of State with her family foundation would be similarly inappropriate.

In 2017 Chuck Grassley, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, launched an investigation of former Secretary of State Hillary Clintons effort to thwart a Bangladesh government corruption probe of Muhammad Yunus, a Clinton Foundation donor and close friend of the Clintons.

Dr. Yunus has a history of employing offshore lobbying to avoid facing major judicial consequences. In one significant example, the Grameen Bank Service Rules of 1993's mandatory retirement age was used in a lawsuit brought against the government over his resignation as managing director.

The Bangladesh Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) also launched legal action in response to allegations that Grameen Telecom Ltd. staff and employees misappropriated pay. Dr. Muhammad Yunus, as Chairman of Grameen Telecom Ltd., is accused of faking a settlement agreement with the Managing Director and other Board members in order to steal and unlawfully transfer Tk 252 million, a significant violation of trust.

Dr. Yunus was also charged with tax evasion, which he lost in the Supreme Court's High Court Division. When the Appellate Division denied his plea, he paid the overdue tax sum to the National Board of Revenue (NBR). More tax evasion actions against Dr. Yunus are pending as a result of the court's finding, which confirmed that the High Court Division's decision was neither improper nor unconstitutional.

In a second but equally troubling case, Grameen Telecom employees accused Dr. Yunus of depriving them of valid job benefits. Although over 160 international leaders and Nobel laureates signed an open letter requesting Bangladesh to cease the legal proceedings against Dr. Yunus, it is critical to acknowledge that this petition contains significant factual gaps and may unintentionally harm Bangladesh's independent judicial system.

The concept of "persecution or harassment" appears to be promoted by a victim mentality that exploits democratic and human rights language to deflect attention away from the key legal issues at stake. Instead of wrongly speculating about Bangladesh's democratic and electoral institutions, the letter's writers should focus on persuading Dr. Muhammad Yunus to obey the law and engage in a fair court system.

Leaders of the Bangladeshi diaspora in the United States have voiced outrage at former US Secretary of State Hillary R. Clinton and 160 other world leaders for proposing to dismiss a legal case against Nobel laureate Dr. Muhammad Yunus. They demand that Bangladesh's Prime Minister Hasina cease the current legal persecution of Dr. Yunus. Signatories to the open letter include U2's Bono, Richard Branson, and former US President Barack Obama.

However, leaders of the US Bangladeshi Diaspora believe that foreign authorities should not interfere with a sovereign nation's legal system. They express their strong objection to the concept of dismissing the lawsuit brought against Dr. Yunus. He is accused of misappropriating revenues owing to Grameen Telecom Ltd. workers and employees, as well as tax evasion. The legal process must be allowed to proceed without interference from extraneous sources.

The recent filing of a lawsuit against Dr. Yunus by 18 former Grameen Telecom employees accusing him of exploiting their job benefits complicates matters further. As a result of these allegations, Dr. Yunus now faces more significant legal problems.

In Summary, the legal issues confronting Dr. Mohammad Yunus and Grameen Telecom are complex and serious. In circumstances involving claims of tax evasion, unpaid labor dues, or money theft, a thorough and impartial legal investigation is essential. Despite the fact that Dr. Yunus has gotten international support, it is critical to respect Bangladesh's justice system and enable it to establish the truth on its own. Justice must win without outside interference, ensuring an open and equal legal process for all parties.

About the Author:

(Dr. Dilip Nath is a think tank leader in the higher education and healthcare vertical. A voting and human rights advocate and a political activist, he is a Harvard Kennedy School alumnus who promotes transparent public policy and its correct implementation in government. The opinion expressed in the article is of the author.)
The annual autumn festival, Durga Puja, as celebrated in Kolkata, is known for its art and cultural extravaganza. Its inclusion in UNESCOs Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, in 2021, has now catapulted it to global fame.

While pandal-hopping (the temporary pavilion holding the idols is locally known as pandal) across the city is a favourite pastime during the festival, those visiting Kolkata during this time may find it a bit daunting. This is also the time when traffic movement can be chaotic. Therefore, the package tours on offer from West Bengal Tourism and other private travel agents may be a welcome option.

West Bengal Tourism Development Corporation Limited (WBTDCL), a nodal agency under the states tourism department, will be holding several package tours by day and night for visitors to catch a glimpse of some of the popular neighbourhood pujas as well as old traditional houses (bonedi bari) across Kolkata and the neighbouring district of Hooghly.

Image credit: Tanuj Adhikary/Unsplash

Durga Puja tours by WBTDCL

Udbodhani

The tours will commence from Rabindra Sadan at 10 pm and conclude at the same place at 5am next day.

This approximately seven hour tour by air-conditioned bus will cover some of the popular neighbourhood pujas of central and south Kolkata (College Square, Md Ali Park, Kashi Bose Lane, Badamtola Ashar Sangha, 66 Pally, Mudiali Club, Shiv Mandir, Ekdalia Evergreen, Singhi Park, Hindustan Road, Rajdanga Naba Uday Sangha).

Tour dates: October 17 and 18, 2023.

Package rates: Rs 2099 per head (inclusive of packed dinner)

Sanatani

The tours will commence from Rabindra Sadan at 8am and conclude at the same place at 12.30pm.

This approximately 4.5 hour tour by air-conditioned bus will cover some of the popular traditional household pujas of north and central Kollata (Khelat Ghosh Bari, Sovabazar Rajbari, Chatubabu Latubabu Bari*, Chandra Bari, Rani Rashmoni Bari, Thanthania Dutta Bari, Jorasanko Daw Bari).

Tour dates: October 21, 22 and 23, 2023. *On October 22 (Ashtami), there will be no visit to Chatubabu Latubabu Bari.

Package rates: Rs 1,999 (inclusive of packed breakfast and bhog at Sovabazar Rajbari)

Hooghly Safar

The tour will commence from Rabindra Sadan at 7am and conclude at the same place at 8.30pm.

This approximately 13.5 hour tour by air-conditioned bus will cover some of the popular festive attractions of Hooghly district (Sreerampur Goswami Bari, Buri Durga, Sheoraphuli Rajbari, Hanseswari and Ananta Basudev temples, Guptipara Durgabari, Guptipara Senbari).

Tour date: October 21, 22 and 23, 2023.

Package rate: Rs 3,499 per head (inclusive of packed breakfast and packed lunch)

For booking of WBTDCL tours, see here

Preview Show 2023 of Durga Puja Art  Kolkata

UNESCO, as part of the 20th anniversary of the Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage, has listed several activities on its website to mark the occasion. A preview of the art involved in Durga Puja of Kolkata is also part of the programme and has been cited on their website.

Called Preview Show 2023 of Durga Puja Art  Kolkata, it is being organised by massArt in collaboration with UNESCO and British Council (who is the international partner). For those not willing to rub shoulders with the crowd, this is a good opportunity to see the selected Durga pujas before they open for general visitors.

According to a release from the organisers, the ticketed experience will include hassle-free visits to the art installations, interactive sessions with the artists and artisans for a better understanding of the art form, exposure to the process of creation of the art and opportunity to experience local culture.

Preview Show 2023 of Durga Puja Art  Kolkata includes 22 contemporary, 2 traditional and 2 old aristocratic household Durga pujas. The timings are 6pm to 5am for the contemporary and traditional pujas and noon to 6pm for the aristocratic households.

Like the first edition held last year, the second edition too will include an exhibition on making of Durga Puja Art' at the iconic Town Hall in the heart of the city. According to the organisers, the exhibition is a journey through the entire process, from conception to execution, using audio-visual footage and live demonstration. There will also be a display and sale of handcrafted products at the venue. The programme at Town Hall will be open to all, between 11am and 6pm.

Preview and exhibition dates: October 11 to 15, 2023.

For booking of preview pass and other details, see here

Take a self-guided tour

A Kolkata-based travel tech company, Immersive Trails, is launching an app-based audio guided tour which will help those who want to visit, on their own, the famous aristocratic family homes of Kolkata holding their traditional Durga pujas. Called Bonedi Barir Pujo Tour, it will be available from October 19 to 24, 2023 and priced at Rs 199.

For booking and other details, see here
Image Credit: wikipedia.org

Paris: The bedbug menace is giving the French government sleepless nights, forcing it to take active measures to stop the spread of the blood-sucking insects, especially as the Olympic Games are just a little over nine months away, media reported.

Bedbugs are difficult to detect unless they bite to suck their victims blood. These insects move stealthily, they slink, and they can accompany you wherever you go, hiding in your clothes or backpack. Bedbugs may be sometimes found in public places like movies and the subway.

Apparently, the bedbug infestation in France has reached alarming levels.

According to an Associated Press report, Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne has convened a ministerial meeting on Friday to address the bedbug issue.

The transportation minister of the country, Clement Beaune, held discussions this week with transportation companies to formulate a strategy for surveillance and sanitation.

Some quarters have said the government is trying to ease the situationa national psychosis inflamed by the media.

Addressing the reporters, Beaune said, "There is no resurgence of cases."

She pointed out that the 37 cases reported in the bus and Metro system and a dozen others on trains proved unfounded.

Viral videos on social media of tiny creatures supposedly burrowing in the seat of a fast train also did not have the truth.

Despite efforts, bedbugs have been a persistent issue in France and various other countries for many years.

These small, non-jumping, non-flying insects, roughly the size of an apple seed, are as mobile as humans, easily moving from one city or country to another.

They are a tough adversary to humans as they have developed growing resistance to insecticides. And here's an extra discomforting fact: Bedbugs can survive for up to a year without a blood meal.

Between 2017 and 2022, over 10% of households in France experienced a bedbug infestation, as reported by the National Agency for Health and Food Safety. The agency conducted a survey with Ipsos to address a topic that many tend to avoid discussing, fearing that openly admitting to a bedbug issue may lead to social stigma.

However, experts underscore that staying silent about the problem only worsens the problem.

Bedbugs can be found in the clothing, bedding, or mattresses of people across all social classes.
Photo Courtesy: Unsplash

The Afghanistan Embassy in Islamabad has said Pakistani police have detained more than a thousand Afghan migrants in the last two weeks, media reports said.

In a statement issued Tuesday, the embassy reported that some of these detainees lost their lives while in custody, and their bodies were discovered in hospitals and various other locations, reports Khaama Press.

The Taliban embassy emphasized that despite repeated promises from Pakistani authorities, the arrest, harassment, and mistreatment of Afghan refugees and migrants by Pakistani police continues, the news agency reported.

Regarding the killing of migrants, the embassy stated, Unfortunately, in addition to harassment and mistreatment, unjustifiable killings have also occurred.

The Taliban embassy in Islamabad added that it had informed Pakistani authorities about this issue.

According to the embassys statement, Pakistani police are conducting raids on Afghan migrants homes day and night. The Taliban embassy also added that nearly 500 of the detained refugees have migration and travel documents.

Most of the Afghan migrants, according to the Taliban embassy, have been detained on the outskirts of Islamabad.
The U.S. government transferred approximately 1.1 million 7.62mm rounds to the Ukrainian armed forces.

The government obtained ownership of these munitions on July 20, 2023, through the Department of Justices civil forfeiture claims against Irans Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).

These munitions were originally seized by U.S. Central Command naval forces from the transiting stateless dhow MARWAN 1, Dec. 9, 2022.

The munitions were being transferred from the IRGC to the Houthis in Yemen in violation of the United Nations Security Council Resolution 2216.

The U.S. is committed to working with our allies and partners to counter the flow of Iranian lethal aid in the region by all lawful means including U.S. and U.N. sanctions and through interdictions.

Irans support for armed groups threatens international and regional security, our forces, diplomatic personnel, and citizens in the region, as well as those of our partners.

"We will continue to do whatever we can to shed light on and stop Irans destabilizing activities," U.S. Central Command said in a statement.

Civilians continue to pay a horrendous price in the war in Ukraine, with nearly 10,000 dead and tens of thousands injured since conflict began in February 2022, the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in the country said in a report published on Wednesday.

It reveals the deadly toll of Russias full-scale invasion on Ukrainian civilians, with almost six people killed and 20 wounded on average every single day between February and July of this year.

In just six months covered by this report more than one thousand civilians died and nearly four thousand were injured, said Danielle Bell, the Missions head.
Image Credit: wikipedia.org

New Delhi: US Ambassador to India Eric Garcetti has conveyed to his diplomatic team in the country that the relationship between India and the US might face a temporary downturn due to New Delhi's diplomatic conflict with Canada, as per a report in Politico.

An anonymous State Department official stated that Garcetti also mentioned that "the US might have to limit its interactions with Indian officials for an unspecified duration".

The US has asserted that Canada's allegations regarding the potential involvement of Indian government agents in the June killing of terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar are serious.

It has urged for a detailed investigation into the matter and engaged in discussions with New Delhi, asking for active participation in the probe.

However, a US State Department spokesperson, who did not want to be named, declined to comment on the US ambassador's reported conversation with his team, reported India Today.

"Ambassador Garcetti is a champion of our strong partnership with the Indian people and the Indian government. Our relationship with India is an important, strategic, and consequential partnership," the spokesperson was quoted as assaying by India Today.

Canadian PM Justin Trudeau on September 18 alleged the potential involvement of Indian agents in the killing of Khalistani extremist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Surrey British Columbia on June 18. India dismissed the allegation, calling it absurd and motivated.

In 2020, India designated Nijjar as a terrorist. After his name cropped up in several terrorism cases, Nijjar escaped to Canada in 1996.

A media report on September 24 said that the US alerted Khalistani elements against the possible threats to life after Nijjar was killed.

The Intercept reported that Pritpal Singh, a coordinator for the American Sikh Caucus Committee, said three Sikh Americans in California were visited by FBI agents after Nijjars killing.

I was visited by two FBI special agents in late June who told me that they had received information that there was a threat against my life, said Pritpal Singh. They did not tell us specifically where the threat was coming from, but they said that I should be careful, he was quoted as saying by The Intercept.

The two other Sikh Americans, who wished not to be named, also confirmed that FBI agents visited them to alert them against life threats.
Punjab recorded 656 active fire incidents from September 15 to October 4, data from Ludhiana-based Punjab Remote Sensing Centre has shown.

According to the data, on Wednesday alone, 95 stubble-burning incidents were recorded from different parts of the state. This is much higher than the 23 and 65 farm fires recorded on the same day in 2021 and 2022.

BCCL

Where are the farm fires?

Of the 95 stubble-burning cases, Amritsar district contributed the most with 48, followed by 19 in Tarn Taran, eight in Patiala and seven in Kapurthala.

Amritsar and Tarn Taran account for the maximum straw-burning incidents, as harvesting has already begun in these districts.

In Amritsar, the District administration on Tuesday imposed fines of Rs 70,000 on 28 farmers for burning stubble.

BCCL

Paddy straw burning in Punjab and Haryana is one of the reasons behind the alarming spike in air pollution levels in Delhi-NCR in October and November.

Why farmers can't stop stubble burning

With about 31 lakh hectares of paddy area, Punjab produces around 180-200 lakh tons of paddy straw every year. Of this, 120 lakh tons are managed through in-situ (mixing crop residue in the fields) and ex-situ (using stubble as fuel) management methods.

Despite the best attempts by the state and central governments, farm fires continue to be a major issue in Punjab.

Farmers say that they are forced to burn the stubble as the window for rabi wheat sowing after paddy harvest is very short.

They say that machines to process the stubble are expensive and are in short supply, making them beyond the reach of most farmers.

BCCL

What Punjab government is doing

The state agriculture department has already announced that it will provide 24,000 crop residue management machines to check stubble burning incidents.

The department will provide Super SMS, happy seeder, paddy straw chopper, mulcher, smart seeder, zero till drill, surface seeder, super seeder, crop reaper and shrub master for in-situ and baler and straw rake for ex-situ management of the paddy residue.

Under its Rs 350-crore paddy straw management plan, the agriculture department is targeting zero-stubble burning incidents in Pathankot, Hoshiarpur, Rupnagar, Mohali, SBS Nagar and Malerkotla districts.

BCCL

Paddy verity banned

On Tuesday, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann said the state government has decided to ban sowing of water-guzzling PUSA-44 variety of paddy crop from the next Kharif season.

The chief minister urged farmers to stop the PUSA 44 variety of paddy crop cultivation as it takes more time to ripen, besides generating more crop residue.

It takes 152 days for ripening as against the PR-126 variety, which takes just 92 days, the chief minister said, adding that the PUSA variety requires more water for irrigation than other varieties.

For more on the news, sports, and current affairs from around the world, please visit Indiatimes News.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Wednesday evening arrested Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader and Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh in connection with the Delhi Excise Policy scam.

Singh was taken into custody from his residence after a day-long interrogation by ED officials.

BCCL

Why Sanjay Sing was arrested

The ED had on Wednesday morning raided the residence of Singh and the premises of some of his close aides in connection with the case.

Singh is the second high-profile AAP leader to be arrested in connection with the now-cancelled liquor excise policy in Delhi.

Former Delhi deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia was arrested by the CBI on February 26 for his alleged role in the scam.

BCCL

Later, the Enforcement Directorate arrested him on March 9.

What are the allegations against Sanjay Singh?

According to the ED, Singh had met Dinesh Arora, an alleged middleman, during a party in his restaurant Unplugged Courtyard.

Singh allegedly requested him to ask restaurant owners to generate funds for the Aam Aadmi Party for the Delhi assembly elections. He said he gave a cheque of Rs 82 lakh for the funds.

The EDC chargesheet in the case stated that Arora said in his statement that another accused, Amit Arora, wanted help in shifting his liquor shop from Okhla to Pitampura. He managed this through Singh, who told Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia and the matter was resolved by the Excise Department.

BCCL

Dinesh Arora also said he met Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal once at his residence with Singh while he had spoken to Sisodia five-six times, the charge sheet stated.

What is Delhi liquor policy case?

The Delhi excise policy case pertains to allegations that the Arvind Kejriwal-led Delhi government's excise policy for 2021-22 allowed cartelisation and favoured certain dealers who had allegedly paid bribes for it.

BCCL

The policy was subsequently scrapped, and the Delhi lieutenant governor recommended a CBI probe, following which the ED registered a case under the PMLA.

ED has so far filed five chargesheets in the case, including against Sisodia.

Before the 2021-22 excise policy, the Delhi State Industrial and Infrastructure Development Corporation (DSIIDC), Delhi Tourism and Transportation Development Corporation (DTTDC), Delhi Consumer's Cooperative Wholesale Store (DCCWS), and Delhi State Civil Supplies Corporation (DSCSC) - ran 475 liquor stores out of total 864 in the national capital.

BCCL

But under the (now-scrapped) liquor policy, which came into effect on November 17, 2021, the Delhi government had allowed private firms to open retail liquor outlets.

After scrapping the excise policy 2021-22, the Delhi government switched to the old regime under which its four agencies took control of the retail liquor trade from September 1, 2022.

How the case unfolded

The irregularities first came to light in July 2022 when Delhi Chief Secretary Naresh Kumar submitted a report to Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena, who then recommended a CBI probe into the formulation and implementation of the excise policy.

For more on the news, sports, and current affairs from around the world, please visit Indiatimes News.
A bedbug epidemic has hit Paris, raising worries about the 2024 Summer Olympics. Reports of bedbugs infesting public transport, cinemas, and hospitals have alarmed residents. However, entomologist Jean-Michel Berenger explains that this late summer bedbug increase isn't unusual; it happens yearly.

The bedbug increase happens because travelers in July and August unknowingly bring these pests in their luggage, with each year's rise being higher than the previous one.

Alarming reports have caused panic online, turning this once minor newspaper topic into a national emergency.

Cinemas are facing lower attendance due to videos showing unidentified mites infesting seats. Metro commuters are now inspecting upholstery, and some choose to stand.

College students have uploaded disturbing footage of bedbugs on train seats, causing distress among commuters.

The bedbug infestations in Paris have raised concerns as the city prepares for the 2024 Olympics.

Agencies

Deputy Mayor Emmanuel Gregoire expressed worries, saying that the surging infestations and the insects' resistance to pesticides have made it a significant issue. He mentioned that "no one is safe" from these bedbugs.



Bedbugs are small brown insects, roughly the size of apple seeds. They hide in mattresses and box springs, coming out at night to feed on human blood. Their knack for easily moving clothing and luggage makes them a nuisance in bedrooms and on public transportation.

Bedbug infestations are expensive to deal with, costing an average of 866 (Rs 75,574) per household for eradication. Nationally, this adds up to around 230 million each year.

The severity of the issue is evident from Paris residents' calls for home insurance policies to cover bedbug treatments.

A recent survey by the French health agency ANSES found that about 1 in 10 French households had bedbug infestations from 2017 to 2022.

The report emphasizes that although bedbugs don't transmit diseases, they significantly impact people's lives, causing sleep problems and mental health issues.

For more trending stories, follow us on Telegram.


A 44-year-old transient man was found dead on a park bench in downtown Corvallis.

Benton County Sheriffs Office responded to a call about a possible dead man near Northwest Fourth Street and Madison Avenue at around 11 a.m. Wednesday, Oct. 4, according to a news release from the agency.

A concerned caller noticed an unresponsive middle-aged man sitting on a bench near the southwest corner of the Benton County Courthouse lawn, the release states.

The dead man was identified as Brian Warzinik. Investigators are working on the cause of death, according to the release, which states there is no danger to the public associated with the death.

The Sheriffs Office asks the public to contact Deputy Savage at brigg.savage@bentoncountyor.gov or 541-230-8829 with any information regarding Warziniks death.
With a net worth of $122 billion, Bill Gates is currently the worlds fourth richest person. The Microsoft co-founder has already vowed to donate all of his wealth and eventually drop off from the worlds richest people list.



But what does his mammoth net worth comprise? Does he earn entirely from Microsoft or does he have other income sources too? Well, yes. The billionaires $122 billion net worth comprises not just his Microsoft stake.

Inside Bill Gates' Net Worth

AP

As per Bloomberg, a majority of Bill Gates' $122 billion net worth includes $59.4 billion cash, $20.6 billion worth of Microsoft equity. He has added over $13 billion to his net worth this year to date.



67-year-old Bill Gates is believed to own about $28.6 billion worth of Microsoft stock, i.e. a bit over 1% of the company, as per Forbes. Based on an analysis of Bloomberg data, Gates has received more than $56 billion in stock and dividends from Microsoft and other companies, including a $3.3 billion payout from Microsoft in 2004, which he donated to his philanthropic foundation.

The other big part of his more than $100 billion fortune is managed through closely held Cascade Investment, which has stakes in dozens of publicly traded companies, including Canadian National Railway, Deere and Ecolab. A big part of Bill Gates's fortune is being derived from Cascade Investment. The private investment and holding company Cascade was incorporated in the United States, founded and controlled by Gates.

The value of Cascade is based on an analysis of asset sales and purchases, taxes and market performance. Market performance is based on a hybrid of indexes that capture sectors including hedge funds, bonds and equities. It includes the value of Cascade's investments in closely held businesses, including real estate and energy assets. Cascade also owns stakes in dozens of public companies, which are valued individually using disclosed sharecounts.

Early Years Of Bill Gates' Life

shutterstock

Billionaire Bill Gates developed an interest in computers shortly after his admittance to Seattle's Lakeside School. After scoring 1590 on his SATs (out of a possible 1600), he enrolled at Harvard University, where his Lakeside friend, Paul Allen, persuaded him to take a leave of absence to help him build an operating system for the Altair 8800, a new computer developed by Micro Instrumentation & Telemetry Systems. The result: Microsoft, which is now the world's largest software maker by revenue and a market cap of well over $2 billion.



In 1994, Bill Gates married Melinda French, a Microsoft employee whom he had met seven years earlier at a press event in New York. As per Bloomberg, six years later, after his Microsoft stake topped $100 billion, Gates stepped down as the company's chief executive and began focusing on philanthropic efforts through the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. He intends to give a majority of his wealth to charity, a commitment he reaffirmed by signing the Giving Pledge in 2010. He was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Obama in November 2016.

theguardian

Also Read: Bill Gates Meets Ratan Tata

How Bill Gates' Fortune Has Changed In Recent Years

October 2023 (Present)-$122 billion

2022-$129 billion

2021-$124 billion

2020-$98 billion

2019-$96.5 billion

2018-$90 billion

2017-$86 billion

2016-$75 billion

2015-$79.3 billion

2014-$76 billion

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After the meeting, Kasselakis spoke of "an extremely productive discussion," in which they talked about several issues in depth.

Keywords

 
Benue State Commissioner of Information, Culture and Tourism, Mathew Abo, has regained freedom after spending 10 days in the den of kidnappers.

Information Nigeria had reported Abo was abducted at his hometown in Zaki-Biam of Ukum Local Government Area of the state on Sunday, September 24.

According to family sources, his abductors released him in the early hours of Thursday.

The sources however did not state whether the N60 million or any money demanded as ransom was paid for his freedom.

The Benue State Police Public Relations Officer, Anene Sewuese Catherine, also confirmed his release to Information Nigeria on Thursday.

The police spokesperson said, I received a message from the team thats following up on the incident that he has been released but Ive not gotten details from them. Its this morning they sent me a message. Ive not been able to reach them to talk to them to get details, the rain is much and the network is bad.

Tahav Agerzua, former media aide to two ex-Governors of the State, said his release could be attributed to intensified security operations, spirited negotiations, as well as prayers by individuals and groups.

Agerzua said that the Staff of the Benue State Ministry of Information, Culture and Tourism mounted concerted prayer sessions for the safe release of the Commissioner.

Abo had however expressed gratitude to God, Governor Hyacinth Alia, his colleagues, security agencies for his release from the captors.

I appreciate all the efforts and prayers that have culminated in my safe release and reunion with my family and society.

I wish that my ordeal will lead to renewed efforts to tackle both internal and external security challenges in the state and I call for the cooperation of everyone in the task ahead.

READ ALSO: Chicago: I Called Out Atiku Because Hes Desperate For Power  Okechukwu

May I assure that I remain determined more than ever to effectively utilise the platform which Governor Alia has offered to me to serve the people of the state as a member of the Benue State Executive Council with renewed vigor, the commissioner stated.

The Governors Chief Press Secretary (CPS), Tersoo Kula, in a statement however stated that no ransom or monetary exchanges were involved in securing his safe release.

We can confirm that the Commissioner for Information, Culture and Tourism, Matthew Abo, has regained freedom. He has since reunited with his family in Sankera, Ukum Local Government Area where he was abducted.

His release was as a result of intense pressure on the criminals from the gallant security operatives who were acting on the directives of Gov. Hyacinth Alia, who had earlier given marching orders to them to ensure Mr. Abos release, he said.

The statement further disclosed that the kidnappers were still holding the former Chairman, Ukum LGA, Mr Washima Erukaa and his cousin, who discreetly went to negotiate with them for the release of Mr Erukaa but were also kidnapped.

Governor Alia, who welcomed back the commissioner, further warned criminals operating within the State to leave for good, insisting that they would not be tolerated in any form.

He however commended the security operatives for ensuring the safe release of the commissioner and tasked them to ensure the safe release of the remaining captives.
The Labour Party (LP) has reacted to the controversy surrounding the academic records of President Bola Tinubu from the Chicago State University (CSU).

Recall that a top official of CSU, Carl Westberg, on Tuesday said that a replacement copy of the Diploma certificate Tinubu submitted to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) was not from the Institution.

READ MORE: Tinubus Academic Records: We Dont Have Time For Frivolous Issues  Foreign Affairs Minister

However, Westberg, who is the Registrar of the university, speaking under oath, told the court that he was seeing the Diploma certificate copy for the very first time in the instant proceedings.

This development has led to various reactions from Nigerians.

Reacting on the development, LP said the exposure of details of the academic records of Tinubu by the CSU and its contents have put Nigerias image among the comity of nations on trial.

National Publicity Secretary of the LP Obiora Ifoh explained that the whole saga has far-reaching implications on the image of Nigeria.

Ifoh said: This whole saga goes beyond the issue of whether or not the president attended Chicago State University, it goes beyond that.

The issue now is what message are we sending to the rest of the world? What about our institutions responsible for ensuring that things are properly done? We will wait for the Supreme Court to make its final pronouncement on the matter. We will take it from there.
The Divisional Police Officer (DPO) of Ilobu, Osun State, and three other policemen have been shot and a patrol van razed as the ongoing communal clashes between Ilobu and Ifon communities in the state escalated on Thursday.

Confirming the horrible incident, the State Police Command, Public Relations Officer, Yemisi Opalola, who said four policemen were shot and a patrol van was burnt.

It was gathered that the policemen were ambushed by some hoodlums during the clash.

The Osun police PRO told The Nation that: They burnt a new patrol van of police yesterday. They alleged us of taking side, it is unfortunate that the monitoring section van that was donated to us was burnt. Our four men are in hospital now, they were shot.

READ MORE: Gov. Adeleke Imposes Curfew On Osun LGAs Over Land Dispute

The Divisional police officer of Ilobu was among those who were shot, he was shot on his hand, but thanks to God, they are all responding to treatment.

They ambushed policemen when our men attempted to make peace in the area.

It was also learned that earlier, corps members had been evacuated from the communities by security operatives and residents were sighted fleeing.

Recall that INFORMATION NIGERIA had earlier reported that state Governor, Ademola Adeleke declared curfew in the affected areas, as part of efforts to bring normalcy to the two communities.
The senior pastor of Awaiting The Second Coming Of Christ Ministry, Adewale Giwa, has said that the Presidential candidate Peoples Democratic Party presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, should channel his energy towards resolving the crisis within his party rather than on the academic certificate of President Bola Tinubu.

The pastor said this in a statement issued to Vanguard on Thursday in Akure, the Ondo state capital.

He said, If Alhaji Bola Ahmed Tinubu happens to be a president of the United States, he would have honorably resigned by now.

However, Nigeria is a country where the poor bear the brunt of the law while the rich are untouchable.

READ ALSO: Tinubus CSU Certificate Not Fake, You Can Only Forge What You Dont Have  Presidency

Giwa lamented that the nations image has been on the trail among the comity of nations since the presidential candidate in the last election, Atiku Abubakar, requested the academic record of the President.

According to him, This CSU certificate has caused Nigeria irreparable damage; this is a national disgrace, and I do not think Nigeria really needs this.

Alhaji Atiku should have allowed time to take its course instead of trying to force his way.

One wonders why he couldnt channel the energy that he is using to fish out discrepancies on Tinubus Chicago University Certificate into resolving the crisis within his party that led to his failure in the last presidential election.

Atiku ought to have won the last presidential election if he had used wisdom to play his game with the G-5 governors.

Atiku should have used his energy to resolve the PDP crisis that led to his failure in the last presidential election.

Recall that Atiku Abubakar, who participated in the February 25, 2023 presidential election along with Tinubu, had challenged the declaration of the APC candidate as winner of the election on various grounds.

Among the grounds are that Tinubu was not qualified to have stood for the election on the grounds that he submitted forged documents on oath to INEC to secure eligibility.
Osun State Governor, Ademola Adeleke on Wednesday, imposed a dusk-to-dawn curfew on the Irepodun and Orolu Local Government Areas of the state.

It was gathered that the decision was reached by the Governor following communal clashes caused by land disputes involving Ilobu and Ifon towns.

INFORMATION NIGERIA learnt that the state governor had earlier imposed a curfew on the two local government areas in September after clashes were reported between the two communities.

The curfew was later relaxed after tension had gone down in the area.

However, the Commissioner for Information and Public Enlightenment, Kolapo Alimi, yesterday, said that Adeleke directed that, the curfew be reimposed on the two local government areas, following reported clashes in the affected communities.

The curfew which was initially between the hours of 8 pm every night, and ends by 6 am, has now changed to the hours of 6 pm every night, and 6 am in the morning.

The statement reads: Following communal clash between Ilobu and Ifon communities, Osun state government has directed that the curfew continues in order to maintain law and order in the affected communities.

The curfew time has now changed to the hours of 6 pm every night, and 6 am in the morning. Human and vehicular movement is to be restricted during the curfew till further notice.

This is to forestall attempts of destruction of lives and properties during this period, because of the land dispute.

Anyone caught wandering or moving around in Irepodun and Orolu local governments during the curfew period will be arrested and prosecuted appropriately.

Governor Ademola Adeleke reiterates the need for peace between these two local governments, and asked that the ethos of Peace, Love and Unity which the state is known for, be imbibed.
A Special Adviser to former Vice President and the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, 2023 presidential candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, Paul Ibe, has reacted to the the statement of the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Yusuf Tuggar on President Bola Tinubus academic records.

Recall that the INFORMATION NIGERIA had earlier reported that the minister said, the administration of President Tinubu does not have time to waste on trivial matters

Reacting to Tuggars statement while speaking to Vanguard, Ibe noted that the Minister was irresponsible and shameful.

READ MORE: Chicago: What Message Are We Sending To Rest Of The World?- Labour Party Queries Tinubus Govt On Certificate Saga

He wondered how the Minister could boldly validate forgery and perjury.

Ibe said: The Foreign Affairs Minister is irresponsible. How can you, a foreign affairs minister, say that kind of thing? Is he validating forgery and perjury? That is actually the outcome of the deposition yesterday (Tuesday) that Tinubu forged the certificate he submitted to the INEC for the 2023 election. His comment is very irresponsible and shameful.

When asked if Atiku would approach the Supreme Court with the CSUs disclosure on Tinubu, Ibe said: That is up to the lawyers. I am sure they are working on that.
Ministerial nominee, Balarabe Lawal, confirmed as Minister by the Senate on Wednesday has spoken on his collapse during screening.

Recall that Lawal, a native of Kaduna State, was screened alongside fellow nominees, Jamila Ibrahim (Kwara) and Ayodele Olawande (Ondo), to join 45 ministers previously approved by the Red Chamber in August.

The screening followed President Bola Tinubus letter to the Senate read on the floor of the legislative chamber on Tuesday, seeking its confirmation of the nominees.

READ ALSO: Gov. Adeleke Imposes Curfew On Osun LGAs Over Land Dispute

As the screening went on, things took a dramatic turn when Lawal  the second to be called up after Ibrahim  collapsed after only concluding his introduction, causing several people present to rush to his aid.

Lawal said his sudden collapse during the exercise at the Senate was as a result of exhaustion and that he is alright now.

Im alright now. Ive been treated and Im alright now. It was basically exhaustion, he told journalists.

While the Kaduna native was unable to take questions due to the incident, his nomination was confirmed alongside his fellow nominees
Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has urged the 2023 presidential candidates of the Labour Party, Peter Obi and the New Nigeria Peoples Party, Rabiu Kwankwaso to join him in fighting for justice for the country.

Atiku made this known during the world press conference held in Abuja on Thursday following the deposition of President Bola Tinubus academic records by the Chicago State University (CSU).

Recall that CSU released Tinubus certificate to Atiku upon the order of an American court, a development that has generated mixed reactions among Nigerians.

READ ALSO: Atikus Petition Against Tinubu Has Collapsed  Shittu

Speaking in Abuja, Atiku said he was not fighting for himself but for the country.

This quest is not for or about Atiku Abubakar; its a quest for the enthronement of truth, morality, justice, and accountability in our public affairs, Atiku said.

In line with this, let me call on all well-meaning Nigerians, leaders of thought, religious, traditional, community, and political leaders.

In particular, Peter Obi of the Labour Party, Rabiu Kwankwaso of NNPP, leaders of political parties in Nigeria, and every single person who loves this country as I do, and who wishes nothing but the best for this country to join me in this campaign to enshrine accountability, and the basic principles of justice, morality, and uprightness in our country and in our government.
Caleb Westberg, Chicago State Universitys (CSU) Registrar says the institution never issued a replacement certificate to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in 1997.

This rebuttal contradicts reports by several media platforms which posited that a diploma was reissued to the President in 1997.

Recall that as requested by former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar, Judge Nancy Maldonado of the United States (US) District Court for the Northern District of Illinois directed CSU officials to provide Tinubus records and avail themselves for deposition to authenticate them on Tuesday.

Westberg attested under oath that the institution did not award the June 22, 1979 certificate the Nigerian leader submitted to Nigerias electoral body, Independent National Electoral Commission on June 17, 2022.

According to the Registrar, Tinubu did not apply for a replacement certificate, nor was he ever issued one.

He clarified that the June 27, 1997 date was only a typographical error in Tinubus replacement certificate which was issued to Nigerian lawyer Mike Enahoro-Ebah in an earlier subpoena filed in August 2022.

When asked whether he meant to write 1979 instead of the 1997 date on the replacement certificate issued to Enahoro-Ebah, he said: That is correct, Ill state on the record as the author that is my typo.

READ ALSO: Tinubus CSU Certificate Not Fake, You Can Only Forge What You Dont Have  Presidency

Giving clarification on why several news outlets gave false reports on the certificate replacement before deposition, an outlet told Peoples Gazette that Tinubus lawyer, Oluwole Afolabi, gave them the information.

Since Afolabi was directly involved in the case as the Presidents legal counsel, the platform noted they had no reason to doubt the information.

The release of documents that were unauthenticated by CSU before deposition is however projected to endanger Afolabis legal practice in the U.S.

Also, Westberg, in his deposition, submitted that there are numerous companies that specialise in the business of forgery  which may connote that Tinubu patronised forgers for the diploma he presented to the electoral umpire .

Meanwhile, during an international press conference in Abuja on Thursday, Atiku, 2023 presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), emphasized the potential impact on Nigerias reputation due to the controversy surrounding Tinubus certificate.

Atiku further called on the pertinent stakeholders to uphold democratic principles by ascertaining the authenticity of the certificate presented by Tinubu to INEC.

The reputation of our country is at stake and that affects Nigerians everywhere and wherever they may be. Atiku said.
Anambra State Vigilante Service has urged people of Odumodu Umunya in Oyi Local Government Area of the state to stop sleeping in hotels and return home.

Commander of Odumodu Umunya Vigilante, Chief Tochukwu Emesionwu made the statement on Thursday, October 5, during commissioning of Odumodu Enu and Odumodu Ana Vigilante office in the area.

According to The Nation, the two villages of Odumodu for a very long time have been under attack, leading to death of many, while some abandoned their ancestral homes to take refuge in neighboring communities.

READ ALSO: Abducted Priest Rescued By Anambra Vigilante Team

But in a new development, Emesionwu affirmed that the community was secure and suitable for living with the Vigilante groups presence, while also committing to removing criminal elements from the area with his team.

He also promised youths of the community of being carried along to ensure no criminal was allowed entry into the two villages of Odumodu Umunya henceforth.

He noted, Our people should return home and stop sleeping in hotels. Our community is now condusive with the presence of the Vigilante group.

Also speaking, Divisional Police Officer, Oyi Council Area, Chuks Nwoke warned members of the Vigilante Service in the area to shun acts capable of bringing the security outfit to disrepute by working according to the law establishing community policing.

He further warned youths and security operatives to avoid harassing and maltreating innocent persons, saying those arrested must be handed over to the police for investigation and prosecution.

He added, Community policing involves giving the police reliable information that will lead to the arrest and prosecution of suspected criminals.

Member of the State Assembly representing Oyi Constituency, Innocent Ojike said his people have been suffering for a very long time due to insecurity, stressing that nothing meaningful was achievable without security.

While decrying residents inability to sleep with their two eyes closed in the past, the lawmaker who doubles as Chairman, House Commitee on Trade and Commerce pledged full support of security outfits establishment to protect lives and property of the people.

Chairman of Odumodu security commitee, Sunday Nkweke said decision to inaugurate the Anambra Vigilante Service was informed by previous ugly experiences, assuring that similar occurrences would be nipped in the bud.

Members of the Vigilante group were presented with motorcycles, uniforms and other relevant tools to assist them secure lives and property of the people.
Vice-Chancellor (VC) of the University of Abuja (UNIABUJA), Abdul-Rasheed NaAllah, has stated that students who wish to study in the institution must first undergo and pass a drug test.

Prof Na Allah stated that the institution is interested in learning about students drug status to assist them in becoming drug-free.

At the 27th Pre-Convocation briefing on Wednesday in Abuja, he stated that they were collaborating with the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) to assist students involved in drug abuse and rehabilitate them so that they do not become a nuisance after graduation.

READ ALSO: Reps To Probe Oil Companies Violating Environmental Laws

He said, The drug status of students is important in order to help students to be free from drugs. The students will not be sent away from school if it is observed that they involved in drug abuse, but rather they will be rehabilitated in collaboration with the NDLEA.

The Vice-Chancellor announced that 7900 students, including 100 PhDs, 326 academic Masters, 346 Professional Masters, and 7,128 undergraduates, would graduate at the Convocation on Saturday, October.

He stated that 40 students will graduate with a First Class, 474 with a Second Class Upper, 944 with a Second Class Lower, 174 with a Third Class, and One Pass degree.
Peter Obi, the 2023 presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP), says the Federal Government should celebrate Nigerian teachers rather than those who have impoverished the country.

In a statement to mark World Teachers Day, Obi said there cannot be any true development in society without the contributions of teachers.

According to him, the foundation of the development of any society is human capital development, which can only be achieved through education and the immeasurable contribution of teachers.

His words: The great rigour, hard work, patience and dedication most teachers in different schools and institutions, especially at the basic level, put into their work to ensure that their students can become the best in learning and character, deserve commendation.

I have always celebrated teachers in Nigeria, whenever the opportunity comes, for example, Mr Akeem Badru, who won the 2023 Cambridge Dedicated Teacher Award.

I have also maintained that the government should begin to celebrate Nigerian teachers, who through hard work and dedication, have distinguished themselves in many ways, rather than celebrating individuals who contribute to the challenges facing us a nation.

READ ALSO: NDLEA Seizes 491.032kg Of Illicit Drugs, Arrests 27 Suspects In Bayelsa

While he was Anambra State Governor, Obi said, his administration would not have been able to achieve the many feats it recorded in the education sector without the devotion and commitment of teachers in the State.

We need to revolutionise education in the nation, by aggressively reducing the present 22 million out-of-school children and bringing them back to schools.

This we can achieve by making more investment in education and employing more teachers, he said.

Urging the government to take teachers salaries seriously and ensure that they are paid in due time, he called on the teachers to remain resolute and patient despite the present hardship prevalent in the country and look forward to a better Nigeria.

At the basic education level, which is the most critical, governments at all levels, should intervene in schools owned by private and voluntary agencies, and ensure that their teachers are paid as their counterparts in public schools, Obi added.
The Presidency on Wednesday doubled down on its claim that the certificate President Bola Ahmed Tinubu submitted to the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, was valid.

Tinubus Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Temitope Ajayi, who made this known via X also posited that the Chicago State University (CSU) confirmed that the president didnt submit a fake result to INEC.

Ajayi noted that CSU affirmed under oath that Tinubu attended and graduated from the institution and that the school does not handle replacements for lost certificates.

We should be clear.

READ ALSO: Constitution Must Supersede Public Opinion  CJN To New Judges

In the deposition made by the Chicago State University, there was nowhere the University said the certificate presented to INEC by President Tinubu is fake. The University insisted under oath that President Tinubu graduated with honours and even at that, replacements for lost certificates are done by vendors not the University.

The claim that President Tinubu submitted fake certificate to INEC does not make sense. A man can not forge the academic records he possesses. You can only forge what you dont have.

Following petition by the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, Atiku Abubakar, CSU had released Tinubus academic records on orders of the court.

Atiku had requested the documents to back his allegation of forgery against Tinubu.
The Nobel Prize in literature has been awarded to Norwegian author Jon Fosse. The academy says the prize is for Fosse's his innovative plays and prose, which give voice to the unsayable. Read more

STOCKHOLM  Norwegian writer Jon Fosse, whose work tackles birth, death, faith and the other elemental stuff of life in spare Nordic prose, won the Nobel Prize for Literature on Thursday for writing that prize organizers said gives voice to the unsayable.

The novelist and playwright said the prize was recognition of literature that first and foremost aims to be literature, without other considerations  an ethos expressed in dozens of enigmatic plays, stories and novels, including a seven-book epic made up of a single sentence.

Fosses work, rooted in his Norwegian background, focuses on human insecurity and anxiety, Anders Olsson, chair of the Nobel literature committee, told The Associated Press. The basic choices you make in life, very elemental stuff.

One of his countrys most-performed dramatists, Fosse said he had cautiously prepared himself for a decade to receive the news that he had won.

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I was surprised when they called, yet at the same time not, the 64-year-old told Norwegian public broadcaster NRK. It was a great joy for me to get the phone call.

Why did the Nobel Prize in literature go to Jon Fosse?

The author of 40 plays as well as novels, short stories, childrens books, poetry and essays, Fosse was honored for his innovative plays and prose, which give voice to the unsayable, according to the Swedish Academy, which awards the prize.

Fosse has cited the bleak, enigmatic work of Irish writer Samuel Beckett  the 1969 Nobel literature laureate  as an influence on his sparse, minimalist style.

Edmund Austigard, executive officer of Fosses publisher, Samlaget, said the author described his work as slow writing and reading literature.

Its not a type of literature that you bring to the beach and read in an hour or two, he said. Its a type of literature ... that invites you into a unique world and invites you to stay there for a while.

What is the Nynorsk language?

While Fosse is the fourth Norwegian writer to get the literature prize, he is the first in nearly a century and the first who writes in Nynorsk, one of the two official written versions of the Norwegian language. It is used by just 10% of the countrys 5.4 million people, according to the Language Council of Norway, but completely understandable to users of the other written form, Bokmaal.

Guy Puzey, senior lecturer in Scandinavian Studies at the University of Edinburgh, said Bokmaal is the language of power, its the language of urban centers, of the press. Nynorsk, by contrast, is used mainly by people in rural western Norway.

So its a really big day for a minority language, Puzey said.

Norway culture minister, Lubna Jaffery, told news agency NTB that it was a historic day for the Nynorsk language and Nynorsk literature.

Norways Bjrnstjerne Bjrnson received the prize in 1903, Knut Hamsun was awarded it in 1920 and Sigrid Undset in 1928.

In recognition of his contribution to Norwegian culture, in 2011 Fosse was granted use of an honorary residence in the grounds of the Royal Palace.

What did Jon Fosse write?

His first novel, Red, Black, was published in 1983, and his debut play, Someone is Going to Come, in 1992.

His work A New Name: Septology VI-VII  described by Olsson as Fosses magnum opus  was a finalist for the International Booker Prize in 2022. The final volume in a seven-novel exploration of life, death and spirituality contains no sentence breaks.

His other major prose works include Melancholy; Morning and Evening, whose two parts depict a birth and a death; Wakefulness; and Olavs Dreams.

His plays, which have been staged across Europe and in the United States, include The Name, Dream of Autumn and I am the Wind.

Fosse has also taught writing  one of his students was best-selling Norwegian novelist Karl Ove Knausgaard  and consulted on a Norwegian translation of the Bible.

How did Jon Fosse react to the news?

Mats Malm, permanent secretary of the academy, reached Fosse by telephone to inform him of the win. He said the writer, who lives in the western city of Bergen, was driving in the countryside and promised to drive home carefully.

I stand here and feel a little numb, but of course very happy for the great honor, Fosse told Norways TV2.

The Nobel Prizes carry a cash award of 11 million Swedish kronor ($1 million) from a bequest left by their creator, Swedish inventor Alfred Nobel. Winners also receive an 18-carat gold medal and diploma at the award ceremonies in December.

Should I have heard of Jon Fosse?

Though his books have been translated into dozens of languages and his plays produced around the world, Fosse is what some critics might see as a classic, safe Nobel choice: A highbrow European man with little name recognition beyond small literary circles.

The prize has long faced criticism that it is too focused on European and North American writers of style-heavy, story-light prose. Its also male-dominated, with just 17 women among its 119 laureates, including last years winner French author Annie Ernaux.

Others point out that the prize has gone in recent years to a strong mix of authors with both critical acclaim and robust sales, such as Kazuo Ishiguro, Mario Vargas Llosa and Alice Munro. And the most populist choice by the committee  2016 laureate Bob Dylan  also sparked plenty of controversy and debate about whether his lyrics rose to the level of literature.

Publisher Austigard said Fosses slow prose could be " just what we need and just what people are looking for in a frenetic world.

Its birth, its love, its death. Its about what it means to be a human being.
The launch of the annual report on Oct. 4, 2023, in Philadelphia. Read more

Philadelphia has added more women in leadership positions at top public companies, according to an annual report from the Forum of Executive Women.

The report, a collaboration between the Forum and accounting firm PwC, has been issued for 22 years, tracking the percentages of female directors, executives, and top earners at the regions top 100 public companies by revenue, as listed in the Philadelphia Business Journals 2023 rankings.

Last years report showed increases in all three key metrics. This year, only two of those metrics saw increases  a 2% increase in the rate of women serving as directors and executives.

Discouragingly, this year shows minimal or no gains in our key metrics tracked for Philadelphias top public companies, Colleen Crowley, a partner at PwC, said Wednesday at the launch of the report.

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The Forum, which aims to advance female leaders in the Philadelphia region, began in 1977, and has over 600 women in its network.

More women on Philly boards

The percentage of women serving on boards in the Philadelphia region was around 10.7% when the forum first started producing the report. That number grew to 27% in 2022.

The number of companies with zero women on their boards has decreased every year from 2014 to 2021. In 2022, only four of the top 100 companies didnt have any women on their boards, compared to 35 companies in 2014.

The percentage of women serving on company boards increased from 25% of total seats in 2021, to 27% in 2022. But the percentage of open seats being filled by women has decreased, and women chair only five boards.

At the current rate of change, we will not reach equality of women in the boardroom for at least another decade, Crowley said.

Three female CEOs

The number of female CEOs at top companies in the Philadelphia area has risen from one to three in the last year as two women rose to the position: Ellen Cooper, of Lincoln National Corp., and Elizabeth Burr, of Rite Aid Corp.

They join Susan Hardwick at American Water Works Co. Inc., a utility company based in Camden, who, at the time of last years report, was the only woman CEO in the Philadelphia area at a top public company.

Its disappointing to see women so poorly represented in leadership, said Meghan Pierce, CEO and president of the Forum, who took on her role a few weeks ago.

Earning stays stagnant

Women make up 15% of the regions top earners, the same percentage as last year.

Diversity, equity, and inclusion reporting

One notable shift this year: More companies than ever are reporting representation data, Crowley said.

This shift suggests that companies are more aware that it matters to share this information, as well as the importance of having access to data rather than relying on sentiment or feelings to gauge and measure progress, she said.

This is the third year that the forum is tracking whether companies report on their own ethnic, racial, and LGBTQ+ diversity. Over 70% of companies shared information about the makeup of their workforce or board and their diversity, equity, and inclusion policies, according to this years report.

What lies ahead

The challenges women face in the workplace arent just about getting into leadership roles, but also being supported once they get there, Pierce said.

Its not as though just naming a woman CEO solves all the gender equity issues within your company. You do need that longevity piece, she said. You do need policies that welcome women and support them to stay.
Erick Galo-Ponce was charged early this year with second- and third-degree murder, as well as robbery, in the death of Nilson Velazauez-Cardona. Read more

It took a Montgomery County jury just 33 minutes Thursday to convict a Norristown man of murder for plotting with his girlfriend to lead another man to his death under a bridge, where they killed and robbed him.

Erick Galo-Ponce, 21, was found guilty of second- and third-degree murder, as well as robbery and conspiracy charges, in the December 2022 killing of Nilson Velazquez-Cardona under the Stony Creek Bridge.

Prosecutors, led by Assistant District Attorney Meghan Carney, presented evidence during the three-day trial before Montgomery County Court Judge William Carpenter that Galo-Ponces girlfriend, Ana Yuvitza Gonzalez-Munguia, had contacted Velazquez-Cardona through Facebook, asking for his help.

Ana found Nilson. She set him up, and Erick knocked him down, Carney said during her closing arguments Thursday. They came together, they robbed together, and they fled together.

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Gonzalez-Munguia, 21, testified that she told Velazquez-Cardona that she and her boyfriend were experiencing homelessness, and had initially asked him for money. The couple, both from Guatemala, had recently been evicted from an apartment they rented in Norristown after failing to pay their rent, investigators said.

After being wired some cash by Velazquez-Cardona, Gonzalez-Munguia asked him to come help her find a more permanent place to live.

Velazquez-Cardona drove more than two hours from his home in Woodhaven, N.Y. to Norristown, Carney said, where Gonzalez-Munguia led him to a campsite under the Stony Creek Bridge. There, Ponce was waiting, and struck the victim from behind with a metal pipe, then continued beating him as he lay unresponsive on the ground. The two then rifled through his pockets, Carney said, stealing his car keys and wallet.

For her role in the fatal robbery, Gonzalez-Munguia pleaded guilty to third-degree murder in September. She will be sentenced to 22 to 45 years in prison in exchange for her testimony, as part of a negotiated plea with prosecutors.

I dont expect you to like Ana; I dont, Carney said. Shes an admitted robber and murderer. I didnt select her, but you know who did? [Galo-Ponce] did. He selected her to be his partner.

After killing Velazquez-Cardona, the couple stole his car and used his credit card to fill it with gas before driving to Texas. Along the way, they used the stolen card to rent hotel rooms and order meals from DoorDash, according to testimony during the trial.

In the meantime, Velazquez-Cardonas relatives were searching for him and filed a missing-persons report with police in New York City. Eventually, using cellphone data, county detectives and U.S. Marshals tracked them to Texas, and arrested them in January.

Galo-Ponces lawyer, James Lyons, urged jurors Thursday not to trust Gonzalez-Munguia, calling her a polluted source that the prosecution had relied on to build its entire case.

She killed this guy, not [Galo-Ponce]. Shes throwing him under the bus to save herself, Lyons said. Youre expected to put this kid away based only on her word. The commonwealth has nothing else.

Lyons said Gonzalez-Munguias credibility was ruined by the conflicting statements she gave to police after her arrest, and in the ways she contradicted herself while being cross-examined during the trial.

He argued that the physical evidence presented by prosecutors showed Galo-Ponce was guilty only of theft  for stealing the victims car. Lyons contended that Gonzalez-Munguia was the true mastermind, and that Galo-Ponce had no idea what she planned to do that night under the bridge.

Her story is nonsense. Thats not how this happened, Lyons said. Shes simply not telling you the truth.

But Carney sharply rebuked Lyons interpretation. She referenced surveillance footage that showed the couple walking near the bridge both before and after the murder and traveling together in the victims car. Text messages between them, she said, showed Gonzalez-Munguia providing Galo-Ponce with a play-by-play as she led Velazquez-Cardona to the campsite, telling her accomplice to prepare for the planned attack.

The defense wants you believe Ana is my whole case, Carney said. No, Ana is the exclamation point on the end of the sentence Erick Ponce is guilty. Her words corroborate all of the other evidence.

Galo-Ponce and Gonzalez-Munguia will be sentenced by Carpenter in the coming weeks.
Three police officers were shot Wednesday night responding to a domestic shooting incident on the 7500 block of Whitaker Avenue. Read more

Three Philadelphia police officers were shot Wednesday evening in the citys Rhawnhurst section while responding to a report of a domestic shooting, police said.

The suspected gunman was dead after officers returned fire, police said. Another man was found shot inside a home on the 7500 block of Whitaker Avenue, from where the suspect allegedly fired at police.

Shortly before 7:10 p.m., police responded to a call from a 12-year-old saying his father had just shot his uncle, police said. A few minutes later as police arrived to investigate, an officer reported that shots were fired from the house and that he was shot, police said.

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Two officers were shot in the leg and one in the hand, police said. All three were taken to Jefferson Torresdale Hospital, where they were reported to be in stable condition.

A woman and child left the house apparently uninjured, police said.

Interim Police Commissioner John Stanford said there reportedly was a dispute inside the house over a video game possibly being played too loudly, then one man shot the other.

When police arrived, the man described as the boys father and the alleged shooter of the uncle was standing in the doorway of the house, possibly waiting for police to arrive, Stanford said at a news briefing outside the hospital where the injured officers were being treated.

Our officers did exchange gunfire with him, Stanford said.

Thank God theyre all OK, said Mayor Jim Kenney at the news briefing.

The alleged shooter was pronounced dead at the scene on Whitaker Avenue.

The uncle was taken to Jefferson Abington Hospital, where he was listed in critical condition.

On the 7500 block of Whitaker Avenue, a young mother  she didnt want to give her name, citing safety concerns  was washing dishes in the kitchen with her infant by her side when she heard a police car zooming down the block sometime after 7 p.m.

Then I saw cop car, cop car, cop car, she said. Cops just started swarming by the house and I heard shots, so I grabbed my baby and headed upstairs.

She said a bullet hit the side of her home, just inches from her window. Her partner had been outside hanging out with friends on the nice evening. Neither one of them was injured, though the family remained terribly shaken as several police cars closed off the street.

The woman said that the neighborhood used to be quiet but that safety has increasingly become a concern for her family. In May, a man was fatally shot in front of his wife on the 7400 block of Whitaker Avenue.

Councilmember Katherine Gilmore Richardson posted a statement on X, formerly known as Twitter.

I am deeply saddened and very angry to learn of the shooting of three Philadelphia Police Officers in Northeast Philadelphia, the councilmember wrote. As we await additional details, I am thinking of them, their loved ones and colleagues and praying for their speedy recovery. Enough is enough!

Stanford also posted a statement on social media: This tragic incident is yet another cold reminder of the dangers our women and men face day in and day out. Proud of our brave officers, and pray for their recoveries and all affected by this senseless attack.
Parents, students and supporters gathered outside of Henry Houston Elementary in opposition of the practice of leveling in Philadelphia on Wednesday. Read more

Kaiya Wong-Shing has spent a month getting used to classroom routines, and she loves her teacher at Henry Houston Elementary in West Mount Airy. But on Monday, everything starts over, as two Houston fifth-grade classes collapse into one and she gets a new teacher.

Im not that happy, said Kaiya, 10. I dont want to have a big class.

Chalk it up to leveling, a controversial Philadelphia School District practice that happens about a month into the school year, shifting teachers based on actual enrollment.

Schools that have unexpectedly large classes get new staff, and at schools such as Houston, where fewer students than anticipated show up, teachers are cut and moved. (The alternative would be to leave smaller class sizes at underenrolled schools, and hire extra teachers for those with bigger-than-expected numbers of students.)

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Leveling doesnt happen in the majority of school districts, though Philadelphia is not the only one in the country that uses it.

In fact, the district stopped leveling in 2021-22, using federal relief funds to pay for extra teachers. Though the stimulus money was still around, the district went back to the practice last school year because the nationwide teaching shortage meant it couldnt find enough people to fill open jobs, let alone new ones.

Leveling worries Christina Jackson, Kaiyas mother.

Its a jolt. Im concerned about a larger classroom, said Jackson, who has two children affected by leveling: Kaiyas twin brother, Guari, is also a Houston fifth grader. A teacher barely hanging on is going to be less attentive.

So far, 59 schools lost teachers

Though final numbers are not yet available, school system officials, who now refer to the process as enrollment-driven resource review, noted that the district prevented leveling at 45 schools, retaining 93 teachers who would otherwise have been moved.

Systemwide, 59 schools lost teachers  an 88-position reduction  and 50 schools gained them, for the addition of 66 teacher positions.

Leveling-related movement will continue through Thursday, said district spokesperson Marissa Orbanek; when thats complete, the district will be able to say how many teachers were moved.

We know that providing students with consistent access to a highly qualified teacher plays a significant role in student learning and academic achievement, Orbanek said in a statement. We will continue to refine our processes, including seeking to more accurately project student enrollment at each school and grade level prior to the start of the school year so that mid-year staffing adjustments can be avoided as much as possible.

Philadelphia Federation of Teachers president Jerry Jordan said leveling was a complex issue.

We recognize the challenges presented by leveling, and we also recognize the importance of allocating teaching positions based on enrollment, Jordan said in a statement. As we continue to fight for fully equitable school funding, we hope that the additional, necessary resources will ultimately eliminate the need for leveling.

At some point, it just feels like too much

Houston parents are so concerned about leveling that dozens rallied Wednesday after school, carrying signs that said leveling disrupts learning and leveling hurts teachers.

Its not just about Houston, said Emily Pugliese, mother of a fifth grader, its about the practice in general, and the other schools losing teachers and enduring disruption. (No list of affected schools was available.)

Last year, the Houston fifth graders were also squeezed into a single class; at 32 students  one less student than the district maximum. It was a very difficult year, said Pugliese. The teacher was amazing, but its hard for kids to learn with that many other bodies in the classroom. My son said there were so many distractions.

This year, with the class split into two in September, her son reported that learning was much easier. As for whats next?

Were panicking, said Pugliese. She loves the community at Houston, the teachers, the principal, the parents.

But the stuff thats coming out of the district is really difficult to manage, and it feels like were constantly putting out fires just to give our kids the bare minimum, she said. Houston doesnt offer algebra. Weve dealt with lead paint. We dont have air-conditioning. You can swallow a lot of things, but at some point, it just feels like too much.

Aja Davis, another Houston parent, agrees. She doesnt have a child in fifth grade, but said leveling has an effect on the entire school.

Houstons principal, and many of its parents, have made efforts to talk up the school in the neighborhood. It feels as if their work gained momentum, Davis said, with a growing group of equity-minded families sending their children or pledging to send them to Houston  even though those families have the resources to make other educational choices.

Leveling threatens that, said Davis, a district graduate herself who remembers being affected by the process when she was in high school.

People are kind of starting to burn out, and its really sad, said Davis. Because there are so many of us that dont have options for sending our kids elsewhere.

Its especially galling that while leveling is considered a necessary inconvenience in Philadelphia, its unthinkable a few miles away, in districts that are better resourced, with fewer students who are Black and come from underresourced families, said Jackson, Kaiya and Guaris mother.

This is a very public school problem that is really only happening to the kids who are bearing the brunt of our funding being unconstitutional, Jackson said.
WASHINGTON  The Biden administration took aim Tuesday at the fentanyl trafficking threat, announcing a series of indictments and sanctions against Chinese companies and executives blamed for importing the chemicals used to make the deadly drug.

Officials described the actions, which include charges against eight Chinese companies accused of advertising, manufacturing and distributing precursor chemicals for synthetic opioids like fentanyl, as the latest effort in their fight against the deadliest overdose crisis in U.S. history. The moves come one day before senior administration officials are set to visit Mexico, whose cartels are part of the global trafficking network, for meetings expected to involve discussion of the drug threat.

We know that this network includes the cartels leaders, their drug traffickers, their money launderers, their clandestine lab operators, their security forces, their weapons suppliers, and their chemical suppliers, Attorney General Merrick Garland said at a news conference. And we know that this global fentanyl supply chain, which ends with the deaths of Americans, often starts with chemical companies in China.

Besides charging eight companies, the Justice Department also indicted 12 executives for their alleged roles in drug trafficking. In a coordinated action, the Treasury Department announced sanctions against 28 people and companies  mostly in China but also in Canada  that will cut them off from the U.S. financial system and prohibit anyone in the U.S. from doing business with them. None of those charged has been arrested, but Garland said prosecutors intended to bring every one of these defendants to justice.

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Its the latest step in the rapid scaling up of our work targeting the financial flows that power the global illicit drug trade, said Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo. He said Treasury is also seeking out the friends, family members, and affiliates of the people who benefit from drug sales.

If you benefit from the proceeds of this illicit activity, we are going to come after your assets, he said.

Mexico and China are the primary sources for fentanyl and fentanyl-related substances trafficked directly into the U.S., according to the Drug Enforcement Administration, which is tasked with combating illicit drug trafficking. Nearly all the precursor chemicals that are needed to make fentanyl come from China. And the companies that make the precursors routinely use fake return addresses and mislabel the products in order to avoid being caught by law enforcement.

One of the examples cited by the Justice Department involves a Chinese pharmaceutical technology company that advertised xylazine, a horse tranquilizer that is often mixed to fentanyl to ensure a more potent high, and shipped the chemicals to the U.S. and to Mexico. One of the purchasers in Mexico, officials said, was a drug trafficker associated with the Sinaloa Cartel.

This latest action follows a series of measures taken this year against members of the Sinaloa cartel, cash couriers and cartel fraud schemes.

Republicans have complained, however, that the administration isnt doing enough to stop fentanyl and the issue is likely to figure prominently in next years presidential campaign.

In February, 21 Republican state attorneys general wrote a letter to President Joe Biden and Secretary of State Antony Blinken calling on them to designate Mexican drug cartels as foreign terrorist organizations. Last year a group of Republican attorneys general asked the president to declare fentanyl a weapon of mass destruction. No such actions have been taken.

Fentanyl, a powerful opioid, is the deadliest drug in the U.S. today. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention states that drug overdose deaths have increased more than sevenfold from 2015 to 2021.

More than 100,000 deaths a year have been linked to drug overdoses since 2020 and about two-thirds of those are related to fentanyl. The death toll is more than 10 times as many drug deaths as in 1988, at the height of the crack epidemic.

The U.S. has taken a slew of actions to stem the tide of fentanyl coming into the country. Overall, the Biden administration has imposed over 200 sanctions related to the illegal drug trade.

State lawmakers nationwide are responding to the deadliest overdose crisis in U.S. history by pushing harsher penalties for possessing fentanyl.

In a speech at the Family Summit on Fentanyl last week, Garland said the Justice Department was sending out some $345 million in federal funding over the next year, including money to support mentoring for at-risk young people and increase access to the overdose-reversal drug naloxone.

On Capitol Hill, a bipartisan group of legislators out of the Senate Banking and Armed Services committees has introduced legislation that would declare fentanyl trafficking a national emergency and prod Treasury to use its sanctions authority to quell the proliferation of the drug in the U.S.

It would also impose reporting requirements and enable the president to confiscate sanctioned property of fentanyl traffickers to use for law enforcement efforts.
Work continued at the site of the R.M. Palmer chocolate factory in West Reading in March after an explosion left seven people dead. Read more

R.M. Palmer Co. was responsible for the deaths of seven people in an explosion at its West Reading, Berks County, chocolate factory in March, a report from the U.S. Department of Labor found.

Officials from the popular Pennsylvania candy company failed to evacuate employees after several reported a natural gas odor at the plant on South Second Avenue, the departments Occupational Safety and Health Administration said in a report issued Thursday. In the blast that resulted from the leak, seven people were killed, 11 others were injured, and three families were displaced.

Six of the victims killed in the explosion  Diana M. Cedeno, 44; Amy S. Sandoe, 49; Judith Lopez-Moran, 55; Domingo Cruz, 60; Michael D. Breedy, 62; and Susan H. Halvonik, 63  died of blast injuries, the Berks County Coroners Office announced earlier this year. One victim, Xiorky D. Nunez, 30, died of thermal burns.

Seven workers will never return home because the R.M. Palmer Co. did not evacuate the facility after being told of a suspected gas leak, OSHA area director Kevin T. Chambers said in a statement. Ensuring the safety of a workplace is expected of employers and required by law. The company could have prevented this horrific tragedy by following required safety procedures.

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A wrongful-death lawsuit filed by the family of Lopez-Morgan in April claims that workers at the factory smelled natural gas on the day of the explosion, but that the company did nothing. Instead of evacuating, the lawsuit alleges, R.M. Palmer officials made a representation to the factory workers, including Judith Lopez-Moran, that the factory was safe and that there was no gas leak. As a result, the suit claimed, the company intended to mislead the factory workers ... so that the factory workers would continue working and so that factory downtime would be minimized.

OSHA issued about $44,500 in penalties across several citations that included not clearly marking emergency exits, recordkeeping violations, and failure to safely use flexible cords. According to OSHA, the company has 15 business days to comply, request an informal conference, or contest the reports findings.

The company plans to vigorously contest OSHAs citations, which it believes are legally and factually unsupported, an R.M. Palmer spokesperson said in a statement. However, the company noted in its statement, an ongoing National Transportation Safety Board investigation prevents it from commenting substantively on OSHAs findings. The company said it continues to cooperate in the NTSBs investigation.

In July, the NTSB released an update on its investigation, saying that the gas leaks connected to the fatal explosion came from two nearby service tees  fittings that connect pipes  that were installed in 1982 and 2021. The fitting from 1982, investigators found, was fractured between two of Palmers buildings about two feet from a steam line, condensate line, and heated chocolate pipelines.

During a 2021 project at the factory, workers moved a gas meter from the basement of one building to its exterior, and a new service line and service tee were installed. The tee from 1982 was retired during that project, but was still connected to the gas system, investigators found.

In addition, the NTSB update said, that 1982 fitting had been added to a list of materials that had poor performance histories relative to brittle-like cracking in 2007.

In its statement, R.M. Palmer noted that the NTSB update contains no reference to any natural gas leak inside any Palmer building.

We have always put the safety of our employees and community first, the companys statement read. It is our number-one priority, and we are committed to providing a safe working environment.
Police on the scene in Rhawnhurst where three officers were shot on Wednesday, Oct. 4, 2023. Read more

In about 20 minutes, what began with an argument-turned-shooting inside a Northeast Philadelphia home on Wednesday night chaotically unraveled into a full-blown shootout in the streets, leaving three police officers and another person wounded, the gunman dead, and a neighborhood shaken.

Just after 7 p.m. Wednesday, police said, Michael Hwang, 42, fired a gun inside a home on the 7500 block of Whitaker Avenue in Rhawnhurst, leading to a verbal dispute with an unidentified man whom Hwang then shot in the face. A 12-year-old boy in the home at the time placed the initial 911 call, saying his uncle had just shot his father.

Officers found Hwang outside the house. He refused orders to drop his gun, police said, and then opened fire, shooting three officers before police returned fire and killed him.

Police said Hwang was found wearing a bulletproof vest and armed with a 40-caliber Glock pistol and an extended magazine after he was pronounced dead at 7:27 p.m. Court records indicate he had been arrested in May on charges of reckless endangerment and possession of an instrument of crime, but was found not guilty at trial last month.

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Police did not disclose who lived in the house.

The shooting brought the number of Philadelphia police officers shot on duty this year to six, the highest total since 2019, according to department data. The three officers, who police said had four to 17 years on the force, remained in stable condition on Thursday. The other victim was listed in critical but stable condition, police said.

The child who called police escaped the scene uninjured, along with a woman who was inside the house.

Meanwhile, neighbors struggled to make sense of the violence that upended their quiet block.

Diane Nobles had her front door and windows open on the unseasonably warm night when the police cruisers swarmed in front of her home across the street. She and her husband dropped to the floor when they heard the gunshots seconds later.

When we finally looked out the window, the number of police who just started flooding the area was pretty crazy, she said, but you could see the victim in the street.

Two of Nobles car windows had been shot out in the crossfire, but she and her fellow neighbors counted themselves lucky.

We all felt sad for that family, and that little boy, but its just very shocking, she said. You see these things on the news and you dont expect them to happen in your neighborhood.

Nobles moved onto the block nearly three years ago, and although she never met Hwang or the family, she said the residents were generally lovely and prided themselves on the safety of the neighborhood  until recently, that is.

Wednesdays shootout came just five months after an unrelated fatal shooting a few blocks away on Whitaker.
I had been following the stories about the life of a young entrepreneur who was killed in Baltimore last week when I heard the shocking news about a Philadelphia reporter killed on Monday.

I didnt know Pava LaPere, who was found dead at her Baltimore apartment building last week. And while I kept up with his work, I cant say I knew Josh Kruger very well, either. Kruger, 39, was fatally shot in his Point Breeze home.

And yet, after reading recollections of them both, I was left with the same feeling: a sense of devastating loss. For their loved ones, for those of us who didnt get an opportunity to know them, and for a world robbed of good people trying to do good when goodness seems far too rare.

By all accounts, LaPere, 26, was a creative and compassionate young woman who loved building camaraderie and community. She founded the tech start-up EcoMap Technologies from her dorm room at Johns Hopkins University to create equitable access to information in marginalized communities. She led with curiosity, inclusivity, and kindness, admirers said. Of all the tributes that poured in, the one that stuck with me was from a colleague who described her as someone deeply committed to changing the world.

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Tell me this world of ours doesnt need a major transformation right about now.

We can start with Philadelphia  and that is what Kruger seemed committed to doing, in his life and in his work.

Kruger, who worked for the city for five years before returning to freelance journalism, wasnt just from Philadelphia. He was of Philadelphia. As a colleague who knew him better recently remarked, so many of the issues that Philadelphia struggles with were some of the very issues that impacted Krugers life.

Proudly gay and openly HIV positive, Kruger often spoke and wrote about his experiences with drug addiction and homelessness. Those experiences didnt just inform his beliefs and writing, they were the foundation of his fierce advocacy for others. He was quick to express his frustration with the city, but just as quick to lean into his faith that Philly could do  and be  better.

But above all, what I saw, even from afar, was someone who tried to be decent, and decency is a lot rarer than one might think. (For proof of that, look no further than our public officials, starting with our former president.)

As I was writing this, I was reminded, too, of Charnice Milton, a 27-year-old journalist who was killed in 2015 in Washington, D.C., after covering a neighborhood meeting for a Capitol Hill paper called the Hill Rag. According to police, Milton was shot in a neighborhood that had seen an increase in homicides that year. Her killing remains unsolved.

What I remember most from all the stories about Milton was her commitment to telling stories from neighborhoods that are routinely ignored by the Washington press corps  a group that mostly keeps its eyes on the same powerful people, doing the same things, that rarely change anything for the better for ordinary people.

Good journalism isnt always the same as journalism that does good. Same goes for technology, as anyone who pays even the slightest attention to Elon Musk and his soulless stunts can attest.

Kruger got that. When sharing one of the last stories he wrote about the sudden death of Temple Universitys acting president JoAnne A. Epps, Kruger said that rather than focus on her many distinguished professional accomplishments, he wanted to focus on one: Why was she loved?

In the end, he said, he got some version of the same answer from everyone he spoke to: She was beloved because she loved us.

It reminds me of that saying: People will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.

Tired as that saying may be, its also true. And it should help serve as a reminder that LaPere, Kruger, Epps, Milton, and so many others who have left the world too soon left behind a blueprint for those of us who want to change our corners of the world.

A model of commitment to community, of faith that change  even in our darkest hours  is possible, and that in the end, goodness endures.

What a legacy that is for them to leave, and for each and every one of us to carry forward.
Rep. Kevin McCarthy, who the Editorial Board writes stood for little beyond the ethos of power without principle, was toppled by the same GOP hard-liners he emboldened. Read more

Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz and seven of his Republican colleagues ousted House Speaker Kevin McCarthy Tuesday and paralyzed the government.

They had their fun. Now what?

Gaetz and his band of rogue Republicans are like the proverbial dog who caught the car. They had no plan beyond punishing McCarthy for the heresy of working with Democrats to pass a stopgap measure that averted a government shutdown last week.

How dare McCarthy try to keep the government functioning.

Gaetz and his colleagues made clear they are not interested in governing, let alone compromise or bipartisanship. So instead, the country is controlled by the tyranny of the fringe few.

For the first time in our nations history, a House speaker was voted out of power. It is fair to argue that McCarthy had it coming. He was an empty vessel who was neither feared nor respected. He stood for little beyond the ethos of power without principle: a philosophy that has corrupted far too many corners of the GOP and that unsurprisingly led to his downfall.

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 READ MORE: Kevin McCarthys troubles bode ill for America | Editorial

For a brief moment, McCarthy showed courage when he said Donald Trump bears responsibility for inciting the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection. But within weeks McCarthy was back to kissing the ring, making the pilgrimage to Mar-a-Lago to make amends. In May, McCarthy reached a deal with President Joe Biden to avoid a default but then reneged as the government shutdown loomed.

McCarthy could not be trusted by Republicans or Democrats, who chose not to save him. It required 15 rounds of voting just for McCarthy to get ahold of the speakers gavel in January. In doing so, he cut deals that gave the far-right in the GOP power  including the ability to call for his ouster at their whim.

McCarthy was wounded and weak from the start. No wonder his reign of error lasted only 269 days. The challenge for the country is, what comes next?

Since the Republicans narrowly won control of the House in November, it has been an embarrassing circus as the government lurched from the default crisis to the shutdown threat, and House GOP leaders spent taxpayers time and money on endless hearings regarding Hunter Biden.

Meanwhile, McCarthy promised to expunge Trumps two impeachments and launched an impeachment inquiry into President Biden. The results so far? The GOPs own star witness unearthed this blockbuster: Uh, yeah, theres no evidence the president committed a crime. Its Benghazi 2.0.

Governing should be for serious people. But for Gaetz  who was recently under federal investigation for sex trafficking and sex with minors  and other MAGA Republicans, its all just political performance. Never mind that the countrys national security, general health and welfare, and overall global standing are at stake.

The Gaetz gang had no clue on what to do once they toppled McCarthy. The problem is that the clock is ticking until the next government shutdown deadline on Nov. 17.

Meanwhile, the fiscal year began on Oct. 1, and Congress has yet to pass a budget. The most pressing geopolitical concern is the need to send more aid to help Ukraine in its war with Russia. Here again, the unserious GOP lawmakers dont grasp that time is of the essence, and what happens in Ukraine will have repercussions across the planet.

If the GOP forces a shutdown next month, the impact will be far-reaching.

 READ MORE: Government shutdown isnt just inconvenient  its traumatic | Editorial

Roughly 800,000 Pentagon employees will get sent home, along with most of NASA, consumer protection officials, and antitrust workers. The Securities and Exchange Commission would furlough roughly 90% of its employees, and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission would suspend most oversight activity. Workplace safety inspections would be limited.

Small Business Administration loans would stop, along with research and clinical trials at the National Institutes of Health. So would nutrition benefits for seven million mothers, and Head Start programs for low-income children. All national parks and monuments would close.

Cybersecurity reviews to help schools and local governments defend against ransomware attacks would be halted, as well as the training of new employees for the understaffed air traffic controller system.

Against that backdrop, it was telling that one of the first orders of business following McCarthys ouster was for acting Speaker Patrick McHenry of North Carolina to order former Speaker Nancy Pelosi to vacate her office by Wednesday.

Voters should keep in mind the GOPs petty priorities.
The incredible scenes this week on Capitol Hill  leaving the U.S. House without a speaker and promising an autumn of sheer chaos in Congress  marked a rapid escalation of the downward spiral of American democracy. And most of the folks who get paid big bucks to understand politics could not make any sense of it.

TV pundits compared a near-shutdown of the federal government and Kevin McCarthys subsequent ouster as speaker to the iconic sitcom Seinfeld  a show about nothing. In capitals around the globe, world leaders and baffled analysts struggled to make sense of the utter dysfunction paralyzing the nation that just a generation ago held itself out as the lone superpower.

Yet to a small but influential gaggle of so-called thought leaders on the edge of the stage  the pseudo-intellectuals of right-wing think tanks, and chaos-agent-in-chief Steve Bannon  the growing rot infecting another key U.S. institution is just more evidence for their stunning argument now flying at warp speed, yet under the radar of a clueless mainstream media.

The D.C. dysfunction is more proof, they would argue, that the nation needs a Red Caesar who will cut through the what they call constitutional gridlock and impose order.

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If youre not one of those dudes who thinks about Ancient Rome every day, let me translate. The alleged brain trust of an increasingly fascist MAGA movement wants an American dictatorship that would suspend democracy in January 2025  just 15 months from now.

The guru of this push for a president seizing dictatorial powers to overthrow what far-right activists see as a deep state of liberals  corrupting institutions ranging from government agencies to the media to large corporations and the Pentagon  is a professor of politics at Michigans ultraconservative Hillsdale College, Kevin Slack. (Yes, the same Hillsdale that GOP-led school boards, including Pennridge in Philadelphias northern exurbs, are hiring to whitewash their curriculums.)

In War on the American Republic: How Liberalism Became Despotism, in which he rails against the cosmopolitan class of unelected elites he claims is running America, Slack writes that the New Right now often discusses a Red Caesar, by which it means a leader whose post-Constitutional rule will restore the strength of his people. In a recent Guardian article, writer Jason Wilson  who deserves enormous credit for tying together these threads  finds anti-democracy arguments like Slacks are gaining traction in the small but influential world of far-right think tanks like Hillsdale and the Claremont Institute. Thats been tracked here in Philadelphia by another writer, the centrist liberal Damon Linker at UPenn, who sees a dangerous conspiracy theory taking root not just with obscure professors but with the iconoclastic billionaires who back the right.

Intellectuals play a certain kind of role, especially on the right, in legitimating actions of elites in the party and [the] movement, Linker told me in a recent interview, adding: Theyre giving people permission to do terrible things, labeling shameful measures as acts of virtue.

Things are getting more terrible by the day, whether its the mob on Staten Island tormenting residents of a temporary shelter for refugees by bombarding them with noise or flashlights, or the shockingly ugly social-media swarms of right-wingers mocking the murders of liberals like Philadelphia journalist Josh Kruger or New Yorks Ryan Carson, or the MAGA gunman in New Mexico who smirked after shooting a Native American during a vigil. But the chaos at the bottom of the political food chain is coming from the same instincts tearing apart the top of the government: A desire to blow it all up.

When these raw instincts are translated by the extreme rights intellectuals into an explicit plea for a dictatorship, you can see that America is poised to cross the Rubicon  a metaphor rooted in the river in northern Italy that Julius Caesar had to cross with his army in 49 B.C. in order to drive out Romes democratically elected government and seize power.

America should be having a robust, life-or-death conversation  when TVs cable talkfest signs on at 6 a.m. until the last words at midnight, on the floors of the House and Senate, in newspaper editorial boards and down at the barber shop and in Starbucks  about whether we really want to end this countrys 247-year uneven experiment in democracy, and whether one man should have the power to override elections, jail his enemies, free his friends, and eviscerate federal agencies.

And yet the elites that far-right extremists claim are all powerful seem incapable of grasping these very real threats to constitutional government or a free press. Thats particularly true of the mainstream media and its pacesetters like the New York Times or the Washington Post, which seem determine to both sides the descent into dictatorship  with headlines that blame dysfunction on Capitol Hill on Congress instead of Republicans, or that place the 80-year-old President Joe Bidens verbal or actual stumbles on a level pitch with rising GOP fascism.

 READ MORE: Journalism fails miserably at explaining what is really happening to America

Its all the more remarkable since we all know who the actual Red Caesar is  even if he is, technically, orange. Donald Trump, the 45th president who seems to have already locked down the Republican nomination to become the 47th, has been accused of running a rambling, ideas-free campaign  except thats not true.

As the Los Angeles Times recently noted, Trump has been pretty specific in recent speeches and interviews about the actions he would take if he takes the oath of office on Jan. 20, 2025  such as naming a special prosecutor to go after his political enemies, blowing up civil service protections to fill the government with his acolytes, deploying the military in a massive deportation campaign, and sending troops to control crime in Democratic-led cities. If Julius Caesar were still here, hed surely be giving a Trump 47 presidency a Roman salute.

But the media and others struggle to understand how someone like Trump  twice impeached with 91 pending felony indictments, found in New York courtrooms to be both a rapist and a fraudster  has a 50-50 chance of returning to the White House. That requires understanding the role of the rights No. 1 chaos agent  Bannon, who was Trumps 2016 campaign manager  and his ability to move pawns like the foot soldiers of the McCarthy ouster, such as Reps. Matt Gaetz and Nancy Mace, across his messy chessboard. Bannon, now a popular podcaster who was pardoned by Trump but faces new charges, understands better than anyone that creating political mayhem is laying the groundwork for a strongman to declare  as Trump did in 2016  that I alone can fix it.

In a 2022 article, a former Bannon associate, Benjamin R. Teitelbaum, wrote that the Trump ally frequently told him about the destiny of the United States and the role he sees for chaos and destruction  for craziness  in it. The worldview he laid out to me was one where things he might otherwise consider harmful, like the dissolution of our electoral process or the erosion of shared understandings of truth, were to be embraced as fated stages in a process of national rebirth.

So now that Bannons craziness is here, the phony intellects of Trumpism at Hillsdale or Claremont are seizing the opportunity to make their case for the Red Caesar to bring about that national rebirth. In addition to Hillsdales Slack, proponents of suspending the Constitution include the likes of Claremonts Michael Anton, the leading academic proponent of Trumpism, who in a 2020 book floated a similar theory about a form of one-man rule: halfway  between monarchy and tyranny.

Dictatorship can happen here, but why, and why now? That would probably take another book to explain, but it feels partly the ultimate outcome of Americas college/non-college divide that I wrote about in 2022s After The Ivory Tower Falls, which looked at the root causes of mostly white-working-class resentment of educated elites  not just in academia but in the media, the bureaucracy, and elsewhere. But it also reflects the desperation of a conservative movement struggling to win free and fair democratic elections yet determined to impose its cherished hierarchies  including white supremacy and the patriarchy  by any means necessary.

The Guardians Wilson noted that Anton, in an essay decrying the power of elite, liberal-minded experts, wrote that the United States peaked around 1965. What was that years landmark event? The passage of the Voting Rights Act, which empowered Black voters and led to the election of thousands of African American office holders.

After the cultural upheavals of the 1960s, Republicans could win elections through the backlash politics of Richard Nixon or Ronald Reagan or the demagoguery of 1988s Willie Horton ad. They then turned to tactics like voter suppression or extreme gerrymandering as their electorate shrunk. In 2024, the right sees dictatorship as its final Hail Mary pass. And it just might work.

But in thinking about a Red Caesar, its helpful to remember what the actual Caesar said right before crossing the Rubicon: Alea iacta est, meaning, The die is cast. But in the United States in 2023, the die is not cast, not yet. The majority of Americans do not want to live under a dictatorship, and we have the power to stop this. But America is never going to prevent the Red Caesar unless we start talking about it, loudly and right away.

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Bryson Stott's grand slam on Wednesday night was more than just a big hit in a big game. It was a bullpen-saver for an even bigger series on the horizon. Read more

They had been waiting for the big one.

In the sixth inning of Game 2, it finally came.

What matters now is all that comes with it.

Bryson Stotts series-sealing grand slam off Miamis Andrew Nardi wasnt just a gratuitous piece of pyrotechnics. Yes, it gave Citizens Bank Park the lopsided score it so richly deserved. But it also served a purpose far greater.

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 READ MORE: Bryson Stott, Aaron Nola lead the Phillies to the inevitable NLDS battle with the Braves | Marcus Hayes

It was an antiperspirant. It was a stress reliever. It was a bullpen-saver.

It was everything the Phillies could have hoped for out of a wild-card clincher. Maybe more.

I was standing on second base just laughing and smiling, Bryce Harper said of Stotts slam, which slammed the door shut on the Marlins in Game 2 and allowed the Phillies to cruise to a 7-1 NLDS-clinching win. I gave him a big hug and told him I loved him. Just a really cool moment for him. A really cool moment for everybody.

Everybody, indeed.

Think about it. When Stott stepped to the plate with the bases loaded and one out in the sixth inning, Game 2 of this wild-card series wasnt anything close to the laugher it would soon become. The Phillies were up by three runs and Aaron Nola was dealing, but there was action in the bullpen and there were three innings to kill. Jose Alvarado was getting loose for a second straight high-leverage outing. After that, who knows.

Then came a first-pitch fastball and the sweetest sequence of sounds.

Crack.

Roar.

Gong.

For a second straight year, the Phillies are headed for a National League Division Series showdown with the Braves. And, for a second straight year, they find themselves in as good of a position as any of them could have hoped. Stotts grand slam may not go down as the blow that punched the Phillies ticket to Atlanta. But it sure could go down as the thing that gave them their best chance at surviving.

A best-of-three series is not supposed to feel this easy. It certainly did not feel that way last year in St. Louis. But this is a different team from last year. The Phillies entered this series as the heavy favorites, and they acted the part in every way. They never trailed. In fact, there were only four innings in which they did not hold a lead. The first and the second inning of Game 1. The first and the second inning of Game 2. Thats it.

On Wednesday night, the Phillies struck their first blow on a Kyle Schwarber double that rattled around the right-field corner long enough to allow Cristian Pache to score all the way from first base. Trea Turner followed it up with an RBI single off the pitcher  literally, off Braxton Garretts body  and through the right side of the infield. J.T. Realmuto led off the fourth with a solo home run to push the Phillies lead to 3-0.

Backed by impeccable infield defense, Nola escaped the little trouble that he encountered. Rob Thomson seemed poised to turn things over to his high-leverage relievers in the seventh. Stott ensured that he never had to.

This was what heavyweights do. It is the kind of performance they turn in. Zack Wheeler, Nola  both of them are back where they were when they took the world by storm last postseason. Same goes for Alvarado. The rest of the bullpen is as fresh as it could possibly be.

Credit Stott with ending it when it needed to be ended. Credit him with doing it in a definitive manner.

Huge moment, said Phillies closer Craig Kimbrel. Amazing to see.

The home run allowed Thomson to give rookie Orion Kerkering his first taste of a postseason mound. The kid responded the same way he did in his regular-season debut. Three up. Three down. Nine pitches. Eight strikes. File all of that away. Kerkering will be back. The moments will be bigger.

 READ MORE: Phillies rookie Orion Kerkering responded great in his postseason debut

It looked like he was in his backyard playing Wiffle Ball because he was just normal, Thomson said of the rookie. We tried to get him a spot like that, just to see what  how he would respond to it, and he responded great. I think we just keep moving forward with him. So far, so good. The poise, the calmness is there.

The ease with which the Phillies dispatched the Marlins will trickle down through the rotation. They did not come close to needing the contributions of any of the three potential Game 1 starters. Ranger Suarez will almost certainly get the call, as he did in last years NLDS, though Thomson declined to discuss his plans in the immediate aftermath of the clincher on Wednesday night. Cristopher Sanchez and Taijuan Walker are the other options.

The Braves are an even bigger behemoth this year. They may be in possession of the best big league offense since the steroid era. The Phillies? Theyre in possession of something that is equally as important this time of year. Momentum, belief, vibes. Call it what you will. More than anything, they still have the benefit of the doubt.
Ryan N. Boyer, President of Philadelphia Building and Construction Trades Council, announces who the coalition of unions is endorsing in the upcoming City Council election. He hosted a press conference Wednesday at the Philadelphia Building and Construction Trades Council headquarters on Woodhaven Road. Read more

If there was ever doubt that the proposed 76ers arena is driving Philly city politics, a coalition of 30 building trades unions made sure on Wednesday that there was no ambiguity.

The Philadelphia Building & Construction Trades Council, one of the most politically potent and deep-pocketed organizations in the state, endorsed five candidates running for seven at-large seats on City Council: four Democrats, plus Republican Jim Hasher.

The decision means the building trades will throw their financial might behind a GOP candidate who is locked in a tight race against the progressive Working Families Party, of which incumbent Councilmember Kendra Brooks is a member.

Ryan N. Boyer, business manager of the building trades, was clear about why: Hasher supports the new arena, and we are proud to have endorsed him. Brooks, meanwhile, opposes the current arena proposal.

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Boyers explanation for endorsing Hasher was another indication of how the controversial $1.55 billion proposal is playing a significant role in city politics and the November general election for mayor and Council. Supporters say it will revitalize Center City and create 10,000 construction jobs. Opponents say it could destroy Chinatown, because it would sit on the neighborhoods southern edge.

The building trades are huge proponents of the arena project, which is expected to take center stage in City Hall come January as the Sixers seek Council approval.

This endorsement means everything

Backing from the building trades is a coup for candidates who win it. The group played a critical role in lifting Cherelle Parker to win the Democratic mayoral primary in the spring and has long been one of the biggest political benefactors in the region. They accounted for more than half of Hashers campaign dollars, and are planning a door-knocking and literature operation on his behalf.

This endorsement means everything, Hasher said. This type of race is not doable, especially for a Republican, without labor support.

 READ MORE: The future of a new Sixers arena shifts to City Hall after a year of contention

Meanwhile, a spokesperson for Brooks campaign said she has a great relationship with the building trades and plans to continue that in Council.

The building trades backing of Hasher was also a snub for Rue Landau, the only Democratic nominee to not receive their support.

Boyer said Wednesday morning that Landau stated opposition to the arena project. But Landau has said in public forums and on questionnaires that she is awaiting the results of a forthcoming community impact study before reaching a conclusion on the project one way or the other.

Landau, who is poised to become the first openly LGBTQ member of Council in city history, was also supported earlier this year by a variety of labor groups, including several individual building trades unions.

No one at the building trades could recall Wednesday when she said she opposed the project. Frank Keel, a spokesperson for the trades, said her campaign showed an unwillingness to state its clear-cut position on a new 76ers arena leav[ing] the Philadelphia Building Trades with no other choice than to assume that she opposes it.

The four Democrats who did win the endorsement  Nina Ahmad and incumbents Isaiah Thomas, Katherine Gilmore Richardson, and Jim Harrity  also havent said definitively that they support the arena project.

According to Boyer, they didnt un-endorse it.

An unusually competitive race

In the high-stakes race for seven seats on Council that serve the city at large, voters can choose up to five candidates. Each party can nominate only five people, meaning two seats are effectively reserved for members outside the dominant party.

 READ MORE: Progressive third-party candidates outraised Republicans in Philly City Council race

The GOP held those seats for decades. But the Working Families Party upended the calculus in 2019, when Brooks became the first third-party member to win a Council seat in modern history. It means unions are navigating a general election thats newly competitive compared to in past years.

Brooks is running for reelection alongside the Rev. Nicolas ORourke in a hotly contested race against GOP candidates Hasher, a small business owner, and Drew Murray, a civic association leader.

Eleven other unions outside the building trades have endorsed both Working Families Party candidates, and they dont think Boyers group has a monopoly on political influence.

Perhaps the best example is 32BJ of the Service Employees International Union, which represents commercial cleaners and property service workers in the region. SEIU 32BJ is closely aligned with the Working Families Party, and four years ago, was the largest donor to its campaign activities in Philadelphia.

During a news conference last month, Daisy Cruz, 32BJs Mid-Atlantic district leader, said Brooks and ORourke have a documented history of showing up and speaking on behalf of our workers.

Are our downtowns going to be a playground for the rich? she said. Or are they going to be the fountain of good, family-sustaining jobs in our communities?
City Council candidates Nicolas ORourke (left) and Kendra Brooks, both of the Working Families Party, stand outside Philadelphia City Hall in July. An increasing number of elected Democrats are backing the progressive third-party candidates and bucking their own party's leadership in the process. Read more

An increasing number of Philadelphia Democratic officials are breaking with party leadership and supporting a pair of third-party progressives who are running for City Council.

And in doing so, theyre risking their status with the party entirely.

On Thursday, South Phillys Second Ward announced it is endorsing Working Families Party members Kendra Brooks and Nicolas ORourke, becoming the first Democratic ward in recent memory to back candidates outside their own party in a general election.

Bob Brady, chair of the Democratic City Committee, said that the endorsement is against the party bylaws and that he will seek to have the ward leader and committee members who supported it replaced ahead of the Nov. 7 general election.

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We got to have some kind of discipline, he said.

The episode shows how the progressive Working Families Party has upended the status quo in Philadelphia politics, as some Democrats are willing to challenge their own party establishment to align with them as they try to secure two seats on Council that are effectively reserved for non-Democrats.

The race between the Working Families Party and the GOP to secure those two seats is one of the most heated this election season and the most competitive local race this fall. Ten elected Democrats have endorsed the Working Families Party candidates, including Sen. John Fetterman. Gov. Josh Shapiro endorsed Brooks, an incumbent Council member.

Riverwards Area Democrats, a group of activists and committee members, also endorsed Brooks and ORourke this week, and a group of a dozen Black committee people said they sent a letter to Brady saying his posture toward the Working Families Party candidates is unacceptable. Brady said that, by Thursday evening, he hadnt seen the letter.

The Second Ward, made up of elected committee people and led by progressives, remains the most notable group of Democrats to buck Brady, who has before threatened to expel members of the city committee who support anyone but Democrats.

Will Gross, the newly elected ward leader, said that the ward also endorsed all five Democratic nominees and that Democrats will not lose by supporting the Working Families Party.

Its time for our Democratic Party to recognize that if we are to be the party of poor and working-class people across this city, he said, we must support Kendra and Nicolas in their fight against the GOP.

Why Democrats are all but certain to win seats

The Second Wards move means that voters in a large swath of South Philadelphia will receive sample ballots on Election Day that have seven people: Brooks and ORourke, plus all five Democratic nominees. While the top seven finishers win seats, voters can pick only five candidates.

Brady said it makes absolutely no sense to endorse seven candidates when voters can pick only up to five. Gross said the ward sees it as endorsing seven candidates for seven slots.

 READ MORE: Critics are questioning the Working Families Partys independence as it gains traction in Philly

With two Republicans and two Working Families Party members in the race, all five Democratic nominees are highly likely to win.

A Democrat who lost would have to be beaten by three candidates who are either Republicans or third-party members. There are nearly seven times more registered Democrats in Philadelphia than Republicans, and in 2019, the Democrat who finished in fifth place still won more than three times as many votes as Brooks, who finished sixth.

When Brooks and ORourke ran for Council four years ago, Brady reminded committee members that its against the partys bylaws to support candidates who arent Democrats and that members can be kicked off the committee for doing so.

Some individual members and elected officials endorsed the Working Families Party slate anyway, but no entire ward endorsed the candidates. Expulsions didnt happen.

Tension over whom to vote for  and whom to leave out

The Working Families Party has insisted that in pushing for its two candidates, it isnt telling voters which Democrats they should or shouldnt vote for.

But two Democrats who were not supported by the Working Families Party in the spring primary, Nina Ahmad and freshman Councilmember Jim Harrity, have been critical of Democrats who support the third party.

Other political power brokers have come to their defense. Ryan N. Boyer, business manager of the deep-pocketed Philadelphia Building & Construction Trades Council, said Wednesday that there is an insidious plot afoot to deprive Ahmad and Harrity of seats on Council.

To any ward leader thats listening, Boyer said, if we see any ballot without Jim Harrity and Nina Ahmad on it, youre not the Philadelphia Building Trades friend.

But the Second Ward has plenty of its own allies. The Riverwards Area Democrats, based in Fishtown, also said Thursday that they are backing the Working Families Party slate.

And a group of 13 Democratic committee people from across the city said they sent a letter to Brady saying his attacks against two Black progressive candidates who share our goal of defeating the Republican Party in Philadelphia are unacceptable.

The committee people said the Working Families Party poses no threat to endorsed Democrats and cited a recent interview on NBC10 in which Brady said: I doubt very much, like last time, it wont affect the Democrats.

Rikeyah Lindsay, a committee member in West Philadelphias 24th Ward who signed the letter, said Bradys posture toward Democrats who support the Working Families Party amounts to voter suppression.

People talk about voter apathy, but things like this are what creates voter apathy, she said. People know who they support and then are threatened because it doesnt go along with the status quo.
U.S. Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif. second from left, surrounded by her family, places her hands over the casket of U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein at City Hall Wednesday in San Francisco. Read more

SAN FRANCISCO  Mourners bearing bouquets and cards paid their respects Wednesday to the late U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein in San Francisco City Hall, where she launched her groundbreaking political career and spent a decade as the citys first female mayor.

Musicians played the violin and other string instruments as a steady line of people snaked into the City Hall rotunda, where her casket was on display behind velvet ropes. People brought flowers that were later whisked away by staff, stood for a few seconds in contemplation or squeezed back tears before moving on to a side room to sign condolence books.

Former U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, also of San Francisco, was among the officials in attendance. Feinstein died Thursday at her Washington, D.C., home after a series of illnesses.

Jose Romero Cooper, 61, and 73-year-old Mark Cooper were among the first to say goodbye, waiting in line before doors were open to the public. The married couple said they had followed Feinsteins career with pride as she went from mayor of the politically liberal city to the U.S. Senate.

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What Im gonna say is: Thank you for everything, for being strong, said Jose Romero Cooper, a scarf of the American flag draped around his neck.

He stood before the casket, genuflected and crossed himself, then walked away with tears streaming down his face.

Feinstein was elected to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors in 1969 and was board president in November 1978 when a former supervisor assassinated Mayor George Moscone and Supervisor Harvey Milk, the city's first openly gay supervisor, at City Hall. Feinstein became acting mayor, and she went on to serve as mayor until 1988.

San Francisco would not be San Francisco without her. She steered the city through the HIV and AIDS crisis, bringing attention to an epidemic ignored by President Ronald Reagan. She also secured federal and private funding to save the city's iconic cable cars from death by deterioration.

Feinstein led the city as it played host to the Democratic National Convention in 1984. Another San Francisco tradition  Fleet Week"  was started by Feinstein in 1981, and this years annual celebration of air shows, naval ships and military bands is dedicated to her.

Beyond serving as San Francisco's first female mayor, she joined Barbara Boxer as the first women to represent California in the U.S. Senate. They both won election in 1992, dubbed the " Year of the Woman. "

Feinstein inspired countless girls and women, including San Francisco Mayor London Breed, who is the first Black woman and only the second woman to lead the city. Breed recalled looking up to Feinstein when Feinstein was mayor and Breed played the French horn in the middle school band that played regularly at mayoral events.

She was so proud of us and she said so, and she took the time to talk to us, express how amazing we were and to remind us that we were her band, Breed said at a news conference the day after the senator's death.

Cari Donovan placed a bouquet of lilies and daisies in red and pink before the casket.

Im a San Francisco native. And I remember her being such a big public figure on my life. She championed and fought for the rights of so many people, Donovan said, adding that she talked to her 28-year-old daughter about the battles Feinstein fought so that younger generations of women could dream bigger.

She was a powerhouse, she said. She was a lioness.

While Feinstein's career sent her to Washington, she remained deeply involved in the affairs of San Francisco, the city where she was born and raised. She often called her successors  including Gov. Gavin Newsom  to complain about potholes or trash and to offer advice and encouragement.

John Konstin Sr., owner of Johns Grill, a favorite downtown tourist destination and watering hole for city politicians, recalled Feinstein ordering potholes filled, trees trimmed and ugly scaffolding brought down before San Francisco hosted the 1984 Democratic convention.

She asked, How long has this scaffolding been up? And my dad said maybe 10 years, and the next day it came down," said Konstin, 59. It was half a block of scaffolding.

Feinstein's favorite dish was the Petrale sole, he said. The restaurant, which was celebrating its 115th anniversary Wednesday with a free lunch and appearances by Breed and other politicians, will have flowers by Feinstein's portrait.

Mourners can pay their respects at City Hall until 7 p.m.

A memorial service will be held Thursday outside City Hall. Speakers will include Pelosi, Breed, Vice President Kamala Harris and U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York. President Joe Biden will deliver remarks by recorded video.
A bill that requires the installation of sprinkler systems in older residential buildings taller than six stories became a hot topic again at the end of September.

As this session of City Council nears its end, fire safety groups and building trades unions are clashing with a coalition of condo owners and apartment associations that say they cant afford such a costly mandate. But proponents of the bill argue that sprinklers are lifesaving devices, and that the new regulation is essential for public safety. The bill would cover pre-1991 residential high-rise buildings with the same mandate for automatic sprinklers that new apartment and condo buildings have had since that year.

Protesters flooded the plaza of the Municipal Services Building in response to a late September burn demonstration by the National Fire Sprinkler Association  meant to show the efficacy of sprinkler systems. The group, led by Andre Del Valle, vice president of government affairs at the Pennsylvania Apartment Association, claimed victory when the group abruptly canceled.

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It would put $20,000 to $50,000 relocation costs on the back of folks who have fixed incomes, who have retired, who have decided that this is their permanent home and now theyre being told they have to leave, said Del Valle. This is not going to happen to the city of Philadelphia.

The Apartment Association estimates that 22,000 units, home to more than 26,000 residents, would be affected. It believes that 140 to 200 buildings would be affected by the legislation.

A burn demonstration took place at a larger health and safety event hosted last week by the University of Pennsylvania. Fires were set in two showcase rooms near the schools Locust Walk, one outfitted with sprinklers, the other without. The sprinklered spaces flames were quickly put out, leaving intact, but sodden, furniture. The other was consumed by an inferno, leaving only a smoking and soaked ruin after firefighters blasted the conflagration with their hoses.

Fire Commissioner Adam Thiel was in attendance, and noted in a speech that he liked his cheesesteak with whiz and his buildings with sprinklers. After the demonstration he said that the Fire Department has no official position on City Council legislation, but that he is supportive of sprinklers generally.

You saw the whole [sprinkler demonstration]. The difference? Thats my perspective. Thats science, said Thiel.

What opponents and supporters say

The sprinkler mandate for historic residential buildings has been discussed since the beginning of Mayor Jim Kenneys administration. Then-Councilmember Bobby Henon  the former political director of Local 98 of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers  championed it initially. Councilmember Mark Squilla picked up the effort after Henon stepped down from his committee leadership roles following his 2021 conviction. (Henon continued to argue in favor of the sprinkler bill.)

Opponents of the bill have attacked it as an unfunded mandate that would impose tens of thousands of dollars in costs and disrupt the lives of condo and apartment dwellers who would have to briefly move out of their units while the system was installed. They also argue that sprinklers could be tripped accidentally  causing water damage  and that modern concrete apartments are largely safe from fires spreading quickly unit to unit.

These are buildings built of concrete, not combustibles like wood, said Mark Levinson, general manager at the Philadelphians condo association. We are partially sprinkled so if a fire department is there in five minutes that fire is going to be put out. The water damage alone from sprinklers will cause more damage than the fire.

Opponents of the sprinkler bill also argue that it is a make-work bill for the Sprinkler Fitters Union. Former Councilmember Maria Quinones Sanchezs mayoral campaign ran online ads against the bill, saying it was a symptom of larger problems with Philadelphia politics.

Proponents of the legislation, which includes Sprinkler Fitters Local 692, say that although it would generate work for union members, their main interest is saving lives. They also say opponents are greatly exaggerating the costs, financial and otherwise.

Weve already done high-rise residential retrofits of buildings from before the codes went into effect, said Wayne Miller, business manager of Local 692. Nobody had to move out of their building. Nobody had to get an apartment. Theyre putting a fear factor in everybody.

A long burning conflict

After the One Meridian Plaza fire in 1991  an inferno in a 38-story office building where three firefighters were killed  Council considered mandating sprinklers for all high-rise buildings. But back then, condo owners pushed back, and the idea was never enacted. All new post-1991 high-rise residential buildings have sprinklers by law.

More recently, a bill passed in 2018 mandated sprinklers in historic buildings after a conflagration on Chestnut Street in Old City, although opponents also pushed back against it as a make-work bill for the building trades unions.

For his part, Squilla said that he is considering amendments to the current bill. Earlier in the year, he suggested that sprinklers could just be installed in hallways and common areas. He also suggested that they could be placed in a home only after someone moved out, although it would be difficult to install a system on a unit-by-unit basis in a multifamily building.

But as the year nears its end, and the four-year legislative session concludes, the bill will need to advance soon if it is not to die, as its early 1990s predecessor did. Legislation that doesnt pass by December would have to be reintroduced during Councils next session.

Weve got to figure out amendments first, said Squilla in late September. We would have to do a hearing by the end of October.
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico  Tropical Storm Philippe drenched the U.S. and British Virgin Islands on Wednesday as it spun away from the northeast Caribbean on a path that would take it toward Bermuda and later New England and Atlantic Canada.

The storm was located about 295 miles (475 kilometers) north of St. Thomas on Wednesday. It had winds of up to 40 mph (55 kph) and was moving north at 12 mph (19 kph), according to the National Hurricane Center in Miami.

Philippe had made landfall late Monday in Barbuda, and officials in neighboring Antigua said a fire that occurred early Tuesday during the storm destroyed at least 10 businesses at the Antigua Yacht Club Marina & Resort. Authorities are investigating what caused the blaze, although they reported heavy lightning in the area. The marina is still operating.

The storm forced the British and U.S. Virgin Islands to shutter schools, with the later reporting multiple power outages in St. Thomas, St. Croix and St. John amid heavy rains and lightning. Officials in Montserrat also reported electrical outages as well as downed trees and power lines. School, government offices and businesses remained closed on the island.

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Meanwhile, schools in St. Martin and St. Barts remained closed Wednesday morning, and officials in the French Caribbean territories banned people from swimming in the ocean or doing any nautical activities until Thursday.

Forecasters said up to 12 inches (30 centimeters) of rain could fall in the U.S. and British Virgin Islands, and up to four inches (10 centimeters) in northeast and southeast Puerto Rico.

A tropical storm watch was issued for Bermuda, with Philippe is expected to approach the island late Thursday and Friday as it was forecast to intensify slightly in the coming days.

The intensity forecast remains murky, the hurricane center said.
In a media release, the regulator said, after finding that he is not a fit and proper person to perform those roles, John Durant, of Gosford, NSW is banned from providing financial services, controlling an entity that carries on a financial services business, or performing as an officer any function involved in the carrying on of a financial services business.
We want to inspire people to look after their joint health and know that they can access support no matter where they are in their health journey. The language used in the headline is intended to make people feel empowered to take care of their health, rather than limited, and to celebrate what their body is capable of with the confidence that there is support available to help them do so, the advertiser said.
In a release, SCOR said: Under the June 2021 settlement agreement entered into between SCOR and Covea in the presence of the Autorite de Controle Prudentiel et de Resolution, Covea granted SCOR a binding and irrevocable call option on its full stake in SCOR  representing 8.8% of the share capital  at a price of 28 per share.
Commenting on Thompson's departure, Stone said: I would like to personally express my gratitude to Glenn for his contribution and for his calm and considered approach in leading our Health Services business. I, along with our executive team, and our team across our health service business, want to thank Glenn for his contribution and wish him all the best for his next adventure.
The broking giant also made a move to strengthen its foothold in the transportation market by acquiring Ace Commercial Insurance Center in California. It recently sought to expand its presence in the Southeast US by swooping for Southern Insurance Group in Mississippi.
My father repeated that my grandfather was asked by a claims manager - my grandfather had an accountancy background - If he had his time again, what would he do for his career? said Wicht. He said he would do loss adjusting just because of the diverse nature of the business and how interesting it is.
We believe in developing and providing innovative, long-term insurance solutions for our clients, Chiang said. Our mission is to provide clients with the right insurance tools to mitigate their risks, allowing them to focus on growing their businesses. Furthermore, we are delighted to have the support of strategic allies, especially Markel. It is exciting to collaborate with industry specialists driven to be the best in the business, which will lead to mutual success.
Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) on Wednesday lost an appeal over unfair commissions that were charged to customers who were sold payment protection insurance (PPI), potentially increasing lenders exposure to litigation over the long-running scandal.

The United Kingdoms Supreme Court unanimously allowed an appeal brought by two former customers of RBS, part of British bank NatWest.

The decision means an earlier ruling that RBS must repay all the money paid to one of them for PPI, less any redress the bank has already paid, was upheld. The case of the second former customer continues.

Mis-selling of loan insurance, or PPI, was one of Britains costliest retail financial scandals, with banks paying out around 40 billion pounds in compensation.

PPI policies started to be sold in the 1970s, with the bulk sold between 1990 and 2010. Claims were subject to a Financial Conduct Authority deadline of August 2019, but can still be made in court.

Wednesdays ruling could widen the number of PPI mis-selling claims faced by lenders, a concern expressed by RBSs lawyers at the Supreme Court appeal in January.

A NatWest Group spokesperson said the decision recognized that claims should be looked at on a case-by-case basis and emphasized that judges have discretion over whether to allow claims to proceed.

The spokesperson added the bank will continue to deal with PPI county claims fairly and reasonably, and in accordance with their individual merits.

The former RBS customers each had a credit card with the bank and were sold PPI, but were not told that most of the money paid by them for PPI went to RBS as commission.

Even to this day RBS has not revealed the exact size of its commission but it is now known that its commission was well over 50% of the payments made, Judge George Leggatt said in a summary of the courts decision.

The bank argued that the two lawsuits, which were both filed in 2019, should be thrown out as they should have been brought within the usual six-year limitation period for bringing a civil claim, from the date the last PPI payment was made.

But the Supreme Court ruled the relationship between RBS and its former customers continued to be unfair until their credit card agreement ended, meaning the claims were brought in time.

(Reporting by Sam Tobin in London; additional reporting by Iain Withers; editing by Rod Nickel)

Photograph: In this Friday, Aug. 3, 2012 file photo, a woman walks by an office of Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) in the City of London. (AP Photo/Sang Tan, File)
Jet engine maker CFM International said on Wednesday the number of engines suspected of containing falsely documented parts from a UK distributor had risen to 126, including 16 inside its own workshops after it inadvertently bought them indirectly.

CFM, owned by GE Aerospace and Frances Safran, issued the status report as it received documents turned over by AOG Technics on the order of a British judge, and said there had so far been no reports of any operational impact.

It also released fresh details of parts involved, including some low-pressure turbine blades, but said the majority were routine, less critical parts like nuts and bolts.

UK Firm Sold Thousands of Unverified Jet Engine Parts, CFM Says

It is still analyzing the documents, received on Wednesday.

CFM is reviewing the documentation turned over by AOG Technics as part of our effort to determine the full extent of their sale of parts with fraudulent documentation, CFM said.

We are working collaboratively with operators so they can promptly remove the unauthorized parts from their engines in accordance with the recommendations issued by the regulatory agencies.

AOG Technics could not be reached for comment.

In a court hearing last month, lawyers representing AOG and director Jose Zamora Yrala said they were cooperating fully with the investigation without commenting on CFMs claims.

CFM has said thousands of components appear to have been sold with false paperwork by London-based AOG, putting the integrity of the highly regulated aviation system at risk but without so far triggering any safety incidents.

The number of affected engines has risen from 96 at the time of last months hearing, but still represents less than 1% of the 22,600 CFM56 engines in use globally.

Without accurate paperwork, airlines cannot tell which parts are airworthy. Suspect or unapproved parts have to be removed.

Falsified Forms

CFM56 engines are repaired through third-party networks or at maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) facilities operated by CFM itself. The company said it had found four cases where parts from AOG infiltrated its own facilities, impacting 16 engines.

One instance was through CFM Materials. The other three involved indirect purchases from suppliers who sourced material with falsified forms from AOG and unknowingly sold it to CFM, it said in a statement.

The CFM56 is the most sold jet engine in history and was developed by a transatlantic venture that turns 50 next year.

CFM said the majority of parts involved are non-serialized items like bolts, nuts, washers, dampers, seals and bushings.

It reiterated that no life-limited parts  typically the most critical rotating parts of the engine that have to be changed after a certain number of flights, regardless of whether they are worn out  had been found among the suspect components.

But newly released legal filings showed that the sales of parts included at least three cases involving low-pressure turbine blades, a rotating part inside the engines complex core, and some high-pressure compressor vanes  a static part.

The findings cover thousands of parts for the CFM56 engine as well as hundreds of parts for GEs CF6 engines, used mainly on commercial freighters.

A document presented by CFM and its shareholders to a UK court last month, but only made available on Wednesday, listed examples of suspect sales dating back as far as April 2018.

CFM56 engines entered service in 1982 and power the previous generation of Boeing 737s and about half the previous generation of Airbus A320s. These are gradually being upgraded to newer models but thousands remain in service.

The filing said at least one major aircraft manufacturer and one other engine supplier, which it did not identify, had issued their own bulletins to airlines alerting them to the AOG case.

CFM said its more recent LEAP engine, used on the upgraded Boeing 737 MAX and some Airbus A320neo jets, was not affected.

(Reporting by Tim Hepher; editing by Bill Berkrot and Deepa Babington)

Photograph: The Airbus A320neo takes off for its first test flight at Toulouse-Blagnac airport, southwestern France, on Sept. 25, 2014. (AP Photo/Frederic Lancelot, File)

Related:
Coalitions Executive Risks Insurance Now Available On Surplus Lines Paper

Coalition announced its executive risks insurance products are now available on surplus lines paper, making comprehensive management liability coverage available to a wider range of businesses. Coalition offers executive risks insurance, including directors & officers liability (D&O), employment practices liability (EPL), fiduciary liability, and crime insurance.

The new surplus product is underwritten by certain underwriters at Lloyds (A rating by AM Best).

With the addition of surplus lines paper, Coalition now offers executive risks insurance in all 50 states and the District of Columbia, as well as to larger businesses with up to 1,000 employees and $500 million in assets. This expansion allows Coalition to offer coverage for a broader range of industries, such as healthcare, education, private equity and venture-backed portfolio companies, and more not-for-profit organizations.

Verisks ISO Businessowners Program Adds Nearly 160 New Classifications

To help insurers keep pace with the changing nature of todays business exposures, as well as increase profitability and expand into new markets, Verisk announced the launch of its latest update to the ISO Businessowners (BOP) program. With more than 300,000 new small businesses created annually over four of the past five years, this update is essential to the industry.

The enhanced BOP program includes:

Nearly 160 new classifications and updated 2022 NAICS codes, providing insurers with a more comprehensive and up-to-date classification system

New rules and advisory prospective loss costs for hired and non-owned autos and drones

The introduction of classifications that complement Micro-BOP and ransomware coverage exclusions

Insurers are encouraged to take advantage of the enhanced classifications offered by Verisks Businessowners program, designed to help them reduce premium leakage, and more accurately classify and price the risks of today and tomorrow.

For insurers that have questions about implementing these changes or navigating the actuarial and regulatory challenges of starting, growing, and tailoring a BOP program, Verisks Insurance Consulting services are available as a resource.

Highly Specialized MGU Verita Launches

Verita, a managing general underwriting (MGU) company, has officially launched. Verita is dedicated to providing innovative solutions and tailored products to meet clients unique needs. Veritas team of industry veterans brings deep expertise and a comprehensive understanding of clients insurance needs across property, casualty, and financial lines of business.

The new company will initially focus on Real Estate, Hospitality & Leisure, Financial Institutions, and Professional Services industries.

Verita said its team aims to deliver a seamless, stress-free experience from initial onboarding to engaging with underwriting, claims and loss control experts.

Verita brings expertise with programs from guaranteed-cost policies to highly customized alternative insurance solutions. The company offers a distinctive and adaptable approach, permitting Verita to provide bespoke configurations for a young, growing company seeking flexible insurance program structures or in a similar fashion, providing an established corporation a niche insurance product.

We are delighted to have the support of strategic allies, especially Markel. It is exciting to collaborate with industry specialists driven to be the best in the business, which will lead to mutual success. said Edward Chiang, president and CEO.

Topics Excess Surplus New Markets Insurance Wholesale
The National Security Agency is starting an artificial intelligence security center  a crucial mission as AI capabilities are increasingly acquired, developed and integrated into U.S. defense and intelligence systems, the agency`s outgoing director announced Thursday.

Army Gen. Paul Nakasone said the center would be incorporated into the NSAs Cybersecurity Collaboration Center, where it works with private industry and international partners to harden the U.S. defense-industrial base against threats from adversaries led by China and Russia.

We maintain an advantage in AI in the United States today. That AI advantage should not be taken for granted, Nakasone said at the National Press Club, emphasizing the threat from Beijing in particular.

Asked if the U.S. has detected either Russia or China trying to influence the 2024 U.S. presidential elections, Nakasone said, We havent seen that yet. He noted that a number of elections will take place around the world before that and said the U.S. would work with partners and allies to help deter any such efforts.

China has in recent months stepped up cyber operations focused on U.S. and allied institutions that may include pre-positioning malware designed to disrupt military communications, cybersecurity researchers say. On Wednesday, the U.S. and Japan issued an alert saying Chinese hackers were targeting government, industrial, telecommunications and other entities that support their militaries.

Nakasone was asked about using AI to automate the analysis of threat vectors and red-flag alerts  and he reminded the audience that U.S. intelligence and defense agencies already use AI.

AI helps us, But our decisions are made by humans. And thats an important distinction, Nakasone said. We do see assistance from artificial intelligence. But at the end of the day, decisions will be made by humans and humans in the loop.

The AI security center`s establishment follows an NSA study that identified securing AI models from theft and sabotage as a major national security challenge, especially as generative AI technologies emerge with immense transformative potential for both good and evil.

Nakasone said it would become NSAs focal point for leveraging foreign intelligence insights, contributing to the development of best practices guidelines, principles, evaluation, methodology and risk frameworks for both AI security and the goal of promoting the secure development and adoption of AI within our national security systems and our defense industrial base.

He said it would work closely with U.S. industry, national labs, academia and the Department of Defense as well as international partners.

Nakasone is to be succeeded as dual leader of the NSA and U.S. Cyber Command by Air Force Lt. Gen. Timothy Haugh, his current deputy.

The job puts one individual in charge of both U.S. cyber-defense and offense as well as the gathering of what is known as signals intelligence through telecommunications surveillance. Nakasone has led both organizations since May 2018.

Photo: U.S. Cyber Command Commander Gen. Paul Nakasone (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana, File)

Copyright 2023 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Topics InsurTech Artificial Intelligence
Households can experience significant financial strain through pressures to income and expenses due to climate hazards, a report from the U.S. Department of Treasury shows.

The report, The Impact of Climate Change on American Household Finances, adds to the departments work on broader issues around climate change and economic growth and stability. It examines the impacts of climate change on U.S. household finances, with a focus on households that may be most adversely affected.

The report explores the impacts of climate hazards that may harm people, property, resources and the environment.

Climate hazards can cause widespread physical damage and force interruptions and closures of normal operations of businesses, governments, and other critical services, the report states. As a result, households can face financial strain from lost income and higher costs or reduced access across a range of consumer goods and services.

Climate change may also damage or destroy property, increase the cost of paying for utilities, and add to healthcare costs, the report shows.

Climate events and conditions can result in physical injuries, including those requiring medical care, the report states. For impacted households, climate-related hospitalization or medical services can lead to an overall increase in healthcare expenditures.

Florida

Florida often seems like ground zero as an example of the ill-effects of climate change, and new study shows that local governments there  and possibly in other places  that are vulnerable to extreme weather events are financial peril from increasing costs that may undercutt property tax bases.

The study, Can Floridas Coast Survive Its Reliance on Development?, entails a statewide assessment of how sea level rise will affect Floridas municipal revenues. The researchers paired the assessment with a statewide survey of coastal planners and managers to find out how they are funding climate adaptation.

We found that more than half of Floridas 410 municipalities will be affected by sea level rise, exposing on average almost 30% of local revenues, the study states. Yet, though climate impacts will significantly stress local fiscal health, we found no relationship between cities prioritization of climate adaptation and their fiscal exposure.

The study forecasts that municipal revenues will become increasingly eroded by climate impacts and market responses. It shows that one-third local revenues are generated by 211 buildings in areas that will become chronically flooded.

Property tax revenues may decline as insurance companies and property markets downgrade property values to reflect climate impacts, such as increasing flood risks and wildfires, the study states. Already, a growing number of insurance companies have decided to stop covering some regions and types of weather events, raise premiums and deductibles and drop existing policies as payouts rise in the wake of natural disasters. Growing costs of insuring or repairing homes may further hurt property values and increase home abandonment.

Record Heat

The records broke by the global average temperature for September has climate experts reaching to describe the phenomenon.

This month was  in my professional opinion as a climate scientist  absolutely gobsmackingly bananas, Zeke Hausfather, a researcher with Berkeley Earth, said on the social media platforms Bluesky and X.

September broke the record for the month set in 2020 by 0.9F, data maintained by the Japan Meteorological Agency and the EUs Copernicus Climate Change Service shows. The temperature anomaly for the month was roughly 1.7C above pre-industrial levels, which is above the symbolic 1.5C mark set as the stretch goal in the Paris Agreement, Bloomberg reported in an article on Insurance Journal.

Weve never really seen a jump anything quite of this magnitude, Hausfather said.

The global average temperature this year has also seen a boost from El Nino. Other factors may also be pushing temperatures up incrementally, such as a decline in cooling aerosol pollution from ships.

Hausfather said September 2024 may be unlikely to have all the same factors, and consequently may be not as extreme. However, he called September 2023 a sneak peek of what the back-to-school month may feel like in a decade as climate change pushes temperatures higher, Bloomberg reported.

Montana

Montanas attorney general is appealing a landmark climate change ruling finding state agencies arent doing enough to protect a lawsuits 16 young plaintiffs from harm caused by global warming.

The state filed notice that it is going to appeal the August ruling by District Court Judge Kathy Seeley. The judge found the Montana Environmental Policy Act violates the plaintiffs state constitutional right to a clean and healthful environment, a 1971 law that requires the states agencies to consider the potential environmental impacts of proposed projects and take public input before issuing permits, the Associated Press reported.

The Legislature earlier this year changed the law so the state Department of Environmental Quality would be required to consider greenhouses gas emission effects when issuing permits for fossil fuel projects unless the federal government declares carbon dioxide a regulated pollutant.

Montana is one of only three states with the affirmative right to a healthful environment in their constitutions, which was a key argument tin the Held v. Montana youth case.

In September, six youths from areas in Portugal hit by wildfires and heatwaves took on 32 European governments, alleging in court that their failure to act fast enough on climate change is a violation of their human rights. The case is the largest climate case to be heard by the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) in Strasbourg, Reuters news service reported.

Past columns:

Topics Florida USA Climate Change Montana
A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit brought against Texas A&M University claiming a faculty fellowship program at the flagship in College Station discriminated against white and Asian male candidates.

In a decision published Friday, U.S. District Judge Charles Eskridge said that the passage of Senate Bill 17  which bans public universities in Texas from considering race or other characteristics beyond merit in hiring  renders the lawsuit brought by Richard Lowery, a white finance professor at the University of Texas at Austin, moot and no longer ripe for a claim.

In light of substantial change in applicable law, further factual development is plainly required before the scope of injunctive relief if any  would be fit for judicial review, the judge wrote. A challenge to those practices will only be appropriate, if ever, after SB 17 actually takes effect. To that extent, this action is unripe.

Lowery has not applied to a position at Texas A&M and, according to the lawsuit, refuses to do so until his application will be considered on what he perceives to be an equal basis. He said he believed he could be a strong candidate if he were to apply for a job with the university; however, the judge ruled that Lowery cannot assume ongoing discrimination exists if he is not a candidate for a position.

Otherwise, any putative plaintiff could sue a potential employer without ever applying, simply upon allegation the posited discriminatory practices deterred application, Eskridge wrote.

Lowery is represented by America First Legal  a group created by Stephen Miller, a policy adviser for former President Donald Trump, and Jonathan Mitchell, a former solicitor general for Texas and the legal architect of the states six-week abortion ban.

Neither Lowery nor Mitchell responded to a request for comment Friday. The Texas A&M System sent a press release announcing the courts decision, but a system spokesperson said the system did not have a comment on the ruling itself.

Lowery filed the lawsuit in 2022 against the Texas A&M University System and its board of regents, as well as some specific administrators at the Texas A&M flagship. In that suit, he claimed that a new fellowship program announced in the summer of 2022 called the Accountability, Climate, Equity and Scholarship Faculty Fellows Program, violates Title VI and Title IX of the federal Civil Rights Act as well as the 14th Amendments equal protection clause.

While the ACES program focuses on hiring recently graduated doctoral students who want to enter academia, the separate ACES Plus Program focuses on mid-career and senior tenure-track hires from underrepresented minority groups, that contribute to moving the structural composition of our faculty towards parity with that of the State of Texas. It sets aside $2 million over the next two fiscal years to help match a fellows base salary and benefits, up to a maximum of $100,000.

According to Texas A&Ms announcement of the new fellowship program in July 2022, the university identified underrepresented groups as African Americans, Hispanic and Latino Americans, Native Americans, Alaskan Natives and Native Hawaiians.

Lowerys lawsuit also accused Texas A&M of setting aside faculty positions specifically for underrepresented racial groups. It points to an August 2022 email sent by an unnamed business professor to the head of the recruiting committee for the department of finance, Shane A. Johnson.

I heard from someone that one of our lines is reserved for an underrepresented minority. Is that correct? the professors email read, according to a copy included as an exhibit in the lawsuit. Johnson replied later that day, The underrepresented line would potentially be a third position, so yes reserved, but not one of our regular positions.

Earlier this year, Lowery dismissed the claim against the system and filed an amended complaint just against the university, its former president and other administrators. In February, the university filed another motion to dismiss.

Then, in May, the U.S. Supreme Court held that race-conscious admissions at public universities were illegal. Around that time, state lawmakers also passed a law that bans diversity, equity and inclusion offices at public universities and prohibits a university from giving preferential treatment to job candidates based on race, sex color, ethnicity or national origin.

In June, Eskridge requested both Texas A&M and Lowery submit supplemental arguments as to why the case should move forward given the legal developments.

Texas A&M argued that SB 17 already requires the university to change any hiring practices that provide now-unlawful preferences to different groups of people and submitted a memo from the universitys ethics and compliance officer indicating the school has begun to comply with the law.

A Texas A&M spokesperson told The Texas Tribune that the ACES program will be phased out after the 2024-25 academic year and the ACES Plus Program is currently on pause.

Lowery submitted additional evidence to try and prove his claims, including online announcements made by the interim president at Texas A&M regarding the implementation of SB 17. But the judge said these additional submissions did not change the fact that the case is now moot.

There is certainly time and place enough for Lowery to bring further action if Texas A&M continues what he believes to be unconstitutional hiring practices, the judge stated. And nothing here should be construed to preclude later action on future facts.

America First Legal also represents a student who filed a lawsuit against six Texas medical schools, claiming the schools illegally considered race and sex during the admissions process. That lawsuit is ongoing.

Disclosure: Texas A&M University, Texas A&M University System and University of Texas at Austin have been financial supporters of The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that is funded in part by donations from members, foundations and corporate sponsors. Financial supporters play no role in the Tribunes journalism. Find a complete list of them here.

This article originally appeared in The Texas Tribune at https://www.texastribune.org/2023/09/29/texas-am-discrimination-lawsuit-dismissed/.

The Texas Tribune is a member-supported, nonpartisan newsroom informing and engaging Texans on state politics and policy. Learn more at texastribune.org.

Photo: Texas A&M University campus (Texas A&M)

Topics Lawsuits Legislation Texas
Smoke from a burning field apparently caused a crash involving over a dozen vehicles, killing at least two people and closing Highway 67 in both directions, Arkansas State Police said.

Troopers at the site of the pileup said there were likely multiple casualties among the 15 cars and semitrailers, KARK-TV reported.

Further details on their condition were not immediately available. Arkansas State Police did not immediately respond to phone messages left by The Associated Press seeking comment.

The nearby fire likely caused thick smoke and low visibility in the area, state police officials told the Little Rock-based TV station.

As of 4:30 p.m., the southbound lanes of Highway 67 were reopened. All northbound lanes remained closed, news outlets reported.

The crash happened near Swifton, a mile southwest of Exit 102 where Highway 67 intersects with Arkansas 226, according to the Arkansas Department of Transportation.

Copyright 2023 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Topics Arkansas
Floridas Office of Insurance Regulation has approved the take out of another 153,000 policies from Citizens Property Insurance Corp., the states price-controlled residual insurer.

Almost half of the takeouts were approved for Slide Insurance, which has grown rapidly in the last two years, partly by assuming policies from other carriers, including ones in financial trouble. The Oct. 2 and Sept. 29 approvals for Slide and five other insurers are in addition to more than 350,000 approved earlier this year  welcome news for the Florida insurance market, which has encouraged Citizens depopulation efforts.

The news was tempered by the announcement that Progressive Insurance has decided to non-renew more than 100,000 homeowner and landlord policies in Florida early next year. Loggerhead Reciprocal Insurance Exchange has agreed to offer replacement policies, but some worry that many affected property owners will turn to Citizens, with its statutorily limited rate increases.

I dont see Citizens slowing down. I see it picking up, Rob Norberg, president of Arden Insurance Associates in West Palm Beach, told WPTV News. Norberg was one of a select group of independent agents that Progressive has decided to discontinue its association with.

Even if Loggerhead picks up several thousand of Progressives policyholders, thousands more will likely find better rates with Citizens, he noted.

The take-up rate for the Citizens takeouts approved earlier this year seems to support that assertion. Of 92,000 takeouts approved by OIR through August, for example, about 30,600 were actually assumed by the carriers making the takeout offers, a Citizens report shows. Many insureds have elected to stick with Citizens, at least for now.

Former Florida Deputy Insurance Commissioner Lisa Miller reported last month that of about 28,000 takeout offers in August, less than 9,000 were assumed on the day of assumption.

At the Sept. 27 Citizens Board of Governors meeting, corporation President Tim Cerio reiterated the concern among many in the insurance industry that Citizens rates are too low, which is hindering the growth of the primary market.

As long as the rates remain artificially low, we will continue to distort competition and hamper the speed of market recovery, Cerio said. As Floridas residual insurer, we should never be competing with the private market, and thats exactly what were doing right now.

Also this week, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis reappointed Carlos Beruff to the Citizens Board of Governors. He is the current chairman of the board and owner of Medallion Home Gulf Coast Inc., a large housing development corporation.

DeSantis also named Jamie Shelton, president of Jacksonville-based BestBet Holdings, which operates poker tournaments and simulcast wagering venues in the state. Shelton is former chair of the Jacksonville University Board of Trustees.

Sheltons appointment is considered to be for the consumer representative spot on the board, which does not require insurance business experience, Citizens spokesman Michael Peltier said. State law requires that, other than the consumer representative, at least of two appointees from each appointing officer have some insurance experience.

Two bills in the Florida Legislature in 2022 would have required most board members to have significantly more insurance industry experience, but that requirement failed to pass last year.

Chart at top: Source: Florida Office of Insurance Regulation consent orders.

Topics Florida
CRC Group, a wholesale speciality insurance distributor based in Birmingham, Alabama, part of Truist Insurance Holdings, has named three people to leadership roles.

Mike Baeurle was appointed chief client officer, overseeing retail agency distribution, business development and client relationships for three operating divisions, CRC said in a press release this week. Baeurle previously was vice president for agency distribution. He joined CRC when the company acquired the Swett & Crawford brokerage in 2016.

Jessica Marshall was named chief marketing officer. She has been CRCs vice president for marketing since 2018 and will now oversee all communication, advertising, public relations and sales and producer development programs.

Curtis Moore will be chief administrative officer. He has held a number of roles at CRC since joining the company in 2018, the firm said.

All three will report to Neil Kessler, president and chief operations officer.

Topics Leadership
October 5, 2023 (Investorideas.com Newswire) New research has compiled the peaks in popularity of the most popular cryptocurrencies, featuring the likes of Bitcoin, Dogecoin, and Ethereum.

The study by crypto experts at Bitcoinsentralen.no analysed Google Trends historical data to find the peaks in popularity of the ten most searched cryptocurrencies to see when interest for them reached its highest point and why.

Bitcoin - 3,620,000 monthly searches worldwide

Bitcoin saw its highest rise in popularity in December 2017, with a 625% surge in Google searches in the second half of that month. This is because the currency's price reached its highest price at the time of $19,783.21 on the 17th of that month, making headlines worldwide and introducing many new people to Bitcoin and the world of cryptocurrency itself. Despite Bitcoin's price since rising more than triple that amount - going above $60,000 in October 2021 - search interest has never reached the same peak.

Dogecoin - 1,659,000 monthly searches worldwide

Dogecoin saw a rise in searches of a whopping 2419% at the midpoint of May 2021, thanks to the volatility of the coin's value, which sat at $0.68 going into the month, with the actions of Billionaire Elon Musk having a significant effect. A notable example from this month is when its value rose in the lead-up to Musk's Saturday Night Live appearance, then dropped after he described the cryptocurrency as a 'hustle' on the show.

XRP- 1,250,000 monthly searches worldwide

XRP's most significant peak came in July 2023, at the midpoint of that month, when searches for the cryptocurrency surged by 1,996%. On the 13th of July 2023, a U.S. judge ruled the sale of XRP tokens on exchanges did not constitute investment contracts, meaning that early investors were not sold on the expectation that they would profit from the cryptocurrency, which followed with an XRP value increase of 96%, climbing to as high as $0.93.

Shiba Inu Coin - 678,000 monthly searches worldwide

October 2021 saw Shiba Inu's biggest rise in interest, with searches for the 'meme coin' surging by 3,178% compared to its previous historical interest. In that month, the coin's value took an unexpected leap of 240% in just a week, hitting a record value of $0.0000455 at the time, with many crypto enthusiasts jumping on the train hoping for a further value increase or for it to overtake Dogecoin, which it previously had taken heavy inspiration from.

Cardano - 677,000 monthly searches worldwide

Cardano's biggest surge in popularity also came in May 2021, much like Dogecoin. Arguably, the cryptocurrency's 1,539% rise in Google searches at that time was once again caused by Elon Musk's concern about how 'environmentally friendly' Bitcoin is as a cryptocurrency and how Cardano's selling point is its eco-friendliness in the crypto world. As a result its value soared to $2.12. China also announced bans on crypto mining towards the end of the same month, seeing the price fluctuate even more.

Commenting on the findings, a spokesperson for Bitcoinsentralen.no said: "With how volatile some cryptocurrencies can be value-wise, it's essential to keep track of news not just in the crypto world, but breaking headlines too, especially if you are holding onto a particular cryptocurrency or are looking at investing in one. Interestingly, some cryptocurrencies have seen a surge in search popularity due to increased value, whereas others have seen a value increase thanks to a rise in searches."

Source: Google Trends

Credit to Journo Research

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Davis, Calif. - October 5, 2023 (Investorideas.com Newswire) ECOM, a world-leading soft commodity services group specializing in coffee, cocoa, and cotton, is leading the verification of regenerative agriculture. In collaboration with Costa Rica coffee growers, the company has taken bold steps toward implementing responsible farming practices. Embracing the innovative BeCrop Rate, a sustainability metric by Biome Makers and DISAGRO's AgritecGEO new model of attention to the farmer supported by diagnostic tools of digital agriculture, they are now able to measure and track the remarkable improvements in soil health and biodiversity within this thriving coffee crop.

Multinational food and beverage companies are committed to seeking verifiable evidence of sourcing and supporting sustainably-produced food and reporting how they positively impact the environment. To achieve this goal, it is fundamental to work closely with farm operators to improve the sustainability of their activities. ECOM Costa Rica has selected 100 of their most innovative coffee growers from Costa Rica to implement practices during the last 2 years. Examples of the introduced regenerative practices include using biostimulants, organic amendments, cover crops, and sunlight efficiency using shade farming, among others.

BeCrop Rate has monitored the evolution of the coffee fields and validated the soil health improvements. BeCrop Rate utilizes advanced scientific methodologies, BeCrop technology's ecological computing using AI, and the largest global taxonomic database of 14M microorganisms, to decode the soil microbial networks and assess the impact of the farmer's interventions by crop and region. It is the only metric validated by the scientific community and tested globally across 180 different crops measuring, verifying, and improving sustainability.

"The industry needs a consistent metric that scientifically verifies the farm's current status towards soil recovery and sustainability," said Alberto Acedo, Co-founder and Chief Scientific Officer at Biome Makers. "BeCrop Rate empowers farmers to evaluate their management practices and showcase transparency for healthier and more sustainable food production."

"We are improving the farming practices in coffee with regenerative agriculture and find it very useful to have a tool to assess the real impact of our actions in the field," Tomas Gutierrez Acuna from ECOM said. "BeCrop Rate provided us with soil health metrics to track changes over time, including improvements in belowground biodiversity, crop yield, and carbon sequestration."

ECOM Costa Rica, in collaboration with their agronomic solutions provider DISAGRO, through its platform of digital agriculture AgritecGEO conducted the BeCrop Rates, evaluating 100 coffee fields across Costa Rica, averaging 20 hectares in size. The ratings for the farms varied, confirming the impact of their current management practices. This level of intelligence provided ECOM Costa Rica farmers with a roadmap on how to grow high-quality and sustainably-produced coffee. The BeCrop Rate provides farmers with a Certification, a digital gateway (API) to access key metrics from the assessment results, and marketing support to enhance their market presence.

"At DISAGRO, we utilize cutting-edge technology to provide solutions to all of our customers. We recommended BeCrop Rate to our customer ECOM Costa Rica to support them on their journey in the adoption of regenerative agriculture," Says Javier Iglesias, from DISAGRO in Costa Rica."The results obtained from BeCrop Rate allowed us to make personalized recommendations to ECOM Costa Rica farmer partners to improve their soil health, in addition to saving them time and money on the farm."

The partnership between the ECOM Costa Rica, DISAGRO, and Biome Makers demonstrates a commitment to driving positive change in the agricultural sector. By leveraging their collective expertise, they have helped the coffee growers achieve their sustainability goals and implement regenerative agricultural practices.

To read the full case study and learn more about this groundbreaking sustainability metric, please visit https://info.biomemakers.com/case-study-sustainable-management-verification-coffee-ecom

For media inquiries, please contact:

Jamie Nix

Biome Makers Inc.

jamie.nix@biomemakers.com

(202) 912-0976

About Biome Makers:

Founded in the Bay Area of California in 2015, Biome Makers is one of the foremost global AgTech leaders, setting the standard in soil health with BeCrop technology. Built on industry-leading AgTech expertise and driven by data and science, Biome Makers connect soil biology to agricultural decision-making to optimize farming practices and reverse the degradation of arable soils. With labs across the globe, customers on 4 continents, and 1M+ acres of land impacted, Biome Makers revitalizes soil functionality and agricultural sustainability worldwide. For more information, visit https://biomemakers.com/

About DISAGRO

DISAGRO is an international corporation of Guatemalan origin, leader in agricultural solutions in Central America, Colombia and Ecuador. The company offers a complete range of conventional and digital products and services for agriculture in the region. DISAGRO's purpose is to provide our region with the capacity to produce more food and drive development by propelling the competitiveness of the agricultural sector by delivering the most innovative and effective products and services in the world to our customers.

DISAGRO More food and development for the region

For more information, visit disagro.com

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Source: Streetwise Reports

October 5, 2023 (Investorideas.com Newswire) Shares of this lithium explorer jumped after an announcement that big-three automaker Stellantis is investing US$90 million in the company. One analyst said other major companies are watching.

Shares of lithium explorer Argentina Lithium & Energy Corp. (LIT:TSX.V; PNXLF:OTC; OAY3:FSE) jumped 111% after it announced that big-three automaker Stellantis (formerly Chrysler) had invested US$90 million to acquire shares in the company.

The Stellantis umbrella includes iconic brands like Chrysler, Alfa Romeo, Citroen, Dodge, Fiat, Jeep, Maserati, and Peugeot. Under the agreement, Peugeot Citroen Argentina SA, a Stellantis subsidiary, will own 19.9% of the company's issued and outstanding shares, and Argentina Lithium will own 80.1%.

Argentina Lithium President and Chief Executive Officer Nikolaos Cacos said it highlights the shortage approaching for the metal needed for electric vehicle (EV) batteries.

Stellantis is reaching down to exploration companies like Argentina Lithium to make sure they have the lithium needed "for the electric vehicle transition, which is coming fast and furious," Cacos said in an interview with Proactive Investors.

The lithium market is expected to grow globally from US$37.8 billion in 2022 to US$89.9 billion in 2030, according to a report by Fortune Business Insights.

"The growing adoption of hybrid and electric vehicles (EVs), high-drain portable electronics, and energy storage systems has had a huge impact on the growth of the overall market," the report said.

LIT's share price went from CA$0.23 to CA$0.485 on the day of the announcement.

The news is also bound to attract the attention of other major companies.

"As LIT's projects are close to well-known projects held by majors, the company can be subject to M&A events if it is able to delineate a resource in one or more of its assets," noted Fundamental Research Corp. analyst Sid Rajeev while initiating coverage on the company in July.

Rajeev rated the stock a Buy with a fair value target price of CA$0.52.

After an advance late in September 2022, Technical Analyst Clive Maund noted that "something is going on" with the stock and that it should see a larger move.

The Catalyst: Fueling the New Green Economy

Cacos said having a partner like Stellantis validates the projects and the exploration work that Argentina Lithium has done so far in the Lithium Triangle to find the battery metal that could fuel the new green economy.

The company has acquired resource properties across the Americas, with a considerable focus on Argentina and the Lithium Triangle. Its current projects include Rincon West, Antofalla North, Pocitos, and Incahuasi.

The Rincon West Project includes three mining concessions covering 3,742 hectares at the Rincon Salar, west and north of Rio Tinto Plc's (RIO:NYSE; RIO:ASX; RIO:LSE; RTPPF:OTCPK) adjacent Rincon Project.

At its Antofalla North site, the firm controls 10,050 hectares 25 kilometers west of Salar de Hombre Muerto, the "Salt Pan of the Dead Man."

The Pocitos property includes 26,000 hectares, the company said, and the company's Incahuasi Project involves a 100% interest in 25,000 hectares of granted mineral rights properties in the Incahuasi Salar basin in Catamarca Province, Argentina.

Funding to Advance All Projects

Stellantis' investment "allows us to not think about funding anymore as an exploration company," Cacos said. "I think we can advance all our projects over the next three years, right up to the announcement, define resources and pre-feasibility studies just before, ... (and) announcing making a decision or going forward and commercial production."

After the issuance of exchange shares and at the close of the transaction, on or about October 4, Stellantis will own at most 19.9% of the common shares (on an undiluted basis) of Argentina Lithium, the company said.

The exchange agreement also provides Stellantis with observer rights to attend Argentina Lithium's board meetings for as long as Stellantis owns at least 10% of the company and allows it to nominate one director to the Board of Directors.

The companies will enter into a lithium offtake agreement in which Stellantis will buy up to 15,000 tonnes per year of lithium produced by LIT over a seven-year period. The agreement may be extended by the companies.

The supply obligation of the agreement is conditional on the start of commercial lithium production at one or more of Argentina Lithium's projects, as well as other terms, including Stellantis having a first right of first refusal on the sale of lithium products to third parties after production starts.

North American Demand to Drive Lithium Shortfalls

Lithium is a major component of EV batteries, where it is used as a cathode and electrolyte. The soft, silvery metal with highly reactive and flammable properties is also used to strengthen alloys, as a high-temperature lubricant, and as a drug to treat bipolar disorder.

Analysts from Eight Capital predicted that lithium market deficits will widen this decade, and the shortfalls will be driven by demand in North America.

The United States' EV penetration of 6% lags China's 26% and Europe's 20%, analysts Anoop Prihar and Alex Riazanov of Eight Capital wrote in a recent research note. But President Joe Biden's administration has committed to a target of 50% of new vehicle sales being EVs by 2030

"We estimate North American lithium nameplate production capacity will be 262,900 LCE (million tonnes lithium carbonate) in 2026 based on projects that currently have completed a Definitive Feasibility Study (DFS)," Prihar and Riazanov wrote.

"Although this is a significant increase from the current North American production capacity of 6,000 tonnes LCE, it's still more than 128,000 tonnes short of what we anticipate will be required by the battery plants. As such, we anticipate the fundamentals underlying lithium demand to remain robust."

Ownership and Share Structure

The company doesn't officially share any information regarding management or institutional ownership, but Reuters reported that about 37% was owned by strategic institutions in the most recent reporting.

Its largest shareholders are Lithium Investment Partners LP with 17.68%, Jack Yetiv with 15.24%, Joseph J. Grosso with 3.05%, and the CEO Cacos with 1.04%, according to Reuters.

Its market cap is CA$59.83 million, with 130 million shares outstanding. It trades in a 52-week range of CA$0.60 and CA$0.19.

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Disclaimer/Disclosure: Investorideas.com is a digital publisher of third party sourced news, articles and equity research as well as creates original content, including video, interviews and articles. Original content created by investorideas is protected by copyright laws other than syndication rights. Our site does not make recommendations for purchases or sale of stocks, services or products. Nothing on our sites should be construed as an offer or solicitation to buy or sell products or securities. All investing involves risk and possible losses. This site is currently compensated for news publication and distribution, social media and marketing, content creation and more. Disclosure is posted for each compensated news release, content published /created if required but otherwise the news was not compensated for and was published for the sole interest of our readers and followers. Contact management and IR of each company directly regarding specific questions.

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More than 600 people have signed a petition calling on the Irish arm of healthcare technology firm, Merative to allow more than 250 employees at risk of redundancy more time to consult with management.

Attending a protest outside its Dublin offices on Thursday, at-risk staff called for talks to continue beyond the mandatory timeframe, with one adding that Merative still had "no plan in place," for employees.

The company, headquartered in the US, announced that it would cut 100 jobs in its Dublin office, representing around 25% of its Irish headcount.

In August, around 250 staff members were issued emails by the company informing them that their job was at risk. So far, Merative has not confirmed which roles will be cut, with that decision expected next week.

Following the announcement, the firm entered a mandatory 30-day consultation period with at-risk employees, during which, the petition claims a "meaningful consultation" discussing the potential to avoid dismissals, reduce the numbers to be dismissed and mitigate the consequences of any dismissals with a view to reaching agreement on a fair package has not taken place.

Attending the protest outside its Irish office on City Quay in Dublin's Docklands on Thursday, at-risk employees and supporters have called for the consultation period - which ends tomorrow, October 6th - to be extended to allow for engagement with union representatives on the approach they have put forward.

Founded in 2022, Merative - formerly known as the IBM-owned Watson Health - was bought by US private equity firm, Francisco Partners, with Merative's headquarters based in the US state of Michigan.

The company specialises in data, analytics and technology within the health industry, with clients spanning across governments, life sciences and healthcare providers. Within the company are several solution areas, referred to as the "Big Six," which include Irish-founded Curam, Marketscan, Health Insights, Merge, Zelta, and Micromedex.

"We are coming to the end of the consultation period and nothing has improved," one at-risk employee told the Irish Examiner.

"Merative has offered no concessions on any of our requests, nobody is happy with what they are offering. They have no sincere intention to reduce the number of cuts. Overall, it has just been really disappointing."

Irish-founded Curam - one of Merative's "Big Six" - serves a number of high-level state departments across countries including the US, Australia, Canada, Germany and the UK.

"You can imagine the disruption that will be likely caused by Merative cutting 25% of its Irish arm, these customers are in trouble too," the employee continued.

In a statement, Merative said they were nearing the conclusion of a 30-day consultation process in which employee representatives have participated. "The representatives have frequently met with at-risk employees, dutifully gathered feedback, and provided daily updates. These representatives have also been meeting with Merative leadership multiple times a week to share employee input."

"We have been conducting this consultation process in good faith and have sincerely considered the feedback provided. We expect to complete the process soon," the statement said.
US-headquartered pharmaceutical manufacturing company ILC Dover confirmed plans to relocate all its operations from its facility in Cork, affecting more than 100 employees.

The Blarney facility is set to officially close early in the new year, resulting in around 110 employee redundancies.

The company said the decision to move all operations at its Cork facility to the firms locations in Poland and Mexico was difficult.

The decision to close the facility was taken after a detailed evaluation of our operational footprint, reflecting a softer macroeconomic environment, said Scott Watson, ILC Dover chief operating officer.

The Cork site will continue its production activities while ILC Dover management will enter a consultation period with its employees during the wind-down process.

ILC Dover was founded in Delaware in 1947 and designs and makes a range of products for the biopharmaceutical, pharmaceutical, and medical device markets and is a leading supplier for the aerospace industries.

The company expanded into Ireland in 2018 with the Cork facility, creating 70 new jobs at the time.

The exact reasons for ILC Dovers planned departure is not yet clear but many factories in Ireland have been hit by a fall in new business.

Irish factories saw new orders fall at the fastest pace so far this year in September, driven by a lacklustre demand in key export markets including the UK and the eurozone.

In the latest AIB Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) for manufacturers, a leading industry survey, manufacturers reported a decline in spending among their clients, which created lower production volumes compared to August.

"There was only a marginal decline in manufacturing production though, with firms continuing to work through order backlogs, which helped maintain output levels, said AIB chief economist Oliver Mangan.

The headline PMI was in contraction territory last month at 49.6, slightly below the neutral 50 threshold, and down from August's six-month high of 50.8.

The Irish PMI remains higher than elsewhere, said Mr Mangan.

"The flash September manufacturing PMI readings were again very weak in the eurozone and UK, at 43.4 and 44.2 respectively, while the US index stood at 48.9," he said.
In a few weeks, a new retirement savings Bill is expected to be published that will set out Government plans for radical change to the occupational pensions system in Ireland.

In 2024, when the Bill is expected to pass, mandatory retirement saving will apply for the very first time, with significant implications for many employers and employees.

The long-awaited auto-enrolment regime, as it has become known, aims to significantly improve retirement outcomes for employees who do not have a work-based pension scheme by requiring that most employees and employers pay pension contributions.

The introduction of similar systems in other countries has been very successful in materially increasing the number of individuals saving for their retirement. Based on this experience, auto-enrolment has the potential to have a very positive impact on retirement preparation and outcomes in Ireland.

In fact, the Government anticipates over 800,000 new pension savers in Ireland as a result of its introduction. Progress to launch the new system has accelerated and the target start date is now the second half of 2024. Government is urging employers to plan for this and budget accordingly.

The rollout of auto-enrolment will be accompanied by a significant Government communications campaign so that both individuals and employers have sufficient information to understand the systems impacts.

First, it is important to consider what the new regime will mean for individuals. Once it is launched, all employees aged between 23 and 60 who earn over 20,000 annually will be required to pay pension contributions into a State-run central retirement savings system into which they will be automatically enrolled if they are not already paying into a pension plan. The definition of employee has yet to be confirmed but will likely cover all persons who are directly employed (auto-enrolment will not, at least initially, apply to the self-employed).

The required contributions will start at a low level, rising on a phased basis over the first 10 years. They will commence at 1.5% of gross pay (up to a cap of 80,000), calculated not just on basic salary but also on all other elements of remuneration. Contributions will then increase every three years, rising to 6% after 10 years. Taking into account the contributions that employers will also be required to pay, plus an additional State top-up contribution, employees will eventually see contributions totalling 14% of their total pay being paid annually into their retirement savings accounts (subject to the salary cap).

Crucially, employees will be able to opt out of auto-enrolment at certain points. This is important as affordability of pension contributions will still likely be a concern for some individuals even with the phased increase in required contributions. However, international experience has shown that most employees do not opt out and instead start to save for their pension, becoming better prepared for their retirement. This has been the foundation for the success of similar systems in other countries.

Of course, many employees are already saving in an occupational pension plan  or may be eligible to join one provided by their employer. Because of the difference in the way that contributions will be taxed under the central system (the State contribution under auto-enrolment applying in lieu of tax relief on employee contributions), some employees could actually be financially better off in their employers plan.

For employers, the key initial decision will be whether to use their own pension plan to meet auto-enrolment obligations rather than the State system. Using their own plan may be the better option for a number of reasons. For example, it may avoid the complexity and potential confusion associated with offering two different pensions arrangements for employees. Their plan may also offer greater flexibility and a wider range of investment and benefit options than the central system.

If a pension plan is used to meet auto-enrolment obligations, employers will initially be required only to ensure that there is a contribution being paid either by or in respect of an employee. Where this is the case, employees will not be enrolled in the States central system. In time, the Government will introduce specific minimum standards for pension plans. While these standards are not yet known, the underlying principle will be that employees cannot be worse off in the pension plan than they would be in the central system. This will certainly mean ensuring equivalent contributions. It could also necessitate other changes to pension plans such as new optout arrangements, mandatory membership, or removal of waiting periods for entry.

The impact of auto-enrolment could be significant for many employers. Some important decisions will need to be taken and employers will need to understand all implications  including impacts on payroll and reporting arrangements, their pension plan, and communication of changes to employees  at an early stage. Many businesses are already following the Governments advice to plan and budget and are assessing immediate and longer-term auto-enrolment cost impacts.

There is a lot of work for employers to do to ensure they are ready for the new regime.

www.mercer.com
Cork and Kerry accounted for 31% - 1.6bn - of Irish milk output in 2022, making it the largest milk-producing region in the state, according to new CSO figures released on Thursday.

Milk generated 55% of the regions agricultural output last year.

Regional outputs

The CSO's release today on the 2022 regional accounts for agriculture shows that the mid-west region of counties Clare, Limerick, and Tipperary was the largest livestock and second largest milk and poultry producing region in 2022, supplying 20% (594m) of the countrys cattle, 21% (1bn) of its milk, and 10% (20m) of its poultry output.

The border region (Cavan, Donegal, Leitrim, Monaghan, and Sligo) produced 71% of the countrys poultry and 25% of both its sheep and pigs in 2022.

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With its high (51%) dependence on livestock, it had the lowest rate of increase in operating surplus, which grew by 18% to 480m.

The west (Galway, Mayo, and Roscommon) was the smallest producer of agricultural output in Ireland, generating just 9% (1.1bn) of Irish agricultural output at basic prices.

The south-east (Carlow, Kilkenny, Waterford, and Wexford) region was the second largest producer of crops, growing 20% (532m) of Irish crops.

It was also the third largest producer of milk in the state, generating 19% (935m) of Irish milk.

The value of the south-easts agricultural output at basic prices increased by 29% to 2.2bn and its operating surplus grew by 36% to 783m.

The Dublin and mid-east region (Dublin, Kildare, Louth, Meath, and Wicklow) was the largest producer of crops in the state, accounting for 26% (683m) of the states total. This region grew one-third (231m) of Irish cereals.

The value of the midland (Laois, Longford, Offaly, and Westmeath) regions agricultural output at basic prices increased by 32% to 1.3bn.

With both higher yields and dairy cow numbers, the value of milk production in the region was up by 61% to 461m, the highest rate of growth in milk of all regions.

Spread of rates

Statistician in the CSO agricultural accounts and production section Mairead Griffin said that while at a national level operating surplus grew by 28% in 2022, at a regional level, the growth rates were spread between a low of 18% and a high of 51%.

"The significant spread of these rates can be explained by the composition of farm types within the regions," Ms Griffin said.

"The performance of the different outputs, their relative importance to a regions agriculture output, and the rise in the main input costs incurred by the various farm types, all affected the regional rate of growth in operating surplus."

Cereal and milk production were the best-performing sectors in 2022.

The value of cereals increased by 60%, mainly due to prices rising by an average of 52%, according to Ms Griffin.

"Milk also performed very well during the year, with stronger prices resulting in its value growing by 48%. By comparison, the value of livestock production rose by just 14%," she said.

Inputs

While the value of almost all outputs grew in 2022, the "impact of the higher output values was tempered by a 29% increase in intermediate consumption costs for the year", Ms Griffin explained.

"The cost of fertilisers doubled while the cost of feeding stuffs grew by 30%. As expected, the regions with the highest dependency on livestock, namely the west and border regions, both of whom depended on livestock to generate over half of the value of their agricultural output at basic prices, did not perform as well as other regions.

"These regions did, however, cut back sharply on their consumption of fertilisers, which was one of the main reasons they both saw increases in their intermediate consumption costs below the national average."

Ms Griffin said that at 18%, the border region had the lowest growth in operating surplus to 480m, followed closely by the west, which had a growth rate of 19% to 523m.

"It is also interesting to note that the west region had the highest dependency on livestock, which accounted for 52% (597m) of the regions output, and it was also the largest producer of sheep in the state, creating 28% (105m) of national output," she added.

Midlands the best-performing region

The south-west, Cork and Kerry, with its high concentration of intensive dairy farming, "saw its intermediate consumption costs rising by 38% and as a result, had just a 21% increase in its operating surplus to 1.1bn in 2022".

The value of agricultural output in the south-west at basic prices grew by 32% to 2.8bn.

"The midland region was the best-performing region in 2022, with the value of its operating surplus growing by 51% to 317m," Ms Griffin continued.

"This was largely attributable to the regions dairy producers, as a combination of both higher yields and dairy cow stocks resulted in the value of its milk production rising by 61% to 461m, the highest rate of growth in milk of all regions.

"The value of the mid-wests agricultural output at basic prices increased by 29% to 2.2bn, while its operating surplus grew by 39% to 874m. The value of the south-easts agricultural output at basic prices rose by 29% to 2.2bn and its operating surplus grew by 36% to 783m."

While it was the smallest producer of livestock, rearing just 11% (489m) of Irish animals, the Dublin and mid-east region was the largest producer of horses, creating 28% (89m) of the value of horses.
The independent Agriculture Appeals Office has launched an online appeal facility for farmers.

This independent office established in 2002 provides an appeals service to farmers who are dissatisfied with decisions of the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine concerning designated schemes operated by the department.

In accordance with the Agriculture Appeals Regulations, an appeal against a decision made by the minister or an officer of the minister must be made to the Agriculture Appeals Office within three months of the date of the decision.

Previously, all appeal applications were submitted in hardcopy either by registered post or by hand.

An online facility is now available where appellants, unhappy with a decision made, may submit an appeal.

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Increase in number of schemes

"Given the increase in the number of schemes available to farmers and the increased awareness of technologies and use of online systems in farming, I am delighted to learn that the Agriculture Appeals Office has provided this facility to further assist farmers in submitting appeals," Minister for Agriculture Charlie McConalogue said.

"In line with the Agriculture Appeals Act 2001, the office is obliged to ensure that its functions are performed as efficiently and expeditiously as may be consistent with fairness and natural justice.

"The online facility will support this endeavour and assist farmers in making a valid and timely appeal."
FILM

Blackberry

In cinemas, Friday, October 6

Blackberry.

Looking back now at the time where a Blackberry was The Thing to have, it feels like it was a blip. How did the device rise so quickly only to spectacularly flame out? Blackberry takes a darkly comic look at that very question. A film where characters look like overly simplistic stereotypes actually provides a good glimpse at the ego, weakness and volitility that is at the heart of those behind such billion-dollar companies.

SHOW

Shirley Valentine

Cork Opera House, Saturday, October 7, 8pm

Escape the ever-darkening evenings and take off on a once-in-a-lifetime trip to Greece... or just watch someone reenact such a trip. This way is far cheaper and you don't have to take off your shoes at any point.

Norma Sheahan is taking to the stage as the iconic Shirley Valentine. There will be plenty of laughs and if you feel like your partner has been taking you for granted there are plenty of opportunities for pointed looks in their direction as Shirley's husband learns the error of his ways.

EVENT

Cork International Short Story Festival

Cork City Library and Cork Arts Theatre, October 11-14

The world's oldest annual short story festival, this has become one of the most prestigious short story festivals since it first began 23 years ago. It showcases readings, forums and workshops and many events of free so it is open to all who have an interest in literature. The four-day festival brings together innovative and exceptional writers from near and far.

STREAMING

Benedict Cumberbatch in The Wonderful Story Of Henry Sugar

Wes Anderson's quartet of Roald Dahl shorts

Netflix, available now

Almost 15 years since he released his delightful Fantastic Mr Fox adaptation, Wes Anderson has returned to the works of Roald Dahl. He has released four short films and, as per usual, has put an unusual spin on things. The scripts are Dahl's own words, read directly to the audience and the sets move as if it is a stage play. The first film, The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar went down a treat when it premiered at the Venice Film Festival. The remaining three - The Swan, The Rat Catcher and Poison - each have a runtime of just 17 minutes making them the perfect way to spend an afternoon.

BOOK

Black & Irish: Legends, Trailblazers & Everyday Heroes - Leon Diop and Briana Fitzsimons

Out now

Written by Leon Diop and Briana Fitzsimons, this book tells the stories of talented and trailblazing black people from the worlds of art, sport, business, fashion, politics and activism. Alongside them are the stories of the everyday heroes, the people putting in huge work on the ground and changing their local communities for the better. The creators hope this book will inspire young Irish people to be proud of themselves and their heritage and to become more empathetic. The book also features beautiful illustrations by Jessica Louis.
Kevin Spacey has revealed he was rushed to hospital after experiencing a health scare while in Uzbekistan.

The Oscar-winning actor, 64, was in the country to attend the Tashkent International Film Festival when he felt his arm go numb for about eight seconds.

In a speech during the closing ceremony of the festival, Spacey recalled how he underwent a MRI scan but his tests readings came back completely normal.

It made me really take a moment and think to myself how fragile life is for all of us

It made me really take a moment and think to myself how fragile life is for all of us. I experienced something here today that was unexpected, but has made me appreciate what you are all doing here together, he said in a video shared to the festivals Instagram.

He explained that he had been visiting the Afrasiyab Museum when he began feeling unwell, saying: I suddenly felt my entire left arm go numb for about eight seconds.

I shook it off, but I immediately told the people I was with what had just happened and with their advice we went immediately to the medical centre.

The American Beauty and House Of Cards star said he underwent a variety of tests including an MRI at the medical centre which gave him the all clear.

He added: Everything turned out to be completely normal, and Im of course grateful its not anything more serious.

Spacey praised the medical team that helped him and said the experience had made him re-evaluate his life.

He said: It made me really take a moment and think to myself how fragile life is for all of us and how important it is that we come together, that we support each other, that we do what we can for the next generation.

Actor Kevin Spacey at Southwark Crown Court, London (Jordan Pettitt/PA)

In July, Spacey was found not guilty of nine sex offences on four men between 2001 and 2013, following a trial at Southwark Crown Court.

Following the ruling, the Hollywood star said: I would like to say that Im enormously grateful to the jury for having taken the time to examine all of the evidence and all of the facts carefully before they reached the decision.

I am humbled by the outcome today.
AIME The Makeup Care Collection

French girl chic is coming to Irish girl's makeup bags courtesy of AIME, a brand on my radar for quite some time thanks to their aesthetically pleasing collection of skincare and supplements.

Described as 'the final step in your skincare routine', The Makeup Care capsule collection encompasses four products.

Lash Care Tubing Mascara, Skincare Powder Foundation with SPF30 (available in eight shades), Healthy Lip and Cheek Cream (in one universally flattering shade) and The Face Brush for foundation application on the go.

This brand is going to be everywhere very soon.

Prices start from 25.

Available online from aime.co.

Estee Lauder Futurist Skin Tint Serum Foundation

Estee Lauder Futurist Skin Tint Serum Foundation

Not content with the excellent medium-coverage, your-skin-but-better Futurist Foundation, Estee Lauder has taken it further with Futurist Skin Tint Serum Foundation.

Offering lighter coverage and an 85% skincare-infused formula, this very fluid foundation feels light and comfortable on the skin but still provides enough coverage to even out the skin tone.

If you're looking for a lighter, more nourishing base with a radiant finish this winter, this is it.

Available in 29 shades.

59 from Brown Thomas.

Sculpted by Aimee Shape & Set Brow Duo

Sculpted by Aimee Shape & Set Brow Duo

A product that will tame and define your brows while holding them in place, say hello to what we've all been waiting for from Sculpted by Aimee.

Shape & Set Duo is a soft, creamy brow pencil and brow gel in one and available in six warm and cool tones shades.

The cleverly angled pencil fills in sparse patches and adds definition, while the lightweight gel lifts and holds hairs in place.

Think of significantly better-looking brows without looking like you're wearing any product. A win in my book.

Available in six shades.

23 from Sculpted by Aimee.

Huda Beauty Easy Bake and Snatch Pressed Powder

Huda Beauty Easy Bake and Snatch Pressed Powder

If you've tried Huda Beauty Easy Bake Loose Baking and Setting Powder, you'll know all about its wondrous brightening and setting abilities.

But now there's a new version to play with, in a more compact, pressed format.

Easy Bake and Snatch Powder delivers the same setting and brightening results as its predecessor but in a much more subtle fashion (and it's much quicker to use).

This is very finely milled, so a little goes a long way. Expect maximum results with little effort. My kind of product.

Available in eight shades.

36 from Cult Beauty.

SOSU Cosmetics Liquid Blush

SOSU Cosmetics Liquid Blush

If you love a bright, showstopping pop of blush, you'll love SOSU Cosmetics' new Liquid Blush.

Available in two shades, a peachy coral shade and a pretty rose pink, this is an exceptionally pigmented blush (that doubles up as a liquid lip), so a light-handed application is critical.

The finish is so radiant that I'd nearly describe the formula as a blush-highlight hybrid, thanks to its radiant gold undertone.

A great addition to any makeup bag and affordable as ever at just 14.95.

Available in two shades.

14.95 each from SOSU Cosmetics.

Up Cosmetics Stretch & Curl Lengthening Mascara

Up Cosmetics Stretch & Curl Lengthening Mascara

In the making for over two years, according to founder Una Tynan, Up Cosmetics Stretch & Curl Lengthening Mascara delivers length and lift in a beautifully subtle fashion.

Encased in a sleek golden tube, this is a mascara for fresh-faced, natural makeup look days.

It lengthens and separates without clumping, leaving you with gorgeously defined, fluttery lashes. It's a steal at 20, too.

20 from Up Cosmetics.

Laura Mercier Rose Glow Liquid Highlighter

Laura Mercier Rose Glow Liquid Highlighter

Delivering the lit-from-within-glow that Laura Mercier has become famous for, Rose Glow Liquid Highlighter officially has my heart.

Formulated with a mixture of warm and cool tones, it self-adjusts as you wear it to perfectly match your skin tone. The cushion applicator is excellent for adding glow on the go, too. Gorgeous.

Available in three shades.

36 from Brown Thomas.

Bellamianta 4-in-1 Compact Makeup Brush

Bellamianta 4-in-1 Compact Makeup Brush

A very clever new launch from Bellamianta, 4 in 1 Compact Makeup Brush, is everything you need for a complete makeup look.

A small flat brush for eyeshadow, blending eyeliner, and defining eyebrows.

A perfectly sized round brush for applying powder eyeshadow and highlighter, a sizeable flat-topped brush for applying liquid or cream products, and a large angled fluffy brush for setting and applying powder products.

The two smaller brushes secure neatly inside the larger brushes, so there's no mess and no fuss. Genius.

23 from McElhinneys.

Product prices are subject to change and may differ across retailers.
Behavioural problems can be more life-threatening to dogs than physical diseases. The most common cause of death of dogs under the age of three is euthanasia because of behavioural issues. This is easy to understand: an aggressive large dog can be a serious threat to human safety. Every year in Ireland, over 300 dog bite incidents require hospital treatment. One of the basic requirements for pet dogs is that they need to be safe around humans.

Aggression is not the only challenging behaviour: other problems include jumping up on people, pulling on the leash, and separation anxiety (leading to barking and destruction when left on their own). All of these behaviours damage the human/pet bond. As well as euthanasia, many dogs are relinquished to shelters because they are no longer wanted.

Bad behaviour can often be treated effectively: the problem is not usually with the dog. Instead, its about how we humans interact with our dogs. Often, we dont understand them, and we respond instinctively to their unwanted behaviour in ways that make it even more likely to be repeated. We dont realise that we are doing this. Some people have to have dogs rehomed because of bad behaviour, and then a couple of years later, they find themselves in precisely the same situation again: another dog needing to be rehomed. This is not bad luck: the pattern repeats because of the way that the humans in the house interact with the dogs. This is unconscious: people genuinely do not know what to do, and they make mistakes without realising that they are making mistakes.

So what can be done to help? The simple answer is education, starting with preventing behavioural problems from developing in the first place by choosing the right dog.

Puppies need to be well socialised between 214 weeks of age: at this time they are open to learning about new experiences. They should be gently introduced to different types of people, animals and environments at this time: this is how they learn to be relaxed as adult dogs. If puppies are kept in socially isolated situations during this key period (such as happens in badly-run puppy farms), they grow up to be fearful, anxious adult dogs with bad behaviour, including aggression. If you are looking for a new dog, choosing a well-socialised animal is key.

You should also choose a dog thats calm, relaxed and friendly. Dont choose a nervy, frightened dog because you feel sorry for it, or a highly energetic, bouncy dog because you think it will be a good challenge to calm it down. Choose a dog thats going to be an easy companion.

When choosing a dog, try to opt for one that isn't nervy or frightened as they may have experienced trauma

Next, you need to learn how to interact with dogs, how to read a dog's body language, and how to respond if they do display unwanted behaviours. Much of this is counter-intuitive. Many of the ideas that people have in their heads about dog behaviour are completely wrong. For example, most people still believe that the pack order is important to dogs, and that its necessary to dominate dogs in some way by punishing bad behaviour. This has been shown to be complete nonsense, yet the ideas are still promulgated by many people, including some professionals involved in dog training. Recent scientific research has shown that training methods including these concepts are likely to do more harm than good. If punishment is used, dogs are more likely to be fearful, anxious, and aggressive, and theyll have a worse relationship with their owner. Training methods like electric shock collars, choke collars, water pistols and others cause harm. But the idea of dominating and disciplining dogs appeals to human thinking, and is difficult to dispel.

Instead, its now been scientifically well established that reward-based training methods are the most successful way to teach dogs and to modulate their behaviour. This means giving rewards for good behaviour and removing the rewards for behaviours that you want to reduce. Rewards usually mean tasty food treats as well as petting, and playing (e.g. with a favourite toy).

Careful home management can prevent problem behaviours, from keeping the kitchen counter free from food, locking the kitchen bin into a cupboard, and using a no-pull harness (i.e. one with a front clip) rather than a standard collar. Regular exercise is also important: bored dogs, full of energy, are more likely to misbehave. The use of activities to engage the dogs brain helps too: food puzzle toys, snuffle mats, and group activities including tricks, agility, or nose (sniffing) work.

Using a no-pull harness on dogs like this young pit bull terrier dog is a better option than a standard collar

Regular training is important: its been said that everyone should spend fifteen minutes every day, for most of the dogs life, working on training, if they want to have an optimally behaved dog.

Most people need professional help to train dogs and to deal with challenging behaviour, and since dog training and behavioural advice are not regulated, it can be difficult to choose the right person. The ideal dog trainer has a combination of good training with plenty of experience. The skill set includes knowledge, but also a level of intuition, an ability to read dogs body language and emotions, and a genuine understanding of what is going on in their heads. This can often only be gained with years of experience.

While word-of-mouth can be a useful way to find a good trainer, membership in a reputable professional organisation offers reassurance about training methods, background education, and ethical standards.

For the sake of you and your dog, make behaviour and training a serious focus from the start when you get a dog.

Table with helpful contacts.

 The Association of Pet Dog Trainers Ireland (apdt.ie)

 The International Association of Animal Behavior Consultants UK and Ireland Division (m.iaabc.org/about/divisions/uk)

 The Institute of Modern Dog Trainers (imdt.uk.com)

 The Association of Pet Behaviour Counsellors (apbc.org.uk)
Its getting inquisitive on our WhatsApp group Douglas Rd Stunners Whod Love to Look Like the Beckhams.

It all started after the new show called Beckham dropped on Netflix during the week (dropped is what we call it on the Douglas Road, you probably say started or something awful over in Ballinlough, I dont know how ye sleep at night.)

Shauna_4Ever23 was basically live-streaming her response to the show, saying what she wouldnt do to David Beckham, when Fifi_UpForAnything said the only thing shed do is track down their Anti Ageing Guru because theyd never have anything as common as a plastic surgeon, thats for people in Glanmire.

Flora_MoreThanYou said she didnt think the Beckhams had any work done and then she got killed for being an eejit by Shaun, who said Posh Spice has had so much work done, David Beckham is basically on his second wife.

I dont know about that, but I made the mistake of saying that I really enjoyed Roy Keane on the show because he is the only one who had the self-confidence to let himself age gracefully.

I got the mandatory six-week ban for saying anything negative about cosmetic surgery, Fifi accused me of sounding like some kind of hippy one youd see in West Cork who looked like shed been dragged backwards through a bush.

I think I need new friends. Do you any nice people who dont use cosmetic surgery?

 Jenni, Douglas Rd

I know one or two women middle-aged women who dont use Botox. But Id keep well clear there, its impossible to pull younger guys on a night out when your friend has Crows Feet.

Im dating an intellectual after meeting him on an app called Brainy Sexy, hes more the former but I like going for a spin in his Tesla, Roger is his name.

Didnt he whisk me over to Amsterdam for a weekend of art and culture?

He told me that hed been to see an exhibition by some lad called Vermeer six times already in a big museum over there, and hed love me to go see it with him.

Dont ask me why youd want to see a picture more than once, its not like its going to change, but Roger was picking up the tab, so I packed up the Samsonite and off we went.

Lovely city Amsterdam, although things got a bit tense in the museum when Roger kept saying Its a painting, Rosealeen from Ballydesmond, not a picture.

Next thing we go for a stroll through the red light district, all these girls in their knickers, it was like Friday night in Kanturk.

Suddenly, who do I see in a window but my best friend Berna, twerking in this dominatrix corset she bought online?

She was always unpredictable but this is another level. I scuttled away before she could see me  do you think I should say something to her?

 Rosealeen, Ballydesmond

I do. Tell her stop buying dominatrix gear online. It fits in all the wrong places.

Cmere, whats the story with Hit The Diff?

Myself and Budgie were on the cans there a few weeks back and he said, whats the one thing youve never done with a girl? I told him, in all my years Ive never dated a culchie. Not even Ballincollig or Glanmire. Ive always stayed inside the Cork city boundaries.

He said, you should give it a go, so I looked up what culchies like online and all I saw everywhere was a reference to this song called Hit The Diff.

I looked at the video online  I cant be sure now Audrey, but I think it might be about some lad who is in love with a tractor.

Long story short, I put Hit the Diff as my favourite song in my Tinder profile and I got a deluge of interest from old dolls in Bogland.

Can you find out for me what the song is about Audrey?

 Dowcha Donie, Blackpool.

My cousin lives outside Macroom, we send her our old clothes. I rang her there and said, why do ya all love Hit The Diff? She said because its a country and western song that doesnt make you want to cry.

How ya doin'? Myself and the boys here in Edinburgh cant get a ticket to support Scotland against Ireland this weekend, which has left us at a loose end on the romance front.

My man Gordon said not to worry, he was at a wedding over in Cork last year, he wore the kilt and the maid of honour was all over him like a cheap suit, but he brushed her off in favour of the bride.

Flights to Cork are incredibly cheap this weekend, which suggests a second-rate city if you ask me, but were thinking of jetting in anyway in our kilts to try it on with your babes.

Do you think well get a run for our money?

 Findlay, Edinburgh.

This guy in a kilt tried to hit on me after a Six Nations match last year. I said, not a chance. He said, why? I said, youre English.
The number of rank-and-file gardai is at its lowest level in almost six years, official figures show.

The Garda Representative Association (GRA) say one of the main reasons why they oppose the reintroduction of a previously agreed roster on 6 November is that they believe there are not enough frontline gardai to operate it.

GRA leaders are holding another meeting with Garda Commissioner Drew Harris on Thursday morning, but sources are not predicting any development.

Last Monday, GRA president Brendan OConnor said prospects of a breakthrough were quite bleak.

Official Garda figures show that overall Garda numbers stood at 13,910 at the end of August.

This was a drop from 13,943 in July, which was an increase on 13,892 in June.

That increase in July marked the first rise in overall Garda numbers, across all ranks, since March 2020.

The commissioners monthly report shows there were 25 retirements in August and nine resignations, bringing the total for the year to date to 219 and 95 respectively.

It compares to 340 retirements and 108 resignations for all of last year.

A further analysis of garda figures shows that the reduction in numbers has been sharpest at the garda rank, among frontline members.

Figures show:

Overall garda strength fell from 14,750 in March 2020 to 13,910 in August 2023, a drop of 5.7%;

Garda rank strength dropped in the same period from 12,046 to 11,151, a reduction of 7.4%;

Garda rank figures are now at their lowest level since November 2017, when it stood at 10,987.

The GRA have cited falling frontline numbers as one of the reasons why they are strongly opposed to the reintroduction of the previously agreed roster on 6 November, as directed by Commissioner Harris.

The association also refers to better work-life balance, fewer workdays and lower costs as to reasons why it wants to keep the emergency roster.

Roster row

The current covid roster, introduced in March 2020, involves gardai working a 12-hour day for four consecutive days, followed by four rest days.

The old roster, termed the Westmanstown Roser, which was agreed by all Garda associations, saw gardai working a 10-hour day for six days, with four days off.

The current roster requires four Garda units, while the old roster has five Garda units.

The GRA also said that a survey it conducted of members in July 2019, which showed a majority favoured six consecutive 10-hour shifts, was conducted at a very different time.

That survey of nearly 11,000 members found that 53% of them expressed satisfaction with the then roster, with 23% expressing dissatisfaction.

GRA general secretary at the time, Pat Ennis, said the findings showed a strong preference for maintaining the status quo of working six consecutive 10-hour shifts.

He said the association would vigorously defend the current roster.

Responding to queries from the Irish Examiner, current GRA general secretary Ronan Slevin said: "That survey was conducted at a very different time in An Garda Siochana. At that time there was a move to switch our membership to 8-hour tours and we hadn't even tested the 12-hour shift pattern.

He said that since then members have switched to the covid Roster of four 12-hour days followed by a period of rest on Day 5 and then three days off.

There were calls in the Seanad on Wednesday for Justice Minister Helen McEntee to appoint a mediator to try and resolve the dispute.

This has proved to be extremely popular with our members and provided a more stable, productive and cost-effective work-life balance, he said.

He added that in 2019 an independent report commissioned by Garda management recommended that this particular roster was unfit for purpose.

Mr Slevin said this was a sentiment repeated by the Garda Commissioner when he wrote to the GRA in November 2022.

"He has failed to explain how this would now be possible with in excess of 300 less gardai in our ranks, Mr Slevin said.

"The only hope for progress now is through open, meaningful negotiations with the Commissioner's looming threat of the November 6 deadline being deferred while such talks can progress.

In a statement, Garda HQ said: In 2019, the GRA strongly supported the collectively agreed Westmanstown Roster and said it would vigorously defend staying on this roster.

Now, in 2023, the GRA has vigorously rejected a return to the collectively agreed Westmanstown Roster. It said that in 2019, the GRA said they would work to retain the Westmanstown Roster during talks on devising a new roster.

After three years of those talks resulted in a proposed new roster supported by Garda management, the GRA Central Executive Committee rejected this proposed roster, the statement said.

Garda HQ said the Central Executive Committee did not put the proposed roster to a vote by its members.

Now, in 2023, the GRA is adamantly opposed to the return of the Westmanstown Roster that only a few years ago they and their membership were fully supportive of, it said.

There were calls in the Seanad on Wednesday for Justice Minister Helen McEntee to appoint a mediator to try and resolve the dispute.

The second day of action  where members decline to work voluntary overtime  is next Tuesday, Budget Day.

Garda management are having to take action to have enough gardai on duty to staff barricades around Kildare Street, Molesworth Street and Merrion Street. This will involve bringing gardai in from other regions, with reports of up to 100 officers due to be drafted into the city.

However, senior sources predict Halloween (another overtime protest day) poses a bigger challenge, as it is countrywide and runs over a longer time period.
The board of a Dublin school which employed a former Nazi collaborator said it only became aware of research which may have implicated him in the possible carrying out of atrocities after his death in 2009.

The board of St Conleths College in Ballsbridge issued a statement on Wednesday night in response to a series of letters received by the board from former students of French teacher Louis Feutren.

Feutren taught at the school from 1957 until 1985. Before coming to Ireland, Feutren was a member of a nationalist group in France called the Bezen Perrot and collaborated with the Waffen SS during the German occupation of France during the Second World War.

The letters sent to St Conleths followed one by author and son of a former Argentinean ambassador to Ireland, Uki Goni, who recalled being physically bashed by Feutren at the school.

Other letters include one from a former student who said Feutrens class was ruled by "a culture of fear that even then was not acceptable".

In a 2014 publication to mark the 75th anniversary of the founding of St Conleths, a former student wrote that Feutren taught French using philosophies and methodologies which ranged from Rene Descartes to the Nazis.

The publication also included a full page dedicated to Feutren, with a full-page photo of Feutren with his wife. It referred to his years as a Breton separatist in his native Brittany, before arriving in Ireland after the war.

Wednesday nights statement, signed by board chairman Vincent Sheridan, said the board understood Feutren left France in 1947and was granted refugee status by the Irish government. He studied for an MA in University College Galway (now University of Galway) before teaching in Belfast and subsequently at St Conleths.

The statement said: There was no restriction on his entitlement to live in Ireland, become a citizen and take up employment.

It said other members of the Bezen Perot group also became well established in Irish society.

However, the statement acknowledged: Research undertaken in more recent times has uncovered not only the identities of the members of Bezen Perot [pseudonyms were used by the members] but also the involvement of some of their members in atrocities carried out towards the end of the war.

"The school has always been aware that Mr Feutren was an ardent Breton nationalist but was most shocked and concerned to learn of the research that may have implicated him in the possible carrying out of atrocities. It was only after the death of Mr Feutren that the school became aware of these allegations.

It said the conduct as outlined by Mr Goni in correspondence to the school should not be overlooked or forgotten. The statement continued that the board accepted such conduct has no place in St Conleths College, whether that be in the past, the present or the future.

It added: The board has expressed the schools profound regret for any conduct by Mr Feutren (and any other person employed by the school) which failed to meet the standards of conduct and education which we have espoused since the schools foundation.

One former student, Mark Collins, whose Hungarian grandmother hid from the Nazis in Budapest during the Second World War, recalled earlier this week: Once, when I was aged 13, he told me to stand in front of a class of 40-plus boys and to remove every item of clothing I couldn't name in French.

He saidhe knew the French words for pants, t-shirt and underwear, but everything else had to be removed.

After Feutrens death in 2009, his ashes were returned to Brittany.

In his will, he had made a bequest of a collection of tapes and papers, along with a cash sum of about 300,000, to the National Library of Wales. It sparked controversy in Wales because of his Nazi connections.

In France, a bequest of 50,000 to University of Brittany to help promote the Breton language was rejected because of his background with the Waffen SS.
Catholic bishops have collectively urged Oireachtas members to reject the legalisation of assisted suicide, claiming it is an "abdication of the responsibility of society" to support terminally ill people.

TDs and senators have conducted a series of committee hearings into assisted suicide in recent times, hearing from a range of perspectives.

Following the autumn general meeting of the Irish Catholic Bishops Conference which met this week in Maynooth, the religious leaders called for legislators to "respect the integrity of healthcare as a service to life from conception until natural death".

The bishops said they are conscious that all across Ireland, many families are engaged day by day in accompanying loved ones who are terminally ill.

However, such an "enormously difficult and challenging time" for families "can also be a very privileged time", they claimed.

"Faced with the reality of their own mortality, many people, young and old, discover within themselves hidden reserves of faith, hope, and love, which can often be an inspiration to those who accompany them. In that privileged time, there is an opportunity to express gratitude and to heal wounded relationships," the bishops said in their collective statement.

The legalisation of assisted suicide is "in reality, an abdication of the responsibility of society to support people who are terminally ill and their families, in living the final days and weeks of life as fully and richly as possible", they claimed.

"From our knowledge of what has happened in other jurisdictions, it is also clear to us that the availability of assisted suicide is very quickly extended to include people with all kinds of life-limiting conditions, including intellectual disability, whose continued existence is perceived to be a burden on society," they also claimed.
The Government has said it is treating problem gambling with urgency after new research laid bare the scale of the issue in Ireland.

In the landmark paper, the ESRI said that 3.3% of the population meets the threshold of problem gambling, where they experience multiple negative behaviours, such as borrowing from others, to fund gambling.

This equates to around one in 30 adults, or 130,000 people, who are problem gamblers in Ireland.

A further 279,000 adults show moderate evidence of problem gambling, meaning they suffer several negative behaviours or experiences associated with their gambling.

The ESRI noted that while its estimates of how prevalent problem gambling is are much higher than previous ones, we still may be underestimating the true prevalence of the issue.

Gambling regulator

In its research paper, the ESRI said the evidence it has gathered has serious implications for understanding the role that gambling plays in Irish life as the Government prepares to pass legislation granting sweeping powers to the countrys first gambling regulator.

Although the gambling industry is a large employer, provides entertainment for many consumers, and has strong links to sporting activity, the results presented here imply that a large minority of transactions undertaken by the industry involve customers who have problem gambling or display moderate evidence of problem gambling, it said.

Minister of State James Browne, who is spearheading the new legislation, said the research shows the extent of this very serious addiction.

This is an industry that can cause huge amounts of personal damage to families that can absolutely be destroyed and that needs to be recognised, he told RTE radio.

Our laws are completely outdated. They're not fit for purpose or don't even exist in so many areas.

I remember about 12, 15 years ago there was a lot of concern about a casino maybe setting up in Tipperary. The reality is now every 12-year-old controls the casino in their back pocket. So this is urgent legislation and we're treating it urgently.

Professor Colin OGara, consultant psychiatrist and head of addiction services at St John of God Hospital, said that funding is essential for inpatient treatment in every county.

Its expected that a social fund will be set up by the new gambling regulator to provide much-needed resources for problem gambling initiatives.

We have probably had 13 years plus of accelerated gambling, he said.

A meaningful levy has to contain service provision in every province, inpatient treatment in every province.

And the industry needs to be levied appropriately. Its going to be substantial if were going to seriously address this.

Professor O'Gara also stated that the data shows problem gambling is now a "public health emergency" in Ireland and it is "extremely timely" to have these figures as the gambling regulator prepares to begin its work.
A Green Party minister has rejected the idea that an increase in road deaths is linked to a lack of investment in roads.

Roderic O'Gorman was reacting to a report that Transport Minister Eamon Ryan was warned by Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII) that a failure to properly invest in projects could lead to 77 additional deaths and 381 serious injuries over the next five years.

The briefing note for Mr Ryan, prepared after last year's budget, highlighted the Cork City Northern Transport Project as the main source of additional deaths and injuries.

However, speaking in Dublin's Phoenix Park on Thursday, Mr O'Gorman said there is no question that this Government is not investing in roads.

"Safety on our roads is absolutely paramount in terms of the Green Party's approach and again in terms of the approach of the Department of Transport," he said.

That safety focus is observed in the design of roads, in their utilisation, and in their funding as well. Since this Government has come to office, 5.1bn has been spent on roads.

"As part of that, over 1bn has been spent specifically on resurfacing and safety. This is more than was spent in the previous government."

Roderic O'Gorman said the idea that the Government was ignoring warnings of underfunding did not 'match up' with the expenditure. Picture: Niall Carson/PA Wire

Mr O'Gorman said the idea that the Government was ignoring warnings of underfunding did not "match up" with the expenditure.

OPW Junior Minister Patrick O'Donovan said he is "very satisfied" that roads around Limerick that are being given priority "are getting done". However, he said the N24 Limerick to Waterford road "is a concern".

Junior Transport Minister Jack Chambers said the warning from TII is "stark".

"This Government has set out a zero aspiration when it comes to reducing or minimising casualties and deaths on our roads. We plan to progress that and look for ways like the speed limits review and penalty points reform and other reforms we're trying to advance," he said. "But infrastructure is an important component when it comes to road safety."

The ministers were speaking at the launch of the 99 bus route, which will shuttle passengers from Parkgate St near Heuston Station to the Phoenix Park in Dublin. The route is the first public transport bus to operate within the Phoenix Park.
A 24-year-old Galway man visiting Mallow with cousins after a day at the Cahirmee Horse Fair collapsed from a single stab wound and his last words were recalled at a murder trial: Im after being stabbed, Im after being stabbed, am I going to die?

Defendant, Tyler Jackson (also known by the nickname, Tiggy) of Ballydaheen West, Mallow, Co Cork, denied at the Central Criminal Court, sitting in Cork, the charge of murdering Conor Quinn, 24, at Bridge Street, Mallow, County Cork, on July 12, 2018.

The late Conor Quinns cousin, Luke Quinn, was beside him when he collapsed on Bridge Street moments after sustaining a single stab wound to the chest, and he told Ms Justice Eileen Creedon and the jury of eight men and four women what he recalled of that evening.

Luke Quinn said Conor jumped out of the car at Bridge Street when he saw Tiggy across the street outside Cremins Cycles.

Thats when Tiggy stabbed Conor into the chest. I just saw one blow from the right hand of Tiggy to the chest. Conor fell. He ran across the road. He took off his t-shirt and held it to his chest.

Luke Quinn said:

He said, Im after being stabbed, Im after being stabbed, am I going to die? I held Conor up. He had the T-shirt up to his wound. He fell to the ground It was a very traumatic day, it was more like a movie.

Cross-examining the witness, defence senior counsel Brian McInerney said they seemed to have driven up every highway and byway of Mallow rather than saying that Conor was angry and they should get him back to the house and out of Mallow. Luke Quinn said the plan had been to go home to Killavullen. He said that at no stage did he see his cousin Conor with any knife or weapon.

Lukes brother, Stephen Quinn, confirmed his Garda statement that the deceased had said in the car in relation to Tiggy and others: Im vexed over those bastards.

As for not going home there and then, Stephen Quinn said: We didnt think it would come to anything at the time.

Mr McInerney said: Mr Jackson denied having a weapon. He did not have a knife when he interacted with Conor so it was Conor had the knife. The witness said: That is totally incorrect.

Another relative in the car, Richard Cannon, was cross-examined about Conor saying he was going to catch him and kill him. Mr Cannon said: That was a figure of speech. Id say the same myself. Mr McInerney remarked: Oh is that a common figure of speech in Mallow.

Samantha Quinn, another cousin of the deceased gave evidence of also travelling in the Audi with him and other relatives from the Cahirmee horse fair to Mallow at around 8 p.m. that evening.

In the moment where it is alleged that Mr Jackson stabbed Mr Quinn, the witness said the defendant put his hand towards the deceased mans chest once but she did not see anything in his hand.

She said: He stabbed him. Tiggy stabbed my cousin, Conor, in the chest. Then Conor fell down to the ground. He did not fully fall down. It was like someone who was tripping. He fell forwards. He had sunglasses on his head  they fell on to the ground.

Conor ripped off his t-shirt and put it up against his chest There was an ambulance coming up the street. We all got out of the car. Conor ran towards the ambulance and tried to open the door. He was still holding his chest. He leaned against the wall of those apartments. Then he slowly fell to the ground.

Mr McInerney cross-examined the witness, first confirming that the deceased mans girlfriend was pregnant and very close to giving birth at that time. Mr McInerney asked the witness about the late Conor Quinn that night, and earlier that day. Was he hopping mad and looking to do damage to somebody? She replied: No.

She also said Conor Quinn was not very intoxicated but Mr McInerney said a toxicology report on the deceased showed that he had 181 mgs of alcohol per 100 mls of alcohol, and a lot of substances including cocaine.

She said she did not see the deceased, Conor Quinn, carrying a weapon at any stage. Mr McInerney said one witness described seeing him in the park in Mallow and that he was very angry, he was waving around a weapon.

Mr McInerney also said that another witness heard him say Im going to kill him and saw him pull a black object from his pants and swung it overhead.

Mr McInerney said this witness also heard Conor Quinn say there is no god, Im an atheist. The defence senior counsel reminded Samantha Quinn of her statement to gardai where she said of the deceased: He was mad, roaring at Tiggy". In court she confirmed: Yes. He was mad.

She also confirmed that on one occasion that evening, Conor jumped out of the Audi when it was moving. Mr McInerney asked the witness if she knew that Conor Quinn had been a trained boxer. She replied that she did not know that.

She said she did not see anything in Tyler Jacksons hands when one of his hands went towards her cousins chest but she said his sleeves were half-way up his hands.

Mr McInerney said the accused man was described by another witness in the book of evidence as not having two seconds to react because of the speed of Conor Quinn running at him.

The defence senior counsel suggested that the witness was trying to minimise the behaviour of the deceased that evening. Mr McInerney said: He was in an aggressive, attacking mood that night and most of the day. Ms Quinn replied: Yes, at times.

Mr McInerney said: At no time that evening did Tyler Jackson have a knife or a blade. Nor did he stab Conor Quinn. Samantha Quinn replied: So why did Conor die? Why did he have a lesion in his chest that we could see?

The case continues.
Readers will remember the demonstrations outside Leinster House a couple of weeks ago when one of the great cliches was called into the breach (and not found wanting).

Yes, we had unruly scenes.

In recent months we have seen plenty of such demonstrations, with other cliched descriptions being pressed into service.

The far right are at it; the conspiracy theorists are protesting; the far right-conspiracy theorists are up in arms about this, that, and the other. Immigration and Irishness are great bugbears at the moment, for instance, but soon the carnival will roll on and another target will have to be found, the more unlikely the better.

Such as?

Unlikely though it sounds, it appears that the 15-minute city is now moving into the crosshairs of the permanently annoyed.

Regular readers will be familiar with this concept in urban living  the idea that if everything a person wants is within fifteen minutes of their home, travelling by foot, bike, or public transport, then it would be beneficial on many fronts.

The logic is simple. If it took you a quarter of an hour to get to your place of work, the local shops, the schools your children attend, your health provider, your leisure facilities, and so on, then that would be better for you and better for the environment.

It would reduce our dependence on the car and would improve our health individually and collectively by reducing emissions. That improvement in health and wellbeing would have a knock-on effect in terms of sustainability and improve the quality of life generally in the city.

There would certainly be an improvement in community spirit: surely it would be preferable to have people strolling to the shop, saying hello to each other, rather than zooming past each other in cars and raising everyones blood pressure?

Of course, if you take a step back, thats a description that would fit Cork in past decades. Zones as various and distant as Blackpool and Blackrock, Barrack Street and the Lough, and plenty of other parts, existed in just that way.

In an era before car ownership and suburbanisation spread Cork out to all points of the compass, those areas were nearly self-sufficient independent communities, with the city itself seen almost as a separate entity that was occasionally shared.

(I remember an elderly man telling me many years ago on top of Dublin Hill that he hadnt been to Cork for a few weeks. I knew exactly what he meant.)

As an idea, it has been popularised by Carlos Moreno of the University of Paris, and it has gathered pace as more and more cities around the world realised the benefits that could accrue from adopting the concept and putting it into practice themselves.

Conspiracy-mongers

So where do the conspiracy theorists come in?

Well, earlier this year Moreno started receiving death threats, reported The New York Times.

People said they wished he and his family had been killed by drug lords, told him that sooner or later your punishment will arrive and proposed that he be nailed into a coffin or run over by a cement roller.

Why? Moreno told that outlet his 15-minute city concept had been folded into a pungent stew of outlandish notions: Conspiracy-mongers have built a complete story: climate denialism, covid-19, anti-vax, 5G controlling the brains of citizens, and the 15-minute city for introducing a perimeter for day-to-day life ... This storytelling is totally insane, totally irrational for us, but it makes sense for them.

In this worldview, the 15-minute city is an instrument of government control, a weapon deployed to curtail peoples freedom of movement by keeping them penned into these smaller zones within the greater urban area. Travel restrictions in the pandemic form part of the mythology here, as do traffic cameras and mobile phone towers, but in this crazed theory the key element is the restriction of car speed because the car is seen as some kind of avatar of basic freedom.

Dont give yourself a migraine by trying to puzzle out the logic  there isnt any  and reflect instead on the most obvious retort.

If the 15-minute city is a reversion to the kind of neighbourhoods we had long before the car released people to live in disparate areas, then were those old neighbourhoods also part of a government control scheme?

(Doubtless those committed to the bit would say yes, but no matter.)

For those readers who do not wear a tinfoil hat, the cast list opposing the 15-minute city is a reverse endorsement. As in, if oddity hawkers such as Jordan Petersen, Neil Oliver, and Nigel Farage are against an idea, then its likely to find favour with normal people everywhere.

Tory conference

I raise this farrago of bad-faith cynicism here because even though the good Professor Moreno has described it with considerable understatement as insane, it has entered the political mainstream across the water through the efforts of this months Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and his fellow Tories.

This week they had their party conference, and among the highlights were Transport Minister Mark Harper calling himself proudly pro-car and describing the 15-minute city concept as sinister.

He added: What is sinister, and what we shouldnt tolerate, is the idea that local councils can decide how often you go to the shops, and that they can ration who uses the roads and when, and that they police it all with CCTV.

Hold in your laughter, difficult though that is for several reasons.

For instance, one of the other departments in the government Mr Harper infests has already debunked the 15-minute conspiracy theory. Six months ago. Well, a foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of a simple mind and all that.

On another front, taken to its ultimate logical progression in Ireland, if this theory were true it would mean Cork City Council and other local authorities are deciding how often you go to the shops while simultaneously playing their appointed roles, keeping their populations divided and docile.

Quiet at the back, please.

Those with an eye on the bigger picture will point to the fact that the Tories are circling the plughole when it comes to the next election in Britain. Theyll try anything in sheer desperation.

True enough. But as we have also seen in recent months, there is a willingness to import crackpot theories into this country. Repackaging deranged Tory notions for an Irish audience comes with inbuilt ironies too numerous to list, but here I prefer to warn Cork readers specifically.

You think the 15-minute city model is appropriate to your Leeside quartier because you want quieter and safer streets for children, convenient local services, and fewer cars, but apparently, youve been hoodwinked and misled, taken in by a vast global conspiracy!

Why would a vast global conspiracy use bike lanes in Blackpool and bus corridors in Douglas to keep us in line? Dont ask. Youll only encourage them.
Slovakias president has refused a plan by her countrys caretaker government to send further military aid to Ukraine.

President Zuzana Caputova said it does not have the authority and parties that oppose such support are in talks to form a government following last weeks election.

The presidential office said in a statement on Thursday that the current government of technocrats has only limited powers because it lost a mandatory confidence vote in Parliament on June 15, a month after Ms Caputova swore it in.

The technocrat Cabinet was created with the aim of leading the country to Saturdays early election.

Approving a military aid package by the current outgoing government would create a risky precedent for the change of power after any future elections

Ms Caputova on Monday asked the leader of the winning party in the election to try to form a coalition government.

Populist former prime minister Robert Fico and his leftist Smer, or Direction, party captured 22.9% of the vote on Saturday. It will have 42 seats in the 150-seat Parliament.

Mr Fico has vowed to withdraw Slovakias military support for Ukraine, and his victory could further strain the fragile unity in the European Union and Nato.

Mr Fico needs to find coalition partners to rule with a parliamentary majority and has been negotiating with two other parties. He has been given two weeks.

The presidential office said that Ms Caputova, who has been a staunch supporter of Ukraine and visited Kyiv twice since the start of the Russian invasion, has not changed her view on the necessity of military assistance for Ukraine.

But the statement said that approving a military aid package by the current outgoing government would create a risky precedent for the change of power after any future elections.

It said the president is ready to support military assistance proposed by any government with full powers.

Slovakia has been a major supporter of Ukraine, donating arms including its fleet of Soviet-era MiG-29 fighter jets.

The caretaker government had been planning to send ammunition to Ukraines armed forces and to train Ukrainian soldiers in demining.
A Russian rocket has hit a village cafe and store in eastern Ukraine and killed at least 51 civilians in one of the deadliest attacks in months, according to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

The attack came as he attended a summit of about 50 European leaders in Spain to drum up support from Ukraines allies.

The president denounced the attack in the Kharkiv village of Hroza as a demonstrably brutal Russian crime and a completely deliberate act of terrorism.

Presidential chief of staff Andrii Yermak and Kharkiv governor Oleh Syniehubov said a six-year-old boy was among the dead, and seven other people were wounded. Emergency crews were searching the rubble of damaged buildings.

About 60 people were in the cafe attending a wake after a funeral, said internal affairs minister Ihor Klymenko.

According to preliminary information from Kyiv, the village was struck by an Iskander missile.

Ukraines President Volodymyr Zelensky arrives at the Europe Summit in Granada, Spain (Manu Fernandez/AP/PA)

Ukrainian prosecutors released pictures showing bloodied bodies and emergency workers combing through smouldering debris.

Hroza and other parts of the eastern Kharkiv region were seized by Russia early in the war and recaptured by Ukraine in September 2022. The village is 19 miles west of Kupiansk, where Mr Zelensky had visited on Tuesday to meet troops and inspect equipment supplied by the West.

On Thursday, he was at a summit of the European Political Community in Granada, Spain, where he asked for more western support, saying: Russian terror must be stopped.

Russia needs this and similar terrorist attacks for only one thing: to make its genocidal aggression the new norm for the whole world, he said.

Now we are talking with European leaders, in particular, about strengthening our air defence, strengthening our soldiers, giving our country protection from terror. And we will respond to the terrorists.

The key for us, especially before winter, is to strengthen air defence, and there is already a basis for new agreements with partners.

Last winter, Russia targeted Ukraines energy system and other vital infrastructure in a steady barrage of missile and drone attacks, triggering continuous power outages across the country.

Ukraines power system has shown a high degree of resilience and flexibility, helping alleviate the damage, but there have been concerns that Moscow will again ramp up its strikes on power facilities as winter draws nearer.

Mr Zelenskyy noted the Granada summit will also focus on joint work for global food security and protection of freedom of navigation in the Black Sea, where the Russian military has targeted Ukrainian ports after Moscows withdrawal from a UN-sponsored grain deal designed to ensure safe grain exports from the invaded countrys ports.

The UK Foreign Office cited intelligence suggesting that Russia may lay sea mines in the approach to Ukrainian ports to target civilian shipping and blame it on Ukraine.

Russia almost certainly wants to avoid openly sinking civilian ships, instead falsely laying blame on Ukraine for any attacks against civilian vessels in the Black Sea, it said, adding that the UK was working with Ukraine to help improve the safety of shipping.

Speaking in Granada, Mr Zelenskyy emphasised the need to preserve European unity in the face of Russian disinformation and to remain strong amid what a political storm in the US.

Asked if he was worried that support for Ukraine could falter in US Congress, the Ukrainian president stressed that his visit to Washington last month made him confident of strong backing by the Biden administration and Congress.
BANGKOKThailands prime minister on Wednesday vowed preventive measures after a shooting at a Bangkok shopping mall left two people dead and raised fresh questions about the kingdoms gun control.

Shoppers returned in dribs and drabs as the Siam Paragon mall reopened less than 24 hours after the shootingThailands third high-profile deadly gun attack in four years.

The shooting at one of Bangkoks biggest, most upmarket malls will come as a fresh blow to Thailands efforts to rebuild its vital tourism industry after the pandemic.

Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin joined a minutes silence at the mall before offering the governments condolences to the families of the two female victimsone Chinese and one from Myanmar.

I am confident Siam Paragon and government officials did their best to minimize the casualties and damage, he said.

Let this be the only time this happens. My government insists we will give priority to preventive measures, he added, without giving details.

The victim from Myanmar was named by her countrys foreign ministry as 31-year-old Moe Myint.

Police have charged a 14-year-old suspect with premeditated murder, attempted murder, carrying and firing a gun in a public place and owning an unlicensed firearm.

Police Major General Nakarin Sukontawit said the boy, a student at a US$4,000-a-term private school just meters from Siam Paragon, was undergoing psychiatric tests to see if he would be fit to stand trial.

Investigators said Tuesday the boy had been undergoing treatment for mental illness but had stopped taking his medication and reported hearing voices telling him to shoot people.

UNICEF Thailand deputy representative Severine Leonardi said the incident should accelerate efforts to improve the kingdoms youth mental health services.

Past promises

Samran Nuanma, assistant national police chief, told a news conference on Wednesday that the weapon used in the attack was a blank-firing pistol.

But the barrel was modified for live shooting, Samran said.

We will increase regulations and laws to control the use of firearms.

But past promises of tightening gun laws have not prevented tragedies.

The Siam Paragon shooting came just days before the anniversary of a massacre at a nursery in northern Thailand that left 36 people dead.

And in 2020, a former army officer gunned down 29 people in a rampage at a mall in the northeastern city of Nakhon Ratchasima.

By one estimate, Thailand has 10 million guns in circulationone for every seven citizens, and one of the highest rates of ownership in the region.

Many firearms are smuggled into the country, but Kritsanapong Phutrakul, a former police officer and now academic, said internet sales were becoming a problem.

Only a small number of police officers have the knowledge, capabilities and experience to track the gun market online, he told AFP.

After talks with the PM, National Police Chief Torsak Sukwimol said he had ordered specialist officers to investigate online gun sales.

Tourism impact

Thailand is desperate to rebuild its tourism sector after travel restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic saw visitors dwindle.

China, which sent around 10 million visitors a year to the kingdom before the pandemic, is a crucial market, but numbers are not returning as fast as Thai officials would wish.

This is partly because of fears in China about whether Thailand is safe, and the fact that one of the mall shooting victims was Chinese is unlikely to improve this situation.

Srettha spoke to the Chinese ambassador Tuesday and issued a statement saying the government would implement the highest safety measures for tourists.

At Siam Paragon on Wednesday, AFP reporters saw that security was stepped up in some places, with bags being searched, but not on all entrances to the sprawling mall.

Russian tourist Alexander Samylin, 35, told AFP he was not worried about safety.

Its very safe here in Thailand; this could happen anywhere, he said at the mall.
Myanmar ranked as the worlds second most repressive environment for internet freedom in the world, according to an annual report released on Wednesday by Freedom House. Only China is worse and Iran is third on the list.

Since the coup in February 2021, the junta has consistently targeted online platforms and social media channels by imposing internet shutdowns, blocking access to social media platforms like Facebook, imposing restrictions on virtual private networks (VPNs) that can bypass internet censorship), and conducting online surveillance to control and monitor online activities.

Washington-based Freedom House said Myanmars military has tightened its harsh digital control over the country since the 2021 coup, and arrested people for simply expressing dissent online.

Under military rule since a 2021 coup, the countrys internet users continued to express support for the democratic resistance movement or grief for the victims of the juntas violence, all at great personal risk to themselves, the report said.

Scores of internet users were imprisoned for their online activities during the coverage reports coverage period: June 1, 2022 to May 31, 2023.

Military courts issued multiyear prison sentences and carried out executions in some cases, the report noted. In the most egregious case from the coverage period, the military executed prominent activist Kyaw Min Yu, better known as Ko Jimmy, in July 2022, after arresting him for pro-democracy social media posts, it said.

Ko Jimmy, a former National League for Democracy lawmaker, and two others were executed in July of last year for anti-regime activities. Ko Jimmy was accused of masterminding a campaign of guerrilla warfare against the regime in the countrys biggest city and threatening public tranquility with social media posts criticizing military rule. The regime also said Ko Jimmy was the leader of Operation Moonlight, which carried out hugely successful urban guerrilla attacks.

The army and its informants use Telegram groups to share information on dissidents, allowing the authorities to identify, detain and in some cases forcibly disappear them, it said.

Hip-hop artist Byuhar was among the most recent high-profile victims of the juntas online crackdown. He was sentenced to 20 years in prison in August for posts on Facebook criticizing the juntas handling of power outages.

Freedom House listed Myanmar as not free in its internet freedoms index, scoring only 10 on a 100-point scale. Last year, Myanmar scored 17 and in 2021, it scored 31. China scored nine points.

The junta frequently enforced short-term, localized internet shutdowns to prevent the opposition from organizing or sharing information about atrocities, effectively restricting internet access for millions of users, the report noted.

After the countrys last two foreign-owned telecommunications service providers, Telenor and Ooredoo, sold their Myanmar operations, all providers were left under either direct or indirect military control, enabling mass interception without safeguards, it said.

The report noted that most internet users remained confined to a list of about 1,500 military-approved websites and only those with circumvention tools were able to bypass extensive blocking and reach other internet resources.

The report also said that the militarys broad attempts to make the internet a hostile spacecombined with a faltering economy and attacks on infrastructureresulted in a globally rare decline in internet penetration.

Digital rights activists and advocacy groups have warned that the junta is attempting to build a surveillance state and urged the international community and technology companies to stand with the people of Myanmar and resist the coupboth physical and digital.
Myanmars civilian National Unity Government (NUG) has called for international coordination to facilitate legal action and more aggressive economic sanctions against the military junta in response to its escalation of atrocities against children in resistance strongholds.

NUG spokesperson U Kyaw Zaw pledged at a press conference Wednesday that the organization would take action to stop the juntas targeted attacks on civilians, including children. He was speaking a week after shelling by the junta struck a monastic school in Sagaings Wuntho Township, injuring at least 19 primary students and a teacher.

Most of the students wounded by the shelling were aged 5 to 8, the NUG stated.

It was like a living hell. Covered in blood, children rushed to us, a teacher who witnessed the incident recalled.

The NUG said nearly 500 children have lost their lives while around 120 schools have been destroyed in junta shelling strikes, air strikes and infantry raids since the 2021 military coup.

Educational facilities and children are frequently hit in attacks in resistance-held areas, as the junta, reeling from heavy losses to its ground troops, relies on heavy weapons and air strikes to snuff out resistance forces.

In early September, a school in Karen State was hit in junta air strikes, killing a teacher and three children and wounding another teacher and five children.

Schools and displacement camps in eastern Kayah State are frequently hit by junta bombardments and air strikes, said a teacher at a camp in western Demoso Township.

The Progressive Karenni Peoples Defense Force (PKPF), which monitors junta atrocities, said at least 13 children were killed in Kayah State between February 2021 and June 2023.

Another deadly air strike killed at least 157 people including 30 children when a junta jet fighter dropped two 500-pound bombs on a housewarming ceremony for the NUGs Public Administrative Team in Pazigyi Village in Sagaings Kantbalu Township on April 11.

Last year, a regime air strike and ground attack killed seven children, with the youngest aged 7, in Let Yet Kone village, Sagaing Region.

Sagaing Region has witnessed the highest number of child deaths since the 2021 coup, according to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, which monitors regime atrocities.
Myanmar junta energy minister, former major-general Ko Ko Lwin, is touting for investment at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO)s first energy forum, being held in Kazakhstan from October 3-6.

The SCO was established in 2001 by the juntas two major allies, China and Russia.

The junta minister has stressed that Myanmar needs investment from partner countries to meet its power requirements after global giants like Total, Chevron, and Woodside Energy withdrew from the country and investments dried up following the 2021 coup.

Myanmar has been suffering rolling blackouts amid an energy shortage since 2022.

The minister has expressed interest in foreign collaborations, particularly in technology and investment for electricity generation in Myanmar, according to junta media.

In the last week of September, he hosted Russia-Myanmar Association for Friendship and Cooperation chief Anatoly Bulochnikov in Naypyitaw for talks on potential cooperation in the oil and gas sector.

The two discussed technical cooperation for inland and offshore petroleum and gas exploration, construction of oil and gas pipelines, and opportunities for Russian companies to cooperate in petroleum refining and supplying fuel in Myanmar, according to junta media.

Myanmar was granted SCO dialogue partner status in May this year. The SCO is dominated by China, Russia and India.

Ko Ko Lwin paid trips to Kazakhstans coal belt of Karaganda, the fertilizer producer KazPhosphate, and state-owned oil and gas company KazMunayGas during his visit to the former Soviet republic.

The regime is also in talks with the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) over economic cooperation. Two of the regimes key arms suppliers, Russia and Belarus, are members of the EAEU along with Kazakhstan.

Last month, Myanmars military regime opened a Consulate General in Minsk. The Belarussian capital also hosted the juntas foreign minister for talks on increasing trade and economic cooperation.

Myanmars economy is based on agriculture, and the regime is interested in buying fertilizer from Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan, all key agrichemical manufacturers.

Ko Ko Lwin told the energy forum that the regime was ready to establish friendly ties with SCO member countries and pay special attention to their interests.
Around 3,000 civilians have fled their homes in Salingyi Township, Sagaing Region after the junta conducted an airstrike to clear the path for a military convoy on Wednesday, according to locals.

The military convoy of six vehicles and 13 trucks left Salingyi on Wednesday. An Mi-35 helicopter gunship then strafed the area between Bike Thayat and Lae Naguk villages for an hour before the convoy passed, said A Nya Pyitinehtaung, a local aid group.

The aerial assault failed to deter the Salingyi Special Task Force, which attacked the convoy with mines and drone bombs in the same area on Wednesday afternoon. The resistance group said regime troops may have suffered casualties in the attack.

The junta convoy was transporting 300 troops and rations bound for Pale Township in southern Sagaing. Thousands of civilians from around 10 villages fled their homes as soldiers in the passing convoy opened fire, according to A Nya Pyitinehtaung.

The convoy passed through Lae Nguk village on Thursday morning but we still dont know the casualties from the airstrike yet. The villagers are just watching the situation, a spokesperson for the group told The Irrawaddy.

The Salingyi Township Peoples Administration has warned residents not to use the Pathein-Monywa, Salingyi- Kyar Tet, and Salingyi- Lae Naguk roads except for medical emergencies. It also warned locals to stay alert to security threats.

Civilians in Salingyi Township have endured two years of a junta terror campaign featuring torture, killings, arson and arrests following the 2021 coup.

Resistance forces in the township have hit back by attacking junta troops and their bases. In June, a combined resistance force raided the Nyaung Pin Gyi village outpost under the nose of the regimes Northwestern Command across the Chindwin River in Monya town.

Regime troops retaliated by torching houses in Nyaung Pin Gyi and four neighboring villages.

Salingyi residents have also been fleeing frequent raids by regime troops based at Chinese-run mines in the township. Troops have killed at least 31 civilians living around the Letpadaung copper mine and torched around 2,000 houses since the coup, according to the local strike committee.
The Peace Research Institute Oslo (PRIO) has nominated U Kyaw Moe Tun, Myanmars United Nations ambassador, and the National Unity Consultative Council (NUCC) for the 2023 Nobel Peace Prize.

The Norwegian peace research group praised the ambassador and political institution for working to root out Myanmars dictatorship and build a federal democracy.

The prize winners will be announced by the Norwegian Nobel Committee on Friday.

U Kyaw Moe Tun swiftly denounced the February 2021 coup, calling on UN member states not to recognize or legitimize the regime.

Since then he has represented the civilian National Unity Government (NUG) and Myanmars people in the UN.

The Washington Post said U Kyaw Mon Tune has led efforts to keep Myanmar on the international agenda while the militarys escalating violence has not been a top global priority.

The newspaper piece on Nobel peace contenders said U Kyaw Mon Tune had survived the juntas multiple attempts to unseat him and become one of the most effective representatives for the resistance, urging world leaders to impose meaningful sanctions on the regime and provide civilian aid.

In the US, U Kyaw Moe Tun also faced attempts on his life when two men were tasked by a Thai arms dealer who was supplying the regime.

The NUCC is an advisory body to the NUG. It was formed by elected parliamentarians, some of Myanmars established ethnic armed organizations, ethnic minority political parties and civil society organizations.

The PRIO said the NUCC aims to end all forms of dictatorship and to build a federal democratic union that guarantees democracy, national equality and self-determination.

For their efforts to inclusively work for peace and democracy, and to end the violence by the security forces, the ambassador U Kyaw Moe Tun and NUCC would be worthy recipients of the 2023 Nobel Peace Prize, the PRIO said.

The regime is committing atrocities, including arbitrary and extrajudicial killing of civilians, using civilians as human shields, looting and burning villages, conducting artillery and airstrikes on civilian areas and acts of sexual violence.

The UN has accused the regime of committing crimes against humanity and war crimes.

The Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, which monitors deaths and arrests under the junta, reported on Wednesday that the regime had killed 4,141 people and 25,237 had been detained.

Myanmars civil disobedience movement, which includes several thousand government staff, police and soldiers who refuse to work for the regime, was nominated for the 2022 peace prize.
As part of a smear campaign against Myanmars anti-regime resistance movement, an ousted member of the former ruling party, the leader of an ethnic Rakhine party and a pro-junta journalist told Japanese lawmakers that people were slaughtered by resistance forces, including the countrys shadow government.

Former National League for Democracy (NLD) member Daw Sandar Min, chairman of the Arakan Front Party Dr. Aye Maung, and pro-junta Neo Politics News (NP News) founder Kyaw Myo Min went to Japan for about a week starting around Sept. 17.

The trio met with two Japanese opposition members of parliament in Tokyo on Sept. 19 and discussed Myanmar issues with them.

During their meeting with the Japanese legislators, they blamed pro-democracy forces for the instability in Myanmar and promoted the junta-proposed election as a way out of the countrys crisis, according to Myanmar democracy activists and a journalist in Japan.

They lobbied Japanese lawmakers to urge the Japanese government to support the poll. They also claimed that the National Unity Government [NUG], the Committee Representing Pyidaungsu Hluttaw, and the Peoples Defense Force groups [PDFs] are committing violence in Myanmar. They asked Japanese lawmakers to take action against those supporting [the revolution against the Myanmar military regime] from abroad, saying such support amounts to supporting terrorism, said Ko Thant, a pro-democracy activist based in Japan.

The three also gave Japanese lawmakers propaganda flyers created by the junta listing purported crimes allegedly committed by PDFs. One flyer claims deposed and jailed civilian leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi neither recognizes nor supports the NUG or the PDFs.

Japanese journalist Shigefumi Kitagawa, who is in contact with the two Japanese lawmakers, told The Irrawaddy that Daw Sandar Min argued during the meeting that the NUG and PDF are slaughtering the people and a general election should be held, citing the two Japanese MPs.

Dr. Aye Maung gave the lawmakers a similar story and said the current turmoil in Rakhine State is the fault of the democratic factions, Kitagawa said.

Kyaw Myo Min presented a junta propaganda flyer titled Terrorist acts, Causalities, Destructive and Disruptive Activities and Ammunition Seized and claimed, This is proof that the PDF is slaughtering the people, according to the Japanese journalist.

Kitagawa said the two Japanese lawmakers, who have a strong interest in Myanmar issues and are in contact with the NUG office in Japan, rejected the trios allegations, saying their claims were untrue.

This appears to be a lobbying campaign targeting Japanese opposition members who are close to Myanmar pro-democracy groups. It seems that they are communicating with [Myanmars] military government, he said.

The journalist added that the three were accompanied by Chairman Yuki Takaichi and Vice Chairman Than Naing of the Japan-Myanmar Exchange Promotion Association, who arranged the meeting.

The Irrawaddy was unable to obtain comment from Daw Sandar Min or Dr. Aye Maung.

The pro-junta journal Trend this week published an interview with Daw Sandar Min and Dr. Aye Maung about their visit to Japan. In the interview, Dr. Aye Maung claimed the meeting was held to discuss humanitarian assistance for victims of Cyclone Mocha, which hit western Myanmar in May, with Rakhine State being the worst-affected area. On Myanmar politics, the weekly reported him as saying that Constitutionally, an election is an exit, signaling his support for the juntas planned election.

Daw Sandar Min claimed in the interview that she used the meeting to explain the real situation in Myanmar to the Japanese lawmakers.

The former member of the NLD, who was expelled from the party in March for collaborating with the junta, said she also provided information on the current situation of the party and claimed the party doesnt dare to open its offices because of death threats from the PDF.

Many offices of the NLD, including its central headquarters, have been variously raided, demolished, seized and burned down by junta troops since the coup. In addition, the junta has killed 97 members of the party and arrested and imprisoned 1,769, including its chairwoman Daw Aung San Suu Kyi.

In an announcement issued on Sept. 27 to mark the 35th anniversary of its founding, the party said it opposed and would not recognize the results of the sham election planned by the junta, which it said wields state power illegally.

Dr. Aye Maung was elected to the national legislature in the 2010 general election. He was charged with high treason by the Myanmar military in 2018 and given a long prison sentence.

He was released under an amnesty shortly after the Myanmar military seized power in a coup from the NLD government in February 2021. He has re-registered his party with the junta-appointed election body to participate in the poll proposed by the junta.

Kyaw Myo Min worked as a reporter at Pyi Myanmar Journal, and later founded Akon Thi media. Following the coup, he established NP News, which portrays the NUG and PDFs as terrorists. In business cards he gave to Japanese MPs during his trip, he describes himself as a director of Mythical Myanmar Co Ltd.
Mauritanias regulator has once again threatened to issue fines to the countrys three main operators over poor quality of service (Qos).

Regulator ARE (Autorite de Regulation) conducted network monitoring between 1st August and 7th September and reported failings by all three main operators.

Chinguitels voice coverage fell short in 22 cities and towns, while its 3G data was inadequate in 17 cities and its 4G data in nine cities. Mattel meanwhile failed to provide good voice service in 29 cities and towns, while its 3G data service was poor in 16 cities and its 4G service poor in 11 cities. The worst offender was Moov Mauritel, which delivered poor voice QoS in 33 cities and towns, 20 cities for 3G data, and 13 cities for 4G data.

ARE has given the operators 30 days to bring their QoS into line with their commitments in the affected areas, and threatened to fine them if they fail to do so. CommsUpdate cited a local press report as claiming that these could be the largest fines that the regulator has ever issued.
At the 37th Annual Fallen Fire Fighter Memorial service recently held in Colorado Springs, CO, the names of 574 firefighters who gave their lives in the line of duty were added to the International Fire Fighters Wall of Honor.

Among those honored on September 16 in the shadow of Pikes Peak was Key Biscaynes own Ron Erbel. His wife, Victoria Jackson, was in attendance to honor his service and celebrate his life.

There were an estimated 8,000 at the Wall of Honor service, marking one of the largest ceremonies in the events history. The memorial was doubled up in honoring those who had died last year and those lost in 2019 and 2020, who were previously remembered at an online ceremony due to the pandemic.

After the Village was incorporated, Erbel was among the first firefighters to join the Key Biscayne volunteer firefighters. At the time, there was no actual fire department, so he initiated one and became the Chief of the Key Biscayne Volunteer Fire Rescue Department.

Ron dedicated over 40 years to the Village of Key Biscayne as a firefighter and paramedic, said Jackson. Yes, Im sad after the ceremony, but Im also very proud.

As part of Erbels duties with the fire department, he was on search and rescue teams that go out after hurricanes or other disasters. They are the first to show up after a storm has blown through or to arrive after a devastating fire. They are the ones who dig through piles of rubble when buildings come crashing down.

On September 11, 2001, during one of our nations worst disasters, Erbel joined four other firefighters from Key Biscayne and drove to New York to assist in the rescue efforts at the World Trade Center site. They worked the pile for over a week, along with firefighters from across the country.

Unfortunately, Erbel paid the ultimate sacrifice by doing this job. On April 9, 2022, he lost his battle with multiple cancers that occurred from being in New York in 2001.

In the last days of his life, his wife asked him if, after knowing all we know now and after facing all they were facing, he would still have gone to help after 9/11.

Yes, I am fortunate to feel I never worked a day in my life, and I am so happy I was able to help in some way, replied Erbel.

Jackson said, It was amazing to see so many people in one place, all honoring fallen firefighters. My heart is so full knowing Rons name is etched on that wall, with so many other heroes. An important promise has been kept, to never forget.

Key Biscayne Fire Department Chief Eric Lang and Lieutenant Daniel Canto also made the trip to Colorado.

The annual ceremony remains an uplifting service for families, friends, and loved ones, celebrating the lives, heroism, and accomplishments of our unions bravest of the brave.
Thursday, Oct 5th, 2023 (8:25 am) - Score 936

The UK communications and media regulator, Ofcom, has today formally referred the public cloud infrastructure services market, which is dominated by Amazon (AWS) and Microsoft (Azure), to the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) for further investigation after uncovering features that could limit competition.

The regulators decision follows the completion of its market study into cloud services, which was launched in October 2022 to examine the causes of why particular markets may not be working well in the interests of consumers  using Ofcoms powers as a competition authority under the Enterprise Act 2002.

NOTE: Microsoft and Microsoft and Amazon , combined, hold about 70-80% of the market, while Google comes in third on 5-10%. The firms are known as hyperscalers and the vast majority of cloud customers use their services in some form.

The study concluded that high fees for transferring data out, committed spend discounts and technical restrictions are making it difficult for business customers to switch cloud provider or use multiple providers. Ofcom fears that, if left unchecked, competition could deteriorate in a critical digital market for the UK economy.

The regulators decision wont come as much of a surprise because their interim findings, which were published in April 2023 (here), warned that such an outcome was now likely. The study itself focused on cloud infrastructure services, which are built on physical servers and virtual machines hosted in data centres around the world.

Cloud infrastructure provides the foundation for how software applications are developed and run. This consists of products called infrastructure as a service (IaaS) which includes storage, computing and networking, and platform as a service (PaaS), which includes the software tools needed to build and run applications. The market for cloud infrastructure in the UK was worth 7.0bn to 7.5bn in 2022.

Ofcoms Position Our study has found that competition between cloud providers is mainly focused on attracting new customers when they first move into the cloud. We see evidence of some positive outcomes for customers, including product innovation, discounts and a wide choice of software services from ISVs. However, our view is that competition is being limited by market features that make it more difficult for customers to switch and use multiple suppliers (known as multi-cloud). The features we are most concerned about are:  egress fees are the charges that customers pay to transfer their data out of a cloud. The cost of transferring data between rival providers can discourage customers from using more than one cloud provider and in some cases make switching more costly.  technical barriers mean that customers need to put additional effort into reconfiguring their data and applications to work on different clouds. A lack of interoperability and portability can restrict the ability of customers to switch and multi-cloud.  committed spend discounts can benefit customers by reducing their costs, but the way these discounts are structured can incentivise customers to use a single cloud provider for all or most of their cloud needs. This can make it less attractive to use rival providers as part of a multi-cloud strategy. As a result, we are concerned that a material number of customers, especially those with more complex requirements, may face significant barriers to switching and multi-cloud. We expect this will be true of an increasing number of customers as the market matures. Some customers have told us they are already concerned about being locked in to their current provider. Limits on the ability of customers to credibly threaten to switch away can reduce the competitive pressure on the market leaders, giving them a degree of market power. This creates the risk of harm for cloud customers, either by paying higher prices than would have been the case or being denied access to innovative products, which in turn can lead to negative impacts for UK consumers. High levels of profitability for the market leaders AWS and Microsoft and a gradual increase in market concentration are consistent with limits to the overall level of competition. Looking ahead, if customers have difficulty switching and using multiple providers, it could make it harder for competitors to gain scale and challenge AWS and Microsoft effectively for the business of new and existing customers. There could be long lasting impacts if this leads the market to become more concentrated, with barriers to switching and multi-cloud allowing the market leaders to entrench their positions and avoid competing vigorously. This could have implications for ISVs, especially where they become more dependent on the market leaders for access to customers.

The CMA could, if it were to find fault with the market, impose a broad range of remedies, including market-opening measures, structural measures, or recommendations to Government or other regulatory bodies to change policy, legislation, or regulatory frameworks. Ofcom has already identified some potential interventions, but it will be the job of the CMA to assess which ones to take or, indeed, if any are needed at all.

Potential Remedies Egress fees a) Equalise egress fees with other charges (e.g. no higher than data transfer costs within a single providers cloud).

b) Place a price control that restricts egress fees to at cost charges.

c) Prevent providers from charging any egress fees. Interoperability and portability a) Require cloud providers to publish more comprehensive documentation on the interoperability of their cloud infrastructure services. This would include requiring cloud providers, who adopt or mimic third party open-source software, to explain the compatibility of their cloud infrastructure services with such software.

b) Require cloud providers to unbundle their own first-party services into their respective elements, with a view to allowing third-party services to interoperate with these individual elements.

c) Require cloud providers to ensure PaaS services from another cloud provider or ISV can interoperate with underlying first-party IaaS services in the same way as the first-party PaaS services. Committed spend discounts a) Prohibit or restrict loyalty-inducing fee structures which risk distorting competition.

We should point out that the regulators views are largely aligned to those of the EUs new Data Act, which currently aims to introduce requirements relating to egress fees and interoperability.

Fergal Farragher, Ofcoms Director responsible for the Market Study, said: The cloud is the foundation of our digital economy and has transformed the way companies run and grow their businesses. From TV production and telecoms networks to AI innovations  all of these things rely on remote computer power that goes unseen. Some UK businesses have told us theyre concerned about it being too difficult to switch or mix and match cloud provider, and its not clear that competition is working well. So, were referring the market to the CMA for further scrutiny, to make sure business customers continue to benefit from cloud services.

Adrian Bradley, Head of Cloud Transformation at KPMG UK, said: The entire UK cloud market is worth far more to our economy than the 15bn we spend on cloud service providers. It underpins the leading edge of technology for many enterprises in both public and private sectors. Cloud is the main route to access capabilities like generative AI or high-quality analytics capabilities and its quick and scalable to use, so choice is critical. The fact that public cloud runs as a utility model, that lets users pay by the hour, has opened cost-effective access to technology capabilities which have fuelled the digital revolution. There are commercial trade-offs to secure access to these capabilities, just as there are with non-public cloud alternatives to the hyperscalers, such as identifying the right combinations of cloud and non-cloud consumption to deliver best value for any given enterprise. Whatever the outcome of the CMA inquiry, organisations need to better understand and manage the costs of cloud to secure value from their investments.

Major competition investigations like this have a habit of taking quite a long time to run their course, so were unlikely to learn the provisional outcome of the CMAs investigation until a bit later next year.

UPDATE 1:03pm

Weve had a response from Amazon.

An AWS spokesperson said: We disagree with Ofcoms findings and believe they are based on a fundamental misconception of how the IT sector functions, and the services and discounts on offer. Only a small percentage of IT spend is in the cloud, and customers can meet their IT needs from any combination of on-premises hardware and software, managed or co-location services, and cloud services. AWS designs cloud services to give customers the freedom to choose technology that best suits their needs. UK companies, and the overall economy, benefit from robust competition among IT providers, and the cloud has made switching between providers easier than ever. Any unwarranted intervention could lead to unintended harm to IT customers and competition. AWS will work constructively with the CMA.

In terms of egress fees, AWS said they do not charge separate fees for switching data to another IT provider. Customers make hundreds of millions of data transfers each day in the ordinary course of business, and over 90% of our customers pay nothing for data transfer because we provide them with 100 gigabytes per month for free.
Thursday, Oct 5th, 2023 (12:03 am) - Score 1,296

The Government has this morning announced that the UK is to join the Global Coalition on Telecommunications (GCOT) and commit 70m to the Future Telecoms UKRI Technology Missions Fund (TMF) Programme. Both of which are intended to help research and develop the next generation of telecoms, broadband and 6G networks etc.

The GCOT is an informal multilateral alliance  now comprising the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, Japan, and the USA. The coalition holds the shared objective of facilitating collaborative communication and joint activities in the realm of telecommunications policy, while also exploring how to enhance the resilience of communication networks (e.g. protecting against cyberattacks), researching new connection technologies and fostering development of those solutions.

NOTE: A joint statement has also been released by the members of the GCOT ( A joint statement has also been released by the members of the GCOT ( here ).

At the same time the government has also pledged to invest an initial 70 million to develop the next generation of telecommunications technologies via the Future Telecoms Technology Missions Fund (TMF) Programme.

Supported by businesses and University-led Future Telecoms Research Hubs to help facilitate early-stage research, the TMF aims to help the UK become a leader in 6G (mobile broadband) technology and beyond  including new technologies to better connect space-based (satellite) and terrestrial networks, step-changes in capacity/speeds in data transfer and improving energy efficiency of our networks through cloudification.

Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Tech, Michelle Donelan, said: This historic partnership reflects our shared commitment to harnessing the power of telecommunications for the benefit of our nations and the world at large. Telecommunications networks are the lifeline of global economies, and safeguarding their resilience and security in an evolving, interconnected world is a top priority for our governments. By joining forces, the UK and our partners are well-positioned to take the lead in broadening supply chains, nurturing industry knowledge, and bolstering security to address emerging challenges.

Dr Kedar Pandya, Executive Director of Cross-Council Programmes at UKRI, said: This 70 million investment will, via the Future Telecoms UKRI Technology Missions Fund (TMF) Programme, form part of the UKs contribution to international cooperation in this field and provide tangible benefits to the population and economy. The UKRI Technology Missions funding is designed to exploit the UKs global leadership in transformative technologies to help solve specific problems, while also helping to lay the foundations for a longer-term leading position. In addition, UKRI is investing 250 million through the UKRI Technology Missions Fund to enable new and existing capabilities and capacity in artificial intelligence, quantum technologies and engineering biology in the years 2023-2025 and beyond.

In addition to the proposed TMF hubs, Innovate UK will also fund application-focused challenges to accelerate market-ready solutions and foster collaboration in the UKs telecoms sector. International cooperation across both of these areas, including through the new GCOT partnership, may well help the UK to shape global telecoms technologies and safeguard the countrys security interests.

Innovate UK competitions under the Future Telecoms Technology Mission Fund are launching from 6th October 2023  here.
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The regulators of Senegal and Mauritania have both issued warnings to their respective nations operators over subpar Quality of Service (QoS).

Senegals ARTP (Regulation Authority for Telecoms and Post) formalised its response after discovering failings which negatively impact the electronic communications sector and cause enormous disruption to consumers during its recent network quality assessment.

The countrys three major operators Expresso, Free and Orange have been granted 30 days to bring their networks up to standard, in accordance with Article 177 of Senegals Code of Electronic Communications. If their voice and data services do not meet requirements after this time, they could be hit with sanctions.

In Mauritania meanwhile, the punishments were more severe due to the severity of the offence. The ARE (Autorite de Regulation) has handed out fines of MRU95 million (USD2.5 million) to the countrys operators after they let their QoS levels slip.

Chinguitel received the smallest fine of MRU6 million, but rival operators Mattel and Mauritel were issued charges of MRU27.3 million and MRU62 million respectively.

These penalties mark the second time this year that the regulator has issued fines over QoS, having previously handed over a total of MRU143.7 million.
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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.
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Ann Arbor (Informed Comment)  Israeli journalist Nir Hasson at Haaretz put a spotlight on the disturbing practice of some Ultra-Orthodox Israelis of eastern European heritage of spitting on Christians in Jerusalem. The incident concerned what appeared to be Filipino pilgrims carrying a cross, but the people who suffer most from such forms of aggression are the 15,000 Palestinian Christians living in Palestinian East Jerusalem.

Haaretz reports that a former spokesman for Catholic Ordinaries of the Holy Land, Wadie Abu Nassar, is saying that Pope Francis is furious over the attacks.

The Israeli newspaper Arab 48 notes that Israeli authorities subsequently arrested five Ultra-Orthodox caught spitting toward Christians or the doors of Christian churches in Jerusalem. Jerusalem police chief Kobi Shabtai vowed to crack down on any demonstration of bigotry. The Palestinian-Israeli journalists at Arab 48 called the spitting an act of racism. Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, who allowed extremists and racists into his cabinet, condemned the spitting, insisting that Israel welcomed pilgrims of all religions.

In another article, Arab 48 wrote, Activists circulated statements issued by the Israeli Minister of National Security, the extremist Itamar Ben Gvir, in which he said, There is an ancient Jewish custom, to spit when you pass near a monastery or a priest. You can agree with that or not, but why would we turn spitting on Christians into a crime? He did however say that the practice deserved every condemnation and called on people to stop slandering Israel in this way.

The article also quoted Elisha Yered, a militant Israeli squatter who is under house arrest on suspicion of murdering a Palestinian last August, as saying, A good time to point out that spitting near priests or churches is an ancient Jewish custom . . . Perhaps under the influence of Western culture we have forgotten to some extent what Christianity is, but I believe that the millions of Jews who, while in exile, suffered through the Crusades, the tortures of the Inquisition, blood libel and mass violence will never forget. Yered is the former spokesman for a member of the Israeli parliament who belongs to Ben-Gvirs fascist Jewish Power party.

Al Jazeera English: Occupied East Jerusalem: Outrage over ultra-Orthodox Jews spitting at Christians

Arab 48 reported that the World Council of Churches in Jerusalem condemned the persecution of Christians by extremist Israeli groups and the failure of the Israeli security forces to do anything about it.

Coordinator for the WCC Jerusalem Bureau, Youssef Daher, told the Anadolu Agency, it said, that both individual Christians and Christianity as a religion face persecution in Israel, and that some government ministers actively encourage it, while Israeli police ignore it.

He said, the issue is related to the Israeli government and the police and authorities neglect of the issue, because if the police had done their role, church property would not have been attacked and Christians would not have been attacked by spitting. He said that the video of the spitting attacks last Monday showed Israeli police and security personnel present at the scene, but that they failed to intervene. He added, There is a Jewish Israeli persecution, encouraged either by police negligence or by statements made by Israeli cabinet ministers.

He said that the churches submitted many complaints to the Israeli police in recent months, supported by videotapes, but to no avail. He said, We recorded about 12-13 attacks on church property. As for spitting, it continues and increases as we watch it repeat. There are one or two incidents weekly. Daher alleged that what is happening is hatred of Christianity, and added, In the past months, churches issued about 12 statements, the last two of which called for international protection, but no one took action.

Hasson went on to interview experts in Jewish history who explained that a small minority of Ashkenazi Jews in Eastern Europe, who were a persecuted minority, would spit toward churches when passing them at night and there was no one around. Hassons interviewees point out that it is a very different thing demonstratively to spit in broad daylight at Christian minorities living under Israeli rule.

The contemporary Ultra-Orthodox or Haredim who engage in this practice base it on the ruling, endorsed by Maimonides, that Christianity is a form of idolatry and that Jewish believers should underline this abomination with expressions of contempt. Some hold that Jewish law decrees death for idolatry.
( Human Rights Watch )  The Israeli government, motivated by the plum prize of joining a coveted U.S. visa waiver program and desperate for a public relations win in light of mass protests, launched a pilot program in July. The program makes it easier for Palestinians holding U.S. citizenship to travel in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territory, thus giving a tiny number of Palestinians a small fraction of their right to freedom of movement.

As an Israeli and American Jew married to a Palestinian refugee and living in the occupied West Bank, I responded to this strange development with a mix of joy and outrage.

First, the joy. Three weeks ago, we loaded our car with towels and toys for a day at the beach in Jaffa. To get there, we had to pass a checkpoint two miles inside the West Bank, at a gate in the barrier that keeps Palestinians out of Israel and the parts of the West Bank restricted to Israelis.

I dropped my husband off near a break in the dusty roadside fence that leads to the Palestinian crossing point and drove through the Israeli side of the checkpoint with our two children. The security guard racially profiled me with a smiley good morning, designed to check my Hebrew accent, and waved us through. Amazingly, they let my husband cross on foot  thanks to his newly acquired U.S. passport.

Article continues after bonus IC video

Palestinian Americans treated equally in Israel visa waiver program?

For most of the last 11 years, we have lived together in the occupied West Bank. In that time, my husband has been allowed to enter Israel on only a few occasions, even though his parents were born on Israels southern coast and fled as children in 1948 as the Israeli army neared their village. His parents have not been allowed to return home, as part of an Israeli policy to maintain Jewish demographic superiority.

My husband grew up in a refugee camp in Gaza, where his family still lives. He managed to move to the West Bank, but has not been allowed to join me in Israel  not even when our newborn daughter was hospitalized for a month in Tel Aviv. Nor has he been allowed to travel between Gaza and the West Bank, due to severe restrictions. Our children have never met their grandmother, who lives 60 miles away.

As part of the visa waiver deal, the Israeli government has said it will allow US citizens to visit first-degree relatives in Gaza once a year. As a result, my husband might be allowed to see his elderly mother for the first time in 11 years.

Now, the outrage I feel. Despite concessions to the relatively few Palestinians who hold U.S. citizenship, another 5 million Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank are still denied their right to freedom of movement throughout the occupied Palestinian territory. And 5.9 million registered Palestinian refugees and their descendants, who live outside the areas where they or their families lived until 1948, are still denied their right to return to what is now Israel. Giving visas to a tiny number of Palestinian refugees is outrageous, because they should not be treated as tourists in their own land.

Successive Israeli governments have pursued the U.S. visa waiver, but it was out of reach until now for two main reasons. First, U.S. law requires nationals of countries in the program to have a visa rejection rate of no more than 3 percent, but the U.S. has on average denied 6 percent of Israeli applications. The denial rate dropped because of reduced travel during the pandemic, creating a unique eligibility window.

Second, the visa waiver program requires member countries to admit U.S. nationals without discrimination. But the Israeli authorities impose severe movement restrictions on Palestinians in the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip, including Palestinian Americans, while permitting visitor travel there for other U.S. nationals.

They have also routinely discriminated against U.S. citizens of Arab or Muslim origin seeking entry to Israel or Israeli-occupied West Bank and Gaza and those who are outspoken about Palestinian human rights. Anticipating U.S. approval for the visa waiver as soon as next week, the Israeli government is rolling back a small part of those restrictions. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reportedly thanked President Joe Biden for the coveted gesture in their meeting Wednesday in New York, as opponents of Netanyahus policies demonstrated outside their hotel.

That Israels current far-right government is willing to bend on heretofore intransigent policies in return for visa-free travel for Israeli citizens shows the power of U.S. leverage over the conduct of Israeli authorities. So I feel hope, too.

Imagine what positive changes could be possible if the U.S. government were to heed calls to suspend its $3.8 billion annual military support to Israel, so long as the Israeli authorities continue discriminatory policies and practices that human rights organizations, legal experts and even some mainstream Israeli scholars have concluded amount to apartheid.

The U.S. has all this leverage. It should use that leverage to pressure Israeli authorities to respect the right of Palestinians like my childrens grandmother to travel freely between Gaza and the West Bank, and to enter Israel not as tourists, but as refugees returning home.

Via Human Rights Watch
Kingston, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - October 5, 2023) - Delta Resources Limited (TSXV: DLTA) (OTCBB: DTARF) (FSE: 6GO1) ("Delta" or "the Company") is pleased to provide additional assay results from its second phase of drilling announced on June 6, 2023 at the Delta-1 Gold project located 50 km west of Thunder Bay, Ontario.

Results of five (5) additional drill holes are provided in Table 1 below, following the release of twenty-three (23) drill holes on September 12, 2023.

TABLE 1: DRILL INTERCEPTS REPORTED OCTOBER 5, 2023 DRILL HOLE NO UTM Coordinates Zone 16 Azimuth Incl. Length (m) ZONE FROM (m) TO (m) Au Grade (g/t) CORE LENGTH (m) Easting Northing D1-23-62 290602 5385206 330 -40 300  26.70 44.00 0.95 17.30 incl. North 71.00 83.00 0.55 12.00 incl. North 106.50 133.00 0.62 26.50 D1-23-63 290253 5385550 180 -60 600 Intersected below ore shoot: NSR D1-23-64 290409 5385375 180 -45 300 ? 61.50 107.70 0.47 46.20  129.50 168.00 1.37 38.50 incl.  143.00 151.60 4.82 8.60 D1-23-65 290534 5385339 180 -45 351  84.00 119.50 1.39 35.50 incl.  84.00 109.00 1.81 25.00 D1-23-66 290360 5385531 153 -45 611.5 Intersected below ore shoot: NSR =Alpha, =Beta, =Gamma

So far in 2023, Delta has completed 60 drill holes (D1-23-26 to D1-23-86) for a total of 19,620 metres. Assay results for twenty (20) drill holes are still pending.

Interpretation of Results:

Drill holes D1-23-64 and D1-23-65 were drilled in gaps within the previously interpreted grade shells shown at Figure 2. Results show continuity within the mineralized zone and the higher grades will help to increase the average grade of the overall gold zone.

Drill holes D1-23-63 and D1-23-66 were drilled, searching for the depth extension of the gold mineralized zone but pierced below the newly interpreted high-grade ore shoots (see Figure 2).

Andre Tessier, President and CEO, commented: "The Eureka Gold Zone continues to show good continuity and good gold grades. As drilling continues, our exploration team is gaining valuable knowledge about the controls on the gold mineralization. The size and complex overprinting relationships of this altered and mineralized corridor are indicative of a long-lived mineralizing system with all the ingredients for a large gold deposit. We look forward to applying our new-found knowledge at Eureka to the rest of the alteration corridor."

Delta has approximately $7.5 Million Dollars in cash and its Fall/Winter 2023 and Spring 2024 Exploration programs are fully funded.

Geological Discussion

The Delta-1 project is located in the Shebandowan Greenstone Belt and covers a 19 km strike extent of the Shebandowan Structural Zone. Gold mineralization at Eureka, occurs within a corridor of highly altered (ankerite-calcite-silicification and albitization) rocks exhibiting highly anomalous gold values of up to 0.5 g/t gold. Within the high-grade mineralized portions of this corridor, a stockwork of quartz-ankerite-pyrite-gold veinlets is observed. The density of veinlets is generally proportional to gold grade. The gold mineralized zones have so far been intersected for a strike of approximately 1.8 kilometres, with a high-grade portion extending for nearly 950 metres. So far, the down-dip length of the mineralized zone is approximately 250 metres (220 metres vertical depth). Mineralization strikes approximately 100 to 120 degrees azimuth, with a dip of 75-80 degrees north (shallower dips of 50N are observed in the western portion of the zone). High-grade, wide ore shoots are observed and appear to be plunging approximately 40 degrees towards the west, within this structure. Similar ore shoots are often observed in structurally controlled gold deposits and often occur with a certain periodicity. The currently defined ore shoots are open at depth.

Delta has paused drilling for the month of October 2023 to analyze and further interpret the very large amount of geological, structural and geochemical data accumulated since the beginning of this phase of drilling. During this period, Delta will carry out a 37-line kilometre 3D Induced Polarization survey to better characterize the known mineralized zone and explore the extensions of the gold-bearing structure. A number of the recent drill holes will also be probed using a down-hole televiewer instrument which will collect valuable structural information on possible fault and vein orientations. This multidisciplinary approach will be used to help vector towards new mineralized zones within the gold-bearing structure. Delta will resume its drill campaign shortly after this work is completed.

Analytical Protocol and QA/QC

Chemical analyses reported in this press release were performed at AGAT Laboratories. AGAT Laboratories is accredited to ISO 17025 by the Standards Council of Canada (SCC). Sample preparation was performed in Thunder Bay, Ontario. Sampling and analytical procedures are subject to a comprehensive Quality Assurance and Quality Control program that includes duplicate samples, blanks and analytical standards.

The following assaying protocol was adopted at Delta-1 in an attempt to reduce the assay variability due to nugget effect caused by visible gold:

If visible gold is observed in the sample or within the assumed mineralized zone, the assay is performed by Metallic Screening whereby the entire sample is crushed, a 1 kg portion is pulverized and screened to 106m and analyzed by 50 g fire assay with gravimetric finish at the AGAT Laboratory in Thunder Bay, Ontario.

If no visible gold is observed or outside of the mineralized zones, an initial assay is performed by 50 g Fire Assay with ICP-OES finish at the AGAT Laboratory in Thunder Bay, Ontario. If the assay result exceeds 2.0 g/t gold, remaining rejects are pulverized, a 1 kg portion is screened to 106m and analyzed by 50 g fire assay with gravimetric finish at the AGAT Laboratory in Thunder Bay, Ontario.

NQ-size drill core was sawed in half lengthwise and half of the core was sampled and sealed in clean plastic bags before being shipped for assay. The remaining half of the core was replaced in core boxes and is stored at Delta's core storage facilities. Standards and blanks are inserted in the sequence of samples on site as quality assurance and quality control in addition to the regular insertion of blank, duplicate, and standard samples accredited by SGS Canada Minerals Laboratories during the analytical process.

Qualified Persons

Daniel Boudreau, P.Geo. and Manager of Exploration at Delta Resources Limited, is the Qualified Persons as defined by NI-43-101. He has supervised the drilling program in the field and reviewed the technical information presented in this press release.

Ontario Junior Exploration Program

Delta Resources would like to acknowledge the financial support provided by the Ontario Government via the Ontario Junior Exploration Program ("OJEP"). Delta will be receiving up to $200,000 upon completion of its exploration program at Delta-1.

Figure 1: Map of the Eureka Gold Zone, showing the new assay results from this press release. The map also shows the alteration corridor that is hosting the gold mineralization at Eureka and the East Extension of the mineralized zone. This alteration corridor is defined over approximately five kilometres of strike length at Delta-1. Additional drilling will be testing for the presence of high-grade gold shoots within this corridor.

Figure 2: Vertical longitudinal section of the Eureka Gold Zone looking north, showing where the drill holes from this release pierced the gold zone. The section shows the shells of gold grades from 0.25 g/t Au to >0.5 g/t Au. The high-grade gold mineralization appears to occur in ore shoots plunging ~40 west.

About Delta Resources Limited

Delta Resources Limited is a Canadian mineral exploration company focused on growing shareholder value through the exploration of two very high-potential gold and base-metal projects in Canada.

DELTA-1 is Delta's flagship project, where the company is building gold ounces 50 kilometres west of Thunder Bay, Ontario, at surface and adjacent to the Trans-Canada highway. To date, the gold mineralization is defined over 1.8 km from surface to a vertical depth of 250 m. Highlights include drill intercepts such as 5.92 g/t Au over 31 m (incl. 14.8 g/t Au over 11.9 m), and 1.79 g/t Au over 128.5 m. The property covers 107 square kilometres and Delta has identified a 5 km long corridor of intense alteration and deformation at the property, on strike with the gold zone, that has yet to be thoroughly explored.

The DELTA-2 property covers 194 square kilometres in the prolific Chibougamau District of Quebec. The property holds excellent potential for gold-rich polymetallic VMS deposits as well as hydrothermal-gold deposits. Delta targets VMS deposits such as the LeMoine past producer where 0.76 Mt were mined between 1975 and 1983, grading 9.6% Zn, 4.2% Cu, 4.5 g/t Au and 84 g/t Ag.

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DELTA RESOURCES LIMITED.

Andre C. Tessier

President, CEO and Director

www.deltaresources.ca

We seek safe harbor. Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. The TSX Venture Exchange has not approved nor disapproved of the information contained herein.

For Further Information:

Contact Delta Resources Limited

Frank Candido, Chairman

Tel: 514-969-5530

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

or

Andre Tessier, President and CEO

Tel: 613-328-1581

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward Looking Information

Some statements contained in this news release are "forward looking information" within the meaning of Canadian securities laws. Generally, forward-looking information can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "plans", "expects", "is expected", "budget", "scheduled", "estimates", "forecasts", "intends", "anticipates", "believes" or variations of such words and phrases (including negative or grammatical variations) or statements that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might" or "will be taken", "occur" or "be achieved" or the negative connotation thereof. Investors are cautioned that forward-looking information is inherently uncertain and involves risks, assumptions and uncertainties that could cause actual facts to differ materially. There can be no assurance that future developments affecting the Company will be those anticipated by management. The forward-looking information contained in this press release constitutes management's current estimates, as of the date of this press release, with respect to the matters covered thereby. We expect that these estimates will change as new information is received. While we may elect to update these estimates at any time, we do not undertake to update any estimate at any particular time or in response to any particular event.
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - October 5, 2023) - Bear Creek Mining Corporation (TSXV: BCM) (BVL: BCM) ("Bear Creek" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that the bought deal financing announced on September 28, 2023 (the "Offering") has closed. The Offering was conducted by BMO Capital Markets ("BMO").

Pursuant to the Offering, the Company issued a total of 27,200,000 units (the "Units") at a price of C$0.35 per Unit (the "Offering Price") for gross proceeds of C$9.5 million. Each Unit is comprised of one common share of the Company (a "Common Share") and one common share purchase warrant of the Company ("Warrant"). Each Warrant will be exercisable to acquire one Common Share (a "Warrant Share") at an exercise price of C$0.42 per Warrant Share until October 5, 2028. The Company has received conditional approval to have the Warrants listed for trading on the TSX Venture Exchange (the "TSXV"), subject to compliance with certain standard listing conditions.

The Company granted an option to BMO, exercisable by BMO at any time on or before the 30th day following the closing date of the Offering, to purchase up to an additional 15% of the Units (the "Additional Units") sold in connection with the Offering at the Offering Price (the "Over-Allotment Option"). The Over-Allotment Option is also exercisable by BMO in respect of: (a) additional Common Shares ("Additional Common Shares") at a price of C$0.27 per Additional Common Share; (b) additional Warrants ("Additional Warrants") at a price of C$0.08 per Additional Warrant; or (c) any combination of Additional Units, Additional Common Shares and/or Additional Warrants, so long as the aggregate number of Common Shares issued under the Over-Allotment Option does not exceed 4,080,000 and the aggregate number of Warrants issued under the Over-Allotment Option does not exceed 4,080,000.

The Company paid BMO a cash commission equal to 6.0% of the aggregate gross proceeds of the Offering in the amount of C$571,200. No other bonus, finders fee, or commission is payable by the Company in connection with the Offering.

The Company intends to use net proceeds of the Offering to support additional development work at the Company's Mercedes mine in Mexico, to expand on recent positive underground drill results at Mercedes (see Bear Creek news release dated August 30, 2023) and for general working capital purposes, the latter of which will include approximately C$3 million intended to be used to reduce Mercedes' trade payables to a normalized level over the next 2 quarters.

The Offering was completed under a prospectus supplement dated October 2, 2023 (the "Supplement") to the Company's short form base shelf prospectus dated April 3, 2023, which was filed with the securities regulatory authorities in each of the provinces and territories of Canada, except Quebec. The Units were also offered and sold in the United States to certain purchasers, who are, or are purchasing for the account or benefit of, one or more U.S. persons or persons in the United States, each of whom qualifies as a "qualified institutional buyer" as defined in Rule 144A under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "U.S. Securities Act"), and applicable U.S. state securities laws.

The securities offered in the Offering have not been, and will not be, registered under the U.S. Securities Act, or any U.S. state securities laws, and may not be offered or sold in the United States or to, or for the account or benefit of, U.S. persons absent registration or exemptions from the registration requirements of the U.S. Securities Act and applicable U.S. state securities laws. This news release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy securities in the U.S., nor shall there be any sale of these securities in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful. "United States" and "U.S. person" are as defined in Regulation S under the U.S. Securities Act.

A copy of the Supplement can be obtained from BMO Nesbitt Burns Inc., Brampton Distribution Centre C/O The Data Group of Companies, 9195 Torbram Road, Brampton, Ontario, L6S 6H2 by telephone at 905-791-3151 Ext 4312 or by email at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

On behalf of the Board of Directors,

Eric Caba

President & Chief Executive Officer

For further information contact:

Barbara Henderson - VP Corporate Communications

Direct: 604-628-1111

E-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

www.bearcreekmining.com

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Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Information

This news release contains forward-looking statements regarding: the size of the Offering, use of proceeds under the Offering, the successful listing of the Warrants on the TSXV, the receipt of all required approvals for the Offering and other statements regarding future plans, expectations, exploration potential, guidance, projections, objectives, estimates and forecasts as well as the Company's expectations with respect to such matters. These forward-looking statements are provided as of the date of this news release, or the effective date of the documents referred to in this news release, as applicable, and reflect predictions, expectations or beliefs regarding future events based on the Company's beliefs at the time the statements were made, as well as various assumptions made by and information currently available to them. In making the forward-looking statements included in this news release, the Company has applied several material assumptions, including, but not limited to: the Offering and the listing of the Warrants will receive final approval from the TSXV, assumptions about general business and economic conditions, mineral prices, and anticipated costs and expenditures. Although management considers these assumptions to be reasonable based on information available to it, they may prove to be incorrect. By their very nature, forward-looking statements involve inherent risks and uncertainties, both general and specific, and risks exist that estimates, forecasts, projections and other forward-looking statements will not be achieved or that assumptions on which they are based do not reflect future experience. We caution readers not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements as a number of important factors could cause the actual outcomes to differ materially from the expectations expressed in them. These risk factors may be generally stated as the risk that the assumptions expressed above do not occur, but specifically include, without limitation, risks relating to general market conditions and the additional risks described in the Company's latest Annual Information Form, and other disclosure documents filed by the Company on its SEDAR page at www.sedar.com. The foregoing list of factors that may affect future results is not exhaustive. Investors and others should carefully consider the foregoing factors and other uncertainties and potential events. The Company does not undertake to update any forward-looking statement, whether written or oral, that may be made from time to time by the Company or on behalf of the Company, except as required by law.

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news release
TORONTO, Oct. 5, 2023 /CNW/ - Orford Mining Corporation ("Orford") (TSXV: ORM) is pleased to announce that assay results from its recently completed exploration program on its Nunavik Lithium Properties (Figure 1) confirm the occurrence of Lithium-Cesium-Tantalum ("LCT") bearing pegmatites. During this initial exploration program, a total of 1,534 field stations and 489 samples of pegmatite were collected across Orford's expanded and 100% owned, 557 km2 of Lithium Properties in the prospective Cape Smith area of the Nunavik Region in northern Quebec. Results from the assays indicate the occurrence of LCT bearing pegmatites on three properties: kWatt (Figure 2), Flare and Cathode (Figure 1, Table 1 The presence of these rare element pegmatites (LCT) on its Nunavik Lithium properties are consistent with the last stages of the most fractioned granitic crystallizations where concentrations of critical metals such as lithium deposits may occur. The discovery of these dykes will help Orford vector its future exploration efforts.

David Christie, President and CEO of Orford, commented, "The success of Orford's inaugural exploration program on its 100% owned Nunavik Lithium Properties is a testament to our rigorous ground selection process and to our hardworking field teams. Discovering new LCT Pegmatite fields in this totally unexplored region is a huge step forward, giving us a solid foundation upon which to build a 2024 program."

Highlights of the 2023 Field Season Confirms Greenfield Lithium Pegmatite Vectors:

Regional metamorphic grade: upper greenschist / lower amphibolite.

Occurrence of peraluminous granite and leucogranite on Orford's Lithium Properties.

Lithium Properties. Key minerals identified in pegmatite indicative of proximity to fertile parent granite: green muscovite (+/- garnet, tourmaline, fluorite).

Assays indicate pegmatites are enriched in lithium, beryllium, tantalum, cesium, and rubidium

LCT-bearing pegmatites on at least 3 properties (Figure 1, Table 1) suggests high prospectivity for additional dykes.

Opportunity to generate additional targets and provide geochemical vector towards mineralization (more fractionated LCTs) using till assay data (results outstanding).

Orford has leveraged its competitive advantage in the region based on multi-year local operational experience and logistical preparedness which includes access to its centrally located camp, airstrip and fuel reserves. This has helped lead to the discovery of lithium anomalous dyke swarms on three of the Nunavik Lithium Properties. These dykes are up to 40 m-wide and can be traced for several kilometers. They contain variable green muscovite, tourmaline, +/- garnet, beryllium and apatite and, based on this mineralogy, plot within the field of prospective pegmatites (Figure 3). All grab sample assays have been received and enriched LCT pegmatites have been confirmed on kWatt, Flare and Cathode properties (Table 1). LCT enrichment is defined by the following concentrations in ppm which are values greater than Cs>30, or Ta>20, or Li>100, or Rb>1000, or Sn>30, or Ga>20, which represent a magnitude larger than Fertile Granites. Overall, field station and sampling density is less than three field stations and one sample per one km2, which offers the potential for significant discoveries after the 2023 preliminary work which has confirmed Lithium Pegmatite prospectivity.

An additional 550 till (frost boil) samples have been collected on the Radiant, kWatt and Wire properties to possibly identify "blind" LCT pegmatite which are not exposed at surface. Till assays results are expected at approximately the end of November and may identify additional targets for follow up. The till sampling was done in areas where there is strongly anomalous lithium in lake bottom sediment sample surveys completed by the Quebec government survey previously.

Table 1: Assay Values for Enriched LCT Pegmatites from Grab Samples Compared to Background and Fertile Granites. Note that grab samples are selective by nature and values reported may not be representative of mineralized zones. Number of Samples on each property: Cathode=30, kWatt=213, Flare=117.

Maximum Value from Orford Properties Number of Enriched1

Samples Indicator

Element Average Crust -

Background

Values3 Fertile

Granites

Superior

Average2 Enriched Value Threshold (ppm)1 Cathode (ppm) Flare (ppm) kWatt (ppm) Cathode Flare kWatt Cs 3.7 27 30 25.8 46.7 70.8 0 5 17 Li 20 51.7 100 45 107 375 0 2 29 Rb 112 473 1000 638 1180 1410 0 2 11 Ta 2.2 2.7 20 23.5 19.3 39.4 2 0 8 Sn 5.5 19 30 20 21 47 0 0 6 Ga 17 20 20 68.2 54.7 103 30 92 178

2 As defined by Orford. Values greater than Cs>30, or Ta>20, or Li>100, or Rb>1000, or Sn>30, or Ga>20, which represent a magnitude larger than Fertile Granites 3 Reference, Selway, 2005. A Review of Rare-Element (Li-Cs-Ta) Pegmatite Exploration Techniques for the Superior Province , Canada, and Large Worldwide Tantalum Deposits. Exploration and Mining Geology, January 2005.

4 Muller et al., GREENPEG  exploration for pegmatite minerals to feed the energy transition: first steps towards the Green Stone Age. Geological Society, London, Special Publications

Volume 526 Pages 193 - 218

About Orford Mining Corporation

Orford Mining is a gold and critical mineral explorer focused on highly prospective and underexplored areas of Northern Quebec. Orford's principal assets are the Qiqavik, West Raglan and lithium exploration projects comprising a land package totaling over 111,000 hectares in the Cape Smith Belt of Northern Quebec. The Qiqavik Project hosts several new high-grade gold discoveries along a mineralized trend in excess of 40 km. The West Raglan Project hosts a number of high-grade Raglan-style nickel/copper/platinum group metal discoveries along a 55 km mineralized trend. In early 2023 Orford acquired large claim blocks targeting Lithium in the Nunavik Region. These Lithium claim blocks have been carefully selected as having promising lithium potential after an exhaustive compilation of available data. Orford also has four property positions in the Joutel region of the Abitibi District of Northern Quebec, which hosts historical deposits such as the Eagle/Telbel, Joutel Copper, Poirier Copper, and Vezza deposits. Orford continually seeks new gold exploration opportunities in North America. Orford's common shares trade on the TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol ORM. This information from neighbouring properties is not necessarily indicative of the mineralization on Orford Mining's properties.

To view further details about Orford's exploration projects please visit Orford's website, www.orfordmining.com.

Qualified Person

The disclosure of scientific and technical information contained in this news release has been approved by Alger St-Jean, P.Geo., Chief Geoscientist of Orford, a Qualified Person under NI 43-101. The technical information presented in this release was obtained from historical work reports filed with the Quebec Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources and has not been independently verified by a Qualified Person as defined by NI 43-101.

Sample shipments were sealed and shipped to AGAT Laboratories, Val-d'Or, Quebec. All assays reported for the grab samples were obtained by standard sodium peroxide fusion method with an ICP-OES/ICP-MS finish (methods 201-378) at AGAT Laboratories, Mississauga, Ontario. Standards and blanks were inserted at a minimum rate of 5% for grab samples for QA/QC purposes in addition to those inserted by the lab. A subset of samples has not yet been sent for a verification assay at another lab. AGAT Laboratories are accredited by the Standards Council of Canada and found to comply with the requirements of ISO/IEC 17025:201

Cautionary Statement Concerning Forward-Looking Statements

Neither the TSXV nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSXV) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

This news release contains "forward-looking information" including without limitation statements relating to the liquidity and capital resources of Orford and potential of one or more of the Qiqavik, and West Raglan, properties.

Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of Orford to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. Factors that could affect the outcome include, among others: future prices and the supply of metals; the results of drilling; inability to raise the money necessary to incur the expenditures required to retain and advance the properties; environmental liabilities (known and unknown); general business, economic, competitive, political and social uncertainties; accidents, labour disputes and other risks of the mining industry; political instability, terrorism, insurrection or war; or delays in obtaining governmental approvals, failure to obtain regulatory or shareholder approvals. For a more detailed discussion of such risks and other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements, refer to Orford's filings with Canadian securities regulators available on SEDAR at www.sedar.com.

Although Orford has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual actions, events or results to differ materially from those described in forward-looking statements, there may be other factors that cause actions, events or results to differ from those anticipated, estimated or intended. Forward- looking statements contained herein are made as of the date of this news release and Orford disclaims any obligation to update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or results or otherwise, except as required by applicable securities laws.

The TSXV has neither approved nor disapproved the contents of this news release.

For more information, please contact:

David Christie

President and CEO

2 St. Clair Avenue West, 18th Floor

Toronto, ON M4V 1L5

T: 647-255-8037

www.orfordmining.com

Renmark Financial Communications Inc.

James McFarland: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Tel: (416) 644-2020 or (212) 812-7680

www.renmarkfinancial.com
Tesla highlight intercepts include 44m at 2.9% CuEq

Bridge Zone's New Mineralized Intercepts Affirm Expansion Opportunity

Drilling of Priority Regional Targets Ongoing

VANCOUVER, BC, Oct. 5, 2023 /CNW/ - Foran Mining Corporation (TSX: FOM) (OTCQX: FMCXF) ("Foran" or the "Company") is pleased to report additional assay results from the ongoing 2023 drill program at the 100%-owned McIlvenna Bay Complex (the "Project") in Saskatchewan. Drilling has confirmed multiple, wide zones of mineralization at Tesla and demonstrated continuity between Tesla and McIlvenna Bay in the newly discovered Bridge Zone.

Key Highlights:

Drilling continues to identify significant intercepts of high-grade mineralization at Tesla with assays from hole TS-23-12 intersecting six massive and semi-massive sulphide zones, including: 44.0m grading 1.08% Cu, 5.09% Zn, 32.3 g/t Ag and 0.39 g/t Au (2.88 % CuEq); including 21.1m grading 1.28% Cu, 8.22% Zn, 40.1 g/t Ag and 0.38 g/t Au (4.03% CuEq) 11.9m grading 0.84% Cu, 9.17% Zn, 46.4 g/t Ag and 0.36 g/t Au (3.93% CuEq); including 6.0m grading 0.86% Cu, 11.36% Zn, 52.7 g/t Ag and 0.40 g/t Au (4.66% CuEq) 8.8m grading 0.13% Cu, 12.45% Zn, 103.7 g/t Ag and 0.44 g/t Au (4.58% CuEq); including 2.4m grading 0.12% Cu, 25.78% Zn, 143.7 g/t Ag and 0.22 g/t Au (8.61% CuEq)

Tesla mineralization has been defined along 750m strike and remains open in all directions for further expansion.

Recent drilling in the Bridge Zone continues to suggest a key connection between Tesla and the McIlvenna Bay Deposit. This zone has the potential to be a significant area for growth going forward. Results from MB-23-289 from the Bridge Zone include: 13.0m grading 0.87% Cu, 4.83% Zn, 39.9 g/t Ag and 0.17 g/t Au (2.52% CuEq); including 1.7m grading 1.12% Cu, 12.65% Zn, 40.0 g/t Ag and 0.24 g/t Au (5.13% CuEq) 3.3m grading 0.44% Cu, 5.27% Zn, 23.2 g/t Ag and 0.24 g/t Au (2.22% CuEq); including 1.4m grading 0.80% Cu, 8.98% Zn, 31.6 g/t Ag and 0.33 g/t Au (3.75% CuEq)

The 2023 regional exploration program is now underway, including helicopter-supported drilling of several high priority geophysical and geological targets in close proximity to the McIlvenna Bay Complex. These targets are interpreted to lie along the prospective structural and stratigraphic corridors identified by Foran from geophysical and geological interpretations.

Erin Carswell, Foran's Vice President, Exploration, commented: "With further substantial intersections of zinc, copper, and precious metals mineralization drilled at Tesla northwest, our confidence in grade continuity grows with every exciting metre of core. We are eager to commence our winter drill program as it will offer us the opportunity to define this higher-grade target area more extensively. Meanwhile the Bridge Zone continues to impress with a second intercept of high-grade zinc and copper and precious metals mineralization confirmed between Tesla and McIlvenna Bay, further reinforcing the growth potential of this new discovery. In tandem, several regional targets are now being tested to conclude the fall program as we leverage insights from our ongoing orebody knowledge studies and strive to unlock the significant mineral potential of our wider district."

Tesla Zone Drilling  Hole TS-23-12

Assays returned this month from the current drilling at Tesla have continued to substantiate the high tenor of mineralization to the northwest, with multiple intercepts in hole TS-23-12 returning grades up to 25% zinc in conjunction with significant silver and copper. Mineralization occurs across multiple thick intervals, although true thicknesses may not be represented in this hole due to the steep angle of drilling required to intersect the orebody from land near the edge of Hanson Lake. Upcoming winter drilling of Tesla from the ice will allow drilling to be conducted at more optimum angles. Nevertheless, the continuity of the high grades in TS-23-12 is highly significant and may represent a lateral continuation of thick intercepts recorded in hole TS-23-10 immediately to the south (see April 20, 2023 news release). Figure 1 above shows the locations of Tesla drill holes completed to date.

TS-23-12 intersected six massive and semi-massive sulphide lenses, several associated stringer and breccia zones, and multiple intervals with elevated gold and silver. Generally, the massive to semi-massive sulphide lenses are similar throughout the hole consisting of 40-50% fine to locally coarse-grained pyrite in a brown to red fine-grained sphalerite-rich groundmass with local pyrrhotite and chalcopyrite. These zones of mineralization are generally hosted in chlorite and/or sericite-altered units, although hole TS-23-12 also intersected several zones of mineralization associated with carbonate alteration and veining in gabbro and interbedded mafic units. This style of mineralization was intersected in several of the previous holes at Tesla and indications are that it is becoming somewhat more prevalent as the exploration progresses to the north.

TS-23-12 was drilled as an 80m step-out from TS-23-10 which was the last hole completed at the north end of the Tesla Zone during the winter program (see Figure 2). A detailed listing of the composite intervals from the hole are provided in Table 1 below. The current drill program continues to better define the mineralized footprint at Tesla with a total of 8,177m of drilling completed to date.

Three additional wedged holes have been completed using TS-23-12 and TS-23-13 as pilot holes. These holes have been designed to continue to expand the footprint of the mineralization and provide additional understanding of the relationship between the mineralized zones. Assay results from these holes are pending and will be reported when they have been received and interpreted.

Table 1  2023 Summer Tesla Assay Results1

Hole Zone From_m To_m Interval_m Cu % Zn % Ag g/t Au g/t CuEq % TS-23-12 MS 1123.6 1135.5 11.9 0.84 9.17 46.4 0.36 3.93 Including MS 1129.5 1135.5 6.0 0.86 11.36 52.7 0.40 4.66 TS-23-12 MS/CS 1142.0 1186.0 44.0 1.08 5.09 32.3 0.39 2.88 Including CS 1142.0 1148.3 6.3 0.72 0.35 15.1 0.48 1.11 And MS 1148.3 1158.8 10.5 0.87 4.22 32.7 0.43 2.46 And CS 1158.8 1164.9 6.1 1.13 0.60 22.4 0.25 1.46 And MS 1164.9 1186.0 21.1 1.28 8.22 40.1 0.38 4.03 Or MS 1171.5 1184.5 13.0 1.10 10.44 40.7 0.36 4.52 TS-23-12 MS 1193.3 1196.4 3.1 0.11 5.37 18.4 0.07 1.83 TS-23-12 1245.0 1248.9 3.9 0.13 0.09 142.1 1.46 1.65 TS-23-12 MS 1248.9 1257.7 8.8 0.13 12.45 103.7 0.44 4.58 Including MS 1248.9 1251.3 2.4 0.12 25.78 143.7 0.22 8.61 TS-23-12 MS 1390.1 1396.0 5.9 0.71 7.84 59.0 0.27 3.42 Including MS 1390.1 1392.5 2.4 1.16 10.06 80.2 0.38 4.66 TS-23-12 CS 1401.0 1405.0 4.0 2.78 1.27 57.5 0.05 3.21 TS-23-12 MS 1426.5 1429.8 3.3 0.42 4.63 38.8 0.14 2.03

Note: Composite widths are presented as core lengths. Additional drilling will be required to confirm the geometry of the mineralized zones. Intervals generally composited using a 0.5% Cu cut-off grade in stringer zones. 1Copper Equivalent values calculated using metal prices of $4.00/lb Cu, $1.50/lb Zn, $20.00/ounce Ag and $1,800/ounce Au and LOM metallurgical recovery rates derived from test work on blended ores for the McIlvenna Bay Deposit completed as part of our April 2022 Feasibility Study: 91.1% Cu, 79.8% Zn, 88.6% Au and 62.3% Ag (MS  massive sulphide, CS  Copper Stockwork/Stringer). To date no metallurgical test work has been completed on the Tesla mineralization.

Bridge Zone Drilling  Hole MB-23-289

Two drill holes have now been successfully completed in the Bridge Zone area, each of which has successfully intersected multiple copper and/or zinc-rich horizons within the 300m-wide window that lies between the southernmost drilling at Telsa and northernmost drilling at the McIlvenna Bay Deposit. The results from this drilling, including detailed geological logging, geochemistry from TruscanTM analysis and structural data from oriented core, indicate a close link between Tesla and the McIlvenna Bay Deposit and continues to suggest that a fold may connect the two deposits.

MB-23-289 intersected similar tectonostratigraphy and host rock lithology as McIlvenna Bay. The hole intersected two mineralized zones approximately 100m to the northwest of previously released MB-23-287, that appear to correlate with the Main Lens massive sulphide and overlying Lens 3 in the deposit. MB-23-289 intersected a 13m interval of massive and semi-massive sulphides starting at 1144.2m, consisting of medium to coarse grained pyrite in a fine-grained brown sphalerite-rich groundmass with local chalcopyrite and pyrrhotite hosted in a strongly chlorite-magnetite-altered unit. Approximately 164m below this interval the Main Lens massive to semi-massive sulphide was intersected, again consisting of medium- to coarse-grained pyrite in a fine-grained brown sphalerite-rich groundmass similar to previous holes, with the mineralization hosted in strongly chlorite altered rocks logged as chlorite schist.

In both MB-23-287 and 289 a generation of overprinting low iron, high zinc sphalerite is observed which, where present, leads to enhancement of zinc grades. This style of mineralization is new for the McIlvenna Bay Complex and is the subject of ongoing work to determine its controls and possible focus.

Figure 2 below highlights a three-dimensional view of the location of the Tesla and Bridge Zone holes, and Table 2 presents detailed composites from the Bridge Zone drilling.

Drill traces, mineralized zones (copper and zinc on separate images) and the Telsa-Bridge mineralized surface (red), with holes in this release indicated by blue circles. The recently tested Bridge Zone is outlined in yellow and is interpreted to represent previously unidentified mineralization in the 300m between the Tesla Mineralization and the McIlvenna Bay Deposit.

Table 2  2023 Bridge Zone Assay Results1

Hole Zone From_m To_m Interval_m Cu % Zn % Ag g/t Au g/t CuEq % MB-23-289 MS/L3 1144.2 1157.1 13.0 0.87 4.83 39.9 0.17 2.52 Including MS/L3 1144.2 1145.8 1.7 1.12 12.65 40.0 0.24 5.13 MB-23-289 MS/ML 1321.2 1324.5 3.3 0.44 5.27 23.2 0.24 2.22 Including MS/ML 1323.0 1324.5 1.4 0.80 8.98 31.6 0.33 3.75

Note: True widths are estimated to be approximately 80-85% of reported intersections. Intervals generally composited using a 0.5% Cu cut-off grade in stringer zones. 1Copper Equivalent values calculated using metal prices of $4.00/lb Cu, $1.50/lb Zn, $20.00/ounce Ag and $1,800/ounce Au and LOM metallurgical recovery rates derived from test work on blended ores for the McIlvenna Bay Deposit completed as part of our 2022 Feasibility Study: 91.1% Cu, 79.8% Zn, 88.6% Au and 63.2% Ag (MS  massive sulphide, CS  Copper Stockwork/Stringer); (L3  Lens 3, ML  Main Lens at the McIlvenna Bay Deposit).

Regional Targeting Program

Foran has now transitioned to its regional, helicopter-supported greenfields drilling program with two drills dedicated to testing targets within a 50km radius of McIlvenna Bay, while one drill remains dedicated to continuing the Tesla expansion drilling. Regional target areas are continuously generated by combining the results of ongoing orebody knowledge studies with airborne geophysical, geological and structural interpretations, which allow us to identify prospective corridors for ground and/or borehole EM follow-up to define drill targets. Of the highest-priority targets selected for this program, two are located close to McIlvenna Bay near Hanson Lake (Ada and Higgs targets) and one is located on the Bigstone Property (Maxwell target). The locations of these are shown in Figure 3, along with further initial drill-ready and geophysical follow-up targets that we have identified for testing in subsequent programs. Foran has recently received two-year exploration permit approvals (drilling and geophysics) covering the planned regional exploration target areas and further Tesla drilling from the Saskatchewan Ministry of Environment which will facilitate planned and ongoing exploration programs into the future.

To aid with future target generation, Foran has now completed its regional Falcon gravity gradiometry survey over the McIlvenna Bay and Bigstone properties. This data will be an important regional interpretation and targeting tool when used in conjunction with aeromagnetic and electromagnetic data collected during the ongoing regional HeliTEM survey. We have also commenced flying the VTEM survey across our southernmost claims, which will serve as a primary targeting tool across these areas. This investment in the collection of detailed high resolution geophysical data demonstrates our belief in the potential of the Hanson Lake District to host additional discoveries and will facilitate ongoing exploration as we continue to advance our geological understanding and exciting pipeline of prospects.

Foran's northern claims shown on an aeromagnetic map with locations of targets selected for drilling and geophysical follow up work over the current program and subsequent years.

Quality Assurance and Quality Control

Drilling was completed using NQ size diamond drill and core was logged by employees of the Company. During the logging process, mineralized intersections were marked for sampling and given unique sample numbers. Sampled intervals were sawn in half using a diamond blade saw. One half of the sawn core was placed in a plastic bag with the sample tag and sealed, while the second half was returned to the core box for storage on site. Sample assays are performed by the Saskatchewan Research Council ("SRC") Geoanalytical Laboratory in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. SRC is a Canadian accredited laboratory (ISO/IEC 17025:2017) and independent of Foran. Analysis for Ag, Cu, Pb and Zn is performed using ICP-OES after total multi-acid digestion. Au analysis is completed by fire assay with ICP-OES finish. A complete suite of QA/QC reference materials (standards, blanks, and duplicates) are included in each batch of samples processed by the laboratory. The results of the assaying of the QA/QC material included in each batch are tracked to ensure the integrity of the assay data.

Qualified Person

Mr. Roger March, P. Geo., Senior Geoscientist for Foran, is the Qualified Person for all technical information herein and has reviewed and approved the technical information in this release.

Neither the TSX Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

About Foran Mining

Foran Mining is a copper-zinc-gold-silver exploration and development company, committed to supporting a greener future, empowering communities and creating circular economies which create value for all our stakeholders, while also safeguarding the environment. The McIlvenna Bay Project is located entirely within the documented traditional territory of the Peter Ballantyne Cree Nation. The Company also owns the Bigstone Project, a resource-development stage deposit located 25km southwest of its McIlvenna Bay project.

McIlvenna Bay is a copper-zinc-gold-silver rich VHMS deposit intended to be the centre of a new mining camp in a prolific district that has already been producing for 100 years. McIlvenna Bay sits just 65km West of Flin Flon, Manitoba and is part of the world class Flin Flon Greenstone Belt that extends from Snow Lake, Manitoba, through Flin Flon to Foran's ground in eastern Saskatchewan, a distance of over 225km.

McIlvenna Bay is the largest undeveloped VHMS deposit in the region. The Company announced the results from its Feasibility Study on February 28, 2022, outlining that current mineral reserves would potentially support an 18-year mine life producing an average of 65 million pounds of copper equivalent annually. The Company filed a NI 43-101 Technical Report for the McIlvenna Bay Feasibility Study on April 14, 2022. And its NI 43-101 Technical Report for the Bigstone Deposit resource estimate on February 11, 2022. Investors are encouraged to consult the full text of these technical reports which may be found on the Company's profile on www.sedarplus.ca.

The Company's head office is located at 409 Granville Street, Suite 904, Vancouver, BC, Canada, V6C 1T2. Common Shares of the Company are listed for trading on the TSX under the symbol "FOM" and on the OTCQX under the symbol "FMCXF".

Forward Looking Statements

CAUTIONARY NOTE REGARDING FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS

This news release contains certain forward-looking information and forward-looking statements, as defined under applicable securities laws (collectively referred to herein as "forward-looking statements"). These statements relate to future events or to the future performance of Foran Mining Corporation and reflect management's expectations and assumptions as of the date hereof or as of the date of such forward looking statement.

All statements other than statements of historical fact are forward-looking statements. Often, but not always, forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of words such as "plans", "expects", "is expected", "budget", "scheduled", "estimates", "continues", "forecasts", "projects", "predicts", "potentially", "intends", "likely", "anticipates" or "believes", or variations of, or the negatives of, such words and phrases, or state that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "should", "might" or "will" be taken, occur or be achieved. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated in such forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements in this news release speak only as of the date of this news release or as of the date specified in such statement.

Inherent in forward-looking statements are known and unknown risks, estimates, assumptions, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements contained in this news release. These factors include management's belief or expectations relating to the following and, in certain cases, management's response with regard to the following: The proposed strategic investment by Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan; the status and progression of credit facility discussions; unlocking the untapped value of the Company's properties; delivery of superior or any investment returns; scale, scope and location of future exploration and drilling activities; the potential for the Company's land package to be transformational, the focus of the Company's future drill programs; the incorporation of geotechnical and hydrogeological information into the overall project design; The long-term investment horizon of shareholders; The growth of the Company from developer to producer; The certainty of funding; The future of the Company; De-risking McIlvenna Bay; Delivering on the Company's Net Positive Business strategy; Ownership and reliance on the Company's mineral projects; The Company's history of losses and potential inability to generate sufficient revenue to be profitable or to generate positive cash flow on a sustained basis; The Company's statements about the expected life of mine, productive capacity and other technical estimates on its projects, and the Company's reliance on technical experts with respect thereto; The Company's exposure to risks related to mineral resources exploration and development; Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic, Infectious Diseases and Other Health Crises on the Company; Global financial volatility and its impact on the Company; The impact of the Russia-Ukraine conflict; Government, securities, and stock exchange regulation and policy; Legal proceedings which may have a material adverse impact on the Company's operations and financial condition; Capital market conditions and their effect on the securities of the Company; Insurance and uninsurable risks; Environmental, health and safety regulation and policy; Mining hazards and risks; Title rights to the Company's projects; Indigenous peoples' title and other legal claims; Mineral resource and mineral reserve estimates; Uncertainties and risks relating to the Feasibility Studies; Fluctuations in commodity prices, including metals; Competition; Expertise and proficiency of management; Limited operating history; The availability of future financing; Dilutive effects; Impacts of global climate change and natural disasters; Inadequate infrastructure; Relationships with local communities; Reputational damage; Risks arising from the Company's reliance on financial instruments; Risks arising from future acquisitions; Management conflicts of interest; Security breaches of the Company's information systems; and the additional risks identified in our Annual Information Form dated March 23, 2023 and other securities filings with Canadian securities regulators available at www.sedarplus.ca.

The forward-looking statements contained in this news release reflect the Company's current views with respect to future events and are necessarily based upon a number of assumptions that, while considered reasonable by the Company, are inherently subject to significant operational, business, economic and regulatory uncertainties and contingencies. Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated, described or intended. Readers are cautioned against undue reliance on forward-looking statements and should note that the assumptions and risk factors discussed above do not contain an exhaustive list of the factors or assumptions that may affect the forward-looking statements, and that the assumptions underlying such statements may prove to be incorrect. Actual results and developments are likely to differ, and may differ materially, from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements contained in the Company's securities filings and this news release. All forward-looking statements herein are qualified by this cautionary statement. The Company undertakes no obligation to update publicly or otherwise revise any forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information or future events or otherwise, except as may be required by law.
HALIFAX, NS / ACCESSWIRE / October 5, 2023 / Namibia Critical Metals Inc. ("Namibia Critical Metals" or the "Company") (TSXV:NMI)(OTCQB:NMREF) announced today, pursuant to the requirements of the TSX Venture Exchange, that its board of directors approved the granting of incentive stock options ("Options") under its stock option plan as part of the overall remuneration and incentive program for its employees, consultants, officers and directors. A total of 4,300,000 Options were granted.

All the Options are exercisable for a period of five years at a price of $0.07 per Common Share being the closing price of the Company's common shares on the TSX Venture Exchange on October 5, 2023.

About Namibia Critical Metals Inc.

NMI is developing the Tier-1 Heavy Rare Earth Project, Lofdal, a globally significant deposit of the heavy rare earth metals dysprosium and terbium. Demand for these critical metals used in permanent magnets for electric vehicles, wind turbines and other electronics is driven by innovations linked to energy and technology transformations. The geopolitical risks associated with sourcing many of these metals has become a repeated concern for manufacturers and end users. Namibia is a proven and stable mining jurisdiction.

The Lofdal Project is fully permitted with a 25-year Mining License and is under a Joint Venture Agreement with Japan Organization for Metals and Energy Security (JOGMEC).

The Company filed a robust updated PEA for "Lofdal 2B-4" on November 14, 2022, with a post-tax NPV of USD$391 million and an annual IRR of 28% with a capital expenditure of USD$207 million. The project is projected to generate a life of mine nominal cash flow of USD$698 million post-tax over a 16-year mine life.

About Japan Organization for Metals and Energy Security (JOGMEC) and the JV

JOGMEC is a Japanese government independent administrative agency which seeks to secure stable resource supplies for Japan. JOGMEC has a strong reputation as a long term, strategic partner in mineral projects globally. JOGMEC facilitates opportunities with Japanese private companies to secure supplies of natural resources for the benefit of the country's economic development.

Rare earths are of critical importance to Japanese industrial interests and JOGMEC has extensive experience with all aspects of the sector. JOGMEC provided Lynas with USD$250,000,000 in loans and equity in 2011 to ensure supplies of the Light Rare Earths metals suite to the Japanese industry.

Namibia Critical Metals owns a 95% interest in the Lofdal project with the remaining 5% held for the benefit of historically disadvantaged Namibians. The terms of the JOGMEC joint venture agreement with the Company stipulate that JOGMEC provides C$3,000,000 in Term 1 and C$7,000,000 in Term 2 to earn a 40% interest in the Lofdal project. Term 3 calls for a further C$10,000,000 of expenditures to earn an additional 10% interest. JOGMEC can also purchase another 1% for C$5,000,000 and has first right of refusal to fully fund the project through to commercial production and to purchase all production at market prices. The collective interests of NMI and historically disadvantaged Namibians cannot be diluted below a 26% carried working interest upon payment of C$5,000,000 to JOGMEC for the dilution protection. NMI may elect to participate up to a maximum of 44% by funding pro rata after the earn in period is completed.

To date, JOGMEC has completed Term 2 and earned a 40% interest by reaching the $10 million expenditure requirement. JOGMEC has approved an additional $2,375,000 budget for Term 3 through to March 31, 2024, totaling C$12,375,000.

Other exploration projects

The Company's Exclusive Prospecting Licenses ("EPLs") prospective for gold are located in the Central Namibian Gold Belt which hosts a number of significant orogenic gold deposits including the Navachab Gold Mine, the Otjikoto Gold Mine and the Twin Hills deposit. At the Erongo Gold Project, stratigraphic equivalents to the meta-sediments hosting the Osino gold discovery at Twin Hills have been identified and exploration is progressing over this highly prospective area. The Grootfontein Base Metal and Gold Project has potential for magmatic copper-nickel mineralization, Mississippi Valley-type zinc-lead-vanadium mineralization and Otjikoto-style gold mineralization. Interpretation of geophysical data and regional geochemical soil sampling have identified first gold targets.

The common shares of Namibia Critical Metals Inc. trade on the TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol "NMI".

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

For more information please contact:

Namibia Critical Metals Inc.

Darrin Campbell, President

Tel: +01 (902) 835-8760

Fax: +01 (902) 835-8761

Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Web site: www.NamibiaCriticalMetals.com

This news release contains certain "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable securities laws. Forward looking information is frequently characterized by words such as "plan", "expect", "project", "intend", "believe", "anticipate", "estimate", "may", "will", "would", "potential", "proposed" and other similar words, or statements that certain events or conditions "may" or "will" occur. These statements are only predictions. Forward-looking information is based on the opinions and estimates of management at the date the information is provided, and is subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual events or results to differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking information. For a description of the risks and uncertainties facing the Company and its business and affairs, readers should refer to the Company's Management's Discussion and Analysis. The Company undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking information if circumstances or management's estimates or opinions should change, unless required by law. The reader is cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking information.
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - May 3, 2019) - ML Gold Corp. (TSXV: MLG) ("ML Gold" or the "Company") has provided an update to the terms of the financing it announced on April 15, 2019. The Company is now using its best efforts to raise an aggregate of up to $1,950,000 as opposed... Read More
An activist said Wednesday she was sentenced to a fine in Serbia for throwing eggs at a mural of Ratko Mladic, a former army chief given life in prison over war crimes.

The activist, Aida Corovic, was briefly detained over the November 2021 confrontation in Belgrade that came five months after Mladic's life term was confirmed by a court.

It was a "spontaneous and impulsive gesture to show that not all Serbian citizens support war crimes and war criminals," Corovic said in a statement, adding that she will appeal the 850-euro ($890) fine.

She condemned a "shameful verdict" handed down at her trial in the case that she said was aimed at scaring her.

"My decision to not pay the fine is stronger than at the start of the trial. This type of pressure and threats won't be enough to stop me from doing what I have done for 32 years -- to speak out about the harm my country has done to others," she said.

Mladic was sentenced in 2017 to life in prison by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) for his role as a military leader in the Bosnian war that killed 100,000 people between 1992-1995.

Among several charges, he was convicted for his role in the massacre of some 8,000 Muslim men and boys in Srebrenica.

Nearly three decades after the conflict, Ratko is regarded as a hero among some Serbs in Serbia and Bosnia.
Turkey on Wednesday launched fresh strikes against Kurdish targets in Iraq and warned of more intense cross-border air raids after concluding that militants who staged a weekend attack in Ankara came from Syria.

Turkey convened a national security meeting involving top defence and intelligence chiefs to prepare its response to Sunday's attack on the capital's government district.

Police shot dead one of the assailants while the other died in an apparent suicide blast outside Turkey's interior ministry that injured two security officers.

A branch of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) -- listed as a terror group by Turkey and its Western allies -- claimed responsibility for the first bombing to hit Ankara since 2016.

"It has become clear that the two terrorists came from Syria and were trained there," Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said in televised comments.

"From now on, all infrastructure, large facilities and energy facilities belonging to (armed Kurdish groups) in Iraq and Syria are legitimate targets for our security forces," Fidan added.

"I recommend that third parties stay away from these facilities."

Turkey conducted air raids against PKK rear bases in the northern mountains of Iraq hours after Sunday's attack.

The defence ministry said it had staged fresh raid on Wednesday that "neutralised a large number of terrorists" in five districts of Iraq.

Iraqi Defence Minister Thabet al-Abbasi was expected in Ankara on Thursday for talks with counterpart Yasar Guler as tensions soared.

- 'War crime' -

Fidan's comments suggest that Turkey could intensify drone and artillery strikes beyond those it has been routinely staging in both Syria and Iraq in the past decade.

Turkish media reported Wednesday that the MIT intelligence agency had conducted an operation in Syria killing one of the suspected masterminds of an Istanbul bombing that claimed six lives in November of last year.

The British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights confirmed that an "intelligence official" in the semi-autonomous Kurdish region of northeastern Syria was killed on Tuesday.

Ankara has military bases and supports groups fighting both regime forces and the Kurds in Syria.

The US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) -- the Kurds' de facto army in the area -- led the battle that dislodged Islamic State group fighters from their last scraps of Syrian territory in 2019.

But Turkey views the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) that dominate the SDF as an offshoot of the PKK.

SDF commander Mazloum Abdi denied Wednesday that the two Ankara assailants had "passed through our region".

"Turkey is looking for pretexts to legitimise its ongoing attacks on our region and to launch a new military aggression," he said on social media.

"The threat to target the region's infrastructure, economic resources, and populated cities is a war crime, the thing we have witnessed before."

- Swedish debate -

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has launched a series of armed incursion into Syria and frequently threatened to expand attacks against the YPG.

Ankara on Tuesday also announced the detention of 67 suspected PKK members in raids across Turkey's predominantly Kurdish southeast.

Sunday's attack coincided with the opening of a Turkish session of parliament during which lawmakers will be asked to ratify Sweden's membership of the NATO defence alliance.

Turkey's ratification has been held up by anger over the refusal by the Swedish police to ban marches by the PKK and their supporters in Stockholm.

Some analysts believe the PKK may be trying to block Turkey's ratification because it would herald an improvement in Ankara's ties with Washington.

Turkey has been trying to get the United States to break off its ties with the SDF -- a policy shift that analysts think Ankara hopes to secure in return for its backing of Sweden's membership.
Lee Yoo Bi shared her experience playing the villain role in "The Escape of the Seven" and the interesting story of how she got the part of Han Mo Ne.

The actress showcased her charm and head-turning beauty as she graced GQ Korea for the publication's October 2023 issue.

Besides wowing the fans with her undeniable charisma, Lee Yoo Bi talks about joining the makjang series "The Escape of the Seven."

Here's How Lee Yoo Bi Got the Offer to Play Villain Han Mo Ne in 'The Escape of the Seven'

From the creators of "The Penthouse: War in Life," SBS dropped another thriller mystery K-drama that depicts the revenge of a missing high school student named Bang Da Mi.

One of the seven tormentors in Da Mi's life is the K-pop wannabe Han Mo Ne, played by Lee Yoo Bi.

According to the actress, she got the role through the director Joo Dong Min, who also helmed "The Penthouse," where she also played a cameo role.

"After we finished filming, director Joo Dong Min said to me, 'Yoo Bi, thank you for a job well done. I think I'll be contacting you next time,'" the actress recalled, adding that she thought that it was a compliment but got surprised after the director personally contacted her after wrapping up the Makjang drama.

It can be recalled that Lee Yoo Bi's special appearance in "The Penthouse" season 3 portrayed the orphan group leader who bullied Han Ji Hyun's character. At the time, the actress received a positive response from the public for her amazing portrayal of Il Jin.

READ MORE: 'The Escape of the Seven' Remains as Most Buzzworthy Drama + 'Moving' Cast Lead Actor Rankings

Interestingly, Lee Yoo Bi revealed that at the time of "The Penthouse" filming, she was also working on the K-drama "Yumi's Cells" and played a completely different role.

"The atmosphere on the sets of the two dramas was completely different," she said, adding, "I was overwhelmed by the intense energy of the set. I think it was my first time seeing such an energetic filming site."

In the webtoon-based rom-com, Lee Yoo Bi's role as Ruby is one of Yumi's co-workers who has a bubbly and very girly personality, which is different from her role in "The Penthouse" season 3.

Lee Yoo Bi on Viewers Who Hate Han Mo Ne

Since she is playing a villain role, Lee Yoo Bi says she is expecting hate from viewers.

However, she also added that instead of hate, she wished that the audience would see her potential as a serious actress.

"I want to hear people say, 'She's no joke.' If I hear people say, 'She's something else,' wouldn't that mean I did a good job? "She explained.

'The Escape of the Seven' Episode 7 Release Date, Where to Watch

As the series is set to end its first half, the stories and scenes in the SBS K-drama get more intense.

"The Escape of the Seven" episode 7 is scheduled to air on October 6 at 9 p.m. KST.

Viewers get to see the new episodes every Friday and Saturday via SBS and streaming platforms like Viki, Kocowa, Wavve, and Prime Video for global audiences.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: 'The Escape of the Seven' Faces 8 Formal Complaints For Depicting Overly Provocative Story

For more K-Drama, K-Movie, and celebrity news, keep your tabs open here at KDramaStars.

KDramaStars owns this article

Written by Geca Wills
Viewers and "Moving" fans can't wait to see the reunion of Han Hyo Joo and Jo In Sung in the highly anticipated "Unexpected Business" season 3.

As the premiere gets closer, tvN continues to tease viewers with heart-fluttering interactions between the duo.

Teasing fans with what to expect in the upcoming season, the broadcast network unveiled a sneak peek of the variety show.

'Unexpected Business' Season 3 Teaser

In one of the latest teasers, "Unexpected Business" season 3 welcomes the returning celebrity guest, Han Hyo Joo, as the lovely duo, Cha Tae Hyun and Jo In Sung, go on a new mission outside South Korea.

With the new location of the show, the top stars will be experiencing unfamiliar situations in a small neighborhood in California.

As featured in the teaser, Jo In Sung personally welcomes Han Hyo Joo as she starts her first day as a part-time worker in the K-mart.

From stocking groceries to helping with the activities inside the store and serving home-cooked meals, Han Hyo Joo deserves an employee award for working hard at the store.

Interestingly, Jo In Sung seemed to be looking out for the actress, even channeling a "married couple" aura.

Slated to be air on October 26, one scene featured Jo In Sung taking Han Hyo Joo's bag as she walked inside the store.

Moreover, netizens gushed over when the actress told Jo In Sung that she was eating the food, but he replied and said, "So what? We're married," referring to their roles in "Moving."

It can be recalled that the duo played a married couple in Disney+'s webtoon-based series.

READ MORE: Jo In Sung as 'Korean Brad Pitt'? 'Unexpected Business 3' Hints at Funny Interactions With Shoppers

Jo In Sung took on the character of black ops agent Kim Doo Shik, who has the ability to fly and is known for his combat skills.

During a mission, he gets to know Lee Mi Hyun, played by Han Hyo Koo, who was instructed to get the attention of Doo Shik.

Lo and behold, after getting to know their genuine personalities, they fell in love in the middle of their mission and had a son named Bong Seok, played by Lee Jung Ha.

Viewers of "Moving" were not just drawn to the story but also to the chemistry between Han Hyo Joo and Jo In Sung.

Are Jo In Sung and Han Hyo Joo the Next BinJin couple?

As mentioned, the duo's chemistry is undeniable, hence why viewers are looking forward to "Moving" season 2, with Jo In Sung and Han Hyo Joo as cast.

On the other hand, netizens are also hoping that the "moving" stars will also date in real life, even comparing them to the BinJin couple after Hyun BIn and Son Ye Jin officially confirmed their relationship after the "Crash Landing on You" K-drama.

As for the "moving" stars, several accounts on TikTok and Twitter are shipping the duo, with users compiling receipts that would prove that it's possible.

IN CASE YOU MISSED: Jo In Sung Embracing Aging in the Best Way - And Fans Are Loving It!

For more K-Drama, K-Movie, and celebrity news, keep your tabs open here at KDramaStars.

KDramaStars owns this article

Written by Geca Wills
Rising star Choi Hyun Wook's "good boy" image was tampered earlier this month after being caught smoking with women in public places.

Many viewers expressed their disappointment with the actor's behavior. The "Twinkling Watermelon" star has become the hottest topic in various online communities.

Choi Hyun Wook Under Fire For Public Smoking

On October 5, "Twinkling Watermelon" star Choi Hyun Wook received massive hits and criticisms after he was caught smoking in a public area.

In a video that circulated in various online communities, the actor was caught on camera smoking and tossing cigarette butts in a non-smoking area while hanging around mysterious women.

Netizens can't hide their disappointment with the actor, especially after seeing him holding one of the women's hands while casually throwing cigarette butts onto the sidewalk.

After the video gained traction, many fans and critics weighed in. One fan said, "Rumor has it he visits hunting pubs and he's also close with the CEO who helped Yoo Ah In's friend escape from drug charges."

However, there's no evidence for the netizen's statement. Another spectator came into Choi Hyun Wook's defense, saying that it's not a crime to visit clubs and have one-night stands.

Sadly, smoking in public places while also littering is considered a misdemeanor crime in South Korea, which is the main concern of the actor's fans and viewers.

READ MORE: Drunk Shin Se Kyung? 'Arthdal Chronicles 2' Star Receives Traction With New Photos

Meanwhile, Choi Hyun Wook gained huge attention for his performances in his back-to-back hit dramas "Twenty Five, Twenty One," "Weak Hero Class 1" and "D.P. 2."

Choi Hyun Wook Apologizes For Indecent Behavior

Following the backlash, the young actor released a statement through his agency, Gold Medalist, which is also home to Seol In Ah, Seo Ye Ji, Kim Soo Hyun and more.

The actor asked for everyone's forgiveness for his "unsavory" attitude and carelessness. Choi Hyun Wook also apologized to the director and writer of "Twinkling Watermelon," his on-going drama, who are also affected by the actor's indecent actions.

In his statement, Choi Hyun Wook said that he humbly accepts all the scolding and warnings from his manager and company.

"I promise to reflect on myself and work hard to show a more mature side of myself in the future," the actor concluded.

On the other hand, Choi Hyun Wook stars as a vivacious teen with big dreams in the newly released youth drama "Twinkling Watermelon" with Ryeoun, Seol In Ah and Shin Eun Soo.

Catch it every Monday and Tuesday on tvN at 8:50 p.m. KST. It is also streaming on Viu for international audiences so check it out now.





ALSO READ: 'Twinkling Watermelon' Records New Personal Best In Second Week of Broadcast

KDramaStars owns this article.

Written by Elijah Mully.
According to Moneytech Founder and Director Hugh Evans and CEO Nick McGrath, they are confident that the technological trends of the past two decades will experience an even more rapid expansion due to the increasing integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI) processes.

The duo envisions a future where AIs influence in the finance sector continues to grow exponentially. As of now, there are already numerous AI-enabled tools available in the market, and the prospects for AI in finance are boundless, with thousands more innovations anticipated. This undeniable surge in AIs presence indicates a significant role for the technology in shaping the finance sectors future.

However, with this vast array of AI solutions comes a considerable challenge for the industry. Financial institutions will need to navigate through a multitude of options, carefully selecting AI tools that not only enhance efficiency but also ensure compliance and security. Striking the right balance between innovation and risk management will be paramount to deliver a seamless and secure customer experience.

Since Moneytech commenced in September 2003, the finance sector has been undeniably changed by technology. Responsive decision-making tools assist with real-time approvals, and quicker application to settlement timelines are now considered standard, said Moneytech Founder Hugh Evans. In this same time period, customers have become savvier, increasing their knowledge of how finance can help them grow their business. This is a good thing for the industry as it drives us all forward.

Increasing exposure to AI-driven technology will accelerate change in the finance sector according to Moneytech CEO Nick McGrath. The challenge for the industry will be to embrace AI to deliver greater value. With customers attuned to immediate, responsive engagement through their personal banking channels, non-bank business finance providers risk becoming redundant very quickly if they dont meet customer expectations.

Along with AI and digital transformation rapidly changing the landscape, Hugh and Nick identify Open Banking and APIs, Cybersecurity and privacy, and Alternative Lending and Microfinance as trends which will shape finance for the next decade. Limited access to credit for small businesses is acknowledged by Nick as an industry-wide inefficiency which could be addressed more appropriately. Microfinance for small business presents as an opportunity in the finance sector, and can potentially play a significant role in improving this segment of the economy.

Hugh and Nick have pinpointed specific tech-driven sectors that will increasingly require financial support for their expansion over the next five to ten years. These sectors, including Green Energy, Health and Biotechnology, Fintech and Digital Finance, Supply Chain and Logistics, and Agriculture and Foodtech, are expected to become more prominent clients for Moneytech. Currently, these tech-driven businesses already constitute 40% of Moneytechs clientele, and this proportion is projected to grow significantly in the coming half-decade.

A recent report underscores the substantial economic impact of the tech sector in Australia, with a total contribution of 167 billion Australian dollars in 2020. This figure is anticipated to surge to 250 billion Australian dollars by 2030. Whats noteworthy is that a significant portion of this contribution stems from businesses in other sectors adopting technology. As industries such as energy, health, finance, and food continue to embrace technology-driven innovations, the need for financial backing to support their growth becomes increasingly apparent.

Looking beyond these specific sectors, the Australian Bureau of Statistics Innovation in Business Report highlights a common obstacle faced by businesses across the board  a lack of access to additional funds. This underscores the critical role that access to finance plays in driving innovation and growth in businesses of all sizes. Moneytech remains committed to aiding Australian SMEs in overcoming this barrier and facilitating their growth in an ever-evolving tech-driven landscape.

For more information visit www.moneytech.com.au

Keep up to date with our stories on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
An employee updates gasoline prices at a station of state-owned Petrolimex in Ho Chi Minh City. Photo by VnExpress/Thanh Tung

827 state-owned enterprises saw pre-tax profits surging 23% year-on-year to VND2.4 trillion ($98.23 million) last year.

Their revenues rose 29% to VND2.64 quadrillion, according to a government report submitted recently to the National Assembly.

These companies account for around 7% of assets of all businesses in the country and 10% of equity.

9% of them posted a combined loss of VND29.46 trillion, including Vietnam Airlines and Vietnam Electricity.

State-owned enterprises combined debts rose 6% to VND1.98 quadrillion.

The government pointed out that state-owned enterprises remained weak in boosting the competition of the economy, such as developing hi-tech sectors such as manufacturing complicated parts and machines.

Although these companies have large resources, their efficiency does not go in tandem. Some projects have been report losses for years.

State-owned enterprises contribute around 29% of GDP, but this ratio will not likely to increase in the next five years, the government said.

The government is making changes to regulations so that state-owned enterprises will act as funds that invest its money into businesses instead of directly operating them.

New regulations will also urge them to participate in high-tech sectors that can help them branch out overseas.
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At seventeen, I envisioned two types of physicians: the doctor who cared about me and my needs, and the doctor who was cold and detached. At that point in my life, I had experienced both types of physicians from the patient perspective. My dream was to become a physician. I wanted to be the empathetic doctor, the one who saw the patient as a person. I aspired to become the provider who grasped the patients story before the data, research, and algorithms. How could I make this happen?

My university search had started, and I was quick to avoid universities solely with biology degrees. I wanted something different. A providential Google search led me to a medical humanities program in Texas. What is medical humanities? This university was a three-hour flight from my home in Connecticut. My parents were not very enthusiastic about this leap of faith, but they supported me on this quest. I had gone to school on one street my entire life. Was this program worth it? When I toured the university, I was given the opportunity to sit in on a medical humanities course titled End-of-life care and bereavement. The conversations were raw, genuine, and collaborative. I trusted this program would be instrumental for me to become a good doctor.

I spent the next four years taking medical humanities courses alongside my science curriculum. My courses included topics like philosophy and medicine, disability and society, and bioethics. I authored my thesis on empathy in health care and was accepted into medical school. In medical school, the long hours of studying pathways and pathology promoted a mechanistic thought process. I knew this, but there was nothing to be done to reject it. Like quicksand, the more I fought it, the worse I sank. It was challenging to remember the viewpoints and goals I had developed, as my medical humanities knowledge base never had the opportunity to rise to the surface. In the earlier years of medical school, my patient contact was limited. When I did have clinical experiences, it was with a standardized patient and an instructor who was grading me. When I was tested, I had developed a monotone I am sorry for your loss response in order to check the empathy box.

When starting residency, I had hoped the transformation from medical student to physician would provide change. However, survival mode had kicked in again, and lab values, imaging, and disease pathology took precedence in my mind. I caught myself not knowing patient names but only room numbers and diagnoses. I listened to patients, but heard lung sounds and differentials before patient experiences. I was disappointed in myself when recognizing my approach. I had spoken at conferences on the importance of empathy in health care, and here I was failing to remember what I preached.

With reflection, I realized that fear and burnout are the greatest factors in losing touch with empathy, which is a cornerstone of medical humanities coursework. Once I had this moment of insight, I strove in my daily encounters to see the person before the patient. It included simple approaches, like writing a patients full name at the start of a note instead of patient. By this slight change, my intention was redirected.

I am grateful for my medical humanities experience at my university. My professors and their courses laid a foundation at the start of my health care journey that could withstand the storms of medical training.

If you are going to be a doctor, be a good doctor is the phrase my grandmother likes to repeat to me. It is a phrase that needs to be repeated often, as we all need this reminder.

Nicholas Bellacicco is a neurology resident.
The Vietnamese student team participating at the International Applied Chemistry Olympiad 2023. Photo by VNA

Hanoi students won two gold and one silver medals at the International Applied Chemistry Olympiad, which was held in Bandung, Indonesia.

La Chau Giang, a 12th grader, and 11th grader Nguyen Minh Phuong, both from Hanoi-Amsterdam High School for the Gifted, bagged the gold medals, while Pham Minh Quan, also from the school, won the silver medal.

The International Applied Chemistry Olympiad is held annually by the Indonesia Regional Science Association (IRSA), aiming to enhance students' capacity in science, especially chemistry.

This year, three Vietnamese students competed in the IACho final round from September 28 to October 1, during which candidates participated in two parts: writing contest and presentation.
Ancient tales and folklore seem from the pages of Eamonn O Keeffes debut childrens book - Blanca and the Ogham Stone.

The Thomastown author recounts stories from his youth about fairies and nature and the magic that surrounds the lands where he grew up.

Eamonn OKeeffe grew up in a rich and magical storytelling tradition where stories of heroes, heroines, banshees and fairies were passed down from ancient times. Blanca and the Ogham Stone is loosely based on Eamonns childhood growing up in Thomastown.

Eamonn worked at many jobs as he grew up and ultimately discovered his talent for metalsmithing and goldsmithing. Due to an injury he was unable to continue at their work so he turned to cinema and TV where he worked as a background actor on Game of Thrones, Viking and (most recently) Vikings: Valhalla. He also turned his hand to writing in order to carry on the storytelling tradition of his youth.

Blanca and the Ogham Stone is his first book and is loosely based on memories of his adventures as a boy.

The author explains how his love of history helped to shape the story.

I love history, he said. When I was very young, my uncle found an Ogham stone next to an ancient Irish fort. Ogham is a way of writing in ancient Ireland by carving lines at different angles and you will see it in the book.

After driving a truck for years, I found out I was skilled in arts and crafts so I studied silversmithing and goldsmithing and brought my skill to America for a few years.

I came home and heard about Vikings, the History Channel television series. I was fortunate to play in it for every season from beginning to end. I also played East Watch, Night Watch and a crow under John Snow on Game of Thrones and featured on the film The Green Knight. I really hope people enjoy the book, which is based on my life as a kid, he added.

The book is illustrated by Cristina del Morel, a multi disciplinary designer from Madrid in Spain, who spent 21 years in Dublin where she studied for a BA in Visual Communications. She also worked in the TV series Vikings where she met and worked with Eamonn OKeeffe.

Cristina has done a wide range of artistic mediums like etching, drawing, painting, computer processed imaging, photography and collage to demonstrate her unique creativity which has been described in America as sentimental nostalgia and retro-medieval.

Currently living in Valencia in Spain with her husband and son, Cristina wanted to pay homage to her mum Blanca Aladro and Eamonns family by creating the artwork for this magical story. She used Eamonns photos on film sets as a cameo for the character Auld Carthy in the story and the character Blanca is inspired by her mum.

Blanca and the Ogham Stone is published by Trademarker books and was launched in The Book and Coffee Shop Williams Street, where it is available. The book is also available to buy on amazon.com
Butler Gallery is host Savour(ing) Art  a trailblazing programme that mingles the realms of culinary expertise and artistic expression  as part of this years Savour Kilkenny festival.

Designed to entice both tourists and locals alike, events will offer audiences an innovative perspective on art through the lens of food and drink.

Imbibing Art - Art Tour, Mixology, and Tasting will open a vibrant world of art with an exhilarating tour peppered with tailored cocktails and libations. Guided by Food Designer Clare Anne OKeefe and Colin Hession of L Mulligan Grocer, participants will embark on a sensorial exploration, as art is translated and activated through thoughtfully crafted beverages. It promises a fun-filled immersion into the gallerys treasured exhibitions.

Wild Milsean - A Childrens Food and Art Workshop offers young culinary enthusiasts a chance to craft a delightful Halloween treat using Irish Dairy Milk. Alongside this, participants will gain insights into the global history of milk candy, the enchanting process of turning milk into paint, and the intriguing narrative of rewilding that threads through Colmans art.

Wild Art and Food | A Conversation shows a world where food speaks the language of art. Food Designer Clare Anne OKeefe joins forces with acclaimed artist Eamon Colman to lead a captivating conversation and live demonstration. This event heralds the resurrection of dishes first conceptualised by Colman at Noma, Copenhagen.

Wild Samhain Cheese Workshop promises to be a tactile and gastronomic adventure as participants craft their very own soft cheese masterpiece, drawing inspiration from the changing seasons and age-old traditions of Samhain.

Each cheese creation is meticulously coloured with organic food paints and adorned with handpicked wild herbs. The workshop is more than just a culinary lesson  its an artistic experience that intertwines with the rich tapestry of our environmental heritage.

Seeking to entice new local visitors and to showcase Butler Gallery as an outstanding destination to the Savour Kilkenny audience, Savour(ing) Art is set to be more than an event  its an experience.

Events run throughout the Savour Kilkenny 2023 festival. Specific event timings and ticket prices vary. Booking: Tickets are available at butlergallery.ie. For a deeper dive into the events, visit savourkilkenny.com.
Aiseiri Aislinn, Irelands only 12 step residential addiction treatment centre for young people, celebrates 25 years of treating addiction this week.

Located in Ballyragget, Co. Kilkenny, it provides quality treatment for young people, between the age of 15 and 21 years, living with the destructive impact of alcohol, drugs and gambling.

Aislinn was established by Aiseiri in response to the growing need for its services among young people from all across the country, an approach the organisation has taken many times as it has grown its services substantially over the last four decades.

Today, Aiseiri consists of four unique centres of recovery located in Kilkenny, Tipperary, Wexford and Waterford.

Aiseiri is the only addiction treatment organisation in the country that offers a seven-stage lifetime of care model of services from preventative outreach right through to recovery support.

Founded in Cahir, County Tipperary by Sr. Eileen Fahey in 1983, Aiseiri remains committed to the Minnesota 12-step model of care, abstinence-based treatment and the core values of hope, compassion, respect, recovery and excellence.

Alcoholism, drug addiction including poly-substance addiction and gambling are the primary addictions treated.

Over the years, Aiseiri has consistently enhanced its services and responded swiftly to new challenges and trends in addiction and the increasing level of dual diagnosis and complexity of needs presenting for treatment.

Each new service developed, and enhancements made to existing services, have been brought about as a direct response to identifying a need for action in that area.

Aiseiri Aislinn based in Kilkenny was set up by Aiseiri in response to an increasing number of young people whose lives were blighted by addiction.

Aiseiri Aislinn believes in the priceless potential of young people and works closely with families to help them understand more about addiction so that they can support their loved ones win back bright futures.

Sr. Veronica who set up Aiseiri Aislinn on behalf of the organisation back in 1998 commented, I am so proud of Aislinn and the many lives that have changed for the better as a result of the care and support young people and their families have received here. The team of experts we have working at the centre today and indeed over the last twenty-five years are truly remarkable and the many heartwarming stories of recovery we have witnessed are a testament to their hard work, compassion and dedication.

Residential detox with 24 hour specialised clinical care is provided for those who require it, this was another major development at Aiseiri.

Extension of this service and the continuum of care services featured heavily in their strategic plan launched last month. Extended continuum of care services includes secondary treatment, sober living and education and career support.

Aiseiri is fully accredited by CHKS, the internationally recognised healthcare quality standards accrediting body.

The organisation works closely with the HSE, the Probation Service, other representative bodies and state organisations and is recognised by all the main health insurance providers.

If you or a loved one is struggling with addiction and would like to learn more about Aiseiri and the many services it offers, simply visit www.aiseiri.ie or call 052 7441166.
Huun Huur Tu, a legendary throat singing and world music group, are celebrating 30 years since their inception this year and are coming to Kilkenny as part of their 30 year anniversary tour in November.

Over the past three decades, Huun Huur Tu has established itself as the foremost throat singing and world music act, delighting audiences worldwide with their unique and captivating sound.

From the rolling hills of Tuva (a republic of Russia situated on the Mongolia-Russia border) to the world stage, Huun Huur Tu's music has transcended borders, cultures, and languages.

Their intricate and masterful use of traditional instruments such as the igil (horse head fiddle) and doshpuluur (3-stringed lute) have earned them numerous accolades and a legion of devoted fans.

Huun Huur Tu's breathtaking music transports you to another world, blending ancient rhythms with modern sensibilities.

It is a testament to their artistry that their music has stood the test of time and continues to be relevant, inspiring, and groundbreaking.

Celebrate with Huun Huur Tu as they mark 30 years of World Music excellence. Join them on their journey from the heart of central Asian culture, where music is a way of life.

Discover the magic of Huun Huur Tu and experience the power of their music firsthand.

Details of Huun Huur Tu's full Irish tour:

Mon 27th & Tues 28th November - Dublin, The Sugar Club

Wed 29th November - Kilkenny, The Set Theatre

Thurs 30th November - Connolly's of Leap, West Cork

Friday 1st December - Cork, Live at St. Luke's

Sat 2nd December - St. George's Cathedral, Leitrim

Sun 3rd December - Amharclann Gaoth Dobhair, Donegal

Steeped in Tuvan folklore, the ensemble wears traditional garb and accompanies themselves on string and percussion instruments, playing galloping rhythms that evoke the vast south Siberian steppe.

Their tightly structured pieces often imitate natural sounds, so that a song can be a literal representation of a Tuvan landscape.

Huun Huur Tus style could be best described as profoundly mysterious - a consequence of their traditional, ritual laryngeal chants descending from central Asian land of Tuva.

This unique song technique reside on developing an enthralling sound cosmos rich in undertones and overtones.

Since the group's inception, Huun Huur Tu has collaborated with musicians from many genres, such as Frank Zappa, The Chieftains, Johnny Guitar Watson, the Kodo Drummers, The Moscow Art Trio, The Kronos Quartet and Bulgarian women's singing group, Angelite.

Their recording "Eternal" is a collaborative effort with underground electronic musician, Carmen Rizzo.

Huun Huur Tu appeared on three songs on Bahamut, the debut album of New York-based blues group Hazmut Modine.

Their song "Osku Urug" is featured in the American television series Fargo episode, "The Law of Vacant Places.
Ambassador Marc E. Knapper said at an education fair in Hanoi on Wednesday that around 30,000 Vietnamese students are studying in the U.S., including more than 20,700 university and postgraduate students.

The embassy's EducationUSA Advising Center said that of the 20,700, 15% study masters, more than 67% are university students, and the rest are staying under the Optional Practical Training, which is a temporary employment for graduate students.

"If counting only international students studying community colleges in the U.S., Vietnam stands only behind China," according to the center.

The majors most Vietnamese students and parents are interested in are STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics) and business administration, which attract nearly 70% of university-level students.

Vietnamese undergraduate students are also interested in graphic design, arts, nursing, while many postgraduate students pursue degrees in community health, public health, and supply chain management, the center said.

Hanoi students attend an education fair to find chances to study in the U.S., October 4, 2023. Photo by VnExpress/Binh Minh

Knapper said Vietnam and the U.S. are enhancing cooperation in science and technology, with the U.S. government committed to helping Vietnam build a 50,000-strong information technology workforce in 2028.

He said many U.S. schools are keen on admitting Vietnamese students, especially in high-tech, adding that there will be many grant and financial aid offers for Vietnamese students.

The Wednesday fair gathered 60 American schools and attracted 800 attendants.

Held annually by the U.S. Embassy, the fair is where parents and students can have direct exchanges with American schools to learn more about scholarship opportunities and receive consultations on the majors that students are interested in studying.

According to a report last November by the Institute of International Education, Vietnamese constitute the fifth-largest group of foreign students in the U.S. with over 20,700 students.
LONDON, Oct 5 (Reuters) - Global banking regulators on Thursday said supervisors need to up their game to better spot and tackle "outlier" banks with unsustainable business models to apply lessons from banking sector turmoil earlier this year.

The Basel Committee also said it would publish a consultation paper next month on requiring banks to disclose climate-related financial risks. In addition, it will consult on a set of disclosure requirements related to banks' exposures to cryptoassets.

The committee said the March 2023 banking turmoil, which saw the collapse of several U.S. lenders, including Silicon Valley Bank, was the most significant stress in the sector since the global financial crisis of 2008.

It was followed by the forced takeover of Credit Suisse (CS) by UBS.

In a stocktake on the events, the committee said it will prioritise work on making bank supervision more effective so that regulators spot "outlier" banks by better assessing their risk management, viability, and sustainability of business models.

Following the global financial crisis, the Basel Committee largely focused on raising how much capital banks should hold to avoid further taxpayer bailouts, but on Thursday it said supervisors needed to raise their game as well.

"As highlighted during the recent turmoil, a banks regulatory capital ratio at a given point in time does not always adequately capture its actual resilience in a forward-looking perspective," Basel's stocktake said.

"Supervisors should take prompt action to ensure that any deficiencies are addressed," it said, adding that a "rules based" approach to supervision alone was not enough.

"A key takeaway from recent events  most notably regarding the distress of CS  is therefore the importance of supervisors monitoring risk dynamics throughout the group," it added.

The committee said it will analyse if some of its liquidity rules need amending after much faster outflows of deposits during the March crisis, partly due to the impact of social media, compared with previous incidents.

Banks hold two liquidity buffers, a liquidity coverage ratio (LCR) to tide them over for a month, and a second one linked to longer term funding.

However, liquidity regulations alone may not be able to prevent all liquidity runs on banks in an age characterised by easy access to information as well as banking services via various digital tools, the committee said.

There may be merit in further assessing the complexity, transparency and understanding of AT1 debt instruments in a holistic manner, it added.

Hundreds of bondholders have sued Swiss regulator FINMA in an effort to recoup losses from the writedown of AT1 bonds in Credit Suisse.
MUMBAI, Oct 5 (Reuters) - Citi India expects to see equity capital market deals worth $20-22.5 billion in 2023, amid strong local markets and a stable economy, the Wall Street bank's India chief executive said in an interview with Reuters.

Last year, $19.4 billion was raised on India's equity capital markets, according to data from LSEG.

"Initial public offerings have come back and you have seen a flurry of block deal activity given where markets are. Now we are starting to see institutional share sales as well," said Ashu Khullar.

Foreign portfolio investors have bought a net $11 billion in equity so far this year, according to Indias National Securities Depository, helping to lift India's benchmark equity indexes to record highs.

Conversations around mergers are also on the rise, said Khullar, who said deals worth $85 billion have been struck so far this year, with Citi India holding a 22.6% market share.

"Given the interest in India as a market, at some point people will look at both organic and inorganic way to come into the market," Khullar said.

India's recent inclusion in JPMorgan's emerging markets bond index, which will potentially bring in $25-30 billion in debt inflows in the financial year ending March 2025, creates opportunities for Citi to offer a market platform, trading, sales and custody services to new investors, Khullar said.

THE INDIA OPPORTUNITY

The Indian economy is forecast to grow at 6.5% in the financial year ending March 31, 2024, making it the fastest growing major economy.

Citi has been holding roadshows across Asia and Europe meeting with potential India investors, Khullar said. "One thing we are consistently hearing is that every board wants to have an India strategy."

Locally, the economy is seeing early signs of a pick-up in private investment not just from the large industrial conglomerates but also mid-sized companies, which bankers are now targeting more actively.

Citi India, which concluded a sale of its local consumer businesses to Axis Bank in March this year, is now focused on its institutional businesses.

A broader reorganisation underway at Citi globally, which will include layoffs and reassignments, is unlikely to further impact India, he said.

"If you are focused on institutional businesses at a country level, as we are now in India, frankly, it means no change for our business," he said.

"While there could be small changes here and there, India remains a growth market."

($1 = 83.2282 Indian rupees)
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(Kitco News) - The streak of notable losses for the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) continues as the judge overseeing the regulator's lawsuit against Ripple Labs has denied the SECs request for an interlocutory appeal, setting the stage for the trial on the remaining charges to begin on April 23, 2024.

On Tuesday, District Judge Analisa Torres filed paperwork denying the SECs request to appeal the decisions related to retail sales of the XRP token, which the judge previously said did not meet the legal definition of a security.

The SEC filed its appeal in August, arguing that there was substantial ground for differences of opinion on the laws in question.

In her explanation for the decision, Judge Torres said the regulator failed to meet its burden to show that there were controlling questions of law or substantial grounds for differences of opinion on the matter.

The SECs motion for certification of interlocutory appeal is denied, and the SECs request for a stay is denied as moot, Judge Torres said.

Cryptocurrency lawyer Jeremey Hogan called this a major victory for Ripple, as the order allowed the Judge to explain parts of her ruling even better, making an appeal that much harder for the SEC to win. Disaster for the agency, he said.

But not everyone agreed with that outlook, including Gabriel Shapiro, general counsel at Delphi Labs, who warned crypto advocates that the SEC can still appeal the decision once the case has been fully tried.

don't get too excited about the denial of SEC's interlocutory appeal in Ripple...it doesn't mean the SEC "lost its appeal"...it means that if the SEC wants to appeal it has to appeal everything at once after the trial...



still, some useful clarifications of Torres' opinion  _gabrielShapir0 (@lex_node) October 3, 2023

Scott Chamberlain, co-founder of Evernode XRPL and a former lawyer, pushed back against this position, saying the decision is more significant than people realize.

Yes, the SEC can appeal later, but it is stuck with shitty factual record that makes a successful appeal much more difficult, he said. It also means [the] Supreme Court is [a] less likely destination - there are no major legal questions to decide, just the difficult but ultimately mundane task of applying known law to a complicated fact matrix that doesnt support the SEC's claim. The law didnt change. SEC failed to prove its case.

As the case progresses towards its April 23 start date, the parties involved have until Dec. 4 to submit any motions in limine, with oppositions to any such motions due by Dec. 18.

The counsel for both parties and representatives from Ripple Labs and the SEC are ordered to meet in person for a minimum of one hour to discuss a potential settlement prior to the final pretrial conference set for April 16.

Ripple granted license to operate in Singapore

The good news for Ripple wasnt limited to its lawsuit with the SEC, as the payment provider announced on Wednesday that its Singapore subsidiary Ripple Markets APAC Pte Ltd has been granted a Major Payments Institution (MPI) license from the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS).

Ripple can now provide regulated digital payment token services in Singapore as the company moves to prioritize the Asia Pacific region for adoption of its crypto-enabled payment solutions, the release said.

Since establishing Singapore as our Asia Pacific headquarters in 2017, the country has been pivotal to Ripples global business, said Brad Garlinghouse, chief executive officer at Ripple. Under MAS leadership, Singapore has developed into one of the leading fintech and digital asset hubs striking the balance between innovation, consumer protection and responsible growth.

XRP price spiked 8% in response to Judge Torres ruling, hitting a high of $0.548 in trading on Tuesday, but has since pulled back to support at $0.526.

XRP/USD Chart by TradingView
LONDON, Oct 5 (Reuters) - Metro Bank (MTRO.L) shares closed down 26% on Thursday following reports it was exploring options to raise as much as 600 million pounds ($728 million) in debt and equity to bolster its finances, the latest in a string of setbacks to befall the UK lender.

Shares in Britain's best-known challenger bank have lost 98% of their value since the company went public in 2016, leaving it valued at around just 65 million pounds as of Thursday's close. The bank reported having around 15.5 billion pounds in customer deposits at June 30.

Thursday's share price fall is the latest in a litany of woes for the bank, including accounting errors, leadership departures and delayed regulatory approval for key capital reliefs.

Metro Bank's fundraising could include more than 100 million pounds from selling shares to bolster capital, three sources familiar with the matter told Reuters on Wednesday, following an initial report in the Financial Times.

Sky News reported that Metro has begun sounding out potential bidders including Lloyds (LLOY.L) and NatWest (NWG.L) for a 3 billion pound chunk of its mortgage book, citing City sources.

Lloyds and NatWest declined to comment.

Metro Bank said in a statement on Thursday it was considering its options, adding that it met its minimum capital requirements and had not made a decision on fundraising plans.

"The company is evaluating the merits of a range of options, including a combination of equity issuance, debt issuance and/or refinancing and asset sales," it said.

There is no indication customer deposits could be at risk. Metro Bank's customer deposits are backed by a government guarantee up to 85,000 pounds.

While proving popular with customers, Metro said last month that its principal regulator had signalled it was unlikely at this stage to allow the lender to use its own internal risk models for some products. That means it is subject to higher capital requirements, increasing pressure on its high-cost business model and future earnings prospects, ratings agency Fitch said in a note.

Metro Bank's chairman met with officials from its main regulator the Bank of England's Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) on Thursday, for a scheduled meeting, a spokesperson for Metro told Reuters.

The PRA and FCA declined to comment.

Metro's volatile share price in early trading on Thursday triggered two brief automatic suspensions in trading.

The bank's bonds hit their lowest price on record.

The 350 million pounds bond maturing in 2025 plunged to 57, down more than 19 pence in the pound from Wednesday's close, according to MarketAxess.

Meanwhile, the 250 million pounds note due to mature in 2028 fell to 30, down over 21 pence in the pound from Wednesday's close, data from Tradeweb showed.

Regulators in Britain have said the banking system is safe and stable following failures of U.S. lenders Silicon Valley Bank, First Republic Bank, Signature Bank and Switzerland's Credit Suisse which rocked financial markets earlier this year.

Nevertheless, some analysts were downbeat about Metro Bank's long-term prospects.

"Supporting a further capital raise for this struggling bank would be akin to throwing good money after bad, in our view," Gary Greenwood, banking analyst at Shore Capital said in a note, adding he believed the bank's issues were company-specific, including the regulatory capital relief delays.

Sources said Metro Bank has brought in Morgan Stanley as an adviser while one person familiar with the situation said Jefferies recently stepped away as broker to the firm. Jefferies declined to comment.

MULTIPLE SETBACKS

Metro Bank grew rapidly after its launch in Britain in 2010, following a blueprint that founder Vernon Hill had honed in the United States with Commerce Bank that prioritised customer service in-branch while rivals were slashing their networks.

Its distinctive red-and-blue coloured outlets typically located on street corners in busy retail areas offered gimmicks such as a dog-friendly policy inspired by Hill's own pet Duffy.

But, Metro Bank was forced to raise shareholder equity in 2019 after an accounting error led to a misreporting of its risk-weighted assets, spooking investors and regulators and wiping hundreds of millions of pounds off its market value.

The ensuing fallout also ultimately led to the departure of the bank's top management team, including chairman Hill and CEO Craig Donaldson.

The Gilinski Group - an investment firm owned by Colombian billionaire Jamie Gilinski, which holds a 9% stake in Metro Bank - declined to comment on Wednesday.

Metro Bank said on Thursday it expected its forthcoming third quarter trading update to show growth in personal and business current accounts, in line with expectations.

"The board retains conviction in the merits of Metro Bank's customer-centric model and strongly believes that there is a significant opportunity set that the company can capitalise on, subject to renewed balance sheet strength," it said in September.

($1 = 0.8239 pounds)
Humans are increasingly settling in areas highly exposed to dangerous flooding, particularly in China, Vietnam and Bangladesh, a study warned Wednesday.

The research, led by a World Bank economist, warns that settlement growth in flood zones has vastly outpaced growth in safe areas since 1985.

"In a time when human settlements should be adapting to climate change, many countries are actually rapidly increasing their exposure to floods," author Jun Rentschler told AFP.

The study analyzed 30 years of satellite imagery tracking the expansion of human settlement globally, along with flood maps.

While past studies have tended to focus on a particular region or type of flooding, the new research looked worldwide at coastal, rainfall and river flooding risks.

It found that by 2015, 20% of all settlement areas were in zones with medium or higher flood risks, up from 17.9% three decades earlier.

The percentage rise might not seem substantial, but it represents an enormous area because of how quickly human settlement has expanded globally since 1985.

About 76,400 square kilometers (29,500 square miles) of human settlement -- about 48 times the size of greater London -- now faces flooding of more than half a meter, Rentschler said.

"These expanding settlements in high-hazard areas lock in flood exposure, as well as future losses and the need for mounting flood-protection investments," the paper published in Nature warns.

East Asia and the Pacific region are among the most exposed, driven particularly by urban expansion in China, as well as Vietnam and Bangladesh.

"In Vietnam, where almost one-third of the coastline is now built up, the safest and most productive locations are increasingly occupied," the authors wrote.

"Thus, new developments are disproportionately forced onto hazardous land and previously avoided areas, such as riverbeds or floodplains."

A street in Hanoi is flooded after a heavy rain in June 2023. Photo by VnExpress/Vo Hai

'Authorities can do much more'

The analysis does not incorporate potential increases in flood risks caused by climate change, deforestation or changes to features such as riverbeds.

But Rentschler said there was little evidence flood zones were expanding at a rate similar to human settlement in known risk areas, suggesting settlement patterns remain the key factor for policymakers to address.

The research does not distinguish between flood zones in countries with strong protections, such as the Netherlands, and those without.

"There are large differences in flood protection systems, especially when comparing high- and low-income countries," Rentschler acknowledged.

"However, in this study we consider relatively rare and intense flood scenarios, against which even most high-income countries cannot provide full protection," he said.

Climate change increases the risk of devastating flooding, because a warmer atmosphere holds more moisture, making rain events potentially more powerful.

That has meant flood events once considered likely just every hundred years or so are now increasingly common.

Rentschler argues understanding the settlement trend should be the first step in shifting urbanization policies.

"This is where you want to start: before reducing risks, countries need to stop increasing it," he said.

"Local authorities can actually do much more to protect people and prevent future climate change impacts."
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(Kitco News) - New Gold (TSX: NGD) (NYSE: NGD) announced today that the company produced 111,204 gold equivalent ounces in Q3 2023, a 22% increase over the prior year period.

In a press release, the company said that the Rainy River mine delivered on plan with a continued focus on operational discipline, cost control, and cost saving initiatives, adding that the New Afton mine delivered above plan as mining from B3 continues to perform above expectations.

The company said it remains on track to meet its annual production guidance.

New Gold also noted it continued to advance on its development plans at both assets during the quarter and deliver important milestones.

Rainy River continued to advance the connection ramp to the underground Main Zone from Intrepid. At New Afton, we successfully blasted the first draw bell from C-Zone, an important milestone in delivering significant production growth in the coming years, it said.

New Gold is a Canadian-focused intermediate mining company with a portfolio of two core producing assets in Canada, the Rainy River gold mine and the New Afton copper-gold mine.
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(Kitco News) - Africa-focused gold miner Orezone (TSX: ORE) (OTCQX: ORZCF) announced on Thursday that its Bombore gold mine, located in Burkina Faso, produced 30,726 oz of gold in Q3 2023, totalling 107,509 oz year-to-date.

Orezone said that production in Q3 exceeded its expectations, with higher than budgeted mining and processing rates achieved during the rainy season, adding that the company remains well-positioned to meet the lower end of its 2023 guidance of 140,000-155,000 oz.

Importantly, the company said that the impact of historical artisanal mining on ore grades realized in H1 was localized, and during Q3 was only observed in the month of July.

For August and September there was minimal impact, with monthly production averaging 11,289 oz as pit depths are now below that of the affected artisanal horizon, it added.

Orezone Gold is a Canadian mining company operating the open pit Bombore gold mine in Burkina Faso. Bombore achieved commercial production on December 1, 2022.

Orezone is focusing on mining and processing the Phase I near surface free-dig oxides at a planned annual throughput of 5.7 million tonnes. The company said it believes that Bombore has a significant underlying hard rock resource to support a substantially larger Phase II expansion.

The company expects to release the results of the Bombore Phase II Expansion and Updated Life-of-Mine study during the week of October 8th.
Audrey Young writes:

Despite attempts by Labour to downplay ill-discipline by MPs about a wealth tax, there is only one clear answer that Labour candidates should be giving on the hustings to questions about it. It's campaigning 101 and it goes like this:

If Labour is elected to again lead the next Government, it will be on the promise not to introduce a wealth tax or a capital gains tax in the next term. It was a decision endorsed by the caucus and Labour's New Zealand Council and we will keep our promise.

And when they are asked whether they personally support a wealth tax or a capital gains tax, they should be saying:

My opinion does not matter other than my support for the party's position. What matters is what Labour is promising and our promise to Kiwis is no wealth tax or CGT for the next three years and we will keep our promise.

They should not be saying Yes, I personally support a wealth tax but I support our leader 100 per cent.

Anyone who says yes, but either does not understand how to campaign or is happy to sabotage their party's campaign.
The hidden dangers of local delights. Everywhere

October 4, 2023 | 05:02 pm PT

In March 2009 British newswire Reuters reported a case of food poisoning at a restaurant owned by the three-star Michelin chef and culinary legend Heston Blumenthal.

The incident significantly impacted his restaurant. The number of victims who had symptoms including vomiting, diarrhea and high fever gradually increased from 40 people to over 400.

Despite being a high-quality restaurant with a professionally trained kitchen staff, it still fell victim to such an unfortunate situation.

I do not mean to compare this high-end establishment to Phuong, a local bakery in Hoi An, as the difference in standard is clear.

The point is that food poisoning can happen anywhere, not just at street food stalls. Like many other travelers, I often visit renowned eateries to enjoy the local culinary experience rather than merely sate my hunger.

For instance, Taiwan has a chain of restaurants offering famous traditional dishes.

I have traveled extensively from the north to the south of Taiwan to savor the food at these restaurants while researching dim sum.

Anyone visiting for the first time will be enchanted by the traditional ambiance, professional staff and culinary expertise.

The successful owner, once a food technologist, has brilliantly integrated scientific standards into traditional cuisine, earning a Michelin star for his establishment in downtown Taipei.

I firmly believe that long-standing eateries, like the dim sum restaurants in Taiwan and the bakery in Hoi An, have their unique culinary techniques and preservation methods.

It is no happenstance that for 34 years the bakery in Hoi An has served millions of meals to locals and tourists alike.

However, trust is fragile and can be shattered at any moment, as seen in recent food poisoning incidents.

Having worked in kitchens for long, I have observed that during every tourist season restaurant owners find themselves reactively coping with staff shortages, resulting in hiring less skilled people.

As you wander through eateries, it becomes evident that risky practices are common and, sadly, largely ignored.

Fast-food outlets serve a massive number of customers, and the risk of infection from a single source is high.

Factors contributing to food-related illnesses could range from subpar ingredient quality, insects and pets around food to inadequate cooking techniques.

These issues often stem from human neglect due to preoccupation or failure to comply with safety norms.

The case of Phuong bakery in Hoi An exemplifies a large-scale food poisoning incident resulting from sloppy processing at fast-food joints.

According to the Quang Nam Province Department of Health, a total of 3,600 people ate bread from this bakery over two days last month. Of them 313 people, including 103 foreigners, took ill from salmonella from contaminated pork, lettuce and other vegetables.

The pork was processed at the shop after being bought from Hoi An market, while the vegetables were just cleaned and not soaked in salt as they should have been.

Vietnam is a culinary paradise with diverse street food options.

Seeking to make the country the "Kitchen of the World" is a wise and achievable goal, and will give a fillip to its tourism industry.

However, to attract tourists, safety must precede taste.

To ensure safety, regulatory authorities should strictly monitor street food outlets the way they do driving licenses.

Staff at these establishments should undergo regular knowledge checks, passing which should be mandatory to remain in service.

Sadly, this aspect has been overlooked on Vietnam's street food scene.

Restaurant owners have the right to hire whomever they wish, regardless of skill level.

I have attended food safety training sessions, but they would often feel ritualistic and lack serious investment to instill the importance of food safety discipline.

These trainees are critical links in food preparation and also potential agents of food poisoning if not properly educated.

Investing in processing knowledge and technology and staff training will help restaurants control food safety risks.

But training, maintenance and monitoring of established standards need to be a daily endeavor to significantly reduce incidents.

Whether at high-end restaurants or in street food stalls, minimizing health risks is paramount.

With Vietnam aspiring to become the "Kitchen of the World," unceasing efforts are required and on a daily basis to not only enhance restaurant service quality but also preserve the allure of Vietnam's tourism sector.

*Nguyen Manh Hung is a chef and author of cooking books.
Spanish tourist praises Thai police as 'best in the world' after lost camera retrieved

A Spanish tourist thanked Thai police for helping him to retrieve his lost camera and a hard drive that stored photos from his travel, praising them as the "the best cops in the world."

The tourist, identified as Denison Mendes, went to the Don Mueang Police Station to pick up his lost bag with a camera, two lenses and a hard drive on September 29, Pol Lieutenant PhattharasayaRirkrat, deputy inspector of the station, said on her TikTok page on Tuesday.

"Spanish people must know that not only Don Mueang police, but all Thai police, are the best cops in the world. Tourists who come to Thailand must know that they will be safe. You are the best cops in the world," Phattharasaya's post quoted Mendes as saying.

The tourist and his girlfriend arrived at the police station in Bangkok's Don Mueang to file a complaint earlier that he had forgotten his camera bag in a taxi that they took to go to Don Mueang International Airport, the National Thailand reported.

He did not know the license plate number of the taxi.

His bag contained a Nikon camera, two lenses and a hard drive in the boot of the car.

Based on CCTV footage, police identified the taxi driver who said he had been trying to locate the foreign tourists to give the bag to them.

Thailand has received 19.5 million foreign tourists so far this year.
Hexagon Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO  Free Report) by 6.1% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 14,894 shares of the companys stock after buying an additional 861 shares during the quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLCs holdings in Altria Group were worth $675,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P purchased a new position in Altria Group in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Northwest Bank & Trust Co acquired a new stake in shares of Altria Group in the second quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Altria Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Ellevest Inc. raised its position in shares of Altria Group by 346.7% during the 1st quarter. Ellevest Inc. now owns 670 shares of the companys stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 520 shares during the last quarter. Finally, NewSquare Capital LLC grew its holdings in Altria Group by 153.8% during the 1st quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 731 shares of the companys stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 443 shares during the last quarter. 58.94% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on MO. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on Altria Group from $56.00 to $55.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, August 22nd. StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Altria Group in a research note on Thursday, August 17th. They issued a buy rating for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $47.50.

Altria Group Stock Performance

Altria Group stock traded up $0.10 during trading on Thursday, hitting $41.75. The companys stock had a trading volume of 3,120,866 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,761,042. The stocks fifty day moving average is $43.53 and its 200 day moving average is $44.66. Altria Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $40.91 and a 1-year high of $51.57. The stock has a market capitalization of $74.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.93, a P/E/G ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 0.59.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO  Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 1st. The company reported $1.31 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts consensus estimates of $1.31. Altria Group had a net margin of 27.40% and a negative return on equity of 225.61%. The company had revenue of $5.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.43 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.26 EPS. The companys quarterly revenue was up 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Altria Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.98 per share. This represents a $3.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 9.39%. This is an increase from Altria Groups previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 14th. Altria Groups dividend payout ratio is presently 102.89%.

Altria Group Company Profile

(Free Report)

Altria Group, Inc, through its subsidiaries, manufactures and sells smokeable and oral tobacco products in the United States. The company provides cigarettes primarily under the Marlboro brand; cigars and pipe tobacco principally under the Black & Mild brand; moist smokeless tobacco products and snus products under the Copenhagen, Skoal, Red Seal, and Husky brands; and on! oral nicotine pouches.

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A woman sits by the shore while looking at waves breaking as Typhoon Koinu approaches, in Taitung, Taiwan, October 4, 2023. Photo by Reuters

Vietnamese airlines have canceled and rescheduled their flights to and from Kaohsiung international airport in Taiwan on October 5 due to the impact of Koinu typhoon.

National flag carrier Vietnam Airlines canceled flights VN587 from Kaohsiung to Hanoi and VN581 from Kaohsiung to Ho Chi Minh City.

Flights on October 5 night and October 6 morning will use wide-body Airbus A350 or B787.

The same day, budget carrier Vietjet suspended flights VJ885 and VJ886 on the Ho Chi Minh City - Kaohsiung - Ho Chi Minh City route. Some other flights might also be affected by this disruption.

Airlines said they will continue to keep a close watch on the weather situation and provide updates. They recommend that passengers proactively check flight information and specific schedules on their websites and mobile apps.

Passengers who are affected by these changes will be assisted according to existing regulations.

Typhoon Koinu began brushing past the rural far southern tip of Taiwan on Thursday, injuring 190 but causing no deaths, as lashing rains and strong winds canceled work and classes for millions in a swathe of cities across the island.
Invesco S&P SmallCap 600 Revenue ETF (NYSEARCA:RWJ  Get Free Report) fell 0.1% on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $34.75 and last traded at $35.20. 323,017 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 67% from the average session volume of 193,214 shares. The stock had previously closed at $35.24.

Invesco S&P SmallCap 600 Revenue ETF Trading Down 0.1 %

The firm has a market cap of $1.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.21 and a beta of 1.32. The companys 50-day moving average is $38.16 and its two-hundred day moving average is $37.19.

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Hedge Funds Weigh In On Invesco S&P SmallCap 600 Revenue ETF

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. LPL Financial LLC lifted its position in shares of Invesco S&P SmallCap 600 Revenue ETF by 24.2% during the 2nd quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 886,915 shares of the companys stock worth $100,585,000 after buying an additional 172,751 shares in the last quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Invesco S&P SmallCap 600 Revenue ETF during the 1st quarter worth approximately $13,960,000. Wells Fargo & Company MN lifted its position in shares of Invesco S&P SmallCap 600 Revenue ETF by 81.8% during the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 199,516 shares of the companys stock worth $21,653,000 after buying an additional 89,777 shares in the last quarter. Onyx Bridge Wealth Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Invesco S&P SmallCap 600 Revenue ETF during the 1st quarter worth approximately $9,544,000. Finally, Mariner LLC bought a new position in shares of Invesco S&P SmallCap 600 Revenue ETF during the 4th quarter worth approximately $8,860,000.

Invesco S&P SmallCap 600 Revenue ETF Company Profile

The Invesco S&P SmallCap 600 Revenue ETF (RWJ) is an exchange-traded fund that is based on the S&P SmallCap 600 Revenue-Weighted index. The fund tracks an index of S&P SmallCap 600 Index stocks that are weighted by revenue. RWJ was launched on Feb 22, 2008 and is managed by Invesco.

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Ryanair Holdings plc (LON:RYA  Get Free Report) shares passed above its fifty day moving average during trading on Monday . The stock has a fifty day moving average of GBX 14.41 ($0.17) and traded as high as GBX 14.47 ($0.17). Ryanair shares last traded at GBX 14.42 ($0.17), with a volume of 1,030,829 shares changing hands.

Ryanair Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 1.34, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 116.44. The stocks fifty day moving average price is GBX 14.41 and its two-hundred day moving average price is GBX 14.41. The firm has a market capitalization of 163.33 million and a price-to-earnings ratio of -24.94.

About Ryanair

(Get Free Report)

Ryanair Holdings plc, together with its subsidiaries, provides scheduled-passenger airline services in Ireland, the United Kingdom, Italy, Spain, Germany, and Other European countries. It is also involved in the provision of various ancillary services, such as non-flight scheduled services and internet-related services; in-flight sale of beverages, food, and merchandise; and marketing accommodation and hotel services, car hire, and travel insurance through its Website and mobile app.

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Korea and Japan held vice-ministerial talks in Seoul on Thursday on bilateral relations and other common issues, including the recent development on North Korea's closer ties with Russia, agreeing to keep the momentum going for thawing relations, Seoul's foreign ministry said.

The discussions took place during the "strategic dialogue" held between South Korea's First Vice Foreign Minister Chang Ho-jin and his Japanese counterpart, Masataka Okano, in Seoul earlier in the day, the first such talks in nine years as the two Asian neighbors have quickly been mending ties after years of a chill over a historical row.

Bilateral relations have thawed after South Korea decided in March to compensate Korean victims of Japanese wartime forced labor on its own without asking for contributions from Japanese companies.

The decision led to President Yoon Suk Yeol traveling to Tokyo later that month for summit talks with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, becoming the first South Korean president to make a bilateral visit to Japan in 12 years.

Chang said Thursday's talks were "meaningful as it helped explore in-depth methods to deepen cooperation for the bilateral relations to further develop in a forward-looking manner," according to the foreign ministry.

Calling the two countries "important neighbors," Okana noted the talks provided an "opportunity for broader discussions to elevate the Korea-Japan relations to another level."

The vice ministers agreed to work together to keep the momentum going for the improvement in bilateral relations.

The two sides also agreed to make efforts to revitalize three-way cooperation with China and continue to bolster the trilateral coordination involving the United States in responding to various regional and global challenges.

Also on the table was North Korea's recent development in relations with Russia.

"The vice ministers strongly condemned North Korea's continued nuclear and missile provocations and threats, and agreed that South Korea, the U.S. and Japan should lead a firm and united response from the international community based on close coordination," the ministry said.

Concerns have grown that Pyongyang and Moscow might have reached an arms deal that would help enhance the North's military capabilities following last month's summit between leader Kim Jong-un and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The meeting also came on the day that Japan discharged its second batch of treated radioactive water from its crippled Fukushima nuclear power plant into the Pacific Ocean through Oct. 23, following its first release from Aug. 24 to Sept. 11.

Japan's release of the radioactive water has had little impact on the warming of relations, as Seoul has maintained the discharge will have little effect on the environment as long as it is done in a scientifically safe manner.

Reviving high-level diplomatic dialogue channels, including restoring the long-suspended "shuttle diplomacy" of regular leader visits, was part of the agreement reached at the March summit. Since then, the two leaders have held five additional summit meetings.

The strategic dialogue, established in 2005, had not taken place since the last meeting in October 2014 due to a chill in bilateral ties.

Following the meeting, Okano paid a courtesy call on South Korean Foreign Minister Park Jin. (Yonhap)
President Yoon Suk Yeol met Thursday with a group of Korean community leaders from around the world, saying he will pay closer attention to Koreans living overseas and strengthen global networks to widen the "playing field" for overseas Koreans.

Yoon made the remark during a ceremony marking the 17th World Korean Day, which brought together some 450 people, including 360 leaders of Korean communities around the world. The presidential office noted it was the first such ceremony since the launch of the Overseas Koreans Agency, a government agency tasked with better supporting overseas Koreans, in June.

"Your early overseas entry may have been difficult and insignificant at first, but with your hard work and effort, you wrote the history of immigration and the economic history of the great Koreans," he said during the ceremony held at a hotel in Seoul.

"Our government will thoroughly look after all Koreans around the world with the Overseas Koreans Agency at the center. While strengthening our global networks, we will widen the playing field where our businesses and people, and our 7.5 million overseas compatriots can gather their strengths and run," he said.

Yoon recalled the Koreans who worked in Hawaii's sugar cane fields and the miners and nurses sent to Germany in the 1960s to earn foreign currency for Korea's economic development.

"Now the Republic of Korea has risen from the ruins of war and is aiming to become a global pivotal state that fulfills its responsibilities and role in the international community," he said. "We will contribute more and cooperate more with the international community so that our compatriots overseas can be proud of their homeland."

During the ceremony, five people were given government awards in recognition of their service to Koreans living overseas, including representatives of Korean communities in Vancouver, Canada, and Africa and the Middle East.

Actor Soji Arai, whose Korean name is Park Sohee, also gave remarks on his own experience of living as a third-generation Korean-Japanese, and living in the United States, while overcoming discrimination as an immigrant and holding on to his Korean identity.

Park starred in the American TV series "Pachinko," which is based on the 2017 novel by Min Jin Lee and follows the story of Korean immigrants living in Japan in the 20th century.

Yoon has held a series of events with overseas Koreans in recent days.

Last Friday, he hosted a luncheon for Korean victims of the 1945 Hiroshima atomic bombing, while on Wednesday, he hosted a luncheon for a group of former nurses and miners sent to Germany in the 1960s and 70s. (Yonhap)
The U.S. military has changed the naming of the waters between the Korean Peninsula and Japan in photo captions describing the venue for last week's bilateral naval drills with South Korea, its website showed Thursday.

The U.S. Indo-Pacific Command had initially used the Japanese name for the body of waters, the "Sea of Japan," in the captions on the three-day exercise that ended last Wednesday although South Korea calls it the "East Sea."

The unit's website showed the captions have since been changed to read "At Sea."

Seoul's defense ministry said it has made requests to the U.S. military to change the naming of the waters in its published material whenever it is marked as the Sea of Japan.

"A change was requested again this time, and the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command made the change," a ministry official said. "There are cases in the past where the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command changed the Sea of Japan naming due to our request."

Many photo captions previously published by the U.S. unit referencing the East Sea notate it as the Sea of Japan, while some describe it as "waters to the east of the Korean Peninsula." (Yonhap)
The unification ministry will formulate its policy on the issue of propaganda leaflet distribution into North Korea while comprehensively taking into account inter-Korean relations and the Constitutional Court's decision to strike down a ban on leaflet distribution, an official said Thursday.

Last week, the court ruled the revised Development of Inter-Korean Relations Act to be unconstitutional, saying it excessively restricts the constitutionally guaranteed right to freedom of expression. It led to the law's immediate annulment.

The decision came 2 1/2 years after the revised law went into effect under the previous Moon Jae-in administration on the grounds that such leafleting could provoke the North to undertake provocations and put the safety of border town residents at risk. But critics had said the law stifled freedom of expression.

"We will prioritize the meaning of the Constitutional Court's decision on guaranteeing the freedom of expression," a ministry official told reporters on condition of anonymity. "We will consult with organizations while comprehensively factoring in circumstances such as the inter-Korean relationship."

When asked if this marks a shift from the ministry's previous stance that civic groups should refrain from such campaigns, the official responded, "Yes, when considering inter-Korean relations."

"The government will think about what policy it will take by taking various points into account," he said.

The court decision came in response to a constitutional petition filed by a group of civic groups on North Korean human rights, including Fighters for a Free North Korea (FFNK), against the law on the day of its promulgation.

North Korean defector groups in South Korea, such as the FFNK, have sent big plastic balloons carrying leaflets -- mostly with face masks and medicine -- over to the North in what they say is a bid to free North Korean people from the tyrannical North Korean regime with outside information.

The campaigns, however, have been a recurring source of conflict between South and North Korea.

In June 2020, the North blew up the joint liaison office in Kaesong in protest of Seoul's failure to stop North Korean defectors from sending anti-Pyongyang leaflets across the border. (Yonhap)
Through its Rewards for Justice Program, the U.S. Department of State is offering a reward of up to $10 million for information about any person, acting at the direction of a foreign government, who, while acting at the direction of or under the control of a foreign government, interferes with U.S. elections by violating the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act.



The State Department is looking for information on two Iranian cyber actors employed by the Iranian cyber company Emennet Pasargad, which provides cyber capabilities and support to Irans Ministry of Intelligence and Security, as well as the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRCC) and the IRGC-Qods Force, two U.S.-designated Foreign Terrorist Organizations.



From at least August through November 2020, Seyyed Mohammad Hosein Musa Kazemi and Sajjad Kashian participated in an Iranian state-sponsored multi-phased operation targeting the 2020 U.S. presidential election. Kazemi helped carry out the voter intimidation and influence campaign by compromising servers used to send threatening voter emails, preparing emails for the voter threat email campaign, and compromising the email accounts of an American media company.



Among other activities, Kashian managed computer network infrastructure that was used to carry out the voter intimidation and influence campaign and sought to purchase social media accounts to further that campaign.



In November 2021, the United States designated these individuals and their employer Emennet Pasargad under Executive Order 13848. The two men face sanctions and federal criminal charges in connection with their activities.



Since its inception in 1984, the Rewards for Justice program, which is administered by the Department of States Diplomatic Security Service, has paid in excess of $200 million to more than 100 people across the globe who provided actionable information that helped prevent terrorism, bring terrorist leaders to justice, and resolve threats to U.S. national security.



If you have information on Seyyed Kazemi or Sajjad Kashians malicious cyberactivity, please contact the Rewards for Justice Program through its website at www.rewardsforjustice.net.



All information will be kept strictly confidential.



Anncr: That was an international public service announcement by the United States Government.




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Congressman Steve Scalise stands on the stage with his kids Harrison Scalise, 13, and Madison Scalise, 15, and his wife Jennifer Letulle and thanks his supporters during his victory party at Drago's in Metairie, La., Tuesday, Nov. 8, 2022. (Photo by Sophia Germer, NOLA.com, The Times-Picayune | The New Orleans Advocate)
The U.S. Department of State is offering a reward of up to $10 million for information leading to the arrest and/or conviction of Eugenio Dario Molina-Lopez, an international drug trafficker from Guatemala. Molina is a leader of a Transnational Criminal Organization known as Los Huistas. Los Huistas is primarily based in the Huehuetenango region of Northwest Guatemala that borders Mexico. Molinas leadership within Los Huistas is well known to the U.S. and Guatemalan governments, and both are working together to bring him to justice.

The United States uses a well-coordinated approach to fighting transnational organized crime in Central America. The reward offer for Molina complements a Department of Justice indictment against him and other co-conspirators, as well as a Department of the Treasury action taken by the Office of Foreign Assets Control to impose financial sanctions on Molina and other individuals and entities associated with Los Huistas under Executive Order 14059.

Criminal groups such as the Los Huistas [drug trafficking organization], contribute to instability in Guatemala and the region, said Under Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Brian Nelson. Los Huistas [drug trafficking organization] smuggles deadly narcotics, including cocaine, methamphetamine, and heroin, from Guatemala through Mexico for distribution in multiple U.S. cities. Treasury and our U.S. and Guatemalan government partners will continue to use every available resource to dismantle these criminal networks.

More than 75 transnational criminals and major narcotics traffickers have been brought to justice with the help of the Narcotics Rewards Program since its inception in 1986, with the State Department paying more than $135 million in rewards to-date.

Any tips regarding the whereabouts of Molina should be provided to DHS Homeland Security Investigations via WhatsApp, Telegram, or Signal at +1-619-350-2012 or by email at molina.tips@ice.dhs.gov.

The Narcotics Rewards Program and Transnational Organized Crime Rewards Program empower the United States to fight transnational crime and bring major fugitives who operate outside the United States to justice.
The United States is committed to countering ISIS-Khorasan and ensuring that the soil of Afghanistan is not used to threaten the security of the United States or any nation.

The U.S. Department of States Rewards for Justice Program, which is administered by the Diplomatic Security Service, is offering two rewards of up to $10 million each for information on specific terrorists operating in Afghanistan.

The first reward offer is for information leading to the identification or location of ISIS-K leader Sanaullah Ghafari. In June of 2020, Ghafari, who is also known as Shahab al-Muhajir, was appointed by Core ISIS leaders to lead ISIS-K in Afghanistan. In that role, Ghafari is responsible for approving all ISIS-K operations throughout Afghanistan and arranging funding to conduct operations.

The second reward offer is for information leading to the arrest or conviction, in any country, of those responsible for the August 26 terrorist attack at Kabuls international airport. On that date, terrorists launched a suicide bombing against the airport as the United States and other governments conducted a large-scale evacuation of their citizens and vulnerable Afghans. The attack killed at least 185 people, mostly civilian men, women, and children, as well as 13 U.S. service members supporting evacuation operations. More than 150 people, including civilian men, women, and children, and 18 U.S. service members were wounded. ISIS-K claimed responsibility for that attack.

Anyone with information on Sanaullah Ghafari or those responsible for the attack on the Kabul International Airport should text Rewards for Justice via Signal, Telegram, or WhatsApp at +1-202-702-7843. Individuals may also contact the Rewards for Justice office via its Tor-based tips-reporting channel. All information submitted to Rewards for Justice will be kept strictly confidential.

Since its inception in 1984, the Rewards for Justice program has paid more than $200 million to more than 100 people across the globe who have provided actionable information that helped prevent terrorism, bring terrorist leaders to justice, and resolve threats to the U.S. national security.

These rewards are being offered at an important moment in the fight against ISIS, as the leader of the ISIS Core was killed in a recent U.S. counterterrorism operation in Syria. That operation and these new reward offers are a clear demonstration of the United States determination to identify, find, and defeat ISIS anywhere in the world, whether in Syria, Afghanistan, or beyond.
Guwahati (Assam) [India], October 5 (ANI): Assam Pradesh Congress Committee staged a protest in Guwahati against the hike in power tariff and burnt the notice copy of the hike in electricity rate on Thursday.

Party's MP Gaurav Gogoi also took part in the protest and burned the notice copy placed over a banner using a bow and arrow.

Also Read | Delhi Shocker: 42-Year-Old Woman Sexually Assaulted by Gurdwara Pradhan in Central Delhi.

Later speaking to the media persons Gogoi alleged Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma of treating people of Assam as his personal ATM and said that if Congress comes into power it will provide 200 units per month of free electricity to deserving families.

"Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma is treating the people of Assam as his personal ATM. Every time the Govt runs into lakhs of rupees of debt, the BJP Govt increases the tax, electricity bill, all forms of duties, toll tax and therefore the poor people have to bear the brunt of the failures of the BJP...We have said that when we come to power, we will provide 200 units per month of free electricity to the most deserving families," said Gogoi.

Also Read | India-Canada Tension: Sought Parity in Our Respective Diplomatic Presence, Says MEA on Recalling 41 Diplomats From New Delhi by October 10.

APDCL had in a notice issued to power consumers in the state announced the increase in the per unit price of electricity with effect from October 2023.

According to the notification, the FPPPA rate has been revised to 30 paisa per unit up to 300 units for domestic consumers; 50 paisa per unit for consumption between 301 and 500 units; Rs 1.29 per unit for consumption more than 500 units. The FPPPA rate for other categories (commercial, industrial, etc) will be Rs 1.29 per unit.

When questioned about the arrest of AAP MP Sanjay Singh, MP Gaurav Gogoi said, "This shows how the BJP is scared. They are on the back foot. Last year they summoned Rahul Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi. So, this is just a way of intimidating the people of India. They are using law enforcement agencies on the press, on journalists."

"BJP, PM Modi and Amit Shah believe in the politics of intimidation. But Rahul Gandhi has clearly told the people of India, "Daro Mat". People of India are listening to Rahul Gandhi. Nobody is scared of PM Modi. Nobody is scared of Home Minister Amit Shah," added Gogoi. (ANI)

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
New Delhi [India], October 5 (ANI): The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Thursday raided the residence of West Bengal Food and Supplies Minister Rathin Ghosh in connection with an alleged recruitment scam in the Madhyamgram Municipality.

As per sources, more than a dozen premises linked to Ghosh have been covered in the state including North 24 Parganas District and Kolkata.

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Ghosh is the former chairman of the Madhyamgram Municipality and is accused of being involved in an alleged scam to recruit ineligible candidates for government jobs.

The raid on the Bengal minister came just days after after top TMC leaders' protested against the Centre in New Delhi on October 2 and October 3.

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The TMC has also called on its cadre to march to the Raj Bhavan in Kolkata today against what they allege is the BJP's attempts to silence the party.

"We stand resolute in our determination, unwavering in the face of BJP's desperate attempts to silence us. Despite their oppressive tactics and ruthless suppression of our peaceful protests in Dilli, Bengal remains undeterred. Come what may, we won't bow down to the Zamindars. We shall march to Raj Bhavan today, upholding the rights of the people!" the TMC posted on X.

The TMC also alleged that the Governor CV Ananda Bose had refused to grant the party time to meet them.

"Yesterday, we extended a courteous letter to the @BengalGovernor, seeking an appointment today to discuss a matter of utmost importance - Bengal's funds being withheld by the @BJP4India -led Centre. In response to the Governor's message that he is 'unavailable', our Rajya Sabha MP @derekobrienmp sent an email, requesting a meeting once he returns to Kolkata following his visit to North Bengal. However, it is deeply troubling that in his initial response, the Governor suggested that the delegation could travel to North Bengal and meet him in one of the circuit houses or relief camps. This suggestion reeks of a Zamindari Culture, a relic of a bygone era that we vehemently disapprove of and are committed to fighting against" the TMC posted on X.

The TMC is also protesting against these fresh raids on the Bengal minister and another summons issued to TMC general secretary Abhishek Banerjee. (ANI)

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Kochi, Oct 5 (PTI) The Kerala High Court on Thursday granted interim bail to popular reality show star and model Shiyas Kareem, in connection with a rape and cheating case registered against him in the state.

The relief was granted by Justice Gopinath P subject to conditions, a government lawyer associated with the case said.

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The court will hear the matter again on October 11, the lawyer said.

The model got the relief hours after he was held at the Chennai Airport in connection with the case as a lookout notice was issued against him by the Kerala police.

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Kareem was detained by the security personnel at the Chennai airport upon his arrival from Dubai this morning.

Chandera police here have registered a rape and cheating case against him based on the complaint of a female trainer who was employed by Kareem at his gymnasium in Kochi.

The 32-year old woman, a Kasaragod resident, has alleged that she had been raped and molested multiple times by him since 2021, according to the police.

In her complaint, the woman has also claimed that he owes her Rs 11 lakh, which he took from her over a period of time.

She has also claimed that Kareem, who owns a gymnasium in Kochi, promised to make her a partner in his business and sought money.

The woman alleged that he had assaulted her multiple times.

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Over two and a half years ago, the military seized power in Burma in a bloody coup. The regime has left Burma in ruins, with four out of five townships affected by armed clashes between the military and those that oppose its rule.

The results have been devastating, said USAID Deputy Administrator Michael Schiffer in recent Congressional testimony:

Today, due to the militarys brutality, there are now over 1.9 million people displaced in Burma, and more than one million refugees in Bangladesh and the rest of the region. The internally displaced communities are facing increased threats of violence from the military, and facing on-going trauma due to conflict, bungled COVID response, epic mismanagement of the economy, high food prices, and frequent displacement that has severely impacted their coping capacity.

Through USAID, the United States has led the international communitys humanitarian response to Burma and the Rohingya refugee crisis in Bangladesh by providing nearly $2.1 billion since 2017, said Deputy Administrator Schiffer:

We deliver humanitarian assistance to the displaced conflict-affected and other vulnerable groups, including Rohingya, by leveraging partnerships with humanitarian organizations that deliver assistance to beneficiaries based on verifiable needs.

And although at times this work has required engagement with governing authorities in Burma, said Deputy Administrator Schiffer, we do so with humanitarian principles first and foremost in mind. In Bangladesh, USAID supports emergency preparedness and response capacity of host communities in Coxs Bazar District, including funding for humanitarian coordination, nutrition, protection and risk management.

USAID also provides emergency support to pro-democracy activists and ethnic support organizations, civil society leaders, journalists, and human rights defenders, explained Deputy Administrator Schiffer. This ongoing assistance provides a critical safety net and includes temporary safe houses, subsistence living expenses, emergency medical needs, digital and physical security, legal aid, and psychosocial support, enabling individuals and entities to continue their work for a democratic future for Burma.

The road ahead in Burma remains challenging, warned Deputy Administrator Schiffer. Nevertheless, USAID remains committed to provide the people of Burma with the support they need during this crisis, prioritizing humanitarian assistance; civilian protection, including early warning and early response and support for the development and growth of governance institutions to advance U.S. policy objectives of a just, peaceful, inclusive, federal and democratic Burma.
New Delhi, Oct 5 (PTI) India on Thursday said it was looking forward to engaging with the new Maldivian government on all issues, reaffirming its commitment to strengthening the "time-tested" bilateral ties.

The remarks by External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi came when asked about Maldivian President-elect Mohamed Muizzu's comments that foreign military forces cannot stay in the Maldives.

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The comments by Muizzu, who defeated incumbent President Ibrahim Solih in the presidential runoff on Saturday, were largely seen as a reference to the Indian military personnel in the island nation.

The Maldivian President-elect is known to be close to China.

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The Maldives is one of India's key maritime neighbours in the Indian Ocean Region and the overall bilateral ties including in areas of defence and security have been on an upward trajectory in the last few years.

At his weekly media briefing, Bagchi said Prime Minister Narendra Modi was the first leader to convey greetings and felicitations to Muizzu.

"Prime Minister Modi conveyed and reaffirmed India's commitment to strengthening the time-tested India-Maldives bilateral relationship and enhancing overall bilateral cooperation in the Indian Ocean region," Bagchi said.

"Subsequently, our High Commissioner in Male called on the President-elect, and he had a good discussion on various aspects of our bilateral relationship including development cooperation," he said.

Bagchi said India is looking forward to engaging with the new administration in Maldives on all issues.

"The focus of our partnership with Maldives has always been on capacity building and working together to address our shared challenges and priorities," he said.

"As neighbours, we need to collaborate closely to address the challenges confronting our regions such as transnational crimes and Humanitarian Assistance Disaster Relief (HADR). We look forward to engaging with the new administration in Maldives on all such issues," Bagchi added.

President Solih has consistently been focusing on boosting ties with India and was pursuing an "India First" policy.

In May, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh visited the Maldives during which he handed over a fast patrol vessel and a landing craft to the island nation.

In August last year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Maldivian President Solih kick-started the India-funded Greater Male connectivity project, billed as the largest infrastructure initiative in the island nation.

Under the Greater Male Connectivity Project (GMCP) project, a 6.74 km long bridge and causeway link will be built to connect the capital city Male with adjoining islands of Villingli, Gulhifalhu and Thilafushi.

The Maldives is also one of the biggest beneficiaries of India's Neighbourhood First policy and Shahid lauded development.

(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], October 5 (ANI): The Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) in collaboration with Savitribai Phule Pune University organized the soft launch of an online platform "Universalization of Traditional Indian Knowledge System (UTIKS) portal" at Manipal Academy of Higher Education, on October 5.

The UTIKS portal was soft-launched by Dr Vinay Sahasrabuddhe, President, ICCR in the presence of Kumar Tuhin, Director General, ICCR, Dr Narayan Sabhahit, Pro-VC, Manipal Academy of Higher Education, Dignitaries and Officials from the state Government of Karnataka and international students from Manipal Academy of Higher Education (MAHE), Manipal, Karnataka.

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During his address, President ICCR Vinay Sahasrabuddhe said, "India was always a knowledge society, a knowledge giver as well but the colonial masters suppressed facts, denigrated our culture and scholarship and created an inferiority complex. With this portal, we are generating curiosity and restoring the dignity of India's knowledge culture."

This online platform is for short courses on Traditional Indian Knowledge which provides an authentic single window source of introductory level knowledge on a range of subjects under the Traditional Indian Knowledge System and was developed in collaboration with Savitribai Phule Pune University.

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The Portal is aimed at disseminating knowledge and authentic information about Indian culture to the uninitiated, as well as introducing Indian culture in a nuanced manner to those who may already have a basic understanding but would be looking for a deeper appreciation of diverse subjects.

"Savitribai Phule Pune University as the partner for creation of UTIKS, contributed by providing the academic framework for UTIKS capsules. Each UTIKS capsule consists of a 30-minute video segment, including organized video and audio content, images, interviews, and demonstrations," a press release statement said. Five of the UTIKS capsules-- 'Architecture of India', 'Cuisine of India', 'Attires of India', 'Introduction to Indian Cinema', and 'Ramayana and Mahabharata' were presented on October 5. "Seven more UTIKS capsules on diverse subjects are under different stages of preparation and will be available online shortly, the press release statement added.

During the soft launch of the portal, a presentation on UTIKS showcasing videos of the 5 capsules on Indian culture with a brief narration was presented by Abhay Kumar, Deputy Director General, ICCR.

UTIKS, an initiative of the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR), is an e-learning platform designed to take Indian culture to a global audience and present its rich civilization and culture in a learner-friendly manner.

UTIKS provides an integrated platform and portal for online courses in Distance Learning Mode, accessible on various devices, from PCs and laptops to smartphones and tablets. It is not just for foreigners; but for everyone including those residing in India, and may be unaware of the depth and richness of our culture. (ANI)

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
New Delhi, Oct 5 (PTI) The Securities Appellate Tribunal (SAT) on Thursday quashed a Sebi order that barred NDTV founders Prannoy Roy and Radhika Roy from the securities market for two years in an insider trading case.

However, the appellate tribunal partly set aside an order against Vikramaditya Chandra, the group's chief executive officer during the relevant period, and remitted the matter back to Sebi to decide the issue.

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It further said that trades executed by Chandra during PSI-3 (price-sensitive information) are required to be reconsidered, according to the order passed by SAT.

PSI-3 pertains to the company signing an agreement with a venture capital fund Com Ventures VI, L.P. for investment of USD 20 million in NDTV Network Plc's non-news businesses.

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In November 2020, Sebi prohibited Roys from the securities market for two years and also directed them to disgorge illegal gains of more than Rs 16.97 crore for indulging in the insider trading case.

Besides, the watchdog restrained seven individuals and entities from insider trading in the shares of the company for a period varying from one to two years. Also, some of them have been asked to disgorge illegal gains made from trading in the shares when they were in possession of Unpublished Price Sensitive Information (UPSI).

Further, Chandra was asked to disgorge Rs 6.67 lakh in illegal gains.

The directions followed a probe conducted by the markets regulator between September 2006 and June 2008 wherein violations of insider trading regulations were found. The investigation revealed that NDTV had filed six price-sensitive information for disclosure during the investigation period.

In its order, Sebi noted that Prannoy Roy and his wife Radhika together made a gain of Rs 16.97 crore while indulging in insider trading in the shares of New Delhi Television Ltd (NDTV) while in possession of UPSI relating to the proposed reorganization of the company.

Prannoy Roy was the chairman and whole time director and Radhika Roy was the managing director during the period under investigation.

Sebi stated that Roys had sold their shares on April 17, 2008, when the trading window was closed and, therefore, violated NDTV's Code of Conduct and the provisions of insider trading rules.

While dismissing the Sebi's order, SAT noted that information about the reorganisation of the company was not price sensitive information, and Prannoy Roy and Radhika Roy are not insiders.

Prannoy Roy and Radhika Roy had secured pre-trade clearance from the Compliance Officer of NDTV and therefore, the trades executed by these two individuals were in conformity with the NDTV Code of Conduct and the PIT (Prohibition of Insider Trading) Regulations, the tribunal said.

"There is no finding in the impugned order to the effect that the Compliance Office had acted improperly in granting permission to these two entities to sell during the period when the trading window was closed," a bench consisting of Justice Tarun Agarwala and presiding officer Meera Swarup said in their order passed on Thursday.

Consequently, the appellate tribunal said that "the impugned order passed by the WTM (Whole Time Member) against Prannoy Roy and Radhika Roy cannot be sustained".

In November 2022, Prannoy Roy and Radhika Roy resigned as the directors of promoter group vehicle RRPR Holding Private Limited.

RRPR, which was acquired by the Adani Group, held a 29.18 per cent stake in the news channel at the time.

As of the June quarter, Roys held a 2.5 per cent stake each in NDTV, shareholding data with the BSE showed.

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Islamabad, Oct 5 (AP) Amnesty International on Thursday urged Pakistan to maintain its support for Afghan refugees by enabling them to live with dignity and be free from the fear of deportation to Afghanistan where they face persecution by the Taliban.

A forced return of refugees to Afghanistan could put them at a grave risk, Amnesty said in a statement, though Pakistan says its ongoing operations against irregular immigration weren't specific to Afghans.

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Afghans in Pakistan are fleeing persecution by the Taliban," said Nadia Rahman, Amnesty's regional deputy director for research in South Asia. They are living incredibly precarious lives where they are either having to undergo arduous processes for registering as refugees in Pakistan, or are stuck in lengthy processes waiting to obtain relocation to another country.

The appeal by Amnesty came two days after Pakistan announced a major crackdown on migrants who are in the country illegally  many of whom are from Afghanistan  and said it would expel them starting next month.

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The Taliban government's chief spokesman, Zabihullah Mujahid, has also opposed Pakistan's announcement about the migrants, saying it was unacceptable and that Islamabad should reconsider the decision.

Pakistan has been hosting Afghan refugees since they fled Afghanistan during the 1979-1989 Soviet occupation. (AP)

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Washington, DC [US], October 5 (ANI): China's "fragility" and "global authoritarian aspirations" have been revealed following the emphatic complaint registered by Beijing after German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock referred to Chinese President Xi Jinping as a "dictator" in a recent interview, reported the Hill.

Beijing's response to the "dictator" comment was no more a semantic complaint, but a paradoxical revelation of both China's fragility and its global authoritarian aspirations, reported The Hill citing author Glenn Chafetz.

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Chafetz enumerates the challenges faced by China including, a slowing economy, unsustainable debt, a housing glut, endemic corruption, a shrinking and unbalanced population, massive youth unemployment and lethal levels of pollution.

The author said one would imagine that the Chinese Communist Party would be less bothered about a foreigner's description of its leader and more concerned with its challenges. The report goes on to say that these developments do not threaten the CCP's legitimacy, but words do.

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Chafetz has over 30 years of experience in government, academia, and the private sector. He works at the nexus of foreign policy, trade, and technology.

Moreover, Beijing reacted so harshly to Baerbock's speech because, to the CCP, contradicting the party line anywhere challenges the legitimacy of its rule, the Hill report said.

China is hardly unique among dictatorships in its hypersensitivity to perceived criticism, however, it differs in terms of scale, economic power and ambition.

Additionally, it wants to control speech everywhere, reported The Hill.

"No doubt Vladimir Putin would operate in the same way if he could, but Russia lacks China's market power and budget; Kim Jong-Un and the Iranian mullahs clearly bristle at any criticism from abroad, but can't do much about it. China differs because it can and does," Chafetz wrote for The Hill.

Beijing will go to any length to repress foreign speech including, trade boycotts, punitive tariffs, fines, raids and investigations of foreign company offices in China, cancellation of visas, lawsuits, cyber-attacks, online harassment, exit bans, arrests, detention and long prison terms.

They use these weapons because they work or have worked in many instances, reported The Hill.

China stands aloof in the scope of the threats it imagines. There is nothing precise which can offend China and the regime leaves that issue purposely vague. Although, practically, the definition is elastic. Any kind of criticism poses a threat.

Earlier in July, the CCP banned any information in a business foreign IPO prospectus that could "discredit" China.

"In the same month, Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee, Beijing's puppet leader, vowed to hunt eight Hong Kong citizens for protesting the end of freedom of speech," Chafetz stated.

In August, Chinese authorities instructed economists in China, including citizens and foreigners to not discuss youth unemployment, deflation or other signs of economic weakness, reported The Hill.

And, of course, the German foreign minister's accurate characterization of Xi Jinping elicited official condemnation and name calling.

Moreover, CCP's institutionalized and prickly paranoia poses three harms to regime effectiveness; reality distortion, resource depletion, and negative reaction.

While explaining it, reality distortion skews decision-making. The CCP cannot solve problems that it denies exist. One might argue that Xi is well aware of the problems he faces, but this is unlikely.

"No one inside China risks telling the emperor that he is naked for fear of giving offense and suffering dire consequences. Furthermore, foreigners who ask the wrong questions, or simply do normal financial due diligence, are branded as spies," Chafetz wrote.

Noting the second harm, resource depletion, he said that even with China's means, tracking and reacting to every perceived insult all the time and everywhere require resources that would be better spent on more productive pursuits, such as the aforementioned economic problems.

Moreover, without a prioritization of threat, Chinese authorities condemn themselves to a game of perpetual insult "whack-a-mole," according to The Hill.

Lastly, CCP's way of negatively reacting and aggressively responding to what the democratic world considers normal economic, social and political discourse provokes reactions that unify antagonists and start the cycle anew.

"The CCP's paranoid lashing out may seem appropriate and effective inside China, but outside it is now proving counterproductive," The Hill stated citing Chafetz.

Similarly, the US Secretary of Commerce called China "uninvestable".

Companies across the world have started exploring alternatives to China as a supplier and market, as South Korea and Japan has strengthened mutual ties and Germany and the UK have become increasingly wary of Beijing.

China has achieved nothing with his aggressive fragility, it has successfully bullied people, companies and foreign governments for years, The Hill reported.

According to Chafetz, "The trend is now going the other way, which will only reinforce China's paranoia and insecurity, and making the country more dangerous as it takes greater risks to prevent additional perceived losses."

It has been feared that risk-tolerant China might trigger some in the West to seek to propitiate Beijing by tempering their criticisms.

Notably, this is a moral hazard that rewards and encourages China's bullying, reported The Hill.

The best the democratic world could do is to continue to speak the truth and force China to recognize that its dictatorship stops at its borders. (ANI)

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
New Delhi [India], October 5 (ANI): Sunil Barthwal, Secretary of the Department of Commerce in the Ministry of Commerce and Industry concludes his four day visit to Brazil where he co-chaired the 6th meeting of the India-Brazil Trade Monitoring Mechanism (TMM). Both ministers discussed bilateral trade matters and outlined a roadmap for its further enhancement.

Barthwal paid an official visit to Brazil from October 1 to October 4, 2023, and was accompanied by a delegation of 20 business leaders representing the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII).

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According to an official statement by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, "The visit was happening in the backdrop of the sharp growth in the bilateral trade which had doubled over the last two years reaching USD 16 Billion. It was aimed at strengthening this rapidly growing commercial engagement between the two countries."

The Commerce Secretary co-chaired the 6th meeting of the India-Brazil Trade Monitoring Mechanism (TMM) on Wednesday with Secretary of Foreign Trade for the Federative Republic of Brazil, Tatiana Lacerda Prazeres in Brasilia.

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The Indian delegation engaged in discussions, business meetings and explored new trade opportunities with key Brazilian organizations, including "Confederation of Industries of Brazil, the Commercial Association of Sao Paulo, Federation of Industries of the State of Sao Paulo (FIESP) and industries in Rio de Janeiro demonstrating their strong commitment to boost bilateral trade and investment prospects."

"Both sides extensively discussed matters related to bilateral trade and outlined a roadmap for its further enhancement," the statement said.

On the second day of his visit, the delegation participated in various trade facilitation activities aimed at nurturing the growing trade relationship between India and Brazil.

"A productive meeting with the Commercial Association of Sao Paulo provided a platform to discuss potential trade collaborations," the statement said.

Moreover, their day concluded with an interactive session with Indian companies operating in Brazil, fostering closer ties within the business community and identifying new opportunities for promoting trade.

On October 3, Commerce Secretary Barthwal held breakfast meetings with Brazilian companies that have invested in India, highlighting the Indian government's commitment to support foreign investors.

"This meeting also included discussions on new trade and investment opportunities. Barthwal interacted with representatives from leading MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences, and Exhibitions) companies in Brazil and engaged with the Federation of Industries of the State of Sao Paulo (FIESP), a crucial industry chamber in the region," the statement added.

Moreover, Barthwal also held held comprehensive discussions with the Vice Minister of Development, Industry, Trade, and Services, Brazil, Marcio Elias Rosa to advance the economic and commercial partnership between the two nations.

"The visit concluded with an interaction with leading industries and members of the Confederation of National Industries of Brazil over the opportunities provided by India's dynamic economic growth including on transfer of technology, investments etc," according to the statement.

Meanwhile, Barthwal also invited Brazilian industries to be part of the growing supply chain to India.

The deliberations and interactions during this visit signal a promising growth for India-Brazil trade relations.

These engagements have set a positive tone for future dialogues, with a dedicated focus on exploring new trade opportunities and strengthening bilateral integration through Global Value Chains, the statement said.

The Commerce Secretary lauded Brazil for their support during India's G20 Presidency and conveyed India's commitment to support Brazil when it assumes its G20 Presidency in 2024. (ANI)

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Abu Dhabi, Oct 5 (PTI) NPCI International Payments Ltd, the international arm of the National Payment Corporation of India, on Thursday inked an agreement with Al Etihad Payments of UAE to provide real-time and cost-effective cross-border remittances for the users of both countries.

It would be as seamless as a domestic transaction, using a beneficiary identifier (mobile number VPA), according to the agreement.

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Tangible benefits of the agreement include the availability of real-time and cost-effective cross-border remittances for the users of both countries.

This would also enhance the transparency for users through an upfront display of remittance amounts in both currencies with applicable charges.

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The linkage of card switches would enable the cardholders to use their domestic cards (without the need to have global cards issued) in each other's jurisdiction on a reciprocal basis on ATMs, PoS terminals and e-comm transactions.

Further, the linkage of messaging platforms would reduce dependency on multilateral systems like SWIFT, and this shall not only be cost-effective but would also provide comfort to both countries in view of the present geo-political situation.

The objectives of the agreement include integrating the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) of India and the Instant Payments Platform (IPP) of the UAE, to process cross-border transactions between two countries more efficiently; and interlinking card switches of the two countries -- RuPay switch and UAESWITCH -- to facilitate the mutual acceptance of their domestic cards and processing of card transactions directly without relying on any other network.

The Central Bank of the UAE introduced UAESWITCH in 1996 to link the Automated Teller Machine (ATM) network of all banks in the UAE, enabling customers of different banks to use any ATM and Point of Sale (POS) facilities in the UAE.

The agreement was signed in the presence of Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal, who is leading a business delegation here on October 5-6.

Goyal also co-chaired the eleventh meeting of the India-UAE High-Level Task Force on Investments (HLTFI) along with Sheikh Hamed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Managing Director of Abu Dhabi Investment Authority.

The move assumes significance as there are about 3.5 million Indian expatriates living in the UAE, remitting a total of about USD 20 billion annually to India.

About 2.3 million Indian expatriates work in blue-collar jobs. This demographic in the UAE is underbanked and financially excluded from mainstream banking.

This creates a unique corridor of opportunity between India and the UAE for various digital solutions in the area of digital payments, connecting the Indian diaspora in the UAE as well as their families in India.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI), along with NPCI International Payments Limited (NIPL), has been engaging with the Central Bank of the UAE (CBUAE) to link fast payment systems (FPS) and bilateral acceptance of domestic cards between India and the UAE.

Following several rounds of discussions in this regard, including a meeting between the RBI and CBUAE (The Central Bank of the UAE) in January this year, CBUAE shared a draft MOU for collaboration on linkages of FPS, cards, and messaging systems.

In 2022, the National Payments Corporation Of India (NPCI), the umbrella organisation that offers UPI services, signed an MoU with France's fast and secure online payment system called Lyra.

In 2023, UPI and Singapore's PayNow signed an agreement, allowing users in either country to make cross-border transactions.

The UAE, Bhutan, and Nepal have already adopted the UPI payment system.

NPCI International is in talks to extend UPI services in the US, European countries, and West Asia.

UPI is an instant real-time payment system developed by NPCI facilitating inter-bank transactions.

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Kyiv, October 5: A Russian missile strike has resulted in the deaths of at least 50 people in a village near the eastern Ukrainian city of Kupiansk, marking one of the most devastating attacks on civilians since the conflict's onset, CNN reported. Ukrainian Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko said that Moscow's forces targeted a cafe and a shop in Hroza, located in the Kharkiv region, just after midday local time (5 am ET).

The aftermath of the strike depicted scenes of emergency workers navigating through dense rubble, tending to the six individuals injured. Among the casualties were 29 victims whose bodies were identified, including a 6-year-old boy, with the other remains sent to facilities in the city of Kharkiv. Tragically, the missile struck when locals had gathered inside the store for a wake, resulting in a level of devastation unseen since a 2022 attack on a railway station in Kramatorsk that claimed the lives of at least 50 people, according to CNN. Russia-Ukraine War: At Least 48 People Killed After Russian Shelling on Cafe in Ukrainian Village in Kharkiv Region, Say Ukrainian Officials.

Russian Missile Strike Kills 50 in Ukraine

Russian missile struck an ordinary grocery store in the Kupiansk district of the Kharkiv region. This was a fully deliberate, demonstrative, and brutal terrorist attack. As of now, more than 51 people have been reported dead. My condolences to all those who have lost their loved pic.twitter.com/yxIW2Xwy35  Volodymyr Zelenskyy /   (@ZelenskyyUa) October 5, 2023

Hroza, a village housing 330 people, suffered immense loss, with approximately one-fifth of its population wiped out in the attack. Ukrainian Interior Minister Klymenko decried the incident as "a terrible tragedy for Ukraine" and a "war crime committed by the Russians" that must be met with accountability.

Ukrainian officials identified the weapon used in the attack as an Iskander missile, a ballistic missile with a relatively short range, capable of carrying a warhead weighing between 500 and 700 kilograms. The Iskander missiles have been frequently employed by Russian forces against Ukraine, leading to significant civilian casualties.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy labeled the attack a "demonstrably brutal Russian crime" and a "completely deliberate terrorist attack." He called for an end to Russian terror and condemned those who support Russia, emphasizing the need to halt such genocidal aggression. Russia-Ukraine War: Russian Forces Launch Three-Hour Drone Attack on Odesa As Ukrainian Drones Target Moscow Again.

Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal described the attack as "brutal and cynical" and expressed the urgent need to stop Russian terror. He called for a coordinated and united effort, with the support of international partners, to prevent further loss of life and injuries from enemy missiles and shells, CNN reported.

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Portland, Oct 4 (AP) A small plane spiralled out of the sky and crashed into an Oregon home on Tuesday, killing two of its three passengers, officials said.

Dramatic video taken Tuesday evening showed the plane rapidly descending straight down toward the ground in the small city of Newberg, about 25 miles southwest of Portland. The aircraft crashed through the roof of a home with its wreckage strewn partially inside the house and in the backyard, officials said.

Also Read | Ousted House Speaker Kevin McCarthy Latest Victim of Former President Donald Trump-Led 'Extremist' GOP, Says US Media.

Two of the plane's passengers died at the scene, Tualatin Valley Fire & Rescue said in a news release. The third was airlifted to a trauma hospital in Portland with serious injuries.

Multiple people were inside the home when the crash occurred, but they were able to evacuate safely, the release said. Nobody on the ground was injured.

Also Read | Forbes 400 Richest Americans List 2023: Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk Tops Forbes' 400 Richest People in US, Amazon Founder Jeff Bezos Ranks Second.

Micah Schauer, the 22-year-old Newberg resident who took the video of the plane spiraling downward, said he was leaving his home when he glimpsed what at first looked like a piece of cardboard falling from the sky.

I didn't think it was a real plane at all at first, Schauer said. It wasn't until about halfway through the 10-second video that the realization dawned on him, he said.

In disbelief, he sent the video to his girlfriend and family.

I sent a mass text, like, 'Is that real? Did this happen?' " Schauer said. They were shocked.

Schauer then went to the site of the crash, where a chaotic scene was unfolding.

It's such a small town, everybody wanted to go see it, he said. Life Flight ended up landing right next to me. ... It was wild. I've never seen anything quite like that, ever."

Search and rescue crews were sent to inspect the structural stability of the home. Neither the home nor the aircraft caught fire, officials said. The Red Cross is assisting the family that was displaced.

The Newberg-Dundee Police Department is working with the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board to investigate the deaths and the cause of the crash, officials said. (AP)

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Kolkata, October 5: At least two persons were killed and six others were severely injured in West Bengal's Jalpaiguri on late Thursday as a mortar shell, reportedly carried by the flood waters of River Teesta, blew up, police said. The mortar shell, as believed by the local police officers, belonged to the Army and was carried away by flood waters flowing down from the hills. Nigeria Blast: Explosion and Fire at Illegal Oil Refinery Site Kills 15, Including Pregnant Woman in Niger Delta Region

Deputy Superintendent of Police, Crime, of Jalpaiguri Bikramjit Lama said that the identities of the two killed in the blast of the mortar shell are yet to be ascertained. "The six injured persons have been admitted to Jalpaiguri Super-Specialty Hospital. A thorough probe in the matter has started already," he added. Nagorno-Karabakh Fuel Depot Blast: Death Toll Climbs to 170, Rescue Operation Still Underway

Local police sources said that in all probability after the victims tried to physically inspect the mortar shells carried to the area by the flood water when it exploded. "The condition of a couple of the six injured is extremely critical and the death toll on this count is likely to increase," said a district police official.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Oct 05, 2023 10:49 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).
Gina McCarthy, First-Ever White House National Climate Advisor and Former Administrator, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, served as keynote speaker

Electric grid decarbonization and emerging careers in clean energy were the focus at today's Sustainable Clean Energy Summit: Decarbonizing Society and the Grid at the University of Connecticut Storrs campus. The summit, hosted by UConn and Eversource, featured a keynote address by Gina McCarthy, one of the nation's most distinguished experts in environmental sustainability and public health. Academic, state, and municipal leaders as well as energy industry experts led panel discussions on various clean energy topics following opening remarks by UConn President Radenka Maric, Eversource Chairman, President and CEO Joe Nolan, and Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont.

"We've set the goal for UConn to be carbon-neutral by 2030," said Maric. "We're taking action every day, but we are not moving fast enough. Our students demand this of us, and I commend them for being persistent to keep us accountable as we implement these new technologies and policies. Connecticut is known as a leading state in the world when it comes to implementing clean technologies."

"Eversource is proud of our long-standing collaboration with UConn," said Nolan. "We both share a strong commitment to sustainability and the belief that workforce training is crucial to support the clean energy future. We hope this will be - not just an annual event - but THE annual event where leaders from many sectors come together to discuss Connecticut's transition to a sustainable energy economy."

Six student-led finalist teams from the Eversource-sponsored Clean Energy and Sustainability Innovation Program (CESIP) presented their innovative research ideas to reduce carbon footprints and prepare for climate extremes at the local, state and regional levels with one finalist team receiving funding and mentorship to bring their idea to life over the next year. Eversource also announced the continuation of their sponsorship of the CESIP to provide more UConn students with the opportunity to develop new ideas to advance a clean energy future.

The day's first panel explored innovations for grid decarbonization, climate adaptation, and modernization to manage extreme weather and intermittent renewable energy challenges. It also addressed climate change's impact on energy reliability, renewable energy sustainability, and community engagement in the clean energy sector.

The second panel, "Emerging Career Paths in the Clean Energy Sector," was geared toward students interested in careers focused on clean energy and sustainability. The discussion highlighted some of the diverse roles within the clean energy sector and the technology areas likely to grow, from research and development to policy advocacy and entrepreneurial ventures.

Closing remarks by President Radic and Bill Quinlan, Eversource President of Transmission & Offshore Wind Projects, were followed by the Clean Energy Engagement Fair, a career fair-style event for students to meet with Eversource and other employers and learn about UConn curriculum opportunities.

Contact:

UConn

Claire Tremont, (203) 482-8814

claire.galvin@uconn.edu

Eversource

Tricia Taskey Modifica, (860) 665-4605

tricia.modifica@eversource.com
New Delhi, October 5: A 42-year-old woman was allegedly sexually assaulted by a gurdwara pradhan in central Delhi, an official said on Thursday. According to police, after the complainant approached police, an FIR was registered under Sections 376, 323, 506, 509 and 34 of the IPC at Anand Parbat police station on September 18. Uttar Pradesh Shocker: Self-Proclaimed Sorcerer Murders Woman for Rejecting Sexual Advances; Arrested

During investigation, it was revealed that the victim came in touch with the gurdwara pradhan Prem Singh, 56, a resident of Baljeet Nagar about five years ago," said a senior police official. "Prem Singh had met the victim last time on September 9 and after having physical relations, started ignoring her," as per the womas complaint. Haryana Shocker: 4-Year-Old Child Falls From Second Floor of House in Faridabad, Dies in Hospital; Scary Video of Incident Surfaces

"On September 17, the victim reached his house. Prem Singh and his son Harjas Singh had a scuffle outside the house after which the woman filed a complaint with police alleging sexual harassment by Prem Singh, said the official. "After following due procedure and her counselling through DCW counsellor, legal action was initiated. Victim has two daughters and her husband is an alcoholic," the official added.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Oct 05, 2023 08:47 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).
Mumbai, October 5: Maharashtra cyber police have apprehended a 40-year-old man for allegedly issuing a fake transfer order of six government officers through a letter with a forged signature of Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, an official said on Thursday. The accused, identified as Mohammed Iliyas Yaqub Momin, a contractor from Miraj in Sangli district, allegedly cheated government officials and other people financially by showing them the fake orders, he said. The official said the accused is well educated and it is suspected that he committed the crime for financial gains.

The accused created fake documents of the transfer of six government officers, of assistant engineers and deputy executive engineers rank in the Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company Limited (MSEDCL), the official said. Momin had allegedly created a fake email ID of Vidyadhar Mahale, the private secretary of Deputy CM Fadnavis, and sent a letter of transfer to six officers on July 23, he said. While sending the transfer letter from the email ID, the accused allegedly forged Fadnavis' signature on it, he said. Telangana Assembly Elections 2023: Committed To Ensure Free, Fair, Transparent and Inducement-Free Polls in State, Says Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar

The mail was also sent to the CMD of MSEDCL, the official said. Fadnavis also holds charge of the state energy department. During investigation, the nodal cyber police station got specific information about the accused and with the help of Miraj police, he was apprehended from his native place, the official said, adding a mobile phone used in the crime was also seized. The six officers, whose fake transfer orders were issued by the accused, are also likely to be questioned by the cyber police, he said. SBI SCO Recruitment 2023: Vacancies Notified for Specialist Cadre Officer Posts, Apply Online at sbi.co.in Till October 6

Mahale approached the cyber police and based on his complaint, a case has been registered against the accused under relevant Indian Penal Code sections for cheating, forgery and criminal conspiracy, the official said.
Mumbai, October 5: The breakthrough in the first mountain tunnel in the Mumbai-Ahmedabad high speed rail corridor, popularly called the bullet train, was achieved on Thursday in Valsad in Gujarat, the National High Speed Rail Corporation Limited (NHSRCL) said. The tunnel, which is located some 1 kilometre away from Zaroli village in Umbergaon taluka in Valsad in the neighbouring state, was completed in 10 months using the New Austrian Tunnelling Method (NATM), the NHSRCL release said.

"The comprises a tunnel, a tunnel portal, and other connecting structures like a tunnel entrance hood. The 350-metre long tunnel has a diameter of 12.6 metres and a height of 10.25 metres. The single tube horseshoe-shaped tunnel will have two high-speed train tracks passing through it," it said. Mumbai-Ahmedabad Bullet Train: No Time-Frame Fixed To Complete Project, Reveals RTI.

The Mumbai-Ahmedbad high speed rail corridor will have seven mountain tunnels, all of which will be constructed using the NATM that involves marking drill holes on the tunnel face, drilling holes, charging explosives, controlled blasting, muck removal, and the installation of primary support, it said. Mumbai-Ahmedabad Bullet Train Project: Bombay High Court Asks Maharashtra Government To Decide in 30 Days on Godrej and Boyce Plea for Hike in Compensation for Land Acquisition.

The high-speed train corridor will also have a 21 kilometre tunnel between Bandra-Kurla Complex in Mumbai and Shilphata in Thane district, and 7 kilometres of this tunnel will be under Thane creek, making it the first undersea tunnel in the country. The total cost of Mumbai-Ahmedabad High Speed Rail Corridor project is pegged at Rs 1.08 lakh crore.

As per the shareholding pattern, the government of India will pay Rs 10,000 crore to the NHSRCL, while the two states involved, Gujarat and Maharashtra, are to pay Rs 5,000 crore each. The rest comprises a loan from Japan.
Mumbai, October 5: An amount of Rs 100 seems to be "too small" as a bribe in the year 2007 and more so now, the Bombay High Court has said while acquitting a government medical officer in a corruption and bribery case. A single bench of Justice Jitendra Jain on Tuesday said it was a fit case to be treated as a trivial matter and upheld the trial court order acquitting the medical officer.

In 2007, one L T Pingale accused Dr Anil Shinde, the medical officer of a rural hospital at Paud in Maharashtra's Pune district, of seeking Rs 100 to certify his injuries following an alleged assault by his nephew. Pingale complained to the Anti-Corruption Bureau, which laid a trap and caught Shinde red-handed. He was prosecuted under provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act. Bombay High Court Says Need To Sensitise Police Force on How To Deal With Same-Sex Couples in Conflict With Kin.

In January 2012, a special court acquitted Shinde of all charges which was challenged by the state in the HC. The high court, however, found no merit in the state's appeal. In the instant case, the allegation is acceptance of a bribe of Rs 100 in the year 2007. The amount appears to be too small in the year 2007 and more so, in the year 2023 when the appeal is being heard against the acquittal, the bench said in its order. 'Stop Playing Hide and Seek': Bombay High Court Asks CBI To Explain Why Order of No Coercive Action Against Sameer Wankhede Should Be Vacated.

Therefore, assuming that the appellant-complainant is able to prove the charges (although, I have already held that they have failed to prove the charges), in my view after considering quantum at the relevant time this could be a fit case to be treated as a trivial matter to uphold the acquittal order, it said.

The bench relied on certain provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act that if the alleged bribe of gratification is trivial, then no inference of corruption may be drawn and the court may refuse to presume that the accused is corrupt. The high court dismissed the state government's appeal.
New Delhi, October 5: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday remembered Saint Vallalar on his 200th birth anniversary and said that the saint would have blessed the passage of the women's reservation bill in Parliament. In a virtual message on the occasion, the Prime Minister said, "Today, I am confident that he (Saint Vallalar) would have blessed the passage of Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam (passage of Women's Reservation Bill in Parliament) which reserves seats for women in legislative bodies." PM Narendra Modi Lays Foundation Stone of Development Projects Worth Rs 5,000 Crore in Rajasthan (Watch Video)

"When we remember Vallalar, we recall his spirit of care and compassion. He believed in a way of life based on 'Jeeva Karunya' which is compassion towards fellow human beings. One of his most important contributions was his strong commitment to removing hunger. Nothing pained him more than a human being going to bed on an empty stomach," he added further. Today is the 200th birth anniversary of the great Ramalinga Swami ji, also known as Vallalar. It is even more special that this program is being held in Vadalur, a place closely associated with Vallalar. He is one of our most respected saints. He walked this earth in the 19th century but his spiritual insights continue to inspire millions of people even today, Modi said. Cloud Burst in Sikkim: PM Narendra Modi Speaks to State CM Prem Singh Tamang; Takes Stock of Situation Following Flash Flood in Teesta River

The Prime Minister said that the 19th century saint's teachings were aimed at working for an equal society by believing in 'Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas, Sabka Vishwas, Sabka Prayaas'. Thiruvarutprakasa Vallalar Chidambaram Ramalingam, better known as Vallalar, was born on October 5, 1823 in Tamil Nadu. He was one of the most famous Tamil Saiva saints and also one of the greatest Tamil poets of the 19th century. He belonged to a line of Tamil saints known as "gnana siddhars".
Patna, October 5: BJP president Jagat Prakash Nadda on Thursday asserted that his party has always worked for the Other Backward Classes, unlike the rival Congress which sat on the report of Mandal Commission. Nadda made the statement in the capital of Bihar, where the findings of a caste survey were released recently, triggering speculations of a countrywide consolidation of OBCs and EBCs who have been found to account for more than 60 per cent of the state's population. Bihar Caste Survey: Supreme Court To Hear Pleas Challenging Caste-Based Census on October 6

The BJP president, whose party is viewed as pro-upper caste, mocked the Congress for its advocacy of a nationwide caste census, reminding it that the recommendations of the Mandal Commission were implemented by the BJP-supported government of V P Singh "because Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi chose to sit on the report for years". He also said, "The Congress-led UPA, of which Lalu Prasad's RJD was a part, did not think of according constitutional status to the National Commission for OBCs. That was done by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Also, during his government, four lakh OBC students have been admitted to central schools across the country". Bihar Caste-Based Survey: It Is Important To Know Caste Statistics of India, Says Congress Leader Rahul Gandhi

"We must, however, remember that Modi considers poverty itself to be a form of caste. And his government has helped 12 crore poor people to enter the middle-income group. This is not my claim. The International Monetary Fund said this," the BJP president asserted. In the last five years, the number of people living in extreme poverty has been reduced to less than one per cent of the population, Nadda claimed. He also alleged that the INDIA coalition was formed to "protect political dynasties and those involved in corruption".
The sources said that Abhisar Sharma will be questioned at the Lodhi Colony police station. NewsClick founder and editor Prabir Purkayastha, and HR head Amit Chakravarty were remanded in 7-day police custody under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) yesterday after long raids at 88 locations.
US Ambassador to India, Eric Garcetti, has reportedly told his in-country staff that due to the diplomatic standoff with Canada, ties between India and the United States may deteriorate for a while. Garcetti has also stated that the US may need to limit its relations with Indian authorities for an unspecified length of time. According to the report, the US is being careful at the moment. Meanwhile, the ties between India and Canada have been strained in recent months due to the increased operations of pro-Khalistani groups in the North American country. The diplomatic controversy developed following Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's charges of "potential" participation of Indian agents in the June execution of terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar. FBI Agents Visited Sikh Activists in US After Khalistani Terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjars Assassination in Canada: Report.

Eric Garcetti Told His Team That Ties With India Could Get 'Worse': Report

JUST IN - Eric Garcetti, United States Ambassador to India, has told his in-country team that, because of the diplomatic spat with Canada, relations between India and the US could get worse for a time - Politico pic.twitter.com/ubuq2JVefL  Insider Paper (@TheInsiderPaper) October 5, 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.)
On 4 October US Secretary of Statearrived in Mexico ahead of the US-Mexico High-Level Security Dialogue (HLSD).

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On 4 October Chiles conservative-leaning constitutional council approved its amended draft of the new constitution.

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Hancock Whitney today (Oct 4) announced a strategic relationship with Entergy focusing on supporting entrepreneurial and small business success for diverse and local business owners. The initiative brings together Hancock Whitney's Small Business Matters program and Entergy's supplier diversity and inclusion team to enhance financial resilience and business development opportunities for diverse and local businesses.

Hancock Whitney Small Business Matters is a no-cost, comprehensive entrepreneurship program that extends the financial services and small business banking knowledge and experience of in-house experts with many community and business development partnerships offering small businesses more access to essential resources, including small business training, technical assistance, business capital and networking.

"Small Business Matters was developed to help meet the business needs of our communities with a focus on minority- and women-owned businesses, who too often face challenges accessing the guidance and support needed to thrive," said Hancock Whitney Vice President Community Development Programs Ashley Aubrey Harrison. "Partnering with Entergy to extend Small Business Matters to its supplier diversity program is a win for both small businesses and our communities who benefit from the innovation diverse businesses bring."

Serving four states across the Gulf South Louisiana, Mississippi, Texas and Arkansas Entergy's supplier diversity and inclusion program aims to identify and promote the use of third-party-certified diverse and locally based companies for needed products and services across the region. The program's intent is to foster economic development and grow a world-class energy business that creates sustainable value for Entergy's four stakeholders customers, employees, communities and owners. This partnership with Hancock Whitney will help enhance business capabilities in the supplier network.

"In working with our diverse and local supplier network, we see the challenges businesses face," said Kya Moller, Entergy senior manager of supplier diversity, inclusion and sustainability. "This relationship with Hancock Whitney will allow us to support our network even further. This program will help connect businesses, no matter what stage they are in, with a local financial partner that can guide them and identify ways to grow, fund or manage their business for ongoing success."

Moller shares that working with Hancock Whitney on this initiative made sense because of three distinct intersection points both organizations serve overlapping geographies, are community-minded and understand the impact of diverse and local business success on local economies and wealth creation in underserved communities.

Harrison agrees. "We know that communities thrive when businesses thrive, so we are committed to being the conduit for entrepreneurs and small businesses to find opportunities for growth. Whether we are sharing guidance for a viable business plan, business management and technical assistance, training, and research to improve profitability and stimulate growth, international trade expertise, or small business banking services, our efforts are to help businesses sustain success."

Entergy's diverse and local suppliers that expressed an interest in access to capital services were invited to attend Capitalize 2023 New Orleans, an event hosted at the University of New Orleans by the Louisiana Small Business Development Center and sponsored by Hancock Whitney. Hancock Whitney and Entergy will continue to make virtual and in-person training opportunities available to program participants throughout the fall.

For more information on Hancock Whitney Small Business Matters, visit hancockwhitney.com/small-business-matters. To learn more or apply as an Entergy diverse supplier, visit entergy.com/operations/supplier-diversity.

About Hancock Whitney

Since the late 1800s, Hancock Whitney has embodied core values of Honor & Integrity, Strength & Stability, and Commitment to Service, Teamwork, and Personal Responsibility. Hancock Whitney offices and financial centers in Mississippi, Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, and Texas offer comprehensive financial products and services, including traditional and online banking; commercial and small business banking; private banking; trust and investment services; healthcare banking; and mortgage services. The company also operates loan production offices in Nashville, Tennessee, and the greater metropolitan area of Atlanta, Georgia. More information is available at hancockwhitney.com.

About Entergy

Entergy is a Fortune 500 company that powers life for 3 million customers through our operating companies in Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas. We're investing in the reliability and resilience of the energy system while helping our region transition to cleaner, more efficient energy solutions. With roots in our communities for more than 100 years, Entergy is a nationally recognized leader in sustainability and corporate citizenship. Since 2018, we have delivered more than $100 million in economic benefits each year to local communities through philanthropy, volunteerism and advocacy. Entergy is headquartered in New Orleans, Louisiana, and has approximately 12,000 employees. Learn more at entergy.com and follow @Entergy on social media. #WePowerLife

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After getting scolded by the judge for spreading fake news about a court clerk, Donald Trump left New York in the middle of the third day of his fraud trial. This abrupt exit prompted New York Attorney General Letitia James to say, "The Donald Trump show is over."

New York Judge Arthur Engoron has already issued a summary judgment against Donald Trump, his two adult sons, Eric and Don Jr., and the Trump Organization, liable for fraud. The hearings are only to determine how much the defendants will be fined for their crimes.

Before leaving New York, Trump attacked James and called her a "political animal." However, James stood defiant and said, "I will not be bullied."

She then added, "This was nothing more than a political stunt, a fundraising stop."

Trump used the trial to urge his donors to give him more money, sending fundraising emails as soon as Judge Engoron issued his summary judgment.

According to CNBC, the ex-POTUS claimed that James's lawsuit was political in nature and was "designed to hurt his chances of winning the 2024 presidential election." However, James blasted him, saying Mr. Trump's comments were offensive and "baseless," adding that his arguments "were void of any facts and or any evidence."

"This case was brought simply because it was a case where individuals have engaged in a pattern and practice of fraud," said the New York Attorney General. "I will not sit idly by and allow anyone to subvert the law."

Trump reportedly flew to Florida but was griping that he was "stuck here" before leaving New York.

"I'd rather be right now in Iowa, I'd rather be in New Hampshire or South Carolina or Ohio or a lot of other places, but I'm stuck here because I have a corrupt attorney general," he complained.

READ MORE: Late Night Shows Return After WGA Strike To Eviscerate Donald Trump

Donald Trump Continues Blasting Judge Despite Limited Gag Order

In his pre-trial ruling, Judge Arthur Engoron also took away the business licenses of various Trump corporate entities and ordered their dissolution. He also took away the business licenses of the former president and his two adult sons.

Before leaving in the middle of the third day of the trial, Trump blasted not just Judge Engoron but also the US legal system. NBC News noted that the former president was not obliged to be at the New York courthouse as this was a civil trial.

However, he still attended but continued attacking the judge despite the limited gag order. Trump, without any proof, complained that the court was "run by the Democrats" and "already knows what he's going to do." He then added, "Our whole system is corrupt."

Second Trump Accountant Admits Trump Family Was Responsible for Own Financial Statements

The prosecution of the Donald Trump fraud trial called in a second Trump Organization accountant to testify, Cameron Harris. He works for Whitley Penn, which succeeded Mazars as the Trumps's accounting firm.

Much like the first accountant, Donald Bender, Harris also testified that it was the Trumps who were making their own financial statements instead of the accountants. This corroborated the first accountants' statements, further enhancing the allegations of fraud against the Trump family.

Harris also revealed that it was Eric Trump who "set the tone at the top" of the Trump Organization. The accountant was then asked, "Who's responsible for the statement of financial condition?" To this, he replied, "The client's responsible for that."

READ MORE: Trump Organization Convicted of 17 Felonies, Gets Maximum Punishment

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Rick Martin

WATCH: 'No one is above the law': New York attorney general on former President Trump's civil fraud trial - ABC News
Authorities in Jalisco, Mexico, have made a significant arrest in the Lagos de Moreno kidnapping case involving the five men, Mexico News Daily reports.

The suspect, identified as Rogelio M., was apprehended through a joint operation conducted by Jalisco's Special Prosecutor's Office on Missing Persons (FEPD) and the Security and Citizen Protection Ministry.

The five victims, Dante Cedillo Hernandez, Roberto Carlos Olmeda, Diego Alberto Lara Santoyo, Jaime Adolfo Martinez Miranda, and Uriel Galvan, were forcibly abducted at gunpoint from the San Miguel neighborhood of Lagos de Moreno, Jalisco, on the night of August 11.

Subsequently, distressing evidence emerged, including a photograph showing the victims bound and beaten on a nearby farm and a video that appeared to depict one of the abductees assaulting another, potentially under duress, with two lifeless bodies nearby.

A message in the video linked the crime to Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada, a leader of the Sinaloa Cartel, in conflict with the Jalisco New Generation Cartel in the region.

Investigators later discovered skeletal remains, weaponry, and an oven used for incineration at a nearby brick factory.

However, forensic analysis indicated that the remains did not belong to the five missing men, whose whereabouts remain unknown.

This recent arrest marks the fourth in the case, with Valentin S. detained on September 2, and brothers Enhau A. and Emanuel A. arrested and subsequently charged on September 12, linked to the disappearance of two bodies found at the same location on August 20, believed to be connected to the Lagos de Moreno kidnapping.

READ NEXT: Mexico: Bodies Found Amid Search for Kidnapped Teens

Kidnapped Mexico Men May Have Been Victims of Cartel's Force Recruitment

Experts have suggested that the five young men may have been targeted for forced recruitment by the powerful Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG), per BBC.

Forced recruits are often coerced into committing acts of violence, including homicides, as part of their initiation. The violent rivalry among cartels in Jalisco has resulted in the abduction of young men to replace those killed.

Prosecutors hope that the recent arrest will provide critical information about the case and uncover the fate of the five missing individuals.

Jalisco Governor Enrique Alfaro has previously stated that their disappearance is evidently linked to organized crime and poses a threat to the stability of the state.

Kidnappings in Mexico

The Lagos de Moreno kidnapping case highlights a broader issue in Mexico, where the disappearance of individuals, particularly young people with alleged connections to criminal activity, has become a pressing concern, BBN noted.

The arrest of the suspect, Rogelio M., is a significant step in the pursuit of justice, but it marks only the beginning of unraveling the mystery surrounding the disappearance of the five young men.

Authorities remain committed to their efforts to locate the missing individuals, shed light on their fate, and hold those responsible accountable.

As investigations continue, the families of the missing individuals cling to hope for their safe return and justice to be served.

Mexico has experienced a troubling surge in violence, with more than 420,000 murders recorded since the initiation of a controversial military anti-drug offensive in 2006, Barron's reports.

The country's murder rate has tripled during this period, reaching 25 per 100,000 inhabitants.

Additionally, Mexico has reported over 110,000 disappearances since 1962, with a significant number attributed to criminal organizations, and Jalisco has witnessed one of the highest rates among Mexico's 32 states, accounting for approximately 15,000 of these cases.

READ MORE: Jamaica: Over 60 Kids Sent to Hospital Due to Cannabis Candy

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Bert Hoover

WATCH: Four U.S. citizens kidnapped in Mexico at gunpoint - From CBS News
The Donald Trump fraud trial was not the only big fraud hearing happening in New York, as the trial of disgraced FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried also kicked off on Wednesday.

The historic fraud case against FTX and its founder kicked off with prosecutors presenting Sam Bankman-Fried as a villain who loved to portray himself as the "Robin Hood of the crypto world." However, instead of giving to the poor, he was only enriching himself.

One of the highlights of the hearing was when prosecutors played several FTX ads that starred big-name celebrities like Tom Brady and Larry David, presenting how great the cryptocurrency company is, according to the Associated Press.

Assistant US Attorney Nathan Rehn made the opening statement for the prosecution, and he pointed out that the man known as SBF seemed to be "on top of the world" as he operated FTX as one of the top cryptocurrency trading platforms. The prosecutor then talked about the defendant's lavish lifestyle, including living in a $30 million apartment in the Bahamas, traveling on private planes, socializing with celebrities, making political donations, and flaunting his money and power.

However, Rehn added, "Sam Bankman-Fried was committing a massive fraud by taking billions of dollars from thousands of victims."

The prosecutor also added that as FTX was collapsing, "he backdated documents and tried to cover up his crimes by deleting messages and ordering employees to automatically delete all messages every month."

FTX Founder Sam Bankman-Fried Pleads 'Good Faith'

As for SBF himself, he did not plead guilty or not guilty to his charges during the trial but instead pleaded "good faith," according to CNA.

He faces seven charges. These include wire fraud and conspiracy. Should the jury find him guilty of all these charges, he could face over 100 years inside bars.

READ MORE: FTX Collapse: Why Is Sam Bankman-Fried Going to Jail Now?

Bankman-Fried's attorney, Mark Cohen, argued that his client did not defraud anybody, nor did he intend to defraud anyone. He then described SBF as a "math nerd who didn't drink or party." He then added, "Sam acted in good faith and made, at the time, what were considered sound business decisions."

First Witness Vs. Sam Bankman-Fried and FTX Testifies

The prosecution also called for its first witness, Marc-Antoine Julliard. He is a London-based commodities broker who usually trades in cocoa beans but decided to diversify into cryptocurrency trading. Like many who invested in FTX, he also lost a ton of money.

The witness testified that he had an "extremely anxious" feeling on the day he unsuccessfully tried to withdraw part of the $100,000 worth of crypto and cash he stored via FTX. He added that he, along with thousands of other FTX customers, had their money wiped out when the crypto exchange went bankrupt last year.

In his testimony, Julliard told the jury that he was given the impression that FTX had "strong financials behind the company." Despite this, however, the cocoa trader still lost $100,000 to the company.

READ MORE: Donald Trump NFTs Crash in Value by 80% After Just 2 Weeks

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Rick Martin

WATCH: FTX's Sam Bankman-Fried is on trial. Here's what you should know: CNBC Crypto World
A tragic incident unfolded in Oregon as a small plane crashed through the roof of a residence on Tuesday night, resulting in two fatalities and one individual sustaining injuries.

The incident occurred in Newberg, located approximately 23 miles southwest of Portland, Yahoo! News noted.

Multiple witnesses dialed 911 to report a small plane spiraling toward the ground before the crash, as disclosed by the Tualatin Valley Fire & Rescue in a Facebook post.

Firefighters arriving at the scene found that the plane had penetrated the home's roof, with a portion of the aircraft located inside the house, while the rest lay in the backyard.

Initially, two occupants were discovered within the aircraft, with one being pronounced dead at the Oregon plane crash site.

The second occupant was transported to a Portland trauma hospital via helicopter due to sustaining serious injuries.

Subsequently, following further access to the wreckage, a third occupant was discovered, also deceased.

READ NEXT: Utah Plane Crash Kills North Dakota Senator

Oregon Plane Crash Victims Identified

The Newberg-Dundee Police Department later identified the deceased as Michele Cavallotti, aged 22, who served as an instructor at the Hillsboro Aero Academy, and Barrett Bevacqua, aged 20, a student pilot.

Emily Hurd, also 20, the third occupant, was airlifted to the hospital with severe injuries, according to Statesman Journal.

In an update provided by Emily Hurd's father, Jeremy Hurd of Spokane, Washington, it was mentioned that her surgery had gone well, her spinal cord remained intact, and the extent of other injuries was being closely monitored, per News-Register.

The post expressed gratitude for the support and asked for continued prayers for the families of Emily's friends who lost their lives in the crash.

Initially, firefighters believed no one was inside the residence when the plane crashed, following several searches that confirmed the absence of occupants.

However, subsequent interviews with the homeowners revealed that multiple individuals had been present at the time but had managed to evacuate safely.

The Red Cross stepped in to provide assistance to the affected family, who were displaced from their home due to the incident.

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has started an investigation into the circumstances of the Oregon plane crash.

The Hillsboro Aero Academy issued a statement expressing their deep sorrow over the incident and confirmed that one of their training aircraft was involved in the crash, FOX 12 reports.

Cause of Oregon Plane Crash Still Undetermined

The main cause of the crash remains undetermined and is the subject of ongoing investigations by local law enforcement, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), and the NTSB, said WAVY.

Authorities are also assessing the structural stability of the affected residence, and it's noteworthy that neither the aircraft nor the house caught fire.

The aircraft involved in the crash is identified as a Piper Seminole, a fixed-wing, twin-engine airplane commonly used in pilot training programs.

Air safety investigators are diligently examining various aspects, including flight training programs, pilot experience, and flight track data, to establish the cause of the tragic Oregon plane crash.

READ MORE: Illinois To Accept Up To 25 Buses of Migrants a Day

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Bert Hoover

WATCH: Newberg plane crash claims the lives of Hillsboro flight instructor, student pilot - From KGW News
Animal trainer Doc Antle may have gotten a name for himself, thanks to the Netflix documentary, "Tiger King." However, it also opened him to scrutiny, leading to him being sentenced for wildlife trafficking.

The 63-year-old animal trainer and exotic animal collector was fined $10,000 after buying endangered lion cubs in Virginia. Doc Antle, whose real name is Bhagavan Antle, has also been ordered to stay away from exotic animals after his sentencing.

According to the Daily Mail, the controversial wildlife personality, who previously appeared on shows to talk about animals, was convicted by a jury of two counts of wildlife trafficking and two counts of conspiring to traffic wildlife. This stemmed from his purchase of the lion cubs in Virginia, intending to showcase them outside his business.

The former "Tiger King" star will also be spending some time in prison, much like the "Tiger King" himself, Joe Exotic. He was sentenced to two years in prison with time suspended for each charge. Each charge will run concurrently.

PETA US Foundation director of captive animal welfare Debbie Metzler reacted to the sentencing and stated, "Antle escaped a prison sentence this time, but he's still facing multiple federal charges for alleged money laundering and alleged wildlife trafficking of animals, including endangered cheetahs and a chimpanzee."

PETA is also calling for his roadside zoo to close and for federal authorities to terminate his license to operate. Antle has been accused of animal abuse in his zoo.

READ MORE: Dominican Republic: Bodies of 6 Newborn Babies Found Lying Outside Santo Domingo Cemetery

'Tiger King' Star Constantly Needed Lion Cubs for His Petting Zoo in South Carolina

Bhagavan "Doc" Antle owns and runs the e Myrtle Beach Safari in South Carolina, with his zoo gaining much attention thanks to "Tiger King." However, the so-called animal expert was accused of constantly trafficking wildlife for his zoo, particularly young lion cubs.

South Carolina Attorney General Jason Miyares and his prosecutors noted that he often presents lion cubs as part of his petting zoo. Because of this, he needs a constant supply of lion cubs coming, and the ones getting older become part of illegal cub exchanges.

"Today concludes a multi-year investigation and prosecution by my office. In Virginia, we uphold the rule of law without exception, whether dealing with violent repeat offenders, big pharma, fraudsters and scammers, or wildlife traffickers,'," said the South Carolina AG.

Much like Joe Exotic, Antle was also accused of killing his own animals inside his zoo.

Doc Antle Also Involved in Human Trafficking Operations From Mexico

Not only is Doc Antle involved in the illegal wildlife trade and animal abuse, but he is also accused of being involved in human trafficking across the US-Mexico border.

According to USA TODAY, Antle is implicated in a money laundering scheme where he was tasked to hide more than half a million dollars from a cross-border human trafficking operation. He has already been charged with this alleged crime.

He reportedly laundered around $505,000 in human trafficking money and could face another 20 years in federal prison if convicted.

READ MORE: 'Tiger King' Star Joe Exotic Wants To Be The POTUS Amid Jail Time

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Rick Martin

WATCH: Tiger King's Doc Antle convicted of wildlife trafficking - WSLS 10
UPDATE: Bethlehem man died in Route 22 wrong-way crash, coroner says

A red Chevrolet Silverado was headed in the wrong direction on Routes 33 and 22 in Thursday mornings three-vehicle collision that left one motorist dead, Pennsylvania State Police say.

The crash was reported about 10:40 a.m. on Route 22 East at the Route 33 interchange in Bethlehem Township.

A second pickup truck and a passenger vehicle also were involved, troopers determined.

Police were continuing to investigate what happened and were looking for video or witness accounts. Highway closures in the area of the crash continued well into the afternoon.

Investigators found the Silverado was traveling south on Route 33 North and exited headed west onto Route 22 East from the Route 22 East ramp to Route 33 North, state police said in a news release.

Trooper Nathan Branosky, spokesman for state police Troop M based in Bethlehem, said investigators were not immediately identifying any of the people who were involved, including which or what type of vehicle the deceased motorist was in. Northampton County Coroner Zachary Lysek made the pronouncement of the death at the scene, police said.

Nor were police immediately able to explain why the driver was headed the wrong way on the divided, closed-access highways.

The crash remained under investigation by troopers assisted by the Troop M Forensic Services Unit, Troop M Collision Analysis Reconstruction Specialist Unit, Northampton County Coroners Office, Bethlehem Township Volunteer Fire Co., Nancy Run Fire Co. and Fast Lane Towing.

As of about 3 p.m., all traffic on Route 22 East was being detoured on Route 33 South and traffic remained unable to exit from Route 33 South to Route 22 East, police said. The roads reopened at 4:15 p.m., Branosky said.

Anyone who may have observed the red Chevrolet Silverado traveling prior to the crash or may have video of the vehicle traveling the wrong direction is asked to call Pennsylvania State Police at Bethlehem at 610-8612026. The incident number to reference is PA2023-1306267.

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Kurt Bresswein may be reached at kbresswein@lehighvalleylive.com.
The South Bethlehem Greenway and Saucon Rail Trail both offer space for outdoor recreation and transportation, winding through neighborhoods and connecting users to small businesses.

But the two nearby trails dont connect without some bumpy stretches and a dogleg or two along roads.

A $500,000 state grant paired with millions in federal funding aims to change that, by supporting the purchase of the final 0.9 of a mile of rail-bed separating the two trails.

Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro on Thursday joined other state officials, U.S. Rep. Susan Wild and Bethlehem Mayor J. William Reynolds along the greenway on the citys Southside to announce the half-a-million in support. Its part of a $52.5 million investment in more than 225 recreation and conservation projects statewide designed to create new recreational opportunities, conserve natural resources and help revitalize local communities.

These projects will fund critical improvements to local parks, river access and trails across the commonwealth, which will bring outdoor recreation amenities closer to home and improve access in our communities, state Department of Conservation and Natural Resources Secretary Cindy Adams Dunn said in a statement. We are here today in Bethlehem to highlight the importance of trails in DCNRs strategic goals.

Trails boost quality of life, and the role trails play as connectors is key in increasing Pennsylvanias economic competitiveness. I thank the City of Bethlehem for prioritizing access to trails and being an example that investing in trails is key in spurring revitalization efforts and economic growth in our communities.

The trails users pedaling bikes, pushing strollers, jogging, and walking and talking passed by the throng gathered off Taylor Street for the announcement. Bethlehems most recent investment in the greenway was completed last year, tying into Saucon Park.

Negotiations are ongoing to purchase the remaining connection from Norfolk Southern Corp., Williams Administration said. There was no firm timetable for when the missing link would be completed.

In the works since 2005, the greenway now extends about 2.5 miles from New Street to beyond the Bethlehem Skateplaza. Saucon Rail Trail runs along 7.5 miles of the former North Pennsylvania Railroad from Hellertown to Coopersburg.

From where we gather here today, if we were to bike, walk or roll a mile to my right to the end of the South Bethlehem Greenway, the pavement ends, the gravel gets rough and theres little connection, said Scott Slingerland, executive director of the Bethlehem-based Coalition for Appropriate Transportation. As far as the community is concerned, the trail ends a mile that way. And, of course, the community knows theres another rail-trail somewhere beyond in Hellertown on the other side of I-78, but, of course, they dont connect.

This project closes that trail gap from Bethlehem to Hellertown, which not only creates an additional transportation link that connects the city and a borough, it opens up possibilities to beyond  Upper and Lower Saucon townships, Coopersburg, Quakertown and connecting mostly by trail to the governors home turf to Conshohocken and Philadelphia.

There are opportunities to tie in to trails in Montgomery County, where Shapiro is from, and the D&L Trail that is part of the local Link Trail Network to create a 150-mile trail loop, Slingerland said.

Our commonwealth has incredible outdoor spaces, Shapiro said. For me, I must just tell you personally, there are few places better than on a trail, especially when I get the chance to be on their with our four kids and my amazing wife.

This is a game-changer for Bethlehem, this is a game-changer for the Lehigh Valley, he added later. The commonwealth will continue to invest heavily in outdoor recreation, here in Bethlehem and all across this commonwealth.

Pennsylvania state Rep. Jeanne McNeill, from left, joins state Sen. Lisa Boscola, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, U.S. Rep. Susan Wild, state Conservation and Natural Resources Secretary Cindy Adams Dunn, Coalition for Appropriate Transportation Executive Director Scott Slingerland and state Rep. Steve Samuelson in listening to an introduction from Bethlehem Mayor J. William Reynolds ahead of a grant announcement Thursday, Oct. 5, 2023, on the South Bethlehem Greenway.Kurt Bresswein | For lehighvalleylive.com

Elected officials joining Democratic Lehigh Valley lawmakers state Reps. Steve Samuelson and Jeanne McNeill and state Sen. Lisa Boscola at the announcement included Wild, the Democrat representing the region in Pennsylvanias 7th Congressional District. She touted $2.7 million she secured for the trail link closure in 2022 through community project funding, formerly known derisively as earmarks and redesigned as a transparent, application-based process.

These kinds of things happen because of partnerships, Wild said. Youve heard the expression all politics is local, and it is.

Extending the greenway is the second round of recreation news in Bethlehem this week. The city and partners on Wednesday completed an overhaul of Fairview Park in West Bethlehem, through a Pennsylvania Municipal League and KABOOM! rebuild. The league this week is holding its Municipal Leadership Summit on Thursday through Sunday at Wind Creek Bethlehem.

Scenes from the Pennsylvania Municipal League and KABOOM! rebuild of Fairview Park in West Bethlehem are seen Wednesday, Oct. 4, 2023.Courtesy City of Bethlehem

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Kurt Bresswein may be reached at kbresswein@lehighvalleylive.com.
Each year, the National Hydropower Association recognizes Aug. 24 as National Hydropower Day. Here in the Northwest, BPA celebrates daily the clean and constant electricity provided by the region's rivers, which power on average more than half of every smart phone charged, movie watched and meal refrigerated. BPA has released a video of Administrator and CEO John Hairston and b-roll of federal dams. Descriptions below:



Statement from John Hairston, BPA Administrator and CEO

"Today on National Hydropower Day, we celebrate the value of hydropower in the Pacific Northwest and the dependable, carbon-free energy provided by our region's rivers.



Hydropower is the original renewable resource, and its flexibility and reliability complement the integration of new renewable energy sources like wind and solar. The emission-free electricity produced by the 31 federal dams fuels the region's economic prosperity and is the foundation for our clean energy future."

Background

Hydropower generated in the Columbia River Basin, from federal and nonfederal dams, provides about 55% of the energy needed to keep up with the demand for electricity in the Northwest. The electricity from federal dams alone accounts for roughly 30% of the region's total energy. Hydropower's constant availability allows for the integration of other renewables like wind and solar and is the foundation on which the Northwest is building its carbon-free energy future.



Hydropower from the federal system is reliable, having the ability to generate electricity 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. It's a constant resource that can provide electricity even when the wind isn't blowing and the sun isn't shining.



Hydropower is also inexpensive to generate, a benefit BPA passes on to its utility customers. Anyone served by a public or people's utility district, municipal electric utility or rural electric cooperative in the Northwest enjoys the benefits of this low-cost, renewable resource.



Federal law dictates that public power entities in the Northwest have preference to the electricity generated at the dams. BPA provides that power to public utility districts, municipal electric utilities and rural electric coops across the Pacific Northwest.



The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Bureau of Reclamation own and operate the 31 dams that make up the Federal Columbia River Power System. The remaining dams in the Northwest are owned by public and private utilities.



More information about the federal dams, which were constructed between 1909 and 1977, can be found at BPA Facts. To learn more about National Hydropower Day, visit www.hydro.org/hydroday.



About BPA

The Bonneville Power Administration, headquartered in Portland, Oregon, is a nonprofit federal power marketer that sells wholesale, carbon-free hydropower from 31 federal dams in the Columbia River Basin. It also markets the output of the region's only nuclear plant. BPA delivers this power to more than 140 Northwest electric utilities, serving millions of consumers and businesses in Washington, Oregon, Idaho, western Montana and parts of California, Nevada, Utah and Wyoming. BPA also owns and operates more than 15,000 circuit miles of high-voltage power lines and 261 substations, and provides transmission service to more than 300 customers. In all, BPA provides nearly a third of the power generated in the Northwest. To mitigate the impacts of the federal dams, BPA implements a fish and wildlife program that includes working with its partners to make the federal dams safer for fish passage. It also pursues cost-effective energy savings and operational solutions that help maintain safe, affordable, reliable electric power for the Northwest.

www.bpa.gov

CONTACT:

Doug Johnson, BPA

503-713-7658 or 503-230-5131
President Biden announced Wednesday that $9 billion in student debt would be canceled for $125,000 borrowers.

This development comes as the Biden administration deployed a number of adjustments to existing programs, including income-driven repayment plans and Public Service Loan Forgiveness.

RELATED: Student loan forgiveness update: How borrowers can appeal for forgiveness

More than $5 billion in aid will go to about 53,000 people who have worked in public service for 10 years or more, $2.8 billion in aid will go to about 51,000 people enrolled in income-driven repayment plans and the remaining $1.2 billion will go to 22,000 student loan holders with disabilities.

The forgiveness comes after federal student loan payments resumed on October 1 after being put on hold for three years due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The Supreme Court struck down the Biden administrations original plan to wipe out up to $20,000 for each federal student loan borrower in June.

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Katherine Rodriguez can be reached at krodriguez@njadvancemedia.com. Have a tip? Tell us at nj.com/tips.
Sign up for Reckons latest weekly newsletter covering the three topics never to be discussed at the dinner table. Enter your email to subscribe to Matter of Faith.

Welcome to October, Matter of Faith: my favorite month. The weather is cooling off and the leaves are starting to change here in Tennessee. Unfortunately, that means the bugs are making their way inside.

Speaking of bugs, we should all be bothered about religious nationalism around the world. This week, were going deep into Hindu and Christian nationalism.

Lets get into it:

The two far-right movements are a threat to democracy, and Republican candidate Vivek Ramaswamy is aligning himself with both. (Getty Images/Michelle Zenarosa | mzenarosa@reckonmedia.com)

Both Hindu nationalism and Christian nationalism are based on the idea that the nation should be defined by a particular religious majority, and that this majority should have special privileges and status. This leads to the promotion of violence and discrimination against minority groups.

Christian nationalism is not Christianity, said Katherine Stewart, investigative reporter and author of The Power Worshippers: Inside the Dangerous Rise of Religious Nationalism.

Read more to learn what religious nationalism is and isnt.

Businessman Vivek Ramaswamy, left, argues a point with Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C.,during a Republican presidential primary debate hosted by FOX Business Network and Univision, Wednesday, Sept. 27, 2023, at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, Calif. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)AP

By Emma Akpan

As a Black Christian daughter of an immigrant, watching Wednesday nights Republican debate was nothing short of appalling. On a glaringly white male debate stage, the sleight of far-right Republicans argued often shouting over one another about everything from immigration to transgender children, with each comment seemingly more virulent and hateful than the last.

Polls have shown that in order to win the Republican bid, candidates will have to appeal to a voter base composed largely of white Evangelical Christians.

Read more about how two candidates of color are embracing white supremacy.

What Im reading:

It makes my journalist heart happy to see my readers getting their news from various news sources. Its something I try to do not just for work, but because I think it matters. Thats enough of my thoughts on the news. Heres the stories I bookmarked in my news folder this week:

Benediction:

Thanks for joining me for another week of Matter of Faith. You can find me online on Instagram, Threads and X. You can also send your feedback on the newsletter to abeahm@reckonmedia.com. I do read my emails!

Keep wandering.

-Anna
A celebrity Irish chef is returning to Laois for a special Christmas cookery demonstration.

Ireland AM chef Edward Hayden will present A Christmas Cookery Demo evening, at the BloomHQ building in Mountrath this November 21.

The special event is organised as a local fundraiser by the Class of 1990, a group of past pupils of the Brigidine Convent who are raising money to launch a Music and Grinds school in the former convent bedrooms of their old school, now a community building.

"Exciting news, the class of 1990 are planning another event so mark your calendars!

"This event will be a pre-Christmas evening out for friends and family where you'll get some delicious Christmas food ideas from one of Ireland's best-known chefs with a mince pie and refreshments reception and also the chance to win great prizes.

"All in aid of the Class of 1990 Restoration Fund to help restore and repurpose our old school for continued community use.

Times Plus booking details coming soon," the group have announced.

The Christmas Cookery Demo evening will be held on Tuesday, November 21 at St Philomena's Hall, Brigidine Convent, Mountrath. Tickets will cost 25.
LGBT Ireland has called on people in County Kildare to get involved in its National Coming Out Day campaign for 2023.

'Empowering anthems' is calling on the people of Kildare to choose their most inspiring song, share it on social media and make a donation to support the work of LGBT Ireland.

All funds raised will go towards supporting LGBT Ireland deliver its quality services for the LGBTQI+ community in Kildare and across Ireland.

Speaking yesterday at the launch of the campaign, Paula Fagan, Chief Executive of LGBT Ireland, said: "Coming out is one of the most significant milestones in any LGBTQI+ persons lifetime, and it can be a hugely challenging and emotional time for people.

"Fear of rejection and worry for the future can often create anxiety... however it can also be an incredibly empowering experience and can open up the door to self-acceptance and joy."

She continued: "We all know the positive impact music can have on emotional well-being, and so this year we are encouraging people in Kildare to support their LGBTQI+ friends and family by choosing an empowering anthem that motivates them and makes them feel good about themselves.

"Share the song on Instagram or any other social media and tag LGBT Ireland, and make a donation to support our services.

"At the end of the campaign, we will compile and share our playlist of Empowering Anthems which we hope will help anyone who might be struggling with their identity to feel empowered and loved, and to remind them that support and help is available to them through LGBT Ireland."

"We also want to highlight that once someone comes out, they never stop coming out for the remainder of their lives  for example, when they start a new job, join a new social group or meet new people in any situation.

"We hope that our playlist of anthems will help anyone who might need to feel empowered and lifted up by the community and our allies, whether they came out 30 years ago, or last week," she concluded.

SUPPORT

A number of well-known faces are supporting the campaign and have chosen their empowering anthems, including:

Comedian Shane Daniel Byrne, whose anthem is La Roux's song Bulletproof'

Designer, business-woman and entrepreneur Sonya Lennon, whose anthem is 'Im Coming Out' by Diana Ross

Presenter and designer Brendan Courtney, who also chose Im Coming Out as his anthem

Psychotherapist and presenter Dil Wickremasinghe, picked Madonnas 'Express Yourself'

Cian Griffin, social media influencer, chose 'Born This Way' by Lady Gaga

Presenter and actor David O'Reilly, chose 'Rhythm of the Night' by Corona

Commenting on her pick, Sonya Lennon said: "I first remember listening to it on a Walkman... the song encapsulates the emotion of being exactly who and where you want to be: its a celebration.

"I believe that being an ally is about accepting everyone for who they are when youre with them but also advocating for their interests when youre not."

Photographed at the launch of LGBT Irelands Empowering Anthems campaign for National Coming out Day was Sonya Lennon, designer, business-woman and entrepreneur; David O'Reilly, presenter; Cian Griffin, social media influencer; Shane Daniel Byrne, comedian; Brendan Courtney, presenter and designer; Dil Wickremasinghe, psychotherapist and presenter and Paula Fagan, CEO of LGBT Ireland. Photograph supplied by Marc O'Sullivan.

Dil Wickremasinghes also said that her song choice was inspired by her own journey of self-discovery: "The song came out the summer of 1987.

"I was 16 years old, and I became aware of my sexualityand fell madly in love with another girl, she was a beautiful Sicilian girl.

"I was in Palermo,Sicily, with my family for a few weeks. She had a red Vespa and I used sit on the back of it as we whizzed up Mount Pellegrino, where we shared our first kiss."

Dil continued: "I remember listening to 'Express Yourself' on repeat that summer.

"It encouraged me to come out, express myself and 30 years later I am still happily expressing myself!"

David O'Reilly said: "Being part of any campaign that aims to alleviate any stigma, trauma or difficulty for any minority group is an honour."

He added: "In a world where regression on LGBTQI+ rights is on the rise, it is so vitally important for me to support LGBT Ireland, who continue to have their fingers on the pulse in supporting vulnerable members of the LGBTQI+ community."

HOW TO GET INVOLVED

Share your favourite and most empowering anthem on social media.

At the end of the campaign, LGBT Ireland will share a Spotify playlist compiled from all the songs that people have tagged them in.

Post about your empowering anthem and tag LGBT Ireland.

Facebook: @LGBT.ie

Instagram: @lgbtireland_ie

X: @LGBT_ie

LinkedIn: lgbtireland

Use the hashtags #EmpoweringAnthems, #ShareYourAnthem.

Donate to LGBT Ireland via social media channels, Revolut or via the LGBT Ireland website.

Tag others to encourage people to do the same.

SERVICES

LGBT Ireland provides a number of services to the LGBTQI+ community across Ireland through their phone helplines and messaging services; peer support groups; advocating on behalf of the LGBTQI+ community and in particular providing support for older members of the community, and for those living in International Protection accommodation.

Further information on LGBT Ireland can be found here: https://lgbt.ie/.
A night of music in aid of Syrian refugees will be held in Kildare town next week.

Atlantic Humanitarian Relief - Music for Medicine Autumn Concert returns to Kildare town for 2023 next Friday.

The description for the event written by the organisers reads as follows: "Atlantic Humanitarian Relief (AHR) is proud to invite you to our Music for Medicine concert, a wonderful night of music in aid of Syrian refugees.

"Hosted in the historic St Brigids Cathedral Kildare, we welcome you to enjoy a captivating performance featuring the Gormanstown Choir, Dara and Consonance Quartets, Arthur Greene(Organ) and Elena Ryan (Viola).

"Alongside the concert there will be brief talks on the experiences of Syrian Refugees and AHR's October '23 Mission to Jordan."

The organisers concluded: "All are welcome and we hope to see you there."

Tickets for the event are 20, plus a 2.42 fee.

Those who would like to make a donation, can do so by visiting Eventbrite.
Delegates from the Kildare and Wicklow Education and Training Board (KWETB) attended the annual Education and Training Boards Ireland (ETBI) education conference in Cork City Hall last week.

The theme for this years conference, 'The ETB of the Future', explored key topics such as the role of AI and technology in education, the importance of inclusion and diversity, and what learners want for the class of 2033.

Stephen Horan, tutor and IT specialist at Kildare and Wicklow ETB, was notably awarded 'Best Photo at the Conference' during the conference.

The event brought together over 300 representatives from across the sector and featured a line-up of over 40 speakers. Minister of State at the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, Niall Collins TD opened the conference on Wednesday, September 27 last, giving the official Ministerial conference address.

Commenting on the future of education, General Secretary of ETBI, Paddy Lavelle, said: "As we reflect on 10 years of ETBs in Ireland, its time for us now to look to the future and focus on what lies ahead for our sector.

"Ireland is changing, and its important that we move to adapt with it. We need to plan ahead and give real thought to who our learners of the future are: what skills do they need; how do they need or want to be taught; and how can we ensure that we are delivering education to learners of all levels in Kildare and Wicklow and across the country that meets their needs, and the needs of their future employers?"

He continued: "It will come as no surprise that we have heard throughout the conference of the potential for technology to revolutionise education... for both the teacher and the learner.

"However, its important that we also highlight other key considerations that will be vital in the future of education.

"As Ireland continues to become a more diverse and inclusive country, it is essential that we ensure that we have the infrastructure in place to support all learners, regardless of any disability, race, religion, gender, or sexual orientation.

"KWETB and Education and Training Boards across Ireland are already providing multidenominational, coeducational and equality-based education and training services, so are well placed to expand on this delivery and meet potential increased demand."

Mr Lavelle also said that the learners of the future 'are tech-savvy, culturally diverse, environmentally conscious, and adaptable.'

HE added: "It is our responsibility now to ensure that the classroom of the future evolves to support them on their learning journey.

The conference took place over two days, with a full line-up of keynote speakers and panel discussions.

Some of the highlights from the agenda include inputs from: Joanne O'Riordan, disability activist, writer and broadcaster; John Lonergan, writer and former governor of Mountjoy Prison; Anna Artemyeva, Head of Google for Education, UK & Ireland; Niall Collins TD, Minister of State with responsibility for Skills and Further Education; and Bernie McNally, Secretary General of the Department of Education.

Further information on the conference can be viewed here.
Digital Engineering company Tantek 4D have announced that they will be expanding their workforce in their new headquarters in Sligo which will create 30 jobs.

Founded in 2018 by Sligo natives and brothers, Conor and Paul Tansey, Tantek 4D specialise in leveraging geospatial and BIM technologies in developing digital twin solutions for the efficient management of facility data across the Life Sciences, Data Centre and Semi-Conductor sectors.

The expansion will see the creation of 30 new jobs, with 20 of those based in Sligo and 10 in Dublin. The skill sets required will span across Project Management, Geospatial Surveying, BIM Coordination, Data Analytics, and Software Development. These jobs will help to fulfil its international expansion plans across new markets including Belgium, Spain and Germany.

Speaking at the opening, Minister of State for Trade Promotion, Digital and Company Regulation Dara Calleary TD said: I am delighted to join the Tantek 4D team today to celebrate the opening of their new offices and the announcement of job creation here in Sligo. A key priority for this Government is to foster regional enterprise development and create jobs across all the regions of Ireland. Choosing regional locations as part of expansion plans allows businesses to access a wider pool of talent and creates jobs locally. Todays expansion announcement is a great boost for Sligo as well as the wider North-West region and paves the way for this innovative company to significantly scale its business globally. The Government, through Enterprise Ireland, looks forward to continued engagement with Tantek4D to support the growth of the business into the future.

Meabh Conaghan, Regional Director, West and North-West, Enterprise Ireland said: Tantek 4D is a highly innovative Irish start-up making strong commercial and technical progress, having developed world leading technology directly targeting the digitalistaion of the thriving design, construction and planning sector. Enterprise Irelands mission is to partner with innovative Irish businesses with the drive and ambition to scale internationally while sustaining and creating high quality jobs across the regions. We look forward to continuing to support the company as they accelerate the scaling of their business across international markets.

We are delighted to unveil our new office in Sligo as we prepare to embark on our international expansion plans. It has been an exciting year for us, having secured Enterprise Ireland investment while also winning several new projects across Europe. Todays announcement is a testament to our continued commitment to Sligo and the North-West region as a place to do business, said Tantek 4Ds Co-founder and CTO, Dr. Paul Tansey.
Standard Motor Products, Inc. STABIL Facility Earns PACCAR 2022 10 PPM Award





NEW YORK, Oct. 4, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Standard Motor Products (SMP) is pleased to announce that its STABIL facility in Germany has earned PACCAR's 2022 10 PPM Award. Each year, PACCAR, a leading global manufacturer of light, medium, and heavy-duty trucks under the Kenworth, Peterbilt, and DAF nameplates, recognizes suppliers who achieve its "10 PPM" quality standard. This means that for every million supplier parts and components shipped to PACCAR, less than ten were defective. Additionally, in order to qualify for this award, suppliers must meet warranty support and continuous improvement criteria.

The PACCAR 2022 10 PPM Award was presented to SMP's STABIL personnel.

The prestigious award was presented to SMP's STABIL personnel, to the STABIL engineering, sales and distribution facilities in Kirchheim, Germany and the STABIL production facility in Pecel, Hungary. STABIL is dedicated to the highest-quality design, engineering, manufacturing, product development, sales and distribution of components for automotive and heavy-duty applications.

"Receiving PACCAR's coveted 10 PPM Award is a testament to our unyielding commitment to providing our partners with components of the highest quality," said Dale Burks, executive vice president and chief commercial officer at SMP. "As always, we remain dedicated to providing quality that our partners can trust, and are grateful for the partnership that we continue to build with PACCAR."

About SMP Engineered Solutions

SMP Engineered Solutions offers a wide range of custom-designed vehicle control and thermal management products. Offering an extensive portfolio of adaptable products covering a range of applications, SMP Engineered Solutions is supported by a global resource network, strategically positioned to provide unique solutions to a wide-range customer base. The division serves vehicle and equipment manufacturers in diversified end markets for on- and off-highway applications. To learn more, visit SMPEngineeredSolutions.com.

About SMP

With over 100 years in business, Standard Motor Products, Inc. is a leading independent manufacturer and distributor of premium automotive replacement parts utilized in the maintenance, repair and service of vehicles in the automotive aftermarket industry. In addition, SMP continues to increase its supplier capabilities with a complementary focus on specialized original equipment parts for manufacturers across multiple industries such as agriculture, heavy duty, and construction equipment. SMP sells its products primarily to automotive aftermarket retailers, program distribution groups, warehouse distributors, original equipment manufacturers and original equipment service part operations in the United States, Canada, Europe, Asia, Mexico and other Latin American countries. For more information, visit SMPcorp.com.

SOURCE Standard Motor Products, Inc.

4 october 2023 at 14:00

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AD&Co Releases LoanKinetics-Climate Impact Suite





NEW YORK, Oct. 4, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Andrew Davidson & Co., Inc. (AD&Co), a leading provider of mortgage analytics to depositories, insurance companies, buy-side investors, originators, and servicers, announces the release of the alpha version of Climate Impact Suite within their LoanKinetics application for the analysis of whole loans.

Regulators and investors are both looking for solutions to help quantify the financial impacts of increasing climate risk. Addressing the needs of the mortgage sector?with roughly $12 trillion in mortgages outstanding?is essential to success in this endeavor. LoanKinetics-Climate Impact Suite (LK-CIS) is a truly granular solution that quantifies the impact of future increases in borrower insurance costs due to rising hazard insurance rates on individual mortgage loans and house prices. The first version will be most useful to originators, whole loan holders, servicers, and mortgage insurers who have property-level information.

LoanKinetics uses loan-level information on borrowers, properties, and loan characteristics to provide cutting-edge scenario analysis and simulation capabilities to help users value and analyze the risk of whole loans. AD&Co's Climate Impact Suite extends the capabilities of LoanKinetics, using property-level information from leading climate analytics providers to measure the potential impact of higher insurance premiums (such as those for hazards covered by homeowners, flood, and wildfire insurance) on the future behavior of borrowers and home prices.

"We look forward to additional client feedback as we develop and expand the capabilities of LoanKinetics that enable mortgage market participants to better measure and manage climate-related risks." -- Eknath Belbase, Director

In order to extend these capabilities to the analysis of mortgage-backed securities and structured products such as agency credit risk transfer and reinsurance transactions, AD&Co will also integrate the climate-conditioned models implemented in LK-CIS into its other applications and libraries.

"With the growing focus on the impact of climate risk on the availability of homeowners insurance, we are happy to offer a solution based on in-depth research and detailed property data that quantifies the potential impact of climate on mortgage prepayment and default due to changes in insurance cost and availability." -- Andrew Davidson, President

About Andrew Davidson & Co., Inc.

Andrew Davidson & Co., Inc. is known for its leadership in the development of financial research and analytics, mortgage-backed securities product development, valuation and hedging, housing policy and GSE reform, and credit risk transfer transactions. AD&Co develops and licenses prepayment and credit models, as well as risk measurement tools that are used as benchmark analytics by a roster of the world's largest and most successful financial institutions including top mortgage and commercial banks, insurance companies, mortgage insurers, reinsurers, credit unions, broker-dealers and investment management firms.

For more products and services information, visit www.ad-co.com and for direct inquiries contact [email protected].

SOURCE Andrew Davidson & Co., Inc. (AD&Co)

4 october 2023 at 15:46

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Goodwill Launches Major Green Jobs Program in Partnership with Accenture





Program will provide clean tech skilling and job placement for more than 7,000 people

ROCKVILLE, Md., Oct. 4, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Goodwill, in partnership with Accenture, is launching a groundbreaking, relevant workforce training program for the most in-demand, entry-level, clean energy jobs. The Goodwill Clean Tech Acceleratortm will teach employability and technical skills for jobs involving solar and storage, electric vehicle charging, heat pumps and energy efficiency.

Goodwill, in partnership with Accenture, is launching a groundbreaking, relevant workforce training program.

Goodwill and Accenture, who co-designed the program, announced the initiative at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation's Talent Forward event and look forward to welcoming other partners in the near future.

The Goodwill Clean Tech Accelerator fills a critical talent gap by providing people with the relevant skills and certifications required for these in-demand jobs that offer opportunity for higher wages and better career advancement. Goodwill will run the program, proactively targeting under and unemployed individuals. Participants in the program will be paid as they learn through intensive, hands-on, competency-based training as well as tailored employment readiness and career placement services.

"As our labor market transitions, we see important opportunities for people to move into more promising roles with better pay. It is essential that we provide the training and other support needed to ensure people capture these opportunities," said Steve Preston, president and CEO of Goodwill Industries International. "The Goodwill Clean Tech Accelerator will open doors for people in an expanding industry and provide support to employers who are helping us transition to a more sustainable world."

Nearly 40% of advanced energy jobs ? specifically the ones targeted by the Goodwill Clean Tech Accelerator ? do not require college degrees and pay more than the national median salary. Through this program, Goodwill and Accenture will unlock new talent needed for the energy transition while diversifying clean energy's workforce and putting job seekers on pathways to thriving careers.

Four Goodwill Clean Tech Accelerator locations will launch next year in Atlanta, Houston, Nashville and Detroit. There are also plans to scale this program to 20 cities in the next seven years ? thereby training an estimated 7,000 job seekers.

"The clean energy transition is demanding new sources of talent who understand clean tech and can apply that knowledge to achieve decarbonization," said Manish Sharma, CEO of Accenture North America. "Through the Goodwill Clean Tech Accelerator, we're proud to unlock skilling opportunities that are accessible to everyone, benefitting workers, industry and our local communities."

The Goodwill Clean Tech Accelerator began through an Accenture Corporate Citizenship investment and is based on decades of experience training job seekers through Skills to Succeed. Key training partners include GRID Alternatives, ChargerHelp! and BlocPower. These three leading clean energy organizations are contributing curriculum and training model expertise for the program. Additional partners and investors will be joining as the initiative is scaled.

About Goodwill Industries International

Goodwill is the largest nonprofit workforce development network in the country. It works to enhance the dignity and quality of life of individuals and families by strengthening communities, building bridges to opportunity and helping people in need reach their potential through learning and the power of work.

For more than 120 years, Goodwill organizations across North America have helped people find jobs, support their families and feel the satisfaction that comes from working. There are 154 local Goodwill organizations that assist people through a variety of employment placement services, job training programs and other community-based services.?Thousands of people receive employment and other human services through Goodwill and, in 2022, they helped more than 2.1 million people build skills, access resources and advance careers.

Goodwill sells donated items in nearly 3,300 outlet and retail stores in the U.S. and Canada and online at shopgoodwill.com, the first nonprofit internet auction site, and other online marketplaces. The revenue creates job placement and training programs to help people earn paychecks and build their careers.

For more information or to find a Goodwill location near you, visit goodwill.org. Follow us on Twitter: @GoodwillIntl and @GoodwillCapHill, and find us on Facebook, Instagram and YouTube: GoodwillIntl. Register for our Legislative Action Center goodwill.org.

About Accenture

Accenture is a leading global professional services company that helps the world's leading businesses, governments and other organizations build their digital core, optimize their operations, accelerate revenue growth and enhance citizen services?creating tangible value at speed and scale. We are a talent and innovation led company with 733,000 people serving clients in more than 120 countries.

Technology is at the core of change today, and we are one of the world's leaders in helping drive that change, with strong ecosystem relationships. We combine our strength in technology with unmatched industry experience, functional expertise and global delivery capability.

We are uniquely able to deliver tangible outcomes because of our broad range of services, solutions and assets across Strategy & Consulting, Technology, Operations, Industry X and Accenture Song. These capabilities, together with our culture of shared success and commitment to creating 360 value, enable us to help our clients succeed and build trusted, lasting relationships. We measure our success by the 360 value we create for our clients, each other, our shareholders, partners and communities. Visit us at www.accenture.com.

Media Contact:

Rhiana Sherwood

[email protected]

SOURCE Goodwill Industries International

4 october 2023 at 15:55

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ELKO  What if the thrills and horrors of Edgar Allen Poe stories unfolded right in front of your face, all while you treated yourself to craft beer?

At the Duncan Little Creek Gallery, the Silver Stage Players Poe and Pints event provides audiences with a theater experience that brings classic literature to an immersive and hair-raising level. The sold-out show runs Oct. 5-7 and Oct. 12-14, with a dress rehearsal on Oct. 4.

Rather than acting from within the boundaries of a traditional stage, the actors move around the entire gallery space. They actively walk between its two rooms, often coming within inches of audience members sitting at tables.

For its 10th installment, the show incorporates four stories by Poe, including Masque of the Red Death and Tell-Tale Heart, as well as highlighting the work of local guest authors Josh Webster and Savannah Flores. Webster provided two original gothic stories, Last Seance of Eliza Finn and Good Spirits, and Flores penned a re-interpretation of Poes Tell-Tale Heart. The program alternates between acting segments and drink flights  four flights of craft beer, to be specific.

I think what really sets Poe and Pints apart from other theater shows is just how close and immersive that it is  because the audience is literally on the stage. You get the opportunity for almost film acting, director Derek Burwell said. The fourth wall is real bendy. And I think the fact that we look at Edgar Allan Poes works and look at the macabre and maudlin  you dont get a lot of theater that does that. A lot of people really enjoy big musicals and comedies are always popular. But I really enjoy the fact that we get a chance to kind of look at the darker things, because art should reflect all of that.

Burwell explained that the show would explore the dark side of the human psyche.

Events like Poe and Pints allow us to explore those themes in a safe way, so we can handle the things that may be lurking just underneath the skin. But that is exactly why we need the humanities in Elko, is because it is what makes us better humans, and allows us and prepares us for those sorts of tough questions.

Burwell said his favorite Poe story to work on was Tell-Tale Heart, as he appreciates its themes of insanity.

I hope that they find it a rewarding and fun experience and a chance to get to express some things that they may not do again, with it being darker-themed, Burwell said of the actors.

He said he hopes the actors not only have a fun time but also try out their chops in a different way. Also, he said he hopes they get a chance to appreciate classic literature  not only how it was but also how it can be reinvented, he said.

Burwell, who is in his third year as a director, explained how his role involves creative decision-making as well as making sure that everything else is on time and that we have a show by the end of it.

So you kind of dip your fingers into a lot of different parts, but we have a really good team that we can work with for costuming and tech, he said, and just making sure that all of those are going smoothly, and that we have a show that we can be proud of.

Burwell cited that the creative touches hes most proud of involve the shows immersiveness.

One of my biggest things that I am always worried about with Poe and Pints, is that I want to make sure that everything is top notch. The intimate setting demands high quality, he explained. And so to me I always think Poe and Pints is one of those opportunities where we can really show what we can do not only in acting, but costuming.

Burwell works in the mining industry but has participated in community theater for around two decades. He started around 2000 with Great Basin Colleges theater productions. He has worked with Ghost Light Productions along with Silver Stage Players.

What has Burwell learned from past productions of Poe and Pints? He said he has figured out how to manage the alcohol component in tandem with the more artistic theater side. Putting more conceptual pieces at the beginning of the show works well for the event, he said.

I always want them to leave this experience better. And to really hone their craft, Burwell said of working with actors. He said that he has found his own special relational place among them.

Its been two months of intensive rehearsals with people I really care about and that really makes the difference.

Silver Stage Players is a nonprofit. All actors in the show are volunteers.

Im new to all of this, said Irving Moore, who plays four different characters in the show including Prince Prospero in Masque of the Red Death. So to me its just been three nights of hanging out with really cool people and learning a lot about where to stand and where to do what to do and where to be.

I think its a fantastically unique opportunity as far as an actor standpoint and an audience standpoint, Meghan Micheli said of the experience. Micheli also plays four characters in the show, including Eliza Finns companion Patty in Last Seance of Eliza Finn.

So far, it is meticulous and down to a science, Micheli said of the rehearsal process. This is something that gets prepared in March.

The first story of the night is Last Seance of Eliza Finn, an existential gothic tale penned by guest author Josh Webster. In this story, a woman who attempts to summon the dead finds herself visited by Nyctos, a monster that frightens her into admitting her darkest fears while lecturing her about the human condition.

Three actors, Griffin, Sean Miklovic and Sara Walls, portrayed Nyctos. They alternate the lines as if speaking in a single uninterrupted voice, slinking and crawling around the gallery and even leaping onto the tables and the window frame in the center of the room. Their unpredictable movements and snarling vocal delivery, as well as their inches-close proximity to the audience, make for a chilling experience. Also of note are their costumes, which were covered in feathers, tentacles, and eyeballs.

We wanted something that could combine together and then also separate out, Burwell said of the costume design for Nyctos. Even when theyre separated out, they still need to be one creature.

That was a lot of fun to work with it, and make sure that it was alien enough and scary enough to do justice to it, but also is something practical enough that they can do some pretty physical things with it, Burwell said. He thanked Kelsey Rogers, the shows costumer, for her effort with the unique costume choices.

I really just enjoy the fellowship. Getting to work with everyone, Burwell said of putting on the show. Again, this is all volunteer. And so if its not checking multiple boxes, then youre doing something wrong. And I couldnt ask for a better group of people to work with.

Poe is one of those weird phenomena that has happened in Americana, what we call the Poe Effect, which is that you probably know of Poe, even if you have never read a single one of his stories or poems, Burwell explained. It is our distinct pleasure to be able to highlight his writing and other dominant topics at such an event.

He wrote nearly 200 years ago now and we are still finding value in his words, Burwell said.
Voyager Space Announces Teaming Agreement with Northrop Grumman for the Starlab Space Station





DENVER, Oct. 4, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Voyager Space (Voyager) today announced they plan to enter a teaming agreement with Northrop Grumman (NYSE: NOC) to develop fully autonomous rendezvous and docking technology for Northrop Grumman's Cygnus spacecraft and provide cargo resupply services for the Starlab space station, which will be built and operated under a transatlantic joint venture between Voyager Space and Airbus Defence and Space (Airbus). The companies will further explore opportunities to strengthen the development of Starlab, a free-flying space station, and the enhanced Cygnus system, to serve the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Commercial Low-Earth Orbit (LEO) Development program (CLDP). The parties also are exploring opportunities for Northrop Grumman to provide engineering services in support of the design and development of Starlab.

Under this teaming agreement, Voyager Space and Northrop Grumman agreed to a framework under which Northrop Grumman will perform services to upgrade its flight-proven Cygnus cargo vehicle with a fully autonomous docking system to support Starlab missions. Autonomous docking, the ability for two spacecraft to dock independently from human controllers, is a critical technology enabling complex in-orbit and deep space operations.

Northrop Grumman's Cygnus spacecraft will be utilized to deliver pressurized cargo to Starlab over an initial five-year period to support future human spaceflight missions. The Cygnus spacecraft has completed 19 missions, delivering over 138,000 pounds of cargo to the International Space Station (ISS). Cygnus has already demonstrated several advanced capabilities, including the ability to function as a laboratory while docked to ISS, deploy satellites, and reboost the station's orbit.

"We are fully committed to the future of commercial LEO. Our new role with Starlab supports NASA's initiatives to encourage commercial space station development as part of a growing LEO economy," said Steve Krein, Vice President of Civil and Commercial Space at Northrop Grumman.

"This collaboration is a major step forward for the Starlab program," said Dylan Taylor, Chairman and CEO of Voyager Space. "Northrop Grumman's technical capability and proven success in cargo resupply services will play a pivotal role as we accelerate Starlab's development. We're proud to be supporting advanced docking systems that push LEO transportation operations forward and advance critical technology for deep space exploration. We are thrilled to have Northrop Grumman on our Starlab team."

Voyager and Northrop Grumman's teaming follows recent news from Voyager and Airbus announcing an agreement to form a transatlantic joint venture to develop and operate the Starlab space station, ensuring a continued human presence in LEO and launching before the ISS is decommissioned.

About Voyager Space

Voyager Space is dedicated to building a better future for humanity in space and on Earth. With over 35 years of spaceflight heritage and over 2,000 successful missions, Voyager is powering the commercial space revolution. Voyager delivers exploration, technology, and defense solutions to a global customer base that includes civil and national security agencies, commercial companies, academic and research institutions, and more.

Cautionary Statement Concerning Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains "forward-looking statements." All statements, other than statements of historical fact, including those with respect to Voyager Space, Inc.'s (the "Company's") mission statement and growth strategy, are "forward-looking statements." Although the Company's management believes that such forward-looking statements are reasonable, it cannot guarantee that such expectations are, or will be, correct. These forward-looking statements involve many risks and uncertainties, which could cause the Company's future results to differ materially from those anticipated. Potential risks and uncertainties include, among others, general economic conditions and conditions affecting the industries in which the Company operates; the uncertainty of regulatory requirements and approvals; and the ability to obtain necessary financing on acceptable terms or at all. Readers should not place any undue reliance on forward-looking statements since they involve these known and unknown uncertainties and other factors which are, in some cases, beyond the Company's control and which could, and likely will, materially affect actual results, levels of activity, performance or achievements. Any forward-looking statement reflects the Company's current views with respect to future events and is subject to these and other risks, uncertainties and assumptions relating to operations, results of operations, growth strategy and liquidity. The Company assumes no obligation to publicly update or revise these forward-looking statements for any reason, or to update the reasons actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements, even if new information becomes available in the future.

SOURCE Voyager Space

4 october 2023 at 16:00

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Employers Holdings, Inc. Schedules Third Quarter 2023 Earnings Release and Conference Call





Employers Holdings, Inc. (the "Company") (NYSE:EIG) today announced that it will release its third quarter 2023 financial results on Wednesday, October 25, 2023, after market close.

Conference Call Details

The Company will then review these financial results via a conference call and webcast on Thursday, October 26, 2023, at 11:00 a.m. EDT / 8:00 a.m. PDT.

Investors can access the conference call by dialing:

U.S. Toll-free: 1-877-423-9820 International: 1-201-493-6749

A live audio-only broadcast will be accessible via webcast in the Investors section of the Company's website at www.employers.com. An archived version of the webcast will also be accessible on the Company's website following the live call.

About Employers Holdings, Inc.

EMPLOYERS and America's small business insurance specialist are registered trademarks of EIG Services, Inc. Employers Holdings, Inc. is a holding company with subsidiaries that are specialty providers of workers' compensation insurance and services focused on select, small businesses engaged in low-to-medium hazard industries. The Company operates throughout the United States, with the exception of four states that are served exclusively by their state funds. Insurance is offered through Employers Insurance Company of Nevada, Employers Compensation Insurance Company, Employers Preferred Insurance Company, Employers Assurance Company and Cerity Insurance Company, all rated A- (Excellent) by the A.M. Best Company. Not all companies do business in all jurisdictions. See www.employers.com and www.cerity.com for coverage availability.

4 october 2023 at 16:20

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BankUnited, Inc. to Announce Third Quarter Results





BankUnited, Inc. (NYSE: BKU) announced today that financial results for the quarter ended September 30, 2023 will be made public in a news release on Thursday, October 19, 2023 prior to the market opening.

A conference call to discuss quarterly results will be held at 9:00 a.m. ET that day with Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer, Rajinder P. Singh, Chief Financial Officer, Leslie N. Lunak and Chief Operating Officer, Thomas M. Cornish. The earnings release and supplemental information will be available on BankUnited's Investor Relations page prior to the call at https://ir.bankunited.com.

The live webcast can be accessed via the Event Calendar section of the Investor Relations page at Upcoming Events | BankUnited, Inc. The Company suggests participants to sign in at least 15 minutes in advance of the call.

To participate by telephone, participants will receive dial-in information and a unique PIN number upon completion of registration at: https://register.vevent.com/register/BI8dd0dafa7e284086a3d06fd4752fdebf.

For those unable to join the live event, an archived webcast will be available in the Investor Relations page at https://ir.bankunited.com approximately two hours following the live webcast.

About BankUnited

BankUnited, Inc. (NYSE: BKU), with total assets of $35.9 billion at June 30, 2023 is the bank holding company of BankUnited, N.A., a national bank headquartered in Miami Lakes, Florida that provides a full range of banking and related services to individual and corporate customers through banking centers located in the state of Florida, New York metropolitan area and Dallas, Texas and a comprehensive suite of wholesale products to customers through an Atlanta office focused on the Southeast region. BankUnited also offers certain commercial lending and deposit products through national platforms. For additional information, call (877) 779-2265 or visit www.BankUnited.com. BankUnited can be found on Facebook at facebook.com/BankUnited.Official and on Twitter @BankUnited.

4 october 2023 at 16:35

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BlackBerry Provides Project Imperium Update and Announces Intention to Separate Business Units





WATERLOO, ON, Oct. 4, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- BlackBerry Limited (NYSE: BB; TSX: BB) today provided an update regarding the previously announced review of its portfolio of businesses that the Board of Directors commenced on May 1, 2023 ("Project Imperium").

Strategic Review of Portfolio

The Board, together with its advisors, Morgan Stanley and Perella Weinberg Partners, has been evaluating a comprehensive range of strategic alternatives to drive enhanced shareholder value, including a possible separation of businesses and a range of potential sale structures. Based on input from the current process and with the support of management, the Board has determined that separating the IoT and Cybersecurity business units into two independently-operated entities is the optimal strategic direction for BlackBerry.

The chief objective of the separation is to pursue a subsidiary initial public offering for the IoT business, the market leader for high-performance, safety-critical foundational software in automotive and other verticals, with a launch targeted in the first half of the next fiscal year. BlackBerry believes that a separately-traded IoT subsidiary will enable shareholders to more clearly evaluate the performance and future potential of BlackBerry's principal businesses on a standalone basis, while allowing each business to pursue its own distinct strategy and capital allocation policy.

Project Imperium objectives will continue to be pursued as the company launches activities to separate our principal businesses.

"The Board and management believe that separating our principal businesses will improve our ability to create value for all our stakeholders," said John Chen, Executive Chair & CEO, BlackBerry. "Both the IoT and Cyber businesses have leading technology and talent and address large and growing market opportunities. This new proposed structure will further increase both their operational agility and ability to focus on delivering exceptional solutions to their customers."

About BlackBerry

BlackBerry (NYSE: BB; TSX: BB) provides intelligent security software and services to enterprises and governments around the world. The company secures more than 500M endpoints including over 235M vehicles. Based in Waterloo, Ontario, the company leverages AI and machine learning to deliver innovative solutions in the areas of cybersecurity, safety, and data privacy solutions, and is a leader in the areas of endpoint security, endpoint management, encryption, and embedded systems. BlackBerry's vision is clear - to secure a connected future you can trust.

BlackBerry. Intelligent Security. Everywhere.

For more information, visit BlackBerry.com and follow @BlackBerry.

Investor Contact:

BlackBerry Investor Relations

+1 (519) 888-7465

[email protected]

Media Contact:

BlackBerry Media Relations

+1 (519) 597-7273

[email protected]

This news release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of certain securities laws, including under the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and applicable Canadian securities laws, including statements regarding BlackBerry's plans, strategies and objectives including its expectations with respect to increasing and enhancing its product and service offerings, and other statements that are not historical facts.

The words "expect", "anticipate", "estimate", "may", "will", "should", "could", "intend", "believe", "target", "plan" and similar expressions are intended to identify these forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are based on estimates and assumptions made by BlackBerry in light of its experience and its perception of historical trends, current conditions and expected future developments, as well as other factors that BlackBerry believes are appropriate in the circumstances, including but not limited to, BlackBerry's expectations regarding its business, strategy, opportunities and prospects, the launch of new products and services, general economic and financial market conditions, competition, and BlackBerry's expectations regarding its financial performance. Many factors could cause BlackBerry's actual results, performance or achievements to differ materially from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements, including, without limitation: risks related to the proposed separation disrupting BlackBerry's operations and making it more difficult to conduct business as usual; risks related to the continuation of Project Imperium making it more difficult to conduct business as usual or for BlackBerry to maintain relationships with customers, channel partners or other third parties; risks and uncertainties related to BlackBerry's ability to complete an initial public offering on the anticipated timelines, or at all; and the risks discussed in BlackBerry's Annual Report on Form 10-K and the "Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements" section of BlackBerry's MD&A (copies of which filings may be obtained at www.sedar.com or www.sec.gov). All of these factors should be considered carefully, and readers should not place undue reliance on BlackBerry's forward-looking statements. Any statements that are forward-looking statements are intended to enable BlackBerry's shareholders to view the anticipated performance and prospects of BlackBerry from management's perspective at the time such statements are made, and they are subject to the risks that are inherent in all forward-looking statements, as described above, as well as difficulties in forecasting BlackBerry's financial results and performance for future periods, particularly over longer periods, given changes in technology and BlackBerry's business strategy, evolving industry standards, intense competition and short product life cycles that characterize the industries in which BlackBerry operates. Any forward-looking statements are made only as of today and BlackBerry has no intention and undertakes no obligation to update or revise any of them, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by applicable law.

SOURCE BlackBerry Limited

4 october 2023 at 17:05

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Etiometry Joins Partners Cooperative, Inc. to Streamline the Enablement of AI-based Clinical Intelligence for High-acuity Care Teams in Member Hospitals





Etiometry, the leader in clinical decision support software for critical care, announced a partnership agreement with Partners Cooperative, Inc, an organization formed by 37 members, 130+ acute care hospitals and clinics in the United States, to pool resources, expertise, and purchasing power to achieve cost efficiencies and improve operational effectiveness. Member hospitals can now engage with Etiometry, a preferred vendor, to improve outcomes of patients in critical care on an expedited basis ? with a special focus on cardiac units, which is among the most resource-intensive and costliest in the hospital.

Etiometry is the only critical care platform that reveals deep insights into patient physiology, helping critical care teams deliver standardized and individualized care - and provides the ability to automate care escalation and de-escalation decisions. It facilitates the use of all available data to support the anticipation and management of the dynamic condition of patients requiring intensive care.

"We're thrilled to welcome Etiometry as one of our preferred vendors," said Kerri Franklin, Purchased Services Senior Contract Analyst of Partners Cooperative. "It's a clinically proven solution well-worth exploring for many of our members seeking to achieve quality improvements while improving their bottom line with significant cost savings brought about by workflow efficiencies."

"We are excited to engage with Partners Cooperative members and help them discover the substantial and quantifiable ways our customers have improved quality ? across all critical care units in the hospital. Etiometry provides the ability to drive best perioperative and hemodynamic management practices, like goal directed therapy, extubation readiness testing, acute kidney injury detection and management, as well as vasoactive medication weaning," said Shane Cooke, CEO of Etiometry. "We are all about helping hospitals ? even those with tight budgets ? meet their unique needs in a very tangible, results-driven way."

Through the partnership, Partners Cooperative members have immediate access to an Etiometry contract, and the platform can be ready for use in as little as eight weeks. Interested members should contact Partners Cooperative at [email protected] or Etiometry at [email protected], and ask for our clinical highlights that covers the most recent data from more than 150 research and quality initiatives supported by Etiometry and led by physicians.

About Etiometry

Founded in 2010, Etiometry is the leader in clinical decision-support software designed to help clinicians in the intensive care setting make data-based decisions regarding their patients' care and treatment. The company's technologies provide valuable clinical insight and analysis to support early recognition of subtle changes in patients' conditions to avoid complications and speed recovery. Etiometry has nine FDA clearances and four Health Canada approvals and CE markings. With roots in pediatric ICUs, Etiometry is utilized by some of the world's top academic medical centers as well as leading children's hospitals ranked by US News and World Report and Newsweek. Etiometry is committed to improving patient outcomes, increasing clinical efficiency, and lowering the cost of care through the more effective use of data. To learn more, visit www.etiometry.com.

About Partners Cooperative, Inc.

Partners Cooperative, Inc. is a 501 e Not-for-Profit support services company serving 501 c3 Not-for-Profit hospitals, governmental authority hospitals, and university based academic health systems. The organization conducts 200+ new projects per year through its member committee-driven process with all decisions being made by membership. Partners Cooperative continually manages a contract portfolio of more than 700 contracts.

5 october 2023 at 07:35

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Dual Announcement: Dealer World Welcomes Dan Moore as President and Jason Jones as Director of Acquisitions - A Transformational Leap Forward





LEHIGHTON, Pa., Oct. 5, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Dealer World, the automotive advertising and performance agency known for its unwavering growth, proudly announces the addition of two exceptional leaders to its team. Dan Moore, an industry luminary poised to lead Dealer World to unprecedented heights, assumes the role of President. Simultaneously, Jason Jones, celebrated for his reputation in previous roles and his unwavering character, joins as Director of Acquisitions.

Dan Moore: Propelling Dealer World Forward in Unforeseen Ways

Dan Moore's appointment as President is a pivotal moment in Dealer World's history. With a track record of driving innovation and growth, Moore is set to guide Dealer World to new horizons that were previously unimagined.

Troy Spring, CEO and Founder of Dealer World, commented, "Dan Moore's arrival promises to push us forward in ways we never saw coming. His vision and leadership are invaluable assets to Dealer World, and his addition reflects our commitment to delivering exceptional value."

Dan Moore, speaking about his role, emphasized, "My last six years at Vistadash have been a journey of analyzing marketing insights and understanding the ever-evolving landscape of automotive advertising. This experience will play a significant role in helping dealers develop a real marketing strategy to drive the results they are looking for. Dealer World is the ideal platform to put this knowledge into action, and I am excited to lead our team in delivering innovative solutions to our clients."

Jason Jones: A Perfect Cultural Fit

Jason Jones, celebrated for his reputation in previous roles and his unwavering character, steps into the role of Director of Acquisitions at Dealer World. His alignment with Dealer World's corporate culture and dedication to client satisfaction make him an ideal addition to the team.

Jones expressed his enthusiasm, saying, "I chose Dealer World for the next chapter of my career because of the principles upon which they operate and their world-class performance for dealers."

Spring noted, "Jason is not only a professional fit but an embodiment of integrity and excellence. His presence will undoubtedly strengthen our commitment to transparent, results-driven services."

Reflecting on these remarkable appointments, Spring concluded, "With the addition of these two, our clients as well as our employees are sure to win."

Dealer World, an INC 5000 honoree with a 14-year legacy, continues to lead the automotive advertising industry with its dedication to innovation, transparency, and outstanding client service.

About Dealer World:

Dealer World, headquartered in Lehighton, Pennsylvania, is a distinguished automotive advertising and performance agency with a track record of sustained growth. The agency's dual announcement reflects its commitment to enhancing its leadership team and services to better serve clients in the dynamic automotive industry.

For Media Inquiries:

Dan Moore

[email protected]

Cassidy Spring

[email protected]

SOURCE Dealer World

5 october 2023 at 09:00

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Hyperspace Challenge Accelerator Announces 2023 Cohort for U.S. Space Force Rapid Capabilities Office Partnership





Six companies will explore applications of mature technologies to space mission needs for increased protection and resilience of space assets

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M., Oct. 5, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Hyperspace Challenge, a business accelerator run by the Air Force Research Laboratory and CNM Ingenuity, announced today in conjunction with the U.S. Space Force's Space Rapid Capabilities Office (Space RCO) the six companies from four countries selected to participate in the accelerator's 2023 program cohort. Participants will have the opportunity to learn from Space RCO leadership through virtual meetings and an in-person event in order to explore pathways to partnerships and gain a better understanding from government innovators what technologies are needed to make space assets, including satellites, more resilient and responsive to threats, both current and as yet unknown.

The selected companies represent an array of space-based technologies, including propulsion systems, artificial intelligence, sensors, and imaging software ? all with the common goal of making space safer. Companies chosen to undertake this year's challenge are:

Phase Four of Hawthorne, Calif. : Changing the Way We Move in Space

of : Dawn AeroSpace of Delft, The Netherlands : From Earth to Space. From Space to Everywhere Else

of Delft, : Lexset.ai of Brooklyn, N.Y. : Data at the Speed of AI

of : Magdrive, Harwell Innovation Campus of Harwell Oxford , England: Next Generation Spacecraft Propulsion

of , England: TRL11 of Irvine, Calif. : Video Solutions for the New Space Economy

of : High Earth Orbit Robotics of Haymarket, Australia : Pioneering in-orbit satellite inspection to monitor space objects and their environment

"Solving today's ? and tomorrow's ? greatest space challenges not only requires fast action but also necessitates that we push the limits of creativity," said Matthew Fetrow, Space RCO communications manager. "We know that a diversity of perspectives and ideas propels innovation. So, we have high expectations that this cohort will arrive at solutions that would be unimaginable without their wide range of experience and specialties."

Companies' participation during the program is not a short-term exercise in innovation; rather, participants will establish relationships and lay the groundwork for potential partnerships that can rapidly advance the safety, security, stability, and long-term sustainability of space. As the number of countries participating in the global space industry has skyrocketed, so has the proliferation of, and dependence on, services provided by their space assets. Since disruption of these services ? from communications, to national defense, to data collection - threatens public safety and economic stability for all, their protection is paramount.

As part of the program, participants will engage directly with government officials from the Space RCO, which is seeking products that will approach the protection of space assets from a variety of angles. These include:

Improving space visibility and awareness using threat and hazard awareness capabilities that can quickly and accurately detect and prioritize threats either from the ground or space. Advancing space analysis and vehicle autonomy using artificial intelligence, machine learning, and/or autonomous technologies that reduce ground-based vehicle operator workload, inform intelligent vehicle response decisions, and decrease vehicle response time. Increasing space vehicle lifespan and maneuverability using advanced propulsion, refueling capabilities, and/or other fuel conservation innovations that allow space assets to maneuver freely without future negative consequences.

"Hyperspace Challenge astutely recognizes that the future of a sustainability space ecosystem requires more collaborative thinking and innovation. We are committed to finding ways for government and enterprise to break down silos and work together," said Gabe Mounce, director of the AFRL Tech Engagement Office in New Mexico. "Cohorts like this year's program, foster a creative mindset and model a united approach that is more adept at delivering a rapid response to the real-world needs of the growing space economy."

The companies will be invited to a series of virtual meetings in October and will participate in a two day on-site at Albuquerque New Mexico's Q-Station on November 1-2.

About the Hyperspace Challenge

The Hyperspace Challenge was created in 2018 by the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) and CNM Ingenuity, an economic development arm of Central New Mexico Community College, to accelerate collaboration among companies, university research teams and the government, and shift space innovation into hyperdrive. The accelerator, which is now directed by CNM Ingenuity in conjunction with AFRL and the U.S. Space Force, cultivates networks in an innovation ecosystem prioritizing connection and community. To date, the accelerator has supported over 60 small businesses and universities from across the U.S. and abroad. More information about the program can be found at hyperspacechallenge.com.

SOURCE Central New Mexico Community College (CNM)

5 october 2023 at 09:09

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Rockline Industries Reaches Major Conservation Milestone





Manufacturer Achieves 36% Reduction in Greenhouse Gas Emissions in Arkansas Plants

SPRINGDALE, Ark. , Oct. 5, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Rockline Industries, one of the world's leading manufacturers of coffee filters and consumer, medical and commercial wet wipes, recently announced a 36 percent reduction of greenhouse gas emissions at its Arkansas plants as a result of a comprehensive sustainability strategy that included participation in Southwestern Electric Power Company's, (SWEPCO) Renewable Energy Choice program. SWEPCO provides renewable energy to the company's Booneville and Springdale, Arkansas plants from its three wind farms in north-central Oklahoma.

Rockline Industries recently announced a 36 percent reduction of greenhouse gas emissions at its Arkansas plants.

Rockline Industries made a long-term commitment in 2008 to adopt more sustainable business practices. In 2020, the company renewed its commitment to sustainability with its most ambitious and aggressive sustainability goals yet including a pledge to reduce carbon emissions by 50 percent within a decade. In addition, Rockline committed to sourcing 60 percent of its electricity from renewable sources. As a result of Rockline's participation in the Renewable Energy Choice program, greenhouse gas emissions were reduced 36 percent across the company.

"Over the last fifteen years, I have been continually inspired by the commitment of our associates to achieve and exceed our sustainability goals," said Randy Rudolph, president of Rockline Industries. "Our progress in this area is due to their daily hard work to ensure that every area of our company is using best practices that help our environment and the world we all live in."

Notably, associates at the Booneville, Arkansas, plant collaborated with SWEPCO's Energy Efficiency team. Through meticulous analysis, audits, and the implementation of best practices, SWEPCO supported the Booneville team by identifying opportunities to reduce energy consumption by an impressive 7.4 percent, surpassing their 5 percent goal.

Rockline's Springdale, Arkansas, team also harnessed the benefits of SWEPCO's Energy Efficiency programs over the years. Both plants are current participants in SWEPCO's Strategic Energy Management Program, which resulted in significant energy savings of more than 1,558 megawatt hours at both locations.

"We're excited to help businesses discover ways they can benefit from our energy efficiency programs or be powered by AEP and SWEPCO's Renewable Energy Choice programs," explained Paul Pratt, director customer services & marketing. "We're proud our partnership and support helped Rockline achieve their sustainability goals."

Rockline adopted a range of energy conservation measures including the installation of timed sensors for restroom lights, the implementation of shut-off timers for conveyor belts and education for employees on energy conservation practices.

Rockline's sustainability approach is guided by three overarching long-term aspirations: achieving fossil fuel independence through a transition to clean, low-carbon energy sources; minimizing waste and its environmental impact; and developing ecologically intelligent products that are sustainable.

For more information about Rockline's environmental program and to download the 2022 Environmental Sustainability Report, visit http://www.rocklineind.com/about-us/environmental-sustainability/. To learn more about SWEPCO's parent company, American Electric Power's, Energy Solutions, visit https://www.aep.com/economic-development/advantages/energy-solutions or to find out about SWEPCO's Energy Efficiency programs for businesses, visit SWEPCO.com/savings/business.

About Rockline Industries

Rockline Industries was founded in 1976 and is headquartered in Sheboygan, Wisconsin. It is one of the world's largest manufacturers of coffee filters and consumer, health care, industrial and institutional wet wipes. A family-owned company, Rockline has repeatedly created first-to-market product design solutions for the wet wipe consumer and continues to provide innovative products to the nonwovens industry. Rockline employs nearly 2,500 people worldwide and has manufacturing facilities in Wisconsin, Arkansas, New Jersey, Tennessee and England. For more information on Rockline Industries, visit www.RocklineInd.com .

Media Contact:

Rockline Industries:

Mary Roberts

(414) 839-4175

mroberts@buzzmonkeyspr.com

SOURCE Rockline Industries

5 october 2023 at 10:00

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Family engagement leader CampusESP welcomes Customer 350: St. John's University





CampusESP, the leading provider of technology solutions that help colleges and universities engage parents and families, announced today that it signed its 350th customer, St. John's University.

Founded in 2016, CampusESP is the go-to leader in family engagement solutions in higher education. The company's platform and support services enable institutions to communicate and connect with both prospective and current families, providing critical information and facilitating student success.

St. John's turned to CampusESP as part of a year-long focus on scaling their family engagement strategy. The process began in January when Karen Moritz Simons was hired as the school's first Director of Parent & Family Connections.

"Prior to my arrival, parent outreach was sporadic and done by various groups, mostly in career services. Families only received intermittent attention," said Simons. "But more and more families are involved in their student's experience. They want to make sure the investment they are making in education is going to pay off. We needed a strategy that reflected that parents and families are integral to the college experience ? they are constituents of the university in many different ways from enrollment to advancement."

Simons says her mission is to provide families with the information they need to support their students. But as an office of one, providing personalized content to the 16,000 parents in her database was not scalable.

With CampusESP, St. John's will be able to easily share reminders, news, and important updates with the school's families through automated and tailored newsletters and targeted announcements. By getting these families the right information at the right time, parents will be better able to advise their students, strengthening their support system and helping them stay successful and on path to graduation.

"We couldn't be more excited to welcome St. John's as our 350th partner school," said Dave Becker, CEO and co-founder of CampusESP. "More and more, institutions are recognizing the influence and impact of families but facing the realities of stretched staffs and budgets. CampusESP can help by serving as an extension of their team and allow them to both efficiently scale efforts and see improvements in student outcomes."

As St. John's launches with CampusESP, Simons has high expectations for how she'll now be able to support families, meet them where they are, and provide critical support equitably. In particular she hopes to better serve first-generation families and those not actively engaging in other areas the university historically has utilized, like on social media.

"With the help of CampusESP, I can be the resource here at St. John's that parents and families feel like they can go to when they don't have the answers or know how to help their students," she said. "Having this connection with families can only strengthen and improve the student experience here. And that's what it's all about."

About CampusESP

CampusESP is the #1 solution to turn family involvement into student success. A modern, all-in-one family engagement platform helps institutions share personalized, timely content with families across web, mobile, email, and text message. From enrollment to retention to fundraising, today's parents are involved in their student's journey. With a strategic family engagement plan, CampusESP helps colleges and universities channel parent influence into results. To learn more, visit campusesp.com.

About St. John's University

St. John's University is a private, coeducational, Roman Catholic University founded in 1870 by the Congregation of the Mission (the Vincentians), with its main campus located in Queens, NY. St. John's University also has campuses and locations on Staten Island and in Manhattan; in Rome, Italy; in Paris, France; and in Limerick, Ireland.

St. John's University is comprised of six Schools and Colleges, including the College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, The Lesley H. and William L. Collins College of Professional Studies, St. John's College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, The Peter J. Tobin College of Business (including the Maurice R. Greenberg School of Risk Management, Insurance and Actuarial Science ), The School of Education, and the School of Law. As of Fall 2022, the University has more than 1,400 full-time and part-time faculty; 15,652 undergraduate students; and 4,011 graduate students who come from 48 states and 118 countries. St. John's offers more than 100 undergraduate and graduate programs, including 16 doctoral programs.

5 october 2023 at 12:55

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AN INVESTIGATION is underway following a shooting incident in Limerick city in the early hours of this Thursday morning.

Gardai have confirmed they are investigating the alleged discharging of a firearm in Southill overnight.

Limerick Live understands shots were fired at a house in O'Malley Park.

"Gardai in Limerick are investigating an alleged discharge of a firearm which occurred in the early hours of this morning, Thursday October 5, at O'Malley Park, Southill, Limerick," said a garda spokesperson.

The shooting incident occurred at approximately 2.15am.

"No injuries were reported. Enquiries are ongoing," said the garda spokesperson.

There have been a number of shootings in the Hyde Road area in recent months. In July, gardai attended the scene of an explosion of a viable device that occurred at two residential properties on Hyde Road. A man received injuries to his arm.

Limerick Live understands the incidents are connected to a dispute which involves a number of families who were formerly associates and part of a notorious crime gang.

One informed source said: "It's a turf war over drugs."

Anybody who may have witnessed any suspicious activity in the Southill area in the early hours of the morning, or can help gardai with their enquiries is asked to contact Roxboro Road garda station on 061 214340.
ELKO  A Spring Creek man was arrested for hitting two people with a pickup truck at the homeless camp and injuring his passenger after crashing the vehicle near the sewer treatment plant about three weeks ago.

Kelly Lane Albiani, 39, was booked into Elko County Jail on Sept. 29 and was charged with reckless driving resulting in substantial bodily harm or death, assault with a deadly weapon and battery resulting in substantial bodily harm.

According to court documents, Elko police were dispatched Sept. 12 to the homeless camp on Hot Springs Road on a report of a male attempting to run over people with a blue Dodge Ram pickup truck.

Police arriving on the scene were directed by two people standing in the road, pointing toward the sewer treatment plant. The officer drove further down the road and observed that the truck had collided with a building at a high rate of speed with the hood of the vehicle folded in and wreckage spread around the area.

After other officers arrived on the scene, they heard a female passenger in the front seat calling for help. She was unable to exit the vehicle due to her injuries. Albiani was found unconscious in the drivers seat, the report stated.

Albiani and the female passenger were extracted from the vehicle and transported to Northern Nevada Regional Hospital. Both were subsequently transported to trauma centers out of the area.

During the investigation of the scene, police found that the truck had left the road onto a dirt shoulder and went through a chain link fence. They also found several empty beer bottles and a liquor bottle in and around the truck.

Police viewed video surveillance at the Elko City Water Department, which is located across from the homeless camp. It showed the truck driving into the center of the camp after dark, followed minutes later by people running from the vehicle as it struck two tents and drove out at a high rate of speed.

Albiani was jailed on $30,000 bail.
A LABOUR party councillor has raised questions over continued delays to a new Limerick school in her area.

Elena Secas says parents of children at Monaleen National School are really disappointed at a lack of progress on the construction of the education facility to the east of the city.

Funding for the new school was granted eight years ago when former Labour TD Jan OSullivan was in post as Education Minister.

A company was expected to be appointed to build the school in the spring, with a tender process commencing.

However, its now autumn and nothing has happened.

Councillor Secas and a number of other members of the local authority resolved to write to current Education Minister Norma Foley for an update.

It was expected earlier this year that the new school build would go to tender shortly. However, this has not happened to-date as the Department of Education are still to approve the Stage 2b Report submitted to them in December last year, which will allow the Limerick and Clare Education and Training Board (ETB) to proceed to tender for the appointment of the contractor, Cllr Secas explained.

Despite the letter to Minister Foley, Cllr Secas says all she has received from her office is an acknowledgement.

It's such a pity that Minister Foley was in Limerick, and even came to Annacotty in the past week and did not pay a visit to Monaleen National School to see and hear from children themselves what it means to attend most of their primary school years in prefabs, said the City East member.

She called on Minister Foley and her department to get their act together and ensure construction of it begins.
A nurse originally from Mayo has been taken to hospital with serious injuries after been shot at a house in the city of Darwin in north west Australia.

The nurse, in her 30s, is the mother of a young child and is originally from Castlebar. She was found with severe abdominal injuries at the property and is in a critical condition.

A 35-year-old man, believed to be the shooter, was later pronounced dead at the scene and it is believed he took his own life.

Local media reports in Australia say the local police do not anticipate the need to make any arrests.

The womans condition remains critical and her family in Mayo have been informed.

Police were called to the home, in Millner in the northern suburbs of Darwin, at 6.30pm on Tuesday after reports of gunshots.

First responders managed to stabilise the woman who underwent surgery on Tuesday night at the Royal Darwin Hospital.

Northern Territory Police Detective Senior Sergeant Paul Morrissey said on Wednesday, police and emergency services were called to an address in Sprigg Street in Millner at 6.30pm "after a report of two people suffering gunshot injuries.

"At the location, first responders identified a female and 35-year-old male, both with apparent gunshot injuries. The female was conveyed to Royal Darwin Hospital, where she remains in a critical condition in the intensive care unit. The male was declared deceased at the scene."

Sergeant Morrissey added: Firearms have been located, and there does not appear to be any danger to the public.

Sergeant Morrissey describes the tragedy as distressing.

Its obviously distressing for family members and friends of the persons involved and also a confronting scene for first responders," he said.
Cancer patients in Ireland can pay up to 300 in car parking fees at hospitals, according to the Irish Cancer Society.

This is an additional financial burden for cancer patients who may already be out of work.

Urgent action is also needed to address the impact of the cost of living crisis on cancer patients and their families, according to Irish Cancer Society CEO Averil Power.

The financial impact of cancer is huge. The patient themselves is usually out of work for a period, while a family member may also have to take time off to care for them. At the same time, they are hit with a wide range of extra charges. In last years Budget the Government abolished inpatient charges following a public campaign by the Irish Cancer Society. This saving of up to 800 per year for cancer patients was very welcome. However, the cost of living crisis means that patients are increasingly struggling with other costs such as hospital parking fees.

While some hospitals offer parking concessions for cancer patients, almost 2 in 5 public hospitals are hitting them with the full cost of parking. This can be up to 300 a month in some Dublin hospitals. We are doing everything we can to help and have grown our free hospital transport service by 30% this year. However, Government needs to step up and reduce hospital parking fees as promised in their Programme for Government," Ms Power said.

Cancer services require 20 million in extra funding in Budget 2024 to secure better survival rates and quality of life for people with cancer," the Irish Cancer Society CEO added.

She was responding to media reports that there may be no funding for new health initiatives in next weeks Budget.

There is a real risk that cancer outcomes will go backwards if reduced spending, squeezed supply and increased demand on cancer services continues. The Irish Cancer Society is concerned that if cancer is not a priority for Government and that if the National Cancer Strategy does not receive the 20m in funding it needs, that the price paid by patients will be poorer outcomes and reduced services and support for them.

The Irish Cancer Society would like some of the 20m funding to go towards investment in the Acute Oncology Nursing Service which allows cancer patients to avoid ED when its clinically appropriate. This would reduce distress for patients, decrease the risk of them picking up an infection and reduce the pressure on overstretched ED departments.

After three years of exceptional pressure on our cancer services, cancer patients, and the staff who care for them, are particularly vulnerable at this time. Cancer is not just a Department of Health, HSE or National Cancer Control Programme issue. The needs of cancer patients and their families deserve the attention of every member of Government and every elected representative, Ms Power concluded.
Gardai have released details of the car suspected of being involved in a fatal hit and run in Dublin on Wednesday night after finding the vehicle abandoned.

Officers in Mountjoy continue to investigate all the circumstances of the fatal incident which occurred at the Cross Guns Bridge on Phibsborough Road, Dublin 7, at 9.10pm on Wednesday.

The collision involved a car and a pedestrian. A woman in her 60s was pronounced deceased at the scene a short time later. A family liaison officer has been appointed to the family of the deceased lady.

In an update, gardai said: "The suspect car, a 07D Silver Honda Civic, was recovered in the wider Phibsboro Area a short time later. This car has been removed to a secure location where it is undergoing technical and forensic examination.

"The scene of the collision is preserved for technical examination by Garda Forensic Collision Investigators. The section of road from Cross Guns Bridge to the junction of Phibsborough Road and Connaught Street is closed and local diversions will remain in place for the afternoon.



"Gardai continue to appeal to anyone who may have witnessed this collision to contact them."

Gardai are appealing to anyone with any information on the driver of the 07D Silver Honda Civic or who saw this vehicle in the wider Phibsborough, Dublin 7 area in the hours before the fatal collision to contact them.

Any road users with camera footage (including dashcam) who travelled in the Phibsborough area between 8.30pm and 9.30pm on Wednesday 4th October 2023 are asked to make this available to investigating Gardai.

Anyone with any information is asked to contact Mountjoy Garda station on 01 666 8600, the Garda Confidential Line on 1800 666 111 or any Garda station.
IRISH RUGBY fans heading to France for the Rugby World Cup clash with Scotland this weekend have been put on alert after reports of bed bugs infestations in public transport across the country.

It is understood that France will dispatch sniffer dogs in Parisian trains and Metro to remedy the situation.

Bed bugs are parasitic insects that feed on human blood, usually when people are asleep, and are notorious for their ability to hitchhike and infest new locations.

The bed bugs infestation in France has been called a widespread outbreak by CNN as there have been reports of bed bugs in public transports, movie theatres as well as in hospitals in France.

However, the transport minister, Clement Beaune, said there had been about 10 traveller reports of bed bugs being in Paris public transport operator, the RATP, as well as 37 reports made to the SCNF, the national rail operator.

The minister insisted that all cases were checked, but none we proved.

On social media, French people have been sharing videos of mattresses on the streets, as well as videos of the insects on the public transports in Paris.

Rentokil, Irelands leading pest control provider, has also issued a warning to the Irish public about the threat of bed bugs, especially those travelling to Paris for this weekends Rugby World Cup pool game against Scotland.

"It is important for travellers to be aware of the common signs of these pests and how to mitigate the risks of bringing them back home," a statement said.

"Bed bugs are prolific breeders, and once they attach themselves to clothing, luggage, or furniture, they can quickly infest a room, house, hotel, or even a plane, tram or bus. Due to their size, bed bugs can hide in places where they are difficult-to-spot such as small cracks and crevices, making mattresses, behind wallpaper, under skirting boards, luggage, bed frames and headboards perfect hiding places.

"Travellers are advised to check for the presence of dark stains on mattresses from bed bug excreta often referred to as 'faecal spotting,' to be cautious of any unpleasant, sweet, sickly scents in a room, to inspect bedding for small dark blood spots as well as checking key areas including bed frames, mattresses and wardrobes for shed exoskeletons, or even live bugs."

Colm Moore, Area Technical Manager for Rentokil, emphasises the importance of vigilance when travelling: "Bed bugs can be a nightmare for people travelling. They are elusive and hitchhike their way into new places through luggage, clothing, and other personal items. It is crucial for anyone travelling, especially for the Rugby World Cup, to be aware of the signs of bed bug infestations and take preventive measures. Prevention is the best defence against bed bugs. By staying vigilant and taking these precautions, travellers can help reduce the risk of bringing these unwanted pests back home with them."

Rentokil recommends the following precautions:

- Check your room before unpacking but dont put your luggage on the floor or bed.

- Use luggage racks or place your luggage in the bath or shower as hard surfaces make it more difficult for bed bugs to nestle in and hide.

- Hanging your clothes in the wardrobe rather than using drawers.

- Packing items in sealed plastic bags can provide extra protection.

- Wash and dry clothing at high temperatures when you return home, as bed bugs cannot survive extreme heat.

- If you suspect bed bugs are present in your room then contact hotel management immediately.
The Government has been urged to extend the 20% fare reduction to all commercial bus operators in order to benefit all passengers irrespective of where they reside, by the Commercial Transport and Tourism Council (CTTC).

The association contends this is an important cost-of-living measure that will help hard pressed families at this time.

Currently 20% fare reductions apply to Dublin Bus, Luas, DART and Irish Rail, they say. A significant demographic primarily residing outside the greater Dublin area, currently finds itself excluded from the 20% bus fare reduction scheme. The CTTC says this pressing concern demands immediate attention.

The CTTC says commercial bus operators provide a broad spectrum of routes, including those in rural and less densely populated regions where PSO state companies often do not provide service. The exclusion from fare reduction schemes disproportionately impacts passengers in these areas, for whom commercial bus operators are a lifeline.

The CTTC has taken up the cause of passengers in order to rectify the fare disparity between Commercial Bus Operators (CBOs) and state companies. Since the inception of the fare reduction scheme for public operators in last year's budget, designed to alleviate cost-of-living pressures, this inequality has been a growing concern for the CTTC, the operators it represents and passengers.

Chair of the CTTC William Martin said: Commercial bus operators play an integral role in the public transport network, serving both urban and rural communities. However, they face an uphill battle due to the advantages enjoyed by PSO state companies, which receive government subsidies which enables them to offer 20% lower fares. This competitive imbalance, a direct consequence of government policy, has created an uneven playing field within the industry, making it challenging for commercial bus operators to remain viable. Many operators have been forced to relinquish previously profitable routes, impacting the customers who depend on their services.

While PSO services have rebounded to pre-Covid levels with fare reductions and the introduction of the young adult and student card playing a significant role, CBOs continue to lag behind, with ridership at just 61% of pre-Covid levels. This can be attributed largely to the substantial competitive disadvantage they face on routes offering heavily discounted fares.

The CTTC contends that the long-term potential damage to Ireland's bus network outweighs the modest cost of including commercial bus operators in the 20% fare reduction scheme. The financial repercussions of a diminished commercial bus network and the environmental consequences of a mass return to private vehicles in disenfranchised rural communities far exceed the investment required for inclusion.
Private lender Yes Bank has announced October 21 as the date for reporting the second quarterly results for the period ended September 30.

A meeting of the Board of Directors of YES Bank Limited will be held on Saturday, October 21, 2023, in Mumbai, inter alia, to consider and approve, the Unaudited Standalone and Consolidated Financial Results of the Bank for the Quarter (Q2) and half year ended September 30, 2023," Yes Bank said in its exchange filing on October 4.

Further, in continuation to our disclosure on the Closure of Trading Window dated September 26, 2023, pursuant to the provisions of the SEBI (Prohibition of Insider Trading) Regulations, 2015 and the Bank's Code of Conduct for Prohibition of Insider Trading, this is to inform that the Trading Window for dealing in Securities of the Bank shall remain closed for the Designated Persons (including their immediate relatives) of the Bank and its subsidiary till 48 hours post-publication of results and such persons shall not be permitted to trade in the securities of the Bank till 48 hours post-publication of results, the lender added.

Yes Bank stock performance

Yes Bank stock has given a return of 12.46 percent over the last six months. On 4 October, Yes Bank shares opened at 17.25 and closed at 17.23. The stock had a high of 17.35 and a low of 17.1. The market capitalisation of Yes Bank is currently valued at 49,377.51 crore. The 52-week high for the stock is 24.75, while the 52-week low is 14.4. The BSE volume for Yes Bank shares was 15,538,931.

Yes Bank announced its April-June quarter results for fiscal 2023-24 (Q1FY24) on Saturday, July 22, reporting a rise of 10 per cent in net profit at 342 crore, compared to 310.63 crore in the corresponding period last year.

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The United Auto Workers and Ford Motor have reduced their differences on wage hikes after the manufacturer made a new offer during "really active" talks, people familiar with the negotiations between the Detroit Three automakers and the union told Reuters on October 5 (India time).

On October 6, UAW President Shawn Fain will provide an update to the union's 150,000 members at Stellantis, the parent company of Ford, General Motors, and Chrysler. It's unclear if Fain would determine there has been enough progress to postpone strikes at further factories or authorise a new round of walkouts.

In recent days, there have reportedly been active negotiations with Ford, other manufacturers, the UAW, and Chrysler parent Stellantis. Stellantis opted not to respond.

Ford earlier said that it had made a "comprehensive" new offer that included a "more than 20% general wage increase, not compounded" with a double-digit increase in the first year. Ford, however, did not elaborate.

That proposal, however, when combined with cost-of-living adjustments previously offered by the automaker, could bring the total wage increase offer close to 30% over the life of the contract, people familiar with the situation told Reuters.

However, the UAW and Ford have not announced agreements on other, significant issues including pay and union representation at future battery plants, and the union's push for a return to retirement plans that assure a defined level of benefits.

Ford Chief Financial Officer John Lawler earlier said the automaker's retirement offer would assure UAW workers could retire with $1 million in savings.

But in a sign the Detroit automakers are still bracing for a lengthy struggle, General Motors on Wednesday secured a new $6 billion line of credit and estimated the cost of the United Auto Workers strike was $200 million during the third quarter, a company spokesman said.

The targeted strike against the Detroit Three automakers began on Sept. 15 and is now in its 20th day.

(With Reuters inputs)

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Asirvad Micro Finance, a subsidiary of Manappuram Finance has filed Draft Red Herring Prospectus (DHRP) with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) on October 5, the company informed the exchanges. The proposed initial public offering (IPO) of equity shares would be undertaken at face value of 10 each, comprising fresh issue up to 1,500 crore, as per the exchange upload.

Also Read: Kerala High Court negates FIR against Manappuram Finance CEO VP Nandakumar in money laundering case

Founded in 2008 by SV Raja Vaidyanathan, Asirvad was taken over by Manappuram in February 2015 for 48.63 crore. The V P Nandakumar-led company first bought 71 percent stake which was later increased to 95 percent and the rest is with the founder Vaidyanathan.As per the company website, its beneficiaries were women folk, with poor and low-income group, who were supplied Income Generating Product Loans to "achieve and maintain" financial stability.

In 2021, the company raised $15 million loan from US-based WorldBusiness Capital. Asirvad said it would use the funds to expand its business of providing small loans to low-income women business owners in rural areas to start and expand their income-generating business.

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It now stands with 10,000 crore of assets under management (AUM) by serving 3 million customers spread across all over India, the website states.

Manappuram Finance is an India-based non-banking financial company (NBFC). The stock opened at 144.75. At 9.30 am it was up 2.22 percent to 145.05.

Also Read: Stock to watch today

The Company provides credit services to people belonging to the lower socio-economic classes, particularly in rural and semi-urban areas of India. Its segments include Gold loan and others, and Micro Finance. The Company offers a range of retail credit products and financial services. It has a diversified lending portfolio encompassing retail, microfinance, small and medium-sized enterprises (SME) and commercial customers.

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WEST WENDOVER  Elko County school trustees have approved a revised contract with a California law firm to become part of a large legal action seeking damages from social media companies for harm to young people.

Elko County School District Superintendent Clayton Anderson said Oct. 3 that a bunch of school districts in Nevada have signed up for the mass litigation, and the contract proposed earlier was revised to reflect trustee concerns.

The original contract with the Frantz Law Group APLC (A Professional Law Corporation) was included in the school boards consent agenda for Sept. 19, but was moved to an action item for Oct. 3 in West Wendover at the boards request.

Trustee Jeff Durham said on Sept. 19 that he didnt support this action. I feel like its a frivolous lawsuit. Im sure you can assign some blame here and there, but its not cut and dry to me. He voted against the contract on Oct. 3, but didnt have additional comment.

Trustee Matt McCarty said on Sept. 19 that he would like to have a discussion with legal representatives before contract approval because of problems he had with some wording, and he said that I wholeheartedly believe that social media has caused many of the problems we see in our students.

Trustee Brooke Ballard said on Sept. 19 that the litigation would be just putting a Band-Aid on the real problem, which is that parents need to step up regarding social media. She also said that if there is a settlement, part of the money should go to educate parents about the dangers of social media.

According to the contract, Anderson or his designee is authorized to communicate with attorneys hired to pursue claims against social media and filing the school districts individual action, and the attorneys will receive 25% of any monetary settlement.

School trustees first heard about the litigation Sept. 5 in Jackpot when Reno attorney Paul Anderson gave a presentation, stating that each school district will have its own case filed against the social media giants like TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, and Meta as part of the mass effort.

The attorney, who is associated with Frantz Law Group for this nationwide litigation, said the action is different than a class action lawsuit, so it is called mass litigation and there will be whistleblowers to help with the case.

This is a true crisis going on in this country, Paul Anderson said.

Any damages will be based on the school districts experiencing extra need for special education, mental health issues, the need for more counseling and other issues, and he said much of the problem stemmed from students using their social media devices more during the pandemic when they were isolated.

He said social media developed algorithms to hook students to their platforms, and if the companies sued have to write a big enough check, theyre going to change or go out of business.

Paul Anderson said the law firm didnt know what total damages might be if the schools win the litigation, but there is zero cost to the district, although there may be roughly 10 hours of staff time required.

He said at that time that Carson City, Churchill, Humboldt, Eureka, Douglas, Storey, Clark, and Washoe school districts were among those already signed. Clark would be a bellwether case, the attorney said.

The first claims were filed last spring, and Paul Anderson said there could be a settlement conference within a year and a half to two years. Damages will be based on each districts needs, and the money would enable districts to hire more professionals to deal with the crisis.

School trustees heard during public comment on Sept. 19 that the schools mental health professionals have high caseloads, and school counselors who talked with the Elko Daily Free Press about the new Hope Squad in Elko County schools earlier this year said bullying on social media could be a trigger for suicide attempts.
JSW Group's Sajjan Jindal and SAIC Motor Corporation have finalised terms of agreement for an alliance involving MG Motor India, the Economic Times reported quoting sources. Morris Garages, is a fully-owned subsidiary of China-based SAIC.

Legal documentation is on and a formal statement is likely around Diwali, the report said. As per negotiations, the new alliance plans to release electric cars under its banner by January 2024. The deal could raise MG Motor India's valuation near $1 billion, it added.

In the initial phase, Jindal will own 32-35 percent of MG Motor India, SAIC will own 51 percent, employees and dealers will own 6 percent; and an unidentified domestic financial institution will own 6-7 percent, as per the report.

Also Read: JSW-MG Motor deal likely in two months

Accumulated losses will be written off against SAIC's equity, and a plan for change of control is underway to avail all tax benefits. Once losses are removed, the plan is to go for SAIC to undertake an offer for sale (OFS) to gradually off-load its stock down to 38-40 percent; Jindal will also increase stake to 49-51 percent, and employee-dealers to 8-9 percent.

Mint could not independently verify the ET report.

The valuation of MG Motor India is estimated to be around $1.2-1.5 billion ( 9,800-12,300 crore), significantly lower than the initial valuation expectation of $8-10 billion, the sources added.

Also Read: JSW may buy Ford's Chennai plant

MG Motor has a manufacturing facility in Halol, Gujarat with 120,000 unit capacity. The company has sold about 170,000 vehicles in India. Plans are to expand capacity to 300,000 units by 2028.

MG Motor offers various models such as the Comet and ZS electric vehicles, in addition to the Astor, Hector, and Gloster. Despite being owned by a Chinese company, MG Motor aimed to highlight the British heritage of the MG brand during its launch in 2019, employing actor Benedict Cumberbatch as a brand ambassador.

Jindal's interest in MG was first reported in June 2023. As per reports, the proposed plan, reportedly approved by the Indian government, aims to ensure that at least 51 percent of the equity is held by Indian entities, with the Chinese side becoming a minority partner holding a maximum of 49 percent.

The new venture is also not expected to not involve JSW Steel and JSW Energy, which are the listed companies of the JSW Group.

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New Delhi: Large consumer firms in India such as Nestle, Procter & Gamble (P&G) and Hindustan Unilever Ltd (HUL) are advancing sustainability goals among their workforce and management, and seeking out middle- and senior-level executives skilled in various sustainability aspects. Alongside, they are also implementing various steps to reduce their carbon footprint, companies and recruiters said.

We are hunting for board members in consumer companies who have worked in sustainability and the hunt includes academicians. They are mainly based out of Europe and will have to guide the firm from products to packaging," said a partner at one of the leading search firms in India.

Sustainability is part of roles and responsibility at P&G India. This applies to employees across plants and offices, as well as functions across brand, sales, purchases and research and development.

P&G India has groomed in-house sustainability champions, essentially existing employees who have acquired necessarily skills in this respect, with sustainability measures among their core deliverables. These employees lead efforts across the science-based focus pillars of climate, waste, water and nature as a key responsibility, and drive us towards our overall sustainability goals of Ambition 2030, and net zero by 2040," said Srinivas P.M., head of human resources at P&G India. At P&G, our people share our passion to be a force for good, and lead our citizenship efforts across the focus pillars of community impact, equality and inclusion, as well as environmental sustainability, and this becomes a part of their contributions at P&G."

Packaged foods company Nestle India said it ensures sustainability is integrated into business operations. Globally, the company is working hard to reduce its carbon footprint and achieve net zero by 2050 at the latest. Its human-resource initiatives encourage employees to embrace sustainability at its office and factories. Priority is given to ensuring environmental friendly practices are implemented at all locations. These include reduction in power consumption, optimal water usage, eliminating excess use of paper and using eco-friendly products," a company spokesperson said.

Through our Governance Council, we provide oversight, direction, and support on sustainability on pillars such as sustainable sourcing, sustainable packaging, manufacturing and logistics, brands, advocacy and communications. The council is headed by the chairman and managing director of the company. We have team members from different function contribute to sustainable practices across four pillars," the spokesperson said.

HUL has integrated sustainability strategy into operations, brands and value chain. We are reducing the use of single-use plastics in our packaging, enabling equity, diversity and inclusion through our hiring practices, reducing emissions in our manufacturing, driving water conservation through the Hindustan Unilever Foundation, and driving our living wage agenda gradually across our value chain. These goals are embedded in the KRAs of our supply chain, procurement, brand and HR teams," the spokesperson said.

Recruiters said the concept is still nascent, and is yet to percolate to the lower management. Sustainability efforts are currently propelled more by investor initiatives than by consumer demand. However, as awareness of climate change grows and its connection to corporate practices and offerings becomes more apparent, consumers may increasingly factor sustainability into their purchasing decisions," said Kartik Narayan, chief executive, staffing for TeamLease Services.
Tata Motors has rolled out a multi-pronged strategy to train its workforce from apprentices to factory workers on the latest technologies on the back of scarcity in skillsets in the electric vehicle (EV) segment. The automaker aims to train about 50% of its workforce with new-age auto tech capabilities within five years and has mapped its employees across levels and upskilling them through workshops and degrees which focus on changes that AI and newer softwares will bring in.

"There is a huge shortage of talent in the software, AI; Connected, Electric, Shared and Safe (CESS); EV space across the auto industry. It will take a few more years to bridge the gap but until that time there is war for talent in these specific areas," said Sitaram Kandi, Vice President  HR, passenger vehicles and electric vehicles at Tata Motors.

The automaker invested about 25 crore in the last fiscal in upskilling programs to combat the shortage. Kandi highlighted that although the company's attrition is below the 10-12% industry average, "there are attempts to poach" from them.

The senior executive also negated the fear that AI may lead to job cuts in the firm which employs about 57,000 in India. "Every technology has added to more jobs...technology used in the right way would lead to an increase in productivity, market share, penetration would increase and probably would come up with more volumes and more jobs will come up," said Kandi.

But to safeguard one's job, flexibility is needed to learn new skills. "If someone is stuck with the same skill, same capability, then that particular section or individual will have fear. But if one is flexible to move and Tatas are investing in migrating people to the universities (to upskill), then I do not see and have not heard people coming up with the fear that 'I will lose my job'," said Kandi.

Tata Motors has tied up with various universities for certification and upskilling courses post which employees can apply for job postings within the company that will require the candidate to be equipped with the newly learnt skills. "A higher education programme designed specifically for shopfloor technicians working across plants enables them to pursue a 'Diploma in Engineering' with a focus on auto electrical and electronics, mechatronics, and specialized welding skills," said the firm on Thursday.

The carmaker also has 13,000 in the apprenticeship program who are getting trained in mechatronics, IoT, robotics, and AI.

The change in the auto sector's demand is also reflecting in the hiring needs. "Tata Motors is a traditional organization and for the past many years, our focus has been to hire mechanical domain expertise. Now, we are making the switch. All our existing people have the opportunity and access to transit from mechanical to auto electrical products," said Kandi. Via tieup with universities, if an employee has a BTech mechanical degree, the employee now has a chance to get qualified in MTech in EV.

The firm is also ensuring that 25% of its new hires across categories are women to up the diversity quotient in the firm.
New Delhi: In a bid to strengthen direct connectivity between India and Uganda, the state carrier Uganda Airlines plans to offer direct flights to Delhi and Chennai. The move aims at tapping the demand potential across the Indian community with trade links in Uganda along with leisure traffic, a senior executive at the airline told Mint in an interaction.

The airline will launch its first direct flight with the Indian market on 7 Oct with a direct flight between Mumbai and Entebbe. Under the schedule, Uganda Airlines plans to offer direct flights thrice a week with Airbus A330-800 aircraft. The wide-body aircraft will offer a three-class configuration with 210 economy, 28 premium economy and 20 business class seats.

The direct flight will reduce the travel time to five and a half hours from nearly 10 hours earlier as a result of one-stop connectivity.

India is a critical market for us. We are looking at operating to Delhi and Chennai going forward as these two are in high demand in the outbound air traffic from the African market," Lenny Malasi, country manager, Uganda Airlines.

Given the demand potential from the two metro cities, the airline may launch three flights a week from Delhi and two flights a week from Chennai to Entebbe going forward.

Uganda Airlines currently operates flights to Dubai, Johannesburg, Bujumbura, Nairobi, Mombasa, Zanzibar, Dar es Salaam, Kilimanjaro, Juba, Kinshasa and Mogadishu. Flights to Lagos, Nigeria, are scheduled to start shortly.

There is a big community of Indians in East Africa with over 45,000 third-generation Indians in Uganda itself. Since 2017, I have relentlessly pursued the dream of a direct flight from Mumbai to Entebbe, believing it to be the catalyst for enhanced trade, commerce, and tourism between our two nations," H.E. Madhusudan Agrawal, Hon. Consul of Uganda said.

"There is a lot of travel within Africa as well. While we are offering point-to-point connectivity, we are also developing Entebbe as a hub where we are providing connecting flights across our network," Malasi added.

The current airline was revived in 2019 with a new fleet of four Bombardier CRJ900 aircraft and two Airbus A330-800 aircraft. Malasi said that the airline is in the process of finalising fleet addition plans and is keen to induct mid-range narrow-body aircraft such as Airbus A321 or Boeing 737 to better suit its network.

The airline is optimistic about the traffic from the Indian market on the back of a robust domestic aviation market which is surpassing the pre-Covid levels, the rising middle-class population with more disposable income and an increased affinity of Indians to explore new destinations abroad.

In fact, Indias largest airline IndiGo launched daily direct flights between Mumbai and Nairobi from August.

Comparably to many other markets, the Indian clientele is ready to explore. We know that India is hungry for new destinations. We believe we have come to India at the right time," Malasi said.

In addition to visiting friends and relatives, we are looking at tourism and MICE (meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions) markets," he added.

Industry experts say that heavy traffic from East African states currently flies through direct flights to India from Tanzania, Ethiopia, Kenya, and Rwanda. As per April-June data from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation, 91,334 outbound and inbound international traffic was registered between India and Ethiopia, followed by 58,683 between India and Kenya, 16,660 between India and Tanzania and 3,981 passengers between India and Rwanda.
Mumbai: ICICI Bank today announced the launch of Festive Bonanza, with exciting offers, discounts, and cashback of up to 26,000 for its customers at the onset of the festive season. Customers can avail of these benefits by purchasing various items from their favourite brands by using ICICI Banks credit/debit cards, internet banking, UPI via Rupay credit cards, and Cardless EMI. These offers are also available to the customers in the form of no-cost EMIs using the Banks credit/ debit cards. ICICI Bank is also offering a special offer of no-cost EMI on iPhone 15 .

We are delighted to launch Festive Bonanza which includes a wide range of offers, discounts, and cashbacks for our customers. The Bank has partnered with leading brands and e-commerce platforms to come up with exciting offers that are relevant to our customers. The Bank has partnered with leading brands and e-commerce platforms to come up with exciting offers that are relevant for our customers," said Rakesh Jha, Executive Director, of ICICI Bank.

Besides this, the Bank will also be introducing special festive offers on its products  home loans, auto loans, and two-wheeler loans, he added.

The Bank has curated the offers to cater to the various needs of the customers during the festive season, in various categories such as electronics, mobiles, fashion, jewellery, furniture, travel, dining, and more, and with a host of leading brands including iPhone, MakeMyTrip, Tata Neu, OnePlus, HP, Microsoft, Croma, Reliance Digital, LG, Sony, Samsung, Tanishq, Taj, Zomato and Swiggy. The Bank has partnered with Flipkart for The Big Billion Days sale (from October 8 to October 15), Myntra for the Big Fashion Festival (from October 6 to October 19), and Amazon for its Great Indian Festival sale (around the last week of October).

ICICI Bank Ltd is a leading private sector bank in India. The Banks total assets stood at  16,47,000 crore on June 30, 2023.

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The Reserve Bank of India has by far onboarded 30 banks on its UDGAM platform, a portal that enables the public to search for unclaimed deposits. These banks, the list of which can be accessed below, has been made available on the portal on September 28 this year, which covers around 90 per cent of such unclaimed deposits (in value terms) in Depositor Education and Awareness (DEA) Fund, the central bank said Thursday in a release.

The search facility was initially made available on the portal for seven banks and it was intimated to public that the search facility for remaining banks on the portal would be made available in a phased manner by October 15, 2023," Yogesh Dayal, Chief General Manager RBI said.

The RBI had in August 2023 launched a centralised web portal UDGAM to help people to search and claim their unclaimed deposits across multiple banks in one place.

The portal was initially launched with a search facility for seven banks: State Bank of India (SBI), Punjab National Bank (PNB), Central Bank of India, Dhanlaxmi Bank, South Indian Bank, DBS Bank India and Citibank.

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Given the increasing trend in the number of unclaimed deposits, the RBI has been undertaking public awareness campaigns from time to time to sensitise the public on this matter, the RBI had said in a statement.

The web portal will aid users to identify their unclaimed deposits/ accounts and enable them to either claim the deposit amount or make their deposit accounts operative at their respective banks.

About 35,000 crore unclaimed deposits as of February 2023 were transferred to the RBI by public sector banks (PSBs) in respect of deposits, which were not operated for 10 years or more.

SBI tops the list of unclaimed deposits worth 8,086 crore, followed by PNB 5,340 crore, Canara Bank 4,558 crore and Bank of Baroda 3,904 crore.

The deposits remaining unclaimed for 10 years in a bank are transferred to the 'Depositor Education and Awareness' (DEA) Fund maintained by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).

Reserve Bank Information Technology Pvt Ltd (ReBIT), Indian Financial Technology & Allied Services (IFTAS) and participating banks have collaborated on developing the portal.

List of Banks available on UDGAM Portal

1. State Bank of India

2. Punjab National Bank

3. Central Bank of India

4. Dhanlaxmi Bank Ltd.

5. South Indian Bank Ltd.

6. DBS Bank India Ltd.

7. Citibank N.A.

8. Canara Bank

9. Bank of India

10. Bank of Baroda

11. Indian Bank

12. Union Bank of India

13. HDFC Bank

14. Federal Bank

15. Kotak Mahindra Bank

16. ICICI Bank

17. UCO Bank

18. Bank of Maharashtra

19. IDBI Bank

20. Jammu and Kashmir Bank Ltd.

21. Punjab and Sind Bank

22. Axis Bank Ltd.

23. Indian Overseas Bank

24. Standard Chartered Bank

25. HSBC Ltd.

26. Karnataka Bank Ltd.

27. The Karur Vysya Bank Ltd.

28. Saraswat Co-operative Bank

29. IndusInd Bank Ltd.

30. Tamilnad Mercantile Bank Ltd.

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Committed Cargo Care IPO opens for subscription on Friday, October 06, and closes on Tuesday, October 10. Committed Cargo Care Ltd IPO's price band is set at 77.

The face value of the equity shares is 10 apiece and the issue price is 7.7 times of the face value. The promoters of the company are Rajeev Sharma, Nitin Bharal, Narendra Singh Bisht, Yash Pal Arora and Sonia Bharal. Committed Cargo IPO lot size is 1600 shares and in multiples thereof.

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Committed Cargo Care IPO details

Committed Cargo IPO, which is worth 24.95 crore, is completely a fresh issue of 32,40,000 equity share; there is no offer for sale (OFS) component, according to Red Herring Prospectus (RHP).

Also Read: Plaza Wires IPO: Bidding ends today. Check GMP, subscription status, apply or not?

The company plans to use the net proceeds from the offering to fund working capital requirements; and general corporate purposes.

As per RHP, the company has taken out short-term loans from banks. The outstanding amounts under these loans are, respectively, 14.69 lakhs, 50.60 lakhs, and 16.25 lakhs for the financial years ending March 31, 2022, March 31, 2023, and April 30, 2023.

The main purpose of the working capital will be to increase the company's present activities. The company stated in its RHP that it expects a boost in profitability as a result of funding its company's working capital needs.

Committed Cargo Care Ltd IPO's (P/E ratio of 10.94) listed industry peers are Jet Freight Logistics Ltd (with P/E ratio of 980), Total Transport Systems Ltd (with P/E ratio of 16.53), and Tiger Logistics (India) Ltd (with P/E ratio of 18.85).

Fedex Securities Private Ltd is the book running lead managers to the issue, and the registrar is Bigshare Services Private Ltd.

Also Read: Updater Services share price rebounds after opening at discount. Buy, hold or exit?

Third party logistics company, Committed Cargo Care Limited specialises in managing import and export cargo and offers comprehensive services.

The company offers integrated logistics services such moving big and oversize cargo, managing orders, managing international freight, dealing with customs and cross-border movement, etc.

Committed Cargo Care Limited IPO GMP

Committed Cargo Care IPO GMP today or grey market premium is +16. This indicates Committed Cargo Care share price were trading at a premium of 16 in the grey market on Thursday, according to market observers.

'Grey market premium' indicates investors' readiness to pay more than the issue price.

Also Read: Digikore Studios shares make stellar D-Street debut; lists with 58% premium at 270 on NSE SME

Committed Cargo IPO review

The company is operating in a highly competitive segment. It marked inconsistency in its top line, but the bottom line kept growing. The growing economy indicates bright prospects for this segment. Based on FY24 annualised earnings, the issue appears fully priced. Investors may park funds for medium to long-term rewards," said Dilip Davda, the contributing editor at Chittorgarh.

Disclaimer: The views and recommendations made above are those of individual analysts or broking companies, and not of Mint. We advise investors to check with certified experts before taking any investment decisions.

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Valiant Laboratories IPO allotment status: Valiant Laboratories IPO share allotment has been finalised. The investors who applied for the issue can check Valiant IPO allotment status in the registrar's portal, which is Link Intime India Private Ltd.

Investors can find out if and how many shares they have been given through the basis of allotment. The number of shares allotted can also be seen in the IPO allotment status. The company will initiate the refund process for applicants not given shares. Those allotted will receive their shares in their demat accounts.

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Tentative Valiant Laboratories IPO listing date has been fixed for Monday, October 9 on NSE and BSE. As the company seems to have switched to T+3 norms the listing date could be before the schedule.

If you applied for the shares, here's how you can check allotment status of Valiant Laboratories IPO.

If you have applied for the Valiant Laboratories IPO, you can check your Valiant IPO allotment status immediately on the website of the IPO registrar, Link Intime India Private Ltd. You can check the Valiant Laboratories IPO allotment status of your application on below link - Valiant Laboratories IPO allotment link https://linkintime.co.in/MIPO/Ipoallotment.html

Step 1

Visit the above link which will take you to Valiant Laboratories IPO's registrar's website i.e Link Intime India Private Ltd.

Step 2

Choose the IPO in the dropbox that will only have its name set in if the allocation is completed.

Step 3

Pick one of all three options to check the status: Application No, Demat Account, or PAN.

Also Read: Valiant Laboratories IPO: Firm mobilises 45 crore from anchor investors ahead of issue

Step 4

Choose between ASBA and non-ASBA under application type.

Step 5

Include the information for the mode you choose in Step 2.

Step 6

Click submit after filling out the captcha.

How to check Valiant Laboratories IPO allotment status on BSE

Step 1

Visit allotment page on BSE's official website- Valiant Laboratories IPO allotment status check online - https://www.bseindia.com/investors/appli_check.aspx

Step 2

Under 'Issue Type', select 'Equity'.

Step 3

Choose the IPO from the drop-down option under 'Issue Name'.

Step 4

Enter PAN or application number.

Step 5

Click 'I am not a Robot' to confirm your identity, then click the 'Submit' button.

Also Read: Valiant Laboratories IPO: Issue subscribed 33% on day 1; check GMP, other key details

How to check Valiant Laboratories IPO allotment status on NSE

Step 1

Visit NSE's official website- Valiant Laboratories IPO allotment status check online - https://www1.nseindia.com/products/dynaContent/equities/ipos/ipo_login.jsp

Step 2

By selecting the 'Click here to sign up' option on the NSE website, one must register with PAN.

Step 3

Enter user name, password, and captcha code.

Step 4

Check IPO allotment status on the new page that will open.

Also Read:Valiant Laboratories IPO: Issue fully booked on day 3; retail portion oversubscribed

Valiant Laboratories IPO GMP today

Valiant IPO GMP today or grey market premium is 0, which meant Valiant Laboratories shares were trading at their issue price of 140 with no premium or discount in the grey market according to topsharebrokers.com

'Grey market premium' indicates investors' readiness to pay more than the issue price.

Also Read:Valiant Laboratories IPO: Issue subscribed 29.76 times on day 4; retail portion booked 16.06x

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West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has voiced her concern regarding the flood-like conditions in the state.

She informed that around 10,000 individuals have been successfully rescued and are currently sheltered in 190 relief camps situated across nine districts in both the southern and northern regions of the state, PTI reported.

Despite her ongoing recovery from a leg injury, Banerjee assured that she is personally overseeing the situation non-stop from her residence. As a precautionary measure to manage the flood situation effectively, she also announced the cancellation of leaves for several state government officials.

West Bengal Governor CV Ananda Bose is scheduled to visit the flood-affected districts in the northern part of the state on Thursday.

The northern part of West Bengal shares a border with Sikkim which witnessed a flash flood in the Teesta River leaving at least 10 people dead, scores injured and around 80 others missing.

Taking stock of the situation at a meeting, Banerjee asked Chief Secretary HK Dwivedi and Home Secretary BP Gopalika to immediately send a team of senior officials to flood-affected areas of West Bengal. "We have already rescued 10,000 people from low-lying areas in the districts. Already SDRF and NDRF teams have been alerted. I will monitor the situation 24/7 from home with a leg injury which may require another week to recover," she said.

Altogether 5,800 people were evacuated in Kalimpong, Darjeeling, Jalpaiguri and Cooch Behar districts in the northern part of the state, while 5,018 others were rescued in Howrah, Hooghly, Paschim Medinipur, Purulia and Bankura districts in the south, the state government said in a statement.

Banerjee also directed Dwivedi to start a 24-hour control room for people to register complaints due to the flood.

The statement said that the NH-10 connecting Sikkim's capital Gangtok and Siliguri, the largest city in northern West Bengal, has been completely washed away near the Likhuvir-Setijhora stretch. Immediate repairs on war footing will be taken up as and when the water recedes in Teesta.

The chief minister also said adequate relief camps were opened in the state and urged the affected people not to take any chance and go to these shelters. Twenty-eight relief camps were opened in the northern part of the state and 190 in the south.

"I am concerned about Kalimpong, Darjeeling and Jalpaiguri (in north Bengal). I asked several senior ministers and IAS officers to rush there to oversee rescue and relief operations. Close vigil is being kept to ensure no loss of life in the calamity," she said.

Governor Bose, who reached New Delhi from Kochi on Wednesday evening, will return to Kolkata early Thursday morning and straightaway travel to north Bengal to take stock of the flood situation there, a Raj Bhavan official told PTI.

Bose on Wednesday spoke to Governors of several neighbouring states of West Bengal, including Sikkim, over the phone for a better understanding of the flood situation. "The governor also sought details of the situation from West Bengal Chief Secretary HK Dwivedi regarding the situation and also enquired about the precautionary measures taken by the state government," the official said. The chief minister said that parts of South 24 Parganas districts, the Sunderbans, and Sagar Island were also affected by the floods.

"The 24/7 Control Room at (state secretariat) Nabanna is functional and can be contacted at (033)22143526 and 1070. Another 24/7 Control Room (with numbers 1800-212-1655 & 91-9051888171) at the Tourism Department is functional... The state administration has also started integrated control rooms in all districts," the state government said in the statement.

Senior ministers Partha Bhowmick, Arup Biswas, Udayan Guha, Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA) Chairman Anit Thapa and senior bureaucrats rushed to North Bengal to oversee the rescue and relief operations.

"More than 8,000 cubic metres per second of water has been released from Teesta barrage which has resulted in flood-like situations in the downstream districts of Kalimpong, Darjeeling, Jalpaiguri and Cooch Behar," the statement said.

The heavy rainfall in southern Bengal and neighboring Jharkhand can be attributed to the formation of a low-pressure area in the region. Additionally, the situation has been exacerbated by a substantial release of water from the DVC barrages at Maithon and Panchet, as well as the reservoirs in Mukutmanipur.

This has had a significant impact on several districts, including Bankura, Howrah, Hooghly, Paschim Medinipur, and South 24 Parganas, leading to concerns about flooding and water-related issues in these areas.

(With inputs from PTI)

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At least five army personnel, including three officers, were injured when an officer allegedly opened fire and exploded grenades inside a camp in Rajouri district of Jammu and Kashmir on Thursday, PTI reported citing official sources.

The officer, said to be of the rank of major, opened fire on his colleagues without provocation during a shooting practice session and then took shelter in the armoury of the unit and lobbed grenades at his superiors who moved near the building in an effort to persuade him to surrender, the report said.

The tense situation lasted nearly eight hours before the officer was overpowered inside the armoury. The incident took place at the Neeli post near Thanamandi in the district.

The army evacuated a village in the close vicinity of the armoury as a precautionary measure, they said.

The army, however, claimed that an officer was injured in a likely grenade accident at a post in Rajouri.

"On 05 Oct 23 one officer was injured in a likely grenade accident at a post in Rajouri sector. Officer evacuated and stable post initial treatment. Further investigation of the incident in progress," the White Knight Corps of the army posted on X.

The sources said there was a firing practice going on at the camp for the past several days and the accused officer started firing on his colleagues and subordinates without any provocation on Thursday.

Later, he took shelter inside the armoury of the camp and hurled grenades when the commanding officer, along with his deputy and medical officer, moved near the building in an effort to persuade him to surrender, the sources said.

All the three officers were injured when a grenade, hurled by the accused, exploded near them, they said, adding the condition of the second-in-command of the unit was stated to be "critical".

Two other soldiers were also injured in the indiscriminate firing by the accused who was overpowered around 11 pm, the sources said.

On the incident, Jammu-based defence PRO Lt Col Suneel Bartwal said in a message, "I have received calls about some firing/terrorist attack on army camp in General Area Rajouri. I would like to inform you that no terrorist attack has occurred, it is an unfortunate internal incident of the camp."

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CARSON CITY  On Sept. 30, the Bureau of Land Management concluded the FY2023 Desatoya Herd Management Area wild horse gather near Fallon, Nevada.

The BLM gathered 59 wild horses, removed 12 excess wild horses and released 14 stallions back to the range.

Thirty-three mares were treated with GonaCon Equine, a population suppression control vaccine; 12 of those mares were previously vaccinated and released back to the range.

In approximately 30 days the remaining 21 treated mares will receive a booster and will be released back to the range within the Desatoya HMA.

The purpose of the gather was to remove excess wild horses from within and outside the Desatoya HMA and reduce the wild horse population growth rates to achieve and maintain the established appropriate management level (AML). This action was needed in order to achieve and maintain a population size within the established AML, protect rangeland resources from further deterioration associated with the current overpopulation, and restore a thriving natural ecological balance and multiple use relationship on public lands.

The gather was conducted in compliance with the provisions of Section 1333(b) of the 1971 Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act. Removing excess animals supports significant progress toward achieving the Standards for Rangeland Health identified by the Sierra Front-Northern Great Basin Resource Advisory Council.

In addition, by balancing herd size with what the land can support, the BLM aims to protect habitat for other wildlife species, such as the two creeks within the HMA which provide habitat for Lahontan cutthroat trout, a threatened species.

The gather was critical to ensuring the health of public lands within the management area, as well as the wild horses in the area, said Kim Dow, Carson City District Manager.

The BLM transported the animals removed from the range to the Indian Lakes Wild Horse and Burro Off-range Corrals located in Fallon, Nev., to be readied for the BLMs wild horse and burro Adoption and Sales Program. Wild horses not adopted or sold will be placed in long-term pastures where they will be humanely cared for and retain their wild status and protection under the 1971 Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act.

Additional gather information is available on the BLM website at https://www.blm.gov/programs/wild-horse-and-burro/herd-management/gathers-and-removals/nevada-carson-city-do/2023
Dr. Kafeel Khan penned a heartfelt letter to renowned actor Shah Rukh Khan after watching the film "Jawan. In his letter, Dr. Khan expressed his deep appreciation for the movie's portrayal of the Gorakhpur Encephalitis incident and drew parallels between the film's narrative and the real-life tragedy.

While the SRK film does not categorically mention the Gorakhpur Encephalitis" case as it is a work of fiction, numerous people have drawn parallels and termed the segment of the movie heavily inspired by the said tragedy. Also Read: If I had a son: Saira Banu opens up about her fondness for Shah Rukh Khan As someone who has had a personal connection with the incident and its aftermath, I was profoundly moved by your decision to bring this story to the screenThank you once again for being a beacon of hope," Dr. Khan wrote. According to Dr. Khan, "Jawan" has had a profound effect on people who were directly involved in the Gorakhpur Encephalitis event. The letter emphasises the ability of film to reflect societal challenges and the significant impact it can have on viewers. The letter's main points are listed below.

The film's depiction of the sad Gorakhpur Encephalitis episode deeply affected Dr. Khan. He emphasised the film's contribution to the cinematic discussion of important sociopolitical concerns.

Given his personal connection to the incident, Dr. Khan found the movie to be all the more moving. He applauded Shah Rukh Khan for choosing to emphasise the incident in his film.

The character played by Sanya Malhotra, Dr. Eeram Khan, resonated with Dr. Khan. While the character did not directly reference him, he felt it encapsulated the experiences he faced during the tragedy.

Dr. Khan mentioned the disheartening disparity between the film's fictional justice and the real-world situation. He pointed out that in reality, the perpetrators of the Gorakhpur Hospital Tragedy are yet to face consequences, he is struggling to regain his job, and the families affected are still awaiting justice.

Dr. Khan's has authored a book titled "The Gorakhpur Hospital Tragedy," which offers an in-depth account of the tragic event. Dr. Khan noted that certain aspects of the film align with the events detailed in his book.

Expressing his gratitude, Dr. Khan expressed a wish to personally meet Shah Rukh Khan, director Atlee, and other members of the "Jawan" crew. Dr. Khan reassured his continued dedication to serving his fellow countrymen, undeterred by the challenges he faces.

Who is Dr. Kafeel Khan?

Dr. Kafeel Khan used to work at Baba Raghav Das (BRD) Medical College in Gorakhpur. He made every effort to alert the authorities to the situation when he learned that the government hospital's oxygen supply had been turned off because of unpaid fees.

When they were unable to deliver, he was able to buy oxygen on his own dime. However, 63 children died of acute encephalitis syndrome in the interim. Later, the Uttar Pradesh government refuted the claim that there was an oxygen shortage and instead imprisoned Kafeel for neglect of duty.

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Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Wednesday his administration is considering declassifying a list of suspected former Nazi collaborators who immigrated to Canada following the Second World War.

His comments follow a diplomatic blunder that saw parliament during Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's recent visit to Ottawa publicly celebrate a Ukrainian veteran who had fought for the Nazis during the war.

In 1986, an independent inquiry had looked into allegations that more than 800 Nazi war criminals slipped into the country, but their names were withheld.

Also read: Canadian PM Justin Trudeau issues 'unreserved' apology for past invitation to former Nazi

"We have made sure that there are top public servants who are looking very carefully into the issue, including digging into the archives," Trudeau said Wednesday.

"They're going to make recommendations to the relevant ministers," he added.

Jewish groups, including B'nai Brith and the Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Centre, have pressed for the release of the report.

Jagmeet Singh, the leader of a small faction in parliament that has propped up Trudeau's minority Liberal government, said he supports unsealing the records.

Also read: Canada PM Justin Trudeau calls honouring of Nazi veteran deeply embarrassing to parliament of Canada

Others, however, have raised issues related to Canada's strict privacy laws, and warned of reopening old wounds.

This followed Zelensky's visit in September when House speaker Anthony Rota hailed an elderly Ukrainian immigrant from his district as a hero, prompting a standing ovation.

Rota resigned after it was revealed that the veteran had served in a Nazi-linked military unit.

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US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy was booted from his job leaving the key governing body for the US government in complete chaos, only days after Republican leader joined hands with the Democrats to avert a shutdown. Now the spot left vacant by McCarthy, also leaves the country without a designated second in line to the presidency.

McCarthy's exit and his vow not to contest again has the potential to be a seminal point in the chambers history and raise serious questions about whether the House  and the Republican Party  are governable.

The sixth Republican leader to have been ousted by his own party, McCarthy is also the first US House Speaker whose nine month tryst with the gavel ended as Democrats and eight Republicans voted to be booted out.

The ouster may have potentially triggered a chaos in the house right ahead of the US Presidential Polls to be held in 2024.

Let's take a look

US House Speaker post has no takers

Post McCarthy leaving the post vacant, an interim speaker will take charge, the name of whom will be pulled out from a secret list that McCarthy made when he became speaker, reports Washington Post.

Therefore the interim speaker will be Patrick McHenry. However, the gavel belongs to McHenry only until Republicans present a nominee for the post.

Notably, McCarthy has announced an unwillingness to run for speaker again.

Further, the Republican responsible for McCarthy;s ouster, Matt Gaetz is also not a likely candidate. Despite leading the charge to oust McCarthy, NBC News has reported that Gaetz is expected to run for Florida governor.

Therefore it seems there is no no one who seems willing or able to take the speakership.

Why Democrat's dislike for McCarthy

There are lots of reasons Democrats dislike McCarthy:

-Hes all-in on Donald Trump

-He launched an impeachment inquiry into President Biden over allegations"

-He thwarted 6 January United States Capitol attack investigation

However, the last straw for them was seeing McCarthy on TV over the weekend trying to blame Democrats for the near-shutdown, according to The Washington Post.

Republicans dont prefer Matt Gaetz, the man who led the ouster

Republican leader Gaetz might have fallen in popularity with his party as he pressed his case to boot McCarthy from the role of House speaker. According to US media reports, Gaetz was seen physically placed in a rather unfamiliar spot- the Democratic side of the chamber.

US media reports that Republican ranks are so fed up with Gaetz that they wouldnt let him debate from within their caucus, banishing him to the minority Democratic side of the room.

Gaetzs successful fight to remove McCarthy from the speakership has cost him in his own conference, lawmakers say. The GOP on Tuesday was considering expelling Gaetz from its caucus.

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Ungovernable GOP

The pandemonium that Republicans are enduring over the marginalization within their own ranks has surfaced over the latest incidence of US speaker McCarthy's ouster.

The GOP conferences have recent years devoured its own  ostracizing members who have spoken out against former president Donald Trump and the attack on the Capitol.

McCarthys short speakership underscored how the Republican Party in the age of Donald Trump has turned into one of the great forces of instability, with the Trump dominating the 2024 GOP primary as he takes aim at a wrecking ball second term.

A party that once defined conservatism as preserving a traditional sense of steadiness and strength has evolved over the last three decades into a haven for chaos agents, stunt politics and a perpetual ideological revolution that keeps driving it to new extremes.

The partys willingness to accept the outrageous was also on display Tuesday in New York, where Trump ranted in a corridor outside a courtroom hearing his fraud trial and was slapped with a gag order for attacking a judges clerk on social media, reports CNN.

Meanwhile, McCarthy's defeat in the hands of far-right rebels, an ouster with no replacement in mind leaves a hugely important wing of the US government paralyzed for at least a week.

For the unhinged extremes, a Trump way of politics has imposed on the GOP, McCarthy's twice diversion seeking to provide a modicum of governance for US, only felled him in the long, er short run!

Impact on 2024 US Presidential polls

With the chaos that Republicans have fallen into, the latest incidence surely loses ground to capitalize on President Joe Biden and his vulnerabilities. Far from ejecting President Biden from office, McCarthy himself is gone in less than a month of launching an impeachment inquiry.

Further the political regicide showed that the majority in the House is inoperable and that the Republican Party is unmanageable. At large US remains ungovernable.

(With agency inputs)

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Indian-American entrepreneur and Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy has lambasted Volodymyr Zelenskyy for seeking additional funds from the US to hold polls in Ukraine.

I have a problem with appeasement too, but I want to be very clear. We have to level with the American people here. Just because Putin is an evil dictator -- and he is -- does not mean that Ukraine is good," Vivek Ramaswamy said in an interview with Fox News.

This (Ukraine) is a country that has banned 11 opposition parties. This is a country that has consolidated all media into one state media arm, whose president just last week was praising a Nazi in his own ranks, has threatened the United States not to hold its own normal elections this year unless it gets more funding," he added.

Ramaswamy has been vocal in his criticism, calling China the biggest threat that the US faces.

Ramaswamy's parents migrated to the US from Kerala and he was born and raised in Cincinnati, Ohio. He attended Harvard University for his undergrad and later got a law degree from Yale University. He is married to Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center Assistant Professor Apoorva Tewari Ramaswamy. Ramaswamy is the author of "Woke, Inc: Inside Corporate America's Social Justice Scam"

The Indian American entrepreneur had shot up sharply in GOP primary polls, standing tied with Florida Governor Ron DeSantis at the second position. However, both candidates lag hugely behind former President Donald Trump who leads with 56 per cent, as per The Hill. In another poll by RealClearPolitics, Trump is far out in front of the 2024 GOP race with 53.6 per cent support, followed by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis at 13.5 per cent, and Ramaswamy at 7.3 per cent, New York Post reported.

Meanwhile, Republican presidential contenders are scheduled to face off in a third primary debate on November 8. The next US presidential election is scheduled for November 5, 2024.

-With agency inputs

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Different GST authorities have adopted different approaches to taxing such guarantees. The report says senior officials have concluded that the taxable value should be fixed at 1% of the amount guaranteed, mirroring the valuation method adopted by the direct tax department.

In their desperation for revenue in a tight year, the tax authorities appear to be clutching at imaginary straws. GST is a value-added tax, levied on the value of the supply of a product or a service. Guarantees provided for loans to companies without any charge should not attract GST, no matter what clever valuation metrics the authorities conjure up. In economic theory, taxation is one form of exercising the state's monopoly and coercive powers. Still, it's time India started treating the GST as a tax that it is, not a form of legalised extortion.

We suggest that when the guarantee is provided without charge, the tax authorities should let it be, treating the value of the supply as zero and levying no tax.

This wont entail any loss of revenue for the department. After all, the company that receives the guarantee will claim an input tax credit on any GST it pays on the provision of the guarantee. If it pays no commission for the loan guarantee and does pay a GST on a free service, it will not claim input tax credit for unpaid GST. Levying a tax on a free service would only serve to create accounting complexity, without adding to the governments revenue or increasing public welfare.

Lets assume that all goods and services are taxed under GST, including the likes of petrofuels and alcohol, which are still outside the ambit of GST. In such an unbroken chain of value addition and tax, the final tax paid by a company turns out to be a tax on the value added by the company at the rate applicable on its final product or service. This is thanks to the way GST is structured, with each tax payment entitled to a credit for the tax already paid on inputs. This provides a simple way to check if a company is paying its GST dues in full or not.

Gross value added is gross profits minus wages and salaries. That the value added by a company breaks down into the sum of its return to capital and return to labour is an insight that may not be obvious to those who have not studied national income accounting. The value of all final goods and services, it turns out, is identical to the totality of income generated in the economy, accruing to capital and labour, thanks to this property. If the actual tax paid by a company, when divided by the GST rate on its final product or services, does not match the difference between its gross profits and the sum of wages and salaries, the company is playing accounting games to evade taxes.

Levying taxes on the presumed value of services that have been obtained for free upsets such cross-checking and should be avoided. When we use Google to search for something, it generates value but we do not pay for that value  at least not in cash. But the value that search generates reflects in our income, which is then subjected to tax.

In an economic sense, what is the value generated by a credit guarantee? It could be far out of proportion to the arbitrarily deemed 1% of the value of the loan. Without a guarantee from its parent company the subsidiary may not get a loan and do little business, or may get a loan at a risk premium. Just because the provision of this value is not taxed under GST, it does not mean the value it generates will escape taxation. It will reside in the enhanced profits of the subsidiary, which would attract corporate tax.

Let us accept that the tax base is the gross value added to the economy, which is equal to the value of the final goods produced and services offered. GST and income taxes target the same tax base, approaching it from different angles. It is not essential that every rupee of an economys GVA is taxed twice over, once indirectly and once directly. If some elements of income avoid double taxation, we should welcome it as a small step towards the ideal of taxing value just once, but comprehensively.
Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Sanjay Singh is the latest among the Indian politicians who are behind the bars in cases of alleged corruption. Singh, a Rajya Sabha MP, is the third member within his party to be nabbed by the probing agencies over the past year.

Singh's arrest has drawn criticism from a range of political parties, who are opposed to the Centre-ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). The latter, unfazed by the criticism, said the law will take its course" and stated that those accused of corruption will have to join the investigation by the probing agencies.

Here's a look at 8 high-profile politicians behind the bars.

Sanjay Singh

Singh was arrested on October 4, following a day-long search by the Enforcement Directorate at his premises. He was picked up in the case linked to the alleged financial irregularities in the Delhi excise policy that has now been scrapped.

Chandrababu Naidu

Telegu Desam Party (TDP) chief and former Andhra Pradesh chief minister Chandrababu Naidu was arrested in September, in connection to an alleged   371 crore corruption case. The former CM is accused of hatching a conspiracy to divert money allocated to train the state's unemployed youth during the period when he was heading the government.

Manish Sisodia

Sisodia, then the deputy CM of Delhi, was arrested in February this year in connection to the same excise policy case in which Singh has been taken into custody. The FIR against Sisodia stated that he was allegedly instrumental in recommending and taking decisions pertaining to excise policy for the year 2021-22 without the approval of competent authority with an intention to extend undue favours to the licensee post tender".

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Sukhpal Singh Khaira

Khaira, a Congress MLA from Bothal in Punjab, was arrested last week by the Punjab Police in connection to an alleged drugs case dating back to 2015. Khaira claimed that the proceedings against him in the case were quashed by the Supreme Court earlier this year, and alleged that the police action has been taken against him out of vendetta" on the behest of the state-ruling AAP.

Satyendar Jain

Jain, a former Delhi health minister, was the first high-profile AAP leader to be arrested by the ED. He was held in May 2022, in connection to an alleged money laundering case. He was accused of laundering money through four entities allegedly linked to him.

V Senthil Balaji

DMK leader and Tamil Nadu minister V Senthil Balaji was arrested by the ED in June this year, in connection to an alleged money laundering case that dates back to his tenure as the transport minister in the AIADMK government between 2011 and 2015.

OP Soni

Former Punjab deputy chief minister and Congress veteran OP Soni was arrested by the Punjab Vigilance Bureau in July this year, in a case linked to disproportionate assets. He has been accused of amassing assets, which are allegedly not in proportion to his declared sources of income, in the period between 2016 and 2022.

Mukhtar Ansari

A former BSP MLA from Uttar Pradesh's Mau, Ansari has been languishing in prison since 2005 in connection to a number of criminal cases. In April this year, his Assembly membership was revoked after he was convicted and sentenced to 10-year imprisonment in the case of BJP MLA Krishnanand Rai's murder.

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When eight Republicans voted to take down Kevin McCarthy as speaker, seven of the votes werent a surprise. But onefrom South Carolina Rep. Nancy Macesent a gasp through the House chamber.

Unlike the other Republicans who joined all Democrats to vote against McCarthy on Tuesday, Mace is no hard-line conservative. She justified her vote by saying McCarthy hadnt brought up legislation he had promised he would, including a measure that would increase access to birth control, and echoed dissidents complaints that he broke his pledges on spending bills.

Promises that I was made were not kept. I have been working very hard on very specific issues for a very long time. When you shake a hand and make a promise, you ought to keep it," Mace said in an interview Wednesday.

Mace, 45 years old, has been seen as a rising star within the party. A charismatic lawmaker who regularly gives media interviews and is aggressive on social media, she sometimes elicits eye rolls from fellow Republicans who feel she is too eager for attention. At the same time, they acknowledge she is a talented member who held on to a tough seat.

Mace has been vocal about how the party could win back the moderate Republicans and independents turned off by former President Donald Trump. She has wide appeal in her district, with a focus on fiscal conservatism and social moderation, pushing back against her party on abortion and marijuana policy.

The lawmaker, who has indicated an interest in running for Senate or governor one day, has been advised that she needs to shore up her support from conservatives to have a chance, according to people familiar with the conversations. South Carolina is much more conservative statewide than the Charleston district she represents.

Mace, the first female graduate of the Citadel military academy, was a star recruit in 2020 when she flipped the Charleston area district from a Democrat, helped by her compelling personal story. Before being accepted to the Citadel, she had dropped out of high school and earned her diploma while working at a Waffle House.

She won her first congressional race by campaigning on promises of fiscal responsibility, but with a willingness to break with her party when needed. She said that is what she did Tuesday when she voted to oust McCarthy.

McCarthys allies see Maces vote to oust him as the most stinging of the eight, given she was a favorite of leadership and had been recruited by McCarthy, according to a person familiar with the matter.

The former speaker, for his part, accused Mace of lying. I bite my lip. I let people say things that are not true. But its not right," he said after his ouster Tuesday.

He said he had spoken with Maces chief of staff ahead of the removal vote, and that the aide assured McCarthy he had kept his word as it related to Maces requests.

Asked to respond to that account, Mace said: It was sad to see him fall apart the way he did last night." She said she and the aide in question were drinking together at a nearby bar while McCarthy gave his press conference.

Mace, the only Republican woman to oppose McCarthy, may have angered her colleagues210 Republicans voted to keep McCarthy, after allbut the next speaker will still need her vote. Her opposition to McCarthy underscored that while his sharpest critics were among the hard-right members of his party, other members had soured on him as well. Now, she could be an influential vote.

She said she had heard from Rep. Jim Jordan (R., Ohio), the chairman of the Judiciary Committee, and she was working on setting up a meeting with Rep. Steve Scalise (R., La.), the majority leader. Both have announced a run for the post.

Might the next speaker hold a grudge over her vote against the partys former leader? They cant afford to, the majority is so slim," she said.

Her decision Tuesday punctuated an extraordinary falling out between two former allies. McCarthy had supported Mace through her competitive races, including a 2022 primary where Trump tried to take her out. Mace returned the favor by mostly siding with the GOP on contentious votes.

Voters in Maces wealthy coastal district tend to be fiscally conservative but more socially liberal, and Mace has made changing the way Republicans talk about abortion a priority. While she said she opposes the procedure, she believes Republicans need to support exceptions, including for rape, incest and the life of the mother. She has also been adamant that the party offer alternatives so there are fewer unwanted pregnancies, including access to birth control.

The approach seems to be working. In 2022, Mace dispatched a Trump-endorsed rival in the GOP primary, and cruised to victory in the general election. While Republicans nationally took back the House majority, they won fewer seats than hoped. In the Senate, they lost a seat, a result attributed in part to GOP moves to restrict abortion after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade.

Im fiscally conservative, socially sensible. I understand firsthand what was important in last years elections," she said.

Mace has shifted alliances before. She worked for Trumps 2016 campaign and ran her 2020 race focused on his policies. But shortly after she arrived in Washington, a pro-Trump mob overran the Capitol in an effort to stop certification of President Bidens election. Mace, who had voted to certify the result, said Trumps actions on Jan. 6, 2021, wiped out" his legacy. She called for the party to be rebuilt.

Three years later, Mace is considering endorsing Trump for president, and her name is being thrown around as a potential running mate. She has said she would be interested in the job if it were offered, people familiar with her thinking have said.

Write to Eliza Collins at eliza.collins@wsj.com
Samajwadi Party (SP) Chief Akhilesh Yadav took a jibe at the Bharatiya Janata Party-led government and said that the INDIA alliance will teach a lesson to the BJP in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.

As reported by ANI, Yadav made these remarks on Central agencies raiding INDIA leaders. SP Chief said, "We will teach a lesson to the BJP in these Lok Sabha elections. 2014 mein jo aaye they, wo 2024 mein chale jayenge. UP se aaye theyy, UP se bahar chale jayenge. (The ones who came in 2014 will leave in 2024. They came from UP, they will go out of UP.) With INDIA, PDA will defeat NDA."

Earlier in the day, Income Tax authorities conducted raids at various premises connected to DMK MP S Jagathrakshakan, a move that Chief Minister M K Stalin criticized as vindictive politics.

Also Read: Delhi Excise Policy Scam case: MP Sanjay Singh arrested by ED; third AAP minister to be taken into custody

Meanwhile, in reaction to the arrest of AAP MP Sanjay Singh in the Delhi excise policy case, BJP Spokesperson Sambit Patra asserted on Thursday that the AAP is involved in "corruption" and employs "political maneuvers" as a response when faced with such accusations.

"AAP MP Sanjay Singh has been arrested by the ED yesterday in a liquor scam case... It is AAP's character to do corruption openly and when they are caught, they start politics over it," Sambit Patra said in a press conference in Bhubaneswar.

Also Read: Is Arvind Kejriwal next? Sambit Patra says, Sanjay Singh may implicate a senior within AAP

Meanwhile, Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting, Anurag Thakur, criticized the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Thursday. He specifically directed his comments towards AAP's leader, Arvind Kejriwal, and remarked, Those whom Kejriwal vouched for as honest individuals are currently in jail."

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It is to be further noted that the arrest of Rajya Sabha member Sanjay Singh in connection with a money laundering case linked to the cancelled Delhi excise policy has sparked a political dispute.

Also Read: Is BJP running ED, CBI?: AAP hits back as BJP claims documents implicate 'high-level' figure

The Aam Aadmi Party has condemned the arrest as an act of political vendetta, asserting that Sanjay Singh is facing repercussions for being one of the most outspoken voices within the opposition INDIA bloc.

Furthermore, AAP Rajya Sabha MP Sandeep Pathak suggested that the arrest was primarily orchestrated because, "they (BJP) have found that it's very difficult to defeat Arvind Kejriwal."

It has been 15 months, they have raided thousands of places but nothing has come out. In this case also, nothing will come outThey just want to break down the Aam Aadmi Party."

(With inputs from agencies)

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In response to the apprehension of AAP MP Sanjay Singh in the Delhi excise policy case, BJP Spokesperson Sambit Patra alleged on Thursday that the AAP is engaged in "corruption" and resorts to "political tactics" when confronted with such allegations.

"AAP MP Sanjay Singh has been arrested by the ED yesterday in a liquor scam case... It is AAP's character to do corruption openly and when they are caught, they start politics over it," Sambit Patra said in a press conference in Bhubaneswar.

Also Read: Delhi Excise Policy Scam case: MP Sanjay Singh arrested by ED; third AAP minister to be taken into custody

The BJP spokesperson said the culprits in the Delhi excise policy case will be caught in ascending order depending on the magnitude of their fraud.

PTI reported Patra as saying, As per media sources, the incriminating documents procured from the house of Sanjay Singh will incriminate someone who is at the top in the hierarchy of AAP."

Sanjay Singh's arrest marks the second notable detention in the case, following the earlier arrest of former Delhi deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia. The Enforcement Directorate (ED) conducted a search at Sanjay Singh's residence on Wednesday morning in connection with the revoked liquor excise policy in the national capital.

Meanwhile, Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting, Anurag Thakur, criticized the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Thursday. He specifically directed his comments towards AAP's leader, Arvind Kejriwal, and remarked, Those whom Kejriwal vouched for as honest individuals are currently in jail."

Also Read: MP Sanjay Singh arrested in Delhi Excise Policy scam case. What this means for AAP

People are laughing at Arvind Kejriwal. They can see the tension on his face. The Deputy CM is in jail, the Health Minister is in jail, they are people who came to the front by raising the slogans of India Against Corruption but are now involved in corruption," Thakur said, adding, The kingpin is still out now. His number will also come. Investigation is underway. All those people to whom Arvind Kejriwal issued a certificate of honesty are in jail for a year."

This action came shortly after the ED had carried out similar raids on properties associated with two individuals believed to be close associates of Sanjay Singh, all within the same context.

Sanjay Singh's father Dinesh Singh accused ED of doing the bidding of their "masters".

"They (ED) did what their masters told them. They did not find anything at my residence. When you don't find anything, the search takes time. They did not find anything so it took time," Dinesh Singh said.

Reacting to the arrest AAP MP Sandeep Pathak alleged that the case was nothing but a process to break and defeat AAP illegally", adding, These are testing times. AAP will rise stronger. This has been going on for 15 months now. They raided thousands of locations and tortured people. Nothing has come out and nothing will come out. They have arrested an AAP leader in connection with a policy that has benefitted the government."

Also Read: How the AAP MP is connected with Delhi Excise Policy Scam case

According to assertions made by the enforcement directorate, Singh and his associates were allegedly involved in influencing the Delhi government's granting of licenses to liquor shops and vendors in 2020. This purportedly resulted in financial losses to the state treasury and a violation of anti-corruption regulations.

Meanwhile, Delhi Chief Minister and AAP Supremo Arvind Kejriwal condemned Singh's arrest stating, "The arrest of Sanjay Singh is completely illegal. This shows Modi ji's nervousness. They will arrest many more opposition leaders till the elections".

The arrest of the AAP MP prompted strong responses from leaders within the INDIA alliance.

(With inputs from agencies)

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THE BOX from abroad was small and nondescript. Inside, bubble-wrapped packets of aluminum foil were twisted into arcs and circles, some sprouting multipronged feet. A kids toys? A drug dealers joke? The customs agents opened the box and were unwrapping the foilslike, Hey, whats in here? " says Prudence Fairweather, the recipient of the 2012 shipment. Inside were original models for large-scale sculpture by her late husband, John Chamberlain, whod shaped each one by hand. They were bound for a retrospective of his work at New Yorks Guggenheim Museum. We lost quite a few," she says.

It wasnt the first time that Chamberlains artwork had been mistaken for jetsam. One of his free-form sofas made of rope and urethane foam had met a similar fate at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. They were looking for the art and untied the rope around the foamthey were looking for the art and destroying the art," Fairweather recalls. (An expensive mixup: Chamberlains foam sofas have sold for up to $225,000.) Now we put stamps all over the crates: This Is the Art. "

Chamberlain was a restless and prolific creator, and his catalogue raisonne numbers more than 3,000 works in a range of media often bordering on the Duchampian, from bristling towers of automotive parts down to the cigarette packs he would crush in front of an audience at New Yorks Cedar Tavern in the late 50s.

Since Chamberlains death in 2011, at 84, Fairweather and her daughter Alexandra have been working to safeguard the legacy of the pioneering artist, whose career bridged abstract expressionism, pop, minimalism and neo-dada without mapping neatly onto any of them. Like his friends Andy Warhol, Robert Rauschenberg and Donald Judd, Chamberlain made art that resisted categorization. Still, his influence has continued to gain ground.

His impact is very present, in ways that I dont know are being fully acknowledged," says curator and art historian Susan Davidson, who oversaw the 2012 Guggenheim show. Davidson would like to see Chamberlain presented alongside younger artists in a way that communicates his contributions to new audiences. Just his physicality," she says, and then the elegance of the workI dont think theres anybody like him."

In December, the Aspen Art Museum will mount a major Chamberlain exhibition curated by the Swiss-born artist Urs Fischer. All three floors will be programmed with work that encompasses the artists photographs, wall-mounted sculpture and freestanding experiments with compressed metalmany on loan from the Dia Art Foundationas well as foam pieces, foils and his final, monumental efforts in painted and plated steel.

Fischer says that tracing Chamberlains evolution has been a revelation. The early photographs, literally shot from the hip with a Widelux camera, are a gust of energy," he says, and the final metal sculptures in saturated hues are like an everything bagel. The variety of his journey starts to materialize in this opulent, layered, powerful thing. You couldnt come out of the gate and make that. There is a lifetime in these last couple years of work."

Although Chamberlains fame has rested on his so-called car crash sculptures"dynamic assemblages of auto-body partshe hated the term, which he believed led to facile interpretation. He used scrap metal because it was cheap, available and came in pre-distressed colors. His additive process was spontaneous and intuitive. Its all in the fit," he was fond of saying. Violence was never the point.

Theres a sexy quality to Chamberlains worksvery intimate, a bodily quality," says curator Donna De Salvo, who came to know the artist in her roles at the Whitney Museum of American Art and at Dia. Its the artists hand in the world," she says of his output. You bend paper, you bend cigarette packs, you bend metalyou bend the world."

Before finalizing selections for Aspen, Fischer traveled to Chamberlains former home on Shelter Island, New York, to see the pieces in person. Even in a studio with the dimensions of a high-school gym, they command the space. Look at Roman sculpture of a lion taking down some kind of animal," Fischer says. Theres a lot of that same physicality in [Chamberlain], in that appetite. I ask myselfwith these appetites, what does he crush? Is it others, or is it himself?"

Chamberlains Midwestern childhood was short and unsettled. Born in 1927 in Rochester, Indiana, where his father was a saloonkeeper, at 4 he moved with his mother to Chicago after his parents divorce. Airplanes, engineering and classical music were among his early interests; school was not. He dropped out in ninth grade and made a road trip to California, enlisting in the Navy following an arrest for skipping out on a restaurant check. He was 16.

Back in Chicago after a three-year stint on an aircraft carrier, Chamberlain considered a life in jazz, then picked up more bankable skills at Syd Simons cosmetics studio. Until he could support himself as an artist, he worked as a hairdresser. Night classes with an illustrator led him to the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, then to Black Mountain College. There he studied poetry with Robert Creeley and Charles Olson, whose process of collecting words that were as compatible in look and sound as much as sense fired his imagination.

Chamberlain arrived in New York in 1956 and soon settled in at Cedar Tavern. At 6 feet 2 inches, with a handlebar mustache and forearms paved with tattoos, he became the embodiment of the macho male artist, getting into bar brawls and drinking hard to keep pace with two of his idols, the abstract expressionists Willem de Kooning and Franz Kline.

During a summer stay at painter Larry Riverss house in Southampton, Chamberlain hit on the idea of using car parts to make sculpture with the sense of volume hed admired in the veteran artists work. He tore the fenders off Riverss junked Ford, bulldozed them with his car, then welded the flattened metal to steel rods until it stood with a slight tilt. He named the 1958 piece Shortstop.

The artists reception in New York was slow to build, but his first solo show at Leo Castelli gallery, in 1962, sold out, with three of five pieces snapped up by Andy Warhol, Jasper Johns and Donald Judd. For Judd, who had yet to turn to sculpture himself, it was the start of a lifelong commitment to Chamberlains work, culminating in a permanent installation he made for the artist in a former warehouse in Marfa, Texas, now part of the Chinati Foundation. Over the next decade, Chamberlain spent considerable time in the Southwest and in Los Angeles. Experimenting with new techniquesairbrushing and various methods of vacuum-coating plexiglass among themhe also began wrestling with urethane foam after coming across a pile of discarded packing supplies in a parking lot.

Returning East in 1980, Chamberlain had a run-in with the authorities in Essex, Connecticut, over what they considered the degenerate look of his outdoor sculpture. Instead of taking a stand, he decamped to Sarasota, Florida, and set up inside an 18,000-square-foot former lumber warehouse. Ever-larger metal pieces resulted, often patterned in glowing skeins of spray paint.

Eventually, says Donna De Salvo, a consensus began building that John was languishing in Sarasota. Everyone was saying to him, John, if you dont get out of there by a certain age, it will all be over. " In 1991, Chamberlain moved to the East End of Long Island.

THIS ONE is earlylate 60s, I think," Prudence says of a gleaming metal sculpture some 5 feet high. Its a Ford."

A Chevrolet," Alexandra corrects her.

The two women are standing inside a barn complex at the crest of a hillside on Shelter Island that trails down toward Gardiners Bay. A onetime horse farm on 36 overgrown acres, it has a sunlit exhibition space in a former riding ring, where large-scale pieces sprawl across poured-concrete floors; a network of dimly lit stalls are stuffed with ephemera, from flaking chrome fenders to furniture and other odds and ends. Walking its length, the women point out finished work bound for the Aspen show and a few material experiments.

Mother and daughter, 72 and 33, are more like siblings when theyre on the subject of Chamberlain," as they call him. For the past 12 years, theyve worked side by side running the artists estateorganizing his papers, creating a digital archive and navigating relationships in and outside the art world. Alexandra is based here and in Sag Harbor, while Prudence lives in Manhattan and the Shelter Island house that she and Chamberlain once shared.

The couple bought property here in the mid-90s, a few years after theyd met. Prudence had been managing the studio of artist Dan Flavin, a friend of Judds and Chamberlains who was living in nearby Wainscott; she knew Shelter Island well, having grown up here. In the following years, she became Chamberlains wife and de facto business manager.

The couple renovated two houses on opposite sides of a streetone for living, one for working. The reality wasnt so clear-cut. When he was on a roll in the studio, Chamberlain would keep his assistants going all night, fueled by big pots of pasta or chili and crashing in bedrooms upstairs until it was time to go back to work. John would sit at what he considered his worktableit was the kitchen table," Susan Davidson remembers. It was more like the organized mess of a madman." Piled high with books and papers, a battered kitchen timer and a pair of pliers next to a vegetable peeler and a wad of tinfoil, that table remains just as he left it in the fall of 2011.

Calling any part of Chamberlains life conventional would be a stretch, but his time on Shelter Island approached a kind of stability. Despite three former marriages and three sons, he faltered at parenting early on. As he aged, domesticity became increasingly important.

He had this concept that we should go out to lunch after school," Alexandra remembers. He would take me to The Chequit hotel and teach me something new at each lunchhow to tell military time, how to tie knots." Chamberlain took Phoebe, Prudences other daughter, along to his saxophone lessons, and he bought her a clarinet. He would give both girls updos, and more fashion advice than they were looking for. He had style," Alexandra says, noting his fondness for Borsalino hats and wildly patterned shirts. It was all-encompassing, I think. How to decorate a home. How to dress. It was just who he was."

Alexandras grade-school proficiency with computers made her an asset around the studio. I was answering emails from dealers, from art advisers, curatorsreally just thrown in there," she remembers. In her teens, she graduated to stretching canvases and helping with shipping and logistics. She got used to the convulsive snarl of the crusher and the fut-fut-fut of the blowtorch. I was very tight with the blowtorch," she says.

When the girls began taking riding lessons at an indoor ring, Chamberlain fell hard for the soaring space. (Im working in a closet," he would complain to Alexandra as he dropped her off.) He was determined to make it his next studio, but Ellen Lear, daughter of TV producer Norman Lear, who had spent years negotiating with the town to build the barn complex with a partner, wasnt selling. When it went on the market in 2013, Alexandra recalls, We knew Chamberlain was making that happensaying, My artwork needs to be here. "

During his lifetime, he never wanted to discuss the fate of his work after his death. The horse farm suddenly seemed like a fitting place to install large-scale sculpture and, at some point in the future, present a fuller picture of Chamberlains oeuvre to the public. Prudence bought the property and has been hosting visiting scholars and other art-world guests to gauge how the space could be used for exhibitionsand to test the waters, she says, mindful of the fact that some on the island might not embrace the idea.

The laissez-faire village she knew as a child has just about vanished, but the fact that Chamberlain isnt around to make his own case might be for the best, she says. Diplomacy was never his thing. I was always nervous when we were invited to a dinner at the yacht club that he would tell the hostess that he didnt like her dress or something."

Still, his perspective on the world guides their decision-making. Chamberlain was always thinking about what art is, improvising and pushing the boundaries of what is possible," she says. We are just hoping that people can sit in the space and, as they do, maybe rethink what is possible."

Like many artists of his generation, Chamberlain was loath to discuss the meaning of his work. When the Museum of Modern Art acquired his crushed-metal wall sculpture Essex in 1960his first piece to enter a public collectionChamberlain responded to a two-question museum form as follows:

Subject? It is itself."

Significance? For a better understanding look at it."

View Full Image A First Look Inside the Studio of an Art-World Giant

View Full Image A First Look Inside the Studio of an Art-World Giant

View Full Image A First Look Inside the Studio of an Art-World Giant

View Full Image A First Look Inside the Studio of an Art-World Giant

View Full Image A First Look Inside the Studio of an Art-World Giant

View Full Image A First Look Inside the Studio of an Art-World Giant

View Full Image A First Look Inside the Studio of an Art-World Giant

View Full Image A First Look Inside the Studio of an Art-World Giant

View Full Image A First Look Inside the Studio of an Art-World Giant

View Full Image A First Look Inside the Studio of an Art-World Giant
(Tiempo de lectura: 4 - 7 minutos)

The House of Representatives on Oct. 3, 2023, did something that had never been done before in the nations history: It ousted the speaker of the House . Kevin McCarthy, a California Republican, lost his job in a vote of 216 to 210. To look deeper than the surface machinations, The Conversation U.S. spoke with political scientist Charles R. Hunt at Boise State University.

He offers a sense of what this historic development might mean for the government at the moment, as well as for American democracy over the longer term.

What does the ouster say about the Houses ability to function, such as to pass a new budget in the next 45 days?

Its important to remember what the purpose of the speaker of the House is: to literally speak for the entire House, to guide legislation through. Its an unruly chamber of 435 members.

So what you need, ideally, is someone who has the trust of the chamber  particularly of their own party, since the majority party at least traditionally has unilateral control over the business of the House. So both trust and party discipline are conducive to a smoothly functioning legislative process.

When Americans think of a functioning democracy, they might think of bills getting passed on time, of Congress getting things done. But voters of all party affiliations are frustrated by the gridlock here, particularly over the past decade or two.

The interesting thing about this situation with the speakership is that gridlock has traditionally been between the two parties. Right now, its within one party.

Do House members want to do what the public wants them to do  get things done?

Americans say they dont want to be focusing on these fights. But there are members of Congress for whom these fights are really important to how they represent  like Florida Republican Matt Gaetz  who hail from very Republican districts and have staked their reputations on fighting establishment figures in their own party like Kevin McCarthy. Likewise, many Democrats back in 2019 or 2020, when they held the majority in the House, felt they had a responsibility to their mostly Democratic constituents to bring the fight to President Donald Trump.

For some in the GOP, there is also this ideology of smaller government, less spending, lowering the national debt  the more typical conservative Republican priorities. They are not new, but there is now this sense that being anti-establishment, and trying to wield power to its greatest possible extent, is a goal in itself.

Some voters have looked at how the House has operated over the past couple of decades and thought, we dont want any more of that. So they are willing to put their trust in the hands of some of these people who want to, figuratively at least, burn the place down  even if there is no clear exit strategy for what happens next. The lack of a plan after McCarthys ouster seems to show that obstruction is kind of the point.

How can people understand these events in the context of Americas system of representative democracy?

Gaetz has been saying he doesnt like the process, that he wants to go back to regular order, in which budget proposals are voted on separately, instead of in huge omnibus spending bills. He and others just see that the way the House is conducting its business is not working. In Congress, those concerns are mainly coming from the far left and far right. They relate to the increasing polarization in this country, and Congress mirrors that growing division.

Democrats are getting more progressive, and Republicans in particular are getting more conservative over time. This is in part because districts are becoming more and more safe for one party or the other. So the average district is less likely to produce a moderate member of Congress. That increases the influence of party primaries. The voters who participate in these elections tend to be pretty ideologically extreme Republicans and Democrats who dont want to see their representatives working with the other side.

And the more polarized the country gets, the more you see this element of negative partisanship, where a representatives voters are more driven by how much their candidate is willing to fight against the other side, rather than how much theyre getting done for their own side.

Why isnt this kind of drama happening in the Senate?

The cultures of the two institutions are really different, even today. George Washington is said to have described the House as a cup of hot tea that was going to overflow with the passions of the common people, and the Senate would be the saucer that would catch that overflow.

This session, both institutions are living up to those reputations.

The first reason is that House districts are smaller. They can be drawn in very specific ways and gerrymandered and are more subject to geographic sorting, so you end up with really extreme districts, politically.

Whereas in the Senate, they represent whole states. They typically have to represent a lot more people than a House district, a much broader constituency. That can lead to adopting a more consensus-driven tone.

The rules of the Senate are also much more consensus-driven. Rules like the filibuster and Unanimous Consent Agreements can force more moderate senators to work together to reach a kind of consensus.

Plus, because its a smaller body, there is generally more collegiality. These senators know each other better, and so even between the parties you get people teaming up on legislative proposals a lot more often.

Finally, Senate leadership is less powerful. Mitch McConnell, when he was the majority leader, wielded a great amount of procedural power, and Chuck Schumer does now, but much less than the speaker does in the House. This creates a lot of the friction in the House between leadership and rank and file that you dont typically see in the Senate.

What are the key differences that help explain how these different House members are behaving?

This is the big question Americans ask: Why on Earth does Congress do any of the things it does?

It may not seem like it, but members of Congress have incentives for doing what they do. There are the incentives of Congress as a whole. There are the incentives of the two parties, which is why they meet in their conferences and caucuses to strategize.

But individual members also face very different pressures in their different districts, even if theyre in the same party. Consider Gaetz, whose district Trump won by almost 40 points. He faces no serious challenge in a general election against a Democrat because its mostly Republicans in the district. The only race that really matters in this district is the primary.

By contrast, think of a moderate Republican from New York in a district that Joe Biden won by four or five points. This person understands that to get reelected, they need some critical mass of independents and maybe even some Democrats to support them.

Ultimately, the only constituency that any member of Congress must be responsive to is the one in their district. In political science, we call it dyadic representation. Its a pairing, a dialogue, between a member and their constituents. And that is ultimately what they are thinking about, or, at least, they should be thinking about if they want to get reelected. This is how you get these divergent approaches to governing.

Charles R. Hunt, Assistant Professor of Political Science, Boise State University

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license.
Chinas largest semiconductor maker has been declared a Chinese military supplier by the Pentagon, blacklisted by the Commerce Department and added to a Treasury Department list banning Americans from trading its shares.

Still, its business with the U.S. is booming.

Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp. last year grabbed a record $1.5 billion in revenuea fifth of its overall salesfrom American semiconductor-design companies that hire SMIC to make their chips. In May, droves of U.S. semiconductor industry executives packed a celebratory opening of the Chinese state-backed companys office in Irvine, Calif.

I still hope that one day we will see SMIC will build a fab right here in the United States," said Roawen Chen, a senior vice president at the chip-design company Qualcomm, referring to a chip-making plant. His comment drew applause from the crowd and a thank you" from SMICs co-chief executive, according to a video of the event.

The comment was made in jest, a Qualcomm spokeswoman said. The video was originally posted on YouTube by an events company, and, after The Wall Street Journal inquired about it, the settings were changed to restrict who could view it.

Despite being blacklisted, SMIC plays an integral role in the U.S. semiconductor industry, with the Commerce Department, which administers export controls, granting licenses to the American companies to work with the Chinese company. That dynamic puts SMIC at the center of a debate over where to draw the line between protecting U.S. national security and doing business with China.

SMIC is a linchpin in Chinas ambitions to build a leading semiconductor industry and end reliance on imports. The company churns out older generations of chips and buys significant amounts of specialized chip-making machinery from the U.S. But SMIC aspires to join the sectors advanced ranksa goal U.S. restrictions are meant to hobble.

Security hawks, including influential members of Congress, argue that current U.S. restrictions are porous. By allowing SMIC access to American technology, know-how and money, they say, the U.S. is helping the company acquire cutting-edge capabilities and produce chips that Chinas military could use to fight the U.S. and its allies.

The Biden administration counters that the restrictions keep leading technologies out of the hands of SMIC, and that the U.S. should balance national security with allowing other business to go unimpeded.

Both camps got a jolt in recent weeks when Huawei Technologiesanother blacklisted Chinese companyreleased a new smartphone that industry analysts say is powered by an advanced chip made by SMIC. While SMIC hasnt said how it produced the 7-nanometer chip, it is the kind of breakthrough the U.S. controls were designed to forestall.

In the aftermath, the Republican heads of four House committees scolded the Commerce Department for not closing loopholes in restrictions and urged full blocking sanctions" on SMIC and Huawei.

The circumstances before us demonstrate the need for additional pressure and more effective export controls on our adversaries," they wrote in a letter to the department.

Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo told a congressional panel last month that she was upset when she learned about the new phone. She added that the U.S. doesnt have evidence SMIC can make the chip in quantity.

The Commerce Department is working to obtain more information on the character and composition of the purported 7nm chip as well as whether the capability exists for such chips to be produced at scale," an agency spokesman said in response to questions. Export controls are just one tool in the U.S. governments toolbox to address the national security threats presented by" China.

SMIC first fell in the crosshairs of the Trump administration, which in 2020 designated the chip maker a Chinese military company and placed it on the Commerce Departments entity list, subjecting it to export controls. Last year the Biden administration tightened those restrictions.

None of Washingtons various measures bars U.S. companies from doing business with SMIC. While the Commerce Departments entity list is often called a blacklist," being listed doesnt prohibit transactions with the company. Rather, it requires U.S. companies to seek licenses from the department to sell to the listed entities.

The department has granted plenty. It approved U.S. companies requests to sell tens of billions of dollars of goods to SMIC from Nov. 9, 2020, through April 20, 2021, according to normally nonpublic Commerce Department data that was released by Congress in 2021.

SMIC didnt respond to requests for comment.

Aside from Qualcomm, SMIC customers who attended its Irvine office-opening party included Silicon Labs, Monolithic Power Systems and MaxLinear. Those companies didnt respond to requests for comment.

SMIC has built its business over the years by making older-generation chips at lower cost and with thinner profit margins than many of its competitors. It is aided, according to analysts, by Chinese government subsidies. SMIC had a 20% gross profit margin in its most recent quarter, compared with over 50% for Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., the worlds largest contract chip maker.

SMICs revenue from U.S. customers has climbed over the years and reached a record last year, although its sales are on pace to fall this year in the midst of a slowdown in big markets for chips including personal computers and smartphones.

U.S. semiconductor designers and toolmakers have long said that doing business with Chinese entities such as SMIC helps their bottom lines, and that enables them to invest in making further advances. These companies have also said that they arent hurting national security because they dont sell SMIC the most-advanced equipment nor rely on it to execute the most cutting-edge designs.

U.S. officials have designed China technology policy around those same premises. In response to reports that SMIC produced the advanced chip in the Huawei phone, national security adviser Jake Sullivan said the administrations approach wouldnt change.

What it tells us, regardless, is that the United States should continue on its course of a small yard, high fence set of technology restrictions focused narrowly on national-security concerns, not on the broader question of commercial decoupling," said Sullivan at a recent media briefing. That is where our emphasis has been. That is where it is going to continue, sort of, regardless of the outcome."

James Mulvenon, the author of a report that prompted the U.S. to blacklist SMIC in 2020, said the governments narrow focus on protecting the most-advanced chips while leaving SMICs older chipswhich have many defense applicationslargely unscathed is problematic.

SMICs sales of less-advanced chips also enable the company to generate revenue to fund the development of more-advanced chips, said Mulvenon, a defense contractor and China technology analyst.

It is not an exaggeration to predict that allowing SMIC to remain highly profitable and heavily engaged in cutting-edge R&D over the coming years could materially alter the odds that the U.S. prevails in a hypothetical military conflict with China," Mulvenon wrote in a recent report on SMIC.

To make the new chip, SMIC used inferior machinery since export restrictions prevented it from accessing the latest lithography tools, according to Dan Hutcheson, vice chair of TechInsights, a semiconductor-analysis company that examined the phone and chip.

It is a great geopolitical challenge to the countries who have sought to restrict [Chinas] access to critical manufacturing technologies. The result may likely be even greater restrictions than what exist today," he wrote in a post about the findings.

Sarah Krouse contributed to this article.

Write to Kate OKeeffe at kathryn.okeeffe@wsj.com and Asa Fitch at asa.fitch@wsj.com

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Google has launched its highly anticipated Pixel 8 Series at the 2023 Made by Google event. Tech fans worldwide had been eagerly awaiting this release since the introduction of the Pixel 7 series. Interestingly, Apple launched the iPhone 15 Pro on September 12, 2023. If you are trying to decide between these two major tech companies, here is a comparison for you between Google Pixel 8 and iPhone 15 Pro to decide which smartphone you should consider buying.

Display

The Google Pixel 8 Pro features a 6.70-inch Super Actua display with an impressive 120Hz refresh rate, offering up to 1,600 nits of brightness for HDR content and a peak brightness of up to 2,400 nits.

In contrast, the Apple iPhone 15 Pro comes with a slightly smaller 6.10-inch touchscreen display that also supports a smooth 120Hz refresh rate and boasts a high resolution of 1179x2556 pixels.

Performance

The Google Pixel 8 Pro is driven by the Google Tensor G3 processor, paired with 12GB of RAM to enable seamless multitasking. It also incorporates the Titan M2 security coprocessor.

On the other hand, the Apple iPhone 15 Pro is equipped with a hexa-core Apple A17 Pro processor and 8GB of RAM, ensuring responsive and speedy performance

Cameras

The Google Pixel 8 Pro comes equipped with a triple rear camera system comprising a 50-megapixel primary camera, a 48-megapixel Quad PD ultrawide camera with auto-focus capabilities, and a 48-megapixel Quad PD telephoto camera. For selfies, it features a 10.5-megapixel dual PD front camera.

In comparison, the Apple iPhone 15 Pro boasts a triple rear camera setup that includes a 48-megapixel primary camera, a 12-megapixel ultra-wide-angle camera, and another 12-megapixel camera. The front-facing camera on the iPhone 15 Pro is also 12-megapixels.

Operating system

The Google Pixel 8 Pro operates on the most recent Android 14 operating system, providing access to the latest features and updates, including a commitment to seven years of OS, security, and feature drop updates.

Conversely, the Apple iPhone 15 Pro runs on iOS 17, delivering the distinctive Apple user experience.

Storage Options

The Google Pixel 8 Pro offers three storage choices, which include 128GB, 256GB, and 512GB, catering to your needs for apps, photos, and larger files.

Meanwhile, the Apple iPhone 15 Pro provides a range of storage options, including 128GB, 256GB, 512GB, and an expansive 1TB for users requiring ample storage capacity.

Connectivity

The Google Pixel 8 Pro provides support for Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax, GPS, and USB Type-C, along with 5G connectivity on both SIM cards.

In contrast, the Apple iPhone 15 Pro includes Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n/ac/ax, GPS, Bluetooth v5.30, NFC, USB Type-C, and 5G connectivity, with active 4G available on both SIM cards.

Price

The iPhone 15 Pro begins at a price of $1,099 in the US and Rs. 1,34,900 for the 128GB variant. Meanwhile, the Google Pixel 8 Pro is $100 more affordable than the iPhone 15 Pro, with a starting price of $999 in the US and Rs. 1,06,999 in India. It is exclusively available for purchase on Flipkart, and preorders are currently open.

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A handful of assistant U.S. attorneys in the Southern District of New York have come to work for much of the past year to do something that many people around the world can only dream about: They get to make the case against Sam Bankman-Fried.

They have been strategizing for the trial that began this week since before he was in handcuffs.

Few cases as sprawling as this one have come together as swiftly. Bankman-Fried was indicted last year, weeks after the implosion of his cryptocurrency exchange, FTX, on charges that he orchestrated what the government called one of the biggest financial frauds in American history." He pleaded not guilty to the seven counts of criminal fraud and conspiracy at the heart of his trial.

To find out how the prosecutors do their jobs, and how they have been preparing for this trial, I called a bunch of expert witnesses: former SDNY lawyers who have been in their position before.

The assistant U.S. attorneys responsible for every aspect of this case spent the months after his indictment combing through millions of pages of documents. That part of the job is necessary drudgery. They have to perform on the stage of the courtroom, but they also have to be precise behind the scenes, and the only way to select the right exhibits for a trial is to scale a mountain of paperwork first.

The next phase of case preparation is less about paper than people. The governments star witnesses do not exactly scream credibility: They are crypto traders who pleaded guilty to criminal fraud. But prosecutors are used to getting deep inside the heads of witnesses, and they trust them only after spending a whole lot of time with them. For a witness whos going to be on the stand for a day, it could be approaching 100 hours," said Rachel Maimin, a partner at Lowenstein Sandler. Its really a process of making sure you know absolutely everything they know."

The fun parts of trial prep are the mock cross-examinations in which SDNY prosecutors not involved with the case play defense attorneys and grill the witnesses. The brutal part is when the assistant U.S. attorneys rehearse their opening statements in moot court and get ripped apart by their own colleagues so they can make a good first impression when it counts. But plotting out the last words the jury will hear from the government is the essential part.

The closing statement is the final opportunity for the lead prosecutors to drive home their message: Heres why this guy is guilty. Theyre thinking about what to say and how to say it long before they step in the courtroom.

To map out the trial," said Jordan Estes, a partner at Kramer Levin, you should be thinking about your closing statement from the time you charge your case."

Having a rough idea of the closing statement helps them shape their material into a compelling, accessible story for the dozen people in the lower Manhattan courtroom who matter. The only thing worse than boring the jurors is confusing them. So prosecutors have two equally important goals when theyre building a case like this one, said Rebecca Mermelstein, a partner at OMelveny & Myers. Proving the elements of the crime," she said, and creating a coherent, understandable, corroborated narrative for the jury."

They can tell jurors that this case is simply old-fashioned fraud with a newfangled asset. It may involve crypto, but its not about crypto. Billions of dollars in customer deposits are missing! Bankman-Fried stole other peoples money to enrich himself, stake his investments and fund his pet causes and political contributions. Or at least thats how the governments lawyers frame the charges.

Bankman-Frieds lawyers are telling a different story. They say that he was acting in good faith, and while he may have been a poor manager who made serious mistakes, he wasnt a thief and didnt intend to defraud anyone. His defense attorneys told jurors this week that the government is portraying him as a cartoonish villain.

The case will likely be decided by three people who were close to Bankman-Fried, especially Caroline Ellison, who was both the chief executive of his trading firm and his ex-girlfriend. (Its complicated.) The evidence that she provided the government includes handwritten notes from meetings and one list called Things Sam Is Freaking Out About."

But freaking out is not a criminal offense. Fraud is.

The challenge for the prosecutors is making that distinction. Theyre under intense pressure to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that SBF was not just careless and reckless but that he acted with intent to defraud customers, investors and lenders.

One of the curious parts of this trial is how much the public already knows about its main characters. There is the defendant whose rumpled T-shirts, cargo shorts and sneakers have been replaced by suits, jumpsuits and shoes with no laces. There are his parents, the Stanford law professors. There are the members of his inner circle and roommates in his Bahamas penthouse who flipped on him.

Much less is known about the SDNY prosecutors overseeing SBFs case from start to finish. Hes famous. Theyre faceless. But nobody will play a more influential role in his trial than the governments lawyers, the people representing The People, even if everybody is paying attention to the defendant sitting behind them.

The team is led by Nicolas Roos and Danielle Sassoon, both talented assistant U.S. attorneys with experience on high-profile investigations.

Roos went to Stanford Law School when Joseph Bankman and Barbara Fried were beloved professors on campus, and he took classes down the street from the home where Bankman-Fried spent house arrest. Last year, Roos helped prosecute Trevor Milton, the founder of the electric-truck startup Nikola, who was convicted of fraud by a jury. FTX collapsed one month later, and Roos had another case.

Sassoon worked at Kirkland & Ellis and clerked in the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals and Supreme Court for Antonin Scalia. When the late justice asked what prepared her to excel at Yale Law School, she credited the Jewish high school where she studied Talmud. As a clerk, she learned how to wield Scalias favorite weapons: guns and language. He taught Sassoon how to fire a pistol and the closest he came to yelling at her was over an unconscionable choice of words. Never use the word impact as a verb in one of my opinions," he told her.

The prosecutors in the Southern District of New York are known for aggressively policing Wall Street, and they recently began targeting newer financial markets like the crypto industry. This case went to the specialized unit that handles securities fraud, which is sometimes called the the exit lounge," given how often the divisions lawyers on government salaries leave for lucrative white-collar work at white-shoe firms.

But the question on the minds of everyone following Bankman-Frieds trial is one that not even the mighty SDNY can answer: Is he going to take the stand?

Most white-collar defendants are advised not to testify, but this one treats conventional legal advice the way he once looked at a hair brush. Bankman-Fried pushed the limits of his release conditions until his bail was revoked by the judge who will sentence him if hes convicted. Now, instead of huddling with his attorneys for as long as he likes into the night, Bankman-Fried is shuttling back to a Brooklyn detention center. Being in jail is a huge setback for someone who couldnt afford one. The odds were already stacked against Bankman-Fried: 0.3% of criminal defendants charged by SDNY went to trial and were acquitted last year.

Thats why testifying is less risky than it sounds and wouldnt be one of his worst ideas. This is a situation where the defense may have to play some offense.

Raising doubts about the prosecutions case is safer than telling another story and making jurors decide if they believe the United States of America or Sam Bankman-Fried. But if hes getting pummeled and has nothing to lose, taking the stand is a courtroom Hail Mary: his last, best chance to win. Or, as he might put it, the move that maximizes expected value is testifying, not remaining silent.

Also, hes already told anyone willing to listen that hes innocent. Why not a jury that has to listen? Maybe someone who talked his way into billions of dollars in funding can talk his way out of decades in prison.

Theres never a time when the jury is more on the edge of their seat than when a defendant testifies," Estes said. As a prosecutor, youre on the edge of your seat, too. It was always something that made me incredibly nervous before it happened because its a real unknown."

And there is one more time when the government lawyers who have carefully planned every step of a trial dont know what someone might say next. Its when the verdict is read.

The prosecutors will know if they were successful at the same time as the defendant.

Write to Ben Cohen at ben.cohen@wsj.com

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Hand grenades are designed to be thrown, so they are light. But when they are dropped from drones , this can be a drawback. With a typical weight of just 300 grams, grenades are short on killing power", says a man nicknamed Lyosha", who is an amateur weapons-maker based in Kyiv. After one goes off, he says, targeted Russian soldiers often just keep running".

Three months ago Lyosha and a group of friends, working in their homes, designed an alternative: an 800-gram anti-personnel bomb called the Zaychyk", or Rabbit". The group uses 3D printing to produce the bombs casing, before sending it to be filled with C4, an explosive, and pieces of steel shrapnel. In tests, Lyosha says, this shrapnel cuts into wooden planks like butter".

Necessity is the mother of invention, and the Zaychyk is but one example of the sorts of lethal innovation that have sprung up in Ukraine in the 17 months since Russias invasion. Stocks of many factory-built munitions have shrunk as the fighting has worn on. But raw explosives remain plentiful. That has helped create an amateur arms industry devoted to supplying soldiers at the front with improvised weapons to use against Russian troops.

Lyoshas team prints the plastic shells of around 1,000 candy bombs," as these improvised explosive devices have come to be known, every week. But the Ukrainian officer who acts as the teams military contact wants 1,500 a day, says ADV", the nom de guerre of a second member of the group. Another set of amateurs, the Druk (Print") Army, has churned out more than 30,000 candy bombs in the past four months. Swat", their leader, says that the production rate is growing. And still more come from beyond Ukraines borders. Janis Ozols is the founder of the Latvia chapter of the Wild Bees, a group of volunteer weaponsmiths from outside Ukraine. He reckons at least 65,000 bomb shells have been shipped from Europe since November 2022. (Ukrainian customs officials have turned a blind eye, classing such shipments as childrens toys or candle-holders.)

Improvised munitions are not a direct replacement for the factory-made sort. But they have advantages. For one thing, they are cheap. Emanuel Zmudzinski, a Wild Bees volunteer in Lodz, Poland, makes the componentsa nose cone, body and tail finfor a 27cm-tall model called the Big Egg for less than 3.50 ($3.85), not including the explosive contents, on a 3D printer that cost around $1,200. With no need to retool production lines, candy bombs can be readily produced in different sizes. That helps drone operators make the best use of a given models payload capacity.

Clever innovations have rendered the bombs surprisingly effective. Those designed to kill infantry incorporate a central cylinder into which explosives are packed. The space around it is filled with metal fragments, which will be hurled outward when the bomb detonates. In the early days many bombs used nails as shrapnel. But tests (which involved blasting the shrapnel into sheets of wood) revealed a shortcoming. The heat from the blast was partially vaporising the nails.

Bigger pieces of scrap are not vaporised, and so cause more grievous wounds. But irregular chunks of metal have unpredictable aerodynamics. Many were being flung either upwards, away from the target, or down into the grounda waste, says ADV. Ball bearings are now preferredthough they are not cheap, and are in short supply. Diuk", a Ukrainian serviceman in Donetsk, a region partially occupied by Russian forces, says 5kg candy bombs are now killing exposed infantry 20 metres from where they land.

Bomb techies hope to extend the kill radius still further. Some candy shops" use software to model the killing potential of different shrapnel types and mounting angles relative to the charge, says one soldier in Kyiv with knowledge of their efforts. ChatGPT, an AI language model, is also queried for engineering tips (suggesting that the efforts of OpenAI, ChatGPTs creator, to prevent these sorts of queries are not working).

Some candy bombs can even be used against armoured vehicles. Copper and aluminium are pressed inside these bombs into a specially designed cone shape. When the explosives detonate, the metals are transformed into a thin jet of superheated plasma that can bore its way through armour. (The same technique is used by many commercially made anti-tank weapons.) Ukrainian drone operators claim to be able to destroy Russian tanks by dropping these bombs, which weigh around half a kilo, onto the vehicles roof, where the armour is thinner.

Diuk, the Ukrainian soldier in Donestk, reckons that his countrys military drones now drop around 200 different types and sizes of candy bombs. That is testament to their makers creative enthusiasm. But it also complicates supply lines, with components coming from several different workshops. An effort is therefore under way to reduce the variety of bombs and to standardise their production, says Mr Ozols, the Wild Bees organiser. An industry of amateurs is becoming more professional by the day.

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Bitcoin and a decentralized society are closely intertwined. Bitcoin is a decentralized digital currency that is not subject to the control of any government or financial institution. This makes it a valuable tool for building a decentralized society, in which power and authority are distributed among individuals and groups, rather than being concentrated in the hands of a few.

Bitcoin can be used to promote a decentralized society in a number of ways. First, it can be used to create new economic opportunities. Bitcoin allows people to send and receive money without having to go through a bank or other financial institution. This can help people in developing countries or in countries with unstable currencies to access financial services. Second, Bitcoin can be used to build decentralized financial systems. For example, Bitcoin can be used to create decentralized exchanges, which allow people to trade Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies without having to go through a centralized intermediary. Third, Bitcoin can be used to build decentralized applications (dapps). Dapps are applications that are built on top of the Bitcoin blockchain. They can be used to create a variety of decentralized services, such as decentralized social media networks and decentralized voting systems.

Bitcoin is still a relatively new technology, but it has the potential to play a major role in building a decentralized society. By providing a decentralized currency and a platform for building decentralized applications, Bitcoin can help to create a more just and equitable world for all.

Here are some specific examples of how Bitcoin is being used to promote a decentralized society:

Bitcoin is being used to provide financial services to people in developing countries and in countries with unstable currencies. For example, the Bitcoin micropayment platform Bitrefill allows people to use Bitcoin to purchase mobile phone airtime and other prepaid services in over 170 countries.

For example, the Bitcoin micropayment platform Bitrefill allows people to use Bitcoin to purchase mobile phone airtime and other prepaid services in over 170 countries. Bitcoin is being used to build decentralized financial systems. For example, the decentralized exchange Uniswap allows users to trade Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies without having to go through a centralized intermediary.

For example, the decentralized exchange Uniswap allows users to trade Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies without having to go through a centralized intermediary. Bitcoin is being used to build decentralized applications (dapps). For example, the dapp Aragon is a decentralized organization platform that allows users to create and manage decentralized organizations.

Bitcoin is a powerful tool for building a decentralized society. It provides a decentralized currency and a platform for building decentralized applications. By using Bitcoin, we can create a more just and equitable world for all.

Building a decentralized society is a complex and challenging task, but it is one that is worth pursuing. A decentralized society is one in which power and authority are distributed among individuals and groups, rather than being concentrated in the hands of a few. This can lead to a number of benefits, including greater individual freedom, more economic opportunity, and a more just and equitable society.

There are a number of different ways to build a decentralized society. One approach is to use technology to create new systems and institutions that are decentralized by design. For example, blockchain technology can be used to create decentralized financial systems, decentralized social media networks, and decentralized voting systems.

Another approach to building a decentralized society is to change the way that we think about power and authority. We need to move away from the traditional model of top-down governance and towards a model of bottom-up governance. This means empowering individuals and communities to make their own decisions and to manage their own affairs.

Here are some specific things that can be done to build a decentralized society:

Develop and support decentralized technologies. Blockchain technology, decentralized storage networks, and other decentralized technologies can be used to create new systems and institutions that are more democratic and equitable.

Blockchain technology, decentralized storage networks, and other decentralized technologies can be used to create new systems and institutions that are more democratic and equitable. Promote decentralized governance. This means empowering individuals and communities to make their own decisions and to manage their own affairs. It also means reducing the power of centralized institutions, such as governments and corporations.

This means empowering individuals and communities to make their own decisions and to manage their own affairs. It also means reducing the power of centralized institutions, such as governments and corporations. Support decentralized education and culture. This means promoting a culture of critical thinking and self-reliance. It also means creating decentralized educational institutions that are free from government and corporate control.

This means promoting a culture of critical thinking and self-reliance. It also means creating decentralized educational institutions that are free from government and corporate control. Build decentralized communities. This means creating communities of people who are committed to the principles of decentralization. These communities can provide support and resources to each other and can work together to build a better future.

Building a decentralized society is a long-term project, but it is one that is worth pursuing. By working together, we can create a more just and equitable world for all.

Shayne Heffernan
Georgia state Senate to start its own inquiry of the troubled Fulton County jail in Atlanta

A Georgia state Senate committee says it will start its own investigation of jail conditions in the states most populous county
Cruise ship Resorts World One, operated by Saigontourist Travel Service Co., Ltd.s branch in Da Nang, on October 4 brought over 1,700 international tourists to the central city. (Photo: toquoc.vn)

The holidaymakers, including those from the UK, Canada and Malaysia, are scheduled to visit famous destinations in Da Nang like Ba Na Hills, Son Tra Peninsula, Linh Ung Pagoda, Ngu Hanh Son (Marble Mountains) and Museum of Cham Sculpture, as well as some others in the neighbouring province of Quang Nam, including UNESCO-recognised Hoi An ancient city and My Son Sanctuary.

The Da Nang Department of Tourism has sent documents to relevant agencies, asking them to coordinate in ensuring security and safety for the visitors during their trip in the city.

Statistics showed that in the first nine months of this year, Da Nang welcomed more than 5.8 million visitors, a 2.1-fold rise from the figure recorded in the same period last year, of them 1.6 million are foreigners, a 5.9-fold increase.

Cruise ship Resorts World One (Source: VOV)

The city earned some 17.37 trillion VND (710.86 million USD) from the sector during the reviewed period, up 38.3%.

To boost local tourism, Da Nang has stepped up promotion activities in such promising markets as India and the Republic of Korea (RoK), and improved service quality by installing a QR Code system at various tourist sites and airports to assess the satisfaction of visitors.

Tour of Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee headquarters attracts visitors

According to VOV, tours exploring the headquarters of the Peoples Committee and Peoples Council of Ho Chi Minh City, a 114-year-old national architectural and artistic building, has attracted a huge number of local and foreign visitors.

Local and foreign tourists visit the headquarters of Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee (Photo: baotintuc.vn)

According to the southern citys Department of Tourism, as of October 1 the tour has welcomed nearly 5,000 domestic and international visitors.

The number of foreign holidaymakers keen on the programme has steadily been increasing, the department added.

Most notably, from now until December, visitors will not only have the chance to view some parts of the building and be given information about the history, architectural highlights, and function of the building, but they will be able to visit several exhibitions featuring beautiful landscapes. In addition, the exhibit will showcase the friendliness of local people through unique images.

Local people and visitors will be able to register a trip visiting the municipal People's Committee headquarters building at travel agents, the website www.visithcmc.vn, or by scanning the QR code.

Visitors of the tour (Source: plo.vn)

The headquarters of the Peoples Committee of Ho Chi Minh City, previously known as the HCM City Hall or L'Hotel de Ville, is one of the most ancient architectures in the southern metropolis.

It was built from 1898 to 1909 and was designed by the French architect Femand Gardes, drawing inspiration from the bell tower style in Northern France. Since 1975 the site has been the workplace of the Peoples Committee of Ho Chi Minh City.

The Peoples Committee Building of Ho Chi Minh City was first recognised as a national architectural relic back in 2020.

Vietjet opens five new international routes

Budget carrier VietjetAir has opened five new international routes, including Hanoi-Hong Kong (China), Phu Quoc-Taipei (China) and Busan of the Republic of Korea, and Ho Chi Minh City- Adelaide and Perth of Australia in a bid to fully meet passengers travel demands, reported VOV.

Vietjet opens five new international routes (Source: VOV)

According to the additions, the routes connecting Hanoi and Hong Kong (China) will be launched from December 22, with seven return flights running each week.

The flights will depart from Hanoi at 8:55 a.m. and arrive in Kochi at 11:50 a.m. (local time), while those from Hong Kong (China) to Hanoi will take off at 12:50 p.m. (local time) and land at 13:50 p.m.

Hanoi is the fourth Vietnamese city to be linked by air with Hong Kong (China) by Vietjet, after Ho Chi Minh City, Da Nang, and Phu Quoc.

The routes connecting Phu Quoc and Busan of the Republic of Korea will open to serve passengers from December 10, with seven return flights running per week, while the routes connecting Phu Quoc and Taipei (China) will be operational from January 17 with four return flights per week on every Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday.

Specifically, the route connecting Ho Chi Minh City and both Perth and Adelaide in Australia, will run five return flights per week.

Flights from Ho Chi Minh City will take off at 6:35 a.m. (local time) before landing in Perth at 14:20 p.m. (local time), and then continue to Adelaide, where flights will land at 21:10 p.m. (local time) on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Sundays.

In the opposite direction, flights departing from Adelaide at 7:25 a.m. (local time) will land in Perth at 8:55 (local time). From there they will depart from Perth at 9:55 a.m. (local time) and land in Ho Chi Minh City at 15:40 p.m. (local time) on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays.

In addition, Vietjet is also offering promotional tickets priced from zero VND (excluding taxes and fees) from October 2 to October 10.

Flight tickets on these new routes are available for purchase on the website www.vietjetair.com, the Vietjet Air mobile app, booking offices, and agents worldwide./.
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Cancer patients in Ireland can pay up to 300 in car parking fees at hospitals, according to the Irish Cancer Society.

This is an additional financial burden for cancer patients who may already be out of work.

Urgent action is also needed to address the impact of the cost of living crisis on cancer patients and their families, according to Irish Cancer Society CEO Averil Power.

The financial impact of cancer is huge. The patient themselves is usually out of work for a period, while a family member may also have to take time off to care for them. At the same time, they are hit with a wide range of extra charges. In last years Budget the Government abolished inpatient charges following a public campaign by the Irish Cancer Society. This saving of up to 800 per year for cancer patients was very welcome. However, the cost of living crisis means that patients are increasingly struggling with other costs such as hospital parking fees.

While some hospitals offer parking concessions for cancer patients, almost 2 in 5 public hospitals are hitting them with the full cost of parking. This can be up to 300 a month in some Dublin hospitals. We are doing everything we can to help and have grown our free hospital transport service by 30% this year. However, Government needs to step up and reduce hospital parking fees as promised in their Programme for Government," Ms Power said.

Longford gets set to remember much loved son Billy 'The Barber' Beahan All eyes will be firmly fixed on the Longford Arms Hotel on Saturday night as it hosts a celebratory fundraiser in remembrance of one of the county town's favourite sons.

Cancer services require 20 million in extra funding in Budget 2024 to secure better survival rates and quality of life for people with cancer," the Irish Cancer Society CEO added.

She was responding to media reports that there may be no funding for new health initiatives in next weeks Budget.

There is a real risk that cancer outcomes will go backwards if reduced spending, squeezed supply and increased demand on cancer services continues. The Irish Cancer Society is concerned that if cancer is not a priority for Government and that if the National Cancer Strategy does not receive the 20m in funding it needs, that the price paid by patients will be poorer outcomes and reduced services and support for them.

The Irish Cancer Society would like some of the 20m funding to go towards investment in the Acute Oncology Nursing Service which allows cancer patients to avoid ED when its clinically appropriate. This would reduce distress for patients, decrease the risk of them picking up an infection and reduce the pressure on overstretched ED departments.

After three years of exceptional pressure on our cancer services, cancer patients, and the staff who care for them, are particularly vulnerable at this time. Cancer is not just a Department of Health, HSE or National Cancer Control Programme issue. The needs of cancer patients and their families deserve the attention of every member of Government and every elected representative, Ms Power concluded.
An eighth man has been charged by gardai investigating the discovery of more than 2,000kg of cocaine on a bulk cargo ship off the south Irish coast last week.

A total of seven men have so far appeared before several district courts charged in relation to what Irish authorities have called Irelands largest ever drugs haul.

Cocaine with an estimated value of 160 million euro (139 million) was found on the Panamanian registered vessel MV Matthew in a major operation involving the Irish army and Gardai (Irish police).

Gardai said on Wednesday evening they had arrested and charged another man in relation to their investigation.

The man is due to appear before Midleton District Court in Co Cork on Thursday morning at 10.30am.

On Tuesday, four men appeared before Mallow District Court charged with possessing drugs on September 24 for the purpose of supplying them within the Irish State.

Cumali Ozgen, a 48-year-old with an address in the Netherlands; Saeid Hassani, a 37-year-old Iranian national; Mykhalio Gavryk, a 30-year-old Ukrainian national; and Vitaliy Vlasoi, a 31-year-old Ukrainian national, all face the same charge.

Armed Gardai were stationed outside the courthouse ahead of the accused mens appearances.

On Monday, Soheil Jelveh, a 50-year-old Iranian national of no fixed abode who has been referred to as a ship captain, appeared before Wexford District Court charged with various offences in relation to the seizure.

A total of 2,253kg of cocaine was found on the MV Matthew after members of the Irish Army Ranger Wing captured the vessel off the coast by abseiling from a helicopter.

Police believe the cocaine, seized after the dramatic military operation at sea, was destined for distribution beyond Ireland, potentially into the UK and continental Europe.

A fishing trawler that grounded off the coast of Co Wexford days before the seizure was also being monitored as part of the operation, amid suspicions it was en route to rendezvous with the cargo ship.

Two men who had been winched from that vessel also appeared before Wexford District Court on Monday.

Jamie Harbron, 31, of South Avenue, Billingham, Stockton-on-Tees in the UK, and 60-year-old Ukrainian national Vitaliy Lapa, of no fixed abode, were charged with conspiracy to import drugs.
Local News

By Chris Boyle Published: October 05 2023

For First Time, SUNY, CUNY, and More Than 40 Private Colleges and Universities Are Banding Together to Waive Application Fees During College Application Month.

Governor Kathy Hochul today announced that the State University of New York, the City University of New York, and 40 private colleges and universities in New York State will have free application opportunities for high school seniors throughout the month of October. This is the first time that SUNY, CUNY, and New Yorks private institutions will join together to waive application fees for students applying during New York State College Application Month.

"Education is the backbone of our society, and I am committed to providing opportunities that support every students journey to a higher education, Governor Hochul said. As we celebrate College Application Month in New York State, I am thrilled that SUNY, CUNY, and several of New Yorks private institutions will waive application fees. Removing financial barriers enables students who may not have considered completing an application due to financial constraints to take the first steps of their educational journey. I urge all seniors in the state to apply to at least one college this month and make the most of this unprecedented initiative.

In support of college application month, SUNY is waiving application fees across all 64 colleges and universities for two weeks beginning October 16 through October 29 and CUNY is waiving application fees across all 25 campus all month for high school seniors in New York City public schools and for all New York State residents who will apply as a freshman between October 16 and 31. CUNY has also guaranteed admissions to all seven community colleges for any student who holds a high school diploma. Fee waivers at private institutions vary by participating institution during the month.

The complete list of participating colleges and universities, information on when fees will be waived, and how to apply to each school can be found here.

HESC, SUNY, and CUNY have scheduled virtual and in-person events throughout the month to encourage students to learn more about the New York State financial aid, inform students about their college options, and assist them in completing their applications. For a list of more than 70 financial aid events hosted by HESC click here. SUNY sessions can be found here and a list of more than 100 events hosted by CUNY can be found here.

The New York State College Application Month initiative encourages high school seniors to apply for college early with a focus on students from low-income families, first-generation students, and students who may not otherwise apply for college.

October was proclaimed by the Governor as College Application Month in New York State to raise awareness of the vast higher education opportunities across New York State and to support students seeking to pursue higher education. The proclamation is available here.

In its tenth year, New York State College Application Month, which is a part of the national American College Application Campaign is coordinated by the New York State Higher Education Services Corporation in partnership with the New York State Education Department, SUNY, CUNY, the Commission on Independent Colleges and Universities, the NYC Department of Education, and community organizations throughout the state. More than 600 high schools across New York State are registered to participate in this years initiative.

President of the New York State Higher Education Services Corporation Dr. Guillermo Linares said, As we embark on College Application Month, we are reminded that higher education is a critical pathway to success, and we must break down every barrier that stands in the way of students achieving their dreams. Waived application fees provide an important tool for breaking down financial barriers and ensuring that every eligible student can realize their potential through higher education. Thank you, Governor Hochul, for declaring October as College Application Month in New York State and unlocking potential opportunities to put higher education within reach for more New Yorkers.

SUNY Chancellor John B. King, Jr. said, There is a place at SUNY for every New Yorker, and College Application Month is an opportunity for SUNY to help every high school senior find theirs. Thank you to Governor Hochul for championing the importance of public higher education and making it easier for students to apply to college. We cannot wait to welcome prospective students to SUNYs 64 campuses and show them all the places their education journey can lead.

CUNY Chancellor Felix V. Matos Rodriguez said, We are delighted to join forces with higher education institutions across New York State for College Application Month and be able to waive the CUNY application fee for tens of thousands prospective students during the month of October. We thank Governor Hochul and our partners in government for supporting this initiative, which will simplify the application process, increase support for students who dont think college is an option for them and help close the equity gap in higher education.

New York State Education Commissioner Betty A. Rosa said, For many New Yorkers, particularly those from low-income backgrounds, college application fees can be a significant financial barrier that can deter otherwise qualified students from applying to higher education institutions. On behalf of the Board of Regents and Department, Id like to thank Governor Hochul for spearheading efforts to waive application fees for students applying to our states many public and private colleges and universities this month. This levels the playing field, ensuring that all aspiring students have access and an equal opportunity to pursue their academic goals.

New York City Public Schools Chancellor David C. Banks said, We are embarking on a transformative journey with the colleges across New York State ensuring that every senior in our NYC Public Schools sees a clear path to higher education and a well-paid career. This initiative is reinforcing the message that a college education is not just a dream, but a reachable reality for all. I am ecstatic about the partnership between SUNY, CUNY and various private institutions that has made this all possible, and the doors it will open for our young people. Together, we are building a brighter future for our youth and dismantling barriers that have kept many from realizing their potential.

President of the Commission on Independent Colleges and Universities Lola W. Brabham said, On behalf of New Yorks Independent Sector, CICU is proud to support College Application Month to increase the number of students applying to college, especially first-generation students and students from traditionally underrepresented groups. New Yorks independent colleges and universities remain committed to providing access and opportunity to ensure that all students can benefit from the transformative impact of higher education.

New Yorks College Application Month is part of the national American College Application Campaign, sponsored by ACTs Center for Equity in Learning. The first College Application Day began as a pilot at a single high school in North Carolina in 2005. Since then, the program has grown to include all 50 states and the District of Columbia and, as of 2022, assisted more than 4.2 million students in submitting more than 7.3 million applications.
Chairman of the National Assemblys Committee for External Relations Vu Hai Ha (right) and Secretary of State for Scotland of the UK Alister Jack. (Photo: quochoi.vn)

Congratulating the UK on completing negotiations to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), Ha expressed his belief that the move will serve as a lever for trade growth between the two countries and bring practical benefits to their citizens in the near future.

Apart from economic and trade cooperation, he wished that the UK would continue assisting Vietnam in building institutions and policies, training workforces and transferring technology during the green transformation and sustainable development process. He also hoped that the two countries would strengthen cooperation in the field of education and training, including joint training programmes with universities in Scotland.

He expressed his hope that both sides will continue to facilitating the exchange of delegations at all levels, especially high-level delegations, while offering mutual support at multilateral forums, stepping up trade and investment cooperation, and encouraging UK firms to increase their investments in Vietnam in the fields of the UKs strength that align with Vietnam's development directions.

Via parliamentary diplomatic channels, the Vietnamese NA wishes to continue strengthening political trust, people-to-people exchanges, expanding and improving the effectiveness of all-around cooperation, sharing experience in post-pandemic economic recovery, green and sustainable growth, as well as addressing regional and global issues of mutual concern, he said.

Affirming that the CPTPP is a new-generation free trade agreement with a large scale that opens up many opportunities for bilateral cooperation, Jack wished that that both sides would further nurture ties across economic, trade, and various other sectors, contributing to deepening the Vietnam-UK strategic partnership in a more practical and effective manner.

The UK official also hoped that the Vietnamese NA and Government will continue paying attention to removing institutional barriers, thus making it easier for UK firms to do business in Vietnam./.
Crime

By Chris Boyle Published: October 05 2023

Defendant Andrew Ponton is charged with Burglary, Grand Larceny, Criminal Possession of Stolen Property and Grand Larceny.

The First Squad reports on the arrest of a Queens man for multiple Grand Larcenies that occurred between Friday, October 14, 2022 and Wednesday November 2, 2022 in Freeport.

According to Detectives, defendant Andrew Ponton, of 21428 113 Avenue, Queens Village, did unlawfully enter the Carmart Auto Group lot, located at 497 North Main Street and removed a 2017 White Ford Explorer from the premise. On Wednesday, November 2, 2022 defendant Andrew Ponton returned to the same location and during the night did remove a 2018 grey Dodge Durango and a 2018 grey Toyota Rav4.

On Monday, October 2, 2023, defendant Andrew Ponton was arrested by the NYPD for a Grand Larceny incident that occurred in New York City, and after being processed for his arrest, was rearrested by First Squad Detectives for the above listed Grand Larcenies.
(Sharecast News) - London stocks were set to rise at the open on Thursday following solid gains in the US, as investors eyed the latest initial jobless claims ahead of Friday's all-important non-farm payrolls report.

The FTSE 100 was called to open 32 points higher at 7,444.

CMC Markets analyst Michael Hewson said: "European markets stabilised somewhat yesterday, although the FTSE100 slid for the third day in succession due to a sharp slide in commodity prices, which weighed on the big caps of basic resources and energy.

"There was a respite in the big surge we've seen in bond yields, which retreated from intraday and multiyear highs after the September ADP jobs report saw its weakest monthly job gain since January 2021, of 89k.

"This stabilisation in yields helped temper the downside for US markets, with the S&P500 rebounding from its 200-day SMA, which has acted as a key support area in the past couple of trading days.

"The retreat in yields also helped US markets rebound and close higher on the day, breaking a 3-day losing streak, with the biggest decline coming with a 10-point fall in the 2-year yield.

"This rebound in US markets has translated into a rebound in Asia markets and looks set to translate into a positive start for European markets this morning."

In corporate news, tobacco giant Imperial Brands said it will buy back a further 1.1bn in shares as it announced it was on track to hit forecasts this year.

In a pre-close trading update for the fiscal year ended 30 September, the Lambert & Butlers and Golden Virginia maker said strong tobacco pricing has driven constant currency net revenue and adjusted operating profit growth.

Metro Bank was also likely to be in focus following reports it's looking to raise hundreds of millions of pounds from investors.

According to the Financial Times, which cited people with knowledge of the plan, the bank is looking to raise as much as 600m after its share price fell nearly 50% in recent weeks.

It was understood the challenger bank is in talks with investors about raising 250m in equity funding and 350mn in debt to shore up its balance sheet.
A factory of Hana Micron Vina in Bac Giang province (Photo: baoquocte.vn)

The RoK manufacturer of chip packaging and memory products told Japanese news outlet Nikkei Asia that it is currently installing equipment in its second factory in Vietnam in the northern province of Bac Giang. Its first factory was completed last year.

The plant was started to build last month on an area of six hectares, and is expected to get annual revenues of 800 million USD by 2025.

So far, Hana Micron has invested 600 million USD in Vietnam and plans to increase the figure to 1 billion USD by 2025.

Hwang Chul Min, human resource manager of Hana Micron, told Nikkei that the added investment, "Will create opportunities to attract more high-tech projects and lay the foundation for the development of the semiconductor production ecosystem."

Hana Micron plans to employ 4,000 people and co-operate with Vietnam-Korea Industrial Technical College for training and recruitment.

The producer also has a factory in Bac Ninh where it has job postings seeking staff for information technology, sourcing, and production planning, as well as searching for line workers./.
Although you may think you are now doomed to a life of living on a quarter tank of happiness, most Kiwis are not close to reaching that peak happiness dollar amount and Ive seen plenty of smiling strangers lately.
This aerial photo taken on Aug. 11, 2023 shows the Heihe-Blagoveshchensk cross-border highway bridge at the border of China and Russia. In June last year, the Heihe-Blagoveshchensk cross-border highway bridge over Heilongjiang River opened to traffic. (Xinhua/Wang Song)

A train drives on the China-Laos Railway's Luang Prabang cross-Mekong River super major bridge in Laos, May 28, 2023. The bridge, some 230 km north of Lao capital Vientiane, has a total length of 1,458.9 meters and is composed of 28 span T-beams and six spans continuous beams. It is the most difficult and most technically complex bridge on the entire railway. (Photo by Chen Chang/Xinhua)

People take souvenir photos in front of the Peljesac Bridge in Komarna, Croatia, on Aug. 29, 2023. The bridge, a project of China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), was opened for traffic on July 26 last year. (Xinhua/Li Xuejun)

This aerial photo taken on Aug. 30, 2023 shows the Maputo Bay Bridge in Maputo, Mozambique. The bridge is part of the Maputo Bridge and Link Roads project built by the China Road and Bridge Corporation. (Xinhua/Yao Jinhong)

This photo taken on Aug. 31, 2019 shows the illuminated China-Maldives Friendship Bridge in Maldives. Built with support from China, the opening of the bridge meant that for the first time, people could walk from capital Male to the neighboring island of Hulhumale. (Photo by Du Cailiang/Xinhua)

This aerial photo taken on Feb. 6, 2020 shows the Parapeti Bridge in Santa Cruz, Bolivia. The Parapeti Bridge is one of the four longest bridges of the El Espino-Charagua-Boyuibe Highway project, a flagship project within the framework of the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). (Xinhua/Xin Yuewei)

This photo taken on June 25, 2023 shows the Padma Bridge on the outskirts of Dhaka, Bangladesh. The bridge, which was undertaken by China Railway Major Bridge Engineering Group Co, Ltd. and opened to public in June 2022, ending the history of crossing the mighty Padma river between dozens of districts in southern Bangladesh and the capital of Dhaka only by ferries or boats. (Xinhua)

Editor: JYZ
BOSTON  When the Celtics elected to make the Jrue Holiday deal, they werent just giving up draft assets and players. They were also making a financial commitment when it comes to the salary cap going forward.

Holiday makes a $35 million salary, and his trade signals that the Celtics will be a second apron team this season. At the guards introductory news conference, Cs co-owner Wyc Grousbeck talked about those financial decisions.

We havent blinked at all, Grousbeck said of the second apron. I was part of the committee that put the aprons in place with the players committee and were aware of all that. Were going to be over the second I believe, Brad (Stevens), and paying those penalties and thats the way life is. But its designed also we can have more competition in the league, and were fine with competition, as long as we win.

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Since the start of the offseason  before the Celtics made significant roster changes  there were some questions on if ownership would be willing to spend to upgrade the roster. The new CBA is also restrictive to the salary cap for the sake of parity across the league, which Grousbeck pointed out. But with the Holiday and Kristaps Porzingis deals, its clear ownership is willing to spend during the Celtics title-contending window.

When it comes to the salary cap, any teams above the luxury tax of about $165.3 million are to pay financial fines distributed to non-tax paying teams. But where the other penalties start coming in are at the first apron, set for about $172.3 million this season. Where the Celtics are, above the second apron, is set at about $182.8 million. That comes with harsher penalties such as losing the taxpayer midlevel exception, not being able to include cash in a trade and more.

With the Celtics at the second apron, that means the luxury tax bill is higher while coming with other penalties. But the Cs are at that point as ownership has shown a willingness to pay a high tax bill for the sake of a contender. The Celtics now enter a crucial season with a revamped core of players with high expectations and hopes.

I remember in 2008 when that team got put together, that feeling when Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen walked in for the practice and joined everyone else, and all of a sudden, things just felt different, Grousbeck said. Paul Pierce was here today trying to bring some of that magic, and he brought a lot of joy and energy to it.
Boos by day and frights by night.

Thats the promise at Six Flags New England, which is offering a slate of seasonal fun weekends and select days through October. Costumed actors and haunted attractions aim to entertain and, hopefully, terrify, but for families who arent too keen on the scary side of Halloween, We have something for guests of all ages, said Ray Sciarretta, marketing and public relations manager for Six Flags New England.

Even if someone isnt a big fan of scares, there is a lot of fun to be had, Sciarretta said. I recommend getting some friends together to come out and make some frightfully good memories.

Family-friendly thrills await at the Kids Boo Fest, which is happening weekends through October, starting right when the park opens at noon. Boo Fest activities include a free trick-or-treat trail in Looney Tunes Movie Town, a hay maze and pallet maze for children 12 and under, pumpkin decorating and crafts, Pedal Kart racetrack, and the parks new Boo Express, a Halloween-themed kids train. Some activities, Sciarretta advised, may open later in the day.

All young parkgoers are also invited to take part in a special Boo Fest scavenger hunt, offered every time the park is open. Scavenger hunt guides can be picked up at the Boo Fest Plaza at the front of the park, Sciarretta said. The hunt will lead them around the park and can be brought back when finished for a surprise, he said.

Children are invited to wear Halloween costumes, but masks cannot be worn in the park.

The Boo Fest and all related activities are included in the cost of Six Flags admission, Sciarretta said.

Boo Fest is open during daylight hours, but when the clock strikes 6 p.m., parkgoers can expect a ghoulish show as Six Flags New England prepares to transition into its nightly Fright Fest with The Awakening.

At this performance happening nightly at 6 p.m., Mayor Slayer calls for all demons, monsters, ghosts and ghouls to join him in the park, Sciarretta said.

When the lights go down, the Fright Fest activities begin, and this year Six Flags New England is offering more than 20 terrifying attractions. This includes our new scare zones and shows, including a hypnotist show, Hypnosterics, Sciarretta said. For an added cost, guests can brave the terrors of our haunted attractions: Midnight Mansion, Terror Tales, The Aftermath, Nightmares, and Slasher Circus 3D.

Scare zones are areas set up throughout the park intended to give guests a fright with costumed actors and other surprises. There are three new scare zones this year: Necropolis: The City of the Dead, a New Orleans-inspired scare zone, will invite guests to party with the spirits of one of the most haunted cities in the world; Wasteland, where guests will be exposed to glowing radiation and the victims left behind by a toxic fallout; and Soul Harvest, filled with scarecrows and murderous farmers.

Other scare zones include the Demon District, CarnEvil, ScreamPunk, and Slaughter Hollow.

Getting all of the preparations underway for Fright Fest is no easy task, Sciarretta said, and this year more than 300 scare actors, dancers, and make-up artists have been hired. All hired actors are also required to go through Ghoul School before haunting parkgoers at Fright Fest.

Scare actors all go through Ghoul School to learn all the behind-the-scenes of the haunted attractions, how to become a terrifying ghoul, rehearse choreography for shows, and all the ins and outs of scaring, Sciarretta explained. For anyone dying for a scary good job this fall, Six Flags New England is always looking for more scare actors, he added.

While Fright Fest is included in the cost of Six Flags admission, the parks bravest guests can add on a Haunted Attraction Pass to take a tour through five special haunted houses, Sciarretta said. Haunted Attraction Passes, which can be purchased in advance online, are $25 for the general pass and $45 for the Express Pass.

Fright Fest is open weekends, Friday to Sunday, and select days through October. Six Flags will host a Last Scare Nov. 4-5 for one final weekend of thrills.
Downtown Turners Falls will be alive with arts and music on Oct. 21, as the community hosts Falls Fest 2023.

The afternoon celebration, which runs from 1 to 6 p.m., is free to all and will take place along Avenue A and adjacent streets in the town.

The music aspect of the festival will be headlined with a 4:45 pm concert by James Montgomery at Peskeomskut Park. Montgomery will be preceded there by Curly Fingers Dupree at 1:15 p.m. and Trailer Park at 3 p.m.

Over at Spinner Park, the music will be of the acoustic kind and feature Tommy Filiault at 1 p.m., Jenny Burtis at 1:50 p.m., Jim McRae at 2:40 p.m., Adelaide Fay at 3:30 p.m. and Kevin McCarthy and Bruce Richardson at 5:10 p.m. The Rendezvous, at 78 3rd St., will feature jazz from the Wes Brown Trio at 2 p.m. and local hero Stella Kola at 6 p.m. The Rendezvous will also host a festival after-party starting at 9:30 p.m.

Over at the Shea Theater Arts Center, there will be a BYOI (bring your own instrument) jam session at 6 p.m. and karaoke with DJ Kouch at 7 p.m. followed by live music and dancing with SpookAround at 7:30 p.m. Between noon and 4 p.m. The Shea will also offer a makers market with an array of craft items by local artisans, as well as an opportunity for patrons to create their own jewelry with The Curious Thimble. Storyteller Ashley Kramer will present classical myths from both the Greek and Roman tradition there at 5 p.m.

The afternoon will also have libations from several local brewers: Pioneer Valley Brewing Co., Berkshire Brewing Co., Honest Weight Brewing, Element Brewing, and Headwater Cider.

For more details about the days schedule, visit the festivals website.
Travelers board and get off a train at Jinhua Station in Jinhua, east China's Zhejiang Province, Oct. 5, 2023. A travel rush is on as the Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day holiday period is coming to an end. (Photo by Shi Kuanbing/Xinhua)

This aerial photo shows travelers going through automated gateways at the departure hall of Hengyang East Station in Hengyang, central China's Hunan Province, Oct. 5, 2023. A travel rush is on as the Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day holiday period is coming to an end. (Photo by Cao Zhengping/Xinhua)

Travelers walk out an exit at Nanjing Railway Station in Nanjing, east China's Jiangsu Province, Oct. 5, 2023. A travel rush is on as the Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day holiday period is coming to an end. (Photo by Fang Dongxu/Xinhua)

Travelers arrive at Suzhou Station in Suzhou, east China's Jiangsu Province, Oct. 5, 2023. A travel rush is on as the Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day holiday period is coming to an end. (Photo by Hang Xingwei/Xinhua)

Travelers walk at Shenzhen Airport in Shenzhen, south China's Guangdong Province, Oct. 5, 2023. A travel rush is on as the Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day holiday period is coming to an end. (Xinhua/Mao Siqian)

Travelers prepare to board a train at Hengyang East Station in Hengyang, central China's Hunan Province, Oct. 5, 2023. A travel rush is on as the Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day holiday period is coming to an end. (Photo by Cao Zhengping/Xinhua)

Travelers wait to board a train at Taizhou Station in Taizhou, east China's Jiangsu Province, Oct. 5, 2023. A travel rush is on as the Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day holiday period is coming to an end. (Photo by Tang Dehong/Xinhua)

Travelers prepare to board a train at Xishuangbanna Station of the China-Laos Railway in Jinghong City, Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Prefecture, southwest China's Yunnan Province, Oct. 5, 2023. A travel rush is on as the Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day holiday period is coming to an end. (Photo by Li Yunsheng/Xinhua)

Travelers wave goodbye to their families at Shenzhen Airport in Shenzhen, south China's Guangdong Province, Oct. 5, 2023. A travel rush is on as the Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day holiday period is coming to an end. (Xinhua/Mao Siqian)

Travelers go through automated gateways to enter Jinhua Station in Jinhua, east China's Zhejiang Province, Oct. 5, 2023. A travel rush is on as the Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day holiday period is coming to an end. (Photo by Hu Xiaofei/Xinhua)

Editor: JYZ
For many years, Adele Cutrali-Valovich has driven from Connecticut to Northampton to attend the Paradise City Arts Festival, which begins Saturday on the Three County Fairgrounds.

She will be making the trip again this year, but it will be a little different for the teacher-turned-artist, who will be exhibiting at the event.
A 21-year-old Massachusetts man accused of shooting another man from behind in May was arrested in Florida in September.

Josh Pierre, 21, of Waltham, was arrested in connection with the murder of Shelson Jules on Sept. 22, according to Middlesex District Attorney Marian Ryan and Waltham Chief of Police Kevin OConnell. Officials said he is going to be charged with charges of murder and possession of a firearm.

Around 1:30 a.m. on May 22, Pierre and a few others went to Lyman Street in Waltham to meet Jules. The two had a brief exchange before officials said Pierre fired several shots fatally hitting Jules twice from behind before fleeing the scene.

In July, police identified Pierre as the shooter but he took numerous steps to evade capture, the district attorneys office said. On Sept. 22, police found Pierre in Miramar, Florida and he was arrested.

Police previously arrested Strawensky Cebeat, 21, of Waltham, on charges of accessory after the fact to murder and withholding evidence from a criminal proceeding. He was arraigned in Waltham District Court in July and held in lieu of posting $50,000 cash bail, plus other conditions of pretrial release, according to the district attorneys office.

Pierre is scheduled to be arraigned on Friday, Oct. 6 in Waltham District Court.
A second suspect charged with murder in the deadly shooting in Holyoke on Wednesday afternoon was identified by the Hampden District Attorneys Office.

Alejandro Ramos, 22, of Holyoke, is charged with murder and other charges are expected to follow, according to James Leydon, a spokesperson for the district attorneys office. He is expected to be arraigned on Thursday morning.

He is the second suspect identified in connection with a deadly shooting that severely injured a pregnant woman and killed her newborn child shortly after being delivered at a nearby hospital, according to the district attorneys office.

Johnluis Sanchez, 30, of Holyoke was identified earlier Thursday morning as a suspect in the shooting. He remains hospitalized and is expected to be arrainged on murder and other charges when his condition allows, according to Leydon.

The office earlier stated he was expected to be arraigned on Thursday but that appears to be delayed.

The shooting took place at about 12:30 p.m. near 397 Maple St. and police have at least three suspects in custody, according to Massachusetts State Police and the district attorneys office.

Three men were involved in the altercation and a bullet struck a bus and hit an uninvolved woman who was seated in the bus, Leydon said.

The woman was pregnant and brought to a nearby hospital in critical condition. The baby was delivered and needed life-saving medical services but did not survive, Leydon said.

Leydon said the mother was in critical condition on Wednesday night but did not know her condition as of Thursday morning at 9:30 a.m.
On Wednesday, the Animal Rescue League of Boston (ARL) came to the aid of a Taunton resident who found themself unable to start their car due to a kitten which had crawled into and hid away inside the vehicles engine block.

In a news release, ARL said that two of its Field Services Department agents were quickly dispatched to the community to assist the unnamed resident who ARL added needed to use their car to get to an appointment.

The 11-week-old kitten, now named Carson, and his mother had previously been spotted by the resident in their yard, but that each time the person would go outside, the kitten would scamper away underneath their car, according to ARL.

Knowing the kitten went into the cars engine compartment and wanting the kitten safely removed, the resident contacted ARL.

Once there, the field service agents used treats to coax the kitten out of the engine block and safely trap him, ARL said. The agents then also trapped the mother cat and both animals were transported to the groups Boston Animal Care and Adoption Center, it added.

Carson, an 11-week-old kitten rescued from a car engine block in Taunton by the Animal Rescue League of Boston (ARL). Photo courtesy of ARL.

Notably, due to the quick response the car owner was able to arrive at their appointment on time, according to ARL.

Mother and baby cat will be spayed and neutered, before they will be made available for adoption, ARL noted.

ARL, a nonprofit organization founded in 1899, provides services ranging from veterinary care, adoption and rescue services, while also confronting animal cruelty and neglect through community programs, police investigations and public advocacy.

In 2022, ARL said it served 20,601 animals throughout Massachusetts.
CHICOPEE  Because it failed to reconcile its health and dental benefits, Chicopee overpaid $231,356.56 in insurance premiums for city employees and retirees who either died or resigned, according to a report the city released Tuesday.

However, Chicopee Mayor John Vieau said the city was able to recover some of the funds from insurance providers, and the amount the city lost stands at $179,826.56.

Its due to human error, Vieau said in a press conference Tuesday. I will say that the total loss was roughly 0.2% over that period, but we were able to negotiate almost all the money back from our carriers or premiums, and that is a 0.1% loss. Thats not uncommon.

The report was created by municipal staff and the citys broker, HUB International, after the city mistakenly paid out health costs for city employees who died or resigned between 2017 and 2023. City officials said the mistake occurred because its human resources department was short-staffed and high a high turnover.

After internal audits were finalized, 14 retirees and 16 former employees were identified and removed from the medical plans because they had died, according to Vieau.

The city was able to recover funds from its carriers, which includes Health New England and Blue Cross Blue Shield.

Were still trying to get more, Vieau said in a separate interview.

Although Vieau learned of the issue at the end of 2022, City Councilor and mayoral candidate Delmarina Lopez made the news public and called for an independent audit of finances in June.

Lopez said she and fellow councilors did not receive an invitation to the press conference. She said she does not have confidence in the report.

This is yet again another example of the lack of transparency and accountability from the current administration, she said in a statement. The taxpayers of the city deserve a full external audit. I have zero confidence in a report that has been drafted under the guidance of the very same administration that was not transparent to begin with.

In an effort to prevent Chicopee from repeating this error, the human resources department is looking to hire a benefits coordinator.

To date, 80 applications have been reviewed, Vieau said at the press conference.

We are looking to make a hire real soon, Vieau said. There are about 4,000 people in the city that received benefits and now those benefits can be explained by the benefits manager.

He added, Well now have another person thats involved intimately with reconciliation, so things like this never happen again.

In addition, Stephen Zajchowski, the citys new director of human resources, will be initiating new controls and operating procedures.

In addition to the hiring of a benefits coordinator, the city will use a new online platform to better explain the benefits, according to Vieau, who added the city plans to share a copy of the report with city councilors and anyone else interested in reading it.

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CHICOPEE  Police officers arrested a 35-year-old man from Manchester, New Hampshire after they determined he was driving on a suspended license.

The traffic stop occurred around 5:30 p.m. on Oct. 3, police said on Facebook.

Officers patrolling Springfield Street initiated a motor vehicle stop for a car that police said had excessively dark windows. In addition to the suspended license, the man identified as James Daniels, was found with a loaded handgun between the driver seat and center console, police said. The serial number on the firearm revealed it was stolen.

Daniels was placed under arrest and his vehicle was towed. He is charged with having nontransparent windows, operating a vehicle without a license, unlawfully possessing ammunition and a loaded, large-capacity firearm and receiving stolen property.
A divers body was found after another diver he was with was found dead at a Rockport beach Wednesday.

The two divers went diving Wednesday morning near Front Beach. Around 11 a.m. the Rockport Police Department found one man dead at Front Beach, according to the U.S. Coast Guard.

Officials then began looking for the second diver, a 70-year-old man. The Rockport Police Department, Massachusetts State Police, Coast Guard Station Gloucester, Coast Guard Air Station Cape Cod and Research Vessel Ocean Reporter participated in the search.

Around 5:30 p.m., Rockport police asked the public to avoid Front Beach until further notice, adding that there was no threat to the general public. It was reopened about an hour later.

The second diver was found around 7:15 p.m. by sonar and recovered by Massachusetts State Police, the coast guard said.

The names of the divers have not been released.
HOLYOKE  Sublime Systems has a process to make cement with an electrochemicals and without an energy-hungry kiln.

And it wants to do it in Holyoke at a $150 million plant planned for vacant industrial land on Water Street that would employ as many as 70 people.
Red Rox royalty will be at the grand opening of L.L. Beans latest location in Peabody on Friday.

L.L. Bean will open its new 20,000 square-foot store at the Northshore Mall in Peabody on Oct. 6. The store marks L.L. Beans second store to debut this year after the chains Hanover location opened in September. The Peabody location will mark the chains 11th store in Massachusetts.

Customers are invited to the stores grand opening, which will feature an immersive Red Sox experience, complete with a World Series trophy display and appearance by Wally the Green Monster from 6-8 p.m. Friday. A meet and greet with Red Sox Legend Jim Rice will also take place from 6-7 p.m.

The first 200 guests who visit the store Friday will get an L.L. Bean gift card up to $500. The first 200 guests who visit the store Saturday will get a scratch ticket for the chance to win L.L.Bean products valued up to $90. Guests can start lining up at 6 a.m. both days.

Guests will also be treated to smores and apple cider, games, photo opportunities with the iconic L.L. Bean Bootmobile and more in-store experiences.

Peabody is a gateway to outdoor activities on the North Shore  whether thats a weekend hike through Lynn Woods Reservation or a fishing excursion at one of the many nearby waterfronts, said Corey Bouyea, L.L.Bean vice president of stores and retail operations. At L.L.Bean, our purpose is to inspire and enable people to experience the restorative power of being outside, and weve designed our Peabody store to cater to the spirit of outdoor adventure that this community represents.

The stores hours will be 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Sunday. The stores address is 210 Andover St. in Peabody.

The store will employ roughly 65 team members, and the company is currently looking for people to join its team. Anyone interested in applying for jobs with L.L.Bean can visit the companys careers page.
The names of two divers, whose bodies were found several hours apart after apparently drowning off the coast of Rockport on Wednesday, have been released by officials.

Police first learned that a diver was in medical distress on Front Beach just after 11 a.m. on Oct. 4, Rockport Police Chief John Horvath said in a statement.

Bystanders, police and EMTs all quickly provided first aid to the diver before he was brought to a local hospital. The diver, later identified as 75-year-old Alan De Oliveira Leao, of Pepperell, was pronounced dead at the hospital, Horvath said.

Around 3 p.m., police learned that a second diver was unaccounted for. Crews searched the waters off Front Beach and found the second diver, identified as 78-year-old Richard Brady, of Hampton, New Hampshire.

Brady was found around 7:15 p.m. by sonar and recovered by Massachusetts State Police, the coast guard said. He was pronounced dead onsite, Horvath said.

Read More: Alejandro Ramos arraigned in Holyoke on murder charge after newborn killed

This is a tragedy for the two families who have lost their loved ones, Horvath said. We grieve with both families and send our deepest condolences.

There are no signs of foul play, the chief added. The deaths are being investigated by Rockport Police and the Massachusetts State Police Detective Unit assigned to the Essex County District Attorneys Office.
Recently, eight foreign photographers from Greece, the United States, the United Kingdom, Russia, Canada and Turkiye traveled into Shenzhen to see the development and changes in Longgang District. Ancient monuments, intangible cultural heritages, net-zero economy, university campuses, science and technology ...... what are the most impressive things in the eyes of foreign photographers? How will they introduce Longgang to their audience? Click in and check it out (GMW.cn reporter Li Wenjian, Wu Xilu)

Editor: WXL
Noreasters could dish out hefty snowfall amounts in Massachusetts this winter, starting as early as November.

AccuWeather released its U.S. winter forecast for the 2023-2024 season Wednesday detailing the possibility of a lot of snow across the commonwealth.

Get your snow shovels ready, AccuWeather warned.

Last year, Boston had about 12 inches of snow. This year, forecasters predict the city could get as much as 44 inches of snow. Although, thats still below the average for the city, which is about 49 inches, AccuWeather said.

Noreasters will most likely happen in late January through February. But it could come sooner.

An early-season noreaster cant be ruled out either as the ingredients for a snowstorm may come together sometime in November, the weather service said.

Overall, February is expected to be the hardest hit month.

February can be an active and intense month, AccuWeather Lead Long-Range Meteorologist and veteran forecaster Paul Pastelok said.

Itll also be colder than last winter.

We expect to see an increase in U.S. demand for heating overall compared to last year, even though many places in the North will still average below historical demand, AccuWeather Founder & Executive Chairman Dr. Joel N. Myers said.

The cause of this is the strengthening El Nino.

El Nino is upon us, Pastelok said. It came on strong here in late summer, and it will continue to be strong and a dominating factor going into our winter forecast.

El Nino occurs when the water temperatures near the equator of the central and eastern Pacific Ocean are above the historical average for months at a time, according to the weather service. The change in water temperatures reshapes the jet stream.

Those changes impact the weather patterns around the world, especially during the winter months.

Congressman Jim McGovern shovels his sidewalk along Burncoat Street in Worcester the morning of the March 14, 2023 nor'easter. (Christine Peterson/MassLive)Christine Peterson

The Farmers Almanac made similar predictions in its Winter 2024 Extended Weather Forecast.

Winter weather is making a comeback, the forecast reads. After a warm winter anomaly last year, traditional cool temperatures and snowy weather conditions will return to the contiguous United States.

In August, Farmers Almanac said Massachusetts could see snow as early as the first week of October and that itll last until April. As of Thursday, it appears Massachusetts is in the clear  for now.

But winter still could be busy.

Januarys second week is expected to see the trifecta of snow, storms and sleet or rain, with frigid temperatures to follow during the second week of February, Farmers Almanac said.
SPRINGFIELD  Two rookie police officers either got in over their heads responding to a fight in 2015 or fudged police reports to protect off-duty colleagues bloodied during the fracas in an East Forest Park parking lot.

The two possibilities are the contention of prosecution and defense in the fifth Nathan Bills police assault and cover-up trial, which began in Hampden Superior Court on Wednesday morning. Standing trial are Shavonne Lewis and Derrick Gentry-Mitchell, both responding police officers to the ill-fated street brawl that spring.
SPRINGFIELD  The city has now spent nearly all of the $123 million it received in federal pandemic recovery money, culminating with the award Wednesday of $3.4 million to 29 small businesses, nonprofit organizations and neighborhood improvement groups.

In addition, the city has awarded $1,400 grants to 7,100 households across the city to help residents recover from lost hours at jobs or extra expenses they incurred during the COVID-19 shutdown.

There is now about $4 million remaining in American Rescue Plan Act funding. Some of that is slated to be used to grant additional household awards. There is also still money set aside to help neighborhoods, handle appeals of denied applications and fund other things, said William Baker, spokesman for Mayor Domenic J. Sarno.

In the 14th round of grant awards, most of the largest grants went to neighborhood councils and the nonprofit Martin Luther King Jr. Community Presbyterian Church, which received $500,000 to help with the rebuilding of non-religious parts of the church heavily damaged in a Dec. 28, 2021, arson deemed a hate crime.

When the city received word it would receive the ARPA funding, Sarno asked 40 neighborhood councils and civic organizations about their needs and was told most had a variety of small improvement projects they wanted done, Baker said.

In response, the city granted each about $100,000 from pandemic recovery funds to fulfill some needs and set aside more than $2.2 million to fund other neighborhood projects, Baker said.

I am proud that my administration continues to commit our local allocation of federal ARPA funding to new and small businesses, nonprofits, and just as important to our neighborhoods through numerous enhancement projects citywide, Sarno said in a statement.

The Armoury Quadrangle Civic Association received the most money, with two awards totaling $1,236,00.

A $754,800 grant will be used to build a four-way crosswalk outside Union Station at the intersection of Dwight and Frank B. Murry streets. A second grant of $482,000 will fund design work to improve pedestrian access at the Dwight Street corridor and tree planting and improvements, the statement said.

The Lower Liberty Heights Neighborhood Council received $727,144 so it could make sidewalk repairs, install a new crosswalk on Liberty Street and plant and trim trees around Gurdon Bill Park.

The Forest Park Civic Association was awarded $251,122 to make a variety of improvements to sidewalks and tree belts, plant trees and improve outside lighting at the neighborhood library.

After receiving some criticism about delays in processing the applications for the $1,400 direct assistance to households, 7,100 have been awarded. The city received more than 19,000 applications, but determined about 1,000 applicants were ineligible because they dont live in Springfield and or were duplicates, Baker said.

The city still has about 11,000 to process and expects to use most of the remaining ARPA money for those. Any Springfield household was eligible to apply for the grants if they could show they were impacted disproportionally by the pandemic. Residents who receive them can use them for any purpose, such as paying rent, making a mortgage payment or paying off credit card debt incurred if a residents work hours were cut or they were laid off, he said.

The applications are time-consuming to process because officials have to ensure people are currently living in the city and meet the federal guidelines for receiving ARPA money, Baker said.

The city also continued to support small businesses, granting a total of $140,000 to new businesses and $220,000 to small businesses. It awarded $795,000 to nonprofit agencies to boost economic recovery, the statement said.

Grants for small businesses include

Mad Science of Western New England, $50,000

Beaute Within Inc., $50,000

Essential Educational Services and Products, $5,000

Libertys Mediterranean Giant Grinders, $20,000

Nolan Wells, Inc., $20,000

Soul Pole Dance and Fitness, $25,000

Squeaky Clean Auto Detailing, $50,000.

Grants for new businesses, which were capped at $40,000, are:

A & M Creations and More, $20,000

DJ & T Investment/ Minita des Kelsey, $20,000

Element Combat and Fitness, $20,000

Entrepreneurial and Business Collaborative, $20,000

Tu Casa Restaurant, $20,000

Napoli Pizzeria and Restaurant, $10,000

B & E Insulation, $30,000

Grants for nonprofits are:

American Legion Post 420, $20,000

Dress for Success Western Massachusetts, $25,000

Hispanic American Library, $15,315

The Gray House, $75,000

The World is Our Classroom, $50,000

Resident Engagement Program at Home City Development, $100,000

Brotherhood on the Move, $25,000

Other neighborhood grants are to support meeting places for the councils:

McKnight Neighborhood Council, $40,000

Old Hill Neighborhood Council, $2,520

Grants through the Build Back Springfield program are:
If you find yourself walking across from Bees and Thank You, you might see a plaque on a rock in the ground, topped with the name and years Timothy Pickering 1745-1829.

Below the name, it also reads Statesman, Farmer. First President, Essex Agricultural Society. Professional and amateur historians may know his name. But who was he and why would his name be at the fair?

Born in Salem in 1745 and a Harvard graduate, Pickering would go on to serve as a colonel in the American Revolution, according to the U.S. State Department website. He later moved to Pennsylvania and represented Luzerne County during the Constitution Convention in 1787 before serving in the first presidential cabinet under George Washington.

Pickering had a couple of roles, first as Postmaster General in 1791, then briefly as Secretary of War in 1795, before serving as Washington and President John Adams Secretary of State until 1800, the State Department said.

Pickering facilitated and signed the Treaty of Canandaigua with the Iroquois Confederacy, in recognition of their sovereignty, the state department said.

During the Adams presidency, he sided with Alexander Hamilton in allying with the British in their war with France, which Washington and Adams both opposed in pursuit of neutrality.

Pickering publicly attacked Adams, the State Department said, leading to his dismissal by the president.

He continued to serve in the Senate and the House of Representatives, vocalizing the possibility that New England should secede from the Union as the War of 1812 raged on, according to the Massachusetts Historical Society.

He left politics and returned to Salem after the war and pursued his life-long interest in agriculture and encouraged scientific farming, agricultural fairs, animal husbandry, and the development of a new type of plow, the historical society said.

In 1818, 11 years before his death, he was elected the first president of the Essex Agricultural Society, as that plaque reads. So after that history lesson, what does it have to do with the Topsfield Fair, exactly?

Well, the Essex Agricultural Society is the top sponsor and owner of the Topsfield Fair. The nonprofits mission is to encourage, promote and preserve Essex County agricultural activities and to educate the general public regarding their importance, according to the fairs website.

How, indeed, are we fed, clothed, and warmed? Pickering said in the groups first meeting. By the productions of the earth. How shall these be rendered abundant? And most abundant? To subsist greater numbers than now depend on them? By improvements in Agriculture, taking this word in its largest sense, and comprehending every object meriting the attention of the husbandman.

From there, he served essentially (as) the Essex Agricultural Society Ambassador, promoting and teaching agricultural findings our farmers had learned and sharing it with the community, the fair website said.
For years, a sign at Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish in Holyoke offered a plea to people traveling Maple Street, through the place a shopkeeper calls a tough little neighborhood.

Defend Life, the sign said.

It was right here, at Maple and Sargeant streets, that one of many bullets fired wildly by a man in a sidewalk scuffle randomly struck a pregnant woman on a nearby PVTA bus Wednesday. The bullet critically injured her and resulted in the death of the baby she had not yet delivered.

This life should not have needed defending.

But here we are.

This mother should have not paid so dearly for climbing onto a bus.

But here we are.

Blood from the days other gunshot victims has been washed from the sidewalk outside Almonte Market #2. The market reopened after the police tape came down. Whats considered normal in this neighborhood  or inevitable  returned.

But what happened Wednesday wasnt just another of the roughly 115 shooting incidents the citys ShotSpotter system has detected in the last six months.

This unidentified childs death rips a hole in Holyoke public life. News of this horrible tragedy, this detestable crime, shocks everyone it reaches.

But here we are, in a country where innocent people fall every day to gun violence. And one of the latest is a child taken from the womb.

Just hours before, the citys police chief gathered the news media to share his own plea to defend life. Too few Holyoke residents, Chief David Pratt said, were taking a minute to call 911 and report the sound of gunshots. In half a year, only 14 people (just 14%) called 911 to tell police they had heard gunfire, out of 117 incidents captured by the citys new ShotSpotter system.

When gunfire erupted outside the market, people called 911.

The chief is right. Those 911 calls speed officers to scenes of gunfire. They increase the chances that people committing violence are apprehended.

In the months ShotSpotter has been in use, Holyoke police say theyve responded to six victims, recovered seven guns and made 10 arrests, not including two men involved in Wednesdays carnage.

One by one, 911 calls express hope that public safety in a tough, western Massachusetts neighborhood isnt a lost cause.

But here we are, helpful citizens and everyone else, too late to defend this child.

With the state of gun violence in our communities, the hard truth is that we have no sure way to do better for all of the other children who remain.
A Holyoke man charged with murder is being held without the right to bail following his arraignment Thursday morning, a day after a pregnant woman was shot and her newborn baby died in a deadly gunfight in the city.

Alejandro Ramos, 22, appeared in Holyoke District Court and Judge William Rooney entered a not-guilty plea on his behalf. Ramos appeared handcuffed and with a bandaged hand for his brief arraignment Thursday.

He is the second suspect identified by the Hampden District Attorneys Office in the shooting that took place near the intersection of Sargeant and Maple streets before 1 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 4.

This was a gun battle in broad daylight at a busy intersection here in the city of Holyoke, said Matthew Green, assistant Hampden County district attorney, during the arraignment. This individual, as well as two others, were all involved in that altercation which took place at the intersection outside the market.

Green said a bullet struck a passing bus and wounded a woman 8 months pregnant and whose unborn baby died as a result of the injury.

Almonte Market 2 at the corner of Sargeant and Maple streets in Holyoke. Photo by Irene Rotondo

Three men were involved in the altercation and a stray bullet struck a bus and hit an uninvolved woman who was seated in the bus, Hampden District Attorney spokesperson James Leydon previously said.

The woman was brought to Baystate Medical Center in critical condition. The baby was delivered and needed life-saving medical services but did not survive, Leydon said.

Leydon said the mother was in critical condition on Wednesday night but he did not know her condition as of Thursday morning at 9:30 a.m.

Earlier on Thursday, authorities identified Johnluis Sanchez, 30, of Holyoke, as another suspect in the shooting. He remains hospitalized and is expected to be arraigned on murder and other charges when his condition allows, according to Leydon.

Green said in court that not all suspects are yet in custody and described the investigation as very sensitive and ongoing.

In a previous statement, the Hampden District Attorneys Office had said all suspects were believed to be identified and one was in the hospital and another in custody.

Jose Almonte, the manager of Almonte Market #2 in Holyoke, said he caught much of the incident on his video surveillance cameras.

A massive monitor display facing the cash register showed views from at least eight cameras the manager set up inside and out of the store. Almonte said Wednesday night hed turned over the footage to law enforcement for the investigation.

Holyoke officers cleaning up the scene on Oct. 4. Photo by Irene Rotondo

Holyoke Mayor Joshua A. Garcia said hes lost his patience for this nonsense.

I want the public to know that I am equally outraged and frustrated with these senseless acts of violence and illegal activity on our streets, Garcia wrote on Facebook Wednesday night. I struggle with it every day attempting to offer a balanced solution. Quite frankly, I have lost my patience. I plan to work with all resources available to me to push this nonsense out of our city.

And Gov. Maura Healey called the shooting senseless.

Every life lost to gun violence is a tragedy, especially those taken far, far too soon, she wrote Wednesday night on X, formerly known as Twitter. My heart goes out to the victims, families, and all of Holyoke in the wake of this afternoons senseless shooting.

16 1 / 16 Daytime shooting in Holyoke; baby dead Irene Rotondo|MassLive

Just hours before the deadly shooting on Wednesday, the Holyoke Police Department made an announcement pushing the public to call 911 when they hear gunshots, according to State House News Service.

The department stated only 12% of potential shooting incidents picked up by new police surveillance systems were actually reported as 911 calls from residents during the technologys first six months of use.

There were 117 activations of the ShotSpotter gunfire-detecting technology stationed throughout 2 square miles in the city from March through August. The devices detect and triangulate the location of potential gunfire, the outlet reported.

Out of 454 total potential shootings detected by the new technology, Holyoke Police Chief David Pratt said the city got only 14 calls to 911 reporting those potential shootings, the news service reported.

Officials said multiple people called 911 after the shooting Wednesday afternoon.

The incident is under investigation by the Massachusetts State Police Detective Unit assigned to the Hampden District Attorneys Office and the Holyoke Police Department.
UPDATE: Hampden District Attorneys Office issued clarification, Johnluis Sanchez is currently hospitalized and will be arraigned at a later date

A Holyoke man is charged with murder following the deadly shooting in the city on Wednesday afternoon at the intersection of Sargeant and Maple streets.

Johnluis Sanchez, 30, of Holyoke had previously been expected to be arraigned in Holyoke District Court on Thursday morning with other charges expected to follow.

However, he remains hospitalized as of Thursday morning and will be arraigned when his condition allows, according to the Hampden County District Attorneys Office.

A second suspect, Alejandro Ramos, 22, of Holyoke, has also been charged with murder with other charges expected to follow, according to James Leydon, a spokesperson for the district attorneys office.

Ramos is expected to be arraigned on Thursday morning.

A pregnant woman was among the injured victims in a shooting in Holyoke on Wednesday afternoon, and authorities said her baby died after being delivered.

The shooting took place at about 12:30 p.m. near 397 Maple St. and police have at least three suspects in custody, according to Massachusetts State Police and the district attorneys office.

Authorities said three men were involved in the altercation and that a bullet struck a bus and hit an uninvolved woman who was seated in the bus, according to Hampden District Attorney spokesperson James Leydon.

The woman was pregnant and brought to a nearby hospital in critical condition. The baby was delivered and needed life-saving medical services but did not survive, Leydon said.

Leydon said the mother was in critical condition on Wednesday night but did not know her condition as of Thursday morning at 9:30 a.m.

Jose Almonte, the manager of Almonte Market #2 in Holyoke, said he caught much of the incident on his video surveillance cameras.

A massive monitor display facing the cash register showed views from at least eight cameras the manager set up inside and out of the store. Almonte stated hed turned over the footage to law enforcement for the investigation.

Holyoke Mayor Joshua A. Garcia said hes lost his patience for this nonsense.

I want the public to know that I am equally outraged and frustrated with these senseless acts of violence and illegal activity on our streets, Garcia wrote on Facebook. I struggle with it every day attempting to offer a balanced solution. Quite frankly, I have lost my patience. I plan to work with all resources available to me to push this nonsense out of our city.

And Gov. Maura Healey called the shooting senseless.

Every life lost to gun violence is a tragedy, especially those taken far, far too soon, she wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter. My heart goes out to the victims, families, and all of Holyoke in the wake of this afternoons senseless shooting.

Just hours before the deadly shooting on Wednesday, the Holyoke Police Department made an announcement pushing the public to call 911 when they hear gunshots, according to State House News Service.

The department stated only 12% of potential shooting incidents picked up by new police surveillance systems were actually reported as 911 calls from residents during the technologys first six months of use.

There were 117 activations of the ShotSpotter gunfire-detecting technology stationed throughout two square miles in the city from March through August. The devices detect and triangulate the location of potential gunfire, the outlet reported.

Read more: Baby delivered then died after pregnant woman shot in Holyoke

Out of 454 total potential shootings detected by the new technology, Holyoke Police Chief David Pratt said the city got only 14 calls to 911 reporting those potential shootings, the news service reported.

Officials said multiple people called 911 after the shooting Wednesday afternoon.

The incident is under investigation by the Massachusetts State Police Detective Unit assigned to the Hampden District Attorneys Office and the Holyoke Police Department.
Two women from Lawrence have been charged in connection with the physical abuse of a 10-year-old child on a bus that is contracted with the Methuen Public Schools, the Methuen Police Department said in a statement.

Nancy Vasquez, 65, of Lawrence, was arrested and charged with assault and battery of a disabled person. Marlene Cruz, 38, of also of Lawrence, was arrested and charged with permitting abuse of a disabled person, police said.

Read more: Alejandro Ramos arraigned in Holyoke on murder charge after newborn killed

On Friday Sept. 29, Methuen Public Schools told the police department that they received an inquiry from the parents of the 10-year-old student, according to the police departments statement.

A school department investigation found that Vasquez, the bus monitor, had abused the child. And that Cruz, the bus driver, neither intervened nor reported the incident, police said.

The Methuen Public Schools contracts with the bus company to provide rides to students who attend school outside of the district.

After the investigation, Methuen police obtained arrest warrants from the Lawrence District Court for Vasquez and Cruz, the release said.

Read more: Third suspect in fatal Holyoke shooting not in custody

Vasquez was ordered held without bail pending a dangerousness hearing, which is scheduled for Friday, Oct. 6. Cruz was released on a personal recognizance, on the conditions that she cannot contact the child or their family, the childs school, Vasquez or the bus company.

She is also not allowed to work with children and is due back in court on Nov. 3 for a pre-trial conference.

I would like to thank Methuen Public Schools for immediately bringing this incident to our attention upon learning about it, Methuen Police Chief Scott. J. McNamara said in a statement. It was the school departments prompt and thorough response to a parents concerns that prompted this investigation.
(*This story was updated at 9:16 a.m. on Friday, Oct. 6, 2023, with additional reporting.)

The Massachusetts House of Representatives is expected to vote sometime later this month on a revised gun violence reduction bill that, if its eventually signed into law, would stem the flow of illegal firearms into the commonwealth, expands the states assault weapons ban, and limit the ability to carry guns in certain spaces.

State House Speaker Ronald Mariano, D-Norfolk, and his top deputies unveiled the contours of the rejiggered reform bill during a news conference on Thursday.

In an unusual move, House leaders say they plan to move ahead on the bill without the state Senate. Theyve scheduled a public hearing on the bill for Oct. 7. And they plan to hold a vote on it later this month, State House News Service reported.

The legislation is significantly different from the proposal floated this summer by Rep. Michael Day, D-31st Middlesex, Mariano said Thursday.

That proposal, which sought to update the states licensing laws, crack down on untraceable ghost guns, and more, ran into strong headwinds from gun-rights activists and faced legislative opposition.

That didnt change on Thursday.

This is a huge pile of crap, Jim Wallace, the executive director of the Gun Owners Action League, told the Boston Herald after the bill was announced.

Lawmakers remain undeterred.

For far too long, the United States has experienced horrific levels of gun violence, and in the wake of a decision that further threatens the safety of Massachusetts residents, the Legislature can and must do more to strengthen the Commonwealths gun safety laws, Mariano said in a statement his office issued on Thursday afternoon.

Day, the House chairperson of the Joint Committee on the Judiciary, said the Legislatures hand was forced by the national public health crisis of gun violence. The bill will both improve public safety and protect the rights of law-abiding gun owners, he said.

Democratic leaders in the state Senate have said they are working on their own reform proposal. But it remains unclear when such a bill might be drafted, State House News Service previously reported.

The bill updates language in Days original proposal, including language that prohibits someone from bringing a gun into a private residence without the occupants permission.

It also would require that all firearms frames or receivers, more widely known as ghost guns be registered with the state, Marianos office said in its statement.

Between 2019 and 2021, the Boston Police Department saw a 280% increase in the number of untraceable ghost guns it recovered, Marianos office said.

Other provisions in the bill remain unchanged, according to an analysis provided by Marianos office.

That includes language that would fight illegal gun trafficking by authorizing the creation of an enhanced tracing system. The proposal also would modernize the states existing registration system; beef up requirements for reporting lost, stolen, or surrendered weapons, according to the analysis provided by Marianos office.

Pointing to a 16% spike in gun deaths statewide between 2010 and 2019, and ongoing violence, lawmakers said the bill offers improvements for community safety and gun violence prevention. The legislation, for instance, creates new crimes that prohibit discharging firearms near dwellings and bans someone from carrying firearms while theyre intoxicated.

The bill also standardizes training requirements for people seeking a gun license. And the state will now require live firearms training.

The bill would further allow school administrators, medical professionals and employers to seek emergency protective orders against gun owners whom they believe pose a risk to themselves or to others, while ensuring due process rights for responsible gun owners.

Laws authorizing such orders are more widely known as Red Flag laws.

It further creates a creates a special legislative commission to study and make recommendations to improve the Commonwealths funding structure for violence prevention services, according to Marianos office.

The bill also expands the states existing bans on assault weapons and large capacity magazines, *banning new purchases of AR-15 style weapons, while closing a legal loophole allowing someone to turn a legal firearm into an illegal automatic weapon, according to Marianos office.

Massachusetts has been a consistent national leader on gun control laws. Once again, the House will lead the way to continue that trend, said House Ways & Means Committee Chairperson Aaron Michlewitz, D-3rd Suffolk, said. I want to thank Speaker Mariano and Chair Day for their commitment to this issue and I look forward to working with them and all our House colleagues to see this bill be enacted in a timely manner.
The Texas Rangers are going to the American League Division Series after sweeping the Tampa Bay Rays in the AL Wild Card. And they got a nice helping hand from a former Boston Red Sox pitcher.

Nathan Eovaldi was strong on the mound for the Rangers, tossing 6  innings with eight strikeouts. The right-hander allowed one earned run on six hits in the 7-1 win at Tropicana Field.

Its the first time the Rangers have won a postseason series since 2011.

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Eovaldi signed with Texas in the offseason after rejecting the Red Soxs qualifying offer. He spent five seasons in Boston and stepped into the ace role in the absence of Chris Sale. Of course, he also pitched six innings of relief in Game 3 of the 2018 World Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers  a game that lasted seven hours and 20 minutes.

The 33-year-old had a lot of success with the Rangers in his first season with the team. Eovaldi went 12-5 with a 3.63 ERA in 25 starts. He struck out 132 batters and ended the regular season with a 1.139 WHIP.

The Rangers will now take on the Baltimore Orioles in the ALDS. Game 1 is set for Saturday.
On Wednesday, the Armed Forces of Ukraine continued offensive operations in the area of Bakhmut and in the western part of Zaporizhia region, Ukrainian troops achieved partial success in the area of Klischiyivka, Andriyivka and in the direction of Robotyne, according to the report of the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) for October 4.

The Ukrainian General Staff reported that Ukrainian forces continued assaults south of Bakhmut and achieved partial success near Klischiyivka (7km southwest of Bakhmut) and Andriyivka (10km southwest of Bakhmut), and the Ukrainian General Staff stated that Ukrainian troops have achieved partial success in the area of these settlements," the message published on the ISW website says.

Western analysts point out that geolocation footage published on October 4 shows the advance of the AFU to the east of Novoprokopivka, which is 5 km southeast of Robotyne, in the western part of Zaporizhia region. In addition, the General Staff of Ukraine also stated that Ukrainian troops had achieved partial success to the west of Robotyne.
Le gouvernement a donne son feu au Ministre des Finances de presenter le Finance (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2023 qui va donner force de loi a certaines mesures qui necessitent des amendements aux divers legislations.

Cabinet has agreed to the introduction of the Finance (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2023 into the National Assembly. The object of the Bill is to provide for the implementation of measures announced in Budget Speech 2023-2024 and for matters connected, consequential and incidental thereto.
Canon announced its partnership with Dikan Center, a visionary non-profit institution based in Ghana, committed to providing visual education. This major collaboration marks the official launch of the Canon Young People Programme (YPP) in Ghana, with a mission to enable the next generation of creative young people, using their skills to tackle the sustainability issues that matter to them, using creativity and critical thinking.

The introduction of Canons YPP in Ghana marks a significant milestone in the countrys landscape. This initiative will offer young people unprecedented opportunities for growth and impact on the African continent. Through YPP, young creative talent in Ghana can access essential resources, state-of-the-art equipment, and expert training that will empower their storytelling. This pioneering initiative provides a platform for young people to make their mark on the continent, positioning Ghana as a hub for emerging creative talent. The Dikan Center is renowned for its immersive Gallery, transformative StoryLab Studios, and visual library. Its mission is to foster a culture of curiosity, experimentation, and innovation throughout Africa.

Jeanine El Moughrabi, Sustainability Manager Canon Middle East, and Central & North Africa says, We are thrilled to embark on this transformative journey with Dikan Center, uniting Canon with Dikan Centers vision for comprehensive visual education in Africa. Together, we will empower the next generation to make a significant impact on the African continent. Through YPP, we aim to inspire, educate, and empower these creative young people, enabling them to use their skills and to advocate for positive sustainable change on a global scale.

Paul Ninson, Founder of the Dikan Center says, Dikan Center is proud to join forces with Canons Young People Programme to expand opportunities for young photographers in Africa. This collaboration reflects our shared commitment to nurturing creativity and innovation through visual education. Together we will amplify the journeys of emerging visual artists and bring their stories to the forefront. The Canon YPP initiative aligns seamlessly with our mission to cultivate a culture of curiosity, experimentation, and innovation throughout the continent, and we look forward to the impactful stories that will emerge from this collaboration.

The collaboration between Canon and the Dikan Center came about through Canons recognition of Paul Ninsons work, the founder of the Dikan Center, and his commitment to empowering the youth in Africa. Canon saw a unique opportunity to align its mission of creating opportunities for young African talent, with the goals of the Dikan Center.

The core of this collaboration is a series of immersive storytelling workshops designed to run every weekend over two months. Local trainers from Ghana, provided by Dikan Center, will work in partnership with Canon, offering resources and essential equipment.

The focus of these workshops is threefold:

Comprehensive Education: Participants will gain insights into the value of sustainability for our future using the framework of United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

Technical Training: Participants will learn the technical side of how to use a camera, receiving training from experts in the field.

Visual Storytelling: The heart of this programme is to empower young people to become storytellers for sustainable change. Participants will choose specific SDGs and capture evocative imagery that convey they personal stories.

The journey will culminate in a professionally curated exhibition, scheduled to be held during a story festival organized by Dikan Center, in December 2023. This platform will showcase the remarkable narratives and perspectives captured by the participants, fostering a profound exchange of ideas and visions.

Looking ahead, both Canon and the Dikan Center intend to continue and expand this initiative in the future, creating further opportunities for African talent and collaborations that empower young people to create positive change.
Catherine, 18, was facing certain death for both herself and her baby when nurse Aly heard her cries; today, the pair have been reunited after 30 years and are volunteering together on board Mercy Ships newest hospital ship in Catherines home country of Sierra Leone.

embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aSpKmrPSZYY[/embedyt]

A woman was reunited this week with a nurse who saved her life 30 years ago as she volunteers for the same charity that her rescuers were from.

In 1993, Catherine Conteh was enduring an agonising four-day labour in a hospital bed in Sierra Leone, where she faced the certain death of both herself and her daughter.

But the 18-year-olds cries were heard by a New Zealand nurse and British anaesthetist who were volunteering on one of international charity Mercy Ships (http://www.MercyShips.org.uk/) floating hospitals off the coast off Freetown.

Aly Hogarth-Hall and Dr Keith Thomson were touring Princess Christian Maternity Hospital when Aly heard a woman in pain.

Aly, now 52, said: With Catherine being in labour for four days, the nurse told me that she would die, and the baby would die. It was communicated in a very matter of fact way, which shocked me  that this was going to be the outcome without any intervention. Id never encountered anything like that.

I didnt know what to do, so I thought, Ill pray for this woman and hand it over to God.

As Alys prayer ended, 30 years ago, amazingly, help arrived. On hearing Catherines story, Dr Thomson offered to pay for the surgery out of his own pocket in full.

Despite the stress of the four-day labour, both Catherine and her baby, a daughter named Regina, were completely healthy.

Catherine did get the help she needed; however, in Sierra Leone, 26 years later in 2019, 717 mothers die annually for every 100,000 live births, according to WHO (https://apo-opa.info/3rv3FNh). [1] This is among the highest rates of maternal mortality in the world.

Looking back on that day, Catherine recalled what she thought: I will lose my life. If nothing happens, I will lose my life. That kept on playing right in my heart, in my mind.

She remembers a hospital nurse telling her: Look, these strangers who came in are going to pay for your caesarean section. So were just waiting for the doctor to come in, and then we can start the process.

All Aly did was pray for me, at that moment. She prayed for me. And which I valued and Im grateful to God for that, you know? Cause praying for someone, for me, is like a currency that you can buy anything with.

After the emergency caesarean, Aly and Catherine formed a lifelong bond. Along with American Gina Willig, Aly visited her in the hospital wards while she recovered.

I call her sister and she calls me sister, said Catherine, because it takes a pure heart and someone with pure love, meeting someone and instantly loving them unconditionally, you know?

They parted ways as Aly returned to New Zealand while Catherine had to gain asylum in Australia with her family in the wake of growing conflict of her home country of Sierra Leone.

The two women lost touch through the years, but Catherine held Aly close in her heart. Her daughter grew up knowing their lives were saved by the kindness of strangers and both Catherine and Regina became nurses  just like Aly.

Dr Thomson reunited Aly and Catherine by phone before he passed away in April this year after a battle with cancer.

Catherine said: Hearing her voice again, after almost three decades, was a bit emotional for me. My hope for me and Aly is to physically see ourselves and give ourselves that sisterly hug. And get to praise God together, you know?

Reunited

Thirty years later, on October 1, she was reunited with Aly as they volunteer together on board international charity Mercy Ships latest hospital ship, the Global Mercy, as it delivers more than 2,350 surgeries over the next 10 months.

It was the first time they had seen each other since the hospital room in Freetown.

Aly is volunteering on board the Global Mercy with her husband for three months during its field service in Sierra Leone. For Catherine, who was coming on board the hospital ship to volunteer in the dining room, the moment held an even deeper meaning.

Catherine said: To see her in person again, I couldnt believe it. We just sobbed. We cried and cried.

The other aspect is its my hometown where I was born. Im coming home to come and serve, not only Mercy Ships but my country.

Aly said: To see Catherine again, its very surreal really, and its not something I ever expected until we made contact again, 18 months ago or so. Thats something I never expected to do, so it was overwhelming really.

The pair reflected on Dr Thomson and how much it would have meant to him to see them together.

Aly said: This is his legacy in a way. This is a tribute to him in a lot of ways because his dream was for us to come together here, and he realised that before he passed away.

Catherine said she made the journey from Australia, propelled by the encouragement of her daughter, Regina, now a 30-year-old mother to a young son.

She added: Its a privilege for me, serving. Apart from being my people, any aspect of serving somebody is a privilege because you may not have that privilege tomorrow, so if you have it today, its a blessing by itself. I felt so blessed to come back and serve my people.

The pair will spend the next month volunteering while the ships crew carry out surgeries and train more than 200 Sierra Leonean healthcare professionals.
04 October 2023 is a historic day for the human rights of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Queer (LGBTQ) people in Mauritius as we no longer need to live with the constant fear of being criminalised for being LGBTQ.

In the cases of Ah-Seek v/s the State of Mauritius and Fokeerbux & Ors. v/s the State of Mauritius in the presence of the Director of Public Prosecutions and the Commissioner of Police, the Supreme Court of Mauritius declared that section 250(1) of the Criminal Code is unconstitutional and violates section 16 of the Constitution in so far as it prohibits consensual acts of sodomy between male adults in private and should accordingly be read so as to exclude such consensual acts from the ambit of section 250(1).

Fokeerbux & Ors. v/s the State of Mauritius in the presence of the Director of Public Prosecutions and the Commissioner of Police

On the 06 September 2019, four young LGBTQ Mauritians, namely Najeeb Ahmad Fokeerbux, Vipine Aubeeluck, Imesh Fallee and Jurgen Soocramanien Lasvanne who come from all parts of Mauritian society, have approached the Supreme Court of Mauritius for leave to seek constitutional redress on the basis that Section 250 (1) of the Criminal Code Act of 1838 (as amended) violates their fundamental rights and freedom and is unconstitutional.

The Plaintiffs, who come from Hindu, Christian and Muslim backgrounds, are all members of the Young Queer Alliance, a youth-led NGO dedicated to advancing human rights of LGBTQ people in Mauritius. Three of the four plaintiffs are the first public officers to have openly declared that they are homosexuals. The fourth plaintiff is an artist.

The Plaintiffs are represented before the Supreme Court on a pro-bono basis by the team of lawyers of Dentons (Mauritius) LLP, comprising Me. Priscilla Balgobin Bhoyrul together with Me. Emmanuel Luchmun, instructed by Attorney B. Ramlochund and by Me. Sandy Bhaganooa, of the Franco-Mauritian Law Chambers LCMB et Associes, based in Paris and Mauritius.

Ah-Seek v/s the State of Mauritius

On 25 October 2019, Abdool Ridwan Firaas Ah Seek, a 29-year-old activist, filed a new case before the Supreme Court challenging the constitutionality of Section 250 of the Mauritian Penal Code.

Mr Ah Seek is supported in his endeavour by the Collectif Arc-En-Ciel (CAEC), working to uphold the human rights of LGBTQ people.

Abdool Ridwan Firaas Ah Seek was represented by a legal team comprising Gavin Glover SC, Yanilla Moonshiram, barrister-at-law, and Komadhi Mardemootoo, attorney-at-law, with support from the Human Dignity Trust, Tim Otty KC (founder of the Human Dignity Trust), Isabel Buchanan and international law firm Herbert Smith Freehills.

Section 16 of the Constitution

In its reasoning, the Supreme Court defined sex as including sexual orientation by drawing from different cases such as Toonen v Australia (1992), Vriend v Alberta (1998), Orozco v The Attorney General of Belize (2010), Nevtej Singh Johar & Ors v Union of India thr. Secretary Ministry of Law and Justice (2018) and Lesweletse Motshidiemang v Attorney General (2019).

The Supreme Court also reiterated that the Constitution is a living document and must be given a generous and purposive interpretation. Therefore, the Supreme Court found that Mauritius has acceded to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and that it has accepted to adhere to international norms and standards regarding the fundamental rights and freedoms the ICCPR provides for and that interpreting sex as including sexual orientation in section 16 of the Constitution would be in conformity with the standard canon of constitutional interpretation.

The Supreme Court further reasoned that since the State of Mauritius has itself recognised through the enactment of the Equal Opportunities Act, the Workers Rights Act and the Employment Relations Act that it is unfair to discriminate on the ground of sexual orientation in the sphere of certain activities, there is no stronger evidence that it is illegitimate to discriminate against persons on the ground of their sexual orientation by reference to the expression of the most private and intimate aspects of their identity, which is the manner in which they choose to have sexual intercourse.

Human Rights Resolutions

In its Judgment concerning Fokeerbux & Ors. v/s the State of Mauritius in the presence of the Director of Public Prosecutions and the Commissioner of Police, the Supreme Court also highlighted the following evidence provided by the State of Mauritius and reiterated that the word sex in section 16 of the Constitution should be interpreted as including sexual orientation: (a) Resolution on Human rights, sexual orientation and gender identity adopted on 17 June 2011 by the Human Rights Council to which Mauritius voted in favour of; (b) the Statement made on 07 November 2018 by the Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Human Rights and Institutional Reforms, Hon. Maneesh Gobin during the 3rd Universal Periodic Review and another Statement made on 14-15 March 2019; (c) the representative of the Clerk of the National Assembly with regard to the Sexual Offences Bill; and (d) the reply that the Attorney-Generals Office was finalising a revised version of the Sexual Offences Bill which would be re-introduced in the National Assembly.

Prevention of sexual violence

Although the Judgments do not refer to it, the State of Mauritius pleaded for the just and considerate ears of the Supreme Court to protect vulnerable people, particularly including women, children and disabled people, from abuses which may arise from striking down Section 250(1). It is to be noted that the Judgments of the Supreme Court, in effect, protect these vulnerable groups against sexual violence.

Broad community support

The cases saw robust support from local LGBTQ people, allies, human rights activists, embassies, donor agencies, development partners including but not limited to the Association VISA-G, RekonekT, Gender Links, Kolektif Drwa Imin, Dentons LLP, EU Delegation in Mauritius, the Canada Fund for Local Initiatives, the Equal Rights in Action / National Democratic Institute, the Love Honor Cherish Foundation, The Other Foundation, Kaleidoscope Trust, the Planet Romeo Foundation, the Human Dignity Trust, the US Embassy in Mauritius, the British High Commission, the Lesbian Gay Bisexual Trans and Intersex Association (ILGA World), Pan-Africa ILGA, the Human Rights Watch and GLAAD among others.
A mother tells of her fears for her family and others from her nine-year-old son with severe autism and pleads for help in an interview with RTE Prime Time.

Audrey Dore-Geraghty, a mother based in Wexford, shares her family's heart-wrenching journey of raising her nine-year-old son Harrison, who has been diagnosed with severe autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Audrey and her husband, Huw, speak to RTE Prime Time tonight highlighting the critical need for support and services for children like Harrison and their desperate families.

In a candid interview with Miriam OCallaghan, Audrey expresses the overwhelming fear and concern that grips their family daily.

"We're in a situation now where we're scared to be in the house on our own with Harrison and scared for the safety of our younger children," she revealed. Harrisons escalating behaviour issues have left the family feeling trapped in their own home.

Audrey and Huw now live on constant three-day rotations. One parent works in Dublin and gets a full nights sleep while the other cares for Harrison and their two younger children in Wexford. Some help comes in the form of their families, especially Audreys parents.

But his care is taking a serious toll on them as parents.

Harrison's autism is further complicated by several mental health illnesses, including anxiety, oppositional defiance disorder, pathological demand avoidance, and possible bipolar disorder and schizophrenia.

Audrey emphasized, The hits are harder, the bites are stronger, the kicks are stronger, the risk to the other children is massive, and we know that he's growing. The family is grappling with the pressing need for support as Harrison grows older and larger, exacerbating the already immense difficulty of caring for him.

Audrey has tirelessly sought support for Harrison, but he has been continually denied the treatment he desperately needs. Despite their best efforts, they have been unable to access crucial services designed to assist children like Harrison, such as the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS).

In a desperate bid for help, Audrey and Huw sought psychiatric assistance abroad for Harrison. A psychiatrist in Spain prescribed antipsychotic medication, providing temporary relief, but resulting in significant side effects. Harrison ceased the medication earlier this year due to discomfort and distress caused by the side effects.

The family has called on CAMHS and the wider health and care system for the essential help Harrison requires. They fear that without proper intervention and a multidisciplinary approach, Harrison's behaviour may escalate to a point where he becomes a risk to both society and those within their household.

Audrey emphasizes, We worry that if he doesn't get managed and his behaviour doesn't get controlled with a multidisciplinary team, that he could end up in a very difficult place, which would be a very difficult place for us, too.

The Dore-Geraghty family went public with their concerns last month and their story sheds light on the critical need for improved support and services for individuals with severe autism and their families.

Speaking to Miriam tonight on RTE Prime Time, Audrey said I've had to go public on this story in an effort to make people listen and also to speak for other families who aren't being listened to.

Their plea for help is a call to action for authorities to address this pressing issue and ensure the well-being and safety of all those affected by autism spectrum disorders.

Watch RTE Prime Time tonight, Thursday, October 5, at 9:35pm on RTE One and RTE Player.
Last week, Chambers Ireland held our first in-person budget event since before Covid-19 with over 20 Chambers of Commerce from throughout the country and more than 60 TDs, senators, and ministers in attendance. As the national body that supports our chambers across all the constituencies, our budget priorities are national, but this event gives our members the chance to bring their local concerns to politicians from across the parties and the country.

Nationally, we want next years budget to ensure that the right investments are delivered. We need to improve productivity and reduce the costs of doing business. To accomplish this, Chambers Ireland has called on the Government to deliver the infrastructure needed to address the lost decade of investment, and to ensure that much more housing is built.

Irelands economic performance in the last ten years has been quite extraordinary, with the most recent validation being the countrys claiming of second place in the 2023 IMD World Competitive Rankings. Bouncing back from the crises that engulfed us from 2008, the thriving economy and our attractiveness to foreign direct investment  arising from policy choices in the past that have proven highly effective  have created an enviable budgetary surplus and effectively full employment.

But this is no time for complacency. These positive aspects create their own challenges, such as ensuring that Government current expenditure is based on a realistic assessment of the percentage of tax revenues likely to be sustainable and addressing skills shortages.

Our pre-budget submissions for the last number of years have focused on housing as a significant concern for our members. While measurable progress is now being made, with substantial commitment of State funds and new builds now being delivered in substantial numbers, it will come as no surprise that the housing crisis remains a paramount concern within our network.

In addition to continuing and increasing the levels of investment committed to deliver Housing for All, promised measures such as the enactment of the new Planning Bill must be delivered.

We have an enormous capacity-constraint issue across our country; businesses would be doing more but for the lack of skilled workers. With the unemployment rate at less than 4 percent our members are constrained in their capacity to grow their businesses from our existing labour force, and employers who seek to bring in workers from abroad face enormous challenges in getting new employees to come to settle here.

In addition, as we saw from the Census 2022 figures, there are more people now living in Ireland than had been projected in 2017 when we were developing our National Planning Framework, which means that our future strategic plans are being overtaken by circumstances.

We know that there is no simple response to this complicated problem and that the solutions to our housing crisis and infrastructure deficit will continue to require many strands of muscular action across numerous departments and agencies. Incrementalism often has great value in the adaptation of government policy, but the speed at which the housing situation worsened as our economy recovered suggests that the policy response is being outpaced by circumstances and must keep evolving.

Given that there is a capacity issue within both the construction sector, and more importantly, within the agencies of State that facilitate construction, we know that this is not a problem that can be solved through funding alone. We need bolder decision making across Government.

And strategically, our growing population also makes our long-term ambitions around the National Development Fund even more important.

We commend the Government in its decision to seed the excess Corporation Tax receipts in a Reserve fund and urge taking a step further to ensure that these funds are ring-fenced for key infrastructure projects that can secure continued investment in critical infrastructure delivery, including housing into the future.

Our members need our towns and cities to be attractive places to live and work, decarbonised transport options, and secure energy supplies. Behind the headlines of the Competitiveness report, Ireland ranked 19th for infrastructure; we must aim for better.

With the green transition before us, Ireland has an enormous opportunity, but we are at risk of letting opportunity slip from our grasp unless state bodies begin delivering change more rapidly.

 Ian Talbot is Chief Executive of Chambers Ireland. For more on the organisation and its work, see www.chambers.ie.
Russian occupiers fired on Kherson on Thursday morning, October 5, head of the Presidents Office of Ukraine Andriy Yermak said.

"The Russians shelled Kherson. According to preliminary information, two people were killed. Among them is a utility worker who was cutting the trees," Yermak wrote on the Telegram channel.
The Pediatric Vaccines Market is estimated to be valued at US$ 46,424.3 million in 2023 and is expected to exhibit a CAGR of 5.93% over the forecast period 2023-2030, as highlighted in a new report published by Coherent Market Insights.

Market Overview:

The Pediatric Vaccines Market involves the development and production of vaccines specifically designed for infants, children, and adolescents. These vaccines play a crucial role in preventing various infectious diseases such as measles, mumps, rubella, polio, and others. They are administered through injections, oral administration, or nasal sprays. The market offers a wide range of vaccines, including combination vaccines that protect against multiple diseases in a single shot. With the increasing importance placed on preventive healthcare, the demand for pediatric vaccines is expected to witness significant growth over the forecast period. Furthermore, governments around the world are implementing vaccination programs and initiatives to ensure the well-being of children, further propelling market growth.

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Market Dynamics:

The pediatric vaccines market is driven by two key factors: rising focus on preventive healthcare and increasing government initiatives. There is a growing awareness among parents and healthcare providers about the importance of preventive measures to protect children from infectious diseases. As a result, the demand for pediatric vaccines is increasing globally. Additionally, governments in various countries are implementing immunization programs to ensure that a maximum number of children are vaccinated and protected against preventable diseases. These initiatives aim to reduce childhood mortality and morbidity rates, which positively impacts the demand for pediatric vaccines. Moreover, advancements in vaccine technology such as the development of new adjuvants and novel delivery systems are also contributing to market growth. These factors collectively drive the growth of the pediatric vaccines market and are expected to create lucrative opportunities for market players in the forecast period.

Market Drivers:

Increasing prevalence of infectious diseases among children

The increasing prevalence of infectious diseases among children is one of the major drivers for the pediatric vaccines market. Children are more vulnerable to infectious diseases due to their developing immune systems. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), infectious diseases are one of the leading causes of death in children under the age of five. Vaccines play a crucial role in preventing these diseases and protecting childrens health. Therefore, the rising incidence of infectious diseases among children is driving the demand for pediatric vaccines.

In addition, the global burden of infectious diseases such as measles, pneumonia, and rotavirus remains high, especially in developing countries. To address this issue, governments and international organizations have been implementing vaccination programs to ensure widespread immunization coverage. For instance, the Global Vaccine Action Plan, initiated by WHO, aims to prevent millions of deaths by 2020 through increased access to vaccines. These initiatives further drive the demand for pediatric vaccines in the market.

Technological advancements in vaccine development and delivery

Technological advancements in vaccine development and delivery are also significant drivers for the pediatric vaccines market. Advances in biotechnology have led to the development of new and improved vaccines with enhanced efficacy and safety profiles. For example, the introduction of conjugated vaccines has revolutionized the prevention of bacterial infections, such as Haemophilus influenzae type b and pneumococcal diseases.

Furthermore, the development of combination vaccines has simplified the immunization process by reducing the number of injections required. Combination vaccines offer multiple antigens in a single formulation, allowing for efficient immunization and improved patient compliance. This innovation has significantly contributed to the growth of the pediatric vaccines market.

Moreover, the advent of novel delivery technologies has facilitated the administration of vaccines, especially in resource-limited settings. Needle-free devices, such as jet injectors and microneedle patches, are being increasingly utilized to overcome the challenges associated with traditional needle-and-syringe vaccinations, such as pain and needle-phobia. These technologies not only improve patient experience but also enable easier mass vaccination campaigns, thereby driving the market for pediatric vaccines.

Market Restraints:

High cost of vaccine development and distribution

The high cost associated with vaccine development and distribution is a major market restraint for pediatric vaccines. Developing a vaccine involves extensive research, clinical trials, and regulatory approvals, which require substantial investments. Additionally, the production and distribution of vaccines involve specialized manufacturing facilities and cold chain logistics to maintain the vaccines potency. These factors drive up the overall cost of vaccine development and distribution, making vaccines expensive for many healthcare systems, particularly in low-income countries.

Moreover, vaccines require a rigorous regulatory process for approval, which adds to the time and cost of vaccine development. The high cost and lengthy approval process act as barriers for small vaccine manufacturers or startups to enter the market, limiting competition and innovation.

Vaccine hesitancy and misinformation

Vaccine hesitancy and misinformation are emerging challenges for the pediatric vaccines market. Despite the overwhelming evidence of their efficacy and safety, vaccine-preventable diseases have experienced resurgence in some regions due to reduced vaccine uptake. The spread of misinformation and anti-vaccine movements on social media platforms has fueled vaccine hesitancy among parents and caregivers. This reluctance to vaccinate children against preventable diseases can lead to outbreaks and pose a significant public health risk.

Addressing vaccine hesitancy requires effective communication strategies to counter misinformation and build trust in vaccines. Public health authorities and healthcare providers play a crucial role in educating the public about the importance of vaccination and dispelling myths surrounding vaccines. However, overcoming vaccine hesitancy remains a challenge, and it can impact the demand for pediatric vaccines in the market.

In conclusion, the increasing prevalence of infectious diseases among children and technological advancements in vaccine development and delivery are the primary drivers for the pediatric vaccines market. However, the high cost of vaccine development and distribution, along with vaccine hesitancy and misinformation, act as significant restraints for the market. Addressing these challenges through innovation, public awareness campaigns, and affordable vaccine pricing is crucial for sustained growth in the pediatric vaccines market.

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Report Attribute Details The market size value in 2023 US$ 46,424.3 Mn The revenue forecast in 2030 US$ 69,482.2 Mn Growth Rate CAGR of 5.93% The base year for estimation 2022 Historical data 2017  2021 Forecast period 2023  2030 Growth Drivers: Increasing regulatory approval of vaccine candidates by key players

Increasing inorganic activities among government authorities Restraints & Challenges: Adverse events after vaccination

Table of Contents with Major Points:

Executive Summary

Introduction

Key Findings

Recommendations

Definitions and Assumptions

Executive Summary

Market Overview

Definition of Pediatric Vaccines Market

Market Dynamics

Drivers

Restraints

Opportunities

Trends and Developments

Key Insights

Key Emerging Trends

Key Developments Mergers and Acquisition

New Product Launches and Collaboration

Partnership and Joint Venture

Latest Technological Advancements

Insights on Regulatory Scenario

Porters Five Forces Analysis

Qualitative Insights Impact of COVID-19 on Global Pediatric Vaccines Market

Supply Chain Challenges

Steps taken by Government/Companies to overcome this impact

Potential opportunities due to COVID-19 outbreak

Conclusion

Appendix

Data Sources

Abbreviations

Disclaimer

TOC Continued!

Why Choose Coherent Market Insights?

 Identified business opportunities  Our market research report can be used to analyze potential markets and new products. It can give information about customer needs, preferences, and attitudes. Also, it compare products and services.

 A clear understanding of your customers  A market report gives companys marketing department an in-depth picture about customers needs and wants. This knowledge can be used to improve products, prices, and advertising.

 Clear data-driven insights  Our Market research encompasses a wide range of activities, from determining market size and segment to forecasting demand, and from identifying competitors to monitoring pricing. All of these are quantified and measurable which means that gives you a clear path for building unique decisions based on numbers.

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About Us:
DelveInsights Lung Adenocarcinoma Pipeline Insight 2023 report provides comprehensive global coverage of pipeline Lung Adenocarcinoma therapies in various stages of clinical development, major pharmaceutical companies are working to advance the pipeline space and future growth potential of the Lung Adenocarcinoma pipeline domain.

For Lung Adenocarcinoma emerging drugs, the Lung Adenocarcinoma pipeline analysis report provides a 360 view of the therapeutics landscape by development point, product type, route of administration, molecule type, and MOA. The pipeline research covers business opportunities, challenges, future partnerships, strong competitors, and growth strategies.

Key Takeaways from the Lung Adenocarcinoma Pipeline Report

DelveInsights Lung Adenocarcinoma Pipeline analysis depicts a robust space with 25+ active players working to develop 25+ pipeline therapies for Lung Adenocarcinoma treatment.

The leading Lung Adenocarcinoma companies include BerGenBio, Innovent Biologics, Lantern Pharma Inc., Pionyr Immunotherapeutics Inc., Onconova Therapeutics, Inc., Pfizer, Chugai Pharmaceutical, Novartis Oncology, Alaunos Therapeutics, Tmunity Therapeutics, Imugene Limited, Cantargia , Multitude Therapeutics Inc., Rain Oncology Inc., Bristol-Myers Squibb, and others are evaluating their lead assets to improve the Lung Adenocarcinoma treatment landscape.

Key Lung Adenocarcinoma pipeline therapies in various stages of development include Bemcentinib, IBI188, LP-300, PY159, Rigosertib, PF-07220060, RO5126766, Spartalizumab, Neoantigen specific TCR-T cell drug, huCART-meso cells, IMU-201, CAN04, AMT-151, RAIN-32, MORAb-202, and others.

In March 2023 , The Lung Cancer Research Foundation (LCRF) announced a collaboration with Daiichi Sankyo and AstraZeneca to fund up to three research grants focused on antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) to improve outcomes for people with lung cancer. Applications for these grants are being accepted through May 31, 2023. This collaboration seeks to support research to study HER2-directed and TROP2-directed ADCs including mechanism of action, biomarkers, and resistance mechanisms.

In February 2023 , Ankyra Therapeutics announced that it has entered into a strategic collaboration with the Lung Cancer Initiative (LCI) at Johnson & Johnson. The collaboration will focus on the advancement of Ankyras lead product candidate, ANK-101 , an IL-12-based locally administered immunotherapy, as a potential treatment for lung cancer.

Request a sample and discover the recent breakthroughs happening in the Lung Adenocarcinoma pipeline landscape @ Lung Adenocarcinoma Pipeline Outlook

Lung Adenocarcinoma Overview

Lung adenocarcinoma is the most common kind of primary lung cancer in the United States. It is classed as non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and is closely associated to prior smoking. While the incidence and mortality rates have reduced, it remains the leading cause of cancer death in the United States. Adenocarcinoma of the lung arises mostly from the mucosal glands and accounts for around 40% of all lung cancers. It is the most common type in those who have never smoked. Lung adenocarcinoma is most typically found in the lungs periphery, but it can also be found in scars or areas of chronic inflammation. Tobacco smoking is by far the most important risk factor for any type of lung cancer, including adenocarcinoma. Because tobacco smoke contains several carcinogens, primary or secondary exposure increases risk proportionally to exposure level. various risk factors for lung adenocarcinoma include a family history of the disease and occupational exposure to various agents such as silica, asbestos, radon, heavy metals, and diesel fumes. The most common cause of carcinogenesis in NSCLC is genetic mutations in the p53 gene, which occur in 52% of cases.

Find out more about Lung Adenocarcinoma medication @ New Drug for Lung Adenocarcinoma

Lung Adenocarcinoma Treatment Analysis: Drug Profile

Bemcentinib: BerGenBio

Bemcentinib is a first-in-class, selective, once-daily oral AXL receptor tyrosine kinase (AXL) inhibitor that is a viable therapeutic target for critical disorders. Recent research in cancer has revealed that AXL signaling plays an important role in tumor proliferation, survival, metastasis, and resistance to therapy. AXL is also known to play a crucial role in virus transport into cells, and once within the cell, AXL signaling enhances virus engulfment, enhancing infectivity. It is now in the Phase II stage of clinical trial evaluation to treat patients with Adenocarcinoma of the Lung.

Letaplimab (IBI188): Innovent Biologics

Innovent Biologics IBI188 (letaplimab) is a recombinant completely humanized IgG4 monoclonal antibody that targets CD47. CD47 is a transmembrane protein that inhibits macrophage phagocytosis by attaching to the signaling regulatory protein (SIRP) on the macrophages surface and sending a dont eat me signal. IBI188 (letaplimab) increased phagocytosis of tumor cells and cross-activated T lymphocytes after inhibiting this myeloid checkpoint. IBI188 (letaplimab) has a distinct target, a clear mechanism of action, and considerable efficacy in preclinical studies. The escalation of all preset doses was accomplished in phase 1a clinical data, with the highest exploratory dose of 30mg/kg QW. There was no dose-limiting toxicity in any of the dosage groups, and IBI188 (letaplimab) was generally well tolerated.

Key Lung Adenocarcinoma Therapies and Companies

Bemcentinib: BerGenBio

RAIN-32: Rain Oncology Inc

Rigosertib: Onconova Therapeutics

PF-07220060: Pfizer

Letaplimab (IBI188): Innovent Biologics

PY159: Pionyr Immunotherapeutics

Learn more about the novel and emerging Lung Adenocarcinoma pipeline therapies @ Lung Adenocarcinoma Clinical Trials

Lung Adenocarcinoma Therapeutics Assessment

By Product Type

Monotherapy Combination Therapy



By Stage

Discovery Pre-Clinical Phase I Phase II Phase III Pre-registration



By Route of Administration

Inhalation Inhalation/Intravenous/Oral Intranasal Intravenous Intravenous/ Subcutaneous NA Oral Oral/intranasal/subcutaneous Parenteral Subcutaneous

By Molecule Type Antibody Antisense oligonucleotides Immunotherapy Monoclonal antibody Peptides Protein Recombinant protein Small molecule Stem Cell Vaccine



Scope of the Lung Adenocarcinoma Pipeline Report

Coverage : Global

Key Lung Adenocarcinoma Companies : BerGenBio, Innovent Biologics, Lantern Pharma Inc., Pionyr Immunotherapeutics Inc., Onconova Therapeutics, Inc., Pfizer, Chugai Pharmaceutical, Novartis Oncology, Alaunos Therapeutics, Tmunity Therapeutics, Imugene Limited, Cantargia , Multitude Therapeutics Inc., Rain Oncology Inc., Bristol-Myers Squibb, and others.

Key Lung Adenocarcinoma Pipeline Therapies : Bemcentinib, IBI188, LP-300, PY159, Rigosertib, PF-07220060, RO5126766, Spartalizumab, Neoantigen specific TCR-T cell drug, huCART-meso cells, IMU-201, CAN04, AMT-151, RAIN-32, MORAb-202, and others.

Dive deep into rich insights for drugs used for Lung Adenocarcinoma treatment; visit @ Lung Adenocarcinoma Drugs

Table of Contents

1. Introduction 2. Executive Summary 3. Lung Adenocarcinoma Pipeline: Overview 4. Analytical Perspective In-depth Commercial Assessment 5. Lung Adenocarcinoma Pipeline Therapeutics 6. Lung Adenocarcinoma Pipeline: Late-Stage Products (Phase III) 7. Lung Adenocarcinoma Pipeline: Late-Stage Products (Phase III) 8. Lung Adenocarcinoma Pipeline: Mid-Stage Products (Phase II) 9. Lung Adenocarcinoma Pipeline: Early Stage Products (Phase I) 10. Therapeutic Assessment 11. Inactive Products 12. Company-University Collaborations (Licensing/Partnering) Analysis 13. Key Companies 14. Key Products 15. Unmet Needs 16. Market Drivers and Barriers 17. Future Perspectives and Conclusion 18. Analyst Views 19. Appendix

For further information on the Lung Adenocarcinoma therapy in the pipeline, reach out @ Lung Adenocarcinoma Medication

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by Adam Buckman , Featured Columnist, October 5, 2023

The Simpsons started its 35th season last Sunday with a pointed message about the dangers of authoritarianism.

Power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely, English historian and politician Lord John Dalberg-Acton wrote in 1887.

The famous quote is still relevant today, and it applied to Homer Simpson this past weekend when he was invested with absolute power, and all of Springfield suffered as a result.

The story began when Homer unknowingly volunteered to serve as a school crossing guard.

He complained about it at first. Now I have to wake up at the butt crack of dawn to walk loser kids across some loser street! he lamented to his nuclear plant colleagues Lenny and Carl.

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But almost as soon as he had strapped on the crossing guards safety belt over his shoulder and chest, he began his journey down the path to power.

Well, well, time to help the baby brigade cross the road, he said derisively to a group of schoolchildren as he waited at a crosswalk.

When they laughed at him, he burned with anger. I deserve your respect, you little jerks! he yelled after them.

Without me, theyd be stuck on one side of the street for the rest of their lives, he muttered to himself, nursing the same kinds of grudges held by the power-mad, and asserting that only he has the power to protect ordinary people from themselves and otherwise direct their lives.

He then saved the life of one of the schoolchildren, little Ralph Wiggum, who was nearly run over by Barney, the town drunk.

With his newfound fame, and seeking to capitalize on the affection and gratitude of the town, Homer began to consolidate his power.

At City Hall, he lobbied loudly for more funding and an intimidated Mayor Quimby said yes. Homer then hired about a dozen new crossing guards (pictured above), who agreed to make him captain.

In numbers, there was strength. Backed by his new crossing-guard goon squad, Homer imposed his will on Police Chief Wiggum, detaining the chief for jaywalking and positioning the newly powerful crossing guards as a force above the law.

They then took over Mels Tavern, renamed it OCrossigans, and declared that only crossing guards can enter.

In an Orwellian scenario, the very pedestrians this group of public servants were supposed to serve were being barred from a facility formerly open to them.

Homer clung to power even when he and his crossing-guard stormtroopers failed to manage heavy traffic around Springfield Elementary when two events, a bake sale and science fair, were being held at the same time.

Homer responded by angrily blaming others for the fiasco and demanding more money from the town.

He then applied his dictators charisma to promise the townspeople increased safety for their children if his unit received more money.

In the face of the towns enthusiasm, Mayor Quimby meekly acquiesced and gave Homer and his crossing-guard thugs a blank check, which emboldened Homer to begin shopping for heavy weaponry.

When Chief Wiggum vocally and eloquently objected, Homer disparaged him as a wokester, and then said, And if you dont like it, you can jaywalk your ass back to Portland!

Among other abuses of power, Homer cowed a restaurant waitress into permitting his family to eat for free.

When his troopers began to be known as orange shirts, Homer established a social media web site, Thin-orange-line.com, where his radical supporters left messages calling for the death of Homers political enemies.

Ah, the internet marketplace of ideas, said Homer smugly, when wife Marge expressed her alarm at the online messages.

Eventually, Springfield felt the full effects of Homers reign of terror as his orange shirts fired automatic weapons at approaching cars with no regard for human life, and the town burned.

When other forces gathered to depose him, their efforts failed.

In the end, Homer was driven from power after he was struck by Springfields one and only school bus and suffered serious injuries.

The TV Blog has no doubt that the producers of The Simpsons meant their season-premiere episode to serve as a warning.

As they likely hoped it would, this very special episode of The Simpsons raised the age-old question: Could it happen here?

Sure, why not? If it can happen in congenial Springfield, USA, then it could happen anywhere. Weve been warned!
by Laurie Sullivan @lauriesullivan, October 5, 2023

Unsealed court testimony in the Department of Justices landmark antitrust case against Google revealed that Apple held talks not only with Microsoft, but also DuckDuckGo -- not to buy DuckDuckGo, but to use its privacy search engine across Apple devices.

A key element of this trial is an agreement between Google and Apple, which paid billions of dollars annually in a revenue-share deal to make Google search the default across Apples devices.

Unsealed testimony from DuckDuckGo CEO Gabriel Weinberg tells how Apple had around 20 meetings and phone calls with DuckDuckGo to discuss making the search engine the default for Safaris private browsing mode, according to Bloomberg.

At the time of those conversations, DuckDuckGo got much of its search information from Bing.

A statement on DuckDuckGos website help pages describes how the company maintains its own crawler, DuckDuckBot, and indexes to support its results, but the more traditional links and images in its search results are largely sourced from Bing. The goal is "to create a superior search experience.

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Apple Senior Vice President John Giannandrea said DuckDuckGos reliance on Bing for search information risks sharing user information with Microsoft. If Apple were to seriously consider changing to DuckDuckGo, Giannandrea would very likely have insisted on doing a lot more due diligence with DuckDuckGo.

The talks between Apple and DuckDuckGo took place between 2018 and 2019.

The latest development in the trial focuses on how Apple considered replacing Google search as the default search engine in Safari, when customers used Private Browsing mode. Bloomberg reports that Google would have remained the default in normal search queries.

Giannandrea launched DuckDuckGo fifteen years ago in September, from his basement in Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, hoping to offer an alternative to Google. Years before Snowden, a decade before Cambridge Analytica, and more broadly before the world had started to realize the scary power and creepy surveillance of companies like Google and Facebook, he wrote in a blog post.

The company has been in a relationship with Microsoft for many years, and its website states that ad clicks are managed by Microsofts advertising network.

Microsoft and DuckDuckGo have partnered to provide a search solution that delivers relevant advertisements to you while protecting your privacy, the DuckDuckGo website states. If you click on a Microsoft-provided ad, you will be redirected to the advertisers landing page through Microsoft Advertisings platform. At that point, Microsoft Advertising will use your full IP address and user-agent string so that it can properly process the ad click and charge the advertiser.

Apples interest in DuckDuckGo may reside in the search engines business model. Other search engines associate the ad-click behavior with a consumer profile that can be used later to target ads on that search engine or around the Internet, stated on the DuckDuckGo website. When clicking on a Microsoft-provided ad that appears on DuckDuckGo, Microsoft Advertising does not associate the ad-click behavior with a user profile or store and share that information other than for accounting purposes.

Some 87% of U.S. online adults use at least one privacy- or security-protecting tool online, according to Forrester Research.

Heres a way to make sense of what Apple might see in a search like DuckDuckGo, despite it having privacy stopgaps and search features of its own. DuckDuckGos products started as a lone search engine. Now the company offers free, mobile and desktop browser with a private search engine built-in, along with more than a dozen other tracking protection.
by Dave Morgan , Featured Contributor, October 5, 2023

I am writing this from a train in Ukraine, traveling from Kyiv to Lviv as I make my way back to the Polish border to return to the U.S. I came here to show support to the people of Ukraine and to help build jobs and businesses within the countrys extraordinary technology industry in their time of great need, including helping my company open an office in Lviv, our first outside the US.

This is my second trip to Ukraine in the past few months. I am fortunate to be joined on this trip by fellow ad-tech entrepreneur Marty Kratky-Katz, the founder of Blockthrough, whom I had the great fortune to meet at an Interactive Advertising Bureau Ukraine event in June.

We have spent the past week meeting with tech entrepreneurs, government officials, investors and students, and participating in tech start up events after we each gave talks at IT Arena, the countys largest tech event.

The product and tech presentations on e-government, AI, quantum computing, and climate tech were mind-blowing, among the best anywhere.

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Yes, theres a war going on here in Ukraine. It's impossible not to be emotional when you witness the extraordinary courage and resilience of the Ukraine people to not only wage this horrible war repelling imperialistic Russian invaders, but also work separately to keep their economy going and continue building one of the worlds most powerful technology development ecosystems.

Sirens in Lviv went off for a Russian MiG overflight on the events first night. Everyone checked the apps on their phones, determined that the level of the threat was low, and then continued with their networking dinners.

The war in Ukraine the clearest example of freedom versus totalitarianism that the world has experienced since World War II. We have an independent, democratic state invaded by a dictatorial, totalitarian state to the north that has sought to dominate and exterminate the Ukraine people for many hundreds of years.

In fact, just hours ago, Russian invaders fired missiles into a cafe and market street in a small village in the Kharkiv region during todays lunchtime, killing 49 people, all civilians including a six-year-old boy.

This is what the Ukraine people are fighting against. What do they want? Ukrainians want life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Sound familiar?

What do Ukrainians think of the U.S. and Canada? They are very open when you ask. Our countries are role models to them. They are incredibly grateful for the generous and essential aid that our populations have provided, particularly the military aid.

However, they are also worried about the durability of our support and perplexed by the consequences of recent actions in Congress cutting off that critical military aid.

They also dont understand why so many large western consumer brands like Unilever continue to operate in Russia, paying tens of millions in taxes to Russia that fund the missiles and drones that kill their civilians.

And they dont understand the incredibly hypocritical tech leaders here who become trolls and mouthpieces for false, damaging and hurtful Russian propaganda.

We are all learning that this is not going to be a fast war. They rarely are. Many, many more Ukrainian soldiers and civilians will die before it is over. But Ukrainians are fighting this war for freedom for all of us and they cant do it without us providing weapons and humanitarian aid.

Already, more than one-half of Russias entire military capacity has been destroyed. How many trillions of dollars has the U.S. spent over the past decade or two to counter that threat? The cost here? $40 billion.

And, yes, the people of Ukraine need something beyond money and weapons. They need to know that the people of the U.S. and Canada and our support are bigger and more enduring than our politicians squabbles and petty, Valley bro tweets from tech tycoons with loud megaphones and too much time on their hands.

What do you think?
by Erik Oster , October 5, 2023

Three of the Its Always Sunny in Philadelphia gang are starting a whiskey company.

After the brand was introduced as a limited-edition release supporting the bartending community, Four Walls -- the Irish American Whiskey brand founded by Charlie Day, Glenn Howerton, and Rob McElhenney -- is rolling out at bars across the country, as well as through the brands website. The name is an homage to the four walls of the bar the gang calls home on the long-running sitcom

"We wanted to create a brand celebrating the four walls that have held our good times in and kept our troubles out, Howerton explained in a statement.

"The three of us have come up with some of our best ideas and had some of our most memorable nights out together in unassuming rooms where great bartenders made us feel like a million bucks when we probably didn't have a hundred between us, McElhenney added. "That is the power of a great bar -- when your favorite people are there, your favorite bartender is working, and a great song is playing. Nothing can beat that good time, and that's what Four Walls is all about."

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One ad introducing the brand stars Day and Howerton and presents Four Walls as Another great idea, born at the bar, when Howerton spills some of his American rye whiskey into Days smooth Irish whiskey, with pleasing results.

Naturally the (presumably fictional) origin story for the brand, which highlights a point of differentiation, benefits from the two veteran comedic actors delivery -- while parodying old -school advertising tropes. Another spot stars all three Its Always Sunny stars and makes a case for yet another celebrity spirits brand, while playfully talking about their own achievements in the process.

The trio will bring their marketing chops for the brand to their upcoming live podcast tour, which includes a performance at New Yorks Radio City Music Hall Oct. 13 and 14. In line with the brands original mission, theyre also offering a series of brand merchandise on their website and donating the proceeds from select items to Tales of the Cocktail Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to the education, advancement and support of the global cocktail community.
by Wendy Davis , Staff Writer @wendyndavis, October 5, 2023

Attorneys general from 23 states are cheering the Federal Trade Commission's proposal to crack down on businesses that attempt to dupe consumers by burying fake reviews.

A merchant that only posts positive consumer reviews on its website, instead of both favorable and negative reviews, can potentially mislead consumers into believing that such reviews represent most or all of the reviews submitted to the merchants website, the attorneys general of Washington, D.C., Pennsylvania and Illinois write in comments joined by 20 other state attorneys general.

They also say companies today engage in the prevalent and nefarious practice of threatening consumers who post bad write-ups with legal action.

When merchants retaliate against consumers who post negative reviews, such as by hiring lawyers to threaten legal action against the consumers, these threats, even if not carried out, can have a chilling effect by bullying consumers into removing their reviews, even if they were fully justified in posting the reviews in the first place, the attorneys general of Washington, D.C., Pennsylvania and Illinois write in comments joined by 20 other state attorneys general.

The comments come in response to a broad FTC proposal to crack down on online fakery by prohibiting businesses from engaging in certain practices -- including purchasing phony reviews, suppressing bad write-ups, and offering incentives for positive critiques.

While the attorneys general support the potential rules outlawing review suppression, they suggest a few tweaks to the FTC's suggested language. For instance, the FTC's proposal would prohibit unjustified legal threats over bad reviews, but the attorneys general say the FTC should explicitly prohibit companies from threatening to enforce an agreement that is void, voidable, or unenforceable.

That phrase could prevent companies from relying on non-disclosure agreements to prevent bad reviews, given that those types of non-disclosure agreements may be unenforceable, according to the attorneys general.

The FTC's proposal has drawn comments from an array of groups, including consumer watchdogs to ad industry trade groups. The Association of National Advertisers, which is among the commenters, argues that some of the proposed rules -- such as ones that would prohibit companies from offering incentives for good reviews -- could chill legitimate commercial speech.
Zelenskyy: There will be important bilateral meetings at European political community summit in Spain

Ukraine is taking part in the Summit of the European Political Community in Spain, important meetings will be held, as well as discussions on strengthening air defense and food security, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.

"Granada, Spain. The Summit of the European political community. Ukraine, along with other nations, participates in our common European home for the sake of security and stability on the continent. There will be work in joint formats and important bilateral meetings," Zelenskyy wrote on the Telegram channel on Thursday.

The President noted that the key before the winter for Ukraine is to strengthen air defense, for this there is a basis for new agreements with partners.

"We are preparing to confirm and implement them," Zelenskyy stressed.

He also said that Ukraine has weighty proposals to strengthen the security architecture that exists in Europe, including regional ones.

"Special attention is paid to the Black Sea region and joint work for global food security and protection of freedom of navigation. This day should be fruitful for Ukraine and the whole of Europe," the head of the Ukrainian state summed up.
Russia may continue to target civilian shipping in the Black Sea, including by laying sea mines in the approach to Ukrainian ports in order to prevent the export of Ukrainian grain through the grain corridor, the British Foreign Office reports, citing intelligence data.

The UK assesses Russia is seeking to target civilian shipping travelling through Ukraines humanitarian corridor in order to deter the export of Ukrainian grain. This would continue Russias attempts to pressure the Ukrainian economy. Russia almost certainly wants to avoid openly sinking civilian ships, instead falsely laying blame on Ukraine for any attacks against civilian vessels in the Black Sea, the message reads.

The Ministry stressed that the UK is committed to ensuring that Ukraine continues to export its agricultural products along all suitable routes, which include the grain corridor, as well as overland and across the Danube. To do this, we continue to work with Ukraine and a number of international partners.

However, it is noted that the best way to solve the problem of food security in the world would be for the Russian Federation to withdraw its troops from Ukraine and end the war.

Foreign Minister of the United Kingdom James Cleverly said that Russias pernicious targeting of civilian shipping in the Black Sea demonstrates Putins total disregard for civilian lives and the needs of the worlds most vulnerable.

The world is watching  and we see right through Russias cynical attempts to lay blame on Ukraine for their attacks. We and our allies stand united against Putin and his attempts to harm Ukraine and thus harm the rest of the world, the Foreign Minister stressed.

According to the ministry, since the withdrawal from the Black Sea Grain Initiative, Russia has damaged 130 port infrastructure facilities in Odesa, Chornomorsk and Reni, destroyed almost 300,000 tonnes of grain  more than the total amount Russia promised to donate to African states, and enough to feed over 1.3 million people for a year.
To date, 11,000 civilians and 15,000 Ukrainian servicemen are considered missing under special circumstances, the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine informs.

"As of now, more than 26,000 people are wanted as missing under special circumstances. Some 11,000 of them are civilians, about 15,000 are military," Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs of Ukraine Leonid Timchenko said on the air of the national telethon on Thursday.

According to him, information about each missing person is registered, a register is maintained. "We cooperate with the National Police of Ukraine, with the Main Intelligence Agency, which are engaged in coordinating the search," he added.

Timchenko clarified that today about 9,000 families have received extracts from the Unified Register or Missing Persons.
The Army is crafting a new plan to improve barracks following mold and health issues, as well as a damning report from a government watchdog last month that found squalid base housing across the services -- including bad plumbing, brown water and insect infestations.

The plan, which has not yet been approved by Army Secretary Christine Wormuth, aims to pump $4 billion into barracks construction and renovations, and fund barracks sustainment to 100% of what's authorized by Congress, according to an internal copy reviewed by Military.com. On average in recent years, the Army has funded barracks sustainment at only 85% of what's authorized, using the rest of the money for unrelated projects.

Part of that increase would go to fully funding repairs and other sustainment, amounting to $342 million through the rest of the decade. The $4 billion would be a huge boost to new construction and renovations, but it would require the support of Congress for new funding.

Read Next: Service Academies Honor Law Allowing Cadets to Have Kids Even as Pentagon Policy Lags

"Honestly, it's a matter of balancing resources," Paul Farnan, the principal deputy assistant secretary of the Army for installations, energy and environment, said Thursday when asked why barracks weren't fully funded from the start. "We only have so many dollars. In the past, installations were under-invested in and that's how we got ourselves into this hole."

The Army's plan, though short on specifics, is the most substantial response so far to the severe livability issues with military barracks. In some cases, rooming did not have locking doors and squatters moved in, according to the Government Accountability Office report. Military.com reached out to the Army, Navy and Marine Corps about what each service plans to do to address the issues unveiled in the report, but responses were muted.

The Pentagon's civilian leadership was also criticized by the GAO for failing to enforce meaningful barracks standards on the branches and viewing the issue as unimportant after it nixed surveys of the rank and file on the matter.

After a service-wide inspection of all of its 6,700 barracks buildings, the Army found 23% of them in "poor" or "failing" condition. About 5% of the housing in poor or failing condition were temporary barracks set up at locations such as schools or major training centers, which are lower in priority compared to soldiers' homes.

"We are aware of the infrastructure challenges in our barracks across the Army," Sergeant Major of the Army Michael Weimer told Military.com in a statement. "We acknowledge that more needs to be done to provide the living arrangements our soldiers deserve."

The service expects it to cost $7.5 billion in total to catch up on barracks renovations and a growing maintenance backlog, which would be difficult to cover with an annual budget for living quarters of about $1.4 billion per year.

Even with an infusion of funding, the Army's current plan for barracks has gaps.

There is no clear outline for accountability if barracks fall into poor conditions, and no concrete standards for hiring maintenance workers. Soldiers regularly complain that barracks issues may take weeks or months to be properly addressed by Department of Public Works, or DPW, teams.

"Manpower is absolutely an issue," Farnan said. "Our installations were historically underfunded over the last few decades.  One result was a cut in manpower at the garrison. We need to take a look at better management practices."

The GAO report scolded the Army for skirting baseline living standards, saying, "The Army effectively waives all barracks from DoD minimum standards." There are no health or safety requirements that prevent installations from assigning service members to live in substandard barracks rooms.

Barracks quality goes beyond giving soldiers a nice home to live in. Army senior leaders have argued in recent years that those conditions affect the service's ability to fight. Unsafe conditions make troops more likely to separate and not recommend enlistment when they return home.

"I can't wait to leave the Army soon," said a junior enlisted infantryman, who spoke to Military.com on the condition of anonymity to avoid retaliation.

The soldier has lived in the barracks at Fort Stewart, Georgia, for years. The building smells musty. There has been no significant effort to remediate the mold that has infected the barracks, some of which has just been painted over.

He knew being in the infantry meant putting up with austere conditions, but not at home, and now he fears he is developing health issues related to the poor barracks conditions.

There are regular coughs and frequent nose bleeds, symptoms consistent with long-term exposure to black mold that other soldiers have relayed to Military.com. In some cases, soldiers have been admitted to the emergency room.

As the Army formulates plans, the Pentagon and other areas of the military have been slow to respond as poor living conditions among troops make news headlines.

Brendan Owens, an assistant secretary of defense and the Pentagon's chief housing officer, said that "in too many instances" the department "failed to live up to our role in making sure housing for our soldiers, sailors, Marines, airmen and Guardians honors their commitment and enables them to bring the best versions of themselves to their critical missions."

In his emailed statement, Owens said that he "will move out aggressively to increase oversight and accountability in government-owned unaccompanied housing and to address unacceptable living conditions impacting our service members."

While the man that the defense department points to as the ultimate authority on barracks is promising change, Kelly Flynn, a Pentagon spokeswoman, told Military.com that there was "nothing to announce at this time" regarding either the history of housing service members in substandard barracks rooms or the services' practice of exempting themselves from Pentagon standards.

Meanwhile, the Navy has pointed to the "Unaccompanied Housing Bill of Rights and Responsibilities" that it unveiled this May as part of its efforts to improve life for the roughly 5,000 sailors that the GAO found live in substandard housing.

The bill of rights says the service will provide sailors "a community that is safe, secure, and meets applicable health and environmental standards" and that they have "the right to reside in a housing unit that has working fixtures, appliances, and utilities."

But the service didn't define what those standards are and stressed that it views the new policy as a two-way street in which sailors are also charged with maintaining daily living standards in their barracks.

The GAO report found that service members across the branches struggle to do exactly that. Troops are often tasked with pest control, cleaning up mold and sewage, or providing their own heaters and air conditioners while living in barracks rooms.

One installation that GAO inspectors visited even told them that "service members are responsible for cleaning biological waste that may remain in a barracks room after a suicide."

-- Steve Beynon can be reached at Steve.Beynon@military.com. Follow him on X @StevenBeynon.

-- Konstantin Toropin can be reached at konstantin.toropin@military.com. Follow him on X @ktoropin.

Related: Mold Is Consuming Fort Stewart's Barracks as a Pattern Emerges Across the Army
DUDLEY, Mass.  A former Coast Guard Academy professor whose tenure coincided with a sexual harassment scandal has resigned as president of Nichols College in Massachusetts.

Glenn Sulmasy stepped down Tuesday amid an investigation initiated by the private, four-year college after accusations from Sulmasy's time at the academy came to light.

In light of these reports and facts uncovered to date during our ongoing investigation, and their impact on President Sulmasys ability to lead Nichols College, the board strongly believes the institutions best interest is to pursue new leadership, the college said.

Read Next: Majority of Retired 4-Star Officers Got Jobs in Defense Industry, New Report Says

Neither Sulmasy nor his attorney immediately returned messages seeking comment Wednesday.

The Coast Guard in June apologized for failing to take appropriate action years earlier when accusations of sexual assault and harassment surfaced at the U.S. Coast Guard Academy in New London, Connecticut.

An investigation dubbed Operation Fouled Anchor identified 62 substantiated incidents of sexual assault and harassment.

The internal Coast Guard investigation was first reported by CNN, which later reported that a performance evaluation during Sulmasy's time at the academy cited inappropriate communications with cadets and subordinates. CNN reported that the Coast Guard considered charging him with conduct unbecoming of an officer.

The Coast Guard said Wednesday in a statement that legal constraints prevent it from commenting on personnel matters related to Sulmasy. But the Coast Guard urged anyone who experienced or observed assault or harassment to report to their command or to the Coast Guard Investigative Service.

"The Coast Guard remains dedicated to supporting and addressing the needs of victims, improving access to justice, holding offenders accountable, and ensuring a coordinated response to sexual assault and harassment," the Coast Guard said.

Sulmasy served as a law professor and leader of the department of humanities before retiring from the Coast Guard Academy in 2015 with a rank of captain. He later served as provost and chief academic officer at Bryant University in Rhode Island before joining Nichols in 2021.

Nichols hired an outside law firm, Clifford & Kenny LLP, to conduct an independent investigation that hasn't yet been completed. A college spokesperson declined to comment further.

The Coast Guard in July ordered a 90-day review of of its policies, culture and practices to ensure the safety and well-being of its members. Coast Guard Commandant Adm. Linda Fagan told Congress that she learned about the investigations into sexual assault and harassment at the Coast Guard Academy from Freedom of Information Act requests by CNN and the outlet's subsequent reporting.

According to Fagan, the "Accountability Transparency Review" will examine all federal laws, Coast Guard policies, processes, practices, resources and culture that address sexual assault and harassment. The review is expected to produce recommendations for improvement. The Coast Guard's findings are expected by the end of October.

-- Military.com reporter Patricia Kime contributed to this story.

Related: Federal Legislation Proposed to Protect Coast Guard Academy Cadets Who File Sexual Assault Reports
A 22-year-old Waikiki man facing life in prison in connection with the fatal fentanyl overdose of a U.S. Marine in November 2021 will be arraigned and enter a plea Thursday in federal court, accused of conducting numerous drug transactions with active duty military personnel.

Justin Hiroki Wu, 22, is charged with one count of distribution of fentanyl resulting in death and one count of possession with intent to distribute cocaine.

According to a Jan. 13 criminal complaint, federal investigators allegedly found numerous messages with multiple individuals discussing drug transactions for cocaine, MDMA (ecstasy, and oxycodone.

A number of these individuals messaging Wu for drug transactions were active duty military personnel, according to the complaint.

Investigators allege Wu used Cash App and Venmo to move money.

Through multiple interviews of military personnel who purchased drugs from Wu, investigators believe that the transactions with memo line of 'food' were not for food but to disguise payments for drugs, according to the complaint, that notes interviews with active-duty military members and at least one person expelled from the Marine Corps for testing positive for fentanyl.

Fentanyl overdose deaths in Hawaii hit a three-year high with 71 in 2022, according to the state Department of Health. That's up from 47 in 2021, and 34 in 2020.

Fatal drug poisonings are an ongoing concern among Hawaii residents. Most of [the] mortality is due to (presumed) methamphetamine-related fatalities. While total opioid-related deaths have also increased over the last four years, that increase is limited to overdoses involving heroin and synthetic opioids, principally fentanyl, said Shawn Hamamoto, a DOH spokesperson. Deaths involving these two illicit opioids now far outnumber those related to more commonly prescribed opioids, suggesting prevention opportunities through harm reduction [including bystander naloxone] and law enforcement.

A spokesperson for Marine Corps Base Hawaii's Communication Strategy and Operations, 1st Lt. Erin Scudder, told the Star-Advertiser in a statement the Marine who died Nov. 13, 2021, was Lance Cpl. Alexander Grafton, a Hawaii-based Marine within the 3rd Marine Division.

Our deepest condolences remain with the friends and family of the Marine as we continue to grieve the loss, wrote Scudder.

The number of Kaneohe Marines who have overdosed or died of a drug overdose since 2020 was not immediately available.

Wu will be arraigned and enter a plea to the indictment at 10:30 a.m. Thursday before U.S. Magistrate Judge Kenneth J. Mansfield.

His attorney, Caroline M. Elliot, and assistant U.S. Attorney Michael F. Albanese, who is prosecuting the case, declined comment.

According to the Marine Corps Criminal Investigation Division, on Sept. 10, 2021, investigators responded to an overdose at Marine Corps Base Hawaii, where a lance corporal had been found unresponsive, given CPR, then transported to a medical center.

During a search of the victim's barracks, Marine investigators found one blue pill stamped M-30 and a second crushed-up blue pill in a transparent plastic bag that later tested positive as fentanyl, according to a Jan. 13 affidavit in support of a criminal complaint authorized by an agent with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. The victim allegedly told Marine authorities he bought the pills from Mike in Waikiki.

The victim's medical records from Sept. 13, 2021, indicate he told Marine medical personnel he had an accidental overdose on Sept. 10, 2021, after buying two Percocet pills off the street and snorted 1/2 tablet. He allegedly told medical personnel the overdose was unintentional and that he was just being careless and was trying to have fun.

On Nov. 13, 2021, the lance corporal was found dead in his barracks on Marine Corps Base Hawaii.

An autopsy and toxicology report determined the cause of death was fentanyl toxicity and the autopsy indicated the date of death as unknown, according to the complaint.

At the scene, his cellphone and a small plastic bag containing a blue, crystalline substance that tested positive as fentanyl were recovered. Investigators with the Naval Criminal Investigative Service reviewed the lance corporal's phone and interviewed his friends and associates.

NCIS determined that the lance corporal who died was last seen or heard from on the night of Nov. 10, 2021, which is the date NCIS suspects he overdosed, according to the complaint.

A review of his mobile phone revealed multiple conversations with individuals on the social media application Snapchat about buying and using cocaine, cannabis, oxycodone, Percocet and psilocybin mushrooms. The Snapchat conversations about the sale of illegal drugs continued up to Nov. 9, 2021, the day before he died of a fentanyl overdose.

On Nov. 5, 2021, the lance corporal's communications with Snapchat user jay_hnl referenced the September 2021 overdose, U should give me a small bag of blow cuz I died off ur perc (skull emojis), and, I just thought like I should get some exchange for literally dying off a half a perc (skull emojis). Four days later, on Nov. 9, 2021, the lance corporal messaged with jay_hnl saying, Yo can me and [Person-A ] r tryna cop 4 percs total.

In response, jay_hnl wrote, Okay. The lance corporal died the next day.

Based on the messages between jay_hnl and (the victim ), the CID investigation, and the medical records, the DEA agent wrote that both the overdose on Sept. 10, 2021, and the fatal overdose on Nov. 10, 2021, were the result of counterfeit Percocet, also known as oxycodone M-30 pills, bought from jay_hnl, according to the criminal complaint.

On March 30, 2022, NCIS and DEA agents interviewed another soldier acting as a NCIS confidential source who said he was with the lance corporal on Nov. 9, 2021, when he bought the Percocet from jay_hnl.

The source allegedly said they had met with jay_hnl for drug transactions on multiple occasions in the past. He told federal agents that he would drive to an address in Waikiki, later determined to be the location of Wu's residence, where jay_hnl would leave his apartment complex and get into his car to complete the illegal drug transaction.

On June 27, 2022, DEA and NCIS agents interviewed another confidential source who said he bought illegal drugs from Justin, a civilian who lives at the apartment complex that is Wu's residence. The second source allegedly bought cocaine and MDMA from Justin on multiple occasions since December 2021 and would purchase drugs from Justin for other individuals. The second source helped federal agents set up a drug buy from Wu on June 29, 2022, court records show.

Wu was arrested at about 2 :35 p.m. when he was seen getting into a car registered to his mother. A search of the car allegedly turned up a scale with suspected cocaine residue and about 188 grams of cocaine in the trunk. Plastic bags with suspected cocaine residue and suspected psilocybin mushrooms were also found in the driver's center console, according to the complaint.

A search warrant was executed at Wu's apartment and authorities seized suspected cannabis, multiple bottles of prescription codeine, suspected psilocybin mushrooms, and suspected cocaine. Within a safe in Wu's room, federal agents found $34,248 in cash, bundled in rubber bands and in different denominations; and 780,000 in Japanese Yen, or about $5,228.

On that same date, Wu provided consent for investigators to assume his online identity in Instagram, Snapchat, and iMessage accounts. Wu's current Instagram account username is jay_hnl, the same account username which was in contact with (the lance corporal) on Snapchat, according to the complaint.

(c) 2023 The Honolulu Star-Advertiser

Visit The Honolulu Star-Advertiser at www.staradvertiser.com

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A leading brand of personal computers that is sold in Navy Exchange stores is coming under fire by a House panel focused on competition with China.

In a letter to the Navy Exchange Service Command released Thursday, House China Committee Chairman Mike Gallagher, R-Wis., called for "immediate action" to pull Lenovo products from stores. Gallagher pointed to past regulatory scrutiny of the company and argued the computers pose a cybersecurity risk because the largest single shareholder is a Chinese entity.

"The exchange should not be selling Lenovo products to U.S. service members, let alone incentivizing such purchases with tax-free, discounted prices," Gallagher wrote in the letter to Navy Exchange Service Command CEO Robert Bianchi.

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"Doing so creates a major cybersecurity threat and undermines the U.S. Department of Defense's 2023 Cyber Strategy, which commits to 'foster[ing] a culture of cybersecurity and cyber awareness,'" Gallagher added.

An exchange spokesperson did not immediately respond to Military.com's request for comment about the letter.

Lenovo pushed back against Gallagher's letter, saying his allegations are "based on past claims that were inaccurate, unsubstantiated or resolved years ago." The company is headquartered in both North Carolina and Beijing, and has passed five national security reviews by the U.S. Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, a company spokesperson stressed in a statement.

"Lenovo is not affiliated with the People's Liberation Army in any way, is not invested in or controlled by the Chinese government or the Chinese Communist Party, and does not participate in or have links to Chinese state-run cyberespionage campaigns," the spokesperson said in an emailed statement. "We have been a trusted vendor to multiple U.S. government agencies over many years, and our products deliver excellent value, performance and reliability."

The letter is the latest example of lawmakers expressing concern over Chinese products in military exchanges. The House's version of this year's annual defense policy bill includes a provision to ban the sale of items manufactured, assembled or imported from China at commissaries or exchanges. A similar provision was included in last year's defense bill, too, but did not become law.

Lenovo is the most popular PC brand in the world and the third most popular in the U.S., according to technology research firm Gartner.

The company's largest shareholder is a Chinese investment firm called Legend Holdings Corp., which itself is under the umbrella of China's national Chinese Academy of Sciences.

U.S. regulators have raised security concerns about Lenovo in the past.

In 2018, the Federal Trade Commission settled with Lenovo over allegations that it preloaded software on some laptops in order to deliver ads to consumers. The software "interfered with how a user's browser interacted with websites and created serious security vulnerabilities," the FTC said at the time.

As part of the settlement, Lenovo is required to get consumers' affirmative consent before pre-installing any similar software and has to implement a comprehensive software security program for 20 years that is subject to third-party audits.

In addition to the FTC complaint, Gallagher also highlighted a 2018 report from a congressionally chartered panel called the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission that alleged Lenovo "has been linked to Chinese state-led cyberespionage efforts." Among the examples cited in the report was a 2015 decision by the Navy to replace servers on the Aegis Combat System after Lenovo acquired the server line from IBM.

"PRC espionage campaigns are highly sophisticated and could certainly target U.S. service members on their personal computer and IT devices," Gallagher wrote. "We are concerned that these actors could gain access to service members' sensitive personal information and exploit this access to compromise U.S. national security."

He asked for his committee, which is officially called the House Select Committee on Strategic Competition between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party, to be briefed on the Navy Exchange's decision to sell Lenovo products by Oct. 20.

Editor's note: This story has been updated to include a statement from Lenovo.

-- Rebecca Kheel can be reached at rebecca.kheel@military.com. Follow her on X @reporterkheel.

Related: 'Hundreds' of Service Members Are Being Solicited by China for Insider Info, Air Force Says
KYIV, Ukraine  A Russian rocket struck a village cafe and store in eastern Ukraine on Thursday, killing at least 51 civilians in one of the deadliest attacks in the war in months, according to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and other top officials in Kyiv.

Zelenskyy, attending a summit of about 50 European leaders in Spain to drum up support from Ukraine's allies, denounced the strike in the village of Hroza as a demonstrably brutal Russian crime and a completely deliberate act of terrorism.

About 60 people were in the cafe, attending a wake after a funeral, said Internal Affairs Minister Ihor Klymenko, who provided the death toll.

Among the dead was a 6-year-old boy, and seven other people were wounded, said presidential chief of staff Andrii Yermak and Kharkiv Gov. Oleh Syniehubov.

According to preliminary information from Kyiv, the village was hit by an Iskander missile. Emergency crews searched the smoldering rubble of damaged buildings. Ukrainian prosecutors released photos showing bloodied bodies.

Hroza, which had a population of about 500 before the war, is located in the northeastern Kharkiv region. The village and other parts of the region were seized by Russia early in the war and recaptured by Ukraine in September 2022.

The village is only 30 kilometers (19 miles) west of Kupiansk, a key focus of the Russian military effort. Zelenskyy had visited the area Tuesday to meet with troops and inspect equipment supplied by the West.

On Thursday, Zelenskyy was at a summit of the European Political Community in Granada, Spain, where he asked for more Western support, saying that Russian terror must be stopped.

Russia needs this and similar terrorist attacks for only one thing: to make its genocidal aggression the new norm for the whole world, he said in a statement posted on his Telegram channel. Now we are talking with European leaders, in particular, about strengthening our air defense, strengthening our soldiers, giving our country protection from terror. And we will respond to the terrorists.

The key for us, especially before winter, is to strengthen air defense, and there is already a basis for new agreements with partners, he told the group, which was formed in the wake of Russias full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

Last winter, Russia targeted Ukraine's energy system and other vital infrastructure in a steady barrage of missile and drone attacks, triggering continuous power outages across the country. Ukraine's power system has shown a high degree of resilience and flexibility, helping alleviate the damage, but there have been concerns that Russia will again ramp up its strikes on power facilities as winter draws nearer.

Zelenskyy noted the Granada summit will also focus on joint work for global food security and protection of freedom of navigation in the Black Sea, where the Russian military has targeted Ukrainian ports after Moscow's withdrawal from a U.N.-sponsored grain deal designed to ensure safe grain exports from the invaded countrys ports.

The U.K. Foreign Office cited intelligence suggesting that Russia may lay sea mines in the approach to Ukrainian ports to target civilian shipping and blame it on Ukraine.

Russia almost certainly wants to avoid openly sinking civilian ships, instead falsely laying blame on Ukraine for any attacks against civilian vessels in the Black Sea, it said, adding that the U.K. was working with Ukraine to help improve the safety of shipping.

Speaking in Granada, Zelenskyy emphasized the need to preserve the European unity in the face of Russian disinformation and to remain strong amid what he described as a political storm in the United States.

Asked if he was worried that support for Ukraine could falter in the U.S. Congress, the Ukrainian president stressed that his visit to Washington last month made him confident of strong backing by both the Biden administration and Congress.

Zelenskyy called for additional air defense system for Ukraine, additional artillery and shells, additional long-range missiles and drones for our soldiers, as well as additional formats of support and security guarantees for nations threatened by Russia to help protect Europe from potential aggression by Moscow.

Earlier Thursday, Russia targeted Ukraine's southern regions with drones. Ukraines air force said that the countrys air defenses intercepted 24 out of 29 Iranian-made drones that Russia launched at the Odesa, Mykolaiv and Kirovohrad regions.

Andriy Raykovych, head of the Kirovohrad regional administration, said an infrastructure facility in the region was struck and emergency services were deployed to extinguish a fire, but there were no casualties.

In other Russian attacks in the past day, two civilians were killed by shelling in the southern city of Kherson and one died after a strike on the city of Krasnohorivka in the eastern Donetsk region. At least eight people were wounded, according to Ukraine's presidential office.

A Russian strike on a hospital in the city of Beryslav in the Kherson region ravaged the building and wounded two medical workers, according to the regional administration chief, Oleksandr Prokudin.

Ukraine, in turn, has struck back at Russia with regular drone attacks across the border.

In Russia's Kursk region that borders Ukraine, Gov. Roman Starovoit said that Ukrainian drones attacked infrastructure facilities in several areas, resulting in power cuts. He also said that Ukrainian forces fired artillery at the border town of Rylsk, wounding a resident and damaging several houses.

Associated Press writer Dasha Litvinova and Yuras Karmanau in Tallinn, Estonia, contributed.
WASHINGTON -- Talk of attacking drug cartels south of the border by drone or special forces has become increasingly popular among Republicans. Texas congressman Joaquin Castro is pushing Congress to renounce such moves without Mexico's full prior approval.

"Over the last several months, Americans have seen an alarming rise in reckless remarks that threaten to normalize the idea of invading Mexico," he said.

The San Antonio lawmaker, the top Democrat on a subcommittee overseeing Western Hemisphere relations, will file a resolution Friday that "condemns calls for military action" without Mexico's approval -- a swipe at GOP presidential candidates that makes it unlikely to pass the GOP-controlled House.

The resolution affirms that "any act of aggression on Mexico's sovereign territory without their consent could be considered an act of war and a violation of international law."

Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador has made the same point. In March, he dispatched his foreign minister to Washington to declare that "we will not allow ourselves to be pushed around."

The talk has escalated since then.

In August, Lopez Obrador denounced growing calls for military action in Mexico "offensive" and disrespectful, downplaying the threats as campaign posturing while emphasizing that any such move would be seen as a provocation that could not go unanswered.

Castro's resolution would put Congress on record rejecting the use of military force against drug cartels in Mexico without the OK of both the Mexican government and U.S. Congress.

Donald Trump, the front-runner for the 2024 nomination, has vowed to send special forces into Mexico to attack drug lords "just as we took down ISIS and the ISIS caliphate." He's also promised a naval blockade.

His former defense secretary, Mark Esper, recounted in a memoir that as president, Trump wanted to shoot missiles into Mexico to destroy drug labs.

At the first Republican presidential debate in August, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis vowed to send special forces into Mexico "on Day 1" with no mention of getting a green light from his Mexican counterpart.

Entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy has said he's fully prepared to send U.S. forces even if Mexico objects.

In a fundraising email Wednesday titled "military force is both legally and morally justified," he insinuates that Mexico's president resists a robust U.S. response to drug smuggling, because "the cartels may be ... Lopez Obrador's sugar daddy."

Republicans in both the House and Senate have proposed authorizing military force against drug cartels, including Rep. Dan Crenshaw of Humble, a former Navy SEAL.

The Biden administration has rejected that approach, preferring to treat the drug trade as a law enforcement issue. Public pressure continues to build as the death toll mounts from fentanyl, a powerful synthetic opioid.

"War with Mexico would cause devastating loss of life and would be disastrous for millions," Castro said. "... This resolution sends a strong message that the United States respects Mexico's sovereignty and that Congress does not support dangerous calls for war at our southern border."

Nineteen other Democrats in the House signed on to Castro's resolution as of late Wednesday. A number of anti-war groups also support it.

"Responding to the fentanyl epidemic with military force would militarize a public health challenge for which treatment and health services are desperately needed," said Heather Brandon-Smith, legislative director for foreign policy at Friends Committee on National Legislation, a Quaker group.

 2023 The Dallas Morning News.

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
WASHINGTON -- The Pentagon said Thursday the U.S. military shot down an armed Turkish drone that came within 500 meters (yards) of American troops in northeastern Syria, in a rare use of force by one NATO member against another.

Air Force Brig. Gen. Patrick Ryder, the Pentagon press secretary, called it a "regrettable incident" and said U.S. troops were forced to go to bunkers for safety as Turkey bombed targets nearby.

Both Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and the new Joint Chiefs chairman, Gen. CQ Brown, spoke with their Turkish counterparts quickly after the incident to emphasize the value they place on their relationship with Turkey -- but also the need to avoid any similar incidents in the future and ensure the safety of U.S. personnel.

The decision to shoot down an ally's armed drone "was made out of due diligence and the inherent right of self-defense to take appropriate action to protect U.S. forces," Ryder said, adding that "we have no indication that Turkey was intentionally targeting U.S. forces."

U.S. officials earlier told The Associated Press the shootdown was ordered after more than a dozen calls to Turkish military officials stating that U.S. forces were on the ground in the area and that the U.S. military would take action to protect them if the drone didn't leave. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity to provide details of a sensitive military incident.

Ryder said U.S. forces observed Turkish drones doing airstrikes around Hassakeh at about 7:30 a.m. local time, and some strikes were inside a so-called American "restricted operating zone" just a kilometer (about a half mile) from U.S. troops. He said a bit later a Turkish drone reentered the restricted area "on a heading toward where U.S. forces were located."

Commanders determined it was a threat and U.S. F-16 fighter jets shot it down around 11:40 a.m., Ryder said, adding that no U.S. forces were injured.

The incident occurred on the same day as a drone attack killed at least 80 people in government-controlled Homs, Syria, where explosive-laden drones were detonated during a military graduation ceremony attended by young officers and their families. An additional 240 people were injured, according to Syria's health ministry.

Syria's military blamed insurgents "backed by known international forces," without naming any particular group, and threatened to respond with "full force."

Syria has been in a civil war for more than a decade, and the country is split into areas controlled by the Syrian government led by President Bashar al-Assad; al-Qaida-linked militants and Turkish-backed opposition fighters in the northwest; and Kurdish forces in the northeast that the U.S. partners with to conduct missions against the Islamic State group. So far, the war has killed half a million people, wounded hundreds of thousands and left many parts of the country destroyed.

Typically, the U.S. and Turkish militaries, which are NATO allies, work in close coordination in conducting air maneuvers. But Turkey considers the Kurdish forces that work with the American troops to be aligned with the Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK.

The U.S. has about 900 troops in Syria conducting missions to counter Islamic State group militants.

There was no immediate comment from Turkey on the shooting of the drone.

The country's state-run Anadolu Agency reported, however, that the Turkish intelligence service, MIT, carried out an operation against the PKK and the Kurdish militia group in Syria, which is known as People's Defense Units, or YPG. The report said the Turks struck suspected arms and ammunition depots and buildings believed to have been used by the groups' "sabotage" teams. It did not provide further details on the operation.

On Wednesday, Turkey had carried out airstrikes in Iraq and Syria against Kurdish militant targets following a suicide attack outside Turkey's interior ministry building earlier this week.

In a press conference following the attack, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said Turkish intelligence officials have established that the two assailants arrived from Syria, where they had been trained. He said Turkey would now target facilities in Syria and Iraq belonging to the PKK or YPG.

Thursday's incident risks adding to longstanding tensions between Turkey and the United States, even though Turkey is a strategically important ally and NATO member. U.S. officials and lawmakers have criticized Turkey's human rights record and its delays in agreeing to Sweden's membership in NATO. Turkey has been frustrated by U.S. delays in approving 40 new F-16 fighter jets as well as kits to upgrade its existing fleet.

Ryder told reporters that the U.S. stands "firmly with our NATO ally Turkey and the Turkish people in their fight against the PKK."

The U.S. has designated the PKK as a "foreign terrorist organization" but has declined to make a similar determination regarding the YPG, which has been a key partner of the U.S. in the fight against the Islamic State group in northern Syria. The U.S. does not believe the YPG represents a threat to Turkey.

As recently as Wednesday, the State Department said there was no change in how the U.S. regards the YPG.

In 2016, Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan accused the U.S. of supporting a failed coup attempt against his government. The U.S. has flatly rejected the claims but has also refused to extradite the leader of the group Erdogan claims was behind the attempt, cleric Fetullah Gulen, who lives in exile in Pennsylvania.

Associated Press writer Suzan Fraser in Ankara, Turkey, contributed.
For eight years, Marine and Army veteran Jonathan Lubecky suffered flashbacks and nightmares, got rip-roaring drunk to quell his troubled mind, took 42 pills a day to address various medical conditions, and attempted suicide multiple times.

An emergency visit to the Department of Veterans Affairs hospital in Charleston, South Carolina, in 2014 changed his life, not because he was able to get treatment -- no inpatient psychiatric beds were available that day  but because an intern slipped him a note.

It said, "Google MDMA/PTSD."

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The intern knew that in Charleston, a researcher for the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies, or MAPS, was conducting a safety trial on the use of MDMA -- 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine, also known as ecstasy or molly -- for treatment-resistant post-traumatic stress disorder.

Nine years later, having enrolled in the study and received three MDMA-assisted therapy sessions, Lubecky has no thoughts of suicide. He has founded his own company, traveled to Ukraine three times for humanitarian work, and lived through several personal traumas without recurrence of his PTSD.

MDMA and the psychotherapy he underwent while using the drug have led him to where he is today.

"I'm now PTSD-free longer than I had it," said Lubecky during the VA's inaugural New Horizons in Health podcast. "It's like doing therapy while being hugged by everyone who loves you with a basketful of puppies licking your face."

Since 2011, MAPS has studied the potential of MDMA to put PTSD in remission, most recently releasing the results of Phase 3 clinical trials in the journal Nature that confirmed its safety and efficacy in patients with PTSD.

With those promising results and the organization preparing to file a new drug application with the Food and Drug Administration later this year, the VA is exploring ways to expand research into psychedelic drugs like MDMA and psilocybin -- the active drug in psychedelic mushrooms -- to treat PTSD, depression, substance use disorder and more across the veteran population.

The VA is restricted from conducting large-scale studies of these medications because MDMA and psilocybin are illegal in most states and at the federal level, where they are listed as Schedule 1 drugs by the Drug Enforcement Agency.

But according to VA Under Secretary for Health Dr. Shereef Elnahal, department researchers have received waivers to support ongoing studies and have conducted research funded with private donations rather than federal money.

VA scientists are interested in exploring the protocols for psychedelics-assisted therapy and how the department can support the research nationwide, as well as build the infrastructure needed for larger clinical trials, according to Elnahal.

"If and when this becomes available," Elnahal said during the New Horizons podcast, "VA will be able to scale it, I think, better than any other health care system because of our focus particularly on veterans."

The VA is invested in novel approaches to treat mental health conditions in former service members because such conditions can be debilitating or even life-threatening. Studies show that PTSD, either alone or when diagnosed with other mental health conditions, is associated with suicide.

Data released last year showed 6,146 veterans took their own lives in 2020, 342 fewer deaths than 2019 and 650 fewer deaths than in 2018. Data for 2021 is expected in the coming weeks.

According to the VA, of the 6 million veterans enrolled in VA health care in 2021, 10% of male veterans and 19% of female veterans were diagnosed with PTSD.

Standard treatments for PTSD include cognitive processing therapy, prolonged exposure therapy, and eye movement desensitization and reprocessing, along with drug therapies such as Zoloft and Paxil.

Lubecky said he tried most standard therapies but, while they may be effective for other veterans, they didn't work for him. MDMA, which increases the release of neurotransmitters responsible for feelings of positivity, energy and alertness, combined with therapy proved to be effective, although he admitted that the sessions were a challenge.

"It's not the MDMA that fixed you. It's the therapist working with you putting in the hard work," Lubecky said during the podcast. "The medicine just puts the mind, body and spirit in the place it needs to be so the problem can be fixed."

According to the results of the most recent Stage 3 clinical trial, nearly 87% of the patients who received MDMA-assisted therapy showed significant improvement in their PTSD symptoms more than four months after treatment.

By the study's end, 71% no longer met the diagnostic criteria for having PTSD.

Two participants who received MDMA reported having serious thoughts of suicide, although no one involved in the study -- neither the MDMA or placebo group -- attempted suicide.

MDMA is not without its risks. It is linked to high blood pressure, seizures and kidney failure, and its use can cause negative aftereffects such as irritability, depression, anxiety and memory issues, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse.

Lubecky and VA officials expressed concern that the buzz over its success as a PTSD treatment as well as new research on psilocybin as a potential therapy for PTSD and major depressive disorder will encourage veterans who can't enroll in a clinical trial to self-medicate.

Given the risk of a negative reaction and potential contamination of black market medications with substances like fentanyl, VA officials warn veterans to steer clear.

"When you are using recreationally, you are finding something on the street. You don't know what you are taking and what's in that pill. That's a risk that I hope that will cause people some pause," said Dr. Ilse Wiechers, deputy executive director of the VA's Office of Mental Health and Suicide Prevention, during the podcast.

With MAPS wrapping up more than 12 years of research on MDMA as a treatment for combat-related PTSD, the organization plans to seek approval of the therapy from the FDA in 2024. The agency granted a "breakthrough therapy" status to the treatment in 2017.

The Drug Enforcement Agency also will need to weigh in, removing it from the list of illicit controlled substances.

To date, the DEA has been reluctant to alter that list, known as Schedule 1, to include declassifying medical cannabis, which remains illegal under federal law but is now allowed either for medical or recreational use in 38 states.

Legislation currently under consideration by Congress includes amendments that would require the Department of Defense and VA to study the use of marijuana to treat PTSD, depression and chronic pain in service members and veterans.

The legislation, part of the House version of the National Defense Authorization Act, also would require the Pentagon to conduct clinical trials on the MDMA and psilocybin for PTSD, traumatic brain injury and chronic traumatic encephalopathy.

The amendments were introduced by Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., and Rep. Morgan Luttrell, R-Texas, a former Navy SEAL.

Lubecky said he would like more veterans to be able to access MDMA therapy, and he has

become a proponent, establishing an advocacy firm focusing on psychedelic research.

"I don't know the date of the first night I didn't have nightmares. I know the first night I remember I didn't have nightmares. I don't remember the first day I didn't think about suicide, but I remember the day I realized I didn't and that was an amazing day," Lubecky said during the podcast.

-- Patricia Kime can be reached at Patricia.Kime@Military.com

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If you watch cable news, you may feel dispirited by the current state of our political affairs. We are constantly told we're too left, too right, too this and that. Partisanship exists, but seeing eye to eye isn't a condition for finding common ground. Take, for example, my 30-year friendship with Senator Mitch McConnell. The two of us joined forces to take on the Pentagon and challenge its plans for incinerating hazardous chemical weapons near my hometown.

I first met Senator McConnell in 1985, shortly after he won his first U.S. Senate election. I was a Vietnam veteran turned antiwar environmentalist, and he was a Reagan Republican. As you might expect, we didn't agree on a lot.

I had recently attended a community meeting with 300 other concerned citizens where Pentagon officials shared their plans to destroy chemical weapons at Blue Grass Army Depot. They intended to burn these toxic nerve agents at a Richmond plant, just one mile from a middle school and six miles from my family home.

The community was eager to see these weapons destroyed, but we wanted a safe solution. It was clear the Army wouldn't provide the answers we were looking for without a push, so I began sharing my frustrations with the senator and a wide range of citizens.

We enlisted colleges, churches, businesses, horse farms, physicians and many more to advocate against the Pentagon's incineration plans. Over time, our concerns snowballed into a mass of opposition that the Army couldn't ignore. Still, we couldn't help but feel like David gazing up at Goliath -- in this case, the United States Army. We were outspent, out-lawyered, out-just about everything.

Senator McConnell was a champion of our crusade early on, and just the powerful ally we needed in Washington. I would provide the senator with the factual information he needed, and he would bring our cause and concerns straight to the Pentagon's front door.

In 1993, after nearly a decade of steady petitioning, we successfully delayed incineration funding, forcing the Pentagon back to the drawing board and charging it with exploring safer alternatives. It was a huge breakthrough, but our work wasn't done just yet.

By 1996, the Assembled Chemical Weapons Assessment (ACWA) program was established, which held the Army to its word on demonstrating alternatives. Thanks to Senator McConnell, whose amendment in the defense appropriations bill authorized this program, ACWA ultimately found that several safer methods existed.

Over the next decade, the Department of Defense would try every trick in the book to redirect funding for ACWA and hold on to its incineration agenda. Even after proving the efficacy of a safer, water-based neutralization method, the Army was still redirecting more than $300 million in neutralization funding to other incineration sites, putting efforts in Kentucky on hold. I laid out the evidence to Senator McConnell, who took the matter to several senior defense officials and sponsored legislation mandating the Army release these funds.

With funding finally going where it should, the Depot could begin eliminating its 523 tons of chemical agents. That effort officially wrapped up this summer when the Depot destroyed its last nerve-agent rocket, closing this chapter of American warfare for good.

The culmination of our efforts, spanning four decades, seven presidential administrations and most of my adult life, brought about an environmentally sound solution to one of the most important national security missions in a generation.

Senator McConnell and I couldn't be more different, but our victory proves that even the unlikeliest of allies can solve real problems and make people's lives better. Some might call this old-fashioned legislating, but I call it good leadership

Now more than ever, we need our leaders to cooperate. Senator McConnell has shown us this is possible for Kentucky. Even amid the most contentious debates, he has striven for incremental progress, leaving behind the zero-sum games and avoiding partisan gridlock. I know this because I have witnessed it firsthand throughout our 30-year friendship. Common ground is out there -- for those willing to work for it.

The public is invited to an event recognizing the Blue Grass plant team and destruction of the nation's declared chemical weapons stockpile Wednesday, Oct. 11, at 11 a.m. ET at the Armed Forces Reserve Center, 233 Battlefield Memorial Highway in Richmond, Kentucky.

Craig Williams is program director for the Kentucky Environmental Foundation in Berea.

 2023 Lexington Herald-Leader.

Visit kentucky.com.

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The First English Civil War was a nightmare for everyone involved -- and a lot of people were involved. In just a few years, 4% of the population of England would die from war-related causes, along with 6% of Scots and 41% of the Irish, some 200,000 people. Thats a lot of ghosts being made in a short period of time, if you believe in that kind of thing.

Apparently, Englands Public Record Office believed in that sort of thing in the 1640s. When King Charles I sent a team to investigate ghostly figures fighting over one of the wars old battlefields in Edgehill, so many people apparently witnessed the spectral scene that officials entered the afterlife armed conflict into the public record.

After coming to power in 1625, Parliament immediately began chafing King Charles I, so he began ruling with absolute authority, deferring little to Parliament as a governing body. Parliament, of course, disagreed with that style of government. Both sides were reluctant to take up arms against the other, but when they did in 1642, things got violent pretty fast.

We probably like to think of battles in this time period as uniformed armies with muskets, marching with new armor, glinting in the sun. But when it came to the earliest battles between the Royalists and the Parliamentarians, these were hardly professional soldiers. If the kings foot soldiers didnt die of typhoid or plague before arriving on the battlefields at all, they were basically peasants forced to fight with clubs or farming equipment. Luckier (read: wealthier) troops had horses and fought as cavalry or dragoons.

This painting might as well be called 'God Help You If You Don't Have a Horse.'

By the time King Charles marched on Edgehill in October 1642, he had around 11,000 foot soldiers, 3,000 cavalry and 1,000 dragoons to meet a Parliamentarian force that was roughly the same size, if not slightly larger. The Battle of Edgehill was inconclusive and decided nothing except the fates of more than a thousand troops, with another 3,000 wounded (considering the level of sanitation at the time, they probably died, too).

As if forcing thousands of peasants to fight cavalry and mounted rifles with sticks and scythes wasnt enough, the combatant forces also left their dead bodies unburied in an open field. The bodies were subsequently looted for money, clothes and basically anything else a dead man had no use for. Then both sides left to regroup.

Its likely no one would have given a second thought to the scores of dead soldiers littering the battlefield, had it not been for a strange occurrence around Christmas of that year. Shepherds walking across the battlefield reported hearing the clash of swords, the screams of men, horses and the cries of dying men. When they looked up, the herders saw the ghosts of the dead men re-fighting the Battle of Edgehill in the night sky.

Understandably upset, the shepherds contacted a local priest who also saw the phantom fray. In fact, so many people saw it, the locals published a pamphlet about it in 1643.

I just hope both sides have fun for eternity.

When King Charles I heard about the dead men continuing to fight for and against his rule in the afterlife, he sent a royal commission to check it out. Not only did the commission see the apparitions, they even recognized some of the ghosts, including Sir Edmund Verney, the kings standard-bearer.

After three months, all it took was the constant, nightly ghostly replay of the Battle of Edgehill for the locals to finally give the fallen troops a Christian burial. When that was done, the fighting finally stopped, although some still claim to hear the sounds of swords (probably scythes), cannon and horses during the night. But because the royal commissions investigation acknowledged the ghosts of Edgehill, the Public Record Office officially acknowledges them, too. To this day, theyre the only ghosts in the public record.

-- Blake Stilwell can be reached at blake.stilwell@military.com. He can also be found on Facebook, X or on LinkedIn.

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Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez expressed solidarity with Ukraine not only from the authorities of Europe, but also from the societies of the continent.

"Solidarity, unity and, of course, all the support not only of the European government, but also of our societies. I think that all Europeans support Volodymyr Zelenskyy and his country. And of course, we are ready to support until the end of this war," he said before the opening of the European Political Community Summit in Granada on Thursday.

Now I am thinking about a reform that will provide a financial basis for directing all resources to help and support Ukraine in the coming years, he said.

"We are very proud and honored to see Volodymyr Zelenskyy here in Granada with us," Sanchez said.
Type: Mining Area Museums in region: Cobalt Mining Museum (Cobalt) Mindat Locality ID: 535 Long-form identifier: mindat:1:2:535:4 GUID ( UUID V4 ): 7eb416fc-8073-45ed-bc7a-0ae09418c328 Other Languages: View 14 more... French: Cobalt, district de Timiskaming, Ontario, Canada German: Cobalt, Timiskaming District, Ontario, Kanada Italian: Cobalt, distretto di Timiskaming, Ontario, Canada Simplified Chinese: , , ,  Spanish: Cobalt, Ontario, Canada Albanian: Cobalt, Distrikti Timiskaming, Ontario, Kanadaja Arabic:  , ,  Asturian: Cobalt, Ontario, Canada Dutch: Cobalt, Timiskaming District, Ontario, Canada Egyptian Arabic:  , ,  Esperanto: Kobalto, Ontario, Kanado Farsi/Persian:  ,  , ,  Hebrew: , ,  Japanese:  , , ,  Polish: Cobalt, Dystrykt Timiskaming, Ontario, Kanada Portuguese: Cobalto, Distrito de Timiskaming, Ontario, Canada Serbian: , ,  Serbo-Croatian: Cobalt, Ontario, Kanada Turkish: Cobalt, Ontario, Kanada

"Jacques Cartier provided the first written reference to silver in the Cobalt area. On his second voyage (1535-1536) the Indians signed to him that silver metal resembling his neck-chain could be found in the "Kingdom of the Saguenay". It lay toward the north, up a great stream (the Ottawa River) along the mountains (the Laurentians)! Although gold and silver keenly interested the early explorers, Cartier never made the journey."

Select Mineral List Type Standard Detailed Gallery Strunz Chemical Elements

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Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cobalt,_Ontario Wikidata ID: Q2568572 GeoNames ID: 5924511

Localities in this Region

Grice (1989), page 86:The Cobalt Area was the most prolific silver producer of the region.Petruk (1971) divides the area into three geological sub-areas  Peterson Lake basin, Kerr Lake Dome, and New Lake Basin.Most of the activity was in the Peterson Lake Basin, and Petruk further divides this geographically into "Northwest of Cobalt Lake", "West side of Peterson Lake Basin", "East side of Peterson Lake Basin", and "near Peterson Lake".Mineralization age: Paleoproterozoic : 2211 Ma to 1699 MaThis table is based only on rock and mineral ages recorded on mindat.org for this locality and is not necessarily a complete representation of the geochronology, but does give an indication of possible mineralization events relevant to this locality. As more age information is added this table may expand in the future. A break in the table simply indicates a lack of data entered here, not necessarily a break in the geologic sequence. Grey background entries are from different, related, localities.This region is too big or complex to display the fossil list, try looking at smaller subregions.
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GLADWIN COUNTY, MI -- A crash between a pickup truck and a Gladwin County transit bus left two people hospitalized and required the jaws of life to be used to rescue one of the victims. According to UpNorthLive, the crash took place around 8:20 a.m. Wednesday at the intersection of Round Lake Road and Sugar River Road.

Police say the truck was traveling southbound when the driver of the transit bus failed to yield and turned into the path of the truck. The driver of the truck, an 83-year-old Gladwin County woman was extracted from her vehicle with the jaws of life. The driver of the bus, a 78-year-old Gladwin County man was the only person on the bus at the time of the crash.

Both drivers were transported via ambulance to a nearby hospital for treatment. Their identities and conditions have not been released by police.
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy has arrived at the European Political Community Summit in Granada (Spain).

"I think the main task is to preserve unity in Europe. And I'm not just talking about EU countries, all over Europe. I think this is the biggest problem, because Russia will attack through information disinformation, through fakes. And secondly, it is important that Ukraine has protection for the winter, because in winter we will have many attacks from different sides, different types of Russian missiles, including Iranian drones," he told reporters before the summit.

Answering the question whether he fears a decrease in support from the United States, Zelenskyy said that "in Ukraine, we stopped being afraid in the first days of a full-scale war. I think it's too late for us to be afraid, we need to work on it."

At the same time, he noted that the U.S. election period is "very difficult" and "some voices are very strange."
DETROIT  A new and improved helicopter has landed in Detroit, and more are on the way.

U.S. Coast Guard Air Station Detroit announced this week that it has received its first upgraded MH-65E Dolphin helicopter. The upgraded helicopters will replace legacy MH-65D helicopters that are used to support missions throughout the Great Lakes.

The transition from the five MH-65D helicopters to the upgraded E configuration is expected to take approximately two months.

As part of the transition, each MH-65D undergoes a six-month conversion to the MH-65E at the Coast Guards Aviation Logistics Center in Elizabeth City, N.C.

Detroit is the 11th of 13 MH-65 Air Stations to receive the upgraded helicopters. The Coast Guard plans to complete conversion of all 98 of its Dolphin helicopters to the MH-65E configuration by the end of 2024.

The upgraded helicopters provide enhanced search and rescue capabilities including modern glass cockpit technology that increases pilot and aircrew situational awareness.

The Dolphin upgrades also include reliability and capability improvements for the automatic flight control system, enhanced digital weather and surface radar, and multifunctional displays with more accurate fuel calculations, according to the USCG.

The upgrades and advanced training will enhance the situational awareness of our aircrews and improve our mission planning capabilities said Cmdr. Christian Polyak, commanding officer of Air Station Detroit. The replacement and inspection of key aircraft components as a part of the upgrade also extend the aircrafts service life and enable us to continue ensuring maritime safety, security and stewardship far into the future.

The units 23 pilots will undergo a three-week transition course at the Coast Guards Aviation Training Center in Mobile, Alabama where aircrew and mechanics will receive formal training specific to their roles and duties in Detroit.

Air Station Detroits Dolphin helicopter crews perform search and rescue, maritime law enforcement, and marine environmental protection, and provide aids to navigation and ice patrol support throughout the Great Lakes.
MONROE COUNTY, MI  An elderly woman drove her vehicle off the roadway causing it to do a full flip, landing back on its wheels, and then drove away, officials said.

The woman drove with a broken windshield and an inoperative front right tire for seven miles before conservation officers with the Michigan Department of Natural Resources tracked her down, according to a DNR enforcement report. The front right tire was completely worn off and the rim was grinding on the pavement.

Conservation officers Nicholas Ingersoll and Elliot Worel were requested by the Monroe County Central Dispatch to assist in finding the vehicle, the report said. They found it stopped in the middle of the roadway. They spoke with the driver, who was confused, and determined what had happened.

The woman and her dog were evaluated by medical personnel at the scene and found to be in stable condition, the report said.

The scene was turned over to the Monroe County Sheriffs Office for investigation, the report said.
WEXFORD COUNTY, MI -- A 21-year-old Cadillac man is accused of trying to steal a truck from a Walmart employee using tools he bought from the store where the truck owner worked. According to Michigan State Police, the suspect reportedly approached the employee around 10 p.m. on July 8 to compliment the employee on his truck.

The suspect introduced himself to the victim who went inside to start his shift. When the employee went to his vehicle the next morning, he found that the ignition had been damaged after someone broke into his truck. A screwdriver and a hammer were found on the seat and floorboard along with a Walmart bag.

Surveillance video inside the Walmart showed a man -- who matched the suspects description -- buying a screwdriver and hammer. After paying for the items, the suspect walked right out to the truck and can be seen moving around the vehicle for some time before he left.

While investigating the case, troopers with the Michigan State Police learned a suspect who matched the description and name of the alleged thief was lodged at the Missaukee County Jail on a separate charge. Troopers visited the jail and soon learned that when this suspect was booked, he was wearing the same clothes as the man in the Walmart surveillance videos. The man also had a matching tattoo to one seen in the surveillance videos.

The suspect was arraigned in 84th District Court this week on one count of attempted unlawful driving away of a motor vehicle, one count malicious destruction of personal property under $200, and habitual offender second notice. Bond was set at $10,000 and the man is due back in court on Oct. 17.
HOLMES TOWNSHIP, MI -- Michigan State Police have identified the skeletal remains found at a residential property earlier this year as those of 53-year-old Robert Cook Jr. of Iron River, Mich. According to WLUC-6, police were able to positively identify the remain thanks to DNA comparisons and were able to provide Cooks family with his remains so a proper burial could happen.

No foul play is suspected in Cooks death and the family was notified of the positive identification in August, according to police.

Cook was reported missing on Sept. 3, 2021 after he walked away from an assisted-living facility in Stephenson. Police investigated the disappearance, but based on previous actions, believed he may have hitchhiked out of state.

On May 10, 2023, a human skull and other partial remains were found at a property on Swanson Road in Holmes Township. At the time, police were unable to find other part of the skeleton, but said they had a probable identification of the person. Six days later, more remains were found by crews riding on horseback on the property.
WASHTENAW COUNTY, MI -- Fall festivals are happening all over Washtenaw County this weekend just in time for some cooler weather.

But if youre not ready to celebrate fall just yet, there are also other events happening like Neutral Zones street party in Ann Arbor or Michigan beer tasting in Ypsilanti.

Here are five fun things happening throughout the county from Friday, Oct. 6, to Sunday, Oct. 8.

1. Dexter Apple Daze

Dexter Apple Daze is bringing family fun to town from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 7.

The event in Monument Park will feature hayrides to the Dexter Cider Mill, pumpkin bowling, bounce houses, classic cars, live music, kids games, a pie-eating contest and a dog costume contest.

Learn more online.

2. Horning Farms Fall Fest

Horning Farms is set to host its second fall fest in Freedom Township, near Manchester.

The fall fest, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 7, features a variety of activities like wagon ride farm tours, farm-themed games and a petting area.

The event and most of its activities are free. However, the tractor-wagon ride tours cost $4 each, with children age 5 and younger being free.

There will also be fall products and decorations available, including homegrown pumpkins, corn stalk bundles, mums and mini straw bales.

Learn more online.

3. Jacobs Fresh Farm Annual Fall Festival

Jacobs Fresh Farm in Lima Township is also celebrating fall this weekend.

The farms second fall festival is 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 7, at 475 N. Fletcher Road.

The event will have pumpkin picking, live music, an artisan market, local vendors, pumpkin painting, crafts, food trucks and a kid zone with games and face painting.

Admission is $7 for adults, while children age 10 and younger are free. Farm hayrides cost $2 for adults and $1 for children age 10 and younger.

Learn more online.

4. Neutral Zone 25th Anniversary Street Party

Check out Neutral Zones free street party from 4 to 11 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 7, in front of 310 E. Washington St.

This is the events 25th anniversary. Attendees will find live music, food trucks, a beer tent, a bounce house and interactive murals and art projects. Learn more online.

5. The Newton of Ypsilantis Michigan Fall Beer Tasting

The Newton of Ypsilanti is hosting a Michigan fall beer tasting event from 4:30 p.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 8, at 220 South Huron St.

The beer tasting gives attendees a chance to taste eight locally brewed beers and enjoy some food. Participants will not only be able to taste the beers but will learn how to judge them.

Tickets are $50. Learn more online.

Want more Ann Arbor-area news? Bookmark the local Ann Arbor news page or sign up for the free 3@3 Ann Arbor daily newsletter.

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ANN ARBOR, MI-- Michigan Court of Appeals judges have ruled that The Beer Depot in Ann Arbor is not liable in a civil lawsuit filed by a man claiming to have overdosed on opioids he obtained at the store.

Larry Lees original lawsuit -- filed in Washtenaw County Trial Court in October 2019 -- claimed he found and purchased a bottle of Congaplex Multivitamins while shopping at the store at 114 E William St, in January 2019.

The suit alleged there were opioids in the multivitamin container, however. Lee, who was 42 at the time, said he took between 10 to 12 pills from the bottle, resulting in loss of consciousness.

After the overdose, plaintiff sought out services of various medical individuals for treatment. Plaintiff, who was already on anxiety medication because of numerous past traumas, also increased the dosage of his anxiety medication because of increased stress from the overdose, according to the synopsis of the case in the appellate court records.

Hospital tests confirmed that Norco  an opioid  was in the Lees system, according to court documents.

Soon after his hospital visit, Lee confronted an employee at The Beer Depot who Lee claimed sold him the pills, taking a video of the exchange, according to the court record.

He asked (the employee) who the vendor was for the pills, to which (the employee replied) there was no particular vendor and that someone had left the pills there, according to court records describing the video.

Both parties acknowledged that, throughout the video, Lee did not claim to have purchased or bought the pills  only that he got them from The Beer Depot.

Lees 2019 lawsuit claimed negligence, among other accusations, based on the allegation that the store sold and marketed the multivitamins. He said he purchased the bottle for between $4 to $6 but did not have a receipt and asserted he paid cash, according to court records.

The civil case went to jury trial before Washtenaw County Trial Court Judge Archie Brown in August 2022. At the trial, The Beer Depots owner testified the store does not and has never sold vitamins. The owner said that, while the store has security cameras, Lee never asked for footage to prove he purchased the pills, according to court records, and the footage was written over by the time of the trial.

The Beer Depots owner was never named in the lawsuit.

The jury was instructed to first answer whether The Beer Depot sold the multivitamin bottle to the plaintiff, according to court records.

The trial court addressed the verdict form, instructing the jury, Question one simply says did the defendant sell the multivitamin bottle to the plaintiff? If the answer is yes, the instructions say to go to question two; if the answer is no, dont go any further. Thats the end of it, according to the case synopsis.

The jury ultimately determined the store never sold multivitamins to the plaintiff and is therefore not liable, according to court records.

Lee filed an appeal in early October 2022. On Sept. 28, 2023, three Michigan Court of Appeals justices affirmed the trial courts decision.

Because there was no error in having the first question on the verdict form concern whether defendant sold plaintiff the pills, and this issue was dispositive of plaintiffs claims, we affirm the trial courts judgment of no cause for action, reads the opinion issued by judges Douglas Shapiro, Michael Kelly and Thomas Cameron.

The office of Lees attorney declined to comment, and The Beer Depots attorney did not respond to phone and email requests.

The full opinion can be read here.

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No state university is bigger than the University of Michigan, data shows

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YPSILANTI TOWNSHIP, MI -- A lawsuit to declare an Ypsilanti-area nonprofit a public nuisance has been paused after the founder has reached an agreement in a parallel landlord-tenant case.

Ypsilanti Township asked the courts to declare Men Like Us, headquartered at 3011 E. Michigan Ave. in Ypsilanti Township, a public nuisance, saying the nonprofit has attracted violence and shootings.
WASHTENAW COUNTY, MI - Washtenaw Countys second largest municipality wont join a county network of early voting sites, instead going it alone to meet the requirements of a major expansion of voting rights beginning in 2024.

On Tuesday, Oct. 3, Ypsilanti Township leaders shot down a proposed partnership with the county to provide the required nine days of early voting under Proposal 2, the measure Michigan voters passed in 2022 bringing new ways to vote to the state.

They did so against the advice of township Clerk Heather Jarrell Roe, the elected official in charge of coordinating elections in the township of some 46,000 registered voters.

I cant overstate it enough. The entire clerks office here, with over 30 years of elections experience and 22 other clerks in the (county), plus myself, see this as the best way forward, Jarrell Roe said Tuesday.

Under the county partnership, residents in more than 20 communities, excluding Milan and Ann Arbor, will be able to use a network of six regional voting sites to cast ballots early beginning with the February 2024 presidential primary. Unlike with absentee voting, true early voting means physically casting ballots through a tabulator.

Read more: Big elections changes will bring network of early voting sites to Washtenaw County

The plan also includes a centralized site accessible to all of the participating municipalities in the Ann Arbor-area, at the Washtenaw County Learning Resource Center off Washtenaw Avenue, meant to provide another option close to residents place of work or business, according to county officials.

Besides providing the extra voting site, working with the county to administer early voting would save the township between $6,000 and $16,000 each election, the fiscally responsible, thing to do, Jarrell Roe said.

But many of her colleagues on the township board expressed misgivings about the partnership, peppering county Chief Deputy Clerk and Elections Director Ed Golembiewski, who attended the meeting to provide information, with questions.

I prefer local control and accountability, especially for elections and the integrity of that process, said township Supervisor Brenda Stumbo on Tuesday, pointing to the level of personal service provided by township staff.

Im afraid of losing that special attention to our residents that we would have by having someone else be in charge of it, she said.

Stumbo added she thought the option to vote early closer to Ann Arbor would be confusing.

Others had concerns over using a new process, coming ahead of what is likely to be a highly scrutinized set of elections in 2024.

I dont personally feel like the township needs to be the first person to test the parachute, said Trustee Ryan Hunter.

He said county early voting agreement sounded potentially like the the death of a thousand cuts, taking issue with county officials lack of obligation to follow township requests under the arrangement. The county has already demonstrated it doesnt cooperate with Ypsilanti Townships requests, Hunter said.

Right now the trust and the faith is not secure with me, he said.

Township Treasurer Stan Eldridge said Ypsilanti Township had a history of collaboration with other entities when it was agreeing to partner in a proven program.

Im not sure I can feel comfortable being a test case with votes, thats my concern, and it may be an unfounded one, but thats my concern, he said.

Golembiewski emphasized he wasnt at the meeting to convince township officials to sign on to the partnership, but he did believe it was a sensible option, especially as the Michigan Legislature has incentivized the county arrangements through grant funding knocking down costs.

I will tell you the county is not here to take over elections from the township. We are here because Proposal 2 and the Legislature have asked us essentially to be here and provide these opportunities to the township, he said.

So far, 21 jurisdictions in the county have signed on, with only Ypsilanti and Dexter townships outstanding, and Dexter Township expected to join in the coming weeks, he said.

Cities and townships also have the option to conduct early voting independently, like Ann Arbor and Milan are doing, or partner with each other to do it, the elections director said.

Jarrell Roe sought to dispel worries from township leaders, pointing out that early voting is new for all of Michigan and the procedures governing it have evolved rapidly this year.

Read more: Here are 6 ways voting in Michigan will be different in 2024

I think that this is venturing into a whole new space, and the best way to do that ... is with more resources, more collaboration, to allow our voters to have another (voting) site, for the cost-saving benefits, the clerk said.

The township could exit the agreement with the county after the February primary if it wasnt satisfied with the option, but couldnt join for the first time until after 2025 if it decided later to do so, she said.

Still, Jarrell Roe was the only vote in favor of approving the agreement. It failed 5-1, with Stumbo, Eldridge, Hunter and Trustees Debbie Swanson and John Newman voting no.

That means the township must come up with its own plan to offer early voting, officials said.

Im willing to do whatever it takes to support the clerks office in helping to make sure this is successful, Stumbo said.

I think local governance is better, she added.

Want more Ann Arbor-area news? Bookmark the local Ann Arbor news page, the Ypsilanti-area news page or sign up for the free 3@3 Ann Arbor daily newsletter.

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GRAND RAPIDS, MI  Aquinas College will offer free tuition to new students who come from low-income families, starting in the fall of 2024.

The private, liberal arts college announced a new scholarship program this week called the Aquinas Assurance, which covers all tuition and fees for freshman from eligible low-income families.

Aquinas College is the only Catholic college in West Michigan, serving around 1,400 students at 1700 Fulton St. President Alicia R. Cordoba said the new program is aimed at making the Catholic college more affordable so that everyone can access a quality education.

RELATED: West Michigans Catholic college, Aquinas, inaugurates its first female president

Since my first day as Aquinas Colleges president, affordability has been at the forefront of my mind, Cordoba said in a prepared statement from the college. As a Catholic Dominican institution, cost should not be a barrier for entry into this incredible community. We are proud to invest in our students and community through the Aquinas Assurance program.

Aquinas tuition is $37,720 this year, for undergraduate students taking a full class load, according to the colleges website. Students also have to pay an annual required fee of $800.

Students must meet the following criteria to receive the Aquinas Assistance scholarship:

Eligible for the maximum Federal Pell grant

Eligible for the full Michigan Achievement Scholarship

Eligible for the full Michigan Tuition Grant

Graduate from high school in the Spring of 2024 with a GPA (grade point average) of 3.0 or above on a 4.0 scale

File a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) by May 1, 2024

Aquinas expects about 10% of its incoming class each year to be eligible for the Aquinas Assurance program, said Dave DeJonge, senior director of strategic communications at Aquinas College. The college enrolls about 300 incoming students each year, a number that includes freshman and new transfer students.

DeJonge said the new scholarship program has been in the works for a couple months. Aquinas came up with the idea after noticing that there were some incoming students who, through a combination of scholarships and Pell grants, were getting their tuition close to nothing, and the college wanted to see if it could step in to help cover their tuition in full.

One of the overriding goals at Aquinas College, in its mission, is to be affordable to everyone, he told MLive. But were a private college, and that costs money. So our financial aid people, were always working hard to find some creative solutions for students to make it to school.

Brian Matzke, Aquinas vice president of enrollment management, said the new scholarship program can help alleviate the anxiety that many students have around paying for college.

Our vision for education focuses on the development of the whole person, and to do that, we must attend to their needs, Matzke said in a statement. The Aquinas Assurance will reduce students financial anxiety, allowing them to turn their full focus to their studies and discovering their purpose. Its another step towards ensuring their success.

Students who qualify for the Aquinas Assurance are required to carry at least 12 credits in the traditional bachelors program and maintain a satisfactory academic performance to receive the scholarship. Students can continue receiving the scholarship for up to five years, starting with the 2024-2025 academic year.

Room, board, and nonstandard fees are excluded from the scholarship. On-campus housing costs between $2,551 and $4,082 per semester this year, while meal plans cost between $299 and $3,375 per semester.

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NEWAYGO COUNTY, MI  Co-owners of Charlies Family Grill have been charged in connection to a fire that left the White Cloud business burned to the ground.

Ryan Allen Robinson and David Joseph Robinson each appeared for arraignment Thursday, Oct. 5, in Newaygo County District Court.

The two men were charged with arson of an insured real property, a 20-year felony. Additionally, Ryan Robinson was charged with two counts of false pretenses $50,000 or more but less than $100,000  a 15-year felony.

The charges come after a six-month investigation into the March 18 blaze at Charlies Family Grill, at 276 S. Charles St. in White Cloud. The restaurant permanently closed as a result of the fire.

White Cloud police, earlier this week, said the blaze is still under investigation and its possible that more people could be charged.

Both men are scheduled to appear in court next on Oct. 19 for a probable cause hearing. A preliminary examination  where a judge will review evidence and determine if the case moves forward to trial  is set for Oct. 26.

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Nine Ukrainians were killed and six injured in a bus accident that occurred in the evening in the Venice area of Mestre on October 3, said spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Oleh Nikolenko.

"As of now, the Venice police have confirmed the death of nine Ukrainians and the injury of six. Ukrainian consuls will visit the injured citizens in hospitals today, get acquainted with their condition and provide them with the necessary consular assistance," Nikolenko said in a comment to Interfax-Ukraine.
GRAND RAPIDS, MI - Throughout this week and the weekend, people will be able to partake in all things Polish pride during the Pulaski Days celebration.

This year marks the 51st anniversary of Pulaski Days, with events commemorating live traditional performances, a plethora of Polish food, Polish beer, a parade, and so much more.

Related: Grand Rapids Pulaski Days celebrating 50 years of Polish pride

The parade starts at 11 a.m. on Saturday, Oct. 8, at Michigan Street NW and College Avenue and ends at Michigan Street and Diamond Avenue. There will also be a Polka Mass at St. Isidore Church Sunday morning.

The notable event returning this year, the Stein Hositing Competition, kicks off on Thursday, Oct. 5 at 1513 Quarry NW. Its all about who can hoist and hold a Sam Adams Beer mug filled with water for the longest time.

A full schedule of events can be found here.

Pulaski Days is named after American Revolutionary War hero and Polish immigrant General Casimir Pulaski. It was originally created to support local social clubs and share Polish culture with the Grand Rapids community.

Now, a weeklong celebration, 14 social clubs come together to offer packed schedules for all to enjoy. Some of the notable events include the kielbasa and pierogi eating contest as well as the kapusta cook-off.

The annual event has now grown into a week-long celebration to be shared with friends, family and strangers alike, as stated on the event website.

The following social halls are open to the public Oct. 6-8:

Sixth Street Knights of St. Casimir Aid Society  649 Sixth St. NW

Sons and Daughters Hall  1057 Hamilton Ave. NW

Knights of Columbus  1140 Muskegon Ave. NW

Vytautas Aid Society Hall  1300 Hamilton Ave NW

Fifth Street St. Adalberts Aid Society Hall  701 Fifth St. NW

St. Georges Hall  1513 Quarry Ave. NW

Polish National Aid Society Jackson Street Hall  921 Jackson St. NW

St. Isidores Benevolent Aid Society Diamond Hall  435 Diamond Ave. NE

Polish Falcons of Grand Rapids  957 Fulton St. W

St. Ladislaus Hall  758 Lane Ave. SW

Kosciuszko Hall  935 Park St. SW

American Legion Post 459  658 Michigan St. NE

St. Stanislaus Aid Society Little Hall  823 Michigan St. NE

Sacred Heart Benevolent Society Eastern Hall  506 Eastern Ave. NE

For more information and ongoing updates, visit the Pulaski Days Grand Rapids Facebook page.

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JACKSON, MI  A Jackson man who was convicted of killing his girlfriend, nearly beheading her in the act, will remain in prison for the rest of his life.

The Michigan Supreme Court issued an order Oct. 3 declining to hear the appeal of Larry Maddin Jr. who, in April, lost his appeal with the Michigan Court of Appeals seeking to have his conviction overturned claiming there was not enough evidence to show there was premeditation in the slaying.
SCOTTS, MI  Scotts Corner Cafe was one of the only places to get food in the small unincorporated village of Scotts in eastern Kalamazoo County.

Then, it moved to a town 20 minutes up the road.

But after sitting dormant for most of 2023, theres a lit Open sign once again on the brick facade at 11011 Norscott St. A new owner has opened a breakfast and lunch spot at the location, and shes dedicated to keeping the 14-year history of the cafe alive.

The new restaurant is called Lulus Scotts Corner Cafe. Its named after the new owner Maria Lulu Reyes.

Maria Reyes is running the cafe with support from her family and the restaurants first owner, Mark Hanson. The Reyes family decided to bring back the cafes first menu, plus new Mexican additions to infuse their own heritage.

People were really looking forward to something like this, here. They like the environment, they like the fact that they can come here and talk and everyone seems to know each other, said Daniel Reyes, Maria Reyes son. Im happy they can just come and enjoy it again like they used to.

The front patio at Lulu Scotts Corner Cafe in Scotts, Michigan on Wednesday, Sept. 27, 2023. (Joel Bissell | MLive.com)MLive.com

Hanson sold his restaurant to sister-in-laws Josie Coburn-Matrau and Bekah Coburn. After a deal to purchase the building fell through earlier this year, the Coburns relocated to a new spot in Richland and took the Scotts Corner Cafe name with them.

Daniel Reyes said Lulus Scotts Corner Cafe is not affiliated with the Scotts Corner Cafe in Richland, which remains open. But he can see how the Scotts location could be a challenge. The restaurant fills up really quickly during the morning and lunch rushes, Daniel Reyes said.

As soon as they saw the for sale sign, the Reyes family jumped at the opportunity, Daniel Reyes said. The community was devastated when the Scotts Corner Cafe moved to Richland, he said.

There wasnt much of an explanation to the community, Daniel Reyes said. Were just glad we can bring it back.

Daniel Reyes said theyve established a good relationship with Hanson, who still comes in daily to interact with customers.

The fact that hes around makes things more smooth, and makes things better, Daniel Reyes said.

(Top left to right) steak tacos, pupusas de pollo, butchers omelet, fruit blend smoothie (bottom left to right) loaded nachos, Alita de Angel, sweet tamale, and tres leches pancakes at Lulu Scotts Corner Cafe in Scotts, Michigan on Wednesday, Sept. 27, 2023. (Joel Bissell | MLive.com)MLive.com

The Reyes family also hired Ashley Walser, the head chef who has been working at Scotts Corner Cafe for the past 10 years, Walser said. Walser said shes training the new cooks to make the menus recipes. Big hits include nachos, tacos and biscuits and gravy, Daniel Reyes said.

People come in asking for the gravy and Im glad we have (Walser), because she brought it back and shes the one that perfected that gravy, Daniel Reyes said.

The Reyes family has been living in the Climax/Scotts community for the past 12 years, Daniel Reyes said, but they never had the opportunity to enjoy the familial spirit at the cafe.

We were doing 14 hours a day, six days a week so we were working a tremendous amount of hours and we didnt have time to enjoy coming out and having a cup of coffee, Daniel Reyes said.

His mother has always dreamed of owning her own restaurant, but the cost to start one was always a barrier. Maria Reyes has been working in the restaurant industry for 16 years as a dishwasher, line cook and then waitress, she said. Prior to becoming a server, Reyes learned how to speak English so she could better interact with customers.

I love to speak with people, to serve people, Maria Reyes said. I always told my kids I want to buy a restaurant, but its too expensive to buy.

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In the future, Daniel Reyes said the cafe may open for dinner services two days a week.

When news of the new ownership spread, Daniel Reyes said customers familiar with Maria Reyes from her time at IHOP came to the cafe to support her.

Shes always about making sure we can provide the best customer service we can. And I think thats why people keep coming back to us, Daniel Reyes said.

The goal is to continue making the cafe feel like home, he said, and for the family to get better acquainted with the community. The family wants to uphold the same priority as Hanson: making customers happy.

Whatever the customer wanted, he tried his best to do it, Daniel Reyes said. We try to give the customer what they asked for.

Most meals range from $8 to $14. Lulus Scotts Corner Cafe is open from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Tuesdays through Sundays.

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KALAMAZOO, MI -- A Western Michigan University student died in Kalamazoo last weekend, according to the Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety.

Police are investigating the death of James Wettlaufer, 19, after responding to a call on Saturday, Sept. 30, KDPS spokesman Jay Shatara said. Detectives are waiting for the results of an autopsy, which should take three or four days to complete to determine cause of death, he said.

Shatara had no further details about the death to share, including location and the manner of the call made to police.

WMU officials declined to comment, besides noting theyre aware of the incident. The school has not put out any message to students about the death, a spokesperson confirmed.

Wettlaufer went to high school in Naperville, Illinois. He was a member of Pi Kappa Alpha at WMU.

Pi Kappa Alpha posted on Facebook they are extremely saddened by the tragic loss of our brother James Wettlaufer this past weekend.

Better known as Jim, he was a joyous, charismatic, and loving person that will be sorely missed, the group said.

The brothers of our chapter will remember him as an exceptional leader and a shining precedent for all our members, the fraternity wrote in a Facebook post.

The fraternitys post mentions his love for music, playing guitar and making people laugh. He put the needs of others above his own, the group said, offering thoughts and prayers to his family.

Wettlaufer was on the honor roll at Western Michigan University, according to his obituary.

A funeral service will be at 11:30 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 7, at Beidelman-Kunsch Funeral Homes & Crematory, 24021 Royal Worlington Drive, Naperville, Illinois.

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KALAMAZOO, MI  Downtown Kalamazoo will soon have a new restaurant on Michigan Avenue.

Toba Sushi & Ramen is preparing to open at 220 W. Michigan Ave. in the former home of Rose Gold Coffee.

The restaurant is waiting on results of its final inspection from the city and could open later this week, pending the inspections outcome, owner Jin Kook said. Kook and his team opened the original Toba Sushi & Grill at 235 N. Drake Road in Oshtemo Township in January 2022, and are eager to open downtown.

Related: Toba Sushi now serving Japanese, Korean cuisine in Kalamazoo

Where the downtown location differentiates is, instead of supplementing the sushi menu with Korean BBQ as it does in Oshtemo, it will serve ramen, general manager Logan Pomykala said.

The sushi offerings will be identical to the other location, he said.

Its the real deal, Pomykala said of the ramen. It will take 10 hours to cook a batch. The flavor is going to be there. The recipe is from Korea. Its a chicken-based ramen  creamy, dense and flavorful. It will be all fresh.

General Manager Logan Pomykala and owner/chef Jin Kook pose for a portrait outside Toba Sushi & Ramen, at 220 W. Michigan Ave. in Kalamazoo, Michigan, on Thursday, Sept. 28, 2023. The restaurant is set to open soon in the former home of Rose Gold Coffee Company (Nate Pappas | MLive.com)Nate Pappas | MLive.com

Kook, who is both owner and chef, was trained in the kitchens of Korea and New York City.

In addition to working with Japanese and Korean cuisine, he also has a background in French and Italian restaurants. He moved to Southwest Michigan five years ago and worked in Kalamazoo and Grand Rapids as he prepared to open his first Toba.

He met Pomykala, a Grand Rapids native, working in a sushi restaurant in Grand Rapids. The two hit it off and after Pomykala spent a year studying in Korea, he reconnected with Kook in Kalamazoo to open the first Toba.

The two have been working together since.

The new location offers an intimate setting with exposed brick walls, a combination of old hanging light fixtures from Rose Gold and new fixtures picked out by Kooks wife, Ellie Ju, who also works at the restaurant.

There are 11 wood tables and bar seating, allowing for 36 people to dine indoors. Just because there is a bar doesnt mean there will be alcohol, however.

With a small space, and one that anticipates being busy during the lunch hour, the desire is to be able to ensure people dont have long wait times for tables, Pomykala said.

Like the Oshtemo location, Toba will serve multiple selections of hot and chilled tea, sparkling water, Coke products and Korean coffee. Theres also mochi ice cream and tempura ice cream for dessert.

A pretty unique thing we do in terms of atmosphere is the Korean style of serving, Pomykala said.

Servers share more than just tips at Toba, he said. They work together to make sure everyone is cared for.

Its a more casual, relaxed approach. Open. Attentive. Warmer, he said. When a person walks in the door, were all saying welcome. Servers are constantly swinging by tables checking on people. As soon as you need something, you just raise a hand and the closest worker will likely only be three seconds from you.

Traditional restaurants where you have a section and get double sat, people can be forced to wait. The Korean style of serving is by far the most efficient. Theres always someone around to help out.

With an open concept restaurant, guests can also see their sushi being made.

The big thing about sushi is, theres actually something for everyone, Pomykala said. You get so many people who say they dont like sushi and you say, Lets give it a shot, let me pick something up for you.

Toba Sushi & Ramen is located at at 220 W. Michigan Ave. in Kalamazoo, Michigan. The restaurant, photographed on Thursday, Sept. 28, 2023, is set to open soon in the former home of Rose Gold Coffee. (Nate Pappas | MLive.com)Nate Pappas | MLive.com

Toba offers more than 30 basic rolls  such as traditional California, spicy tuna and Philadelphia rolls, as well as chicken tempura rolls and spider rolls  costing mostly between $5 and $10.

The restaurant also offers 26 specialty rolls, priced mostly between $13 and $17.

Rolls such as the Michigan Roll, Fire Cracker Roll, Beef Asparagus Roll and Berry Blossom Roll are all popular.

The Berry Blossom, for example, has tuna, salmon, cream cheese and cucumber with avocado, strawberries, house made sweet cream sauce, eel sauce and scallions. The Beef Asparagus Roll, meanwhile, is filled with deep-fried bulgogi beef with asparagus and scallions. See a complete list of house rolls here.

Toba also offers a variety of sushi burritos, including ones with eel, beef bulgogi, kimchi and smoked salmon.

An IL Mare burrito comprised of tuna, salmon, steamed shrimp, avocado, tempo, lettuce, massage, tobilko, tempura flakes and eel sauce at Toba Sushi and Grill, at 235 N. Drake Road in Kalamazoo, Michigan on Tuesday, Jan. 25, 2022. Toba Sushi is opening a second location at 220 W. Michigan Ave. in downtown Kalamazoo. (Joel Bissell | MLive.com)Joel Bissell | MLive.com

New at the downtown location, Pomykala said, will be appetizers such as Takoyaki  think a Japanese hush puppy filled with Octopus and topped with Japanese mayo. There will also be a kimchi fried rice introduced at the new location. And, of course, the ramen.

Cooking duties will be headed up by Kook and his business partner and fellow chef, Tony Cho, who helped open the Oshtemo location. Cho previously studied culinary arts at Hattori Nutrition College in Japan.

Sushi is somewhat of a luxury, its a little higher end. But being the way we are priced, we are all about making it accessible, Pomykala said.

The restaurant will take to-go orders over the phone and offer dine-in. They are not offering online ordering.

For more information, visit tobasushi.com or call 269-743-3115.

The website will be updated with information on the downtown location as soon as it is open. Downtown hours are expected to be 11 a.m. until 9 p.m., seven days a week.

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MUSKEGON COUNTY, MI  Whitehalls mayor is facing a challenge from a city council member in this years election.

Mayor Steve Salter and Council Member Scott Brown are seeking to serve as the citys mayor for the next two years. The election is Tuesday, Nov. 7.

Salter, 72, has lived in Whitehall for 43 years and is retired. He worked 22 years for Howmet and 14 years for GHSP in Grand Haven.

He is a Vietnam veteran, having served in the U.S. Army from 1971-72, and has an associates degree from Muskegon Community College.

Salter served on the Whitehall City Council from 2015-21 before being elected mayor in 2021.

His experience includes serving on the city planning commission, the White Lake Municipal Marina Advisory Committee, the HarborLight Credit Union board, the West Michigan Shoreline Regional Development Commission, the White Lake Fireworks Committee, and the Petunia Patrol.

Salter is a member of the Whitehall Montague Rotary, VFW, American Legion and White Lake Eagles.

Brown, 63, has lived in Whitehall for 48 years and is retired. He worked at Howmet for more than 41 years and was self-employed for 28 years.

He has served on the city council since 2019, having been appointed in early 2019 and then first elected in the fall of that year. His experience includes serving on the marina advisory committee.

The candidates were asked to answer several questions, limiting each response to 250 words. Their answers that follow are unedited.

Why should voters elect you?

Salter:

I believe I am the most qualified to be the Mayor. My experience on the council, my involvement in the community and my desire to work with everyone is a matter of record. I will continue to work for everyone in my community while realizing that doing the most good for the most people has to be the priority.

Scott:

I feel that I represent the average taxpayer, not any special group or groups.I am a tell like it is, common sense, straight forward honest person, that is not going to lie or mislead to get what I want. I will listen to all opinions on any issue.

What are the top three issues facing city leadership during the next two years?

Salter:

There are always many issues in any community that need attention. Each one is a hot button for someone. I believe community engagement is the best way to address the issues we are now facing. The question is how do we as a council and a community work together to improve the quality of life in our community?

Scott:

Top 3 issues, depends on who you listen to.

First is and has been roads. Not sure how to fix them, but need to find ways to put more money into repairing them, maybe partly by spending less money on upgrading parks(of which we have many),Second, diversify itself(city) of owning/ running a loosing business venture(Playhouse).Third, Just a general cleanup of the city, by enforcing the ordinances we already have in place on blight, disabled/unlicensed vehicle, over growth of lawns, etc., etc., to make our community a more appealing place to want to live, work or run a business.

How do you plan to address those top issues?

Salter:

I will continue to have open and honest communications with the council and make myself available to the citizens of this community to discuss questions or concerns they may have with any city issues. Its an ongoing effort that I will maintain throughout my term of office. My slogan has and always will be Lets work together

Scott:

Our city just needs a fresh look at how we do business and spend money, and not just saying, thats how we have done it for years, or we dont want to be known as an enforcement community. We need to be an enforcement community, to clean up our appearance.

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BAY CITY, MI  For starving nearly 40 deer to death, a Bay County man has received a probation sentence during which hes prohibited from being responsible for livestock.

Bay County District Judge Timothy J. Kelly on Oct. 3 sentenced Dale G. Reinhardt, 59, to one year of probation. He also ordered Reinhardt to pay $440 in restitution and $735 in fines and costs.

While on probation, Reinhardt is not to own, possess, or care for livestock.

Reinhardt in July pleaded guilty to abandoning or cruelty to two to three animals. He previously pleaded no contest to abandoning or cruelty to 25 or more animals and three counts of animal industry-Cervidae livestock violation, but he was allowed to withdraw those pleas and his case was remanded from Circuit Court to District Court.

Reinhardt and his then-wife Pamela A. Reinhardt were to jointly care for a herd of deer on their property at 762 S. Garfield Road in Beaver Township between September and October 2021.

They failed to feed them, causing 36 of the deer to starve to death.

Pamela Reinhardt, also known by the surname Rytlewski, in July pleaded no contest to abandoning or cruelty to two to three animals. She is scheduled for sentencing on Oct. 31.

The Reinhardts cases date back to Sept. 28, 2021, when Dale Reinhardt stopped by Bay County Animal Services and Adoption Center and told staff he and his wife were going through a divorce and were responsible for the care of about 100 deer. He told officers he and his wife were supposed to split the costs of the animals feed, though he had been paying for it by himself and could no longer afford to do so.

On Oct. 7, 2021, Dale Reinhardt returned to Animal Services and said he had noticed about six deer had died in their fenced-in enclosure, according to court records.

He wanted us to know they are dying and that something will have to be done, an Animal Services officer wrote in his report, contained in court files. He fed what food he had left but that was a few days ago. His wife was not caring for them.

That day, Animal Services officers and Michigan Department of Natural Resources officer visited the Reinhardts property. No one appeared to be home during their visit.

The rear of the property featured a pole barn and a large enclosure.

Dead animals could be viewed plainly from the driveway approaching the barn and fenced area, the Animal Services officer wrote in his report. Upon approaching the enclosure approximately 25 dead deer could be seen from the outside of the fence [sic]. The remaining 90-100 deer appeared thin, ribs showing on some, visible hip bones, hair loss, etc.

Officers obtained a search warrant and returned to the property the next morning, accompanied by a field veterinarian and a specialist in Cervidae, the taxonomic family of deer. Pamela Reinhardt was present at the time, court records show.

Officers found 36 dead deer on the property, some of which were rotted to their bones, reports state. At least three of the carcasses were seized by officers so necropsies could be performed on them.

Interviewed by officers, Pamela Reinhardt said she and her husband had been going through a divorce for about two years. They both still lived at the Beaver Township property, though they were not speaking to one another, she said.

Pamela Reinhardt told the officers they have had deer for more than 10 years, though she has never fed them, adding that was her husbands responsibility. She said she had not been aware her husband hadnt been feeding the deer.

The veterinarian instructed Pamela Reinhardt to get hay and grain immediately. Officers also told her to see to it that the dead deer were buried.

Officers returned to the property on Oct. 11, finding no new dead deer, the carcasses buried, and food available for the surviving animals. Pamela Reinhardt told them she had bought 20 haybales as well as corn and oats, records show.

Officers again visited the property for a wellness check on Oct. 15. They found five more dead deer, no food in their feeders, and very little hay, and what was there was muddy, reports state. Of the 20 haybales Pamela Reinhardt purchased, 17 were in the barn, along with most of the bagged grain.

Upon entering the enclosure the deer approached officers readily which had not previously been the reaction to our presence, an officer wrote in his report. At this time officers put out 4 bales of hay and 200 lbs (4 bags of oats/corn).

Officers also spoke with the Reinhardts son, who said his mom was supposed to be feeding the deer.

On Oct. 22, officers received necropsy results from the Michigan State University Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory, which concluded the deer died of emaciation, court records show.

The same day, Pamela Reinhardt told officers she had received authority from the court to liquidate the deer herd and planned on having them shot, court records show.

The deer were no longer on the property as of mid January 2022.
To be sheriff in Michigan, a person needs just two things: To be a qualified elector in the county where theyre seeking the job, and then to win an election.

But that could change under legislation looking to update those parameters, with the lead Republican on the bill, Rep. Brian BeGole of Perry, saying failing to do so is really an accident waiting to happen.

This legislation, more than anything seeks to avert ... a violent situation where you have somebody that doesnt have any experience on the scene and, because of that, we have a loss of life, said BeGole, who previously served as Shiawassee County Sheriff until his election to the House in 2022.

Current statute only dictates a person must live in the area where theyre seeking a four-year term for county sheriff and be eligible to vote, though its not a requirement the person is registered to vote in the county theyre running.

This is the same for other elected county positions such as clerk or treasurer, but county prosecutors and judges need to be licensed attorneys.

Under House Bill 4981, a person seeking the office of sheriff would still need to live in the county, but would additionally need to have served as either a licensed law enforcement officer or a corrections officer for a period of at least five years.

This would not apply retroactively, meaning sheriffs who dont already possess a law enforcement background would be able to keep their jobs.

Its unknown if any sheriffs in office currently dont meet those proposed requirement.

When asked, Michigan Association of County Sheriffs Deputy Director Dan Pfannes said the topic was a moot point anyways, due to the grandfathering portion of the bill.

Each of Michigans 83 elected sheriffs who are in office today were qualified to hold the position and not a single person in office today would be effected if this proposed change was, or wasnt approved, he said. If a person in office today did not have that licensure or certification, currently, the proposed changes would not apply to them, as the bill would specifically exempt them from those requirements.

David Carter, a professor at Michigan State Universitys School of Criminal Justice, said Michigan isnt necessarily behind the curve when it comes to not having specific qualification requirements for county sheriffs.

Many do require some level of training and certification, he added, though how much varies state from state.

The association is supportive of the increased qualifications requirements, too, Pfannes said, telling MLive the move has been a long time coming and could be a great improvement to the practice of policing in the state of Michigan.

At the end of the day, the public has demanded professionalization from law enforcement, said Pfannes, a 41-year veteran of law enforcement. Im a firm believer that whether its experience requirements, in general education, your background  I think those are thigs that lead to a greater professionalization in our business. I think the public demands that, and I dont think its unreasonable ... to put ourselves on par with other entities that have requirements for licensure.

During his own tenure as sheriff, BeGole said he was responsible for a litany of operations including road patrol, the detective bureau, emergency management and 911 services.

To think that someone could be in charge of dispatch following a natural disaster or school shooting, though have no prior experience in overseeing such things, BeGole said it could literally be the difference of life and death.

Having a sheriff that lacks the understanding of a proper law enforcement protocols, and associated experience, also creates a turmoil in department  and I can speak firsthand of that, he said. When you have a candidate that doesnt have any experience it hurts morale, it jeopardizes the stability of that department, people think about leaving if they had to work under somebody so inexperienced like that.

The bill had a hearing in the House Elections Committee on Oct. 3, though has yet to receive a vote.
ONTONAGON COUNTY, MI  The Michigan Department of Natural Resources (DNR) will drill a new well and replace an unusual drinking water spigot in the western Upper Peninsula.

The Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy (EGLE) gave its sister agency one year to replace the old well along the Bill Nichols Rail Trail off M-38 at Lake Mine, a former mining town in Greenland Township where the DNR spent about two years searching for the mysterious source of drinking water in a makeshift trailside spigot.

EGLE had previously order the unusual spigot shut down because its source couldnt be verified as safe. In August, the DNR announced it had finally traced the piping to an old buried wellhead nearby which was tapping a suspected artesian water source underground.

A year extension of its original shut down order will allow the DNR to work with the availability of the well driller and to account for the upcoming snow and frost seasons that will soon set in, said Eric Oswald, director of EGLEs drinking water division, in a Sept. 25 letter.

EGLE will continue to work with the DNR and Greenland Township to ensure this process moves forward and residents of the area are provided with a safe new water source.

EGLE extended the initial closure deadline at the DNRs request after U.P. lawmakers began advocating for preservation of the spigot. The agency began searching in earnest this spring using old maps and interviewing locals familiar with the area.

In July, a wellhead was found a half-mile from the spigot on land administered by the DNRs Forest Resources Division. The old piping was considered too fragile for continued use.

The DNR says the source water is believed to have been initially tapped by the surrounding community of Lake Mine during the areas 19th-century copper mining heyday. Today, two households are also connected to the water source by piping.

Greenland Township officials have expressed an interest in owning and maintaining the new water source when it is developed, the DNR said.

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LANSING, MI  Michigan is closer to addressing the high cost of prescription medicine after advancing a proposal to create an independent panel that would limit prices on individual drugs.

The state Senate on Wednesday passed legislation  Senate Bills 483, 484 and 485  that would create two things: a five-member prescription drug affordability board and a 21-member stakeholder council.

After reviewing a particularly costly drug, the affordability board would vote to set an upper limit on how much it can cost. The 21 stakeholders would direct the board on which drugs to investigate.

Too many people in our state have had to choose between affording food and medication that they need, said Sen. Darrin Camilleri, D-Brownstown Township.

While listening to constituents about their problems with drug prices, he said one woman told him the cost of one of her medications went up $2,000 in one month. Another told Camilleri she was rationing her asthma inhalers, and one man told him he was getting his drugs from Canada, where they are cheaper.

Nearly one-third of residents aged 19-64, a state task force recently found, stopped taking their prescriptions because of the cost.

This is a crisis that is only going to get worse, Camilleri said, and our answer cant be doing nothing.

This package of three bills now must pass a House committee and the full House to be signed into law by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. She called for the legislation earlier this year in a statewide address.

Catch up: Proposed board could cap price of Michigans costliest prescriptions

Michigan would join six other states in having a board to set prescription drug prices. Board members, who cant have any financial stake in the pharmaceutical industry, will use data and expert input to identify costly drugs and make them more affordable.

The stakeholder council would have members representing drug manufacturers and health care industry representatives, plus academics, activists and members of the public. Legislative majority leaders, currently Democrats in both chambers, would also get to pick some members.

Sen. Kristen McDonald-Rivet said she has a $4,000 monthly copay on a drug she takes for an autoimmune disease. And her mother, she said, died in part because she couldnt afford all the medications she needed on a fixed income.

The overarching goal for this board, McDonald-Rivet said, is to find a price at which insurers, employers, purchasers and government can afford to provide the drugs to everyone in the state.

Lowering drug prices has been a big campaign promise from politicians on both sides of the aisle, but senators on Wednesday voted on each bill along party lines, 20-17. During lengthy debate before voting, Democrats shot down Republicans proposed amendments.

Republicans wanted changes that included banning board appointees who had contributed to the governors campaign, requiring at least one appointee be from a patient advocacy organization and disbanding the program after three years.

The one GOP amendment that did pass was from Sen. Jim Runestad, R-White Lake. His addition prevents prescription board members from lobbying during their time on the board and for five years after.

Runestad, however, joined all but one Republican in voting no. Sen. Mark Huizenga, R-Walker, abstained on the bills, citing conflicts of interest from past experience in health care consulting.

Sen. Lana Theis, R-Brighton, argued setting limits on drug prices will force companies to stop selling drugs in Michigan because they wont want to sell them at a loss. And Sen. John Damoose, R-Harbor Springs, said price setting should be the federal governments responsibility.

Camilleri, however, told reporters the GOP is merely spouting talking points after not acting on the issue when the party had control of the legislature before this year.

We believe that this is going to make a big difference in the lives of our patients and our residents, he said.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he was "confident in America."

"I am confident in America. I am sure. These are strong people, strong society, strong institutions, strong energy of democracy. I have recently been in Washington. Talked with President Biden. I talked to congressmen ot both parties, both chambers. They absolutely support the protection of freedom and understand that Russia and other enemies of our way of life want to take advantage of the consequences of political storms," he said, speaking at the European Political Community Summit in Granada (Spain) on Thursday.

"And we in Europe should be ready. America helped us, helped Europe to survive. And now it is important for Europe not to hide its sails from the wind, trying to wait out the storm, but to be together in this turbulent time  to work together, protect our values and our common space of freedom with the United States," he said.

According to Zelenskyy, "it is in such mutual support  both in calm times and during challenges and security turbulence  that the real meaning of the transatlantic partnership lies."
05.10.2023 LISTEN

Efia Odo, a Ghanaian actress and social media influencer, criticized Diana Asamoah for her claims on the United Showbiz program over the weekend that Ghanaians are partially to blame for the current state of economic distress.

Due to her passionate support for a better Ghana and a responsible government, the social media influencer did not take her remarks lightly.

This comes after Diana Asamoah accused Ghanaians of being ungrateful.

She (Diana Asamoah) said President Nana Akufo-Addo has done everything within his power to alleviate the economic hardship on Ghanaians.

According to him, the youth are very lazy hence the complaints.

Efia Odo responded strongly to these allegations in a tweet, describing them as "dumb."

She noted that Diana Asamoah made these comments as a result of her connection with the New Patriotic Party (NPP).

Diana Asamoah has had an encounter with money so now the Holy Spirit has left her and shes unable to speak the truth. When the Holy Spirit dwells within, you are able to speak the truth no matter how painful it is !!! God is watching, Efia Odo stated.
Mawuli Gavor, a Ghanaian actor and accountant, has said he pays no heed to social media criticism.

The Ghanaian actor asserts that there are far more relevant issues that demand attention.

According to him, the only way to make it in the acting business is to have a thick skin when it comes to social media abuse.

Speaking in an interview on Joy Prime, Mawuli Gavor argued that the world of social media is imaginary.

He pointed out that a person's daily struggle to overcome new obstacles is a reality of life.

He said social media abuses do not pay his utilities hence he is unperturbed by what goes on with the platform.

Im not going to lie and say it doesnt get to me. What I do say is that its not going to affect my life in one way or the other you might say that, and it might hurt me, but its not really going to affect my life in any way. So, I wouldnt say Im not moved, but I acknowledge that its irrelevant to my real life. Social media is not real life.

As long as they dont pay his bills, among others, whatever they say will be irrelevant to his life, Mawuli Gavor stated.
Segun Arinze (R) with other AMAA officials

05.10.2023 LISTEN

Nollywood actor Segun Arinze, along with other officials of the Africa Movie Academy Awards (AMAA), touched down in Ghana on Thursday for a crucial stakeholder meeting with Ghanaian filmmakers in anticipation of the 2023 AMAA Awards.

The gathering scheduled for Thursday, October 5, at the Ibis Hotel in Accra, serves as a prelude to the 19th edition of the main award ceremony set to be held on October 29 in Lagos, Nigeria.

AMAA stands as a prestigious offshoot of the African Film Academy, and it holds a distinguished position as one of the most prominent film awards ceremonies on the African continent.

Its overarching mission is to recognize and celebrate excellence within the movie industry, paying tribute to the creative talents that significantly contribute to Africas dynamic film creative economy.

Under the theme Legacy In Motion, this years awards ceremony carries a special tribute dedicated to the late Peace Anyiam-Osigwe, the visionary founder of AMAA, who passed away on January 9, 2023. The foundation of the AMAA Awards rests on its steadfast commitment to acknowledging the best in African cinema while continually emphasizing research, training, and the advancement of filmmaking across the continent.

The nominations for the 2023 awards were unveiled with great anticipation on September 21, showcasing the exceptional talent and remarkable contributions that have enriched African cinema.

The pre-event gathering in Ghana serves as a pivotal platform for engaging with diverse stakeholders in the film industry.

It provided a unique opportunity for exchange, collaboration, and synergy among the creative forces shaping the future of African cinema.

As the countdown to the 19th AMAA Awards continues, the collective anticipation within the African film community grows, as the industry eagerly awaits the recognition of outstanding achievements and a night that celebrates the indomitable spirit of African filmmaking.
Sammi Awuku, the Chief Executive Officer of the National Lotteries Authority (NLA) has denied reports that Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia is looking for a running mate.

The vice president is primarily focused on winning the forthcoming New Patriotic Party (NPP) primaries, according to Mr. Awuku, a member of the Bawumia campaign team.

He said such claims are false and lacks any facts.

Speaking in an interview with Peace FM Accra, he said there are a lot of teething problems that need to be resolved in order to increase support for Bawumia's candidature.

The Chief Executive Officer argues that selling the Vice President's message to Ghanaians is the only way the New Patriotic Party can break the eight.

I can also speak with authority that, at no point in time have we spoken about a running mate matter, never, at the campaign level, whether private or public, official or unofficial. We are now waiting for November 4, so how do you discuss a running mate when you don't know your fate? Sammi Awuku stated.

The NPP has slated November 4 to elect a flagbearer to lead the party in the 2024 general elections.
Sammy Gyamfi, the National Communications Officer of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), has slammed Dr. Ernest Addison, Governor of the Bank of Ghana, over his failure to personally receive the petition.

According to the communications officer, the conduct of the governor of the Bank of Ghana lacked respect.

Speaking in an interview on Joy, he said the governor cannot escape accountability.

He issued a warning that a bigger #OccupyBoG demonstration will be organised to ensure the BoG Governor and his two deputies resign.

According to him, they would occupy the premises until he [Governor] gives the good people of this country the respect we deserve. Muster the courage and decency to at least face the people, receive our petition, listen to the issues we are raising and heed our demand. Until he does that, there is no escaping for Governor Addison. He can run but he cannot hide from accountability. Sammy Gyamfi stated.

The NDC on Tuesday demonstrated in Accra to demand the removal of the central bank Governor and his deputies for mismanaging the bank.

Although the protesters were prevented from accessing the central bank on the basis that it is a security zone, the leadership of the party including the MPs were allowed access to present their petition.

However, a man who identified himself as the Head of Security at the Bank appeared to receive the petition with the claim that the BoG Governor was in a meeting with officials of the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

But Mr. Gyamfi noted that the excuse given to the group is an insult to the sensibilities of the good people of this country who have been plunged into untold hardships by the actions of the Governor.

According to him, the NDC has run a check on the excuse given by the representative, and it turns out that there was no meeting scheduled on that day.

Mr. Gyamfi added that the group felt disrespected hence the decision not to present the petition to the central banks head of security.
05.10.2023 LISTEN

Nana Akomea, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of State Transport Company of Ghana has urged Parliament to take a more formal approach in addressing the allegations against the Governor of the Bank of Ghana, Dr. Ernest Addison, and his administration.

This call is in reaction to the recent protest by the Minority in Parliament demanding the resignation of the Bank of Ghana leadership, accusing them of mismanagement of the central bank.

Prior to the protest, Minority Leader Cassiel Ato Forson alleged that the Bank of Ghana recorded a significant loss of GH60.8 billion.

He accused the leadership of printing money to finance the extravagant lifestyles of the Akufo-Addo government.

Nana Akomea emphasized that while protests are a valid form of expression, summoning the Governor to appear before Parliament would provide a more structured platform for addressing these allegations.

Nana Akomea noted that it is not mandatory for the Governor of BoG to meet the protesters to receive the petition personally.

He however, noted that if summoned by Parliament, the Governor would have no option but to appear personally.

In an interview on Peace FMs Kokrokoo morning show, Nana Akomea said, "Parliament, let me make it clear, has the power to summon the Governor of the Bank of Ghana. With this demonstration, he can choose to come for your petition.

He can send someone else to come for it and there's nothing you can do to him, but you can summon him to come to Parliament.

To him, "once they present a petition to the Speaker and the Speaker approves it and they summon the Governor of the Bank of Ghana, he will have to appear.

This approach, according to Nana Akomea would ensure transparency and accountability in addressing the concerns raised by the Minority.
05.10.2023 LISTEN

Madina MP Francis Xavier-Sosu has issued an unqualified apology over his use of vulgar language during the #OccupyBoG protest held on Tuesday, October 3.

In a statement released by his office, on Wednesday, October 4, Mr. Xavier-Sosu expressed regret for his actions, acknowledging that they were inappropriate and asked for forgiveness from those who were offended.

The viral video captured the Madina MP hurling insults in the Ga language at the managers of the Bank of Ghana.

The use of vulgar language sparked criticism and condemnation from various quarters, prompting Sosu to apologise.

In his statement, Mr. Xavier-Sosu noted, "I wish to sincerely apologize for my choice of words during my outburst yesterday, Tuesday, October 3, 2023, during the Occupy BOG Demonstration."

The MP attributed his outburst to the accumulated pain, frustration and disappointment he has towards the management of the Bank of Ghana due to the current state of affairs.

He acknowledged that while his words were spoken out of anger and extreme provocation, they were completely out of character for him.

"I have reflected and realized that though I spoke those words out of anger and extreme provocation, I was completely out of character," he stated.
The Ghana Kidney Association (GKA), a professional body dedicated to promoting kidney health, has expressed concern over the recent exorbitant increase in the cost of dialysis treatment.

In a press release issued on October 3, the association acknowledged the issues surrounding dialysis and announced its commitment to engaging stakeholders to ensure accessible and affordable dialysis for the general population.

The association said it has taken note of the reports regarding the significant increase in the cost of dialysis, which has caused distress among patients suffering from End Stage Renal Disease (ESRD).

In the press release, the GKA stated, "The Association is taking steps to engage the stakeholders to make dialysis accessible and affordable to the general population. The outcome of such engagement would be made known to the public."

The patients, facing a more than 100 percent increment from GH380 to GH765.14 per session in Korle Bu Teaching Hospital, expressed panic over the sudden financial burden.

The association stressed it is committed to addressing the issue and will inform the public about the outcomes of these engagements.

The GKA also emphasized the importance of maintaining kidney health through preventive measures.

It urged the general public to prioritize their kidney health by adhering to treatments for risk factors such as hypertension and diabetes mellitus.

It further highlighted the significance of avoiding the abuse of painkillers and herbal remedies, which can contribute to kidney damage, emphasizing the importance of early reporting to hospitals for patients diagnosed with kidney disease, as early intervention can help slow down disease progression.

The GKA, led by President Prof. Sampson Antwi, plays a vital role in educating the public on the prevention and treatment of kidney disorders in Ghana.
AngloGold Ashanti Obuasi Mine has commenced the construction of an ultra-modern health centre for the Dokyiwa/Binsere communities in the Obuasi Municipality.

The Centre, which is estimated to cost over GHS 2.4 million, falls under the health pillar of the Obuasi Mines 10-Year Socio-Economic Development Plan and contributes to fulfilling an intermediate goal to improve accessibility to quality health services of its host communities.

Through this initiative, AngloGold Ashanti aims to enhance the overall well-being of community members by providing a conducive environment to facilitate the delivery of health care; improve patient/healthcare care service providers relationship; reduce commuting distance of community members to access health facilities in the Central Business District, while providing matching health infrastructure that delivers the necessary public health services within host communities.

When completed, the health centre will be equipped with modern medical equipment and staffed with highly skilled healthcare professionals to deliver efficient heath and patient care. It will cater to a wide range of medical services, including general medical consultations, ante-natal and post-natal, a dispensary, inpatient care and a laboratory facility.

According to the Senior Manager, Sustainability, Emmanuel Baidoo who spoke to the media after the sod-cutting ceremony said the company was pleased to be undertaking such an important project which will shape the future of healthcare in Dokyiwa and Binsere communities.

He said the company arrived at the decision to build the health facility there after series of interactions with stakeholders in the health sector. "After engaging our stakeholders, it became evidently clear that the people of Binsere and Dokyiwa will need a befitting health facility to provide quality healthcare at their doorsteps."

The initiative as affirmed by Mr. Baidoo is part of AGA's 10-year Socio-Economic Development Plans Health pillar, reflecting on their steadfast commitment to fostering social progress and demonstrating the commitment and support to ensuring AGA's host communities have access to quality healthcare services, which is an essential part of responsible mining.

"By investing in healthcare infrastructure, AngloGold Ashanti seeks to enhance the wellbeing and quality of life of the communities in which we operate, which promotes sustainable development," added Mr. Baidoo.

Martin Sarfo Osei, the Obuasi Municipal Director of Health Services said the project will further boost health care delivery in Obuasi. He said when completed, the project will be one of a kind in the Municipality.

"Judging from the architectural design and the equipment AGA has lined up to furnish the facility, I have no doubt that this will be one of the best health facilities you can find here," he stated.

He lauded AngloGold Ashanti for making quality healthcare delivery their priority adding that health workers are further motivated to provide quality healthcare delivery to people who will patronize the facility when completed.

The Municipal Works Engineer David Agyei who represented the Municipal Chief Executive praised AngloGold Ashanti for supporting the development agenda of the Municipality.

The health center which is to be undertaken by Crisspan Company Limited, an Obuasi-based construction firm is expected to be completed in six month's time.
Editor and reporter Daniel Frederico is facing criminal charges and harassment for a report he says he did not write. (Photo: Marcos Forcoso)

04.10.2023 LISTEN

Nairobi, October 3, 2023Authorities in Angola must drop charges of criminal defamation and insult against journalist Daniel Frederico and stop criminalizing his reporting, the Committee to Protect Journalists said on Tuesday.

Last week, a district court in the Angolan capital Luanda summoned Frederico, editor of news portal Reporter Angola who publishes under the pen name Daniel Jonas Pensador, to appear on October 4, 2023, on charges of criminal defamation and insult, according to the journalist and his lawyer Antonio Martins, both of whom spoke to CPJ via phone and messaging app.

The charges are linked to a 2022 report published by another new site, Angola Online, denouncing alleged corruption by a prosecutor, Pedro Machado, according to Frederico and Martins. Frederico told CPJ that police summoned him in March, April, and May 2022 to answer questions in connection with the report. The journalist said he was not the author of the Angola Online report, but said that he had called Machado last year seeking comment because he planned to write his own report about the corruption allegations but later abandoned the idea after speaking to Machado.

Authorities in Angola should stop wasting public resources by pursuing a criminal case against Daniel Frederico for a report he did not write, in transparent retaliation for his journalism, said CPJ sub-Saharan Africa representative, Muthoki Mumo. Officials should stop harassing him in connection to his work, and repeal the countrys regressive criminal defamation and insult laws.

If convicted of criminal defamation, Frederico risks up to 1.5 years in prison or a fine whose amount is decided at the discretion of the court, according to the penal code. The offense of insult carries a sentence of up to one year in prison or a fine that is also at the judges discretion.

Frederico told CPJ he believed the criminal defamation case re-emerged in retaliation for his recent radio interviews criticizing his September 16 arrest while covering a demonstration against planned traffic restrictions against motorcycle taxis in Luanda.

The journalist, who was detained alongside six other people, remained behind bars until September 20, when he was released following acquittal on charges of disobeying authority and offenses against the president, according to lawyer Zola Bambi, who represented the journalist in the matter and spoke to CPJ via phone. Following his release, Frederico appeared in several local radio stations, discussing human rights violations he witnessed during his time behind bars.

According to the journalist, two agents of the Criminal Investigation Service, known by its acronym SIC, threatened him on September 27 when he went to reclaim his phone that had been confiscated during the September 16 arrest.

Ive been reporting that I saw children as young as 12 in prison cells amongst adults for crimes such as stealing cookies, and a few days later, my lawyers got notified of this hearing of criminal defamation: its not a coincidence, Frederico said. Agents of Criminal Investigation services told me I would not get away the next time.

Four activists arrested alongside Frederico on September 16 were convicted and sentenced to two years and five months in prison, according to Bambi and a report by the Portuguese news site Observador. Bambi believes that authorities wanted to set an example with the arrests on September 16 in order to quell demonstrations against the state.

When CPJ reached Machado via telephone call on Tuesday, he said he was driving. His phone was switched off when CPJ called him subsequently, and queries sent via text message and messaging application went unanswered. Alvaro Joao, spokesperson for the office of the prosecutor general in Angola, told CPJ, via phone call, that he could not comment on an ongoing case.

Angolan journalists have faced criminal insult and defamation proceedings in the past several years.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called for the unity of Europe and to prevent Putin from destroying its power.

"The unity and solidarity of all of Europe must be strong. The unity of all 27 EU countries, the strength of our common rules and agreements, the strength of the EU's ability to expand according to its own founding treaties," he said, speaking at the second summit of the European Political Community in Granada (Spain) on Thursday.

"Putin cannot be allowed to destabilize any other parts of the world and our partners in order to destroy the power of Europe. We must continue to push with sanctions, politically and economically, so that Russia cannot spread chaos... We must work together to push Russia out of other countries," Zelenskyy said.

According to him, "every Russian drone shot down in Ukraine, every Russian tank destroyed in Ukraine is a guarantee that this drone, this tank, any other Russian weapon destroyed in Ukraine will not hit another in Europe."

"Additional air defense systems for Ukraine, additional artillery and shells, additional long-range missiles and drones for our warriors, as well as additional formats of support and security guarantees for nations threatened by Russia  all this will protect Europe from additional aggressive steps by Russia," Zelenskyy said.

He said unity must work "so that no other city in Europe feels what our Kharkiv, all the cities and villages of Ukraine are going through."

"Let Putin's ambitions be ruins, not our countries, not our cities," Zelenskyy said.
Some residents in the Gomoa Central Constituency in the Central Region have expressed their disappointment in their Member of Parliament, Hon. Naana Eyiah for failing to fix deplorable roads in the area.

According to them, though they have heard series of assurances from their MP that the Government was ready to fix the roads, there is no hope in sight as the situation continues to make their lives miserable.

The Omanhene of Gomoa Ajumako Traditional Area, Obrempong Nyanful Krampah XI recently described roads in Gomoa as an eyesore as compared with other parts of the country.

He expressed concern that Gomoa has been neglected in such a sorrowful manner. "As if Gomoa is not part of Ghana," Obrempong Nyanful Krampah XI lamented.

He therefore called on the government to expedite action on all roads in Gomoa especially Gomoa Dawurampong to Gomoa Afransi, Gomoa Lome to Nduem, Awombrew to Nsuem, Ayensuadze to Abaasa and Gomoa Darhom to Achiase.

Similar sentiment was shared by the Chief of Gomoa Brofoyedur, Nana Esoun Abonyi Kwaata II in his address to his people at the launch of the 2024 Annual Akwambo festival at Brofoyedur last Sunday. He stated that if Government failed to fix deplorable roads in the vicinity, they would have no option but to vote for more serious government who would make life more meaningful for his people.

Nana Esoun Abonyi Kwaata II who is also the Esihene of Gomoa Ajumako Traditional Area noted that every chief seeks nothing more than human and infrastructure development for his people.

He stated that though Nananom were playing their role in various communities, it behoves on government to fulfill its obligation to the people in terms of physical amenities.

"Nananom are agents for human and physical development so I won't sit aloof as someone who is sleeping on his job, we will shake them to meet the demands of the people.

"Am tempted to say that the Ministry of Roads and Highways, Hon. Kwasi Amoako Atta is deceiving those of us in this part of the country. Why am I saying that? He was here some few months ago and promised that all roads in Gomoa especially Gomoa Brofoyedur to Gomoa Jukwa were going to be asphalted within some few weeks but till now, nothing has been done. The two-minute drive from Brofoyedur to Jukwa now takes over 30 minutes, that's when you are using a good car.

"Let me caution again that if nothing is done to enhance smooth transportation on our road we will advise ourselves. If they are waiting for few days before elections to fix deplorable roads, then they better forget about our votes. I will personally lead a crusade to vote against the NPP Government if it fails to adhere to our concern," Nana Abonyi Kwaata II noted.

He called on citizens of Gomoa Brofoyedur both home and abroad to contribute their quota towards early completion of the Community Center which would also serve as an event center for the community.

"We will use funds raised at next year's Akwambo Festival to tackle other self-help projects we are undertaking. Our public toilet and Market center should be completed on time," he stated.

Mr. Kwame Obeng Asare popularly known as 'Kwame 'A' Plus who chaired the launching called for all hands on deck to raise the image of Gomoaman.

He urged the three Members of Parliament and DCEs in Gomoa to be up and doing. He added that Gomoaman also deserves better as its neighbouring areas like Effutu and Agona whose roads have become envious in the Central Region due to proactive leadership.
05.10.2023 LISTEN

The Electoral Commission of Ghana is the official body responsible for all public elections and referenda. Its independence is guaranteed by the 1992 constitution.

The commission expresses the will of the people by conducting free, fair, and honest elections. It also provides better voter assistance and faster poll processes to millions of Ghanaian citizens.

As the 2023 district level elections draw nearer, the commission opened its doors to Ghanaians for the compilation, revision, and expansion of the voters register, dubbed Limited Registration Exercise, in all the two hundred and seventy five ( 275) offices across the country which started on 12/09/2023 to 02/10/2023.

The Mpohor district office of the commission during the period registered a total of two thousand and fifty-seven (2,057) voters.

Out of that number, one thousand seven hundred and twenty-five (1,725) were between age 18-20. Three hundred and thirty-two (332) voters whose ages range from 21-60 were registered.

During the registration exercise, the commission recorded six (6) challenge cases. One thousand one hundred and twenty-nine (1,129) people were guaranteed because they neither had Ghana cards nor passports, while nine hundred and twenty-eight people registered with their Ghana cards.

Ms. Mercy Hammond, the district electoral officer was ecstatic about how successful the exercise had been. She expressed her gratitude to the district chief executive for providing the needed security to calm truancy at the center.

She is optimistic that the upcoming district level elections will be free, fair, and violent free to represent the true will of the citizens.
A former member of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) has mocked the Minority in Parliament over their recent #OccupyBoG protest which is demanding the resignation of the Bank of Ghana Governor, Ernest Addison.

In a post on Facebook on Wednesday, October 4, Stephen Atubiga slams the Minority lawmakers for what he describes as a "total failure" of the demonstration staged on Tuesday.

"How can the whole Dead Goat syndrome NDC, turn into a keep fit club, press conference, or pressure group? Leading a demonstration to the Bank of Ghana, only to be welcomed by a gatemen and watchmen of the Bank of Ghana, he wrote.

"You hold your grounds to meet the right person, But they are ineffective and weaknesses have resulted in meeting the Gatemen and watchmen in suits at the BOG," Atubiga added in the post.

The former NDC member said the cleaners and cooks of the central bank would be waiting for them next time.
Though a tiny portion of the Atlantic ocean, the mystery surrounding the Bermuda triangle has continued to puzzle a lot of scientific minds. Why do ships and even airplanes vanish into thin air without a trace within that godforsaken portion of the Atlantic ocean: between Miami, Puerto Rico, and Bermuda island in the Atlantic ocean. Well, many call it the Devils triangle because of the hundreds of lives, ships and airplanes it has claimed. Numerous theories have been theorized ranging from sea monsters, bad weather, to aliens, about the mystery. The university of Colorado recently seems to have solved the mystery when satellite weather images were taken of the area and certain hexagonal thick clouds were found surrounding the triangle. These USA scientists at university of Colorado also theorized that these unusual hexagonal clouds could be acting as real air bombs triggering hurricane-force winds which have enormous amount of power no ship or airplane can withstand. So they get deadly blown and blasted away by these winds. Whether that is correct solution to the Bermuda triangle tragedy, its still a theory.

Like the Bermuda triangle, the mystery of Akufo Addos government not yielding any gain but pain, agony, and national shame, despite unprecedented resources at its disposal than any other government ever in the history of Ghana, and the supposed numerous intellectuals working in the government to manage the economy, beats anybodys imagination.

In fact, there are many Ghanaians who were seriously disgruntled that the OccupyJulorBiHouse demonstrators did not simply adopt OccupyJulorHouse or OccupyDevilHouse instead. The reference is certainly not to the seat of government of Ghana, but the current armed robbers who have infiltrated the presidency and have collapsed the country with their daily wicked robbery of the paltry resources of the land.

Perhaps, the latest clarion call made by the leader of the Kennedy Agyapong Team, Lawyer William Kusi, not to risk the destiny and tomorrow of Ghana in the hands of speech makers, succinctly describes what President Akufo Addo and his gigantic government are only capable of apart from evil and thievery.

According to him, the President and his protege only know how to make good speeches but have zero appreciation of economic management. Kennedy Agyapong himself adjudged the Akufo Addo-led government as the worst corrupt government in Ghanas history. While we are all living witnesses to the ailing, failing and flailing Ghanaian economy due to unspeakable tragedy of incompetence and massive corruption, if the fish comes out of the river to claim the crocodile has only one eye, a monkey has no business in questioning the authenticity of such claims than to accept it?

Truth be told, one of historys greatest speakers and orators in Europe around hundred years ago, were Benito Mussolini of Italy and Germanys Adolf Hitler, who used speeches to galvanize their citizens into accepting and endorsing evil policies of Fascism and Nazism.

But despite their good speeches and the flowery language they dazzled and captivated their citizens with, Adolf Hitler was to commit suicide after staging the Holocaust and destroying a greater percentage of his own countrys infrastructure; Benito Mussolini, like the Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, was caught by his own citizens and killed when he was disguising to escape from Italy with two German officers in a Jeep. Mussolinis case was even worst; the Italians decided to hang his corpse on a tree for every citizen to ventilate his or her anger and hatred by pelting him till he began to decompose.

Today, over hundred years later, President Akufo Addo appears to be a representative of these evil and wicked leaders like Benito Mussolini of Italy, Adolf Hitler of Germany, including Mao Zedong of China, Saddam Hussein of Iraq, Papa Doc Duvalier of Haiti, Kim jong-ill of North Korea, among others, who sacrificed their own people in order to stay politically relevant at all cost.

In the Part One of this article, I tried to dissect the problem with Akufo Addo and his accursed government when I mentioned arrogance of knowledge and feeling of self-importance than others, being what has brought the curse of God upon this government and its managers.

Actually, in my previous articles prior to the 2020 general elections, I tried to economically dissect the issue and my prognosis and diagnosis indicated that wrong and very incompetent choice of economic policies by the government, has been partially culpable of the problem.

For those who dont believe in religion and the spiritual realm, I argued in my earlier articles titled: Investigate the NPPs Economic Growth Claims, that predictions of the global economy has often been the key determinant for the growing of the Ghanaian economy at the time. Mostly captured in the Part Two of Ghanas budget statement, when the global economy is predicted to be positive and growing, then its positive also in Ghana. The Akufo Addo administration would then claim credit for the growing economy. And this is not due to their hard work or any wherewithal of economic management. Pure coincidence and recklessness.

The second reason which was cushioned by the global economic factors, was the policy choice of the government which was quite reckless and less than competent if not uncaring for the citizens of Ghana. The government opted for an economic policy known as Expansionary Fiscal Policy to replace the Contractionary Fiscal Policy the IMF in their wisdom chose for the Mahama-administration to charter in 2015.

According to Kingly Amadeo, the former policy (Expansionary fiscal policy) is rather dangerous when calamity strikes during its usage. Especially, when the calamity is on a global scale. The policy is only used after a serious economic crisis. He gave an example of the American depression in the 1930s which prompted the American government to use the policy in 1929 and 1931. Amadeo explains that expansionary fiscal policy is often used within a year. And that no responsible government uses it beyond a year consecutively. A reason why the USA government used it in 1929 and 1931. After introducing the policy in 1929, the depression returned in 1931 so the USA government reintroduced it.

In short, expansionary fiscal policy is an economic painkiller that ought not to be used to grow economy but as a panacea, and only when the economy hit the rocks (in crises).

Amadeo also revealed that no developing country can actually grow its economy in any dramatic manner except with these global economic forces are in place or the adoption of this economic policy. In this case, using expansionary fiscal policy without any aftermath of an economic disaster or meltdown, is like a man who takes pills without sickness. Just to abuse the drugs in order to work harder. Ghanas trouble under Akufo Addo is that, they used a pill when they were not sick and when they became sick, the pill is no more and when new pill has been dashed Ghana, the immune system doesnt accept it again.

In investigating the so-called economic growth under Akufo Addo which was acclaimed to be the fastest growing economy in the world, I found that, one, Ghana was enjoying this global economic positive order predictions; two, Ghana was still under IMF program initiated by the Mahama-administration in 2015; three, the government adopted the Expansionary fiscal policy for all the four years in government when Ghana was not in any economic crisis at the time. Being on economic drugs and painkillers, the economy of Ghana, like a healthy yahoo boy who drinks a mixture of energy drink, samalin cough syrup, and tramadol, went wild.

But like Amadeo said, when an economy is run based on this policy and any calamity strikes, that economy suffers the most. Our case in Ghana was terribly worst because, the policy was not only abused for one year but the entire one term of the NPP and till date. The problem is that, expansionary fiscal policy allows government to expand expenditure with little or without savings. So, just like at the individual level, when an employee spends all his salary without savings, if any emergency arises, he is going to suffer. It becomes worst off if the spending was on things that cannot generate and recoup money quickly. And because many of the spending of the Akufo Addo government has been on renting luxury jets, champagne and akpeteshie, global crises such as the Covid-19, Russia-Ukraine etc. have hit Ghana harder than any nation because of incompetent usage of an economic policy.

The question now is, why did the government not see the need not to adopt that policy and even abuse it that wantonly and recklessly? That is because, our elders say that a person to be burnt and hurt by fire first catches cold. Then he goes to warm himself up, and the fire burns him instead.

Another factor which constitutes this Part Two of the article why the Akufo Addo administration has failed flat is the alleged demonic, Mallam and Juju politics including human sacrifices the Akufo Addo-led NPP did in order to win the 2016 general elections, and which have resulted in this our national penury and agony.

The first of it being the accusation that, the murder of JB Danquah-Adu, the late Abuakwa North Member of Parliament, was actually human sacrifice carried out by Flagbearer Akufo Addo and the NPP in order to come to power when he lost twice in his presidential bid in 2008 and 2012.

Perhaps, its not that bad, grotesque and bizzare to claim the life of another human being in a battlefield or in preparation of it. And probably several other lives might have been claimed by politicians in general simply to win political power. Because another rumor mill has it that a certain political party buried a mulatto alive in order to win elections. But what about if these lives are that of innocent animals in the most gruesome way? Would God spare such a group of people or nation?

In lamenting the evils that have gripped the Northern Region and what Tamale as a city of Islam in particular has become having been infiltrated by spiritual charlatans, misfits etc., a local preacher Afa Mutala narrates, among other things, the charm and juju some Muslims, who later came to confess their sins to him, have done for politicians to win and stay in political power.

Few of these demonic acts done by politicians he the local preacher believed could have triggered the wrath of God upon the land and hence the economic failure, political crass, and social degeneration we are battling with, are each heart-wrenching and spine-chilling.

So, for a political party to win power and treat the citizens like coins in their pocket, one of the confessors confessed that a magician was brought from Cote d'Ivoire to perform a certain charm for that political party. The magician tasked the party to find three hundred (300) frogs for the charm. He then produced 300 amulets and each amulet was forcefully pushed inside the mouth of each of the frogs and have their mouths sewed up! Afterwards, they buried all the frogs alive. In this country!

The second one was more terrible than the first. A live chameleon was skinned alive by a Malam and some satanic verses and symbols were drawn and written on the flesh of the chameleon and it was buried alive afterwards.

The third and fourth ones involved two cattle where one was also flayed alive with a knife, and the other cow had its fur shaved off with hottest water while the cow was still alive. Each of them had similar satanic verses and diagrams and symbols written on their bodies and were buried alive! For a political party to win elections.

The local preacher did not mention any political party's name. He however questioned why would Muslims, especially so-called Muslim clerics who engage in this form of wickedness be this heartless? And that even non-muslims do not need the services of the demons, why then would a Muslim go to the devil to seek such a wicked service from it? Then he gave an example of what another confessor told him about the late former president Atta Mills which gave a hint with regards to the political party that could have committed these atrocities to provoke and invoke the curse of God upon our land. According to this confessor, a cow was presented to the late former President Prof. Mills and asked to place his hand on the cow and make his intention as far as his presidential bid was concerned for the cow to be slaughtered in sacrifice. But the late Prof. Mills refused and said, "if God can't help me become president, this cow cannot help me.

Now, if the NDC could not kill a cow in sacrifice to win an election, and judging from the accusations levelled against the NPP and President Akufo Addo following the murder or sacrifice of JB Danquah-Adu, which political party could have buried the frogs, flayed alive the cows, buried a horse alive, buried a human being (mulatto) alive in order to win general elections the first confessor confessed to the local preacher? And why the difficulties under this government?

Fellow Ghanaians, the deafening silence of the good citizens of Ghana, including paramount chiefs, despite the appalling epileptic economy might not be normal. Perhaps, Ghanaians are under some magic spell of the government. And guaranteed that the confessor alleged that they forced amulets into the mouths of frogs, sewed them up, and buried them alive in the most pharaohnical manner, suggests that political party wanted Ghanaians to be silent over their mismanagement, gangsterism, thievery, and gross economic mess!

Again, the fact that everything President Akufo Addo touches dies and his fear for his own shadow when he cannot longer travel without his own chair to gatherings, is a palpable testament that some disgruntled spirits may be hunting the man, and Ghana.

Fellow Ghanaians, whether true or false are these allegations and accusations, coming events shall surely cast their shadow. If the NPP and President Akufo Addo really did these evils to come to power and to spiritually gag the nation, we dont need coward soldiers to master courage to overthrow them. The God who overcame and delivered Benito Mussolini, Adolf Hitler, Papa Doc Duvalier etc., to their citizens, would soon deliver our national enemy into our hands.

We wait with bated breath.
The Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA) has organized a forum to discuss illicit financial flows (IFFs) and ways to boost tax revenue collection in Ghana.

IFFs refer to illegal cross-border money movements including tax evasion, corruption, and terrorist financing, according to the IMF.

The event held at the GNAT Hall in Accra on Wednesday, October 4, aimed at highlighting the role of the media and other stakeholders in "strengthening progressive taxation, domestic resource mobilisation and combating illicit financial flows.

In his remarks, Archibald Adams of OXFAM Ghana noted that "a win against IFFs is equally a win to alleviate inequality and poverty."

EOCO lamented that "the nation loses millions of US dollars through [IFFs] annually."

In his keynote address, Assistant Commissioner Dominic Naab, representing Commissioner General Rev. Dr. Ammishaddai Owusu-Amoah, noted that "revenue collection remains a challenge for GRA due to issues such as IFFs."

"Several compliance tools introduced by GRA have been met with resistance from the public," he lamented.

Professor Bishop Akolgo of the UNCTAD and Ghana Statistical Service, during the panel discussion, analysed the channels through which IFFs occur, such as "trade, banking systems, government procurement."

He noted that "drug dealers mostly resort to winning government contracts to exchange their illegal money for legal ones."

Financial Intelligence Centre Head Seth Amoako assured: "measures are being put in place to combat various IFFs, particularly money laundering."

On her part, Ghana Integrity Initiative's Mary Addah bemoaned that "the laws in Ghana...fight against and punish the less-privileged but leave those in high authority."

Raymond Acquah of Accra-based JoyNews emphasized the media's role in exposing suspicious behavior to curb further IFFs but lamented the lack of adequate cooperation.

He also called for more things to be done to get many media practitioners abreast with tax issues to be able to create more awareness among the citizenry.

He, however, averred that the media would do the needful by reporting on tax issues while urging his colleagues to help champion the efforts in improving domestic revenue mobilisation.

The engaging forum, moderated by TV3s Alfred Occansey highlighted the costs of IFFs to Ghana's development and the need for concerted efforts from all stakeholders to boost tax income and sever illicit financial flows.

Key stakeholders in attendance included the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA), Financial Intelligence Centre (FIC), OXFAM Ghana, Economic and Organized Crime Office (EOCO), the media and others.
Former Deputy Minister of Communications, Felix Kwakye Ofosu has hit out at Bank of Ghana (BoG) Governor Dr. Ernest Addison for describing the Minoritys #OccupyBoG protest as unnecessary.

The Minority in Parliament mobilised Ghanaians to hit the streets of Accra on Tuesday, October 3, to demand the resignation of the Central Banks Governor for what they described as gross mismanagement of BoG and illegal printing of money for government.

Speaking in an interview with international business website, Central Banking, Governor Dr. Ernest Addison said he will not resign from office.

According to him, it was needless for the Minority to protest like hooligans just to drum home their grievances.

The demonstration yesterday was completely unnecessary. The Minority (MPs) in Parliament have many channels to channel their grievances in civilized societies, not through demonstrations in the streets as hooligans, Dr. Ernest Addison said.

Unhappy with these comments, Felix Kwakye Ofosu has in a post on social media descended on the Bank of Ghana Governor.

In a post on X, the former Deputy Minister of Communication described the Governor as an Akufo-Addo stooge who is all too willing to destroy the economy.

He argued that in a different country, Dr. Ernest Addison would not be at post by now.

A foul-mouthed tirade against protesters from an Akufo-Addo stooge, who is all too willing to destroy the economy at his benefactor's behest. An apology of a Governor who will be long gone in a decent society, Felix Kwakye Ofosu said.
Former President John Dramani Mahama on Wednesday, October 4 led a delegation from the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) to visit former President John Agyekum Kufuor and his family to extend their condolences over the passing of former First Lady Theresa Kufuor.

Mr Mahama, accompanied by his wife, former First Lady Lordina, said the deceased was affectionately known as Mother of the Nation during her tenure as First Lady due to her dignified personality.

The delegation included the National Chairman of the NDC, Johnson Asiedu Nketia, the Chair of the NDC Council of Elders, Alhaji Mahama Iddrisu, members of the NDC Council of Elders, and the partys Political Committee.

Mr. Mahama signed the Book of Condolence on behalf of the NDC.

He wrote: We are all saddened by the passing of our respected mother, former First Lady Madam Theresa Kufuor.

She carried herself with dignity and was truly acknowledged by the people of Ghana as the mother of the Nation.

On this sad occasion, our hearts go out to the widower, President Agyekum Kufuor, and the entire family. May God grant her peaceful repose.

Funeral arrangements are underway and will be announced in due course, the family has said.

Meanwhile, flags continue to fly at half-mast as per the instruction of President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.

The instruction took effect from Monday, October 2 and scheduled to end on Sunday, October 8.

-3news.com
Former Central Bank Governor, Dr Kwabena Duffour has criticised the authorities of Bank of Ghana for delegating the Head of Security to receive a petition from the Minority and protestors on Tuesday, October 3.

He contends that the Secretary of the Bank should have been the one to receive the petition in line with the tradition of central banks across the world.

Speaking exclusively to TV3 News, Dr Duffour described the decision of the Management of the central bank as unfair to the Minority MPs and the numerous Ghanaians who have concerns about their operations.

Dr Duffuor said, I was expecting the Secretary of the Bank to receive the petition from the leaders of the protest, because the Secretary is the face of the Bank.

It would be recalled that the Minority MPs declined to submit their petition to the Head of Security of the Bank of Ghana, Wing Commander Kwame Asare Boateng, who was delegated to receive it.

The Minority Leader, Cassiel Ato Forson who spoke on behalf of the group said they wanted to hand the petition over to the Governor, Dr. Ernest Addison, or any of his deputies.

Dr Forson thus described the banks decision as disrespectful.

It is very disrespectful not to receive the petition himself. Not even the deputy is here, and we never said we were going to present our petition to security, and we would not give you the petition, Mr. Forson told Wing Commander Kwame Asare Boateng.

The Minority Leader added, Now that he has decided to disrespect us, we will not present our petition, and so we will go and come back again. Until we see him, this is just the beginning.

Dr Duffuor noted that, A petition is a communication issue, not a security issue. It is wrong for the head of security to have been sent to receive the petition.

The Minority MPs have demanded the resignation of the Governor of the Bank of Ghana, Dr Ernest Addison and his deputies, over alleged mismanagement of the nation's central bank.

The call was occasioned by revelations in the Annual Report and Financial Statement of the Bank of Ghana (BoG), to the effect that the BoG had recorded losses to the tune of GH60.8 billion, which is equivalent to $6 billion and recorded a negative equity of over GH55.1 billion.

The demonstration on Tuesday was therefore to give vent to their quest to get the top managers of the central bank to leave office.

-3news.com
05.10.2023 LISTEN

The Diaspora Sympathizers of the National Democratic Congress (DSNDC) are fervently advocating for the delegates in the NDC-UK Ireland Chapter to reelect the incumbent Chairman, Alhaji Alhassan Mbalba, in recognition of his selfless and dedicated leadership.

In a press release jointly signed by the leadership of the Diaspora Sympathizers of the NDC (DSNDC), it was emphasized that retaining Chairman Mbalba would signify a continuation of his remarkable and unwavering service towards the collective goal of bringing the NDC and President Dramani Mahama back into power.

Chairman Mbalba's tenure at the helm of the NDC-UK Ireland Chapter has been characterized by a track record of tangible achievements. Under his leadership, the chapter has seen significant growth and progress. Membership has surged, and the chapter has expanded its reach with the establishment of new branches, making it one of the most vibrant and active chapters in the NDC diaspora network.

One of Chairman Mbalba's notable achievements has been fostering a strong sense of unity among NDC members in the UK and Ireland. He has worked tirelessly to bridge the gap between the diaspora and the party in Ghana, ensuring that the voices and concerns of NDC supporters abroad are heard and addressed. This strong connection has been instrumental in creating a robust and cohesive NDC community overseas.

Chairman Mbalba's commitment to the welfare of NDC members extends beyond political matters. He has been a pillar of support for individuals facing personal challenges, providing assistance with issues ranging from immigration concerns to financial hardships. His dedication to ensuring that every member feels valued and cared for has earned him the respect and admiration of many.

As the election day approaches, the Diaspora Sympathizers of the NDC are not alone in their call for the retention of Chairman Mbalba. Supporters and well-wishers within the NDC-UK Ireland Chapter and beyond have echoed their sentiments, recognizing the indelible mark he has left on the chapter's history. The upcoming election promises to be a crucial moment in determining the chapter's future, and the hope is that Chairman Mbalba's leadership will continue to guide it towards even greater accomplishments.

BELOW IS THE FULL PRESS RELEASE:

DIASPORA SYMPATHIZERS OF THE NDC (DSNDC) CALLS FOR THE RETENTION OF ALHAJI MBALBA AS NDC-UK IRELAND'S CHAPTER CHAIRMAN

We, the Diaspora sympathizers of the NDC, have taken notice of the forthcoming election of the NDC UK- IRELAND chapter on saturday, and we called and pleaded with the delegates to retain the selfless and committed incumbent chapter chairman, Alhaji Mbalba for a continuation of his excellent and dedicated service towards the collective agenda of bringing back the NDC and President John Dramani Mahama to build the Ghana we want for the future of our unborn generation.

Chairman Mbalba, for the past few years, has demonstrated quality, honest, discipline, and responsible leadership which directly upholds the cardinal principles and values of the NDC and such a great asset need to be maintained to continue serving in humility as usual.

His leadership saw a very responsible, accountable, vibrant, and progressive chapter, and one can boldly affirm that the UK-IRELAND chapter of the National Democratic Congress under the auspices of Hajj Mbalba is the best and well established as compared to others in the diaspora.

The chapter saw a massive membership drive, establishment of many branches, easy accessibility to leadership, close connection between chapter members and the party, registration of new members became very easy among others, which is the best way to mobilize a political party to gain grounds and win election in this century of contemporary politics in the diaspora.

This is a man who is 24/7 available for the party, and the party people, he goes as far as one can imagine to sort personal private problems of party people such as finance, immigration, and others just to make sure every NDC member in the chapter is safe and comfortable, and this is the man the chapter definitely need to continue serving his people and party.

The humility, competence, selflessness and charisma of Alhaji Mbalba is unmatched and we sympathizers of the NDC here in the diaspora appeal to the delegates to vote massively for this industrious servant of the party to keep the chapter active, vibrant and attractive.

Alhaji Mbalba as a social worker who belongs to the left wing ideology has proven to be a servant leader but not master leader, which is the practical definition of social and liberal democratic leadership, and such rare leaders are not thrown out based on hatred, lies, envy and unsubstantiated allegations.

We the Diaspora Sympathizers of the NDC are ready to work closely with the party with our energy and resources here in the chapter and Ghana when we see responsible and dedicated leaders being mandated to serve, and we are bold to point out Alhaji Mbalba as one of the NDC's biggest and best asset that need to be protected by all standard.

We thank you all for your attention and willingness to retain a humble servant leader for the progress and betterment of the UK IRELAND chapter of our dear party.

Signed

.....................

DIASPORA SYMPATHIZERS OF NDC(DSNDC)
Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA), Dr Bernard Okoe-Boye has proposed solutions to cater for persons with renal diseases.

He said government should introduce sin tax on some products that are normally consumed by ordinary Ghanaians.

Speaking in an interview on The Point of View on Citi TV hosted by Bernard Avle on Wednesday and monitored by ModernGhana News, he indicated that the proceeds from the tax can be channeled into what he called chronic disease fund or the peripheral disease fund and made accessible to departments that take care of kidney and other cardio diseases to subsidise the cost of dialysis.

He told the host of the program: I can tell you very boldly, we can as a country if we are committed to paying totally for kidney care. There are three things we can do. First of all, politically weve been going back and forth on funding with NHIS, so we dont have to go directly to politicians for money. Number two, we can put some levy, what is referred to as sin tax on some one or two products which are normally not consumed by the ordinary person but by people in a particular class, and the inflows from that levy can go into a fund not necessarily with National Health Insurance. It can be the chronic disease fund or the peripheral disease fund which will go to the department that takes care of kidney and other cardio diseases. It will enable Korle Bu to heavily subsidise again.

Thirdly, we as a country can come together quickly, take away either all the taxes on any item that goes into kidney care, or we can look at two or three consumables which affect the pricing and the state can procure it directly So we have a duty as a country to find ways to beat down the cost of dialysis either to zero or about 20%. Lastly, we can still register those who are indigenes who cannot afford some GH20, give them special cards and the state can reimburse them from health insurance, it can be done, he emphasised.
Russian occupation forces attacked a civilian facility in the village of Hroza in Kupiansk district, Kharkiv region, according to preliminary information, 48 people, including a child, were killed, and six people, including a child, were injured, Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine Andriy Yermak has said.

"Russian forces shelled a civilian facility in the village of Hroza, Kupiansk district. According to preliminary information, 48 people were killed. Including a child, a 6-year-old boy. Also, six injured were reported  also including one child, a girl. The debris removal operation is underway," he said on the Telegram channel on Thursday.
Today, October 5 is World Teachers Day under the theme "The Teachers we Need for the Education we Want: The Global Imperative to Reverse the Teacher Shortage".

The ceremony will be opened globally by UNESCOs Director-General, followed by messages from the three co-convening agencies: the International Labour Organization (ILO), UNICEF, and Education International.

As part of the celebrations, UNESCO will inaugurate an original photo exhibition featuring teachers from across the globe.

This exhibition will showcase portraits and testimonials, recognising their dedication, passion, and commitment to shaping the future.

In Ghana, teachers are gathering at the GSTS auditorium in Takoradi in the Western Region where the President of the Republic, Nana Akufo-Addo is expected to address them.

Some selected teachers will also be rewarded for their work.
In parts of Accra, residents are living in fear as a lone robber continues to wreak havoc in the community.

Known for his brazen daytime thefts, the suspect has managed to evade arrest, prompting the police to launch a manhunt for him.

The police have taken the matter seriously and are determined to bring the robber to justice. CCTV footage showing the suspect in action has been circulating on social media, alerting the public to his criminal activities. Acknowledging the widespread concerns, the police have assured the public that the matter is already under investigation.

Intelligence teams within the police service have been working tirelessly to identify and apprehend the suspect.

Their efforts have been intensified in recent weeks and progress is being made in narrowing down potential leads. Law enforcement agencies are confident that their hard work will ultimately lead to the arrest of the lone robber.

In the meantime, the police have implemented additional security measures in the affected communities. Patrols have been increased, and officers are vigilant to ensure the safety of residents.

The intention is to prevent similar incidents from occurring, instilling a sense of security and reassurance among the community members.

Residents are encouraged to report any suspicious activities or provide any information that might aid the police in their investigations. Cooperation and support from the public are crucial in ensuring the arrest and successful prosecution of the lone robber.

The police have reiterated their commitment to maintaining law and order in Accra and protecting the lives and properties of its residents.

Assurances have been given that the law will be enforced to its fullest extent to bring an end to the reign of terror inflicted by this lone robber.

As the manhunt continues, the police are confident that their unwavering determination, combined with the support of the community, will lead to the swift resolution of this alarming situation. The authorities urge the public to remain vigilant and to take necessary precautions to safeguard themselves and their belongings.

-DGN online
Minority Caucus in Parliament has threatened to show the Bank of Ghana Governor, Dr Ernest Addison, what hooligans do following his response to the OccupyBoG demonstration.

The demonstration, which was held on Tuesday, October 3, was organized by the Minority Caucus, the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) and its supporters to protest the countrys economic crisis. The protesters accused Dr Addison of mismanagement and incompetence and called for his resignation.

In response to the demonstration, Dr Addison dismissed the protesters as hooligans and added that neither he nor his deputies would step down.

In an interview with international business website, Central Banking, Dr Addison described the protest by the NDC as completely unnecessary.

The Minority in parliament have many channels to channel their grievances in civilised societies, not through demonstrations in the streets as hooligans, Addison added in reference to the #OccupyBoGProtest.

But speaking on the Citi Breakfast Show on Thursday, October 5, Mahama Ayariga, Member of Parliament for Bawku Central condemned Addisons response, accusing him of being arrogant and disrespectful to the Minority and the leadership of the NDC.

In his view, Dr Addisons disrespectful response is a clear sign of frustration from a governor who is out of his depth and incapable of competently managing the affairs of the Central Bank.

He says we are hooligans, so we will show him what hooligans do, Ayariga told host Bernard Avle.

The Bawku Central MP added that the minority group will meet with the leadership of the NDC to decide the next line of action to hold the governor accountable for his incompetence.

-Citi Newsroom
Member of Parliament for North Tongu, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, is back again with what he describes as part two of his expose on the Heaven Scandal.

In this edition posted on Facebook, the MP disclosed that Heaven Builders was acquired and taken over by its current directors on April 17, 2018.

Strangely, he said the stated capital for Heaven Builders Limited which has been made an offer and allocation of prime Airport lands valued in excess of US$150million is a paltry GHS5,000.00 (Five Thousand Ghana Cedis).

He revealed that from the incorporation documents, Heaven Builders Limited indicates that it envisages to have only one (1) employee.

With one employee, a stated capital of a measly GHS5,000 and absolutely no track record Mr Ablakwa is wondering why President Akufo-Addo, Vice President Bawumia, Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta and their collaborators at the Ghana Airports Company Limited (GACL) believe Heaven Builders have the best capacity to be Anchor Developers and new owners of 62 acres of prime Airport land.

For better appreciation, he painted the picture that the 93-acre prime land in issue is bounded on the west by the Airport By-pass road, on the south by the Airport road, on the north by a rail line, and east by the terminals 1 and 2 tarmac.

Some prominent businesses and celebrated brands in the immediate vicinity of the giveaway prime land to Heaven Builders include Marriott Hotel, Holiday Inn, Accra Mall, Marina Mall, Head Offices of Stanbic, Vodafone and Nestle.

Below are details of Ablakwas full post:

Since the publication of Part 1 of The Heaven Scandal and my subsequent engagement on X Spaces, many have been asking: Who are behind Heaven Builders Limited?

In the true spirit of transparency, accountability and parliamentary oversight  there shall be full disclosure. I have secured the incorporation documents of Heaven Builders Limited. Those are the first set of attachments to this edition.

It is instructive to note that Heaven Builders was acquired and taken over by its current directors on April 17, 2018.

Strangely, the stated capital for Heaven Builders Limited which has been made an offer and allocation of prime Airport lands valued in excess of US$150million is a paltry GHS5,000.00 (Five Thousand Ghana Cedis).

From the incorporation documents, Heaven Builders Limited indicates that it envisages to have only one (1) employee.

With one employee, a stated capital of a measly GHS5,000 and absolutely no track record  President Akufo-Addo, Vice President Bawumia, Finance Minister Ken Ofori Atta and their collaborators at the Ghana Airports Company Limited (GACL) believe Heaven Builders have the best capacity to be Anchor Developers and new owners of 62 acres of prime Airport land.

For the avoidance of doubt, and for better appreciation, the 93-acre prime land in issue is bounded on the west by the Airport By-pass road, on the south by the Airport road, on the north by a rail line, and east by the terminals 1 and 2 tarmac.

Some prominent businesses and celebrated brands in the immediate vicinity of the giveaway prime land to Heaven Builders include Marriott Hotel, Holiday Inn, Accra Mall, Marina Mall, Head Offices of Stanbic, Vodafone and Nestle.

There is more bombshell: deep throat unimpeachable sources within the Akufo-Addo/Bawumia administration have revealed to me that the same lootocratic brigands who were behind the infamous Frontiers COVID-19 Airport testing heist are the same promoters of this unconscionable Airport land grab.

The unholy Frontiers-Heaven Builders connection cannot be dismissed as mere conspiracy theory when a careful study of the incorporation documents of both companies reveal that both companies have the same witness in the person of Edward Charles Appiah with the same address. (Frontiers incorporation document is duly attached).

I shall return to other modus operandi of this same Ghana/Nigeria lootocratic picaroons in later publications.

I can also confirm today that two reputable independent professional entities have delivered reasoned professional assessments of the Heaven Builders deal to the GACL. They have both vehemently disagreed with the counteroffer of Heaven Builders wherein they demand 62 acres.

The two independent professional entities are Brightwater Property Investment Limited and the renowned Ghana Institution of Surveyors.

Brightwaters assessment was delivered on July 25, 2023 and signed by its Director, Osafo Gyimah.

The Ghana Institution of Surveyors damning assessment was delivered to the GACL on 24th July, 2023 and co-signed by Surv. Dr. Frank Gyamfi-Yeboah, FGhIS (for Pacific Real Estate Advisors) and Surv. Yaw Osei-Wusu Peprah, MRICS, MGhIS (for Assenta Property Consulting).

It is instructive to note that both professional bodies indicated that even if the deal should go ahead  remember their mandate was to carry out valuation and not to undertake due diligence of Heaven Builders or review the appropriateness of the overarching policy  they however assert that the valuation of Heaven Builders was terribly low, and that they didnt deserve anything beyond 40 acres  that is even if they could really raise US$85million.

I have duly attached relevant extracts of both valuation opinions.

Interestingly, whereas Heaven Builders was claiming an acre should be valued at an average US$1.3million, the Ghana Institution of Surveyors report contains real purchases within that vicinity far in excess including a 1.75 acre which sold at US$6.3million as far back as 2019. (Report attached).

I commend Brightwater Property Investment Limited and the Ghana Institution of Surveyors for their patriotic and professional service.

They have done their part; now let us all rise and stop this grand looting of prime lands.

The NDC caucus in Parliament stands ready to totally scuttle this corrupt land grab in the next few days when the House resumes.

Ghana must remain a democracy not a lootocracy.

This is not a deal from Heaven, it has every trait of a deal from Satans Hell.

For God and Country.

Ghana First

-Classfmonline.com
Flagbearer of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), John Dramani Mahama has issued a statement on the passing of E.T. Mensah and Dr. Sidney Laryea.

E.T. Mensah, a former Minister of Sports, and Dr. Sidney Laryea, former NDC National Treasurer have been confirmed dead in the past week.

In a statement to mourn the passing of the two, John Dramani Mahama said it is sad the NDC has lost two stalwarts of the party.

Very sad to lose two stalwarts of our great party, Hon. ET Mensah and Dr. Sidney Laryea. Both played key roles in shaping the solid rock our party was built on and anchored today.

While ET was our first National Youth Organiser, Dr. Laryea served as the partys first National Treasurer. They made their mark, and we wish them peaceful rest in the Lord, Mahama said in a post on social media platform, X.

In his short statement, the former President further extended the partys deepest condolences to both bereaved families.

Meanwhile, John Dramani Mahama has also mourned the passing of the late former First Lady, Theresa Kufuor.

After leading an NDC delegation to console ex-President Kufuor, the flagbearer of the NDC described Theresa Kufuor as a woman of dignity and a true mother of the nation as he prayed for a peaceful rest for her.
Former Kumasi Mayor, Kojo Bonsu has slammed Bank of Ghana Governor Dr. Ernest Addison for describing protesters of the #OccupyBoGDemo as "hooligans".

In a tweet on Thursday, Kojo Bonsu noted that coward Dr. Addison is hidden behind the corrupt NPP government to misbehave.

"Mr. Addison after misappropriating over Ghc 60 billion, has the effrontery to call protestors of #OccupyBoGDemo HOOLIGANS, he wrote.

He added: "I agree with Sam George that Addison is a certified coward who hides behind the corrupt NPP gov't to misbehave. Such individuals do not deserve to lead.

The former Kumasi Mayors criticism comes after Dr. Addison dismissed calls by the opposition NDC and Minority Caucus in Parliament for him to resign over Ghana's economic woes.

In an interview, Dr. Addison said the protest by the NDC was "completely unnecessary" and described the demonstrators as "hooligans in the streets".

The #OccupyBoGProtest was held on Tuesday to protest the economic crisis resulting from what protesters termed poor monetary policies by the BoG lead by Dr. Ernest Addison.
The ECOWAS Commission is holding a technical meeting on ECOWAS Contracts and Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) Mechanisms in Lagos, Nigeria to finalize ECOWAS standard contract templates with standardized clauses on ADR and promote the use of ADR mechanisms for dispute resolution in procurement processes and contract management.

In his opening remarks, Professor Nazifi Abdullahi Darma, ECOWAS Commissioner for Internal Services, recalled that the sub-regional group is committed to promoting effective and efficient contract management and dispute resolution mechanisms.

He said the technical meeting also aims to bring together relevant stakeholders, including administration procurement officers, legal officers, finance officers, HR officers, and auditors, among others.

He indicated that the event will provide a platform for participants to gain a deeper understanding of the principles of diversity of interests, conflicts, disputes, and resolution strategies.

Prof. Darma, whose speech was read on his behalf by Mr. Seydou Kassory Bangoura, ECOWAS Director of Administration and General Services, said the technical meeting promises to be an important step in achieving this goal.

He indicated that participants could expect to gain valuable skills and expertise in ADR, applicable laws, and arbitration processes and that the interactive nature of the session would provide valuable information and knowledge that could be applied in their respective roles.

Additionally, a concept document at the meeting explained that participants will have the opportunity to appreciate the interpretation of applicable law and dispute resolution clauses in contracts.

The technical session will also evaluate the differences between various dispute resolution forums in the context of the nature of contracts and develop a methodology for resolving issues between parties.

According to the ECOWAS document, participants will gain a comprehensive understanding of the arbitration process as an alternative to litigation in court.

They will also be exposed to the role of the Model Law of Arbitration, UNCITRAL Arbitration Rules, and the New York Convention for Enforcement of Arbitration Agreements and International Arbitral Awards.

The meeting, which is expected to end on Saturday, October 7th, will also equip participants with practical experience in promoting the growth and efficient functioning of the justice system through ADR tools, processes, specific applicable laws, and arbitration processes and procedures.

ECOWAS also, through the meeting, enhanced the capacity of the participants to analyze different conflict scenarios and dispute settlement mechanisms from a cost-benefit perspective compared to litigation.

Additionally, participants will be equipped with the capacity to implement ADR procedures to resolve disputes as early as possible using newly evolving hybrid dispute resolution processes.

Ultimately, excessive unintended litigation costs for ECOWAS during contract management will be reduced, according to the ECOWAS document.

The technical session will also include discussions and brainstorming sessions on ADR and laws applicable to contract management.

-CDA Consult || Contributor
The Ghana Nurse and Midwife Trainees Association (GNMTA) is calling on government to pay all unpaid allowances owed its members.

According to the association, the non-payment of the allowances for two years has made life unbearable for trainee nurses and midwives.

The leadership of the association says all efforts to get the government, through the Ministry of Health, to pay them their unpaid allowances have proven futile.

Speaking to Citi News, Pascal Adumbisa, the National President of the Ghana Nurse and Midwife Trainees Association, says his outfit will use all reasonable and lawful means to ensure that the allowances are paid.

We are owed about almost two years and others are also owed about eighteen months and those in the second year are owed about sixteen months and some are owed fourteen months. So we issued a statement on July 25 to the government that it should come through for us because we have had engagements with stakeholders on the issue of allowance, but we have not had any response from the Ministry.

-citinewsroom
Spokesperson of Fellows With Renal Conditions, Baffour Ahenkorah, has lamented the plight of kidney patients in the country following the recent back-and-forth over the cost of dialysis.

Baffour Ahenkorah complained that the Renal Unit of the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital has since been shut to out-patients due to the uncertainties surrounding the cost.

Speaking on Ghana Tonight on TV3 on Tuesday, October 3, he said the silence of authorities including President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo is surprising to them.

Sometimes, I ask myself, do we even have leaders in this country at all? So, is the President, Vice President, Chief of Staff, Minister of Health, Ghana Health Service, are they trying to say theyve not heard our cry from last week Monday? he wondered.

Even they should come out and tell us something. Nobody has come out to say anything apart from what we heard from the Korle Bu CEO.

Do these people even care about us? Anyway, I am not God like I wish I will give all of them kidney, sever kidney, for them to see the kind of situation we go in. Some of us cannot urinate at all.

This lament comes after a sudden U-turn by the Renal Unit of the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital on the upward review of the cost in dialysis.

A notice was issued, announcing an increase in cost from GH380 to GH765.42.

However, Chief Executive of the Hospital Dr Opoku Ware Ampomah later indicated that the notice was just a proposal and yet to be approved by Parliament.

It was subsequently withdrawn even though some patients had already been forced to pay the new cost.

Mr Akenkorah said since the Korle Bu CEO came out, the Unit has been closed to out-patients and already 15 of them have died.

He said most of them cannot afford treatment in private hospitals and consider Korle Bus services top-notch.

The kind of treatment Korle Bu gives us is top-notch, he confessed to host Alfred Ocansey.

The clearance is very good, the water treatment is very good but please these are human lives, people are dying. They should open the unit to the OPD. People are dying.

Baffour Ahenkorah appealed to well-meaning Ghanaians to add their voices.

For him, if government is not ready to open the Unit to them, then they should be given fatal injections to end their agonies.

If they will not open it, then please we are begging them, they should call all of us and then the Korle Bu CEO should instruct them to inject us so that all of us will die. They should kill all of us. That one will be fine rather than what they are doing.

-3news.com
Ugandan opposition leader Bobi Wine was seized by security officials Thursday on his return from a trip abroad, a top party official said, but police denied he had been arrested and said he was "escorted" home.

"Our President (Bobi Wine) picked up by regime operatives as soon as he landed at the airport," David Lewis Rubongoya, the general secretary of Wine's National Unity Platform (NUP) said on X, formerly Twitter.

"They are so afraid of the people because they know people don't like them."

The post was accompanied by a photo appearing to show two men grabbing the prominent critic of President Yoweri Museveni by the arms on the tarmac at Entebbe International Airport.

Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni has ruled since 1986. By GUILLEM SARTORIO (AFP/File)

Pictures posted on local media later showed Wine at his home north of the capital Kampala, but it was not clear if he was under house arrest or able to leave.

The popstar turned politician, whose real name is Robert Kyagulanyi, has faced numerous arrests and alleged human rights abuses in the past.

"We wish to inform the public that the NUP president, Hon. Kyagulanyi Robert was successfully escorted by our security team from Entebbe to his home in Magere," the Uganda Police Force said on X.

"He reached his home around 11.20am, and is with his family and friends. Disregard rumours of his arrest by propagandists."

Wine's supporters had planned to accompany him en masse to his home, but police had said such a gathering was illegal.

Last month, Ugandan police announced they were banning rallies being organised by the National Unity Platform across the country because of public order issues.

Wine made a failed bid for the presidency in 2021 in a tense election against Museveni, who has ruled over Uganda with an iron fist since 1986.

The election campaign was marked by a crackdown on the opposition and at least 54 people were killed during anti-government demonstrations.

Tight security

Wine flew in from South Africa via the Rwandan capital Kigali after a tour to promote a documentary about him by National Geographic TV entitled "Bobi Wine: The People's President."

His return was eagerly anticipated by his supporters, many of whom view him as a symbol of change in a country ruled for so long by one man.

Ugandan soldiers and other security forces had been deployed on roads leading to Entebbe airport since early Thursday morning, as well as outside NUP offices and in Kampala's central business district.

Police had warned organisers not to go ahead with the planned procession and for people not to join the gathering, with police spokesman Patrick Onyango describing it as an "illegality".

Ugandan authorities have a long history of using so-called "preventative arrest" to detain opposition leaders, often holding them for several hours before returning them to their homes so as to stymie mass demonstrations.

Once hailed for his commitment to good governance, former rebel leader Museveni has crushed any opposition and tweaked the constitution to allow himself to run again and again.

The next presidential ballot is due in 2026. Museveni, 79, has yet to say if he will stand.
The Ukrainian airline SkyUp Airlines in the summer season (from April to September 2023) increased the number of flights performed by 36%, to 6,772 and carried 35% more passengers (995,422) compared to last year, SkyUp CEO Dmytro Seroukhov said in an exclusive interview with Interfax-Ukraine.

"Financial indicators are better than last year, it is clear. If we compare the summer season of last year and this year, we have the following results: for the period from April 1, 2022 to September 25, 2022, 4,948 flights were performed, 736,928 passengers were transported; the same period of this year, 6,772 flights and 995,422 passengers. Thus, we see an increase in operating activity of 36% in the summer season of this year," he said.

According to Seroukhov, the amount of taxes paid to Ukraine's state budget has also increased significantly. Since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, as of September 2023, SkyUp has paid UAH 215 million.

"We hope that the remaining six months will also be pleasant for us. We are doing everything for this. We are confident that 2024 will be the best year for us," the CEO of SkyUp said.

As reported, for the entire 2022, SkyUp Airlines carried 2.3 times fewer passengers than in 2021  1.08 million. This was due to the full-scale aggression of Russia against Ukraine and the closure of Ukrainian skies since February 24 last year. After the start of the war, the company worked under ACMI contracts with ten airlines, including Wizz Air, SmartWings, Freebird Airlines, Tailwind Airlines, Corendon Airlines, and in total in 2022, it operated 7,713 flights to 204 airports around the world on 627 routes.
Much as it is utterly disgusting, it is absolutely not surprising to hear that no less a person than the National Chairman of the NDC, Asiedu-Nketia, the quintessential beneficiary of truculent coup detats, is irresponsibly implying that Ghana is more than ripe for a coup(see: Ghana is more than ripe for a coup-Asiedu-Nketia, ghanaweb.com/myjoyonline.com, 03/10/2023).

Asiedu-Nketia, in an interview on Joy News, is said to have unblushingly opined that, Ghana is more than ripe for a coup detat but the only thing that is saving us is the tolerance of Ghanaians.

The NDC National Chairman continued with an unabashed disgust: If you look at our history, you will see that the things that have led to previous coup detats in this country were even less than what is happening now. But the only thing that is saving us is the tolerance and our collective history(myjoyonline.com).

Dearest reader, there is nothing out of the ordinary if the beneficiaries of the previous coup detats clamour inexorably for a coup in the country.

The fact remains that the so-called coup enthusiasts have benefited so much from the national coffers as a result of their involvement in vicious coup detats in the past, so they will always clamour for a coup in opposition.

In fact, the NDC is synonymous with coup detats and therefore the party loyalists have a soft spot for coup makers.

It is worth mentioning that the NDC was founded on the ideals of their coup making founder, the late J. J. Rawlings (detailed in Article 6 of their party constitution, which their founder autographed with his blood).

The so-called coup enthusiasts paradoxically, go about preaching probity and accountability, and yet fail to practice.

When the coup enthusiasts (the founders of NDC) burst onto the scene, they went haywire and barbarically tortured and murdered people with minimal offences.

I hate to admit though, but the fact remains that there is nothing wrong for a group of people to come together and identify themselves as the coup enthusiasts, or the ideologues of transparency, probity and accountability.

However, it is hypocritical and somewhat deceitful if a group of people who claim to be the exponents of such ethos turn around and commit the same crimes they inexorably preach against.

It has, however, been documented that when the coup enthusiasts (the founders of NDC) burst onto the scene, they went berserk and tempestuously tortured and murdered people with more than two vehicles.

However, as I write, the same coup enthusiasts are hypocritically in possession of not less than two vehicles per household. How deceitful?

Dearest reader, you may take my word for it, the vast majority of house owners were punished severely for having more than one toilet facility in their households.

But the last time I checked, the vast majority of the so-called revolutionaries have uncountable toilet facilities in their luxurious mansions. How pathetic?

Besides, the founders of the NDC unabashedly exhibited their communist ideals by going into war with business men and women in the country.

The founders of NDC, regrettably, tortured and murdered innocent business men and women, many of whom were bizarrely accused of legally borrowing meagre sums of money from banks to support their businesses.

Strangely, albeit veracious, the so-called revolutionaries who repugnantly collapsed innocent peoples businesses now own business outlets all over the place.

Some innocent business men and women, so to speak, were abhorrently humiliated and their businesses were either seized or destroyed by the despotic NDC founders.

Worst of all, billions of cedis (in 50 cedi denominations) were impertinently and capriciously seized from ordinary Ghanaians, albeit without a trace. How bizarre?

The NDC founders, ironically, replaced our educational system with that of a communist model, while deceitfully turned around and sent their children abroad to study in what they saw as a superior educational system.

Dearest reader, if economic challenges call for a coup detat, then the erstwhile NDC administration should have been deposed before the 2016 general elections.

Was Ghana not ripe for a coup detat when Mahama and cohort dubiously paid judgment debt in excess of GH800 million at the detriment of the poor and disadvantaged Ghanaians?

Did Ghanaians call for a coup detat when Mahama made them to sleep in darkness for well over four years?

Did anybody clamour for a coup detat when the $200M(GH2.4 billion) housing loan was embezzled?

If Ghana wasnt ripe for a coup detat when the economic growth slumped from 14% to 3.4% during the Mahama administration, why now?

Dearest reader, Im afraid, Ghanaian politics is indeed saturated with dishonesty and hypocrisy.

K. Badu, UK.

[email protected]
Prophet Kofi Oduro, the founder and head of Alabaster International Ministries, has strongly warned President Akufo-Addo against any attempt to remove Inspector General of Police (IGP) Dr. George Akuffo Dampare.

The Prophet asserts that such action will destroy the integrity of the 2024 election.

Prophet Kofi Oduro said Dr. George Akuffo Dampare is a man of integrity who deserves to be treated with respect and allowed to continue his good works.

He asserts that the general elections in 2024 would be crucial and would require a strategist like Dr. George Akuffo Dampare to tactically deploy his men to ensure peace and stability.

Now let me use this opportunity to tell the inquiry and the Parliament of Ghana, don't make a mistake to remove Doctor (IGP) or make a recommendation to the president of Ghana to remove Dr. George Akuffo Dampare.

That will be your worst mistake ever...you know when President Mahama was the president and when he removed those three boys from prison. When he pardoned them, I said this would cost the president his election and it did, Prophet Kofi Oduro stated in a recent sermon.

He noted that the 2024 general elections will lose credibility and further lead to chaos if the IGP is removed from office.

I am telling the president of Ghana if Parliament should make a recommendation because we are gravitating towards the point that Akuffo Dampare should be replaced as Inspector General of Police. You would have tinted the integrity, veracity, and authenticity of the next election.
Member of Parliament for North Tongu, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa has hit back at Bank of Ghana Governor Dr. Ernest Addison over his comments about the #OccupyBoGDemo protest.

Dr. Addison in an interview with Central Banking reportedly said, "The Minority in parliament have many channels to channel their grievances in civilised societies, not through demonstrations in the streets as hooligans."

But speaking on Accra-based TV3's Ghana Tonight on Wednesday, Okudzeto Ablakwa said the NDC MPs can decide whichever way to present their grievances.

"We can decide to demonstrate, we can decide to picket, we can decide to write letters, we can decide to file motions, we can decide not to act at all. These are all democratic avenues available to us, stated the North Tongu lawmaker.

Mr. Ablakwa further described the Governor's words as "provocative", "uncourteous" and "condescending", questioning "who is he to determine our choice of action?

He accused Dr. Addison of numerous infractions against the Bank of Ghana Act warranting his removal and prosecution.

The vocal MP vowed that the BoG Governor will not get away with his actions, as they will go the extra mile to get him removed.
Member Parliament (MP) of North Tongu, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa has responded to Bank of Ghana (BoG) Governor Dr. Ernest Addison following his description of #OccupyBoG protesters as hooligans.

The Minority in Parliament led a protest in Accra on Tuesday, October 3, to demand the resignation of the Central Banks Governor for what they described as gross mismanagement of BoG and illegal printing of money for government.

Speaking in an interview with international business website, Central Banking, Governor Dr. Ernest Addison said he will not resign from office.

According to him, it was needless for the Minority to protest like hooligans just to drum home their grievances.

The demonstration yesterday was completely unnecessary. The Minority (MPs) in Parliament have many channels to channel their grievances in civilized societies, not through demonstrations in the streets as hooligans, Dr. Ernest Addison said.

Responding to the Governor, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa said if thats the case then President Akufo-Addo who led many demonstrations in the past is also a hooligan.

According to him, it also means Dr. Ernest Addison was appointed to serve as BoG Governor by a hooligan president.

Logically  the arrogant, lawless, plunderer, MisGovernor Addison is telling us he was appointed by a hooligan, considering the fact that President Akufo-Addo as opposition MP during the President Rawlings era embarked on and led many street demonstrations, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa said in a post on social media platform, X.
Mrs. Beauty Emefa Nartey, Executive Secretary of the Ghana Anti-Corruption Coalition (GACC), has noted that African governments must exhibit a high level of intolerance for the scourge and step up their efforts to deal with anyone involved in any act of corruption across the board.

The government must demonstrate that it does not accept corruption, she added, adding that anyone holding a public position who has corruption allegations against them should not work for the government.

The GACC Executive Secretary added that since it is always challenging to obtain evidence in the battle against corruption, it would be crucial if these government officials operated in a transparent manner or in a way that prevented anyone from accusing them of being dishonest.

According to her, there are some corrupt circumstances where perceptions may be made up of 99 percent lies and one percent truth, and the one percent should not be accepted because the Sustainable Development Goals state that corruption is not acceptable in any form.

"Once you have zero tolerance for corruption, you don't countenance any person who displays, demonstrates, or has the potential to be corrupt by way of allegations against them or anything that comes up in the media space", she continued.

She consequently urged the President to make clear or show his intolerance for corruption and support the battle against it prior to the general elections in 2024.

She noted that upholding the rule of law is essential to battling and eradicating corruption, particularly by improving state collaboration in legal procedures.

She voiced worry that the most recent Corruption Perception Index from Transparency International shows that "corruption is ubiquitous. Some cultures are undoubtedly more affected by corruption than others, and the types and severity of corruption may differ from one country to another.

"Corruption scandals are a bitter pill for a country to swallow, but on the other hand, they may trigger a sometimes necessary and always beneficial process of self-cleansing in a society."

Mrs. Nartey likewise urged the President of Ghana to act right away to stop corrupt officials, institutions, and practices.

The GACC Executive Secretary added that the Afrobarometer corruption report also gave a very negative impression of the nation and our feeble attempts to combat it.

In the fight against corruption, Mr. Francis Ameyibor, Regional Manager for Ghana News Agency in Tema, advocated for a paradigm shift in the media: "Naming and shaming has lost its potency; media practitioners must change their tactics to have a meaningful impact on the fight."

In order to ensure that the battle against corruption is upscaled on all fronts, Mr. Ameyibor also urged anti-corruption players to engage the media in a practical manner.

-CDA Consult || Contributor
Minority Chief Whip and Adaklu MP, Kwame Governs Agbodza has hit back at leading NPP member Gabby Otchere-Darko for defending Bank of Ghana Governor Dr. Ernest Addison amid calls for his resignation.

In a tweet on Thursday, October 5, Mr. Agbodza wrote "I have no surprises when I see you defending the Governor and his team. They are doing exceptionally as far as you are concerned. You dont appear to get the point."

He was reacting to Gabby's criticism of the #OccupyBoGProtest organized by the minority to demand Dr. Addison's resignation over Ghana's economic woes.

Mr Gabby had said the governor "should rather be commended for exhibiting the highest sense of duty and patriotism."

But Mr Agbodza questioned "What justification do you have in spending $250m on a new bank HQ? How do you defend spending over ghs100m on car maintenance?"

The minority chief whip argued that Gabby failed to appreciate that "critical road, hospital and school projects are currently suspended due to the nature of the economy."
Pharm. Dr. Samuel Kow Donkoh

05.10.2023 LISTEN

Pharmaceutical Society of Ghana (PSGH) is calling on the Ghana Police Administration to investigate the premature death of the late Samuel Amoateng Saffoh who served as the pharmacist in charge of the Upper East Regional Hospital.

Mr. Saffoh passed away on Saturday, September 23, 2023 at the Tamale Teaching Hospital after undergoing three rounds of haemodialysis since his admission on Tuesday, September 19, 2023.

According to a PSGH statement signed by its president, Pharm. Dr. Samuel Kow Donkoh, Mr. Saffoh who was not known to have chronic kidney disease, suffered an unexpected illness before his death.

The situation is of particular concern due to his role as a principal witness in a case related to the theft of medicines and medical consumables from the Upper East Regional Hospital in Bolgatanga.

We are troubled by the fact that another potential witness in the same theft case also fell seriously ill and passed away in August, 2023, added the PSGH.

The PSGH urged the Ghana Police Administration to give priority and expedite the investigation into his passing.

The Society also extended its appreciation to the PSGH Upper East Regional Branch Executive and the PSGH Northern Regional Branch Executive for their steadfast support to the colleague who has passed away and his grieving family.

We call upon the Ministry of Health, the Ghana Health Service, and the government of Ghana to take decisive action in investigating and apprehending those responsible for the theft of medicines and medical consumables from the Upper East Regional Hospital, the PSGH statement said.

In this challenging time, the PSGH urges all pharmacists to maintain their composure as they actively cooperate with the family, law enforcement, and the appropriate authorities to uncover the circumstances surrounding their colleagues passing, it added.

-DGN online
European leaders are gathering in Spain to reiterate their support for Ukraine as infighting in Washington throws the United States's commitment into question. On Friday, European Union member states will meet to discuss enlargement  including Ukraine's inclusion in the EU  as well as migration.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy travelled to Granada, Spain, on Thursday to address the summit of the European Political Community.

The EPC is a forum set up last year by French President Emmanuel Macron, following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, to foster cooperation among the EU's 27 members and the 20 surrounding countries.

"The main challenge is to save unity in Europe not only in the EU, but in all of Europe," Zelensky said.

European leaders are meeting to reassure Ukraine  and Zelensky  of their long-term support, after fears that infighting in the US Congress could slow or halt aid to Ukraine.

Azerbaijan skips summit

EU officials had hoped the summit would also bring about what would have been the first face-to-face meeting between leaders of Azerbaijan and Armenia since Baku captured Nagorno-Karabakh from ethnic Armenian rebels last month

But Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said he would not attend because of "pro-Armenian statements by French officials" and because France has said it plans to deliver military equipment to Yerevan.

Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who is close to Aliyev, and is a key figure in diplomacy surrounding Ukraine, was also not attending the summit.

On Friday, leaders of the 27 EU member states will meet  also informally  to discuss reforms to pave the way for the eventual integration of Ukraine, as well as Moldova and six Balkan countries.

Spain's acting Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, who opened the Grenada meeting, said Spain was open to the enlargement, even if it would pose many internal challenges.

Migration

Another issue on the table is immigration, with rising numbers of people arriving in the EU.

Tunisian President Kais Saied on Monday rejected a deal brokered by Italy under which it would receive EU economic aid in exchange for holding back migrants.

On Wednesday EU member countries agreed an outline migration reform package to better share responsibility inside the bloc for undocumented migrants and to accelerate deportations.

But for Italy and non-EU member Britain, who both have migrants arriving by sea, the reform does not go far enough.

British Prime Minister Richi Sunak and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni will chair a side meeting at the EPC to discuss "joint action" against what Sunak's office called "organised immigration crime".

No formal decisions are expected to be made at either summit in Granada.

(with newswires)
Prophet Kofi Oduro, leader of Alabaster International Ministries, has warned Parliament and President Akufo-Addo against removing Inspector General of Police (IGP) Dr. George Akuffo Dampare.

In a recent sermon, Prophet Oduro stated that removing the IGP could compromise security and plunge next year's polls into chaos, given Dampare's reputation for impartiality and professionalism.

"Don't make a mistake to remove Doctor (IGP) or make a recommendation to the president of Ghana to remove Dr. George Akuffo Dampare, he cautioned.

He stressed any attempt to recommend the removal of the police chief after the ongoing probe would be Parliament's "worst mistake ever.

He added "I am telling the president of Ghana if Parliament should make a recommendation because we are gravitating towards the point that Akuffo Dampare should be replaced as Inspector General of Police. You would have tinted the integrity, veracity, and authenticity of the next election."

The man of God's comments come amid investigations by Parliament into an alleged leaked audio plotting to oust the IGP.

Dr. Akuffo Dampare recently faced the parliamentary committee probing allegations against him by some senior police officers who appeared before the committee probing the matter.
05.10.2023 LISTEN

Senior political science lecturer at the Political Science Department of the University of Ghana, Legon, Prof. Ransford Gyampo has hit out at Bank of Ghana (BoG) Governor Dr. Ernest Addison over his description of the Minority as hooligans.

Speaking in an interview with international business website, Central Banking, Governor Dr. Ernest Addison said despite the demands from the Minority at the #OccupyBoG protest for him to resign, he has no plans to do so.

According to him, it was needless for the Minority to protest like hooligans just to drum home their grievances.

The demonstration yesterday was completely unnecessary. The Minority (MPs) in Parliament have many channels to channel their grievances in civilized societies, not through demonstrations in the streets as hooligans, Dr. Ernest Addison said.

In an open letter to the BoG Governor, Prof. Ransford Gyampo said the attitude and response of Dr. Ernest Addison epitomises impunity personified.

He argued, The President of the land has received several calls for his resignation, and your boss, Ken Ofori Atta is still being asked to resign or be sacked. None of these have responded arrogantly like the way you have.

Prof. Gyampo further indicated that Governor Dr. Ernest Addison must know that printing money does not make him the owner of human life and human rights.

He said when the Central Bank Governor resigns or not, he would, by all means, account one day, for his stewardship either in heaven or in hell or in prison or in his home.

Below is Prof. Gyampos Open Letter to Dr. Ernest Addison:

OPEN LETTER TO THE GOVERNOR OF BANK OF GHANA

Dear BoG Governor,

1. Your response to the tax payers and demonstrators is unprecedented. You want to determine how they voice their dissatisfaction about your abysmal performance? You described them as hooligans for demonstrating against you? Please who are you? Are you a demi-god or some deified ancestor-incarnate? It appears you have a very infinitesimal understanding of the system of government we have decided to operate and I strongly recommend that you take lessons in the tenets of democracy, that creates the kind of environment conducive for your work and for all us to thrive. Otherwise, your attitude is going to be the cause of many demonstrations that would peak our political temperature and create unnecessary tension.

2. Isnt it under your watch that the BoG has negative equity? If my understanding of negative equity is correct, it means the BoG has no money to operate, and if so, where are you getting money for the construction of your new Headquarters? Borrowing to soak us into more debt or printing more money?

3. The BoG is currently insolvent under your watch and it doesnt lie in your mouth to offer your own definition of what insolvency is. It is an insult to our intelligence to get us into this quagmire, and still marshal the audacity to tell us that the BoG is technically not insolvent because, it is a state entity. If theres no money, theres no money.

4. You spent about 137 million on vehicle maintenance; collapsed over 400 banks and micro-finance companies; printed over 700 trillion within 2 years; and depleted our foreign reserves. Yet you still want to determine how the tax payer reacts to your decision to choose excessive partisanship over competence? Your attitude and response epitomizes what my father referred to as IMPUNITY PERSONIFIED. The President of the land has received several calls for his resignation and your boss, Ken Ofori Atta is still being asked to resign or be sacked. None of these have responded arrogantly like the way you have.

5. Please Governor, printing money does not make you owner of human life and human rights and respectfully, sir, you portray a certain high level poverty, if all you have, is the money you have printed, which makes you arrogant in insulting tax payers who are unhappy with your abysmal performance. This isnt how Governors G.K Agamah, K. Dufuor, P. Acquah, and N. Ishahakku handled the BoG. These chaps were simply sober and competent.

6. Whether you resign or not, you would by all means, account one day, for your stewardship either in heaven or in hell or in prison or in your home. One thing is certain to me and must be clear in the minds of all, if we survive 2024, the conduct of governance, politics and the management of our economy wouldnt be business as usual. Things would change to the glory of God, for the betterment of lives of Ghanaians, and to the shame of wicked and incompetent leadership.

Thank you

Yaw Gyampo

A31, Prabiw

PAV Ansah Street

Saltpond

Suro Nipa House

Behind Old Post Office

Larteh-Akuapim
From Ukraine's point of view, the key topic of the summit in Granada was ensuring air defense, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told reporters on Thursday in Granada.

"I am very pleased that today we have strong progress in this direction. These are six Hawk systems from Pedro Sanchez, from the Prime Minister, the Government of Spain. And this will be joint work with partners, but under the chairmanship of Spain," he said.

"And we have a powerful decision at the meeting with Mr. Chancellor Scholz. The German government will work to provide Ukraine with another Patriot system. I believe that this is the only system today that can withstand such mass killings," Zelenskyy said.
President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has paid homage to Ghanaian teachers for their significant role in national development, saying: We can never overlook the significant role of teachers in the development of the nation.

The president made this observation at the 2023 Ghana Teacher Prize ceremony at the Ghana Senior High Technical School in Takoradi in the Western Region.

President Akufo-Addo noted also that his government's commitment to education has been exemplary with the introduction of various policies like the Free Senior High School and others.

I am encouraged by the considerable improvement in Ghanas education system, the President said.

More soon.

GNA
Pius Enam Hadzide, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the National Youth Authority (NYA) has lambasted the Minority for referring to the Head of Security at the Bank of Ghana (BOG) as a watchman.

The BoG Director of Security, according to Pius Enam Hadzide, was once the Army Wing Commander and didn't deserve to be treated with disrespect.

He added that the BoG Director of Security is equally as important as the Governor.

According to Pius Enam Hadzide, there is no law that compels the BoG Governor to be there in person to receive the petition from protesters.

It is the taxes of these watchmen that pay your salaries. So do you think you are better off and cannot deal with him? It is just a result of pride and disrespect.

It is not as if he was the one going to respond to the concerns in the petition. Even if it was the Governor himself, he couldnt have given any response instantly because he would have to engage the governing board.

"But they have just demonstrated that they wanted an audience with Dr. Addison so they could boost about it because the substance of the petition is in the document, not the recipient. This is self-gratification and aggrandizement, Pius Enam Hadzide stated on Asempa FMs Ekosii Sen programme.

The protesters led by Minority leader Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson demanded the resignation of BoG Governor, Dr. Ernest Addison and his two deputies.

The Director of Security, Wing Commander (rtd) Kwame Asare Boateng met the group to receive the petition on his behalf.

However, Dr Ato Forson who led a team refused to present the petition to the Head of Security.

Ningo-Prampram MP Sam George, who was incensed in an interview, described the Head of BoG Security as a watchman.
A court in Burundi has denied bail to the country's powerful former prime minister Alain-Guillaume Bunyoni, who is on trial accused of undermining national security and insulting the president, sources close to the case told AFP on Thursday.

Bunyoni was prime minister from mid-2020 but was fired in a high-level political purge in September 2022, days after President Evariste Ndayishimiye had warned of a "coup" plot against him.

A former police chief and minister of internal security, Bunyoni was seen as the head of a cabal of military leaders known as "the generals" who wielded the true political power in Burundi.

He was arrested in April this year in Burundi's economic capital Bujumbura on the eve of his 51st birthday and is being detained in the political capital Gitega.

The trial began late last month before the supreme court sitting in session at the prison.

"The Supreme Court delivered its verdict on Monday, and decided to reject General Bunyoni's request for provisional release," a judicial source told AFP on condition of anonymity, adding that he was informed of the decision on Wednesday.

A prison source corroborated the information.

In addition to facing charges of "undermining the internal security of the state, undermining the proper functioning of the national economy and illegal enrichment", Bunyoni is also accused of illegal possession of weapons and insulting the president.

A close ally of former president Pierre Nkurunziza, Bunyoni was an influential senior figure in the ruling CNDD-FDD party.

Ndayishimiye took power in June 2020 after Nkurunziza died of what the Burundian authorities said was heart failure amid widespread speculation he succumbed to Covid-19.

He has been hailed by the international community for slowly ending years of Burundi's isolation under Nkurunziza's chaotic and bloody rule.

But he has failed to improve a wretched record on human rights and the country of 12 million people remains one of the poorest on the planet.
Four mental health diseases, including depression and schizophrenia, are to be enrolled on the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) to support treatment.

The NHIS is currently not designed for psychiatric services, although some psychotropic medications are covered. In addition, people with mental illness may access other NHIS services if they are registered with the scheme.

The CEO of the Mental Health Authority, Prof Adwoa Pinamang Appau, says the inclusion of the aforementioned ailments, is expected to reduce the cost burden on patients and other healthcare providers.

We are looking at getting 4 of our disorders onto the benefit packages. We believe that getting them onto the package will reduce the cases of shortage of medications and the lack of personnel will reduce. The President already has assured us, and we are hopeful it happens, we are considering depression, bipolar disorders, schizophrenia and anxiety disorders, she mentioned.

Prof Appau disclosed this at the launch of the Mental Health Awareness Week on October 2nd in Accra. The week is celebrated in October globally. Here in Ghana, the week will be marked with activities to promote awareness and health care. The 2023 edition, is on the theme, Mental Health is a universal human right.

Mental Cases on the increase

Schizophrenia, a mental health disorder, is on the rise in Ghana, with 8,446 people presenting with the condition as of the end of March this year [2023].

From 19,856 persons who presented for help with the condition in 2020, the cases increased to 20,755 in 2021 and 24,790 in 2022.

Schizophrenia is a mental disorder characterized by persistent psychotic symptoms such as auditory and/or visual hallucinations, delusional thinking, dissociation from reality, and disorganized thoughts and behavior. It usually begins to manifest when the patients are in their early 20s, although, in rare cases, symptoms can show in early childhood.

Bipolar disorder is one of the commonest mood conditions, along with depression and anxiety. Statistics from the World Health Organization suggest that in Ghana, there are about 157,543 people with bipolar: 83,354 are females and 74,189 are males.

President Assurance in June

President Akufo-Addo said in June, 2023 that the NHIS considered mental health as a matter of justice and equality. As such, plans were afoot to include it on the NHIS list in order to cater for some of the expenses of patients.

The President explained that the contribution of mental health to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) was estimated at three per cent, implying that out of every GH100 produced in the country, GH3.00 was attributed to the mental healthcare sector.

This will suggest that the sector plays a significant role in the overall economic output of the country, he emphasized.

Furthermore, the President said seven per cent of the country's GDP was lost annually by ordinary Ghanaians reporting a lack of wellness.

The Mental Health Authority is also planning to remove mentally challenged individuals from the streets across the country for holistic treatment.

The initiative, due to kick off by January 2024, is expected to cater for about twenty thousand people.

According to the Mental Health Authority (MHA), the surge is due to increasing population, coupled with inadequate infrastructure and funding to manage the rising trend.

This will not be the first time such an initiative is being rolled out, and CEO of the mental health authority, Prof Adwoa Pinamang Appau says the new project will achieve the desired results.

Previously we have had what we have called the operation clear the street. It hadn't been too successful because funding became an issue and it became a burden of the facilities. We went back to the drawing board and realized we need to include more stakeholders. So, we are introducing a new plan, which will include the districts and the community. That way, they will support and it won't be only for the authority. We believe that will be more sustainable, to remove mentally challenged from the streets , she added.

-3news.com
Flagbearer of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) John Dramani Mahama has called for renewed commitments to ensure that teaching and learning in the country reach new heights.

Mr Mahamas call comes on the occasion of the celebration of World Teachers Day.

Today, October 5 2023 is World Teachers Day.

This years celebrations will focus on the theme "The teachers we need for the education we want: The global imperative to reverse the teacher shortage".

In a statement, the NDC flagbearer commended teachers for their role in shaping lives.

You play such an indelible role, sacrificing and striving for excellence in shaping the lives of future generations, Mr Mahama stated.

The NDC flagbearer indicated that: Teaching is more than just a profession; it is a noble calling that requires dedication, passion, and resilience.

According to Mr Mahama, as we mark the day today, highlighting the incredible contributions of teachers, we must also reflect on the poor state of education in our country and strive for continuous reforms and improvements in teaching and learning outcomes.

He stressed on prioritising the improvement of teaching and learning as a country.

Improving teaching and learning must be a top priority for Ghana as we forge ahead towards a more prosperous future. Teachers are the backbone of our education system, and we must provide them with the resources, tools, support, and training to enable them to deliver good quality education to our children.

To this end, the National Democratic Congress (NDC) remains committed to investing in teacher education and professional development programmes, Mr Mahama revealed.

He added: We understand that well-trained and motivated teachers are the key to unlocking the full potential of our students.

Source: classfmonline.com
Residents of Kadjebi-Asito fears, contracting cholera, typhoid and diarrhoea as public toilet there overflows.

The toilet constructed in 2002 has never seen any renovation since its construction, so its slaps had broken, doors and roofs spikes and main structure developed cracks all over.

Mr. Prince Yao Dome, a resident of the area, told Ghana News Agency (GNA) on visit to the site that they could no longer withstand the bad stench from the toilet, so they decided to clad it on Wednesday, to prevent people from using it.

He called for the demolition of the facility to avoid a catastrophe as a stitch in time saves nine.

Mr. Ibrahim Amadu, another resident, said the bad odour from the toilet gives him a headache as he could not eat and inhale well while at home.

Mr. Amadu, who lives very close to the facility, called on the Kadjebi Environmental Health Unit to demolish the facility as his health and that of his children were at risk.

He advised everyone to embrace the Community-Led Total Sanitation (CLST) Concept by constructing individual toilets at home so as not to patronise public toilet with its attendant health problems.

Mr. Victus Elorm Kpotosu, Kadjebi District Environmental Health Officer, when contacted by GNA, said he had no knowledge about the deplorable state of the facility, but I will order my people to visit the place, assess the situation and see the next step.

GNA
Bawku Central MP, Mahama Ayariga

05.10.2023 LISTEN

The Member of Parliament for Bawku Central, Mahama Ayariga has admitted the difficulty in trying to get Bank of Ghana (BoG) Governor Dr. Ernest Addison removed.

Regardless, he insists that Minority is determined to continue pushing to ensure the Governor resigns.

The Minority in Parliament on Tuesday, October 3, embarked on the #OccopyBoG protest to demand the resignation of the Central Banks Governor for what they described as gross mismanagement of BoG and illegal printing of money for government.

Speaking in an interview with international business website, Central Banking, Governor Dr. Ernest Addison said he will not resign from office.

According to him, it was needless for the Minority to protest like hooligans just to drum home their grievances.

The demonstration yesterday was completely unnecessary. The Minority (MPs) in Parliament have many channels to channel their grievances in civilized societies, not through demonstrations in the streets as hooligans, Dr. Ernest Addison said.

Speaking to Asempa FM on the Ekosii sen programme on Thursday, October 5, Mahama Ayariga said the Minority will show the Central Bank Governor that indeed they are hooligans.

He stressed that the Minority would embark on a number of protests until the heat forces Dr. Ernest Addison to resign.

In a democracy, we have the right to protest. We will continue protesting until he leaves the place. You havent seen how protests have caused people mightier than him to resign? Even some presidents have resigned because of protests so he shouldnt think that hes immune from the forceful impact of protest.

He hasnt seen the kind of protest thats going to visit him. He himself will leave the place. He is calling us hooligans so we will show him we are hooligans, Mahama Ayariga said.
Mr. Ernest Kofi Owusu Bempah

05.10.2023 LISTEN

A Deputy Communication Director of the governing New Patriotic Party(NPP), Mr. Ernest Kofi Owusu-Bempah has expressed his disappointment over the "lackadaisical attitude" of some Chief Executive Officers(CEOs) appointed by President Akufo-Addo.

According to the Deputy Communication Director, some CEOs are too comfortable in their positions and careless about the government's public image.

"There are some Akufo-Addo appointed CEOs who are just comfortable in their positions and care very little about the public image of the government that made it possible for them to have a job".

He noted that some of the CEOs have failed to defend the government when needed.

Well, if youre a CEO and think it is not your job to defend the government when it comes under attack, think again, he said in a Facebook post on Thursday, October 5.

Mr Owusu-Bempah's comments come at a time when some CEOs including the Governor of the Bank of Ghana, Dr Ernest Addison are under heavy public criticism. On Tuesday, the Minority held a demonstration to demand the removal of the Governor of the Bank of Ghana Dr Ernest Addison and his two deputies.

He revealed that the President, Nana Akufo-Addo is monitoring the situation and will take the necessary action on CEOs who do not want to defend the government.

In fact, it is the job and responsibility of every appointee to look after the goose that lays the golden egg, and Im sure President Akufo-Addo is closely monitoring and watching all CEOs of parastatal institutions who simply dont want to dirty their hands for the good of the government that theyre part of.

The tragedy of Julius Caesar, otherwise referred to as the Ides of March was foretold in the Shakespearean era and despite the soothsayers two attempts to warn Caeser, he didnt pay attention to the warnings. It wouldnt be surprised if heads start rolling soon among the CEOs. Good day, my people, he said.
Mrs Faith Aku Dzakpasu, a teacher at the Greta 'D' Shepherd Basic School at Awoshie in the Greater Accra Region, has been adjudged Ghana's Most Outstanding Teacher at the 2023 Ghana Teacher Prize held in Takoradi.

She received a three-bedroom house worth GHS450,000 as well as 'promotion out of turn,' an educational trip to Singapore, GHS1,000,000 life insurance and a scholarship for further studies.

Madam Isabella Wussah-Tetteh, a teacher at Sege D/A Primary and Kindergarten (KG), Greater Accra Region, emerged First Runner-up, and her prizes were a 44 pick-up vehicle, scholarship and promotion out of turn.

Mr Fredous Iddi-Amin, from the Ogbojo Presbyterian Basic School, in the Greater Accra Region, emerged Second Runner-up and received a saloon car, scholarship and promotion out of turn.

Mr Benjamin Semenyo Lifeson, a tutor at the Presbyterian College of Education in the Eastern Region, was adjudged the Best College of Education Tutor, and received a 44 pick-up vehicle.

Mr Abraham Fletcher, Sefwi-Wiawso Municipal Director of Education in the Western North Region, got a saloon car, life insurance and a trip to Singapore as his prizes for emerging the Best Teacher in Leadership and Administration.

Mr Andrews Danso, a Principal Administrative Officer at the Apersua Community Senior High School in the Eastern Region, was adjudged Best Non-Teaching Staff, and his prizes were a saloon car, life insurance and a trip to Singapore.

Other award winners included Madam Racheal Afriyie, a teacher at Pabi M/A Primary School in the Eastern Region, who was the Best KG Teacher, Madam Barikisu Suleiman, from Answaru-Deen Islamic Basic School, Greater Accra Region; Best Primary School Teacher.

Mr Jibiliru Amadu Nankpa, from TUTCO Demonstration Basic School in the Upper West Region, was the Best Junior High School Teacher, with Mr Peter Adu-Boahene, of the Kumasi Technical Institute, being the Best Senior High and Technical School (SHTS) Teacher. Mr Sayibu Yakubu, a teacher at the Yendi Senior High School, won the Best SHS Teacher.

The Best Teacher Award was instituted in 1995 and later rebranded as Ghana Teacher Prize in 2017, to motivate teachers to aim at higher performance and restore the respect of the profession.

It is also to retain qualified teachers and improve their work performance and overall effectiveness in the classroom.

The ceremony was held as part of activities to mark this year's World Teachers' Day, on the theme: The Teachers We Need for the Education We Want: The Global Imperative to Reverse the Teacher Shortage.

President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, joined by the Minister of Education, Dr Osei Adutwum, and other officials from the Ghana Education Service (GES) presented the Most Outstanding Teacher award to Mrs Faith Aku Dzakpasu.

She expressed joy and gratitude at the recognition and honour done her and encouraged her colleagues to work hard to receive similar rewards in the future.

Dr Eric Nkansah, the Director-General, GES, congratulated the award winners for their outstanding contributions to the advancement of quality education in the country.

He said the theme shed light on the significant role teachers played in society, adding: It is consistent with our vision of prioritising teacher welfare and professional development to consolidate the gains in the education sector.

Dr Christian Adda-Poku, the Registrar, National Teaching Council (NTC), expressed appreciation to President Akufo-Addo for gracing the occasion and said his presence reaffirmed government's commitment to its 'teach-first' policy.

Since 2018, the NTC, with its partners, had transformed the beauty of the Ghana Teacher Prize celebrations, the quality of the prizes and the scope of the various categories.

He expressed delight at the consistency of the programme, which had never been in arrears.

GNA
05.10.2023 LISTEN

The tranquil beauty of the Afram Plains in Ghana conceals a sinister tale that haunts the hearts of its farmer folk. Beneath the verdant stretches of fertile land and the azure skies, a series of interwoven issues, as dark and brooding as a thunderstorm, cast a long shadow. The activities of Fulani herdsmen with their cattle, the lamentable state of the road network, and the prevailing weak security systems have combined to create a menacing atmosphere. Farmers, once stewards of these fertile plains, now find themselves caught in a nightmarish struggle for survival.

The Shadows of Open Grazing

One of the most ominous aspects plaguing the Afram Plains is the practice of open grazing by Fulani herdsmen. Like spectral figures, these nomadic cattle herders and their livestock traverse the fields, leaving in their wake a trail of destruction. Crops, which were once the lifeblood of the local economy, are trampled and devoured, leading to the gnashing of teeth and tears among the farming community.

This issue goes beyond the economic hardships it imposes; it creates an environment where tension simmers, ready to erupt into conflict. Farmer-Fulani altercations are not uncommon, and in some dire instances, they escalate into fatalities, casting a somber shadow over the peaceful landscape. The air is filled with an aura of dread, and farmers are haunted by the specter of violence lurking just beyond their fields.

The Road to Perdition

In the Afram Plains, the road network is a twisted labyrinth, like a maze in a horror story leading to perdition. The roads are pitted with potholes, resembling moon craters, and navigating them is akin to dancing on the edge of a precipice. This dire situation not only leads to a wear-and-tear of vehicles but also creates an ideal setting for highway robberies.

Along these treacherous routes, tales of nightmarish encounters with bandits are whispered in hushed tones. The weary traveler becomes the prey, and the bandits, like phantoms, materialize out of the darkness. They rob, terrorize, and fade back into the obscurity of the night, leaving their victims trembling and traumatized.

Inadequate Security Systems: A Chilling Spectacle

The shadows that loom over the Afram Plains are further deepened by the woeful state of security systems. The region's police presence is akin to a flickering candle in a tempest. Law enforcement agencies are stretched thin, and their ability to combat crime is akin to a feeble flashlight in the darkness of night.

Reports of lawlessness and chaos are alarmingly frequent, and the community's trust in the security apparatus has eroded, like a crumbling ancient ruin. This has left the people feeling vulnerable and exposed, as though they are stranded in a haunted house with no escape route.

A Glimmer of Hope: Solutions

Amidst the nightmarish landscape, there remains a glimmer of hope, a faint beacon that can pierce through the darkness. The government of Ghana must take bold steps to address these harrowing issues plaguing the Afram Plains.

Regulated Grazing Zones: Establishing regulated grazing zones can help mitigate the conflicts arising from open grazing. Properly designated areas for cattle grazing, complete with water sources and veterinary care, would alleviate the pressure on farmers and herders alike. Road Rehabilitation: A concerted effort to rehabilitate the road network is imperative. Improved infrastructure not only ensures the safety of travelers but also facilitates the movement of goods, boosting economic growth in the region. Strengthened Security: The government should invest in strengthening the security apparatus in the Afram Plains. Increasing the number of police personnel, providing them with the necessary equipment, and improving intelligence gathering can help curb crime and restore a sense of safety to the region.

Conclusion

The haunting shadows of Fulani herdsmen, the perilous state of the road network, and the weak security systems in the Afram Plains cast a dark pall over the lives of its people. These issues are like a specter, lurking at the periphery of their existence, threatening their livelihoods and peace. However, by implementing practical solutions, the government of Ghana can exorcise these malevolent forces, transforming the Afram Plains into a place of prosperity, safety, and serenity once more. Only then can this district shake off the sinister dance and embrace a brighter, more secure future.
SkyUp receives insurance compensation for one of two aircraft lost during clashes in capital of Sudan

The Ukrainian airline SkyUp Airlines has reported that in April, during clashes between members of the Sudanese regular army and the Rapid Support Force at Khartoum airport, it lost two aircraft  the insurance company compensated for losses on one of them, and the processing of insurance payment on the other is being completed.

"What happened, unfortunately, happened. Yes, we lost two planes. But thank God, thank you to the team, thank you to the coordinated work with the Defense Intelligence, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the embassy, the honorary consul, we all pulled out our people," SkyUp CEO Dmytro Seroukhov said in an exclusive interview with Interfax-Ukraine.

At the same time, he said that saving people is the greatest victory in this situation.

"Planes are iron, and people are people. Everyone is alive and well, thank God," the CEO of SkyUp said.

He also said that the insurance company fully reimbursed the airline for insurance on one lost aircraft, while on the second, the process is in its final stages.

According to the CEO of SkyUp, shortly before the incident there were no special warnings from insurance companies.

"If there are risks, insurance companies limit them. In Ukraine, for example, on February 12, 2022, we received a warning from insurance companies that insurance coverage could be revoked in 48 hours. And before that there was a warning that insurance coverage could be revoked in seven days. There was nothing like that in Sudan. It was the standard seven days. At the beginning of June, a large audit was carried out by IATA (International Air Transport Association), South African Airways (SAA), Khartoum International Airport. And the company did not demand additional insurance funds," Seroukhov said.

Earlier, Maxar Technologies published on Twitter satellite images of the airport in the capital of Sudan, Khartoum, in which 14 aircraft were damaged to varying degrees as a result of clashes between members of the Sudanese regular army and the Rapid Support Force.

The publication Awianews claimed that the charred remains of one of the planes captured in the picture belongs to a Boeing 737-800 aircraft of the Ukrainian airline SkyUp. The images showed that only charred wreckage remained of the airliner, the report said.

SkyUp could neither confirm nor deny this information to Interfax-Ukraine. "At the moment, there is no way to get to the plane to confirm or deny information about its condition," the airline's press service said.

Even earlier, media reported that during clashes in the capital of Sudan, one of the SkyUp planes located at Khartoum airport caught fire. The airline reported the activation of an emergency radio beacon on one of the two aircraft, adding that it was impossible to determine the condition of the aircraft and possible damage.

According to Awianews, the company's second Boeing 737-800 was in a nearby parking lot. There is no significant damage visible on it, but the condition of the aircraft can only be assessed by technicians after a detailed inspection. The publication believes that the plane could have sustained damage to the fuselage, which would compromise the integrity of the cabin and the operation of the airliner systems.

Two SkyUp Airlines aircraft were in Sudan under an ACMI contract with Sun Air. Since the beginning of 2023, they have operated flights to Cairo (Egypt), Riyadh and Jeddah (Saudi Arabia).

SkyUp has been operating in Sudan since January 1, 2022.
President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has assured that government will continue to invest in education.

In a post to mark this years World Teachers Day, the President said his governments commitment to education has been exemplary.

According to him, this is because the government believes that quality education is the enabler that makes the difference between developed and developing nations.

Today, October 5 is the day that has been set aside globally to celebrate teachers for their immeasurable contribution towards the provision of inclusive, equitable, quality education and lifelong learning for all.

The day was commemorated in Ghana with the sixth edition of the Ghana Teacher Prize.

The event held in Takoradi saw many teachers being awarded for their great work in the education sector in the past year.

Speaking at the event, President Akufo-Addo said he is glad his government rebranded the Ghana Teacher Prize from Best Teacher Awards to meet global standards.

He explained that since the rebranding in 2018, not a year has passed without a Ghanaian teacher coming through at global or continental teacher awards competitions.

Among key interventions by President Akufo-Addo since becoming President are the implementation of the Free SHS policy, the restoration of Teacher and Nursing Trainees' allowance, the implementation of GALOP in ten thousand (10,000) low-performing basic schools, as well as the introduction of STEM Education.
Ernest Owusu Bempah, the Deputy National Communications Director of the governing New Patriotic Party has urged government appointees, especially the Chief Executive Officers to propagate the many successes chalked by the Akufo-Addo's government.

In a press release, Mr. Ernest Owusu Bempah said the government has done a lot for the people and needs to be publicized to the citizenry to be aware of the projects and initiatives that were initiated by the Akufo-Addo-led administration in the country.

According to Ernest Owusu Bempah, some Akufo-Addo-appointed CEOs are just comfortable in their positions and care very little about the public image of the government that made it possible for them to have a job.

"In fact, it is the job and responsibility of every appointee to look after the goose that lays the golden egg, and I'm sure President Akufo-Addo is closely monitoring and watching all CEOs of parastatal institutions who simply don't want to dirty their hands for the good of the government that they're part of," he said in a statement.

He served notice that failure on the part of any appointee to heed this call will have him/herself to blame.

Below is the full press release:

ERNEST OWUSU BEMPAH, DEPUTY NATIONAL COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR, NPP

There are some Akufo-Addo-appointed CEOs who are just comfortable in their positions and care very little about the public image of the government that made it possible for them to have a job.

Well, if you're a CEO and think it is not your job to defend the government when it comes under attack, think again.

In fact, it is the job and responsibility of every appointee to look after the goose that lays the golden egg, and I'm sure President Akufo-Addo is closely monitoring and watching all CEOs of parastatal institutions who simply don't want to dirty their hands for the good of the government that they're part of.

The tragedy of Julius Caesar, otherwise referred to as the "Ides of March" was foretold in the Shakespearean era and despite the soothsayer's two attempts to warn Caeser, he didn't pay attention to the warnings.

I wouldn't be surprised if heads start rolling soon among the CEOs.

Good day, my people
05.10.2023 LISTEN

Mr Johnson Asiedu Nketia, Chairman, National Democratic Congress (NDC) has commended the Ghana Police for their professionalism during the #OccupyBoG protest on Tuesday.

He said the protest was for the betterment of the Police.

He advised the Police to always consider the long-term consequences of their actions and not to allow themselves to be swayed by an incumbent government.

The demonstration was organised to request the Governor of the Bank of Ghana, Dr Ernest Addison and his two deputies to resign for mismanaging the Bank.

He was addressing the protesters who had converged in front of the Art Centre on the Atta Mills Highways in Accra after their leaders were unable to present their petition to the Governor.

Around 0700 hours, protesters started gathering at the Obra Spot at the Kwame Nkrumah Interchange in Accra.

They included the NDC Minority caucus in Parliament and several pressure groups such as Arise Ghana Movement and Anchoring Democracy Advocacy Movement.

Mostly dressed in red and black attires amid loud music, drumming, dancing and chanting, the protesters held placards with inscriptions, including, Professional incompetence is a crime, Create, Loot and Hoard under Bed, and Axis of evil: Akufo-Addo, Bawumia, Ofori-Atta,

Others were, Stop Work: BoG Head Office and Addison Must Go!

There was heavy Police presence as the protesters marched from the Obra Spot, through Adabraka, Ridge Roundabout, the National Theatre, High Court Complex and to High Street.

Mr Sammy Gyamfi, National Communications Officer for the NDC, described the demonstration as extraordinary.

GNA
AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV  Get Free Report) updated its FY 2023 earnings guidance on Wednesday. The company provided earnings per share (EPS) guidance of $10.86-$11.06 for the period, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.07. The company issued revenue guidance of -. AbbVie also updated its FY23 guidance to $10.86-11.06 EPS.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently commented on ABBV. Piper Sandler increased their price target on shares of AbbVie from $163.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research note on Friday, July 28th. William Blair initiated coverage on shares of AbbVie in a research note on Tuesday, July 25th. They issued a market perform rating on the stock. Raymond James initiated coverage on shares of AbbVie in a report on Thursday, September 28th. They set an outperform rating and a $177.00 target price for the company. StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of AbbVie in a report on Thursday, August 17th. They set a strong-buy rating for the company. Finally, Piper Jaffray Companies lifted their target price on shares of AbbVie from $163.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Friday, July 28th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $166.53.

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AbbVie Stock Up 0.1 %

NYSE:ABBV traded up $0.15 on Wednesday, hitting $147.58. 3,158,967 shares of the companys stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,552,568. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $149.86 and a 200-day moving average price of $147.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.33, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.77. AbbVie has a 52 week low of $130.96 and a 52 week high of $168.11. The company has a market cap of $260.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 0.56.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV  Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 27th. The company reported $2.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $2.79 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $13.87 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $13.52 billion. AbbVie had a net margin of 15.50% and a return on equity of 151.29%. As a group, analysts expect that AbbVie will post 11.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AbbVie Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 15th. Investors of record on Friday, October 13th will be paid a $1.48 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 12th. This represents a $5.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.01%. AbbVies dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 121.81%.

Insider Activity at AbbVie

In related news, CEO Richard A. Gonzalez sold 18,500 shares of the companys stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.15, for a total value of $2,759,275.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 625,294 shares in the company, valued at approximately $93,262,600.10. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.26% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Retirement Income Solutions Inc bought a new stake in shares of AbbVie during the 1st quarter worth approximately $204,000. Ergoteles LLC lifted its holdings in shares of AbbVie by 17.8% during the 1st quarter. Ergoteles LLC now owns 5,605 shares of the companys stock worth $909,000 after acquiring an additional 847 shares during the period. First Western Trust Bank bought a new stake in shares of AbbVie during the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,150,000. Wsfs Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of AbbVie during the 1st quarter worth approximately $562,000. Finally, Bridgewater Associates LP lifted its holdings in shares of AbbVie by 80.4% during the 1st quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP now owns 75,516 shares of the companys stock worth $12,242,000 after acquiring an additional 33,661 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.86% of the companys stock.

AbbVie Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

AbbVie Inc discovers, develops, manufactures, and sells pharmaceuticals worldwide. The company offers Humira, a therapy administered as an injection for autoimmune, intestinal Behcet's diseases, and pyoderma gangrenosum; Skyrizi to treat moderate to severe plaque psoriasis, psoriatic disease, and Crohn's disease; Rinvoq, a JAK inhibitor to treat rheumatoid and psoriatic arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, atopic dermatitis, axial spondyloarthropathy, and ulcerative colitis; Imbruvica for the treatment of adult patients with blood cancers; and Venclexta/Venclyxto to treat hematological malignancies.

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Conifex Timber Inc. (TSE:CFF  Get Free Report) shares hit a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as C$0.82 and last traded at C$0.83, with a volume of 2042 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at C$0.82.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Raymond James decreased their price objective on Conifex Timber from C$1.80 to C$1.50 and set an outperform rating for the company in a research note on Monday, September 25th.

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Conifex Timber Stock Up 1.2 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 50.41, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 2.15. The firm has a market cap of C$33.26 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.06 and a beta of 1.69. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of C$1.12 and a two-hundred day moving average price of C$1.28.

Conifex Timber (TSE:CFF  Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 9th. The company reported C($0.23) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of C($0.19) by C($0.04). Conifex Timber had a negative return on equity of 11.92% and a negative net margin of 11.64%. The business had revenue of C$27.20 million for the quarter. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Conifex Timber Inc. will post 0.0300146 earnings per share for the current year.

About Conifex Timber

(Get Free Report)

Conifex Timber Inc primarily manufactures and sells lumber products in the United States, Canada, Japan, and internationally. It is involved in the timber harvesting, reforestation, and forest management activities; manufacture of finished softwood lumber from spruce, pine, and fir logs; manufacture, sale, and distribution of dimension lumber; processing logs into lumber and wood chips, as well as residual products, such as wood chips, trim blocks, sawdust, shavings, and barks; and providing value added lumber finishing services.

Further Reading

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Fabrinet (NYSE:FN  Get Free Report)s stock price reached a new 52-week high on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $170.77 and last traded at $170.10, with a volume of 287354 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $167.58.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. HC Wainwright reissued a buy rating and issued a $28.00 price objective on shares of Fabrinet in a research report on Tuesday, August 22nd. Northland Securities upped their price objective on shares of Fabrinet from $150.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 30th. Needham & Company LLC increased their price target on shares of Fabrinet from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 22nd. Lake Street Capital increased their price target on shares of Fabrinet from $130.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 22nd. Finally, StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Fabrinet in a research report on Thursday, August 17th. They set a hold rating on the stock. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Fabrinet presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $125.13.

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Fabrinet Price Performance

The stocks fifty day simple moving average is $143.50 and its 200-day simple moving average is $123.02. The stock has a market cap of $6.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.31 and a beta of 1.04.

Fabrinet (NYSE:FN  Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, August 21st. The technology company reported $1.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $1.80 by $0.06. Fabrinet had a net margin of 9.37% and a return on equity of 18.23%. The firm had revenue of $655.87 million for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $641.42 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.51 earnings per share. Fabrinets revenue was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Fabrinet will post 7.17 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Fabrinet

In other Fabrinet news, CFO Csaba Sverha sold 20,000 shares of the firms stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.90, for a total value of $3,218,000.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 14,073 shares in the company, valued at $2,264,345.70. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Seamus Grady sold 27,000 shares of the firms stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $159.92, for a total transaction of $4,317,840.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 45,471 shares in the company, valued at $7,271,722.32. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Csaba Sverha sold 20,000 shares of the firms stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.90, for a total transaction of $3,218,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 14,073 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,264,345.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 57,358 shares of company stock worth $9,165,464. 0.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Orion Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Fabrinet in the first quarter worth approximately $33,000. Fifth Third Bancorp grew its position in Fabrinet by 98.0% in the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 303 shares of the technology companys stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc grew its position in Fabrinet by 9,966.7% in the second quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 302 shares of the technology companys stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 299 shares during the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. grew its position in Fabrinet by 652.6% in the third quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 429 shares of the technology companys stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 372 shares during the last quarter. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its position in Fabrinet by 39.9% in the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 417 shares of the technology companys stock worth $50,000 after buying an additional 119 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.38% of the companys stock.

Fabrinet Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

Fabrinet provides optical packaging and precision optical, electro-mechanical, and electronic manufacturing services in North America, the Asia-Pacific, and Europe. The company offers a range of advanced optical and electro-mechanical capabilities in the manufacturing process, including process design and engineering, supply chain management, manufacturing, printed circuit board assembly, advanced packaging, integration, final assembly, and testing.

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Royal Harbor Partners LLC lessened its stake in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL  Free Report) by 15.7% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 2,908 shares of the enterprise software providers stock after selling 540 shares during the period. Royal Harbor Partners LLCs holdings in Oracle were worth $346,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Values Added Financial LLC bought a new position in Oracle in the second quarter worth $216,000. Achmea Investment Management B.V. lifted its holdings in shares of Oracle by 38.4% during the 2nd quarter. Achmea Investment Management B.V. now owns 162,604 shares of the enterprise software providers stock worth $19,364,000 after acquiring an additional 45,127 shares during the period. Arkfeld Wealth Strategies L.L.C. acquired a new stake in shares of Oracle during the 2nd quarter valued at about $241,000. Global Trust Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Oracle by 3.8% during the 2nd quarter. Global Trust Asset Management LLC now owns 8,939 shares of the enterprise software providers stock valued at $1,065,000 after acquiring an additional 330 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northwest Bancshares Inc. bought a new stake in Oracle in the second quarter valued at about $234,000. 42.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Insider Activity

In other Oracle news, EVP Maria Smith sold 3,680 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, July 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $115.00, for a total value of $423,200.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 16,600 shares in the company, valued at $1,909,000. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 42.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Oracle Trading Up 1.9 %

Shares of ORCL traded up $1.99 on Wednesday, reaching $106.51. 4,149,049 shares of the companys stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 9,139,602. Oracle Co. has a 12 month low of $61.65 and a 12 month high of $127.54. The stock has a market capitalization of $291.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 29.72. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $115.03 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $108.24.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL  Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, September 11th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.19 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.15 by $0.04. Oracle had a net margin of 18.40% and a negative return on equity of 3,631.39%. The company had revenue of $12.45 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $12.48 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.81 EPS. The businesss revenue for the quarter was up 8.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Oracle Co. will post 4.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Oracle Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 26th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 12th will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 11th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.50%. Oracles payout ratio is currently 47.62%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on ORCL. Guggenheim reiterated a buy rating and issued a $150.00 price objective on shares of Oracle in a research note on Friday, September 22nd. DZ Bank upgraded Oracle from a hold rating to a buy rating and set a $125.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Thursday, September 14th. Wolfe Research lifted their price objective on Oracle from $130.00 to $140.00 in a report on Tuesday, June 13th. Mizuho reaffirmed a buy rating and issued a $150.00 target price on shares of Oracle in a report on Tuesday, September 19th. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt downgraded shares of Oracle from a buy rating to a neutral rating in a report on Tuesday, September 12th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $124.04.

View Our Latest Report on ORCL

Oracle Profile

(Free Report)

Oracle Corporation offers products and services that address enterprise information technology environments worldwide. Its Oracle cloud software as a service offering include various cloud software applications, including Oracle Fusion cloud enterprise resource planning (ERP), Oracle Fusion cloud enterprise performance management, Oracle Fusion cloud supply chain and manufacturing management, Oracle Fusion cloud human capital management, Oracle Cerner healthcare, Oracle Advertising, and NetSuite applications suite, as well as Oracle Fusion Sales, Service, and Marketing.

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Sage Mountain Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL  Free Report) by 9.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,628 shares of the enterprise software providers stock after buying an additional 491 shares during the period. Sage Mountain Advisors LLCs holdings in Oracle were worth $670,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. NewSquare Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of Oracle by 843.3% in the 1st quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 283 shares of the enterprise software providers stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 253 shares in the last quarter. Steward Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in Oracle in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Quintet Private Bank Europe S.A. purchased a new position in Oracle in the 1st quarter valued at about $30,000. Altshuler Shaham Ltd purchased a new position in Oracle in the 1st quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, SJS Investment Consulting Inc. lifted its holdings in Oracle by 48.1% in the 2nd quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 308 shares of the enterprise software providers stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. 42.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Maria Smith sold 3,680 shares of Oracle stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $115.00, for a total value of $423,200.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 16,600 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $1,909,000. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 42.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have issued reports on ORCL shares. DA Davidson reduced their target price on shares of Oracle from $115.00 to $104.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, September 12th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on shares of Oracle from $120.00 to $135.00 in a report on Tuesday, June 13th. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Oracle from $140.00 to $135.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, September 12th. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Oracle from $121.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a report on Monday, September 11th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Oracle from a sell rating to a neutral rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $75.00 to $120.00 in a report on Tuesday, June 13th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the companys stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Oracle has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $124.04.

Check Out Our Latest Analysis on Oracle

Oracle Stock Performance

ORCL traded up $2.13 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $106.65. 5,147,986 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 9,145,247. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $115.03 and a 200-day simple moving average of $108.24. Oracle Co. has a 12 month low of $61.65 and a 12 month high of $127.54. The stock has a market cap of $292.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 29.72, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.87.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL  Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, September 11th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $1.15 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $12.45 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $12.48 billion. Oracle had a negative return on equity of 3,631.39% and a net margin of 18.40%. The firms quarterly revenue was up 8.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.81 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Oracle Co. will post 4.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Oracle Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 26th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 11th. Oracles payout ratio is currently 47.62%.

About Oracle

(Free Report)

Oracle Corporation offers products and services that address enterprise information technology environments worldwide. Its Oracle cloud software as a service offering include various cloud software applications, including Oracle Fusion cloud enterprise resource planning (ERP), Oracle Fusion cloud enterprise performance management, Oracle Fusion cloud supply chain and manufacturing management, Oracle Fusion cloud human capital management, Oracle Cerner healthcare, Oracle Advertising, and NetSuite applications suite, as well as Oracle Fusion Sales, Service, and Marketing.

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The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of Antero Midstream (NYSE:AM  Get Free Report) in a research note issued on Thursday, FlyOnTheWall reports. The firm set a neutral rating on the pipeline companys stock.

AM has been the subject of several other reports. StockNews.com cut Antero Midstream from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 19th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Antero Midstream from $12.00 to $13.00 and gave the company an underweight rating in a report on Thursday, July 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Antero Midstream from $12.00 to $11.00 and set an underweight rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 21st. UBS Group cut their price objective on Antero Midstream from $15.00 to $14.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Finally, Pickering Energy Partners assumed coverage on Antero Midstream in a research note on Tuesday. They issued an outperform rating for the company. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $12.25.

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Antero Midstream Trading Up 1.5 %

AM stock traded up $0.17 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $11.84. 1,835,111 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,504,849. The stocks fifty day moving average is $11.88 and its 200-day moving average is $11.17. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.54. The company has a market cap of $5.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.91 and a beta of 2.34. Antero Midstream has a 52-week low of $9.51 and a 52-week high of $12.38.

Antero Midstream (NYSE:AM  Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 27th. The pipeline company reported $0.22 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $0.20 by $0.02. Antero Midstream had a return on equity of 18.13% and a net margin of 34.36%. The firm had revenue of $258.29 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $267.03 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.20 earnings per share. The firms revenue was up 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Antero Midstream will post 0.82 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Janine J. Mcardle purchased 6,011 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 22nd. The shares were purchased at an average price of $11.96 per share, with a total value of $71,891.56. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 54,093 shares of the companys stock, valued at $646,952.28. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Antero Midstream news, Director Brooks J. Klimley sold 5,000 shares of the companys stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $12.01, for a total value of $60,050.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 71,047 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $853,274.47. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Janine J. Mcardle bought 6,011 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 22nd. The shares were bought at an average price of $11.96 per share, with a total value of $71,891.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 54,093 shares in the company, valued at approximately $646,952.28. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.52% of the companys stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Antero Midstream

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AM. HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Antero Midstream in the first quarter valued at approximately $8,724,000. Moors & Cabot Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Antero Midstream by 7.0% in the first quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 24,851 shares of the pipeline companys stock valued at $261,000 after purchasing an additional 1,625 shares in the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC bought a new position in shares of Antero Midstream in the second quarter valued at approximately $7,585,000. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System lifted its holdings in shares of Antero Midstream by 13.7% in the first quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 326,633 shares of the pipeline companys stock valued at $3,426,000 after purchasing an additional 39,251 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Barnett & Company Inc. boosted its position in Antero Midstream by 4.0% in the first quarter. Barnett & Company Inc. now owns 93,000 shares of the pipeline companys stock worth $976,000 after purchasing an additional 3,600 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 52.02% of the companys stock.

About Antero Midstream

(Get Free Report)

Antero Midstream Corporation owns, operates, and develops midstream energy infrastructure in the Appalachian Basin. It operates through Gathering and Processing, and Water Handling segments. The Gathering and Processing segment includes a network of gathering pipelines and compressor stations that collects and processes production from Antero Resources' wells in West Virginia and Ohio.

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ANTIPODES PARTNERS Ltd acquired a new position in Eagle Materials Inc. (NYSE:EXP  Free Report) during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 13,719 shares of the construction companys stock, valued at approximately $2,557,000.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Qsemble Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in Eagle Materials during the first quarter worth approximately $249,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its stake in shares of Eagle Materials by 26.9% in the 1st quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 2,342 shares of the construction companys stock valued at $344,000 after acquiring an additional 496 shares in the last quarter. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board lifted its position in shares of Eagle Materials by 10.5% during the 2nd quarter. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board now owns 7,349 shares of the construction companys stock valued at $1,370,000 after acquiring an additional 700 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors L.P. boosted its stake in Eagle Materials by 1.2% during the first quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. now owns 22,035 shares of the construction companys stock worth $3,233,000 after acquiring an additional 253 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Moody National Bank Trust Division boosted its stake in Eagle Materials by 2.2% during the second quarter. Moody National Bank Trust Division now owns 4,499 shares of the construction companys stock worth $839,000 after acquiring an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. 92.57% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on EXP. Stephens reissued an overweight rating and set a $230.00 price objective on shares of Eagle Materials in a research report on Monday, August 21st. Raymond James boosted their price objective on Eagle Materials from $176.00 to $193.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a report on Tuesday, August 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Eagle Materials from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an underweight rating in a report on Thursday, August 24th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of Eagle Materials from $195.00 to $226.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Thursday, July 13th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of Eagle Materials from $195.00 to $205.00 in a report on Friday, July 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $199.80.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Eagle Materials news, Director Richard Ross Stewart sold 1,000 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $182.28, for a total value of $182,280.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 9,041 shares in the company, valued at $1,647,993.48. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Eagle Materials news, Director Richard Ross Stewart sold 1,000 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $182.28, for a total value of $182,280.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 9,041 shares in the company, valued at $1,647,993.48. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Matt Newby sold 5,613 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.00, for a total value of $1,066,470.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 21,819 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $4,145,610. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 8,613 shares of company stock valued at $1,624,730. 1.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Eagle Materials Stock Up 0.6 %

Eagle Materials stock traded up $0.99 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $168.43. 106,383 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 306,674. Eagle Materials Inc. has a 52-week low of $109.57 and a 52-week high of $195.96. The company has a quick ratio of 1.36, a current ratio of 2.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. The businesss 50-day moving average price is $179.07 and its 200-day moving average price is $168.40. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.85 and a beta of 1.35.

Eagle Materials (NYSE:EXP  Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 27th. The construction company reported $3.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.54 by $0.01. Eagle Materials had a return on equity of 40.68% and a net margin of 21.82%. The company had revenue of $601.50 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $603.11 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.82 earnings per share. Eagle Materialss quarterly revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Eagle Materials Inc. will post 13.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Eagle Materials Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 16th. Investors of record on Friday, September 15th will be issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.59%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 14th. Eagle Materialss dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 7.63%.

Eagle Materials Company Profile

(Free Report)

Eagle Materials Inc, through its subsidiaries, manufactures and sells heavy construction materials and light building materials in the United States. It operates in four segments: Cement, Concrete and Aggregates, Gypsum Wallboard, and Recycled Paperboard. The company engages in the mining of limestone for the manufacture, production, distribution, and sale of Portland cement; grinding and sale of slag; and mining of gypsum for the manufacture and sale of gypsum wallboards used to finish the interior walls and ceilings in residential, commercial, and industrial structures.

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President of the European Council Charles Michel assured Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of unwavering support and said that the European Union is preparing an additional support package for the long term.

"No plan B in supporting Ukraine. Only Plan A  unwavering support for as long as it takes until Ukraine prevails. The EU is preparing an additional strong package of support for the long-haul," he said on X (Twitter) following a meeting with President Zelenskyy on the sidelines of the Summit of the European Political Community in Granada, Spain.
Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria, S.A. (NYSE:BBVA  Get Free Report) declared a semi-annual dividend on Thursday, September 28th, Wall Street Journal reports. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 10th will be given a dividend of 0.1685 per share by the bank on Thursday, October 26th. This represents a dividend yield of 5.1%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 6th.

Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria has raised its dividend payment by an average of 8.0% per year over the last three years. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria has a payout ratio of 25.8% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria to earn $1.47 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.34 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 23.1%.

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Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria Price Performance

Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria stock opened at $8.03 on Thursday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $7.78 and a 200-day simple moving average of $7.44. The firm has a market capitalization of $47.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.69, a P/E/G ratio of 0.51 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.01. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria has a one year low of $4.37 and a one year high of $8.19.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria ( NYSE:BBVA Get Free Report ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 28th. The bank reported $0.36 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.34 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $7.83 billion during the quarter. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria had a net margin of 26.54% and a return on equity of 14.53%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.30 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria will post 1.42 earnings per share for the current year.

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria in a research report on Thursday, August 17th. They issued a buy rating for the company. Morgan Stanley lowered shares of Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria from an overweight rating to an equal weight rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 5th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the companys stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $6.34.

Check Out Our Latest Analysis on BBVA

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. boosted its position in shares of Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria by 124.8% during the 1st quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 6,859 shares of the banks stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 3,808 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers bought a new position in shares of Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria during the 1st quarter valued at about $72,000. Bleakley Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria during the 1st quarter valued at about $73,000. Savant Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria during the 4th quarter valued at about $58,000. Finally, Commonwealth Equity Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria during the 1st quarter valued at about $75,000. Institutional investors own 2.83% of the companys stock.

Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria, SA, together with its subsidiaries, provides retail banking, wholesale banking, and asset management services. It offers current accounts; and demand, savings, overnight, time, term, and subordinated deposits. The company also provides loan products; deals in securities; leasing, factoring, brokerage, and asset management services; and manages pension and investment funds.

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Shares of Bank of Ireland Group plc (LON:BIRG  Get Free Report) were up 0.1% during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as GBX 9.18 ($0.11) and last traded at GBX 9.02 ($0.11). Approximately 25,120 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 97% from the average daily volume of 759,657 shares. The stock had previously closed at GBX 9.01 ($0.11).

Bank of Ireland Group Price Performance

The firms 50-day moving average price is GBX 9.20 and its 200 day moving average price is GBX 9.22. The firm has a market cap of 95.56 million, a P/E ratio of 7.21 and a beta of 1.30.

Bank of Ireland Group Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

Bank of Ireland Group plc provides various banking and financial products and services. It provides current and savings accounts, and business deposits and accounts; personal, car, home improvement, graduate, motor finance, and student loans, as well as overdrafts; and business and farming loans, BREXIT loans, invoice finance, hire purchase, and leasing services.

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BerganKDV Wealth Management LLC decreased its holdings in Pimco Total Return ETF (NYSEARCA:BOND  Free Report) by 20.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 45,519 shares of the exchange traded funds stock after selling 11,765 shares during the quarter. BerganKDV Wealth Management LLC owned approximately 0.12% of Pimco Total Return ETF worth $4,170,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bank of Montreal Can lifted its position in shares of Pimco Total Return ETF by 0.5% during the first quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 59,855 shares of the exchange traded funds stock worth $6,120,000 after purchasing an additional 288 shares in the last quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. raised its position in Pimco Total Return ETF by 13.3% in the 1st quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 32,547 shares of the exchange traded funds stock worth $3,313,000 after purchasing an additional 3,826 shares during the last quarter. Founders Financial Securities LLC lifted its holdings in Pimco Total Return ETF by 47.3% during the 1st quarter. Founders Financial Securities LLC now owns 42,587 shares of the exchange traded funds stock worth $4,335,000 after buying an additional 13,667 shares in the last quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV boosted its position in Pimco Total Return ETF by 0.9% in the 1st quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV now owns 54,927 shares of the exchange traded funds stock valued at $5,590,000 after buying an additional 481 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sowell Financial Services LLC increased its stake in shares of Pimco Total Return ETF by 8.7% in the 1st quarter. Sowell Financial Services LLC now owns 122,068 shares of the exchange traded funds stock valued at $8,350,000 after buying an additional 9,734 shares during the period.

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Pimco Total Return ETF Trading Up 0.1 %

Pimco Total Return ETF stock traded up $0.09 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $86.81. The stock had a trading volume of 121,638 shares, compared to its average volume of 246,795. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $89.42 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $91.12. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.48 billion, a PE ratio of 56.50 and a beta of 0.18. Pimco Total Return ETF has a 12 month low of $86.21 and a 12 month high of $94.57.

About Pimco Total Return ETF

The PIMCO Active Bond Exchange-Traded Fund (BOND) is an exchange-traded fund that is based on the Barclays U.S. Aggregate index. The fund is an actively managed portfolio that aims to maintain a consistent level of dividend income by investing in a broad array of fixed income sectors and utilizing income efficient implementation strategies.

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Canso Credit Income Fund (TSE:PBY.UN  Get Free Report)s share price passed below its fifty day moving average during trading on Tuesday . The stock has a fifty day moving average of C$14.30 and traded as low as C$14.24. Canso Credit Income Fund shares last traded at C$14.24, with a volume of 6,400 shares traded.

Canso Credit Income Fund Price Performance

The stock has a 50 day moving average of C$14.29 and a two-hundred day moving average of C$14.23.

Canso Credit Income Fund Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

Canso Credit Trust  Canso Credit Income Fund is a closed ended fixed income mutual fund launched by Lysander Funds Limited. The fund is managed by Canso Investment Counsel Ltd. It invests in the fixed income markets of Canada. The fund primarily invests in corporate bonds. It employs fundamental analysis with bottom-up and deep value approach to create its portfolio.

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Carrier Global Co. (NYSE:CARR  Get Free Report)s stock price gapped down before the market opened on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $54.61, but opened at $53.14. Carrier Global shares last traded at $53.24, with a volume of 541,106 shares.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on CARR. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Carrier Global from $54.00 to $63.00 in a research report on Friday, July 28th. Bank of America downgraded shares of Carrier Global from a neutral rating to an underperform rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $62.00 to $55.00 in a research note on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Carrier Global from $45.00 to $50.00 in a research note on Monday, July 10th. TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of Carrier Global from $54.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research note on Monday, July 31st. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Carrier Global from $57.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research note on Friday, September 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $55.35.

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Carrier Global Stock Down 1.8 %

The company has a current ratio of 1.63, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. The stocks 50-day moving average is $55.80 and its 200-day moving average is $49.25. The company has a market cap of $44.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.35, a P/E/G ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 1.41.

Carrier Global (NYSE:CARR  Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 27th. The company reported $0.79 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.76 by $0.03. Carrier Global had a net margin of 9.87% and a return on equity of 25.42%. The firm had revenue of $6 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.83 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.69 earnings per share. The businesss revenue was up 15.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Carrier Global Co. will post 2.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Carrier Global

In other news, VP Kyle Crockett sold 6,817 shares of the companys stock in a transaction on Monday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.22, for a total value of $403,702.74. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 42 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,487.24. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, VP Kyle Crockett sold 6,817 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.22, for a total transaction of $403,702.74. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 42 shares in the company, valued at $2,487.24. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Jurgen Timperman sold 164,450 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.25, for a total transaction of $9,743,662.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.38% of the companys stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Carrier Global

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich boosted its position in Carrier Global by 98,174.3% during the second quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 1,790,574,025 shares of the companys stock worth $89,009,435,000 after purchasing an additional 1,788,752,009 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its holdings in shares of Carrier Global by 7.9% in the second quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 83,180,216 shares of the companys stock worth $4,134,884,000 after buying an additional 6,104,447 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors lifted its holdings in shares of Carrier Global by 11.0% in the second quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 80,757,252 shares of the companys stock worth $4,014,427,000 after buying an additional 7,996,941 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors lifted its holdings in shares of Carrier Global by 38.0% in the second quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 78,136,207 shares of the companys stock worth $3,884,094,000 after buying an additional 21,529,209 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BlackRock Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Carrier Global by 3.9% in the second quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 60,825,164 shares of the companys stock worth $3,023,619,000 after buying an additional 2,282,320 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 91.47% of the companys stock.

Carrier Global Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

Carrier Global Corporation provides heating, ventilating, and air conditioning (HVAC), refrigeration, fire, security, and building automation technologies worldwide. It operates through three segments: HVAC, Refrigeration, and Fire & Security. The HVAC segment provides products, controls, services, and solutions to meet the heating, cooling, and ventilation needs of residential and commercial customers.

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City Office REIT, Inc. (NYSE:CIO  Get Free Report) announced a quarterly dividend on Friday, September 15th, Zacks reports. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 10th will be paid a dividend of 0.10 per share by the real estate investment trust on Tuesday, October 24th. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 10.31%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 6th.

City Office REIT has decreased its dividend payment by an average of 5.2% annually over the last three years. City Office REIT has a dividend payout ratio of -235.3% meaning the company cannot currently cover its dividend with earnings alone and is relying on its balance sheet to cover its dividend payments. Research analysts expect City Office REIT to earn $1.22 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.40 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 32.8%.

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City Office REIT Stock Performance

Shares of CIO stock opened at $3.88 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 3.32, a current ratio of 3.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00. The company has a 50-day moving average of $4.89 and a two-hundred day moving average of $5.36. City Office REIT has a 1-year low of $3.70 and a 1-year high of $10.80.

Institutional Trading of City Office REIT

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Citigroup Inc. lifted its position in shares of City Office REIT by 70.1% during the second quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 18,065 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock worth $101,000 after purchasing an additional 7,442 shares in the last quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN lifted its position in shares of City Office REIT by 31.2% during the 2nd quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 17,842 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock worth $99,000 after buying an additional 4,244 shares during the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP increased its holdings in shares of City Office REIT by 223.4% in the 2nd quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 5,174 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock valued at $67,000 after acquiring an additional 3,574 shares during the period. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd increased its holdings in shares of City Office REIT by 1,557.5% in the 1st quarter. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd now owns 3,779 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock valued at $67,000 after acquiring an additional 3,551 shares during the period. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its stake in City Office REIT by 4,591.9% in the 2nd quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 11,542 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock valued at $64,000 after buying an additional 11,296 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.55% of the companys stock.

CIO has been the subject of several research analyst reports. KeyCorp initiated coverage on shares of City Office REIT in a research note on Monday, September 11th. They set a sector weight rating for the company. StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of City Office REIT in a research note on Thursday, August 17th. They set a sell rating for the company.

Read Our Latest Stock Analysis on CIO

About City Office REIT

(Get Free Report)

City Office REIT is an internally-managed real estate company focused on acquiring, owning and operating high-quality office properties located predominantly in Sun Belt markets. City Office currently owns or has a controlling interest in 6.0 million square feet of office properties. The Company has elected to be taxed as a real estate investment trust for U.S.

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Dorian LPG (NYSE:LPG  Get Free Report) was upgraded by StockNews.com from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report released on Wednesday.

Other analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded Dorian LPG from a buy rating to a hold rating and set a $30.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Thursday, August 3rd. DNB Markets downgraded shares of Dorian LPG from a buy rating to a hold rating and set a $26.90 price objective on the stock. in a report on Monday, July 10th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the companys stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $26.98.

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View Our Latest Analysis on Dorian LPG

Dorian LPG Trading Up 0.5 %

NYSE LPG traded up $0.13 on Wednesday, hitting $26.82. 1,040,855 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 641,829. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 2.47 and a current ratio of 2.50. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $27.27 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $24.54. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.42 and a beta of 1.13. Dorian LPG has a 52-week low of $13.91 and a 52-week high of $30.25.

Dorian LPG (NYSE:LPG  Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 2nd. The shipping company reported $1.21 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.64 by ($0.43). The firm had revenue of $111.56 million for the quarter. Dorian LPG had a return on equity of 22.93% and a net margin of 46.96%. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.56 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Dorian LPG will post 4.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Dorian LPG

In related news, CFO Theodore B. Young sold 3,000 shares of the companys stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.00, for a total value of $78,000.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 87,805 shares in the company, valued at $2,282,930. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other news, CFO Theodore B. Young sold 5,000 shares of the firms stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.13, for a total transaction of $145,650.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 103,720 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $3,021,363.60. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Theodore B. Young sold 3,000 shares of the firms stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.00, for a total transaction of $78,000.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 87,805 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,282,930. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 266,700 shares of company stock worth $7,306,398 over the last quarter. Insiders own 15.90% of the companys stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Dorian LPG

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in LPG. BlackRock Inc. grew its stake in shares of Dorian LPG by 8.2% during the 3rd quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 5,263,675 shares of the shipping companys stock worth $71,427,000 after purchasing an additional 400,804 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in Dorian LPG by 11.8% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,240,874 shares of the shipping companys stock valued at $64,622,000 after acquiring an additional 341,453 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its stake in Dorian LPG by 364.5% in the 1st quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 367,400 shares of the shipping companys stock valued at $7,326,000 after acquiring an additional 288,300 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its stake in Dorian LPG by 549.5% in the 2nd quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 319,025 shares of the shipping companys stock valued at $4,849,000 after acquiring an additional 269,906 shares during the period. Finally, Balyasny Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Dorian LPG in the 3rd quarter valued at $3,435,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.01% of the companys stock.

About Dorian LPG

(Get Free Report)

Dorian LPG Ltd., together with its subsidiaries, engages in the transportation of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) through its LPG tankers worldwide. It owns and operates twenty-five very large gas carriers (VLGCs). The company was incorporated in 2013 and is headquartered in Stamford, Connecticut.

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Eaton Vance Tax-Managed Buy-Write Income Fund (NYSE:ETB  Get Free Report) shares passed below its 50-day moving average during trading on Monday . The stock has a 50-day moving average of $13.26 and traded as low as $12.46. Eaton Vance Tax-Managed Buy-Write Income Fund shares last traded at $12.55, with a volume of 87,827 shares trading hands.

Eaton Vance Tax-Managed Buy-Write Income Fund Stock Up 0.2 %

The businesss fifty day simple moving average is $13.21 and its 200-day simple moving average is $13.21.

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Eaton Vance Tax-Managed Buy-Write Income Fund Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, October 23rd will be issued a $0.093 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 20th. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 8.99%.

Institutional Trading of Eaton Vance Tax-Managed Buy-Write Income Fund

Eaton Vance Tax-Managed Buy-Write Income Fund Company Profile

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Wells Fargo & Company MN increased its holdings in shares of Eaton Vance Tax-Managed Buy-Write Income Fund by 5.1% in the 2nd quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 722,641 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $10,861,000 after buying an additional 35,188 shares during the last quarter. UBS Group AG grew its holdings in Eaton Vance Tax-Managed Buy-Write Income Fund by 5.5% during the 1st quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 585,118 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $9,888,000 after purchasing an additional 30,479 shares during the last quarter. Guggenheim Capital LLC grew its holdings in Eaton Vance Tax-Managed Buy-Write Income Fund by 73.0% during the 2nd quarter. Guggenheim Capital LLC now owns 278,987 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $3,875,000 after purchasing an additional 117,753 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Eaton Vance Tax-Managed Buy-Write Income Fund by 2.4% during the 2nd quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC now owns 245,811 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $3,414,000 after purchasing an additional 5,767 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE grew its holdings in Eaton Vance Tax-Managed Buy-Write Income Fund by 2.5% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 198,228 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $2,587,000 after purchasing an additional 4,823 shares during the last quarter.

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Eaton Vance Tax-Managed Buy-Write Income Fund is a closed-ended equity mutual fund launched and managed by Eaton Vance Management. It is co-managed by Parametric Portfolio Associates LLC. The fund invests in the public equity markets of the United States. It seeks to invest in stocks of companies operating across diversified sectors.

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AMI Asset Management Corp reduced its holdings in shares of Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY  Free Report) by 15.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 104,326 shares of the companys stock after selling 19,442 shares during the quarter. Eli Lilly and Company makes up 2.9% of AMI Asset Management Corps investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest holding. AMI Asset Management Corps holdings in Eli Lilly and Company were worth $48,927,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 1.6% in the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 20,324,267 shares of the companys stock valued at $6,979,760,000 after purchasing an additional 314,349 shares during the last quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich lifted its holdings in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 533,336.4% in the 2nd quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 19,059,681 shares of the companys stock valued at $8,938,609,000 after purchasing an additional 19,056,108 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 1.1% in the 1st quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 14,867,424 shares of the companys stock valued at $5,094,159,000 after purchasing an additional 159,964 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley lifted its holdings in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 44.1% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 12,059,204 shares of the companys stock valued at $4,411,740,000 after purchasing an additional 3,691,436 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company in the 4th quarter valued at about $3,416,206,000. 81.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the company. HSBC initiated coverage on Eli Lilly and Company in a report on Friday, July 14th. They issued a buy rating and a $560.00 target price for the company. Jefferies Financial Group raised Eli Lilly and Company from a hold rating to a buy rating and upped their price objective for the company from $408.00 to $615.00 in a research note on Tuesday, August 8th. Argus upped their price objective on Eli Lilly and Company from $470.00 to $620.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 5th. 22nd Century Group reaffirmed a maintains rating on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a research note on Tuesday, June 27th. Finally, Truist Financial upped their price objective on Eli Lilly and Company from $525.00 to $600.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and twenty have issued a buy rating to the companys stock. According to MarketBeat, Eli Lilly and Company has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $532.78.

Eli Lilly and Company Price Performance

Shares of Eli Lilly and Company stock traded up $8.51 on Thursday, hitting $539.97. The companys stock had a trading volume of 1,671,799 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,993,541. The company has a market capitalization of $512.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 73.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.33. Eli Lilly and Company has a 52-week low of $309.20 and a 52-week high of $601.84. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $538.12 and a 200-day moving average price of $459.26. The company has a quick ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.63.

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY  Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, August 8th. The company reported $2.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $1.98 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $8.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $7.58 billion. Eli Lilly and Company had a net margin of 22.01% and a return on equity of 65.00%. The firms quarterly revenue was up 28.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.25 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Eli Lilly and Company will post 9.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Eli Lilly and Company

In other news, EVP Alonzo Weems sold 1,148 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $590.98, for a total value of $678,445.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 7,760 shares of the companys stock, valued at $4,586,004.80. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Alonzo Weems sold 1,148 shares of Eli Lilly and Company stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $590.98, for a total transaction of $678,445.04. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 7,760 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,586,004.80. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Lilly Endowment Inc sold 210,000 shares of the companys stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $571.41, for a total transaction of $119,996,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 99,983,810 shares in the company, valued at $57,131,748,872.10. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 693,246 shares of company stock valued at $20,948,820,977. 0.13% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Eli Lilly and Company Company Profile

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Eli Lilly and Company discovers, develops, and markets human pharmaceuticals worldwide. It offers Basaglar, Humalog, Humalog Mix 75/25, Humalog U-100, Humalog U-200, Humalog Mix 50/50, insulin lispro, insulin lispro protamine, insulin lispro mix 75/25, Humulin, Humulin 70/30, Humulin N, Humulin R, and Humulin U-500 for diabetes; and Jardiance, Trajenta, and Trulicity for type 2 diabetes.

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Shares of First National Bank Alaska (OTCMKTS:FBAK  Get Free Report) passed below its 200-day moving average during trading on Monday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $195.32 and traded as low as $186.01. First National Bank Alaska shares last traded at $186.01, with a volume of 1,070 shares trading hands.

First National Bank Alaska Price Performance

The business has a fifty day moving average price of $190.21 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $195.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $588.04 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.14 and a beta of 0.27.

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First National Bank Alaska (OTCMKTS:FBAK  Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 31st. The financial services provider reported $4.57 earnings per share for the quarter. The firm had revenue of $43.66 million during the quarter.

First National Bank Alaska Cuts Dividend

About First National Bank Alaska

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 15th. Investors of record on Friday, September 1st were given a dividend of $3.20 per share. This represents a $12.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.90%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 31st. First National Bank Alaskas dividend payout ratio is currently 69.95%.

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First National Bank Alaska, a commercial bank, provides various banking products and services for business, industry, and individual customers primarily in Alaska. The company offers savings and checking accounts; money market deposits and safe deposit services; certificates of deposit; individual retirement accounts; and personal, home equity, and construction loans, as well as loans for stability and growth.

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President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy, on the sidelines of the third Summit of the European Political Community, met with President of the European Parliament Roberta Metsola.

According to the presidential press service, the parties discussed the preparation of the next sanctions package against Russia and measures to counter the propaganda of the aggressor country.

Special attention was paid to the defense needs of Ukraine, as well as the possible role of the European Parliament in increasing support from those countries whose capabilities allow them to significantly increase assistance to Ukraine.

Zelenskyy and Metsola assessed Ukraine's progress in implementing the recommendations of the European Commission to begin negotiations on accession to the European Union. At the same time, the president said Ukraine has almost completed this work, and expressed his conviction that Ukraine will be able to begin negotiations on accession to the EU this year.

The head of state thanked for the European Parliament's support for the European Commission's proposals to revise the multi-year EU budget, which, in particular, provide for the creation of a Ukraine Aid Fund worth EUR 50 billion.

"Thank you for the resolutions in our support. You always support Ukraine and demonstrated this during your visits to our country," he said.
Shares of Footasylum PLC (LON:FOOT  Get Free Report) fell 26.6% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as GBX 81.50 ($0.99) and last traded at GBX 81.50 ($0.99). 100 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 100% from the average session volume of 609,787 shares. The stock had previously closed at GBX 111 ($1.34).

Footasylum Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of 88.60 million and a P/E ratio of -21.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a current ratio of 1.60. The firm has a 50-day moving average of GBX 81.50 and a 200-day moving average of GBX 81.50.

Footasylum Company Profile

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Footasylum plc engages in the retail and wholesale of footwear, apparel, and accessories in the United Kingdom and internationally. The company sells fashion streetwear and sportswear for men, women, and kids under approximately 300 brands, such as Nike, Adidas, Pre London, Society Sport, and Gym King; and owns brands comprising Kings Will Dream, Condemned Nation, Alessandro Zavetti, and Zavetti Sport, as well as retail brands, including Footasylum, Drome, and SEVEN.

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Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC lowered its stake in iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF (NYSEARCA:AGG  Free Report) by 62.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 60,894 shares of the companys stock after selling 101,690 shares during the period. iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF makes up approximately 4.2% of Alliance Wealth Advisors LLCs holdings, making the stock its 4th largest holding. Alliance Wealth Advisors LLCs holdings in iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF were worth $5,965,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF during the 4th quarter valued at about $359,000. Steph & Co. grew its holdings in shares of iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF by 80.4% during the 2nd quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 359 shares of the companys stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 160 shares during the period. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF during the 1st quarter worth approximately $37,000. First Manhattan Co. grew its holdings in shares of iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF by 697.9% during the 4th quarter. First Manhattan Co. now owns 375 shares of the companys stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 328 shares during the period. Finally, Activest Wealth Management purchased a new position in shares of iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF during the 1st quarter worth approximately $37,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.21% of the companys stock.

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iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF Stock Performance

Shares of AGG traded up $0.06 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $93.11. The company had a trading volume of 3,145,805 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,399,625. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $95.65 and a 200 day moving average price of $97.61. iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF has a 52 week low of $92.37 and a 52 week high of $101.15.

About iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF

IShares are index funds that are bought and sold like common stocks on national securities exchanges as well as certain foreign exchanges. iShares are attractive because of their relatively low cost, tax efficiency and trading flexibility. Investors can purchase and sell shares through any brokerage firm, financial advisor, or online broker, and hold the funds in any type of brokerage account.

Further Reading

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding AGG? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF (NYSEARCA:AGG  Free Report).

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Mitsubishi Electric Co. (OTCMKTS:MIELY  Get Free Report) fell 1% on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $23.28 and last traded at $23.40. 79,355 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 65% from the average session volume of 47,978 shares. The stock had previously closed at $23.63.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, The Goldman Sachs Group raised Mitsubishi Electric from a sell rating to a buy rating in a research report on Thursday, June 29th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of Hold.

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Mitsubishi Electric Stock Performance

About Mitsubishi Electric

The company has a 50 day moving average of $25.61 and a two-hundred day moving average of $26.05.

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Mitsubishi Electric Corporation develops, manufactures, distributes, and sells electrical and electronic equipment worldwide. The company operates through five segments: Infrastructure, Industry Mobility, Life, Business Platform, and Other Businesses. It offers turbine generators, nuclear power plant and power electronics equipment, motors, transformers, circuit breakers, gas insulated switchgears, switch controls, surveillance-system control and security systems, transmission and distribution ICT systems, large display devices, locomotive and rolling stock electrical equipment, wireless and wired communications systems, network camera systems, elevators, escalators, building security and management systems, and others.

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Mitsubishi Estate Co., Ltd. (OTCMKTS:MITEY  Get Free Report) shares passed above its 50 day moving average during trading on Monday . The stock has a 50 day moving average of $12.67 and traded as high as $13.28. Mitsubishi Estate shares last traded at $12.69, with a volume of 59,214 shares trading hands.

Mitsubishi Estate Trading Down 2.0 %

The firm has a market cap of $16.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.46 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 2.09 and a quick ratio of 1.40. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $12.68 and a 200 day moving average of $12.25.

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Mitsubishi Estate (OTCMKTS:MITEY  Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 10th. The company reported $0.09 EPS for the quarter. Mitsubishi Estate had a return on equity of 6.01% and a net margin of 9.08%. The business had revenue of $2.13 billion for the quarter. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Mitsubishi Estate Co., Ltd. will post 0.91 EPS for the current year.

About Mitsubishi Estate

Mitsubishi Estate Co, Ltd. engages in the real estate activities in Japan and internationally. The company develops, leases, manages, and sells office buildings and commercial facilities; operates rental offices, coworking space, virtual offices, hourly meeting rooms, home delivery storage service, commercial nursing homes, and building garages; offers real estate management, as well as building management services, such as security, facility management, cleaning, and planting services; and operates hotels and airports.

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MNC Media Investment Ltd (OTCMKTS:LTONY  Get Free Report) crossed above its two hundred day moving average during trading on Monday . The stock has a two hundred day moving average of $0.00 and traded as high as $0.21. MNC Media Investment shares last traded at $0.15, with a volume of 113,100 shares traded.

MNC Media Investment Stock Performance

The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $0.15.

About MNC Media Investment

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MNC Media Investment Ltd (MMIL), formerly Linktone Ltd., is a provider of services and content to a range of traditional and new media consumers and enterprises. The Companys segments include China VAS, mobile game and PC game; Indonesia Digital Media, Media Content and Investment; Indonesia Digital Media; Media content, and Investment.

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Paramount Resources Ltd. (TSE:POU  Get Free Report) crossed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Monday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of C$30.64 and traded as high as C$32.32. Paramount Resources shares last traded at C$30.88, with a volume of 450,036 shares traded.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on POU shares. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Paramount Resources from C$35.00 to C$37.00 and gave the stock a sector perform rating in a research report on Thursday, August 3rd. Raymond James boosted their target price on shares of Paramount Resources from C$37.00 to C$40.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research report on Friday, September 8th. National Bankshares raised shares of Paramount Resources from a sector perform rating to an outperform rating and set a C$40.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 3rd. Finally, CIBC upped their price target on shares of Paramount Resources from C$37.50 to C$40.00 in a report on Friday, July 14th.

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Paramount Resources Stock Down 4.9 %

The stock has a market capitalization of C$4.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.17, a PEG ratio of 0.14 and a beta of 3.54. The firms fifty day moving average is C$31.97 and its 200-day moving average is C$30.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.68.

Paramount Resources (TSE:POU  Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 2nd. The company reported C$0.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of C$0.36 by C$0.14. Paramount Resources had a net margin of 35.18% and a return on equity of 24.13%. The company had revenue of C$374.40 million during the quarter. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Paramount Resources Ltd. will post 4.230137 earnings per share for the current year.

Paramount Resources Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, October 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.125 per share. This represents a $1.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.01%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 13th. Paramount Resourcess dividend payout ratio is presently 29.41%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Paramount Resources

In other Paramount Resources news, Senior Officer E. Mitchell Shier sold 10,000 shares of the companys stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$32.19, for a total transaction of C$321,910.00. Insiders own 45.88% of the companys stock.

About Paramount Resources

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Paramount Resources Ltd. explores for and develops conventional and unconventional petroleum and natural gas in Canada. The company holds interests in the Karr and Wapiti Montney properties covering an area of 185,000 net acres located south of the city of Grande Prairie, Alberta; Kaybob North Duvernay development, the Kaybob North Montney oil development and other low-decline, legacy shale gas, and conventional natural gas producing properties covering an area of 745,000 net acres located in west-central Alberta; and Willesden Green Duvernay development in central Alberta and shale gas producing properties in the Horn River Basin in northeast British Columbia covering an area of 811,000 net acres.

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PJT Partners (NYSE:PJT  Get Free Report) was downgraded by analysts at StockNews.com from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report issued on Wednesday.

PJT has been the subject of a number of other reports. Wolfe Research downgraded PJT Partners from an outperform rating to a peer perform rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 25th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a market outperform rating and set a $94.00 price target on shares of PJT Partners in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, UBS Group assumed coverage on PJT Partners in a research note on Tuesday. They set a neutral rating and a $84.00 price target for the company. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $87.67.

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PJT Partners Price Performance

PJT Partners stock traded down $0.40 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $76.87. The companys stock had a trading volume of 188,614 shares, compared to its average volume of 202,934. PJT Partners has a 52-week low of $59.61 and a 52-week high of $86.92. The firms 50 day moving average is $78.21 and its 200 day moving average is $73.26. The company has a market cap of $1.86 billion, a PE ratio of 23.29 and a beta of 0.76.

PJT Partners (NYSE:PJT  Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 25th. The financial services provider reported $0.99 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $0.61 by $0.38. PJT Partners had a return on equity of 17.24% and a net margin of 7.79%. The company had revenue of $346.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $240.57 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.88 EPS. The businesss quarterly revenue was up 48.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that PJT Partners will post 3 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at PJT Partners

In related news, insider Ji-Yeun Lee sold 10,000 shares of the firms stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.61, for a total value of $796,100.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 93,421 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $7,437,245.81. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 10.67% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of PJT Partners

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PJT. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in PJT Partners by 85.1% in the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 835,398 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $60,307,000 after buying an additional 384,103 shares during the last quarter. Walleye Capital LLC grew its holdings in PJT Partners by 5,714.8% in the 2nd quarter. Walleye Capital LLC now owns 178,979 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $12,464,000 after buying an additional 175,901 shares during the last quarter. TimesSquare Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in PJT Partners by 132.9% in the 1st quarter. TimesSquare Capital Management LLC now owns 304,909 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $22,011,000 after buying an additional 174,009 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in PJT Partners by 2,871.9% in the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 173,827 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $12,809,000 after buying an additional 167,978 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. grew its holdings in PJT Partners by 2,850.2% in the 1st quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 138,601 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $10,005,000 after buying an additional 133,903 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.40% of the companys stock.

About PJT Partners

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PJT Partners Inc, an investment bank, provides various strategic and capital markets advisory, restructuring and special situations, and shareholder advisory services to corporations, financial sponsors, institutional investors, and governments worldwide. It offers advisory services to clients on various transactions, including mergers and acquisitions (M&A), spin-offs, activism defense, contested M&A, joint ventures, minority investments, and divestitures.

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AMI Asset Management Corp raised its holdings in shares of PowerSchool Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:PWSC  Free Report) by 4.5% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 238,956 shares of the companys stock after buying an additional 10,335 shares during the period. AMI Asset Management Corp owned about 0.12% of PowerSchool worth $4,574,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its holdings in shares of PowerSchool by 262.4% in the first quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 1,348 shares of the companys stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 976 shares in the last quarter. Orion Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of PowerSchool during the first quarter worth $28,000. Royal Bank of Canada raised its holdings in shares of PowerSchool by 63.5% during the third quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 2,135 shares of the companys stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 829 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its holdings in shares of PowerSchool by 62.7% during the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 3,792 shares of the companys stock worth $75,000 after acquiring an additional 1,461 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank bought a new position in PowerSchool during the second quarter valued at approximately $92,000. 65.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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Insider Transactions at PowerSchool

In related news, CAO Angelina Hendraka sold 3,657 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.76, for a total value of $83,233.32. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 124,687 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $2,837,876.12. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other PowerSchool news, CEO Hardeep Gulati sold 30,574 shares of the companys stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.70, for a total transaction of $663,455.80. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,284,164 shares of the companys stock, valued at $49,566,358.80. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Angelina Hendraka sold 3,657 shares of the firms stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.76, for a total transaction of $83,233.32. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 124,687 shares of the companys stock, valued at $2,837,876.12. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 110,686 shares of company stock valued at $2,390,675 over the last three months. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. TheStreet upgraded PowerSchool from a d rating to a c rating in a report on Thursday, August 17th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an outperform rating and issued a $29.00 price objective on shares of PowerSchool in a research note on Friday, September 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of PowerSchool from $24.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 8th. Raymond James boosted their target price on shares of PowerSchool from $23.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 8th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of PowerSchool from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a report on Friday, September 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, PowerSchool presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $27.55.

Read Our Latest Analysis on PWSC

PowerSchool Price Performance

Shares of PWSC stock traded down $0.09 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $22.14. 191,126 shares of the companys stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 746,225. PowerSchool Holdings, Inc. has a 52 week low of $15.60 and a 52 week high of $26.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 0.47 and a quick ratio of 0.47. The stocks 50-day moving average is $22.02 and its 200-day moving average is $20.44. The stock has a market cap of $4.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -170.00 and a beta of 0.92.

PowerSchool (NYSE:PWSC  Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 7th. The company reported $0.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts consensus estimates of $0.14. PowerSchool had a negative net margin of 2.92% and a positive return on equity of 7.17%. The firm had revenue of $173.90 million for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $171.28 million. As a group, research analysts forecast that PowerSchool Holdings, Inc. will post 0.51 EPS for the current year.

PowerSchool Company Profile

(Free Report)

PowerSchool Holdings, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, offers cloud-based software to the K-12 education market. Its solution embedded in school workflows and is used on daily basis by educators, students, administrators, and parents in schools and districts. In addition, the company provides cloud-based technology platform helps schools and districts manage state reporting and related compliance, special education, finance, human resource, talent, registration, attendance, funding, learning, instruction, behavior, grading, college and career readiness, assessments, and analytics.

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Redrow plc (LON:RDW  Get Free Report) crossed above its two hundred day moving average during trading on Monday . The stock has a two hundred day moving average of GBX 485.43 ($5.87) and traded as high as GBX 496.60 ($6.00). Redrow shares last traded at GBX 482.80 ($5.84), with a volume of 476,389 shares changing hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently weighed in on RDW. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on Redrow from GBX 650 ($7.86) to GBX 643 ($7.77) and set a buy rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, June 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Redrow from GBX 440 ($5.32) to GBX 370 ($4.47) and set an underweight rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 4th. UBS Group reissued a buy rating and set a GBX 600 ($7.25) price target on shares of Redrow in a research report on Monday, June 12th. Finally, Berenberg Bank restated a buy rating and set a GBX 843 ($10.19) target price on shares of Redrow in a research note on Monday, September 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of GBX 588.20 ($7.11).

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Redrow Stock Performance

Redrow Increases Dividend

The firm has a 50 day moving average of GBX 487.71 and a two-hundred day moving average of GBX 485.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a current ratio of 3.52. The stock has a market cap of 1.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 508.57, a P/E/G ratio of -0.81 and a beta of 1.68.

The firm also recently declared a dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 16th. Investors of record on Thursday, September 21st will be issued a dividend of GBX 20 ($0.24) per share. This represents a yield of 4.23%. This is a boost from Redrows previous dividend of $10.00. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 21st. Redrows dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 3,296.70%.

Redrow Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

Redrow plc focuses on housebuilding activities in the United Kingdom. It is involved in acquiring land; and develops and sells residential housing properties. Redrow plc was founded in 1974 and is based in Flintshire, the United Kingdom.

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Rio Novo Gold Inc. (TSE:RN  Get Free Report) shares crossed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Tuesday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of C$0.00 and traded as high as C$0.13. Rio Novo Gold shares last traded at C$0.13, with a volume of 34,500 shares traded.

Rio Novo Gold Stock Performance

The businesss 50 day simple moving average is C$0.13.

Rio Novo Gold Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

Rio Novo Gold Inc acquires, explores, and develops gold mineral resource properties in Brazil and Colombia. It holds interests in the Almas Gold Project located in the Tocantins State, Brazil; the Matupa Gold Project located in the Mato Grosso State, Brazil; and the Tolda Fria Gold Project located in the Caldas State, Colombia.

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President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy, on the sidelines of the third Summit of the European Political Community in Granada (Spain), met with British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.

"During the meeting with Rishi Sunak, we discussed efforts to ensure long-term global support for Ukraine. Ukraine and the UK will continue and expand defense cooperation," the president said in his Telegram.

According to him, ways to export Ukrainian grain were discussed. In addition, agreement was reached regarding the need to protect freedom of navigation in the Black Sea.

As the presidential press service said, they also discussed possible formats for insuring ships heading to Ukrainian ports.

Separately, the leaders discussed the necessary efforts to continue international support for Ukraine and continued security cooperation.
Shares of Rye Patch Gold Corp. (CVE:RPM  Get Free Report) crossed above its fifty day moving average during trading on Monday . The stock has a fifty day moving average of C$1.06 and traded as high as C$1.10. Rye Patch Gold shares last traded at C$1.06, with a volume of 58,513 shares trading hands.

Rye Patch Gold Stock Performance

The business has a 50 day simple moving average of C$1.06 and a 200-day simple moving average of C$1.06.

Rye Patch Gold Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

Rye Patch Gold Corp. engages in the acquisition, exploration, and development of mineral properties in Nevada, the United States. The company primarily explores for gold and silver deposits. It owns a 100% interest in the Florida Canyon Mine covering an area of approximately 71.4 square kilometers located in Nevda.

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Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust PLC (LON:SMT  Get Free Report)s share price passed below its fifty day moving average during trading on Monday . The stock has a fifty day moving average of GBX 681.42 ($8.24) and traded as low as GBX 663 ($8.01). Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust shares last traded at GBX 671.20 ($8.11), with a volume of 3,664,269 shares trading hands.

Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust Trading Up 0.2 %

The company has a 50 day moving average price of GBX 680.06 and a 200 day moving average price of GBX 665.50. The firm has a market cap of 9.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -324.68 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 15.86, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a current ratio of 0.50.

Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust PLC is a closed-ended equity mutual fund launched and managed by Baillie Gifford & Co Ltd. The fund is co-managed by Baillie Gifford & Co It invests in public equity markets of countries across the globe. The fund seeks to invest in stocks of companies operating across diversified sectors.

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Smart Employee Benefits Inc. (CVE:SEB  Get Free Report)s stock price crossed below its 50 day moving average during trading on Monday . The stock has a 50 day moving average of C$0.30 and traded as low as C$0.30. Smart Employee Benefits shares last traded at C$0.30, with a volume of 11,100 shares trading hands.

Smart Employee Benefits Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of C$52.63 million, a P/E ratio of -6.00 and a beta of 1.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1,180.39, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 0.47. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of C$0.30 and a 200-day simple moving average of C$0.30.

Smart Employee Benefits Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

Smart Employee Benefits Inc, a technology company, provides business process automation and software solutions, and professional services in Canada and internationally. It operates through Benefits and Technology segments. The Benefits segment offers software solutions, services, and products that focuses on managing group benefit and wellness plans for corporate and government clients.

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Source Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO  Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor acquired 397 shares of the medical research companys stock, valued at approximately $207,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its holdings in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific by 3.7% in the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 681,679 shares of the medical research companys stock valued at $392,899,000 after buying an additional 24,376 shares during the last quarter. American Trust grew its position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific by 13.2% in the 1st quarter. American Trust now owns 6,743 shares of the medical research companys stock valued at $3,886,000 after acquiring an additional 784 shares during the period. Sterling Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific during the 2nd quarter worth about $1,074,000. Alta Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 5.1% in the 2nd quarter. Alta Capital Management LLC now owns 88,286 shares of the medical research companys stock valued at $46,064,000 after purchasing an additional 4,307 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Manhattan CO. LLC. grew its holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 11.2% during the first quarter. First Manhattan CO. LLC. now owns 724,844 shares of the medical research companys stock worth $417,779,000 after purchasing an additional 72,792 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 87.06% of the companys stock.

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Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Stephen Williamson sold 14,100 shares of the firms stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $550.00, for a total value of $7,755,000.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 27,393 shares of the companys stock, valued at $15,066,150. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, EVP Gianluca Pettiti sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $557.77, for a total value of $1,673,310.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 17,556 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $9,792,210.12. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Stephen Williamson sold 14,100 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $550.00, for a total transaction of $7,755,000.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 27,393 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,066,150. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 28,700 shares of company stock worth $15,799,270. Insiders own 0.32% of the companys stock.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:TMO traded down $7.66 during trading on Thursday, reaching $494.79. 462,850 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,483,207. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. has a 52 week low of $475.77 and a 52 week high of $609.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $190.96 billion, a PE ratio of 34.34, a PEG ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 0.79. The companys 50 day moving average is $530.73 and its two-hundred day moving average is $537.23.

Thermo Fisher Scientific (NYSE:TMO  Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 26th. The medical research company reported $5.15 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $5.43 by ($0.28). The firm had revenue of $10.69 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.99 billion. Thermo Fisher Scientific had a return on equity of 18.59% and a net margin of 13.14%. The companys revenue for the quarter was down 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $5.51 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. will post 22.37 earnings per share for the current year.

Thermo Fisher Scientific Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.28%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 14th. Thermo Fisher Scientifics payout ratio is presently 9.57%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

TMO has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Barclays cut their price objective on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $625.00 to $585.00 in a research report on Friday, September 29th. Raymond James upped their price objective on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $595.00 to $630.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a report on Friday, July 28th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $505.00 to $520.00 and gave the stock an underweight rating in a research note on Friday, July 28th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $662.00 to $698.00 in a report on Thursday, July 27th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Thermo Fisher Scientific from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report on Friday, September 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $627.13.

Read Our Latest Stock Report on TMO

Thermo Fisher Scientific Company Profile

(Free Report)

Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc provides life sciences solutions, analytical instruments, specialty diagnostics, and laboratory products and biopharma services in the United States and internationally. The company's Life Sciences Solutions segment offers reagents, instruments, and consumables for biological and medical research, discovery, and production of drugs and vaccines, as well as diagnosis of infections and diseases; and solutions include biosciences, genetic sciences, clinical next-generation sequencing, bio production to pharmaceutical, biotechnology, agricultural, clinical, healthcare, academic, and government markets.

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State of Alaska Department of Revenue decreased its stake in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT  Free Report) by 27.6% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 266,994 shares of the healthcare product makers stock after selling 101,559 shares during the period. State of Alaska Department of Revenues holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $29,107,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of ABT. Fort Sheridan Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 315.5% during the first quarter. Fort Sheridan Advisors LLC now owns 12,182 shares of the healthcare product makers stock worth $1,234,000 after acquiring an additional 9,250 shares during the last quarter. Freestone Capital Holdings LLC increased its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 12.8% in the first quarter. Freestone Capital Holdings LLC now owns 99,836 shares of the healthcare product makers stock valued at $10,109,000 after purchasing an additional 11,303 shares during the last quarter. Capital Investment Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 4.0% in the first quarter. Capital Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 14,110 shares of the healthcare product makers stock valued at $1,429,000 after purchasing an additional 545 shares during the last quarter. Harbour Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 0.5% in the first quarter. Harbour Investment Management LLC now owns 26,750 shares of the healthcare product makers stock valued at $2,709,000 after acquiring an additional 138 shares during the period. Finally, Border to Coast Pensions Partnership Ltd grew its stake in Abbott Laboratories by 20.2% in the first quarter. Border to Coast Pensions Partnership Ltd now owns 367,563 shares of the healthcare product makers stock valued at $37,219,000 after acquiring an additional 61,788 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 73.70% of the companys stock.

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Insider Buying and Selling at Abbott Laboratories

In other Abbott Laboratories news, Director Daniel J. Starks sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.76, for a total transaction of $5,688,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 6,775,316 shares of the companys stock, valued at $770,759,948.16. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, Director Daniel J. Starks sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.76, for a total value of $5,688,000.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 6,775,316 shares in the company, valued at $770,759,948.16. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 10,400 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.03, for a total value of $1,092,312.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 65,027 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,829,785.81. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ABT traded up $0.24 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $95.89. 2,483,918 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,870,099. The firm has a market capitalization of $166.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.63, a P/E/G ratio of 4.28 and a beta of 0.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a current ratio of 1.64. Abbott Laboratories has a 52 week low of $93.25 and a 52 week high of $115.83. The stocks fifty day simple moving average is $103.05 and its 200 day simple moving average is $105.03.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT  Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 20th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.08 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.05 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $9.98 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.71 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 20.50% and a net margin of 12.83%. The businesss quarterly revenue was down 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.43 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.4 EPS for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.51 per share. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.13%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 12th. Abbott Laboratoriess dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 69.62%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on ABT shares. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an equal weight rating and set a $112.00 price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Friday, July 21st. Barclays upped their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $127.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research report on Monday, July 24th. Wolfe Research raised Abbott Laboratories from an underperform rating to a peer perform rating in a research report on Friday, July 21st. Mizuho upped their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research report on Friday, July 21st. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $130.00 to $122.00 in a research report on Monday. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $120.47.

Check Out Our Latest Analysis on ABT

Abbott Laboratories Profile

(Free Report)

Abbott Laboratories, together with its subsidiaries, discovers, develops, manufactures, and sells health care products worldwide. It operates in four segments: Established Pharmaceutical Products, Diagnostic Products, Nutritional Products, and Medical Devices. The Established Pharmaceutical Products segment provides generic pharmaceuticals for the treatment of pancreatic exocrine insufficiency, irritable bowel syndrome or biliary spasm, intrahepatic cholestasis or depressive symptoms, gynecological disorder, hormone replacement therapy, dyslipidemia, hypertension, hypothyroidism, Meniere's disease and vestibular vertigo, pain, fever, inflammation, and migraine, as well as provides anti-infective clarithromycin, influenza vaccine, and products to regulate physiological rhythm of the colon.

Further Reading

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Eldorado Gold (NYSE:EGO  Get Free Report) (TSE:ELD) was downgraded by analysts at StockNews.com from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday.

A number of other research analysts have also weighed in on EGO. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on Eldorado Gold in a report on Friday, June 9th. They issued an outperform rating and a C$17.00 price objective on the stock. CSFB cut their price objective on Eldorado Gold from $10.75 to $9.00 and set an underperform rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 17th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a sector perform rating and issued a $9.50 price objective on shares of Eldorado Gold in a report on Tuesday, August 8th. National Bank Financial raised Eldorado Gold from a sector perform rating to an outperform rating in a report on Wednesday, June 7th. Finally, TD Securities cut their price objective on Eldorado Gold from $12.00 to $11.00 and set a hold rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 31st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $12.49.

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Read Our Latest Stock Report on EGO

Eldorado Gold Stock Down 2.4 %

Eldorado Gold stock traded down $0.21 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $8.47. The companys stock had a trading volume of 1,520,741 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,553,144. The stocks 50-day simple moving average is $9.37 and its 200-day simple moving average is $10.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 3.75 and a quick ratio of 2.67. Eldorado Gold has a 52-week low of $5.28 and a 52-week high of $12.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 105.89, a PEG ratio of 0.44 and a beta of 1.24.

Eldorado Gold (NYSE:EGO  Get Free Report) (TSE:ELD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 27th. The basic materials company reported $0.09 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $0.07 by $0.02. Eldorado Gold had a return on equity of 1.67% and a net margin of 1.48%. The company had revenue of $229.86 million during the quarter. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Eldorado Gold will post 0.36 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Eldorado Gold

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. C M Bidwell & Associates Ltd. acquired a new position in Eldorado Gold during the second quarter worth $37,000. Employees Retirement System of Texas acquired a new position in Eldorado Gold during the first quarter worth $68,000. Prelude Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Eldorado Gold during the second quarter worth $78,000. LPL Financial LLC boosted its stake in Eldorado Gold by 19.5% during the second quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 12,286 shares of the basic materials companys stock worth $79,000 after buying an additional 2,008 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Eldorado Gold in the 2nd quarter valued at $80,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 58.23% of the companys stock.

Eldorado Gold Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

Eldorado Gold Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the mining, exploration, development, and sale of mineral products primarily in Turkey, Canada, Greece, and Romania. The company primarily produces gold, as well as silver, lead, and zinc. It holds a 100% interest in the Kisladag and Efemcukuru gold mines located in western Turkey; Lamaque gold mines located in Canada; and Olympias, Stratoni, Skouries, Perama Hill, and Sapes gold mines located in Greece, as well as the 80.5% interest in Certej development projects located in Romania.

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The Scottish Investment Trust PLC (LON:SCIN  Get Free Report) shares crossed below its 50-day moving average during trading on Tuesday . The stock has a 50-day moving average of GBX 895 ($10.82) and traded as low as GBX 882.07 ($10.66). The Scottish Investment Trust shares last traded at GBX 895 ($10.82), with a volume of 35,892 shares traded.

The Scottish Investment Trust Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of 592.25 million and a PE ratio of 1,570.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.72, a quick ratio of 10.04 and a current ratio of 10.35. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of GBX 895 and a 200-day moving average price of GBX 895.

About The Scottish Investment Trust

(Get Free Report)

The Scottish Investment Trust PLC is a publicly owned investment manager. The firm manages separate client-focused equity portfolios. It invests in public equity markets across the globe. It employs a fundamental analysis with a bottom-up stock picking approach. The Scottish Investment Trust PLC was founded in 1887 and is based in Edinburgh, United Kingdom.

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Vale (NYSE:VALE  Get Free Report) was upgraded by research analysts at UBS Group from a sell rating to a neutral rating in a report released on Thursday, FlyOnTheWall reports.

Other equities research analysts have also issued reports about the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Vale from $16.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research report on Thursday, September 14th. StockNews.com started coverage on Vale in a report on Friday, September 8th. They issued a buy rating for the company. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Vale from $18.00 to $17.00 in a report on Wednesday, June 21st. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Vale from a peer perform rating to an outperform rating and set a $17.00 price target for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 11th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an outperform rating and set a $15.00 price target on shares of Vale in a report on Thursday, July 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Vale presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $17.02.

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Vale Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of Vale stock traded up $0.02 on Thursday, reaching $12.78. 15,142,825 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 22,150,305. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $13.43 and a 200-day moving average price of $13.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $57.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.30 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a current ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. Vale has a fifty-two week low of $12.22 and a fifty-two week high of $19.31.

Vale (NYSE:VALE  Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 27th. The basic materials company reported $0.20 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts consensus estimates of $0.53 by ($0.33). Vale had a net margin of 27.29% and a return on equity of 28.86%. The firm had revenue of $9.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $9.82 billion. On average, analysts expect that Vale will post 2.05 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Vale

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its stake in shares of Vale by 93.2% during the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 31,188,702 shares of the basic materials companys stock worth $529,272,000 after purchasing an additional 15,047,063 shares during the period. BlackRock Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Vale by 18.7% during the 1st quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 72,165,728 shares of the basic materials companys stock worth $1,138,775,000 after purchasing an additional 11,393,498 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its stake in shares of Vale by 57.8% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 22,763,893 shares of the basic materials companys stock worth $359,214,000 after purchasing an additional 8,334,786 shares during the period. Credit Suisse AG boosted its stake in shares of Vale by 237.4% during the 2nd quarter. Credit Suisse AG now owns 9,109,799 shares of the basic materials companys stock worth $122,254,000 after purchasing an additional 6,410,009 shares during the period. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Vale by 52.3% during the 2nd quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 13,783,862 shares of the basic materials companys stock worth $184,978,000 after purchasing an additional 4,733,169 shares during the period. 16.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Vale

(Get Free Report)

Vale SA, together with its subsidiaries, produces and sells iron ore and iron ore pellets for use as raw materials in steelmaking in Brazil and internationally. The company operates through Iron Solutions and Energy Transition Materials segments. The Iron Solutions segment produces and extracts iron ore and pellets, manganese, and other ferrous products; and provides related logistic services.

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Valtinson Bruner Financial Planning LLC cut its holdings in shares of Medtronic plc (NYSE:MDT  Free Report) by 1.8% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 23,011 shares of the medical technology companys stock after selling 421 shares during the quarter. Valtinson Bruner Financial Planning LLCs holdings in Medtronic were worth $2,027,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of MDT. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in Medtronic by 0.3% during the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 29,945,349 shares of the medical technology companys stock valued at $2,414,194,000 after acquiring an additional 88,302 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in Medtronic by 1.6% in the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 20,349,983 shares of the medical technology companys stock valued at $1,640,616,000 after purchasing an additional 327,737 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in Medtronic by 2.7% in the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 20,120,071 shares of the medical technology companys stock valued at $1,622,080,000 after purchasing an additional 534,722 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in Medtronic by 6.0% in the 1st quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 19,990,359 shares of the medical technology companys stock valued at $1,611,623,000 after purchasing an additional 1,124,808 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG raised its position in Medtronic by 14.9% in the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 16,599,068 shares of the medical technology companys stock valued at $1,290,080,000 after purchasing an additional 2,157,370 shares in the last quarter. 80.75% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Medtronic Stock Performance

Shares of MDT stock traded down $0.54 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $75.73. The company had a trading volume of 2,147,249 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,672,315. The companys 50 day simple moving average is $81.95 and its 200 day simple moving average is $84.32. Medtronic plc has a 52-week low of $75.50 and a 52-week high of $92.02. The stock has a market cap of $100.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.14, a PEG ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 2.42 and a quick ratio of 1.79.

Medtronic Announces Dividend

Medtronic ( NYSE:MDT Get Free Report ) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, August 22nd. The medical technology company reported $1.20 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.11 by $0.09. Medtronic had a return on equity of 13.81% and a net margin of 11.47%. The company had revenue of $7.70 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.57 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.13 EPS. The companys revenue was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Medtronic plc will post 5.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 22nd will be paid a $0.69 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 21st. This represents a $2.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.64%. Medtronics dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 101.85%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have issued reports on MDT. Oppenheimer reaffirmed a market perform rating and issued a $89.00 price target on shares of Medtronic in a research report on Wednesday, August 23rd. Mizuho raised their target price on Medtronic from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 23rd. CL King began coverage on Medtronic in a research report on Friday, June 30th. They set a buy rating and a $106.00 target price on the stock. StockNews.com lowered Medtronic from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research report on Thursday, September 7th. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on Medtronic from $79.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock a sell rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Medtronic currently has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $91.67.

Get Our Latest Research Report on MDT

Insider Activity at Medtronic

In related news, EVP Michael Marinaro sold 1,352 shares of the companys stock in a transaction on Friday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.11, for a total transaction of $113,716.72. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 28,930 shares of the companys stock, valued at $2,433,302.30. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Gregory L. Smith sold 10,000 shares of the companys stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.84, for a total transaction of $838,400.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 46,723 shares of the companys stock, valued at $3,917,256.32. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Michael Marinaro sold 1,352 shares of the companys stock in a transaction on Friday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.11, for a total value of $113,716.72. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 28,930 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,433,302.30. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 19,866 shares of company stock worth $1,688,839 over the last three months. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Medtronic Profile

(Free Report)

Medtronic plc develops, manufactures, and sells device-based medical therapies to healthcare systems, physicians, clinicians, and patients worldwide. Its Cardiovascular Portfolio segment offers implantable cardiac pacemakers, cardioverter defibrillators, and cardiac resynchronization therapy devices; cardiac ablation products; insertable cardiac monitor systems; TYRX products; and remote monitoring and patient-centered software.

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Want to see what other hedge funds are holding MDT? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Medtronic plc (NYSE:MDT  Free Report).

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Whitecap Resources Inc. (OTCMKTS:SPGYF  Get Free Report) passed below its 50 day moving average during trading on Tuesday . The stock has a 50 day moving average of $8.27 and traded as low as $8.00. Whitecap Resources shares last traded at $8.05, with a volume of 25,085 shares.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently issued reports on SPGYF. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Whitecap Resources from C$14.00 to C$13.00 in a research note on Friday, June 30th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Whitecap Resources from C$13.00 to C$14.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 27th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on shares of Whitecap Resources from C$14.00 to C$13.00 in a research report on Friday, July 14th.

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Whitecap Resources Trading Up 1.2 %

Whitecap Resources Cuts Dividend

The companys 50-day moving average price is $8.27 and its 200 day moving average price is $7.73.

The business also recently announced a dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 29th will be given a $0.0357 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 28th. This represents a yield of 4.97%. Whitecap Resourcess payout ratio is currently 47.33%.

About Whitecap Resources

(Get Free Report)

Whitecap Resources Inc, an oil and gas company, focuses on the acquisition, development, and production of oil and gas assets in Western Canada. The company's primary areas of focus of its development programs are in Northern Alberta and British Columbia, Central Alberta, and Saskatchewan. Whitecap Resources Inc was founded in 2009 and is headquartered in Calgary, Canada.

Further Reading

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Rescuers have completed work at the site of a missile strike in the village of Hroza, Kupiansk district, Kharkiv region.

"The work has been completed. Some 51 people were killed, six were injured," the press service of the State Emergency Service in Kharkiv region said.

As reported, on October 5, at about 13:25, Russian occupation forces launched a strike (presumably with an Iskander-M missile) on a cafe-shop in the Hroza village, Kupiansk district of the region. At the time of the attack, a wake was taking place in the cafe.

According to Head of Kharkov Regional Military Administration Oleh Synehubov, October 6 to 8 in Kharkiv region have been declared days of mourning for the victims.
Workspace Group Plc (LON:WKP  Get Free Report) crossed below its 200-day moving average during trading on Monday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of GBX 484.80 ($5.86) and traded as low as GBX 481.20 ($5.82). Workspace Group shares last traded at GBX 482.80 ($5.84), with a volume of 382,288 shares.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a buy rating and set a GBX 834 ($10.08) price target on shares of Workspace Group in a report on Wednesday, June 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated an overweight rating on shares of Workspace Group in a report on Thursday, July 20th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat, Workspace Group currently has an average rating of Buy and an average price target of GBX 640.67 ($7.74).

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Workspace Group Stock Up 0.3 %

Workspace Group Company Profile

The business has a fifty day moving average of GBX 495.49 and a 200 day moving average of GBX 484.88. The company has a market capitalization of 885.04 million, a PE ratio of -2,317.00, a PEG ratio of 2.02 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a current ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 0.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 52.78.

(Get Free Report)

Workspace is London's leading owner and operator of flexible workspace, managing five million sq. ft. of sustainable space with 76 core locations in London and the South East. We are home to some 4,000 of London's fastest growing and established brands from a diverse range of sectors. Our purpose, to give businesses the freedom to grow, is based on the belief that in the right space, teams can achieve more.

Further Reading

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ZTE Co. (OTCMKTS:ZTCOY  Get Free Report) crossed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Tuesday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $4.04 and traded as high as $4.08. ZTE shares last traded at $4.04, with a volume of 4,800 shares.

ZTE Trading Up 6.3 %

The businesss 50 day moving average price is $4.04 and its 200-day moving average price is $4.04. The company has a market cap of $9.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.60 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a current ratio of 1.63, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56.

ZTE Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

ZTE Corporation provides integrated communication information solutions in the People's Republic of China, rest of Asia, Africa, Europe, the United States, and Oceania. It operates through three segments: Carriers' Networks, Government and Corporate Business, and Consumer Business. The Carriers' Network segment provides wireless access, wireline access, bearer systems, core networks, telecommunication software systems and services, and other technologies and product solutions for meeting carries' requirements.

Further Reading

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Adrija Chatterjee is an Assistant Editor at Moneycontrol. She has been tracking and reporting on finance and trade ministries for over eight years.
Borrell: With bloody attack at civilians in Hroza village, Russian atrocities brought to another grim level, there will be no impunity for war crimes

High Representative of the European Union for Foreign and Security Policy Josep Borrell condemned the Russian attack on the village of Hroza (Kupiansk district, Kharkiv region), noting that Russia once again proves its reluctance to stop terror against the Ukrainian people.

"Intentional attacks against civilians are war crimes. With the bloody attack at civilians in Hroza/Kupiansk, Russian atrocities are brought to yet another grim level. Russia proves again it has no intention to let up in its terror against Ukrainian people," he said on X (Twitter).

Borrell also indicated in his statement, that today there was yet another heinous attack against innocent civilians, in addition to Russias continued daily indiscriminate attacks near the frontlines  just earlier today Russia attacked a hospital in Beryslav, Kherson region.

"Intentional attacks against civilians are war crimes. Russias leadership, all commanders, perpetrators and accomplices of these atrocities will be held to account. There will be no impunity for war crimes," he said.
Rupak De is the Senior Research Analyst at LKP Securities. He is a CFA (ICFAI) and has total experience of more than 10 years in the analysis of equity and commodities.
The market rebounded smartly after couple of days of correction and climbed back above the 19,500 mark on October 5, with formation of bullish candlestick pattern on the Nifty on the daily charts. If the index sustains this uptrend in coming session then it may face hurdle at 19,600-19,700 levels, whereas on the lower side 19,400-19,350 can be key support, experts said.

The positive signals from PMI data, and fall in oil prices seem to have boosted sentiment, while in terms of sectors, banking & financial services and technology stocks supported the market.

The benchmark indices had a gap up opening, with the BSE Sensex rising 406 points at 65,632, and the Nifty50 climbing 110 points to 19,546, ahead of the outcome of Monetary Policy Committee scheduled on October 6.

"The opening downside gap of Wednesday and the opening upside gap of Thursday are unfilled, which is indicating a formation of bullish 'island reversal' type pattern as per hourly/daily timeframe chart. This is positive indication for the short term and it opens potential upside pattern target of 19726 levels for the short term," said Nagaraj Shetti, Technical Research Analyst at HDFC Securities.

The broader negative chart pattern like lower tops and bottoms is intact as per daily timeframe chart and further upside from here could open chances of new lower top formation, he feels.

"The display of further strength in current upside bounce could possibly pull Nifty towards 19,726 levels. Any failure to sustain the highs is expected to trigger fresh weakness from the lower highs," Nagaraj said.

On the broader markets front, the Nifty Midcap 100 index was flat and the Nifty Smallcap 100 index rose 0.6 percent amid positive breadth. The volatility cooled down considerably with the India VIX declining 5.94 percent to 10.94 levels.

We have collated 15 data points to help you spot profitable trades:

Note: The open interest (OI) and volume data of stocks are the aggregates of three-month data and not just the current month.

Key support and resistance levels on Nifty

The pivot point calculator indicates that the Nifty may be taking support at 19,502, followed by 19,481 and 19,447. On the higher side, 19,571 can be an immediate resistance, followed by 19,592 and 19,626.

Nifty Bank

On October 5, the Bank Nifty also remained strong throughout session after positive opening, and closed with 249 points gains at 44,213, forming small bodied bullish candlestick pattern with long upper shadow & minor lower shadow on the daily charts.

Overall, the index bulls displayed resilience before the RBI policy announcement by maintaining support in the 44,000-43,800 range. "Immediate resistance on the upside lies at the 44,400-44,500 zone. A breakthrough here could trigger short-covering, potentially driving the index towards the 45,000 mark, which currently has the highest open interest on the Call side," said Kunal Shah, senior technical & derivative analyst at LKP Securities.

The RBI policy decision may influence the near-term direction of the index, he feels.

As per the pivot point calculator, the banking index is expected to take support at 44,130, followed by 44,063 and 43,954. On the upside, the initial resistance is at 44,346, then at 44,413 and at 44,521.

Call options data

The weekly options data suggested that the maximum Call open interest (OI) remained at 19,600 strike with 2.02 crore contracts, which can act as a key resistance for the Nifty. It was followed by the 19,700 strike, which had 1.67 crore contracts, while 19,800 strike had 96.36 lakh contracts.

Meaningful Call writing was seen at 19,600 strike, which added 65.75 lakh contracts followed by 19,700 and 20,500 strikes, which added 61.46 lakh and 16.6 lakh contracts.

The maximum Call unwinding was at 19,500 strike, which shed 65.94 lakh contracts followed by 19,400 strike and 20,200 strike, which shed 48.22 lakh contracts and 20.57 lakh contracts.

Put option data

On the Put side, the maximum open interest was at 19,500 strike with 1.77 crore contracts. This can be an important support for the Nifty in the coming sessions.

It was followed by 19,400 strike, comprising 1.09 crore contracts and 19,300 strike with 91.47 lakh contracts.

The meaningful Put writing was at 19,500 strike, which added 1.4 crore contracts, followed by 19,600 strike and 19,000 strike, which added 48.01 lakh and 23.2 lakh contracts.

Put unwinding was at 18,800 strike, which shed 29.92 lakh contracts, followed by 19,200 strike and 19,300 strike, which shed 24.93 lakh and 12.48 lakh contracts.

Stocks with high delivery percentage

A high delivery percentage suggests that investors are showing interest in the stock. Bharti Airtel, Torrent Pharma, HDFC Bank, Shriram Finance, and Britannia Industries saw the highest delivery among the F&O stocks.

49 stocks see a long build-up

A long build-up was seen in 49 stocks namely, Coromandel International, Max Financial Services, Sun TV Network, Larurus Labs, and Balkrishna Industries. An increase in open interest (OI) and price indicates a build-up of long positions.

30 stocks see long unwinding

Based on the OI percentage, a total of 30 stocks, including Mahanagar Gas, Federal Bank, Manappuram Finance, Sun Pharma, and Nestle India saw a long unwinding. A decline in OI and price indicates long unwinding.

54 stocks see a short build-up

A short build-up was seen in 54 stocks, including Oberoi Realty, Dalmia Bharat, Marico, Dixon Technologies, and Oracle Financial. An increase in OI along with a fall in price points to a build-up of short positions.

53 stocks see short-covering

Based on the OI percentage, 53 stocks were on the short-covering list. These included MCX India, Hindustan Unilever, UltraTech Cement, Eicher Motors, and Bajaj Finance. A decrease in OI along with a price increase is an indication of short-covering.

Bulk deals

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Investors meeting on October 6

Aegis Logistics: Company's officials will be meeting analysts and institutional investors.

Stocks in the news

Valiant Laboratories: The pharma company is set to debut on the bourses on October 6. The issue price is Rs 140 per share. The date of allotment is October 4.

Tata Motors: Wholesale volumes were at 96,817 cars (excluding the Chery Jaguar Land Rover China JV), up 29 percent from the year-ago quarter, and 4 percent higher from the April-June period, notwithstanding the annual two-week summer plant shutdown. Wholesale volumes for the first half of the financial year were 190,070, up 29 percent from the year-ago period.

Sun Pharma: The company has decided to acquire a 37.76 percent stake in Ezerx Health Tech Private Limited which is engaged in production, marketing and distribution of non-invasive diagnostic and ancillary medical device. The acquisition will cost about Rs 29 crore.

KPI Green: The company has received new orders aggregating to 12.10 MW for executing solar power projects, out of which 3.10 MW capacity undertaken by KPI Green Energy Limited and 9 MW capacity by M/s. Sun Drops Energia Private Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of the company under Captive Power Producer (CPP) segment of the company. It did not specify the monetary value of the order.

BHEL: Bharat Heavy Electricals said it has received two awards in arbitration proceedings against Jaiprakash Power Ventures Limited in two separate cases.

Som Distilleries: The company said its board has authorised the opening of its fund raise and approved the floor price of Rs 349.24 for the issue.

Lupin: The pharma major has received tentative approval from the United States Food and Drug Administration (US FDA) for Tolvaptan Tablets, 15 mg, 30 mg, 45 mg, 60 mg, and 90 mg to market a generic equivalent of Jynarque Tablets, 15 mg, 30 mg, 45 mg, 60 mg, and 90 mg, of Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. This product will be manufactured at Lupins Nagpur facility in India. Tolvaptan Tablets (RLD Jynarque) had estimated annual sales of $287 million in the US.

Fund Flow (Rs Crore)

FII and DII data

Foreign institutional investors (FII) offloaded shares worth Rs 1,864.20 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DII) purchased Rs 521.41 crore worth of stocks on October 5, provisional data from the National Stock Exchange (NSE) showed.

Stocks under F&O ban on NSE

The NSE has added Punjab National Bank to its F&O ban list for October 6, while retaining Indiabulls Housing Finance, Delta Corp, and Manappuram Finance to the said list. Securities banned under the F&O segment include companies where derivative contracts cross 95 percent of the market-wide position limit.

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.
Mehul R Thakkar is Special Correspondent, Moneycontrol, Indias leading financial news platform, based in Mumbai where he is focussed on covering the real estate sector.
Von der Leyen is confident in US support for Ukraine

President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen is confident in the support of Ukraine from the United States.

"I am very confident in support for Ukraine from the United States," she told reporters in Granada, Spain, on Thursday before the European Political Community summit.

"It was very important that President Biden briefed us earlier this week on what the United States support for Ukraine was all about," she said.

Von der Leyen said in the European Union they are working on a package of EUR 50 billion for Ukraine for 2024-2027. She said this is essential because "Ukraine needs predictability, reliability in the direct budget support."

"This is a powerful signal to Putin from Dublin to Chisinau that we will not tolerate aggression against a sovereign state," the EC President said.
Shubham Raj has six years of experience covering capital markets. He primarily writes on stocks with special focus on F&O and PMS-AIF industry.
Santosh Nair is Executive Editor, Special Projects, Moneycontrol. He has been writing on the financial markets for over two decades, having previously worked with Business Standard, myiris.com, Crisil Market Wire and The Economic Times. He is also the author of the popular book on Indian markets, Bulls, Bears and Other Beasts.
Interfax-Ukraine to host discussion 'Western demands for reforms in Ukraine and real needs of our society for them'

On Monday, October 9, at 12.00, the press center of the Interfax-Ukraine News Agency will host a discussion titled "Western demands for reforms in Ukraine and real needs of our society for them."

Participants include

political expert Kostiantyn Matviyenko;

PhD in Political Sciences, professor Hanna Malkina;

political scientist, co-founder of the National Platform for Sustainability and Cohesion Oleh Sahakian (8/5a Reitarska Street).

The event will be streamed on the Interfax-Ukraine YouTube channel.

Admission of journalists requires registration on the spot using editorial IDs.
Sandeep Hasurkar is an ex-investment banker and author of `Never Too Big To Fail: The Collapse of IL&FS. Views are personal, and do not represent the stand of this publication.
Registration is open for the Data Workshop, the second event in this project spotlighting one of today's hottest topics  databases. Proudly developed by Kapital Bank, Azerbaijan's first bank, in partnership with SUP.VC. Throughout the two-day event, local and international experts will lead workshop on four diverse topics within the realm of highly stable databases. Workshop participants will delve into real-world business challenges, engage in thoughtful discussions, analyze their objectives, and present innovative solutions.

On the events inaugural day, October 16, an expert and the founder of Infortius Bilisim consulting company Ozer Gunal ll take the stage. With extensive international experience in managing big data across diverse sectors such as banking, insurance, healthcare, and e-commerce, including notable work at Garanti BBVA, he brings a wealth of knowledge to share.

At the event, the cutting-edge innovations in the realm of data technology will be explored, featuring insights from Tural Hamzaev, the head of Data Technologies Expert Center of Data Management Department at Kapital Bank. Tural Hamzaevs journey in the technology sector commenced at an innovative startup in Russia's Skolkovo silicon valley. He has contributed to teams in multiple prominent companies in Azerbaijan and led numerous transformative projects at IBM. Additionally, he has provided consultations to renowned companies including PASHA Bank, SberBank, UniCredit Bank, and Aeroflot.

On the events second day, October 17, attendees will have the privilege of hearing from international expert Bora Sezen, the head of Venom Analytics. With a rich background in data management, including senior positions at CRM companies KOC Group and Tan, Bora Sezen brings a wealth of experience in handling big data within the retail, financial, and energy sectors. He will be sharing his insights on the topic of Managing Customer Experience Using Data Analytics with the event participants.

Renowned expert Mahir Guluzade, a compatriot boasting over 20 years of experience in the field of databases, will enlighten attendees on the intriguing topic of How to Track and Understand the Path of Data. He has made significant impacts with his presentations at international technology conferences such as Oracle Open World (USA), UKOUG Tech 2018-2019 (UK), and DOAG 2018 (Germany). Mahir Guluzade was honored with the Oracle ACE Award by Oracle in 2015, and in recognition of his exceptional contributions, he received the Taraggi (Progress) Medal from the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan in 2019. Presently, he serves as the head of a group of database administrators and a senior software engineer at the Central Bank of Azerbaijan.

To attend the event, kindly register using the following link: https://dataevents.az. Please note that the number of registrations is limited. This project offers a valuable platform for professionals engaged in database management as well as individuals keen on this field to interact and share experiences. The event promises a distinctive opportunity to delve into the realms of hosting and managing big data.

Event Venue: Holiday Inn Baku (Nasimi district, Kevkab Safaralieva Street).

Kapital Bank, the country's first bank, is part of PASHA Holding. Kapital Bank has the largest service network in Azerbaijan with 117 branches and 31 departments all over the country. For more detailed information about the Banks products and services, please refer to https://kapitalbank.az website, 196 Call Centre or the Banks various social network pages. To apply for a consumer loan visit https://kbl.az/prgtk, for a Birbank installment card visit https://kbl.az/prcrc.
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BAKU, Azerbaijan, October 5. Today, bp and the State Agency for the Protection of Strategic Facilities of the Republic of Azerbaijan signed two documents to underpin cooperation between the two entities, Trend reports.

The documents were inked during a meeting held at the bp offices between a delegation led by Major General Ilgar Abbasov, head of the State Agency for the Protection of Strategic Facilities, and Gary Jones, regional president for Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkiye, who was joined by a group of bp leadership members.

Thus, a protocol on cooperation between the State Agency for the Protection of Strategic Facilities of the Republic of Azerbaijan and bp; a document on Agreed protection rules between the State Agency for the Protection of Strategic Facilities of the Republic of Azerbaijan and BP Exploration (Caspian Sea) Limited have been signed.

During the meeting the parties also exchanged views on matters related to extensive and efficient cooperation, joint activities, as well as a range of other issues of mutual interest.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, October 5. Former 'head' of now-defunct Armenian separatist regime in Karabakh, Arayik Harutyunyan, has been brought to criminal responsibility, press services of Azerbaijan's State Security Service and the General Prosecutor's Office said in a statement, Trend reports.

"The General Prosecutor's Office and the State Security Service are taking comprehensive measures to investigate crimes against peace and humanity, war crimes, terrorism, and other crimes committed by Armenian illegal armed groups [which had been remaining until September 19, 2022 when anti-terrorist activities were conducted] on the territory of the Karabakh region of Azerbaijan," the press services noted.

"The investigation has identified reasonable suspicions that Harutyunyan, born in 1973 in Azerbaijani city of Khankendi, acting as the so-called 'president' of separatists and under other aliases, took part in conducting an aggressive war on the territory of Azerbaijan. He was involved in recruiting, training, and financing mercenaries and using them in the armed conflict and military operations. He violated the norms of international humanitarian law during the armed conflict by giving criminal orders," the statement said.

Furthermore, there were reasonable suspicions that Harutyunyan was involved in financing terrorism, forming and organizing the activities of armed groups not provided for by the legislation of Azerbaijan, equipping these formations with weapons, components, ammunition, explosives, military equipment, and gear, organizing training exercises for their use, as well as smuggling the aforementioned ammunition and weapons into the sovereign territory of Azerbaijan.

The investigative and operational activities resulted in revealing substantial suspicions that Harutyunyan committed numerous crimes for carrying out terrorist acts, including mining territories of Azerbaijan, launching missile attacks on populated areas and civilian objects in the city of Ganja and Barda district of Azerbaijan [during the 2020 second Karabakh war], which were located outside the war zone.

"These attacks resulted in the deaths of numerous civilians and caused varying degrees of bodily harm. He also organized terrorist attacks on civilian and military infrastructure and numerous other crimes," the statement said.

"On October 28, 2020, Harutyunyan was brought as a defendant under the relevant articles of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Azerbaijan; based on a court decision, a preventive measure in the form of detention was chosen against him and he was put on the international wanted list. On October 3 of this year, Harutyunyan was detained by officers of the State Security Service of Azerbaijan in Khankendi and charged under articles 100, 116, 117, 120, 214, 214-1, 214-3, 218, 279 and other articles of the Criminal Code of Azerbaijan," the statement said.

In order to ensure the provisions of the Trilateral Statement [signed by Azerbaijani, Armenian, and Russian leaders following the 2020 second Karabakh war], suppression of large-scale provocations in Azerbaijan's Karabakh economic region, disarmament, and withdrawal of Armenian armed forces formations from the territories of Azerbaijan, localized anti-terrorist activities were carried out in the region.

Taking into account the appeal of the representatives of the Armenian population of Karabakh through the Russian peacekeeping contingent [temporarily stationed in Azerbaijan under the trilateral statement], an agreement was reached on September 20, 2023, at 13:00 (GMT+4) to cease anti-terrorist activities of a local nature under the following conditions: the formations of the armed forces of Armenia, Armenian illegal armed formations located in Azerbaijan's Karabakh region, lay down their weapons, leave their combat positions and military posts, and completely disarm; the formations of the armed forces of Armenia leave the territory of Azerbaijan; Armenian illegal armed groups are dissolved.

Recently, Azerbaijan has arrested a number of former "officials" of the separatist regime, including Bako Sahakyan, Ruben Vardanyan, and others.

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BAKU, Azerbaijan, October 5. Against the background of prompt actions of the Azerbaijani side to ensure the rights and reintegration of the Armenian residents of Karabakh, the propaganda of revanchist ideas and continuation of the Azerbaijanophobia policy by some circles in Armenia raises concern, Ombudsman's Office said, Trend reports.

It was noted that such propaganda of hatred should be prevented in order to effectively ensure the rights and freedom of people and support the peace process.

In order to ensure the provisions of the Trilateral Statement, suppress large-scale provocations in Azerbaijan's Karabakh economic region, disarm and withdraw Armenian armed forces formations from the territories of Azerbaijan, neutralize their military infrastructure, ensure the safety of civilians returning to the territories liberated from occupation, civil servants involved in construction and reconstruction work, and Azerbaijani military personnel, as well as restore the constitutional order of the Republic of Azerbaijan, anti-terrorist activities of a local nature were launched in the region on September 19, 2023, which ended on September 20 at 13:00 (GMT+4).

Armenian separatists surrendered by raising the white flag. According to the terms of Azerbaijan, the formations of the armed forces of Armenia, Armenian illegal armed formations in Azerbaijan's Karabakh region lay down their weapons, leave their combat positions and military posts and completely disarm; the formations of the armed forces of Armenia leave the territory of Azerbaijan, Armenian illegal armed formations are disbanded. In parallel, all ammunition and heavy equipment are being surrendered. Coordination of these processes with the Russian peacekeeping contingent is being ensured.

Azerbaijan started practical activities for the reintegration of Armenian residents living in the Karabakh region. In this regard, Ramin Mammadov, who was appointed responsible for contacts with Armenian residents of Karabakh, met with representatives of Armenian residents in Yevlakh and Khojaly on September 21, 25 and 29, 2023.

During the meetings, the reintegration plans of the Republic of Azerbaijan were presented and discussions were held around this.

It was noted that reintegration is carried out within the territorial integrity and sovereignty of the Republic of Azerbaijan on the basis of the Constitution, law and international obligations of Azerbaijan.
And if that doesn't already have you reminiscing about afternoons spent in your nana's lounge, then we don't know what will.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, October 5. French President Emmanuel Macron, who is vigorously defending Armenia, is behaving like a member of the Armenian parliament, Rufiz Hafizoglu, head of Turkic.World media platform, said in an interview with France 24 TV channel broadcast in Arabic, Trend reports.

He noted that France has so far failed to resolve any conflict.

"Being a member of the OSCE Minsk Group, France did nothing serious to resolve the [Karabakh] conflict. Azerbaijan has solved its own problem," Hafizoglu added.

In order to ensure the provisions of the Trilateral Statement [signed by Azerbaijani, Armenian, and Russian leaders following the 2020 second Karabakh war], suppression of large-scale provocations in Azerbaijan's Karabakh economic region, disarmament, and withdrawal of Armenian armed forces formations from the territories of Azerbaijan, localized anti-terrorist activities were carried out in the region.

Taking into account the appeal of the representatives of the Armenian population of Karabakh through the Russian peacekeeping contingent [temporarily stationed in Azerbaijan under the trilateral statement], an agreement was reached on September 20, 2023, at 13:00 (GMT+4) to cease anti-terrorist activities of a local nature under the following conditions: the formations of the armed forces of Armenia, Armenian illegal armed formations located in Azerbaijan's Karabakh region, lay down their weapons, leave their combat positions and military posts, and completely disarm; the formations of the armed forces of Armenia leave the territory of Azerbaijan; Armenian illegal armed groups are dissolved.
U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) walks back to the Speaker's office after a motion to vacate the chair of Speaker of the House and end McCarthy's continued leadership passed by a vote of 216-210, at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, U.S. October 3, 2023.
Zaldy Dandan is a recipient of the Best Editorial Writer Award of the Society of Professional Journalists, and the CNMI Humanities Award for Outstanding Contributions to Journalism. His four books are available on amazon.com/.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, October 5. The 27th meeting of the Economic Cooperation Organization Council of Ministers will be held in Azerbaijan's Shusha on October 10, Trend reports.

The event will be attended by Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov and foreign ministers of the member countries of the Economic Cooperation Organization.

The Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) was founded in 1985 by Iran, Pakistan, and Turkiye.

Among the member countries are Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan.

The 26th meeting of the Council of Ministers of the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) was held in Tashkent, Uzbekistan.

The Council of Ministers (COM) is the highest policy and decision-making body of the ECO. It comprises the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the Member States who meet in regular, informal, and extraordinary sessions. The Council of Ministers may, if deemed necessary, propose the convening of meetings of other ministers in the formulation of plans and projects in their respective fields through sectoral or joint ministerial meetings.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, October 5. The European Parliament has once again demonstrated political hypocrisy by passing a non-binding resolution in support of sanctions against Azerbaijan. The resolution suggests imposing sanctions on Azerbaijan in Karabakh to neutralize terrorists and safeguard its sovereignty.

First and foremost, the adopted resolution does not carry legal weight; it is more of a recommendation.

It seems that European parliamentarians are still fulfilling their roles and striving to portray Armenian falsehoods as truth. Thus, the European Parliament once again declares that it has become a tool in the hands of the Armenian lobby. The initiators of this biased and fictitious resolution are pro-Armenian European parliamentarians tainted by corruption. European parliamentarians, funded by the Armenian lobby with dirty money, prioritize their personal interests over international laws and regulations.

They seem to forget that Azerbaijan, in accordance with international law, eradicated terrorism on its territory and created conditions for the safe coexistence of people in the region. Of course, it is clear that many individuals are concerned about this development because they are troubled by Azerbaijan's political will to cleanse the region of terrorism, ensure its territorial sovereignty, and assert the military, political, and economic strength that Azerbaijan possesses. On the other hand, their inability to exert any pressure on Azerbaijan leaves them in a desperate situation.

Every time the European Parliament adopts one resolution or another, the outcome remains the same. Finally, the European Parliament should understand that its resolutions have no power to exert pressure on Azerbaijan. Instead, they demonstrate that this group is influenced by the Armenian lobby and cannot avoid double standards.
Fukushima nuclear plant starts 2nd release of treated radioactive wastewater into the sea View Photo

TOKYO (AP)  Japans wrecked Fukushima nuclear power plant said it began releasing a second batch of treated radioactive wastewater into the sea on Thursday after the first round of discharges ended smoothly.

Plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings said workers activated pumps to dilute the treated water with large amounts of seawater, slowly sending the mixture into the ocean through an undersea tunnel for an offshore release.

The wastewater discharges, which are expected to continue for decades, have been strongly opposed by fishing groups and neighboring countries including South Korea, where hundreds of people staged protest rallies. China banned all imports of Japanese seafood, badly hurting Japanese seafood producers and exporters.

The plants first wastewater release began Aug. 24 and ended Sept. 11. During that release, TEPCO said it discharged 7,800 tons of treated water from 10 tanks. In the second discharge, TEPCO plans to release another 7,800 tons of treated water into the Pacific Ocean over 17 days.

So far, we are strictly following the procedures and everything is moving smoothly as planned, said TEPCO spokesperson Keisuke Matsuo. He pledged to safely carry out the second round of release while closely monitoring data from seawater samples taken from multiple locations off the plant.

About 1.34 million tons of radioactive wastewater is stored in about 1,000 tanks at the plant. It has accumulated since the plant was crippled by a massive earthquake and tsunami in 2011.

TEPCO and the government say discharging the water into the sea is unavoidable because the tanks will reach capacity early next year and space at the plant will be needed for its decommissioning, which is expected to take decades.

They say the water is treated to reduce radioactive materials to safe levels, and then is diluted with seawater by hundreds of times to make it much safer than international standards.

Some scientists say, however, that the continuing release of low-level radioactive materials is unprecedented and needs to be monitored closely.

Japans government has set up a relief fund to help find new markets and reduce the impact of Chinas seafood ban. Measures also include the temporary purchase, freezing and storage of seafood and promotion of seafood sales at home.

Cabinet ministers have traveled to Fukushima to sample local seafood and promote its safety.

TEPCO is tasked with providing compensation for reputational damage to the regions seafood caused by the wastewater release. It started accepting applications this week and immediately received hundreds of inquiries. Most of the damage claims are linked to Chinas seafood ban and excess supply at home causing price declines, TEPCO said.

Agriculture Minister Ichiro Miyashita promoted Japanese scallops at a food fair in Malaysia on Wednesday on the sidelines of a regional farm ministers meeting.

The International Atomic Energy Agency has reviewed the safety of the wastewater release and concluded that if carried out as planned, it would have a negligible impact on the environment, marine life and human health.

By MARI YAMAGUCHI

Associated Press
A look at Russias deadliest missile attacks on Ukraine View Photo

Since the start of its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the Russian military has repeatedly used missiles to blast civilian targets across the country, with devastating consequences.

One of the deadliest such attacks happened Thursday when President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and other top officials in Kyiv reported that a Russian rocket struck a cafe and store in the village of Hroza in eastern Ukraine, killing at least 51 civilians.

The Kremlin often claims its missiles are aimed at military assets or blames the strikes on Ukraine. A spokesman for President Vladimir Putin insists Russia does not target civilians.

A look at some of the deadliest strikes:

___

MARCH 9, 2022  An apartment building in Izium in eastern Ukraine was hit in an attack that Human Rights Watch later said killed at least 44 people. Russian forces took control of the city and surrounding area beginning in late March and occupied it for six months. At the time of the strike, HRW said the area was under the control of Ukrainian forces who were trying to keep Russian troops from entering the city.

MARCH 16, 2022  A Russian airstrike hit a theater in Mariupol, killing hundreds of civilians sheltering in the basement. Ukrainian officials initially put the death toll at 300, but an Associated Press investigation later found evidence that the attack was far deadlier and killed closer to 600 people inside and outside the building. Russia claimed the theater was demolished by Ukrainian forces or served as a Ukrainian military base.

APRIL 8, 2022  The train station in Kramatorsk in eastern Ukraine was hit by a Russian missile as passengers, mostly women and children, tried to flee the fighting. Sixty-one people were killed and 135 wounded. The remnants of a rocket were painted with the words For the children in Russian, implying that children were being avenged by the strike, though the exact reason for the wording was unclear. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said it was a deliberate attack. Russias Defense Ministry accused Ukraine of carrying out the strike.

JUNE 27, 2022  Long-range Russian bombers struck a crowded shopping mall in Ukraines central city of Kremenchuk with a supersonic missile, killing more than 20 people. About 1,000 people were inside the building. Zelenskyy called the strike one of the most daring terrorist attacks in European history. Russia said the missile was directed at a nearby weapons depot.

JULY 1, 2022  A Russian airstrike on residential areas killed at least 21 people near the Ukrainian port of Odesa, a day after the withdrawal of Russian forces from an island in the Black Sea. Zelenskyys office said warplanes fired three missiles that struck an apartment building and a campsite.

JULY 9, 2022  Russian rockets smashed into apartment buildings in eastern Ukraine, killing at least 15 people in the town of Chasiv Yar. The buildings were mostly home to people who work in nearby factories. At least six people were dug out of the rubble.

JULY 14, 2022  Kalibr cruise missiles fired from a Russian ship in the Black Sea killed at least 29 people and wounded more than 100 others in the central Ukrainian city of Vinnytsia. Zelenskyy accused Russia of deliberately targeting civilians in locations with no military value. He said the victims included a 4-year-old girl. Russia said it was attacking a Ukrainian officers residence.

SEPT. 30, 2022  Four Russian missiles targeted a convoy of cars on the outskirts of the southern city of Zaporizhzhia, killing 30 people, including children. Ukrainian officials said the missiles were launched from an S-300 anti-aircraft missile system and hit a column of vehicles sent to ferry people to safety from Russian-occupied territory.

JAN. 14, 2023  One of the deadliest attacks on civilians took place when a Russian missile hit an apartment building in the southeastern city of Dnipro, killing 45 people, including six children. Ukrainian military officials said at the time that they did not have a system that could take down the type of the supersonic missile that was used, Russias Kh-22 missiles.

APRIL 28, 2023  An apartment block far from the front lines was blasted at night by two long-range cruise missiles in the city of Uman, about 215 kilometers (134 miles) south of Kyiv. At east 21 people were killed, including three children. The Russian Defense Ministry said the missiles were aimed at places where Ukrainian military reserve units were staying before their deployment to the battlefield.

SEPT. 6, 2023  Sixteen people were killed when a missile struck a busy market in Kostiantynivka in eastern Ukraine, turning it into a fiery, blackened ruin. Zelenskyy said the strike was retribution for Ukrainian advances on the battlefield. A Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman said Ukraine fired the missile.

OCT. 5, 2023  A village cafe and store in eastern Ukraine was hit by a Russian rocket, killing at least 51 civilians in one of the deadliest attacks of the year. Zelenskyy denounced the strike in the village of Hroza as a demonstrably brutal Russian crime and a completely deliberate act of terrorism. The cafe was hosting a wake following a funeral.

By The Associated Press
Hand grenade fragments were found in the bodies of victims in Prigozhins plane crash, Putin claims

Hand grenade fragments were found in the bodies of victims in Prigozhins plane crash, Putin claims View Photo

MOSCOW (AP)  Russian President Vladimir Putin said Thursday that hand grenade fragments were found in the bodies of people who died in the Aug. 23 crash of mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhins plane.

Experts investigating the crash found no indication the private jet had suffered an external impact, he said. Prigozhin and two of his top lieutenants of the Wagner private military contractor were among the 10 people killed when the jet came down as it flew from Moscow to St. Petersburgh.

There was no way to independently verify Putins statement.

A preliminary U.S. intelligence assessment concluded that an intentional explosion caused the crash, and Western officials have pointed to a long list of Putin foes who have been assassinated. The Kremlin called allegations he was behind the crash as an absolute lie.

A Russian investigation was launched but no findings have been released. Moscow rejected an offer from Brazil, where the Embraer business jet was built, to join the inquiry.

While Putin noted the probe was still ongoing and stopped short of saying what caused the crash, his statement appeared to hint the plane was brought down by a grenade explosion.

Prigozhins aborted rebellion in June marked the most serious challenge to Putin, who has been in power for more than two decades. The crash came two months to the day after the rebellions start.

Putin also noted that while investigators havent tested the remains for alcohol and drugs, 5 kilograms (11 pounds) of cocaine was found during searches at Prigozhins office in St. Petersburg following the mutiny  an apparent attempt to denigrate the mercenary chief.

After his death, Putin described Prigozhin, 62, as a man of difficult fate who had made serious mistakes in life.

Prigozhin owed his fortune to his ties with the Russian leader dating to the early 1990s and was dubbed Putins chef for the lucrative Kremlin catering contracts.

The Wagner Group military contractor that he created has been active in Ukraine, Syria and several African countries and counted tens of thousands of troops at its peak. It played a key role in the fighting in Ukraine, where it spearheaded capture of the eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut in May after months of bloody combat.

In the June 23-24 rebellion, Prigozhin said it was intended to oust the Defense Ministrys leadership that he blamed for mistakes in pressing the fighting in Ukraine. His mercenaries took over Russias southern military headquarters in Rostov-on-Don and then rolled toward Moscow before abruptly halting the mutiny under a deal that offered them amnesty from prosecution. The mercenaries were given a choice to retire from the service, move to Belarus or sign new contracts with the Defense Ministry.

Last week, Putin met with one of Wagners top commanders to take charge of volunteer units fighting in Ukraine in a sign that the Kremlin intends to keep using the mercenaries after Prigozhins death.

Putin said Thursday that several thousand Wagner troops have signed contracts with the Defense Ministry.
Spanish charity protests Italys impounding of rescue ship for multiple rescues View Photo

MILAN (AP)  Italy has impounded the Spanish charity rescue ship Open Arms for violating rules by Italys right-wing government banning multiple rescues at sea, the charity said Thursday.

The boat is blocked from leaving the port of Carrera in Tuscany for 20 days and the charity has been levied a fine of between 3,000 and 10,000 euros ($3,200-$10,500), the charity Open Arms said.

Open Arms called the sanctions a violation of the law of the sea that requires boats to rescue people in distress. It said it was being punished for rescuing 176 people in three operations, including people of extreme vulnerability.

Italy assigned a port after the first two rescues of 69 people in international waters Saturday. Open Arms said it then received a mayday call from the Seabird aerial surveillance charity that another migrant boat was in danger, overcrowded with 109 people.

After ascertaining its ship was the only rescue boat in the area, Open Arms said, it informed authorities that the craft would head to the overcrowded vessel, which was about 20 nautical miles, or two hours sailing, away.

The charity said its captain was questioned for six hours and the boat was impounded after arriving in Carrera, the port it had been assigned.

The government made no statements about the action. Premier Giorgia Meloni is in Granada, Spain, for a summit where she is pushing her European Union partners to come up with policies to block illegal migration across the Mediterranean Sea from northern Africa.

It is the second time that the Open Arms ship has been temporarily impounded. It and two other charity rescue boats were impounded over three days in August.

Meloni has vowed to take extraordinary measures to deal with an influx of migrants. According to Interior Ministry statistics at mid-September, nearly 126,000 people had arrived in Italy so far by boat this year, compared to 66,000 in the same period of 2022.
Governor Gavin Newsom and Senator Lena Gonzalez View Photo

Sacramento, CA  Workers in California will be guaranteed at least five paid sick days as part of legislation signed by Governor Gavin Newsom on Wednesday.

Newsom argues, Too many folks are still having to choose between skipping a days pay and taking care of themselves or their family members when they get sick. Were making it known that the health and well-being of workers and their families is of the utmost importance for Californias future.

Senate Bill 616 was authored by Democratic Senator Lena Gonzalez and takes effect in January.

The legislation passed 27-9 in the Senate and 52-18 in the Assembly. The Mother Lodes representatives, Democratic Senator Marie Alvarado Gil and Assembly members Heath Flora and Jim Patterson were all opposed to the bill.

It is among several high-profile labor-related changes that were debated this past session. Newsom earlier signed legislation to increase the minimum wage for fast food workers to $20 and vetoed a proposed law that would have expanded unemployment benefits to striking workers.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, October 5. Azerbaijan is ready to hold trilateral meetings in Brussels with Armenian and the EU in the near future, Assistant to the President of Azerbaijan and the Head of the Foreign Policy Department of the Presidential Administration, Hikmet Hajiyev, said, Trend reports.

"Azerbaijan supports the tripartite Brussels process and the regional peace agenda in the format of the European Union, Azerbaijan and Armenia, facilitated by the President of the Council of the European Union, Charles Michel, and in this sense, Azerbaijan is the author of many peace initiatives, including the peace treaty. Due to France's biased actions and militarization policy that seriously undermine regional peace and stability in the South Caucasus and put at risk European Union's overall policy towards the region and regardless of Baku's insistence, not agreeing to participation of Turkiye, as a regional country, Azerbaijan has decided not to participate in Granada meeting," Hajiyev said.

"We also supported the participation of Spain as the host country in this format. In some international media resources, it is incorrect to present this as Azerbaijans refusal for talks with Armenia. Azerbaijan stands ready for tripartite meetings in Brussels soon in the format of the European Union, Azerbaijan and Armenia," he noted.

Hajiyev went on to say that at the same time, Azerbaijan supports direct and bilateral dialogue and negotiations on the process of normalization of relations between Azerbaijan and Armenia and the peace treaty talks.

"I take this opportunity to congratulate our colleagues and friends from Spain on the successful organization of the meeting of the European Political Community in Granada and thank them for their intention to contribute to the Armenia-Azerbaijan dialogue as host country," he said.

President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev has previously refused to visit Granada (Spain), where a meeting with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan was to be held with the participation of the leaders of the European Union, France, and Germany. The reasons for this are the destructive position of France as well as the differences between Paris and Berlin over Turkiye's participation in the meeting. In such circumstances, the Azerbaijani side refused to negotiate.
JERUSALEM (AP)  Israeli troops killed three Palestinian gunmen in West Bank violence on Thursday, Palestinian health officials said, in the latest deaths in a monthslong surge of violence in the occupied territory.

In video circulated on social media, a lone gunman opened fire at an Israeli car in broad daylight on a busy street in Hawara, a flashpoint town in the northern West Bank. The gunman fired at least 10 shots, pursuing the car as it tried to escape by driving over a barrier in the middle of the street.

No one in the car was injured, the army said. It said troops hunted him after the attack and shot him. The identity of the gunman, whose death was confirmed by Palestinian officials, wasnt immediately known.

Hawara has seen repeated attacks, including a deadly shooting early this year that triggered a rampage by Jewish West Bank settlers who torched Palestinian property.

Early Friday, dozens of Israeli settlers entered Hawara, and clashes erupted with Palestinian residents, the Israeli military said. Both sides threw stones at one another before troops moved in to disperse the crowds.

The army said it opened fire at a man who threw a block at an Israeli vehicle. Palestinian health officials said a 19 year old Palestinian man was shot in the chest and killed. The army said Israeli settlers also vandalized Palestinian property. No further details were immediately released.

Earlier Thursday, the Israeli military said its troops carried out a raid in the Tulkarem refugee camp. It said that soldiers came under fire and that troops shot Palestinian gunmen. Five members on the paramilitary border police unit were wounded in the clashes, it said.

Two Palestinian militants were killed by the Israeli gunfire, Palestinian health officials said. The Hamas militant group later claimed the two men as its members.

A spiral of violence has gripped the occupied territory for more than 18 months. The Israeli military has mounted near-nightly raids into Palestinian towns, often prompting deadly clashes with residents. Militancy has surged among young Palestinians who have lost hope in their leadership and in the prospect of a political resolution to the conflict.

Nearly 200 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire this year in the West Bank, according to a tally by The Associated Press  the highest death toll in years. Israel says most of those killed have been militants, but stone-throwing youths protesting incursions as well as innocent bystanders have also been killed.

Palestinian attacks against Israelis have killed more than 30 people this year.

Israel captured the West Bank, along with east Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip, in the 1967 Mideast war. The Palestinians seek all three areas for a future independent state.
Biden administration is resuming deportation flights for Venezuelan migrants as arrivals grow View Photo

MEXICO CITY (AP)  The Biden administration will resume deporting Venezuelan migrants, the largest single group encountered at the U.S.-Mexico border last month, back to their economically troubled country as their arrivals continue to grow.

U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, speaking in Mexico City Thursday, cited the new measure as one of the strict consequences the Biden administration is pairing with the expansion of legal pathways for asylum seekers.

Our two countries are being challenged by an unprecedented level of migration throughout our hemisphere, Mayorkas said, referring to Mexico.

The repatriation flights are expected to begin shortly, said two U.S. officials, though they did not provide specific details on when the flights would begin taking off. The officials were not authorized to disclose details of the governments plan and spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity.

The resumption of deportation flights comes not long after the administration increased protected status for thousands of Venezuelans who had previously arrived to the U.S., they must have entered the country before July 31 of this year to be eligible for temporary protected status.

In making the recent expansion of protections official, President Joe Bidens administration said just this week that it had determined that extraordinary and temporary conditions continue to prevent Venezuelan nationals from returning in safety.

Mayorkas on Thursday addressed the contrast with the announcement just days later of more deportations, saying we have made a determination it is safe to return Venezuelan nationals who arrived in the United States subsequent to July 31 and do not have a legal basis to remain here.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who led a U.S. delegation to Mexico, added that we have an ironclad commitment to provide protection for those who qualify. That remains paramount in everything were doing.

The Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service criticized the move to resume deportations noting the apparent contradiction with the expansion of temporary protected status.

Returning thousands of Venezuelans to the same unimaginably dangerous conditions they just fled is a profoundly problematic policy for the worlds humanitarian leader to adopt, the organizations CEO Krish OMara Vignarajah said in a statement.

Administration officials would not discuss details about how frequently deportation flights would be going to Venezuela or describe how Venezuela agreed to accept back their citizens except to say that, like other countries around the world, the U.S. has long encouraged Venezuela to accept back its nationals. Cuba, another U.S. adversary, announced earlier this year that it would begin accepting Cuban deportees but there has only been one flight a month.

The U.S. had been returning some Venezuelans via commercial flights, but in relatively small numbers and through third countries.

In Venezuela, the government said it had reached an agreement with U.S. officials for a safe and orderly repatriation.

Venezuelan migration in recent years is a direct result of the application of unilateral coercive measures and a blockade of our economy, Venezuelas foreign ministry said via X, the platform formerly known as Twitter. It said the government would support repatriated Venezuelans.

The U.S. move is the latest effort to deal with swelling numbers of migrants as the administration comes under increasing pressure from Republicans and mayors from the presidents own party to do more to slow arrivals.

The announcement came as Blinken and other top Biden administration officials met with their counterparts in Mexico City on security issues.

Blinken discussed migration flows with Mexico Foreign Affairs Secretary Alicia Barcena, as well as foreign ministers from Panama and Colombia, Wednesday. Talks continued Thursday, including meetings by Blinken and U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland with Lopez Obrador.

Barcena said Thursday that some 10,000 migrant encounters were registered at the U.S.-Mexico border on Wednesday.

We are going to continue taking forceful actions, including continuing some efforts we already have in relation to assisted returns, coordinating the dismantling of trafficking networks and human trafficking, Barcena said.

Blinken said the U.S. government is working to support those efforts.

Were taking steps to aid the most vulnerable, those most vulnerable to organized crime, training nearly 200 Mexican immigration officials to better screen, identify and assist potential human trafficking victims, Blinken said.

The scale of this challenge demands that we redouble our efforts, that we do more to increase legal migration  more to address root causes and more to deter irregular migration humanely, Blinken said.

Lopez Obrador said Thursday during his daily news briefing that Mexico has reiterated in talks its position that there should be investment to spur development in the countries that migrants leave.

The people dont abandon their towns because they want to, but rather out of necessity, the president said. He also criticized the Biden administrations announcement Wednesday that it waived 26 federal laws in South Texas to allow border wall construction. Lopez Obrador had previously praised Biden for not building more border wall during his presidency.

In August, the U.S. Border Patrol made 181,509 arrests at the Mexican border, up 37% from July but little changed from August 2022 and well below the more than 220,000 in December, according to figures released in September.

The U.S. has tried to get Mexico and countries farther south to do more. In April, the U.S., Panama and Colombia announced a campaign to slow migration through the treacherous Darien Gap dividing Colombia and Panama. But migration through the jungle has only accelerated and is expected to approach some 500,000 people this year  the vast majority from Venezuela.

Venezuelans were stopped 25,777 times the first 17 days of September, up 63% from the same period a month earlier, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection figures released by Lopez Obrador. Those included some people admitted for scheduled asylum appointments, but the vast majority were illegal entries.

Venezuela plunged into a political, economic and humanitarian crisis over the last decade, pushing at least 7.3 million people to migrate and making food and other necessities unaffordable for those who remain.

The vast majority who fled settled in neighboring countries in Latin America, but many began coming to the United States in the last three years.

Deportation flights had been paused in part because the U.S. has few diplomatic relations with the nation.

U.S. and Mexican officials also discussed efforts aimed at combating the trafficking of the deadly synthetic opioid fentanyl.

Mexican officials continued to explain with some difficulty Lopez Obradors blanket assertion  false according to available evidence and the U.S. government  that Mexico does not produce fentanyl.

Barcena, the foreign relations secretary, said there is no contradiction, chemical precursors are not produced in Mexico. It was tacit admission that Mexican cartels import precursors, mainly from China, and process them chemically into fentanyl. But since the entire chemical process is not carried out in Mexico the government maintains that fentanyl is not produced here.

U.S. officials highlighted the recent extradition of Ovidio Guzman Lopez, a son of former Sinaloa cartel leader Joaquin El Chapo Guzman, to the U.S. on drug trafficking charges as a sign of cooperation between the two governments.

__

Balsamo and Long reported from Washington. Associated Press writers Rebecca Santana in Washington and Fabiola Sanchez in Mexico City contributed to this report.

By MARK STEVENSON, MICHAEL BALSAMO and COLLEEN LONG

Associated Press
Auto worker strike highlights disparities between temporary and permanent employees View Photo

TOLEDO, Ohio (AP)  When Rhonda Naus got a job inspecting Jeep Wranglers fresh off the assembly line, her paycheck added up to roughly half of what her co-workers were making. But with that came an expectation that her temporary status eventually would become permanent with a big jump in wages.

Six years later, shes still doing the same work as her colleagues at Stellantis and still making a lot less.

I knew I had to start at the bottom. I didnt think Id be at the bottom forever, said Naus, whos among thousands of striking United Auto Workers nationwide pushing for pay and benefit increases along with an end to multiple tiers of wages for workers across the companies.

From office workers to delivery drivers, companies have become increasingly reliant on temporary workers. Automakers have used the lower-paid workers for years to fill in for absent and vacationing full-time employees and to staff up when production increases.

Tiers for the Detroit automakers were created starting in 2007 as the UAW tried to help them out of serious financial troubles. Even so, GM and Chrysler ended up in government-funded bankruptcies.

Today, union leaders say the Detroit automakers are abusing the system to save money by treating temps like full-time workers  one major point of contention in current contract talks that has led to more than 25,000 auto workers going on strike.

Temp work has to be temporary work, said UAW President Shawn Fain weeks before the strike began. Were going to end the abuse of temps.

The union is also asking for pay raises as part of the contract talks, as well as a 32-hour week with 40 hours of pay, the restoration of traditional defined-benefit pensions for new hires and a return of cost-of-living pay raises, among other benefits.

Under contracts negotiated in 2019, temporary workers reach full-time status at GM after 19 months of continuous employment and at Ford after two years. At Stellantis, maker of Jeeps, Rams and Chryslers, they get preferential hiring but no guarantees.

In the current negotiations, GM and Stellantis have made offers to increase temporary worker starting pay from $16.67 to about $20 per hour. Ford raised its offer to $21 per hour with profit sharing and said it would make temporaries full-time workers after 90 days of continuous service.

Once temporary workers become full time, they start on a higher pay scale that eventually would reach the top assembly plant wage of $32 per hour.

Of the Detroit Three, Stellantis relies most heavily on temporary employees, who make up about 12% of its UAW workforce, or just over 5,100 employees. GM said its temporary workforce accounts for between 5-10% of its total union members while Ford is at about 3%.

Temps  also known as supplemental employees  account for about one in every five of the 5,800 unionized workers at the Stellantis plant that makes Jeeps.

You can be here 10 years and still not be full time. Thats crazy, said Logan Bohn, of Woodhaven, Michigan, who has worked at the plant in Toledo for two years.

Starting pay for Stellantis temporary workers is $15.78 per hour  less than some fast food restaurants  and caps out at $19.28 after four years.

Neither Ford nor GM would comment on Fains assertion that the companies are paying poverty wages to temps. A Stellantis spokeswoman noted that the company has said it wants an agreement that fairly rewards our workforce for their contribution to our success, without significantly disadvantaging Stellantis against our nonunion competitors.

The UAWs effort to eliminate tier wages was emboldened this summer when UPS agreed to end the system for its drivers in a new contract with the Teamsters.

Along the picket lines outside the auto plants, even workers who wouldnt directly benefit from ending the tier-wage system say its a top issue for them. Jennifer Navarre, a full-timer on the Jeep assembly line in Toledo, Ohio, said its an unfair arrangement.

We have to fight together, she said.

Its not just the wages that are unequal for temporary workers. They have less health care benefits and dont get profit sharing checks or other performance bonuses. They also must deal with unpredictable schedules and can be told to work overtime when others are allowed to go home.

Some weeks youre working six or seven days, then a few weeks later, its boom, We dont need you here or We only need you on Monday, Naus said.

Workers in Toledo say theres high turnover among temporary workers and that many left when Amazon opened a nearby distribution center and after a solar panel plant expanded its operations.

Orlando Evans, hired in by Jeep five years ago, said many temps whove stayed work second jobs with flexible hours because they never know when theyll be asked to work six days a week or none at all. He started a business driving people to the airport and around town.

The idea came on after all the times Id been sent home, he said. Evans hasnt left the temporary job with the automaker because he needs health care coverage for his three children and two step kids.

Outside of that, theres not too much more reason to stay, he said.

Courtney Torres, who has four children at home, said she lives paycheck to paycheck while working six days a week.

I just get health care and hope, she said.

The hope, she said, is that the new contract will give her and the others a direct route to full-time employment.

I want a career, I want to be some place, I want to be able to take a vacation, take my kids on vacation, she said. Honestly, if they dont give us a clear path, I dont plan on staying. Im struggling to keep up.

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Krisher reported from Detroit.

By JOHN SEEWER and TOM KRISHER

Associated Press
Scottish authorities sign an extradition order for a US fugitive who is accused of faking his death

Scottish authorities sign an extradition order for a US fugitive who is accused of faking his death View Photo

LONDON (AP)  Scottish authorities have approved the extradition of an American man accused of faking his own death to avoid a rape charge in Utah, but his return to the U.S. may be delayed by another case in Britain.

In response to a freedom of information request, the Scottish government on Thursday said an extradition order for the man local officials refer to as Nicholas Rossi had been signed on Sept. 28. It provided no further information.

U.S. authorities said that Rossi is one of several aliases the 36-year-old suspect has used and that his legal name is Nicholas Alahverdian.

Alahverdian is charged with sexually assaulting a former girlfriend in Orem, Utah, in 2008, according to the Utah County prosecutors office. He also faces multiple complaints against him in Rhode Island for alleged domestic violence.

Rossi can appeal the Scottish governments decision. His lawyer didnt immediately return a call seeking comment on what his client plans to do.

Regardless of what happens in the extradition case, police in England are seeking to interview Rossi in connection with a non-recent allegation of rape in the city of Chelmsford that was made in April 2022. If charges are filed against Rossi in that case, those proceedings would have to be wrapped up before he could be extradited.

The suspect has already fought a prolonged court battle to prevent his return to the United States since he was arrested in December 2021 at a Glasgow hospital, where he was being treated for COVID-19. Rossi, who insisted he was an Irish orphan named Arthur Knight and had never set foot on American soil, repeatedly appeared in court in a wheelchair using an oxygen mask and speaking in a British accent.

The government signed the order after Judge Norman McFadyen of Edinburgh Sheriff Court on Aug. 2 ruled that the suspect could be extradited, saying Rossi was as dishonest and deceitful as he is evasive and manipulative. The man had said he was framed by authorities who took his fingerprints while he was in a coma so they could connect him to Rossi.
SAN FRANCISCO (AP)  A $7 million settlement has been reached with the California Highway Patrol in the fatal shooting of a driver and wounding of his girlfriend during a 2020 traffic stop in Oakland, lawyers for the mans family and the survivor said Wednesday.

Erik Salgado, 23, who was driving a car that had been reported stolen, was killed and his girlfriend was wounded by officers after Salgado struck CHP vehicles in front of and behind while attempting to maneuver away from them on June 2, 2020.

John Burris, one of the plaintiffs attorneys announcing settlement of a federal court lawsuit, said in a statement that the shooting was inhumane and a reckless disregard for human life.

A March 2022 report by the Alameda County District Attorneys Office said officers fired when they believed one officer had been or was about to be struck by the car. The report said that while questions remained as to the use of force, there was a lack of evidence and independent witnesses to proceed with criminal charges.

Then-District Attorney Nancy E. OMalley said in a letter to the Highway Patrol that she agreed that the evidence did not justify criminal charges.

A telephone message seeking comment from the Highway Patrol on the settlement was not immediately returned Wednesday afternoon.

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This story was first published on October 4, 2023. It was updated on October 6, 2023, to correct that Salgados girlfriend was not pregnant when the shooting happened.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, October 5. Arayik Harutyunyan, former 'head' of the destroyed Armenian separatist group in Karabakh, who ordered the bombing of Azerbaijans Ganja three years ago, was arrested and taken to Baku, Trend reports.

The State Security Service of Azerbaijan has released footage of the detention.

The child killer Harutyunyan seemed to be very confident during the bombing of Azerbaijan's Ganja. He had a "proud" look in front of the camera and admitted that he gave the order to strike. Harutyunyan did not think that he would have to answer for his crimes. He was detained by the State Security Service of Azerbaijan in the city of Khankendi three years later.

He was charged under the articles 100, 116, 117, 120, 214, 214-1, 214-3, 218, 279 and other articles of the Criminal Code of Azerbaijan. Harutyunyan, born in 1973, a native of the Azerbaijani city of Khankendi, is suspected of participating in the aggressive war on the territory of the Republic of Azerbaijan as the so-called "president" of the separatists. He is also suspected of engaging, training and financing mercenaries, as well as their use in military conflict and military operations, violating the norms of international humanitarian law during an armed conflict, giving criminal orders during an armed conflict.

In addition, Harutyunyan is suspected of being involved in financing terrorism, forming and organizing the activities of armed formations not provided for by the legislation of the Republic of Azerbaijan, equipping these formations with weapons, components, ammunition, explosives, military supplies and equipment, organizing exercises to prepare for their use, as well as smuggling these ammunition and weapons to the sovereign territory of Azerbaijan.

Azerbaijan continues to restore justice. No crime will go unpunished, as it was said from the first day. Arayik Harutyunyan and others like him receive a well-deserved punishment.
Israeli arms quietly helped Azerbaijan retake Nagorno-Karabakh, to the dismay of regions Armenians View Photo

TEL AVIV, Israel (AP)  Israel has quietly helped fuel Azerbaijans campaign to recapture Nagorno-Karabakh, supplying powerful weapons to Azerbaijan ahead of its lightening offensive last month that brought the ethnic Armenian enclave back under its control, officials and experts say.

Just weeks before Azerbaijan launched its 24-hour assault on Sept. 19, Azerbaijani military cargo planes repeatedly flew between a southern Israeli airbase and an airfield near Nagorno-Karabakh, according to flight tracking data and Armenian diplomats, even as Western governments were urging peace talks.

The flights rattled Armenian officials in Yerevan, long wary of the strategic alliance between Israel and Azerbaijan, and shined a light on Israels national interests in the restive region south of the Caucasus Mountains.

For us, it is a major concern that Israeli weapons have been firing at our people, Arman Akopian, Armenias ambassador to Israel, told The Associated Press. In a flurry of diplomatic exchanges, Akopian said he expressed alarm to Israeli politicians and lawmakers in recent weeks over Israeli weapons shipments.

I dont see why Israel should not be in the position to express at least some concern about the fate of people being expelled from their homeland, he told AP.

Azerbaijans September blitz involving heavy artillery, rocket launchers and drones  largely supplied by Israel and Turkey, according to experts  forced Armenian separatist authorities to lay down their weapons and sit down for talks on the future of the separatist region.

The Azerbaijani offensive killed over 200 Armenians in the enclave, the vast majority of them fighters, and some 200 Azerbaijani troops, according to officials.

There are ramifications beyond the volatile enclave of 4,400 square kilometers (1,700 square miles). The fighting prompted over 100,000 people  more than 80% of the enclaves ethnic Armenian residents  to flee in the last two weeks. Azerbaijan has pledged to respect the rights of ethnic Armenians.

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has termed the exodus a direct act of an ethnic cleansing. Azerbaijans Foreign Ministry strongly rejected the accusation, saying the departures are a personal and individual decision and (have) nothing to do with forced relocation.

Israels foreign and defense ministries declined to comment on the use of Israeli weapons in Nagorno-Karabakh or on Armenian concerns about its military partnership with Azerbaijan. In July, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant visited Baku, the Azerbaijan capital, where he praised the countries military cooperation and joint fight against terrorism.

Israel has a big stake in Azerbaijan, which serves as a critical source of oil and is a staunch ally against Israels archenemy Iran. It is also a lucrative customer of sophisticated arms.

Theres no doubt about our position in support of Azerbaijans defense, said Arkady Mil-man, Israels former ambassador to Azerbaijan and current senior researcher at the Institute for National Security Studies in Tel Aviv. We have a strategic partnership to contain Iran.

Although once resource-poor Israel now has plenty of natural gas off its Mediterranean coast, Azerbaijan still supplies at least 40% of Israels oil needs, keeping cars and trucks on its roads. Israel turned to Bakus offshore deposits in the late 1990s, creating an oil pipeline through the Turkish transport hub of Ceyan that isolated Iran, which at the time capitalized on oil flowing through its pipelines from Kazakhstan to world markets.

Azerbaijan has long been suspicious of Iran, its fellow Shiite Muslim neighbor on the Caspian Sea, and chafed at its support for Armenia, which is Christian. Iran has accused Azerbaijan of hosting a base for Israeli intelligence operations against it  a claim that Azerbaijan and Israel deny.

Its clear to us that Israel has an interest in keeping a military presence in Azerbaijan, using its territory to observe Iran, Armenian diplomat Tigran Balayan said.

Few have benefited more from the two countries close relations than Israeli military contractors. Experts estimate Israel supplied Azerbaijan with nearly 70% of its arsenal between 2016 and 2020  giving Azerbaijan an edge against Armenia and boosting Israels large defense industry.

Israeli arms have played a very significant role in allowing the Azerbaijani army to reach its objectives, said Pieter Wezeman, senior researcher at the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, which tracks arms sales.

Israeli long-range missiles and exploding drones known as loitering munitions have made up for Azerbaijans small air force, Wezeman said, even at times striking deep within Armenia itself. Meanwhile, Israeli Barak-8 surface-to-air missiles have protected Azerbaijans airspace in shooting down missiles and drones, he added.

Just ahead of last months offensive, the Azerbaijani defense ministry announced the army conducted a missile test of Barak-8. Its developer, Israel Aerospace Industries, declined to comment on Azerbaijans use of its air defense system and combat drones.

But Azerbaijan has raved about the success of Israeli drones in slicing through the Armenian defenses and tipping the balance in the bloody six-week war in 2020.

Its defense minister in 2016 called a combat drone manufactured by Israels Aeronautics Group a nightmare for the Armenian army, which backed the regions separatists during Azerbaijans conflict with Nagorno-Karabakh that year.

President Ilham Aliyev in 2021  a year of deadly Azerbaijan-Armenian border clashes  was captured on camera smiling as he stroked the small Israeli suicide drone Harop during an arms showcase.

Israel has deployed similar suicide drones during deadly army raids against Palestinian militants in the occupied West Bank.

Were glad for this cooperation, it was quite supportive and quite beneficial for defense, Azerbaijanis ambassador to Israel, Mukhtar Mammadov told the AP, speaking generally about Israels support for the Azerbaijani military. Were not hiding it.

At a crucial moment in early September  as diplomats scrambled to avert an escalation  flight tracking data shows that Azerbaijani cargo planes began to stream into Ovda, a military base in southern Israel with a 3,000-meter-long airstrip, known as the only airport in Israel that handles the export of explosives.

The AP identified at least six flights operated by Azerbaijans Silk Way Airlines landing at Ovda airport between Sept. 1 and Sept. 17 from Baku, according to aviation-tracking website FlightRadar24.com. Azerbaijan launched its offensive two days later.

During those six days, the Russian-made Ilyushin Il-76 military transport lingered on Ovdas tarmac for several hours before departing for either Baku or Ganja, the countrys second-largest city, just north of Nagorno-Karabakh.

In March, an investigation by the Haaretz newspaper said it had counted 92 Azerbaijani military cargo flights to Ovda airport from 2016-2020. Sudden surges of flights coincided with upticks of fighting in Nagorno-Karabkh, it found.

During the 2020 war, we saw flights every other day and now, again, we see this intensity of flights leading up to the current conflict, said Akopian, the Armenian ambassador. It is clear to us whats happening.

Israels defense ministry declined to comment on the flights. The Azerbaijani ambassador, Mammadov, said he was aware of the reports but declined to comment.

The decision to support an autocratic government against an ethnic and religious minority has fueled a debate in Israel about the countrys permissive arms export policies. Of the top 10 arms manufactures globally, only Israel and Russia lack legal restrictions on weapons exports based on human rights concerns.

If anyone can identify with (Nagorno-Karabakh) Armenians continuing fear of ethnic cleansing it is the Jewish people, said Avidan Freedman, founder of the Israeli advocacy group Yanshoof, which seeks to stop Israeli arm sales to human rights violators. Were not interested in becoming accomplices.

By ISABEL DEBRE

Associated Press
Nearly 50 European leaders stress support for Ukraine at a summit in Spain. Zelenskyy seeks more aid

Nearly 50 European leaders stress support for Ukraine at a summit in Spain. Zelenskyy seeks more aid View Photo

GRANADA, Spain (AP)  Almost 50 European leaders used a summit in the southern Spanish city of Granada on Thursday to stress that they stand by Ukraine at a time when Western resolve appears weakened. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that beside maintaining such unity, more military aid to get through the winter was essential.

Despite the political, economic and military support, the desperate struggle to rid Ukraine territory of invading Russian forces has ground to a stalemate, and Zelenskyy insisted that it was no time for wavering in the face of Russian President Vladimir Putin. And especially now that questions about continued support are growing in the United States too.

Europe must be strong despite what happens in other places like the United States, Zelenskyy said, calling on the leaders to provide for more air defense systems, artillery shells, long-range missiles and drones.

He said that victory or defeat in Ukraine would determine the fate of all of Europe. French President Emmanuel Macron seized upon the view and insisted that even if U.S. President Joe Biden had this week reassured everyone that Washingtons commitment remained strong, it was first and foremost for Europe to act.

Even if we are lucky to have such a committed American partner, we ourselves have to be totally committed, because this is in our immediate neighborhood, Macron said.

Yet, even if the European Union promised Thursday to continue its support for Kyiv, it could never replace Washingtons contribution if funds were to dry up there, EU foreign affairs chief Josep Borrell said. Certainly we can do more. But the U.S. is something irreplaceable for the support of Ukraine.

That was a worry lingering over the third meeting of the European Political Community forum, which was formed in the wake of Russias full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 that drastically reset the continents political agenda and fundamentally undermined long-held beliefs on peace and stability on the continent.

Support from Europe has become all the more important after U.S. Congress hastily sent President Joe Biden legislation over the weekend that kept the federal government funded, but left off billions in funding for Ukraines war effort that the White House had vigorously backed.

Biden called other world powers on Tuesday to coordinate on Ukraine in a deliberate show of U.S. support at a time when the future of its aid is questioned by an important faction of Republicans who want to cut off money to Kyiv.

Everybody is looking at the situation with obviously a lot of vigilance, said Macron.

Europe too has to deal with its doubters.

Last weekends election in Slovakia, where pro-Russia candidate Robert Fico was the big winner, and Hungarys continued recalcitrance to fully back Ukraine have cast increasing shadows on Europes commitment. That counts especially for the European Union where many decisions on Ukraine need unanimity among the blocs 27 members.

In Slovakia early this week, the president refused a plan by her countrys caretaker government to send further military aid to Ukraine, saying it doesnt have the authority and parties that oppose such support are in talks to form a government following last weeks election.

The main challenge that we have that is to save unity in Europe, Zelenskyy said.

On Thursday, though, the overall mood was supportive. Like most leaders, summit host and Spanish caretaker Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez stood firmly behind Ukraine and offered Zelenskyy a new package of anti-aircraft and anti-drone systems and training for Ukrainian soldiers to use them.

Zelenskyy said after meeting with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz that Berlin is working on providing Ukraine with another Patriot air defense system to be operational within months.

After a full day of thanks, he specifically pinpointed Spain, Italy, France, Germany and Britain for commitments. Our warriors will have more artillery and long-range weapons. There will surely be more justice for Russian evil, he said in a statement.

Zelenskyy insisted that Putins attempts to divide the West would not cease.

Russia will attack by information, disinformation, by fakes, etc., he said.

Talks were held just as news came in of a Russian rocket striking a village cafe and store in eastern Ukraine, killing at least 51 civilians in one of the deadliest attacks in the war in months.

The contrast could hardly be greater when the leaders attended a royal dinner hosted by Spains King Felipe VI at Granadas famed Moorish Alhambra Palace, with its refined halls and gardens known for their fountains and decorative pools.

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Casert reported from Brussels. Associated Press writers Aritz Parra and Ciaran Giles in Madrid, Joseph Wilson in Barcelona and Llazar Semini in Tirana, Albania, contributed to this report.

By RAF CASERT and RENATA BRITO

Associated Press
Russian strike on cafe kills 51, Ukrainian officials say, as Zelenskyy seeks more Western support View Photo

HROZA, Ukraine (AP)  A Russian rocket blast turned a village cafe and store in eastern Ukraine into rubble Thursday, killing at least 51 civilians in one of the deadliest attacks in the war in months, according to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and other top officials in Kyiv.

Rescuers searched for survivors in the remains of the only cafe in the village of Hroza. Body parts were strewn across a nearby childrens playground that was severely damaged by the strike. Cellphones were collected and put in a courtyard nearby, waiting to be claimed. Occasionally, one of them rang, lighting up a shattered screen.

Around 60 people, including children, were attending a wake at the cafe when the missile hit, Ukrainian officials said.

Zelenskyy, attending a summit of about 50 European leaders in Spain to drum up support from Ukraines allies, denounced the strike as a demonstrably brutal Russian crime and a completely deliberate act of terrorism.

According to preliminary information from Kyiv, the village was hit by an Iskander missile.

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre called the strike horrifying and said it demonstrated why the United States is doing everything it can to help the brave people of Ukraine to fight for their freedom, to fight for their democracy.

Hroza, which had a population of about 500 before the war, is in the northeastern Kharkiv region and was seized by Russia early in the war before being recaptured by Ukraine in September 2022. Its only 30 kilometers (19 miles) west of Kupiansk, a key focus of the Russian military effort. Zelenskyy visited the area Tuesday to meet with troops and inspect equipment supplied by the West.

Dmytro Nechvolot told The Associated Press he was looking for his 60-year-old father, who attended the wake for a soldier from Hroza who died last year but who was reburied after being identified by DNA. Nechvolot kept walking up to his fathers red car, which was still parked nearby, while waiting for confirmation that he had been killed.

I have lost a man I looked up to, a beloved father, and an unforgettable grandfather, he said.

On Thursday, Zelenskyy was at a summit of the European Political Community in Granada, Spain, where he asked for more Western support, saying that Russian terror must be stopped.

Russia needs this and similar terrorist attacks for only one thing: to make its genocidal aggression the new norm for the whole world, he said in a statement posted on his Telegram channel. Now we are talking with European leaders, in particular, about strengthening our air defense, strengthening our soldiers, giving our country protection from terror. And we will respond to the terrorists.

The key for us, especially before winter, is to strengthen air defense, and there is already a basis for new agreements with partners, he told the group, which was formed in the wake of Russias full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

Heeding Zelenskyys cry, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said Germany will supply Ukraine with another Patriot missile air defense system. He expects Russia will again target crucial infrastructure and cities across Ukraine in the winter months.

This is what is now needed the most, Scholz said after meeting Zelenskyy, according to the German news agency dpa.

Last winter, Russia targeted Ukraines energy system and other vital infrastructure in a steady barrage of missile and drone attacks, triggering continuous power outages across the country. Ukraines power system has shown a high degree of resilience and flexibility, but there have been concerns that Russia will again ramp up its strikes on power facilities as winter draws near.

Zelenskyy noted that the Granada summit will also focus on joint work for global food security and protection of freedom of navigation in the Black Sea, where the Russian military has targeted Ukrainian ports after Moscows withdrawal from a U.N.-sponsored grain deal designed to ensure safe grain exports from the invaded countrys ports.

The U.K. Foreign Office cited intelligence suggesting that Russia may lay sea mines in the approaches to Ukrainian ports to target civilian shipping and blame it on Ukraine.

Russia almost certainly wants to avoid openly sinking civilian ships, instead falsely laying blame on Ukraine for any attacks against civilian vessels in the Black Sea, it said, adding that the U.K. was working with Ukraine to help improve the safety of shipping.

Speaking in Granada, Zelenskyy emphasized the need to preserve European unity in the face of Russian disinformation and to remain strong amid what he described as a political storm in the United States.

Asked if he was worried that support for Ukraine could falter in the U.S. Congress, the Ukrainian president stressed that his visit to Washington last month made him confident of strong backing by both the Biden administration and Congress.

Zelenskyy called for more air defense systems, more artillery weapons and shells, and more long-range missiles and drones for Ukrainian soldiers, as well as other forms of support and security guarantees to help protect Europe from potential aggression by Moscow.

Earlier Thursday, Russia targeted Ukraines southern regions with drones. Ukraines air force said the countrys air defenses intercepted 24 out of 29 Iranian-made drones that Russia launched at the Odesa, Mykolaiv and Kirovohrad regions.

Andriy Raykovych, head of the Kirovohrad regional administration, said an infrastructure facility in the region was struck and emergency services were deployed to extinguish a fire, but there were no casualties.

In other Russian attacks in the past day, two civilians were killed by shelling in the southern city of Kherson and one died after a strike on the city of Krasnohorivka in the eastern Donetsk region. At least eight people were wounded, according to Ukraines presidential office.

A Russian strike on a hospital in the city of Beryslav in the Kherson region ravaged the building and wounded two medical workers, according to the regional administration chief, Oleksandr Prokudin.

Ukraine, in turn, has struck back at Russia with regular drone attacks across the border.

In Russias Kursk region that borders Ukraine, Gov. Roman Starovoit said Ukrainian drone attacks resulted in power cuts in several areas. He also said Ukrainian forces fired artillery at the border town of Rylsk, wounding a resident and damaging several houses.

___

Associated Press writers Dasha Litvinova and Yuras Karmanau in Tallinn, Estonia, Emma Burrows in London and Seung Min Kim in Washington contributed.

By HANNA ARHIROVA

Associated Press
U.S ambassador to Libya says deadly floods have spurred efforts to unify the north African country

CAIRO (AP)  The U.S. Ambassador to Libya said Thursday that the deadly floods that devastated a Libyan coastal city last month have spurred new efforts to unify the oil rich country.

During an online news conference, Richard Norland insisted that the tragedy, which killed thousands of people in the eastern city of Derna, has added urgency to unify the countrys institutions following a decade of conflict and division.

I believe the stage is actually set for development of an agreed, credible roadmap to elections, he said.

Devastating rainfall and floods, triggered by Mediterranean Storm Danial, hit parts of eastern Libya in September. The water overwhelmed two aging dams outside Derna on Sep. 11, causing massive flooding that washed away residential buildings to the sea and left as much as one-third of Dernas housing and infrastructure damaged, according to the U.N.s Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.

Government officials and aid agencies have given estimated death tolls ranging from more than 4,000 to over 11,000.

The disaster has brought some rare unity to oil-rich Libya, which has been divided between rival administrations since 2014. Both are backed by international patrons and armed militias whose influence in the country has ballooned since a NATO-backed Arab Spring uprising toppled autocratic ruler Moammar Gadhafi in 2011.

To make elections possible, Norland said both governments must agree on a series of electoral laws and the formation of caretaker government that would oversee the vote.

The ambassador said he and Gen. Michael E. Langley, the top U.S. commander for Africa, held several meetings with Libyas leading political figures in the wake of Septembers floods, including with Gen. Khalifa Hiftar, head of the self-styled Libyan National Army. Hiftar and his powerful force is allied with the eastern administration, under which Derna falls.

Following the disaster, many in and outside Libya called for an international investigation into possible government neglect, reflecting the deep public mistrust in state institutions. The two dams had not been maintained for decades despite repeated warnings that they were faulty.

During the news conference, the ambassador also called for the formation of a unified mechanism of the two governments to lead the reconstruction of the city. A joint mechanism was first proposed by U.N. Special Envoy for Libya Abdoulaye Bathily on Monday.

Numerous initiatives to unite Libyas rival governments have failed.

A previous U.N.-brokered process installed an interim government  with Dbeibah at its head  in early 2021 with the aim of guiding the country to elections later that year. The elections were never held following disagreements over several key issues, including the eligibility for presidential candidacy.

By JACK JEFFERY

The Associated Press
MERIDEN  The citys Health and Human Services Department is hosting Hartford HealthCares Neighborhood Health Initiative Oct. 26 to provide a variety of screenings and immunization at no out-of-pocket cost. The Health Fair runs from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at 165 Miller St. The clinic at the same time as a visit from the Connecticut Food Share Mobile Pantry.

We realize that there are many vaccine-preventable infectious diseases out there, said Lea Crown, health and human services director. We encourage people to be up to date on their immunizations.

What is Neighborhood Health?

Senior Program Manager of Neighborhood Health, Melinda Lodge, explained that Hartford HealthCare held mass COVID-19 testing and vaccination events throughout the pandemic, including an ongoing partnership with the Spanish Community of Wallingford

However, Lodge said that they recognized they were still missing pockets of our community who had additional barriers to accessing healthcare. They launched the mobile unit to address the gaps by hosting clinics for screenings and immunizations at local organizations that are trusted and conveniently located.

Neighborhood Health currently serves the counties of New Haven, Hartford and Fairfield. They are often deployed to trusted community locations with high-foot traffic, such as soup kitchens, schools, congregate housing facilities and faith-based organizations.

Were providing affordable, accessible and equitable healthcare and its so important to provide that within these community locations because these are locations that folks trust, Lodge said. A lot [of people] may have barriers, such as lack of trust of healthcare professionals or if they have barriers with transportation they may not be able to get to a typical healthcare facility. So, embedding ourselves within these trusted community locations where its accessible is so important.

What are the services?

Neighborhood Health offers services through their CareVans clinics and Health Fairs.

Lodge explained that CareVans clinics can provide a variety of urgent and preventative care, such as addressing colds, stomachaches and minor burns. They also provide medical screenings and lab tests, like blood pressure, blood sugar, urinalysis, A1C, cholesterol and hemoglobin. In regard to vaccines, CareVans can provide tetanus, pneumonia, shingles, hepatitis B, meningitis, gardasil, polio, fly, measles, mumps, rubella and COVID-19 vaccines.

Staff on CareVans can also help provide referrals to social services and set up follow up care. CareVan clinics are typically set up inside the organization its partnering with.

Health Fairs are more specialized, offering limited screenings and immunizations at higher volumes, Lodge said. She explained that health fairs typically attract a larger number of visitors, so they focus on the highest need of the community.

Who runs the clinics?

Lodge said that the two CareVan clinics and Health Fairs are staffed by an advanced practitioner, a registered nurse, a medical assistant, care manager, two registration associates and a public safety officer.

What is happening in Meriden?

The Meriden Neighborhood Health Fair runs from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 26 at the citys Health and Human Services Department, 165 Miller St. The clinic will be located on the second floor in the Teen Conference Room, Crown said.

Screenings available include blood pressure and glucose. Immunizations available include tetanus, pneumonia, shingles, hepatitis B, meningitis, gardasil, polio and MMR. Vaccines and screenings are only available to patients 18 years or older.

The Meriden Health Fair coincides with the Connecticut Food Share Mobile Pantry that parks every other Thursday right outside the health department. So, the dominoes aligned for the CareVans first visit to Meriden Health Department, Crown said.

Crown estimates that the mobile food pantry services 150 residents with each visit, so the Health Fair provides an opportunity for those patrons to get vaccinated and is prime time to reach a key population.

Adults fell behind on their vaccines, especially during the COVID pandemic when a lot of healthcare providers were not providing services in-person and many went remote, Crown said. This is a great opportunity for people to come and get caught up on their vaccines.

How much do services cost?

Lodge said theres no out-of-pocket cost to receive services through Neighborhood Health. According to its website, they accept many kinds of insurance and clients without insurance will not be charged.

Our mission is to make sure that we are providing these services equitably to anyone regardless of if they have insurance, regardless of their socioeconomic status, their education, or ability to pay. Whatever their different barriers might be, we want to make sure that were overcoming those to provide them with the services they deserve, Lodge said.

What about flu shots?

Crown said they are already seeing many cases of influenza, also known as the flu, throughout the city. To curb this, the Meriden Health and Human Services Department is hosting five evening flu vaccine clinics through the end of the year.

The clinic is only accepting appointments and runs from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. on Oct. 10 and 24, Nov. 7 and 21 and Dec. 27. They will have vaccines for both children and adults.

Crown said they accept medical insurance, such as Medicare, Medicaid, Aetna, Connecticare and Cigna. Theres a $20 co-pay for residents without insurance and children are vaccinated for free. Residents can call the Health Department clinic to make an appointment.

To learn more about Neighborhood Health and the locations of other clinics, click here: https://hartfordhealthcare.org/health-wellness/neighborhood-health

Reporter Cris Villalonga-Vivoni is a corps member with Report for America, a national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms. Support RFA reporters at the Record-Journal through a donation at https://bit.ly/3Pdb0re. To learn more about RFA, visit www.reportforamerica.org.
A key advocate at the center of efforts to pass legislation that would allow terminally ill patients to take a lethal dose of medication is crisscrossing the state on foot with a goal of trekking 300 miles to raise awareness for the cause.

Tim Appleton is the senior campaign director for the Compassion and Choices Action Network, which advocates for the so-called aid in dying legislation. By Thursday morning, he had walked about 90 miles, as far east as Willington and as far south as New London.

Donning a bright yellow vest with the phrase ASK ME ABOUT AID IN DYING scrawled across the back, Appleton pauses occasionally to talk to residents about the push to pass the bill. He stops at diners and coffee shops along his route, hosting discussions on the issue and promoting the talks on social media.

I started doing a lot of walking back in March, and by May or June I looked at my phone and I realized Id walked like 400 miles, he said in an interview. And then it connected in my mind  Hey, [U.S. Sen.] Chris Murphy does something like that. I thought, well, I wonder if I could do this for aid in dying.

Appleton walks six days a week, rain or shine. At the beginning of last week, during the first day of his journey, he covered over 10 miles in the rain.

Sometimes lawmakers join him. Sen. Saud Anwar, a co-chair of the public health committee and a physician, walked several miles one day last week. On another leg of the trip, Appleton was joined by a 71-year-old man whose wife had died of terminal cancer.

On Thursday, he started his day at 7 a.m. in Glastonbury and by 1 p.m. reached the state Capitol, where he fielded questions from reporters. He expected to hit 100 miles  a third of his target  by the end of the day.

Appleton said Connecticut has a broken status quo when it comes end-of-life care.

If Im terminally ill, have less than six months to live and want more options than this state allows, I have to seek that care somewhere else, he said.

Legislators including Anwar, Rep. Cristin McCarthy Vahey, D-Fairfield, co-chair of the health committee, Rep. Josh Elliott, D-Hamden, Rep. Jonathan Steinberg, D-Westport, Rep. Jason Doucette, D-Manchester and Rep. Mike Demicco, D-Farmington, gathered with Appleton Thursday in front of the Capitol to promote the effort.

We have had many years of conversations around this difficult topic, Anwar said. We have been unable to pass this bill  and one of the reasons is that not enough people are aware of this issue to the level they need to [be].  Literally, every single person in the state of Connecticut is one painful death of a loved one away from being on board. Except we dont have time to wait for everybody to have that experience.

The aid in dying bill has been raised more than a dozen times in Connecticut. In 2021, for the first time, it was voted out of the Public Health Committee. The committee advanced the measure again in 2022 and this year, but all three times, it has hit a roadblock in the Judiciary Committee. Some years, members of Judiciary have declined to vote on the bill. In 2022, they split the committee, allowing only members of one chamber to cast a vote.

Many oppose the bill.

Advocates for people with disabilities say the proposal puts vulnerable residents at great risk.

The very real likelihood of misdiagnosis, misprognosis, abuse and error is just enormous, Cathy Ludlum, head of the grassroots organization Second Thoughts Connecticut, told The Connecticut Mirror in 2022. And when a life is ended, you cant go back and say, Whoops, that was a mistake.

We in the disability community have to keep saying that we dont want to get in the way of anyones personal choice, she said. But when that choice becomes a threat to us, we have to stand up and say no.

Sen. John Kissel, an Enfield Republican, said during a debate this year that legalizing aid in dying may put pressure on some people to end their lives.

In talking about those who are in their older years, who have worked [throughout] their lives to try to hand something down to their loved ones  now theyre lying there and thinking, Im in pain. Its hard to go day to day. And every day that I live is less I get to bequeath to my spouse, to my loved one, to my children, he said. So what kind of pressure is going to be on that individual if we say as a society, Its OK to take your own life? Id say for most people, thats not a huge factor, but for some, it will be.

At least 10 states and Washington D.C. allow aid in dying, including Oregon, Washington, Vermont, California, Colorado, Hawaii, New Jersey, Maine, Montana and New Mexico.

Appleton said despite next year being a short legislative session (four months instead of six), he hopes lawmakers can nudge the bill farther.

Proponents said they hope the Public Health and Judiciary committees will hold a joint hearing so members of the latter group can hear from the public on this topic.

With a hearing, members of that committee can hear everything we have heard, year after year after year, and tell others that they cant find a way to make this possible, said Steinberg, a former co-chair of the health committee.

For now, Appleton will continue walking and talking to people along the way. He was headed to a coffee shop in West Hartford later Thursday for another group discussion.

Were asking people that say, What can we do to help? to reach out to their lawmakers and say, This bill must be heard in the Judiciary Committee, he said.

Issues of social change are difficult in any state legislature. When Maine passed their bill, it took 25 years; California took 20; New Jersey took eight.  We owe it to those who have died waiting for this option to find a way to keep coming back.

This story first appeared at ctmirror.org, the website of The Connecticut Mirror.
WALLINGFORD  Samantha Lopez grew up with a lot of cousins. Her father, Jesus Lopez, moved to Wallingford on May 6, 1989. At the time, he had left his native Zacatecas, Mexico and was living in California. He decided to visit one of his cousins who was living in Connecticut and got some construction work. He eventually ended up working at Connecticut Steel in 1992, the same year his first daughter was born.

Over time, seven of Jesus eleven siblings moved from Zacatecas to Wallingford. Many of them worked at Connecticut Steel, now known as Nucor. Some started their own concrete businesses, settled down and had kids. Samantha, now 26, is Jesus second daughter and remembers growing up as one of the six older Lopez cousins.

They're like my best friends. We experienced a lot of firsts together, she remembered. Going through school, kind of figuring out both the Mexican and American culture together, and then being those role models for the younger cousins that came after us.

As the Lopez family continues to grow, it is increasingly difficult to determine exactly how many Lopez cousins there are. Nevertheless, for several of the cousins who make up the first generation of the family to grow up in the United States, music, dance, food and visiting family back in Mexico are all central parts of keeping their Mexican heritage alive.

Important support of family, SCOW

One of Samanthas most memorable firsts came when she applied for college and financial aid. Like many first-generation students, Samantha had parents who prioritized her education and encouraged her to go to college. However, figuring out the very complicated applications was a challenge because of the language barrier.

She eventually figured it out with the support of her cousins and the Spanish Community of Wallingford. She was also part of the Mariachi from the SCOW School of Music. Even though music is not a very big part of her life since she graduated from Accounting at the University of Connecticut in 2019, she said she feeds her Mexican heritage to keep it alive.

Growing up, all I ate was Mexican food at home. It was all my mom made, so I love it and I try to make it whenever I can, she said. I recently hosted a dinner with some of my friends and I made Ceviche for all of them. They're all predominantly white, so spreading the joy and appreciation of our culture is something I try to do.

Samanthas cousin, Daisy Lopez is another one of the older Lopez cousins. Even though she now lives in California, Daisy said she was very proud of growing up in Wallingford. She worked as the Program Director at SCOW until this summer and highlighted the role of the nonprofit in preserving her familys Mexican heritage.

Having SCOW has been fundamental for families like ours to keep our traditions alive and keeping us close to our heritage because we have the Escuela de Musica, the mariachi program, the Folklorico and Adelante, she said.

A connection to music

Even though the older generation has graduated from the programs, the younger generation of Lopez cousins are still performing as part of the SCOW School of Music. Sofia Lopez is a Sophomore in high school, plays the violin and sings as part of the Mariachi Laureles del Monte. She said she doesnt want to do music as a career, but wants to stay with the mariachi during high school and learn new skills.

I always get so excited when I learn something new on the violin or something. I'm like, Oh my gosh, you finally got it, she said.

Her cousin, Jenny Lopez, 18, is staying with music as a career and is studying music at Southern Connecticut University. Her father, Sergio, is the fourth Lopez sibling and the third to move to the U.S. She graduated from Mark T. Sheehan in the spring and is part of the mariachi.

Music is a very important part of her life as she sings and dances flamenco outside of the mariachi. She shares this passion for music through her tiktok, where her dance tutorials have amassed over five million likes. She explained that this love of music is part of her family heritage. She remembers visiting her ancestral town of Zacatecas, Mexico a few years back and was struck by the music of the town.

Most of our friends and family are musicians, or they at least sing, she explained. We came over here and we still have music just like we did over there.

For her cousin, Dayana Lopez, 17, dancing as part of SCOWs Ballet Folkorico was a way to connect to her own Mexican-ness. Dayanas father, Samuel, is the fourth of the Lopez brothers. She remembers growing up watching her older cousins be a part of the ballet, but always felt too shy and too weird to join.

Dayana Lopez started dancing in the seventh grade and has grown to love it, including getting ready, performing and taking pictures after. She graduated from Lyman Hall in the spring and works as a cashier and a certified nursing assistant. As she starts Gateway Community College in January, she said she wants to keep on learning new, different styles of Mexican dance and pass it on to future generations.

Since we go to Mexico so often, I dont want to forget that, she said. I want my kids to join the mariachi. I want them to grow up singing the songs that I grew up singing. I want them to learn how to dance and I want them to stay connected and keep our culture alive in Connecticut.

lguzman@record-journal.com,Twitter: @lguzm_n

Latino Communities Reporter Lau Guzman is a corps member with Report for America, a national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms. Support RFA reporters at the Record-Journal through a donation at https://bit.ly/3Pdb0re, To learn more about RFA, visit www.reportforamerica.org.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, October 5. France, which adheres to neo-colonialism, befits itself as a "defender of human rights", the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan said, Trend reports.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan welcomes the speech of Ella Tokoragi, the member of the board of the Baku Initiative Group from French Polynesia, operating under the Coordinating Bureau of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM), at the meeting of the UN General Assembly Fourth Committee (Special Political and Decolonization Committee) on October 4, in which she strongly condemned the colonial policy of France.

"We highly appreciate Tokoragi's gratitude to the Non-Aligned Movement for standing in solidarity with her country and supporting its struggle to liberate French Polynesia from colonialism and supporting her calls to oppose colonialism, which is a crime against humanity, to hold the French government accountable for its injustice and damage to the people of French Polynesia, and to put an end to colonialism or neo-colonialism at the center of international relations," said the ministry.

The mentioned speech is in continuation of the event entitled "Towards the complete elimination of colonialism," held on July 6, 2023, in Baku within the framework of the ministerial meeting of the Coordinating Bureau of the Non-Aligned Movement under the chairmanship of Azerbaijan, as well as discussions held within the framework of the conference "Decolonization: A Quiet Revolution," organized by the Baku Initiative Group at the UN Headquarters on September 22, 2023, in order to deepen cooperation with representatives of the overseas territories of France, which showed the importance of combating neo-colonialist policies.

France, as one of the countries that still continues neo-colonialism and does not attach any importance to human rights within the framework of its colonial policy, befits itself as a "defender of human rights and international law", which is a demonstration of hypocrisy. The unfounded claims and neo-colonialist ambitions that France continues to pursue are doomed to failure.

In addition, instead of taking responsibility for its colonial past, bloody colonial crimes, and acts of genocide, as well as learning lessons from history, France supports Armenian separatism in the Karabakh region of Azerbaijan and is trying to create geopolitical competition in the South Caucasus and apply its neo-colonialist heinous experience based on "orientalism" in the region, which is equally dangerous and unacceptable.

Azerbaijan, as a peace-loving country, has always supported the struggle for freedom from colonialism, and as chairman of the Non-Aligned Movement, it expressed its principled position in the fight against new colonial and neocolonial practices as a global platform in the fight against colonialism.

"The irreconcilable attitude of Azerbaijan towards colonialism will definitely continue," the statement said.
A local businessman was tragically killed in an apparent robbery gone wrong in front of his home Tuesday night. Calisto Muzumbi operated several shops in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe and lived in the Entumbane neighbourhood.

According to his brother Clatos, three unknown assailants ambushed Calisto as he parked his car around 11pm. When neighbours heard struggling, they initially thought it was regular noise until Calisto screamed for help shouting amasela. Though neighbours turned on lights, the attackers fled, leaving Calisto bleeding from stab wounds.

Severely injured, Calisto managed to make it to his back door and handed his bag to his wife before collapsing. In the commotion, a red wool hat with a black star engraving was dropped and recovered at the scene.

Sadly, efforts to rush Calisto to the hospital proved too late. He passed away after arrival at Mpilo Hospital. Investigators surveyed Calistos Entumbane shop for possible leads.

Bulawayo provincial police spokesperson Inspector Abednico Ncube said they had not received an official statement as yet.

Breaking News via Email
Yves here. Thomas Neuburger presents a grim forecast for oil prices, and better for water supplies. The usual belief is that high oil prices beget lower oil prices because they kill the economy. The oil price peak of $147 in July 2008, which using a CPI calculator, would be about $205 today. But the big runup was from about $87 in September 2007 until then. Although our analysis shows the financial crisis to have been a derivatives crisis, those who hew to the real real estate crisis view argue that the 2008 energy price spike is what kicked the housing market over.

As for water, the technology described below sounds like potentially great news. But I thought another issue with desalination was what to do with the salt.

By Thomas Neuburger. Originally published at Gods Spies

Two items for this week, one ominous  its an ominous world these days  and one truly hopeful. Lets start with the bad news and end with the good.

Is Crude Oil Headed for $150 in 2026?

According to the analysts at JPMorgan, crude oil is headed from todays price in the mid-nineties to as much as $150 a barrel. That would be clearly devastating for American households, not only for the resulting price of gasoline and heating oil, but also for the price of all energy-dependent goods, which is most of them.

Chart source: OilPrice.com

From OilPrice.com:

JPMorgans head of EMEA energy equity research, Christyan Malek, warned markets on Friday that the recent Brent price surge could continue upwards to $150 per barrel by 2026, according to a new research report. Several catalysts went into the $150 price warning, including capacity shocks, an energy supercycleand of course, efforts to push the world further away from fossil fuels. Most recently, crude oil prices have surged on the back of OPEC+ production cuts, mostly led by Saudi Arabia who almost singlehanded took 1 million bpd out of the market, followed by a fuel export ban from Russia. Increased crude demand paired up with the supply restrictions, boosting crude oil prices and contributing to rising consumer prices.

For this year:

JPMorgan said in February this year that Oil prices were unlikely to reach $100 per barrel this year unless there was some major geopolitical event that rattled markets, warning that OPEC+ could add in as much as 400,000 bpd to global supplies, with Russias oil exports potentially recovering by the middle of this year. At the time, JPMorgan was estimating 770,000 bpd in demand growth from Chinaless than what the IEA and OPEC were estimating.

But:

JPMorgan now sees the global supply and demand imbalance at 1.1 million bpd in 2025, but growing to a 7.1 million bpd deficit in 2030 as robust demand continues to butt up against limited supply.

JPMorgan blames the supply imbalance on capacity shocks, an energy supercycle, and of course, efforts to deal with climate change. The word Ukraine never appears, but the Russian export ban gets a mention.

Is this likely? Im not sure, but there are forces in the world that cant be forced, and keeping us stuck on oil is one of them. To the extent that oil is cheap enough to power this overburdened planet for decades ahead, thats the size of the flood of trouble well face when the big dams finally break.

Do we want to face a fraction of that trouble now, in exchange for better times to come? Our betters, in their usual self-dealing way, are not giving us that choice.

Desalination System Could Produce Freshwater Thats Cheaper Than Tap Water

You read it right. Thats the news from MIT, and its refreshing indeed.

MIT engineers have been working on a passive system to use the suns energy to evaporate and capture fresh water from salt water sources, and after three iterations, they appear to have gotten it right.

MIT engineers and collaborators developed a solar-powered device that avoids salt-clogging issues of other designs. Engineers at MIT and in China are aiming to turn seawater into drinking water with a completely passive device that is inspired by the ocean, and powered by the sun. In a paper appearing today in the journal Joule, the team outlines the design for a new solar desalination system that takes in saltwater and heats it with natural sunlight. The configuration of the device allows water to circulate in swirling eddies, in a manner similar to the much larger thermohaline circulation of the ocean. This circulation, combined with the suns heat, drives water to evaporate, leaving salt behind. The resulting water vapor can then be condensed and collected as pure, drinkable water. In the meantime, the leftover salt continues to circulate through and out of the device, rather than accumulating and clogging the system. The new system has a higher water-production rate and a higher salt-rejection rate than all other passive solar desalination concepts currently being tested.

Im especially pleased to see that its a passive device  no moving parts, no required energy input (read, fossil fuel) other than what we freely get from the sun.

[T]he researchers calculated that if each stage were scaled up to a square meter, it would produce up to 5 liters of drinking water per hour, and that the system could desalinate water without accumulating salt for several years. Given this extended lifetime, and the fact that the system is entirely passive, requiring no electricity to run, the team estimates that the overall cost of running the system would be cheaper than what it costs to produce tap water in the United States.

Human water needs are roughly three to four liters per day. A one-square-meter device producing five liters per hour could supply up to twenty-five people for years without needing maintenance. Thats very good news.

My only concern: The design, when its all worked out, should belong to the public, not Wall Street ghouls who think waters their ticket to wealth.
The Secret to Beetles Unfathomable Diversity Scientific American

Crocodiles Seen Guiding Dog to Safety in India And Scientists Dont Know Why Science Alert

Istanbuls famed cats now have their own museum Anadolu Agency

Climate

China?

Syraqistan

Israeli settlers storm Al-Aqsa Mosque complex on fifth day of Sukkot Al Jazeera

European Disunion

French government dissolves far-right Catholic party Civitas Anadolu Agency

New Not-So-Cold War

South of the Border

Republican Funhouse

Thats The Truth? Aurelien, Trying to Understand the World

Antitrust

Spook Country

Healthcare

The Bezzle

Digital Watch

Fa-Fa-Fa-Fa-Fashion

Fossil Fuels in Fashion: How Petroleum Ended Up in Our Jeans and Leggings Teen Vogue

Supply Chain

Imperial Collapse Watch

The U.S. Has a New Set of Tools for Bullying the World NYT. E.g., SWIFT. Once again, Times readers are only learning about this now?

Why Is Target Closing Stores? Jeff-alytics

Mint Plaza Sleeping Pod Complex Dinged With Violations After City Inspection SFist

Class Warfare

Awe-inspiring science can have a positive effect on mental wellbeing, new research finds (press release) University of Warwick

Meet this years MacArthur genius grant recipients, including a hula master and the poet laureate AP. And Linsey Marr, aerosol scientist!

Federal Officials Capture Rare Photos of a Jaguar Crossing the U.S.-Mexico Border Field and Stream

Antidote du jour (via):

Bonus antidote (via), as long as were doing sepia:

See yesterdays Links and Antidote du Jour here.
The 35th annual Southern Festival of Books lives up to its slogan  it truly is a celebration of the written word in all its forms. From Oct. 18 through 22, the Bicentennial Capitol Mall State Park, the Tennessee State Museum, the Tennessee State Library & Archives and additional sites throughout the city will be packed with authors of all stripes. Nonfiction heavyweights like Tracy Kidder and Timothy Egan will be joined by fiction GOATs Ann Patchett and Lorrie Moore. Theres a panel on creativity led by Nashville notables Mary Gauthier, Kevin Griffin and Ruta Sepetys. Photographer Stacy Kranitz will speak about her long-term project documenting Appalachia just hours after curator Kami Ahrens discusses the new edition from the beloved Foxfire series, The Foxfire Book of Appalachian Women. And thats not to mention all the Y.A. and childrens books offerings.

In the following pages  with indispensable help from Maria Browning and the folks at Chapter 16, an initiative of Humanities Tennessee that provides the Scene with books coverage  weve highlighted just a handful of our favorites from the fest. We hope our coverage will make it easier for you to create your schedule. Theres a chance weve made it even harder.

For more details on this years festival, visit sofestofbooks.org. LAURA HUTSON HUNTER, ARTS EDITOR

+7 Capitol Idea: An Excerpt From Welcome to Capitol Hill Reporters Joel Ebert and Erik Schelzigs new book delves into Tennessees history of political scandal

+2 Lindsay Lynchs Do Tell Is Sparkling and Sharp Lynch will discuss her novel about the exploitative systems of Hollywoods Golden Age on Tuesday at Parnassus
Major Jackson possesses an almost superhuman ability to see himself and his world clearly. His sixth poetry collection, Razzle Dazzle: New and Selected Poems 2002-2022, reads like a superheros origin story.

We see the biographical details of the poets life alongside the evolution of his poetic style. In A Promise of Canonization, he writes, I quote Wordsworth, Zagajewski, and Dao / I come from gunshots and beatdowns, raw and dirty. Here and elsewhere, Jackson positions himself between spheres, ultimately showing us that everything is worthy of this poets searing gaze.

The new poems here, collected in a section titled Lovesick, are elemental: necessary as well as preoccupied with wind, water, earth and fire. Let Me Begin Again sets the tone, proclaiming, This time, let me circle / the island of my fears only once then / live like a raging waterfall / and grow a magnificent mustache. This opener is so  well, dazzling that its hard to imagine the following pages sustaining that level of energy, yet they do.

Razzle Dazzle: New and Selected Poems 2002-2022 By Major Jackson W.W. Norton 288 pages, $26.95 Jackson will lead a workshop sponsored by The Porch 6 p.m. Oct. 9 at Vanderbilt, and will appear at the Southern Festival of Books Oct. 22

Im often drawn to debut collections because of an ineffable quality that lies somewhere between recklessness and exuberance. Theres a riskiness created by lack of outside pressure. Of course, most writers hope to publish their work, but those first forays onto the page can be wild and maybe even pure. We see this in Jacksons first collection, Leaving Saturn. More surprisingly, we also see that edginess in Lovesick, alongside the poets signature technical mastery. In Making Things, the speaker explains, I want to be / all razzle-dazzle before the dark-cloaked one / arrives for a last game of chess. While Jacksons work may have matured over the years, it certainly hasnt mellowed.

There is a leitmotif that appears in Lovesick that, if present, is not as prominent in Jacksons earlier books. The notion of kindness is mentioned more than once. It exists in parallel to rage, again pointing to the poets duality. The prose poem Ferguson reimagines the killing of Michael Brown as a fairy tale in which a teenager isnt murdered. Instead, the young man has decided to sleep in the street for a spell. Spectators watch with bated breath for him to rise. The police, Jackson writes, cordoned off his body, and after some time, declared him dead because they had only seen black men lying prone on the street as corpses, but never as sleeping humans.

In the poem Think of Me, Laughing, the speaker describes himself at a protest, saying, Dont shoot! The poem then shifts into memories described as luxuries, including aperitifs in Italy and sing-alongs to Marvin Gaye. The speaker states, I do not regret my little bout with life, which seems to be a sort of radical kindness to the self. Invocation begins, Down here we have inherited an arcade of stars / and want kindness that can stop a bomb. In other hands, this theme might feel saccharine or, worse, disingenuous. In Jacksons capable ones, we find kindness as a weapon, ready and sharp.

Razzle Dazzle is arranged so that the newest poems are followed by the oldest. Leaving Saturn was released in 2002 and beloved by critics and readers alike, myself included. What I remember most about my own early reading experience is the phrase tragically hip being a perfect description of the books ethos. The speaker of Blunts recalls smoking weed for the first time and confessing to his friends that he wants to be a poet. His friends consider this goal as they hear yelling from apartments above, smell hotdogs down the street and watch plastic flap on a shopping cart. The effect is immediate: The young poets ambitions are at odds with his surroundings. And yet his friends dont laugh. Instead, one suggests, So, you want the tongue of God. Looking back, its clear that Jackson has always been concerned with the gap between physical and intellectual worlds, suggesting that they exist in tandem.

In the poems from Holding Company (2010), Roll Deep (2015) and The Absurd Man (2020), we see Jacksons interests both expand and deepen. He combines the personal and political with often unexpected insights. Going to Meet the Man describes a standoff between the police and protesters as a barricade of shields, helmets, batons, and pepper spray: / on the other, a cocktail of fire, all that is just and good.

The final poem in Razzle Dazzle is called Double Major, implying that the poet also sees two versions of himself. A man with more pedestrian concerns  washing behind his ears and getting to bed at a reasonable hour  gently ribs the man who stares back at him in the mirror. That other Major believes he can mend his wounds with poetry. And there are worse beliefs.

To read more local book coverage, please visit Chapter16.org, an online publication of Humanities Tennessee.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, October 5. A serviceman of the Internal Troops of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Azerbaijan, while on duty, was blown up by an antipersonnel mine on the territory liberated from occupation on October 5 at about 17:00 (GMT+4), the Ministry of Internal Affairs told Trend.

The victim of mine, S.Adigezalov, born in 1999, was wounded in the leg. He was immediately taken to the hospital.
A few chapters into A Most Tolerant Little Town, Rachel Louise Martin tells what happened on a Sunday morning in the fall of 1956, a few days after 12 Black students attempted to desegregate Clinton High School in East Tennessee.

One of those students, Gail Ann Epps, was worshipping with her family at Mt. Sinai Baptist Church when congregants felt a distant shudder through the floorboards  a vibration from somewhere deep down in the earth.

Running to the windows, they saw tanks pulling into their small town, followed by armored personnel carriers, jeeps and helmeted soldiers carrying automatic rifles.

The Black families felt relief. After a tumultuous week, Gov. Frank G. Clement had called out the National Guard. Help had come, finally.

Surprisingly, few know the Clinton High story. Although it was the first school in the South to attempt court-ordered desegregation in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Courts 1954 Brown v. Board of Education ruling, the events in Clinton have largely gone missing from history, overshadowed by more urban civil rights stories such as that of the Little Rock Nine, who desegregated Central High School in Little Rock, Ark., in 1957.

Martin, the author of Hot, Hot Chicken: A Nashville Story, discovered Clinton in 2005 while working as a research fellow at Middle Tennessee State University. She continued the project as a doctoral student at the University of North Carolina, eventually spending almost 18 years interviewing former students, families, administrators and townspeople while delving into historical documents and contextual material.

A Most Tolerant Little Town: The Explosive Beginning of School Desegregation By Rachel Louise Martin Simon & Schuster 384 pages, $29.99

Not everybody wanted to talk to her. Honey, there was a lot of ugliness down at the school that year; best we just move on and forget it, one white woman told her. Fortunately, Martin didnt forget. Instead, she pieced together some 60 interviews, presenting events from multiple perspectives to show what people  Black and white  grappled with in that place and time.

Segregationists remained largely quiet the first day as the 12 walked from Freedmans Hill to the school, but they grew increasingly violent as the week wore on. Some formed a gauntlet along the Black students route, carrying signs with racial epithets. Inside the school, they harassed, tormented and sometimes physically attacked their new classmates. Meanwhile, white mobs downtown attacked any Blacks who happened to pass through. Several small bombs went off. Finally, the sheriff realized he needed reinforcements and called the governor.

The other white camp, though, realized desegregation was the law of the land, whether they liked it or not. The Sunday that Epps saw the tanks arriving, the Rev. Paul Turner told his white congregation over at First Baptist, It is important to be a Christian first and a segregationist second, not a segregationist first and a Christian second. His point was radical, since some whites believed the Bible mandated segregation, though others saw it as morally wrong, despite cultural pressure.

One of the most intriguing aspects of Martins book is the way she shows how white views differed and evolved over time. Turner eventually offered to escort the Black students to school, thinking he could protect them, but was savagely beaten by segregationists. Typing teacher Margaret Anderson, meanwhile, tried to help the Black students acclimate. Though she accepted desegregation reluctantly at first, she championed it in two lengthy New York Times articles in the early 1960s.

In spring 1957, Bobby Cain, one of the 12, became the first Black student in the South to receive a diploma from a previously all-white school, although some white students tried to ambush him as he walked off the stage. He attended Tennessee State University debt-free, thanks to contributions from across the country. Epps graduated too, but others among the 12 werent so lucky. One was expelled when he defended his brother in an attack by whites, and two families left for California to escape the turbulence. The following fall, Clinton High was bombed.

For all its nuanced exploration of a time that seems both remote and sadly familiar, A Most Tolerant Little Town pulls no punches. In A Note on Language, Martin says she retains racial slurs in quotations to illustrate how racism infected white American culture in the 1950s. It is a bold choice, but the Clinton story would not be well served by euphemism.

Martin does not believe the story is over. Representations of Black children entering schools, including the statues now at Clintons Green-McAdoo Cultural Center, are misleadingly triumphant, she argues, allowing people to pretend that segregation and racism no longer exist. Instead, she distinguishes desegregation (attending school alongside one another) from integration (sharing friendships and the same opportunities in a place where all feel welcome).

True integration, she contends, is an experiment we have yet to try.

To read an uncut version of this review  and more local book coverage  please visit Chapter16.org, an online publication of Humanities Tennessee.
Mike Pence, former governor of Indiana and Donald Trumps vice president, was often mocked during the 2016 presidential campaign for calling his wife Mother. But as Timothy Egan reveals in A Fever in the Heartland, another devout woman known as Mother captivated Hoosiers a century ago when a resurgent Ku Klux Klan enlisted her to recruit Protestant women recently given the right to vote.

Raised a Quaker, Daisy Douglas Barr experienced a vision in her youth and shifted to preaching. Her sermons packed auditoriums. But her work in the temperance movement evolved into a broader vision of white supremacy maintained by the rising political strength of women. As Egan opines, a big heart that had once brimmed with benevolence for fallen humans had shriveled into a raisin of racial animus. Barr joined forces with D.C. Steve Stephenson, Indianas Grand Dragon, who named her Imperial Empress of the Women of the Ku Klux Klan.

Barr is but one of a colorful if sinister supporting cast in A Fever in the Heartland. The main attraction is Stephenson. Imagine a blend of Bull Connors racism, Robert Moses political skills, P.T. Barnums hucksterism and Ted Bundys sexual sadism and youd be pretty close to Stephenson. A man seemingly without a past (hed been raised poor in Oklahoma), he hitched his star to the resurrection of the Klan at Stone Mountain, Ga., in 1915, the same year D.W. Griffiths Klan hagiography, The Birth of a Nation, filled cinemas and was screened for Woodrow Wilson in the White House.

A Fever in the Heartland: The Ku Klux Klans Plot to Take Over America, and the Woman Who Stopped Them By Timothy Egan Viking 400 pages, $30

Heavyset and puffy-faced, Stephenson had already mastered the twin arts of charm and bullying, a triumph of American self-mythologizing. He could talk a dog off a meat-wagon, as they said in those parts, Egan writes. He sounded educated, an incontinent user of five-dollar words, even if the college hed attended changed with each telling. He saw a business opportunity outside the South, claiming the Midwest as fertile soil for his vision of ascendant white supremacy. He bought a mansion in an upscale suburb of Indianapolis and berthed a yacht in Toledo. As Klan membership burgeoned, Stephenson built an empire, becoming a self-anointed ruler with an eye on Washington and boasting that he was above the law.

In some ways he was the right-wing man at the right-wing time. The Klan blessed immigration restrictions imposed by the National Origins Act of 1924 slashed new arrivals from eastern and southern Europe to a bare trickle, shutting out Jews and olive-skinned Catholics. The legislation blocked African and Asian immigrants as well. But hypocrisy was rampant. Though Stephenson thundered about the necessity of Prohibition and the purity of white women, he was a drunk and a serial rapist who would literally feast on the flesh of his victims.

Madge Oberholtzer, Stephensons 28-year-old neighbor, was lively and independent, a Hoosier version of a flapper whod driven herself across the U.S. when women drivers were still uncommon. She met the twice-married Stephenson in early 1925, and he was immediately smitten with her. Despite some uneasiness on her part, she agreed to work with him on a policy plan for childrens nutrition. Unbeknownst to Madge, Stephenson was setting a trap, one hed deploy horrifically on a midnight train to Chicago in March of that year.

Egan, winner of a National Book Award and a Pulitzer Prize in journalism, lures us into his narrative with muscular yet agile prose, re-creating in minute detail Madges tragic fate and the legal aftermath that finally broke Stephensons febrile pursuit of power. The bright, confident young woman inadvertently halted a plot  a few plots, actually  but at great cost.

Egan seasons A Fever in the Heartland with arresting anecdotes and historical bon mots that enrich the books larger arc. The Anti-Saloon League, the Horse Thief Detective Association, a rural recording studio that made an indelible mark on American music  these all evoke a reactionary if creative America still reeling from the loss of young men in the Great War and the millions cut down by the 1918 flu pandemic. Ordinary folk were primed for Stephensons fascistic message, his worship of wealth, his buffoonery  a grifter package that still haunts us 100 years later.

Egan gooses his pacing in the books final act, a dash of John Grisham in the Jazz Age. At the height of its popularity, the Klan controlled governments and law enforcement agencies across the nation. From Oregon to the Rocky Mountains to Long Island, cavalcades of Klansmen, Klanswomen, and Klan Kiddies spread the gospel of militant white Protestantism. A Fever in the Heartland is a cautionary tale. Were closer to that past than we think.

To read more local book coverage, please visit Chapter16.org, an online publication of Humanities Tennessee.
Several times throughout Tracy Kidders nonfiction book Rough Sleepers, he references the story of Sisyphus to describe the work of homeless care providers in Boston. The book follows Dr. Jim OConnell and a street medical team for five years as they battle a slew of systemic barriers to health care for people living on the streets.

In case the story isnt familiar, Sisyphus was a figure in Greek mythology who cheated death, and as punishment he spent eternity rolling a giant boulder up a hill only to have it fall back down each time. Its a feeling many working with unhoused people come to recognize  not so much cheating death as the feeling that the journey toward getting people into housing is often one step forward, two steps back.

Rough Sleepers: Dr. Jim OConnells Urgent Mission to Bring Healing to Homeless People By Tracy Kidder Random House 320 pages, $30 Kidder will discuss Rough Sleepers Oct. 21 at the Southern Festival of Books

Working in homelessness probably wouldnt have been OConnells first choice, but exposure to people in need made a difference in his trajectory. In 1985, after OConnell graduated from Harvard Medical School and performed his residency at Massachusetts General Hospital, the chief of medicine asked him to help create a health program just for people living on the streets in Boston. He has been there ever since, with a cast of other helpers, attempting to provide health care to patients whose needs often dont fit into the rigid mold of the U.S. health system.

Through OConnell, Kidder gets an up-close view into the moments when the boulder feels the heaviest. People he treats sometimes get sicker. They die. They get into housing and lose housing. Others ride an endless roller coaster of street life. His focus is on those who, for various reasons, dont typically spend nights at city shelters. So-called rough sleepers often bed down in wooded areas and in tents spread across the city. There are moments of relief, respite and victory in OConnells work, but these are always celebrated briefly and often overshadowed by the next person who needs help.

The parallels between the tragic narratives in Boston and the realities on the streets in Tennessees urban areas are obvious, especially in the realm of health care. In one scene in the book, OConnell happens upon one of his patients whod been discharged from a hospital. The man is found in his hospital gown on the streets of the city. Its hard for anyone to get well and stay well without a roof over their head.

Kidder, who won the Pulitzer Prize for his The Soul of a New Machine, has a unique ability to detail an individual life like OConnells and make it part of a broader truth. He shows how much impact even one dedicated person can have on many lives. OConnell, revered as something of a saint in homelessness circles in Boston, talks of the changing of the guard there, of folks he cared for being replaced by a bevy of new folks on the street with new issues. He too will ultimately be replaced by someone with a passion for the same grueling work.

Yet Rough Sleepers makes it clear that the needs OConnell has dedicated his life to addressing cannot be erased by a few saintly individuals. The program he built is the largest of its kind in the nation, exceptional in its scope and mission, but Kidder points out that even this massive effort hasnt made the dent in overall homelessness that OConnell envisioned. Near the end of the book, Kidder outlines part of a speech OConnell gave to important donors at a gala in 2018.

I like to think of this problem of homelessness as a prism held up to society, and what we see refracted are the weaknesses in our health care system, our public health system, our housing system, but especially in our welfare system, our educational system, and our legal system  and our corrections system, OConnell said. If were going to fix this problem, we have to address the weaknesses of all those sectors.

Kidder follows with more context for OConnells remarks, noting the staggering inequality between Black and white residents in Boston regarding homelessness, as well as the toll taken by economic anxiety:

Homelessness was fed by racism, income inequality, and a cascade of other related forces. These included insufficient investments in public housing, as well as tax and zoning codes that had spurred widespread gentrification and driven up rents. Many poor and moderately poor Americans lived with the fear of losing housing, which can itself harm bodies and minds as well as social relations in families.

These observations still apply far beyond Boston. In short, while OConnell is not the only one out there pushing the boulder up the hill, its going to take a lot more work and support from all of us to reach the top.

To read more local book coverage, please visit Chapter16.org, an online publication of Humanities Tennessee.
Operation Buyers Remorse: 160 arrested in weeklong human trafficking sting

One hundred sixty individuals, including an elementary teacher, a college professor and two Air Force members, have been charged following a recent crackdown in Ohio.

Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost announced the successful results of a weeklong statewide operation called "Operation Buyer's Remorse," which targeted individuals attempting to purchase sex and aimed to identify human trafficking survivors.

Led by the Southeastern Ohio Human Trafficking Task Force and local law enforcement agencies, "Operation Buyers Remorse" was a coordinated effort to combat human trafficking by addressing the demand for illegal activities.

Yost emphasized the operation's broader impact, including resources for survivors and gathering intelligence for long-term investigations.

During the operation, which took place from Sept. 25 to Sept. 30, law enforcement teams conducted stings across the state, covering areas such as Columbus, Cleveland, Toledo, Akron, Youngstown, Marietta and Portsmouth. (Related: FBI finds 200 trafficking victims, 59 missing kids in two-week operation.)

The crackdown resulted in 160 arrests, with the Ohio Organized Crime Investigations Commission (OOCIC) and local agencies leading the effort. Additionally, search warrants were executed at 11 massage parlors suspected of human trafficking activities, contributing to ongoing investigations.

Arrested individuals come from diverse backgrounds

The arrested individuals came from diverse backgrounds, including professions like EMTs, nurses, educators, retirees, former law enforcement officers, self-employed individuals and delivery drivers. The age range of those arrested varied from 17 to 84 years old.

"It was a concerted effort to stem the demand that fuels human trafficking," a press release about the operation stated.

Over the week, 149 people looking to buy sex were nabbed and charged with engaging in prostitution, according to the release. Also arrested were two individuals seeking to engage in criminal sexual acts with minors; six individuals promoting prostitution; and three individuals illegally possessing drugs or firearms.

Law enforcement officers also conducted interviews with 104 survivors of human trafficking, connecting them with services provided by healthcare and social service organizations. The operation involved the collaboration of nearly 100 law enforcement agencies and service organizations, highlighting the collective effort in the fight against human trafficking.

"The success of the operation is measured not only by the number of arrests but also by the resources offered to survivors of human trafficking and the intelligence gathered that will propel long-term investigations forward," Yost said. "I am grateful for each and every partner who dedicated their time and resources, as we all play a key role in the fight against human trafficking."

His parting shot: "Our message is simple: Don't buy sex in Ohio."

Visit Trafficking.news for more stories about human trafficking.

Watch this video exposing child trafficking in the United States.

This video is from the The Kokoda Kid channel on Brighteon.com.

More related stories:

Human trafficking victims in America could be as many as 17,500 annually.

Truck driver hailed as a hero for rescuing more than a dozen children from human trafficking.

California legislators BLOCK bill to make child trafficking a "serious felony."

Sources include:

TheGatewayPundit.com

USAToday.com

Brighteon.com
55 Chinese sailors KILLED as nuclear submarine got caught in a trap intended for Western sub-surface vessels

At least 55 sailors with the Chinese People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) are reported to have perished after the nuclear submarine they were in apparently got caught in a trap intended to ensnare American, British and allied sub-surface vessels in the Yellow Sea.

This is according to a secret report coming out of the United Kingdom, which alleges that the Chinese Navy sailors died in August from poisoning due to a catastrophic failure in the nuclear submarine's oxygen systems. (Related: Reports: Advanced Chinese nuclear submarine crashed in Taiwan Strait.)

The incident is said to have occurred on Aug. 21 in the Yellow Sea waters off China's northeastern Shandong Province, just miles across from North and South Korea.

The classified British intelligence briefing alleges that a submarine called 093-417 struck a chain and anchor obstacle set up by the Chinese, which is meant to trap Western submarines.

The collision led to system failures and a six-hour struggle for the 093-417 to surface. It also led to the submarine's onboard oxygen systems failing catastrophically, poisoning the crew. Fifty-five sailors died, including the captain  Col. Xue Yong-Peng.

Chinese rescuers dove and were reportedly able to rescue just one survivor.

It isn't entirely clear how the 093-417 collided with the trap in the Yellow Sea nor how the trap mangled the submarine's oxygen systems. It also isn't entirely clear whether the crew began suffocating in the submarine before it began sinking.

The submarine 093-417 is one of China's Type 093 "Shang-class" nuclear-powered submarines, one of the PLAN's most modern subs. It was first built nearly 30 years ago and entered active service with the PLAN in 2006. At least six of the 351-foot-long submarines are active in the Chinese Navy.

It can travel up to 30 knots (35 miles) when fully submerged and is known for its stealth capabilities, emitting significantly lower noise levels compared to submarines of a similar type. The Type 093 can be outfitted with torpedoes and anti-ship cruise missiles.

China denies sailors in nuclear submarine perished

The British intelligence report was classified as very high level and was shared by an intelligence staffer on condition of anonymity with U.K.-based media outlet the Daily Mail. The full report remains undisclosed.

When questioned by the Daily Mail, spokespersons in Beijing denied that such an incident took place, dismissing the speculation as "completely false." Intelligence agencies in neighboring Taiwan have also raised skepticism about the report. The British Royal Navy has also declined to comment on the Daily Mail's report.

However, one Royal Navy submariner who spoke with the Daily Mail suggested that it is plausible that the accident took place and is being actively covered up by the Chinese.

"It is plausible that this occurred and I doubt the Chinese would have asked for international support for obvious reasons," said the submariner in an email. "If they were trapped on the net system and the submarine's batteries were running flat (plausible) then eventually the air purifiers and air treatment systems could have failed."

The submarine at this point would have then reverted to its secondary life support systems, which could also plausibly fail to maintain the air in the enclosed space, leading to asphyxia or poisoning for the crew.

"We have a kit which absorbs [carbon dioxide] and generates oxygen in such a situation," wrote the source. "It is probably that other nations do not have this kind of tech."

Learn more about recent events concerning China at CommunistChina.news.

Watch this episode of "Evolutionary Energy Arts" as hosts Michael and Cindy Lazaro discuss the alleged crash of a Chinese nuclear submarine in the Taiwan Strait in August.

This video is from the Evolutionary Energy Arts channel on Brighteon.com.

More related stories:

Taiwan unveils first domestically built submarine amid military modernization and buildup meant to deter a Chinese invasion.

Taiwan set to begin testing its first indigenous defense submarine amid rising tension with China.

READY FOR ACTION: Russia equips new subs with hypersonic missiles.

Australia to buy up to 5 nuclear-powered submarines from the US  and China isn't happy about it.

Putin orders first batch of nuclear-armed Poseidon torpedoes produced that can wipe out coastlines.

Sources include:

DailyMail.co.uk

Mirror.co.uk

FirstPost.com

WIONews.com

FleetMon.com

NTI.org

Brighteon.com
Alex Marlows Breaking Biden: China-linked University of Delaware Biden partnership was Hunters baby, part of wealth creation strategy

Tied to China from the Start

(Article by Alexander Marlow republished from Breitbart.com)

Like the University of Pennsylvania, University of Delaware (UD) disclosed receiving funds from China soon after forging the partnership with the Bidens.

The emails show that in March 2016, Hunter and his colleagues met with incoming UD president Dennis Assanis to discuss plans for the UD/UPenn venture months before Assanis was officially instated. Assanis has deep and long-standing ties to China. In addition to serving as the founding director of the U.S.-China Clean Energy Research CenterClean Vehicle Consortium (CERC-CVC) since 2003, Assanis has been a guest professor (20032008) and advisory professor (2009 to present) at Shanghai Jiao Tong University (SJTU). This fact alone raises concern given that SJTU has signed cooperative agreements with Chinas Peoples Liberation Army (PLA). Whats more, cyberattacks on American companies such as Google have been traced to computers at SJTU.

Like UPenn, the UD Biden Institute was quickly stocked with future Biden appointeesat least twelve so farincluding soon-to-be senior Biden advisor Mike Donilon and Surgeon General Vivek Murthy. Assanis himself would be named to Bidens Presidents Council of Advisors on Science and Technology.

The University of Delaware had never disclosed receiving funds from China until April 2018, when it accepted over $3.2 million for a contract with an unnamed Chinese entity. This came two months after the Penn Biden Center opened its DC office. Then, in December 2018, UD received $1.9 million from an unnamed Chinese entity. In 2019, UD received another $625,000 from China. In 2020, UD initiated three contracts with the Chinese entities and received over $1 million in funds. In sum, UD has received over $6.7 million from unnamed Chinese sources, including a substantial amount from the Chinese government.

All these funds started flowing to UD after the Biden Institute was announced and increased immediately after the launch of the Penn Biden Center.

Supporting Chinese Military Technology

This money from China is cause for alarm given that UD has thirty-seven international partnerships with Chinese universities, including several that support the development of Chinese military technologies. The most logical reasons for the Chinese to engage in these partnerships is that they want to influence American institutions, acquire American intellectual property, or both.

On February 8 2022, Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) wrote a letter to UD president Dennis Assanis urging him to terminate UDs academic and research partnership with Xiamen University, which actively supports Beijings military-industrial complex and which allegedly conspired with Huawei to steal trade secrets from an American semiconductor start-up. Yet, according to the International Cyber Policy Centres China Defence Universities Tracker database, that partnership with Xiamen University is only a medium risk.

The University of Delaware has worked with at least four other universities linked to Chinese defense laboratories.

Like the Clinton Global Initiative Without the Money Raise

In April 2016, Hunter exchanged emails and had at least one meeting with Craig Gering, a talent agent for the legendary Creative Artists Agency, about Vice President Bidens future after he leaves office. Gering took confidential notes from the meeting that describe details about the plans for the UD/UPenn operation, including the possibility of Hunter serving in the Penn Biden Center DC office. Gering fantasized about an entity that operates like The Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) without the money raise.

CGI claims it convenes established and emerging global leaders to create and implement solutions to the worlds most pressing challenges, according to its website, but functionally, it was an easy way for the Clintons to reap donor funds to leverage relationships with celebrities and major corporations to boost their profiles all the while promoting their own cultural and political agenda items. Donations to CGI dried up when it came under media scrutiny from Schweizer and others for soliciting millions of dollars from foreign governments and businessesthe same governments and businesses that received favorable treatment from the Obama administration during Hillarys tenure as secretary of state.

The Clinton Global Initiative was shut down in 2016 and revived in 2022. In retrospect, it was always meant to be an influence-peddling operation by the Clintons. It was shuttered at the specific moment where Hillary Clinton could no longer do anything substantial for the donors.

Thats where the Bidens could step in and fill the void.

Wealth Creation for the Bidens

It was clear from the Laptop from Hell emails that Biden World fantasized about an entity like the CGI for Joe. It could be a means for influential figures around the world to boost the Biden brand. The UD/UPenn/Biden venture is ultimately about wealth creation, according to Gering.

It could be used for philanthropy, bettering the world, and advancing the Biden name. But most importantly, wealth creation.

A stunning admission.

The degree to which the Bidens were able to leverage these new entities to benefit themselves financially is unclear, but we do know, thanks to the Laptop from Hell, that the vision was in place to create a secret money machine that could be relevant for generations.

It was Hunters baby.

Breaking Biden is available now in hardcover, eBook, and audiobook read by the author.

Read more at: Breitbart.com
Court blocks school district from enforcing ludicrous gender identity policies

A preliminary injunction has been issued by a federal court in Cedar Rapids, Iowa blocking the enforcement of a school policy that required students and employees to "respect a student's gender identity," even if it did not align with biological or spiritual reality.

On September 29, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit granted a motion for a preliminary injunction against Linn-Mar Community School District, filed by the parental rights group Parents Defending Education (PDE).

The decision signed by District Judge C.J. Williams, an appointee of former President Donald Trump, prevents the district from enforcing the part of Board Policy 504.13-R that prohibits using correct pronouns for gender-confused students. (Related story: New Florida law limits instruction on gender identity and sexual orientation indoctrination in public schools)

According to the school's policy, every student has the right to be addressed by a name and pronoun corresponding to their gender identity, and a court-ordered name or gender change is not required.

The policy also allows students to use locker rooms and bathrooms matching their gender identity. Teachers are encouraged to ask all students how they want to be addressed in class and in communications with their parents or guardians.

Before the court's ruling, any staff member or student at Linn-Mar refusing to "respect" a student's gender identity would violate school board policies. However, the federal appeals court ordered the district to stop enforcing this section of the policy during the ongoing litigation.

PDE founding president: Parental exclusion policies are unpopular

Nicole Neily, PDE's president and founder, expressed gratitude for the court's decision and highlighted the importance of protecting speech and preventing arbitrary enforcement of vague terms, especially concerning compelled student speech. Neily also pointed out that the ruling invalidated parental exclusion policies in Linn-Mar and throughout the state of Iowa, signaling a broader impact.

Neily believes that parental exclusion policies are unpopular and will likely be challenged legally in the future. Parents and lawmakers across the country have been increasingly concerned about transgender ideology being promoted in schools and have worked to pass legislation to protect parental rights and address these concerns.

Southern Baptists, who filed amicus briefs supporting PDE, applauded the injunction. The Southern Baptist Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission (ERLC) and the Baptist Convention of Iowa (BCI) are among nearly 75 groups that filed amicus briefs supporting PDE in the lawsuit filed in August 2022.

"Government cannot pave our consciences, particularly in an attempt to muzzle speech it finds disfavorable about biological sex and gender identity," ERLC president Brent Leatherwood told Baptist Press. "This decision recognizes that principle and ensures parents and students are not forced to abandon biblical convictions underlying their speech and conduct merely because theyre in a public school setting."

The policy would have allowed LGBTQ students to declare a new gender without their parent's knowledge  and would have disallowed parents such knowledge even if they asked.

That part of the policy, however, has since been outlawed by a July 2023 state law.

With the temporary injunction, PDE is now seeking a court rule permanently dismissing the policy because it violates the students First Amendment rights.

As transgender identification among children has risen, so too have surgical procedures for minors. Parents and conservative lawmakers have responded by taking action to safeguard their children's education and well-being.

Last month, the Catholic Diocese of Cleveland banned participation in radical LGBT ideology in its elementary and high schools, prohibiting "pride" flags, preferred pronouns, participation in social or surgical gender transitions, and more. The policy expressed sympathy for those with gender dysphoria but affirmed the divinely revealed reality of human nature as given by God.

Visit GenderConfused.com to read more stories like this.

Watch a mother of six destroys gender activists in speech at One Million March for Children.

This video is from Pool Pharmacy channel on Brighteon.com.

More related stories:

University of Arizona instructs future pediatric nurses to ask children as young as 3 years old about their gender identity.

More conservative states ban gender-affirming procedures for minors.

Texas enforces BAN on gender-related medical procedures for teens.

Sources include:

LifeSiteNews.com

MBCPathway.com

Brighteon.com
Democrat Rep. Henry Cuellar now says he doesnt believe in defunding police after being carjacked in Washington, D.C.

Representative Henry Cuellar (D-Texas), who has voted in the past for measures that would facilitate defunding the police , has now said that he does not believe in cutting funding to police after being carjacked at gunpoint by three men near his home in Washington, D.C.

The incident took place on Monday night at around 9:30 pm, when three young men came up behind him, pointed a gun at him and demanded his keys. It occurred just blocks away from the U.S. Capitol in the Navy Yard neighborhood, which is widely considered one of the nicer neighborhoods in the city and is home to numerous lawmakers.

Cuellar recounted what happened to the media: "I was just coming into my place. Three guys came out of nowhere and they pointed guns at me. I do have a black belt, but I recognize when you got three, three guns -- I looked at one with a gun and another with a gun, a third one behind me -- So they said they wanted my car. I said, 'Sure.'

He added that he thinks being calm in these circumstances was the right approach. He was not hurt in the incident.

According to a witness, the suspects were three black men wearing knit caps and ski masks who appeared to be around 16 years old. Police have recovered the vehicle and Rep. Cuellar's phone, and the FBI and the Capitol Police already have leads in the case.

According to the D.C. Police Union, armed robberies in Ward 6, which is where the carjacking took place, have risen by 95 percent compared to last year. Carjackings have also risen 57 percent overall in D.C., where well over two carjackings are reported each day. Violent crime is up 40 percent overall year over year in D.C., while property crime is also surging.

The city also recently surpassed its 200th homicide for the year, reaching a 38 percent rise over the same period last year. It took until late December to reach this milestone in 2022.

Despite all this rising crime, 173 House Democrats voted in February to reduce the penalties associated with carjackings and many other types of violent crimes in D.C.

Although Cuellar initially voiced reservations about voting for an $82 million spending bill because it contained provisions that would facilitate defunding police, he ultimately ended up voting against an amendment that would take out the language making it easier to defund the police. He also voted for the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act, which sought to hold police more accountable and end racial profiling.

Cuellar says penalties for crimes should be higher

However, Cuellar is now praising the police and pointed out that he has law enforcement officers in his family. He also accused some of this fellow Democrats of going too far with their support for reducing police funding and supporting criminal justice reforms.

He said in an interview with Fox News: I dont believe in defunding the police. I voted against what the Washington, D.C., Council did to lower penalties. I think thats a wrong direction. I was one of 30 Democrats that we dont feel that you affect crime by lowering the penalties. You ought to increase the penalty.

Several lawmakers have taken the opportunity to amplify calls to come down harder on criminals.

Representative Burgess Owens (R-Utah) posted on X: "Rep. Cuellar was carjacked near my same DC apartment building. This chaos is the result of Democrat-led Soft on Crime policies, no different than their Open Border debacle. It's time for Democrats to start taking the safety of Americans seriously."

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell spoke out against rising crime in D.C. on the Senate floor, acknowledging that Americans face these crimes every day.

"American families deserve to feel safe in their homes and in their neighborhoods, and certainly in the nation's capital. It shouldn't take another assault or carjacking or homicide to convince local leaders to actually start doing their jobs," he stated.

Sources for this article include:

TheGatewayPundit.com

TheHill.com

ABCNews.go.com
Demonic Hollywood casts Jennifer Aniston and Reese Witherspoon in new AppleTV+ show portraying pro-lifers as villains

Two of America's most pro-abortion celebrities,star Jennifer Aniston and's Reese Witherspoon, are attacking pro-lifers by portraying them as villains in an AppleTV+ program called

As part of demonic Hollywood's pro-death campaign, Aniston and Witherspoon will unveil season three of The Morning Show with episodes covering the overturning of Roe v. Wade by depicting a fictional story about a young woman named Bradley Jackson, played by Witherspoon, who has to smuggle abortion pills across the border from Mexico to Texas in order to kill her unborn baby.

Rather than simply keeping her legs closed, the character is portrayed as a victim of those mean Republicans who want to stop baby murder. Witherspoon in particular, who in season one of the show admitted on-air to having an abortion, was instrumental in covering this storyline.

"There's this woman in Texas, and she crosses over the border every single month into Mexico to get abortion pills for women who cannot drive hours to the nearest clinic," Witherspoon tells The Morning Show journalist Alex Levy, played by Aniston.

"She's doing work that really matters," Witherspoon's character reveals to Levy, adding that abortion pills "save lives."

Witherspoon further claims that crisis pregnancy centers are "fake clinics" that "routinely lie to pregnant women about how far along they are, so that they think they're too late to terminate the pregnancy. I mean, they'll be three weeks along, and they'll tell them that they're eight weeks because the cutoff is six weeks."

(Related: Remember when the dumb blowhard Hollywood actors promised a "total Hollywood strike" until every last American resident got "vaccinated" and "boosted" for COVID?)

The Morning Show is LYING about safety of abortion pills  they can kill the mother, too

Both characters then proceed in the show to refer to pregnancy care centers as "sick" and "insane," while Levy praises the illegal abortion pill smuggler in her coverage as "part of an underground network of volunteers who have been bringing abortion pills from Mexico into the U.S. Medication for abortion is safe, and it is effective, and here in the remote Rio Grande Valley, often the only option."

Keep in mind that in real life, Aniston and Witherspoon are two of the most pro-abortion women in Hollywood. Both women have commented time and time again about how much they love murdering babies in the womb, and how they want all women everywhere to have the same "freedom."

After Roe v. Wade was overturned, Aniston, a multi-millionaire who rakes in tens of millions of dollars every year just from Friends reruns, posted to her social media account an old clip from the show in which her character stated: "I repeat ... no uterus, no opinion."

Similarly, Witherspoon tweeted following the overturning of Roe v. Wade that she was "beyond upset about the passing of new abortion bans in Alabama, Kentucky, Mississippi, Georgia and Ohio," as well as openly condemned the protections passed in Texas for pre-born children back in 2021.

"None of that matters much  people don't really take the political opinions of celebrities to heart," notes LifeSiteNews' Jonathon Van Maren.

"But the storytelling of these stars is something else entirely. Since the abortion wars got hotter in the runup to Roe's overturn and further with the Dobbs decision, Hollywood has been ramping up the pro-abortion propaganda. Despite the views of the Hollywood elite, abortion storylines generally haven't been popular for the simple reason that nobody much cared for them."

Hollywood hates God and His natural creation, including unborn human life. Learn more about what these demons are up to at Evil.news.

Sources for this article include:

LifeSiteNews.com

NaturalNews.com
BAKU, Azerbaijan, October 5. India will continue to call on both Azerbaijan and Armenia for further dialogue on the peace process, the Spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs of India, Arindam Bagchi said, Trend reports.

"We continue to monitor the situation and urge the parties to move forward in ensuring long-term peace and security through dialogue, which primarily includes the well-being of the civilian population," Bagchi said.

India, contrary to speculation about its pro-Armenian position, expresses a fairly objective opinion about the recent events in Karabakh, while not taking sides and equally calling for a peaceful dialogue, including Armenia, said Bagchi.

In order to ensure the provisions of the Trilateral Statement [signed by Azerbaijani, Armenian and Russian leaders following the 2020 second Karabakh war], suppression of large-scale provocations in Azerbaijan's Karabakh economic region, disarmament, and withdrawal of Armenian armed forces formations from the territories of Azerbaijan, localized anti-terrorist activities were carried out in the region.

Taking into account the appeal of the representatives of the Armenian population of Karabakh through the Russian peacekeeping contingent [temporarily stationed in Azerbaijan under the trilateral statement], an agreement was reached on September 20, 2023, at 13:00 (GMT+4) to cease anti-terrorist activities of a local nature under the following conditions: the formations of the armed forces of Armenia, Armenian illegal armed formations located in Azerbaijan's Karabakh region, lay down their weapons, leave their combat positions and military posts, and completely disarm; the formations of the armed forces of Armenia leave the territory of Azerbaijan; Armenian illegal armed groups are dissolved.
CHILDREN BEING TAKEN: Horrific video reveals U.S. government is actively facilitating a HUGE child trafficking ring across America

A disturbing expose shows how the U.S. federal government is supporting the worlds biggest child trafficking ring with a steady stream of migrant children.

Muckraker released a video on X showing unsettling footage of young children being placed in large vans with tinted windows as their shady escorts hid their name badges and instructed them not to speak to reporters. Unfortunately, these children's fate is a big mystery, and there are thousands more just like them who disappear in the U.S. on a regular basis.

According to the publication, around 350,000 children enter the country unaccompanied every year, and 85,000 of those children have gone missing. Many are forced into a life of involuntary servitude, commercial sex trafficking and other horrors that potentially include organ harvesting.

Many of these children come from remote areas of South and Central America. While some children are lured from their villages by radio ads that tempt them with the idea of enjoying a better life in the U.S., other children are kidnapped or even sold to traffickers by their own parents.

The kids are tagged by the cartel trafficking them, and some are actually carried across the border incapacitated. Border Patrol often looks the other way and books them anyway. Some are given to single adults who want to enter the U.S. to make them appear to be a family and improve their chances of getting into the country; they may be smuggled back into Mexico and then used for this purpose multiple times.

Border Patrol must release unaccompanied children to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) within 72 hours. As they wait to be processed and placed with a sponsor in the U.S., they are held in compounds run by government contractors that Muckraker likens to concentration camps. These centers can be found in places like Eagle Pass, El Paso, Los Fresnos, Carrizo Springs and Pecos.

Many of these compounds have guard towers, double fencing, flood lights and other security features that seem very excessive for a place that is just holding children and has no nefarious connections.

Some children are also held in makeshift compounds in former shopping centers. For example, the NGO Southwest Key keeps children in former Walmart stores. Unfortunately, this particular NGO has a horrible track record, including employees who have been charged with child molestation and sexual assault against children at their facilities. One employee was sentenced to 19 years in prison after sexually abusing kids at the facility and exposing them to the HIV virus. Yet the NGO is still getting funding, receiving $770 million this year alone.

Migrant children's "sponsors" are often human traffickers

The Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) is supposed to verify the identity of these childrens sponsors, but records show they are failing miserably. Forged documents are not uncommon, and many sponsors are illegal aliens as well. Many children are sent to sponsors who are completely unrelated to them, and the process for vetting these sponsors was recently eased by the Biden administration to reduce bottlenecks. Background checks for some types of sponsors are no longer required, and many of these sponsors are actually human traffickers.

A Congressional report from 2016 acknowledged that [t]he United States is a source, transit, and destination country for men, women, transgender individuals, and childrenboth U.S. citizens and foreign nationalssubjected to sex trafficking and forced labor.

In addition, a report published last month by the DHS Office of Inspector General admitted that DHS may unknowingly release migrants, including children, to potentially unsafe conditions or smuggling operations.

A March report filed by a Florida Grand Jury stated clearly: "ORR is facilitating the forced migration, sale, and abuse of foreign children," adding that "The process exposes children to horrifying health conditions, constant criminal threat, labor and sex trafficking." The grand jury concluded that an ORR worker was fired for reporting suspected trafficking in a case involving 100 children being sent to a single house in Texas after her superiors refused to look into it.

After these children are delivered to their sponsors by government contractors, ORR calls them after 30 days for a wellness check that simply involves asking for verbal confirmation of the status of the child. A third of these calls, or 85,000, have gone unanswered since 2021, and no one ever follows up on it.

Its anybodys guess what happens to these children, but we know it often involves sex trafficking and forced labor. And with the Biden Administration continuing to embrace open border policies, there will be a steady supply of children who can be victimized by child traffickers with help from the federal government for the foreseeable future.

Sources for this article include:

Muckraker.com

NYPost.com
IT malfunction brings Germanys Volkswagen factories to a grinding halt

On Sept. 7, Volkswagen reported that it was hit by a major IT outage that caused production at several plants in Germany to screech to a halt

Volkswagen, Europe's top carmaker, added that the whole group, which includes the Porsche AG and Audi brands, was affected by the "IT malfunction."

A spokesperson for Audi said that production at the division has been affected, adding that the extent of the impact is being analyzed. Porsche AG did not reply to requests for a comment.

Volkswagen is already dealing with reduced production at its all-electric Zwickau plant, where decreasing demand for battery-powered vehicles may change a long-standing three-shift system.

According to Volkswagen, there was an unspecified "IT malfunction of network components" in Wolfsburg, Germany, its global headquarters. The outage affected several German sites in Dresden, Emden, Hanover, Osnabrueck and Zwickau, along with component factories in Braunschweig, Chemnitz, Kassel and Salzgitter. (Related: Volkswagen reconsidering plans to build new EV battery plants in Europe due to soaring energy costs.)

"According to current analyses, an external attack is unlikely to be the cause of the system malfunction," assured Volkswagen. The company is treating the incident as a high priority and is now working to fix the problem.

Volkswagen may shift output from Germany due to gas shortage

Volkswagen has previously reported that it may shift production out of Germany and Eastern Europe if a shortage of natural gas persists, suggesting that the energy crisis unleashed by the Russia-Ukraine war is threatening to topple Europe's industrial landscape.

The company said it is considering moving production as one of the options in the medium-term if gas shortages last beyond winter. Volkswagen operates major factories in Germany, the Czech Republic and Slovakia, which are some of the most reliant European countries on Russian gas.

In a statement, Geng Wu from Volkswagen Consulting, the automakers in-house consultancy, explained that as mid-term alternatives, the company is aiming for "greater localization, relocation of manufacturing capacity, or technical alternatives," which is already common practice in "the context of challenges related to semiconductor shortages and other recent supply chain disruptions."

Southwestern Europe or coastal zones of northern Europe, which have better access to seaborne liquefied natural gas cargoes, could benefit from a production shift, added a Volkswagen spokesman.

Volkswagen operates car factories in Belgium, Portugal, Spain and other countries that host liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminals.

According to Volkswagen, it should be able to maintain production in the upcoming months if Germany continues to fill its gas reserves. However, rising energy prices and instability in supply chain networks could threaten global production.

Meanwhile, Michael Heinemann, another Volkswagen executive, declared that the automaker will reduce its natural gas intake by over 20 percent, the minimum set by the government.

In total, Volkswagen could reduce its consumption across European locations by a mid-double-digit percentage figure, but Heinemann did not specify an exact number.

Learn more about Volkswagen and other automakers and their electric cars at RoboCars.news.

Watch the video below to learn why Volkswagen pulled all advertisements from X (formerly Twitter).

This video is from the KevinJJohnston channel on Brighteon.com.

More related stories:

Volkswagen to purchase $14 billion worth of battery cells in push to expand production of electric vehicles.

Manufacturing EV batteries in EU practically unviable due to soaring energy costs, says Volkswagen.

Saudi Arabia signs $5.6 billion deal with China to boost the kingdoms EV industry.

Sources include:

ZeroHedge.com

Reuters.com

Europe.AutoNews.com

Brighteon.com
NSA launches AI security center to protect the U.S. from AI-powered cyberattacks

The National Security Agency (NSA) has announced the creation of its new artificial intelligence security center whose primary goal will be to protect the United States against foreign AI-powered cyberattacks.

The NSA noted that the new center signals the government's desire to confront heightened fears that foreign adversaries will strengthen their abilities to crack AI operators' systems, manipulate their models or even steal their intellectual property. (Related: Cybersecurity expert successfully builds PROPAGANDA MACHINE that can mass produce AI-generated DISINFORMATION.)

This comes as the U.S. government increases its use of algorithms and other information technology systems supported by AI and is seeking to keep these new and vulnerable infrastructures safe from theft or sabotage.

NSA Director, Commander of U.S. Cyber Command and U.S. Army Gen. Paul Nakasone said in a press briefing that the new AI security center will be incorporated into the NSA's existing Cybersecurity Collaboration Center, which works with government and private sector partners to strengthen U.S. cyber defenses, especially from near-peer rivals Russia and communist China.

This new center will become the focal point for the NSA for "promoting the secure adoption of new AI capabilities across the national security enterprise and the defense industry base," said Nakasone. "AI will be increasingly consequential for national security in diplomatic, technological and economic matters for our country and our allies and partners."

Nakasone also said that AI's increased importance and the opening of the new AI security center is part of the NSA's steps to "shape the future" of AI technology in the security, defense and intelligence sectors.

An NSA spokesperson added that the agency's new center "is uniquely well positioned to bring its technical expertise, threat insights and authorities as National Manager for National Security Systems and its work with the Defense Industrial Base to support whole-of-government efforts in conjunction with the private sector to ensure an enduring U.S. advantage in AI."

"NSA's principles and values, along with our culture of compliance and protection of privacy and civil liberties, will serve as the foundation for the [AI security center's] activities," the spokesperson claimed.

U.S. maintains a slight advantage in AI tech

In his statement to the press, Nakasone confirmed that America's lead in AI technology is being increasingly threatened by China.

"We maintain an advantage in AI in the United States today," he said. "That AI advantage should not be taken for granted."

America's foreign adversaries like China have increased their interest in targeting AI models as generative AI tools become more popular. Cybersecurity researchers have noted that China has in recent months stepped up its cyber operations focused on attacking institutions of the U.S. and its allies, including pre-positioning malware designed to disrupt military communications. Just recently the U.S. and Japan issued an alert warning that Chinese hackers were targeting government, industrial, telecommunications and other entities that support their militaries.

"We must build a robust understanding of AI vulnerabilities, foreign intelligence threats to these AI systems and ways to encounter the threat in order to have AI security," said Nakasone.

The NSA chief further noted that the agency already extensively uses AI, but final decisions on anything are always reserved for humans.

"AI helps us, but our decisions are made by humans. And that's an important distinction," he said. "We do see assistance from artificial intelligence. But at the end of the day, decisions will be made by humans and humans in the loop."

"With China continuously improving and building out their AI capabilities, we have no choice but to lead the way in the development and implementation of this emerging technology," said Ziven Havens, policy director of the nonprofit Bull Moose Project. "America must be first, or else we will be left behind in the AI race."

Learn more about the threats to American national security at NationalSecurity.news.

Watch this clip from Fox Business discussing how the growing popularity of artificial intelligence is affecting the economy.

This video is from the News Clips channel on Brighteon.com.

More related stories:

REPORT: Chinese operatives use AI-generated images to spread disinformation and provoke discussions on divisive political issues targeting America.

AI and genetic engineering could trigger a "super-pandemic," warns AI expert.

Big Tech and U.S. government using AI to CENSOR POSTS on social media that counter their fake narratives.

Google rolls out new generative AI feature that summarizes articles  meaning, you can only see what it allows you to see.

U.S. Air Force launches first ever AI-piloted fighter flight as American military pivots to human-less warfare.

Sources include:

Axios.com

FoxNews.com

AlJazeera.com

APNews.com

Brighteon.com
GRAND THEFT AUTO: Philadelphia car dealership loses most of its vehicles to thieves less than a week after opening

A car dealership in Philadelphia has already lost most of its vehicles less than a week after it opened.

City Motors, located in the Mayfair neighborhood in the City of Brotherly Love, is on the brink of closing for good just days after opening. This is because thieves made off with several vehicles it was selling on the early morning of Sept. 27, according to WPVI 6.

The outlet reported that a group of criminals broke into the dealership's office on Frankford Avenue during the late hours of the previous day and ransacked the premises. The thieves stole the keys to seven of the 11 cars on the lot and made off with them  including the vehicles' titles. They also broke into an eighth car and attempted to hot-wire it, but in vain.

"If we don't recover the cars, we probably won't survive it. It could be the start and the end [of the business] all in the same week," said City Motors co-owner Nathan Kriegler.

"We called our insurance company and unfortunately, we only have liability insurance for the vehicles. So if we don't get the cars back, we have no coverage for the vehicles whatsoever."

WPVI 6 said police are investigating the break-in and thefts at City Motors. Security camera footage was unavailable, given that the business was so new  the security cameras were supposed to be installed on Sept. 27. Three of the stolen vehicles were later tracked down, with investigators probing if the incident is connected to a string of looting across Philadelphia last Sept. 25.

Madison Wittenberg, who handles social media for the company, questioned the thefts: "I mean, what's the point? What is the point of this? Retaliation against something?"

For his part, Kriegler is unsure whether opening City Motors in Mayfair is the right decision. He also called on officials in Philadelphia to crack down on crime. The City of Brotherly Love has seen an increase in crime under its District Attorney (DA) Larry Krasner. (Related: Gallup poll: Los Angeles among five cities deemed unsafe to live in or visit.)

"I think if I had the choice all over, I would not come to Philadelphia," said the business owner. "I think a lot of people are feeling that way."

Nothing "brotherly" in crime-infested Philly

Jesse James of Not The Bee, a sister site of the Babylon Bee, put in his two cents on the issue. He predicted that City Motors won't last in Philadelphia, advising: "Maybe it's best they close up shop. It's only going to get worse."

Meanwhile, CBS News reported that 72 people have been charged in relation to civil unrest and the looting of stores across the city. Swarms of thieves looted businesses in the City of Brotherly Love on the evening of Sept. 26  concurrent with the break-in at City Motors.

Krasner and other city officials gave an update on Oct. 2 regarding the chaos in the city. Assistant DA Clint Orem said 67 adults and five minors were arrested and charged, with burglary and theft being the most common charges. Twenty-one-year-old Dayjia "Meatball" Blackwell, who played a central role in the looting spree, was charged with multiple offenses and taken into custody.

"A robbery charge, a burglary charge, a theft charge, receiving stolen property  whatever we can possibly apply to this situation, we're going to apply it," said John Stanford, the city's acting police commissioner. "Philadelphia is not going to be the place that you can come and do this type of behavior."

According to CBS News, the chaos began hours after a judge dismissed all charges against former police officer Mark Dial. The erstwhile member of the Philadelphia Police Department shot 27-year-old Eddie Irizarry in August, leading to the latter's death. Law enforcement has clarified, however, that the rioters weren't connected to the peaceful protesters who gathered that day to protest the ruling.

"The DA and the courts need to make sure these people pay a price for what they did, said Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney.

Visit Collapse.news for more stories about crime in the City of Brotherly Love.

Watch this Russia Today report about the mass looting that happened in Philadelphia on the same night as the theft at City Motors.

This video is from the andreash channel on Brighteon.com.

More related stories:

Philadelphia MAYHEM: Massive LOOTING leads to VIOLENT brawl between cops and thieves.

California DA: SHOPLIFTING in the Golden State is out of control, soft-on-crime policies to blame.

Another night of Philly looting: Flash mob ransacks liquor store, robs lottery machine and makes off with safe.

Pandemic of retail THEFT: Democrat county supervisor now regrets stupidly backing a radical crime bill that legalized shoplifting in California.

Sources include:

NotTheBee.com

6ABC.com

CBSNews.com

Brighteon.com
Retailers lost $112B in 2022 because of unprecedented levels of THEFT, causing stores to take drastic measures

Retailers across the nation faced a " dramatic jump in financial losses "  $112.1 billion in 2022 that is up from $93.9 billion in 2021 and $90.8 billion in 2020  due to unprecedented levels of organized retail crime, according to the National Retail Federation (NRF).

NRF data shows the hardest hit last year were retailers within metros, including Houston, Los Angeles, New York, Oakland, San Francisco and Seattle. (Related: BAD APPLE: NYC shoplifting reports hit record levels for second straight year.)

"Retailers are seeing unprecedented levels of theft coupled with rampant crime in their stores, and the situation is not only becoming more dire but continually threatening the safety of the workers and shoppers," warned NRF Vice President for Asset Protection and Retail Operations David Johnston in a statement.

Echoing Johnson's concerns, big-box stores have started collaborating and working with law enforcement, legislators and other retail industry partners to advocate public policy solutions and discuss more effective, realistic and workable countermeasures that will not result to price hikes or store closures.

Anti-theft measures implemented by big-box stores

Insider reporters Ben Tobin and Dominic Reuter visited some big-box stores in the Midwest to see how they are tackling the retail industrys willful shoplifting epidemic.

Other retail establishments and theft prevention experts have also shared measures that could be taken or that they have already taken to counter their past vulnerabilities.

Security cameras  Many stores have started installing more security cameras to watch every aisle, corner and nook in addition to surveillance "lot cops" in parking lots.

Signs  Stores have put up signs warning customers that there are "Security cameras in use," "These premises are protected with video surveillance," "Shoplifters will be prosecuted" and "Reducing theft helps us all by keeping prices low" in strategic locations.

Lock-and-key  Several stores have secured high-value items and other merchandise prone to shoplifting behind glass doors, locked cases and/or plastic boxes that require the help of store employees to retrieve.

Spider wrap alarms  Stores have also resorted to covering items throughout the store with spider wrap alarms that sound off once an item is pilfered.

Cyber defense security  Aside from using traditional cyber defense technologies, stores have also bolstered their cyber defense by strengthening and upgrading authentication, access control, information encryption, intrusion detection systems, vulnerability scanning and virus protection.

Many stores have also begun taking advantage of some of the most popular and effective technology options, such as:

RFID or radio frequency identification tags , which are placed on applicable merchandise and are only removed following completed sale transactions. If they are not removed, these tags sound an alarm upon exit from the store.

, which are placed on applicable merchandise and are only removed following completed sale transactions. If they are not removed, these tags sound an alarm upon exit from the store. Point of sale activation (POSA) , which require certain products to be scanned at the cash register for gift cards to be activated or electronics to be activated.

, which require certain products to be scanned at the cash register for gift cards to be activated or electronics to be activated. Bells that signal entry and exit, which are ideal for smaller stores.

Store layout  Some stores have opted to arrange their layouts to ensure the checkout area is by the exit rather than at the back.

Additional workforce  Many stores are now hiring more employees so they can:

Assign extra security at exits, e.g., a security guard or two to mark and check store receipts. This not only discourages retail theft but also helps prevent accidental overcharges or missing already charged items.

Employ "greeters," which not only enhances customer experience but also lets people who enter the store know someone is aware of their presence. They can also do double duty and provide customer service assistance.

Training on de-escalation strategies  Some stores now provide regular training for store leaders, key employees and security team members so they can protect themselves or take individuals down before agitation evolves into violence.

Read more stories about the rise in crime and organized retail theft in America at Collapse.news.

Watch the following video about how Shoplifting is skyrocketing across America.

This video is from the Dr. William Mount channel on Brighteon.com.

More related stories:

Doug Casey on rising crime, legalized shoplifting and other disturbing trends in US cities.

Big box stores closing down due to rising RETAIL THEFT.

Walmart CEO: Rampant organized shoplifting could lead to price hikes, store closures.

Sources include:

FoxBusiness.com

BusinessInsider.com

Corporate.HomeDepot.com

Vivint.com

SecurityMagazine.com

Brighteon.com
Right Now with Ann Vandersteel: Massive Houston development known as Colony Ridge to house up to 200K ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS  Brighteon.TV

Gov. Greg Abbott is expected to direct the Republican Party-led Texas Legislature to investigate a massive development in the Houston metro area that is allegedly being built in order to house up to 200,000 illegal immigrants.

The development in question is known as Colony Ridge, located just north of Houston in Liberty County that has become a "magnet for illegal immigrants" since 2011 due to being what is known as a "colonia." (Related: WEF takes over former U.S. military bases in Panama as migrants flood through Darien Gap on their way to America.)

Colonia is a common name for illegal immigrant settlements meant to house Central and South Americans in the United States. The Office of the Attorney General of Texas defines colonias as housing developments usually found along the Texas-Mexico border, that are meant primarily to house illegal immigrants. These colonias are often built far below safety standards and lack basic utilities such as drinking water and sewage treatment and even do not have paved roads leading in and out.

Victor Avila, a former supervisory special agent with Immigration and Customs Enforcement, noted in an interview with Ann Vandersteel on her Brighteon.TV program, "Right Now with Ann Vandersteel," that colonias have been around in Texas for decades.

Avila noted that these developments are usually built under "third-world country-type conditions," but businesses in Texas get away with creating them because "there's a lot of money involved there."

Because colonias are not necessarily built with the supervision of local authorities in mind, Avila said the people who live there are most likely illegal immigrants, including criminals ranging from human and sex traffickers, drug and weapons smugglers and even members of Mexican cartels. Avila warned that some of these colonias in Texas have become so large and notorious that "not even the local police go in there."

The Colony Ridge development has come under scrutiny in recent weeks for potentially harboring tens of thousands of unlawful migrants, possibly even as many as 200,000, hence why Texas Republicans have accused the development of being a colonia.

"Serious concerns have been raised about what's going on in this Colony Ridge area," said Abbott during a radio interview. "We're trying to put together as much information as possible so that I can add this to the special session."

Abbott has already informed Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and Texas House Speaker Dade Phelan of the Oct. 9 start date of the Texas Legislature's special session. This special session is supposed to be primarily about school choice, but growing concerns over border security have prompted Abbott to consider expanding the scope of the session's agenda. This expanded agenda would involve crafting new border security legislation and investigating Colony Ridge.

Colony Ridge president refutes "colonia" accusations

The Colony Ridge development began construction in 2011, with Colony Ridge, Inc. President John Harris claiming that since its foundation the development has "provided homeownership to thousands."

Harris has also refuted claims that Colony Ridge is a colonia, saying that he and his development are currently the targets of "ongoing false media narratives and false statements" being perpetuated primarily by "out-of-state media outlets, politicians and special interest groups."

In an open letter to state lawmakers, Harris called out the "salacious rumors and lies" claiming that Colony Ridge houses thousands of illegals and is a hotbed of cartel activity.

"We have followed the law fully, including screening all customers for potential terrorism and narcotics trafficking, following anti-discrimination laws and adhering to all county ordinances, environmental regulations and model subdivision rules," he wrote. "Our development is not a 'colonia'  Further, allegations of drug cartel connections to Colony Ridge are preposterous and unfounded."

Watch this Oct. 2 episode of "Right Now with Ann Vandersteel" as host Ann Vandersteel interviews Victor Avila about the situation at the border in Texas.

"Right Now with Ann Vandersteel" airs Monday to Saturday at 8 p.m. on Brighteon.TV.

More related stories:

Biden admin orders border agents to cut down barbed wire fences in Texas so illegal immigrants can enter from Mexico.

INVASION ALERT: Over 8K illegals crossed into Texas city with less than 30K population in just 4 days.

El Paso at its "breaking point" as 2,000 illegals enter the city each day.

Migrant TSUNAMI: Eagle Pass declares STATE OF EMERGENCY as nearly 14K border crossers flood the city in less than two weeks  many more to come.

This needs to STOP! Tax dollars are being used to fund ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION across America.

Sources include:

Brighteon.com

HoustonLanding.org

TheCenterSquare.com

DallasExpress.com
Ukraine suddenly discovers money to manufacture its own weapons as U.S. funding dries up

Ukraine is now reportedly scrambling to replenish its armory stockpiles and recently announced its intention to manufacture its own weapons, driven by a massive reduction in foreign funding , particularly from the United States. Independent news outlet Politico reported on Monday that President Volodymyr Zelensky as well as top government officials in Kyiv acknowledged that they found money in the federal budget to fund the manufacture of some weapons.

The said measure came after the passing of a clean stopgap funding bill by the U.S. government at the House of Representatives on Saturday. The short-term spending bill is a move to avoid a government shutdown, if the Senate adopts the measure, as the federal debt reached $33 trillion for the first time in history in September. If it's expedited in the Senate, Congress could just narrowly avoid seeing thousands of federal employees furloughed and nonessential government programs paused.

According to House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, the bill includes the $16 billion disaster relief aid that President Joe Biden requested over the summer, which means no additional taxpayer funds were allocated for Ukraine. Some Republican lawmakers cited concerns about corruption within the Ukrainian military. The funding patch will last for 45 days past the end of the fiscal year, which concludes at midnight Sunday, Oct. 1.

Without referring directly to the U.S. bill, Zelensky said in a recorded speech released on the Defenders Day holiday on Sunday, that nothing would weaken his country's fight against Russia and that no one could "shut down" Ukraine's stability, endurance, strength and courage.

So, when Ukrainian leaders huddled with hundreds of defense industry officials and policymakers from allied countries, they also decided that Kyiv was open for business. "It's a survival issue," said Pavel Verkhniatskyi, managing partner at COSA Intelligence Solutions in Kyiv. Zelensky told the audience during the meeting that co-production deals are "already being negotiated with partners" and that he has established funding in the national budget to help finance those collaborations. (Related: NATO's ammo shortage worsens due to skyrocketing prices and Ukrainian troops overconsumption of artillery shells.)

According to Politico, as Ukrainian officials are looking to Western defense firms for commitments that they're willing to invest and build in Ukraine even before the fighting stops, two European defense contractors have already said they would. German arms giant Rheinmetall vowed to work with Ukraine's state arms company Ukroboronprom to build tanks and armored vehicles. Also, British-based BAE said it is opening an office in Kyiv and is looking into making 105mm guns in Ukraine.

Read the new Politico report into Ukrainian corruption. Understand that Biden knows all of that and much more. Understand that even though he is well-aware of the corruption, he still wants to send more taxpayer money to them. No audits. No anything. Then again, how could  Lauren Boebert (@laurenboebert) October 2, 2023

Meanwhile, some world leaders are concerned about sacrificing their own weapons. Reflecting the growing frustration among foreign nations over Ukraine, "We cannot keep on giving from our own stockpiles," said one European official, who like others quoted in this story was granted anonymity to speak frankly about a politically sensitive issue. He also said that there is still robust public and political support for Ukraine's fight, but "we've given everything that will not endanger our own security."

Meanwhile, Gen. Stephane Mille, chief of staff of the French Air and Space Force, recently told reporters in Washington that after two years, "we cannot give, give, give and see our systems going down for Ukraine." "There is an option now to have some discussion between Ukraine [and] companies and then the finance will be a part where France could of course pay," to help with production.

U.K. runs out of tanks and missiles to donate to Ukraine

Another Western ally has run out of crucial equipment to donate. A senior British officer told the Telegraph that they have given away just about as much as they can afford. "We will continue to source equipment to provide for Ukraine, but what they need now is things like air defense assets and artillery ammunition and we've run dry on all that," the unnamed source said. As per government records, the United Kingdom provided 2.3 billion ($2.8 billion) in military support to Ukraine last year. It has been quicker than other allies to send Ukraine new types of weaponry, like its Challenger 2 tanks and Storm Shadow cruise missiles.

For the said military source, his country should not be the only one to provide money to Ukraine, saying: "Giving billions more doesn't mean giving billions of British kits." He insisted that if other countries want Kyiv to win the war against Russia, they should also step in to shoulder the burden of supplying Ukraine with "more money and weapons."

On Sunday, former Defense Secretary Ben Wallace said in an op-ed that he had urged Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to increase military support still further. He said his goal was for Britain to overtake Germany to become Ukraine's biggest military supporter in Europe.

Meanwhile, the Kremlin is confident that Western fatigue with the war "will eventually grow."

Visit UkraineWitness.com for more stories about humanitarian and military aid sent to Ukraine.

Sources for this article include:

HeadlineUSA.com

FoxNews.com

Politico.com

BusinessInsider.com

Telegraph.co.uk

TheGuardian.com
British Education chief wants to BAN students from using phones in schools

British Education Secretary Gillian Keegan is planning to ban the use of smartphones in schools in the U.K., believing that these digital devices pose a serious hindrance for students achieving better academic performance.

The guidance would affect all schools in the U.K. and would be enforced for the whole school day. Officials in Britain's ruling Conservative Party earlier urged headteachers to put a limit to phone usage in schools. (Related: Parents and school officials of small Irish town unite to BAN SMARTPHONES for children as old as 13.)

"Gillian believes mobile phones pose a serious challenge in terms of distraction, disruptive behavior and bullying," said one government source who spoke with the Daily Mail. "It is one of the biggest issues children and teachers have to grapple with, so she will set out a way forward to empower teachers to ban mobiles from classrooms."

Keegan's proposed guidance would only affect schools in England, as schools in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland are governed by their own devolved governments.

International support for banning smartphone use in schools growing

The British government's latest proposal comes as more national and international education-focused bodies recommend restricting smartphone usage in schools.

Back in July, the United Nations recommended banning smartphones in schools to tackle classroom disruption, improve learning and even help protect children from cyberbullying.

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) pointed out that there was significant evidence that excessive smartphone use in school-age children was linked to reduced educational performance and that higher levels of screen time also had a negative effect on the emotional stability of children.

"The digital revolution holds immeasurable potential but, just as warnings have been voiced for how it should be regulated in society, similar attention must be paid to the way it is used in education," said UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay. "Its use must be for enhanced learning experiences and for the wellbeing of students and teachers, not to their detriment. Keep the needs of the learner first and support teachers. Online connections are no substitute for human interaction."

Other nations are also in the process of developing their own policies to restrict smartphone usage in schools. In June, Finland became the latest country to ban phones in class, claiming that such a move was necessary to reverse declining exam scores.

This is at least the third attempt by the Conservative Party to introduce a similar smartphone ban measure. Last year, then-Education Secretary Sir Gavin Williamson vowed to make the school day "mobile-free," but the proposal was later ditched by his successor who claimed that it was unnecessary because most schools were already implementing some version of a smartphone ban.

"Most schools have well-developed plans in place for the management of mobile phones and further intervention from government isn't necessary," wrote the Education Department back in February regarding its previous failed proposal. "In most cases, mobile phones are already banned for the majority of the school day with schools taking a range of measures to enforce that policy."

Visit Glitch.news for more stories about children's social media use.

Watch the following video to learn about how smartphones connect to people's brains and manipulate their thoughts.

This video is from the VoiceForTruth channel on Brighteon.com.

More related stories:

Screen time linked to developmental delays in young children.

Poll: Parents most concerned about excessive use of SOCIAL MEDIA and mobile devices as kids return to school.

Finland introduces world's first phone-free island to study effects of social media addiction.

Alabama school districts sue social media companies for causing youth mental health crisis.

Most Brits feel they are victims of "sonic snooping," and cybersecurity experts believe they're right.

Sources include:

DailyMall.co.uk

TheGuardian.com 1

TheGuardian.com 2

Brighteon.com
HUMANITARIAN CRISIS: Thousands of illegals flood San Diego, local shelters reach capacity

San Diego officials has declared the situation in their county a "humanitarian crisis." In recent weeks, San Diego has been overwhelmed with at least 7,800 illegal immigrants

As of writing, local shelters have reached capacity, including the estimated 950 beds in San Diego, which are usually enough to accommodate recently arrived migrants who need a place to sleep for a couple of nights.

Because of this, immigration agents are now leaving people on the streets, at bus stops and in train stations, in turn angering local officials and worrying aid groups.

In one such scenario, an unmarked white bus pulled up to a park and dropped off at least 50 recently arrived migrants who had little to no idea where they were and no place to sleep that night.

Lindsay Toczylowski, executive director of the Immigrant Defenders Law Center, said they often see people being released to the streets. In some cases, these people own little more than the clothes on their backs.

Toczylowski's organization set up a makeshift aid center for migrants at the park, and the U.S. Border Patrol (USBP) has been dropping off people there. The first question many new arrivals ask aid workers is where in the country they are.

Border Patrol officials explained that agents coordinate releases with aid groups whenever possible and that they release migrants at transit locations when they have no other option left.

At the San Diego aid center, a small building on the edge of the park normally used for community events, signs in languages such as Arabic, French, Mandarin, Spanish, Turkish and Urdu read that migrants aren't allowed to stay overnight.

Migrants have also been released at a transit center in Oceanside, just north of San Diego. Volunteers in the city are helping them with hotel vouchers or rides to the airport.

Greg Anglea, chief executive of the local aid group Interfaith Community Services, asked for more help to fund these services at a recent San Diego County Board of Supervisors meeting.

Anglea said Oceanside can no longer wait and "allow the need for federal funding to obviate our requirement" due to the public health needs and the safety concerns of individuals in the community, especially the young men and women being dropped off in the city.

Meanwhile, Toczylowski's organization is finding beds in hotels and volunteers' homes for migrants with nowhere else to go. Others ride on shuttles to the airport for flights to destinations like Detroit and New York City (NYC).

Illegals exacerbate homelessness problem in NYC

Like San Diego, NYC is at a loss for what to do with the thousands of migrants streaming into the city every month. Aside from the migrant issue, NYC officials are also struggling with another problem: an existing homelessness problem.

After a decline during the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, the population of the shelter system in NYC has now reached a record high. According to city data, it now exceeds the previous record set in 2019.

Advocates and legislators think that an expanded system of city housing vouchers can help put more residents in permanent housing and reduce ad hoc solutions such as converting warehouses and office buildings to shelters.

More than 90,000 migrants have arrived in New York City since spring 2022. An estimated 61 percent of these migrants are still in traditional shelters or various relief centers.

Mayor Eric Adams said the migrant crisis has already cost the city $1.4 billion. New York City also expects to spend at least $2.9 billion on the matter this fiscal year. (Related: NYC migrant crisis: Central Park being considered as HOUSING for migrants.)

Based on the current migrant flows through Central America and Mexico, the number of asylum seekers trying to enter the country illegally is predicted to grow in the coming months.

Other communities overwhelmed by recently arrived migrants have also sent a request for federal help, including border cities like El Paso and Eagle Pass in Texas.

Read more news about the influx of illegals in the U.S. at OpenBorders.news.

Watch the video below to see Border Patrol release hundreds of illegal migrants at a city street in San Diego.

This video is from the GalacticStorm channel on Brighteon.com.

More related stories:

Biden opens America to migrants fleeing their homelands due to BAD WEATHER.

Chicagos Black community slams city officials over $51 million fund for migrants.

ISIS-affiliated smuggler helped migrants illegally enter the U.S. via Mexico.

Sources include:

WSJ.com 1

WSJ.com 2

Brighteon.com
NASA successfully retrieves first asteroid samples from OSIRIS-REx spacecraft

After years of waiting, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) asteroid probe has finally returned to Earth with rock and dust samples taken from an asteroid

The Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification and Security-Regolith Explorer (OSIRIS-REx) probe was launched on Sept. 8, 2016, and traveled to the near-Earth asteroid known as Bennu.

OSIRIS-REx collected a sample of rocks and dust from the surface of this asteroid and then made the long journey back to Earth.

The OSIRIS-REx landed at 10:52 a.m. Eastern Time on Sept. 24 in a Department of Defense-managed targeted area at the Utah Test and Training Range near Salt Lake City. The probe's capsule was immediately retrieved and transported within an hour and a half by helicopter to a makeshift clean room arranged in a hangar on the training range, where it was immediately linked to a constant flow of nitrogen.

Obtaining the samples and then immediately placing them under a "nitrogen purge" was one of the most critical jobs for the NASA team once OSIRIS-REx returned to Earth. Nitrogen doesn't combine with most other chemicals, and subjecting the asteroid samples to a constant flow of it helps prevent earthly contaminants from reaching the samples, leaving them pure for future scientific studies.

The samples gathered from Bennu will assist scientists worldwide in making findings to better understand planet formation and the origin of organics and water that led to life on Earth.

The Bennu sample, an estimated 8.8 ounces or 250 grams, was transferred in its unopened canister by aircraft to NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston on Sept. 25.

Curation scientists at the space center will dismantle the canister, extract and weigh the sample, make an inventory of the rocks and dust, and eventually distribute pieces of Bennu to scientists globally.

OSIRIS-REx spacecraft arrived at Bennu nearly five years ago

OSIRIS-REx arrived at Bennu on Dec. 3, 2018, and spent the next two years conducting tests and looking for a site on the surface of the asteroid from where the probe could safely collect rock and dust samples. The probe successfully collected a sample on Oct. 20, 2020 and began its return trip home on May 10, 2021. (Related: NASA's OSIRIS-REX mission will examine samples from an asteroid, seeking clues to the origin of life.)

The OSIRIS-REx spacecraft was 63,000 miles from Earth's surface when it released the sample capsule toward the planet's atmosphere. Traveling at 27,650 miles per hour, the capsule penetrated the atmosphere at 10:42 a.m. Eastern Time, off the coast of California at an altitude of about 83 miles. It landed in the military range in Utah within 10 minutes.

"The whole team had butterflies today, but thats the focused anticipation of a critical event by a well-prepared team. For us, this was the World Series, ninth inning, bases-loaded moment, and this team knocked it out of the park," said Rich Burns, project manager for OSIRIS-REx at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland.

Follow Space.news for more news about NASA missions in space.

Watch the video below about NASA OSIRIS-REx spacecraft's departure from asteroid Bennu.

This video is from the alltheworldsastage channel on Brighteon.com.

More related articles:

NASA details complex mission to collect rock samples from asteroid Bennu.

NASA warns: Earth at GREATER RISK of being destroyed by asteroid than earlier thought.

NASA asteroid deflection test accidentally creates a BOULDER SWARM that could impact the Earth with as much energy as the Hiroshima detonation.

Skyscraper-sized asteroid spotted near Earth deemed "potentially hazardous" by NASA.

Sources include:

WattsUpWithThat.com

SciTechDaily.com

Brighteon.com
BAKU, Azerbaijan, October 5. New facts of Armenian vandalism are being revealed in the territories of Azerbaijan liberated from occupation, Trend reports.

The destruction of the Garadaghli cemetery in the Khojavend region is another proof of Armenian atrocities.

The massive and deliberate destruction of Azerbaijani cemeteries, desecration of graves and mockery of the bodies of the dead, plunder of tombstones during the period of Armenian occupation is a crime against humanity. In total, during the occupation, more than 900 cemeteries were either completely destroyed or the remains were removed and desecrated.

The systematic destruction of dozens of Azerbaijani cemeteries in Fuzuli, Aghdam, Zangilan, Kalbajar and Jabrayil has been documented. The graves were desecrated, traces of their destruction by heavy construction equipment, damage to tombstones, and exhumation of human remains were found.

With these vile acts, the Armenians deprived the Azerbaijanis who returned to their native lands of the opportunity to visit the graves of their relatives and friends.

The Armenians, who throughout history committed genocide of the Turkic peoples, at the end of the twentieth century committed another crime against humanity - the genocide in Garadaghli.

On February 17, 1992, the village of Garadaghli was occupied by Armenian armed gangs. The village of Garadaghli, whose residents heroically fought against the Armenian occupiers, was occupied and burned, and genocide was committed against the civilian population. During the occupation, 118 people were captured and 33 people were shot.

Such barbaric executions as beheading, burying alive, pulling out teeth, long-term deprivation of food and drink, beating to death and similar crimes against humanity were used against captured Azerbaijanis. As a result of the genocide committed by Armenia at the state level, in the village of Garadaghli, two families lost four people each, 43 families lost their heads, and 146 children were left orphans. During the attack of the Armenian armed forces on Garadaghli, 10 women and 8 school-age children were killed. 91 people were killed in the village, that is, every tenth resident. As a result of the occupation, 200 residential buildings, a cultural center, a school with 320 places, a hospital with 25 beds and other facilities, as well as historical, religious, cultural monuments and cemeteries belonging to Azerbaijanis were destroyed in the village. About 800 village residents became internally displaced.

The tragedy in Garadaghli is one of the bloodiest pages of the policy of genocide that Armenians have always carried out against the Azerbaijani people.
More revisionist history: OSHA head now says agency never issued a COVID vaccine mandate

A top federal official at the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) claims that his agency never told private companies to implement Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) "vaccine" mandates after the Supreme Court rejected the mandate.

OSHA Assistant Secretary of Labor Douglas Parker claims that his agency's COVID jab mandate was rescinded after the Supreme Court ruling, this after House Republicans during a September 27 hearing criticized OSHA for the emergency rule it implemented in late 2021.

Tens of millions of private sector workers were impacted by this ruling, which was overturned in early 2022 after the Supreme Court blocked OSHA from enforcing the mandate.

"The federal vaccine mandate, announced in the fall of 2021, had applied to all private-sector firms with 100 or more employees, including both part-time and full-time staff," reports The Epoch Times. "There were estimates at the time that 84 million people  or two-thirds of the private-sector workforce  would be impacted."

You may recall that employees who refused the shots during that time period were required to show a "negative" COVID test result every week in order to continue working. The White House referred to that OSHA rule as a "vaccination requirement," adding that unvaccinated workers would be forced to "wear a face mask while in the workplace."

(Related: Back in 2021, OSHA did warn employers who mandated COVID injections that they could be held liable for "any adverse reaction" that occurs.)

House Republicans introduce amendments to strip OSHA of its "power and funding to protect the 84 million Americans who do not want to show you their vaccine papers"

According to Parker, all of this never actually happened  the exact word he used was that this is all "untrue." But congress members like Rep. Mary Miller (R-Ill.) disagree, claiming OSHA ignored the Supreme Court ruling and continued to pressure firms "to fire American workers."

"That's categorically untrue," Parker shot back to Miller's accusation. "We didn't threaten anyone, and we didn't demand that anyone be fired ... Congresswoman, I believe that the American people expect their government to take on the big problems that are facing them."

Rep. Kevin Kiley (R-Calif.) also pressed Parker about the issue, stating the he was "one of a number of officials in this administration who has come before this committee and told us now that two plus two doesn't equal four."

"Has there been some sort of memo going around? Why is the administration insistent on rewriting history?"

OSHA's lies, combined with the truth of what the agency actually did during the "pandemic," prompted Miller to state that she plans to introduce new amendments that will "strip" OSHA of its "power and funding to protect the 84 million Americans who do not want to show you their vaccine papers ... they have gone far beyond their minor, limited mission."

Parker's argument is that OSHA's jab mandate was not actually a mandate, but rather an "alternative" for employees who did not want to get jabbed. In other words, those who refused the jab were forced to test weekly and mask up at all times while on the job.

"All you have to do is read that rule, and you will see that it is not a vaccine mandate," Parker scoffed, playing semantics. "It gives employees the option of testing in lieu of a vaccine mandate."

A number of so-called Republican attorneys general at the time when OSHA implemented its COVID jab mandate for private employers tried to argue that the rule was not an overreach because OSHA is tasked "with work-related hazards, not all hazards one might encounter anywhere in the world."

The latest news about COVID jabs can be found at ChemicalViolence.com.

Sources for this article include:

TheEpochTimes.com

NaturalNews.com
Propaganda from the 1950s shows how the polio vaccine was made  and its not pretty

When the very first vaccines for polio were first introduced in the 1950s, Americans were told that this "medical breakthrough" would forever change public health for the better. This was quite obviously a lie, and a recently unearthed propaganda film called "Unconditional Surrender" (1956) reveals why

The film below explains in detail how Jonas Salk developed his inactivated polio vaccine using tissue from rhesus monkeys that had been infected with simian virus 40, or SV40, which we now know causes cancer in humans.

Hundreds of millions of people in not just America but around the world received these SV40-tainted injections between 1955 and 1963. And it would not be until 2004 that scientists published a paper in The Lancet explaining that very few people back then realized what they were getting themselves into by taking polio shots.

"Few back then grasped that these vaccines might also be a huge, inadvertent, uncontrolled experiment in interspecies viral transmission," the paper reads in part.

(Related: Some experts believe that Pfizer's mRNA COVID injections also contain cancer-causing SV40.)

The first children to receive polio vaccines as part of a 1954 study were left PARALYZED in the limb where the shot was injected

An investigative journalist outlined the polio jab's manufacturing process, which is revealed in the above video. It includes all sorts of nasty ingredients including calf serum, penicillin, dihydrostreptomycin, Mycostatin (nystatin Squibb), monkey kidneys, and more.

Through various processes, the polio virus itself was converted to an "inactive" state, which requires mixing formaldehyde  the same cancer-causing chemical used in embalming fluid  into the concoction.

Once completed, the final solution was then mixed together with various chemical adjuvants, chemicals, and other ingredients allowing for mass production and "preservation"  and the mass distribution of the chemical solution all around the world.

From the very beginning, the polio jab was shown to be harmful to humans. One million children were given the shot in 1954 as part of a large-scale study, which led to a declaration of the shot being "safe and effective." The only problem is that many of these children became paralyzed in the limb where the shot was injected.

"There were also reports of paralysis and death in several children," the Singapore Medical Journal reported. "Investigations showed that improperly inactivated vaccine had released live virus into more than 100,000 doses of the vaccine."

Many people do not know this but the scientists who won a Nobel Prize for being the first to grow poliovirus in a tissue culture used human tissue, while Salk used "minced-up rhesus macaque monkey kidneys, which were remarkably efficient polio factories," The Lancet reported.

"Those who sought to supplant Salk's formaldehyde-inactivated vaccine with live, attenuated oral vaccine also used monkey kidney cultures. Despite a manufacturing problem that, at best, left six children who received the vaccine paralyzed in the arm, and despite concerns about wild simian viruses, Salk's shots were declared safe and effective after 1954 field trials," the study further explains.

"The next year, after grudging approval by skeptical government regulators, free Salk shots were made available throughout the USA. By 1960, scientists and vaccine manufacturers knew that monkey kidneys were sewers of simian viruses."

As usual, the American public was never told about any of this. There was too much money on the line, not to mention the eugenics agenda that was in motion, to tell the truth about their SV40 contamination. And the rest is history.

"The SV40 contaminated stocks of Salk polio vaccine were never withdrawn from the market but continued to be given to American children until early 1963 with full knowledge of federal health agencies," revealed National Vaccine Information Center (NVIC) co-founder and president Barbara Loe Fisher in a presentation before the U.S. House of Representatives in 2003.

Vaccines are, and have always been, a kill weapon disguised as "medicine." Learn more at Genocide.news.

Sources for this article include:

ChildrensHealthDefense.org

TheLancet.com

NaturalNews.com

ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
SANCTUARY OVERLOAD: Texas sends more buses full of ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS to Democrat-controlled sanctuary cities

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has directed the Texas Department of Emergency Management to deploy additional buses to the border towns of Eagle Pass and El Paso to transport illegal immigrants from the Texas-Mexico border t o Democrat-led and self-proclaimed "sanctuary cities."

"President Biden's continued refusal to secure our border allows thousands of people to illegally cross into Texas and our country every day," said Abbott. He emphasized that Texas will continue to deploy as many buses as necessary to address the challenges posed by the surge in illegal migrants. (Related: Outgoing Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot pleads with Texas Gov. Abbott to stop sending illegal migrants to her sanctuary city.)

According to El Paso Mayor Oscar Leeser, the city is dealing with the arrival of over 2,000 illegals per day. Approximately two-thirds of the new arrivals are single men, while around 32 percent are families, and just two percent are unaccompanied children. This surge has strained the city's shelter capacity and resources and the city has reached a "breaking point."

Meanwhile, Eagle Pass Mayor Rolando Salinas Jr. revealed that over 6,000 illegal immigrants had entered his city in just two days, overwhelming the small town with a population of around 28,000. Salinas signed a seven-day emergency declaration late last month to request financial resources to support the additional services required due to the influx of illegal immigrants.

In response to the crisis, buses carrying dozens of illegal immigrants have departed from Eagle Pass to destinations such as New York City and Chicago to address the influx of illegal immigrants.

Abbott and Biden clash on their border policies

A pecan farm in Eagle Pass has become a microcosm of the larger conflict unfolding along the Rio Grande, shining a spotlight on the contradictory policies at the state and federal levels as tensions escalate.

Abbott, armed with a $10 billion budget, has deployed a formidable force comprised of Texas state police and National Guard troops. He also used security measures that include makeshift walls and barbed wire fences along the border.

Additionally, the governor ordered the installation of a marine barrier equipped with spinning buoys and a submerged net in the river to deter swimmers attempting to cross the Rio Grande.

These state forces have established their presence on gravel river islands, where they clear vegetation and proudly plant the Texas state flag. Camouflaged National Guard personnel and Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) officers have been stationed along the riverbank, and boats, helicopters, drones, and police from other states like Florida have been called upon to bolster the military-like operation.

In 2022, the Biden administration reportedly proposed a controversial plan to permanently open the country's northern border with Canada and the southern border with Mexico. The news initially surfaced through an announcement by Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, who disclosed that U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken had presented the proposal.

The consequences of the clash between Texas and the federal government are acutely evident along the border up until now. Aspiring illegal immigrants now face long lines as they navigate thousands of yards of razor wire. Some take their chances by attempting to cross the river, searching for gaps in Texas's defenses, or seeking assistance from sympathetic Border Patrol agents.

Despite Texas' extensive efforts, Border Patrol officers often find ways to circumvent the obstacles. In certain instances, groups of immigrants manage to traverse thousands of yards to a point beyond the barbed wire and patrols, where Border Patrol vehicles await them. Once these individuals are in Border Patrol custody, the Texas state troopers and DPS officers have limited authority to intervene.

Check out OpenBorders.news for more stories about illegal migrants.

Watch Mike Martins discuss how illegal migrants crossing the northern border from Canada are affecting the United States.

This video is from Mike Martins Channel on Brighteon.com.

More related stories:

Heavy rains compel hundreds of illegal migrants to try to FORCE their way across border into Brownsville, Texas.

ABSURD: Biden administration asks for $3.3B to fund more housing for illegal migrants.

Five illegal migrants on FBIs terrorist watchlist ARRESTED shortly after Title 42 expired.

USBP agents report 743% increase in illegal migrants trying to cross northern border.

Bidens federal border patrol agents sabotage Texas Gov. Abbotts efforts to keep illegal migrants out.

Sources include:

TheEpochTimes.com

DailyMail.co.uk

Brighteon.com
Trump celebrates civil trial triumph in Big Apple court, predicts 80% of the case would likely be dismissed

Former President Donald Trump recently celebrated a major victory in his ongoing $250 million civil fraud trial, revealing to reporters outside a New York City courtroom that, based on the judge's remarks, approximately 80 percent of the case against him would likely be dismissed.

"Well, I think that was very good. That last five minutes was outstanding because the judge essentially conceded that the statute of limitations that we won at the Court of Appeals is in effect. Therefore, about 80 percent of the case is over," he said recalling the pivotal last five minutes during the trial.

Judge Arthur Engoron rejected the ex-POTUS's request to delay the civil trial just last week. New York Attorney General Letitia James sued Trump, his children, and the Trump Organization. She alleged fraudulent activities, centering around Trump's effort to "inflate his net worth by billions of dollars" and the involvement of his children in these alleged misrepresentations.'

As per Trump's legal spokesperson, "Based on the judge's comments at the end of the trial today, it would appear that he is agreeing that all the transactions that closed prior to 2014 are now out of the case." According to the DailyMail, Engoron told prosecutors it may have been a 'waste of time' to bring in his former Mazars accountant Donald Bender to testify. Bender spoke at length about Trump's finances in 2011, even though a New York appellate court ruled that only allegations after 2014 were allowed to be presented. "I trust that you can relate the 2011 documents to something that happened later," Engoron told prosecutors. "Or this has all been a waste of time."

Trump gave a thumbs-up on the judge's last statement, saying it was very fair. "The way I interpret that ... the statute of limitations is a very real thing in this country, adding that the judge's statement was a welcome and unexpected development.

BREAKING ?: President Trump announces that the judge has dismissed 80% of Leticia Jamess case due to statute of limitations. Like all Trump cases, this is pure BS harassment and election interference. pic.twitter.com/ZgaNa2iFMM  Monica Crowley (@MonicaCrowley) October 2, 2023

But despite recognizing the judge's fair treatment, Trump said, "As you know, we're not entitled to a jury, which is pretty unusual in the United States of America. So, we think it's very unfair that I don't have a jury." He has consistently been vocal about his belief that the investigation is politically motivated, expressing dissatisfaction such as not being provided a jury trial, a right he believes is fundamental in the United States.

Upon arriving at the Manhattan courthouse earlier on Monday, Trump posted: "Just arrived at the courthouse to fight a corrupt and racist attorney general, and a rogue, out of control, Trump-hating judge, who refuses to follow the appellate court decision which knocks out 80 percent of this sham case."

He added: "This is the continuation of the greatest witch hunt of all time. Election interference!" According to the 2024 GOP presidential frontrunner, "They're trying to damage me so that I don't do as well as I'm doing in the election." (Related: Trump fraud case: Democrat judge, Democrat prosecutor, Democrat city.)

Judge issues gag order after Trump's social media post about Engoron's clerk

On the second day of the trial, Engoron issued a limited gag order after the former president made comments about the judge's clerk. "Consider this statement a gag order forbidding all parties from posting, emailing, or speaking publicly about any of my staff," the judge said. "Personal attacks on members of my court staff are unacceptable, inappropriate and I will not tolerate them in any circumstances. Failure to abide by this order will result in serious sanctions."

Trump's comments about Engoron's law clerk, Attorney Allison Greenfield, was a "step too far," the judge claimed. Over lunch, Trump posted to a picture of her with the Democratic Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer. He called her "Schumer's girlfriend" and said she "is running this case against me. How disgraceful! This case should be dismissed immediately." The post on Trump's Truth Social platform was deleted on Engoron's orders.

Meanwhile, before the session wrapped up, Trump's lawyer Jesus Suarez grilled Bender over his work on the former president's taxes, repeatedly iterating that he should have kept closer tabs on the taxes for the "leader of the free world." "I am emotional about it because it's not funny," Suarez said. "The leader of the free world relied on you to get it right and you did not."

"He's sitting today, he's going through hell, tens of thousands of his employees are going through hell, and you missed it," Suarez said later in the cross-examination. Bender denied making a mistake or going to Trump "mortified" over it, as Suarez suggested.

Visit Trump.news for more news related to the ongoing legal battle the former president is fighting.

Sources for this article include:

TrendingPoliticsNews.com

DailyMail.co.uk

TheGuardian.com
BLINDED by MONEY: Wind farms are KILLING eagles and whales, but the green cult ignores reality as it pockets millions in donations

Governments worldwide have been trying to convince their people to ditch fossil fuel energy, "go green" and shift to renewable energy, particularly, wind power. However, the green cult seems to be covering up how these huge wind farms are killing wildlife.

In Australia, devastating evidence has been found that onshore wind turbines take on local eagle populations. The local Wedge-tailed eagle is thought to be down to just 1,000 individuals, but over the last 12 years, at least 270 birds have been killed or injured in the vicinity of wind farms. According to a recent paper published in the peer-reviewed journal Australian Field Ornithology, a further 49 vulnerable white-bellied sea eagles have also been killed in this period.

Gregory Pullen, author of the study, revealed that information about eagle deaths is not readily available, "nor readily made available" but he suggested that unrecorded casualties are higher since most are recorded anecdotally and are not the result of systematic surveys. The Tasmanian sub-species of the wedge-tailed eagle is listed as endangered under both federal and state threatened species legislation.

Large birds of prey such as eagles are at particular risk from giant wind turbine blades revolving at speed since they rely on air currents for sustained flight. As per independent news outlet the Daily Sceptic, few activists, bird conservation groups, and writers seem able to rouse themselves to complain when the natural flight path of raptors stands in the way of green progress. The Australian climate journalist Jo Nova has stood out from the unquestioning crowd, noting that in Tasmania the greens are destroying nature again. "It's not about the environment is it," she said. She went on to add that there are plans to build up to 10 wind turbine parks across Tasmania "and if one tower misses, the next will get them."

Furthermore, it's not just the large birds that get victimized by the wind turbines. Several studies have pointed to the destruction of millions of bats and smaller birds every year by turbine blades capable of traveling at the tip at speeds approaching 150mph.

Meanwhile, on the East Coast of the United States, building offshore wind farms was found to kill sea mammals such as dolphins and whales, as per a new documentary, "Thrown To The Wind," by director and producer Jonah Markowitz. (Related: Renewable energy wind turbines are KILLING WHALES, documentary proves.)

This film came after scientists and government officials, under pressure from the White House, denied that the construction of large industrial wind turbines caused the increase in whale, dolphin, and other cetacean deaths. The movie showed that the surprisingly loud, high-decibel sonar emitted by wind industry vessels when measured with state-of-the-art hydrophones is correlated directly with specific whale deaths.

According to reports, the population of North Atlantic right whales has dropped to 340 from over 400 over the last few years. And, there have been more than 60 recorded whale deaths of all species on the East Coast since Dec 1, 2022, a number that increased markedly since 2016 when the wind industry started to ramp up.

The New York Post reported that the wind projects are going forward despite urgent warnings from leading conservation groups and a top scientist at the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Dr. Sean Hayes, who said last year that industrial wind projects "could have population-level effects on an already endangered and stressed species." He also said that oceanographic impacts from installed and operating turbines cannot be mitigated for the 30-year lifespan of the project unless they are decommissioned. But his warnings were ignored.

Wind energy companies donate $4.7 million to three dozen environmental organizations

Despite all the news covering the killing of animals due to wind turbines, wind energy companies continue to mount their facilities in the United States because of their massive donations.

The New York Post's Michael Shellenberger revealed that the wind companies as well as their foundations have donated nearly $4.7 million to at least three dozen major environmental organizations. He further revealed how Big Tech companies such as Facebook censored his post linking whale deaths to wind energy off the East Coast.

"The censorship came in the form of adding a link to a 'FactCheck.org' article from March 31, 2023, which relied entirely on U.S. government sources "Thrown to the Wind" debunks," Shellenberger wrote. "It is clear that the American people and our representatives cannot trust NOAA and the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM), the two government agencies that, for years, have repeatedly betrayed the public's trust in service to powerful industrial interests," the award-winning author further said in the Post.

Meanwhile, he remains hopeful that things will soon change as the people had strong reactions to "Thrown To The Wind," including members of Congress.

Check out GreenTyranny.news for more stories on governments' brainwashing of people on the climate change scam.

Sources for this article include:

DailySceptic.org

WattsUpWithThat.com

NYPost.com
World War III will be the excuse for extreme FOOD RATIONING across America

During every major world war, food rationing was imposed to offset hiccups in agricultural production  and the same will be true upon the arrival of World War III, which will serve as the excuse for an engineered food collapse.

During WWI, so many farms were transformed into battlefields, and so much of the transportation network disrupted, that moving food to grocery stores was no longer as easy as it once was. This is why on Aug. 10, 1917, right after the United States entered the war, the U.S. Food Administration was established: to manage the wartime supply, conservation, distribution, and transportation of food.

Then-President Woodrow Wilson appointed future-President Herbert Hoover to head up the U.S. Food Administration, to which he also developed a voluntary program "that relied on Americans' compassion and sense of patriotism to support the larger war effort," to quote History.com.

"In order to provide U.S. troops and allies with the sustenance required to maintain their strength and vitality, posters urging citizens to reduce their personal consumption of meat, wheat, fats and sugar were plastered throughout communities," a History.com report explains.

"Slogans such as 'Food will win the war' compelled people to avoid wasting precious groceries and encouraged them to eat a multitude of fresh fruits and vegetables, which were too difficult to transport overseas. Likewise, promotions such as 'Meatless Tuesdays' and 'Wheatless Wednesdays' implored Americans to voluntarily modify their eating habits in order to increase shipments to the valiant soldiers defending our freedom."

(Related: Food is already way too expensive for many people, thanks in part to "Bidenflation.")

WWIII will be the war to end all wars

Once again in WWII, a voluntary conservation effort was attempted, but that failed and had to morph into mandatory restrictions on foods. Like with WWI, so much food was being shipped off to Europe to help soldiers and others impacted by the war that there was not enough left for Americans.

On Jan. 30, 1942, the Emergency Price Control Act was implemented to grant the Office of Price Administration (OPA) the legal authority to set price limits and ration food and other commodities to discourage hoarding and to ensure there was enough food to go around for everyone.

At one point, Americans could not purchase sugar unless they obtained special government-issued coupons. There was also a voucher system imposed for coffee, meat, cheese, fats, canned fish, canned milk, and various other processed foods.

Then came the war ration books filled with stamps that Americans were told to use to buy restricted items. Within the first weeks of their issuance, more than 91 percent of Americans had registered to participate in the war ration books program.

"The OPA allotted a certain amount of points to each food item based on its availability, and customers were allowed to use 48 'blue points' to buy canned, bottled or dried foods, and 64 'red points' to buy meat, fish and dairy each month  that is, if the items were in stock at the market," explains History.com.

"Due to changes in the supply and demand of various goods, the OPA periodically adjusted point values, which often further complicated an already complex system that required home cooks to plan well in advance to prepare meals."

Things were very different in the U.S. during the first two world wars, though. There was solidarity and a common culture, for one, and the average person was much more resilient and willing to help a friend or neighbor in need. Today's Americans are the opposite of this, feeding off the greed and corruption that keeps the system going.

What will the food rationing programs during WWIII look like? Learn more at WWIII.news.

Sources for this article include:

History.com

NaturalNews.com
Wildfires have engulfed different parts of the world in recent years, including in North America and Europe, resulting in widespread damage and casualties, in some cases. Forest fires and bushfires have also been reported in some islands in the Pacific Ocean; with the recent devastating Maui wildfires in August 2023 being the latest example.

In this context, scientists have long thought that human settlement and their activities are the largest triggers of this natural disaster. While there is strong evidence that post-Ice Age wildfires have been occurring in the tropical and subtropical parts of Earth for thousands of years, previous research asserts that the expansion of humans has amplified the frequency and intensity of wildland fires.

Now, a new study led by researchers in the United States found that Pacific Island wildfires are caused by a combination of natural and anthropogenic factors. In particular, the researchers point out that fire activity is influenced not only by human land use, including deforestation in remote Oceanian islands, but also by climate interactions.

Alarming Pacific Island Wildfires

In the study published in the journal Nature Ecology & Evolution on Monday, October 2, the US research team acknowledged that remote islands in the continent of Oceania experienced significant environmental transformations after the onset of human settlement in the past 3,000 years. The research team determined that the environmental degradation caused by humans has been overlooked.

To arrive at their conclusion, the team used charcoal and stable carbon isotopes found in deep soil cores to reconstruct fire activity and deforestation in the Sigatoka River valley in Viti Levu, Fiji, an island country in the South Pacific Ocean and an archipelago consisting of over 300 islands. While human settlement is to blame, the study found fires and pyrogenic patches of grassland were in the region prior to human settlement.

The results of the study show that fire-susceptible grassy areas not only predate human occupation by millennia but are also actively linked with drought, which is likely caused by a reoccurring weather pattern known as El Nino. The findings suggest that Pacific Island wildfires are not only caused by simple anthropogenic activities but rather a combination of different climate and weather-related phenomena.

Also Read: Maui Wildfire Kills Six; Thousands Force To Evacuate

Climate Interactions

Over the past decade, climate scientists have collectively warned that the frequency and intensity of wildfires will increase by the end of the 21st century due to the increasing impact of climate change and global warming.

However, wildfire events in modern history are not always linked with the climate crisis since there are various elements involved, including intentional or accidental arson or lightning strikes.

For instance, the Maui wildfires in Hawaii that killed at least 114 people have been considered as one of the world's worst wildland fires in history. Yet, scientists assert that there is not withstanding factor that led to the fire, describing it as a "compound disaster" instead of only being caused by climate change.

Related Article: Maui Wildfires: Number Of Missing People 'Nearly Unchanged'; Finalization Might Take Time
Meteorologists warned that Tropical Storm Philippe has been forecasted to threaten Bermuda with heavy rains and powerful winds.

They said that as Philippe moves northward and away from the Caribbean, adverse effects will soon be felt in Bermuda.

Furthermore, the weather system's impacts will also be felt in Atlantic Canada and New England as Tropical Storm Philippe is expected to unfold this weekend.

Effects in Bermuda

The National Hurricane Center and Central Pacific Hurricane Center said that at 800 PM AST (0000 UTC), the center of Tropical Storm Philippe was spotted near latitude 23.1 North, longitude 66.0 West.

Philippe is tracking the direction toward the north near 12 mph (19 km/h). This general motion having an increase in forward speed is expected through Saturday.

Meanwhile, on the forecast track, the center of Philippe is seen to pass near Bermuda on Friday, and it will approach eastern New England and Atlantic Canada on Saturday.

Philippe is packing maximum sustained winds are near 40 mph (65 km/h) with higher gusts.

Weather experts said that a little change in strength has been forecasted during the next day or so.

They noted that some strengthening is possible on Friday and Saturday.

Tropical-storm-force winds extend outward up to 205 miles (335 km) to the east of the center.

On the other hand, the estimated minimum central pressure is 1004 mb (29.65 inches).

Based on the forecast, Philippe still has an elongated circulation with discrete clusters of deep convection extending well to the east and south of the center.

When it comes to the amount of rainfall, rains will begin to affect Bermuda on Thursday with rainfall totals of 3 to 6 inches expected through Friday.

Officials warned that these rainfall amounts could result in scattered flash floods.

Moreover, the rainfall across the United States and British Virgin Islands as well as in Puerto Rico will continue to diminish during the next few hours.

Tropical storm conditions are possible on Bermuda beginning Friday morning.

The swells generated by Philippe will affect portions of the Atlantic coasts of the northern Leeward Islands, the Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico for another day or so.

So far, authorities noted that large swells are already affecting Bermuda from another weather system but it will begin to rise further on Thursday as Philippe approaches the island.

These conditions are likely to cause life-threatening surf and rip currents and residents have been advised to coordinate with their local weather offices.

Amid the foreseen rainfall and wind system, officials said that the forecast for Philippe's intensity and structure remains complex.

However, regardless of Philippe's intensity or structure, the impacts in the affected areas mentioned should still be monitored amid the storm's progress and that affected residents should be prepared for the possibility of strong winds and heavy rainfall.

Read Also: Tropical Storm Philippe Seen To Hit Atlantic Canada With Heavy Rains, Storm Surge

North America

Meanwhile, Philippe is also seen to most likely head near the Maine and New Brunswick border late Saturday night to Sunday morning.

In this movement, Philippe will possibly pass near the southwestern tip of Nova Scotia.

Meteorologists warned that there is a chance that steering winds could direct Philippe towards eastern New England, allowing the system to merge with a non-tropical system and a cold front.

If this will occur, rains could hit New England.

Related Article: Tropical Storm Philippe Projected to Bring Heavy Rain, Strong Winds to Northeast Caribbean Region

Related Video:
The western US can likely experience more frequent and intense wildfires due to warm temperatures and climate change, urging for efficient efforts to prevent fires.

Western US is no stranger to extreme weather events. In California, widespread wildfires and bushfires can cause devastating damage to forests, trees, ecosystems and communities.

The frequency of fires can make it challenging for people and animals to prepare and survive. As a result, effective protection efforts are crucial to prevent significant impacts.

Wildfires Can Become More Frequent

The drought and wildfires in California killed the rare Joshua Tree. Reports noted that at least 36 million trees in the region died from fires and prolonged drought.

As a result, researchers from the Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education and the University of Washington observed the wildfires in the Western US and the increasing concerns of effective management of fires.

The findings were published in the International Journal of Wildland Fire, focusing on the fires reaching about 1,000 acres or more.

According to the report, one of the main concerns is the simultaneous or multiple wildfire risks. It can become challenging for firefighters to control the burning. NCAR scientist Seth McGinnis warned that the simultaneous wildfires could increase, making them more frequent in the Western US. McGinnis is also the study's lead author.

Furthermore, the problems of climate change can exacerbate the wildfires. Extreme drought, warm temperatures and strong winds can unleash deadly wildfires in dry vegetation in the Western US.

Climate change can also influence precipitation patterns. The little to lack of rainfall can become devastating for communities.

As a result, the study emphasized the effective fire response and adaptations to address simultaneous fires in the country. Meanwhile, people can also prevent deadly fires by reducing their greenhouse gas emissions and observing the fire bans in forests.

The fires can cause harmful smoke for many Americans, bringing unhealthy air quality. People with medical conditions and older adults are at risk of poor air conditions.

According to a new study published in Ecosphere, wildfires can emerge due to drought and limited humidity. The report warned that land ecosystems could be affected.

Climate Change-Fueled Disasters

As the El Nino begins, it can worsen the impacts of climate-induced weather events. Intense heat can affect Americans' mental health. The challenging heat waves can make survival more difficult for species and animals.

In the US, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is expected to allot about 3 billion in budget to improve communities resiliency.

Related Article: California Drought: Prolonged Heat, Climate Change Causes 36 Million Trees to Die in 2022

For more similar stories, don't forget to follow Nature World News.
A new study shows that 41% of amphibian species are threatened with extinction as harmful human activities and climate change continue.

The status of amphibians is deteriorating globally, according to a report published Wednesday in the scientific journal Nature illustrating the findings of the second Global Amphibian Assessment (GAA2), particularly in the Neotropics, one of six major biogeographic areas of the world that extends south from the Mexican desert into South America as far as the subantarctic zone.

The situation of the world's amphibians is worse currently than it was in 2004, when 39% of species were threatened.

Most Threatened Animal

More than 1,000 conservationists and experts collaborated to assess 8,011 amphibian species-vertebrates that live in both aquatic and terrestrial habitats-on the International Union for Conservation of Nature's (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species.

Amphibians are classified into three groups: salamanders and newts (60% are threatened with extinction), frogs and toads (39%), and limbless and serpentine caecilians (16%).

According to the new findings, up to 222 amphibians may be gone.

"Amphibians are the world's most threatened animals," said Duke University's Junjie Yao, a frog researcher. "Their unique biology and permeable skin make them very sensitive to environmental changes."

Four amphibian species have gone extinct since 2004, according to the researchers: an Australian frog, a Guatemalan frog, a Guatemalan salamander, and a Costa Rican toad. In addition, 185 species were designated as "possibly extinct," with no known surviving population.

The Caribbean islands, Mexico and Central America, the tropical Andes region, India, Sri Lanka, Cameroon, Nigeria, and Madagascar have the highest concentrations of threatened amphibians.

Read Also: Decline of Amphibians Like Frogs Can Get People More Sick

Human Activities and Climate Change

Human activity and climate change have thrown off our planet's delicate equilibrium, harming its biodiversity and vegetation.

The most prevalent concern remained habitat destruction and degradation, which was mostly caused by animal agriculture and crops, affecting 93% of the vulnerable amphibian species.

However, the researchers discovered that illness and climate change were threatening an increasing number of species.

Amphibians are particularly vulnerable. They have distinct life stages that frequently necessitate separate habitats; thus, changes in either aquatic or terrestrial conditions might disrupt them.

They are additionally vulnerable due to their sensitive skin.

Because most amphibians receive oxygen via their skin, they lack scales, feathers, and fur to defend themselves. Chemical pollution, bacteria, and fungal infections affect them swiftly, as can increased temperature and moisture changes caused by climate change.

"So the effects of climate change - increased frequency and intensity of extreme weather events, changes in moisture and temperature, sea-level rise and fires - can result in the loss of key breeding sites, increased mortality, habitat degradation, and habitat shifts that make it harder for amphibians to find suitable places to live," wild conservationist and study co-author Kelsey Neam said.

Amphibians perform a critical function in lowering the number of insects that harm crops and spread disease.

Because they are extremely sensitive to environmental changes, they are frequently excellent markers of ecosystem health. When frogs and other amphibians are in peril, it signals that the entire ecosystem is in jeopardy.

Frogs are also keystone species, meaning they help to keep the environment together. They serve as both predators and prey in the food chain.

They are excellent pest controllers since they prey on insects like mosquitoes and flies. They, in turn, offer food for larger animals such as birds and reptiles.

Related Article: Are Amphibians About To Go Extinct? The Amphibian Crisis is Worse Than You Think

Related Video:
BAKU, Azerbaijan, October 6. The anti-Azerbaijan resolution adopted on October 5 by the European Parliament is an example of irresponsibility, bias and ignorance, the Turkish Foreign Ministry said in the statement, Trend reports.

"We condemn this decision, based on the anti-country rhetoric of a group of populist deputies who, for many years, have made decisions full of unfounded accusations and claims against Turkiye," the statement of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs noted.

The MFA added that Turkiye is making intensive efforts to establish permanent peace, stability and prosperity in the South Caucasus, to carry out the process of normalization of relations with Armenia, to make a specific contribution to the peace process between the two countries.
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BAKU, Azerbaijan, October 5. A meeting between the leaders of Azerbaijan and Armenia, organized by the EU, is scheduled to take place this month, European Council President Charles Michel, said, Trend reports.

He noted that the parties have already been informed about the upcoming meeting in Brussels.

"I informed both leaders that they will be invited to Brussels before the end of October," Michel said.
The Domain Name System (DNS) is one of the foundations of the internet, working in the background to match the names of web sites that people type into a search box with the corresponding IP address, a long string of numbers that no one could be expected to remember.

It's still possible for someone to type an IP address into a browser to reach a website, but most people want an internet address to consist of easy-to-remember words, called domain names. (For example, Network World.)

In the 1970s and early 80s, the task of matching domain names and IP addresses was assigned to one person - Elizabeth Feinler at Stanford Research Institute, who maintained a master list of every internet-connected computer. This was obviously unsustainable, given the rapid growth of the internet, and, in 1983, Paul Mockapetris developed DNS, an automated, scalable system that handles domain-name-to-IP-address translation.

There are currently more than 342 million registered domains, so keeping all those names in a single directory would be cumbersome. Like the internet itself, the directory is distributed around the world on domain name servers that communicate with each other on a regular basis to provide updates and eliminate redundancies.

Another reason for the creation of a distributed system is to boost performance. For example, imagine if all of the requests coming in at the same time all over the world to resolve the domain name Google with the underlying IP address were being handled in a single location. To address this issue, DNS information is shared among many servers.

That means a single domain can have more than one IP address. For example, the physical server that your laptop or smartphone reaches when you enter www.google.com is different from the server that someone in another country would reach by typing the same site name into their browser. But DNS still gets you to the right place, no matter where you are in the world.

How does DNS work

When your computer wants to find the IP address associated with a domain name, it first makes its DNS query via a DNS client, typically in a Web browser. The query then goes to a recursive DNS server, also known as a recursive resolver. A recursive resolver is typically operated by an Internet Service Providers (ISP), such as AT&T or Verizon (or some other third-party), and it knows which other DNS servers it needs to ask to resolve the name of a site with its IP address. The servers that actually have the needed information are called authoritative name servers.

DNS is organized in a hierarchy. An initial DNS query for an IP address is made to a recursive resolver. This search first leads to a root server, which has information on top-level domains (.com, .net, .org), as well as country domains. Root servers are located all around the world, so the DNS system routes the request to the closest one.

Once the request reaches the correct root server, it goes to a top-level domain server (TLD nameserver), which stores information for the second-level domain, which is the words that you type into a search box. The request then goes to a domain nameserver, which looks up the IP address and sends it back to the DNS client device so it can visit the appropriate website. All of this takes mere milliseconds.

What is DNS caching?

Chances are that you use Google several times a day. Instead of your computer querying the DNS nameserver for the IP address every time you enter the domain name, that information is saved on your personal device so that it doesn't have to access a DNS server to resolve the name with the IP address.

Additional caching can occur on the routers used to connect clients to the internet, as well as on the servers of the user's ISP. With so much caching going on, the number of queries that actually make it to the DNS name servers is significantly reduced, which helps with the speed and efficiency of the system.

How does the DNS numbering system work?

Every device that connects to the internet needs to have a unique IP address in order to have traffic properly routed to it. DNS translates human queries into numbers using a system known as IPv4 or IPv6. With IPv4, the numbers are 32-bit integers that are expressed in decimal notation.

The string of numbers is divided into sections, which include the network component, the host and the subnet, not dissimilar to a telephone number that might have a country code, an area code, etc. The network part of the number designates the class and category of network that is assigned to that number. The host identifies the specific machine on the network. The subnet part of the number is optional but is used to navigate the sometimes extremely large number of subnets and other partitions within a local network.

IPv6, which was created to address concerns about the internet running out of IPv4 addresses, uses 128-bit-sized numbers, compared to 32-bit numbers with IPv4. There are 340 trillion trillion possible IPv6 addresses.

Who assigns IP addresses?

In 1998, the U.S. government handed the task of assigning IP addresses over to the Internet Corporation for Assigned Numbers and Names (ICANN). The not-for-profit organization has managed that function ever since without any notable disruptions. ICANN develops policies on things like the creation of new top-level domains (such as .io).

For the most part, ICANN takes a neutral and advisory role. For example, anyone who wants to register a domain on the internet today can go to any number of ICANN-accredited registrars, which basically decentralizes the already decentralized DNS system. Once registered, new domains can populate and be reached worldwide via DNS servers in a matter of minutes.

Is DNS secure?

Cybercriminals are extremely clever when it comes to identifying vulnerabilities that can be exploited in just about any system, and DNS has certainly come in for its fair share of attacks. A 2021 IDC survey of more than 1,100 organizations in North America, Europe and Asia-Pacific, showed that 87% had experienced DNS attacks.

The average cost of each attack was around $950,000 for all regions and about $1 million for organizations in North America. The report noted that organizations across all industries averaged 7.6 attacks during the previous year.

The COVID-related shift to off-premises work and the response by companies to move resources to the cloud to make them more accessible have provided new targets for attackers, the report said.

The researchers also found a sharp rise in data theft via DNS, with 26% of organizations reporting that sensitive customer information was stolen, compared with 16% in 2020.

Common types of DNS attacks include DNS amplification, DNS spoofing or cache poisoning, DNS tunneling, and DNS hijacking or DNS re-direction.

As DNS-related attacks continue to rise, many IT organizations are questioning the security of their DNS infrastructure, according to Enterprise Management Associates (EMA). The research firm recently polled 333 IT professionals responsible for DNS, DHCP and IP address management (DDI) and found that only 31% of DDI managers are fully confident in the security of their DNS infrastructure.

EMA asked research participants to identify the DNS security challenges that cause them the most pain. The top response (28% of all respondents) is DNS hijacking. Also known as DNS redirection, this process involves intercepting DNS queries from client devices so that connection attempts go to the wrong IP address.

The second most concerning DNS security issue is DNS tunneling and exfiltration (20%). Hackers typically exploit this issue once they have already penetrated a network. DNS tunneling is used to evade detection while extracting data from a compromised. Hackers hide extracted data in outgoing DNS queries.

Its important for security monitoring tools to closely watch DNS traffic for anomalies, like abnormally large packet sizes, according to Shamus McGillicuddy, research director for the network management practice at EMA. (Read more: DNS security poses problems for enterprise IT)

What is DNSSec?

DNSSec is a security protocol devised by ICANN to help make communication among the various levels of servers involved in DNS lookups more secure. It addresses weaknesses in the communication between DNS top-level, second-level, and third-level directory servers that would allow hackers to hijack lookups.

This hijacking allows attackers to respond to requests for lookups to legitimate sites by directing users to a malicious site. These sites could upload malware to users or carry out phishing attacks.

DNSSec addresses this by having each level of DNS server digitally sign its requests, ensuring that requests sent by end users aren't commandeered by attackers. This creates a chain of trust so that at each level of the lookup, the integrity of the request is validated.

DNSSec also can determine if a domain name really exists, and if it doesn't, prevents a fraudulent domain from being delivered to innocent requesters seeking to have a domain name resolved.

What is DNS over HTTPS (DoH)?

While DNSSec addresses potential vulnerabilities within the distributed network of DNS servers, it certainly hasn't stopped DNS-based cyberattacks that use some form of deception to inject malicious code into the DNS system.

In one of the biggest shifts in the long history of DNS, Google, Mozilla, and others are encouraging a move to DNS over HTTPS or DoH, an IETF standard that encrypts DNS requests in the same way that the HTTPS protocol already protects most web traffic.

The shift to DoH, however, is not without controversy. By encrypting DNS requests, DoH could get in the way of enterprise IT being able to monitor the web activity of employees, and parents have complained that it could block them from implementing parental controls over their children's internet usage.

Uptake of DNS over HTTPS has been slow. On the client side, DoH comes with the latest version of Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox, but it can be turned off by the end user. Organizations, that try to have some measure of control over which browsers and browser versions are used by employees, have the option to simply disable it. On the ISP side, many of the leading ISPS have not yet enabled DoH on their end.

How to find my DNS server

Generally speaking, the DNS server that you use will be established automatically by your ISP when you connect to the internet. If you want to see which servers are your primary name servers, there are web utilities that can provide information about your current network connection, such as browserleaks.com.

While your ISP will set a default DNS server, you're under no obligation to use it. Some users may have reason to avoid their ISP's DNS, for example, if the ISP uses their DNS servers to redirect requests for nonexistent addresses to pages with advertising.

As an alternative, you can point your computer to a public DNS server that will act as a recursive resolver. One of the most prominent public DNS servers is Google's. The IP address is 8.8.8.8.
There are baseline security and connectivity requirements for any SD-WAN service, and then there are optional, emerging product capabilities that indicate how the market is maturing and customer requirements are expanding. AI networking support  such as for proactive remediation and incident management  is one of those optional capabilities, according to Gartner, which just released its latest analysis of the SD-WAN vendor landscape.

Theres a trend toward AI capabilities that enable networking decisions to be made with little or no human intervention. These capabilities can help enterprises to streamline network design, configuration and ongoing management as well as increase agility and improve performance, according to Gartner. The research firm predicts that by 2026, generative AI technology embedded in SD-WAN offerings will be used for 20% of initial network configuration, up from near zero in 2023.

Although it is still early in many vendors product development, we are seeing this functionality incorporated into an increasing number of vendor solutions offering differentiation. The longer-term challenge will be customer trust in using such solutions, Gartner wrote in its new Magic Quadrant for SD-WAN.

Among the vendors that are working to build AI networking support into their respective SD-WAN products is Fortinet. Fortinets planned innovations in GenAI and as a service consumption models have an above-average chance of delivering game-changing capabilities to the market, Gartner wrote.

Huawei, dubbed a challenger in the field of SD-WAN vendors, is expected to invest in its AI-driven predictive route selection and AI-based IoT terminal authorization and access over the next 18 months, Gartner said. Versa Networks, too, has a product roadmap that aligns with emerging requirements for AI networking, according to the report.

Another trend thats influencing the SD-WAN market is the shift toward secure access service edge (SASE) offerings. According to Gartners definition, SASE combines five major technologies: cloud-access security broker, secure web gateway, zero-trust network access, integrated SD-WAN, and firewall as a service. Security service edge (SSE) is a security-focused subset of SASE, and it typically includes CASB, SWG, and ZTNA.

In the big picture, the SD-WAN market is evolving toward single-vendor SASE, as five technologies converge: SD-WAN, SSE, enhanced internet/WAN backbone, cloud onramp, and multicloud networking. Getting the full SASE stack from a single vendor can simplify deployment and management, but it can be complicated by factors such as an enterprises existing multi-vendor SD-WAN environments and poor WAN visibility.

Today, we primarily see SD-WAN and SSE offerings being integrated and deployed as dual-vendor SASE. This is largely driven by the move to distribute internet access to support cloud applications and change the security perimeter. This goes along with the deployment of SD-WAN at branch locations to manage the internet transport, the report states. As part of a desire to minimize branch sprawl and support access to the cloud, we observe more organizations looking for integrated cloud-delivered security and thin branch SD-WAN solutions.

By 2026, 60% of new SD-WAN purchases will be part of a single-vendor SASE offering, up from 15% in 2022, Gartner predicts.

Meanwhile, the SD-WAN market continues to grow. Gartner forecasts a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 14.6% in end-user spending on SD-WAN from 2022 through 2027, with market penetration of about 60% in 2023.

One driver for SD-WAN market growth is aging infrastructure. Existing branch office router equipment or first-generation SD-WAN equipment needs a refresh either because it has reached the end of its support lifecycle, or it lacks the necessary capabilities for todays connectivity. Also, application rollouts with changing traffic patterns are increasing the use of cloud and multicloud resources, which is making on-premises data center WAN architecture obsolete, according to Gartner.

Organizations are also consolidating branch functions such as routing and security, and IT leaders are considering SD-WAN investments to increase scalability, agility, and automation to support digital business transformation and reduce operating expenses, Gartner says,

Leading the SD-WAN pack

Based on its evaluation criteria, Gartner classified six vendors as leaders in the SD-WAN market, one challenger, one visionary, and six niche players. Heres a look at the strengths and weaknesses of the leaders, which Gartner defines as those vendors that have well established products, long-term viability, and the ability to shape the SD-WAN market.

Cisco

Two products, Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN and Cisco Meraki SD-WAN, help land the vendor on the leader list. With high market visibility and a loyal installed base, Cisco is in a good position for future success with a product strategy that includes AI networking, integrated security, and cloud onramp. Cisco is estimated to have 46,000 SD-WAN enterprise customers globally.

Yet Gartner identifies Ciscos multiple SD-WAN products as a potential caution for the vendor, because the separate products with different management platforms limits investment protection for customers. And Ciscos customer experience is below average, based on Gartner client interactions.

Fortinet

Fortinets Security SD-WAN product is singled out for its strong features focused on integrated security. Coupling security with its SD-WAN offering provides Fortinet customers with a simplified approach. Also, as noted before, Gartner says Fortinets plans around generative AI and as-a-service consumption could deliver game-changing capabilities to the market.

Still, Fortinet has a few hurdles to clear, according to Gartner. Some clients have expressed doubt about Fortinets ability to meet complex enterprise networking requirements, and Gartner reports customer experience with Fortinet is below average. Fortinet also has limited integrations with third-party SSE vendors, Gartner says.

HPE (Aruba)

HPE Arubas SD-WAN offerings, Aruba EdgeConnect SD-WAN (with optional WAN optimization) and Aruba EdgeConnect SD-Branch, are both managed through the Aruba Central platform. This vendor has high ratings with customer experience and a proven track record of delivering cloud and SSE integrations as well as new consumption models when needed, Gartner says.

Gartner identifies HPE Arubas multiple products that apply to different use cases as a potential caution with customers who could select the wrong offering for their business. Also, Gartner finds HPE Arubas planned innovation in its unified fabric and single-vendor SASE functionality unlikely to delivery game-changing capabilities to the market.

Palo Alto Networks

Palo Alto Networks Prisma SD-WAN offering includes Instant-On Network (ION) edge appliances and orchestration, and the vendor also offers the PAN-OS branch firewall with limited SD-WAN capabilities. Gartner highlights Palo Alto Networks recent and planned innovations in AIOps, visibility, and granular policy control as having the potential to bring game-changing capabilities to the market.

Potential challenges for this vendor include its high SD-WAN pricing, lack of performance optimization capabilities, and multiple SD-WAN products, which can introduce some market confusion, according to Gartner. Customers are required to choose between a strong on-premises security offering with limited SD-WAN functionality or a strong SD-WAN offering with limited on-premises security functionality, the report states.

Versa Networks

Versa Networks two offerings, Secure SD-WAN and Versa Titan, are built on the same platform with the latter being delivered as a cloud-based offering. Gartner estimates that the company has some 24,000 SD-WAN enterprise customers globally and expects the vendor to invest in AI, observability, and multicloud support in the next 18 months, which could bolster its already strong product portfolio.

Still, Gartner cautions that the two-product strategy could lead to some confusion among customers because they offer different capabilities, making it possible customers will select the wrong offering. Also, Gartner pinpoints pricing as an issue for this vendor, which could make its Secure SD-WAN product more difficult to procure for some IT buyers.

VMware

VMware SD-WAN includes Edge appliances, optional gateway points of presence, software licenses, and a cloud-based orchestrator. Gartner estimates that VMware has about 18,000 SD-WAN customers globally, and the vendor is expected to make future investments in SD-WAN Cloud Transport that would integrate multiple capabilities into a single platform. Gartner also expects VMware to invest more in AI-based digital experience assurance and analytics.

Even with its expected investments, Gartner states that VMware lags behind in terms of integrated security features natively available in its on-premises appliances. VMware also lacks a native SD-brand offering integrating WLAN, LAN, network security, and SD-WAN into a single platform, Gartner says.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, October 5. Listening to Azerbaijani music was an entirely new experience for me, founder of the world-famous FAZIOLI piano factory (known as the "Ferrari" among pianos), "modern Stradivarius" Paolo Fazioli told Trend in an exclusive interview.

He noted that he was looking forward to seeing the masterpiece of world classical music, the ballet of the outstanding Azerbaijani composer Arif Melikov, the "Legend of Love", in Baku.

"I may not consider myself a dedicated follower of ballet, but I have a profound appreciation for it. It's a captivating art form that beautifully intertwines music with the grace of the human body. I also managed to get acquainted with Azerbaijani music today. And those pieces I have heard today, I find it challenging to compare them. Both genres were entirely new to me, and the experience was incredibly engaging," he said.

Further speaking, Fazioli has shared his experience in launching the FAZIOLI company back in 1981.

"When I started my company, this occurred during my youth when I first embarked on my professional journey. Youth often brings a boundless sense of determination, and I know I couldn't undertake such endeavors with the same vigor today," he said.

Fazioli said that he chose two different educational paths, which later helped him create his unique instrument.

"I earned a degree in mechanical engineering and later obtained a diploma in piano at the conservatory. Crafting pianos was a way for me to unite these seemingly disparate disciplines, as they converge within the instrument itself. Creating an exceptional piano necessitates proficiency in both," he explained.

As Fazioli pointed out, each of the instruments the company produces possesses a unique character.

"In general, our commitment lies in perpetual research. Understanding the piano's inner workings is essential, allowing us to approach it from the perspectives of both a musician and a scientist. It's an ongoing process of trial and refinement, symbolized by the phrase "prova e correggi"  try and correct. The defining trait of our pianos is our relentless pursuit of improvement. The piano is an instrument that should evolve and improve over time," he noted.

Paolo Fazioli also spoke about the visit of Azerbaijani delegation to the FAZIOLI factory.

"Our factory welcomed a delegation from Azerbaijan, who displayed a keen interest in our work and technology. Subsequently, I received an invitation to visit their country. I believe that we have the potential to embark on exciting and innovative collaborations, as both parties share a strong creative spirit," he concluded.
By PTI

CHHATRAPATI SAMBHAJINAGAR: Police have registered an FIR against the acting dean and a doctor of a government hospital in Maharashtra's Nanded district, where 31 patients died in 48 hours, on the charge of culpable homicide not amounting to murder, an official said on Thursday.

The case was lodged against Dr Shankarrao Chavan Government Medical College and Hospital's acting dean S R Wakode and a head paediatrician, following a complaint by a person in connection with the death of his daughter and her newborn child at the facility, he said.

They were booked under Indian Penal Code sections 304 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) and 34 (common intention), the official said.

As many as 31 deaths, including those of infants, were recorded at the hospital in 48 hours since September 30.

Six more deaths were recorded at the facility from October 2 to 3, according to officials.

As per the FIR, 21-year-old pregnant woman Anjali was taken to the hospital at around 8 pm on September 30.

She delivered a baby girl at around 1 am on October 1.

ALSO READ | 59 die in two Maharashtra govt hospitals in last 48 hours, CM orders high-level probe

Doctors later said the mother and the child were fine, Anjali's father Kamaji Tompe said in the complaint.

Later in the morning, Anjali started bleeding and the baby was also not well, hence doctors asked the family members to get medicines, blood bags and other required items from outside.

When the items were brought, doctors were not present in the ward, Tompe claimed.

He further claimed in the complaint that Wakode deliberately made him sit and did not send a doctor or a staff nurse to check on Anjali.

"The doctors declared Anjali's baby dead and handed over the body to us at 6 am on October 2. Later, Anjali was declared dead at 10.30 am on October 4," the complaint said.

Tompe alleged that the dean deliberately did not let doctors treat Anjali.

The doctors asked the family members to get medicines worth Rs 45,000 from outside, he said in the complaint.

He also claimed that many patients died in front of him due to the lack of availability of doctors, nurses and medicines.

#WATCH | Nanded hospital deaths | On FIR registered against him, Dr Shyamrao Wakode, Dean of Govt Medical College Nanded says, "I too have seen in the media that such a case has been registered. But I don't have any official papers available with me." https://t.co/1E222WANZS pic.twitter.com/7BaqZeyvNI  ANI (@ANI) October 5, 2023

Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Tuesday said his government had taken the deaths at the Nanded hospital very seriously, and appropriate action would be taken after a detailed inquiry while denying that there were shortages of medicines and staff.

The Bombay High Court on Wednesday took suo motu cognizance of the deaths at two state-run hospitals in Nanded and Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar cities and noted that the reasons given by doctors citing the shortage of beds, staff, and essential medicines cannot be accepted.

The HC also sought details from the Maharashtra government.

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CHHATRAPATI SAMBHAJINAGAR: Police have registered an FIR against the acting dean and a doctor of a government hospital in Maharashtra's Nanded district, where 31 patients died in 48 hours, on the charge of culpable homicide not amounting to murder, an official said on Thursday. The case was lodged against Dr Shankarrao Chavan Government Medical College and Hospital's acting dean S R Wakode and a head paediatrician, following a complaint by a person in connection with the death of his daughter and her newborn child at the facility, he said. They were booked under Indian Penal Code sections 304 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) and 34 (common intention), the official said.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); As many as 31 deaths, including those of infants, were recorded at the hospital in 48 hours since September 30. Six more deaths were recorded at the facility from October 2 to 3, according to officials. As per the FIR, 21-year-old pregnant woman Anjali was taken to the hospital at around 8 pm on September 30. She delivered a baby girl at around 1 am on October 1. ALSO READ | 59 die in two Maharashtra govt hospitals in last 48 hours, CM orders high-level probe Doctors later said the mother and the child were fine, Anjali's father Kamaji Tompe said in the complaint. Later in the morning, Anjali started bleeding and the baby was also not well, hence doctors asked the family members to get medicines, blood bags and other required items from outside. When the items were brought, doctors were not present in the ward, Tompe claimed. He further claimed in the complaint that Wakode deliberately made him sit and did not send a doctor or a staff nurse to check on Anjali. "The doctors declared Anjali's baby dead and handed over the body to us at 6 am on October 2. Later, Anjali was declared dead at 10.30 am on October 4," the complaint said. Tompe alleged that the dean deliberately did not let doctors treat Anjali. The doctors asked the family members to get medicines worth Rs 45,000 from outside, he said in the complaint. He also claimed that many patients died in front of him due to the lack of availability of doctors, nurses and medicines. #WATCH | Nanded hospital deaths | On FIR registered against him, Dr Shyamrao Wakode, Dean of Govt Medical College Nanded says, "I too have seen in the media that such a case has been registered. But I don't have any official papers available with me." https://t.co/1E222WANZS pic.twitter.com/7BaqZeyvNI  ANI (@ANI) October 5, 2023 Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Tuesday said his government had taken the deaths at the Nanded hospital very seriously, and appropriate action would be taken after a detailed inquiry while denying that there were shortages of medicines and staff. The Bombay High Court on Wednesday took suo motu cognizance of the deaths at two state-run hospitals in Nanded and Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar cities and noted that the reasons given by doctors citing the shortage of beds, staff, and essential medicines cannot be accepted. The HC also sought details from the Maharashtra government. Follow The New Indian Express channel on WhatsApp
Fayaz Wani By

Express News Service

SRI NAGAR: About 78 per cent of people in the Kargil district of Ladakh Union Territory voted for the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council (LAHDC) Kargil polls on Wednesday.

It was the first poll in the cold desert after the abrogation of J&Ks Special status and the creation of Ladakh UT by downgrading and dividing erstwhile J&K state into two UTs on August 5, 2019.

The polling started on a brisk note in Kargil district in the morning and long queues of people were present at the polling stations. About 77.61 per cent of people exercised their right to franchise. The counting of votes will take place on October 8. In the polls, NC and Congress have joined hands to fight the BJP. The two parties have entered into seat-sharing arrangements against BJP.

The NC and Congress have the backing of two powerful religious institutions  Jamiat Ulema Kargil (Islamia School) and Imam Khumaini Memorial Trust. The clerics of two religious institutions have appealed to people to vote against the BJP.

The LAHDC Kargil comprises 30 members. Of the 30 members, 26 are elected while four others are nominated by the administration. There were 85 candidates in the fray for 26 seats. BJP is contesting on 17 seats and supporting some independent candidates. NC has fielded 17 candidates and Congress is contesting 22 seats.

Kargil has a population of 1.40 lakh with Shia Muslims in the majority. The Kargil Hill council has over 95,388 registered voters and out of them, 46762 are females. Todays vote for LAHDC Kargil holds significance as it is the first time since the abrogation of Article 370 and bifurcation of J&K state into two UTs that people in Kargil are voting in any polls.

The political observers are seeing the polling as a sort of referendum saying if the NC and Congress wrest control of the LAHDC Kargil, then they can claim that people have rejected the August 5, 2019 decisions and if BJP manages to win the polls, the saffron party can claim that people have endorsed their August 2019 decisions.

The poll result assumes significance as it is being held ahead of the parliamentary polls and can offer an insight into the electoral sentiment of people. The polls for LAHDC Kargil are being held against the backdrop of a stir launched by Leh Apex Body and KDA.

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SRI NAGAR: About 78 per cent of people in the Kargil district of Ladakh Union Territory voted for the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council (LAHDC) Kargil polls on Wednesday. It was the first poll in the cold desert after the abrogation of J&Ks Special status and the creation of Ladakh UT by downgrading and dividing erstwhile J&K state into two UTs on August 5, 2019. The polling started on a brisk note in Kargil district in the morning and long queues of people were present at the polling stations. About 77.61 per cent of people exercised their right to franchise. The counting of votes will take place on October 8. In the polls, NC and Congress have joined hands to fight the BJP. The two parties have entered into seat-sharing arrangements against BJP.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); The NC and Congress have the backing of two powerful religious institutions  Jamiat Ulema Kargil (Islamia School) and Imam Khumaini Memorial Trust. The clerics of two religious institutions have appealed to people to vote against the BJP. The LAHDC Kargil comprises 30 members. Of the 30 members, 26 are elected while four others are nominated by the administration. There were 85 candidates in the fray for 26 seats. BJP is contesting on 17 seats and supporting some independent candidates. NC has fielded 17 candidates and Congress is contesting 22 seats. Kargil has a population of 1.40 lakh with Shia Muslims in the majority. The Kargil Hill council has over 95,388 registered voters and out of them, 46762 are females. Todays vote for LAHDC Kargil holds significance as it is the first time since the abrogation of Article 370 and bifurcation of J&K state into two UTs that people in Kargil are voting in any polls. The political observers are seeing the polling as a sort of referendum saying if the NC and Congress wrest control of the LAHDC Kargil, then they can claim that people have rejected the August 5, 2019 decisions and if BJP manages to win the polls, the saffron party can claim that people have endorsed their August 2019 decisions. The poll result assumes significance as it is being held ahead of the parliamentary polls and can offer an insight into the electoral sentiment of people. The polls for LAHDC Kargil are being held against the backdrop of a stir launched by Leh Apex Body and KDA. Follow The New Indian Express channel on WhatsApp
By PTI

NEW DELHI: Aam Aadmi party workers on Thursday staged a protest over the arrest of its Rajya Sabha leader Sanjay Singh by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in connection with the alleged liquor scam.

Several workers of the party gathered at the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) office at DDU Marg, raising slogans against the Centre and demanding the release of Singh. The protesters will march towards BJP headquarters.

The party has alleged that the Enforcement Directorate arrested Singh as he raised issues related to the Adani Group in Parliament.

"If the Bharatiya Janata Party thinks that it can win elections by 'using' central agencies on the basis of power and imposing dictatorship, then history is the witness that the public gives a reply", said Delhi Minister Gopal Rai said.

Earlier on Wednesday, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) escorted AAP leader and Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh from his Delhi residence after arresting him in connection with the now-scrapped liquor policy case.

The arrest came hours after the ED conducted raids at the residence of the AAP Rajya Sabha MP in connection with the case.

His was the second high-profile arrest in the case after former Delhi deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia was arrested earlier.

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NEW DELHI: Aam Aadmi party workers on Thursday staged a protest over the arrest of its Rajya Sabha leader Sanjay Singh by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in connection with the alleged liquor scam. Several workers of the party gathered at the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) office at DDU Marg, raising slogans against the Centre and demanding the release of Singh. The protesters will march towards BJP headquarters. The party has alleged that the Enforcement Directorate arrested Singh as he raised issues related to the Adani Group in Parliament.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); "If the Bharatiya Janata Party thinks that it can win elections by 'using' central agencies on the basis of power and imposing dictatorship, then history is the witness that the public gives a reply", said Delhi Minister Gopal Rai said. Earlier on Wednesday, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) escorted AAP leader and Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh from his Delhi residence after arresting him in connection with the now-scrapped liquor policy case. The arrest came hours after the ED conducted raids at the residence of the AAP Rajya Sabha MP in connection with the case. His was the second high-profile arrest in the case after former Delhi deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia was arrested earlier. Follow The New Indian Express channel on WhatsApp
By Express News Service

NEW DELHI: The University Grants Commission (UGC) has written to the Tamil Nadu chief secretary, objecting to the constitution of search-cum- selection committees for the appointment of vice-chancellors of state universities without a nominee of the commission chairman, official sources said.

The UGC has warned that appointing a vice-chancellor in violation of the higher education regulator's norms shall be "null and void" and can lead to legal complications.

The UGC letter was in reference to a September 13 gazette notification by the Tamil Nadu government to constitute a search committee to recommend a panel of three persons for the selection of vice-chancellor for the University of Madras, one of the oldest in the country.

An official source said that the UGC has pointed out a Supreme Court judgment of last year, which referred to the appointment of the vice-chancellor at Sardar Patel University, Gujarat.

The apex court had noted that the appointment of VCs cannot be made dehors the applicable UGC regulations, even if the State Act concerned prescribes diluted eligibility criteria vis-a-vis the criteria prescribed by UGC regulations.

There has been a stand-off between the Tamil Nadu Governor RN Ravi and the state's DMK-led government over the appointments of vice-chancellors. This conflict over constituting a search committee to select the VC has resulted in the state universities being headless for the past few months.

On September 6, the governor, who is the ex-officio chancellor of state universities and makes the appointments of VCs, announced the constitution of three search-cum-selection committees to appoint vice-chancellors to three institutions -- the University of Madras, Bharathiar University in Coimbatore and the Tamil Nadu Teachers Education University in Chennai.

He also introduced a fourth committee member by nominating a person on behalf of the UGC Chairman Prof M. Jagadesh Kumar.

On September 13, the state's higher education department issued a notification for a search-cum-selection committee by excluding the nominee of the UGC chairman, which the governor termed an "act of impropriety" and demanded the state withdraw the notification.

The Tamil Nadu government has in April passed two bills that empowered it to appoint VCs to 13 state-run universities.

The stand-off between the state and the governor has led to no appointment of VCs in these three universities. While there has been no vice-chancellor for the University of Madras for four months, the Bharathiar University and The Tamil Nadu Teachers Education University have been without a VC for the past nine months.

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NEW DELHI: The University Grants Commission (UGC) has written to the Tamil Nadu chief secretary, objecting to the constitution of search-cum- selection committees for the appointment of vice-chancellors of state universities without a nominee of the commission chairman, official sources said. The UGC has warned that appointing a vice-chancellor in violation of the higher education regulator's norms shall be "null and void" and can lead to legal complications. The UGC letter was in reference to a September 13 gazette notification by the Tamil Nadu government to constitute a search committee to recommend a panel of three persons for the selection of vice-chancellor for the University of Madras, one of the oldest in the country.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); An official source said that the UGC has pointed out a Supreme Court judgment of last year, which referred to the appointment of the vice-chancellor at Sardar Patel University, Gujarat. The apex court had noted that the appointment of VCs cannot be made dehors the applicable UGC regulations, even if the State Act concerned prescribes diluted eligibility criteria vis-a-vis the criteria prescribed by UGC regulations. There has been a stand-off between the Tamil Nadu Governor RN Ravi and the state's DMK-led government over the appointments of vice-chancellors. This conflict over constituting a search committee to select the VC has resulted in the state universities being headless for the past few months. On September 6, the governor, who is the ex-officio chancellor of state universities and makes the appointments of VCs, announced the constitution of three search-cum-selection committees to appoint vice-chancellors to three institutions -- the University of Madras, Bharathiar University in Coimbatore and the Tamil Nadu Teachers Education University in Chennai. He also introduced a fourth committee member by nominating a person on behalf of the UGC Chairman Prof M. Jagadesh Kumar. On September 13, the state's higher education department issued a notification for a search-cum-selection committee by excluding the nominee of the UGC chairman, which the governor termed an "act of impropriety" and demanded the state withdraw the notification. The Tamil Nadu government has in April passed two bills that empowered it to appoint VCs to 13 state-run universities. The stand-off between the state and the governor has led to no appointment of VCs in these three universities. While there has been no vice-chancellor for the University of Madras for four months, the Bharathiar University and The Tamil Nadu Teachers Education University have been without a VC for the past nine months. Follow The New Indian Express channel on WhatsApp
By PTI

HANGZHOU: The women's combine emerged triumphant in an edge-of-the-seat thriller while the men's outfit secured the top prize without fuss as Indian compound archers swept all three gold medals on offer in team events, further bettering their best-ever show at the Asian Games, here on Thursday.

The women's compound team edged Chinese Taipei by the thinnest of margins, securing the gold medal win by just one point with Jyothi Surekha Vennam, Aditi Swami and Parneet Kaur shooting 60 out of 60 in the final round of a heart-stopping final.

Having knocked out two-time defending champions South Korea, the Chinese Taipei trio of Chen Yi-Hsuan, Huang I-Jou and Wang Lu-Yun fought till the end but the top-seeded Indian team won 230-229.

The scores were locked at 200-200 till the last set but the young Indian team that has two teenagers -- Aditi and Parneet -- remained ice-cool to find three more 10s in the final three arrows.

It put the pressure back on their opponents who were to shoot last and needed to match with three 10s to force a shootoff.

But Chinese Taipei started off with a nine that sealed the gold for India.

Having conquered the world less than two months back, it also completed India women's compound team's domination by becoming the Asian champions.

In the afternoon session, the men's trio of Abhishek Verma, Ojas Deotale and Prathamesh Jawkar downed the South Koreans 235-230 to seal their sixth medal in archery.

India's second gold in archery also assured the country of at least five medals in archery at the ongoing Asian Games.

India's mixed team won a gold on Wednesday.

For 27-year-old Jyothi this was also a double gold from this edition, having secured the top spot in the podium with Ojas Deotale in the compound mixed team event on Wednesday.

The Vijayawada archer is in line for a hat-trick of gold as she will fight for the Asian Games title, taking on South Korea's So Chaewon in the compound individual final on Saturday.

India has confirmed at least five medals in archery at the continental showpiece as Deotale and Abhishek Verma are assured of a top-two finish by making it an all-India men's compound individual final.

India's previous best show in archery at the Asian Games was in Incheon 2014 where they had claimed one gold, one silver and one bronze.

"We are very happy because this is the first time that we have won a gold medal in the Asian Games in the compound women's category," the 27-year-old Jyothi said.

"We are really happy and thankful to the audience who have been cheering for us here and at home watching TV. I have the individual final on Saturday, so I'm looking forward to taking that gold too," Jyothi said.

In the final, India had a one-point lead after three arrows but Parneet slipped into the red ring with an 8 in the second set of arrows, while Aditi and Jyothi also dropped a point each to trail 54-56 after the first end.

Chinese Taipei trio stepped up with three 10s to race to an 86-82 lead after nine-arrow each but Parneet started off with a 10 as they made it all perfect scores while their rivals stumbled with a seven to concede a one-point lead.

Both teams went neck-and-neck in the fourth end that saw 171-all, and the stalemate prevailed in the first set of arrows in the decider before their final flourish with three 10s nailed it.

The Indian women's team began the day pocketing an 11-point win over Hong Kong (231-220) and in the semifinal they were even better, crushing Indonesia by 14 points.

"There was a little nervousness in the match but we just focused on the shots and tried to hold ourselves in as much as possible. We did not focus on the competitors' shots and just did our best," said Parneet.

The compound men's team of Ojas Deotale, Prathamesh Jawkar and Abhishek Verma, who are seeded second, followed suit of the women's trio to storm into the final with two lopsided wins.

Veteran Verma dropped four points but that did not matter much as the young duo of Deotale and Jawkar were on a 10-hitting spree to down Bhutan 235-221 in the quarterfinals.

Chinese Taipei were no match to the Indians who once again totalled 235, en route to the final.

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HANGZHOU: The women's combine emerged triumphant in an edge-of-the-seat thriller while the men's outfit secured the top prize without fuss as Indian compound archers swept all three gold medals on offer in team events, further bettering their best-ever show at the Asian Games, here on Thursday. The women's compound team edged Chinese Taipei by the thinnest of margins, securing the gold medal win by just one point with Jyothi Surekha Vennam, Aditi Swami and Parneet Kaur shooting 60 out of 60 in the final round of a heart-stopping final. Having knocked out two-time defending champions South Korea, the Chinese Taipei trio of Chen Yi-Hsuan, Huang I-Jou and Wang Lu-Yun fought till the end but the top-seeded Indian team won 230-229.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); The scores were locked at 200-200 till the last set but the young Indian team that has two teenagers -- Aditi and Parneet -- remained ice-cool to find three more 10s in the final three arrows. It put the pressure back on their opponents who were to shoot last and needed to match with three 10s to force a shootoff. But Chinese Taipei started off with a nine that sealed the gold for India. Having conquered the world less than two months back, it also completed India women's compound team's domination by becoming the Asian champions. In the afternoon session, the men's trio of Abhishek Verma, Ojas Deotale and Prathamesh Jawkar downed the South Koreans 235-230 to seal their sixth medal in archery. India's second gold in archery also assured the country of at least five medals in archery at the ongoing Asian Games. India's mixed team won a gold on Wednesday. For 27-year-old Jyothi this was also a double gold from this edition, having secured the top spot in the podium with Ojas Deotale in the compound mixed team event on Wednesday. The Vijayawada archer is in line for a hat-trick of gold as she will fight for the Asian Games title, taking on South Korea's So Chaewon in the compound individual final on Saturday. India has confirmed at least five medals in archery at the continental showpiece as Deotale and Abhishek Verma are assured of a top-two finish by making it an all-India men's compound individual final. India's previous best show in archery at the Asian Games was in Incheon 2014 where they had claimed one gold, one silver and one bronze. "We are very happy because this is the first time that we have won a gold medal in the Asian Games in the compound women's category," the 27-year-old Jyothi said. "We are really happy and thankful to the audience who have been cheering for us here and at home watching TV. I have the individual final on Saturday, so I'm looking forward to taking that gold too," Jyothi said. In the final, India had a one-point lead after three arrows but Parneet slipped into the red ring with an 8 in the second set of arrows, while Aditi and Jyothi also dropped a point each to trail 54-56 after the first end. Chinese Taipei trio stepped up with three 10s to race to an 86-82 lead after nine-arrow each but Parneet started off with a 10 as they made it all perfect scores while their rivals stumbled with a seven to concede a one-point lead. Both teams went neck-and-neck in the fourth end that saw 171-all, and the stalemate prevailed in the first set of arrows in the decider before their final flourish with three 10s nailed it. The Indian women's team began the day pocketing an 11-point win over Hong Kong (231-220) and in the semifinal they were even better, crushing Indonesia by 14 points. "There was a little nervousness in the match but we just focused on the shots and tried to hold ourselves in as much as possible. We did not focus on the competitors' shots and just did our best," said Parneet. The compound men's team of Ojas Deotale, Prathamesh Jawkar and Abhishek Verma, who are seeded second, followed suit of the women's trio to storm into the final with two lopsided wins. Veteran Verma dropped four points but that did not matter much as the young duo of Deotale and Jawkar were on a 10-hitting spree to down Bhutan 235-221 in the quarterfinals. Chinese Taipei were no match to the Indians who once again totalled 235, en route to the final. Follow The New Indian Express channel on WhatsApp
By Express News Service

CHENNAI: The Central Bureau of Investigation has booked three persons and unknown others including Central Board of Film Certification employees in Mumbai. This comes after Kollywood actor Vishal alleged that he gave a bribe of Rs 6.5 lakh for the screening and certification of his film 'Mark Antony' which was dubbed in Hindi.

The three persons booked include Merlin Menaga, Jeeja Ramdas, and Rajan M.

Vishal said a bribe was demanded to issue the CBFC certificate for his film within 24 hours.

In his complaint, Vishal alleged that Merlin Menaga demanded Rs 6.5 lakh. The money was deposited into the accounts of Jeeja Ramdas and Rajan.

The CBI said that the case was registered following allegations that Merlin during the month of September 2023, along with others, entered a conspiracy to obtain a bribe of Rs 7 lakh.

The money was allegedly demanded to get the required censor certificate from CBFC, Mumbai, for a movie dubbed in Hindi.

It was further alleged that the bribe money after negotiation was reduced to Rs 6.54 lakh which Merlin accepted on behalf of CBFC Mumbai officials in the bank accounts of Jeeja Ramdas and Rajan.

Thereafter, on September 26, the required certificate was allegedly issued by the CBFC.

It was also alleged that in addition to the amount, Merlin obtained Rs 20,000 in her bank account from the account of a private company as coordinating fees for herself.

An amount of Rs.6,50,000 was allegedly withdrawn immediately in cash, out of Rs 6,54,000, the CBI statement said.

Searches were conducted at four different locations including in Mumbai at the premises of the accused and others associated with the accused which led to the recovery of incriminating documents, the release added.

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CHENNAI: The Central Bureau of Investigation has booked three persons and unknown others including Central Board of Film Certification employees in Mumbai. This comes after Kollywood actor Vishal alleged that he gave a bribe of Rs 6.5 lakh for the screening and certification of his film 'Mark Antony' which was dubbed in Hindi. The three persons booked include Merlin Menaga, Jeeja Ramdas, and Rajan M. Vishal said a bribe was demanded to issue the CBFC certificate for his film within 24 hours.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); In his complaint, Vishal alleged that Merlin Menaga demanded Rs 6.5 lakh. The money was deposited into the accounts of Jeeja Ramdas and Rajan. The CBI said that the case was registered following allegations that Merlin during the month of September 2023, along with others, entered a conspiracy to obtain a bribe of Rs 7 lakh. The money was allegedly demanded to get the required censor certificate from CBFC, Mumbai, for a movie dubbed in Hindi. It was further alleged that the bribe money after negotiation was reduced to Rs 6.54 lakh which Merlin accepted on behalf of CBFC Mumbai officials in the bank accounts of Jeeja Ramdas and Rajan. Thereafter, on September 26, the required certificate was allegedly issued by the CBFC. It was also alleged that in addition to the amount, Merlin obtained Rs 20,000 in her bank account from the account of a private company as coordinating fees for herself. An amount of Rs.6,50,000 was allegedly withdrawn immediately in cash, out of Rs 6,54,000, the CBI statement said. Searches were conducted at four different locations including in Mumbai at the premises of the accused and others associated with the accused which led to the recovery of incriminating documents, the release added. Follow The New Indian Express channel on WhatsApp
Ejaz Kaiser By

Express News Service

RAIPUR: Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Wednesday described Prime Minister Narendra Modi as a teller of lies and said that his ploy will not continue in 2024 as there is a growing realisation among the people of the country.

Participating in the Chhattisgarh governments Bharose Ka Sammelan at Raigarh district about 220 km from Raipur, he said that had the Congress party not safeguarded the Constitution and democracy, both Modi and Amit Shah would have never been made PM and Home Minister.

PM Modi is a leader of liars ("jhoothon ke sardar) who defames the Congress party whenever he visits Chhattisgarh. Chief ministers of other states too get threats of raids from ED, IT and other agencies if they do not listen to him. They (BJP) talk about parivarvad (dynasty politics) but tell me who from the Gandhi family ever became the PM after 1989, said the Congress leader. He further accused the Modi government of selling the national assets and allegedly damaging the good institutions.

Kharge said that PM Modi can often visit the poll-bound states but doesnt think of going to the state of Manipur which witnessed violence and riots for the past six months.

Today the government in the Centre is run only by Modi and Shah, he stated and targeted the Jan Sangh, Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and BJP calling their ideology as 'anti-women'.

It was Congress that brought reservation for women in panchayat bodies and Modi claims the Congress didnt pursue the womens reservation bill. Be it BJP, RSS or Jan Sangh, they don't wish women to come forward. They should implement the womens reservation law but I know it will not be done before 2034, the Congress president alleged.

A day after PM Modi visited Bastar where he slammed the Congress over its remark on caste census, Kharge reiterated the Congress's demand for a caste-based census to be familiar with the details of the backward classes and poor people. The PM had then cited the poor of the country as the biggest caste.

Comparing BJP with Congress, he asserted that the saffron party harasses and deceives people but Congress guarantees creating employment, supporting the poor and raising minimum support prices for farmers.

During the occasion, he along with the CM Bhupesh Baghel laid the foundation stone for constructing Jaitkhambh (symbol of truth represented by a white flag atop of white painted wooden log structure) belonging to the scheduled caste (Satnami) community in 82 development blocks of the state. The state has 10 reserved SC seats in the 90 assembly seats.

The Wednesday visit of Kharge was his fourth in the poll-bound Chhattisgarh during the last 45 days.

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RAIPUR: Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Wednesday described Prime Minister Narendra Modi as a teller of lies and said that his ploy will not continue in 2024 as there is a growing realisation among the people of the country. Participating in the Chhattisgarh governments Bharose Ka Sammelan at Raigarh district about 220 km from Raipur, he said that had the Congress party not safeguarded the Constitution and democracy, both Modi and Amit Shah would have never been made PM and Home Minister. PM Modi is a leader of liars ("jhoothon ke sardar) who defames the Congress party whenever he visits Chhattisgarh. Chief ministers of other states too get threats of raids from ED, IT and other agencies if they do not listen to him. They (BJP) talk about parivarvad (dynasty politics) but tell me who from the Gandhi family ever became the PM after 1989, said the Congress leader. He further accused the Modi government of selling the national assets and allegedly damaging the good institutions.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); Kharge said that PM Modi can often visit the poll-bound states but doesnt think of going to the state of Manipur which witnessed violence and riots for the past six months. Today the government in the Centre is run only by Modi and Shah, he stated and targeted the Jan Sangh, Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and BJP calling their ideology as 'anti-women'. It was Congress that brought reservation for women in panchayat bodies and Modi claims the Congress didnt pursue the womens reservation bill. Be it BJP, RSS or Jan Sangh, they don't wish women to come forward. They should implement the womens reservation law but I know it will not be done before 2034, the Congress president alleged. A day after PM Modi visited Bastar where he slammed the Congress over its remark on caste census, Kharge reiterated the Congress's demand for a caste-based census to be familiar with the details of the backward classes and poor people. The PM had then cited the poor of the country as the biggest caste. Comparing BJP with Congress, he asserted that the saffron party harasses and deceives people but Congress guarantees creating employment, supporting the poor and raising minimum support prices for farmers. During the occasion, he along with the CM Bhupesh Baghel laid the foundation stone for constructing Jaitkhambh (symbol of truth represented by a white flag atop of white painted wooden log structure) belonging to the scheduled caste (Satnami) community in 82 development blocks of the state. The state has 10 reserved SC seats in the 90 assembly seats. The Wednesday visit of Kharge was his fourth in the poll-bound Chhattisgarh during the last 45 days. Follow The New Indian Express channel on WhatsApp
Mayank Singh By

Express News Service

NEW DELHI: India has unveiled its fifth Positive Indigenisation List, featuring 98 items, as part of efforts to boost self-reliance in defence and innovation.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh unveiled the list during the Swavlamban 2.0 seminar in New Delhi, where he also made significant announcements. The list includes complex systems, sensors, weapons, and ammunition, all to be procured from indigenous sources over time, following the Defence Acquisition Procedure 2020.

Prepared by the Department of Military Affairs (DMA) after extensive consultations, this list emphasises import substitution for major systems, platforms, weapon systems, sensors, and munitions expected to yield orders in the next five to ten years. Notable items encompass Futuristic Infantry Combat Vehicles, Articulated All-Terrain Vehicles, Remotely Piloted Airborne Vehicles, Naval Shipborne Unmanned Aerial Systems, and more.

This list serves as a roadmap for domestic industry players, encouraging them to develop the necessary research and manufacturing capacity within the country. Additionally, Rajnath Singh launched challenges for the industry under Defence India Start-up Challenges (DISC 10) and released the Indian Navys updated Indigenisation Roadmap Swavlamban 2.0. Chief of the Naval Staff Admiral R Hari Kumar highlighted the Navys commitment to innovation and commended the industry for its contributions.

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NEW DELHI: India has unveiled its fifth Positive Indigenisation List, featuring 98 items, as part of efforts to boost self-reliance in defence and innovation. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh unveiled the list during the Swavlamban 2.0 seminar in New Delhi, where he also made significant announcements. The list includes complex systems, sensors, weapons, and ammunition, all to be procured from indigenous sources over time, following the Defence Acquisition Procedure 2020. Prepared by the Department of Military Affairs (DMA) after extensive consultations, this list emphasises import substitution for major systems, platforms, weapon systems, sensors, and munitions expected to yield orders in the next five to ten years. Notable items encompass Futuristic Infantry Combat Vehicles, Articulated All-Terrain Vehicles, Remotely Piloted Airborne Vehicles, Naval Shipborne Unmanned Aerial Systems, and more.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); This list serves as a roadmap for domestic industry players, encouraging them to develop the necessary research and manufacturing capacity within the country. Additionally, Rajnath Singh launched challenges for the industry under Defence India Start-up Challenges (DISC 10) and released the Indian Navys updated Indigenisation Roadmap Swavlamban 2.0. Chief of the Naval Staff Admiral R Hari Kumar highlighted the Navys commitment to innovation and commended the industry for its contributions. Follow The New Indian Express channel on WhatsApp
By PTI

NEW DELHI: The Delhi Police Thursday questioned journalists Urmilesh and Abhisar Sharma for a second time this week in connection with alleged funding to the NewsClick portal from China to peddle fake narrative about the central government, officials said.

They reached the Delhi Police Special Cell's office at Lodhi Colony and joined the investigation this afternoon, the officials said, adding their questioning was underway.

This comes two days after the Special Cell arrested NewsClick founder and editor-in-chief Prabir Purkayastha and human resources department head Amit Chakravarty in connection with the case.

On Tuesday, a total of 46 journalists and contributors to the NewsClick were questioned and their mobile phones and other electronic gadgets were seized.

Sharma had said after the questioning on Tuesday he was not scared of the action and would keep asking tough questions to the government.

According to the remand copy the Delhi Police submitted in the court on Wednesday, the illegally routed foreign funds have been siphoned off by Purkayastha and his associates -- Joseph Raj, Anoop Chakraborty (brother of Amit Chakraborty) and Bappaditya Sinha (promoter of Virtunet Systems Pvt Ltd).

ALSO READ | NewsClick Raids: Prosecution opposes 'premature' plea for copy of FIR

"It is also learnt that aforementioned funds were distributed to Gautam Navlakha, associates of Teesta Seetalwaad namely Javed Anand, Tamara, Jibran, Urmilesh, Aratrika Halder, Paranjoy Guha Thakurta, Trina Shankar, Abhisar Sharma, etc.," it stated.

The officials said all those members are on the radar of the Special Cell and they will be called for questioning.

It was also learnt that Gautam Navlakha, a shareholder in NewsClick, remained involved in anti-India and unlawful activities such as actively supporting banned Naxal organisations and having anti-national nexus with Gulam Nabi Fai, an agent of Pakistan's ISI, according to the remand copy.

A raid was conducted on Tuesday at 88 locations in Delhi and seven in other states on the suspects named in the FIR and surfaced in the analysis of data.

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NEW DELHI: The Delhi Police Thursday questioned journalists Urmilesh and Abhisar Sharma for a second time this week in connection with alleged funding to the NewsClick portal from China to peddle fake narrative about the central government, officials said. They reached the Delhi Police Special Cell's office at Lodhi Colony and joined the investigation this afternoon, the officials said, adding their questioning was underway. This comes two days after the Special Cell arrested NewsClick founder and editor-in-chief Prabir Purkayastha and human resources department head Amit Chakravarty in connection with the case.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); On Tuesday, a total of 46 journalists and contributors to the NewsClick were questioned and their mobile phones and other electronic gadgets were seized. Sharma had said after the questioning on Tuesday he was not scared of the action and would keep asking tough questions to the government. According to the remand copy the Delhi Police submitted in the court on Wednesday, the illegally routed foreign funds have been siphoned off by Purkayastha and his associates -- Joseph Raj, Anoop Chakraborty (brother of Amit Chakraborty) and Bappaditya Sinha (promoter of Virtunet Systems Pvt Ltd). ALSO READ | NewsClick Raids: Prosecution opposes 'premature' plea for copy of FIR "It is also learnt that aforementioned funds were distributed to Gautam Navlakha, associates of Teesta Seetalwaad namely Javed Anand, Tamara, Jibran, Urmilesh, Aratrika Halder, Paranjoy Guha Thakurta, Trina Shankar, Abhisar Sharma, etc.," it stated. The officials said all those members are on the radar of the Special Cell and they will be called for questioning. It was also learnt that Gautam Navlakha, a shareholder in NewsClick, remained involved in anti-India and unlawful activities such as actively supporting banned Naxal organisations and having anti-national nexus with Gulam Nabi Fai, an agent of Pakistan's ISI, according to the remand copy. A raid was conducted on Tuesday at 88 locations in Delhi and seven in other states on the suspects named in the FIR and surfaced in the analysis of data. Follow The New Indian Express channel on WhatsApp
Sudhir surywanshi By

Express News Service

NEW DELHI: Bollywood actor Ranbir Kapoor has been summoned by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on October 6 in connection with an online betting case. However, he is likely to attend the questioning of ED on October 10.

They said the agency has accused Kapoor of receiving money from the promoters of the app for promoting their product in the virtual (online) space. The ED has asked Kapoor to appear at the agency's Raipur office on October 6, they said. Despite several attempts to contact the actor, there was no response from him.

It was allegedly using the online book betting application to enrol new users, create IDs and launder money through a layered web of benami bank accounts, the agency has alleged.

ALSO READ | Teaser of Sandeep Reddy Vanga's 'Animal' starring Ranbir Kapoor is here

The ED investigation has shown that the Mahadev Online Book App is run from a central head office in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), officials said. It operates by franchising "Panel/Branches" to their known associates on a 70-30 profit ratio, the agency had said. Large-scale hawala operations are done to siphon off the proceeds of betting to offshore accounts, it had said.

(With inputs from PTI)

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NEW DELHI: Bollywood actor Ranbir Kapoor has been summoned by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on October 6 in connection with an online betting case. However, he is likely to attend the questioning of ED on October 10. They said the agency has accused Kapoor of receiving money from the promoters of the app for promoting their product in the virtual (online) space. The ED has asked Kapoor to appear at the agency's Raipur office on October 6, they said. Despite several attempts to contact the actor, there was no response from him. It was allegedly using the online book betting application to enrol new users, create IDs and launder money through a layered web of benami bank accounts, the agency has alleged.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); ALSO READ | Teaser of Sandeep Reddy Vanga's 'Animal' starring Ranbir Kapoor is here The ED investigation has shown that the Mahadev Online Book App is run from a central head office in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), officials said. It operates by franchising "Panel/Branches" to their known associates on a 70-30 profit ratio, the agency had said. Large-scale hawala operations are done to siphon off the proceeds of betting to offshore accounts, it had said. (With inputs from PTI) Follow The New Indian Express channel on WhatsApp
Azerbaijani travel blogger Azer Garib presented a film entitled Bir sfrin izi il, dedicated to the official visit of National Leader Heydar Aliyev to Italy in 1997. The presentation of the film took place on October 4 at the Nizami Cinema.

This fascinating project takes us through the historical cities of Italy visited by Heydar Aliyev, showing us the unofficial aspects of the official visit.

Together with the traveller, the viewer will go on an astonishing journey through Rome, Naples, Pompeii and the island of Capri, capturing the unusual moments of the visit.

Azer Gharib, a well-known journalist and the author of the idea of the film, also stressed that other films will be created in this format, talking about the exciting details of the four visits of the National Leader.

The support of Azerbaijan Airlines, whose social mission is to enhance culture and preserve the country's heritage, has allowed this project to become a reality.
By Express News Service

MUMBAI: A Nagpur hospital has reported at least 25 deaths in 24 hours due to various reasons, officials said on Wednesday. The deaths in the government-run Mayo Hospital in Nagpurhometown of Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Union Minister Nitin Gadkaricome against the backdrop of 59 deaths reported in Nanded and Aurangabad government hospitals due to alleged shortage of medicines.

The patients who die at the hospital are mostly those who are last-minute referrals and require Intensive Care Unit (ICU) admission. Such patients are brought in a critical condition, a senior health official said.

Continuing its attack over the deaths in government-run hospitals, Lok Sabha MP and NCP (Sharad Pawar faction) senior leader Supriya Sule in a post on X (formerly Twitter) said, Fear does not end here and the health system has collapsed and the government is sleeping.

After Thane, Nanded and Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar [incidents], now 25 patients have also died in Nagpur. CM, Deputy CM have time to visit New Delhi, but not for these hospitals, Sule said.

Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde has ordered the probe into the Nanded and Aurangabad hospitals deaths.

Congress Leader of Opposition (Assembly) Vijay Wadettiwar visited the two hospitals while Shiv Sena (UBT)s Leader of Opposition (Council) Ambadas Danve toured the Nanded hospital.Danve said patients complained to him of various problems plaguing in the hospital and how due to a delay in performing a cesarean section operation, a pregnant woman and her unborn child died there.

With the latest spike in deaths, at least 78 people, including nearly 30 infants, have died owing to different lapses including alleged shortages of medicines, equipment, medical or staffers, in government hospitals in the last three days.

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MUMBAI: A Nagpur hospital has reported at least 25 deaths in 24 hours due to various reasons, officials said on Wednesday. The deaths in the government-run Mayo Hospital in Nagpurhometown of Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Union Minister Nitin Gadkaricome against the backdrop of 59 deaths reported in Nanded and Aurangabad government hospitals due to alleged shortage of medicines. The patients who die at the hospital are mostly those who are last-minute referrals and require Intensive Care Unit (ICU) admission. Such patients are brought in a critical condition, a senior health official said. Continuing its attack over the deaths in government-run hospitals, Lok Sabha MP and NCP (Sharad Pawar faction) senior leader Supriya Sule in a post on X (formerly Twitter) said, Fear does not end here and the health system has collapsed and the government is sleeping. After Thane, Nanded and Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar [incidents], now 25 patients have also died in Nagpur. CM, Deputy CM have time to visit New Delhi, but not for these hospitals, Sule said. Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde has ordered the probe into the Nanded and Aurangabad hospitals deaths.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); Congress Leader of Opposition (Assembly) Vijay Wadettiwar visited the two hospitals while Shiv Sena (UBT)s Leader of Opposition (Council) Ambadas Danve toured the Nanded hospital.Danve said patients complained to him of various problems plaguing in the hospital and how due to a delay in performing a cesarean section operation, a pregnant woman and her unborn child died there. With the latest spike in deaths, at least 78 people, including nearly 30 infants, have died owing to different lapses including alleged shortages of medicines, equipment, medical or staffers, in government hospitals in the last three days. Follow The New Indian Express channel on WhatsApp
Dilip Singh Kshatriya By

Express News Service

AHMEDABAD: The Gujarat government's allocation of funds for procuring uniforms for children and women workers at Anganwadi centres remains unspent. Official government records paint a concerning picture. Over a three-year period, despite allocating a substantial sum of Rs 11,707.72 lakh rupees, not a single uniform was purchased for these children. Similarly, the government had earmarked Rs 2,710.00 lakh over the same three years for providing sarees to Anganwadi workers, but these funds remained unutilised.

In response to a question posed by Congress MLA Chirag Patel from Khambhat in the Gujarat Assembly on September 14, 2023, the Women and Child Welfare Department of the Government of Gujarat revealed that from 2020-21 to 2022-23, significant sums were allocated for childrens uniforms, with 3788.12 lakhs, 3959.80 lakhs, and 3959.80 lakhs respectively. Not a single rupee was spent from the allocated amount.

Chandrika Solanki, the president of the Gujarat Anganwadi Association and a member of the Aam Aadmi Party, criticised the government for its indifference to the plight of underprivileged children.She expressed concern that even if these children attended school in tattered clothing, the government appeared unmoved. Solanki argued that the governments excuses for not utilising these grants were unjustified, given the persistent issues of malnutrition and deteriorating schools in Gujarat.

The government explained in the Legislative Assembly that the delay in uniform procurement in 2020-21 was due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Efforts to purchase uniforms began in 2022-23 but could not be completed by March 31, 2023, resulting in unspent funds. However, Chandrika Solanki contended that these reasons were mere pretexts and accused the government of exploiting the grant for the benefit of its party supporters through a corrupt tendering process.

The lack of expenditure extended beyond childrens uniforms to funds allocated for purchasing sarees for

Anganwadi women over the past three years. In response to a question by Congress MLA Arvind Ladani, the government revealed that substantial amounts were earmarked in each of the three years but remained untouched Rs 834.06 lakh in 2020-21, Rs 834.06 lakh in 2021-22, and Rs 1042.58 lakh in 2022-23.The government set aside a generous grant of 2,710.7 lakh rupees for sari purchases spanning three years, yet not a single rupee was utilised.

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AHMEDABAD: The Gujarat government's allocation of funds for procuring uniforms for children and women workers at Anganwadi centres remains unspent. Official government records paint a concerning picture. Over a three-year period, despite allocating a substantial sum of Rs 11,707.72 lakh rupees, not a single uniform was purchased for these children. Similarly, the government had earmarked Rs 2,710.00 lakh over the same three years for providing sarees to Anganwadi workers, but these funds remained unutilised. In response to a question posed by Congress MLA Chirag Patel from Khambhat in the Gujarat Assembly on September 14, 2023, the Women and Child Welfare Department of the Government of Gujarat revealed that from 2020-21 to 2022-23, significant sums were allocated for childrens uniforms, with 3788.12 lakhs, 3959.80 lakhs, and 3959.80 lakhs respectively. Not a single rupee was spent from the allocated amount. Chandrika Solanki, the president of the Gujarat Anganwadi Association and a member of the Aam Aadmi Party, criticised the government for its indifference to the plight of underprivileged children.She expressed concern that even if these children attended school in tattered clothing, the government appeared unmoved. Solanki argued that the governments excuses for not utilising these grants were unjustified, given the persistent issues of malnutrition and deteriorating schools in Gujarat.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); The government explained in the Legislative Assembly that the delay in uniform procurement in 2020-21 was due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Efforts to purchase uniforms began in 2022-23 but could not be completed by March 31, 2023, resulting in unspent funds. However, Chandrika Solanki contended that these reasons were mere pretexts and accused the government of exploiting the grant for the benefit of its party supporters through a corrupt tendering process. The lack of expenditure extended beyond childrens uniforms to funds allocated for purchasing sarees for Anganwadi women over the past three years. In response to a question by Congress MLA Arvind Ladani, the government revealed that substantial amounts were earmarked in each of the three years but remained untouched Rs 834.06 lakh in 2020-21, Rs 834.06 lakh in 2021-22, and Rs 1042.58 lakh in 2022-23.The government set aside a generous grant of 2,710.7 lakh rupees for sari purchases spanning three years, yet not a single rupee was utilised. Follow The New Indian Express channel on WhatsApp
By Express News Service

CHENNAI: Multiple teams of income tax officials on Thursday searched educational institutions and properties linked to two groups, including one belonging to DMK MP S Jagathrakshakan, sparking protest from the DMK which called it an assault on democracy. While I-T sources said the search, currently on in 40 places, has nothing to do with politics, Chief Minister M K Stalin dubbed it as vindictive politics.

Taking to X (formerly twitter), the CM said, The Union BJP governments vindictive politics knows no bounds! Arresting AAP MP Sanjay Singh and raiding DMK MP Jagathrakshakans home are clear examples of its misuse of investigating agencies for political ends against INDIA bloc leaders. This is deliberate persecution of opposition leaders. The BJP conveniently forgets that the Supreme Court has just warned the ED to be transparent and fair. But it seems they are hell-bent on disregarding the rule of law and democracy, Stalin said.

Raids held at edu institutions & city properties

The BJP is afraid of the growing unity among opposition parties. Its time they stop their witch-hunt and focus on addressing real issues, Stalin said.

Jagathrakshakan represents Arakkonam Lok Sabha constituency. The raids on Thursday were conducted at Bharath University in East Tambaram, Sree Balaji Medical College in Chrompet, and Sri Lakshmi Narayana Institute of Medical Sciences in Puducherry, among others, allegedly linked to Jagathrakshakans family members. The former union minister has been under the scanner of central agencies earlier too. In 2016, the income tax department claimed they have evidence of Rs 650 crore of tax evasion by Jagathrakshakan.

In 2020, properties worth Rs 89.19 crore of the MP and his family members were seized by the ED on the charge of acquiring foreign securities in a Singapore-based company in contravention of Section 4 of the Foreign Exchange Management Act. I-T sleuths were also carrying out searches at educational institutions and city properties belonging to another group

#WATCH | Income Tax Department is conducting searches at over 40 premises of DMK MP S Jagathrakshakan in Tamil Nadu.



Visuals from T. Nagar in Chennai. pic.twitter.com/krpahphbjK  ANI (@ANI) October 5, 2023

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CHENNAI: Multiple teams of income tax officials on Thursday searched educational institutions and properties linked to two groups, including one belonging to DMK MP S Jagathrakshakan, sparking protest from the DMK which called it an assault on democracy. While I-T sources said the search, currently on in 40 places, has nothing to do with politics, Chief Minister M K Stalin dubbed it as vindictive politics. Taking to X (formerly twitter), the CM said, The Union BJP governments vindictive politics knows no bounds! Arresting AAP MP Sanjay Singh and raiding DMK MP Jagathrakshakans home are clear examples of its misuse of investigating agencies for political ends against INDIA bloc leaders. This is deliberate persecution of opposition leaders. The BJP conveniently forgets that the Supreme Court has just warned the ED to be transparent and fair. But it seems they are hell-bent on disregarding the rule of law and democracy, Stalin said. Raids held at edu institutions & city propertiesgoogletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); The BJP is afraid of the growing unity among opposition parties. Its time they stop their witch-hunt and focus on addressing real issues, Stalin said. Jagathrakshakan represents Arakkonam Lok Sabha constituency. The raids on Thursday were conducted at Bharath University in East Tambaram, Sree Balaji Medical College in Chrompet, and Sri Lakshmi Narayana Institute of Medical Sciences in Puducherry, among others, allegedly linked to Jagathrakshakans family members. The former union minister has been under the scanner of central agencies earlier too. In 2016, the income tax department claimed they have evidence of Rs 650 crore of tax evasion by Jagathrakshakan. In 2020, properties worth Rs 89.19 crore of the MP and his family members were seized by the ED on the charge of acquiring foreign securities in a Singapore-based company in contravention of Section 4 of the Foreign Exchange Management Act. I-T sleuths were also carrying out searches at educational institutions and city properties belonging to another group #WATCH | Income Tax Department is conducting searches at over 40 premises of DMK MP S Jagathrakshakan in Tamil Nadu. Visuals from T. Nagar in Chennai. pic.twitter.com/krpahphbjK  ANI (@ANI) October 5, 2023 Follow The New Indian Express channel on WhatsApp
Mayank Singh By

Express News Service

NEW DELHI: Chief of Defence Staff Gen Anil Chauhan on Thursday said China's assertiveness is more evident now with its rise and India will have to take this aspect into account in its overall "strategic calculus".

Delivering the annual Gen KV Krishna Rao memorial lecture, Indias senior most military officer delved into various national security challenges and profound geopolitical changes. While the global geopolitical environment is under transition, India has transitioned from non-alignment to self-alignment, he pointed out and also referred to India's "major dispute" along the northern borders with China.

"Strategic autonomy may be relevant to exploit opportunities rather than to take care of threats. That's where the future should lie. We should be thinking about opportunities more," he said.

"All that I said comes with a little bit of a caveat because of the northern neighbour. In this strategic calculus, India will have to take into account the emergence of China as a major power," the Chief of Defence Staff said.

"China's assertiveness is more evident with its rise. India has a major dispute on its northern borders with China and will have to play the strategic autonomy card," he added.

Referring to the existing flux in the global geopolitical order, Gen Chauhan also underlined the need for India to continue maintaining "strategic autonomy" in its approach and highlighted how New Delhi was moving forward from its approach of "non-alignment" to an era of being a "Vishwa-mitra" -- a friend to the world.

The CDS cited India's nuclear tests in 1998, its "neutral and a nuanced" stand on the Russia-Ukraine war and the decision to go ahead with procurement of S-400 missile systems from Moscow notwithstanding threats of sanctions as examples of the country exercising its "strategic autonomy".

ALSO READ | IAF to continue operations in eastern Ladakh as complete disengagement with China yet to take place

"I believe that India has transited ahead from non-alignment of yesteryears to self-alignment as you said to maybe multi-alignment," he noted.

Gen Chauhan said, If I were to summarize the journey of India from non-alignment to exercising of strategic autonomy, it can be based on what I can say is three S's. First is securing India. Next is self-reliance. And lastly, shaping the environment to India's advantage and benefit," he said.

He underlined the significance of economic aspects of global geopolitics and that the global balance of power can be shifted by economic alignment and even issues like morality, righteousness and convergence of global interests.

"In India's famous epic Mahabharata, Lord Krishna shifted the balance of power towards the Pandavas. His military might went to the Kauravas but it was only his righteousness and sage advice which shifted the balance of power," he said.

"And ultimately the Pandavas emerged victorious in that particular war. We as a nation have utilised the G20 platform to leverage soft power to play a dominating role. So these are also important facts we must keep in mind when we take strategic decisions on how to get aligned in future," he said.

Gen Chauhan said the global geopolitical environment is currently in a state of flux and India must exercise its options looking at its national interests.

"The world is transiting between two orders. The old order is withering away and no one knows the contours of this new order and how it will shape up in the long run," he said.

Gen Chauhan also cited the financial crisis, disruptions in the global supply chains due to COVID-19, food and fertilizer shortages due to the Russia-Ukraine conflict and the situation in the South China Sea as some of the manifestations of the geopolitical and geoeconomic flux.

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NEW DELHI: Chief of Defence Staff Gen Anil Chauhan on Thursday said China's assertiveness is more evident now with its rise and India will have to take this aspect into account in its overall "strategic calculus". Delivering the annual Gen KV Krishna Rao memorial lecture, Indias senior most military officer delved into various national security challenges and profound geopolitical changes. While the global geopolitical environment is under transition, India has transitioned from non-alignment to self-alignment, he pointed out and also referred to India's "major dispute" along the northern borders with China. "Strategic autonomy may be relevant to exploit opportunities rather than to take care of threats. That's where the future should lie. We should be thinking about opportunities more," he said.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); "All that I said comes with a little bit of a caveat because of the northern neighbour. In this strategic calculus, India will have to take into account the emergence of China as a major power," the Chief of Defence Staff said. "China's assertiveness is more evident with its rise. India has a major dispute on its northern borders with China and will have to play the strategic autonomy card," he added. Referring to the existing flux in the global geopolitical order, Gen Chauhan also underlined the need for India to continue maintaining "strategic autonomy" in its approach and highlighted how New Delhi was moving forward from its approach of "non-alignment" to an era of being a "Vishwa-mitra" -- a friend to the world. The CDS cited India's nuclear tests in 1998, its "neutral and a nuanced" stand on the Russia-Ukraine war and the decision to go ahead with procurement of S-400 missile systems from Moscow notwithstanding threats of sanctions as examples of the country exercising its "strategic autonomy". ALSO READ | IAF to continue operations in eastern Ladakh as complete disengagement with China yet to take place "I believe that India has transited ahead from non-alignment of yesteryears to self-alignment as you said to maybe multi-alignment," he noted. Gen Chauhan said, If I were to summarize the journey of India from non-alignment to exercising of strategic autonomy, it can be based on what I can say is three S's. First is securing India. Next is self-reliance. And lastly, shaping the environment to India's advantage and benefit," he said. He underlined the significance of economic aspects of global geopolitics and that the global balance of power can be shifted by economic alignment and even issues like morality, righteousness and convergence of global interests. "In India's famous epic Mahabharata, Lord Krishna shifted the balance of power towards the Pandavas. His military might went to the Kauravas but it was only his righteousness and sage advice which shifted the balance of power," he said. "And ultimately the Pandavas emerged victorious in that particular war. We as a nation have utilised the G20 platform to leverage soft power to play a dominating role. So these are also important facts we must keep in mind when we take strategic decisions on how to get aligned in future," he said. Gen Chauhan said the global geopolitical environment is currently in a state of flux and India must exercise its options looking at its national interests. "The world is transiting between two orders. The old order is withering away and no one knows the contours of this new order and how it will shape up in the long run," he said. Gen Chauhan also cited the financial crisis, disruptions in the global supply chains due to COVID-19, food and fertilizer shortages due to the Russia-Ukraine conflict and the situation in the South China Sea as some of the manifestations of the geopolitical and geoeconomic flux. Follow The New Indian Express channel on WhatsApp
Preetha Nair By

Express News Service

NEW DELHI: A day after the Kerala High Court refused to suspend the conviction of Lakshadweep MP Mohammed Faizal, a notification from the Lok Sabha Secretariat announced Faizals disqualification from Lok Sabha membership. This marks the second disqualification of Faizal as a Lok Sabha member within the same year.

In view of the order dated 03.10.2023 of the Honble High Court of Kerala, Shri Mohammed Faizal P.P, Member of Lok Sabha representing the Lakshadweep Parliamentary Constituency of the Union Territory of Lakshadweep, stands disqualified from the membership of Lok Sabha from the date of his conviction, i.e., 11th January 2023, in terms of the provisions of Article 102(1)(e) of the Constitution read with Section 8 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, subject to further judicial pronouncements, read the notification.

In January of this year, Faizal was disqualified as an MP after being convicted in an attempted murder case in the union territory. However, on March 29, he was reinstated as an MP based on a stay order issued by the Kerala High Court. On Tuesday, the Kerala High Court rejected Faizals plea to suspend his conviction in the murder attempt case.The bench of Justice N Nagaresh considered the matter after the Supreme Court on August 23 set aside the high courts earlier order suspending his conviction and 10 years of imprisonment.

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NEW DELHI: A day after the Kerala High Court refused to suspend the conviction of Lakshadweep MP Mohammed Faizal, a notification from the Lok Sabha Secretariat announced Faizals disqualification from Lok Sabha membership. This marks the second disqualification of Faizal as a Lok Sabha member within the same year. In view of the order dated 03.10.2023 of the Honble High Court of Kerala, Shri Mohammed Faizal P.P, Member of Lok Sabha representing the Lakshadweep Parliamentary Constituency of the Union Territory of Lakshadweep, stands disqualified from the membership of Lok Sabha from the date of his conviction, i.e., 11th January 2023, in terms of the provisions of Article 102(1)(e) of the Constitution read with Section 8 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, subject to further judicial pronouncements, read the notification. In January of this year, Faizal was disqualified as an MP after being convicted in an attempted murder case in the union territory. However, on March 29, he was reinstated as an MP based on a stay order issued by the Kerala High Court. On Tuesday, the Kerala High Court rejected Faizals plea to suspend his conviction in the murder attempt case.The bench of Justice N Nagaresh considered the matter after the Supreme Court on August 23 set aside the high courts earlier order suspending his conviction and 10 years of imprisonment.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); Follow The New Indian Express channel on WhatsApp
By PTI

NEW DELHI: The Delhi Police on Thursday opposed the applications filed for the supply of a copy of the FIR by NewsClick founder Prabir Purkayastha and human resources department head Amit Chakravarty, arrested in a case lodged under anti-terror law UAPA following charges that the portal had received money to spread pro-China propaganda.

Additional Sessions Judge Hardeep Kaur was hearing the arguments regarding the applications.

During the proceedings, the counsel for Chakravarty also sought written grounds for his client's arrest by the Delhi Police and said providing the grounds for arrest to an accused is a constitutional safeguard.

The lawyer cited some judgments of the Supreme Court and Delhi High Court and said though the offences alleged are "serious" under the UAPA, there is no statutory ground that the prosecution is not obliged to provide a copy of the FIR to the accused.

ALSO READ | NewsClick founder arrest: Journalists, students stage protests

Appearing through video-conferencing, Purkayastha's lawyer argued that it is the right of an accused to get a copy of the First Information Report (FIR).

Special Public Prosecutor Atul Shrivastava cited a Supreme Court judgment and said the accused has to approach the police commissioner, who would then form a committee regarding the same.

He said the accused has to follow the "step-by-step procedure" prescribed by the apex court.

The application filed by the accused is "premature" and they can not "directly jump before the court", Shrivastava added.

"We have already provided the grounds for arrest and the reasons for further remand. We have already complied with the provisions," he said.

The court has posted the matter at 2 pm for further proceedings.

ALSO READ | NewsClick founder allowed to meet lawyer, sent to 7-day police custody

It issued a notice to the Delhi Police on the applications on Wednesday.

Purkayastha and Chakravarty were arrested by the Special Cell of the Delhi Police on Tuesday.

Police have sealed NewsClick's office in Delhi.

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NEW DELHI: The Delhi Police on Thursday opposed the applications filed for the supply of a copy of the FIR by NewsClick founder Prabir Purkayastha and human resources department head Amit Chakravarty, arrested in a case lodged under anti-terror law UAPA following charges that the portal had received money to spread pro-China propaganda. Additional Sessions Judge Hardeep Kaur was hearing the arguments regarding the applications. During the proceedings, the counsel for Chakravarty also sought written grounds for his client's arrest by the Delhi Police and said providing the grounds for arrest to an accused is a constitutional safeguard.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); The lawyer cited some judgments of the Supreme Court and Delhi High Court and said though the offences alleged are "serious" under the UAPA, there is no statutory ground that the prosecution is not obliged to provide a copy of the FIR to the accused. ALSO READ | NewsClick founder arrest: Journalists, students stage protests Appearing through video-conferencing, Purkayastha's lawyer argued that it is the right of an accused to get a copy of the First Information Report (FIR). Special Public Prosecutor Atul Shrivastava cited a Supreme Court judgment and said the accused has to approach the police commissioner, who would then form a committee regarding the same. He said the accused has to follow the "step-by-step procedure" prescribed by the apex court. The application filed by the accused is "premature" and they can not "directly jump before the court", Shrivastava added. "We have already provided the grounds for arrest and the reasons for further remand. We have already complied with the provisions," he said. The court has posted the matter at 2 pm for further proceedings. ALSO READ | NewsClick founder allowed to meet lawyer, sent to 7-day police custody It issued a notice to the Delhi Police on the applications on Wednesday. Purkayastha and Chakravarty were arrested by the Special Cell of the Delhi Police on Tuesday. Police have sealed NewsClick's office in Delhi. Follow The New Indian Express channel on WhatsApp
Jaison Wilson By

Express News Service

NEW DELHI: A Delhi court on Thursday allowed the applications by NewsClick editor Prabir Purkayastha and the news portal's Human Resources (HR) head Amit Chakraborty seeking a copy of the first information report (FIR) against them under the UAPA which is allegedly connected to a Chinese funding case.

The Delhi Police had opposed both applications, arguing the 'sensitive nature' of the case while saying police can withhold the FIR in such cases. However, despite the opposition, Additional Sessions Judge (ASJ) Hardeep Kaur directed the cops to provide a copy of the FIR to them.

The arrest of the duo on October 3 comes after the Delhi Police searched 30 locations connected with the online news portal and its journalists in a case filed under the anti-terror law UAPA following allegations that it received money for pro-China propaganda.

However, Purkayastha and Chakraborty said they were not provided with any FIR copy or the remand order. Their counsel Advocate Arshdeep Singh argued that it was the right to get a copy of the FIR. Both were remanded to seven days police custody in the early hours of Wednesday morning.

During the hearing, Additional Public Prosecutor (APP) Atul Srivastava termed the applications "immature", arguing that there are procedures to be followed.

"First approach the office of the Police Commissioner who will set up a committee to see the grievance. If the FIR is still not provided, then the accused can move the court, " he has submitted.

He said the accused should have approached the commissioner as per the law instead of "jumping" into the court. The APP argued that the duo did not follow the proper procedure in this case.

ALSO READ | Journalist bodies condemn NewsClick raids, say they are to divert attention from burning issues

Citing the remand paper, the SPP said the accused undermined the unity and territorial integrity of the country, besides engaging in a discussion regarding a map of India without Kashmir and showing Arunachal Pradesh as a disputed area. They received Rs 115 crore in the guise of foreign funding, he said.

"A false narrative was propagated to discredit the efforts of the Indian Govt. to contain the Covid-19 Pandemic. It was learnt that Prabir Purkayastha conspired with a group namely Peoples Alliance for Democracy and Secularism (PADS) to sabotage the electoral process during the 2019 General Elections," the Delhi Police said in its remand application submitted before a court.

Digital devices, documents and other items have been seized for examination, as per the Delhi Police.

The New York Times in a recent report entitled A Global Web of Chinese Propaganda Leads to a US Tech Mogul claimed that NewsClick was part of a global network funded by American millionaire Neville Roy Singham, allegedly linked with Chinese government media.

It was alleged by the police that the accused had also conspired to disrupt supplies and services essential to the life of a community in India and abet damage and destruction of property by protraction of farmers protest through such illegal foreign funding.

ALSO READ | Delhi Police questions journalists Urmilesh, Abhisar Sharma for a second time in NewsClick case

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NEW DELHI: A Delhi court on Thursday allowed the applications by NewsClick editor Prabir Purkayastha and the news portal's Human Resources (HR) head Amit Chakraborty seeking a copy of the first information report (FIR) against them under the UAPA which is allegedly connected to a Chinese funding case. The Delhi Police had opposed both applications, arguing the 'sensitive nature' of the case while saying police can withhold the FIR in such cases. However, despite the opposition, Additional Sessions Judge (ASJ) Hardeep Kaur directed the cops to provide a copy of the FIR to them. The arrest of the duo on October 3 comes after the Delhi Police searched 30 locations connected with the online news portal and its journalists in a case filed under the anti-terror law UAPA following allegations that it received money for pro-China propaganda.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); However, Purkayastha and Chakraborty said they were not provided with any FIR copy or the remand order. Their counsel Advocate Arshdeep Singh argued that it was the right to get a copy of the FIR. Both were remanded to seven days police custody in the early hours of Wednesday morning. During the hearing, Additional Public Prosecutor (APP) Atul Srivastava termed the applications "immature", arguing that there are procedures to be followed. "First approach the office of the Police Commissioner who will set up a committee to see the grievance. If the FIR is still not provided, then the accused can move the court, " he has submitted. He said the accused should have approached the commissioner as per the law instead of "jumping" into the court. The APP argued that the duo did not follow the proper procedure in this case. ALSO READ | Journalist bodies condemn NewsClick raids, say they are to divert attention from burning issues Citing the remand paper, the SPP said the accused undermined the unity and territorial integrity of the country, besides engaging in a discussion regarding a map of India without Kashmir and showing Arunachal Pradesh as a disputed area. They received Rs 115 crore in the guise of foreign funding, he said. "A false narrative was propagated to discredit the efforts of the Indian Govt. to contain the Covid-19 Pandemic. It was learnt that Prabir Purkayastha conspired with a group namely Peoples Alliance for Democracy and Secularism (PADS) to sabotage the electoral process during the 2019 General Elections," the Delhi Police said in its remand application submitted before a court. Digital devices, documents and other items have been seized for examination, as per the Delhi Police. The New York Times in a recent report entitled A Global Web of Chinese Propaganda Leads to a US Tech Mogul claimed that NewsClick was part of a global network funded by American millionaire Neville Roy Singham, allegedly linked with Chinese government media. It was alleged by the police that the accused had also conspired to disrupt supplies and services essential to the life of a community in India and abet damage and destruction of property by protraction of farmers protest through such illegal foreign funding. ALSO READ | Delhi Police questions journalists Urmilesh, Abhisar Sharma for a second time in NewsClick case Follow The New Indian Express channel on WhatsApp
Rajesh Asnani By

Express News Service

JAIPUR: In a significant announcement, Prime Minister Narendra Modi revealed that the central government would now offer gas cylinders under the Ujjwala scheme at a reduced price of just 600. This move, made public at a rally in Jodhpur district on Thursday, comes just ahead of the upcoming Rajasthan elections and the festive season could have far-reaching implications.

PM Modi stated, "With this announcement, all the sisters will celebrate festivals with more enthusiasm." He emphasized that this decision would benefit women across the nation, including the 70 lakh families residing in Rajasthan. This announcement is widely regarded as a strategic move by the Prime Minister, aimed at countering the popularity of the Gehlot government's public welfare schemes in Rajasthan. Currently, the Gehlot government provides gas cylinders to 76 lakh beneficiary families of the Ujjwala scheme at a cost of 500 rupees each.

PM Modi also laid the foundation stone for various projects related to health, education, railways, and roads, with a total value exceeding 5 thousand crores in Jodhpur, the home of Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot. In his speech, he took a swipe at CM Gehlot saying, "I have just inaugurated development works worth about 5 thousand crores. This was a government program, but the Chief Minister was absent. He is confident that everything will be fine if Modi is here. I also advise him to take some rest."

The Prime Minister also revisited the issue of the "Lal Diary" (Red Diary) and asked, "Will the Congress government allow the secrets of the Lal Diary to be revealed? If we want to uncover this secret, we must bring a BJP government to power."

Highlighting the issue of paper leaks, PM Modi connected with the youth, saying, "The paper leak mafia of the Congress has jeopardized the future of countless youth here. The youth of Rajasthan are demanding justice. The BJP government will take the strictest action against every such paper leak mafia and will bring employment to Rajasthan."

PM Modi criticized the law and order situation in the state, stating that when law and order deteriorates, investments shrink, and businesses suffer. He questioned the priorities of the Congress government, asking what Chief Minister Gehlot was doing during the Jodhpur riots and violent incidents and claimed that Congress's focus seemed to be on appeasement.

Using religious sentiments, PM Modi mentioned, "During Hindu festivals like Ram Navami, Parshuram Jayanti, and Hanuman Jayanti, incidents of stone pelting are reported from Rajasthan. Jodhpur, once known for peace, now witnesses gang wars in broad daylight." He also pointed to specific incidents, alleging the deteriorating law and order under Congress rule.

In response to the PM's allegations, Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot fired back, stating, "I don't know who provides incorrect information to PM Modi. No one died in the Jodhpur riots. Modi ji's statements tarnish the dignity of the Prime Minister's post. He seems determined to defame Rajasthan."

The political heat is on in Rajasthan as both the central and state governments engage in a war of words in the run-up to the state elections, leaving the public to decide which narrative resonates with them.

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JAIPUR: In a significant announcement, Prime Minister Narendra Modi revealed that the central government would now offer gas cylinders under the Ujjwala scheme at a reduced price of just 600. This move, made public at a rally in Jodhpur district on Thursday, comes just ahead of the upcoming Rajasthan elections and the festive season could have far-reaching implications. PM Modi stated, "With this announcement, all the sisters will celebrate festivals with more enthusiasm." He emphasized that this decision would benefit women across the nation, including the 70 lakh families residing in Rajasthan. This announcement is widely regarded as a strategic move by the Prime Minister, aimed at countering the popularity of the Gehlot government's public welfare schemes in Rajasthan. Currently, the Gehlot government provides gas cylinders to 76 lakh beneficiary families of the Ujjwala scheme at a cost of 500 rupees each. PM Modi also laid the foundation stone for various projects related to health, education, railways, and roads, with a total value exceeding 5 thousand crores in Jodhpur, the home of Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot. In his speech, he took a swipe at CM Gehlot saying, "I have just inaugurated development works worth about 5 thousand crores. This was a government program, but the Chief Minister was absent. He is confident that everything will be fine if Modi is here. I also advise him to take some rest."googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); The Prime Minister also revisited the issue of the "Lal Diary" (Red Diary) and asked, "Will the Congress government allow the secrets of the Lal Diary to be revealed? If we want to uncover this secret, we must bring a BJP government to power." Highlighting the issue of paper leaks, PM Modi connected with the youth, saying, "The paper leak mafia of the Congress has jeopardized the future of countless youth here. The youth of Rajasthan are demanding justice. The BJP government will take the strictest action against every such paper leak mafia and will bring employment to Rajasthan." PM Modi criticized the law and order situation in the state, stating that when law and order deteriorates, investments shrink, and businesses suffer. He questioned the priorities of the Congress government, asking what Chief Minister Gehlot was doing during the Jodhpur riots and violent incidents and claimed that Congress's focus seemed to be on appeasement. Using religious sentiments, PM Modi mentioned, "During Hindu festivals like Ram Navami, Parshuram Jayanti, and Hanuman Jayanti, incidents of stone pelting are reported from Rajasthan. Jodhpur, once known for peace, now witnesses gang wars in broad daylight." He also pointed to specific incidents, alleging the deteriorating law and order under Congress rule. In response to the PM's allegations, Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot fired back, stating, "I don't know who provides incorrect information to PM Modi. No one died in the Jodhpur riots. Modi ji's statements tarnish the dignity of the Prime Minister's post. He seems determined to defame Rajasthan." The political heat is on in Rajasthan as both the central and state governments engage in a war of words in the run-up to the state elections, leaving the public to decide which narrative resonates with them. Follow The New Indian Express channel on WhatsApp
By PTI

MUMBAI: Rs 100 seems to be "too small" a bribe in the year 2007 and more so now, the Bombay High Court has said while acquitting a government medical officer in a corruption and bribery case.

A single bench of Justice Jitendra Jain on Tuesday said it was a fit case to be treated as a trivial matter and upheld the trial court order acquitting the medical officer.

In 2007, one LT Pingale accused Dr Anil Shinde, the medical officer of a rural hospital at Paud in Maharashtra's Pune district, of seeking Rs 100 to certify his injuries following an alleged assault by his nephew.

Pingale complained to the Anti-Corruption Bureau, which laid a trap and caught Shinde red-handed.

He was prosecuted under provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act.

In January 2012, a special court acquitted Shinde of all charges which was challenged by the state in the HC.

ALSO READ | Principal, professor suspended for demanding bribe from students in Udhagamandalam

The High Court, however, found no merit in the state's appeal.

"In the instant case, the allegation is acceptance of a bribe of Rs 100 in the year 2007. The amount appears to be too small in the year 2007 and more so, in the year 2023 when the appeal is being heard against the acquittal," the bench said in its order.

"Therefore, assuming that the appellant-complainant is able to prove the charges (although, I have already held that they have failed to prove the charges), in my view after considering quantum at the relevant time this could be a fit case to be treated as a trivial matter to uphold the acquittal order," it said.

The bench relied on certain provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act that if the alleged bribe of gratification is trivial, then no inference of corruption may be drawn and the court may refuse to presume that the accused is corrupt.

The High Court dismissed the state government's appeal.

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MUMBAI: Rs 100 seems to be "too small" a bribe in the year 2007 and more so now, the Bombay High Court has said while acquitting a government medical officer in a corruption and bribery case. A single bench of Justice Jitendra Jain on Tuesday said it was a fit case to be treated as a trivial matter and upheld the trial court order acquitting the medical officer. In 2007, one LT Pingale accused Dr Anil Shinde, the medical officer of a rural hospital at Paud in Maharashtra's Pune district, of seeking Rs 100 to certify his injuries following an alleged assault by his nephew.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); Pingale complained to the Anti-Corruption Bureau, which laid a trap and caught Shinde red-handed. He was prosecuted under provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act. In January 2012, a special court acquitted Shinde of all charges which was challenged by the state in the HC. ALSO READ | Principal, professor suspended for demanding bribe from students in Udhagamandalam The High Court, however, found no merit in the state's appeal. "In the instant case, the allegation is acceptance of a bribe of Rs 100 in the year 2007. The amount appears to be too small in the year 2007 and more so, in the year 2023 when the appeal is being heard against the acquittal," the bench said in its order. "Therefore, assuming that the appellant-complainant is able to prove the charges (although, I have already held that they have failed to prove the charges), in my view after considering quantum at the relevant time this could be a fit case to be treated as a trivial matter to uphold the acquittal order," it said. The bench relied on certain provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act that if the alleged bribe of gratification is trivial, then no inference of corruption may be drawn and the court may refuse to presume that the accused is corrupt. The High Court dismissed the state government's appeal. Follow The New Indian Express channel on WhatsApp
BAKU, Azerbaijan, October 5. SpaceX founder Elon Musk will speak online at the 74th International Astronautical Congress, which is taking place in Baku these days, the Ministry of Digital Development and Transport told Trend.

Elon Musk will join the event in the online format, which is taking place at the Heydar Aliyev Center, at 17:45 (GMT+4) Baku time.

The speech will be broadcast live on the website of the International Astronautical Federation, on the federation's YouTube channel, as well as on the official page of the congress on the X (Twitter) platform.

The 74th International Astronautical Congress started in Azerbaijan on October 2. Baku hosted this prestigious event for the first time in 1973, during the leadership of the country by the great leader Heydar Aliyev. After 50 years, the Congress is being held in Azerbaijan again.

The international event, which is attended by more than 5,300 representatives from 136 countries, will last until October 6.
Jitendra Choubey By

Express News Service

NEW DELHI: A cloudburst over Lhonak Lake in north Sikkim has triggered a flash flood in the Teesta River basin, killing at least eight people. Nearly 70 others, including 22 army personnel, are missing too. The Glacial Lake Outburst Flood (GLOF) has washed away Chungthang Teesta Urja Dam. Video footage of terrible destruction has gone viral on social media.

What is GLOF?

Glacial lakes are formed due to the melting of glaciers. When the water of glacial lakes breaches their boundaries causing the release of huge amounts of floods to nearby streams and rivers is known as the Glacial Lake Outburst Flood. The threat of GLOF has increased as global warming induces glaciers to retreat at a faster rate.

According to the Central Water Commission (CWC), there are 2028 glacial lakes and water bodies of size more than 10 Ha in the Himalayan region catchment which contribute to rivers flowing in India. Of these, 1,169 glacial lakes/water bodies are located in the elevation zone 4,000m above sea level. The Teesta basin in Sikkim Himalaya hosts numerous glacial lakes in the high-altitude glacierised region, including the largest and the fastest-growing south Lhonak Lake.

Environmentalists have estimated that over 200 glacial lakes are vulnerable to outbursts. Studies have shown that infrastructure like dams, many settlements and assets are exposed to GLOFs in the Teesta Valley.

It indicates the need to conduct a full environmental impact assessment and potentially undertake GLOF risk mitigation measures, said Ashim Sattar, Department of Geology and Environmental Geosciences, University of Dayton, USA. Sattar co-authored a paper in 2021 on the Future GLOF hazard of the South Lhonak Lake, Sikkim Himalaya.

Environmentalists have long sought attention to hundreds of remote glacial lakes on unsettled mountain valleys. While these lakes are mainly located in remote and unsettled mountain valleys, far-reaching GLOF may damage assets up to tens of kilometres downstream, Sattar said.

Why is it difficult to forecast cloudburst?

Cloudburst is a small-scale phenomenon that satellites cannot detect with precision. Mrutyunjay Mohapatra, Director General of Meteorology, IMD, explained the resolution of the Indian satellite is 4 sq m in the infra-red range, while cloudburst is a single cloud that may be 1 sq km or less

Global-warming effect

Global warming leads to the retreating of glaciers and the formation of glacial lakes which further breach their boundaries causing intense floods to nearby streams and rivers known as Glacial Lake Outburst Flooding (GLOF).

Environmentalists estimated that currently over 200 glacial lakes are vulnerable to outburst

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NEW DELHI: A cloudburst over Lhonak Lake in north Sikkim has triggered a flash flood in the Teesta River basin, killing at least eight people. Nearly 70 others, including 22 army personnel, are missing too. The Glacial Lake Outburst Flood (GLOF) has washed away Chungthang Teesta Urja Dam. Video footage of terrible destruction has gone viral on social media. What is GLOF? Glacial lakes are formed due to the melting of glaciers. When the water of glacial lakes breaches their boundaries causing the release of huge amounts of floods to nearby streams and rivers is known as the Glacial Lake Outburst Flood. The threat of GLOF has increased as global warming induces glaciers to retreat at a faster rate.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); According to the Central Water Commission (CWC), there are 2028 glacial lakes and water bodies of size more than 10 Ha in the Himalayan region catchment which contribute to rivers flowing in India. Of these, 1,169 glacial lakes/water bodies are located in the elevation zone 4,000m above sea level. The Teesta basin in Sikkim Himalaya hosts numerous glacial lakes in the high-altitude glacierised region, including the largest and the fastest-growing south Lhonak Lake. Environmentalists have estimated that over 200 glacial lakes are vulnerable to outbursts. Studies have shown that infrastructure like dams, many settlements and assets are exposed to GLOFs in the Teesta Valley. It indicates the need to conduct a full environmental impact assessment and potentially undertake GLOF risk mitigation measures, said Ashim Sattar, Department of Geology and Environmental Geosciences, University of Dayton, USA. Sattar co-authored a paper in 2021 on the Future GLOF hazard of the South Lhonak Lake, Sikkim Himalaya. Environmentalists have long sought attention to hundreds of remote glacial lakes on unsettled mountain valleys. While these lakes are mainly located in remote and unsettled mountain valleys, far-reaching GLOF may damage assets up to tens of kilometres downstream, Sattar said. Why is it difficult to forecast cloudburst? Cloudburst is a small-scale phenomenon that satellites cannot detect with precision. Mrutyunjay Mohapatra, Director General of Meteorology, IMD, explained the resolution of the Indian satellite is 4 sq m in the infra-red range, while cloudburst is a single cloud that may be 1 sq km or less Global-warming effect Global warming leads to the retreating of glaciers and the formation of glacial lakes which further breach their boundaries causing intense floods to nearby streams and rivers known as Glacial Lake Outburst Flooding (GLOF). Environmentalists estimated that currently over 200 glacial lakes are vulnerable to outburst Follow The New Indian Express channel on WhatsApp
Mukesh Ranjan By

Express News Service

RANCHI: In a significant development, a Special CBI court in Ranchi on Thursday pronounced the sentencing for the Tara Shahdeo forced religious conversion case. The court awarded life imprisonment to her ex-husband Raqibul, also known as Ranjeet Singh Kohli, and 10 years to his mother Kaushal Rani. The then registrar of the High Court Mustaque Ahmed, accused of conspiring, has also been sentenced to 15 years imprisonment. Apart from this, the court has also imposed a fine of Rs 50,000 on each of them.

The special CBI Court of PK Sharma had convicted them on September 30, after finding them guilty on various charges, took them into judicial custody, and sent them to Birsa Munda Central Jail in Ranchi.

Ranjeet Kohli has been held guilty under section 120 B read with sections 376 (2) (n), 496, 298, 323 and 506 of IPC, Kaushal Rani under section 120B of IPC read with sections Sec. 376 (2) (n), 496, 298, 323, 506 of IPC, while Mushtaq Ahmed has been convicted under sections 120B of IPC read with sections 376(2) (n), 496, 298, 323 and 506 of IPC.

Defense counsel Mokhtar Khan, however, said that they appeal on the Jharkhand High Court against the sentencing.

Ranjeet Singh Kohli has been sentenced life imprisonment, his mother Kaushal Rani has been awarded jail for 10 years while the Mushtaq Ahmed has been sentenced 15 years of jail under section 120B read with section 376, said defense counsel Mokhtar Khan.

Maximum punishment has been given for section 376 (2) (N) under which a minimum punishment of 10 years has been given to Kaushal Rani, while Mustaque Ahmed has been sentenced to 15 years and Ranjit Singh Kohli has been awarded life imprisonment under the same section, he added.

Khan said that they have sufficient grounds under which they can move High Court for appeal. National level shooter Tara Shahdeo had married Ranjeet Kumar Kohli, also a shooting professional, on July 7, 2014 in Ranchi. She alleged that keeping her in dark about his religion, Kohli started torturing her from the very next day to get converted into Islam. Finally, she walked out alleging that Ranjeet Kohli was actually Raqibul Hasan, leading to uproar and registration of FIR against him.

According to the FIR lodged by her at Hindpiri Police Station, after escaping from her husbands Blair Apartments flat on September 19, 2014, the mother-son duo used to torture her after she refused to change her religion. Shahdeo, in a statement recorded before a judicial magistrate, had alleged that the then HC Registrar (Vigilance) Mushtaq Ahmed had arranged her marriage according to Hindu traditions at Hotel Radisson Blu in Ranchi and came to their house the very next day with Muslim clerics to solemnize nikah.

Shahdeo said that when she was forced to undergo nikah on July 8, Ahmed was present along with Muslim clerics and a kazi. The allegations had caused a national stir with the Union Home Ministry seeking a report on the purported case of love jihad, a term coined by certain Hindu groups to describe sham marriages solemnised by people of minority communities to effect forceful conversions into Islam.

Later, the CBI, in its charge sheet also said that Shahdeo was repeatedly raped by her husband and Ahmed molested her. The charge sheet was filed against Ahmed, Ranjeet Singh Kohli and his mother Kaushal Rani (Kaushar Begum), upholding Shahdeos allegations of deceit, exploitation and torture. During the course of hearing, a total of 26 witnesses were presented by the CBI, on the basis of which the court convicted Ranjit Kohli, Mushtaq Ahmed and Kaushal Rani.

The four witnesses presented by the defense side could not prove the innocence of the three accused persons in the court. All the three convicted persons were accused of assaulting Tara Shahdeo, torturing her for religious conversion and molesting her as part of a well-planned conspiracy. On June 27, 2018, a family court in Ranchi granted Tara Shahdeo divorce from her husband on the ground of cruelty, false information and the subsequent domestic and physical violence.

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RANCHI: In a significant development, a Special CBI court in Ranchi on Thursday pronounced the sentencing for the Tara Shahdeo forced religious conversion case. The court awarded life imprisonment to her ex-husband Raqibul, also known as Ranjeet Singh Kohli, and 10 years to his mother Kaushal Rani. The then registrar of the High Court Mustaque Ahmed, accused of conspiring, has also been sentenced to 15 years imprisonment. Apart from this, the court has also imposed a fine of Rs 50,000 on each of them. The special CBI Court of PK Sharma had convicted them on September 30, after finding them guilty on various charges, took them into judicial custody, and sent them to Birsa Munda Central Jail in Ranchi. Ranjeet Kohli has been held guilty under section 120 B read with sections 376 (2) (n), 496, 298, 323 and 506 of IPC, Kaushal Rani under section 120B of IPC read with sections Sec. 376 (2) (n), 496, 298, 323, 506 of IPC, while Mushtaq Ahmed has been convicted under sections 120B of IPC read with sections 376(2) (n), 496, 298, 323 and 506 of IPC.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); Defense counsel Mokhtar Khan, however, said that they appeal on the Jharkhand High Court against the sentencing. Ranjeet Singh Kohli has been sentenced life imprisonment, his mother Kaushal Rani has been awarded jail for 10 years while the Mushtaq Ahmed has been sentenced 15 years of jail under section 120B read with section 376, said defense counsel Mokhtar Khan. Maximum punishment has been given for section 376 (2) (N) under which a minimum punishment of 10 years has been given to Kaushal Rani, while Mustaque Ahmed has been sentenced to 15 years and Ranjit Singh Kohli has been awarded life imprisonment under the same section, he added. Khan said that they have sufficient grounds under which they can move High Court for appeal. National level shooter Tara Shahdeo had married Ranjeet Kumar Kohli, also a shooting professional, on July 7, 2014 in Ranchi. She alleged that keeping her in dark about his religion, Kohli started torturing her from the very next day to get converted into Islam. Finally, she walked out alleging that Ranjeet Kohli was actually Raqibul Hasan, leading to uproar and registration of FIR against him. According to the FIR lodged by her at Hindpiri Police Station, after escaping from her husbands Blair Apartments flat on September 19, 2014, the mother-son duo used to torture her after she refused to change her religion. Shahdeo, in a statement recorded before a judicial magistrate, had alleged that the then HC Registrar (Vigilance) Mushtaq Ahmed had arranged her marriage according to Hindu traditions at Hotel Radisson Blu in Ranchi and came to their house the very next day with Muslim clerics to solemnize nikah. Shahdeo said that when she was forced to undergo nikah on July 8, Ahmed was present along with Muslim clerics and a kazi. The allegations had caused a national stir with the Union Home Ministry seeking a report on the purported case of love jihad, a term coined by certain Hindu groups to describe sham marriages solemnised by people of minority communities to effect forceful conversions into Islam. Later, the CBI, in its charge sheet also said that Shahdeo was repeatedly raped by her husband and Ahmed molested her. The charge sheet was filed against Ahmed, Ranjeet Singh Kohli and his mother Kaushal Rani (Kaushar Begum), upholding Shahdeos allegations of deceit, exploitation and torture. During the course of hearing, a total of 26 witnesses were presented by the CBI, on the basis of which the court convicted Ranjit Kohli, Mushtaq Ahmed and Kaushal Rani. The four witnesses presented by the defense side could not prove the innocence of the three accused persons in the court. All the three convicted persons were accused of assaulting Tara Shahdeo, torturing her for religious conversion and molesting her as part of a well-planned conspiracy. On June 27, 2018, a family court in Ranchi granted Tara Shahdeo divorce from her husband on the ground of cruelty, false information and the subsequent domestic and physical violence. Follow The New Indian Express channel on WhatsApp
Express News Service

NEW DELHI: UNICEF has withdrawn its policy brief on the age of consent in adolescents following objections by the National Commission on Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR), which had claimed that its interpretation of the implementation of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO) was misleading.

Enfold Proactive Health Trust, UNFPA and UNICEF had jointly published the policy brief in 2022. In the policy brief, they had said that consensual sexual acts involving adolescents above 16 years of age should be decriminalised.

After NCPCR flagged the policy brief Implication of the POCSO Act in India on Adolescent Sexuality, UNICEF in a letter to the child rights body said that the report will not be publicly available.

UNICEF does not endorse any representation or portrayal of the conclusions of the brief as the official UNICEF position.

In a letter to NCPCR, Arjan de Wagt, Deputy Representative Programmes, UNICEF, also confirmed that the distribution of the report has been suspended and that the report is no longer available on official websites.

ALSO READ | Tinker not with consent age, amend POCSO Act: Law panel

We are pleased to confirm that the paper is not UNICEFs policy position on the complex issue of the age of consent, and the conclusions are not endorsed by UNICEF India as policy recommendations. UNICEF does not endorse any representation or portrayal of the conclusions of the brief as the official UNICEF position.

In its letter to UNICEF on September 19, the NCPCR said that no international law has defined the age of sexual consent.

In contrast, international legal frameworks like recruitment, trafficking, sale, prostitution and pornography have a well-defined threshold in their definition.

The child rights body had also said that even in international human rights laws, the age of consent is yet to be established.

There is a general belief that when the age of sexual consent is too young, it fails to protect the child from exploitation. The age of consent in trafficking is already 18 per the United Nations Convention RC, the letter, written by NCPCR Chairman Priyank Kanoongo, had said.

The NCPCR highlighted WHO's concerns about the risk of unwanted pregnancy, unsafe abortion and sexually transmitted diseases because of the initiation of sexual activities at an early age.

It also cited a Lancet Child and Adolescent Health report on India's national family health survey, saying that children born to adolescent mothers are at risk of being undernourished.

Even young boys and girls involved in romantic relationships have negative changes in behaviour, according to a study in 2016, the letter said.

The study concluded that issues about romantic relationships experienced by adolescents can impact their overall well-being, increasing the need for them to seek mental health assistance.

Kanoongo in his letter had requested them to approach the issue in a holistic manner, within the spirit of the law and withdraw the said policy brief and the report in the best interest of children.

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NEW DELHI: UNICEF has withdrawn its policy brief on the age of consent in adolescents following objections by the National Commission on Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR), which had claimed that its interpretation of the implementation of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO) was misleading. Enfold Proactive Health Trust, UNFPA and UNICEF had jointly published the policy brief in 2022. In the policy brief, they had said that consensual sexual acts involving adolescents above 16 years of age should be decriminalised. After NCPCR flagged the policy brief Implication of the POCSO Act in India on Adolescent Sexuality, UNICEF in a letter to the child rights body said that the report will not be publicly available.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); UNICEF does not endorse any representation or portrayal of the conclusions of the brief as the official UNICEF position. In a letter to NCPCR, Arjan de Wagt, Deputy Representative Programmes, UNICEF, also confirmed that the distribution of the report has been suspended and that the report is no longer available on official websites. ALSO READ | Tinker not with consent age, amend POCSO Act: Law panel We are pleased to confirm that the paper is not UNICEFs policy position on the complex issue of the age of consent, and the conclusions are not endorsed by UNICEF India as policy recommendations. UNICEF does not endorse any representation or portrayal of the conclusions of the brief as the official UNICEF position. In its letter to UNICEF on September 19, the NCPCR said that no international law has defined the age of sexual consent. In contrast, international legal frameworks like recruitment, trafficking, sale, prostitution and pornography have a well-defined threshold in their definition. The child rights body had also said that even in international human rights laws, the age of consent is yet to be established. There is a general belief that when the age of sexual consent is too young, it fails to protect the child from exploitation. The age of consent in trafficking is already 18 per the United Nations Convention RC, the letter, written by NCPCR Chairman Priyank Kanoongo, had said. The NCPCR highlighted WHO's concerns about the risk of unwanted pregnancy, unsafe abortion and sexually transmitted diseases because of the initiation of sexual activities at an early age. It also cited a Lancet Child and Adolescent Health report on India's national family health survey, saying that children born to adolescent mothers are at risk of being undernourished. Even young boys and girls involved in romantic relationships have negative changes in behaviour, according to a study in 2016, the letter said. The study concluded that issues about romantic relationships experienced by adolescents can impact their overall well-being, increasing the need for them to seek mental health assistance. Kanoongo in his letter had requested them to approach the issue in a holistic manner, within the spirit of the law and withdraw the said policy brief and the report in the best interest of children. Follow The New Indian Express channel on WhatsApp
Namita Bajpai By

Express News Service

LUCKNOW: Communal clashes in Nepal have been unheard of so far but recently the town of Banka bordering UP district Bahraich was gripped by a communal flare-up. Following it, the UP Police has sounded an alert in seven districts of the state along the porous India-Nepal border

Banka witnessed violence on Tuesday when miscreants belonging to a community started pelting stones at a Sadhbhawna rally taken out by members of another community. The Nepal police has imposed an indefinite curfew in Banka district.

Prashant Kumar, Special DG (law and order), UP Police, said that joint patrolling by the UP Police and Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB), which guards the India-Nepal border, has been intensified across Bahraich and other six districts that share their borders with Nepal.

"Movement across the border has been restricted to ensure that the violence does not spread to Indian territory, he said.

The top cop added that the UP Police was maintaining close coordination with the SSB and other central agencies to ensure peace in the Indian territory.

Significantly, five districts of eastern UP including Bahraich, Shravasti, Balrampur, Siddarthnagar, and Maharajganj, and two districts of the western region, including Pilibhit and Lakhimpur Kheri, share a 599 km border with Nepal.

On Tuesday, there were long queues of trucks at the Rupaidiha border but now the vehicles have been diverted towards other borders to enter Nepal.

As per local police sources, panic gripped the Rupaidiha border toll for some time on Tuesday as over one lakh people from both India and Nepal cross over to their countries daily from that point. Several Nepal nationals were stranded in India while many Indians were stranded in Nepal.

People from both sides are being allowed to cross over after confirmation of their identities.

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LUCKNOW: Communal clashes in Nepal have been unheard of so far but recently the town of Banka bordering UP district Bahraich was gripped by a communal flare-up. Following it, the UP Police has sounded an alert in seven districts of the state along the porous India-Nepal border Banka witnessed violence on Tuesday when miscreants belonging to a community started pelting stones at a Sadhbhawna rally taken out by members of another community. The Nepal police has imposed an indefinite curfew in Banka district. Prashant Kumar, Special DG (law and order), UP Police, said that joint patrolling by the UP Police and Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB), which guards the India-Nepal border, has been intensified across Bahraich and other six districts that share their borders with Nepal.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); "Movement across the border has been restricted to ensure that the violence does not spread to Indian territory, he said. The top cop added that the UP Police was maintaining close coordination with the SSB and other central agencies to ensure peace in the Indian territory. Significantly, five districts of eastern UP including Bahraich, Shravasti, Balrampur, Siddarthnagar, and Maharajganj, and two districts of the western region, including Pilibhit and Lakhimpur Kheri, share a 599 km border with Nepal. On Tuesday, there were long queues of trucks at the Rupaidiha border but now the vehicles have been diverted towards other borders to enter Nepal. As per local police sources, panic gripped the Rupaidiha border toll for some time on Tuesday as over one lakh people from both India and Nepal cross over to their countries daily from that point. Several Nepal nationals were stranded in India while many Indians were stranded in Nepal. People from both sides are being allowed to cross over after confirmation of their identities. Follow The New Indian Express channel on WhatsApp
By PTI

NEW DELHI: The US embassy on Thursday trashed reports that American Ambassador Eric Garcetti alerted his team about the possible impact of New Delhi's diplomatic spat with Ottawa on India-US relations.

American media outlet The Politico reported that Garcetti also has said the US may need to reduce its contacts with Indian officials for an undefined period of time.

"The US embassy dismisses these reports. Ambassador Garcetti is working hard every day to deepen the partnership between the people and governments of the United States and India," a US embassy spokesperson said when asked about the report.

"As his personal engagement and public schedule demonstrates, Ambassador Garcetti and the US Mission to India are working every day to advance the important, strategic, and consequential partnership we have with India," the spokesperson said.

The ties between India and Canada came under severe strain following Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's allegations of a "potential" involvement of Indian agents in the killing of Khalistani separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in June.

ALSO READ | India tells Canada to withdraw more diplomatic staff amid rising tensions over Nijjar's killing

India rejected the allegations as "absurd" and "motivated" and expelled a senior Canadian diplomat in a tit-for-tat move to Ottawa's expulsion of an Indian official over the case.

The Politico, quoting an unnamed official, said "Garcetti has told his in-country team that, because of the diplomatic spat with Canada, relations between India and the US could get worse for a time."

Garcetti also has said the US may need to reduce its contacts with Indian officials for an undefined period of time, it reported.

The White House said on Tuesday that Canada's allegations regarding India's involvement in the killing of the separatist are "serious" and need to be investigated fully.

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NEW DELHI: The US embassy on Thursday trashed reports that American Ambassador Eric Garcetti alerted his team about the possible impact of New Delhi's diplomatic spat with Ottawa on India-US relations. American media outlet The Politico reported that Garcetti also has said the US may need to reduce its contacts with Indian officials for an undefined period of time. "The US embassy dismisses these reports. Ambassador Garcetti is working hard every day to deepen the partnership between the people and governments of the United States and India," a US embassy spokesperson said when asked about the report.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); "As his personal engagement and public schedule demonstrates, Ambassador Garcetti and the US Mission to India are working every day to advance the important, strategic, and consequential partnership we have with India," the spokesperson said. The ties between India and Canada came under severe strain following Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's allegations of a "potential" involvement of Indian agents in the killing of Khalistani separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in June. ALSO READ | India tells Canada to withdraw more diplomatic staff amid rising tensions over Nijjar's killing India rejected the allegations as "absurd" and "motivated" and expelled a senior Canadian diplomat in a tit-for-tat move to Ottawa's expulsion of an Indian official over the case. The Politico, quoting an unnamed official, said "Garcetti has told his in-country team that, because of the diplomatic spat with Canada, relations between India and the US could get worse for a time." Garcetti also has said the US may need to reduce its contacts with Indian officials for an undefined period of time, it reported. The White House said on Tuesday that Canada's allegations regarding India's involvement in the killing of the separatist are "serious" and need to be investigated fully. Follow The New Indian Express channel on WhatsApp
Yeshi Seli By

Express News Service

NEW DELHI: Eight Canadian Sikh youths have been rounded up and arrested in a span of a week in Brampton, all charged with firearm-related offences by local law enforcement.

Some sources suggest that the arrests indicate that Canada is ready to crack the whip on erring individuals.

"All eight youth arrested are Sikhs and were found in possession of firearms  which doesnt imply they were Khalistani supporters," said a source.

The arrests happened after reports surfaced of shots fired in Brampton (which has a substantial Sikh community). Search operations showed they were in possession of firearms.

Aparently, the information about these youth came from a local gurudwara. All those arrested are between 19 to 26 years of age and have been charged with 'possession of loaded or prohibited or restricted firearms'. Reports indicate they are part of a drugs and illegal weapons cartel.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau recently said that they want to continue to engage with India and not escalate the situation.

ALSO READ | US embassy rejects reports about Ambassador Garcetti alerting team following India-Canada row

Meanwhile, India has said it is keen to see the downsizing of Canadian diplomatic missions from India in order to maintain parity with Indian diplomats in Canada.

"As we have said in the past, there is a high presence of Canadian diplomats in India and they interfere with our internal affairs. In keeping with that, we expect the Canadian diplomats to downsize and leave," said Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Arindam Bagchi.

Reports suggest that October 10th is the deadline for 41 Canadian diplomats to leave India.

The arrests came after External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar spoke about a 'toxic mix of criminals, terrorists and traffickers' operating in Canada.

"Canada has been permissive towards terrorists and extremists. I am in a safe position to say that not just are Indian diplomats unsafe and threatened in Canada, where going to missions is a challenge (which is why we had to stop visa issuance). There is a toxic mix of criminals, terrorists and traffickers. They have been operating in Canada because of the compulsions of Canadian politics," Jaishankar said while speaking at the Hudson Institute recently.

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NEW DELHI: Eight Canadian Sikh youths have been rounded up and arrested in a span of a week in Brampton, all charged with firearm-related offences by local law enforcement. Some sources suggest that the arrests indicate that Canada is ready to crack the whip on erring individuals. "All eight youth arrested are Sikhs and were found in possession of firearms  which doesnt imply they were Khalistani supporters," said a source.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); The arrests happened after reports surfaced of shots fired in Brampton (which has a substantial Sikh community). Search operations showed they were in possession of firearms. Aparently, the information about these youth came from a local gurudwara. All those arrested are between 19 to 26 years of age and have been charged with 'possession of loaded or prohibited or restricted firearms'. Reports indicate they are part of a drugs and illegal weapons cartel. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau recently said that they want to continue to engage with India and not escalate the situation. ALSO READ | US embassy rejects reports about Ambassador Garcetti alerting team following India-Canada row Meanwhile, India has said it is keen to see the downsizing of Canadian diplomatic missions from India in order to maintain parity with Indian diplomats in Canada. "As we have said in the past, there is a high presence of Canadian diplomats in India and they interfere with our internal affairs. In keeping with that, we expect the Canadian diplomats to downsize and leave," said Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Arindam Bagchi. Reports suggest that October 10th is the deadline for 41 Canadian diplomats to leave India. The arrests came after External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar spoke about a 'toxic mix of criminals, terrorists and traffickers' operating in Canada. "Canada has been permissive towards terrorists and extremists. I am in a safe position to say that not just are Indian diplomats unsafe and threatened in Canada, where going to missions is a challenge (which is why we had to stop visa issuance). There is a toxic mix of criminals, terrorists and traffickers. They have been operating in Canada because of the compulsions of Canadian politics," Jaishankar said while speaking at the Hudson Institute recently. Follow The New Indian Express channel on WhatsApp
Yeshi Seli By

Express News Service

NEW DELHI: Indias High Commissioner to Maldives Munu Muhawar met the newly elected Maldivian President, Dr Mohammad Muizzu, on Wednesday.

The new President is from the Progressive Party of Maldives.It was a pleasure to call on President Muizzu and hand over a congratulatory message from Prime Minister Narendra Modi, said Muhawar.

Indian High Commissioner was the third envoy who met the Maldivian President. The first was the British High Commissioner to Male Caron Rohsler, followed by Chinese Ambassador Wang Lixin. Meanwhile, President Muizzu said that he hoped to revive Maldives-India relations based on the principles of respect for sovereignty and enhance the bond between both countries to new heights.

He said that the Maldivians decided to protect the countrys sovereignty, and expressed confidence India would respect the decision. Muizzu expressed hopes to restructure the repayment of loans taken by the outgoing administration. Mahawar responded by reaffirming Indias commitment to enhancing Maldives-India relations and providing full support in fulfilling Maldives developmental needs.

ALSO READ | On Day 1, Muizzu says will remove all foreign militaries from Maldives

President Muizzu will be sworn in on November 17. On his first day of office, he announced that foreign military  which implied Indian soldiers  should leave as this was what the countrys citizens desired.

India has extended grants in aid to Maldives for developmental projects and has assisted them under the Neighbourhood First policy.

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NEW DELHI: Indias High Commissioner to Maldives Munu Muhawar met the newly elected Maldivian President, Dr Mohammad Muizzu, on Wednesday. The new President is from the Progressive Party of Maldives.It was a pleasure to call on President Muizzu and hand over a congratulatory message from Prime Minister Narendra Modi, said Muhawar. Indian High Commissioner was the third envoy who met the Maldivian President. The first was the British High Commissioner to Male Caron Rohsler, followed by Chinese Ambassador Wang Lixin. Meanwhile, President Muizzu said that he hoped to revive Maldives-India relations based on the principles of respect for sovereignty and enhance the bond between both countries to new heights.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); He said that the Maldivians decided to protect the countrys sovereignty, and expressed confidence India would respect the decision. Muizzu expressed hopes to restructure the repayment of loans taken by the outgoing administration. Mahawar responded by reaffirming Indias commitment to enhancing Maldives-India relations and providing full support in fulfilling Maldives developmental needs. ALSO READ | On Day 1, Muizzu says will remove all foreign militaries from Maldives President Muizzu will be sworn in on November 17. On his first day of office, he announced that foreign military  which implied Indian soldiers  should leave as this was what the countrys citizens desired. India has extended grants in aid to Maldives for developmental projects and has assisted them under the Neighbourhood First policy. Follow The New Indian Express channel on WhatsApp
By AFP

TOKYO: Japan began releasing the second batch of treated wastewater from the Fukushima nuclear plant on Thursday, an incremental step in a decades-long process that has drawn strong condemnation from China.

The discharge, a small portion of the 1.34 million tonnes of wastewater built up since a tsunami struck the facility in 2011, began at 10:18 am (0118 GMT), a spokesman for operator TEPCO told AFP.

While Japan has insisted the treated water poses no health risks -- a view backed by the UN's nuclear watchdog -- Beijing has repeatedly criticised the release and banned all Japanese seafood imports in response.

As with the initial release that began on August 24, about 7,800 tonnes of water is expected to be discharged over 17 days.

TEPCO has said the wastewater has been filtered of all radioactive elements except tritium, which is within internationally recognised safe levels.

"It has been confirmed that the first release has been conducted as planned and in a safe manner," government spokesman Hirokazu Matsuno told reporters Thursday, stressing no abnormalities had been detected.

The government will "continue to communicate, both domestically and internationally, results of monitoring data in a highly transparent manner", Matsuno said.

Japan is also urging China to "immediately scrap import bans on Japanese food, and act based on scientific justifications", he added.

Russia, which has frosty relations of its own with Japan, is reportedly considering following suit on the seafood ban.

Food exports from Japan to China plunged 41.2 percent in August to 14 billion yen ($94 million), according to finance ministry data.

China has accused Japan of using the ocean like a "sewer", an assertion echoed at the United Nations last week by Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare, whose cosying ties with Beijing have drawn alarm from traditional Western allies like Australia.

Following August's initial release, numerous Japanese businesses reported having trouble conducting daily operations after being flooded with angry calls from Chinese numbers.

Tokyo, meanwhile, demanded that China ensure the safety of Japanese citizens after a brick was thrown at its embassy in Beijing.

The release of wastewater is aimed at making space to eventually begin removing highly dangerous radioactive fuel and rubble from the plant's wrecked reactors.

TEPCO will be rigorous in overseeing the second round, an official told reporters at a briefing on Wednesday, while exercising "the utmost vigilance to ensure that there is no unintentional discharge" of treated water into the sea.

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TOKYO: Japan began releasing the second batch of treated wastewater from the Fukushima nuclear plant on Thursday, an incremental step in a decades-long process that has drawn strong condemnation from China. The discharge, a small portion of the 1.34 million tonnes of wastewater built up since a tsunami struck the facility in 2011, began at 10:18 am (0118 GMT), a spokesman for operator TEPCO told AFP. While Japan has insisted the treated water poses no health risks -- a view backed by the UN's nuclear watchdog -- Beijing has repeatedly criticised the release and banned all Japanese seafood imports in response.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); As with the initial release that began on August 24, about 7,800 tonnes of water is expected to be discharged over 17 days. TEPCO has said the wastewater has been filtered of all radioactive elements except tritium, which is within internationally recognised safe levels. "It has been confirmed that the first release has been conducted as planned and in a safe manner," government spokesman Hirokazu Matsuno told reporters Thursday, stressing no abnormalities had been detected. The government will "continue to communicate, both domestically and internationally, results of monitoring data in a highly transparent manner", Matsuno said. Japan is also urging China to "immediately scrap import bans on Japanese food, and act based on scientific justifications", he added. Russia, which has frosty relations of its own with Japan, is reportedly considering following suit on the seafood ban. Food exports from Japan to China plunged 41.2 percent in August to 14 billion yen ($94 million), according to finance ministry data. China has accused Japan of using the ocean like a "sewer", an assertion echoed at the United Nations last week by Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare, whose cosying ties with Beijing have drawn alarm from traditional Western allies like Australia. Following August's initial release, numerous Japanese businesses reported having trouble conducting daily operations after being flooded with angry calls from Chinese numbers. Tokyo, meanwhile, demanded that China ensure the safety of Japanese citizens after a brick was thrown at its embassy in Beijing. The release of wastewater is aimed at making space to eventually begin removing highly dangerous radioactive fuel and rubble from the plant's wrecked reactors. TEPCO will be rigorous in overseeing the second round, an official told reporters at a briefing on Wednesday, while exercising "the utmost vigilance to ensure that there is no unintentional discharge" of treated water into the sea. Follow The New Indian Express channel on WhatsApp
Rahna Mariyam By

Online Desk

On Monday, the United Nations' Libyan envoy urged a unified effort to rebuild the city of Derna that was devastated by a flood last month. In a recent statement, he said a unified effort is needed amid unilateral and competing initiatives for the reconstruction of the city.

One week prior to that, Libya's prosecutor general ordered the arrest of 12 officials, both current and former, as part of an inquiry into the flood that was caused by the collapse of the Abu Mansour and Derna dams in the aftermath of Storm Daniel.

Devastating flooding had occurred in the majority of eastern Libya and neighbouring Greece, Turkey, and Bulgaria following the storm. But the focus was mainly around Derna, the Mediterranian city in the eastern region of Libya, which was the worst-hit.

Libya's eastern region saw extreme rainfall on September 10 and 11 because of Storm Daniel. The storm also hit the cities of Benghazi, Susa and Bayda.

Derna was swept away by the deluge. The first videos that came out of Libya showed buildings submerged fully in water, and an entire city looking like a sea. Initially, the authorities found it difficult to estimate the death toll since the North African country was torn between two separate governments.

The lack of proper coordination and the internet blockade by the government following protests by citizens made the search and rescue operations harder.

The United Nations Mission to Libya and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies were among the very few organisations that managed to reach Libya to help with the rescue efforts.

Mey El Sayegh, a spokesperson for the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, who is currently in the city of Benghazi in Libya, assisting with aid initiatives, spoke to The New Indian Express and shed more light.

Can you tell us about the current situation in Derna?

The current situation in Derna continues to be grave, following the devastating impact of the heavy rainfall from Storm Daniel.

The impact the flood had on the community as a whole is huge. The cultural practice of families living in close proximity has, regrettably, resulted in the loss of the entire family tree. We know 17 families from a specific tribe who died in this tragedy. Now, the remaining families have all sought refuge in Benghazi.

The Al Wahda hospital in the eastern part of Derna remains the only operational healthcare facility. As the flood destroyed most of the infrastructure in the country, accessibility continues to be a problem. Our efforts to rehabilitate isolated areas are ongoing. One of the main constraints is that only one out of the five main routes is in a condition that can be used for transportation. Besides, considering the terrain in the region following the flood, people here can only use 4by4 vehicles that are capable of powering all four wheels simultaneously to reach the isolated regions.

Officials here in Libya have raised alarms over bacterial contamination in all sources of groundwater and seawater, as the sewerage systems were destroyed in the flood. Because of this, there is a risk of waterborne diseases if civilians start to rely on tap water. Even though we are serving bottled water to people, they are all temporary solutions.

After the fall of Muammar Gaddafi following the revolution in 2011, the country was torn internally as they were ruled by two governments-- the west of the country ruled by Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibah, and the eastern region under Khalifa Haftar. Is the lack of a stable government in Libya complicating the relief efforts?

Libya has endured years of ongoing conflict. Now it is experiencing a disaster of a scale that goes beyond what we could comprehend, beyond the abilities of the Libyan government and people like the Red Crescent Society. This sure makes the relief efforts more complicated.

But we hear positive stories of solidarity too  including many people from western Libya, heading to the east to help. Crucially, the Libyan Red Crescent Society is politically neutral and therefore despite the political divide it has access and acceptance across the country.

As a humanitarian network, what role does the Red Crescent play during these relief efforts? Also, what are the problems you face?

The Libyan Red Crescent Society was among the first to respond to the crisis by deploying teams and volunteers for immediate search, rescue, and relief efforts. Our teams are coordinating with both the local authorities and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent.

The teams on the ground are also giving high priority to holistic psychosocial support. The survivors of the immense loss of an entire family need extensive psychosocial care. Not only for the the surviving children and family, who are in severe emotional distress but also for volunteers who may be coping with their own losses while helping others.

In Libya, cultural norms indicate a preference for financial independence over reliance on temporary shelters such as tents and camps. Accordingly, our aid initiatives are focused on providing cash assistance as a culturally sensitive and effective method to empower the affected communities.

However, we do face a series of operational challenges.

As I said earlier, the infrastructure of the country was damaged by the floods. So, accessibility remains a problem. At this point, there are not many routes we can use to get to the isolated areas.

The buildings and infrastructure might collapse at any time, and that is a risk we are facing.

People reading this, or who have been following the news about the condition in Syria might be wondering what they can do to help as the needs are mounting. What can the international community do?

The IFRC has launched an international appeal for 10 million Swiss francs to fund the Libyan Red Crescent society's relief work. Our Red Cross and Red Crescent societies from different countries -- Egypt, the Emirates, France, Germany, Iran, Italy, Kuwait, Norway, Qatar, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Turkiye and Tunisia -- have sent aid. They have also sent personnel to help with the relief works, which strengthens our local initiatives.

However, the needs are big -- ranging from emergency shelter and healthcare to food assistance and psychosocial support. To continue relief efforts after a crisis of this scale, we need additional financial contributions, skilled personnel, and material resources.

Since the beginning of the rescue efforts, there has been some confusion about the death toll and missing people. Does Red Crescent have an estimate of the casualties?

We recognize the urgency in confirming the number of lives affected and displaced due to the floods. Yet, at this stage, it is important to understand that the responsibility rests with the Libyan authorities.

We cannot confirm numbers, however, we are committed to providing humanitarian aid, in coordination with agencies.

Follow The New Indian Express channel on WhatsApp

On Monday, the United Nations' Libyan envoy urged a unified effort to rebuild the city of Derna that was devastated by a flood last month. In a recent statement, he said a unified effort is needed amid unilateral and competing initiatives for the reconstruction of the city. One week prior to that, Libya's prosecutor general ordered the arrest of 12 officials, both current and former, as part of an inquiry into the flood that was caused by the collapse of the Abu Mansour and Derna dams in the aftermath of Storm Daniel. Devastating flooding had occurred in the majority of eastern Libya and neighbouring Greece, Turkey, and Bulgaria following the storm. But the focus was mainly around Derna, the Mediterranian city in the eastern region of Libya, which was the worst-hit.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); Libya's eastern region saw extreme rainfall on September 10 and 11 because of Storm Daniel. The storm also hit the cities of Benghazi, Susa and Bayda. Derna was swept away by the deluge. The first videos that came out of Libya showed buildings submerged fully in water, and an entire city looking like a sea. Initially, the authorities found it difficult to estimate the death toll since the North African country was torn between two separate governments. The lack of proper coordination and the internet blockade by the government following protests by citizens made the search and rescue operations harder. The United Nations Mission to Libya and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies were among the very few organisations that managed to reach Libya to help with the rescue efforts. Mey El Sayegh, a spokesperson for the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, who is currently in the city of Benghazi in Libya, assisting with aid initiatives, spoke to The New Indian Express and shed more light. Can you tell us about the current situation in Derna? The current situation in Derna continues to be grave, following the devastating impact of the heavy rainfall from Storm Daniel. The impact the flood had on the community as a whole is huge. The cultural practice of families living in close proximity has, regrettably, resulted in the loss of the entire family tree. We know 17 families from a specific tribe who died in this tragedy. Now, the remaining families have all sought refuge in Benghazi. The Al Wahda hospital in the eastern part of Derna remains the only operational healthcare facility. As the flood destroyed most of the infrastructure in the country, accessibility continues to be a problem. Our efforts to rehabilitate isolated areas are ongoing. One of the main constraints is that only one out of the five main routes is in a condition that can be used for transportation. Besides, considering the terrain in the region following the flood, people here can only use 4by4 vehicles that are capable of powering all four wheels simultaneously to reach the isolated regions. Officials here in Libya have raised alarms over bacterial contamination in all sources of groundwater and seawater, as the sewerage systems were destroyed in the flood. Because of this, there is a risk of waterborne diseases if civilians start to rely on tap water. Even though we are serving bottled water to people, they are all temporary solutions. After the fall of Muammar Gaddafi following the revolution in 2011, the country was torn internally as they were ruled by two governments-- the west of the country ruled by Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibah, and the eastern region under Khalifa Haftar. Is the lack of a stable government in Libya complicating the relief efforts? Libya has endured years of ongoing conflict. Now it is experiencing a disaster of a scale that goes beyond what we could comprehend, beyond the abilities of the Libyan government and people like the Red Crescent Society. This sure makes the relief efforts more complicated. But we hear positive stories of solidarity too  including many people from western Libya, heading to the east to help. Crucially, the Libyan Red Crescent Society is politically neutral and therefore despite the political divide it has access and acceptance across the country. As a humanitarian network, what role does the Red Crescent play during these relief efforts? Also, what are the problems you face? The Libyan Red Crescent Society was among the first to respond to the crisis by deploying teams and volunteers for immediate search, rescue, and relief efforts. Our teams are coordinating with both the local authorities and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent. The teams on the ground are also giving high priority to holistic psychosocial support. The survivors of the immense loss of an entire family need extensive psychosocial care. Not only for the the surviving children and family, who are in severe emotional distress but also for volunteers who may be coping with their own losses while helping others. In Libya, cultural norms indicate a preference for financial independence over reliance on temporary shelters such as tents and camps. Accordingly, our aid initiatives are focused on providing cash assistance as a culturally sensitive and effective method to empower the affected communities. However, we do face a series of operational challenges. As I said earlier, the infrastructure of the country was damaged by the floods. So, accessibility remains a problem. At this point, there are not many routes we can use to get to the isolated areas. The buildings and infrastructure might collapse at any time, and that is a risk we are facing. People reading this, or who have been following the news about the condition in Syria might be wondering what they can do to help as the needs are mounting. What can the international community do? The IFRC has launched an international appeal for 10 million Swiss francs to fund the Libyan Red Crescent society's relief work. Our Red Cross and Red Crescent societies from different countries -- Egypt, the Emirates, France, Germany, Iran, Italy, Kuwait, Norway, Qatar, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Turkiye and Tunisia -- have sent aid. They have also sent personnel to help with the relief works, which strengthens our local initiatives. However, the needs are big -- ranging from emergency shelter and healthcare to food assistance and psychosocial support. To continue relief efforts after a crisis of this scale, we need additional financial contributions, skilled personnel, and material resources. Since the beginning of the rescue efforts, there has been some confusion about the death toll and missing people. Does Red Crescent have an estimate of the casualties? We recognize the urgency in confirming the number of lives affected and displaced due to the floods. Yet, at this stage, it is important to understand that the responsibility rests with the Libyan authorities. We cannot confirm numbers, however, we are committed to providing humanitarian aid, in coordination with agencies. Follow The New Indian Express channel on WhatsApp
BAKU, Azerbaijan, October 5. The extradition to Azerbaijan of another person put on the international wanted list was achieved, the Prosecutor General's Office of Azerbaijan told Trend.

In accordance with the requirements of the European Convention on Extradition of December 13, 1957, and the Convention on Legal Aid and Legal Relations in Civil, Family, and Criminal Cases of January 22, 1993, the request of the Prosecutor General's Office for the extradition of a citizen of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Chingiz Mahmudzade, was granted by the competent authorities of Georgia.

According to the information, reasonable suspicions were revealed that Chingiz Mahmudzade committed repeated fraud with significant damage, and a decision was made to bring him as an accused. He was put on the international wanted list in connection with evasion from the investigation.

Mahmudzade was brought to Azerbaijan from Georgia on October 5, accompanied by a special convoy of the Penitentiary Service of the Ministry of Justice.
Moscow, October 4

H eaping praise on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Russian President Vladimir Putin called him a "very wise man", adding that India is making great strides in development under his leadership, Russia-based media RT reported.

Putin also expressed hope for further cooperation between Russia and India in the field of financial security and the fight against cybercrime.

According to a video shared by RT news platform, Putin said during an event, "We share very good political relations with Prime Minister Modi, he is a very wise man. And India has been making very great strides in development under his leadership. This fully meets the interest of both India and Russia to work on this agenda".

His remarks come close on the heels of the adoption New Delhi Declaration at the G20 Summit in India.

Significantly, the declaration called for establishing peace in the ongoing conflict in Ukraine but didn't put the blame on Russia, marking a sharp drift from the previous Bali Declaration.

The New Delhi Declaration was welcomed by Moscow, which termed it a "milestone" and also praised the active role of the Indian presidency in "consolidating" the G20 countries from the Global South.

Last month, too, President Putin had praised PM Modi stating he was doing the "right thing" in promoting the Make in India programme.

In an address at the 8th Eastern Economic Forum (EEF), Putin said, "You know, we did not have domestically made cars then, but we do now. It is true that they look more modest than Mercedes or Audi cars, which we bought in vast amounts in the 1990s, but this is not an issue. I think that we should emulate many of our partners, for example, India."

"They are focused on the manufacture and use of Indian-made vehicles. I think that Prime Minister Modi is doing the right thing in promoting the Make in India programme. He is right," he added.

A very wise man: Russian President Vladimir Putin praises PM Modi

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New Delhi, October 4

U nion Defence Minister Rajnath Singh launched the fifth positive indigenisation list of the Department of Military Affairs (DMA) during the plenary session of 'Swavlamban 2.0,' a two-day seminar of the Naval Innovation and Indigenisation Organisation (NIIO) here in the national capital on Wednesday.

In the event, the Defence Minister released the fifth Positive Indigenisation List of DMA comprising 98 items. Highly complex systems, sensors, weapons and ammunition have been included in the list. All these items will be procured from indigenous sources as per provisions given in Defence Acquisition Procedure (DAP) 2020 in a staggered timeline.

He also launched 76 challenges for the industry under the 10th Defence India Start-up Challenges (DISC 10) and DISC 10 PRIME of Innovations for Defence Excellence (iDEX) and five problem statements under iDEX for Fauji. In addition, two INDUS X challenges under 'INDUS-X Mutual Promotion of Advanced Collaborative Technologies' (IMPACT) challenges jointly finalised by iDEX and the United States Department of Defense (US DoD) were launched by the Defence Minister.

He also released the Indian Navy's updated Indigenisation Roadmap 'Swavlamban 2.0'. A special interactive session for the industry to explain the nuances of the roadmap is planned on Day 2 of the seminar.

While addressing Defence officers and innovators, he appreciated the fact that the SPRINT innovative challenge, which was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the maiden Swavlamban seminar in 2022 to promote the use of indigenous technology and products in the Navy, has helped in taking the country forward in becoming self-reliant in the defence sector.

He credited the Prime Minister's visionary leadership for driving the country ahead in mission mode free from doubt and full of confidence. India's defence sector is currently riding on the boat of innovation, he said, lauding iDEX for providing the youth with a platform to innovate and develop new products, which not only ensures the progress of the start-ups but also strengthens the country's defence ecosystem.

"India has always been self-reliant in the field of knowledge and innovation and when the present Government came to power in 2014, it re-kindled the feeling of being 'Aatmanirbhar' in every sector," Rajnath Singh said.

"Due to foreign invasions, we had forgotten our innovative approach. The word 'local' became synonymous with low quality. We're now freeing ourselves from that mentality. Our Prime Minister launched the 'Vocal for Local' campaign and restored respect for local goods. Our youth are now recognising their inner strength and eliminating inner doubts. In the coming times, they will play a big role in the development of the country with their innovative approach and knowledge," he added.

The Fifth Positive Indigenisation List has been prepared by DMA after several rounds of consultations with all stakeholders. It lays special focus on the import substitution of components of major systems besides important platforms, weapon systems and sensors and munitions which are being developed and likely to translate into firm orders in the next five to ten years.

Prominent items include Futuristic Infantry Combat Vehicle, Articulated All-Terrain Vehicles, Remotely Piloted Air Borne Vehicles up to 25 Km with 2Kg Payloads for Army, Naval Shipborne Unmanned Aerial Systems, Medium Upgrade Low Endurance Class Tactical Drones, Electric Light Vehicle for Army, Medium Range Precision Kill System for Artillery, Next Generation Low-Level Light Radar for Army, Automatic Chemical Agent Detection and Alarm System.

Other items include an Armoured Fighting Vehicle (AFV) Protection and Counter Measures System, Integrated Mobile Camouflage System, AI-Based Satellite Image Analysis, Test Equipment for a Guided Weapon System for Tank T- 90 S/SK, Quantum Key Distribution System for Optic Fiber based Networks (up to 200 Km range), Very High-Frequency Radar, Electro-Optic Fire Control System for Naval Platforms, Armour Plates for Cabin Nose Section for Mi-17 Helicopter, Automated Mobile Test System for OSA-AK-M Missile System; Multifunction Aviation Ground Equipment for Air Force, Gravity Rollers for Mi-17 V5 Helicopter and flares of P-8I and MiG 29-K Aircraft.

The items in the list will provide ample visibility and opportunity for the domestic industry to understand the trend and futuristic needs of the Armed Forces and create requisite R&D and manufacturing capacity within the country.

Swavlamban 2.0: Defence Minister releases 5th positive indigenisation list at Naval Innovation seminar

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Hangzhou, October 4

A fter winning a silver medal in the men's javelin throw event at the Asian Games on Wednesday, Kishore Jena called 'Golden Boy' Neeraj Chopra his "idol".

Neeraj successfully defended his gold medal while Jena broke his personal best in back-to-back throws and came close to Neeraj's season-best throw of 88.88m with his 87.54m in the men's javelin throw final event.

After the event, Jena expressed his happiness over achieving a new personal best and conveyed his admiration for Neeraj.

"Neeraj bhai is my idol and I am very happy to achieve my personal best. And after seeing him, I felt like doing my best. And if Neeraj continues to perform like this, I will always follow him," Jena told ANI.

Neeraj who was standing right beside Jena quickly intervened with a heart-touching gesture and said, "Peeche kyu? Saath saath rahenge (Why behind ?, we are together brother)."

Indian javelin throwers, Neeraj Chopra and Kishore Jena were in a league of their own competing for the gold in a highly engaging men's final. While the rest were merely competing for the sole bronze medal finish.

There was a neck-to-neck competition between two Indian athletes as both players attempted for gold, however, in the end, it was the defending champion who prevailed with his season best of 88.88. While Jena showed his mettle in the event to clinch a silver medal after much competition with Neeraj.

Peeche kyu? Saath saath rahenge: Neeraj Chopra's wholesome reply to Jena's will follow him remarks

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London, October 4

U nited Kingdom Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on Wednesday, addressing the 2023 Conservative Party conference, put forward a string of major announcements including the scrapping of the HS2 rail line, a program to double the number of doctors and nurses, and raising the age of smoking in the country, Al Jazeera reported.

However, in a controversial statement about the transgender community, which triggered an uproar, Sunak said people in the UK should not be "bullied" into believing they can be any sex they want to be.

"Patients should know when hospitals are talking about men or women, and we shouldn't get bullied into believing that people can be any sex they want to be. They can't. A man is a man, and a woman is a woman; that's just common sense," Al Jazeera quoted him as saying at the conference.

Sunak's decision to scrap the northern leg of the HS2 rail line will make it stop at Birmingham. He defended the decision, citing ballooning costs, adding that changing the plan would free up 36 billion pounds (USD 43.7bn) to be used on new transport projects across the North and Midlands.

"Now the decision I've made and the stance I'm taking will be attacked. They will say that halting it (HS2) signals a lack of ambition; it will be people I respect, people in our own party who will oppose it, but there is nothing ambitious about simply pouring more and more money into the wrong project," Al Jazeera quoted the British PM as saying.

The UK PM also proposed raising the smoking age by one year every year so that children turning 14 this year will not be able to buy cigarettes.

"I propose that in future, we raise the smoking age by one year every year. That means a 14-year-old today will never legally be sold a cigarette and that they and their generation can grow up smoke-free," he stated.

In a major announcement regarding the National Health Service, he introduced a reform programme to train and double the number of new doctors and nurses to stray from hiring from abroad and through agencies.

"It is also a reform plan for the NHS. With new ways of training and new roles of new ways of working, all driving up productivity," he stated.

He also announced the creation of a British standard qualification for those aged 16-19, making it mandatory for everyone to study some form of English and maths. He added that more effort will be put into attracting and training new teachers who can teach the two subjects, Al Jazeera reported.

Sunak also spoke on the issue of racism in the UK, comparing it with his own story of rising to Downing Street coming from an immigrant family.

"The people of North Yorkshire were not interested in my colour but my character. Never let anyone tell you this is a racist country. It is not. My story is a British story. A story about how a family can go from arriving here with little to Downing Street in three generations," the UK PM added.

Man is man, woman is woman...that's just common sense: Rishi Sunak

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Lucknow, October 4

U ttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Wednesday held a meeting with UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell.

CM Yogi called the meeting held at his official residence in Lucknow, as "productive and insightful.

"Had a wonderful meeting with Catherine Russell, Executive Director @UNICEF at my official residence in Lucknow today. It was a productive and insightful discussion," CM Yogi posted on X (formerly Twitter).

Russell praised the efforts by the UP government in the field of health, safety, and well-being of children and women. She also emphasised the importance of UP in enabling India to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals.

"A great pleasure to meet @myogiadityanath, Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, India. Appreciated seeing the efforts being made on health, safety and well-being of children & women in the state, and the important role of Uttar Pradesh in enabling India to achieve the #SDGs," Russell stated on X.

https://x.com/unicefchief/status/1709597824365494498?s=20

Earlier in the day, CM Yogi kicked off a unique week-long initiative, 'Sankalp Saptah' in 68 blocks of 42 districts of the state to give impetus to government schemes.

In another event, he instructed officials to address public issues with utmost seriousness, sensitivity and attention as well as ensure speedy and satisfactory solutions, adding that any kind of negligence in addressing public issues will not be tolerated.

The statement by the Chief Minister's Office came on the third day of Janata Darshan held at Gorakhnath temple and gave necessary directions to the officials present to solve them. The event was attended by over 200 people.

Earlier, on Tuesday, CM Yogi said that due to the coordinated efforts of different government departments, Uttar Pradesh will see the complete eradication of encephalitis from the state soon, and an announcement to this effect will also be made by the state government shortly.

He also described the control of encephalitis as a successful model for the country and the world.

UNICEF Executive Director meets CM Yogi; praises govt for work on health, women safety

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San Francisco, Oct 4

G oogle on Wednesday launched a new line-up of AI-powered Pixel 8 smartphones with new Tensor G3 chip, along with Pixel Watch 2. The new Pixel phones will be supported with seven years of OS, security, and Feature Drop updates.

Google also released Android 14, the latest version of the Android operating system which is available on Pixel phones (4A 5G and up), with phones from manufacturers including Samsung, Nothing, OnePlus, and more supporting it later this year.

The new Google Pixel 8 starts at $699.99 for the 128GB storage model. Pixel 8 Pro with in-built temperature sensor starts from $999.

Both the devices can be pre-order now and will be available at the Google Store and retail partners, beginning October 12.

If you pre-order a Pixel 8 Pro, youll get a Pixel Watch 2 on us, said the company,

Pixel 8, with its contoured edges and smaller size than Pixel 7, has a 6.2-inch Actua display, which gives you real-world clarity and is 42 per cent brighter than Pixel 7s display.

Pixel 8 features satin metal finishes, a polished glass back and comes in Rose, Hazel and Obsidian.

On the back of the Pixel 8 Pro, a new temperature sensor lets you quickly scan an object to get its temperature. Use it to check if your pan is hot enough to start cooking or if the milk in your babys bottle is at the right temperature, Google said.

The company has also submitted an application to the US FDA, to enable Pixels Thermometer App to take temperature and save it to Fitbit.

Were committing to providing seven years of software support for the Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro, including the latest Android operating system, security updates and ongoing Feature Drops, the company promised.

Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro feature powerful, upgraded camera systems for stunning photo and video quality, plus game-changing editing tools.

Every camera on the Pixel 8 Pro has been upgraded, starting with the main camera that captures better photos and videos in low-light settings.

The bigger ultrawide lens delivers even better Macro Focus, the telephoto lens captures 56 per cent more light and takes 10x photos at optical quality, and the front-facing camera now has autofocus for the best selfies on a Pixel phone.

Pixel 8 has the same updated main camera, plus a new ultrawide lens that enables Macro Focus.

Magic Editor in Google Photos is a new experimental editing experience that uses generative AI to help you bring your photos in line with the essence of the moment you were trying to capture, according to Google.

Later this year, Pixel 8 Pro will get Video Boost, which pairs Tensor G3 with Googles powerful data centres to apply cutting-edge processing to videos.

With improved AI, Call Screen will help users receive 50 per cent fewer spam calls on average.

The new smartwatch, Google Pixel Watch 2, can be pre-ordered for $349 for Bluetooth/Wi-Fi, and $399 for 4G LTE. It will be available in 30 countries on October 12.

Pixel Watch 2 comes with upgraded performance, all-day battery life (with always-on display), new safety features and sensors for deeper health insights  including our most accurate heart rate tracking on any tracker or smartwatch2  to give you a much better pulse on your day, said Google.

Pixel Watch 2 is made from 100 per cent recycled aluminum which makes it 10 per cent lighter than Pixel Watch3.

Together with the low-power co-processor, the new CPU gives the watch 24 hours of battery life, even with always-on display.

Combined with a faster charging rate that powers your watch to 50 per cent in just 30 minutes, your Pixel Watch 2 can support your activities from day to night, the company informed.

AI-powered Google Pixel 8 phones bring new camera tools, 7 yrs of key updates

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BAKU, Azerbaijan, October 5. Specialists of the member countries of the Organization of Turkic States (OTS) will get acquainted with Azerbaijan's walled cities, Trend reports.

Within the framework of the international conference "Cities of Viable and Sustainable Heritage", which will be held in Baku from October 9 through October 13, 2023, representatives of the member countries of the Organization of Turkic States and other international organizations will visit Azerbaijan's Icherisheher, Shusha and Sheki.

In addition, during the visit, an acquaintance with historical monuments as well as restoration work carried out in the post-war period will take place.

The international conference "Cities of Viable and Sustainable Heritage" will be held on the initiative of the Department of State Historical-Architectural Reserve "Icherisheher" and the Organization of Turkic States.
Bengaluru, October 4

K arnataka Chief Minister Siddaramiah on Wednesday said that education makes us independent and frees us from exploitation.

"For thousands of years, we were all deprived of literacy culture. After the arrival of the British, educational opportunities opened up. Because of Dr. B.R Ambedkar, education became a basic right for all the deprived. This is why we all need to be educated. Education makes us self-respecting. If you have self-respect, you can escape from exploitation. Education makes us independent and frees us from exploitation", CM Siddaramiah said while speaking at the inauguration event of Banjara Bhawan, organized by Karnataka Pradesh Banjara (Lambani) Seva Sangh in collaboration with Karnataka Tanda Development Corporation in Karnataka's Bengaluru.

The Chief Minister presented a list of the contributions made by the Congress government for the development of the Banjara community, stating, "It was our government which celebrated Sevalal Jayanti, it was our government that converted Tandas into revenue villages".

It is worth mentioning that Sevalal Mutt is deemed to be the 'spiritual Guru' of the Banjara community. He was a social reformer.

Meanwhile, CM Siddaramiah promised that five thousand more 'Tandas' would be converted into revenue villages.

"We wrote the foreword for converting Tandas into revenue villages. But BJP is claiming that they did our work', said the Karnataka CM.

"Rs 275 crore was given in the budget for the development of Banjara community. We will give money for other demands including Sevalal residential school in a phased manner in the coming days", he added.

Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar inaugurated the programme.

Deputy Speaker of the Legislative Assembly Rudrappa Manappa Lamani unveiled the statue of Sewalal. Banjara Handicraft Exhibition was inaugurated by Social Welfare Minister Dr. H.C Mahadevappa.

MLC Prakash Rathod, MLAs Nemiraja Naik, Avinash Jadhav, Banjara Seva Sangh's General Secretary H.B.Siddya Naik, Ex-MLA B.T. Lalitha Nayak, CM's Political Secretary Govidaraju and others were present at the event.

Education makes us independent, frees us from exploitation: Karnataka CM Siddaramiah

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New Delhi, October 04

U ttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami addressed the 'New Delhi roadshow' for the upcoming Uttarakhand Global Investors Summit 2023, scheduled to take place in December.

During the roadshow, Dhami said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has set a target of providing employment to 10 lakh people in the country within a year and we are also making continuous efforts to align with this vision of the Prime Minister.

He further said that hosting the G20 conference under the leadership of the Prime Minister last month helped introduce global leaders to the country's rich history, culture and dynamic economy during which Uttarakhand also got the opportunity to organize three meetings of G20.

Highlighting the state's transformation, Dhami credited former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee's acceptance of an industrial package for Uttarakhand, which laid the foundation for an industrial-friendly environment.

Although there was some disruption in it in the few years before 2014, but after 2014, under the guidance of PM Modi, the state has witnessed rapid development across sectors, with investments exceeding INR 1.50 lakh crore, he added.

Dhami further said that Uttarakhand is swiftly becoming a premier global tourist destination, attracting millions to its iconic Char Dham Yatra and the renowned Kanwar Yatra. The Chief Minister lauded the surge in visitor numbers as this year 4.15 crore Lord Shiva devotees came to Kanwar Yatra compared to last year's 3.75 crore.

Dhami also mentioned full booking of accommodations during the tourist season, signalling positive growth for the state's tourism sector.

He said that our effort is to provide better facilities to the tourists and devotees, for which primary attention is being given to road, rail and air connectivity.

Recognizing the pivotal role of industrial investment, the government plans to host the 'Global Investors Summit' as a catalyst for economic growth and infrastructure development in Uttarakhand, said Dhami.

He further mentioned that the investment proposals worth more than Rs 20,000 crores received from more than 400 industry representatives during the road shows in London and Birmingham, prove that entrepreneurs not only from the country but also from abroad are interested in Uttarakhand and are excited to invest.

Keeping the 'Global Investors Summit' in mind, the 'single window system' for approvals of licenses etc. has been improved in the state and focus sectors have been identified for the state which include traditional sectors like tourism, AYUSH, wellness, food processing, automobiles, pharma as well as alternative energy and information technology, said Dhami.

To meet the needs of these focus sectors, land and infrastructure have been identified, under which a special land bank of more than 6 thousand acres has been established in the state and to ensure that investors have a specific reference to assess various investment opportunities in the state, investable project proposals in these sectors are also being prepared simultaneously, he added.

The Uttarakhand CM further mentioned that more than 27 policies have been either made or renewed by the government in the last four months to create investor-friendly policies within a strong policy framework which includes Tourism Policy-2023, Dadam Policy-2023, Startup Policy-2023 and Logistics Policy-2023.

On this occasion, Dhami also listened to the views of a large number of entrepreneurs present during their mutual interaction and also assured to implement the suggestions given by them.

Meanwhile, secretary to Chief Minister Shri R. Meenakshi Sundaram extended an invitation to entrepreneurs across the country, citing Uttarakhand's favourable industrial environment.

Uttarakhand Director General Industries, Shri Rohit Meena also provided a detailed overview of the state's economic and industrial potential, emphasizing its emergence as a secure investment destination.

Additionally, Chairman CII Delhi, Mr. Puneet Kaura, along with other industry leaders, pledged their support for the success of the Investors Summit.

The forthcoming Uttarakhand Global Investors Summit 2023 is expected to serve as a platform for both domestic and international investors to explore investment prospects in the state across various sectors.

With a proactive approach towards attracting investments and fostering economic prosperity, Uttarakhand continues to position itself as an attractive destination for businesses and investors alike.

The Chief Minister of Uttrakhand has recently returned from the UK where the state held an investment roadshow. On September 27, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami informed that so far Memorandum of understanding (MoU) worth Rs 9,000 crores have been signed on his visit to the UK adding that people are willing to invest in Uttarakhand.

On the third day of his visit to Birmingham, the Uttrakhand CM signed two more MoUs with global investors worth Rs 3,000 crores.

'Global Investors Summit' will catalyse economic and infrastructural growth: Uttarakhand CM Dhami

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Ajit Pawar replaces Chandrakant Patil as new Guardian Minister of Pune

Mumbai, October 5

T he Maharashtra government led by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde has appointed Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar as the Guardian Minister for the Pune district. Along with Pawar, 11 ministers were also appointed for different districts.

Ajit Pawar has been given the charge of Pune district while Sudhir Mungantiwar of Wardha.

After a long tussle between the two, Ajit has taken over the charge from senior BJP leader Chandrakant Patil who will now oversee the Solapur and Amaravati districts.

The Chief Minister's office issued a list of guardian ministers for 12 districts in which--Maharashtra Medical Education Minister Hasan Mushrif will take charge of Kolhapur.

Guardian Ministers in their respective districts ensure the implementation of government policies and schemes to the public. They also control the DPDC funds which are used for development projects in the districts.

Notably, in the list issued by the CMO, there are nine NCP ministers who have been given the guardian minister post.

Ajit Pawar replaces Chandrakant Patil as new Guardian Minister of Pune

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San Francisco, Oct 5

T ech giant Microsoft has released key security updates for Edge, Teams, and Skype to patch two zero-day vulnerabilities in open-source libraries.

The two zero-day vulnerabilities were discovered last month, and both bugs have been actively exploited to target individuals with spyware, according to researchers at Google and Citizen Lab.

The vulnerabilities were discovered in two common open source libraries, webp and libvpx.

In a brief statement, Microsoft said it had rolled out fixes addressing the two vulnerabilities in the webp and libvpx libraries.

Microsoft is aware and has released patches associated with the two Open-Source Software security vulnerabilities, CVE-2023-4863 and CVE-2023-5217. Through our investigation, we found that these affect a subset of our products and we have addressed them in our products, the company said in a security update.

While the CVE-2023-4863 security patch addressed the bug in Microsoft Edge, Microsoft Teams for Desktop, Skype for Desktop and Webp Image Extensions, the CVE-2023-5217 patch was issued for Microsoft Edge.

However, Microsoft declined to say if its products had been exploited in the wild, or if the company has the ability to know, reports TechCrunch.

Last month, Google patched a zero-day vulnerability in Chrome that was exploited by a commercial spyware vendor.

Apple also fixed two zero-day vulnerabilities actively being used to deliver Israel-based NSO Groups Pegasus spyware on iPhones.

Internet watchdog group Citizen Lab, while checking the device of an individual employed by a Washington D.C.-based civil society organisation with international offices, had found the zero-click vulnerability.

Citizen Lab immediately disclosed the findings to Apple and assisted in their investigation.

Apple issued two CVEs related to this exploit chain (CVE-2023-41064 and CVE-2023-41061).

Microsoft fixes 2 critical zero-day bugs in Edge, Teams, Skype

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New Delhi, Oct 5

L ong associated with excess, comfort, and first-rate service are luxury hotels. These businesses have recently made a big move ahead by incorporating art into their interior design, revolutionising the visitor experience and demonstrating their dedication to culture and aesthetics. From traditional paintings and sculptures to cutting-edge installations that test the limits of imagination, the evolution of art in luxury hotels has spanned decades.

Tradition's Foundations

Historic luxury hotels served as bulwarks of classicism and conventional design. Hotels like AC Hotel Housten, US, Marriott Odessa, US etc. filled their lobbies and public areas with elaborate chandeliers, opulent oil paintings, and marble statues in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. These pieces of art were created to provide visitors with a timeless and elegant atmosphere by bringing back memories of a time of aristocratic grace.

These works were frequently commissioned by well-known artists of the day, lending credibility to the hotels' art collections. However as upscale hotels attempted to provide their visitors with more immersive and modern experiences, these traditional arts started to change.

Acknowledging Contemporary Art

Luxury hotels started to embrace contemporary art in the second part of the 20th century, moving away from the conventional. This change was a result of a larger, modernist cultural movement and a quest for novel, cutting-edge experiences. By working with modern artists to create immersive and visually fascinating spaces, hotels like Marriott Weligama in Sri Lanka, and Taj Lands Mumbai served as the vanguard of this change.

Abstract sculptures, avant-garde murals, and other contemporary art installations were included in the hotel's design. These pieces seek to defy expectations, elicit thought, and provide viewers with a distinctive and captivating experience. Luxury hotels were able to stay current and entice a new generation of travellers looking for authenticity and cultural enrichment by including contemporary art, says Sonia Arora Sood, Founder and Director of Karabi Art Community.

Fusion of Cultures and Regional flavour

The focus on regional culture and artistic traditions is another important step in the history of art in luxury hotels. Nowadays, a lot of opulent hotels work with regional artists and craftspeople to incorporate a feeling of place into their decor. With this strategy, visitors can fully immerse themselves in the distinctive aesthetic expressions of the place they are visiting.

Interactive Technology and Art

Luxury hotels have embraced technology as a vehicle for artistic expression in the digital age. Hotel lobbies and common areas are now home to interactive art installations and digital displays. These interactive, dynamic artworks can alter in reaction to visitor interactions, inspiring awe and participation.

Environmentalism and Eco-art

Sustainability has emerged as a crucial factor in the design of upscale hotels at a time when environmental concerns are becoming more widely recognised. Eco-friendly hotels are increasingly incorporating eco- and sustainable art into their interiors. This includes using recycled and reused materials as well as creating artwork that emphasises environmental issues.

Luxury hotels may have eco-art installations that include sculptures created from recycled ocean plastic, living green walls, or pieces that celebrate the wonder of nature and the value of conservation. These programmes not only enhance the hotel's environmental reputation but also inform and motivate visitors to take better care of the environment.

From traditional to modern, from old master oil paintings to interactive digital displays, the evolution of art in upscale hotels has been fascinating. Luxury hotels have embraced a variety of artistic forms to cater to the diverse tastes of their clientele because they understand the transformative power of art in creating memorable guest experiences, Sonia adds

(IANSlife can be contacted at ianslife@ians.in)

ianslife/ lh/ tb

The evolution of art in luxury hotels

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Turn around moment for my career: Avinash Tiwary on his back-to-back releases

Mumbai, October 5

P ortraying notorious gangster Dara Kadri in 'Bambai Meri Jaan' to Ritwik Mukherjee, an IB officer in Bejoy Nambiar's 'Kaala', actor Avinash Tiwary's back to back releases last month proved his potential as an actor.

Over the last few years, his talent and versatility have helped him to bag some great roles where he relentlessly proved his potential.

He also portrayed the gang leader Chandan Mahato in the Netflix original series 'Khakhee: The Bihar Chapter.' The series was made by renowned director Neeraj Pandey and received a positive response from the audience.

Avinash Tiwary made his Bollywood debut in the film 'Laila Majnu" which has highlighted his range as an actor. Tiwary made his big-screen debut, but it was his impressive performances in direct-to-OTT films that made his work more well-known.

Avinash said this about this current career phase, "The light is shining for now. It is just beautiful because when the light is falling on us we all shine through. That's my understanding. It's the culmination of all the hard work put together and I keep joking about it, that it is the power of compounding that all the effort you put in over the years kind of start translating into something bigger and better. This is the moment that probably I would say is a turnaround for me and my career."

Apart from this, Avinash Tiwary will be seen next in the theatrical film 'Mudgaon Express' which will be directed by Kunal Kemmu.

Turn around moment for my career: Avinash Tiwary on his back-to-back releases

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Washington, October 5

A n earlier diagnosis of type 2 diabetes may be possible in some patients, according to new research.

The research presented at this year's Annual Meeting of The European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD), Hamburg (2-6 Oct). This research shows a marked increase in a number of common conditions in the years leading up to and immediately before type 2 diabetes diagnosis.

"These novel insights into the onset and natural progression of type 2 diabetes, suggest an early phase of inflammation-related disease activity long before any clinical diagnosis of type 2 diabetes is made", says senior author Dr Adrian Heald from Manchester University, UK.

"These findings hint at the potential for type 2 diabetes to be diagnosed earlier, and we hope that the distinct clinical trajectory could become a predictive tool for people at risk of the disease."

Type 2 diabetes is frequently linked to a rising complexity of various diseases and connected therapies. Even though there has been considerable success in identifying the genetic and non-genetic risk factors for type 2 diabetes, knowing a person's long-term clinical history before and after a diagnosis may offer new insights into the disease's aetiology and the complex trajectories of numerous other health issues.

To find out more, UK researchers from Manchester Metropolitan University, Manchester University and Salford Royal Hospital analysed longitudinal data from the Diabetes Alliance for Research in England (DARE) Study to examine the accumulation of the most common clinical conditions in 1,932 adults with and without type 2 diabetes matched by age and gender.

Data on 1,196 individuals who were eventually diagnosed with type 2 diabetes and 736 without diabetes were analysed over a period of up to 50 years (25 years pre-diagnosis and 25 years post-diagnosis). The average age at type 2 diabetes diagnosis was 53 years.

The trajectory analysis revealed that for individuals eventually diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, a number of common conditions increased consistently in the years leading up to diagnosis, specifically: high blood pressure, respiratory tract infections, heart conditions (i.e., heart failure, heart attack, angina, coronary angioplasty, coronary artery bypass graft, and heart disease), asthma, and eye, nose, and throat infections (e.g., pharyngitis, sinusitis, and conjunctivitis; see figure 1a in notes to editors).

Additionally, researchers found that immediately prior to type 2 diabetes diagnosis, more than 1 in 3 individuals experienced high blood pressure and respiratory tract infection, while around 1 in 5 had a heart condition or eye, nose, and throat infection, and 1 in 10 developed asthma.

The corresponding trajectory over time was much less dramatic in those without type 2 diabetes, with fewer than 1 in 20 individuals being diagnosed with any of these conditions, apart from respiratory tract infections that were experienced by around 1 in 10 (see figure 1b in notes to editors).

After a type 2 diabetes diagnosis, the proportion of individuals experiencing high blood pressure, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), retinopathy (a complication of diabetes when the retina is damaged), and infections, climbed rapidly for around 15 years before plateauing. Similarly, both heart conditions and asthma continued to increase in those diagnosed with type 2 diabetes (see figure 1a in notes to editors).

"Understanding the long-term clinical history of type 2 diabetes years before diagnosis means that, in the future, people could have the time to make lifestyle changes to prevent this lifechanging disease from arising", says co-author Dr Adrian Heald from Salford Royal Hospital, UK. "This study demonstrates that subacute inflammation which manifests as the onset of hypertension, asthma or an acute infection, regardless of whether it is caused by the genome, demography or comorbidities, may serve as a precursor to the later onset of type 2 diabetes."

He continues, "These observations offer a fascinating and fresh perspective on the beginning and normal development from pre-type 2 diabetes to type 2 diabetes diagnosis and beyond, implying a possible early stage of disease activity that is linked to, but not yet clinically diagnosed as, diabetes. The matter of metabolic control and how this relates to a broad range of treatment factors (pharmacological and non-pharmacological) will be addressed in a future work."

Despite the important findings, this is a small, retrospective observational study and cannot prove causation, and the authors acknowledge that they cannot rule out the possibility that other unmeasured factors may have influenced the results. In addition, the authors note several other limitations, which may have affected the results, including the accuracy of the coding at the level of GP and the potential for bias through misclassification/missing data; that type 2 diabetes is a diverse disorder and the study has not examined all its possible subgroups; and that some multimorbidity may be related to socio-economic deprivation.

Researchers give more insight into type 2 diabetes diagnosis

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Rajasthan represents India's past glory, should represent its future as well: PM Modi

Jodhpur, October 5

P rime Minister Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone and dedicated to the nation multiple projects in sectors like road, rail, aviation, health and higher education worth about Rs 5000 crores in Jodhpur, Rajasthan on Thursday

Addressing the gathering, the Prime Minister said that Rajasthan is a state where the glory of ancient India is visible in valour, prosperity and culture.

"It is important that Rajasthan, which represents India's past glory should represent India's future as well. This will happen only when, from Mewar to Marwar, the entire Rajasthan scales new heights of development and modern infrastructure is built here," the Prime Minister said.

He also recalled the successful G20 meeting in Jodhpur recently and underlined the attraction of Suncity Jodhpur for both local and international tourists.

The Prime Minister paid homage to the land of Veer Durgadas. Referring to the infrastructure works by the Centre, he said the Jamnagar Expressway passing through Bikaner and Barmer and the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway are examples of hi-tech infrastructure in Rajasthan.

PM Modi said that this year about Rs 9,500 crore budget has been allocated for railways in Rajasthan which is a 14-fold increase over the average budget of previous governments.

He noted that 600 km of rail lines were electrified in Rajasthan since independence till 2014 and his government has already electrified more than 3,700 km in the last nine years.

"Now, electric trains will run on these tracks instead of diesel engine trains", the Prime Minister said and noted that it will help in reducing pollution and keeping the air clean in the state.

Under the Amrit Bharat Station Scheme, the Prime Minister said more than 80 railway stations in Rajasthan are being redeveloped.

He reiterated the government's commitment to redeveloping railway stations which are frequented by the poor.

The Prime Minister underlined that the rail and road projects will give momentum to the pace of development in the state.

He mentioned the reduction in the travelling time of trains due to the doubling of rail lines and noted the flagging off of Runicha Express - connecting Jaisalmer to Delhi, and a new heritage train connecting Marwar Jn. - Khambli Ghat and the Vande Bharat Express a few days ago.

He also referred to laying the foundation stone of three road projects today as well as the development of the New Terminal Building at Jodhpur Airport.

PM Modi underlined that the projects will give impetus to strengthen the regional economy as well as create new employment opportunities while also giving new energy to the tourism sector in the state.

Recalling the special place of Rajasthan in medical and engineering education, the Prime Minister mentioned the contribution of Kota and said that the effort is that along with education, Rajasthan becomes a hub of medical education and engineering.

For this 'Trauma, Emergency and Critical Care' facilities are being developed at AIIMS Jodhpur and seven Critical Care Blocks under Pradhan Mantri - Ayushman Bharat Health Infrastructure Mission (PM-ABHIM) are being developed across Rajasthan.

"I take great pleasure in seeing AIIMS Jodhpur and IIT Jodhpur among the premier institutes of the country, not just of Rajasthan," he said.

"AIIMS and IIT Jodhpur have together started work on new possibilities in the field of medical technology. Hi-tech medical technology like robotic surgery will give India new heights in the field of research and industry. This will also promote medical tourism. Rajasthan is the land of those who love nature and the environment. Based on this heritage, India is guiding the whole world today," he added.

The Prime Minister said India will develop only with the development of Rajasthan. "Together we have to develop Rajasthan and make it prosperous," PM Modi said.

Rajasthan Governor Kalraj Mishra and Union Ministers Gajendra Singh Shekhawat and Kailash Choudhary were among those present on the occasion.

The projects unveiled by the Prime Minister include laying the foundation stone for a 350-bed Trauma Centre and Critical Care Hospital Block at AIIMS, Jodhpur, seven Critical Care Blocks under PM-ABHIM, and the development of New Terminal Building at Jodhpur Airport.

He dedicated the IIT Jodhpur campus and infrastructure upgrades to the Central University of Rajasthan.

He also laid the foundation stone of multiple road development projects and dedicated two other rail projects including the doubling of the 145 km long Degana-Rai Ka Bagh, and the 58 km long Degana-Kuchaman City rail lines.

PM Modi flagged off two new train services in Rajasthan - Runicha Express which connects Jaisalmer to Delhi and a new heritage train connecting Marwar Jn to Khambli Ghat.

Rajasthan represents India's past glory, should represent its future as well: PM Modi

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New Delhi, Oct 5

I ndiGo on Thursday recommenced direct flights between Delhi and Hong Kong after the services were temporarily halted in early 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic, an airline official said.

"This reinstatement aims to strengthen strategic ties, capitalising on the rich socio-cultural diversity between one of South Asia's largest economies and a vital business and travel hub in the Asia-Pacific region, an airline spokesperson said.

These flights will serve both business and leisure travellers during the upcoming winter schedule, providing enhanced flight options and a seamless travel experience, said the official.

Vinay Malhotra, IndiGo's Head of Global Sales, said: In line with our strategy to enhance global connectivity and accessibility, we are excited to reintroduce flights from Delhi to Hong Kong, one of the world's most significant financial centres and commercial ports.

As the travel landscape evolves, we foresee a growing demand for varied international travel options. This reinstated route caters to such demand, offering travellers an increased accessibility to Hong Kong, and beyond.

"IndiGo is committed to delivering affordable, on-time, and hassle-free travel experiences across our extensive 6E network."

IndiGo recommences Delhi-Hong Kong flight

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PM Modi congratulates makers of 'The Vaccine War' for highlighting importance of scientists

Jodhpur, October 5

P rime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday congratulated the makers of the recently released film 'The Vaccine War' for highlighting the importance of scientists and science.

PM Modi, who addressed a rally after unveiling the development projects in Jodhpur said, "I have heard that a film called 'The Vaccine War' has been released, which depicts the relentless efforts of our country's scientists who worked day and night, dedicating themselves to the cause of fighting COVID in their labs, like sages. In this film, all these aspects have been portrayed. I congratulate the makers of this film for highlighting the importance of scientists and science."

https://twitter.com/ahindinews/status/1709838124455690611

Helmed by Vivek Agnihotri, the film starred Nana Patekar, Anupam Kher and Pallavi Joshi in the lead roles.

'The Vaccine War' narrates the tale of the triumph of scientists and 130 crore Indian citizens who fought the battle against COVID-19. It gave a glimpse of the activities of scientists involved with the BBV152 vaccine, also known as Covaxin, developed by Bharat Biotech in partnership with the Indian Council of Medical Research - National Institute of Virology.

Nana Patekar delivered a few inspiring dialogues in the film. One of them is, "This is a war and we are all soldiers. From today, we should see only the fish's eye just like Arjun."

Earlier in August, special screenings of 'The Vaccine War' were conducted in the US under the India for Humanity Tour.

PM Modi congratulates makers of 'The Vaccine War' for highlighting importance of scientists

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BAKU, Azerbaijan, October 5. Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan discussed the potential for elevating the trade volume between the two countries, Azerbaijan's Minister of Economy Mikayil Jabbarov wrote on X (Twitter), Trend reports.

As part of our visit to Turkmenistan, together with our colleagues, we had a meeting with Batir Atdayev, the Turkmen Deputy Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers and co-chair of the Azerbaijan-Turkmenistan Joint Intergovernmental Commission," Jabbarov said.

"During our discussions, we assessed the potential for organizing the forthcoming Commission meeting and fostering cooperation between the business communities of two countries," he said.

The trade turnover between Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan from January through August 2023 amounted to $644.7 million, marking a 2.7-fold increase compared to the same period last year.
New Delhi, Oct 5

T ypifying the entrepreneurial journey of resilience - Gautam Adani - began over three decades ago during which time this first-generation entrepreneur has built a $105 billion MCap diversified conglomerate.

Focused on sustainable and long-term value creation, the Group continues to work with the twin objectives of further deleveraging and looking at opportunities to expand and grow. The Groups core strength lies in mega-scale infrastructure project execution capabilities and infrastructure is increasingly becoming central to Indias growth.

Even the Hindenburg report failed to dent his reputation as an industrialist whose business acumen has helped to modernize India. The investors confidence that took a hit after the Hindenburg report got a boost after investments by big names like GQGs Rajiv Jain.

On his investment in the Adani Group, Jain had said in an interview with The Australian Financial Review that it was a safe bet because the conglomerate is irreplaceable as about 25 per cent of Indias air traffic passes through their airports and 25 to 40 per cent of Indias cargo volume goes through their ports.

In his message to shareholders in July this year, Adani said, Our balance sheet, assets, and operating cash flows continue to get stronger and are now healthier than ever before. The Groups strategy has always been to align itself with the Indian growth story, irrespective of who is in power at the Centre, and this has positioned us very strongly for future growth.

"The banking partners continue to remain aligned with this and look at us as a long-term partner in this journey. Our infrastructure assets generate stable revenues and contribute over four-fifth of the groups Ebitda.

The Groups infrastructure network has grown so vast that it has become indispensable for both local businesses and foreign firms.

For instance, MNCs like Tata or Microsoft may use Adani ports or airports for transport and logistics. The large size of the Group also means that any disruption or turmoil may adversely affect the Indian economy. At the same time, the dependence of the Indian economy on Adani could keep its kitty full of profits because continuous use of its assets will result in constant cash flows.

Very early on, the Group focused on seeking control over the value chain and began investing in inter-connected businesses (adjacencies). For example, to run its thermal power plants, it has acquired coal mines in India, Indonesia and Australia; transports coalvia Adani ships to Adani Ports and finally, to Adani power plants; which then transmit power to households and businesses.

More than 75 per cent of the Adani businesses are in regulated sectors. In the sectors with the Adani presence, the statutory regulatory framework is independent and mature. According to data compiled by Bloomberg, it has the highest market share in the private sector.

Adani companies handle about 43 per cent of all shipping containers, a third of all coal transported, about 22 per cent of private thermal power capacity, the largest number of solar and wind plants, and 51 per cent of Indias private electricity transmission. Adani Ports is the largest private port operator in India. The conglomerate also owns 300 kilometers long private railway network, besides a rail line in Australia. Adani also plans to build 12,000 km of roadways by 2026 in the country.

After securing the coastline and rail network, Adani spread its wings in the sky. It operates seven airports that see around 75 million footfalls annually.

Moving forward, the Group plans to make close to 85 per cent of its investments over the next seven years into creating a green energy ecosystem, including transmission lines, transport and logistics. The majority of its future revenue and earnings could come from green space.

Adani Group: Too big to fail

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New Delhi, October 5

V ice President Jagdeep Dhankhar and his Dominican Republic counterpart Raquel Pena Rodriguez strongly condemned terrorism in all its forms and stressed on the need for international community's concerted and coordinated action to combat terrorism.

The joint press release of the meeting between Jagdeep Dhankhar and Raquel Pena Rodriguez reads, "Strongly condemned terrorism in all its forms and manifestations. They emphasized the need for concerted and coordinated action by the international community to combat terrorism, by adopting a zero tolerance approach. They also called for an expeditious finalization and adoption of the Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism within the UN framework."

The two leaders acknowledged the "critical importance" of maintaining regional stability and peace. Vice President Dhankhar and Rodriguez emphasized the need for continued close coordination between the two countries in multilateral organizations on respective national candidatures and global issues of mutual interest.

The joint press release reads, "Acknowledged the critical importance of maintaining regional stability and peace. To this end, they recalled India's involvement in Haiti as part of UN led MINUSTAH (The United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti) and underscored the importance of international support for the capacity building training of Haiti's Police and security forces."

Dominican Republic Vice President congratulated India for successful organisation of the G20 Summit in Delhi. She thanked India for amplifying the voice and concerns of the Global South and developing countries during its G20 Presidency.

According to the joint press release, the two leaders reiterated the high priority attached to the issues of climate change, environment and sustainable development. Vice President Dhankhar and Rodriguez expressed their willingness to work together in building resilience to the negative impacts of climate change.

The joint press release of the meeting between two leaders reads, "The Vice-President of India took note that the Dominican Republic, as a Small Island Developing State, looks forward to the adoption of the Multidimentional Vulnerability Index."

"Welcomed the signing of a bilateral cooperation MoU on ocean science and agreed to work together in exploring solution to the problem of the massive proliferation of the sargassum seaweed afflicting the Caribbean beaches, affecting the livelihood of coastal populations and the tourist industry," it added.

The two leaders underlined the opportunities for collaboration in renewable energy, including under the International Solar Alliance (ISA). The joint press release reads, "The Dominican Republic side stated that efforts are afoot for early ratification of the ISA Framework Agreement that the Dominican Republic has already signed."

The two sides looked forward to deepening their engagement within the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI) with India as co-chair and the Dominican Republic as the representative Small Island Developing States in the Executive Committee, for the period 2022-2024, according to the joint press release.

India and Dominican Republic took note of the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed during Raquel Pena Rodriguez's visit to India. The MoU was signed between the Central Drug Control Organization of India (CDSCO) and the General Directorate of Medicines, Food, and Health Products of the Dominican Republic (DIGEMAPS).

Furthermore, the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, National Institute of Oceanography of India (CSIR-NIO) and the National Authority for Maritime Affairs of the Dominican Republic (ANAMAR) signed an MoU.

Notably, Rodriguez arrived in New Delhi on Tuesday on a three-day visit to India. During her visit, she met President Droupadi Murmu and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar. She also held a meeting with Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla.

Ministry of External Affairs in an earlier press release said, "The visit is significant as it is takes place at a time when India-Dominican Republic bilateral relationship is entering its 25th year. The two countries established diplomatic relations on 04 May 1999."

Vice President Dhankhar, Dominican Republic counterpart emphasize need for int'l community's concerted action to combat terrorism

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Mumbai, Oct 5

T he Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has brought 30 banks on board its Centralised Web Portal UDGAM (Unclaimed Deposits  Gateway to Access inforMation) for the public to facilitate and make it easier for them to search their unclaimed deposits across multiple banks at one place.

The RBI said on Thursday that the search facility for 30 bankshas been made available on the portal on September 28, 2023, which covers around 90 per cent of such unclaimed deposits (in value terms) in Depositor Education and Awareness (DEA) Fund.

The RBI had launched UDGAM web portal on August 17 this year with the search facility initially made available on the portal for seven banks. The search facility for the remaining banks on the portal was to be made available in a phased manner by October 15, 2023.

The UDGAM portal has been developed by RBI for use by members of the public to facilitate and make it easier for them to search their unclaimed deposits across multiple banks at one place.

Given the increasing trend in the amount of unclaimed deposits, RBI has been undertaking public awareness campaigns from time to time to sensitise the public on this matter. Further, through these initiatives, the RBI has been encouraging members of the public to identify and approach their respective banks for claiming unclaimed deposits.

RBI brings 30 banks on UDGAM portal to help search for unclaimed deposits

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BAKU, Azerbaijan, October 5. Azerbaijan discussed directions of development of relations with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, diversification of economy, promotion of public-private partnership and projects implemented with the support of the Bank, Trend reports.

According to the Ministry of Economy of Azerbaijan, Economy Minister Mikayil Jabbarov held a meeting with Matteo Patrone, Executive Director of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) for Eastern Europe and the Caucasus, where the mentioned issues were discussed.

At the meeting, successful ties between Azerbaijan and the EBRD in various directions were emphasized, and information was provided on Azerbaijan's socio-economic priorities.

Wide opportunities for cooperation within the framework of achieving the planned development goals were noted. In this context, the sides discussed further steps to implement priority projects in the spheres of green economy, energy, especially renewable and alternative energy, private sector development, infrastructure and other areas.

Patrone noted the Bank's effective cooperation with Azerbaijan and emphasized that the country's economic potential contributes to the formation of a favorable ground for the expansion of ties. The Bank will continue to support Azerbaijan's economic development, he said.

The sides discussed the directions of development of ties between Azerbaijan and the EBRD, diversification of the economy, promotion of public-private partnership and projects implemented with the Bank's support.

The loan portfolio of EBRD projects in Azerbaijan was estimated at 787 million euros as of July 31, 2023. According to the EBRD, the loan portfolio is designed for the realization of 31 projects.

Most of the portfolio (88 percent or 692 million euros) is aimed at investments in sustainable infrastructure, 9 percent or 67 million euros - on investments in industry, trade and agricultural sector, and 3 percent or 28 million euros - on investments in financial institutions.

Overall, the bank has invested over 3.4 billion euros in Azerbaijan in 188 projects.

The EBRD has been cooperating with Azerbaijan since 1992 and is the leading investor in the country.
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BAKU, Azerbaijan, October 5. Agency for Development of Small and Medium Business (SMB) of Azerbaijan and Board of the Organization for Development and Support of Small and Medium Enterprises (KOSGEB) discussed cooperation, Trend reports.

The meeting was held between Chairman of the Board of the Agency for Development of Small and Medium Business (SMB) of Azerbaijan Orkhan Mammadov and Deputy Chairman of the Board of the Organization for Development and Support of Small and Medium Enterprises (KOSGEB) Recep Klnc and Deputy Chairman of the Board of the Ankara Chamber of Commerce and Industry Halil Ibrahim Ylmaz.

The sides discussed prospects of cooperation in business and trade between Azerbaijani and Turkish businessmen.

The SMB Development Agency, representatives of KOSGEB and Ankara Chamber of Commerce and Industry visited the "Baku SMB House". At the meeting Orkhan Mammadov shared information about the support and services provided by the Agency to entrepreneurs, prospects of cooperation in business and trade between Azerbaijani and Turkish businessmen.

The parties also discussed the organization of mutual business missions.
Nearly 50 European leaders stress support for Ukraine at a summit in Spain. Zelenskyy seeks more aid

Almost 50 European leaders are using a summit in southern Spains Granada to stress that they stand by Ukraine at a time when Western resolve appears somewhat weakened
A major clinical trial shows that the drug, esketamine, one of the two main forms of ketamine, outperforms one of the standard treatments for treatment-resistant major depression. This industry-funded work is presented for the first time at the 36th ECNP Congress in Barcelona, with publication in the peer-reviewed journal the New England Journal of Medicine (see Notes for details).

Clinical depression (also known as MDD, major depressive disorder) affects a significant number of people at any one time, giving them real life problems and increasing the health-related costs. Eurostat reports that 7% of the EU adult population had problems with depression in 2019, and around 20% to 30% of these patients do not respond to treatment. If these patients do not respond after two consecutive treatments, then they are classified as having treatment-resistant depression. Almost all MDD patients in hospital care suffer from treatment-resistant depression.

The antipsychotic drug quetiapine is commonly used in treatment-resistant depression (normally used together with an antidepressant). However, esketamine NS is the only specifically approved therapy for treatment-resistant depression in Europe (it is also given alongside other antidepressants). Esketamine NS is a nasal spray, approved in 2019.

Now the ESCAPE-TRD study describes the first large trial comparing esketamine with quetiapine. This study was funded by Janssen EMEA, the manufacturers of esketamine NS.

Researcher Andreas Reif (of Goethe University Frankfurt), first author of the study, said "The ESCAPE-TRD trial was an open-label, single-blind, randomised, controlled trial, conducted across 171 sites comprising hospitals, inpatient and outpatient clinics, and research centres in 24 countries. This is the first trial to compare this new treatment with a standard existing treatment for treatment-resistant depression, and so it's a really necessary study. The results are very positive".

The patients were aged between 18 and 74. All had treatment-resistant depression, in some cases the depression persisted after six different treatment attempts. All had been taking antidepressants, such as SSRI (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor) or SNRI (serotonin and norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors). 336 patients then received esketamine nasal spray plus an SSRI or SNRI, while another 340 patients received quetiapine plus an SSRI or SNRI. Patients were treated for eight weeks, followed by 24 weeks of maintenance treatment.

Professor Reif continued, "We were testing patients at two endpoints (goals). The first major endpoint was to understand the proportion of patients who achieved remission after eight weeks. The second was determining the proportion of patients who met the first endpoint and who were relapse free at the end of the trial period (i.e. after 32 weeks). We measured the effects of treatment using a standard depression scale, the MontgomeryAsberg Depression Rating Scale".

Results

After eight weeks, 28% patients taking esketamine plus antidepressants achieved remission, as against 18% remission in the group taking quetiapine (primary endpoint). At the 32-week mark (key secondary endpoint), 22% of patients taking it were still in remission, as opposed to 14% of patients who had taken quetiapine plus antidepressants.

"There were other differences we saw over time", said researcher Professor Allan Young (of Kings College London who collaborated with the study). "For example the patients receiving the esketamine treatment had fewer depressive symptoms than those taking quetiapine. We found that patients receiving esketamine NS were around 1.5 times as likely to experience remission at Week 8 than those receiving quetiapine XR. In addition, esketamine NStreated patients were 1.5 times as likely to achieve the key secondary endpoint, remaining relapse free through Week 32. Indeed, by Week 32, approximately half of patients receiving esketamine NS were in remission, while two thirds were responders, emphasising the importance of continuing treatment in those who do not achieve remission in the acute phase".

Commenting, Dr Josep Antoni Ramos-Quiroga from Vall Hebron University Hospital (CIBERSAM) and Autonomous University of Barcelona said: "The results of this study show the superior response and safety of esketamine nasal spray when compared with quetiapine. This gives people with treatment-resistant depression more safe treatment options".

This is an independent comment, Dr Ramos-Quiroga was not involved in this work.
Associate Professor at the University of Oulu Teemu Myllyla, a leading expert in biomedical engineering, recently discussed his team's groundbreaking work in brain health monitoring and early detection of neurodegenerative diseases at the recent 6G-enabled sustainable society event. Their research focuses on wearable technologies and direct sensing techniques for neurohydrodynamics, which have the potential to revolutionize the early diagnosis and treatment monitoring of Alzheimer's disease.

Neurodegenerative diseases (NDDs) remain a significant public health challenge, causing a high burden of disability and mortality worldwide. Recent figures show that NDDs are the second leading cause of death worldwide, resulting in 276 million disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) and 9 million deaths annually. Of these, Alzheimer's disease (AD) is particularly severe. It causes 28.7 million DALYs and 2.4 million fatalities each year. Nearly 500,000 new cases of Alzheimer's disease are expected to be diagnosed each year. Parkinson's Disease, in turn, is linked to 3.6 million years of DALYs and leads to the deaths of 211,000 people.

Myllyla and his team are pushing the boundaries to measure brain activity using wearable and wireless technology. Ultimately, they hope that their research could one day result in a breakthrough of applications capable of detecting the early signs of Alzheimer's disease or other neurodegenerative diseases before any symptoms appear.

Their device, Glymphometer, utilizes light to monitor brain fluid dynamics and possible disorders it causes in the brain, providing real-time assessment of a patient's brain health. For instance, the device is capable of distinguishing AD patients from healthy controls based on a 5-minute measurement. The next phase of their research involves determining how early they can detect the risk of Alzheimer's disease or other neurodegenerative diseases before any symptoms appear, which would be a significant breakthrough in the field.

Early intervention is crucial for successful therapeutics and underscores the importance of developing new technologies and tools to detect and treat neurodegenerative diseases as early as possible.

Multidisciplinary cooperation across organizations and countries

In Oulu, Finland, Myllyla's team works in the Health Sciences and Technology research unit. They conduct multidisciplinary research with various departments at the University of Oulu, including the Faculty of Medicine and Information Technology and Electrical Engineering (ITEE), the Center for Wireless Communications (CWC), as well as with VTT (Technical Research Centre of Finland). The possibility of performing preclinical research in Oulu jointly with the Oulu Biocenter (BCO) and Oulu University Hospital is also highly important.

To validate their methods and further develop the technology, the team closely collaborates with various medical centres and institutes worldwide. At present, they start to collect significant amounts of brain data from patients and healthy controls in Finland, USA, Germany and the Netherlands using the developed wireless brain monitoring technology. This will also open up the possibility to study the use of 5G and, in the future, 6G in emerging healthcare applications and to streamline data collection, as their aim is to gather data from hundreds of patients each year. By analysing this extensive dataset, they aim to develop machine-learning-based methods to calculate index values for the risk of neurodegenerative diseases.

The G Index: A personalized approach to brain health monitoring

A central component of Myllyla's research is the so-called Glymphatic system activity index (G Index), a measure of brain clearance activity. Early results indicate that this index is impacted by elements such as sleep quality and daily tasks. The goal of his research is for individuals to be able to monitor their G Index and make adjustments to their lifestyles to reduce the risk of developing brain disorders. For maintaining optimal cognitive health, monitoring the G Index twice daily could eventually become a common practice among people 40-70 years old, as this age range is most critical when observing one's cognitive health.

Myllyla's team is working with partners in the United States and the Netherlands to study how daily activities affect brain clearance activity. By understanding how these activities impact the G Index, they hope to offer recommendations on lifestyle changes that could improve brain health and reduce the risk of neurodegenerative diseases.

Future of early NDD detection

Professor Myllyla's research offers a promising glimpse into the future of brain health monitoring at home and the early detection of neurodegenerative diseases. As wearable technologies and direct sensing techniques continue to advance, we may soon see a world where individuals can take charge of their brain health, making informed decisions to minimize their risk of developing debilitating conditions like Alzheimer's disease.

In the future, Myllyla believes his team can develop a system for continuous brain health monitoring that can detect and alert individuals when their G Index starts to deviate from its normal range. This could offer people enough time to make lifestyle changes and/or start clinical therapies before any irreversible brain damage has been done. Could this be a game-changing path in the fight against neurodegenerative diseases?
In a new PNAS study co-authored by Boston University biomedical engineer Dr. Chris Chen, researchers say they're getting closer to understanding the mysteries of lymphedema -; a condition characterized by the buildup of fluid in the body due to a malfunctioning lymphatic system. Until now, the reasons behind this disorder have remained elusive.

As part of the study, the research team created a tiny 3D cell culture model that mimics the function of lymphatic vessels. They used this model to explore how certain inflammatory substances in our bodies, called cytokines, affect the lymphatic system. Surprisingly, these cytokines didn't weaken the connections between lymphatic cells, as expected. Instead, they made them tighter, causing problems with fluid drainage out of tissues. But here's the exciting part: the researchers also found a way to counteract these effects. By targeting a protein called ROCK2, the team managed to reverse lymphedema in mice. Dr. Chen, director of BU's Biological Design Center, shares how this discovery opens up new possibilities for treating the condition and future applications for other diseases.

What is the primary goal of this research study?

The goal of this work was to develop a platform to study how lymphatic vessels drain fluid that accumulates in tissues, and then use it to see if we could understand why lymphatic drainage is reduced when they experience injury-induced inflammation, leading to lymphedema (edema, or swelling of tissues, caused by lymphatic dysfunction). Ultimately, we discovered a pathway that causes this to happen, and showed that lymphedema can be improved by inhibiting that pathway first in our device and then in mice.

What is lymphedema and why is it important to study it?

Lymphedema is a debilitating chronic condition that impacts millions of people, where fluid that naturally and continuously leaks into tissues from blood vessels, is not being drained sufficiently by the lymphatics. It can be painful and significantly increases the rates of infection of the affected tissue or organ. In the US, one of the more common causes of lymphedema is following surgeries or radiation such as for treating gynecologic or breast cancer.

What did the researchers discover about lymphatic vessels during injury?

Using the lymphatic-on-chip device, we found that inflammatory cues commonly release during injury can cause the vessels to decrease fluid drainage. Examining how this happens, we discovered that cells tighten their cell-cell junctions, which closes the space between them and prevents fluid from passing through. They appear to form these tight junctions using a receptor known as JAM-A, and inhibiting ROCK2 prevents this, allowing drainage to continue.

What are the potential future applications of this research beyond lymphedema treatment?

Going forward, we are hoping to understand what other changes occur in the lymphatics following injury, and more generally understand how to restore their function. Fluid drainage is important not only for lymphatics, but in many more general cases where tissues retain fluid (edema), such as pulmonary edema from COVID-19 infection.

How might this study contribute to bridging the gap between laboratory research and real-world medical applications?

We hope that these organ-on-chip models engineered to mimic human pathologies continue to help provide a new way to study and ultimately cure human diseases.

Who are the key research collaborators?

Dr. Hong Chen and Dr. Diane Bielenberg both contributed to the work. They are professors at the Boston Children's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, and experts in lymphatic vascular biology. Dr. Esak Lee led the study as a postdoctoral fellow in my group and is now an assistant professor at Cornell University.
A session at this year's Annual Meeting of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes will explore the latest data on the concept of metabolically healthy obesity (MHO)  more commonly known by the public as 'fat but fit'. Professor Matthias Bluher, University of Leipzig, Leipzig and Helmholtz Center Munich, Germany will explain how we define MHO and ask if it can really be described as healthy.

Some 15-20% of people living with obesity have none of the metabolic complications we associate with the condition, namely abnormal blood sugar control and blood fats, high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes and other signs of cardiovascular disease." Professor Matthias Bluher, University of Leipzig

Estimates suggest a different prevalence of MHO in men and women, with women living with obesity more likely to have MHO (7-28%) than men (2-19%). At the other end of the spectrum, around half of people living with obesity have at least 2 complications. For a given total body fat mass, people with MHO have lower liver fat mass (thann expected for the BMI and total fat mass).

Prof Bluher will discuss that is how the adipose tissue behaves in people with obesity, rather than their body-mass index, that will determine whether or not their obesity is MHO. In people with adipocytes (fat storing cells) that are of a normal size, those people are less likely to display the complications of obesity  whereas in people with enlarged adipocytes and inflamed adipose tissue, these cells are more likely to exhibit traits such as insulin resistance that lead to metabolic complications.

And the way that we store fat is likely key in whether or not obesity can be described as MHO. "When people with obesity have fat stored viscerally, or internally around their organs (such as in the liver), the data show that these people are much more likely to develop type 2 diabetes than those who store fat more evenly around their body," says Prof Bluher.

He goes on to explain that in people with adipose tissue dysfunction, this can lead to damaged tissue, fibrosis, secretion of proinflammatory and adipogenic molecules that subsequently contribute to end-organ damage. As an example, adipokines (fat released hormones) may act directly on cells of the vascular system and lead to atherosclerosis. In addition, metabolites such as fatty acids may impair the function of liver or insulin-producing cells in the pancreas.

Finally, on the key question as to whether or not MHO can genuinely be described as healthy, Prof Bluher will explain that several studies show that compared with people of normal weight with no metabolic comorbidities, people living with obesity with no metabolic comorbidities have a 50% increased risk of coronary heart disease. "So there is still a residual increased risk for those people living with obesity, even with what we would call metabolically healthy obesity," he says.

In conclusion, there are people with obesity that do not exhibit cardio-metabolic complications at a certain point in time. In the past, the diagnosis of MHO frequently led to a low priority for obesity treatment. This concept has been challenged, because recent data suggest that the term metabolically healthy obesity is misleading.

He concludes: "Even in the absence of other cardiometabolic risk factors, increased fat mass and adipose tissue dysfunction contribute to a higher risk of type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular diseases. Therefore, weight management and recommendations for weight loss are still important for people living with metabolically healthy obesity."

This press release is based on session S24 to take place in the Hamburg Hall at the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD) Annual Meeting in Hamburg at 0900H AM CEST on Wednesday 4 October. The presenter is happy to answer any questions.

Prof Bluher will also take part in the embargoed press conference taking place at 1200H Noon CEST Hamburg time on Tues 3 Oct, in the Vienna Hall.
In a recent study published in Scientific Reports, researchers examined physiological and motor synchronization in audiences during live classical concerts and explored their correlation with aesthetic experiences and individual personality traits.

Background

The 4E viz. embodied, extended, embedded, and enacted cognitive framework underscores how the mind is interconnected with body movement, environment, and a dynamic interplay between mental anticipation and sensory feedback, challenging the traditional view of cognition as just information processing.

Studies indicate music can prompt physiological reactions corresponding to emotions, such as chills.

The body and mind share a bidirectional relationship where body language mirrors cognitive conditions and vice versa. Socially, individuals often subconsciously align their physical and physiological actions. Specifically, in classical concerts, this synchronization likely stems from the music.

Further research is needed to comprehend music-induced synchrony and its ties to aesthetic immersion, personality, and emotion.

About the study

In September 2020, the Experimental Concert Research project hosted three concerts at Radialsystem, Berlin. Adhering to pandemic regulations, a limited audience of 132 out of 141 attendees (after excluding minors and no-shows) participated, with the procedures sanctioned by the Max Planck Society's Ethics Board.

These concerts, lasting approximately 75 minutes, featured compositions by Beethoven, Dean, and Brahms, executed by the Yubal ensemble and Ensemble Epitaph. After filling out initial questionnaires and being fitted with physiological sensors, attendees were monitored for heart rate, skin conductance, and respiration.

Video analysis captured audience movements, offering data on their reactions to musical performances. Emotional states pre and post-concert were assessed using the Positive Activation Negative Activation Valence (PANAVA-KS) scale, personality was mapped via the Big Five Inventory (BFI)-10, and aesthetic reactions were quantified through diverse scales.

The present study prominently examined Surrogate Synchrony (SUSY), a method that segments time series into 30-second intervals to observe audience alignment to music, calculating cross-correlations that focus on both simultaneous and time-lagged reactions. Data analysis employed the Fisher's Z transformation, distinguishing between in-phase and anti-phase synchrony. The multivariate SUSY (mv-SUSY) method was also used to study multivariate synchrony, leveraging correlation matrices' largest eigenvalue and to ensure accuracy, control measures shuffled time segments.

Results

The present study was conducted with a sample of 132 adult participants who attended concerts with their informed consent. Out of these, motion was captured from 130, and physiological data was taken from 123. Additionally, 125 participants finished both entry and exit surveys. The average age of participants was 46.2 years, with a diverse range between 18 and 85 years.

Gender distribution revealed that 38.5% were male, 58.5% were female, and 3% did not disclose their gender or identified as non-binary. Education background varied, with 41.2% having a degree in the humanities/social sciences. Most participants were from Germany, specifically Berlin, at 77%.

Regarding employment, the data varied from freelancers, students, and retirees to teachers, among others. The predominant native language was German, at 88.1%, and 12% of participants used the English versions of the questionnaires. Physiologically, data from 123 participants was recorded, which was then preprocessed into time series for various parameters like heart rate and respiration. However, there were technical challenges resulting in missing data across various measures.

To gauge synchrony, the SUSY algorithm was employed. Positive results indicated in-phase coordination, and negative ones indicated anti-phasic coordination. Results revealed significant physiological synchrony in all concerts except for respiration.

Considering motion capture, synchrony was computed for 130 concert listeners for each concert and piece. Overall, results leaned towards significant movement synchrony in the audience, except for one case during a Beethoven piece in concert 1.

On a deeper analysis related to personality traits, the study utilized the 'Big-Five' scales. Results indicated that 'Openness to new experiences' and 'Agreeableness' had positive associations with synchrony, while 'Neuroticism' and 'Extraversion' were negatively correlated. The data on the aesthetic experience of individual pieces showed that the contemporary Dean piece was viewed less favorably by the audience compared to others. Regression models were applied, with certain models associating heart rate synchrony positively with the feeling of being "inspired".

Regarding the overall concert experience, factor analysis was applied to the data gathered from exit questionnaires. There was an observed association of heart rate synchrony with immersion experiences. However, other forms of synchrony, like movement and respiration rate, did not show significant associations with the overall concert experience.

Affectivity, or the range of emotions, was assessed before and after concerts to determine a relationship between synchrony and attendees' emotional state; however, the results did not indicate any significant relationship, leading to the rejection of certain initial hypotheses.

Conclusions

To summarize, the study evaluated listeners' emotional and physiological synchrony during live classical concerts. Immediate emotions did not significantly impact music synchronization. Heart-rate synchrony was linked to emotional responses and immersion in music, while reduced electrodermal synchrony was observed in those more socially inclined, aligning with extroverted personality tendencies.

The study replicated previous findings on audience synchrony and introduced novel methods, especially in assessing multivariate synchrony and synchrony contribution. There were challenges with physiological data collection, prioritizing non-invasiveness over quality, leading to data gaps. Future research should address these limitations by optimizing sensor placements and ensuring secure electrode attachments.
Uganda Airlines made an announcement about the initiation of its operations in India. They are launching a direct flight service that will connect Entebbe city in Uganda to Mumbai, starting from October 7.

The thrice-a-week service will be conducted using a wide-body Airbus A330-800 neo aircraft, offering a three-class configuration. This includes 20 seats in business class, 28 in premium economy, and the remaining 210 in economy. Notably, this marks the first time in over half a century that India and Uganda will enjoy a direct flight connection, according to the airlines statement.

We are excited to introduce this, the latest addition to our network, which affirms Uganda Airlines expands travel options for our passengers. Besides convenience, we hope this route will add energy to the existing business and commercial relations between India and Uganda that date back more than a century, said Adedayo Olawuyi, chief commercial officer at the airline.

Speaking to Money Control following the airlines launch of its direct service connecting Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport in Mumbai and Entebbe International Airport in Uganda on October 3, Lenny Malasi, the airlines country manager, mentioned that Uganda Airlines is introducing its new service with an initial price starting at $450, which is approximately equivalent to Rs. 37,000.

The inaugural flight UR 430 from Uganda is scheduled to take off from Entebbe on October 7, with the return flight UR 431 departing from Mumbai on October 8. This schedule has been curated to seamlessly integrate with the current network, catering to passengers who may want to extend their travels beyond Uganda.

Uganda Airlines will conduct flights from Entebbe to Mumbai on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Saturdays, with return flights operating on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Sundays. The direct route between Entebbe and Mumbai marks Uganda Airlines second international route, following its service to Dubai. It is also the twelfth destination added to the national carriers network, with the majority of routes being regional.

Additionally, Uganda Airlines is currently in talks to initiate direct services connecting Delhi and Chennai to Uganda within the coming three months.

We are in discussion with the concerned authorities and approvals should take around three months after which we are planning to start direct flights to Delhi and Chennai (from Uganda), Malasi said.

Uganda Airlines currently offers flight services to a range of destinations, including Dubai, Johannesburg, Bujumbura, Nairobi, Mombasa, Zanzibar, Dar es Salaam, Kilimanjaro, Juba, Kinshasa, and Mogadishu.
Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal on Thursday said investors from the UAE are keen to invest in different sectors in India such as clean energy, infrastructure, education, healthcare, food processing, and financial services. A memorandum of understanding (MoU) was also signed on Thursday in Abu Dhabi between India and the UAE to cooperate more closely in sustainable industrial development.

Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal was in Abu Dhabi for the 11th meeting of the India-UAE High-Level Task Force on Investments.

Goyal told reporters that the airline sector holds a lot of promise for the UAE investors in India as New Delhi is giving a lot of thrust to the travel and tourism sectors.

The minister, who is the co-chair of the Joint Task Force, said, With the conclusion of another fruitful meeting of this Joint Task Force, a lot of ground was covered. Existing collaborations were reviewed and strengthened, and new opportunities for partnerships were explored. Government of India reiterates the importance of food security in the UAE and extends its full support for the same.

Delighted to co-chair the 11th India-UAE High Level Joint Task Force on Investments with H.H. Sheikh Hamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, MD of the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority.Explored avenues for facilitating investments in areas of mutual interest to give further impetus to the pic.twitter.com/qehhJhO0we  Piyush Goyal (@PiyushGoyal) October 5, 2023

Goyal also said the progress of the food corridor project gained great significance, which received more clarity. The partnership agreement between NPCI and CBUAE for the development of a National Card scheme for the UAE, modelled on Indias RuPay card, is another milestone in our economic engagement. The India-UAE partnership will go a long way and would be exemplary for the world.

The Joint Task Force was established in 2013 to promote trade, investment and economic ties between India and the UAE.

NPCI International Payments Ltd, the international arm of the National Payment Corporation of India, on Thursday signed an agreement with Al Etihad Payments of UAE to provide real-time and cost-effective cross-border remittances for the users of both countries. According to the agreement, it will be as seamless as a domestic transaction, using a beneficiary identifier (mobile number VPA).

Investors are very very keen to invest in infra projects, education projects, healthcare and are looking at food and food processing in a very big way, the minister said, adding that the UAE companies are also showing a lot of interest in financial services.

I believe that in the days ahead, we will see significant flow of investments both in public markets and in the manufacturing and services sector, he said.

Pharma, roads and highways, ports, other infra activities, clean energy, green hydrogen, solar and wind energy sectors are likely to see investments, the minister said. Investments towards innovation and upstream and downstream projects in the petroleum and petroleum chemical sectors are areas of mutual interest, he added.

I can say now that even the moon is not the limit (when it comes to investment relations), Goyal said.

Between April 2000 and June 2023, India received $16 billion Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) from the UAE, which accounts for 2 per cent of the total FDI during that period. The UAE Sovereign Wealth Funds (SWFs) invested over $10 billion in India during 2020-22. Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA) is the principal Sovereign Wealth Fund of the UAE and one of the worlds largest.

The UAE has committed to investing $75 billion in Indias infrastructure sector over a period of time. The Joint Task Force was established in 2013 to promote trade, investment and economic ties between the UAE and India.

(With Inputs From PTI)
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Investors have received spectacular profits from shares of the rice milling company, LT Foods over the past ten years, with almost 2,000 per cent returns. The stock has increased by 495 per cent during the last three years.

As a result, according to an analysis by ETMarkets, if an investor had made a Rs 10,000 investment in the stock 10 years back and kept it, the investment would have increased to Rs 2 lakh. On September 20, 2013, the share rate of LT Foods was Rs 6.79 apiece which is Rs 172.20 on October 5, 2023.

This stock price has risen by about 51 per cent in the last year. In 2023 so far, this stock has given 41.40 per cent returns to investors. This stock has risen 76.86 per cent in the last six months.

This stocks 52-week high is Rs 194.10 and its 52-week low is Rs 90. According to the most recent shareholding data available with the stock exchanges, the promoters own 51 per cent of the business. Public stockholders own 49 per cent of the company. Mutual funds hold 2.84 per cent of the public stock and overseas investors own 5.93 per cent. A significant 16.13 per cent of the corporation is owned by retail investors.

According to a Moneycontrol article, LT Foods Limited (LT Foods) expressed optimism that the convenience & health food product area will support the companys expansion. In the next five years, according to the companys MD and CEO Ashwini Kumar Arora, they hope to generate 8 to 10 per cent of the companys sales from this market. The market share of the corporation in India rose to 29.8 per cent in the first quarter of the current fiscal year. Revenue at LT Foods climbed by 10 per cent in the first quarter over the same period last year, reaching Rs 1,789 crore. PAT jumped by 44 per cent to Rs 137 crore over the previous year.

(Disclaimer: The stocks mentioned here are obtained from brokerage firms. If you intend to invest in it, consulting a certified advisor is recommended. News18 will not be responsible for any loss incurred by you)
Preetham Gowda, a former Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) legislator from the Hassan assembly constituency, famously wrested the seat from the Janata Dal Secular (JDS) in 2018. Hassan is the political fortress of JDS chief Deve Gowdas family and Preethams win was considered a major debacle. However, the JDS managed to regain the seat in the May assembly polls.

ALSO READ | JDS, BJP in United State for Karnataka: JDS to Seek 6 Seats from NDA | The 2024 Poll Dance Moves

Now, the BJP and JDS have come to a pact to fight unitedly in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls in 2024.

In an exclusive interview to News18, Preetham Gowda elaborated on the alliance and the choice of candidate for the JDS-dismantled Hassan Lok Sabha seat, which has been reserved for the Deve Gowda family for decades.

Edited excerpts:

The BJP and JDS have gotten into an alliance for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. Deve Gowdas son HD Kumaraswamy called this an unnatural alliance", as the Congress and JDS were natural allies of sorts. Is it uncomfortable for BJP leaders as the ideologies of both the parties do not match?

When the JDS made up its mind to join the BJP as a natural alliance, it should also be ready to align with our ideology. It will not bode well with the public that they maintain a stand that they have a different ideology from the BJP, but are in alliance with them. It is natural that the JDS will take some time. I will take it a step ahead and say they will align with nationalism and patriotism while leaving behind their legacy of dynastic politics. Look at it as a way of getting out of the family dynasty cult and re-route into politics of service to the people.

Hassan is known to be the stronghold of the Gowda family, a seat which you contested and won in the 2019 elections. How will the candidate be chosen from Hassan? The BJP and JDS were fighting tooth and nail, and now you have to come to a consensus on who the LS ticket will go to

Hassan used to be a stronghold of the JDS, now it is not. That is why the JDS has come to form an alliance with us. If they had a strong hold over Hassan or the Old Mysore region, do you think they would have aligned with the BJP? That is not the case. However, now it is evenly balanced. The BJP is as powerful as the JDS in the Old Mysore region. The JDS may need some of our force to establish themselves in the Old Mysore region, and probably we would need some help from them, I am not denying that fact. At this juncture, the JDS needs the BJP because it is no more their bastion.

What about the choice of candidate, as usually it is a member from the Deve Gowda family who contests from the Hassan Lok Sabha seat. Will that be acceptable to the BJP?

It is not about accepting or denying. It will be a joint decision and it will be taken when the time comes. It will definitely not be taken unilaterally or by a family member. This reflected in the mood of the people of Hassan district as well. It all boils down to winning elections, and there is an expectation of the people here that a common man must contest on a National Democratic Alliance (NDA) ticket from this seat. The ticket may be given to a JDS or a BJP candidate.

They (JDS) will not have a free hand or the luxury to decide on every issue on their own in their kitchen. It will definitely be a democratic decision which will be openly debated by both sidesThere should not be a situation where they impose the name of a candidate and expect the BJP karyakartas to work. It will be a very difficult situation.

What about the party workers of both the BJP and JDS, who were recently against each other in a tough contest and are now forced to work as one team. Wont they feel suffocated or distressed?

It is quite natural to feel so as a party that the BJP karyakartas recently fought against is now their ally for the Lok Sabha elections. But this is for the greater cause of serving the nation. We need to make small sacrifices. It is like the JDS has come as a guest to the NDA fold and we wholeheartedly welcome them. Having said that, I would also like to tell them that they would also need to adjust to the BJPs agenda of patriotism and ensure that Narendra Modiji is elected as the Prime Minister of India for the third consecutive time. They (JDS) will need to make sacrifices to achieve this goal, which includes keeping aside their family-driven politics. They will not have a free hand or the luxury to decide on every issue on their own in their kitchen. It will definitely be a democratic decision which will be openly debated by both sides.

Is there a chance that the JDS would be a part of the BJP fold?

The JDS is already a part of the BJP and the NDA. In the coming days, if they feel the need to merge with the BJP, who is to stop them? The chances are higher.

In the present scenario, will you or the BJP be working in favour of the JDS in Hassan to help them win an election in this seat?

It is not arrogance. But without the support of the BJP and Preetham Gowda, winning the Lok Sabha seat will not be easy for any ordinary karyakarta, who is picked by the NDA. They (JDS) should take all BJP karyakartas into confidence. There should not be a situation where they impose the name of a candidate and expect the BJP karyakartas to work. It will be a very difficult situation.

ALSO READ | Gowdas on Board, BJP Gets a Dose of Secularism in Karnataka; Cautious Cong Hopes for Realignment of Castes

I am confident that the BJP leadership will consult with the party workers who have worked very hard. The JDS has also seen the strength and power the BJP has acquired with the sheer hard work of its party workers. This is why the JDS is kneeling down to this alliance. I will also apprise my leaders in Delhi and Bengaluru of the ground situation.

When Kumaraswamy was offered the CM post for the remaining three-four years in 2019, he refused the offer saying he wanted to stick with the Congress coalition. Kumaraswamy has come to the BJP because of the jolt he faced in the Old Mysore region, mainly from Hassan. We will ensure that the efforts of the BJP karyakartas dont go to waste.
Fahmaan Khan is currently enjoying a relaxed break after the wrap of his popular show Pyar Ke Saath Vachan Dharampatnii. The talented actor opted for a mini-vacation in Thailand with close friends. The actor gained fame through his role in Apna Time Bhi Aayega and received recognition for portraying Aryan Singh Rathore in Imlie. While Fahmaan is famous for his exceptional acting skills, he recently made headlines due to strained relations with his co-actor, Sumbul Touqeer, from Imlie. In a recent interaction with Pinkvilla, the actor appealed to the media and his followers not to prolong the matter.

Fahmaan Khan actively supports and promotes the projects of his co-actors. Whether its Anjali Tatraris Vanshaj or Megha Rays Chhalang, Fahmaan consistently extends his best wishes on social media and helps spread the word about their ventures. However, when it came to his Imlie co-star Sumbul Touqeers new show, Kavya: Ek Jazbaa Ek Junoon, he notably refrained from making any posts. For those unfamiliar, a fallout between Sumbul and Fahmaan has led to them mutually ignoring each other. When questioned by Pinkvilla about whether he had seen the promos of Sumbuls show and if he had conveyed his wishes, Fahmaan responded, Honestly, I dont want to speak anything on this matter.

He went on to say, It gets disappointing after a point of time when people accuse me of using Sumbuls name to get attention. I mean, I dont have to do that and that has never been my intention. Almost everything I say is interpreted in a wrong manner. This has been prolonged for a long time and it needs to stop. Were both mature, I did message her and wished her All the best for her show. I dont have to put everything out there on social media. Whatever it is, I will have only good wishes for her.

As reported by Pinkvilla, Fahmaan and Sumbuls friendship encountered difficulties when Sumbul got evicted from the Bigg Boss 16 house. According to Fahmaan, Sumbul was upset because she felt he didnt promote her stay in the house, which led to tension between her and her family. Consequently, Sumbul decided not to participate in a song project with Fahmaan and his friend Tabish. In an effort to mend things, Fahmaan extended Eid wishes to Sumbul and her family. However, his attempts to reach out through calls and messages went unanswered. Sumbul chose not to elaborate on the controversy, maintaining that she wished the best for Fahmaan.
Union home minister Amit Shah on Thursday said that all anti-terror agencies should adopt such a ruthless approach so that new terrorist groups are not formed. Shah inaugurated a two-day anti-terror conference organised by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) in New Delhi.

The minister said that central and state agencies have succeeded in firmly curbing all forms of terrorism in the country in the last 9 years. He also said that a model anti-terrorism structure should be established under the purview of the NIA. The hierarchy, structure, and SoPs of investigation of all anti-terrorism agencies in all states should be made uniform for better coordination between central and state agencies.

All anti-terrorism agencies must adopt such a ruthless approach so that a new terrorist organisation cannot be formed. Shah said that the task of NIA, ATS, and STF should not be limited to investigation but they should also think out of the box and take innovative measures to counter the terrorism, the MHA said in a press release.

He added that the fight against terrorism requires collaboration from the global level to the grassroots, involving various states within the country, as well as international cooperation.

Amit Shah said that the government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has taken a tough stand on all the challenges like crypto, hawala, terror funding, organised crime syndicates, and narco-terror links, which has yielded very good results, but still a lot more is to be done. He said that to deal with terrorism, the Centre and the states, their agencies, and inter-agency cooperation will have to think in vertical and horizontal ways.

He stressed that all the agencies of the Centre and the state should make multidimensional and Artificial Intelligence-based use of the database; only then will there be success in the fight against terrorism. He said that the database should be used for investigation, prosecution, prevention, and action. The home minister urged every police station as well as young police officers to make maximum use of the database.

He asked the NIA and IB to take the initiative in this direction. Shah said that now the time has come to work from need to know to need to share and duty to share approach. He said that the number of terrorist incidents in the year 2001 was 6,000, which the government at the Centre led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi reduced to 900 in 2022. He praised the NIA for achieving more than 94 per cent conviction rate and said more work is needed in this direction. He also asked all the states to take steps to increase the conviction rate.

Fight against drugs

The union home minister said that major successes have been achieved in the fight against drugs.

These achievements include Operation Samudragupta, conducted this year under the leadership of NCB, during which narcotics worth more than Rs 12,000 crore were seized simultaneously.

Apart from this, 10 lakh kilograms of drugs have also been disposed of.

Data at fingertips

The ministry of home affairs said that Inter-Operable Criminal Justice System (ICJS)-Crime and Criminal Tracking Network and System (CCTNS) has been implemented in 99.93%, i.e., 16,733 police stations, and 22,000 courts have been connected to e-Court, and about 2 crore prisoner data is available through e-Prison, as well as 1 crore through e-Prosecution. More than 17 lakh prosecution data is available and more than 17 lakh forensic data from e-forensics.

Similarly, the National Automated Fingerprint Identification System (NAFIS) has more than 90 lakh fingerprint records. Under Integrated Monitoring of Terrorism (i-MoT), data of 22,000 cases is available for monitoring UAPA registered cases. Data of more than 5 lakh narco-offenders is available under NIDAN, i.e., National Integrated Database on Arrested Narco-Offenders. Data of about 1 lakh human traffickers is available under the National Database of Human Trafficking Offenders (NDHTO). Data of more than 14 lakh alerts is available under Crime Multi Agency Center (Cri-MAC). Data of more than 28 lakh complaints is available on the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal (NCRP). Biometric database of prisoners and information about their visitors is available in the Prison Database. Apart from this, the national-level terrorism database of the NIA is also available.

The conference was attended by various dignitaries including minister of state for home affairs Nishith Pramanik, home secretary, director of Intelligence Bureau, director general of NIA, as well as director generals of Central Armed Police Forces, state police chiefs, and senior officials from the union and state governments were also present.
Unusual microbe growth, data integrity issues, missing pest control agreements, mixed-up manufacturing areas and more  the inspection at Himachal Pradesh-based Pushkar Pharmaceuticals in Indias ongoing inspection drive at pharmaceutical firms has revealed more than 30 major and three critical lapses.

The manufacturer of capsules, injections, and sex hormones has been found to produce potent drugs, including critical antibiotics, in a shared facility with general pharmaceutical products. This situation poses a potential risk of cross-contamination or mixing up of products.

In snapshot, according to the investigation report accessed by News18, the critical and major observations include having common manufacturing facilities for potent drugs such as hormones, beta-lactam along with the general section, issues of data integrity, failure of microbiological samples, failure to produce water validation reports, not monitoring the environmental control periodically, validation studies incomplete and not conclusive, data not recorded contemporaneously, audit trails not available

The investigation is conducted jointly by inspectors sent by the Delhi-based headquarters of the countrys apex drug regulatory agency Central Drug Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) along with inspectors from the Baddi-based unit of CDSCO and inspectors from the officer of Himachal Pradeshs drug regulator.

Pushkar Pharmaceuticals is one of the many drug units situated in Himachal Pradeshs drug-making hub which is currently under scanner for violations of medicine safety standards. It is home to 71 pharmaceutical firms of Indias 209 firms which are shortlisted for risk-based inspections by the central government and CDSCO.

The company manufactures eye, ear and nasal drops along with the small-volume parenteral (SVP) category. These preparations are generally sterile solutions or suspensions packaged in vials, ampoules, or prefilled syringes.

It also manufactures a critical product range, including the Beta-lactam category, which includes antibiotics that are among the most commonly prescribed drugs. It also manufactures sex hormonal categories, including oxytocin, testosterone and Hydroxyprogesterone caproate, which are used for fertility treatments, during pregnancy or childbirth.

News18 reached out to the company multiple times via e-mail and on their WhatsApp number given on the website. However, no response was received till the time of publishing the news report.

According to the companys website, In Kala Amb, there is a lot of hormonal injectables manufacturer in Himachal. But the thing that makes us different from others is our service and quality. Pushkar Pharma is the best pharmaceuticals manufacturing company, the best injectables manufacturer situated in the state of Himachal Pradesh. The company is fully equipped with ultra-modern and sophisticated equipment.

Botched-up Records, Missing Agreements, Critical Lapses

According to the joint investigation report, the manufacturing facilities for potent drugs such as sex hormones and beta-lactam are common with general drug category products.

The main entry to the premises which leads to the hormonal section, beta-lactam section and general category drugs products section is common, it said.

The firm is using the same sampling and dispensing area for the hormonal products and general category drugs productswithout having a proper supply of filtered air and without having suitable measures for dust control to avoid contamination. These rooms were not found under differential pressure.

It also said that the firm failed to produce an agreement with an outside pest control agency when asked to Describe the pest, insects, birds and rodents control system followed in the premises as part of the necessary checklist.

The investigators also found another crucial lapse. During the round to the microbiological section wherein the environmental monitoring (EM) settle plates for aseptic areas have been incubated and it was observed that microbial growth was observed for all these plates which was found to be more than specified limits, said the report (sic).

Under the section Specify whether pure steam (condensate) used in production meets the microbiological specification, the reply was not being tested.

The inspectors also found that the incoming materials were not always purchased from approved vendors.

During the visit to the raw material store, it was observed that the Lignocaine HCL IP API was supplied by the M/s Xylo Chem Industries. However, the under list of approved vendors the M/s Xylo Chem Industries was not available, it said, while sharing other examples too.

The report also said the production area was not found adequately lit. Also, safety goggles (by the staff) were not being used in the critical manufacturing areas.

Moreover, under the category of How records of complaint and adverse reactions are maintained, investigators found that the Firm has not maintained the log book for market complaint.

The firm, the report said, has not provided the qualification reports for major manufacturing equipments of injectable lines.

CDSCOs Local Unit Advises Action

Concluding the 69-page risk-based joint inspection report, Baddi-based CDSCO has directed Himachal Pradeshs state drug controller to take action against the firm.

As from the GMP checklist and benchmarking, it is concluded that the firm is grossly deficient in meeting the requirements of Schedule M under Drug Rules 1945.

Deputy drug controller Chandrashekar Ranga, from the state unit of CDSCO, has advised the state regulator to direct the firm to stop production of all the drugs in the parenteral and ophthalmic sections in view of the critical and major observations reported by the joint inspection team.

It also said the Kala Amb-based firm may be directed to stop the production of potent drugs such as hormones and beta-lactam.

Immediate administrative and regulatory measures such as cancellation of the product permission of the drugs The firm may be directed to show cause why action should not be taken on the firm for the large number of GMP non-compliances.

News18 tried to reach out to state and central drug inspectors for an update. However, neither the state officials nor the officials at CDSCO headquarters were willing to share details.
The Arunachal Pradesh government is planning to construct a 1,500 km-long road, to be known as Frontier Highway, and an additional 1,000 km road to link the remotest parts of the state, Chief Minister Pema Khandu has said.

This futuristic highway will be constructed along the India-Tibet-China-Myanmar border and it will be as close as 20 km from the Line of Actual Control and the international borders.

The frontier highway has a huge strategic value. It will bring transformational changes in road connectivity in Arunachal Pradesh. This will be beneficial for the Army too, Khandu told PTI.

The frontier highway will start from Bomdila and pass through Nafra, Huri, and Monigong, which is closer to the LAC or the McMahon Line. The road will end in Vijaynagar, near the India-Myanmar border.

Some of the important places that will be linked through the road are Tawang, Mago Upper Subansiri, Upper Siang, Mechuka, Tuting, Dibang Valley, Kibithoo, Changlang, and Dong.

As per the plan, the road will also connect with the under construction Trans-Arunachal Highway, a two-way national highway standard trunk route of about 1,811 km in length linking Tawang in north-western tip of Arunachal Pradesh to Kanubari in south-eastern end of the state and finally ending on the NH-52 near Akajan, close to Bogibeel bridge near Dibrugarh in Assam.

The CM said the road upon completion will stop migration from border areas and bring development to the doorsteps of the people living in remote areas.

In addition, 1,000 km of roads will be constructed to connect the district headquarters, places of importance, and some villages for a seamless movement of the armed forces and equipment to the border areas.

The entire project will cost around Rs 40,000 crore, Khandu said.

The frontier highway will come up adjacent to Yangtse, where Chinas PLA troops intruded on December 9 last year.

After the PLA troops had entered Yangste, a clash took place with the Indian Army resulting in injuries to soldiers on both sides.

The frontier highway will provide improved connectivity to the state capital, and important places with high density population and economic activities, including the sites of major hydroelectric power projects, a state government official said.
Change your privacy settings to only me, thoroughly check the newly received friend requests before accepting it and put your thumb on the front camera before accepting a video call from an unknown caller  this is the advice shared by the Uttar Pradesh Police Cyber Crime Unit and experts to people from falling prey to honey trapping, as sextortion gangs are on the prowl in the state.

Bureaucrats, lawyers, doctors and even retired police officers have all been easy targets of the notorious sextortion gang that is quite active in UP these days.

In last one year, UP has recorded more than 105 cases of honey trap/sextortion and six cases where the victims couldnt muster enough courage to fight back and in turn chose to end their life.

Uttar Pradesh Police Cyber Crime Unit that has issued an advisory defining dos and donts for the social media users to tackle the honey trap attempts says awareness is the only key that can avert such incidents and to keep the extortionists at bay.

Who is Dr Chauhan  the Latest Victim of Sextortion?

Among several cases where the victim has chosen to commit suicide than fighting their perpetrator is of Ayurveda medical practitioner Dr AS Chauhan, from Uttar Pradeshs Bareilly district.

People known to Dr Chauhan said he was a jovial man until October 20, 2022, when he received a call that turned his life upside down. It all started with a call. A girl, who claimed herself to be a BSc nursing student, Priya, called up Dr Chauhan multiple times and tried to be friendly with him, said a senior police officer with Subhashnagar Police Station, Bareilly, where the incident was reported.

On October 20, 2022, the girl called him again and requested Dr Chauhan to attend to her ailing mother who is in need of urgent medical attention. On her request, the doctor agreed but the moment he reached her place, which was nearby, the girl enticed the doctor to indulge into acts and soon after two people barged into the room and clicked some pictures and videos of the doctor and then the vicious circle of blackmailing started, a senior police officer familiar with the case said.

Dr Chauhan lodged an FIR with the Bareilly Police on December 4, 2022, but came under intense pressure when the girl and her accomplices threatened him to make his videos viral on social media.

All Women Gang Busted

However, after seven months of investigation and death of Dr Chauhan, the police have finally exposed a gang of women who honey-trapped and extorted the doctor, an army personnel and several government employees in Bareilly, the police officials told News18.

Then Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Prabhakar Chowdhary had confirmed that the woman, who was arrested in June in connection with Dr Chauhans case, has been identified as Himani Sharma (22), who hails from Badaun district. During interrogation, Himani Sharma, who had introduced herself as Priya to Dr Chauhan told that it is an all-women gang run by a woman named Madhu, and they both have extorted more than Rs 9 lakh from seven persons, including Dr Chauhan, two army personnel, a contractor, a government official and a businessman in the last three years, Chowdhary said.

Six Suicides in One Year, Over 105 Cases Reported in UP

This is just a tip of the iceberg. According to the data with the UP Polices Cyber Crime Unit, more than 105 cases of honey trap and six cases of suicides (due to sextortion) have been reported in the state in just one year. Cybercrime officials, however, did not deny the fact that there must be hundreds of other unreported cases.

Gang is Hyperactive in Rajasthan, UP, Haryana

Other than Dr Chauhans case, there are several other cases of honey trapping, where the girl calls men, especially those who are middle aged and entice them to indulge into nude video calls and then capture their videos to blackmail people. Such cases are becoming rampant these days in UP. In our investigation, we have concluded that the sextortion gang is highly active in Rajasthans Bharatpur, UPs Mathura and Haryanas Nuh district. There are many politicians, doctors, and government employees who have fallen prey to the sextortion gang. I believe that awareness is the only key to avert such sextortion calls, said Triveni Singh, superintendent of police (SP) Cyber Crime, UP Police.

Social Media Users Easy Targets

While highlighting the modus operandi of the sextortion gang, Triveni Singh said cyber criminals use platforms such as messaging and dating apps, Facebook, Instagram and matrimonial sites to target people. These scammers create fake profiles with photographs of attractive women on leading social media platforms and send friend requests to identified men. Once the request is accepted, the scammers observe their likes and dislikes and then try to be friendly with the users.

Cyber Crime Units Advisory

The Cyber Crime Unit has also issued an advisory, defining dos and donts for social media users. The UP Police has also urged people to report sextortion attempts immediately to a nearby police station or dial 1930 or report online at www.cybercrime.gov.in.

DR Rakshit Tandon, National Cyber Security Expert, said social media users should be extremely cautious in their interaction online. It is requested that people should not accept video calls from any unknown or just made friends. Dont click on any unknown links sent during chats. Keep all your social media accounts protected with privacy of friends list to only me If any such attempt is made, call 1930 and report on www.cybercrime.gov.in, said Tandon.

If you or someone you know needs help, call any of these helplines: Aasra (Mumbai) 022-27546669, Sneha (Chennai) 044-24640050, Sumaitri (Delhi) 011-23389090, Cooj (Goa) 0832- 2252525, Jeevan (Jamshedpur) 065-76453841, Pratheeksha (Kochi) 048-42448830, Maithri (Kochi) 0484-2540530, Roshni (Hyderabad) 040-66202000, Lifeline 033-64643267 (Kolkata)
A 55-year-old Andhra Pradesh police head constable allegedly shot dead three members of his family  wife and two daughters- and later shot himself to death, an official said on Thursday.

The incident, which is entirely due to personal reasons, came to light on Thursday morning and police recovered a suicide note from the 1993 batch policemans house, the police official added.

His name is Venkateswarlu and he was working as a writer in Kadapa two town police station. He worked till 11 pm last night (Wednesday) and took a pistol and some rounds from the police station and went to his house, Kadapa sub-divisional police officer Md. Sharif told PTI.

Venkateswarlus eldest daughter, around 20 years of age was doing her first year of graduation, while the younger one was in 10th standard, he said, adding that the constables wife was around 45 years old.

According to sources, the head constable was believed to have lost money in stock market trading and was also battling some family problems.

Police are in the process of registering a case and have already begun the investigation, including Kadapa superintendent of police Siddarth Kaushal visiting Venkateswarlus house.
Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu on Thursday released the teaser of Shimla Flying Festival-2023 to be held in Junga in the suburbs of Shimla from October 12 to 15.

The festival is being organised jointly by the Himachal Pradesh Tourism Department and The Glide Inn organisation.

As of now, when life is coming back to normal with all communication networks restored, we intend to start tourism activities in a big way and welcome tourists to enjoy all sorts of activities and adventure sports, the CM said, according to a statement.

He said the state suffered losses of about Rs 12,000 crore due to heavy rain, landslides, and floods for almost three months during the monsoon season.

On September 30, the CM announced a special package of Rs 4,500 for the people affected by rain-related disasters during the period between July 7 and September 30.

He said that the state government worked on a war footing to recover from the natural calamity, Sukhu said.
As many as 40 children under the age of one die in Maharashtra every day, a publication reported after studying the data of government medical colleges and reaching to an estimate figure.

According to a report in Times of India, about two-thirds of those who die are less than a month old.

Consider Nanded, where 24 deaths occurred in a 24-hour period in Shankarrao Chavan Hospital. Of them, 12 were newborns between one and three days old. Six of the newborns had respiratory distress, the report stated.

It needs to be assessed if manual ambu bags (manual resuscitators) were available in the hospital or senior staff trained in using them were around, TOI quoted a doctor as saying.

In the Government Medical College on Ghati Road, in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, where 18 deaths occurred in a 24-hour period ending Tuesday, two were pre-term babies just a few days old, the report stated.

The publication quoted a state health official as saying, We have seen an improvement in the last few years. And most of the causes such as congenital abnormality cannot be controlled.

The leading causes of neonatal death are prematurity, low birth weight and respiratory distress, the report stated.

A doctor from a hospital in erstwhile Aurangabad, however, was quoted as saying that premature births have increased of late. The main reason for preterm deliveries is maternal nutrition deficiency, which results from lack of awareness. While macro nutrients are consumed, many pregnant women miss out on micro nutrients such as iron, zinc that are equally important and responsible for a childs growth in the mothers womb, GMCHs associate prof and neonatal section in-charge Amol Joshi was quoted.
The festival of Navaratri is knocking at the door. It will be celebrated this year from October 15  24. In most South Indian households, during Navaratri and Dussehra, buying Bommai Golu or Kolu toys is a tradition. These dolls of deities are often passed down through generations. Many people add a new doll each year to their collection. Traditionally, Kolu dolls are made of clay. These traditions may differ from home to home, but the main theme of this tradition is storytelling through these dolls. In the Karadipakkam area of Tamil Nadu, workers have started making Kolu toys with full enthusiasm. They have shared their unique process of making these Kolu dolls with News18. Today, lets take a detailed look at how Kolu toys are made in Karadipakkam.

A local toy manufacturer said that they make 30 types of Kolu toys, using paper pulp. He also shared the making process. According to him, first the mixture for making Kolu dolls is prepared. The mixture is made by adding gum powder, yam flour, maida, cement, paper pulp etc. It takes at least 5 days to make a basic Kolu doll.

There is a team of five people manufacturing and selling Kolu toys. He also said that this time, they are very happy because they have received more orders than the previous year.

He further said that various types of Kolu toys like Ayyappan, Lakshmi Narasimha, Yoga Narasimha, Andal, Rangamannar, Dakshanamurthy, Rama, Mahishasuramarthini, Krishna, and Bhairava are made here. Dolls made here are half a foot to two and a half feet in height. The price is fixed, according to the height of the statue.

According to the worker, the price of the Kolu dolls starts from Rs 300 to a maximum of Rs 2,500. These toys are also exported to many places like Mylapore, Chennai, and Bengaluru. In the end, he also said that those who want to buy Kolu toys can call 9585858470 and place their order.

Reports suggest Kolu dolls have a special significance among the people in Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, and Karnataka. Devotees here believe that Kolu dolls depict the presence of God. The term Kolu comes from the Tamil word Kolu Veetriruthal, which means the presence of kings and queens in court. The term extends to describe the presence of gods and goddesses surrounded by their devotees and saints.

Few days ago, a handicraft showroom located in Tamil Nadu, Poompuhar, organised an annual exhibition of Kolu dolls, and they were sold at a 10 percent discount. This exhibition was inaugurated by Thanjavurs District Collector, Deepak Jacob, on September 28.
A man died after being shot while his sister-in-law and nephew were critically injured in a clash between two parties in a village here due to rivalry over the panchayat elections, police said on Thursday. The two injured in the incident that took place in Allika village on Wednesday night are being treated at a private hospital in Faridabad, they said.

An FIR has been registered against 20 accused, police said, adding some suspects have been taken into custody for questioning. Amit, a resident of Allika village, filed a complaint in which he said his sister-in-law Pinky and Hemrajs wife Nisha had contested the election of sarpanch in the village, police said.

They came to know later that Nisha, who won the election, had submitted a fake educational qualification certificate for the election, they added. Police said that Utkarsh, the son of Amits uncle, filed an RTI against the sarpanch to DC office and the CM window.

Nisha, who was called to the DC office on September 27 to answer the RTI, reached there along with her husband Hemraj and two others, Hitesh and Vishal, police said and added that Utkarsh was also there at that time. The accused threatened Utkarsh in the parking lot of the DC office that either he should withdraw the RTI or he and his family would have to face consequences, said Amit.

It was late on Wednesday night that the accused Sarpanch Nisha, her husband Hemraj, Suraj, Yashpal Fauji, Sandeep, Vishal, Jai, Pradeep, Hitesh, Krishna, Mohit, Mahendra, former Sarpanch Krishna, Nikhil, Saurabh, Manish, Saurabh alias Leele, Nepal and Satish reached my uncle Deshrajs house in a Scorpio car and two bikes and started abusing them, said Amit. Hearing the noise, I also came out along with my brother Aman, uncle Sumer, aunt Gulbiri and the other family members. On seeing us, the sarpanchs husband Hemraj and Yashpal Fauji said that none of them should be spared today and started firing indiscriminately with illegal weapons, he added.

The complainant said they ran inside the house but he was hit by two bullets in his leg and several bullets hit his aunt Gulbiri following which they fell there. The accused have carried out this incident as part of a conspiracy because former Sarpanch Mahender and his men had murdered his father Bharatlal in 2016 and then they had murdered Digambar from their side. Both cases were registered and the accused have been arrested and sent to jail and some of them are still in jail till today, Amit added in his complaint.

Meanwhile, the accused shot Amits uncle Sumer in his stomach due to which he fell on the ground. After this, the accused fled from there firing bullets in the air and waving their weapons, said police. Amit and his aunt Gulbiri are undergoing treatment in a private hospital in Faridabad, while Sumer was declared dead during treatment, they added.

Palwal DSP Sakir Hussain said a murder case has been registered based on the complaint against all the 20 accused at Gadpuri police station. The body of Sumer Singh was handed over to the family after postmortem today. We have detained several suspects who are being interrogated. All the accused will be arrested soon, Hussain added.
With more than 30 deaths reported at Nandeds Dr Shankarrao Chavan Government Medical College and Hospital in Maharashtra between September 30 and October 3, the Bombay High Court took suo motu cognisance of the case.

Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyay remarked, If there are deaths due to lack of manpower, shortage of medicines, it will not be tolerated at all. He also asked advocate general Birendra Saraf to explain the role of the state government in the case.

Family members of the deceased have filed a case of culpable homicide against the hospital dean.

Over the past few months, repeated instances of negligence in government hospitals have been alleged across various parts of Maharashtra. After the developments in Nanded hit the headlines, several opposition leaders clamoured against at least eight deaths reported at a hospital in Aurangabad.

Similarly, 18 deaths were reported in August at the Thane Municipal Corporation-run hospital in Kalwa within 18 hours. Following this, chief minister Eknath Shinde himself paid a visit to the hospital, which is in his home constituency.

With several such cases being reported across the state, allegations have been levelled that the health infrastructure in Maharashtra has been collapsing because most government hospitals do not have basic infrastructure.

At Nanded, it was alleged that there were not enough doctors, nurses, medicines, and equipment required at the hospital.

In all such cases, including Kalwa and Nanded, the state government has initiated inquiries.

However, sources and officials have countered these charges, stating that on average 15-17 deaths are reported daily at the hospitals.

On some days, due to unprecedented situations, cases reported are higher, which is why there are fluctuations in the death rate. Of 24 deaths reported in 24 hours, 12 were minors and 12 adults. Of these, 4 children were brought in just a few hours earlier, said hospital authorities at Nanded.

Of the cases reported in Nanded, some were of kidney ailments and snakebites.

Sources also said that these hospitals are tertiary centres, which cater to large populations and large areas, thus increasing the flow of patients. It was mentioned that the hospital in Nanded had 1,200 patients when the actual bed capacity was 500.

The ruling side has alleged that opposition leaders have been raising this issue ahead of elections with a political agenda.

After the deaths were reported in Kalwa, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Jitendra Awhad held protests outside the hospital. And following the Nanded deaths, Congress leader Ashok Chavan led a campaign to highlight the issue.
In another incident of unruly behaviour by a passenger onboard, Delhi Police have registered a case against a man, travelling on an Air India flight AI 102 from New York to Delhi, for allegedly abusing a female crew member and creating chaos on the flight.

The case was registered on October 1 after a complaint was lodged by the victim at Delhis IGI Airport Police station.

As per an ANI report, the officials said on Thursday that the case has been registered against the passenger, identified as Abhinav Sharma from Punjabs Jalandhar for using abusive language towards a female cabin crew and creating a ruckus on the flight.

As per the cabin crews complaint, the victim was working in the Economy class cabin when one passenger on the flight started making vulgar comments and abusing the passengers on-board. After some time, the accused started running around and abusing everyone in the flight. Following this incident, the cabin supervisor gave him an oral warning followed by a written warning.

Eventually, the crew later had to restrain him as he continued to make racist comments and started disrespecting India.

The Delhi police has registered a case against the passenger under Sections 509 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and Sections 22/23 of the Aircraft Act. An investigation on the matter is currently underway.

Earlier this year, a man allegedly slapped and verbally abused a senior Air India official on board its Sydney-Delhi flight. The incident occurred when the passenger was downgraded from business class to economy due to a seat malfunction by the official and had also attempted to address the passengers loud voice.

As per reports, despite the physical assault, the Air India cabin crew refrained from utilising restraining devices to control the unruly passenger.

An Air India spokesperson, in a statement confirmed the incident and said, A passenger on board AI-301 operating Sydney-Delhi on July 9, 2023, behaved in an unacceptable manner during flight, despite verbal and written warnings, causing distress to other passengers, which included one of our employees.

The airline further said that upon the flights safe landing at Delhi, the passenger was handed over to the security agency and that the passenger later apologised in writing.

Under the regulations of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), an unruly air passenger can face a flying ban for varying periods.

The DGCA classifies unruly passenger behavior into three levels. Level 1 encompasses unruly behavior like physical gestures, verbal harassment, and intoxication. Level 2 involves physically abusive conduct such as pushing, kicking, or sexual harassment. Level 3 pertains to life-threatening actions like damaging aircraft operating systems, engaging in physical violence such as choking, or committing murderous assault.

The duration of the flying ban for an unruly passenger is determined by an internal committee established by the respective airline, depending on the level of the unruly behavior.

(with PTI inputs)
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday launched scathing attacks on Congress and said that the alleged scams of the grand-old-party used to make headlines for media every day before 2014.

Speaking at an event in Madhya Pradeshs Jabalpur, the Prime Minister hit out at Congress for eulogizing only one family, saying that the country did not get independence or achieve development solely because of it.

PM Modi In MP

In Jabalpur, PM Modi inaugurated and laid the foundation stone of development projects in sectors such as road, rail, gas pipeline, housing and clean drinking water, it said.

PM Modi inaugurated a light house project at Indore, Madhya Pradesh. Built at a cost of about Rs 128 crore under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana  Urban, the project will benefit more than 1,000 beneficiary families as part of his vision of housing for all.

He also laid the foundation stone of multiple Jal Jeevan Mission projects in Mandla, Jabalpur and Dindori districts worth over Rs 2,350 crore and inaugurated a drinking water project under the same scheme in Seoni district.

Further, the Prime Minister laid the foundation stone and dedicated to the nation multiple projects more than Rs 4,800 crore for improving the road infrastructure in the state.

He also dedicated to the nation rail projects worth more than Rs 1,850 crore and 352 km-long Vijaipur-Auraiyan-Phulpur pipeline project built at a cost of more than Rs 1,750 crore, among several other development facilities he launched during the visit.

Modi also performed a ceremony of Veerangana Rani Durgavati Smarak aur Udyaan in Jabalpur to commemorate the queen known for her valiant fight against the Mughals.

The Prime Minister said Congress scams used to make headlines every day before 2014 when the BJP came to power at the Centre.

After 2014, Modi cut their commission We have destroyed Congress corruption structure, he added.

Projects worth Rs 12,000 crores of rupees have been inaugurated in the state. Be it a water and gas pipeline or a four-lane road network, it will change the lives of lakhs of people. It will benefit the farmers and new factories will be set up. Youth will get the employment, he said..

PM Modi said that the Centre used technology to remove the fake names of 11 crore people from the government offices who were taking the share of poor people.

The Prime Minister said the party that remained in power for decades has done only one thing, just eulogizing one family. Neither the nation got its independence because of just one family, nor did it develop because of them, Modi said at the public meeting, without naming the Congress or the Gandhi family, he said.

PM Modi said his government ensured that women get gas connections through the Ujjwala scheme for cooking food instead of using the smoky chulha or wood-fired stove that was a health hazard.

PM Modi in Rajasthan

In Jodhpur, PM Modi laid the foundation stone and inaugurated multiple development projects in sectors like road, rail, aviation, health and higher education.

Addressing the event, he said Bikaner-Barmer-Jamnagar expressway corridor, and Delhi-Mumbai expressway are examples of advanced and high-tech infrastructure in Rajasthan.

Among the health projects for which he laid the foundation stone include a 350-bedded trauma centre and critical care hospital block at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Jodhpur, and seven critical care blocks under the Pradhan Mantri Ayushman Bharat Health Infrastructure Mission (PM-ABHIM) to be developed across the state. The centre at the AIIMS will be developed at a cost of more than Rs 350 crore.

The Prime Minister also laid the foundation stone for the development of a state-of-the-art new terminal building at the Jodhpur airport costing Rs 480 crore and dedicated the IIT Jodhpur campus to the nation as well. The campus has been built at a cost of more than Rs 1,135 crore.

Among other projects, he laid the foundation stone of multiple road development projects to be built at a cumulative cost of about Rs 1,475 crore and also flagged off two new train services including Rajasthans only heritage train 

Valley Queen Heritage Train  and Runicha Express, connecting Jaisalmer to Delhi.

Later addressing a political programme, PM Modi said, Today, people of Jodhpur and Marwad have received several gifts. For one of those gifts, I came prepared from Delhi. Yesterday, the BJP government decided that the women beneficiaries of Ujjwala will get LPG cylinder at Rs 600.

It is the resolution of BJP to make Rajasthan the number 1 state in TourismWho can make that happen?Modi cant do that, your vote can do that. With the power of your vote, BJP will form the Govt in Rajasthan and it will become the Number 1 state in Tourism, he added.
Popular reality show star and model Shiyas Kareem, wanted in connection with a rape and cheating case registered against him in Kerala, was held at the Chennai Airport on Thursday morning, state police said here.

Kareem, against whom a lookout notice was issued by the Kerala police, was detained by the security personnel at the airport upon his arrival from Dubai this morning, they said.

Based on the information received here, a team of officials will leave for Chennai to take him into custody, police said.

Chandera police here have registered the rape and cheating case based on the complaint of a female trainer who was employed by Kareem at his gymnasium in Kochi.

We will soon leave for Chennai to take him into custody. His arrest will be recorded after we bring him here, a police officer told PTI.

The 32-year old woman, a Kasaragod resident, raised allegations against Kareem that she had been raped and molested multiple times by him since 2021, police said.

In the complaint, the woman alleged that he owes her Rs 11 lakh, which he took from her over a period of time.

She also charged that Kareem, who owns a gymnasium in Kochi, promised to make her a partner in his business and sought money. The woman alleged that he had assaulted her multiple times.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday said Khadi has become a powerful symbol of public sentiments, as he lauded the record sale at the Khadi Bhawan here on Mahatama Gandhis birth anniversary on October 2.

Modi expressed confidence that peoples attachment to Khadi, a hand-spun fabric promoted by Gandhi for its indigenous origin, will keep creating new records, strengthening the vision of Aatmanirbhar Bharat (self-reliant India).

For the first time, products worth Rs 1.5 crore were sold at the Khadi Bhawan at Connaught Place here on the occasion of Gandhi Jayanti, the Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) said on Wednesday.

On the occasion of Gandhi Jayanti, the flagship Khadi Bhawan at Connaught Place in the heart of New Delhi witnessed the highest ever sale of Khadi and Village Industries products worth Rs 1,52,45,000, it said.

In his posts on X, Modi described his governments decision to set up the National Turmeric Board which, he said will benefit crores of industrious farmers and ensure better markets and more prosperity for them.

Reacting to another decision of the Union cabinet at its meeting on Wednesday to approve establishing the Sammakka Sarakka Central Tribal University, the prime minister said it will be a game changer for the youngsters of Telangana.

It will also deepen understanding of tribal culture as well as encourage innovation, he said.
The Bombay High Court has upheld the acquittal of a medical officer who was accused of accepting a bribe of Rs 100 in exchange for issuing a medical certificate in 2007. A single-judge bench of the high court comprising Justice Jitendra Jain said that the amount appeared to be too small.

The amount appears to be too small in the year 2007 and more so, in the year 2023 when the appeal is being heard against the acquittal. Therefore, assuming that the appellant complainant is able to prove the charges, (although, I have already held that they have failed to prove the charges), in my view after considering quantum at the relevant time this could be a fit case to be treated as a trivial matter to uphold the acquittal order, the order reads.

The Bombay High Court was hearing an appeal filed by the state government challenging the acquittal of a medical officer accused of accepting a Rs 100 bribe in exchange for issuing a medical certificate in 2007.

The complaint was lodged against the medical officer, who had been serving in Pune district since 1995.

According to the complainant, in 2007, the medical officer treated his injuries and then demanded a Rs. 100 bribe in return for issuing a medical certificate.

Subsequently, the complainant reported the incident to the Anti Corruption Bureau (ACB), leading to a trap operation in which the medical officer was caught.

This resulted in proceedings under the Prevention of Corruption Act against the medical officer.

However, after a trial, the special judge acquitted the medical officer of all charges, prompting the state government to file an appeal.

The high court in its order noted that the Prevention of Corruption Act gives a clue that in case of trivial matters, the court may refuse to draw the presumption of corruption.

Section 20(3) of the P. C. Act provides that if gratification etc. is trivial then no interference of corruption may be drawn. Section 20(3) of the P. C. Act gives a clue that in case of trivial matter, the court may refuse to draw the presumption of corruption. Therefore, the issue to be examined is whether the offence in the facts of the present case is trivial, the order reads.

Therefore, the court said that the view taken by the trial court is a plausible view based on the appreciation of evidence.
Rescue operations continued on Thursday after the cloudburst over Lhonak Lake in north Sikkim triggered a flash flood in the Teesta River basin. The death toll in the disaster rose to 18 while 98 people, who were swept away, are still missing.

Army and NDRF teams have worked their way through slushy earth and sheets of water in the Teesta river basin and downstream north Bengal for the second day for rescue operations.

Eighteen bodies have been found so far while 98 people, including 22 army personnel, remained missing after a cloudburst over Lhonak Lake in North Sikkim in the early hours of Wednesday triggered the flash flood, Chief Secretary V B Pathak said.

In a statement, the government of neighbouring West Bengal said four of the 18 bodies were identified as jawans. However, it is not immediately clear whether they were part of the 22 missing soldiers.

Twenty-six people have suffered injuries and were undergoing treatment at various hospitals across Sikkim.

West Bengals Jalpaiguri District Police warned people not to touch packages, firearms or any unfamiliar objects seen floating in the water as they pose a potential risk of a dangerous explosion. Certain military equipment including firearms and explosives were carried away by the Teesta River, the police said.

The flash flood in the Teesta River, triggered by the cloudburst in Lhonak Lake in North Sikkim, caused an accumulation of a huge quantity of water, which turned towards Chungthang dam destroying the power infrastructure before moving downstream in spate, flooding towns and villages.

Latest updates on Sikkim Flash Floods:

An advisory issued by the state land revenue and disaster management department on Thursday warned people local population that explosives or ammunition may be found along the Teesta basin. These ammunitions should not be handled or picked up since they may explode and cause grievous injuries, read the advisory, Hindustan Times reported.

So far, 2,011 people have been rescued, while the calamity has affected 22,034 people, the Sikkim State Disaster Management Authority (SSDMA) said in a bulletin.

According to estimates, over 3,000 tourists, including foreigners, are stuck in various parts of Sikkim.

Chief Minister Prem Singh Tamang visited Singtam, one of the worst affected areas, and took stock of the situation. Our dedicated teams are working day and night to address the immediate concerns and challenges posed by this calamity. I urge the administration, local authorities, all organisations, and individuals to join hands in a spirit of solidarity and cooperation. Together, we can make a significant difference in providing relief to those affected and rebuilding our communities, he said.

The chief minister wrote to the prime minister, and sought necessary support, especially for areas that needed immediate intervention, officials said.

The flood destroyed 11 bridges in the state, of which eight bridges were washed away in Mangan district alone. Two bridges were destroyed in Namchi and one in Gangtok.

Water pipelines, sewage lines and 277 houses, both kuchcha and concrete, have been destroyed in the four affected districts.

The search for the 22 missing soldiers was continuing with a focus on the downstream areas as the fast-flowing river is likely to have carried them to the lower reaches towards northern West Bengal, officials said.

The Chief Secretary directed the National Highways & Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited (NHIDCL) to open closed routes for small and heavy vehicles through Lava and Reshi check posts at the earliest.

The transport secretary was also directed to issue an order for route diversion for small and heavy vehicles after ensuring clearance of the route.

To keep the prices of essential commodities unchanged, the state government has decided not to levy charges on private vehicles carrying such items through Rangpo, Reshi and Melli Check Posts.

The Chief Secretary appealed to all the associations not to hike the rates of essential commodities and also ensure that no hoarding of LPG, petrol and essential commodities takes place in Sikkim.

About 10,000 people have been affected by the calamity in the Mangan district, while 6,895 people were affected in Pakyong, 2,579 in Namchi and 2,570 people in Gangtok.

The SSDMA advised people to stay away from the Teesta as the water level was rising due to incessant rains in the upper reaches.

The Sikkim government urged people, who planned to visit the Himalayan state soon, to postpone their programmes till the situation normalises.

All government and private schools, colleges and universities in Sikkim will remain closed till October 15 due to the prevalence of inclement weather.

The IMD predicted light/moderate fairly widespread to widespread rainfall/thunderstorm and lightning with isolated heavy rainfall very likely over Sub-Himalayan West Bengal and Sikkim on October 5-6.

(With PTI inputs)
A cloudburst over Lhonak Lake in north Sikkim on Wednesday led to a flash flood in the Teesta River basin, which has claimed 18 lives so far while 53 people are still missing even as rescue efforts are in progress. The flood, which commenced around 1.30 am, was exacerbated by the release of water from the Chungthang dam, according to officials. Sikkim chief secretary VB Pathak reported that more than 3,000 tourists from different parts of the country are stranded. Toll Rises to 18, 53 People Still Missing as Search Continues The death toll has risen to 18, while 53 people are still missing. A total of eight bridges have collapsed, while the damage to property and livestock is still being assessed. There are more than 1,500 people sheltered in 16 relief camps at Gangtok, Pakyong and Mangan. Rescue efforts are still in progress. Satellite Images Show Devastation in Nearly 65% of Sikkims Lhonak Lake  around 105 hectares  has been drained after a cloudburst forced the water body to overflow and trigger flash floods in the Teesta River. Temporal satellite images (referring to before-and-after) released Wednesday evening by space agency ISRO show dramatic changes in the volume of water in the lake; photos taken on September 17 and September 28 show the bullet-shaped lake holding 162.7 and 167.4 hectares, respectively.

An image taken at 6am on Wednesday morning  after the cloudburst and flash flood wreaked havoc in the state. Temporal changes in the lake area  as on September 17, September 28, and October 4. It is observed the lake is burst and about 105 hectares has been drained out, which might have created a flash flood downstream will continue monitoring the lake using the satellite data, ISRO said. Tata Steel Workers Trapped Inside Tunnels of Dam

Furthermore, numerous workers employed at the Teesta Stage III dam in Chungthang find themselves trapped within the tunnels of the dam, Pathak noted.

14 Bridges Have Collapsed

The Sikkim Chief Secretary said that the road infrastructure has suffered extensive damage due to flooding as 14 bridges have collapsed with nine ofthem being under Border Roads Organization (BRO) and five others belonging to the state government.

Scores of people missing and injured have been reported from Chungthang in Mangan district, and Dikchu, Singtam in Gangtok district and Rangpo in Pakyong district, Pathak said. Another official said some 166 people have so far been rescued, including the army man. The health condition of the rescued soldier is stable, Defence Spokesperson Lt Col Mahendra Rawat said. Bodies, including that of a child, were fished out from the flood plains of the Teesta river at Golitar in Singtam by rescue personnel, the officials said.

PM Speaks to CM Prem Singh Tamang

Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke to Chief Minister Prem Singh Tamang on Wednesday to take stock of the situation in the state and assured him of all possible support.

Spoke to Sikkim CM Shri @PSTamangGolay and took stock of the situation in the wake of the unfortunate natural calamity in parts of the state. Assured all possible support in addressing the challenge. I pray for the safety and well-being of all those affected, Modi said on X. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh also prayed for the well-being of the missing army personnel.

Sikkim Govt Declares Calamity a Disaster

The Sikkim government, in a notification, said the natural calamity has been declared as a disaster. The release of water from the Chungthang dam led to a sudden increase in water levels up to 15-20 feet high downstream, the defence spokesperson said.

Twenty-two army personnel have been reported missing and 41 vehicles submerged under the slush, he said.

Trishakti Corps Launch Massive Search Ops for Missing Army Jawans

Troops of Trishakti Corps launched a massive search operation to trace the 23 missing soldiers amid heavy rain and rescued one of them in the evening.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, October 5. Lithuania is actively engaged in the process of diversifying commodity routes of Kazakhstan, Egidijus Navikas, Ambassador of Lithuania to Kazakhstan, told Trend in an exclusive interview.

Trans-Caspian International Transport Route

The development of the Trans-Caspian route is a necessary and promising project in the current geopolitical situation, when Russia's aggression against Ukraine has disrupted traditional supply chains from Asia to Europe.

Lithuania welcomes Kazakhstan's plans to diversify its commodity routes and is actively engaged in this process. Lithuania is an associate member of the intergovernmental commission TRACECA.

In June 2023, Union of Transport Workers of Kazakhstan KAZLOGISTICS, and Lithuanian Confederation of Industrialists, as well as joint stock companies Lithuanian Railways and Klaipeda State Seaport Directorate signed a Memorandum of Cooperation to promote the development of logistics capacity of the TITR.

We believe that participation in the Middle Corridor project will open up great opportunities for Lithuania as well to transport cargo from Asia to the Baltic and Scandinavian regions.

Trade between Kazakhstan and Lithuania

Trade volume between Lithuania and Kazakhstan in 2023 has slightly decreased, but still remains at appropriate level.

In the context of economic cooperation, Lithuania pays close attention to compliance with the international sanctions imposed on Russia and Belarus as a result of their aggression against Ukraine, and maintains a constant dialogue with its Kazakh counterparts on this issue.

Lithuanian and Kazakh businesses continue to cooperate and look for development opportunities in the light of new geopolitical realities. We see a number of opportunities for economic cooperation, mostly in the areas of trade and transport/logistics.

Prospects for investment cooperation also remain; one of such examples is the plan of the Kazakh company Hill to open a factory in Lithuania.

Cooperation in the energy sector

Energy cooperation between Lithuania and Kazakhstan has not been developed deeper, mostly because of geographical situation. Lithuanian companies do not participate in Kazakhstan's energy projects.

However, Lithuania welcomes and supports EU-Kazakhstan cooperation in the field of energy  notably the increase of Kazakh exports to the European countries.

Renewable energy

Lithuania is known for its achievements in renewable energy. The country's government has set ambitious targets to reduce environmental pollution. Lithuanian business has already gained recognition in the production of renewable energy components.

There are ongoing talks with Kazakh counterparts about transferring experience in this field, but it is still at an early stage. Lithuania is not yet involved in any renewable energy project in Kazakhstan.

New prospects of cooperation

Economic cooperation between Lithuania and Kazakhstan is well-established and has remained stable for a number of years. However, new geopolitical realities bring new trends.

The issue of raw material supply is becoming more relevant for Lithuania. Particular attention is paid to Critical Raw Materials. There are no major projects in this area yet, but there are clear trends in the development of cooperation.
The Enforcement Directorate claims it has been able to link Aam Aadmi Party MP Sanjay Singh to a kickback given in connection with the alleged Delhi excise scam. The ED told the court that accused-turned-approver Dinesh Arora paid the amount to a close aide of Singh. Apart from the statement, the ED also claimed that it had electronic evidence to corroborate the alleged payoff.

The claims were made by the ED while arguing in court to seek Singhs custody, which it secured for 5 days, even as it had asked for 10.

The arrest has brought AAP and BJP cadres onto the capitals streets. Bharatiya Janata Party leaders have claimed that AAP convener and Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal will also be jailed very soon. AAP tore into the BJP, staging a massive dharna outside the saffron partys headquarters in Delhi.

The ED action against Sanjay Singh is just a small part of a massive crackdown by the central agency over the past few years on alleged money laundering.

Several leaders from the opposition INDIA bloc have been arrested and some prosecuted. A few of them are in jail. Some have tried but failed to get the courts to quash the EDs probe against them.

Despite getting substantial relief from the courts, almost all these politicians have claimed that they are victims of a witch hunt.

The Centre says that this isnt the case. It claims the Enforcement Directorate isnt shackled anymore, like it was under the Congress-led UPA, which was hamstrung by coalition compulsions. The question then arises: is the NDA more active than the UPA in policing corruption or was corruption much less in the UPA era?

Lets look at what the hard facts tell us.

According to the Indian Express, between 2014 and 2022, the ED interrogated 121 politicians, and 95% of them were from the opposition. In comparison, the agency questioned 26 top politicians from 2004 to 2014, and 54% were from the-then opposition.

Also, as shared by the finance ministry in the Lok Sabha in March 2022, the ED carried out 112 searches in Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) cases between 2004 and 2014, while the figure shot up to 2,974 in the 2014-2022 period. The agency also raised 104 prosecution complaints from 2004 to 2014, which rose to 839 between 2014 and 2022.

In addition, the value of assets attached by the ED in 2004-2014 was Rs 5,346 crore, which skyrocketed to Rs 95,432 crore in 2014-2022.

Had the ED, been overwhelmingly arbitrary and filing cases on the whims of political masters to suit an agenda, a majority of the cases wouldnt have ended in conviction.

But the hard facts tell us something very different. The finance ministry told Parliament that between 2014 and 2023, the agency had managed to secure convictions in an astounding 93% of the cases.

In fact, the CBI also has also totted up a very creditable 74% plus conviction rate in court.

The other point often missed is that the courts havent been too forgiving of those accused by the ED or other central agencies of corruption. A number of opposition leaders tried to have the cases against them quashed by the courts but have failed.

1) Case: Herald House

Gandhis out on bail

Status: SC refuses to quash trial

2) Case: Land for jobs

Tejashwi, Lalu, Rabri out on bail

Status: CBI has filed second charge sheet

3) Case: Delhi excise policy

Sisodia, Singh arrested

Status: Court upholds probe

4) Case: Cattle smuggling

Anubrata Mondal jailed, sacked by TMC

Status: Court refuses to stall case

5) Case: Teacher recruitment

Partha Chatterjee jailed

Status: Court denies bail

6) Case: Disproportionate assets

Satyendar Jain jailed

Status: Court denies bail

However, while the oppositions case against the ED on the whole is not very strong, it is true that when these tainted politicians cross over into the BJP, their cases dont go very far. This only provides more ammunition to the opposition to claim a witch hunt. Here are some more hard facts.

1) Instance: Saradha chit fund

Accused: Himanta Biswa Sarma

Joined BJP: Aug 28, 2015

Status: Supplementary charge sheet filed in the case (Sarma not named); Assam CM yet to be questioned

2) Instance: Narada sting operation

Accused: Suvendu Adhikari

Joined BJP: Dec 19, 2020

Status: Charges filed against TMC ministers in Sept 2021; Adhikari not summoned after joining BJP

3) Instance: Rs 300 cr money laundering racket

Accused: Narayan Rane

Joined BJP: Oct 15, 2019

Status: Case has gone silent

4) Instance: Syphoning Mahila Utkarsh Pratishthan Fund

Accused: Bhavana Gawali

Became part of Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena: June 2022

Status: Charge sheet names aide Khan; Gawali not summoned; case still open
The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has written a letter to all states to provide adequate security to officials of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) who have been receiving threats from terror groups as well as Naxals.

The fresh communication  which sought ample cover especially during raids and in remote areas  also revealed that terror outfit Popular Front of India (PFI), in connivance with Pakistans ISI, is trying to gather information about NIA officers apart from other Intelligence units of India.

The missive also talks about direct threat from Al-Badr to target NIA officials in Kashmir amid senior Indian officials facing the heat from Khalistani groups abroad.

Top sources in Intelligence agencies said there are inputs that officials can be targeted, especially during raids. The NIA, in the past 10 days, has conducted more than 100 raids linked to Naxals and Khalistan terror groups in different parts of the country.

Though the ministry had written to all state administrations in 2014 to provide security to NIA officials during their visits, the fresh letter was sent on Tuesday due to growing threat.

Keeping in view the nature of the function entrusted to the NIA, its officers/personnel issue summons and interrogate the suspected persons in the terrorism related cases. In discharge of their various duties, including investigations and collection of evidence, NIA officers have to visit remote locations and militancy affected areas which can render them vulnerable to threats, a senior government official told News18 while quoting the letter.

It has been reported by the ministry that terrorist organisations like PFI, Mujahideen Gazwatul Hind, RPF/PLA, in connivance with Pakistans ISI, have been making efforts to collect information about officers of Intelligence agencies, including NIA.

According to a recent input, a PoK-based terrorist has tasked Al-Badr terrorists to target NIA personnel in Kashmir Valley. Sikhs For Justice has also threatened a cycle of violence against high dignitaries and officers of security agencies, including NIA, the official said.

A senior NIA official said in the past few raids, it was found that there wasnt adequate security for the personnel.

Last week, NIA conducted raids in 62 locations in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana in a case linked to Maoists. Similarly, on September 27, the agency conducted a massive multi-state crackdown on the terrorists-gangsters-drug smugglers nexus, connected with a listed terrorist. A total of 53 locations were raided during the day-long operation. Apart from these two big raids, NIA has also conducted raids in J&K.
Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Thursday sought to know whether it was out of the fear of central probe agencies that NCP chief Sharad Pawar approached the BJP in 2019 and showed willingness to form a government in the state with the party.

Fadnavis remark comes a day after Pawar criticised the rebel Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) faction led by his nephew Ajit Pawar for joining the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-Shiv Sena government in Maharashtra in July, saying those who have gone with the BJP had nothing to do with the NCP and that they switched sides because of the threat of investigation agencies.

On Wednesday, Fadnavis claimed that Sharad Pawar had shown his willingness to form a government by extending support to the BJP. The NCP supremo, however, refuted the claim.

When asked about it on the sidelines of an event, Fadnavis told reporters, I just want to know, did he (Sharad Pawar) come to the BJP in 2019 out of the fear of central probe agencies? Even in 2017, Pawar had discussed the possibility of government formation (with the BJP). He clearly knows why people from his party switched sides. It is inappropriate to level allegations against your own colleagues after they leave you, the senior BJP leader said.

Fadnavis reiterated that the Presidents Rule was imposed in Maharashtra in 2019 with the consent of Sharad Pawar.

It was Sharad Pawar who had given consent for the imposition of the Presidents rule in MaharashtraThats why the Presidents rule was imposed in Maharashtra. Whatever I have said is true, he said.

When asked about the possibility of Ajit Pawar becoming the chief minister of Maharashtra, Fadnavis said, Ajit Pawar is a prominent leader, but people should not forget the fact that Eknath Shinde is the current chief minister of Maharashtra. Whoever is in politics always has some aspirations.

The upcoming elections will be contested under the leadership of Eknath Shinde. In one of the biggest political surprises in Maharashtra after the 2019 polls, the then Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari swore in Fadnavis as the chief minister and Ajit Pawar as deputy CM on November 23, 2019. However, the government collapsed within 80 hours.

Talking about it in February this year, Fadnavis had said the dramatic exercise had Sharad Pawars backing.

We had an offer from the NCP that they needed a stable government and we should form such a government together. We decided to go ahead and hold talks. The talks happened with Sharad Pawar. Then things changed, the former chief minister had said. Pawar senior had, however, stoutly denied Fadnavis claim.
Jitiya, also known as Jivitputriaka Vrat, is a festival mainly celebrated in Nepal and India. On this auspicious occasion, women observe a fast either for the well-being of their child or in hopes of conceiving one. This year, Jivitputriaka Vrat will be observed on October 6. Did you know that on this day, women traditionally wear gold and silver lockets?

According to Shyama Baba, the priest at the Jharkhand Kali temple, women observing the Jivitputriaka Vrat should wear a garland made of red and yellow threads, along with lockets crafted from gold and silver. There is a customary practice of making a mark on the garland and locket, corresponding to the number of children one has. He suggests that during this time, women should adorn themselves with a Jitiya rosary, a gold locket, a silver locket, as well as diamonds and topaz gemstones, each representing the number of children they have. Some women opt to wear a locket on a thread instead of tying a knot. This tradition and belief have been upheld for centuries and hold deep cultural significance.

Shyama Baba further claims that as Jitiya Vrat approaches, red and yellow coloured jitiyas are available in the market for Rs 10. There is always a surge in demand for jitiya lockets, made of gold and silver, during this period.

As per reports, this tradition has a long history. Jimutvahan was the king of Gandharvas. He gave up his kingdom to his brothers and went to the forest to serve his father. He met an old woman who was mourning. She told him that due to an oath, she had to offer her only son to Garuda tomorrow to her. Jimutvahan promised her to protect her only son. The next day he offered himself to Garuda. Jimutvahan remained calm while Garuda started attacking him. Seeing his calm behaviour, Garuda questioned Jimutvahan about his genuine identity. Then Jimutvahan narrated the whole incident and after hearing this, Garuda was impressed by his generosity and he said he wont demand any sacrifices. Since then mothers have observed fasts to honour this legend in order to protect their children.

As for the timings in 2023, the Jitiya fast will commence on October 6 at 6:34 AM and conclude on October 7 at 8:10 AM. According to astrological guidelines, the fast is concluded by taking a ceremonial bath in a holy river. In cases where there is no river nearby, individuals may opt for a pool or any other available water source. This rigorous fast serves as a testament to the unwavering commitment and love that mothers have for their children.

In terms of significance, according to the Hindu calendar, married women observe the Jitiya fast every year on Krishna Ashtami in the month of Ashwin. It is believed that children whose mothers observe the Jitiya Vrat enjoy joy, prosperity, and long life. Throughout the Jitiya Vrat, women fast strictly, refraining from even water. Normally, the Jitiya Vrat culminates on the Navami Tithi, the following day. This observance is particularly prominent in regions like West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Jharkhand.
The very beautiful hill state in Northeast Meghalaya which is abundantly blessed with rich natural beauties is also a place for music lovers, popularly known as the Rock Capital of India. In order to push forward both tourism and music together , the government of Meghalaya launched the second season of Meghalaya grassroots music project i the capital Shillong on Wednesday by the Chief minister Conrad Sangma.

Speaking to CNN News 18, Chief minister Conrad Sangma said, Today, we embark on a journey to celebrate the soul of Meghalaya through music. Our state is a treasure trove of talent, and the Meghalaya Grassroots Music Project Season 2 is our way of showcasing our vibrant culture and nurturing our local musicians.

Congratulating all the officials for successfully conducting the first session of MGMP, CM Sangma highlighted that Meghalayas unique contribution in supporting independent music and musicians and having programmes like MGMP is the first of its kind in the country.

Through this Meghalaya Grassroot Music Project, in the first season itself, over 1600 artists have performed more than 3000 occasions. Of all the revenue that is generated through Tourism activities in the state, we were able to share some part of it to the artists leading to promotion of music industry and thereby, benefiting our local people. This is not only helping to boost the music industry in the state but also has been appreciated by the tourists who get to witness the beautiful indigenous music of the state. Hence its boosting tourism in the state as well. This season, we are going to make this project even bigger and have performances not merely confined to music but also folklore, drama, acts, stand-up comedy, and others. he added.

Three indigenous band  Sur Ki Nongkyndong, Colours, and Na u Bnai performed in the occasion.

MGMP Season 2 is about music; about creating jobs and providing vital financial assistance to the grassroots musicians.

Speaking about it ,Tourism Minister Paul Lyngdoh said, The inaugural year of the Meghalaya Grassroots Music Project was a resounding success, and as we embark on its second season, we are confident that this initiative will push Meghalaya towards remarkable achievements. Our capital, Shillong, is poised to become the nations music capital and will soon echo with the vibrant tunes of our local talent. This project has undeniably served as an invaluable platform for budding artists in Meghalaya.

This project, which was first launched by Conrad K. Sangma on April 26, 2022, not only offers incredible musical acts but also showcases Meghalayas rich cultural heritage. Its a harmonious fusion of music and tourism, inviting both tourists and locals to explore the vibrant tapestry of the state.
Bollywoods Dream Girl Hema Malini has worked with several legendary actors throughout her illustrious career. Her cinematic collaborations have resulted in not only the powerful portrayal of feminine characters on screen but also some chart-topping Bollywood songs. Her song Pal Bhar Ke Liye from the 1970 film Johny Mera Naam with Dev Anand is one of the biggest hits in her career. In a recent interview, Hema recalled an embarrassing incident from the films shoot.

Hema Malini made an appearance at the Jaipur Dev Festival held to celebrate the 100th birth anniversary of Dev Anand. She said that for the shoot of the song O Mere Raja, they had to sit in a rope chair near Nalanda, Bihar. He recalled being stuck with Dev in the rope chair and said that she felt very embarrassed as he had to sit on his lap.

Hema said, There was a scene where we were supposed to go in the rope chair. The sequence was such that he is sitting already and I have to sit in another chair but because I miss it, he makes me sit on his lap. That was very embarrassing for me, in real life also, and in the film also I am feeling very uncomfortable.

So the shot started and the rope chair was moving but right in the middle, it stopped. The electricity was gone. I said Dev saab, I cant sit like this. I didnt want to put my whole weight on his lap. It was very very uncomfortable, Hema added.

Johny Mera Naam went on to become one of the biggest hits in Hema Malinis career, which was in its early stages at the time of the films release. The hit film was directed by Vijay Anand and the music of the film was composed by the duo Kalyan and Anand.
Nia Sharma never fails to impress all with her gorgeous looks. Each time the actress drops a photo or video on social media, she leaves everyone gasping for breath. On Wednesday night too, Nia took to her Instagram handle and shared a couple of hot pictures in a black cut-out swimsuit.

In the clicks, Nia Sharma was seen enjoying in a pool as she flaunts her perfectly toned body. She sported a black cut-out swimsuit and looked breathtakingly gorgeous as ever. In the caption of her post, Nia wrote, Wherever this Is!. Check out the pictures here:

Soon after Nia dropped her photos, fans rushed to the comments section to compliment the actress. While one of the users called her hottest, another fan wrote, Love you mam. The comments section of Nias post is also flooded with red-heart and fire emojis.

Nia Sharma made her television debut in 2010 with Kaali- Ek Agnipariksha. She rose to fame with shows like Ek Hazaaron Mein Meri Behna Hai. The show also starred Krystle DSouza, Karan Tacker, and Kushal Tandon in key roles. Nia also gained immense appreciation for her show Jamai Raja in which she starred opposite Ravi Dubey. Nia has also participated in reality shows like Khatron Ke Khiladi and Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa.

Last month, Nia celebrated her 13 years in the industry when she penned down a heart-warming note on social media and wrote, 13 Crazy wonderful years In the Television World. Whoops! Never really remembered nor even counting until these cakes and flowers start flooding on every little big occasion. Have only love and gratitude in return. Virginia Freda Noor Foram joory.. Thank you for making me smile today (no that I wanted to announce to the world how many years I have spent).
Veteran actor Patrick Stewart memoir Making It So was released on October 3 and many anecdotes from his life have come to the forefront. What has piqued the interest of many of his fans is the struggle after the actors first divorce in 1989 with Sheila Falconer. In his memoir, the actor has discussed what happened when he decided to stop taking the drugs and how it impacted his general health. Not only that, but he also discussed how he was involuntarily reliant on the medications to get enough sleep at the time. The X-Men actor recalled that after his first divorce, he went through a rough time.

Patrick Stewart was working on Star Trek when he found himself dependent on sleeping pills to get me the hours of restoration I needed to do my job properly, as quoted from his memoir by Page Six. The actor narrated that he eventually decided on quitting the pills, but that did not lead to improved sleep quality. Instead, he woke up in the early morning and experienced full-body feeling of panic, my legs sweating profusely, which had never happened before and hasnt since.

Reportedly, Patrick Stewart admitted that this phase was the most difficult for him since his children, especially his daughter, Sophie, were enraged at him for divorcing their mother. As per reports, the actors involvement with Jennifer Hetrick, who played Vash on Star Trek: The Next Generation led to the divorce.

Patrick Stewart was also facing some issues with his house in Los Angeles which, according to him, was becoming problematic. He reported unpleasant events such as hearing voices, smelling cooking food, and hearing footsteps on an empty stairway. Later on he rented a place to a couple with a child who also reported similar instances.

Meanwhile, in his memoir, the actor also shared a lot about his Star Trek co-star, Tom Hardy. Reportedly, Patrick introduced his co-star as The actor who portrayed the movies villain, Shinzon, was an odd, solitary young man from London. His name was Tom Hardy. He mentioned that Tom would prefer not to interact socially with anyone on the set. As per Patrick, Tom Hardy Never said, Good morning, never said, Goodnight. However, he added that Tom was not hostile.

Patrick Stewart was most recently seen in the superhero sequel film Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, co-starring Benedict Cumberbatch. He portrayed Charles Xavier, called Professor X, in the 2022 film.
Ranbir Kapoors team has reacted to the summon issued against the Bollywood actor by the Enforcement Directorate, News18 has exclusively learnt. The Brahmastra star was issued a summoned notice in connection with the Mahadev money-laundering case. News18 has learned that the actors team has reached out to ED and requested them two weeks time to appear before the team. We have also been told the ED has not confirmed any communication yet with his team.

On Wednesday, News18 had reported that Ranbir Kapoor was summoned by the ED in connection with the online betting case. Sources told us that four people have already been arrested in connection with the case and Ranbir was asked to appear in front of ED on Friday, October 6, for questioning. A secondary source clarified that Ranbir was being called in not as an accused.

Ranbir Kapoor has been summoned to understand the betting business transactions. At this point, he has not been summoned as accused. His questioning is important to know his knowledge about the money sources he received. It will possibly indicate the plans of the promoters and their association, a source said.

Ranbir Kapoor may not be part of conspiracy but very important to understand the scam, the source added.

The company promoted by Sourabh Chandrakar and Ravi Uppal was being operated from Dubai. It was allegedly using the online book betting application to enrol new users, create IDs and launder money through a layered web of benami bank accounts.

News18 had previously also reported that as many as 17 Bollywood celebrities have come under the scanner in connection with the case. These include Shraddha Kapoor, Tiger Shroff, and Sonakshi Sinha, among others. They are under the scanner for attending or performing at Chandrakars wedding in February this year and the companys success party in September last year.
Communist bigwigs like Sitaram Yechury were quick to jump to the defence of Newsclick, a digital website in India financed by Red China to spread anti-India propaganda. It was recently raided and shut down by the NIA, and its chief operators were taken into custody.

The other organisation that was quick off the mark to the same end was Congress, its leader Rahul Gandhi and the eloquent ex-diplomat Shashi Tharoor. They took to X, formerly known as Twitter, with alacrity. It is rumoured that both the CPI/CPM and the Congress are also financed by the Chinese now that the Soviets are out of business. And pleasing ones benefactors is mandatory.

Both tried to paint the sedition of Newsclick in terms of an attack on press freedom, and freedom of expression and called it the action of an undeclared emergency by the ruling dispensation. Various Left-leaning journalists decided to sit in the decrepit Press Club yard in New Delhi on plastic chairs in silent protest.

In a series of efforts, national and international, to destabilise the NDA government and get rid of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, another programme is in the works. It is designed to stir the caste cauldron in a manner not seen since the Mandal Commission Report was released by an opportunist VP Singh 30 years ago. Fiery protests erupted then, soon after, and made short work of VP Singhs prime ministership. But the new effort has learned nothing from that history. If it backfires, the Hindu voter could cling more desperately to the BJP for faith and succour.

Nevertheless, three decades later, Nitish Kumar hanging on to his chief ministership by his fingernails has released a caste census for Bihar. This is after many failed initiatives such as his leaky and farcical attempts at prohibition to please the female voter. Congress-ruled Karnataka may well be next to release a caste census that will annoy both the Vokkaligas and the Lingayats. Do they understand the implications?

This follows on from virulent attacks on Sanatan Dharma by MK Stalins son Udhayanidhi Stalin, and several other DMK ministers. The chief minister of Tamil Nadu meanwhile provides full support to the process. All of it is meant to attack the monolithic approach to the Hindu vote bank by the BJP. This has resulted in most Hindus voting for the BJP in 2014 and 2019. The looming election of 2024 is seen as a do-or-die contest by the Opposition alliance I.N.D.I.A.

The Ayodhya Ram Temple to be inaugurated in January 2024 is also deeply worrying for the Opposition. So is the possibility of a Uniform Civil Code and One Nation One Vote, all seen to favour the ruling NDA, if implemented.

So now, the idea is to shatter the perception of a unified Hindu vote bank into many caste shards. Rahul Gandhi is eager to woo the OBC and Dalit/Mahadalit sections, which constitute some two-thirds of the total in most states. This is apparently up from the Mandal Commissions 52 per cent. He has coined a new slogan  Jitna Abadi, Utna Huq in more or less record time.

His haste has quite ignored his, and indeed most of the Oppositions assiduous wooing of the Muslim minority vote since the very beginning. Prime Minister Narendra Modi was quick to point this out and wondered what was to become of the Muslims under the Opposition rule. This, even as he promised to look after them as part of his Sabka Vikas, Sabka Vishwas umbrella.

Is I.N.D.I.A abandoning the maximum of 17 per cent of Muslims nationally, in favour of the 66 per cent of Hindus under the various backward castes? Is the desire to wrest them away, particularly the Mahadalits who have been voting en masse for the BJP, now overwhelming? Or do they believe the Muslims have nowhere else to go anyway?

Can they possibly succeed? What will their credibility be if they fail, given their poor grassroots organisation, and not enough time left to make the new pitch stick? Could it all go horribly wrong, as it did for VP Singh by stirring up the aspirations of the neglected, without any of them being met?

It is true that reservations have only worked fitfully in all the years they have been used, with the creamy layer within the caste groups garnering the benefits. The concept of any of it reaching the last man has been no more than theoretically possible, so far.

Also, stirring up the demand for reservations may mean reservations for too many for any of it to be meaningful. Can reservations already given to some be withdrawn in favour of others? Cutting into reservation blocks  as is the demand from the Congress and others in the Womens Reservation Bill just passed after 27 years of wrangling and non-starter attempts  could leave all sides disgruntled.

This entire caste census and its aftermath, reservations within reservations like so many Matrushka Dolls, could be the opening of a Pandoras Box. Many analysts have begun to point this out.

The Communists have little to lose. They only control Kerala now and seem in no danger of losing it. So, taking a Trotskyist line on the means justified by the intended ends suits them. The Congress is taking a bigger and wilder gamble and could come unstuck. The TMC is not in favour of this caste ploy because it is well entrenched with the Muslim minority in West Bengal. The DMK is strong in Tamil Nadu and has cast the Sanatan Dharma calumny as a contribution to the I.N.D.I alliance for what it is worth, and a sneer at the Cow Belt North. It does not have ambitions outside the state and is not receiving any criticism over this overt attack against high-caste Hindus from its chief rival  the AIADMK. Besides the Stalins, others in DMK are quite largely Christian.

Leon Trotsky was the chief theorist of the early Russian Revolution known for his seeming ideological flexibility. After the early demise of Lenin soon after the Communists came to power, the pragmatic Joseph Stalin, from peasant and non-intellectual stock, had no use for Trotskys sophistry. Trotsky fled to Mexico fearing for his life, but Stalins goons found him there and killed him.

The Indian Communists practice a form of Trotskyism all the time, speaking against caste and religion when it suits their objective and the opposite at a time like this. They feel safe in the knowledge that they are unlikely to be assassinated here in India. So why not exploit the benefits of democracy by calling it the worst kind of fascism? And why not take from the Chinese when they offer it? Trotsky once said, to paraphrase the cynicism of his thinking, lay out the various lies in front of me and I will pick out the truth from amongst them. His exact quote was Tell me anyway- maybe I can find the truth by comparing the lies.

Sitaram Yechury, with the most Hindu of names, a Brahmin as it happens, is not only a survivor but a good student of Leon Trotsky.

The writer is a Delhi-based political commentator. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely that of the author. They do not necessarily reflect News18s views.
ASTANA, Kazakhstan, October 5. Shell is the largest British oil and gas company and the 11th largest public company in the world. It has invested more than $18 billion in the economy of Kazakhstan, strengthening its position as one of the largest foreign investors in the country, said President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev at an event dedicated to the 30th anniversary of the Shell concern in Kazakhstan, Trend reports.

As he noted, Shell, together with other partners, is actively involved in the implementation of large-scale oil and gas projects in Kazakhstan. The company is the operator of Karachaganak, one of the largest oil and gas condensate fields in the world. Timely implementation of the stages of the Karachaganak Expansion Project helps maintain liquid hydrocarbon production at the level of 1011 million tons.

"The coordinated work of the Shell concern and other shareholders made it possible to launch the "project of the century," Kashagan said. Today, the North Caspian project provides almost 20 percent of oil production in the country, playing an important role in the global energy market. In addition to the production of hydrocarbons, the creation of infrastructure for their transportation to world markets is of great importance. The first such successful project was the Caspian Pipeline Consortium. Leading oil companies such as Chevron, ENI, Shell, Lukoil, and a number of others took part in its implementation," the President noted.

Kassym-Jomart Tokayev noted that the presence of transnational oil and gas corporations in Kazakhstan shows the investment attractiveness of our country, in particular the stability of legislation in the field of protecting the rights and interests of investors.
With regard to the current fracas with Canada, for which the reasons are very serious, two things stare us in the face: one is an incontrovertible fact, and the other is thus far an unproven allegation. The fact is that Canada has for decades gradually become a confirmed haven for Khalistani extremism, directed against the sovereignty and integrity of India.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau recently made the allegation that there is human and signal intelligence of Indias complicity in Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjars murder. He said that Canada had got a tip-off of this from one of the Five Eyes countriesUSA, UK, Australia, and New Zealand, apart from Canada itself. India emphatically denied this allegation, and Trudeau has so far not provided concrete proof underlying his inflammatory allegation.

But Indias accusation of Canada encouraging, nurturing, and promoting terrorism directed against a friendly country, is there for the world to see. As far back as 1971, Dr Jagjit Singh Chouhan announced himself as the President of Khalistan while residing in Canada, and gave a full-page ad in The New York Times to proclaim this. Not surprisingly, the then Pakistan PM Zulfiqar Bhutto immediately offered him support. Nor can the world forget that the biggest terrorist action prior to 9/11 was the bombing of Air India flight Kanishka from Montreal to New Delhi in 1985, where 328 people were killed. The terrorist organisation, Babbar Khalsa, operating out of Canada, publicly took credit for this heinous act of terror.

The then PM Pierre Trudeau, father of Justin Trudeau, was credibly accused of sheltering the head of Babbar Khalsa, Talwinder Parmar. He refused Indias request to extradite Parmar, on the quaint groundas Canadian journalist Terry Milewski in his book Blood for Blood: Fifty Years of the Global Khalistan Project has recordedthat India was insufficiently deferential to former British Queen Elizabeth, head of the Commonwealth organisation, and also the titular head of state of Canada.

His son Justin has carried this lethal terrorist bias to a new level. The reasons are not compelling, but cynical expediency does not care if they are. Canadian citizens of Indian origin constitute only 3.76 per cent of the population. Numerically, Hindus and Sikhs are roughly evenly divided: some 800,000 Sikhs comprise 2.1 per cent of the population and 820,000 Hindus the rest, along with some other minor denominations. The Sikhs, largely concentrated in British Columbia, contribute 8 to 10 seats to the Canadian Parliament consisting of 338 seats. As per the voting pattern, 80 per cent of the Sikhs voted for Trudeaus Liberal Party.

While the Sikh support is important in closely contested elections, and far above their size in funding the Liberal Party, their representation in Trudeaus cabinet is completely disproportionate to their numerical or electoral strength. In Trudeaus cabinet of 30 members, 4 are Sikhs, over 10 per cent as against a population of 2.1 per cent. Significantly, they hold key portfolios: Harjeet Sajjan is the Defence minister, Navneet Bains is the minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development, Amarjeet Sohi is the minister of Infrastructure, and Bandeep Chaggar is a junior minister in charge of Tourism. Of these, Harjeet Sajjan is the son of Kuldip Sajjan, a board member of the extremist World Sikh Organisation; and Amarjeet Sohi, earlier a bus driver in India, was in jail in Punjab for two years in the 1980s for his terror-related activities.

Canada does not deny that Nijjar entered the country by giving a false background. The country is also aware that he was the leader of the extremist Khalistan Tiger Force, worked closely with Gurpatwant Singh, head of the banned Canadian chapter of Sikhs for Justice, and was in active contact with the ISI in Pakistan from which he also received funds. He was also openly backing the short-lived secessionist career of Amrit Pal, the Bhindranwale look-alike who mysteriously surfaced recently as the militant head of Waris Punjab De. Further, India had given Canada evidence of Nijjars hand in targeted killings in India, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) had openly declared him a terrorist, and Interpol had issued a Red Corner Notice against him. In spite, of all this, he was not reigned in.

While accusing India, Canadian police could not but have known that Nijjar was involved in a bitter dispute on the control of a Gurudwara with Ripudaman Singh Mallick, son of an accused in the Air India bombing case, but later acquitted. Given this, his murder could well be a consequence of internecine warfare within a section of the Sikh community.

The international community is committed to fighting terrorism. In 1999, the UN passed the International Convention for the Suppression of Terrorism, which pledges to enhance international cooperation among States in developing and adopting effective measures for the prevention of financing of terrorism, as well as for its suppression through the prosecution and punishment of the perpetrators. (Emphasis mine). In 2001, the UN Security Council adopted Resolution 1373 under Chapter VII of the UN Charter, obligating States to implement more effective counter-terrorism measures on the national level and to increase international cooperation in the struggle against terrorism. There are many other treaties as well, and the Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism is under advanced negotiation at the UN.

Canada has done little to curb verifiable terrorist activities against India; it has become the hub for money laundering for Khalistan groups to finance terrorism. India has kept it consistently informed about its soft and ineffective approach to curb this terrorism. On the contrary, Canada has, for electoral politics, encouraged Sikh terrorism, even though the overwhelming bulk of Sikhs and Hindus in Canada are peace-loving and law-abiding citizens. Nor has Khalistan any traction in Punjab today, so the defence that it is a liberation movement and must enjoy freedom of speech is just a cover-up.

There has to be a limit to double standards. The ambivalent though calibrated stand taken by the US in this matter, and that of other countries of the rich white mans club of nations, is a classic example of such hypocrisy. If a friendly country was complicit in using terrorism to encourage the break-up of the US, would it heed homilies before decisively taking action against it? The fact that India has not done so thus far should not mean that such a license to act only lies with the Western countries. Canada, even if its a member of the exclusive G7 and a part of the Five Eyes anglophone intelligence club, should have been warned about its promotion of terrorism against India, much earlier by these very countries.

A final word. The province of Quebec in Canada had in the second half of the last century a very active separatist movement for an independent State. The culture of Quebec is French and 78 per cent of its population speaks French. French President Charles de Gaulle in 1967 made a public appeal for its independence while on a visit to Canada. Did Canada approve of it? Today, Trudeau is, directly or indirectly, doing the same with regard to fringe Khalistani supporters who threaten the integrity of India.

How can India then be wronged for its condemnation of such State-supported terrorism, and quietly accept Trudeaus unproven allegation? Our governments should have raised this matter publicly long before, but it is good that we are finally doing the right thing now.

The author is a former diplomat, an author and a politician. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely that of the author. They do not necessarily reflect News18s views.
The Western media has been unsurprisingly doubling down on Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeaus allegation that Indian agencies are behind the killing of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Surrey, British Columbia, Canada.

The latest in this wave of criticism of India and Narendra Modi from the Anglosphere of the US, UK and Canada  nervous about its waning influence and the emergence of a multipolar world  is from the Financial Times, UK.

But allowing India to commission a murder on Canadian soil  if that is what happened  would pose a much more immediate danger to national security than a temporary setback in efforts to counter China, writes Gideon Rachman. If the Indian government concluded that it now has a free hand to go after its enemies  foreign and domestic  wherever they are living, that would create a really dangerous precedent for multicultural societies such as Canada, Britain and Australia.

It follows criticism from senior journalist Fareed Zakaria, who says the incident has unleashed a spasm of jingoism in India. He cautions that the controversy may hurt Indias ambition on the world stage.

Todays last look: why Trudeaus startling allegations are playing out very differently in Modis India pic.twitter.com/brVKd0Qjzo Fareed Zakaria (@FareedZakaria) October 1, 2023

However, Zakaria rightly analyses that the Western outrage is playing out very differently in India, where it is only helping Modi. It paints India as a victim of foreign forces and the PM as the strong leader who is willing to give it back overtly or covertly.

But by and large, the Western media has lapped up Trudeaus allegations as an excuse to attack India. The Economist headlined: If India ordered a murder in Canada, there must be consequences. The Western countries have far too long acquiesced to the Indian governments abuses, it wrote.

But in its criticism, the chiefly Left-leaning Western media is subverting some of the lofty journalistic ideals they vociferously preach worldwide.

First, Western outlets unfailingly fail to mention what Khalistani terrorists have done. From assassinating an Indian PM and a CM to aviation historys biggest terror attack before 9/11, the Air India AI-182 bombing in 1985 which killed 329 people aboard, most of them Canadians  the list is long but never gets into Western coverage of the controversy.

Second, they also do not mention that Khalistani terrorists killed hundreds of Indians in the name of religion. On October 21, 1983, for instance, more than 100 Hindus were massacred in Gobindgarh. Just in the five months preceding Operation Blue Star in 1984, 294 Hindus were killed by Khalistanis, according to official figures. On May 10-11, 1985, 85 Hindus were killed in serial bomb blasts carried out by Khalistanis in Delhi, Haryana and UP.

Third, the Western media outlets have variously addressed Nijjar as a priest, plumber, and activist, but never flesh out the charges of terrorism, hit jobs in Punjab and conspiracy to kill a Hindu priest. They conveniently skip referring to the Interpol red corner notice against him, the fact that he had arrived in Canada on a fake passport and identity, and was put on a no-fly list.

Fourth, the Western media does not speak about the role of ISI in fanning and funding Khalistani terror, and how groups like Sikhs for Justice led by designated terrorist Gurpatwant Singh Pannu were linked to the ISIs Houston Network.

Fifth, the duplicity of the West on overseas hits and terrorism in general is appalling. It blames China, Russia, Saudi and now India for overseas assassinations while never mentioning the dozens of such killings by the US, Israel or even the UK. The West has arrogated itself the moral authority of certifying who is a terrorist and who is not. Canada, for instance, currently harbours not just dozens of Khalistani terrorists, but a few war criminals convicted in Bangladesh.

Sixth, Trudeau is presented as the epitome of liberalism and Canada as this wonderfully peaceful multicultural country when the truth is far from it. Besides harbouring terrorists and criminals, Trudeaus Canada has unleashed an era of authoritarian excesses. It recently feted a former Nazi in Parliament. It hounded protesters of the truckers movement, meting out draconian penalties and jail terms. Lately, Canada used one of the worlds most repressive online censorship schemes to force all online streaming services that offer podcasts to formally register with the government and permit regulatory controls.

Trudeau is trying to crush free speech in Canada. Shameful. https://t.co/oHFFvyBGxu Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 1, 2023

And lastly and most importantly, Justin Trudeau has not produced a shred of evidence so far on Indias involvement after making his reckless, ties-burning statement. The Western media does not think it is necessary.

Financial Times embodies this sense of entitlement. It recently wrote about Canada presenting evidence orally but India rubbishing it.

The Anglosphere still nurses its colonial hangover, believing that the onus is on former subjects to prove its wild, unsubstantiated allegations right, to never raise their voice, and to not embarrass it publicly. India is guilty of shattering all three expectations, and merrily so.

Abhijit Majumder is a senior journalist. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely that of the author. They do not necessarily reflect News18s views.
Modi said before the GHMC polls, Rao used to come to the airport to receive him with fanfare and show a lot of respect. (Image: Special Arrangement)
A police officer from the NYPD Highway Patrol looks to motorists drive through a flooded street after heavy rains as the remnants of Tropical Storm Ophelia bring flooding across the mid-Atlantic and Northeast, at the FDR Drive in Manhattan near the Williamsburg Bridge, in New York City, US. (Image: Reuters)
Actor-politician Pawan Kalyan has said that his Jana Sena Party (JSP) has come out of the BJP-led NDA to join hands with the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) for 2024 assembly elections.

Addressing a public meeting as part of his Varahi yatra at Pedana in Krishna district, he said he came out of NDA to support TDP in difficult times.

Despite difficulties, we had joined the NDA. Now we have come out and extended 100 per cent support to TDP because it is going through difficult times, he said, referring to the arrest of TDP leader and former chief minister N. Chandrababu Naidu in alleged skill development scam.

Pawan Kalyan, who had met Naidu in Rajahmundry Jail last month, said that Andhra Pradesh needs TDPs experience of four decades and the Jana Senas youth strength to fight. He exuded confidence that the TDP-JSP alliance will come to power in 2024.

This is the first time that Pawan Kalyan publicly declared that Jana Sena has come out of NDA. He had attended the NDA meeting held in Delhi on July 18. After the meeting, he had said that Jana Sena will support Prime Minister Narendra Modis vision.

Pawan Kalyan had earlier said that he was waiting for road map from BJP to throw Jagan Mohan Reddy-led government out of power. Apparently realising that BJP is not ready to join hands with the TDP again, Pawan Kalyan took the decision to go with the TDP.

The actor said in 2021 he took a decision to come together with like-minded parties to avoid split of votes to oust YSR Congress Party from power.

The Jana Sena leader recalled that in 2014 he extended support to Narendra Modi and Chandrababu Naidu for golden future of Andhra Pradesh. Almost 10 years have passed but unfortunately this could not be achieved. There is no use in regretting what happened. Past is past. Now we have to look towards future, he said.

Pawan Kalyan had campaigned for TDP-BJP alliance in 2014 elections. The alliance had come to power in the state. He, however, later distanced himself from both the parties for failing to deliver on the promise of special category state to Andhra Pradesh.

In 2018, TDP also snapped ties with the BJP, accusing the party of failing to fulfill the commitments made to the state.

Jana Sena contested 2019 elections in alliance with the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and the Left parties. However, the alliance had to bite the dust. Jana Sena could win just one seat in 175-member assembly. YSRCP stormed to power by bagging 151 seats while TDP, which went alone, won 23 seats. BJP, which had won four seats in 2014, drew a blank.

However, a few months after the elections, Pawan Kalyan revived his alliance with the BJP. For last couple of years, he had been making efforts to forge a grand alliance among TDP, BJP and Jana Sena.
Hitting back at Prime Minister Narendra Modi for saying he nipped in the bud Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Raos desire to be a part of NDA, BRS Working President K T Rama Rao has said it was in fact the other way around and the saffron party had sent feelers for an alliance in 2018.

In a message posted on social media platform X on Wednesday, Rama Rao said the BRS has never allied with anyone during polls ever since Telangana was formed, despite several requests. And in fact it is the opposition that have come together setting aside their ideological differences in an attempt to defeat the formidable KCR.

In 2018, Biggest Jhoota Party through its State President Dr K Laxman sent feelers to ally with BRS. Could the offer have been made without the approval of his Delhi bosses? Here is the then BJP state president making a statement on record, Rama Rao said, posting some old paper clippings suggesting that the then BJP Telangana chief Laxman had said his party was ready to support BRS (then TRS) if the latter fell short of a majority in the 2018 assembly polls.

Refuting Rama Raos comments in the post, BJP Rajya Sabha MP Laxman said they were made with ill intentions and aimed at resorting to false propaganda.

During the GHMC polls, BRS had a tie-up with AIMIM and together they got the mayor seat BJP would never encourage or have alliance with any family run or dynastic political party, Laxman said in a statement on Wednesday.

Rama Rao, however, further alleged that political tourists with selective amnesia who are fabricating stories should know about the BJPs alleged overtures and said the BRS had rejected the offer outright the very next minute it was made.

Modi had on October 3 at a public rally said he had rejected a request from Chandrasekhar Rao to join the NDA, after the Hyderabad Municipal Corporation elections in 2020, citing his deeds. The PMs remarks were vehemently refuted by the ruling BRS, while Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, in a message posted on X on Tuesday, took the opportunity to reiterate that, according to him, the BRS and BJP indeed have an understanding. The prime minister has openly accepted what he (Rahul) had said at a rally last month that the BRS stands for BJP Rishtedaar Samiti, Rahul Gandhi said on X.

Rama Rao in his post asked why the BRS should ally with a party (BJP) which couldnt even keep its deposit in 105 assembly segments. He added, Why does BRS need support of BJP in GHMC elections when we had the strength to form on our own?
Congress and the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) engaged in a poster war on social media as both national parties gear up for assembly elections in five states and 2024 Lok Sabha polls.

X, formerly Twitter, account of Congress on Wednesday posted a picture of Prime Minister Narendra Modi with the caption The Biggest Liar and another calling him a Jumla Boy, who was going to hit the election rally soon.

Going to hit the election rally soon. pic.twitter.com/GCWWr2bwxi Congress (@INCIndia) October 4, 2023

In a sharp retort, the BJP on its official handle on X shared a poster of Gandhi with several heads with the title Bharat Khatre Mein Hai  A Congress party production. Directed by George Soros. The new age Ravan is here. He is Evil. Anti Dharma. Anti Ram. His aim is to destroy Bharat, the BJP said on X.

The new age Ravan is here. He is Evil. Anti Dharma. Anti Ram. His aim is to destroy Bharat. pic.twitter.com/AwDKxJpDHB BJP (@BJP4India) October 5, 2023

The BJP poster drew a strong reaction from the Congress general secretary in charge of communications Jairam Ramesh, who said, it intends to incite and provoke violence against the former Congress chief whose father and grandmother were assassinated by forces that want to divide India.

What is the real intent of an atrocious graphic portraying Rahul Gandhi as Ravan by the BJPs official handle? It is clearly intended to incite and provoke violence against a Congress MP and a former President of the party, whose father and grandmother were assassinated by forces that want to divide India, he said in a post on X.

What is the real intent of an atrocious graphic portraying @RahulGandhi as Ravan by the BJPs official handle? It is clearly intended to incite and provoke violence against a Congress MP and a former President of the party, whose father and grandmother were assassinated by forces Jairam Ramesh (@Jairam_Ramesh) October 5, 2023

It is one thing for the PM to give evidence daily of being a pathological liar and of suffering from a narcissistic personality disorder. But for him to get his party to produce something this obnoxious is not just completely unacceptable, but is downright dangerous, Ramesh said. We will not be intimidated, the Congress leader also asserted.

Later, Indian Youth Congress president Srinivas B V posted another poster on X portraying PM Modi as MODANAV. The new age MODANAV is here. He is Evil. Anti Democracy. Anti Constitution. Anti People. Anti Humanity. His only aim is to destroy Bharat and the idea of INDIA, he said on X along with the poster titled Hindustan Khatre mein hai  MODANAV. A Bharat Jumlebaaj Party production. Directed by Param Mitra Adani.

The new age MODANAV is here. He is Evil. Anti Democracy. Anti Constitution. Anti People. Anti Humanity.His only aim is to destroy Bharat & the idea of INDIA. https://t.co/eEXAOWtlaY pic.twitter.com/xaTYJ59qxl  Srinivas BV (@srinivasiyc) October 5, 2023

Earlier in the day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi hit out at Congress for eulogizing only one family, saying that the country did not get independence or achieve development solely because of it.

He said Congress scams used to make headlines every day before 2014 when the BJP came to power at the Centre. After 2014, Modi cut their commission We have destroyed Congress corruption structure, he added.

Projects worth Rs 12,000 crores of rupees have been inaugurated in the state. Be it a water and gas pipeline or a four-lane road network, it will change the lives of lakhs of people. It will benefit the farmers and new factories will be set up. Youth will get employment, he said.

PM Modi said that the Centre used technology to remove the fake names of 11 crore people from the government offices who were taking the share of poor people.

(with PTI inputs)
Amid the ongoing debate over caste census, Union Minister Kiren Rijiju on Wednesday slammed Congress leader Rahul Gandhi for his jitni abadi utna haq (greater population, greater rights) remark and listed the consequences of providing rights based on the population for states with lesser number of residents.

Rijiju claimed that with his remark, the Congress leader is playing with fire as the demand for the distribution of rights based on the population would deprive minorities of opportunities in nation-building.

Rahul Gandhi is playing with fire. His call for Jitni Abaadi-Utna Haq will kill India States like Arunachal Pradesh, Hilly North-Eastern States, Ladakh & thousands of tiny communities whos population are less will be deprived of everything Difficult border areas will never get development since very few people can live in rugged mountains; unfavorable areas.. Minorities of India would never get opportunity in nation building, the BJP leader said in a post on his official X handle.

Rahul Gandhi is playing with fireHis call for Jitni Abaadi-Utna Haq will kill India States like Arunachal Pradesh, Hilly North-Eastern States, Ladakh & thousands of tiny communities whos population are less will be deprived of everything Difficult border areas will https://t.co/qlvEqIb8l6 Kiren Rijiju (@KirenRijiju) October 4, 2023

He also claimed the Congress leaders stance shows his desperation for power.

Ruhul Gandhi has openly started Doing things and Saying words which can potentially destroy our country, Rijiju added.

Following the announcement of Bihars caste-based census, Congress has been demanding a nationwide caste census and greater representation of Other Backward Classes (OBCs) based on their population.

In a post on X, Rahul Gandhi raised the slogan of jitni abadi utna haq as Congress new pledge and said it is important to know the caste statistics of India.

The caste census of Bihar has revealed that OBC SC ST are 84% there. Out of 90 secretaries of the Central Government, only 3 are OBC, who handle only 5% of Indias budget! Therefore, it is important to know the caste statistics of India. Jitni Abadi Utna Haq  this is our pledge, Gandhi posted on X on Monday.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday referred to crime against women in Rajasthan, the red diary of alleged corruption by Ashok Gehlot government and riots during his address in Jodhpur.

Have you heard about the red diary? People say that the diary has details of corruption by Congress government but the grand old party will never let the details of the diary be revealed. Only BJP government can unravel the mystery of the red diary, the PM said.

#WATCH | Jodhpur, Rajasthan | PM Narendra Modi says, "In five years, Congress Government did not walk even one step. The 'kursi ka khel' continued here round the clockHave you heard about 'Lal Diary'? People say that the diary contains every misdeed of Congress' corruption. pic.twitter.com/ebIuD3dOf1 ANI (@ANI) October 5, 2023

Giving the slogan of BJP aayegi, dange rukwayegi, PM Modi asked when what was chief minister Ashok Gehlot doing when Jodhpur was burning in the fire of riots.

Be it Ram Navami, Parshuram Jayanti or Hanuman Jayanti, there has been no place in Rajasthan where stone pelting did not take place on these occasions, the prime minister said.

Last year, communal tensions gripped Gehlots hometown Jodhpur hours before Eid, prompting the authorities to suspend mobile internet services and impose a curfew in 10 police stations areas of the city.

Tensions broke out over putting up of Islamic flags on the Jalori gate circle, which led to stone pelting in which five policemen were injured.

Shops, vehicles and houses were pelted with stones near the Jalori gate area.

Members of a minority community were installing Eid flags and they put up a flag on a roundabout alongside the statue of freedom fighter Balmukund Bissa.

This led to a confrontation as members of the other community alleged that a saffron flag, which they had put up there ahead of Parshuram Jayanti, had gone missing. The issue snowballed into stone pelting and clashes, officials had said.

Further, PM Modi congratulated the makers of the movie The Vaccine War for showcasing great work of our scientists. The film shows how our scientists worked day and night to make the Covid-19 vaccine. Every Indian is feeling proud after watching the movies, the prime minister said.
Mehmaan aaye hain (Some guests have arrived). This is how AAP MP Sanjay Singh and his wife Anita were woken up by a member of their household at 6:45am on October 4. The former got up to greet the guests, curious who it could be at such an early hour, while his wife went back to bed wondering the same.

The guests who had landed at the Rajya Sabha MPs official residence in North Avenue were officials from the Enforcement Directorate.

Later that evening, after day-long questioning, Sanjay Singh was placed under arrest under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) in connection with the EDs money laundering probe into the 2021-22 Delhi Excise policy case.

A member of Sanjay Singhs household told News18 on condition of anonymity that one of the first things ED officials did on arrival was to seize the phones of everyone present, including the one belonging to the lawmakers wife. And then the searches began.

Some officials searched the house, including the wardrobes, briefcases, shelves etc. They also had some questions for Anita Singh, including whether she had the contact numbers for Dinesh Arora, Amit Arora and Vijay Nair on her phone. While the ED officers went through her phone, they found a number against the name Vijay. It turned out to be the number of one of AAPs poorest and most loyal supporters  a rickshaw-puller who is now deceased. Before leaving, the officials returned Anita Singhs phone, but sealed and seized Sanjay Singhs phone.

The first hint from ED officials that the AAP MP could be arrested came between 4:45pm and 5pm. Singh then prepared his family members for the same and recorded a video message that was later shared widely. He had to reportedly record the message twice as the first one was recorded on the phone of a domestic help which had escaped the notice of ED officers.

In fact, according to the staff member at the residence quoted above, officials told Singh: You were expecting us since you had put up a poster. They were referring to a poster purportedly put up by Sanjay Singh that said Welcome, ED Officers.

On Thursday morning, Sanjay Singhs father Dinesh Singh, a retired schoolteacher, told News18 that he isnt worried about his sons arrest. Such a samajdhdar sashak (clever leader) has come, so the struggle should be long. For me, this is not a big issue. This is a big issue for those whose IQ and intelligence is weak. For a clean person, this is not a big issue. A positive result will come from the court, he said.

Activist Raghu Thakur was among the first visitors at Singhs 131, North Avenue residence the morning after his arrest. I have known Sanjay Singh since childhood. Whether it is seven months, seven years or 70 years This will have no impact on Sanjay. He will be always be the same person. He will not be adversely affected by this.

Recalling a story from the Emergency days, Thakur said: Emergency was imposed on June 25, 1977 and the next morning Jayaprakash ji (Jayaprakash Narayan) was arrested from Delhi. In response to reporters questions, he had remarked vinash kaale, vipreet budhi.

Unlike the other two (Manish Sisodia and Satyendar Jain) who have been arrested, Sanjay Singh is not part of the government. He is part of the party and a Member of Parliament, Thakur pointed out, alleging that the BJP-ruled central government wants to suppress Singhs voice.

Asked whether the arrest will strengthen the Oppositions INDIA bloc, Thakur said: This has provided the fuel to the INDIA bloc. This has become the biggest issue  democracy vs dictatorship.

INDIA alliance constituents, including Congress, TMC, Samajwadi Party, Shiv Sena-UBT, CPI(M) and DMK, have spoken out in support of Sanjay Singh.

Shiv Sena-UBTs Sanjay Raut also visited the arrested MPs residence, saying he had come to express solidarity with the family of his friend and brother. He alleged that the Rajya Sabha member had been arrested on wrong allegations and told News18 that this was an attempt to weaken the INDIA bloc.

However the INDIA bloc will not be weakened. Sanjay Singh is not just an MP of the Aam Aadmi Party. He is our friend, our brother. He is a fighter like me.

Terming it a fight against tyranny, Raut claimed many more leaders will be arrested by 2024. This has already become an issue. In West Bengal, there have been raids today. There have been raids on the leaders of the DMK; in Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan and Karnataka too. However, raids will not happen in Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh.

Jitna bhi aap hamare upar ghav dalenge, hum utna mazbooth honge (The more you try to break us, the stronger we will become). We will not bend, the Shiv Sena-UBT leader responded when asked about the impact of Sanjay Singhs arrest on the INDIA bloc.
ASTANA, Kazakhstan, October 5. Deputies of the Senate of the Parliament of the Republic of Kazakhstan approved the law "On ratification of the Agreement on the establishment of the Turkic Investment Fund," Trend reports.

The initiative to establishment the fund was proposed by Azerbaijan during the informal summit of the Organization of Turkic States (OTS) in March 2021.

The agreement on the establishment of the Fund was signed within the framework of an extraordinary summit of the Heads of State of the Member States of the Organization of Turkic States on March 16, 2023, in Ankara.

The founders of the Fund are 5 member states of the Organization of Turkic States - Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Turkiye, Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan.

The initial capital of the Turkic Investment Fund will be $500 million. The obligatory share will be $350 million, that is, $70 million for each country. All members with equal shares will have an equal vote.

The Turkic Investment Fund is the first joint financial institution for economic integration in the Turkic world. Its goal is to promote the economic development of member states of the Organization by expanding inter-regional trade and supporting economic activity.
In the last one hand half years, the Eknath Shinde-Devendra Fadnavis government in Maharashtra has withdrawn five Government Resolutions (GR). Despite claiming to be better communicators, the state government is now facing the ire of the Opposition over the reasons behind withdrawing the GRs.

Since Ajit Pawar joined hands with the Shinde-Fadnavis government, the Mahayuti has always claimed to have very smooth communication among all three stakeholders. But, according to the reports, the government has withdrawn five GRs in different departments such as agriculture and education, in less than 1.5 years.

When the state agriculture department announced that Maharashtra has enough production of sugarcane, the revenue department later put restrictions on the inter-state sale of the crop. After the farmers protested governments move, the order was withdrawn.

In the 2022-23 sugar season, which ended on September 30, Maharashtra has produced 105 lakh tonnes of sugar, down 23% from a year ago due to rainfall.

In another instance, while giving loan of Rs 539 crore to six sugar mills, the finance department had put a condition that the directors of the sugar mills will have to take personal responsibility of the loan.

Few BJP leaders, who were directly and indirectly associated with these sugar mills, approached Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra and compliant against the move by Ajit Pawars department. Later, the condition was withdrawn by the finance department.

Shiv Sena Shinde faction leader and education minister Deepak Kesarkar received flak from schools and parents when his department decided that all schools in the state will have one uniform. The order was also later revoked.

When the state government took the decision to make new changes in the State Service Commission exams, the aspirants protested. The government then decided to implement the new changes from 2025.

In another case, the governments decision to distribute the land parcel of Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC), by which it would have supposedly earned around Rs 12,000 crore, was also withdrawn.

Maharashtra Congress chief spokesperson Atul Londhe has questioned the government over the withdrawal of GRs. This government works under the pressure of 50 khokha (a term used to describe crore rupees) given to their MLAs. This example shows lack of consensus between all stakeholders of this government. It is very much clear that they come together just for power nothing else.

Meanwhile, Anil Deshmukh, NCP (Sharad Pawar faction)s chief, said, I was part of many governments, but to date, I have never seen anyone rolling back on its decisions. We never functioned like this. This is happening because there is Triple Engine government in the state. This clearly shows that all three parties have very poor coordination while taking decisions.

News18 tried to reach out to the spokesperson(s) from the state government, but the call went unanswered.
Sanjay Singh News Updates: Dramatic scenes were seen during AAPs protest in Mumbai on Thursday as a scuffle broke out between the leaders and the police.

Barely 100 metres from the ED office, the policemen stopped AAP workers, infuriating them and leading to a clash. Many leaders were soon detained.

A similar protest is being held in front of the Bharatiya Janata Party headquarters in New Delhi. The agitations are against the arrest of Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh.

On the other hand, the BJP MPs, MLAs and senior leaders offered their prayers at Rajghat, a memorial complex dedicated to Mahatma Gandhi, to end the corrupt regime in Delhi.

The fresh AAP vs BJP and the protests come a day after AAP leader Sanjay Singh was arrested by ED in connection with its money laundering probe linked to the 2021-22 Delhi Excise policy case.

The developments came as a jolt to Delhis ruling party after its third top leader was held by a central agency in over a year.

The arrest of 51-year-old Singh, who became the second high profile leader of the Aam Aadmi Party to be nabbed in the case relating to the now scrapped Excise policy after former deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia, sparked a political slugfest between the Arvind Kejriwal-led party and the Bharatiya Janata Party.

Delhi minister Satyendar Jain was arrested by the ED on May 30, 2022 in a separate money laundering case.

Sanjay Singhs Arrest in Points

 A protest of AAP workers in Chandigarh turned unruly after the leaders breached barricades, resulting in water cannons being used by the police.

#WATCH | Chandigarh: Police use water cannons against the Aam Aadmi Party workers protesting against the arrest of AAP MP Sanjay Singh.Singh was arrested yesterday evening following the ED raid at his residence in connection with the Delhi excise policy case. pic.twitter.com/x0BR40qFND  ANI (@ANI) October 5, 2023

 Union minister Anurag Thakur on Thursday said the deputy chief minister of Delhi and others have landed up in jail in connection with an excise policy case and the turn of its kingpin, who is still out, will also come. Thakur targeted the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) led by Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, claiming that those who were elected to power by raising the slogan of India against corruption have now been found steeped in corruption.

 Singh is expected to be produced before a local court in Delhi on Thursday where the ED will seek his custodial interrogation.

 Singhs arrest came a day after a Delhi court had allowed Raghav Magunta, son of YSR Congress Party Lok Sabha MP Magunta Srinivasulu Reddy, and Delhi-based businessman Dinesh Arora to turn approver in the money laundering case connected to the alleged Delhi excise policy scam.

 Several members of the opposition bloc INDIA rallied behind Singh, with Nationalist Congress Party(NCP) supremo Sharad Pawar saying the arrest will further strengthen the new alliance that was formed to take on the BJP in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

 CM Kejriwal, along with party leaders, including Somnath Bharti, Atishi, Saurabh Bharadwaj and Delhi Mayor Shelly Oberoi, visited Singhs residence after his arrest.

 Speaking to reporters afterwards, he asserted that the AAP is a hardcore honest party. We all know that the path of honesty is tough. If we become dishonest like them, all our problems will end. We are hardcore honest and that is why these problems are arising, Kejriwal said.

 Attacking the BJP-led central government, Kejriwal said more than 1,000 raids have been carried out as part of the investigation in the excise policy case but not a penny of ill-gotten wealth has been found.
Google Pixel 8 series was announced on Wednesday and the phones are coming to India as well. There was a lot of talk around Googles AI tech and the cameras. But the important stuff came pretty much at the end, when Rick Osterloh, SVP, Devices & Services at Google shared the update about software support.

He announced that the Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro will get 7 years of OS upgrades, which effectively keeps the Pixel 8 series relevant in the market till 2030.

Apple has been the market leader with iOS support of 5 years for iPhones and stayed true to its promise all this while. But the big news from Google means it has overtaken Apple by a couple of years, which could make Pixels all the more appealing to buyers.

Google has started using its own Tensor chip since the Pixel 6 series was launched. And now it feels capable enough of handling longer software support for the phones. Using your own hardware has paid rich dividends for Apple, allowing better control over performance and other aspects.

Even though Google operates in an open-source world, the Pixels version of Android is probably one of the best in the market, because it has full control over its engineering and performance. It is good to see Google change its stance on OS updates but we still have a few questions for the company. First up, does 7 years of OS updates mean you will get 7 Android versions on the Pixel 8 series phones, and how many of these will get security updates?

Secondly, what about the other Tensor-powered Pixel phones, wont they get more OS updates? Were hoping for some more clarity on this from Google which could help people decide whether they want to invest in the new Pixel phones.

And once were done figuring out these technical aspects, we would like to understand if these phones will be able to handle the load of daily usage for these many years and still offer reliable performance. After all, nobody these days uses phones for more than 3-4 years. Bringing 7 years of updates is well and good but only if the device can last that long.
Google has wrapped up its Made by Google 2023 event, where it launched the new Pixel 8 series of smartphones and the new Pixel Watch 2. But the highlight of the event has to be the Pixel 8 Pro. Not only has Google followed a different strategy this time around by reserving exclusive features for the Pro modelsjust like some of its rivalsbut it has also made sure to market those features (mostly the camera) heavily.

So, while not a lot has changed in terms of aesthetics compared to the Pixel 7 series, the Pixel 8 Pro promises a lot of changes under the hood compared to the Pixel 7 Pro. Here, lets compare the specifications and features of the phone based on what Google has revealed so far.

Pixel 8 Pro vs Pixel 7 Pro: Specifications and Features

The major difference has to be the Tensor chipset used. In the Pixel 8 Pro, Google has gone with the Tensor G3the third-generation Tensor chipset, while the Pixel 7 Pro has the Tensor G2. Google says this new processor supports more machine learning algorithms than before and is, of course, better at things like generative AI.

Both phones have a 6.7-inch QHD+ OLED panel with a 120Hz refresh rate, but this year, Google has introduced a new Super Actua display with a peak brightness of 2400 NITS in the Pixel 8 Promaking it brighter than the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra (1750 NITS) and the new iPhone 15 Pro (2000 NITS). The Pixel 7 Pro has a display with a peak brightness of 1500 NITS.

The RAM and storage options remain the same this yearwith 12GB of RAM and storage up to 512GB.

Coming to the optics, the Pixel 8 Pro gets brand new sensors in the form of the new 48MP ultrawide, a new 5X 48MP telephoto, and the updated 50MP main camera. While the Pixel 7 Pro also has a triple-camera setup, it comes with a 12MP ultrawide, 48MP telephoto, and the 50MP main camera. And this year, the front 10.5MP camera of the Pixel 8 Pro gets autofocus.

Apart from hardware changes, the Pixel 8 Pro comes with a slew of software features that promise a better camera experience with features like NightSight in video, Audio MagicEraser, and the Magic Editor. The Pixel 7 Pro also has its share of AI magic, but it is limited to features like MagicEraser and Photo Unblur.

Pixel 8 Pro vs Pixel 7 Pro: Price

With Googles new approach, the search giant has increased the price of the Pixel 8 Pro by $100, and now the Pixel 8 Pro costs $999, up from $899 in the US. In India, the Pixel 8 Pro now costs Rs 1,06,999up from Rs 84,999 that the Pixel 7 Pro retails for.

Pixel 8 Pro vs Pixel 7 Pro: Software Support

With the Pixel 8 series, Google is committing to 7 years of OS, security, and feature drop updates, which means that Pixel 8 devices will be supported until 2030 and will get Android 21. This has set a new benchmark for the industry to follow, and not even Apple offers this kind of support. In contrast, the Pixel 7 Pro gets 3 years of OS updates and 5 years of security patches.
Turkish strikes Thursday on military and infrastructure targets in Kurdish-held northeastern Syria killed at least nine people, Kurdish security forces said, after Ankara had threatened raids in retaliation for a bomb attack.

While Turkey regularly carries out drone attacks in Syrian Kurds semi-autonomous region, Ankara on Wednesday warned of more intense cross-border air raids, after concluding that militants who staged a weekend attack in the Turkish capital came from Syria.

Thursdays strikes on Hasakeh province killed six members of the internal security forces, a statement from the Kurdish forces media centre said.

Earlier, Farhad Shami, spokesman for the Kurdish-led, US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), the Kurds de facto army, had said the strike killed six workers at a brick factory.

He said another worker at a separate site in the province was also killed.

The statement from the Kurdish internal security forces also said two civilians were killed in a strike on a motorcycle.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based group with a network of sources on the ground, had reported earlier that a strike in the Hasakeh area hit a car, killing two people.

The US-backed SDF led the battle that dislodged Islamic State group fighters from their last scraps of Syrian territory in 2019.

Turkey views the Kurdish Peoples Protection Units (YPG) that dominate the SDF as an offshoot of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), which is listed as a terror group by Turkey and its Western allies.

Since Sunday, Turkey has launched strikes on PKK positions in northern Iraq, after two security officers were wounded in the Ankara attack, which was claimed by the PKK.

 Clear escalation 

There has been a clear escalation since the Turkish threats, Shami said, reporting intensive overflights of Kurdish-held areas of northeast Syria.

He said the strikes had targeted military and civilian sites including oil infrastructure.

AFP correspondents saw black smoke rising from oil sites near Qahtaniyeh, close to the Turkish border.

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan had alleged the perpetrators of Sunday attack outside the interior ministry in Ankara had been trained in Syria and warned of reprisals against Kurdish fighters in northeastern Syria.

It has become clear that the two terrorists came from Syria and were trained there, Fidan said in televised comments.

From now on, all infrastructure, large facilities and energy facilities belonging to (armed Kurdish groups) in Iraq and Syria are legitimate targets for our security forces, he added.

I recommend that third parties stay away from these facilities.

In the market of the city of Qamishli in Hasakeh province, vendors were anxiously following the escalation on their mobile phones and televisions.

Hassan al-Ahmad, a 35-year-old fabric merchant, said there were fewer people out than usual.

The situation is worsening every day. Turkey doesnt let us breathe, he said.

We just want our children to live in peace, he added.

 Take a stand 

The Kurdish administration called on the international community, the international coalition and Russia to take a stand capable of dissuading Turkey from its attacks.

The United States, Russia and Turkey all have troops in areas of the war-torn country.

SDF commander Mazloum Abdi denied Wednesday that the Ankara assailants had passed through our region.

Turkey is looking for pretexts to legitimise its ongoing attacks on our region and to launch a new military aggression, he said.

The threat to target the regions infrastructure, economic resources and populated cities is a war crime, he added.

Between 2016 and 2019, Turkey carried out three major operations in northern Syria against Kurdish forces.

Kurdish forces led the anti-IS offensive and are still supported by the United States.

State Department spokesperson Vedant Patel said the United States remains concerned about the military escalation in northern Syria.

In particular, were concerned about the impact on civilian populations and the effectiveness that it could place on the efforts that have been ongoing to defeat IS, he added.
US President Joe Bidens dog, Commander, is not presently on the White House campus following a series of biting incidents, a White House spokesperson said late Wednesday. The US Secret Service had acknowledged that 11 of its agents had been nipped, but CNN said the actual number was higher and that the dog had bitten other White House workers too.

They remain grateful for the patience and support of the U.S. Secret Service and all involved, as they continue to work through solutions, Elizabeth Alexander, the first lady Jill Bidens communications director, said in a statement, adding, Commander is not presently on the White House campus while next steps are evaluated.

The statement came hours after White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre was asked Wednesdays daily briefing about a fresh allegation that Commander had bitten a White House staffer.

Bidens dog Commander booted from White House as staff sound alarm over more attacks: We have to speak up https://t.co/q0mZ2V1Vr4 pic.twitter.com/qfca1gqMEU New York Post (@nypost) October 5, 2023

Jean-Pierre referred questions to the first ladys office, which said Commander and Dale Haney, the head groundskeeper at the White House, were playing and that no skin was broken in an incident that was photographed by a tourist and shared with a news organization, which published the image online.

The 2-year-old German shepherd was last seen Saturday on an upper balcony of the White House. Commander had been involved in a series of biting incidents, most recently on Sept. 25. A uniformed Secret Service officer was bitten at the White House that night and was treated by on-site by medical personnel, said USSS chief of communications Anthony Guglielmi.

The German shepherd purebred has bit or otherwise attacked Secret Service personnel at least 10 other times between October 2022 and January, including one incident that required a hospital visit by the injured law enforcement officer, according to records from the Department of Homeland Security.

Commander is the second of Bidens dogs at the White House that behaved aggressively, including biting Secret Service personnel and White House staff. They eventually sent the first dog, a German shepherd named Major, to live with friends in Delaware after those incidents.

The US Secret Service provides security protection for the president and his family, and scores of its officers are posted around the executive mansion and its sprawling grounds. Commander was a gift to Biden in December 2021 from his brother James. The family also has a cat, Willow.

(With agency inputs)
Eight Canadian youngsters were arrested this week in Brampton, Ontario, and charged with firearm-related offences as part of a crackdown on arms storage by local law enforcement. Sources within the community confirmed to CNN News18 that all the detained individuals are of Sikh descent.

On Monday evening, police responded to reports of shots fired in the city that has a significant South Asian population, particularly Sikhs. During the police operation, eight individuals were taken into custody. A day later, a 9mm Beretta firearm was also confiscated from their residence.

The police operation was initiated based on information provided by a source associated with a local Gurudwara. Reports indicate that these individuals were allegedly involved in procuring weapons with the intent of threatening the community. All aged between 19 and 26 have been charged with Possession of a Loaded Prohibited or Restricted Firearm.

The crackdown comes in response to recent incidents of gunfire in the area, prompting heightened vigilance from local authorities. Another such shooting incident was reported recently in Surrey. While the culprits remain unidentified, local Sikhs have not been ruled out as potential suspects.

Notably, the police crackdown in Brampton is not linked to any Khalistani movements but instead focuses on illicit drugs and weapon operations. As local authorities continue to probe this matter further, this latest crackdown gives credence to the claims made by India about how Canada has become a hub of criminal activity.
Kenyas St. Theresas Eregi Girls High School has temporarily closed its doors due to a mysterious illness that has gripped over 95 students, causing paralysis in their legs. The Africa News reported the exact cause of this ailment remains unknown and the Kenyan government is probing the matter.

Blood samples from the affected students have been sent to the Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI) for analysis to shed light on the nature and origin of the illness, the report said. The education department, county government, and public health department are committed to ensuring the children receive appropriate treatment, Jared Obiero, the regional director of education, was quoted as saying by Africa News.

Some media reports said the situation reached a critical point when students, grappling with the condition, demanded to go home. Initially, the school administration reported around 80 students hospitalised, but that number has now reached 95.

Mysterious illness breaks out at Eregi Girls School in Kenya as more than 90 students struggle to walk________Womanizing ShopRite NYSC Minne Kariuki Mmesoma Priscilla Sheldon #FeelVideo Arise TV Naira Marley Kemi Adeosun pic.twitter.com/ePHhQ6g5l6 GWG (@gwg_ng) October 4, 2023

Local reports said some of the affected students have been admitted to various hospitals, with 30 at Kakamega Level Five Hospitals, 20 at Shibwe Level Four Hospital, and 12 at Iguhu Level Four Hospital. Initial laboratory tests have indicated elevated electrolyte levels, suggesting fluid loss.

While the cause of this mysterious illness remains undetermined, some reports have attributed the incident to mass hysteria. Kenyan health officials are actively working to understand the ailments origin and develop appropriate treatment protocols for the affected students.
A Russian strike on Thursday killed at least 50 people gathered for a wake at a shop and cafe in an eastern Ukrainian village, officials said.

Interior Minister Igor Klymenko said the victims had gathered to remember a deceased villager in Groza in the Kharkiv region which has a population of 330.

He said a six-year-old child was among the victims, adding that 60 people had been attending the event in the village, more than 30 kilometres (18 miles) from the front line.

Unfortunately the toll in the village of Groza has risen to 50, he said, adding that initial evidence showed an Iskander missile had been used.

Footage published by the Ukrainian police showed a large area of rubble and bodies being taken away by emergency workers.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky posted an image of a woman kneeling over the body of someone apparently killed in the strike, with other corpses around her.

The search and rescue operation is ongoing, Klymenko said. There may still be people under the rubble.

Zelensky, who was attending a European summit in Spain, condemned the attack on social media.

The brutal Russian crime of hitting an ordinary grocery store with a rocket is a completely deliberate terrorist attack, he wrote.

The attack took place in the Kupiansk district of the war-battered region bordering Russia, where Moscows forces have been pushing to recapture territory they lost last year to Ukrainian troops.

 True evil 

The head of the Kharkiv region Oleg Sinegubov said the strike took place around 1:15 pm (1015 GMT).

The village is west of Kupiansk, a frontline town in the region where officials have recent ordered mandatory evacuations after an uptick in Russian strikes.

Zelenskys advisor Mykhailo Podolyak said the attack had no military logic.

This is a reminder to anyone who is willing to smile and shake hands with war criminal Putin at international conferences, he said, referring to Russian leader Vladimir Putin.

A reminder to all those who want to sell something to Russia and return to bloody business as usual, he said, adding: Putins Russia is a true evil.

Defence Minister Rustem Umerov said the strike showed Ukraine needed more air defence to protect our country from terror. We are discussing this with partners.

Large swathes of the Kharkiv region were captured by Russian forces in the early days of their invasion launched in February last year.

Ukrainian forces recaptured much of the border territory during a lightning offensive late last year, but the regional capital, also called Kharkiv, is still subjected to routine shelling.
Two people were killed in the US state of Oregon after a small plane precipitously dropped out of the sky and crashed through the roof of a home on Tuesday. This incident happened in the city of Newberg, about 25 miles southwest of Portland.

The small Piper PA-44 Seminole plane crashed around 6:45 p.m. Tuesday (local time), National Transportation Safety Board investigator Eric Gutierrez said at a news conference in Newberg on Wednesday. Multiple agencies responded, finding the plane in the back of a house.

Police said Barrett Bevacqua, 20 and Michele Cavallotti, 22 were the two victims found dead at the scene. Cavallotti was an instructor at the pilot training school Hillsboro Aero Academy and Bevacqua was a student pilot, police said in a news release. The third passenger, 20-year-old Emily Hurd, was airlifted to a hospital with serious injuries.

Dramatic video showed the plane rapidly descending straight down toward the ground. The aircraft crashed through the roof of a home with its wreckage strewn partially inside the house and in the backyard, Tualatin Valley Fire & Rescue said in a news release.

The #plane crashed onto the roof of a residential building in #Oregon.As a result of the crash, two people died and one was hospitalized with serious injuries. The residents of the house managed to leave the premises, there were no casualties among them. pic.twitter.com/T3JBOlliZM  Arthur Morgan (@ArthurM40330824) October 4, 2023

Multiple people were inside the home when the crash occurred, but they were able to evacuate safely, the release said. Nobody on the ground was injured. Search and rescue crews were sent to inspect the structural stability of the home. Neither the home nor the aircraft caught fire, officials said. The Red Cross is assisting the family that was displaced.

Micah Schauer, the 22-year-old Newberg resident who took the video of the plane spiraling downward, said he was leaving his home when he glimpsed what at first looked like a piece of cardboard falling from the sky.

I didnt think it was a real plane at all at first, Schauer said. It wasnt until about halfway through the 10-second video that the realization dawned on him, he said. In disbelief, he sent the video to his girlfriend and family. I sent a mass text, like, Is that real? Did this happen?  Schauer said. They were shocked. Schauer then went to the site of the crash, where a chaotic scene was unfolding.

Its such a small town, everybody wanted to go see it, he said. Life Flight ended up landing right next to me.  It was wild. Ive never seen anything quite like that, ever.

Authorities worked to get Hurd out of the plane first so she could be taken to a hospital and then turned to extricating the two others who had died, Patrick Fale, assistant chief of Tualatin Valley Fire & Rescue, said at the news conference.

It is not yet known why the plane crashed, officials said, adding that they didnt yet know if a distress call had been made. Gutierrez said investigators will review the planes maintenance records, pilot records and weather conditions at the time, among other things.

Gaining access to the plane was difficult because the majority of it remained in the house Wednesday morning, Gutierrez said. Crews were working to move the plane to a secure facility Wednesday afternoon where investigators could do a more thorough examination of the aircraft. It could take from 18 to 24 months for a plane crash report to be finished and released, Gutierrez said.

(With AP inputs)
A day after CNN-News18 reported Pakistans new refugee policy with plans to throw out over a million Afghan asylum seekers, Afghanistans defence minister launched a searing attack on the neighbouring nation.

While around 1.3 million Afghans are registered refugees in Pakistan and 880,000 more have legal status to remain, caretaker interior minister Sarfraz Bugti has alleged that a further 1.7 million Afghans are in Pakistan illegally.

Acting defence minister of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) Mawlavi Mohammad Yaqoob Mujahid said in Kabul on Thursday: The decision that Pakistan has taken, that it will deport Afghan refugees from Pakistan by November 1, is a very cruel and unjust decision. Stop this cruelty and brutality, this decision will worsen the situation between the two countries, and this effort that we both are making jointly, that we should fix things with each other, so with cruelty and brutality, we cannot move forward, and we wish, and we request the United Nations and other human rights organisations, to come to the field and stop the hands of Pakistan from this cruelty. It is barbarism, which will not be accepted in any case, and we appeal to stop it at all costs, and we request all the wealthy Afghans who are currently living in Pakistan, to remove your properties and wealth from Pakistan. Take it out and transfer it to Afghanistan, and destroy the economy that Pakistan has built on the shoulders of you people, and serve your Afghanistan and your people.

Pakistan is not a signatory to the 1951 Geneva Convention and its 1967 Protocol relating to the Status of Refugees. It governs the entry and presence of refugees under the countrys Foreigners Act, which allows authorities to apprehend, detain, and expel foreigners, including refugees and asylum seekers lacking proper documentation.

The brutality and barbarism of Pakistan against Afghan refugees is unbearable, said Mujahid. It is a great injustice, it is brutal and it cannot be justified in any way.

Pakistan has also banned the export of 212 items to Afghanistan under the Transit Trade Agreement. CNN-News18 has accessed the ministry of commerces notification on the issue, which includes items like 17 types of clothes, all types of vehicle tires, tea leaves, cosmetics, dozens of toiletries, nuts, dry and fresh fruits, refrigerators, air conditioners, juicers, and mixer blenders.
THE Department of Immigrations Regional Compliance and Enforcement Unit said yesterday it is not relenting on its quest to prevent criminals and illegal migrants/immigrants from accessing the transformed Beitbridge Border Post.

Figures from the department show that 2 383 people were turned away at the border, while 1 781 were arrested for various offences relating to illegal activities between Zimbabwe and South Africa in the last three weeks.

The on-going regional compliance operation, which is also supported by the local police, is meant to curtail criminal activities, among them border jumping, touting, the use of fake immigration stamps, and fake travel documents that are synonymous with a surge in human traffic.

The Head of Immigration Compliance and Enforcement at Beitbridge, Mrs Canisia Magaya said they were working with other border agencies who are part of the enforcement committee to deal with the problem of touts, vendors, and vagrants on the border.

She said they rounded up the offenders from the freight, bus and light vehicles and pedestrians terminals between September 12 and October 2.

We are not relenting on our quest to maintain safety and security of travellers and ensuring we have a flawless flow of traffic this festive season, said Mrs Magaya.

Our regional enforcement and compliance remains firm on the ground. We worked with other border agencies including the ZRP and between September 12 and October 2, they arrested 2 383 people for various border violation related offences.

Mrs Magaya said during the same period, a total of 288 people were refused entry into South Africa, while 276 could not enter Zimbabwe.

These include citizens from DRC, Egypt, Ethiopian, Malawi, Mozambique, Pakistan and other countries.

Some had no valid permits, no passports or no departure stamps from the sending countries.

We have deployed enough manpower and are targeting all known hotspots and areas, said Mrs Magaya.

At the same time, the department is urging travellers to continuously use the designated port of entry and exit for their own safety.

They should approach the immigration office should they have any questions or queries. The touts are always eager to pounce on them and take advantage of their lack of information on certain migration issues. We promise to make the border a safe transit point for their own good.

The compliance operation is ongoing and Mrs Magaya said they will not give the criminals breathing space.

By the end of the day yesterday, the enforcement teams were hard at work conducting spot checks of most vehicles and buses entering and leaving the country through the border.

The automation of services and separation of traffic at the transformed Beitbridge Border Post has become a game changer and enhanced efficiency and security systems at the countrys busiest port of entry. Herald
ROWDY Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) supporters allegedly unleashed a wave of terror  beating and destroying property belonging to Zanu PF members in acts of politically motivated violence triggered by their partys loss in a council run-off election held in Nyazura on Monday.

Three victims were seriously injured in the post-election melee, and are still hospitalised.

Makoni Rural District Council Ward 33 (Nyazura) went to a run-off election in which Zanu PF candidate, Cde Maxwell Japan, garnered 925 votes to beat CCCs Ms Priscilla Saruwaka who had 625 votes.

On August 23, the two candidates were tied at 953 votes, hence the need for a run-off which saw Cde Japan winning.

Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) Manicaland deputy provincial elections officer, Mrs Sekai Chiposi said Cde Japan was duly elected councillor for Makoni Rural District Council Ward 33.

Cde Maxwell Japan of Zanu PF had 925 votes while Ms Priscilla Saruwaka of CCC had 625 votes. Cde Japan was duly elected councillor for Ward 33. There were 12 rejected ballot papers and the percentage poll was 54.5 percent.

We announced the Ward 33 results in peace, and we do not know what happened in the streets, she said.

CCC Member of National Assembly for Makoni Central, Patrick Sagandira, was on Tuesday arrested together with Rusape Town Council Ward One councillor, Teddy Chipere and three other party members for allegedly assaulting Zanu PF members in Nyazura following the announcement of the results.

The violence allegedly broke out around 8pm.

Sagandira and Chipere were being jointly charged with Adam Tumbewe, Mollen Chihota and Moses Muswe.

They are being charged with public violence as defined in Section 36 (1) (a) of the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform,) Act, Chapter 9:23.

They all appeared before Rusape magistrate, Mrs Barbra Mateko, on Wednesday and were remanded in custody pending bail hearing yesterday.

The accused persons were not asked to plead.

Messrs Leonard Chigadza, Taurai Khupe and Walter Mangwende represented the five accused persons.

Ms Event Dhliwayo prosecuted, and strongly objected to the issuance of bail, arguing that the accused persons were not proper candidates for bail.

Ms Dhliwayo said the accused persons attacked Zanu PF members who were celebrating the partys run-off election victory.

On October 2, at around 8pm, Zanu PF supporters who included Vivian Mushunje, Tafadzwa Muzondo, Lucia Kanachi, Liberty Chimanga, Silas Mutsunguma, Tendai Sibanda, Mwaida Muzondo and Pamela Nyangombwe were celebrating their partys victory in the Ward 33 election run-off.

The accused persons confronted the Zanu PF supporters and assaulted them with sticks, stones, catapults, logs and hands. The Zanu PF supporters managed to escape and went to ZRP Nyazura where they filed a report, she said.

Ms Dhliwayo said the victims were taken to hospital and their medical examination reports can be produced in court as exhibits.

She said three complainants are still admitted in hospital.

In his bail application, Mr Chigadza said his clients were innocent and allegations were fabricated by their political rivals to fix them.

Mr Chigadza further argued that on the day in question, Sagandira never went to Nyazura. Manica Post
Water and sanitation services have to be improved following reports of fresh cholera outbreaks in parts of the country, including Harare.

On Tuesday, Zimbabwe reported 61 suspected cases, four confirmed cases of cholera and one suspected death.

The majority of the cholera cases reported on Tuesday were in Buhera district, the epicentre of the present outbreak, which had 47 cases. The other cases were reported in Chipinge which had six, Bikita three, Mutare City two, Zaka two and now Harare with one.

Yesterday, 40 new suspected cholera cases, one laboratory confirmed infection and one suspected death were reported. Buhera had 33, Chipinge three, Zaka three, and Mutare one.

As of yesterday, 78 cases are hospitalised at Bikita CTC 10, Chiredzi two, Zaka four, Buhera 45, Chipinge nine, Makoni one, Mutare one, Zvimba one, Mhondoro-Ngezi one, and Harares Beatrice Road Infectious Diseases Hospital four.

In a notice sent earlier this week, Harare City Council said five cholera cases had been confirmed in Hopely Zone 5, Stoneridge, Southlands, Granary, and Ardbennie, Mbare.

Harare City said three of the ill people had visited Buhera, but there could be infections contracted from local sources.

Harare residents yesterday said more could have been done by council to offer basic services like garbage collection and clean water provision to prevent the resurgence of the outbreak.

Mrs Shupikai Thompson from Mbare said the cholera outbreak in the city was a symptom of a collapsing service delivery system.

The policy making structures and implementation structures of the City of Harare have become totally disconnected from the ratepayers and from each other that no oversight is available to exert pressure on the other, she said.

Another resident, Ms Prudence Rukondo, accused the City Council of failing to provide clean potable water.

On one hand, the City Health Department is fighting disease outbreaks, yet at the same time the Harare water department is out in the communities disconnecting water to impoverished residents, she said.

Most councillors are figureheads, who are only serving the interests of the senior management in return for other monetary favours which accrue to them for overlooking management shortcomings.

Another resident, who preferred anonymity, said refuse collection was erratic across Harare and sewerage blockages were the order of the day in high density areas, causing disease outbreaks.

The reality of the situation is that the council lacks the seriousness expected of a city striving for a world-class city status by 2025 and there is poor resources allocation to prioritise health delivery and environmental conservation, she said.

Cholera is a waterborne disease that spreads through drinking water or eating food contaminated with the cholera bacterium, which causes severe diarrhoea and vomiting.

Zimbabwe recorded the worst cholera outbreak in 2008 and the last major one in 2018.

The current outbreak began in February this year and since then, Government has been implementing multi-sectoral interventions to curb the spread of the disease.

So far, 4 609 suspected cases have been recorded with 935 as confirmed cases.

However, the recovery rate has been impressive, with 4 401 recorded as of yesterday while 30 confirmed deaths and 100 suspected deaths have been recorded.

A policy research working paper commissioned by the World Bank, says sanitation risk, poverty, sewer burst density and incidence of imported cases are all risk factors for cholera.

Most suburbs in Harare have been affected by burst sewer systems and non-availability of water for years due to the incompetence of opposition councils, exposing people to the preventable disease.

Mr Tendai Moyo said council should deal with raw sewage that continuously flows in many suburbs.

Local authorities have a legislative and constitutional duty to provide potable water to residents, he added.

Harare City deputy mayor Clr Kudzai Kadzombe said council had put in place measures to curb the spread of cholera.

Council is working on increasing water production to ensure all suburbs receive running water. We have ensured that our infectious disease hospital is actually ready for any case that may arise, she said.

While urban areas have been affected, there are perceptions that the new cases being reported in areas like Buhera and Zaka districts are being fuelled by lack of sanitation services and unhygienic practices.

Zaka District has since suspended uncontrolled gatherings, church camp meetings, open markets, communal beer gatherings, while funeral gatherings of not more than 50 people will be supervised by the Ministry of Health.

Health and Child Care Minister Dr Douglas Mombeshora last week said the Government was committed to improving water and sanitation services to reduce the impact of diseases such as cholera.

In Zimbabwe we currently have an outbreak of cholera and this has also been reported in urban areas, which should not be the case. This is because there is poor management of waste by the city fathers.

Most boreholes in the high density suburbs have been found to be contaminated by faecal material. In the first place we should be providing safe drinking water to all our citizens in the urban areas, now we are finding the opposite.

People in the rural areas are the ones who have safe water, not water that is contaminated by faecal material. We are looking at addressing those issues of providing safe drinking water to our population, he said. Herald






Harare Magistrate Mrs Meenal Narotam has fined a United Nations employee US$300 after she found him guilty of physically abusing his girlfriend.

Tendai Matemadondo, who is based in Somalia had pleaded guilty to the charges.

In sentencing Matemadondo, Mrs Narotam suspended a three-month jail term before ordering him to pay a fine.

The complainant is Florence Phiri (37).

The court heard that on September 30, Phiri and Matemadondo were at Bush Baby Lodge in Harare when they had an altercation after he accused her of planning to kill his mother.

The court heard that Matemadondo pushed Phiri before she left the room.

On October 1, Phiri went back to Bush Baby Lodge and accompanied Matemadondo to his mothers house in Mandara in Harare.

After some time, Matemadondo became violent and started assaulting Phiri resulting in her sustaining bruises on her arm.

A report was made to the police leading to Matemadondos arrest. Herald
UPDATE

Oct 5, 2023 4:40 PM CDT

After several victims tearfully and angrily told the court about their ongoing trauma, a judge sentenced the man who sprayed a New York City subway car with bullets to life in prison. Frank James, 64, had pleaded guilty earlier this year to terrorism charges. A 51-year-old man said he had post-traumatic stress disorder and thoughts of suicide, the AP reports. His voice cracking, another man said, "I have not been able to make sense of it." A 21-year-old man began his testimony by speaking of forgiveness but broke down sobbing. "I can't do this," he said, then walked out of the courtroom. James expressed contrition but criticized the mental health system, saying it had failed, especially for people of color like him. US District Judge William Kuntz told him his actions were "pure evil."

Jan 3, 2023 5:39 PM CST

A man who opened fire on a Brooklyn subway train last year, wounding 10 passengers in a rush-hour attack that shocked New York City, pleaded guilty Tuesday to federal terrorism charges. Frank James, who had posted online that he was the "Prophet of Doom," appeared in a Brooklyn federal court and admitted to pulling the trigger on a Manhattan-bound train as it moved between stations on April 12, 2022, the AP reports. He didn't have a plea agreement, and prosecutors are seeking to put him in prison for decades. James, 63, wearing a beige jail jumpsuit and black-rimmed glasses, said he only intended to cause serious bodily injury, not death. Since the shooting, James has been jailed in a federal lockup just blocks from where the attack took place.
Two Republicans announced their bids to replace Rep. Kevin McCarthy as House speaker Wednesday, and a third appeared to rule himself out. Donald Trump, speaking to reporters outside the Manhattan courthouse where his civil fraud trial is taking place, said he is "totally" focused on his presidential campaign, the Hill reports. "If I can help them during the process, I would do it," he said of House Republicans. "But we have some great people in the Republican Party that could do a great job as speaker."

The speaker of the House does not need to be a member of the House, and Republican lawmakers including Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene have suggested bringing Trump in, the AP reports. Asked about Greene's support, Trump said: "I think she's a wonderful woman. I'll do whatever it is to help, but my focus, my total focus is being president and, quite honestly, making America great again."

On Tuesday, hours after McCarthy was ousted, Fox host Sean Hannity said some House Republicans have "been in contact with and have started an effort to draft" the former president, the Guardian reports. Rep. Jim Jordan, who announced his bid for speaker Wednesday, told Hannity that if Trump "wants to be speaker, great, but I want him to be president of the United States." Even before Trump ruled himself out, analysts said there was next to no chance of him becoming speaker. Democratic Rep. Sean Casten noted that House Republican rules calls for leaders to step aside if "indicted for a felony for which a sentence of two or more years imprisonment may be imposed." (Read more Donald Trump stories.)
If you're a British middle schooler looking forward to the day when you can wander into a Tesco and legally pick up a pack of cigarettes, you have a long wait aheadas in forever, if Rishi Sunak's plans come to fruition. Per the AP , the UK prime minister, who was speaking at a Conservative Party conference on Wednesday, expanded on his proposal to progressively raise the smoking age one year at a time, each year, until it's not legal to smoke at all. Consumers currently have to be at least 18 to purchase cigarettes or tobacco products in the United Kingdom. Sources have said Sunak's plan would be similar to one approved in New Zealand last year, where anyone born on or after Jan. 1, 2009, would be barred from buying tobacco productseven once they become full-fledged adults.

A similar plan in England would cover all kids there who turned 14 this year, as well as children younger than that; Sunak's plan, if approved by Parliament, wouldn't apply to individuals in Scotland, Wales, or Northern Ireland. "A 14-year-old today will never legally be sold a cigarette," Sunak proclaimed Wednesday, per Reuters. His proposed legislation wouldn't criminalize smoking in the United Kingdom, where stats show about 13% of the population still smokes, per the AP. "People take up cigarettes when they're young," Sunak said. "Later, the vast majority try to quit ... if we could break that cycle, if we could stop the start, then we would be on our way to ending the biggest cause of preventable death and disease in our country." Sunak said he also wants his administration to tackle vaping among young people with new restrictions.

Reuters notes that the price tag for Britain's health services due to smoking runs around $20.6 billion annually. Not surprisingly, the tobacco industry isn't happy about Sunak's plan, with the Tobacco Manufacturers' Association calling it a "disproportionate attack" on adult smokers' rights. "The prohibition of legal products always has dangerous side effects and opens the door to criminal gangs to sell illegal products," the group noted. Those in the industry fear that other countries may soon follow suit, as Denmark is already planning to do. A government spokesperson last month told the Guardian that other measures the UK is taking to combat smoking addiction include a "swap to stop" scheme, where smokers receive a free vape kit, as well as vouchers to help pregnant women quit. Sunak's proposal needs to now pass a free vote in the nation's Parliament to become law. (Read more cigarettes stories.)
Thousands of weapons the US seized from Iran, as well as massive quantities of seized ammunition, will be transferred to Ukraine to aid in the war effort there. US Central Command announced the transfer Wednesday, and said more than 1 million rounds of seized ammo have already been transferred, CNN reports. The Department of Justice made a civil forfeiture claim earlier this year regarding munitions seized by the US Navy from Iran as they were in transit to Yemeni Houthi forces late last year in what the DoJ argued was a violation of a UN arms embargo, the Guardian reports. The US was granted ownership of those munitions in July.

Over the past year, thousands of weapons and more ammunition have been seized in that way, as Iran attempts to smuggle the goods to its allies in Yemen, and the US is seeking to claim ownership of those confiscated items as well. The White House has been working for months on a plan to legally send the arms and ammo to Ukraine. The move comes amid increased concern that US aid to Ukraine will not continue after Kevin McCarthy's ouster as Speaker of the House, the Washington Post notes. The Ukrainian military is dealing with supply shortages as it awaits further aid. (Read more Ukraine stories.)
A Texas man decided to start off the wedding he was officiating "with a bang," a deputy says, and that bang allegedly left the man's own grandson with a gunshot wound and the man facing criminal charges. Michael Gardner, 62, shot a revolver into the air to get the attention of the guests at his nephew's wedding around 5pm Saturday in Nebraska, the Lancaster County Sheriff's Office chief deputy says, per CNN. While the gun had been loaded with a blank, he explains, Gardner had "put black powder into the casing and then glued it. And what we believe, is the glue is what injured the child" when the gun somehow slipped, leaving the 12-year-old with a shoulder injury. He is recovering in a hospital, CBS 7 reports.
The White House recently acknowledged that "first dog" Commander bit 11 Secret Service officers since October of last year, but sources tell CNN the German shepherd has actually bit many more people than that, including executive residence staff and other White House employees. At least one bite required hospital treatment, others have been treated by the White House Medical Unit, and still others were neither reported nor treated, the sources say. Sources say the Bidens had a good relationship with the Secret Service when Joe Biden was vice president, but when he became president, the couple's older dog, Major, quickly injected "stress" into that relationship when he began biting people. Major was ultimately sent to live with family friends in Delaware, and now Commander, too, is no longer at the White Houseat least for now, the AP reports.

Commander is "not presently on the White House campus while next steps are evaluated," a spokesperson for Jill Biden said Wednesday night, providing no further details about where he is or what those next steps might be. As for the Bidens' relationship with the Secret Service, sources describe it as "combustible," starting with the breach in trust that was formed when Major still lived at the White House. Other problems have since been added to the mix, the sources say, including "unrealistic requests" that the agency's resources struggle to fulfill, and "last minute changes" to the first couple's schedule, including spending most weekends away from the White House. The Secret Service chief of communications, however, calls those reports "categorically false," saying there is "an immense degree of trust and respect between the Secret Service and the first family." (Read more First Dog stories.)
BISHKEK, Kyrgyzstan, October 5. A delegation from the Russian "Titan" group of companies has explored opportunities for collaboration and investment in Kyrgyzstan's oil refining industry, Trend reports.

The representatives visited the Chuy region of Kyrgyzstan, where they were introduced to the potential of the region's oil refineries.

The "Titan" delegation also visited oil refineries in the Chuy region, including the Kemin oil refinery, Tokmok oil refinery, and the Junda oil refinery in Kara-Balta. They assessed opportunities for acquiring these refineries and explored other investment options.

This development resulted from successful negotiations that took place in July 2023 when Kanat Dzhumagaziev, the authorized representative of the President of Kyrgyzstan in the Chuy region, visited Omsk, Russia.

Following the meeting between Dzhumagaziev and the leadership of the "Titan" group of companies, the Russian side proposed cooperation in compounding commodity fuels within the territory of Kyrgyzstan. The company expressed interest in establishing a joint venture or exploring other forms of collaboration.

Since 2005, the "Titan" has been actively participating as an investor and initiator of large-scale investment projects both in Russia and abroad.

According to the State Statistical Committee of Kyrgyzstan, Russia was the second-largest investor in Kyrgyzstan from January through June 2023, preceded only by China. Russia's investments resulted in $87.255 million, which accounted for 20.3 percent of the total investment figure.
A Texas prisoner accused of smothering to death 22 older women in their Dallas-area homes so he could steal jewelry and other valuables was stabbed by his cellmate in an attack last month that killed him, authorities said. The inmate accused of killing Billy Chemirmir, 50, on Sept. 19 at a rural East Texas prison was Wyatt Busby, 39, according to a Monday report from the Office of the Inspector General, which is investigating the killing. The report says Chemirmir, who was serving life in prison after being convicted last year in the slayings of two of the women, was "stabbed/beaten to death."

A custodial death report filed with the attorney general's office last week said that Chemirmir was killed with a "knife/edged instrument." That report said that the means of death was blunt force trauma, but that the cause of death was pending, the AP reports. Busby is serving a 50-year prison sentence after he was convicted of murder in the fatal stabbing of a man in the Houston area in 2016, according to court and prison records. Chemirimir was killed in the Coffield Unit about two weeks after the Texas Department of Criminal Justice placed its 100 prisons on a rare statewide lockdown because of a rise in the number of killings inside the facilities. While most prisons had resumed normal operations by Wednesday, the Coffield Unit remained on lockdown.

Chemirmir was arrested in 2018 after a 91-year-old woman survived an attack and told police a man had forced his way into her apartment at an independent living community for seniors, tried to smother her with a pillow and took her jewelry. Police said they found Chemirmir the following day in the parking lot of his apartment complex holding jewelry and cash, having just thrown away a large red jewelry box. Documents in the jewelry box led them to the home of Lu Thi Harris , 81, who was dead in her bedroom.

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Chemirmir was convicted of capital murder in the death of Harris and in a later trial in the killing of Mary Brooks, 87. Chemirmir, who maintained his innocence, was serving two sentences of life without the possibility of parole. After Chemirmir's arrest, police across the Dallas area began reexamining deaths, and the charges against him grew. He was eventually indicted on 22 capital murder charges. (Read more Billy Chemirmir stories.)
A convicted sex offender who faked his death to avoid a rape charge in Utah will soon be heading stateside. Scotland's Justice Secretary Angela Constance signed an extradition order last week, eliminating one of the final hurdles preventing Nicholas Alahverdian's return to the US. Alahverdian, who uses numerous aliases, including Nicholas Rossi, was arrested in Scotland two years ago after he was hospitalized with COVID. Though he claimed he was an Irish orphan named Arthur Knight, authorities said his fingerprints and tattoos matched those of the US fugitive subject of an Interpol "wanted" notice, per the BBC . Alahverdian fought that assertion, claiming he was framed by authorities who tattooed him while he was unconscious.

During a hearing in June, Alahverdian's lawyer argued extradition should be refused so that doctors could investigate his client's mental health. However, three medical witnesses said Alahverdian showed no signs of acute mental illness, per the BBC. Indeed, witnesses "disproved claims that he suffers from various medical conditions," per Sky News. "I cannot walk, I cannot stand, I cannot support myself in any way from the waist down," the 36-year-old rape suspect, who uses a wheelchair, told the court. But a prison doctor testified that there's no medical reason for him to use a wheelchair, per the Scottish Sun. Alahverdian also claimed he couldn't raise his arms over his head, though he "twice put his hand up to attract his lawyer's attention," the outlet reports.

In August, the judge ruled he could be extradited, but the extradition order still needed to be signed. "The Scottish ministers have made their decision regarding Mr. Nicholas Rossi and signed an extradition order on 28 September, 2023," the government confirmed Thursday, per Sky. Alahverdian will have two weeks to appeal the decision, per the BBC. He's wanted in his native Utah for the alleged rape of a woman in 2008. He also faces numerous complaints of alleged domestic violence in Rhode Island, per Sky. Authorities in Essex, England, also want to speak with him about an alleged rape that took place in 2017. He was expected to be interviewed once extradition was approved, per the Daily Record. (Read more extradition stories.)
Tennessee Rep. Justin Jones, a young Democrat who has for months been a target of state House Republicans, has had enough. The 28-year-old filed a federal lawsuit Tuesday against the state, House Speaker Cameron Sexton, and House administrative officials, alleging Republicans have repeatedly violated his constitutional rights by blocking him "from expressing views on critical issues," per CNN . The House voted to expel Jones in April after he stood with two colleagues in a pro-gun control protest in the gallery days after a deadly school shooting. He and Rep. Justin Pearson, another young Black Democrat who was also expelled, regained their seats on an interim basis before reclaiming them in an August special election.

However, Jones was soon censured by Republicans again. They voted to silence him for part of a day on the basis that he'd violated a new rule requiring members to speak only about the bill being debated. While criticizing a bill to allow more law enforcement officers in schools, Jones spoke of alternative measures, including putting more mental health professionals in schools. His suit claims both the expulsion and the new rules on debate, allowing members to be silenced for as long as the remaining year, are unconstitutional, per the AP. "This is about challenging authoritarianism," Jones tells MSNBC host Joy Reid. "At every opportunity, [Sexton] has chosen discrimination and censorship instead of democracy and rule of law."

Republican leaders have defended the expulsions as necessary to show disruptions will not be tolerated and the new House rules as promoting respect and accountability, per the AP. But a judge previously found one rule passed by the House, banning members of the public from holding signs during floor and committee proceedings, was a violation of free speech rights. Jones' suit aims to prevent Sexton and the state "from continuing to suppress dissent, whether through the updated House rules or otherwise." Jones, whose legal team includes former US Attorney General Eric Holder, also wants certain benefits, including his committee positions and pre-expulsion seniority level, reinstated, as well as a 12-month credit in the state's retirement system. (Read more Justin Jones stories.)
Ukrainian officials said Thursday a Russian attack on a village in the northeast of the country killed at least 48 people and injured at least six more. Presidential chief of staff Andrii Yermak and Kharkiv Gov. Oleh Syniehubov said Russian forces shelled a shop and a cafe in the village of Hroza, in the Kharkiv region, around 1pm, the AP reports. A 6-year-old boy was among those killed in the attack, Syniehubov said, and one child was also among the wounded. Ukrainian President Volodomyr Zelensky says the "brutal Russian crime" killed people in a grocery store, the BBC reports.

Earlier, Ukraine's air force said that the country's air defenses intercepted 24 out of 29 Iranian-made drones that Russia launched at the southern Odesa, Mykolaiv, and Kirovohrad regions. The attack came as Zelensky traveled to Spain to rally support from Western allies at a summit of around 50 European leaders. Zelensky arrived in Granada on Thursday to attend a summit of the European Political Community, which was formed in the wake of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

"The key for us, especially before winter, is to strengthen air defense, and there is already a basis for new agreements with partners," he said in a statement posted on his Telegram channel. Last winter, Russia targeted Ukraine's energy system and other vital infrastructure in a steady barrage of missile and drone attacks, triggering continuous power outages across the country. Zelensky noted the summit will also focus on "joint work for global food security and protection of freedom of navigation" in the Black Sea, where the Russian military has targeted Ukrainian ports after Moscow's withdrawal from a UN-sponsored grain deal designed to ensure safe grain exports from the invaded country's ports.

(Read more Russia-Ukraine war stories.)
ASHGABAT, Turkmenistan, October 5. The French CIFAL company intends to participate in new joint projects with Turkmenistan, Trend reports.

This was stated by the CEO of CIFAL Group, Gilles Remy, during a meeting with the President of Turkmenistan, Serdar Berdimuhamedov.

During the meeting, Gilles Remy expressed the interest of French companies in increasing cooperation with Turkmenistan.

In turn, Berdimuhamedov noted that Turkmenistan is always open to cooperation with leading European companies, especially in the field of advanced technologies, while stressing that CIFAL is a reliable partner of Turkmenistan.

During the meeting, the parties discussed the possibilities of further cooperation in such areas as construction, the oil and gas sector, aviation, information technology, the digitalization of agriculture, water-saving, and 'green' technologies.

Meanwhile, the development of cooperation between Turkmenistan and French companies is a dynamic process based on mutual interests and strategic benefits. French companies are actively implementing their expertise and innovations in various sectors of Turkmenistan's economy, including energy, transport infrastructure, and agriculture, which contributes not only to the economic growth of the country but also to the strengthening of diplomatic relations.
TDT | Manama

The Daily Tribune  www.newsofbahrain.com

Bahrains educational landscape is poised for a groundbreaking transformation as McIndeez Academy, in collaboration with the esteemed Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras Pravartak Foundation, unveils a captivating array of IIT-certified courses in cutting-edge technologies held at the Crown Plaza Hotel in Manama.

IIT Madras has been selected as one of Indias eight public institutes of eminence, reinforcing its status as an institution of national importance. Founded in 1959, IIT Madras owes its inception to the visionary collaboration between the Government of India and the former government of West Germany.

It has secured the coveted top position as Indias premier engineering institute in the Ministry of Educations National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) since its inception in 2016. This recognition underscores IIT Madrass unwavering dedication to delivering world-class education and pioneering research.

McIndeez Consultancy has solidified an exclusive partnership to promote and provide certification programmes at the forefront of innovation, including Artificial Intelligence (AI), Data Science, Cryptocurrency, Cybersecurity, Machine Learning, Logistics and Supply Chain, Banking, and Finance.

These programmes, bolstered by the illustrious IIT-Madras Pravartak Foundation, will be delivered through McIndeezs state-of-the-art online aggregator digital platform. The online platform also provides courses that Cyber Square U.K. develops, focusing on coding for kids aged five and above.

The event witnessed the gracious presence of His Excellency Vinod K. Jacob, the Indian Ambassador, who presided as the chief guest, accompanied by distinguished figures such as H.E. Shaikha Abdulla Alfadhel, Director of the SME Development Directorate; Hamad Taher, Director of Projects and Government Initiatives at Tamkeen; and Rashid AlHamer, member of the IFJ Executive Bureau.

The illustrious gathering also included luminaries such as Dr. M.J. Shankar Raman, CEO of IIT Madras Pravartak; Mr. Balamurali Shankar, GM of Skills Academy, IIT Madras; Mr. Balraju Kondaveeti, CEO of Bodhbridge, India; Gayathri Thulasi Ram, Ed-Tech Partner of IITM Pravartak; and Sruthi Dama, Deputy Manager for Admin at IITM Pravartak; and Deepak K.C., Director of Cyber Square U.K.

Partnership

The IIT Madras Pravartak Foundation, renowned for its cybersecurity excellence, has meticulously crafted many certification programmes in partnership with IIT-M faculty, spanning artificial intelligence, data science, cybersecurity, and machine learning. Ambassador Vinod K. Jacob praised the global recognition of IIT-M Pravartak and its enduring contributions to science and technology. He underscored the profound impact of McIndeez Academys collaboration with IIT-M Pravartak on Bahrains educational landscape, further enhancing the historical ties between India and Bahrain in the education sector. M.J.

Shankar Raman, CEO of IIT Madras Pravartak, highlighted the opportunity for initiating a startup echo system and incubation centres in Bahrain with the support of expertise from IIT Madras.

He expressed his willingness to explore more options for associating with Indias No. 1 technical institute. Balamurali Shankar, General Manager of Skills Academy at IIT Madras, delivered a captivating keynote address, emphasising the transformative potential of disruptive technologies and the paramount significance of perpetual learning.

Institutions vision

Unnikrishnan Puravangara, founder and chairman of McIndeez Academy, eloquently articulated the institutions vision to deliver world-class education to Bahrain and the MENA region.

Advocate Abdul Jaleel Abdulla, Founder and CEO of McIndeez Consultancy, illuminated the organisations strategies for collaborating with distinguished educational institutions in Bahrain to promote these innovative courses, significantly enhancing employability in the region.

Latha Unnikrishnan, Founder and Director of McIndeez Academy, expressed heartfelt appreciation for the esteemed partnership with IIT-Madras and anticipates a thriving and enduring collaboration.
TORONTO, Oct. 5, 2023 /CNW/ - The Ontario Medical Association is pleased to announce the appointment of Kimberly Moran as the organization's new chief executive officer.

Moran is a highly respected health-care leader and accomplished executive with more than 30 years of senior leadership experience. She begins her new role with the OMA on Dec. 4.

Ontario Medical Association names Kimberly Moran as new CEO (CNW Group/Ontario Medical Association)

"We are thrilled to welcome Kimberly Moran as the new CEO of the OMA," said Dr. Cathy Faulds, chair of the OMA Board of Directors. "She is a results-driven leader who has been a champion for physicians and an advocate for improving the health-care system for years. Her depth and diversity of experience and her reputation with stakeholders across the province and the country make her the perfect candidate for this important role."

Moran comes to the OMA from her most recent role as the president and CEO of the Ontario College of Family Physicians. In this position, she was able to unite stakeholders around a common purpose and vision of attracting new and sustainable funding in the health-care system. Her efforts resulted in key successes including a record $200 million investment in primary care from the Canada Health Transfer.

"I am inspired by the challenge of building a better health-care system and working to ensure Ontario is the best place in the country for our doctors to provide patient care," said Moran. "The OMA has made great strides on these and many other issues and I am excited to lead the organization into the future."

With a professional background as a chartered accountant, Moran has held leadership roles with UNICEF Canada and Children's Mental Health Ontario, where she served as president and CEO. In that role, she was able to attract an unprecedented 30 per cent increase in funding for child and youth mental health.

She is a trusted and sought-after adviser with the provincial government, where she was a member of the Premier's Council on Improving Health Care and Ending Hallway Medicine. She is also well-regarded in academia and has been a strategic adviser to the dean of medicine at the University of Toronto, where she was instrumental in creating a strategy to attract sustainable investment in research.

Her leadership also established groundbreaking equity, diversity, inclusivity and decolonization programs at the OCFP and Children's Mental Health Ontario.

"Kim is a collaborative leader who encourages innovative solutions and thinking among her teams and partners," said Dr. Faulds. "I know our more than 43,000 members, as well as the staff at the OMA, will appreciate working with her and achieving more than they ever thought possible."

John Bozzo will remain interim CEO until Dec. 4, when Moran begins. He will continue assisting with the transition through December. The OMA is grateful to Bozzo for his leadership through this period of transition.

Download a picture of Kimberly Moran.

About the OMA

The Ontario Medical Association represents Ontario's 43,000-plus physicians, medical students and retired physicians, advocating for and supporting doctors while strengthening the leadership role of doctors in caring for patients. Our vision is to be the trusted voice in transforming Ontario's health-care system.

SOURCE Ontario Medical Association

For further information: Leslie Shepherd, OMA Director of Earned and Social Media, at [email protected] or 647-300-1753
The response of the animals was compared to a control recording of bird calls, to ensure that it wasnt the presence of noise alone that was causing a reaction.

The sounds were also all played at the same volume, which could possibly influence the response of the animals to hunting noises. As dogs and gunshots are louder than humans in real life, this could have given the impression that they were further away, triggering a lower response in the wildlife.

In any case, while the study found that the sound of dogs and gunshots caused the mammals to run around three times more than the control, the sound of humans was the most significant. As a whole, the mammals were nine times more likely to run when they heard people chatting. But not all mammals responded in the same way.

While giraffes, leopards and warthog were more likely to abandon the watering hole when hearing humans rather than lions, elephants were less likely. Its thought that this might relate to their dependence on water to support their large body size, making them more likely to stay put.

The results of the study add to growing evidence from other areas of the world that animals tend to react more strongly to humans than the top predator in their environment. Moose, for instance, abandon sites three quarters of the time when human voices are played, while mountain lions abandon their meals around 40% of the time after hearing humans.

If the presence of humans alone is enough to disturb local wildlife, this could pose a problem for safari tourism in Africa. Previous research suggests that anti-predator responses can cause animals to change their behaviour, or affect the number of offspring they have.

While certain areas of reserves could be declared off-limits to people to allow respite for affected animals, this will impact the funding of reserves which rely on tourists.

While bad for tourism, it could be good for conservation, as human voices could be used to keep animals away from poachers. For instance, rhinos abandoned waterholes much quicker when they heard human voices over other sounds, which could help to drive threatened species like the black rhino away from places where poachers are known to lie in wait.

If evidence for the superpredator continues to build, it suggests that our already strained relationship with the natural world is even more complex than we thought.




The All Progressives Congress (APC) has said that it is unfazed by allegations made against President Bola Tinubu by former Vice President and candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the last election, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar earlier on Thursday.





The APC claimed that Atiku harbours deep animosity towards Tinubu because, according to them, he believes Tinubu was responsible for his electoral woes in 2007, 2015, 2019 and this year.





It was reported that Atiku in a press conference in Abuja made several allegations against Tinubu, which were based on the documents he obtained from the Chicago State University.





The APC, in a statement signed by its National Publicity Secretary, Felix Morka, said that Atiku delivered nothing except the pitiful regurgitation of lies, mindless distortions and deliberate falsehood on his infantile obsession with the academic record of Tinubu





The party said that Atiku has been out there for several weeks now, displaying utter desperation in his bid to become the President of Nigeria.





The APC said that Atikus press conference was a calculated attempt to whip up public sentiments and inordinately pressure the Supreme Court.





We believe Alhaji Atiku Abubakar should have known better than to demonstrate gross contempt of the highest court by making public comments on a matter that he has submitted to the court for adjudication





The major takeaway from his YarAdua Centre show, especially at question time, was that Atiku harbours deep animosity towards Tinubu, whom he believes was responsible for his electoral woes in 2007, 2015, 2019 and this year.





Furthermore, he stated that the F on the Southwest college certificate, a feeder institution to CSU, which President Bola Tinubu used to gain admission into CSU was a clerical error, which could of course happen.





He reiterated that Southwest College was a major feeder source for CSU. He said the person admitted based on the transcript from South West College, was a male Bola Ahmed Tinubu. Westberg also added the courses taken by President Bola Tinubu at Southwest College were consistent with the courses he took at CSU.





Westberg further deposed that Accounting is a rigorous field of study. Anyone who did not take the requisite courses at the lower levels could not have done well at CSU.





In President Tinubus case, he did excellently well at CSU. He graduated with High Honours. That to him point to the fact that the person who attended and graduated from CSU was the same person who went to Southwest College





He pointed out that CSU has had at least six Registrars since 1979 and in an affidavit at an Illinois court prior to the deposition said Chicago State University provided a diploma to Bola Ahmed Tinubu, and subsequently provided a certified (or official) copy of that diploma. Both are valid and authentic diplomas of Chicago State University





He said further that the difference in the date of award on the diploma versus the certified copy is likely the result of human error. The graduation date on the certified copy is typed in manually by a person and can be inaccurate.





Westberg noted that by practice, CSU does not replace certificates for students as they are issued by 3rd party vendors which is also a common practice by other US universities. The proof of attendance and graduation remains the transcripts.





There is also no part of Mr. Westbergs deposition where he said that the certificate President Bola Tinubu presented to INEC for his election is fake or was forged.





All the insinuations and innuendos in this regard are pure mischief and should be disregarded. President Tinubu could not have forged a University degree he honourably earned because there is no advantage to derive from such and no incentive to do so.





In desperation, unbecoming of a statesman who once occupied the second highest office in the land, the PDP candidate in the last election has thrown every decency, decorum, dignity and national respectability out the window on his purposeless judicial voyage of discovery to the United States in search of a magic wand for taking power against the will of the Nigerian electorate loudly expressed in last Februarys presidential election.





Alhaji Atiku Abubakar holds the unenviable title of Nigerias most prolific election loser and longest running presidential candidate in history, and we see his recent US fishing expedition as the last kick of a roundly rejected presidential aspirant.





While we sympathise with Alhaji Atiku Abubakar for spending a lifetime pursuing an unrealised dream, we strongly condemn the perfidious road he has taken and the needless negative exposure of Nigeria and the institution of the Presidency in foreign land.





Just for the record, we wish to provide some clarity on the matter of the deposition of Mr. Caleb Westberg, the Registrar of Chicago State University, last Tuesday under oath at the Chicago office of Atikus lawyer, Angela Liu, to save unsuspecting Nigerians from barrage of untruths, distortions and campaign of misinformation being dished out by Atiku and his PDP Mr. Westberg was unmistaken and unambiguous in his deposition as to the fact that President Bola Tinubu graduated with honours from Chicago State University. He also emphatically provided clear answers on all other issues raised which we can sum as follows: 1. That the person who is Nigerias president, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, is the same person who attended Chicago State University.





He confirmed that a certain gentleman called Adeniji who had come forward to say he was Tinubus classmate was in fact a student at CSU at the same time and they both ran for student union positions.





Mr. Westberg said the diploma certificate, on which the PDP and Atiku seek to gaslight Nigerians and the whole world, is just a ceremonial document and what proved studentship at Chicago State University and in any American university is transcript, not certificate.





It should now be clear to all Nigerians that despite Atikus lies before the





Illinois Court that he wanted to use the discoveries in pursuit of his appeal at the Supreme Court, he has rather chosen to use same as an instrument of mischief and blackmail in clear contempt of the highest court of the land.




Atiku Abubakar, candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the 2023 elections, says he is not worried that his litigation against President Bola Tinubu may affect his business interests.

Abubakar spoke on Thursday at a press conference he called on the academic records of Tinubu released by the Chicago State University (CSU) on Monday.

The former vice-president said he lost his oil and gas logistics licences during the regime of ex-President Muhammadu Buhari.

"I was the founder of one of the biggest oil and gas logistics companies since the military era," Abubakar told the press.

"We have got nothing to do with government. We were only contractors in logistics to the oil companies, not the government. But as soon as Buhari came, all those contracts were revoked and taken away from us till today.

"We are not doing any government business. Yes, I'm in other businesses; agriculture, manufacturing and so on and so forth.

"So, I'm not scared of any business being taken away from me. It has already been taken away from me since the beginning of, was it 1990. Since Buhari's time.

"They took it and distributed it among themselves" he said





Abubakar is challenging the declaration of Tinubu as the winner of the February 25 poll and the tribunal's judgement that upheld the president's victory on September 6.
Former Education Minister, Oby Ezekwesili has criticized President Bola Tinubu after the Chicago State University released his academic records.

Ezekwesili said Tinubu should have saved Nigeria from embarrassment by voluntarily asking CSU to publish his academic records.

She noted that such would have been less traumatic and exemplary.

In a post on X, the former minister lamented that Nigerian leaders detest transparency.

According to Ezekwesili: How so much easier it would have been for Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu to have saved the country and people the embarrassment of this Chicago State University -CSU court case by instantly and voluntarily asking the institution to publish his academic credentials!

How difficult could that have been?

How so less traumatic such exemplary disclosure to remove all doubts would have been for Nigerians.

Like most Nigerians, it is profoundly embarrassing to field mocking questions on this matter that strikes at the heart of our National Integrity from foreigners.

Our Public Leaders of a certain genre despise Transparency and yet it is an antidote to fiascos like this one.

As Citizens, at the end of the 2023 electoral process that follows the judgement by the Nigerian Supreme Court @SupremeCourtNg, our work is cut out for us to uncompromisingly demand a root and branch reform of the entire Electoral @inecnigeria and Judicial Systems @njcNig.




The 2023 Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar will address a world press conference over the issue of President Bola Tinubus academic records released by the Chicago State University.





Atikus press conference will hold at the YarAdua Centre in Abuja on Thursday.





A press invitation reads: This is to inform and invite you to the World Press Conference of Our Presidential Candidate, His Excellency Atiku Abubakar, GCON, at the YarAdua Centre, Tomorrow, Thursday 5, October 2023, in the afternoon.





The exact time will be communicated shortly. Please endeavor to attend. Thank You.





Atiku secured release of Tinubus academic records from the CSU through a court subpoena, against the disclosure by the President.





The released records, which came first on October 3 and a deposition on Tuesday, showed that Tinubus 1979 CSU certificate he submitted to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) was different from samples of the certificates the University issued to students that same year.





Under oath, CSU Registrar said he could not authenticate the certificate Tinubu presented to the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC.




The Senate has called on security agencies in Nigeria to conduct special operations to dislodge suspected bandits from the North West and other parts of the country.









This followed the adoption of a motion by Sen. Abdulaziz YarAdua (APC  Katsina) at plenary on Thursday.





Presenting the motion, YarAdua raised some concerns over the kidnap of five female students of the Federal University Dutsinma (FUDMA) in Katsina State at their hostel on Oct. 4.





He said that about 24 students of the Federal University of Gusau were also abducted recently.





Sixteen of them have been successfully freed after three days after a rescue operation by security agencies, he said.





YarAdua said that the kidnapping had thrown the university communities in the zone to a panic mood.





He said there was also the case of eight National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) members who were kidnapped by suspected terrorists on their way to camp in Zamfara on Aug. 21.





The NYSC corps members were traveling in an Akwa Ibom Transport Company (AKTC) bus from Uyo, Akwa Ibom to Sokoto State, for the one-year mandatory national service, when their vehicle was intercepted by the terrorists,he said.





He said that the frequency of kidnapping for ransom had increased in major towns and communities in the North West.





The Senate directed its Committee on Legislative Compliance to ensure that the relevant security agencies comply with its resolution.




The Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, has said its spokesman, Emma Powerful, and Commanders of the Eastern Security Network, ESN, do not threaten people to support the group with money or join them.





In a statement he signed, Powerful said those extorting people are behind the sit-at-home enforcement, urging the public to report scammers using his name and ESN Commanders to defraud people.





He urged the public to report such phone numbers to the appropriate authorities.





The attention of the global movement and family of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) ably led by the great and indefatigable leader Mazi Nnamdi KANU has been drawn to some agents of darkness calling and threatening some people to give them money using the name of our Media and Publicity Secretary Comrade Emma Powerful.





The public should ignore the impersonators and also report such phone numbers to the appropriate authorities.





Neither Comrade Emma Powerful nor IPOB members or ESN operatives call and threaten people for money. IPOB or ESN commanders have never coarsed anyone for support. Even the registered IPOB family members are not forced to give money to the movement. Those doing such evil are autopilot members led by criminal Simon Ekpa. Everything IPOB does is purely voluntary, not by threat or compulsion. IPOB doesnt encourage any form of criminality.





Our people should be very careful because neither Comrade Emma Powerful, nor any member of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) can call anyone and threaten him or her to donate money for the struggle. IPOB restoration movement and struggle is funded by IPOB members globally and others who identify with the Biafra cause.





These criminals and impersonators claiming to be ESN Commanders always threaten unsuspecting individuals and victims with violence if they fail to give them money for IPOB and ESN. No ESN commander can do such.





Our people should be careful and record any details of the callers who force them to give money with the name of Emma Powerful or any IPOB Officer or ESN commander. When you receive such a call, send the phone details to security agencies or ESN camps. Meanwhile, the public can contact and report the callers details to IPOB through our inquiry lines +61 434 294 745 Or +41 779 069 681.





IPOB members, volunteers, and ESN are mandated to track and identify the impersonators who claimed to be Emma Powerful, threatening people for money. The impersonators are no longer satisfied with the kidnapping money and threatening people with ESNs name and Commanders but are adding others as well.





They have adopted a new strategy of blackmailing IPOB principal officers by using their names for scams. When any of the impersonators are identified and apprehended, he or she will see what fire does with the ear of a mouse. Those involved in this latest blackmail and scam using the name of Emma Powerful and this noble IPOB movement should retrace their steps or face the wrath of IPOB.





For emphasis sake, Comrade Emma Powerful, does NOT call and threaten anyone to support IPOB. Thats childish and cowardice.





We dont intimidate or threaten people to support IPOB. The public should take note and avoid falling into a scam from faceless criminals and impersonators organised from far away Finland to be humiliating our people. Where is the money gotten from kidnapping and snatching of cars from our innocent people.




The Muslim Rights Concern, MURIC, has faulted plans by the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Mr Nyesom Wike, to partner with Israeli security experts.





The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, yesterday disclosed that he was working on a deal to partner with Israeli security experts for the improvement of security in Abuja.





We like to warn that such collaboration with the state of Israel will exacerbate Nigerias security problem by escalating it from a local crisis to an international fracas engineered by MOSSAD (Israels secret spies) with the likelihood of Nigeria becoming the centre of rivalry for global espionage outfits like the American CIA and the Russian SVR and FSB.





We believe that Wike is now courting the Israelis because, like most Nigerian Christians, he holds the wrong notion that Israel is a Christian state, whereas the reverse is the case.





Several instances confirm that the only religion Israel recognises and respects is Judaism.





Just yesterday, Wednesday, Sept.4 Jews spit on Christian pilgrims in Jerusalem; Christians are under constant attacks in Israel, MURICs Executive Director, Prof. Ishaq Akintola, said in a statement on Thursday.





Akintola added: To cap the edifice, Israels arrogant posture at the United Nations as it shuns the latters resolutions is legendary. At least 45 UN resolutions have condemned Israels aggression against Palestinians.





A terrorist state cannot be the ideal security partner for us in Nigeria. Wike should take the Israelis to Rivers State. Israel constitutes an existential threat to both Muslims and Christians in Nigeria.




The supreme court has fixed December 15 to deliver judgment on appeals regarding the continued detention of Nnamdi Kanu, leader of the proscribed Indigenous People Of Biafra (IPOB).

A five-member panel of the apex court led by Kudirat Kekere-Ekun, fixed the date for judgment after counsels for the federal government and Kanu adopted their final arguments.

The IPOB leader has been in the custody of the Department of State Services (DSS) since he was extradited from Kenya on June 19, 2021.

Subsequently, the federal government filed terrorism charges against him.

On April 8, 2022, Binta Nyako, a federal high court judge in Abuja, struck out eight of the 15 counts in the charge.

The remaining seven counts were later quashed by the court of appeal on October 13, 2022, with the judge ordering Kanu's release.

However, on October 28, 2022, the court of appeal granted a stay of execution on its verdict discharging Kanu, after the federal government filed an appeal at the supreme court.

Kanu subsequently appealed the order staying execution.

More to follow...
The forward operating base (FOB) of the Nigerian Navy in Badagry, Lagos, has handed over 27 sacks of cannabis sativa worth N35 million to the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA).

Aiwuyor Adams-Aliu, FOB commanding officer, said naval operatives seized the items on September 29 at Pako Beach in Badagry.

Adams-Aliu said the navy acted after receiving an intelligence tip-off about the activities of some suspected smugglers within the area.

"The intelligence indicated that a boat was sighted offloading products suspected to be cannabis sativa at Pako, close to Ajodi, Seaside of the Base," NAN quoted the navy commander as saying.

"Consequently, the base quick response team, led by the base operations officer and base intelligence officer proceeded immediately to the scene of the crime for investigation and possible arrest.

"Sighting the team, the smugglers abandoned the narcotics at the beach and ran away. Subsequently, a total of 27 sacks of suspected products valued at about N35 million were recovered.

"The adjoining communities were also raided but neither products nor suspects were found."

Adams-Aliu said an investigation is ongoing in conjunction with other security agencies to identify the drug trafficking syndicate, adding that those found culpable would be arraigned.

He said criminal elements bringing drugs and illegal consignment into Nigeria should have a rethink, saying that it would be difficult to meander through the Nigerian waters under the leadership of the chief of naval staff.

"It is impossible to do so because we will see you with our surveillance equipment and I will arrest you and ensure the arrest ends in prosecution. Nigeria waterways are not for illegality," he said.

Receiving the exhibit, Owen Dinneys, commander of narcotics, NDLEA, promised that an investigation would begin on the seized items.

"We will ensure that whoever that is involved in the illegal drugs smuggling into the country is apprehended and justice will be done," he said.




The Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, presidential candidate in the 2023 general election, Atiku Abubakar, held a world press conference on Thursday.

Atiku, who finished behind Tinubu in the election, had challenged Tinubus victory in court.

The former vice-president lost at the Presidential Tribunal, but continued his case at the US court, which eventually ordered release of official documents to aid his appeal at the Supreme Court.

He had argued that there were discrepancies in the Chicago State University (CSU) certificate Tinubu submitted to the INEC which should have rendered him ineligible to contest the election.

This is the summarized allegations from Atikus lawyer, Kalu Kalu, while answering questions from journalists:

 Tinubu forged the CSU certificate submitted to INEC.

 The Southwest College Certificate he used to apply to CSU bears Female as gender.

 His CSU admission form indicates that he attended Govt College and graduated in 1970 whereas the school was established in 1974.

 The documents used in applying to CSU belong to a black American Female.

 On his INEC form, Tinubu denied having dual citizenship, therefore the admission letter cant possibly belong to him.

 The documents indicate that the initial A in Bola A Tinubu is Ahmed but is Adekunle on the NYSC certificate he tendered.

 The Supreme Court can accept new evidence if the requirements are met and Atiku has met all the requirements.




Peter Obi, presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP) in the 2023 elections, says the federal government should celebrate Nigerian teachers rather than those who have impoverished the country.

In a statement to mark World Teachers Day, Obi said there cannot be any true development in society without the contributions of teachers.

He noted that at the foundation of the development of any society is human capital development, which can only be achieved through education and the immeasurable contribution of teachers.

The great rigour, hard work, patience and dedication most teachers in different schools and institutions, especially at the basic level, put into their work to ensure that their students can become the best in learning and character, deserve commendation," Obi said.

"I have always celebrated teachers in Nigeria, whenever the opportunity comes, for example, Mr Akeem Badru, who won the 2023 Cambridge Dedicated Teacher Award.

"I have also maintained that the government should begin to celebrate Nigerian teachers, who through hard work and dedication, have distinguished themselves in many ways, rather than celebrating individuals who contribute to the challenges facing us a nation."

Obi added that while he was governor of Anambra, his administration would not have been able to achieve the many feats it recorded in the education sector without the devotion and commitment of teachers in the state.

"We need to revolutionise education in the nation, by aggressively reducing the present 22 million out-of-school children and bringing them back to schools," he said.

"This we can achieve by making more investment in education and employing more teachers."

He also urged the government to take teachers' salaries seriously and ensure that they are paid as and when due.

"At the basic education level, which is the most critical, governments at all levels, should intervene in schools owned by private and voluntary agencies, and ensure that their teachers are paid as their counterparts in public schools," Obi added.

He called on the teachers to remain resolute and patient despite the present hardship prevalent in the country and look forward to a better Nigeria.
Former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, on Thursday, said he never betrayed President Bola Tinubu, during their political alignment in 2007.

He said rather than betray the President, he stood up to his then-principal, President Olusegun Obasanjo, and ensured that Lagos State did not fall to the political tsunami of 2003.

Atiku, who was the Peoples Democratic Party presidential candidate in the 2023 presidential election, stated this during a press briefing in Abuja.

Those of you who are old enough will also remember that in 2003, the PDP took over all the South-Western states, with the exception of Lagos.

I stood between Obasanjo and himself (Tinubu) and I said no, you (Obasanjo) cant take over Lagos. Leave it and he (Obasanjo) left it. So, who is indebted to whom? Is it me or Bola Ahmed Tinubu? I vehemently deny that I stabbed Tinubu in the back.

There are other things which I will not want to go into, the former Vice President said.

Atiku, who was responding to a question from a journalist on a claim by a presidential spokesman that he betrayed Tinubu by requesting the Presidents academic records from the Chicago State University, said he had Tinubu parted ways politically after the former Lagos State governor wanted to be his running mate in 2007.

He said, I beg to disagree (on betrayal allegation) with Bola Ahmed Tinubu. Yes, it is true that in 2007 we came together to form an alliance in Lagos, and at the convention, I contested and got the ticket. After I got the ticket, he sent about 5 or 6 seniors  some of them are here  I can even name them but I dont want to embarrass them.

They met me and said to me that Bola wanted to be my running mate. I said to them, gentlemen, youre all old enough, and apparently, virtually all of you are Christians with the exception of one person. What will be your reaction to having a Muslim-Muslim ticket?

All of them said we totally objected to it and I said why didnt you tell him when he was giving you the message that look Mr Tinubu, the message youre sending us, we dont seem to agree with you on it (Muslim-Muslim ticket). Why are you coming then to me? And that was the end of our political relationship. We broke away, so what is the ground for him to say that I betrayed him?

Till today, I wont do a Muslim-Muslim ticket; I dont have to be president; we are a multi-ethnic and multi-religious people, and our government must reflect our diversity, and our composition must reflect the same.

The PUNCH reports that the university released the academic records of the President on Monday and the CSU Registrar, Carl Westberg, also carried out a deposition of the documents on Tuesday, in compliance with the ruling of Magistrate Jeffrey Gilbert.

Gilbert had on September 19 granted Atikus request for the release of Tinubus academic records but the President filed a review of the order.

Tinubus lawyers insisted that the documents would not be relevant in Atikus appeal against Tinubu at the Supreme Court and asked for a review of the ruling.

However, federal judge Nancy Maldonado overruled Tinubus objections and ordered the CSU to release the Presidents academic records.

In the CSU documents, the institution responded to Atikus four requests and affirmed that Tinubu attended the CSU.

Meanwhile, the Presidency on Wednesday insisted that the academic records released by the varsity had vindicated the President and confirmed him as an alumnus of the school.

The Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Public Affairs, Temitope Ajayi, also submitted that the CSU never said the certificate presented to the Independent National Electoral Commission before the presidential election by Tinubu was forged in its deposition.

Having obtained Tinubus academic records on the order of an Illinois, Chicago court, Atiku would on Thursday (today) file his application at the Supreme Court.

Atiku, who contested against Tinubu in the February presidential election on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party, is expected to file the documents he obtained from the CSU in furtherance of his election appeal at the Supreme Court.




The presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the 2023 general election, Atiku Abubakar, has said he will drop his fight with President Bola Tinubu after the Supreme Court rules on his appeal against the judgement of the tribunal.

Atiku, who finished behind Tinubu in the election, had challenged the victory of the President in court.

However, the former vice-president lost as the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal struck out his petition.

Despite the tribunals ruling, Atiku continued his case at a United States court, which eventually ordered the release of official documents Atiku is seeking to include in his appeal at the Supreme Court.

He had argued that there were discrepancies in the Chicago State University (CSU) certificate Tinubu submitted to INEC which should have rendered him ineligible to contest the election.

Speaking at a press conference in Abuja on Thursday, Atiku said: I have already filed my appeal against him at the Supreme Court.

It is only when the court rules that he is right that I will drop this fight; in other words, I will drop this fight when the court rules because there is no court higher than the Supreme Court.

When asked if he was under pressure from Tinubu to drop the case, Atiku claimed that after the election, he learnt that some governors were sent by Tinubu to reach out to him.

I didnt even let them come to my house, Atiku revealed.
Under the cover of night and with his shoes tied around his neck, 19-year-old Peter Posteuca swam across the Danube River from Romania to Yugoslavia in 1976, escaping communism and desolate living conditions. Posteuca made it to Austria, then he immigrated to the United States.

I will never forget flying into the JFK airport and seeing the Statue of Liberty from the window, Posteuca said. I still get chill bumps thinking about that day. It was a big moment in my life.
ESPN New Yorks Don La Greca is known for his rants. So much so, that every so often on social media, when its been a while since his last diatribe, theyd post an updated count of the number of days since his last tirade.

On Monday, the number on the whiteboard was replaced with a zero, as La Greca completely lost it on Giants right tackle Evan Neal, who openly criticized fans to Darryl Slater of NJ Advance Media. [WATCH]

BUY GIANTS TICKETS: STUBHUB, VIVID SEATS, TICKETMASTER

La Greca, who cohosts The Michael Kay Show alongside Yankees play-by-play announcer Michael Kay and Peter Rosenberg, took exception when Neal relegated Giants fans to mere burger flippers.

Id rather have a guy thats flipping hamburgers block than your piece of garbage ass, La Greca yelled. Who the hell are you to talk to fans like that, you piece of garbage?

La Greca didnt take exception to Neal taunting fans to cheer louder as he walked off the field in the Giants 24-3 loss to the Seahawks on Sunday. New Yorks record is 1-3 and has been outplayed in every half but one this season.

His issue with Neal is how hes demeaning of fans.

These Giants fans were here before you, and theyll be here after your sorry ass is cut, La Greca added. What a piece of human trash.

So, what should Giants fans do the next time they go to MetLife Stadium?

Dont stop booing him, La Greca encouraged. If he goes to the Pro Bowl, boo him. If he wins a Super Bowl, boo his sorry ass. Screw that guy!

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Neal apologized for ripping fans on X (formerly Twitter) on Wednesday night:

I am wrong for lashing out at the fans who are just as passionate and frustrated as I am. I let my frustrations in my play and my desire to win get the best of me. I had no right to make light of anyones job, and I deeply regret the things I said. We are working day in and day out to grow as a team, and this was an unnecessary distraction. I apologize.

MORE SPORTS

- Yankees will sign trade deadline fit in free agency instead, MLB analyst predicts

- Mets fixture leaves organization as new president is hired, report says

- Giants coach trapped, should seek to be traded, says FS1 host

Thank you for relying on us to provide the journalism you can trust. Please consider supporting us with a subscription.

Manuel Gomez may be reached at mgomez@njadvancemedia.com.
Bayonnes school community can anticipate some stability in leadership through at least 2029. But that stability doesnt come cheap.

The Board of Education has approved a new contract for Superintendent John Niesz that will pay him more than $300,000 in the last year of the five-year deal that starts in July 2024.
A Newark man was driving 125 miles per hour in a 45 mph zone and had twice the legal limit of alcohol in his bloodstream before killing a passenger in a crash on a Jersey City highway last month, authorities said in a criminal complaint.

The driver in the fatal Sept. 1 crash on Route 139, Gabriel Melo, was initially charged with second-degree death by auto, but Hudson County Prosecutor Esther Suarez announced Thursday the 22-year-old has also been charged with first-degree aggravated manslaughter, second-degree reckless manslaughter and fourth-degree death by auto.

Melo was also cited for driving while intoxicated in the incident in which he may have been racing another driver. He was arrested by members of the Hudson County Regional Collision Investigation Unit at the Hudson County jail, where he was being detained from an initial charge.
EDITORS NOTE: NJ Cannabis Insider, NJ.coms B2B cannabis industry trade journal and events vertical, is hosting the states foremost business conference on Oct. 12. Tickets are limited.

A21 Dispensary, the 66th legal weed shop to open in New Jersey, is marking the occasion with a grand opening celebration Oct. 6 and 7 at their storefront in Scotch Plains.

The township mayor, other city officials and the entire A21 staff will be at the ribbon cutting ceremony at noon on Oct. 6. After the ceremony, attendees can participate in giveaways, food trucks, live music, vendors, charitable organizations, and discounts for every customer.

The stores hours of operation for its opening weekend are 10 a.m.-8 p.m on Oct. 6 and 9 a.m.-8 p.m. on Oct. 7. The block party will take place in the parking lot behind the building. Located on the busy commercial area near the south end of the Watchung Reservation (at 2507 US-22), A21 joins one other independent retailer among Union Countys five dispensaries.

Joining A21 in this celebration will be Good Vibes Medical Center, Verano, Miss Grass, and TerrAscend. The Scotch Plains police department will also be onsite doing community outreach, store representatives said in a press release.

In addition, nonprofits slated to attend include the Epilepsy Foundation of NJ and Autism Services of NJ. Hoffman Expungement Clinic, offering assistance with expunging minor cannabis offenses from personal legal records.

The town of Scotch Plains and local residents have been so welcoming and supportive of our small business since opening in August, said owner and CEO Prav Asokan. We are thrilled to celebrate with the community and invite everyone to check out our educational dispensary experience. A21 Wellness Dispensary will continue to be committed to helping our customers shop for cannabis in a way that will support a healthy lifestyle and overall well being.

The shop stocks a wide variety of accessories for smoking and storage from an array of brands like Grav, Boveda, Zenco, Yocan, Studenglass, Puffco and Sireel. They also carry sheets and wraps from Raw, Blazy Susan and ZigZag.

Their menu of cannabis products includes items from many brands like Viola, Columbia Care, AYR, Cookies, Edie Parker (check out my review), Justice Grown, Verano, 1906, Wana, The Botanist and many more.

The microbusiness features smart-technology to assist consumers in picking products that are right for them with their individual needs in mind. Their menu, complete with descriptions for each product, is available for preorders on the website.

Have a question about consuming weed? Ask me anything.

RELATED STORIES ABOUT LEGAL WEED IN N.J.:

Complete list of places to buy legal weed in N.J.

This new legal weed store is 2nd to open just blocks from Rutgers main campus

Take a look inside these N.J. legal weed shops

2 new N.J. cannabis stores carry these designer pre-rolled joints. Heres my review.

Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com.

Gabby Warren is NJ.coms Cannabis Life reporter. Shell be covering all things weed retail, commerce and culture.
Cooking with cannabis is like being a chef who finds five new spices, says Rob Mejia, New Jersey educator and author of The Essential Cannabis Book: A Field Guide for the Curious, which features instructions on how to cook with weed. When you match the right terpenes with the right dishes, its like magic.

Mejia will provide demonstration on how to cook with the the plant during the NJ Cannabis Insider fall business conference on Oct. 12 at the DoubleTree Hotel Newark Airpot. (Tickets are limited.)

Infusing food with cannabis lets you control dosing, flavors, and the overall edibles experience, said Mejia, who also founded the education company Our Community Harvest and is an instructor at Stockton University. I like to focus on the craft side of the cannabis edibles market by offering education in how to create infused butters and oils. These are the building blocks of your unique products.

Prior to Mejias 20-minute cooking class, Tara Misu Sargente, founder of Blazin Bakery and Green Alchemy, one of the states leading cannabis manufactures, will provide an overview on New Jerseys requirements to get licensed to produce sanctioned edible products, such as gummies and chocolates. The state recently approved new rules to expand the types of edibles that can be sold in New Jersey, such as beverages, chocolates, baked goods and butters.

Sargente and Mejia will be among 25 other speakers scheduled to share actionable information cannabis businesses  whether theyre about to apply or about to open or expand  can use immediately.

A special speed-networking session, presented by Tenax Strategies, is designed to connect with you with the right people to help your business grow and thrive.

Doors open at 9 a.m. with cannabis trailblazer Wanda Jamess keynote address opening the all-day event at 10 a.m. The conference ends at 5 p.m. Attendees can join an official after party later that night minutes away in Downtown Newark. Tickets ($295) are limited for the conference. A select number of discounted tickets were made available for social equity applicants. Click here for more details and to purchase tickets.

Heres the full lineup, presentation topics, sponsors, vendors and special discovery areas:

Keynote

Wanda James, founder and CEO of , founder and CEO of Simply Pure

CannaTalks & Presentations

Government

Meet Your Regulators: Understanding How CRC Works For You

Dianna Houenou , chairwoman of the , chairwoman of the N.J. Cannabis Regulatory Commission

Wesley McWhite III, CRC director of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

Government Services

Grants & Training: What the N.J. Government Is Doing to Help You

Tauhid Chappell , NJ Business Action Center (NJBAC), , NJ Business Action Center (NJBAC), Cannabis Training Academy

Genna Jones , program manager at New Jersey Economic Development Authority ( , program manager at New Jersey Economic Development Authority ( NJEDA

Donald Newman, manager of Small Business Advocacy, , manager of Small Business Advocacy, NJBAC

Applications

The Road to License Approval Is Never a Straight Line

Ellie Siegel , CEO and founder of the cannabis consulting firm , CEO and founder of the cannabis consulting firm Longview Strategic

Mollie Hartman Lustig, an attorney, is the chair of , an attorney, is the chair of McLaughlin and Stern s Cannabis Practice Group

Wholesale, Distribution & Delivery: Following the Road to Success

Manufacturing & Edibles: Expansion is Here. Infusion Demonstration

Tara Misu , CEO of Blazin Bakery and Green Alchemy

Rob Mejia, author, founder of , author, founder of Our Community Harvest , professor at Stockton University

Cultivation

Essentials of Growing Indoors and Outdoors

Smrita Choubey , founder and CEO of , founder and CEO of Veda Farms

Spencer Belz, marketing director at Veda Farms

Municipalities

Talk to The Mayor and Council President: Insights on Municipal Approval

Supply and Demand

From Seed to Sale: Why Its Vital to Know Your Supply Chain

Suzan Nickelson , founder of , founder of Holistic Solutions , NJ Cannabis Insider sponsor of Social Equity Discovery Area

Kate Juliano, senior account manager, head of Social Equity-NJ at , senior account manager, head of Social Equity-NJ at Ascend Wellness Holdings

Commerce Readiness

Safeguarding Success: Compliance, Security and Commerce Readiness

Tony Gallo , CEO of , CEO of Sapphire Risk Advisory Group

Jacob Hicks, associate Vice President at associate Vice President at Tenax Strategies

Capital & Spending

Funding Your Build: Knowing the Costs Before Raising Money

Special Sessions

Ask This Attorney Anything: Licensing, Strategic Planning, SOPs, etc.

Chirali Patel, founder and CEO of founder and CEO of Blaze Responsibly and Blaze Law

Local and federal policy: Whats Next For N.J.s Cannabis Marketplace?

The Speed Networking Session presented by Tenax Strategies

NJ Cannabis Insider has partnered with marketing and PR firm THCIAAB to moderate the 40-minute, intense speed-networking session designed to help license-holders meet other license-holders and all the other businesses they need to build and grow their operations.

Sponsors and exhibitors

Strategic Partners

Rob Mejia , provides curious adults clear, researched information, stories from the cannabis community and products that offer confident, safe, and smart ways to experience cannabis. Mejia writes the Prof. Mejias Weed Corner for NJ Cannabis Insider. Our Community Harvest , founded by, provides curious adults clear, researched information, stories from the cannabis community and products that offer confident, safe, and smart ways to experience cannabis. Mejia writes the Prof. Mejias Weed Corner for NJ Cannabis Insider.

Ellie Siegel , provides advisory services and industry insights to public, private and not-for-profit entities throughout the country. With years of active experience, Longview has been able to provide top quality counsel, secure hallmark resources and connections, and contribute writing services for client projects and developments. Longview Strategic , founded by, provides advisory services and industry insights to public, private and not-for-profit entities throughout the country. With years of active experience, Longview has been able to provide top quality counsel, secure hallmark resources and connections, and contribute writing services for client projects and developments.

Josh Alb , hosts free community education events on cannabis and how individuals can enter the industry. Cannademix is NJ Cannabis Insiders Cannademix , founded by, hosts free community education events on cannabis and how individuals can enter the industry. Cannademix is NJ Cannabis Insiders After Party partner.

Precious Osagie Erese, is a luxury cannabis brand, curating an unrivaled cannabis experience for those who appreciate the art of indulgence and the culture of the plant. Our products redefine the perception of cannabis while combining the highest standards of craftsmanship, forging moments of creativity, empowerment, euphoria and connection. PRECIOUS Canna Co , founded byis a luxury cannabis brand, curating an unrivaled cannabis experience for those who appreciate the art of indulgence and the culture of the plant. Our products redefine the perception of cannabis while combining the highest standards of craftsmanship, forging moments of creativity, empowerment, euphoria and connection.

Cannabis Insider Jobs , in collaboration with NJ Cannabis Insider, is dedicated to helping individuals find a career in the cannabis industry, leveraging its digital presence through NJ.com s parent company Advance Local

Click here for more details and to purchase tickets. (Note: Availability is limited. As others will tell you, we have had to turn people away from our last several large-scale events.)

NJ Cannabis Insider is a weekly subscriber-based online trade journal and events group produced by NJ Advance Media, which also publishes NJ.com, The Star-Ledger and other affiliated papers. Are you interested in the N.J. cannabis industry? Subscribe here for insider exclusives. Follow us on LinkedIn.
A gang member from New Jersey has pleaded guilty to his involvement in the fatal shooting of a rival gang member, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger said.

Tre Byrd, a 22-year-old member of the Rollin 60s Neighborhood Crips, pleaded guilty to racketeer influenced and corrupt organizations conspiracy in Newark federal court on Tuesday. Byrd is also known by the street names of Bands and G Bandz, according to the indictment.

The Rollin 60s Neighborhood Crips is an interstate criminal enterprise responsible for acts of violence and the distribution of illegal drugs, prosecutors said. The gang originated in Los Angeles and now operates in at least six states. Byrd was a part of the Silverbacc Gorillas unit of the gang, which operates in sections of New Jersey including Essex, Middlesex, Mercer and Union counties, according to the indictment.

Byrds territory was in Irvington and he was known for stealing cars to be used in crimes committed by other gang members, authorities said.

Detectives investigating the gang found that Byrd engaged in conversations with other members on social media about the planned killing of the rival gang member in March 2019. On March 20, 2019, co-conspirator Elijah Willamis, a.k.a. Lil Smith, gunned the associate down near Irvington High School, officials said.

The victim belonged to the Jungle Boys gang and was suspected to have killed a member of the Rollin 60s in 2017, the indictment said. The indictment did not identify the victim.

Investigators also determined that Byrd was involved in an armed robbery in Newark on June 20, 2020, in which he and an associate, Abdul Yarrell, used a .22 caliber revolver to steal about $1,000 in cash from a victim, authorities said.

Ten alleged members of the Rollin 60s were charged in the indictment.

Byrds sentencing is scheduled for February 7.

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Nicolas Fernandes may be reached at nfernandes@njadvancemedia.com.
Attorney generals in three states, including New Jersey, have filed a civil complaint against a group of medical centers for allegedly subjecting Medicare and Medicaid recipients with end-stage renal disease to unnecessary surgeries and defrauding both of the federal health insurance programs, officials said.

Fresenius Vascular Care, which has centers throughout the state, one of its New York-based executives, Dr. Gregg Miller, and several affiliates, were named as defendants in the lawsuit filed Monday, according to a release from the New Jersey Attorney Generals Office. They were accused of violating the New Jersey False Claims Act as well as state laws in New York and Georgia.

The defendants were accused of scheduling these patients for appointments every three to four months, supposedly to to preserve their dialysis access sites, the office said. At these appointments, the patients were sedated and had invasive procedures on their veins and arteries performed on them which put them at a heightened risk of severe complications.

However, most of these patients had no problems receiving dialysis and did not need these surgeries, investigators said. Fresenius Vascular Care parent companys own research allegedly showed that the so-called monitoring surgeries they performed do not benefit patients and, in fact, can damage their ability to receive life-saving dialysis treatment.

As alleged in this complaint, greed motivated these defendants to rip off taxpayers and subject sick patients with advanced kidney disease to needless, life-threatening medical procedures, New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin said in a statement. Some of these patients were operated on repeatedly  for nothing. Conscientious medical professionals who raised questions and objections to this shameful scam and to the necessity of these surgeries faced backlash from the defendants. This alleged fraud scheme not only resulted in waste and abuse of public finances, but also was a violation of these healthcare providers duty to put their patients safety and health above all else.

The suit named several medical centers with New Jersey ties, including Image Guided Surgery & Aesthetics on McBride Avenue in Woodland Park, Access Care Physicians of NJ on Galloping Hill Road in Union Township, Azura Surgery Center on Marlton Pike East in Cherry Hill, and the limited liability company New Jersey Interventional Associates, whose employees performed vascular-access services at the Fresenius Vascular Access Centers in New Jersey, the office said.

Fresenius Vascular Care subjected the patients, which included elderly people, people of color, and low-income individuals, to unnecessary and invasive procedures to increase its revenues and decrease expenses, according to the complaint.

The center allegedly falsified patient referrals, ignored relevant medical records, and falsified diagnostic reports to justify billing for repeated diagnostic and surgical procedures such as fistulagrams, which are radiological procedures in which dye is injected into the patients vein or artery to visualize the port and surrounding blood vessels, and angioplasties, in which wires and balloons are inserted into veins or arteries that have narrowed to restore blood flow, officials said.

Fresenius Vascular Care trapped its patients in a cycle clinically timed evaluations were they were forced to have these procedures every three to four months; procedures which carried grave risks such as over-sedation, infection, ruptured blood vessels, and internal or external bleeding, the complaint stated.

One dialysis patient in New Jersey endured on at least nine unnecessary X-rays and angioplasties between March 2013 and June 2018, the complaint continued. In several instances, the patient was asked to come in for timed clinical evaluations without a referral and would then be operated on, with the defendants billing Medicare and New Jersey Medicaid for thousands of dollars with each procedure.

The center was also accused of pressuring its providers to adopt this scheme, by creating contests to incentivize staff to maximize the number of procedures performed on dialysis patients, and pushing doctors who questioned the scheme to quit, investigators said. At one point, Dr. Miller supposedly told a physician who questioned whether the repeated procedures were necessary, How can you expect to make money if you are sending 80% of the patients home?

The case was initiated by two doctors, who are pursuing claims on behalf of 16 additional states pursuant to those states false claims acts, the office said.

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Chris Sheldon may be reached at csheldon@njadvancemedia.com.
A Bergen County man who hopes to run for congress next year has filed a federal lawsuit against Secretary of State Tahesha Way, claiming New Jersey forces people who run for office to swear to a religious oath.

James Tosone, 70, of Washington Township, describes himself as a nontheist, one who doesnt ascribe to a god or gods in a religion, according to the lawsuit, filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Trenton.

The lawsuit argues Way and the state are violating First Amendment freedoms by unconstitutionally compelling New Jersey citizens to swear so help me God or else forgo their constitutional rights to seek public office.

The New Jersey Office of the Attorney General did not immediately respond Thursday to a request for comment on the suit.

While Mr. Tosone previously completed the candidate petition in order to participate in past elections, he now sincerely believes, as a matter of conscience, that he cannot swear so help me God, the lawsuit says.

In response to a November 2021 inquiry from Tosone on the matter, a state elections specialist suggested he contact elected officials who would be willing to introduce a bill changing state statutes, according to an email contained within the complaint.

The relevant statute currently reads that every elected official is required by law to give assurance of fidelity and attachment to the government by stating so help me God.

The suit claims violations of the United States Constitution with regard to free speech clauses.

By requiring plaintiff to swear so help me God, in order to run for public office, without a secular option, the secretary of state has inflicted, and will continue to inflict, irreparable harm upon (Tosone), the suit says.

Anthony G. Attrino may be reached at tattrino@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @TonyAttrino. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
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BAKU, Azerbaijan, October 5. Armenian lobby, both in Russia, and the US are plotting against Azerbaijan, a diplomatic insider told Trend.

The source pointed out that interactions between Armenian lobbyists from Russia with pro-Armenian entities, notably the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA), have increased in frequency.

"It is reasonable to suspect that this growing closeness is driven by the shared objective of Armenian lobbyists to undermine Azerbaijan. Meanwhile, they appear unconcerned about the significant damage this may inflict on their countries' foreign policies and their standing on the international stage," the source elaborated.

Meanwhile, the notorious ANCA has launched a major campaign in the US against Azerbaijan in the recent days. Since the elections are not far off, they have chosen a straightforward method: voter blackmail.

Thus, the Armenian lobby plans to exert pressure on US congressmen, both Democrats and Republicans simultaneously. Their demands are simple: anti-Azerbaijani rhetoric and calls to take measures against Baku. Those who are more active will receive generous contributions for their election campaigns and the votes of Armenian voters. In the current competitive climate between Democrats and Republicans in the US, ANCA's strategy relies on the assumption that both parties may vie for both money and votes.
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The rancor between Mayor LaToya Cantrell and a majority of the New Orleans City Council reached a boiling point when the mayors communications director, Gregory Joseph, skipped a hearing on charges that he misspent taxpayers money and lied to the council about it under oath.

The charges against Joseph arise from his production of a mailer touting Cantrells accomplishments during the recall effort against her. The mailer cost at least $50,000 in city funds and appeared to violate local and state laws against using public funds for political purposes.

Council members investigated the matter for six months before invoking a City Charter provision that allows them, by a simple majority vote, to suspend or fire a mayoral appointee for gross misconduct, incompetence, or neglect of duty. The charter requires a hearing so that targeted appointees can be represented by counsel and present evidence in their defense.

Josephs hearing was scheduled for Oct. 3, but he was a no-show.

Instead, City Attorney Donesia Turner appeared on his behalf for the limited purpose of requesting a two-week continuance  so that Joseph could hire a new private attorney. Joseph had an attorney as recently as Sept. 28, but Turner told the council that that attorney (whom she declined to identify) had since withdrawn from the case.

The continuance request, along with Josephs absence, pushed several council members over the edge.

Council President JP Morrell demanded to know if Joseph was working or even at City Hall on the day of the hearing. Turner said she didnt know and wouldnt speculate.

For his part, Joseph has dissed the council on social media, saying he would not attend the hearing.

"Mr. Joseph hasn't bothered to send the council an email asking us for a continuance, Morrell said, adding that Joseph hadnt communicated at all with the council but has said repeatedly, to everyone who will listen, he had no intention of attending this council meeting."

Other council members chimed in, but they ultimately took the advice of their own attorney and granted the two-week extension. Morrell warned that no additional delays would be granted.

Controversial Cantrell mailer sought in 'context of the recall,' New Orleans procurement chief says New Orleans Chief Procurement Officer Julien Meyer told the City Council Thursday that a controversial city-funded mailer touting Mayor LaToy

Meanwhile, Cantrell defends Joseph and says the City Charter provision authorizing the councils action is unconstitutional. We are not losing Gregory Joseph, she vowed.

When asked to specify whats unconstitutional, Cantrell said, the whole process, period. Soup to nuts.

City Attorney Turner, who answers to the mayor, said after the councils attempted hearing on Oct. 3 that the administration does not actually have an official opinion on the charter provisions constitutionality. "We haven't investigated it further," she said in response to a reporters question.

As for the mayors insistence that Joseph will not be leaving her employ, some foresee Cantrell giving him an interim appointment with a new title if the council fires him.

The charter doesnt say whether a mayor can do that with a council-terminated appointee, which means this fight could wind up in the courts  where it will take a lot longer than two weeks to play out.
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BAKU, Azerbaijan, October 5. The New York Times has published a sensational article detailing how the scandalous Senator Robert Menendez, a well-known Armenian lobbyist in the US, charged in corruption, defended his Armenian wife Nadine Arslanian from a murder accusation several years ago, Trend reports.

In December 2018, Arslanian fatally hit a resident of New Jersey, while driving a Mercedes. After a brief police investigation, it was determined that Arslanian was not at fault in the accident. So, she was released without any legal proceedings. Nearly five years later, this revelation has added a remarkable dimension to the scandal that has already rocked US politics and raised new concerns about the senator's involvement in the incident.

"According to the prosecution, Arslanian urgently needed a car after the 'accident' in December 2018. Allegedly, Menendez was willing to intervene in an unrelated criminal case on behalf of a New Jersey businessman in exchange for a $60,000 worth Mercedes. Suspicions related to this incident were apparent at the time," the article said.

"A conversation with a witness at the scene revealed that officers apparently recognized the senator's wife and treated her with great respect. Police records captured a man who identified himself as a retired police officer from a neighboring department, claiming that he had arrived at the scene as a 'favor' to a friend, whose wife knew Miss Menendez," the article stated.

Notably, police reports indicate that the senator's wife did not undergo a drug or alcohol test, and she was allowed to leave the scene shortly before the victim's death in a nearby hospital. Three days later, investigators were sent to local bars to gather additional information about the whereabouts of the deceased in the hours leading up to his death.

As the newspaper emphasized, one of the witnesses of the incident claimed in his testimony that he heard Arslanian repeatedly and loudly declare to the police that she was "going to call a very important person."

"I remember one of the officers asking another in surprise: Do we really have to let her go? Not even detain her?" the article noted, citing a witness.

The article author reminded that it was Arslanian who introduced her future husband to her friend of Egyptian descent, from whom Menendez later received bribes, laying the foundation for the corruption scheme that federal prosecutors in the US are currently investigating.
Louisiana voters are heading to the polls on Saturday to cast their votes on a number of statewide races, local races and constitutional amendments.

The Gubernatorial Primary Election is Oct. 14. The Gubernatorial General Election is Nov. 18.

Click on the areas below to see everything on the ballot in New Orleans, Baton Rouge, Acadiana and Shreveport areas.
The stunning removal of Rep. Kevin McCarthy as speaker has left the House effectively paralyzed. Republicans are now struggling to bring order to their fractured majority. And they must now begin the difficult and potentially prolonged process of uniting around a new leader. The House will try to elect a speaker as soon as next week. The members currently in the running are Majority Leader Steve Scalise and Judiciary Committee Committee Chairman Jim Jordan. They're expected to be joined in the race by Kevin Hern, chair of the Republican Study Committee, the largest GOP caucus in the House. It's unclear whether any candidate will be able to win the 218 votes needed to become speaker.
The much-anticipated day for Mexican and Latin American collectors is finally here

More than 40 brands will take part in the 17th Salon Internacional Alta Relojeria (SIAR) Mexico from October 17 to 19 at The St. Regis Mexico City. Attendees will discover this years new releases, global launches, unique designs not commercially available, historical timepieces, and limited editions for Mexican customers specially designed for SIAR.

Once more, SIAR 2023 proves the strength of the Mexican market amid caution in the industry prompted by the global economy. According to the Federation de l'industrie horlogere suisse, Mexico was the seventh market registering growth in watch exports up until August 2023 with a share of 16.4%. 2022 was a great year for everybody, Mexico is still a dynamic market despite Chinas downturna key region for the industry. This positive performance is good news that translates directly to the Salon, said Carlos Alonso, General Manager for SIAR.

SIAR has consolidated its place in the luxury sector in Mexico and Latin America. This year, the Richemont Group will return with Baume & Mercier, IWC Schaffhausen, Jaeger-LeCoultre, Panerai, Piaget, and Vacheron Constantin. Bulgari, Hublot, and Zenith will be in attendance representing the LVMH Group. With an impressive legacy dating back to 1832, Longinespart of the Swatch Groupwill be joining the Salon for the first time. These maisons exhibit the eternal values of watchmaking and the industrys successful evolution to connect with younger generations.

Notably, Tudorowned by Rolex and one of the most popular brands of our time makes its return with a booth displaying its DNA. Brands joining SIAR 2023 for the first time include Gerald Charles, founded by Gerald Genta and now being revived by artistic director, Octavio Garcia, of Mexican descent; Leica, manufacturer of cameras and watches; and Golden Concept, the innovative Swiss company that makes custommade cases for smartwatches inspired in haute horlogerie. Similarly, Jean-Claude Biver, an iconic figure in the industry, has chosen SIAR to globally launch the brand hes created with son Pierre.

SIAR welcomes historic maisons Bovet 1822, Chopard, Girard-Perregaux, Grand Seiko, Perrelet, and Ulysse Nardin. Attendees will experience the wonderful creativity of independent watchmakers returning to the Salon: Arnold & Son, Backes & Strauss, Bianchet, Cuervo y Sobrinos, Cvstos, De Bethune, Konstantin Chaykin, Kross Studio, Laurent Ferrier, Louis Erard, Louis Moinet, Manufacture Royale, Reservoir, SpeakeMarin y Trilobe. Two all-time favorites among local collectors will be joining the Salon: Franck Muller and Jacob & Co, as well as Seiko and luxury vault makers and watch winders, Buben & Zorweg and Wolf.

Traditionally, SIAR brings together regional and international executives, master watchmakers, celebrities, and brands friends in an environment of community, elegance, and sophistication. The event is the perfect forum for showcasing watchmaking tradition and culture, offering maisons the opportunity of getting feedback from a passionate Mexican audience of connoisseurs.

The Salon is an exception among watchmaking events: 90% of attendees are endconsumers. It is a complete and unifying solution for participating brands. It offers the possibility of networking, selling to end-consumers, and launching limited and special editions targeted for the Mexican market. Additionally, media coverage makes it a wonderful marketing tool. The local industry has fully supported SIAR from its inception. It is a truly unique event, said Carlos Alonso.

This exclusive invitation-only event will take place from October Tuesday 17 to Thursday 19, from 10 am to 8 pm at The St. Regis Mexico City. Since 2007, SIAR has been a key platform for the development of the watch community in Mexico and Latin America. Throughout the years, as the only horlogerie Salon in the region its welcomed more than 130 brands, more than 100 CEOs, showcased more than 15,000 timepieces and hosted more than 52,000 attendees. In June 2021 it launched SIAR Summer Experience, a summer pop up showcasing independent watchmakers that has taken place three consecutive summers.

GMT and WorldTempus are proud to be the SIAR's media partners. During the fair, visitors will have the XXL World at their disposal.
After the terrorist attack in the village of Hroza in the Kharkiv region, where at least 50 people were killed, Russian dictator Vladimir Putin said that Russia had launched a "special operation" to end the war in Ukraine. He allegedly refers not to a territorial conflict but to "the principles of a new world order."

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The Kremlin leader delivered a new speech full of illogical nonsense at the plenary session of the annual meeting of the Valdai Club in Sochi on October 5. He traditionally blamed the West for all of Russia's troubles (to watch the video, scroll to the end of the news story).

Accusations against the West

According to the dictator, Russia can make a "significant contribution" to the new world order, "but our readiness was misunderstood by some as submission." He said that the West did not want to hear Russia and was overconfident.

"The West has lost its sense of reality in vain," Putin said.

He added that there have been significant changes in the world over the past 20 years, making "time shrink."

"The global problems of humanity require collective solutions, and selfishness and arrogance will lead to a dead end," the bloody dictator raved.

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In addition, Putin assured that the welfare of the West was allegedly largely achieved through the plundering of the entire planet and endless expansion.

The Kremlin leader also announced his intention to continue to develop new territories.

"We still have Siberia, Eastern Siberia, and the Far East to explore and develop," he said.

At the same time, Putin did not miss another opportunity to point out that the West is the enemy and that Russia is certainly not to blame.

"The West, a certain part of the Western elites, always needs an enemy," the dictator emphasized.

Putin on the war in Ukraine

Putin said that the war, which was allegedly "started by the Kyiv regime," has been going on for ten years, and that the "SMO" was launched to end it.

"It was not Russia that tried to threaten Donbas with bombing and intimidate Crimea, that has been bombing, shooting, using tanks and killing people for 10 years," Putin said.

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He also voiced his traditional fairy tale that "people and children were dying in Donbas before the start of the 'special operation', and that no one in the West paid attention to it and did not cry for them."

As OBOZREVATEL previously reported:

- The head of Ukraine's Foreign Intelligence Service in 2005-2010, Army General Mykola Malomuzh, said that Putin is afraid of a turning point in the war and is distracting the Ukrainian Armed Forces from important goals. According to him, Bakhmut still remains a significant settlement for the occupying country and its leader Putin. Its surrender would de facto mean a turning point in the war.

- After the full-scale invasion, Russia committed many war crimes on the territory of Ukraine. One of them is the forced relocation of thousands of Ukrainian children aged from four months to 17 years from the temporarily occupied territories to the Russian Federation.

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Only verified information is available on our Telegram Obozrevatel and Viber. Do not fall for fakes!
This was an award that that Orland Park officials could sink their teeth into.

At the Sept. 18 village board meeting, Foxs Pizza & Irish Pub was honored as the Orland Park Business of the Month and some of the officials took a trip down memory lane.

Foxs, on the corner of 143rd Street and Ravinia Avenue, has been in town for 50 years.

Trustee Cynthia Nelson Katsenes has fond memories of the place growing up. She told brothers Kyle and Ryan Fox, who were accepting the award:

They have certainly been a part of my family. My mother was there working on the opening day. My sisters, my brothers and I worked there. Your mother and father were amazing people.

They started a business that now you and your brother run, and I cant say enough good things about how you run the business and how your father has run the business.

Katsenes concluded with: Thank you for making the best pizzas in Orland Park.

Orland Park Mayor Keith Pekau also has glowing memories of Foxs since Tom Fox Sr. and his wife, Therese, opened the restaurant in Orland Park.

Foxs is 200 yards from the apartment where I grew up, Pekau said. I grew up when it was built and thats where we went to get pizza all the time. My dad was actually a very close friend with Tom Fox Sr., so it goes back a very long way including many Fridays going to see Pat OBrien sing there.

I think its the longest family-owned restaurant in Orland Park. Its been in the same location the whole time.

Pekau gave a little history lesson about how Foxs got started in Chicago before coming to Orland Park. The Fox family opened its first pub in a building sold to them in 1962 by Mafalda Capone Maritote, the sister of Al Capone.

Tom Fox Sr. was determined to have the best pizza on the South Side, Pekau said. With the couples creation of a superb pizza recipe, they solidified their claim of the best pizza on the South Side of Chicago.

And it has been a staple in Orland Park for a half of a century.

Its very cool  its something to be proud of, Ryan said of the milestone. I think it goes back to when my grandparents started a quality product with quality service. Its good food.

Foxs is a valued Orland Park staple and continues to serve our community in a way that Tom Fox Sr. would be proud to see, Pekau said.
CROWN POINT  A 25-year-old man pleaded guilty to molesting two underage girls in 2020, according to Lake County Criminal court records filed Tuesday.

Patrick Comiskey Jr., of Gary, agreed to a stipulated plea which acknowledges he molested the victims, both age 7, between September 2019 and October 2020. He agreed to plead guilty to two of the counts of child molestation he was charged with. The remaining five counts were dismissed. Both counts are level three felonies, which carry a possible sentence of three to 16 years in prison. Comiskey will serve the sentences consecutively.

As part of the plea agreement, he agreed to enter into No Contact Orders with both victims in the case for the duration of his sentence.

According to court records, on Oct. 19, 2020, Comiskey was "play wrestling" with the 7-year-old and blew on her stomach while she was covered in a blanket. The girl's 12-year-old brother told police the blanket fell and he saw Comiskey sexually assaulting her. The boy hit Comiskey on the head with a glass bottle and chased him outside.

The girl told police Comiskey had assaulted her more than once and the abuse had been going on for two weeks, according to court records.

The charges were amended in February to include information regarding the second victim. Court records show he molested the girl in her bedroom and bathroom.

Comiskey lived in a home with both of the girls. He was known to them as Uncle PJ.

He is set to appear for his sentencing Nov. 15 before Lake Criminal Court Judge Gina Jones.

Gallery: Recent arrests booked into Lake County Jail Tara Smith Javier Verdin-Gonzalez Jerrell Peterson Iris Rivera De Luna Paul King Kenneth McCeader Fred Myers Paige Perry Jordan Ivy Paola Gonzalez Kimberly Harris Roy Hunt Jr. Zion Ellis Josiah Flowers Malik Cook-Bey Marlon Davis Gabriel Bastida Aguilera Alexander Alvarez Aalayah Wright Christine Waddell Daniel Toms Kevin Williams Jr. Dayshann Smith Daniel Swets John Tacuri-Cuji Erin Sexton Saleh Mugalli Derrick Musgrave Joel Montejano Keadrick Morris Jose Mendoza Fred Montejano Desmond Davis Derrick Glade Mariah Gonzalez Djuan Chism Sean Bush John White Jr. Allen Willis Joseph Szilagyi Michelle Velez Jhoan Villomizar Jeffery Stodola Erica Stone Janet Hertzfeldt Stephan Hintz Devonte Lewis Deja Miller Steven Einikis Gabriel Garcia Fraire Marco Aguirre Jeremy Brown Donta Davis Joseph Rodriguez William Rogers Marylou Rohrbacher Jahmal Perkins Helen Reynolds Jamilla Moore Aaron Novak Nicholas Drugan Matthew Juknius Tyron Kennedy Mirlan Kojobaev John Mayes Noel Castro Michael Bryant Jr. Anthony Bennett
A Purdue University Northwest professor who's dedicated herself in assisting and advocating for wrongly convicted individuals has been awarded a Torchbearer Award by the Indiana Commission for Women.

Nicky Jackson, a criminal justice professor at PNW, was awarded the Heart of Indiana during a reception in Indianapolis last week. The Torchbearer Awards are considered the most prestigious recognition for women in the state. The Heart of Indiana category recognizes women who have helped address the needs of humanity and have demonstrated a commitment to philanthropic service, social change and the spirit of hope, according to the commission's website.

Jackson also serves as the executive director for the Center for Justice and Post-Exoneration Assistance, located at PNW.

She first became involved in exoneree advocacy when she learned about the story of Willie T. Donald, who had spent nearly 24 years in prison for crimes he didn't commit. After he was exonerated in 2016, Jackson helped Donald after he was released from prison.

Since then, she has focused much of her time helping those who have been wrongfully convicted. In 2019, she pushed for the state to provide compensation for exonerated individuals, which occurred with the passage of House Bill 1150.

In March 2022, the CJPA was established. The center focuses on providing assistances and resources for exonerees once they are freed, provide public awareness and education on wrongful convictions, lobby for criminal justice reform and investigative claims of innocence.

Currently Donald serves as the project manager for the center.

"There's nobody who has a better lens on a wrongful conviction than somebody who has been through it," Jackson said.

Donald said he viewed Jackson as a big sister and that she was well deserving of the award

"I look at her as a pit bull, once her jaws lock on something, she'll never give up," Donald said.

Jackson said she's blessed that others have recognized her work.

"That's one of the greatest honors, to be nominated by a woman, to be selected by women, that's pretty incredible to me," Jackson said.

However, with the recognition she feels a great responsibility to keep working hard, as she feels the award represents not just her, but those she has fought for.

"It's Mr. Donald's, it's all the exonerees I've had the privilege of getting to know," said Jackson. "This is their award."

PHOTOS: Beehives at PNW
Longtime mailman Dave Woerpel vividly remembers the first time he went to pick up the outgoing mail in the nine-story Bank Calumet building with an imposing limestone facade that's towered over downtown Hammond for nearly a century.

No one told him he'd need a cart for all the mail bankers and other business people dropped down the chute to the lobby of the 112-foot-bank tower at 5231 Hohman Ave.

Woerpel popped open the brass door and watched as a high-rise's worth of letters and correspondence cascaded everywhere. It took 45 minutes to clean up.

"It was like that prank where you open the closet and all the ping pong balls come out," he said. "In 1979, when I was a mailman, this downtown was hopping and it just went away. This is why I love this project going on so much."

Now a Hammond city council member, he reminisced while touring the long-shuttered bank building that's now being transformed into contemporary loft-style apartments and a wedding venue in the high-vaulted lobby. It also will host a co-working space, likely a coffee shop and possibly a speakeasy in the basement where the vault was.

The historic renovation of the building constructed by immigrant craftsmen in 1924 is more than halfway complete.

NWI Development Group, a strategic operating partner of the UpperCross Development Group that's done projects in Michiana over the last decade, plans to invest up to $24 million to convert Hammond's tallest building into 100 market-rate apartments with ground-floor retail.

It will be known as The Banc and feature views of the Chicago skyline between the fifth and ninth floors.

We are excited we are over 50% through construction and are transitioning to leasing and welcoming our new residents here soon," said Anastacia Fratto, principal of the development team.

New residents should be able to move in early next year, on the 100th anniversary of when the building was built.

Theres construction all around us. Between the South Shore West Lake extension coming through downtown and all the streetscape and roadway improvements the city of Hammond is constructing, we are in the center of some significant investment that is taking place in downtown," Fratto said. Hammond will soon be home to three new train stations within city limits, there are not many places around the country you can say that about.

The Banc will be one of the first projects finished in the new Hammond Gateway Downtown Transit Development District, which was approved last August.

We are surrounded by a lot of great things happening in downtown already. We are walking distance to grocery, a half block from the Towle Theatre and neighbors to some really incredible businesses like 18th Street Brewery and institutions like the Hammond Academy of Science of Technology and Purdue University," Fratto said. "This iconic building will be the first mixed-use development open among many in the pipeline that will make this a thriving neighborhood district that will attract even more people that want to be part of bringing new life and energy to downtown."

The 100 apartments will come in a number of floor plans, including studio, one-bedroom, two-bedroom and convertible, a larger studio with a dedicated bedroom area set aside that's in an open-air floor plan and isn't a full bedroom.

Each unfurnished apartment will come with a washer and dryer.

Residents will be able to take advantage of a fitness center, dog washing station, storage, bike storage room, secured parking and the co-working space in the grand banking hall.

We focused on offering apartments with all the finishes and amenities that todays renters are looking for. Most of the units at The Banc are studios and one-bedroom units, so we are able to offer a more affordable price point for the community than what is being offered for larger units and single-family rentals, which end up costing more per month for renters," she said.

NWI Development Group is working with a Chicago restaurant group that's looking to take over about 1,000 square feet of ground-floor commercial space for its flagship Northwest Indiana location. The coffee shop would offer pastries and a lunch menu.

It would occupy part of the grand banking hall, which will serve as a majestic events space for corporate events and about 40 to 50 weddings a year. It includes classic pillars, imported wood and chandeliers.

"The event center will be a destination for people that want to fully embrace the architectural beauty of this 1924 old banking hall, the space naturally wants to remain open so you can experience the full volume of these 38-foot ceilings, which we were told we brought on a boat from Germany when this was built," she said. "It is very unique and one-of-a-kind space to have your next celebration.

The project will restore the grandeur of Bank Calumet, which long was Hammond's largest homegrown financial institution before it got bought out by First Midwest Bank in 2016. First Midwest, which was recently gobbled up by Old National Bank, closed it in 2015 and it sat empty ever since.

"I've seen this work elsewhere when I went on a trip to New Jersey with One Region," Woerpel said. "We went to Newark, Jersey City and New York and saw all the development they built around the train in the Tri-State Area. We also toured Pittsburgh and Denver to see how transit-oriented development leads to stuff like this project. I hope it works. I remember how downtown used to be."

For more information, call 219-243-7184 or visit www.thebanchammond.com.

PHOTOS: Renovations continue on the historic Bank Calumet tower in Hammond
The Russian authorities have envisaged a 1.7-fold increase in military spending in the draft budget for 2024. It is planned to spend almost a third of the total expenditure budget - 29.4%, or 10.8 trillion rubles, which is about $108.3 billion. Analysts are confident: The Kremlin will not be able to find such money without introducing new taxes.

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This was reported by the Financial Times. The rapid growth of defense spending, which tripled after the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, is becoming an increasingly acute issue in Russia.

"Putin has two priorities: war and power. That's why the budget process now works in such a way that politicians first make sure that the junta gets what it needs for the war, and then turn to the rest of the budget. And for this purpose, they are constantly looking for new sources to scrape up money," said Konstantin Sonin, an economist and professor at the University of Chicago.

Thus, the Russian budget for 2024 is based mainly on irregular fees, such as a tax on excess profits for Russian businesses and an "exit tax" paid by foreign companies leaving the Russian market. The authorities also plan to raise additional revenue by raising taxes, export duties and excise taxes, cutting subsidies for energy companies and raising utility tariffs.

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However, it is likely that the revenue side will still be underperformed by 1 trillion rubles. In particular, Sofia Donets, a former employee of the Russian central bank and chief economist at Renaissance Capital, notes that the budget is based on an overly optimistic forecast.

To fill the gap, the Russian government is likely to introduce additional taxes and fees, analysts say. Donets believes that these will be more and more one-time fees. The Russian Federation will also be able to use additional profits from energy sales to finance the war.

According to Donets, cutting spending in areas not related to defense is a "last resort." This is not surprising, since with 30% of total budget expenditures being spent on the war, there is simply no room to cut other areas.

The fact that the government is looking for additional resources is already worrying the richest businessmen, the newspaper writes. For example, Oleg Deripaska posted the following message on his Telegram channel criticizing the duty on exporters: "We have a sovereign economy and the growth of the welfare of citizens as priorities (but it seems that only within the boundaries of 'small Moscow' and on TV). Apparently, they want to finally piss everyone off by the New Year."

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As OBOZREVATEL reported, Vladimir Putin recently raised the salaries of himself and Dmitry Medvedev. Earlier, the dictator promised to do the same for ordinary Russians.

Only verified information is available on our Obozrevatel Telegram channel and Viber. Do not fall for fakes!
Jessica Lynch, the combat veteran and prisoner of war who was rescued by special forces during the Iraq War, will give a keynote address at the upcoming Veterans Appreciation Dinner in Valparaiso.

Lynch, who was captured in combat when her convoy was ambushed by the Battle of Nasiriyah, will speak at the 7th Annual Veterans Appreciation Dinner from 4:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Nov. 1 at the Porter County Expo Center at 215 E Division Rd. in Valparaiso.

The Kiwanis and Rotary Clubs of Valparaiso are hosting the event to celebrate veterans throughout Northwest Indiana.

"We are asking our community to join us in honoring veterans who have served our country," organizers said in a press release. "An exciting addition to this year's event, is guest speaker Jessica Lynch, a former Private First Class in the United States Army and a former Prisoner of the Iraq War."

Lynch, who was a prominent figure and subject of much news coverage during the early days of the war, has become a public speaker who also recently appeared at a veterans event at the Hard Rock Casino in Gary. She will give a talk entitled "Her War, Her Story: Reflections of an Iraq War POW" in Valparaiso.

"Lynchs recovery was the first successful rescue of an American prisoner of war since World War II and the first ever of a woman," organizers said in a press release. "Lynch has since been awarded the Purple Heart, Bronze Star and Prisoner of War Medal. She has also been named West Virginian of the Year as well as Glamour Women of the Year."

A cash bar, vendor fair and book signing will take place at 4:30 p.m. The dinner, veteran recognition ceremony and featured speaker will take the stage at 6 p.m.

The Kiwanis and Rotary Clubs of Valparaiso are now looking for sponsors for the Veterans Appreciation Dinner. Donations are tax-deductible.

"Together we can celebrate all who have served," organizers said in a press release.

Tickets to the event are $30 and available at any 1st Source Bank branch in Valparaiso or at valpovetdinner2023.eventbrite.com.

For more information, contact Amy Wulf at awulf@vnanwi.org or 219-531-8024, Ellen DeMartinis at ellenoe1@yahoo.com or 219-983-2816, or Lenny Corso at lcorso@ivytech.edu or 219-242-4141.
This week, Donald Trump delivered his version of a sad tiny desk performance, hunched over the defendants table in a New York courtroom, diminished and watching the illusion of power and grandeur he has sold voters thin and run like oil in a hot pan.

He insisted on appearing in person at his civil fraud trial, apparently believing that he would continue to perform his perverse magic of converting that which would have ended other political careers into a political win for himself.

His hubris seemed to consume him, persuading him that in matters of optics, hes not only invincible but unmatched.

He has done it before: In August he scowled in his mug shot  a precursor to his Fulton County, Ga., criminal trial  summoning the allure of an outlaw, using the photo to raise millions of dollars, according to his campaign.
The woman was in critical condition on Thursday, Mr. Garcia said.

The three suspects were taken to an area hospital after the shooting and were then taken into police custody, a spokesman for the prosecutors office said on Wednesday. The authorities did not immediately describe their conditions or what injuries they had sustained.

Johnluis Sanchez, 30, of Holyoke, Mass., who remains in the hospital, will be formally arraigned on a charge of murder when his condition allows, the Hampden District Attorneys Office said on Thursday, adding that other charges are expected to follow.

Alejandro Ramos, 22, also of Holyoke, Mass., was arraigned in Holyoke District Court on Thursday for his suspected involvement in the shooting. He was charged with murder, and other charges are expected to follow, the district attorneys office said.

Mr. Ramos is being held withoutbail, with his next scheduled court date on Nov. 3.

The district attorney did not release the name of the third man involved or possible charges for him but said that he was at large on Thursday after previously saying that all three were in custody. A spokesman for the district attorneys office did not immediately respond to an inquiry on why the third man was not in custody.

The manager of a market near the site of the shooting said that one of the suspects had come into the store to buy juice.
President Bidens dog Commander is no longer living in the White House after a series of biting incidents involving staff members and Secret Service personnel, according to a spokeswoman for Jill Biden, the first lady.

Elizabeth Alexander, Dr. Bidens communications director, said the dog was no longer living with the first family.

Commander is not presently on the White House campus while next steps are evaluated, Ms. Alexander said in a statement.

The move came days after Commander, a 2-year-old German shepherd, bit a Secret Service officer. It was the 11th episode of aggressive behavior by the presidents pets, many of them involving Commander and the officers and agents who protect the president.
Within weeks, jury selection in Fulton County, Ga. will be underway. Cameras will be in the courtroom. And prosecutors will present their case alleging a sprawling conspiracy to overturn the 2020 election results in the state.

But the star defendant  former President Donald J. Trump  wont be there.

Instead, the defendants in the first trial in the racketeering case against Mr. Trump and 18 of his allies, scheduled to begin on Oct. 23, will be two of the lawyers who tried to keep him in power after the election: Kenneth Chesebro and Sidney Powell, who were the only ones to seek speedy trials, as Georgia allows.

The former president will loom over the courtroom, though, even if he is not in it. That has much to do with how racketeering cases work.

It is absolutely the trial of Donald Trump, said Keith Adams, an Atlanta defense lawyer and former prosecutor. Everyone else  theyre not extras, necessarily, but theyre bit characters.
When the Colombian artist Delcy Morelos created a giant maze of earth at the Venice Biennale in 2022, she watched some visitors respond to the structure in a way that troubled her.

People would kick the work, she remarked, sitting in the galleries of Dia Art Foundation in Chelsea, on a stack of hay destined for her next colossal installation made of soil. They wanted to know how it was built. People are so used to behaving this way when it comes to the earth.

In New York to open her first U.S. solo show, at Dia on Thursday, Morelos described herself as something of an ambassador for Mother Earth, a self-professed healer and sorceress charged with delivering a message about her force, intelligence and beauty. Industrialized cultures have forgotten her, she lamented. Here, she has raised one of her installations off the ground, partly to protect it from irreverent feet. The kicking will have to become more aggressive to reach it, she said. When you hurt the earth, you hurt yourself. We are not separate.
The Nigerian-Belgian artist Otobong Nkanga makes unorthodox work addressing the global extraction of natural resources. She has sung to copper mines in Namibia and balanced potted plants on peoples heads in Switzerland. But now, her expansive view of sculpture is being recognized by one of the art worlds top honors: the Nasher Prize.

The prize is more than a $100,000 award. A winner becomes a laureate at the Nasher Sculpture Center in Dallas, where curators help devise public programming, an exhibition and a published monograph.

I wasnt expecting this, but I am extremely honored, said Nkanga, 49, who now resides in Antwerp, Belgium. The museum exhibition will be an opportunity for the artist to reintroduce herself to American audiences. Her last solo exhibition in the United States was in 2018 at the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, where she presented soap sculptures, large paintings and woven tapestries. Included in the 2022 Venice Biennale and Documenta 14, she is a fixture of the European museum circuit, where she has received six major exhibitions over the last two years, including at the contemporary art museum in Turin, Italy, called the Castello di Rivoli.
Pinned

The author Jon Fosse in Frekhaug, Norway, on Thursday. He had been preparing himself for the last 10 years that this could happen, he said of receiving the prize.

The Norwegian novelist, poet and playwright Jon Fosse  who has found a growing audience in the English-speaking world for novels that grapple with themes of aging, mortality, love and art  was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature on Thursday, for his innovative plays and prose which give voice to the unsayable.

A prolific writer who has published some 40 plays, as well as novels, poetry, essays, childrens books and works of translation, Fosse has long been revered for his spare, transcendent language and formal experimentation.

In a news conference on Thursday, Anders Olsson, the chairman of the Nobel literature committee, praised Fosses sensitive language, which probes the limits of words.

Fosses work has been translated into around 50 languages and he is among the worlds most widely performed living playwrights. But he has only recently found major acclaim in English-speaking countries, thanks mainly to his fiction: A New Name: Septology VI-VII was a finalist for a National Book Award last year, and two of his novels have been nominated for the International Booker Prize.

He has long been tipped to receive the Nobel. In 2013, British bookmakers even temporarily suspended betting on the award after a flurry of bets on his winning, although the prize did not come his way for another decade. When it finally did, the call from the Nobel Prizes organizers came while Fosse was traveling to Frekhaug, a village on Norways west coast where he has a home.

In a statement sent through his Norwegian publisher, Fosse, 64, said he was both really happy and really surprised to receive the award. I have been among the favorites for 10 years, and felt sure that I would never get the prize, he said. I simply cannot believe it.

Asked what he aimed to convey to readers in his work, Fosse said he hoped to impart a feeling of serenity.

I hope they can find a kind of peace in, or from, my writing, he said.

In receiving what is widely seen as the most prestigious honor in literature, Fosse (whose name is pronounced Yune FOSS-eh, according to his translator) joins a list of laureates including Toni Morrison, Kazuo Ishiguro and Annie Ernaux.

Critics have compared Fosses sparse plays to the work of two other Nobel laureates: Harold Pinter and Samuel Beckett. Hes also been called the new Ibsen, after the renowned Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen.

Born in 1959 in Haugesund, Fosse grew up in western Norway, on a small farm in Strandebarm. He started writing poems and stories at age 12, and has said he found writing to be a form of escape. I created my own space in the world, a place where I felt safe, he told The Guardian in 2014.

As a young man, he was a communist and an anarchist. He studied comparative literature at the University of Bergen. Fosse writes in Nynorsk, a minority language, rather than Bokmal, the more widely used Norwegian language for literature. While some have interpreted his use of Nynorsk as a political statement, Fosse has said its simply the language he grew up with.

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In 1983, he published his debut novel, Red, Black, kicking off a remarkably prolific career. His most famous works include the Melancholia novels, delving into the mind of a painter having a mental breakdown; his novel Morning and Evening, which opens with the moment of the protagonists birth and ends with the last day of his life; and the seven-volume work Septology, an opus that runs for more than 1,000 pages and is about two elderly artists who might be the same person: One has achieved success, while the other became an alcoholic.

Jacques Testard, the founder of Fitzcarraldo Editions, Fosses British publisher, said his work touched on themes of love, art, death, mourning and friendship while the landscape of the Western fjords near Bergen where he grew up was almost a character in itself.

Although he started as a poet and novelist, Fosse rose to prominence as a playwright. He gained international recognition in the late 1990s with a Paris production of his first play, Someone Is Going to Come, about a man and a woman who have sought solitude in a remote seaside home. Fosse has said he wrote it in four or five days, and didnt revise it.

For 15 years, he focused on the theater, and traveled widely to international productions of his plays. But then he decided to retreat back into fiction, and stopped traveling, gave up alcohol and converted to Catholicism.

A former atheist who found religion later in life, Fosse has described writing as a form of mystical communion.

When I manage to write well, there is a second, silent language, he said in an interview with The Los Angeles Review of Books in 2022. This silent language says what it is all about. Its not the story, but you can hear something behind it  a silent voice speaking.

While Fosses work is sometimes formally experimental  Septology, for example, unfolds as a single sentence of stream-of-consciousness narration  it can also often feel immersive and gripping.

Decades of writing have taught Fosse humility, and to cast aside expectations, he said in an email interview on Thursday.

When I start writing I never feel sure that I will be able to write a new work, he said. I never plan anything in advance, I just sit down and start writing. And at a certain point, I have the feeling that the work is already written and I just have to write it down before it disappears.

His work can be deceptively simple, said Adam Z. Levy, the publisher of Transit Books, a small press that began publishing Fosse in the United States in 2020, with the first of his Septology series. He often writes really spare, pared-down prose, but his books catch you by surprise. They take on this really moving quality. The sentences repeat, they meander, they start in one place then come back to that at some point, kind of spiraling outward.

Damion Searls, one of Fosses English-language translators, said that while Fosse has written in a range of mediums, a unifying thread in his work was a feeling of serenity, which is why his work is often described as hypnotic or evocative of a spiritual experience.

One of the key words he uses to talk about his fiction is peace, said Searls, who translates from German, Norwegian, French and Dutch. Theres a real peacefulness in it, even though stuff happens, people die, people get divorced, but it radiates this serenity.

Along with the prestige and a huge boost in book sales, Fosse will receive 11 million Swedish krona, about $991,000.

Before Fosse, the last Norwegian recipients of the literature Nobel were Sigrid Undset, a writer of historical fiction who took the prize in 1928, and Knut Hamsun in 1920.

In recent years, the Swedish Academy, which organizes the prize, has tried to increase the diversity of considered authors after facing criticism that only 17 Nobel laureates had been women, and that the vast majority were from Europe or North America. The choice of Fosse is likely to be interpreted as a step back from those efforts.

Before Thursdays announcement, at a news conference in Stockholm, Fosse was among the favorites, although Can Xue, a Chinese writer of often surreal and experimental short stories was also tipped, as were Haruki Murakami; Salman Rushdie; and Ngugi wa Thiongo, a Kenyan novelist and playwright.

In a statement released through his Norwegian publisher on Thursday, Fosse said he was overwhelmed, and somewhat frightened."

When asked nearly a decade ago about his hopes of winning a Nobel, he said that while he would of course like to receive it, he was also wary of the burden of expectation it would bring.

Normally, they give it to very old writers, and theres a wisdom to that, he said in an interview with The Guardian. You receive it when it wont affect your writing.

Elizabeth A. Harris contributed reporting.
In the late 1990s, Tzadik was the best-distributed source for Japanese experimental rock in America. This 2006 set from its New Japan series is among the most unhinged, and most sublime. Credit the relentless energy of Yoshida, the Ruins drummer, as well as Hainos textured yelping and guitar playing.

Julius Hemphill: One Atmosphere

This saxophonist and bandleader was also active as a chamber music composer  one to whom the classical mainstream paid scant attention, but for whom Tzadik rolled out the red carpet. On the title track, spare material alternates with jolting motivic activity, with Hemphills partner, Ursula Oppens, at the piano.

Annie Gosfield: Almost Truths and Open Deceptions

This composers 2012 set reflects her vast talent: Percussion, piano and cello take their at-bats during Wild Pitch; a sampling keyboard and Roger Kleiers electric guitar power an excerpt from Daughters of the Industrial Revolution; Phantom Shakedown offers Cagean meditation; and the title work is a thrilling cello concerto.

Zorns famed file card pieces advertised a quick-cutting, cinematic experience for the ears. Godard, a mid-1980s entry, was reissued by Tzadik in 1999. And it does evoke the French New Wave works of Jean-Luc Godard, particularly Alphaville. It also offers a look at a distinguished Zorn collaborator, the turntablist Christian Marclay.

George E. Lewis: Endless Shout

This release presents a wide-angle Lewis portrait. North Star Boogaloo is a kinetic work for samples and the solo percussionist Steven Schick. Smashing Clusters reinterprets the legacy of Harlem stride piano legends. And in Voyager Lewis plays trombone against orchestral backing realized by his improvising software program of the same name.
The Norwegian novelist, poet and playwright Jon Fosse  who has found a growing audience in the English-speaking world for novels that grapple with themes of aging, mortality, love and art  was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature on Thursday, for his innovative plays and prose which give voice to the unsayable.

A prolific writer who has published some 40 plays, as well as novels, poetry, essays, childrens books and works of translation, Fosse has long been revered for his spare, transcendent language and formal experimentation.

In a news conference on Thursday, Anders Olsson, the chairman of the Nobel literature committee, praised Fosses sensitive language, which probes the limits of words.

Fosses work has been translated into around 50 languages and he is among the worlds most widely performed living playwrights. But he has only recently found major acclaim in English-speaking countries, thanks mainly to his fiction: A New Name: Septology VI-VII was a finalist for a National Book Award last year, and two of his novels have been nominated for the International Booker Prize.
On October 5, the aggressor country of Russia reported another attack by "Ukrainian" drones on the Kursk region. The incident caused power outages in parts of the region at night.

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Local authorities claimed that the drones were targeting infrastructure facilities. This was reported by Russian propaganda Telegram channels.

"The Ukrainian Armed Forces drones attacked three districts of the Kursk region," Governor Roman Starovoit said in a statement.

According to him, on Thursday night, "Ukrainian" drones struck infrastructure facilities in the Suzhansky, Korenovsky and Glushkovsky districts of the region.

The official said the power was cut off. At the same time, he assured residents that emergency crews have already begun to restore power supply.

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To recap: On September 29, Russians complained that a drone had dropped explosives on a substation in the Kursk region. As a result, a transformer caught fire and five settlements were left without electricity.

The Russian Defense Ministry claimed to have shot down 11 "Ukrainian" UAVs. At the same time, the Security Service of Ukraine emphasized that the drones had actually successfully attacked a power substation near Kursk, which was connected to a number of Russian military facilities.

As OBOZREVATEL previously reported, on October 4, an air raid alert was suddenly activated throughout the Russian Federation. The Russians were very concerned about the event, but the local Ministry of Emergency Situations said that it was just a test of the country's readiness "for the intended purpose."

Only verified information is available on our Telegram channel Obozrevatel and Viber. Do not fall for fakes!
For Fosse, the unsayable manifests in the many ways of exploring questions of being, consciousness and art-making: His first-person protagonists keep trying to say and trying to say and trying to say. Indeed, one of Fosses former students and easily his best-known admirer, Karl Ove Knausgaard, proposes that the voice of Fosses fiction is a presence unconnected with Fosses own time, but connected rather with something else.

For a writer like Knausgaard, and other contemporary names in autofiction, like Ben Lerner, Rachel Cusk and Sheila Heti, that something else is a self-reflexive, miasmatic, anomie-filled and often solipsistic territory between the self and the world. Not for Fosse. His writing is informed by a searching openness to the eternal that is, to modify Knausgaards assessment slightly but importantly, connected with someone else, a living being, which is to invoke the core of the Christian proposition: The Word was made flesh, and dwelled among us. In other words, God spoke and that divine fiat both created the world and took human form, which opened the possibility of a connection to the Divine in our own mortal lives.

If experiencing all of that in a single sentence that runs across hundreds of pages is a daunting entry point, I bring you tidings of great joy: A Shining, which will be published on Oct. 31, is only 75 pages long and made up of short, simple sentences; its also, somehow, a luminous and subtle rewriting of the entire Divine Comedy. Told in the first person, the novel is about a lost-feeling man who decides to drive his car into a secluded forest in deep winter, just as Dantes poem opens with the poet finding himself lost in a dark wood, in the middle of the universal journey of life. Feeling cold from more than just the weather, Fosses protagonist ventures out into the ever-darkening woods, drawn by an obscure but light-filled presence:

Now its really as dark as it can get and there in front of me I see the outline of something that looks like a person. A shining outline, getting clearer and clearer. Yes, a white outline there in the dark, right in front of me. Is it far away or is it nearby. I cant say for sure. Its impossible, yes, impossible to say whether its close or far away. But its there. A white outline. Shining. And I think its walking toward me. Or coming toward me. Because its not walking. Its just getting closer and closer somehow. And the outline is entirely white. Now I see it clearly. Yes, I see that its white. A whiteness. Its so clear in the black darkness.

Fosse is our ages great writer of light and darkness. His characters reckon with the real presence of God in their lives and in the world, both of which, if God didnt exist, would amount to a total void. As A Shining develops, this presence remains close but is never named; elsewhere, it is joined by other shapes that the man eventually discerns as his parents. They have come into the woods to search for their lost son, calling for him and asking him to come close so they can help bring him to a better place  Fosses variation on Beatrice and Virgil guiding the lost Dante to God and heaven.

The exchanges between the man and his parents  a chatty mother and an almost mute father  are occasionally funny but more often moving in how they disclose much about an earlier family life marked by suppressed feelings and fraught, often failed efforts at shared understanding. But there are no events or places specified; Fosses sensibility is to resist that kind of concrete explication. For him, human reality finds its fullest, active unfolding in an interior life that tries and tries to transcend to an ultimate exterior reality, which is to say, toward a God Who Exists. The time, places and experiences in between, which take up the middle part of A Shining, form a contemplative, ascendant walk in a dark forest, not unlike the climb up the mountain in Dantes Purgatory.

In Fosses provocatively shaded and muted but still belief-affirming rendering of Paradise, heaven isnt the geometrically perfect, saint-filled cosmic wonderland of Dante. Its a grayness thats holding me, yes, embracing everything that exists, but its like nothing exists, yes, its as if everything just is in its grayness, nothing exists and then suddenly Im in a light so strong that its both said and unsayable, and Ill leave that sentence open because you should pick up the book and let Fosse take you the rest of the way.
Confronted with a surge of migrants, the Biden administration has decided to waive more than 20 federal laws and regulations, including environmental ones, to build barriers along the U.S.-Mexico border. The move is a remarkable reversal for a president who campaigned vociferously against a wall and halted its construction on his first day in office.

President Biden said today that he still believed that the border wall was ineffective, but he insisted that he had no choice but to use money that was already appropriated for the walls construction. The homeland security secretary, Alejandro Mayorkas, argued that there was an acute and immediate need for the barriers in order to prevent unlawful entries into the United States.

The move is one of the starkest signs yet of the challenges Biden is wrestling with, as humanitarian crises across the world drive more migrants to the border, and while a deeply divided Congress leaves in place an outdated, dysfunctional immigration system.

News that the wall would be expanded broke as three members of Bidens cabinet were traveling to Mexico for meetings with the countrys leader on a host of issues, including migration and border security. Mexicos president, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, denounced the new construction, saying it stands contrary to what Biden had been arguing.
Russian strike kills 51 in a Ukrainian village

At least 51 people were killed yesterday when a rocket hit a group of people gathered for a wake in the village of Hroza in northeastern Ukraine, Ukrainian officials said.

The strike, which hit a shop, was one of the deadliest wartime attacks on civilians since Russias full-scale invasion began more than 19 months ago. Images verified by The New York Times show that a building was almost entirely destroyed.

The tiny enclave had no obvious military or industrial targets nearby. Almost half of the village was killed by a single strike, said Dmytro Chubenko, a local official.

Photos and videos from the scene released by the Ukrainian authorities showed bodies on the ground and rescue workers clambering over piles of debris. Ukraines State Emergency Service warned that people could be trapped under the rubble.
To protect its flocks and its foie gras from the ravages of bird flu, France has begun a mass vaccination of 64 million ducks.

The campaign, which started this week, aims to prevent the spread of a deadly variant of avian influenza that has forced French farmers to cull more than 30 million birds in the past three years, contributing to a downturn in the production of foie gras.

A real glimmer of hope, Eric Dumas, a duck farmer and the president of Frances foie gras federation, said in a statement after the agriculture minister, Marc Fesneau, visited his farm near Bordeaux to inaugurate the campaign.

But the bird vaccination program, which Mr. Fesneau described as the first in the European Union, has led to a quick reaction from the United States, which said it would restrict imports of ducks and other poultry from Europe. Frances decision to vaccinate presents a risk of introducing the disease into the United States, the U.S. Agriculture Department said.
In late 2016, when the private equity mogul Leon Black was trying to sell one expensive piece of art to buy another without incurring a hefty tax bill, he turned to the one man he knew who could help pull it off: his friend Jeffrey Epstein.

On Nov. 23 that year, Mr. Black sold an Alberto Giacometti sculpture from his massive private art collection for $25 million to a trust controlled by Mr. Epstein, by then a registered sex offender, according to documents viewed by The New York Times. That same day, a company linked to Mr. Black used the proceeds from that sale to buy a watercolor painting by Paul Cezanne for $30 million.

Mr. Black, a co-founder of Apollo Global Management, took advantage of an incentive that allows an investor to defer paying capital gains taxes on the sale of an asset if the proceeds are quickly rolled over into the purchase of a like kind asset of equal or greater value. Although the incentive was intended mainly to encourage new construction by real estate developers, private art collectors often used it until the 2017 tax law closed the loophole.

The documents, the contents of which have not been previously reported, offer a rare look at some of the high-priced tax and estate advisory work that Mr. Epstein provided Mr. Black in the years before Mr. Epstein was arrested on federal sex-trafficking charges in July 2019. Mr. Black, who had known Mr. Epstein for years, paid $158 million to Mr. Epstein for services such as the art transaction from 2013 to 2017.
Indonesia was one of the first countries where TikTok launched TikTok Shop, betting on the apps potential to become a successful retail platform for the companys second-largest user base.

Now, the country has become the first to block the feature.

TikTok, a hugely popular short-form video platform, shut down its Shop apparatus in Indonesia on Wednesday after the country banned commerce on social media platforms to protect local business owners, a setback for the apps new venture in a major market.

TikTok Shop is one of the social networks latest attempts to generate more revenue. Creators and brands can add a Shop button to their videos and live broadcasts, allowing users to buy products with a few taps without leaving the app.

The app itself was not banned in Indonesia. But people there could no longer buy or sell goods through TikTok or other social media platforms after the trade ministry issued new regulations last week. The rules, which essentially mandate the separation of e-commerce and social media, are meant to protect local merchants, prevent algorithms from dominating the market and stop the use of personal data for business purposes, the ministry said.
In 2015, Pope Francis offered a sprawling meditation on mans place on Earth and the spiritual implications of human-caused global warming. Eight years later, he appears to have little patience for such ruminations.

In an updated environmental treatise published this week, the pope names and shames the countries and industries he sees as bad actors and makes an urgent plea for collective action.

With the passage of time, I have realized that our responses have not been adequate, while the world in which we live is collapsing and may be nearing the breaking point, he writes in Laudate Deum, which was issued at the start of a major gathering of bishops and lay people at the Vatican.

He specifically takes aim at citizens of richer countries and the irresponsible lifestyle of the developed world.
The Biden administration is taking steps to create new rules for employers, with two key steps expected in the coming months. A handful of states have put in place standards for work in extreme heat, including California, which requires employers to allow outdoor workers to rest in the shade in temperatures above 80 degrees.

But in other states, workers like Mr. Soto, who makes $15 an hour, continue to suffer as extreme heat spans the summer months and the early fall. Dallas endured a record number of September days with triple-digit temperatures.

The worst-performing states are just not going to do it on their own, said Dr. Rosemary Sokas, an occupational health expert at Georgetown University who co-wrote a recent article in The New England Journal of Medicine on the dangers now faced by workers in absence of a federal regulations.

Prodded in 2021 by President Biden, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration is drafting guidelines for indoor and outdoor work in heat, which could allow the federal government to fine employers that violate its recommendations.
What do a Republican presidential debate, Metas foray into artificial intelligence and a new musical by the composer Stephen Sondheim, who died in 2021, all have in common?

Each was a subject of a recent episode of The Headlines, a weekday morning news show from The New York Times. The show, which began airing in May on The Timess Audio app, shares three of the biggest stories of the day, as told by the journalists who are reporting them.

Our goal is to bring listeners closer to the news, Annie Correal, a Times reporter and the host of the show, said. We wanted to offer listeners something only our reporters can provide, which is access and authority over their subject matter, whether its an in-depth investigation or the latest on their beat.

Episodes are short  around 10 minutes  so that listeners can learn what they need to know by their last sip of coffee.
Six days after the remnants of Tropical Storm Ophelia paralyzed New York City, trapping children in flooded schools and halting swaths of subway and railroad service, the citys preparation for the storm and its response are facing scrutiny.

The city comptroller, Brad Lander, told Mayor Eric Adams on Wednesday that he was opening an investigation into the citys management of extreme rainfall, just two years after Hurricane Ida inundated the five boroughs and killed 13 New Yorkers.

The comptrollers review will be supplemented by a separate City Council oversight hearing on the citys storm preparations. Gale Brewer, the councilwoman who chairs the Oversight and Investigations Committee, said she was troubled by the citys lack of communication in advance of the storm.

I would say, definitely needs improvement, Ms. Brewer said.

Mayor Adams did not brief New Yorkers on the storm until after the epicenter had begun to move north of the city on Friday, drawing concern about his crisis management skills.
Standard window cleaners based on alcohol or ammonia may seem too toxic to some. Well, it is quite possible to make a glass cleaner based on a natural and completely safe substance. Cleaning experts say that ordinary black tea is quite capable of handling this task.

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OBOZREVATEL inquired about the recipe for such a product. It turns out that you don't need anything but a few teabags and a cup of boiling water.

To make an effective glass cleaner, take 3 black tea bags and brew them in 250 ml of boiling water. Leave the tea to cool for an hour. This strong brew will be used to treat the windows.

To make it convenient to use the cleaner, pour it into a spray bottle. You can also dampen a cotton or microfiber cloth with it. You can wash off the dirt from the windows directly with tea or you can first wipe the glasses with water, removing dust and large particles of dirt, and then use the tea to degrease and shine them. In any case, the tea will not leave stains if you polish the windows after washing them with a dry cloth. It also does not have a specific odor like vinegar, which is also often used to clean windows. The main thing is to avoid getting the brew on the frames, as it can leave dark marks on them. It won't be difficult to remove them, but it's still extra work.

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Why is brew so effective for cleaning windows? It's because of its high content of tannins. They effectively dissolve dirt and grease and are non-toxic. You can even drink this product and it will not do any harm. That is why tea is recommended for cleaning children's rooms and even aquariums or terrariums.

Earlier, OBOZREVATEL shared how to wash the floor so that there are no stains on it.

Subscribe to OBOZREVATEL on Telegram and Viber to keep up with the latest news.
Frank James, who opened fire in a morning-rush subway car in Brooklyn in April 2022, wounding 10 people but miraculously killing none before making his escape by blending into the fleeing crowd, was given 10 life sentences  one for each person he shot  in federal court on Thursday.

Mr. James, 64, spoke with a blend of contrition and defiance during the court hearing, describing the shootings as cowardly acts of senseless violence but suggesting he is a victim of racism and mental illness who never received the proper care. Judge William F. Kuntz II acknowledged his troubled background, but forcefully rebuked him for his actions.

Each mass shooting constitutes an act of raw evil, Judge Kuntz said, adding that the incident was an attack not just on the subway, but on the entire city.

Several victims and fellow passengers spoke with emotion as they relived the attack. We were in a community in that train car, one passenger, identified in court only by the initials B.K., said, directly addressing Mr. James. I trusted you.
About half of New York City students showed proficiency on math and reading exams this year, according to data released on Wednesday  scores that, on paper, represented a rise over last year.

City officials called the results an encouraging sign as school districts around the country show varied progress in efforts to help students recover from the pandemic.

Still, the gains carried a major asterisk: This years tests had been overhauled, and state officials warned against using them to gauge whether students in the nations largest public school system are recovering after schools closed three years ago as the coronavirus spread.

New York City may not have a clear, systemwide picture of where students stand  and how gaps between the most well-off and disadvantaged families have changed  until children take another gold-standard federal exam next year, some experts said.
The treasurer who oversaw the finances of Representative George Santoss political campaigns surrendered to federal prosecutors on Thursday afternoon and admitted to her role in fraudulently reporting a fictional $500,000 loan that Mr. Santos claimed to have made to his campaign.

The bookkeeper, Nancy Marks, pleaded guilty to one felony count of conspiracy to defraud the United States. She also admitted to falsifying and inflating financial numbers and making numerous false statements in conjunction with Mr. Santos, a Republican from New York. Under the terms of her deal, she faces a recommended sentence of between three and four years in prison.

Appearing before the same judge who is presiding over Mr. Santoss case, Ms. Marks, 58, looked stoic and composed in the courtroom in Central Islip, N.Y. She admitted to making reports of false donations and said that the $500,000 loan Mr. Santos claimed to have made was fraudulent.

I knew that the loan had not been made, Ms. Marks told the court.

Prosecutors said that Ms. Marks and Mr. Santos, who was not named in Ms. Markss court documents, agreed to falsely inflate the Santos campaigns fund-raising numbers. The goal, they said, was to hit a $250,000 benchmark for a program run by a Republican Party committee that would allow Mr. Santos to get logistical and financial support.
There is a whimsy in those lifestyle choices and hobbies, a whimsy in doing things the roundabout way. It is simple enough to argue that the most direct path is the best one, but humanity doesnt really work like that. As a species, we learn by doing  and often enough, we find joy in it. Taking the time to master a skill, to understand a process or to have a conversation  even if it isnt quite as fast  is consistently more rewarding than simply having something done for you. Efficiency-focused single-mindedness might make things faster, but it is a thief of lifes joys.

If the point of all this  state, trade, industry, culture, society writ large  is well-being and joy, making lives better, then, as often as may be, it should work on a human scale, embracing the winding trails of life over the direct highway bulldozed through the mountainside. Thats not to say there is no place for efficiency, but to govern people, who are by nature not particularly efficient, with too heavy a bias toward simply getting things done is doubtless a well-intentioned mistake. Our government should be as strange as we are, more or less.

If the state exists to improve the lives of the governed, and the lives of the governed are bettered not by robotic, quasi-fascistic insistence on efficiency uber alles, then the state, too, must embrace a more laid-back style. Theres no need to establish a Department of Capriciousness or a National Whimsy Agency; indeed, either would only strive far too efficiently to establish inefficiency. Rather, we can make little tweaks. Eliminating the decimalization of currencies would be a start. Bringing back cavalry cuirasses and epaulets in the military would be a fitting second step. Perhaps the Department of Education could encourage unique scholastic scarves and oddball traditions at every institution that receives its funding.

Of course, this isnt likely. The nature of business and government is to prize efficiency, to value cost saving and corner cutting and results-focused thinking (or whatever the consultants call it). But even outside of the sheer joy of taking a moment longer to perform a task  to take a longer trip home because youd rather see the sun set over the bridge, to set the vinyl record carefully on the turntable instead, to visit your local takeout place and chat with the cashier in lieu of punching an order for 47 dumplings into an app  there is a beauty and (dare I say it) usefulness to inefficiency.

Inefficiency is generative; inefficiency is where we source our ideas, our inspirations, our conceptions of a world of endless paths and journeys rather than one of monotonous drudgery occupied only in repetitive labor. A life whimsically lived, a society whimsically (dis)ordered, is one that promotes freedom of thought, even as it knows many of the freely found thoughts wont be all that useful.
In April 2020, when I would walk home after a long day treating patients in a New York City emergency room, an orchestra of pots and pans would erupt from seemingly every window to honor frontline workers. Nothing could make those early pandemic days easier for me and my colleagues, but those haphazard symphonies of appreciation helped keep us going. At that time, health care workers had every reason to hope that once the Covid-19 pandemic waned, long-overdue and much needed changes to our health care system would finally materialize.

But after Covid vaccines rolled out and the country largely moved on from the pandemic, those promises were seemingly forgotten. We drifted back to our old normal in which health care workers felt unsafe, unappreciated and unsupported.

This helps explain why more than 75,000 workers at the Kaiser Permanente health care system have walked off the job, in what union leaders say could be the largest health care strike in U.S. history. Similar to Hollywood writers and actors and the United Automobile Workers, the striking Kaiser workers are demanding better pay and benefits. But many of their greatest demands cant be met with money alone. The changes they want require a major overhaul of how health care is delivered.

The seeds of the Kaiser strike were sown before the pandemic, which certainly aggravated the issues afflicting workers. No matter how this strike ends, the problems at the Kaiser network, which operates in eight states and the District of Columbia, are not unique. Health care workers have already taken to the picket line at hospitals and clinics across the country this year  six of the 19 work stoppages involving 1,000 or more workers recorded by the Bureau of Labor Statistics in 2023 were in health care. Providers commit to serving others. That so many are walking off the job in protest means the conditions are so unsustainable, theres no option left but to take this action of last resort.
To the Editor:

Re The Worlds Population May Peak in Your Lifetime, by Dean Spears (Sunday Opinion, Sept. 24):

Dr. Spears warns that, more than 60 years hence, the global population will peak at 10 billion and then drop to a mere eight billion (roughly our population today) by 2100. He worries about tens of billions of lives not lived over the next few centuries  many lives that could have been wonderful for the people who would have lived them.

In a world where our natural resources are already strained to the max, this is rank sentimentality.

Year after year, we wring our hands about climate change, yet continue to drive up energy use and resource extraction to meet our ever-growing hunger for greater comfort and diversion.

Along with taming our resource gluttony now, a retreat from population growth will be the best thing that could happen to our ravaged planet.
Im not exactly optimistic about human nature. Yes, I certainly believe that human beings are capable of great good, but consider me in agreement with the Christian apologist G.K. Chesterton, who wrote that the doctrine of original sin was the only part of Christian theology which can really be proved. Or, to quote a more modern pair of thinkers, the Indigo Girls, Darkness has a hunger thats insatiable. And lightness has a call thats hard to hear.

What is true of individuals is also true of cultures. Not long ago, my colleague David Brooks kicked up a hornets nest online with a column titled What if Were the Bad Guys Here? In the piece, he took aim at the culture of elite American meritocracy and argued that it had a crucial role in creating this toxic American moment.

As David wrote, this class of elite Americans has many, many virtues, but its far from perfect. And hes right. Ive experienced this. I grew up in a small town in Kentucky. My family wasnt working class (my father was a college professor, and my mother was a teacher), but I grew up in a working-class community, and when I left the South to attend law school at Harvard, I experienced both sides of the meritocratic elite.

It was intoxicating to meet people who were openhearted, brilliant and deeply public-spirited. I also met people who were remarkably arrogant, intolerant and, perversely enough (for all their education), ignorant. While I met and befriended many people who liked me in spite of our differences, I met many others who viewed me, a white, conservative evangelical, as an enemy to be vanquished rather than a new neighbor to know. In class, they were far more apt to boo me, hiss at me or try to shout me down than to spend any time in real conversation.
Quotable Quote: On getting to Mars.

I think its sort of feasible within the next four years to do an uncrewed test landing there, Mr. Musk told Clay Mowry, the president of the International Astronautical Federation, during a one-hour question-and-answer session.

A Year That Sums It Up: 2022.

Mr. Musk and SpaceX have a strong track record of achieving remarkable breakthroughs in spaceflight. That includes the routine landing and reuse of the booster stages of SpaceXs current Falcon 9 rockets: The company has launched 70 times this year alone.

But Mr. Musk has another track record: taking far longer than predicted to achieve his goals.

Mr. Musk first unveiled his Mars rocket, then an even larger rocket called the Interplanetary Transport System, at an International Astronautical Congress in Guadalajara, Mexico, in 2016. He predicted that SpaceXs first uncrewed landing on the red planet would occur in 2022, followed by the first flight with people aboard in 2024.

So far, there has been one test flight of Starship, in April, which made it off the launchpad before it spun out of control and an order was given to detonate the vehicle several minutes into its flight.

A second Starship is ready, Mr. Musk has said. But SpaceX is still waiting for the Federal Aviation Administration to issue a new launch license, possibly as soon as this month.

On Thursday, Mr. Musk described some of the changes in the evolving design of Starship. On the second flight, the engines of the second stage will ignite before it separates from the booster. The maneuver, known as hot staging, can be tricky.

Youre essentially blasting the top of the booster with the second-stage engines, Mr. Musk said. This is actually, from a physics standpoint, the most efficient way.

Mr. Musk is no longer predicting to put humans on Mars in 2024, but he has other technologically ambitious predictions for Starship next year. For speedy turnaround between launches, SpaceX plans for the rockets Super Heavy booster to not only return to its launch site, but to also hover about the ground as two arms on the launch tower catch it in midair. The same maneuver would be used for the Starship upper stage when it returns from orbit.

Mr. Musk said there was a decent chance of catching a booster within the next year and possibly a Starship from orbit before the end of next year.

Mr. Musk also said that SpaceXs next-generation of Starlink satellites could start going up next year on expendable versions of the Starship stage that are not reused.

What Wasnt Said: When will Starship land NASA astronauts on the moon?

The conversation between Mr. Mowry and Mr. Musk just briefly touched on SpaceXs key role in Artemis, NASAs program to send astronauts back to the moon. A version of Starship is to take two NASA astronauts from orbit around the moon to a landing in the south pole region during the Artemis III mission.

Youre doing a lunar lander version, yes? Mr. Mowry said.

Mr. Musk acknowledged that, but pivoted to saying that what SpaceX was building for NASA would include only minor modifications from a spacecraft designed to land on Mars.

Artemis III is currently scheduled for late 2025, but NASA officials have suggested that date is likely to slip into 2026, at least.

A couple of months ago, James Free, NASAs associate administrator for exploration systems development, said NASA had received an updated schedule for Starship development and was reviewing it.

Without singling out SpaceX, Mr. Free said in August that if not all the technological pieces were ready for a moon landing, we may end up flying a different mission.
Hidden within the seemingly barren expanse of White Sands National Park in New Mexico are human footprints. But these impressions are much more than random tracks: They are ancient vignettes cast in gypsum-rich sand. The footprints tell stories of hunters stalking a giant sloth; a traveler slipping in mud with a child on one hip; children jumping in puddles, splashing in play; and more.

But one question has plagued researchers studying these prints. Exactly how long ago were they made? A paper published in 2021 offered a surprising answer: Humans could have pressed their feet in the sand as early as 21,000 to 23,000 years ago, making the tracks some of the oldest evidence yet found of people in the Americas.

The result elicited both excitement and skepticism, with calls for additional tests to back up the astonishing claims. A new study published Thursday in the journal Science employed additional methods to determine the age of the tracks and adds to the evidence for those surprisingly ancient dates.

This opens up a whole new chapter in our understanding of the peopling of the Americas, says Summer Praetorius, a paleoceanographer at the U.S. Geological Survey, who was not part of the study team.
Lurking seems to be a familial trait, writes the New York-based British photographer Victoria Hely-Hutchinson in the preface to her new photo book. I Left My Grandmothers House is about the aristocratic Austrian side of her family, who have been idling for centuries around the fringes of European history. (Heinrich used to have the same hairdresser as Putin, reads one of the books enigmatic disclosures about her relatives.) Inspired by cinema verite filmmakers, Hely-Hutchinson has for over a decade been documenting her titled extended family with an unsentimental yet humanistic touch. Unmade beds and lonely sunlit reception halls are interspersed with spontaneous portraits (captured, for instance, mid-hug or amid the commotion of freeing a trapped bird). Hely-Hutchinsons ease with her subjects infuses the imposing settings with a moody, lived-in warmth. But the ease wasnt always there; as Hely-Hutchinson sought to connect with more distant branches of her family tree, she says, dinners began to feel like family blind dates during which she and her relatives tiptoed around the unspoken question: How much do we trust each other to tell the intimate stories? The answer can be found in the books evocative quotes, alternately mordant and macabre, many of which come from the photographers grandmother. Theyre best imagined in the matriarchs affectless tone, pronounced poolside after lunch in the South of France, as she drip feeds the family gossip, Hely-Hutchinson writes, while flossing her teeth with a single strand of her own hair. About $47, libraryman.se.
Ukraine's complaints to the World Trade Organization (WTO) against Poland, Hungary, and Slovakia for imposing grain embargoes have been put on hold. The Ukrainian side expects to find a compromise with the EU countries.

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This was stated by Trade Representative and Deputy Economy Minister Taras Kachka in Brussels, Interfax-Ukraine reports. According to him, the lawsuits remain frozen while negotiations on possible mechanisms for future food supplies are underway.

"While we are looking for a practical solution, our disputes within WTO are on hold," Kachka said. He emphasized that the WTO dispute process has not been initiated as Ukraine has only submitted a request for consultations.

According to the trade representative, the embargo may be lifted in the coming "weeks and months." He also announced "a lot of news" about the licensing regime for Ukrainian agricultural products for export to the EU.

Earlier, Kachka said that Ukraine could withdraw its appeal to the WTO only if it receives guarantees that Poland, Hungary and Slovakia will not impose unilateral trade bans in the future. At the moment, it is not known whether this condition was met or whether Ukraine simply changed its position during the negotiations.

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As OBOZREVATEL previously reported, Ukraine has already officially appealed to five EU countries and proposed a mechanism for checking exports of corn, rapeseed, sunflower and wheat. This mechanism is fully consistent with the European Commission's decision, but technical details need to be agreed with individual countries.

Only verified information is available on our Obozrevatel Telegram channel and Viber. Do not fall for fakes!
In a different register, John Rubinstein returns for an encore of Richard Hellesens Eisenhower: This Piece of Ground, a dive into the life of the military leader-turned-president that has proved quite popular. Through Oct. 27; Theater at St. Clements, Manhattan.

Ones a crowd

The formidable Patrick Page is a versatile actor, but lets face it: He is best known for portraying antagonists, including the Green Goblin in Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark and Hades in Hadestown. Maybe its his basso profundo voice? In All the Devils Are Here: How Shakespeare Invented the Villain, directed by Simon Godwin, Page  whose command of his craft our critic described as stupefying, effortless  scrutinizes those classic characters. This might be the only time we ever see his take on Lady Macbeth. Through Jan. 7; DR2 Theater, Manhattan.

Following his acclaimed solos The Man in the Womans Shoes (2015) and I Hear You and Rejoice (2018), the Irish writer and actor Mikel Murfi is bringing to New York the trilogys conclusion, The Mysterious Case of Kitsy Rainey. Murfi portrays a range of characters from County Sligo, and performs all three pieces in repertory. Audiences can see any of the shows, or all of them. Oct. 24-Nov. 18; Irish Arts Center, Manhattan.

Lameece Issaq has written for ensembles in works like Food and Fadwa, but her new piece, A Good Day to Me, Not to You, is a solo. In the show, presented by the Waterwell company and directed by Lee Sunday Evans (Oratorio for Living Things), Issaq plays a 40-something former dental lab technician reconsidering her life as she moves into a rooming house run by nuns on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. Nov. 8-Dec. 9; Connelly Theater, Manhattan.
Fentanyl has become a leading cause of death in the United States, an issue on the presidential campaign trail and the subject of major diplomatic efforts by the Biden administration.

As Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken and other top administration officials traveled to Mexico this week, in part to discuss strategies to stop the flow of fentanyl across the border, here are some key facts about a drug that is lowering U.S. life expectancy and playing a role in the nations politics.

What is fentanyl?

Its an incredibly potent synthetic opioid. As a pharmaceutical, its used safely every day for anesthesia in operating rooms throughout the country, and as a prescribed painkiller. But like heroin and other opioids, it can be highly addictive. Fentanyl can be made entirely in a laboratory, unlike opioid drugs like heroin, which are derived from poppy plants.

Since 2015, fentanyl and other drugs closely related to it have gradually displaced heroin and other opioids in illicit American drug markets, leading to a surge in addiction and overdose deaths.
The announcement about deportations came only three weeks after the administration granted a temporary legal status to hundreds of thousands of Venezuelan migrants who had already entered the United States unlawfully. That was an effort to make it easier for those migrants to work and, in doing so, reduce the strain on New York and Chicago, which have struggled to serve thousands of migrants, many from Venezuela.

But some experts said that in granting Temporary Protected Status, or T.P.S., to a large number of Venezuelans, the government risked encouraging even more migration from the country, and the deportation announcement on Thursday appeared to be the administrations answer to those concerns.

On a day when three of Mr. Bidens cabinet officials were in Mexico to meet with President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, the news about the border wall and deportations underlined the challenges Mr. Biden and his administration were wrestling with, as humanitarian crises around the world drive more migrants to the U.S. border while a deeply divided Congress leaves in place an outdated, dysfunctional immigration system.

In defending the decision to move forward with a segment of the wall, Alejandro N. Mayorkas, secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, said in a statement that the work was a legal requirement stemming from appropriations during the Trump administration. But Mr. Biden still finds himself helping to build a border wall that was one of the signature objectives of his predecessor, even as he maintains that such barriers are ineffective in curbing unlawful entry from Mexico.
Given after the first vaccination, the card detailed the manufacturer of a vaccine, the dose numbers, the date and location each shot was administered, and any follow-up shots.

As vaccinations were administered across the United States beginning in December 2020, the cards became a coveted symbol for many recipients that they might avoid the worst symptoms of the virus. People took selfies with their card, sharing them online to support a public health campaign that some Americans were hesitant to embrace and that some outright rejected. (Some authorities warned people to stop sharing their card information online, saying that they were possibly giving valuable personal information to identity thieves.)

In summer 2021, as officials began lifting lockdown restrictions on public venues, the paper cards took on extra meaning, becoming a ticket in some areas to social gatherings and to some international travel. Much like keys and IDs, they were a constant companion, flashed in front of bars, restaurants and concert venues that required them for entry. But the benefits they offered also raised questions of whether it would cause divisions in society between those were vaccinated and those who were not.

In some communities, gyms mandated them to enroll in group classes, and sports stadiums added sections for the vaccinated. Airlines and cruise companies asked to see the cards before travelers could visit certain countries.

And they created a market for opportunists: Scammers forged or stole copies of the cards, selling them illegally for up to $60 a piece. Other enterprising minds, cognizant that the 3-by-4-inch cards were slightly too awkward to fit unfolded in a wallet, came up with protective cardholders, both functional and bedazzled.
An American F-16 fighter jet shot down a Turkish military drone on Thursday that entered a restricted zone in northeastern Syria and came within about 550 yards of U.S. ground forces, according to Pentagon officials.

No American troops were harmed in the incident, U.S. officials said.

Turkey is one of our strongest and most valued NATO allies, and that partnership continues and will continue, Brig. Gen. Patrick S. Ryder, the Pentagon spokesman, told reporters. So this is certainly a regrettable incident.

Multiple Turkish armed drones carried out airstrikes in a restricted U.S. zone around 7:30 a.m. local time on Thursday, General Ryder said. At 11:30 a.m., one of the drones re-entered the area, and U.S. troops went into bunkers for protection. Ten minutes later, an American pilot flying an F-16 shot down the drone.

The locations of such zones, the general said, are shared with multiple governments and actors in the region  including Turkey  and define areas where U.S. forces may take defensive measures to protect themselves.
George Tyndall, the former University of Southern California gynecologist accused of sexually abusing hundreds of patients dating as far back as the 1990s, was found dead at his home in Los Angeles on Wednesday, his lawyer said.

Dr. Tyndall, 76, who was expected to face a criminal trial next year, was found in his bed by a friend, said Leonard Levine, the lawyer. The cause of death was unclear.

After years of accusations from patients and medical staff members who said Dr. Tyndall had inappropriately touched young women during medical examinations, five women came forward in May 2018. U.S.C. settled multiple legal claims in 2021, agreeing to pay more than $1.1 billion to hundreds of his former patients.

Mr. Levine said that his client had adamantly denied all charges against him, adding that Dr. Tyndall had looked forward to his day in court.
Its the first time he had a backbone on doing the thing that served the best interests of our nation, she said. Theres been a disconnect between Kevin McCarthy and his district for a long time  he became part of that D.C. life and kind of forgot who his constituents are.

The story of Mr. McCarthys relentless rise is well-known and often repeated in his hometown. He was first and foremost a nice local guy, born and raised in Bakersfield, where he also attended college. Around that time, he opened a small deli in a corner of a frozen yogurt shop owned by his aunt and uncle. (Whether this experience earned him the right to describe himself forever after as a small business entrepreneur is a matter of some discussion.)

While he was still in college, Mr. McCarthy started working for Representative Bill Thomas, an influential Republican rainmaker who took the ambitious young man under his wing. Mr. McCarthy rose through the California Legislature before being elected to Congress in 2006 as Mr. Thomass anointed successor. Even then, observers said it seemed clear that Mr. McCarthy was more focused on amassing political power than scoring policy wins.

Many who have watched his rise to speaker of the House say they now saw Mr. McCarthy as a kind of tragic figure  a victim not only of attacks from the extreme right or Democrats, but also of his own drive to claw his way up the political ladder.

The problem is a little thing on your desk that says speaker and thats all you have, Mr. Thomas said in an interview with a local television station after the vote to remove Mr. McCarthy from the speakership. (Mr. Thomas declined to comment on the record for this article.)
A man who was looking for Gov. Tony Evers of Wisconsin was arrested with a handgun inside the State Capitol in Madison on Wednesday, posted bail and then returned with an AK-47-style rifle and was arrested again, a state spokeswoman said.

The man, who was shirtless and had a dog on a leash, initially approached the security desk outside the governors office shortly before 2 p.m., Tatyana Warrick, a spokeswoman for the Wisconsin Department of Administration, said in a statement.

The man said he would not leave until he saw the governor, Ms. Warrick said. Because it is illegal to openly carry a firearm inside the State Capitol, officers with the Wisconsin State Capitol Police took the man into custody, she said.

The gun, which the man was carrying in a holster, was seized as evidence, and the dog was turned over to animal control officers, Ms. Warrick said.
Steve Marshall, the Alabama attorney general, charged that the map violates the Constitutions guarantee of equality for all and vowed to defend the states law in court for future elections.

After the Republican-controlled Alabama Legislature redrew the states district map following the 2020 census, several Black voters sued in federal court to challenge the legislatures map. Though the trial court agreed with the plaintiffs that the map violated the Voting Rights Act of 1965, the Supreme Court allowed it to be used for the 2022 elections, saying there was not enough time to change the district boundaries for that election.

In June, however, the Supreme Court stunned many observers by upholding the main remaining tenet of the Voting Rights Act and agreeing that the legislatures map was in violation. That ruling has reverberated across the South, where several states are confronting similar challenges, and forced the Alabama Legislature to draw a new map.

But Republicans, loath to pit two of their own incumbents against each other, came up with a proposed map that the trial court said still fell short of its mandate to create a second majority-Black district or something close to it. In a sharp rejection last month, the court turned instead to a special master, Richard Allen, a longtime Alabama lawyer, to oversee the creation of a new map without the legislatures involvement.

The courts decision was joined by Judges Anna M. Manasco and Terry F. Moorer, both named to the bench by former President Donald J. Trump, and Judge Stanley Marcus, a Clinton nominee.
Just a week ago, President Biden vowed never to hide from history as he tries to defend American democracy, arguing in a major address that the best way to challenge extremist elements in the Republican Party is to make clear where we stand.

But the president is taking a step back from view during the latest challenge to the countrys democratic norms and institutions  an ideological succession battle in the House after a handful of rogue Republicans ousted Representative Kevin McCarthy of California from his speaker post.

Mr. Biden promised to bring less drama to the White House after four years of turmoil under his predecessor, and he seems happy to let his rivals eat themselves alive. Still, choosing not to seize the spotlight in a dysfunctional moment for democracy is a striking decision for a president who often struggles to find ways to command the publics attention.

In brief remarks on Wednesday, Mr. Biden emphasized the power of normalcy and stability, urging politicians to stop seeing each other as enemies. But he and his top aides have chosen not to weigh in on who should be the next speaker, much less pin the blame for the chaos on the political forces stoked by his predecessor and aspiring successor, Donald J. Trump.
Ukraine should become a full-fledged member of the European Union, not a "secondary or tertiary" one. The pro-Russian stance of several EU countries, including Hungarian President Viktor Orban and the leader of the Slovak Smer party, Robert Fico, who won the election in that country, is not likely to be an obstacle during the vote, as the EU is facing fundamental reforms.

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At the same time, there is a threat of political populism in Europe today, including anti-Ukrainian populism. This opinion was expressed in an exclusive interview with OBOZREVATEL by former Ukrainian Foreign Minister Volodymyr Ohryzko.

According to him, it is clear today that the EU needs to be reformed, in particular, in terms of decision-making.

"The current way of decision-making in the European Union has, if not exhausted itself, then is exhausting. So, it will be necessary to make some decision on how to proceed. It will be that the EU will most likely abandon unanimous voting. Because what Orban is doing is literally undermining the very essence of the European Union," the diplomat emphasized.

At the same time, Ogryzko said that under no circumstances should Ukraine "agree to any secondary or tertiary membership option."

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"We should not agree to any ersatz and think that we should accept anything that is offered to us. No. We have already moved from objectivity to subjectivity in international relations in the truest sense of the word, and therefore we must demand what we need, what is in our national interests," the diplomat concluded.

As OBOZREVATEL previously reported, European Parliament President Roberta Mecola proposed to start negotiations on Ukraine's membership in the EU at the end of this year. According to her, the next wave of EU enlargement should include Ukraine, Moldova, and Albania.
The decision is likely to be a welcome one for Democrats, who have in the past fought to keep Green Party candidates off state ballots. The Democratic Party is facing the prospect of a 2024 election in which multiple high-profile third-party candidates are on the ballot, and are likelier to sway voters away from Joseph R. Biden than from a Republican challenger.

Although Mr. West remains a candidate, he will now have to navigate the complex and time-consuming project of qualifying for the ballot in individual states, without the support of the Green Party.

Prominent Democrats such as David Axelrod, the former Obama strategist, and Jaime Harrison, the chairman of the Democratic National Committee, have criticized Mr. West for running, warning that he risks enabling a Republican victory. Even some longtime allies on the left outside of the Democratic Party, like Senator Bernie Sanders, an independent from Vermont, have said that the stakes of the 2024 election have led them to support Mr. Biden.

Mr. West, a best-selling author, would have been the highest-profile candidate the Green Party had fielded in a presidential election since Ralph Nader, whose candidacy many Democrats still blame for Vice President Al Gores loss to George W. Bush in 2000.

The number of votes received by the partys 2016 nominee, Jill Stein, in three battleground states would have been enough for Hillary Clinton to defeat Donald Trump in the election  although exit polls in one of the states, Michigan, found that only a quarter of Ms. Steins voters said they would otherwise have voted for Ms. Clinton.
A tide of resignations and retirements by election officials in battleground states, who have increasingly faced threats, harassment and interference, could further strain the election system in 2024, a national voting rights group warned in a report released on Thursday.

The group, the Voting Rights Lab, said that the departures of election officials in Arizona, Pennsylvania and other swing states had the potential to undermine the independence of those positions.

The 28-page report reveals the scope of challenges to the election system and underscores the hostile climate facing election officials across the nation. Resignations have swept through election offices in Texas and Virginia, while Republicans in Wisconsin have voted to remove the states nonpartisan head of elections, sowing further distrust about voting integrity.

In Pennsylvania, more than 50 top election officials at the county level have departed since the 2020 election, according to the report, which said that the loss of their expertise was particularly concerning.
After Kamala Harris was sworn in as the junior senator from California in 2017, Senator Dianne Feinstein pulled her into a private hideaway off the Senate floor.

There, Vice President Harris recalled on Thursday, Ms. Feinstein handed her a glass of California chardonnay and a binder full of draft bills  the start of a partnership on behalf of their state.

Dianne, the women of America have come a long way, Ms. Harris said. Our country has come a long way. You helped move the ball forward, and our nation salutes you, Dianne.

There were very few women in the Senate when Ms. Feinstein arrived in 1992, and she made a point of welcoming those who came after her. She helped coordinate private group dinners, doled out gifts so frequently that one senator jokingly feared complimenting a purse or scarf and presented her colleagues with watercolor paintings of flowers.
Mr. Trumps post does not mention Mr. Scalise, but Representative Troy Nehls of Texas said on X, formerly Twitter, that he had spoken with Mr. Trump and that the former president was indeed endorsing Mr. Jordan.

I believe Congress should listen to the leader of our party, Mr. Nehls added.

Earlier, Mr. Jordan also picked up an important G.O.P. backer and cleared a potential challenger from the field with the endorsement of Representative Byron Donalds of Florida, who had previously been exploring his own run for speaker, according to a person familiar with his calls to lawmakers. Mr. Donalds said on X that Mr. Jordan has my full support to become the next Speaker of the House!

Both Mr. Scalise and Mr. Jordan are faced with the difficult challenge of attempting to unite a fractious Republican conference that is reeling after Mr. McCarthys removal from the speakership.

For Mr. Jordan, an Ohioan and co-founder of the ultraconservative House Freedom Caucus, the task will be to convince more mainstream Republicans that he can govern and not simply tear things down. He met on Thursday with members of the Main Street Caucus, a group of business-minded Republicans.

For Mr. Scalise, a Louisianian who has won conference elections before as majority leader, the challenge will be to stay one step ahead of Mr. Jordan, and make better inroads with the right wing of the party.
In their initial request to delay the trial, Mr. Trumps lawyers claimed that he could not get a fair trial while he was running for office. But arguments like that were missing from his new proposal to push back the proceeding, which did not specifically mention the election. Still, the push to reschedule for mid-November 2024 was a de facto attempt to delay it until after the race was decided.

Were that to happen, it could give Mr. Trump, the current front-runner for the Republican nomination, enormous sway over the case. If the trial were delayed and Mr. Trump were to win the election, he could simply order his attorney general to drop the charges. And even if he were convicted before becoming president, he could in theory seek to pardon himself.

In their recent attempt to delay the documents case, Mr. Trumps lawyers accused prosecutors in the office of the special counsel, Jack Smith, of failing to meet their obligations to turn over evidence as part of the discovery process. The lawyers complained in particular that they lacked sufficient access to nine of the 32 classified documents that Mr. Trump has been charged with holding onto after he left office in violation of the Espionage Act.

Those documents, prosecutors said last week, are so sensitive that they cannot be stored even in the highly secure facility in Miami that Mr. Trump and his legal team have been using. They said the materials would need to be reviewed under strict supervision in Washington.

Mr. Trumps lawyers also argued the delay was needed because the secure facility that was supposed to have been built for Judge Cannon to review classified materials in Fort Pierce was running at least three months behind schedule. Moreover, the lawyers claimed, Judge Cannon still lacked the necessary electronic facilities to write opinions and orders about the classified materials as well as the physical space to conduct hearings about it.
Attempting to call former President Donald J. Trumps bluff, a congressman from Florida on Thursday asked Palm Beach County to tax Mar-a-Lago, Mr. Trumps seaside residence and private club, at the value he claimed it was worth, more than $1 billion.

The gambit, by Representative Jared Moskowitz, Democrat of Florida, goes to the core of New Yorks civil case against Mr. Trump. The state has accused the former president of grossly inflating the value of his properties to obtain favorable bank loans while paying taxes on valuations at or below market value. Judge Arthur Engoron valued Mar-a-Lago at $18 million, the low end of the $18 million to $28 million appraisal used by Palm Beach County for property taxes.

Eric Trump, Mr. Trumps son, speculated on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, that the home and resort could be worth $1 billion. He called it arguably the most valuable residential property in the country, and said the judges figure was an attempt to destroy my father and kick him out of New York.

In a letter to the Palm Beach County Property Appraiser, Mr. Moskowitz asked, If the property value of Mar-a-Lago is so much higher than it was appraised, will you be amending the property value in line with the Trump familys belief that the property is worth well over a billion dollars?
The fact that the decision to deport Venezuelans came so soon after the move to allow those already in the United States to live and work legally for 18 months illustrates the predicament President Biden faces on immigration  the pressure to reduce the number of illegal crossings at the southern border versus the pressure from members of his own party who say they are overwhelmed with the number of migrants in their cities.

The mayors of Chicago and New York have said they do not have the resources to provide shelter and other assistance to the thousands of people in need. New York Democrats had argued that the citys social safety net would tear under the weight of more than 110,000 recently arrived migrants unless they were allowed to work and support themselves more quickly.

Previously, the Biden administration had said it could not deport Venezuelans because of the absence of diplomatic relations with Caracas. The statement on Thursday said the Venezuelan authorities had decided to accept the return of their nationals.

Deportations could discourage migrants from trying to enter the United States illegally but it is still not operationally possible to deport every Venezuelan who crosses in between ports of entry.

Todays announcement makes clear that we are committed to strictly enforcing immigration laws and quickly removing individuals who do not avail themselves of these orderly processes and choose to cross our border unlawfully, the Homeland Security Department said in a statement on Thursday.
The White House National Security Council declined to comment.

A senior administration official, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal deliberations, agreed that collecting social media data had yet to help identify terrorists among visa applicants. But security officials had argued that there was still reason to think that gathering such information could be worthwhile, the official said, and the administration had decided to take more time to figure out how best to use it.

Indeed, one of the emails suggested that national security officials wanted to be able to collect social media identifiers in bulk for a different purpose: because the information could contribute to vast databases used for so-called identity intelligence, whenever analysts try to determine who particular people are.

The policy traces back to the Obama administration at the height of the Islamic States power, particularly after a married couple shot and killed more than a dozen people in San Bernardino, Calif., in 2015. One of the suspects had pledged allegiance to ISIS on Facebook shortly before the attack, and the group used social media frequently. That prompted counterterrorism officials and lawmakers of both parties to back the idea of checking foreign visitors social media activity as part of the vetting process.

In 2016, Citizenship and Immigration Services, an agency in the Department of Homeland Security, carried out a pilot project to try to identify any problematic social media posts of visa applicants. The following year, an inspector general report questioned its effectiveness. Another agency, Customs and Border Protection, began asking people who registered online to visit the United States from a country that does not require a visa to supply their social media handles to assist in vetting. But answering the question has been optional.

Also in 2016, as Donald J. Trump campaigned for president, he stoked fears about terrorists entering the United States. He vowed to ban Muslims from entering and impose extreme vetting of visitors.
After drenching Bermuda, parts of the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico this week, the remnants of former tropical storm Philippe are expected to bring heavy rain and gusty winds to parts of New England, particularly Maine, into early Sunday morning, forecasters said.

What was left of Philippe was roughly southeast of Cape Cod, Mass., on Saturday afternoon and forecast to move northward into New England and the Canadian Maritime Provinces on Saturday night before being absorbed by an area of stronger low pressure in the atmosphere, said James Connolly, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Upton, N.Y.

This absorption is expected to bring three to five inches of rain to parts of Maine through Sunday morning as well as winds with gusts as high as 50 miles per hour, according to the National Weather Service Weather Prediction Center.

Parts of eastern New York State and western New England could receive over three inches of rain through Saturday night, posing a risk for flash flooding.
President Bidens top cabinet officials and their Mexican counterparts presented a united front after talks on Thursday to combat drug and gun trafficking, and placed a new emphasis on managing record levels of migration.

The U.S. officials  Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and Attorney General Merrick B. Garland  announced that the Biden administration would start deporting Venezuelans who cross into the United States illegally. They said the decision grew out of meetings in Mexico City on Wednesday evening that included officials in Colombia and Panama, which are also receiving Venezuelans fleeing their countrys political and economic turmoil.

The announcement came only three weeks after the administration granted a temporary legal status to hundreds of thousands of Venezuelan migrants who had already entered the United States unlawfully.

Were charged with taking coordinated actions to try to stabilize flows, to expand regular pathways, to humanely manage all of our borders, Mr. Blinken said at a news conference with the other officials on Thursday. Repatriations are a key piece to this balanced approach.
FSB officers of the aggressor country have begun to leave Tokmak, temporarily occupied by Russian troops in Zaporizhzhia region. In addition, people were banned from going to work for the next few days.

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This was announced on October 4 by the head of the city military administration, Oleksandr Chub, Radio Liberty reports. He suggested that the occupiers could be preparing a provocation in the city.

According to the head of the CMA, employees of educational institutions, administrative institutions, and utilities were told not to go to work.

At the same time, the Russians did not explain the reasons for this decision to the residents of the occupied city. According to Chub, the Russian FSB officers themselves are allegedly going to return to Tokmak at the end of the week or on Monday, October 9.

"There may be a provocation. I know for sure that some FSB officers have left Tokmak, but they say that they will allegedly return by the end of the week," the official said.

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Ivan Fedorov, the legitimate mayor of occupied Melitopol in Zaporizhzhia, said earlier that Russians in Tokmak are panicking. The occupiers are pouring concrete into the trenches and building new defense lines. A few weeks ago, the occupiers began to take out government agencies and educational institutions from Tokmak.

"Last night it was announced that 'administrative institutions', shops, and the market would not work today. Whatever they were preparing for, the enemy is definitely feeling bad," he wrote.

As OBOZREVATEL previously reported, the Russian army is building new fortifications near the temporarily occupied city of Tokmak in Zaporizhzhia region under the pressure of the Ukrainian Defense Forces' counteroffensive. The Russian invaders consider this city strategically important to them.

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Only verified information on our Telegram channel Obozrevatel and Viber. Do not fall for fakes!
Relations between the United States and Mexico are at a critical juncture, as top Biden administration officials press Mexicos government to do more to blunt soaring migration and to confront drug cartels producing fentanyl, a synthetic opioid that has unleashed a staggering overdose crisis.

At the same time, Mexican leaders want the United States to take aggressive steps to stanch the flow of U.S. guns into Mexico, which is reeling from years of protracted bloodshed.

Tensions between the two countries have ratcheted even higher recently as Republicans in the House and Senate, as well as former President Donald J. Trump and his rivals for the G.O.P. nomination, have proposed United States military action against drug cartels in Mexico.

The strained ties around these issues obscure an economic relationship that is thriving, with Mexico having recently eclipsed China as the United States largest trading partner. Companies seeking to limit their economic exposure to China have steadily been relocating operations to Mexico, producing a manufacturing boom in parts of the country.
President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia claimed on Thursday that the warlord Yevgeny V. Prigozhin and his associates may have brought down their private jet with hand grenades while possibly under the influence of cocaine  a new narrative from the Kremlin about the August plane crash widely seen as an assassination carried out by the Russian government.

Mr. Putin made the assertion at the end of an hourslong, televised question-and-answer session with international foreign policy experts in the Russian Black Sea resort of Sochi. Mr. Putin said that investigators had concluded there had been no external impact that caused the crash that killed Mr. Prigozhin, the founder of the Wagner private military company, and nine others.

But, he added, there was evidence that hand grenades had been detonated on board.

The head of the Investigative Committee reported to me just the other day that fragments of hand grenades were found in the bodies of those killed in the plane crash, Mr. Putin said.

Mr. Putin went on to suggest that Mr. Prigozhin and his associates may have been using alcohol or drugs, painting a picture of an intoxicated group of men who may have killed themselves with their own weapons.
President Vladimir V. Putin claimed on Thursday that Russia had successfully tested the Burevestnik, an experimental nuclear-powered cruise missile, and had almost completed work on a new type of nuclear-capable ballistic missile.

No one in their sound mind will use a nuclear weapon against Russia, Mr. Putin said.

Mr. Putin, speaking in the Black Sea city of Sochi at an event of the Valdai Discussion Club, a Kremlin-affiliated research institute, did not say when the test had occurred or offer any details, including how far the missile flew. His claim of a successful launch could not be independently confirmed.

The New York Times reported on Monday that Russia was either preparing to test or had already tested the Burevestnik, also called the SSC-X-9 Skyfall, which has a designed range of more than 10,000 miles. Satellite imagery taken in late September showed several vehicles at the launchpad of a remote Arctic base  including one with a trailer that corresponded to the dimensions of the Burevestnik  and a mobile weather cover for the missile or launchpad that was retracted from its typical position at least twice between Sept. 20 and Sept. 28.
When two police officers confronted Jaswant Singh Chail on the grounds of Windsor Castle on Christmas morning in 2021, he was clad in black, wearing a metal face-mask and wielding a crossbow. I am here to kill the queen, he told them.

On Thursday, Mr. Chail was sentenced to nine years in prison, having been convicted of treason in February. It was the first treason conviction in Britain in more than four decades, in a case that raised troubling questions about the security of Queen Elizabeth II. She died in September 2022 of natural causes, at 96 years old.

Under a so-called hybrid order, Mr. Chail, 21, is to remain at Broadmoor Hospital, a high-security psychiatric institution where he is currently being treated, before being transferred to a prison for the remainder of his sentence.

The sentencing judge, Nicholas Hilliard, said in court that a psychiatrist had diagnosed Mr. Chail, who is from Southampton, as psychotic, delusional and hallucinating. After being rejected by the British Army, the judge said, Mr. Chail came to believe he was a Sith Lord, a dark character from the Star Wars franchise.
The disaster occurred on the same day that Mr. Zelensky set out on a trip to shore up Western backing for Ukraine. He took part in a European summit in Spain aimed at strengthening cooperation across the continent as concern rose about waning support for his country as it faced another winter of Russian aggression.

Asked if he was concerned about a possible scaling back of U.S. military aid, Mr. Zelensky said it was too late for us to worry. But in a speech at the summit, he described as positive meetings he had last month with President Biden and members of Congress.

I am confident in America, Mr. Zelensky said.

Speaking on Thursday at a Kremlin-affiliated research institute in the Black Sea city of Sochi, President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia once again blamed Western antagonists for the war in Ukraine and claimed Moscow sought an end to the conflict. We try to stop it, he said.

Mr. Putin also claimed that his country had successfully tested the Burevestnik, an experimental nuclear-powered cruise missile, and had almost completed work on a new type of nuclear-capable ballistic missile.
The U.S. militarys Central Command said in a statement on Wednesday that earlier this week it had transferred about 1.1 million rounds for Soviet-era machine guns and rifles seized from Iran to Ukraines armed forces.

Allied naval forces seized the munitions in December, according to the statement, from a stateless dhow  essentially an unregistered wind-powered vessel  sailing to Yemen. Irans Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps was sending the munitions to Houthi rebels in Yemen in violation of a United Nations Security Council resolution barring such transfers, the statement said.

The U.S. government took possession of the ammunition in July through a Justice Department civil forfeiture claim against Iran, and U.S. officials began seeking a legal pathway to transfer the munitions to Ukraine.
How important is the wooden stage on which William Shakespeare might have played?

That depends.

During the early stages of a renovation project at St. Georges Guildhall in Kings Lynn, England, more than 100 miles northeast of London, experts discovered that timber boards found beneath layers of flooring in part of the hall date to the early 15th century.

Weve got the actual boards on which Shakespeare was playing, which is really, really exciting and pretty mind-blowing, Tim FitzHigham, the creative director of St. Georges Guildhall, said on Thursday.

But some Shakespeare experts cast doubt on the significance of the discovery, noting that it was not certain that Shakespeare had touched the boards.

Most people know of Shakespeare. He rose from working-class obscurity to become one of the most revered playwrights of the last 400 years. His acclaimed works, such as Hamlet, Macbeth and Romeo and Juliet, all of which examine the human character, are widely studied and are regularly performed around the world today. He died in April 1616.
The 16-year-old girl, her short black hair uncovered, entered a subway car in Tehran early Sunday on her way to school, security camera footage broadcast by Irans state television showed. Minutes later, she was dragged out unconscious and laid on the train platform.

All week, the girl, Armita Geravand, has been in a coma, guarded by security agents in the intensive care unit of a military hospital in Tehran and evoking broad comparisons with Mahsa Amini, who died last year at 22 in the custody of the morality police after being accused of violating Irans hijab rules, which require women to cover their hair.

Exactly what happened to Armita on Sunday is not clear, and the government has not released footage from inside the train that would reveal what made the teenager collapse.

But the news of another young woman in a coma under murky circumstances  another girl, another metro station, another hospital, another grief-stricken family  was enough to stir outrage in Iran and fuel accusations that the governments hijab agents must have harmed her.
At least 80 people were killed in central Syria on Thursday by drones carrying explosive ammunition targeting the graduation ceremony for cadets of a military academy, according to Syrian state media.

The attack occurred minutes after the ceremony, held in Homs Province, was ending and as people were gathering for photos, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based monitoring group. The group said the victims included new graduates and 14 civilians, and estimated the death toll at 100. It said more than 125 were injured.

The government announced a three-day mourning period.

Video taken from the chaotic immediate aftermath of the attack showed bodies and wounded people scattered on the ground, with one man holding his leg in an attempt to stop it from bleeding.

No group has taken responsibility for the attack.

Syrias Foreign Ministry blamed U.S. occupation-backed terrorist groups, in an apparent reference to the U.S.-backed Kurdish Syrian Democratic Forces.
On the night of October 5, the Russian terrorist army once again launched a massive attack with Shahed kamikaze drones. The attack damaged an infrastructure facility in the Kirovohrad region.

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Officials in Kenyas Kakamega County are struggling to find the cause of a mysterious illness that has reportedly left 95 girls at a girls high school barely able to walk.

Over the past couple of weeks, 95 students from St. Theresas Eregi Girls High School in Kakamega, a city located 374 kilometers northwest of Nairobi have been hospitalized due to paralysis of the lower limbs, sparking concerns about a mysterious illness. The epidemic sparked panic and anxiety among parents, who demanded answers and protection for their daughters. Local media outlets reported that the girls are experiencing a condition that renders their legs numb and immobile, and clips that are doing the rounds on Kenyan social media show the girls struggling to walk properly.

Bernard Wesonga, Kakamega Countys CEC for Health, told journalists that blood, urine, and stool samples have been collected and sent for extensive testing to determine the cause of the unknown illness, but so far, the exact cause of the girls paralysis has not been established. Meanwhile, the school has reportedly been closed indefinitely.

The dozens of girls at St. Theresas Eregi Girls High School affected by the mysterious condition reported their legs feeling numb and immobile. Some of them also experienced severe headaches, vomiting, and fever. Luckily, many of them have already started getting better.

VIDEO: A significant number of students from St. Theresas Eregi Girls High School in Kenya have been admitted to the hospital due to an unexplained ailment. The majority of these girls are reportedly experiencing paralysis in their legs, leaving them incapable of walking. #kenya pic.twitter.com/1sPuMbIzPH  Prince Carlton  (@_PrinceCarlton_) October 5, 2023

Some students are responding positively to medication, while others are still under medical care, Bernard Wesonga said.

The local government has urged parents to monitor their children closely while health officials work to identify the causes of the mysterious condition and establish measures of containment.
Richard, Renee and Mike Edelman

Congratulations to Richard Edelman, who followed in his father Dans footsteps in winning the Publicity Club of Chicagos Lifetime Achievement Award on Oct. 4. Dan scooped up PCCs inaugural award in 2003.

PCC president Dominic Calabrese called the Edelmans Chicagos first family of PR.

What the Daleys are to politics, the Pritzkers to philanthropy, the Fields to retailing and the McCormicks to agribusiness and journalism, they are to public relations, he said.

Edelman said the smartest decision that his family ever made was to stay independent, focused on results for clients instead of financial returns for shareholders.

He paid tribute to his late mother Ruth and his sister Renee and brother John, who play important roles in preserving the firms history and ensuring its future through sustainability commitments.

Edelman said his daughters Margot, Tory and Amanda are prepared to take the company forward into the future as they are working hard to learn the business on the front lines.

They have big shoes to fill.

Biden risks it all. Its either Joe Bidens excessive pride or downright stubbornness that prevents him from coming to grips with the simple fact that he is too old to run for another term in office.

Biden, 80, has accomplished more than any other president since FDR, yet he recklessly puts that legacy at risk.

By running again, future historians may overlook his achievements on climate change, infrastructure, uniting US allies in defense of Ukraine and restoring decency to Americas government, and instead profile him as a desperate politician who tried to cling to power.

The president has just experienced the loss of 90-year-old Sen. Diane Feinstein, whom he called a cherished friend.

Though a trailblazer in the areas of environmental protection, reproductive rights, gun control, and the first woman to head the Senate Intelligence Committee, Feinstein will be remembered for overstaying her usefulness in office.

Bidens I know best attitude also is evident in the saga of his German shepherd, Commander.

CNN reported that Commander has been involved in more biting incidents than the 11 reported by the Secret Service.

Team Biden has made various excuses for the dog (e.g., Secret Service agents wear sun glasses and are fidgety, making Commander nervous) before finally removing him from the White House.

The presidents loyalty to the dog is admirable, but his refusal to admit that Commander has a biting problem posed a threat to the health and safety of the Secret Service.

It also was a sign of presidential hubris.

There is still time for Biden to face the facts and open the Democratic presidential nomination race to the partys next generation of leadership.

The ramifications of the lying, fraudster, grifter Donald Trump defeating Biden in 2024 would be a horror for the US and the world.

And Biden would have to bear that heavy burden for the rest of his days.

Kenny isnt cutting it. TikTok has been running a TV ad featuring retired 80-year-old Navy vet Patriotic Kenny to divert attention that the platform is owned by Chinas ByteDance.

Festooned with US flags, the ad tells how Kenny became depressed when his electric scooter broke down, but was able to raise $5K to fix it once his plight was posted on TikTok.

That sum soon ballooned to $110K and 1M followers for Kenny, who now provides mobility scooters for veterans.

That tale doesnt exactly warm the hearts of Sens. Richard Blumenthal and Marsha Blackburn.

They fear the recent replacement of American executives at TikTok with ByteDance people from China calls into question the independence of TikTok and the security of its US users information.

The Senators sent a letter on Oct. 3 to TikTok CEO Shou Ze Chew, asking for the security protocols on ByteDance employees that transfer from China to the US.

They also should ask whether Kenny will soon don the uniform of the Peoples Liberation Army.
A woman who spoke about burning the Quran asked Gardai why they were stopping her as she was Irish.

The incident happened on September 5, 2023 when Dolores Wogan (56) of 19, Millcourt, Greenmill Lane, Portlaoise was intoxicated, was threatening and abusive and used insulting words to a member of the public at Cormac's Street, Tullamore, telling a man to burn the Quran.

She also refused to give Garda Andrew Barron her name and address

Solicitor Donal Farrelly said there was another man involved. Sergeant Richard Thornton agreed that the accuser had said 'they' when making the complaint.

Mr Farrelly described Ms Wogan as a 56 year old woman who has difficulty with alcohol. She has three grown up children.

Judge Andrew Cody said there was a racist tone to her statements about burning the Quran and 'I'm Irish'.

Mr Farrelly said she had never been in trouble before. He handed in a letter on her behalf to the judge.

Having read it Judge Cody said ''she can ill afford to be getting into this type of bother.''

He fined her 200 for threatening and abusive behaviour and took the charge of being intoxicated into consideration.
DOCHAS - Offaly Cancer Support Group - were delighted to welcome Billy, Joe and Johnny Dooley to Teach Dochas on Saturday last to present funds raised through the sale of their book  Dooley: A Family Memoir.

A total of 6,000 was raised through the sale of the books. The book was launched to great fanfare last November in The Bridge House Hotel and quickly became much sought after from GAA fans around the country.

Indeed, the intrigue of their story and the brilliant reviews was such that sales were strong across the country and not just confined to a must have by local Offaly people.

The book is the story of three brothers, Joe, Billy and Johnny Dooley, and how they came to play on the Offaly hurling team together in the 90s, and lead Offaly to All-Ireland glory.

It is also the story of nine brothers and sisters in rural Ireland who inspired one another and the story of a father and mother, who loved and served their family.

Speaking at the event on Saturday Joe commented that it meant a lot to the Dooley Family to donate the funds to Dochas as they all know of the work done at Dochas. Joes wife, Marie, dedicated many years of invaluable service to Dochas and knows the vital service they provide to the community.

John Conroy, Service Manager, thanked all present for considering Dochas for this donation. John noted the huge demand on services at present and the pressures on finances to deliver these services due to the cost-of-living crisis. John outlined some of the services that are now being delivered to people and noted that it was thanks to fundraisers such as these that the service can continue to grow as Dochas is not in receipt of any core government funding.

Anne Scally, Vice Chairperson of Dochas Offaly Cancer Support Group, also thanked the Dooley brothers on behalf of the Board of Directors. Anne noted that the sum of money raised was incredible and will go towards continuing to provide vital services to people with a cancer diagnosis and their families and friends.

The book continues to be available for sale wherever you may get your books online and in all good retailers.
This weeks's racing included the final of the Juvenile Derby in Shelbourne with two Offaly dogs taking their chance in that race and the third round of the Laurels in Cork with another two hotly fancied Faithful County dogs dominating the weeks racing. Plenty of sweepstake action around the tracks with some very decent Offaly winners.

Early Week Racing.

Enniscorthy, Monday, in the final of the September Open unraced stake, Azurite (Droopys Sydney - Ballybrack Gem) won the 2k first prize for Waterford trainer Peter Cronin in 28.74 (20 slow) by five lengths at 6/4 fav.

Thursday, Shelbourne, the final of the Time Record Breaker A5 stake final was the best race on the card with a cheque of 1.75k going to Saleen Mateo (Sonic - Chubbys Lara) and Patrick OConnor in 28.44 by nine lengths at 1/2 fav.



Friday Racing.

Eight heats in the first round of the Time Greyhound Nutrition A3 stake dominated proceedings in Kilkenny. All won in top class times. Prime Rocket set the standard for Shaun Conway when stopping the clock in 29.09 (10 slow) by three lengths at 4/1.

A new stake got underway in Newbridge in honour of one of their greatest patrons, who sadly passed away earlier this year, the Bosco Gleeson Memorial A2 stake. Six heats with Da Quiet Syd going fastest for the Keep-It-Civil-Syndicate in 28.42 by six lengths at 6/4 fav. One Offaly winner in this very competitive stake as Glenlara Blue had his fifth career win when coming from off the pace to win in a super 28.65 by six lengths at 5/2 for Ballinagar owner Liam Kirley and nephew Thomas Garry.

Two finals in Shelbourne both worth 1.75k to the winners. In the Time Greyhound 28 A2 575 stake, Simons Cap (Droopys Sydney - Yahoo Doll) won in 30.92 by five lengths at 2/1 for Marie and Skip Gilbert. The second final was the RCETS A3 525 stake with Droopys Edel (King Sheeran - Droopys Hunch) coming out on top in 28.31 for Ian Reilly by eight lengths at 5/4 fav.

Saturday Racing.

Galway, first round of the Liam Brussels Memorial A4 Stake won last year by Birr owner Paul Pardy with So Its Rapid. Four heats with joint fastest winners in 29.50 (10 slow), Drumgeely Jim for Aidan Bennett by ten lengths and Move Over Ogie for Larry Enright by one length.

In the Dock Road track in Limerick, they had the first round of the Arachas Corporate Brokers LTD A1 600 yard stake, five closely fought heats with Newport Pier setting the bar highest for The Mullins - Curtin Syndicate in 32.65 by three lengths at 2/1.

Three Offaly winners in Mullingar, in an A8 contest, Mosstown Mill won for Edenderry trainer David Hanlon in 30.20 by four lengths at a short 1/2 fav.

In an A6 grade, Over The Top was first back in kennels for Croghan owner Vincent Lynch, in 30.46 by two lengths, at 3/1. In an A3 race, One Inallout had his second career win for Cappincur owners Charlie Colgan and the Glafo Syndicate, in a super time of 29.66, by five lengths. All races in Mullingar were rated .70 slow.

Thurles staged the final of one of their main events of the year, the Kasco Dog Foods ON2 unraced stake, the 2.2k pot went to Two Slip Jig (Broadstrand Bono - Kilgowan Honey) in 28.99 (20 slow) by three lengths at 1/1 fav for Jason Fletcher.

A brilliant nights racing in Curraheen Park in Cork with the quarter-finals of two of their top annual stakes. Four fantastic heats in the Bar One Racing Irish Laurels with champion trainer Graham Holland winning three of them. Holland provided the fastest heat winner aswell as Glory Baz stopped the clock in 28.21 by three lengths at 7/2. Heat three was won by Rathdown Molly for Marie Gilbert in 28.26. Carrick Aldo was only a neck behind for Edenderry owner Thomas Glynn and has a real live chance now heading into Saturdays semi-finals. Glynns other Runner Carrick Fergie missed the kick at the start and was never really involved in this heat and was sadly eliminated. In the quarterfinals of the Michael (Bart) Leahy Memorial A2 stake, Millridge Nadia went fastest for Stephen OMahony in 28.44 by five lengths at 6/4 fav.

The best racing of the week was reserved for a full house in Shelbourne Park, with the final of the Time Greyhound Nutrition Juvenile Derby. It was so nearly an Offaly winner as Short Grip for Rhode owner P.J. Cocoman was only beaten a length by Droopys Flytline (Laughil Blake - Droopys Curio) in the fastest ever final won over the 525 trip in Shelbourne in 27.93 at 15/8. No taking away from the winner as he's now won eight out of his nine races he has run, having won the Denis Linehan Solicitors Open unraced in Cork in July, and with the 25k first prize here has now amassed over 31k in his short career for Rathangan trainer Robert Gleeson. Short Grip ran her heart out for Cocoman and was ahead by a length after the line  he has only has four dogs in his kennels, a brilliant achievement. The 6k second place prize is nice but expect this bitch to be back tackling major events next year as shes still very young and only learning her trade. Our other runner in the final Highview Splash for Croghan trainer Gerry Merriman was never really involved at the business end of the race and finished a gallant fifth.

In the first round of the Yvonne Barry Track Bookmaker Open 600, won last year by Bockos Crystal for Graham Holland. Four heats with Derby finalist Bens Teddy winning the first for Pat Buckley in 32.44 by three lengths. The second heat went to Jetstream Breeze for Marie Gilbert in 32.27 also by three lengths. Heat three was the fastest one with Glengar Elvis first over the whitewash in 32.22 by four lengths for Buckley again with the final heat going to Droopys Nice One for Murt Leahy in 32.43 by three lengths. Picking the winner of this stake an impossible task as the standard is so high.



Sunday Racing.

No Offaly winners at the matinee meeting in Mullingar which is a rarity. At the evening in Clonmel, there was one final up for grabs, the John White Memorial A2 550 Perpetual Cup, with the 2.6k first prize going to Patrick Barrett as Da Councillor (Bull Run Bolt- Ranchers Rainbow) made it three wins from three starts in this stake when first home in 30.23 (10 slow) by two lengths at 1/2 fav.



Upcoming Events.

Friday, quarter-finals of the Time Greyhound Nutrition A3 stake in Kilkenny and quarterfinals of the Bosco Gleeson Memorial A2 stake in Newbridge. Saturday, semifinals of the Liam Brussels Memorial A4 in Galway, quarterfinals of the Arachas Corporate Brokers A1 600 in Limerick, semifinals of the Yvonne Barry Bookmaker Open 600 in Shelbourne and semifinals of the Irish Laurels and the Bart Leahy Memorial in Cork. Plenty of top class action to look forward to this week.

Tribune Offaly dog of the week.

Although not a winner, Short Grip gets the nod for finishing second in the Juvenile Derby, only beaten a length in 27.93 leaving her doing 28.00 flat which would have won all previous Juvenile Derbys. A great training feat for P.J. Cocoman and a well deserved winner this week.

Offaly Winners.

In what was another great week of racing, Offaly dogs returned a credible four winners. Well done to all.
THE University of Galway based STEM programme ReelLIFE SCIENCE has presented six libraries around Ireland with audiovisual equipment through the Digital Libraries partnership with Foroige.

The kits were presented to libraries in Tullamore, Co Offaly, Castlebar and Ballina, Co Mayo, Castletownbere and Youghal in Co Cork, and Westside Library, Co Galway.

Now, in its 11th year, ReelLIFE SCIENCE challenges young science enthusiasts across Ireland to produce fun, short science videos to educate and entertain. The audiovisual kits can be borrowed from each library to help with the production of these videos.

Speaking about the collaboration, ReelLIFE SCIENCE Founding Director Dr Enda OConnell said: We are very excited to launch this pilot project with these six libraries, to enable more young people to engage with science and technology in a creative way. Having a scientifically engaged public from all regions and backgrounds has never been more important, and through the support of Science Foundation Ireland, we plan on expanding this initiative to more libraries around the country in the coming years.

Since launching in 2013, more than 23,000 young people in 700 schools and youth organisations in Ireland have taken part in the ReelLIFE SCIENCE programme, producing over 2,500 short science videos.

The best videos from primary and secondary schools and youth organisations will each win 1,000, with the videos being screened for the public at the Galway Science and Technology Festival at University of Galway on November 12th, 2023.

Videos can be up to three minutes in length and can communicate any aspect of STEM including topics like: Climate Action, How Things Work, Emerging Technology, and Marvels of Medicine.

Filming can be on smartphones, tablets, or cameras. The closing date for entries is Friday, October 13th.

You can find more information at www.reellifescience.com.
THE inaugural Thomas MacDonagh Hedge School took place in late September and feedback from artists and audience confirm it was a resounding success.

The Hedge School, an initiative of the Thomas MacDonagh Museum in Cloughjordan, started on Wednesday September 20th with a fully subscribed workshop, Poetry as Commemoration, hosted by poet Thomas McCarthy. Participants, who used Civil War material from the Museums collection as creative prompts for their poems, shared their appreciation and how surprised they were by how much they enjoyed every minute of the experience.

Poet Stephen Sexton was guest of honour at the museum for Culture Night on Friday September 22nd. Stephen read and discussed his poem The Head of a Man, a poem inspired by a charred bundle of fragments [which] relate to Pleadings Made to the Law Exchequer, 1773 recovered from the Public Records Office after the attack on the Four Courts in June, 1922. (National Archives of Ireland.)

Seamus Costello, director of Cloughjordan Drama Group, was the MC for Culture Night and put everyone at ease. Seamus invited members of the audience to read and discuss a selection of poems by Thomas MacDonagh. The discussion was expansive and deeply informative, and for some guests, it was their first reading of MacDonaghs poetry. Several workshop participants shared their new writing which was enthusiastically received.

On Saturday morning September 24th, Margaret Kelleher, Professor and Chair of Anglo-Irish Literature and Drama at University College Dublin, gave the keynote address entitled Creativity and Friendship. Professor Kellehers presentation located MacDonaghs central position in the cultural and political milieu of revolutionary Ireland of the 1920s. Professor Kelleher, who is currently writing a biography of Mary and Padraic Colum gave a fascinating account of the close friendship between the Colums and Thomas MacDonagh.

In the afternoon, Dr Lucy Collins chaired a panel discussion and reading on the theme of Ethical Remembrance with Martin Doyle, Books Editor of the Irish Times, and Professor Linda Connolly, Director of the Maynooth University Social Sciences Institute. Sensitive to the issues being discussed Dr Collins teased out the concerns around remembering past atrocities and their impact on the current political and cultural climate.

To close the Hedge School, poet and author Nessa OMahony invited award winning poets Gail McConnell, Stephen Sexton and Eleanor Hooker to read from their latest works. Dr OMahony asked each of the poets about the particular challenges they faced when writing about people from real life, their approach to their research and any ethical issues concerns that arose for them as a consequence of their research.

The Poetry on Scohaboy Bog scheduled for Sunday September 24th was unfortunately cancelled as Coillte has plans for maintenance work on the boardwalk.

As part of their introductions to the panels and discussions throughout the Hedge School, Una Johnston and Tori MacMorran, Directors at the Thomas MacDonagh Museum gave a history of the museum and its mission. They extended their thanks to artists and guests, and their generous sponsors and hoped for an equally successful Thomas MacDonagh Hedge School in 2024.

The Museum would like to warmly thank poet and writer Eleanor Hooker, who curated such an exceptional programme of talks. They would like to thank their sponsors for making the Hedge School possible - Tipperary County Council and the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media for their support as part of the Tipperary Decade of Centenaries programme; The Creative Ireland Community Grant programme, also with support from Tipperary County Council. They are grateful to the Poetry as Commemoration Project, an initiative of the Irish Poetry Reading Archive at UCD, supported by the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media, under the Decade of Centenaries 2012-2023 programme. Finally they would like to thank the Tipperary CoCo Arts Office and the Arts Council of Ireland for their support for Culture Night 2023.

A big shout out to their local suppliers who provided such wonderful behind the scenes hospitality, tech and transport that created such a warm and welcoming atmosphere for their speakers and guests  the B&B hosts Owen Wynne, Tamara MacGinty, Deirdre & Eoin OBrolchain and Djangos Hostel; the caterers Brenda Ainsworth, Greg Whelan and Austins Centra; sound engineer Denis Powell and AV supplier Star Systems Ltd. Thank you to local radio and print media for your in-kind support.
Two people lost their lives in road crashes overnight on Wednesday as gardai responded to fatal accidents in Limerick and Dublin.

The first accident occurred at the Cross Guns Bridge on Phibsborough Road, Dublin 7, at 9.10pm on Wednesday when a car struck a pedestrian.

The collision involved a car and a pedestrian. A woman in her 60s was pronounced deceased at the scene a short time later. Her body has since been removed from the scene. A post mortem will take place in due course.

The car involved failed to remain at the scene.



The scene of the collision is preserved for technical examination by Garda Forensic Collision Investigators. The section of road from Cross Guns Bridge to the junction of Phibsborough Road and Connaught Street is closed and local diversions are in place.



Gardai are appealing to anyone who may have witnessed this collision to contact them.



Any road users with camera footage (including dashcam) who travelled in the Phibsborough area between 8.30pm and 9.30pm on Wednesday 4th October 2023 are asked to make this available to investigating Gardai.

An incident room has been set up at Mountjoy Garda Station.



Anyone with any information is asked to contact Mountjoy Garda station on 01 666 8600, the Garda Confidential Line on 1800 666 111 or any Garda station.

Separately, a pedestrian was killed in a crash in Limerick. Gardai and emergency Services attended the scene on the N69 - Glin to Tarbert Road, Co. Limerick yesterday evening.



The collision occurred at approximately 10pm and involved a car and a pedestrian.



"A male, aged in his 70s, was pronounced deceased at the scene. His body has been removed to University Hospital Limerick where a port mortem will take place," gardai said.



"No other injuries have been reported.



"The road is currently closed for an examination by Forensic Collision Investigators. Local diversions are in place."



Gardai in Newcastlewest are appealing to anyone who may have witnessed this collision to contact them.



Any road users who were travelling on the N69 between Glin and Tarbert yesterday evening between 9:00pm and 10:15pm, and who may have camera footage (including dash-cam), is asked to make this available to Gardai.



Anyone with any information is asked to contact Newcastlewest Garda Station on 069 20650, the Garda Confidential Line on 1800 666 111 or any Garda station.
On the afternoon of October 5, Russian occupation forces attacked a hospital and an ambulance station in Beryslav, Kherson region. Two medical workers were injured in the attack.

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The ambulance driver suffered a broken leg and head wound, and the paramedic sustained a concussion. This was reported by the head of the Kherson Regional Military Administration Oleksandr Prokudin.

"There was a direct hit on the hospital in Beryslav. The fourth floor was destroyed, another one was partially destroyed. The enemy missile also damaged ambulances," he said.

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The news is being updated...
Julia Bradbury has said Ireland has cemented its place in my heart after exploring the country for her new travel programme.

The four-part series, titled Julia Bradbury Irish Journey, sees the presenter return to the isle where she was born to witness the landscape, culture and history on offer.

Each episode sees Bradbury explore a different region and various cities including Cork, Dublin and Derry.

Reflecting on making the show, she said: I was born in Dublin so its been wonderful to explore the island of Ireland and learn more about the place of my birth.

There is such a huge variety of things to do and explore. If historic sites like the Rock of Cashel are your thing, the history runs deep across the destination and theres an embarrassment of riches to visit.

I tried my hand at sea kayaking in west Cork and surfing in Donegal, and walked across a fair few stunning landscapes including treading some of the Dublin Coastal Trail and the dramatic limestone pavement of The Burren.

From savouring the local foods to taking in vibrant cities like Derry-Londonderry, and celebrating the renowned music and arts scene, Ireland has cemented its place in my heart. Its been a real gift to film this series.

In the first episode, the TV presenter will take a trip through the south of Ireland from Tipperary to west Cork, trying her hand at kayaking and seaweed foraging along the way.

Next up she will take on Irelands Wild West and up the Wild Atlantic Way, going from the rocky Burren to the hills of Connemara.

The third instalment will see her explore Dublin.

During her time there she will visit Croke Park, home of Gaelic sports, and will experience traditional Irish music and learn about why it is regarded as a great literary city.

The final episode will see Bradbury travel through Northern Ireland and the north-west corner of the Republic, experiencing everything from sailing to surfing to a seaweed bath.

The series will launch on Channel 4 on Saturday October 7 at 8.35pm and will be distributed internationally by ITV Global.
Irish actors Barry Keoghan and Anthony Boyle can be seen dressed for battle in the first images released for their upcoming Second World War drama Masters Of The Air.

The nine-episode limited series, which will also feature Elvis actor Austin Butler, Fantastic Beasts Callum Turner and Sex Education star Ncuti Gatwa, is set to launch on Apple TV+ on January 26.

Tom Hanks, Steven Spielberg and Gary Goetzman are executive producing the series, which will follow the true story of a US bomber group during the war.

Dublin-born Keoghan, who won a Bafta and was Oscar-nominated for his role in The Banshees Of Inisherin, will portray Lieutenant Curtis Biddick.

In the newly released pictures he can be seen donning a wool-lined coat and a khaki green and brown leather pilot hat as he stares into the distance with a serious expression on his face.

Meanwhile, Boyle is pictured in a similar leather pilot jacket while sitting in the back of a truck.

The Belfast-born actor, who rose to prominence for his role in the West End show Harry Potter And The Cursed Child, will play Major Harry Crosby.

Nate Mann, Rafferty Law, Josiah Cross and Branden Cook will also feature in the series, which is based Donald L Millers book of the same name and has been scripted by John Orloff.

The film will follow the lives of the men from the 100th Bomb Group, nicknamed the Bloody Hundredth, as they conduct bombing raids over Nazi Germany and grapple with the dire weather conditions, lack of oxygen, and terror of air combat.

It will also explore the psychological and emotional price they had to pay during the war including being wounded, captured and killed.

Masters Of The Air is a sequel to the mini-series Band Of Brothers and The Pacific, which were also produced by Spielberg, Hanks and Goetzman.

Executive producer Goetzman said: Masters Of The Air is a salute to the brave men of the 8th Air Force, who, through their courage and brotherhood, helped defeat Nazi Germany in the Second World War.

Tom and Steven have always wanted to visualise cinematically what our author Don Miller has called, this singular event in the history of warfare.

Were thrilled that Apple TV+ has given us the opportunity to combine the efforts of so many talented people, on-screen and behind the camera, to tell this important story.

Masters Of The Air will launch on Friday January 26 2024 on Apple TV+.
Two Office of Public Works guide staff who came to the aid of a German tourist who collapsed at the Clonmacnoise have been honoured at a special ceremony at Farmleigh House in the Phoenix Park, Dublin.

The staff, Anthony Ryan and Aidan Doyle, were on duty at the Clonmacnoise heritage site in September of last year when a German tourist collapsed and was discovered unresponsive.

Michael Schaper, a 72-year-old German man, and his wife Heinke were on a driving holiday around Ireland in 2022, when they visited Clonmacnoise on 16 September.

Speaking at the awards ceremony, Minister of State with responsibility for the Office of Public Works (OPW), Patrick ODonovan, T.D., congratulated Anthony and Aidan on their composure in dealing with the situation.

We are very proud in the OPW of how Anthony and Aidan responded in what was literally a life or death situation for Mr Schaper. It highlights once more how fortunate we are in the organisation to have staff of such high calibre and experience with the ability to go above and beyond the call of duty when circumstances require it.

Deputy Head of Germanys Mission in Ireland, Mr. Christian Resch, presented the awards in Farmleigh.

Mr Resch said: We are so grateful to both Aidan and Anthony for their swift intervention in this serious situation. That day, they were the guardian angels of a German citizen, leaping into action and preserving the life of Mr Schaper. On behalf of the German embassy, we would like to thank the Office of Public Works staff for their assistance and efficient management of the incident.

The awards formed part of a ceremony that recognises the long service of OPW staff across the organisation. The ceremony was established to ensure that staff with long years of service are recognised and in a small way rewarded for their dedication and commitment to serving the state.

Maurice Buckley, Chairman of the Office of Public Works said: We are so proud of our staff for their rapid response to this critical situation. They managed to remove Mr Schaper from a tight spot, administer CPR and deploy the on-site defibrillator, ultimately saving his life. Mr Schaper was airlifted to hospital from the site and, following surgery, I am pleased to say he has made a full recovery.

Mr Schaper and his wife Heinke returned to the Clonmacnoise site this summer and were delighted to meet the heroic staff whose speedy response and actions saved Michaels life.

Minister ODonovan added: With over 2000 staff in a wide range of activities in different parts of the country, the OPW undertakes work that impacts positively on large portions of the population and that endures for future generations. I want to acknowledge first-hand the calibre and expertise of the staff here today. The very act of all gathering together to recognise your years of service is as important for the organisation and management as it is for the individual recipient. The OPW truly is a critical provider of essential services for Government and the taxpayer and is valued as such.
Putin will leave Russia for the first time since the International Criminal Court issued a warrant for his arrest.

Vladimir Putin is to leave Russia for the first time in 10 months, and he may face arrest in doing so. He invaded Ukraine in February 2022 and since, there have been reports of his brutality as the leader of a country at war.

Earlier this year, the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant for the Russian President. Ever since, Putin has not left the country. The last time he went abroad was in December 2022, when he visited both Kyrgyzstan and Belarus. Now, an announcement has been made that states the Russian President will be heading to Kyrgyzstan next week. So, will he be arrested?

Putin has been invited

Putin is visiting Kyrgyzstan because he has been invited by Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov. The visit is official; the Kyrgyz authorities announced the Russian Presidents expected arrival on Wednesday 4 October.

According to the Kyrgyz news agency Kabar, who cited an official from the Kyrgyz presidential office:

By the invitation of the president of Kyrgyzstan Sadyr Japarov on October 12 the president of the Russian Federation will pay an official visit to our country.

Putin is expected to visit the city of Kant, which is East of the capital Bishkek, to commemorate the 20th anniversary of a Russian air bases opening.

The warrant for Putins arrest

In March, the ICC issued a warrant for Putins arrest. A statement from the prosecutor Karim A.A.Khan KC explains that there are arrest warrants out for the Russian President as well as Ms Maria Lvova-Belova, Commissioner for Childrens Rights in the Office of the President of the Russian Federation. The reason being as follows:

President Putin and Ms Lvova-Belova bear criminal responsibility for the unlawful deportation and transfer of Ukrainian children from occupied areas of Ukraine to the Russian Federation.

Their actions go against the Rome Statue, a treaty binding its members to adhere to the ICC's decisions. This is why Putin was forced to miss the recent BRICS summit, held in July in South Africa - an ICC member nation that has ratified the Rome Statute.

However, Kyrgyzstan is yet to follow the example of many other nations who have also ratified the treaty. Lawmakers in Armenia on Tuesday did so, adding another country to the list of places Putin will have to avoid. So, for now he will escape arrest, but travelling for the Russian President is becoming more and more risky

Read more:

 Prigozhin's son to inherit 100M but will he get the Wagner Group? Putin faces critical decision

 Putins absurd plans for the UK after WWIII victory revealed: 'The Union Jack will be over'

Sources used:

Express: Vladimir Putin faces arrest threat in first trip abroad in 10 months

International Criminal Court: Statement by Prosecutor Karim A. A. Khan KC on the issuance of arrest warrants against President Vladimir Putin and Ms Maria Lvova-Belova

Politico: If Putin goes to Armenia hed be arrested, as lawmakers back ICC entry
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As Bulgarian Prime Minister Nikolay Denkov said in Berlin at a briefing with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on October 4, the world must do everything to ensure that a just and sustainable peace comes to Ukraine. His words were quoted by the Ukrinform news agency.

Denkov emphasized that before peace can come to Ukraine, the country must first be provided with the means to protect itself from attacks by the Russian occupation army.

He noted that Bulgaria, like other countries, is facing Russian propaganda. It offers people supposedly simple solutions, but they are false. He called on governments of all countries to explain to their citizens that the right decisions are mostly not easy. They always require hard work on the part of politicians and people.

Scholz, for his part, thanked Bulgaria and its authorities for their clear position on Russia's aggression, as well as for their role in creating "corridors of solidarity" for the transportation of Ukrainian grain.

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Earlier it became known that Bulgaria joined the EU countries that have banned the entry of cars with Russian license plates. At the same time, it became the first non-Schengen country to support this recommendation of the European Commission.

In addition, Sofia refused to buy Russian oil. A decision was made to gradually stop importing oil from Russia. Thus, it is planned to reduce purchases by 80% by the end of the year.

As reported by OBOZREVATEL, Bulgaria will give Ukraine faulty missiles for the S-300 air defense system and ammunition. The initiative was put forward by local deputies.

Only verified information on our Telegram channel Obozrevatel and Viber. Do not fall for fakes!
Bengaluru School Timings May Change, Parents Concerned

Bengaluru

oi-Madhuri Adnal

The Karnataka government is taking steps to address the worsening traffic congestion in Bengaluru. One initiative is to adjust school timings to alleviate traffic during peak hours. The state transport department is also considering implementing a congestion tax on specific roads.

Today, the Karnataka education department will meet with stakeholders at 3 pm to discuss the proposed changes to school timings. Another meeting will be held at 4 pm with the Association of Private Schools, parents, and the Association of School Vehicles to seek their input and suggestions.

This consideration of modifying school timings is prompted by a recent High Court directive that urged the Karnataka government to revise the schedules of both schools and industrial establishments to alleviate traffic congestion in Bengaluru. The court order emphasized the need for the government to collaborate with various stakeholders, such as representatives from private and government institutions, school bus operators, and parents' associations, in order to adjust school timings while also ensuring the safety and security of children.

Does Bengaluru Need A Twin Flyover to Ease Traffic? Find Out What OneIndia Survey Says

Speaking to OneIndia, a parent of a seven-year old in the school said,''I understand the need to address traffic congestion in Bengaluru, but I am concerned about the impact of the proposed changes to school timings on my child. Young children need a regular routine, and shifting their school timings could be disruptive and stressful for them. I urge the government to carefully consider the needs of all stakeholders, including parents and students, before making any final decisions."

"Changes to school timings should be implemented in areas with heavy traffic, but not in all schools. Primary school students may face difficulty adjusting to the shift in timings, and it may also affect them mentally," said Rajesh, a parent of a Class 5 student told OneIndia.

Prashanth, a resident who lives near the school, told OneIndia that the proposed changes to school timings will not affect him personally.

Implementing a congestion tax:

In addition to the changes in school timings, the state government is also exploring the implementation of a congestion tax on heavily congested roads in the city. The proposed tax aims to reduce the number of private vehicles on city roads and encourage more people to utilise public transportation services. The collection of the congestion tax will be facilitated through the FASTag system.

Bengaluru Traffic Jam Returns, Commuters Stuck For Hours After Long Weekend

Experts believe that such a tax has the potential to reduce the number of private vehicles on these roads, encouraging more people to opt for public transportation services. The identified roads that may soon be subject to the congestion tax include Outer Ring Road (ORR), Old Madras Road, Old Airport Road (OAR), Sarjapur Road, Bannerghatta Road, Hosur Road, Tumakuru Road, Ballari Road, Kanakapura Road, Magadi Road, and West of Chord Road.
Karnataka Caste Census: A Double Edged Sword For Siddaramaiah Govt

Bengaluru

oi-Prakash KL

The Bihar government on Monday released findings of the caste survey months ahead of the 2024 Parliamentary elections, which revealed that OBCs and EBCs constitute a whopping 63 percent of the state's total population.

The data is a key agenda of the opposition INDIA bloc which may help the Opposition parties in the forthcoming elections in the Hindi heartland where caste politics plays a major part.

The state's total population stood at a little over 13.07 crore, out of which the Extremely Backward Classes (36 per cent) were the largest social segment followed by the Other Backward Classes at 27.13 per cent, as per the data released by Development Commissioner Vivek Singh.

The Impact Of This Development In Karnataka

After the Bihar government released census data, the demand for the release of similar data is silently growing in Karnataka Congress. As Rahul Gandhi batted for the caste census at the national level, the state leaders from the Congress have started asking Siddaramaiah to release the findings of the survey that was conducted in his previous tenure.

Bihar Caste Census: Congress Leaders Not On The Same Page Over Rahul Gandhi's 'Jitni Abadi Utna Haq'

"Former Congress president Rahul Gandhi said the caste census of Bihar has proved that 84 per cent of people in the state are OBCs, SCs and STs and their share should be according to their population," Congress leader BK Hariprasad said on X.

"It's a good development and his desire is that similar steps should be taken in the state too, and discussions are on in this regard at the government level," PTI quoted PWD Minister Satish Jarkiholi saying.

"Our state's caste census report has been ready for several years now, the government and the Chief Minister have to decide on it. There is pressure to make it public, it is good if it is made public, by making it public it will know about the programmes to be formulated for the communities and if extra budget was required for their economic and social development," he said.

The Congress government under the leadership of Siddaramaiah in 2015 had commissioned the Social and Educational Survey, at an estimated cost of Rs 170 crore in the state. However, the findings of which have not been made public yet.

The state Backward Classes Commission under its then chairperson H Kantharaj was tasked to come up with the caste census.

Political analysts say that the continuous reluctance of governments to publish this data stems from the perception that the survey's results contradict the "traditional perception" of the numerical influence of diverse castes in Karnataka.

Political parties in the state have been indulging in a blame game for long, for not accepting the survey and not making it public.

"If the report is not discussed in public, it will not yield any results. There is nothing in it to keep it secret. The census has been done with public money, about Rs 170 crore has been spent on it. The previous BJP government did not implement it, as now our own government is there, it has to be made public and later after discussion in both Houses of Legislature let the government decide on its implementation," PTI quoted Hariprasad as saying.

Why Data Was Not Released?

Kota Srinivas Poojary, who was Minister for Social Welfare and Backward Classes Welfare in the previous BJP government, had said that the then member-secretary of the State Commission for Backward Classes had not signed the final report. This "technical hurdle" hindered the release of the report, he had claimed.

Panel To Submit Report In November

The Karnataka State Permanent Backward Classes Commission is likely to submit the caste census report to Siddaramaiah government in November.

Do They Want To Remove Minorities? PM Modi Attacks Cong On Caste Census

"There was a technical problem, the report that was made ready earlier was without the signature of the member-secretary...It's now before us, we are finalising it. We will submit it to the government...maybe next month," the present Karnataka State Permanent Backward Classes Commission Chairperson K Jayaprakash Hegde, who was appointed by the BJP, said. "After ordering for the caste census, I had tasked the Backward Classes Commission under Kantharaj to prepare a report. By the time our government's tenure ended the report was not complete and it was not completed. The coalition government (Congress-JD(S)) headed by H D Kumaraswamy came to power subsequently, he did not accept the report, later Kantharaj's tenure too ended," he added.

Based on the leaked census data, Dalits and Muslims surpass the populations of Lingayats and Vokkaligas in the state. The Scheduled Castes (SCs) constitute the largest single caste entity, comprising 19.5 per cent of the total population. Muslims are the subsequent significant group, constituting approximately 16 per cent of the population. Following them are the Lingayats and Vokkaligas, making up 14 per cent and 11 per cent of the population, respectively.

Lingayats and Vokkaligas have held sway over the state's political power. The two castes together had over 50 per cent of the MP and MLAs irrespective of whether the BJP was in power or the Congress. However, the leaders from these two communities now fear that the release of the census would diminish the dominance of these two castes.

The data shows that the collective representation of SCs, STs, Muslims, and Kurubas constitutes a formidable 62 per cent of the total population. This combination will make way for Siddaramaiah's AHINDA (an acronym for minorities-backward castes and Dalits in Kannada) to become a formidable force.

However, not everyone believes that the release of data will benefit the Congress. "The surface-level assumption will be that because of Siddaramaiah's AHINDA (Kannada acronym Minorities, Backward Classes, and Dalits) vote bank, the increased OBC votes will help Karnataka, and it will be in Congress' favor. But the ground reality is different. The OBC vote bank is not united, whereas the dominant classes are much more united than the vote bank," Hindustan Times quoted a Congress MLA and former Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee office-bearer, as saying on the condition of anonymity.

Political pundits believe that both the BJP and Congress will use the findings to their advantages and it is a double-edged sword.

"Mere figures of a survey are not an emotional issue to unite either the OBCs or the dominant castes. What narratives are created using these figures by the political parties will make the difference. The OBCs in Karnataka don't have a shared political commitment or even a sense of shared agony. The various OBC communities have voted for both Congress and BJP," A Narayana, a political observer and professor of public policy and governance at Azim Premji University, told the daily.

Political pundits claim that there are also chances of consolidation of the Vokkaliga and Lingayat voters, especially since the BJP and JDS have formed an alliance ahead of 2024 Lok Sabha polls.
After Spending Over 40 Days In Jail, YouTuber TTF Vasan Will Be Finally Out Of Prison

Two Decades Without Power, Now Lit Up In Just One Week

Will Vijay Enter TN Politics In 2026? BJP's Annamalai Says 'Democracy Is All About Choice'

Burn His Bike, Close YouTube Channel: Madras High Court On Biker Vasan's Bail Plea

Chennai

oi-Prakash KL

The Madras High Court on Thursday said that the bike of YouTuber TTF Vasan has to be burnt down while refusing to grant him bail.

The Kancheepuram police had arrested TTF Vasan after he got injured when his bike stunt on the Chennai-Bengaluru National Highway went wrong. A video capturing Vasan being thrown off a motorcycle and landing in the bushes had circulated widely on social media.

He lost control of the bike while attempting a wheelie.

Hearing his bail blea, the Madras High Court noted that since the YouTuber encouraged other young individuals to engage in reckless driving, his request for bail has been rejected. The judge stated, "This will serve as a lesson to him."

TN Minister Senthil Balaji's ED Arrest, Judicial Custody Legal: Madras HC

However, Vasan's lawyer told the court that he was injured and needed medical treatment from a private hospital. The court then directed the authorities to give medical treatment after examining the injuries.

On the other hand, government advocate Kishore Kumar stated that the biker has over 45 lakh followers and engages in dangerous bike races. He stated that Vasan rides and wears costly outfits. The vlogger makes the youngsters demand costly bikes from their parents.

Kumar further said that Vasan's deadly acts put others' lives at risk while appealing the court not to grant him bail.

Vasan and his friends were on a trip to Maharashtra on Sunday.

The incident had occurred when he with his friends was on a trip to Maharashtra. It happened near Baluchetty Chatram in Kancheepuram district and the cops had booked the case under the IPC sections of 279, 308 and 336 along with 184 and 188 of the Motor Vehicle Act.
After Spending Over 40 Days In Jail, YouTuber TTF Vasan Will Be Finally Out Of Prison

Two Decades Without Power, Now Lit Up In Just One Week

Will Vijay Enter TN Politics In 2026? BJP's Annamalai Says 'Democracy Is All About Choice'

Chennai Police Nab Malayalam Bigg Boss Star Shiyas Kareem Amidst Sexual Assault Allegations

Chennai

oi-Madhuri Adnal

Shiyas Kareem, a well-known reality show star and model, has been arrested at Chennai Airport on Thursday morning in connection with a rape and cheating case filed against him in Kerala, as reported by state police.

Kareem, who had a lookout notice issued by the Kerala police, was taken into custody by airport security personnel upon his arrival from Dubai earlier today.

Upon receiving this information, a team of officials will depart for Chennai to effect his arrest, as confirmed by local law enforcement.

The case revolves around allegations of rape and cheating, filed by a female trainer who had been employed at Kareem's gymnasium in Kochi, by the Chandera police. "We will soon head to Chennai to apprehend him, and his arrest will be officially documented once he is in our custody," a police officer informed news agency PTI.

Chennai: Man Dances Wearing Burqa During Ganesh Chaturthi Celebration, Arrested After Clip Went Viral

The complainant, a 32-year-old resident of Kasaragod, has accused Kareem of repeatedly sexually assaulting her since 2021. She further claimed that he owes her Rs 11 lakh, which he borrowed from her over time. The woman alleged that Kareem, who owns a gymnasium in Kochi, had promised to make her a business partner and had sought financial contributions. She also alleged multiple instances of physical assault.

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Story first published: Thursday, October 5, 2023, 11:53 [IST]
Tamil Nadu Is No.1 In e-vehicles Production, 4.14 Lakh Vehicles Manufactured In Just 9 Months

Chennai

oi-Oneindia English Desk

Tamil Nadu is in number one position in e-vehicles production in India. The data is according to the report published by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways. In just 2 years of DMK regime, Tamil Nadu has been ranked first in around 15 sectors including leather product exports, textile exports, electronic goods exports etc. This data is according to statistics released by the Union government.

As a continuation of being in the top, as per the recent announcement of the union government, Tamil Nadu is in no.1 position in e-vehicles production also. Out of the 10 lakh e-vehicles sold in India, 4 lakh e-vehicles were produced in Tamil Nadu. This shows the significant contribution of Tamil Nadu in the Indian electric vehicle market.

According to the union government's report, the sold e-vehicles range from 2-wheelers to 4-wheelers which are manufactured by 10 reputed companies in Tamil Nadu. Companies in Tamil Nadu manufactured 40% of the total 10.4 lakh registered vehicles between January 1 and September 20, 2023. According to the data from the Commissionerate of Transport and Road Safety, Tamil Nadu's contribution of 40% amounts to 4.14 lakh e-vehicles.

According to the officials, this is a milestone achievement for Tamil Nadu owing to its involvement in extensive production of e-vehicles compared to other states. Tamil Nadu is among the top 10 global automobile hubs and the government is working tirelessly to achieve the target of global capital for e-vehicle manufacturing.

Industries Minister TRB Rajaa's comments:

Tamil Nadu's achievement is the consequence of the good governance of CM Stalin. CM Stalin's regime gives equal importance to all sectors in order to excel in them all. In India, Tamil Nadu is considered as the automobile capital, due to its output value (production value) of 5.37 billion USD.

Similarly, Tamil Nadu is ranked first in electronics export and now in e-vehicles manufacturing as well. In order to sustain the position, CM Stalin has taken calculated measures to bring in new institutions and initiatives in the EV (Electronic-Vehicle) sector. "Further details will be announced in the Global Investors' Meet to be held in January 2024. Finally, the special feature of Stalin's government is equal, balanced and multi-sector development as opposed to concentrated single sector development", said the Industries Minister.

Reasons for the achievement:

The main reasons for Tamil Nadu's achievement in e-vehicles manufacturing are exceptional industrial facilities and excellent government co-operation. Also, simplified government accessibility, good economy and import export facilities made the achievement possible.

Additionally, a new policy has been announced by the government to make the major cities like Chennai, Coimbatore, Trichy, Madurai and Salem conducive for the usage of e-vehicles. In this line, the government has decided to provide additional benefits to customers who purchase e-vehicles, special tax benefits to the e-vehicle manufacturing companies, rewards and subsidies etc.

By the end of 2025, Tamil Nadu has set the target of reaching 50,000 crores investment in the e-vehicles sector and also the government has decided to produce approximately 30% of the country's e-vehicles by 2030. In Tamil Nadu, e-vehicle manufacturing companies are operating more in Chennai and Hosur areas. The major companies that have set production units in Tamil Nadu include Ola, Ather Energy, Hyundai, Simple One, TVS, Citroen, BMW etc. It is because of all these reasons, Tamil Nadu has reached the top position in e-vehicles manufacturing.
Chandrababu Naidu To Finally Come Out Of Jail As AP High Court Grants Bail

Amid 70-Hour Work-Week Debate, Video Of This Hyderabad Walk-In Interview Will Make You Think

Telangana Elections: Of 3.17 Crore Voters, 7,689 Are Over 100 Years Old

Hyderabad

oi-Prakash KL

Telangana has a total number of 3.17 crore voters (3,17,17,389) for the upcoming state polls, the Election Commission on Thursday announced. Interestingly, there are 7,689 people who are over 100 years old.

Addressing a press conference, Chief Election Commissioner of India Rajiv Kumar said that out of 3.17 crore voters, the male and female populations are nearly equal, with 1.58 crore each. He stated, "We made efforts to make the voter list very inclusive and worked with great zeal with the enrollment of the transistors. So we have been able to register 2557 transgenders. Persons with disabilities on our electors rule are 5.06 lakh," he said at a press conference.

The senior citizens' participation is also noteworthy, with 4.43 lakh voters aged 80 and above, including a remarkable 7,689 individuals aged 100 or more, contributing to the vibrant electoral landscape.

"Another effort was made to include the young voters. So between (age) 18 and 19, the youngest number is 8.11 lakhs, which is also a very encouraging trend," he added.

Total Voters 3,17,17,389 Male Voters 1,58,71,493 Female Voters 1,58,43,339 Transgender Voters 2557 New Voters 8.11 lakh Total Constituencies 119 (88 General, 12 Reserved For ST and 19 Reserved For SC Senior Citizen 4.43 lakh (80+ voters) Aged (100+ age) 7689 voters

As per the 'Second Special Summary Revision' (SSR) of photo electoral rolls-2023, there are 1,58,71,493 are male and 1,58,43,339 female voters

In the upcoming elections in 119 constituencies, the demographic breakdown of constituencies includes 88 general seats, 12 reserved for Scheduled Tribes (STs), and 19 reserved for Scheduled Castes (SCs).
MP Elections 2023: Check Out If It's BJP Or Congress For Various Castes In Latest Opinion Polls

Ahead Of Polls, Madhya Pradesh Announces 35% Reservation For Women In Government Jobs

India

oi-Madhuri Adnal

Ahead of Madhya Pradesh assembly elections 2023, the state government has issued a notification, introducing a 35 percent reservation for women in recruitment across various departments, with the exception of the Forest department in the state. This amendment to the Madhya Pradesh Civil Services (Special Provision for Appointment of Women) Rules, 1997, prioritises women's participation in government jobs. This move is aimed at not only empowering women but also appealing to voters in the forthcoming assembly polls.

According to the notification, "Notwithstanding anything contained in any service rules, there shall be reserved 35 percent of all posts in the service under the state (except Forest Department) in favour of women at the stage of direct recruitment and the said reservation shall be horizontal and compartment-wise."

Earlier, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan also declared a 35% reservation for women in police and other government job positions, along with a 50% reservation for women in teaching roles. Special emphasis will be placed on women's involvement in local government bodies, including aldermen and other positions. The government will also cover the educational expenses of girls to ensure their access to quality education.

Notably, the women's reservation Bill, which mandates 33% reservation for women in the Lok Sabha and state legislative assemblies, has been enacted into law after receiving approval from President Droupadi Murmu. The 'Nari Shakti Vandan Adhniyam' was unanimously passed in the Rajya Sabha, marking a significant legislative achievement.

Senior BJP Leaders Running from MP Assembly Polls: Congress's Randeep Singh Surjewala

On September 20, the Bill was passed in the Lok Sabha, with 454 members voting in favor, while only two voted against it. Amendments proposed by the opposition were defeated, and separate clauses of the legislation were also put to a vote.

On September 21, the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam was 'unanimously' passed in the Rajya Sabha, coinciding with the Prime Minister's birthday as per the Hindu calendar. It's worth noting that Madhya Pradesh is gearing up for assembly elections later this year, where the state will choose representatives from 230 Assembly constituencies.

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Story first published: Thursday, October 5, 2023, 10:23 [IST]
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This was reported by Dennik N on Wednesday, October 4. According to journalists, the country's defense ministry was considering transferring to Kyiv the aid that the state would have received under the government of Ludovic Odor.

However, Chaputova personally opposed this decision and said that it would allegedly mean "disrespect for voters." The Slovak president's spokesperson said that in this way she "shows respect for the election results."

He recalled that the Smer-SD party, which won the election, had promised voters "not to give Ukraine any ammunition."

Chaputova herself said that ignoring this position of the party and "some other" political forces in the country "would set an unfortunate precedent for the future."

As OBOZREVATEL previously reported:

- Robert Fico spoke out against helping Ukraine in the war with Russia immediately after the early parliamentary elections on September 30. The political party won just over 23% of the vote, which, however, became its ticket to parliament.

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- Later, he reiterated his intention to cut off aid to Ukraine. The politician explained this decision by saying that the citizens of his country allegedly have bigger problems than Ukraine.

- CNN noted that Fico's victory in the Slovak elections could have worse consequences for Ukraine than it seems. There is a risk that the country may join Hungary in systematically blocking anti-Russian sanctions and assistance to Ukraine at the European Union level.

Only verified information is available on our Telegram channel Obozrevatel and Viber. Do not fall for fakes!
AP CM Jagan Discusses Polavaram Project with Union Ministers in Delhi

Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh, Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy, held discussions with Union ministers Nirmala Sitharaman and R K Singh regarding the pending state issues including the Polavaram irrigation project. He urged them to release revised estimates for the project and reimburse arrears incurred by the state.

India

-Krishna Kripa

The Chief Minister (CM) of Andhra Pradesh, Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy, recently held meetings with Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and Power Minister R K Singh in Delhi. The discussions were centred around various issues pertaining to the state of Andhra Pradesh, including the significant Polavaram irrigation project.

Reddy met both Union ministers separately and discussed several pending matters related to his state. A government official from Andhra Pradesh confirmed that among these topics was the Polavaram project which has been a major focus for the CM's administration.

Request for Revised Estimates

In his meeting with Sitharaman, Reddy urged her to ensure that the Union Cabinet approves and releases the revised estimates amounting to Rs 55,549 crore for the Polavaram irrigation project. He informed her that these revised estimates have already been accepted by the Technical Advisory Committee.

Funds Required for Rehabilitation and Resettlement

A press statement released after their discussion revealed further details about Reddy's requests. He highlighted that an additional sum of Rs 17,144 crore is required from the Union government for implementing a rehabilitation and resettlement package. This package is intended for those affected by this large-scale infrastructure development in 36 colonies as per a Lidar survey conducted in lieu of completing its first phase which would require only Rs 12,912 crore.

Reimbursement of Arrears

The chief minister also sought reimbursement from Sitharaman regarding arrears totalling Rs 1,310 crore incurred by Andhra Pradesh from its own exchequer on account of expenses related to the Polavaram project.

Pending Dues From Telangana Government

Besides these financial matters directly linked with the Union government, Reddy also appealed to Sitharaman to take necessary steps towards ensuring that the neighbouring state of Telangana clears pending dues amounting to Rs 7,230 crore. These dues are owed to Andhra Pradesh and their payment would significantly help in addressing some of the financial challenges currently faced by Reddy's administration.

In conclusion, these meetings between CM Reddy and Union Ministers Sitharaman and Singh show a proactive approach from Andhra Pradeshs side in dealing with its current issues. The focus on the Polavaram project indicates its importance for the state's development plans. With Reddy seeking central assistance for revised estimates, rehabilitation costs, arrear reimbursements as well as inter-state dues clearance shows his commitment towards resolving these matters at the earliest. It remains to be seen how these requests will be addressed by the Central Government and what impact they will have on future developments in Andhra Pradesh.
TDP President N Chandrababu Naidu Pens An Open Letter From Prison: Not In Jail, But In People's Hearts

Chandrababu Naidu's Judicial Remand Extended Till October 19 By Andhra Court

India

oi-Sushmita Halder

Vijayawada ACB court on Thursday extended Telugu Desam Party (TDP) Chief and former Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh N Chandrababu Naidu's remand up to October 19th in connection with the alleged skill development scam.

Previously, Naidu's legal detention was prolonged by the court until October 5. He was initially placed under a 14-day judicial custody on September 10, after being presented to the court by the Andhra Pradesh CID. Naidu had been apprehended by them in the early morning of September 9 in connection with a multi-crore 'scam' case.

The situation pertains to purported improper allocation in the creation of clusters of Centres of Excellence (CoEs) in Andhra Pradesh, having an overall presumed project cost of  3,300 crore.

Officials from the agency asserted that the supposed fraud resulted in a massive financial loss for the Andhra Pradesh State government, exceeding  300 crore.

On Saturday, Naidu filed a petition to the Supreme Court to dismiss the FIR lodged against him regarding the case, as his request for the same was declined by the Andhra Pradesh High Court.

Pawan Kalyan Quits NDA To Support TDP Leader Chandrababu Naidu Amid Protests

According to the CID, Naidu was the main instigator implicated in the purported  371 crore skill enhancement fraud.

The CID's remand report has declared that the combined expenses of six private skill development clusters amount to  371 crores. This funding was derived exclusively from the Government of AP and AP Skill Development Centre, based on their ongoing investigation.

Naidu was apprehended, and charged under various IPC sections such as criminal conspiracy, cheating, dishonesty, and forgery as stated in the notice. Additionally, the Andhra Pradesh CID has accused him of violating the Prevention of Corruption Act. The notice was issued in accordance with CrPC Section 50 (1) (2).

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Story first published: Thursday, October 5, 2023, 17:52 [IST]
Delhi Police PRO Denounces Media Distortion In NewsClick Case

India

oi-Madhuri Adnal

In a recent turn of events, the Delhi Police Public Relations Officer (PRO), Suman Nalwa, took to social media to address what she perceived as misreporting by two media organisations.

Delhi Police spokesperson Nalwa said that these media outlets distorted the official statement from Delhi Police and misled their readers by providing inaccurate information.

The controversy in question revolves around the NewsClick Row, a contentious issue that has garnered significant attention.

Taking to X (formerly known as Twitter), Nalwa firmly stated that she had not provided any media quotes regarding the NewsClick Row, which is at the heart of the dispute.

It has surfaced that @ttindia & @AP have distorted @DelhiPolice's official statement & misled their readers with the wrong information.

No interview was given in this matter by me. This is purely misleading, unethical & highly unprofessional conduct of quoting me in this matter. pic.twitter.com/V4GhH3qfNX  Suman Nalwa (@sumannalwa) October 5, 2023

Furthermore, she made it clear that no interview had been given by her on this matter. This has led her to accuse the media organisations of engaging in misleading, unethical, and highly unprofessional conduct by attributing statements to her without her consent.

On Thursday, the Delhi Police arrested two persons, including NewsClick founder Prabir Purkayastha, as part of an ongoing probe into the portal's foreign funding, officials told news agency PTI.

This comes after the Delhi Police conducted searches at 30 locations connected with the online news portal and its journalists in a case filed under the anti-terror law UAPA following allegations that it received money for pro-China propaganda.

During the course of the investigation, the Delhi Police Special Cell questioned 37 male suspects at their office, while nine female suspects were interviewed at their respective places of stay. This wide-ranging probe involved the seizure of digital devices, documents, and other items for examination.

So far, two accused -- NewsClick founder Prabir Purkayastha and Amit Chakravarty -- have been arrested as reported by PTI.

There was no immediate information on how Chakravarty is connected with the portal and the case.
Amit Shah appeals for votes in MP, says BJP ensured development in all sectors

PM Modi Inaugurates Gujarat's First Heritage Train Amid Other Projects On His Two Day Visit

Every Indian Is Feeling Proud About 'The Vaccine War': PM Modi At Rally

India

oi-Prakash KL

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday hailed Hindi movie 'The Vaccine War', saying the movie has made every Indian feel proud.

Directed by Vivek Agnihotri, the film is based on the true story of Indian scientists, their fight against the COVID-19 pandemic and how they developed an affordable vaccine for India and the world.

"A film called 'The Vaccine War' was released. I have heard that the hard work done day and night by our scientists to fight Covid in India has been depicted in this film. Every Indian is feeling proud after watching that film," PM Modi said during a rally in Jodhpur.

The Prime Minister also congratulated the makers for giving importance to scientists of the country. "I also congratulate the makers of this film that you gave importance to the scientists and science of the country by making the film. This will be very useful for the coming generations," Modi said.

KCR Wanted To Join NDA, But I Rejected His Proposal: PM Modi In Telangana

Responding to the Prime Minister's comments, Agnihotri said, "It's heartening to hear PM @narendramodi acknowledge the contribution of Indian scientists, specially women scientists in making the indigenous vaccine under his leadership. Women scientists called and got emotional 'first time a PM praised Virologists' they said. Gratitude," the filmmaker wrote on microblogging site X.

Produced by wife Pallavi Joshi under their banner I Am Buddha, the film features Anupam Kher, Nana Patekar, Sapthami Gowda, and Joshi.

Agnihotri is known for directing movies such as 'Hate Story', 'Chocolate', 'The Tashkent Files' and 'The Kashmir Files.

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Story first published: Thursday, October 5, 2023, 18:00 [IST]
Flash Flood In Sikkim: Death Toll Rises To 18, Rescue Operations Underway

A flash flood triggered by a cloudburst over Lhonak Lake has resulted in the loss of 18 lives so far. The army and NDRF teams continue their search for the remaining missing persons amidst challenging conditions.

India

-Krishna Kripa

The catastrophic flash flooding that hit Sikkim on Wednesday has left a devastating trail of destruction, with the death toll rising to 18 as per the latest reports. Army and National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) teams are tirelessly working through slushy earth and water sheets in the Teesta river basin and downstream north Bengal for the second consecutive day, in an arduous search operation for those who were swept away by the floodwaters and remain missing.

Flash Floods: The Devastating Aftermath

Chief Secretary V B Pathak confirmed that eighteen bodies have been recovered so far while 98 people, including 22 army personnel, still remain unaccounted for. This disaster was triggered by a cloudburst over Lhonak Lake in North Sikkim during the early hours of Wednesday morning.

In addition to this grim news, it has been reported that four of the deceased were identified as 'jawans' according to an official statement from neighbouring West Bengal's government. Furthermore, twenty-six individuals have suffered injuries due to these unforeseen floods and are currently receiving treatment at various hospitals across Sikkim.

Rescue Operations Underway

The calamity has affected approximately 22,034 people according to data released by the Sikkim State Disaster Management Authority (SSDMA). However, amidst this chaos there is a glimmer of hope as so far rescue operations have successfully saved around 2,011 people from precarious situations caused by this natural disaster.

Pathak further updated on another crucial aspect - he was informed by officials from Armys 27th Mountain Division that tourists stranded in Lachen, Lachung and adjoining regions in North Sikkim are safe. These popular tourist destinations had become inaccessible due to severe weather conditions which had raised concerns about their safety.

Thousands of Tourists Stranded

According to estimates, over 3,000 tourists, inclusive of foreigners are stuck in various parts of Sikkim due to these flash floods. Rescue operations for them are being conducted on war footing and evacuation plans are being drawn out by the relevant authorities.

In conclusion, the sudden cloudburst and subsequent flash flooding in Sikkim have left a trail of destruction with many lives lost and thousands affected. The rescue teams comprising Army personnel and NDRF are working round-the-clock amidst challenging conditions to find those missing and provide relief to those affected. The situation is grim but efforts from all corners are bringing hope amidst these testing times. As we wait for more updates on this unfolding disaster, our thoughts go out to everyone impacted by this calamity.
Janasena, TDP Will Go Together In Next Elections: Pawan Kalyan After Meeting Naidu In Prison

Pawan Kalyan Quits NDA To Support TDP Leader Chandrababu Naidu Amid Protests

India

oi-Madhuri Adnal

In yet another blow to the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), the Jana Sena Party has opted to part ways with the alliance in support of the Telugu Desam Party (TDP). Pawan Kalyan, the chief of the Jana Sena Party, announced his decision to withdraw from the BJP-led NDA and back the TDP.

Actor-turned-politician Pawan Kalyan said, "The Telugu Desam Party is a formidable force, and Andhra Pradesh requires its governance for the state's progress. Currently, the TDP is facing challenges, and we will stand by them. In this situation, the TDP requires the support of Jana Sena. If the TDP and Jana Sena unite, it will have a significant impact on the YSRCP government in the state."

Earlier, the JSP had revealed its intention to contest in the upcoming Telangana Assembly elections 2023, marking its debut in the state. The party has selected 32 constituencies, with a majority of them situated in urban areas in and around Hyderabad, along with a few in Khammam and Nalgonda districts.

Recently, following the arrest of TDP chief N. Chandrababu Naidu, the JSP announced its partnership with the TDP for the Andhra Pradesh elections.

The TDP had previously declared its intentions to contest in Telangana and even conducted a public meeting in Khammam.

Why BJP Is Silent On TDP Chief Naidu's Arrest And What Is Its Game Plan In Andhra?

It must be noted that TDP chief Chandrababu Naidu is in judicial custody after he was arrested in connection with an alleged multi-crore skill development scam case on September 9. His arrest sparked widespread protests by TDP supporters throughout the state.

Earlier, the AIADMK in Tamil Nadu, on September 25, made the decision to sever ties with the NDA, intending to form a coalition with like-minded parties in preparation for the upcoming Lok Sabha election.

AIADMK leader Edappadi K Palaniswami explained that the party's departure from the alliance was a result of respecting the sentiments of party workers, emphasizing that this decision was driven by their feelings. He stated, "Recent events have deeply affected our party workers. A party worker's dedication is to the party's success and welfare, and our decision is a response to the sentiments of our party workers."
Jana Sena Chief Pawan Kalyan Denies Rumours of Leaving NDA

Amid speculations about his political allegiance, Jana Sena chief Pawan Kalyan asserted that he is still a part of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA). He blamed the YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) leaders for circulating false rumours about him leaving the BJP-led coalition. The actor-politician reasserted his respect and loyalty towards Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah and BJP chief JP Nadda. He also stated that he would openly communicate any decision regarding this matter.

India

-Krishna Kripa

In the face of swirling rumours regarding his alleged exit from the BJP-led coalition, Jana Sena chief Pawan Kalyan affirmed his continued allegiance to the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) on Thursday. The actor turned politician squarely blamed leaders of YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) for propagating such baseless speculations.

Kalyan was addressing a public gathering at Mudinepally, Andhra Pradesh when he made this assertion. He clarified that he continues to hold immense respect for Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, and BJP chief JP Nadda. He dismissed all speculations by stating unequivocally "I am still in the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) and I did not go anywhere."

Accusations Against YSRCP Leaders

The Jana Sena leader took a dig at Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy and other YSRCP leaders who have been spreading rumours about Jana Sena's exit from NDA. Kalyan expressed his displeasure with these unfounded claims saying "Since morning, Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy and YSRCP leaders are telling all around that the Jana Sena has exited the NDA."

Kalyan further stated that if he decides to leave NDA in future, it won't be done surreptitiously but will be openly declared. He questioned why it should matter to YSRCP whether or not he remains part of NDA especially since they are already confident about winning all 175 assembly seats in next elections.

Call For Focus On State's Future

The film star-cum-politician also urged ruling party leaders to focus on their own tasks at hand rather than meddling in others' affairs. Reflecting an optimistic outlook towards the state's future, he expressed his hope that BJP leaders will take the right decision with respect to Andhra Pradesh's future.

While Kalyan has made it clear that he continues to be part of NDA, this episode has highlighted the political volatility in Andhra Pradesh. It is a classic example of how rumours can create unnecessary distractions in an already complex political landscape.

Conclusion

In conclusion, Pawan Kalyans recent statement not only puts rest to all speculations about his exit from NDA but also underlines his commitment and loyalty towards the alliance. His words reflect a desire for less politicking and more focus on development work for the betterment of Andhra Pradesh. As we move forward, it will be interesting to see how these dynamics play out in shaping the state's political scenario.
Breaking News: Major Triggers Fire & Grenade Attack Inside Rajouri J-K Army Camp, Officers Injured

In an unexpected turn of events, five army personnel were injured when a major opened fire without provocation during shooting practice. The officer then lobbed grenades at his superiors who tried to persuade him to surrender. After nearly eight hours, the officer was overpowered within the armoury. The incident took place at Neeli post near Thanamandi in Rajouri district.

India

-Krishna Kripa

In a shocking incident that unfolded in Rajouri district of Jammu and Kashmir on October 5th, five army personnel were injured when an officer allegedly opened fire and exploded grenades within the camp. The victims included three officers who were caught off-guard during this unexpected act of violence. This incident has raised serious concerns about the security measures in place at military camps and the mental health of service members.

According to official sources, the accused is believed to be a major who inexplicably attacked his colleagues during a shooting practice session. After initiating gunfire, he sought refuge inside the unit's armoury where he continued his assault by hurling grenades at superior officers attempting to negotiate his surrender.

The Standoff

This tense standoff lasted nearly eight hours before the rogue officer was finally subdued within the confines of the armoury. The scene of this unsettling episode was Neeli post near Thanamandi in Rajouri district, which has since been under heightened scrutiny.

Precautionary Measures

In response to this dangerous event, appropriate precautionary actions were taken by evacuating a nearby village located close to the volatile armoury site. This action underscores how such incidents can threaten not only military personnel but also innocent civilians residing in proximity to these establishments.

Contradictory Claims

Despite these details coming from official sources, there are conflicting reports regarding what transpired at Rajouri. The army claimed that an officer was injured as a result of a likely grenade accident at one of their posts rather than due to any internal conflict or attack. On October 5th they reported "one officer was injured in a likely grenade accident at a post in Rajouri sector." They added that after initial treatment, "the officer evacuated and stable". An investigation into this incident is currently ongoing according to White Knight Corps of the army.

Implications and Investigations

The incident has raised several questions about the safety protocols within military camps, as well as the mental health support available to service members. If indeed it was an act of violence perpetrated by a fellow officer, it points to serious internal security issues that need immediate attention. The conflicting reports also highlight a possible lack of transparency in communicating such incidents, which can further erode trust in institutions meant to protect citizens.

In conclusion, this incident at Rajouri district underscores the urgent need for stringent safety measures and robust mental health support systems within military establishments. It is crucial that investigations into such matters are conducted transparently and swiftly to prevent any future occurrences. Further, open communication regarding these incidents will not only foster trust but also ensure accountability from all parties involved.
Pakistan's SCBAP Lauds Indian Supreme Court for Innovative Legal Tech Initiatives

The SCBAP has praised the Supreme Court of India for its innovative legal tech initiatives like e-filing, making available judgments in local languages and development of e-courts. They expressed interest in visiting to learn more about these developments.

India

-Krishna Kripa

The Supreme Court Bar Association of Pakistan (SCBAP) recently applauded the Supreme Court of India for its innovative initiatives, such as e-filing, providing judgments in local languages and the development of e-courts. The appreciation was expressed in a letter addressed to the president of the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) of India, senior advocate Adish C Aggarwala.

Enhancing Bilateral Relations

In addition to praising these advancements, SCBAP also highlighted how fostering interactions between legal communities can significantly contribute to improving bilateral relations between both countries. They suggested that their lawyers would like to visit India to observe these developments firsthand and understand their implementation better.

Commendable Initiatives by Indian Judiciary

The SCBAP's letter detailed its admiration for certain initiatives undertaken by the Indian judiciary. These include E-filing which simplifies court proceedings by allowing digital submission of documents; making judgments available in local languages which ensures wider accessibility and understanding among citizens; and developing E-Courts that utilize technology for faster and more efficient justice delivery. Furthermore, they noted various welfare schemes initiated for lawyers' benefit.

Pakistans Own Legal Innovations

The Pakistani lawyer's body also mentioned similar innovations introduced by their own Supreme Court. This includes video link facilities enabling remote court proceedings; cause lists made available on their official website facilitating easy access for advocates; along with numerous other measures aimed at enhancing ease of access for lawyers.

A Chance For Exchange Of Ideas And Practices

With mutual respect for each other's progress in legal technology adoption, SCBAP expressed interest not just in visiting but also inviting members from SCBA. The objective is to familiarize themselves with Indian judicial practices while reciprocating by sharing Pakistans own experiences and practices. This exchange, they believe, could be a valuable opportunity for both countries to learn from each other and further enhance their respective legal systems.

In conclusion, the SCBAP's appreciation of the Supreme Court of Indias initiatives signifies recognition of the transformative role technology can play in modernizing judicial processes. The letter also underscores the potential benefits that increased interaction between legal communities across borders can bring about. It suggests an openness to collaboration and mutual learning which could pave the way for strengthening bilateral relations between India and Pakistan through shared improvements in their respective judiciaries.
Court Sends AAP's Sanjay Singh to ED Custody till October 10 over Alleged Money Laundering Case

India

-Krishna Kripa

In a recent development in the Delhi excise policy case, senior Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Sanjay Singh was remanded into the custody of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) for five days by a Delhi court. The decision comes after his arrest by the ED on October 4th under allegations of money laundering. The court order, delivered on Thursday, October 5th, allows for thorough and sustained interrogation of Singh to fully trace out the complete trail.

Sanjay Singh Remanded in ED Custody

The ruling was made by Special Judge M K Nagpal who decided that Sanjay Singh will remain in ED custody until October 10th. This period is deemed necessary for the federal probe agency to conduct its detailed investigation and interrogate him thoroughly. Following this period of custody, as per legal procedure, Sanjay Singh will be produced before the court.

Allegations Against Sanjay Singh

The Rajya Sabha MP has been accused of having direct links with activities related to proceeds from crime involving an amount of Rs 2 crore. These serious allegations led Judge Nagpal to observe that sustained and custodial interrogation appeared vital to uncovering all aspects related to these charges. The material presented before the court further substantiated these claims against him.

Necessity for Sustained Interrogation

Singh's alleged involvement in such activities necessitates a comprehensive examination which can only be achieved through detailed and prolonged questioning while he is held in custody. This would allow investigators ample opportunity not just for questioning but also confrontations with both oral and documentary evidence pertaining to this case.

Court's Decision Based on Facts & Circumstances

Judge Nagpals verdict was based on careful consideration of all facts and circumstances surrounding this case. The decision to remand Sanjay Singh in ED custody was made with the objective of ensuring a thorough investigation into these allegations and tracing out the complete trail of this alleged crime.

In conclusion, this recent development marks a significant turn in the Delhi excise policy case as it allows for an intensive probe into the role of senior AAP leader Sanjay Singh. The court's decision underscores its commitment to uphold justice by enabling authorities to conduct their investigations thoroughly and without hindrance. As we await further developments, it is hoped that this period of sustained interrogation will shed light on all aspects of these serious allegations against him.
Devastating Flash Flood in Sikkim Claims More Lives, Search for Missing Continues

The toll from the flash flood in Sikkim has increased to 18 with ongoing rescue operations by Army and NDRF teams. Ninety-eight people, including tourists and army personnel, are still unaccounted for after a cloudburst triggered the disaster. The calamity has also affected over 22,000 people across the region.

India

-Krishna Kripa

The recent flash flood in Sikkim has taken a devastating toll, with the death count rising to 18 on Thursday. The incident occurred due to a cloudburst over Lhonak Lake in North Sikkim, which triggered the catastrophic event. Rescue operations are being carried out by Army and National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) teams who are battling through slushy earth and fast-flowing water in the Teesta river basin as well as downstream north Bengal. Their mission is focused on finding those who were swept away by the floods and remain missing.

Search for Missing Persons Continues

As per official reports, around 98 people including 22 army personnel continue to be unaccounted for following the disaster. Chief Secretary V B Pathak confirmed this grim statistic while also revealing that four of the deceased had been identified as jawans. Its clear that these natural disasters have far-reaching consequences affecting not only civilians but also our armed forces.

Injured and Displaced Individuals

Apart from those lost or missing, there are numerous individuals grappling with injuries sustained during this calamity. Around twenty-six people have suffered injuries of varying severity and are currently undergoing treatment at various hospitals across Sikkim. The Sikkim State Disaster Management Authority (SSDMA) revealed that up until now, 2,011 people have been rescued from perilous conditions.

Tourists Stranded

In addition to locals affected by this tragedy, an estimated number of over 3,000 tourists find themselves stranded in different parts of Sikkim due to disrupted transportation links caused by these lethal floods. This group includes foreign nationals as well as Indian tourists visiting this scenic state nestled in the Himalayas.

Efforts Towards Normalcy

Despite these dire circumstances, efforts are being made to bring about a semblance of normalcy. Chief Secretary V B Pathak stated that the Armys 27th Mountain Division had informed him that tourists stuck in areas such as Lachen, Lachung and other adjoining regions in North Sikkim were safe. The calamity has affected more than 22,034 people according to SSDMA, which is working relentlessly towards rescue and relief operations.

In conclusion, this flash flood incident serves as a stark reminder of the destructive power of nature and the vulnerability of human life. It underscores the importance of efficient disaster management systems and infrastructure for quick response times during emergencies. As we mourn those lost to this tragedy, it's crucial for us as a society to learn from these incidents and work towards better preparedness for potential future disasters.
Sikkim Flash Floods: 8 Dead Army Personnel Recovered; Search On For 14 Missing And Other Civilians

Sikkim Flash Floods: Death Toll Rises To 33, Search Still On For Missing

Sikkim Flash Flood: Death Toll Rises To 14, 102 People Still Missing

India

oi-PTI

Fourteen people have died and 102 others, including 22 army personnel, were missing after the cloudburst over Lhonak Lake in North Sikkim triggered a flash flood in the Teesta river basin, officials said on Thursday.

So far, 2,011 people have been rescued, while the calamity that happened on Wednesday affected 22,034 people, the Sikkim State Disaster Management Authority (SSDMA) said in its latest bulletin.

The state government has set up 26 relief camps in the four affected districts, it said.

A total of 1,025 people are taking shelter in the eight relief camps in Gangtok district, while the number of inmates at the 18 other relief camps was not available immediately.

Chief Minister Prem Singh Tamang visited Singtam, one of the worst affected areas, and took stock of the situation.

Sikkim Flash Floods: 3 Dead, 23 Army Jawans Missing After Cloudburst

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He urged the people to stay alert and take shelter in safe locations, and assured that the government is making all necessary arrangements for their rehabilitation.

After visiting the affected areas, Tamang also chaired an emergency meeting at the Singtam Community Centre.

''I want to assure you that the government is fully committed to providing all necessary assistance and relief to those in need. We understand the magnitude of the situation and are mobilising all available resources to ensure the safety and well-being of our citizens,'' he said.

''Our dedicated teams are working day and night to address the immediate concerns and challenges posed by this calamity. I urge the administration, local authorities, all organisations, and individuals to join hands in a spirit of solidarity and cooperation. Together, we can make a significant difference in providing relief to those affected and rebuilding our communities,'' he added.

The flash flood in the Teesta river, triggered by the cloudburst in Lhonak Lake in North Sikkim, caused accumulation of huge quantity of water, which turned towards Chungthang dam destroying the power infrastructure before moving downstream in spate, flooding towns and villages.

The chief minister is in constant touch with the Cente, officials said.

He spoke to Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the phone and apprised him of the situation, they said, adding that the PM assured all necessary assistance to the state.

The chief minister wrote to the prime minister, and sought necessary support, especially for areas that need immediate intervention, officials said.

ISRO Releases Satellite Image Based Study Of South Lhonak Lake That Caused Sikkim Floods| Details

The flood destroyed 11 bridges in the state, with eight bridges getting washed away in Mangan district alone. Two bridges were destroyed in Namchi and one in Gangtok. Water pipelines, sewage lines and 277 houses, both kuchcha and concrete, have been destroyed in the four affected districts.

Chungthang town bore the maximum brunt of the flood with 80 per cent of it getting severely affected. The NH-10, considered the lifeline of the state, sustained extensive damage at several places.

Seven people died in Pakyong district, four people died in Mangan and three persons lost their lives in Gangtok, according to the SSDMA.

Among the 102 people missing, 59 are from Pakyong, including the army personnel. Twenty-two are missing in Gangtok, 16 in Mangan and five people are missing in Namchi.

A total of 26 people sustained injuries, the SSDMA said.

Defence spokesperson Lt Col Mahendra Rawat said the Border Roads Organisation (BRO) was helping the state in the rescued operations in Chungthang and Mangan, where four critical bridges have been severely damaged.

''More than 200 people have been moved to safer areas by the BRO in spite of continuous heavy rainfall and extremely bad weather,'' he said.

''Search and rescue operations for the missing army personnel are still on at Burdang near Singtam,'' he added.

The families of the missing persons have been informed of the situation, the official said.

The troops of the Trishakti Corps are extending mobile connectivity to civilians and tourists stranded in Chungthang, Lachung and Lachen in North Sikkim, another official said.

About 10,000 people have been affected by the calamity in the Mangan district, while 6,895 people were affected in Pakyong, 2,579 in Namchi and 2,570 people in Gangtok.

The SSDMA advised people to stay away from the Teesta as the water level was rising due to incessant rains in the upper reaches.

According to officials of the 17 Mountain Division, the water level was increasing in the Chungthang area till 11.30 am.

The state Tourism Department is in contact with the stranded tourists, officials said.

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Story first published: Thursday, October 5, 2023, 13:40 [IST]
Abhishek Banerjee Leads Trinamool Protest Over MGNREGA Dues Holdback

Abhishek Banerjee, a Trinamool Congress leader, announced an indefinite sit-in in front of Raj Bhavan to protest against the alleged withholding of West Bengal's MGNREGA dues by the Central government. The demonstration caused significant traffic disruption in Kolkata.

India

-Krishna Kripa

In a significant political development in Kolkata, Trinamool Congress leader Abhishek Banerjee announced an indefinite sit-in on Thursday. The protest was staged in front of the Raj Bhavan, the official residence of Bengals governor CV Ananada Bose. This announcement came hours after Governor Bose flew off to visit flood-affected regions of North Bengal and subsequently proceeded to Delhi.

Protest Against Withholding of MGNREGA Dues

Banerjee's decision to stage a sit-in was triggered by the alleged withholding of West Bengal's dues under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) by the Central Government. Thousands of party functionaries and top leadership marched up to the British-era edifice as part of their protest, resulting in a massive show of strength that brought traffic to a standstill in the heartland of this bustling metropolis.

A Series Of Protests

The march is not an isolated incident but comes days after the party organized a two-day protest programme in New Delhi. The primary objective behind these protests has been drawing attention towards alleged delayed payment for MGNREGA  a programme which guarantees 100 days' work for economically disadvantaged individuals and facilitates constructing houses for impoverished families.

Governors Absence Amidst Turmoil

Expressing his discontent with Governor Bose's absence during such critical times, Banerjee said, "We had sought a meeting with the Governor, but he did not grant us an audience. He has gone to North Bengal. It seems as if he regards us as bonded laborers." Banerjee further added that they wouldn't end their demonstration until they were granted an audience with him. The party termed Governor Boses absence at such crucial juncture as highly regrettable.

In conclusion, the indefinite sit-in announced by Abhishek Banerjee in front of Raj Bhavan marks a significant escalation in the ongoing political conflict between Trinamool Congress and the Centre. The protest signifies not just an outcry against alleged withholding of MGNREGA dues but also expresses displeasure towards Governor Bose's absence during such crucial times. It remains to be seen how this conflict will unfold and what impact it will have on West Bengal's political landscape.
Delhi Airport To Be Just 20 Minutes Away With New Ring Road: Nitin Gadkari

Know The Key Points About The Delhi-Mumbai Expressway With PM Modi Opening The Vadodara Stretch For Public

Union Minister Nitin Gadkari Highlights Global Respect for Indian Doctors

Speaking at a national conference, Union minister Nitin Gadkari stated that six out of ten best physicians in the UK and the USA are from India. He emphasized on the need for affordable healthcare, more medical colleges, AIIMS campuses and an increased retirement age for government doctors to meet growing demand.

India

-Krishna Kripa

Union Minister Nitin Gadkari, in a recent address at a national conference of the Association of Cutaneous Surgeons in Nagpur, hailed Indian doctors for their global recognition and contributions. He asserted that out of the top 10 physicians in the UK and USA, six are of Indian origin. The minister's remarks underscored the significant role played by Indian medical professionals globally.

Indian Doctors Making Global Impact

The Association of Cutaneous Surgeons is a leading organization dedicated to promoting and advancing knowledge and skills in surgical and aesthetic dermatology. During his speech, Gadkari lauded Indian doctors for their prestigious standing across the world. He reiterated his claim about six out of ten best doctors from India practicing successfully in the UK and USA.

Affordable Healthcare: A Top Priority

Gadkari also emphasized on affordable healthcare as an imperative need for India today. He stressed upon ensuring availability of cheap medicines as one key aspect towards achieving this goal. Affordable medical treatment forms a critical part of public health policy, especially given Indias vast population with diverse socio-economic backgrounds.

Need For More Medical Institutions

The Union Minister highlighted an urgent requirement to increase the number of medical colleges and AIIMS (All India Institute Of Medical Sciences) campuses across India. As Lok Sabha MP from Nagpur, he underlined this necessity against backdrop of growing demand for such institutions nationwide.

Bridging The Demand-Supply Gap In Healthcare

Gadkari pitched for raising retirement age limit for government doctors as one solution to bridge existing demand-supply gap within countrys healthcare system. With increasing patient load due to escalating health issues among populace, there is an evident shortage which needs immediate attention according to him.

Promoting Public-Private Partnership

The Union Minister advocated for a stronger public-private partnership in the field of medical sciences. He emphasized on delivering quality education as a crucial aspect in this key area. The role of private sector alongside government initiatives can significantly enhance healthcare infrastructure and services, thereby contributing to overall health and wellbeing of citizens.

In conclusion, Gadkari's address at the national conference highlighted several pressing issues within India's healthcare system while also acknowledging the global impact made by Indian doctors. His emphasis on affordable healthcare, need for more medical institutions, bridging demand-supply gap and promoting public-private partnerships underscored his vision for an improved and accessible healthcare system in India.
West Bengal Governor Advocates for Balance between Ecology and Development amidst Disaster Recovery Efforts

In his visit to flood-affected areas in West Bengal, Governor C V Ananda Bose emphasized on the destruction of ecology in the name of development. He suggested undertaking specific studies to mitigate future disasters and find a permanent solution against such calamities.

India

-Krishna Kripa

West Bengal Governor C V Ananda Bose expressed his concern over the ecological destruction happening in the name of development on Thursday, October 5. During his visit to flood-affected regions of northern West Bengal, he emphasized the need for specific studies to be conducted in order to prevent disasters like the recent one that struck Sikkim. The governor's comments underscore a growing awareness among Indian officials about the effects of unchecked development on environmental stability and disaster risk.

A Call for Balanced Development

The Governor made these remarks while en route to surveying flood-affected districts such as Jalpaiguri, Kalimpong and Cooch Behar in Siliguri. He highlighted his intention not just to assess physical damage but also understand peoples sentiments and grievances regarding these calamities. "I would like to see as many places as possible so that I can have a feel of what is happening on the ground," he said. "More than that, I would like to go to the camps and listen to the people -- their views, sentiments and grievances."

Understanding Causes Behind Disasters

Bose stressed upon understanding various reasons behind these disasters through specific studies and assessments. Drawing from his experience in disaster management, he stated firmly that such accidents are not accidental but rather an outcome of ecological destruction caused by unregulated developmental activities. "In the name of development, we are destroying ecology", he commented.

Mitigating Future Calamities

The governor emphasized finding permanent solutions so that such calamities do not recur in future. His statements highlight an urgent need for policy changes aimed at sustainable development which strikes a balance between economic growth and environmental preservation.

Paving Way Towards Sustainable Development

In conclusion, Boses remarks serve as a wake-up call for all stakeholders involved in development projects. His emphasis on the need for specific studies to understand the causes behind such disasters is a reminder that development should not come at the cost of environmental degradation. Furthermore, his call for a balance between development and ecology underscores the importance of sustainable practices which ensure progress without compromising our natural resources.

The governor's views echo a growing consensus among scholars and policymakers worldwide that sustainable, environmentally-friendly practices are not just ethically necessary, but also crucial for long-term economic stability and growth. As India continues to develop rapidly, it will be critical for officials at all levels of government to heed Governor Bose's advice and prioritize ecological preservation alongside economic advancement.
'Where Is The Proof?': SC Charges CBI, ED Over Manish Sisodia's Bail Plea

India

oi-Sushmita Halder

The Supreme Court heard two different bail applications of former Deputy Chief of Delhi and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader, Manish Sisodia. One case is a liquor policy investigation conducted by the Central Bureau Of Investigation (CBI) and the other is a money laundering case directed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED).

While considering the bail request of Sisodia in a liquor policy case, the Supreme Court has noted that the evidence linkage is not fully substantiated.

The Supreme Court has instructed the agencies to create a chain of evidence connecting the money from the liquor lobby to the recipient. The top court noted the challenge in proving the link due to clandestine operations. Nevertheless, it is the CBI's skill that is crucial in accomplishing this task.

Delhi Excise Policy Case: SC Notice To CBI, ED on Manish Sisodia's Bail Pleas

The court sought clarification from the agencies regarding who exactly paid the sums of  100 crores and  30 crores, noting that the source of these funds could potentially be unrelated to the liquor policy.

The court instructed the agencies to present proper evidence since the businessman Dinesh Arora is the beneficiary. They asked the agency where is the proof. Apart from Dinesh Arora's admission, does any other form of confirmation exist? The sequence of events is not entirely proven.

The Court acknowledged an alteration in policy. All will back strategies beneficial for companies. Advocacy groups are always present. Even erroneous policy amendments aren't significant without a financial aspect. The financial element is what constitutes the wrongdoing.

Kejriwal Accuses PM Modi of Defaming Manish Sisodia through ED

According to the Supreme Court, Sisodia is not implicated in this situation. Although AAP communication leader and businessman Vijay Nair is present, Sisodia is not involved in this segment. The court asked how Sisodia be accused under the Money Laundering Act when he was not the recipient of the money. If he's a part of the said company, then indirect responsibility applies. But without this, the legal action stumbles. Money laundering is a distinct crime entirely.

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Story first published: Thursday, October 5, 2023, 17:11 [IST]
How Russia Is Shifting To War Economy In The Face Of International Sanctions

48 Killed, Several Injured In Russian Attack Over Ukraine's Grocery Store

International

oi-Sushmita Halder

Ukrainian authorities on Thursday reported that a Russian attack on a northeastern village resulted in 48 deaths and at least six injuries.

Both Andrii Yermak, the Presidential Chief of Staff, and Kharkiv Governor Oleh Syniehubov confirmed that a store and a cafe in the village of Hroza, located in the Kharkiv region, were shelled by Russian troops around 1 p.m.

Syniehubov reported that a 6-year-old boy was one of the victims in the attack and another child was injured.

Zelenskyy reached Granada in the southern region of Spain to participate in the summit of the European Political Community.

The attack occurred when Zelenskyy reached Granada in South Spain for a meeting of the European Political Community. The community was established following Russia's complete takeover of Ukraine in February 2022.

"The key for us, especially before winter, is to strengthen air defence, and there is already a basis for new agreements with partners," he said in a statement posted on his Telegram channel.

Last year in winter, Ukraine was the focus of Russia's missile and drone strikes, which had a significant impact on their energy system and other key infrastructures, causing consistent power blackouts throughout the nation. Despite the considerable harm, Ukraine's power system demonstrated notable resilience and adaptability. However, as winter approaches, there are fears that Russia may intensify their attacks on power facilities.

Zelenskyy remarked that the Granada summit will concentrate on collective efforts towards global food security and maintaining freedom of navigation in the Black Sea. This comes after Russian forces have attacked Ukrainian ports in the wake of Moscow's departure from a U.N.-backed grain agreement, which aimed at safeguarding grain exports from the besieged nation's ports.

The UK Foreign Office has revealed information indicating that Russia might plant underwater explosives near Ukrainian harbors intending to attack civilian vessels and fault Ukraine for it.

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Story first published: Friday, October 6, 2023, 0:28 [IST]
Deadly Drone Attack On Syrian Military Graduation Ceremony In Homs

A drone attack targeted a packed military graduation ceremony in Syria's central city of Homs, killing 80 and injuring 240. This marks one of the deadliest attacks on the Syrian army to date. No group has claimed responsibility yet.

International

-Sathish Raman

In a tragic turn of events, Syria's Health Minister Hassan al-Ghabash has confirmed the death toll from a recent drone attack in Homs to be 80, with an additional 240 individuals wounded. The incident occurred during a military graduation ceremony and is considered one of the deadliest attacks on the Syrian army in recent years. This escalation comes as Syrias conflict enters its thirteenth year.

Details of the Attack

The drone strike targeted a densely populated military graduation ceremony in Homs, central city of Syria. Initial reports indicate that explosives-laden drones were used to carry out this devastating assault just as the event was concluding. Among those killed were civilians including six children, along with military personnel.

Due to the severity of wounds sustained by many victims, there are worries that the death toll may continue to climb. In light of this grave incident, no group has yet claimed responsibility for orchestrating this deadly attack.

Syria's Allegations

An earlier statement from Syria's military accused insurgents "backed by known international forces" for instigating this attack. However, it refrained from naming any specific group involved in executing this act of violence.

International Response

The UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres expressed his deep concern over both the drone attack and subsequent reports of retaliatory shelling taking place in northwest Syria through his spokesperson Stephane Dujarric.

Mourning and Uncertainty

The Syrian government announced a three-day state mourning period beginning on Friday following these events. Despite such measures being taken to honor those lost in these brutal acts of violence, uncertainty prevails due to lack of clarity regarding who is responsible for these actions and how they will impact ongoing tensions within Syria.

In conclusion, the recent drone attack in Homs stands as a stark reminder of the ongoing conflict and instability within Syria. The international community's response to these events will be crucial in determining future developments within this war-torn nation. As we wait for additional information on who might be responsible for this horrific act, our thoughts go out to all those affected by this tragedy.
Imran Khan Lost Weight In Jail, Claims Sister Aleema Khan

International

oi-PTI

Pakistan's former prime minister Imran Khan has lost weight in jail and he is not being provided space for walk and exercise, his sister Aleema Khan said on Wednesday.

Khan, 70, was arrested on August 5, 2023, and shifted to Attock jail after a court sentenced him to three years in prison in the Toshakhana (national treasury gifts) graft case. Following the suspension of the sentence by the Islamabad High Court, he was re-arrested in the cipher case and shifted to the Adiala Jail Rawalpindi last week. ''I met Imran Khan in jail and found him happy, however, he lost weight and he is not being provided space for walk and exercise,'' Aleema Khan told journalists outside the Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) here.

She said Khan is reading the Quran and other books in jail and his spirits are high. She added that Khan has expressed her disappointment over President Arif Alvi's failure to give an election date despite the dissolution of the National Assembly in August.

Imran Khan Can Be Poisoned In Attock Jail, Says Wife Bushra

Meanwhile, Aleema Khan and her sister Uzma Khan appeared before the ATC in a case related to the attack on Lahore Corps Commander House on May 9. The police sought the arrest of both sisters. The police said Khan's sisters have been declared guilty by the Joint Investigation Team (JIT) thus their arrest is sought for further investigation. Their counsel Burhan Moazzam Malik said Khan's sisters had not been nominated in the FIR and demanded to see any such document that declared the accused as guilty. The judge adjourned the hearing till October 16.

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Story first published: Thursday, October 5, 2023, 9:32 [IST]
Know All About Imprisoned Nobel Prize Winner Narges Mohammadi Who Has To Wait Another Day For The Good News

Jon Fosse Bags 2023 Nobel Prize In Literature: Discover His Must Read Books

International

oi-Prakash KL

The 2023 Nobel Prize in Literature is awarded to the Norwegian author Jon Fosse "for his innovative plays and prose which give voice to the unsayable".

"His immense oeuvre written in Norwegian Nynorsk and spanning a variety of genres consists of a wealth of plays, novels, poetry collections, essays, children's books and translations. While he is today one of the most widely performed playwrights in the world, he has also become increasingly recognised for his prose," the Royal Swedish Academy stated.

Jon Fosse, born in 1959, is a highly acclaimed Norwegian author. Raised on a small farm along the west coast of Norway, he pursued literature at the University of Bergen. Following his studies, Fosse transitioned into a career as a dedicated writer, journalist, and educator.

His Works

He made his debut with the novel "Raudt, svart" (Red, black) in 1983. Since then, his literary works have been translated into over forty languages, solidifying his reputation as one of today's preeminent playwrights worldwide. Fosse was honored as a chevalier of the Ordre national du Merite in France in 2007 and was recognized as the 83rd living genius on The Daily Telegraph's Top 100 list.

The Norwegian state in 2011 has given granted the Grotten, an honorary residence which is located on the premises of the Royal Palace in the city centre of Oslo.

Must Read Books Of Fosse

'Melancholy I and Melancholy II'

It remains one of the best works of Fosse. It is about the psychological and emotional struggles of the protagonist, which reflects Fosse's characteristic exploration of human experiences.

'Nokon kjem til a komme' (Someone Will Arrive)

Released in 1999, this book stands as another notable addition to Fosse's literary works that explores existential themes and intricacies within human relationships.

'Trilogy' (Andvake, Olavs draumar, and Kveldsvvd (Wakefulness, Olav's Dreams, Weariness)

Trilogien (The Trilogy) brings together three stories about a young couple Asle and Alida. Collectively, these three books span nearly three hundred pages of prose, presenting a condensed narrative that unfolds across generations and centuries.

'Namnet' (The Name)

The 1994 book is a part of Fosse's ambitious "Septology" series. This showcases his minimalist style and explores the human psyche, identity, and mortality.

'Morning and Evening'

It is about the birth of a child and the day of his death many decades later. The narrative revolves around a fisherman, with the first section depicting his birth from his father's viewpoint, while the subsequent part covers his life's culmination, revisiting pivotal locations and memories.
President Biden Plans Major Speech On Aid For Ukraine Amid Congressional Roadblock

President Joe Biden is planning a significant address regarding aid to Ukraine amid opposition from House Republicans. The president hinted at alternate means of providing support if Congress continues to resist. The White House has yet to announce when this speech will occur.

International

-Sathish Raman

On Wednesday, US President Joe Biden announced his plan to deliver a major speech on the issue of aid for Ukraine. This comes in response to anticipated opposition from House Republicans regarding additional funding for the war-torn nation. The president suggested that he might explore "another means" to provide support for Kyiv if Congress continues its resistance.

The Need for Continued Support

Biden emphasized the crucial importance of continued commitment towards Ukraine by the United States and its allies. He stated, "I'm going to be announcing very shortly a major speech I'm going to make on this issue and why it's critically important for the United States and our allies that we keep our commitment" to Ukraine. However, White House officials did not disclose when exactly Biden plans to give his speech.

Potential Alternative Funding Methods

While providing no specific details about what alternative method he was considering, Biden indicated that there could be another way of securing additional military aid for Ukraine amid its ongoing conflict with Russia. He said: "There is another means by which we may be able to find funding, but Im not going to get into that right now."

President Biden Assures Continuous US Aid to Ukraine Amidst War

Political Resistance and Bipartisan Support

Aid for Ukraine has been a contentious issue within American politics as several Republicans in the House express severe doubts or openly oppose more funding aimed at sustaining the Ukrainian military. Despite this potential roadblock, President Biden appeared unfazed stating such resistance doesn't "worry" him due largely in part because there exists broad bipartisan support.

Conclusion: A Test For U.S Foreign Policy

The situation surrounding aid provision for Ukraine presents a significant test of America's foreign policy under President Joe Bidens administration. It brings into sharp focus questions around international alliances, political divisions within the U.S, and the country's role in global conflict resolution. The presidents upcoming speech is expected to shed more light on these issues and potentially reveal a new path for supporting Ukraine amidst ongoing opposition from certain quarters of Congress.
Putin's Health In Question As Unverified Reports Claim He Was Found Lying On Floor After Cardiac Arrest

Russian President Putin Praises PM Modi, Calls Him 'Very Wise Man' | Watch

International

oi-Madhuri Adnal

Russian President Vladimir Putin once again praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi's leadership, lauding him as a "very wise man" during a recent event. Putin expressed his admiration for the remarkable strides India has made in development under PM Modi's guidance.

In a video shared by Russian news platform RT News, Putin emphasized the enduring tradition of friendship and cooperation between Russia and India.

Narendra Modi is a "Very Wise Man"- Russian President Vladimir Putin



While praising the historically-friendly ties between the countries & the Charisma of Modi, Putin said India has been making "Great Strides in its Development" under Modi's leadership.pic.twitter.com/nM2jEbqLCG  Megh Updates  (@MeghUpdates) October 4, 2023

"We maintain strong political relations with Prime Minister Modi; he is a very wise leader. India, under his guidance, has achieved significant progress in its development. This aligns with the mutual interests of both India and Russia, as we collaborate on this agenda," Putin stated.

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Notably, Putin was one of the two world leaders who had not attended the G20 Summit in India in September.

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Putin Praises PM Modi and Highlights India-Russia Cooperation| One India News

This praise follows the adoption of the New Delhi Declaration at the recent G20 Summit in India. The declaration, celebrated by Moscow as a "milestone," calls for the establishment of peace in the ongoing Ukraine conflict without attributing blame to Russia. This marks a departure from the previous Bali Declaration.

Earlier in June, Putin had also commended PM Modi's 'Make in India' initiative during his speech at the 8th Eastern Economic Forum (EEF) in Vladivostok, Russia. Putin acknowledged that PM Modi's emphasis on promoting the Make in India program was indeed the "right thing."

He remarked, "We did not have domestically made cars back in the 90s, but now we do. I believe that we should take inspiration from many of our partners, such as India. They are dedicated to manufacturing and using Indian-made vehicles. I think Prime Minister Modi is doing the right thing by promoting the Make in India program. He is on the right path."

Putin Lauds PM Modi's 'Make in India' Initiative In Automobile Sector

The 'Make in India' initiative was introduced on a global scale in September 2014, as part of India's renewed focus on manufacturing. The initiative's objective is to position India as the most favored global manufacturing destination. It aims to integrate Indian companies into the global supply chain, according to the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), with a focus on enabling Indian businesses to excel in a globalised environment.

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Story first published: Thursday, October 5, 2023, 10:50 [IST]
No Ifs And Buts In Dealing With Terrorism: PM Modi To US Congress

Why Some Groups Are Not Happy With Congressional Hindu, Buddhist, Sikh And Jain Caucus In US?

International

oi-Prakash KL

Days after Indian-American Congressman Thanedar launched the Congressional Hindu, Buddhist, Sikh, and Jain American Caucus, several South Asian American civil rights groups denounced its formation.

"This caucus is not representative of the Sikh community. Based on our outreach and understanding, its leadership has not meaningfully consulted representatives from these communities and is not including other key South Asian faith traditions, including Muslim representation," the Sikh Coalition, a national civil rights organization that wrote a letter with other four groups, said.

Thanedar on Friday formally launched in the US Congress the caucus that aims to combat religious discrimination and promote religious freedom for Hindus, Buddhists, Sikhs, and Jains.

A congressional caucus is a group of members of the United States Congress that meet to pursue common legislative objectives.

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"We are not merely congregating to initiate another caucus; we're assembling to pioneer a movement-one that strives for understanding, inclusion and affirmative policy actions," Thanedar told reporters at a news conference.

"A movement that says every faith, every culture, and every community has a place in America- the land of the free and the home of the brave. My name is Shri Thanedar. I am proof of America's diversity in Congress," he added.

This caucus is not representative of the Sikh community. Based on our outreach and understanding, its leadership has not meaningfully consulted representatives from these communities and is not including other key South Asian faith traditions, including Muslim representation.  Sikh Coalition (@sikh_coalition) October 3, 2023

He was flanked by a group of eminent Indian-Americans who had gathered at the steps of the US Capitol from across the country. "Today is significant for numerous reasons. To many of you, the launch of the Hindu, Buddhist, Sikh, and Jain (HBSJ) American Congressional Caucus may seem like a formal procedure, but let me assure you, it is so much more," he said.

However, the Sikh Coalition and the Indian American Muslim Council and two other groups have said that the caucus is missing some vital perspectives from minority South Asians.

"We welcome any caucus to forward the interests of our and other religious communities, so long as it does so in a way that is inclusive of perspectives of the entire South Asian community across faith, caste, and ethnic lines," the letter reads. "We are skeptical, however, that this particular caucus meets that description."

In June, Rep. Thanedar opened up on the caucus plan, initially branding it as a Hindu Caucus in an office memo. He was among the lawmakers who accompanied Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his visit to Washington DC and his address to a joint session of Congress, according to a report in NBC News.

US Backs Canadian Probe Into Allegations Against India Over Sikh Leaders Death

"I am very proud of PM Modi," Thanedar said at the time. "He is enormously popular. I am looking forward to working with him to broaden and deepen our relationship."

Supporters of Muslim South Asians and individuals born into caste-oppressed communities have accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of fuelling Hindu nationalist sentiments and resulting in violence targeting them both in India and the diaspora.

"Any caucus without inclusive representation from the Indian diaspora will serve as nothing more than a vehicle for Hindu nationalist policies that will inevitably harm the entire South Asian American community, including Sikh, Muslim, Dalit, Buddhist, Jain, and even Hindu Americans," the letter added.
Delhi Excise Case: ED Gets 5-Day Custody Of AAP Leader Sanjay Singh

New Delhi

oi-Sushmita Halder

The Rouse Avenue court on Thursday granted five-day custody of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MP Sanjay Singh to the Enforcement Directorate (ED).

This comes a day after the AAP leader was arrested by the ED over an alleged money laundering case in the excise policy case.

#WATCH | AAP MP Sanjay Singh sent to ED remand till October 10 in Delhi Excise policy case, says, "...False and baseless allegations, we are not scared, we will fight back." pic.twitter.com/r75eQFaehl  ANI (@ANI) October 5, 2023

"False and baseless allegations, we are not scared, we will fight back", Singh said after the court order.

At the trial, the ED asked the court for ten-day custody of Singh to confront the AAP MP with the digital evidence against him in the case.

Singh's legal representative contested the ED's remand request and stated that asking for a 10-day detention period is unreasonable for someone not implicated in the issue.

Delhi Excise Policy Case: SC Notice To CBI, ED on Manish Sisodia's Bail Pleas

Prior to his court appearance, Sanjay Singh claimed that his detention was an unfair act by Modiji and it would result in his electoral defeat.

The ED, in its chargesheet, had accused Singh of being instrumental in the creation and execution of the now-discarded excise policy. They asserted that this policy had benefited numerous alcohol manufacturers, distributors, and sellers.

The chargesheet filed in May against the former Deputy Chief Minister of Delhi, Manish Sisodia, alleged that Dinesh Arora, a restaurant owner, had a very close relationship with both Singh and Sisodia.

As per ED, it was through Singh that Arora was introduced to Sisodia at a party hosted in his restaurant. The agency alleges that Sanjay Singh reached out to Arora, asking him for donations from other restaurateurs for the 2020 Delhi Assembly election funding.
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The Clayton Oliver saga continues without a definitive statement from the club with other clubs yet to be told that he is untouchable during this years AFL trade period.
A family from Melbourne fear they will become homeless after they were told to move back into their uninhabitable house by their insurer.
Russia may use sea mines to target civilian shipping in the Black Sea, the UK government has cautioned. Meanwhile, the US has sent a million rounds of ammunition confiscated from Iran to Kyiv. Follow DW for the latest.
Customs agents carried out a court-ordered raid on the luxury lakeside villa of an unidentified Russian national. The individual is subject to EU sanctions and asset seizures.
US forces in northeastern Syria shot down a Turkish drone they said came too close to American troops. The Pentagon said the drone was in a "restricted operating zone."
At a summit in Spain, Europe's leaders will discuss how to lower irregular migration to the continent.
The US military says the rounds were confiscated from a ship taking arms to Yemeni rebels last year.
A meeting of the Portfolio Committee on Higher Education, Science and Innovation turned fiery on Wednesday night, with Higher Education Minister Blade Nzimande accusing committee chair Nompendulo Mkhatshwa of usurping his ministerial powers.
Kuwait City: As many as 34 Indian nurses, including 19 Keralites who spent three weeks in Kuwaiti jails on the charge of violating the residency laws, have been released.

Even as proceedings for their deportation were progressing, Minister of State for External Affairs V Muraleedharan intervened and secured their release. They were released from the jails and taken to the hospital for a medical examination.

The nurses were detained during a raid by the Kuwait Human Resources Committee officials on a private clinic at Maliya in Kuwait City. According to the Kuwait Home Ministry, the nurses did not have relevant licences or required qualifications to work in Kuwait.

However, the family members of the Keralite nurses claimed that they were qualified and had been working there with proper work visas and sponsorships.

Several of them have been working there for the past three to 10 years in the same clinic. People from Philippines, Egypt and Iran have also been caught by the authorities on similar charges.

The hospital is owned by an Iranian national and according to the relatives of the nurses, a dispute between the owner and the sponsor had led to the raid and arrest.

Kin of the arrested Malayali nurses had sought the intervention of the Union Government and the Indian Embassy for the early release of the nurses.
I've previously reviewed a number of pro-war books including Christopher Coker's Why War, Margaret MacMillan's War: How Conflict Shaped Us, Ian Morris's War: What Is It Good For?, and Neil deGrasse Tyson's Accessory to War. This genre has grown goofier with each new publication. I honestly didn't think I could stand any more of them. But then I heard about The Shortest History of War by Gwynne Dyer. Well, at least it'll be short, I thought. (As the "progressive" Congress Member said to the "progressive" Congress Member's conscience at the beginning of each new war.) Well, it wasn't nearly short enough.

Dyer's book doesn't claim to be a pro-war book and it's not especially goofy or not any more than common accepted wisdom is goofy. For 237 pages of very slanted "history" it builds up toward saying something about ending war. In fact, the last chapter "The End of War" begins on page 215 and is mostly about baboons and ways that warmaking might actually increase through the actions of the universe on the unthinking marbles in a physics experiment that are human beings who prefer not to take responsibility for their actions. Finally, on page 238, with three sentences left in the book (not counting a "Coda" about Ukraine), Dyer gets down to work and writes:

"Our task over the next few generations is to transform the present world of independent states into some sort of genuine international community. If we succeed in creating that community, however quarrelsome, discontented, and full of injustice it will be, then we shall effectively have abolished the ancient institution of warfare. Good riddance."

That's it. You can skip everything else. Those last three sentences would have made an all right first three sentences of a book, rather than the incongruent ending to a none-too-short regurgitation of common myths that for over 200 pages has conditioned the reader to believe that war is simply inevitable. I'll put at the end of this review a list of books about abolishing war that could have better included those three sentences.

Dyer's book opens with Pinkerist claims that war is dramatically diminishing, that it now kills fewer people than die in traffic accidents, etc. He offers no evidence at all for such inciteful brilliance that's simultaneously accepted wisdom. But we can guess that it comes from the familiar Pinkerist techniques of guesstimating ancient war deaths as percentages of local populations, and comparing them with corporate-approved lowball death counts of selected recent wars that exclude the worst ones and take the deaths as percentages of the Earth's entire population, etc.

If people take this opening as a guard against all the claims that follow of wars' pervasiveness through human history and prehistory, that could be a good thing. But even having such a thought depends on accepting the general framework offered by Dyer up until his last three sentences, namely that war is not a choice but something determined by technology or population or resources or the weather. And once we've accepted that, then does it really matter whether we imagine war is decreasing or increasing, since either way we're just going to sit back and watch?

Dyer gives us a highly selective survey of all the most familiar archaeological and anthropological cases of warlike peoples. Then he fits this story into the familiar but completely baseless assumption that all human societies have followed one path with the same collections of features present in the same series of steps from primitive right up through capable-of-producing-books-just-this-clever. (Dyer's book also simplifies things by pretending that the Western Hemisphere and most of Africa, and Australia, etc., simply don't exist, or didn't until "discovered.") Humans are a warmaking primate species, he tells us, because they are predators and live in groups of varying size. He never gets around to mentioning that we are no longer predators and no longer live in such groups, nor explaining why so many millions must be spent on military advertising in a species that is simply warlike through genetics rather than decision making.

Dyer then moves into a long survey of war tactics from the perspective of someone in a war and "on the ground" even though this gives the perspective of total acceptance of war, and even though most war killing by the U.S. military is not done from the ground. To his credit, Dyer includes the prevalence of fear, suffering, trauma, and moral injury yet without ever drawing the conclusion that humans tend not to want war or pointing out that nobody suffers from war deprivation. Nor do we ever encounter the many human societies that live without anything in any way resembling war.

Dyer thinks that interest in killer robots is driven by the difficulty of recruiting humans and the preference that robots "die" rather than humans. So, he knows of the difficulty of recruiting people for war. But never does he face up to the sadism or the love of technology for its own sake that advance this agenda.

The Washington Post this week called Russians "attractive prey" and celebrated "an intimate view of killing," as well as the development of cheap and easy murder weapons that anyone in the world can use. This stuff can't be understood as rational decision making.

Dyer of course mentions campaigns to abolish fully autonomous drones and of course does not mention campaigns to abolish all weaponized drones. He plods on predictably through claims that ancient wars were determined by population, resource scarcity, and so-forth all factors that Western academics imagine determine wars today, even though debunked in John Horgan's The End of War. But, to his credit, Dyer does repeatedly recount revolutions in the nature of warmaking, each of which calls into question (if the reader stops to think about it) the idea that war is a constant enterprise such that it makes sense to think of someone today and someone centuries ago being engaged in the same thing. Dyer even points out that only about 5,500 years ago was there first anything involving large groups with commanders standing and fighting for at least a few minutes even though this sort of ruins the prehistory of ubiquitous war previously concocted by Dyer.

In The Princess Bride a character remarks along the lines of "You keep using that word 'inconceivable' I do not think it means what you think it means." I do not think "inevitable" means what Dyer thinks it means when he uses it to describe population growth as making inter-city conflict inevitable (page 54), mass societies causing unequal monarchies (page 65), or Germany's possession of zeppelins causing it to bomb cities (page 136) Dyer even quotes someone saying he agreed "morality aside" that such bombing could be done. The whole book could have a subtitle of "Morality Aside." On page 192 it would have been "unthinkable" not to expand NATO in the 1990s. On page 152 the Manhattan Project, developing a nuclear bomb for war on Germany, when Germany surrendered, went on developing the bomb because "it was too late to change their minds." Over and over again, choice is erased. Yet, occasionally it crops up, as on page 211 where it would have been more honesty, yet still not very honestly "very hard" for George W. Bush not to attack Afghanistan in 2001.

I think the damage of reading such a book is done long before getting to George W. Bush. Dyer writes on page 66 that large populations made and still make equality impossible, that only a top-down society with slavish obedience at the bottom could function. But where in such stories is the great variety of the actual world, in which some large societies are wildly more equal than others?

At one point, Dyer describes Sumerian rulers as opting for a less effective form of warfare because it would keep their own populations easier to control rather than giving them the tools to resist tyranny. Unarmed civilian defense is of course not mentioned in the book at all, for, I think, the very same reason. Governments do not train their own populations in unarmed defense, not because it does not work, but because it makes it harder to oppress their own populations whereas war and war propaganda help abusive governments control their own people. This suggests that more democratic government might be a step toward replacing war with something else. But that thought doesn't arise when the topic isn't mentioned.

Nonviolent action is only mentioned by accident in this book. Napoleon wins all his battles and occupies Moscow, but the Russians destroyed their own crops, and the French departed. Armed uprisings rarely succeed. What can overthrow a government is a million people in the streets. These scattered observations get little more than a sentence each, before it's back to baboons, and the need to create a major armed United Nations force to wage wars to end war, and the necessity to count on "good management and good luck" to save us from nukes with zero mention of abolition as an option.

I suppose it's important to find a balance between imaging the new and fantasizing about the highly improbable, but if you're not going to imagine anything at all, then why write a book?

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This article originally appeared at TomDispatch.com. To receive TomDispatch in your inbox three times a week, click here.

In September 2007, Karen Greenberg ominously titled her third report for TomDispatch "Guantanamo Forever." Give her credit. So many years ago, she grasped all too clearly the nightmarish nature of that bastion of injustice. Sixteen years and three presidencies later, 21 years after that offshore prison from hell was founded by President George W. Bush and crew, it's hard (as you'll see with today's piece) not to simply use that title again.

As I wrote in my introduction to her piece then,

"As the presidential election season heats up, Republican candidates have opted for 'Guantanamo-forever' policy positions. Retiring Republican Senator Chuck Hagel recently complained that the notorious detention facility once the proud public face of the President's attempt to move incarceration and mistreatment offshore and beyond the reach of American courts has bizarrely enough become 'a Republican litmus test.' At the same time, at Guantanamo itself, anger and factionalism are on the rise, not among prisoners but warders, while the attempt to set up what Wall Street Journal reporter Jess Bravin calls 'a free-standing court system to try alleged foreign terrorists' founders for the nine hundredth time. More than five years after being inaugurated, the prison complex has so far adjudicated exactly one case to the point of conviction a simple plea bargain (essentially negotiated between President Bush and Australian Prime Minister John Howard) that transferred small-fry Taliban follower David Hicks back to Australia where he is to be freed at the end of this year."

It's true, as Greenberg notes, that those offshore military commission trials of leftover Gitmo prisoners are finally proceeding in their forever fashion and perhaps someday that prison will indeed be no more. But when it comes to the fallout from this country's endless war on terror, which turned into an endless war of terror, some things never seem to end. After all, only now is Congress even considering the possibility of taking back from the president the power to make war globally, thanks to that Authorization for the Use of Military Force, or AUMF, it passed three days after the 9/11 attacks (with but a single negative vote, that of the remarkable Barbara Lee), and the one it passed in 2002 before the invasion of Iraq and never rescinded. And don't count on that happening either!

The question of whether those forever wars and the forever prison that went with them will ever be truly ended still remains up for grabs, but let TomDispatch regular Karen Greenberg explain so many years (and articles) later. Tom

Closing Guanta'namo?

Yes, a Snail's Pace" but a Pace

By Karen J. Greenberg

For 18 years, I've been writing articles for TomDispatch on the never-ending story of the Guanta'namo Bay Detention Facility. And here's my ultimate takeaway (for the moment): 21 years after that grim offshore prison of injustice was set up in Cuba in response to the 9/11 attacks and the capture of figures supposedly linked to them, and despite the expressed desire of three presidents George W. Bush, Barack Obama and Joe Biden to close it, the endgame remains devastatingly elusive.

At times due to a failure of will, at times due to a failure of the system itself or the sheer complexity of the logistics involved, and at times due to acts of Congress or the courts, efforts to shut that prison have been eternally stymied. Despite endless acknowledgements that what's gone on there has defied domestic, international, and military law not to mention longstanding norms of morality and justice that prison persists.

Recently, however, for those of us perpetually looking for a ray or even a glimmer of hope, there have finally been a few developments that seem to signal steps, however tiny, toward closure.

There are still 30 detainees at Guanta'namo. Sixteen of them have been deemed no longer threats to the United States and cleared for release, but arrangements have yet to be made to transfer them to another country. Three others are considered too dangerous for release. And eleven have been charged in the military commissions system that was set up in 2006 and revised under President Obama in 2009. One, Ali Hamza Ahmad Suliman al-Bahlul, has been convicted. Another, Abd al-Hadi al-Iraqi, recently pleaded guilty. Now, nine detainees face trials in three separate cases. All of them were tortured at CIA "black sites" for different periods of time between 2003 and 2006.

Progress in the Biden years has been occurring, even if at a snail's pace. His administration has said that it intends to close Guanta'namo by the end of his term. And in the last two and a half years, it has indeed reduced the population from 40 to 30, the most recent transfer of a freed prisoner to another country occurring this April. In addition, the Biden administration increased the total number of remaining detainees eligible for release from six to its current 16.

Arranging such transfers has proven painstaking work, requiring complex negotiations with foreign countries, as well as assurances to American officials and ultimately Congress that the release will pose no future threat to the United States and that the prisoner will be treated justly in the receiving country. Those releases have been complicated because, after Obama announced at the outset of his presidency that Guanta'namo would close within a year, Congress banned any Gitmo detainee from ever being transferred to the United States for any purpose whatsoever, a ban that's been re-authorized every year since then.

While those detainees cleared for release await transfer to other countries, developments over the past few months have put the military commissions in the forefront of activities aimed at closure.

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Munich - (September 28, 2023) - MSAID GmbH, the leader in artificial intelligence for proteomics, announces the launch of CHIMERYS 2.0 (www.chimerys.com), the next generation of its intelligent search algorithm for proteomics. The standout features of this release are the addition of support for phosphorylated peptides, as well as Data-Independent Acquisition (DIA) and Parallel Reaction Monitoring (PRM) data. With these new additions, CHIMERYS 2.0 now supports Data-Dependent Acquisition (DDA), Wide Window 
A former Nike human resources manager last week gave sworn deposition testimony that bolsters claims in a high-stakes sex discrimination lawsuit and could revive efforts to turn it into a sweeping class action.

Nikes lawyers werent present for the deposition and last Friday filed a blistering notice in federal court accusing plaintiffs lawyers of bad faith litigation tactics for taking the testimony in absence of Nikes legal counsel. They want the deposition removed from the court record.

The burst of legal fireworks is the latest development in a lawsuit that stretches back to 2018 and alleges Nikes workplace is hostile towards and devalues women and the company underpaid female corporate workers. The lawsuit, one of the most visible pieces of corporate #MeToo litigation, seemingly withered in November 2022 after a judge ruled against a motion to make the case a class action.

But last weeks deposition, and a new discovery request, show plaintiffs believe key pieces of evidence have been withheld.

We will continue to fight for the women in this case, despite Nikes attempts at suppressing evidence, plaintiffs lawyer Laura Salerno Owens said in an email to The Oregonian/OregonLive. We believe that if we are provided the discovery we are entitled to, we will be able to certify the class and advocate for thousands of women who faced illegal treatment at Nike.

In an email, a Nike spokesperson said the company does not comment on pending litigation. Since the lawsuit was filed, Nike spokespeople and lawyers have repeatedly said the company has zero tolerance for discrimination and complies with discovery orders. Its made numerous changes to human resources policies in recent years, including raising the salaries of 7,000 employees in July 2018 after an internal pay review.

The deposition testimony of the former human resources manager, taken last Wednesday, is subject to a protective order and not part of the public court record.

But filings made this week by plaintiffs lawyers suggest it directly contradicted a key part of Nikes legal defense: whether the company systemically used prior pay in setting compensation before October 2017.

That question was critical to U.S. Magistrate Judge Jolie Russos November ruling that rejected making the lawsuit a class action. The judge ruled plaintiffs didnt prove Nike had a specific policy that led to pay disparities, such as the use of prior pay.

The ruling dramatically decreased the stakes of the litigation. Instead of proceeding on behalf of over 5,200 plaintiffs, its now essentially proceeding on behalf of four plaintiffs.

Roughly three weeks ago, Nike asked Russo to block the planned deposition, describing it in a legal filing as a fishing expedition for no legitimate purpose and arguing it covered ground that has already been extensively litigated.

But the deposition took place before the judge ruled on the request, prompting a fiery back-and-forth over the last few days between lawyers in the case.

Did this deposition occur despite our pending motion to quash? a Nike lawyer wrote in an email to a plaintiffs lawyer late last week.

Although the filing of your motion to quash did not stop this third-party deposition, your below email appears to suggest that one party can unilaterally and automatically choose to block the deposition of a third party by filing a protective order, a plaintiffs lawyer responded.

In dueling legal filings in recent days, Nikes lawyers claimed they didnt have any correspondence about the depositions logistics, to which plaintiffs lawyers responded Nike was on notice for weeks about it.

Broadly, lawyers are expected to resolve such conflicts outside of the courtroom so judicial time can be spent weighing the merits of cases.

Many judges would not be happy that a deposition was taken at which both sides were not present, said Jeff Feldman, a University of Washington School of Law professor who teaches civil procedure. It appears that this all could have been avoided.

Squabbling aside, plaintiffs lawyers in a Monday legal filing said the former human resources manager testified Nike used prior pay to set starting pay before October 2017 contrary to Nikes cherry-picked litigation-driven declarations.

Thats a critical point for plaintiffs. Plaintiffs previously alleged an $11,000 gender pay gap existed at Nike, a number which Nike disputes.

Legal experts said plaintiffs need to prove Nike had a corporate policy that led to discriminatory results.

Asking about prior pay can perpetuate wage gaps. Oregon banned asking about it in October 2017.

In order to win a disparate impact case, you have to point to a specific practice that the employer utilized, said Keith Cunningham-Parmeter, a Lewis & Clark Law School professor who teaches employment law. The plaintiffs have a serious allegation about a specific employer action.

Nikes lawyers have pointed to the deposition testimony of a different Nike human resources manager who said prior pay wasnt a policy that we looked at, but it was one point or one factor that we looked at when taking into account making an offer. Again, that varied  that varies across the recruiter, the manager and the situation.

After years of discovery  the process by which parties in a case request and produce documents or other evidence from each other  theres not much in the court record to support either side.

In 2020, Nike produced an October 2017 email in which a top recruiter informed all U.S. recruiters that Nike would no longer ask candidates about their compensation history.

Plaintiffs lawyers have repeatedly asked Nike for additional discovery documents about how it set starting pay before October 2017, but to little avail. Nikes lawyers have said its not possible to find documentary evidence of a policy that never existed.

In recent months, the two sides sparred in emails about the lack of discovery.

Finally, on Sept. 15, plaintiffs lawyers asked Russo to compel Nike to produce documents about how it set pay before October 2017, describing the companys previous discovery as unreliable, inadequate and incomplete and noting Russos previous criticism of Nikes discovery efforts.

The judge has had to weigh discovery disputes throughout the cases yearslong run. Feldman previously told the Oregonian/OregonLive hes never heard of a discovery process taking as long as the Nike lawsuit.

In August 2020, Russo said Nike demonstrated a certain lack of transparency so far in the discovery process and certainly some deficient production. The judge also noted the complexity of the case and Nikes continued efforts to locate responsive documents.

In a 15-page legal rebuttal, a Nike lawyer characterized the latest discovery request as part of plaintiffs scorched-earth discovery tactics. The lawyer noted Nike has produced 12,900 documents and nearly 50,000 pages of information.

Late Wednesday, plaintiffs lawyers asked the court for permission to amend the discovery request and include testimony from the former human resources manager.

The filing suggests the former human resources manager also testified last week about the Starfish survey, a self-administered survey of female Nike corporate employees about their experiences with sexism at the company.

The surveys, given to then-CEO Mark Parker in 2018, played a key role in the companys acknowledgements of its workplace problems.

In August 2020, Russo ordered Nike to produce the complete survey results. Nike has produced 30 surveys in discovery, according to court records. Among the open questions are whether thats all of them and whos named in them.

Last year, Business Insider, citing four former Nike employees familiar with the collection of the surveys, reported closer to 100 were collected.

The Oregonian/OregonLive, Business Insider, and the Portland Business Journal successfully challenged the seal in the lawsuit last year, leading to the release of about 5,000 pages of records, including a handful of Starfish surveys, but the names of Nike employees in the surveys remained redacted.

One of the challenges before the court is how much do these surveys matter at the end of the day? said Cunningham-Parmeter, the Lewis & Clark law professor. The bottom-line question is: Were you using prior earnings history to pay women less?

 Matthew Kish, mkish@oregonian.com
A 16-year-old Gresham boy died overnight in a hospital, more than a week after being shot by another teen, police said Wednesday.

Gresham police responded to a shooting call Sept. 24 near Northeast Division Street and Burnside Road and found Alexander Ortiz de Jesus shot. Police arrested a 15-year-old and charged him with attempted murder and first-degree assault.

That 15-year-old, who police did not name, will now face a murder charge, Gresham police said in a statement.

Today the entire Gresham community is mourning the loss of a young life, Gresham Police Chief Travis Gullberg said in a statement. Our thoughts are with Alexanders family and friends as they navigate this tragic event.

 Fedor Zarkhin

Office: 503-294-7674; Cell: 971-373-2905; fzarkhin@oregonian.com
Shake Shack, the global burger chain that opened its first location in Portland proper earlier this year, is ready to debut its new restaurant at the Bridgeport Village mall later this month, the company announced in a press release Thursday.

The Bridgeport Village Shake Shack is the New York-based restaurants third in Oregon overall, including a now 2-year-old outpost at Cedar Hills Crossing mall in Beaverton.

Shake Shack built its reputation on classic roadside American burgers, hot dogs, fries and frozen custards after first opening in New York Citys Madison Square Park in 2004. Approaching 500 locations world-wide, the restaurant has a presence in around 30 American states as well as countries throughout Asia, Europe and the Middle East.

At the mall, Shake Shack will join a second location of Tanaka, the downtown Portland bakery and cafe specializing in Japanese milk bread, pastries and convenience store sandwiches. The original Tanaka opened in the former Blue Star Donuts headquarters at the corner of Southwest 12th Avenue and Morrison Street last year.

The additions are part of a $35 million renovation kicked off at the Washington County mall in 2022 that includes new covered canopies and fireside seating, renovated facades and a park-like Village Green surrounded by a community stage and nature-inspired play area, according to the release. Other new restaurants and retailers are expected to be announced later this year.

For every sandwich sold on opening day, Shake Shack Bridgeport Village will donate $1 to Portland-based nonprofit Sustainable Northwest, which partners with rural communities and Tribal Nations throughout the Northwest to promote smart water use, clean energy, healthy forests, farms and ranches, according to the release. The first wave of guests will also receive a custom, reusable Shake Shack cup.

Shake Shack plans to open its third Oregon location at 10:30 a.m. Monday, October 16 at 7439 S.W. Bridgeport Road, 971-979-1105, shakeshack.com.

 Michael Russell; mrussell@oregonian.com

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Gov. Tina Kotek is dispatching a key education policy lieutenant to take the reins at the state agency that oversees educator licensing and teacher preparation programs.

Its the latest sign of a pending shake-up at the Teacher Standards and Practices Commission, the small state agency that has an outsized influence over the states teachers.

Kotek has also made it clear that shes unhappy with the way that state regulators have permitted public and private universities in Oregon to structure programs that prepare future educators to teach the states youngest children how to read.

About 60% of the states third graders are not considered proficient readers, according to standardized test scores, but Oregons universities have been far slower than their counterparts elsewhere to stress the study of phonics, phonemic awareness and fluency, despite conclusive research pointing to the fundamental importance of such topics.

The governor also wants to improve the agencys responsiveness. For years, its been beset with a backlog in processing license applications and misconduct investigations.

It takes three weeks to a month for an individual to renew or get their teacher licenses, said Rae Etta Newman, the interim dean of the College of Education at Eastern Oregon University who chairs the commission that oversees the agency. TSPC has not been known for its great customer service. That is nothing new. I am hopeful that this new direction will change that perception.

The current average processing time for the investigation of misconduct complaints against educators is eight months, said Christina Edgar, the agencys director of professional practices, but a resolution can take significantly longer if the educator in question contests the commissions recommended sanctions.

Melissa Goff, the former Albany schools superintendent whom Kotek tapped as her education policy adviser in January, will start on Thursday as the new interim director of the Teacher Standards and Practice Commission, after being unanimously appointed to that role this week by board members who oversee the agency. Her annual salary has been set at $168,600.

Goff replaces Anthony Rosilez, who has been the agencys executive director since January 2018. His last official day will be Nov. 3. In an interview with the Oregonian/Oregonlive on Wednesday, Rosilez said he chose to leave his post.

In his formal resignation letter, which Rosilez sent in August to Newman and other commissioners, he wrote that he departed with a heavy heart  Unfortunately, under the current climate, I do not see opportunities for me to fully employ my qualifications to state-level leadership.

The change comes just three months before a legislatively mandated report is due on whether TSPC should be folded into the Oregon Department of Education.

Oregon is one of only eight states that has a completely independent agency overseeing teacher licensing, approving education preparation programs and investigating complaints against educators.

A bill in the 2023 Senate signaled that change could be coming. Under Senate Bill 275, championed by Senate Education Committee Chair Michael Dembrow, a December report to lawmakers will have to cover the benefits and drawbacks of putting the agency under the Oregon Department of Educations much bigger umbrella and pinpoint how to decrease or freeze the fees educators are charged for licenses. Currently, TSPCs budget is almost completely supported by licensing fees.

But teachers have said for years that the $182 cost of getting and renewing their license can balloon when late fees are tacked on, an issue thrown into sharp relief by the shortage of substitute teachers during the 2021-2022 school year, the first year that school buildings fully reopened after pandemic closures.

An investigation by the Salem Statesman-Journal in 2022 found that there were fewer than 10 people at TSPC reviewing and processing the onslaught of applications, resulting in wait times of more than two months. TSPC has just 31 employees; the Oregon Department of Education has more than 800.

Rosilez said TSPCs small size serves it well.

It allows us to have that nimbleness, he said. With COVID, we were very quickly able to implement procedures that allowed students to finish teaching programs, to allow districts to do flexible staffing, and we worked quickly to get emergency substitution licensing [in place].

In accepting the appointment at the commissions meeting Tuesday, Goff cited her strong relationship with educator unions throughout her career. She was fired without cause by the Albany school board after what she has characterized as disagreements over her support for diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives.

She acknowledged that the teacher licensing agency is facing a difficult few months ahead, given the uncertainty about its future configuration.

Newman said Rosilez made great gains at the agency, including with work on evaluating teacher candidates knowledge and skills and via the agencys support of efforts to increase the ranks of teachers of color.

 Julia Silverman, @jrlsilverman, jsilverman@oregonian.com
PHOENIX (AP)  The boyfriend of a Navajo woman whose case became emblematic of an international movement launched to draw attention to an epidemic of missing and slain Indigenous women has been convicted of first-degree murder in her death.

Tre C. James, 31, was convicted Sept. 27 in U.S. District Court in Phoenix of domestic abuse and in the fatal shooting of Jamie Yazzie. The jury also found James guilty of several acts of domestic violence committed against three former intimate and dating partners.

James is scheduled to be sentenced in late January.

Yazzie was 32 and the mother of three sons when she went missing in the summer of 2019 from her community of Pinon on the Navajo Nation. Despite a high-profile search, her remains were not found until November 2021 on the neighboring Hopi reservation in northeastern Arizona.

Many of Yazzies friends and family members, including her mother, father, grandmother and other relatives, attended all seven days of the trial.

This family has been very active in advocating, said their attorney, Darlene Gomez. This is a huge case for Indian Country. Its so unusual for these cases to get to trial, and then to get convictions.

The Albuquerque-based attorney said she was especially pleased the local U.S. Attorneys Office acknowledged Yazzies family and underscored the importance of investigating and prosecuting such crimes.

Vindicating the rights of missing and murdered Indigenous persons requires all the energy and compassion we have, U.S. Attorney Gary Restaino said in a statement about the conviction. That means not only investigation and prosecution of tough cases but also community engagement, cultural competence, and active listening to next of kin and other family members.

Yazzies case gained attention through the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women grassroots movement that draws attention to widespread violence against Indigenous women and girls in the United States and Canada.

The U.S. Interior Departments Bureau of Indian Affairs characterizes the violence against Indigenous women as a crisis.

Women from Native American and Alaska Native communities have long suffered high rates of assault, abduction and murder. A 2016 study by the National Institute of Justice found that more than four in five American Indian and Alaska Native women  84%  have experienced violence in their lifetimes, including 56% who have experienced sexual violence.

 By ANITA SNOW Associated Press
Have you ever tried to learn something fundamental to your job when youre outrageously hungry? What about when you know you might lose your housing? New data from the U.S. Census prove that the number of kids headed to school in similar conditions has exploded. Yet the public dialogue in Oregon continues to discuss faltering test scores without acknowledging the harm of poverty, (Oregon student achievement remains mired far below pre-pandemic levels, new test scores show, Sept. 21.

In this article, Gov. Tina Kotek takes school districts to task for the stagnant scores. And yet theres no acknowledgement that during this period of academic struggle, the federal Child Tax Credit expansion that once helped to cut child poverty by 46% completely vanished. There is also a comparison to states like Massachusetts that have seen modest improvements in post-pandemic test scores. Massachusetts has a lower child poverty rate than Oregon.
Multnomah County District Attorney Mike Schmidt says he wants the Oregon Legislature to make it easier to prosecute drug dealers and public drug use.

He recommends making public drug use a misdemeanor crime, saying it will help rein in the drug crisis on Portlands streets and across the state.
Tripoli, Libya (PANA) - The Libyan Minister of Economy and Trade in the Government of National Unity, Mohamed Al-Haweij, has held a meeting with the chairman and members of the preparatory committee for the first Libyan Investment Partnership Conference 2024
Tripoli, Libya (PANA) - The Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General in Libya, Abdoulaye Bathily, and the Qatari Minister of State at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Mohammed bin Abdulaziz, have called for unity of ranks and objectives to reach a political agreement on elections in Libya aimed at reunifying the country's institutions
New York, US (PANA) - Machines which can kill without a human controlling them must be prohibited by international law, UN chief Antonio Guterres said on Thursday
Photo: (Photo : Ion Fet on Unsplash)

A tranquil day took a tragic turn at Bangkok's Siam Paragon Mall, a prominent luxury shopping destination, when it became the site of a devastating crime. A 14-year-old boy unexpectedly opened fire, turning a usual bustling place into a scene of horror. This incident resulted in the tragic loss of two individuals, one being a Chinese and the other a Myanmar national. Moreover, five others sustained injuries, adding to the toll of this dreadful episode.

The Arrest and Suspect's Background

Local police were quick to react, managing to apprehend the young perpetrator, who was subsequently found with a weapon. The boy, after a series of preliminary questions, was confirmed to have underlying mental health issues and was, therefore, transferred to Rajvithee Hospital for evaluation and care.

While details about the youngster's background and motives remain limited, Thai Police General Torsak Sukvimol recognized the challenges of discussing the boy's personal life due to his age but did verify his ongoing mental health treatment.

The mall, a hub of activity and commerce, witnessed scenes of panic and chaos as the shots rang out. Eyewitnesses present during the terrifying moments shared their experiences, painting a picture of the sheer terror that ensued.

Shir Yahav, a 26-year-old visitor, told Reuters about the confusion: "We didn't understand what was happening. After hearing multiple gunshots, we took cover and blocked the store's door." Another witness, Susinee, 35, recounted the swift actions she and her colleagues took to evacuate a Japanese restaurant amidst the chaos.

The reason for this shocking crime is still under active investigation. Nonetheless, Thai Police General Torsak Sukvimol lauded the mall's security for their rapid and efficient response, especially considering the sheer number of people present during the peak hour incident, compounded by the rain outside.

Read Also: 2-Year-Old Ohio Boy's Gun Access Ends in Fatal Shooting of Pregnant Mother, Unborn Brother

Previous Gun-Related Tragedies

The incident highlights a pressing concern in Thailand: the rise in gun ownership. Data from the Switzerland-based Small Arms Survey in 2017 highlighted that an estimated 10.3 million civilians in the country own firearms. This number equates to roughly 15 guns per 100 people, of which only about 6.2 million are officially and legally registered.

While Thailand does see its share of gun-related violence, mass shootings of this nature are uncommon. However, the nation was reminded of a similarly haunting incident from last year, where an attack at a northeastern child care center took the lives of 36 individuals, marking it as one of the deadliest in Thailand's history.

The recent events have had a significant impact on Thai Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin, who took to social media site X (formerly Twitter) to express his sorrow and show his sincere support for the families of the victims. He stated, "To all those who were injured and the families of the deceased, my heart goes out to you."

Such incidents inevitably trigger nationwide introspection, igniting discussions about mental health care accessibility, tighter gun control measures, and the need for enhanced public safety protocols. As investigations continue, the nation will be eagerly waiting for answers and actionable measures to prevent such tragedies in the future.

Related Article: Suspect of Shooting Incident Involving 6-Year-Old Girl, Parents, Neighbor Now Under Police Custody: 'Turned Himself In'
Photo: (Photo : Richard Bell on Unsplash)

Holyoke, Massachusetts, a city brimming with vibrancy, culture, and community ethos, was thrust into an overwhelming state of sorrow following an unforeseen incident.

On what seemed like an ordinary afternoon, the tranquility of the city was abruptly shattered when a pregnant woman, engaged in her daily routine, became an unintended casualty of a devastating shooting that rocked the city's core. This deeply tragic event transpired amidst the bustling lanes of the city's celebrated downtown district.

The unsuspecting woman, while journeying aboard the city's well-frequented public transportation bus, became the tragic recipient of a stray bullet. This occurred perilously close to the city's historically significant intersection of Maple and Sargeant Streets, forever changing the dynamics of what was once a cherished locale.

The incident's timing, just shy of 1 p.m. on a fateful Wednesday afternoon, is now a timestamp that the city and its residents will remember with a heavy heart. The intricacies of this harrowing event were extensively detailed in a comprehensive statement shared by the esteemed Hampden County District Attorney's Office.

A Cherished Locale Forever Changed

Immediately after the incident, the grievously injured victim, whose identity is being kept under wraps to safeguard her and her family's privacy during these tumultuous times, was expedited to one of the region's most reputed healthcare establishments. This medical institution, renowned for its exemplary care and cutting-edge facilities, was instantly abuzz with medical experts battling against time.

In a bid to salvage the situation, the pressing severity of her injuries necessitated the premature delivery of her child. The city's collective heart ached when, despite herculean medical efforts and the use of avant-garde medical interventions, the neonate couldn't be brought into the world successfully. The community now anxiously awaits updates on the beleaguered mother's health trajectory and her path to recovery in the aftermath of such profound distress.

Read Also: US Olympian Tori Bowie Found Dead While in Labor; High-Risk Pregnancy Complications, Eclampsia

A Plea for Understanding

Demonstrating exceptional investigatory acumen post-Holyoke catastrophe, the Massachusetts State Police (MSP) engaged in rigorous and meticulous fact-finding exercises. Their comprehensive inquiry shed light on the genesis of the heartbreak: a volatile altercation involving several individuals. This tiff, further investigations revealed, was centered around three main protagonists whose disagreements, sadly, manifested in this grievous event.

In a significant breakthrough, the city's steadfast law enforcement machinery managed to apprehend all three principal suspects associated with this lamentable occurrence. As legal deliberations and deeper probes are underway, a temporary embargo has been placed on releasing the identities of these individuals to the wider public.

Grasping the enormity of public sentiment and the city's palpable anguish, Holyoke Mayor Joshua Garcia's office proactively communicated with residents, emphasizing the unyielding pursuit of truth and the city's intent to ensure accountability at all levels.

Given the layered intricacies of the investigation and the paramount importance of an accurate forensic examination, the Holyoke police department has made an earnest appeal to the populace for understanding, cooperation, and patience.

Related Article: Colorado Police Face Lawsuit After Fatally Shooting Pregnant Woman in Shoplifting Mix-Up
In light of this new information, this will be my last critique. Its a shame, because I was enjoying myself so much, and I felt that I came up with some fresh arguments, but this book deserves no further response. It was already a very weak, poor volume (desperately in need of an editor), even if these factors werent in play. What I have written thus far has, in my opinion, value in and of itself, as a ten-part Catholic apologetics course. So it wasnt a waste of time at all. But no more. Im only interested in responding to serious, adequately researched, honest apologetics.

Just as I finished my tenth installment (10-5-23), Fraternidade Newman Brasil [Newman Brazil Fraternity] published a devastatingly comprehensive (and shocking) expose entitled Apologetica da Desonestidade: Evidencias de Plagio e outras Trapacas no Livro do Protestante Juan Roberto Oliveira [Apologetics of Dishonesty: Evidence of Plagiarism and other Cheating in the Book of Protestant Juan Roberto Oliveira].

Brazilian Protestantis the author of the book, Nenhum Caminho Leva a Roma: O pecurso ate o protestantismo [No Road Leads to Rome: The Path to Protestantism]. It has no date or publisher listed. But it was recently released. Hes aand is active on Twitter (now X) and, especially, Instagram . When I informed Juan of my replies, he quickly wrote on Twitter:I wish him all the best in that endeavor. If anyone discovers that he has ever answered any of my critiques, please let me know.His words will be in. Translations from the Portugese of his book will be made with Google Translate (with an occasional additional modification). I will use RSV for Bible translations.

Septuagint and no version corresponds to the Catholic Old Testament. . . . lets look at some versions of the Septuagint. In the Codex Alexandria you have apocryphal books that are not in the Catholic Old Testament, such as: the apocryphal Ezra (not the Ezra of the Bible), Psalms of Solomon, 3rd Maccabees, and 4th Maccabees.

Septuagint and no version corresponds to the Catholic Old Testament. . . . lets look at some versions of the Septuagint. In the Codex Alexandria you have apocryphal books that are not in the Catholic Old Testament, such as: the apocryphal Ezra (not the Ezra of the Bible), Psalms of Solomon, 3rd Maccabees, and 4th Maccabees. (p. 37)

Septuagint and no version corresponds to the Catholic Old Testament. . . . lets look at some versions of the Septuagint. In the Codex Alexandria you have apocryphal books that are not in the Catholic Old Testament, such as: the apocryphal Ezra (not the Ezra of the Bible), Psalms of Solomon, 3rd Maccabees, and 4th Maccabees. (p. 37)

[W]hat Catholics dont tell you is that there were different versions of Septuagint and no version corresponds to the Catholic Old Testament. . . . lets look at some versions of the Septuagint. In the Codex Alexandria you have apocryphal books that are not in the Catholic Old Testament, such as: the apocryphal Ezra (not the Ezra of the Bible), Psalms of Solomon, 3rd Maccabees, and 4th Maccabees. (p. 37)

I would say that apostolicity is a pretty good  even compelling  justification. Why would that even be controversial? But since it conflicts with man-made portions of Protestant tradition in this case, its objectionable, and Juan goes on to argue that Jewish opinions on canonicity overrule apostolic Christian ones. The New Testament, by the way, massively cites the deuterocanon. Some of the following possible references are speculative, but all taken together show the strong influence:

The justification was that Jesus and the apostles used the Septuagint, so the church should too, accepting the deuterocanonical books as inspired by God. (p. 37)

Has Juan ever even noticed these two statements before? Not likely. Well, now he is aware of them (assuming he even reads any of my critiques: having avoided making any reply to my first six).

The divinely-revealed realities which are contained and presented in the text of sacred Scripture, have been written down under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. For Holy Mother Church relying on the faith of the apostolic age, accepts as sacred and canonical the books of the Old and New Testaments, whole and entire, with all their parts, on the grounds that they were written under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit (cf. Jn. 20:31; 2 Tim. 3:16; 2 Pet. 1:19-21; 3:15-16), they have God as their author, and have been handed on as such to the Church herself . (Vatican II [1962-1965], Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation [ Dei Verbum ], Chapter III, 11; emphasis added)

These the Church holds to be sacred and canonical; not because , having been carefully composed by mere human industry, they were afterward approved by her authority ; not because they contain revelation, with no admixture of error; but because, having been written by the inspiration of the Holy Ghost, they have God for their author, and have been delivered as such to the Church herself . (Vatican I [1870], Dogmatic Constitution on the Catholic Faith , chapter II; emphasis added)

The Catholic Church, in fact (as opposed to the caricatured myth above), taught the following in no uncertain terms, in two ecumenical councils:

The writings already had authority; what the church did was find them. This overthrows the entire Roman fallacy that the Catholic church gave the Canon. In truth, the Canon was assembled from books that already had authority, without need of the church . . . (p. 66)

The great debate about the doctrine of Sola Scriptura entails a very simple question: evangelicals will say that scripture has authority in itself; the biblical text in this way is authoritative. We believe that no one needed to give authority to the scriptures, but that the scripture already has authority because it is the revelation of God. For Roman Catholics it is not quite like that: it is taught that Catholics chose and defined the scriptures and in the process created the Canon of the New Testament. It is common to hear many Catholics saying that it was the church that gave us gave the Bible and that the church gave us the New Testament Canon, . . . (p. 60)

[T]he Christian Church did not make the Bible inspired and did not even make it the Word of God, but merely recognized the canon, how the sheep recognize the voice of their Shepherd (John 10.4,16). (p. 50)

Just as the Christian church received the Old Testament from the Jews, recognizing that the scriptures already had their own authority, the early church received letters from the apostles in the same way. (p. 37)

*

Its irrelevant that some versions of the Septuagint (LXX) had books rejected as canonical by the Catholic Church. What matters is that they always included the seven that the Church accepted as canonical. Variations are irrelevant to the discussion, and prove too much, since we know that the same thing occurred regarding the New Testament canonical process, and the 27 books agreed upon by Catholics, Protestants, and Orthodox.

*

As for books eventually decided to not be part of the biblical canon: The Acts of Paul was accepted by Origen, and appeared in Greek, Latin, Syriac, Armenian, and Arabic translations. The Gospel of Hebrews was accepted by St. Clement of Alexandria. 1 and 2 Clement and Psalms of Solomon were included in the Codex Alexandrinus from the early fifth century. Eusebius (Ecclesiastical History, 3, 16) tells us that 1 Clement had been read in many churches. The Epistle to the Laodiceans, known to be a forgery by St. Jerome, was included in many Bibles from the sixth to fifteenth centuries; even reappearing in 16th-century German and English Protestant Bibles.

*

According to F. F. Bruce (The Canon of Scripture, Downers Grove, Illinois: InterVarsity Press, 1988), The Preaching of Peter was regarded highly by St. Clement of Alexandria (p. 194). Bruce also noted the apparently docetic work, Gospel of Peter:

In the second century it was read and appreciated by Christians who were disposed to take it at face value as composed by Peter. Even Justin Martyr appears to quote it in one place. (p. 200)

Bruce states that St. Clement of Alexandria even quoted from the thoroughly gnostic Gospel According to the Egyptians not once but four times (p. 189). The same father (exercising what Bruce calls hospitality) approvingly cited Traditions of Matthias and Sibylline Oracles (p. 191). He also quoted uncanonical sayings of Jesus, known as agrapha.

Brooke Foss Westcott (A General Survey of the History of the Canon of the New Testament: Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Book House, 6th edition, 1980, from 1889 edition, 110-111; cf. Bruce, ibid., 127) notes that Justin Martyr also repeatedly cites a work called Memoirs of the Apostles (e.g., ten times in his Dialogue With Trypho).

St. Athanasius thought The Didache was good enough to include alongside the canonical books, in the same list where he first lists the 27 NT books, and to be profitably read in churches for edification (Bruce, ibid., 209). St. Cyril of Jerusalem (d. 386) took the same position (ibid., 211), as did Rufinus (d. 410) (ibid., 225).

Non-canonical books regarded as canonical by Church fathers and collections of books, include Epistle of Barnabas (Clement of Alexandria, Origen, Codex Sinaiticus, late 4th c.), Shepherd of Hermas (Irenaeus, Tertullian, Origen, Clement of Alexandria, Codex Sinaiticus), and The Didache (Clement of Alexandria, Origen, Athanasius), 1 Clement, 2 Clement (Codex Alexandrinus, early 5th century).

Just as all these books were believed to be part of the canon by prominent early Church figures, so there were variations in the LXX as well. Much ado about nothing. The Church had to authoritatively recognize the canonical books, in any event. Men on their own, without the guidance of the Holy Spirit, were clearly unequal to the task. And by the way, a Catholic (yours truly) told you all this. The truth is always far more interesting than myths and propaganda and selections of just a small amount of the relevant data.

So I ask the following question: where does the Septuagint represent the exact canon that the Catholic Church now assumes for itself? None of versions of the Septuagint that we have today represent exactly the list ofbooks that the Catholic Old Testament has. (p. 38)

As mentioned, all of these included the seven that the Catholic Church declared to be canonical, just as the Church fathers also thought many books to be canonical, that the Church later declared not to be. Famously, no one listed all 27 NT books and only those, as canonical, until St. Athanasius in 367 AD: some 33o or so years after the death of Christ.

The Jews had their established canon, called Tanakh, which is theSame thing as the Protestant Old Testament. (p. 38)

There was a general canonical consensus with regard to the New Testament, but that wasnt sufficient to resolve the problem. Likewise, there was a general consensus of the Jews with regard to the Old Testament which wasnt totally sufficient, either. Accordingly, Protestant biblical scholarship tells us that in the last four centuries before Christ:

It is clear that in those days the Jews had holy books to which they attached authority. It cannot be proved that there was already a complete Canon, although the expression the holy books (1 Macc. 12:9) may point in that direction. (The New Bible Dictionary, ed. J. D. Douglas, Grand Rapids, Michigan: Eerdmans, 1962 ed., 190, Canon of the Old Testament)

As for the New Testament period:

More than once the suggestion has been made that the synod of Jabneh or Jamnia, said to have been held about AD 90, closed the Canon of the Old Testament and fixed the limits of the Canon. To speak about the synod of Jamnia at all, however, is to beg the question . . . It is true, certainly, that in the teaching-house of Jamnia, about AD 70-100, certain discussions were held, and certain decisions were made concerning some books of the Old Testament; but similar discussions were held both before and after that period . . . These discussions dealt chiefly with the question as to whether or not some books of the Old Testament (e.g. Esther, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Canticles, Ezekiel) soiled the hands or had to be concealed . . . As regards the phrase soil the hands, the prevailing opinion is that it referred to the canonicity of the book in question . . . If indeed the canonicity of Esther, Ecclesiastes, and Canticles was disputed, we shall have to take the following view. On the whole these books were considered canonical. But with some, and probably with some Rabbis in particular, the question arose whether people were right in accepting their canonicity, as, e.g., Luther in later centuries found it difficult to consider Esther as a canonical book . . .We may presume that the twenty-two books mentioned by Josephus are identical with the thirty-nine books of which the Old Testament consists according to our reckoning . . . For the sake of completeness we must observe that Josephus also uses books which we count among the Apocrypha, e.g. 1 Esdras and the additions to Esther . . . (Ibid., 191) The Jews of the Dispersion regarded several additional Greek books as equally inspired, viz. most of the Books printed in the AV and RV among the Apocrypha. During the first three centuries these were regularly used also in the Church . . . St. Ambrose, St. Augustine, and others placed them on the same footing as the other OT books. (Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church, Oxford University Press, ed. F. L. Cross and E. A. Livingstone, 1989, 232, Canon of Scripture) In the Septuagint (LXX), which incorporated all [of the so-called Apocryphal books] except 2 Esdras, they were in no way differentiated from the other Books of the OT . . . Christians . . . at first received all the Books of the Septuagint equally as Scripture . . . Down to the 4th cent. the Church generally accepted all the Books of the Septuagint as canonical. Gk. and Lat. Fathers alike (e.g., Irenaeus, Tertullian, Cyprian) cite both classes of Books without distinction. In the 4th cent., however, many Gk. Fathers (e.g. Eusebius, Athanasius, Cyril of Jerusalem, Epiphanius, Gregory of Nazianzus) came to recognize a distinction between those canonical in Heb. and the rest, though the latter were still customarily cited as Scripture. St. Jerome . . . accepted this distinction, and introduced the term apocrypha for the latter class . . . But with a few exceptions (e.g., Hilary, Rufinus), Western writers (esp. Augustine) continued to consider all as equally canonical . . . (Ibid., 70-71, The Apocrypha) The early Christian Church inherited the LXX, and the NT writers commonly quoted the OT Books from it . . . In post-NT times, the Christian Fathers down to the later 4th cent. almost all regarded the LXX as the standard form of the OT and seldom referred to the Hebrew. (Ibid., 1260, The Septuagint [LXX] ) The suggestion that a particular synod of Jamnia, held c. 100 A.D., finally settled the limits of the OT Canon, was made by H.E. Ryle; though it has had a wide currency, there is no evidence to substantiate it. (Ibid., 726, Jamnia or Jabneh) It is probably unwise to talk as if there was a Council or Synod of Jamnia which laid down the limits of the Old Testament canon . . . A common, and not unreasonable, account of the formation of the Old Testament canon is that it took shape in three stages . . . The Law was first canonized (early in the period after the return from the Babylonian exile), the Prophets next (late in the third century BC) . . . the third division, the Writings . . . remained open until the end of the first century AD, when it was closed at Jamnia. But it must be pointed out that, for all its attractiveness, this account is completely hypothetical: there is no evidence for it, either in the Old Testament itself or elsewhere. We have evidence in the Old Testament of the public recognition of scripture as conveying the word of God, but that is not the same thing as canonization. (F. F. Bruce, The Canon of Scripture, Downers Grove, Illinois: InterVarsity Press, 1988, 34, 36)

The Encyclopedia Britannica noted the fluidity of Jewish notions of the canon for some two generations after the apostolic age:

Differences of opinion also are recorded among the tannaim (rabbinical scholars of tradition who compiled the Mishna, or Oral Law) and amoraim (who created the Talmud, or Gemara) about the canonical status of Proverbs, Song of Songs, Ecclesiastes, and Esther. All this indicates a prolonged state of fluidity in respect of the canonization of the Ketuvim [the Writings]. A synod at Jabneh (c. 100 CE) seems to have ruled on the matter, but it took a generation or two before their decisions came to be unanimously accepted and the Ketuvim regarded as being definitively closed. (1985 ed., vol. 14 [Macropedia], 758, Biblical Literature, Old Testament canon, texts, versions)

The Jews were still arguing about the canonicity of books written before 400 B.C. as late as 170-180 AD, and had to rely on the previous judgments of scholars in Jamnia to finally decide the issue. Likewise, Christians had to rely on the authoritative human judgments of the Councils of Carthage (397) and Hippo (393) and of Rome (in 382) to resolve their disputes, which lasted about nine generations, over the ongoing development of the New Testament canon. Our disputes over our canon, then, took almost as long as the Jewish disputes over theirs (almost 300 years from the end of the apostolic age, and 365 or so from the death of Jesus).

St. Athanasius listed all 27 NT books, but what is much less known is that when he listed the Old Testament books, they were not identical to the Protestant 39:

As Athanasius includes Baruch and the Letter of Jeremiah . . . so he probably includes the Greek additions to Daniel in the canonical book of that name, and the additions to Esther in the book of that name which he recommends for reading in the church, . . . Only those works which belong to the Hebrew Bible (apart from Esther) are worthy of inclusion in the canon (the additions to Jeremiah and Daniel make no appreciable difference to this principle . . . In practice Athanasius appears to have paid little attention to the formal distinction between those books which he listed in the canon and those which were suitable for the instruction of new Christians [he cites Wisdom of Solomon, Wisdom of Sirach, Esther, Judith, and Tobit] . . . and quoted from them freely, often with the same introductory formulae  as it is written, as the scripture says, etc. [footnote 46: He does not say in so many words why Esther is not included in the canon . . . ] (Bruce, ibid., 79-80)

[T]he canon of the Old Testament was received from the Jews and since Jesus was a Jew, he followed the canon thatbelonged to the Jews, which was already established at that time. (p. 38)

Ah, but it wasnt established till the late 2nd century, per my above documentation, from all Protestant scholars. Juan  consistent with his method in most of this chapter  doesnt give any evidence that Jesus only accepted the Protestant 39 books and no others. The great Protestant scholar, F. F. Bruce, is not nearly as confident as Juan (armed as he is with no evidence and mere bald assertions). He wrote that we cannot be sure whether Jesus accepted, for example, Esther, Ecclesiastes or the Song of Songs as scripture, because the evidence is not available (F. F. Bruce, The Canon of Scripture, Downers Grove, Illinois: InterVarsity Press, 1988, 41).

But a good argument can be made that Jesus cited the deuterocanonical books or at the very least had them in mind. And He often cited Jewish rabbinical and non-biblical sources also, as I proved in Part 1 of this series.

Paul believed that oracles of God, which is the Old Testament, were entrusted only to Jews. So yes, it matters a lot what the Jews believed about the canon andthe Catholic church has no power to change this. (p. 38)

We dont deny this. But in any event, the Jews hadnt decided on their canon during the time of Jesus or the apostles; not in the entire first century AD, nor even during much of the second century.

That is why we Protestants follow the canon of the Jews, which is theTanakh, because the apostles believed in the canon of the Jews. (p. 39)

Thats impossible, as shown, since the Jewish canon wasnt yet closed. We dont know every particular book that they regarded as canonical.

Catholicism claims that its canon was established at the Council of Rome, under the command of pope Damasus I, in the year 382 A.D. However, the council of Rome was merely regional, and at the same time, several other regional councils tried to define a list of the biblical canon. So there were several disagreements at the time, and because the council of Rome was not ecumenical, not all of the church completely agreed with it. (p. 40)

The canonical list from the Council of Rome in 382, which is identical to Trents canon, includes: Wisdom, Ecclesiasticus, Tobit, Judith, and 1 and 2 Maccabees. Baruch was included as part of Jeremiah, as in St. Athanasius list of fifteen years previously. The Council of Carthage in 397 accepted the same list, as detailed by Brooke Foss Westcott (A General Survey of the History of the Canon of the New Testament, Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Book House, 1980, rep. from 6th ed. of 1889, 440). So did the Sixth Council of Carthage (419). In 405, Pope Innocent I affirmed the canon of 382 (Rome), 393 (Hippo) and 397 (Carthage) in his letter addressed to Exsuperius, bishop of Toulouse (see Bruce, ibid., p. 97). In this way, papal authority ratified regional conciliar authority.

Even St. Jerome, translator of the Latin Vulgate (Catholics Bible), did not accept many of these seven additional books, and even made a distinction between them. . . . Even though he translated the books of the Septuagint, it does not mean that Saint Jerome believed that all of them were canonical, . . . (p. 41)

This is more complex than Juan and most Protestant apologists assume. My good friend and fellow Michigander apologist Gary Michuta, in his excellent book, Why Catholic Bibles are Bigger (2nd edition: Catholic Answers Press, 2017) observed about St. Jerome:
In light of this new information, this will be my last critique. Its a shame, because I was enjoying myself so much, and I felt that I came up with some fresh arguments, but this book deserves no further response. It was already a very weak, poor volume (desperately in need of an editor), even if these factors werent in play. What I have written thus far has, in my opinion, value in and of itself, as a ten-part Catholic apologetics course. So it wasnt a waste of time at all. But no more. Im only interested in responding to serious, adequately researched, honest apologetics.

Just as I finished my tenth installment (10-5-23), Fraternidade Newman Brasil [Newman Brazil Fraternity] published a devastatingly comprehensive (and shocking) expose entitled Apologetica da Desonestidade: Evidencias de Plagio e outras Trapacas no Livro do Protestante Juan Roberto Oliveira [Apologetics of Dishonesty: Evidence of Plagiarism and other Cheating in the Book of Protestant Juan Roberto Oliveira].

Brazilian Protestantis the author of the book, Nenhum Caminho Leva a Roma: O pecurso ate o protestantismo [No Road Leads to Rome: The Path to Protestantism]. It has no date or publisher listed. But it was recently released. Hes aand is active on Twitter (now X) and, especially, Instagram . When I informed Juan of my replies, he quickly wrote on Twitter:I wish him all the best in that endeavor. If anyone discovers that he has ever answered any of my critiques, please let me know.His words will be in. Translations from the Portugese of his book will be made with Google Translate (with an occasional additional modification). I will use RSV for Bible translations.

Sola Scriptura is a theological principle that is based on the belief that The Bible is the only final and infallible authority for Christian faith and practice. . . . the Bible is the supreme source of authority in matters of faith and morals, above traditions, church teachings or human opinions. . . . the norm by which all other authorities must be evaluated. (p. 42)

We agree on the definition. We disagree on whether it is a true or false and biblically supported viewpoint.

[A]ny teaching or tradition that does not conform to the Scriptures must be rejected. (p. 42)

What cannot be tradition is anything that is in conflict with the scriptures. (p. 43)

Catholics wholeheartedly agree. Thats why we are so opposed to several Protestant man-made doctrines; traditions of men: because they are contrary to Holy Scripture. Nothing personal against them; were just trying to be consistently biblical. We must, however, define what we mean by biblical. Catholics mean by that, that every doctrine must be in harmony with Scripture and not contrary to it. Protestants often mean by the word, explicitly mentioned in Scripture. We agree with Martin Luther, when he wrote that what is not against the Scriptures is for the Scriptures and the Scriptures are for it (Letter to Philip Melanchthon, 13 January 1522). I wrote in my article, Explicit Bible Proofs & Protestant Double Standards [2-12-16; with a little added presently]:

A doctrine can be biblical without explicit mention in the Bible. Some things are implicit / indirect only, or logically deduced from other more explicit passages. Some doctrines, including many distinctively Protestant ones, are arguably not in the Bible at all. The New Testament never mentions an altar call. It never has the typical sinners prayer of evangelicals. It doesnt mention church buildings. It never uses the frequently mentioned evangelical terminology of personal relationship with Jesus. It never lists its own books (the biblical canon comes from the authority and proclamations of the Catholic Church and tradition). It never teaches sola Scriptura, or the concept that the Bible is the only infallible source of authority. Yet oddly enough and passing strange  this is one of the very pillars of the Protestant worldview. Other beliefs or practices not explicitly mentioned in the Bible are Bible studies, grape juice as an element to be consecrated for communion (rather than wine), asking Jesus into ones heart, a body of believers, Scripture interpreting Scripture (the more clear helping to understand the less clear), agreeing on essential or primary doctrines and permitted relativism regarding non-essential or secondary doctrines, denominations (vs. the biblical one Church). Of course, this very idea that one must find explicit biblical proof for every doctrine or it cant / mustnt be believed (even with high selectivity or rank inconsistency) is not found in the Bible anywhere, either. Its (irony of all ironies!) a mere tradition of men. Some popular Protestant (and also often Catholic) words or phrases that do not appear in the Bible are rapture, invisible church, incarnation, virgin birth, holy communion, Lords prayer, Bible, original sin, fall of man, theology, go[ing] to church, grace alone, [total] depravity, unconditional election, limited atonement, irresistible grace, perseverance of the saints, spirituality, Scripture alone, pray for guidance, pray for direction, spiritual warfare, and sin nature. Faith alone only appears once: James 2:24 You see that a man is justified by works and not by faith alone.

Sorry to get so in-depth about this, but the above clarifications are supremely important to keep in mind as we proceed with this vexed and vastly misunderstood topic.

We have the famous verse that Catholics love to use to extol tradition, which is in 2 Thessalonians 2.15: So, brothers, stand firm and hold fast to the traditions that you were taught, whether by word or by letter. But this spoken tradition was the teachings contained in the letters from the apostles, and when not, the apostles did not introduce innovations. (pp. 42-43)

Now here is a classic / textbook example of utterly wrongheaded and unbiblical Protestant tradition. What Juan is attempting to argue is absolutely absent from Holy Scripture. Nowhere does it ever claim that when tradition is mentioned, it can only refer to teachings in other portions of the Bible (which at the time were not even finally determined yet) and can never be anything beyond those (while still in harmony with them). Its a very silly, confused, unsupported claim, and its simply assumed without no basis for doing so. This is the notion that Protestants call inscripturation. It was explained at length by the late Protestant apologist Norman Geisler, writing with Ralph MacKenzie, in the article, A Defense of Sola Scriptura (Christian Research Institute, 4-8-09; my italics):

It is not legitimate to appeal to any oral revelation in New Testament times as proof that nonbiblical infallible authority is in existence today.  Since the death of the apostles the only apostolic authority we have is the inspired record of their teaching in the New Testament. That is, all apostolic tradition (teaching) on faith and practice is in the New Testament.  all apostolic teaching that God deemed necessary for the faith and practice (morals) of the church was preserved (2 Timothy 3:15-17).  There is not a shred of evidence that any of the revelation God gave them to express was not inscripturated by them in the only books  the inspired books of the New Testament  that they left for the church.

I wrote about it in National Catholic Register (3-15-21):

Protestants have to believe something akin to this notion, because of their aversion to extrabiblical (yet harmonious with Scripture) authoritative, binding tradition. They agree that what apostles taught was binding, but they fail to see that some of that teaching wouldnt be recorded in Scripture. The Bible itself teaches us that there are such teachings and deeds not recorded in it (John 20:30, 21:25, Acts 1:2-3, Luke 24:15-16,25-27). The logic is simple: Apostles teaching was authoritative and binding (i.e., for all practical purposes, infallible). Some of that teaching was recorded in Scripture, but some was not. The folks who heard their teaching were bound to it whether it was later inscripturated or not. If they were so bound, it stands to reason that we could and should be, also. Scripture itself does not rule out the presence of an authoritative oral tradition, not recorded in words. Paul refers more than once to a non-written tradition (e.g., 2 Timothy 1:13-14, 2:2). When Paul was preaching he did so authoritatively, as an apostle. Not everything he said was later included in the Bible; therefore it was not all inspired (he was no walking Bible-machine any more than Jesus was). But he was an authority, and acted consciously upon this authority. Inscripturation teaches that anything not recorded in Scripture could not have been passed down by Paul: a contention that is absurd on its face. As an example of a Protestant who accepts the binding, infallible nature of a teaching even if it isnt taught in the Bible, I submit Martin Luther, the founder of Protestantism. He wrote a letter [regarding infant baptism] to Albrecht (or Albert), Margrave of Brandenburg and Duke of Prussia, dated April 1532 by some and February or early March by others. The well-known Luther biographer Roland H. Bainton cites the following portion of it: This testimony of the universal holy Christian Church, even if we had nothing else, would be a sufficient warrant for holding this article [on the sacrament] and refusing to suffer or listen to a sectary, for it is dangerous and fearful to hear or believe anything against the unanimous testimony, belief, and teaching of the universal holy Christian churches, unanimously held in all the world from the beginning until now over fifteen hundred years. (Studies on the Reformation, Boston: Beacon Press, 1963, p. 26; primary source: WA [Werke, Weimar edition in German], Vol. XXX, 552; my italics) St. Augustine had taught the same 1100 years earlier: As to those other things which we hold on the authority, not of Scripture, but of tradition, and which are observed throughout the whole world, it may be understood that they are held as approved and instituted either by the apostles themselves, or by plenary Councils, whose authority in the Church is most useful, . . . For often have I perceived, with extreme sorrow, many disquietudes caused to weak brethren by the contentious pertinacity . . . of some who, in matters of this kind, which do not admit of final decision by the authority of Holy Scripture, or by the tradition of the universal Church. (Letter to Januarius, 54, 1, 1; 54, 2, 3)

Since Old Testament times we see God preserving his word through of writing. This is why the Bible often uses the expression it is written, 31 times in the Old Testament and 78 times in the New Testament. God said it in Isaiah 30:8: Go now, write this on a tablet before them and record it in a book; so that it may remain until the last day, forever and ever perpetually. The way God uses to preserve his word throughout the ages centuries is not through word of mouth, it is through writing. (p. 43)

God does primarily use writing, but its not all He uses, and the Bible bears witness to oral tradition as well:

Biblical Evidence for Apostolic Oral Tradition [2-20-09]

Biblical Evidence for the Oral Torah & Oral Apostolic Tradition [10-18-11]

Anglican Newman on Oral & Written Apostolic Tradition [10-12-19]

Oral Tradition According to Great Historic Apologists [10-18-19]

In the Bible, Word of God Usually Means Oral Proclamation [National Catholic Register, 12-17-19]

Jesus the Nazarene: Did Matthew Make Up a Prophecy? (Reply to Jonathan M. S. Pearce from the Blog, A Tippling Philosopher / Oral Traditions and Possible Lost Old Testament Books Referred to in the Bible) [12-17-20]

Oral Tradition: More Biblical (Pauline) Evidence (. . . and an Examination of the False and Unbiblical Protestant Supposed Refutation of Inscripturation) [2-27-21]

Authoritative Non-Biblical Oral Proclamation from a Prophet (Not an Apostle) Led by the Holy Spirit, After the Day of Pentecost [Facebook, 4-1-21]

In the Torah (first five books of the OT), nothing can be found in Mosaic Law forbidding the carrying of objects from ones house on the Sabbath. Yet according to the prophet Jeremiah, God willed that Jerusalem be destroyed for not abiding by this oral tradition and command:

Jeremiah 17:21-22, 27 Thus says the LORD: Take heed for the sake of your lives, and do not bear a burden on the sabbath day or bring it in by the gates of Jerusalem. [22] And do not carry a burden out of your houses on the sabbath or do any work, but keep the sabbath day holy, as I commanded your fathers. . . . [27] But if you do not listen to me, to keep the sabbath day holy, and not to bear a burden and enter by the gates of Jerusalem on the sabbath day, then I will kindle a fire in its gates, and it shall devour the palaces of Jerusalem and shall not be quenched.

Thus, the written revelation of the Old Testament referred to the oral Torah, given to Moses (according to Jewish tradition) on Mt. Sinai at the same time he received the written Law. It even says that God commanded this stipulation for the Sabbath. Since it isnt found in the written Torah, then it had to come from the authoritative oral Torah.

Surprisingly enough, the written Torah never specifies that Jerusalem would be the central place of worship, or that a temple was to be built there (neither the words temple  in this sense  nor Jerusalem ever appears in the Pentateuch or Torah: first five books of the Bible). Its never taught in the Torah that a permanent temple would replace the tabernacle (extensively dealt with in the Torah) as the central place of worship. If God didnt authoritatively reveal His plan concerning a future temple to Moses, then all of the sacrificial worship of Israel from the time of Solomon was invalid. Therefore, the command had to be in the oral Torah.

The Jerusalem Council issued four commands to Gentile believers. Three dealt with food (Acts 15:20, 29; 21:25), and two of those derived from the oral Torah (written down much later): namely, not to eat things sacrificed to idols (Mishnah Avodah Zorah 2:3) or things strangled (Mishnah Chullin 1:2). The written Torah doesnt prohibit either, yet Jesus strongly condemns Pergamum and Thyatira for not observing their ban (Rev 2:14, 20).

John Chrysostom exhorted his congregation not to seek any other teaching than the oracles of God, as everything that was needed could be extracted directly and clearly from the Bible. (p. 59)

Thats untrue. He also wrote:

Not by letters alone did Paul instruct his disciple in his duty, but before by words also which he shows, both in many other passages, as where he says, whether by word or our Epistle (2 Thess. ii. 15.), and especially here. Let us not therefore suppose that anything relating to doctrine was spoken imperfectly. For many things he delivered to him without writing. Of these therefore he reminds him, when he says, Hold fast the form of sound words, which thou hast heard of me. (Homily III on 2 Timothy  on 2 Tim 1:13-18) That ye remember me in all things, and hold fast the traditions, even as I delivered them to you. It appears then that he used at that time to deliver many things also not in writing, which he shows too in many other places. But at that time he only delivered them, whereas now he adds an explanation of their reason: thus both rendering the one sort, the obedient, more steadfast, and pulling down the others pride, who oppose themselves. (Homily XXVI on 1 Corinthians; commenting on 1 Corinthians 11:2) So then, brethren, stand fast, and hold the traditions which ye were taught, whether by word, or by Epistle of ours.Hence it is manifest, that they did not deliver all things by Epistle, but many things also unwritten, and in like manner both the one and the other are worthy of credit. Therefore let us think the tradition of the Church also worthy of credit. It is a tradition, seek no farther. Here he shows that there were many who were shaken. (On Second Thessalonians, Homily IV)

Chrysostom even appeals to an apostolic unwritten tradition of intercessory prayers for the dead:

Not in vain did the Apostles order that remembrance should be made of the dead in the dreadful Mysteries. They know that great gain resulteth to them, great benefit; for when the whole people stands with uplifted hands, a priestly assembly, and that awful Sacrifice lies displayed, how shall we not prevail with God by our entreaties for them? And this we do for those who have departed in faith, . . . (On Philippians, Homily 3)

Concerning the sacred writers, St. John Chrysostom commented:

. . . it was no object with them to be writers of books: in fact, there are many things which they have delivered by unwritten tradition. (On Acts of the Apostles, Homily 1)

In St. Pauls epistles tradition, gospel, and word of God are synonymous concepts. Theyre all predominantly oral, not written, and are referred to as being delivered and received:

1 Corinthians 11:2 . . . maintain the traditions . . . . even as I have delivered them to you. 2 Thessalonians 2:15 . . . hold to the traditions . . . . taught . . . by word of mouth or by letter. 2 Thessalonians 3:6 . . . the tradition that you received from us. 1 Corinthians 15:1 . . . the gospel, which you received . . . Galatians 1:9 . . . the gospel . . . which you received. 1 Thessalonians 2:9 . . . we preached to you the gospel of God. 1 Thessalonians 2:13 . . . you received the word of God, which you heard from us, . . . (cf. Acts 8:14)

Athanasius wrote that the holy Scriptures and inspired were completely sufficient to proclaim the truth. (p. 59)

Of course they are. But Athanasius did not hold to sola Scriptura. St. Athanasius affirmed infallible Church and conciliar pronouncements, the Catholic rule of faith, and the binding, infallible nature of doctrines received through apostolic succession and apostolic tradition (all expressly contrary to sola Scriptura):

But the word of the Lord which came through the ecumenical Synod at Nicea, abides forever. (Ad Afros Epistola Synodica2; in NPNF2, IV:489) But let the Faith confessed by the Fathers at Nica alone hold good among you, at which all the fathers, including those of the men who now are fighting against it, were present, as we said above, and signed: in order that of us too the Apostle may say, Now I praise you that you remember me in all things, and as I handed the traditions to you, so hold them fast 1 Corinthians 11:2. (Ad Afros Epistola Synodica10) For had they believed aright, they would have been satisfied with the confession put forth at Nica by the whole Ecumenical Council; . . . Observe how entirely they disregard the truth, and how everything they say and do is for the sake of the Arian heresy. For in that they dare to question those sound definitions of the faith, and take upon themselves to produce others contrary to them, what else do they but accuse the Fathers, and stand up in defense of that heresy which they opposed and protested against? (Ad Episcopos Aegypti et Libyae, 5) Who, then, that has any real regard for truth, will be willing to suffer these men any longer? Who will not justly reject their writing? Who will not denounce their audacity, that being but few in number, they would have their decisions to prevail over everything, and as desiring the supremacy of their own meetings, held in corners and suspicious in their circumstances, would forcibly cancel the decrees of an uncorrupt, pure, and Ecumenical Council? (Ad Episcopos Aegypti et Libyae, 7) It is enough merely to answer such things as follows: we are content with the fact that this is not the teaching of the Catholic Church, nor did the fathers hold this. (Letter No. 59 to Epictetus, 3) What defect of teaching was there for religious truth in the Catholic Church . . .? (De Synodis, I, 3) But ye are blessed, who by faith are in the Church, dwell upon the foundations of the faith, and have full satisfaction, even the highest degree of faith which remains among you unshaken. For it has come down to you from Apostolic tradition, . . . (Fragment from Letter No. 29 [Migne, xxvi, p. 1189] )

St. Athanasius makes it very clear that Paul made a distinction between man-made, merely human traditions, and apostolic tradition and succession: classifying the latter as a good and necessary thing:
Windows 11 may get all the headlines and fascinating new features, but Windows 10 continues to dominate overall market share.

Statcounter has once again analyzed its figures to see what market shares the respective Windows variants claim. The evaluation is based on more than 5 billion page views per month from the Statcounter network of more than 1.5 million websites worldwide.

The figures presented for September 2023 no doubt spoil the day for someone at Microsoft headquarters. Windows 10 remains substantially ahead of its successor, while Windows 11 is only very slowly gaining market share. Considering that modern computers are usually delivered with Windows 11 and that in most business deployments, all PCs are sometimes switched to Windows 11 in one go, the still large lead of Windows 10 is astonishing.

How Windows 11, 10, and 7 compare

According to Statcounter, Windows 10 was running on 71.62 percent of all Windows computers in its network on September 2023. This figure hardly moved since October 2022, though there have been fluctuations; Windows 10 had a 73.46 percent share in March 2023 and 67.95 percent in December 2022. But in 2023 Windows 10 never slipped below the 71 percent mark.

get windows 11 pro cheap Windows 11 Pro Best Prices Today:

Windows 11 has been making gains since September 2022, but the gains have been very slow. In September 2022, Windows 11 was running on 13.61 percent of all Windows PCs surveyed. It was not until March 2023 that Windows 11 broke the 20 per cent barrier (20.95 percent) and has since stagnated at around or just over 23 per cent.

Microsoft has not provided any updates for Windows 7 for a long time, so its a massive security risk. While 10.63 percent of surveyed users were still using Windows 7 in September 2022, the number of users declined significantly in January 2023 when companies could no longer pay for extended support plans. In September 2023, Statcounter put Windows 7 at a 3.33 percent share.

The similarly unsupported Windows XP and Windows 8.1 play no role: their market shares are 0.34 percent and 0.61 percent.

Desktop operating systems overall: Windows  and then not much

Taking all operating system versions together, Microsofts operating system held its own on 68.41 percent of all desktop computers in September 2023. Apples macOS X, on the other hand, had a total of only 20.15 percent last month. Linux, on the other hand, is only just above the perception threshold at 3.02 percent, while ChromeOS is barely more successful at 3.89 percent.

This article was translated from German to English and originally appeared on pcwelt.de.
Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.
The health authorities in Kenya are investigating an unidentified illness after more than 90 schoolgirls were admitted to hospital.



The students from Eregi Girls High School, located in the west of the country, had difficulties walking and symptoms of knee pain.



A senior education ministry official who visited the school on Tuesday told worried parents that the situation was under control.



He said classes would continue as normal for other pupils.



The education department, the county government and public health department are giving a commitment that the children will be treated, said Jared Obiero, the regional director of education.



Blood, urine and stool samples from the ill students were sent to laboratories in Kisumu, a neighbouring city, and the capital, Nairobi.



Conclusive results to determine the cause of the illness are expected later on Wednesday.

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 Savannah Region is home to, not only her Sons and Daughters, but all and sundry without recourse to race, gender, religious affiliation or status. The unblemished Vice President of the Republic, H.E Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, who is a proud son of Savannah Region in his own right, therefore does not need any welcome address from the reactive Savannah Region NDC.



It is worthy to note that, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia actively advocated, worked and mobilized for the creation of the Savannah Region. But for Dr. Bawumias work, how will the Savannah Region be created let alone for the (NDC), now claiming to have their Candidate hail from this region and the so called NDC Leaders themselves, associating as Savannah Regional officers. These so called executives were 'errand boys' in the former Northern Region.



The biggest ever accomplishment for Gonjas is the creation of the Savannah Region, and this remains the legacy of NPP, Nana Akufo-Addo and Dr. Bawumia. This achievement is absolutely unmatched.



It's also a grave disappointment that, a son [John Mahama] of the soil could look us in the face without shame, and tell us he left money aside before leaving office, for our basic problems to be addressed, after eight [8] years of holding executive powers as both Vice President, Interim President and Substantive President. This is highly insulting and a disrespect to Kegbanye and its descendants from their son. It is not only reckless, but shameless and utterly irresponsible for the NDC and JM to keep making those loose statements.



Again, it is quite shameful and pathetic, that as President for 4 and half years, and Vice President for 4 years, all the NDC can boast of in Savannah Region regarding John Mahamas reign is that, he has secured some phantom monies for projects that they can not account for. The statement that JM secured this, JM secured that, is not only unfounded, baseless and deceptive but shameful as well.



The abysmal performance of John Mahama in the S/R and the other four (4) Northern Regions have been exposed in a jaundiced and uncoordinated so-called 10 questions to the good Vice President, Dr. Bawimia. Isn't it shameful that the NDC, even though they had a son of the soil (Gonjaland) as Vice and Substantive President for eight consecutive years, could not sort out basic social amenity problems confronting the SR but are now counting on the NPP and Vice President Bamumia to do so?



If not for political gimmick, without moral instincts, what authority does a failed party in a regional creation fiasco have? Was it not this same JM, that emphatically stated that we cant have a Region? Why is he now desperately looking for an escape route?



How does a document sent to parliament on 20th December, 2016, 13 days after losing elections and 17 days to handing over executive power, seek for parliamentary approval to secure a loan which was never approved, amount to funds been secured? The NDC at the time, formed majority in Parliament, the Speaker of Parliament, who was the leader of the House, Hon. Doe Adjaho, was a staunch NDC. If not for deceit, ill intentions and face-saving theatrics, why would the Damongo Water Project loan agreement fail when several other agreements got approved? It is on record that JM is the only former President of Ghana who has the capital seat of the Traditional Kingdom he hails from, suffering from water problems. The NDC in the region should give us a break as the Nana Addo/ Bawumia Government is working tirelessly to get the capital seat of Gonja potable drinking water, just as they have done in Kpembe, Salaga, Yapei, etc.



The Construction Firm, Myturn, who is in charge of the project, went on site 4 days ago to carry out rehabilitation works on the Fulfulso-Damongo-Sawla road. Their equipment/machines can be found in Laribanga.



For the records, no college was established in Bole. A lecturer from Daboya, Dr Musah, spearheaded the establishment of a teacher training college in Daboya. A whole President couldn't do it for a whole 4 and a half years.



Today, North Gonja is currently home to the construction of a fully fletched District Hospital, the Polyclinic was built in the 70s by Busia, Renovated and upgraded by President Kufour. Currently, President Akufo Addo is providing a District Hospital. The people of North Gonja are not moved by the staged images collaborated by an NDC journalist.



John Mahama has failed to initiate and complete a single project in the S/R except to hoodwink and hijack late Professor Mills' isolated and attempted projects. The Akufo-Addo/Bawumia Government in almost seven (7) years has delivered incomparable projects and programs in the Region.



1. Creation of the Savannah Region,



2. Establishment of Decentralized Departments in Damongo, Bole, Salaga and Daboya,



3. Creation of North East Gonja District Assembly,



4. Upgradement of Damongo and Salaga Districts to Municipal Status,



5. Construction of ultra-modern Regional Co-ordinating Council (RCC),



6. Provision of seven (7) Ambulances to the Region as part of 1D-1A,



7. Construction of state-of-the-art District hospitals in Daboya and Kpalbe as part of agenda 111,



8. Construction of over 400kms of roads in the Region including Yapei-Bunjai, Daboya-Mankarigu roads,



9. Electrification of 100s of rural communities in the Region,



10. Construction of Buipe and Bamboi hospitals,



11. Construction of township roads in Damongo and Salaga,



12. Construction of Laribanga Islamic SHS and infrastructure projects for existing SHS in DASS and NDESCO,



13. Unprecedented Job allocations and opportunities.e.tc.



Let it be said, forcefully, that the NDC and JM are the major setbacks that has ever been unleashed on Gonjaland. JM did not only abuse and misuse the privilege to change the course of his kinsmen, but also used, dumped and abandoned them to their fate.



Let the record be established that the achievements of Vice President Bawumia in Savannah Region far-dwarfs that of President Mahama, if he has any at all. And indeed, insha allahu, when Vice President Bawumia, with the massive support of Savannah Region, assumes the Presidency of Ghana, Gonjaland will see more development like never witnessed before.



Let the failed NDC/JM give us a break!



Signed:

Mohammed Issah

Savannah Regional Secretary, NPP

Source: Mohammed Issah Savannah Regional Secretary, NPP









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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The Member of Parliament for Bawku Central, Mahama Ayariga has hinted at reporting Dr Ernest Addison, the Governor of the Bank of Ghana (BoG), and his deputies to the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP).



His reasons are regarding contracts awarded for the construction of a new central bank headquarters.



The NDC MP who gave a hint of the threat in a letter dated October 2, 2023, addressed to the BoG Governor, lamented his frustration with the lack of transparency and information provided by the leadership of the central bank regarding the contract awards.



The letter cited by DGN reads that I write to inform you that I will refer you and your deputies to the Office of the Special Prosecutor for investigation and possible prosecution. This is in relation to the matter of the award of a contract for the construction of a new head office building for the Bank of Ghana. I suspect that your team, in collusion with the contractors, overpriced the project with a possible view to obtaining personal gain.



I reject your use of national security considerations as a reason to refuse to answer my questions properly. My decision to report you is in view of your refusal to provide a proper response to my request for information pursuant to the Right to Information Request.



Mahama Ayariga also threatened that he would persistently pursue the BoG Governor until he provides clarity on the contract awards to Messrs. Goldkey Properties Limited.



Let me assure you that we will pursue you until you come clean on how a project which you yourself had originally priced at USD100,857,924.48 for 73,000sq.m got awarded to Messrs. Goldkey Properties Limited, in the same year, at USD121,807,8517.94 and how a variation in scope of works of about 36.9% increase has led to a project cost escalation of 84% increase which has resulted in the 107,737sq.m now costing USD 222,799,760.55.



This is a project priced in United States Dollars. This we do for the love of country and in pursuit of A Better Ghana, he stated in the letter.



Ayariga narrowly escaped the OSPs hammer during Martin Amidus tenure when he allegedly imported cars from Dubai using parliamentary privileges.

Source: dailyguidenetwork.com









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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Bernard Allotey Jacobs has lauded the Inspector General of Police, Dr. George Akuffo Dampare and the entire Police Service for the peaceful demonstration dubbed "#OccupyBoG Protest" organized by the Minority in Parliament.



The demonstration, which included some leading members of the opposition National Democratic Congress and a section of the Ghanaian populace, was held on Tuesday, October 3, in Accra with the protesters marching from the Kwame Nkurmah Circle to the premises of the Bank of Ghana.



The demonstrators are calling for the resignation of the Governor, Dr. Ernest Addison and his deputies over claims that they have mismanaged the bank.



Clad in red and black attires and holding placards with various inscriptions projecting their frustrations over President Akufo-Addo's administration of the economy, the protesters served notice that they will keep picketing the Bank of Ghana until their demand is met.



Speaking on Peace FM's "Kokrokoo" show, Allotey Jacobs noted the #OccupyBoG protest is the most peaceful he's ever witnessed and gave the credits to the IGP.



"It was really peaceful. Let's commend the IGP that for the first time that a demonstration has gone on peaceful; very peaceful. This is the first time in all the demonstrations I've been", he told host Kwami Sefa Kayi.





Source: Ameyaw Adu Gyamfi/Peacefmonline.com/Ghana









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In a strongly-worded statement, Fohad Agbenadzi, the Deputy Eastern Regional Youth Organizer of the National Democratic Congress, has demanded the arrest and prosecution of Dr. Ernest Addison, the Governor of the Bank of Ghana, on charges of causing financial loss to the state. Agbenadzi made this call during the #OccupyBoG demonstration, which was spearheaded by the Minority Group in Parliament and took place in Accra on Tuesday, October 3, 2023.



Addressing the media, Mr. Agbenadzi voiced serious concerns regarding what he referred to as the gross mismanagement of the central bank under Dr. Addison's leadership. He particularly criticized the lack of transparency and accountability in the bank's operations, highlighting the printing of money without parliamentary approval as a significant issue.



"We are deeply disturbed by reports of the unlawful printing of fresh notes by the Bank of Ghana, amounting to a staggering 22 billion Ghana cedis. This act not only violates the trust placed in the institution but also poses a severe threat to our nation's economic stability and integrity," he expressed.



This follows last year's reports, which alleged that the Bank of Ghana had printed 22 billion cedis in fresh notes to support the Government's budget without obtaining parliamentary approval. This, coupled with the lack of transparency surrounding the transaction amidst economic challenges, sparked public outcry.



Agbenadzi further bemoaned the fact that the Bank of Ghana reported a loss in its latest financial statement, and criticized their determination to spend over $300 million on constructing a new headquarters, viewing it as evidence that Dr. Addison and his Deputies are causing harm to the nation's finances.



He emphasized, "The actions of the Bank of Ghana have resulted in significant financial losses to the state. Such losses directly affect the welfare and livelihoods of ordinary Ghanaians, and we demand a thorough investigation into these financial discrepancies."



Reiterating his call for Dr. Addison's arrest and prosecution, he urged the government to dismiss the Bank of Ghana's Chief officer to protect the economy. "It is imperative that Dr. Addison resigns honorably or is sacked by the President. He must be investigated for all his actions," he added.



The #OccupyBoG protest, led by the Minority Group in parliament and supported by other political parties, is demanding the resignation of the Bank of Ghana Governor over allegations of mismanagement and deliberate financial loss to the state. The organizers have announced that the protests will continue until Dr. Ernest Addison resigns.

Source: Peacefmonline









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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Bernard Allotey Jacobs, a former NDC Central Regional Chairman, has cautioned the Member of Parliament for Ningo-Prampram, Sam George, to watch his utterances.



Sam George has slammed the Bank of Ghana for sending its Head of Security to meet the leadership of the #OccupyBoG protestors and receive their petition.



He labeled the absence of the Bank of Ghana Governor as "disrespect" to the protestors.



"Parliament invites the Bank of Ghana at least twice a year and he has appeared only three times in seven years so it's not strange. It is the height of disrespect that we will come here and he will send the watchman, the watchman at the Bank of Ghana to come and receive the petition."



"Okay, the watchman should come to Parliament as well, when next he needs anything from Parliament he should send the watchman as well but we will be back. We will give the Police some days to rest but we will be back," he said in an interview on TV3.



Reacting to Sam George's scathing remarks about the BoG Security Head, Kwame Asare-Boateng, Allotey Jacobs warned him to "be very careful. He's carved a niche for himself".



He found the comments distasteful questioning the MP's behavior towards Wing Commander Asare-Boateng who served for 26 years in the Ghana Air Force.



"He has made a name for himself and should protect the name but such utterances are not acceptable...It's not nice. It's not the best," Allotey slammed Sam George.





Source: Ameyaw Adu Gyamfi/Peacefmonline.com/Ghana









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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The opposition National Democratic Congress Member of Parliament (MP) for Bawku Central, Mahama Ayariga has reacted to an interview the central bank Governor, Dr Ernest Addison reportedly granted the Central Banking portal and allegedly described last Tuesday's protesters as "hooligans."



To Mr Ayariga, "having called us hooligans, he [Addison] will get a response of hooligans."



"I, Mahama Ayariga, I am saying that he will see what hooligans do, I don't know what my colleagues [Minority MPs] will think but when we meet we will discuss and let you know. But I'm sure that having called us hooligans, he will get a response of hooligans," Mr Ayariga stated in a radio interview monitored by Graphic Online on Accra-based Citi FM on Thursday morning (Oct 5, 2023).



Mr Ayariga was reacting to a report by the Central Banking, which reported on an interview Dr Addison granted the portal in reaction to last Tuesday's protest, which called for his resignation.



Asked if he had read the report by the Central Banking, Mr Ayariga said he was following up on what Citinewsroom had reported



"I did not for once image that the central bank governor will be so frustrated as to respond that way, to call your members of parliament, hooligans, people who have written to the police to demonstrate, the police raised issues, we went to court, they postponed the demonstration two times, we went to court, we responded..., we had meetings with the police, we came to a clear understanding on the route..., and anybody who monitored the protest march saw that it was one of the most peaceful, orderly, well organised."



"...we got to where the police said we should stop, we stopped there, they took us to the Bank of Ghana head office, only for him [Governor] to send his head of security to come and collect our petition and we said no, we will not give our petition to him because we didn't come to give a petition to the head of security. How can you describe people who have conducted themselves this way, as hooligans and you are the Governor of central bank. But I can understand, where the arrogance of power has sent some people and so in future, when it becomes difficult to manage our people [protesters] because they have been branded hooligans and they want to show what hooliganism means, he will come and answer. I really have nothing to say now, I'm just waiting for our colleagues [Minority MPs and allies] for us to have a meeting and give him a response.



'We will continue to protest'- Ayariga



Adding, Mr Ayariga said: "We will continue to protest, we will continue to demand and he has labelled us as hooligans. Well, he will see. We have tried to be as civil as possible, as descent as possible. We've been accused of being so lamed duck in our approach, people were hailing other groups for being violent in the protest that they organised and then branding us as not being radical enough, but we insisted, [that] as responsible leaders to go through the entire process, get the necessary approval, get the necessary cooperation and during the demonstration, we did everything to hold our people in check and when we finished no mean a person than the central bank governor, will call us hooligans. He will see what hooligans do."



"I, Mahama Ayariga, I am saying that he will see what hooligans do, I don't know what my colleagues will think but when we meet we will discuss and let you know. But I'm sure that having called us hooligans, he will get a response of hooligans."

Source: Graphiconline









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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The Member of Parliament for Assin Central, Kennedy Ohene Agyapong, has clarified a misinterpretation after being heard in a viral video stating that the New Patriotic Party (NPP) was looting the country like there was no tomorrow.



The NPP flagbearer aspirant claimed in a statement released Wednesday that the words ascribed to him are a complete and unfortunate misrepresentation of sentiments he expressed at a fundraising meeting with NPP communicators in Kumasi over the weekend.



According to him, he bemoaned at the occasion that the NPP communicators were letting the party down, and that every government will have its fair share of corruption issues, especially in eight years.



Mr. Agyapong explained he told his audience that we have, sadly, allowed the ruthless opposition propaganda machinery, the mass media, and the social media to create the deadly impression that the NPP was looting as if there was no tomorrow, including allegations of stashing funds abroad.



I wish to stress the point that the offending video was culled from a private meeting with some communicators in Kumasi, Ashanti Region, over the weekend, and edited to purposefully create disaffection towards me, Ken Ohene Agyapong and to bring the Akufo-Addo government into disrepute, he asserted.



The presidential hopeful said he told the gathering not to be fooled by the lies against our government and party.



I also expressed my anger and unhappiness about the way we were allowing ourselves to be unfairly bashed in the media, especially social media, as if we were worse than the NDC, which is certainly not the case, he pointed out.



I am fully aware of the commitment shown by President Akufo-Addo, in deeds and institutional reforms, in combating the canker of corruption in Ghana and the challenges that entail, he posited.



He stated that he was still a devoted member of the NPP and hoped to lead the party in its quest to break the eight, noting that together, we face John Mahama and the NDC for the showdown on December 7, 2024.

Source: dailyguidenetwork.com









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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The number of Chick-fil-A restaurants in central Pennsylvania keeps growing.

The latest one is targeted to open on Dodson Court near Kohn Road and Progress Avenue in Susquehanna Township, said Gary Nalbandian, of RSR Realtors in Lemoyne.

It will join Arbys, FNB Bank Turkey Hill convenience store and Burger King.

Nalbandian said preliminary site work is underway and the restaurant could be open as early as spring 2024. The development off Interstate 81, he added, has room for between one and six more sites, with the possibility for coffee shops, hotels or other retailers.

Chick-fil-A has been expanding in recent years in the region and recently opened a drive-thru only restaurant at 5051 Jonestown Road in Lower Paxton Township, as well as a location at the Lower Allen Commons in Lower Allen Township.

Other restaurants are planned at the former First National Bank at 3951 Union Deposit Road in Susquehanna Township and Mills at Shepherdstown Crossing, a mixed-use development under construction at Gettysburg Pike and Route 114 in Upper Allen Township.

Chick-fil-A is the third-largest restaurant chain in the United States, behind McDonalds and Starbucks. Sales in 2021 grew by 15% to $15.8 billion, according to Technomic, a research and consulting firm.

Nalbandian said he has been working for more than a year with the chain to bring the restaurant here, calling it a good fit for the area.

Chick-fil-A is a high profile company, which draws a lot of customers, he said.

READ MORE:
Conde Nast Traveler has previously recognized places in Pennsylvania for their beauty and aesthetics.

Now a recent list crafted by the publication has included no less than five hotels in the Keystone State among the regions best.

Conde Nast Traveler took the responses of over 500,000 of their readers in order to find their 36th annual Readers Choice Awards for the best stays not only across the nation, but the world.

The publication went so far as to break votes down by location, with Pennsylvania dominating the 15 Best Hotels in the Mid-Atlantic category, all of which were in Philadelphia and three of which were in the top five.

These hotels were, without further ado: AKA Rittenhouse Square (ranked at number two); The Logan Philadelphia (number three); The Four Seasons Hotel Philadelphia (number five); The Rittenhouse Hotel (number seven); and The Warwick Hotel (number eight).

We are honored to be recognized with Conde Nast Travelers Readers Choice Award this year, says Emma Williams, General Manager of AKA Rittenhouse Square, via press release. We strive to deliver an unparalleled experience at AKA Rittenhouse Square, so this guest-voted award and recognition is a testament to the hard work of our AKA team members and our commitment to delivering the best service and experience for our guests.

Other cities the Conde Nast List focused on were New York, N.Y., Chicago, Ill., and Charleston, S.C. The greater Philadelphia region as well as New Jersey had some ample representation as well.
By MICHAEL BALSAMO, COLLEEN LONG and MEGAN JANETSKY, Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP)  The Biden administration is going to resume deporting migrants to Venezuela, two U.S. officials told The Associated Press on Thursday.

The process is expected to begin shortly, the officials said, though they did not provide specific details on when the flights would begin taking off. The officials were not authorized to publicly disclose details of the governments plan ahead of an official announcement and spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity.

The news comes not long after the administration increased protected status for Venezuelans who arrive to the U.S. It reflects the larger strategy by President Joe Biden to not only provide expanded legal pathways for people arriving, but also to crack down on those who illegally cross into the country from Mexico.

Venezuela plunged into a political, economic and humanitarian crisis over the last decade, pushing at least 7.3 million people to migrate and making food and other necessities unaffordable for those who remain.

The vast majority who fled settled in neighboring countries in Latin America, but many began coming to the United States in the last three years through the notoriously dangerous Darien Gap, a stretch of jungle in Panama.

Its the latest effort to deal with swelling numbers of migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border as the administration comes under increasing pressure from Republicans and mayors from the presidents own party to do more to slow migrant arrivals.

U.S. leaders were in Mexico this week to talk migration. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with his Mexican counterpart Alicia Barcena, as well as foreign ministers from Panama and Colombia, Wednesday. Talks were scheduled to continue Thursday, including a meeting between U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland and President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador.

Lopez Obrador said Thursday during his daily news briefing that Mexico has reiterated in talks its position that there should be investment to spur development in the countries that migrants leave.

The people dont abandon their towns because they want to, but rather out of necessity, the president said. He also criticized the Biden administrations announcement Wednesday that it waived 26 federal laws in South Texas to allow border wall construction. Lopez Obrador had previously praised Biden for not building more border wall during his presidency.

New York City Mayor Eric Adams, who is also dealing with a large influx of migrants, was traveling through Latin America to learn more about the paths migrants take to the U.S. and to spread a message about the realities of arriving in his city.

He was scheduled to meet with a nun running a migrant shelter in Mexico City Thursday morning before heading to the city of Puebla, source of many of the Mexican migrants who arrive in New York, to meet with migrants and community leaders there.

In a press conference late Wednesday night in Mexico City, Adams said he hoped to manage expectations of migrants setting out on their journeys, and to inform migrants that his city was at capacity after receiving around 120,000 migrants over the past year.

He echoed a rising number of voices in calling for a larger global response to the increasing number of migrants to the U.S.

Its not sustainable, Adams said at the base of a basilica where people often pray before setting out on their journeys. The message of this not being sustainable cannot stay within the boundaries of New York City.  There is a global migration and it must have an international response.

Blinken and other top American officials are visiting Mexico to discuss shared security issues, foremost among them trafficking of the synthetic opioid fentanyl, but also arms trafficking and increasing migration.

In August, the U.S. Border Patrol made 181,509 arrests at the Mexican border, up 37% from July but little changed from August 2022 and well below the more than 220,000 in December, according to figures released in September.

The U.S. has tried to get Mexico and countries farther south to do more. In April, the U.S., Panama and Colombia announced a campaign to slow migration through the treacherous Darien Gap dividing Colombia and Panama. But migration through the jungle has only accelerated and is expected to approach some 500,000 people this year.

Janetsky contributed from Mexico City. Associated writer Fabiola Sanchez in Mexico City contributed to this report.
The four people found dead in home in Plainsboro, New Jersey, on Wednesday afternoon in what prosecutors described as a homicide investigation were identified as a couple and their two children, authorities said.

Tej Pratap Singh, 43, Sonal Parihar, 42, their 10-year-old son and 6-year-old daughter were located in the house on Titus Lane after police were called the single-family home shortly after 4:40 p.m. for a welfare check, the Middlesex County Prosecutors Office said Thursday afternoon.

Authorities have not said how the four died.

This tragedy remains under investigation and autopsies are being performed today, the Middlesex County Prosecutors Office said in a statement.

Pratap Singh was a technology executive with a New York-based company, according to his LinkedIn profile. He also served as treasurer of the local elementary schools PTA.

Neighbors described the family as friendly and said they could often be seen walking around the quiet street.

A neighbor who asked not to be named said she had been friendly with the family for more than a decade.

The woman said her daughter usually met the 6-year-old girl at the bus stop to ride to school together every morning. Hours before the family was found, the girl didnt show up.

It was weird for me to not see her in the morning, said the neighbor. They were such a sweet family.

The neighbor said she texted Sonal Parihar later that morning, but never received a reply.

Anyone with information or surveillance footage of the area is asked to call Plainsboro police Detective Will Atkinson at 609-799-2333 or Detective Javier Morillo the Middlesex County Prosecutors Office at 732-745-8843.

More:

Central Pa. 4-year-old killed by farming equipment: reports

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By SCOTT BAUER, The Associated Press

MADISON, Wis. (AP)  A man illegally brought a handgun into the Wisconsin Capitol, demanding to see Gov. Tony Evers, and returned at night with an assault rifle after posting bail, a spokesperson for the state said Thursday.

The man, who was shirtless and had a holstered handgun, approached the governors office on the first floor of the Capitol around 2 p.m. Wednesday, state Department of Administration spokesperson Tatyana Warrick said. The man was demanding to see the governor, who was not in the building at the time, Warrick said.

A Capitol police officer sits at a desk outside of a suite of rooms that includes the governors office, conference room and offices for the attorney general.

The man was taken into custody for openly carrying a firearm in the Capitol, which is against the law, Warrick said. Weapons can be brought into the Capitol if they are concealed and the person has a valid permit. The man arrested did not have a concealed carry permit, Warrick said.

FILE - Democratic Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers speaks at Cumberland Elementary School, July 8, 2021, in Whitefish Bay, Wis. Wisconsin, Kansas, Michigan and Pennsylvania, are places with Republicans in control of state legislatures with Democratic-held governorships are on the ballot in the fall. (AP Photo/Scott Bauer, File)AP

The man was booked into the Dane County Jail but later posted bail.

He returned to the outside of the Capitol shortly before 9 p.m. with an assault-style rifle, Warrick said. The building closes to the public at 6 p.m. He again demanded to see the governor and was taken into custody.

Madison police reported Thursday that the man, who was not named, was taken into productive custody and taken to the hospital. A spokesperson for the police department did not return an email seeking additional details.

Evers spokesperson Britt Cudaback declined to comment. The governors office typically does not respond to questions about security issues.

More:

Man crashes into police station while blaring Guns N Roses, authorities say

Hunter Biden pleads not guilty to three federal gun charges filed after his plea deal collapsed
A generator explosion in the Upper Roxborough area of Philadelphia Wednesday afternoon has left six men in critical condition, according to reports.

The blast occurred around 5 p.m. at a work trailer, where authorities received a 911 call of the fire. Upon arrival at the scene, authorities learned that the explosion was caused by a generator.

Injured in the blast were six construction workers  two 22-year-olds, a 27-year-old, a 30-year-old, a 32-year-old, and a 48-year-old  who were all transported to Temple University Hospital with burns, CBS News reported.

Theyve all been listed in critical condition.

Right now, its unclear what may have caused the explosion and its still under investigation, according to reports.

The area where the explosion occurred is gated off and near the Schuylkill River so the only people caught in the blast were the construction workers, NBC10 reported.

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The U.S. Forces Korea Command and the UN Command headquarters relocate to their new multibillion-dollar headquarters in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province next week.

USFK headquarters finally moves out of the old garrison in Yongsan, Seoul it has occupied for 73 years. The two commands formally open their new offices at Camp Humphreys in Pyeongtaek on June 29.

The entire relocation of the USFK to Pyeongtaek will be finished by year's end, a USFK officer said.

The leaders of South Korea and the U.S. agreed to relocate the USFK base from Yongsan in May 2003 in what was then thought a daring bid to move them further away from the frontline with North Korea.

Relocation began in April 2017 after the two countries spent billions of dollars building the new site.

The Eighth U.S. Army headquarters moved in August last year. The Combined Forced Command will remain in Yongsan for the time being but move to a seven-story building in the South Korean Defense Ministry compound later this year.

The old garrison is to be replaced with a park. The ministry is also considering returning the 87,000 sq.m site of the Defense Media Agency and the Defense Acquisition Program Administration, which also sit in the old garrison, to the government to clear the entire site.

The Dragon Hill Hotel, which serves U.S. officers and occupies another 84,000 sq.m lot, will also probably be relocated or closed, increasing the size of the park to 2.6 million sq.m.


Upper Allen police have charged a UPMC medical assistant after they say he used his position in a doctors office to sexually assault an unsuspecting patient.

Police charged Eric Tarter, 39, of Susquehanna Township, with sexual assault and involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, both felonies, after the incident last year at UPMCs Fisher Road Family Practice, at 2140 Fisher Road.

The patient told police he provided a urine sample at his medical appointment on August 8, 2022. Then a different doctor entered the exam room and told him he had to do another test.
A mother is suing her estranged husband after one of his venomous snakes bit their son at a home in Pa. and he developed anxiety and PTSD as a result, according to a lawsuit recently filed in federal court.

The lawsuitfiled by the boys mother, Irina Maymansaid Gregory Johnson, of Monroe County, made his 8-year-old son swear on the Bible not to tell anyone about the incident at Johnsons parents house in August of 2021, according to the lawsuit.

The lawsuit follows a years-long custody battle in Monroe County between the two over the allegations pertaining to the snakebite, among other issues.

Johnson said the claims are false. He said the state police case, family court case and all Protection From Abuse orders were dismissed with prejudice after authorities investigated him.

At a custodial hearing in May, Johnson testified the last time he had snakes in his home as pets was in 2019. Johnson previously sold and bred snakes, but when he moved into his parents home in March of 2020, he did not raise snakes, he previously testified at that hearing.

The judge in f that hearing instructed the two to share 50/50 custody of the children. Mayman was also required by the court to seek therapy from a therapist experienced in treating individuals with Munchausens Syndrome by Proxy, which is a mental illness involving a caregiver making up medical issues to get attention or sympathy for themselves.

Since then, Johnson said he waived his rights to see the children.

It got too expensive in litigation fees, and I felt it was too stressing on the children, Johnson said.

According to Maymans allegations, Johnson gave his son a snake to hold in August of 2021. The snake wrapped its tail around the boys wrist and buried its fangs into the boys index finger and did not let go. The boy still has a scar from the wound, an exhibit attached to the lawsuit said.

For the next six months, the boy maintained his silence while showing signs of increased anxiety, fear, nightmares and problems in school that he never had prior to the snake bite, according to the lawsuit. Finally, he broke down and told Mayman that one of Johnsons snakes bit him, the lawsuit said.

The lawsuit said Johnson stopped the bleeding and applied antivenom to the wound.

But in an interview with PennLive, Johnson said average people do not have access to snake antivenom, and antivenoms are species-specific. Snakebites from venomous snakes, when untreated, would cause necrosis and would require a skin graft over the necrotic area of flesh, according to Johnson.

Jenna Moore, a Monroe County CYS caseworker, testified at a family court hearing in May that she interviewed the child in February of 2022, according to court documents. She said the boy at first denied being bitten by a snake, before backtracking and saying he had been bitten and was given a band-aid for the bite.

She and Victoria Lipyanic, another caseworker, both testified the couples sons were not credible and marked the case as unfounded during the family court case.

When Johnson found out his son said he was bitten by a snake, he said he took both his sons on a walkthrough of his entire house to show them there were no snakes. He also showed them a shed outside where the boys thought he was keeping snakes, and showed them there were no snakes in there, either, according to his testimony.

The lawsuit also said the boy pointed out a green snake in a catalog, which he said bit Johnson. Johnson said the photos in that catalog were taken before the boys were born of snakes he thought were cool-looking.

A pediatric psychiatrist who specializes in trauma is now treating the boy, who suffers from significant anxiety, attention issues and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, the lawsuit said.

In class, he cant focus because he thinks a snake is going to pop out in the classroom, a psychiatrist wrote in an exhibit submitted to the court.

Its been a really long haul, theres been so many twists and turns, Johnson said. When one agency finds something not credible, then another agency is run to, and now were up to another agency. I do pray some serious help is found and these troubles are dealt with the right way.

READ MORE:

Mom sues Pa. school district on behalf of transgender teen who killed herself

3 Philadelphia police officers injured in shooting: reports

Victim IDd in fatal central Pa. shooting: coroner
WEST READING, Pa. (AP)  A Pennsylvania chocolate factory was fined more than $44,000 by the federal workplace safety agency on Thursday for failing to evacuate before a natural gas explosion that killed seven people.

R.M. Palmer Co. did not heed warnings from employees about a natural gas leak, according to the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration, which issued multiple citations to the company.

Seven workers will never return home because the R.M. Palmer Co. did not evacuate the facility after being told of a suspected gas leak, OSHA Area Director Kevin T. Chambers, of the agencys Harrisburg office, said in a written statement. The company could have prevented this horrific tragedy by following required safety procedures.

Palmer denied it violated any workplace safety standards and said it would contest the OSHA citations, which the company said are legally and factually unsupported.

The powerful natural gas explosion leveled one building and heavily damaged another at the Palmer factory complex in West Reading. Investigators have previously said they are looking at a pair of gas leaks as a possible cause of or contributor to the blast.

About 70 Palmer production workers and 35 office staff were working in two adjacent buildings at the time of the March 24 blast. Employees in both buildings told federal investigators they could smell gas before the explosion.

Workers at the plant have accused Palmer of ignoring warnings of a natural gas leak, saying the plant, in a small town 60 miles (96 kilometers) northwest of Philadelphia, should have been evacuated.

READ MORE: Federal investigators demand records related to Pa. chocolate plant explosion
SUNBURY -- A Shamokin man has been sentenced to 46 to 96 years in prison for killing a woman, assaulting another one and shooting at police twice during the five-hour standoff that followed.

It is basically a life term for Jose Colon, District Attorney Tony Matulewicz said about the sentence imposed Thursday by Northumberland County Senior Judge Charles H. Saylor.

Colon, 47, had pleaded guilty in May to third-degree murder, attempted murder of a law enforcement officer and other counts.

He admitted he killed his niece, Kasandra Ortiz, 23, with a 12-gauge shotgun at Rock and Spurzheim streets in Shamokin on Feb. 26, 2018.

He then went to his apartment in the 100 block of West Sunbury Street where the standoff occurred.

He was wounded when officers returned fire after Colon fired twice from a window, hitting a police armored vehicle and a cruiser.

Angelic Ortiz and Illyanna Santiago, the victims mother and sister, respectively, told the judge about the impact the killing has had and continues to have on their families.

You didnt just take my daughter. You took my kids sister and grandkids aunt, Ortiz said fighting back tears.

Colon apologized and claimed others were involved in what police say was a drug-related killing.

Matulewicz argued for a maximum sentence while defense attorney Richard J. Fuschino told Saylor he had the opportunity to show compassion.

He pointed out Colon had accepted responsibility for this horrible thing.

Each of the 11 counts of attempted murder of a law enforcement officer from the standoff carried a 20-year mandatory minimum sentence but the judge chose to run them concurrently.

Including the credit Colon will receive for more than five years he has been jailed since his arrest, he will be nearly 90 before he is eligible for parole, Matulewicz said.

A police affidavit provides this account of the shooting:

Ortiz received a phone call from a woman and she went outside. Another woman who was visiting Ortiz heard arguing. She went outside and was hit in the head by Colon, knocking her to the ground.

She got up and ran between two houses to hide when she heard a gunshot.

Another witness claimed Colon had gotten out of a car and began punching Ortiz nonstop, knocking her down and, with a gun by his side, he then dragged her toward a large trash container.

That witness said he lost sight of them but then heard a gunshot. Ortiz was shot at close range, Shamokin Chief Raymond J. Siko II (then an officer) said.

There was testimony at Colons preliminary hearing that Ortiz had burned him in a drug deal and she was spreading rumors he had bed bugs.

Besides third-degree murder, he pleaded guilty in the homicide case to charges of aggravated and simple assault, former convict not to own a firearm, possessing an instrument of crime and two counts each of terroristic threats and reckless endangering another person.

In the other case, besides the attempted homicide on a law enforcement officer, he pleaded attempted aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer, aggravated assault, terrorist threats, recklessly endangering another person, and illegal possession of a weapon.

He was not permitted to have a weapon because of 1993 and 1996 convictions in a New York City robbery and drug cases, respectively.
U.S. Sen. Robert P. Casey Jr. is staring down the barrel of the toughest re-election hes ever faced, and hes trying to raise funds like he knows it.

The Casey campaign on Thursday announced a top-line number of $3.2 million in contributions through the just-completed third quarter reporting period, which it noted marks the second straight report in which the incumbent Democrat will post a number exceeding any single quarter from his 2018 campaign.

For some context, in the corresponding quarter six years ago, FEC filings show the Casey campaign took in $2.2 million. Caseys Senate colleague John Fetterman, who became a prodigious fundraiser through the course of his 2022 race, raised $2.7 million through the summer of 2021.

So by several measures, this is a solid start. And, for Casey, it needs to be.

Casey is seeking a fourth term in the Senate in 2024.

He is expecting a stiff challenge from Republican frontrunner David McCormick, who was narrowly defeated by Dr. Mehmet Oz in the 2022 GOP primary, a result that over the last year has generated a severe case of buyers remorse within the Pa. GOP establishment.

McCormicks campaign, which was not immediately available for comment for this report, has not yet released any fundraising numbers of its own for the 2024 cycle.

But with the full support from the states GOP donor base and the potential for high national interest in Pennsylvania as one of the states that could swing the U.S. Senate back to Republican control, its pretty apparent that hell have the resources to get his message out, too.

Which brings us back to Casey, who hasnt really been seriously threatened in his last two statewide campaigns.

According to Open Secrets, an independent clearinghouse for campaign finance information, Caseys 2018 re-election campaign fell outside the top 10 for Senate race spending in that cycle, somewhat of an oddity for a big swing state like Pennsylvania.

That likely wont be the case in a race against McCormick - who raised more than $20 million in his 2022 primary campaign alone, including more than $14 million of his own funds. And if the race stays competitive? The Fetterman v. Oz race here in 2022 had total candidate spending of $123.8 million.

So the 2024 cycle is a different world for Casey - starting with fundraising.

Caseys full filing was not made available, and doesnt have to be posted with the Federal Election Commission until Oct. 15.

But a Democratic Party source familiar with the numbers noted Caseys 2023 numbers - including $7.3 million in cash on hand - are so far running ahead of Democratic candidates in other swing states like Michigan, Wisconsin and Arizona.

The Casey campaign also touted signs of grassroots strength in the numbers, noting that 90 percent of all the summer month contributions received were under $50, and the list of contributors includes 13,500 new donors.

We are proud of the team and support we are building across Pennsylvania to re-elect Senator Casey in one of the most competitive races in the country, said Tiernan Donohue, Campaign Manager for Bob Casey for Senate.

Bob Casey has always had Pennsylvanias back on the issues that matter most to Pennsylvanians, and now theyre going to have his.
By Bret Pallotto, Centre Daily Times (State College, Pa.) (TSN)

State College leaders rallied Monday against antisemitic messages scattered through several of the boroughs neighborhoods, describing them as everything from repugnant to inhumane.

State College Mayor Ezra Nanes  the boroughs first Jewish mayor  said the messages represented an attack on all of us.

We are a community founded on inclusion, welcoming and empowering all people, Nanes said. I want to condemn these acts, and I want to encourage all people to express their needs and their feelings and not make it about other peoples identities, but about what we need as a community.

Borough Council President Jesse Barlow said he felt heartbreak for those who received the messages, as well as an outrage that is impossible for me to overstate.

The kind of hatred expressed by this literature strikes at the heart of our community and in everything that we want to be, Barlow said. I have seen this before in other places I have lived, including when I lived in Chicago and when I lived in New York City. This kind of hate has no place in State College, no place in our society. It has no place in the United States of America. Let us join together to deny this kind of hatred a future.

Residents, including a Jewish candidate for Borough Council, found the antisemitic messages Sunday outside of their homes. Each of the messages were placed inside a zip-close bag that contained rice to weigh them down.

Evan Myers, a former council president running for a new term in November, said the messages were distributed to others who are Jewish, as well as some neighbors that are not.

The attack is on Jews today. Who will they attack next? The people that do this try to use our differences as a wedge. Thats the part these haters dont get, Myers said. Our differences are what actually unite us, what makes our democracy strong. These differences let us see each other as we are and we learn from each other. We accept each other, we work together and move toward that more perfect union. That will never be defeated. Their hate will never overcome that unity.

Similar messages were found Sept. 11 in downtown State College and on Penn States campus, Myers said. Borough police are aware of about a dozen flyers that were distributed, the department wrote in a statement Tuesday.

Borough police Chief John Gardner said antisemitic messages have no place in our community. He pledged his department would do everything we can to identify those individual or individuals responsible and well prosecute them to the fullest extent of the law.

The police are here for you, Gardner said. If you get a flyer or if you feel threatened, call right away. I dont care what time of the day or night it is. We have to bring this to the forefront.

Similar messages were found in August in a small town about 70 miles west of Boston. The towns police department said it believed the messages were distributed by a neo-Nazi extremist group the Anti-Defamation League calls a loose network of individuals connected by their virulent antisemitism.

The group, the ADL wrote on its website, engages in antisemitic stunts and schemes to troll or otherwise harass Jews.

What concerns me the most about events like these are that it doesnt take a lot to normalize fringe elements of our society, council member Gopal Balachandransaid. ... As a community we all bear a responsibility to make sure that things like this do not happen and that all members of our community are welcome. Antisemitism is always the tip of the spear toward hate and then it follows with all kinds of phobias and racisms.

State Rep. Scott Conklin, D- Rush Township, wrote Monday in a Facebook post he spoke with Myers about the messages. Stopping the spread of hate, he wrote, will take everyone standing together.

We may not be able to eradicate anti-semitism and bigotry overnight, but we can speak out collectively, to let the world know that hate has no home in our community, Conklin wrote. I condemn this hatred to the fullest extent and stand in solidarity with our Jewish friends and neighbors.

State Rep. Paul Takac, D-College Township, described the messages as vile, unacceptable and unAmerican.

This is Pennsylvania  founded in freedom and tolerance  as a place where all are welcome, Takac wrote. Those who would deny those freedoms to others while hiding behind their own hatred disgrace the values that built this commonwealth.

Council member Nalini Krishnankutty encouraged people to speak against any display of hate or bias.

Its up to us to speak up against it in every place. The seeds are sown and when we dont speak up when they are, then they grow, Krishnankutty said. ... We cannot wait to stand up at the moment when the extreme actions are seen.

Added council member Divine Lipscomb: This is not new, and its not changing unless we continue to stand up. ... Theres hate that continues to happen on a daily basis and we have to continue to stand together to combat this hate.

Anyone with information about the flyers is asked to contact the State College Police Department at 814-234-7150, email the department or submit an anonymous tip through their website.

This story was originally published October 3, 2023, 12:51 PM.

(c)2023 the Centre Daily Times (State College, Pa.)

Visit the Centre Daily Times (State College, Pa.) at www.centredaily.com

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

More:

Pa. college building vandalized in antisemitic incident: reports
Was that a UFO?

Lots of residents throughout Cumberland and Dauphin counties said on social media that they saw low-flying aircraft with bright lights Wednesday night. So, is an alien invasion upon us?

Probably not, and heres why.

Dauphin County emergency dispatchers told PennLive they did not get any reports related to UFOs or flying objects. Dispatchers in Cumberland County reported low-flying military aircraft Wednesday night but got no calls about unusual flying objects.

A C-5M Super Galaxy  the United States Air Forces largest aircraft  took off from Dover Air Force Base in Delaware at 7:49 p.m. and flew northwest to the Harrisburg area, where it circled several times, before returning to the Air Force base at an undetermined time, according to RadarBox, an online flight tracker.

A FEMA disaster response truck is loaded in a giant C-5M Super Galaxy as Westover Air Reserve Base in Chicopee is hosting a week-long rapid air mobility response exercise in conjunction with 15 organizations including FEMA. (Don Treeger / The Republican) 3/16/2022

Although the C-5M that was flying over central Pa. Wednesday evening did not land in the area, Harrisburg International Airport has served as a practice runway for military aircraft in the past.

Dover Air Force Base houses the Department of Defenses largest aerial port and has approximately 11,000 Airmen, joint service members, civilians and families, according to their website.

READ MORE:

Pa. man gets tantamount to life for killing woman, shooting at cops during standoff

Pa. farmer who had 32 cattle escape still looking for the 30 that remain missing
By Aarushi Dedhiya

Another bluefish tuna is chopped up for food. Another tiger is killed for its bones to create medicines. And another elephants tusks are removed to create jewelry for humans. Not all endangered species around the world are protected, and this has caused these cruel acts to persist and the disappearance of many, once populous, species.

The United States has taken some action, but is that enough to protect these slowly diminishing species?

The Endangered Species Act (ESA) of 1973 helps create a framework to save endangered species and their habitats within the United States borders and beyond. However, the Endangered Species Act is not as beneficial as it may appear.

First, it does not allocate enough funding to the recovery initiatives. In fact, a large amount of the endangered species on the endangered species list with formulated recovery plans had received less than 90% of the funds that were required for those plans from 1980 to 2014. The lack of funding prevents action from being taken, and it limits the help that these endangered animals need to survive.

Worst of all, this act is limited to its help outside of the United States borders. Therefore, some countries known for poaching and killing endangered animals continue their pernicious actions. Many countries promote poaching and killing of animals, causing the populations of endangered species to plummet. For instance, some whale species classified as endangered are still victims of commercial whaling operations, which are legal in Iceland, Norway, and Japan.

Without a universal act or setting stricter international guidelines on saving endangered animals, there are many loopholes and detrimental actions that persist.

Cultural traditiobns play a significant role in the decreasing number of endangered animals. Some cultures condone sacrifices, an act of killing animals for supreme beings or spirits that they believe in. Some cultures see animals as the only possible way of connecting with this divinity.

There are many instances where people within an ethnic group have killed exotic animals to make special ointments or creams that can allegedly cure all types of diseases or bring good luck. For example, the horns of rhinos, an endangered species, are used to help cure fevers and lower blood pressure in China  another unsupported claim that people all over China once believed.

In addition, animals, even endangered ones, have been tortured and killed for consumer goods like clothing, purses, and accessories. Whenever I enter the mall, there are always goods or clothes on display made from animals, endangered or not. To get Australian kangaroo boots or bags made from Python leather, humans are guilty of taking the lives of endangered species for their own fashion statements.

There are many reasons why endangered animals have their title changed to extinction. However, the problems with act all tie back to one main source  humans.

And the problem is only getting worse. It has begun to expand beyond the scope of humans careless actions to the point that climate change is causing animals to be endangered.

Dont believe it? Antarcticas Emperor Penguins are becoming endangered because of the ongoing climate crisis because the sea ice continues to melt due to the excess heat from global warming. Penguins rely on the ice for survival; however, in 30 years, already 60% of the sea ice in the Antarctic Peninsula has melted. Thus, scientists have already predicted the population of emperor penguins to lower substantially along with the ice.

If we strengthen the Endangered Species Act and make it more impactful, the population of endangered species would rise. After all, it is our responsibility to help these endangered species since we are the cause of their downfall.

We must join together to make lawmakers change the Endangered Species Act so it can truly protect all of the endangered species that are vulnerable on our planet. There should be international cooperation and agreements to protect these animals. By doing nothing, we are permitting vulnerable animals to be tortured and killed.

Aarushi Dedhiya is a student at Cumberland Valley High School and a former summer intern with PennLive and The World Affairs Council of Harrisburg.
Good political news is usually in short supply. But heres some great news: all five living former Pennsylvania Governors have endorsed open primaries in this state. People who care about good government should urge their state representatives and state senators to turn this change into law  before next spring.

The Center for Public Integrity now gives Pennsylvania government a grade of F in transparency and accountability  based on the laws and systems in place to deter corruption. Compare to other states, the Center concluded that Pennsylvania ranks 45th  just five spots from the bottom of the ladder.

Theres a connection between closed primaries and corruption. In many districts, legislators need to pay attention only to those voters in their own party who take the trouble to vote in spring primaries.

Those primary voters are likely to cast their ballots based on party loyalty, indifferent to most of what goes on in Harrisburg. It doesnt matter whether the elected official is a Republican or Democrat. Or from whom he or she takes money. He or she just needs to keep happy a relatively small group party loyalists.

Maybe this letter should have begun, Heres what could become great news. Its good that five former Pennsylvania Governors all endorse open primaries. But the really good news will come only when the General Assembly and Senate enact legislation to open up our voting system.

Lets call, write, email or text our representatives, urging them to make this happen.

Fred Baldwin, MunicipalityLower Allen Township, Pa.
By Jonathan D. Salant, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (TNS)

WASHINGTON  The first poll since former hedge fund CEO David McCormick announced his candidacy for U.S. Senate gives three-term Democratic incumbent Bob Casey a lead over his Republican challenger.

Casey was ahead of McCormick, 50% to 44%, in a Quinnipiac University survey of registered Pennsylvania voters released Wednesday. Thats outside the polls margin of error of plus or minus 2.4 percentage points.

Republican David McCormick addresses supporters after announcing he will enter Pennsylvania's U.S. Senate race and make his second bid for the office, this time to take on Democratic Sen. Bob Casey, Thursday, Sept. 21, 2023, at the Heinz History Center in Pittsburgh. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)AP

McCormick lost the 2022 GOP Senate primary to celebrity doctor Mehmet Oz, who ran in a crowded field with former President Donald Trumps backing. But the state party has unified behind McCormick this time around.

David McCormick, who defied former President Trump by refusing to say the 2020 election was stolen, dusts himself off from his previous Senate bid and comes back for more in what is immediately an intensely watched and competitive race with three term incumbent Senator Bob Casey, Quinnipiac polling analyst Tim Malloy said.

U.S. Sen. Robert P. Casey addresses the invitees at the ribbon-cutting ceremony for the northern section of the Central Susquehanna Valley Thruway.

Close to half of the states voters, 48%, approved of Caseys job performance in the survey, with 31% disapproving. Gov. Josh Shapiro fared even better, with 53% approving of his performance in office and 27% disapproving.

U.S. Sen. John Fetterman, the Democrat who defeated Dr. Oz last fall, was in negative territory, with 48% disapproving and 41% approving. The poll was conducted during the controversy surrounding the Senate dress code, which called attention to Fettermans preferred wardrobe of a hoodie and shorts.

Fettermans sartorial choices did not register on a list of important issues. Pennsylvania voters said the economy was the most urgent issue (30%), followed by threats to democracy (23%) and immigration (15%). Abortion, which helped Democrats defy forecasts of a red wave in the 2022 midterm elections, was only at 4%.

Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., walks on Capitol Hill on Thursday, Sept. 21, 2023, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)AP

In the 2024 presidential race in the nations most populous battleground state, the difference between Trump and President Joe Biden was well within the margin of error, with Trump ahead, 47% to 45%, in a possible rematch of their 2020 contest.

Both candidates had similar approval ratings, too: Biden was viewed favorably by 39% and unfavorably by 57%, while Trump had 40% positive and 56% negative ratings.

Biden vs. Trump: same as it ever was, setting up another likely bare-knuckled brawl between the two candidates in Bidens home state, Malloy said.

While Trump still has to overcome a large field of candidates to win the Republican nomination, he was well ahead of the pack and improved his position compared with a similar survey in June, even after four criminal indictments.

Trump received 61% support among Pennsylvania Republicans in the survey, while Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis had 25%. In June, Trump led Mr. DeSantis, 49% to 14%. None of the other Republican candidates were in double figures in the latest poll.

The survey of 1,725 self-identified registered voters was conducted Sept. 28 to Oct. 2. A subset of 711 self-identified registered Republican voters had a margin of error of plus or minus 3.7 percentage points.
The bus was carrying foreign tourists from Venice's Piazzale Roma to the Hu campground on Tuesday evening when it fell from an elevated street next to railway tracks in the borough of Mestre, catching fire. Tourists frequently stay in boroughs across the lagoon from the canals of Venice's famous historic center to find cheaper accommodations.

The accident scene drew the attention of passersby. A couple of locals said that the overpass was more than 60 years old and that nothing similar had ever happened there, while a man wearing a biker jacket stopped his motorcycle to tie a bouquet of plastic flowers to a post.

Firefighters worked until dawn Wednesday to clear the wreckage. Later in the morning, traffic was slowly passing the spot where the bus burst through a guardrail and a rusted fence.

At least two of the dead were children, Venice prefect Michele Di Bari said, adding that many of the people involved in the accident were "young." Nine people were in critical condition, hospital officials said Wednesday morning, including a 3-year-old girl from Ukraine.

Those who died in the Tuesday night crash included at least five Ukrainians, one German citizen and the man who was driving the bus, according to the Venice prefecture.

A bus carrying dozens of people plummeted 15 meters (50 feet) from an elevated road in Venice, causing a fiery crash that killed 21 people and injured at least 15, mostly foreign tourists returning to a nearby campsite.

The injured included French, Spanish, Austrian and Croatian nationals, local officials said. The Spanish Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday that two people from Spain were injured in the accident, and both were hospitalized and in good condition.

The French Foreign Ministry confirmed on Wednesday that there was a French national among the injured. Hospital psychologists were working to help the victims deal with the trauma.

The Italian driver, Alberto Rizzotto, was killed in the crash. Venice city councilor Renato Boraso said that Rizzotto was an experienced driver, and that local prosecutors are investigating if he felt ill.

Veneto region's governor Luca Zaia said on Wednesday that the dynamic of the accident remained hard to decipher. "Everything makes one think of an illness," Zaia said. "The driver was an expert, a good person, very well referenced."

Rescuers noted that the fact that the bus was electric contributed to the massive fire and made rescue operations more difficult.

Godstime Erheneden was in his apartment near the site when he heard the crash. He rushed outside and was among the first to enter the bus. "When we went in, we saw the driver right away. He was dead. I carried a woman out on my shoulders, then a man," Erheneden told the local newspaper il Gazzettino.

"The woman was screaming, 'my daughter, my daughter,' and I went back in. I saw this girl who must have been 2 years old. I have a son who is a year and 10 months old, and they are the same size. I felt like I was holding my son in my arms. It was terrible. I don't know if she survived. I thought she was alive but when the rescuers arrived, they took her away immediately," Erheneden said.

Venice Mayor Luigi Brugnaro wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter, that the scene was "apocalyptic" and declared a state of mourning.

In 2017, 16 people on a bus carrying Hungarian students died in an accident near the northern city of Verona. And in 2013, 40 people were killed in one of Italy's worst vehicle accidents when a bus plunged off a viaduct close to the southern city of Avellino.
(Editors note: This story was updated to include the statement from Pennsylvania GOP Chairman Lawrence Tabas)

Gov. Josh Shapiro on Thursday voiced his commitment to a healthy, safe, professional work environment for employees who work for his administration as he struggles to address a sexual harassment complaint involving a former top aide.

Shapiro, in his first public remarks about the matter, declined to comment directly about the claims made against his former Secretary of Legislative Affairs Mike Vereb by a female deputy secretary who worked in the legislative affairs office.

The fact that this is a personnel matter, I cant comment on any specifics and thats really designed to be able to protect all parties involved in any matter, Shapiro said, responding to a reporters question following an appearance in Bethlehem to announce new funding for recreation and conservation projects.

Vereb resigned his post at the end of September. That was nearly six months after the woman, whose name is being withheld by PennLive due to the nature of the allegations, resigned.

According to a draft of a Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission complaint obtained by PennLive, the women said she could no longer work in an environment where she was regularly subject to lewd and sexually inappropriate comments from Vereb. She also said she was retaliated against when she complained.

Shapiro was asked to react to concerns raised by Senate President Pro Tempore Kim Ward, R-Westmoreland County, and other female Republican senators about why Vereb was permitted to stay in his position for months after the allegations against him were raised.

Consider the source when it comes from the president pro tem, said Shapiro, before defending the process his office used to investigate the claims.

Wards spokeswoman Erica Clayton Wright posted a photo of the governor at that event on social media, adding the comment, instead of taking the opportunity to be transparent and answer a question on a serious topic, he attacked the credibility of the first female Senate president.

The womans attorney, not commenting on his clients case specifically but speaking generally, also took issue with that response from the governor.

Legitimate questions or concerns expressed by elected official  of either party  about sexual harassment in the workplace shouldnt be dismissed in such a cavalier fashion. That response is beyond disappointing, said attorney Charles Pascal, chairman of the Armstrong County Democratic Committee.

Shapiro said his administration is led by two strong women referring to his Chief of Staff Dana Fritz and General Counsel Jennifer Selber. Together, he said they work daily to ensure a safe work environment for all employees.

Should anyone feel that were not meeting those standards, we have an independent robust professional process to allow people to come forward safely and have their concerns heard, Shapiro said. Thats something that Im committed to. The leaders in my administration are committed to. And that is something we adhere to in every case.

Sen. Lisa Boscola, D-Northampton/Lehigh counties, who was at the event, said she and the seven other Democratic female senators and Senat Democratic Leader Jay Costa met privately with Shapiro about the situation.

Im very confident him and his administration is handling this as best as they can, Boscola said.

Sen. Lindsey Williams, D-Allegheny County, was among the senators in that private meeting. Afterward, she told The Philadelphia Inquirer she came away with unanswered questions about the process that was followed once the woman made her allegations known. Other senators declined to comment after the hourlong meeting and some came away visibly frustrated, according to the news story.

Shapiro said, speaking generally about the harassment allegations, that as attorney general he learned you owe it to a victim to make sure that you have a confidential process, that you have a rigorous process thats grounded in integrity to ensure their voice can be heard and to ensure that appropriate outcomes are brought about. And we are committed to doing that and do it in our administration.

The Pennsylvania GOP Chairman Lawrence Tabas issued a statement on social media Thursday evening defending Ward.

When President Pro Tempore of the Pennsylvania Senate Kim Ward justifiably called out Shapiros leniency on sexual harassment allegations, he dismissed and insulted her. He continues to let members of the good old boys club off with a slap on the wrist. The PAGOP stands with Senator Ward, and we encourage her to continue to make Pennsylvania better for all people, regardless of sex. Josh Shapiro and the Democrats have shown how they really feel about womens rights and sexual harassment in the workplace.

Reporter Kurt Bresswein of LehighValleyLive.com contributed to this article.

Jan Murphy may be reached at jmurphy@pennlive.com. Follow her on X (formerly known as Twitter) at @JanMurphy.
Gov. Josh Shapiros decision to switch automatic voter registration isnt sitting well with the chairman of the Senate State Government Committee.

Sen. Cris Dush, R-Jefferson County, said he considers it to be a misuse of power over the driving public by forcing people to opt out of registering to vote when they come to a PennDOT service center to apply for or renew their drivers license.

You are using the force of government to compel one to do it, said Dush, chairman of the committee that has oversight over election administration rules.

A visit to the PennDOT Driver & Photo License Center in East Pennsboro Township on Wednesday to do a walk-through of the new automatic voter registration process did nothing to allay Dushs concerns about the automatic registration system or the governors unilateral authority to implement it three weeks ago without legislative approval.

Its still disconcerting, he said.

Shapiro announced the switch to automatic voter registration on Sept. 19. He said it would enhance accuracy and security of the states voter rolls while saving taxpayers time and money. Further, he said automatic voter registration reduces the processing burden on county election officials and streamlines the registration process.

Registering eligible commonwealth residents to vote during their visits to driver and photo license centers is commonsense action, Shapiro said in his announcement. As required by the federal motor-voter law, the states election code orders PennDOT and the Department of State to implement a system allowing for simultaneous voter and driver applications and grants it the authority to determine the format.

Dush, along with Senate staffers, were joined by PennDOT Secretary Mike Carroll and Secretary of the Commonwealth Al Schmidt, among others, as they ran through the series of screen displays a person would encounter when getting their picture taken for their drivers license, permit or photo identification card.

The wording used, the order questions appeared and prompts that moved individuals to the next screen were among a number of concerns that the senator, his committees counsel and executive director David Burnett and others raised.

For example, when asked if a person wants an organ donation designation on their drivers license or if they are U.S. citizen, they are asked to hit 1 for yes and 2 for no. But when the page appears advising you will be registered to vote unless you decline to register, the prompts are enter to register or 9 to decline.

Dush asked why the switch from 1 for yes and 2 for no.

Enter is something that is more automatic, he said. One is making a presumption of something and not offering a choice like on all the other screens and that presumption has all the force of government behind it. Its a legitimate question for anybody that why we would we have the government presuming that youre going to be registered when I came in here to get a drivers license. I would like to know the why behind it.

Schmidt agreed to provide a more detailed response but showed no inclination that a change to that screen would be forthcoming.

The secretary, however, shared the senators concern over the use of the word cancel on a screen when a person decides against proceeding with applying for or updating a voter registration.

You might think youre cancelling your voter registration record and not canceling your new or updated voter registration application, Schmidt said. So were going to take a look to see if that language can change in a way that would be clearer than it is right now.

Dush also questioned the order of a screen display where a voters is given the option of providing a phone number and then followed by a screen asking if the number was a mobile number and alerting them that providing a mobile number allows the county voter registration office or commonwealth to send them voter information texts.

Dush suggested switching those screens around so that the voter can decide whether they want to receive those texts before providing their phone number. Schmidt said a voter could visit or call the county voter registration office to have their phone number removed from the public record.

Senate State Government Committee Chairman Cris Dush (seated) gets a walk through of the automatic voter registration system by PennDOT Secretary Mike Carroll (to Dush's right) and Secretary of the Commonwealth Al Schmidt. Oct. 4, 2023 Jan Murphy | jmurphy@pennlive.com

I think people would prefer to have the ability to opt out right then and there, Dush said.

Responding to questions about the screen displays that non-citizens would see, PennDOT Deputy Secretary Kara Templeton said as with 16- and 17-year-olds applying for a license, the information that PennDOT had collected from them would not initiate the series of questions about registering to vote.

According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, Pennsylvania is the only state among the 23 others and District of Columbia that implemented the automatic voter registration process by the governors authority.

Dush said it should have gone through the states regulatory review process, if not through the General Assembly. Burnett agreed.

It would have been great if they would have done this through the Legislature and not left you scrambling to ask all these questions from constituents calling senators offices, Burnett said. Theyre asking the questions we have to ask now. It would have been great if they would have answered these questions before we implemented it. And theres no customer service number that I can find for the Department of State.

Jan Murphy may be reached at jmurphy@pennlive.com. Follow her on X (formerly known as Twitter) at @JanMurphy.

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Pa. House passes wide-ranging tax code bill

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At least now the Pennsylvania House of Representatives cant be accused of inaction for failing to pass bills to finalize a state budget that is almost 100 days past due, and to change the states primary election date.

The chamber took action on both fronts this week.

What action did they take? Thehe Democratic-controlled House passed tax code and fiscal code legislation needed to direct policy and drive out funding from the enacted $45.6 billion budget.

The Democrats, with their one-vote majority, (and with the support from 13 Republicans) also came up with a way to deliver $642 million to the state-related universities  Penn State, Pitt, Temple and Lincoln universities  that skirts the constitutionally required two-thirds vote, which despite repeated tries, the chamber has been unable to achieve.

On moving up the presidential primary date, the House on Thursday passed a bill on a 102-100 party-line vote to move it to the first Tuesday in April (its now the fourth Tuesday of that month.) In 2024, that would be April 2. The chamber soundly rejected a Senate-passed bill to move the primary to March 19 due to a slew of amendments that the House added that are opposed, for various reasons, by all 101 Republicans and all but 26 of the 102 Democrats.

What the leaders said: House Democratic and Republican leaders spoke to reporters at the conclusion of Thursdays session. Each offered their own spin on the other partys style of governing.

We worked around the obstacles [in other words, Republican resistance] in front of us with a humble 102 and found a way through. Thats what were going to keep doing, said House Majority Leader Matt Bradford, D-Montgomery County.

In the Republicans eyes, those workarounds are part of what they consider Democratic gamesmanship. House Republican Leader Bryan Cutler of Lancaster County used the Senates primary election bill as an example.

That bill was twice amended on the House floor Wednesday to include, among other changes, allowing counties to prepare sooner to count mail-in ballots, and giving Republicans their long-sought-after requirement for voters to show proof of identification every time they cast a ballot in person.

That bill was amended again on Wednesday during a late-night appropriations committee meeting to include a permanent mail-in ballot list for voters choosing that option instead of requiring an annual sign up. Republicans opposed that addition over election security concerns as well as the hour and process the Democrats used to include it.

House Republican Leader Bryan Cutler of Lancaster County (at podium) is flanked by nearly all of his caucus members in complaining about their Democratic counterparts' governance style. Oct. 5, 2023 Jan Murphy | jmurphy@pennlive.com

What their MO is and what they consistently do is simply up offer up amendments that we think we might like and then they have a habit of going back into Appropriations [committee] or going into Rules [committee] and changing the bill into something else, Cutler said, with the majority of his caucus standing beside him. So if they want to actually work on a process, they can start by following the rules and not changing what was agreed to on the floor.

Bradford said Republicans want voter ID until they see the concessions they have to accept to get it. Theyd rather demagogue elections past and present as opposed to the difficult work of governing and what it would take, he said. They voted down voter ID, theyve got to explain that to their primary electorate.

Whats next: The bills now go to the Senate for consideration. Bradford said, All we can do is send [bills] over there and ask [the Senate] to send us something back. If they want to make a counter, the ball is clearly in their court.

Neither the Senate nor the House will reconvene until Oct. 16.

Senate Majority Leader Joe Pittman, R-Indiana County, weighed on Friday about the effort to change the primary date. He said the Senates effort to select an earlier date out of respect for the Jewish observance of Passover have clearly not been successful and the window to make any change is rapidly closing given the House actions this week.

Earlier in the week, he commented on the House-passed tax code legislation, calling it intriguing that the Democratic majority recognized the states revenue surplus could be used for tax credits and not just increased spending. He further said he would be eager to see what the governor would do if that bill reached his desk.

* Staff writer Zack Hoopes contributed to this story.

Jan Murphy may be reached at jmurphy@pennlive.com. Follow her on X (formerly Twitter) at @JanMurphy.
Its early yet, but given the latest 2022-23 winter forecast you might want to get your snow boots and shovels ready.

AccuWeathers seasonal outlook released on Wednesday predicts a more average winter compared to last year, which recorded near record-low snowfall amounts.

The weather services latest long-range forecast shares predictions on snowfall, temperatures and even ski season conditions. It also hints at the possibility of a few snow-making noreasters.

AccuWeather said a strong El Nino, which happens when the Pacific Ocean is warmer than usual near the equator, is playing a significant role in the forecast. The change in water temperature affects the jet stream, and ultimately weather patterns.

The 2023-24 winter may be slightly milder than normal in the Northeast, AccuWeather says.AccuWeather

Temperatures in the northeast are expected to be mild and a few degrees above the historical average between December and February. But that doesnt mean snow wont fall.

AccuWeather is calling for average snowfall totals, and a window for conditions for noreasters in January and February, even suggesting one cant be ruled out in November.

That will be our best opportunity to see some of these big Northeast systems, said AccuWeather Lead Long-Range Meteorologist and veteran forecaster Paul Pastelok.

Last year, about 6 inches of snow fell in the Harrisburg region, which is about 17 inches below normal, according to the National Weather Service in State College. Last year, Philadelphia received a trace and Pittsburgh about 17.6 inches.

While AccuWeather didnt share snowfall estimates for Harrisburg, it is predicting Philadelphia will receive 16 to 24 inches and Pittsburgh 28 to 36 inches.

AccuWeather expects 2023-24 winter snowfall to be close to average for eastern Pennsylvania and northwestern New Jersey.AccuWeather

AccuWeathers forecast is nothing like the one predicted by the Old Farmers Almanac, which is calling for a winter wonderland with crisp temperatures and oodles of fluffy white in areas of the United States that typically see snow - including the Northeast.

Another prediction by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is calling for warmer-than-average temperatures and below-average precipitation this winter.

READ MORE:
After a series of setbacks, Kari Petersen recently returned to Petersburg from Fort Collins, Colorado, where she accomplished the long-time personal goal of becoming a licensed massage therapist.

In January of 2020 Petersen made what was, for her, a "massive investment" when she enrolled in the United States Career Institute's Massage Therapy training, a hybrid program designed for working students like Petersen, a single mother with a full-time job.

Divided into two parts, the program required 425 hours of online study before traveling to Fort Collins for an additional 200 hours of hands...
Local fishing industry representatives met with the Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADF&G) in Petersburg last week looking for a Golden King Crab compromise.

The department acknowledged frustrations voiced by the fishermen this year regarding management hindering the golden king harvest.

King and Tanner Task Force (KTTF) meetings were organized to brainstorm and come to a common understanding.

In the latest KTTF meeting held at the Petersburg Public Library on Sept. 28, the industry and the management met in-person to follow-up a meeting in May, continuing to discuss the management a...
The theme of the meeting is "For a Synodal Church: Communion, Participation, Mission." Commentators say it is likely to expose deep divisions between liberals and conservatives in the Roman Catholic Church.

No binding decisions will be made, but controversial topics are up for discussion at the closed-door meeting, held in Vatican City's Paul the Sixth Hall. They include the role of ordinary Catholics -- including women -- in decision-making processes; whether priests should be allowed to marry; and the church's teachings on divorce and LGBTQ issues.

With a solemn Mass in Saint Peter's Square Wednesday, Pope Francis formally opened a four-week meeting that gathers 365 select members with voting rights, including lay people and not just bishops. It will also see women voting for the first time.

Pope Francis has opened a synod -- or meeting of Roman Catholic bishops from all over the world -- that, this time, includes lay people and women. A number of thorny issues are on the agenda over the next few weeks -- all behind closed doors.

In his homily at Wednesday's Mass, Pope Francis said church leaders at the gathering "do not need a purely natural vision, made up of human strategies, political calculations or ideological battles."

The pope added: "We are not here to carry out a parliamentary meeting or a plan of reformation. The synod, he said, is not a parliament."

Before the start of discussions, five conservative cardinals called on Pope Francis to reaffirm the church's doctrine on same-sex couples and the ordination of women. In a letter, they presented five questions and expressed their concern that some in church leadership are no longer proposing sound doctrine but "teachings according to their own likings."

In a written response, the pontiff steered away from providing the yes-no answers the cardinals requested and observers say he appeared to be open to the possibility of blessing same-sex couples.

The 86-year-old pontiff said that "we cannot be judges who only deny, reject and exclude." He wrote, "Pastoral prudence must adequately discern whether there are forms of blessing, requested by one or more persons, that do not convey a mistaken concept of marriage."

At Wednesday's Mass, Pope Francis said the synod aims to reaffirm "a church that looks mercifully at humanity," and is "united and fraternal, that listens and dialogues; a church that blesses and encourages."

Ahead of the meeting, Vatican officials said no media would be allowed and attendees were instructed to not speak to reporters about the discussions.
-

Descripcion

We are seeking an experienced Marketing Leader to help guide the transformation of our business and position the Company for international expansion, scientific leadership, and continued innovation in the field.

He/She will report to the BU Head and work synergistically with cross-functional colleagues located in Spain, Germany, and Portugal

Client Details

International Pharmaceutical Company

Description

The main responsibilities will be to develop and implement the global marketing strategy for the business, from a medium and long-term perspective and with clear international ambition.

In addition to developing the global marketing strategy, the candidate will be responsible for the implementation of agreed-upon milestones as well constant seeking opportunities for growth and advancement of the portfolio.

The candidate should possess a strong analytical background, all him/her to base strategic recommendations on well undertaken analyses, knowledge of the business terrain, and understanding of tradeoffs.

Drive Execution of Strategy



Develop & ensure alignment with global brand strategy & initiatives across markets.



Drive execution of Global brand strategy and tactics by working collaboratively with cross functional teams to maximize current and future Business Unit value.



Develop KPIs to measure impact of global marketing activities.



Work with key markets to identify key drivers and align in priority scenarios.



Support key markets with Global marketing plans and programs.



Global Brand Leadership



Propose Global brand strategy, including optimization of brand and Business Unit positioning, and messaging.



Identify, develop, and lead key global marketing activities such as disease education, commercial advisory boards, scientific messaging, congress presence, etc.



Develop communication plans across the product life-cycle and implement multichannel strategies across the marketing mix.



Benchmark against competitors and take corrective action where appropriate.



Ensure appropriate budget allocation to drive business, ensuring the right prioritization across indications.



Drive a strong compliance culture throughout the team through role-modelling and ensure 100% adherence to all SOPs.* Investigate and challenge international and market visions.



Work close with Medical Affairs, Industrial Operations, and R&D to guarantee competitive life-cycle management.



Market Insights



Develop meaningful insights into the needs of all key customer groups.



Support consolidation, integration, and analysis of insights from customers, markets, geographies, and other relevant stakeholders/channels.



Liaise closely with business intelligence/market analytics to ensure quality of market data.



Monitor the product life cycle landscape to ensure awareness of new insights and strategies.



Cross Functional Leadership



Build project workstreams and lead operational marketing programs with high level engagement across all cross-functional project teams at Global, and market level.



Proactively ensure affiliate engagement and the sharing of best practices across the organization



Take a leading role within defined geographical region(s) to ensure we have the relevant information to investigate, support, challenge and pursue operational expansion in specified countries.



Liaise closely with business development, business intelligence/market analytics to ensure quality of projects delivered and strong cross functional delivery



Profile



Humility, honesty, and integrity.



Degree-level education, ideally in life sciences or in business studies.

education, ideally in or in business studies.

MBA or Business studies will be valued.



At least 5 years ' experience in Global Marketing Strategy positions in the Pharmaceutical, and/or Biopharmaceutical industry (Biological, Biosimilar or Immunotherapy)

' experience in positions in the Pharmaceutical, and/or Biopharmaceutical industry

Fluency in spoken and written English and Spanish , knowledge of additional languages such as German, French or Italian would be appreciated.

, knowledge of additional languages such as German, French or Italian would be appreciated.

Strong marketing experience in one of the top 5 European markets (UK, France, Germany, Spain, Italy) or in North America (US, Canada), regional or global marketing experience is a plus.



Experience in the therapeutic area will be valued.



Experience in sales will be valued.



Ability to work in matrix organizations and in multicultural teams.



Deep appreciation of patient centricity



Strong analytical skills.



Strategic and global mindset.



Project Management skills.



Cross-functional leadership skills.



Autonomy.



Focus on results.



Job Offer
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A man illegally carrying a handgun into the Wisconsin Capitol while seeking Democratic Governor Tony Evers was arrested, posted bail, and then returned with an assault rifle.

A man illegally brought a handgun into the Wisconsin Capitol, demanding to see Gov. Tony Evers, and returned at night with an assault rifle after posting bail, a spokesperson for the state said Thursday, KKTV reported.

The man, who was shirtless and had a holstered handgun, approached the governors office on the first floor of the Capitol around 2 p.m. Wednesday, state Department of Administration spokesperson Tatyana Warrick said. The man was demanding to see the governor, who was not in the building at the time, Warrick said.

In case youre wondering why it was illegal for this shirtless man to carry a handgun in the Capitol, it is apparently legal to conceal carry in the Capitol, but not to carry outright. (A pause while readers digest just exactly what this law invites.)

This threat brings to mind the recent attacks and near-misses of attempts of violence on Democrats, including the brutal hammer attack of then-Speaker Nancy Pelosis husband by a man who radicalized by right wing lies and conspiracies, the Utah man who threatened to assassinate President Joe Biden and ended up being shot by the FBI, the armed man arrested outside of what he thought was former President Barack Obamas home, and the men who plotted to kidnap Michigans Democratic Governor Gretchen Whitmer during the pandemic.

Six days before the shooting of the man planning to kill the President of the United States, a Texas man was sentenced to prison for threatening to kill Arizona election workers and Four days before that, prosecutors charged a 56-year-old Michigan woman for lying to buy guns for her mentally ill adult son, who threatened to use them against Biden and that states Democratic governor.

Seeing a theme here?

Sadly, those threats against Whitmer didnt end when three men were convicted of attempting to kidnap the Democratic Governor last October. State Assistant Attorney General Bill Rollstin told jurors according to NPR, and you begin to see  wow  there were things that happened that people knew about.  When you see how close Adam Fox got to the governor, you can see how a very bad event was thwarted.

But in March of 2023, a Michigan man made threats of violence against President Joe Biden, Gov. Whitmer, law enforcement and the LGBTQ community that rose to the level of concern to be investigated by the FBI.

The FBI received an online tip earlier this week from Google about an unknown subject making threatening comments on Youtube against law enforcement, members of the LGBTQ community and government officials, ABC reported.

And who can forget the deadly attack on our political system itself on January 6th, 2021, when Trump incited his supporters to attack the U.S. Capitol to try to stop the certification of the election he had lost.

Before that, in 2011 U.S. Representative Gabby Giffords and 18 others were shot as she held a constituent meeting in an outdoor parking lot, with a judge and five others dying as a result. Giffords was shot so severely she eventually had to retire. This shooting happened after Republican Tea Party queen and former Governor and Vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palin, whose mantra was, Dont retreat, reload had put gun sights on Giffords district in campaign literature over Giffords support for affordable healthcare. The media defended Palin in the aftermath, claiming she wasnt to blame. Yet, there was no shame after this, let alone a dampening down of rhetoric.

Palin walked so Trump could run, and both were assisted by the systemic corruption of the political media by bothsiderism.

Most of the these threats are against Democrats. But six years ago, there was the 2017 shooting of Republican Steve Scalise by a man who wanted to get rid of Republicans. Last year, a man who called 911 to report on himself while armed outside Justice Brett Kavanaughs home around the overturn of Roe v Wade, which stole the right of women and girls to live. I mention that not because Im suggesting violence is ever the answer  it is not  but because anger over lies about an election and petulant anger over a global shutdown during a pandemic shouldnt be conflated over anger over a real loss of freedom that will kill people.

Again, violence is never justified, but in the telling of this history, its also important to note that the violent anger of an unstable individual incited by the political threat to a fundamental human right is not the same as a party leader consistently and relentlessly manipulating mentally unstable people to commit violence based on known, debunked lies. Neither is okay. But they are also not the same thing. And that matters, because as long as they are conflated, we will never be able to mitigate the danger.

No party leader or president or elected members to the U.S. Congress should be inciting stochastic terrorism around the country. We have yet to deal with this factor, and it shows. Its bad enough that unstable people will be triggered by political events and can easily arm themselves with our lax gun laws. We dont need political leaders tossing gasoline on that fire.

Back in 2020, Elizabeth Neumann in the Washington Post pointed out that then President Trumps rhetoric encouraged violence: The threats against Democratic governors prove Trumps rhetoric encourages violence:

Rather than bring us together, the president did the exact opposite. In April, he tweeted, LIBERATE MINNESOTA! and LIBERATE MICHIGAN! and LIBERATE VIRGINIA, and save your great 2nd Amendment. It is under siege!

Those words are in keeping with Trumps slow repudiation of former KKK leader David Duke in 2016, his description of very fine people on both sides in Charlottesville in 2017 and his invitation to the Proud Boys to stand back and stand by at last months presidential debate.

Language from campaign materials and Trumps extemporaneous speeches at rallies have been used as justification for acts of violence.

One piece of this that the media misses is that by the time people are taking aim at public officials, people in towns across the U.S. have already been terrorized and silenced by political fear and threats. And then there are the mass shootings all too often triggered by extremist political rhetoric that is not denounced.

Its not going to stop until the media starts holding the party leader and enablers responsible for their rhetoric. That is unlikely to happen any time soon, as just yesterday the media was blaming Democrats for not saving McCarthy from Republicans dysfunction. If they cant hold Republicans responsible for their own House rules, they are nowhere near capable of holding Republicans accountable for their menacing political rhetoric.
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Special Counsel Jack Smith has evidence that Trump discussed sensitive information about U.S. nuclear subs with a foreign national who then shared the info with dozens of other people.

ABC News reported:

Months after leaving the White House, former President Donald Trump allegedly discussed potentially sensitive information about U.S. nuclear submarines with a member of his Mar-a-Lago Club  an Australian billionaire who then allegedly shared the information with scores of others, including more than a dozen foreign officials, several of his own employees, and a handful of journalists, according to sources familiar with the matter.



According to Pratts account, as described by the sources, Pratt told Trump he believed Australia should start buying its submarines from the United States, to which an excited Trump  leaning toward Pratt as if to be discreet  then told Pratt two pieces of information about U.S. submarines: the supposed exact number of nuclear warheads they routinely carry, and exactly how close they supposedly can get to a Russian submarine without being detected.

In emails and conversations after meeting with Trump, Pratt described Trumps remarks to at least 45 others, including six journalists, 11 of his companys employees, 10 Australian officials, and three former Australian prime ministers, the sources told ABC News.

Trump Endangered The Security Of U.S. Military Personnel

The sort of national security information that Trump leaked is the kind of thing that gets U.S. men and women in uniform killed. Since the secret was shared with so many people, it should be assumed that the Russians and the Chinese also know it.

It is becoming difficult to look at Trumps behavior with the nations secrets and not see treason. Sharing sensitive information about U.S. nuclear sub detection and evasion capabilities with those who are hostile to America sounds a lot like providing aid and comfort to the enemy.

The nuclear sub story is just one in what are likely to be many.

Intelligence experts were worried about Trump sharing national security information with guests at his club while he was president. Mar-a-Lago became a hangout for foreign nationals and possible spies once Trump reached the White House.

Donald Trump damaged national security. The man who potentially could get Americans killed deserves nothing less than punishment to the fullest extent allowed under the law.
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The Biden administration has resumed repatriation of migrants from Venezuela who have not availed themselves of the legal pathways to stay in the U.S., starting on Thursday.

The United States announced today the resumption of the removal of migrants to Venezuela who are in the U.S. unlawfully. Venezuelan nationals who cross our border unlawfully, are processed and are found to not have a legal basis to remain will be quickly removed back to Venezuela, a senior administration official said in a call with reporters in which PoliticusUSA participated.

This decision followed a decision from the authorities of Venezuela to accept back their nationals. The first repatriation flight back to Venezuela will operate in the next few days.

This again shows how we are committed to imposing consequences on those who cross the border unlawfully and its a direct consequence of these individuals not having availed themselves of the lawful pathways that we have created and expanded, which includes the humanitarian parole process for Venezuelan nationals and their family members. That has already allowed more than 73,000 Venezuelans to enter to be screened and vetted for advanced Travel Authorization and more than 66,000 have actually arrived in the United States, a senior administration official said.

More than 7.7 million have fled Venezuela due to the repression of President Nicolas Maduros government, human rights abuses and economic catastrophe. In the fiscal year of 2022, the National Immigration Forum reported U.S. authorities encountered almost 188,000 Venezuelans at the border, an increase of 73% from FY 2021.

The UN Refugee Agency reports, While host communities and countries in the region are committed to helping Venezuelans and have been generously welcoming them, they are increasingly overstretched. Several countries are implementing large-scale regularization processes to ensure refugees and migrants are documented and have access to rights and services. However, these efforts and gestures of solidarity require financial support to succeed and ensure no one is left behind.

Officials say this move is consistent with the Los Angeles Declaration. The U.S. is one of 21 countries that signed the declaration on migration that prioritizes stability and assistance for communities, the expansion of legal pathways, humane migration management and coordinated emergency response.

Todays announcement is a key part of our continuing efforts to strengthen the consequences that are in place at the border for migrants who cross unlawfully, even as we have continued to oversee the largest expansion of lawful pathways to the United States in decades, a senior administration told us.

Concerns about human rights abuses in Venezuela remain, however, given that the situation there has not improved. Most refugees and migrants from Venezuela arriving in neighbouring countries are families with children, pregnant women, elderly people, and people with disabilities, UNHCR reported.

President Biden said earlier on Thursday that he didnt think border walls were effective, even as the administration waived 26 federal laws in the Rio Grande Valley of South Texas to build border barriers, according to a DHS announcement overnight.

The money was appropriated for the border wall. I tried to get to them to reappropriate it, to redirect that money. They didnt. They wouldnt. And in the meantime, theres nothing under the law other than they have to use the money for what it was appropriated. I cant stop that, President Biden said in the Oval Office earlier on Thursday.

Barriers in locations like the Rio Grande Valley have to be built outside of the floodplain and north of the international boundary, and thus arent effective because it doesnt prevent people from entering the country, according to Biden senior administration officials. But critics ask why the Biden administration waived the Environmental and Historical Preservation laws that will allow the border wall construction if they dont believe it is effective.

It is unclear at this time how many flights will be necessary in order to keep up with the influx of migrants due to the crises in Venezuela. While the Biden administration is dealing with a large surge in migration including 73% surge from Venezuela just off the 22 numbers, concerns about the protection of human rights need to be balanced, given that both the economic and political situation in Venezuela remain dire.
Aiken Standard reporter

Bianca Moorman is a public safety and courts reporter for the Aiken Standard, with the occasional coverage of other community news and features.

She can be reached at @biancarmooman or bmoorman@aikenstandard.com.

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Donald C. Cheeks built his career in the machine tool industry, from being a machinist to operations manager to owning and leading the Southeastern Tool Company. Read moreLocal family creates endowment with Aiken Technical College Foundation to benefit future machinists
With Western economic sanctions reducing demand for Russian crude oil and China willing to purchase it, Moscow is opening its Arctic door for Beijing, said Malte Humpert, founder of the Arctic Institute. "Resources that previously flowed to Europe have now been diverted to Asia, especially China," he told VOA.

This year there have been roughly a dozen shipments of Russian oil using Russian vessels to China via the NSR, which follows Russia's coast from the Barents Sea to the Bering Strait. In prior years there were no oil deliveries via the Arctic to China except one trial voyage in late 2022, according to data from Nord University's Center for High North Logistics.

"Nobody's looking for conflict up there. We'll watch this as closely as we can," John Kirby, National Security Council coordinator for strategic communications, said Tuesday in response to VOA's question during a White House news briefing.

The U.S. is closely watching a recent surge of Russian crude oil shipments to Chinese ports through the Northern Sea Route (NSR), a sign of increased cooperation between Beijing and Moscow in the Arctic region as Russia faces crippling Western sanctions over its invasion of Ukraine.

It's a pragmatic choice for Moscow. Shipping via the NSR is 30 percent faster than the traditional route through the Suez Canal and increasingly easier to traverse as climate change means less ice to navigate.

The increased traffic carries a higher environmental risk, particularly as Moscow announced it will begin using non-ice class tankers -- ships with hulls that are not strengthened against ice -- to ship oil across the Arctic.

"If there was a spill in Russia's Eastern Arctic, the water circulates towards the U.S.," Rebecca Pincus, director of the Polar Institute at the Wilson Center, told VOA. "Oil will float across international boundaries, and it is just a very alarming situation."

Compared with 2022 averages, China's oil imports from Russia increased by 23 percent, to 400,000 barrels per day this year.

Kirby urged Beijing to abide by the $60/barrel price cap on Russian oil imposed by Western allies following Russia's invasion. However, trading data shows that Russian crude oil is currently selling at roughly $80 per barrel, prompting U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen to acknowledge last week that the effectiveness of the price cap may be fading.

 China-Russia Ties

As Western energy companies, including Shell and British Petroleum, pulled out of Russia over the invasion last year, Moscow is increasingly depending on Beijing as a source of financing for energy projects, such as the Yamal LNG Terminal and other infrastructure plans to develop the Arctic region.

For China -- which has no Arctic coastline but in 2018 declared itself a "near-Arctic" power -- investing in Russian projects could smooth the way for its goal to expand its Arctic role, increase access to shipping routes and natural resources and bolster its geopolitical clout.

So far, China's ambitions have been thwarted by Moscow, whose coastline accounts for 53 percent of the Arctic Ocean coastline and which is protective of its dominant role in the polar region. Faced with economic isolation over its invasion, however, Russia's days of resisting may be coming to an end.

"We are watching to see if Moscow is so desperate that they are willing to meet Chinese demands and terms," Pincus said.

NSC's Kirby dismissed concerns of an increasing strategic alliance between Moscow and Beijing, saying that the cooperation between the two in the Arctic has been largely "economic and scientific."

He suggested that the administration is not aiming to curb Russia's power in its own territory. "We want to see a free and open prosperous Arctic region that all nations that border the Arctic can benefit from."

Eight countries border the Arctic: the U.S., Russia, Canada, Denmark (via Greenland), Iceland, Norway, Sweden and Finland. They all belong to the Arctic Council, a cooperation forum to address common challenges such as climate change, shipping routes and Indigenous people's rights.

The council suspended activities with Moscow shortly after its invasion of Ukraine. Morten Hglund, chair of the Senior Arctic Officials, told VOA that the group reached consensus in August that they wish to restart working groups, the first step in resumption of cooperation.
Aiken Standard reporter

Taylor Beltz is a general assignments reporter for the Aiken Standard. She covers a variety of topics from business to sports.

Beltz is a University of South Carolina graduate. Follow her on Twitter @TaylorKaye09.

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The site of a century-plus-old institution on the Charleston peninsula is now under new ownership.

Nine months after Fielding Home for Funerals announced the less-than-acre property at Logan and Magazine streets was on the market, the site changed hands Oct. 4.

Nearby Charleston Day School paid slightly more than $10 million for the property, according to county land records.

The not-so-secret transaction was finalized about five months after the city Planning Commission took up a request to allow school use of the property. Charleston Day also had purchased a house at 7 Magazine St. adjacent to the funeral home last October for $800,000.

A representative of Charleston Day said the school's future on the peninsula is now secure.

"This acquisition answers the location question for Charleston Day School once and for all, providing the footprint the school needs to accommodate the schools facility needs and aspirations for the future," a spokesperson said in a statement. "After 85 years as a downtown school, this exciting opportunity secures the future of our historic K-8 institution as an integral part of the vibrant Charleston community."

More definite plans for the site will be outlined in the future, according to a school spokesperson.

Gerry Schauer of the commercial real estate firm Avison Young, which handled the listing in conjunction with residential agency Lois Lane Properties, also said the acquisition will help with the private school's future plans.
One of the Charleston area's largest technology companies will pay nearly $50 million to settle a national probe into a 2020 data breach.

Daniel Island-based Blackbaud Inc. announced the agreement with 49 states, including South Carolina, and District of Columbia on Oct. 5.

"At Blackbaud, protecting customers' and their constituents' privacy has always been, and will continue to be, one of our most important priorities," CEO Mike Gianoni said in written statement. "Cyberattacks are always evolving, so we are continually strengthening our cybersecurity and compliance programs to ensure our resilience in an ever-changing threat landscape."

Blackbaud plans to make the payments totaling $49.5 million this month. South Carolina will receive $730,449, according to a statement from Attorney General Alan Wilson's office.

In addition, Blackbaud has agreed to comply with applicable laws, not to make misleading statements related to its data-protection requirements and improve certain cybersecurity programs.

The publicly traded company said the settlement payment does not affect its previous financial guidance for 2023. Blackbaud's stock fell less than 1 percent Thursday to close at $69.18.

The company is one of the worlds largest providers of software and analytical services designed to help philanthropic organizations, from private schools to large charities, raise money from donors.

The company traced the start of the hack to Feb. 7, 2020. The cyberattack went undetected for more than three months.

During that period, the thief, who hasn't been caught, gained access to sensitive information about donors, potential donors and other individuals with ties to the affected philanthropies.

Blackbaud paid an undisclosed ransom in exchange for assurances that the data would be deleted. It said in April that it doesn't believe any of the stolen information "went beyond the cybercriminal, has been misused or has been disseminated or otherwise made available publicly."
Volvo Cars is providing additional benefits, including a four-figure child-care stipend, to help the automaker find the 1,300 workers it needs to help build two new electric-powered sport utility vehicles at its Berkeley County plant.

The Swedish car manufacturer said it will give hourly employees with children up to $3,000 a year to attract a broader pool of applicants and diversify its labor force.

Child-care costs can be prohibitively high, the carmaker said this week in announcing the new addition to its benefits package ahead of an Oct. 6 daylong hiring event at Trident Technical College in North Charleston.

Workers with children can spend up to 30 percent of their income on child care, Volvo said Oct. 4.

The automaker employs about 1,500 workers at its $1.2 billion Ridgeville campus, which has produced the S60 luxury sedan since 2018.

We are ramping up for the EX90 and production of the Polestar 3, a company spokeswoman said Thursday.

The automaker is looking to add the 1,300 employees to its payroll to fill mostly manufacturing jobs to support the two new SUV models that will make their market debuts in 2024.

The EX90 is a Volvo-branded nameplate. The 3 SUV will be made and sold by Polestar Automotive Holdings, which Volvo partly owns.

On top of expanding the existing workforce, we are preparing for a second shift to support the volume of new vehicles, the spokeswoman said.

But child care issues, including cost and availability, have already been identified by current Volvo workers in Ridgeville as a barrier to employment.

We know there is a huge demand for people, and a lot of people we need can go to all different companies, the company spokeswoman said.

In addition to the money, the company also is working with Tootris, an online platform employees can use to search for and vet child-care providers.
COLUMBIA  Roaches scurried across the kitchen floor. The health inspector took note. An employee cracked an egg, then handled a clean plate without washing up. Condensation from the walk-in cooler dripped into a tub of raw chicken.

The May health inspection wasnt the first time the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control dinged Flaming Grill Supreme Buffet in Lexington County for food-safety issues. The restaurant ran into problems with the health department at least two dozen times before.

The restaurant, whose owner declined to comment to The Post and Courier, has racked up $12,500 in fines since 2017. Still, seven days a week, for lunch and dinner, customers continue to scoop food from its hot bar.

The only indication of the restaurants extensive history of health code violations is on the window decal, beside its passing health inspection grade. Anyone who scans the QR code next to the letter grade can read previous inspection reports detailing instances of black grime buildup in the ice machine, open containers of food sitting under cobwebbed shelves and expired food.

But the letter grade doesnt tell the whole story.

While a B or C might be on the door following a poor inspection, each time a South Carolina restaurant corrects issues from failed inspections, sometimes within days of the failed one, the new passing grade is immediately posted, replacing the old one.

Customers dont see that at least 250 eateries across South Carolina have been fined repeatedly by the states environmental enforcement division for health inspection violations over roughly the last decade. Infractions can stem from any violation, such as bugs crawling around food-prep areas or food sitting at unsafe temperatures for too long.
The new space in northeast Columbia will replace and be built next to the existing facility on Parklane Road, near the Gable Hill Apartment Homes and several other state government offices. Read moreDHEC moving forward on $115 million laboratory to replace existing, aging building
NORTH CHARLESTON  The last time President Keith Faulkner attended a chapel in the Lightsey Chapel at Charleston Southern University, he was an undergraduate student. Nearly 25 years later, he stood on the stage leading his first President's Chapel, an annual tradition at the Christian university.

"It's pretty powerful to come back here, to come home," said Faulkner on Oct. 4 to the audience of students, faculty and supporters of the university.

In his first week as president, Faulkner promised to adhere to four pillars of leadership: listen, care, cast vision and lead.

As the university's fourth president, Faulkner first plans to learn about the community instead of coming in with a list of ideas he wants to change.

He said former university presidents  Dondi Costin, who worked for Charleston Southern for five years before being selected as president of his alma mater Liberty University, and Jairy Hunter, who served for 34 years  laid the foundation for where the university is today.

Higher education is often transactional, not transformational, said Faulkner. He wants students and faculty to know they are a desired part of the community, not a number in the system, especially in regards to mental health challenges.

"Finding those areas of engagement, so we can get a better feel for the things that our students are struggling with and also celebrate their many accomplishments," said Faulkner.

When it comes to casting vision and leading, Faulkner said excellence is the goal. He wants Charleston Southern to be a first-choice university for potential students, which means identifying areas that need improvement and being willing to make those changes. The university is one of the largest private universities in South Carolina and affiliated with the Southern Baptist Church.
Charleston County Superintendent Eric Gallien filed a lawsuit against the school district for breach of contract Oct. 5, claiming the board "seriously interfered" with his ability to operate and manage the district.

The legal challenge comes almost two weeks after the board placed Gallien on paid leave as a complaint against him is investigated.

The suit makes a variety of charges, including that the board violated his employment contract and contradicted board policies.

The complaint additionally states that "if and when" Gallien returns to work, a controversy will still exist between him and the five board members who voted to put him on suspension.

The lawsuit notes that the faction was endorsed by the conservative parents' rights group Moms for Liberty.

The suit notes that these board members can, at any time, terminate Gallien or place him on leave if he tried to make personnel decisions or exercise his authority as superintendent to operate or manage the school district.

"CCSD has ignored its policies and attempted repeatedly to usurp the authority of Dr. Gallien in order to control personnel and function as the de facto superintendent of the district," the lawsuit said.

Gallien was hired from the Racine, Wis., school district. He started his job in Charleston County on July 1.

Andrew Pruitt, a CCSD spokesman, said the district is reviewing the lawsuit and doesnt have a comment at this time.

However, we do want our community to know school and district staff will not be distracted from our commitment to providing life-changing educational opportunities for every student in our classrooms," he said. We are thankful for the support we have received from parents, guardians, and community members as we focus on student outcomes.
A pitched political battle has played out in recent months over whether the northern long-eared bat deserved "endangered" status. Behind closed doors during that time, the federal agency charged with protecting the tiny, winged mammal paused the clearcutting of 4,000 acres of its habitat in the Charleston area  showing that the Endangered Species Act still has teeth.

Emails reviewed by The Post and Courier indicate that, on April 17, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service requested that the clearing of undeveloped land on the Cainhoy peninsula cease until the agency and the Army Corps of Engineers can learn more about the presence of the endangered bat. The request halted tree removal that is part of the massive, ongoing construction of 18,000 homes and commercial units in a city-size development known as "Point Hope."

Construction can continue in two sections of the property totaling 320 acres where trees have already been removed. But those activities must stop when the bats feed just after dawn and just before dusk, the emails show.

The Southern Environmental Law Center obtained government emails and documents through a public records request. The communications reference the construction delay on Cainhoy, which is about 20 miles northeast of downtown Charleston. That action had not previously been reported. The website for the Point Hope development makes no mention of it.

The "consultation" between the two federal agencies is legally required by the Endangered Species Act. The requirement was triggered on March 31 when the northern long-eared bat was placed on the endangered species list.

In recent years, the S.C. Department of Natural Resources detected calls of the bat in the Francis Marion National Forest, which is next to the Cainhoy property. The bat's presence in the national forest suggests that it also likely roosts, or perhaps forages, on the property undergoing development.
The street in front of the U.S. military base of Camp Casey in Dongducheon, Gyeonggi Province is nearly empty now the 2nd U.S. Infantry Division headquarters has relocated south to Camp Humphreys in Pyeongtaek.

Last week seven or eight out of every 10 shop fronts on the street were closed even at lunchtime, and only four U.S. soldiers could be spotted during their lunch break. They went back to their camp with hamburgers and coffee.

"I have only a few customers who schedule their appointments now," the owner of a beauty parlor near the camp said. "It's like a ghost town here."

At one time nearly 20,000 U.S. military personnel were stationed here. But most of them were relocated to their new headquarters in Pyeongtaek in 2018 and only 3,000 troops of the 210th Field Artillery Brigade remain.
As North Atlantic right whales begin their annual migration toward South Carolina's waters, a Palmetto State senator is leaning into his opposition to proposed vessel restrictions meant to protect the critically endangered animals.

"To mandate 10 knots (of speed) is going to put the lives of these men and women (pilots) at risk to no benefit of the whale," Sen. Lindsey Graham said Oct. 5 while touring the docks and facility of the Charleston Branch Pilots Association. The facility sits on Charleston Harbor overlooking the city's iconic Arthur Ravenel Jr. bridge.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration announced in July 2022 a potential rule change that would expand current seasonal speed restrictions to all vessels that are at least 35 feet in length. The agency is also considering the expansion in size of existing "slow zones." Ship collisions are among the most dire threats to the survival of the whale, according to agency scientists.

For more than a decade, speed restrictions have been in place for large boats operating anywhere along the South Carolina coast around calving season. Boats over 65 feet in length must slow to about 12 mph or less from Nov. 1 to April 30. Last year, NOAA proposed to expand the restrictions to smaller boats, those between 35 and 65 feet in length. NOAA contends that applying restrictions to boats this size could eliminate 90 percent of vessel strikes.

Small boats in South Carolina and Florida have struck right whales in recent years, including a 2021 strike in Florida that killed a calf. Both of South Carolinas U.S. senators, Graham and Tim Scott, spoke out last year against NOAAs proposal for expanded restrictions. They cited economic and efficiency costs to the states maritime economies.
SAVANNAH  Wearing a top hat and suspenders under a gold trellis of black roses, a tour guide spews spooky stories of a pirate house, forgotten tunnel system and haunted chandlery aboard a trolley as it navigates the cobblestones along River Street.

A lonely lantern on the sidewalk flickers from light to dark, the electric current pulsating and buzzing in the night like an eerie omen as we descend into the neighborhoods of the historic district.

Deadly tales unfold as sites whir by, starting with the untimely lives the Savannah River has claimed. A figure in Room 406 at the Olde Harbour Inn startles us from the street; and then there's the tragic tale of Anna and the 17Hundred90 Tavern.

At the Andrew Low House, we pause and proceed on foot through the manor, encouraged to take photos that might catch orbs in the dining room and upstairs doll room, where porcelain twins with hollow eyes stare blankly at us from the corner rocking chair.

Gullah lore works its way into our Ghosts & Gravestones Tour, as the legendary boo hag emerges, later to appear again during our theatrical Savannah Underground experience, which merges a macabre history with an interactive haunted house-themed storyline.

Charleston's sister city  two hours and a state line away  shares a familiar history and a number of ghost stories. But those aren't the only similarities.

Sister cities

Autumn in Savannah has a chill in the air, more evident at nighttime. By daylight, both its parallels with and perpendiculars to Charleston are revealed along a corridor of moss-draped oaks swaying in the breeze by Forsyth Park.

Similar is the landscape, the old architecture of homes, the many museums, the downtown market, the waterfront and seafood culture, the craft cocktail prowess, the horse-drawn carriages. And the history  of slavery, of a fire that destroyed nearly all the city, of deadly yellow fever epidemics.
Three projects in, Greenville County Council has made clear that a development meeting the criteria of the property tax incentive policy is not a guarantee it will face a smooth approval process. Read moreA year in, limits of Greenville County affordable housing policy being put to the test
Roughly 40% of households in our tri-county area live on the verge of financial instability, struggling to cover their basic needs as the cost of living continues to outpace earnings. That's almost 128,000 households. Read moreCommentary: SC households work hard but never get ahead. We aim to change that.
U.S. Rep. Nancy Mace is not backing down after her vote led to the extraordinary removal of Kevin McCarthy as House speaker, striking a defiant tone and putting the blame squarely on McCarthy.

"I was very public about what promises I was made legislatively and what those timelines were," Mace said in a press call with South Carolina reporters Oct. 4.

"And to date, none of those things have happened," Mace said, adding that in her assessment, McCarthy's undoing was of his own making that included misleading other House members.

Mace also said she had no regrets in using her support for removing McCarthy in a fundraising email blast that went out shortly after the vote.

"I didn't hit the send button until the threats started coming in, whether it was from fellow members of Congress or outside groups," she said. "I'm not going to be bullied, and I'm going to do the right thing no matter what. And that's what pushed us to the brink last night. I was done with it."

The Isle of Palms Republican shared her thinking during a wide-ranging call with South Carolina reporters, where she confirmed she has met with Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan, and has plans to meet with House Majority Leader Steve Scalise of Louisiana, about who should take over.

Both have jumped into the race to become the next speaker.

"All I want is someone who's going to keep their word to the American people and to us," Mace said.
Koreans' total spending on medical services exceeded W100 trillion for the first time last year (US$1=W1,364).

The medical costs of elderly people took up 43 percent and will rise further as baby boomers born in 1958 reach the age of 65.

According to the National Health Insurance Service on Wednesday, overall medical expenses paid to hospital and pharmacies by the service or patients themselves stood at W102.43 trillion in 2022, up 9.5 percent from the previous year.

They ballooned as a result of the COVID pandemic, which also increased costs to keep the rest of the medical system functioning. Some W5.72 trillion was spent on things like COVID vaccines, tests and treatments last year, up from W4.42 trillion the previous year.

Some W44.12 trillion was spent on the 8.75 elderly Koreans, up 8.6 percent and taking up a whopping 43.1 percent of the total although they only make up 17 percent of insurance beneficiaries. That boiled down to W430,000 a month per elderly person, about 2.6 times the overall average of W166,073.

Elderly people visited hospitals or were hospitalized for 3.75 days on average per month, about two more days than the overall population.

According to Statistics Korea, the number of the over-65s stands at some 9.49 million this year. Korea is on course to become a super-aged society in 2025, with more than 20 percent of the population over 65.

Experts warn that the financial soundness of the NHIS will be seriously threatened once the elderly population exceeds 10 million or one in every five people.

In Japan, where the elderly take up about 29 percent of the population, the government has now decided to make wealthy people over 75 pay higher medical insurance fees.
China Energy Summit & Exhibition Commenced in Beijing, China Accelerating Asia's Energy Transition with LNG, Gas, Hydrogen & Ammonia

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BEIJING, Oct 5, 2023 - (ACN Newswire) - The opening ceremony of the China Energy Summit & Exhibition was held on the morning of September 20, 2023, at the China World Hotel in Beijing. The summit and exhibition was hosted until the 21st September 2023 and brought together hundreds of industry leaders, policymakers, industry experts, and innovators to collectively explore the relevant opportunities and challenges facing the energy industry in China, Asia, and globally.At the opening ceremony, Marcus Magee, Vice President of dmg events, delivered a welcome speech. He emphasised that the energy sector is currently undergoing a revolutionary transformation, and it is imperative for all parties to collaborate in addressing carbon reduction and promoting a new energy landscape. He also expressed his hope that this event would provide a fresh platform for the energy industry to facilitate practical and progressive energy transformation.Following, Zheng Jun, Vice President of PetroChina International, shared his insights on the green development transformation strategy. He emphasised the global issues such as energy security, climate change, and the low-carbon economy that are driving the energy industry to accelerate its transition to green energy. PetroChina places a high priority on low-carbon transformation and has formulated an overall plan consisting of three stages: clean substitution, energy continuity, and green transformation. He also highlighted that as a developing country, China is highly sensitive to energy costs, and high energy costs are not conducive to China's economic development."PetroChina is well aware of this responsibility, and we are committed to promoting decarbonisation, energy diversification, and ensuring the supply of affordable energy. We are determined to lead in sustainable development," said Zheng Jun, Vice President of PetroChina International. Additionally, he mentioned PetroChina's efforts in low-carbon energy sources such as natural gas and biofuels and emphasised the core importance of ensuring energy supply security.Luo Daqing, Vice President of the Sinopec Economics & Development Research Institute (EDRI), provided a detailed overview of the vital role of green hydrogen in sustainable energy transformation at the opening ceremony. He emphasised that energy transformation is imperative, and green hydrogen plays a crucial role in areas such as non-fossil energy substitution, energy storage, and power supply. Luo Daqing also elaborated on the applications of hydrogen energy in industries, transportation, and power generation, highlighting the critical role of technological innovation in the development of green hydrogen. He stated, "The development of green hydrogen depends on competitiveness and cost reduction, which is primarily a technological challenge under the dual carbon goals." Furthermore, he called for collaborative efforts between industries and technologies.Xie Dan, the Customer General Manager of PipeChina, shared insights during the event on the theme of opening up oil and gas pipeline infrastructure to promote energy transformation and development. He emphasised that the State Grid Corporation is committed to fostering an oil and gas market system with multiple upstream resource providers, multiple channels of supply, efficient unified pipeline transportation in the middle, and full downstream market competition. Xie Dan discussed the group's progress and achievements in infrastructure construction, strategic planning, innovative service products, digital transformation, and encouraged collaboration among stakeholders to advance green and low-carbon energy transformation.Ms. Li Yalan, the President of the International Gas Union (IGU), delivered a keynote address, themed "The Role of Natural Gas in Advancing Sustainable Energy Transition." She outlined the direction of future sustainable energy systems and discussed the challenges of energy transformation, including the energy trilemma, differences in energy application levels, the lengthy transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy, and challenges in energy storage technology. In this context, she highlighted the crucial role of natural gas as the world's third-largest energy source in the energy transition. Natural gas offers advantages in pollution reduction, emissions reduction, energy security, and improved energy accessibility, and she described it as a "stabiliser and regulator" in the new energy system. Additionally, Ms. Li presented the stance of the International Gas Union, emphasising the importance of the integration of natural gas with renewable energy in overcoming energy issues and addressing climate change.H. E. Eng. Mohamed Hamel, the Secretary-General of the Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF), provided further insights into the importance of natural gas and the current global energy situation. He emphasised the critical role of energy in socio-economic development and commended China's progress in the energy market. He highlighted global energy challenges, including issues of energy inequality and insufficient clean energy. He particularly emphasised the role of natural gas in sustainable development goals, especially as a clean energy alternative that contributes to environmental protection and economic benefits. He stated, "By 2050, natural gas will surpass coal in its role within the energy mix." Furthermore, he discussed technological advancements and applications, as well as the integration of natural gas with other energy sources to address climate change. He called for enhanced international cooperation to tackle global energy challenges collectively.Read more: https://www.acnnewswire.com/press-release/english/86855/
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GIMME Beauty is committing a portion of its sales to the Susan G. Komen Foundation by creating a Pink Collection to raise awareness for breast cancer.SALT LAKE CITY, UT / ACCESSWIRE / October 5, 2023 / For the second consecutive year, GIMME Beauty, a health and beauty company committed to designing innovative hair solutions, proudly announces that it will pledge a portion of funds from sales of its Pink Collection for the Susan G. Komen Foundation as part of its commitment to breast cancer awareness.Through this year's initiative, GIMME seeks to both raise awareness of breast cancer and its impact on patients and their families, while also supporting research toward a cure by contributing a significant portion of sales of its exclusive pink bands and other merchandise in its Pink Collection."Our commitment to the Susan G. Komen Foundation is unwavering. We believe in the importance of advocacy to bring about change, and hope to provide encouragement to people affected by this disease," said Jeff Durham, CEO of GIMME Beauty. "It allows our loyal community of GIMME fans to get involved and show their support for such a worthy cause." Shoppers can contribute to Breast Cancer Awareness Month by purchasing an item from the Pink Collection until October 31. Shoppers can take 15% off the entire Pink Collection and receive a free pink towel scrunchie with every order. The collection includes breast cancer awareness hair bands for all hair types, GIMME's Citrus Clarity dry shampoo, velvet scrunchies, hair health gummies and more.One out of eight women in the U.S. will be diagnosed with breast cancer in her lifetime. Except for skin cancers, breast cancer is the most common cancer in American women. The five-year relative survival rate is 99% when the cancer is caught early at the localized stage. There are over 3.8 million breast cancer survivors in the U.S. today.To support Breast Cancer Awareness Month, visit https://gimmebeauty.com , where items from the Pink Collection can be purchased while supplies last. Shoppers can also purchase GIMME products at more than 23,000 popular retail stores, including Walmart, Target, Walgreens, ULTA, CVS, and Amazon.About GIMME BeautyGIMME Beauty's vision is to design innovative hair solutions that disrupt the status quo of the health and beauty hair care category. According to Nielsen Market Data, the company's products rank among the industry's fastest-growing hair accessories. Since it launched in 2006, GIMME has become a national brand available at more than 23,000 stores across the United States. Follow GIMME on Instagram or Facebook to learn about its latest collections.Contact InformationMadeleine Moench madeleine@ newswire.com SOURCE: GIMME Beauty
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Top Certificate Authority finds that automation presents significant technical, compatibility, security and expertise challenges for a large swath of organizationsBOSTON, MA and LONDON, UK / ACCESSWIRE / September 26, 2023 / GMO GlobalSign K.K. ( https://www.globalsign.com/en) , a global Certificate Authority (CA) and leading provider of identity security, digital signing and IoT solutions today announced the results of a recent survey of enterprises and small to medium businesses that rely on Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) products and solutions. The findings from more than 100 respondents indicate that many organizations are unprepared for sweeping industry changes that call for mandated certificate automation.As discussed in our June 20 announcement, later this year, and into 2024, there could be significant changes within the PKI marketplace, the most pressing matter being Google's move to reduce the lifespan of SSL/TLS certificates. The solution to meet this call by Google, and other browsers, is to automate certificate management. However, this is causing concern for the millions of businesses worldwide who rely on PKI for security compliance since many of them are not ready to make this leap. To get a sense of what companies' state of mind are around the issue, GMO GlobalSign asked 1,000 organizations about this industry shift. Approximately 110 companies responded.Key FindingsGMO GlobalSign inquired about the challenges companies will face when Google reduces the maximum certificate to 90 days.Nearly a third of respondents said the increased administrative work and complexity were the biggest concerns (30 percent). Also worrisome for respondents is the possibility of more frequent root certificate updates, such as expected Mozilla updates set for 2024;Twenty percent of survey participants believe that a seven-year rotation for root certificates is manageable and would not cause a significant impact;Fifteen percent of those who responded worried about costs and overhead. This was of particular concern to small businesses and websites, where added costs might not be justified by the owners;Another thirty percent voiced concerns with older or legacy systems, frequent expirations as well as security and compliance challengesAutomation Stumbling BlocksGMO GlobalSign also asked respondents about general barriers to automation. Responses were separated into five buckets: technical limitations compatibility issues, security, cost and resource constraints, lack of knowledge or expertise and infrastructureThirty eight percent believe that technical limitations and compatibility are the biggest blockers to automation. This includes not having out-of-the-box solutions for automating certificate management, the lack of support for automated renewal in certain systems or environments (such as Windows, IIS, Plesk), and the incompatibility of some systems with standard automated solutions.A quarter of respondents point out cost and resource constraints as potential obstacles. This includes the costs associated with developing a custom automation system, and the resources needed to manage and maintain solutions for automated certificate management.Twenty percent of participants say a lack of knowledge or expertise is another potential challenge to automating certificates. This includes not knowing whether systems support the injection of new certificates and the restart of services, or being unfamiliar with, automation in general.Ten percent also cite security concerns, especially the governance and control of a fully automated system, as well as the need for audit trails, security approval and oversight in free public CAs.Seven percent also express concerns about the limits of infrastructure. This includes servers that are behind firewalls with strict policies, equipment that does not provide an API or other facility to manage the certificate, and networks that do not have access to the internet."It's clear that many challenges to certificate automation exist, whether you are an enterprise level organization or an SMB. There are a lot of steps to overcome before the vast majority of customers can support full automation," said Doug Beattie, Vice President, Product Management, GMO GlobalSign. "On the plus side, tools are available today to remove the pressure of certificate automation. Our products such as Automated Certificate Management Environment (ACME) greatly aid a company in this process. Our industry does not have clarity when a mandated 90-day automation may become real, but judging from our survey, organizations with concerns should begin taking steps now. In the long run, it will serve them well." About GMO GlobalSignAs one of the world's most deeply-rooted certificate authorities, GMO GlobalSign is the leading provider of trusted identity and security solutions enabling businesses, large enterprises, cloud-based service providers, and IoT innovators worldwide to conduct secure online communications, manage millions of verified digital identities and automate authentication and encryption. Its high-scale Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) and identity solutions support the billions of services, devices, people, and things comprising the IoT. GMO GlobalSign is a subsidiary of GMO GlobalSign Holdings K.K., a member of the Japan-based GMO Internet Group, and has offices in the Americas, Europe and Asia. For more information, visit https://www.globalsign.com Media Relations ContactsAmy KrigmanDirector of Public Relations, West Regionamy.krigman@globalsign.com978-835-5393 Melanie FallerPublic Relations Manager, France and DACHMelanie.faller@globalsign.com SOURCE: GMO GlobalSign
PR-Inside.com: 2023-10-05 02:25:24

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Leading lender Liberty is poised to support property investors looking to capitalise as businesses enhance office facilitiesMELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA / ACCESSWIRE / October 4, 2023 / With many Australians continuing to work from home post-pandemic, a focus on creating more appealing, fit-for-purpose business spaces has emerged.According to analysis by Investa, office tenants are actively relocating and upgrading their office workplace to meet post-pandemic requirements.Liberty says businesses and property investors alike could reap the benefits if they can adapt to this new trend in workplace design.Head of Communications Kate Jenkinson says employee-first workplaces could create better opportunities for higher rent, longer leases or better resell value."Future-proofing investments is essential, and in a shifting environment, the right lender could help investors get on the front foot without compromising on their goals," Ms Jenkinson said.A specialty lender with a free-thinking approach, Liberty looks at the bigger picture when assessing applications for commercial and business loans, as well as home, car, personal and SMSF lending solutions."At Liberty, we know everyone's journey is different. So, your loan should be just as unique as you," Ms Jenkinson said.Ms Jenkinson says business owners hoping to attract top talent could also benefit from greater investment in their premises."In a tight job market, improved workplace facilities can really make a difference. So, it's a good idea to discuss your business lending goals with a Liberty Adviser," Ms Jenkinson said.Liberty Advisers have access to a broad range of commercial and business loans to fit a customer's individual circumstances."Non-bank lenders have greater flexibility to offer lending solutions tailored to your specific situation and what you hope to achieve," Ms Jenkinson said.Liberty's suite of free-thinking solutions can enable both investors and businesses to invest in their future and stay ahead of the curve.About LibertyAs one of Australia's leading non-bank lenders, Liberty offers innovative solutions to support customers with greater choice. Over more than 26 years, this free-thinking approach to loan solutions has seen more than 850,000 customers across a wide range of home, car, personal and business loans, as well as SMSF lending and insurance products. Liberty remains the only non-bank lender with an investment-grade credit rating offering custom and prime solutions to help more people get financial.Approved applicants only. Lending criteria apply. Fees and charges are payable. Liberty Financial Pty Ltd ACN 077 248 983 and Secure Funding Pty Ltd ABN 25 081 982 872 Australian Credit Licence 388133, together trading as Liberty Financial. Liberty Advisers have access to a panel of lenders through Liberty Network Services Pty Ltd ABN 65 151 158 628 Australian Credit Licence 408042 (LNS). LNS has access to products including those from Liberty Financial.Contact Information:Laura OrchardMedia Coordinatormediaenquiries@ liberty.com.au+61 3 8635 8166SOURCE: Liberty
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STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN / ACCESSWIRE / October 5, 2023 / Bambuser AB (STO:BUSER)(FRA:5JL)In accordance with the resolution by the General Meeting in Bambuser AB regarding the instructions for the Nomination Committee, a Nomination Committee has been convened to prepare proposals for the Annual General Meeting 2024. The Nomination Committee consists of Tomas Meerits, representing Vitruvian Partners (Pyramid Holdco S.A.R.L) and appointed as the Chairman of the Nomination Committee, Frank Larsson representing Handelsbanken Fonder AB and Cecilia Lager representing Joel Citron and TAH Core Master Fund.The Nomination Committee will prepare proposals to be presented to the Annual General Meeting 2024 with respect to the Chairman of the Annual General Meeting; election of board members and Chairman of the board; remuneration of the Chairman and other board members; election and remuneration of auditor. Shareholders who wish to submit proposals to the Nomination Committee can do so via e-mail to generalmeeting@ bambuser.com or via regular mail to Bambuser AB Regeringsgatan 55, 111 56 Stockholm. Proposals have to be received no later than January 24, 2024 to be considered by the Nomination Committee.About Bambuser Bambuser is the world's leading video commerce company with the largest customer base in its industry. More than 350 brands from 40+ countries leverage Bambuser's best-in-class solutions. Bambuser is truly global with headquarters in Stockholm and offices in New York, London, Paris, Tokyo, Turku, and Dubai. The company's rapidly growing team speaks more than 40 languages and 62% of its senior management is female. Founded in 2007 as a livestreaming pioneer, trusted by the world's leading news agencies, Bambuser pivoted to Live Shopping in 2019, leveraging its legacy as the industry leader in video-first technology. For more information, please visit www.bambuser.com Follow us Subscribe to Bambusers press releases here.Bambuser on LinkedIn.Contact Information and CAContact information Corporate Communications, Bambuser AB+46 8 400 160 00 | ir@ bambuser.com Certified Adviser Erik Penser Bank ABAttachmentsNomination Committee for the Annual General Meeting 2024 in Bambuser ABSOURCE: Bambuser AB
PR-Inside.com: 2023-10-05 20:02:40

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The world's #1 super-premium tequila unveils a new Additive Free Seal on Packaging reinforcing the brand's time honored additive free process.HAMILTON, BERMUDA / ACCESSWIRE / October 5, 2023 / PATRON Tequila, the world's number one super-premium tequila,* is celebrating its (agave) roots by creating a new Additive Free seal that will be unveiled across the PATRON core portfolio, rolling out this fall. Honoring the brand's continued Additive Free endorsement from the Tequila Regulatory Council (CRT), this new seal will indicate to tequila drinkers that they can enjoy their PATRON with peace of mind, being fully confident that their tequila of choice is completely additive free. This endorsement bestowed by the tequila industry's governing body is a testament to how PATRON has remained committed to using only the highest quality, all natural ingredients - agave, water and yeast - at the core, since its inception. It's this mentality that's embedded within the time-honored PATRON production process that goes to extraordinary lengths to handcraft the finest tequila with no corrections or additives needed.While the demand for additive free products is surging, the increased popularity of tequila in recent years has put intense pressure on tequila makers to produce more tequila, faster. And, there isn't a requirement for tequila brands to notify consumers when additives are used, should they remain less than 1% of the product's total volume. As a result, many producers have met the increased demand by mechanizing their processes or taking shortcuts, of which must be corrected later by using commercial additives to enhance flavor and color. As the category leader, PATRON is one of the few brands that still makes tequila the hard way: by hand, with only three natural ingredients and nothing else added - no added sugars or chemical ingredients. As such, PATRON created this new seal for packaging providing tequila drinkers with the security and knowledge that their spirit of choice is 100% additive free.The CRT sets the standard within the industry to safeguard the Designation of Origin of Tequila, both nationally and internationally, and to guarantee the authenticity of tequila for the consumer. To verify the endorsement, an analysis of the production methods conducted at Hacienda PATRON was executed by the CRT. As the governing body of tequila, the CRT evaluates each step of the PATRON production process and the resulting tequila for traces of additives, such as glycerin, caramel coloring, vanilla, oak extract, and jarabe or sugar-based syrup. Some brands use these additives to expedite production and mask imperfections, such as making a tequila color darker to appear more aged. This is something PATRON will never do because it's remained unwaveringly committed to delivering perfection in every drop of tequila for you to enjoy, without the use of additives, a process that has never changed because PATRON gets it right the first time.Recently, there's been a noticeable, rising attraction toward additive free products. "More than before, individuals are conscious of what they're consuming - they want natural ingredients and to be confident in the manner in which they were derived to deliver a high-quality product that satisfies their needs," says PATRON Global Vice President, Innovation and Sustainability Samantha Newby. "PATRON has been additive free since its inception and it's one of the many reasons why people gravitate toward it. As people continue to seek all natural, high-quality products, PATRON is proud to once again be the leader of the additive free movement with this new Additive Free seal on our packaging." "Since PATRON created the super-premium tequila category in 1989, the brand has been additive free because of its unwavering commitment to craft, authenticity and integrity," says PATRON Master Distiller David Rodriguez. "Even as PATRON has grown in popularity and scale, the brand has never adopted methods - like the use of additives - to cut corners or compromise on quality. PATRON has always used exactly the same painstaking steps in its production process, from the agave field to cooking to bottling, to deliver an exceptionally smooth flavor profile that is born of nothing but true tequila." PATRON Tequila's new Additive Free seal will be seen on the iconic PATRON packaging across all core offerings in the PATRON portfolio rolling out this fall, further highlighting how PATRON Tequila is made by hand and crafted by passion - using nothing more than agave, water and yeast. To learn more about how PATRON has remained a steadfast leader of the additive free and super-premium categories, head to patrontequila.com *IWSR 2022 Global DatabaseAbout PATRON TequilaFrom hand-harvesting the highest-quality 100% Weber Blue Agave, to the traditional, time-honored distillation process and individual labeling, numbering, and inspection of each bottle, PATRON Tequila is crafted with meticulous precision and care. Though PATRON has grown to become one of the most recognized and respected luxury spirits brands in the world, it is still exclusively produced in the Highlands of Jalisco, Mexico, in the same small batches and with the same commitment to quality and craftsmanship. For more information about PATRON Tequilas, please visit www.patrontequila.com . The perfect way to enjoy PATRON is responsibly.PATRON is part of the portfolio of Bacardi Limited, headquartered in Hamilton, Bermuda. Bacardi Limited refers to the Bacardi group of companies, including Bacardi International Limited.THE PERFECT WAY TO ENJOY PATRON IS RESPONSIBLY.Contact: patron@ mbooth.com View additional multimedia and more ESG storytelling from Bacardi Limited on 3 blmedia.com Contact Info:Spokesperson: Bacardi LimitedWebsite: https://www.3blmedia.com/profiles/bacardi-limitedEmail: info@3 blmedia.com SOURCE: Bacardi Limited
PR-Inside.com: 2023-10-05 16:34:04

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The 2023-2025 PNC Arts Alive grant recipients are Dance St. Louis, Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, St. Louis ArtWorks and the St. Louis Black Repertory CompanyST. LOUIS / ACCESSWIRE / October 5, 2023 / The PNC Foundation through PNC Arts Alive announced its selection of four Greater St. Louis arts nonprofits to share $250,000 in grant funding. Designed to fuel the delivery of accessible and inclusive programming to local audiences, the grants will be distributed over a two-year period to Dance St. Louis, Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, St. Louis ArtWorks and the St. Louis Black Repertory Company.In addition to receiving grant funding to transform creative concepts into accessible programming, leaders of the grantee organizations will participate in a highly customized capacity-build experience and will have access to experts  including members of PNC's Experience Innovation team  to help implement modern problem-solving practices, such as design thinking, within the scope of ongoing programming and operations."PNC's longstanding support and continued investments in Greater St. Louis' cherished arts organizations reflect our belief that engagement in the arts enriches lives and builds stronger, more vibrant communities," said Michael Scully, PNC regional president for St. Louis. "Our collaboration with local arts nonprofits, including the 2023-2025 PNC Arts Alive grant recipients, aims to make the arts more accessible to diverse audiences - while also helping arts organizations maximize the impact of grant funding through guided opportunities to enhance their business rigor and sustainability." The grant recipients plan to use the funding as follows:Dance St. Louis ($50,000): Grant funding will help Dance St. Louis curate and deliver Ailey II, A Community Celebration presented by PNC Arts Alive in February 2024, in celebration of Black History Month and in collaboration with Ailey II. This education and enrichment program will include school residency and community experiences, and Dance St. Louis will collaborate with Ailey All Access to provide custom virtual viewing opportunities for students and the broader community.Opera Theatre of Saint Louis ($50,000): Grant funding will help underwrite accessibility enhancements for the 2024 and 2025 seasons of Opera Theatre of Saint Louis' New Works Collective productions, to include audio descriptions, ASL interpretation and sensory-friendly environments. Additionally, Opera Theatre of Saint Louis will distribute complimentary tickets for select community groups and will create and deliver on-demand streaming performance options to reach those in the community who are unable to visit the theater.St . Louis ArtWorks ($75,000): Grant funding will help St. Louis ArtWorks deliver its year-round experience offering paid apprenticeships for youth ages 14-19. Apprentices are immersed in opportunities to learn a range of art disciplines, while gaining relevant work experience as paid apprentices. The Youth Apprentice Program engages underserved youth by providing learning opportunities focused on four key areas: arts education; employment training/job-readiness; life skills, including financial literacy; and mental/social health.St . Louis Black Repertory Company ($75,000): Grant funding will help further establish The Black Rep's Phoenix Rising Special Performance Series, currently in its pilot year. This series is designed to create innovative, engaging work outside the organization's typical venues while honoring the company's original name (Phoenix Theatre Troupe) and historic intention to present dance, music and theatre through the lens of the African American experience.Since establishing a corporate presence in the region in 2010, PNC has awarded $3.75 million in grant funding to Greater St. Louis arts organizations through PNC Arts Alive.PNC Arts Alive is a multi-year initiative of the PNC Foundation dedicated to supporting visual and performing arts groups with the goal of increasing arts access and engagement in new and innovative ways. The PNC Foundation, which receives its principal funding from The PNC Financial Services Group, actively supports organizations that provide services for the benefit of communities in which it has a significant presence. The foundation focuses its philanthropic mission on early childhood education and community and economic development, which includes the arts and culture. For more information, visit www.pncartsalive.com CONTACT: Karyn Ostrom (919) 788-5794 karyn.ostrom@pnc.com View additional multimedia and more ESG storytelling from The PNC Financial Services Group on 3 blmedia.com Contact Info:Spokesperson: The PNC Financial Services GroupWebsite: https://www.3blmedia.com/profiles/pnc-financial-services-groupEmail: info@3 blmedia.com SOURCE: The PNC Financial Services Group
Opinion articles written in the style of their author." These texts are to be based on verified facts and must be respectful towards people, even though their actions may be criticized. shall feature, along with the author's name (regardless of their greater or lesser renown), a footer stating their office, academic title, political affiliation (if any) and main occupation, or the occupation related to the topic being assessed

Earlier this month when global leaders gathered at the Finance in Common Summit in Cartagena, Colombia, they underscored the urgency of addressing the climate and biodiversity crises. Multilateral development banks, with their vast influence, play a vital role in shaping our planets future. However, for these banks to effectively realize this pivotal role, they must first demonstrate their commitment to responsible action by ceasing their own financing of industrial animal agriculture.

The consequences of industrial animal agriculture are profoundly alarming. This method of large-scale production of livestock leads to deforestation, excessive water usage and pollution, and the release of vast amounts of greenhouse gases, notably methane. Food production is now the single largest cause of biodiversity loss and livestock production is responsible for roughly 14.5% of global greenhouse gas emissions. Factory farming also drives antimicrobial resistance and appalling animal welfare conditions.

In Colombia, a country renowned for its rich biodiversity, this model of agriculture poses an existential threat to its ecosystems, exacerbating the climate crisis and undermining the ability to meet international climate commitments. Multilateral development banks  institutions like the World Bank and its private sector arm the International Finance Corporation (IFC)  who say they want to safeguard our planets future, are currently complicit in this environmental degradation and continue to invest billions of taxpayer dollars in factory farming, propping up a failing system that fundamentally undermines sustainable development. Funding industrial livestock expansion undermines their commitments to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), Paris Climate Agreement and Global Biodiversity Framework.

These banks are meant to allocate taxpayer dollars judiciously to projects that truly benefit society and promote shared prosperity. The development banks often cite the goal of food security to justify their support for factory farming projects. However, the reality on the ground often reveals a starkly different story. These funds predominantly enrich agribusiness giants; for example, in the last few years the IFC has poured hundreds of millions of dollars into industrial soy trader Louis Dreyfus Corporation (LDC) in Brazil, Ecuadors largest meat company PRONACA and dairy giant Alvoar in Brazil, while small-scale farmers struggle to get access to credit and technical assistance.

More than three quarters of agricultural land is used for livestock production, yet this land produces just 18% of the worlds calories and 37% of our total protein. Using this land to grow crops directly for human consumption could increase global food security and feed an additional 4 billion people a year.

In Colombia, where agriculture is a cornerstone of their economy, this issue hits close to home. Family farmers, who make up the majority of Colombias agricultural sector, face immense challenges accessing financial support and resources. Funds from multilateral development banks that should bolster ecological and small-scale agriculture are instead being diverted to large corporations for extensive cattle ranching that prioritizes profit over environmental and social responsibility and human rights, often displacing Indigenous and traditional communities.

This monopolization in the agricultural sector perpetuates social inequality, jeopardizing the work of family farmers who are forced to sell their land or to work under exploitative conditions for these agricultural giants. By financing projects that support small-scale farmers who produce around one third of the worlds food, multilateral development banks could shore up food supplies and create millions of jobs.

To achieve the ambitious climate agenda laid out at the Finance in Common Summit this month, multilateral development banks must now demonstrate their commitment to sustainable development and align their agricultural loan policies with the climate imperative. The choice is theirs: continue to plug money into factory farms and jeopardize a livable planet; or take a stand for food sovereignty and sustainable development by investing in healthy, ecological food systems that protect our collective future.

Carolina Galvani is the executive director of Sinergia Animal, an international animal protection organization working in the Global South to end the worst practices of industrial animal agriculture. Andrea Echeverri is the campaign coordinator for the Global Forest Coalition, and a climate activist focused on Latin America.
PR-Inside.com: 2023-10-05 16:45:37

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NEW YORK, NY / ACCESSWIRE / October 5, 2023 / Pomerantz LLP is investigating claims on behalf of investors of Party City Holdco ("Party City" or the "Company") (OTCMKTS:PRTYQ). Such investors are advised to contact Robert S. Willoughby at newaction@ pomlaw.comor 888-476-6529, ext. 7980.The investigation concerns whether Party City and certain of its officers and/or directors have engaged in securities fraud or other unlawful business practices.[Click here for information about joining the class action]On January 17, 2023, Party City abruptly filed for bankruptcy, with the Company's bankruptcy filings citing its ongoing liquidity shortfall, its need for additional loans beyond the credit lines available to it, and its inability to locate lenders willing to provide additional loans-issues previously undisclosed to investors.On this news, Party City's stock price fell $0.253 per share, or 67.72%, over the following two trading sessions, closing at $0.121 per share on January 19, 2023.Then, on June 9, 2023, Party City revealed in a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission that Ernst & Young LPP had resigned as its auditor due to a disagreement over the Company's decision not to include a "going concern" warning in its quarterly report for the third quarter of 2022, which would have alerted investors that there was substantial doubt about the Company's ability to continue as a going concern for the next twelve months.On this news, Party City's stock price fell $0.01 per share, or 21.52%, over the following three trading sessions, to close at $0.036 per share on June 14, 2023.Pomerantz LLP, with offices in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, London, Paris, and Tel Aviv, is acknowledged as one of the premier firms in the areas of corporate, securities, and antitrust class litigation. Founded by the late Abraham L. Pomerantz, known as the dean of the class action bar, Pomerantz pioneered the field of securities class actions. Today, more than 85 years later, Pomerantz continues in the tradition he established, fighting for the rights of the victims of securities fraud, breaches of fiduciary duty, and corporate misconduct. The Firm has recovered numerous multimillion-dollar damages awards on behalf of class members. See www.pomlaw.com SOURCE: Pomerantz LLP
PR-Inside.com: 2023-10-05 16:17:45

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NEW YORK, NY / ACCESSWIRE / October 5, 2023 / Pomerantz LLP announces that a class action lawsuit has been filed against Hawaiian Electric Industries, Inc. ("Hawaiian Electric" or the "Company") (NYSE:HE) and certain officers. The class action, filed in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California, and docketed under 23-cv-04332, is on behalf of a class consisting of all persons and entities other than Defendants that purchased or otherwise acquired Hawaiian Electric securities between February 28, 2019 and August 16, 2023, both dates inclusive (the "Class Period"), seeking to recover damages caused by Defendants' violations of the federal securities laws and to pursue remedies under Sections 10(b) and 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the "Exchange Act") and Rule 10b-5 promulgated thereunder, against the Company and certain of its top officials.If you are a shareholder who purchased or otherwise acquired Hawaiian Electric securities during the Class Period, you have until October 23, 2023 to ask the Court to appoint you as Lead Plaintiff for the class. A copy of the Complaint can be obtained at www.pomerantzlaw.com . To discuss this action, contact Robert S. Willoughby at newaction@ pomlaw.com or 888.476.6529 (or 888.4-POMLAW), toll-free, Ext. 7980. Those who inquire by e-mail are encouraged to include their mailing address, telephone number, and the number of shares purchased.[Click here for information about joining the class action]Hawaiian Electric, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the electric utility, banking, and non-regulated renewable/sustainable infrastructure investment businesses in the state of Hawaii. The Company provides service to 95% of Hawaiian residents and operates in three segments, including the Electric Utility segment, which engages in the production, purchase, transmission, distribution, and sale of electricity in the islands of Oahu, Hawaii, Maui, Lanai, and Molokai.Complaint alleges that, throughout the Class Period, Defendants made materially false and misleading statements regarding the Company's business, operations, and compliance policies. Specifically, Defendants made false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose that: (i) Hawaiian Electric's wildfire prevention and safety protocols and procedures were inadequate to meet the challenges for which they were ostensibly designed; (ii) accordingly, despite knowing the degree of risk that wildfires posed to Maui, the Company's inadequate safety protocols and procedures placed Maui at a heightened risk of devastating wildfires; and (iii) as a result, the Company's public statements were materially false and misleading at all relevant times.In early August 2023, a series of severe wildfires broke out in Hawaii, predominantly on the island of Maui. The most destructive fire began in West Maui near the town of Lahaina on the morning of August 8, 2023. By that afternoon, intense winds had knocked down approximately 30 utility poles throughout Maui, resulting in at least 15 separate outages impacting more than 12,400 customers. Moreover, videos captured by local residents showed that downed power lines belonging to Hawaiian Electric appeared to have ignited at least several of the fires. Ultimately, the wind-driven fires prompted evacuations, caused widespread damage, and have killed at least 114 people, with some 850 others still missing in Lahaina.On August 12, 2023, news outlets began reporting that Hawaiian Electric lacked the proper policies and procedures to mitigate the impact of the wildfires. Specifically, it was revealed that, at the time the wildfires began, the Company did not maintain a public power shutoff plan-i.e., a plan in which electricity is intentionally cut off to areas where strong wind events could cause the fires to spread.On this news, Hawaiian Electric's stock price fell $10.94 per share, or 33.76%, to close at $21.46 per share on August 14, 2023.Then, on August 16, 2023, the Wall Street Journal ("WSJ") reported that Hawaiian Electric is meeting with firms that specialize in restructuring advisory work, exploring options for the various financial and legal challenges that the Company faces as a consequence from the Maui wildfires.Finally, on August 17, 2023, the WSJ reported that Hawaiian Electric had for years been aware of the threat posed by wildfire but waited years to act. Indeed, the WSJ stated that between 2019 and 2022 the Company spent less than $245,000 on wildfire-specific projects on Maui and did not seek state approval to raise utility rates to pay for broad wildfire safety improvements until 2022.Following the publication of the WSJ articles, Hawaiian Electric's stock price fell $2.54 per share, or 17.43%, to close at $12.03 per share on August 17, 2023.Pomerantz LLP, with offices in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, London, Paris, and Tel Aviv, is acknowledged as one of the premier firms in the areas of corporate, securities, and antitrust class litigation. Founded by the late Abraham L. Pomerantz, known as the dean of the class action bar, Pomerantz pioneered the field of securities class actions. Today, more than 85 years later, Pomerantz continues in the tradition he established, fighting for the rights of the victims of securities fraud, breaches of fiduciary duty, and corporate misconduct. The Firm has recovered billions of dollars in damages awards on behalf of class members. See www.pomlaw.com SOURCE: Pomerantz LLP
PR-Inside.com: 2023-10-05 16:19:10

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NEW YORK, NY / ACCESSWIRE / October 5, 2023 / Pomerantz LLP announces that a class action lawsuit has been filed against Shift4 Payments, Inc. ("Shift4" or the "Company") (NYSE:FOUR) and certain officers. The class action, filed in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, and docketed under 23-cv-03206, is on behalf of a class consisting of all persons and entities other than Defendants that purchased or otherwise acquired Shift4 securities between November 10, 2021 and April 18, 2023, both dates inclusive (the "Class Period"), seeking to recover damages caused by Defendants' violations of the federal securities laws and to pursue remedies under Sections 10(b) and 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 ("Exchange Act") and Rule 10b-5 promulgated thereunder, against the Company and certain of its top officials.If you are a shareholder who purchased or otherwise acquired Shift4 securities during the Class Period, you have until October 19, 2023 to ask the Court to appoint you as Lead Plaintiff for the class. A copy of the Complaint can be obtained at www.pomerantzlaw.com . To discuss this action, contact Robert S. Willoughby at newaction@ pomlaw.com or 888.476.6529 (or 888.4-POMLAW), toll-free, Ext. 7980. Those who inquire by e-mail are encouraged to include their mailing address, telephone number, and the number of shares purchased.[Click here for information about joining the class action]Shift4 provides software and payment processing solutions in the United States. The Company provides, among other products and services, integrated and mobile point-of-sale ("POS") solutions.In Shift4's third quarter of 2022, the Company completed its so-called "mass strategic buyout program" as part of a purported strategic initiative to insource its sales distribution network.According to Shift4, because the Company is not a "member bank" as defined in certain payment network rules, the Company is not eligible for primary membership in certain payment networks and is therefore unable to directly access them. Accordingly, Shift4's payment networks require the Company to be sponsored by a member bank as a service provider, which the Company has accomplished through a sponsorship agreement with its sponsor bank. To cover overdraft obligations at the sponsor bank, prior to December 2022, Shift4 had funds deposited in a sponsor bank merchant settlement account to facilitate gross card transaction deposits for those customers the Company bills on a monthly, as opposed to a daily, basis.The Complaint alleges that, throughout the Class Period, Defendants made materially false and misleading statements regarding the Company's business, operations, and compliance policies. Specifically, Defendants made false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose that: (i) Shift4 had inadequate disclosure controls and procedures and internal control over financial reporting; (ii) as a result, Shift4 failed to properly account for customer acquisition costs, thereby artificially inflating its net cash provided by operating activities; (iii) accordingly, Shift4 would likely be forced to restate one or more of its previously issued financial statements; (iv) Shift4 employed accounting maneuvers in connection with, among other things, its mass strategic buyout program and sponsor bank merchant settlement account, that were designed to present an inaccurate picture of, inter alia, the Company's performance, its underlying business quality, and its earnings power; (v) all the foregoing, once revealed, was likely to negatively impact Shift4's reputation and business; and (vi) as a result, the Company's public statements were materially false and misleading at all relevant times.On October 21, 2022, Shift4 disclosed in a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission that the Company's third quarter 2021, full year 2021, first quarter 2022, and second quarter 2022 financial statements should no longer be relied upon and would need to be restated because of a material weakness in the Company's financial controls, which had caused it to incorrectly treat "customer acquisition costs" as cash used in investing activities rather than cash used in operating activities in its Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows. As a result, Shift4 was forced to negatively revise its net cash provided by operating activities to $3 million (down from its originally reported $29.2 million), $30.8 million (down from its originally reported $37.1 million), and $70.8 million (down from its originally reported $85 million) for the year ended December 31, 2021, the three months ended March 31, 2022, and the six months ended June 30, 2022, respectively.On this news, Shift4's stock price fell $1.21 per share, or 2.67%, to close at $44.16 per share on October 24, 2022.On April 19, 2023, Blue Orca Capital published a report addressing Shift4 (the "Blue Orca Report"). The Blue Orca Report alleged, among other things, that "Shift4 [is], in reality, a roll-up of low-tech POS systems and payment processors which is substantially less profitable, generates far less cash, and is materially more levered than investors are led to believe." The Blue Orca Report further alleged that in 2022, "Shift4 engaged in a string of highly questionable and hyper-aggressive accounting maneuvers seemingly designed to keep the stock afloat, from cash flow manipulation to inexplicable distributor acquisitions that enabled it to capitalize a major component of COGS [cost of goods sold]." For example, the Blue Orca Report alleged, inter alia, that Shift4's "buyout of 50% of its independent distributors"-i.e., in connection with its mass strategic buyout program-"and Q4 2022 cash account withdrawal" from its sponsor bank merchant settlement account "together inflated operating cash flow by 61%."On this news, Shift4's stock price fell $5.95 per share, or 8.68%, to close at $62.59 per share on April 19, 2023.Pomerantz LLP, with offices in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, London, Paris, and Tel Aviv, is acknowledged as one of the premier firms in the areas of corporate, securities, and antitrust class litigation. Founded by the late Abraham L. Pomerantz, known as the dean of the class action bar, Pomerantz pioneered the field of securities class actions. Today, more than 85 years later, Pomerantz continues in the tradition he established, fighting for the rights of the victims of securities fraud, breaches of fiduciary duty, and corporate misconduct. The Firm has recovered billions of dollars in damages awards on behalf of class members. See www.
PR-Inside.com: 2023-10-05 20:26:32

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DALLAS, TX / ACCESSWIRE / October 5, 2023 / In a show of solidarity with Breast Cancer Awareness Month, South Toyota proudly presents the "Pink Car Giving Campaign," featuring the eye-catching 2023 Toyota Crown wrapped in vibrant pink. Throughout the month of October, this vehicle will embark on a heartfelt journey, visiting various hospitals and events in the Dallas area. Individuals who have been affected by breast cancer, either directly or indirectly, are encouraged to sign the Pink Crown as a testament of their support and commitment to the cause. Keep an eye out for the Pink Crown at various locations throughout the month.Follow South Toyota on Facebook to stay informed about the Pink Crown's whereabouts. Upcoming stops include the Celebrating Life Foundation's 22nd Annual Sister to Sister Fitness Festival (5k Walk & Run), the Pink Diamonds Health Fair and Bike Ride, where South Toyota proudly serves as a sponsor, as well as visits to Parkland Health at Red Bird and Methodist Charlton Medical Center, with more stops to be announced."I believe it's crucial to give back to the community. Our Pink Giving Campaign is not just about supporting a cause, it's about the spirit of compassion and solidarity", said Harold Hurst, Chief Operating Officer of the Purdy Group. "We encourage everyone to join us in lending a helping hand where they can. Together we can make a real difference in the lives of those who need it most." South Toyota is dedicated to making a meaningful impact on breast cancer awareness and support. Throughout October, the dealership will contribute $100 from every new car sold to Methodist Charlton Medical Center, conveniently located in Duncanville, just a stone's throw away from South Toyota. Donations from the community are also welcomed and greatly appreciated. All proceeds will be allocated towards funding vital resources, including mammograms, for those in need.South Toyota, a Purdy Group dealership:Founded in 1957, Purdy Group is a worldwide leader in the automotive industry comprising 3 Texas Dealerships: Huntsville Toyota, Bryan College Station Toyota, and South Toyota in Dallas. Purdy Group, the home of the Promise of Something Different, is dedicated to delivering the highest quality vehicles and service to its customers across Texas. To learn more about our core values and 3 Dealerships, visit https://www.purdygroupusa.com/ South Toyota proudly presents the "Pink Car Giving Campaign," featuring the eye-catching 2023 Toyota Crown wrapped in vibrant pink. CONTACTS:PRESS/MEDIA CONTACTJohnny Wright (972) 780-1166jwright@ purdygroupusa.com SOURCE: Purdy Group
PR-Inside.com: 2023-10-05 01:42:16

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Salisu Dahiru, director-general of Nigerias Council on Climate Change (NCCC), spoke with PREMIUM TIMES correspondent, Abdulkareem Mojeed on the sideline of the inaugural Africa Climate Summit (ACS) and Africa Climate Week (ACW), held from 4 to 6 September in Nairobi, Kenya. He explained why Nigeria participated at the summit and wahat the Nigerian government is doing to fulfil its climate change pledges as captured in the Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) document submitted to the United Nation Framework Convention on Climate, being a signatory to the Paris Agreement.

Excerpts:

PT: In the statement delivered on his behalf by the Minister of State for Environment, President Bola Tinubu said Nigeria needs at least $17.7 billion annually to fulfil its NDC unconditional pledges. Are there moves being made to attract investments into the country so as to fulfil this?

Dahiru: Well, in terms of those numbers and even what Nigeria is doing, I think we are pioneering these moves in two major areas. One is looking at opportunities to attract investments-inflow for capital projects. The idea is that the majority of these efforts are coming in anticipation of what is going to be available under the Article (6)  the internationally transferred mitigation options, which provide opportunities for carbon trading and many project developers across the globe. Africa and particularly Nigeria, being the largest and the one with the most population, also provides ample opportunities for this investment.

We have also taken another bold step which most countries in Africa havent done yet. Only three countries have climate change specific legislation in Africa of which Nigeria is one. And of these three only two have very comprehensive legislation of which Nigeria is also one, the other is Uganda. The legislation has given comfort to investors, practitioners, project developers, verifiers and also the eventual carbon market that is going to emerge.

Thirdly, Nigeria is looking inwards to raise enough capital for investment in the Green project that will earn carbon credit. We do recall that the National Council for Climate Change has entered a memorandum of understanding with two principal bodies in Nigeria  the Nigerian Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA) and InfraCorp. These are major key players in infrastructure development and they provide very viable options to raise capital. So far, NSIA and Vitol have already launched a $50 million project development line for a voluntary carbon market project in Nigeria. That is just the first step. Other private financial institutions in the country are doing the same thing. We also recently got a mission from the Green Climate Fund which has also assured that, in addition to what the multilateral development agencies are serving us as development entities for project, they will commission and accredit Development Bank of Nigeria (DBN) which will be the first in-country entity to be accredited under the Green Climate Change Fund, which also brings to the fore, opportunities that many project now within Nigeria for climate finance investment are going to come up.

The potential and journey are already looking good; we have sown the seeds and we are in the process of harvesting as a benefit. What we are doing at the summit and also at the climate change week is to further deepen the engagement that we are having with various financial organisations, development partners and with various ministries. We have had bilaterals with the delegation from the Netherlands and from the Ban Ki Moon Group, the list is endless. The honourable minister is also having very important engagement with the partners of Nigeria. This is the essence of the summit.

PT: I believe this summit is preparing Africa towards engagement in COP28. What are those solutions you think Nigeria is deriving from this summit and in subsequent summits towards addressing the issue of flooding and other environmental disasters?

Dahiru: For Africa, this summit has also provided one big opportunity, the joint declaration that African ministers have finalised and signed that will be delivered to the president today for them to endorse and take forward as Africas position to the COP28 in Dubai in the next two and half months. We are still emphasising on the use of natural gas as a transition fuel, not only for Nigeria but other African countries. We should not be expected by virtue of the issue of loss and damage and by virtue of the issue of common but differentiated circumstances. We are definitely saying, do not expect us to just sleepwalk from fossil fuel to renewable energy without an appropriate consideration for the peculiar circumstances of Africa and Nigeria in particular. We are also insisting that the issue of loss and damage should be finalised in Dubai. We are also insisting that the issue of the funds or loss and damage should also be finalised so that we will have clarity of it and also the issue of additional finance. For now in Africa, we are more interested in looking at what would happen under our natural adaptation plants. They are also looking in that direction.

PT: Are you also considering issues around accountability, transparency or maybe funds. Because some of the concerns of many people include the fact that when countries have access to the funds, they arent properly used and lack accountability and transparency. Are there strategies being put in place, for instance in Nigeria, to access all of it?

Dahiru: Even the United Nation Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) itself, in terms of reporting in the past, we were used to bi-annual update reporting. We have now migrated and all developing countries are transitioning to the new reporting system known as transparency reporting framework. We just concluded the workshop on the tools to support countries to do this bi-annual transparency reporting. The word transparency has been added and it wont be limited to only the actions we are taking with respect to, for instance, implementing your NDC, but actions that you are taking to actually report on your financial transactions associated with the funds for climate change action. So, one would abide by the guidelines of the UNFCCC Article (13) on this bi-annual transparency reporting to do that and for which we will not only report to our respective parliaments, because for Nigeria, this is also another general feature we have that many countries in Africa dont have. The Climate Change Act makes it mandatory for Nigeria to report to the National Assembly annually on what it has done in respect to implementing climate change actions and also the finance associated with it. So, we report to the National Assembly, the Federal Executive Council, the UNFCCC and also to the ICPC. Those ones you know cant compromise on the issue of accountability. So, no country will escape, and Nigeria is also not planning to escape that because we are subjecting ourselves to following all the guidelines and following them to the future.

PT: Can you briefly tell us where we are with the plans of our carbon trading, carbon taxing models and all of that?

Dahiru: For the carbon trading, what we have done so far is, after the commencement of the project in August last year, we have gone ahead to identify the key building blocks, which are three. The first one is the establishment of the registry, the second is the establishment of the exchange and the third is the establishment of validation processes. We have realised that for the exchange, we are aligning and joining it with the support of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to align it with the Nigerian Stock Exchange. So, all that we are doing is adding or asking the Nigeria Stock Exchange to add carbon as a commodity for trading. So, that has been agreed upon. As for the registry, we have some rudimentary registry that was in the making. That is the Red Cross Registry which commenced much earlier under the guidance of the forest carbon partnership facility and the UNRRA Programme. The remaining aspects will be those validation processes; those processes will also require some individuals that have been satisfied by the UNFCCC. Putting them together afresh in Nigeria will require a lot of time and a lot of resources. So, we are in the process of forging partnership with those that are existing either within the African shoreline or globally that are acclaimed five star validation institutions and have a framework agreement with them to work with Nigeria for two to three years after which they exit and then we continue with the Nigeria made system.

PT: Do you have plans towards improving Nigerias agricultural traditional system into a climate friendly system to be able to avert food insecurity and also flooding? Are there any models being put in place?

Dahiru: For the records, Nigeria is not facing the threat of food security. You can see what Nigeria has done with respect to rice production. Importation of rice has reduced very drastically. So, Nigeria can feed Nigerians, not only for rice but for yam, guinea corn, maize and cassava. Cassava and crops such as sugar cane are already being used not only for providing food but for providing secondary raw materials. We are also using some of them even to produce bio-energy resources such as bio-ethanol, bio-diesel and more. For us, the important thing is to scale up what we are doing so far; they are various initiatives. In fact, most of the actions that Nigeria will be putting in its five years circle of National Climate Change Action Plan are going to focus on three major areas  the first one is going to be on the energy transition, i.e decarbonising the energy system as a whole; the second one is going to be focused squarely on land based emissions reduction processes. Where do we have these land-based (emissions)? It is in the agriculture, forestry and other land use sectors. The agricultural sector is going to serve as the substrate for the number of innovative approaches including climate smart agriculture and then providing opportunities for large scale expansion of Agricultural Estates using the best technologies and opportunities for effective resource utilisation including water, land and also integrating issues of a circular economy.

PT: We have conducted some surveys/researches across Nigeria, and we observed that there tends to be a significant knowledge gap about climate change, especially in the hinterlands. Is NCCC looking towards scaling up climate change education in the country?

Dahiru: I want to differ in terms of your research. Yes, you did your research and probably used an existential methodologist. Ask the average man in the village, the average farmer in the village, he would say in the past, if he is from the southern part of Nigeria, the rainfall season was characterised by two peaks and break in August. The break in August was to allow farmers who were willing to do double cropping in a year to plant maize twice in a year, to clear, harvest and prepare for the next one. They usually knew that whenever August set in, there would be an August break. Today, most farmers tell you that there is no August break, they dont even know when it happens. In terms of rainfall patterns, even in the North, where you know the highest rainfall comes in August, now we receive the highest rainfall either in June or in July which makes planning for planting difficult. These are the specific signs of climate change. All that we need to do in terms of that education is to connect and make people understand the connection between these adverse environmental and weather effects affecting their everyday life with climate change. What is happening, for us in the council, is modifying our messaging as the main focus of our stakeholder engagement, awareness creation and our engagement. It forms a big board. One of the six departments in the National Council of Climate Change is the Department of Innovation, Awareness, Research and Outreach.

PT: Whats your take home from here back to Nigeria?

Dahiru: Leaders of the countries have made their statements, some have identified their priorities, Nigeria has also mentioned its priorities and it is determined to pursue the implementation of its NDCs; and that NDC is a half life for Nigerias net zero target of 2060, because the NDC is meant to end by 2030, which is just less than seven years from now. So those priorities in our respective NDCs, we have finalised their allignment with our net zero targets with their Energy transition plan. The funding that we require is to be able to finance this. Now, the strategy is actually to develop a roadmap that will attract the necessary funding, both from outside the country which represents our conditional 47 per cent reduction by 2030 and then the things that we are doing within the country by looking inwards at what partnership organisations such as NSIA, Infracorp, the Ministry of Environment, in terms of the green bonds and a host of others, are doing to get sufficient in-country financing. That will not mean we will wait all through, going out cap in hand looking for support, but to be able to do our part with respect to that unconditional part of 20 per cent by 2030 is our priority, and thats what we intend to do.

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The Chicago State University on Monday released the academic records of President Bola Tinubu following an order of a United States District Court in Northern Illinois.

The next day, 3 October, the registrar of the university, Caleb Westberg, made a deposition at the court, giving further details on the documents which the court ordered should be released to Atiku Abubakar, a top opponent of Mr Tinubu during the 25 February presidential election.

PREMIUM TIMES has now obtained the certified copy of the deposition which captured hours-long intense questioning of Mr Westberg by Atikus legal team.

Atiku had requested Mr Tinubus CSU academic records for use in Nigerian court to prove that the president forged the CSU certificate he submitted to Nigerias electoral body, INEC, to participate in the February election.

He argues that by allegedly submitting a forged certificate to INEC, Mr Tinubu was not qualified to contest the election.

But the Presidential Election Petition Court in Abuja, where Atiku filed his petition to challenge Mr Tinubus election, in its judgement delivered in September, dismissed the forgery allegation, among other issues he and other opposition candidates raised concerning the poll as unproven.

Displeased with the judgement, the Peoples Democratic Partys presidential candidate promptly lodged an appeal against it at the Supreme Court, where he now hopes to present the CSU documents as evidence of forgery against Mr Tinubu.

The release of the documents, which have gone viral online, inflamed controversies touching on Mr Tinubus education at CSU, the true identity of the owner of the CSU degree he lay claims to, and the authenticity of the certificate he submitted to INEC, among others.

There were speculations that Mr Tinubu used the results of another person, named Bola A. Tinubu, identified as a female, to gain admission to CSU.

But in the 125-page deposition, Mr Westberg, the universitys registrar, was clear that Mr Tinubu, the Nigerian president, indeed attended the school from August 1977 to June 1979.

He was awarded a Bachelor of Science Degree in Business Administration with Honors on June 22, 1979. His major was accounting, reads a letter he had written on the matter, which he again confirmed when it was read out to him while making the deposition on Tuesday.

He also confirmed the identity of Mr Tinubu, the current Nigerian president, as the one who graduated as stated in the records under reference.

He was pressed on many occasions on this issue, facing a flood of questions framed in different wordings during the deposition.

We did go over this. Given the holistic review of the record, we do believe it to be the president of Nigeria, Mr Westberg said on one occasion in response to the repeatedly asked question.

To further test his conviction about the claim, he was asked if he had ever met Mr Tinubu, if Mr Tinubu had ever visited the CSU campus or if Mr Tinubu had ever donated to the school. His answers to the questions were all in the negative.

So apart from the official transcript, CSU has no other basis for stating that Bola A. Tinubu who attended CSU is the same Bola A. Tinubu that is now president of Nigeria? he was further pressed for an answer.

In response, Mr Westberg said, Chicago State University has the official record of Bola A. Tinubu, and we believe that to be 19 true and authentic.

On whether the initial, A, that stands for the middle name in Bola A. Tinubu in CSU records meant Ahmed, the presidents known middle name, the university registrar said, The legal name for Bola A. Tinubu is sufficient for the university to determine the student identity. The middle name is not required for us to do that.

But Mr Westberg was inconsistent during the deposition when he was asked to authenticate the copy of the certificate Mr Tinubu submitted to INEC.

Initially, he said, We were not qualified to verify whether this document is authentic, given that it is not in our possession.

He was later asked if the diploma he earlier said was provided to Bola A. Tinubu, referred to the one that was issued to the student in 1979, and in answering, he responded, Correct .

The examiner from Atikus legal team further asked, And the diploma that was provided to the student Tinubu in 1979 cant be the one that President Tinubu submitted to INEC because Dr. Daniel did not arrive at CSU until later?

The CSUs lawyer objected to the question which he said calls for speculation. But Mr Westberg went on to answer Thats correct.

EDITORS NOTE: The headline and body of this post have been updated after a further reading and understanding of the deposition transcript.

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Military coups were common in Africa during the Cold War, and now seem to be returning. Between January 2020 and August 2023, there were five attempted and nine successful coups  the latest being the military takeovers in Niger (July) and Gabon (August). Nearly 20 per cent of African countries have experienced coups since 2013.

Most recent coups have happened in West Africa, especially in French-speaking countries. This has alarmed the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), which hurriedly convened summits on the issue in February 2022 and July 2023.

As in Mali, ECOWAS countries have imposed sanctions on Niger and threatened to intervene militarily to dislodge the coup leaders if they fail to reinstate deposed president Mohamed Bazoum. And as with Mali and other cases, experience shows that sanctions alone cannot deter overthrows  the root causes must be addressed.

Coups in Africa dont come out of nowhere. Causes can be varied and include external and internal factors.

One external factor is ongoing neo-colonialism. Some countries outside the continent, particularly during the Cold War, worked behind the scenes to topple leaders they believed threatened their interests. Many African countries heavy dependence on external support, including military and economic aid, makes it easier for foreign powers to use several means, including coups, to remove leaders who prevent them from advancing their interests.

Internal factors such as poor governance, widespread corruption, nepotism and clannism are some reasons cited by recent putschists to justify removing elected civilian governments and their acolytes. Others include elite and ethnically based income and wealth capture, tampering with the constitution and insecurity (in the Sahel).

The failure of the African Union (AU) and regional economic communities such as ECOWAS to sanction their peers for electoral fraud and speak up when it matters most also breeds fertile ground for coups. Despite three court petitions challenging Nigerian President Bola Tinubus election, ECOWAS quickly made him chairperson in July, well ahead of Nigerias Presidential Election Petition Court decision to dismiss the petitions.

Leaders focusing on development rather than enriching themselves are scarce in Africa. The continent is endowed with abundant valuable natural resources, yet it accounts for about 60 per cent of the worlds poor. Infrastructure shortages, inadequate public service delivery and rampant unemployment, among others, feature in many African countries.

Political systems generally benefit only the ruling elite, who plunder public resources and lack empathy for the economic hardship experienced by their people. Frustrated by living in poverty without prospects for improvement, many young Africans risk their lives daily to cross the Mediterranean Sea for greener pastures. The vast gap between political leaders and the plight of the people increases conditions conducive to military coups or armed rebellions.

The population could vote incompetent leaders out of office, but democracy in many African countries is flawed. Leaders frequently cook the constitution and use massive electoral fraud to maintain power  with no sanction from their peers at regional, continental or international levels.

Some have used these means to stay in control for over three decades with little to show in terms of socio-economic development. Even in countries where electoral democracy seems to function well, newly elected leaders often fail to deliver on their promises to improve citizens welfare.

The inability of elected African governments to drive their countries development agenda has led to a disaffection with democracy. Afrobarometer surveys in 30 African countries show that the proportion of citizens satisfied with how democracy works in their country declined from 50 per cent to 43 per cent between 2011 and 2021.

This is why Africas recent coups, especially in West African Francophone countries, have received massive public support. People see their leaders as puppets who serve the interests of their colonial master, France, instead of implementing policies and reforms to improve their living conditions.

There is some evidence that the populace will resist military coups against leaders or governments they believe are serving their needs. Turkey witnessed the bloodiest coup attempt in its political history in 2016. With external support, a section of the Turkish military tried to unseat President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. As news spread via social media, thousands of citizens gathered to resist tank fire and air bombardments. With the help of loyalist soldiers, they stopped the coup attempt.

Any solutions to the increase in military takeovers in Africa must tackle the root cause of the problem. The AU and regional economic communities should seriously investigate and address the underlying drivers.

They must respond effectively to electoral fraud and constitutional coups that extend presidential terms. Their meetings should focus on improving governance, inclusive growth and development instead of abetting bad governance by waiting for a coup, then condemning it and issuing sanctions  which hurt the population more than the junta. And Africas youth are unlikely to tolerate any form of neo-colonialism, so leaders must explain to their people how cooperation with the West and others is a win-win situation.

Military coups do not advance good governance, democracy and development in Africa. There is little evidence that takeovers deliver anything that citizens actually want. Coup leaders generally fail to undo the damage that justified their actions, and end up being removed from power by another military intervention, as in Burkina Faso in 2022.

Until African leaders hear the cry of their people, military coups will continue to occur and receive the support of citizens desperate for developmentally oriented leaders who consider their aspirations.

Kouassi Yeboua, Senior Researcher, African Futures and Innovation, Institute for Security Studies (ISS) Pretoria

(This article was first published by ISS Today, a Premium Times syndication partner. We have their permission to republish).

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The Supreme Court on Thursday slated 15 December for judgement in the Nigerian governments appeal challenging the lower courts order for the release of Nnamdi Kanu.

Mr Kanu, leader of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), has been in detention since June 2021 after he was forcibly repatriated from Kenya to Nigeria.

The Court of Appeal in Abuja, on 13 October last year, dismissed the terrorism and treasonable felony charges filed against Mr Kanu on the basis of his agitation for the secession of a Biafra Republic, comprising the five South-east states and parts of neighbouring states, from Nigeria.

The court, in its decision, ordered Mr Kanus release from the detention of Nigerias secret police, the State Security Service (SSS).

The Court of Appeal made the orders on the grounds that the federal governments manner of repatriating the IPOB leader from Kenya was illegal.

But the court would later suspend the execution of the release of Mr Kanu to afford the government time to pursue its appeal against the decision at the Supreme Court.

Thursday hearing

At the hearing of the substantive appeal on Thursday, a five-member of the Supreme Court headed by Kudirat Kekere-Ekun adjourned the suit for judgement after taking brief arguments from lawyers to the parties.

While adjourning the suit, Ms Kekere-Ekun said the decision that would be reached in the federal governments appeal would address issues raised by Mr Kanus suit challenging his continued detention.

Earlier, the federal governments lawyer, Tijjani Gazali, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), urged the Supreme Court to allow the appeal and set aside the decision of the Court of Appeal freeing Mr Kanu.

Mr Gazali who is the acting director of civil appeals at the Federal Ministry of Justice in Abuja, prayed the court to affirm the judgement of the Federal High Court in Abuja which sustained terrorism charges against the separatist leader.

However, Mr Kanus lawyer, Mike Ozekhome, a law professor and SAN, prayed the apex court to dismiss the appeal with punitive cost and respectfully uphold the cross-appeal in order to do substantial justice to this matter.

Mr Ozekhome informed the court that his client had been languishing in detention since 29 June 2021, when he was brought back to Nigeria.

We humbly urge my Lords to dismiss the appeal with punitive cost and respectfully uphold the cross-appeal in order to do substantial justice to this matter so that Nnamdi Kanu who has been in incarceration since 29 June, 2021 can be released. He is being held illegally against both local and International laws, Mr Ozekhome argued.

He further told the court that no government should trample on the rights of its citizens.

Alongside Ms Kudirat Kekere-Ekun, who presided, the other members of the five-member panel are Ibrahim Saulawa, Garba Mohammed, Tijjani Abubakar and Emmanuel Agim.

Background

On 13 October 2022, a three-member panel of the appellate court led by Oludotun Adefope-Okojie, dismissed the terrorism and treasonable felony charges against Mr Kanu.

The court had ordered Mr Kanus release from detention after striking out a seven-count charge pending before Binta Nyako of the Federal High Court in Abuja.

Mr Adefope-Okojie held that Mr Kanus forced return from Kenya to Nigeria in June 2021 was a breach of local and international laws.

Instead of complying with the appellate courts decision ordering Mr Kanus unconditional release, the office of the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) filed an appeal at the Supreme Court.

The then AGF, Abubakar Malami, filed an application for a stay of execution of the Court of Appeals verdict on the separatist leader.

But on 28 October 2022, another three-member panel of the Court of Appeal headed by Haruna Tsammani, halted the execution of its judgement which freed Mr Kanu of terrorism charges.

The government had applied that the execution of the judgment be suspended pending the resolution of its appeal filed at the Supreme Court.

Mr Tsammiani, in the ruling, held that the counter-affidavit filed against the government application by Mr Kanus legal team led by Mr Ozekhome was misleading.

Mr Kanu has been leading secession campaigns of South-east region parts of South-south Nigeria for an independent state of Biafra.

The federal government blamed IPOBs separatist activities for the violence that has engulfed the South-east region.

But Mr Kanu and IPOB disagreed with the government over the allegations of violent separatist campaigns.

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Atiku Abubakar, the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party in the 25 February election, has called on other presidential candidates to join him in his legal battle against President Bola Tinubu, particularly over the certificate forgery allegation against the president.

Atiku made the call on Thursday during a press conference in Abuja.

He specifically called on Peter Obi of the Labour Party, who is also at the Supreme Court fighting to be declared winner of the presidential election, and Rabiu Kwankwaso of the New Nigeria People Party (NNPP) to join him.

Let me call on Peter Obi, Rabiu Kwankwaso to join me in this campaign for morality in our government, he said.

He noted that he is not fighting for Atiku alone, but for the upholding of the countrys constitution, which Nigerian leaders ought to derive their legitimacy from.

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Atiku declared that he would not back down until the final pronouncement by the Supreme Court.

Atiku arrived at the venue of the press briefing around 3:00 p.m. alongside the former National Chairman of the PDP, Iyorchia Ayu, former Senate President Bukola Saraki, Segun Sowunmi and other chieftains of the party.

Background

Atiku had requested the documents to back his allegation of forgery of Chicago State University (CSU) certificate against Mr Tinubu.

The allegation of forgery was one of those dismissed by Presidential Election Petition Court in the suit the PDP candidate filed to challenge the election of Mr Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

Despite the courts ruling, Atiku filed a case at the US court, seeking to get official documents to back his claim and possibly include them in his appeal at Nigerias Supreme Court.

PREMIUM TIMES reported how a U.S. court on Saturday ordered the university to release the records within 48 hours.

The university, on Monday, presented to Atikus legal team, a cache of documents connected to Mr Tinubus education at the institution and copies of certificates with redacted names issued to other persons about the same time the Nigerian president finished from the school in 1979.

It also contained Mr Tinubus admission records, and a letter dated 27 June 2022 confirming that he attended the university from August 1977 to June 1979 majoring in accounting. The letter said Mr Tinubu was awarded Bachelor of Science in Business Administration with Honours on 22 June 1979.

CSU Registrar, Caleb Westberg, made a deposition at the court, giving further details on the documents that were released to Mr Atikus team.

Details later

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Overshadowed by the formidable media presence of her husband, the erotomaniac Helmut Newton, that controversial totem of 20th-century photography, the figure of June Newton (who used the pseudonym Alice Springs for her photographic work) has remained in the background for too long. On the occasion of the centennial of his birth, the Helmut Newton Foundation in Berlin does justice to her career with a substantial retrospective on display until January 21, 2024, which includes nearly 250 images, many unpublished.

June Browne (Melbourne, 1923-Monte Carlo, 2021) felt the calling to become an actress from a young age. In fact, it was in a theater that she met Helmut Newton, a German photographer from a Jewish family that emigrated to Australia when the Nazi barbarism began. One afternoon in 1946, he attended a play where she was acting and fell in love instantly. For weeks he waited for her at the dressing room door until they started dating. They were married in 1948 (she then took her husbands last name) and did not separate until his death in 2004.

Alice Springs self-portrait next to Sirpa Lane in Paris in the 1970s.

In 1961 the couple lived in Paris, where his career was taking off and where she began her love affair with the camera quite by chance. One morning in 1970, Helmut couldnt get out of bed because of the flu, June recalled in Mrs. Newton, her 2004 autobiography. He had a shoot in Place Vendome for an advertisement for Gitanes cigarettes. I had already worked as his assistant, so I asked him how to read the light meter and how to charge the camera, I showed up there, and I did the job myself. When the customers check arrived, I knew I was in business. Shortly before getting her first assignment from Depeche Mode magazine, Browne went to dinner at actress Jean Sebergs house. The American interpreters boyfriend took out a map of Australia and a pin and asked her to stick it on the map with her eyes closed. It fell in the city of Alice Springs, which since then became her alter ego for future sessions in Vanity Fair, Interview and Vogue, which are documented in the current exhibition.

There, her mastery of psychological portraits are also highlighted, such as those in Us and Them (1998), a photobook shared with Helmut that created a delicious visual game in which each one contrasted their images of a celebrity in different life stages. The result is a parade of the cultural jet set of recent decades: writers (William Burroughs, Christopher Isherwood), artists (Joseph Beuys, David Hockney), performers (Charlotte Rampling, Vittorio Gassman), filmmakers (Federico Fellini, Agnes Varda) and designers (Karl Lagerfeld, Vivienne Westwood). All were immortalized in public spaces or in their homes and with natural light. She was interested in the person behind the mask, in their soul, explains Matthias Harder, curator of the exhibition and director of the foundation. She was an artist in her own right who, especially in the genre of portraiture, was at least on a par with her husband. Harder, who worked with her since the institution opened in 2004 (Browne was president until her death), remembers her as an astute, fun, generous but demanding woman. She had a deep respect for almost everyone, but she was also not afraid of anyone.

In addition to her better known facets (advertising, fashion or nudes), the retrospective highlights her series Melrose Avenue from 1984, which shows her eye for street photography, capturing musical subcultures in that artery of Los Angeles, home of punks, skaters and rockers. As a voyeur nod, the exhibition recreates the apartment in Monaco where the couple lived and where they both managed their archives, now in the possession of the Foundation. Weve made some cool discoveries, Harder confesses. But it will take years to process all that material. Because Alice Springs created an autonomous body of work that is yet to be discovered.
Atiku Abubakar, the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), says he will accept the outcome of the Supreme Court in the ongoing legal battle to nullify the election of President Bola Tinubu.

Atiku stated this at the press conference in Abuja on Thursday.

The former vice president said the legal battle at Chicago State University In Illinois revealed that Mr Tinubu presented a forged certificate and he will only drop the fight if the Supreme Court rules against him.

Ill only drop the fight when the court rules, he said.

If the court rules that I am right, fine. If the court rules that he (Tinubu) is right  so thats the end of the fight because at the moment we are at the Supreme Court and there is no any other court (higher) than the Supreme Court, Atiku added.

He stated that the fight against Mr Tinubu is to ensure that constitutional provisions on minimum qualifications for elective positions are adhered to.

The constitution prescribes the requirements for those who seek the highest elective office in the land.

It should not take months or, indeed, decades, for the institutions concerned to be able to do their work in establishing the credibility of any certificates presented by candidates for public office.

We undertook this journey at great cost and for important reasons. The ground rules for legitimate governance in our country need to be upheld, and the reputation of our country is at stake. That affects everyone, Nigerians everywhere, he said.

Atiku had requested the documents to back his allegation of forgery of CSU certificate against Mr Tinubu.

PREMIUM TIMES reported how a U.S. court on Saturday ordered the university to release the records within 48 hours.

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The university, on Monday, presented to Atikus legal team, documents connected to Mr Tinubus education at the institution and copies of certificates with redacted names issued to other persons about the same time the Nigerian president finished from the school in 1979.

It also contained Mr Tinubus admission records, and a letter dated 27 June 2022 confirming that he attended the university from August 1977 to June 1979 majoring in accounting.

The letter said Mr Tinubu was awarded Bachelor of Science in Business Administration with Honours on 22 June 1979.

CSU Registrar, Caleb Westberg, made a deposition at the court, giving further details on the documents that were released to Atikus team.

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Governor Dapo Abiodun of Ogun has solicited a partnership with the United States of America in developing critical sectors of the states economy.

Mr Abiodun made the request when he received the American Consul-General to Nigeria, Will Stevens, who led a five-person delegation on a courtesy call to the governors office in Abeokuta on Wednesday.

The governor said his state considers the United States a progressive partner in the areas of economy, good governance, security, climate change and human capital development.

He said Ogun State is known for the sophistication of its people and their cognitive political culture and has been described as the New Jersey of Nigeria and the leading industrial hub in the West African sub-region.

Mr Abiodun added that the state needs to tap from the American experience to further its developmental stride.

My administration at inception in 2019, assembled a team made up of highly resourceful technocrats and cerebral policy architects and conceptualised a transformational philosophy.

My administration focused on Infrastructural Development, Social Welfare and Well-being, Education and Human Capital Development, Youth Empowerment, Agriculture and Food Security.

In our quest to make the state the first destination for investors in Nigeria, my administration is currently constructing an agro cargo international airport at Iperu, Ikenne Local Government Area of the state.

The project is strategically designed to create the needed infrastructure to boost exportation of agricultural and non-agricultural goods.

By its structure and business plan, the cargo airport remains a game-changer in our import and export promotion efforts, he said.

Mr Abiodun thanked the American government for its firm stance on democratic governance, specifically on the sanctity of the electoral process.

He noted that the US government was also supporting different reforms in the electoral process.

Speaking earlier, Mr Stevens explained that it was his job to promote U.S. trade and investment in certain parts of Nigeria.

U.S. companies are already making incredible investments in the state and are seeking opportunities for increased U.S. trade and investment.

We also talked about the tax sector, I think there are incredible opportunities right now to find jobs and opportunities for Nigerian youths to participate in the tax sector.

We have seen the explosion of growth and investment in that sector throughout Nigeria, particularly in the South West, the Consul General added.

(NAN).

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In furtherance of its commitment to reposition and sanitise the solid minerals sector of the economy, the federal government through the Ministry of Solid Minerals Development will partner with the Africa Finance Corporation (AFC) in data gathering to de-risk investment in the mining sector.

Nigerias Minister of Solid Minerals, Dele Alake, made this known during the visit by the President/CEO Africa Finance Corporation, Samaila Zubairu.

Riding on the existing robust partnership between the AFC and Solid Minerals Development Fund ( SMDF-an agency of the Ministry), Mr Alake said: The Ministry will consolidate on this partnership to develop the necessary data needed to advance the $700bn value under the ground under the big data strategy.

Elaborating further, the minister explained that every effort being made through policies and programmes to make Nigeria a destination for solid minerals development would be futile if the nation didnt improve on data gathering.

We will invest heavily in data generation, concise and precise data generation that will enable investors to make informed decisions, Mr Alake enthused.

READ ALSO:

The minister used the opportunity of the visit to hint at initiatives by the SMDF and the AFC to catalyse the development of the mineral sector under their partnership.

He said These initiatives directly support Mr Presidents Renewed Hope Agenda, particularly in foreign direct investment, job creation and increased fiscal revenues. The agreement is a critical win under the recently announced Transformation Agenda as it directly supports establishing processing centres to focus on value-added products .

While acknowledging the growing partnership between the Africa Finance Corporation and Solid Minerals Development Fund aimed at identifying and supporting development-stage mining projects in Nigeria, Mr Alake said the visit of the CEO of AFC signposts how critical the mining sector is to Nigerias economic growth and prosperity.

Speaking earlier, Mr Zubairu stated that the quantum and value of Nigerias solid minerals have made it imperative to develop a framework of partnering with the Ministry to grow the sector for rapid economic development of the country.

Furthermore, the AFC president pledged the corporations support for the BIG Data project, value-added processing centres, curbing insecurity and support for local mining companies.

Alaba Balogun

Head, Press & Public Relations

05 October 2023

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The House of Representatives has urged the federal government to clear the existing judgement debts incurred by ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs).

This resolution was reached on Thursday following the adoption of a motion moved by Lanre Okunlola (APC, Lagos).

Moving the motion, Mr Okunlola claimed MDAs have judgement debts of $556,754,584.31 398, 526.17 and N226,281,801,881.64.

He stated that there is an urgent need for the government to clear the judgement debts which constitute a significant financial burden on the nations finances.

These judgment debts are top priority obligations that require prompt resolution to ensure the financial stability and reputation of our government.

It is essential to address these judgment debts in a responsible and transparent manner, he said.

Following the adoption of the motion, the House resolved to Investigate the existence and magnitude of the judgment debt incurred by MDAs.

The lawmakers asked the federal government to authorise the issuance of promissory notes to settle the judgement debts.

The House also mandated the Committee on Aids, Loans and Debt Management to oversee the process of issuing promissory notes and report to the House accordingly.

The motion was taken without debate.

When the Deputy Speaker, Ben Kalu, who presided over the session put it to vote, it was carried unanimously.

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Obi Aguocha, a member of the House of Representatives, representing Ikwuano/Umuahia North/Umuahia South Federal Constituency of Abia State, has called for the release of Nnamdi Kanu, the incarcerated leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB).

Mr Aguacha, the lawmaker representing Mr Kanus constituency, said the release of the separatist leader would help to restore peace to the entire South-east region.

He stated this in a press statement on Thursday.

Respectfully, I make particular reference to our continued plea and demand for the unconditional release of my constituent, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, from unlawful detention in compliance with the extant Judicial pronouncements.

Clearly, his release will help in reducing crime and criminality, banditry, assassinations, and kidnapping prevalent in the southeast. thereby fostering the revitalisation of the dwindling economy of the region and a peaceable return to normalcy, he said.

The IPOB leader has been in and out of detention in Nigeria since 2015, the fallout of his run-in with the Nigerian government over his separatist campaigns.

He and his IPOB, already designated as a terrorist organisation in Nigeria, are seeking the creation of an independent Biafra nation, comprising most of the areas of the old Eastern Region.

The lawmaker also called for the inclusion of young persons in the polity of Nigeria to address the problem of agitation.

He said focus should be most especially on the youths who are ever increasingly feeling disenchanted and agitated, and often are left behind, lives of hopelessness, insufficient opportunities and despair. Undoubtedly, they are the future that starts now.

I earnestly pray that together, we shall strive for a society where every Nigerian enjoys equal opportunities and rights, irrespective of tribe, political, or religious orientation through adherence to the rule of law and respect for the judgment of courts of competent jurisdictions.

As the Holy Bible admonishes us in Romans 14:19: Let us therefore make every effort to do what leads to peace and mutual edification, he said.

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A PREMIUM TIMES journalist, Chiamaka Okafor, and 27 other journalists from different countries have been selected to cover the 28th UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP28) in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

Ms Okafor is a senior reporter at PREMIUM TIMES, covering the Nigerian diaspora and global issues including climate change.

The fellowship programme is part of the Climate Change Media Partnership (CCMP) led by Internews Earth Journalism Network (EJN) and the Stanley Centre for Peace and Security.

According to the list of fellows published on EJNs official website Wednesday, Ms Okafor is the only Nigerian selected by the organisation to attend and report on COP28 in person in Dubai alongside. She will be joined by 19 other winners from other countries, while eight fellows will cover the conference remotely from their home countries.

Other fellows are from India, Iraq, Philippines, Cambodia, Colombia, Morocco, Indonesia, Ghana, Kenya, Jamaica, Thailand, Brazil, and Argentina, among others.

EJN noted that the fellows will receive support and guidance from seasoned climate journalists for the conference scheduled to run from 30 November to 12 December 2023.

EJN stated that 600 applications were received from climate journalists around the world for the CCMP 2023, adding that the selected fellows went through two rounds of reviews and interviews by a panel of international judges.

COP28 coverage

According to EJN, COP28 will facilitate the first-ever global stocktake since the Paris Agreement, assessing the progress by countries to date on climate mitigation, adaptation, and equitable implementation.

Ms Okafor in her remarks said it is a rare privilege to be part of the fellowship, adding that the event would provide her an opportunity for detailed reporting on Nigerias climate change negotiations and those of other African countries.

I am looking forward to working with all faculty members, and all my colleagues on the fellowship, she said.

We have a huge task ahead of us to make sure the world is informed about Africas engagement at this COP especially following the Nairobi Declaration.

We must help the populace hold our leaders accountable by documenting details of their engagements in Dubai.

Nairobi declaration

African political and business leaders recently adopted the Nairobi Declaration to raise 23 billion dollars for green growth, mitigation and adaptation to address climate challenges in Africa.

The declaration was announced by Kenyas president, William Ruto at the Africa Climate Summit (ACS) held in Nairobi to advance conversation and solutions on the devastating impacts of Climate Change ravaging different regions of the African continent and the world.

James Fahn, EJNs executive director, said the global stocktaking process at COP28 will be an important summit to spotlight climate change in the Middle East region and how nations are responding to climate emergency.

About CCMP

The CCMP was formed in 2007 by EJN in collaboration with Panos London and the International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED) to support journalists from low and middle-income countries (LMICs) to attend the annual UN climate summits.

Since launching in 2007, EJN says the CCMP has supported more than 400 journalists to report on location from the summit.

Without support such as this, people in low-and middle-income countrieswhich bear the brunt of climate change despite contributing relatively little to global emissionsmight have had to rely solely on global wire services for news about UN climate negotiations, it noted.

For COP28, EJN said the 20 fellows reporting in Dubai will participate in orientation activities, daily briefings, interviews with high-level officials, and other interactions to facilitate quality reporting on developments and outcomes at COP28.

It added that the four fellows from the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) and four from Lower Mekong countries will cover COP28 remotely, with opportunities for mentorship, networking, and virtual interviews with officials and others at the conference.

About COP

COP is an annual UN Climate Change Conference that takes place in a different host city each year.

The COP is the supreme decision-making body of the United Nations Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the COP assesses progress in combating climate change.

According to the UNFCCC, ever since the first COP in Berlin in 1995, COPs have been used to review what Parties (the countries who signed up) have achieved, and measure progress.

It is also a vital means of monitoring the progress made so far and working out the targets that need to be achieved in the future if we are to reach the goals of the Paris Agreement.

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The Benue State Government has confirmed release of the Commissioner for Information, Culture and Tourism, Matthew Abo, who was kidnapped about 10 days ago.

The Chief Press Secretary to the state governor, Tersoo Kula, confirmed the commissioners release in a statement on Thursday.

Mr Abo was kidnapped from his residence in Zaki-Biam on Sunday, 24 September by some armed men in the presence of his relations.

Mr Kula, in the statement, said the commissioner has since reunited with his family members in Sankera District of Ukum Local Government Area.

He said no ransom was paid to the kidnappers in securing the release of the commissioner. He, however added that the intense pressure from security agencies forced the kidnappers to release him.

No ransom or any other monetary exchanges were involved in securing his release. Rather, his release was as a result of intense pressure on the criminals from the gallant security operatives who were acting on the directives of Gov. Hyacinth Alia, who had earlier given marching orders to them to ensure Mr. Abos release, he said.

Mr Kula said the governor was happy with the security personnel for their efforts in security the release of the commissioner.

His Excellency, Rev. Fr. Hyacinth Alia, who has welcomed back the Commissioner, has warned criminals operating within the state to leave for good, insisting that they will not be tolerated in any form.

The governor appreciates the security operatives for the feat, charging them to continue their actions in order to get the remaining captives released, he said.

READ ALSO: Gunmen kidnap Benue commissioner

Mr Kula added that the governor charged the security personnel to redouble their efforts in wiping away criminals within the state.

He charges the security operatives to be ruthless on criminals, ensuring they have no room to operate in the state, the statement said.

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The Chicago State University on Monday released the academic records of President Bola Tinubu following an order of a United States District Court in Northern Illinois.

The next day, 3 October, the registrar of the university, Caleb Westberg, made a deposition at the court, giving further details on the documents which the court ordered should be released to Atiku Abubakar, a top opponent of Mr Tinubu during the 25 February presidential election.

PREMIUM TIMES has now obtained the certified copy of the deposition which captured hours-long intense questioning of Mr Westberg by Atikus legal team.

Atiku had requested Mr Tinubus CSU academic records for use in Nigerian court to prove that the president forged the CSU certificate he submitted to Nigerias electoral body, INEC, to participate in the February election.

He argues that by allegedly submitting a forged certificate to INEC, Mr Tinubu was not qualified to contest the election.

But the Presidential Election Petition Court in Abuja, where Atiku filed his petition to challenge Mr Tinubus election, in its judgement delivered in September, dismissed the forgery allegation, among other issues he and other opposition candidates raised concerning the poll, as unproved.

Displeased with the judgement, the Peoples Democratic Partys presidential candidate promptly lodged an appeal against it at the Supreme Court, where he now hopes to present the CSU documents as evidence of forgery against Mr Tinubu.

The 125-page deposition by Mr Westberg, the universitys registrar, shed light on raging controversies concerning Mr Tinubus education at the university, his identity, and the certificate issued to him.

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The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) has invited interested insurance brokers registered in Nigeria, to bid as brokers for its oil and non-oil assets and liabilities insurance programme for the 2024/2025 period.

A statement by the company released on its X handle on Thursday said interested brokers should ensure that all submissions are completed electronically via the NIPEX Tender Portal on or before 12:00 noon on Monday, 13 November 2023.

It noted that comprehensive details, eligibility criteria, and submission guidelines are available on its official website.

Bidders who have submitted their bids and external observers shall be invited to attend the virtual live-stream bid opening session, it said.

The company said the contract for the insurance of its oil and non-oil assets and liabilities shall be awarded to the successful bidder(s) for a period of 12 months.

There shall be a consolidated insurance policy to include insurance of energy assets such as production platforms, oil wells, refineries, depots, pumping stations, jetties, terminals, gas metering stations, vessels, power plants, buildings etc. owned, controlled or operated by NNPC Ltd, it said.

Eligibility Criteria

NNPCL said all interested insurance companies seeking to be considered must satisfy the following eligibility and pre-qualification criteria.

Be a limited liability company registered with the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) in Nigeria and licensed by the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) to transact general insurance business.

It added that the companies must have a minimum paid-up capital as approved by NAICOM for the different classes of insurance and must be a good corporate citizen of Nigeria that pays its taxes as at when due.

It must also fulfil all statutory requirements to operate as an Insurer in the Nigerian oil and gas industry.

In submitting for the bid, the NNPCL said the company must have a Certified True Copy of the certificate of incorporation obtained from the CAC within the last twelve months ending November 2023 and a CAC status report generated within 3-months of bid submission.

READ ALSO:

The company must also submit a Certified True Copy by the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) of the companys current Licence as an Insurer to transact general insurance business within the last twelve months ending November 2023.

The companys published Annual Audited Accounts and Reports for the years ending 2020, 2021 and 2022 must also be submitted with the NAICOMs approval of Annual Audited Accounts and Returns for the underwriting year ending 31st December 2022.

It said a copy of the Tax Clearance Certificate issued by the Federal Inland Revenue Service for the past three (3) years 2020, 2021 and 2022 (Receipts not acceptable). Certification must be valid up to 31st December 2022.

It added that the company should also submit a certificate of compliance with the provisions of the Pension Reform Act, 2014 issued by the National Pension Commission (PENCOM) expiring not earlier than 31st December 2023.

Employee Compensation Scheme (ECS) Clearance Certificate as evidence of compliance with the provisions of the Employee Compensation Act 2010 issued by Nigerian Social Insurance Trust Fund expiring not earlier than 31st December 2023 (Receipts not acceptable).

Evidence of Certificate of compliance with the provisions of Industrial Training Fund (ITF) Act 2011 as issued by the ITF expiring not earlier than 31st December 2023.

Relevant certificate of registration with the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) expiring not earlier than 31st December 2023, it said.

Similarly, it said the company must submit evidence of good business relationship with competent Re-Insurance broker(s) with relevant

experience in the energy business and access to the international insurance markets.

The NNPCL said documentation/evidence demonstrating experience in similar oil and gas (Exploration and production (E & P) and oil servicing companies only) insurance cover placed in the last 3 years as leader or co-insurer (a minimum of two (2) documentation/evidence is expected).

Please attach copies of letters of award including clients company, full contact details (Not P.O.Box), functional phone numbers, and e-mail address and description of re-insurance strategy, including use of rated re-insurance Companies.

Copy of 2021/2022, 2022/2023 and 2023/2024 signed domestic and/or foreign reinsurance slips for your energy/oil accounts and evidence of payment of 2021/2022, 2022/2023 and 2023/2024 reinsurance premiums for your energy/oil accounts.

Current and in-place organizational structure. Experience and skills of management and technical personnel with one-page resume provided for each showing companies worked for with dates.

A prospective bidder shall provide a sworn affidavit to support action, it added.

The NNPCL noted that all documents for submission must be transmitted with a duly signed covering/forwarding letter by the authorised officer of the firm under the Company/Firms letterhead.

The letterhead must bear, amongst others, the names and nationalities of the directors of the company, the registration number (RC) as issued by the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC), contact address, telephone number (preferably GSM number) and email address.

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The Senate has summoned the Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, and Minister of Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, to appear before its committees on Health and Police Affairs over the death of Greatness Olorunfemi, a victim of one-chance operators in Abuja.

The Senate also summoned the Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Mohammed Pate, over the incident.

The upper chamber also mandated Messrs Egbetokun, Wike and Pate to embark on adequate sensitisation on the Gunshot Act 2017 which was signed into law by former President Muhammadu Buhari.

The resolutions were adopted following a motion raised by Asuquo Ekpenyong (Cross River South) at the plenary on Thursday.

Ms Olorunfemi, a community developer and member of the Young African Leaders Initiative Network (YALI) was reportedly pushed out of a moving vehicle along the Maitama-Kubwa highway on Tuesday by hoodlums who had robbed her.

Some passers-by who witnessed the scene immediately rushed her to Maitama General Hospital but she was allegedly denied treatment for not providing a police report.

The action of the hospital management is contrary to the Compulsory Treatment and Care for Victims of Gunshot Act 2017.

The law provides for mandatory treatment of victims of gunshot wounds and also a fine of N50,000 as punishment on anybody who refuses to comply with the Act.

READ ALSO:

Mr Ekpenyong, while presenting his motion, condemned the action of the medical personnel at Maitama General Hospital and called for thorough investigation into the death of Ms Olorunfemi.

He stressed that the continuous denial of treatments to victims of gunshot wounds is contrary to the provisions of the Compulsory Treatment and Care for Victims of Gunshots Act, 2017.

When the motion was thrown open for debate, majority of the senators supported it.

Mohammed Mongunu (APC, Borno North) who supported the motion, said the hospital management should be prosecuted and charged for manslaughter.

The hospital should be charged for manslaughter. The hospital killed her. The law is in place, we should as a matter of urgency make sure that the Maitama General Hospital be prosecuted and should pay for all the benefits, he said.

Neda Imasuen (Edo South) said the matter should be referred to the attorney general of the federation for prosecution.

After the debate, the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, ruled in favour of the motion after putting it to vote.

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Its a textbook political trick. When the partys brand suffers from irreversible wear-and-tear, you have to hide the party and make the candidate shine.

At the Conservative Party Conference in Manchester, Akshata Murthy Rishi Sunaks wife introduced the British prime minister, with a tone right out of American-style political marketeering: Rishi is working hard to do the right thing for the country, not just for now, but for the long-term. Then, turning to her husband, she said: You dont know how proud your daughters and I are of you.

Murthy is the daughter of Narayana Murthy, the Indian billionaire who founded Inofsys, a digital services conglomerate. The British first lady used warm words to introduce Rishi, who assumed office in October of 2022. She also tried out the slogan that the Conservative Party leader intends to use as he makes a last-ditch attempt to resurrect a party that has resigned itself to electoral defeat: Long-Term Decisions for a Brighter Future. PM Sunak is trying to pull together faithful Conservatives, moderate voters and the hard-right before the next UK general elections, which will take place in January of 2025 at the latest. However, in recent weeks, the buzz suggests that the public can expect an election to be called in April of 2024.

All the announcements made by Sunak in recent weeks  including those he incorporated into his closing speech at Wednesdays congress  involve the same triple political juggling act: challenging the establishment (quite an ask for a Conservative Party that has been in power for 13 years), present yourself as the candidate of change and inject a mix of populism and technocracy into your decisions. This seems to consist of reversing ongoing projects, or announcing new ones.

Whenever were presented with a false consensus of public opinion, we will challenge it. Where private interests try to prevail over the needs of the majority of citizens, we will stop them. And when common sense is attacked we will defend it, Sunak assured his party members. Everyone present has understood his strategy, although many still view it with a dose of skepticism.

With the phrase false consensus, Sunak is referring to decisions that have cost the British Treasury the most, which were supported by an understanding between the Conservatives and the Labour Party. The incumbent prime minister blames these decisions for economic inertia in the country. An example is the HS2 infrastructure project, which was launched by Prime Minister Gordon Browns Labour government in 2009, to connect London and the north of England with a high speed rail line. Work began in 2017 and so far, it has only reached Birmingham. The initial budget  of 72 billion pounds, or $88 billion  has nearly doubled. On top of that, the rail lines final phase  projected to be completed in 2029  was delayed until 2033. Against the wishes of many of his MPs, Sunak has canceled the next phases  which were set to extend up to Manchester and Leeds  to instead use the budgeted money for new rail and road plans between the east and the west of the country.

I already know that I will be attacked for this decision. They will say it shows a lack of ambition, Sunak told the party faithful. People in the party whom I respect will oppose it. But believe me, theres nothing ambitious about continuing to pour more and more money into the wrong project. There is no long-term planning if you ignore where the real infrastructure needs are, the prime minister affirmed.

The same argument of a false consensus has also been used by Sunak to defend his decision to delay a large part of the commitments made by the British government in the fight against climate change. He presents these reversals as brave decisions, which have the support of the people and will help relieve the pockets of commuters, truck drivers and households. However, according to public opinion surveys, even Conservative voters dont support these delays.

A gradual plan to ban smoking

After more than a decade of his partys rule, the only way for Sunak  a candidate who was not chosen by either the membership of his party, nor the voters (he was acclaimed by the Conservative MPs)  to get the attention of a tired citizenry is to present an avalanche of new promises.

Alongside the infrastructure plan to develop the impoverished north of England, the prime minister has also promised reforms to improve the effectiveness of the National Health Service. He has assured the public there will be more rigor in the distribution of social benefits, to force beneficiaries to return to the labor market. Sunak has also announced a revolution in the UKs educational system, with the implementation of a system that will require all students to study mathematics and English literature until the age of 18.

On the subject of youth, the PM used the party congress to launch a surprise measure: a lifetime ban on smoking for minors. This proposed policy is similar to the one implemented by the government of New Zealand. I propose that, in the future, we increase the legal smoking age by one year every year. That way, a 14-year-old will no longer be able to buy cigarettes for the rest of his life, Sunak explained. By imposing a ban on the sale of tobacco to anyone born on or after January 1, 2009  and increasing the legal smoking age (currently 18 years in the UK) by one year each year  the habit could be completely eliminated among young people by 2040.

Aware that the most libertarian sector of his party will gnash their teeth at such a prohibitive measure, Sunak announced that, when the time comes, he will not impose voting discipline on his caucus. For now, he has simply managed to change the direction of a new national debate.

Brexit, immigration and the trans movement

Rishi Sunak also hasnt missed the opportunity to remind his party membership that he was an early defender of the alleged virtues of Brexit. And, despite the disappointment that that divorce from the EU has caused  among both eurosceptic and moderate voters  the prime minister continued to express optimism. Since we left the single market, we have grown faster than France or Germany not despite Brexit, but thanks to Brexit, he said in his speech. This argument will lead more than one economist to raise their eyebrows.

The speech was a defense of supposed conservative values, which masked the cultural war that the prime minister has decided to champion against the left  particularly against the trans movement. His government has already announced that it will prevent men who have undergone a gender transition from entering female hospital wards. He will also prevent those convicted of sexual crimes from getting gender-altering surgery. They shouldnt intimidate us or make us believe that people can be whatever sex they want to be. They cannot. A man is a man and a woman is a woman, he proclaimed.

Sunak has defended his new policy against irregular immigration, which includes future deportations to Rwanda, floating prisons to house those who arrive on the shores of the UK, as well as huge legal obstacles to prevent migrants from applying for asylum. Without using the harsh language deployed by Minister of Interior Suella Braverman, the prime minister has sounded equally defiant against international laws that hinder his objectives, such as the European Convention on Human Rights. I believe that our strategy is in line with our international commitments. But I assure you that I will do whatever is necessary to stop the boats from reaching our shores, Sunak promised.

The Conservative Congress in Manchester has been overshadowed by the partys hard-right. Messages of extreme populism have shown how far the party has drifted since Brexit. Sunak  while trying to draw from all sources, be it populism or technocracy  runs the risk of leaving the partys gathering in a more blurred state than when he entered it.

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Kalu Kalu, one of the lawyers to Atiku Abubakar, the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, says the legal battle in the United States has revealed sufficient discoveries to upturn the ruling of the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal at the Supreme Court.

Mr Kalu, during the press briefing held by Atiku on Thursdays in Abuja, said the legal team discovered five major discrepancies in the academic records of President Bola Tinubu during the deposition of the Registrar of Chicago State University (CSU), Caleb Westberg.

The lawyer said the Atikus team was able to establish that Mr Tinubu committed forgery, has dual citizenship, and presented an NYSC certificate that has a different name from the one he submitted to INEC.

One, on the certificate issued or released by Chicago State University to the lawyers of Alhaji Atiku Abubakar Bola Ahmed Tinubu forged the certificate he presented to INEC.

Two, that the qualifying certificate from Southwest College to Chicago State University bears a female, therefore, the document does not belong to Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

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The Chicago State University admission form has a claim that Bola Ahmed Tinubu attended Government College, Lagos, and graduated in 1970, when indeed that school was established in 1974.

The same document has it that the owner of that document is a black American, and (in) the document Bola Ahmed submitted to INEC, he denied having dual citizenship, which means it does not belong to him.

Then, the same document, under deposition, says the A in Bola A. Tinubu is Ahmed, but the NYSC certificate Tinubu submitted to INEC says the A is Adekunle, he said.

Atiku had requested the documents from CSU to back his allegation of certificate forgery against Mr Tinubu, the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the February poll.

The allegation of forgery was one of those dismissed by the Presidential Election Petition Court in the suit Atiku filed to challenge the election of Mr Tinubu who was sworn in as president in May.

CSU Registrar, Mr Westberg, made a deposition at the court, giving further details on the documents that were released to Atikus legal team earlier.

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The Nigerian government is set to host world leaders for the second edition of the African Natural Resource and Energy Investment Summit (AFNIS).

In a statement made available to PREMIUM TIMES and signed by AFNIS Media Executive, Fatima Wabi, the summit is scheduled to hold in Abuja, Nigerias Federal Capital Territory (FCT) from 31 October to 2 November.

According to the statement, the summit, which is themed; Towards A Just Transition, is expected to bring together visionary minds, government agencies, and innovative private companies, united by a common mission.

The forum, the organisers added, is expected to address measures to mitigate the challenges of energy transition and provide a low-emission development trajectory tailored to Africas unique circumstances.

The summit will advance conversations on promoting sustainable economic growth for mining and energy-dependent nations to foster strategic and bilateral development of the continents extractive and energy sectors, the statement said.

It als noted that the summit will provide a platform to address the sustainable development of African natural resources and the global green economy while also serving as a platform for sharing knowledge, case studies, and experiences from other African countries, spotlighting their progress.

Background

Africa currently accounts for less than three per cent of global carbon emissions, with the lowest carbon per capita in the region. According to Africa Energy Outlook 2022, as of May 2022, countries accounting for more than 70 per cent of global carbon emissions had committed to achieving net zero emissions by midcentury, including 12 African countries that account for more than 40 per cent of the continents total carbon emissions.

The article explores a Sustainable Africa Scenario (SAS) in which Africa rides on energy shifts to achieve all African energyrelated development goals on time and in full.

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For Africa to achieve its net zero emission target by 2030 and the implementation of its climate pledges, the continent needs to take the lead with clear strategies and policies. Against this backdrop, in 2022, Nigeria, with its fellow African nations, charted the way forward for the sustainable development of the continents natural resources at the flagship Nigeria-Africa Natural Resource and Energy Investment Summit (NAFNIS) themed: Towards a Greener Africa.

The event explored the pathway to Africas energy system and the continued sustainable development of Africas natural resources through knowledge sharing, investment, and trade. Stakeholders across the continent were present to discuss investment trends and strategies that can be utilised to maximise the potential and accelerate the economic diversification of African nations.

However, the current global energy crisis highlights the urgency and magnitude of modernising Africas energy industry. If the current industrialisation rate persists, the International Energy Agency (IEA) forecasts a tripling of Africas emissions by 2040. This underscores the urgency for Africa to adopt measures for sustainable development and emission reduction national plans.

About the Summit

The Federal Republic of Nigeria officially hosts the summit with support from the Federal Ministries of Mines and Steel, Power, Petroleum, Environment, and Foreign Affairs.

The organisers said over 30 African nations are expected to attend the summit.

The mining and energy industries play a crucial role in a fair energy transition; thus, the event will give the Nigerian government and the governments of other participating nations the platform to outline their sustainable development plans and policies in the mining, petroleum, power, and environmental sectors.

In the three-day summit, industry experts, government officials, academics, and business leaders will delve into the intricacies of achieving a just transition within the mining and energy domains, including integrating cleaner energy sources into Africas energy mix. The summit is expected to foster insights, collaboration, and actionable strategies that align with Africas sustainable development goals.

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The Senate on Thursday called on security agencies in the country to secure the release of the eight members of the National Youths Service Corps (NYSC) who were kidnapped in August along a highway in Zamfara State.

The Senate also urged security agencies to facilitate release of students of Federal University of Gusau, Zamfara State who were abducted in their hostels in September.

The upper chamber also sought for the release of students of Federal University Dutsin Ma, Katsina State who were kidnapped by suspected terrorists on their campus on Wednesday.

The call was sequel to a motion moved by Abdulaziz Yaradua (Katsina Central) at the plenary.

Data from the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) and National Security Tracker indicated that 4,611 Nigerians were kidnapped in 2022.

Mr Yaradua, while presenting the motion, lamented that notorious terrorists have taken over the North-west zone.

He therefore urged the Senate to encourage the Nigerian military and other security agencies in the country to conduct special operations to dislodge bandits in the North-west and other parts of the country.

Many senators supported the motion when it was thrown open for debate.

READ ALSO:

The former Senate President, Ahmed Lawan, said the government must provide opportunities for citizens to participate actively in decisions before Nigeria can overcome its security challenges.

Mr Lawan called on the government to organise community sensitisation programmes on how to approach the security issues in the communities.

We cannot achieve a successful security without citizens participation. We need to bring citizens along, there should be national orientation for citizens to know how to approach insecurity issues, Mr Lawan said.

Adeola Olamilekan (APC, Ogun West) who also supported the motion maintained that community policing is the best approach to solving the security challenges in the country.

Mr Olamilekan urged the state governors to ensure a formidable community policing in their respective states.

Mpigi Barinada (PDP, Rivers South) also urged the Senate to organise security summits in all local governments across the country.

The security summits the past Senate has done were held in Abuja. We sat down here but when elections come, we will go to our constituencies to campaign.

Other senators who contributed to the debate on the motion are Suleiman Kawu (NNPP, Kano South), Abdul Ningi (PDP, Bauchi Central) and Sahabi Yau (Zamfara North).

The Senate subsequently resolved to direct the Nigeria Police Force to ensure that the police units on school protection squads maintain adequate protection of students.

The Senate also resolved to invite service chiefs to a closed-door session to address the issue of insecurity in the country.

It also directed the Senate committee of legislative compliance to ensure that all the directives are complied with.

The Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, in his remarks after ruling on the motion, noted that kidnapping and banditry have reduced since President Bola Tinubu assumed office in May.

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A senator, Titus Zam, has said his parents are currently languishing in one of the Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camps in Benue State due to the endless insecurity in the state.

He also said over 1.5 million Benue residents were displaced from their homes when armed bandits attacked different areas of the state in 2022.

The lawmaker also said no fewer than 560 children taking refuge in the camps in different parts of the state suffered malnutrition between January and October 2022.

Mr Zam (APC, Benue North-west) said this while raising a motion during plenary on Thursday.

While presenting his motion on the need to resettle displaced persons in their ancestral communities, the senator said farmers in Gwer-West, Makurdi and Guma Local Government Areas of the state have been sacked from their residences for over seven years by bandits.

He said the situation forced them to take be taking refuge at IDP camps that are under deplorable and excruciating conditions at Naka, Agagbe, Abegeba North Bank, Daudu, Umenger and Gbajimgba areas of Gwer-West, Makurdi and Guma LGAs.

1.5 million displaced

Mr Zam expressed worry about the increasing population of the displaced persons in the state.

He said over 1.5 million persons were displaced in 2022 alone.

He said the data was generated from the Benue State Emergency Management (BENSMA).

Statistics from Benue State Emergency Management (BENSMA) indicated that as at September, 2022, the number of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in Benue State had totalled 1,597,000 persons.

Between January and October 2022, 560 (Five Hundred and Sixty) children living in Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) camps scattered in Gwer-west, Makurdi, Guma and other parts of Benue State were reported by Benue State Emergency Management Agency BENSMA) to be malnourished.

He said the government of Benue State does not have the financial strength to cater for the welfare of the displaced victims.

The lawmaker stated that when the 2018 election was approaching, the former Vice President, Yemi Osibanjo, visited the areas attacked by bandits and promised to compensate the victims with N10 billion for their resettlement.

Mr Zam said the former vice president did not fulfill his promise to the displaced victims in the state.

He therefore requested the Senate to direct Chief of Defence Staff to immediately facilitate and supervise the quick return of all displaced persons to their ancestral homes and as well provide a sustainable security to all flash points within the affected communities.

He also urged the Senate to direct the Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Disaster Management to provide medical and relief materials to the displaced persons.

My parents are in IDP camp  Senator

Mr Zam said his parents are also part of the victims currently taking refuge in the IDP camp.

As I speak my parents are languishing in the IDP. As a senator I voted as a member of the IDP.

The Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, said it was straightforward and ruled for its adoption without debate.

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Joseph Olorunfemi, the father of late Greatness Olorunfemi, a victim of one-chance robbers in Abuja, has spoken on the dreams of the deceased.

Mr Olorunfemi said his daughter had planned to travel to the United States of America to pursue her PhD in Microbiology before her tragic passing.

The bereaved spoke at a press briefing organised by the Young African Leaders Initiative Network (YALI) in Abuja on Thursday, noting that the deceased was his first child.

He said the longest conversation he had with his late daughter was on 23 September, when they had a conference call.

He said; Greatness was the beginning of my strength, my firstborn, my first daughter, well-learned, and still aspiring to learn. My longest last discussion with her was on Saturday, 23 September at 4 p.m. in a conference call with two friends from the United States in respect of her ambition to further her education in 2024.

There and then, she delivered her profile, and a decision was made that she would commence her PhD in Microbiology in July 2024. We ended the meeting with excitement, and by Monday, she began to supply the necessary documents to facilitate the relocation.

The bereaved father said he received a rude shock on 28 September to come to Maitama District Hospital, Abuja, where the late Ms Olorunfemi was said to be receiving treatment.

I picked the next available flight to Abuja where I met Pastor Adedayo of Elevation Church and the representatives of the Family Worship Centre and Ignite Intercessory Fellowship, Abuja, who were already waiting for me at the General Hospital, he said.

Robbery Victim

Ms Olorunfemi, a community developer and member of YALI, tragically died at the Maitama General Hospital where she was allegedly denied treatment for not providing a police report.

According to witnesses, she was pushed out of a fast-moving vehicle along the Maitama-Kubwa highway on Tuesday by hoodlums who had reportedly robbed her.

Allegations

Meanwhile, the Maitama General Hospital has been accused of negligence in the death of Ms Olorunfemi for allegedly refusing to treat her after she was rushed to the facility by sympathisers.

An X user, @Gbemilekhe, who shared the story on the platform on Friday, said the hospital, located in the centre of Abuja, requested a police report before treatment could commence.

Greatness was pushed out of a moving vehicle by one-chance criminals in Abuja. She was rushed to Maitama General Hospital, and they refused to attend to her, demanding a police report. She died afterwards, the tweet read.

Mr Olorunfemi, the deceaseds father, said being denied immediate treatment by the hospital is inhuman, cruel, injustice, negligence, and disregard for human life.

He noted that if the demand for police reports continues, it will have negative implications for the society.

My daughter has died, myself, and the entire family have accepted Gods verdict. But demanding and the quest for justice as assured by the investigating unit of the Nigerian police, is only for the benefit of our nation because we do not know whose turn it may be tomorrow.

The Minister of the FCT, Nyesome Wike, has already established a nine-member independent panel, to investigate the death.

Moving on

Mr Olorunfemi appealed to aggrieved friends, families, colleagues, church members, and organisations, to sue for peace and allow the government to carry on its investigation.

He said the investigation would help the government to ensure that society is safe to live in and that health workers respect the laws.

We cannot bring Greatness back to life but actions and decisions can be made to correct errors in our medical organisations, as well as bring positive change to the security systems, this could serve as one of the legacies for the death of my daughter, he said.

He said he would continue the legacy his late daughter left behind by improving the lives of teenagers, less privileged, and young adults.

Campaign for change

Meanwhile, the Coordinator of YALI Network, Abuja, Moyosoluwa Oladayo, said the organisation has commenced a two-week campaign to ensure that the incident births a desired country.

Ms Oladayo said the organisation will continue to seek justice for Ms Olorunfemi and those who have lost their lives at the hands of these one chance syndicates and other criminal gangs.

We call for a thorough and independent investigation into the allegation against Maitama General Hospital. If people can come to share their testimony, that would be fine, she said.

The coordinator urged the government to duly pay a courtesy visit to the deceased family to properly carry them along in the entire process as against the current situation of getting updates via news and online posts about decisions being made about their daughters case.

Ms Oladayo said the country has failed to save a global leader and put the family in a total state of deep sadness and confusion about how to forge ahead by losing a first child as well as the family breadwinner.

We cannot compensate them for this loss, but we can show that we genuinely care beyond typing behind keypads.

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Google on Thursday announced 11 African startups for the first cohort of its Google for Startups Accelerator: AI First programme.

The Head of Startup Ecosystem, Africa, Folarin Aiyegbusi, said in a statement that the 11 startups were picked from a vast pool of innovative talents using cutting-edge Artificial Intelligence (AI).

He said that these start-ups used cutting-edge AI to address Africas challenges and broader global issues.

Mr Aiyegbusi said that the 11 selected startups would undergo a 10-week accelerator journey, beyond benefiting from Googles AI expertise and a $350,000 allocation in Google Cloud Credits.

He said that the startups would benefit from mentorship sessions, technical guidance, and networking opportunities to enhance their reach and impact.

Google has been working on AI for over a decade and has shown how useful AI is in our products and for developers.

AI is not only a powerful enabler, it is also a major platform shift; which is why Google is focused on making it easy and scalable for others to innovate with AI.

Our chosen startups for the AI First programme embody this vision, leveraging AI in pioneering ways to address both local and global challenges.

The transformative power of AI in Africa is highlighted by a McKinsey report which suggests that AI could add $1.3 trillion to Africas Gross Domestic Product by 2030, he said.

According to him, since 2017, Google has consistently supported African startups across diverse programmes.

He said that collectively, these startups had raised $263 million and created over 2,800 job opportunities.

Speaking on the selection, Adeola Ayoola, co-founder, Famasi Africa, Nigeria, one of the selected start-ups, said that Famasi Africa was scaling AI-powered digital health solutions to reach more underserved communities.

Ayoola said that joining the Google for Startups Accelerator: AI First programme represented a significant step towards realising that dream.

With Googles mentorship, we are confident of scaling our solutions, reaching more pharmacies, and ultimately improving healthcare outcomes.

READ ALSO: Google announces payment on Play Store with Verve

The Co-founder of Dial Afrika, Kenya, Japheth Dibo, said that Dial Afrika was revolutionising customer support in Africa with cutting-edge AI-powered solutions.

Mr Dibo said that being selected for the programme would allow the startup to leverage advanced AI technology to make its vision a reality.

With this support and mentorship, we aim to revolutionise customer support and equip businesses across the African continent with the tools to thrive and excel, he said.

The selected startups include Avalon Health, South Africa; Chatbots Africa, Ghana; Dial Afrika Inc., Kenya; Famasi Africa, Nigeria; Fastagger Inc., Kenya; Garri Logistics, Ethiopia; Lengo AI, Senegal and Izifin, Nigeria among others. (NAN)

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The Nigerian government Thursday inaugurated a nine-member panel to investigate the death of Greatness Olorunfemi, a victim of the notorious one-chance operators in Abuja, the nations capital city.

Ms Olorunfemi, a community developer and member of the Young African Leaders Initiative Network (YALI), died at the Maitama General Hospital where she was allegedly denied treatment for not providing a police report.

According to witnesses, she was pushed out of a fast-moving vehicle along the Maitama-Kubwa highway on Tuesday by criminals who had reportedly robbed her.

Inauguration

Speaking at the inauguration event, the Mandate Secretary of the Federal Capital Territory Health Services and Environment, Adedolapo Fasawe, said members of the panel were nominated to help bring to bear their wealth of experience through painstaking investigation and interaction to unravel what led to the death of Ms Olorunfemi.

Ms Fasawe said the panel will play a crucial role in investigating the case and bringing about justice.

We have explored the legal framework for establishing an independent and investigative panel, the process of appointing and constituting a nine-person panel, and the role and responsibilities of the panel in investigating the alleged death and ensuring accountability, she said.

She said the aim is to gain a comprehensive understanding of the steps involved in addressing such incidents and promoting a culture of transparency and accountability in the Nigerian healthcare system.

She urged the panel to be free from any external influence, and ensure impartiality and credibility.

The panel consists of the representatives of the Nigerian Medical Association, Medical and Dental Consultants Association of Nigeria, Medical Women Association of Nigeria, National Association of Nigerian Nurses and Midwives and Association of Resident Doctors.

Others are the Association of Pathologists of Nigeria, the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission, General Counsel, FCTA and the Health Services Department.

Legal Framework

Ms Fasawe noted that the legal framework should provide clear guidelines on the panels scope of authority and the procedures to be followed during investigations.

This, she said, would ensure that the panel operates within the confines of the law and respects the rights of all parties involved.

She implored the panel to take this assignment as a worthy service to Nigeria by being thorough, professional, and efficient in the investigation of this incident.

Investigation crucial

The Mandate Secretary said the process of appointing and constituting a nine-person panel to investigate the death of the late Ms Olorunfemis is a crucial step in ensuring transparency and accountability in healthcare systems.

She said the investigation serves multiple purposes, such as providing closure to the patients family, identifying any potential malpractice or negligence, and implementing necessary measures to prevent similar incidents in the future.

By constituting a nine-person panel, the investigation process gains credibility and legitimacy, as it represents a collective effort to uncover the truth and uphold the principles of justice and patient safety, she said.

The duration for the investigation and submission of the report is one week.

The Chairman of the panel, Aminu Mohammed, said the panel would restore confidence in how things are conducted as it affects the wellbeing and life of the citizens.

Mr Mohammed, who is the president of the Medical and Dental Consultants Association of Nigeria, said the team will look into the system and critically analyse the situation.

As we are inaugurated today, on behalf of the members, we are going to be exactly the oath we have taken, he said.

Background

The Maitama General Hospital was accused of negligence in the death of Ms Olorunfemi for allegedly refusing to treat her after she was rushed to the facility by sympathisers.

An X user, @Gbemilekhe, who shared the story on the platform on Friday, said that the hospital, located in the centre of Abuja, requested a police report before treatment could commence.

The hospital however said the patient was brought in dead.

At a press briefing in Abuja on Thursday, the deceased father, Joseph Olorunfemi, said being denied immediate treatment by the hospital is inhuman, cruel, injustice, negligence, and disregard for human life.

Mr Olorunfemi noted that if the demand for police reports continues, it will have negative implications for society.

My daughter has died, myself, and the entire family have accepted Gods verdict. But demanding and the quest for justice as assured by the investigating unit of the Nigerian Police, is only for the benefit of our nation because we do not know whose turn it may be tomorrow.

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Nigerias Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Muhammad Pate, on Thursday, reiterated the governments commitment to improve the well-being of adolescents and young adults in the country.

Mr Pate, who spoke at the Global Forum for Adolescents 2023 in Abuja, Nigerias Federal Capital Territory (FCT), said the well-being of adolescents is critical to achieving sustainable development.

The minister acknowledged the importance of adopting a whole-government approach to addressing the multiple and intersecting factors that impact adolescents in the country.

We are committed to improving adolescents well-being and accelerating the achievement of related Sustainable Development Goals priority for adolescents and young people as a smart investment in the future of our societies, economies, and the planet, he said.

We are also committed to prioritising adolescent wellbeing and raising SDG priorities in our national development plans and strategies to ensure disaggregated data collection so that we better understand the challenges and opportunities for ensuring adolescents wellbeing.

He said the government will also integrate adolescent-specific aggregators into the monitoring and reporting frameworks by meaningfully engaging the adolescents themselves and young people in the design, implementation, and monitoring of policies and programmes that affect their well-being.

Financial commitment

Mr Pate said the government is willing to increase its financial commitments and develop programmes and service delivery actions that would improve adolescents well-being.

He said by making these commitments, the government agreed to register them on the SDG Summit Acceleration and Accountability Platform.

We commit to systematically report on the implementation of those commitments through existing follow-up and review processes including the voluntary national review process, he said.

In her remarks, the Executive Director at Gem Hub Initiative, Oyeyemi Pitan, underscored the importance of investing in the health and well-being of adolescents and the commitment to creating a brighter and healthier future for the nation.

Mrs Pitan emphasised the commitment to ensure that no adolescent is left behind and that their health and well-being are a top priority in the country.

Focus group

Speaking at the event, the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), Nigeria Representative, Gifty Addico, said adolescents and young people under 25 years make up about 63 per cent of the nations population and are a key focus group for UNFPA mandate areas.

Ms Addico, represented by the Gender/FGM Analyst of the agency, Karima Saidu, said the mandate areas cut across three transformative goals of zero preventable maternal deaths, zero unmet need for family planning, and zero tolerance for Gender-Based Violence and other harmful practices.

I keenly anticipate the commitment pledges from the government and our esteemed partners today. This isnt mere rhetoric but a heartfelt promise to our Nigerian youths, underlining our collective commitment to their aspirations, she said.

About global forum

The Global Forum for Adolescents aims to unite young people in the largest-ever gathering for adolescent well-being.

It is a key milestone within the 1.8 billion young people for change campaign and is co-produced and co-owned by young people and multiple stakeholders, including United Nations agencies.

The theme of the forum is With and for Adolescents, Our Future is Now.

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the troubling spate of coups across Africa have not been caused by the failure of democracy, as many pundits and recent coup leaders have claimed. This suggestion is both dishonest and misleading. This is because sham elections rigged by often-aging autocrats do not amount to democracy. Here, we must accept the fact that the meaning of democracy has indeed been warped, and thus called into question, by those who have experienced plenty of Election Day hoopla

Today on the continent of Africa, there is an unbroken expanse of territory  from Sudan in the east, stretching to Guinea in the west  in which military-led regimes have seized power from civilian heads of state. It is clear that leaders clad in military fatigues are feeling more emboldened than ever.

Over the past decade, since 2013, there have been twenty-two coups and attempted coups across the continent, with fourteen of them taking place in the past three years alone. The success rate is staggering: nine military patches have ultimately succeeded, the latest of which occurred in the central African nation of Gabon on 30 August. Leaders in a number of African capitals are not sleeping easy these days, knowing fully well that another coup before the end of this year is more than likely.

In many of these countries, the first day of a coup is almost always the most euphoric. This is because there is a gaping fissure between the resilient demands of Africans for democracy  alongside its multitude of positive downstream effects  and the woeful lack of its supply. As this gap continues to swell, so too does the volatility of an already young and restive region that is fed up with the empty promises of its leaders, many of whom were imposed, not by military fiat, but rather by rigged elections, the manipulation of democratic institutions, and feckless regional and international community that has failed miserably to hold the line on democratic standards.

In the aftermath of each of the recent military coups in Africa, we have been inundated with images of citizens, mainly young people, celebrating in the streets. Once the new reality sets in, however, people are inevitably forced to ask whether they are getting something better, or simply trading one oppressor for another. The misplaced confidence that coups will somehow lead to genuine democracy, and a better quality of life, has been the hope of many activists from the 1970s onward  but this pipe dream almost never materialises. The simple fact is that military coups, even if they oust a longtime dictator, rarely usher in a stable democracy.

Of course, there is an understandable appeal and a cathartic rejoice in the toppling of a tyrant. But this optimism is too often reliant on some major misperceptions.

democrats in Africa and worldwide must consistently and vocally push back against the cynical notion that democracy  and democratic governance, more broadly  is somehow a Trojan Horse for neocolonialism or is somehow part of a nefarious Western agenda. It is both highly misleading and patronising to suggest that democracy has been imposed on Africans, when wars have been fought, and countless lives lost, in the course of the struggle for human freedom.

First, we must not confuse military coups for popular uprisings; the latter has a much better track record at ushering in both stability and genuine democracy. Recent studies unequivocally show that nonviolent civil resistance has been far more effective in producing substantial change in the long term. This is because popular uprisings  especially those grounded in nonviolent resistance  promote and safeguard democratic values at their very core.

Similarly, coups are not a replacement nor a fill-in for free and fair elections in which the will of the people is effectively represented and elected leaders are held accountable. In sum: political power shifting from one autocrat to another is not a win for the people. The worsening security and human rights situations in a number of post-coup countries across Africa, from Mali to Zimbabwe, highlight this enduring, altogether tragic reality.

Second, we must not accept the charade that todays coup leaders represent the people. That todays military spokesmen are more eloquent  insofar as they cleverly justify their takeovers in extravagant populist ideology  does not deflect from the fact that coups are often elitist, self-serving endeavours. As such, their illegitimate rule merely perpetuates the oppressive and corrupt status quo. The recent coup in Gabon is a prime example: the junta leader now in power is a cousin of the ousted president, who thrived off the regimes largesse for decades, accumulating massive wealth (and million-dollar properties abroad). In Gabon, and in many other contexts, what often takes place is a continuity coup in which very little changes, other than the figurehead benefiting from static resources.

Third, democrats in Africa and worldwide must consistently and vocally push back against the cynical notion that democracy  and democratic governance, more broadly  is somehow a Trojan Horse for neocolonialism or is somehow part of a nefarious Western agenda. It is both highly misleading and patronising to suggest that democracy has been imposed on Africans, when wars have been fought, and countless lives lost, in the course of the struggle for human freedom. Pan-Africanism, in fact, flourished out of the continents long-enduring democratic demands and aspirations. African citizens, like all of us, desire to be free and prosperous, and not sit idly by while old oppressors are replaced by new ones in combat fatigue.

Lastly, the troubling spate of coups across Africa have not been caused by the failure of democracy, as many pundits and recent coup leaders have claimed. This suggestion is both dishonest and misleading. This is because sham elections rigged by often-aging autocrats do not amount to democracy. Here, we must accept the fact that the meaning of democracy has indeed been warped, and thus called into question, by those who have experienced plenty of Election Day hoopla but exceedingly little  or perhaps even reversals  in the way of political choice and accountability. Relatedly, we must acknowledge the prevailing bigotry of low expectations that has produced a failure to address rising instances of electoral coups in Africa. Why does this matter? Because electoral coups  or patently rigged elections  pave the way for military coups down the line, as the cases of Zimbabwe, Guinea, and Gabon make clear.

The empirical evidence is also clear: When Africans have a voice, they choose democratic governance over every other option, including military rule. If we can concentrate on fixing the supply side of democracy  and unapologetically support democratic governance and leadership  that is where the solution inevitably lies.

We cannot deny the fact that military coups, in certain contexts, represent a glimmer of hope, albeit fleeting, for the masses living under crushing dictatorships or dynastic rules. There is much blame to go around, including a generation of African leaders who have failed to live up to the democratic standards that they, themselves, have drafted, signed, and ratified. Washington, too, has been woefully ineffective and inconsistent in its responses to military takeovers. A common theme in each of the recent coups, in fact, has been emboldened militaries knowing fully well that they are likely to face little to no resistance for their actions in the form of targeted sanctions or diplomatic isolation.

What can be done in this prevailing vacuum of leadership and misunderstanding, then, is to empower the masses  the average citizens and civil society, the democratic opposition, even leaders in the diaspora and those living in exile  to seize and act swiftly on any opportunity, including a military coup, to rise up peacefully and to demand dignity and build institutions that safeguard the fundamental tenets of democracy. To be strong and resilient, government effectiveness must necessarily grow in strength, alongside citizen power. Washington, in particular, can play a pivotal role here by investing in and helping to enhance the capacities of African political institutions  legislatures, judiciaries, and the independent media.

Of course, this also requires independent electoral commissions that are properly equipped and supported to enhance citizen trust in and the legitimacy of electoral outcomes, which in the due course of time improves the prospects of long-term stability and safeguards against another emboldened military stepping in to save the day. We are making a grave mistake if we write off the importance of democracy, while remaining flippant and passive about democratic governance, and all that it entails for stability and the quality of life. The longing for democracy is poignant  for Africans, this a quest that spans six decades.

The empirical evidence is also clear: When Africans have a voice, they choose democratic governance over every other option, including military rule. If we can concentrate on fixing the supply side of democracy  and unapologetically support democratic governance and leadership  that is where the solution inevitably lies.

Jeffrey Smith is the founding director of Vanguard Africa and the Vanguard Africa Foundation.

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The Zungeru hydropower project is a testament to China-Nigeria partnership at its best and is set to make a significant contribution to Nigerias power generation capacity.

The Zungeru hydropower project, located on the Kaduna River in Niger State, Nigeria, is a 700MW hydroelectric facility built by a Chinese consortium comprising Sinohydro Corporation Limited and China National Electric Engineering Company. The project costs about $1.3 billion (162.9 billion) and it is the biggest power project completed in Nigeria in the past ten years and one of the biggest power projects in Africa to be availed a preferential loan facility from the Export-Import Bank (Exim Bank) of China.

The project is designed to generate 2,630 GWh of energy, with a total installed capacity of 700MW. The main components of the Zungeru hydropower project include a 2,400 metre roller-compacted concrete (RCC) gravity feed dam, an underground powerhouse located behind the RCC dam, a tailrace channel, and two switchyards on both banks of the river.

The Zungeru project is estimated to generate 2.64 billion kWh of electricity annually, which will meet close to 10 per cent of Nigerias total domestic energy needs. It will also provide flood control, irrigation, as well as water supply and fish breeding facilities.

The construction works on the power plant started in May 2013 and were expected to take 60 months for completion, with an initial completion date of 2018. However, legal and financial challenges related to ecological settlement in the affected area delayed the project commissioning to 2021. The global COVID-19 pandemic further delayed the construction period, as the site was shut down from operation in the year 2020 during the peak of the pandemic.

The engineering, procurement, and construction contract was awarded to a Chinese consortium comprising China National Electric Engineering Company (CNEEC) and Sinohydro. Despite security challenges, such as the attack on workers at the site in early 2022, the Zungeru hydropower project is progressing well. On 15th August, the project was successfully handed over to the Nigeria government.

The Zungeru hydropower project is a testament to China-Nigeria partnership at its best and is set to make a significant contribution to Nigerias power generation capacity.

Chioma Nwagwu, a public affairs analyst, writes from Abuja.

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Former Bolivian president Evo Morales, during his party's congress in Cochabamba, on Tuesday. Jorge Abrego (EFE)

The 10th congress of the Movement towards Socialism (MAS), the party that governs Bolivia, has taken the definitive step towards a division that has been brewing for years. The gathering accepted the self-expulsion of Luis Arce and David Coquehuanca, president and vice president of the country, for not attending the meeting that took place in the town of Lauca N, in the coca-growing area of the center of the country, and has ordered the expulsion of another 20 deputies with ties to the Arce administration. Furthermore, as expected, the party congress ratified Commander Evo Morales as president of the party and as its presidential candidate for the 2025 elections.

We continue making national and international history. The MAS is going to recover the revolution to save the country again, Morales said in his final speech, which was unusually brief. The hundreds of attendees at the meeting were tired due to the high temperatures of the location, in the tropical area of Cochabamba, and, also because of the long sessions extending until the early hours of the morning.

Meanwhile Arcismo has challenged the legitimacy of the congress before the Constitutional Court, which ordered its suspension a few hours before its end. Morales had previously warned that the government was maneuvering within the justice system to prevent the congress from taking place. The former president (2006-2019) also expressed concern on his social media accounts about a police operation supposedly underway, which did not occur. Unfortunately, the Government of Lucho and David, worse than the neoliberal governments, until the last moment wanted to postpone the congress, Morales said at the end of his speech.

The clash for control of the Bolivian left threatens to aggravate the politicization and weakness of the justice system and other institutions. The ruling by the Constitutional Court could turn congressional resolutions into meaningless documents from a legal point of view. A group of Morales lawyers told the press that the ruling by the Constitutional Court was fraudulent and assured that it would have no legal effect.

If the Constitutional Court prevails, which seems more likely, the pressure will turn towards the Electoral Court, in whose hands it will be to issue a deadline for MAS to organize another congress and elect its leadership in a less controversial way, an almost impossible task. Another option would be to cancel this acronym altogether, which would have incalculable political consequences.

For months it had been anticipated that the fight for ownership of the party would be very tough and that it would be settled mainly through trials. Thus, courts with little credibility will make resolutions that will be challenged by other courts that are also discredited, with no clear end in sight.

Although the fight between the two wings of the MAS is increasingly complex and tough, the bottom line of the issue is simple: which one, Morales or Arce, will be the candidate of the Bolivian popular and indigenous sectors in the 2025 presidential elections. This personal aspect intensified following the MAS congress, in which hundreds of people dressed in the blue color of MAS and wearing t-shirts and caps with Morales face on them, proclaimed him as their undisputed leader. Simultaneously, the farmers with whom Arce met on Tuesday in La Paz called him a scholar, a student, and even the greatest economic scientist in South America, in order to differentiate him from Morales, who only got as far as high school before starting to work on his fathers land.

In the latest clash between both politicians, Morales called Arce a mere cashier for his service as Minister of Economy. Call me whatever you want, the results are what count, the president replied. He then pointed out that he was a learned man who was not going to plot against his former mentor. Emphasizing the presidents academic qualifications is not perceived as a classist insult in the emerging urban social sectors, which identify with Arce because they appeal to education as a means of social advancement. Morales, who in the past had undeniable support, retains the strong support of the poorest strata of rural areas.
Theres a saying in my neck of the woods that if a fashion designer is offering to make you a special wear, you must first look at what he is wearing. Surely, anyone like His Excellency, who registered a company in 2012 with a share capital of N5 million and won a dredging contract of N26 billion five years later, which was diligently not executed, should be trusted to send only 4,000 Imo voters to the moon and back, without much difficulty.

In a country of 133 million multidimensionally poor, with youth unemployment at 53.40 per cent, it would be a pity if anyone looking for an opportunity to earn a living missed the chance to hear Imo State Governor Hope Uzodinma recently.

In a campaign speech for his second term, Uzodimma promised, as my father would have said, what Napoleon, in all his extraordinary conquests and ambition, could not even have dreamed of.

In my humble view, it is Japa 2.0, a giant leap forward for the youth, delivered in a moment of creative genius, the last of which was seen when the Supreme Courts ruling on his election petition sprung His Excellency from number four position on the Imo ballot list of contestants in 2019, all the way into the Government House.

I must dispense with any further rigmarole and get to the point, while the governors generous offer lasts. Governor Uzodinma had told a crowd of excited, cheering youths who came to visit him at the Government House on 26 September, that he had finally come up with a plan to put at least 4,000 of them out of unemployment, as part of his Skill Up Imo programme. He said he had spoken with representatives of some Canadian and European firms in Nigeria. The companies would not only train these youths, but also send them to different choice destinations in North America and Europe to work.

As if that was not enough, he then added that his government was prepared to pay the flight tickets of all the 4,000 eligible persons, once their employments have been processed, with the possibility, I might add, that a few lucky ones among them may even fly first class!

Upon hearing this bonanza, the crowd roared and roared in raptures of ecstasy. Of course, the governor didnt have to say this too-good-to-believe offer was tied to the potential beneficiaries voting for him at the 11 November governorship election in the state. Quid pro quo was implied.

Campaign in Lullaby

Mario Cuomos dictum that politicians campaign in poetry doesnt really do justice to politicians of the Nigerian variety. They do much better  they campaign in lullabies.

In 1999, for example, a fellow called Ahmed Yerima campaigned for governorship, promising to make Zamfara the believers paradise. He vowed to end corruption and enthrone justice and prosperity through political sharia. The seed of his green-eyed fanaticism has bred a deadly variety of bandits that haunt the state today.

As I watched the excitement and anticipation in the mostly young crowd, I felt sorry for Uzodinmas opponents, who have so far been thoroughly unimaginative. All they have been doing, when theyre not pressing for the Charter of Equity that they say should disqualify the governor from re-contesting, is to talk about some plan to make Imo safe and secure again, and how to end graft and corruption in government.

Another fellow, Saminu Turaki, promised that if he was elected governor, Jigawa would become Africas Silicon Valley, with a tablet for every voter. It turned out, however, that the only time there was Internet service in the state for most of his tenure, was immediately after he received billions of naira in monthly allocation from Abuja. Once the money entered the states treasury, all lines to the Government House were unreachable until the next allocation.

There was even a more recent example of campaign by lullabies, the sort that is now ensuing from Imo State. A gentleman governor called Professor Ben Ayade promised, among a litany of things, during his campaign that he would build a 260-kilometre superhighway from Calabar to Katsina-Ala in Benue State. He also promised a deep-sea port in Bakassi and a cargo airport in Obudu.

Voters bought his snake oil and repurchased it by giving him a second term. After eight years, they woke up to the harsh reality of the empty musical notes of Ayades broken promises.

Uzodinma-nistan

Perhaps Uzodinma would be different? What is the price of a vote, anyway, compared with the prospects of a new life, so bright and beautiful that the vistas only compare with a terrestrial realm which, permit my limited imagination, I can only describe as Uzodinma-nistan at this time?

As I watched the excitement and anticipation in the mostly young crowd, I felt sorry for Uzodinmas opponents, who have so far been thoroughly unimaginative. All they have been doing, when theyre not pressing for the Charter of Equity that they say should disqualify the governor from re-contesting, is to talk about some plan to make Imo safe and secure again, and how to end graft and corruption in government.

After listening to Uzodinmas extraordinary redemption plan for Imo youths, his opponents should humble themselves and take remedial classes from this man, who has been a consummate snake oil salesman long before Imo River.

The governors announcement on 26 September may appear ordinary to the undiscerning, but a friend of mine and obviously a closet Uzodinma admirer expanded the grand dimensions of the governors Japa 2.0 programme, totally hidden from my simple heart.

When I criticised the scheme as a cheap and foolish campaign gimmick, my friend admonished me promptly. How could I compare Uzodinma with Yerima or Turaki or Ayade? Couldnt I see the governors ingenuity, he asked?

Think of the hundreds, if not thousands, of young people who, instead of risking their lives in the deserts of North Africa and the perilous Mediterranean Sea to get to Europe, now have the opportunity of not only being trained by some of the best companies in the world but also being employed by them. And all of this on Uzodinmas ticket, just for the price of a vote to return His Excellency to office!

New Industry

First, he said, all the talk about insecurity and corruption would vanish once the 4,000 ambassadors started working and remitting foreign exchange back home. And, second, how could I not also see that the announcement by the governor, an accomplished salesman, had unleashed a cottage industry of sorts in the state already?

According to my friend, as soon as the governor promised to provide jobs for 4,000 youths in Canada and Europe, and also to pay their airfares, some smart folks in and around government had been taking the matter to greater imaginative heights

In the next few days or weeks, for example, expect some people, who might start hawking forms for Cohort One of either the Canadian or European editions of Skill Up Imo. If these retailers of snake oil charge only N5,000 per form, for example, they would have made N20 million, if only 4,000 bought forms  a very conservative estimate in a state with an estimated population of 5.2 million, mostly youths!

Imagine what that means for both the personal and governmental internally generated revenue. Between the sales of forms to the multiple rounds of screening, tests and final selection, my friend said, surely the good times would be back again.

Think of the hundreds, if not thousands, of young people who, instead of risking their lives in the deserts of North Africa and the perilous Mediterranean Sea to get to Europe, now have the opportunity of not only being trained by some of the best companies in the world but also being employed by them. And all of this on Uzodinmas ticket, just for the price of a vote to return His Excellency to office!

Migration never looked so potentially profitable and America and Europe should have no difficulty seeing the win-win in this grand scheme. I therefore urge all busybodies trying to fact-check the governor to think about the implications of their actions on this laudable and patriotic project, and to desist forthwith.

My Regret

My only regret, perhaps, is that non-indigenes registered to vote in Imo may not benefit from this programme, although it is likely that given the wild excitement that greeted the announcement and the likely political harvest, the governor may extend this scheme to non-indigenous voters as well, as long as they vote for him and retain a certified true copy of their ballot papers.

Theres a saying in my neck of the woods that if a fashion designer is offering to make you a special wear, you must first look at what he is wearing. Surely, anyone like His Excellency, who registered a company in 2012 with a share capital of N5 million and won a dredging contract of N26 billion five years later, which was diligently not executed, should be trusted to send only 4,000 Imo voters to the moon and back, without much difficulty.

As they say in the South-East, Ya kpo tu ba!

Azu Ishiekwene is Editor-in-Chief of LEADERSHIP.

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Germany is recognised as a global hub for education, offering a nurturing environment for students and extending a warm welcome to individuals from around the world. This post compiles a list of tuition-free universities in Germany, catering specifically to foreign students who harbour a keen interest in pursuing their education in this country.

Germany is renowned for its numerous universities that provide internationally acclaimed programmes at a more affordable cost when compared to institutions in the United States, Canada, Australia, and other countries. As a result of government policies, many universities in Germany have adopted a tuition-free model, making education accessible to a broader audience. Nevertheless, its important to note that certain private universities in Germany still require tuition fees.

In Germany, the concept of tuition-free education primarily applies to undergraduate scholarship programs, while many postgraduate programmes do involve tuition fees, except in instances where scholarships are granted. Students can also explore the abundance of scholarship opportunities and funding programmes available in Germany to alleviate the financial burden of tuition fees and other educational expenses, enabling them to pursue their studies in the country.

List of Tuition-free Universities for International Students in Germany

Below is a concise overview of the tuition-free universities in Germany for international students:

Free University of Berlin

The Free University of Berlin was founded during the Cold War era and symbolised the ideals of freedom in West Berlin, standing in stark contrast to the lack of freedom in East Berlin. This institution enjoys international recognition and extends its commitment to freedom by offering tuition-free or scholarship for international students.

Technical University of Munich

Founded in the year 1868, this university has a rich history of academic excellence, evident in its production of approximately 17 Nobel Laureates, showcasing its formidable research capabilities and the high-quality education it offers. Among its areas of expertise, it particularly excels in STEM fields. International students who share an interest in these domains have the opportunity to apply for tuition-free study programmes.

Humboldt University of Berlin

Humboldt University is a prominent example of a tuition-free university in Germany or can be described as one of the best institutions that offer a fully funded scholarships, renowned for its extensive array of undergraduate and postgraduate programmes that encompass the natural sciences, arts, and humanities. It holds a prestigious position as one of the worlds top universities. Established in 1810, Humboldt University is situated in the borough of Mitte, Berlin, and boasts a sizable student body, with a population of up to 32,000 students.

The university has left an indelible mark on academia, with an impressive roster of over 50 Nobel laureates who count themselves among its alumni. Additionally, the institution is closely linked to pivotal scientific breakthroughs, including significant contributions made by none other than Albert Einstein himself.

Ludwig Maximilians University

This university has consistently secured a position within the top 100 universities worldwide and has an impressive track record of nurturing more than 40 Nobel laureates. Among the oldest universities in Germany, it currently ranks as one of the largest in terms of student enrollment, boasting a student population exceeding 50,000. The institution offers a wide spectrum of courses, encompassing the physical sciences, law, medicine, and business disciplines. As a public research university, it extends the privilege of tuition-free education to both domestic and international students.

KarlsruherInstItute of Technology

The Karlsruher Institute of Technology (KIT) is a relatively young public research university, founded in the year 2009. Situated in the southern region of Germany, specifically in Karlsruhe, it has swiftly emerged as one of the countrys largest higher education institutions. Despite its relatively short history, KIT has also achieved recognition as a prominent center for engineering and natural sciences in Europe, solidifying its status as a leader in these fields.

University of Hamburg

Since its founding in 1919, the University of Hamburg has played a pivotal role in educating numerous scholars, fostering the development of prominent individuals across the globe, and significantly enhancing the lives of its graduates. It stands as one of the premier educational institutions in Germany, particularly renowned for its appeal to international students. With an endowment exceeding 600 million euros, the university continues to uphold its commitment to excellence in education and research.

Heidelberg University

Heidelberg University, formally recognised as RuprechtKarlsUniversitat Heidelberg, is a prestigious public research university situated in the Heidelberg region of Germany. Its rich history dates back to its establishment in the year 1386, positioning it among the most ancient universities still in operation worldwide. Additionally, Heidelberg University is distinguished as one of the worlds top-ranked academic institutions, earning high accolades both internationally and within Germany.

Technical University of Berlin

Founded in 1879 as a dedicated research university, this institution has since flourished, currently enrolling a vibrant community of 34,000 students pursuing approximately 200 diverse courses and programmes. Specializing in technology-focused programmes, the university proudly holds membership in TU9, a group of prestigious technology-oriented institutes in Germany.

Darmstadt University of Technology

The Darmstadt University of Technology, officially referred to as the Technical University of Darmstadt (TU Darmstadt), is a prestigious research institution situated in the heart of Germany, specifically in the city of Darmstadt. Established in 1877, this university has gained renown for its outstanding expertise in engineering and was even recommended for Albert Einstein himself. TU Darmstadt holds membership in the esteemed TU9 network in Germany, and it particularly shines as an educational powerhouse in the fields of computer science and information technology. Over time, it has evolved into one of the foremost universities, not only within Germany but also across Europe as a whole.

University of Stuttgart

In the 2016-17 QS World University Rankings, the University of Stuttgart secured the 263rd position. With its origins dating back to 1829, this institution presently provides an extensive array of undergraduate and postgraduate programs across diverse academic fields, garnering global acclaim for its outstanding educational offerings in technology, engineering, and natural sciences. Importantly, the university offers tuition-free education, with the exception of a few mandatory fees imposed per student, which should be noted as distinct from traditional tuition fees.

RWTH AACHEN University

Established in the year 1870, RWTH Aachen University has evolved into one of Germanys largest and most prominent higher education institutions. Situated in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, it operates as a public research university. At present, the university boasts an approximate student population of 45,000, with around 23% of its students hailing from international backgrounds. RWTH Aachen University provides a diverse range of courses spanning across various disciplines, including the natural sciences, engineering, management, arts and humanities, as well as medicine.

University of Cologne

The University of Cologne ranks among the largest educational institutions, boasting a sizable student body totaling approximately 34,500 or more, with 18% of its students originating from foreign countries. Established in the distant year of 1798, it holds the distinction of being the fourth university founded under the Holy Roman Empire at that time, making it the sixth-oldest university in Central Europe. The university currently comprises six faculties, organised into the faculties of Arts & Humanities, Management and Social Sciences, Mathematics and Natural Science, Law, Medicine, and Human Science.

Conclusion

In conclusion, Germany offers an array of tuition-free universities for international students, making it an attractive destination for those seeking quality higher education without the burden of hefty tuition fees. These universities, some of which are among the worlds top-ranked institutions, cover a wide range of academic disciplines, from engineering and natural sciences to arts, humanities, and medicine. Germanys commitment to affordable education extends not only to its domestic students but also to international learners, with many universities providing opportunities for diverse and enriching experiences. Additionally, while tuition fees are often waived, its important to consider other associated costs such as mandatory fees and living expenses. Nonetheless, the availability of scholarships and funding opportunities further enhances the accessibility of higher education in Germany for international students, reinforcing it.s reputation as a study-friendly and welcoming nation on the global stage.

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Oando PLC, Africas leading indigenous energy solutions provider, is set to participate as a lead sponsor at one of the continents leading energy conferences, Africa Oil Week, scheduled to be held in Cape Town, South Africa, from 9  13 October, 2023. As a thought leader in Africas energy sector, Oando will participate in various interviews and plenary sessions, sharing thought-provoking insights on how to propel the continents energy sector forward.

Themed Maximising Africas Natural Resources in the Global Energy Transition, the 29th Edition of Africa Oil Week will bring together deal makers, including African governments, international and national oil companies, independents, G&G actors, service providers and investors, to engage in high-level discussions and exchange valuable knowledge on ways to propel the energy sector forward and actualise the continents goal of energy efficiency.

To be competitive in todays energy world, Exploration and Production (E&P) companies in Africa must embrace new business models and navigate complex regulatory, operational, and technical realities. As Africas upstream landscape evolves, Africa Oil Week will bring two of the continents most active E&P players and two of sub-Saharan Africas largest oil-producing countries to discuss their approach to developing Africas natural resources.

Themed The Rise of Africas Independents & Indigenous Operators, Dr. Ainojie Alex Irune, Chief Operating Officer, Oando Energy Resources, will represent the company in an interview with Mansur Mohammed, Head of West Africa Upstream Content at Sub-Saharan Africa Oil & Gas, Wood Mackenzie to share insights on how the company is developing Africas natural resources.

As leaders in the private sector striving towards achieving a carbon-neutral Africa, Oando will continue to exploit the continents clean and renewable energy sources to solve the continents energy deficit.

To this end, Dr Irune, in his capacity as President & CEO, Oando Clean Energy (OCEL), will be a panelist in an Energy Leaders Debate, highlighting new perspectives and solutions on the role of renewables in increasing access to modern energy alongside Adonis Pouroulis, Chief Executive Officer & Founder, Chariot; Zaher Ibrahim, Vice President, EMEA, Baker Hughes; and Thabo Molekoa, Chairman and Managing Director, Siemens Energy. Emma Champion, Head of Regional Energy Transitions, Bloomberg NEF will moderate the debate session.

The panelists will share their views on how Africa can explore innovative solutions for more energy and climate neutrality in the context of affordability and equality, how to fast-track and deliver innovative projects in support of the global energy community as well as how to harmonise national, regional, and continental activities to bring about the desired change for the continent.

Following the adoption of the Petroleum Industry Act in 2021, the Electricity Act in 2023, and the recent removal of its multi-billion dollar gasoline subsidies, Nigeria, Africas biggest oil producer, must address its security challenges if it is to achieve its 2 million barrels per day threshold and boost gas supply.

As a proudly indigenous Nigerian energy solutions provider, Oando will share insights in a session themed Nigeria  A Renewed Hope for a High Energy Future. Representing Oando, Akinbambo Ibididapo-Obe will discuss how the Petroleum Industry Act and Electricity Act will create new opportunities for investments across the value chain, the commercial aspirations of Nigerian independents and how they can access capital to expand energy and gas infrastructure, amongst others.

Harnessing Africas vast natural resources and energy ambitions would be impossible without funding. For buyers wanting to invest in Africa, access to capital (both debt and equity) is proving more challenging. To this end, experts, including Adeola Ogunsemi, Chief Financial Officer, Oando PLC, will speak on the topic, Financing for African Upstream Deal Flow. As traditional commercial bank financiers continue to make global announcements about reducing their exposure to oil & gas globally and given that most acquisitions of big packages of African upstream assets will require debt across the line, this session will share insights on navigating the funding challenge.

In addition, Oando, represented by, Ms Ayotola Jagun, Chief Compliance Officer and Company Secretary, Oando PLC, will participate in a plenary session themed The Energy Industry Value Proposition  Amplification of the S in ESG, moderated by Lame Verre, Board Chair, Lean in Equity and Sustainability.

Africa Oil Week provides a collaborative stage to connect, share intelligence on enabling policy for capital and investment, showcase licenses and bid rounds, help move projects forward and inform their long-term business strategy in the African upstream. The event aims to advocate for Africa to develop its oil and gas sector with strong and sustainable carbon management strategies and to facilitate equitable transactions that make a positive global impact and a legacy of socio-economic development across the continent.

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Africas Global Bank, United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc, yesterday held the maiden edition of its expanded Graduate Management Accelerated Programme (GMAP) where over 700 graduates were inducted into the UBA tribe after a rigorous 6-month hands-on-work and learning experience.

The Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigerias (CIBN) accredited programme, adopted from the globally recognised Graduate Training Programme, is aimed at building capacity of fresh graduates who are trained as professionals for accelerated career growth to leadership and key positions.

The graduands, from across its 19 African subsidiaries, completed an intense capacity-building programme, combining learning with on-the-job training experience, garnered while rotating across the bank departments and units.

The Chairman of UBA, Tony O. Elumelu, who spoke about the importance of prioritising human capital development, commended the robust programme that churned out bright and promising professionals, poised to take the bank to another level.

It is important to develop platforms for people to grow. We would love to see our future CEOs from this programme and I hope that the enthusiasm, excitement, and energy I see and feel in this room today translates into the greatness we anticipate so that this young bright professionals can help take UBA to the next level, Mr Elumelu said

UBA is giving opportunities to young Africans, by addressing unemployment on the continent. Employment of these large numbers of young people at this time explains the role our Bank is playing in engineering growth and development across Africa, he added.

Speaking at the event, Group Managing Director, Oliver Alawuba said that the Banks future is guaranteed considering the quality of the graduands produced and the commitment shown by participants over the course of the programme.

I have observed, with pride, the dedication, resilience, and unwavering commitment shown by all participants of the GMAP program and delighted. The role of participants is pivotal in providing the much-needed resource required to make the participants of the programme successful as they kick-start their careers, Mr Alawuba said.

In UBA, we give everyone equal opportunity to achieve their dreams, irrespective of age, tribe, gender, and background. the transformation of our dear continent, Africa, is very important to our vision. To achieve this mandate, we need believers, doers, and agents of transformation. Today, you have become an instrument that will transport our countries and continent to the new world order, he added.

UBA is a leading pan-African financial institution, offering banking services to more than thirty-seven million customers across 1,000 business offices and customer touch points in 20 African countries.

With a presence in New York, London, Paris, Cayman Island and now the UAE, UBA is connecting people and businesses across Africa through retail, commercial and corporate banking, innovative cross-border payments and remittances, trade finance and ancillary banking services.

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The ongoing and further divestments of onshore assets by some international operating oil and gas companies (IOCs) and subsequent acquisition by Nigerian operating companies

must not be allowed to impact negatively on the level of compliance with the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development (NOGICD) Act and remittance of tax revenues to the Federal Government, the Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB), Simbi Kesiye Wabote has cautioned.

Speaking during the breakfast meeting he had with members of the Guild of Corporate Online Publishers (GOCOP) and editors of newspapers and directors of broadcast stations in Abuja on Tuesday and Wednesday respectively, the Executive Secretary, who is an engineer said that the planned sale of assets of Nigerian Agip Oil Company Ltd to Oando Plc and Seplat Plcs planned acquisition of assets of Mobil Producing Unlimited (MPNU) would transform Oando and Seplat from midsized players into big-timeoil and gas operating companies.

He corrected the wrong impression that the international oil companies were exiting the country because of unfavourable conditions, hinting that the foreign firms were carrying out assets rationalization, whereby they leave the onshore and shallow waters and focus on deep offshore operations, where they retain a competitive advantage and contend with minimal human interferences.

Wabote said the ongoing and other planned divestments are big accomplishments for Nigerian Content development, describing them as bold statements that Nigerian indigenous operating companies have come of age and acquired the technical, managerial, and financial capabilities to play in the big league.

He said: We are proud that we have moved from near zero participation in the oil and gas sector to the point that our indigenous operators such as SEPLAT, AITEO, and others are now responsible for 15% of our oil production and 60% of our domestic gas supply. With this planned acquisition, the share of local firms in crude oil production could reach 30 percent or more in a short while.

The Local Content boss however warned that the ongoing transactions and future divestments from international companies to local producing firms could pose serious challenges to the country in terms of declining Nigerian content compliance andreduction in tax payments to the Government from the new owners and operators.

He based his position on the Boards experience and records which showed that indigenous firms, especially the indigenous operating companies are serial violators of the Nigerian Content Act and other laws. According to him, many indigenous companies feel entitled and assume they can get away with non-compliance. Some indigenous firms have also argued that they should be excluded from the implementation of the NOGICD Act since their primary investors are Nigerians.

Comparing the attitude of the local firms to their international counterparts, the Executive Secretary stated that in many instances, international operators try to comply with the Nigerian Content because it is in their DNA to obey laws or they have to show evidence of compliance to their home offices. The IOCs will do everything to comply with the provisions of the NOGICD Act. But the indigenous companies will do everything to circumvent the law.

He emphasised that the provisions of the Nigerian Content cover all entities and all activities connected to the Nigerian oil and gas industry and no firm is exempted from compliance. He explained that the Nigerian economy would not develop without encouraging local content in key industries, catalyzing local production of goods and services retaining spend in the country,and conserving foreign exchange.

On strategies that would compel the indigenous companies to comply, the Executive Secretary said the Board would continue to use existing regulations and guidelines as well as the provisions of the NOGICD Act to reign in non-compliant firms. The Board is also partnering with relevant agencies, including the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and industry stakeholders to ensure that the increasing footprints and stakes of indigenous production companies do not cause a reduction in Nigerian content compliance and remittance of taxes to the Government.

He charged the media to advocate for Nigerian Content compliance by all stakeholders of the industry and to challenge indigenous oil and gas operating companies to comply with the laws of the land, including the payment of accurate taxes on their operations.

He stated that the Board organized the breakfast meeting to update the media stakeholders about the Boards programmes,build their competencies, enhance their professional effectiveness, and update them on the latest trends in their industry. He described the media as a reliable stakeholder and promised the Boards continuous support toward an enduring symbiotic relationship.

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The Niger State Government has signed a students/lectures exchange agreement with Kent State University, Ohio, United States.

Abdullberqy Ebbo, the media aide to Governor Umar Bago, announced the Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) in a statement to PREMIUM TIMES on Wednesday.

According to the statement, Mr Bago signed the agreement on Tuesday during a visit to the school.

The agreement also includes the establishment of a Kent State University Study Centre in Minna, the Niger State capital.

This agreement encompasses various areas of cooperation, such as student and lecturer exchange programs, scholarships, vocational and executive education, and institutional capacity enhancement for educational establishments, among others.

The Niger State Government intends to establish a Niger State  Kent State University Study Centre in Minna. This centre will offer a platform for students and faculty to participate in academic and cultural exchanges, thereby augmenting educational prospects.

The signing of the MoU between the Niger State Government and the Kent State University marks a significant milestone in the states ambition to set the benchmark for education in Nigeria, the statement reads in part.

Mr Bago also met with members of the Nigeria-USA Chamber of Commerce in another meeting in Kent.

The Chamber presented opportunities and primary sectors for potential collaboration with the Niger State Government. These sectors include but are not limited to agriculture, value chain enhancement, exports, and mining.

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The Governorship Election Petition Tribunal in Birnin Kebbi, Kebbi State, on Thursday, upheld the election of the state governor, Nasir Idris.

According to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), the panel of judges comprised Ofem Ofem, Dauraba Suleiman-Sikkom, and Celestina Dafe.

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and its governorship candidate, Aminu Bande, had filed a suit challenging the election of Mr Idris as governor.

The petitioners alleged that the deputy governor submitted a fake secondary school certificate to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), they also claimed that there was overvoting in some polling units and that Mr Idris was not eligible to contest.

Delivering the judgment, the tribunals chairman, Mr Ofem, held that the petitions lacked merit to warrant the cancellation of the election.

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Taking the allegations one after the other, Mr Ofem said the petitioners failed to prove beyond doubt that the deputy governor presented a fake certificate to INEC, adding that the testimonial in question was duly signed and issued to him by the then principal of Sultan Abubakar College, Sokoto in 1982 as attested by the authorities concerned.

He, however, said testimonial was in no way an academic qualification but a certificate of attendance while quoting section 177 of the Electoral Act that provided minimum qualification for governor and deputy governor.

On overvoting, Mr Ofem said of the 59 polling units being questioned, irregularities were discovered in nine polling units, resulting in the deduction of 1,735 votes from APC. In contrast, over 900 votes were deducted from PDP.

He, however, said the deduction of the votes would not affect the margin between the winner of the election and the runner-up.

The chairman added that in other polling units, there was no substantial evidence to prove overvoting and irregularities, assuring that their votes stood.

Mr Ofem further maintained that the petitioners had failed to prove beyond reasonable doubt that the governor did not retire from state civil service one month before contesting the March 2023 governorship election.

He, therefore, declared that Gov. Nasir Idris is duly elected and returned as Governor of Kebbi State in the March governorship election held across the state.

Remarks

Commenting on the judgment shortly after the sitting, counsel to the petitioners, Nura Bello, said they would go back and study the judgment and take a stand.

On his side, lead counsel to the fourth respondent, APC, Abdullahi Yahaya, SAN, expressed satisfaction with the stand of the panel of judges, describing it as a standard judicial process.

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Olha Stefanishyna usually carries thick folders under her arm. She is the Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration of Ukraine. She is also the person who closely handles the dossiers of reforms that Ukraine has undertaken to ensure that the European Union opens negotiations that will end in the countrys long-awaited accession to the bloc. It was the large-scale war launched by the Kremlin that changed the European security architecture and triggered this idea of accession that, in the past, would have taken years. Now, Stefanishyna hopes that these conversations will be had as soon as possible. But first Ukraine has to receive a positive report from the European Commission on the extensive reforms required, especially in the rule of law and anti-corruption, issues that were discussed this Monday at the meeting of EU foreign ministers in Kyiv, where she went from bilateral meeting to another with her folders perfectly organized.

Question. The European Commission is exploring Ukraines gradual integration into the EU, and that idea is beginning to take shape, with the support of some member states and the European Council. The debate continues, but would that formula satisfy Ukraine?

Answer. It is a very important debate, because we have not yet started accession talks. But we are already a big part of the EU. That is why we are part of the energy market: we are one of the main exporters. So we are already very integrated, which means we probably wont have to wait until the final decision on joining the EU to become part of, say, the EU family, at least in economic terms. The most important thing for us is that any discussion like that does not lead to additional layers in the accession process. That is why we have been granted candidate status, with its corresponding stages and requirements. We have fulfilled all the requested reforms regarding the political criteria, so if there is a positive evaluation from the European Commission, accession talks should start as soon as possible. And those negotiations are not a political discussion, but a real dialogue based on merit.

Q. Brussels has laid out seven broad points of reform prior to opening these conversations, and is well on top of the process. The United States has called for clearer elements with a time limit and links its aid to anti-corruption reforms, which is also a key point for the EU.

A. The U.S. proposals do not contain anything new or anything that we have not already been doing. We have launched an agenda of major reforms since 2014 and the Association Agreement with the EU has now been in force for almost ten years. All necessary reforms are underway, even in a time of war. Most changes are covered by the seven guidelines given by the EU. We are coordinating all these proposals with European partners, the Americans, and the broader G7 group. It will be set up as a more comprehensive plan that would pave the way for transformation, maintaining financial support, but also planning for recovery and reconstruction efforts. It is now important that we prioritize areas of focus, especially on issues related to the rule of law and the fight against corruption.

Q. These are two of the points that most concern Brussels and that could hinder not only the opening of the accession negotiations, but also the integration of Ukraine into the European bloc.

A. On the rule of law, we have completed the most important step: ensuring that an adequate level of trust is generated in the institutions that were selected, together with Ukraines allies, to carry the enormous credit based on integrity. The same in the fight against corruption. The political framework is there, the institutions are there and they are absolutely empowered. And we see that they are showing a significant result, there is a lot of public debate about various cases [of corruption] that have arisen here and there. But all this also shows that there is no impunity for anyone and that the institutions are working.

Q. Are the latest changes in the government and in other institutions due to these reforms, are they to demonstrate to citizens that there is no impunity?

A. Yes, in all institutions, from the local to the national level. Likewise, if we see any cases of corruption in the army or defense sector, we launch thorough investigations throughout the system.

Q. Do you have data on these investigations?

R. The attorney generals office has opened more than 2,400 criminal cases on corruption matters in the first quarter of the year, resulting in about 2,000 convictions. Thats 51.8% more than the same period last year. In addition, assets worth about $19 million have been seized. And not only there, the National Anti-Corruption Office indicted 147 people in the first half of the year and has secured convictions for 22 people on criminal charges. A state anti-corruption program has been initiated, key anti-corruption officials have been appointed, and the obligation of parties and officials to make their assets public has been restored.

Q. Do you fear that the EUs support will begin to crumble? Are you worried about the grain crisis and the new government in Slovakia?

A. There is a permanent process of dialogue on all issues: from military support, to sanctions, enlargement, and the reform agenda. Ukraines commitment will not be diminished or affected by any bilateral issues that may arise. We do everything possible to avoid tensions in that regard. So we have taken a step to depoliticize the grain issue. And we have returned to the dialogue table where the agriculture ministers are speaking and with the European Commission [Ukraine had filed a complaint with the World Trade Organization over the blockade of Ukrainian grain decreed by Poland, Slovakia, and Hungary]. This dialogue is always difficult when it comes to decisions about financial support or sanctions.

Q. Following the decision of the U.S. Congress to approve a temporary financing law that does not include aid to Ukraine, are you afraid that the support of Washington, a key partner, will falter? In the EU there are many voices that are afraid that Europe will end up being left alone and that this will cause fractures.

A. Well, its quite a new experience for us, but we understand that were not talking about the entire United States. There is a huge group of Western democracies that have been making decisions together since the beginning of the war and even before. And I am sure that this unity and this powerful union of democracies will be able to avoid further disruption in terms of financial support. We understand that there might be a proposal on specific financial support for Ukraine, and I am sure that it will enjoy bipartisan support in accordance with the current agreements in Washington.

Q. So you're not afraid of losing their support now or after the elections at the end of next year?

A. Whatever Ukraine must do to maintain support, it will do. And so far, these efforts have been successful under the last four U.S. presidents and a different Senate.

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Careers in Construction Month (CICM) is a nationwide campaign held every October to increase public awareness of construction careers, inspire the next generation of craft professionals and share with students the many opportunities a career in construction can provide.

EIGHTY FOUR, Pa., Oct. 5, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Working at an 84 Lumber store may not be the typical route to working in construction, but 84 Lumber, the nation's largest privately held building materials supplier, is anything but typical.

"It's no secret that the construction industry is facing a severe shortage of skilled workers. What's less known is that the way into construction may not always be with a builder or contractor," said Ken Kucera, vice president of installed sales and manufacturing, 84 Lumber.

Careers in Construction Month  October 2023

Primarily known as an industry leader in building supplies and services for single- and multi-family residences and commercial buildings, 84 Lumber also operates component plants, door shops, installation centers, and wood product shops. It offers kitchen and bath design services. The stores themselves carry a variety of building materials including siding, decking, windows, trim, roofing, and trusses. It's where builders and industry pros not only get supplies, but also the help they need to solve the challenge of securing skilled, reliable teams to complete installation.

"Over the last decade, construction jobs have steadily increased, even during economic downturns," said Kucera, who leads 84 Lumber's strategy and implementation for growing the components manufacturing business across the country.

"The need for skilled workers is showing no signs of slowing. What's really key for the next generation are the opportunities  a career in construction doesn't have to be limited to a job site; it requires workers with many different types of skill sets and career goals."

"Building a meaningful career is possible with any level of education," adds Kucera. With internships, mentorships, and good management trainee programs, such as those offered by 84 Lumber, a path to a career in construction can be customized. "If you're good with your hands, great; if you have a way with people, consider sales. Any background or talent has a place in the construction industry," said Kucera.

84 Lumber exemplifies the idea that the construction industry isn't just about bricks and mortar; it's about building careers and futures. Associates Chris Cox, divisional installed sales manager at 84 Lumber, and Brandon McGavitt, repairs and enhancements coordinator, highlight the diverse career paths available.

Chris Cox's journey into the construction industry began in 2003 when he transferred from Coastal Carolina University to study Construction Management at Horry Georgetown Tech in Conway, South Carolina. He started as an intern at Centex Homes and quickly progressed to become a field superintendent. In 2008, after Pulte Homes acquired Centex Homes, Cox continued his career as a superintendent, this time in Charlotte, North Carolina. Following his years of industry experience, Cox moved to 84 Lumber in 2012. Over the past 11 years, Cox has received three promotions, establishing a rewarding career with 84 Lumber.

Brandon McGavitt, on the other hand, took a different path into the construction industry. With a degree in management information systems from Indiana University of Pennsylvania, he initially worked in IT at 84 Lumber for about two years. However, his passion for construction led him to seize a job opportunity as a repairs and enhancements coordinator in the real estate and development department in March 2022. McGavitt appreciates the dynamic nature of the construction field, the fast-paced environment, and the camaraderie with like-minded individuals who share the same hands-on work ethic.

The Construction Industry is "Never Dull"

Both Cox and McGavitt share a love for the constant change and fast-paced nature of the construction industry. They appreciate the opportunity to collaborate with dedicated teams and to see the tangible impact of their efforts.

"Every day is something new. The construction industry changes almost daily," said Cox. "It's the change that motivates you daily, and the best part is, you can be part of the change, too."

"There literally isn't a dull moment, and we change gears on a dime. Priorities shift and plans change, and we just adjust to it," said McGavitt. "It's hard work, no doubt, but it is rewarding. At the end of the day, you can leave knowing you accomplished something. Honestly, it's not for everyone and that's okay. But if you aren't scared of hard work and have the drive to make something of yourself, this company will reward you for that."

The construction industry, with its hands-on experience and visible results, offers a unique form of job satisfaction. Completing projects that positively impact communities gives a sense of accomplishment that fuels people's passion for construction.

"What I love most about my job," said Cox, "is the opportunity to build and lead special teams that exceed both internal and external customer expectations." He also finds immense satisfaction in witnessing his teams embrace the 84 Lumber culture.

"84 Lumber has always put its people first. Our culture drives us to work hard, exceed customer expectations, and collaborate as one team across all departments," said Cox.

McGavitt echoes this sentiment, describing the moment he knew that this would be his lifelong career with a store manager telling him he could be someone in the company.

"He wrote an email to several of my bosses at the time and just told them that I could be/do something great at this company, and I've never forgotten that."

For those interested in a career in construction, Cox offers valuable advice:

"Be humble, let your hard work and work ethic do the ladder climbing. Learn to listen; and what I mean by that is really engage a mentor early on. Learn the tasks of others that support your position. In other words, have humility. Don't be afraid to ask questions. Make mistakes but learn from them. Lastly, never take your work home. Work/life balance in the construction industry is key to a long successful career."

For information on career opportunities at 84 Lumber locations across the country, visit: https://www.84lumber.com/careers/current-openings/

About 84 Lumber

Founded in 1956 and headquartered in Eighty Four, Pennsylvania, 84 Lumber Co. is the nation's largest privately held supplier of building materials, manufactured components and industry-leading services for single and multifamily residences and commercial buildings. The company operates 310 facilities which include stores, component manufacturing plants, custom door shops and engineered wood product centers in 35 states. 84 Lumber also offers turnkey installation services for a variety of products, including framing, insulation, siding, windows, roofing, decking and drywall. A certified national women's business enterprise owned by Maggie Hardy, 84 Lumber was named one of America's Largest Private Companies by Forbes and also made the Inc. 5000 list of America's Fastest-Growing Companies in 2023. For more information, visit 84lumber.com or join us at Facebook, Instagram or LinkedIn .

SOURCE 84 Lumber
MILWAUKEE, Oct. 5, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Global water technology company A. O. Smith Corporation ("the Company") (NYSE: AOS) will host an Investor Day in Chicago on Monday, November 6, 2023. Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Kevin Wheeler, Chief Financial Officer Chuck Lauber, and other key members of the management team will provide an in-depth review of the Company's strategy, growth drivers, financial outlook and key initiatives. The event will include formal presentations as well as Q&A sessions with senior leadership.

Attendance in person is by invitation only to institutional investors and analysts. Presentations are expected to begin at 1:30 p.m. (Eastern Daylight Time) and will conclude at 6 p.m. (Eastern Daylight Time).

A. O. Smith to Hold Investor Day in Chicago on November 6, 2023 Post this

A live webcast of the conference, as well as the presentation slides, will be accessible on the Company's website here. Interested parties unable to attend in-person or watch the live webcast will be able to view and listen to an archived copy of the webcast following the conclusion of the event.

About A. O. Smith

A. O. Smith Corporation, with headquarters in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, is a global leader applying innovative technology and energy-efficient solutions to products manufactured and marketed worldwide. Listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: AOS), the Company is one of the world's leading manufacturers of residential and commercial water heating equipment and boilers, as well as water treatment products. For more information, visit www.aosmith.com.

SOURCE A. O. Smith Corporation
Breaking boundaries with Addmotor's new dual battery GRAOOPRO Cargo E-bike.

EL MONTE, Calif., Oct. 5, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Addmotor, an innovative brand leading the industry by offering highly safe and quality electric bikes, introduced another high-performing electric cargo bike, the GRAOOPRO, with a max load capacity of 500 lbs. GRAOOPRO electric cargo bike offers long riding with 210 miles range by featuring dual battery.

GAROOPRO Debut, Up To 210+ Miles

"Addmotor has gained the trust of the people over the years by becoming one of the most reliable electric bike brands in the USA. Addmotor has focused on improving customer experiences and developing new features for better and more comfortable riding." "GRAOOPRO is Addmotor's first dual-battery cargo e-bike. It's built after surveying user needs, focusing on the need for a larger load capacity and longer riding distance."

Addmotor introduces the GRAOOPRO Cargo Electric Bike with dual battery adaptability. The dual battery improves the power performance of the electric bike and improves the range of the electric bike. The electric cargo bike runs 210 miles on a single charge (PAS 1) by using dual batteries. The rider can use a single battery and travel more than 105 miles on a single charge.

"The GRAOOPRO is a highly functional and versatile means of transportation that combines convenience with cargo capabilities. Its unique design and features provide a reliable and efficient mode of transportation, which allows easy storage and transportation of goods." The models of the Addmotor brand are highly versatile and strong enough to face different conditions.

GRAOOPRO is a special cargo electric bike for those who want to travel more or expect more payload capacity. The payload capacity of 300 lbs + 200 lbs helps the rider for transporting groceries or other items efficiently. The powerful rear-mounted 750W motor ensures zero impact of payload on the speed of the electric bike and provides assistance for effortless riding.

The EB 2.0 advanced lighting system and mid-axis torque sensor ensure power optimization and improve the efficiency of the electric bike. The advanced lighting system consumes less power and saves 15% of energy. Also, the mid-axis torque improves the riding range by 20%-30%. The multi-functional 5-in-1 taillight provides indications to make riding safe.

A cargo ebike requires a center-mounted kickstand to easily load and unload the heavy stuff. This GRAOOPRO electric bike has a kickstand to make parking easy with better stability. Adjustable handlebar helps the rider to adjust the handlebar based on the comfortable sitting position. So, every minor feature is created to deliver better comfort to the rider.

"Addmotor GRAOOPRO is a complete package of comfort and performance. It is a versatile electric bike that delivers exceptional results in different conditions and makes the ride efficient on all surfaces. It keeps you moving without any tiredness or effort." The range of 210 miles on a single charge and 500 lbs payload capacity are the most highlighted factors that stand out this electric bike from other electric bikes.

The long rear rack provides sufficient room to carry loads or passengers. Also, the patented buttons make riding and accessing the different functions easy. Moreover, the waterproof LCD shows multiple information and tracks the current status of the electric bike. It is easy for the rider to take timely action to make riding convenient.

Attention to minor detailing and accepting customer feedback makes the Addmotor a most lovable brand among the people. Addmotor always delivers value along with the electric bike to improve the user experience. The attractive style and color options attract the rider, and EB 2.0 electrical system makes the Addmotor electric bike the perfect travel companion.

For more details about the GRAOOPRO cargo e-bike, visit www.addmotor.com or use [email protected] for further queries or questions. Feel free to ask anything.

More About Addmotor

Addmotor is one of the highly innovative and leading electric bike brands working in the industry since 2011. The brand is committed to delivering highly-performing electric bikes and electric trikes to enhance the riding experience and make riding joyful. Offering more innovative and safety features helps the brand to serve better. Addmotor has electric bikes for every occasion, all at very reasonable prices.

Coming Event

Exclusive promo for all Addmotor electric bikes and electric trikes, Addmotor Prime Mon 2023 will last from 5th to 25th, Oct, more details, visit Addmotor official site.

Media Contact:

Mobile no.: +1 888-6600868

Email address: [email protected]

Website: https://www.addmotor.com/

SOURCE Addmotor Electric Bike
LIMASSOL, Cyprus, Oct. 5, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- AdTech Holding, the Cyprus-based international hub focused on creating startup ecosystems and delivering innovative AdTech and MarTech solutions, is announcing its second Open HackAdTech Hackathon in Limassol. The event is held under the auspices of the Deputy Ministry of Research, Innovation, and Digital Policy of Cyprus and supported by IAB.

HackAdTech Hackathon

This year's Hackathon will be supported by Quadcode - a gold sponsor of the event. Quadcode is a fintech company specializing in financial brokerage activities and offering advanced financial products to clients globally. The company's flagship product is their internal trading platform, offered as a Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) solution to other brokers.

Following the remarkable success of its debut Hackathon last year, AdTech Holding is organizing the second contest on November 25-26, 2023. The Open HackAdTech Hackathon, 2023, invites all participants who share AdTech Holding's vision of transforming the digital landscape with cutting-edge technology and unconventional ideas.

a manager if you're unsure (RPalmer, 1/2/19)

"We were greatly inspired by the first public Hackathon we hosted in 2022, as we witnessed the vibrant and collaborative spirit of the community. It went beyond a standard IT contest; it became an opportunity to connect, cooperate, and network with like-minded people. With all our experience in mind, we are eager to make our 2023 hackathon an even more prominent event that will contribute to developing the Cyprus IT ecosystem  on the island we call our home. We are very happy to get recognition from society for our actions and appreciate the nomination of Hackadtech in the Future Shaper category of Techisland Awards."

Alex Vasekin, AdTech Holding CEO

Who Can Participate?

HackAdTech invites all IT professionals and enthusiasts, including programmers, analysts, designers, content creators, students, and industry visionaries  anyone who is interested in making a positive impact on society and the industry.

Every team must consist of up to five members and is required to involve a coding specialist to qualify for the contest.

At the end of the contest, teams must demonstrate a functional prototype of their idea through a compelling presentation.

HackAdTech Timeline

Registration is open till: November 20, 2023

Hackathon: November 25-26, 2023

Awards ceremony: November 26, 2023

What challenges are put to solve at HackAdTech 2023?

This year, HackAdTech suggests competing in creating and implementing groundbreaking solutions for two problems: 'How can we improve life in Cyprus?' and 'How can we improve the AdTech industry.'

The winning team of each of the two challenges will receive a share of the 20,000 prize pool. In addition, the contest offers extra rewards in various categories.

For more information about the Open HackAdTech Hackathon 2023, follow this link or contact [email protected].

Press contact:

Mari Yash

AdTech Holding

[email protected]

+35795989881

SOURCE AdTech Holding
First ever Advyzon Conference will take place February 20-22, 2024 in Phoenix

CHICAGO, Oct. 5, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Advyzon, a comprehensive service and technology platform and portfolio management solution for financial advisors and investment managers, today announced details on the inaugural Advyzon Conference, which will take place February 20-22, 2024 at the Sheraton Phoenix Downtown Hotel.

Advyzon's conference mission is to bring outside-the-box thinking, technology, service, and experience together in a fun and joyful way. The three day conference will combine storytelling, immersive programming, and unrivaled technology to help take advisory firms to a whole new level.

"Advyzon's conference mission is to bring together outside-the-box thinking, technology, service, and experience." Post this

The first ever Advyzon Conference will not be just a user forum, but an industry event featuring not only clients of Advyzon, but industry thought leaders, influencers, consultants, media, integration partners, and financial advisors and financial services firms of all kinds. The conference will also feature influential keynote speakers, educational breakout sessions, an exhibit hall with a variety of vendors and service providers, media opportunities, social events, networking, and more.

Advyzon's cloud-based platform for financial advisors combines portfolio management, customizable performance reporting, trading and rebalancing, client web portals, client relationship management (CRM), client billing, and document storage  plus a model marketplace with access to third party strategists and/or turnkey asset management via Advyzon Investment Management (AIM). This comprehensive solution makes it easy for advisors to run their financial planning and investment advisory firms while managing their client accounts with efficiency and ease. Advyzon currently serves nearly 1,400 advisory firms, many of whom have been clamoring for Advyzon to host a conference for years.

"We are extremely excited to finally be holding the inaugural Advyzon Conference, which we believe will be one of the premier events in the industry," said John Mackowiak, Chief Revenue Officer at Advyzon. "This is something that's been in the works for the past few years, and we couldn't be happier with the location and the itinerary we have planned so far. The feedback we've received has been phenomenal."

KEYNOTE PRESENTATIONS AND BREAKOUT SESSIONS

Keynote presentations at the 2024 Advyzon Conference will be delivered by a variety of experts, including industry thought leaders and influential speakers from outside of the financial services industry.

Matthew Luhn, a director, storytelling consultant, and inspirational speaker with over 25 years of experience creating stories and characters at Pixar, will deliver a thoughtful presentation on telling your story and creating connection. Luhn will teach attendees how to use the secrets of great storytelling to captivate an audience, sell a product, idea, service, or strengthen a brand  bridging the gap between business and heart.

Jeff Kilburg, a respected portfolio manager and founder of KKM Financial, a boutique asset management company located in Chicago, will deliver a keynote presentation on how advisors can reclaim one day a week by outsourcing portfolio management. KKM Financial is one of the latest strategists and asset managers to be added to Advyzon Investment Management's Nucleus Model Marketplace. AIM's managed portfolio solutions and high touch service model allow advisors to achieve operational efficiencies along with comprehensive investment selection and modeling, which, in turn, gives them more time to work on their business, not just in their business  a theme that Kilburg will delve into during his presentation.

Nikolee Turner, director of business and technology consulting for Charles Schwab & Co., will also deliver a keynote presentation on the complexities of growing an advisory firm and creating enduring businesses through strategic planning.

While the agenda is still being finalized, additional sessions are being planned around AI, productivity hacks, relentless obsession, compliance, tax planning, and advisor marketing. There will also be Advyzon-specific sessions on how users can more efficiently and effectively utilize the highest-rated comprehensive technology solution in the industry (as documented by the Kitces AdvisorTech Report and the T3 / Inside Information Software Survey)  Advyzon.

To learn more about the conference speakers and see additional speakers as they're added, please click here. To see the full conference agenda, please click here.

REGISTRATION INFORMATION AND SPONSORSHIP OPPORTUNITIES

Registration is open now to Advyzon users and other financial advisors and industry professionals, with early bird pricing available to Advyzon users through November 15, 2023. To learn more and register for the conference, please click here.

Journalists interested in obtaining a special access press pass, please email [email protected].

Firms that are interested in sponsoring the conference can click here for more information on sponsorship opportunities.

ABOUT ADVYZON

Advyzon provides comprehensive, intuitive, cloud-based wealth management technology and investment management services for independent financial advisors and registered investment advisors (RIAs). The Advyzon tech platform combines portfolio management, customizable performance reporting, trading and rebalancing, client web portals, client relationship management (CRM), client billing, and document storage, along with investment management services and a model marketplace offered by Advyzon Investment Management, LLC. A team of entrepreneurs led by CEO Hailin Li, Ph.D., CFA, Advyzon strives to innovate in strategic and useful ways. Financial advisors inspire Advyzon's innovation and integrations. Their exceptional technology and unmatched service exist to improve the advisor experience  whether it's via portfolio and firm management or client relationships and growth. To learn more about Advyzon, visit www.Advyzon.com. To learn more about Advyzon Investment Management, visit www.AdvyzonIM.com.

Media Contact:

Jonny Swift

Impact Communications, Inc.

913-649-5009

[email protected]

SOURCE Advyzon
BIRMINGHAM, Ala., Oct. 4, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- In their continued commitment to celebrating excellence in education, Alexander Shunnarah Trial Attorneys proudly announces the opening of nominations for its Teacher of the Month initiative for the fifth year in a row.

Aimed at recognizing and honoring outstanding educators, the campaign invites nominations for K-12 teachers who are making significant strides in shaping the future of our nation.

Alexander Shunnarah Trial Attorneys announce the fifth annual Teacher of the Month campaign.

Each month, five remarkable educators from across the country will be awarded:

The distinguished title of Alexander Shunnarah's Teacher of the Month.

Teacher of the Month. A $500 VISA gift card.

VISA gift card. A feature on one of Alexander Shunnarah's digital billboards.

Why This Initiative?

To recognize the indispensable role teachers play in nurturing and molding the future leaders of America. The cornerstone of any prosperous society is its commitment to education, and through educating the next generation, we invariably build a brighter, more promising future.

"The Teacher of the Month initiative stands as a humble expression of gratitude on behalf of Alexander Shunnarah Trial Attorneys towards the educators who selflessly serve their students," states Alexander Shunnarah, the Founder and CEO of Alexander Shunnarah Trial Attorneys. "Being a father of three, I have personally witnessed the profound influence teachers wield in shaping the lives of their students."

The law firm encourages the public to nominate educators who deserve recognition for their outstanding contributions. Nominations can be made on the official website at https://shunnarah.com/teacher-of-the-month/ . With thousands of nominations anticipated, the firm reassures nominators that multiple entries are welcome and encouraged. Join us in celebrating the heroes of our classrooms, and let's give these educators the recognition they truly deserve.

About Alexander Shunnarah Trial Attorneys, P.C.

Alexander Shunnarah Trial Attorneys is a premier national legal firm dedicated to defending individual rights across a spectrum of practice areas. With a commitment that extends beyond the courtroom, the firm actively champions initiatives to foster legal transparency and support growth within the judicial system.

For more information, contact:

Krista Conlin, [email protected]

SOURCE Alexander Shunnarah Trial Attorneys, P.C.
Alteryx partners with TechVets to offer real-world analytics training to help United Kingdom military service members, veterans, and their families transition to civilian careers

IRVINE, Calif., Oct. 5, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Alteryx, Inc. (NYSE: AYX), the Analytics Cloud Platform company, today announced its partnership with TechVets, a non-profit in the United Kingdom that provides a bridge to careers in information technology to veterans, service leaders, reservists, and their families. Together, Alteryx and TechVets will help veterans and active-duty service members transition to civilian careers by providing them with real-world industry training and certifications in data analytics, as part of the Alteryx SparkED no-cost education program.

This partnership builds on Alteryx's commitment to military service members globally. Earlier this year, Alteryx announced its partnership with the United States' Department of Defense SkillBridge program, which helps over 200,000 service members each year transition to careers outside of the military. Kenneth Govens, a U.S. Air Force Aerospace Propulsion, Jet Engines & Turboprop/Turboshaft Prop Enlisted, shares his experience with the Alteryx SparkED DoD SkillBridge program.

"Organizations across all industries are striving to manage and analyze massive amounts of data. The Alteryx SparkED DoD SkillBridge program is perfect for the in-demand market. I am being equipped with leading edge training within the Alteryx automation platform." said Govens. "The Alteryx platform is easy to navigate through and its simplistic design makes it user friendly for any level user. My goal is to pair my Business MA in Analytics, along with a Core Certification attained through the Alteryx SparkED DoD SkillBridge program to market myself, and help leaders optimize their performance by making strategically guided decisions."

"We are thrilled to help drive the analytics movement in the United Kingdom through partnering with TechVets. With the new partnership, we will be able to help companies in the region close the analytics skills gap and boost data literacy in their organizations while simultaneously supporting service members into the next phase of their careers whether that be in supply chain management, resource forecasting, human resources, or something else entirely," said Olivia Duane Adams, co-founder and chief advocacy officer at Alteryx. "Our goal with the SparkED program and the partnership with TechVets is to provide comprehensive data science education, as well as hands on training with Alteryx, so veterans and active-duty service members can transform data into business insights with employable skills now."

Through the program, participants receive a free Alteryx Designer license, interactive learning paths, and access to the Alteryx Community to guide their training at no cost to them.

"In the UK, we have a significant issue with underemployment in the Forces community. Many of those leaving the military every year move into employment that does not make use of the in-demand skills they have developed during their military service," said James Murphy, director of TechVets, The Forces Employment Charity program. "TechVets is a program with a mission to create a bridge into information technology careers for the Forces community, and this cannot be achieved alone. I'm extremely excited to be partnering with the Alteryx SparkED program, so we can shape the future of employment for all our veterans and their families."

Learn more about the Alteryx SparkED and TechVets partnership and apply today.

About Alteryx

Alteryx (NYSE: AYX) powers analytics for all with the award-winning Alteryx Analytics Cloud Platform. With Alteryx, enterprises can make intelligent decisions across their organizations with automated, AI-driven insights. More than 8,000 customers globally rely on Alteryx to democratize analytics across use cases and deliver high-impact business outcomes. To learn more, visit www.alteryx.com.

Alteryx is a registered trademark of Alteryx, Inc. All other product and brand names may be trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners.

About TechVets

TechVets is a Programme within the Forces Employment Charity. We provide life-long, life-changing support, job opportunities, and training to Service leavers, veterans, reservists and their families, irrespective of circumstances, rank, length of service, or reason for leaving. https://www.techvets.co/

SOURCE Alteryx, Inc.
The college presented scholarships to a recipient through Crayons to Computers and the other through Teachers' Treasures

INDIANAPOLIS, Oct. 5, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- American College of Education ( ACE ), recently awarded two teachers with scholarships toward a master's degree. One was awarded to Tarrah Huber through Crayons to Computers and the other to Payton Hill through Teachers' Treasures . Both organizations are nonprofit partners with ACE.

Crayons to Computers is based in Cincinnati and Teachers' Treasures in Indianapolis. Both support educators of students in need by providing school supplies for classroom operation and student success. As a partner of both nonprofits, ACE awards a master's degree scholarship to an eligible educator each year.

"Growing up, I was not the strongest reader," Huber said. "Now, it's one of my favorite subjects to teach. Many of my students are behind grade-level, so I look forward to using this master's degree to learn more about building literacy."

"Earning a master's degree will equip me to better serve my students," Hill said. "I aspire to specialize in behavior and help students who are either behind or at risk of such. I work tirelessly for them to know someone cares about their success."

The scholarships come on the heels of the college's Month of Impact, where its entire community of stakeholders gather to make a difference locally and globally as part of its B Corp mission and commitment to do good.

"It's an honor to award Tarrah and Payton with these scholarships," ACE President and CEO Geordie Hyland said. "ACE was founded by educators for educators, and it's exemplary professionals like them who will lead the charge in positive change for education."

About American College of Education

American College of Education (ACE) is an accredited, 100% online college specializing in high-quality, affordable programs in education, business, leadership, healthcare and nursing. ACE is ranked #2 on Newsweek 's 2023 top online colleges list. Headquartered in Indianapolis, ACE offers more than 80 innovative and engaging programs for adult students to pursue a doctorate, specialist, master's or bachelor's degree, along with micro-credentials and graduate-level certificate programs. In addition to being a leader in online education, ACE is a Certified B Corporation. Certified B Corporations are leaders of a global movement to use the power of business to solve social and environmental problems.

SOURCE American College of Education
ENGLEWOOD, Colo., Oct. 5, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Ampio Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NYSE American: AMPE) (the "Company), a pre-revenue stage biopharmaceutical company focused on development of a potential treatment for osteoarthritis as part of its OA-201 program, today announced that it has selected Ascendia Pharmaceuticals, Inc. ("Ascendia") to provide services to support the clinical development of OA-201, a novel therapeutic for the treatment of symptomatic osteoarthritis pain. OA-201 consists of a natural metabolite, formulated as an injectable small molecule product which has demonstrated an active reduction in pain and cartilage degradation in relevant pre-clinical studies.

Ascendia, a specialty contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) leader, will provide Ampio with a range of services including formulation development, process development and optimization. Ascendia will also provide scale-up, GLP supply and method validation, culminating in cGMP manufacturing of the product to support future Phase 1, 2 and 3 clinical trials. Any future clinical trials to be conducted by Ampio will require Food & Drug Administration (FDA) approval of an Investigational New Drug Application (IND).

"After evaluation of many CDMO service providers, we are very pleased to have selected Ascendia given its strong and broad level of integrated in-house capabilities which we believe will provide a solid platform supporting the continued clinical development of OA-201 for inclusion in future clinical trials," said Michael A. Martino, Ampio's Chief Executive Officer.

Ampio was advised throughout this process by the Bruder Consulting & Venture Group (BCVG,) who Ampio have engaged to assist in the design and execution of its preclinical, clinical, and manufacturing plans and programs. "We are pleased to collaborate with Scott Bruder, MD, PhD, and his team and realize the benefits of their cumulative years of experience in developing and evaluating drugs and devices in the osteoarthritis space," said Martino. "This engagement is a direct application of our virtual organization strategy aimed at keeping internal, fixed costs low while at the same time accessing the best talent to help us achieve our goals."

About Ampio Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

Located in Englewood, Colorado, Ampio Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NYSE American: AMPE) is focused on development of a potential treatment for osteoarthritis as part of its OA-201 program. The OA-201 development program is seeking to advance Ampio's unique and proprietary small molecule formulation to take forward through pain and chondroprotection pre-clinical studies and the next phases of drug development. Ampio's primary strategy is to address the large and attractive opportunity for treatment of osteoarthritis of the knee (OAK) and other joints.

About Ascendia Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

Ascendia Pharmaceuticals, Inc. ("Ascendia") is a specialty CDMO dedicated to developing and manufacturing enhanced formulations for pre-clinical and clinical stage drug candidates and marketed drug products. Ascendia specializes in improving the solubility and bioavailability of poorly water-soluble drugs using its suite of nanotechnology platforms. Ascendia formulates products for injectable, oral, and topical routes of administration. The company has four technology platforms - EmulSol for producing nano-emulsions, AmorSol for creating amorphous solid dispersions, NanoSol for formulating nano-particles, and LipidSol for creating lipid nanoparticles to deliver biologics, peptides, and small molecules.

About Bruder Consulting & Venture Group

The Bruder Consulting & Venture Group ( www.bruderconsulting.com ) is a full service strategic advisory firm with expertise in the discovery, development, clinical design and regulatory approval process of biologics, devices and combination products in the orthopaedic, wound care and plastic & reconstructive surgery markets. As veterans of the business development, licensing, and acquisition process, BCVG has led or supported more than $2 billion of transactions in the USA and abroad.

Caution Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

All statements other than statements of historical facts contained in this letter, including statements regarding our anticipated future clinical developments, future financial position, and plans and objectives of management for future operations, are forward-looking statements. Words such as "may", "will", "should", "forecast", "could", "expect", "suggest", "believe", "estimate", "continue", "anticipate", "intend", "ongoing", "opportunity", "potential", "predicts", "seek", "plan," or similar words, or the negatives of such terms or other variations on such terms or comparable terminology, typically identify forward-looking statements.

Forward-looking statements are based on certain assumptions and expectations of future events and trends that are subject to risks and uncertainties including: we are dependent on the success of our OA.201 program and we cannot be certain that any preclinical data will support its further development; we may not be able to manage third parties to provide timely, high quality, and cost-effective services to us; our history of losses and our cash resources available to execute our business plan over the next twelve months raise substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a going concern; we are involved in legal proceedings that likely will adversely affect our financial position and our pursuit of strategic alternatives; we will need additional capital to fund our future operations, the OA.201 program, and any strategic transaction, as well as to assure compliance with the NYSE American minimum stockholders' equity requirement; we are dependent on adequate protection of our patent and proprietary rights; the price of our stock has been and may continue to be extremely volatile; if we cannot continue to satisfy the NYSE American continued listing requirements and rules, our securities may be delisted, which could negatively impact the price of our securities; and other risks described in "Risk Factors" and elsewhere in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2022 and subsequent periodic reports filed with the SEC.

We undertake no obligation to update or revise publicly any forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date of such statements for any reason, except as otherwise required by law.

For more information, contact:

Ampio Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

Michael A. Martino

Chief Executive Officer

mmartino@ampiopharma.com

SOURCE Ampio Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
Colombia is the country with the highest number of cosmetic surgeries per capita. Getty Images

The Criminal Chamber of the Superior Court of Bogota on Wednesday sentenced six alleged plastic surgeons to seven years in prison for falsifying documents and procedural fraud. Oscar Javier Sandoval Estupinan, Francisco Jose Sales Puccini, Carlos Elias Sales Puccini, Juan Pablo Robles Alvarez, Ronald Ricardo Ramos Daza and Jorge Nempeque Dominguez filed phony medical degrees with the Colombian Ministry of Education and put the health of numerous patients who used their services at risk under the assumption that they were legally qualified surgeons, the ruling found. The court has issued an arrest warrant against all six and sentenced each one of them to pay fines worth the equivalent of 200 minimum wages (about $51,000).

The court found that, between March and November 2014, the alleged plastic surgeons gave the Ministry of Education phony records of a postgraduate course in aesthetic and plastic medicine awarded by Veiga de Almeida University, in Brazil. But they never actually followed those studies and the documents were false. Ministry officials at first did not recognize the ruse, and validated the documents, allowing all six to work legally as plastic surgeons in Colombia.

The ruling reverses an earlier decision by a lower court, made on April 23, in which a judge acquitted the six doctors on the grounds that there was insufficient evidence for a conviction.

One of those convicted is Francisco Jose Sales Puccini, who performed breast reduction surgery on the journalist and activist Lorena Beltran twice in 2017. After two operations, Beltran experienced worrying side effects. My nipples began to turn black and when I touched them the skin began to fall, she explained after the procedure.

Seven years later, Beltran is celebrating the conviction. The doctor who destroyed my breasts was sentenced to seven years in prison, Beltran wrote. In a video, she said that the decision of the Criminal Chamber is a boost not only for her, but for all the victims of cosmetic surgeries in Colombia, the country with the third-highest number of such procedures per capita in the world, according to data from the International Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery.

The ruling comes just two weeks after the death in Bogota of Laura Sofia Amaya due to complications after a cosmetic procedure. So far this year, at least six women have died in Colombia after a procedure of this type, according to the Bogota Health Secretariat. Amayas family said that the person who operated on her, Brenda Gissel Celeita Angarita, was not really a surgeon. The Prosecutors Office confirmed on September 22 that it was investigating the case.
ROLLING MEADOWS, Ill., Oct. 5, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. today announced the acquisition of Scottsdale, Arizona-based The Coverage Pro. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

The Coverage Pro is a retail insurance broker with expertise in construction for commercial and personal lines clients throughout Arizona. As part of the transaction Gallagher will also acquire The Coverage Pro's affiliated company General Southwest Insurance Agency, based in Phoenix. Jeff LaScala, Caily LaScala and their team will remain in their current location under the direction of Scott Firestone, head of Gallagher's Southwest region retail property/casualty brokerage operations.

"The Coverage Pro has a culture similar to ours, and their market expertise will enhance our capabilities in the Southwest," said J. Patrick Gallagher, Jr., Chairman, President and CEO. "I am very pleased to welcome Jeff, Caily and their associates to Gallagher."

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG), a global insurance brokerage, risk management and consulting services firm, is headquartered in Rolling Meadows, Illinois. Gallagher provides these services in approximately 130 countries around the world through its owned operations and a network of correspondent brokers and consultants.

Investors: Ray Iardella, VP - Investor Relations Media: Paul Day, Communications Manager 630-285-3661/ [email protected] 630-285-5946/ [email protected]

SOURCE Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.
ROLLING MEADOWS, Ill., Oct. 5, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE: AJG) will release its third quarter 2023 earnings after the market closes on Thursday, October 26, 2023. A printer-friendly format will be available on the company's website shortly thereafter.

In conjunction with this release, J. Patrick Gallagher, Jr., Chairman, President and CEO, will host a conference call on Thursday, October 26, 2023 at 5:15 pm ET/4:15 pm CT.

The conference call will be broadcast live through Gallagher's website at www.ajg.com and a conference call replay will be available on the company's website approximately two hours after the broadcast. The replay can be accessed by going to Investor Relations and clicking on Events & Presentations.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE: AJG), a global insurance brokerage, risk management and consulting services firm, is headquartered in Rolling Meadows, Illinois. Gallagher provides these services in approximately 130 countries around the world through its owned operations and a network of correspondent brokers and consultants.

Contact:

Ray Iardella

VP - Investor Relations

(630) 285-3661  [email protected]

SOURCE Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.
Interim Data Demonstrate Meaningful Reduction of All-Cause Mortality with AMDS

ATLANTA, Oct. 5, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Artivion, Inc. (NYSE: AORT), a leading cardiac and vascular surgery company focused on aortic disease, today presented interim results from the AMDS PERSEVERE clinical trial in a Late-Breaking Science presentation at the 37th European Association for Cardio-Thoracic Surgery (EACTS) Annual Meeting in Vienna, Austria.

Dr. Fernando Fleischman, Associate Professor of Clinical Surgery at Keck Hospital of the University of Southern California, presented data from the PERSEVERE US IDE trial as a late-breaking abstract titled, Interim results of AMDS Hybrid Prosthesis in Acute DeBakey Type I Dissection with Malperfusion (Persevere Investigational Device Exemption Study) which includes interim data on 52 study participants at 30-days post-implantation and an additional 8 participants in total follow up (60 total participants).

Interim data demonstrate clinically meaningful reduction of all-cause mortality and primary major adverse events (MAEs), with 79% of participants experiencing no target MAEs at 30-days (41 of 52 patients):



PERSERVERE (%) Historical Reference1 (%) All-cause mortality 13.5 29-44 New disabling stroke 9.6 12-35 New onset renal failure requiring dialysis 7.7 12-43 Myocardial infarction 0.0 7-15

Interim data also demonstrate excellent results for additional endpoints:



PERSEVERE (%) Technical Success 98.3 Unanticipated aortic reoperations 1.7 Distal anastomotic new entry (DANE) tears 0.0 Distal stent-induced new entry (d-SINE) 0.0 Occlusion of Supra-aortic vessels 0.0 New Post-op Paraplegia or Paraparesis 0.0

The interim data compares favorably with expected rates of early reintervention and DANE tears in this patient population. DANE occurs in 25-70% of patients following hemiarch repair without AMDS and allows continued blood flow into the false lumen created by the dissection.2,3 The presence of DANE is associated with enlargement of the aorta, reoperation, and increased mortality. Through this interim analysis, DANE has not been detected in any patients in the PERSEVERE study, nor was it reported in the DARTS study through 3 years of follow up of AMDS-treated patients.4

Dr. Fleischman said, "The current standard of care to manage acute Type I aortic dissections is technically meticulous and often leads to distal anastomotic new entry tears, or DANE tears, which are associated with increased risk for re-intervention and mortality. I am encouraged by the interim results of the PERSEVERE study which indicate that the use of AMDS offers substantial clinical benefit, notably the absence of DANE tears and an improved all-cause mortality rate, for patients presenting with malperfusion and ADTI dissection at 30-days, while adding minimal time and complexity to the procedure."

"We are incredibly pleased with the overwhelmingly positive interim results of the PERSEVERE trial which have demonstrated the lifesaving nature of AMDS, including reduction of stroke, new onset renal failure requiring dialysis and myocardial infraction," said Pat Mackin, Chairman, President, and Chief Executive Officer of Artivion. "Given there is no alternative solution on the market today, we are excited to complete this trial and submit our PMA to FDA as expeditiously as possible."

About the AMDS PERSERVE Clinical Trial

The PERSEVERE trial is a prospective, multicenter, non-randomized clinical trial to determine if patients with acute DeBakey Type I aortic dissection can be treated safely and effectively using the AMDS Hybrid Prosthesis. The trial is designed to support the company's forthcoming application to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for premarket approval of the AMDS. The trial will consist of 93 participants in the U.S., who have experienced an acute DeBakey Type I aortic dissection. Each participant will be followed for up to 5 years. The combined 30-day safety and primary efficacy endpoints will determine the impact of the AMDS Hybrid Prosthesis on reducing mortality, new disabling stroke, myocardial infarction, and new onset renal failure requiring dialysis, and remodeling of the aorta.

About the AMDS Hybrid Prosthesis and DeBakey Type I Aortic Dissections

The AMDS is the world's first aortic arch remodeling device for use in the treatment of acute Type I aortic dissections. It is used as a complement to, and in conjunction with, hemiarch replacement without adding technical complexity. The design of the AMDS allows for rapid deployment of the graft in the aortic arch during a standard replacement of the ascending aorta, with deployment adding minimal time to the procedure time. The deployment of the AMDS preserves the native arch, potentially allowing for minimally invasive re-interventions, including the repair of additional entry tears, rather than an invasive arch repair. AMDS is available in select markets around the world including Europe, Canada and certain countries in Asia. In the clinical trial supporting the CE Mark and Health Canada approvals, the AMDS was shown to reduce mortality, complications and reoperations in comparison to published rates with the standard of care, thereby improving the care of patients and offering potentially significant cost savings for the health care system.

Globally, approximately 48,000 patients suffer from acute Stanford Type A aortic dissections annually, an estimated $540 million market opportunity pending regulatory approvals. Aortic dissection occurs when the innermost layer of the aorta tears and blood surges through the tear separating the layers of the aorta. In acute DeBakey Type I aortic dissections, a subset of Type A dissections, the dissection flap originates in the ascending aorta and continues down into the descending thoracic aorta. Left untreated, aortic dissections lead to death in about half of patients within the first 3 days. The current standard of care for repairing acute DeBakey Type I aortic dissections with a primary entry tear in the ascending is a hemiarch repair which involves open chest surgery during which the ascending thoracic aorta is replaced. Though this typically addresses the most critical and pressing issues resulting from acute DeBakey Type I dissections, it is often not enough. Hemiarch repair alone does not address downstream true lumen expansion or treating the false lumen beyond the ascending aorta, which could lead to costly and often fatal complications such as continued blood flow in the false lumen, an aneurysmal aorta, and malperfusion with subsequent end-organ ischemia resulting from a lack of blood-flow.

About Artivion, Inc.

Headquartered in suburban Atlanta, Georgia, Artivion, Inc. is a medical device company focused on developing simple, elegant solutions that address cardiac and vascular surgeons' most difficult challenges in treating patients with aortic diseases. Artivion's four major groups of products include: aortic stent grafts, surgical sealants, On-X mechanical heart valves, and implantable cardiac and vascular human tissues. Artivion markets and sells products in more than 100 countries worldwide. For additional information about Artivion, visit our website, www.artivion.com.

References

Zindovic I et al. J Thorac Cardiovasc Surg 2019; Pacini D et al. Eur J Cardiothorac Surg 2013; Girdauskas E. et al. J Thorac Cardiovasc Surg 2009; Geirsson A. et al J Thorac Cardiovasc Surg 2007; Bossone E. et al Am J Cardiol 2002 Ravesh M. et al. J Thorac Dis 2021 Bing F et al. Vasc Endovasc Surg 2014, Ergin M, et al Ann Thorac Surg 1994, Rylski B et al. Eur J Cardiothorac Surg, 2017, Tamura K et al, Eur J Cardiothorac Surg 2017 Reference: Bozso et al: The Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery (2022), doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jtcvs.2022.08.040

Contacts:

Artivion Gilmartin Group LLC D. Ashley Lee Brian Johnston / Lynn Lewis Executive Vice President & Phone: 332-895-3222 Chief Financial Officer [email protected] Phone: 770-419-3355



SOURCE Artivion, Inc.
DENVER, Oct. 5, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Atlas Real Estate, a full-service real estate company specializing in investment brokerage, property management and institutional acquisition, has been recognized with the 2023 Top Company Award, Real Estate, by ColoradoBiz Magazine.

This award is the latest from ColoradoBiz, as Atlas was named Best of Colorado Property Management for the seventh consecutive year in June 2023. Atlas also received the Top Company award in 2018.

Atlas Real Estate

Top Company awards are judged by business leaders and ColoradoBiz staff and are based on notable achievements, challenges surmounted, financial performance, and community engagement.

Founded in 2013 by Jason Shepherd and Ryan Boykin (a 2017 Denver Business Journal 40 Under 40 honoree ) , Atlas has been led by Tony Julianelle, CEO, since 2018. Under Tony's leadership, the company has made a commitment to Uplift Humanity Through Real Estate, launched the Virtuous Cycle, and opened offices in eight states and Mexico with 8,500+ residential units under management.

"To say the past 2 years have been challenging for real estate is an understatement," said Tony Julianelle, CEO. "They have tested the strength and resilience of our team, who has pivoted, made adjustments and created new businesses, and I'm honored to be part of an exceptionally talented team that's just getting started!"

"Atlas has a unique and motivating culture that's evident in all aspects of our company: our values, services, team development, and community engagement," said Christopher Frierson, Vice President, Talent & Culture. As a team, we've accomplished so much more by working in lock step, knowing we are part of something bigger than ourselves as we uplift humanity through real estate."

Atlas is fulfilling its goal of being a 100-year company with new and exciting innovations in the pipeline. The future looks bright for the company as well as the customers and communities it serves.

For media inquiries please contact Taylor Bond at [email protected]

About Atlas Real Estate Group: Atlas Real Estate is a full-service real estate company specializing in investment services, property management, institutional acquisitions, and buy/sell brokerage. Atlas is also a Zillow Flex Partner Agency. Since its inception in 2013, the company has made a commitment to Uplift Humanity Through Real Estate. With offices in eight states nationwide, Atlas has $2.5 billion in real estate assets under management and manages 8,500+ residential units.

To learn more about Atlas, visit https://realatlas.com

SOURCE Atlas Real Estate Group
HOUSTON, Oct. 5, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- A group of attorneys from Houston-based Heim, Payne & Chorush, LLP, are recognized for their trial skills in The 2024 Lawdragon 500 Leading Litigators in America listing.

Firm leaders Michael Heim, Leslie Payne, and Russell Chorush are included in the exclusive listing for intellectual property law and patent disputes. Mr. Chorush is additionally recognized for his expertise in antitrust law.

Fellow firm partners Allan Bullwinkel and Eric Enger earned spots on the Lawdragon roster of the country's top trial lawyers based on their work in patent cases. Partner Chris First is singled out for complex business disputes and antitrust matters.

The Lawdragon recognition arrived the same week Heim, Payne & Chorush won a $37.5 million patent infringement verdict for Texas-based Atlas Global Technologies Inc. against China-based TP-Link Technologies Inc. in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas. Other recent firm victories include:

A multimillion-dollar settlement in a pharmaceutical antitrust lawsuit;

A confidential settlement with Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., in a patent infringement lawsuit;

A crucial ruling from the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) denying an attempt by corporate heavyweights Apple Inc., LG Electronics Inc., and Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. to invalidate a patent;

Back-to-back-to-back favorable rulings in proceedings before the PTAB and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit as part of an ongoing intellectual property infringement case; and

A PTAB judgment in favor of the firm's client followed by a separate PTAB ruling denying an inter partes review request filed by Apple Inc.

Heim, Payne & Chorush, LLP, represents plaintiffs and defendants in litigation across a broad range of technologies and business sectors. With a wide variety of technical and scientific backgrounds, firm attorneys handle all facets of intellectual property litigation for some of the largest energy and technology firms, as well as individuals and smaller companies. Ranked among the most active and top-performing firms in matters before the U.S. Patent Trial and Appeal Board by Patexia Insights, Payne & Chorush takes pride in its ability to partner with other attorneys and firms to bring the best possible trial team together for the benefit of the client. To learn more about the firm and the work it does, visit www.hpcllp.com .

For more information, please contact Bruce Vincent at 214-763-6226 or [email protected].

SOURCE Heim, Payne & Chorush LLP
Identity Verification and Management Leader Continues to Gain Industry Recognition

TEL AVIV, Israel, Oct. 5, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- AU10TIX , a global technology leader in identity verification and management, today announced that it has been named "Overall ID Management Solution Provider of the Year'' by the 7th Annual CyberSecurity Breakthrough Awards Program. CyberSecurity Breakthrough is a leading independent market intelligence organization that recognizes the top companies, technologies and products in the global information security market.

AU10TIX distinguished itself from thousands of other nominations through its innovations in the dynamic identity management landscape. The company offers the only 100% automated global identity verification (IDV) and management solution, empowering the world's most prominent businesses to safely engage in digital commerce and applications while delivering the best possible user experience.

AU10TIX's advanced technology facilitates accurate and reliable service across a wide range of business needs and requirements, including KYC and AML regulations, age and document verifications, new account onboarding, sophisticated organized fraud and more. Built with a forward-thinking approach, the suite evolves and adapts to future needs, ensuring that businesses can address emerging challenges in the IDV space.

"This recognition is a testament to our ongoing commitment to provide our clients with the most advanced, reliable, and secure IDV solutions in the industry," said Dan Yerushalmi, CEO of AU10TIX. "We are extremely proud to be selected as CyberSecurity Breakthrough's 'Overall ID Management Solution Provider of the Year.'"

The company was previously named "Best Identity-as-a-Service Platform" by the 2023 FinTech Breakthrough Awards in March 2023. Its technology is trusted by hundreds of enterprises worldwide, including X Corp, Google, PayPal, Thomson Reuters, Microsoft, Payoneer, Uber and Santander.

The Cybersecurity Breakthrough Awards is the premier awards program devoted to honoring excellence in information security companies and products in categories including Cloud Security, Threat Detection, Risk Management, Fraud Prevention, Mobile Security, Web and Email Security, UTM, Firewall and more. To learn more visit www.cybersecuritybreakthrough.com.

About AU10TIX

AU10TIX, a global identity intelligence leader headquartered in Israel, is on a mission to obliterate fraud and further a more secure and inclusive world. The company provides critical, modular solutions to verify and link physical and digital identities so businesses and their customers can confidently connect. Over the past decade, AU10TIX has become the preferred partner of major global brands for customer onboarding and customer verification automation  and continues to work on the edge of what's next for identity's role in society. AU10TIX's proprietary technology provides results in less than 8 seconds, enabling businesses to onboard customers faster while preventing fraud, meeting compliance mandates and, importantly, promoting trust and safety. AU10TIX is a subsidiary of ICTS International N.V. (OTCQB: ICTSF ). For more information, visit AU10TIX.com .

Mark Prindle

Fusion PR

mark.prindle@fusionpr.com

SOURCE AU10TIX
SOUTHFIELD, Mich., Oct. 5, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Ending consecutive periods of year-over-year declines, brand loyalty movement among U.S consumers halted in the first half of 2023, according to S&P Global Mobility analysis of new vehicle registration data.

The industry's brand loyalty rate of 50.6% was identical to the same period in 2022, despite a 7% increase in return-to-market volume among consumers. The lack of change in loyalty is a positive sign for the industry, which had been facing sharp decreases in loyalty due to pandemic-related inventory shortages.

Industry Make Loyalty % Trend: CYTD Through June Year-Over-Year Change in Conquest Volume by Sector: CYTD (through June) 2023 vs. 2022

A primary contributor to halting declines were luxury brands, which saw a 2.7 percentage point (PP) increase in brand loyalty year-over-year. The mainstream sector, which accounts for the largest source of consumer return-to-market volume, saw brand loyalty decline by 0.4 PP over the same period. Inconsistent improvements in available inventory were the primary factors in loyalty gains and losses for the first half of 2023.

"Rising inventory levels are helping to curb the loyalty declines we've seen in previous years," said Vince Palomarez, associate director, Loyalty product management at S&P Global Mobility. "However, the distribution of inventory recovery varies by auto manufacturer, making it difficult to see any significant gains. Some brands were able to benefit from inventory recovery while others were unable to."

Conquest volume benefited year-over-year, as a result of loyalty's stagnation, rebounding from 2022's decline. Volume for the first half of 2023 saw a 7% increase versus the same timeframe in 2022 as consumers were left to search outside of their normal channels to find a vehicle if inventory levels were low.

"The last few years have shown that if a consumer has a need for a certain type of vehicle, they are not going to wait for their preferred brand to supply it," said Tom Libby, associate director for loyalty solutions and industry analysis at S&P Global Mobility. "This has opened the door for more brands to capture market share from traditional leaders. Years of investment in quality and technology among the industry has evened the playing field, and we are seeing some of the smaller brands take advantage of that."

Among individual brands, Tesla remains the leader with a loyalty rate of 68.4% for the first half of 2023. While all models in Tesla's lineup have high retention rates, the Model 3 stands out as the clear leader with more than 74% of its returning consumers remaining loyal to the brand  mostly by acquiring a Model Y.

"Tesla has proven it has a strong connection with its customers, despite increasing competition in the BEV market," said Palomarez. "Calculated price drops and timely incentive offerings have helped to boost interest and keep the brand's positive momentum going."

Additional mid-year highlights:

General Motors is ahead of last year's pace in loyalty to Manufacturer, leading all multi-brand manufacturers for the first half of 2023

Buick and Land Rover are among the highest year-over-year gainers in brand loyalty, improving rates by more than 10 PPs

The Lincoln Nautilus and Ford F-Series are the leaders in model loyalty

S&P Global Mobility experts will share more detail on the mid-year analysis during our next Loyalty webinar on October 5 at 1:00 p.m. ET. You can register here to attend (a replay will be available to those who register).

About S&P Global Mobility

At S&P Global Mobility, we provide invaluable insights derived from unmatched automotive data, enabling our customers to anticipate change and make decisions with conviction. Our expertise helps them to optimize their businesses, reach the right consumers, and shape the future of mobility. We open the door to automotive innovation, revealing the buying patterns of today and helping customers plan for the emerging technologies of tomorrow.

S&P Global Mobility is a division of S&P Global (NYSE: SPGI). S&P Global is the world's foremost provider of credit ratings, benchmarks, analytics and workflow solutions in the global capital, commodity, and automotive markets. With every one of our offerings, we help many of the world's leading organizations navigate the economic landscape so they can plan for tomorrow, today. For more information, visit www.spglobal.com/mobility .

Media Contact:

Michelle Culver

S&P Global Mobility

248.728.7496 or 248.342.6211

[email protected]

SOURCE S&P Global Mobility
HATBORO, Pa., Oct. 5, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Azzur Group today announces the appointment of financial executive James Kalinovich as Chief Financial Officer to support the continued growth of the organization's expanding professional services business units: Azzur Cleanrooms on Demand, Azzur Labs, Azzur Consulting, and Azzur Training Center.

James Kalinovich, Chief Financial Officer, Azzur Group (PRNewsfoto/Azzur Group, LLC)

Initially founded in Philadelphia in 2010, Azzur Group is a market-leading provider of cGMP services for the pharmaceutical, biotechnology, medical device, and healthcare industries, with offices, labs, and early-phase manufacturing facilities operating in key industry hotbeds throughout the United States.

As Chief Financial Officer, James brings to Azzur Group more than 20 years of experience in leading finance roles at large multinationals raising more than $10B in funding, as well as experience managing more than 75 acquisitions and divestitures. Most recently, James served as Corporate Vice President and Treasurer of Wabtec, a leading global equipment provider. James succeeds Matt Weiss, who served as Chief Financial Officer of Azzur Group from March 2022 until September 2023.

"I'm excited to join Azzur at such a pivotal time for the organization and build upon our attractive market position to instill long-term growth for the company," said James. "I look forward to working alongside fellow leaders to continue to build on Azzur's strengths to increase returns while delivering unique value to our clients, communities, and employees."

James has held financial leadership and treasury roles at Avantor, American Water, and Amkor Technologies. James holds a Master in Business Administration in Finance and Information Systems from New York University, as well as a Bachelor of Science from The Pennsylvania State University.

"We are pleased to welcome James to Azzur Group and look forward to his contributions as Chief Financial Officer," said Michael Khavinson , Chief Executive Officer, Azzur Group. "I have complete confidence that the leadership and experience James brings to Azzur will continue to strengthen the company's foothold and prepare us for longstanding growth."

For more information about Azzur Group, visit Azzur.com .

About Azzur Group

From Discovery to Delivery, Azzur Group provides the life science community full life-cycle solutions for all their GxP needs. From Azzur Cleanrooms on Demand facilities, to our labs, training centers and consulting offices across the nation, Azzur Group helps organizations start, scale, and sustain their growing enterprises. With nearly four decades of service to the life science community, we have become a trusted partner to the world's leading pharmaceutical, biotechnology, medical device, and healthcare companies, as well as their supply chain. Follow us on LinkedIn . For more information, visit Azzur.com .

SOURCE Azzur Group, LLC
Omnilert Gun Detect is the only solution that spans visual gun detection, human verification, activation of safety systems, and notification to those in harm's way

LEESBURG, Va., Oct. 5, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Omnilert, a leader in active shooter and emergency notification solutions, today announced that Baltimore County Public Schools will be integrating its Omnilert Gun Detect platform with 7,000 cameras district-wide, representing the largest deployment of AI visual gun detection in the U.S. to date. As the industry's only active shooter solution to feature proven emergency notification system (ENS) capabilities, Omnilert Gun Detect can provide 24/7 monitoring with a near-instant response at the first sight of a gun to ensure the best possible outcomes in the event of an active shooter or act of gun violence.

Omnilert Gun Detect has a three-step verification process that not only recognizes a gun, but also the physical behavior consistent with gun violence. It can easily be deployed with any existing IP-based camera and can monitor spaces that other safety technology miss such as exterior grounds and parking lots. The software was designed with privacy concerns in mind as there is no use of facial recognition on subjects being monitored and live video feeds never leave the site.

The Baltimore County School District is home to more than 111,094 students in pre-K to 12th grade and over 21,000 staff members. Tasked with the responsibility to keep students and staff safe in its more than 176 schools and programs, the district will be installing Omnilert Gun Detect with its existing cameras both inside and outside its buildings. In seconds, this AI-powered gun detection solution can identify gun threats, verify detections, and initiate a series of automated responses such as lock doors, notify police and send alerts.

"We are pleased to have this new weapons detection system as part of our comprehensive approach to enhance school safety," said Dr. Myriam Rogers, Superintendent of Baltimore County Public Schools. "Omnilert will be deployed in all BCPS schools this school year and we look forward to this new partnership as well as our continued work with local law enforcement to keep our students and staff safe and respond quickly and strategically when there is a serious incident in our schools."

"Schools around the country are learning that it's not enough to just detect and verify an active shooter, but rather it's the automated response and mass communications that ultimately determines whether lives are lost or saved," said Dave Fraser, CEO of Omnilert. "With a 20-year track record in emergency communications, we are proud to be the only AI visual gun detection company that can offer a complete solution and we look forward to helping Baltimore County Public Schools leverage our platform to keep its students and staff safe. This is the largest deployment of AI visual gun detection and the district should be commended on setting this strong example for other schools and organizations around the country to follow."

Why Monitoring is Needed Both Inside and Outside Schools

Ensuring that both interior and exterior cameras at each campus are equipped with Omnilert Gun Detect is key for keeping Baltimore County Public Schools safe from active shooters and gun violence. In fact, the K-12 School Shooting database recently published research showing that 70% of school shootings happen in the exteriors of schools, which is why it's so important to have a multi-layered security strategy that proactively monitors activity on the grounds surrounding the school, as well indoors.

How AI Visual Gun Detection Works

Omnilert Gun Detect is a platform with advanced AI software that detects handguns and long guns in a vast array of environments. Once a gun is detected, it sends an alert to a designated person or team that could be either Omnilert Monitoring, the school's own security operations team, a third-party monitoring service or a combination of those to verify detections. When a threat is confirmed, Omnilert Gun Detect triggers an alert that sets the security team and police into action, along with prescribed response scenarios that can protect those in harm's way. This solution gives emergency response teams advance warning before shots are fired and delivers precise information on the location with a photo and video of the potential shooter. The platform was also designed with privacy concerns in mind as there is no use of facial recognition on subjects being monitored and the video feeds never leave the school premises.

Omnilert Gun Detect is unmatched in the industry in terms of features and flexibility. The software offers the broadest number of integrations from VMS to ENS to access control to quickly put schools into a lockdown to help save lives. In addition, for schools that choose to use Omnilert Monitoring, they gain access to a professionally trained staff with law enforcement, medical and military backgrounds.

About Omnilert

Omnilert is transforming public safety with the industry's most effective AI-powered active shooter prevention solution that combines early visual gun detection with a proven rapid response that can save time and lives. The Omnilert Gun Detect platform empowers existing security cameras with monitoring software that can identify gun threats at first sight and then activate automated response capabilities that maximize each critical second. Once a gun is verified, this could include locking doors, notifying first responders, sending images, location and video of the shooter; and sending alerts and guidance to anyone near the situation, all in mere seconds. Founded in 2004, Omnilert has is the trusted partner to thousands of customers across multiple industries including K-12 schools, higher education, government, healthcare, manufacturing and retail. The company is headquartered in Virginia. For more information, visit https://omnilert.com/.

Media Contacts:

Erika Powelson

Omnilert Media Relations

[email protected]

408-781-4981

SOURCE Omnilert, LLC
As Y-Combinator (YC) pulls back from Africa , Baobab doubles down on its early-stage investment strategy across Africa

, Baobab doubles down on its early-stage investment strategy across New cohorts to receive $100,000 investment each, up from $50,000 , with launch of Baobab's Co-investment Vehicle

investment each, up from , with launch of Baobab's Co-investment Vehicle Baobab portfolio now up to 45 startups across 15 countries

NAIROBI, Kenya, LAGOS, Nigeria, and LONDON, Oct. 5, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Baobab Network ("Baobab"), an early-stage investor and accelerator that backs technology companies across Africa, has this week announced that they intend to invest in 1000 companies between now and 2033.

Having launched their accelerator in 2019, Baobab has consistently been one of the most active investors across Africa, backing locally led companies from day one. The accelerator provides $100,000 in funding for each company, as well as a 12-week accelerator designed to set each business up for scale.

Announcing their latest 5 investments, Toby Hanington (Co-founder, Baobab) said they now have the platform to dramatically scale the number of investments they review and execute across Africa.

Baobab's new cohort includes Brandrive, PocketFood and Bunce (all Nigeria), as well as Kawu (Uganda) & Alal (Senegal). Each company has received $50,000 directly from Baobab, with another $50,000 investment from their newly launched Co-Investment Vehicle.

YC retreating, and other market dynamics behind Baobab's bullishness

Africa has not been immune to global market dynamics, but Baobab continues to be one of the most active pre-seed investors in Africa. Baobab Network has already completed 10 deals this year, with another larger cohort expected in Q4.

Additionally, Baobab recently hired Niama El Bassunie as Managing Partner  a YC alumni and one of Africa's only exited entrepreneurs.

Baobab counts a number of global business leaders, institutions and investors amongst its investor-base, committed to supporting Baobab's future as a multi-product asset management platform, driving the next generation of technology companies in Africa.

About Baobab Network

Baobab Network is an early-stage investor and accelerator that backs technology companies across Africa. Launched in 2016, and based out of offices in Nairobi, Lagos and London, Baobab is a sector and geographically agnostic investor within Africa, and entrepreneurs that join Baobab's accelerator receive $100,000 USD in funding as well as access to a global network of partners and co-investors. Baobab's vision is to build a multi-product investment business, investing in 1000 startups in Africa over the next 10 years.

For more information, media enquiries or to get in touch with the Baobab team, send an email , visit the website or follow on LinkedIn . Email: team@thebaobabnetwork.com

 Baobab Network 2023 | All Rights Reserved

SOURCE Baobab Network
Kyiv has won a significant battle against Moscow in the Black Sea. Despite the blockade imposed by the Russian fleet, the Armed Forces of Ukraine are keeping enemy warships away from their ports in Odesa province, securing the first leg of a new grain export route through the waters of three NATO countries: Romania, Bulgaria, and Turkey. Ukrainian naval forces reported Wednesday that there are currently 25 merchant ships leaving their ports, waiting to sail, or on their way to leave through them.

Last July, Russia broke the Black Sea Grain Initiative, an agreement signed in summer 2022 with Turkey and the United Nations under which the Kremlin allowed Ukrainian grain to be exported to international markets. Vladimir Putin agreed to the pact under pressure from developing countries, which have suffered from higher prices for commodities such as wheat due to the blockade of Ukraines powerful agricultural sector. Putin backed out of the initiative this summer on the grounds that the West had not fully honored its commitment  agreed in a side deal to the one with Ukraine  to lift the embargo on trade in Russian grain and fertilizers.

Kyiv has now demonstrated that it does not need the Kremlins authorization to reactivate the export of its grain. Spokesman for the Ukrainian Navy, Dmytro Pletenchuk, has reported that there are currently three merchant ships sailing for Romania from Ukrainian ports. Another 12 will follow the same route in the next few days and a further 10 are heading to Ukraine. Since this safe route was activated on September 19, at least seven freighters have departed from ports in Odesa for international markets. A new development is that Ukraine is also exporting iron ore, as confirmed by Minister for Infrastructure Oleksandr Kubrakov on October 1.

These figures would indicate that Ukraine is reaching the level of merchant traffic it maintained under the UN and Turkey-sponsored agreement, but with the advantage of not having to suffer the constant delays caused by Russian inspectors in giving the go-ahead for vessels to access Ukrainian ports. One of the conditions of the grain initiative was that only agricultural products could be transported. The 25 ships currently on the route, added to the seven that have already left the Black Sea, represent a huge increase in shipping from five that sailed last July from Ukrainian ports under the grain initiative; in June there were 34 and in May, 30, according to UN data.

May, June, and July 2023 saw the least merchant activity under the UN grain initiative. During the year the pact was in place, an average of 83 ships per month sailed from Ukrainian ports. Data provided by the Ministry of Infrastructure states that the first five ships to sail through the new corridor have transported almost 150,000 tons of grain. The next five, Kubrakov said, will total 120,000 tons.

The new sea route has the added guarantee, according to Pletenchuk, that it runs through the waters of NATO countries, which Russia will not dare to attack. But there are almost 90 nautical miles (169 kilometers) that ships must navigate in Ukrainian waters, and these are at the mercy of Russian weapons. The key has been that the Ukrainian Navy has managed to secure a perimeter by pushing Russian warships away. On the one hand, Ukraine has attacked Russian patrol boats and warships with their nautical Neptune missiles and sea baby marine drone bombs in operations hundreds of miles from their own bases; on the other, missile shelling of the Russian Black Sea fleets base in Sevastopol in occupied Crimea has forced the Kremlin to move most of its ships to safer ports such as Feodosia  also in Crimea, but further away from the grain route  and Novorossiysk in Russias Krasnodar province.

Pletenchuk said that so far three Russian ships have been sunk. Since August, Ukrainian strikes have also caused extensive damage to a submarine and a landing ship in Sevastopol, and to a ship in Novorossiysk.

This exodus of ships from Sevastopol has been confirmed by satellite imagery and highlighted in daily British intelligence reports. That Russia is losing control of the Black Sea is borne out by repeated landings of Ukrainian special forces in Crimea, over 130 miles from the free Ukrainian coast. The latest rapid attack operation was confirmed Wednesday by the Defense Ministry, with a video showing at least eight speedboats involved.

Pletenchuk is keen to avoid triumphalism and warned that there are 10 Russian warships in Ukrainian Black Sea waters, although he confirmed that five of them are patrolling in the area of the Kerch bridge. This bridge is critical to Moscows logistical chain because it is the only land link connecting Russia to Crimea and provides a route for much of the supplies for troops on the southern front. Ukraine has already twice partially destroyed the bridge, disrupting the timings of Russian military logistics. The Ukrainian Navy spokesman added that there are 10 further Russian warships in the Sea of Azov. These provide logistical support, both in transport and in launching long-distance attacks, to the Russian defenses on the southern front, in the Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions.

Russian air superiority

The British Ministry of Defence has noted that Russia is opting for attack operations against military targets in the Black Sea with its Air Force, which is less exposed to being hit by defensive fire than its ships. Shelling has also intensified against port infrastructure in Odesa and the Ukrainian port of Izmail, the main departure point for merchant ships sailing up the Danube River to European markets. Reuters reported Wednesday that about 2.4 million tons of grain left Ukraine on the Danube in September. Data from Ukrainian authorities indicate that 50 million tons are available for sale abroad between 2023 and 2024.

The Armed Forces of Ukraine insist that the only way to protect their port cities is with more anti-aircraft defense batteries supplied by the West. Pletenchuk admitted that Russias air dominance in the Black Sea will remain undisputed until F-16 fighters are operational in Ukraine. The White House last August gave the green light for the delivery of these aircraft and the first Ukrainian pilots are training to enter combat from 2024.

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The vote to strike follows years of efforts by the nurses, the lowest paid nurses in the region, to convince hospital management to improve conditions that have resulted in unprecedented turnover of staff, with nearly 30 percent of RNs leaving the facility over the last two years

NEWBURYPORT, Mass., Oct. 5, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The registered nurses at Beth Israel Lahey Anna Jaques Hospital (AJH), who are currently in contract talks with hospital management, cast an overwhelming "yes" vote (99 percent) yesterday authorizing their local union leaders to call a three-day strike should hospital executives continue to fail to address longstanding issues that currently affect their ability to deliver the best possible care to patients.

The vote follows years of efforts by the nurses to convince hospital management to address numerous ongoing problems inside the hospital, including the chronic understaffing of nurses; the failure of the hospital to both improve nurse recruitment/retention; and the failure of the hospital to provide RNs with resources essential to the delivery of quality care.

The AJH nurses who are the lowest paid nurses in the region, with salaries that average between 15  28 percent below other facilities north of Boston, have witnessed the unprecedented turnover of staff, losing more than 28 percent of their staff between 2021 and 2023, nurses who left to work at facilities with better pay, benefits and staffing conditions.

"We are currently in a staffing crisis at Anna Jaques, and it's getting worse," said Margaret Mirecki, a nurse on the hospital's telemetry unit and co-chair of the nurses' MNA local bargaining unit at the hospital. "We are trying to provide the highest-quality care possible to the people of this community, at a hospital we love and want to see thrive. But, due to management's refusal to address this crisis, we are struggling to find and keep experienced nurses while executives have been cutting back or closing services for the community. We need AJH executives to finally listen to us, and then to work with us to find and implement appropriate solutions."

In September, the nurses entered official negotiations for a new union contract where they hope to attain wage, benefit and staffing improvements that are needed to stop the ongoing exodus of staff from the facility, with the first negotiation between the parties held on Sept. 12 and the second session to be held today.

The strike authorization vote does not mean the nurses will strike immediately. It gives the AJH nurses' MNA negotiating committee the authorization to call a three-day strike if/when they feel it is necessary after the contract's expiration date, which is December 31st. Casting a strike vote this early in the process is an unusual step but one the nurses feel is necessary given the gravity of the crisis the facility faces, and the need for management to understand how serious the nurses are for BI Lahey to fix these problems. If and when the committee issues its official notice to strike, the hospital will then have a 10-day notification period required by law before the members go out on strike.

"Every day we delay addressing our concerns, that's another day our patients see their care and their potential safety compromised, and another day where we see another nurse walk out the door for better pay and better conditions," explained Eileen Ryan, RN, a nurse on the hospital's surgical floor and co-chair of the nurses' local bargaining unit at AJH. "We love our hospital and our community and will do everything possible to restore it to its former highest standards."

The nurses' effort to address these issues were first made public back in February, when nurses delivered a petition to management signed by 80 percent of the nurses, which fell on the year anniversary of their delivery of a similar petition in February of 2022. The petition read in part: "We RNs and co-workers are struggling to provide the best care to the people of this community we love, and we are failing" and provided a list of issues that need to be addressed, including the fact that "nurses at Anna Jaques are the lowest paid in the Merrimack Valley and are leaving for surrounding hospitals where conditions like staffing and compensation are much better."

A month later on March 9th, after management failed to take any meaningful steps to address the nurses' concerns, the nurses held an informational picket outside the hospital to alert the public of the impact current conditions were having on the care they received with broad participations not just by hospital nurses, but also by community supporters, labor and healthcare advocates, and elected officials. The nurses then urged management to begin negotiations for the new contract in the spring and summer to address the burgeoning crisis. Again, no meaningful effort was made to deal with the issues.

Key Issues of Concern to Nurses:

Bottom of the market wages : The AJH nurses are the lowest paid nurses in the region, with salaries that average between 15  28 percent below all other facilities north of Boston .

: The AJH nurses are the lowest paid nurses in the region, with salaries that average between 15  28 percent below all other facilities north of . Below market health insurance benefit : the nurses' health insurance benefit is more expensive than competing hospitals in the region, with nearly half refusing to even take the substandard benefit.

: the nurses' health insurance benefit is more expensive than competing hospitals in the region, with nearly half refusing to even take the substandard benefit. Failure to ensure safe staffing levels. Nurses are proposing staffing grids for each unit/department to ensure patients receive safe patient care. Also, due to staffing shortages management can't even post a schedule without a significant number of holes in the schedule, resulting in nurses caring for patients while short staffed and tired from working extra shifts and excessive overtime.

Nurses are proposing staffing grids for each unit/department to ensure patients receive safe patient care. Also, due to staffing shortages management can't even post a schedule without a significant number of holes in the schedule, resulting in nurses caring for patients while short staffed and tired from working extra shifts and excessive overtime. Below market shift differentials: In addition to having the lowest rates of base pay, the shift differentials for nights, weekends, on call and floating to other units also lag behind all other hospitals in the region, further undermining the hospital's ability to recruit and retain nurses.

In addition to having the lowest rates of base pay, the shift differentials for nights, weekends, on call and floating to other units also lag behind all other hospitals in the region, further undermining the hospital's ability to recruit and retain nurses. Below market retirement and vacation benefits . The lack of a competitive pension benefit undermines efforts to motivate long term employment, and the inadequate vacation benefit prohibits nurses from the time they need to recuperate from working under such stressful conditions.

. The lack of a competitive pension benefit undermines efforts to motivate long term employment, and the inadequate vacation benefit prohibits nurses from the time they need to recuperate from working under such stressful conditions. Loss of vital services for the community as promised by BI Lahey in its agreement to merge with the hospital. AJH shuttered its inpatient pediatric unit two years ago and last year management discontinued AJH's emergency department's longstanding designation as a trauma center, further undermining the hospital's ability to meet the needs of patients when it matters most.

Adding to the nurses' frustration over the nursing crisis at AJH is the fact that the hospital is part of one of the state's largest and most profitable hospital networks  Beth Israel Lahey, which was the result of the 2019 merger between Beth Israel Deaconess and Lahey Health. Prior to the merger, one of the key arguments BI and Lahey's executives made to Massachusetts' healthcare decision-makers was that they should be allowed to merge because the larger system would provide greater resources to community hospitals.

MassNurses.org  Facebook.com/MassNurses  Twitter.com/MassNurses

Founded in 1903, the Massachusetts Nurses Association is the largest union of registered nurses in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Its 25,000 members advance the nursing profession by fostering high standards of nursing practice, promoting the economic and general welfare of nurses in the workplace, projecting a positive and realistic view of nursing, and by lobbying the Legislature and regulatory agencies on health care issues affecting nurses and the public.

SOURCE Massachusetts Nurses Association
Following the successes in Dubai and Paris, Binance is hosting its third flagship conference in Istanbul by bringing together thought leaders and innovators from a wide range of industries including finance, sports, gaming, Web3, and more.

ISTANBUL, Oct. 5, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The global blockchain ecosystem behind the largest cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume, Binance , today announced the first wave of speakers for its annual flagship conference Binance Blockchain Week in Istanbul from November 8 to 9, 2023.

Rachel Conlan, Chief Marketing Officer at Binance, shared: "We are very excited and are looking forward to welcoming the global crypto community to the beautiful city of Istanbul. This is the place to be for blockchain and crypto enthusiasts. In recent years, Turkey has emerged as a promising crypto hub within the region and globally. Turkey stands out as a country with one of the highest crypto adoption rates globally, at around 12 percent now. There's also a vibrant and inclusive crypto community and startup culture in the country, where the future of blockchain is welcomed with open arms. This makes Turkey the perfect place to learn more about blockchain, share best practices, and chart the new era of finance together."

With the theme of "The Next Billion: Empowering the Future of Web3," Binance Blockchain Week Istanbul will focus on the future of Web3, including how blockchain and crypto can empower the next billion people to improve their everyday lives.

The lineup of speakers features innovators, policymakers and industry thought leaders, business influencers, entrepreneurs, including Yat Siu, Chairman and Co-Founder of Animoca Brands; Faruk Eczacbas, President of Turkish Informatics Foundation; Alexandre Dreyfus, Founder and CEO of Chiliz; Sebastien Borget, COO and Co-Founder of The Sandbox; Par Helgosson, Head of Web3 and Metaverse at Paris Saint-Germain; Eowyn Chen, CEO of Trust Wallet; Shane O'Connor, Innovation Manager for Emerging Tech at UNICEF; and many more. Attendees will also have the opportunity to hear directly from Binance's senior leadership team including its Head of Regional Markets Richard Teng and Chief Marketing Officer Rachel Conlan.

"We're always focused on helping the industry to continue building and maturing in collaboration with other industry players, and conferences like this are pivotal to making that possible," added Rachel.

This conference aims to provide a platform for people to engage in valuable conversations around Web3 and the latest industry innovations, trends and issues  evoking ideas, facilitating development, making connections, and finding solutions to challenges. Turkey, where traditional finance embraces the future of blockchain, becomes the backdrop.

Thousands of individuals and many notable organizations from all over the globe are expected to join Binance in Istanbul, Turkey this year.Over the coming weeks, Binance will be unveiling more details including influential speakers to catch as well as the full conference agenda through its official channels and event landing page .

Tickets are on sale now, with early bird specials available for a limited period of time.

The upcoming conference in Istanbul follows the incredible successes of Binance Blockchain Week in Dubai and Paris last year. Follow Binance for more information and updates on the conference. For sponsorship and partnership opportunities, please reach out to the events team at binanceblockchainweek@binance.com .

About Binance.com

Binance is the world's leading blockchain ecosystem and cryptocurrency infrastructure provider with a financial product suite that includes the largest digital asset exchange by trading volume. Trusted by millions worldwide, the Binance platform is dedicated to increasing the freedom of money for users and features an unmatched portfolio of crypto products and offerings, including trading and finance, education, data and research, social good, investment and incubation, decentralization and infrastructure solutions, and more. For more information, visit: https://www.binance.com

SOURCE Binance
NEW HAVEN, Conn., Oct. 5, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Biohaven Ltd. (NYSE: BHVN), a global clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of life-changing therapies to treat a broad range of rare and common diseases, today announced the closing of its underwritten public offering of 11,761,363 of its common shares, which includes the full exercise of the underwriters' option to purchase 1,534,090 additional common shares, at a public offering price of $22.00 per share. The gross proceeds from the offering were approximately $258.7 million before deducting underwriting discounts and commissions and offering expenses payable by Biohaven. Biohaven intends to use the net proceeds received from the offering for general corporate purposes.

J.P. Morgan, TD Cowen, Leerink Partners and Piper Sandler & Co. acted as the joint lead book-running managers of the offering, William Blair acted as a book-runner of the offering and BTIG acted as lead manager of the offering.

The offering was made only by means of a prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus, copies of which may be obtained from the offices of the following: J.P. Morgan Securities LLC, c/o Broadridge Financial Solutions, 1155 Long Island Avenue, Edgewood, NY 11717, by telephone at (866) 803-9204, or by email at [email protected], Cowen and Company, LLC, 599 Lexington Avenue, New York, NY 10022, by telephone at (833) 297-2926 or by email at [email protected], Leerink Partners LLC, Attention: Syndicate Department, 53 State Street, 40th Floor, Boston, MA 02109, or by telephone at (800) 808-7525, ext. 6105, or by email at [email protected], and Piper Sandler & Co., 800 Nicollet Mall, J12S03, Minneapolis, MN 55402, Attention: Prospectus Department, by telephone at (800) 747-3924 or by email at [email protected].

The shares were issued pursuant to an effective shelf registration statement on Form S-3. Copies of the registration statement can be accessed through the SEC's website at www.sec.gov. This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any of these securities, nor shall there be any sale of these securities in any state or jurisdiction in which such an offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the applicable securities laws of such state or jurisdiction.

Forward-looking Statements

This news release includes forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The use of certain words, including "continue", "plan", "will", "believe", "may", "expect", "anticipate" and similar expressions, is intended to identify forward-looking statements. Investors are cautioned that any forward-looking statements, including statements regarding the expected use of proceeds therefrom, are not guarantees of future performance or results and involve substantial risks and uncertainties. Actual results, developments and events may differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements as a result of various factors including Biohaven's expectations related to the use of proceeds from the offering of its common shares. Additional important factors to be considered in connection with forward-looking statements are described in Biohaven's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including within the sections titled "Risk Factors" and "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations". The forward-looking statements are made as of the date of this new release, and Biohaven does not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law.

Investor Contact:

Jennifer Porcelli

Vice President, Investor Relations

[email protected]

201-248-0741

Media Contact:

Mike Beyer

Sam Brown Inc.

[email protected]

312-961-2502

SOURCE Biohaven Ltd.
NEW YORK, Oct. 5, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Revolutionary Bitcoin cloud-mining project Bitcoin Minetrix has just smashed through its $500,000 presale milestone with a use case that has the crypto world's top influencers salivating.

Bitcoin Minetrix is introducing the first tokenized Bitcoin cloud mining operation, and that's a big deal. It is not every day that a crypto project comes along that has a genuinely impactful business model, so many analysts are taking a closer look.

Revolutionary Bitcoin mining project Bitcoin Minetrix introduces stake-to-mine to disrupt the industry  raises $540,000+ in presale

Long gone are the days when it was feasible to mine Bitcoin from your bedroom or even your college dorm. Now Bitcoin Minetrix brings the industry back within reach of the ordinary man and woman in the street.

All you have to do is buy and stake the token and then let the automated system generate credit for your account to deploy in the cloud to mine Bitcoin.

Bitcoin Minetrix $30,000 giveaway is live now

Helping to bring more buyers to the table is today's announcement of a $30,000 Minedrop giveaway. There are six ways to enter and all the entry details of the Gleam-hosted giveaway are available on the Bitcoin Minetrix website.

https://twitter.com/bitcoinminetrix/status/1709944350275473795

Bitcoin Minetrix is the Bitcoin mining disruptor to watch

YouTube analyst channel Crypto Gains, with 108,000 subscribers, is excited by the prospect the new crypto holds for truly disrupting the industry to the benefit of the little guy  which, after all, is what crypto was/is all about.

"There's a mining war going on and Bitcoin Minetrix helps to decentralize hash power this could be great," says the channel host.

This COIN Is Launching SOON! GET IN EARLY! Can This Disrupt Bitcoin MINING

In effect, Bitcoin Minetrix has come up with a way to redistribute mining profits from corporate entities to retail investors. The new paradigm to achieve this end is Stake-to-Mine.

Simply by depositing your $BTCMTX tokens into the staking pool smart contract, stakers earn credits that can then be used to mine Bitcoin in the cloud.

Safe and secure cloud mining with Bitcoin Minetrix ends the reign of the fraudsters

There's no need to join a mining pool or sign up for a cloud mining service with cash and risk it being stolen by the many fraudsters that sadly plague the sector.

Cilinix points out that the project is based in T'bilisi, Georgia, in eastern Europe, a country that is welcoming to crypto, so there are no regulatory worries, which can sometimes be an issue for miners as bans in China illustrated.

The Cilinix YouTube channel has 33,500 subscribers. Its latest video highlights the 3 best crypto presales with the most profit potential, one of which is Bitcoin Minetrix: 3 BEST CRYPTO PRESALES WITH THE MOST PROFIT POTENTIAL!

Bitcoin Minetrix is an ERC-20 token, which means that it runs on the Ethereum blockchain, the crypto industry's main commercial rail, despite the many attempts to build competing Ethereum-killer Layer 1s.

Buy and stake today to earn a yield of 1,193% with $BTCMTX

Get involved with Bitcoin Minetrix and you can earn two passive income streams. First, there's the $BTCMTX tokens that can be earned, currently at an annual percentage yield of 1,193%. For every ETH block produced, 158.5 $BTCMTX are rewarded.

To date, 34 million $BTCMTX has been staked.

Prudent investors should normally steer clear of high yields that sound too good to be true. But Bitcoin Minetrix yields are earned from the token supply allocated to rewards, so everything is above board and there's no complicated or impenetrable algorithmic modeling to unravel to determine the source of the yield.

Melos Crypto gives a shout to the yield, which was running at 1,481% when that video was published.

The yield is dynamic and will trend lower as more stakers enter the pool, but even so, a 1,000%+ annual percentage yield is an astronomical return that partly explains the flood of cash flowing into the presale.

Melos Crypto is keen to tell his viewers that buying 20 graphic cards and hooking up to expensive electricity is going to get you nowhere fast. That's why he is so positive about Bitcoin Minetrix, although he provides the upfront disclaimer that his video is sponsored by the $BTCMTX team.

Melos Crypto has 50,500 subscribers. Check out the video link below:

BitcoinMinetrix Presale live! 1481% Staking!

$BTCMTX income stream from staking  and from Bitcoin mining

When the mining is turned on, the $BTCMTX stake-to-earn period ends and crypto's first Stake-to-Mine system comes into play, again managed automatically by smart contracts.

So not only do stakers earn yield up until the platform is built, they then get a profit income from the mining activity, depending on how many tokens they decide to devote to the Stake-to-Mine process.

The Bitcoin hashrate is a measure of how much computing power is employed in verifying blocks of transactions. How much hash power is available for mining blocks is a rough measure of faith in the system and the prospects for profitability now and in the future.

Substantial capital outlays are required to mine Bitcoin, which makes a system where an intermittent, fully decentralized approach is possible particularly appealing for those of modest means.

These are points brought home by another YouTube influencer, this time Zach Humphries, with 116,000 subscribers: New Way to Mine Bitcoin! Earn BTC Passively!

A key factor in determining mining profitability is the cost of the electricity to run the SIC rigs that are operating 24/7 around the clock. That has seen mining activity increasingly gravitate to regions that can offer low power costs.

Hydroelectricity, for example, has provided a cheap and green power source for Bitcoin miners.

Bitcoin Minetrix keeps the complications and capital outlay out of the equation

Meanwhile, cheap fossil-fuel-based subsidized generation in places like China, despite a supposed ban on mining, continues to command a significant share of the hashrate.

Increasingly the United States has come to the fore, again where electricity generation in certain states is cheaper than the Western average and can make mining a profitable activity.

Another factor that impacts miners' decision-making and profitability is the difficulty mechanism of the Bitcoin protocol. As more hash power is deployed, the difficulty of the proof-of-work verification process at the heart of mining increases.

With so many moving parts to consider, and the capital expense, it makes the cloud option even more enticing.

It is one of the reasons why Michael Wrubel proclaimed to his 310,000 subscribers that "I am bullish on BTCMTX": Bitcoin Minetrix: Why I Am BULLISH on BTCMTX

Bitcoin Minetrix helps to keep Bitcoin decentralized

Also, there's the overall health of the mining sector to consider and what that means for the users of Bitcoin. There is an ever-present danger of mining becoming overly centralized through big mining pools controlled by a few entities or where the hash power becomes concentrated in certain jurisdictions, such as when China was the main player in mining.

Centralization is a security risk as, at least theoretically, it could lead to a 51% attack, where a majority of hash power is controlled by one entity, and there is a central point of failure that undermines the censorship resistance of the entire network.

Bitcoin Minetrix disrupts the mining industry in a way that adds to its decentralization and therefore helps to maintain and strengthen the decentralization  and therefore security  of the network.

Crypto expert analyst Austin Hilton reckons Bitcoin Minetrix is a hidden gem precisely because of its competitive value differentials as highlighted above. He even goes so far as to call it "the ultimate altcoin now".

He shares how he has looked into mining on his own account and always found it too expensive  that was until Bitcoin Minetrix came along.

Unveiling This Hidden Crypto Gem! Discover the Ultimate Altcoin Now!

With Bitcoin Minetrix you will be ready for the halving bull run

By tokenizing the Bitcoin mining process it not only makes it more efficient and secure, but also provides a safe vector for the average person to gain exposure to mining profits as the bull run starts for the next Bitcoin halving.

In addition, note that Bitcoin Minetrix's smart contract is fully audited by Coinsult  a process it passed with no major issues flagged.

Halving comes around every four years and sees the block rewards halved from 6.25 to 3.125 BTC per mined block. This is the minting mechanism of the Bitcoin protocol.

On the face of it, reduced rewards for mining Bitcoin should be a negative for miners but fewer coins coming into circulation puts upward pressure on prices. So even though the number of coins being minted/earned falls, the actual value of each coin rises.

This is what has happened in all previous mining cycles and is expected to happen again as the halving event approaches on April 25, 2024.

Bitcoin Minetrix's exposure to Bitcoin mining economics upside while minimizing the capital risks provides one of the best ways of gaining exposure to the halving investment theme.

With that in mind, it is no wonder that Bitcoin Minetrix is being cited by presale analyst Jacob Crypto Bury as having 10x return potential:

NEW 10X Potential Presale Bitcoin Minetrix MINES $BTC For YOU - Best Crypto to Buy Now?

Conor Kenny, a YouTube influencer with 165,000, is cheerleading for Bitcoin Minetrix and, again, is also blown away by the simplicity of the idea and the passive income routes it opens up for ordinary folk.

NEW Altcoin Presale Bitcoin Minetrix MINES $BTC For YOU!!!

Crypto ZEUS is similarly impressed by the hugely disruptive possibilities presented by Bitcoin Minetrix and emphasizes the opportunity to get in early:

This "NEW" Crypto Is On the RISE! VERY EARLY - BIG POTENTIAL? NEW BTC CLOUD NEW CRYPTO PRESALE

How to buy Bitcoin Minetrix ($BTCMTX)

Stake-to-Mine innovator Bitcoin Minetrix is in phase 1 of its four-part roadmap. After the presale phase, the other three phases commence, encompassing development, launch, and expansion en route to the goal of mass adoption of the platform.

Although not scheduled until phase 2 and 3, talks with cloud providers and work on the Stake-to-Mine dashboard for app and desktop has already started.

To buy the $BTCMTX token you will need ETH, USDT, BNB or a bank card. If you plan to purchase with ETH you can start staking-to-earn straightaway.

Buy Bitcoin Minetrix today

Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2239967/Bitcoin_Minetrix_Website.jpg

SOURCE Bitcoin Minetrix
Riders will receive free Adventure Pass with code: BLUECROSSMENTALHEALTH

BOSTON, Oct. 5, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- In recognition of World Mental Health Day and to support mental wellness within the Metro Boston community, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts ("Blue Cross") is sponsoring free Bluebikes Adventure Passes on Tuesday, October 10. The complimentary passes, which provide riders with unlimited two-hour rides throughout the day, are accessible in the Bluebikes App with the code BLUECROSSMENTALHEALTH. The initiative will be available across the Bluebikes system's 13 municipalities: Arlington, Boston, Brookline, Cambridge, Chelsea, Everett, Malden, Medford, Newton, Revere, Salem, Somerville and Watertown. Blue Cross is the sponsor of Bluebikes, which is owned by the municipalities and operated by Lyft.

Through its sponsorship of this initiative for the fourth consecutive year, Blue Cross continues to reinforce its commitment to supporting mental health within its communities. Research has repeatedly shown the positive impact of exercise on mental health. According to The Mayo Clinic, symptoms of depression and anxiety often improve with regular exercise. Outdoor exercise in particular provides an array of benefits to mood and mental well-being beyond those seen with traditional indoor workouts.

"As we continue to expand access to high-quality, convenient and affordable mental health care, we're also focused on proactive ways Massachusetts residents can support their mental well-being," said Jeff Bellows, vice president of corporate citizenship and public affairs at Blue Cross. "The positive impacts of outdoor exercise can be profound, so we're proud to bring forward yet another mental health incentive via our Bluebikes partnership and we hope Metro Boston residents will enjoy the benefits of a free ride on World Mental Health Day."

Blue Cross has been the title sponsor of Bluebikes since its launch in May 2018 and remains committed to expanding public bike sharing in Greater Boston as a safe and sustainable public transportation option through its partnership with the municipal owners of Bluebikes and Lyft. In the five years of Blue Cross' sponsorship, the system has doubled in size, adding 200 stations and more than 4,000 bikes.

Those interested in a free Bluebikes ride on World Mental Health Day can download the Bluebikes App.

About Bluebikes

Bluebikes is public transportation by bike. The system is jointly owned and managed by the Cities of Boston, Cambridge, Everett, Salem, and Somerville and the Town of Brookline. Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts is the system's title sponsor. Riders can find 447 stations and more than 4,000 bikes across 13 municipalities in Metro Boston. Since 2011, more than 14 million trips have been taken by bike share. For more information about Bluebikes, visit bluebikes.com .

About Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts ( bluecrossma.org ) is a community-focused, tax-paying, not-for-profit health plan headquartered in Boston. We are committed to the relentless pursuit of quality, equitable and affordable health care with an unparalleled consumer experience. Consistent with our promise to always put our members first, we are rated among the nation's best health plans for member satisfaction and quality. Connect with us on Facebook , Twitter , YouTube, and LinkedIn .

SOURCE Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts
Premium DTC Cheese & Charcuterie Brand Continues to Innovate within the Gourmet Food Market

PALM BEACH, Fla., Oct. 5, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Boarderie, the premium direct-to-consumer cheese and charcuterie brand, proudly declared today that it has achieved the remarkable feat of setting a new GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS title for the Largest Charcuterie Board ever crafted. This achievement marks a monumental accomplishment for the rapidly growing company and is a testament to its commitment to delivering extraordinary gourmet experiences to its customers.

The GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS title for Largest Charcuterie Board was broken on October 4, 2023 by Boarderie, Columbus Craft Meats, Yupik, Celebrity Goat, Divina, The Palm Beaches, The Vineyard House, Rustic Bakery, Dufeck Wood Products, and Atlas Event Rental.  James McEntee/AP Images for Boarderie

On October 4th in Palm Beach, Florida, Boarderie and esteemed sponsors  Columbus Craft Meats, Yupik, Celebrity Goat, Divina, The Palm Beaches, The Vineyard House, Rustic Bakery, Dufeck Wood Products, and Atlas Event Rental  hosted a sensational event to unveil the breathtaking charcuterie board that measured 20 feet by 14 feet, weighed 769 pounds and is inspired by a 169 times bigger replica of its best-selling Arte board. Significantly surpassing the previous record, the charcuterie board featured an impressive array of premium artisan cheeses, cured meats, flatbread crackers, nuts and dried fruits, gourmet chocolates, and a globally sourced selection of olives and spreads, which were generously provided by the sponsors and donated to The Lord's Place, a local nonprofit organization aiming to end homelessness, immediately following the event.

"Boarderie creates experiences every day that bring people together around celebrations and social occasions that start conversations and that's what we achieved here today on a very large scale," said Boarderie's Co-Founder and Co-CEO, Aaron Menitoff. "Our journey has been nothing short of incredible, and the meteoric rise of the brand in the past two years wouldn't have been possible without our phenomenal team who all share our commitment to crafting extraordinary culinary experiences."

"Columbus Craft Meats has been crafting salami right in the U.S. for over 100 years, so we're thrilled to be a part of this GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS title, which included more than 300 pounds of our premium cured meats," said Columbus Craft Meats Charcuterie Director, Evan Inada. "As a premium cured meats brand, we're always delighted to share the boundless creativity and joy that comes with charcuterie."

Founded in 2021 by Aaron and Julie Menitoff, Rachel Solomon, and Angel Jerez, the successful Shark Tank brand and Oprah's 2022 'Favorite Things' pick quickly became a pioneer in the cheese and charcuterie market, first launching their products online with major retails like Williams Sonoma and Goldbelly before starting their own direct-to-consumer business in 2022. "The astronomical growth we have experienced just one year since starting the direct-to-consumer side of our business, Boarderie.com, has been amazing, and this major milestone just fuels our eagerness to continue innovating and bringing even more incredible gourmet food experiences to our customers and the market," said Boarderie's Co-Founder and Co-CEO, Rachel Solomon.

The brand's unique capability to provide gourmet charcuterie boards that are made fresh daily and delivered right to consumers' doors, overnight nationwide, has allowed them to capture a strong segment of the edible gifting market where customers are looking for a thoughtful and gourmet alternative to the boring passe gift basket. With a full-time culinary team of over 60 (and growing), each of Boarderie's artisanal boards is carefully curated with high-quality ingredients and chef-selected pairings from all over the world. "We take so much pride in our products and are absolutely ecstatic to now be the official title holder of GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS Largest Charcuterie Board," said Solomon.

This holiday season, Boarderie has specialty boards for every occasion and will increase the size of their culinary team to over 140 people making fresh boards around the clock to keep up with holiday gifting demand. "We anticipate that holiday delivery dates will sell out quickly and are doing everything we can to grow our team and production kitchen to make as many boards as possible. At the end of the day, quality is everything," said Menitoff.

For more information on Boarderie and to stay up to date on their latest endeavors and offerings, please visit Boarderie.com, and follow @Boarderie on Instagram and Facebook .

About Boarderie

Boarderie, established in 2021 and based in Palm Beach, Florida, is the only company in the world that ships pre-arranged cheese and charcuterie boards nationwide. Known for its dedication to culinary craftsmanship and innovation, Boarderie sets itself apart by creating edible works of art with artisanal cheeses and premium charcuterie selections from all over the world (delivered directly to customer's doors overnight). Boarderie is on a mission to bring people together with gourmet gifts that are delightfully simple to send and guaranteed to impress on any occasion (so you never have to send a boring gift basket again!). Boarderie secured a deal with Lori Greiner in Season 14 of Shark Tank and was featured in Oprah's Favorite Things.

SOURCE Boarderie
A national network of public fast chargers for heavy electric trucks is opening in Sweden. The charging network is powered by renewable energy. A new service from Volvo Trucks makes it easy for haulers to find and access the charging stations.

GOTHENBURG, Sweden, Oct. 5, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- A network for fast charging of electric trucks is a key part of the transition to more sustainable heavy transportation. In Sweden, some 130 charging stations in total are planned to open in 2023 and 2024. The stations are operated by several different companies, and Volvo Trucks is one of the partners involved.

Volvo Trucks is now launching a new service that lets haulers find and access the charging stations. The service will first be launched in Sweden*, with other markets in Europe and other parts of the world to follow.

"This is a real breakthrough for the electrification of heavy transport. Our customers will be able to access public fast chargers all around Sweden, and as a result going electric is easier than ever," says Roger Alm, President of Volvo Trucks.

The new service is open to all truck brands and displays all charging stations suitable for heavy duty vehicles, regardless of who operates them. The user can pay for charging via the new platform: in the near future, booking of charging time will also be possible.

"Customers will be able to obtain reliable information about where to find charging stations for heavy electric trucks, and they can be assured that they are paying a fair market price with no hidden fees. With the possibility to plan the route ahead in a good way and a minimum of administration, I am convinced that this is an important step towards making electric trucks even more popular with fleet owners," says Roger Alm.

Volvo Trucks is working closely with charge point operators around the world to expand the charging network and the service as seamlessly and quickly as possible.

Volvo Trucks, an integral part of Volvo Group, is also building charging infrastructure via Milence, a joint venture formed with Daimler Truck and the Traton Group. The partnership will result in the installation and operation of at least 1,700 high-performance green energy charging points on, and close to, highways as well as at logistics hubs across Europe. The infrastructure will offer charging to all heavy-duty battery electric vehicles, regardless of brand.

This is how Volvo Trucks' charging service works:

The charging service is part of Volvo Connect, Volvo Trucks' interface for digital services.

The customer can find and pay for the charging via Volvo Connect and a mobile app. A digital map shows the charging stations and if they are available. In the near future booking of charging time will be possible.

The charging service is part of Volvo Connect, Volvo Trucks' interface for digital services.

When arriving at a charging station, the customer uses a card or a mobile app for identification and to start the charging.

The customer receives one, consolidated invoice.

*Volvo's charging service will in the first wave provide seamless access to the 29 charging stations that are operated by OKQ8. The charging stations will be powered by green electricity.

For further information, please contact:

Helena Lind

Media Relations Director, Volvo Trucks

[email protected]

+46 31 323 62 57 +46765536257



Press images and films are available in the Volvo Trucks image and film gallery at http://images.volvotrucks.com.

Volvo Trucks supplies complete transport solutions for discerning professional customers with its full range of medium- and heavy-duty trucks. Customer support is provided via a global network of dealers with 2,300 service points in about 130 countries. Volvo trucks are assembled in 12 countries across the globe. In 2022 approximately 145,000 Volvo trucks were delivered worldwide. Volvo Trucks is part of the Volvo Group, one of the world's leading manufacturers of trucks, buses, construction equipment and marine and industrial engines. The group also provides complete solutions for financing and service. Volvo Trucks' work is based on the core values of quality, safety and environmental care.

The following files are available for download:

https://mb.cision.com/Main/39/3848119/2341104.pdf Breakthrough for fast charging of electric trucks a" Volvo Trucks launches new service https://news.cision.com/ab-volvo/i/volvo-energy-charning-1860x1080,c3222626 volvo energy charning 1860x1080

SOURCE AB Volvo
Summit To Recognize Charter Schools, Leaders, and Volunteers for Exceptional and Sustainable Impact with $175,000 in Grants

WASHINGTON, Oct. 5, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Building Hope, the non-profit leader in charter school facilities, financing, and services, today announced it will host the third annual IMPACT Summit & Awards on April 23-25, 2024, in Miami, Florida in Downtown Miami. $175,000 in grants will be awarded to charter schools that excel in community engagement, educational innovation, student empowerment and who are leaders in the charter school space.

The application window for the third annual IMPACT Awards opens October 23, 2023, and remains open until November 30.

"Building Hope is honored to host the 3rd Annual IMPACT Summit and Awards," said Building Hope President and CEO Bill Hansen. "By bringing the charter school community together each year, we learn from education leaders, students, and volunteers, and celebrate the dedication, innovation, and excellence that drives quality education for students across the country."

In year three of the summit, Building Hope will award one $20,000 grant and two $10,000 grants in recognition of excellence in community engagement, educational innovation, and student empowerment. Additionally, for the second year in a row, three established charter schools or small networks will be honored with the S. Joseph Bruno Charter Leadership Award. This award is named in honor of former Building Hope President S. Joseph Bruno and recognizes charter schools that have perfected their model and made an impact on the charter school industry.

"At the Building Hope IMPACT Summit, charter school leaders connect, collaborate and celebrate what is going right in education today," said Sherilyn Moore, Chief Impact Officer and IMPACT Awards Selection Committee Chair. "For two days, leaders share inspiration and practical solutions to challenges they have faced, so everyone walks away with a to-go box of effective strategies."

In addition to the school awards, one charter school volunteer will receive the $5,000 Shellie-Ann Braswell Shine Brighter Award which was named after a dedicated charter volunteer leader and beloved member of the Building Hope family.

Ms. Moore continued, "Through the IMPACT program, our objective is to shine a spotlight on schools who are executing effective and unique educational opportunities for students, their families, and communities. Beyond the grants, summit and gala, school leaders are invited to participate in our ongoing IMPACT leadership program for growth and support. I encourage charter school leaders to seize this incredible opportunity and apply for an IMPACT grant beginning October 23, 2023."

To learn more about the Building Hope IMPACT Summit and Awards or to apply for a grant, visit https://impactawards.buildinghope.org.

About Building Hope

Building Hope is a national non-profit that empowers advancements in education through our work with charter schools providing unparalleled facility financing, real estate development, and operational services. We believe a facility should never be the barrier preventing a child from attending a great school. During our 20-year history, Building Hope has supported over $1Billion in charter school projects schools serving nearly 200,000 children.

For more information, visit www.buildinghope.org .

Media Contacts

[email protected]

[email protected]

SOURCE Building Hope
DALLAS, Oct. 5, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Three accomplished trial lawyers from the Dallas intellectual property and business litigation firm Caldwell Cassady & Curry are recognized in the 2024 Lawdragon 500 Leading Litigators in America rankings based on their years of success for clients in significant intellectual property disputes.

Name principals Brad Caldwell, Jason Cassady, and Austin Curry are ranked in the compilation of the country's top trial attorneys based on nominations from other law firms and independent research and vetting conducted by Lawdragon's editorial team.

The Lawdragon recognition follows the three attorneys' selections earlier this year in the 2023 edition of The Best Lawyers in America and the IAM Patent 1000 rankings of the leading patent litigators in the U.S.

Caldwell Cassady & Curry's courtroom track record includes seven consecutive trial victories against technology giant Apple Inc. and more than $2.5 billion in overall verdicts, judgments, and court-approved settlements during the past decade.

Most recently, Mr. Caldwell, Mr. Cassady, Mr. Curry, and other firm attorneys helped a client win a $1.68 million patent infringement verdict over technology that covers critical elements of the emerging ATSC3.0 (NextGen TV) standard for television broadcasts. The verdict against consumer electronics giant LG Electronics amounted to $6.75 per unit for each infringing product sold through the day of the verdict.

Caldwell Cassady & Curry has continued the firm's growth during the past year by welcoming experienced attorney John Summers back after his stint with the U.S. Attorney's Office. The firm also added Richard Cochrane, Aisha Haley, and James Yang to its roster of intellectual property trial attorneys.

Caldwell Cassady & Curry represents companies and individuals in high-stakes civil litigation, including patent infringement cases, trade secrets claims, fiduciary duty cases, class actions, and disputes involving company founders. The firm has tried and won some of the nation's top verdicts against the largest companies in the world. Learn more about the firm at www.caldwellcc.com.

For more information, contact Bruce Vincent at 214-763-6226 or [email protected].

SOURCE Caldwell Cassady & Curry
Highlights:

New drill hole DSC-112 is a 200m step-out from Descendent discovery;

The Descendent contains four Cu-Zn-Au-Ag bearing mineralized lenses; and

Large geophysical target associated with intersections that projects along strike to the northeast for 340m and at depth for 840m .

VANCOUVER, BC, Oct. 5, 2023 /PRNewswire/ - Callinex Mines Inc. (the "Company" or "Callinex") (TSXV: CNX) (OTCQX: CLLXF) is pleased to announce that the Company has commenced immediate step-out drilling to define the new high-grade copper, zinc, gold and silver Descendent discovery at the Company's 100% owned Pine Bay Project (the "Project"), located near Flin Flon, MB ( See news release dated September 12, 2023 ) ( Pine Bay Project Plan View ). The discovery hole, DSC-111, intersected four separate volcanogenic massive sulphide lenses ("VMS") with significant base and precious metal values within a total core width of 67.7m.

Descendent Discovery Long Section October 2023 (CNW Group/Callinex Mines Inc.) Pine Bay Project Plan View with Deposits - October 2023 (CNW Group/Callinex Mines Inc.)

The most significant section returned 7.14m grading 1.70% copper equivalent ("CuEq") containing 3.34% Zn, 0.29 g/t Au, 14.38 g/t Ag, and 0.11% Cu with additional massive sulphides intersected including a 10.57m grading 1.36% CuEq containing 1.47% Zn, 0.58 g/t Au, 18.3 g/t Ag and 0.43% Cu. A borehole pulse electromagnetic survey completed on DSC-111 identified a large geophysical target associated with the intersections that projects along strike to the northeast for 340m and at depth for 840m ( Descendent Discovery Long Section ).

Step-out drill hole DSC-112 is testing the Descendent 200m vertically below discovery hole DSC-111. The intersection in DSC-111 is the deepest result to date associated with the Cabin Horizon and is located 350 meters below PBM-024 which intersected 2.58m of 0.53% Zn, 0.92% Au, 34.60 g/t Ag, and 1.64% Cu ( See news release dated May 1, 2017 ). The Descendent is situated 550m from the Pine Bay deposit, 1.4km from the Rainbow deposit and 2.9km from the Alchemist deposit, which are all located within a mineral lease.

The anticipated vertical extent being tested between PBM-024 and DSC-112 is 550m. By comparison the Rainbow deposit has been delineated in the recently announced maiden 43-101 resource estimate to a vertical extent of 865m and remains open at depth.

Once drill hole DSC-112 is completed, it will then be used as a parent drill hole to set a number of wedges off it to test up plunge between the initial intersection and DSC-111. Additionally, discovery hole DSC-111 will also be used to set a number of wedges to test up plunge to the PBM-024 intersection.

The Descendent was intersected in drill hole DSC-111 at a down-hole depth of 1,318m and remains open in all directions. Many of the largest deposits within the Flin Flon Greenstone Belt have been discovered at depth. The abundance of zinc, gold and silver in DSC-111 indicates that the hole may have intersected the edge of the VMS system similar to what occurs at the Rainbow deposit. Additionally, the significant width of the massive sulphide intervals suggests that the system is long-lived and robust. The four VMS lenses are separated by dykes and sills, which is typical in many VMS systems, and allows for the potential for one large massive sulphide body.

This discovery hole is located within the Baker Patton Felsic Complex, one of the largest and most highly altered accumulations of felsic rocks within the Flin Flon Greenstone Belt. A major alteration zone had previously been identified at surface and spans 1,100m by 700m as defined by values of more than 90 using the Hashimoto (Ishikawa et al.) Alteration Index, a quantitative approach to evaluate alteration trends that ranges from 0 to 100. Since the huge alteration zone seen at surface is structurally overturned, the exploration thesis is that the massive sulphides associated with this mineralizing event would be preserved at depth. Typically, there is a correlation between the size of an alteration zone and the size of the VMS deposit it is associated with.

The exploration model for large VMS deposits within the Flin Flon-Snow Lake Greenstone Belt, such as the Lalor and 777 deposits, includes having several smaller deposits in close proximity to a large alteration system within a major felsic volcanic center. Historic and recent exploration has identified seven VMS deposits, along with the new Descendent discovery, located in close proximity to the huge Baker Patton alteration zone.

Mr. O'Donnell, P.Geo., a qualified person under National Instrument 43-101, has reviewed and approved the technical information in this news release.

About Callinex Mines Inc.

Callinex Mines Inc. (TSXV: CNX) (OTCQX: CLLXF) is advancing its portfolio of base and precious metals rich deposits located in established Canadian mining jurisdictions. The focus of the portfolio is highlighted by the rapidly expanding Rainbow deposit at its rich VMS Pine Bay Project located near existing infrastructure in the Flin Flon Mining District. Callinex prepared an indicated mineral resource on the Rainbow deposit of 3.44 Mt grading 3.59% CuEq for 272.4 Mlb CuEq (238.3 Mlb Cu, 56.9 Mlb Zn, 37.6 koz Au, 692.8 koz Ag, 2.3 Mlb Pb), an inferred mineral resource on the Rainbow deposit of 1.28 Mt grading 2.95% CuEq containing 83.4 Mlb CuEq (72.1 Mlb Cu, 19.5 Mlb Zn, 11.1 koz Au, 222.2 Koz Ag, 0.8 Mlb Pb) and an inferred mineral resource at the Pine Bay deposit of 1.0 Mt grading 2.62% Cu containing 58.1 Mlb Cu (see news release dated July 10, 2023). The second asset in the portfolio is the Nash Creek Project located in the VMS rich Bathurst Mining District of New Brunswick. A 2018 PEA generates a strong economic return with a pre-tax IRR of 34.1% (25.2% post-tax) and NPV8% of $230 million ($128 million post-tax) at $1.25 Zinc (see news release dated May 14, 2018). The third asset, 100% owned Point Leamington Deposit in Newfoundland, is located in one of the richest VMS and Gold Districts in Canada. Callinex prepared a pit constrained Indicated Mineral Resource of 5.0 Mt grading 2.5 g/t AuEq for 402 koz AuEq (145.7 koz gold, 60.0 Mlb copper, 153.5 Mlb zinc, 2.0 Moz silver, 1.5 Mlb lead), a pit constrained Inferred Mineral Resource of 13.7 Mt grading 2.24 g/t AuEq for 986.5 koz AuEq (354.8 koz gold, 110.2 Mlb copper, 527.3 Mlb zinc, 6.2 Moz silver, 7.0 Mlb lead) and an out-of-pit Inferred Mineral Resource of 1.7 Mt grading 3.06 g/t AuEq for 168.5 koz AuEq (65.4 koz gold, 13.3 Mlb copper, 102.9 Mlb zinc, 1.4 Moz Ag, 2.6 Mlb lead) (see news release dated October 25, 2021).

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Some statements in this news release contain forward-looking information. These statements include, but are not limited to, statements with respect to future expenditures. These statements address future events and conditions and, as such, involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the statements. Such factors include, among others, the ability to complete the proposed drill program, obtaining satisfactory results from its drill program and the timing and amount of expenditures. Except as required under applicable securities laws, Callinex does not assume the obligation to update any forward-looking statement.

SOURCE Callinex Mines Inc.
As the sun set over Washington Tuesday, Congress was without a Speaker of the House of Representatives, the nations third highest authority and second in the order of succession to the White House behind the vice-president. It required only eight extremist dissidents from the Republican Party, in addition to the House Democrats, to oust Kevin McCarthy and throw Americas institutions into turmoil. As there is no precedent for such an occurrence in two and a half centuries of American democracy, the next steps to be taken are the subject of debate among constitutionalists. McCarthys chair has been occupied by Rep. Patrick McHenry of North Carolina on an interim basis but all congressional functions are severely restricted until a permanent speaker is in place. The House will now take a weeks recess while Republicans and Democrats try to agree on how to revive activity after a vote that will go down in the history books.

The potential ripple effect of gridlock on Capitol Hill extends well beyond the Republican Party, Washington, and even the United States. Not only is all legislative and budgetary activity suspended: in mid-November, the provisional bipartisan agreement reached by McCarthy and the Democrats to temporarily fund the federal government will expire. If Congress does not approve an extension, the government will be forced to close all non-essential agencies due to lack of funds, forcing government workers to work without pay and putting many of their functions on hold. For the same reason, military aid to Ukraine, which is financed by the Defense Department, is also in jeopardy.

McCarthy, the first speaker in history to be removed after just nine months in office, is only the latest victim of the extremism that the Republican Party has been cultivating since the emergence of the Tea Party faction in 2010, which was later transmuted into Donald Trumps sect. Populism has devoured three recent other leaders of the conservative formation: Eric Cantor (defeated in a primary), John Boehner (resigned before being censured by extremists) and Paul Ryan (who left politics after proving unable to unite the Republicans following the emergence of Trump). Now, despite the electoral decline of Trumpism, Republican weakness has given party hardliners the potential to wield more influence than ever before in Washington. Corrosion has reached the heart of power with no plan other than chaos and the personal promotion of the minority group that has taken democracy hostage.

The Democrats had no reason to vote to save McCarthy, an ambitious character who caved to all Trumpist demands to retain his seat, and who played a significant role in the rehabilitation of the former presidents image after the assault on the Capitol. This pact with the devil has cost him his career, but it is important to separate the person from the office. It is time for accountability. For Democrats to idly contemplate Republican self-destruction is understandable politically, but not when institutions are placed at risk. If there is an alternative to McCarthy among Republicans who could command the respect of their rivals, Democratic voters would not understand if their party boycotted this person. Once again, the Trumpist infection has dragged America to the edge of the precipice. The only way to pull back from the abyss is to put institutions ahead of politics.

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Following the annual benchmarking process, Canada's concentration of Global Destination Sustainability Index destinations is now the highest in the world.

VANCOUVER, BC, Oct. 5, 2023 /PRNewswire/ - Destination Canada is pleased to share that following the release of the 2023 annual Global Destination Sustainability-Index (GDS-Index) benchmarking results, there are now 20 Canadian destinations participating in the Index, representing the highest national concentration of GDS-Index destinations globally. Achieved in collaboration with the 16 Canadian cities already participating in Destination Canada's Canadian Business Event Sustainability Plan , this milestone not only speaks to their commitment to be sustainable hosts for international events but signals the beginning of the final phase of the Plan.

The GDS-Index is the world's leading sustainability performance program for urban tourism and events destinations around the world. Used by over 100 cities globally, the GDS-Index benchmarks and improves the sustainability performance and strategies of the municipality, its tourism supply chain, and the destination management organization.

"Participation in the GDS-Index by 20 business event destinations across Canada is the highest of any country in the world. It shows our sector's commitment to meaningful, long-term transformation that really matters. The GDS-Index will help track where our destinations are currently on their sustainability journey, and how to improve from there," says Marsha Walden, President and CEO, Destination Canada. "Understanding the results of the Index is just the beginning of an incredible movement to host exemplary events in Canada."

"The GDS-Movement envisions thriving destinations and communities activated by regenerative tourism and events." says Global Destination Sustainability Movement's Chief Changemaker and CEO, Guy Bigwood. "With so many Canadian destinations committed to using the GDS-Index and to improving their destinations sustainability practices, clients looking at Canada to host their event won't be confined in where they want to go. Instead, they'll be able to choose and work with destinations who are in action and can help them organise events which can regenerate their organisations, society and nature."

Launched in the spring of 2022, Destination Canada's Canadian Business Event Sustainability Plan is a first-of-its-kind national program aimed at improving the economic, socio-cultural, and environmental sustainability practices of business events hosted in Canada. There are currently 16 cities participating in the Plan:

Banff Lake Louise

Calgary

Edmonton

Halifax

Kelowna

Montreal

Niagara Falls

Ottawa

Charlottetown

Quebec City

Saskatoon

St. John's

Toronto

Vancouver

Victoria

Winnipeg

Recent Business Event Sustainability Advancements:

In March of 2023, Victoria  the first carbon-neutral Destination Management Organization in North America  broke new ground again when it became the first urban destination in North America to earn the Responsible Tourism Institute's coveted biosphere certification that recognizes commitment to environmental sustainability, cultural diversity, equity and social responsibility.

The Shaw Centre in downtown Ottawa is always thinking about the future with their Leave a Legacy program. The Shaw Centre's team identifies opportunities to donate anything left over, whether non-perishable food, obsolete marketing collateral, promotional items, furniture, displays, carpets, or anything else to the local Ottawa community with volunteer assistance from local partners. The Shaw Centre looks after all the arrangements to ensure your donations go where they matter most.

The Community Impact Program is a unique initiative that allows organizations to purchase prepaid co-invested cards for their clients to support local businesses and charities such as the Biosphere Institute of the Bow Valley, Banff Pride Society, and many other non-profits. The program was recently shortlisted for the GDS Innovation Award .

"When we reached out to start the program in 2022, I was hoping to have about 10-12 destinations across Canada join us. In the end, we had 16 destinations join the Plan  and that's really exciting," adds Virginie De Visscher, Acting Executive Director, Business Events, at Destination Canada. "This plan is meant to inspire and drive change within our destinations  helping them take concrete action to be better stewards of sustainable business events and create an environment of change within their destinations. The results of the GDS-Index will be paramount to continued forward momentum and continuous sustainability improvements."

Earlier this year, the Canadian Business Event Sustainability Plan was named the winner of the 2023 IMEX-EIC Innovation in Sustainability Award , acknowledging Destination Canada's commitment to driving sustainability and innovation. When the Canadian Business Event Sustainability Plan is complete, the 16 participating destinations will have a complete inventory of the sustainability programs available across the country. This inventory will inform the turnkey economic, socio-cultural, and environmental sustainability solutions provided to global clients, empowering them to take action and understand how Canadian host cities can help them meet their own sustainability goals.

About Destination Canada

At Destination Canada, we believe that tourism enhances the quality of life of Canadians and enriches the lives of visitors. We believe that Canada's diversity, its greatest asset, is also what touches travelers' hearts most deeply.

Our mission is to influence supply, and build demand for the benefit of locals, communities and visitors through leading research, alignment with public and private sectors, and marketing Canada nationally and abroad. In addition, our Business Events team leverages in-depth global market analysis to target international clusters aligned with Canada's priority economic sectors.

Our work in destination development ensures that we are able to sustain a premier four-season tourism economy that is regenerative in nature  supporting our economy and the environment.

Destination Canada's Business Events team is charged with growing Canada's share of international business events by promoting the country's unique meeting, convention, and incentive event possibilities. By driving awareness of Canada's leading economic strengths and how local knowledge capital can elevate business events, Destination Canada's Business Events team helps international organizations meet with purpose in Canada.

Destination Canada is a Crown corporation wholly owned by the Government of Canada.

SOURCE Destination Canada
Group announced several key milestones, including its inaugural AI guidelines, at its recent Annual Conference on Technology, which saw over 2,000 people participate in inclusive innovation

TAIPEI, Oct. 5, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- As technology reshapes financial institutions worldwide, companies with strong technological capabilities are positioned to take the lead. Underscoring this important role technology is playing, Cathay Financial Holdings (Cathay FHC) recently held its Annual Conference on Technology on September 20, centering on the theme of "Integrating Technology for an Inclusive New Intelligence." Attracting over 2,000 participants both online and offline, this year's Conference focused on the "ABCDEs" of major technologies and trends  AI, Blockchain, Cloud, Data, and Ecosystems.

Cathay FHCs Annual Conference on Technology on September 20 attracted over 2,000 attendees both online and offline.

Senior Vice President of Cathay FHC, Marcus Yao, said during the opening, "With the financial environment constantly changing and posing new challenges, Cathay FHC has shored up robust digital resilience by embracing various emerging technologies and enterprises from early on." He also mentioned that digital transformation is an "endurance race with constantly changing goals and no finish line." Having begun its major push for digital transformation eight years ago with the Digital Data and Technology Development Center (DDT), Cathay FHC has been empowering the digital, data, and technology sectors for some time. As a result of these efforts, the total digital users across all businesses under the Cathay Group now exceed 8.6 million. "The customer is the biggest winner of our transformative achievements. As we move forward, Cathay FHC will continue to embrace a consumer-centric strategy, an international perspective, and an open-minded attitude. By favoring collaboration over competition, we will continue to drive value for consumers with new and innovative approaches far into the future."

In addition to core financial technologies, this year's Conference explored novel innovations in service experiences and financial oversight, while also serving as a forum for advancing industry dialogue on technological integration and cultural inclusivity. While AI tools such as ChatGPT have emerged recently, Cathay FHC has invested in AI and digital technologies for several years, and the Group unveiled its first AI governance principles during the Conference. The Group also took the opportunity to announce strategic projects leveraging Federated Learning and Synthetic Data, which not only enhance the depth and breadth of data but also ensure data security and customer privacy. Lastly, Cathay FHC unveiled its new large language model with RAG (Retrieval Augmented Generation) that drives its cloud knowledge consultant platform, offering automated real-time Q&A services, such as design and evaluation topics for the three major public clouds.

In the blockchain realm, Cathay FHC has forged alliances across banking, property insurance, electric vehicles, and other industries to create synergies by leveraging the technology. Using cross-chain technology and integrating Oracle to connect real-world data outside of the blockchain, these partnerships have enabled data exchanges between different alliance chains, thereby developing more financial products and creating industry value. As the Group charges ahead, it is continuing to foster blockchain partnerships, including around digital assets and decentralized identity applications, and is embracing international alliances across domains to advance the industry and accelerate adoption of web3 technologies.

In the cloud space, Cathay FHC has developed a new generation of insurance cloud platform  Product Factory  that creates new insurance products and supports the speed of online digital channels. The technology uses microservice architecture and low-code, which provides high performance, high availability, and scalability to cater to the diverse needs of the digital age and provide policyholders with a more comprehensive, personalized insurance service. Additionally, Cathay FHC has ventured from finance to the medical field, creating the next-generation cloud-based electronic medical record platform iFHIR Center, which converts commonly used unstructured electronic medical records in hospitals to the international standard FHIR (Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources) format to facilitate medical information exchange. The iFHIR Center integrates cloud architecture, a microservice design, a case format conversion engine, an electronic medical record exchange, and top-notch data security. The Group's future direction will be to continue expanding cross-industry and cross-scenario applications, as a means of developing the financial-medical ecosystem and accelerating the transformation of the medical industry.

Cathay FHC took the lead in the entrepreneurial community to host the first tech conference organized by Taiwan's financial industry in 2020, focusing on fintech transformation and technological innovation. With significant acclaim from multiple parties, Cathay's four annual conferences to date have attracted tens of thousands of participants. This year's event saw the largest cooperative group lineup ever with over 10 tech-friendly Taiwan-based groups, and numerous fintech experts attended for face-to-face exchanges, making the event impactful for the finance industry  and raising the bar for technological integration and inclusivity.

SOURCE Cathay Financial Holdings Co., Ltd.
November 14th from 8:00-11:00 AM at The Crowne Plaza, Warwick, RI

WARWICK, R.I. , Oct. 5, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Falvey Insurance Group is excited to announce a special event in honor of Women's Entrepreneurship Day. Join us on November 14th from 8:00 to 11:00 AM at The Crowne Plaza in Warwick, RI, as we mark Women's Entrepreneurship Day with the final installment of Women at the Helm's 2023 series, titled "Women on the Rise."

Women at the Helm Event from Falvey Insurance Group

The event will begin with a special keynote presentation from Wendy Taylor, Founder of West Place Animal Sanctuary. Wendy will offer insights and motivation for aspiring entrepreneurs and business leaders. Taylor's success story is an embodiment of a passion for service, determination, and unwavering commitment.

Following the keynote will be a panel discussion amongst a diverse group of successful female business owners and leaders, offering a wealth of knowledge and experience. The audience will have the opportunity to engage with these inspiring women and learn from their unique entrepreneurial journeys.

Featured Panelists:

Jasmine Mendez , Owner at Thrive Cakery

, Owner at Thrive Cakery Michelle Murphy , Owner at Roots Hair Salon

, Owner at Roots Hair Salon Kelly Soule , Founder and Principal Planner at 8 Stratton Event Management

, Founder and Principal Planner at 8 Stratton Event Management Kyla Hanaway-Quinlan , Chief Operating Officer at Feast & Fettle

, Chief Operating Officer at Feast & Fettle Colleen and Riley Eyges , Co-Founders of Velo Vodka

, Co-Founders of Velo Vodka Geraldine Barclay-King , Owner at Geri's Bluffing Boutique

Complimentary registration for the event includes a full, hot breakfast sponsored by NextHome Ocean State Realty Group, networking opportunities, and access to the panel discussion and women-owned business exhibitors. The event is open to both men and women, and we encourage everyone to participate in these crucial conversations.

For event registration and further information, please visit Women at the Helm - Falvey Insurance Group.

About Falvey Insurance Group:

Falvey Insurance Group is a native Rhode Island organization committed to supporting diversity, inclusion, and gender equality in the workplace. As a 2023 winner of the Insurance Marketing & Communications Association's Gold Showcase Award for Other In-Person Event/Experience and a finalist for Diversity & Inclusion Initiative of the Year by Business Insurance in 2022, our "Women at the Helm" speaker series has garnered recognition for its efforts in addressing the challenges faced by executive women. We are dedicated to empowering women on their professional journeys and promoting meaningful dialogues that drive positive change.

Learn more about "Women at the Helm" here.

For questions, please contact:

Megan Bell

Director of Marketing  Falvey Insurance Group

[email protected]

401-214-5600

SOURCE Falvey Insurance Group
ATHENS, Greece, Oct. 5, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The "Wind in the Sails: New Opportunities for China and Europe" dialogue was hosted in Athens to mark the 10th anniversary of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). Over twenty distinguished guests and around one hundred representatives from China and Europe convened to discuss the fruitful outcomes of BRI over the past ten years and deliberate on the future collaboration and integration of the two regions.

Christos Stylianidis, the Minister of Maritime Affairs and Insular Policy of Greece, underscored the vast potential for strengthening bilateral relations between Greece and China. He emphasized key sectors such as shipping, ports, supply chains, maritime equipment industry, and energy storage as domains where enhanced cooperation could yield significant benefits for both nations.

Grzegorz W. Kolodko, former deputy prime minister of Poland, highlighted a critical stance, urging European nations to steer clear of involvement in a new Cold War initiated by the United States. Instead, he advocated embracing the transformative potential of the Belt and Road Initiative. Kolodko emphasized the need to leverage this favorable "wind" to forge meaningful collaborations and promote collective development.

Xiao Junzheng, China's Ambassador to Greece, highlighted that despite prevailing challenges, China's economy has displayed steadfast growth, marking a significant 5.5% year-on-year increase in GDP for the first half of 2023. Of particular note was the substantial surge in the export of new energy-related products, showcasing China's proactive role in sustainable and innovative industries.

The event provided a dynamic platform for exchanging ideas, fostering dialogue, and enhancing understanding between experts and stakeholders from Europe and China.

CONTACT: cgtnthinktank@cgtn.com

SOURCE CGTN
The company behind North America's No. 1 weather station brand continues its year-long commemoration in 2023

LAKE GENEVA, Wis., Oct. 5, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Chaney Instrument Co. is celebrating 80 years in business throughout 2023. Started by John L. Chaney in 1943, Chaney Instrument Co. is still proudly headquartered in its founding city of Lake Geneva.

To honor and celebrate this milestone, the company is releasing special vintage-inspired products related to its 80-year history, including a 7-inch replica of what was once the World's Largest Glass Thermometer that stood outside on Main St. in Lake Geneva in 1965.

The company behind North America's No. 1 weather station brand celebrates 80 years in business. Post this

Also included in the special product release are the Swizzle Stix, a set of four personal drink stirrer-thermometers originally created in the 1960s. And with a nod to current-day Chaney Instrument Co. products, an AcuRite Iris limited-edition, anniversary-branded Weather Station Box Set and holiday ornament round out the commemorative products.

"We're hoping these limited-run items spark excitement for not only local Lake Genevans, but our entire customer base and beyond," said Paul Shekoski, CEO. "We've collaborated with local historians and long-time employees to bring these fun throwback thermometers and momentous keepsake weather stations to market."

Before being most widely known for its AcuRite brand, Chaney Instrument Co. played a critical part in aiding U.S. Forces during World War II. Chaney and his colleagues, many being women due to men called overseas, utilized the Lake Geneva City Garage to build glass components for U.S. warships and explosives. Read more at AcuRite.com/80Years.

Today, Chaney Instrument Co.'s AcuRite brand is the top home weather station brand in North America. Part of Primex Family of Companies, Chaney Instrument Co. has been named a Best Place to Work seven years running, thanks to its values of customer obsession, getting things done, improving the business, mutual respect, and work/life balance.

SOURCE Chaney Instrument Co.
More than 50 The Little Gym franchises take legal action contesting damaging changes to franchise relationship under private equity

JACKSONVILLE, N.C., Oct. 5, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Owners of more than 50 children's gyms across the United States have taken individual legal action against Unleashed Brands , contending the private-equity backed parent company that assumed ownership in 2021 is imposing "damaging changes" on the franchise businesses in violation of existing franchise agreements.

"Our fight is not just for ourselves but for the future of small businesses everywhere." - Bonnie Nasr, SFFA VP Post this Bill Walenda, 20-year The Little Gym franchise owner and president of the SFFA Bonnie Nasr, 30-year The Little Gym franchise owner and SFFA vice president

According to the lawsuit, after Unleashed Brand's acquisition of The Little Gym brand, their focus shifted to exerting full control over the revenue stream and maximizing their own profits, without regard to the interests and profitability of the independently owned and operated franchised locations, franchisees say. One notable change was the introduction of a centralized banking system, where customers were required to pay Unleashed Brands directly rather than their local gyms, leaving franchisees to wait days and sometimes even weeks before receiving their portion of customer payments.

"It is unacceptable for Unleased Brands to take my revenue and choose when to disperse it to me," says Adam Stone, who has been a franchisee with The Little Gym for 22 years. "That is not the business I bought into, and it is a blatant overreach of our franchise agreements."

Franchisees who are part of the legal action against Unleashed Brands say they have been compelled to unite in order to protect their small businesses and preserve the cultural legacy of The Little Gym.

"These demands for arbitration have been filed by more than 50 gyms, and we anticipate that many more owners will file in the coming weeks," says Bill Walenda, a 20-year franchise owner and president of the SFFA, a franchise association formed by The Little Gym owners in response to the damaging changes made since Unleashed Brands assumed ownership. The name SFFA is a nod to The Little Gym's company tagline, Serious Fun.

"So many of us have run successful, profitable small businesses for decades, built on hard work and dedication," says Alan Ruthazer, who opened his first location in 2003. "Coming together was not a choice but a necessity to safeguard what we've worked tirelessly to achieve."

The arbitration filings and other lawsuits against Unleashed Brands underscore the challenges that arise when private equity firms enter the franchise world, often implementing changes that may not align with the best interests of the franchisees.

"Our fight is not just for ourselves but for the future of small businesses everywhere," says Bonnie Nasr, a 30-year franchise owner and SFFA vice president. "Unleashed Brands' actions remind us that integrity and ethics must never be sacrificed for profit margins."

In July 2021, Unleashed Brands acquired franchisor The Little Gym International as part of a strategy set forth by Unleashed Brands founder Michael Browning to transform his company into a diverse portfolio of youth-focused active brands. Billionaire Peter Seidler took a majority stake in Unleashed Brands in December through his buyout firm Seidler Equity Partners.

According to the lawsuit, franchisees say that soon after the ownership change, Unleashed Brands began to implement changes that significantly  and negatively  impacted their businesses. When owners expressed their concerns, they encountered aggressive responses and adverse actions from the company.

"Establishing a franchise owners' association was a necessity in the face of this adversarial behavior," says Walenda. "Unity empowers us to stand strong. We won't be silenced or intimidated by corporate bullying. Our businesses and customers deserve better than this."

Franchisees have voiced concerns about Unleashed Brands significantly reducing resources allocated for crucial aspects like curriculum support, operations assistance, technology advancements, and marketing initiatives. This reduction in support has not only affected the efficiency of operations but has also burdened franchisees with additional responsibilities.

"Unleashed Brands has drastically scaled down essential resources, leaving franchisees to bear the brunt," says Jamie Mainvielle, a 17-year franchise owner. "The burden of double-checking everything we receive from the franchisor has increased substantially. We find ourselves meticulously inspecting for spelling errors and grammatical mistakes. This level of 'support' is far from what we should expect from our franchisor."

When Unleashed Brands pushed out a new POS system called Command Center, early adopters experienced significant functionality issues.

"Some early adopters discovered an issue with Command Center where customers set up on auto-pay were not actually being charged for the classes they attended," says Walenda. "The limited functionality of the new POS system made it almost impossible to track and correct the error.

"With tickets to Unleashed Brand's help desk often going unanswered for one to two weeks, these owners are understandably extremely frustrated."

Ruthazer agrees, "Early adopters were really misled. They thought they were getting something that was ready to go, and they got something that cost them money."

Unleashed Brands rolled out a mandated call center at its headquarters location in Bedford, Texas, a move many franchisees say does not make sense for The Little Gym because of the personalized service each location provides its customers.

"We are working with children as young as 4 months old. Questions from our customers are very individualized and cannot be answered by an operator in a central location working from a script," says Stone.

"For years, we've strived to provide exceptional customer care, building trust and loyalty," says Stone. "Unleashed Brands' actions jeopardize not only our livelihoods but the well-being of our customers who rely on us."

In the United States, a significant portion of the franchisor-franchisee relationship lacks regulation. But state legislators and federal regulators are acknowledging overreach by franchisors, leading to a surge in proposals limiting the authority of franchisors .

ABOUT SFFA

SFFA is a unified organization of dedicated franchise owners within The Little Gym community. Focused on collaboration with our franchisor, SFFA strives to enhance The Little Gym's brand while preserving its unique values and heritage. Advocating for each other and providing a strong support system, SFFA ensures franchise owners have the protection and resources they need for success within this cherished franchise network.

Contact:

Cheyne Belinsky

Etched Communication

[email protected]

281-797-7245

SOURCE SFFA
VANCOUVER, Oct. 5, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- City Office REIT, Inc. (NYSE: CIO) ("City Office" or the "Company") announced today it will release its financial results for the quarter ended September 30, 2023, before the market opens on Thursday, November 9, 2023.

City Office's management will hold a conference call at 11:00 am Eastern Time on November 9, 2023 to discuss the Company's financial results. Additionally, a supplemental financial package to accompany the discussion of the results will be posted on www.cioreit.com.

Webcast

Click on the webcast link under the "Investor Relations" section of the Company's website at www.cioreit.com.

Telephone Conference Call

Domestic: 1-833-470-1428

International: 1-404-975-4839

Passcode: 407490

Please dial in at least 10 minutes before the scheduled start time.

Conference Call Replay

Domestic: 1-866-813-9403

International: 1-929-458-6194

Passcode: 717271

A replay of the call will be available later in the day on November 9, 2023, continuing through February 7, 2024. A replay will also be available at "Webcasts & Events" in the "Investor Relations" section of the Company's website.

About City Office REIT, Inc.

City Office REIT is an internally-managed real estate company focused on acquiring, owning and operating high-quality office properties located predominantly in Sun Belt markets. City Office currently owns or has a controlling interest in 5.7 million square feet of office properties. The Company has elected to be taxed as a real estate investment trust for U.S. federal income tax purposes.

Contact

City Office REIT, Inc.

Anthony Maretic, CFO

+1-604-806-3366

[email protected]

SOURCE City Office REIT, Inc.
JACKSON, Mich., Oct. 5, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- CMS Energy announced today it will provide 2023 third quarter results along with a business and financial outlook at 9:30 a.m. EDT on Thursday, October 26, 2023.

A webcast of the presentation will be available on CMS Energy's website, cmsenergy.com. An audio replay will be available approximately three hours after the webcast and will be archived for 30 days on CMS Energy's website in the "Investor Relations" section.

CMS Energy (NYSE: CMS) is a Michigan-based energy company featuring Consumers Energy as its primary business. It also owns and operates independent power generation businesses.

For more information on CMS Energy, please visit our website at cmsenergy.com. To sign up for email alert notifications, please visit the Investor Relations section of our website.

SOURCE CMS Energy
On the heels of his new cookbook, Michael Symon renews collaboration with canned tomato brand, Contadina, to inspire home cooks to go beyond Italian cuisine

WALNUT CREEK, Calif., Oct. 5, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Contadina, a passionate brand of Italian-inspired tomatoes, is announcing its renewed partnership with celebrity chef and restauranter, Michael Symon, who is on hand to help the brand launch its newest varietal, Contadina Fire Roasted Diced Tomatoes. Continuing into the second year of partnership and on the heels of his new cookbook, Michael wants to encourage home cooks to get creative in the kitchen using Contadina brand's high quality canned tomatoes for a variety of dishes and cuisines.

Michael Symon renews collaboration with Contadina canned tomatoes to inspire home cooks to go beyond Italian cuisine Post this Contadina Partners with Celebrity Chef Michael Symon for the Second Year

Chef Michael Symon is known for his #SymonDinners, which use accessible ingredients every day to create crave worthy meals inspired by his Sicilian roots. This partnership is a natural extension for both Michael and Contadina, as a beloved chef known for cooking from his roots, and a brand with Italian heritage trusted for offering passionate cooks high-quality, flavor-packed tomatoes since 1918.

"I'm Sicilian and Greek, and I grew up eating a lot of tomatoes and hearty dishes built around their juicy and rich flavors. My family has used Contadina for years, so I know I can always count on the exceptional quality of their fresh tomatoes, which are canned at the peak of freshness, all year round. I love using them for different recipes, whether I'm firing up the grill for Sunday supper or whipping up a weeknight pasta," shares Michael.

Michael will bring Contadina flavors to life in a new and original recipe, Braised Pork Chops with Spicy Red Rice prepared with Contadina Crushed Tomatoes and topped with a delicious Tomato Chutney made with Contadina Fire Roasted Diced Tomatoes. The recipe showcases the versatility and rich flavor of Contadina tomatoes, with Chef Symon encouraging home cooks to use the chutney on not only this dish but on everything else from pizza, pasta, or bruschetta.

"We are thrilled to continue our partnership with Michael, whose latest cookbook showcases delicious recipes that utilize pantry staples and accessible ingredients for delicious meals, every day of the year," shared Liam Farrell, Vice President of Marketing for Contadina. "He embodies what Contadina stands for  cooking with high-quality, flavor-packed, everyday ingredients that help home cooks everywhere create meals that are ripe for any moment."

Contadina offers a wide variety of tomato products made with delicious, vine-ripened, 100% fresh Roma and San Marzano Style tomatoes in several variations like whole, sauce, diced, crushed, paste and more which help elevate any recipe. Contadina tomatoes make cooking easy for home cooks everywhere and offer products are perfect for almost any recipe, filling every dish with flavor and quality the entire family is sure to love.

Contadina products are available at major retailers nationwide like Target, Walmart, Kroger, King Soopers, Safeway, Stop & Shop, Meijer, Publix, and more. For more information, please visit www.Contadina.com and check out Chef Michael Symon on Instagram.

About Contadina 

Contadina was created in 1918 by the Aiello brothers, now owned by Del Monte Foods Inc., with a goal of offering high-quality, delicious tomatoes as those of their native Italy. Over one hundred years later, the Contadina brand still stands for the quality grown and delicious tomatoes, grown and packed with care. For more information, please visit www.Contadina.com.

Media Contact

Jane Chung

Edelman

[email protected] l [email protected]

415-936-5627

SOURCE Del Monte Foods
VENICE, Fla. and FITCHBURG, Mass., Oct. 5, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Defcon Products, LLC. ("Defcon") is proud to announce that its innovative active threat door locking device, TeacherLock 2, has been granted approval by the California Department of Forestry & Fire Protection Office of the State Fire Marshal, for listing on the State's Fire Engineering Building Materials Listing Program, Listing No. 2775-2375:0500, in the category of Manual Locks.

TeacherLock 2 Active Threat Lockdown Device. TeacherLock 2 Compliant Door Lockdown Device.

Designed to enhance school safety and security, TeacherLock 2 is a revolutionary solution for emergency lockdown situations. This product features an aluminum body locking device with a stainless-steel pin and an aluminum catch plate. Its robust construction ensures durability and reliability when it matters most.

The approval from the Fire Engineering-Building Materials Listing Program validates TeacherLock 2 as a fire-resistant door hardware device. It has been rigorously tested and assessed for compliance with safety standards. The device is suitable for installation in accordance with printed installation instructions, applicable codes, and ordinances, and in a manner acceptable to the authority having jurisdiction.

Key Information:

Product Name: TeacherLock 2

Material: Aluminum body with stainless steel pin and aluminum catch plate

Approval: Listed as fire-rated locks for use with door products in fire-resistance rated applications, on a 20-minute rated door.

Defcon is committed to providing cutting-edge security solutions for educational institutions, enhancing the safety of students, teachers, and staff. The Model TeacherLock 2 stands as a testament to this commitment, offering a reliable and effective means of improving security in the event of an emergency.

"We are delighted to receive this listing approval of TeacherLock 2 from the California Department of Forestry & Fire Protection Office of the State Fire Marshal's Fire Engineering Department," said Salvatore Emma, Co-Founder at TeacherLock. "This recognition highlights our dedication to delivering innovative products which make schools, offices, and other commercial buildings safer."

For more information about TeacherLock and its range of security solutions, please visit www.TeacherLock.com.

About Defcon:

Defcon is a leading provider of innovative security solutions for educational institutions. With a focus on enhancing safety and security in schools, Defcon's products are designed to provide effective protection in emergency situations. The TeacherLock 2 active threat lockdown device is a prime example of the company's commitment to developing cutting-edge security solutions for educational facilities.

Media Contact:

Marc Bingham

[email protected]

www.TeacherLock.com

978-286-8855

808 Main Street

Fitchburg, MA 01420

SOURCE Defcon Products LLC
On Wednesday, U.S. President Joe Biden complained about the poisonous atmosphere enveloping Washington. Republicans are ignoring his calls for amity, and it seems that his pets are, too. First Lady Jill Bidens office announced that the presidents German shepherd, Commander, has been removed from the White House for repeated violent incidents, including biting members of the staff and Secret Service, which is responsible for protecting Biden.

Commander is a two-year-old German Shepherd. The latest incident took place on Monday when he bit a member of the Secret Service. This is the eleventh confirmed episode of violent behavior by Bidens pets, mostly involving Commanders aggression toward Secret Service agents; it is believed that there were more undocumented attacks.

In a statement from the First Ladys office, which did not mention the dogs fate, the spokeswoman said that the President and First Lady care deeply about the safety of those who work at the White House and those who protect them every day. She added that they remain grateful for the patience and support of the U.S. Secret Service and all involved, as they continue to work through solutions. In July, when it emerged that there had been numerous violent incidents involving the presidents dogs, the first ladys spokeswoman said in another statement that the White House complex is a unique and often stressful environment for pets.

The conservative group Judicial Watch revealed that there had been 10 German shepherd attacks on Secret Service agents between October 2022 and January 2023. The right-wing group received 194 pages of documentation from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in response to a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request. Judicial Watch claims it filed the request after receiving a tip about the German shepherds behavior. Those documented incidents include bites to the arm and hand of an agent who had to be treated in the hospital in November 2022.

Commander arrived at the White House in December 2021, when he was three months old. At the time, Biden posted a welcome message on Twitter along with a video showing the president playing with him. Meet the newest Biden, he wrote. The Bidens had recently said goodbye to Champ, one of their two German shepherds, who died in June at age 13. In 2021, Major, another of the presidents German shepherds, was removed from the White House for at least two biting attacks at the presidential residence. Major went from living in an animal shelter to the White House but did not adapt to the rules of his new home. Both he and Champ were moved at the time, but only the latter returned to the White House.

A longstanding tradition

Joe Bidens dogs brought back the tradition of American heads of state having pets, after Donald Trump broke with the century-long custom. In fact, it is such a deep-rooted tradition that there is even a Presidential Pet Museum.

Most presidents have had dogs or cats, but there have also been less common animals. According to the Presidential Pet Museum website, the first U.S. president, George Washington, who served from 1789 to 1797, had over a dozen horses and 12 dogs. Thomas Jefferson, president from 1801 to 1809, had two bear cubs and a mockingbird. John Quincy Adams (president from 1825 to 1829) brought an alligator to the White House and kept it locked in one of the bathrooms. William Howard Taft, who held office from 1909 to 1913, was the last one to have a cow on the White House lawn; quite a few of his predecessors also had bovines at the presidential residence. Theodore Roosevelt (1901-1909) had several snakes; William McKinley (1897-1901) had a parrot; and William Henry Harrison had a billy goat for the 32 days he was president in 1841, before he died of pneumonia. With a pig, a turkey, a rabbit, ponies, goats, dogs and cats, Abraham Lincoln practically had a farm at the White House.

Although they fall into the category of presidential pets, not all of the animals lived in the White House; sometimes they were on loan at the zoo or sent elsewhere. That helps to understand how Calvin Coolidge and his wife had several dogs, a donkey, some canaries, a goose and a lynx, as well as lion cubs, a pygmy hippopotamus, a bear and a wallaby, animals that were given to them by foreign heads of state.

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Industry leaders combine market-leading SIEM with an award-winning MDR solution to deliver faster and more effective threat detection and response

CAMBRIDGE, Mass., Oct. 5, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Devo Technology, the cloud-native security analytics company, is announcing today that it's deepened its partnership with CyberMaxx, a tech-enabled cybersecurity company, to deliver market-leading managed detection and response (MDR) services to enterprises.

In Q2 of 2023, CyberMaxx's threat research team identified over 1,147 successful ransomware attacks, a 26% increase from Q1. Many security teams are grappling with increased and more sophisticated cyberattacks, which have also created a more complex environment that security teams have to manage. These factors, combined with the ongoing shortage of cyber talent, are prompting more organizations to turn to managed services to help them respond to and contain threats faster.

Through this partnership, CyberMaxx fully integrates Devo Intelligent SIEM with its MaxxMDR solution, which provides defensive services that can be combined with proactive offensive capabilities to give customers comprehensive security coverage. CyberMaxx will help security teams realize the full potential of Devo through an MDR model that optimizes data collection and threat detection, integrates 24x7x365 monitoring and response capabilities, and uses offensive security to drive continuous improvement.

"We are thrilled to strengthen our partnership with Devo, a security industry leader, after many years of successfully monitoring their SIEM on behalf of customers. A stronger commitment makes it easier for our customers to have comprehensive coverage," said Brian Ahern, CEO, CyberMaxx. "Our flexible deployment model for Devo gives customers greater control to run their security operations in the way that best suits them. With more and more customers desiring best-in-class technology paired with around-the-clock security coverage, Devo and CyberMaxx deliver a comprehensive engine for securing our customers' environments."

CyberMaxx gives customers the flexibility to choose how they engage with the MDR service. Devo customers can leverage a co-managed deployment while maintaining the ability to query security event data, build custom detection rules and access log files directly. CyberMaxx can also fully manage the detection and response process through a proprietary Devo license for customers who want a hands-off approach.

"We're proud to work with an industry-leading service partner such as CyberMaxx to secure our shared customers," said Marc van Zadelhoff, CEO, Devo. "CyberMaxx's innovative method of bringing offensive capabilities to fuel defensive monitoring gives a more complete approach to securing our customers' environments. Our customers can be confident that they're continually improving their security posture."

MSSP Alert recently named CyberMaxx one of the top 50 MSSP cybersecurity providers in its Top 250 MSSP 2023 report . Devo also offers award-winning technology, winning gold in the 2023 Cybersecurity Excellence Awards, and was recognized as the Most Comprehensive SIEM solution in the Global Infosec Awards hosted by Cyber Defense Magazine.

Learn more about CyberMaxx's MaxxMDR offering and how it can work with Devo here.

About CyberMaxx

CyberMaxx, LLC., founded in 2002, is a tech-enabled cybersecurity service provider headquartered in New York, NY. Through a comprehensive set of services, CyberMaxx empowers customers to Assess, Monitor, and Manage cyber risk and stay ahead of emerging threats. CyberMaxx expanded its capabilities through the 2022 acquisition of CipherTechs, an international cybersecurity company providing a complete cybersecurity portfolio across MDR Services, Offensive Security, Governance, Risk & Compliance, DFIR, and 3rd party security product sourcing.

About Devo

Devo is the only cloud-native security analytics platform that combines the power of people and intelligent automation to confidently defend expanding attack surfaces. An ally in keeping your organization secure, Devo augments security teams with AI  enabling you to continuously scale SOC efficiency, increase the speed of threat detection and response, and gain greater clarity to empower bold action, minimize risk, and maximize outcomes. Headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts, with operations in North America, Europe and Asia Pacific, Devo is backed by Insight Partners, Georgian, TCV, General Atlantic, Bessemer Venture Partners, Kibo Ventures and Eurazeo. Learn more at www.devo.com .

SOURCE Devo Technology
The Value Chain Navigator helps companies transition to a more sustainable future

Survey shows only 53% of companies are collecting and monitoring scope 3 emissions data

LONDON, Oct. 5, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Infosys (NSE: INFY) (BSE: INFY) (NYSE: INFY), a global leader in next-generation digital services and consulting, and Economist Impact, an arm of The Economist Group that works with organisations globally to further their missions, today announced the launch of the Value Chain Navigator (VCN) to help businesses understand and address their scope 3 emissions.

Economist Impact

Scope 3 includes all indirect emissions that occur in the upstream and downstream activities of an organisation's value chain. These can include emissions from purchased goods and services, business travel, employee commuting, waste disposal, use of sold products, transportation, distribution, investments and leased assets and franchises. Up to 95% of a business's carbon footprint consists of scope 3 emissions, but only a quarter of businesses account for them in their net zero plans.

The VCN is an open digital platform that helps businesses understand the complex nature of their scope 3 emissions through interactive tracking, tools and tailored recommendations. The tool will be featured on The Sustainability Project, the award-winning content and community platform created by Economist Impact and built by Infosys as digital innovation partner, to advance sustainable solutions and drive world-changing impact through a new business-to-business model.

The Value Chain Navigator platform allows business leaders to:

Explore scope 3 emissions data across seven different business activity levers as defined by the Science Based Targets Initiative (SBTi), including supplier engagement, product and service design and investment strategy

Discover how companies worldwide are tackling scope 3 emissions through a global survey of 1,250 companies; results can be segmented by region, sector and business size

Get personalised recommendations for reducing scope 3 emissions through a self-assessment tool that asks about business specific challenges and opportunities

Track the latest trends through a tool that surfaces the latest media coverage of scope 3 innovation and regulation

Understand the challenges and decisions of business leaders as they talk about their personal scope 3 journeys in the spotlight film series

According to the VCN survey, only 53% of companies are currently collecting and monitoring their scope 3 emissions data. Technological innovations can help businesses monitor, manage and reduce emissions in their upstream and downstream value chains. The research showed that companies are least likely to focus on engaging suppliers, but they are most likely to be engaging with customers to reduce their scope 3 emissions. A healthy 97% of companies across all sectors have undertaken at least one initiative to engage customers. Out of all possible initiatives companies could take, the research showed that business-model innovation is, on average, believed to be one of the most effective ways to reduce emissions in a relatively short period of time.

Ashiss Kumar Dash, EVP & Global Head - Services, Utilities, Resources and Energy, Infosys, said, "The Value Chain Navigator will be pivotal in driving collaborative action at scale to tackle scope 3 emissions, supporting businesses along their value chains to reduce their carbon footprint. With this solution, we further strengthen the tools delivered through The Sustainability Project to empower stakeholders to navigate a changing landscape through data and insights and chart their course for a better future."

Claudia Malley, President of Economist Impact, said, "At Economist Impact we focus on addressing pressing issues and providing the necessary insights to advance sustainable solutions. Our work with Infosys to create The Sustainability Project and now, the Value Chain Navigator, exemplifies the impact we can make in the world."

Visit https://impact.economist.com/value-chain-navigator to view the VCN and report.

About Economist Impact

Economist Impact combines the rigour of a think-tank with the creativity of a media brand to engage a globally influential audience. We believe that evidence-based insights can open debate, broaden perspectives and catalyse progress. The services offered by Economist Impact previously existed within The Economist Group as separate entities, including EIU Thought Leadership, EIU Public Policy, Economist Events, El Studios and SignalNoise.

Our track record spans 75 years across 205 countries. Along with creative storytelling, events expertise, design-thinking solutions and market-leading media products, we produce framework design, benchmarking, economic and social impact analysis, forecasting and scenario modelling, making Economist Impact's offering unique in the marketplace. Visit www.economistimpact.com for more information.

About Infosys

Infosys is a global leader in next-generation digital services and consulting. Over 300,000 of our people work to amplify human potential and create the next opportunity for people, businesses and communities. We enable clients in more than 56 countries to navigate their digital transformation. With over four decades of experience in managing the systems and workings of global enterprises, we expertly steer clients, as they navigate their digital transformation powered by cloud and AI. We enable them with an AI-first core, empower the business with agile digital at scale and drive continuous improvement with always-on learning through the transfer of digital skills, expertise, and ideas from our innovation ecosystem. We are deeply committed to being a well-governed, environmentally sustainable organization where diverse talent thrives in an inclusive workplace.

Visit www.infosys.com to see how Infosys (NSE, BSE, NYSE: INFY) can help your enterprise navigate your next.

Safe Harbor

Certain statements in this release concerning our future growth prospects, or our future financial or operating performance are forward-looking statements intended to qualify for the 'safe harbor' under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, which involve a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results or outcomes to differ materially from those in such forward-looking statements. The risks and uncertainties relating to these statements include, but are not limited to, risks and uncertainties regarding the execution of our business strategy, our ability to attract and retain personnel, our transition to hybrid work model, economic uncertainties, technological innovations such as Generative AI, the complex and evolving regulatory landscape including immigration regulation changes, our ESG vision, our capital allocation policy and expectations concerning our market position, future operations, margins, profitability, liquidity, capital resources, and our corporate actions including acquisitions. Important factors that may cause actual results or outcomes to differ from those implied by the forward-looking statements are discussed in more detail in our US Securities and Exchange Commission filings including our Annual Report on Form 20-F for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2023. These filings are available at www.sec.gov. Infosys may, from time to time, make additional written and oral forward-looking statements, including statements contained in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission and our reports to shareholders. The Company does not undertake to update any forward-looking statements that may be made from time to time by or on behalf of the Company unless it is required by law.

For further information, please contact: Dena Tahmasebi, Director of Communications, [email protected]

Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2238543/Economist_Impact_Logo.jpg

Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/633365/Infosys_Logo.jpg

SOURCE Infosys
SINGAPORE, Oct. 5, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- GTN, a fintech pioneer with decades of success making investing and trading accessible to all, has been selected as a strategic partner by Equity Basket Capital (Eqbac), an online platform striving to revolutionise the way investors trade and gain financial advice.

GTN will enable Eqbac's clients to access an array of trading and investment opportunities across diverse asset classes. These will include fractional trading on US, Asian and European stocks, plus international US Dollar equity trading and exchange traded funds (ETFs).

By leveraging GTN's API, Eqbac aims to establish itself as a leader in delivering comprehensive trading solutions to clients seeking broader trading and investment opportunities on a global scale. The introduction of fractional stock trading, US equity trading, and ETFs is aligned with Eqbac's mission to democratise access to premium stocks and promote inclusivity in the world of investing.

GTN's API provides regulated fintechs with numerous operational advantages, ranging from end-to-end trading processing to in-built regulatory compliance and customisation options.

"We are excited to support Eqbac in its journey of growth," said Ankit Shah, head of fintech at GTN. "Our advanced API framework is the perfect solution for start-ups like Eqbac. With our extensive network, we empower them to easily connect to global markets and offer enhanced trading opportunities, as well as fractional trading options. Our API also enables them to streamline post-trade processing, freeing up their resources to focus on providing top-notch services and experiences to their clients."

Satinder Aggarwal, chairman of Eqbac and with over 21 years of experience in financial markets, said: "GTN shares our vision of redefining the fintech landscape and transforming how investors access global markets. This is why we are excited to implement their API. The access to a comprehensive network of markets and multiple asset classes will enable us to enhance our clients' investment opportunities."

Eqbac is incorporated in Mauritius and operates under the regulatory oversight of the Financial Services Commission Mauritius. It has four investment partners, with GTN being one of them.

About GTN

GTN is a fintech pioneer with decades of success, holding broker-dealer and capital markets services licenses in multiple jurisdictions through subsidiaries. We are committed to empowering brokers, banks, asset managers, and fintechs with scalable and innovative investment and trading solutions that enable access to a comprehensive network of global markets and multiple asset classes, making investment and trading accessible for all. Our investment and trading solutions offer seamless integration with the existing services of regulated financial firms and fintechs via our co-branded front-ends and versatile API suite. Inspired by embedded finance, our API suite provides the adaptability to develop bespoke trading/investment applications or incorporate GTN features into existing platforms, enhancing their value proposition. In addition, our comprehensive global trading ecosystem includes best-in-class execution, custody, and post-trade solutions.

We bring together a diverse team of over 300 talented individuals spread across Dubai, Singapore, South Africa, Sri Lanka, the UK, and the US, united by a shared passion and purpose: empowering clients and transforming the accessibility to investment and trading opportunities to all. We are backed by strategic investors like the IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, and SBI Ventures Singapore Pte. Ltd., a group company of SBI Holdings, Inc., one of the largest financial services firms listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange. To learn more, visit www.gtngroup.com or connect on LinkedIn.

About Eqbac

Eqbac is a leading online platform that revolutionises the way investors trade and gain financial advice. It offers financial and investment tools along with access to instruments, provides investors with the freedom to choose when, where, and how they want to trade, while offering a seamless, intelligent, and secure environment.

As a global market access provider, Eqbac offers single-view access to a wide range of investment opportunities across the globe. With our intuitive user mechanics and cutting-edge technology, investors can make informed decisions aligned with their financial goals, ensuring the potential for long-term financial yield.

Eqbac was incorporated in March 2022 in Mauritius and is licensed by the Financial Services Commission Mauritius, ensuring compliance with rigorous regulatory standards.

Eqbac has a presence in Mauritius, the Middle East, and India.

Media Contacts: Jorge Sanchez-Galiani, +44 (0) 7548 403191, j.galiani@gtngroup.com

SOURCE GTN
Lenovo can sell any Android supported Lenovo devices with Esper Device Management and a portfolio of selected devices preloaded with Esper Foundation (Custom Android OS) bundled with Esper Device Management.

This agreement will benefit customers in the retail, hospitality, and healthcare industries as they can benefit from cutting edge Lenovo hardware along with the ability to deploy the devices immediately and start monitoring and controlling remotely with Esper's offering.

BELLEVUE, Wash., Oct. 5, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, Esper, an industry leading enterprise grade Android Device Management platform, and Lenovo (HKSE: 992) (ADR: LNVGY), the global technology powerhouse, signed a reseller agreement. The agreement allows Lenovo to sell a portfolio of devices running enterprise-grade Android and dedicated device management from Esper, making it easier for enterprises to deploy, manage, and update dedicated PCs across their operations.

Lenovo logo

Lenovo OEM Solutions facilitated the integration of hardware and software to help deliver the joint solutions. The Lenovo ThinkCentre M70a 3rd Gen desktop is the first of four planned x86 platforms to run Esper Foundation for Android, an enterprise grade powerful and robust custom OS for x86 and ARM devices. The Lenovo ThinkCentre M70q, M90n-1 IoT, and the ThinkEdge SE30 v2 will be added by the end of the calendar year. As businesses continue to look to Android and the Android ecosystem for greater flexibility and efficiency, Lenovo's new reliable, configurable, and long-lasting x86 solutions, powered by Esper, will accelerate customer adoption.

"This collaboration is another step forward in Lenovo's drive to meet changing customer demand across retail, hospitality, healthcare, and other industries. Dedicated devices are proliferating across several key industries, and our new joint solution with Esper allows us to deliver the best of Android with the consistency and predictability of Lenovo's x86 devices," said Johanny Payero, Director of Global Advanced Solutions Marketing and Strategy, Lenovo. "We are focused on giving customers the ability to deploy devices quickly, remotely managing those devices in the field, and continuously releasing software updates to those devices to deliver exceptional experiences."

Enterprise-Grade Android Increases Flexibility & Cost-Efficiency

In addition to configurations with Windows and Linux, customers who are looking to build or update their Android device fleet now have the option to build their ThinkCentre M70a desktops with Android. Customers will benefit from Android's flexibility, global familiarity, cost-efficiency, and large developer pool.

The ThinkCentre M70a 3rd Gen is a 21.5" all-in-one touchscreen desktop that comes with up to 12th Gen Intel Core i9 processor, up to 16 GB SODIMM DDR4 3200MHz, and up to 512 GB PCIe SSD. The PC is supported by Esper Foundation for Android , which comes with enterprise-ready Android 11 with customizable branding, peripheral compatibility, quarterly security patches, long term support (minimum 3 years), Esper Seamless Provisioning, and app and system crash notifications.

The Esper dedicated device management platform remotely deploys, manages, monitors, and updates devices from a single pane of glass. Esper's platform also automates IT operations workflows and reduces unplanned downtime and expensive in-field IT supportsignificantly reducing OpEx.

"I am excited to work with Lenovo to deliver a solution that comes with a robust Android operating system, purpose-built for dedicated device use cases," said Shiv Sundar, COO and Co-Founder, Esper. "Customers globally are seeing significant value in running mission-critical operations on Android tablets and now they're going to benefit from Lenovo's world-class x86 devices and form factors. Ultimately, with Lenovo, we're seeing Esper customers moving fast, innovating, and delivering delightful customer experiences."

Android and the Dedicated Device Market

While Android is the most popular operating system for edge devices globally, it's also becoming the popular operating system for enterprise dedicated device use cases, according to a 2022 report by 451 Research . Android (including AOSP and Android with Google Apps, or GMS) accounted for 41% of the device estates of those surveyed, alongside Microsoft Windows (26%), Apple iOS (24%), and Linux (8%). Organizations running a significant portion of their device fleets on Android report the primary reasons they use Android are its lower total cost of ownership, strong platform and app developer tools, and its robust security features.

There is also a high level of interest in running Android on devices with x86 (Intel and AMD) processors. Nearly 9 in 10 of respondents indicated an interest in a solution for Android on x86 devices. Among the greatest perceived challenges of using Android for dedicated device fleets, 23% cited no official support for x86 devices. With Lenovo and Esper's joint solution, customers finally have a complete offering to meet their needs.

About Esper

Esper is the only platform for predictable software deployment and device management. As an industry leading solution enabling DevOps practices for Android devices, Esper is on a mission to let software teams ship without worrying about the hardware. Esper's device infrastructure enables developers, mid-market orgs, and enterprise fleets of 100,000+ devices to deliver their software as a service. Esper has rapidly growing global customer adoption among some of the world's most innovative major brands in retail, hospitality, logistics, healthcare, education, and more. To learn more, visit: https://www.esper.io .

About Lenovo

Lenovo (HKSE: 992) (ADR: LNVGY) is a US$62 billion revenue global technology powerhouse, ranked #217 in the Fortune Global 500, employing 77,000 people around the world, and serving millions of customers every day in 180 markets. Focused on a bold vision to deliver smarter technology for all, Lenovo has built on its success as the world's largest PC company by further expanding into growth areas that fuel the advancement of 'New IT' technologies (client, edge, cloud, network, and intelligence) including server, storage, mobile, software, solutions, and services. This transformation together with Lenovo's world-changing innovation is building a more inclusive, trustworthy, and smarter future for everyone, everywhere. To find out more visit www .lenovo.com , and read about the latest news via our StoryHub .

Press contacts:

Kellie Drenner

Esper

Email: [email protected]

Bill Adams

Lenovo

Email: [email protected]

LENOVO, THINKCENTRE and THINKEDGE are trademarks of Lenovo. Google and Android are trademarks of Google, LLC. Linux is the registered trademark of Linus Torvalds in the U.S. and other countries. Intel and Intel Core are trademarks of Intel Corporation or its subsidiaries in the U.S. and/or other countries. Mac is a trademark of Apple Inc. AMD is a trademark of Advanced Micro Devices. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. 2023, Lenovo Group Limited.

SOURCE Esper
The company is on track to hire 200+ employees globally by the end of the year as it continues to expand its presence across APAC, Europe, and North America



ATLANTA, Oct. 5, 2023 /PRNewswire/ --Today, Exotec , a global warehouse robotics provider, announced its continued business expansion reaching over 100 customer sites globally. The company is on track to increase its global employee headcount 80% YoY by 2024 to support record business growth across APAC, Europe, and North America.

"Reaching more than 100 customer sites signals an important milestone for our business and the momentum of the warehouse robotics category," says Exotec CEO and Co-founder Romain Moulin. "Leading brands trust Exotec not only to improve operational efficiency and augment their human workforces in the warehouse, but use it as a driving force to reinvent their entire supply chains."

"Amid global economic uncertainty, prolonged labor shortages, and rising consumer expectations, warehouse automation emerges as a compelling market opportunity," said Christian Resch, Partner at the Growth Equity business within Goldman Sachs Asset Management. "We believe Exotec is well-positioned to take advantage of this opportunity due to their unique approach to engineering, innovation, and a proven track-record of success helping the world's largest brands."

North America

Originally founded in France, Exotec entered the North American market in 2020 , ready to take on the world's largest economy. In less than 3 years, Exotec has established its North American headquarters in Atlanta where it now counts a team of 70+ people, with plans to continue hiring to support strong customer demand in the region. Currently, there are 20+ customer sites across the U.S. and Canada for leading brands including Gap Inc., Ariat, and Decathlon. The North American market is expected to represent one third of Exotec's global business by 2025.

Western Europe

In Western Europe, Exotec drove tremendous growth with new customer wins and expansions into new countries. In June, Exotec partnered with CEVA Logistics to deliver 57 robots to two sites in the Netherlands, and in July Exotec partnered with Lyreco , a global office supply distributor, to deliver robots to its distribution center in France.

In April 2023, Exotec solidified its presence in the UK market with a significant customer partnership with Alliance Automotive Group (AAG) , a European leader in the automotive aftermarket industry.

Central Europe

Pushing its rapid growth throughout the rest of Europe, Exotec continues to build momentum in the Central European region. The company recently announced its partnership with Polish Integrator A1 Sorter which already resulted in a joint project with ILS, a Polish logistics service provider for the automotive industry. A1 Sorter and Exotec will outfit an ILS fulfillment center located at the company's headquarters in Zakroczym, Poland, with the signature Skypod system.

APAC

As one of the world's fastest-growing markets, Asia has been of particular focus for Exotec as it expands across the globe. In August 2023, the company announced it had entered the Korean region with a partnership with POSCO DX Co. Ltd. , an engineering and IT service provider. South Korea is the second Asian country, following Japan, to embrace Exotec solutions and represent a strategic market for the company.

In Japan, Exotec continued the record growth with new partnerships to deliver its Skypod robotics systems to integrated logistics provider, Alps Logistics , and a fulfillment service provider, acca international

About Exotec

Exotec builds elegant goods-to-person warehouse robotic solutions for the world's largest brands. The company combines the best of hardware and software to offer flexible warehouse systems that drive operational efficiency, add resiliency, and improve working conditions for warehouse operators. 30+ industry-leading brands including Carrefour, Decathlon, Gap Inc., and UNIQLO trust Exotec to improve their operations and profitably navigate rapid shifts in business models and customer expectations. Learn more at Exotec.com.

SOURCE Exotec
Pilot Shortages, Record Air Travel, Rapid Advancement of Less Experienced Pilots ALL Creating "Perfect Storm" and Raising Safety Concerns

For More Information Contact:

Lauri-Ellen Smith, APR (904) 219-0977

[email protected]

CHICAGO, Oct. 5, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- As Airline Captains, First Officers, Line Check Pilots, Mentors and Passengers, we have witnessed a concerning and significant rise in close call aviation incidents in 2023. The safety of commercial airline travel has been compromised because of the increasing number of experienced airline pilots being forced into retirement at age 65 and carriers' ongoing struggles to attract and retain top tier pilot candidates. Factoring in the loss of on-the-job training ("operational experience" or OE) by the more experienced pilots who mentor the less experienced pilots and given the unprecedented level of US air travel following the pandemic, the situation is untenable. This according to members of the Let Experienced Pilots Fly, Inc. organization.

We are witnessing the rapid promotion of pilots into positions of responsibility greater than their training and tenure would historically allow. Current regulations mandate at least two pilots on the flight deck, however in today's environment it is not unusual for those two pilots to have less combined experience. This is due to the large number of pilots being forced into retirement, the need for carriers to answer travel demand, and the promises made by unions about accelerated career ascension in the absence of more qualified pilots. We risk seeing an end to the historic, long-running safety record in aviation of no fatalities as a result of an aircraft incident. This is due to the (cumulative) growing danger of these circumstances and their impact on the system.

Experienced Pilots Voice Safety Concerns As Holiday Travel Season Begins - Call to End Forced Retirement of Airline Pilots Post this

When pilots are forced to retire at the top of their professional competency their skills, knowledge, experience, and leadership leaves with them. There is a viable solution to disrupt the growing danger in travel: raise the forced retirement age of healthy, capable airline pilots from 65 to 67 this year, and keep thousands of qualified pilots on the flight deck immediately, who can help mentor the next generation of pilots.

Attached is an important paper describing the dangers associated with "Green on Green" on the flight deck.

(See Attached)

The Risk of Increased "Green on Green" On the Flight Deck

The combination of two inexperienced pilots on the flight deck together is referred to in the aviation industry as "Green on Green." The increasing number of Green-on-Green flights could be a threat to the traveling public.

As a consequence of increased Green on Green, incident mishap reporting has risen dramatically. As the pilot shortage has grown, lesser experienced pilots are on the flight deck with greater frequency. These are just the incidents that carriers are required to report. Most incidents are rarely known to the flying public because without damage to a person or property, these reports may not be deemed newsworthy, or they fall outside the parameters of reporting mandates. For us in the industry who have delivered the safest flying era in modern history, these events signal danger ahead.

US airlines are aware of this problem and are seeking solutions to protect the traveling public and their employees. Members of the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability have called on the US Department of Transportation to provide information on the "disturbing" trend of aviation and rail safety failures.

Raising the retirement age is an immediate solution to address the growing "green on green" phenomenon.

FAA Federal Aviation Regulations (FAR) part 121 regulates commercial aviation: procedures, policies and standard operating procedures were established and continually improved because of past accidents and loss of life. The pilots that are being forced to retire today helped develop these standards. However, with the recent number of incidents, the future aviators are repeating the mistakes made in the past, largely due to the lack of mentoring of leaders who helped shape the policies. When an industry suffers a dramatic drain on its members of those with the greatest "institutional knowledge" and experience, in record numbers, a dangerous void in skill, leadership, and mentorship is created. Simply put, experience matters more than ever before!

Listed below are a number of serious, recent incidents that may have involved either "green on green" flying or lesser qualified pilots, including the newly hired*:

December of 2022 - UAL Boeing 777 departing Maui nearly crashed into the ocean. https://theaircurrent.com/aviation-safety/ntsb-preliminary-report-united-1722-maui/ https://www.reuters.com/business/aerospace-defense/us-ntsb-cites-united-crew-failure-boeing-777-altitude-loss-incident-2023-08-10/





nearly crashed into the ocean. https://www.reuters.com/business/aerospace-defense/us-ntsb-cites-united-crew-failure-boeing-777-altitude-loss-incident-2023-08-10/ January 2023 - DAL A330 while on approach to runway 22, in Amsterdam , touched down 12 feet short of the runway. The airport reported the aircraft touched down in the grass ahead of the runway and damaged several threshold lights, which caused the closure of the runway until repairs could be made. The First Officer, a new hire (green) was flying the airplane.

- DAL A330 while on approach to runway 22, in , touched down 12 feet short of the runway. The airport reported the aircraft touched down in the grass ahead of the runway and damaged several threshold lights, which caused the closure of the runway until repairs could be made. The First Officer, a new hire (green) was flying the airplane. https://avherald.com/h?article=503a8162





July 2023 - DAL Boeing 767 departing Milan flies into a major thunderstorm causing significant damage to the aircraft and is forced to divert into Rome .

- DAL Boeing 767 departing flies into a major thunderstorm causing significant damage to the aircraft and is forced to divert into . https://onemileatatime.com/news/delta-boeing-767-hail-storm-severe-turbulence/





July 2023 - A United Airlines 767 may never fly again after a rough landing in Houston that caused structural damage.

- A United Airlines 767 may never fly again after a rough landing in that caused structural damage. https://onemileatatime.com/news/united-767-damage-rough-landing/





August 2023 - DAL Boeing 757 Overheated tires and subsequent fire forces passengers to evacuate Delta flight in Atlanta . Witnesses said the airplane landed hard and braked abruptly causing the aircraft to skid.

- DAL Boeing 757 Overheated tires and subsequent fire forces passengers to evacuate Delta flight in . Witnesses said the airplane landed hard and braked abruptly causing the aircraft to skid. https://www.wsbtv.com/news/local/clayton-county/emergency-crews-surround-delta-plane-atlanta-airport/IYQ3HTCQVZA37GFOPORNNGISVU/





February 2023 - FedEx and Southwest narrowly avoid a collision because of the quick thinking of the experienced FedEx Captain/Crew. Weather and controller inexperience caused this event however, the seasoned pilots intervened and averted a disaster.

- FedEx and Southwest narrowly avoid a collision because of the quick thinking of the experienced FedEx Captain/Crew. Weather and controller inexperience caused this event however, the seasoned pilots intervened and averted a disaster. https://www.kut.org/austin/2023-02-04/a-near-collision-between-2-planes-in-austin-prompts-an-faa-investigation

The Solution: Join Pilot Coalition Working to Raise the Age via Federal Law

Language to raise the mandatory retirement age for airline pilots from 65-67 is included in the House-passed FAA Reauthorization bill. Advocates for raising the airline pilot retirement age include the Regional Airline Association (RAA), AARP and AMAC. These groups are working with the thousands of pilots in our coalition to ensure the provision is included in the final law and implementation occurs quickly, to ease challenges in air travel this holiday season.

Changing the retirement age for US pilots will immediately benefit the flying public by assuring travelers a level of experience on the flight deck that has been lost and compromised in recent years. Many experts on the subject of forced retirement of pilots advocate for the complete abandonment of upper age restrictions in favor of continued stringent testing, both medically and cognitively, along with check rides and other assessments.

This coalition, at this time, supports raising the airline pilot age to 67 and pledges to continue its work with the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), the International Air Transport Association (IATA), and all the international and domestic policy and regulatory agencies to provide the expertise of the most experienced airline pilots in the US.

On behalf of the thousands of pilots in our coalition we are encouraging every member of the flying public to contact their United States Senators and Representative and ask them to ENSURE that America's most experienced pilots over 65 can continue to fly our commercial airliners and continue to deliver the safest aviation record in modern history.

Captain Barry Kendrick, President

Let Experienced Pilots Fly, Inc.

Raisethepilotage.com

*Only official carrier and FAA reports or media coverage of incidents is referenced

SOURCE Let Experienced Pilots Fly, Inc.
CHICAGO, Oct. 5, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Advanced technologies, better collaboration, improved security, and a steady shift towards digital financial services will define the Finance Cloud Market's future. Financial institutions will be able to function more effectively, provide creative solutions, and adjust to changing market dynamics thanks to these innovations.

The Finance Cloud Market size is expected to grow from USD 135.6 billion in 2023 to USD 268.1 billion by 2028 at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 14.6% during the forecast period, according to MarketsandMarkets. Demand for tailored solutions and an urge for tightened security and accessibility with efficient disaster recovery solutions and techniques will likely boost the adoption of Finance Cloud globally.

Browse in-depth TOC on "Finance Cloud Market"

260 - Tables

55 - Figures

276 - Pages

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Scope of the Report

Report Metrics Details Market size available for years 20192028 Base year considered 2022 Forecast period 20232028 Forecast units Value (USD Million) Segments Covered Offering, Deployment Model, Organization Size, Application, and End User Regions covered North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Middle East & Africa, and Latin America Companies covered AWS(US), Microsoft (US), Google (US), IBM (US), Tencent Cloud (China), Salesforce (US), Oracle (US), Alibaba Cloud (China), Workday (US), SAP (Germany), HPE (US), VMware (US), Cisco (US), Huawei (China), ServiceNow (US), DXC Technsology (US), SAGE Group (UK), Snowflake (US), Nutanix (US), Acumatica (US), RapidScale (US), AtemisCloud (US), Rambase (Norway), OVHcloud (France), FreeAgent (Scotland), Freshbooks (Canada), Kashoo (US), and Wave (US)

Based on end-user, insurance companies will record the highest CAGR in the Finance Cloud Market during the forecast period.

Insurance companies increasingly use finance cloud technology to improve operations and customer interactions. By adopting finance cloud solutions, these companies can streamline processes, manage data more efficiently, and enhance overall customer experiences. With cloud-based platforms, insurers can handle policy administration, claims processing, and underwriting procedures more effectively while reducing operational costs and increasing responsiveness to policyholders.

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By Application, the revenue management segment holds the largest market share during the forecast period.

Revenue management is a process that involves using cloud-based technologies and software solutions to optimize an organization's revenue generation strategies. These solutions analyze financial data, customer behavior, market trends, and pricing models to maximize revenue potential. By utilizing the Cloud's scalability and real-time data processing capabilities, finance professionals can make data-driven decisions concerning pricing, product offerings, and sales strategies. Revenue management within the finance cloud helps businesses identify opportunities for revenue growth, improve profitability, and quickly adapt to changing market conditions. It is essential for financial institutions and companies that want to optimize their revenue streams and stay competitive.

By region, the Middle East & Africa region recorded the second-highest CAGR during the forecast period.

The countries in the Middle East are embracing technological advancements and investing in knowledge-based economies. Saudi Arabia and the UAE are leading the way by adopting edge and cloud computing, resulting in their dominance in development. With the growth of their customer bases, Middle Eastern organizations are focusing on generating revenues, and outsourcing to third-party managed service providers is a profitable option; this has led to accelerating Finance cloud adoption in the region to reduce costs and save time. Key players like Cisco, Microsoft, IBM, Google, and SAP are working significantly to register a better market share by increasing consumer satisfaction, decreasing product prices, and improving productivity.

Many edge and cloud computing companies have launched data centers in the Middle East and Africa to accelerate edge adoption. For example, Microsoft opened its data centers in Cape Town and Johannesburg in May 2019 and Abu Dhabi and Dubai in June 2019, offering access to cloud computing and edge services locally.

Top Key Companies in Finance Cloud Market:

Some of the key players operating in the Finance Cloud Market are  AWS (US), Microsoft (US), Google (US), IBM (US), Salesforce (US), Tencent (China), Oracle (US), Alibaba (China), Workday (US), SAP (Germany), HPE (US), VMware (US), Cisco (US), Huawei (China), ServiceNow (US), DXC technology (US), SAGE Group (UK), Snowflake (US), Nutanix (US), Acumatica (US), RapidScale (US), AtemisCloud (US), Rambase (Norway), OVHcloud (France).

Recent Developments

In September 2023 , Workday partnered with Accenture. This partnership aims to help organizations reinvent their finance functions to become more agile, data-driven, and customer-centric. This global partnership between Workday and Accenture brings together the power of its cloud-native platform with AI and ML at the core and some of the industry's most forward-thinking and innovative experts to help its customers take advantage of transformative technologies to accelerate change across their financial operations while being adaptable and resilient.

, Workday partnered with Accenture. This partnership aims to help organizations reinvent their finance functions to become more agile, data-driven, and customer-centric. This global partnership between Workday and Accenture brings together the power of its cloud-native platform with AI and ML at the core and some of the industry's most forward-thinking and innovative experts to help its customers take advantage of transformative technologies to accelerate change across their financial operations while being adaptable and resilient. In September 2023 , Tencent Cloud launched Tencent Cloud Blockchain RPC. This product is developed with Ankr. By introducing Blockchain RPC, Tencent Cloud strives to provide a blockchain node infrastructure solution that has speed and is robust, enabling developers to stay ahead in the rapidly evolving Web3 environment continuously.

, Cloud launched Cloud Blockchain RPC. This product is developed with Ankr. By introducing Blockchain RPC, Cloud strives to provide a blockchain node infrastructure solution that has speed and is robust, enabling developers to stay ahead in the rapidly evolving Web3 environment continuously. In August 2023 , Google partnered with Brillio. This partnership will expand Brillio's ability to infuse generative AI into its customer experience (UI/UX/web experience), engineering, and data offerings, thus enabling clients to unlock more excellent value by industrializing processes and reducing time-to-market and cost-to-serve. Brillio's generative AI solutions, powered by Google Cloud's Vertex AI, will enable financial services organizations to interpret loan applications better, empower call center executives, provide investment advice, and summarize portfolios more effectively.

, Google partnered with Brillio. This partnership will expand Brillio's ability to infuse generative AI into its customer experience (UI/UX/web experience), engineering, and data offerings, thus enabling clients to unlock more excellent value by industrializing processes and reducing time-to-market and cost-to-serve. Brillio's generative AI solutions, powered by Google Cloud's Vertex AI, will enable financial services organizations to interpret loan applications better, empower call center executives, provide investment advice, and summarize portfolios more effectively. In July 2023 , SAP launched its SAP S/4HANA Cloud, Public Edition 2308 Release. This latest release would deliver a built-in, intelligent, modern experience across all SAP's business processes and several enhancements to help make the SAP S/4HANA Cloud, public edition user experience more modern, productive, and collaborative for end users and IT.

, SAP launched its SAP S/4HANA Cloud, Public Edition 2308 Release. This latest release would deliver a built-in, intelligent, modern experience across all SAP's business processes and several enhancements to help make the SAP S/4HANA Cloud, public edition user experience more modern, productive, and collaborative for end users and IT. In June 2023 , Microsoft partnered with Wipro. This partnership will bring together Microsoft Cloud capabilities with Wipro FullStride Cloud and leverage Wipro's and Capco's deep domain expertise in financial services. Capco is a business and technology management consultancy firm owned by Wipro, operating primarily in the financial services and energy vertical(s). Using Microsoft Cloud for Financial Services, Wipro has already delivered various innovative solutions that will assist financial institutions in speeding up time to value and drive sustainable growth.

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Finance Cloud Market Advantages:

Finance cloud solutions eliminate the need for onsite hardware and upkeep, which lowers the cost of IT infrastructure and operating costs.

Cloud-based finance platforms offer flexibility and agility since they can scale up or down fast to meet changing business needs.

With an internet connection, anyone may access financial data and services, making them available around-the-clock and allowing for remote work.

Leading cloud providers make significant investments in security measures to guarantee strong data encryption, adherence to industry standards, and defence against online attacks.

Advanced data analytics solutions are available on finance cloud platforms, enabling businesses to obtain insights, make data-driven decisions, and spot trends.

Cloud solutions provide reliable disaster recovery options, guaranteeing data backup and operational continuity in the event of unforeseen circumstances.

Through the use of cloud-based financial software, teams can interact more successfully, increasing workflow effectiveness and communication.

IT workers are relieved of mundane duties thanks to cloud providers, who manage software upgrades, maintenance, and security patches.

Compared to traditional software, cloud solutions frequently have faster deployment timelines, enabling organisations to use them right away.

Real-time reporting is made possible by finance cloud platforms, guaranteeing that financial data is accurate and up to date.

Report Objectives

To define, describe, and forecast the global Finance Cloud Market based on offering (solutions and services), deployment model (public, private, and hybrid Cloud), organization size (large enterprises and SMEs), end user (banks, financial service providers, and insurance companies), and region. To forecast the market size of the five major regional segments: North America , Europe , Asia Pacific , the Middle East & Africa , and Latin America To provide detailed information related to the significant factors influencing the growth of the market (drivers, restraints, opportunities, and challenges) To strategically analyze macro and micro-markets concerning growth trends, prospects, and their contributions to the overall market To analyze industry trends, patents & innovations, and pricing data related to the Finance Cloud Market. To analyze the opportunities in the market for stakeholders and provide details of the competitive landscape for major players. To profile key players in the market and comprehensively analyze their market share/ranking and core competencies. To track and analyze competitive developments, such as mergers & acquisitions, new product launches, product enhancements, and partnerships & collaborations in the market.



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CINCINNATI, Oct. 5, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- First Student, the industry leader in school transportation, is hitting the road again to promote safe bus behavior through its nationwide Safety Dog Bus Tour. The program uses fun and interactive activities to teach bus riding basics to elementary school students.

The Safety Dog Bus Tour kicks off October 5 in Warwick, Rhode Island, and will travel across North America during the 2023-24 school year. Some of the school districts First Student's safety mascot will visit include:

Andover Public Schools in Andover, Kan.

Public Schools in Millcreek Township School District in Erie, Pa.

School District in Porterville Unified School District in Porterville, Calif.

Memphis - Shelby County Schools in Memphis, Tenn.

- Schools in Warwick Public Schools in Warwick, R.I.

"At First Student, we are committed to providing the safest ride to school and home," said First Student Senior Vice President of Safety and Security Darryl Hill. "The Safety Dog Bus Tour teaches students effective safety tips in a memorable way, helping to ensure they feel comfortable and secure on our school buses. We look forward to delivering this important message in partnership with the school districts we serve."

School buses are the safest way for children to and from school. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, school buses are approximately 70 times safer than passenger cars.

During Safety Dog Bus Tour stops, students learn how to be a safe bus rider through various hands-on activities. They receive a safety demonstration on the school bus, sign a safety pledge, have a photo taken with Safety Dog and get a special gift bag to remember the information shared during the event.

There have been more than 45 stops on the Safety Dog Bus Tour to date. Nearly 14,000 students have signed the safety pledge.

About First Student

As a leading school transportation solutions provider in North America, First Student strives to provide the unmatched care and the safest ride to school. With a team of highly trained drivers and the industry's strongest safety record, First Student delivers reliable, quality services, including full-service transportation and management, special-needs transportation, fleet electrification, route optimization and scheduling, maintenance and charter services with a fleet of more than 44,500 buses.

Contact: Jen Biddinger

513.362.4600

SOURCE First Student
Three in five adults say they received little to no career education in school

Among all adults, those who had successful career role models are more likely to earn $60,000 or more

WASHINGTON, Oct. 5, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Amazon and Gallup released a new report today, Role Models Matter, examining working adults' childhood experiences with career education and role models. The research highlights the profound influence that role models can have in building a successful career. The study reveals that working adults who had a successful role model during their youth are more likely to say their current career is fulfilling compared to those who were neutral or disagreed that they had a role model (68% vs. 51%). They are also more likely to feel established in their career (64% vs. 45%) and to be in a career that pays enough to live comfortably (60% vs. 39%).

The report also sheds light on the need for improved access to these resources. The majority (60%) of young adults received little or no career education when they were in middle and high school, and of those who did receive it, most rate it as having been only "fair" (41%) or "poor" (25%) as opposed to "excellent" (7%) or "good" (27%). There are also economic disparities in access: Young adults who say they grew up in a family that often struggled financially are less likely than those from high-income families to have had career education (30% vs. 40%) and less likely to have had someone with a successful career to look up to in their youth (28% vs. 84%). Role models may also impact objective earnings in adulthood. Among all adults, those who had someone with a successful career to look up to are more likely than those who did not to be earning $60,000 or more (52% vs. 39%).

Amazon's global philanthropic computer science education program, Amazon Future Engineer, commissioned the study to identify new ways to inspire young students and help them pursue more successful careers.

"It is our mission to improve young people's access to comprehensive education and pathways for careers of the future, particularly for students from underserved and underrepresented communities," said Victor Reinoso, global director of philanthropic education initiatives at Amazon. "This study emphasizes the importance of increasing youth access to role models as a key part of this strategy. Amazon Future Engineer programs such as Class Chats, Career Tours and our Scholarship/Internship program are initial steps in this direction, but the research points to opportunities to do so much more. Experiences like these will help pave the way for students to maximize their potential and find fulfilling careers."

The research shows role models have benefits for people of all ages, including early career professionals, and sharing similar life experiences with a role model can strengthen their impact. Among those who agree that their role model had similar life experiences to them, 81% say their role model motivated them to achieve great things, compared to only 59% of those whose role model did not share similar life experiences. When reflecting on the role models they had early in their careers, 77% of working adults say they trusted their role model's knowledge and expertise, 68% say they felt like their role model's level of career success seemed realistic for them to achieve in their own career, and 66% say their role model helped motivate them to achieve great things.

Taken together, these findings illustrate the dynamic relationship between the presence of a role model and career outcomes and perceptions later in life. This study adds to the growing body of research from Gallup and Amazon on how students and adults perceive careers and the factors that shape their career interests, access and outcomes.

"Role models and career education can have a profound impact on a person's career outcomes, but the research indicates that access to these resources is not equally distributed throughout society," said Lydia Saad, Gallup's director of U.S. social research. "Students who lack good role models have fewer pathways to success, so it is imperative that we continue working to correct this, ensuring that every young person has both the information and the inspiration needed to reach their full potential."

Read the full report for more about the power of role models and visit Amazon Future Engineer to learn how the program is helping more young people explore their full potential.

About Amazon Future Engineer

Amazon Future Engineer is a childhood-to-career computer science education program intended to inspire and educate millions of students from historically underrepresented communities globally, including millions of students in the U.S. each year. Students explore computer science through school curriculum and project-based learning, using code to make music, program robots, and solve problems. Additionally, each year Amazon Future Engineer awards hundreds of students with four-year, $40,000 scholarships and paid industry internships to promote diversity and inclusion in the field. The program is currently available in Canada, France, Germany, India, the UK and U.S. For more information, visit amazonfutureengineer.com.

About Gallup

Gallup delivers analytics and advice to help leaders and organizations solve their most pressing problems. Combining more than 80 years of experience with its global reach, Gallup knows more about the attitudes and behaviors of employees, customers, students and citizens than any other organization in the world.

Media Contacts:

Amazon:

Amazon.com, Inc. Media Hotline

[email protected]

Gallup:

Annie Speer

[email protected]

SOURCE Gallup, Inc.
LAS VEGAS, Oct. 4, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- GBank Financial Holdings Inc. ("GBank" or the "Company") (OTCQX: GBFH), the parent company for GBank (the "Bank") is pleased to announce that it recently presented to investors at the Janney Community Bank Forum held in Atlanta, GA, on September 18th and 19th. The Investor Presentation is available through the following link:

GBFH Investor Presentation  Janney Community Bank Forum

Other Recent Company Highlights

April 2023  GBFH Pleased to Announce that GBank Appoints New Chief Operating Officer

February 2023  GBFH Announces GBank Ranks #5 in the CB Top Ten for Its Peer Group

January 2023  GBFH Named to 2023 OTCQX Best 50

The Company

GBank Financial Holdings Inc. (the "Company") (GBFH), a bank holding company with approximately $685.0 million in assets at June 30, 2023, operates through its wholly-owned subsidiary, GBank (formerly known as "Bank of George") (the "Bank"). Established in 2007, the Bank has two full-service commercial branches in Las Vegas, Nevada, and focuses on lending activities primarily in Nevada, California, Utah, and Arizona. GBank's business divisions encompass SBA Lending, Gaming FinTech, and Commercial Lending. The Bank conducts business nationally through its SBA lending activities and its partnership with BankCard Services, LLC ("BCS"). Its Gaming FinTech Division, through its contract with BCS, continues to power Sightline Payments Play+ Solution for a seamless and secure gaming experience, positioning GBank as a financial frontrunner in the emerging cashless economy. For more information about GBank, please visit its website at www.g.bank. The Company's Common Stock is quoted on the US OTCQX Market under the symbol GBFH.

Cautionary Notice Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This Press Release contains forward-looking statements that are subject to various risks and uncertainties. Forward-looking statements include information concerning potential or assumed future results of operations of the Company and its subsidiaries. Such statements are made based on management's beliefs and assumptions, and words like "believes," "expects," "anticipates," or similar terminology indicate forward-looking statements. Factors that could affect the financial performance of the Company include, but are not limited to, ongoing challenges from the COVID-19 pandemic, credit risk, market interest rate changes, competition, economic downturns, or regulatory supervision. GBank Financial Holdings Inc. is under no obligation to revise these forward-looking statements.

SOURCE GBank Financial Holdings Inc.
An anonymous person sent an alarming email to dozens of scientific journal editors around the world on April 12, 2022. A Spanish editor received it at 4:40 a.m. The opening line read: Dear professors, good morning. This is an important message for you. The whistleblower went on to allege that an Indian scientist named Gunasekaran Manogaran had established a large-scale system of churning out fraudulent scientific studies. The scheme allegedly involved selling authorship of fake studies to researchers, especially from Asia, who were keen to rapidly publish for career advancement. Managoran then successfully submitted these fake studies to reputable scientific publishers such as Elsevier, Springer Nature, Wiley and MDPI.

Computer scientist Ruben Gonzalez Crespo, the vice-chancellor of Spains International University of La Rioja (UNIR), has already had four of his studies linked to this plot retracted, including one on fertilizer use in vineyards co-authored by six Chinese people hes never heard of. Gonzalez claims not to know how his name ended up on those papers. He and three closest colleagues have had at least 16 studies that bear their names retracted. A second anonymous email begged the editors: Please, do justice.

Gonzalez and his three colleagues say they are victims of a scam. Gonzalez says that Manogaran contacted him in early 2020 regarding the artificial intelligence journal he cofounded and now edits  International Journal of Interactive Multimedia and Artificial Intelligence (IJIMAI). Manogaran introduced himself as a prominent researcher at the University of California, Davis, and the two academics decided to collaborate on various initiatives. Manogaran was even appointed associate editor of IJIMAI, which is published by UNIR, a private online educational institution founded in 2008 by Miguel Arrufat, one of the 50 richest people in Spain according to Forbes magazine. UNIR has an enrollment of over 50,000 students in Spain and Latin America.

The anonymous emailer, who claimed to be a former employee of Manogaran, explained how the plot works. Scientific publishers have adopted a new business model in recent years. Instead of charging readers, authors now pay to have their studies published in open access journals; the fees typically range from $2,000-$6,000. This creates a problematic incentive. Some magazines have started publishing special issues more frequently, even multiple times a day, to maximize profits. The International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (MDPI) published 17,000 studies last year, 13 times more than the previous year, making it the most popular publishing outlet for Spanish scientists in the last five years. According to Italian economist Paolo Crosetto, this journal has already published over 3,000 special issues in 2023, over eight per day. A decade ago, the MDPI publishing company established by Chinese chemist Shu-Kun Lin used to publish fewer than 400 special issues annually. However, this year, they are expected to publish 56,000.

Gunasekaran Manogaran at the VRS College of Engineering and Technology in Arasur, India; March 2019. VRS

Gunasekaran Manogaran proposed special issues to hundreds of journals from major publishers. The whistleblower estimates that around 5% of the journals accepted these proposals. Once in control of these specials, Manogarans team included fraudulent or irrelevant studies that cited previous papers on the same topic. In the field of science, authoring a study with a high number of citations is considered an indicator of quality. Unfortunately, this system is tainted by deceitful practices, such as citing your own papers to artificially boost visibility, a favorite tactic of the Manogaran network.

Gonzalez and his colleagues participated in several of these tainted special issues as guest editors or co-authors of specific papers. The publishers that retracted my articles [Springer Nature has retracted three and Elsevier one] did not do so because of problems with the scientific content, but because of Manogarans practices, of which we are victims. We had absolutely no idea what this man was doing, said Gonzalez.

Gunasekaran Manogaran, a data scientist at the Vellore Institute of Technology in India, is hard to pin down. In the photo he typically sends for scientific conferences, the goateed man is sporting a vest and purple tie. However, it seems like no one has ever seen the man in person. Calls to his mobile phone in India get abruptly disconnected with a recorded message: The number you are trying to reach is not available. He also did not reply to any of the messages we sent to three of the email addresses he uses regularly. A spokesperson for the University of California, Davis confirmed that Manogaran worked there as a postdoctoral researcher for a couple of years until June 2020. He also presents himself as a visiting researcher at UNIR, but Gonzalez says he was only offered an online conference that never happened.

Gunasekaran Manogaran in the announcement for an online seminar delivered in 2018 for the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

According to documentation provided by British engineer Nick Wise, who investigates scientific fraud in his spare time, the first anonymous email accused eight scientists of participating in Manogarans scam. Among them were Oscar Sanjuan and Vicente Garcia Diaz from Spain, as well as Carlos Enrique Montenegro from Colombia. These three men regularly collaborate with Ruben Gonzalez Crespo and have held various positions with the UNIR journal. All four flatly deny having voluntarily participated in Manogarans scheme.

EL PAIS interviewed Vicente Garcia Diaz, a computer engineering professor at the University of Oviedo (Spain) on September 4. Garcia admitted signing studies with unknown Asian co-authors without contributing to them. A friend of mine from another university mentioned that Gunasekaran, a colleague of his, was seeking more collaborators. He explained that they need people from the West to co-sign the studies, as journals tend to reject articles if all the co-authors are from countries like India, Pakistan, and Iran. I thought it wouldnt hurt to help him out, said Garcia, who denies having received payment for the favor. Five of his studies have been retracted, one of which examined industrial operations scheduling and involved a co-author from Papua New Guinea. Another study involved a co-author from the Vellore Institute of Technology, the same institution where Manogaran studied. The anonymous tipster claimed that Manogaran set up a factory assembly line with young researchers from Vellore to churn out scientific papers. In return, these researchers were given the opportunity to publish their work in international scientific journals.

Garcia Diaz responded to questions from this newspaper:

EL PAIS. Do you know any of the co-authors of the studies that have been retracted?

Garcia Diaz. I would say no, because I think these are the studies where [Manogaran] put me down as a co-author, but I dont know them.

EL PAIS. And did you read these studies before they were published? Or did they just put your name on them?

Garcia Diaz. They just put my name on them. Honestly, I trusted it because I had no idea people could actually buy or invent a study. When I saw Manogarans impressive resume, I just naturally assumed his papers were good.

EL PAIS. Its pretty ugly to slap your name on a study where you havent done anything.

Garcia Diaz. Yes, quite right. But, honestly, I didnt think much of it. I know its kind of ugly, but the whole point was just to make it easier for the journals to consider these studies, so that all the co-authors werent Indians. I didnt really put that much thought into it because I was so busy with other articles that were actually mine.

Ruben Gonzalez Crespo and Oscar Sanjuan, co-founders of UNIR's IJIMAI journal, won the FIDESOL Innovation Award on June 28, 2023. Fidesol

Garcia Diazs story didnt match his three colleagues, who chose to reply to us in writing after a few days. I would never allow my name to be added to a study in which I have not participated, Gonzalez wrote on September 20. Oscar Sanjuan, another UNIR professor, responded on September 23: I would never agree to participate in a fraudulent study... This is a just a lot of noise and Im a victim here. Garcia Diaz wrote us again on September 26, slightly changing his story and saying he had not expressed himself correctly. He now claims that he only participated minimally in the retracted studies, and admits that he initially lied due to embarrassment over the retractions. My conscience is totally clear because I havent done anything wrong. Im just a victim in all this, said Garcia Diaz.

Vice-Chancellor Ruben Gonzalez Crespo is one of the most cited scientists in the world, according to a ranking by Stanford University. One reason for his apparent success is his high level of productivity. In 2021, he published a new study almost every week covering a wide range of topics, including genes linked to Alzheimers, traffic accident detection systems, and underwater sensor networks. Gonzalez and Manogaran collaborated on three studies focusing on digital video, 6G mobile phone technologies, and artificial intelligence. A person who worked with Gonzalez finds it suspicious that he is one of the most cited researchers globally, given his modest scientific achievements. Another ex-colleague puts it like this: Its like you were born in this working-class neighborhood and all of a sudden, you show up in a fancy Jaguar wearing a Rolex.

Gonzalez bluntly denies this. I never put my name on fraudulent studies, and neither do many other scientists who have signed papers in good faith with Manogaran. Its important to distinguish the victims from the perpetrator. Manogaran is also one of the most cited scientists in the world, according to the rankings published by Clarivate. The list includes many mediocre researchers who have managed to exploit the loopholes in the system. According to a database created by Retraction Watch, Manogaran has seen 14 of his studies retracted, including papers on heart disease and coronavirus treatments.

Carlos Enrique Montenegro is a top UNIR executive in Colombia. AWS

Gunasekaran Manogaran is nowhere to be found, but he hasnt stopped working. He is listed as a member of the technical committee for conferences taking place in Nanchang, China in late November. He also claims to be currently affiliated with Francisco Jose de Caldas District University in Bogota, the institution where his frequent collaborator, Carlos Enrique Montenegro, earned his first degree and now teaches. Montenegro has had eight studies co-authored with Asian academics retracted. These studies examined various subjects, such as childhood depression, ecommerce platforms, and the impact of politics on emotions in the workplace. Montenegro emphatically denied that Gunasekaran Manogaran ever worked at Francisco Jose de Caldas District University and said, Everything that has my name on it and the articles Im in, its because Ive put in the work and made contributions.

Montenegro and Gonzalez have collaborated on over 20 studies, including one on wireless sensor networks for smart cities led by Chinese researcher Xintian Lei, from the School of Economics at Fujian Normal University. The study was retracted by Springer Nature in December 2022. Another paper signed by Montenegro, Gonzalez and Vicente Garcia Diaz on the Internet of Things (IoT) was retracted in June 2023. In the retraction notice, the publisher stated that lead author Qin Xin did not respond to correspondence and that another co-author, Mamoun Alazab from Australias Charles Darwin University, said he was unaware of the submission and publication of the article. Montenegro, who earned a PhD from the University of Oviedo (Spain), is also a top executive at UNIR in Colombia. Last year, UNIR proudly announced its inclusion in the prestigious university rankings of the U.K.s Times Higher Education. To qualify, a university must publish a minimum of 1,000 scientific studies.

Psychologist Izabela Zych, from the University of Cordoba (Spain), was the editor who received the anonymous email at 4:40 a.m. Just two months earlier, Zych had been named editor-in-chief of the Aggression and Violent Behavior journal published by Elsevier. The email said that two special issues of the journal had been manipulated by Manogaran prior to Zychs arrival and were fraudulent. One of the guest editors  Vicente Garcia Diaz  admitted to giving Manogaran permission to manage the special issue on his behalf.

After receiving the tip, Elsevier retracted 69 studies published in Aggression and Violent Behavior, including one on emotional intelligence in business innovation, signed by Ruben Gonzalez Crespo, Oscar Sanjuan and a Chinese researcher. Sanjuan also co-authored a study on cognitive psychology applied to the training of amateur athletes, together with colleagues from China and India. The special issue, supposedly edited by Garcia Diaz, included a Chinese study on teaching English in universities, despite the journals focus on aggression and violent behavior. Elseviers ethics committee concluded that there was significant evidence of misconduct, prompting the large number of retractions. These study factories pose a threat to the integrity of research, said Andrew Davis, Elseviers vice president of communications.

British engineer Nick Wise investigates scientific fraud in his spare time.

Nick Wise, an engineer from the University of Cambridge (U.K.), did not receive the anonymous email that night in April 2022, but he already knew something smelled rotten. Wise, who plays the trombone in a band called Colonel Spankys Love Ensemble, also spends his free time playing amateur detective to root out scientific fraud. Wise discovered several poorly conducted studies on artificial intelligence that were nevertheless referenced in hundreds of other papers. He began pulling on the thread, which led him to some peculiar studies in the Aggression and Violent Behavior journal. You could tell just by reading the title that they were rubbish or irrelevant, said Wise.

Wise shared his findings with EL PAIS and an American magazine called Undark, which reported part of the Manogaran scheme in June. According to Wise, Manogoran and his team have overseen at least 67 special issues across nearly fifty journals. These issues included over 1,250 studies and involved around 70 guest editors. Wise also discovered instances of payment for co-authorships in a special issue managed by Vicente Garcia Diaz and some Indian colleagues in the Healthcare Analytics journal published by Elsevier. Its a really profitable business. You can get 1,000 euros to author a study. Multiplied by 1,000 studies, thats a million euros right there. They could have easily made several million over the years, said Wise. Manogaran started it all and hes the one in charge. As for the others, Im not sure if they get paid, but its clear that theyre getting a bunch of publications and citations.

Chris Graf, Springer Natures research integrity director, wants to change how science is evaluated. Currently, researchers are rewarded based on the quantity of their output rather than its quality. This system, commonly referred to as publish or perish, needs to be reevaluated. Publishers are up against a formidable opponent  scientific study factories. These organizations generate substantial revenue by finding ways to bypass publisher controls. We intended to allocate more resources to stay ahead in this arms race, said Graf. Springer Nature has already retracted 15 studies by Manogaran and his Spanish collaborators. Nick Wise says that the enigmatic Indian scientist is getting ready to publish in other scientific journals, like Intelligent Data Analysis (IOS Press). Manogaran hasnt stopped editing special issues, Wise warns.
LOS ANGELES, Oct. 4, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Gild Insurance Agency, a pioneering independent insurance agency providing innovative insurance solutions for small businesses, and Bambee, the leading HR platform providing dedicated guidance and support to small businesses, are thrilled to announce their strategic partnership providing holistic HR management and risk mitigation for America's smallest businesses.

Gild Insurance and Bambee partner to provide small businesses access to enterprise-grade HR and risk mitigation support. Post this Bambee is the leading provider of HR guidance and support offering small businesses on-demand access to a dedicated HR manager. Bambee delivers scalable and compliant HR solutions to empower small businesses with payroll, time & attendance, onboarding tools, performance management, employee scheduling, and more. Bambees all-in-one solution is designed to fit into the small business budget to keep small businesses protected and thriving. For more information, visit www.bambee.com.

Gild Insurance and Bambee have come together in pursuit of a shared purpose: to empower small businesses with access to enterprise-grade HR and risk mitigation support. By uniting Bambee's HR technology with Gild Insurance's digital business insurance solutions, small businesses can now access a comprehensive suite of services through Bambee's HR platform to efficiently navigate the risks associated with operating a team. Backed by Bambee's seasoned HR professionals and Gild Insurance's business insurance specialists, this partnership offers best-in-class technology, backed by top-tier advice and support.

"At Gild Insurance, we partner with innovative companies, like Bambee, dedicated to addressing the unique challenges faced by the smallest of businesses. We share a conviction that technology, backed by vital human support, is essential for the success of small businesses," stated Mary Duggan Hoeprich, CEO of Gild Insurance.

This strategic collaboration between Bambee and Gild Insurance marks a significant milestone in the world of small business support. Together, united in their mission to offer small business owners enterprise-grade HR support, Bambee's HR expertise combined with Gild Insurance's risk management acumen, small businesses will be empowered to flourish amidst challenges and uncertainties. As the partnership unfolds, it is poised to redefine industry standards and guide businesses towards a more secure and prosperous future.

Gild Insurance and Bambee invite their clients, partners, and industry stakeholders to explore the benefits of their collaborative efforts. Bambee's expertise in HR services and Gild Insurance's prowess in risk mitigation, promises a potent combination for businesses aiming to thrive in an increasingly competitive environment.

About Gild Insurance:

Gild Insurance is a digitally native independent insurance agency serving small businesses nationwide. Gild's online quote-to-bind services digitally provides the knowledge, personalization, and trustworthiness of a local agent, available 24/7/365. From the creatives on main street to the home-based business, Gild Insurance has you covered. For more information visit www.yourgild.com or contact us at [email protected].

About Bambee:

Bambee is the leading provider of HR guidance and support offering small businesses on-demand access to a dedicated HR manager. Bambee delivers scalable and compliant HR solutions to empower small businesses with payroll, time & attendance, onboarding tools, performance management, employee scheduling, and more. Bambee's all-in-one solution is designed to fit into the small business budget to keep small businesses protected and thriving. For more information, visit www.bambee.com .

SOURCE Gild Insurance
DUBLIN, Oct. 5, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The "Global Influenza Vaccine Market: Analysis by Valency, By Vaccine Type, By Technology, By Age Group, By Route Of Administration, By Distribution Channel, By Region Size And Trends With Impact Of COVID-19 And Forecast Up To 2028" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.



The global influenza vaccine market in 2022 stood at US$7.98 billion, and is likely to reach US$12.32 billion by 2028. The global influenza vaccine market value is projected to grow at a CAGR of 7.50%, during the forecast period of 2023-2028.

One of the reasons leading to the rising demand for influenza vaccine in recent years is the increased awareness of the importance of vaccination in preventing contagious respiratory illnesses, especially in the wake of global pandemic like COVID-19, which has highlighted the significance of vaccination in public health.

Seasonal influenza (flu) can lead to high hospitalization and mortality rates in high-risk populations, which results in significant healthcare burden globally. Thus, representing a need and large market opportunity for the influenza vaccine market.

The key players are constantly investing in strategic initiatives, such as adoption of new technologies, introducing their services to emerging markets and more, to maintain a competitive edge in this market. For instance, on April 10, 2023, Sinovac Biotech Ltd. opened a state-of-the-art influenza vaccine production facility in Beijing, utilizing green production processes and adherence to Chinese Good Manufacturing Practice guidelines.

Governments worldwide, in collaboration with international health organizations such as the World Health Organization (WHO), recognize the vital role of influenza vaccination in public health and disease prevention. As a result, they implement various strategies that foster market expansion.

They may even subsidize vaccines or offer them free of charge through public health programs, making vaccination more accessible to the general population, leading to the growth of influenza vaccine market. In the coming years, these improvements are expected to significantly enhance healthcare service and stimulate demand for influenza vaccine.

The COVID-19 pandemic has had positive impact on the global influenza vaccine market. Influenza virus and COVID 19 virus share same symptoms and spread in similar ways so vaccination became an important part of preventing severe disease and death for both COVID-19 and influenza.

Even WHO recommended the influenza vaccine for older individuals, young children, pregnant people, people with underlying health conditions, and health workers. Post-COVID, the impact on influenza vaccine continues to drive sustained growth as individuals and healthcare systems prioritize vaccination to reduce the burden on healthcare resources, minimize the risk of co-infections with COVID-19, and enhance overall public health preparedness.

North America influenza vaccine market held the highest market share in 2022, primarily owing to reasons such as increasing prevalence of influenza infection in the US & Canada, increasing public awareness campaigns and educational initiatives, government-sponsored vaccination programs, regulatory support, and the recognition of high-risk groups like the elderly and pregnant women, the region's robust healthcare infrastructure, insurance coverage, and emphasis on patient-centered care.

Asia Pacific influenza vaccine market is expected to experience fastest growth due to a burgeoning and diverse population, government initiatives and increasing healthcare awareness. Furthermore, the availability of health insurance coverage and the growth of international travel further is expected to drive vaccine demand.

China holds the largest share in Asia Pacific region owing the growing elderly population, region's vulnerability to seasonal influenza outbreaks and emergence of new flu, nation's expanding healthcare infrastructure, a burgeoning pharmaceutical industry, research and development initiatives, domestic vaccine production and introduction of artificial intelligence in healthcare industry.

Global Market Analysis



Global Influenza Vaccine Market: An Analysis

Global Influenza Vaccine Market by Value

Global Influenza Vaccine Market by Valency (Quadrivalent and Trivalent)

Global Influenza Vaccine Market by Vaccine Type (Inactivated and Live Attenuated)

Global Influenza Vaccine Market by Technology (Egg-Based and Cell-Based)

Global Influenza Vaccine Market by Age Group (Adult and Pediatric)

Global Influenza Vaccine Market by Route of Administration (Injection and Nasal Spray)

Global Influenza Vaccine Market by Distribution Channel (Hospitals and Pharmacies, Government and Institutions and Others)

Global Influenza Vaccine Market by Region ( North America , Europe , Asia Pacific , Latin America and Middle East and Africa )

Global Influenza Vaccine Market: Valency Analysis

Global Quadrivalent Influenza Vaccine Market by Value

Global Trivalent Influenza Vaccine Market by Value

Global Influenza Vaccine Market: Vaccine Type Analysis

Global Inactivated Influenza Vaccine Market by Value

Global Live Attenuated Influenza Vaccine Market by Value

Global Influenza Vaccine Market: Technology Analysis

Global Egg Based Influenza Vaccine Market by Value

Global Cell Based Influenza Vaccine Market by Value

Global Influenza Vaccine Market: Age Group Analysis

Global Adult Influenza Vaccine Market by Value

Global Pediatric Influenza Vaccine Market by Value

Global Influenza Vaccine Market: Route of Administration Analysis

Global Injectable Influenza Vaccine Market by Value

Global Nasal Spray Influenza Vaccine Market by Value

Global Influenza Vaccine Market: Distribution Channel Analysis

Global Hospitals and Pharmacy Influenza Vaccine Market by Value

Global Government and Institutions Influenza Vaccine Market by Value

Global Others Influenza Vaccine Market by Value

Market Dynamics



Growth Drivers

Increasing Flu Burden among Adult Population

Rapid Urbanization

Rising Prevalence of Influenza Epidemics and Seasonal Outbreaks

Increased Public Health Awareness

Increasing Government Support

Robust Research and Development Investments

Challenges

Longer Timeline for Vaccine Production

High cost of Vaccine Development

Inequitable Access to Vaccines

Market Trends

Use of AI in Vaccine Development

Technological Advancements in Vaccine Administration

Shift in Trends towards mRNA-based Flu Vaccine

Company Profiles: Business Overview, Sales by Products, Business Strategies

GlaxoSmithKline Plc

Abbott

Pfizer Inc.

AstraZeneca Plc

Sanofi S.A.

Moderna Inc.

CSL Limited

Emergent BioSolutions Inc.

BIKEN Co., Ltd.

Serum Institute of India Pvt. Ltd.

Sinovac

GC Biopharma

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/2fquea

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SOURCE Research and Markets
DUBLIN, Oct. 4, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The "Peripheral Blood Mononuclear Cells Market - Global Industry Size, Share, Trends, Opportunity, and Forecast, 2018-2028 Segmented By Product, By Application, By Techniques, By Source, By Region, Competition, Forecast and Opportunities" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.



Global peripheral blood mononuclear cells market was valued at USD 235.68 million in 2022 and is anticipated to grow at a CAGR of 10.39% during the period 2023-2028 owing to the rising rate in the number of cell therapies, high demand of research, and development for toxicology testing and reaction mechanism of the compound responsible for new and stable development of products.

For instance, in June 2023, a study published in the National Library of Medicine assessed the immune response of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) that were infected in vitro with the Colombian strain (Col) of Trypanosoma cruzi and treated with Benzonidazole.



PBMCs are widely used in various research applications, including immunology, cell therapy, vaccine development, and drug discovery. They provide valuable insights into immune responses, allow researchers to study various immune cell populations, and serve as a source of cells for cell-based therapies. PBMCs can be isolated from peripheral blood using techniques such as density gradient centrifugation or specialized cell separation methods.



Additionally, the rise in number of cell therapies, expansion in research & development schemes, increasing focus of key players on R&D in peripheral blood mononuclear cells, increasing focus on regenerative medicine, as well as an increase in demand for cell operations among the population, increasing investigation of various aspects of immunology, infectious diseases, autoimmune disorders, transplantation, and vaccine development are projected to provide market players with lucrative prospects in the future.

Advancements in Toxicology Research

The growth of the peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) industry is fueled by increasing customer awareness and a rising preference for antibody development. PBMCs play a vital role in biology, pathology, clinical research, and the study of diseases, immunology, and vaccine development. Notably, clinical trials involving PBMCs have surpassed 972 studies, underscoring their significance.

PBMCs provide valuable insights into the effects of potential medication on individuals, particularly their immune systems. Toxicity affecting PBMCs can lead to severe, even fatal, side effects, including immune system suppression and poisoning. Toxicology research is dedicated to evaluating the adverse effects of chemicals, drugs, and environmental factors on living organisms.

In immunotoxicity studies, PBMCs are pivotal for assessing the impact of substances on the immune system. Researchers expose PBMCs to various compounds, analyzing immune responses and identifying immunotoxic effects, including changes in immune cell populations, cytokine production, and immune function. As demand for PBMCs in immunotoxicity research grows, the global peripheral blood mononuclear cells market continues to expand.

Rising Significance of PBMCs in Cell Therapy

Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) are gaining prominence in cell and gene therapy, offering an alternative to traditional regenerative medicines with fewer side effects. In regions like North America and Europe, PBMCs are integral to cell therapies for human well-being.

Awareness is growing about the utility of PBMCs in various treatments, including acute myocardial infarction, chronic heart failure, spinal cord injury, stroke, and wound healing. Successful pre-clinical studies using apoptotic PBMCs' secretome indicate significant market growth potential.

For example, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports approximately 37,300 new cases of HPV+ tumors annually in the U.S., making up 3% of women's malignancies and 2% of men's cancers. With increasing HPV prevalence, companies are focusing on therapy and drug development for the U.S. market, with PBMCs serving as a valuable source of immune cells for cell therapy.

PBMCs encompass various immune cells, including T cells, B cells, and natural killer (NK) cells, all critical for immune responses and disease targeting. These cells provide a versatile resource for different cell therapy approaches.

Adoptive Cell Transfer (ACT), a cell therapy involving immune cell transfer to target diseases like cancer, often starts with PBMCs for isolating and expanding specific T cell subsets. These cells are essential for ACT therapies, supporting market growth.

Increased Investment in R&D for Human Well-Being

The market's growth is driven by rapid advancements in research and development (R&D), leading to novel cell/gene therapies, medications, and products for treating fatal diseases.

PBMCs offer a practical means of obtaining immune proteins from routinely collected blood samples, addressing the analytical challenges posed by highly abundant proteins in native human plasma. Governments worldwide are providing funding for ongoing PBMC research to boost healthcare sector growth.

Moreover, growing awareness of PBMCs' potential in disease research has spurred increased R&D activities, boosting the PBMCs market. PBMCs play a crucial role in early-stage research, assessing the efficacy and safety of potential drug candidates.

As a human-relevant model for studying immune responses and the effects of new compounds on immune cells, PBMCs are increasingly valued in drug discovery. This awareness has fueled demand, driving market growth.

The therapeutic potential of cell-based therapies has been rapidly recognized, with PBMCs playing a pivotal role in their development and manufacturing. Collaborative efforts between academic institutions, research organizations, and the biopharmaceutical industry have contributed to knowledge exchange, joint research projects, and funding initiatives centered on PBMC application in various research areas. This growing awareness and collaborative R&D efforts positively impact the global peripheral blood mononuclear cells market's growth.

Competitive Landscape



Company Profiles: Detailed analysis of the major companies present in global peripheral blood mononuclear cells market.

Charles River Laboratories International, Inc.

Lonza Group AG

Corning Inc

Bio-Rad Laboratories Inc

ABCAM

Biolegend Inc

ZEN-Bio Inc

DAPCEL, Inc.

Creative Bioarray

iXCells Biotechnologies USA , LLC

, LLC Miltenyi Biotec B.V. & CO. KG

STEMCELL Technologies Inc.

Precision Medicine Group, LLC.

StemExpress, LLC

RayBiotech Life, Inc.

REPROCELL Inc.

Cytologics LLC

BioIVT LLC

Biopredic International

Cell Applications, Inc.

Report Scope:

Voice of Customer

By Type of Product

By Type of Technique

Type of Application for Which PBMCs Are Used

Factors Driving Market Growth

Clinical Trial Analysis

Ongoing Clinical Trials

Completed Clinical Trials

Terminated Clinical Trials

Breakdown of Pipeline, By Development Phase

Breakdown of Pipeline, By Status

Breakdown of Pipeline, By Study Type

Breakdown of Pipeline, By Region

Clinical Trials Heat Map

Peripheral Blood Mononuclear Cells Market, By Product:

Cryopreserved or Frozen PBMC

Cultured or Fresh PBMC

Others

Peripheral Blood Mononuclear Cells Market, By Application:

Immunology

Hematology

Infectious Disease

Others

Peripheral Blood Mononuclear Cells Market, By Techniques:

Density Gradient Centrifugation

Leukapheresis

Others

Peripheral Blood Mononuclear Cells Market, By Source:

Human

Animal

Peripheral Blood Mononuclear Cells Market, By Region:

North America

United States

Canada

Mexico

Europe

Germany

France

United Kingdom

Italy

Spain

Asia-Pacific

China

Japan

India

South Korea

Australia

Singapore

South America

Brazil

Argentina

Colombia

Middle East & Africa

& UAE

Saudi Arabia

South Africa

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/luh8hf

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ResearchAndMarkets.com is the world's leading source for international market research reports and market data. We provide you with the latest data on international and regional markets, key industries, the top companies, new products and the latest trends.

Media Contact:

Research and Markets

Laura Wood, Senior Manager

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SOURCE Research and Markets
HIGHLIGHTS

Exploration Target defined following the recently reported Mineral Resource Estimate of 261 million tonnes grading 2.19% TREO and is defined by mineralisation beneath the MRE

The Exploration Target potential and Mineral Resource Estimate establishes Kangankunde as one of the world's largest rare earths deposits based on a globally recognised mineral reporting code

SYDNEY, Oct. 4, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Lindian Resources Limited (ASX:LIN) ("Lindian" or "the Company") is pleased to publish an Exploration Target for the Kangankunde Rare Earths Project which, together with the recently published Mineral Resource Estimate ('MRE'), clearly establishes Kangankunde as one of the world's largest rare earths projects, underpinned by excellent grade, uniquely non-radioactive material and a high percentage of rare earth elements that are key to the clean energy transition. The Exploration Target for the Kangankunde Rare Earths Project Central Carbonatite is between 400 million tonnes (lower range) to 800 million tonnes (upper range) grading between 2.0% and 2.7% TREO.

Figure 1: Long Section 705375mE showing Exploration Target area in relation to Mineral Resource Area and drill hole KGKDD009. Figure 2: Cross Section 8327115mN showing Exploration Target area in relation to Mineral Resource Area and drill hole KGKRCDD074. Figure 3: Kangankunde Project Geology

Lindian completed two deep core drill holes beneath the MRE to test the potential for additional extensions to mineralisation. These two deep drill holes form the basis for an Exploration Target estimate tabled below.

Exploration target compiled for Kangankunde following deep drilling results.

Target Range Tonnes (millions) Grade (TREO %) Exploration Target Lower 400 2.0 % Central Carbonatite Upper 800 2.7 %

Cautionary Statement: The potential quantity and grade of the Exploration Target is conceptual in nature and therefore is an approximation. There has been insufficient exploration to estimate a Mineral Resource in the area considered an exploration target and it is uncertain if further exploration will result in the estimation of a Mineral Resource. The Exploration Target has been prepared and reported in accordance with the 2012 edition of the JORC Code.

COMMENTS

Executive Chairman Asimwe Kabunga commented: "This Exploration Target is a defining event for Lindian and for Malawi. While our MRE is itself outstanding, the Exploration Target demonstrates the potential for the Kangankunde project to grow significantly with further exploration activity and, is without a doubt, one of the world's largest rare earths deposits and an asset that is expected to have a material impact on the rare earths sector globally. It firmly positions Lindian as a major player in the industry with an asset that is fully permitted, licensed for production and enjoying very strong Government and Community support. We believe Kangankunde is highly attractive to potential off-takers for its ability to provide long term consistent product supply. Further, we are making excellent progress for bringing our Stage 1 mining and processing operation online in late 2024 backed with a strong cash balance."

Chief Executive Officer Alistair Stephens added: "Kangankunde is now firmly established in a class of rare earths projects that are regarded as the very best in the world, as defined by scale, grade and the quality of the resource. The scale of this asset is simply astounding with additional exploration upside at depth and across the broader lease area which remains unexplored. Separately, we are advancing well on the infill mine development drill program which will allow us to define part of the MRE to the Indicated Category."

Mineral Resource Estimate for the Kangankunde Rare Earths Project

Resource Classification Tonnes (millions) TREO (%) NdPr% of TREO** (%) Tonnes Contained NdPr* (millions) Inferred Resource 261 2.19 20.2 1.2

The information in this report that relates to a Mineral Resource Estimate for the Kangankunde Rare Earths was first released to the ASX on 3 August 2023 and is available to view on www.asx.com.au. The Company confirms that it is not aware of any new information or data that materially affects information included in the relevant market announcement, and that all material assumptions and technical parameters underpinning the estimates in the announcement continue to apply and have not materially changed.

EXPLORATION TARGET

An Exploration Target (Table 1) has been determined for the Central Carbonatite (Figure 3) of the Kangankunde rare earths project in addition to the current Mineral Resource Estimate (MRE) [1] (Table 2).

The Exploration Target has been considered following the successful Phase 2 deep drilling program that showed the continuity of high-grade rare-earth mineralisation up to 800 metres beneath the limits of the MRE. The significant intercepts reported in these depth extension holes were:

853.6 metres at 2.73% TREO from 52 metres in KGKRCDD074 [2] and,

from 52 metres in KGKRCDD074 and, 1,000 metres at 2.60% TREO , including, 805.26 metres at 2.90% TREO from 152.85 metres in KGKDD009 [3]

,

Table 1: Kangankunde Central Carbonatite Exploration Target

Target Range Tonnes (millions) Grade (TREO %) Exploration Target Lower 400 2.0 % Central Carbonatite Upper 800 2.7 %

The potential quantity and grade of the Exploration Target is conceptual in nature and therefore is an approximation. There has been insufficient exploration to estimate a Mineral Resource in the area considered an exploration target and it is uncertain if further exploration will result in the estimation of a Mineral Resource. The Exploration Target has been prepared and reported in accordance with the 2012 edition of the JORC Code.

The Exploration Target is based on the current geological understanding of the mineralisation geometry supported by more than 17,000 metres of drilling, resource estimation modelling and surface mapping but does not consider factors related to geological complexity, possible mining method or metallurgical recovery factors. This estimate provides an assessment of the potential scale of the Kangankunde project mineralisation beyond the existing MRE and the work programs needed to convert this estimate to a resource in the future.

The reported Kangankunde Central Exploration Target is defined by:

The resource model for Kangankunde Central which is based on three-dimensional geological domains defined by drilling and surface mapping.

The reported resource from this model was limited by data density to an inferred classification with the depth limit ranging from 200 metres (800mRL to the 600mRL) to 400 metres (750mRL to 350mRL) below surface.

Beneath the inferred resource limit mineralisation has been identified by drill holes KGKRCDD074 and KGKDD009 to extend to -200mRL, 600 to 800 metres below current MRE limit. (Figure 1 and Figure 2)

In addition to depth extension, the margins of the mineralisation have not been fully tested with surrounding wall rock/carbonatite breccias shown to be mineralised where drilled. To date drilling has not tested fully the lateral extents of this mineralisation.

The Exploration Target lower tonnage range of 400 million tonnes assumes a depth limitation to the 200m RL. This material was included in the assessment of the existing resource model estimation but has insufficient drilling data to be classified according to JORC guidelines.

The Exploration Target upper tonnage range projects the mineralisation below the current model limit from the 200mRL to the -200mRL, a further 400 vertical metres beyond the Exploration Target lower tonnage range depth limit. This depth extent is supported by drill holes KGKRCDD074 and KGKDD009 that both contained consistent rare earths mineralisation to this depth. This upper range tonnage assumes the tonnes of the lower 400 metres of the existing resource model (600mRL to 200mRL) will be replicated from 200mRL to -200mRL.

The Exploration Target lower grade range is based on a 10% reduction of the MRE grade to account for the halo of surrounding lower grade mineralisation, while the upper grade range is based on an approximation of the higher-grade contiguous carbonatite grades assayed from KGKDDRC74 and KGKDD009 at depth.

Other potential areas for exploration at North Knoll and South Knoll (Figure 3) have not been included at this stage and are the subject of a mapping and sampling program to be completed by December 2023.

EXPLORATION TARGET WORK PROGRAMS

The Central Carbonatite exploration target will be evaluated by drill programs aimed at creating a reportable resource. This work is anticipated to be conducted on a staged basis in conjunction with mine development over future years and consistent with staged operation expansion planning.

PHASE 3 DRILL PROGRAM

The Phase 3 infill drilling program is nearing completion. The aim of the program was to increase data density and subsequently resource estimation confidence in mineralisation to be included in the Project Feasibility Study.

About Lindian

RARE EARTHS

Lindian Resources Limited has ownership of Malawian registered Rift Valley Resource Developments Limited that has 100% title to Exploration Licence EPL0514/18R and Mining Licence MML0290/22. The Exploration and Mining Licences have an Environmental and Social Impact Assessment Licence No.2:10:16.

Table 2: Kangankunde Rare Earths Project Mineral Resource Above 0.5% TREO Cut-off Grade

Resource Classification Tonnes (millions) TREO (%) NdPr% of TREO** (%) Tonnes Contained NdPr* (millions) Inferred Resource 261 2.19 20.2 1.2

Forward Looking Statements

This announcement may include forward-looking statements, based on Lindian's expectations and beliefs concerning future events. Forward-looking statements are necessarily subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors, many of which are outside the control of Lindian, which could cause actual results to differ materially from such statements. Lindian makes no undertaking to subsequently update or revise the forward-looking statements made in this announcement, to reflect the circumstances or events after the date of the announcement.

Competent Persons Statements

The information in this report that relates to the Exploration Target for the Kangankunde Rare Earths Project is based on information compiled by Mr. Alistair Stephens, who is a Member of the Australian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy (AusIMM). Mr. Stephens is CEO of Lindian Resources Limited. Mr. Stephens has sufficient experience relevant to the style of mineralisation and type of deposit under consideration, and to the activity being undertaken to qualify as a Competent Person as defined in the 2012 Edition of the 'Australasian Code for Reporting of Exploration Results, Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves' (JORC Code). Mr. Stephens consents to the inclusion in this report of the matters based on the information in the form and context in which it appears.

Unless otherwise stated, where reference is made to previous releases of exploration results in this announcement, the Company conforms that it is not aware of any new information or data that materially affects the information included in those announcements and all material assumptions and technical parameters underpinning the exploration results included in those announcements continue to apply and have not materially changed.

The information in this report that relates to previous exploration results for the Kangankunde Rare Earths Project was prepared and first disclosed under the JORC Code 2012 and has been properly and extensively cross-referenced in the text to the date of the original announcement to the ASX. The Company is not aware of any new information or data that materially affects these exploration results as originally referenced.

The information in this report that relates to a Mineral Resource Estimate for the Kangankunde Rare Earths Project was first released to the ASX on 3 August 2023 and is available to view on www.asx.com.au. The Company confirms that it is not aware of any new information or data that materially affects information included in the relevant market announcement, and that all material assumptions and technical parameters underpinning the estimates in the announcement continue to apply and have not materially changed.

The Competent Persons' consents remain in place for subsequent releases by the Company of the same information in the same form and context, until the consents are withdrawn or replaced by a subsequent report and accompanying consent. The Company is not aware of any new information or data that materially affects the information in the ASX announcement of 3 August 2023 originally referencing its resources estimate, and that all material assumptions and technical parameters underpinning the estimates continue to apply and have not materially changed.

Appendix 1: Kangankunde Drill Hole Details (Datum UTM WGS84 Zone 36S)

Drill Hole ID Drill Type UTM East (m.) UTM North (m.) Elevation (m.a.s.l.) Hole Length EOH (m.) Azimuth Inclination KGKRCDD074 RC/DD 704975 8327119 683 980.59 095 -49 KGKDD009 DD 705386 8327384 669 1000 182 -66

[1] LIN (ASX) Announcement 3 August 2023; "Lindian Reports Maiden Mineral Resource Estimate Of 261 Million Tonnes At High Grade Of 2.19% TREO"

[2] LIN (ASX) Announcement 31 July 2023; First Deep Drill Hole Intercepts 854 Metres of Mineralisation Grading 2.73% TREO"

[3] LIN (ASX) Announcement 18 September 2023; "Second Deep Drill Hole Intercepts 1,000 metres Of Mineralisation Grading 2.6% TREO"

SOURCE Lindian Resources
BOSTON , Oct. 5, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Goulston & Storrs, an Am Law 200 firm, is pleased to announce that directors Joshua Davis, Elizabeth Levine, and Carla Reeves have been named to Lawdragon's 2024 list of 500 Leading Corporate Employment Lawyers in America, which recognizes the "unsurpassed experts who try to keep the balance between Corporate America and its workers."

(PRNewsfoto/Goulston & Storrs PC)

Joshua Davis is one of the country's leading employment lawyers. He counsels companies and their leaders in their daily workforce management and development challenges, in addition to serving as lead counsel in litigation matters. He has 30 years of experience handling complicated employment matters, including deep expertise in sexual harassment and discrimination investigations, cultural assessments, and workforce training. Davis is a Fellow of the College of Labor and Employment Lawyers and a Board Member of the American Employment Law Council. He was named an Employment Law Trailblazer by The National Law Journal in 2022 and is ranked by Chambers (Global and USA Guides) and Best Lawyers in America (2008-2023; 2022 Lawyer of the Year in Employment Law). Davis received his J.D., with honors, from the University of Chicago Law School. After law school, he clerked for the Hon. Stephanie K. Seymour of the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit.

Elizabeth Levine has two decades of experience working with companies on management-side employment and operational matters, and defending organizations in employment-based litigation before state and federal courts and administrative agencies. As certified Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination trainer, Levine also conducts workplace training on harassment and discrimination prevention, sensitivity, tolerance and understanding in today's diverse workforce, and accommodation of disabled employees. She was named a Go To Employment Lawyer by Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly (2023), a Top Employment Lawyer by Boston Magazine (2021-2022), and an Employment Law Trailblazer by The National Law Journal (2020). She has also been recognized by Chambers USA for her Labor & Employment work. She received her J.D., magna cum laude, from Suffolk University Law School.

Carla Reeves focuses her practice on employment counseling, litigation, and investigations. She advises clients on all aspects of the employment relationship and represents clients before state and federal courts and administrative agencies in employment and business litigation matters. Reeves also develops and conducts customized workplace assessments and training programs to support clients' efforts to make workplaces more equitable and inclusive. She was named an Employment Law Trailblazer by The National Law Journal (2021) and a Top Employment Lawyer by Boston Magazine (2021 and 2023). She is ranked in Chambers USA and Best Lawyers in America for her Labor & Employment Litigation work. She received her J.D. from Boston College Law School.

About Goulston & Storrs

Collaboration is not just a pillar of our strategy; it is the key to our competitive advantage and approach to clients, community, and each other. At Goulston & Storrs, we practice law with excellence and integrity. We are a place where mutual respect and collaboration drive open discussion, transparency, creativity and optimal results for our clients. We are committed to being a diverse and inclusive workplace where sophisticated business is conducted with genuine camaraderie. To learn more about us, visit www.goulstonstorrs.com.

Contact: Leigh Herzog

Goulston & Storrs PC

(617) 574-2259

[email protected]















Amy Blumenthal

Blumenthal & Associates PR

(617) 879-1511

[email protected]

SOURCE Goulston & Storrs PC
LIVERPOOL, England, Oct. 5, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Ready Education, a leading global provider of mobile student experience solutions to improve student success in higher education, released figures today highlighting a number of alarming trends within the Higher Education sector suggesting an emerging student crisis across Europe.

Student Crisis

The COVID-19 pandemic caused significant disruption across the world and many lasting impacts are still affecting students with new pressures mounting. Although issues are being reported separately within the media around the globe, all of these individual matters are creating an intensifying student crisis for this year's cohort.

Mental Health Decline - Universities are experiencing a surge in student anxiety, mental breakdowns and depression. Up to 80% 1 of young people are now more likely to report symptoms of depression or anxiety .

Universities are experiencing a surge in student anxiety, mental breakdowns and depression. of young people are now more likely to report . Miscommunication - Communications are poor and students are feeling betrayed and that institutions are failing to meet expectations. When students spend on average 8-10 hours a day on their smartphones 2 , why is there a gap?

Communications are poor and students are feeling betrayed and that institutions are failing to meet expectations. When students spend on average why is there a gap? Increasing Academic Pressure - Increasing numbers of students are reporting feeling stressed about their course or reporting difficulties in their education. Only 20% of students effectively seek professional help 3 .

Increasing numbers of students are reporting feeling stressed about their course or reporting difficulties in their education. . Rising Social Isolation - The EU has seen a 400% increase in 18-25 year olds who reported feeling lonely in 2021 vs 2016 4 .

- The EU has seen a in in 2021 vs 2016 . Increasing Financial Struggles - Across Europe, more students than ever before are now living below the poverty line. On average, 25% of European students experience (very) serious financial difficulties 5 .

- Across Europe, more students than ever before are now living below the poverty line. On average, . Student Housing Crisis - New build stalls, housing and room shortages are leaving some students homeless. The average housing provision rate across European cities is currently 12.5%6 and with increasing student numbers is expected to worsen.

More information and statistics on these headlines here .

As a result of the number of growing areas of concern, students' well-being and their education are being adversely affected by the pressure they face and there has been a sharp rise in students dropping out. This creates a massive growth in demand for support which institutions are struggling to keep up with and in turn, is piling more pressure on already overstretched staff and student welfare budgets. Due to Ready Education's strong vision to improve student success in higher education worldwide, they have been closely monitoring all aspects of this within tertiary education and actively looking for solutions.

"Student retention rates have always been of great concern to universities and colleges and any issue that concerns students wellbeing and success is generally tackled head-on as and when it becomes a priority. This year there has been an unprecedented amount of pressure increasing within all elements of student life and this has challenged universities and colleges in how to address and what to prioritise" states Andrew Taylor (Vice President, Sales, E2AP, Ready Education)

"Support services are overwhelmed and demand has tripled, if not more over the past four years. As drop out rates increase, spending is falling per student in real terms and this could very well lead to a potential funding crisis. Higher ed leaders know they need new ways to help students succeed. But without the right data or tools they leave a lot for existing overstretched resources."

Holding conversations on how institutions can address these issues, Ready Education has partnered with leading bodies to host informative and thought-provoking webinars.

Join the conversation and share your thoughts and advice:

France: CampusMatin 17th October. Register HERE

Rest of Europe: UCISA 20th November. Register HERE

About Ready Education

Trusted by 715+ institutions to build communities and drive retention, Ready Education improves student success in higher education worldwide. The multinational organisation provides student-centric mobile apps that enable universities and colleges to offer a one-stop-shop for communications, resources, course management and finances. The total student experience solution has over a 90% adoption rate and is integral to empowering academia to craft their digital student experience.

For more information visit www.readyeducation.com/

1 OECD , May 2021

2 Times Higher Education , October 2022

3 European University Association , July 2022

4 European Commission , July 2021

5 Higher Education Students' Financial Difficulties , June 2021

6 Savills , October 2022

Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2239947/Ready_Education_Student_Crisis_Infographic_Infographic.jpg

SOURCE Ready Education
ROCKVILLE, Md., Oct. 5, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- GSD Services, LLC, a Small Business Administration (SBA) approved Mentor Protege Joint Venture between NIKA Technologies, Inc. (NIKA) and King & George, LLC (King George) announced today that the Department of the Navy, Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command, NAVFAC Southwest has awarded GSD Services the Base Operations Support Contract (BOSC) supporting Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center (MCAGCC) Twentynine Palms, California (CA).

The single award Firm Fixed Price, Indefinite-Delivery/Indefinite-Quantity contract has an estimated value of $117M, over an 8-year ordering period. Work to be performed under this new contract will include recurring and non-recurring work for facilities investment, custodial, integrated solid waste management, and water support services. The contract also includes the operations and maintenance of the installation's water treatment plant.

NIKA's Chief Executive Officer and President (GSD's Managing Member), Kabir Chaudhary remarked: "We look forward to continuing our strong partnership with the Navy and working with the Twentynine Palms Public Works Division to support the training and operations experience of Armed Forces personnel who use Twentynine Palms to live, work and train."

"We are pleased to announce this new contract win for GSD Services and our commitment to supporting our DoD customers" stated George Bernard, Chief Executive Officer of King George. "King George and NIKA have an excellent track record of creating successful collaborations, and we look forward to working together to unlock the potential of our combined facilities support businesses."

MCAGCC Twentynine Palms is the largest United States Marine Corps base covering a total area of 596,288 acres located in the high desert of Southern California. The Combat Center's unique mission is to conduct relevant live-fire combined arms training, urban operations, and Joint/Coalition level integration training that promotes operational force readiness as well as to provide the facilities, services, and support responsive to the needs of resident organizations, Marines, sailors, and their families today and tomorrow.

About NIKA

NIKA delivers comprehensive services and solutions to support the full life cycle of facilities and infrastrucure. For more than two decades, the Department of Defense and federal civilian agencies, as well as commercial and higher education institutions, have trusted NIKA to operate, maintain, and manage their real property and infrastructure systems. NIKA's mission support, logistics, and engineering and program management services provide their customers with the value and expertise to ensure operational readiness and extend the life of critical facilities. Headquartered in Rockville, MD, with offices in San Antonio, TX, NIKA helps clients enhance operational excellence in locations around the globe.

For more information about NIKA, please visit http://www.nikasolutions.com.

About King George

King George is a minority-owned commercial and Government services contractor specializing in base operations support services, general contracting and construction management, vehicles and equipment maintenance, logistics, and environmental services. Their clients include the U.S. Navy, U.S. Army, U.S. Air Force, Federal Aviation Administration, and the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration. King George has been ranked in INC. 5000's fastest-growing companies as the leadership team has rapidly transformed the company from a small startup to a business that currently has $200 million in yearly revenue, more than 1,200 employees, and operations of 120 contracts that encompass 160 sites.

For more information about King George, please visit http://www.kinggeorge.us.

For further information, contact:

Rosanna Cruz

[email protected]

(301) 770-3520

SOURCE GSD Services, LLC; NIKA
Introducing HealthVision, a breakthrough enterprise platform for health systems that utilizes AI and big data to enable care teams to deliver better outcomes for both patients and providers

BOSTON, Oct. 5, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Health Data Analytics Institute (HDAI)  an artificial intelligence (AI) company focused on empowering clinicians, optimizing care pathways, and improving patient outcomes  today announced a joint presentation next week with Houston Methodist on how they are "Deploying Clinical AI at Scale," a key advance in unleashing a long-awaited data-driven transformation in medical care.

HLTH is a premier healthcare conference that brings together the best and brightest to drive innovation. The HDAI and Houston Methodist presentation will take place on October 8 in Las Vegas.

HLTH presentation focused on how HDAI puts data-driven insights into the hands of clinicians and care teams. Post this

HDAI Founder and CEO Nassib Chamoun will speak alongside Roberta Schwartz, Ph.D., EVP and Chief Innovation Officer of Houston Methodist, about their two-year collaboration to improve clinical care, support physician decision-making, and enhance cost efficiency by integrating HDAI's HealthVision platform into Houston Methodist's clinical workflows. HDAI's system-wide implementation at Houston Methodist is one of the most comprehensive AI/ML care optimization solutions in the world as well as one of the largest deployments of generative AI within healthcare today. Using generative AI in a fully transparent fashion, HealthVision is now processing hundreds of thousands of medical records each month to assure that the most current, accurate patient data is fully available to care teams.

"AI holds immense promise for improving care by ingesting vast amounts of medical data and providing clinicians with the information they need to make the best possible clinical decisions," said Chamoun. "That's what we're doing with Houston Methodist by deploying our platform, HealthVision, at enterprise-wide scale. HealthVision combines traditional machine learning with generative AI to distill medical histories and create patient risk profiles that serve as consistent and easier to interpret summaries for all members of the care team. Although we're early in the deployment, Methodist clinicians have already come up with a wide range of use cases that will elevate the standard of care."

HDAI's HealthVision uses generative AI and predictive analytics to quantify patient and population risks and pinpoint actionable clinical improvement opportunities by providing granular analysis of healthcare outcomes and costs, a personalized risk profile for each patient, and customizable lists of patients who would benefit from specific interventions.

"We are shifting the paradigm of caregiver-patient interactions by using AI to transform cumbersome and sprawling medical data into real-time insights that empower clinicians, advance personalized care, and facilitate programs to improve patient outcomes," said Dr. Schwartz. "Creating a holistic profile for each patient that is current, timely and available to every care team member system-wide allows us to improve transitions, care coordination, and handoffs and deliver a better overall patient experience."

Presentation Information

Title: "Deploying Clinical AI At Scale"

"Deploying Clinical AI At Scale" Presenters: Roberta Schwartz, EVP and Chief Innovation Officer, Houston Methodist | Nassib Chamoun , Founder & CEO, HDAI

Roberta Schwartz, EVP and Chief Innovation Officer, | , Founder & CEO, HDAI Date: October 8, 2023, at 3:40pm PDT

October 8, 2023, at Location: Moon Stage, Las Vegas Convention Center West Hall

About HDAI

Health Data Analytics Institute (HDAI) is a care optimization, decision support and provider enablement company powered by big data, AI-powered analytics, expert insights and point of care technology solutions. The company's HealthVision platform uses predictive analytics and generative AI to analyze a patient's medical history, including unstructured clinical notes and administrative data to create a concise summary of the patient's clinical chart, state of health, and to quantify and prioritize specific clinical risks. HDAI collaborates with leading health systems, Value-Based Care Organizations, physician groups, and payers to improve care delivery, population health and reduce cost and make efficient use of scarce clinical resources. For more information, please visit: www.hda-institute.com

About Houston Methodist

Houston Methodist is one of the nation's leading health systems and academic medical centers. The health system consists of eight hospitals: Houston Methodist Hospital, its flagship academic hospital in the Texas Medical Center, six community hospitals, and one long-term acute care hospital throughout the Greater Houston metropolitan area. Houston Methodist also includes a research institute; a comprehensive residency program; international patient services; freestanding comprehensive care, emergency care and imaging centers; and outpatient facilities. Houston Methodist employs nearly 30,000 people and had more than 1.9 million outpatient visits and more than 138,000 admissions in 2022. For more information on Houston Methodist, see houstonmethodist.org.

About HLTH

HLTH is the leading event dedicated to bringing together the healthcare ecosystem, driving innovation, and encouraging transformation. The conference hosts speaking engagements from industry leaders, connects companies with investors, and provides valuable networking opportunities across the healthcare continuum. The mission of HLTH is to accelerate healthcare innovation through curated and purposeful engagements involving the entirety of the healthcare community.

HDAI Contact

Carola Endicott

[email protected]

617-699-0725

Media Contact

Erin Pezza

[email protected]

302-530-4421

Houston Methodist Contact

Laureen Lucas

[email protected]

832-671-8787

SOURCE Health Data Analytics Institute
HemoSonics wins in product launch and business expansion categories as more hospitals adopt its Quantra Hemostasis System for acute bleeding management

DURHAM, N.C., Oct. 5, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- HemoSonics , a medical device company delivering individualized diagnostic solutions for acute care bleeding and the management of coagulation, announced today that the company has won in both the Product Launch and Business Expansion categories in the 2023 Medical Device Network Excellence Awards. HemoSonics' Quantra Hemostasis System provides comprehensive whole-blood coagulation analysis at the point of care in less than 15 minutes. Clinicians don't need to wait on test results during a serious life-threatening bleeding event, and, as a result, patients receive optimized interventions as quickly as possible and only when needed.

HemoSonics Wins Medical Device Network Excellence Awards in Two Categories: Product Launch and Business Expansion

The Medical Device Network Excellence Awards is an independent recognition program powered by the business intelligence of GlobalData . Researchers and journalists, along with artificial Intelligence, analyze over one billion datasets during the year, then recognize, endorse, and rank top-tier companies and their achievements in 200+ countries. During the evaluation period, HemoSonics secured 510(k) clearance for the QStat Cartridge from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), allowing its Quantra Hemostasis System to be used in laboratory and point-of-care settings for trauma and liver transplantation procedures. HemoSonics also received an innovative technology contract award from Vizient, opening the door for the System to be adopted by hospitals and academic medical centers across the United States.

"These awards validate the hard work and dedication of the HemoSonics team and our healthcare partners to advance technology that improves patient care and outcomes," said Bob Roda, President and CEO of HemoSonics. "At the same time, we are just getting started. We will continue to innovate and bring to the healthcare marketplace, new technology solutions to support our clinical partners and hospitals transform patient care, preserve blood, and reduce healthcare resource utilization."

The Quantra Hemostasis System consists of the Quantra Hemostasis Analyzer with QPlus and QStat Cartridges. Quantra is FDA-cleared for use in point-of-care settings, such as operating rooms, intensive care units, and in hospital laboratories, and requires minimal resources to maintain, operate, and to interpret. HemoSonics' medical device technology is proven to help patients and hospitals: a 2023 Journal of Cardiothoracic Surgery study showed the Quantra Hemostasis System reduced blood component transfusions between 10% and >90%. This led to a 41% decrease in the cost of blood products - a major expense for hospitals. It is also recognized that with improved outcomes supported by reduced exposure to risky blood component therapy, additional cost and efficiency benefits are realized.

About HemoSonics

HemoSonics, LLC is a medical device technology company focused on acute bleeding management, resulting in better patient care and lower overall medical costs. The Quantra Hemostasis Analyzer, HemoSonics' flagship product, is designed to improve upon existing strategies for bleeding management, and support better patient outcomes and reduce healthcare costs. The Quantra System's easy and fast interpretation enables simple, more efficient, point-of-care bleeding management. Based in Durham, NC, HemoSonics is part of the Stago Group, a leading in vitro diagnostics company dedicated to thrombosis and hemostasis. Visit HemoSonics.com to learn more.

SOURCE HEMOSONICS LLC
WASHINGTON, Oct. 5, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- National Stone, Sand & Gravel Association (NSSGA), the leading voice and advocate of the aggregates sector, recently celebrated Holcim US aggregates operations in Massachusetts, Illinois, West Virginia, Minnesota and Oklahoma for their exemplary environmental and community programs. The recognition was part of NSSGA's annual Awards of Excellence Program .

"Aggregates serve as the basis of the building world, and we're honored the NSSGA recognized many of our sites for environmental performance and community involvement, truly from the ground up," said Michael LeMonds, Holcim US' vice president of Environment, Social and Governance (ESG) and chief sustainability officer. "The communities we call home make us who we are. We're proud to give back to them and support building a vibrant future together."

Holcim US recipients include:

Peabody Quarry (Mass.): Gold award for community relations excellence

Elburn Aggregates (Ill.): Bronze award for environmental excellence

Millville Quarry (W.Va.): Bronze award for environmental excellence

Pit 21 Sand & Gravel (Minn.): Bronze award for environmental excellence

Thackerville Sand Plant (Okla.): Bronze award for environmental excellence

NSSGA cited the winning locations' environmental management programs, land conservation efforts, commitment to technical environmental and regulatory requirements and community involvement as critical factors in determining awardees.

A facility that receives the Gold category designation will be automatically recognized for a period of five years from the time it first receives the designation. Currently, Holcim has five facilities recognized for that time period: two community relations winners (Presque Isle Quarry (Mich.) and Peabody Quarry (Mass.)) and three environmental excellence winners (Battle Creek Sand & Gravel Pit (Mich.), Fox River Quarry (Ill.), and Lockport Quarry (N.Y.)).

NSSGA began the awards programs to recognize aggregate producers who help enhance the public perception of the industry and its operations.

About Holcim

Holcim is a global leader in innovative and sustainable building solutions. Driven by its purpose to build progress for people and the planet, its 60,000 employees are on a mission to decarbonize building, while improving living standards for all. The company empowers its customers across all regions to build better with less, with its broad range of low-carbon and circular solutions, from ECOPact to ECOPlanet. With its innovative systems, from Elevate's roofing to PRB's insulation, Holcim makes buildings more sustainable in use, driving energy efficiency and green retrofitting. With sustainability at the core of its strategy, Holcim is becoming a net-zero company with 1.5C targets validated by SBTi.

In the United States, Holcim US includes nearly 350 sites in 43 states and employs 7,000 people. Our customers rely on us to help them design and build better communities with innovative solutions that deliver structural integrity and eco-efficiency. To learn more, visit holcim.us .

Contact

Lynn Safranek

Holcim

[email protected]

Lauren Blalock

Pierpont Communications

[email protected]

SOURCE Holcim
The rebellion led by a handful of hardline Republicans and the ouster of Kevin McCarthy as Speaker of the House have plunged Congress into a state of paralysis that threatens Joe Bidens ability to govern. The president spoke this Wednesday from the White House, calling on politicians from both sides of the aisle to come together: We need to change the poisonous atmosphere in Washington. We have strong disagreements, but we have to stop seeing each other as enemies. We need to talk to one another, listen to one another, work with one another. And we can do that, he said.

Biden called on Democrats and Republicans to work together in a bipartisan way. The president recalled that both parties have been able to reach two significant agreements in the last six months: one to avoid having the U.S. default on its debt and another to keep the federal government from shutting down. Biden thanked Rep. McCarthy for having done the right thing in both cases. Having worked alongside Democrats is precisely what cost McCarthy the speakership.

The agreement reached to keep the government opened is temporary, the president recalled, and will only last until mid-November. Thus, Biden insisted that more agreements must be reached in order to come up with a long term budget for the federal government and avoid looking into the abyss of another shutdown.

As he was leaving the Roosevelt Room, from where he spoke, Biden was asked if he had any advice for the new House Speaker: Thats above my pay grade, he said with a chuckle. During his short address, the president also said that he will soon give an update on the war in Ukraine and added  without going into details  that there are other ways to support Ukraine if he does not get more funds from Congress.

Meanwhile, the battle for McCarthys successor has begun. There are still no frontrunners for the post, as anyone who wants to assume the speakership must unite the votes of the entire Republican conference. However, some have already thrown their hat in the ring. The first to step forward has been Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan. Jordan is an avowed Trumpist, one of the radicals who have made life miserable for McCarthy. He is a former chair of the Freedom Caucus, which includes the 20 or so members of the partys most hard-line wing in Congress, although he is not one of the eight who voted for McCarthys historic removal. Jordans chances of receiving support from moderate Republicans are slim, and he will certainly not get any backing from across the aisle.

Speaking to reporters in the halls of the Capitol, Jordan called on his party to come together. We need to unite the conference, he said, and added that he has received many messages and calls encouraging him to take the step. One of those supporting him is, precisely, Matt Gaetz, the driving force behind the motion to vacate that took McCarthy down. My mentor Jim Jordan would be great! he wrote on X (formerly Twitter).

House Majority Leader Steve Scalise also announced his candidacy for the speakership earlier Wednesday. The New Orleans representative is undergoing chemotherapy for leukemia, which initially cast doubt on whether he would try to become McCarthys successor. I firmly believe this conference is a family, he wrote in a letter to House Republicans, in which he recalled how he feared for his life after being shot in 2017. God already gave me another chance at life. I believe we were all put here for a reason. This next chapter wont be easy, but I know what it takes to fight and I am prepared for the battles that lie ahead. I humbly ask for your support on this mission to be your Speaker of the House, he added.

In any case, the succession battle has only just begun. Although the turmoil continues on Capitol Hill, the House has adjourned until further notice, which is not expected to come until next week. Meanwhile, Acting Speaker Patrick McHenry evicted Nancy Pelosi, McCarthys predecessor, from the courtesy office she occupied in the Capitol to install himself.

Donald Trump speaks to the media before he attends the third day of his civil fraud trial in New York, on October 4, 2023. PETER FOLEY (EFE)

For his part, Donald Trump referred in passing to the crisis in Congress upon his arrival, for the third consecutive day, at his civil fraud trial in New York. Asked by reporters about whether he himself would replace McCarthy as some Republicans have suggested, the current frontrunner in the Republican primaries for the 2024 presidential election boasted and said that he would do whatever is best for the Republican Party and the country. A lot of people have been asking me that, Trump said. However, he added, there are other great people within the party who could handle the job of speaker. My focus  my total focus  is being president, he concluded.

The former president appeared again Wednesday before Judge Arthur Engoron, a day after he flatly barred the Republican from making public comments about court officials. During Tuesdays hearing, Trump lashed out on social media against Engorons top aide, Allison Greenfield, calling her Schumers girlfriend, a reference to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer.

As other judges have done before, Engoron imposed a gag order on Trump, threatening him with sanctions if he does not curb his tongue. Trump posted a photo of Greenfield with Chuck Schumer, insinuating that the two were working together and that the lawsuit against him is politically motivated. Engoron admonished Trump, assuring that his remarks are unacceptable, inappropriate and will not be tolerated. But Trumps mood does not wane; on the contrary, he takes advantage of the swarm of cameras that each of his appearances attracts and turns every hearing into a campaign event. His candidacy is 40 points ahead of his closest rival, the Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.

This Tuesday, Trump suffered another small setback: for the second time in three years, his name disappeared from the Forbes list of the 400 richest Americans. With a net worth of $2.6 billion, Trump falls $300 million short of the baseline to make the Forbes 400 list  a blow for the magnate since, according to the publication, he has been obsessed with the list for decades.

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Shows will help raise funds to house internally displaced by earthquake in Syria.

MISSION VIEJO, Calif., Oct. 5, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- International humanitarian aid charity Human Appeal announced the launch of its annual Comedy Takeover, set to take place across six US cities for the first time.

This year, the much-loved comedy tour, now in its ninth successful year in the UK, also takes place in the US cities of Houston, Dallas, Chicago, Detroit, Washington DC, and New York.

Featuring comedians Vik Pandaya, Azeem Muhammed, Jeremy McLellan, Yasmin Elhady and headlined by the award-winning Guz Khan, the Human Appeal Comedy Takeover tour will help raise funds for charity.

Featuring comedians Vik Pandaya, Azeem Muhammed, Jeremy McLellan, Yasmin Elhady and headlined by the award-winning Guz Khan, the tour provides some much-needed pre-festive cheer, while also raising funds for worthy international causes. This year, the tour proceeds will go to benefit Human Appeal's projects to house internally displaced families in Syria, following this year's devastating earthquake and the ongoing conflict in the region.

Best known for his appearances in Taskmaster and Our Flag Means Death as well as creating and starring in Netflix's Man like Mobeen, Guz Khan is a multi-award-winning veteran of the UK comedy circuit.

Missouri-born Azeem Muhammad is one of the best travelled comics to take part in the Comedy Takeover, having performed in over 35 countries worldwide as well as being a founder of the Allah Made Me Funny comedy troupe.

Named a "Yes, AndLaughter Lab" finalist in 2022 for her comedy and social justice Yasmin Elhady is a comedian and attorney who has featured on NBC's True Story with Ed Helms and Randall Park, as well as appearing on NPR, and The Washington Post.

Named one of the 'New Faces of Comedy' and the Montreal Just for Laughs Festival in 2017, Jeremy McLellan is a Christian South Carolinian who has carved out a niche for himself touring Muslim events and festivals all over the world.

Vik Pandaya is a nationally touring standup, who has opened for Trevor Wallace, Roy Wood Jr., and Michelle Wolf and performs regularly at Zanies Comedy Club, The Laugh Factory, and The Improv in Chicago.

US tour dates include:

28th October  Houston, Zilkha Hall

29th October  Dallas, Lakeside Ballroom, Hilton Lincoln Center

4th November  Chicago, Edlis Neeson Center

5th November  Detroit, The Senate Theater

11th November  Washington DC, Lisner Auditorium

12th November  New York, Gerald W Lynch Theater

Tickets are now available here. Early bird tickets are available for a limited time only at $20.

Zaheer Khan, Director of Fundraising at Human Appeal comments, "The Comedy Takeover is a real festive fixture on the calendar in the UK and we are thrilled to be bringing it to the United States. It's an ambitious set of cities to take on but we know that these comedians can not only bring the funny  they can also provide a brilliant night out which also benefits some of the most vulnerable people across the globe."

About Human Appeal USA

Here for Every Human. Human Appeal is a non-profit organisation working across the globe to strengthen humanity's fight against poverty, social injustice and natural disaster. Through the provision of immediate relief and the establishment of self-sustaining development programmes, we aim to save and transform lives.

Human Appeal USA is a 501 (c) (3) non-profit organization.

Tax ID # 87-2410117. Your donations are tax deductible.

Human Appeal Inc. 26050 Acero, Suite 415, Mission Viejo, CA 92691, USA.

Tel: +1 949 569 9060 or 877 225 2251

For more information please visit: humanappealusa.org

Or contact [email protected]

Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2239596/Human_Appeal.jpg

SOURCE Human Appeal
Six companies will explore applications of mature technologies to space mission needs for increased protection and resilience of space assets

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M., Oct. 5, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Hyperspace Challenge, a business accelerator run by the Air Force Research Laboratory and CNM Ingenuity, announced today in conjunction with the U.S. Space Force's Space Rapid Capabilities Office (Space RCO) the six companies from four countries selected to participate in the accelerator's 2023 program cohort. Participants will have the opportunity to learn from Space RCO leadership through virtual meetings and an in-person event in order to explore pathways to partnerships and gain a better understanding from government innovators what technologies are needed to make space assets, including satellites, more resilient and responsive to threats, both current and as yet unknown.

The selected companies represent an array of space-based technologies, including propulsion systems, artificial intelligence, sensors, and imaging software  all with the common goal of making space safer. Companies chosen to undertake this year's challenge are:

Phase Four of Hawthorne, Calif. : Changing the Way We Move in Space

of : Dawn AeroSpace of Delft, The Netherlands : From Earth to Space. From Space to Everywhere Else

of Delft, : Lexset.ai of Brooklyn, N.Y. : Data at the Speed of AI

of : Magdrive, Harwell Innovation Campus of Harwell Oxford , England: Next Generation Spacecraft Propulsion

of , England: TRL11 of Irvine, Calif. : Video Solutions for the New Space Economy

of : High Earth Orbit Robotics of Haymarket, Australia : Pioneering in-orbit satellite inspection to monitor space objects and their environment

"Solving today's  and tomorrow's  greatest space challenges not only requires fast action but also necessitates that we push the limits of creativity," said Matthew Fetrow, Space RCO communications manager. "We know that a diversity of perspectives and ideas propels innovation. So, we have high expectations that this cohort will arrive at solutions that would be unimaginable without their wide range of experience and specialties."

Companies' participation during the program is not a short-term exercise in innovation; rather, participants will establish relationships and lay the groundwork for potential partnerships that can rapidly advance the safety, security, stability, and long-term sustainability of space. As the number of countries participating in the global space industry has skyrocketed, so has the proliferation of, and dependence on, services provided by their space assets. Since disruption of these services  from communications, to national defense, to data collection - threatens public safety and economic stability for all, their protection is paramount.

As part of the program, participants will engage directly with government officials from the Space RCO, which is seeking products that will approach the protection of space assets from a variety of angles. These include:

Improving space visibility and awareness using threat and hazard awareness capabilities that can quickly and accurately detect and prioritize threats either from the ground or space. Advancing space analysis and vehicle autonomy using artificial intelligence, machine learning, and/or autonomous technologies that reduce ground-based vehicle operator workload, inform intelligent vehicle response decisions, and decrease vehicle response time. Increasing space vehicle lifespan and maneuverability using advanced propulsion, refueling capabilities, and/or other fuel conservation innovations that allow space assets to maneuver freely without future negative consequences.

"Hyperspace Challenge astutely recognizes that the future of a sustainability space ecosystem requires more collaborative thinking and innovation. We are committed to finding ways for government and enterprise to break down silos and work together," said Gabe Mounce, director of the AFRL Tech Engagement Office in New Mexico. "Cohorts like this year's program, foster a creative mindset and model a united approach that is more adept at delivering a rapid response to the real-world needs of the growing space economy."

The companies will be invited to a series of virtual meetings in October and will participate in a two day on-site at Albuquerque New Mexico's Q-Station on November 1-2.

About the Hyperspace Challenge

The Hyperspace Challenge was created in 2018 by the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) and CNM Ingenuity, an economic development arm of Central New Mexico Community College, to accelerate collaboration among companies, university research teams and the government, and shift space innovation into hyperdrive. The accelerator, which is now directed by CNM Ingenuity in conjunction with AFRL and the U.S. Space Force, cultivates networks in an innovation ecosystem prioritizing connection and community. To date, the accelerator has supported over 60 small businesses and universities from across the U.S. and abroad. More information about the program can be found at hyperspacechallenge.com.

SOURCE Central New Mexico Community College (CNM)
"Our surveys show that we have students in ILAC KISS who are planning to apply to institutions in Australia, the US and Europe," says Carolyn Bercu, Director of Pathway Partnerships at ILAC Education Group. "Many agents are telling us their students want to get to a functional level of English and then join a language or academic program at another English-speaking country or institution."

Currently, the ILAC KISS Pathway Program sends over 10,000 diverse students to more than 100 pathway partners across Canada. The online platform burst onto the scene during COVID and has continued to gain momentum due to its accessibility, flexibility and pricing. Students can study from the comfort of home, which allows them to save money and time before making the physical transition to another country.

ILAC KISS virtual English classes are open to students around the globe and are tailored to every level and time zone. The program is recognized by Languages Canada and classes of 16-20 students are taught by accredited English teachers living in Toronto and Vancouver. Universities and colleges in Canada work closely with ILAC because of the quality and diversity of students they produce.

"TRU measured the academic success of students from pathway schools and the GPA of ILAC students was the highest among all TRU language pathway schools," ZiPing Feng, Director International Marketing at Thompson Rivers University, one of ILAC's first pathway partners in Canada. "In fact, they scored higher than our general international population."

ILAC KISS teaches students from over 90 countries and supports every step of their transition to colleges and universities. A team of 20+ ILAC pathway specialists work closely with students, agents and institutions to provide academic and career guidance, develop study plans and obtain conditional letters of acceptance. Throughout the year, ILAC hosts the Canada Partnerships Forum (CPF) worldwide agent training events with pathway partners to promote individual institutions and programs.

"SAIT is very pleased to have such a wonderful relationship with ILAC," says Karen Cheung, International Recruitment Officer at Southern Alberta Institute of Technology. "The quality of their English programming and subsequently their international graduates are in-line with the demands and requirements of our academic programs."

Over the next few months, ILAC will be meeting with potential new partners at:

OCSC Expo Bangkok, October 21-22

The Pie Live North America, November 14-15

ICEF Miami, December 13-14

ICEF Berlin, November 3-7

To learn more about ILAC KISS and the ILAC Pathway Program, visit Learn English Online | ILAC & Pathway | ILAC

For more information on how to become an ILAC pathway partner, contact:

Carolyn Bercu, Director of Pathway Partnerships

ILAC Education Group

Email: [email protected]

Phone & WhatsApp: + 1 416 888 4530

Video - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Rndtz_NvJo

Video - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v0gCVhU3ZtA

Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2239385/ILAC_Education_Group_ILAC_KISS_Pathway_Program_is_Going_Global.jpg

Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2239386/ILAC_Education_Group_ILAC_KISS_Pathway_Program_is_Going_Global.jpg

SOURCE ILAC Education Group
CHICAGO, Oct. 5, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Jones Lang LaSalle Incorporated (NYSE: JLL) will host a conference call and webcast to discuss third quarter 2023 results on Thursday, November 2, 2023, at 9 a.m. Eastern time.

The conference call can be accessed live over the phone by dialing (888) 660-6392; the conference ID number is 5398158. Listeners are asked to please dial in 10 minutes prior to the call start time and provide the conference ID number to be connected.

The conference call will also be webcast live from the company's Investor Relations website at ir.jll.com. The presentation slides to supplement the webcast will be available in the Events & Presentations section of the Investor Relations website shortly before the webcast begins.

The webcast replay will be available for 12 months following the event on the Investor Relations website.

For further information, please contact JLL's Investor Relations department at: [email protected].

About JLL

For over 200 years, JLL (NYSE: JLL), a leading global commercial real estate and investment management company, has helped clients buy, build, occupy, manage and invest in a variety of commercial, industrial, hotel, residential and retail properties. A Fortune 500 company with annual revenue of $20.9 billion and operations in over 80 countries around the world, our more than 103,000 employees bring the power of a global platform combined with local expertise. Driven by our purpose to shape the future of real estate for a better world, we help our clients, people and communities SEE A BRIGHTER WAYSM. JLL is the brand name, and a registered trademark, of Jones Lang LaSalle Incorporated. For further information, visit ir.jll.com.

Contact: Gayle Kantro

Phone: +1 312 228 2795

Email: [email protected]

SOURCE JLL-IR
Leading operator of Taco Bell, Whataburger, and 7 Brew Coffee chains executes rapid growth plan with Restaurant365's scalable, cloud-based accounting solution.

IRVINE, Calif., Oct. 5, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Restaurant365 , the leading all-in-one restaurant enterprise management software, announced today that K-MAC Enterprises has selected the Restaurant365 Accounting platform to support its 362 quick-service restaurants including Taco Bell, Whataburger, and 7 Brew Coffee.

K-MAC CFO, Jason Miller, was looking to replace the company's 30+ year old proprietary system which had served the company well, however it was dated and expensive to upgrade. Miller and the K-MAC team were immediately impressed by Restaurant365's cloud-based solution.

"With so many different entities, menus, and vendors it was challenging to close out our books in a timely manner," states Miller. "Restaurant365 Accounting has been a lifesaver for my team. It streamlines manual processes such as entering invoices, cutting paper checks, and reporting cash from stores. Plus, we can consolidate the data or break it out per legal entity and the reporting looks the same across the board."

K-MAC projects an annual savings of $200,000 as a result of switching to Restaurant365. The company feels confident it will maintain its ambitious future growth plans with little impact on overhead.

"We have more accurate and timely information than we've ever had," Miller adds. "Everybody is excited to use the detailed analysis to make better decisions and continue on a path of rapid growth."

How Restaurant365 Empowers Enterprise Customers

K-MAC is one of the latest companies to add its brands to the 40,000+ restaurants using Restaurant365 to drive growth and profitability. Many enterprise customers turn to Restaurant365 to facilitate store operations at the corporate level. Benefits include:

Side-by-side P&L statements, chart of accounts, and operational reports across all locations and entities to make strategic, data-driven decisions

Automated intercompany transactions including tracking inventory between stores or sharing an invoice across locations or legal entities

Improved payroll management by automatically tracking minimum wage and payroll regulations across all locations and companies

Real-time sales and labor data for all locations with POS integration for data-driven labor cost goals per location

"The most successful restaurant brands are gravitating towards technology to fuel their growth," said Tony Smith, CEO and Co-Founder of Restaurant365. "The goal at Restaurant365 is to produce the best tools enabling our customers to achieve their highest potential."

R365 Enterprise Brand Summit

Restaurant365's inaugural Enterprise Brand Summit will be held on October 12-13, 2023, in Irvine, California. This exclusive gathering of the largest restaurant brands and franchisees in the country will focus on sharing best practices in restaurant enterprise management and exploring the latest solutions.

During the summit, attendees will hear from industry experts, learn about customer case studies, explore new product offerings, and share best practices with other R365 customers during breakout and networking sessions.

View the full agenda here .

About Restaurant365

Restaurant365 is the industry's leading all-in-one, cloud-based accounting, inventory, scheduling, payroll, and HR solution developed specifically for restaurants. R365's restaurant enterprise management software simplifies day-to-day management for operators, allowing them to control food costs and optimize labor. Integrations and open APIs enable Restaurant365 to connect with other systems including POS providers, vendors, and banks. The result is accurate, timely reporting that provides a clear and complete view of their businesses. Restaurant365 is based in Irvine, California with an office in Austin, Texas. The company is backed by Bessemer Venture Partners, ICONIQ, KKR, L Catterton, and Serent Capital. Additional information is available at www.restaurant365.com.

About K-MAC Enterprises

K-MAC Enterprises, Inc. is a quick-service franchisee based out of Fayetteville, AR. K-MAC, along with their affiliated companies, operate over 360 restaurants across 14 states.

Contact: [email protected]

SOURCE Restaurant365
Hybrid HQ Model Will Unite Teams from Kent's 15+ Outdoor Brands While Maintaining Hub Offices in Key Locations Across the U.S.

PARK CITY, Utah, Oct. 5, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Seawall Capital, the private equity owner of Kent Outdoors, announced today that Kent Outdoors will be relocating its headquarters to Summit County, Utah. Through an agreement with the State of Utah, Kent Outdoors projects to add 84 new, high-paying jobs over the next five years, enabling the company to continue to grow and support its employees and world-class roster of brands.

For more than 60 years, Kent Outdoors has helped the outdoor industry's leading brands scale their passions.

Originally Kent Watersports, with the acquisition of Kona Bicycles and BOTE in 2021, the company rebranded to Kent Outdoors to signify its expanded focus on the full-breadth of outdoor activities and serving America's growing passion to get outdoors. The relocation of the headquarters to Utah further demonstrates Kent's commitment to leadership in the outdoor industry, setting down roots and creating jobs in a state known for its limitless opportunities for year-round recreation.

"We're thrilled to move Kent Outdoors' headquarters to Utah to embrace the state's vibrant business environment and cherished outdoor lifestyle," said Matt Eby, Chairman of the Seawall Board of Directors. "We look forward to contributing to Utah's community, exploring its landscapes, and fostering strong partnerships with like-minded individuals and brands. This relocation signifies a new chapter for us, aligning our family of brands with Utah's dynamic spirit for mutual success."

By design, each Kent Outdoors brand will have team members at the new Utah headquarters location, while other roles and departments will remain at their original hubs. For example, the Kona Bicycles product design team will remain in Washington State. The progressive new model is designed for flexibility and versatility, and any employee can move between locations depending on company needs, current projects, seasonality and personal preference.

"This is a very exciting evolution for Kent Outdoors and will create an important center of gravity for the business as we continue to grow," added Eby. "Since our inception, the vision has been to create an environment where brands and founders can grow to their full potential. Giving our teams and brands a central location to call home will only add to the value that we can provide."

About Kent Outdoors:

For more than 60 years, Kent Outdoors has helped the outdoor industry's leading brands scale their passions. We were born on the water, focusing on brands that help consumers not just enjoy the great outdoors, but revel in family, friends and experiences out there. Kent Outdoors provides rock steady support and resources to our family of brands and their founders so they can be free to create, build and connect with the people who matter most  people living and breathing all types of outdoor adventures.

Learn more at http://www.kentoutdoors.co

About Seawall Capital:

Seawall Capital is a middle-market private equity firm focused on investing in companies that have built strong connections to their end consumers. The firm's investment strategy centers on partnering with founder-led businesses that deliver amazing products and services that people love and trust. Seawall Capital's principal investment team has a successful track record of helping founders, management teams and partners achieve their long-term goals and objectives.

Learn more at http://www.seawallcap.com

Media Contact:

Matt Bennett

ECHOS Communications

[email protected]

303-909-0530

SOURCE Kent Outdoors
SAN FRANCISCO, Oct. 5, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Kiddo Health , a pediatric connected care platform, is proud to announce its selection as a finalist for the Digital Health Awards . The Digital Health Hub Foundation presents the awards, which are held at the global leading healthcare conference, HLTH . Kiddo was chosen as a finalist for the Best in Class track in the inaugural Pediatric/Adolescent Care Innovation category.

This acknowledgment showcases Kiddo Health's strong dedication to empowering caregivers, care providers, and payers with whole-child insights and improving health outcomes. The Digital Health Awards celebrates and recognizes the finalists for their excellence in utilizing digital advancements to improve healthcare services and patient outcomes. As a finalist, Kiddo has earned its reputation as a leader in pediatric healthcare by providing pediatric insights, caregiver support, and a care navigation platform for families of children with chronic behavioral and metabolic health conditions.

"We started Kiddo because children with behavioral or metabolic chronic conditions have been underserved by the U.S. healthcare system, and it's taking a toll on children and their families," said CJ Swamy , co-founder and CEO, Kiddo. "We built Kiddo to unlock vital patient health insights that's been historically inaccessible for providers, payers, and caregivers. It's gratifying to see Kiddo's ground-breaking technology be recognized by a highly esteemed award like the Digital Health Award."

Following a rigorous application and judging process, only four companies were selected per category as a finalist out of over 1,500 applicants.

"This year's competition has been like nothing we have ever seen before. We have had a remarkable influx of submissions totaling in the thousands from companies worldwide. We are very excited for our award show in just a few weeks where we will have the opportunity to convene in person and celebrate those who are transforming the future of health!" said Mark H. Goldstein, Chairman of the Digital Health Hub Foundation.

The winners will be announced at the Grand Finale taking place at HLTH on the Moon Stage on October 9, 2023.

About Kiddo Health

Kiddo Health is a pediatric insights, support, and connected care platform for children with chronic behavioral and metabolic health conditions such as Anxiety, Depression, Autism Spectrum Disorders, Obesity, and Type 1 and Type 2 Diabetes. The Kiddo platform unlocks previously inaccessible whole-child physiological and behavioral data and insights, expediting path to diagnosis and more personalized treatment. Kiddo empowers caregivers, care providers, and payors with whole-child insights, improving health outcomes, decreasing the overall cost of care, and restoring quality of life. Founded in 2016, Kiddo Health is based in San Francisco, CA. For more information, visit www.kiddo.health.

About Digital Health Hub Foundation

Health Hub SF LLC, doing business as the Digital Health Hub Foundation, is a 501(c)3 non-profit, supported by the healthcare venture capital community and others, whose mission is to help the world's next best innovative healthcare companies scale and grow.

Founded in 2017, on the campus of UCSF in San Francisco, our 30,000 member community consists of thousands of early-to-late-stage healthcare companies and highly qualified healthcare industry providers, payors, experts, mentors, investors, clinicians and researchers who participate in our annual awards ceremony where we bring together the industry to honor and validate the best of the best and celebrate the technological advances in healthcare and the impact it has.

Media Contact:

[email protected]

SOURCE Kiddo Health
HOUSTON, Oct. 5, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Konect.ai, a pioneering SaaS company at the forefront of conversational AI technology for the automotive retail industry, is thrilled to announce a $5.5 million seed investment from Silverton Partners, a prominent venture capital firm based in Austin, Texas. This investment will fuel Konect.ai's mission to transform the way auto dealerships and auto tech companies engage with their customers through advanced AI-driven communication.

This investment marks a significant milestone for Konect.ai, enabling the company to further its mission of revolutionizing the way auto dealerships and auto tech companies interact with their customers. With features like acquisition lead management, outbound SMS campaigns, and after-hours support, Konect.ai is committed to enhancing the customer experience and helping clients achieve their sales goals.

Cole Kutschinski, President/CEO of Konect.ai, expressed his enthusiasm for the partnership, stating, "This investment from Silverton Partners is a strong validation of our vision and the hard work of our talented team. With this support, we are poised to accelerate our growth and continue to innovate, bringing the most advanced conversational AI products to the automotive retail industry."

Rob Taylor, Operating Partner at Silverton Partners, also shared his thoughts on the investment, saying, "We at Silverton are excited to partner with and support the Konect.ai team as they accelerate their growth. We were drawn not just to the incredible business they have already built, but also to their forward vision of utilizing machine intelligence innovation to create delightful experiences for all parties across the automotive retail ecosystem."

The funds raised will be used to expand Konect.ai's product offerings, enhance research and development, and grow the company's presence in key markets. This investment solidifies Konect.ai's position as a leader in the automotive retail technology sector and sets the stage for continued success.

For more information about Konect.ai and its innovative solutions, please visit www.konect.ai.

About Konect.ai

Konect.ai, a forward-thinking SaaS provider, provides an AI-powered communication platform tailored for the automotive retail sector. Utilizing advanced natural language processing, Konect.ai significantly boosts contact rates with automotive customers via immediate lead responses, persistent follow-ups, and 24/7 appointment scheduling. Aimed at elevating the customer experience and aiding clients in meeting sales targets, Konect.ai features include adept inbound lead engagement, targeted outbound SMS campaigns, and reliable after-hours support, setting a new benchmark in automotive client interactions.

About Silverton Partners

Silverton Partners invests in entrepreneurs who are dedicated to tackling growth markets and building lasting companies. In partnering with Silverton, companies benefit from its vast network and expertise from decades of growing and investing in successful businesses. Silverton Partners is based in Austin, TX, and was the initial institutional investor for AlertMedia, Apprentice, Billie, Convio, SailPoint, Silicon Labs, Storable, Self Financial, SpyCloud, TrendKite, TurnKey Vacation Rentals, Wheel, WP Engine and The Zebra among others. Silverton Partners is Texas's most active early-stage investment group with seven funds and over $668 million assets under management.

Media Contact:

Laurie Halter

Charisma! Communications

503-816-2474

[email protected]

SOURCE Konect.ai
"Written in the Stars" Open to Students Across the Country Ages 13+

HUDSON, Ohio, Oct. 5, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- This spring, the small town of Hudson, Ohio will experience a big moment (just over three minutes, actually) as it sits in the path of totality for the solar eclipse. Western Reserve Academy, a nearly 200-year-old high school located in Hudson, today announced the "Written in the Stars" scholarship contest to celebrate the celestial event and provide full boarding tuition to an incoming student. All high school-aged students across the country are invited to apply. The winner will be announced on Eclipse Day, April 8, 2024.

Inspired by NASA and the U.S. Poet Laureate, 200-year-old boarding school announces a full tuition scholarship. Post this A multimedia component to complement the opening of the Written in the Stars contest at Western Reserve Academy

Inspired by the U.S. Poet Laureate Ada Limon's partnership with NASA and her penning of "A Poem for Europa" that will launch into space inscribed on the Europa Clipper in October 2024, an anonymous donor approached the school in the summer of 2023 with a challenge: find a student curious about the beautiful collision between art and science. Applicants are asked to prepare a project that creatively expresses the theme "light and truth" using any medium of their choice  fine arts, music, dance, graphic design, poetry, coding and beyond.

Suzanne Walker Buck, Head of School at Western Reserve Academy, says, "Science and art, and the blurred line between, often perform a captivating dance that provides inspiration and possibility. The Written in the Stars contest was inspired by this magic, creating an opportunity to celebrate light, truth, art, science and education."

The contest is open to all boarding applicants nationwide new to Western Reserve Academy beginning in the 2024-25 school year. Full contest details are available at WRA.net/STARS .

Western Reserve Academy was founded in 1826 and is home to the second oldest observatory in the country. It is ranked top in the state for STEM and college preparation and was named the Most Beautiful Private School in Ohio by Architectural Digest. The student body includes 439 students from 33 countries and 30 states. The spirited school believes in joy in education and has been known to sing about it .

In Praise of Mystery: A Poem for Europa

Arching under the night sky inky

with black expansiveness, we point

to the planets we know, we

pin quick wishes on stars. From earth,

we read the sky as if it is an unerring book

of the universe, expert and evident.

Still, there are mysteries below our sky:

the whale song, the songbird singing

its call in the bough of a wind-shaken tree.

We are creatures of constant awe,

curious at beauty, at leaf and blossom,

at grief and pleasure, sun and shadow.

And it is not darkness that unites us,

not the cold distance of space, but

the offering of water, each drop of rain,

each rivulet, each pulse, each vein.

O second moon, we, too, are made

of water, of vast and beckoning seas.

We, too, are made of wonders, of great

and ordinary loves, of small invisible worlds,

of a need to call out through the dark.

SOURCE Western Reserve Academy
Pre Settlement Firm aims to be a resource to their law firm client base to assist with building case value and prepping for trial expense needs.

JERSEY CITY, N.J., Oct. 5, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Legal-Bay LLC, The Lawsuit Settlement Funding Company, a leader in lawsuit funding services, legal funding, and top-notch customer service, announced today that they have launched a new branch focused specifically on funding attorney requests and law firm cash advance requests, also referred to by others as attorney loans.

Legal-Bayan expert in pre-settlement funding, settlement funding, and legal fundingprovides cash advances to plaintiffs involved in a wide array of accidents and personal injury claims, but also to attorneys and law firms. When it comes to law firm financing, Legal-Bay strives to be a leader in the industry, providing funding for law firm loans, advancement of fees, lines of credit, case cost or trial financing, expert witness costs, and other general capital office expense needs. Legal-Bay is able to structure both small and large transactions on either a recourse or non-recourse basis, depending on the nature of each transaction.

Legal-Bay typically works on attorney funding requests ranging from $25k for basic expert fees and up to $25MM for general law firm cash-flow needs, law firm acquisition funding, and national marketing campaigns. However, the firm remains committed to being flexible to address any firm's specific needs.

Chris Janish, CEO, commented on the new announcement, "We are already the largest pre-settlement funding firm in Northern New Jersey, however with today's announcement we are moving into a new category of assisting our entire national lawsuit firm data base with the ability to access capital for their client's case expenses during discovery and ultimately right up until trial costs as well. Our programs are flexible, and our underwriting process is efficient; funds in most cases can be delivered within a week of completing an application."

Legal-Bay is not a traditional bank. Legal-Bay's underwriting process and credit requirements are based on the strength of the specific case on hand or a portfolio of cases held by the law firm. To learn more, please visit their new page dedicated solely to attorney funding and law firm funding at: https://lawsuitssettlementfunding.com/for-attorneys.php

In addition, Legal-Bay provides fast plaintiff funding services and resources for plaintiffs in need, ensuring the law firm's client can hang in for a fair settlement. The application process is straightforward with no unnecessary document requests, and Legal-Bay offers the lowest flat rates in the entire lawsuit funding industry. This includes pre-settlement funding, settlement funding, surgical funding, and verdict on appeal funding.

Legal-Bay also offers surgery and medical procedure funding. This maximizes case value and allows a client to get health issues in order when insurance is not providing coverage. Legal-Bay understands each market nationally and can negotiate upfront cash prices for surgeons, facility fees, anesthesia, hardware, and other medical procedures that are needed.

For special situations not listed here, just know that Legal-Bay is a creative funding firm that is open to considering alternative, collateralized transactions that make sense.

Apply today and get the cash flow your firm needs now. Please call Legal-Bay's 24-hour hotline at: 877.571.0405 or visit their new site dedicated solely to attorney and law firm requests: https://lawsuitssettlementfunding.com/for-attorneys.php

SOURCE Legal-Bay, LLC
The mayor of New York, Democrat Eric Adams, will undertake a four-day tour of Latin America this Wednesday, with a first stop in Mexico, to learn about the main routes followed by migrants arriving in the United States, according to his office. Since April 2022, 122,000 migrants have arrived in New York City, most of them coming from Latin America and Venezuela in particular. The influx has caused such a strain on the citys shelter system that the mayors administration tried this week to move toward repealing New Yorks right to shelter law, which requires the city to provide temporary housing to anyone who asks for it. Historically, this policy has been an obligatory one, until the number of migrants arriving has materially overwhelmed the citys asylum capacity.

Adams tour will continue in Quito (Ecuador) and Bogota (Colombia), ending with a visit to the Darien Gap, the rainforest separating Colombia from Panama that migrants perilously cross by foot on their way north. He is scheduled to return to New York this Sunday.

After repeatedly asking the federal government for help in dealing with the economic cost of the crisis, the Adams administration is coming under increasing criticism from many of its Democratic allies. The mayors top advisor, Ingrid Lewis-Martin  who this weekend literally said that what President Joe Biden should do is close the border to cut off the influx of migrants  has come under fire for her recent statements, as numerous activists and organizations, as well as people from within Adams own party, consider such assertions to be more typical of the most extreme factions of the Republican Party.

The federal government needs to do its job, Lewis-Martin said in a television interview. We need the federal government, the Congress members, the Senate, and the president to do [their] job: Close the borders. She added: And until you close the borders, you need to come up with a full-on decompression strategy where you can take all of our migrants and move them throughout our 50 states.

The local debate on immigration policy has become especially heated following the Adams administrations second legal attempt late Tuesday to suspend the citys right-to-shelter norm. If it were suspended, any migrant  or any homeless individual, as they are also covered by the mandate  would automatically be denied emergency housing. In recent weeks, the policy has already been curtailed in practice: single men, who until July were entitled to two months shelter, now only have one month, after which they must find new accommodation in the vast network of hotels and camps set up for migrants, including the gymnasiums of numerous public schools. The mayors office has been moving to suspend the right to shelter for months now.

Repeal the Callahan doctrine

Proponents of the so-called right to shelter say the mayors legal initiative spells the end of sanctuary as it is known in the city. If approved by a Manhattan State Supreme Court judge, it would mark the first major change in a practice that has been in place since 1981, when the city agreed to settle a lawsuit by the Legal Aid Society, a human rights group, by providing sanctuary to any adult, foreign or American, who requested it. This rule is also known as the Callahan consent decree, or Callahan doctrine, and obliges the city to provide refuge to any single adult in need (the mayors office has not questioned the asylum of families with minors, who receive immediate shelter and their children receive overnight schooling).

According to data from the mayors office, the migration crisis has cost the city more than $2 billion since the spring of 2022, when Texas Governor Greg Abbott chartered the first of the migrant buses to New York, in an attempt to put political pressure on Adams administration and by extension all other Democratic states.

Despite additional funding approved by New York State, in addition to aid coming from the federal government, the Adams administration insists that there is not enough money to meet all the expenses derived from the influx of asylum seekers. In the agreement reached in Washington to avert a federal government shutdown for 45 days, no additional funding to manage the migration crisis was included.

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FREMONT, Calif., Oct. 5, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Leopard Imaging , a global leader in intelligent embedded vision solutions, is thrilled to announce the launch of its brand-new website with its new logo and branding style. This comprehensive redesign showcases Leopard Imaging's commitment to providing an enhanced user experience and a wealth of valuable resources to its customers and partners.

Leopard Imaging's dedication to innovation extends beyond its camera modules. It encompasses every aspect of its business. The logo redesign reflects this commitment by offering an immersive experience that empowers customers to make informed decisions and explore the limitless possibilities of computer vision and AI technology.

Leopard Imaging Unveils Cutting-Edge Website Redesign with New Logo and Innovative Features Post this

With a modern and user-friendly interface, the new Leopard Imaging website is poised to revolutionize the way visitors engage with the company and its vast range of innovative products and solutions. Here's a closer look at some of the new features:

Product Selector : Leopard Imaging's diverse product portfolio is now more accessible than ever. The newly integrated Product Selector tool empowers users to quickly and accurately pinpoint the ideal solution for their specific needs. Whether you're looking for cameras, sensors, or other vision-related products, this tool simplifies the selection process, saving valuable time and ensuring precision in decision-making.

Enhanced Navigation: The website's revamped navigation ensures that users can effortlessly explore the extensive product catalog, access technical resources, and get in touch with Leopard Imaging's expert team. A sleek and intuitive design makes for a seamless browsing experience.

Platform Partner Pages : an Elite Partner of NVIDIA, and an Intel Gold Member, Leopard Imaging has strong partnerships with leading technology companies, which is a cornerstone of its success. The website introduces dedicated Platform Partner Pages , offering in-depth information about collaborations, joint solutions, and how these partnerships benefit customers across various industries.

Founded in 2008, Leopard Imaging has supported thousands of well-known companies in advanced imaging solution customization. With its experienced engineering teams, high-quality manufacturing capabilities in both "Made in U.S.A" and offshore, and quality management certifications such as IATF16949 for the automotive industry as well as AS9100D for the aerospace industry, Leopard Imaging is stepping into its fifteenth year.

Leopard Imaging's new website comes at a time when the demand for embedded vision solutions is rapidly growing across industries such as automotive, robotics, A-IoT, AgriTech, and more. With its enhanced features and user-centric design, the website is positioned to become a hub for professionals seeking the latest information and cutting-edge technology.

Visit the new Leopard Imaging website today at www.leopardimaging.com and explore the future of embedded vision.

About Leopard Imaging:

Leopard Imaging is a global leader providing high-definition embedded cameras and AI-based imaging solutionsfocusing on core technologies that improve image processing in automotive vehicles, aerospace vehicles, drones, IoT, and robotics. Leopard Imaging works closely with the most established sensor companies in producing advanced camera solutions for global customers.

Media Contact

Leopard Imaging Marketing

marketing@leopardimaging.com

SOURCE Leopard Imaging Inc.
GREVIE, Sweden, Oct. 5, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Lindab complements its operations in the UK with the acquisition of HAS-Vent Ltd. The transaction strengthens Lindab's sales and production of ventilation products in one of Europe's most important markets.

HAS-Vent is one of UK's leading manufacturers and distributors of ventilation products. The company has its own production of circular, oval and rectangular ventilation ducts, as well as distribution of a wide range of ventilation products. HAS-Vent has ten branches in the UK, some in locations where Lindab does not currently operate.

"We look forward to welcoming HAS-Vent to Lindab", says Ola Ringdahl, President and CEO of Lindab. "Lindab and HAS-Vent have been working side by side in the UK market with a similar product range and customer philosophy, so it feels natural that we now join forces to provide even better distribution and service to our customers. We are also delighted that the current owners, Jonathan Black and Peter Slater, will continue to run the business as part of Lindab."

"We look forward to being part of Lindab and gaining access to an even wider product range, while contributing both ventilation expertise and in-house production. We share Lindab's conviction that high quality and close relationships with customers are important success factors.", says Jonathan Black and Peter Slater, joint Managing Directors for HAS-Vent.

HAS-Vent has 105 employees and an annual turnover of approximately SEK 280 million, with an operating margin that is higher than Lindab's. The company is headquartered in Birmingham and has operations in ten locations in the UK. The acquisition is financed through Lindab's own funds.

Read more about HAS-Vent on their website: https://has-vent.co.uk/

CONTACT:

Contacts:

Ola Ringdahl

President and CEO

E-mail: [email protected]

Phone: +46 (0) 431 850 00

Catharina Paulcen

Head of Corporate Communications

E-mail: [email protected]

Mobile: +46 (0) 701 48 99 65

The following files are available for download:

SOURCE Lindab
KINGSVILLE, ON, Oct. 5, 2023 /PRNewswire/ - Mastronardi Produce, the fourth-generation family-owned business that pioneered commercial greenhouse growing in North America, is pleased to announce the addition of two high-tech greenhouse operations in Kentucky into its US farm network. The high-tech greenhouse facilities  separately located in Richmond and Morehead, Kentucky  represent a combined 120 acres of fully lit production.

Mastronardi Produce has added two high-tech greenhouse facilities in Kentucky to its robust US farm network. (CNW Group/Mastronardi Produce Ltd.) Paul Mastronardi, President & CEO of Mastronardi Produce Ltd. (CNW Group/Mastronardi Produce Ltd.)

"We are very proud to keep the Morehead and Richmond facilities online and to grow with the teams there," said Paul Mastronardi, President & CEO of Mastronardi Produce Ltd. "It is a privilege to continue to serve this region through sustainable farming, providing local jobs in Appalachia and nutritious food across the US."



The company welcomes current employees at each of the facilities into the "Flavor Nation" family.



"As leaders in commercial greenhouse growing, we're invested in expanding both productive capacity in the industry and employment opportunities for workers" added Paul Mastronardi. "We look forward to providing employees opportunities to continue their careers in the industry and also to grow within our Flavor Nation family."



Mastronardi Produce has already set up a support team to ensure a smooth transition and continuity of operations for employees at Morehead and Richmond.

About Mastronardi Produce Ltd.

A pioneer and industry leader in the gourmet greenhouse industry, Mastronardi Produce grows and markets nationally recognized products under the SUNSET brand, including Campari, Flavor Bombs, and Angel Sweet tomatoes. Mastronardi Produce has been family-owned for over 70 years and prides itself on producing consistently flavorful gourmet tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, and berries.

SOURCE Mastronardi Produce Ltd.
WINDHAM, N.H., Oct. 5, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- MD Esthetics Group is excited to announce the signing of their first franchise located in Groton, Massachusetts. This practice is part of the growing premier MD Esthetics brand which has three corporate locations in New Hampshire and Massachusetts.

MD Esthetics Groton is owned and operated by a group combining medical and technology backgrounds. Dr. Genevieve Garris of Orange Blossom Dental and Elizabeth Dwinell a Registered Nurse/Oncology Researcher provide the medical knowledge set and are joined by two technology executive Carmen Andreoli and Corey Beale. This team decided to open a brand focused on creating an elevated patient experience while helping patients feel confident.

MD Esthetics Groton will offer services ranging from facial optimization using dermal fillers and neurotoxin, CO2 laser treatments, laser hair removal, pigment and vascular lesion reduction and tattoo removal. The clinical team is comprised of providers with many years of medical aesthetics experience and master level certifications.

The soft launch of MD Esthetics Groton is November 1, 2023 with a grand opening scheduled for November 16th at 489 Main St Suite B in Groton, MA. Appointments can be scheduled by calling 781.429.3568. For more information visit MDEstheticsus.com/Groton or follow on Instagram @mdesthetics.groton for the latest news and updates.

Dr. Pedro, CEO and Medical Director of the MD Esthetics brand, shared "We are very excited for the launch of our first franchise location and the partnership we've developed. We believe the leadership experience and clinical expertise of the owners of MD Esthetics, Groton, will ensure both the best medical esthetics practices and world-class business operations are brought to the Groton region."

About (MD Esthetics): MD Esthetics Group, LLC is led by Michael Pedro, MD, a board-certified anesthesiologist, inventor of the SuperNOVA and SuperNO2VA devices, serial entrepreneur and most recently the Chief Medical Officer for Vyaire Medical, a global leader in the respiratory medical device space. Michael Goss is responsible for leading the financial strategy across MD Esthetics Group. His background spans more than 20 years of financial experience and executive leadership in both public and private companies including Care.com, Coravin and Aspen Technologies.

MD Esthetics is a renowned medical spa specializing in skincare solutions. With a team of experienced professionals and state-of-the-art technology, they offer personalized solutions to help individuals regain confidence and enhance their well-being. Featuring: Laser Hair Removal, CoolSculpting, Dermal Fillers, Facial Optimization, and more! MD Esthetics represents the area's highest-quality treatments and customer service.

SOURCE MD Esthetics Group
San Francisco, November 11-17, 2023

SAN FRANCISCO, Oct. 5, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Media credentialing for access to the press filing center during the week of APEC will close this Friday, October 6th, 5:30 PM Eastern Time (ET). The filing center will be located in the Moscone Center in San Francisco. Only credentialed press will be permitted to enter during APEC, which will take place from November 11-17, 2023.

Click here to apply for a credential through the U.S. State Department. Please refer to the most updated instructions in the application page. To sign up for the APEC 2023 Media Newsletter which is being provided for journalists with information about how to cover APEC, please click here .

In November, concluding its host year, the United States will host the APEC Economic Leaders' Week (AELW) in iconic San Francisco, California. The San Francisco Host Committee is excited to host AELW, the final meetings of the APEC U.S. Host year in November.

"San Francisco is stepping onto the global stage in November, as the leaders of 21 Pacific Rim economies gather to promote economic advancement. The meeting theme of 'creating a resilient and sustainable future for all' aligns with our values in California," said Priya David Clemens, Press Ambassador for the San Francisco Host Committee for APEC. "This is the first time this many world leaders will convene in San Francisco since a United Nations gathering in 1945."

Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) is a regional economic forum established in 1989 to leverage the growing interdependence of the Asia-Pacific. APEC is the premier platform for the U.S. to advance economic policies in the Asia-Pacific region to promote free, fair, and open trade and investment and advance sustainable and inclusive economic growth.

The 21 APEC Member Economies account for nearly 40 percent of the global population, nearly 50 percent of global trade, and more than 60 percent of U.S. goods exports. Additionally, these economies have made impressive direct investments in the United States estimated at 1.7 trillion dollars and employing 2.3 million American workers as of 2020.

For more news and updates, sign up for the Bridge to APEC newsletter .

SOURCE Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation
NEW YORK and LONDON, Oct. 5, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Monarch Alternative Capital LP, a leading investment firm with over $12.5 billion of assets under management, today announced that it has acquired 801 Brickell, a premier Class A office building in Miami, Florida. The transaction illustrates Monarch's ability to tactically capitalize on broad office sector dislocation, capital markets distress, and complex processes. Through its experience in transacting with speed and certainty, Monarch was able to acquire the property at an opportunistic valuation with attractive financing. Furthermore, Monarch's existing presence in the Florida real estate market provided the ability to source and diligence a time-sensitive sale, adding a top tier asset to Monarch's real estate platform.

801 Brickell is a trophy asset located in Miami's coveted Brickell submarket. With nearly 412,000 square feet, the building offers unobstructed, floor-to-ceiling views of Biscayne Bay and modern amenities following a building renovation completed in 2022. Furthermore, the asset is fully stabilized on long-term leases for many blue-chip tenants, including the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Mastercard, and Royal Bank of Canada. The base of the property is also home to famed Miami restaurant, Komodo, attracting locals and international visitors.

In addition to the property's characteristics, the Miami market continues to benefit from macroeconomic tailwinds resulting in sustained demand for office space. The Brickell submarket, in particular, has been the epicenter of new-to-market relocations with several institutional financial services and law firms signing leases within the last two years. Coupled with increased leasing activity, Class A assets in the area have also benefited from strong rent growth with asking rates growing nearly 30% year-over-year. With recent new supply in the Brickell Class A office market fully absorbed, direct vacancy at less than 10%, and limited new development over the next five years, Monarch believes the supply-demand imbalance will favorably position high-quality boutique buildings like 801 Brickell.

Joshua Acheatel, Managing Principal and Head of Real Estate Acquisitions at Monarch said, "Our acquisition of 801 Brickell exemplifies our core competencies of investing opportunistically and nimbly capitalizing on complexity. Given the current office market dislocation, we have been especially selective in the asset class, focusing on identifying exceptional properties that are being overlooked due to negative national office sentiment. We are excited by the addition of 801 Brickell to our portfolio, which we see as a well-positioned, top-quality building in a market poised for continued growth."

Monarch will operate the property in partnership with Tourmaline Capital Partners, a real estate investment and operations firm focused on the office sector. As part of the acquisition, Monarch and Tourmaline plan to enhance the tenant experience to further differentiate the property and position it for continued success.

About Monarch Alternative Capital LP

Monarch Alternative Capital LP is a global investment firm founded in 2002 with over $12.5 billion in assets under management. Monarch focuses primarily on opportunistic and distressed situations across corporate debt, real estate, special situations, and other market segments. Monarch draws on the skills and experience of its employees across its offices in New York, London, and West Palm Beach. For more information, please visit www.monarchlp.com.

About Tourmaline Capital Partners LLC

Tourmaline Capital Partners LLC is real estate investment and operations firm founded in 2021. Tourmaline focuses on opportunistic office investments throughout the continental United States and is led by its founders: Brandon Huffman, Jeffrey Fronek, and Jonathan Jacobs. The three founders were recently the portfolio manager, director of investments, and senior asset manager of a value- added office focused investment firm, where they successfully executed on opportunities across the continental United States.

Media Contacts:

Jeremy Fielding / Emma Young

Kekst CNC

jeremy.fielding@kekstcnc.com / emma.young@kekstcnc.com

SOURCE Monarch Alternative Capital LP
WASHINGTON, Oct. 5, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Following a public unveiling of the United States' first asteroid sample at 11 a.m. EDT Wednesday, Oct. 11, NASA will host a media teleconference and separate in-person interviews in English and Spanish with experts from the agency and the University of Arizona.

The OSIRIS-REx (Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification and Security  Regolith Explorer) spacecraft capped its seven-year mission on Sunday, Sept. 24, with the delivery of a pristine sample of surface material from asteroid Bennu.

OSIRIS-REx Asteroid Sample Return lid opening at Building 31 Astromaterials Curation Facility.

The unveiling event at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston will air live on NASA TV, the NASA app, and the agency's website.

The media teleconference will begin at 2:30 pm EDT and include members of the OSIRIS-REx science team. Audio of the call will stream live at:

https://www.nasa.gov/nasatv

In addition, subject matter experts are available for interviews beginning at 2:30 p.m. CDT (3:30 p.m. EDT), Oct. 11, in-person and remotely:

Maritza Montoya , OSIRIS-REx sample processor, NASA Johnson (Spanish speaker)

, OSIRIS-REx sample processor, NASA Johnson (Spanish speaker) Ann Nguyen , OSIRIS-REx scientist, NASA Johnson

, OSIRIS-REx scientist, NASA Johnson Kimberly Allums , OSIRIS-REx Jacobs Engineering project lead, NASA Johnson

, OSIRIS-REx Jacobs Engineering project lead, NASA Johnson Salvador Martinez III , OSIRIS-REx lead technology development engineer, NASA Johnson (Spanish speaker)

, OSIRIS-REx lead technology development engineer, NASA Johnson (Spanish speaker) Daniel Glavin , senior scientist, NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center

, senior scientist, NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center Dante Lauretta , OSIRIS-REx principal investigator, University of Arizona

The following morning, subject matter experts also will be available for interviews beginning at 5:30 a.m. CDT (6:30 a.m. EDT) Oct. 12:

Lindsay Keller , OSIRIS-REx scientist, NASA Johnson

, OSIRIS-REx scientist, NASA Johnson Maritza Montoya , OSIRIS-REx sample processor, NASA Johnson (Spanish speaker)

, OSIRIS-REx sample processor, NASA Johnson (Spanish speaker) Daniel Glavin , senior scientist, NASA Goddard

, senior scientist, NASA Goddard Salvador Martinez III , OSIRIS-REx lead technology development engineer, NASA Johnson (Spanish speaker)

, OSIRIS-REx lead technology development engineer, NASA Johnson (Spanish speaker) Kathleen Vander Kaaden , NASA's Science Mission Directorate chief scientist for astromaterials curation, NASA Headquarters

Please contact the NASA Johnson newsroom for any of these opportunities at 281-483-5111 or [email protected]. Media interested in participating in the call must request participation no later than two hours prior to the start time, and are asked to dial-in 15 minutes early as well. The deadline to request in-person or remote one-on-one interviews is Friday, Oct. 6.

In between the OSIRIS-REx media events on Oct. 11, the agency also will host a prelaunch news conference at 1 p.m. to discuss its upcoming Psyche mission to a metal-rich asteroid. That event will air live on NASA TV, the NASA app, and the agency's website.

NASA Johnson houses the world's largest collection of astromaterials from the solar system under one roof, including samples from asteroids, comets, Mars, the Moon, Sun, and dust from other stars. Scientists use world-class laboratories to perform research on planetary materials and the space environment to investigate the origin and evolution of our solar system and beyond.

Learn more about the OSIRIS-REx mission at:

https://www.nasa.gov/osiris-rex

SOURCE NASA
WASHINGTON, Oct. 4, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- NASA astronaut Frank Rubio, back on Earth after breaking the record for the longest single spaceflight in history by an American, will participate in a news conference at 2 p.m. EDT Friday, Oct. 13, at the agency's Johnson Space Center in Houston.

The news conference will air live on NASA Television, the NASA app, and the agency's website. Watch online at:

Expedition 69 NASA astronaut Frank Rubio is seen outside the Soyuz MS-23 spacecraft after he landed with Roscosmos cosmonauts Sergey Prokopyev and Dmitri Petelin in a remote area near the town of Zhezkazgan, Kazakhstan on Wednesday, Sept. 27, 2023. The trio are returning to Earth after logging 371 days in space as members of Expeditions 68-69 aboard the International Space Station. For Rubio, his mission is the longest single spaceflight by a U.S. astronaut in history. NASA/Bill Ingalls

https://www.nasa.gov/nasatv

Rubio's extended mission aboard the International Space Station led to a total of 371 days in space. Extended missions provide researchers the opportunity to better observe the effects of long-duration spaceflight on astronauts as the agency returns to the Moon with the Artemis missions and prepares for human exploration of Mars.

Media interested in participating in person must contact the NASA Johnson newsroom no later than 5 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 12, by calling 281-483-5111 or emailing: [email protected]. Media wishing to participate virtually must contact the newsroom no later than two hours before the start of the event. NASA's media accreditation policy is available online. Questions may also be submitted on social media by using #AskNASA.

Rubio launched Sept. 21, 2022, alongside Roscosmos cosmonauts Sergey Prokopyev and Dmitri Petelin. The trio returned to Earth Sept. 27. The 371 day-mission is the longest single spaceflight by a U.S. astronaut, a record previously held by NASA astronaut Mark Vande Hei with 355 days.

Rubio completed approximately 5,936 orbits of the Earth and a journey of more than 157 million miles during his first spaceflight, roughly the equivalent of 328 trips to the Moon and back. He witnessed the arrival of 15 visiting spacecraft and the departure of 14 visiting spacecraft, including both crewed and cargo missions.

During his record-breaking mission, Rubio spent many hours contributing to scientific activities aboard the orbiting laboratory, conducting everything from human health studies to plant research. One study evaluated the command of multiple autonomous robots from space and what challenges might exist for orbit-to-ground remote operation of robots. He also tended to space tomatoes to test hydroponic (water-based) and aeroponic (air-based) growth techniques rather than soil or other traditional growth media to help identify ways to produce crops on a larger scale for future space missions.

Get the latest NASA space station news, images and features on Instagram, Facebook, and X.

Keep up with the International Space Station, its research, and crew at:

https://www.nasa.gov/station

SOURCE NASA
WASHINGTON, Oct. 5, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Following is a statement from Eileen O'Reilly, president of the National Press Club, and Gil Klein, president of the National Press Club Journalism Institute, on Shane Jason Woods, the first Jan. 6 insurrectionist to be charged with assaulting a member of the news media.

"The court's sentencing of Shane Jason Woods is a good reminder to the public and members of Congress that news media were assaulted, intimidated, and harassed on Jan. 6, 2021, alongside Capitol Police. Their equipment was destroyed, they were threatened with murder, rape, and assault. It was a tragic day for all those whose workplace is the Capitol, including journalists.

Woods, armed with a knife, took a running start and tackled a Reuters cameraman during the Jan. 6 insurrection, prosecutors said. He then assaulted and injured a female Capitol Police officer. It is unknown what injuries the Reuters employee sustained. Woods received a four-year sentence.

No person reporting for work should fear for their safety nor their lives. In the nation's capital and beyond, journalists face unnecessary hostility for simply doing their jobs. The court's sentencing shows that hostility comes with consequences."

Founded in 1908, the National Press Club is the world's leading professional organization for journalists. With 3,000 members representing nearly every major news organization, the Club is a leading voice for press freedom worldwide.

The National Press Club Journalism Institute supports a more participatory democracy through a free and independent press. The Institute is the nonprofit affiliate of the National Press Club.

Contact: Bill McCarren, 202-662-7534 for the National Press Club

SOURCE National Press Club
LOUISVILLE, Ky., Oct. 5, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The U.S. Department of Education has selected the National Center for Families Learning (NCFL) to establish and lead the new North Carolina Statewide Family Engagement Center (NC SFEC) and to continue its leadership of the Nebraska Statewide Family Engagement Center (NE SFEC). In each state, NCFL will work alongside a consortium of state and local organizations to provide an equitable, coordinated continuum of family engagement support designed to build the capacity of families, schools, and communities and improve student and family well-being.

National nonprofit receives federal grants to lead two statewide family engagement centers. Post this National Center for Families Learning logo

The need for robust, cohesive family engagement systems is longstanding, but the recent COVID-19 pandemic impact has intensified this need. Studies show that children whose parents are more engaged with their education are more likely to have higher school attendance, achieve better learning outcomes, have improved social emotional well-being, and are overall more adaptable and comfortable in school settings. Both state SFEC efforts will work to leverage the power of family engagement in education while centering low-income, minority, and rural families who have been historically underserved. NCFL's efforts are grounded in the latest research and applies Dr. Karen Mapp's Dual Capacity-Building Framework, as the gold standard in family engagement practices.

The North Carolina SFEC award represents a new opportunity for NCFL and its partnersincluding the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction, Book Harvest, North Carolina Parents as Teachers, University of North Carolina Greensboro, and local education agenciesto work together on family engagement strategies. In the coming months, NCFL will conduct statewide community asset mapping to examine educator and family needs, identify key community partners, and examine the potential for cross-agency collaboration to enhance existing family engagement efforts.

In Nebraska, NCFL has been a leader in the SFEC since 2018, alongside the Nebraska Children and Families Foundation and the Nebraska Department of Education. In that time, the NE SFEC served thousands of families across eight of Nebraska's 19 Educational Service Units. This new award will allow NCFL to expand upon this important work through evidence-based professional learning experiences and technical assistance, high-impact programming, and policy and advocacy efforts that deliberately elevate family voice and leadership.

"We're thrilled for this opportunity to expand our Nebraska SFEC work and build new relationships supporting children and families in North Carolina," says NCFL President and CEO Dr. Felicia C. Smith. "Over the next five years, we will work to ensure the long-term sustainability of the Nebraska SFEC and to operationalize and build capacity for family engagement, literacy, and leadership work in North Carolina. Several community partners have signed on to help us with these efforts, and I look forward to working alongside them to amplify the impact of family, school, and community efforts in both states."

"It is well known that education starts in the home and that parents are a child's first teacher," says North Carolina State Superintendent Catherine Truitt. "Partnering with the National Center for Families Learning to create a North Carolina Statewide Family Engagement Center will help bridge the gap between families and schools. Engaged families lead to increased success for students in the classroom and beyond. I am excited for this partnership to come to North Carolina, and I look forward to working together to improve educational outcomes for students."

"Nebraska families have benefitted for years with our partnerships created through this grant," said Nebraska Commissioner of Education Brian Maher. "We are excited to continue our work with NCFL to expand our reach to even more families across the state. The best learning environments are ones where there is deep collaboration with families and education professionals, this opportunity will help expand that work and touch even more lives in Nebraska."

These five-year grants are administered through the Statewide Family Engagement Centers program (84.310A) and are fully funded by Federal dollars. Total funding for the North Carolina SFEC grant is $4,985,858. Total funding for the Nebraska SFEC grant is $4,072,027.

About the National Center for Families Learning (NCFL)

NCFL is a national nonprofit that has worked for over 30 years to eradicate poverty through education solutions for families. We believe education is a shared responsibility and that collaboration among families, schools, and community members can lead to powerful learning experiences. NCFL's vision is to establish coordinated and aligned family learning systems in 60 communities by 2030, built with and for families, to increase education and economic outcomes and create more equitable communities. For more information on NCFL, visit familieslearning.org . To learn more about our 60x30 Vision or become a 60x30 partner, visit familieslearning.org/60x30 .

MEDIA CONTACT:

Amy Foster Parish

Director, Communications

Cell: 703-472-5997

[email protected]

SOURCE National Center for Families Learning
Mourners bearing bouquets and cards paid their respects Wednesday to the late U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein in San Francisco City Hall, where she launched her groundbreaking political career and spent a decade as the citys first female mayor. Musicians played the violin and other string instruments as a steady line of people snaked into the City Hall rotunda, where her casket was on display behind velvet ropes. People brought flowers that were later whisked away by staff, stood for a few seconds in contemplation or squeezed back tears before moving on to a side room to sign condolence books. Former U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, also of San Francisco, was among the officials in attendance. Feinstein died Thursday at her Washington, D.C., home after a series of illnesses.

Jose Romero Cooper, 61, and 73-year-old Mark Cooper were among the first to say goodbye, waiting in line before doors were open to the public. The married couple said they had followed Feinsteins career with pride as she went from mayor of the politically liberal city to the U.S. Senate. What Im gonna say is: Thank you for everything, for being strong, said Jose Romero Cooper, a scarf of the American flag draped around his neck. He stood before the casket, genuflected and crossed himself, then walked away with tears streaming down his face.

Feinstein was elected to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors in 1969 and was board president in November 1978 when a former supervisor assassinated Mayor George Moscone and Supervisor Harvey Milk, the citys first openly gay supervisor, at City Hall. Feinstein became acting mayor, and she went on to serve as mayor until 1988.

San Francisco would not be San Francisco without her. She steered the city through the HIV and AIDS crisis, bringing attention to an epidemic ignored by President Ronald Reagan. She also secured federal and private funding to save the citys iconic cable cars from death by deterioration.

Feinstein led the city as it played host to the Democratic National Convention in 1984. Another San Francisco tradition  Fleet Week  was started by Feinstein in 1981, and this years annual celebration of air shows, naval ships and military bands is dedicated to her.

Beyond serving as San Franciscos first female mayor, she joined Barbara Boxer as the first women to represent California in the U.S. Senate. They both won election in 1992, dubbed the Year of the Woman. Feinstein inspired countless girls and women, including San Francisco Mayor London Breed, who is the first Black woman and only the second woman to lead the city. Breed recalled looking up to Feinstein when Feinstein was mayor and Breed played the French horn in the middle school band that played regularly at mayoral events. She was so proud of us and she said so, and she took the time to talk to us, express how amazing we were and to remind us that we were her band, Breed said at a news conference the day after the senators death.

Cari Donovan placed a bouquet of lilies and daisies in red and pink before the casket. Im a San Francisco native. And I remember her being such a big public figure on my life. She championed and fought for the rights of so many people, Donovan said, adding that she talked to her 28-year-old daughter about the battles Feinstein fought so that younger generations of women could dream bigger. She was a powerhouse, she said. She was a lioness.

While Feinsteins career sent her to Washington, she remained deeply involved in the affairs of San Francisco, the city where she was born and raised. She often called her successors  including Gov. Gavin Newsom  to complain about potholes or trash and to offer advice and encouragement.

John Konstin Sr., owner of Johns Grill, a favorite downtown tourist destination and watering hole for city politicians, recalled Feinstein ordering potholes filled, trees trimmed and ugly scaffolding brought down before San Francisco hosted the 1984 Democratic convention. She asked, How long has this scaffolding been up? And my dad said maybe 10 years, and the next day it came down, said Konstin, 59. It was half a block of scaffolding.

Feinsteins favorite dish was the Petrale sole, he said. The restaurant, which was celebrating its 115th anniversary Wednesday with a free lunch and appearances by Breed and other politicians, will have flowers by Feinsteins portrait.

Mourners can pay their respects at City Hall until 7 p.m. A memorial service will be held Thursday outside City Hall. Speakers will include Pelosi, Breed, Vice President Kamala Harris and U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York. President Joe Biden will deliver remarks by recorded video.

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AUSTIN, Texas, Oct. 5, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- NetRise , the company providing granular visibility into the world's Extended Internet of Things (XIoT) security problem  encompassing the modern firmware and software component security challenges of IT, OT, IoT, and other connected cyber-physical systems  today announced the company won the 2023 CyberSecurity Breakthrough Awards for "Automotive Cybersecurity Solution of the Year."

NetRise has been recognized in the seventh annual CyberSecurity Breakthrough Awards program as the best in the industry for excellence and innovation. NetRise received this award for its next-generation firmware and IoT security platform, which empowers organizations to identify risks in the software components running on devices. Produced by market intelligence organization CyberSecurity Breakthrough, this annual award performs the most comprehensive evaluation of cybersecurity companies and solutions today. It recognizes the best products, solutions, and companies within the crowded information security marketplace.

As the number of IoT devices continues to increase at an exponential rate, all too often, security considerations are an afterthought in development. For instance, a connected vehicle can have 50 embedded systems manufactured by dozens of third-party vendors and contain third-party components and code dependencies, which leads to a supply chain with unknown and unaddressed vulnerabilities. NetRise supports the automotive industry by enabling organizations to understand what is in their devices and the entire software supply chain to identify risks and vulnerabilities.

Seeking to solve the world's XIoT security problem, NetRise is the first platform to provide comprehensive insight into shared vulnerabilities across all firmware images in an organization. The NetRise Platform undertakes continuous analysis as more data is added, making the platform more efficient over time. A cloud-based SaaS solution, it reduces the time and cost of firmware security programs so that organizations can quickly find and remediate previously undetected issues by providing and enabling:

SBOM (Software Bill of Materials) Management: Consume and generate a list of 'ingredients' for each device.

Risk & Vulnerability Management: Constantly updated risk assessments, with risk scoring and prioritization based on likelihood of exploitation and impact.

Firmware Analysis & Security: Comprehensive insight into shared vulnerabilities across all firmware images in an organization.

Regulatory Compliance: Determine if third-party code introduces legal and compliance issues and meets SBOM provision mandates.

Product Build Assurance: Accurate analysis of new products and versions before deployment, enabling safer patching and safer devices.

Real-Time Risk Tracking: Gain a constantly updated understanding of device risk.

"We are honored to receive this recognition from the CyberSecurity Breakthrough Awards, which further solidifies our commitment to providing customers with cutting-edge technologies so they can quickly find vulnerabilities in their environments," said Thomas Pace, CEO of NetRise. "Our automated platform provides users across industries and verticals with much-needed visibility into the 'black boxes' of XIoT devices and truly represents a breakthrough solution for the automotive industry. We look forward to continuing our mission of delivering groundbreaking cybersecurity solutions so that organizations can protect themselves from firmware-based attacks and threats."

CyberSecurity Breakthrough Awards recognizes the world's best information security companies, products, and people in a range of categories, including Security-as-a-Service, Managed Security, Cloud Security, Security Information and Event Management, Threat Intelligence, Behavior Analytics, Unified Threat Management, Web Security, Messaging and Email Security, Encryption, and more. This year's program attracted thousands of nominations from many different countries worldwide.

To learn more about how the NetRise platform supports government agencies with visibility into devices' underlying risks, please visit https://www.netrise.io/platform .

About NetRise

Based in Austin, Texas, NetRise was built by defensive cyber experts bred across the private sector, intelligence community and U.S. federal government to solve the firmware security problem. The company is currently partnering with companies across manufacturing, automotive, medical devices, industrial control systems, satellites and many more. https://www.netrise.io/

Media Contact:

Danielle Ostrovsky

Hi-Touch PR

410-302-9459

[email protected]

SOURCE NetRise
HAMPTON, Va., Oct. 5, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- NASA Langley Research Center invites members of the media to join Director Clayton P. Turner Oct. 16 for a preview of the 2023 Open House. This special tour will highlight some of Langley's facilities and work in space, aeronautics and Earth science that the public can expect to see during the center's Open House on Oct. 21.

Media preview schedule:

8:30  Arrive at Langley, meet at Badge and Pass for escort to the Integrated Engineering Services Building (IESB)

for escort to the Integrated Engineering Services Building (IESB) 9:00  Welcome from Center Director Clayton Turner , who will also lead the tour

, who will also lead the tour 9:15  Board bus

9:30  Visit the National Transonic Facility (NTF)

(NTF) 10:30  Visit Buildings 1148/Structures and Materials Lab and 1293/Structural Dynamics Test Laboratory

11:30  Visit Building 1244/Aircraft Hangar

12:30  Return to IESB

Media outlets wishing to participate must contact Sondra Woodward at 757-848-7690 no later than noon, Friday, Oct. 13. Media must arrive no later than 8:30 a.m. at the Badge and Pass Office to receive their badges.

Attendees are not required to stay for the duration of the tour, and arrangements will be made for those who want to leave early.

For media:

Images: https://www.nasa.gov/langley/images

Video: https://www.nasa.gov/langley/videos

2017 Open House video

Additional resources:

Attractions: https://oh.larc.nasa.gov/oh/openhouse/#activities

Parking: https://oh.larc.nasa.gov/oh/openhouse/parking/

FAQ: https://oh.larc.nasa.gov/oh/openhouse/faq/

Map: https://oh.larc.nasa.gov/oh/openhouse/map/

SOURCE NASA Langley Research Center
This year's report examines the most pressing challenges and opportunities for how business leaders manage change, show empathy, practice flexibility, build skills, and develop resilience

SALT LAKE CITY, Oct. 5, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, O.C. Tanner , the global authority for strengthening organizational culture through meaningful employee recognition, released its landmark 2024 Global Culture Report . Now in its sixth year, the report examines the current state of the workplace and equips leaders with the necessary insights and strategies to meet today's most immediate and consequential challenges head on. Based on data gathered from more than 42,000 employees, leaders, HR practitioners, and executives from 27 countries worldwide, the comprehensive report's release corresponds with today's kickoff of Influence Greatness Virtual 2023 .

Among other pressing topics, the 2024 Global Culture Report provides an extensive analysis of the group that makes up four-fifths of the world's workers  many of which feel overlooked and underappreciated, despite being essential to success. The group, referred to as "the 80%," overwhelmingly lacks access to the tools, technology, and opportunities necessary to connect and advance in their workplace, and the autonomy and voice to shape their workplace experience.

"Workplace cultures have seismically shifted over the past three years, and there are no signs of letting up. As the aftershocks and debates around workplace fundamentals, employee priorities, and leaders' roles continue, this year's report serves as a roadmap with insights to better navigate the ongoing transformation," said Gary Beckstrand, Vice President of the O.C. Tanner Institute. "Organizations, especially those with large populations of frontline employees, need to work closely with their teams to create thriving workplace cultureswhere all want to come, do their best work, and stayin the face of ongoing change, and this research will help enable leaders to do so."

Among other highlights, the research showed that people-centric solutions are the ones that win and endure, every employee wants to feel seen and valued, and resilience must exceed surviving the next challenge.

"Beyond an abundance of quality research that helps us better understand employee experiences worldwide, the 2024 Global Culture Report findings provide a reason for hope," said Mindi Cox, Chief People and Marketing Officer. "We have a variety of crucial issues to attend to, but we're seeing conditions and calculations with promise  numbers that translate into confidence that small shifts in the way organizations manage change, build skills, act with empathy, and develop resilience can create healthier workplace cultures."

Sample key findings include:

Only 27% of leaders feel strongly prepared to help their people navigate change.

Employees who perceive their leaders have the tools to help them manage change are: 5x more likely to feel a sense of community 6x more likely to thrive at work 10x more likely to feel a strong sense of trust 76% less likely to experience burnout

When leaders have the tools to help employees manage change, their own risk of burnout decreases by 73%.

When employees have a voice in organizational changes, there are greater odds of: belief the organization is people-centric (8x), feelings of trust (8x), sense of community (5x), and thriving at work (3x).

Only 59% of employees feel their leaders' expressions of empathy are accompanied by meaningful action and support, and only 58% of organizations take action to improve after receiving employee feedback.

Employees picture themselves staying 2.5 years longer at their organization when their leader is empathetic.

When looking at the widening gap between the employee experience of "the 80%" and their corporate counterparts: Workers in "the 80%" category are nearly 2x as likely as their corporate peers to feel they had no options when they accepted their jobs. Only 35% feel they have freedom to take time away from work for personal errands (compared to 58% of corporate workers). Only 45% say their organization supports them in learning new skills at work (compared to 69% of corporate workers).

Half (50%) of "the 80%" feel expendable at work; only 30% feel seen and valued.

Nearly two of every five in "the 80%" say they are viewed as inferior by employees in the office. Almost as many (35%) report senior leaders minimize or dismiss their ideas, and 39% say their work is not valued as highly as office work.

The five contributing factors to creating equitable flexibility: leadership support, organizational support, employee empowerment, work choice, and time management. When flexibility is equitable, there are 8x higher odds that employees want to stay another year.

While people universally want flexibility for themselves, 68% feel it should also be available to every employee regardless of role. However, only about half (57%) say their culture supports flexibility in every job.

Odds of burnout increase 5x when employees are dissatisfied with the level of flexibility at work.

There are 5X greater odds of employee fulfillment when an organization supports skill building.

Many organizations believe employees who want to learn new skills are plotting to expand their employment options. However, less than a quarter of workers (22%) say they'd want to build skills to leave for a job in a new field at a different organization. Instead, 83% of workers said it's important for prospective organizations to offer skill-building opportunities and the top reasons for wanting them are to improve performance in a current job (54%) and to achieve personal growth (53%). Organizations that don't provide any skill building have 76% lower odds of having a thriving workplace culture and 72% lower odds of having employees say they still want to work there in a year.

Nimbly resilient employees, leaders, and organizations are guided by three powerful principles: adaptability, proactivity, and perseverance. Only 30% of employees believe their organization is nimbly resilient.

Over half (53%) of employees say they're expected to just push through challenges without complaint, which leads to a 125% higher likelihood of burnout.

Employees who believe their leaders are nimbly resilient are 9x more likely to think they are also nimbly resilient, which leads to higher likelihoods of engagement (+582%), feeling a strong sense of fulfillment in their work (+233%), and experiencing less burnout (79%).

This comprehensive report can be accessed at O.C. Tanner's website here: https://www.octanner.com/global-culture-report.html .

About O.C. Tanner

O.C. Tanner is the global leader in software and services that improve workplace culture through meaningful employee recognition experiences. Our Culture Cloud employee recognition platform helps millions of people thrive at work.

Our team of more than 1,500 programmers, researchers, designers, client professionals, and craftspeople hail from 58 countries and speak 62 languages. Together, we create the technology, tools, and awards that help our clients shape productive work environments, drive innovation, and fuel positive business results. Learn more at octanner.com .

Research Methodology

The O.C. Tanner Institute, O.C. Tanner's research, analytics, and education team, uses multiple research methods to support the Global Culture Report, including interviews, focus groups, cross-sectional surveys, and a longitudinal survey.

Qualitative findings came from 18 focus groups among employees and leaders of larger organizations. The groups and interviews were held throughout 2022 and 2023, each representing various types of employers, including both private and public entities.

Quantitative findings came from online survey interviews administered to employees across Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, Denmark, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Mexico, the Netherlands, Poland, the Philippines, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, and the United States. The total sample size was 42,446 workers at companies with 500+ employees. The O.C. Tanner Institute collected and analyzed all survey data. This sample is sufficient to generate meaningful conclusions about the cultures of organizations in the included countries. However, because the study does not include population data, results are subject to statistical errors customarily associated with sample-based information. All figures, unless otherwise stated, are from the O.C. Tanner Institute.

SOURCE O.C. Tanner
Prestigious International Awards Program Recognizes Outstanding Information Security Products and Companies

COPENHAGEN, Denmark, Oct. 5, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Omada A/S ("Omada"), a global leader of Identity Governance and Administration (IGA), today announced that it has been selected as winner of the "Overall ID Management Solution of the Year" award for the third year in a row in the 7th annual CyberSecurity Breakthrough Awards program. These awards are conducted by CyberSecurity Breakthrough, a leading independent market intelligence organization that recognizes the top companies, technologies and products in the global information security market today.

Omada delivers a unique SaaS solution for modern IGA, that fits seamlessly into the Identity Fabric ecosystem and meets the core needs of one of the most pressing issues for businesses worldwide: Identity Management.

Omada's breakthrough modern Identity Governance and Administration (IGA) solution, Omada Identity Cloud, delivers essential identity governance functionality for the secure, compliant, and efficient administration of all users' access to systems, data, and applications across hybrid, cloud and multi-cloud environments.

The mission of the CyberSecurity Breakthrough Awards is to honor excellence and recognize the innovation, hard work and success in a range of information security categories, including Cloud Security, Threat Detection, Risk Management, Fraud Prevention, Mobile Security, Email Security and many more. This year's program attracted thousands of nominations from over 20 different countries throughout the world.

Steve Johansson, managing director, CyberSecurity Breakthrough, said: "Identity and access governance is one of the most important elements to secure a business. You must protect your identities and their access to ensure security. Omada's highly scalable and high-performing solution offers that support all in one place. We are thrilled to congratulate the entire Omada team for taking home our 'Overall ID Management Solution of the Year' award."

Michael Garrett, CEO, Omada, said: "Identity Management is a critical concern for businesses globally, with identity increasingly at the heart of many organizations' security strategies. Omada is committed to consistently providing the best of breed solution for identity governance that ensures organizations get the most out of their investment. Thank you to the CyberSecurity Breakthrough Awards for this recognition."

About CyberSecurity Breakthrough

Part of Tech Breakthrough, a leading market intelligence and recognition platform for global technology innovation and leadership, the CyberSecurity Breakthrough Awards program is devoted to honoring excellence in information security and cybersecurity technology companies, products and people. The CyberSecurity Breakthrough Awards provide a platform for public recognition around the achievements of breakthrough information security companies and products in categories including Cloud Security, Threat Detection, Risk Management, Fraud Prevention, Mobile Security, Web and Email Security, UTM, Firewall and more. For more information visit CyberSecurityBreakthrough.com.

About Omada

Omada, a global market leader in Identity Governance and Administration (IGA), offers a full-featured, enterprise-grade, cloud native IGA solution that enables organizations to achieve compliance, reduce risk, and maximize efficiency. Founded in 2000, Omada delivers innovative identity management to complex hybrid environments based on our proven best practice process framework and deployment approach. For more information, go to omadaidentity.com

SOURCE Omada
SAN DIEGO, Oct. 5, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- OmniSync Incorporated has been awarded a Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase III contract by the US Air Force to deliver and implement its market research tool, TurboInnovate, across the agency.

TurboInnovate Facts and Features

The sponsor of the contract is AFWERX. Taken from the organization's website: "As the innovation arm of the Department of the Air Force (DAF) and powered by the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL), AFWERX brings cutting edge American ingenuity from small businesses and start-ups to address the most pressing challenges of the DAF." The contract enables anyone across the US Air Force to have access to the tool.

"OmniSync's work and mission are such a great fit for AFWERX, because they align perfectly with its core mission. Our TurboInnovate platform is among the most comprehensive market research tools for innovation landscape mapping, validated commercially and with government users. During its testing phase, various acquisitions and contracting offices, innovation hubs, and individuals conducting market/capability research concluded that the tool saved time by turning weeks of work into 5-15 minutes. This time-saving is huge because conducting market research is a required step in the government for pretty much every new purchase, especially when acquiring innovation from commercial markets."  stated Dr. Rupak Doshi, CEO of OmniSync.

Dr. Norman Huang, CTO of OmniSync further commented "In today's information-driven age, precision and coverage aren't just luxuries - they're necessities. With our semantic search technology, we're setting a new standard in knowledge accessfrom SBIR awardees to patents, SMEs, privately-funded endeavors, and several more data points. And in addition to our user-friendly interface, with our API, we're also enabling organizations to internalize our technology to strengthen their existing capabilities. This isn't just about simplifying searches, it's about fortifying the Air Force's innovation scouting and awareness, ensuring they remain at the forefront of technological advancement."

TurboInnovate combines a massive corpus of innovation data with best-in-class semantic querying, automated AI-assisted project report generation, as well as functionality to request further information from innovators. All features are packaged into a modern and intuitive user-interface, and additionally, made available through an API.

On a Phase II SBIR contract awarded to OmniSync in 2022, through the AFWERX SBIR/STTR Open Topics program, OmniSync collaborated with RAPIDX, which as per the organization's website, is "a decentralized network of collaborative contracting cells across the Air Force that specialize in sustaining both innovation and emergent technologies". During the Phase II testing period, user numbers exceeded projections by more than 1,000% organically, with overwhelmingly positive feedback, validating the ease-of-use and value-add of the tool.

This Phase III contract is OmniSync's 2nd Phase III transition contract in less than a year  the first being through the US Department of Energy to build out its SBIR Partnering Platform earlier this year.

About OmniSync Incorporated

OmniSync is a San Diego-based dual use technology company that uses a combination of best-in-class AI/NLP-powered innovation discovery tools, process automation software, and expert-driven support services to democratize access to public/private innovation funds. Its flagship product, TurboSBIR is used by commercial deep tech and life science startups to access government SBIR/STTR programs to fund product development, while its newer product, TurboInnovate is utilized by governments, universities, and entrepreneur-support organizations for innovation market research. OmniSync is backed by strategically aligned and US-based venture capital firms, Govtech Fund, Longley Capital, and General Inception, family offices, such as Keshif Ventures, and other angel investors. The company receives support from the ex-Googler founded venture studio, Launch Factory, and accelerators, Capital Factory and EvoNexus. Learn more about OmniSync, TurboSBIR and TurboInnovate.

Media Contact:

Rupak Doshi

1-858-264-6546

[email protected]

SOURCE OmniSync Incorporated
BOSTON, Oct. 5, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- On Belay Health Solutions, the company on a mission to empower primary care practices to succeed in value-based care, today announced growth for 2024 and new partners across key segments.

Over 100% YOY patient growth, welcoming new practices to On Belay's MSSP and REACH ACOs.





Expansion into 18 U.S. states, notably partnering with independent primary care practices, federally qualified health centers, and health systems.

"We've always been deliberate in our growth strategy to prioritize quality of delivery and engagement with our partner practices," said Andrew Allison, Co-Founder and CEO of On Belay. "We're thrilled to welcome new partners across our three segments. Together, we'll work to support their patients and strengthen their financial foundation."

South Shore Health, one of the largest independent regional health systems in Massachusetts, is joining On Belay's ACO REACH program to ensure their patients are able to get the right care in the right setting with the right providers. Continuously focused on advancing health equity, South Shore Health will have access to rich patient insights to inform which programs and services will most benefit the communities they serve. "We are dedicated to finding innovative solutions to best meet the needs of our patients, families, and community," said Dr. Allen Smith, CEO of South Shore Health. "We see immense potential to deliver on our promise of high-quality, connected patient care by joining On Belay and continuing our transition to value-based care."

Rapid City Medical Center is the largest independent practice in South Dakota, with 87 providers serving 200,000 patients across five states. Joining On Belay's MSSP ACO is a testament to their commitment to quality of care. Heather Bindel, COO of Rapid City, remarked, "Transitioning to value-based care is a pivotal move for us. We're thrilled to partner with On Belay given their success with other practices in South Dakota and together drive better patient outcomes while strengthening our practices."

Lone Star Circle of Care, a large federally qualified health center with 27 locations and more than 125 providers, joins On Belay's ACO REACH program to continue to drive accessible and exceptional patient-centered care in Central Texas and Houston. "On Belay's alignment with our mission was evident from the outset and our partnership promises to invigorate community health, commencing with our Medicare patients," shared Jon Calvin, CEO of Lone Star.

Chad Turner, Chief Growth Officer at On Belay, stated, "The growth momentum we continue to see is a testament to the deep relationships we are building with our partner practices. The caliber of their teams and dedication to patient care is unparalleled and we are committed to supporting their value-based care journey."

ABOUT ON BELAY HEALTH SOLUTIONS

On Belay Health Solutions supports practices in successfully transitioning to value-based care with solutions that improve patient outcomes and care team experience. Currently operating in 18 states, On Belay partners with practices to create a brighter, more sustainable future for healthcare. On Belay is an exclusive partner to the Association of Clinicians for the Underserved and supports FQHCs around the country. Learn more at: OBHS.com.

SOURCE On Belay Holdings, Inc.
Education Cannot Wait Executive Director Statement on World Teachers' Day

NEW YORK, Oct. 5, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- We are in a race to deliver on our global promise of education for all by 2030  especially for the 224 million girls and boys impacted by armed conflict, climate change, forced displacement and other protracted crises who so urgently need our support. At the frontlines of this movement are the inspiring, caring, brilliant teachers who work tirelessly to educate future generations.

A teacher making a difference, Kamal Hossein spends some one-on-one time with Yasmina, a student in her class with a learning disability. Kamal encouraged Yasminas mother to make sure that Yasmina attended the learning center more frequently.  UNICEF/Bangladesh

As we commemorate World Teachers' Day  along with key partners such as the International Labour Organization, UNICEF, UNESCO and Education International  Education Cannot Wait honours the sacrifice, compassion and dedication of the world's teachers. We know you work long hours, with low pay. We know that after COVID-19, we face a massive learning and achievement gap. We know that world leaders have done far too little to support education or people like you on the frontlines, making learning happen day-in, day-out in classrooms around the world.

In the best of circumstances, being a teacher is a challenge. Now imagine what it is like for teachers in a crisis or conflict-hit area in Afghanistan, Colombia, Syria or Uganda. Imagine what it's like teaching while being one of the millions fleeing wars, conflicts and disasters without any support. Teachers walk to school in fear of attack, bombings, abductions, and other forms of violence and threats. They see their schools swept away in floods and sometimes their family wakes up hungry because of climate change-related droughts. This is the reality facing millions of teachers in the world's worst humanitarian crises.

We must do better. Education Cannot Wait, the UN global fund for education in emergencies and protracted crises, puts teachers at the forefront of everything we do. The teachers are themselves affected by conflicts and climate-induced disasters, and yet they have to serve as mentors and caretakers  inspiring their students to develop and reach their full potential. We cannot underestimate the heroic work carried out by teachers in the most difficult circumstances.

Through ECW's joint programming, or Multi-Year Resilience Programmes, 100% of the teachers we support receive skills building and training to succeed in the work they do. Since inception, we have trained over 140,000 teachers. In 2022 alone, we recruited and provided financial support to over 22,000 teachers and school administrators. We place a special emphasis on recruiting female teachers, with about half of all recruited teachers being women.

Now we must also focus on the quality of the training we provide in order to elevate and deepen the quality of education provided. That means expanded skills training and continued education for students, it means smaller classroom sizes, it means enabling policies at the local and national level, it means climate resilience in the classroom, so when the next disaster strikes, we are ready.

Together, we can make a better world. Teachers everywhere deserve our respect and admiration. Teachers cannot and should not wait! Join ECW and our strategic partners in supporting teachers in the toughest humanitarian crises on the globe. Let us all bow to them. Let us contribute with funding and a donation today.

SOURCE Education Cannot Wait
Energy-efficient solutions in high demand in consumer and small-business environments

DALLAS, Oct. 5, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Parks Associates today announced Google and Uplight as keynotes for the 15th annual Smart Energy Summit: Engaging the Consumer, co-located with DISTRIBUTECH, the largest utility and energy-focused conference in the world, held February 26-27, 2024, in Orlando, Florida, at the Orange County Convention Center. Parks Associates is currently accepting speaker submissions for Smart Energy Summit.

Parks Associates

Parks Associates reports increased adoption across the smart energy device category. Nearly 50% of US internet households prefer their electricity provider to provide an energy monitoring service. However, there are many other industry players who can also serve this role, including security companies, tech companies, ISPs, solar providers, and retailers.

Smart Energy Summit will feature keynotes from Tyson Brown, Manager Strategic Partnerships, Google, and Donald McPhail, VP Product, Uplight, to highlight the role of tech players and connected solutions in the energy markets.

"We look forward to bringing the leaders of the connected home and energy management industry to DISTRIBUTECH," said Elizabeth Parks, President and CMO, Parks Associates. "This is a great opportunity to highlight the important role of the consumer and SMB market as various industries and especially utilities seek to advance energy efficiency, savings, and control of consumption."

The firm is accepting speaker submissions for the upcoming 2024 conference sessions:

The Convergence of Smart Home, Energy, and Utility

Data Security and Privacy in Smart Home Energy Systems

Electrification of Smart Homes: EV Charging and Beyond

Evolving Business Models for Smart Home and Energy

Multifamily Residences: Energy Management at Scale

Energy Tech: Unlocking Smart Energy for Lower-Income Communities

The Role of Government and Policy in Advancing Smart Home and Energy Initiatives

Smart Energy & Smart Home Investments

Advancements in Smart Energy Devices: Pioneering a Greener Home

Building for Net Zero: The Role of Home Automation

Smart Energy Summit also features multiple upcoming virtual sessions, available to all attendees:

Submit to speak at www.smartenergysmt.com. For more information or to speak with an analyst, contact Mindi Sue Sternblitz-Rubenstein at [email protected].

About Smart Energy Summit

Parks Associates' 15th annual Smart Energy Summit: Engaging the Consumer is co-located with DISTRIBUTECH 2024 on February 26-27 at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Florida. Smart Energy Summit addresses energy and renewables technology trends in the residential and small-to-medium business markets.

Industry players join expert panels and networking sessions to address the expansion and monetization of energy management and other energy-focused offerings through consumer engagement, new business models, unique partnerships, and innovative technologies.

The conference also features 2024 virtual sessions January 23, July 23, and October 10. Follow the event on Twitter/X at @SmartEnergySmt and #SmartEnergy24. For information on speaking, sponsoring, or attending Smart Energy Summit, visit www.smartenergysmt.com.

Mindi Sue Sternblitz-Rubenstein

Parks Associates

972.996.0212

[email protected]

SOURCE Parks Associates
New Antennas Ensure Accurate Positioning Even in Challenging Environments

IRVINE, Calif., Oct. 5, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Pasternack, an Infinite Electronics brand and a leading provider of RF, microwave and millimeter-wave products, has announced the launch of its innovative vehicle GPS antennas. Designed explicitly for automotive applications, these antennas underscore the importance of precision and reliability, ensuring vehicles navigate with unparalleled accuracy.

Pasternack's new vehicle GPS antennas have high gain of 28 or 30 dB.

The vehicle GPS antennas are a game-changer in automotive systems. They come equipped with a high gain of 28 dB or 30 dB, making them adept at capturing even the faintest signals in the most challenging terrains and conditions. One of their standout features is the use of right-hand circular polarization (RHCP), which drastically curtails signal interference and multipath effects, guaranteeing unwavering signal quality.

Pasternack's new offering isn't just about performance; it's also about resilience. Boasting waterproof and dustproof ratings ranging from IPX6 to IP66, these antennas are engineered to excel in the harshest outdoor scenarios. This resilience positions them as the top choice for a variety of applications, including vehicle tracking, fleet management, telematics, navigation systems and the burgeoning field of autonomous vehicles.

Adding to their versatility, these antennas come with both SMA and FAKRA connector options, ensuring wide-ranging system compatibility. They are tailored for the GPS L1 frequency and are available in both passive and active versions. Mounting them is user-friendly, with options for direct vehicle mount or the added convenience of a magnet mount.

"In today's fast-evolving automotive landscape, precision is a prerequisite, not just a preference, said Product Line Manager Kevin Hietpas. "Our new vehicle GPS antennas are a testament to Pasternack's dedication to driving innovation. We're not just keeping pace with the industry  we aim to define its future."

Pasternack's vehicle GPS antennas are in stock and available for same-day shipping. For inquiries, please call +1 (949) 261-1920.

About Pasternack:

A leader in RF products since 1972, Pasternack is an ISO 9001:2015-certified manufacturer and supplier offering the industry's largest selection of active and passive RF, microwave and millimeter-wave products available for same-day shipping. Pasternack is an Infinite Electronics brand.

About Infinite Electronics:

Based in Irvine, Calif., Infinite Electronics offers a broad range of components, assemblies and wired/wireless connectivity solutions to the aerospace/defense, industrial, government, consumer electronics, instrumentation, medical and telecommunications markets. Its brands include Pasternack, Fairview Microwave, L-com, MilesTek, ShowMeCables, NavePoint, INC Installs, Integra Optics, PolyPhaser, Transtector, KP Performance Antennas, RadioWaves and Aiconics. Infinite serves a global engineering customer base with deep technical expertise and support. Its broad inventory is available for immediate shipment, fulfilling unplanned demand for engineers and technical buyers. Infinite is a Warburg Pincus portfolio company.

Press Contact:

Peter McNeil

Pasternack

17792 Fitch

Irvine, Calif. 92614

+1 (978) 682-6936

SOURCE Pasternack
KNOXVILLE, Tenn., Oct. 5, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Pilot Flying J celebrates the winners of its annual Road Warrior contest, which recognizes the hard work, dedication, commitment and sacrifice of professional truck drivers who go the extra mile to keep America moving. After reviewing countless deserving nominations, Pilot Flying J selected Don Crouse of Bruceville, Indiana, as the $15,000 grand prize Road Warrior winner, Robert Palm of Albuquerque, New Mexico, as the $10,000 second place winner and Angelique Temple of Ruther Glen, Virginia, as the $5,000 third place winner.

Grand prize winner of Pilot Flying J's 2023 Road Warrior Contest, Don Crouse, receives $15,000 check. Second place winner Robert Palm receives $10,000 prize as part of 2023 Road Warrior Contest. Third place winner Angelique Temple receives $5,000 as part of 2023 Road Warrior Contest.

"It was inspiring to read the nominations celebrating professional drivers' heroism, dedication and selfless acts of kindness," said Adrienne Ingoldt, vice president of brand and marketing for Pilot Flying J. "At every turn and with each mile driven, these professional drivers go above and beyond to help people and communities along the way. Thank you and congratulations to Don, Robert and Angelique on this well-deserved recognition of your contributions and many years of driving."

Crouse, this year's grand prize winner, has been a professional truck driver for over 50 years and currently drives for Boyd Grain out of Washington, Indiana. As a mentor and advocate for the trucking industry, he has helped guide new drivers into careers over the road. For the last 15 years, Crouse has dedicated time as a volunteer with Wreaths Across America to deliver wreaths to veterans' cemeteries in several states. He and his wife have started Wreaths Across America ceremonies in six locations across southwestern Indiana.

"Besides being a great driver for over 50 years, Don has gone above and beyond supporting our nation's veterans through Wreaths Across America, and it's awesome to see a company like Pilot recognize him for all his selfless efforts. All of us at Boyd Grain are proud to work with Don," said Logan Graber, co-owner of Boyd Grain.

Palm, a U.S. Army veteran, has been in the trucking industry for over 40 years. Passionate about serving fellow drivers and their families, he founded Truckers Final Mile, an organization designed to reunite drivers and their families in times of crisis. In 2015, Palm and his wife created a new program to support children during their first Christmas after losing a truck driver parent on the highway.

With over 20 years behind the wheel, Temple continues to inspire women in the trucking industry, guide young drivers and dedicate countless hours to helping those in need in her community. Her expertise and commitment to trucking have earned her recognition as a panel member for the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration and an induction into the Howes Hall of Fame. In 2023, Temple participated in the Make-A-Wish Mother's Day Truck Convoy, contributing to the cause of granting more wishes to children with critical illnesses.

To learn more about Pilot Flying J's 2023 Road Warrior contest and winners, visit pilotflyingj.com/roadwarrior.

About Pilot Flying J

Pilot Travel Centers LLC ("Pilot Flying J"), the largest network of travel centers in North America, is committed to connecting people and places with comfort, care and a smile at every stop. The Pilot Flying J travel center network includes over 750 locations in 44 states and six Canadian provinces with more than 790 restaurants, 77,000 truck parking spaces, 5,500 deluxe showers, 6,300 diesel lanes and offers truck maintenance and tire service through Southern Tire Mart at Pilot Flying J. Details on locations, amenities and rewards are available in the myRewards Plusapp. More information on Pilot Flying J is available at www.pilotflyingj.com.

Pilot Flying J is part of the Pilot Company family of brands. Pilot Company is a majority owned subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway. For additional information about Pilot Company, its 30,000 team members and commitment to giving back, visit www.pilotcompany.com.

SOURCE Pilot Flying J
For much of the world, Chinas Xinjiang region is notorious, a place where ethnic Uyghurs face forced labor and arbitrary detention. But a group of visiting foreign journalists was left with a decidedly different impression.

On a tour in late September sponsored by Beijing, the 22 journalists from 17 countries visited bazaars and chatted with residents over dates and watermelon slices. They later told state media they were impressed with the bustling economy, described the region as full of cultural, religious and ethnic diversity, and denounced what they said were lies by Western media.

The trip is an example of what Washington sees as Beijings growing efforts to reshape the global narrative on China. Its spending billions of dollars annually to do so.

In a first-of-its-kind report, the State Department last week laid out Beijings tactics and techniques for molding public opinion, such as buying content, creating fake personas to spread its message and using repression to quash unfavorable accounts.

The Global Engagement Center, a State Department agency thats tasked with combating foreign propaganda and disinformation and that released the 58-page report, warned that Beijings information campaign could eventually sway how decisions are made around the world and undermine U.S. interests.

Unchecked, the (Chinese governments) information manipulation could in many parts of the world diminish freedom to express views critical of Beijing, said Jamie Rubin, who heads the center. He said Beijings efforts could transform the global information landscape and damage the security and stability of the United States, its friends, and partners.

We dont want to see an Orwellian mix of fact and fiction in our world, he said. That will destroy the secure world of rules and rights that the United States and much of the world relies upon.

China over the weekend slammed the report, calling it in itself disinformation as it misrepresents facts and truth.

In fact, it is the U.S. that invented the weaponizing of the global information space, the Chinese foreign ministry said. It called the State Department agency a source of disinformation and the command center of perception warfare.

In a written statement, Liu Pengyu, spokesman for the Chinese Embassy in Washington, said the report was just another tool to keep China down and buttress American hegemony.

Beijing argues that Western media have long held biases against China and at times have demonized it. Chinese President Xi Jinping has demanded that China tell its story to the world so Beijing would be trusted and respected.

But U.S. government officials say Beijing is advancing its agenda through coercion and lies. In one case outlined by the report, the Chinese government created a fake commentator named Yi Fan, whose pro-Beijing writings have appeared in publications in Asia, Africa and Latin America.

In social media, Beijing deploys armies of bots, trolls and coordinated campaigns to suppress critical content and boost pro-Beijing messages, the report said. China-made phones sold overseas have been found to come with censorship capabilities.

A national security law in Hong Kong has allowed authorities to prosecute those who live overseas but criticize Beijings policy in the territory, according to the report. On Ukraine, Beijing has cooperated with Moscow to amplify the Kremlins false claims, it said.

In Xinjiang, Beijing has brought in diplomats and foreign journalists on tightly orchestrated trips with minders in tow.

The aim is to counter allegations that Beijing has mistreated the countrys 11 million ethnic Uyghurs through arbitrary detention and labor programs that send Uyghurs to work in factories far from their homes.

A United Nations report last year said the acts by Beijing in Xinjiang might constitute crimes against humanity. The U.S. government went further, saying the actions constitute genocide against the Uyghurs, most of whom are Muslim.

On the latest such trip to Xinjiang, the journalists praised Beijings efforts in preserving the regions traditional culture, creating a harmonious and prosperous life for people of all ethnicities and religions, the party-run Global Times newspaper reported.

One Iranian journalist described the northwestern region as a beautiful Persian rug with different colors and patterns weaved together, according to China News, another state-run news agency.

Meanwhile, Beijing has banned independent reporting in Xinjiang by Western journalists, and it has sought to silence criticism from Uyghurs overseas by threatening to punish their family members at home and deny them entry into China.

While the State Department report focused on Beijings global influence efforts outside the United States, its findings are similar to those documented in the U.S. by think tanks and advocacy groups.

Testifying before the Senate Intelligence Committee last week, Sarah Cook, a senior adviser for China, Hong Kong and Taiwan at Freedom House, said Beijings disinformation campaign targeting the U.S. could sow discord and might influence election results at the local level, especially in districts with large Chinese American voters. They are more likely to be using WeChat, a popular Chinese-language messaging app heavily controlled by Beijing, she said.

Glenn Tiffert, who co-chairs a project on Chinas influence campaigns at the Hoover Institute, told the committee that the use of new technology, such as artificial intelligence, could allow Beijing to better interfere with U.S. elections.

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MERIDIAN, Idaho, Oct. 5, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Sekady, a leader in fintech and software solutions in the Title Insurance & Escrow space, is pleased to announce a new partnership with Pioneer Title Company for secure real estate payments. Sekady's new platform, called Tidal Money, is a payments platform providing options such as ACH, wires, and Real Time Payments for more efficient and secure real estate transactions.

Tidal Money facilitates transactions from escrow closing disbursements, net proceeds, payoffs, earnest money and more, with an emphasis on security and ease-of-use for Title & Escrow Companies, Realtors, and Home Buyers.

"There's no doubt that Tidal Money will be the most efficient, friction-free way to transmit earnest money." Post this

Amid growing concern about the rising prevalence of fraud and wire schemes in the real estate industry, Sekady adheres to strict SOC-2 Certified protocols and organizational compliance. Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) and bank grade encryption further ensure alignment with ALTA best practices.

"We are extremely excited about working with a forward-thinking company like Pioneer Title. Our visions of creating best-in-class products to better serve our clients align perfectly." Says Thayne Boren, President of Sekady. "The fact that they have such a strong, local presence with a reputation for exceeding their clients' expectations is just a bonus."

"In the age of increasing wire fraud and scam risks, Pioneer Title has always looked at the fintech space for opportunities to implement cutting-edge technology within our operational and compliance-based standards." Adds Pioneer Title Company CEO, Tim Bundgard. "We have a duty to protect our clients' sensitive personal and financial information, so we are excited to offer the Tidal Money platform to our customers. There's no doubt that Tidal Money will be the most efficient, friction-free way to transmit earnest money while providing our clients with an additional layer of security and protection."

About Sekady: Founded in 2018, Sekady provides technology solutions to valued partners such as Title Companies, Fund Control Companies, Lenders, General Contractors, and Subcontractors while offering seamless collaboration and visibility into construction projects.

About Pioneer Title Company (PTC): PTC is a locally owned and operated title company offering residential insurance products, as well as a full line of coverage focused on the commercial sector. Incorporated in 1949, PTC maintains strong and conservative fiscal discipline to weather any economic climate, ensuring uninterrupted service for customers.

SOURCE Sekady
 Clinical activity was demonstrated in 9 of 11 (81%) evaluable patients

 Immune activation by PT-112 monotherapy observed in peripheral blood sampling crosses both adaptive and innate anti-cancer immune cell types

 Interim data presented in an oral presentation at the ITMIG2023 Annual Meeting at New York's Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center

NEW YORK, Oct. 5, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The National Cancer Institute (NCI), part of the National Institutes of Health, under formal collaboration with Promontory Therapeutics Inc., a clinical stage pharmaceutical company advancing immunogenic small molecule approaches in oncology, today presented preliminary results from the Phase 2 clinical trial of Promontory's lead therapeutic candidate, PT-112, in patients with recurrent thymic epithelial tumors (TETs).

During an oral presentation at the International Thymic Malignancy Interest Group (ITMIG) 2023 Annual Meeting, Arun Rajan, MD, Principal Investigator at the NCI, highlighted PT-112's encouraging clinical activity, including evidence of immune activation. PT-112's safety profile also excluded new immune-related adverse events, which constitute a risk to the use of other immunotherapy approaches in TETs, rare cancers with no FDA approved drug. The ITMIG2023 Annual Meeting is taking place October 4-6, 2023 at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York.

"In a previous Phase 1 clinical trial, PT-112 showed strong safety and durable clinical activity in patients with thymoma, a type of TET, which provided us with the confidence to move into Phase 2 in collaboration with the NCI," said Promontory Therapeutics Chief Medical Officer Johan Baeck, MD. "There is a clear need to develop treatments for patients with recurring TETs, for which there are currently no approved drugs. In this ongoing Phase 2 study, PT-112 has demonstrated promising clinical activity in patients with TETs. Our immune analyses showed evidence of immune activationa key mechanism of PT-112 in the fight against cancer cells. These early results certainly support further evaluation."

PT-112 induces immunogenic cell death and stimulates an anti-cancer adaptive immune response. The ongoing Phase 2 clinical trial for thymic epithelial tumors (NCT05104736) is examining the response rate in patients with disease progression after prior platinum-based treatments or immune checkpoint inhibitors failed to achieve results. Patients have been administered PT-112 on days 1, 8, and 15 of a 28-day cycle, whereby researchers then analyzed the effects of PT-112 on the immune system and the tumor microenvironment.

Additional preliminary results include:

Out of a total of eleven patients evaluable for response, one (9%) achieved a partial response, eight achieved stable disease (73%) and two had progressive disease (18%).

No new immune-related AEs have been observed.

Findings in peripheral blood included an increase in activated T cells, NK cells, and pro-inflammatory cytokines, and a decrease in immunosuppressive serum analytes.

For more information about Promontory's clinical trials, visit www.PromontoryTx.com.

About PT-112

PT-112 is the first small-molecule conjugate of pyrophosphate in clinical development in oncology. PT-112 has numerous advantages  including its tolerability and inhibition of ribosomal biogenesis (RiBi) which leads to immunogenic cell death (ICD), through the release of damage associated molecular patterns (DAMPs) that bind to dendritic cells and lead to downstream immune effector cell recruitment in the tumor microenvironment. PT-112 represents a highly potent inducer of this immunological form of cancer cell death. Further, PT-112 harbors a property known as osteotropism, or the propensity of the drug to reach its highest concentrations in certain areas of the bone, making it a candidate for treatment of patients with cancers that originate in, or metastasize to, the bone. The rst in-human study of PT-112 demonstrated an attractive safety prole and evidence of long-lasting responses among heavily pre-treated patients and data were published in eClinicalMedicine, part of The Lancet. The combination Phase 1b dose escalation study of PT-112 with PD-L1 checkpoint inhibitor avelumab in solid tumors was reported in a mini-oral presentation at the ESMO 2020 Virtual Congress and the Phase 2a dose confirmation cohort in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients was reported at ESMO I-O 2022. The Phase 1 study in patients with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma presented at ASH 2020 is the third completed Phase 1 study of PT-112. Monotherapy Phase 2 development is ongoing in mCRPC, and includes the Phase 2 proof of concept study in thymic epithelial tumors under the company's formal CRADA with the NCI. Interim data from the NCI study were published at ASCO 2023.

About Promontory Therapeutics

Promontory Therapeutics Inc. is a privately held, clinical stage drug development company focused on small molecule immunotherapy in cancer. Clinical data generated across three Phase 1 studies of lead molecule PT-112 have demonstrated single-agent and combination anti-cancer activity and an attractive tolerability prole. The Company's lead Phase 2 study in late-stage metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer patients is underway in the United States and France. The company applies a borderless collaboration model for research and development work, which has been conducted in the United States, Europe and Asia. As part of its recent expansion into France, Promontory was selected as the first international company member of the Paris-Saclay Cancer Cluster, Europe's emerging biotech hub for oncology. The company also has an active Phase 2 trial underway with the National Cancer Institute (NCI) utilizing PT-112 in thymic epithelial tumors (TETs), a rare disease with no FDA approved drug, for which PT-112 has received FDA Orphan Drug designation.

To learn more about Promontory Therapeutics, visit the company's website here.

CONTACTS:



Promontory Therapeutics

Brooke Raphael, MS

VP, Strategy & Operations

Tel: +1 (646) 974-6453

Email: [email protected]

Investors:

Stan Musial

Tel: +1 (646) 222-6932

Email: [email protected]

ICR Westwicke

Media:

Alexis Feinberg

Tel: +1 (203) 939-2225

Email: [email protected]

SOURCE Promontory Therapeutics Inc.
Hardware That Provides Workforce Automation And Inventory Tracking At Affordable Prices That Won't Break The Bank

LOS ANGELES, Oct. 5, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- ResultWorx Technology Solutions today announces Get Handhelds (www.gethandhelds.com), your go-to source for affordable ruggedized handheld scanners and devices, increasing competition and revolutionizing marketplace.

Unitech EA 520 Series Device Unitech Scanners Online Store

ResultWorx Technology Solutions, a sister company to BIS Computer Solutions, is thrilled to introduce Get Handhelds, an online destination offering Unitech products and services, including rugged handheld scanners, warranties, accessories, and parts. Get Handhelds provides a wide range of rugged hardware, mobile devices, tablets, mobile printers, 24/7 tech support, and barcode scanners, all at competitive prices within the United States and internationally.

This innovative partnership with Unitech guarantees access to exclusive products, free standard shipping, and discounts of 5%-20% for new customers using the promo code "buy now."

Michael Macho, President and CEO of ResultWorx Technology Solutions, emphasizes their commitment to affordability, free shipping, 24/7 support, and industry knowledge and expertise. "Get Handhelds is dedicated to delivering value at every step of the customer journey," says Macho.

In support of this exciting venture, Unitech CEO and Unitech America, Inc. General Manager Peter Hsu, expressed enthusiasm for the collaboration, stating, "We are thrilled to partner with Get Handhelds in making our products more accessible to customers. This partnership reinforces our commitment to delivering high-quality rugged hardware to a wider audience," says Hsu

Get Handhelds' website is hosted on a WordPress-Optimized Cloud Server provided by Viridio.net, a premier environmentally friendly data center. Laz C. Peterson, founder of Viridio, expresses pride in hosting Get Handhelds' online store and highlights the eco-friendly data center's scalability. Viridio's Co-Founder Steven Craig stated, "Given WordPress powers many of the world's largest and most popular websites, it's crucial for Get Handhelds to optimize their loading speed." Craig added, "WordPress fuels over 65% of CMS-based websites. As websites adopt immersive multiuser technology and enhance e-commerce, fast loading is essential, and our WordPress Optimized platform is designed for this purpose."

About ResultWorx Technology Solutions:

A leading technology company, ResultWorx specializes in providing innovative solutions to businesses. Visit www.resultworx.com and www.gethandhelds.com for more information. More

About Unitech Electronics:

Founded in 1979 in Taiwan, Unitech Electronics boasts over 40 years of experience as a global provider of AIDC technologies, offering mobile computers, rugged handheld PDAs, industrial tablets, barcode scanners, RFID readers, and IoT solutions. More

About Viridio:

Viridio.net is a pioneering data center known for its environmentally friendly approach, offering WordPress-optimized cloud servers for traffic optimization. More

Media inquiries:

Barnett Media

Chris Barnett

415-336-5092

[email protected]

SOURCE ResultWorx Technology Solutions
SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif., Oct. 4, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Revasum, Inc., a leading provider of advanced semiconductor manufacturing equipment, is thrilled to announce a strategic partnership with SGSS, a global leader in high-performance materials and innovative solutions. This partnership aims to revolutionize the semiconductor industry by developing a cutting-edge line of grinding wheels specifically designed for Silicon Carbide (SiC) wafers.

Silicon Carbide is a critical material in the production of power devices and has gained significant prominence in the semiconductor industry due to its exceptional properties. The demand for SiC wafers has been steadily growing, and achieving the highest quality wafers is paramount to meet the evolving needs of the market.

Revasum Inc. and Saint-Gobain Surface Solutions (SGSS) Join Forces to Innovate Silicon Carbide Wafer Grinding Technology Post this

The partnership between Revasum and SGSS represents a collaboration between two industry giants with a shared commitment to innovation and excellence. By combining Revasum's expertise in semiconductor manufacturing equipment with SGSS's cutting-edge abrasive materials, this alliance seeks to develop a new generation of surface finishing solutions that will set new standards for precision, efficiency, and surface quality in SiC wafer production with sustainability and environmental responsibility at the core of our collaboration. This partnership holds great promise for the semiconductor industry, paving the way for enhanced SiC wafer production processes that will contribute to the advancement of power electronics, electric vehicles, renewable energy, and various other technology sectors.

Mr. Scott Jewler, CEO of Revasum, Inc., commented on the partnership, saying, "We are excited to join forces with Saint-Gobain Surface Solutions, a renowned leader in materials science and innovation. This partnership will enable us to provide our customers with cutting-edge tools and solutions to address the increasing demand for high-quality Silicon Carbide wafers."

Mr. Jean-Claude Lasserre, CEO Saint-Gobain Surface Solutions stated, "Our collaboration with Revasum exemplifies our commitment to delivering high-performance materials and solutions that push the boundaries of what is possible. Together, we will unlock new levels of precision and efficiency in Silicon Carbide wafer grinding with highest levels of sustainable products and solutions."

Both Revasum, Inc. and SGSS are eager to embark on this journey of innovation and look forward to delivering groundbreaking solutions that will shape the future of Silicon Carbide wafer manufacturing.

For further information and inquiries about this partnership, please contact:

Nick Langston

VP Sales & Marketing, Revasum

[email protected]

About Revasum, Inc.:

Revasum specializes in the design and manufacturing of capital equipment used in the semiconductor device manufacturing process. Our product portfolio includes grinding, polishing and CMP equipment used to manufacture substrates and devices for the global semiconductor industry. The company has leveraged its significant intellectual property portfolio to develop the new flagship 6EZ Silicon Carbid Polisher, which, alongside the 7AF-HMG Silicon Carbide Grinder, provides Revasum's customers with an optimized, fully automated single-wafer grind and polish toolset The solution is configurable for SiC wafers 200mm and below.

The company's headquarters and manufacturing facility is based in San Luis Obispo, California, United States.

About Saint-Gobain Surface Solutions

Saint-Gobain Surface Solutions, part of Saint-Gobain Group, is a global business creating surface solutions for a better world thanks to its product offer including Abrasives, Adhesives, Sealants, Tapes, Composites, Films. Its abrasives solutions are powerful, precise, user-friendly solutions, which enable customers to cut, shape and finish all materials in the most complex and challenging applications. By working closely with end-users and grinding expert partners, Saint-Gobain Surface Solutions designs and provides customized solutions to secure the best option for performance, cost and safety. Leveraging its global manufacturing presence in 28 countries, Saint-Gobain Surface Solutions serves its customers globally and locally through its structured sales operations, employing over 11,000 people.

As part of the Saint-Gobain Group, we believe in progress and seek to be a game-changer that improves individual and collective health and wellness. We are convinced that the solutions that meet everyone's essential needs and allow us to live better together, without jeopardizing future generations, are still to be invented. Our commitment to reach this ambitious objective is guided by our shared purpose: "MAKING THE WORLD A BETTER HOME".

For more information, please visit www.saint-gobain-abrasives.com

https://www.linkedin.com/company/saint-gobain-surface-solutions/

SOURCE Revasum
NEW YORK, Oct. 5, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Templum, Inc. ("Templum"), the operating system for private markets and alternative assets, announced today that it has been recognized by PAN Finance as the Best Capital Markets Infrastructure Provider. These awards celebrate innovative projects and teams across the vendor and practitioner communities that use new and emerging technologies and services to deliver high-value disruptive solutions in North America.

The private market has historically been plagued by a lack of access to alternative investments. Manual processes and fragmented infrastructure have resulted in a disjointed investor experience and a lack of asset distribution and access. Private markets desperately need an enterprise-grade network that is digitally streamlined to enable widespread alternative asset distribution to investors. This problem has been uniquely solved by Templum.

Templum has been named Best Capital Markets Infrastructure Provider for Private Markets and Alts by PAN Finance. Post this

"Templum has reimagined and truly transformed the infrastructure for private markets," said Christopher Pallotta, founder and CEO of Templum. "We leverage our innovative digital and scalable patent-pending technologies to significantly reduce costs and time by creating operational efficiencies for investment managers, advisors, and investors. In doing so, we have established a robust ecosystem and infrastructure that simplifies access, investing and trading."

"Templum has set a gold standard. The company's dedication to driving innovation in capital markets is truly commendable, and we are proud to recognize the exceptional contributions with this well-deserved award," said PAN Finance head of research Olu Arowoshola. "At PAN Finance, we spotlight leading examples of best practices across the world of finance. Established to be a true measure of excellence, these awards look beyond the realm of the balance sheet alone, measuring success through innovation, stewardship of the environment and positive impact on society  all which Templum exemplifies."

About Templum

Templum is paving the way for investors to participate in new asset classes through integrated market technologies and APIs for primary issuance, secondary trading and alternative data. Templum's combined solution improves liquidity and distribution in private markets by enabling a continuous trading experience for investors rather than the manual processes currently in place. In doing so, Templum delivers custom trading solutions to power marketplaces. Templum Markets LLC. a wholly owned subsidiary of Templum, Inc., is a New York-based broker-dealer, and Alternative Trading System (ATS) approved to trade unregistered private securities in 53 U.S. states and territories. For more information, please visit www.templuminc.com.

About PAN Finance

Each quarter PAN Finance delivers key information through time-sensitive financial news covering world markets, industry analysis and c-suite level interviews. Content from renowned academics and leading professionals provides an accessible view of global trends, with a focus on finance, economics, infrastructure, technology and sustainability - www.panfinance.net

SOURCE Templum Inc.
Human rights organizations seek information on physical abuse, solitary confinement, inadequate medical care, and more within the New Orleans ICE Field Office

NEW YORK, Oct. 5, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights (RFKHR), American Civil Liberties Union of Louisiana (ACLU-LA), and New York Civil Liberties Union (NYCLU), today filed five Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests to obtain records from US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) regarding policies and practices within the New Orleans ICE Field Office (NOLA ICE). Responsible for immigration detention centers across Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Arkansas, and Tennessee, NOLA ICE has a documented history of human rights and civil rights abuses within its facilities, including physical abuse, unsafe release practices, lack of access to language services, unlawful use of solitary confinement, and inadequate medical care.

"The culture of abuse and scale of rampant impunity within the NOLA ICE Field Office is unlike anything we've seen in immigration detention," said Sarah Decker, staff attorney at Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights. "Our clients and community members have been denied access to life-saving medication, physically beaten, and sexually assaulted. When they have spoken out about this mistreatment, ICE has locked them in solitary confinement for weeks in retaliation. Yet despite growing public concern, there's a terrifying lack of transparency about what happens in these jails."

The FOIA requests cite systemic abuses within all 10 active facilities under the NOLA Field Office, including reports of torture, physical abuse, threats of violence, anti-Black racism, threatened and deployed solitary confinement, deprivation of basic human necessities including life-saving medical care, and retaliation in response to reported grievances. The facilities' egregious conditions of confinement and unsafe release practices have led to serious injury and even death.

"Every year, the federal government quietly disappears thousands of asylum seekers to a network of private prisons in Louisiana. Most people held in these ICE facilities languish for years, suffering neglect and inhumane conditions, deprived of access to lawyers, family, and resources," said Nora Ahmed, legal director at the ACLU of Louisiana. "The decisions and policies ICE uses to guide it are a matter of life and death for the tens of thousands of people held in Louisiana's detention facilities. We will fight to ensure these policies and decisions are made public."

"NOLA ICE's treatment of people in its detention facilities is inhumane and unacceptable," said Amy Belsher, Director of Immigrant Rights' Litigation at the New York Civil Liberties Union. "There have been countless reports of racist harassment, physical assault, and medical neglect  and the severe lack of transparency is almost certainly shielding even more incidents. The public needs to see the full picture of what is happening in these detention centers to ensure the safety and dignity of the immigrants incarcerated there."

RFKHR, the ACLU-LA, and NYCLU have requested expedited processing for their FOIA requests and a response from the federal government within 20 business days. A copy of the requests is available here .

About Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights

We are a nonpartisan, not-for-profit organization that has worked to realize Robert F. Kennedy's dream of a more just and peaceful world since 1968. In partnership with local activists, we advocate for key human rights issueschampioning change makers and pursuing strategic litigation at home and around the world. And to ensure change that lasts, we foster a social-good approach to business and investment and educate millions of students about human rights and social justice.

About American Civil Liberties Union of Louisiana

Since 1956, the ACLU of Louisiana (ACLU-LA) has worked to advance and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed by the Constitution and laws of the United States and the State of Louisiana. As Louisiana's chief defender of civil rights and civil liberties, ACLU-LA is committed to advancing racial justice and dismantling systemic racism across the state through our work to hold police accountable, end mass incarceration and immigration detention, protect voting rights, and advance gender equality and reproductive freedom.

About New York Civil Liberties Union

The New York Civil Liberties Union (NYCLU) is one of the nation's foremost defenders of civil liberties and civil rights. Our mission is to defend and promote the fundamental principles and values embodied in the Bill of Rights, the U.S. Constitution, and the New York Constitution, including freedom of speech and religion, and the right to privacy, equality and due process of law, with particular attention to the pervasive and persistent harms of racism.

SOURCE Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights
NEW YORK, Oct. 4, 2023 /PRNewswire/ --

WHY: Rosen Law Firm, a global investor rights law firm, reminds purchasers of securities of Lumen Technologies, Inc. (NYSE: LUMN) between March 11, 2019 and July 14, 2023, both dates inclusive (the "Class Period"), of the important November 14, 2023 lead plaintiff deadline.

SO WHAT: If you purchased Lumen securities during the Class Period you may be entitled to compensation without payment of any out of pocket fees or costs through a contingency fee arrangement.

WHAT TO DO NEXT: To join the Lumen class action, go to https://rosenlegal.com/submit-form/?case_id=17736 or call Phillip Kim, Esq. toll-free at 866-767-3653 or email [email protected] or [email protected] for information on the class action. A class action lawsuit has already been filed. If you wish to serve as lead plaintiff, you must move the Court no later than November 14, 2023. A lead plaintiff is a representative party acting on behalf of other class members in directing the litigation.

WHY ROSEN LAW: We encourage investors to select qualified counsel with a track record of success in leadership roles. Often, firms issuing notices do not have comparable experience, resources or any meaningful peer recognition. Many of these firms do not actually litigate securities class actions, but are merely middlemen that refer clients or partner with law firms that actually litigate the cases. Be wise in selecting counsel. The Rosen Law Firm represents investors throughout the globe, concentrating its practice in securities class actions and shareholder derivative litigation. Rosen Law Firm has achieved the largest ever securities class action settlement against a Chinese Company. Rosen Law Firm was Ranked No. 1 by ISS Securities Class Action Services for number of securities class action settlements in 2017. The firm has been ranked in the top 4 each year since 2013 and has recovered hundreds of millions of dollars for investors. In 2019 alone the firm secured over $438 million for investors. In 2020, founding partner Laurence Rosen was named by law360 as a Titan of Plaintiffs' Bar. Many of the firm's attorneys have been recognized by Lawdragon and Super Lawyers.

DETAILS OF THE CASE: According to the lawsuit, defendants made false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose that: (1) Lumen owned and/or still owns thousands of miles of cables wrapped in lead, a known neurotoxin, within the U.S.; (2) the foregoing has harmed and posed the risk of further harming the environment, exposed Lumen employees, and the general public, thereby posing a significant public health risk and environmental pollution risk; (3) Lumen was on notice about the damage and risks presented by these lead-covered cables but did not disclose them as a potential threat to everyday people and communities, as well as failed to provide adequate lead training to employees; (4) all the foregoing subjected Lumen to a heightened risk of governmental and regulatory oversight and enforcement action, as well as legal and reputational harm; and (5) as a result, Lumen's public statements were materially false and misleading at all relevant times. When the true details entered the market, the lawsuit claims that investors suffered damages.

To join the Lumen class action, go to https://rosenlegal.com/submit-form/?case_id=17736 or call Phillip Kim, Esq. toll-free at 866-767-3653 or email [email protected] or [email protected] for information on the class action.

No Class Has Been Certified. Until a class is certified, you are not represented by counsel unless you retain one. You may select counsel of your choice. You may also remain an absent class member and do nothing at this point. An investor's ability to share in any potential future recovery is not dependent upon serving as lead plaintiff.

Follow us for updates on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-rosen-law-firm, on Twitter: https://twitter.com/rosen_firm or on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rosenlawfirm/.

Attorney Advertising. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.

Contact Information:

Laurence Rosen, Esq.

Phillip Kim, Esq.

The Rosen Law Firm, P.A.

275 Madison Avenue, 40th Floor

New York, NY 10016

Tel: (212) 686-1060

Toll Free: (866) 767-3653

Fax: (212) 202-3827

[email protected]

[email protected]

[email protected]

www.rosenlegal.com

SOURCE THE ROSEN LAW FIRM, P. A.
LOS ANGELES, Oct. 4, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- RVW Wealth LLC, a leading global financial services firm, is pleased to announce its generous funding contribution to the Maa Trust in the Maasai Mara region of Kenya. This collaboration aims to bridge the digital divide by providing Starlink satellite internet connectivity to empower local communities with access to information, education, and opportunities.

RVW Wealth provides Internet to support education and healthcare in Kenya Post this MAA Trust School Children Maa Trust School with Starlink Dish Installed

The Maasai Mara, renowned for its breathtaking landscapes and rich cultural heritage, has historically faced challenges in connectivity due to its remote location. The partnership between RVW Wealth and the Maa Trust seeks to revolutionize the lives of residents in this region by unlocking the potential of the internet.

RVW Wealth's commitment to making a positive impact in the communities it serves aligns perfectly with the Maa Trust's mission to empower the Maasai people and conserve the Mara ecosystem. Through this initiative, RVW Wealth will fund the installation of Starlink satellite internet terminals, ensuring high-speed internet access across various community hubs, schools, and healthcare facilities.

Starlink, a project by SpaceX, offers a groundbreaking satellite internet service that delivers high-speed connectivity to underserved and remote areas, making it an ideal solution for the Maasai Mara's unique geographical challenges.

This project is set to:

**Empower Education**: Access to high-speed internet will enable students to access online educational resources, connect with global educational institutions, and enhance their learning opportunities.



**Promote Economic Growth**: Improved connectivity will open doors to e-commerce, remote work opportunities, and digital entrepreneurship, fostering economic growth and reducing poverty in the region.



**Enhance Healthcare**: Healthcare facilities will benefit from telemedicine services, enabling better diagnosis and treatment options for residents in remote areas, with a focus on women's health.



**Preserve Culture**: Access to the internet will help preserve the rich cultural heritage of the Maasai people by facilitating the sharing of their traditions and stories with the world.

RVW Wealth is committed to corporate social responsibility, and this initiative is a testament to the company's dedication to making a meaningful difference in the world. By supporting the Maa Trust's efforts in bringing the internet to the Maasai Mara, RVW Wealth is contributing to a brighter future for the region.

"RVW Wealth believes in the power of connectivity to transform lives and communities. We are thrilled to partner with the Maa Trust and support their mission to bring the internet to the Maasai Mara," said Jonathan Gerber, Partner at RVW Wealth.

The project's implementation will begin immediately, with the first beneficiaries expected to access high-speed internet within the coming months.

RVW Wealth invites interested parties, including local and international organizations, to join them in this noble endeavor and further enhance the impact of this transformative project.

For more information about RVW Wealth and its commitment to corporate social responsibility, please visit www.RVWwealth.com.

Media Contact:

Jonathan Gerber Partner, RVW Wealth LLC

[email protected]

310-432-4036

About RVW Wealth LLC:

RVW Wealth ( www.RVWwealth.com ) is a leading global financial services firm dedicated to providing innovative solutions that empower individuals, families, and communities to achieve their financial goals. With a commitment to corporate social responsibility, RVW Wealth actively supports initiatives that make a positive impact on society and the environment. The mission of RVW Wealth is not to only serve their clients, but to give back to the broader community. RVW Wealth is adding an international reach to their philanthropic mission by including impoverished communities around the world.

About the Maa Trust:

The Maa Trust is a nonprofit organization working to empower the Maasai people in Kenya while conserving the unique ecosystems of the Maasai Mara. Through a variety of community-focused initiatives, the Maa Trust aims to improve the lives of local residents and protect the region's natural heritage.

SOURCE RVW Wealth LLC
The round, led by Emergence Capital, will accelerate growth for the first and only product that brings real, customizable data into live demos

SAN FRANCISCO, Oct. 5, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Saleo, creator of the first and only live demo automation platform, announced today that it has raised $13 million from Emergence Capital and Tech Square Ventures to help revenue teams create unprecedented demo experiences with real data that are so personalized for prospects, they've been shown to cut sales cycles in half.

Before Saleo and after Saleo

Saleo Live transforms any SaaS demo environment to create tailored, data-complete live demos that harness the authentic product without creating a clone or copy. This ensures full functionality of the native app while creating the most compelling demo experience possible. What used to require days or weeks of data creation, design, personalization, and demo maintenance can now be created in moments  and be adjusted by sales in real-time to tell the strongest, most up-to-date story and close more deals.

Saleo Live - Introductory Video

These dynamic live demos are made possible by Saleo's generative AI-driven modeling engine, which syncs with the existing native software product to populate, create, and update realistic data inside the existing demo environment. With no code required, sales teams can modify any piece of data to personalize a demo, and have the entire interface and demo flow accurately, reflecting the change.

Leading SaaS companies like Outreach, Drift, Clari, Zuora, and Salesloft are harnessing Saleo Live to revolutionize their GTM motions, minimize demo prep time, reduce engineering costs to support their sales teams, and maximize the value of their product offerings.

Saleo-powered demos have proven to be dramatically more effective than the status quo, cutting both sales cycles and demo prep time by 50%, increasing pre-sales NPS 2x, and boosting deal win rates by 74% on average. Before implementing Saleo, sales engineers at customer companies were spending 3.5 hours a week on demo maintenance  a figure that went to zero after. These efficiency gains couldn't be more vital in an economic atmosphere that has hit SaaS revenue hard.

"With Saleo, we've reduced our weekly demo maintenance time by 100%," said Ryan Splain, Principal Demo Solutions Engineer at Salesloft. "NPS for our global presales team jumped from 4.5 to 9/10, and the Salesloft product has never looked more relevant, data complete, or valuable  something we couldn't have done without Saleo."

The Saleo team is excited to expand the platform in the near future, bringing the deep technical work it invested in building its live demo product to solve more pre-sale needs. As the AI engine progressively learns from new data, on which the modeling engine is built, new capabilities will emerge and Saleo's moat is poised to grow.

"This team has invested an incredible amount of time engineering something extremely complex and difficult to achieve, while making it simple and accessible for users," said Joe Floyd, General Partner at Emergence Capital, who led the deal for the firm. "As a result, each of Saleo's customers can harness the power of personalized live demos that are always current and tailored. This technical advantage gives Saleo a huge head start, and already positions it as a leader in the demo automation category."

Saleo was started in 2021 by Co-founder & CEO Justin McDonald, Co-founder & CPO Daniel Hellerman, and Co-Founder & Lead Engineer Alexey Svetliakov  all of whom have years of experience at leading sales-oriented SaaS companies and deep empathy for the biggest challenges facing modern sales and marketing teams.

"We've worked for years to perfect our AI modeling engine so that it represents a true breakthrough in how demos work  from how they're created and maintained, to the impact they make on sales and revenue," says Saleo Co-founder & CEO Justin McDonald. "This has helped us attract some of the biggest brands in SaaS as customers, and with this round, we're excited to be solving this deeply felt GTM problem for many more teams."

The team plans to use this new round of funding to expand its product and engineering output, build up its go-to-market organization, and accelerate fast to reach customers everywhere with both its Saleo Live and Capture products.

About Saleo

Saleo is the first live sales demo experience platform helping software companies create incredible demos that are data-complete, directly within their live SaaS products. We help revenue teams shorten their sales cycle, increase win rates and close more deals by removing the burden of missing data, outdated demo environments, and time-consuming demo prep. Leading SaaS companies like Salesloft, Zuora, Outreach, Clari, and Drift depend on Saleo to elevate their sales demos and to drive pipeline. Saleo is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. For more information, visit www.saleo.io .

SOURCE Saleo
Sally Beauty Holdings is contributing $200K to support its first-ever non-profit foundation.

DENTON, Texas, Oct. 5, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- As part of its mission to inspire a more colorful, confident, and welcoming world, and in conjunction with Domestic Violence Awareness Month, Sally Beauty Holdings is proud to announce SBH Inspires  the Company's first public 501(c)(3) non-profit foundation. SBH Inspires will focus its philanthropic efforts on supporting individuals impacted by domestic violence and abuse.

On average, nearly 20 people per minute are physically abused by an intimate partner in the United States. During one year, this equates to more than 10 million individuals.1 Domestic violence and abuse do not discriminate; they can affect anyone and touch all communities.

"SBH Inspires and the Sally Beauty Holdings community are uniquely positioned to make a difference," said SBH Inspires Executive Director & Senior Director of Benefits, Stacy Juetten. "Cosmetologists, hairstylists, and nail technicians are often the first individuals to whom those impacted by domestic violence reach out for help. SBH Inspires is focusing on raising awareness and providing important resources through Sally Beauty Holdings' broad reach to these groups. We are also leveraging our extensive store network to educate our associates and customers on the issue and, most importantly, how to get help."

Through SBH Inspires, Sally Beauty Holdings is putting its values into action by driving awareness, providing resources, and offering support. To kick off the foundation's launch, Sally Beauty Holdings is taking the first step by contributing $200,000 to SBH Inspires. This will help fund partners that provide domestic violence assistance and rehabilitation services.

SBH Inspires has selected a national and local partner to help bring its mission to life: The National Domestic Violence Hotline and Denton County Friends of the Family . Both organizations have a rich history of uplifting, championing, and embracing all people while creating a safe space for individuals affected by domestic violence and abuse.

"The National Domestic Violence Hotline (The Hotline) is honored to partner with SBH Inspires and offer support to the advocates and survivors. Since The Hotline's inception, close to 6.8 million individuals have called, chatted, or texted our advocates for information, help, safety planning, and, most importantly, hope. The reality is that more people than ever are reaching out to The Hotline for assistance," said National Domestic Violence Hotline CEO, Katie Ray-Jones. "We have a higher call volume than we can currently support, and sometimes callers have to wait up to 15 minutes. With contributions from SBH Inspires, we can provide greater resources to our teams to help those in need. This partnership demonstrates that Sally Beauty Holdings values safety and the well-being of its employees and customers. We look forward to growing this relationship over the coming years because HOPE is on the line."

Located near Sally Beauty Holdings' Denton, TX headquarters, "Denton County Friends of the Family's mission revolves around providing comprehensive and compassionate services to individuals affected by sexual abuse, rape, and domestic violence. Working hand in hand with the community, we strive to promote safety, healing, hope, justice, and prevention. The alignment of our values with those of SBH Inspires is truly remarkable, and we're confident that joining forces will strengthen our collective impact by making a positive difference in the lives of those we serve," stated Denton County Friends of the Family Executive Director, Toni Johnson-Simpson.

SBH Inspires is proud to work with like-minded, service-oriented partners to uplift others and make the world a safer and more beautiful place. To help bolster support for this important cause, SBH Inspires is kicking off a funding campaign this month. Learn more about SBH Inspires by visiting https://www.sallybeautyholdings.com/our-company/foundation.

As a public charity currently and validly recognized by the Internal Revenue Service as exempt under IRC 501(c)(3), any charitable contributions are tax-deductible as allowed under U.S. law.

If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic violence or abuse, contact the confidential National Domestic Hotline 24/7 at 1-800-799-SAFE (7233), text "START" at 88788 or go to www.thehotline.org. The Hotline is a powerful resource for those seeking help with domestic violence or abuse issues, and can connect those in need with immediate, local assistance.

About Sally Beauty Holdings, Inc.

Sally Beauty Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: SBH), as the leader in professional hair color, sells and distributes professional beauty supplies globally through its Sally Beauty Supply and Beauty Systems Group businesses. Sally Beauty Supply stores offer up to 7,000 products for hair color, hair care, nails, and skin care through proprietary brands such as Ion, Strawberry Leopard, Generic Value Products, Beyond the Zone and Silk Elements as well as professional lines such as Wella, Clairol, OPI, Conair and L'Oreal. Beauty Systems Group stores, branded as CosmoProf or Armstrong McCall stores, along with its outside sales consultants, sell up to 8,000 professionally branded products including Paul Mitchell, Wella, Matrix, Schwarzkopf, Kenra, Goldwell, Joico and Olaplex, intended for use in salons and for resale by salons to retail consumers. For more information about Sally Beauty Holdings, Inc., please visit https://www.sallybeautyholdings.com/ .

1 NCADV | National Coalition Against Domestic Violence. (n.d.). https://ncadv.org/statistics

SOURCE SALLY BEAUTY HOLDINGS
The border wall with Mexico, one of former president Donald Trumps most controversial works, has gained new life in the era of Joe Biden. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) reported on Wednesday that the executive has waived 26 federal laws in South Texas. This allows Washington to build up to 20 miles (32 kilometers) of border barrier in the region, which has been overwhelmed in recent weeks due to the increase in the migratory flow from South America. It is the first time that the Democratic administration has used this executive power, which comes at a pressing moment for a president who is facing increasing criticism on more fronts for his management of the border.

The DHS announced the governments decision in the U.S. Federal Registry. The notice acknowledged the tense moments experienced by several Texas border communities, which have seen the largest increase in illegal crossings in three years. There is presently an acute and immediate need to construct physical barriers and roads in the vicinity of the border of the United States in order to prevent unlawful entries into the United States in the project areas, said Alejandro Mayorkas, the DHS secretary, in the notice.

The executive order affects land located in Starr County, an area of 65,000 inhabitants where Texas converges with the Mexican state of Tamaulipas. Towns in that strip, such as Roma and Rio Grande, witnessed an increase in illegal entries within a few months of Bidens arrival at the White House. The pace of the crossings intensified, reaching 245,000 encounters (a euphemism that the government uses for arrests) during the fiscal year 2023, which covers October 2022 to September of this year.

The federal government is expected to release official figures for the last fiscal year in the coming days. Preliminary numbers in the hands of the DHS and the Border Patrol could break recent records. It is estimated that during the period, more than two million arrests were made along the more than 3,000 kilometers of the U.S.-Mexico border. The number of crossings increased sharply in August and September. It is estimated that last month alone some 50,000 Venezuelans entered the country illegally. The Biden administration has accelerated deportations and implemented agreements with other countries to stop the flow. It has also offered to expedite work permits for some migrants who are in U.S. territory. Meanwhile, the Republican governor of Texas, Greg Abbott, has ordered intensified checks at the border posts between Ciudad Juarez and El Paso, which has generated a monumental traffic jam of nearly 15,000 trucks.

The act of waiving federal laws on the border was common during the Trump administration. It was the former presidents preferred method to advance one of his most famous and controversial promises for immigration containment. By May 2020, the Republican administration had issued at least 30 orders to waive regulations in the region, according to a count by the Sierra Club, an environmental organization that argues that wall construction destroys the semi-desert ecosystem.

A group of migrants crosses through a gap in the wall in the middle of the desert between Sonora and Arizona, in August of this year. Matt York (AP)

Environmentalists have criticized Bidens decision under that same premise. Among the laws that have been passed in the area are those on clean air, water for human consumption and some that aimed to protect threatened species. With this tool, the executive avoids reviews and bureaucratic obstacles that could hinder rapid construction of border barriers. The DHS will use resources that Congress designated for that purpose in 2019, during Trumps presidency, to build the wall. The former president built 450 miles (724 kilometers) of barriers between 2017 and January 2021.

Pressured by the surge in illegal arrivals, Biden has been forced to make a sharp U-turn in his immigration policy. On the first day of his presidency, on January 20, 2021, the Democratic president issued an order that ended the emergency on the border and redirected the money used for the construction of the wall to other causes. Building a gigantic wall that covers the entire southern border is not a serious political solution, Biden said. It will be the policy of my administration that no more American taxes will be allocated to building a wall, he added.

News of the reactivation of the border wall coincides with a visit by Antony Blinken, Bidens Secretary of State, to Mexico, where he will meet with the Mexican president, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador. On Thursday morning he will participate, along with his Mexican counterpart, Alicia Barcena, in the High Level Dialogue on Security. On behalf of the American delegation, Mayorkas, Attorney General Merrick Garland, and Liz Sherwood, the White House Homeland Security Advisor, will also be at the meeting. The U.S. administration has on its agenda issues such as the proliferation of fentanyl trafficking, a drug that has become an epidemic, and immigration control along the complex common border.
Deal coincides with online savings events, in-club sampling and holiday activation

BENTONVILLE, Ark., Oct. 5, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Sam's Club is helping shoppers prepare for the holidays with the best Plus membership offer of the year. With a focus on value and convenience during the holiday season, Sam's Club is also launching two online savings events with exciting items that include early shopping hours on deals for Plus members.

"Our ambition is to create a membership experience that demonstrates the value Sam's Club provides to shoppers every day," said Scott Ludwig, vice president of membership, Sam's Club. "And we're offering an incredible value with our October membership promotion by giving shoppers access to our Plus membership at its lowest price of the year just in time for the holiday shopping season."

Sam's Club Offers Biggest Savings of the Year on Plus Membership Post this

Membership Savings: Sam's Club is unveiling savings throughout the month, beginning with an impressive membership offer from Oct. 5 through Oct. 15. Plus memberships will be available for new members for $55, regularly $110, for the first year of membership, while Club memberships will be available for new members only $15 (a $35 savings). Both offers are redeemable in clubs and online.1

Sam's Club Plus members have access to free shipping on most items, free curbside pickup, 2% back in Sam's Cash on qualifying purchases  up to $500/year, and free select generic prescriptions.2 Members with existing Club memberships can upgrade to Plus and receive $20 off their purchase of $40 or more, redeemable in-club only.3

Additionally, Plus members who are approved for a Sam's Club credit card during the membership event and make $30 in Sam's Club purchases within 30 days of approval will receive a $50 statement credit, while approved Club members receive a $30 statement credit.4

Early Access to Savings: As part of its new savings events, Sam's Club is offering online early access to new and existing Plus members, allowing them to shop online two hours early each day of the Flash Savings Event, as well as two-hour online early access on the first day of the Super Savings Event.

Flash Savings Event: From Oct. 6-9, Sam's Club will host its online Flash Savings Event, giving members access to daily offers on housewares, beauty, toys, tech, and more. Daily offers begin at 12:01 a.m. Eastern Standard Time on Oct. 6, with two-hour online early access available for Plus Members every day of the event. Items include:

Super Savings Event: On Oct. 10-12, Sam's Club will launch its online Super Savings Event with over $11,000 in savings on more than 100 top brands. The event begins at 12:01 a.m. Eastern Standard Time on Oct. 10, with two-hour online early access available for Plus members on the first day of the event. Items include:

Halloween Party in the Club: Sam's Club is celebrating Halloween in clubs across the country with trick-or-treating and fall-inspired samples. On Saturday, Oct. 7 from noon to 5 p.m. local time, members and their children are encouraged to wear costumes and collect treats from more than 10 candy stations set up around the club. Additionally, members will be able to sample new food items.

"October at Sam's Club is packed with member offers and spectacular fun," said Ludwig. "There's so much excitement in our clubs this time of year, and we're celebrating the start of the holiday season with a Halloween party for our youngest fans. It's just one of the many ways we're celebrating membership this season."

About Sam's Club

Sam's Club, a division of Walmart Inc. (NYSE: WMT), is a leading membership warehouse club offering superior products, savings and services to millions of members in nearly 600 clubs in the U.S. and Puerto Rico. Now in its 40th year, Sam's Club continues to redefine warehouse shopping with its highly curated assortment of high-quality fresh food and Member's Mark items, in addition to market leading technologies and services like Scan & Go, Curbside Pickup and home delivery service in select markets. To learn more about Sam's Club, visit the Sam's Club Newsroom, shop at SamsClub.com and interact with Sam's Club on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and Pinterest.

1Join now as a new Sam's Club Plus member for $55 off a $110 Plus membership, for a total of $55. Must join as a new Sam's Club Plus member using promotion link to qualify for offer. This offer is limited and may be terminated or changed at any time. Offer is not valid for those who were Sam's Club members less than six (6) months prior to joining. Applies pre-tax. Multiple offers cannot be combined, and the most recent offer will apply. You must be 18 years or older to purchase a membership, and membership is subject to qualifications. Membership cards are non-transferable and are valid at all Sam's Club locations nationwide. Walmart and Sam's Club associates are not eligible for this offer. Primary memberships are valid for one year from date of issue. Visit SamsClub.com/Privacy to view our privacy policy. Auto-Renew: By accepting this offer, you agree to Sam's Club Terms and Conditions, which includes auto-renewal terms, and authorize annual recurring charges to any card on file or any payment method in my digital wallet for my Sam's Club membership fee and any add-on membership(s), as well as any applicable taxes at the then-current rate for my membership level every year until I cancel. I agree that Sam's Club may charge any such card or payment method and am aware that failure to maintain sufficient funds in the accounts connected to those cards may result in overdraft or over limit fees being charged by the financial institution that issued the card. I represent that I am the owner or authorized user of the card and payment method to be charged. You can cancel or turn off auto-renew, remove any payment method or edit any payment method at any time in your online Account. If you do not want to renew, you must cancel at least 24 hours before your membership is due to renew to avoid being charged. You can also visit SamsClub.com or any club location or call 888-746-7726. The Instant Savings offer will apply at checkout. Prices shown are pre-tax amounts. State and local laws may require sales tax to be charged on the pre-discounted price. Offer valid through October 15, 2023.

1Join now as a new Sam's Club member for $35 off a $50 Club membership, for a total of $15. Must join as a new Sam's Club member using promotion link to qualify for offer. This offer is limited and may be terminated or changed at any time. Offer is not valid for those who were Sam's Club members less than six (6) months prior to joining. Applies pre-tax. Multiple offers cannot be combined, and the most recent offer will apply. You must be 18 years or older to purchase a membership, and membership is subject to qualifications. Membership cards are non-transferable and are valid at all Sam's Club locations nationwide. Walmart and Sam's Club associates are not eligible for this offer. Primary memberships are valid for one year from date of issue. Visit SamsClub.com/Privacy to view our privacy policy. Auto-Renew: By accepting this offer, you agree to Sam's Club Terms and Conditions, which includes auto-renewal terms, and authorize annual recurring charges to any card on file or any payment method in my digital wallet for my Sam's Club membership fee and any add-on membership(s), as well as any applicable taxes at the then-current rate for my membership level every year until I cancel. I agree that Sam's Club may charge any such card or payment method and am aware that failure to maintain sufficient funds in the accounts connected to those cards may result in overdraft or over limit fees being charged by the financial institution that issued the card. I represent that I am the owner or authorized user of the card and payment method to be charged. You can cancel or turn off auto-renew, remove any payment method or edit any payment method at any time in your online Account. If you do not want to renew, you must cancel at least 24 hours before your membership is due to renew to avoid being charged. You can also visit SamsClub.com or any club location or call 888-746-7726. The Instant Savings offer will apply at checkout. Prices shown are pre-tax amounts. State and local laws may require sales tax to be charged on the pre-discounted price. Offer valid through October 15, 2023.

2The Sam's Cash Loyalty Rewards Program (the "Sam's Cash Program") is a rewards currency program that allows U.S. and Puerto Rico Sam's Club members to earn and redeem Sam's Cash rewards, also referred to as "cash back rewards," on qualifying purchases (exclusions and restrictions apply) made in the U.S. and in Puerto Rico as set forth in the Sam's Cash Program Terms and Conditions. Marketing materials may refer to "Sam's Cash," "cash back rewards," or similar variations interchangeably to describe the rewards associated with the Sam's Cash Program. Participation in the Sam's Cash Program is automatic and subject to the Sam's Cash Terms and Conditions, the Sam's Club Membership Terms and Conditions, the Sam's Cash Bonus Offer Program terms, the Sam's Club Mastercard program terms and other Sam's Club rules and policies that may be applicable, all of which are subject to change and may be revised without notice. Sam's Cash has no cash value until such time as the rewards are redeemed at a Sam's Club. Sam's Cash can only be redeemed by active Sam's Club members. Sam's Cash cannot be earned where application of the Sam's Cash Program would be prohibited by law or regulation. Restrictions apply to earning and redeeming Sam's Cash. See Sam's Cash Program Terms and Conditions for details at SamsClub.com/SamsCash.

2The Sam's Club Plus Program is not insurance and cannot be combined with any insurance. This program is only available to Sam's Club Plus Members at participating Sam's Club Pharmacy locations. Not available on SamClub.com. Visit SamsClub.com/RxSavings to see the drug price, formulation, strength, and quantity available for Plus Members. Covered drugs may vary. Program prices are limited to a 30 day supply. There will be an additional cost for quantities greater than listed quantity. The Plus Member price is not available if a drug is part of a compounded prescription or for purchases submitted to any health benefit program, pharmacy benefit program, insurer, or state/federal government health care program. Program prices are not available to the general public and do not constitute Sam's Club usual and customary prices. May not combine with other offers. Free drugs are only available at no additional cost to Sam's Plus Members. The Free drug benefit is not available in AZ, CA, MN. Free drugs available to Sam's Club Plus Member only at select Sam's Club Pharmacy locations. In Arizona, California, and Minnesota, drugs listed in the Free drug benefit are available for $2 for a 30 day supply. Discount savings are based on the dispensing Sam's Club Pharmacy's regular retail cash price. Program pricing is limited to in stock items by select manufacturers of a covered drug at the dispensing pharmacy. Taxes or other fees may apply. Other restrictions apply. Terms subject to change without notice. See SamsClub.com or your local Sam's Club Pharmacy for details.

3Upgrade as a new Sam's Plus member and receive an Instant Savings offer for $20 off $40 or more of qualifying purchases in same transaction. Applies pre-tax. This offer is limited and may be terminated or changed at any time. Walmart and Sam's Club associates are not eligible for this offer. Visit SamsClub.com/privacy to view our privacy policy. Offer must be redeemed in a club location on a register. Offer cannot be used on SamsClub.com or with Scan & Go, or Curbside Pickup. Other restrictions may apply based upon local laws and regulations. Return value of merchandise purchased with this offer with be subject to a pro-rated adjustment. Instant Savings offers are subject to availability and are valid in U.S. clubs with a U.S. membership, excluding Puerto Rico. No money will be returned to the member if the price of the items falls below after applying Instant Savings discount. Visit SamsClub.com/termsandconditionsfor additional details and product exclusions. *Offer valid through October 15, 2023.

4Offer subject to credit approval. To qualify, you must (i) apply and be approved for a Sam's Club credit card account and (ii) use your new account to make Sam's Club purchases totaling $30 or more (excluding cash advances, gift card sales, alcohol, tobacco and pharmacy purchases) within 30 days of date of account opening. When you open an account online or with your mobile device, purchases cannot be made at in-club registers until the physical card is received. Your physical card should arrive in 7-10 business days from date of account opening. A $30 credit will post to the account within 90 days after the qualifying purchases are made; however, if you are a Plus member as of October 15th and open a Sam's Club credit card between October 5th and 15th, the $30 credit will be increased to a $50 credit when applied to your account. Offer is valid for newly opened accounts only and each account is eligible for only one $30 or $50 offer. We reserve the right to discontinue or alter the terms of this offer any time.

SOURCE Sam's Club
OAKVILLE, ON, Oct. 5, 2023 /PRNewswire/ - Samuel, Son & Co., Limited, a leading metals distributor and industrial products manufacturer, today announced the appointment of Maria Perrella as Chief Financial Officer.

"We are pleased to welcome a CFO of Maria's caliber and experience to Samuel," said Colin Osborne, President and CEO of Samuel. "Maria has proven financial leadership capabilities at top-performing industrial and technology companies. I look forward to working with her as we accelerate Samuel's growth and overall performance."

Samuel Names Maria Perrella as Chief Financial Officer. (CNW Group/Samuel Son & Co., Limited)

Ms. Perrella succeeds John Amodeo as CFO. Mr. Amodeo led Samuel's finance organization since 2011, and previously served as CFO of Samuel Manu-Tech, the former public division of the Company, since 2001. Mr. Amodeo announced his intention to retire earlier this year.

Regarding Mr. Amodeo's retirement, Mr. Osborne stated, "I would like to thank John for his longstanding service to Samuel. During his tenure, we grew and diversified the business, expanded throughout North America, and entered several new markets. This progress was possible because of the strong financial systems and teams John developed over this time. On behalf of our owners, board, and team, I would like to wish John well in retirement."

Maria Perrella is an accomplished executive with over 30 years of progressive financial leadership experience in both public and private global corporations. Prior to Samuel, Ms. Perrella served as Chief Financial Officer at MDA, a Canadian-based space technology company; at ATS, a global automation company; and at the Canadian division of L3Harris (formerly Spar Aerospace Ltd.). Ms. Perrella also provides governance and oversight as a member of the board of directors at publicly traded organizations. Ms. Perrella holds a bachelor's degree in business administration from the Schulich School of Business (York University) and is a Chartered Professional Accountant.

About Samuel

Founded in 1855, Samuel, Son & Co., Limited, is a family-owned integrated network of metal manufacturing, processing and distribution divisions. Samuel employees provide metals, industrial products and related value-added services from locations across North America. The company leverages its industry expertise, breadth of experience and the passion of its people to help drive success for North American business  one customer at a time. For more information visit samuel.com.

SOURCE Samuel Son & Co., Limited
LEWISVILLE, Texas, Oct. 5, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- SilverPoint Senior Living, a distinguished leader in senior living management, is thrilled to unveil its exciting new partnership with Phorcys Capital Partners and the acquisition of The Pearl Senior Living in Lewisville, formerly known as Inspired Living Lewisville.

"In just a few short weeks, SilverPoint has not only placed The Pearl firmly on the map but also ignited a buzz within the community," stated Cem Baloglu, Vice President with Phorcys Capital Partners. "We look forward to building upon the remarkable progress achieved thus far by SilverPoint to elevate the standard of care for our residents and their families through strategic investments at The Pearl in the months ahead."

"SilverPoint has not only placed The Pearl firmly on the map but also ignited a buzz within the community," -C. Baloglu Post this

SilverPoint Senior Living and Phorcys Capital Partners are dedicated to preserving the values and traditions that have made The Pearl Senior Living a cherished part of the Lewisville community while also introducing innovative and forward-thinking enhancements.

Residents, families, and the Lewisville community can look forward to exciting updates and improvements as the partnership between SilverPoint Senior Living and Phorcys Capital Partners unfolds. This collaboration signifies a bright future for The Pearl Senior Living, where the highest standards of senior care and living will continue to be the top priority.

Shawn Corzine, CEO of SilverPoint Senior Living, expressed his enthusiasm about this partnership, saying, "We are excited to add to our growing portfolio of SilverPoint communities by beginning a new and successful partnership with Phorcys Capital Partners at The Pearl Senior Living. We look forward to serving the great people of Lewisville for many years to come."

SilverPoint Senior Living has a proven track record of delivering high-quality senior living services and is dedicated to enhancing the well-being and comfort of its residents. Phorcys Capital Partners brings a wealth of expertise in strategic investments and operational excellence, making this partnership a promising step toward a brighter future for The Pearl Senior Living and its residents.

For media inquiries, please contact:

Kelly Schwennesen

VP of Sales and Marketing

[email protected]

About SilverPoint Senior Living

SilverPoint Senior Living is a Texas senior living management company that specializes in operating independent living, assisted living, and memory care communities. Their management services include portfolio management; development and acquisition; accounting and finance; marketing and sales; and IT and digital transformation. SilverPoint is strongly committed to its five core values of family, purpose, fun, integrity, and dignity, and is known for its signature Engaged Life program in which residents enjoy a person-centered care approach designed to make their lifestyle more similar to home. It is also a certified 2021 Great Place to Work. For more information about SilverPoint Senior Living, please visit www.silverpointsl.com or call 830-730-4472.

About Phorcys Capital Partners LLC

PCP is an alternative asset manager, with a focus on investing in distressed municipal bonds and/or acquiring the real assets secured by municipal bonds. PCP has historically focused on senior living, multifamily housing, student housing, and hospitality. Since inception, PCP has invested approximately $130 million in senior living and approximately $400 million across all sectors.

SOURCE SilverPoint Senior Living
CHICAGO, Oct. 5, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The report "Specialty Advanced Ceramics Market by Type(Composite Structure Ceramics, Electrical & Electronic Functional Ceramics), Application (Defence & Security, Electronics & Semiconductor, Optics & Industrial Manufacturing), & Region - Global Forecast 2028", size is projected to grow from USD 7.7 billion in 2023 to USD 10.2 billion by 2028, registering a CAGR of 6.0% during the forecast period.

The specialty advanced ceramics market owes its growth and development to a multitude of influential factors. These ceramics are meticulously engineered materials, distinguished by their unique properties that render them exceptionally well-suited for a wide range of high-tech applications. At the core of this growth are their extraordinary material characteristics, including but not limited to remarkable high-temperature stability, excellent electrical insulation, superior mechanical strength, and an innate resistance to wear and corrosion.

Browse in-depth TOC on "Specialty Advanced Ceramics Market"

270  Tables

45  Figures

247  Pages

Download PDF Brochure: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/pdfdownloadNew.asp?id=66180272

Years Considered for the Study Base Year Forecast Period Units Considered Segments Regions covered 2021-2028 2022 2023-2028 Value (USD Million/Billion) Material, Type, End-use, and Region Asia Pacific, North America, Europe, Middle East & Africa and South America

Electronics and semiconductors, by application, is expected to be the most significant Speciality advanced ceramics Market segment during the forecast period.

The electronics and semiconductors segment is currently a standout contributor to the growth of the speciality advanced ceramics market, and this phenomenon can be attributed to several compelling factors. One of the primary driving forces behind this surge is the relentless pursuit of miniaturization and high-performance demands within the electronics industry. Advanced ceramics, with their exceptional thermal conductivity, electrical insulation properties, and resistance to heat, have emerged as indispensable materials in this quest. They facilitate the design and manufacturing of smaller yet more powerful electronic devices while simultaneously ensuring high-performance standards are met. These ceramics efficiently dissipate the heat generated by electronic components, enabling devices to operate at optimal temperatures. This is especially crucial as modern electronics demand enhanced processing capabilities, making ceramics a linchpin in maintaining reliability and efficiency.

The zirconia ceramics is anticipated to be the fastest-growing Speciality advanced ceramics Market segment, by material, during the forecast period.

Zirconia ceramics, often referred to as zirconium oxide (ZrO2) ceramics, have emerged as one of the fastest-growing materials within the specialty advanced ceramics market. This meteoric rise can be attributed to their exceptional mechanical properties, including high strength, toughness, and impressive wear resistance, which make them invaluable in applications requiring durability and reliability, such as cutting tools, ball bearings, and dental implants. Furthermore, zirconia ceramics' biocompatibility has rendered them indispensable in the medical and dental implant sectors, where their strength and corrosion resistance, coupled with biocompatibility, ensure the success of implantable devices. Additionally, their remarkable thermal insulation properties find extensive use in aerospace and gas turbine engines, offering protection against high-temperature environments. These ceramics also serve as electrical insulators in electronic and electrical applications, featuring prominently in insulators, electrical connectors, and sensor components.

Request Sample Pages: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/requestsampleNew.asp?id=66180272

Asia pacific is expected to be the fastest-growing segment in the global Speciality advanced ceramics Market, by region, during the forecast period.

The Asia-Pacific region stands out as the fastest-growing segment in the specialty advanced ceramics market due to a confluence of compelling factors. Foremost among these is the region's burgeoning manufacturing sector, which encompasses electronics, automotive, and aerospace industries, all of which heavily rely on advanced ceramics for various critical applications, including semiconductor manufacturing, engine components, and aerospace materials. Additionally, the rapid pace of urbanization and infrastructure development across Asia-Pacific nations has propelled the use of specialty advanced ceramics in architectural applications such as tiles, coatings, and structural components, thanks to their unmatched durability and aesthetic appeal. Furthermore, the region's role as a global epicenter for consumer electronics manufacturing has led to a sustained demand for advanced ceramics in the production of compact, high-performance components, thus solidifying Asia-Pacific's position as a powerhouse in the specialty advanced ceramics market.

Market Players :

The top players in the Speciality advanced ceramics market are Materion Corporation (US), Morgan Advanced Materials (UK), Kyocera Corporation (Japan), Ceramtec GMBH (Germany), Coorstek INC (US) (United States).https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/requestsampleNew.asp?id=421 - utm_source=PRnewswire&utm_medium=Referal&utm_campaign=PaidPR

Browse Adjacent Market: Ceramics and Glass Market Research Reports & Consulting

Related Reports:

Piezoelectric Ceramics Market  Global Forecast to 2028

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SOURCE MarketsandMarkets
Attendees to experience how one platform can modernize employee communication, engagement, and empowerment

NEW YORK, Oct. 5, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- During the upcoming HR Technology Conference & Exposition, Staffbase , a leading employee communications platform provider, will highlight its industry expertise and showcase its integrated platform for strategic employee communications to the attending internal communications, HR, and IT professionals.

Taking place Tuesday, October 10  Friday, October 13, 2023, at Mandalay Bay (Las Vegas, Nev.), the HR Technology Conference & Exposition is the world's leading event focused on HR innovation. Throughout the event, attendees will have the opportunity to visit the Staffbase booth (#6702) and experience a moment for themselves to relax, recharge, and learn about how strategic employee communication fits in the modern workplace.

Staffbase highlights industry expertise and showcases integrated platform for strategic employee communications. Post this

Issues in the modern workplace include the increasing need to reach employees where they are to communicate efficiently during times of extreme situations like weather hazards. Staffbase customer Seaboard Triumph Foods recently utilized its branded employee app to quickly notify employees of a serious weather emergency and closures saving its workforce time and costs of commuting.

"One morning due to a weather emergency we had to cancel the first shift of the day. Without the app, our office team would have had to greet employees at the front of the plant at 5 a.m. to tell them to go back home," said Erin Cantrell, senior communications specialist at Seaboard Triumph Foods.

Staffbase provides an internal communications platform to unite companies and their employees behind a common purpose. A branded Staffbase employee communications platform allows organizations to meet their employees where they are, connect entire workforces, build communities, and empower employees. Product offerings that enable internal comms teams to orchestrate news, content, and services for their whole workforce include:

Intranet - A modern home base for news and information

Employee app - Easy access to everything employees need in their pocket

Email - For engaging and on-brand newsletters

Microsoft 365 - Communications in SharePoint and Teams

For information about the HR Technology Conference & Exposition, visit hrtechnologyconference.com.

About Staffbase

Staffbase is a high-growth, deeply experienced employee communications platform provider for enterprise companies. The mobile compatibility of the company's platform allows employers in manufacturing, healthcare, logistics, automotive, retail, and energy & utilities, to securely reach their employees everywhere with reduced complexity. Staffbase solutions give employees greater access to the corporate information that's relevant to them, along with tools for the modern digital workplace, including existing intranets. Staffbase provides branded solutions for more than 2,500 leading companies worldwide who are transforming their employee communications, including Adidas, Audi, Blue Apron, DHL, Paulaner, UC Health, and Vestas. Staffbase has received the 2023 Choice Award for Intranet and Employee Experience Platforms from ClearBox Consulting and is again the #1 Employee Communications Software on G2.

Please visit staffbase.com for more information.

SOURCE Staffbase Inc.
Collection features three different clear cases adding expression, protection, and functionality to new (10th Generation) 10.9-inch iPads

ANAHEIM, Calif., Oct. 5, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Targus, the number one laptop case brand in the US and Canada1 and a leader in laptop cases and mobile computing accessories, today announced the availability of its new collection of military-grade2 clear cases for the Apple iPad (10th Generation Series) 10.9-inch.

The collection includes a Click-In Clear Case with Kickstand, Pro-Tek Clear Case, and VersaVu Clear Rotating Case, each offering varying levels of protection and functional features that range in price from $39.99 to $54.99.

Targus' new Clear Cases for Apple iPad 10th Gen Series are the clear choice for tough protection.

"We've designed our clear cases to deliver superior protection while allowing iPad users to extend the functionality of their device and show off its true color," says David Dorantes, Director of Product Marketing, Targus. "Key features like military grade drop protection that withstands drops up to four feet, a clear back, and thin profile, make them a must-have accessory for 10.9-inch iPads."

Engineered for durability without the extra weight, the Click-In Clear Case + Kickstand (THD927GL) has a shock-absorbent tray with wrap-around bezel and reinforced corners in a slim design. Its built-in kickstand flips out to offer hands-free viewing in multiple angles while in landscape mode, making it easy to watch the screen at nearly any angle. For added efficiency, it also features an integrated holder for an Apple Pencil or stylus (Pencil sold separately by Apple).

The new Pro-Tek Clear Case (THD935GL) has a shock-absorbent tray with wrap-around bezel, covered buttons, and reinforced corners, plus a protective folio cover, all in a sleek, clear-back design. With a new take on Targus' signature Pro-Tek cover, the case's bi-fold cover flips open into a stand, allowing for multiple viewing angles or typing positions, and helps users find the most comfortable hands-free placement.

Designed for protection and versatile viewing, the VersaVu Clear Case (THD936GL) features a shock-absorbent tray with wrap-around bezel and reinforced corners, plus a protective folio cover to safeguard the screen. The VersaVu's patented 360-degree rotation creates virtually any positioning option and transitions smoothly between portrait and landscape views. Deep grooves anchor the edge to ensure stability, and precision cutouts provide easy access to the device's buttons, ports, and camera lenses. Enjoy added ease and convenience with the integrated holder for an Apple Pencil. It's also structurally designed with audio-boosting scoops to deliver a premium sound experience.

The new Clear Collection is available for sale now in the US on Targus.com and through participating retailers.

About Targus

For 40 years, Targus has been revolutionizing mobile computing accessories for large enterprises and consumers, alike  connecting people and technology in meaningful ways. From laptop bags to tablet cases, to peripherals and universal docking stations, we persistently conceive, design, and produce innovative, productivity-boosting solutions that make the complex, simple; and seamlessly integrate into the lifestyles of mobile professionals wherever they work  at home, in the office, or wherever they go. We cross categories, regions, industries, and lifestyles with a breadth and depth of products that provide you with the solutions you need to live, dream, and do.

Headquartered in Anaheim, California, Targus has global operations in more than 24 offices and distribution in more than 100 countries. Learn more about us at Targus.com, like or follow us on Facebook, and LinkedIn.

1Source: The NPD Group/Retail Tracking Service, US and Canada, combined unit sales for Sleeves/Slipcases, Annual 2022.

2As tested by an independent third-party applying MIL-STD-810G, Method 516.6, Procedure IV.

*Targus, Click-In, Pro-Tek, and VersaVu are trademarks or registered trademarks of Targus International LLC in the US and in certain other countries. Apple, iPad, and Apple Pencil are trademarks or registered trademarks of Apple Inc. All logos and registered trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

SOURCE Targus
NEW YORK and MUMBAI, India, Oct. 5, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Tata Communications, a global digital ecosystem enabler, today announces completion of the acquisition of Kaleyra, Inc. (NYSE: KLR).

On 28th June 2023, Tata Communications had entered into a definitive agreement with Kaleyra, Inc. to acquire it through Tata Communications Limited. The transaction has now been completed upon receipt of the approval by Kaleyra's stockholders, necessary regulatory approvals, and fulfilment of other customary closing conditions. Under the terms of the agreement, Tata Communications Limited has paid an aggregate consideration of approximately $100 million in cash and assumed all of Kaleyra's outstanding debt. With this, Kaleyra, Inc. and its subsidiaries have now become wholly owned subsidiaries of Tata Communications Limited.

The combination of Tata Communications customer engagement solutions and Kaleyra's stronghold in technology, engineering and research & development will drive growth of global enterprises powered by hyper-personalised and intelligent customer interactions.

"In today's hyperconnected world, customer success and loyalty are pivotal to enterprise growth across industries and geographies," said A.S. Lakshminarayanan, MD and CEO, Tata Communications. "We at Tata Communications are committed to revolutionise how businesses engage with customers, leveraging a digital fabric to harness data insights for delivering seamless, secure, smart and impactful customer interactions. We're thrilled to welcome Kaleyra in this journey, as together we pave the way for the future of customer experience!"

Mysore Madhusudhan, Executive Vice President, Collaboration and Connected Solutions, Tata Communications added, "In this digital age, businesses require multi-channel customer engagement solutions built for intuitive, intelligent and automated interactions. Together, Tata Communications and Kaleyra form a powerful combination, poised to shape the customer engagement platforms of tomorrow."

Mauro Carobene, Head of Customer Interaction Suite, Tata Communications, commented, "Together Kaleyra and Tata Communications stand on the brink of a new era, powered by the world-class communications capabilities of Kaleyra.io platform and a determination to drive the future of communications via our intelligent suite of customer interaction solutions. Our joint aspirations are massive, not only in terms of growth, but also in expanding our portfolio that drives value for our customers."

Dr. Avi Katz, Founding Managing Partner of GigCapital Global said: "As the Chairman of the Board of Directors of Kaleyra since inception in November 2019 by way of combination with GigCapital, Inc., I am delighted to see this outcome for the Kaleyra team and its stakeholders. This acquisition reflects a global recognition of the leadership of Kaleyra in the CPaaS industry, fruits of hard work of the entire Kaleyra team for the last four years and excellent relationship with Tata Communications."

Tata Communications Contacts Kaleyra Contacts Media Contacts

Amit Sinha Roy

Global Head, Alliances and Communications

+91 98999 11333; [email protected] Marketing Contacts

Zephrin Lasker

Senior Vice President, Marketing & Strategic Alliances

[email protected] Aastha Singh

Senior Manager, Communications

+91 99670 89660; [email protected] Lori Perkins

Senior Director  Marketing and Communications

[email protected]



Investor Contact

Rajiv Sharma

Head, Investor Relations

+91 9820136641

[email protected] Investor Contact

Shannon Devine / Mark Schwalenberg

MZ North America

+1 203-741-8811

[email protected]





About Kaleyra

Kaleyra, Inc. (NYSE: KLR) (NYSE American: KLR WS) is a global group providing mobile communication services to financial institutions, e-commerce players, OTTs, software companies, logistic enablers, healthcare providers, retailers, and other large organizations worldwide. Through its proprietary platform and robust APIs, Kaleyra manages multi-channel integrated communication services, consisting of messaging, rich messaging and instant messaging, video, push notifications, e-mail, voice services, and chatbots.

Kaleyra's technology makes it possible to safely and securely manage billions of messages monthly with over 1600 operator connections in 190+ countries, including all tier-1 US carrier.

About Tata Communications

A part of the Tata Group, Tata Communications (NSE: TATACOMM; BSE: 500483) is a global digital ecosystem enabler powering today's fast-growing digital economy in more than 190 countries and territories. Leading with trust, it enables digital transformation of enterprises globally with collaboration and connected solutions, core and next gen connectivity, cloud hosting and security solutions and media services. 300 of the Fortune 500 companies are its customers and the company connects businesses to 80% of the world's cloud giants. For more information, please visit www.tatacommunications.com

https://twitter.com/tata_comm

https://www.facebook.com/TataCommunications/

https://www.linkedin.com/company/tata-communication

https://www.instagram.com/tata_comm/

https://www.youtube.com/user/tatacomms

Kaleyra's Statutory Information

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of U.S. federal securities laws. Such forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, its omnichannel and other product and global customer developments, its expectations, beliefs, intentions, plans, prospects or strategies regarding the business plans of Kaleyra, Inc.'s ("Kaleyra") management team. Any statements contained herein that are not statements of historical fact may be deemed to be forward-looking statements. In addition, any statements that refer to projections, forecasts or other characterizations of future events or circumstances, including any underlying assumptions, are forward-looking statements. The words "anticipate," "believe," "continue," "could," "estimate," "expect," "intends," "may," "might," "plan," "possible," "potential," "predict," "project," "should," "would" and similar expressions may identify forward-looking statements, but the absence of these words does not mean that a statement is not forward-looking. The forward-looking statements contained in this press release are based on certain assumptions and analyses made by Kaleyra in light of its experience and perception of historical trends, current conditions and expected future developments and their potential effects on Kaleyra as well as other factors they believe are appropriate in the circumstances. There can be no assurance that future developments affecting Kaleyra will be those anticipated. These forward-looking statements involve a number of risks, uncertainties (some of which are beyond the control of the parties) or other assumptions that may cause actual results or performance to be materially different from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements, including the mix of services utilized by Kaleyra's customers and such customers' needs for these services, including any variability by geography, market acceptance of new service offerings, the ability of Kaleyra to expand what it does for existing customers as well as to add new customers, that Kaleyra will have sufficient capital to operate as anticipated, and the impact that geopolitical and macroeconomic factors such as the war in Ukraine, may have on Kaleyra's operations, the demand for Kaleyra's products, global supply chains and economic activity in general. Additional risk factors that that may cause such a difference include, but are not limited to: (i) the ability of Kaleyra and Tata Communications to timely and successfully achieve the anticipated benefits of the proposed transaction; (ii) significant transaction costs associated with the proposed transaction; (iii) potential litigation relating to the proposed transaction; (iv) the risk that disruptions from the proposed transaction will harm Kaleyra's business, including current plans and operations; (v) the ability of Kaleyra to retain and hire key personnel; (vi) potential adverse reactions or changes to business relationships resulting from the announcement or completion of the proposed transaction; (vii) legislative, regulatory and economic developments affecting Kaleyra's business; (viii) general economic and market developments and conditions; (ix) the evolving legal, regulatory and tax regimes under which Kaleyra operates; and (x) potential business uncertainty, including changes to existing business relationships, during the pendency of the merger that could affect Kaleyra's financial performance. Therefore, you should not place undue reliance on any such statements and caution must be exercised in relying on forward-looking statements. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize or should any of the assumptions being made prove incorrect, actual results may vary in material respects from those projected in these forward-looking statements. We undertake no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as may be required under applicable securities laws.

Tata Communications Statutory Information

Forward-looking and cautionary statements

Certain words and statements in this release concerning Tata Communications and its prospects, and other statements, including those relating to Tata Communications' expected financial position, business strategy, the future development of Tata Communications' operations, and the general economy in India, are forward-looking statements. Such statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, including financial, regulatory and environmental, as well as those relating to industry growth and trend projections, which may cause actual results, performance or achievements of Tata Communications, or industry results, to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. The important factors that could cause actual results, performance or achievements to differ materially from such forward-looking statements include, among others, failure to increase the volume of traffic on Tata Communications' network; failure to develop new products and services that meet customer demands and generate acceptable margins; failure to successfully complete commercial testing of new technology and information systems to support new products and services, including voice transmission services; failure to stabilize or reduce the rate of price compression on certain of the company's communications services; failure to integrate strategic acquisitions and changes in government policies or regulations of India and, in particular, changes relating to the administration of Tata Communications' industry; and, in general, the economic, business and credit conditions in India. Additional factors that could cause actual results, performance or achievements to differ materially from such forward-looking statements, many of which are not in Tata Communications' control, include, but are not limited to, those risk factors discussed in Tata Communications Limited's Annual Reports.

The Annual Reports of Tata Communications Limited are available at www.tatacommunications.com. Tata Communications is under no obligation to, and expressly disclaims any obligation to, update or alter its forward-looking statements.

 2023 Tata Communications Ltd. All rights reserved.

TATA COMMUNICATIONS and TATA are trademarks or registered trademarks of Tata Sons Private Limited in India and certain countries.

SOURCE Kaleyra US
NEW ORLEANS, Oct. 5, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- 365 Connect , the leader in delivering the world's most sophisticated automated marketing, leasing, and resident engagement platform for multifamily communities across the globe, announced that its CEO, Kerry W. Kirby , will serve as a speaker at the Louisiana State Bar Association's Back to Basics Continuing Legal Education Event. The educational seminar, exclusively available to licensed legal professionals, takes place October 9, 2023, in New Orleans, Louisiana.

Kerry W. Kirby, Entrepreneur, Technology Innovator, Philanthropist, Founder of 365 Connect

The Louisiana State Bar Association assists its more than 23,000 members in the practice of law. The statewide association provides an array of resources including programs for attorneys to meet their continuing legal educational compliance requirements. As part of its multi-faceted mission, the association promotes and maintains access to justice initiatives for the state's residents, assists the Louisiana Supreme Court in its regulation of the practice of law, upholds the honor of the courts and the profession, and supports programs that increase public understanding of and respect for the law.

The topic, "The Complexities of ADA Website Accessibility Compliance," will delve into how the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is being interpreted by legal experts to extend to online services, and the landmark court rulings that have spurned massive litigation efforts into pending legislative laws. The presentation will discuss the measures necessary to ensure that websites, as well as the services provided, are accessible to everyone, including individuals with disabilities.

"Today, over a billion people globally have some form of a disability that makes accessing the web difficult," stated Kerry W. Kirby, CEO of 365 Connect. "We live in an interconnected world, one that is reliant on the Internet to deliver services and resources through multiple channels. As physical buildings utilize their websites to transact and interact with prospective and existing customers, we must ensure that those connected digital assets follow the same core standards of accessibility."

A technologist at heart, Kirby is a renowned entrepreneur, technology innovator, and philanthropist. He is an acclaimed speaker, author, and award-winning podcaster that has reached millions of listeners with appearances across various media outlets, streaming services, and event stages to discuss the convergence of technology in our digitally dependent world. Kerry serves on the Board of Advisors of Rainbow, a national nonprofit organization that provides service-enriched housing programs for affordable housing communities across the country and is Chair of Technology Initiatives for the Multifamily Innovation Advisory Council, an industry group that includes the nation's largest apartment owners and operators focused on industry transformation.

"Through a series of laws and regulations, we have prioritized physical accommodations for people with disabilities. Now, the need for inclusion has extended to the digital sphere," Kirby explained. "There are no quick fix solutions, you must build compliance into the foundation of your technology, just as you would in a physical building. As the world continues to become increasingly digitally dependent, technology adoption repeatedly proves itself as a defining factor in human progress. It is our responsibility, as a society, to ensure that no one is left in the dark. I am excited to share my knowledge of this subject with the legal community."

ABOUT 365 CONNECT: 365 Connect delivers the world's most sophisticated automated marketing, leasing, and resident engagement platform for multifamily communities across the globe. Designed to modernize transactions that empower people, the platform executes processes that accelerate operations and minimizes human intervention. Founded in 2003 with an unwavering commitment to connect people with where they live, 365 Connect is built for renters, management teams, and today's changing world. Learn how we are ready for what's next at 365connect.com

Media Contacts

365 CONNECT

Media Relations

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504-299-3444

SOURCE 365 CONNECT
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia, Oct. 5, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Teeb Made, the renowned multidisciplinary design and production company rooted in Saudi Arabia's rich Arab and Islamic heritage, has emerged as the proud winner of the AlUla Design Award for the second consecutive year. This prestigious recognition is a testament to Teeb Made's unwavering commitment to preserving and promoting Saudi culture through its innovative and exquisitely crafted designs.

Mohamad Baalbaki, Co-founder at Teeb Made, Aljoharah AlRasheed Teeb Made partner & the Head of Art, at AlUla Design Award.

Teeb Made's journey is deeply intertwined with the cultural narratives of Saudi Arabia, a land with a profound history and heritage. These stories inspire the company's design philosophy, blending traditional craftsmanship with modern minimalism to create truly unique pieces. Collaborating with artists, artisans, and designers, Teeb Made has made it their mission to export Saudi culture to the world through handcrafted creations that embody the essence of Islamic and Arab aesthetics.

"Each Teeb Made collection is a labor of love, taking four to six months of meticulous planning and prototyping before the final products are unveiled. The team believes in nurturing each concept into a timeless work of art aesthetically and functionally" said Aljoharah AlRasheed Teeb Made partner and the Head of Art.

The concept that secured Teeb Made's victory in the AlUla Design Award is "AlUla Terrains," inspired by the geological formation of the place caused by the volcanic activity in the area. From verdant valleys to magnificent sandstone mountains and fields of black basalt, AlUla's natural wonders are a testament to the beauty and uniqueness of this region. Teeb Made's product series captures the geological landscapes that played a pivotal role in shaping this natural masterpiece.

The AlUla Design Award celebrates designs inspired by AlUla's heritage, landscapes, and artistic legacies. This esteemed recognition came back in its second edition, inviting established and emerging designers to conceptualize exceptional items for cultural retail. Submissions were evaluated by a distinguished jury from the design world, leading to the commission, production support, and promotion of the shortlisted designs within AlUla and its influential international network.

Mohamad Baalbaki, a Co-founder at Teeb Made, remarked, "Saudi culture is a treasure trove waiting to be explored, a canvas for innovation, and a legacy to share with the world. Within its rich tapestry of history, traditions, and artistic heritage lies a wealth of inspiration and opportunity. By embracing our cultural heritage, infusing it with contemporary creativity, and sharing our treasures with the world, we contribute to a richer and more culturally diverse global landscape."

Teeb Made's award-winning creations will be showcased at the Paris Design Week exhibition on September 9th and 10th, providing a global stage for Saudi culture and design innovation.

For more information, please visit [https://teeb-saudi.com/].

About Teeb Made:

Teeb Made is a Saudi-based multidisciplinary design and production company that draws inspiration from the rich Arab and Islamic culture to create unique and handcrafted pieces. With a commitment to preserving and promoting Saudi heritage, Teeb Made collaborates with artists, artisans, and designers to bring to life designs that blend tradition with modernity. Through their meticulously crafted collections, Teeb Made aims to export Saudi culture to the world. Visit [https://teeb-saudi.com/] to explore their creations.

Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2238737/Teeb_Made.jpg

Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2238751/Teeb_Made_Logo.jpg

SOURCE Teeb Made
Greenville's Haywood Mall Welcomes Premier Brazilian Steakhouse

DALLAS, Oct. 5, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Texas de Brazil Churrascaria, makes its debut in South Carolina tonight when it opens for dinner at the upscale Haywood Mall in Greenville. This new restaurant, located at 700 Haywood Rd., will be the family-owned brand's 65th location.

Texas de Brazil embraces a time-honored tradition of churrasco-style cooking, which was adopted from the gauchos, or Brazilian cowboys of Southern Brazil. All the meats are cooked over an open flame using natural wood charcoal to give the meats a deeper and more intense flavor with just the right amount of smokiness.

Texas de Brazil Churrascaria opens first South Carolina location in Greenville at the upscale Haywood Mall. Post this At Texas de Brazil, all the meats are cooked the authentic Brazilian gaucho way - over an open flame using natural wood charcoal, to give the meats a deeper and more intense flavor with just the right amount of smokiness. Texas de Brazil, the Brazilian Steakhouse known for its various cuts of flame-grilled meats served tableside, announces opening in Greenville, South Carolina. (PRNewsfoto/Texas de Brazil)

"We are eager to bring the art of churrasco and rodizio-style service to our first South Carolina location," stated Salim Asrawi, President of Texas de Brazil. "We are confident our concept and Brazilian cuisine will be a great addition to the Greenville community and look forward to offering the residents and visitors a unique option for those seeking a dining experience like no other," he adds.

The new restaurant features an extravagant salad area made of white marble adorned with a lavish flower arrangement, radiant golden onyx pillars that complement soaring ceilings and unique hanging light fixtures that enhance the ambiance of the expansive dining area. Guests can enjoy a drink in the intimate lounge area or browse for their favorite bottles in the impressive wine cellar.

The restaurant offers a large private dining room, where up to 75 guests can dine together. For smaller parties, there is a stunning wood table in front of the grill where guests can dine and watch the gauchos skewer and grill the meat.

The highlights of this rodizio-style dining experience are the continuous servings of fire-roasted meats and unlimited plates from the chef-crafted salad area.

The experience begins with a visit to the expansive salad area where hot and cold side specialty dishes offer delicious variety.

Salad Area Selections include artisan breads, imported cheeses, grilled vegetables, Brazilian hearts of palm, spicy shrimp salad, couscous pasta, sauteed mushrooms, feijoada (black beans), jasmine rice, lobster bisque and much more.

The main course or star of the show - a savory variety of flame-grilled meats that are expertly prepared and carved at the table by the restaurant gauchos.

Churrasco Selections include cuts of beef, lamb, pork, chicken and Brazilian sausage, such as filet mignon, barbecued pork ribs, leg of lamb, Parmesan drumettes and the guest's favorite, picanha.

A good wine nicely complements the flavors of churrasco and Texas de Brazil's curated wine list includes acclaimed varietals from California and South America vineyards as well as Texas de Brazil's exclusive private label collection of six varietals bottled in Chile.

A full bar offers craft cocktails including the traditional Caipirinha in a variety of flavors plus a full selection of distilled spirits and beer (domestic and Brazilian).

For those with a sweet tooth, no meal is complete without dessert and guests can indulge in selections including house-made flan, triple layer chocolate mousse cake, cheesecake and more, all served a la carte.

Service hours include - Dinner: Mon. - Thurs. 5:00 p.m.  9:00 p.m., Fri. 5:00 p.m.  10:00 p.m., Sat. 2:00 p.m.  10:00 p.m. and Sun. 2:00 p.m.  8:30 p.m.

Regular dinner, which includes the meat and salad service is $50.99 per person. The salad area only option is $31.99 per person. When purchased with a full-price meal children 2 years and under dine complimentary, 3-5 years are $5.00 and 6-12 years are 50% off regular dinner price.

For reservations or more information, visit www.texasdebrazil.com/locations/greenville/ or call 864.400.2500.

About Texas de Brazil

Texas de Brazil is an authentic churrascaria featuring a continuous dining experience that blends the unique culture of Brazil, with the generous hospitality of Texas. The menu features a vast selection of grilled meats, a 50-item salad area, an award-winning wine list and a la carte dessert selections. Founded as a family-owned business in 1998, Texas de Brazil is one of the largest Brazilian-American steakhouse brands in the world, with 53 restaurants in 23 states, 1 in Puerto Rico and 11 international locations. For more information, visit TexasdeBrazil.com, or find us on Facebook and Instagram.

SOURCE Texas de Brazil
During the tense session on Tuesday that ended with the ouster of Kevin McCarthy, the first speaker in the 234-year history of the House of Representatives to lose the confidence of Congress, the 210 members of the Republican Party loyal to the Californian congressman blocked the way three times in a bid to stop Matt Gaetz, the traitor who forced the motion to vacate that took down their leader.

His Republican colleagues did not want him to use any of the microphones on the bench located to the right of the chamber, packed to the brim on a historic day. So Gaetz, a congressman for the first district of Florida, the easternmost corner of the state, a piece of land around Pensacola that is almost Alabama, had to use the Democrats podium to defend himself for an hour from the attacks of his own party and to justify a motion that has caused the GOP to lose, until further notice, the ability to carry the legislative initiative in Washington.

The Democrats sitting around Gaetz, who soon confirmed that they were thinking of letting McCarthy fall, attended the show, perhaps regretting the ban on eating in such a solemn place: more than one would have happily taken out the popcorn to watch their rivals being torn apart live, despite the fact that they only enjoy a slim majority in the lower house following the legislative elections of November. In his last address, Gaetz turned towards the Democratic lawmakers and told them: Ill make this argument at any desk in this building from the well, from the chair. Ill make it on every street corner in this country that Washington must change. We have to break the cycle.

Built for the Battle

His attacks on the lobbies and special interests that have appropriated American politics, as well as the rhetoric, lying somewhere between populist and anti-establishment, were surely familiar to observers of American politics since, at least, the times of the Tea Party, a movement that emerged at the beginning of the last decade and which today could be viewed as the canary in the mine of radicalization of a portion of the Republican Party, before Donald Trump arrived and did the rest. That Gaetz, a faithful follower of the former president, feels comfortable in this provocative speech is already clear from his biography on X, formerly Twitter. On that modern business card he defines himself as a Florida Man. Built for the Battle.

Gaetz is 41 years old and has been a congressman since 2017. The son of a politician, he was a state lawmaker in the capital of Florida, Tallahassee, before landing in Washington, where he has been characterized by seeking the spotlight with the same eagerness as the fight. He received criticism for inviting a Holocaust denier to Congress; has defended the baseless theories about the so-called stolen election of 2020 that Trump continues to insist on; and he has faced an investigation by the House Ethics Committee over allegations that he had sexual relations with a minor  accusations that have not led to criminal prosecution. Also, for having consumed illegal drugs, for allegedly sharing inappropiate images or videos inside the House of Representatives, and for converting campaign funds to personal use and accepting impermissible gifts under House rules.

McCarthy declared Tuesday after being ousted that Gaetzs personal crusade against him is motivated not by quixotic aspirations to clean up Washington (alluding to the Trumpist rallying cry of drain the swamp), but rather by the fact that he himself did not do enough as speaker to block those inquiries. That same night, Gaetz denied the accusations on Fox News.

When, following the narrow electoral victory in the last legislative elections, McCarthy ran as a candidate to succeed Democrat Nancy Pelosi as House Speaker, he faced a rebellion from the hardest wing of his party, led, among others, by Gaetz. This group of far-right rebels, associated around the so-called Freedom Caucus (which in Washington is also known by the nickname the Dysfunctional Caucus), forced the House to vote up to 15 times to elect McCarthy.

Along the way, the extremists also made commitments like the one that ended McCarthys long-cherished dream of becoming the third authority in the country, a position from which they removed him on Tuesday. Among other concessions, he accepted that a motion to vacate could be pushed by a single congressman, which has allowed Gaetz to end his mandate at the first opportunity. He did so in protest of last Saturdays deal with Democrats to avoid a partial shutdown of the US government until November 17.

Gaetzs initiative has not only set a precedent and definitively pitted him against his party. A ghost has also been resurrected. When Democratic President Harry Truman (1945-1953) lost control of Congress in the 1946 midterm elections, that defeat allowed him to at least win the presidential election two years later, supported by the fact that his rivals, busy with their internal feuding, were unable to achieve great things. He baptized them in the campaign as those Do-Nothing-Republicans.

The conservative party has given the impression of being consumed by infighting since McCarthy was elected speaker nine months ago. He is a truly tragic character: perhaps no one in recent American memory has so longed to hold the position, and certainly very few (in fact: only two, the last one 147 years ago) lasted less than him. The Republicans not only remain incapable of shaking off Trumps shadow, but also of taking advantage of the opportunity to govern and, in the process, oppose Biden with the narrow margin that the voters granted them in the House (but not in the Senate, which is controlled by Democrats).
Harlem nonprofit and social justice organization receives funding through the U.S. Department of Education for afterschool programming to empower youth.

NEW YORK, Oct. 5, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The Brotherhood Sister Sol (BroSis), the Harlem-based youth development and social justice organization, today received a transformative community-funded project grant of $1,000,000 from Congressman Adriano Espaillat (NY-13). This grant was made possible through the U.S. House Appropriations Committee, on which Espaillat is a member, and was allocated through the U.S. Department of Education as part of the Appropriations Fiscal Year 2023 process. The award marks a significant milestone for the organization's efforts and will enhance its afterschool programming benefiting nearly 600 elementary, middle, and high school youth from over 50 schools across New York City.

BroSis' comprehensive programs address a wide range of critical issues facing young people today, including education, leadership development, mental health support, and social justice advocacy. The funding will play a pivotal role in BroSis' mission to provide a holistic and safe environment that nurtures academic growth, fosters creativity, and inspires a lifelong passion for learning.

"We are deeply thankful to Congressman Espaillat for his long-time advocacy and unwavering support of The Brotherhood Sister Sol," said Khary Lazarre-White, Executive Director and Co-Founder of BroSis. "This grant provides invaluable support to our mission of empowering young people, fostering leadership, and advocating for justice - making lasting impacts on our community."

Congressman Espaillat is the first Dominican American to serve in the U.S. House of Representatives and his congressional district includes Harlem, East Harlem, West Harlem, Hamilton Heights, Washington Heights, Inwood, Marble Hill and the north-west Bronx. This grant reaffirms Congressman Espaillat's steadfast dedication to supporting organizations that enrich the lives of young people and fortify the community.

"Empowering our youth and investing in their future is a paramount commitment for our community," said Congressman Adriano Espaillat (NY-13). "BroSis has consistently served as a beacon of hope and opportunity for countless young people in our district. This grant will enable them to expand their transformative programs to reach even more individuals."

Key focuses of the grant include enriching experiences, providing daily meals to youth, enrichment activities and academic support, and promoting wellness, health, and ethical and moral development. The grant will also contribute to BroSis' dedication to its seniors' college success which has resulted in a remarkable 95% graduation rate.

For more information about BroSis, please visit brotherhood-sistersol.org and follow BroSis on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and Twitter.

About The Brotherhood Sister Sol

For over 25 years, the Brotherhood Sister Sol (BroSis) has been at the forefront of social justice, educating, training, and organizing to challenge inequality and champion opportunity for all. With a focus on Black and Latinx youth, BroSis is where young people own the power of their history, identity, and community to create the future they want to see. By training educators across the nation and around the world and organizing a community of change agents, BroSis builds on its legacy of youth-led activism to realize a more just and equitable future.

Media Contact

5W Public Relations

[email protected]

(212) 999-5585

SOURCE The Brotherhood Sister Sol
WASHINGTON, Oct. 5, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The Halifax Group ("Halifax"), a middle market private equity firm that partners with management to invest in market-leading companies, announced today that it has promoted Molly Fitzpatrick to Principal from Vice President.

A member of the firm's senior investment team, she is responsible for identifying and evaluating investment opportunities, monitoring portfolio companies, and executing transactions. Ms. Fitzpatrick recently co-led the firm's pending investment in the Worldwide Home Care division of Sodexo, including its home care subsidiaries in eight countries, which Halifax announced in late September.

Ms. Fitzpatrick first joined Halifax in 2011 as an Associate, taking time off to earn her M.B.A. at Harvard Business School, graduating in 2015. She added to her lower middle market experience while at Mountaingate Capital and Rallyday Partners, before rejoining Halifax in 2021. Ms. Fitzpatrick also holds a BBA in Finance from the University of Notre Dame. In 2020, she was honored by Mergers & Acquisitions as a "Rising Star of Private Equity." She currently serves on the Board of Directors of CDL Nuclear Technologies and ChanceLight Behavioral Health Therapy and Education.

Scott Plumridge, Halifax Managing Partner, said, "Molly plays an integral role in helping to execute Halifax's value creation strategy, and she has been a key contributor to our firm's culture as well as our investment philosophy. We are delighted to recognize the contributions she is making to our firm, particularly in our healthcare investments, and we look forward to her continued insight and leadership."

"Molly has become an indispensable member of the Halifax team, providing astute leadership on all aspects of our business, from investment thesis and strategy development to execution," said Chris Cathcart, Halifax Managing Partner. "Her colleagues, as well as our management partners and investors, congratulate Molly on her well-deserved promotion."

About The Halifax Group

Founded in 1999, The Halifax Group is a private equity firm that partners with managers and entrepreneurs to recapitalize and invest in lower middle-market businesses with total enterprise values generally between $100 million and $300 million. Halifax specializes in equity recapitalizations, corporate carve-outs, and management buyouts and invests across a variety of industries, including health and wellness, outsourced business services, and franchising. The firm is headquartered in Washington, D.C. and maintains an office in Raleigh, NC. For more information, visit www.thehalifaxgroup.com.

Contact:

Lambert

Caroline Luz

203-570-6462

[email protected]

SOURCE The Halifax Group
As country's population ages, meal delivery services will be a key component to help seniors live healthier, independent lives

AUSTIN, Texas, Oct. 5, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The Helper Bees, America's leading aging-in-place platform, and NourishedRx, a digital health and nutrition company, are announcing that they've delivered more than 30,000 food orders to older adults across the country. NourishedRx serves as one of the top food as health providers within The Helper Bees provider network, which in total represents 20,000+ vetted companies. As the country's population continues to age, and with more than 80 million people expected to be age 65+ by 2040, the two companies partner to ensure that older adults can access groceries and meals personalized to their health needs and delivered to their doors so they can comfortably age in place.

"Access to healthy food is one of the most important drivers of whether people can continue to age independently," said Lauren Driscoll, CEO of NourishedRx. "With integration of The Helper Bees and NourishedRx platforms, we're able to deliver thousands of personalized meals and grocery orders to older adults, even more efficiently and at greater scale than before. The process is convenient for the older adults and caregivers we serve and has streamlined operations for both companies. We're grateful for our partnership with The Helper Bees and look forward to our continued work together to nourish our aging population."

Founded in 2015, The Helper Bees enables older adults to remain in their homes and live independently for as long as possible. Its technology platform, called homeAlign, is utilized by payers, Fortune 500 organizations and health-focused businesses to power credentialing, fulfillment, and reimbursements for a variety of in-home services. Companies like NourishedRx can also access The Helper Bees nationwide network of 20,000+ service providers who address the social determinants of health by providing personalized, non-medical services that simplify and improve the aging journey for caregivers and the older adults they care for. The homeAlign platform and its newly available API allows end users to access to the following types of services:

Home healthcare

Meal and food delivery services

Transportation

Pest control

Home safety/modifications

Technology assistance

Virtual products

"The U.S. population is older than it's ever been. As people age, it's critical to bring services into the home that help people to maintain a high quality of life," said Andy Friedell, COO of The Helper Bees. "Food is a vital component of independence at home. We love partnering with NourishedRx because they understand the importance of culturally relevant meal and grocery delivery for older adults, while also embracing technology. They've been the first partner to use our new API and have seen increased referrals and more streamlined operations as a result."

Since 2019, NourishedRx has partnered with healthcare organizations to nourish their most vulnerable members, build healthy relationships, and support health equity. Through partners like The Helper Bees, NourishedRx delivers highly personalized, culturally relevant meals and groceries to members, along with wrap-around whole health support and nutrition education. Through its solution, NourishedRx is able to drive better health outcomes and lower overall costs at scale.

For more information about NourishedRx, visit nourishedrx.com . For more information about The Helper Bees, visit thehelperbees.com .

About The Helper Bees

The Helper Bees is America's leading aging in-place platform, enabling older adults to remain in their homes and live independently. Through our technology, we make it easy for insurers to close the care gap and empower older adults to remain in their homes for as long as possible. Whether it's meal delivery, lawn care, or transportation, our all-in-one provider network is rigorously vetted and already integrated into most Long-term Care and Medicare Advantage insurance plans. We've helped millions of Americans retain their independence by facilitating non-medical in-home care, while solving for the administrative burdens of credentialing, fulfilling and reimbursements for insurers  all while reducing costs. Founded in 2015, The Helper Bees is proudly revolutionizing aging in-place. Let us help you: thehelperbees.com .

About NourishedRx

NourishedRx is on a mission to eradicate poor diet and nutrition insecurity as top drivers of death, disease and disparities. Founded in 2019, NourishedRx is a digital health and nutrition company that helps people live healthier lives and supports health equity. Leveraging the healing and connective power of food, NourishedRx partners with healthcare organizations to nourish their most vulnerable members, build healthy relationships, and support health equity. Visit nourishedrx.com .

SOURCE The Helper Bees
Elevate Any Occasion with HoneyBaked's New Take on a Comfort-Food Staple

ATLANTA, Oct. 5, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The Honey Baked Ham Company, the iconic name in premium hams and delectable feasts, is proud to unveil an exciting mouthwatering addition: Ham & Cheddar Biscuits. Just in time for tailgating, homegating, and the holidays, these delicious biscuits are set to elevate your breakfast, lunch, dinner, or special event and make for a tasty anytime meal.

Ham & Cheddar Biscuits (Take & Bake)

For generations, The Honey Baked Ham Company has been a part of beloved traditions, bringing people together to celebrate with exceptional, delicious food. Now, they're adding an extra layer of flavor to upgrade your gatherings with family and friends.

"Biscuits represent special gatherings with family and friends, good times and hearty meals with comfort and flavor," said Tripp McLaughlin, CMO of The Honey Baked Ham Company. "Adding Ham & Cheddar Biscuits to our menu is a natural progression for us as we continue to offer exceptional, quality products that satisfy our customers' desires throughout the day and every day of the year."

These new Take & Bake biscuits feature Honey Baked Ham and Cheddar Cheese generously piled on 8 Southern-style buttermilk biscuits. To enhance the experience, the biscuits are topped with a savory Garlic Herb Butter and Sweet Honey Glaze Sauce. Preparing these biscuits is easy and convenient  simply pick up at your local HoneyBaked store, bake for 20 minutes and your home will be filled with the irresistible aroma of a HoneyBaked meal.

In addition, HoneyBaked offers biscuits in two other convenient formats:

Lunch (3-ct): Perfect for a quick and delicious midday meal at your HoneyBaked store, these biscuits are a delightful way to elevate your day.

Catering (9-ct): For larger gatherings, such as tailgating, parties, and the holidays, the catering option ensures everyone gets to savor the warmth and flavor of HoneyBaked's Ham & Cheddar Biscuits.

The new Ham & Cheddar Biscuits are available at your nearest HoneyBaked location or visit https://www.honeybaked.com/biscuits to buy online and pick up in store for your next gathering.

About The Honey Baked Ham Company

For more than 65 years, The Honey Baked Ham Company has provided customers and their families with delightful food to enjoy for all of life's special moments. HoneyBaked's origins began when founder Harry J. Hoenselaar patented a spiral-slicing ham machine, making way for the first HoneyBaked Store in Detroit, Michigan. Since that momentous opening in 1957, the family-owned company has grown to more than 400 locations nationwide, serving its signature spiral-sliced Honey Baked Ham with sweet and crunchy glaze, premium turkey breast, heat & serve sides, desserts, sandwiches, and most recently, delicious take & bake sliders and biscuits. Offering convenient meals using the best ingredients, HoneyBaked will make every occasion a little more memorable, whether you're dining in store, picking up or ordering online. For more information visit www.honeybaked.com and connect on Instagram , Facebook , Twitter , Pinterest and TikTok .

SOURCE The Honey Baked Ham Co
ATLANTA and BUCHAREST, Romania and VANCOUVER, BC, Oct. 5, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- VPN.com is excited to announce the acquisition of the prestigious University.com domain by The Real World, in a blockbuster deal closed in September, 2023. This landmark acquisition marks a significant milestone in the organization's commitment to revolutionizing higher online education and expanding its global reach.

The Real World

University.com is a premium domain with a unique and powerful history. In 2020, VPN.com sold the domain to a company in California for a reported seven figure sum to a long-time domain investor and Internet Entrepreneur, Syed Hussaini from Vancouver, Canada.

Syed is the CEO of GrowthAhead, and is a successful digital marketer who believes in the value and return domains offer the brightest visionaries. The domain was later sold to the Real World in September, 2023 for an undisclosed, but record-breaking amount.

"Congratulations to Syed and The Real World Team. What an incredible deal and positive experience. It is excellent to see other entrepreneurs continue to elevate their already successful brands with premium, category-defining domain names. Another incredible stealth domain acquisition success," said Michael Gargiulo , CEO at VPN.com.

The Real World, who currently has over 200,000 members, is a forward-thinking institution dedicated to delivering practical, life-focused education to learners worldwide. With a commitment to reimagining traditional education, The Real World empowers students to bridge the gap between academia and the professional world.

"The acquisition of University.com is a testament to our commitment to providing real-world education that prepares students for success in not only their careers, but their life as well," said a spokesperson for The Real World. "This acquisition is a strategic move that will enhance our online presence and make our educational offerings more accessible to learners worldwide."

Over the years, The Real World has witnessed numerous success stories of its students who have gone on to excel their lifestyle, financial earnings and career prospects. The Real World takes pride in nurturing talent, fostering innovation, and empowering its students to achieve their professional aspirations.

"Working on this deal with The Real World Team and Michael Gargiulo has been a privilege. Their teams have been extremely professional and diligent, as you would expect from highly successful individuals with their vision. It is very exciting to see them incorporate this incredible domain into their business. I wish The Real World the very best of luck with their plans," former University.com owner Syed Hussaini commented.

As part of this exciting announcement, The Real World hints at something even bigger on the horizon. While specific details are yet to be unveiled, the university promises an upcoming development that will further redefine the landscape of online education and create even more opportunities for its students.

With the acquisition of premium domain name University.com, The Real World is poised to continue its mission of providing quality education for the real world. Stay tuned for more updates as The Real World prepares to unveil its groundbreaking initiative, and visionary learning platforms set to shape the future of online learning.

For customer, media, and interview inquiries, please contact: https://therealworld.co/support/ or https://university.com.

More About The Real World: The Real World is a leading online education institution committed to providing students with career-focused education and practical skills. Through innovative programs, immersive learning experiences, and strategic industry partnerships, The Real World prepares students for success in their chosen fields. With a mission to bridge the gap between academia and the professional world, The Real World empowers learners to thrive in today's competitive job market.

Please enquire for high resolution photos and other media requests - https://therealworld.co/support/

More About Syed Hussaini: Syed is a long-time digital marketer who believes in the value domains offer the brightest visionaries. After acquiring his first premium domain in 2003, he began to understand the exponential value a powerful URL like University.com offers.

For customer, media, and interview inquiries, please email: [email protected] and [email protected] for domain inquiries.

More About VPN.com/Domains : Recognized as one of the top premium domain brokers in the world, VPN.com has helped countless entrepreneurs, brands, celebrities, and investors protect themselves online. With an exclusive understanding of the Internet and luxury exact-match domains, VPN.com defines itself on paying for the $1 million category-defining domain name it operates within the $100 billion VPN market, showing other visionaries what is possible.

If you need expert domain name negotiators and brokerage assistance, VPN.com is standing by 24/7 to be your expert premium domain broker service today at https://www.vpn.com/domains/get-started/.

To contact VPN.com about how to acquire a taken domain name for your business, please email: [email protected] and VP of Domains, Sharjil Saleem: [email protected]

For customer, media, and interview inquiries, please email: [email protected] or visit: vpn.com/domains

Read More: VPN.com CEO Reviews ICANN CEO Opening

Read More on Forbes: How To Acquire A Premium Domain Via Stealth Acquisition

Read More: Engage VPN.com As Your Premium Domain Broker

Media Contact:

Michael Gargiulo

+1-678-551-2630

[email protected]

SOURCE VPN.com
This bold transformation is a testament to Tiffany & Co.'s unwavering commitment to French artistic expression and its enduring love for the city of Paris. Opera Garnier also represents a heartfelt return to Tiffany's roots. Over a century ago, in 1910, at Place de l' Opera, Tiffany & Co. opened its first Parisian flagship.

Today, Opera Garnier's facades come alive again. Tiffany & Co. puts its iconic Sixteen Stone ring on the ultimate stage, with a new work created by Paul Rousteau, continuing the story which commenced at the Louvre.

Originally designed in the 1950's, the Sixteen Stone ring is adorned with sixteen diamonds of absolute purity set in the iconic gold cross-stitches, a signature motif inspired by the textile heritage of Jean Schlumberger. Each cross-stitch is a testament to his ability to harmonize the worlds of fashion, art, and craftsmanship.

"I try to make everything seem irregular, unpredictable, organic, in motion," - Jean Schlumberger, 1955.

"When Tiffany asked me to showcase the Sixteen Stone ring on the facade of the Opera Garnier, I immediately thought of movement, of dance... The facade of the Opera  proud, rich and imposing  begins to dance, free and light, around a sacred ring. This ring, with its magical powers, magnetises the most beautiful monument in Paris," says Paul Rousteau.

Opera Garnier marks the third chapter in Tiffany's artistic journey through Paris. In October 2022, the brand unveiled its digital cube installation at the Centre Pompidou during Nuit Blanche, followed by a grand trompe l'oeil display at the Louvre in January 2023.

Tiffany's tradition of uniting art and jewelry has featured collaborations with luminaries like Andy Warhol, Jean-Michel Basquiat, and Daniel Arsham. Today, the House unites Opera Garnier with the works of two great creators, Jean Schlumberger and Paul Rousteau, celebrating its enduring love for artists and Paris.

About Tiffany & Co.

TIFFANY & CO., founded in New York City in 1837 by Charles Lewis Tiffany, is a global luxury jeweler synonymous with elegance, innovative design, fine craftsmanship and creative excellence.

With more than 300 retail stores worldwide and a workforce of more than 13,000 employees, TIFFANY & CO. and its subsidiaries design, manufacture and market jewelry, watches, and luxury accessories. Nearly 5,000 skilled artisans cut Tiffany diamonds and craft jewelry in the Company's own workshops, realizing the brand's commitment to superlative quality.

TIFFANY & CO. has a long-standing commitment to conducting its business responsibly, sustaining the natural environment, prioritizing diversity and inclusion, and positively impacting the communities in which it operates. To learn more about TIFFANY & CO. and its commitment to sustainability, please visit tiffany.com.

About The Sixteen Stone Ring by Tiffany & Co.

The Sixteen Stone Ring by Tiffany & Co. stands as a true testament to the brand's commitment to timeless beauty and innovation. This iconic masterpiece is a dazzling fusion of artistry and craftsmanship. The Sixteen Stone Ring pays homage to the brilliant French jeweler Jean Schlumberger, whose creative genius left an indelible mark on Tiffany & Co. during the 1950s. Schlumberger's unparalleled talent and visionary designs revolutionized the world of jewelry, and this ring is a living testament to his enduring legacy.

At the heart of this masterpiece are sixteen diamonds of absolute purity. Each diamond is meticulously selected for its exceptional quality, radiating a brilliance that is nothing short of extraordinary. Set within the famous gold cross-stitches, a signature motif inspired by the weaving origins of Jean Schlumberger, these diamonds come together to create a mesmerizing symphony of light. As Tiffany & Co. continues to push the boundaries of artistry and luxury, the Sixteen Stone Ring remains a shining example of the brand's dedication to creating timeless treasures that capture the imagination and inspire the world. It stands as a beacon of enduring beauty in the ever-evolving world of fashion and design.

Media Contact:

Valentine Gillard I PR Manager, France, Benelux

Tiffany & Co.

Email: valentine.gillard@tiffany.com

Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2238754/Tiffany_Co_1.jpg

Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2238755/Tiffany_Co_2.jpg

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Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2238758/Tiffany_Co_4.jpg

Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2238759/Tiffany_Co_5.jpg

Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2045379/Tiffany_Co_Logo.jpg

SOURCE Tiffany & Co.

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SHORT HILLS, N.J., Oct. 5, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Towne and Country Management, a leading name in the property management industry, is thrilled to announce its expansion into Northern New Jersey with the opening of a new office in Short Hills. This strategic move underscores Towne and Country's commitment to providing exceptional property management services across a wider geographical area while delivering unparalleled support to clients and staff.

The new office, situated in the heart of Short Hills, represents a significant milestone in Towne and Country's growth journey. With a reputation built on reliability, professionalism, and client satisfaction, the expansion into Northern New Jersey is a natural progression for the company. The strategic location of the Short Hills office will allow Towne and Country to better serve its existing clients in the region and cater to the needs of new clients seeking top-notch property management services.

"We are delighted to open our doors in Short Hills and extend our reach into Northern New Jersey," said Christopher Spagnuolo, EVP and COO of Towne and Country Management. "This expansion is a testament to our dedication to providing exceptional property management solutions to a broader range of clients. Our new office will not only enhance our ability to support our valued clients in this region but also enable us to introduce our services to new clients who are seeking the highest standard of property management."

The Short Hills office will house a dedicated team of property management experts, equipped with the knowledge and experience to meet the unique requirements of the Northern New Jersey real estate market. Towne and Country's comprehensive range of services, including property maintenance, tenant relations, financial management, and more, will now be easily accessible to property owners and investors throughout the region.

As Towne and Country Management expands its footprint, it remains committed to upholding its core values of integrity, transparency, and professionalism. Clients in Northern New Jersey can expect the same exceptional level of service and attention to detail that the company has been known for.

For more information about Towne and Country Management and its new office in Short Hills, please visit http://www.tc-mgt.com/

About Towne and Country Management: Towne and Country Management is a leading property management company known for its unwavering commitment to delivering outstanding property management services. With years of experience and a team of skilled professionals, Towne and Country provides a comprehensive suite of services designed to meet the unique needs of property owners and investors. The company's expansion into Northern New Jersey, through its partnership with Maya Capital Partners, marks a significant step forward in its mission to provide top-tier property management solutions.

SOURCE Towne and Country Management
DUBLIN, Oct. 5, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The "U.S. Hyperscale Data Center Market - Industry Outlook & Forecast 2023-2028" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

The U.S. hyperscale data center market is expected to reach a value of $71.55 billion by 2028 from $55.68 billion in 2022, growing at a CAGR of 4.27%

Virginia, Texas, California, and Georgia stand out as prime destinations for hyperscale investments within the United States. Industry giants like Microsoft, Amazon Web Services, Meta (formerly Facebook), Switch, QTS Realty Trust, and others are actively constructing expansive data centers within these states. Furthermore, there are plans for substantial expansions of these facilities in the foreseeable future.

A slew of prominent vendors, including Schneider Electric, Rittal, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, and Delta Electronics, are offering infrastructure solutions based on the Open Compute Project (OCP) design. This trend is anticipated to bolster market revenue for these vendors, given the escalating preference among organizations for solutions like 48V DC UPS systems.

Notably, leading hyperscale operators making substantial investments in the U.S. hyperscale data center market include Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft, Meta (Facebook), and Google.

The U.S. government is taking proactive measures to incentivize data center investments, employing a range of initiatives. These initiatives encompass expanding land availability for development, reducing electricity tariffs, offering grants and loans, fostering partnerships, facilitating infrastructure development, and promoting the adoption of renewable energy sources. These actions underscore the pivotal role played by the data center industry in the U.S. economy, emphasizing the imperative of ongoing innovation and investment in data center infrastructure.

The digitization wave has emerged as a critical driving force behind the proliferation of data centers in the United States. The explosive growth of data has generated a substantial appetite for data center services, including cloud computing, big data analytics, and artificial intelligence (AI). This trend is poised to persist as emerging technologies continue to fuel the demand for data center services. Leading telecom companies such as AT&T, T-Mobile, CenturyLink, and Qualcomm are spearheading the deployment and introduction of 5G services across the nation.

Embracing modular power infrastructure solutions in the U.S. data center market empowers businesses with heightened flexibility and control over power management. This strategic approach enables them to cater to the escalating demand for computing resources while concurrently curbing energy consumption and associated costs.

The integration of automation and artificial intelligence (AI) technologies has gained substantial traction within U.S. data centers, owing to their prowess in optimizing performance, cost reduction, and efficiency enhancement. These automation and AI applications extend to predictive maintenance, energy efficiency optimization, security enhancements, performance fine-tuning, network management, and data analysis. As enterprises increasingly seek to maximize operational efficiency and performance while minimizing expenditure and environmental impact, the adoption of automation and AI solutions within the U.S. hyperscale data center sector is poised for continued growth.

When it comes to cooling systems, the utilization of free cooling techniques has witnessed significant growth in U.S. hyperscale data centers, particularly in regions blessed with favorable climatic conditions conducive to the deployment of evaporative/adiabatic coolers for data center cooling purposes.

Market Opportunities & Trends

Rise In Rack Power Density

Sustainability Measures Adopted By Data Center Operators

Adoption Of Advanced Ups Batteries

Sustainable And Innovative Data Center Technologies

Ai Boosting Liquid Immersion & Direct-To-Chip Cooling Adoption

Market Growth Enablers

Significant Development Of Data Center Facilities By Colocation Operators.

Continued Investments By Hyperscale Operators In The Us

Tax And Sales Incentives

Adoption Of Cloud-Based Services

Big Data & IoT Driving The Data Center Market

Market Restraints

Site Selection Hindrances To Data Center Development

Security Challenges Impacting Data Center Growth

Skilled Workforce Shortages & Discrimination

Supply Chain Disruptions Hampering Growth

Power And Water Consumption By Data Centers

Concerns Over Carbon Emissions From Data Centers

Key Data Center IT Infrastructure Providers

Arista Networks

Atos

Broadcom

Cisco Systems

DataDirect Networks

Dell Technologies

Extreme Networks

Fujitsu

Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE)

Hitachi Vantara

IBM

Intel

Infortrend technology

Inspur

Juniper Networks

Lenovo

MiTAC Holdings

Micron technology

NetApp

Nimbus Data

Pivot3

QNAP Systems

Quanta Cloud Technology

Supermicro

Synology

Violin (Storcentric)

Western Digital

Wiwynn (Wistron Corporation)

Key Data Center Support Infrastructure Providers

ABB

Caterpillar

Cummins

Delta Electronics

Eaton

Legrand

Rolls-Royce

Schneider Electric

STULZ

Vertiv

Other Data Center Support Infrastructure Providers

Airedale

Alfa Laval

Asetek

Bloom Energy

Carrier

Condair

Cormant

Cyber Power Systems

Data Aire

Enlogic

FNT Software

Generac Power Systems

Green Revolution Cooling (GRC)

HITEC Power Protection

Johnson Controls

KOHLER

KyotoCooling

Mitsubishi Electric

Natron Energy

NetZoom

Nlyte Software

Rittal

Siemens

Trane ( Ingersoll Rand )

) Tripp Lite

Yanmar (HIMOINSA)

ZincFive

Key Data Center Contractors

AECOM

Arup

Corgan

DPR Construction

Fortis Construction

Holder Construction

Jacobs

Rogers-O'Brien Construction

Syska Hennessy Group

Turner Construction

Other Data Center Contractors

BlueScope Construction

Balfour Beatty US

Bell / Knott & Associates

Burns & Mcdonell

Clune Construction

Gensler

Fluor Corporation

Gilbane Building Company

Gibbens Drake Scott

HDR

HITT Contracting

Hoffman Construction

JE Dunn Construction

kW Mission Critical Engineering

Linesight

M+W Group (Exyte)

Morrison Hershfield

Mortenson

PCL Construction

Rosendin

Salute Mission Critical

Sheehan Nagle Hartray Architects

Skanska

Southland Industries

Sturgeon Electric Company

The Mulhern Group

The Walsh Group

The Weitz Company

TRINITY Group Construction

TGRWA

Key Data Center Investors

Apple

Amazon Web Services (AWS)

CyrusOne

DataBank

Digital Realty

Equinix

Google

Meta (Facebook)

Microsoft

NTT Global Data Centers

Vantage Data Centers

Other Data Center Investors

Aligned

American Tower

CloudHQ

Cologix

Compass Datacenters

COPT Data Center Solutions

CoreSite

Cyxtera Technologies

DartPoints

DC BLOX

EdgeCore Internet Real Estate

EdgeConneX

EdgePresence

Element Critical

Evoque

Flexential

fifteenfortyseven Critical Systems Realty (1547)

GIGA Data Centers

H5 Data Centers

Iron Mountain

Netrality Data Centers

Novva Data Centers

Prime Data Centers

Sabey Data Centers

Skybox Datacenters

Stream Data Centers

STACK Infrastructure

Switch

T5 Data Centers

TierPoint

New Entrants

AUBix

Corscale Data Centers

PowerHouse Data Centers

Quantum Loophole

Yondr

Infrastructure

IT Infrastructure

Electrical Infrastructure

Mechanical Infrastructure

General Infrastructure

IT Infrastructure

Server Infrastructure

Storage Infrastructure

Network Infrastructure

Electrical Infrastructure

UPS Systems

Generators

Transfer Switches & Switchgear

Power Distribution Units

Other Electrical Infrastructure

Mechanical Infrastructure

Cooling Systems

Racks

Other Mechanical Infrastructure

Cooling Systems

CRAC & CRAH Units

Chiller Units

Cooling Towers, Condensers & Dry Coolers

Economizers & Evaporative Coolers

Other Cooling Units

Cooling Technique

Air-based Cooling Technique

Liquid-based Cooling Technique

General Construction

Core & Shell Development

Installation & Commissioning Services

Engineering & Building Design

Physical Security

Fire Detection & Suppression

DCIM/BMS Solutions

Tier Standards

Tier I & Tier II

Tier III

Tier IV

Geography

Southeastern US

Midwestern US

Southwestern US

Western US

Northeastern US

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/se8k0n

About ResearchAndMarkets.com

ResearchAndMarkets.com is the world's leading source for international market research reports and market data. We provide you with the latest data on international and regional markets, key industries, the top companies, new products and the latest trends.

Media Contact:

Research and Markets

Laura Wood, Senior Manager

[email protected]

For E.S.T Office Hours Call +1-917-300-0470

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SOURCE Research and Markets
Steve and Terri Ferrero to lead new custom window treatments consultation business in Sacramento metropolitan area

SACRAMENTO, Calif., Oct. 5, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Gotcha Covered, a leader in custom window treatment consultation in the U.S. and Canada, welcomes Steve and Terri Ferrero to the franchise family. Steve and Terri own and operate Gotcha Covered of Roseville, the newest location in California.

With an emphasis on end-to-end consultations, Gotcha Covered of Roseville will provide the best in soft and hard window treatments to homeowners in the area by offering a variety of blinds, draperies, smart solutions and much more.

Gotcha Covered welcomes Steve and Terri Ferrero to the franchise family. Steve and Terri own and operate Gotcha Covered of Roseville, the newest location in California.

"California is a state that isn't short on entrepreneurial opportunities," said Paul Linenberg, president of Gotcha Covered. "Our franchise is always looking for opportunities to grow, and we believe that we've found two excellent owners in Steve and Terri (Ferrero). They have displayed their hard work throughout their careers, and we believe they will be great brand ambassadors for the Gotcha Covered franchise and great assets to the community."

Steve and Terri bring a wealth of experience to the Gotcha Covered brand. A United States Air Force veteran, Steve has over three decades of product development experience with companies like Apple and Microsoft.

Terri, a mom and entrepreneur, is the former owner of a cherished kids' art studio and brings an innate understanding of the significance of personalized details and creating inviting environments.

The duo was drawn to the window treatment business through their passion for home improvements. They have completed numerous projects of their own, including full kitchen and bathroom remodels and outdoor landscaping.

"It was our passion for home improvement that drove us to explore opportunities where our expertise could help others enhance their living space," said Steve Ferrero. "It was during our search that we discovered Gotcha Covered. It didn't take long for us to decide it was the perfect choice."

"We love working from home and within our communities to help others realize their dreams. We love the opportunity to work with individuals and truly understand their distinct needs for their home improvement projects. The ability to craft tailor-made window coverings based on these insights resonates deeply with our passion. We love one-of-a-kind design challenges, and the thrill of assisting our clients in overcoming these challenges fuels our enthusiasm even more."

Terri stated that she loves the freedom they have as Gotcha Covered business owners and the opportunities it brings.

"We are so grateful for the opportunity that owning a Gotcha Covered franchise brings to us and our family," Terri Ferrero said. "We get great joy in helping others transform their homes with the products we provide, and we love the freedoms we have in setting our own goals and schedules. It is truly a win-win scenario."

Adding 40 new franchise locations in 2022, Gotcha Covered currently has over 155 total franchises across the U.S. and Canada. The franchise has been operating under the Gotcha Covered name since 2009.

To schedule an appointment with Gotcha Covered of Roseville, visit https://www.gotchacovered.com/roseville/.

About Gotcha Covered

Gotcha Covered is a leader in custom soft and hard window treatment consultation in the U.S. and Canada. Flying under their Gotcha Covered flag since 2009, they offer custom window treatments including blinds, draperies, shutters and much more. They offer end-to-end consultation with the customer's specific needs and goals in mind. The company currently has over 155 total franchises across the U.S. and Canada.

MEDIA CONTACT:

Heather Ripley

Ripley PR

865-977-1973

[email protected]

SOURCE Gotcha Covered
TASHKENT, Uzbekistan, Oct. 5, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Uzum alongside prominent international investors plans to invest $300 million to fund further growth of the digital economy in Uzbekistan. Investments are planned to be allocated towards accelerating expansion of e-commerce, digital banking and fintech services offered by Uzum Group as well as expanding the company's own logistics infrastructure. The investment round will represent an important milestone in the company's history and highlights a key role that Uzum plays as the national digital champion and the key enabler of digital transformation in Uzbekistan.

Uzum aims to invest $300 million in Uzbekistans new economy alongside prominent international investment funds

Having completed all formal procedures related to the formation of the holding structure, Uzum is now ready to raise funds from the leading investment funds. In line with the Group's strategy, new funds would be used to boost growth and strengthen leading positions of the existing business units as well as to expand into adjacent verticals with a strong synergy potential.

Uzum is creating a national digital platform that offers digital services to millions of the country's residents. In addition to the existing product range, the company boasts a strong backlog of new products, e.g. classifieds, various services and products for entrepreneurs (for instance, fintech and last-mile logistics). Uzum's mission is to create a one-stop digital solution for both consumers and businesses, providing its clients across the whole country with access to best-in-class digital solutions. The development of the ecosystem is also strongly beneficial to the country's economy as it contributes to proliferation of the SME segment, increases banking services penetration, improving financial literacy and growing share of cashless transactions.

Djasur Djumaev, founder and CEO of Uzum: "Today, Uzbekistan represents a truly appealing investment case. A unique combination of factors, including (i) strong economic growth, (ii) favourable demographics, (iii) high and growing internet penetration, (iv) rapid expansion of ecommerce and fintech industries and (v) steady governmental support makes Uzbekistan a hotspot for inventors seeking a sustainable secular growth potential. We are delighted to welcome several prominent investment funds willing to back our ambitious growth aspirations. Attracting funds from top-tier international institutions is the start of an exciting new chapter allowing us to fasten our expansion plans. In addition, it will help Uzum to create thousands of jobs within the ecosystem as well as among small and medium-sized businesses across the country. As a result, Uzum will continue being an important contributor to the sustainable economic and disposable income growth - one of the key goals stipulated in the 'Uzbekistan 2030' strategy. Uzum is rightfully the first technology unicorn in Uzbekistan, thanks to which our country appeared on the map of the ones, producing great tech leaders of the future.

According to KPMG data, Uzbekistan records the highest e-comm growth rates among the Central Asian peers. Over the next five years, the e-comm industry is expected to expand sevenfold, reaching a $1.8 billion size. Such a strong growth potential is facilitated by a unique regulatory environment ensured by the government of Uzbekistan. 'Digital Uzbekistan 2030' strategy envisages further active transformation of the country's economy in the coming years.

Emergence of major players like Uzum is another important contributor to the digital economy's expansion. Today, over 13 million residents of the country, including approximately 50,000 entrepreneurs and companies from across the country, use services within the Uzum ecosystem. In 2024, the national marketplace, Uzum Market, is planning to launch a logistics center, which will be the largest in Uzbekistan, meanwhile Uzum will be expanding its IT infrastructure for the development of financial services, digital banking, and other platform products.

For additional information please contact: [email protected]

Photo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2239494/Uzum_digital_platform_in_Uzbekistan.jpg

SOURCE Uzum Group
KYODO NEWS - Oct 5, 2023 - 16:23 | All, World, Japan

Japan and eight Association of Southeast Asian Nations members agreed Thursday to bolster private sector cybersecurity collaboration, with 2023 marking 50 years of Japan-ASEAN friendship and cooperation.

The commitment was made at the International Conference on ASEAN-Japan Cybersecurity Community in Tokyo, which gathered various stakeholders, including nongovernmental organizations, amid growing concern over China's alleged involvement in various hacking activities.

The ASEAN countries involved are Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, the Philippines and Vietnam, according to Japan's National Center of Incident Readiness and Strategy for Cybersecurity, which organized the event. The regional bloc also includes Laos and Myanmar.

The two-day conference will run through Friday and includes expert panel discussions, as well as cyber security businesses introducing their initiatives. It will also offer opportunities for networking and matching up businesses for collaboration.

As governments around the world seek to improve national cyber defenses and reduce potential hacking vulnerabilities in their public and private sectors, Tokyo is seeking stronger ties with its partners to counter alleged cyberattacks sanctioned by Beijing and its growing influence.

Japan and ASEAN, whose partnership began in 1973, upgraded relations to a "comprehensive strategic partnership" in September. As part of the framework, Japan has committed to providing aid toward enhancing ASEAN members' cybersecurity.

At the event in Tokyo, Japanese Digital Minister Taro Kono stated his ambition for a free, fair and secure cyberspace domain by collaborating with ASEAN members to contribute to international peace and security.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno said at a news conference later Thursday that he expects "cybersecurity cooperation to move forward" with ASEAN, stressing the importance of people-to-people relations. He described ASEAN as the "key to realizing a free and open Indo-Pacific."

Related coverage:

Japan seeks to bolster maritime surveillance, eyeing China's presence

Japan, ASEAN to beef up private sector cybersecurity cooperation

ASEAN holds first-ever joint military exercises in Indonesia
VI continues its support of Miles To Go, the Company's charity of choice, which is focused on providing essential supplies to the homeless community in Central Florida

ORLANDO, Fla., Oct. 5, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Vacation Innovations ("VI" or the "Company"), a leading provider of travel-related products, software, and services, today announced its sponsorship of the second annual Miles To Go ("MTG") 5K, which will help the charity provide homeless individuals in Central Florida with basic necessities they may not otherwise be able to access. The 5K will be held at Bill Frederick Park on Saturday, October 7, 2023, from 8 a.m. to noon.

The 2nd Annual Miles To Go 5K will take place on Saturday, October 7, 2023, at Bill Frederick Park in Orlando, Fla.

Miles To Go Charities was founded in 2018 by then-9-year-old Miles Newbold, son of VI CEO Chad Newbold, who saw a need in his community and created supply bags for the homeless. To date, MTG has distributed thousands of bags filled with intentionally curated essential items to the homeless community in Central Florida. All proceeds from the 5K will directly benefit the charity's efforts.

"We appreciate all that Vacation Innovations does to support Miles To Go," said Danielle Newbold, who founded MTG alongside her son, Miles. "Support from sponsors like VI helps us on our mission to spread love and create a more compassionate society, and we're proud to continue that work, one bag at a time."

Vacation Innovations has been a strong supporter of MTG since the charity began in 2018 and is covering the registration cost for its Orlando-based employees and their families to participate in the 5K. For more information on MTG, including how to register for the 5K, visit milestogocharities.org.

"I couldn't be prouder of the impact that Miles To Go has on our community, and I know that will only continue to grow," said Chad Newbold, CEO of Vacation Innovations. "Community engagement is a central component of our values as an organization, and we're thrilled to be able to support MTG as it works to meet a significant need throughout Orlando and beyond."

Vacation Innovations was founded upon the principle of treating people with respect, and the Company believes that principle comes with a responsibility that extends beyond the walls of its offices into the communities in which its employees work and live. As part of VI's corporate spirit of giving, the Company actively engages in supporting local charities and causes that address the crisis of homelessness and encourages its employees to do the same.

About Miles To Go

Miles To Go Charities (milestogocharities.org) was founded in 2018 by then-9-year-old Miles Newbold. It all began when Miles asked his mom to give money to someone at a red light. After an open and honest talk, Miles came up with the idea to instead provide bags of essential supplies to those in need. A 501(c)(3) charitable organization, Miles To Go collects, organizes and distributes essential products from toothbrushes and socks to hand sanitizer and bottled water to the homeless community in and around Orlando and beyond. What started as a simple idea has grown significantly, and the organization has now provided more than 6,000 supply bags to those who need it most.

About Vacation Innovations

Founded in 1999, Vacation Innovations (vacationinnovations.com) is a leading provider of travel-related products, software and services. Leveraging advanced digital marketing strategies, sophisticated software solutions, and decades of experience in vacation ownership, VI brings new vacation opportunities to a diverse audience of novice and seasoned travelers alike. The Vacation Innovations family of brands offers a wide range of travel services, including simplified resort rentals, online advertising and marketing products for by-owner timeshare sales and rentals, licensed timeshare brokerage and title transfer services, as well as customized owner services, tour generation, and product solutions for timeshare resorts, resort developers, HOAs and timeshare management companies. VI has been recognized with the 2022 ARDA Award for Business Administration or Operations Team and the 2023 GNEX Vacation Industry Awards for Best Technology, Best Industry Leader, and Best Marketing Professional.

MEDIA CONTACT:

Alex Glover, Director of Communications

[email protected]

407-205-0120

SOURCE Vacation Innovations
PLEASANTON, Calif., Oct. 5, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Veeva Systems (NYSE: VEEV) will host its investor day virtually on Thursday, November 9, 2023. The event will begin at 9:00 a.m. PT and will conclude at approximately 11:00 a.m. PT.

Veeva will broadcast the presentations live on the company's investor relations website, ir.veeva.com, where a link to the archived webcast will also be available after the event.

Event: Veeva Systems Virtual Investor Day Date: Thursday, November 9, 2023 Time: 9:00 a.m. PT (12:00 p.m. ET)

Online event registration can be found on the company's investor relations website or directly at this

link. Webcast: ir.veeva.com

About Veeva Systems

Veeva is the global leader in cloud software for the life sciences industry. Committed to innovation, product excellence, and customer success, Veeva serves more than 1,000 customers, ranging from the world's largest pharmaceutical companies to emerging biotechs. As a Public Benefit Corporation, Veeva is committed to balancing the interests of all stakeholders, including customers, employees, shareholders, and the industries it serves. For more information, visit veeva.com.

Veeva uses its ir.veeva.com website as a means of disclosing material non-public information, announcing upcoming investor conferences, and for complying with its disclosure obligations under Regulation FD. Accordingly, you should monitor our investor relations website in addition to following our press releases, SEC filings, and public conference calls and webcasts.

Investor Relations Contact: Media Contact: Gunnar Hansen

Veeva Systems Inc.

267-460-5839

[email protected] Maria Scurry

Veeva Systems Inc.

781-366-7617

[email protected]

SOURCE Veeva Systems
HANOI, Vietnam, Oct. 5, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- VMO has entered into a significant Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the U.S. Department of State (DOS) and the Posts and Telecommunications Institute of Technology (PTIT) , marking a pivotal step toward addressing climate change and fostering innovation. The MOU formalized the DOS' Coalition for Climate Entrepreneurship (CCE) , a groundbreaking public-private partnership aimed at addressing climate issues while promoting economic empowerment in developing nations.

Special Representative Dorothy McAuliffe visited Hanoi, Vietnam, to sign an MOU for the establishment of a Coalition for Climate Entrepreneurship (CCE) innovation hub, the first and only hub in Asia, together with Lynne Gadkowski, Economic Counselor of DOS, Dr. Tran Quang Anh  Vice President of PTIT, and Yusuf Saib, CEO of VMO America.

The signing event was also attended and witnessed by representative leaders of the Ministry of Information and Communications, Ministry of Natural Resources Environment, and businesses in the field of IC Design.

Our focus on combating climate change and semiconductor innovation

CCE aims to combat climate challenges while promoting entrepreneurship focused on climate solutions. In this partnership, VMO, in collaboration with other key stakeholders, will contribute its expertise and resources to drive innovation in the semiconductor sector, supporting sustainability-focused entrepreneurs and aligning with the broader goal of combating climate change.

The CCE Lab will serve as a hub for climate tech innovation and semiconductor workforce development. This lab will operate in collaboration with PTIT hosting the physical venue and leveraging the entrepreneurial talents of its students. VMO, a leader in innovation, will play a pivotal role in shaping the semiconductor landscape within the CCE Lab by providing modern equipment, transforming classrooms into smart spaces, appointing our experts in lecturing, offering scholarships, sponsoring events, supporting research contests, and welcoming interns and partners on both domestic and international training programs.

The operational plan for the CCE Lab includes establishing partnerships, organizing programming and events, skills development, community engagement, and continuous resource and infrastructure development. The lab aims to foster innovation in climate tech, create a skilled workforce, encourage entrepreneurial growth, and engage the community. It will serve as a hub for innovation, skill development, and meaningful contributions to the global climate crisis.

About VMO

VMO is a leading information technology company with its VMO America Office based in Silicon Valley, California. We leverage cutting-edge technologies such as AI, Semiconductors, IoT, Data, Blockchain and more in various sectors, including Automotive, Cybersecurity, Fintech, Healthcare, and others. We have a workforce of 1,400 staff in six countries. We are committed to using technology to address global challenges, with a focus on combating climate change and promoting a greener, more sustainable world.

Media Contacts

VMO

Yusuf Saib, CEO of VMO America

Email: [email protected]

Phone: +1 (408) 332-7115

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/yusuf-saib-489099227

Website: https://vmogroup.com

Department of State (DOS)

Avery Rodriguez, Partnership Officer

Email: [email protected]

Website: https://www.state.gov/

PTIT University

Trung Anh Do, (Ph.D.) Deputy Head of Science&Technology Management and International Cooperation

Email: [email protected]

Website: https://portal.ptit.edu.vn/eng/

SOURCE VMO Holdings
TUCSON, Ariz., Oct. 5, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Western National Parks Association (WNPA) will open this year's submission cycle for its awards, grants, and scholarships starting October 2. With multiyear research grant opportunities, as well as awards and scholarships for teachers, students, and unique supporters of national parks and public lands, applicants and nominees have a variety of opportunities to participate in this robust program. All submissions must be completed electronically through the WNPA website.

Researchers at Bandelier National Monument studied butterfly responses to management practices (courtesy of NPS). Rianne Kravitz, recipient of the 2022 James E. Cook Natures Classroom Grant (Courtesy of Rianne Kravitz).

"National parks preserve our shared natural and cultural heritage. Public lands thrive when people from every generation and diverse cultural backgrounds connect with the complex stories and precious ecosystems that parks protect," says Marie Buck, WNPA President and CEO. "As a researcher, you can help ensure that everyone sees themselves in a national park."

She adds, "We honor and support individuals who have devoted their lives to advancing our national parks in myriad ways and seek careers with the National Park Service and like organizations."

Submission information for all categories is provided below.

AWARDS

Each year, WNPA honors individuals and organizations that spread awareness of WNPA and national parks, conduct exceptional research in parks, and engage the public in the national park ideals through high-quality educational and interpretive materials and programs. Award nominations are accepted from October 2 through December 31, 2023. Recipients will be notified the week of January 22, 2024. Learn more about the awards and submit a nomination.

JAMES E. COOK NATURE'S CLASSROOM GRANT

The Nature's Classroom grant increases access to national parks for underrepresented K12 youth. This grant aids educators in bringing the national parks to their classrooms and their students to national parks. The deadline for submissions is December 31, 2023. Recipients will be notified the week of January 22, 2024. Learn more and apply.

WNPA RESEARCH GRANT

WNPA supports research by providing grants for projects that benefit national parks' management, preservation, and interpretation. Multiple awards in varying amounts are available in this category. Grants are awarded on a first-come, first-served basis and will remain open through February 29, 2024, or until funds are exhausted.

Grant projects must originate in one of the more than 70+ WNPA-affiliated parks in Arizona, California, Colorado, Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas, and Wyoming. Visit the website for a list of affiliate parksfor assistance connecting with a national park, complete the Connect Me to a Park form. WNPA will work to facilitate the relationship between lead investigators and national park staff. All fields of scholarly research are supported, including

Anthropology

Archaeology

Botany

Citizen Science

Ecology

Geology

History

Natural Story

Social Science

Zoology

For research grant funding criteria and guidelines, learn more here.

ERNEST QUINTANA AND MARTY STERKEL EDUCATION SCHOLARSHIP

This educational scholarship supports young adults pursuing careers that increase diversity in the workforce. Scholarships are awarded to those working with the National Park Service, similar government agencies, and nonprofit heritage conservation organizations. This scholarship continues Quintana and Sterkel's dedicated work bringing diverse communities to national parks across the country. Two scholarships valued at $2,500 each will be awarded. The deadline for submission is December 31, 2023. Learn more about scholarship offerings and apply.

About WNPA

Western National Parks Association helps make the national park experience possible for everyone. As a nonprofit education partner of the National Park Service, WNPA supports parks across the West, developing products, services, and programs that enhance the visitor experience, understanding, and appreciation of national parks. Since 1938, WNPA has worked to connect new generations to parks in meaningful ways, all with one simple goal: create advocates who want to preserve and protect these special places for everyone, for all time. Learn more at www.wnpa.org.

SOURCE Western National Parks Association
VILNIUS, Lithuania, Oct. 5, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The group of high-tech companies Yukon Advanced Optics Worldwide, specializing in civilian thermal imaging optics, is introducing a new unified branding, positioning, and website. This identity unites all 9 of its companies, located in different European countries. The new corporate brand of Yukon Group will now unite subsidiary companies producing devices labeled with Pulsar and Yukon Advanced Optics brands.

"After three decades of growth, innovation, and market expansion, the Yukon Group has matured into a cohesive identity. This project, developed by the company's founder Aliaksandr Alsheuski, is one of the last ones our team had been working on for two years. The new corporate brand will provide greater clarity to our business and social partners, as well as the employees. Moreover, it will foster a unified culture across the group's companies that operate in different countries, strengthening our leading positions in the global market," Volha Alsheuskaya, the CEO of Yukon Group, says.

According to V. Alsheuskaya, the new identity underscores the group's long-term strategic direction, positioning itself as a European-based manufacturer where all technological, design, production, and marketing processes are carried out by the group companies based in Europe.

Crafted in collaboration with the design studio "andstudio", the new identity communicates Yukon Group's engineering focus and emphasis on innovation. On the website and additional materials created with the new brand, the group of companies, which has over a thousand employees, focuses on them as its key innovators.

"The Yukon Group brand embodies a minimalist style, seamlessly integrating both the creative vision and the company's technological aspect  optics and light effect. The symbol within the logo serves as a reference to the view through an optical lens. This imagery reinforces our company's vision and mission  to develop technologies that enable people to see even in the most challenging weather conditions," Germanas Kavalskis, Chief Communications Officer at Yukon Group, explains.

He adds that the new brand will not substitute the renowned brands Pulsar and Yukon Advanced Optics but will add to them as the identity of the overarching corporate entity.

Yukon Group, which develops innovative thermal imaging optics technologies in the Baltic States, has won several prestigious awards in the US and the UK for its products. The group actively invests in research and develops sustainable innovations.

As a pioneer in civilian thermal imaging production, the Yukon Group has introduced over 10 innovations in this field to the global market. Its products are exported to over 70 countries worldwide. The company offers a range of over 200 daytime and nighttime viewing devices and their accessories, all marked with the Pulsar and Yukon Advanced Optics trademarks.

SOURCE Yukon Advanced Optics Worldwide
LONDON, Oct. 5, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Earlier this year, XRP Healthcare marked a pivotal moment in its journey by announcing a strategic partnership with The Burnratty Investment Group, laying the foundation for a dynamic expansion into the African healthcare sector. This ambitious collaboration, led by its subsidiary XRP Healthcare Africa, aims to acquire already profitable private healthcare businesses, including pharmacies, medical centres, and hospitals, commencing its operations in Uganda.

XRP Healthcare & The Burnratty Investment Group on target for $100 Million 'Super Fund' to Transform African Healthcare Sector

"Our strategic decision to invest in real-world healthcare businesses reflects our commitment to making a meaningful difference in people's lives," said Kain Roomes, CEO of Global XRP Healthcare. "Healthcare is an essential industry that demands innovation, and our investments will not only drive profitability but also contribute to enhancing healthcare services where they are needed most."

The strategic partnership between XRP Healthcare and The Burnratty Investment Group signifies a monumental step towards advancing healthcare access and quality across the East African region.

"Our acquisition plan is a testament to our unwavering commitment to transforming healthcare in East Africa," affirmed Mukisa Joshua William, the Principal and Founding Executive Director at The Burnratty Investment Group. "We recognize the potential of existing healthcare facilities and are dedicated to modernizing and upgrading them to meet the evolving healthcare needs of the region. The plan will not only result in the acquisition and refurbishment of existing healthcare facilities but also create opportunities for employment, stimulate local economies, and contribute to the overall growth and development of the African healthcare infrastructure."

To bolster their strategic move into Africa's burgeoning healthcare sector, XRP Healthcare has enlisted the expertise of FasterCapital, a distinguished investor incubator led by CEO Hesham Zreik. With a remarkable investment portfolio exceeding 100 startups, Hesham Zreik secured a coveted ranking of #39 among Forbes' top 50 investors in 2018. FasterCapital, renowned for its outstanding track record, has facilitated funding for more than 428 startups, raising over $1.6 billion since its inception in 2010.

Hesham Zreik, CEO of FasterCapital said, "This vision is expansive, and we do not have a shortage of viable investors that are interested in investing, especially in a burgeoning industry such as the healthcare sector."

Having successfully navigated various stages of due diligence and preparation, XRP Healthcare and The Burnratty Investment Group are now poised for the next critical phase of their journey. FasterCapital will play a pivotal role in introducing them to potential investors, facilitating interviews, and paving the way for their ambitious expansion plans.

XRP Healthcare and The Burnratty Investment Group have set fundraising targets. They seek to initially raise US $3,000,000, followed by a groundbreaking US $100,000,000 'Super Fund.' This 'Super Fund' will drive the acquisition of 2,000 private healthcare establishments across Africa. This audacious endeavour aims to dominate and consolidate the multi-billion-dollar African healthcare sector within a span of 3 to 5 years and exit at a billion-dollar valuation.

XRP Healthcare and The Burnratty Investment Group, spearheading an ambitious healthcare venture in East Africa, proudly introduce their remarkable team, boasting a collective experience of over 250 years across the domains of Mergers and Acquisitions, Healthcare, and Business Development. This formidable team has a track record of creating over $20 billion in combined wealth, with board members serving as either direct or indirect participants.

Meet the Stellar team here.

Driven by a market overview that underscores the immense potential and urgent need for transformation. The African healthcare market, valued at a staggering $249 billion, presents a substantial opportunity for innovative healthcare providers as well as investors, to make a significant impact.

Despite the substantial market size, approximately 600 million Africans still lack access to quality healthcare services. This alarming statistic highlights the critical need for improved healthcare infrastructure and services, particularly in underserved regions. XRP Healthcare and The Burnratty Investment Group are committed to addressing this disparity and enhancing healthcare access and quality for millions of Africans.

Uganda, a country at the heart of this transformational journey, is home to approximately 4,000 private healthcare facilities. These facilities play a crucial role in the healthcare ecosystem, providing essential services to communities across the nation. XRP Healthcare and The Burnratty Investment Group's strategic acquisition approach in Uganda will not only elevate the quality of healthcare but also contribute to the growth and development of the local healthcare sector.

With a target of acquiring 20 to 30 healthcare facilities per month, this strategic initiative aims to elevate healthcare access and quality by upgrading and modernizing existing establishments.

The core focus of this acquisition plan is to implement comprehensive improvements, including the introduction of telepharmacy services, facility refurbishment, and the integration of new and enhanced medical equipment and technology which will include NASA-designed ventilators.

With a population of 45.74 million*, Uganda stands out as one of the global leaders in traffic fatalities. Dr. Annet Alenyo Ngabirano, President Emeritus of the African Federation for Emergency Medicine (AFEM), recently shed light on Uganda's healthcare challenges. From her perspective as a medical professional, she underscored how the COVID-19 pandemic has exposed the inadequacy of available medical equipment for prehospital emergency care. It's particularly concerning given that the latest data reveals a mere 1.3 ICUs per million people in Uganda, with ICUs typically being the critical spaces housing ventilators for severe medical conditions.

By breathing new life into these healthcare facilities, XRP Healthcare and The Burnratty Investment Group seek to provide the African population with better access to high-quality healthcare.

About XRP Healthcare: XRP Healthcare is the first Pharma and Healthcare platform to be built on the XRP Ledger. XRP Healthcare aims to profoundly impact healthcare infrastructure, services, and innovation.

The Burnratty Investment Group: The Burnratty Investment Group is a renowned investment firm that aims to dominate and consolidate the highly fragmented billion-dollar African healthcare sector through the merger and acquisition of small and medium-sized healthcare businesses.

FasterCapital: FasterCapital is an investor incubator specializing in connecting startups with compatible investors. Under the leadership of CEO Hesham Zreik, FasterCapital has a remarkable track record of assisting startups in securing funding and achieving their growth objectives. Established in 2010, the organization has played a pivotal role in securing funding for more than 428 startups, raising over $1.6 billion to date.

Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2239311/XRP_Healthcare.jpg

Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1983109/XRP_Healthcare_Logo.jpg

SOURCE XRP Healthcare
MUMBAI, India, Oct. 5, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- ZEE5 Global, the world's largest streaming platform for South Asian content, announces the world digital premiere of the biggest Hindi blockbuster of the year, 'Gadar 2' today. After a successful theatrical run collecting 63M USD in India and still counting, Gadar 2 is set for another successful innings on ZEE5 Global on 6th October. Produced by Zee Studios and directed by Anil Sharma, the superhit sequel to the 2001 hit 'Gadar' will see Sunny Deol, Ameesha Patel and Utkarsh Sharma reprise their roles as Tara Singh, Sakeena and Charanjeet "Jeete" Singh respectively.

'Gadar 2 Release on ZEE5 GLOBAL

Gadar 2 brings back India's most loved family of Tara, Sakeena & Jeete; 22 years after its predecessor. Set against the backdrop of Indo-Pakistan war of 1971, Tara Singh, once again, will face every enemy to protect the honor of his country and family. This time, the narrative will delve deeper into the enduring love of Tara Singh and Sakeena and additionally, will see a strong father-son bond between Tara Singh and Charanjeet as the latter lands in Pakistan and ends up being caught and tortured. While the last time, Tara Singh visited Pakistan to get his wife back, this time, he will return to rescue his son.

Archana Anand, Chief Business Officer, ZEE5 Global said, "Bollywood blockbusters have always transcended geographical boundaries and resonated with global viewers through their powerful and emotionally charged stories. With the World Digital Premiere of Gadar 2, ZEE5 Global is thrilled to present our global viewers with the sequel to one of Hindi cinema's all-time blockbuster hits that has captivated audiences for over 22 years."

Shariq Patel, CBO, Zee Studios said, "Gadar 2 brought back India's most loved family of Tara Singh, Sakeena and Jeete; 22 years after its predecessor. Hindustan Ka Asli Blockbuster will make history once more with its digital premiere on ZEE5 Global."

Sunny Deol said, "We are absolutely delighted with the overwhelming response that 'Gadar 2' has received in theatres. Now with its World Digital Premiere on ZEE5 Global, I am very excited for the movie to reach a wider, global audience. Gadar 2 is a perfect family entertainer which will keep the viewers completely engaged and entertained. I urge everyone to watch it if you haven't already and watch it again if you have."

Ameesha Patel said, "Sakeena is a character who has stayed with me throughout my career, and I was so excited to revisit her in 'Gadar 2.' The chemistry between Tara and Sakeena is timeless, and the sequel reignites that magic for our fans. ZEE5 Global's platform allows us to connect with a global audience, and I'm thrilled that viewers from around the world will have the opportunity to witness this epic love story, all over again but with more twists and action."

Director Anil Sharma said, "The story of 'Gadar' is etched in the memories of every movie lover and with Gadar 2, we have tried to recreate the same magic. I am beyond thrilled that Gadar 2 has become one of the most successful Hindi films of all time and now with its World Digital Premiere on ZEE5 Global, I hope that the film breaks more records and reaches more people across the world."

'Gadar 2' is set for its World Digital Premiere on ZEE5 Global from 6th October 2023!

Photo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2239607/gadar2_Zee5.jpg

Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1756210/4046069/ZEE5_Global_Logo.jpg

SOURCE ZEE5 Global
Data and Proprietary Technology Help HCPSS Fix Systemic School Bus Challenges

HOWARD COUNTY, Md., Oct. 5, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Zum today announced that it has delivered two weeks of nearly 100% on-time pick up performance for its 1,250 routes transporting around 20,000 students daily in Howard County, Maryland.

New bell times New bell times Zum today announced that it has delivered two weeks of nearly 100% on-time pick up performance for its 1,250 routes transporting around 20,000 students daily in Howard County, Maryland.

Zum proudly helped Howard County return to on time bus performance, following substantial issues in September that impacted several bus contractors. The root cause of initial on time problems was Howard County Public Schools System's shift to a new 3-tier bell schedule and the compression of all routes. These two changes unintentionally required several transportation contractors to achieve the impossible: complete 50% more routes in 33% less time vs. the previous school year.

HCPSS's modified bell schedule announced September 20th  which was informed by data and Zum's proprietary cloud-based software  substantially addressed on time performance. In the past two weeks Zum has achieved nearly 100% on-time pick-ups for all morning and afternoon bus routes.

"We understand Howard County experienced significant challenges at the start of this school year, and recognize and respect the frustration caused by early delays," said Ritu Narayan, Founder and CEO of Zum. "In partnership with HCPSS leadership, Zum has worked tirelessly to resolve Howard County's long-standing bussing challenges, and the improved results speak for themselves. We want to extend a special thanks to families for their patience and to all bus drivers who have been working day in and day out to serve the students and families of Howard County."

Bolstered by strong performance on all routes, Zum is now focused on resolving a small number of lingering challenges with afternoon drop-offs in Howard County. While Zum's Tier 1 and 2 afternoon drop-offs are consistently nearing 100% on time performance, a small number of Tier 3 services are not yet meeting this standard. These delays are occurring on only 4% of Zum's 1,250 daily routes in Howard County. Utilizing data analytics and its cloud-based software, Zum is actively working with HCPSS to address these outstanding issues.

To learn more about how Zum is working with thousands of schools across the nation to modernize student transportation, please visit Zum's website .

About Zum

Zum has reimagined student transportation, the nation's largest mass transit system. Our robust operations and integrated end-to-end cloud-based platform provides a modern student transportation service for school districts purpose-built around the needs of kids and the expectations of their families. Zum provides one seamless, real-time interface for parents, drivers, schools, districts, administrators and operators to transport children safely and with increased visibility and personalized care. Always investing in the wellbeing of the communities, Zum is also the only carbon neutral student transportation provider in the nation with plans to go Net Zero with EV transition. Learn more at www.ridezum.com.

CONTACT:

[email protected]

SOURCE Zum
KYODO NEWS - Oct 5, 2023 - 21:43 | World, All, Japan

Australian Minister for Resources Madeleine King has said that more investment is needed in Australia's gas industry to ensure future supply for Australia and its allies, as concerns grow in Japan about the challenges of ensuring stable gas supplies as Canberra adapts its energy policy.

Speaking to Kyodo News in a phone interview Wednesday, King said that Australian liquefied natural gas is an essential component in maintaining Japan's energy security, and welcomed input from the country's government and its industry in planning Australia's gas policies to ensure stable regional energy supplies.

Japan imports more than 40 percent of its LNG from Australia. However, following a domestic shortage of LNG last year and Russia's war on Ukraine, changes to Australia's energy policies to secure domestic gas supply and reduce greenhouse gas emissions have stoked concern that exports to Japan could be restricted.

King stressed that Australia takes into account the energy needs of its international partners and that the measures have not reduced supply in any way.

"Part of our role in maintaining peace and security in our region is to provide that energy security to our long-standing and like-minded partners like Japan, and also to South Korea and to Singapore," King said.

The minister also anticipated that under a new partnership agreement signed last year, Australia and Japan will identify joint projects in areas such as critical minerals and rare earths "in the near future."

Australia considered restricting LNG exports last year amid a predicted shortfall in domestic supplies but chose not to after an agreement was reached with local gas producers.

Concerns were sparked once again in July after a law came into force in Australia requiring new LNG facilities to be carbon neutral, while facilities already in operation were required to lower their carbon emissions by 4.9 percent a year until 2030, when reduction requirements will increase further.

Related coverage:

Japan, Australia reaffirm cooperation in energy, emission cut areas
KYODO NEWS - Oct 5, 2023 - 11:02 | All, Japan, 3/11 Fukushima

The second round of the discharge of treated radioactive water from the wrecked Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant into the sea began Thursday, the plant operator said, after a spat over it quickly escalated between Japan and China.

Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings Inc. said it plans to eject about 460 tons of treated water per day about 1 kilometer off the coast via an underwater tunnel for less than three weeks.

The latest plan is the second of the four rounds to be conducted by the end of next March to release a total of about 31,200 tons of such water, with a total amount of tritium expected to be around 5 trillion becquerels, less than a quarter of the annual limit of 22 trillion becquerels.

TEPCO aims to dispose of 1.34 million tons of water or about 98 percent of storage capacity, pooled in over 1,000 tanks at the power plant over the next three decades.

The utility said Wednesday that the concentration level of tritium in the treated water, diluted with seawater, was 87 becquerels per liter, far below 1,500 becquerels, which is one-40th of the concentration permitted under Japanese safety standards.

No abnormal levels of tritium and other radioactive substances have been detected in seawater or fish samples collected from around the nuclear power plant since the first round of the discharge running from Aug. 24 to Sept. 11, according to monitoring by the Japanese authorities, TEPCO, and the International Atomic Energy Agency.

Still, a few countries, such as China and Russia, and local fishermen in Fukushima Prefecture criticized the Japanese government's decision. Beijing repeatedly urged Japan to halt the plan, saying the IAEA's safety review does not constitute a "green light" for discharging "nuclear-contaminated water" into the sea.

The IAEA effectively endorsed the safety of the discharge through a treatment process that removes most radionuclides except tritium. The U.N. nuclear watchdog said it is aligned with global safety standards and would have a "negligible" impact on people and the environment.

China imposed a blanket ban on Japanese seafood imports after the first round began. Japan has been urging Beijing to lift the ban and engage in scientific evidence-based discussions with experts from both countries while helping the domestic fishery industry alleviate the impact.

Related coverage:

Japan to begin releasing second batch of Fukushima water on Oct. 5

No tritium found in fish 1 month after Fukushima water release
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Prayagraj, Oct 5 : The Allahabad High Court has observed that a Hindu marriage is not valid without the 'saptapadi' ceremony (taking seven rounds around the sacred fire) and other rituals.

On this ground, the court has quashed the entire proceedings of a complaint case, where the husband had sought punishment for his estranged wife, alleging that she had solemnised her second marriage without obtaining a divorce from him.

Allowing a petition filed by Smriti Singh, Justice Sanjay Kumar Singh observed, "It is well settled that the word 'solemnise' means, in connection with a marriage, 'to celebrate the marriage with proper ceremonies and in due form'. Unless the marriage is celebrated or performed with proper ceremonies and due form, it cannot be said to be 'solemnised'. If the marriage is not a valid marriage... it is not a marriage in the eyes of law. The 'saptapadi' ceremony under the Hindu law is one of the essential ingredients to constitute a valid marriage."

The court relied on Section 7 of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955, which provides that a Hindu marriage may be solemnised in accordance with the customary rites and ceremonies of either party thereto. Second, such rites include 'saptapadi', which makes the marriage complete when the seventh step is taken.

Quashing the summoning order and further proceedings of the complaint case pending before a Mirzapur court against the petitioner wife, the court said, "Even there is no averment with regard to 'saptapadi' in the complaint as well as in the statements before the court. Hence, no prima-facie offence is made out against the applicants."

Petitioner Smriti Singh was married off to Satyam Singh in 2017 but due to acrimonious relations, she left the house of her in-laws and lodged an FIR alleging harassment for dowry.

Later, after investigation, the police submitted a charge sheet against her husband and in-laws.

The petitioner-wife also filed an application for maintenance, which was allowed and the principal judge, family court, Mirzapur, on January 11, 2021, directed the husband to pay Rs 4,000 as maintenance per month until she gets remarried.

The husband gave an application alleging bigamy against his wife.

The husband filed another complaint on September 20, 2021, alleging inter-alia that his wife had sanctified her second marriage.

The Magistrate on April 21, 2022, summoned the petitioner-wife, following which she filed the present petition before the High Court.
Lucknow, Oct 5 : The Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court has stayed the Uttar Pradesh government's order suspending the licence of Sanjay Gandhi Hospital in Amethi over the death of a 22-year-old woman after a surgery.

A division bench of Justice Vivek Chaudhary and Justice Manish Kumar said that inquiry against the hospital would go on, and asked the state government to file its counter-affidavit.

The court passed the order on a writ petition filed by the hospital's Chief Operating Officer Avadhesh Sharma against the government's order.

Appearing for the petitioner, senior counsel J.N. Mathur argued that the suspension order was not sustainable as it was passed "due to political reasons".

The state government contended that the hospital had no licence to conduct surgeries but it was doing so and hence the incident, in which a woman died after a minor surgery, took place.

"The licence has rightly been suspended and the inquiry is going on before passing the final order," State counsel Rahul Shukla said.

On September 18, the Health Department suspended the licence of Sanjay Gandhi Hospital in the Munshiganj area of Amethi and halted OPD and emergency services, days after the death of a woman patient following an operation.

The hospital is run by Sanjay Gandhi Memorial Trust headed by Congress leader Sonia Gandhi.

Manoj Muttu, administrator of the trust, told reporters that a copy of the court's order will be submitted to the Chief Medical Officer of Amethi and as per the CMO's directions, functioning of the hospital will resume.

However, Muttu said he would like the hospital to resume functioning from Thursday.
Amethi, Oct 5 : The BJP's Amethi district unit has demanded that the management of the Sanjay Gandhi Memorial Trust be handed over to Maneka Gandhi and her son Varun Gandhi, BJP MPs from Sultanpur and Pilibhit, respectively.

In a memorandum addressed to the Uttar Pradesh Governor Anandiben Patel, the BJP has also demanded that free treatment be provided at the hospital.

"The Sanjay Gandhi Hospital is constructed on the land given on lease by the state government. The conditions of the lease were not adhered to and the hospital continued to be run in a disorganised manner. Hence, the government should hand over the management of Sanjay Gandhi Memorial Trust to BJP leader Maneka Gandhi, widow of Sanjay Gandhi, and her son and BJP MP from Pilibhit Varun Gandhi," the memorandum said.

"Else, the government should take over the hospital and hand over its management to Lucknow-based Sanjay Gandhi Postgraduate Institute of Medical Sciences (SGPGI)," it added.

The memorandum was handed over to the District Magistrate of Amethi by BJP's district unit Chief Ram Prasad Mishra.

On September 27, more than 400 employees of the hospital sat on a 'dharna' against the suspension of its licence.

A political controversy erupted over the issue after local Congress leaders also staged a protest outside the Chief Minister's Office.

Union Minister and BJP MP from Amethi, Smriti Irani, had attacked the Congress over the suspension of hospital's licence, saying instead of supporting the deceased woman's family, the party was "crying over loss of its profits".

The woman patient, Divya, who was admitted to the Sanjay Gandhi Hospital on September 14, went into a coma during a surgery. Her family members alleged that she was kept at the hospital for more than 30 hours before being referred to Lucknow where she died on September 16.

The next day, an FIR of causing death by negligence was registered against four employees of the hospital, including its chief executive officer.
KYODO NEWS - Oct 5, 2023 - 18:17 | All, World, Japan

Japan's land minister on Thursday filed a lawsuit against the Okinawa governor, seeking to proceed with the central government's modified plan for landfill work for the relocation of a key U.S. base within the southern island prefecture.

The suit filed at the Fukuoka High Court's Naha branch is part of the central government's attempt to enable the land minister, instead of the Okinawa governor, to approve modifications to the project to reinforce soft ground at the designated relocation site of U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma.

If the government of Prime Minister Fumio Kishida wins the case and Okinawa Gov. Denny Tamaki still does not approve the plan, land minister Tetsuo Saito can endorse it in his place. The development came a day after Tamaki avoided clarifying whether he would give a green light to the central government's order that he accept the revised plan, saying it would be "difficult to approve" the project by the Wednesday deadline.

On Thursday, Tamaki told reporters that he will look into the complaint and consider how Okinawa Prefecture will respond to the legal action.

At a press conference in Tokyo, Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno reiterated the central government's mantra, saying the planned base transfer is the "only solution" to eliminate the danger posed by the Futenma station to surrounding residential areas.

Matsuno, the top government spokesman, doubles as minister in charge of reducing the base-hosting burden on Okinawa,

While Tamaki has the option to appeal, the prefectural government cannot halt the work at the site unless the court issues a reversal of the decision.

The central government and Okinawa Prefecture have long been at odds over relocating the Futenma base in the residential district of Ginowan to the less densely populated Henoko coastal area in Nago within Okinawa.

In 1996, an agreement was reached with the United States on a relocation plan for the base, with Japan selecting Henoko as the new site in 1999.

But Okinawa residents continue to oppose relocating the base within the prefecture, which has hosted the majority of the U.S. military's facilities in Japan since the end of World War II in 1945.

In 2013, then Okinawa Gov. Hirokazu Nakaima approved the central government's request for landfill work to build a replacement facility in Henoko. But his successor Takeshi Onaga, a strong opponent of the transfer plan, revoked the approval in 2015.

The Supreme Court, however, ruled the retraction was unlawful, with the landfill work starting in 2018.

After soft ground was discovered at the reclamation site, the Defense Ministry applied for a change in the construction plan in 2020, but Tamaki, who was elected as Okinawa governor in 2018, denied approval for the request, saying not enough research had been done.

In early September 2023, the Supreme Court turned down an appeal by Okinawa Prefecture against the central government's earlier order for the local administration to rescind its rejection of the modified landfill work.

Related coverage:

Okinawa rejects central gov't order over U.S. base landfill work

Okinawa governor tells U.N. that U.S. military base threatens peace

Okinawa loses legal battle with central government over U.S. base landfill
Jerusalem, Oct 5 : The Israeli Health Ministry has announced that Israel had dispatched a medical team to Armenia's capital Yerevan to provide assistance to those injured in the fuel depot explosion that took place in the Nagorno-Karabakh region last month.

The Israeli team, which includes plastic surgeons, anesthesiologists, intensive care doctors, and nurses specialising in burn treatment, brought advanced equipment for the treatment of burns and began its work in five hospitals in Yerevan on Wednesday, Xinhua news agency reported.

The medical team was sent to Yerevan following a request from the Armenian Health Ministry and the World Health Organisation, said the Israeli Ministry.

The UN reported that more than 170 people were killed in an explosion at a crowded fuel depot in the Nagorno-Karabakh region on September 25, and over 200 injured, many of whom were with serious burns and in critical condition.
Ankara, Oct 5 : Turkey's military carried out its third cross-border air operation into Iraq, after a suicide bomb attack in the capital Ankara.

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan warned at a security meeting on Wednesday that all the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) and the Syrian Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) infrastructure and energy facilities in Syria and Iraq are now "legitimate targets for the Turkish military".

Fidan revealed that the two assailants responsible for Sunday's suicide bomb attack in Ankara came from Syria. Turkish Interior Ministry identified the two attackers as PKK members, Xinhua news agency reported.

The PKK, listed as a terrorist organisation by Turkey, the US, and the European Union, has been rebelling against the Turkish government for more than three decades. Turkey also sees the YPG group as the Syrian branch of the PKK.

The attack in front of the Turkish Interior Ministry's building on Sunday resulted in the injuries of two police officers. During the attack, one suicide bomber blew himself up while the other was shot dead by the police.

The Turkish Armed Forces carried out two major air operations on Sunday and Tuesday against the PKK and destoryed 22 targets including caves, bunkers, shelters and warehouses in northern Iraq, said the Turkish Defence Ministry.

The Turkish forces frequently carry out ground operations, airstrikes, and artillery bombardments in northern Iraq against the PKK, especially in the Qandil Mountains, the main base of the group.

The Turkish Army launched Operation Euphrates Shield in 2016, Operation Olive Branch in 2018, Operation Peace Spring in 2019, and Operation Spring Shield in 2020 in northern Syria in order to create a YPG-free zone along its border with neighbouring countries.
Beirut, Oct 5 : Head of the German military, Carsten Breuer, has announced fuel and medical supplies aid for the Lebanese Army, media reported.

His remarks came during a meeting with Lebanon's Army Commander Joseph Aoun in Beirut on Wednesday.

Breuer said the fuel aid provided to the Lebanese Army is valued at 1 million euros, and another million euros was allocated to medical supplies, Xinhua news agency reported.

The two Army commanders discussed ways of cooperation between the German and Lebanese armies.

After performing the ceremonies, a wreath was placed on the memorial in the Ministry of National Defence courtyard.
London, Oct 5 : British-Indian Home Secretary Suella Braverman has been accused of "spouting deeply divisive and irresponsible rhetoric" after she warned against a "hurricane" of migrants landing on the country's shores in her Conservative conference speech.

Born to a Hindu Tamil mother and Goan-origin father Christie Fernandes, who migrated to the UK from Mauritius and Kenya, Braverman said on Tuesday that "unprecedented" mass migration was "one of the most powerful forces reshaping our world".

"The wind of change that carried my own parents across the globe in the 20th century was a mere gust compared to the hurricane that is coming," she said in her Manchester speech, which comes ahead of the next general election in the UK .

"Because today, the option of moving from a poorer country to a richer one is not just a dream for billions of people," she said.

Reacting to her speech, Liberal Democrat Home Affairs Spokesperson Alistair Carmichael said the cabinet minister "seems more interested in fanning the flames of division than getting to grips with the challenges facing the country".

"She should focus on tackling the asylum backlog and unsolved crimes epidemic, instead of spouting this deeply divisive and irresponsible rhetoric in a transparent attempt to appeal to the Tory membership," Carmichael was quoted as saying in the Evening Standard newspaper.

"Utterly repulsive speech by Suella Braverman referring to a 'hurricane' of migration, as her dehumanising rhetoric plumbs new depths," opposition Green Party MP Caroline Lucas said.

"The hurricane I'd like to see is one which sweeps her culture war-stoking, dog-whistling, hard-right party from office."

According to Home Office figures, more than 25,000 people have been detected crossing the Channel in small boats this year.

Braverman said the future "could bring millions more migrants to these shores, uncontrolled and unmanageable, unless the government they elect next year acts decisively to stop that happening".

Speaking of "illegal immigration", she said the UK has "become enmeshed in a dense net of international rules that were designed for another era. And it is Labour that turbocharged their impact by passing the misnamed Human Rights Act.

"I'm surprised they didn't call it the 'Criminal Rights Act'."

Labour MP John McDonnell said: "Suella Braverman with her reference to 'hurricanes' coming is as divisive and dangerous as Enoch Powell's 'rivers of blood' rhetoric of the 1960s."

The 43-year-old's stance on immigration drew sharp criticism from within her own party ranks with Business Secretary Kemi Badenoch saying that politicians ought to be careful about how immigration policies are discussed.

"We live in a multiracial society. "We're very, very comfortable with that because if we weren't you wouldn't have a prime minister that we have, we wouldn't have the Home Secretary or the Business Secretary that we have," Badenoch was cited as saying by The Standard.

"But we have to be very careful about how we explain and express immigration policies, so that people aren't getting echoes of things that were less palatable," she said.

While giving a speech on migration in the US last month, Braverman asserted that "multiculturalism has failed", adding that uncontrolled immigration, inadequate integration, and a misguided dogma of multiculturalism have proven a toxic combination for Europe over the last few decades.

Braverman has been under constant fire for her comments on immigration ever since she was appointed the country's Home Secretary by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak last year.

Comparing the migrant crisis in the country to an "invasion", she had said that "let's stop pretending that they are all refugees in distress".
Kolkata, Oct 5 : Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Thursday conducted raid and search operations at the residence of West Bengal food & supplies Minister Rathin Ghosh in connection with the multi-crore cash for municipalities' recruitment scam.

Sources said that Ghoshas name came up in the case after incriminating documents procured by the ED showed his involvement when he was the chairman of Madhyamgram Municipality in North 24 Parganas district of West Bengal.

It is learnt that that Ghoshas name had surfaced following incriminating documents seized by the ED sleuths from ABS Infozone, the agency outsourced by different municipalities in the state for conducting the recruitment examination process there, which indicated towards massive irregularities in the recruitment process in Madhyamgram Municipality between 2014 and 2018.

ABS Infozone is owned by private promoter Ayan Sil, who is already in judicial custody because of his alleged involvement in the multi-crore cash-for-school-job case in West Bengal.ED officers for the first time received clues about the multi-crore urban civic bodies' recruitment case, while conducting raid and search operations at Silas residence in March this year in connection with the school-job-scam case.

Besides the residence of Ghosh, ED sleuths are also conducting raids at the residence of Kamarhati Municipality chairman Gopal Saha, also in North 24 Parganas district since Thursday morning.

Simultaneous raid and search operations by ED sleuths in at least 10 separate locations are taking place since Thursday morning, sources said.

ED officials,during their course of investigation in the multi-crore municipalities' recruitment case in West Bengal, has drawn out a rough estimate that around 1,500 individuals were recruited illegally between 2014 and 2018 against some financial considerations in different urban civic bodies in the state.

As per the central agency estimates, these 1,500 illegal recruitments were made in 15 municipalities scattered over districts like North 24 Parganas, South 24 Parganas, Hooghly, Nadia and Purulia.
Thiruvananthapuram, Oct 5 : Actor-model Shiyas Kareem against whom a female gym trainer had registered a complaint of rape and cheating, was taken into custody at the Chennai airport on Thursday when he landed from the Middle East.

Last month, a 32-year-old woman who works at the gym owned by the actor-model registered a complaint of sexual assault and cheating against him at the Chandera Police station at Kasargod.

In her complaint, the woman also claimed that he owes her money and cheated her by not honoring his word that she would be made a partner in his business.

Meanwhile, Chandera Police station officials are expected to arrive at Chennai later in the day to take the popular reality show personality Kareem into custody as part of the procedures following the complaint.

Kareem had earlier dismissed the allegations as "fabricated".
Jaipur, Oct 5 : Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate development projects worth Rs 10,000 crore and address a public meeting in poll-bound Rajasthan on Thursday.

People from all over Western Rajasthan will assemble in Jodhpur for PM Modi's public meeting, said Union Jal Shakti Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat.

While talking to the media, Shekhawat said that Prime Minister Modi is expected to attend two programmes in Jodhpur.

In the first programme, he will lay the foundation stone and inaugurate development works worth Rs 10,000 crore. He will give the gift of doubling railway lines.

PM Modi will come to the venue in the form of a rally, where he will be greeted by aMatra Shaktia. Later, he will address the gathering.

He will lay the foundation stones for the state-of-the-art Trauma Centre at Jodhpur AIIMS at a cost of about Rs 500 crore and the expansion work of Jodhpur Airport.

The Prime Minister is also scheduled to inaugurate the educational works and green campus developed at a cost of more than Rs 1100 crore in IIT Jodhpur.

BJP state president C.P. Joshi, former chief minister Vasundhara Raje, current and former MPs, public representatives, state and national level party officials will be among those to be present in the meeting.

This happens to be the Prime Minister's first meeting in Jodhpur after the successful organisation of G20 and the inauguration of the new Parliament, Minister Shekhawat said, adding that there is immense enthusiasm among women due to the passing of the Women's Reservation Bill in Parliament.

Though people from only 20 Assembly constituencies within a radius of 100 kilometers have been invited for the event, the enthusiasm to hear, see and greet their beloved Prime Minister is palpable throughout the Western Rajasthan. Therefore, a large number of people are expected from far and wide, he added.
New Delhi, Oct 5 : While condoling the loss of lives in the Sikkim cloudburst and subsequent flash floods, Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge on Thursday said that such tragedies, also including the recent rain-related calamities in Himachal Pradesh, should be declared as national disasters by the Centre.

In a lengthy post on X, Kharge said: :The situation in Sikkim is precarious as several people have lost their lives and many including our brave Army personnel are missing due to cloudburst and flash floods.

Our thoughts are with the people of Sikkim who are battling these distressing times."

The Congress president went on to say that the Centre "must do everything possible to rescue people in safer locations and find the missing persons, whose count is reportedly steadily increasing".

"A lot of damage has been done to the infrastructure, and the Union and the state governments must work together in the medium and long term to rebuild this beautiful state."

He also said that the Congress and workers will provide help in "all possible ways in this humanitarian crisis".

Drawing a similarity, Kharge said that the Centre "must recalibrate its strategy in dealing with ecologically fragile Himalayan states and must declare such tragedies, like Sikkim and Himachal Pradesh, as national disasters so that these states get adequate funds to rebuild themselves in a more sustainable manner".

On Wednesday, the Defence PRO in Guwahati said that one soldier has been rescued so far while search and rescue operation by the Army continued for the remaining 22 soldiers who went missing after the sudden cloudburst over the Lhonak Lake in north Sikkim.

Release of water from the Chungthang dam led to further sudden increase in water level upto 15-20 feet high downstream, the Army spokesman said.

"Sudden increase in water level has led to Army vehicles parked at Bardang near Singtam getting affected," he said.

The Sikkim State Disaster Management Authority has said that in Pakyong district, 59 people including 23 Army personnel have been reported missing, while at least five people were confirmed dead.

The National Disaster Response Force has deployed three teams in the affected areas and rescued many people.
San Francisco, Oct 5 : More tech companies have asked hundreds of employees to leave as layoffs in the IT and technology sector continue unabated globally this year.

US-based experience-management software company Qualtrics is cutting about 14 per cent of its workforce -- nearly 780 jobs -- to reduce costs and restructure its organisation.

The company cited "a need to address the internal complexity created by its past hiring and growth", reports Geek Wire.

"Rapid hiring was essential to enable our growth up to this point, but it also created complexity that does not support continued growth at our scale," Qualtrics CEO Zig Seraphim wrote in an internal memo.

In addition to the layoffs, "several hundred roles are changing or moving locations over the next year", he wrote in the memo.

SAP acquired Qualtrics for $8 billion in 2019.

The company spun out of SAP two years later and raised $1.55 billion in an initial public offering.

Earlier this year Qualtrics went private again, with Silver Lake buying the company in a $12.5 billion deal.

Shared micro-mobility company Bird, delisted from the New York Stock Exchange last week, has initiated another round of layoffs, reports TechCrunch.

However, the number of affected employees could not be ascertained.

The reduction in headcount came two weeks after Bird acquired Spin, another shared e-scooter operator based in the US.

Bird has struggled to reach profitability since going public via a special purpose acquisition merger in November 2021.

Last year, Bird laid off 23 per cent of its staff and shut down its retail scooter product.

Hopper, the fast-growing online travel and fintech company, has also cut 30 per cent of its full-time staff -- nearly 250 employees -- in a bid to become profitable.

A company spokesperson told Skift the job cuts came in tandem with the twin goals to boost the company's travel app and B2B businesses, along with being "laser-focused on continuing to build our direct global hotel supply".

More than 1,043 tech companies have laid off around 239,603 employees this year so far.
New Delhi, Oct 5 : A 32-year-old man, who had been declared a bad character by police, was shot dead in central Delhi, an official said on Thursday.

The deceased was identified as Keshava Kakkar, a resident of Dev Nagar, and he had been declared 'bad character' by the Prasad Nagar police station.

According to police, the incident occurred on the intervening night of Wednesday and Thursday at around 1:45 a.m. in gali no. 7, Hardyal Singh Road, Dev Nagar.

"At about 1.50 a.m, a police control room call was received wherein the caller informed that his friend had been shot at, after which a police team rushed to the spot," said a senior police official.

Upon reaching the spot, it was revealed that the injured had been shifted to BLK Hospital where he died during treatment.

"The preliminary inquiryhas revealed that when Keshav was standing at gali no. 7, a person came and shot at him. The forensic and mobile crime teams were called for inspection of the scene of crime and collection of evidence," said the official.

"As per the probe, the name of a person with a previous criminal record has emerged as a prime suspect.Accordingly, information is being gathered and facts are being verified," said the official.

"In addition to Prasad Nagar police station team, a Special Wing has also been roped-in to solve the case and to nab the accused person. Legal action into the incident has been initiated under sections of murder and Arms Act," said the official
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak delivers a keynote speech at the Conservative Party's annual conference in Manchester, Britain, on Oct. 4, 2023. United Kingdom (UK) Prime Minister Rishi Sunak vowed on Wednesday to build a "brighter future" for the country as he scrapped the northern leg of the flagship HS2 rail project and introduced a raft of new measures to shore up support for the ruling Conservative Party as the next general election nears. (Xinhua)

LONDON, Oct. 4 (Xinhua) -- United Kingdom (UK) Prime Minister Rishi Sunak vowed on Wednesday to build a "brighter future" for the country as he scrapped the northern leg of the flagship HS2 rail project and introduced a raft of new measures to shore up support for the ruling Conservative Party as the next general election nears.

Announcing the decision in a keynote speech at the Conservative Party's annual conference in Manchester, Sunak said that "every single penny" of the 36 billion British pounds (43.7 billion U.S. dollars) saved by scrapping phase two of HS2 will instead be spent on "hundreds and hundreds" of rail, road and transport schemes across the north, Midlands and other parts of the UK.

What had been billed as the country's biggest ever infrastructure project, originally at an estimated total cost of 100 billion pounds, HS2 will now only run between London and Birmingham, the country's second-largest city, while the planned leg between West Midlands and Manchester will be canceled.

In advance of the highly expected confirmation, politicians representing the northern constituencies, as well as northern business leaders, had pleaded with Sunak not to axe phase 2.

Sunak said: "To those who backed the project in the first place, the facts have changed and the right thing to do when the facts change is to have the courage to change direction. And so, I am ending this long-running saga. I am canceling the rest of the HS2 project."

"Those who wish to disagree with me, I respect that, but they should have the honesty to admit that they would now be canceling the hundreds of alternative projects right across the country," he said, challenging his political opponents.

"Our plan will drive far more growth and opportunity here in the north than a faster train to London ever would," the prime minister said.

Reacting to the decision, John Bryson, professor of enterprise and economic geography at the University of Birmingham, told Xinhua that the decision will come to haunt future politicians.

"The problem with major infrastructure investments is that they are costly and time-consuming. The added complication is that the economic returns occur over many decades. Politicians should have the confidence of making what are often eyewatering investments in critical national infrastructure," Bryson said.

"The problem for Sunak is with managing expectations. Too many people are expecting HS2 to unlock regional economies as part of a process that releases waves of leveling up processes that could transform lives," he said.

"Any decision to curtail this investment at Birmingham and to upgrade lines between Birmingham and the northwest, rather than add additional capacity, reflects a poor political compromise. It would also be a compromise that will come to haunt future politicians," he added.

In his speech, Sunak also announced that lawmakers will be given a vote on raising the smoking age by one year, every year. It would mean that a 14-year-old today will never legally be allowed to smoke, and that they and their generation can grow up "smoke-free."

Touting the party's success in controlling illegal immigration, Sunak said small boats crossing the English Channel are for the first time down 20 percent this year. "I will do whatever is necessary to stop the boats," he told the conference.

The prime minister finished his speech by saying: "We will give the country what it so sorely needs, and yet too often has been denied: A government prepared to make long term decisions so that we can build a brighter future for everyone."

Despite Sunak's upbeat messages, the future for the Conservative Party that has been in power for over 13 years is uncertain as the country is mired in a prolonged cost-of-living crisis and its economic recovery since the COVID-19 pandemic has lagged behind most other advanced economies.

The UK has to hold its next general election by the end of January 2025 at the latest. In 2019, when Boris Johnson was the occupant of 10 Downing Street, the Conservatives won a formidable 80-seat majority in the law-making House of Commons.

Opinion polls have all but ruled out a repeat of the landslide of 2019, with the main opposition Labour Party predicted to grab the keys to Downing Street under its leader, Keir Starmer. 

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak delivers a keynote speech at the Conservative Party's annual conference in Manchester, Britain, on Oct. 4, 2023. United Kingdom (UK) Prime Minister Rishi Sunak vowed on Wednesday to build a "brighter future" for the country as he scrapped the northern leg of the flagship HS2 rail project and introduced a raft of new measures to shore up support for the ruling Conservative Party as the next general election nears. (Xinhua)

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak (at the podium and on the screen) delivers a keynote speech at the Conservative Party's annual conference in Manchester, Britain, on Oct. 4, 2023. United Kingdom (UK) Prime Minister Rishi Sunak vowed on Wednesday to build a "brighter future" for the country as he scrapped the northern leg of the flagship HS2 rail project and introduced a raft of new measures to shore up support for the ruling Conservative Party as the next general election nears. (Xinhua)

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak delivers a keynote speech at the Conservative Party's annual conference in Manchester, Britain, on Oct. 4, 2023. United Kingdom (UK) Prime Minister Rishi Sunak vowed on Wednesday to build a "brighter future" for the country as he scrapped the northern leg of the flagship HS2 rail project and introduced a raft of new measures to shore up support for the ruling Conservative Party as the next general election nears. (Xinhua)
Three held for stabbing youth, crushing his head in Delhi. Image Source: IANS News

New Delhi, Oct 5 : The Delhi Police have arrested three men for allegedly stabbing a youth and crushing his head with a sandstone block in northeast Delhi, an official said on Thursday.

The accused were identified as Kishan a.k.a Patwa (20), Deepanshu alias Ganja (19) and Deepak Kumar (22), all residents of Karawal Nagar.

Twenty-five-year-old Deepak, a resident of Shiv Vihar in the Karawal Nagar area, was declared dead by the doctors in a hospital.

According to police, a call regarding the incident near Ramlila Ground, 35 Futa Road, Shiv Vihar, was received at 2.15 a.m. on the intervening night of Tuesday and Wednesday following which a police team rushed to the spot.

Upon reaching, the police learnt that at about 2 a.m., Deepak was riding his motorcycle near Ramlila Ground when three bike-borne youth intercepted him.

"CCTV footage shows that they stabbed him multiple times and crushed his head with a slab. Deepak was rushed to GTB Hospital where the doctors declared him dead," said the Deputy Commissioner of Police (northeast) Joy Tirkey.

An investigation was launched and the trio were arrested.

The investigation revealed that about two weeks ago, Deepak had thrashed Kishan over a petty issue. "Kishan had been planning revenge. On the fateful day, Kishan along with Deepanshu and Deepak (accused) waylaid Deepak (deceased) and stabbed him to death near the Ramlila Ground.

"While Kishan stabbed the now-deceased multiple times with a knife he was carrying, Deepanshu picked up a heavy sandstone slab and crushed his head. The crime got recorded on CCTV camera," said the DCP

Kishan and Deepanshu have a past criminal record. Both of them were arrested in two robbery cases of Karawal Nagar police station last year. They had come out on bail recently," said the DCP.
New York, Oct 5 : Mexican-Indian high school student, UmaSofia Srivastava has been crowned Miss Teen USA 2023, which saw participation from over 50 young women from across the country, in a live-streamed contest in Nevada state.

The 16-year-old high school Junior at the Academy of St Elizabeth had become the first Mexican-Indian Miss New Jersey Teen USA earlier this year.

"IS THIS REAL??? I am so grateful and honored that Iam the first Mexican-Indian, first New Jersey, your MISS TEEN USA 2023!!!" Srivastava wrote on social media after winning the coveted title last week.

"This night is truly the best night of my life because I was crowned with the people that have loved and supported me throughout everything cheering for me in the audience."

Srivastava, who speaks English, Spanish, Hindi and French, hopes to become a UN Ambassador.

She works with the Lotus Petal Foundation to help underprivileged children in India receive a well rounded education, proper nutrition and healthcare.

A co-founder of the Diversity & Inclusion campaign at her school, Srivastava also participates in Mock Trial and Model United Nations, according to her pageant biography.

She has authored and illustrated a book, "The White Jaguar", which she says, is to inspire people of all ages to embrace what makes them unique.

Also a pianist, Srivastava runs her own blog, Thatas Fan Behavior, where she writes about her experience as a woman of colour and current events.

Miss New York Teen USA Stephanie Skinner was named first runner-up and Miss Pennsylvania Teen USA Maggie Ross was second runner-up in the pageant.

--IANS

mi/ksk
Latur, Oct 5 : A series of tremors in the past three days have kept people in the district's Usturi, Hasori and surrounding villages on their toes, coming after seven mild tremors were notched in the region in August, an official said here on Thursday.

Latur District Disaster Management Officer Saqueb Osmani,told IANS that the latest of the tremors were recorded Wednesday night (October 4) -- the first at 8.49 p.m. measuring 2.75 on Richter Scale at a depth of 5 kms, and a second one at 8.57 p.m. measuring 1.60 on Richter Scale at 7 kms underground.

Earlier on Monday, at least three mild tremors were felt, scaring the locals, who have been complaining of strange subterranean sounds emanating in the region since a year, besides at least nine tremors between September 15 - October 12, 2022.

However, Osmani said that there were no reports of any casualties or damage to public or private property from the affected regions after the fresh tremors this week.

Incidentally, on September 30 the district had observed the 30th anniversary of one of the biggest killer earthquakes (1993) that flattened Killari and surrounding regions of Latur-Osmanabad, but now the same areas have risen from the ruins and flourished. Nationalist Congress Party President Sharad Pawar -- who was the state Chief Minister during the 1993 quake -- was felicitated with a gratitude function held in his honour last weekend.
Kolkata, Oct 5 : The Enforcement Directorate (ED) raids at 12 locations in connection with the multi-crore cash-for-municipalities recruitment scam in West Bengal was continuing since early Thursday.

The raids started simultaneously at 12 locations from around 5 a.m., and each team of the raiding ED sleuths were escorted by armed personnel from central armed police forces personnel.

The important places where the raids are continuing include the residences of state food & supplies minister and former chairman of Madhyamgram Municipality Rathin Ghosh; Kamarhati Municipality chairman Gopal Saha; Baranagar Municipality chairman Aparna Moulik and South Dum Dum Municipality vice- chairman Nitai Dutta, among others. All these four municipalities are in North 24 Parganas district.

Sources said that besides conducting raid and search operations, the central agency sleuths are also questioning Ghosh about his knowledge of the recruitments in Madhyamgram Municipality as he was the erstwhile chairman here.

As per ED estimates of the many urban civic bodies scattered throughout the state that are under the central agency scanner because of the recruitment irregularities there, the maximum are from North 24 Parganas district.

Ghosh has questioned the timing of the raid and search operations which are coinciding with the Trinamool Congress' announcement of the 'March to Raj Bhavan' agitation in Kolkata as a mark of protest against the Delhi Police over its action on the elected party representatives at Krishi Bhavan in Delhi on Tuesday evening.

"ED raids have become a common factor in West Bengal. However, the outcomes of such raid and search operations are generally zero. But this will not affect our 'March to Raj Bhavan' programme," he said

Ghosh's name came up in the case after incriminating documents procured by the ED showed his involvement when he was the chairman of Madhyamgram Municipality in North 24 Parganas district of West Bengal.

It is learnt that Ghosh's name had surfaced following incriminating documents seized by the ED sleuths from ABS Infozone, the agency outsourced by different municipalities in the state for conducting the recruitment examination process there, which indicated towards massive irregularities in the recruitment process in Madhyamgram Municipality between 2014 and 2018.
New Delhi, Oct 5 : While hearing the bail pleas of former Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia on Thursday, Supreme Court Justice Sanjiv Khanna clarified that the bench's query was a legal question and not to implicate anyone.

"We want to clarify that our question yesterday was not to implicate anyone. Suppose if as per the prosecution if A is not being prosecuted can B or C be prosecuted? " he asked, adding that the query was posed in this context.

The Supreme Court resumed hearing Sisodiaas bail applications in relation to cases against him by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) over the alleged Excise Policy case.

A bench comprising Justices Sanjiv Khanna and S.V.N Bhatti heard the pleas.

After taking the bench through the evidence and statements of the approver, Senior Advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi concluded by drawing the court's attention to media headlines that said that the apex court had asked why the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) was not named in the PMLA case by the ED.

Singhvi expressed concern over the "distortion" of the bench's query by the headlines of prominent media channels and newspapers.

He informed the bench about news channels saying that AAP will be named in the court based on these statements.

Justice Khanna said that he was also aware of that but media headlines don't affect the apex court's decision.

On the news reports regarding AAP being named in the PMLA case, Additional Solicitor General S.V. Raju representing the ED, clarified that when questioned by the media earlier, he had only said: "If there is evidence we will not spare anybody,"

While listening to Sisodia's bail plea, the bench on Wednesday had asked ED why AAP was not made an accused when the whole case was about the party being a beneficiary.
Washington, Oct 5 : Ohio Republican Jim Jordan, chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, has announced his plans of joining the race to become the next Speaker of the US House of Representatives following Kevin McCarthy's ouster from the post in a historic vote.

Jordan's announcement came a day after McCarthy's removal and shortly after House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, a Louisiana Republican, also formally entered the race on Wednesday, reports Xinhua news agency.

"We are at a critical crossroad in our nation's history. Now is the time for our Republican conference to come together to keep our promises to Americans," Jordan said in a letter to colleagues, seeking their support for his bid for the speakership.

Jordan, who was elected to Congress in 2006, was a former chairman of the House Freedom Caucus, considered to be the most conservative and farthest-right bloc within the House Republican Conference.

He was nominated for the speakership in January this year by hard-right Republicans who opposed McCarthy.

At that time, however, Jordan maintained his support for McCarthy, who won the position in January after 15 rounds of voting on the House floor.

McCarthy, a California Republican, was ousted from the position in a 216-210 vote on Tuesday night, marking the first time in US history that a House Speaker hadbeen voted out of office in the middle of a term.

Eight Republicans joined Democrats in removing McCarthy from the speakership.

The removal came less than a day after hardline Republican Representative Matt Gaetz filed a resolution to oust McCarthy through a process known as "a motion to vacate".

Gaetz and other hardline Republicans had warned for weeks they would move to oust McCarthy if the latter had relied on Democrats to pass funding legislation, criticising him for failing to pass legislation with deep spending cuts and border security provisions.

Republican Representative Patrick T. McHenry from North Carolina has been named interim Speaker of the House after McCarthy's ousting.

McCarthy has announced that he would not seek the position again, setting up an expected intense intraparty battle for the speakership.
An executive prerogative: Where the Supreme Court stands on UCC. Image Source: IANS News

New Delhi, Oct 5 : In a first of its kind, the Supreme Court on Thursday directed its Registry for appointment of a sign-language interpreter to assist a specially-abled lawyer in attending the court proceedings.

"There is a request for appointment of a sign-language interpreter. The Registry will take steps for appointing an interpreter as requested by the learned counsel for the appellants," ordered Registrar Vivek Saxena.

Advocate-on-Record Sanchita Ain moved an application before the top court seeking a sign-language interpreter for her hearing-impaired colleague who will be joining the proceedings virtually from Bengaluru.

Consequently, she requested that the sign-language interpreter may also join the proceedings virtually whenever the matter is taken up for hearing.

"Registry will take action and it will be listed on October 6 before the Hon'ble Court," said the Registrar of the Supreme Court.

Earlier in September, CJI D.Y. Chandrachud had permitted the same specially-abled lawyer to attend the court proceedings in Chief Justice's court with the assistance of her own sign-language interpreter.

CJI Chandrachud had later said that such accessibility should have happened long back and it was a sobering experience for him when a lawyer with a hearing impairment attended proceedings with the assistance of a sign-language interpreter.
New Delhi, Oct 5 : Delhi Police on Thursday took objection with applications by NewsClick founder-editor Prabir Purkayastha and HR head Amit Chakravarty seeking a copy of the FIR, saying they were premature.

The Special Cell of Delhi Police had arrested the two on Tuesday under anti-terror law, Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act. The next day, they were sent to seven days in police custody.

On Wednesday, the court allowed them to meet their lawyer besides granting a copy of the remand order.

Additional Sessions Judge Hardeep Kaur, who presided over the case, was informed by Special Public Prosecutor Atul Shrivastava that the accused had to first approach the police commissioner, who would then form a committee regarding the same.

Shrivasatava also cited a Supreme Court judgment saying that the accused had to follow the step-by-step procedure prescribed by the top court.

They could not "directly jump before the court", he added.

When Purkayastha and Chakravarty moved an application on Wednesday seeking a copy of an FIR, the judge said that she will decide on it on Thursday.

Advocate Arshdeep Singh, representing Puryakastha, argued that they have the right to obtain the FIR copy.

"They have not given us the remand order either," he told the court.

The lawyer also cited Section 41D, CrPC (right of the arrested person to meet an advocate of their choice during interrogation) and said that it was an absolute right.

The judge then allowed Puryakastha's application to visit his lawyer and ordered that a copy of the remand order be provided to both Puryakastha and Chakravarty.

Singh also informed the court that a petition will be filed before the Delhi High Court challenging the FIR and the arrests, highlighting that there was already an FIR with the Economic Offenses Wing (EOW), and the High Court was not informed about the current FIR.

On Tuesday, in a statement regarding the search, seizure and detentions carried out in connection with a UAPA case registered with Special Cell, the Delhi Police said that a total of 37 male suspects were questioned at premises, including nine female suspects at their respective places of stay.

The police said that digital devices, documents, etc., were seized or collected for examination.

"The proceedings are still ongoing. So far, two accused, Purkayastha and Chakravarty have been arrested," the Delhi Police added.

The Special Cell swung into action on Tuesday morning and carried out searches at several locations in Delhi-NCR, including the office of NewsClick and journalists associated with it.

The Delhi Police team has sealed the media outlet's office.

The Special Cell had registered an FIR in the case on August 17 under different sections of the UAPA and the Indian Penal Code against NewsClick.

In August, a New York Times investigation had accused NewsClick of being an organisation funded by a network linked with US millionaire Neville Roy Singham, to allegedly promote Chinese propaganda.

--IANS

spr/ksk
New Delhi : AAP Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh arrested following the ED raid at his residence in connection with the Delhi excise policy case. Image Source: IANS News

New Delhi, Oct 5 : Delhi Police have beefed up the security outside Delhi's Rouse Avenue Court as AAP Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh will be produced before the court by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) later in the day.

The ED on Wednesday evening arrested Singh in the Delhi liquor scam case.

The security was also heightened at AAP's headquarters after hundreds of workers, leaders and its MLAs gathered there and raised slogans against the BJP and ED.The police put up barricades outside the AAP office at DDU Marg, which is a short distance from the Rouse Avenue Court.

Delhi Police have also deployed a huge number of police personnel outside the BJP headquarters after a call was given by AAP to protest outside the BJP headquarters against Singh's arrest.

Dependra Pathak, the Special Commissioner of Police (law & order), said proper security arrangements have been made and police personnel have been deployed to maintain law and order.

"Police officials are in touch with AAP leaders and communicating with them," said the Special CP.

A top ED official told IANS that Singh has been put under arrest under the sections of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) but did not share more details.

The arrest comes after the financial probe agency sleuths on Wednesday carried out searches at his residence in the North Avenue area for over ten hours.

Singh is the second top leader of the AAP to be arrested in the alleged liquor scam case after former Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, who was arrested by the CBI in February this year and later by the ED in March.

The ED has filed four charge sheets in the case and has also mentioned the name of Singh in it. The ED's money laundering case is based on the CBI's FIR filed last year in August on the complaint of alleged irregularities in the excise policy case.
Microsoft to end mandatory use of Edge for Windows 11 users in EU. Image Source: IANS News

New Delhi, Oct 5 : Microsoft India on Thursday announced the addition of four new languages -- Bhojpuri, Bodo, Dogri, and Kashmiri, to Translator -- expanding support to a total of 20 languages now.

Microsoft Translator now supports -- Assamese, Bengali, Gujarati, Hindi, Kannada, Konkani, Maithili, Malayalam, Marathi, Nepali, Odia, Punjabi, Sindhi, Tamil, Telugu, Urdu, Bhojpuri, Bodo, Dogri, and Kashmiri.

This brings Microsoft Translator a step closer to its goal of supporting all 22 official Indian languages and now covers the languages spoken by almost 95 per cent of the countryas population, the company said.

aWe stay committed to supporting Indiaas diverse languages and culture by leveraging the most advanced AI technology to drive the countryas growth and make access to technology more inclusive," Rajiv Kumar, Managing Director, India Development Center, Microsoft India, said in a statement.

The translation feature can be accessed through the Microsoft Translator app, Edge browser, Office 365, Bing Translator, and the Azure AI Translator API for businesses and developers, which is being used by companies such as Jio Haptik and Koo.

Microsoft's collaboration with Jio Haptik and the integration with Translator play a pivotal role in bridging linguistic divides and empowering India's diverse communities through technology access for all major Indian languages.

"This development is quite exciting for Haptik because it offers our customers the opportunity to be more inclusive and reach a wider audience. They can now provide support in languages like Bhojpuri, Bodo, Kashmiri, Dogri -- which is phenomenal," said Swapan Rajdev, Co-founder & CTO, Jio Haptik.

This new update will impact close to 61 million people and will open new economic opportunities for local artisans and businesses, allowing them to connect with a broader audience, the company stated.
JERUSALEM, Oct. 5 (Xinhua) -- Israel and Mexico have agreed to establish the first-ever direct flight routes connecting the two countries, as announced by Israeli Transport Minister Miri Regev in a statement issued on Thursday.

The agreement encompasses two flight routes: one from Tel Aviv, Israel, to Mexico City, the capital of Mexico, and the other to Cancun, a prominent resort city of Mexico.

The anticipated duration of these flights is approximately 13 to 14 hours each way, in contrast to the longer 16 to 24-hour journeys commonly associated with flights that involve layovers in Europe, the United States, or Canada.

"The direct flights to Mexico will contribute to the Israeli economy, expand Israel's connection to the world, and reduce flight costs," Regev said.

The agreement on these direct routes was reached during Regev's official visit to Mexico last week, following discussions with his Mexican counterpart Jorge Nuno Lara.

Additionally, the two countries agreed to collaborate on smart transportation initiatives and address issues related to traffic accidents and road congestion, as read the Israeli statement. 
Ottawa, Oct 5 : Canada's Governor General Mary Simon has apologised for conferring the Order of Canada, a top civilian honor in the country, to a Nazi veteran in 1987, who later became the Chancellor of the University of Alberta, local media reported.

"It is with deep regret that we acknowledge that Mr. Peter Savaryn was appointed to the Order of Canada in 1987, and we express our sincere apology to Canadians for any distress or pain his appointment may have caused," a statement issued by Simon 's office to the media said.

Savaryn's Order of Canada biography includes his experience as a law firm partner, former Chancellor of the University of Alberta, and a World Leader of the World Congress of Free Ukrainians.

However, Savaryn also served during the Second World War in Nazi Waffen-SS Galicia Division, a voluntary unit made up mostly of ethnic Ukrainians under Nazi command.

The Division members have been accused of killing Polish and Jewish civilians, although the unit has not been found guilty of any war crimes by a tribunal.

Concerns arose over Savaryn's background in the wake of a scandal over Yaroslav Hunka, a Ukrainian-Canadian veteran who served in the same Waffen-SS unit as Savaryn.

On September 22 Hunka was praised by then-Speaker of the Canadian House of Commons Anthony Rota, who later apologised and stepped down on September 26.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has also apologised on behalf of the country for the incident, saying that it was "a mistake that deeply embarrassed parliament and Canada"

In its statement, Simon's office further said that historical appointments would have been made relative to the specific moment and "limited information sources available at that time".

In instances where more information comes to light after an appointment, termination is possible.

Yet Savaryn's appointment was terminated when he died in 2017, per protocol.
Houston, Oct 5 : In the wake of a fresh surge of migrants influx, the White House has waived 26 federal laws to allow border wall construction in Starr County, Texas, the .S Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said.

It marks a U-turn of the Biden administration since building the border wall was a signature promise by former President Donald Trump in his 2016 campaign and has been fiercely criticized by the Democrats since then, reports Xinhua news agency.

President Joe Biden halted the construction during his first week in the White House in Jan. 2021.

"There is presently an acute and immediate need to construct physical barriers and roads in the vicinity of the border of the US in order to prevent unlawful entries into the United States in the project areas," DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said in a notice posted on Wednesday night on the US Federal Register, an office that prepares and publishes a wide variety of public documents.

Mayorkas said he is using his authority provided by Congress to waive these laws, including the Clean Air Act, Safe Drinking Water Act and Endangered Species Act.

The waivers avoid time-consuming reviews and lawsuits challenging violation of environmental laws, making way for using funds from a related congressional appropriation in 2019 to build up the border wall in Starr County in the Rio Grande Valley Sector.

The piecemeal construction will add up to an additional 32 km to the existing border barrier system in the area, local media reported.

There is a "high illegal entry" in the county, with more than 245,000 migrant encounters recorded in the region during the current fiscal year, latest government data showed.

"After years of denying that a border wall and other physical barriers are effective, the DHS announcement represents a sea change in the administration's thinking: A secure wall is an effective tool for maintaining control of our borders," Dan Stein, chief of the Federation for American Immigration Reform, said in a statement.

Representative Henry Cuellar, a Texan Democrat, voiced his different opinion regarding the renewed wall-building effort in a statement.

"A border wall is a 14th century solution to a 21st century problem. It will not bolster border security in Starr County," he said.

Some environmental advocates expressed concern that the construction will run through public lands, habitats of endangered plants and species like the Ocelot, a spotted wild cat.

During the Trump administration, about 724 km of barriers were built along the southwest US-Mexico border between 2017 and January 2021.

There were more than 260,000 encounters at the southern US border in September, which would be the highest monthly total on record, according to a Fox News report, citing Customs and Border Protection sources.
J&K SSP gets excellence in investigation award in Delhi. Image Source: IANS News

Srinagar, Oct 5 : Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Thursday honoured Rakesh Balwal, the Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), Srinagar, with the prestigious 'Excellence in Investigation' award at a function in Delhi.

The award ceremony was held at the anti-terrorism conference in Sushma Swaraj Bhawan in New Delhi on Thursday.

Balwal is a 2012 batch IPS officer of Manipur cadre, and he has been recently repatriated to his parent cadre.

He has served in different capacities during his tenure in J&K and the NIA.

Balwal was responsible for cracking some high profile cases, including the Pulwama terror attack in which 40 CRPF personnel were killed by a car-borne suicide bomber on February 14, 2019.
Guwahati, Oct 5 : The retired justice Biplab Kumar Sharma Commission is likely to submit its report on the anomalies and malpractices in the conduct of Combined Competitive Exam (CCE) of the Assam Public Service Commission (APSC) 2014 within a week.

The commission headed by retired Justice Biplab Kumar Sharma was tasked to probe the claims of irregularities and malpractices in the conduct of the competitive examinations in 2013 and 2014 by the Assam Public Service Commission (APSC).

In April 2022, the commission submitted its report on the APSC conducted 2013 exam. The government was advised by the commission to void the selection of the entire 2013 batch after the report uncovered major irregularities and malpractices in the exam's administration.

The Commission also discovered that Rakesh Paul, the former APSC chairman, had been appointed in an improper manner.

The suggestions made by the Commission for the 2013 exam have not yet been implemented by the state government.

The government will take measures against individuals found guilty of wrongdoing in the 2014 exam, according to Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma.

Sarma also has stated that the government will not decide on the Commission's suggestion to revoke the selection of the entire 2013 batch until it receives its report on the 2014 exam.
Bikaner, Oct 5 : Sitting cross-legged at his workshop in Rajasthan's Bikaner, Shaukat Ali Usta (52) is engrossed in laying warq (fine slivers of gold) on a wooden frame. His work involves not only acquired skill, but also loads of patience. The intricate designs that he has laid out on camel leather-embossed exhibits have not only won him a national award instituted by the Ministry of Textiles, but also many valuable customers over the last 30 years.

Shaukat learnt the art from Mohammed Hanif Usta, a disciple of Hisamuddin Usta, a doyen in this field. Despite Bikaner Usta Kala receiving the Geographical Indications (GI) tag last month, getting more artists into this profession has become an arduous task.

Usta kala flourished in the Mughal courts, before Raja Rai Singh, the sixth ruler of Bikaner, patronised it and welcomed artists from Iran, belonging to the Muslim community, to the city famed for its camels. No wonder their work involving gold meenakari and munawwat was done on camel skin. Nowadays, wood, mirror and marble also form the raw materials. Glass jars, wooden boxes, wall paintings and gift items with usta work are quite popular. There are big works like bandanwars (work on doors) too.

Usta kala in Bikaner's Bhanda Shah Jain temple is almost 400 years old. Anup Mahal in Junagarh Fort, Jain mansions, mosques, Rampuria Haveli, Ajmer Sharif Dargah, Jama Masjid of Delhi, Neelkanth Mahadev Temple in Nepal, and mosques of Sri Lanka and Saudi Arabia are fine examples of workmanship.

However, by 1967, Hisamuddin Usta was the only usta artist left in the country. When Munna Lal Goyal became Bikaner Collector in 1976, he exhorted Hisamuddin to impart lessons to others. This led to the launch of Camel Hide Training Centre. Mohammed Hanif Usta soon became Hisamuddin's disciple and started learning the nuances of the art.

While Hisamuddin received Padma Shri Award in 1986, Hanif was honoured with the President's Award in 1993 for his miniature work on marble. The latter had decorated the walls of Anup Mahal and Nizamuddin Dargah.

During Bill Clinton's official visit to India in 2000, Hanif and 14 other artists got a chance to meet the then US President. Looking at his marble exhibit, Clinton said he wanted that in the White House. However, Hanif replied that he would not sell the work that fetched him a national award to anyone.

Hisamuddin's other disciples Mohammad Asgar Usta and Ajmal Hussain Usta have received state awards for their commendable works. His grandson Mohammad Jameel Usta has been working for the promotion of the art through innovative experiments. He has also been a member of the Rajasthan Lalit Kala Akademi.

Thanks to Hisamuddin and his disciples, the number of usta artists has increased. However, it is still not satisfactory as only less than 70 artists are present in the field.

An ailing art

Usta artists admitted that lack of skilled people was a reason for the art not making much progress, despite having all the necessary ingredients to flourish. Usta artists are well-off and there is no dearth of work. The income of artists depends on how many pieces they can complete in a month, their worthiness and selling prices. Some pieces can fetch Rs 7,000, while some others Rs 50,000.

There are more opportunities now as new works are commissioned and renovations are carried out on a regular basis at various places, including Delhi Airport, Jain temples and buildings outside the country. The artists also benefit from handicrafts fairs organised at Pragati Maidan in New Delhi and other big cities.

However, lack of skilled manpower eventually means a shortage of talented teachers. The art has been confined to a particular caste and that too to only Bikaner. This has had a negative impact on its growth. As for women in this field, Shaukat said, "I believe use of purdah makes it difficult for women to do this art." He added that some Hindu women have entered the field, but their numbers are negligible.

Another important aspect is the time taken to complete a piece. Showing a bandanwar he did, Shaukat said it took around three months to complete, and it will be priced at above Rs 50,000. Such long periods of work put off the youth, who are keen on getting educated and entering other professions.

Not just that, it takes at least three to five years to master the art. The lack of proper publicity and government efforts to train people also hamper the art.

The much-needed fillip

The GI tag is the first step to protect usta kala. Bikaner District Industries Centre (DIC) General Manager Manju Nain Godara and NABARD officer Ramesh Tambiya agreed that duplication of usta artworks has been an issue. However, the GI tag will curb the issue as the names and details of the usta artists will be mentioned on their artworks, which can be scanned to check authenticity.

Tambiya, Assistant General Manager, NABARD, Bikaner, told 101Reporters that the GI tag will boost employment opportunities in the area and will give the art a place in the international market.

However, Shaukat believed that merely getting a GI tag will not protect and promote usta kala. "The art will survive only if it is propagated in a complete manner," claimed the artist, who has made efforts in collaboration with Prayas Welfare Institute, Bikaner, to get the GI certification. Godara, NABARD and the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade, Ministry of Commerce and Industry, New Delhi, also played important roles in making it a reality.

For the art to be propagated in a complete manner, there should be schemes to promote it. Godara told 101Reporters that no such scheme was being run to help the craft. "For the last four years, I have been striving to get GI certification for usta kala. Now, we will make further efforts to encourage the artists," she said.

Asked about training camps for artists, Godara said, "The DIC's mandate is to run government schemes only. Earlier, we used to organise such camps under the aegis of Rajasthan Small Industries Corporation Limited. At present, the National Institute of Fashion Technology, Jodhpur, runs them. USTTAD, a skill upgradation scheme of the Ministry of Minority Affairs, also aids the artists. The NABARD finances it. However, the duration of the camps is short. If a course is designed by the Centre or state government for usta kala, then the DIC can play an important role in it."

Godara informed that the DIC will display usta works at an exhibition of GI products to be held in Jammu and Kashmir in the first week of October. "We always try to provide artists with information about various fairs and exhibitions, so that they can participate," she claimed.

Ajmal Hussain Usta, aged around 60, has 40 years of experience in the field. He told 101Reporters that the government was not doing things right. "We do not get full information about schemes. The dissemination of information given on the website of the Union Textile Ministry's Handicrafts Department is negligible among our artists."

"Like music, usta kala cannot be learnt completely by attending a training camp of only two or three months. It needs constant practice to attain perfection," Ajmal said. While echoing his views, Shaukat said, "We need to connect with the youth. Only a few have come to learn the art as it is limited only to Usta families. There is also a misconception that it is very expensive to learn."

Ajmal felt the Camel Hide Training Centre should hold its training sessions more regularly. That apart, the Central and state governments should try to link usta with the tourism department initiatives.

Artisan cards

Artisan cards are issued by the Centre to handicraft artists aged above 18 years on application, so that they could travel in trains free of cost to attend government fairs. They also get free stalls at fairs to exhibit their works. Using the card, they can also participate in art related marketing schemes of the Central and state governments.

According to Shaukat, the true expansion of usta kala is possible by providing artisan cards, a rightful place to capable artists and by properly implementing schemes meant for them.

Usta artist Naveen Acharya (30) said the government training camps should be able to attract young and energetic learners who want to learn the art fully. "Only a few women are present in this field. Through my interactions, I have known that they all have learnt the work with great difficulty," he said.

Chanchal Suthar (24) told 101Reporters that her artisan card was issued recently and that she wished to get more training. Deepika Shrimali (35), who has studied Master of Fine Arts course, said she learnt usta kala from a guest lecturer. "It is not possible to gain professional knowledge in a short time. If an usta course is launched, many students of Bikaner will become proficient in the art," she added.

(Dr Mudita Popli is a Rajasthan-based freelance journalist and a member of 101Reporters, a pan-India network of grassroots reporters.)
Mumbai, Oct 5 : The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) staged a vociferous demonstration protesting against the arrest of party MP Sanjay Singh, outside the Enforcement Directorate (ED) offices in south Mumbai, here on Thursday.

Scores of AAP workers trooped to the spot, carrying banners, posters and belted out slogans against the government, and demanded the release of Singh from the 'illegal arrest'.

Tight police security was deployed at the venue and around 100 activists were bundled off into waiting vans for detention.

AAP Mumbai President Preeti Sharma-Menon slammed the Mumbai Police for the strong-arm tactics and preventing the party leaders and workers from staging a simple protest near the ED office.

"So much police deployment outside my humble house Looks like all criminals are on holiday and Mumbai Police has no other work," said Sharma-Menon in an X post.

Mumbai AAP Working President Dwijendra Tiwari said that at least 15 senior leaders including Sharma-Menon, Ruben Mascarenhas, Pius Varghese and others were detained by Mumbai Police from their homes without assigning any reasons.

Despite the police crackdown, the AAP will not be cowed down and will continue to protest peacefully against the ED to expose the incompetent BJP and the Central government, he said.

Carrying out protests in other parts of the country, the AAP has attacked the Centre for the 'illegal arrest' of the MP by the ED. The AAP has alleged that ED has become an arm of the BJP, which is rattled by the prospects of a severe defeat in the upcoming 2024 parliamentary elections.
New Delhi, Oct 5 : IndiGo on Thursday recommenced direct flights between Delhi and Hong Kong after the services were temporarily halted in early 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic, an airline official said.

"This reinstatement aims to strengthen strategic ties, capitalising on the rich socio-cultural diversity between one of South Asia's largest economies and a vital business and travel hub in the Asia-Pacific region," an airline spokesperson said.

"These flights will serve both business and leisure travellers during the upcoming winter schedule, providing enhanced flight options and a seamless travel experience," said the official.

Vinay Malhotra, IndiGo's Head of Global Sales, said: "In line with our strategy to enhance global connectivity and accessibility, we are excited to reintroduce flights from Delhi to Hong Kong, one of the world's most significant financial centres and commercial ports."

"As the travel landscape evolves, we foresee a growing demand for varied international travel options. This reinstated route caters to such demand, offering travellers an increased accessibility to Hong Kong, and beyond.

"IndiGo is committed to delivering affordable, on-time, and hassle-free travel experiences across our extensive 6E network."
Mumbai, Oct 5 : As he completed five years in Hindi cinema on Thursday, actor Aayush Sharma went down memory lane as he recalled working on his first film 'Loveyatri'.

The actor said nothing comes close to the feeling of working on your first.

Taking to Instagram, Aayush shared a video montage featuring some moments from the set of the film, which was released in 2018, which also stars Warina Hussain.

He wrote: "So I completed five years in the industry today, October 5, 2018 Loveyatri released and wow what a journey it has been. Somebody rightly said that your first film is always going to be special, hits and flops will keep happening but nothing comes close to the feeling of working on your first."

Aayush, who after 'Loveyatri' starred in 'Antim: The Final Truth', remembered several moments including facing the camera for the first time to being a flat foot yet dancing garba.

"The jitters of facing the camera for the first time, to waiting for the first reaction from the theatre on a Friday. Couldn't have asked for a better start. From being a flat foot dancer to being under the wings of the amazing @vaibhavi.merchant and learning Garba for the first time."

The actor then thanked his superstar brother-in-law Salman Khan for trusting newcomers.

Aayush said: "It's all been so special, Big thank you to @beingsalmankhan for trusting 3 newcomers to fulfill our dreams @abhiraj88 ,@warinahussain and me, we literally danced our way on Too the big screen."

"Big Thank you to @abhiraj88 for guiding me like a professor on my first and making sure that we were not only having fun in front of the camera but off the camera as well, from being a very strict First AD on sultan you became the elder brother on set, can't thank you enough for having faith in me and giving this movie your all, learned so much from you," he said.

The actor then went on to thank the audience for loving 'Loveyatri'.

Aayush said: "But most importantly thank you all for giving so much of love to Loveyatri and giving me an opportunity to fulfill my dreams to see myself on the big screen. My fondest memory is walking into a theatre and seeing the audience dance to chogada. It's been five years and still people remember me as the 'chogada boy'."

"There are many things that you get used to as you keep working more in movies but one thing that still remains intact is the excitement for the audience reaction on a Friday," wrote the actor, who will next be seen in 'Ruslaan', directed byKatyayan Shivpuri.
India contributed 12% of global growth in solar generation in first half of 2023: Report. Image Source: IANS News

New Delhi, Oct 5 : India contributed 12 per cent of the global increase in solar generation in the first half of 2023, similar to the European Union, a report by energy think tank Ember said on Thursday.

The report analyses electricity data from January to June 2023, compared to the same period last year, across 78 countries representing 92 per cent of global electricity demand.

At a global level, solar generated 5.5 per cent of global electricity in the first half of 2023, an increase of 16 per cent (plus 104 TWh) from the same period last year.

India's solar growth of 26 percent (plus 12 TWh) was above the global average, and powered half of the country's demand increase in the same period.

Fifty countries set new monthly records for solar generation in the first half of 2023, including India in May. Across the first half of 2023, India generated 7.1 per cent of its electricity from solar.

The increase in renewables in India, amid moderate demand growth, led to slow growth in coal generation. As a result, India's power sector emissions grew by 3.7 per cent (plus 19 million tonnes of CO2) in the first half of 2023, less than half of the growth seen in the first half of 2022 (plus 9.7 per cent, plus 45 million tonnes of CO2).

In India, the growth in wind and solar in the first half of 2023 prevented an increase of 11 million tonnes of emissions.

"India has the potential to be a major global player in solar power," said Ember's India analyst Neshwin Rodrigues.

"Renewables are doing the job of slowing India's emissions growth which is helping to get the world to a plateau in power sector emissions."

That said, India's growth in generation by solar in absolute terms was the same in the first half of 2022 and 2023 (plus 12 TWh). This means that solar's relative growth is lower in the first half of this year (plus 26 per cent) compared to the same period last year (plus 35 per cent).

"India must push for larger solar power capacity additions in the next 4-5 years if it is to meet the targets set out in its new National Electricity Plan and retain its high growth rates," adds Ember's Asia Programme Lead, Aditya Lolla.
Anne Klein, a premium US brand with a range of classic handbags, forays into India through Myntra. Image Source: IANS News

New Delhi, Oct 5 : Myntra on Thursday announced the onboarding of Anne Klein, a popular American premium fashion and accessory brand into India market, in association with the Apparel Group India Pvt Ltd, further expanding its robust international brands portfolio.

Launching just in time for Myntra's Big Fashion Festival (BFF), -- India's biggest festive fashion shopping bonanza which is slated to go live on October 7 -- Anne Klein's classic handbag range will mark its foray into the Indian market with Myntra.

Inspiring customers to 'think like a woman' and inculcate a heightened sense of fashion, Anne Klein aims to become the go-to brand for every fashion-forward woman's wardrobe and lifestyle choices.

"We are excited to strengthen our international portfolio of accessories and handbags with the addition of Anne Klein. Being a legacy American brand that is synonymous with timeless classics, Anne Klein's assortment of handbags are widely revered for their versatility. As a part of BFF Specials, this exquisite range of handbags are poised to elevate the ensembles of customers this festive season," said Jayanti Ganguly, VP-Business, Myntra.

Founded in 1968, Anne Klein has left an indelible mark on the world of women's fashion, while consistently embodying a timeless and sophisticated style that caters to the modern and empowered woman. The brand offers a wide range of products internationally, including apparel, shoes, handbags, and jewellery.

The brand is known for its commitment to quality craftsmanship and attention to detail, making it a symbol of elegance and confidence. Anne Klein has not only defined fashion but has also inspired countless women to embrace their individuality while exuding an effortless sense of chic.

As a part of BFF Specials, Anne Klein will offer over 100 uber-stylish options to choose from, ranging across products such as totes, slings, and other popular types of handbags, to begin with.

The brand shall add another 150+ compelling options on Myntra by the end of the month.

The key differentiator for the brand is its accessible price point of Rs 4,500 onwards in the premium handbag section with an emphasis on timeless designs and ease of utility.

Anne Klein's product catalogue for the Indian shopping cohort will be unique to Myntra, with some of the most notable products from the brand's offerings being crossbody and hobo bags, satchels, and totes, among others.

"This strategic expansion reflects our commitment to delivering the best of international fashion to India. We believe that Anne Klein will resonate strongly with our discerning Indian consumers. This move not only enhances brand diversity but also opens new avenues for Indian shoppers to access their favourite American brands right here in India," said Tushar Ved, President of Apparel Group India Pvt Ltd.

Anne Klein's visibility on Myntra will be augmented with an Online Brand Store (OBS). Additionally, the brand will also be a part of the BFF Specials, a curated collection of festive offerings with exciting offers during the Big Fashion Festival.
DAMASCUS, Oct. 5 (Xinhua) -- A drone attack on a graduation ceremony at a military academy in Syria's central Homs Province on Thursday killed at least 60 and injured dozens more, said a war monitor.

"More than 60 were dead, including military personnel and at least nine civilians," the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported, adding that the Syrian defense minister was present when the attack occurred.

In an early statement, the Syrian military said that weaponized drones launched an attack immediately after the conclusion of the graduation ceremony for Syrian military officers, causing casualties among military personnel and civilians.

Among the wounded, women and children were also reported, with some in critical condition.

While the Syrian military did not directly identify the responsible parties, it described them as "terrorist groups backed by known international parties" and pledged a strong and firm response.

Syria has experienced an increase in drone attacks in recent years, with rebel groups using drones to target government installations and infrastructure. Conversely, the Syrian government and its allies have also employed drones for offensive operations against rebel positions.

The Syrian civil war, which began in 2011, has resulted in significant casualties and has left the country divided, with government forces engaged in conflict against various rebel groups. 
New Delhi, Oct 5 : The Delhi High Court has issued notices to 24 banks following concerns raised by the Delhi Police regarding the delay in responses from financial institutions in relation to fraudulent websites.

The case before the court pertains to domain names being registered by unknown third parties in violation of the trademark rights of brand owners, despite prior court orders to block such infringing domain names.

Justice Prathiba M. Singh emphasised the need for an efficient and diligent response mechanism, particularly because innocent customers have fallen victim to significant financial losses due to these fraudulent activities.

The Delhi Police also informed the court about the alarming practice of opening bank accounts without proper verification of the account holders' addresses.

The Delhi Police's Cyber Cell apprised the court about difficulties in obtaining adequate information from Domain Name Registrars and intermediaries hosting these fraudulent websites.

Moreover, the police reported receiving complaints from the Ministry of External Affairs concerning fake websites used to deceive the public by accepting Indian passport applications and charging excessive processing fees.

It was revealed that payments were made to Google Ads to promote these fraudulent websites at the top of search engine results.

Responding to these concerns, the high court has directed Google to designate an official to collaborate with the Cyber Cell. This cooperation will involve providing necessary information regarding fraudulent websites and any other assistance required for the investigation.

The court is scheduled to hear the matter on November 24.
Jodhpur, Oct 5 : Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Thursday that under the Ujjwala scheme, the beneficiaries will now pay Rs 600 for a 14.2 kg cylinder.

"This will benefit women across the country besides 70 lakh families of Rajasthan," he said while addressing a mammoth gathering here.

"If BJP comes to power, it will result in a prosperous Rajasthan," Modi said, adding that "I will ask Gehlotji to rest, we will take care of everything. Gehlotji skipped the inauguration of projects worth thousands of crores in Jodhpur as he knows that the state will be safe under Modi," he quipped.

Modi further said that once BJP assumes power, it will ensure that the railway stations get a complete face-lift and emerge better than airports.

"Airports are made luxurious as they are frequented by the rich. Since the poor go to railway stations, I will make all the railway stations, including the one in Jodhpur, better than airports," he said.

Commenting on the Lal Dairy, Prime Minister Modi said, "In the last five years, the state government has done nothing for the state. It has only been about the chair game which continued 24/7. People say that Lal Diary contains every black deed of the corrupt Congress. The dark secrets of Lal Diary should be revealed. Since Congress will not allow the secret to be out, the state needs the BJP government."

Taking on the paper mafia, he said that the paper leak mafia of Congress has ruined the future of lakhs of youth here.

"The youth of Rajasthan are demanding justice. Congress, which promised unemployment allowance at the time of elections, handed over the youth to the mafia. The BJP government will take strict action against every such mafia and will eliminate them," he added.

On the deteriorating law and order, Modi said, "The Congress MLAs here feel insecure. Crimes against daughters have taken place in Jodhpur, Sanchore, Jalore. If BJP comes, it will bring women security."

He also spoke on corruption cases in water schemes and said, "Congress is not concerned with the problems of daughters. There is a water problem in Rajasthan, we want to provide tap connection to every house, but the government here is hindering the work. Here corruption is being promoted even in water schemes," he added.

"Many states of India are fighting a tough battle for water, but look at the character of BJP that when I was the CM of Gujarat, Rajasthan needed Narmada water. We didn't waste an hour, we did not do this a favour, but are proud," he said.

PM further spoke on the film the aVaccine Wara and said, "A film called vaccine war has been released. The hard work of scientists has been depicted well in that film. I congratulate the filmmakers that you have shown the power of science," he added.

The Prime Minister further spoke of his poverty and said, "I know about poverty and its problems as I have lived in penury. After 2014, we made such a policy which is eliminating poverty."

Addressing the gathering, BJP state president C.P. Joshi alleged that Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on Thursday sought the terrorist organisation Popular Front of India (PFI) suggestions for the development of Rajasthan.

PFI's name is at number 41 or 42 in the list of invited institutions.
Mumbai, Oct 5 : Actor Avinash Tiwary has proved his acting prowess with his power-packed stellar performance in 'Bambai Meri Jaan'.

However, the actor said he wasn't sure if he will be able to pull the swag that his character Dara Kadri has.

Talking to IANS about the show and his character of a dreaded underworld don, Avinash said: "The apprehensions were will I be able to explore what we want to do with the show. Theyare very deep themes and to be able to dig deep enough and explore those things In the way the director wanted is something I was apprehensive about."

The actor is currently riding high on the raving reviews he has got for his portrayal. However, he shared that his concern was nailing the performance.

Avinashsaid: "I wasn't sure if I would be able to pull up the swag that the character has, the flair that he lives with the aspirations he has, the kind of fearlessness he lives with those are the things that I had to bring out from within."

The actor said: "So, the concern wasn't about him being a global terror or anything like that. For me, him being a gangster was a profession that he had and what was the most interesting was his family dynamics The idea of being a provider and protector and eventually losing out to the greed of power. So these were the themes that I enjoyed."

Avinash had two releases in one day with 'Bambai Meri Jaan' and 'Kaala', where he played an intelligence bureau officer.

The actor said that "initially when they were supposed to come together I wasn't very convinced about."

"Eventually when they landed and the uproar it created around made me realise that it worked in my favour and thankfully they both have received so much of love and appreciation. It really makes me feel the effort and hardwork put in has come together for me."

Avinashsaid: "It's a compilation of all the hard work coming together in the shape of 'Bambai Meri Jaan' and 'Kaala'."
Hyderabad, Oct 5 : The Election Commission of India is fully committed to deliver free, fair, transparent and inducement-free elections in Telangana, said Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar on Thursday.

He was addressing a news conference at the end of three-day visit to Hyderabad to review poll preparedness for the forthcoming Assembly elections in Telangana

The ECI team, which met all state and central enforcement agencies during the visit, directed them to act very strictly against the use of money power during the elections. "Loud and clear message was given to each one of them to act very strictly against the use of money power during elections. They were directed to almost dry up the inflow of liquor, cash, freebies and drugs," he said.

"This perception or actual reality of misuse of money power, freebies distribution by various political parties or candidates doesn't augur well for democracy," he added.

The agencies were directed to identify kingpins of each malpractice. Banks have been directed to keep a watch on illicit online cash transfers through wallets. State Level Bankers' Committee (SLBS) were told to not allow cash dispensing vehicles to move after designated hours. Special vigil will be kept on ambulances and even on government vehicles if the agencies doubt that they are being misused.

There will be strict vigil on inter-state borders. He pointed out that 17 districts in Telangana share borders with four states -- Maharashtra, Karnataka, Chhattisgarh and Andhra Pradesh.

There will be a total of 148 total check posts, including 89 police check posts and 21 excise check posts.

All helipads and airstrips will be monitored. All enforcement agencies have been asked to work in a cohesive and coordinated manner.

State enforcement agencies have been directed to identify sensitive goods with high probable use for distribution. They were told to keep a vigil on warehouses/godowns used for stockpiling liquor and freebies.

Checking of cargo movement through non-scheduled chartered flights will also be taken up.

Citizens can use cVigil mobile app to report Model Code of Conduct (MCC) violations. "This will be extremely useful for us to curb the use of money power or any freebies. On this app you can take photos of anything, which is wrong, happening anywhere like distribution of money, liquor and freebies and post them. Your name will not be revealed," he said.

The complaint will be verified in 100 minutes and the complainant will be informed about action taken.

The political parties demanded that the elections should be inducement-free. They requested that money power, liquor and freebies distribution should be curbed.

The parties also urged the Election Commission of India (ECI) to ensure purity of electoral rolls, deploy central armed police forces at critical locations and deploy micro observers in polling stations, especially in urban areas. They also demanded steps for impersonation and vigil on hate speech in social media.

There are a total of 3.17 crore voters in 119 Assembly constituencies in the state. He said it is a happy position that male and female voters are equal in numbers at 1.58 crore.

He appealed to all voters to participate in the forthcoming elections by casting their votes and celebrating the festival of democracy.

A total of 22 lakh voters were deleted in 2022 and 2023 through an intensive process. He said 14 lakh dead/duplicate/shifted voters deleted during 2022 while 7.9 lakh were deleted in 2023.

He clarified that deletions from the voter list were not done suo moto but only after receiving form-7 and ground verification. All safeguards were taken against wrongful deletions.

On the complaints that some houses have a large number of voters, the CEC said all households having more than six voters were verified across the state. A total of 7.66 lakh houses with over 75.97 lakh voters were identified and of them 4.15 lakh voters identified for address correction.

The state has 35,356 polling stations with average 897 voters per polling station.There are 14,458 polling stations in urban areas and 20,898 polling stations in rural areas.

Webcasting of polling will be arranged from 22,798 (78 per cent) polling stations.

On enhanced voter experience, he said model polling stations increased from 119 in 2018 to 644 in 2023.

There will be 120 polling stations managed by persons with disabilities, 597 managed by women and 119 by youths.

For the first time in Telangana, the facility will be available to 4.43 lakh senior citizens of 80 plus to vote from the comfort of their homes, if they want. They have to fill form 12 D within five days of notification. Persons with a disability of 40 per cent or more can also vote from home.
Mumbai, Oct 5 : The Maharashtra Congress on Thursday called on Governor Ramesh Bais and demanded a probe by a retired high court judge into the serial deaths at various government hospitals and removal of the state Health Minister Tanaji Sawant.

The Congress also called for convening a Special Session of the state legislature to discuss these and various other major issues confronting the people, the farmers, law and order and women.

State Congress President Nana Patole, Working President M. Arif Naseem Khan, Leader of Opposition (Assembly) Vijay Wadettiwar, Mumbai party chief Prof. Varsha Gaikwad, and other leaders also demanded a compensation of Rs 10 lakh each for next of the kin of the deceased.

The delegation submitted a memorandum pointing out how at least 31 patients died in 48 hours, including 16 infants at the Dr. Shankarrao Chavan Government Medical College and Hospital, Nanded, 14 deaths in 24 hours at Government Medial College and Hospital in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, and 23 losing their lives in 24 hours at Mayo Hospital, Nagpur, all this week.

Earlier in mid-August, they pointed out how 18 patients died in 24 hours at the Thane Municipal Corporation's Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Hospital, in adjoining Thane district.

"Owing to these deaths, the state health system is on a 'ventilator' and the situation has arisen owing to the apathy of the state government," said the delegation leaders to the Governor, and called for the removal of the Health Minister.

They said that now the Bombay High Court has taken suo motu cognizance of the matter which indicates the failure of the state government and hence the Health Minister must be asked to resign.

Referring to the incident of a ruling Shiv Sena MP Hemant S. Patil forcing the Acting Dean of Nanded hospital, Dr. S. R. Wakode to clean the toilets/urinals, the Congress leaders said that despite an increase in the use of force by MPs/MLAs of the ruling parties against government servants, the home department has failed to take any action against them, leading to resentment after the government employees.

Referring to other issues, the Congress alleged that the state government has cheated students preparing for various competitive exams in the state by deciding to fill various vacant official posts 'on contract basis' through 9 companies.

"This has indirectly tried to scuttle the reservations for various categories like SC/SC/NT/OBCs, etc, and hence this move of the government should be cancelled," the delegation urged the Governor.

Referring to the steep increase of 22 per cent in crimes against women like rape, molestation, kidnapping and other offences, the state home department has failed to curb the same and Congress urged the Governor to personally examine the matter.
Bhubaneswar, Oct 5 : Soldier Saroj Kumar Dash, one of the 23 Army personnel reported missing after a flash flood in North Sikkim, has reportedly died, claimed his family in Odisha on Thursday.

Havildar Saroj was a resident of Kendudhipa village under the Kamakhyanagar block of Dhenkanal district.

"They (Army officials) sent us the photos of five bodies of jawans recovered. The officials said five bodies have been recovered till now and asked us to verify whether my brother is one of them or not. I found my brother was among the five Army personnel whose bodies were recovered.

"The Army officials said they will send a final confirmation report after a few hours as doctors are examining the identification marks on the body as marked during the joining," said Saroj's brother.

The family members have reportedly identified the body of Saroj during a video call later.

Saroj, who joined the Indian Army as a jawan in 2012, had married seven months ago.

He had last visited his home in August and later rejoined his duty in September first week.

The unfortunate development has completely shattered the family and relatives who had been praying for his safe rescue for the last two days.
New Delhi, Oct 5 : Typifying the entrepreneurial journey of resilience - Gautam Adani - began over three decades ago during which time this first-generation entrepreneur has built a $105 billion MCap diversified conglomerate.

Focused on sustainable and long-term value creation, the Group continues to work with the twin objectives of further deleveraging and looking at opportunities to expand and grow. The Group's core strength lies in mega-scale infrastructure project execution capabilities and infrastructure is increasingly becoming central to India's growth.

Even the Hindenburg report failed to dent his reputation as an industrialist whose business acumen has helped to modernize India. The investors' confidence that took a hit after the Hindenburg report got a boost after investments by big names like GQG's Rajiv Jain.

On his investment in the Adani Group, Jain had said in an interview with The Australian Financial Review that it was a "safe bet because the conglomerate is irreplaceable as about 25 per cent of India's air traffic passes through their airports and 25 to 40 per cent of India's cargo volume goes through their ports".

In his message to shareholders in July this year, Adani said, "Our balance sheet, assets, and operating cash flows continue to get stronger and are now healthier than ever before. The Group's strategy has always been to align itself with the Indian growth story, irrespective of who is in power at the Centre, and this has positioned us very strongly for future growth.

"The banking partners continue to remain aligned with this and look at us as a long-term partner in this journey. Our infrastructure assets generate stable revenues and contribute over four-fifth of the group's Ebitda."

The Group's infrastructure network has grown so vast that it has become indispensable for both local businesses and foreign firms.

For instance, MNCs like Tata or Microsoft may use Adani ports or airports for transport and logistics. The large size of the Group also means that any disruption or turmoil may adversely affect the Indian economy. At the same time, the dependence of the Indian economy on Adani could keep its kitty full of profits because continuous use of its assets will result in constant cash flows.

Very early on, the Group focused on seeking control over the value chain and began investing in inter-connected businesses (adjacencies). For example, to run its thermal power plants, it has acquired coal mines in India, Indonesia and Australia; transports coalvia Adani ships to Adani Ports and finally, to Adani power plants; which then transmit power to households and businesses.

More than 75 per cent of the Adani businesses are in regulated sectors. In the sectors with the Adani presence, the statutory regulatory framework is independent and mature. According to data compiled by Bloomberg, it has the highest market share in the private sector.

Adani companies handle about 43 per cent of all shipping containers, a third of all coal transported, about 22 per cent of private thermal power capacity, the largest number of solar and wind plants, and 51 per cent of India's private electricity transmission. Adani Ports is the largest private port operator in India. The conglomerate also owns 300 kilometers long private railway network, besides a rail line in Australia. Adani also plans to build 12,000 km of roadways by 2026 in the country.

After securing the coastline and rail network, Adani spread its wings in the sky. It operates seven airports that see around 75 million footfalls annually.

Moving forward, the Group plans to make close to 85 per cent of its investments over the next seven years into creating a green energy ecosystem, including transmission lines, transport and logistics. The majority of its future revenue and earnings could come from green space.
New Delhi, Oct 05 : The Congress on Thursday slammed the BJP after the saffron party released a poster of former Congress chief Rahul Gandhi on its official X handle, depicting him as Ravan.

The Congress said that the poster is "clearly intended to incite violence" against the leader, whose father former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi and late grandmother Prime Minister Indira Gandhi were assassinated by forces that wanted to divide India.

In a post on X, Congress General Secretary Jairam Ramesh said, "What is the real intent of an atrocious graphic portraying @RahulGandhi as Ravan by the BJP's official handle? It is clearly intended to incite and provoke violence against a Congress MP and a former President of the party, whose father and grandmother were assassinated by forces that want to divide India."

Ramesh said, "It is one thing for the Prime Minister to give evidence daily of being a pathological liar and of suffering from a narcissistic personality disorder. But for him to get his party to produce something this obnoxious is not just completely unacceptable, but is downright dangerous." "We will not be intimidated," the Rajya Sabha MP added.

The BJP's post on X with a poster of Rahul Gandhi with 10 heads, was also shared by the party's IT department chief Amit Malviya on his X profile.

Following the BJP's post, Congress leader Imran Pratapgarhi hit back at the saffron party saying that they were nervous due to the growing popularity of the Lok Sabha MP from Kerala's Wayanad.

Speaking to the media at the party headquarters, Pratapgarhi, who is also a Rajya Sabha MP said, "This is the nervousness of the BJP after sensing its defeat in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections."

He said that the Prime Minister (Narendra Modi) is making baseless allegations and same is the case with the BJP leaders.

"Since the formation of the INDIA bloc, they are in a state of panic. Calling Rahul Gandhi Ravan, shows their desperation. People of the country knows what Rahul Gandhi is, he understands the pain of the people. He is standing with the people of Manipur, with vegetable vendors and bike mechanics. And if you call someone who is spending time among the public, then this shows how much fear you have. This is shameful," the Congress leader, who is also the chief of the minority department said.

Targeting the BJP, Pratapgarhi said that people have understood the pain of the BJP.

"The acceptance of the INDIA bloc has increased and with Rahul Gandhi coming into active mode, the BJP has got even more desperate. It is the reason why the Prime Minister is calling the INDIA bloc a 'rusted iron', 'ghamandiya' (arrogant) alliance, and also comparing it with terror outfits. This all shows the nervousness of the BJP and the Prime Minister," he added.
New Delhi, Oct 5 : The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Thursday sought a 10-day custody of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Rajya Sabha member Sanjay Singh -- arrested in connection with a money laundering case pertaining to the now-scrapped excise policy case -- at a court here, an official said.

The financial probe agency on Wednesday arrested Singh after carrying out searches at his residence in the North Avenue area since morning. Singh was produced before Special Judge M.K. Nagpal of Rouse Avenue Court.

Appearing for Singh, Senior Advocate Mohit Mathur asked for a copy of the remand application.

For ED, Special Public Prosecutor N.K. Matta said that a transaction worth Rs 3 crore was carried out, of which Rs 2 crore was paid in cash.

The agency further claimed that searches were conducted on Wednesday and the statement was also recorded.

Matta said that a total of 239 places were searched and documents were found.

It was alleged that an employee of Dinesh Arora, an accused (in the case) who later turned approver, allegedly delivered Rs 2 crore to Singh's house on two occasions.

Matta further stated that the ED has to confront Singh with digital evidence.

ED's Special Counsel Zoheb Hossain also appeared through video conference.

According to a top ED official, Singh has been put under arrest under the sections of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

It is the ED's case that Singh played a key role in the formulation and implementation of the now scrapped liquor policy which was aimed at benefiting certain liquor manufacturers, wholesalers and retailers.

Singh is the second top leader of the AAP to be arrested in the alleged liquor scam case after former Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, who was arrested by the CBI in February this year and by the ED in March.

The ED has filed four charge sheets in the case and has also mentioned the name of Singh in it.

The ED's money laundering case is based on the CBI FIR filed last year in August on the complaint of alleged irregularities in the excise policy case.
Allu Arjuns wax figure at Madame Tussauds Dubai to be unveiled later this year. Image Source: IANS News

Mumbai, Oct 5 : Telugu star Allu Arjun, who recently bagged the National Film Award, is all set to have his wax figure unveiled at the Madame Tussauds Dubai, later this year.

On Thursday, a video of the actor giving his measurements surfaced which showed him donning a black suit.

His figure will wear an iconic red jacket which he wore in the boardroom dance scene of his movie aAla Vaikunthapurramulooa.

On getting the news that he had been selected for a wax figure at Madame Tussauds Dubai, Allu said in a statement: "I visited Madame Tussauds in Los Angeles and was blown away by the experience! I canat believe that now Iall have a wax figure, I never would have believed it."

A 'sitting', that is a meeting between the celebrity and the artists at Madame Tussauds, took place in Dubai earlier this year.

Over 200 measurements were taken, being the normal, detailed process needed to create one of the amazing wax figures.

Sanaz Kollsrud, General Manager of Madame Tussauds Dubai said: "Allu Arjun is without a doubt the biggest actor from the south of India. What better way to mark his incredible success than by giving the fans what they want - his first ever wax figure! Our artists have been working with Allu on his likeness and we canat wait to unveil the figure later this year."

The figure will be placed in the beautiful and interactive Bollywood Zone inside the attraction located on Bluewaters.
UNITED NATIONS, Oct. 5 (Xinhua) -- The United Nations (UN) is concerned about the spread of violence in rural Haiti, which forced schools and health centers to close, a UN spokesman said on Wednesday.

The UN International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF) has reported its concern about the impact of growing violence in Artibonite, the country's main rice-growing region, said Stephane Dujarric, chief spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.

Dujarric said that more than 100 schools in Haiti have shut down, and only one in four health facilities remains accessible due to insecurity.

He said with agricultural production in Artibonite disrupted, about a third of the population, nearly half of them children, require relief.

There was a resurgence of cholera in Haiti last year with the disease spreading throughout the country, the World Health Organization said.

Dujarric said the fund is also screening children for malnutrition, supporting the health system, schools and students.

On Monday, the Security Council adopted a resolution approving a multinational mission composed of individual country's police contingents to aid Haitian officers in quelling gang violence.

Among this year's aid of 720 million U.S. dollars, Haiti received a little more than a quarter, while reporting receiving only 20 percent of its 246-million-dollar funding appeal, according to UNICEF. 
US rejects report claiming ties with India 'could get worse' due to spat with Canada. Image Source: IANS News

New Delhi, Oct 5 : Stating that ambassador Eric Garcetti is working hard every day to deepen the partnership between India and the US, the American embassy on Thursday denied reports of the envoy saying that bilateral ties will be hit due to New Delhi's diplomatic row with Canada.

The clarification came after a 'Politico' report, which said Garcetti told his in-country team that relations between India and the US "could get worse for a time", because of India's diplomatic spat with Canada.

"Ambassador Garcetti is working hard every day to deepen the partnership between the people and governments of the US and India," a statement by the US embassy said.

"As his personal engagement and public schedule demonstrates, Ambassador Garcetti and the US Mission to India are working every day to advance the important, strategic, and consequential partnership we have with India," the statement added.

Quoting an unnamed State Department official, the Politico report also claimed that Garcetti told his team that "the US may need to reduce its contacts with Indian officials for an undefined period of time".

The report coincided with India asking Canada to reduce the number of its diplomats posted in India amid a diplomatic row between the two nations over the killing of Khalistan leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar, who was declared designated terrorist by India in 2020.

In response, Canadian PM Justin Trudeau said he did not want escalation with India on the matter and foreign minister Melanie Joly said that the country wants "private talks with India to resolve a diplomatic dispute".

Meanwhile, attending the plenary session of 'Swavlamban 2.0', a two-day seminar of Naval Innovation and Indigenisation Organisation (NIIO) on Wednesday, Garcetti said that the "great minds" back in his homeland and India can find more paths to peace.

"I'm so proud to see the United States of America and India working together for a more peaceful world... Great minds in India and the great minds in the United States can work to find more paths to peace," he said.
Pilot of fast charging of electric bus to go live at IITM soon: Hitachi Energy. Image Source: IANS News

Chennai, Oct 5 : The pilot for fast charging of electric buses will soon go live at the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras (IITM), said a top official of Hitachi Energy India Ltd.

Speaking to reporters here after the inauguration of Hitachi Energy groupas Global Technology and Innovation Centre, N. Venu, Managing Director, India and South Asia, said the pilot project for the groupas flash charging technology will happen soon at IITM with bus provided by Ashok Leyland.

The Hitachi Energy India, IITM and Ashok Leyland had entered into a Memorandum of Understanding in 2020 for the e-bus pilot.

As per the agreement, Hitachi Energy India will provide the flash charging technology, Ashok Leyland will provide a bus while IITM will host the infrastructure.

According to Claudio Facchin, CEO of Hitachi Energy, the flash charging technology not enables fast charging of the batteries but also cuts down the battery load on the vehicle.

Venu said Hitachi Energyas components will be there on the Ashok Leyland bus for the technology to work.

According to the officials, as the bus halts at a stop and the passengers enter and exit the batteries are fast charged.
New Delhi, Oct 5 : With more than 75 per cent of the accumulated gypsum evacuated from the Sterlite copper smelter premises and disposed of between June 26 and September 30, and the remaining 30,000 metric tonnes expected to be sold in the coming weeks, the company is well on its way to meet the Supreme Court maintenance order of May 2023.

A nine-member local-level monitoring committee, appointed by the district collector, is now overseeing critical activities, including the evacuation of gypsum remnants, green belt maintenance, and the removal of wild bushes and dried trees.

There is also a sense of anticipation among community groups and citizens as they pin their hopes on a favourable outcome when the Supreme Court resumes hearing the case.

The Vedanta Group, which owns Sterlite Copper, has also started inviting Expressions of Interest (EoIs) for the supply of raw materials and skilled and semi-skilled workers on a contract basis, subject to the apex courtas decision to restart operations.

Notably, these EoIs will give priority to local and regional players, signifying the companyas commitment to the cause of the community. Trade bodies, contractorsa associations, and other support groups have repeatedly appealed to the Tamil Ndu Chief Minister, MPs and the district collector for the immediate reopening of the smelter plant, which would regenerate employment opportunities and livelihoods for more than 25,000 people.

These include the Thoothukudi Industrial Suppliers Association, Thoothukudi Contractors Association, Thoothukudi Makkal Vazhvadhara Padhukaapu Sangam and Manuneethi Foundation.

The fallout of the plantas closure has hurt the local population. Sterlite Copper provided direct and indirect employment to more than one lakh people and engaged with more than 400 downstream industries, transporters and contractors, most of them being micro, small and medium-sized industries.

A study by Consumer Unity & Trust Society (CUTS) International revealed that the monthly income of those affected by job losses has decreased by 50 per cent. Similarly, the V.O. Chidambarnar Port at Tuticorin reported a revenue drop of almost Rs 100 crore in the year following the plantas closure.

The shortage in copper production has had wider implications, especially for the new-age industries. In 2018, Sterlite Copper accounted for nearly 40 per cent of Indiaas copper needs, and the sudden void left by its closure has forced India to turn into a net copper importer. This shortage has resulted in the doubling of copper prices in the past four years.

Additionally, the equipment for green energy generation, such as windmills, solar panels and electric vehicles, which rely heavily on copper, has seen increased costs and slowed the pace toward clean energy adoption. The closure of Sterlite copper had adversely impacted not only Indiaas copper security, and decarbonisation goals but also the countryas 'Aatmanirbhar' agenda.

However, today there is a change in the awareness and outlook among people the people at large, who have realised that the closure of the plant was largely led by agenda-driven NGOs. The future of Thoothukudi depends to a large extent on the Supreme Courtas judgement. A positive outcome will help the national and local economy surge, ancillary industries thrive and help India regain its foothold on the world copper map, while Pearl City eagerly anticipates the SC ruling.
SC sets aside Kerala HC stay on conviction of Ex-Lakshadweep MP Mohammed Faizal in attempt to murder case (Ld). Image Source: IANS News

New Delhi, Oct 5 : Disqualified Lakshadweep MP Mohammed Faizal has knocked the doors of the Supreme Court against a fresh order of the Kerala High Court refusing to suspend his conviction in an attempt to murder case.

On Tuesday, a bench of Justice N. Nagaresh of the high court passed an order plainly suspending the sentence of four persons, including Faizal, who were earlier convicted by the trial court in January this year.

In wake of the decision passed by the high court, the Lok Sabha Secretariat on Wednesday issued a notification saying that Faizal has ceased to be a member of the House as per Article 102 (1) (I) of the Constitution and Section 8 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951.

The special leave petition filed by Faizal before the Supreme Court said that the recent decision of the high court failed to appreciate that the electorate of the Union Territory of Lakshadweep would also suffer grave prejudice and hardship if his conviction is not suspended.

The plea, filed through advocate K.R. Sasiprabhu, stated that the 2009 incident is clearly a apolitical dispute", where the petitioner belongs to the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and the four eye-witnesses, including the complainant, belong to the Indian National Congress (INC).

The matter is most likely to be taken up for hearing on October 9.

It may be recalled that Faizal was disqualified on one more occasion in January this year following his conviction by the trial court.

However, the Kerala High Court stayed the conviction later in the month but his membership was not restored and he approached the Supreme Court. Before the matter could be taken up by the apex court, the Lok Sabha in March 2023 reversed the disqualification order.

Aggrieved with the decision passed by the high court suspending Faizalas conviction and sentence till disposal of his appeal, the Union Territory (UT) administration filed a special leave petition before the Supreme Court.

On August 22, the Supreme Court set aside the order of the Kerala High Court noting that the decision was taken on extraneous considerations and asked the the court to decide Faizalas plea afresh within a period of six weeks.
Bengaluru, Oct 5 : BJP legislator and former Karnataka Cabinet minister S.T. Somashekar on Thursday expressed dissatisfaction over the saffron party's alliance with the Janata Dal-Secular (JD-S) while hinting towards quitting the party.

Notably, the alliance with JD-S has evoked mixed responses from the Karnataka unit BJP leaders, especially in the southern Karnataka region.

According to sources, as the alliance was approved by the high command, the BJP leaders have been told not to talk negatively about the arrangement. However, many leaders are unhappy and considering quitting the BJP, and Somasekhar is one among them.

"Once the official announcement is made in this regard, I will take my decision," Somasekhar said, hinting at quitting the party.

The former Karnataka minister said that he has been "competing with the JD-S for 20 years".

"I have also seen the Congress-JD-S coalition government. Our party workers can never work along with JD-S workers. I have seen mental harassment closely," he said.

Stating that he was not happy with the alliance, Somasekhar said: "There is harassment by the JD-S workers. No one is speaking out, but they all have reservations about the alliance with JD-S. Our party did not discuss this with us.

"It's about party workers at the grassroots level. They have struggled and fought against the JD-S in six elections. We cannot go against the party workers, leaders and win elections and become MLAs. Former CM B.S. Yediyurappa asked me not to take any decision and I have not spoken about it to date," he added.

Former BJP legislator from Hassan, Preetham Gowda, who won a seat for BJP in Hassan city for the first time, also expressed his displeasure over the alliance earlier.

A source said many "unhappy" BJP leaders for now have fingers crossed over the consequences of the alliance on their political careers.
New Delhi, Oct 5 : Electric two-wheeler (E2W) sales volume rose 20 per cent (year-on-year) and 2 per cent (on-month) in September this year and despite leading the segment by volume, Ola Electric (Ola) continued to lose market share (month-on-month), dropping to 29 per cent (-66 bps), a new report showed on Thursday.

Bajaj Auto (11.1 per cent, +57 bp) gained the most market share, while Ola lost the most, followed by Okinawa, according to BNP Paribas India EV reportOctober 2023.

Among the top-five original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), monthly sales volume rose the most for Bajaj Auto, while it declined the most for Okinawa.

"Among the states we track, month-on-month sales volume growth was mixed, with Bihar recording the highest growth (27 per cent). Penetration improved the most in Karnataka at 9.9 per cent from August's 9.5 per cent," said Kumar Rakesh, analyst, IT and Auto.

Electric passenger vehicle (EPV) sales volume grew 71 per cent (year-on-year) but fell 9 per cent (on-month), the third consecutive decline on a monthly basis and down 23 per cent from its peak in March this year.

EV penetration in passenger vehicles (PVs) also deteriorated slightly to 1.5 per cent from 1.7 per cent (on-month), according to the report.

"As of FYTD24, EPV penetration was at 1.8 per cent. In terms of penetration, Kerala witnessed the highest decline, with penetration falling to 3.7 per cent from 4 per cent in August. Tata Motors' EV mix deteriorated to 10 per cent from 11 per cent in August (on-month)," said Rakesh.

The report mentioned that new model launches at attractive prices would continue to catalyse E2W sales and structurally improve EV penetration.

"PV electrification, however, remains under pressure, with penetration and volume declining in recent months. For PVs, new model launches have been the key driver for penetration, and in the absence of any new model launches, we expect this trend to continue in the near term," the report noted.
Mumbai, Oct 5 : The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) on Thursday strongly condemned the dropping of the words 'Socialist, Secular' from the Preamble of the Constitution.

This has become evident from the new copies of the Constitution published and distributed to the MPs recently, said the NCP, in a unanimous resolution passed after its Extended Working Committee Meeting held in New Delhi.

The meeting was presided over by NCP President Sharad Pawar and was attended by its Working President Supriya Sule, National Secretary Jitendra Awhad and other senior leaders.

The party also expressed "deep anguish" over the continuing violence in Manipur and the total breakdown of the Constitutional machinery there.

Referring to the recent series of deaths in Maharashtra's government hospitals, the NCP condemned "the complete breakdown of the health machinery" and the administration's misplaced priorities that are glaringly evident by the alarming death toll at public hospitals this week in Thane, Nanded, Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar and Nagpur.

Referring to the arrest of Aam Aadmi Party MP Sanjay Singh and other similar recent cases, the NCP slammed "the politically motivated arrest of public representatives by investigative agencies".

In the recent crackdown on the Fourth Estate, the NCP flayed the attacks on the press, threw its full weight behind the media and for the constitutionally protected freedom of speech and expression in the country.

The party expressed that it has full confidence in the leadership of Sharad Pawar and condemned a few elected representatives who defected and acted against party directives, in reference to the July revolt by Ajit Pawar and his supporters.

Under the guidance and vision of Sharad Pawar, now the NCP is preparing for the future elections, including for the Lok Sabha and the Maharashtra Assembly, both slated in 2024.
Mumbai, Oct 5 : Under fire from the opposition over deaths in hospitals, Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Thursday ordered all Collectors to visit the government hospitals in their districts and submit a status report immediately.

The Collectors have been asked to visit all state-run, civic hospitals, primary health centers and hospitals attached to medical colleges across the state and prepare a detailed report on the current situation there.

Shinde also directed the Collectors to visit government hospitals under their respective jurisdiction on a daily/regular basis to monitor the situation there, even as the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi and other parties pounced on the government.

The CMas tough talk came after a series of patient deaths were reported from government hospitals in Nanded, Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, Nagpur this week, and earlier in August, in his hometown Thane.

The video-conference was attended by Chief Secretary Manoj Saunik, Additional CS Public Health Milind Mhaiskar, Principal Secretary, Medical Education Dinesh Waghmare and other officials of the departments concerned, and all Collectors.

Shinde reiterated that a state-level committee has been appointed to investigate the death cases in Nanded and Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar and warned of strict action against the culprits.

Referring to remedial measures, the CM said Collectors have been empowered to purchase medicines and they must ensure that there are no delays in the procurement of medicines as required.

"The health system is the highest priority of the state government. We are working to prepare a short-term and long-term plan for the strengthening of the health system and there will be no shortage of funds to implement it," he assured.

He called upon the Divisional Commissioners, Collectors, Superintendents of Hospitals and District Surgeons to work as a team for the health system, and necessary funds and additional equipment should be provided promptly if required.

In case of manpower shortages, the government has empowered outsourcing at the district level, and there should be delay on such counts, failing which the officers concerned would be held responsible.

The CM said that there is a state-level dashboard regarding the availability of medicines, and said it should be used effectively by all the hospitals to make purchases of medicines or equipment needed urgently.

Shinde's instructions came even as the state Congress led a delegation to the Governor Ramesh Bais, demanded a probe into the hospital deaths by a retired high court judge, compensation to the kin of all the deceased victims and removal of the state Health Minister.
Agartala, Oct 5 : A day after meeting Tripura Chief Minister Manik Saha, Tipra Motha Party's (TMP) supremo Pradyot Bikram Manikya Deb Barman before leaving for Delhi on Thursday threatened to launch a massive agitation to protest the "deprivation of the tribals" and negligence to the Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council (TTAADC).

TMP, the state's main tribal political outfit, after capturing the politically significant TTAADC in April 2021, has been demanding elevation of the areas of the autonomous body by granting a 'Greater Tipraland State' or a separate state status under Articles 2 and 3 of the Constitution.

Deb Barman late on Wednesday night held a meeting with the Chief Minister before meeting Chief Secretary J.K. Sinha on Thursday.

"I have discussed with both the Chief Minister and the Chief Secretary about the adequate funding to the TTAADC. The autonomous body is not getting its due funds from the state government," the TMP chief said.

Deb Barman, a former royal scion, said that his party will hold a massive rally on October 14 at the TTAADC headquarters at Khumulwng to protest the deprivation of the autonomous body and in support of the 'Greater Tipraland State' demand.

He expressed concerns about a fund shortage of the TTAADC, and accused the BJP-led state government of failing to allocate due funds for the development of the tribal areas.

Regarding Congress leader Sudip Roy Barman's recent appeal to Deb Barman to return to the grand old party and take leadership in the state, the TMP chief said that his current focus is on providing constitutional solutions to the issues concerning the tribal population.

Deb Barman, who's father and mother were Congress MPs from Tripura, was also the Tripura state Congress President before quitting the party over the Citizenship (Amendment) Act issue in 2019.

Deb Barman's mother Maharani Bibhu Kumari Devi was also a minister in the Congress led government (1988-1993) in Tripura.

The TMP on September 30 had observed a 12-hour shutdown in the areas under the TTAADC, which has a jurisdiction on over two-third of Tripura's 10,491 sq km area and is home to over 12,16,000 people, of which around 84 per cent are tribals.

Highlighting the 'Greater Tipraland State' demand, the TMP secured 13 seats in the 60-member state Assembly, and became the second single-largest party in the Assembly polls held in February to get the main opposition party status.
New Delhi, Oct 5 : Union Minister for Road Transport Nitin Gadkari has said that India is on course to overtake China to become the largest automobile manufacturer in the world by 2027.

In his address at the 27th World Road Congress in Prague, the minister said that India has set a target to become the world's biggest automobile producer in the next three to four years.

The statement comes in the backdrop of India surpassing Japan to become the third largest automobile manufacturer last year next only to China and the US.

Gadkari had recently pointed out that the size of the Indian automobile industry has crossed Rs 7.5 lakh crore. The industry has so far created 4.5 crore jobs, and it pays the maximum Goods and Services Tax (GST) to the Central and state governments.

The minister said he expected the size of the Indian automobile sector to double in the next five years to double to Rs 15 lakh crore.

As part of his trip to Prague in the Czech Republic, Gadkari took a test ride in a Skoda H'CITY hydrogen bus, showcasing the government's commitment to explore sustainable and eco-friendly mobility solutions for India. On his way back he stopped at Sharjah for a test ride on the Sky Bus which runs on an elevated rail cable system.

The minister said that the Sly Bus will be coming to India as it offers a sustainable, congestion-free urban mobility solution, reducing pollution and traffic congestion while providing efficient mobility for urban residents. Its elevated rail cable system minimises land use, making it a valuable addition to the nation's mobility infrastructure.

"USky Technology has developed Sky Bus solutions, and iSky Mobility has tied up with uSky to bring these mobility services to India," the minister said on 'X'.
JUBA, Oct. 5 (Xinhua) -- The United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) on Thursday called on international donors to provide funding for South Sudan amid the country's dire humanitarian situation.

"Decreased humanitarian funding has led to reductions in anticipated food distributions in Bentiu, which sparked tensions and protests in the IDP (internally displaced people) camp," said Nicholas Haysom, the head of UNMISS and special representative of the UN secretary-general, in a statement released in the South Sudanese capital of Juba.

"South Sudan requires support from international donors to tackle the impact of the Sudan crisis. However, the government also needs to allocate adequate funding to help meet its own humanitarian and public service responsibilities," he said.

As of Sept. 29, more than 290,000 individuals arrived in South Sudan due to the conflict in Sudan, according to the statement.

In June, the World Food Program said it was forced to suspend food assistance in South Sudan due to critical funding shortfalls from international donors, heightening the risk of starvation for 1.7 million people in South Sudan.

In addition, Haysom noted that insecurity due to ambushes and looting continues to impact food delivery to people in need.

"With 40 documented cases so far this year, South Sudan has recorded the highest number of attacks against aid workers, with the most recent attack on UN-contracted trucks along the Yei-Juba Road that resulted in two drivers killed," Haysom said. "We condemn these attacks on humanitarians and urge the authorities to ensure that all those found responsible are held to account, thereby ensuring a safe environment for the delivery of humanitarian assistance." 
UP Shocker: Six held for abducting, attempting to rape girl. Image Source: IANS News

New Delhi, Oct 5 : A 42-year-old woman was allegedly sexually assaulted by a gurdwara pradhan in central Delhi, an official said on Thursday.

According to police, after the complainant approached police, an FIR was registered under Sections 376, 323, 506, 509 and 34 of the IPC at Anand Parbat police station on September 18.

"During investigation, it was revealed that the victim came in touch with the gurdwara pradhan Prem Singh, 56, a resident of Baljeet Nagar about five years ago," said a senior police official.

"Prem Singh had met the victim last time on September 9 and after having physical relations, started ignoring her," as per the woma's complaint.

"On September 17, the victim reached his house. Prem Singh and his son Harjas Singh had a scuffle outside the house after which the woman filed a complaint with police alleging sexual harassment by Prem Singh," said the official.

"After following due procedure and her counselling through DCW counsellor, legal action was initiated. Victim has two daughters and her husband is an alcoholic," the official added.
New Delhi: Union Home Minister Amit Shah attends the 118th annual session of the PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Image Source: IANS News

New Delhi, Oct 05 : Union Home and Cooperation Minister Amit Shah on Thursday inaugurated the two-day '3rd Anti-Terror Conference' organised by the NIA and said that all anti-terror agencies will have to adopt a ruthless approach so that no new terrorist organisation can be formed in the country.

Besides Shah, Union Minister of State for Home, Nisith Pramanik, the Union Home Secretary, the Director of IB and the Director General of the NIA, including the Director General of the Central Armed Police Forces, Director General of Police of States, senior officials of the Centre and states participated in the meet. The Home Minister presented medals for excellent service to NIA officers.

In his inaugural address, Shah said, "Under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the central and state agencies have succeeded in firmly curbing all forms of terrorism in the country in the last nine years."

He said that a model anti-terrorism structure should be formed in the country under the aegis of the NIA and the hierarchy, structure and SoPs of investigation of anti-terror agencies should be the same in all the states, so that there can be better coordination between the central and state agencies.

"All anti-terror agencies will have to adopt such a ruthless approach that no new terrorist organisation can be formed in the country," the Minister said.

Shah said that the job of the NIA, ATS and STF was not just to investigate, but they should go beyond the scope of investigation and work towards attacking terrorism with out-of-the-box thinking.

He said that in the fight against terrorism, internationally, in the villages and in the states of India, there is a need to work with cooperation.

Shah also said that the Modi government has taken a tough stance on all challenges like crypto, hawala, terror-funding, organised crime syndicates, narco-terror links, which has yielded very good results, but a lot remains to be done still.

He said that to deal with terrorism, the Centre and the states, their agencies and inter-agency cooperation will have to think in vertical and horizontal ways.

The Minister said that the Modi government had prepared many database verticals in the last five years. Shah stressed that all the agencies of the Centre and the states should make multidimensional and Artificial Intelligence-based use of them, only then would India be successful in the fight against terrorism. He also said that the database should be used for investigation, prosecution, prevention and action.

He also urged every police station as well as police officers to make maximum use of the database.

He also pointed out that the inter-operable criminal justice system CCTNS had been implemented in 99.93 per cent i.e. 16,733 police stations and 22,000 courts have been connected to e-Court.

Data of about two crore prisoners was available through e-Prison, and more than 1 crore through e-Prosecution and data of more than 17 lakh from e-Forensics was also available.

Similarly, the National Automated Fingerprint Identification System (NAFIS) has more than 90 lakh fingerprint records and under the Integrated Monitoring of Terrorism (i-MoT), data of 22,000 terrorist cases was available for monitoring under the UAPA-registered cases.

He also asserted that there should be a common training module for all central and state-level counter-terrorism agencies, so that uniformity can be brought in the methodology of fighting against terrorism. He asked the NIA and the IB to take initiatives in this direction.

He said that the number of terrorist incidents in 2001 was 6,000, which the Modi government worked to reduce and it came down to 900 in 2022.

He praised the NIA for achieving a more than 94 per cent conviction rate and said more work was needed in this direction and asked all states to take steps to increase the conviction rate.

The Minister also said that with the cooperation of the central and state governments, major successes have been achieved in the fight against drugs.

"These achievements include the NCB-led Operation Samudragupta this year, during which approximately 2,500 kg of methamphetamine worth over Rs 12,000 crore was seized in Kerala. Apart from this, 10 lakh kilograms of drugs have also been disposed of," he said.
Mumbai, Oct 5 : Actress Arshi Khan, who has joined the cast of 'Shravani', shared about her character, saying the audience is in for a delightful treat.

The drama has escalated to new heights in the post-leap storyline, where the viewers witnessed Shivansh (Mohit Sonkar) tying the knot with Shravani (Sonal Khilwani), driven by a burning desire for revenge against her family, whom he believes responsible for his father's tragic demise.

With the introduction of Arshi as Julie Jasoos, hired by Bhanu (Shravani's tau ji) to unravel the mystery surrounding Shravani and Shivanshas marriage as well as why Shivansh is troubling Shravani, it will be interesting to witness Julie unveil a long-hidden secret.

Speaking about her entry, Arshi said: "I have always portrayed strong characters, and Julie is no exception. She's sharp, quick-witted, and utterly charming. But what truly sets Julie apart is that she is much like me; she is 'awaam ki Jaan,a captivating the hearts of men with her charismatic persona."

"The audience is in for a delightful treat as they fall in love with Julie and her unique charm," she added.

With Arshi bringing her charisma to the screen as Julie Jasoos, this show promises a rollercoaster of emotions, suspense, and drama that will keep you hooked.

aShravania airs on Shemaroo Umang.

Meanwhile, Arshi rose to fame with her entry as a contestant in the reality show 'Bigg Boss 11'.
Laid off by Meta, this employee gets job offer from her dream firm Google. Image Source: IANS News

New Delhi, Oct 5 : After being laid off by Meta in April, just before her third anniversary, Hou Zhuoni Hermione received a job offer from her dream company, Google, after five months.

Hermione, who was a project sourcing manager at Meta in Singapore, said she was lucky to be hired by Meta during the pandemic and "felt pampered and cared for" by the company, but Meta wasn't her dream company, Google was.

"Some of you might have heard me joking about Google being my dream company because the commute would be a less-than-15-min walk. Well, the dream is coming true except the commute is a 16+ hour flight instead," she wrote in a LinkedIn post.

She will be joining Google as Regional Commodity Manager for EMEA, based in Dublin, Ireland.

"This almost feels like the first time I went overseas, and Iam happy to fit into the same shoes as when I was 20. I shall try my best, and this will be fun," Hermione said.

Meanwhile, Meta is reportedly planning to lay off an unknown number of employees from its metaverse-driven Reality Labs division.

Employees have been informed about the impending layoffs on Wednesday (US time) through a post on Meta's internal discussion forum Workplace, a leading media outlet, citing sources, reported.

The social network has cut nearly 21,000 jobs since last year across verticals.
Kiev, Oct 5 : At least 48 people were killed in a Russian military strike in eastern Ukraine on Thursday afternoon, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky said.

The strike happened near Kupiansk in the Kharkiv region - close to the frontlines in the Donabas region - and a grocery store in Hroza village was hit, Zelensky said on his Telegram account, sharing pictures of the area.

He termed the attack a abrutal" crime.
New Delhi, Oct 5 : A Delhi Court on Thursday ordered that NewsClick founder-editor Prabir Purkayastha and Human Resources head Amit Chakravarty be given the copy of the FIR registered against them under the anti-terror law, Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.

Additional Sessions Judge Hardeep Kaur of the Patiala House Courts allowed their applications, which were opposed by the Delhi Police saying they were premature.

Special public prosecutor Atul Shrivastava said that the accused had to first approach the police commissioner, who would then form a committee regarding the same.

Shrivasatava also cited a Supreme Court judgement saying that the accused had to follow the step-by-step procedure prescribed by the top court. They could not "directly jump before the court", he added.

The Special Cell of Delhi Police had arrested Purkayasthaand Chakravarty on Tuesday, and the next day, they were sent to seven-day police custody.

On Wednesday, the court allowed them to meet their lawyer besides granting them a copy of the remand order.

When Purkayastha and Chakravarty moved an application on Wednesday seeking a copy of the FIR, the judge said that she will decide on it on Thursday.

Advocate Arshdeep Singh, representing Puryakastha, argued that they have the right to obtain the FIR copy.

"They have not given us the remand order either," he told the court.

The lawyer also cited Section 41D of CrPC (right of the arrested person to meet an advocate of their choice during interrogation) and said that it was an absolute right.

The judge then allowed Puryakastha's application to visit his lawyer and ordered that a copy of the remand order be provided to both Puryakastha and Chakravarty.

Singh also informed the court that a petition will be filed before the Delhi High Court challenging the FIR and the arrests, highlighting that there was already an FIR with the Economic Offenses Wing (EOW), and the High Court was not informed about the current FIR.

On Tuesday, in a statement regarding the search, seizure and detentions carried out in connection with the UAPA case registered by the Special Cell, the Delhi Police said that a total of 37 male suspects were questioned at office premises, while nine female suspects were questioned at their respective places of stay.

The police said that digital devices, documents etc. were seized or collected for examination.

The Special Cell had registered an FIR in the case on August 17 under different sections of the UAPA and the Indian Penal Code against NewsClick.

In August, a New York Times investigation had accused NewsClick of being an organisation funded by a network linked with US millionaire Neville Roy Singham, to allegedly promote Chinese propaganda.
New Delhi, Oct 5 : The Supreme Court on Thursday said that without evidence of bribery, it might be difficult to act against former Delhi Deputy CM Manish Sisodia in the money laundering charge filed against him by the ED.

The bench also pointed out that the generation of money is not an offence under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act's (PMLA) Section 3.

On Additional Solicitor General S.V. Raju's submission on behalf of the Enforcement Directorate (ED), the bench of Justice Sanjiv Khanna and S.N.V. Bhatti asked: "How will you establish money laundering by Sisodia factually and legally?"

"We understand that there is a policy change. Everyone will support policies good for their business. Pressure groups are always there. Policy changes, even if wrong, without money consideration, will not matter. It's the money part which makes it an offence," Justice Khanna remarked while hearing the ASG's submission.

He further added that if we go to the extent to say that there cannot be any pressure groups, no government can continue like that. "...Lobbying will always be there."

To this, ASG Raju replied that the question is whether Sisodia was not directly or indirectly involved in illegal activity or process. The policy he made triggered bribes which acted as proceeds of crimes.

He contended that "activity" here is when you make a policy that leads to the generation of money.

As Justice Khanna pointed out that the generation of money is not an offence under the PMLA's Section 3, the ASG replied that unless the money exists, you cannot put it to use.

Justice Khanna acknowledged that the generation of money not being an offence under the PMLA may be a lacuna. But then other problems may arise, he said.

The bench further asked Raju how will the ED bring Sisodia under the PMLA case.

"Money laundering is a separate offence. How will you establish Sisodia's involvement.....You have to show that he is in possession of the property."

"He may be aware it was used. But he never came into physical possession. The acquisition is by somebody else. The use is by somebody else. The projection that it was tainted money is by somebody else," it said.

Noting that generation is not part of PMLA, Justice Khanna said that PMLA will be triggered after the proceeds of the crime are given or paid.

"You have to connect the person concerned with the proceeds of crime directly or indirectly. Abetment, it may be. But as a principal offender, it will be a different situation. Is abetment or conspiracy part of PMLA or is it a separate offence?" the bench asked.

The ASG replied that abetment is assisting and is treated as the same offence.

Justice Khanna also remarked that conspiracy is not specifically made applicable or incorporated under PMLA. The ASG submitted that the main crux of the argument is that the now-scrapped Delhi liquor policy was formed to benefit wholesalers who paid bribes. It has been alleged that the policy was modified to make particular persons wholesalers, arguing that the old policy did not allow this.

He further told the bench that the Sisodia used the Signal app for communication and therefore, their messages could not be traced. To this, the bench asked if there was any evidence of Sisodia discussing bribery with Vijay Nair and if so, whether such discussions would be admissible in court.

"Isn't the statement (by an approver) hearsay? It is an inference but has to be based on evidence. In cross-examination, this will fall flat in two minutes," the court remarked.

Before rising for the day Justice Khanna told Sisodia's advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi: "...normally we don't go so deep in bail matters but they have pointed out several issues which according to them disclose a criminal offence.

"The second part is with regard to PMLA. The only question in that is whether Section 3 can be invoked or not."

According to Section 3 of PMLA, whosoever directly or indirectly attempts to indulge or knowingly assists or knowingly is a party or is actually involved in any process or activity connected with the proceeds of crime and projecting it as untainted property shall be guilty of the offence of money-laundering.

The court will resume hearing on next Thursday.
New Delhi: Police Personnel Check Vehicles near Ring Road As A Part Of Security Arrangements For The G20 Summit. Image Source: IANS News

New Delhi, Oct 05 : The Delhi Police on Thursday arrested a notorious gangster who was being chased by the Haryana and Rajasthan police for the last four years.

An official said on Thursday that the accused was involved in several cases, including murder, dacoity and under the Arms Act.

Rajasthan Police had also declared a reward of Rs 25,000 on information leading to the arrest of Joginder a.k.a 'Joga', a resident of Krishan Vihar. He was heading the Panchal and Joga gang.

Police said that he was previously involved in 38 cases of murder, robbery, attempt to murder, and the Arms Act, among others.

According to police, acting immediately on a tip-off, a team was strategically positioned at two different locations near Anand Maya Hospital in Ram Garh, Jahangirpuri. At around 6:55 p.m., they noticed a person sitting on a chair in a room at Anand Maya Hospital.

"One team approached Joga to intercept him. He attempted to flee, but the policemen responded swiftly, displaying a keen sense of alertness, and successfully apprehended him. Upon inquiry, he was identified as Joginder, and a country-made pistol along with two live cartridges was recovered from his possession," said the Deputy Commissioner of Police (northwest) Jitendra Kumar Meena.

During interrogation, he confessed to planning a robbery and revealed that he had committed various crimes, including murder, attempted murder, dacoity, robbery, and Arms Act violations in Delhi, Panipat in Haryana, Jaipur in Rajasthan, and Noida in Uttar Pradesh.

"He was wanted in one robbery case in Panipat, Haryana, and one dacoity case in Jaipur, Rajasthan, among others," said the DCP, adding that further efforts are underway to determine his possible involvement in other cases.
New Delhi, Oct 5 : The Supreme Court has agreed to examine a plea filed by a married woman seeking medical termination of her over 24 weeks pregnancy.

A special bench of Justices Hima Kohli and B.V. Nagarathna ordered that the petitioner will be examined by a medical board in AIIMS at 11 a.m. on Friday.

At the outset, the bench expressed disclination to entertain the plea filed under Article 32 of the Constitution and remarked that petitioner should have approached the jurisdictional High Court. It apprehended that taking up plea filed directly in the Supreme Court will open up a Pandora's box.

However, on persuasion made by advocate Amit Mishra and advocate-on-record Rahul Sharma, the top court called for assistance of Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati in the matter.

The women a" having lactational amenorrhea a" realised about her pregnancy belatedly and was having depression post pregnancy. The matter will be taken up for hearing next on Monday.
Srinagar, Oct 5 : J&K Police chief Dilbag Singh said on Thursday that the police are working together with other security forces with great commitment and resolve to destroy the last remnants of terrorism in the Union Territory.

The DGP was on a visit to the high ground area of Anantnag district where he interacted with the joint party of the police, army and CAPFs that was part of Wednesday's encounter in Kulgam district in which two local terrorists were killed.

Senior army, police and CAPF officers were present during the interaction.

The DGP appreciated the swift and clean operation of tracking down and eliminating the terrorists.

"We are committed to provide a better and secure environment to the people of Jammu and Kashmir who have seen the worst times of Pakistan-sponsored disturbance and destruction during over the last three decades," he said.

The DGP also presented rewards to the personnel who were part of the Kulgam encounter.

Singh said that jawans and officers working in Jammu and Kashmir have been displaying indomitable courage while fighting different challenges, which he said has strengthened peace in the UT.

The DGP said that he is proud of the dedication and commitment exhibited by one and all in maintaining peace and order in the UT.

"We have to respond to each and every evil design of terrorists dictated from across the border more strongly," he said.

The DGP stressed on the utilisation of technical as well as human resources in tracking and eliminating the remaining terrorists.

He also directed for monitoring and keeping vigilance on terror support systems to demolish the ecosystem. He said that barring a few instances, the UT is by and large peaceful and for that he congratulated the personnel of police, other security forces and people for their joint efforts.

The DGP also cautioned the forces and people of J&K about the conspiracy of Pakistan which has been making continuous attempts to disturb peace and tranquility in Jammu and Kashmir.

He directed that the war on drugs should be taken to the next level as Pakistan is now using drugs to generate funds for terror activities and to "harm our young generation".
PHNOM PENH, Oct. 5 (Xinhua) -- Cambodia had recorded 21,568 dengue fever cases in the first nine months of 2023, a significant rise of 184 percent from 7,597 cases over the same period last year, a health official said on Thursday.

"The disease killed 38 people during the January-September period this year, up from 14 deaths over the same period last year," Leang Rithea, National Dengue Program manager and deputy director of the National Center for Parasitology and Malaria Control, told Xinhua.

With the instruction from Health Minister Chheang Ra, the provincial health departments across the country have provided Abate, a chemical substance used to put in water pots to kill larvae, to households and sprayed insecticide to kill mosquitoes since August, he said.

"We have been working actively with development partners and organizations to curb an outbreak of dengue fever in the country," he added.

Dengue fever is a viral disease transmitted through the bite of an Aedes mosquito, which is a day-biting mosquito. The disease causes an acute illness that usually follows symptoms such as headache, high fever of up to 40 degrees Celsius, exhaustion, severe muscle and joint pain, swollen glands, vomiting and rash.

Rithea urged parents to take their sick children to health centers or state hospitals within 48 hours if they suspected their kids were infected with a dengue virus.

Also, he appealed to households to fill in puddles around their houses, saying that they are sources of mosquitoes.

In the Southeast Asian country, the peak of the dengue epidemic period is in the rainy season from May to October. 
New Delhi, Oct 05 : In one of the biggest hauls this year, Delhi Police recovered 28 pistols and over 150 live cartridges from the possession of one member of the Pradeep Kasni Gang. An officer said on Thursday that the weapons were brought to revive the gang.

The accused was identified as Bintu a.k.a Mintu alias Bittu (23), a resident of district Bhiwani in Haryana. According to police, on Wednesday a tip-off was received that one person, Lalit, who is a resident of Baghpat, Uttar Pradesh, would come to the Civil Lines area of Delhi to supply illegal firearms and ammunition to one of the members of the Kasni Gang.

"A trap was set, and at approximately 8:10 p.m., a police team noticed a suspect riding a motorcycle without a number plate, approaching from Khyber Khas, Ring Road side, heading towards Majnu Ka Tilla. The suspect stopped in front of Pasharvnath Apartments for a brief moment," said the Deputy Commissioner of Police (north), Sagar Singh Kalsi.

Meanwhile, another person arrived on foot from the Majnu Ka Tilla side. "The two individuals were identified as Lalit and Bintu. When the motorcycle rider handed a bag to the other person, the police team sprang into action, attempting to apprehend him," said the DCP.

"One of the accused then brandished a pistol but was overpowered after a brief struggle. The motorcycle rider managed to escape under the cover of darkness," said the DCP. The captured suspect was identified as Bintu.

"Upon searching his person, a semi-automatic pistol along with six live cartridges were recovered. Additionally the bag yielded nine more semi-automatic pistols, 18 single-shot pistols, and 146 live cartridges of various calibers," said the DCP.

During interrogation, Bintu disclosed that he was an active member of the Pardeep Kasni Gang.

"In October 2022, members of the Kala gang, led by Pankaj and Navdeep, were planning to eliminate Pradeep Kasni, who was incarcerated in Bhondsi Jail, Haryana, when he was being produced in court by the Haryana Police," said the DCP.

"The Haryana Police (Jhajjar) thwarted their plan by apprehending three active members of the Kala Gang with a significant cache of illegal firearms and ammunition. To seek revenge from the Kala Gang, Bintu, also known as Mintu or Bittu, collected the aforementioned firearms and ammunition from Lalit, a resident of Baghpat," said the DCP.

"Further efforts are underway to locate and apprehend the supplier, identified as Lalit," the DCP added.
New Delhi: Spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs Arindam Bagchi during the Weekly Media Briefing, in New Delhi, on Friday, June 02, 2023. (Photo: IANS/Twitter). Image Source: IANS News

New Delhi, Oct 5 : Days after India asked Canada to recall 41 diplomats from New Delhi by October 10 amid worsening ties, the External Affairs Ministry on Thursday said that a parity has been sought in diplomatic presence.

"On discussions on parity, given the much higher presence of diplomats or diplomatic presence here and their interference in our internal matters, we have sought parity in our respective diplomatic presence," External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi told media persons in response to a question on the issue.

He further informed that discussions are going on to achieve parity.

"Given that Canadian diplomatic presence is higher, we would assume that there would be a reduction," he said.

Last month after Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau had alleged India's involvement in the killing of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar, bilateral ties have steadily gone downhill between both nations, after India had denied the allegations and both nations had expelled a diplomat each.

Meanwhile to queries on protests held outside Indian high commission in London by pro-Khalistani groups on Gandhi Jayanti, Bagchi said: "In the UK, there was a protest on October 2, and we certainly have taken up our concerns on the security of diplomats and premises there with the UK authorities. And this has been an ongoing thing. The issue is about security, about ensuring that our diplomats are able to function normally and our premises are safe and that the community is not targeted."

On Afghanistan's Embassy closing down its operations in New Delhi from October 1, Bagchi said: "Our understanding is that the embassy in New Delhi is functioning or continuing to function. We are in touch with the Afghan diplomats who are there in that embassy, as well as with the Afghan diplomats who are at the consulates in Mumbai and Hyderabad. However, we received communication last week purportedly from the embassy, indicating that it intends to suspend operations at the end of September. Of course, such a decision is an internal matter of a foreign mission."

He also said that "Afghan consulates general in Mumbai and in Hyderabad voiced their objection to that decision or to such a decision. We are also aware that there has been a prolonged absence of the Ambassador and that a large number of Afghan diplomats have left India in the recent past. We would hope that a substantial number of Afghan nationals in India, including students, are able to continue to receive necessary consular support. On our part, we will continue with our efforts to assist the people of Afghanistan."

On questions over pro-China leader Mohamed Muizzu winning the presidential elections in Maldives, Bagchi said: "The focus of our partnership with Maldives has always been on capacity building and working together to address our shared challenges and priorities, including security. As neighbours, we need to collaborate closely to address these challenges confronting our region, such as trans-national crimes as well as humanitarian assistance disaster relief situations. We look forward to engaging with the new administration in Maldives on all these issues."

--IANS

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Kolkata, Oct 5 : Trinamool Congress' national General Secretary Abhishek Banerjee on Thursday led a rally attracting impressive turnout of party workers to the Raj Bhavan to press for their demand to clear the pending central dues to West Bengal government under various centrally-sponsored schemes.

However, the main purpose of the rally was defeated to some extent as Governor C.V. Ananda Bose was not present in the city and hence the delegation was unable to meet Bose and hand over ther demands directly to him.

Instead, the delegation handed over their note to the officials of the Raj Bhavan. However, as per the instructions of Abhishek Banerjee, it was handed over to the Governor's House officials from outside the entrance gate instead of stepping into the Raj Bhavan premises.

Addressing the gathering at the end of the rally in front of the Raj Bhavan, Banerjee said their agitation programme in front of the Governor's House will go on till the time the Governor returns to the city, meets the delegation and listens to the grievances on the pending central dues.

He also accused the Governor and Union Minister of Rural Development, Giriraj Singh, of constantly trying to escape the questions on pending central dues.

The Trinamool MP said that he will be on a sit-in demonstration in front of the Governor's House from Thursday evening along with the top leadership of the party till the Governor meets them.

"It is our conviction to get the funds for payment of wages to those deprived despite working under the MGNREGA scheme," Banerjee said.

"I have been issued notices by the central agencies. But I am not running away. I am right here in the city. Then why are they trying to escape from facing us," Banerjee questioned.
Guwahati, Oct 05 : The Congress has issued show-cause notices to two of its MLAs in Assam - Bhaskarjyoti Baruah and Abdul Batin Khandakar - for taking part in the Amrit Kalash Yatra in the state recently.

Baruah is an MLA from the Titabar constituency in Jorhat district, while Khandakar won the North Abhayapuri Assembly seat on the Congress ticket in the previous Assembly polls.

Both the MLAs claimed that the 'Amrit Kalash Yatra' was a part of the 'Meri Maati, Mera Desh' program, which is a state government initiative, and that is why they participated in it.

The legislators claimed that there was no directive from the Congress party not to attend this campaign. However, Assam Congress president Bhupen Borah said on Thursday, "Although there was no directive issued from the party, it is a well-known fact that the 'Amrit Kalash Yatra' is an initiative launched by the BJP, and as Opposition MLAs, they should have stayed away from that."

Baruah was also embroiled in a controversy when he took part in the BJP's 'Ashirwad Yatra' earlier. Notably, as part of the 'Amrit Kalash Yatra', soil has been collected from households in villages and municipal wards in the state, and later it will be put into urns on October 26.

At least 270 urns will be sent to the national Capital, and an equal number of urns will be stored in the Sankardev Kalakshetra in Guwahati. It will later be used in the foundation-laying ceremony of Assam's largest proposed university in Gohpur.
Seoul, Oct 5 : Samsung Electronics on Thursday announced an all-new Galaxy SmartTag2 to keep track of valuables, that will launch globally on October 11.

Galaxy SmartTag2's Lost Mode allows users to input their contact information via a message. Lost Mode works with any mobile device with NFC reader and web browser.

Anyone who discovers an item with a Galaxy SmartTag2 attached can use their smartphone to scan the tag and see the owners' message and contact information.

"With an enhanced finding experience and a longer battery life, Galaxy SmartTag2 will provide users with greater peace of mind for longer and in more situations," said Jaeyeon Jung, EVP and Head of SmartThings, Device Platform Center at Samsung.

The device provides an improved Compass View feature, enhancing the user experience by providing arrows to show the direction and distance of the Galaxy SmartTag2 in relation to the user.

This mode is available on any UWB-supported Galaxy smartphone, such as the Galaxy S23 Ultra.

The SmartThings Find app has also been upgraded, with newly registered Galaxy SmartTags that now installs a shortcut to the app on the user's smartphone, allowing users to launch SmartThings Find more quickly.

Additionally, the app now features a full screen map view and an intuitive interface, making the user experience even more seamless.

"SmartTag2 now automatically re-syncs you're your now Galaxy smartphone using your Samsung account," said the company.

Galaxy SmartTag2's durability has also been upgraded with an IP675 rating for water and dust resistance.

For Samsung Galaxy users, SmartThings Find can also provide security through its "Unknown tag alerts" feature.
New Delhi, Oct 05 : Delhi Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena has ordered termination of the services of seven TGT and PGT teachers in a Delhi Government-aided school. He has also approved the recommendation of the Directorate of Vigilance for a CBI inquiry into their appointments using forged documents.

According to officials, the Directorate of Vigilance (DoV) found that the appointments were made in collusion with the officials of the Directorate of Education (DoE) of Delhi Government and the school management.

The official further said that the LG agreed with the proposal of the DoV, which found a prima facie collusion between the officials of DoE and the Delhi Tamil Education Association (DTEA), where 51 candidates were appointed on various posts in 2022.

"However, it was found that seven teachers selected for TGT and PGT posts had submitted fake experience certificates. These forged certificates were crucial in securing them the jobs as each year of experience secured one extra mark to the candidate. Accordingly, the LG allowed the DoV to file a complaint with the CBI for registration of a criminal case into the matter," said the official.

As per the terms and conditions of the Education Department, the school management was required to verify all the certificates of the selected candidates, however, the management, in a callous manner failed to properly verify the experience certificates submitted by these candidates.

"While the certificates needed to be verified by seeking and obtaining appointment letters, details of payments made along with bank details, copy of attendance register of the school showing their attendance, etc., none of criteria was fulfilled by the school management. The DoV placed the matter before the Chief Secretary, Delhi, who directed it to carry out the physical verification of the experience certificates issued by the respective schools," said the official.

"Subsequently, the experience certificates submitted by three candidates were found to be fake/forged. However, experience certificates of the remaining four candidates were verified by the respective schools, but were not supported by documentary evidence," the official added.

"It is clear from the reports that the appointment made during the recruitment of teachers/staff in DTEA, an aided school under Education Department, in 2022 is not genuine and there is a collusion between the management, candidates and staff of the DoE in lieu of extraneous consideration.

"In the past also, there have been several allegations regarding the fixing of the selection process due to collusion between the management of aided schools, selection committee and the Education Department", the DoV noted.

Accordingly, the Chief Secretary proposed the termination of the employees who secured the jobs on the basis of forged documents and ordered the DoV to lodge a complaint with the CBI with the request to register a criminal case in the matter.
Kochi, Oct 5 : It was a day of fluctuating fortunes for actor-model Shiyas Kareem against whom a female gym trainer had registered a complaint of rape and cheating.

He was taken into custody at the Chennai airport on Thursday when he landed from the Middle East.

But on Thursday evening, the Kerala High Court granted him interim bail even as a team of Kerala Police officials, after hearing the news of his custody, had started from Kasargod to Chennai.

So now even if the Kerala Police team registers his arrest, he will have to be set free.

A 32-year-old woman, who worked at the gym owned by the actor-model, had last month registered a complaint of sexual assault and cheating against him at the Chandera Police station at Kasargod.

In her complaint, the woman also claimed that he owes her money and cheated her by not honouring his word that she would be made a partner in his business.

Hearing that the Chennai airport officials had taken Kareem into custody, Chandera Police station officials quickly left to Chennai to take the popular reality show personality into their custody as part of the procedures following the complaint. Kareem had earlier dismissed the allegations as "fabricated".
New Delhi, Oct 5 : After Ranbir Kapoor, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Thursday summoned celebrities like Huma Qureshi, Kapil Sharma, and Heena Khan in connection with its probe into the Mahadev Books alleged money laundering case.

An ED source said that the agency has asked them to appear before it in Chhattisgarh's Raipur.

The development comes a day after the financial probe agency summoned Bollywood actor Ranbir Kapoor.

The source said that several celebrities are on the agency's scanner and they will be called for questioning in coming days.

It is alleged that many celebrities endorsed the mobile gaming application of the Mahadev Books in lieu of hefty money.

Even the lavish wedding ceremony of firm promoter Sunil Chandrakar in the UAE was attended by many Bollywood celebrities and the financial probe agency had found the details of the payments of hotels and transport details during the searches it carried out last month, the source added.

It is alleged that the Mahadev Books spent around Rs 200 crore on the marriage ceremony programme in Dubai with private jets hired to ferry family members from Nagpur to the UAE. The ED probe had also found that celebrities were hired to perform in the marriage. Wedding planners, dancers, decorators, etc, were hired from Mumbai and hawala channels were used to make payments in cash.

The ED further said that many celebrities have been endorsing these betting entities and performing at their functions in return for hefty fees layered through dubious transactions, but ultimately paid from the proceeds of online betting.

The ED is probing Mahadev Online Book Betting App which is an umbrella syndicate arranging online platforms for enabling illegal betting websites to enrol new users, create user IDs and laundering of money through a layered web of benami bank accounts. On September 15, the ED said that it seized Rs 417 crore after carrying out searches in Kolkata, Bhopal, and Mumbai in connection with the case.

In a statement, the financial probe agency had said that the ED recently conducted widespread searches against the money laundering networks linked with Mahadev App in cities like Kolkata, Bhopal, Mumbai, etc., and retrieved large amount of incriminating evidences and has frozen or seized proceeds of crime worth Rs 417 crore.
Bhopal, Oct 5 : A 9-year-old girl was allegedly raped by an auto driver in Madhya Pradesh's Khandwa district, police said on Thursday.

The incident had occurred two days back but only came into light after a FIR was lodged at a police station on Thursday.

As per the police, the victim was living with her parents at rehabilitation centre of Omkareshwar temple located in Khandwa and kidnapped from there and sexually assaulted at an isolated location within the premises.

Khandwa district SP Satyendra Kumar Shukla told the press that the accused identified as Javed Mansoori has been arrested.

"Accused Javed Mansoori has been arrested soon after the FIR was registered. He has been booked under the POCSO and SC-ST Acts," he said.

The SP said the matter came to light when the residents close to the area heard her crying and informed the police. As soon as the girl was rescued, she told police about the torture she endured.

The shocking incident came two weeks after a 12-year-old girl was brutally raped by an auto driver in Ujjain.
Mumbai, Oct 5 : Actress Gulki Joshi, who essays the role of Haseena Malik in the television show 'Vanshaj', will be seen acting as the knight in shining armour for the character of Yuvika, played by Anjali Tatrari, in the show.

The show has taken a captivating twist, as Yuvika stumbles upon a shocking revelation about Premraj's (Akshay Anand) mother, Devyani (Leena Balodi).

During her encounter with Devyani, Yuvika is unexpectedly involved in a life-threatening accident, leaving her in grave danger.

Haseena Malik quickly reaches the accident scene and rushes Yuvika to the hospital.

The doctors start treating her, and everyone in the Mahajan family soon learns about the accident.

Bhoomi (Gurdeep Punjj) is devastated and rushes to the hospital. Bhanupratap (Puneet Issar) and Dhanraj (Gireesh Sahdev) suggest moving Yuvika to the Mahajan hospital, but Bhoomi disagrees.

Dhanraj tries to convince Bhoomi to change her mind, which results in an argument between him and Haseena.

In the upcoming episodes, viewers will witness how Haseena steps in as Bhoomi's pillar of support in the absence of Yuvika. Anjali Tatrari, who plays the character of Yuvika, said: "Yuvika's life in Delhi has been a relentless journey of uncovering unsettling truths about her father's death. The revelation of Prem's true mother has shattered her trust in the Mahajan family."

She further mentioned: "As Yuvika confronts a life-threatening accident, viewers can expect unprecedented sequences, bringing her closer to the mystery. Yet, the question remains: Will she reach her ultimate destination, or will another challenge arise from within the Mahajan family? The filming of this intense accident scene was emotionally challenging, and I hope our audience stays tuned to witness how Yuvika's pursuit for truth unfolds."

'Vanshaj' airs Monday to Saturday on Sony SAB.
The annual date harvest season in Gaza, which kicked off in the first week of October, has borne local farmers' hope for more income.
Jaipur, Oct 5 : Rajasthan BJP President C.P. Joshi on Thursday accused Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot of taking suggestions from terrorist organisations for his Vision 2023 campaign.

Addressing a large gathering in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who was in Jodhpur on Thursday, Joshi said, "The head of the state calls voluntary organisations and takes suggestions for Vision 2023, which also includes PFI, a terrorist organisation at number 43."

He added, "You can imagine how the CM calls terrorist organisations and seeks suggestions from them. These anti-Sanatan people ban the saffron flag. This 'Mughal' government will never be able to lower our saffron flag. People will bid farewell to this Mughal government in the elections to be held this year-end."

He further accused the CM of failing to protect the daughters and sisters of the state besides holding him responsible for the deteriorating law and order situation in Rajasthan.
Amaravati, Oct 5 : The Jana Sena Party, led by actor politician Pawan Kalyan, on Thursday clarified that it is not leaving the National Democratic Alliance (NDA).

The party said Pawan Kalyan did not say at the public meeting on Wednesday that he had left the BJP-led NDA to support the Telugu Desam Party (TDP).

Jana Sena General Secretary Bolisetty Satyanarayana clarified that Pawan Kalyan, in his speech, said that though he is in the NDA, he is coming out to say that Jana Sena will support TDP as they are weak now.

Stating that Jana Sena remained a part of NDA, Satyanarayana said they would also be with the TDP.

Addressing a public meeting as part of his Varahi yatra at Pedana in Krishna district, Pawan Kalyan said that he came out to support the TDP in difficult times.

"Despite difficulties we had joined the NDA. Now we have come out and extended 100 per cent support to the TDP because it is going through difficult times," he said, referring to the arrest of TDP leader and former Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu in alleged skill development scam.

After meeting Naidu in Rajahmundry Jail on September 14, Pawan Kalyan had announced that Jana Sena will contest the 2024 elections in Andhra Pradesh in alliance with the TDP. He had hoped that BJP will also join hands with them to avoid a split of votes to end the "misrule" of Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy.

At the public meeting on Wednesday, Pawan Kalyan said that Andhra Pradesh needs the TDP's experience of four decades and the Jana Sena's young blood. He exuded confidence that the TDP-JSP alliance will come to power in 2024. The actor said in 2021 he took a decision to come together with like-minded parties to avoid split of votes to oust YSR Congress Party from power. The Jana Sena leader recalled that in 2014 he extended support to Narendra Modi and Naidu for the golden future of Andhra Pradesh. Almost 10 years have passed but unfortunately this could not be achieved.

There is no use in regretting what happened. "Past is past. Now we have to look towards the future," he said.

Pawan Kalyan had campaigned for the TDP-BJP alliance in 2014 elections and the alliance had come to power in the state. He, however, later distanced himself from both the parties for failing to deliver on the promise of special category state to Andhra Pradesh.

In 2018, the TDP also snapped ties with the BJP, accusing the party of failing to fulfill the commitments made to the state. Jana Sena contested the 2019 elections in alliance with the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and the Left parties. However, the alliance had to bite the dust.

Jana Sena could win just one seat in the 175-member Assembly while the YSRCP stormed to power by bagging 151 seats while the TDP, which went alone, won 23 seats. The BJP, which had won four seats in 2014, drew a blank.

However, a few months after the elections Pawan Kalyan revived his alliance with the BJP. For the last couple of years, he had been making efforts to forge a grand alliance among TDP, BJP and Jana Sena.
New Delhi, Oct 5 : India on Thursday said that it has raised concerns with the US over the American Ambassador to Pakistan visiting parts of Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK) last month.

Speaking to mediapersons, External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said that India's position regarding the entire union territory of Jammu and Kashmir being an integral part of the country is well known.

"We would like to urge the international community to respect our sovereignty and territorial integrity," Bagchi said.

The remarks came days after US Ambassador to Pakistan Donald Blome visited Gilgit Baltistan region in PoK for six days last month.

"We have raised our concerns about that visit by the US ambassador of Pakistan with the US side," Bagchi said.

He also dismissed US Ambassador to India Eric Garcetti's remarks on the incident, where he had said that Blome had earlier too been part of delegation to the region during G20 summit.

Bagchi said that the two situations are not equivalent.
New Delhi, Oct 5 : The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has attached properties worth Rs 17.92 crore of eal estate company Shine City, in form of lands located in Uttar Pradesh's Varanasi.

The ED, in a statement, said that the agency attached immovable properties worth Rs 17.92 crore under the provisions of Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002 in a case against Shine City Properties Ltd and others.

The attached properties are in form of 47 parcels of land measuring 10.27 hectares located at Rajatalab Tehsil of Varanasi.

The ED began probe on the basis of various FIRs registered by UP Police scattered across the state, wherein it was alleged that the company and accused persons cheated the public at large by luring them to invest in various lucrative schemes floated by the company.

It said that ED probe revealed that the money collected from public was found to have been diverted by the accused, thus defrauding the investors. The agency said that it had earlier attached various immovable properties worth Rs 110.62 crore in the name of accused persons, Rashid Naseem, Asif Naseem, Amitabh Kumar Srivastava, Meera Srivastava and in the name of several Shine City Group companies.

The total attachment made so far in this case is about Rs 128.54 crore.

--IANS

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New Delhi, Oct 5 : The government on Thursday banned separatist leader Shabir Ahmad Shah's led Jammu and Kashmir Democratic Freedom Party (JKDFP) under the stringent Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act for its alleged anti-India and pro-Pakistan activities.

In a gazette notification, the Union Ministry of Home Affairs said: "Shah founded JKDFP in 1998, termed Kashmir as a adisputea and ruled out any settlement within the framework of the Constitution of India.

"The members of the JKDFP have been at the forefront of secessionist activities in the Jammu and Kashmir and want to create a separate Islamic State. The leader of members of the JKDFP have been involved in raising funds through various sources including Pakistan and its proxy organizations for perpetrating unlawful activities, including supporting terrorist activities, sustained stone-pelting on security forces in Jammu and Kashmir."

The notification alleged that the JKDFP and its members, by their activities, show sheer disrespect towards the constitutional authority and constitutional set up of the country and the party and its leaders or members, particularly its founder, have been indulging in unlawful activities, which are prejudicial to the integrity, sovereignty, security, and communal harmony of the country.

"There have been a number of inputs showing linkages of the JKDFP with banned terrorist organisations," it said.

It also alleged that the JKDFP and its members have been involved in the violent terrorist activities with an intent to create a reign of terror in the country, thereby endangering the security and public order of the state, and its anti-national activities also show disrespect and disregard to the constitutional authority and sovereignty of the State.

"Hence, immediate and prompt action is required against the organisation. The Central government is of the opinion that if there is no immediate curb or control of unlawful activities of the Jammu and Kashmir Democratic Freedom Party, it will use this opportunity to continue with the anti-national activities which are detrimental to the territorial integrity, security and sovereignty of the country; continue advocating the secession of the Jammu and Kashmir from the Union of India while disputing its accession to the Union of India; escalate its insurrectionary activities including attempt to carve out an Islamic State out of the territory of the Union of India by destabilising the government established by law; continue propagating anti-national sentiments of the people of Jammu and Kashmir with the intention to cause disaffection against India and disrupt public order."

The Central government is firmly of the opinion that having regard to the activities of the party, it is necessary to declare it as an aunlawful associationa with immediate effect, it said.

Shah was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate in July 2017, in a 2005 money laundering case and is also an accused in a terror-funding case investigated by the National Investigation Agency. He is currently lodged in a Delhi jail.
New Delhi, Oct 5 : The Power Ministry has reviewed the current status of the NHPC's hydropower projects in Sikkim in the aftermath of the state witnessing flash floods.

Due to flash floods in the Teesta river basin in Sikkim during the intervening night of October 3 and 4, all the bridges downstream to NHPC's Teesta-V hydropower station upto Tarkhola/ Pamphok have been either submerged or washed out, thus severely affecting commutation and communication in these areas.

The flood water over topped the dam of Teesta V power station (510 MW) and all connecting roads to the project sites as well as parts of residential colony have been severely damaged, it was informed during an emergency review meeting of all hydel projects in Sikkim, which was undertaken by secretary in the power ministry Pankaj Agrawal with NHPC officials on Wednesday.

Central Electricity Authority personnel were also present in the meeting.

Currently, the power station is under shutdown and not generating electricity. NHPC had timely evacuated the manpower in all its projects and ensured that they were shifted to safer places.

However, one casualty was reported from Teesta V power station.

Ongoing work of under construction hydro project Teesta VI (500 MW) of NHPC has been disrupted.

The flood water had entered into power house and transformer cavern.

Bridges connecting right and left banks at the barrage as well as power house have been washed out, it was informed during the meeting.

Two crane operators working at the project site were reported to be missing.

All efforts are being made to trace them. No major damages have been observed in TLDP-III (160 MW) (Teesta Low Dam - III Hydropower Plant) and TLDP-IV (132 MW) power stations located in downstream West Bengal.

Both the power stations are safe but kept in shut down condition due to heavy siltation brought along with the flood water. NHPC is constantly trying to start the electricity generation in both the projects in coming days.

Also, no damage is reported in Rangit valley where NHPC's Rangit IV power project (120 MW) is under construction and Rangit Power Station (60 MW) is under operation.

The quantum of damage at all the projects sites will be assessed in detail after the water level recedes.

The NHPC is making all possible efforts with the help of the state government, disaster management authorities and district administration to maintain the supply of essential commodities like food, medicine and electricity in the affected regions, official sources said.
Guwahati, Oct 5 : Assam Police seized a huge cache of cannabis in the state's Cachar district on Thursday, officials said.

The Cachar police conducted a special operation in the Kalain area at the Assam-Meghalaya border in response to a tip-off and intercepted a truck, travelling from Tripura to Meghalaya via Assam, in the Kalain neighborhood.

On searching it, police found 1,705 kg of cannabis on the vehicle with a market value of around Rs 6 crore.

Talking to IANS, Superintendent of Police, Cachar, Numal Mahatta: "We had information about the movement of the vehicle illegally carrying a huge cache of cannabis. We chased the vehicle, and it was stopped near the Assam-Meghalaya border. However, the driver of the vehicle fled away in the dense forest at the interstate border."

The police have launched a manhunt to nab the driver. "The operation is underway. We believe that the driver has been hiding somewhere in the forest. We are hopeful that he will be arrested," the SP added.
Punjab Assembly Speaker bats for better coordination among Commonwealth nations. Image Source: IANS News

Chandigarh, Oct 5 : Amid the India-Canada slugfest, Punjab Assembly Speaker Kultar Singh Sandhwan on Thursday stressed on better coordination among Commonwealth countries on certain political issues.

During the Commonwealth Parliamentary Conference (CPC) in Ghana, the Speaker said some issues have been cropped up with unwarranted arguments.

Without naming any country, he said this trend should be nipped in bud with the greater coordination among Commonwealth countries.

Sandhwan said these unwarranted issues created hindrance for congenial atmosphere of coexistence.

The Speaker added the "world is facing other big challenges on environmental front and we (Commonwealth countries) together bring the change in society for creating sustainable environment for all".

He said the onus is on the developed countries to lead on this front.

On this occasion, the Speaker paid obeisance at Gurdwara Sahib.

The annual event Commonwealth Parliamentary Conference (CPC) brings together Parliamentarians from across the Commonwealth to discuss global political issues and make consensus on the same.

Canada first joined the British Commonwealth as an Independent state in 1931.
Kolkata, Oct 5 : At least two persons were killed and six others were severely injured in West Bengal's Jalpaiguri on late Thursday as a mortar shell, reportedly carried by the flood waters of River Teesta, blew up, police said.

The mortar shell, as believed by the local police officers, belonged to the Army and was carried away by flood waters flowing down from the hills.

Deputy Superintendent of Police, Crime, of Jalpaiguri Bikramjit Lama said that the identities of the two killed in the blast of the mortar shell are yet to be ascertained.

"The six injured persons have been admitted to Jalpaiguri Super-Specialty Hospital. A thorough probe in the matter has started already," he added.

Local police sources said that in all probability after the victims tried to physically inspect the mortar shells carried to the area by the flood water when it exploded.

"The condition of a couple of the six injured is extremely critical and the death toll on this count is likely to increase," said a district police official.
New Delhi, Oct 5 : Lt Governor V.K. Saxena has granted relief to 281 contractual workers employed in Delhi government-run social welfare homes who have been struggling with financial hardships due to unpaid wages extending over five months.

These workers provide essential daily care to intellectually impaired residents of Asha Kiran, Asha Deep, and Asha Jyoti Homes, which fall under the Social Welfare Department. The relief covers a range of positions, including 221 house aunties/caregivers, 17 nurses (GNM), 34 nurses (ANM), one cook, five kitchen helpers, one LDC (Lower Division Clerk), and two Peons.

Saxena approved the proposal for wage release, encompassing the period from April 1, 2023, to March 31, 2024, saying that these workers had been awaiting their wages since April 2023.

The disbursement of wages to these contractual staff had been delayed due to legal challenges.

Some of the workers had contested the Social Welfare Department's proposal to shift their employment status from contractual to outsourced basis, leading to cases in the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) and Delhi High Court.

Considering the possibility of prolonged legal proceedings and recognising the exacerbated financial hardship faced by these workers, the LG agreed to the proposal which was endorsed by the Chief Secretary.

Earlier in March, the LG Secretariat scrutinised a proposal seeking ex-post facto approval for contractual engagement since 2010 and the change of employment mode to outsourced basis for staff in Asha Kiran, Asha Deep Homes, and others. It was observed that the department's proposal to alter the nature of employment might be in conflict with orders from the CAT and high court, potentially leading to contempt petitions.
The recently reported police misconduct allegations, along with a long list of problems facing Downing Street, have intensified the British media debate about whether "Britain is broken."

Produced by Xinhua Global Service
New Delhi, Oct 5 : The Uttar Pradesh government on Thursday told the Supreme Court that a Special Investigation Team (SIT) has been constituted to probe into land compensation fraud in NOIDA.

UP Additional Advocate General Ardhendumauli Kumar Prasad submitted before the apex court that the SIT will be headed by the Chairman of the Board of Revenue and comprise Commissioner of Meerut Division, along with Additional Director General of Police, Meerut Zone.

Raising eyebrows at the composition of the SIT, a bench of Justices Surya Kant, Dipankar Datta and Ujjal Bhuyan directed that the probe panel to submit its report within a period of two weeks.

In September, the Supreme Court had sought response from Uttar Pradesh government saying that "prima facie, the entire Noida set up appears to be involved" in the scam.

"There are numerous cases in which the New Okhla Industrial Development Authority (NOIDA) has paid compensation to the land owners, without any entitlement in law, prima facie for extraneous considerationsa..In such circumstances, it appears to us necessary to refer the matter to some independent agency for a deeper probe and to unearth the truth."

Two officials, Virendra Singh Nagar and Dinesh Kumar Singh, had approached the Supreme Court seeking anticipatory bail after an FIR was lodged against them in 2021 in one of the cases for allegedly releasing compensation to the tune of Rs 7 crore based on tampered documents.

Issuing notice in January-February this year, the top court stayed their arrest but directed them to cooperate with the investigation. However, it opined that such large scale fraud cannot be done at the instance of one or two officers of the Authority and called for a deeper probe by some independent agency to unearth the truth. The matter will be taken up for hearing on November 2.
Patna, Oct 5 : Three of a group of pilgrims, who went from Patna to Gupta Dham in Sasaram to worship Lord Shiva last month, died on Thursday and six others fell critically ill.

Their family members had admitted them to different private hospital where three, identified as Rakesh Yadav, 35, Ramnath Yadav, 30, and Sanjay Kumar, 45, died.

Sumit Kumar, one of the devotees who went to Gupta Dham, said: "A group of 13 members went to Sasaram via train on September 10 and reached there on September 11. After that, we went to Chenari block from where we started climbing on the mountain to reach Gupta Dham Shivling to worship Lord Shiva. During the journey, we consumed water from well and rain water. We returned Patna on September 14. After one week, the health of 9 persons started deteriorating."

The family members admitted them to different private hospitals where three of them were died so far.

Following the deaths, the family members of the others are scared.

"The victims were admitted after complaint of high fever. During medical examination, it was appeared that the victims died due to liver and kidney failure," Kumar said.

Patna Civil Surgeon Dr S.P. Vinayak said: "Three deaths have taken place due to high fever. Exact reasons of deaths are yet to be ascertained. We have sent the dead bodies for the post-mortem examination and waiting for the report."
New Delhi, Oct 5 : The 79th train under the Delhi government's Mukhyamantri Teerthyatra Yojana left for Rameswaram on Thursday.

CM Arvind Kejriwal met 780 elderly pilgrims who left for Rameswaram.

"Like always, I have come to meet all elderly pilgrims," he said.

"We're sending a train to one corner of the country every week and I come to meet all of you. One of the reasons behind this is that when you are all about to leave for a pilgrimage, you are full of happiness. I come here to seek some happiness from you," he added.

So far, 22 trains carrying 20,000-22,000 pilgrims have visited Rameshwaram, as it is highly sought after among pilgrims, the CM said.

About the scheme, Kejriwal said that so far 78 trains carrying 76,000 pilgrims have been sent to various religious places across the country. The Rameswaram trip will span 8 days and the pilgrims will spend 2 days in Rameswaram and visit the Meenakshi Temple.

Before leaving for Rameswaram, elderly pilgrims took part in Bhajan Sandhya organised in Tyagaraj Stadium. The event was attended by the CM and Revenue Minister Atishi.

Addressing the senior citizens heading to Rameswaram, Atishi stated that the Delhi government, under the leadership of CM Kejriwal, has so far facilitated over 76,000 elderly aTeerth Yatrasa to various pilgrimage sites via 78 trains under the scheme.
New Delhi, Oct 5 : Here are some of the important cases which the Supreme Court heard on Thursday.

Delhi excise policy case: SC clarifies question was not to implicate AAP

While hearing the bail pleas of former Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia on Thursday, Justice Sanjiv Khanna clarified that the bench's query was a legal question and not meant to implicate anyone.

SC agrees to examine plea seeking termination of 24-week pregnancy

The Supreme Court has agreed to examine a plea filed by a married woman seeking medical termination of her over 24 weeks' pregnancy. A special bench of Justices Hima Kohli and B.V. Nagarathna ordered that the petitioner will be examined by a medical board in AIIMS at 11 a.m. on Friday.

SC reserves verdict on granting immunity to lawmakers for accepting bribes

A seven-judge Constitution Bench headed by CJI D.Y. Chandrachud reserved its verdict on a reference made against a 1998 judgment of the apex court granting immunity to lawmakers from criminal prosecution for accepting bribes to make a speech or vote in the Parliament or state legislatures.

Disqualified Lakshadweep MP moves SC

Disqualified Lakshadweep MP Mohammed Faizal has knocked the doors of the Supreme Court against a fresh order of the Kerala High Court refusing to suspend his conviction in an attempt to murder case.

SC allows father to meet child in mall

The top court has said that the environment during which visitation rights are exercised also matter, adding that granting such rights to a parent in the court premises could not be in the interest of the child.

SC dismisses appeals preferred by resolution professional

Dismissing an appeal filed by a Resolution Professional (RP), the Supreme Court said that an RP should maintain a neutral stand and it is for aggrieved parties, including the Committee of Creditors (CoC), to take recourse to appropriate legal remedies.

Not permissible for HC to review its own order granting bail: SC

The Supreme Court has said that it is not permissible for the high court to review its own order granting bail unless there are valid grounds available for cancellation of bail. SC directed Registry to appoint sign-language interpreter for hearing-impaired lawyer.

ED's PMLA case against Sisodia faces legal lacunae

The Supreme Court said that without evidence of bribery, it might be difficult to act against former Delhi Deputy CM Manish Sisodia in the money laundering case filed against him by the ED. The bench also pointed out that the generation of money is not an offence under Section 3 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
Imphal, Oct 5 : The Congress-led 10 like-minded parties bloc in Manipur on Thursday said that the "double engine governments" of the BJP at the Centre and the state had, even after five months, utterly failed to restore peace and normalcy in the state.

After a day-long convention of the parties, Congress leader and three-term Chief Minister Okram Ibobi Singh (2002-2017) said both the Central and state governments' sheer negligence had failed to restore peace and normalcy in the strife-torn state.

He said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi, though he talked on all issues, still remained silent on the Manipur crisis so far and it is very unfortunate and condemnable at highest term.

Singh said that people are still confused on whether Article 355 has been imposed in the state or not.

"Is Manipur ruled by the Central government or by elected representatives of the state government," he questioned.

To bring an amicable solution to the ongoing ethnic violence in Manipur, the 10 like-minded political parties reaffirmed their stand to work jointly until peace is restored and launch continuous peaceful demonstrations.

A resolution, adopted in the Thursday's convention, said that the 'Bloc of Ten Political Parties' resolved to work together in Manipur to find solutions to the ongoing crisis that triggered owing to alleged total failures, lapses, and negligence of the Central and state governments.

"All crimes committed during the ethnic violence committed against women, children, elderly people, students, and youths should be investigated promptly without any discrimination. Protests will be held in different parts of the state on issues of public concern and importance," the resolution said.

The 10 parties, which also include the Aam Aadmi Party, Trinamool Congress, CPI-M, CPI, Forward Bloc, RSP, Shiv Sena-UBT, Janata Dal-United and Nationalist Congress Party, have demanded that the government should talk to all stakeholders for an amicable settlement of the crisis and bring ever-lasting peace and harmony in Manipur.

On the other hand, eight former Manipur Ministers and MLAs lambasted the double-engineered BJP government for failing to safeguard the territorial, administrative and emotional integrity of Manipur. They further alleged that the BJP led Central government was only concerned about the 2024 Lok Sabha election and least interested in the Manipur turmoil.

The former ministers and legislators questioned why the state authorities and the BJP were unable to take actions against the 10 tribal MLAs who violated their constitutional oath by demanding a separate administration or a separate state for the tribals. Of the ten MLAs, seven belong to the ruling BJP.
Gurugram, Oct 6 : A 36-year-old wanted criminal has been arrested for allegedly raping the three-year-old minor girl of his neighbour, the police said on Thursday.

The arrested individual has been identified as Darre a.k.a. Govind -- a resident of Madhya Pradesh.According to the police, the accused was on the run after committing the crime on January 12 this year.

The Gurugram Police also announced a Rs 5,000 reward for any information leading to his arrest. The victim minor girl's father, a labourer, had filed a complaint against the accused who was also his friend and a neighbour.

Govind had committed the crime when the girl's parents were not present at home.

"The accused after committing the crime left his native place on January 12 from there he left his village and walked around 400 km to Narsinghpur district in Madhya Pradesh to avoid police action and worked as a labourer," Priyunshu Dewaan, ACP (Badshahpur) said.

He was also booked in Faridabad for allegedly trying to kill his wife while two other cases were also registered against him in Madhya Pradesh.

A case of rape under relevant sections of the POCSO was registered against the accused at the Badshahpur police station in Gurugram.
DCP, SPs will be held responsible for crimes in their jurisdiction: Siddaramaiah. Image Source: IANS News

Bengaluru, Oct 6 : Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Thursday held talks with the Central inter-ministerial team that met him, and sought suitable measures in the interest of farmers of the state.

Explaining the drought situation in the state, the Chief Minister said that 195 taluks have been declared drought-prone.

"Farmers are suffering due to lack of rainfall in the state. Ninety per cent of the crop has been sown, of which over 42 lakh hectares have suffered crop damage. Farmers' fields are green but there is no yield," he told the team.

The CM said that the team must understand the situation during the tour, and convince the Central government about it so that the plight of the farmers in the state can be taken care of.

"There was scattered rain in the month of September. The monsoon is coming to an end. This has created fear of a shortage of drinking water and electricity," he said.

Due to lack of rain in Kodagu district, the water level in the K.R.S. dam is low. The state needs 33 TMC of water for drinking purposes.

"The number of small and medium farmers in the state has increased and their data has been collected in FRUITS portal. The crop survey has also been digitized and accurate information is made available. The crop loss compensation under prescribed NDRF guidelines is very low and needs to be increased," the CM said.

Siddaramaiah further said that additional compensation for crop loss is being given by the state.
New York, Oct 6 : An Indian-origin family of four has been found dead in New Jersey in what officials suspect to be a case of murder-suicide, police said.

Police in Plainsboro who went to their home on Wednesday evening responding to a request to check on their welfare found them dead, County Prosecutor Yolanda Ciccone said.

She identified the dead as Tej Pratap Singh, 43, Sonal Parihar, 42, their 10-year-old son and six-year-old daughter.

Ciccone did not say how the family died, but Daily Voice said that a spokesperson in her office ruled out shooting.

"This tragedy remains under investigation and autopsies are being performed today," she said on Thursday.

Plainsboro Mayor Peter Cantu said in a post on social media platform X, "What happened in our community is beyond comprehension."

"We are saddened by this tragic event," he added.

WABC TV reported that law enforcement sources, who were not identified, said that the man killed his family and then himself.

Family members, who gathered outside the home, told WCBS TV that the parents were a happy couple and could not believe what happened.

The station said that both worked in the information technology sector, one of them in human resources.
Colombo, Oct 6 : After requests by China in April, Sri Lanka has received more requests to export monkeys, Sri Lanka Agriculture Minister Mahinda Amaraweera told in the Parliament.

Amaraweera said that the same request that came from China in April had come again to export Toque macaque monkeys for the zoos of the respective countries.

"I inform them to make the requests through the relevant embassies of their countries," the Minister said responding to a question raised by the Opposition.

In April, a private firm in China had requested for 100,000 monkeys, a set of animals that had become a menace for the island's agricultural activities.

The Minister and the Sri Lanka government had agreed to the request but there was a strong opposition from the environmental and animal rights activists and it ended up in courts.

The government had agreed to export monkeys as a measure to control the damage caused to the crops which was estimated at Rs 20 billion (nearly $62 million) a year.

However, 30 parties, including animal and wildlife protection organisations, had complained to the Supreme Court against the government's decision to export monkeys.

The activists had feared that the monkeys would be used for meat while others claimed that monkeys would be used for medical research.

Amid the protests, in June the government dropped the idea to export monkeys to China.

Earlier in February,Amaraweera also had announced that there were six crop-ravaging animals namely peacocks, toque macaques, grizzled giant squirrels, porcupines and wild boars and they were removed from the list of protected animals in Sri Lanka meaning that they could be killed.


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SINGAPORE, Oct. 5 (Xinhua) -- Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong called for prioritizing cooperation and keeping open amid geopolitical tensions and protectionism to create a stable and prosperous future for Asian countries while addressing the Asia Future Summit here on Thursday.

Noting that Asia has been fortunate to enjoy a peaceful, stable and increasingly globalized environment during the past few decades, Lee warned that continuous peace and economic progress in Asia is far from guaranteed in a turbulent world.

Increasing geopolitical confrontation among major countries is the first challenge to worry Asian countries, he said.

The prime minister noted that most Asian partners want to be friends with both major countries, China and the United States, and will maximize the freedom of action to keep regional cooperation going and promote openness.

Lee encouraged Asian countries to build mutual trust and cooperate pragmatically for mutual benefit.

He also described the growing nationalism and protectionism as a major threat to Asia and called on relevant leaders to demonstrate statesmanship and resolve to focus on shared interests.

The summit was jointly held by flagship Singaporean media, The Straits Times, Lianhe Zaobao and The Business Times, on Wednesday and Thursday.

Speakers across the world shared their views on geopolitical hot spots, economic issues, and social governance during the event. 
Often seen as backward-looking and convention-bound, genre painting representing scenes of everyday life was central to the work of twentieth-century artists such as John Sloan, Norman Rockwell, Jacob Lawrence, and others, who adapted such subjects to an era of rapid urbanization, mass media, and modernist art.asks what their works do to the tradition of genre painting and whether it remains a meaningful category through which to understand them.

Working with and against the established narrative of American genre paintings late nineteenth-century decline into obsolescence, John Fagg explores how artists and illustrators used elements of the tradition to picture everyday life in a rapidly changing society, whether by appealing to its nostalgic and historical connotations or by updating it to address new formal and thematic concerns. Fagg argues that genre painting enabled twentieth-century artists to look slowly and carefully at scenes of everyday life and, on some occasions, to understand those scenes as sites of political oppression and resistance. But it also limited them to anachronistic ways of seeing and tied them to a freighted history of stereotyping and condescension.

By surveying genre painting when its status and relevance were uncertain and by looking at works that stretch and complicate its boundaries, this book considers what the form is and probes the wider practice of generic categorization. It will appeal to students and scholars of American art history, art criticism, and cultural studies.
Artemis Fowl creator Eoin Colfers new novel, Junipers Christmas (Roaring Brook, Oct.), blends adventure, humor, and holiday magic into a hopeful tale emphasizing the joy and purpose to be found in helping others. In that spirit, Macmillan Childrens Publishing Group is launching a charitable campaign celebrating the books release that provides kids with a hands-on opportunity to donate books to organizations that support unhoused families.

Each copy of Junipers Christmas contains a festive postcard created by MCPG junior designer Abby Granata, which readers can fill out, requesting that a book be donated to a child in need, in the senders name. Theres room for kids to add drawings or notes and the card is pre-addressed to Santas Helpers c/o Macmillan Publishers. For each postcard received, MCPG will donate one book to charities working with homeless families.

No book purchase is necessary to participate, however. To extend the initiatives reach, the publisher will also be distributing postcards to bookstores, libraries, and in-person events like this months New York Comic Con, where people can fill out cards and drop them in a specially designed on-site mailbox. Additionally, kids can fill out and submit digital versions of the postcard via a dedicated landing page. In all, MCPG will donate up to 10,000 books and will accept postcards through the end of 2024.

Truly, it was inspired by the text, said Jennifer Besser, president of MCPG, about the effort. We had been talking internally about wanting to do a charitable campaign, she said, and as I was editing the first-pass pages, I was struck by a line that comes at the end of the book. Without giving anything away in the story, Santa Claus decides that hes going to put a box on the Christmas letter that children can check that essentially says, This year I have everything I need. In lieu of a gift, Id like to make a donation to a child in need.  From there, Besser said, we started thinking about what we could do that really involves the child and gives the reader an opportunity to take action in some way. She credits Mariel Dawson, v-p of marketing at MCPG, with bringing the vision to life.

I think its amazing, Colfer said of the campaign. It is so touching to me because its so in line with my own philosophy. The expedient thing to do would be to say, we are giving all these books to charities that are associated with homelessness. But to get the kids involved, the readers, that is just as important. Once they do this, no one is going to be able to tell these kids, Oh, you know, those [homeless] kids, theyre bad, or theyre slackers, or they dont deserve a home. Because theyve been involved in it, theyre on the side of those kids now. And I think that is a very healthy, very positive and a very Christmassy thing to do. I couldnt be happier.

Spreading the Word

The decision to aid charities fighting homelessness in particular was also driven by Colfers text. In Junipers Christmas, 11-year-old Juniper enlists the help of mysterious handyman Niko (really a grieving, retired Nicholas Claus), who expertly crafts wooden shelters for the local parks unhoused residents, to help search for her missing mother.

The author found his initial inspiration for Juniper a while back, through his own charitable work and a previous theater project. About eight years ago, Colfer was commissioned to write the book for a Christmas musical. The production, Noel, made its debut at the National Opera House in Colfers native Ireland in December 2016 and toured the U.S. two years later. While writing that musical, I got involved with a homeless charity in Ireland and ended up doing quite a few events for them, he said. I was talking to them about their statistics and learned that one in four people who end up homeless are immigrants. So not only have they had to struggle their way across the Mediterranean or up through South America or across the Russian mountains, but then they end up in a new country, and they dont manage to get a home. And that really seemed so sad to me. I wanted to find a way to put that into a story.

Colfer channeled his feelings on these issues into Noel. When I finished with the musical, he added, I realized that I wasnt finished with the ideas and some of the characters. All this stuff was going around [in my head] and I wanted to package it in a Christmas story that was ultimately hopeful. And that was the trick: to try and include all this stuff, but also show how people are not defined by it, how they manage to get through it.

The plight of the unhoused in Ireland has become even more apparent recently, according to Colfer. We have an epidemic of child homelessness at the moment, where many kids are being forced to live in hotel rooms, when the whole family has been evicted, he said. Now there are a lot of kids who are spending Christmas Day in hotels. In that vein, he said, One of the other problems that Ive talked to people at Macmillan about is representation, he said. I think its good for kids who may be unhoused at the moment to see heroes in this story who are also unhoused. As I get older, Im trying to do things like that, rather than just farting dwarves.
Norwegian author and dramatist Jon Fosse has won the 2023 Nobel Prize in Literature for "his innovative plays and prose which give voice to the unsayable." He is the fourth Norwegian author to win the prize, following the novelist Sigrid Undset, who won in 1928.

Anders Olsson, chairman of the Nobel Committee at the Swedish Academy, the body that administers the prize, said of Fosse that, "in his radical reduction of language and dramatic action, he expresses the most powerful human emotions of anxiety and powerlessness in the simplest everyday terms. It is through this ability to evoke mans loss of orientation, and how this paradoxically can provide access to a deeper experience close to divinity, that he has come to be regarded as a major innovator in contemporary theater."

Fosse was born in 1959, in Haugesund, on Norway's west coast. "His immense uvre written in Nynorsk and spanning a variety of genres," Olsson said, "consists of a wealth of plays, novels, poetry collections, essays, childrens books and translations." Fosse's dramatic breakthrough, Olsson continued, came with Claude Regys 1999 Paris production of his 1996 play Nokon kjem til a komme (Someone Is Going to Come). He is one of Norway's most-performed dramatists.

Olsson noted that Fosse has referred, in his writing, to the works of Samuel Beckett, Thomas Bernhard, and Georg Trakl. "While Fosse shares the negative outlook of his predecessors, his particular gnostic vision cannot be said to result in a nihilistic contempt of the world," Olsson said. "Indeed, there is great warmth and humor in his work, and a naive vulnerability to his stark images of human experience."

Long primarily known as a playwright, Fosse has become more widely recognized for his prose over the past several years in the wake of the publication of Septology, which Fosse completed in 2021a work that has helped to increase his popularity among English-language readers. The 1250-page work, which Olsson called Fosse's "magnum opus," takes the form of a monologue in which an elderly artist speaks to himself from the perspective of another person. "The work progresses seemingly endlessly and without sentence breaks, but is formally held together by repetitions, recurring themes and a fixed time span of seven days," Olsson said. "Each of its parts opens with the same phrase and concludes with the same prayer to God."

Septologywhich comprises three volumes: The Other Name, I Is Another, and A New Nameis published in the U.S. by Transit Books, in a translation by longtime Fosse translator Damion Searls. A New Name was a finalist for International Booker Prize, National Book Award, and National Book Critics Circle Award. Combined, the four volumes have sold just over 6,500 copies to date at outlets that report to Circana BookScan.

Fosse's latest novel, A Shining, will be published in the U.S. by Transit on October 31, as will the paperback edition of the full volume of Septology. Transit copublisher Ashley Nelson Levy told PW in an email that any decisions on going back to press with new print runs of Fosse's books were yet to be decided.

"We couldn't be more thrilled for Fosse, whose work we admired long before we started publishing him," Nelson Levy wrote. "When Adam and I first read his masterwork, Septology, on submission, we both immediately felt that it was unlike anything we'd ever experienced, in its exploration of the human condition and the incantatory rhythm of its prose. We're also thrilled for his translator Damion Searls, who has brought his work to life so beautifully in English."

Fosse's previous novels, Aliss at the Fire, Morning and Evening, Melancholy I, and Melancholy II, were published in the U.S. by the Dalkey Archive, now an imprint of Deep Vellum Publishing. Will Evans, Deep Vellum publisher, offered his congratulations to Fosse and his translators, Searls and May-Brit Akerholt, adding: "It is a tremendous honor to publish so many diverse books through Fosse's remarkable career, and to carry forth the legacy forged at Dalkey Archive Press when Chad Post and John O'Brien signed on to publish Melancholy twenty years ago thanks to Damion Searls's translation submission. This prize is also a huge vindication for independent publishers, including our colleagues in publishing Fosse at Transit Books and Fitzcarraldo Editions, continuing to publish the world's most compelling literature, and to the independent bookstores who carry the torch for writers like Fosse, introducing the world to readers everywhere!"

In the U.K., Fosse is published by Fitzcarraldo Editions, making him the fourth Fitzcarraldo author in eight yearsafter Annie Ernaux (2022), Olga Tokarczuk (2018), and Svetlana Alexievich (2015)to win the Nobel.

"Everyone at Fitzcarraldo Editions is over the moon that Jon Fosse has won the Nobel Prize in Literature," Fitzcarraldo Editions publisher Jacques Testard told PW in an email. "He's an exceptional novelist, playwright, and poet, whose work is deeply rooted in the landscape of the Western Fjords in Norway, where he grew up. He writes about universal themeslove, death, friendship, griefin a prose style that is totally idiosyncratic, almost incantatory, deceptively simple but imbued with a remarkable depth of feeling. Reading him is a very powerful experience, both aesthetic and emotional, and I'm delighted that his work will now reach so many more readers."

Testard added that Fitzcarraldo will be reprinting all of its titles by Fosse, which include Septology, Melancholy III, Aliss at the Fire, and Scenes from a Childhood. In addition, the publisher has moved the planned November 1 publication date for A Shining forward for immediate release.

Fosse, who received the call from the Nobel Committee while driving along the Sognefjord in the Norwegian countryside, expressed his gratitude in a statement issued by his Norwegian publisher, Samlaget. "I am overwhelmed and grateful," he said. "I see this as an award to the literature that first and foremost aims to be literature, without other considerations."

Unlike last year, when Olsson held a public, livestreamed Q&A session following the announcement of the prize, this year he sat down one-on-one for a two-question interview with just one member of the press. That decision follows what was, last year, a rather rowdy Q&A session (at least for a major literary prize), during which reporters suggested that, in awarding French author Annie Ernaux, the Academy had once again shown a strong preference for European writers. Of the past 10 laureates, eight have been European, and two have been American; two of those laureates, Kazuo Ishiguro (2017) and Abdulrazak Gurnah (2021), are from the U.K., but were born in Japan and Tanzania, respectively.

This story has been updated with new information.
JERUSALEM, Oct. 5 (Xinhua) -- Israel and Azerbaijan have signed a cooperation agreement in the field of space, the Israel Space Agency (ISA) said in a statement on Thursday.

The agreement was signed on Wednesday evening by ISA Director General Uri Oron and Samaddin Asadov, chairman of Azerbaijan's space agency Azercosmos during the 74th International Astronautical Congress currently held in Azerbaijan's capital Baku.

The agreement is expected to lead to joint space projects, encompassing the development of space technologies, satellites, and space exploration systems, which include robotics, vehicles, and optical systems.

It also includes academic collaborations, Earth observation, education projects, and more, according to the Israeli statement. 
You will want to read these good stories that you may have missed.

The AP Newsroom (for AP members) and Purdue News YouTube channel (for all reporters) provide comments from Purdue experts on timely topics.

For the third year in a row, Purdue University is the only university Fast Company magazine has placed on its roster of Brands That Matter, an annual list honoring organizations for performing their brands mission and ideals with intention and authenticity. Purdue shares this space with brands like the NFL, Bombas and Rare Beauty and is one of only six three-time honorees.

Media contact: Christy McCarter, mccarter@purdue.edu

Any mission headed to space needs a parking spot at its destination. But these parking spots, regions located on orbits, are quickly becoming occupied or more vulnerable to collisions. Most objects launching to space are satellites, and about 10 times the number of satellites currently in space are expected to launch by 2030. With this density of satellites, something is going to fail and cause a collision. Its just a matter of probability, said David Arnas, an assistant professor of aeronautics and astronautics in Purdue Universitys College of Engineering.

Media contact: Kayla Albert, wiles5@purdue.edu

Purdue Universitys recently launched eXcellence in Manufacturing and Operations Purdue Engineering Initiative, or XMO PEI, is positioned to strengthen the U.S. advanced manufacturing industrys adaptability for the 21st century across multiple sectors, such as semiconductors, aerospace, defense, biomanufacturing for agriculture, and transportation. The XMO initiative is building a national coalition of academia, government and industry partners to meet at the intersection of physical, digital and sustainable manufacturing to achieve excellence at scale.

Media contact: Wes Mills, wemills@purdue.edu

Purdues Engineering Projects in Community Service (EPICS) program, an engineering-based design course centered around hands-on learning, professional development and community engagement, works with Indianapolis businesses and corporations to support student learning through mentoring and sponsorship. EPICS community partners within greater Indianapolis include The Childrens Museum of Indianapolis, Indiana School for the Deaf and Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum. Additional community partnerships in Indianapolis are already in the making and more are expected to develop as students at Purdue University in Indianapolis  Purdues first comprehensive urban campus  join the program.

Media contact: Derek Schultz, dcschultz@purdue.edu

Briony Horgan, a professor of planetary science in Purdue Universitys Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences, explains how geology could tell us what kind of climate existed on ancient Mars. While it is thought Mars was only cold and icy, carvings in its rock and soil point to an earlier time when the planet had a warm climate with rivers and even lakes. Samples collected by the Mars rover returning to Earth in the next decade will give greater insight into what the climate may have actually been like on Mars.

Media contact: Trevor Peters, peter237@purdue.edu

MORE: Recent AP video stories

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Improving employee buy-in for brands

About Purdue University

Purdue University is a public research institution with excellence at scale. Ranked among top 10 public universities and with two colleges in the top 4 in the United States, Purdue discovers and disseminates knowledge with a quality and at a scale second to none. More than 105,000 students study at Purdue across modalities and locations, with 50,000 in person on the West Lafayette campus. Committed to affordability and accessibility, Purdues main campus has frozen tuition 12 years in a row. See how Purdue never stops in the persistent pursuit of the next giant leap, including its first comprehensive urban campus in Indianapolis, the new Mitchell E. Daniels, Jr. School of Business, and Purdue Computes, at https://www.purdue.edu/president/strategic-initiatives.
DAMASCUS, Oct. 5 (Xinhua) -- A drone attack by rebels targeted a graduation ceremony at a military academy in Syria's central Homs province on Thursday, leaving a number of casualties, the Syrian army said in a statement. 
MANILA, Oct. 5 (Xinhua) -- The Asian Development Bank (ADB) on Thursday said it approved a policy-based loan of 300 million U.S. dollars to support the Philippine government in creating a stronger institutional and policy environment to help expand Filipinos' access to financial services.

The Manila-based bank said the ADB's Inclusive Finance Development Program, Subprogram 3, supports reforms to expand financial inclusion in the Philippines by improving the country's financial infrastructure, including widening the digital financing ecosystem.

"It also supports efforts to increase the capacity of financial service providers, including rural banks and nonbank financial institutions, to offer quality products and services accessible through various delivery channels," said the ADB.

According to the 2021 Global Findex Database, the number of Filipino adults holding an account with a financial institution or mobile money provider rose from 34 percent of the population in 2017 to 51 percent in 2021.

The government wants to raise the figure to 70 percent by 2024, aided by streamlined requirements with the Philippine Identification System (PhilSys), the bank said.

As of Sept. 1, 2023, the government has registered nearly 88 percent of the population under PhilSys after launching the program in 2020 amid the COVID-19 pandemic as part of efforts to widen financial inclusion in the Southeast Asian country.

"Through this loan, the ADB is expanding its partnership with the Philippines in ensuring all Filipinos will have access to financial products and services, including via digital platforms, to help improve their lives and livelihoods," said ADB Senior Financial Sector Specialist Kelly Hattel. 
The Asia Video Industry Association (AVIA) has hailed the power of premium streaming for advertisers in Indonesia after a study it commissioned showed that consumers believe the best content is on streaming services  and these are the stickiest video services.

Amongst Indonesian consumers generally, premium OTT is viewed as having the highest quality content.

75% of users of premium OTT services (such as Netflix, Vidio, Viu and WeTV) said streaming offers the best quality content, higher than users for any other category of video.

Of all 24 video platforms studied, five of the top seven services ranked as offering the highest quality content were premium OTT.

Usage of premium OTT is associated with the most positive emotions. When asked about feelings after watching an hour of different types of content, TV series and movies significantly outscored user- generated content and social media in eliciting happiness and amusement.

Consumers were asked what video services they would be prepared to give up first. Only one premium streaming service was included in the ten services that were most likely to be discarded first.

The four services most likely to be ditched first were all social media or UGC services.

AVIA is the trade association for the video industry and ecosystem in AsiaPacific and the study, conducted by Milieu Insight, covered 1,000 people representative of the adult population aged 16+ in Indonesia. It looked at video across social media, user-generated content (UGC), linear TV, messaging services and premium OTT.Key findings were:The premium OTT services covered in the study were: Disney+ Hotstar, HBO Go, iFlix, iQIYI, Metro TV Online, Netflix, RCTI+, TVRI Online, Vidio, Vision+, Viu and WeTV. Social media and video sharing services studied were Facebook, Instagram, Snackvideo, Snapchat, Telegram, TikTok, Twitch, Twitter, Vimeo, WhatsApp and YouTube.We believe the power and opportunity of premium OTT is hugely significant and offers a real and relatively untapped opportunity for advertisers in Indonesia, declares Louis Boswell, CEO, AVIA. The proven quality of the environment, the stickiness of the content and the positive emotions created by it are critical for advertisers, and this study clearly demonstrates that.Given the dominance and high penetration of UGC and social media video services in Indonesia, the fact that this smaller but growing category of video [premium OTT] performed so well is quite remarkable. We believe advertisers need to sit up and take note.The study is called Premium OTT: Building its Rightful Place in the Digital Market and is a follow-up to a study by the same name for the Singapore market that was released in September 2022.Magnite, PubMatic and The Trade Desk were thanked by AVIA for supporting the Indonesia research.Photo: AVIAs Indonesia in View 2023 event.




Sky Media can now harness granular details about peoples vehicles, from make and fuel type to MOT date, to improve AdSmart targeted advertising. This follows an exclusive partnership with the digital garage Regit, which is being described as a first for automotive. Sky Media can now harness granular details about peoples vehicles, from make and fuel type to MOT date, to improve AdSmart targeted advertising. This follows an exclusive partnership with the digital garage Regit, which is being described as a first for automotive.



Sky Media advertisers can now benefit from the insights contained in Regits first-party data (with all the usual privacy protections) in another example of how the company is taking television targeting to the next level. Sky Media recently announced its ability to use online search behaviour as a guide to interests and buying intent.



Sky Media is the advertising arm of Sky. Regit is described as the UKs leading digital garage, helping motorists buy, sell and maintain their vehicles online. Regit holds vast amounts of data relating to its users vehicles, such as model, age and length of ownership, plus information related to aftersales such as service, tax and insurance expiry.



The data can be matched to AdSmarts household data so that automotive advertisers can better target potential customers, whether they are selling new and used cars or aftersales essentials like finance, insurance and accessories, etc.



Regit already has millions of digital garage users and this is viewed as robust first-party data that is verified and up-to-date. That data will be available to Sky in real-time for addressable audience decisioning.



Sky explains: This [partnership] opens up an exciting range of targeting capabilities when also combined with our existing detailed geographic and lifestyle data. For example, a car brand looking for potential electric/hybrid or cleaner petrol/diesel customers could specifically target drivers of non-compliant cars in Londons ULEZ zone or other Clean Air Zones across the UK.



Advertisers will also be able to match against their own customer data, by sharing data securely with Sky Media.



There is a second element to this partnership, as the Regit brand itself is going to be built further via TV advertising. That will expand the user base and so the scale of its first-party data (so further benefiting Skys ability to deliver targeted ads for automotive partners).



Karin Seymour, Director of Client and Marketing at Sky Media says: Sky is in a truly unique position, with millions of engaged customers and a direct connection into their front rooms and favourite shows. By combining Regits extensive data with Skys, advertisers will be able to better connect with more relevant and in-market audiences for improved campaign results.



Chris Ashton Green, CEO and Founder at Regit adds: Regit exists to make things easy for the motorist and by building a technology platform that enables them to take every management action related to their car or van. Weve been able to generate hundreds of data points on each vehicle meaning that, for the first time, automotive partners can be extremely targeted when it comes to placing TV ads through Sky Media.



Weve already provided Sky Media with its biggest ever data match, and our own ambitious plans to scale, coupled with what we can achieve by working with Sky, means were collectively very excited about where this partnership will go as it reshapes the way TV advertising works in automotive.
Washingtons revolving door is getting a fresh green paint job: Federal architects of a controversial new rule requiring businesses to measure their carbon footprints throughout their supply chains have joined a start-up company poised to reap millions by performing those calculations.

The federal revolving door lately swings from the SEC ...

At least three ranking Securities and Exchange Commission officials have joined Persefoni, a company formed in 2020 for the purpose of measuring such footprints of large business enterprises.

Documents show that the SEC relied on input from the for-profit company to draft the proposed rule. Some critics argue that the estimates from Persefoni low-balled the price tags unrealistically for such accounting to make them more politically palatable.

Persefoni, billing itself as The Platform for Carbon Accounting  Built For Climate Disclosure, and similar outfits are emerging as their own service industry as they stand to profit from the new rule, since most companies do not have the staff or expertise to calculate their carbon footprints.

... to this carbon footprint calculator.

While environmentalists have hailed the rule as an important step in forcing companies to grapple with their impact on the climate by exposing it to the public, critics argue that it goes far beyond the SECs core mission of protecting investors. In voting against a draft of the proposal, SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce, a Trump appointee, said it forces investors to view companies through the eyes of a vocal set of stakeholders  as opposed to traditional shareholders  for whom a companys climate reputation is of equal or greater importance than a companys financial performance.

The SEC and Persefoni each declined to comment for this article.

Persefoni appears to have had great influence over the proposed rule. Public records from the SEC show the commission held six meetings with representatives from Persefoni and Ceres  a prominent investor advocacy group that supports such climate disclosure  from September 2021 to June 2022. These include:

Meetings on Sept. 14, Nov. 23, and Nov. 30 between Persefoni and the SEC office of the chair, Gary Gensler;

Meetings on March 28 and April 5 between Ceres and the Office of Commissioner Allison Herren Lee;

And one joint meeting involving Persefoni, Ceres, and ERM with the SECs Division of Economic and Risk Analysis, the Division of Corporation Finance, and the Office of the Chief Accountant.

Allison Herren Lee: She stepped down as SEC chair just before the commission unveiled its proposed climate rule -- and soon she joined Persefoni.

Lee, a Democrat who joined the SEC as a staff attorney in 2005, was appointed by President Trump as one of the SECs five commissioners in 2019  filling a Democratic vacancy on the commission, which was structured to be nonpartisan. President Biden named her as acting chair in 2021, and she took charge of the public comment period for the proposed rule.

Lee stepped down on March 15, 2022, just six days before the commission unveiled its proposed climate rule. In May 2023, she joined Persefoni as a member of the firms sustainability advisory board.

At Persefoni, she reunited with Kristina Wyatt, who joined the companys board in March 2022. Previously, Wyatt had served the SEC as senior counsel for climate and environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG). In this capacity, she worked directly on developing the proposed rule. Wyatt was also listed as the direct contact when the commission circulated a request for information from the public regarding climate-change disclosures.

Kristina Wyatt: The SEC senior counsel worked directly on the proposed rule. And soon she was at Persefoni.

In December 2022, Persefoni hired another SEC alum, Emily Pierce, to serve as associate general counsel and vice president of global regulatory climate disclosure.

By all accounts, the SEC leaned heavily on Persefonis cost-benefit analysis of the pending rule, which essentially establishes a parallel disclosure regime for the SEC  all in the name of mitigating climate change.

The SEC proposal has many parts, but the most controversial and cumbersome involves the requirement that larger companies must provide soup-to-nuts calculations of their carbon emissions, including those from thousands of their suppliers operating across hundreds of countries.

Emily Pierce: Another SEC alum, she's now featured on Persefoni's website

As RealClearInvestigations has previously reported, to come up with numbers for Cocoa Puffs cereal, General Mills might have to calculate the emissions from cocoa farms in Africa, corn fields in the U.S., or sugar plantations in Latin America. Then thousands of processors, transporters, packagers, distributors, office workers, and retailers join the supply chain before a kid in Minnesota, where General Mills is based, pours the cereal into a bowl.

Since most of the emissions that must be measured are not directly generated by the companies, the calculations amount to a herculean task. This is where an outfit like Persefoni comes in.

When the commission first published its proposal in March 2022, it provided corporate compliance cost estimates that ranged from $460,000 to $640,000 during the first year. Accurate estimates are crucial for companies to determine if they are equipped to comply. But there is considerable doubt on that front.

Persefoni stands out as the only source that provides any estimate anywhere close to the SECs $640,000 figure, for which the commission does not provide any citations or methodologies to show how it arrived at its estimates. Persefoni is cited within the proposal nine times, but the firm is not cited in connection with the SECs stated ranges for compliance costs on page 373. In fact, no source is cited or linked as a resource for the SECs figures.

Bonner Cohen: The collusion between the SEC and a select group of outside parties gives new meaning to the term climate cartel."

Rupert Darwall, an author and energy policy analyst affiliated with the libertarian Competitive Enterprise Institute and a senior fellow at the RealClearFoundation, has been critical of what he views as a lack of transparency and accountability on the part of the SEC, which gives cover to outside partners that stand to gain once the rule takes effect.

Persefoni has a glaring conflict of interest in low-balling cost of compliance estimates to the SEC, which the SEC should have disclosed and been mindful of. Instead, the SEC put undue weight on these implausibly low estimates, Darwall said. Estimates of indirect emissions across supply chains are especially risky for filers as theres no limiting principle and, contrary to longstanding accounting principles, multiple companies account for the same emission. Darwall also makes the point that Persefonis low-cost estimates are at odds of what its been telling investors about the revenues it projects from the rule.

In early 2022, the carbon accounting firm partnered with the environmental activist group Ceres to commission from consulting firm ERM a compliance cost study, which was published in May 2022. This is where Persefoni produced estimates in line with the SECs $640,000 figure. That same month, Persefoni submitted a comment letter in response to the SEC proposal, which included its joint study with Ceres.

Although the letter is dated May 20, 2022, the SEC did not publish it until the final week of the comment period ending June 17, 2022, curtailing the period for public scrutiny of the Persefoni estimates.

With Persefonis letter intermixed with roughly 1,140 other comments, some saw this as an effort to bury the firms relationship with the SEC.

One critic is Bonner Cohen, a senior fellow with the National Center for Public Policy Research in Washington, D.C.

The collusion between the SEC and a select group of outside parties gives new meaning to the term climate cartel, Cohen said in an interview. Not only is there a hand-in-glove relationship between the SEC and outfits like Persefoni, Ceres, and ERM that stand to benefit financially from the climate disclosure rule the agency is set to release. They also appear to have had a hand in drafting that rule. The SEC and its cronies are so closely entangled that they are effectively acting as one.

Knowing Which Way the Windfall Blows

While the SEC and Persefoni would not comment for this article, Steven Rothstein, managing director of the Ceres Accelerator for Sustainable Capital Markets, told RCI that there is not any conflict of interest at work. He pointed out that Ceres has been advocating for a climate disclosure rule with the SEC for the past two decades.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission received 15,000 public comments around this rule, Rothstein said in an email. Among the most comments than any in the SECs 90-year history. Everyone has a vested interest in the future of their investments and retirement savings. The comments will make the final rule stronger and more robust. The investment community is overwhelmingly supportive of more climate information as a way to reduce material financial risk.

There's going to be big business in green bean-counting, many expect.

Persefoni executives have not been reticent to discuss the windfall they expect to experience if the rule is finalized. Speaking to CNBC in March 2022, Kentaro Kawamori, the firms CEO, discussed the advantages that would likely accrue from having a software platform that enables companies to analyze, manage, and account for their carbon footprint. Kawamori draws a comparison with Salesforce, the cloud-based software company headquartered in San Francisco.

Tim Mohin: Persefoni is the TurboTax of greenhouse gas reporting.

Youre going to have a Salesforce-type of success, he said. Just like Salesforce created the system of record for the customer record, companies like us  you will have one or two big winners  will create a system of record for the carbon accounting piece.

Persefonis Chief Sustainability Officer, Tim Mohin, went even further, telling Politico that larger companies will almost certainly need outside help to comply. Really they have a very short runway to get their act together, he said. Weve gotten lots of calls from these large companies saying, Tell us about what you do and how we can work with you.

Mohin went on to describe Persefoni as the TurboTax of greenhouse gas reporting.

As it stands, Persefoni is already doing pretty well. On Oct. 28, 2021, Persefoni announced a $101 million raise in its Series B financing round with its long-time investor, NGP Energy Technology Partners, returning to participate. But the oversized influence Persefoni apparently has been exerting within the SEC is beginning to attract congressional interest.

In June, House Oversight Committee Chair James Comer (R-K.Y.) and Senate Banking Committee ranking member Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) sent a joint letter to the SEC requesting documents and information, including all nonpublic records referring or relating to the climate consultancy, climate accounting, or sustainability-related organizations Persefoni, Ceres, ERM, or South Pole since January 20, 2021.

As for the rule itself, Cohen, the policy analyst with the National Center, sees an effort by the SEC and its climate-cartel cronies to fashion a climate accounting standard to fit the inherently amorphous notion of a carbon footprint.

He continued: Companies will have to disclose their climate impacts in accordance with the SECs purely arbitrary requirements. The arrangement will put more power into the hands of the SEC, enrich the likes of Persefoni, and condemn regulated businesses to climate serfdom.
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HOUSTON, Oct. 4 (Xinhua) -- Facing the fresh surge of migrants influx, the White House has waived 26 federal laws to allow border wall construction in Starr County, southern Texas, U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said on Wednesday.

It marks a U-turn of the Biden administration since building the border wall was a signature promise by former President Donald Trump in his 2016 campaign and has been fiercely criticized by the Democrats since then. President Joe Biden halted the construction during his first week in the White House in Jan. 2021.

"There is presently an acute and immediate need to construct physical barriers and roads in the vicinity of the border of the United States in order to prevent unlawful entries into the United States in the project areas," DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said in a notice posted on the U.S. Federal Register, an office that prepares and publishes a wide variety of public documents.

Mayorkas said he is using his authority provided by Congress to waive these laws, including the Clean Air Act, Safe Drinking Water Act and Endangered Species Act.

The waivers avoid time-consuming reviews and lawsuits challenging violation of environmental laws, making way for using funds from a related congressional appropriation in 2019 to build up the border wall in Starr County in the Rio Grande Valley Sector.

The piecemeal construction will add up to an additional 20 miles (about 32 km) to the existing border barrier system in the area, local media reported.

There is a "high illegal entry" in the county, with more than 245,000 migrant encounters recorded in the region during the current fiscal year, latest government data showed.

"After years of denying that a border wall and other physical barriers are effective, the DHS announcement represents a sea change in the administration's thinking: A secure wall is an effective tool for maintaining control of our borders," Dan Stein, chief of the Federation for American Immigration Reform, said in a statement.

U.S. Representative Henry Cuellar, a Texan Democrat, voiced his different opinion regarding the renewed wall-building effort in a statement.

"A border wall is a 14th century solution to a 21st century problem. It will not bolster border security in Starr County," he said.

Some environmental advocates expressed concern that the construction will run through public lands, habitats of endangered plants and species like the Ocelot, a spotted wild cat.

During the Trump administration, about 450 miles (724 km) of barriers were built along the southwest U.S.-Mexico border between 2017 and January 2021.

There were more than 260,000 encounters at the southern U.S. border in September, which would be the highest monthly total on record, according to a Fox News report, citing Customs and Border Protection sources. 
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'We are working with a few housing finance companies to drive affordable lending because that's where we believe our sweet spot is.'

Indian Mortgage Guarantee Company (IMGC), the country's only mortgage guarantee firm, aims to ramp up its portfolio five-fold to Rs 1 trillion over five-six years.

Mahesh Misra, managing director and chief executive officer of IMGC, spoke with Raghu Mohan/Business Standard on the plot ahead.

What do you think will be the impact of the HDFC twins on the home loan business?

HDFC Bank has a very ambitious DNA; we expect this to translate into a higher appetite for market share.

The race for the top spot between the State Bank of India (SBI) and HDFC Bank will hot up, but what this will also mean is that banks will have a disproportionate share of the mortgage industry, and 70-75 per cent of the home loan originations will be with them.

As most banks typically tend to focus on the top-tier cities and on loans greater than Rs 25 lakh, housing finance companies (HFCs), especially those into affordable housing, will play a very critical role.

I believe that for affordable-housing focus to sharpen, it's imperative that some of the HFCs quickly build scale.

The key will be HFCs backed by large industrial houses - access to capital along with the parent company's rating is an added advantage as they will be able to borrow cheaply.

So, what we will need is a couple of HFCs to build scale and quickly weave their way into the top slots.

What stopped HFCs from scaling up?

If you look at the scenario, say five years ago, HDFC, LIC Housing, the erstwhile DH&FL, Indiabulls, and PNB Housing Finance were originating upwards of Rs 1,000 crore a month.

What happened was that those with access to low cost of funds - and with the liquidity challenges that came after Covid - the larger players got a disproportionate advantage.

It's imperative for HFCs to build scale.

Even in the case of DH&FL, the retail book was not really troublesome.

HFCs have demonstrated that it's possible to build a large book along with affordable lending even in the aftermath of Covid.

The point is, the self-employed are facing a struggle; and if you look at the large players, the proportion of salaried borrowers in their origination mix is very high.

HFCs having reasonable access to capital should be demonstrating ambition to build scale.

We also believe that once the securitisation committee's recommendations, and a couple of other initiatives, [come in] it will help the smaller HFCs operate with greater ease.

Can you give us a sense of your ambitions in the mortgage guarantee business?

We have guaranteed about Rs 20,000 crore and expect to grow 40-50 per cent over the next 3-4 years after which our growth could taper off, to say, 20-25 per cent.

Our ticket-size was Rs 26 lakh four years back; it's now at Rs 19 lakh.

We have a partnership with SBI and are in advanced discussions with three other state-run banks (LIC Housing is our largest lending partner).

At the same time, we are also working with a few housing finance companies to drive affordable lending because that's where we believe our sweet spot is.

I think a portfolio of Rs 1 trillion is where we will get to over the next 5-6 years.

We want to play a significant role in the growth of housing finance as a contributor to the economy.

Nearly half of the housing finance originations happen in the top five-six cities.

Most of the innovation has happened in unsecured lending.

Secured lending practices still remain fairly archaic.

Given the number of people for whom a housing loan is their first entry into the financial system, we are on the verge of rolling out a score drawing upon our experience with nearly 23 lending partners.

We have the unique experience of access to claims data. We are piloting a score which will be largely for new-to-credit customers.

And how does this compare with the initiatives in other countries?

In Canada and the United States, mortgage guarantee is compulsory.

In India, it's not so because our loan-to-value ratios tend to be lower; and the borrowers' approach to a housing loan is different, as in, its repayment is probably next only to school fees in the hierarchy of repayments.

It (mortgage guarantee) is a great enhancement substitute in securitisation.

That's because many such transactions require the originator to keep a cash collateral, and a guarantee acts as a substitute.

But more and more lenders are seeing the value of expanding the risk box with a guarantee.

With the expected-credit-loss model, it will help as our guarantee covers their entire exposure.

We have paid every single claim that has come so far; our credibility is well established.

Feature Presentation: Aslam Hunani/Rediff.com
The broking industrys pecking order is set to change with Groww, a fin-tech startup from Bengaluru, poised to topple the industrys poster boy, Zerodha, as the leading brokerage in the number of active investors.

Image used for representative purpose only. Photograph: Arko Datta/Reuters

According to data provided by the portal Topsharebrokers.com, Zerodha has 6.32 million active investors, while Groww is at 5.99 million.

It is projected that Groww, which has grown at a much faster clip over the past two years, will surpass Zerodha this month, or next month.

Interestingly, at the end of March 2021, Zerodhas investor base was nearly 5x that of Groww.

In FY22  a blockbuster year for the broking industry  Growws user base quadrupled to 3.84 million, while Zerodha, on a significantly higher base, posted 74 per cent growth in its active user base to 6.3 million.

The total number of demat accounts for the broking industry grew 90 per cent to 90 million in FY22. Since FY22, while Zerodhas growth has remained flat, Groww has seen its user base increase by another 55 per cent.

So has Zerodha lost its mojo or is it a deliberate pivot? Possibly the latter.

In an interview to Business Standard in June 2021, Zerodha CEO Nithin Kamath had indicated that the brokerage does not want to aggressively take more investors on board.

As an ideology, we dont offer any cashback or free stuff.

"Trading is serious business and cashback isnt something that should lure people into trading or investing, he had said.

If we had to let go of our account opening fee or offered some cashback, we potentially could have grabbed a much bigger market share.

"But the crowd that is not serious brings in a lot of burden in terms of compliance and support, he had added.

Industry experts say it is profitable for a brokerage to have fewer investors who trade daily than having a large number of investors who trade once in a while.

Exchanges define an active investor as someone who trades at least once a year.

However, amid a boom in direct investing, most brokerages have taken an aggressive approach when it comes to onboarding more investors.

As a result, many investors now have multiple demat and trading accounts with various brokerages.

At the end of August, the total number of demat accounts in the country stood at nearly 127 million.

However, NSE active client data shows only 30 million Indians trade at least once a year on the exchange.

Furthermore, less than half a million investors traded only once a year in the derivatives segment last year.

Therefore, while the demat tally is approaching a tenth of India's population, the number of 'active' investors are just a small fraction and the user base that accounts for bulk of the revenue is an even tinnier fraction.

Nevertheless, it is not uncommon for the broking industry to dole out Amazon gift vouchers, trading credits and bundled offerings to attract new investors.

Besides, several players run referral programmes to incentivise existing investors to get new investors.

During the account opening boom of 2021-22, many brokerages spent up to Rs 2,000 to onboard new investors.

The euphoria has died down as private equity funds have become difficult to come by, growth rates have rationalised and brokerages have started to focus on their bottom line.

All along, Zerodha was seen refraining from such aggressive strategies.

This was largely because it had an early-mover advantage and had already built a roster of sticky investors.

We continue to be the only broker in the country to charge an account opening fee

"Collecting an account opening fee right at the start also, in a way, helps set this expectation with a potential customer, filtering out users who may not be serious about trading or investing with us, said a blogpost by the company tiled 13 years of Zerodha on Tuesday.

This has helped the company make eye-catching profits. In FY22, the Bengaluru-based bootstrapped firm logged a net profit of Rs 2,096 crore on sales of Rs 4,964 crore, according to Capitaline, a companies database.

Its FY23 profit was in upwards of Rs 2,907 crore on sales of over Rs 6,875 crore.

Zerodhas margins (PBT/revenue) if one excludes the pass-through exchange transaction charges are a staggering 70 per cent.

By comparison, Groww had losses swelled from Rs 78 crore in FY21 to Rs 239 crore in FY22, according to a report on Entrackr.

The report says its operative revenue rose 12 times to Rs 351 crore in FY22.

This indicates that the aggressive growth in its user base has come at a cost.

Experts said that while many brokerages have taken on a large user base, many of these accounts are dormant.

One cannot grow by just doling out sops.

"To break even, you need investors to be very active, particularly since trading charges are at rock bottom, said the chief executive officer of a brokerage who did not wish to be named.

According to Growws website, for the brokerage, trading and demat opening and maintenance charges remain zero.

Zerodha, on the other hand, charges Rs 200 for online account opening.

It also charges for value-added services. The charges for intraday and futures and options (F&O) trades for both the players are largely similar at Rs 20 per executed order.
Keen to capitalise on the growing geopolitical support from African nations after the recently concluded G20 Summit, India is working with the African Union to hold the fourth India-Africa Forum Summit later this year in Kenyas Nairobi, sources said.

Photograph: Tiksa Negeri/Reuters

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to attend the mega meet along with as many as 50 African leaders, they added.

First held in New Delhi in 2008, the India-Africa Forum Summit marked Indias initial diplomatic efforts to seek a comprehensive partnership with the African bloc of nations as a whole, at a time when China had begun its own outreach.

Subsequently, the second and third summits were held in the Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa in 2011 and New Delhi in 2015.

But despite a plan to hold it every three years, the summit has been postponed since then owing to the Covid pandemic, among other reasons.

The upcoming summit will be held in late November or early December, the sources said.

There had been an expectation that the fourth summit would be held during Indias presidency of the G20 when engagements between Africa and India reached unprecedented levels.

"A summit would showcase the diverse and strong ties that have grown between both the powers in the past eight years, a senior diplomat from an African embassy posted in New Delhi said.

In January, India virtually held the Voice of the Global South summit, which was attended by 47 of the 54 African nations.

Their recommendations were adapted into Indias official G20 agenda. Subsequently, a sustained push by India saw the African Union being inducted as a permanent G20 member.

Before this, only one country, South Africa, from the entire African continent had been part of the G20.

Trade and infra ties

The government is working on initiatives aiming to deepen economic relations and infrastructure ties between India and Africa, which may be announced at the summit, an official said.

While Africa is a huge market encompassing a $3 trillion economy and 1.3 billion people, internal trade between African economies remains much lower than their trade with external partners.

Meanwhile, its trade with China has massively increased to make Beijing Africas second-largest trading partner overall, after the European Union.

New Delhi hopes to change that by pitching India as an alternative source for many product categories, which are located geographically closer.

As of 2022, India was the third-largest trading partner for Africa, accounting for 7 per cent of exports ($32.3 billion) and 5 per cent of imports ($28 billion), a paper by the International Monetary Fund showed in May.

The Exim Bank, which provides export financing and government-directed lending to other countries, is already supporting over 300 small Indian companies to expand business in Africa.

With nearly $75 billion of investments by Indian companies, India is among the top five investors in Africa.

The official G20 dialogue forum with the global business community, the Business20 (B20), had extensively worked on African economic integration under Indias G20 presidency.

The subject has evinced special interest from the prime minister since it is an area where he wants to leave a legacy, Bharti Airtel chairman Sunil Bharti Mittal, who headed the B20 council, had earlier told Business Standard.

Sources said B20 suggestions in this regard would be discussed at the upcoming summit and efforts made to deploy Indian solutions to key socio-economic challenges, wherever necessary.

The recommendations include quickly establishing Africas digital and physical infrastructure based on Indias Jan Dhan-Aadhar Mobile trinity of technologies, developing African food systems, and easing in logistics and trade barriers.

The India-Africa Forum Summit will also discuss how to better channel investments by Indian infrastructure companies into the continent, which has a massive funding deficit in the infrastructure space.

Ties in focus
The creditors of the grounded carrier Jet Airways on Wednesday raised questions over the source of Rs 200 crore deposited by the Jalan-Kalrock Consortium before the insolvency appellate tribunal NCLAT and said it does not align with the resolution plan.

Photograph: Amit Dave/Reuters

Additional Solicitor General N Venkataraman, representing lenders including SBI and other banks, told the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) that there are apprehensions about the source of funds, which deposited money for Jalan-Kalrock Consortium's (JKC).

"The payment is not compliant with the resolution plan as it mandates that the money is to be paid through JKC," ASG submitted before a three-member NCLAT bench headed by chairperson Justice Ashok Bhushan.

He also alleged that there are apprehensions the money could have been laundered.

The lenders sought some time to file a reply over the JKC's compliance affidavit, which was accepted by the appellate tribunal.

Meanwhile, senior advocate Krishnendu Datta, representing the consortium, said only a part of the money came from another source while the majority of the amount was paid by Murari Lal Jalan.

He further alleged, "Lenders are objecting to every move since they do not want to transfer Jet's ownership."

NCLAT has directed listing the matter for the next hearing on October 12.

JKC, the winning bidder for the airline, which stopped flying in April 2019 and later underwent an insolvency resolution process, had to pay Rs 350 crore to the lenders by August 31.

Earlier on August 28, NCLAT had extended the time till September 30 for Jalan-Kalrock Consortium for payment of Rs 350 crore to the lenders of the bankrupt Jet Airways.

It had accepted the plea of the consortium to extend the timeline and also for adjustment of Rs 150 crore from the performance bank guarantee (PBG) towards payment of Rs 350 crore.

The consortium has submitted an undertaking before the appellate tribunal, in which it had committed to pay Rs 100 crore by August 31, 2023 and another Rs 100 crore by September 30, 2023.

The consortium on September 29 in a statement had said it had fulfilled its total financial commitment of Rs 350 crore equity as per the court-approved resolution plan.
Akasa Air has reduced its service on 10 routes and stopped operating flights on eight others since the exodus of pilots began in early July.

Photograph: Kind courtesy Akasa Air/Facebook

The airlines flights per week reduced from 945 in June to 754 in October, according to aviation analytics firm Ciriums data, which has been reviewed by Business Standard.

The airline currently operates flights on 34 routes. Between June and October, Akasa Air ceased operations on the following: Ahmedabad-Kochi, Ahmedabad-Hyderabad, Ahmedabad-Pune, Bengaluru-Hyderabad, Bengaluru-Chennai, Kochi-Hyderabad, Goa-Lucknow, and Goa-Hyderabad.

Between July and September, 43 pilots left the airline to join competing carriers without fulfilling their mandatory notice periods, which can range from six months to one year.

The airline has initiated legal action in the Bombay high court against five of the 43, seeking substantial compensation.

An Akasa Air spokesperson told Business Standard in the past thirty days, the airline had rationalised its network (deployed capacity) to ensure that it offered its customers the highest levels of operational reliability.

Our commitment to be reliable remains sacrosanct -- this means that we have chosen to fly less and in the short term offer a more reliable network to our customers.

"These are only short-term constraints, the spokesperson added.

The airline currently has a fleet of 30 planes, all B737 Max aircraft.

Between June and October, the airline has significantly reduced flights on 10 routes including Delhi-Hyderabad, Goa-Bengaluru, Kochi-Bengaluru, Ahmedabad-Bengaluru, and Mumbai-Kochi, according to the Cirium data.

On the Goa-Bengaluru route, the airline had scheduled about 45 flights per week in June, and those were reduced to 12 per week in October.

The spokesperson told Business Standard the shortage of pilots was an issue the airline industry had faced for decades.

As a team of planners, we are prepared for unforeseen circumstances and have contingency management strategies in place.

"In that regard, we have a 10-year plan that covers pilot recruitment, training, and career upgrades.

"As of today we have enough pilots at various phases of their training to fly over 30 aircraft, the spokesperson added.

The Delhi high court had last month addressed a petition filed by Akasa Air, affirming that the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) possessed the authority to take action against pilots who did not adhere to its regulations concerning mandatory notice periods.

Throughout the proceedings of this case, the DGCA conveyed its limitations, citing that these regulations had faced legal challenges from pilot unions in a separate court case.

The spokesperson said the airline was poised to take delivery of additional aircraft from Boeing in the remainder of 2023-24 and expand its domestic and international footprint.

We also remain on track to announce a three-digit aircraft order before the end of the year, the spokesperson noted.
LHASA, Oct. 5 (Xinhua) -- The Third China Xizang Trans-Himalaya Forum for International Cooperation released the Nyingchi Initiative in the southwestern Chinese city of Nyingchi on Thursday in a bid to deepen international cooperation in the trans-Himalaya region.

Around the theme of "promoting the harmony of humans and nature, sharing the fruits of cooperation and development," participating parties have had an in-depth exchange of views on eco-environment, development cooperation and people-to-people exchanges, and reached broad consensus, said the document.

In the initiative, China has proposed to deepen international ecological cooperation and promote harmony between humans and nature; strengthen international development cooperation and share the outcomes of the development; promote people-to-people and cultural dialogue and exchanges and safeguard the diversity of world civilizations; and maintain international peace and security and improve the global governance system.

The trans-Himalayan region is characterized by a large population, diverse civilizations and substantial ecological diversity, and its development is crucial to the common well-being of people all over the world, the initiative noted. 
The Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) is considering a regulatory framework for large unlisted companies that may have systemic implications, a top government official said.

The ministry is of the opinion that there is a need for a rigorous regime for large unlisted companies, in contrast with the current light-touch regulation.

There is a defined regime for listed companies, by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi).

"There is a view in the ministry that it needs to look at a framework for large unlisted companies, the senior official said.

These regulations are expected to be part of deliberations of the Company Law Committee, the senior official added.

The tenure of this committee was recently extended by a year until September 16, 2024.

We are mindful that smaller companies should have low compliance burden, but there are several unlisted companies that are relatively large and can have implications on the overall ecosystem, the senior official said.

The Companies (Amendment) Act, 2020, provided for the preparation of financial results of prescribed classes of unlisted companies periodically, but the same was not notified by the MCA.

While discussions on what should be the criteria to define large unlisted companies have been ongoing, the issue has gained significance amid recent suspected incidents of corporate governance lapses in startups, including edtech major Byjus.

The MCA a few months ago ordered an inspection of Byjus books, following reports of the resignation of its auditor Deloitte Haskins & Sells and three of the companys board members.

The Companies Amendment Bill is currently going through inter-ministerial consultations.

The ministry is keen to introduce the Bill in the Winter session of Parliament.

The Company Law Committee has suggested several changes to the existing law, including more exhaustive norms for the resignation of auditors.

The senior official quoted above said that the government would study whether some of these recommendations could be incorporated via changes in regulations, without changing the law.

Borrowing the provisions from the UK Company Act 2006, the committee recommended: The auditor shall be under an explicit obligation to make detailed disclosures before resignation and should specifically mention whether such resignation is due to non-cooperation from the auditee company, fraud or severe non-compliance, or diversion of funds.

The committee chaired by secretary, MCA, will deliberate on further changes that need to be made to the company law.

The committee was formed as part of the government's objective of promoting ease of living in the country by providing ease of doing business to law-abiding corporations, fostering improved corporate compliance for stakeholders at large, and addressing emerging issues having an impact on the working of companies in the country.
The recovering valuations, will lead to enhanced optimism among investors about funding startups.

After a string of valuation markdowns among Indian startups earlier this year, US-based investor Fidelity, last month, became the first foreign investor to mark up the valuation of a startup.

The firm increased the face value of its investment in e-commerce firm Meesho in its books by 14.3 per cent to $43.24 million as of July, bringing the company's valuation to around $5.04 billion.

A few days before that, US-headquartered asset management firm Baron Capital marked up the value of its stake in food delivery platform Swiggy by 33.9 per cent from 31 March to $8.54 billion.

It had also raised the value of its investment in another of its portfolio companies, Pine Labs, a fintech platform, to $4.92 billion as of 30 June, up 10 per cent from a quarter ago.

The mark-ups, coupled with a few big-ticket fundraises recently - including Zepto and Perfios, among others, have sent a cheer across the Indian startup ecosystem.

But are the tides finally turning for India's startups?

"The mark-ups will continue as the positive macro factors overlap with the opportunities available for startups," says Ninad Karpe, Founder and Partner, 100X.VC - an early-stage investment firm.

The recovering valuations, he says, will lead to enhanced optimism among investors about funding startups.

"More money flow will fund an increasing number of startups and lead to a cascading positive impact," Karpe adds.

What is driving the mark-ups?

But what is fuelling these mark-ups? Profitability and improved unit economics are the only answers.

"Path to profitability is giving confidence to investors on the sustainability of startups and is one of the main reasons, in addition to macroeconomic factors, that is driving mark-ups," says Sandeep Patil, Partner, Head of Asia, QED Investors - a global fintech-focused venture capital (VC) firm.

Meesho, in July, became the first horizontal e-commerce marketplace in India to turn profitable at the consolidated profit after tax (PAT) level.

Dhiresh Bansal, the company's chief financial officer, attributed the milestone to a sharp increase in the company's order volumes - which grew 43 per cent - and revenues - which surged 54 per cent, coupled with various cost-cutting measures.

Bansal said revenue grew by 54 per cent over the past 12 months, propelled by a substantial increase in order volumes and monetisation rate.

"Meesho recorded $400 million in revenue from January to June 2023," said Bansal.

Meesho is, however, not the only one cutting costs.

Since the beginning of this year, Swiggy has undergone retrenchments by way of 380 layoffs from its 6,000-strong workforce in January, which Chief Executive Officer Sriharsha Majety attributed to "over-hiring", as well as shutting down many of its business verticals, including its meat delivery and premium grocery delivery businesses.

The firm also introduced a Rs 2 platform fee for all its users.

This led to its food delivery business turning profitable in the March quarter of FY23 (Q4 FY23) after considering corporate costs and excluding employee stock options (ESOP).

The company's monthly cash burn also came down to $20 million from about $45-50 million that it was losing each month during its peak in 2021.

Likewise, Pine Labs is also optimistic about its growth prospects.

"We will want to continue to grow at about 40 per cent on the revenue side, higher on the Ebitda side, on a year-on-year basis. We got nearly Rs 1,600 crore of net revenue in our business in 2022-23. I don't see any issues for growth in 2023-24 either," B Amrish Rau, Chief Executive Officer of Pine Labs, told Business Standard in May.

Meesho, Pine Labs and Swiggy declined to comment on queries sent to them.

This shift of focus towards profitability hints at changing priorities among Indian founders.

Over the last few quarters, investors say that their conversations with founders have graduated from being "valuation-centric" to talking more "foundationally" about the businesses they are building.

"We're witnessing a pivot from flash-in-the-pan metrics to core concerns - business strategy, solid operating models, and the path to real profitability. It's not just a phase; it's a sign of a maturing ecosystem where startups are focusing on long-term value rather than short-term hype," says Manu Rikhye, Partner, Merak Ventures - an early-stage investment firm.

Funding pangs

The mark-ups also come at a time when the startup world is going through a funding slowdown.

After an influx of investments during the pandemic, where startups managed to raise huge funding rounds at inflated valuations, investors have now become more cautious with their bets as they expect nascent companies to showcase healthy margins, spurring a sector-wide push for profitability.

In 2021, funding reached an all-time high of $44.3 billion, after which, due to macroeconomic uncertainty, investments fell by almost 39 per cent the next year to $27.1 billion, according to data from Tracxn -- a market intelligence platform.

This trend continued into 2023, where Indian startups have raised just $5.5 billion in the first half (H1) of the year, a 72 per cent year-on-year decline.

As a result, many foreign investors ended up slashing valuations of large startups that were burning cash earlier this year.

Valuation cuts

The month of May this year saw a plethora of valuation cuts by foreign investors, as Indian startups continued to burn cash.

Valuation multiples, at the time, had fallen by as much as 60 per cent, according to industry estimates.

US investment firm Invesco, a prominent backer of Swiggy, on May 8 slashed the food aggregator's valuation for the second time to $5.5 billion - an almost 49 per cent mark down, after reducing it to $8 billion in October last year.

Vanguard Group, another US-based investor, marked down the valuation of ANI Technologies, the parent company of ride-hailing mobility firm Ola, by about 35 per cent to $4.8 billion a day later.

During the same month, Neuberger Berman, a New York-based investment firm, has marked down the valuations of two of its major Indian portfolio companies, PharmEasy - by 21 per cent to $4.4 billion, and Pine Labs - by 38 per cent to $3.1 billion.

Fidelity had also, at the time, marked down Meesho's valuation by 9.7 per cent to $4.4 billion as of March 31.

There are, however, many lessons to be learnt from the so-called funding winter, both for investors and founders.

"For the good founders, the behaviours and habits inculcated in this 'winter' will be enduring. They will pursue high-quality repeatable highly-organic revenue growth and hold a high bar for productivity of their teams, quality of recruitment and cost efficiency in general," says QED's Patil.

Valuation markups so far:

On August 31, US-based investor Fidelity increased the face value of its investment in Meesho by 14.3 per cent to $43.24 million as of July, bringing the company's valuation to around $5.04 billion.

US-headquartered asset management firm Baron Capital, on August 28, marked up the value of its stake in Swiggy by 33.9 per cent from 31 March to $8.54 billion.

It also raised the value of its investment in Pine Labs to $4.92 billion as of 30 June, up 10 per cent from a quarter ago.

Major valuation cuts in 2023:

US investment firm Invesco, on May 8, slashed Swiggy's valuation for the second time to $5.5 billion - an almost 49 per cent mark down, after reducing it to $8 billion in October last year.

On May 12, Neuberger Berman, a New York-based investment firm, marked down the valuations of two of its major Indian portfolio companies, PharmEasy - by 21 per cent to $4.4 billion, and Pine Labs - by 38 per cent to $3.1 billion.

Fidelity, on May 30, marked down Meesho's valuation by 9.7 per cent to $4.4 billion as of March 31.

Vanguard Group, another US-based investor, on August 1, marked down the valuation of ANI Technologies, the parent company of ride-hailing mobility firm Ola, by about 35 per cent to $4.8 billion.

Feature Presentation: Aslam Hunani/Rediff.com
'Inter-ministerial coordination, information on the proposed PSUs, and due diligence are taking longer than expected to conclude the process.'

In February 2021, Prime Minister Narendra D Modi made a strong pitch for selling the government's equity stakes in non-strategic public sector units (PSUs), saying sustaining loss-making enterprises on taxpayers' money drained resources that could have been spent on public welfare.

'The government has no business to be in the business,' he said. 'Modernise and monetise is the motto we will follow.'

Soon after, the government unveiled a disinvestment pipeline featuring Air India, the Container Corporation of India (Concor), Central Electronics, BPCL, and IDBI Bank.

Beleaguered Air India is now owned by the Tata Group and is creating ripples with its large order of planes and frenetic hiring of pilots.

But there is not much to report on the progress with the others.

Since 2014, the government's total disinvestment proceeds stand at around Rs 4.7 trillion.

Barring 2017-2018 and 2018-2019, the disinvestment receipts fell short of the Budget Estimates (BE).

In 2019-2020, the government garnered Rs 50,299 crore (Rs 502.99 billion) -- half of the BE for the financial year.

During the pandemic years -- 2020-2021 and 2021-2022 -- the receipts were significantly lower than BE.

In 2022-2023, the proceeds were mainly driven by the public debut of Life Insurance Corporation of India, which fetched the Centre Rs 35,293 crore (Rs 352.93 billion), but there was still a shortfall of Rs 15,000 crore (Rs 150 billion) from the revised estimates for the financial year.

With IDBI Bank stake sale unlikely any time soon, the Centre might miss its target for the fourth straight year.

"Inter-ministerial coordination, information on the proposed PSUs, and due diligence are taking longer than expected to conclude the process," said multiple people privy to the matter.

In some cases, the process is held up due to inopportune timing, disinterest from buyers, opposition from employee unions, and past litigation.

The last two years also saw pandemic-related uncertainty and external headwinds.

No new strategic sale has been approved in recent times. With some states going to the polls this year and the big one, Lok Sabha, next summer, experts say this is not the best time for politically sensitive moves.

Many a slip

Processes are on for selling the government's stake in IDBI Bank, Bharat Earth Movers Limited (BEML), Shipping Corporation of India (SCI), and Concor.

"I also have to see the appropriate time for bringing some disinvestment proposals to the market," said Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, when asked whether the asset sale roadmap was stuck in the slow lane, during a wide-ranging interview.

On IDBI Bank, she said it should happen, but did not give a definite timeframe.

"I want to watch the market and take a call on when that will be. Nothing particularly is holding it back," she said.

The proposed sale of IDBI Bank, which is expected to work as the template for future bank disinvestments, had received initial bids seven month ago and is yet to get the Reserve Bank of India's "fit and proper" clearance on the shortlisted bidders.

The Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM), which handles the government's privatisation policy, explains the delay as part of the vetting process critical for sensitive sectors such as banking.

BEML and SCI stake sales, on the other hand, are grappling with demerger of land assets from the core divestment activity.

On Concor, the railway ministry has expressed apprehensions over the impact on logistics prices.

The BPCL stake sale was called off due to a muted response to the expression of interest.

In the case of Pawan Hans and Central Electronics, the winning bidder was disqualified due to pending litigation.

Air India, LIC

Air India turned out to be a landmark not only in the journey of disinvestment but it was also a momentous privatisation, the first in 19 years.

The previous privatisation, an instance of the government completely pulling out of the company, not just selling a part of its equity holding, was in 2003.

In the interim, not many candidates for privatisation were lined up, even as a new public sector enterprises policy envisaged the government to exit most businesses, while maintaining a minimal presence in select 'strategic' sectors.

This was evident in the capital receipts of the central government and resulted in the disinvestment target being slashed year after year.

Proceeds from disinvestment and privatisation are money receipts of the government that either create or reduce liability.

LIC's stock market debut, in which the Centre diluted 3.5 per cent equity for Rs 21,000 crore, was a milestone in its own way, for the government as well as the markets.

It was dubbed the 'Mother of all IPOs'. However, even after a year, its stock has not really set market indices on fire.

Sources in DIPAM say the Centre may go for further dilution after the Lok Sabha election.

"Opposition from unions and finding the right valuation for PSUs act as dampeners in the disinvestment plan," says one of the persons cited in the beginning.

For the current financial year, 2023-2024, the divestment target was set at Rs 51,000 crore (Rs 510 billion), deliberately kept lower than last year because the focus shifted to more achievable goals.

During the first half of the year, up to September 21, the value of disinvestment receipts stood at Rs 5,600 crore (Rs 56 billion), a shade above 10 per cent of the target.

Now that the IDBI Bank sale looks unlikely to go through this financial year, the target looks taller.

If the government is to meet this year's target, it might prioritise minority stake sale in listed PSUs, say experts, as these are likely to take less time and effort than a strategic sale and ceding of management control.

"Minority stake sales in Coal India and Rail Vikas Nigam have already accounted for a major part of the Rs 5,000 crore (Rs 50 billion) mobilised through disinvestment in 2023-2024. However, stock market conditions would play a key role in deciding the exact timing of the offer for sale," says Arindam Guha, an independent public policy expert.

Some experts say the government can afford to move slowly because its revenue receipts are comfortable and can fill the gaps.

Asset monetisation plan

The National Monetisation Pipeline (NMP), which was launched two years ago, monetised assets worth Rs 1.32 trillion in 2022-2023, against the target of Rs 1.62 trillion.

The shortfall occurred as some key ministries, including the railways, road transport, power, and telecom failed to meet their targets.

The ministries of coal, mines, petroleum and natural gas, and shipping met theirs.

For 2023-2024, a target of Rs 1.79 trillion has been restated as set by the Niti Aayog.

To ensure this target is met, the government asked key infrastructure ministries and departments to make asset monetisation a 'priority'.

The NMP's aggregate monetisation potential is Rs 6 trillion, through the core assets of the central government during 2021-2022 to 2024-2025.

During the first year, the monetisation of public sector brownfield assets unlocked a value of Rs 97,693 crore (Rs 976.93 billion).

Feature Presentation: Aslam Hunani/Rediff.com
It is not much of an issue just now, but it could become one if the idea of a caste census captures the socio-political imagination, going beyond electoral tags and identities, predicts N Sathiya Moorthy..

IMAGE: The Sant Mahamandal and United Hindu Front protest against DMK leader Udhayanidhi Stalin over his remarks on Sanatana Dharma outside Tamil Nadu Bhavan in New Delhi, September 25, 2023. Photograph: ANI Photo

If someone thought that the recent nation-wide Sanatana Dharma debate would 'reaffirm' the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party's 'Hindu majority vote-bank' in next year's Lok Sabha elections, it now has the potential to divide it on caste lines, as happened with the Mandir-Mandal row at the height of L K Advani's Ayodhya rath yatra more than three decades ago.

And the caste-based census in Bihar, where less than 16 per cent of the state's population alone falls under the 'general category' outside the 'reservations' tag for jobs and education, has the potential to trigger similar demands all across the country, which the Opposition INDIA combine has anyway promised (if it came to power).

Truth be acknowledged, 'caste' might not have become as big an issue as it otherwise is likely to in the coming months and years had it not been for the BJP's bid to retain the Hindu vote-bank' in the name of defending Sanatana Dharma, after Tamil Nadu's DMK Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin kicked off a controversy.

No, it is not much of an issue just now, but it could become one if the idea of a caste census captures the socio-political imagination, going beyond electoral tags and identities.

In a way, this again may apply to temple properties in states like Tamil Nadu, which Prime Minister Narendra D Modi flagged in Telangana recently.

The DMK's ideological grandfather in the then ruling Justice Party was behind the 'nationalisation' of all Hindu temples across the then Madras Presidency, comprising present day Tamil Nadu and parts of unified Andhra Pradesh, Kerala and Karnataka close to a hundred years ago.

There are multiple arguments for and against this and related issues, including the PM's focus question why the (presidency/state) government did not take over churches and mosques.

IMAGE: Supporters of the Janata Dal-United's Most Backward Cell celebrate the release of the caste survey report in Patna, October 4, 2023. Photograph: ANI Photo

It is anybody's guess why the PM should have flagged what is near exclusively an issue centred on Tamil Nadu in a neighbouring state when he anyway has been visiting Tamil Nadu off and on.

That's because assembly elections are due in Telangana later this year.

Earlier, he had responded to the Sanatana Dharma issue likewise in distant Madhya Pradesh, where assembly elections are due later this year -- along with Rajasthan.

Clearly, the PM and hence the BJP have found a new politico-electoral use for religion which was not in their original agenda -- which comprised Ayodhya, Article 370 and the uniform civil code.

With the Modi government meeting its electoral commitments on these three issues, they might have outlived their electoral utility already.

Yes, the Ayodhya temple consecration, if it is to occur before the Lok Sabha polls, may be an electoral draw.

Yet, it may not be as big a political issue as the Babri Masjid demolition in December 1992 was.

Once the demolition was behind it, Uttar Pradesh itself voted against the BJP and in favour of the newly-formed Samajwadi Party-Bahujan Samaj Party combine, just 11 months later, in November 1993.

IMAGE: Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar with Leader of Opposition Vijay Kumar Sinha of the BJP during the all-party meeting on the caste survey report at the CM's secretariat in Patna, October 3, 2023. Photograph: ANI Photo

If Home Minister Amit A Shah and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh had followed the prime minister on the Sanatana issue a few weeks ago, Uttar Pradesh's BJP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has possibly 'woken up' late to declare that Sanatana Dharma is the only religion.

Coming as it did alongside the publication of data on the caste-based survey in neighbouring Bihar, Yogi's declaration now has the potential to open up a Pandora's box in his state, too.

Conversely, the more demands for caste surveys and census and reservations are raised, there is an equally greater chance and opportunity for the BJP and at least some of its allies to package it as a 'divisive agenda' against their 'national unification call' centred around religion -- rather, just one religion.

Yet, it is here that the Opposition may have an advantage, handed out by the BJP itself.

Having delayed the decennial Census from 2021 to 2026, the ruling party may be readily offering an occasion for the Opposition combine to promise a caste-based Census the next time round.

Though the government blamed it on COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown, once the Census becomes a subject of a politico-electoral debate, then motives would be attributed for it -- putting the ruling party on the defensive.

IMAGE: BJP MP Ravi Shankar Prasad picks holes in the Bihar government's caste survey report, Patna, October 4, 2023. Photograph: ANI Photo

That Modi and the BJP are better off while put in adverse situations goes without saying, but their audience from public platforms and social media may not be the ones who will be the beneficiaries of caste-based census.

Thankfully for them, the Opposition is yet to prove that they have the kind of delivery mechanism to take on that of the BJP at the grassroots level, especially when it concerns the interests and aspirations of those very people.

There is still the possibility of Opposition-ruled states ordering caste-based surveys in a hurry, forcing the hand of the BJP at the Centre if the latter found that it is a potential election threat.

Going by past experience, no one should be surprised if the BJP too actively considers the wisdom of ordering a caste-based census in 2026, before the Opposition alliance gets its act together.

In such a scenario, the BJP has better credibility as the party in power with a strong parliamentary presence already, and a stronger leader at the helm.

If it happens thus, then the Opposition, in turn, might have handed over the Lok Sabha poll to the BJP on a platter in ways that the latter had not assumed and thought of, if not hoped for, earlier.

In assuming that Sanatana Dharma and temple properties (even if only in Tamil Nadu) can be a major electoral issue, whether across the nation or in select states and/or regions, the BJP leadership may be assuming more than they could otherwise afford to.

Especially in states like Tamil Nadu, where they are unsheathing the Hindutva sword one more time through the past several decades.

In Tamil Nadu, as in the rest of the country, gods and temples are different from temple management.

The common man devotee from distant villages troops to a famous temple in the neighbourhood or afar only with faith and devotion in mind.

He is least concerned or even knowledgeable about the wealth that the temple possessed -- or, has been deprived of by intermediaries, be it the government or hereditary trustees or others.

Where the government is not involved -- and it does not stop with Tamil Nadu -- there are temple trusts and boards, who are allegedly accused of 'looting' temple properties one way or the other.

It is the elite devotee who may be concerned in the name of god or politics or both.

Given a chance to administer those temples, the same charges have befallen them, too.

If there is a difference, it is only about the quantum and character of the loot.

IMAGE: Bihar Additional Chief Secretary Vivek Kumar Singh addresses a press conference after the release of the caste survey report at the Old Secretariat in Patna, October 2, 2023. Photograph: ANI Photo

Then, there is the more serious issue. For most common man devotees of propertied temples and deities, their greater devotion is to their village gods and goddesses.

They have had no problems collecting and paying periodic levies to village/temple committees for funding annual festivals and daily rituals, if it came to that.

If temples still ended up being locked up for want of local patronage, they do not blame it on the government. That thought does not even occur to them.

This may be true of every village community across the country, and more so in Tamil Nadu, where religiosity and temple worship have only increased through the hundred years of government-run temple administration, in the form of the state Hindu Religious & Charitable Endowments department.

Much of this period also coincided with E V Ramaswami Naicker's 'anti-Hindu, anti-god, hence anti-Brahmin' diatribe and street protests, where gods and their consorts were berated and their pictures were beaten with slippers.

This is the reason why religion and gods was never ever an election issue in the state.

If someone thought that Lord Ram and Lord Krishna are 'alien gods' situated in the distant north, hence no local connect with the Ayodhya issue then and now, the annual Ganesh festival procession introduced into the state since the 1980s too has fallen flat as a politico-electoral issue after a point.

In context, then state BJP president L Murugan's Vetri Vel Yatra to defend and protect the divinity and dignity of 'Tamil god' Murugan, after a fringe anti-god group had denigrated him ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, that too did not help.

There is something real that the BJP and its ideological RSS peer has been missing while seeking to relate religious issues to electoral contests at least in Tamil Nadu.

At a time when caste becomes central to livelihood issues that are centred on identification and reservation in contemporary times, there is a greater chance that it has a greater electoral pull than even religion.

In Tamil Nadu, for now, PMK leader and former Union minister Anbumani Ramadoss has already sought caste survey on the lines of Bihar.

His party is a product of the northern Vanniar community's struggle for a 'backward class' tag in the late eighties and early nineties.

Ramadoss has pointed to the 69 per cent reservations in the state and the lesser-remembered provision in the Supreme Court's verdict in the 'Mandal case' (Indra Sawhney vs State of Karnataka, 1992), fixing a 50-per cent upper-limit for all reservations in all governments across the country.

Under this provision, the Supreme Court allowed individual state governments to justify a quota higher than 50 per cent by providing convincing arguments, supported by data.

Both the DMK and AIADMK governments of chief ministers Karunanidhi and Jayalalithaa followed it up by appointing committees to prepare the state's case for 60 per cent reservations.

Without having the time, equipment and resources to cull out primary data, the committees borrowed the data from the national Census figures.

A demand for a caste survey in the state could thus become a major poll issue by itself, especially if the DMK state government does not decide on it early.

N Sathiya Moorthy, veteran journalist and author, is a Chennai-based policy analyst and political commentator.

Feature Presentation: Rajesh Alva/Rediff.com
'Until the situation changes, I expect Washington to continue to behave the same way.'

IMAGE: Prime Minister Narendra D Modi and US President Joe Biden at the launch of the Global Biofuels Alliance at the G20 summit in New Delhi, September 9, 2023. Photograph: Evelyn Hockstein/Pool/Reuters

"India's response to the allegations has not helped its reputation. Presumably, the Indian government should have nothing to hide and should want the investigation to be thorough and conclusive," says Dr Adam Chapnick, professor of Defence Studies, Canadian Forces College in Toronto.

Dr Chapnick teaches courses on Canadian foreign policy and has authored several books and essays on Canadian foreign relations.

"The aggressive reaction by the Indian government, it seems to me, has not done it any favours," Dr Chapnnick tells Rediff.com's Archana Masih in an e-mail interview discussing the aftermath of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's allegations against India.

How will Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's allegations further impact India-Canada relationship in the 1. short term, and 2. long term?

The significant impact in the short term is that neither side is willing to back down, and India in particular doesn't seem to see any negative ramifications from responding aggressively.

In the long term, the results of the investigation into India's alleged responsibility will have a significant impact on how the relationship evolves or devolves.

The last major breach of trust between the two countries (when India used Canadian 'peaceful' nuclear technology to become a nuclear power) took decades to resolve.

How difficult will it be to mend this relationship?

What diplomatic tight-rope walking will it require from both countries to get the relationship back on even keel?

It depends on the outcome of the investigation. That said, the relationship has never been particularly good. The two countries have been negotiating freer trade on and off for decades with no significant results.

The allegations have put the US in a bind which views India a strategic partner to contain China and is committed to Canada which is its closest ally. In view of this, how do you think the US is going to deal with this situation in the days ahead?

Thus far, the American approach has been to try to maintain relations with all sides while being transparent.

America has actively protested when folks have accused Washington of not believing Canada's evidence, but nor has Washington indicated any intent to punish India at this point.

Until the situation changes, I expect Washington to continue to behave the same way.

IMAGE: Modi welcomes Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau at Rajghat, September 10, 2023. Photograph: ANI Photo

Some observers feel India will be able to weather the potential fallout of these allegations because of its strategic importance.

Do you believe this could be a possibility?

That really depends on the results of the investigation.

If it is proven that there was direct involvement by the Indian government, there will be consequences, even if we don't necessarily see them from the outside.

States will want to maintain good relations with India for a variety of reasons, but that doesn't mean that States will continue to trust the Indian government.

How do you see the fallout of these allegations unfolding in the West?

That will really depend on the investigation.

IMAGE: US first lady Jill Biden, Modi and Biden on the Truman Balcony of the White House after the official State arrival ceremony held at the start of Modi's visit, June 22, 2023. Photograph: Jonathan Ernst/Reuters

Do you think these allegations have damaged India's growing reputation in the world?

I think that India's response to the allegations has not helped its reputation. Presumably, the Indian government should have nothing to hide and should want the investigation to be thorough and conclusive.

The aggressive reaction by the Indian government, it seems to me, has not done it any favours.

Feature Presentation: Aslam Hunani/Rediff.com
Senior Aam Aadmi Party leader Sanjay Singh promised favours to the beneficiaries of the Delhi excise policy 'scam' with the help of former deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia, the Enforcement Directorate Thursday claimed before a Delhi court which remanded the Rajya Sabha MP in ED's custody for five days.

IMAGE: AAP MP Sanjay Singh waves to his supporters after the Enforcement Directorate arrested him in connection with the Delhi Liquor Policy case. Photograph: Mohd Zakir/ANI Photo

The anti-money laundering agency had arrested Singh on Wednesday.

"The investigation has revealed that Singh had assured to get changes through Manish Sisodia in the then proposed Excise Policy of 2020-21 to increase the brand registration criterion for IMFL brands at the behest of Amit Arora and Dinesh Arora.

"In exchange for this, an associate/team member of Singh i.e. Vivek Tyagi was given stakes in the business concern of Amit Arora i.e. Aralias Hospitality Pvt Ltd," the ED said.

Dinesh Arora, a businessman considered close to Sisodia, was an accused in the money laundering case linked to the alleged scam. He later turned an approver.

Meanwhile, Special Judge M K Nagpal remanded Singh in ED custody till October 10 to enable the federal probe agency to interrogate him, saying his "sustained and custodial interrogation appeared to be necessary to trace out the complete trail".

The Rajya Sabha MP will be produced before the court on expiry of his custody.

The judge noted that from the allegations being levelled against the accused and the material placed before the court regarding his "direct nexus with activities pertaining to proceeds of crime by way of receiving Rs 2 crore", his "sustained and custodial interrogation appeared to be necessary to trace out the complete trail thereof."

"Therefore, in view of the above and the totality of facts & circumstances, the accused is being remanded to the custody of ED till October 10, 2023 for the purposes of his detailed and sustained interrogation and confrontations with the oral and documentary evidence and he shall be produced before this court at 2 pm on that day, the judge said.

The judge, however, directed that his interrogation shall be conducted at some place having CCTV coverage in accordance with the guidelines laid down by the Hon'ble Supreme Court and the said CCTV footage shall be preserved.

He shall be medically examined once in every 48 hours, the judge said.

While being brought to the courtroom, Singh said his arrest was an act of injustice by Prime Minister Narendra Modi whose party was going to lose the next Lok Sabha elections.

Singh was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate on Wednesday in connection with its money laundering probe linked to the 2021-22 Delhi Excise policy case, in a huge blow to the city's ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP).

"This is Modiji's injustice. He will lose election, he is losing election," he told journalists.

Later, when the court asked him whether he wanted to say something, Singh claimed he was being treated unfairly.

"Sir, Amit Arora gave tens of statements, Dinesh Arora gave several statements, but they did not remember my name. I'm not that unknown that they forgot my name. Now they have suddenly remembered. There's no separate law. I was not summoned even once. Why different law for me," the AAP leader said, rebutting the ED's claim he received Rs 2 crore from Dinesh Arora, a businessman accused in the case who has now turned an approver.

During the hearing, the ED sought Singh's custody saying several people were yet to be examined and confronted with him. The agency said it also wanted to confront Singh with data extracted from his phone.

The Enforcement Directorate, represented by Special Counsel Zoheb Hossain and Special Public Prosecutor N K Matta, alleged Singh received Rs 2 crore in two tranches.

"The money was delivered to his residence. Dinesh Arora cross-checked with him also and he confirmed it. Investigation has revealed that two crore cash was given. A total of three crore money was given, the ED said.

When the agency said it wanted to confront Singh with digital evidence extracted from his mobile phone, the court told its counsel it can be done even without taking him into custody.

"Why do you want to confront him with the phone? You can extract the data even otherwise," the judge said.

The ED alleged that the accused was withholding certain information which was in his exclusive knowledge and was extremely relevant to the investigation and hence, his custodial interrogation was required to investigate the money trail of the bribe or kickback amount received by him from the approver Dinesh Arora.

His custody was further required for confronting him with various digital and physical records which was seized during the course of 239 search operations conducted in the case till date, besides confronting him with contents of his mobile phone which may be retrieved, the ED said.

It was also submitted that he further requires to be confronted with Vivek Kumar Tyagi, Kanwar Bir Singh and Sarvesh Mishra.

Senior advocate Mohit Mathur, representing Singh, opposed the ED's application seeking his remand, saying the agency's witness Dinesh Arora was not trustworthy.

"He was an accused first, then in a quid pro quo he turned witness. His stand is changing. He is an accused, turns approver, gives statement; the statement is not favourable to ED, ED arrests him and he turns approver in ED case. He changes statement and ED arrests me on that statement, Singh's counsel said.

He accused the ED of humiliating Singh by arresting him.

"There are separate agenda. DA (Dinesh Arora) is in their hand for the last one and a half years. The statement was given earlier. Why it is being brought up now. Once you had the statement (of Arora), you did not call me for explanation. You want to humiliate me by arresting me (Singh), Mathur said.
Maharashtra minister and rebel Nationalist Congress Party leader Hasan Mushrif on Thursday ruled out the possibility of returning to the party faction led by Sharad Pawar.

IMAGE: Maharashtra minister Hasan Mushrif and Sharad Pawar. Photograph: Hasan Mushrif on Facebook

Mushrif, who joined the Shiv Sena-BJP government in the state along with Ajit Pawar and a few other Nationalist Congress Party leaders in July, is currently the minister for medical education and research.

"The decision has been taken. The ropes of retreat have been cut," Mushrif said, using a Marathi phrase which means 'burning one's bridges', when asked by reporters about the possibility of returning to the Sharad Pawar camp.

Notably, the Sharad Pawar-led NCP has been maintaining that there is no split in the party.
The CBI has lodged an FIR against three persons and unidentified officials of the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) over the allegation of actor Vishal that he had to pay Rs 6.5 lakh to get a certificate for the Hindi-dubbed version of his film Mark Antony, officials said on Thursday.

The action was followed by searches at four locations in Mumbai, including the premises of the FIR-named accused, on Wednesday.

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has lodged the FIR against private persons Merlin Menaga, Jeeja Ramdas, Rajan M and unidentified public servants of the CBFC.

Vishal said bribe was demanded to issue the CBFC certificate for his film within 24 hours.

Mark Antony, a sci-fi film directed by Adhik Ravichandran, was released in theatres on September 28.

The CBFC certificate is mandatory for screening a film in India.

The Tamil superstar requested Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde to look into corruption in the CBFC, where a woman official had allegedly demanded Rs 6.5 lakh from him for issuing certification the same day. The official had allegedly said it was a common practice at the CBFC.

Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Thakur had ordered an immediate enquiry into the allegations.

"It was alleged that during the month of September 2023, a private person entered a conspiracy with others to obtain a bribe of Rs 7 lakh and to get the required censor certificate from CBFC, Mumbai for a movie dubbed in Hindi," a CBI spokesperson said.

The CBI FIR alleged that Menaga, who worked as a mediator, had initially demanded the bribe on behalf of CBFC-Mumbai officials, the amount of which was reduced to Rs 6.54 lakh after negotiations.

"... she allegedly accepted Rs 6.54 lakh as bribe on behalf of CBFC, Mumbai officials in two bank accounts of the two other accused. Thereafter, on September 26, 2023, the required certificate was allegedly issued by CBFC, Mumbai for said movie dubbed in Hindi," the spokesperson said.

Menaga also received Rs 20,000 in her bank account from the account of a private company as coordinating fees for herself, the agency alleged.

In a post on X, Vishal said the production company was asked to pay Rs 3 lakh first just for the screening, while the remaining amount of Rs 3.5 lakh was for the certificate.

The actor had said a woman official told his team that it was a common practice at the CBFC, where filmmakers would pay money for receiving the censor clearance.

"#Corruption being shown on silver screen is fine. But not in real life. Can't digest. Especially in govt offices. And even worse happening in #CBFC Mumbai office. Had to pay 6.5 lacs for my film #MarkAntonyHindi version. 2 transactions. 3 lakhs for screening and 3.5 lakhs for certificate.

"Never faced this situation ever in my career. Had no option but to pay the concerned mediator #Menaga coz too much at stake since movie released today. Bringing this to the notice of Hon Chief Minister of Maharashtra and my Hon PM Narendra Modiji. Doing this is not for me but for future producers. NOT HAPPENING. My hard earned money gone for corruption??? No way. Evidence down for all to hear. Hope truth prevails as always (sic)," Vishal posted on the microblogging website on September 28 along with a video message.

In a statement, the Indian Film and Television Directors' Association (IFTDA) had expressed concern over the allegations made against CBFC officials and demanded a CBI enquiry in the matter.

According to a senior official, Thakur has directed Information and Broadcasting Secretary Apurva Chandra to ensure maximum utilisation of technology and the rolling out of a faceless system on the lines of the income tax office for slotting of films to be scheduled for screening for certification officials.
Several occasions in the last two decades have seen government agencies and research studies warning about potential glacial lake outburst floods (GLOFs) in Sikkim, which can cause massive damage to life and property.

IMAGE: A glimpse of the aftermath after the occurrence of flash floods triggered by a sudden heavy rainfall, in North Sikkim. Photograph: ANI Photo

A GLOF occurred in parts of Lhonak Lake, leading to a rapid rise in water levels with very high velocities downstream along the Teesta River Basin in the early hours of October 4. This resulted in severe damage in Mangan, Gangtok, Pakyong and Namchi districts.

According to the Sikkim State Disaster Management Authority (SSDMA), 14 people have lost their lives, and 102 others, including 22 army personnel, are missing after the GLOF event.

The incident also resulted in the breach of the Chungthang dam, a crucial component of the 1,200-megawatt (MW) Teesta Stage III Hydro Electric Project, the largest hydropower project in the state.

GLOFs occur when lakes formed by melting glaciers suddenly burst open. This can happen due to various reasons, such as excessive water accumulation in the lake or triggers like earthquakes.

When the lake bursts, it releases an enormous volume of water all at once, causing flash floods downstream. These floods can be extremely destructive and perilous for both people and the environment in the affected area.

According to the South Asia Network of Dams, Rivers, and People, south Lhonak Lake is a glacial-moraine-dammed lake situated in Sikkim's far northwestern region. It is one of the fastest-expanding lakes in the Sikkim Himalaya region and is classified as one of the 14 potentially dangerous lakes susceptible to GLOFs.

The lake is situated at an altitude of 5,200 m (17,100 ft) above sea level and formed due to the melting of the Lhonak glacier. The lake's size is rapidly increasing due to the melting of the lake's associated South Lhonak glacier and additional meltwater from the adjacent North Lhonak and main Lhonak glaciers.

Satellite images from the Hyderabad-based National Remote Sensing Centre showed that the area of south Lhonak Lake drastically reduced from 167.4 hectares on September 28 to 60.3 hectares on October 4, confirming a GLOF event that caused massive damage in the Teesta River basin.

A study conducted by the National Remote Sensing Centre and the Indian Space Research Organisation in 2012-2013 discussed the formation of a moraine-dammed glacial lake at the snout of the South Lhonak glacier and the associated risks.

"The (south Lhonak) lake outburst probability shows a very high value of 42 percent for the lake, and the peak discharge estimated using the empirical formula shows a discharge of 586 m3/s," the study said.

In 2016, the Sikkim government's Department of Science and Technology conducted an expedition to estimate the lake's volume, led by Sonam Wangchuk of the Ladakh-based NGO Students' Educational and Cultural Movement of Ladakh. The expedition warned about the potential of a GLOF event.

Dilliram Dahal, Assistant Professor at Namchi Government College, Sikkim, revealed that high-density polyethylene pipes were installed to siphon off water from the glacial lake following the expedition to prevent a GLOF event.

In September this year, officials from the DST, SSDMA, and the Land and Revenue Department conducted another inspection at the lake to install an early warning system and automatic weather station.

A study published in the journal ELSEVIER in 2021 identified south Lhonak Lake as potentially dangerous with a high outburst probability.

"In Sikkim, the lake-terminating glaciers have shown accelerated growth compared to glaciers without lakes. South Lhonak glacier is no different; it is one of the fastest-retreating glaciers, and the associated proglacial lake (south Lhonak Lake) has become the largest and fastest-growing in the state. The glacier receded approximately 2 km in 46 years from 1962 to 2008 and retreated another 400 m from 2008 to 2019. This has raised concerns about the hazard potential of this lake, as the downstream valley is heavily populated with numerous settlements and infrastructure," the study highlighted.

The Sikkim Human Development Report of 2001 also cautioned about a "serious potential hazard" from GLOFs in Sikkim.

"Disturbances in mountain ecology have started attracting considerable attention. The phenomenon of jokulhlaup (glacier leap), also known as glacial lake outburst floods (GLOF), is a frequent and alarming occurrence in Sikkim. As the state is dotted with many glaciers, this is a serious potential hazard," the report read.
Bribery can never be a subject matter of immunity and parliamentary privilege is not meant to place a lawmaker above the law, the Centre on Thursday told the Supreme Court which reserved its verdict on reconsideration of its judgment of 1998 when it held that MPs and MLAs enjoy immunity from prosecution for taking bribe to make a speech or cast a vote in legislature.

IMAGE: The Supreme Court of India. Photograph: ANI Photo

Attorney General R Venkataramani and Solicitor General Tushar Mehta conveyed the Centre's stand before a seven seven-judge Constitution bench headed by Chief Justice D Y Chandraachud.

This is my respectful submission that bribery can never be the subject matter of immunity unless even one out of 1000 cases (of bribery) takes place inside the house, Mehta told the bench, which also comprised justices A S Bopanna, M M Sundresh, P S Narasimha, J B Pardiwala, Sanjay Kumar and Manoj Misra.

Mehta urged the court to not go into the immunity aspect under Article 105 of the Constitution and said, The offence of bribery is complete when a bribe is given and accepted by the lawmaker. It can be tackled under the Prevention of Corruption Act.

I am of the opinion that anything that is clearly proscribed by the statute, cannot have a refuge under these Articles (105 and 194). I do not think any responsible government or public authority can take that stand, attorney general Venkataramani said.

The top-most government law officer, however, added that the elected representative must be free to perform legislative functions without being impaired or exposed to undue exertions and coercion.

Parliamentary privileges are not personal immunity but occupational immunity. They are provided to ensure that the duties of representatives may be carried out perfectly. This immunity is not meant to place a member of Parliament above the law, but to protect him from possible groundless proceedings or accusations that may be politically motivated..., solicitor general Mehta said.

At the outset, senior advocate Gopal Sankarnarayanan referred to several judgements and said the consistent point in all was that nobody enjoys protection against criminal prosecution".

He dealt with the submission that legislators needed immunity as they were often targeted for their acts inside the House.

So, while balancing this, you (SC) have to be careful of ensuring that legislators get the immunity which the Constitution intended... If we are doing that, then we have to have some kind of formulation or test on the basis of which we determine the immunity that is deserved, he said.

He then referred to the recent alleged hate speech made by BJP MP Ramesh Bidhuri in the Lok Sabha and said, "Unfortunately, Your Lordships must have seen a live example of his two weeks ago, when a gentleman hurled expletives in Parliament. I don't know if the phrase 'parliamentary language' can be used anymore after this.

Parliament ensured that those words were struck off, but in my view it was a crime, he said.

So an action of criminal defamation would not lie on the basis of the speech? the bench asked the lawyer.

The senior lawyer responded, In my view, no. Our hands are tied. Obviously, we find it repulsive. The court's hands are also tied because that is the deference we give to the parliamentary process.

The bench said, possibly the court cannot get into this and say that these offending words of the MP were unnecessary for the speech.

We expect responsible Parliament and parliamentarians to expect more stringent action, the senior lawyer said.

Another senior advocate, Vijay Hasaria, supported the reconsideration of the 1998 verdict and gave the example of pendency of more than 5,000 criminal cases against lawmakers.

The court told him it was dealing with the limited issue of bribery in relation to votes cast and speeches made in legislatures.

Privilege must be interpreted in a manner that will not let criminality among politicians or political class flourish, and will curb criminalisation of politics, he said.

The solicitor general focussed his submissions on the offence of bribery as defined under the Prevention of Corruption Act and said if the offence is completed outside the House, then the court does not need to go into the aspect of immunity enjoyed by a lawmaker for acts done inside the legislature.

Of course, this is on a very strong footing that bribery is complete outside the house, the bench said.

If offence is said to be complete independently under Section 7 of the PC Act then, there cannot be any question of privilege or immunity, Mehta reiterated, and added, It is nobody's case that there should not be privilege or immunity. Performance of legislative duty fearlessly is the object of the provisions. But the only question is whether bribery should be covered by this privilege or immunity.

The judgment in the case was reserved after two day-long arguments advanced by a battery of lawyers including the attorney general, solicitor general, Raju Ramachandran and amicus curiae P S Patwalia, who was assisting the court in the matter.

The seven-judge bench is reconsidering the 1998 verdict delivered in the JMM bribery case by a five-judge bench by which the MPs and MLAs were granted immunity from prosecution for taking bribes to make a speech or vote in legislature.

The apex court is revisiting the judgment 25 years after the JMM bribery scandal rocked the country.

On Wednesday, the court said it will examine whether the immunity granted to lawmakers from prosecution for taking bribes to make a speech or vote in Parliament and state legislatures extends to them even if criminality is attached to their actions.

The apex court had on September 20 agreed to reconsider its judgment, saying it was an important issue having a significant bearing on "morality of polity".

A five-judge bench of the apex court had decided to refer the issue to a larger seven-judge bench.

A five-judge Constitution bench had in its majority verdict delivered in the PV Narasimha Rao versus CBI case held that parliamentarians have immunity against criminal prosecution for any speech made and vote cast inside the House under Article 105(2) and Article 194(2) of the Constitution.

The issue came under the Supreme Court's lens again in 2019, when a bench headed by then chief justice Ranjan Gogoi was hearing an appeal filed by Sita Soren, JMM MLA from Jama and daughter-in-law of party chief Shibu Soren, who was an accused in the JMM bribery scandal.

The Justice Gogoi-led bench had referred to a five-judge bench the crucial question, noting it had "wide ramification" and was of "substantial public importance".

Sita Soren was accused of taking bribe to vote for a particular candidate in the Rajya Sabha election in 2012. She had contended that the constitutional provision granting lawmakers immunity from prosecution, which saw her father-in-law being let off the hook in the JMM bribery scandal, be applied to her.

She had moved the apex court against the Jharkhand high court order of February 17, 2014, refusing to quash the criminal case lodged against her.

The three-judge bench had then said it will revisit the SC verdict in the sensational JMM bribery case involving Shibu Soren, a former Jharkhand chief minister and ex-Union minister, and four other party MPs who had accepted bribes to vote against the no-confidence motion threatening the survival of the P V Narasimha Rao government in 1993.

The Narasimha Rao government, which was in a minority, survived the no-confidence vote with their support.

The CBI registered a case against Soren and four other JMM Lok Sabha MPs but the Supreme Court quashed it citing immunity from prosecution they enjoyed under Article 105(2) of the Constitution.
KUALA LUMPUR, Oct. 5 (Xinhua) -- The Malaysian government will earmark 81 billion ringgit (17.1 billion U.S. dollars) to subsidize essential items including electricity, fuel and food, the state news agency Bernama reported late on Wednesday night.

While the figure is seen as high, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said reducing the subsidy without looking at the needs of the people is not an option of the government, which must ensure the people are not burdened, especially by the current cost of living.

"Subsidies are an intervention by the government to ease the people's burden. Subsidies for chicken and eggs are amounting to 3.8 billion ringgit but reducing them will raise the cost of living. Therefore, a more resilient policy is needed to reduce subsidies, which is the rationalization of subsidies," he said. 
The Enforcement Directorate has summoned comedian Kapil Sharma, actors Huma Qureshi and Hina Khan for questioning on different dates in connection with its money laundering probe linked to the Mahadev betting app case, officials said on Thursday.

Photograph: ANI Photo

The federal probe agency had already summoned Bollywood actor Ranbir Kapoor for questioning on October 6 at its regional office in Raipur. He is understood to have sought about two weeks to appear.

The three actors latest to be summoned have been asked to appear at the Raipur office of the agency on different dates, the officials said.

The agency will record their statement under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) and try to understand the mode and flow of payment allegedly done to them by the app promoters.

These actors may not be accused in the case, it is understood.

They are understood to have promoted the Mahadev app and some had entertained guests at a wedding of a promoter of the app (application) that was held abroad.

After Kapoor was asked to appear, sources had said Wednesday that around 14-15 other celebrities and actors are under the ED's scanner in the case and they will also be summoned soon, sources said.

The company promoted by Sourabh Chandrakar and Ravi Uppal was being operated from Dubai. It was allegedly using the online book betting application to enrol new users, create IDs and launder money through a layered web of benami bank accounts, the agency has alleged.

The ED investigation has shown that the Mahadev Online Book App is run from a central head office in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), officials said. It operates by franchising "Panel/Branches" to their known associates on a 70-30 profit ratio, the agency had said.

Large-scale hawala operations are done to siphon off the proceeds of betting to offshore accounts, it had said.

A huge expenditure in cash has also been incurred in India for advertising of betting websites to attract new users and franchise (panel) seekers, it had said.

The company promoters hail from Bhilai in Chhattisgarh and the Mahadev online book betting application is an umbrella syndicate arranging online platforms for enabling illegal betting websites.
Hindustan Aeronautics Limited on Wednesday handed over the first LCA Tejas twin-seater aircraft to the Indian Air Force.

IMAGE: Chief of the Air Staff, Air Chief Marshal VR Chaudhari, receives the LCA Tejas twin-seater trainer aircraft from Hindustan Aeronautics Limited CMD CB Ananthakrishnan, Bengaluru, October 4, 2023. Union Minister of State for Defence Ajay Bhatt is in the middle. Photograph: ANI Photo

The Bengaluru-headquartered company said the twin-seater variant has all the capabilities to support training requirements of IAF and augments itself to the role of fighter as well, when necessary.

The LCA Tejas twin-seater is a light-weight all-weather multi-role 4.5 generation aircraft.

It is an amalgamation of contemporary concepts and technologies such as relaxed static stability, quadraplex fly-by-wire flight control, carefree manoeuvering, advanced glass cockpit, integrated digital avionics systems and advanced composite materials for the airframe, HAL said.

This adds India to the list of "very few" elite countries who have created such capability and have them operational in their defence forces, it said, adding that it's another feather in the cap of the 'Aatmanirbhar Bharat' initiative of the Government of India.

"This historic event today will mark the achievement of a key milestone of producing LCA twin-seater which is designed with a strategic intent of graduating the budding pilots from the twin-seater variants to fighter Pilots," HAL said.

HAL has an order of 18 twin-seaters from IAF and is planning to deliver eight of them during 2023-24. The remaining 10 would be delivered progressively by 2026-27.

More orders are also expected from IAF, the company said.

Union Minister of State for Defence Ajay Bhatt was the chief guest during the function at which the LCA twin-seater was unveiled, the Release to Service Document (RSD) was handed over and the Signalling out Certificate (SOC) was issued, in the presence of Chief of Air Staff Air Chief Marshal V R Chaudhari, among others.

Speaking at the event, the minister said that it is a huge boost to India's self-reliance. In all, the development of LCA Tejas has also brought about a shift in our approach to defence procurement. It has demonstrated that India has the talent, knowledge and capability to design, develop and manufacture world-class fighters," Bhatt said.

Air Chief Marshal Chaudhari said that IAF would be procuring 97 more LCAs, and with this it will have 220 LCAs in its inventory.

HAL CMD (addl charge) C B Ananthakrishnan said the company is committed to delivering all the twin-seater aircraft pertaining to IOC (initial operational clearance) and FOC (final operational clearance) contract to IAF in the current financial year.

"With this, we are moving one step closer towards achieving self-sufficiency in the fixed wing segment. These trainers also ensure smooth transition for the pilots from trainer to fighter aircraft in this class," he added.

HAL has said that it is in discussions with many friendly foreign countries towards exporting the LCA Tejas platform and had submitted various customised proposals for exporting LCA Tejas fighter and twin-seater aircraft to them around the world.

LCA Tejas is the best platform for India to be a flagbearer to achieve export targets set by the Government of India, it said.

LCA-Tejas is the "largest" R&D programme ever undertaken in India, HAL said.

It made its maiden flight during 2001 and achieved various milestones since then. It is going to be the backbone of the IAF fleet in the years to come and is slated to be produced in high numbers by HAL in Bengaluru as the company has already got an order of 123 aircraft out of which 32 fighters has been supplied to IAF and two squadrons are already operational with IAF at Sulur Air Force base.
Hitting back at Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his remarks that he nipped in the bud the Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao's desire to be a part of the National Democratic Alliance, Bharata Rashtra Samiti working president K T Rama Rao has said in fact it was the other way around and the saffron party had sent feelers for an alliance in 2018.

IMAGE: Chief Minister of Telangana K Chandrashekar Rao with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Photograph: ANI Photo

In a message posted on 'X' on Wednesday, Rama Rao said the BRS has never allied with anyone during polls ever since Telangana was formed despite several requests and in fact it is the opposition that have come together setting aside their ideological differences to defeat the 'formidable' KCR.

'In 2018, Biggest Jhoota Party through its State President Dr K Laxman sent feelers to ally with BRS. Could the offer have been made without the approval of his Delhi bosses? Here is the then BJP state president making statement on record,' he said posting some old paper clippings suggesting that the then Bharatiya Janata Party Telangana chief Laxman saying his party was ready to support BRS (then Telangana Rashtra Samiti) if the latter fell short of majority in the 2018 assembly polls.

Rama Rao further alleged that 'political tourists' with selective amnesia who are fabricating stories should know this and said the BRS had rejected the offer outright the very next minute it was made.

Modi had on October 3 at a public rally said he had rejected a request from Chandrasekhar Rao to join the NDA, after the Hyderabad Municipal Corporation elections in 2020, citing his 'deeds'.

The PM's remarks stirred the political climate in the state with the ruling BRS vehemently refuting Modi's comments.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi Tuesday in a message posted on 'X' claimed the prime minister has 'openly accepted' what he had said at a rally last month that the BRS stands for 'BJP Rishtedaar Samiti', after Modi stated that he had rejected Rao's request to join the NDA.

Rama Rao in his post asked why the BRS should ally with a party, BJP, which didn't even get deposit in 105 assembly segments and added 'Why does BRS need support of BJP in GHMC elections when we had the strength to form on our own?'
Scotland Yard has arrested a man on suspicion of 'violent disorder' in connection with an attack on the Indian High Commission in London in March this year.

IMAGE: London Metropolitan Police increase security outside the Indian High Commission, UK to keep Khalistan supporters away, on March 22, 2023. Photograph: ANI Photo

The Metropolitan Police said the man, who was arrested during a protest outside India House on Monday, was held in connection with a protest on March 19 and has been released on bail pending further enquiries.

A British Sikh man was seen being led away by police officers on patrol during Monday's protest, called to demand United Kingdom government intervention over Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's claims of alleged Indian involvement in the killing of wanted terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar, an allegation strongly rejected by India as 'absurd and motivated'.

'On Monday, October 2, a man was arrested outside the Indian High Commission on suspicion of violent disorder in relation to a protest at the same venue on 19 March,' the Met Police statement said.

'The man was taken into custody and has been bailed pending further enquiries,' the statement noted.

The man can be named only after he is charged but is believed to be one of over a dozen individuals identified by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) to have been responsible for the attack on the High Commission of India on March 19, when pro-Khalistan extremists scaled the building and attempted to pull down the Indian national flag.

At least one official was injured as objects were hurled at the building and windows were shattered.

At the time, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) summoned the senior-most UK diplomat in New Delhi to convey India's 'strong protest' at the actions of separatist and extremist elements against the High Commission of India in London.

In June, the NIA released photographs of suspects they believe were involved in the violent protest as the central agency took over the probe after Home Ministry officials met UK representatives in the wake of the attack.

The latest arrest comes as Police Scotland revealed that it had found 'no criminality' related to the Indian High Commissioner to the UK, Vikram Doraiswami, being blocked from a gurdwara by pro-Khalistan extremists in Glasgow last week.

"Following extensive enquiries into a report of a disturbance in the Albert Drive area of Glasgow on Friday, September 29, 2023, no criminality has been established," said a Police Scotland spokesperson.

The police had been summoned over the 'disgraceful incident' as three people 'deliberately disrupted' the planned community visit and one man even attempted to violently force open the diplomatic vehicle as senior diplomats arrived at Glasgow Gurdwara Guru Granth Sahib on Albert Drive.

'It is due to the quick reaction of one of the organisers, who physically intervened at the car door, that a bigger incident was avoided. The High Commission of India has reported this disgraceful incident to the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) and the Metropolitan Police,' the Indian High Commission statement said at the time.

Glasgow Gurdwara had also followed up with its statement to condemn the 'disorderly behaviour' by 'unknown' and 'unruly' individuals, who disturbed the peace at a place of worship and attempted to disrupt the visit of the envoy facilitated by a member of the Scottish Parliament.

'Glasgow Gurdwara strongly condemns such disorderly behaviour to disrupt the peaceful proceedings of a Sikh place of worship. The Gurdwara is open to people from all communities and backgrounds, and we welcome everyone openly as per our principles of faith,' it said.
Dr Kafeel Khan, whose name surfaced in the 2017 Gorakhpur encephalitis deaths case, has expressed gratitude to superstar Shah Rukh Khan for shedding light on the tragic incident through his blockbuster film Jawan.

IMAGE: Dr Kafeel Khan was jailed after the death of over 60 children at a government hospital in Gorakhpur in 2017. Photograph: ANI Photo

Taking to microblogging site X, Dr Kafeel Khan said he has been trying to get in touch with the superstar for a while to convey his deep appreciation for his "extraordinary commitment to using cinema as a means to address critical socio-political issues".

"The movie's poignant portrayal of the tragic Gorakhpur Encephalitis incident has left an indelible mark on my heart. As someone who has had a personal connection with the incident and its aftermath, I was profoundly moved by your decision to bring this story to the screen," he wrote in a letter addressed to the actor that he posted on X.

Jawan, headlined by SRK and released on September 7, features a subplot involving actor Sanya Malhotra, who plays a doctor struggling to arrange oxygen supply at a government hospital when a number of children are admitted due to high fever. But the children die and the doctor is held responsible for their deaths and jailed.

Viewers noticed a similarity between the sub-plot and the case of Dr Kafeel Khan, who was jailed for dereliction of duty after 63 children died of acute encephalitis syndrome at Baba Raghav Das (BRD) Medical College in Gorakhpur. A government inquiry later cleared him of these charges.

Dr Kafeel Khan said though Jawan is a work of fiction, the parallels it draws to the Gorakhpur tragedy serve as a "powerful reminder of the systemic failures, apathy, and, most importantly, the innocent lives lost".

"It underscores the urgent need for accountability within our healthcare system.

The character portrayed by @sanyamalhotra07 (as Dr Eeram Khan) although not directly referencing me, encapsulated the experiences I faced.

"It was heartening to witness the real culprit of 'The Gorakhpur Hospital Tragedy', got caught, though sadly in real life the real culprits are roaming free, me still struggling to get my job back, and those 63 parents who lost their little ones still waiting for justice," he added.

Dr Kafeel Khan also highlighted his book The Gorakhpur Hospital Tragedy and believes "a part of the movie's plot resonates with the events detailed" in the book.

"If given the opportunity, I would be immensely honored to meet you and the talented director @Atlee_dir, as well as other members of the film's crew, to express my gratitude personally.

"I also want to assure you that my sanctification, devotion, and determination towards serving my countrymen would continue undeterred. Thank you once again for being a beacon of hope," he added.

Jawan, a high-octane action thriller directed by Tamil filmmaker Atlee, is a father-son story that addresses social and political issues such as government apathy, corruption, farmers' suicides, and a failing healthcare system.

After the film's release, Kafeel Khan had posted on X that though he had not seen the movie, he was flooded with messages regarding the film.

"I haven't seen Jawan, but people have been messaging me saying they thought about me after watching Dr Irrum's character. There is a lot of difference between the film world and real life. The culprits in the army, health minister etc. get punished. But here I and those 81 families are still wandering for justice... Thank you @iamsrk sir and @Atlee_dir sir for raising the social issue," he had posted.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday congratulated the makers of The Vaccine War, saying the movie has made every Indian feel proud.

The Vivek Agnihotri-directed movie, which released theatrically on September 28, is based on the true story of Indian scientists, their fight against the COVID-19 pandemic and how they developed an affordable vaccine for India and the world.

"A film called The Vaccine War was released. I have heard that the hard work done day and night by our scientists to fight Covid in India has been depicted in this film. Every Indian is feeling proud after watching that film," Modi said during a rally in Jodhpur.

The prime minister also congratulated the film's makers for giving importance to scientists of the country.

"I also congratulate the makers of this film that you gave importance to the scientists and science of the country by making the film. This will be very useful for the coming generations," Modi said.

Agnihotri, known for directing movies such as Hate Story, Chocolate, The Tashkent Files and The Kashmir Files, expressed gratitude to the prime minister for appreciating The Vaccine War.

"It's heartening to hear PM @narendramodi acknowledge the contribution of Indian scientists, specially women scientists in making the indigenous vaccine under his leadership. Women scientists called and got emotional 'first time a PM praised Virologists' they said. Gratitude," the filmmaker wrote on microblogging site X.

Produced by wife Pallavi Joshi under their banner I Am Buddha, the film features Anupam Kher, Nana Patekar, Sapthami Gowda, and Joshi.
India on Thursday said it raised its concerns with the United States over American envoy to Islamabad Donald Blome's recent visit to Gilgit-Baltistan in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir and called on the world community to respect the country's sovereignty and territorial integrity.

IMAGE: US envoy to Pakistan, Donald Blome.

External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Arindam Bagchi asserted that Jammu and Kashmir is an integral part of India.

He also rejected US Ambassador to India Eric Garcetti drawing a parallel to Blome's travel to Gilgit-Baltistan to an American delegation's visit to Srinagar to attend meetings relating to G20.

"Our position on the entire Union territory of Jammu and Kashmir being an integral part of India is well known. We would urge the international community to respect our sovereignty and territorial integrity," Bagchi said when asked about Blome's visit.

"We have raised our concerns about that visit by the US ambassador to Pakistan with the US side," he said.

Blome visited Gilgit-Baltistan last month.

Asked about Garcetti's comments on the matter, Bagchi said: "We do not think the two situations are equivalent."

In October last year too, India raised its concerns with the US after Blome visited Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.

When asked about Blome's visit, Garcetti said two weeks ago: "It's not my place to react to the United States ambassador in Pakistan but I know he's been before, and we've had obviously part of our delegation in Jammu and Kashmir during the G20 as well."

He also said that the Kashmir issue can only be resolved by India and Pakistan.
The Bombay high court on Wednesday took suo motu cognizance of the deaths at two state-run hospitals in Nanded and Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar cities and noted that the reasons given by doctors citing the shortage of beds, staff, and essential medicines cannot be accepted.

The HC also sought details from the Maharashtra government.

A division bench of Chief Justice D K Upadhyaya and Justice Arif Doctor asked Advocate General Birendra Saraf, appearing for the state government, to submit to the bench the details about the state's budgetary allocation for health on Friday.

Earlier in the day, an advocate, Mohit Khanna, had submitted a letter to the bench requesting it to take suo motu cognizance of the deaths.

The bench initially directed Khanna to file a petition and said it wanted to issue effective orders. It also asked the advocate to gather data regarding vacancies in the hospitals, availability of medicine, the percentage (of funds) the government is spending and so on.

However, in the afternoon session, the bench said it was taking suo motu cognizance of the issue noting that reasons given by the doctors at the hospitals citing shortage of beds, staff, and essential medicines cannot be accepted.

"Shortage of staff, essential medicines and beds...if deaths are happening due to these reasons, then it cannot be accepted," CJ Upadhyaya said.

Saraf told the bench that he would submit all details on the issue.

The HC said it would hear the matter on Friday.

Khanna in his letter stated 31 deaths, including those of infants, were recorded at the Dr Shankarrao Chavan Government Medical College and Hospital in Nanded in 48 hours since September 30.

The letter also mentioned that the deaths of 18 patients, including infants, were recorded between October 2 and 3 at the Government Medical College and Hospital at Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar.

Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Tuesday said his government had taken the deaths at the Nanded hospital very seriously, and appropriate action would be taken after a detailed inquiry. He denied that there were shortages of medicines and staff.
The United States embassy on Thursday trashed reports that American Ambassador Eric Garcetti alerted his team about possible impact of New Delhi's diplomatic spat with Ottawa on India-United States relations.

IMAGE: US Ambassador to India Eric Garcetti. Photograph: Sanjay Sharma/ANI Photo

American media outlet The Politico reported that Garcetti also has said the US may need to reduce its contacts with Indian officials for an undefined period of time.

"The US embassy dismisses these reports. Ambassador Garcetti is working hard every day to deepen the partnership between the people and governments of the United States and India," a US embassy spokesperson said, when asked about the report.

"As his personal engagement and public schedule demonstrates, Ambassador Garcetti and the US Mission to India are working every day to advance the important, strategic, and consequential partnership we have with India," the spokesperson said.

The ties between India and Canada came under severe strain following Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's allegations of a 'potential' involvement of Indian agents in the killing of Khalistani separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in June.

India rejected the allegations as 'absurd' and 'motivated' and expelled a senior Canadian diplomat in a tit-for-tat move to Ottawa's expulsion of an Indian official over the case.

The Politico, quoting an unnamed official, said, 'Garcetti has told his in-country team that, because of the diplomatic spat with Canada, relations between India and the US could get worse for a time.'

Garcetti also has said the US may need to reduce its contacts with Indian officials for an undefined period of time, it reported.

The White House said on Tuesday that Canada's allegations regarding India's involvement in the killing of the separatist are 'serious' and need to be investigated fully.
Dr Shreekant Sambrani pays tribute to Dr M S Swaminathan, the renowned agricultural scientist and a lifelong crusader against hunger who passed away in Chennai last week.

IMAGE: Prime Minister Narendra D Modi tweeted this photograph of Dr M S Swaminathan in his tribute. Photograph: ANI Photo

I first met Mankombu Sambsivam Swaminathan (MSS hereafter) in 1976.

The visionary scientist was then the Director-General of the Indian Council of Agriculture Research (ICAR).

He delivered the annual Convocation Address that year at Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad, where I taught then.

The convocations were held late in the evening on the last Saturday in March.

Since 1974, Louis Kahn Plaza has been the venue for the convocation.

It is an inverted U-shaped space, with open-face brickwork three-storeyed structures on three sides of an open space.

It was the last structure supervised by the great American architect Louis Kahn on his last visit to India and his beloved campus. (He passed away in New York City at the Grand Central Station on his way home to Philadelphia; I was instrumental in getting the plaza named for him after his demise).

The magnificence of the structure inspired awe in any and all visitors.

But not MSS. He began his address (I paraphrase freely), "You must be accustomed to receiving accolades about the grand vista of the location we are gathered at.

"But when I see this expanse of wonderful red bricks, I think of the hundreds and thousands of years Mother Nature took to create the topsoil that went to make these countless bricks.

"And I feel sad at the loss of crops which could have been produced in that topsoil."

There was stunned silence. But the great man had dramatically introduced his theme of urgency of feeding a hungry world with those most appropriate (and absolutely correct) opening observations.

Thereafter, I met him many times, when he became Secretary, Agriculture, and Member (later acting Deputy Chairman), Planning Commission, and I was setting up Institute of Rural Management, Anand (IRMA).

(An anecdote: As is the case with all government offices, there is a wooden placard listing all incumbents at the door of the agriculture secretary's office in Krishi Bhavan in Delhi. When Dr V Kurien was visiting MSS in that office for the first time, he noticed that all the names had three small letters after them, except that of MSS.

Dr Kurien called the undersecretary in charge of administration to the secretary's office and proceeded to lecture him: "You members of the civil service may think you have attained nirvana when you sport IAS after your names, but the world values three other letters far more. They are PhD."

The next morning, necessary correction was effected.

The last time I met his was on 26 November 2013, when he delivered the inaugural Kurien Memorial Lecture at IRMA.

The then Director, IRMA, had asked me to introduce the guest to the audience.

In my remarks, I reminded MSS of what he had said at the IIMA convocation nearly 40 years earlier, which perhaps he had forgotten now.

He did acknowledge that he had forgotten that incident, but his concerns as I had recalled were very much valid even now.

He was right, of course, to voice his worries about agricultural production and its criticality in keeping the wolf away from the world, especially the poorer sections of the population.

"It is a matter of shame that in spite of our agricultural progress, malnutrition is widespread in all parts of the country.

'The number of people going to bed hungry is nearly 250 million, more than the number of hungry in sub-Saharan Africa,' he had written in 2010.

IMAGE: A woman winnows wheat crop at a wholesale grain market in Ahmedabad. Photograph: Amit Dave/Reuters

Even today, in the second year of the much-heralded Amrit Kaal of Independent India marching towards a developed nation status 24 years hence, some 800 million people, or close to 60 per cent of the population, is dependent on free rations of grains for its survival.

MSS helped usher in the Green Revolution nearly half a century ago, which gives us the wherewithal to underwrite this gigantic food security measure, but it also highlights how precarious the situation is.

A mere whisper of the possibility of El Nino affecting the current year's monsoon and its likely adverse impact on grain production sends a chill down the policy-makers' collective spine.

MSS had clearly identified two constraints: The first was official apathy and worse.

As agriculture secretary and member, Planning Commission, he brought his considerable intellectual and administrative acumen to bear upon issues such as water conservation and women's crucial role in agriculture.

As a nominated member of the Rajya Sabha, he introduced a bill on women's entitlements in agriculture in 2011, which lapsed (it finds no mention in the current hype on nari shakti abhivaadan adhiniyam; that should come as no surprise).

The series of reports of the National Commission on Farmers (2004-2006) which he chaired bear ample witness of his overwhelming concern for faster and more inclusive growth and administrative measures needed to help achieve it.

His enunciation of what constitutes a remunerative price for farmers has been widely accepted as a sound concept, but its implementation has never been satisfactory even as we continue to chant the mantra of doubling farmers' incomes.

No wonder he was to observe, "The term 'accountability' seems to have gone out of our administrative dictionary."

His second concern, and by far the major thrust of all his endeavours throughout his long life, was technology and productivity.

To him, the Green Revolution was just the beginning. It was an article of faith for him that humanity needed sustained increases in productivity through technology.

He believed that benefits of transgenic technology far outweighed any possible ill-effects.

He felt that strict regulation would ensure that the ill effects would not come into play.

He said in 2014, 'Many of the genetically modified organisms in the breeders' assembly line have excellent qualities for resistance to biotic and abiotic stresses as well as improved nutrition.

'Much of this work has been done in institutions committed to public good.'

IMAGE: A farmer sprays a mixture of fertiliser and pesticide onto his wheat crop. Photograph: Amit Dave/Reuters

He coined a term, 'Evergreen Revolution,' which denoted a seamless continuation of the work done under the Green Revolution.

He described it as productivity with perpetuity.

While he acknowledged the role chemical fertilisers had played in ushering in the original Green Revolution, he had at all times urged their balanced and sustainable use.

To him, fertilisers were just one among the resources an agriculture planner could use.

Biological research, organic inputs, adequate -- not surplus -- moisture and above all, a well-informed and trained yeoman peasantry were all to be contributors to the evergreen revolution.

An utterly petty and thoroughly false controversy seems to be in the air following the announcement of the passing of MSS: Who really was the father of the Green Revolution in India -- Dr Norman Borlaug, or Dr M S Swaminathan?

There is no doubt that Dr Borlaug brought to India his wonder dwarf wheat seeds from Mexico following the calamitous drought of 1965.

The enthusiastic acceptance of these first in Punjab and Haryana and later in all other wheat growing areas of the country is the marquee event of the Green Revolution.

But it is equally true that MSS expressed his concerned about our traditional wheat varieties growing tall (a metre or more) and using up the nutrients to support this vegetative growth when he returned to India in mid-1950s after getting his doctoral degree from Cambridge.

He was to be a potato geneticist at Indian Agriculture Research Institute (IARI) in Delhi.

His interest in the height of wheat crop got him thinking about ways of controlling the vegetative growth and enhancing reproductive growth leading to formation of wheat ears).

His concerns finally led him to get in touch with Dr Borlaug in the late 1950s.

The Minnesotan was then at the International Centre for Improvement to Wheat and Maize in Mexico.

He, too, was concerned about the rather tall Mexican wheat plant.

His experiments led to dwarf varieties which yielded far more grain (more than 4 tons per hectare).

MSS wanted Dr Borlaug to come to India for similar experiments.

IMAGE: A farmer sprays pesticide on paddy crop at a field. Photograph: Munish Sharma/Reuters

The Borlaug visit materialised after another seven years and a major drought. The two scientists struck an immediate rapport.

Dr Borlaug was supported by the Rockefeller and Ford Foundations and the United States Agency for International Development.

The Government of India provided all facilitation, virtually placing the entire resources and staff of IARI at the disposal of Drs Borlaug and Swaminathan.

The Rockefeller and Ford representatives could walk into the office of then agriculture minister C Subramaniam or then food secretary B Sivaraman any time.

The rest, as the cliche goes, is history.

Dr Borlaug wrote to MSS in 1970 after receiving the news of the award of the Nobel Peace Prize:

'The Green Revolution has been a team effort and much of the credit for its spectacular development must go to the Indian officials, organizations, scientists, and farmers.

'However, to you, Dr Swaminathan, a great deal of the credit must go for first recognising the potential value of the Mexican dwarfs.

'Had this not occurred, it is quite possible that there would not have been a Green Revolution in Asia.'

In the years since, the Green Revolution is widely estimated to have saved over a billion lives worldwide, more than all the casualties in all the wars, large and small, ever fought anywhere in the world.

Its pioneers, Drs Borlaug and Swaminathan, are thus truly modern-day saints.

I am not much of a believer in State honours. But they are a fact, nevertheless, and a great many have received them, mostly notable individuals (and some not-so noteworthy).

In view of all this, I have often wondered about the omission of these two worthies from the list of those who have received the country's highest honour, the Bharat Ratna; two other equally notable omissions are Dr I G Patel and Dr V Kurien.

Since we now confer these awards posthumously as well, perhaps they would all get the Bharat Ratna, which will in fact enhance the prestige of the award.

Until that happens, MSS for me will be a giant in the earth, like the leading character in the Norwegian novelist Ole Edvart Rolvag's classic tale of Scandinavian immigrants taming the wild prairies of the Dakota Territory to become granaries of America.

Feature Presentation: Aslam Hunani/Rediff.com
Visitors look at energy-saving home appliances at the consumer goods exhibition area of the fifth China International Import Expo (CIIE) at the National Exhibition and Convention Center (Shanghai) in east China's Shanghai, Nov. 6, 2022. (Xinhua/Li Jing)

SHENZHEN, Oct. 5 (Xinhua) -- The Chinese market has shown a growing preference for Turkish home appliances in recent years.

"Turkish products such as electric coffee pots, ovens, stoves and grills are gaining significant popularity among Chinese consumers, especially in recent years when the trade in home appliances has grown rapidly," said Aytac Soylu, a Turkish businessman.

Soylu first arrived in China in 2006, bringing with him not only Turkish coffee but also the tradition of handmade copperware that has been cherished for centuries. However, he soon noticed a growing demand for convenient electric coffee pots among Chinese customers.

As a result, he decided to join hands with his Chinese friend Li Linsheng in 2012 to establish an online store of Turkish specialty small appliances on China's leading e-commerce platform Taobao.

The store dominated the Turkish specialty products category, achieving 80 percent year-on-year sales growth in 2022.

"Turkiye was one of the first countries to support the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). China and Turkiye have been connected since the ancient Silk Road, and now they are closely linked again with the BRI," Soylu said.

Soylu's business success reflects the broader collaboration between China and Turkiye in the home appliance industry.

According to Chinese customs data, China imported 52.06 million U.S. dollars worth of white goods from Turkiye in 2022. Among these imports, refrigerators and freezers were the primary products.

Industry insiders believe that Turkish home appliance companies see significant potential for industrial research and development as well as market collaboration between the two countries, and they aspire to further expand their cooperation with China.

Beko, which is a subsidiary of the Turkish company Koc Holding, has established its own flagship stores on Chinese e-commerce platforms, such as Suning.com, Tmall and JD.com, selling refrigerators, washing machines and dryers.

As of September 2023, it had opened 946 offline stores in Chinese cities including Shanghai, Beijing, Kunming and Zhuhai.

Leading Turkish white goods firm Vestel has also established subsidiaries in Shanghai and Shenzhen.

Meanwhile, Chinese home appliance companies are also ramping up their investments in Turkiye. Haier Smart Home Co., Ltd. has established clothes dryer and dishwasher factories in Turkiye, with a total investment exceeding 85 million euros, and is poised to attain an annual production capacity of over 2.5 million units. 
WEST ARLINGTON  Today is the last day of the year that the "OPEN" message painted by hand on the side of an A-frame sign will be turned to fa
ISTANBUL, Oct. 5 (Xinhua) -- Three 7,700-year-old human figures have been found during ongoing archeological digs in Turkiye's western port city of Izmir, the local Demiroren news agency reported on Thursday.

The findings were unearthed at the 8,850-year-old Ulucak Mound, the oldest settlement in Izmir, according to Demiroren.

Ozlem Cevik, an academic leading the excavations, said these figures differed from those unearthed so far in the area and were not well-known artifacts for the region.

Cevik said two of the figures were believed to be a pair, wearing the same costumes with hats and having pointy noses, and the third piece was a female with a baby in her arms. She added that all the figures were made of terracotta and clay.

Experts said such figurines have been primarily seen in the Balkans.

Cevik and her team have been working at the Ulucak Mound since 2009. 
CHONGQING, Oct. 5 (Xinhua) -- "The school will have easy access to wells for getting drinking water in the future," teachers and students cheer at a primary school in Xiushan County of Chongqing, southwest China.

A geological team of the municipality's geology and mining authority used water exploration and drilling techniques to achieve a major breakthrough in Karst groundwater exploration and drilling.

They helped the primary school get rid of water shortage.

Chongqing has rich mountainous and hilly areas, with prominent Karst landforms and abundant water flowing through the city, said Du Chunlan, a senior engineer of hydraulic and environmental geology of the geological team. But it is difficult to develop and utilize water here.

The Karst area of Chongqing is close to 30,000 square kilometers, accounting for one-third of the city's jurisdiction area, according to a report by Science and Technology Daily. There are a large number of pipes, large corrosion cracks, and pores in the rock strata, and the precipitation will soon be converted into groundwater.

Previously, it took about 30 days to drill a well in the Karst area due to the complex geological structure, said Lyu Yuxiang, a deputy chief engineer with the geological team. And the water shortage often occurs in summer there. "We can't bear people waiting such a long time."

They improved the drilling technique to promote efficiency. The new technique shortens the average duration of a single-hole drilling to three days, drilling more than 20 meters per hour.

The Karst region has an uneven distribution of water resources, said Lyu. The transport and accumulation of Karst water has been a hot and difficult issue in the industry for a long time.

The successful rate of drilling water used to be only about 30 percent in Karst regions. Since 2006, the geological team has been engaged in water exploration and drilling. They increased the success rate up to 70 percent.

They have analyzed and summarized the accumulation of Karst groundwater, Karst water storage structure, and water exploration in southeast and northeast Chongqing, as well as identifying 26 water-rich blocks in the city's Karst areas.

The achievements were considered to enrich the hydrogeological theory and provide a reference for exploiting Karst groundwater.

Up till now, the geological team has compiled a water exploration standard in the Karst regions of Chongqing, conducted 13 Karst water supply demonstration projects, drilled 68 wells, and made drinking water easily accessible for more than 80,000 people. 
NAIROBI, Oct. 5 (Xinhua) -- The Kenyan Ministry of Health announced on Thursday that it will launch a second polio vaccination campaign.

Mary Muriuki, principal secretary for public health and professional standards in the Ministry of Health, told journalists in the national capital of Nairobi that the five-day vaccination campaign will start on Saturday. "The upcoming round will target 10 high-risk counties in northern Kenya, northeastern and eastern Kenya, central Kenya, the coastal region, and Nairobi."

The ministry said the latest campaign marks a crucial step in the ongoing efforts to combat the recent polio outbreak in Garissa County in eastern Kenya in June.

Muriuki said the surveillance teams have detected an additional two polio cases, bringing the total number to eight, including a seven-year-old child. She said the confirmation reaffirmed that polio is a threat to all people, irrespective of age, in areas where population immunity is compromised.

"I, therefore, urge all parents to ensure their children receive all the required vaccine doses to prevent further polio outbreaks. This process begins with the birth dose and continues with additional doses at six weeks, 10 weeks, and 14 weeks," Muriuki said.

The official said Kenya continues to undertake polio surveillance among children under the age of 15 years while at the same time undertaking environmental surveillance to detect suspected cases promptly, adding that Kenya is in the process of recruiting and training 100,000 community health promoters to strengthen efforts and ensure that vigilance is enhanced at the community level.

The official said a total of 1.96 million children under the age of five were vaccinated in the first round of vaccinations, which took place in August. 
A claim making the rounds on social media states that more than 180 U.N. member states, including the United States, subscribe to the One China principle. This is a core conviction of the Peoples Republic of China  that Taiwan is an inalienable part of China and that it should be governed from Beijing. The posts cited remarks made by Cambodias new Prime Minister Hun Manet after a recent visit to Beijing.

But the claim is false. First, the United States does not agree with the One China principle, instead adhering to its distinct One China policy, that takes no position on sovereignty over Taiwan. Basically, Washington acknowledges Beijing's position, but does not take a stance on its validity. Secondly, research shows that there are 51 countries  not more than 180  that follow a policy that substantively approach or replicate the Peoples Republic of Chinas One China principle.

Manets video was published here on Sept. 19 by The Cambodia China Times.

Out of 193 U.N. member states, more than 180 recognize the one-China (principle), including the United States, Manet said. There is nothing wrong with Cambodias adherence to the One China principle.

The One China principle is official Chinese policy that its government in Beijing is the sole legitimate representative of China, that Taiwan is an inalienable part of China and that resolving the question of Taiwans sovereignty is an internal Chinese affair, which no external force has the right to interfere in.

Manets remarks came after his first visit to China on Sept. 14-16. China and Cambodia issued a joint communique reaffirming Cambodias continued adherence to its longstanding one China policy, a point that Hun reiterated in a subsequent speech given on Sept. 19.

This statement was also cited by the Beijing backed outlets Huanqiu Online and the Straits Plus on their official Douyin accounts.

The Cambodia China Times released a video saying that Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet claimed that more than 180 countries have recognised the one-China principle, including the United States. (Screenshot/ The Cambodia China Times)

Washingtons One China policy

The United States does not agree with the One China principle, instead adhering to its distinct One China policy, which is purposefully ambiguous. The United States does not take a position on the resolution of the cross-Taiwan Straits situation, leaving any final resolution of their differences up to the two parties.

Current State Department Spokesperson Matthew Miller states that the U.S. does not subscribe to the PRCs one China principle. (Screenshot/X)

The U.S. has long abided by our one-China policy. This is distinct from Beijings One China principle under which the Chinese Communist Party asserts sovereignty over Taiwan. The United States takes no position on sovereignty over Taiwan, a U.S. State Department spokesman told AFCL, requesting anonymity per the ministrys normal practice for background information.

The spokesman noted that Washington will continue to support a peaceful resolution of cross-straits issues in a manner consistent with the wishes and best interests of the Taiwanese people.

Less than 181 countries

Beijing has also misleadingly claimed that all 181 countries it has diplomatic relations with recognize the One China principle, but thats not accurate.

Research by Ja Ian Chong, an associate professor of political science at the National University of Singapore, found that 51 countries maintain positions on One China that approach or replicate Beijings One China principle.

Chong classified 181 nations into 10 different categories based on their positions toward One China, and those 51 countries belong to the category 1 that recognize PRC (Peoples Republic of China) as sole legitimate government of China (or representing all Chinese people) and Taiwan as part of China (province or inalienable part).

Meanwhile, the United States is the only country that belongs to the category 7 that recognizes PRC as the sole legitimate government of China and acknowledges the PRCs position that Taiwan is part of China, according to Chongs research.

Chong noted that his categorization is not meant to indicate a governments current policies but rather the language that the government has used to refer to mainland China and Taiwan.

Translated by Shen Ke. Edited by Taejun Kang and Malcolm Foster.

Asia Fact Check Lab (AFCL) is a branch of RFA established to counter disinformation in todays complex media environment. Our journalists publish both daily and special reports that aim to sharpen and deepen our readers understanding of public issues.
ISTANBUL, Oct. 5 (Xinhua) -- Over 100 people were arrested in a major operation against drug traffickers in Istanbul, Turkiye's largest city, Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said on Thursday.

Police carried out overnight raids in 25 out of 39 districts of the city, arresting 104 suspects, Yerlikaya said on the social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter.

Police also seized 3.5 kilograms of bonsai and various amounts of methamphetamine, cannabis, skunk, drug pills, weapons, and money, he said.

The fight against terrorism, drugs, organized crime gangs, and irregular migration will continue "relentlessly" in the country, the minister added. 
US State Department warns Beijing is throwing massive sums at furthering its aims and Taiwan is on the frontline.

Amid ongoing efforts by the Taiwanese authorities to stem a roiling tide of Chinese money and disinformation aimed at influencing Taiwans January presidential elections, the Taipei District Prosecutors Office on Tuesday indicted members of the Taiwan Peoples Communist Party.

A day later, National Security Bureau Director-General Tsai Ming-yen warned Taiwan's legislature that Beijings methods of interference in the elections have also diversified, including manipulating public opinion polls and packaging false information as reports from international media.

The development came just days after the U.S. State Departments Global Engagement Center issued a report warning that China is engaged in a global campaign of disinformation, throwing billions of dollars at furthering Beijings aims and burying all criticism of its policies.

The sums in the Taiwan Communist Party case  totaling around US$11,000 in contributions for Don Quixote windmill tilts at office in Taiwan, among other accusations  are paltry by comparison to the Chinese Communist Partys (CCPs) alleged billions sloshing around the world in pursuit of a coherent soft-power narrative.

But the fact that Taiwan even has a communist party signals that Taiwans inclusive, democratic society makes it vulnerable to information influencing campaigns. Allegations in Taiwan are subject to due legal process, which makes it vulnerable to unscrupulous bad actors.

Chief among these is the CCPs United Front organizations  funded networks of groups and individuals that advance Beijings interests  which have been assiduously working for decades to bring Taiwanese around to the idea of unification. Funding is growing year by year.

According to Ryan Fedasiuk, a Non-Resident State Department Fellow at the Center for Security and Emerging Technology, based on information from more than 160 budget and expense reports from national and regional PRC government and Communist Party entities organizations central to Chinas national and regional united front systems spent more than US$2.6 billion in 2019.

Thats more money than Chinas Ministry of Foreign Affairs got, according to Fedasiuk.

Diversified disinformation: more targeted and nuanced

Analysts say that Chinas disinformation has become more targeted and nuanced over the years.

Kenddrick Chan, head of the Digital International Relations project at LSE IDEAS, said: It is important to recognise that disinformation from Beijing often takes on different tones and varies in messaging, depending on the target audience.

For the younger crowd, it is more of portraying the U.S. as an unreliable ally, with Ukraine and Afghanistan being examples etc. Beijing knows that the China is your friend line is much less likely to work for the younger generation.

But, for the older generation, says Chan, the messaging tends to be that the DPP [Democratic Progressive Party] has messed up across the spectrum, from worsening Cross Straits relations to economic mismanagement etc.

Taiwan's Vice President Lai Ching-te delivers a speech during a press conference in Taipei, Taiwan, Wednesday, April 12, 2023. Taiwans pro-independence ruling Democratic Progressive Party nominated Lai as its candidate in the 2024 presidential election, two days after China concluded large-scale wargames around the self-governed island. Credit: AP





Last week a State Department report said, The PRC suppresses critical information that contradicts its desired narratives on issues such as Taiwan, its human rights practices, the South China Sea, its domestic economy, and international economic engagement. More broadly, the PRC seeks to cultivate and uphold a global incentive structure that encourages foreign governments, elites, journalists, and civil society to accept its preferred narratives and avoid criticizing its conduct.

Last year, Taiwan was the leading target for foreign  and China  disinformation for nine years in a row, according to V-Dem, a Swedish institute that produces annual reports dedicated to pulling back the veil on global disinformation.

In the Taiwan legislature on Wednesday, National Security Bureaus Tsai told legislators that apart from military intimidation, the CCP United Front was also exerting economic pressure, including putting pressure on Taiwanese businesses, disseminating false information and shaping a narrative that Taiwan must choose between peace or war in the January presidential elections.

DPP legislator Lin Ching-yi asked Tsai whether Taiwanese collaborators were playing ping pong with the United Front, referring to pay to play bounce-forward-bounce-back amplification of disinformation.

"There's an industry chain involved in the operation of false information, Tsai replied. The CCP quotes international media, such as Russian media, to present it as an international media report, and then creates disputed information to resell to the industry chain. Distribution channels include one-time accounts, stolen accounts and AI technology to massively generate artificial accounts.

But long-time Taiwan commentator and election pollster Courtney Donovan Smith said despite all the money being thrown at influencing elections in Taiwan by the CCPs United Front, he thought that Taiwans electorate was becoming increasingly better at sorting the wheat from the chaff.

Theyll [the United Front] run into diminishing returns as more and more people grow suspicious, [and] eventually they'll only be trusted by the hardcore and extreme voters who want to believe them.

It will take time, though, so Im worried it might impact this election.

Chan of LSE IDEAS was more cautious, noting that influencing Taiwans elections may not be as simple as Chinas United Front imagines.

Of course, it is safe to say that CCP influence campaigns have had a non-negligible effect on the decision-making process of voters, he said. However, there are also other factors at play here  some voters might give more weight to socio-economics issues as opposed to geopolitical ones.

He added, This is where you can see the dynamics of Taiwanese politics at play.

Blame the Americans

As Chan noted, the China is your friend line is widely met with justified skepticism by Taiwanese, who closely watched the CCPs hard-handed and increasing control of Hong Kong after the 2019 protests.

But Americans are untrustworthy is a line the CCPs United Front sees as having traction.

Last month, The Taiwan Information Environment Research Center (IORG) released a report entitled U.S. Skepticism Narratives and Where They Come From.

According to the report, the CCP leads the way in skepticism towards the U.S., shaping a worldview for Chinese-speaking readers that aligns with the CCP's interests.

Between 2021 and the first half of 2023, the United Front, the report said, highlighted shortages of COVID-19 vaccine supplies, the Biden administrations first arms sale to Taiwan, the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, Russias invasion of Ukraine, former U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosis visit to Taiwan, TSMCs establishment of factories in the U.S. and the CCPs military exercises against Taiwan in April of this year  the latter being a scare tactic: vote wrong, vote for war.

The IORG classified the above as mostly conspiracy theories that aimed to lead Taiwanese to see the U.S. and Taiwanese elites as conspiring to exploit the Taiwanese people and profit from them.

The investigation found that the CCP accounted for some 84% of such narratives.

Skepticism towards the U.S. can be understood as an authoritarian regime's attempt to create dissent against its competitors, Huang Jaw-nian, assistant professor at National Chengchi Universitys Graduate Institute of National Development, told Radio Free Asia Mandarin service.

From China's perspective, it crafts dissent against the U.S. and covertly infuses agreement with China.

Jasmine Lee, analyst at BowerGroupAsia and co-editor at U.S. Taiwan Watch said her research suggests the CCP is involved in more than half of the disinformation efforts that she described as Fake Friends, Fake Democracy, Anti-World and Destroy Taiwan.

Is it possible that  the CCP understands better than the Taiwanese whether the U.S. and Taiwan are friends? Is China more aware of the crucial role of democracy in U.S.-Taiwan relations? she asked.

No, she said. Its just that China understands the leadership position of the U.S. in the world, and so they want to tell you that the U.S. is anti-world and will harm Taiwan.

Edited by Mike Firn and Elaine Chan.
The move completes the ban on Mongolian-medium education that sparked mass protests across the region in 2020.

Parents wait outside a school in Tongliao, in Chinas northern Inner Mongolia region, on Sept. 10, 2020, following protests about the bilingual education policy by the Chinese government.

Chinese authorities in the northern region of Inner Mongolia have cut the number of weekly Mongolian language classes from schools across the region, Radio Free Asia has learned.

The move comes as schools complete the phasing out of Mongolian in favor of Mandarin as a medium of instruction for non-language classes including history, math and science  a policy that sparked mass protests by parents and students followed by a regionwide crackdown when it was first announced in September 2020.

Mongolian language classes have also now been banned from kindergarten, and reduced from seven timetabled classes a week to just three, according to people familiar with the matter.

Following on from the policy announced in 2020, the education bureau in the regional capital, Hohhot earlier this year ordered primary and secondary schools across the city to ensure they are using only Mandarin as the language of instruction from the start of the academic year on Sept. 1.

A school teacher in Inner Mongolia's Ordos city who gave the single name Uyunqimg told RFA that Mongolian language classes have also been cut in many schools, and that the Mongolian language test will be removed from college entrance exams in the region.

"Mongolian language teaching hasn't all been canceled, but that may happen gradually," she said. "The ultimate goal is definitely canceling all of it, because the Mongolian-lanauge test is being removed from the college entrance exam."

Mongolians protest China's plan to introduce Mandarin-only classes at schools in the Chinese province of Inner Mongolia, at Sukhbaatar Square in Ulaanbaatar, capital of Mongolia, on Sept. 15, 2020. Credit: Byambasuren Byamba-Ochir/AFP

An ethnic Mongolian living in the region who is familiar with the matter but asked not to be named for fear of reprisal, confirmed that high school entrance exams will use Chinese only from 2025, while Mongolian will disappear from the college entrance exam by 2028.

"The trend in the future will be for the Mongolian language to gradually disappear from textbooks," the person said. "However, there are still Mongolian language departments in Chinese colleges and universities, so it's hard to say what will happen in future."

Uyunqimg said some kindergartens have also stopped teaching students Mongolian children's songs, replacing them with songs in Chinese.

"As far as I know, kindergartens now no longer teach Mongolian childrens songs, and teach children Chinese songs instead," she said. "This is true in some places, but not necessarily in all places."

"In some places, Mongolian language teachers have to teach other classes because there are obviously fewer Mongolian language classes, Uyunqimg said.

Region is losing autonomy

The New York-based Southern Mongolia Human Rights and Information Center has also reported that the Chinese authorities are enforcing a total ban on the Mongolian language in all schools across Inner Mongolia.

"All Mongolian schools  including kindergartens  are now required to use Chinese exclusively as the medium of instruction for all subjects," the group said in a Sept. 1 report on its website.

It quoted an ethnic Mongolian parent as saying in a WeChat discussion group that Beijing is "spreading misinformation and brainwashing the Mongolians."

"Our autonomous region has lost autonomy entirely, another said, while another said homeschooling wasn't an option either.

"Refusing to send your children to school is not allowed," they commented on the discussion.

This is not just a denial of our right to our mother tongue," said another WeChat comment. "This is a threat to the survival of our Mongolian nation and people.

Plainclothes policemen in front of the Horqin Mongolian School in Tongliao in China's northern Inner Mongolia region, Sept. 10, 2020, following protests over Chinas bilingual education policy. Credit: Noel Celis/AFP

The report said the move was a facet of "cultural genocide" by the ruling Chinese Communist Party.

Yang Haiying, a professor at Shizuoka University in Japan, said the moves are all in line with the "cancellation" of the bilingual culture that once existed in the region's schools.

"They are starting to implement Mandarin-medium teaching in line with the cancellation of the bilingual policy that was released in June 2020," Yang said.

"There are very few Mongolian language classes now, and they just teach them how to write their own name and say greetings and so on."

Exam points handicap

The Inner Mongolia Admissions and Examination authorities will also slash examination points handicaps for ethnic Mongolians, Daur, Oroqen, Evenk and Russians from 10 points to five with effect from 2026, according to the region's official examinations and admissions website.

Yang said the move will widen inequality between ethnic minority students and majority Han Chinese, who get much bigger handicaps if they take the test in ethnic minority areas.

"If you're Han Chinese and take the exam in the [Inner Mongolia] autonomous region, in Mongolian, you can get a handicap of 100 points," he said.

Germany-based ethnic Mongolian activist Xi Haiming said the authorities are also using other methods to force ethnic Mongolian children to abandon their native language in favor of Chinese, often by putting pressure on parents at their place of work.

"Parents who send their kids to a school that teaches Mongolian can get fired, which is a lot of pressure," Xi said.

"This coercive insistence on Chinese-medium teaching imposed on Mongolians by the authorities is really inhumane."

Translated with additional reporting by Luisetta Mudie.
Case shows how Laos feels in debt to China under the Belt & Road initiative, activist says.

Chinese rights lawyer Lu Siwei stands by the roadside at an undisclosed location, about 300 kilometers (186 miles) north of Vientiane, Laos, on July 27, 2023, as he headed south to the border with Thailand.

Authorities in Laos told American and United Nations diplomats that detained Chinese rights attorney Lu Siwei was still in the country, even after he was sent back to face detention in China, his wife told Radio Free Asia in a recent interview.

Lu, who is now being held in the Xindu Detention Center in the southwestern Chinese province of Sichuan, was repatriated to China in early September after being arrested in Laos en route to join his family in the United States.

His detention in Laos and subsequent repatriation is another example of transnational "long-arm" law enforcement by Beijing, rights activists and commentators have warned.

Xindu Detention Center officials contacted his family on Oct. 4 informing them that he was being held there and requesting they send clothes, medication and money for him, but gave no details of his repatriation, nor of any criminal charges against him, his U.S.-based wife Zhang Chunxiao said.

Lu suffers from a severe skin condition and has been without his regular medication for two months now, she said.

Lu's lawyer confirmed on Sept. 14 that his client had left Laos for China several days earlier. Yet the authorities in Laos were still claiming that he was still in the country, Zhang said.

Zhang Chunxiao, shown with her husband, Lu Siwei, says her husband suffers from a severe dermatological condition and has been without his regular medication for two months. They are seen in this undated photo. Credit: Provided by Zhang Chunxiao





"The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Laos kept telling the United Nations and American diplomats that Siwei was still in Laos," Zhang said. "What I really don't understand is how the Laos government would ... be willing to deceive everyone."

"[My husband] had already been sent back, and they were still saying that he was still in Laos. Why would they do that?"

The exact date of Lu's repatriation on a bus along with dozens of other wanted Chinese nationals remains unclear.

Laos in debt to China

According to an official notification dated Sept. 11 issued by the Chinese Embassy in Laos to the Lao Ministry of Public Security, Lu was "approved for criminal detention" by police in the southwestern Chinese province of Sichuan on Sept. 3, on suspicion of "illegally crossing a border.

The document, a copy of which was circulating on social media at the time, and which has now been proven genuine, informed the Lao authorities that the Ministry of Public Security of the People's Republic of China "requires that the suspect Lu Siwei be transferred to China, to be brought to justice as soon as possible."

Taiwanese democracy activist Lee Ming-cheh, who has served jail time in China for his activism, said the Lao authorities are clearly willing to do as Beijing tells them.

"Laos is in a great deal of debt to China under the Belt and Road [infrastructure] initiative," Lee said. "Laos' political system is also a dictatorship like China's, so it's pretty normal that Laos would send Lu Siwei back there."

It is unclear whether Lu will be allowed visitors, but could be denied visits from his family or lawyers if he is charged with a crime linked to "national security," like subversion, Lee said.

One of the two activists [left] traveling with Chinese rights lawyer Lu Siwei [right] argues with police who were in the process of detaining Lu, near the Thanaleng dry port, 13 kilometers (8 miles), south of Vientiane, on July 28, 2023. Credit: Anonymous source via AP





Zeng Jianyuan, chairman of the overseas-based New School for Democracy, agreed.

"Today just proves that Laos has succumbed to Chinese power," Zeng said. "It's a betrayal of ... the values respected in their society, which is Buddhist."

He said it was ironic that the news about Lu's fate is only emerging around the Oct. 1 anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China under late supreme leader Mao Zedong.

"They have arrested someone who really took practical action to achieve the revolutionary ideals of the Chinese Communist Party," Zeng said.

"Repatriating Lu Siwei was an act of betrayal, and it's very sad."

Translated by Luisetta Mudie. Edited by Malcolm Foster.
Reporters for North Koreas state-run Rodong Sinmun newspaper are increasingly using their status and freedom to travel for economic gain, obtaining rice and other food in exchange for favorable stories, residents in the country told Radio Free Asia.

Some journalists have even gotten involved in buying and selling gold, letting their newsgathering take a back seat, the sources said.

The Rodong Sinmun is an organ of the ruling Korean Workers Party and the most widely-read publication in the country. Its reporters are accorded prestige and freedom that most of their fellow citizens are not, and some exploit that to make money that will offset their low salaries.

Reporters of the Rodong Sinmun, who enjoy high status as the partys trumpeters, are now looking for subjects that they can do business with  rather than just writing good articles, a resident of Pyongyang told RFA Korean on condition of anonymity for security reasons.

While travel for ordinary citizens is restricted, reporters can go practically anywhere thanks to a government-issued travel pass.

If you show this travel pass, the authorities will not be able to control you, a South Pyongan resident said. Some reporters buy gold in Hoechang County, a gold mining area, under the pretext of reporting. They then make money illegally by selling the gold to China through the border area of Sinuiju.

Supplementing ones income

In the past, some Rodong Sinmun reporters were able to offer writing a favorable story to factory or farm managers in exchange for food or goods, sources said.

But ever since the North Korean economy collapsed in the mid-1990s, salaries from government-assigned jobs are nowhere near enough to live on. The 3,500 won (42 US cents) reporters receive per month is enough to buy only 600 grams of rice at the marketplace.

It is now a matter of survival for the reporters to think about how they stand to gain money from a story, rather than whether the story actually serves the public. Some reporters even leave the writing out of it, and use their travel privileges to trade commodities, the sources said.

The path to becoming a Rodong Sinmun reporter is very narrow.

Candidates must be chosen from the best and brightest at top universities, with impeccable academic records, and they must even come from families that have demonstrated unwavering loyalty to the state for several generations.

Two years after they are sent to work at the paper, they must take an exam to become a level five, or entry level, reporter. From there they can hope for promotion to level four within a few years. Then for the most skilled reporters, subsequent promotions to levels three, two, and one may follow.

But the life of a reporter at North Koreas biggest newspaper is anything but glamorous, the resident said.

The reporter I know is a level four reporter who has been working at the industry department of the Rodong Sinmun for 7 years. But his family is so poor that they dont even have enough rice and meat soup on holidays, she said. Rodong Sinmun reporters receive food rations, but food for their families is not normally distributed.

She explained that the reporter normally supports his family by traveling through the country to visit factories and receive favors or goods from each factorys management.

But these days the factories are not operating properly due to the lack of materials and fuel, the resident said. So even if the reporter writes a good article about the factory, like reporting that the factory was self-reliant, it would do nothing to help the reporters bottom line.

The lucrative farming beat

Due to the downturn in the economy, reporters in the factory beat want to switch to the collective farming beat, the resident said.

They all hope to become agricultural reporters, she said. When a reporter from the agriculture department goes out to cover a cooperative farm, the management committee chairperson and work team leaders usually give the reporter about 20 kilograms (44 lbs.) of rice, red pepper powder, and other ingredients in a backpack.

Reporters also want to be assigned to cover the moneyed elites, because it has become customary for the rich to bribe journalists with US$100 bills in exchange for reports that can cast them in a good image and help expand their business networks, she said.

Those who get involved in trading gold often get consumed by that endeavor, while journalism becomes less important.

Until a few years ago, reporters tried to gain honor  raising their status by publishing more good articles to promote the partys policies. she said. These days, some reporters worry more about making money than reporting, saying that as their status increases, they only have to write more propaganda articles.

Reporters who have been recognized for their outstanding contributions as deemed by the party are given the title of People's Reporter and Meritorious Reporter, and in the past, this was seen as the highest honor. But sources said that these days the number of reporters who deviate from the party's ideology is increasing.

Translated by Claire Shinyoung Oh Lee and Leejin J. Chung. Edited by Eugene Whong.
A view of South Korean and Japanese national flags hoisted ahead of the arrival of South Korea's President Yoon Suk Yeol and his wife Kim Keon-hee, at Tokyo International Airport on March 16, 2023.

The foreign ministries of South Korea and Japan held their first strategic dialogue in nine years, and agreed to strengthen ties to deal with the common threat of Pyongyangs nuclear provocations, a development indicating that the bilateral collaboration is extending beyond the military, finance to diplomacy.

South Koreas first vice minister for foreign affairs Chang Ho-jin and his Japanese counterpart Masataka Okano met in Seoul on Thursday, where the agenda centered around bilateral, regional and global issues, including the Indo-Pacific strategy and geopolitics of East Asia, according to the Souths foreign ministry statement.

The two also jointly condemned North Koreas nuclear provocations during the talks, the statement added. They concurred that the United States, South Korea, and Japan must collaborate to spearhead a resolute and unified international response, vowing that the three nations will put efforts towards improving human rights in North Korea.

The vice-ministerial strategic dialogue is a part of the close communication between ROK and Japan, and we expect it to further strengthen our cooperation on issues of common interest based on this communication, said Lim Soo-suk, South Koreas foreign ministry spokesperson in a regular briefing, referring to South Korea by its formal name.

Seouls ties and communication with Tokyo were improving at both bilateral and multilateral levels, she added.

The meeting between the two key U.S. allies took place for the first time since 2014, after the two leaders of the countries, Yoon Suk Yeol and Kishida Fumio agreed to mend ties during a summit in March.

The meeting was first held in 2005, with the aim of expanding bilateral strategic cooperation to tackle regional challenges, but was suspended as relations between Seoul and Tokyo soured over disagreement surrounding Japans colonial rule over the Korean peninsula.

Most notable is the issue of compensating forced laborers and comfort women, a Japanese euphemism for wartime sex slaves. As the dispute showed no signs of reaching a resolution, its implication has extended to other areas, affecting military and economic security.

The discord between Tokyo and Seoul ran against the interests of Washington to reunite allies in addressing challenges posed by China. South Koreas conservative President Yoon Suk Yeol, who took office last year, made steps to reconcile the dispute, and had proposed measures to compensate the wartime victims using South Korean funds, despite the domestic backlash.

Expanding cooperation

Thursdays meeting signals South Korea and Japans effort to expand their scope of cooperation  a move that could aid U.S. President Joe Bidens Asia strategy to unite regional allies.

Initial indications of reconciliation have appeared in the military sector, with the navies of South Korea and Japan actively and openly participating in drills in waters that divide the Koreas and Japan.

The scope of cooperation then extended to the finance sector, with the two countries agreeing to revive their financial cooperation earlier this week, in the face of heightened geopolitical risks including those that could potentially stem from Chinas unstable property market.

During the U.S.-South Korea-Japan trilateral summit at Camp David in August, Yoon indicated that the cooperation is poised to expand its hi-tech industries. In the fields of artificial intelligence, quantum, bio, next-generation information and communication, and space, ROK-US-Japan cooperation has great synergies, Yoon said.

Kishida also echoed Yoon in the press conference: In the area of economic security, there was consensus on promoting cooperation in key emerging technologies and cooperation related to strengthening supply chain resilience, Kishida said, indicating that Tokyos cooperation with Seoul would create a foundation for continued and stable strengthening of trilateral cooperation.

The real game now is bringing specific measures into strengthening the cooperations, pointed out Cheon Seong-whun, a former security strategy secretary for South Koreas presidential office.

The devil is in detail, Cheon said. Its essential to identify specific methods to enhance collaboration. One approach could be establishing a committee dedicated to fostering direct cooperation.

The focus now should be on achieving tangible outcomes. Operating the current framework without producing meaningful results is futile, he added.
Education workers from Yangons Hlaing Tharyar township protest the junta coup, in front of the Chinese Embassy in Myanmar on Feb. 18, 2021.

More than 130,000 teachers remain a part of Myanmars Civil Disobedience Movement, or CDM, made up of government employees who have walked off the job to protest the militarys February 2021 coup detat, the countrys shadow government said Thursday.

Speaking at an event to mark World Teachers Day, National Unity Government Minister of Health and Education Zaw Wei Soe said that CDM teachers have continued to make significant contributions to the resistance, despite a growing number of hardships since the movement boasted more than 200,000 teachers in the days immediately following the takeover.

For almost three years, these teachers have been participating in the CDM as part of the Spring Revolution without taking a single penny of salary, he said. There are still more than 130,000 CDM teachers who have helped to limit the effectiveness of the terrorist military regime.

While some teachers left the CDM due to social and economic pressures, others cited safety concerns as they saw the junta increasingly arrest, jail and kill their colleagues. In some cases, teachers said they did not receive as much support from the NUG and anti-junta groups as they expected. By some estimates, thousands of teachers left the CDM when schools reopened for the year in June 2022 and 2023.

In the years since the coup, the National Unity Government, or NUG  made up of former civilian leaders and anti-junta activists  has launched more than 70 classes online and over 5,000 basic education schools, NUG Acting President Duwa Lashi La said at the event, despite the militarys deliberate targeting of the education sector.

[The junta] has been committing inhuman crimes such as launching indiscriminate airstrikes and arson attacks on schools or and arresting, torturing and killing their teachers, he said.

The junta has said that teachers, parents, and students who attend NUG schools, as well as those who provide financial support, face serious action.

Hundreds of thousands of families have pulled their children out of state-run schools since the military seized power in favor of self-help schools set up by the CDM, the NUG and anti-junta Peoples Defense Force, or PDF, paramilitary groups.

Attacks on self-help schools

Amid an ongoing junta offensive against the PDF and ethnic rebel groups in Myanmars remote border regions, attacks on villages have led to injuries and even deaths at self-help schools. Even when the schools dont face the threat of conflict, teachers and students are often forced to attend classes in makeshift conditions and lack access to critical education resources.

The NUGs message on World Teachers Day stood in stark contrast to that of junta chief Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing, who urged Myanmars youth to obtain an education in order to establish a peaceful future society and called for more good teachers to produce such youths.

There is a long tradition of teachers and students assuming an outsized role in the struggle against dictatorship in Myanmar.

In 1988, under the rule of strongman General Ne Win, a student-led anti-dictatorship movement boiled into a nationwide uprising following the regimes announcement banning 25-, 35- and 75-kyat bills from circulation and later the killing of a university student by police.

The nationwide uprising, which peaked on Aug. 8 of that year, became a historic milestone that united Myanmars various ethnic groups, socioeconomic classes, and other communities against the then-ruling junta.

CDM couple detained

In the latest example of persecution that CDM participants face, RFA learned that junta authorities in the northern Sagaing region arrested a married couple of public servants.

Myanmar authorities have arrested Aung San Win and his wife, Myo Su Thet, government employees who joined the Civil Disobedience Movement. Credit: Facebook/Myo Su Thet

On Sept. 30, junta troops in Sagaing citys Sein Kone ward arrested Aung San Win, 37, and his wife Myo Su Thet, 35, who are junior engineers for Sagaings Road Department, residents told RFA. Four days later, authorities had their home sealed off.

Maybe they were arrested because the junta wanted their family member, or they joined the CDM, said one resident who spoke on condition of anonymity, citing fear of reprisal. This morning, the house was sealed off.

While the reason for their arrest was not immediately clear, pro-junta channels on social media platform Telegram claimed that they had contacted the PDF, which the regime has labeled a terrorist group.

The couple are currently being held at the Sagaing police station, residents said.

Calls by RFA to Sai Naing Naing Kyaw, the juntas spokesperson for Sagaing region, seeking more information on the arrest went unanswered Thursday.

According to Thailands Association for the Assistance of Political Prisoners (Burma), nearly 20,000 people arrested since the coup remain behind bars for their political activities.

Translated by Htin Aung Kyaw. Edited by Joshua Lipes and Malcolm Foster.
The regime says the switch will improve elections, but critics warn it will further suppress the people.

Myanmars junta is updating the countrys antiquated paper identification system with smart electronic cards and asking China  no stranger to keeping tabs on its citizens  for technical assistance.

Late last month, the official Global New Light of Myanmar newspaper reported that during a recent trip to China, Myint Kyaing, the juntas minister of immigration and population, called on Beijing to help replace his countrys national registration IDs with smart cards featuring biometric data that can be checked by computer.

In addition to making IDs less susceptible to damage, they will also include information such as a persons name, date of birth, address, race or ethnicity, hair and eye color, and height as scannable data, the report said, as part of a bid to make the countrys election process smoother.

In June, RFA reported that a widely used Chinese video surveillance company sanctioned by Western governments incorporates an AI technology that automatically alerts authorities if a person is detected unfurling a banner.

Government tracking technologies have proliferated in China over the last several years amid the COVID-19 pandemic. A series of mass technology procurements by police forces across the country have greatly increased authorities abilities to clamp down on social freedoms, control citizens and, critics say, abuse groups targeted by the government.

Critics of the juntas proposed ID update say they fear it will be used to monitor Myanmars citizens and keep them in line amid political instability resulting from the militarys February 2021 coup detat.

A resident of Yangon who gave his name as Phone Myint told RFA Burmese that the people of Myanmar have no need for the national ID scheme or any other policies put forth by the junta.

I think it will work only if there is interest from people, said the resident, who asked not to reveal his identity citing fear of reprisal. Either way, we have seen the juntas staffer starting to visit the citys various wards to implement their project.

Armed resistance groups in Magway region, which has been beset by conflict since the coup, vowed to oppose the plan.

Wei Kyi, an official with the anti-junta People's Defense Force, or PDF, in Magways Yesagyo township said that the updated IDs are part of the juntas efforts to maintain control of the nation.

We assume the junta formulates policies and procedures only as a way to stay in power and that this plan is just another of its projects to keep citizens in check, as well as to target and suppress those who oppose it," he said.

Attempts by RFA to contact junta Deputy Information Minister Major Gen. Zaw Min Tun for comment on the proposed ID update went unanswered Wednesday.

Ending bureaucracy or surveilling the people?

Thein Tun Oo, executive director of the Thayninga Institute for Strategic Studies, which is made up of former military officers, touted the advantages of switching to smart electronic ID cards in comments he made to RFA.

People will be able to apply for jobs using only smart ID cards and the employers can receive all their bio data just by using the smart IDs, he said. If we can make use of the electronic ID system properly, it will save us time by eliminating the bureaucracy.

Nonetheless, Thein Tun Oo acknowledged that it could be difficult to implement the plan under the current circumstances.

Workers collect census data in Yangon, Myanmar, on Jan. 11, 2023. Credit: RFA

Hla Kyaw Zaw, a researcher of Myanmar affairs, said it is unclear whether China has any interest in providing technical assistance for such a project, noting that the junta has only casually suggested the help was forthcoming.

But he said that the junta is likely asking for help from other countries as well, as part of its bid to hold an election that would legitimize its control of Myanmar.

The junta is rushing to hold an election which they seem to have considered to be a favorable solution [to ending the political crisis], he said.

Junta chief Sr. Gen. Min Aung Hlaing said at a Sept. 1 meeting that elections will be held after the national census in 2024, but no further details have been forthcoming.

RFA inquired about Beijings willingness to collaborate with the junta for the national ID scheme at the Chinese Embassy in Yangon, as well as Myanmars Consulate in Kunming, the capital of southwest Chinas Yunnan province, but received no answer.

Political commentator Than Soe Naing suggested that the junta cares little for using the proposed IDs to prepare for the election.

He said that with roughly 4% of the population of 54 million displaced by conflict, according to data from the United Nations, and millions of others who have left the country or joined the armed resistance in territories outside of the juntas control, Myanmar is not in a position to create a nationwide database of verifiable census data.

Instead, he said, the junta has a far simpler and more nefarious purpose in mind: to further suppress the people.

Translated by Myo Min Aung. Edited by Joshua Lipes and Malcolm Foster.
The mining operations will raise money for revolution, the Kachin Independence Organization says.

Residents of Sabyit Khu village, seen Sept. 22, 2023, in Hpakant township of Myanmars Kachin state, have been pressured to move out by the Hpakant township administration of the Kachin Independence Organization.

Ethnic Kachin rebels are pressuring more than 600 people to move out of a village so they can take over gold and jade mining in the area to fund their fight against Myanmars ruling junta, residents told Radio Free Asia.

Officials from the Kachin Independence Organization met with the elders of Sabyit Khu village in early September to negotiate payment to villagers in exchange for their homes and to cover resettlement costs, the resident said.

The village was established more than 30 years ago in the jade mining center of Hpakant township in Kachin state in northern Myanmar..

They said they are trying to collect funds for the revolution, a source who goes by Zaw Zaw for security reasons said. They said they needed these things (our land), not to build a private company, but to make funds for the revolution as a government.

The Kachin Independence Organization, or KIO, is the political wing of the Kachin Independence Army, which has clashed with the Myanmar military for decades.

The KIO sometimes works with Chinese companies in mining rare earth minerals in Kachin state, where successive governments have failed to regulate illegal mining for gold, jade and other rare metals for generations.

But when RFA contacted KIA information officer Col. Nobu about the relocation, he said he hadnt received any information.

I havent heard of that, he said. I dont know about the project yet.

We are not in a position to say no

Some of the residents have already resettled in another village about three miles away from Sabyit Khu, Zaw Zaw said.

Residents have been offered between 15 million to 20 million kyats (US$7,140 to US$9,520) in compensation, in addition to land at the new location, a resident who goes by Wai Lu for security reasons told RFA.

If they choose to live in the new location, they will be provided with the moving costs, he said. They are also provided with new water wells dug for them.

Most residents of Sabyit Khu village, the sign for which is seen Sep. 22, 2023, make a living by panning gold and sluicing for gold and gems. Credit: RFA





Residents have been instructed to move out by mid-October, residents said. The KIOs Hpakant township administration began paying compensation on Sept. 22.

However, some people have resisted giving up their homes, residents told RFA. Most members of the village have made their living mining for gold and jade and are worried the new location will make their livelihood more difficult, they said.

Its not like we have become better off, Zaw Zaw said. I think we just got the amount we fairly deserve. And we are not in a position to say no to them under this unstable political situation.

According to the United Kingdom-based rights group Global Witness, nearly 400,000 people in Myanmar rely on scavenging precious stones in the area around Hpakant to earn a living  most of whom work under unsafe conditions.

Area residents have told RFA that since the military seized power in a February 2021 coup, jade companies have illegally restarted mining operations and skirted scrutiny by paying taxes to the KIO and the junta.

Translated by Myo Min Aung. Edited by Matt Reed and Malcolm Foster.
Stationing a U.S. missile system in Palau would be for security not aggression as the Pacific island countrys close relationship with the United States means it is already a target of possible attack, President Surangel Whipps has said amidst local criticism of the proposal.

Whipps, at a press conference on Wednesday, said Palau needs the same protection as Guam, a U.S. territory in the north Pacific that has a Patriot missile system to protect it from attacks. Whipps floated the idea of an air-defense system for Palau in an interview with Japans Nikkei Asia that coincided with the U.S.-Pacific islands leaders summit in Washington last week.

We are already a target. The targets are the radar sites, the port, the airport and the facilities that the United States can use in times of conflict, said Whipps. So we are just saying, if we are already a target, make sure our country is defended and defended with the best defenses possible.

Patriot is the U.S. armys main air and missile defense system and is capable of bringing down ballistic and cruise missiles as well as aircraft. It is used in 18 countries, according to the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

Palau and its neighbors the Federated States of Micronesia and the Marshall Islands comprise hundreds of islands spread over a vast expanse of ocean in the northwest Pacific. They have among the worlds largest exclusive economic zones and militarily strategic seas near East Asia, a region of potential flashpoints in the intensifying China-U.S. competition.

All three delegate their defense to the U.S. and over the next two decades could receive more than $7 billion of financial and economic assistance from Washington under so-called compacts of free association, subject to Congressional approval.

Palau President Surangel Whipps (center) speaks at a press conference in Koror, Palau on Oct. 4, 2023. Credit: L.N. Reklai/BenarNews





The U.S. Army has previously carried out live fire tests of a Patriot missile system in Palau, the most recent in July at the countrys international airport and in 2022 during Valiant Shield exercises, according to DVIDS, a U.S. military news service.

The U.S. is building an over-the-horizon radar in Palau that it hopes to complete in 2026 and recently strengthened maritime security ties with a new agreement that allows the U.S. Coast Guard to enforce regulations in Palaus exclusive economic zone without a Palauan officer present.

The possibility of a permanent air defense missile system in Palau has raised concerns among some figures in the country.

Former President Johnson Toribiong said the Palau traditional leaders and elected leaders should be consulted.

It is necessary because, in that process, the people of Palau will be well informed about the nature of the Patriot Defense System, its impacts on our natural and social environments, and whether Palau may become a potential target of the preemptive strike or return fire in time of military conflict, said Toribiong.

A MIM-104 Patriot missile is pictured on its way to intercepting a drone target at Roman Tmetuchl International Airport, Palau during a live-fire test on July 17, 2023. Credit: ZaBarr Jones/U.S. Army





Hokkons Baules, president of Palaus Senate, said U.S. interests rather than Palaus are served by a military buildup in the country.

This is a U.S. interest matter, the Indo-Pacific, he said. We senators believe Palau has no enemies. And we believe the U.S. should only step in when there is conflict. This build-up is U.S. interest, not ours.

Whipps said the July test of the missile system was to assess the process of it being deployed from Guam in a time of threat.

He said a national leadership meeting believed that the three-hour deployment time was too long and senators at the meeting had recommended a permanent installation. Baules said the Senate as a whole has not made that recommendation.

Some people say it makes us a target, but I say presence is deterrence, Whipps said.

BenarNews is an RFA-affiliated online news organization.
BISHKEK, Oct. 5 (Xinhua) -- The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) has opened up enormous development opportunities for Kyrgyzatan, a Kyrgyz official has said.

Kyrgyzstan-China relations have been developing intensively in recent decades and today they are characterized as strategic, said Zhalyn Zheenaliev, deputy director of the National Investment Agency under the President of the Kyrgyz Republic, in a recent interview with Xinhua.

"Over the past 10 years, the main investment partner of Kyrgyzstan has been China, that is, in general, 33 percent of the attracted investments came from China," Zheenaliev said.

Taking the opportunities brought by the BRI, major projects such as the Datka-Kemin power transmission line, a school in Bishkek and a hospital have been built, said the official.

"Moreover, within the framework of the initiative, the development of a project for the construction of the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railway will begin," said Zheenaliev. "This is a strategically important moment in the history of Kyrgyzstan."

"The railway branch in the country is not developed, and the construction of this railway will allow Kyrgyzstan to get out of the railway dead end and reach a new level of logistics and transportation," he said.

The official also voiced confidence that China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region could become one of the main locomotives in promoting Kyrgyz-Chinese initiatives.

The most promising areas in cooperation between Kyrgyzstan and Xinjiang include subsoil use, agriculture and energy, said Zheenaliev, adding that agreements on the development of coal deposits were concluded between entrepreneurs and investors in Xinjiang and the state-owned enterprise Kyrgyzkomur of Kyrgyzstan.

"We expect that our exports of goods will increase significantly and Xinjiang becomes one of the main locomotives in promoting joint strategic ideas and initiatives in this regard," Zheenaliev said. 
Thousands of Afghans continue to flood back into the country from Pakistan as they seek to avoid deportation following a deadline from Islamabad for undocumented migrants to leave, a move the United Nations warned could lead to "severe" human rights violations.

As of November 2, officials said more than 165,000 Afghans have fled Pakistan in the month since the government ordered some 1.7 million migrants -- more than 1 million of whom are Afghan nationals who fled following the August 2021 seizure of power in Kabul by Taliban militants -- to leave or face arrest and deportation.



The majority have rushed to the border in recent days as the November 1 deadline approached and police began to open dozens of centers to detain arrested Afghans before expelling them. On the other side of the border, Taliban officials have also opened temporary transit camps to assist those returning.



More than 100 people were detained in one police operation in the city of Karachi on November 2, while police rounded up 425 Afghans in Quetta, the city closest to the Chaman border crossing.

WATCH: Afghan refugees in Pakistan, many having traveled for days, crossed into Afghanistan as a November 1 deadline to leave the country took effect. Islamabad has vowed to deport an estimated 1.7 million undocumented Afghans living in Pakistan if they don't leave voluntarily.



Islamabad has said the deportations are to protect its "welfare and security" in Pakistan after a sharp rise in attacks, which the government blames on militants operating from Afghanistan.



Afghanistan's Taliban-run administration has dismissed Pakistans accusations against Afghan migrants and has asked all countries hosting Afghan refugees to give them more time to prepare for repatriation.



The Afghan Embassy in Islamabad has said the move will further damage relations between the neighboring countries.



Pakistan has brushed off calls to reconsider its decision from the UN, rights groups, and Western governments, who have urged it to incorporate into its plan a way to identify and protect Afghans facing the risk of persecution at home from the ruling militants.

At the country's busiest border crossing at Torkham in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province, officials worked into the early hours of November 1 to clear a line of 28,000 people that stretched for 7 kilometers, AFP reported.



Just over 129,000 have fled from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the provincial Interior Ministry said, while a total of 38,100 have crossed through Chaman in Balochistan Province, border officials there told AFP.



Authorities on the Afghan side of the border have set up a center several kilometers from a border crossing, as well as camps for families with nowhere to go.

WATCH: In Karachi, Afghan men and boys on November 1 were put on buses and taken to a temporary detention center.



Pakistan is home to more than 4 million Afghan migrants and refugees, about 1.7 million of them undocumented, Islamabad says, although many have lived in Pakistan for their entire lives.



About 600,000 Afghans have crossed into neighboring Pakistan since the Taliban seized power and imposed its harsh interpretation of Islamic law, joining a large number there since the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979.



Some Afghans who have been ordered to leave have never been to Afghanistan and wonder how they can start a new life there.

Pakistan's move to remove undocumented foreigners is seen as part of an anti-immigrant crackdown that has been criticized by human rights groups.



The Pakistan People's Party, National Democratic Movement, and other politicians and human rights activists appealed for a stop to the forced deportation of undocumented foreigners in the Supreme Court on November 1.



On October 31, the chair of the nongovernmental Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, Hina Jilani, wrote to the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) warning that Islamabads move to expel Afghans could "trigger a humanitarian crisis."



Human Rights Watch slammed Islamabads deadline, saying it has resulted in significant threats against and abuse of Afghans living in the country.



Since returning to power, the hard-line Islamist Taliban has banned women and teenage girls from education in Afghanistan. It has also banned them from employment in most sectors and discouraged them from leaving their homes.

With reporting by AFP and Reuters
OSKEMEN, Kazakhstan -- The bumpy highway between the dusty Kazakh towns of Qalbatau and Maiqapshaghai in the remote province of East Kazakhstan has been under construction for six years.

Millions of dollars have been allotted to the project, but only half of the 415-kilometer road has been upgraded. On the remaining 200 or so kilometers, vehicles have to rumble over potholed or unpaved roads.



One major reason for the slow rate of progress on the highway may be due to massive fraud.



Kazakh prosecutors in April announced that nearly $44 million has been embezzled by a private company from the funds allocated to the road project.



On April 26, the Prosecutor-Generals Office named QazGerStroi, a limited-liability partnership, as possibly being behind the corruption. The main contractor for the project was the Chinese company Xinxing Corporation, with QazGerStroi acting as a subcontractor.



Prosecutors said QazGerStroi was affiliated with entities [belonging to] Qairat Satybaldy, the eldest nephew of former Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbaev.



The once immensely influential and purportedly wealthy Satybaldy, 53, was sentenced to six years in prison on fraud and embezzlement charges in September 2022.

Prosecutors didnt say who exactly was involved in the suspected embezzlement and whether any of the money allegedly stolen by QazGerStroi had been returned to the government.



Contacted by RFE/RL, representatives of QazAvtoJol -- a state company that manages Kazakhstans highways -- said QazGerStroi was removed from the project last year.



They accused QazGerStroi of negligence that caused a significant slowdown in the pace of the construction work. The remainder of the project will be completed by the Chinese company, QazAvtoJol officials said.



An investigation by RFE/RLs Kazakh Service revealed that one of the former managers of QazGerStroi currently works for QazAvtoJol.



Who Owns QazGerStroi?



Until 2016, the legal owners of QazGerStroi were German businessman Robert Schumacher and Timur Turisbekov, the son of former Kazakh Interior Minister Zautbek Turisbekov.



Schumacher later claimed he was forced to give up the company under pressure from Gulmira Satybaldy, the former wife of Qairat Satybaldy, as well as individuals connected to former minister Turisbekov.



Asked by Kazakh media about the allegation at the time, Turisbekov said he wasnt that kind of person.



Gulmira Satybaldy is currently serving a prison term on charges of embezzlement, the illegal appropriation of shares and assets of several enterprises, abduction, and actions aiding the commission of a crime.



Schumachers name has been removed from the list of QazGerStroi founders and the company was transferred to people linked to Qairat Satybaldy.



In 2017, Abai Zhunusov -- who is married to Gulmira Satybaldys sister -- became the chairman of the company.

Following Schumachers departure, Mirkhat Qasymbaev, who is currently a chairman on the QazAvtoJol board, became a co-owner of QazGerStroi through the Bereke Astana Group. Bereke -- which is also linked to the Satybaldy family -- owns QazGerStroi.



Qasymbaev is known to be close to Zautbek Turisbekov and served as Turisbekovs assistant and adviser between 2005 and 2011 when the latter held several government and diplomatic positions, including ambassador to Uzbekistan and Russia.



Qasymbaev was listed as a founder of QazGerStroi through the Bereke Astana Group from 2017 to 2019.



QazAvtoJol confirmed to RFE/RL that Qasymbaev -- its current board chairman -- had once been a co-owner of a company that was carrying out the construction of the Qalbatau-Maiqapshaghai highway.



He worked in QazGerStroi in 2019 only, but the construction works had begun much earlier, QazAvtoJol representatives told RFE/RL.



But according to official documents, the work began in 2017, the same year Qasymbaev joined QazGerStroi.



Qasymbaevs biography on the QazAvtoJol website also states that he served as vice president of the Bereke Astana Group and was a member of QazGerStrois supervisory board from 2011 to 2019.



Forbes Kazakhstan wrote that, under the leadership of Qasymbaev and Yernar Muratov, QazGerStroi was among the 10 largest recipients of tenders in the country in 2017.



RFE/RL contacted relevant authorities in Kazakhstan to clarify if Qasymbaev is suspected of involvement in the embezzlement of the QazGerStroi money.



But the Prosecutor-Generals Office, the Interior Ministry, and the Anti-Corruption Agency didnt respond to RFE/RL inquiries.



No Names Released



Authorities have not said who is the main culprit of the alleged embezzlement of the funds for the highway project.



The Anti-Corruption Agency said a criminal probe on the issue had ended and the officials linked to the case were granted amnesty, though it didnt disclose any names of those involved.



Kazakh authorities didnt respond to questions of whether Qairat Satybaldy had been a suspect. The Prosecutor-Generals Office -- which publicly linked the crime to entities belonging to Satybaldy -- told RFE/RL that the information is not subject to disclosure.



This allegation of embezzlement wasnt included in the criminal case against Satybaldy when he went on trial in 2022. At that time he was accused of embezzling funds from the Kazakhtelecom and Transport Service Center companies.



Meanwhile, QazGerStroi continues to win large contracts in tenders despite reportedly being removed from the Qalbatau-Maiqapshaghai project.



In 2023, the company secured a $5.2 million contract with the Astana city government to refurbish a road in the capital.



Bereke Astana Group is currently owned by Bauyrzhan Nursultan, the son of Qairat Satybaldy. Official documents list Aidar Lazarov as a co-founder of the company.



Nursultan continues to control a vast portfolio of lucrative businesses in various spheres, including mining, road construction, trade, and telecommunications.



The Prosecutor-Generals Office and the Anti-Corruption Agency did not respond to RFE/RL's questions about the $44 million allegedly stolen from the road project or if any of the money has been recovered.



It also remains unclear when the highway project will be completed.

Written by Farangis Najibullah in Prague based on reporting by RFE/RL Kazakh Service correspondent Tasqyn Bolatuly in Kazakhstan.
Several Russian schools were tricked into sending birthday greetings to President Vladimir Putin bearing a photograph and quotes of a World War II-era Ukrainian partisan leader who has been vilified by the Kremlin.

The effort was spearheaded by Vladislav Bokhan, an exiled Belarusian activist who has staged several similar pranks aimed at opposing Russia's invasion of Ukraine and highlighting contradictions and hypocrisy in government rhetoric.

In his latest effort, Bokhan, who lives in Poland, said he contacted schools in the Kaluga region, southwest of Moscow, and posed as a lawmaker from United Russia, the dominant political party in Russia.

He said he ordered teachers to draft their students into writing birthday greetings for Putin, who will turn 71 on October 7. Bokhan sent the teachers a black-and-white photograph of what he said was Putin, along with quotations he attributed to Putin.

The teachers then had their students compose and print out the congratulations, and post photographs of the effort on the Russian social media site VK and send them to Bokhan. The images were published on Bokhan's Telegram account.

The teachers failed to notice the portrait Bokhan sent was of Stepan Bandera, a Ukrainian nationalist and partisan leader during World War II who is a hero to many Ukrainians.

Bandera's Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists and its military arm, the Ukrainian Insurgent Army, fought both Soviet and Nazi forces. But the groups are also accused of carrying out murderous campaigns against Poles and Jews.



Russia, meanwhile, has long vilified Bandera, labeling him a Nazi due to his groups actions alongside, in some cases in coordination with, Nazi forces during World War II. The Kremlin frequently uses the term Banderites as a derogatory term to describe Ukrainian nationalists.

There was no immediate comment from the Kaluga regional administration or the education department in the region.

In a post to his Telegram channel, Bokhan said he called his prank "Know Your Enemy By Sight."

"Is this really the enemy they are looking for? Perhaps it's worth taking a closer look? Maybe look from a different angle? Maybe look in the mirror?" he wrote.

The prank wasnt the first masterminded by Bokhan.

Last year, in two western Russian regions, he tricked several schools into holding celebratory marches in honor of Bokhan, saying he was a military hero serving in Ukraine. People were later photographed carrying signs saying "Vladislav is our hero."

The action was later denounced by the regional branch of United Russia.

Another action that Bokhan pulled off was tricking schoolteachers in a Moscow region town to participate in a municipal cleanup day carrying slogans used by Nazis at concentration camps.
Ukrainian officials said dozens of people were killed in a Russian attack that ripped through a cafe during a wake service for a fallen soldier in a village in the Kharkiv region of northeastern Ukraine, with emergency crews scrambling through the debris in search of more casualties in one of the most deadly single assaults of the war.

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 counteroffensive, Western military aid, global reaction, and the plight of civilians. For all of RFE/RL's coverage of the war in Ukraine, click here.

President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said condemned the attack, which came as he met with European leaders in the Spanish city of Granada on October 5 for a summit where he is stepping up efforts to secure more military aid for Ukraine in its fight to repel Russia's unprovoked invasion amid signs in some allies of donor fatigue as the war nears its 20th month.



"A brutal Russian crime...an absolutely deliberate terrorist attack," Zelenskiy wrote on Telegram.

Zelenskiy later said that Russias attack was an intentional act.

"A deliberate missile strike on a village in the Kharkiv region on an ordinary store and cafe," Zelenskiy said in his nightly video address, which he recorded in Spain.

"Russian troops could not have been unaware of where they were hitting. This was no blind strike," he said.

He added that he had reached agreements with European leaders for additional air-defense systems, including for a Patriot missile system from Germany.

"We will have more air defense. There are clear agreements. This is very important before winter. Spain, Italy, France, Germany, Great Britain -- thank you!" he said.

Kharkiv regional Governor Oleh Synyehubov put the number of dead in the attack at 51, including a 6-year-old child.



By late evening, Ukraine's emergency service said rescue operations had been completed and that an additional six people were injured in the attack.

The strike ignited international condemnation, with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres demanding that such attacks be halted immediately.



"Attacks against civilians and civilian infrastructure are prohibited under international humanitarian law, and they must stop immediately," Guterres's spokesman said in a statement.



Denise Brown, the UN humanitarian envoy for Ukraine, said she was "appalled by the reports of a Russian strike that, shortly ago, ripped apart the village of Hroza, in the Kharkiv region, killing dozens of civilians. The images arriving from the locality -- home to just above 300 people -- are absolutely horrifying.



The White House called the attack "incredibly horrifying for the people of Ukraine."



"This is why we're doing everything that we can to help Ukraine," press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said.

It was not immediately clear if the attack was carried out with a missile or a drone, or whether it was the result of shelling.



Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko said residents of the village were attending a memorial service in the cafe when the attack occurred.

WATCH: Dozens of people, including a 6-year-old child, were killed in a Russian attack that hit a cafe during a wake service in a village in the Kharkiv region of northeastern Ukraine on October 5, according to Ukrainian officials.



"There was a wake for the deceased fellow villager. In total, there are 300 residents in the village, one from each [residence] was at the wake," said Klymenko, who added that many victims were still trapped in the ruins.

A local official said the wake was for a Ukrainian soldier killed earlier in the war.

Russia, which routinely denies it targets civilian areas despite widespread evidence of such attacks, did not immediately comment.

Zelenskiy and 46 other heads of state are attending the third meeting of the European Political Community -- a unique forum for political exchanges between the EU's 27 members and 20 other nations from across the continent and the Caucasus.

"Our joint goal is to ensure the security and stability of our common European home," Zelenskiy wrote in a post on X, formerly Twitter.

"We are working together with partners on enhancing the European security architecture, particularly regional security. Ukraine has substantial proposals in this regard," Zelenskiy added while reiterating that Ukraine's top priority is enhancing its air defenses before the onset of the cold season.

Ukraine's energy infrastructure was relentlessly pounded by Russia last winter, prompting misery and suffering for Ukrainian civilians.

Zelenskiy's trip came after regional authorities reported that three civilians had been killed by Russian shelling over the past 24 hours -- one in Donetsk region and two in the city of Kherson.

Overnight, Russian and Ukrainian forces exchanged drone strikes that caused infrastructure damage in central Ukraine and extensive blackouts in a Russian border region.

Ukrainian air defenses shot down 24 out of the 29 Iranian drones launched from Crimea on the southern regions of Odesa and Mykolayiv, and on the central Kirovohrad region, the General Staff of Ukraine's military said in a statement.

There were no immediate reports of casualties.

WATCH: Sharing battle footage recorded on their body cameras, Ukrainian soldiers recounted their role in liberating Russian-occupied Klishchiyivka in the Donetsk region. Speaking to RFE/RL's Maryan Kushnir, they described chaos among the enemy as some tried to surrender while other Russian troops fought to the end.

In Russia's Kursk region, which borders Ukraine, electricity was cut off in some areas following a Ukrainian drone strike overnight, regional Governor Roman Starovoit said early on October 5.

"There are power outages. Emergency crews have begun restoring the electricity supply," Starovoit wrote on his Telegram channel.

Starovoit said the strike targeted the region's Sudzhansky, Korenevsky, and Glushkovsky districts that border Ukraine's Sumy region. The SHOT Telegram channel, citing sources, said 67 settlements were left without electricity. The information could not be independently verified.

Russia, which has launched countless deadly drone and missile attacks on Ukrainian cities and energy infrastructure since the start of its unprovoked invasion of Ukraine in February last year, has been in recent months subjected itself to increasingly frequent aerial and naval drone strikes targeting regions close to the border and even Moscow.

With reporting by Reuters, AP, and AFP
In a "secret room" in Kyiv on April 13, 1993, Leonid Kravchuk, the first president of Ukraine, sat down with his Georgian counterpart Eduard Shevardnadze over borscht and puffy "pampushka" dumplings. Between bites, the Ukrainian reportedly confided that, even amid rampant corruption and economic turmoil, his "biggest headache" was pressure from Washington to hand over hundreds of Soviet-made nuclear weapons to Russia. The Georgian president lowered his voice as he sympathized. Americans, he said, "do not understand the complicated, immensely difficult and brutal history of our relations with Russia and the Soviet Union, or other empires." Shevardnadze then pitched an idea. Instead of allowing Ukraine to be entirely defanged, the country should keep just one functioning nuclear missile on its territory, to "ward off any madman." After all, the Georgian president added, "today we have 'democratic' [Boris] Yeltsin" in the Kremlin, but "who knows who may come after him." That plan, which Georgia's former foreign minister Tedo Japaridze claims in his memoirs to have overheard, would not come to pass. In June 1996, Kyiv announced that the last of around 2,000 of Ukraine's nuclear weapons had been sent to Russia. In return for destroying or handing over its nuclear weapons and associated facilities, Kyiv received $1 billion in compensation and other assistance from Washington and Moscow. Ukraine also received a pledge signed by the United States, Britain, and Russia -- known as the Budapest Memorandum -- that it would never be attacked by any of these major nuclear powers.

After the breakup of the U.S.S.R., Washington had become nervous of the "loose nukes" now in the hands of various fledgling governments of post-Soviet states. Many feared that these weapons of Armageddon were vulnerable to accident, terrorism, or the whims of corrupt caretakers. In 1991, the U.S. created a program tasked with "securing and dismantling weapons of mass destruction (WMDs) and their associated infrastructure in the former states of the Soviet Union." The liquidation of Soviet nuclear weapons by the American-funded program was a yearslong process, which went largely unseen aside from occasional press tours to missile silos being blasted apart. But in the U.S. National Archives, a remarkable series of images cast light on what that work looked like. The photos were made, "to provide Department of Defense components, and, ultimately, the public, with visual evidence of progress" on dismantling Soviet weapons, according to the archives. The images published here are some of thousands of photos stored in the archives showing the project's work in Ukraine. Most are low-quality and come without detailed captions. In many cases, dates provided with the images differ widely from visible time stamps. Yet the photos remain a fascinating record of a process that, for better or worse, almost certainly changed the course of the 21st century.

Mariana Budjeryn, an expert at Harvard University who has authored a book about the denuclearization of her native Ukraine, told RFE/RL that photos such as the above Tu-95 image highlight a key aspect of the process that is often overlooked. "What is missed in the discussions of Ukraine's nuclear disarmament is that it was not only nuclear," she says. Twenty seven Tu-95 bombers (above) were destroyed in the program, along with 11 supersonic Tu-160 bomber jets. Another 11 strategic bombers and more than 500 cruise missiles were transferred to Russia. Some of those missiles were later used to strike Ukraine.

Budjeryn says one U.S. official who witnessed the demolition of Ukraine's strategic warplanes described watching "grown men, military pilots, crying on the tarmac as they watched Tu-160 bombers, brand new, never flown on a mission or even [used for] training, chopped up."

U.S. Senator Richard Lugar, who was one of the key drivers of the project to remove nuclear weaponry from former Soviet states, later recalled that in some cases housing was part of a "quid pro quo for moving the missiles."

Lugar told a journalist about a Belarus base where "people who lived around those missiles had very good housing. And in order to retain the housing, they were prepared to retain the missiles." The senator described it as "sort of a strange tail-and-dog story, but it was very serious." As a part of the negotiations, he said, "in order to get the missiles moved we had to also literally move the housing, or construct housing elsewhere, somewhere other than this base that we wanted to see closed for the sake of our security."
Dozens of people, including a 6-year-old child, were killed in a Russian attack that hit a cafe during a wake service in a village in the Kharkiv region of northeastern Ukraine on October 5, according to Ukrainian officials. Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelenskiy, on his Telegram channel, blamed Russian troops for the attack and called the shelling "an absolutely deliberate terrorist attack."
BRATISLAVA, Oct. 5 (Xinhua) -- Europe's wine cellars are brimming, while demand for the product is steadily increasing in China, Slovak winemaker Eduard Sebo told Xinhua in a recent interview.

The recent drop in demand across Europe keeps pushing the prices down and threatens to destroy the wine industry, he said.

As a result, vineyards are being uprooted and local wine producers are forced to distill wine into other products like alcohol for disinfectants or look for new markets, he added.

Meanwhile, wine consumption and production are on the rise in China, Sebo said after he attended a recent competition between Central and Eastern European and Chinese wines, part of the 2023 China-Central and Eastern European Countries Wine Culture Festival held in Cangzhou city in northern China's Hebei Province.

Around 320 wines produced by 20 winemakers from 16 countries were rated by three commissions and about half of the samples were Chinese. Sebo's winery took home a gold medal for the Muscat Blanc a Petits Grain variety.

Citing the rapid growth of wine consumption in China in the past 15 years (up from 0.02 liters per capita to 2.2 liters per capita), Sebo said he had great expectations for Europe's struggling wine producers.

Wine competitions have a strong tradition in Europe and Sebo came up with the idea of comparing European wines with the ever-progressing varieties produced in China a couple of years ago, in hopes of promoting these products among Chinese customers. He initiated the first two competitions together with his Chinese partners and took part in this year's third edition.

During his stay in China this time, Sebo visited a high-profile winery in eastern China's Shandong Province. Sebo, who is also president of the United Industries investment group, was deeply impressed by the size and level of technology implemented on site.

The 73-year-old businessman was especially surprised by a "25-story research and development building, ten wine bottling machines and autonomous carts whizzing around the compound."

Confident in the Chinese wine market's potential, his company has also set up a joint venture, the Zhongjie Nitra Winery in Cangzhou.

Sebo is also planning to bring the wine competitions nearer to the public. "We have started talks with two big provinces and their administrations in order to attract more Chinese businessmen and producers (into the competition)," he said. 
Some 132 Ukrainian officials in Russian-occupied territory have been abducted, according to the ZMINA human rights organization. Mayors and other Ukrainian authorities have been imprisoned, interrogated, tortured, and pressured to collaborate with Russia amid its full-scale invasion. The wife of the former mayor of Hola Prystan in the Kherson region says her husband is still imprisoned after trying to help citizens of his town when Russian troops rolled in.
More than 50 people, including a 6-year-old child, were killed in a Russian attack that hit a cafe during a wake service in a village in the Kharkiv region of northeastern Ukraine on October 5, according to Ukrainian officials. RFE/RL correspondents visited the village a few hours after the deadly attack and spoke with local residents who had lost loved ones.
NEW YORK, Oct. 4 (Xinhua) -- The sixth annual China Now Music Festival kicked off on Wednesday with a captivating opening concert in New York City attended by the Bard East/West Ensemble and prominent virtuoso Wu Man, celebrating the theme of "The Bridge of Music."

This extraordinary concert, held at Rose Theater at Jazz at Lincoln Center Wednesday evening, brought together and cleverly combined various instruments and musical traditions from both the East and the West, showcasing the harmonious fusion of Chinese and Western cultures and backgrounds.

Jindong Cai, artistic director of the festival and conductor of the Bard East/West Ensemble, told Xinhua prior to the concert that this musical event aims to promote understanding and appreciation of the Chinese culture through contemporary Chinese music.

"By bringing instruments with different styles consisting of a Western string quintet and seven Chinese instruments including dizi, erhu, ruan, suona, and guzheng, as well as Chinese and Western percussion, audiences can experience this unprecedented clash of ideas and inspirations," said Cai, who is also director of the U.S.-China Music Institute of the Bard College Conservatory of Music. 
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Tehsildar Exposes Attempted Fake Land Registration, Perpetrators Handed Over to Police

CHANDIGARH: In a significant development, authorities in Zirakpur apprehended five individuals attempting to engage in fraudulent land registration worth crores of rupees within the jurisdiction of Nabha Sahib village, under the Zirakpur sub-tehsil. The group comprised three men and two women, intercepted and detained by the Tehsildar on a suspicion of fraudulent registry. The vigilant move prevented a potential fraudulent land transaction that could have led to substantial financial losses.

The incident unfolded when the Naib Tehsildar, suspecting the authenticity of the registration, demanded land ownership documentation from the purported seller. However, the seller failed to produce the requisite documents, raising further doubts. Promptly, the Tehsildar alerted the authorities, and the individuals were apprehended and subsequently handed over to the Zirakpur police for further investigation.

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The Tehsildar reported the incident to the Deputy Commissioner of Mohali, SDM Derabsi, and the Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) in Zirakpur, urging stringent action against those involved in orchestrating fake land registrations. Tehsildar Kuldeep Singh emphasized that the landowners had filed a formal complaint, expressing their concern that certain individuals were attempting to forge land registration in Nabha Sahib. Notably, the landowners were neither intending to sell their land nor had authorized any such transactions.

Tehsildar Kuldeep Singh revealed that on the fateful Wednesday, around 4:00 in the evening, Munish Kumar Taneja, a resident of Rohini Delhi, along with Gunjan Sharma, a woman residing in Vikas Nagar Aligarh U.P., and Anju Ahuja, a woman from Delhi, presented documents purportedly from Cleric Tech Ltd. The supposed buyers were Nachhatar Singh from Fazilka and Ganesh Kumar from Delhi. However, upon thorough investigation, all the presented documents were identified as counterfeit.
Deceased Arundeep Singh

Arundeep Singh, the only son of his parents from Machhiwara Sahib, succumbs to a poisonous animal bite while working in Greece

MACHHIWARA SAHIB: In a sorrowful turn of events, Arundeep Singh, a 27-year-old resident of Jhungi village in Machhiwara Sahib block, met an untimely demise due to a poisonous animal bite while working in the fields of Greece. Arundeep, who had ventured to Greece in search of better opportunities, tragically lost his life in a fatal encounter with the venomous creature.

Arundeep Singh, the sole son of his parents, had set out for Greece with aspirations to secure a livelihood and support his family back home. However, fate dealt a cruel blow as he fell victim to a venomous animal's bite while diligently working in the Greek fields. The tragic incident not only shattered the dreams of the young lad but left a permanent scar of grief and loss within the hearts of his family and community.

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Upon the arrival of Arundeep Singh's lifeless body in the village, an aura of profound sorrow enveloped the community. Grief-stricken parents could not contain their anguish, their tears mirroring the depth of their loss. Meanwhile, his sister, heartbroken but composed, bid her last farewell to her beloved brother, adorning his head with utmost reverence and love. In a somber ceremony, the village paid their final respects to Arundeep Singh as he was laid to rest in the village cemetery.
Germany's exports declined more than expected in August highlighting the risk of the slipping into a recession in the second half of the year.

Exports decreased 1.2 percent on a monthly basis in August, slower than the 1.9 percent drop in July, Destatis reported Thursday. But the fall was bigger than economists' forecast of 0.4 percent decrease.

At the same time, imports posted an unexpected fall of 0.4 percent, after a 1.3 percent slide in July. Imports were expected to climb 0.5 percent.

As a result, the trade surplus fell to a seasonally adjusted EUR 16.6 billion from EUR 17.7 billion in July. Nonetheless, it remained above the forecast of EUR 15.0 billion.



On a yearly comparison, exports declined at a faster pace of 5.8 percent after a 1.6 percent drop in July. The annual fall in imports worsened to 16.7 percent from 12.4 percent in the prior month.

As the decline in imports far exceeded the fall in exports, the trade balance registered a surplus of EUR 14.4 billion, which was well above EUR 0.4 billion surplus posted in the same period last year.

Most German exports went to the United States. But shipments to the U.S. fell 1.3 percent on month, while exports to China grew 1.2 percent. Exports to the UK were down 4.2 percent.

Imports from China decreased 2.0 percent from the previous month and those from the US slid 3.1 percent. Imports from the UK also decreased, but more modestly, by 0.9 percent.

Trade is no longer the strong resilient growth driver of the German economy but rather a drag, ING economist Carsten Brzeski said.

The decline in retail sales as well as disappointing exports data added to the risk of the German economy sliding back into a recession in the third quarter, ING said.

The cooling global demand is worsening the structural issues and the weakening of the euro since the summer is still too small to have any significant impact on exports, the ING economist added.



In September, the Bundesbank said the German economy is set to shrink slightly in the third quarter as private consumption is unlikely to contribute positively.

For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com

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Summer School attendees from Rhodes University, Kenya and the Netherlands

By Mazvita Thondhlana

Rhodes University recently joined partner universities from Kenya and the Netherlands for a Summer School hosted by Maseno University as part of the ongoing EU-funded Creating Postgraduate Collaborations project [https://postgradcollaborations.com]. The Summer School focused on developing grant development and management skills, in line with the goals of supporting international cooperation projects based on multilateral partnerships between organisations.

The Summer School teams spent the week developing collaborative funding proposals creatively that included:

using existing European Union funding calls to ensure authentic learning;

using the Marie Skodowska-Curie Actions to develop a proposal on food systems;

using the Capacity Building in Higher Education Strand III funding call to develop a proposal on doctoral education in East and Southern Africa; and

focusing on the grant management cycle.

Seven staff members from Rhodes University attended the Summer School, including Prof Sioux McKenna, Prof Chrissie Boughey, Dr Kirstin Wilmot, Dr Gamu Chakona, Dr Mazvita Thondhlana, Ms Siphokazi Mankayi and Mr Siya Mtembu.

One of the teams developed a proposal that looks at indigenous food systems and integrated approaches to their study, focusing on climate change, gender, and the co-creation of food system knowledge from farm to fork.

Another teams focus on doctoral education was adopted as this level of higher education has been identified in both Kenyan and South African policy as a key lever towards building the knowledge economy and contributing to human development. If successful, the grant used as the basis for this team focusing on grant development will enable a systems-level partnership between Kenya, South Africa, and Europe.

The proposal calls for transformation in doctoral education in Southern and Eastern Africa, including policy development around curriculated doctoral programmes, recruitment and funding, governance and quality, and internationalisation.
Rabbi Prof Azila (Tzili) Talit Reisenberger, Head of Hebrew Language & Literature at the University of Cape Town

By Nizole Qete

The 2023 Pride Week opening brought together a diverse audience eager to delve into the intersection of LGBTQIA+ rights and religious interpretation.

Advocate Shuaib Rahim, Chair of the Pride Week Organising Committee and Senior Lecturer in Law, warmly welcomed and led the attendees through a profound journey into LGBTQIA+ history.

Adv Rahim shared his personal experiences and recounted the days when love between same-sex couples was deemed a criminal offence. The police were authorised to use deadly force upon mere suspicion. He reflected on the past, acknowledging the vital role played by the architects of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights in paving the way for LGBTQIA+ rights in South Africa.

Adv Rahim emphasised, "Had it not been for the genius and forethought of the architects of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights, we may not be here as we are today," he said.

Adv Rahim's historical context underscored the incredible progress made in South Africa regarding LGBTQIA+ rights. The 1996 inclusion of sexual orientation in the equality clause of the Constitution marked a pivotal moment in the nation's history. Before this, LGBTQIA+ individuals faced societal discrimination and the looming threat of criminal prosecution. As he spoke, Adv Rahim's words resonated with many in the audience, reminding them of the arduous journey to secure equal rights and protection for LGBTQIA+ individuals in South Africa. He highlighted the critical importance of the legal framework in ensuring justice and equality for all.

Following Adv Rahim's historical insights, Rabbi Prof Azila (Tzili) Talit Reisenberger, Head of Hebrew Language & Literature at the University of Cape Town, took the stage to deliver a captivating keynote address titled, "Homophobia: A Lazy Way to Interpret the Bible."

Rabbi Reisenberger challenged traditional interpretations of biblical passages often cited to condemn homosexuality. With profound scholarship and a deep understanding of religious texts, Rabbi Reisenberger dissected these verses, offering a fresh perspective emphasising love, compassion, and inclusivity. She argued that rigid interpretations have led to the misrepresentation of biblical messages.

Rabbi Reisenberger discussed specific verses, including Leviticus 18:22 and 20:13, traditionally used to condemn same-sex relationships.

Leviticus 18:22 - This verse is frequently invoked in arguments against same-sex relationships. It states, "You shall not lie with a male as with a woman; it is an abomination." Traditional interpretations have condemned homosexual relationships based on this passage. Rabbi Reisenberger remarked, "If the Bible law would have been against homosexuality, why wouldn't it say that a woman and a woman cannot have something together? Why do they only refer to the men? It is not against homosexuality. Because why would they prevent a man and a man? If they are against it, they should have said, and a woman should not lie with the woman".

Leviticus 20:13 - Another verse from the Book of Leviticus reads, "If a man lies with a male as with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination; they shall surely be put to death; their blood is upon them." This verse has been used to advocate severe punishments for same-sex acts.

"Leviticus 18:22 and 20:13 must be interpreted with compassion and empathy," Rabbi Reisenberger stated, "These verses should not be weaponised to promote discrimination; instead, they should guide us towards love, understanding, and acceptance."

Rabbi Reisenberger's reinterpretation challenged the conventional reading of these verses. She argued that these passages must be considered in their historical context, acknowledging that the time's societal norms and cultural beliefs significantly influenced biblical writings.

She emphasised that a compassionate interpretation could lead to more inclusive and accepting religious communities. She urged the audience to re-evaluate these passages, understanding them in their historical and cultural context.

Prof. Alan Kirkaldy, Head of the Department of History and the discussion's facilitator, summarised the evening's discourse: "Tonight's event serves as a testament to the progress we have made, both in acknowledging LGBTQIA+ rights and promoting a more inclusive interpretation of religious texts."

As Pride Week at Rhodes University unfolded, it became evident that the intersection of LGBTQIA+ identity and faith remain an essential topic for discussion and reflection.

The discourse initiated on this opening night provides valuable insights and a basis for continued dialogue. Rhodes University has a proud history of promoting diversity, inclusivity, and social justice.

In the words of Adv Rahim, "The law is a tool, and we have seen it used for gross evil and tremendous good. However, what good is that tool if people are not empowered and emboldened to use it?"

Rhodes University's Pride Week 2023 was a celebration and a platform for profound discussions, critical thinking, and a call to action to create a more inclusive and accepting society for all.
BANGKOK, Oct. 5 (Xinhua) -- Thailand is stepping up controls on guns and imitation firearms, officials said on Thursday, in an effort to close legal loopholes following a shooting at a Bangkok shopping mall that left two people dead and five others injured.

Thai Deputy Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul said the government will implement measures to restrict the possession, bearing and use of firearms, including a crackdown on illegal weapons and tighter regulations on imitation guns.

Possession of blank guns, BB guns, and other replica firearms that can be modified into lethal weapons will require a license, he told reporters after a meeting with concerned agencies, adding that authorities will also conduct a stricter inspection on those illegally imported and sold online.

For shooting sports, registered firearms need to be stored only at shooting camps, and age restrictions will be applied to those participating in shooting activities, he added. 
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Managing Editor

she/her | Bridget is the Messengers managing editor. She oversees the newsroom and covers the Maple Run Unified School District and education at large. She also pays attention to recreation, food and the arts and is an avid cyclist and skier.

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PHOTO: The nonprofit Oceanside-based Womens Resource Center received a donation of 45 coats from area resident Jeffrey Olsen, for the nonprofits 13th Spirit of Giving program. During Spirit of Giving about 115 families, including nearly 300 children attend a Christmas party and are given Christmas gifts. The children also get to choose gifts to give their parents. From left to right they are staff members, Beatriz Morales case manager, Brandee Clayton, special event coordinator and Jill Morgan, deputy director with Olsen. The nonprofit serves over 6,000 families each year who have been affected by domestic violence and sexual assault. The nonprofit offers an emergency shelter and transition house. Visit wrcsd.org

CARLSBAD

Senior center hosts monthly dance

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The Carlsbad Senior Center hosts The Vidals from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. Jan. 4 with refreshments and prizes sponsored by Las Villas de Carlsbad. Admission costs $4. The senior center is at 799 Pine Ave. Call (760) 602-4650.

DEL MAR

Thrift stores half-price sale ends Saturday

St. Peters Thrift Shop, in Del Mar Village, is holding its annual Customer Appreciation Week with a half-price sale of everything in the store. The sale runs through Saturday. The thrift shop is open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesdays through Fridays and 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturdays and is located between 14th and 15th streets, on Maiden Lane. Proceeds from sales support the work of the Missions, Outreach and Social Justice Ministries at St. Peters Episcopal Church. Visit stpetersdelmar.net.

ENCINITAS

Community center offers ballet classes

Ballet classes will be offered for ages 13 and older starting Jan. 4 at the Encinitas Community Center, 1140 Oakcrest Park Drive. Level I (beginning) will be offered from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. Mondays; Level II (Intermediate) from 7:30 to 8:45 p.m. Mondays and/or Thursdays; and a mixed Level I-II from 9 to 10 a.m. Saturdays. In addition, a Just Barre class, for those who only want barre exercises and stretching with no across the floor moves, will be offered from 6:45 to 7:30 p.m. Thursdays. The instructor is former professional dancer Marti Neal. Visit encinitasparksandrec.com or call (760) 943-2260.

NORTH COUNTY

Pet adoption fees waived through Sunday

The San Diego Humane Society is waiving pet adoption fees through Sunday at all campuses and satellite adoption centers across San Diego County. Adopted animals are spayed/neutered, vaccinated and microchipped. Pets go home with a certificate for a free veterinary exam, 30 days of pet insurance from Trupanion and bag of food from Purina. The pre-Christmas adoption event is sponsored by Sharon Blanchet of ABC Family Law, and Phil and Pam Reed, Reed Team at Willis Allen Real Estate in La Jolla. Visit sdhumane.org/how-you-can-help/adopt/available-pets.

OCEANSIDE

Christmas Bird Count on Saturday at lagoon

Community members can participate in the Audubon Christmas Bird Count in Oceanside and join the Coastal 101 Birding Loop team. The group will gather at 9 a.m. Saturday in the parking lot at the Audubon Nature Center, 2202 S. Coast Highway. No birding experience is required and there is no need to RSVP. The group will be led by experienced guides on a walk along the nature center trails and to several viewing areas along Highway 101, recording the birds seen in the reeds and waters of the lagoon. Around 11:30 a.m., the group will return to the nature center to turn in their results, compare notes with other returning birders, and have a free chili luncheon. Call (760) 439- 2473.

City offers road trip

to 129th Rose Parade

The city of Oceanside Parks & Recreation Division hosts a road trip to the 129th Rose Parade in Pasadena on Jan. 1. Participants meet at 4 a.m. Jan.1 at the El Corazon Senior Center, and the bus returns at 4 p.m. The parade starts at 8 a.m. Breakfast, round-trip bus ride, souvenir seat cushion, lunch, program, souvenir pin and admission are included. Tickets include front row seats at West Colorado & Orange Grove. The cost is $200 per person. Register and buy tickets at bit.ly/2z1cVr0. The bus will accommodate 40 people. In addition, staff has arranged transportation for four additional people requiring ADA accommodations with a companion rider. Call (760) 435-5250.

SAN MARCOS

Dine and Discover program for seniors

The city of San Marcos hosts the ongoing series Dine and Discover at 11:30 a.m. Jan. 17 at the Senior Activity Center, 111 Richmar Ave. Participants will have lunch while listening to a presentation by Sarah Macdonald, city communications officer. Learn about the citys branding campaign and gain a better understanding of the Communications Department. RSVP at least one day in advance. Cost of lunch for guests 60 and older is a $4 suggested donation and a $5 fee for guests younger than 60. For more information or to RSVP, call (760) 744-5535 or visit san-marcos.net.

VALLEY CENTER

Holiday items at museum gift shop

The Valley Center History Museums gift shop sells holiday gifts, with proceeds going to the nonprofit museum staffed by volunteers. The shop offers a range of items from T-shirts and coffee mugs featuring the towns iconic grizzly bear to books about Valley Center history, note cards, educational games and toys along with small teddy bears dressed in holiday garb. Gifts of membership are also available. The museum at 29200 Cole Grade Road is open from noon to 4 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays. Call (760) 749-2993.

VISTA

Church announces holiday service times

Regular services for Christmas Eve and New Years Eve will be held at 10 a.m. at United Methodist Church of Vista, 490 S. Melrose Drive. The two-service schedule of worship at 9 and 11 a.m. will resume Jan. 7. The 10 a.m. Christmas Eve service will be family oriented, but child care will be available. Additional services on Christmas Eve will be at 7 p.m., featuring candlelight and chancel choir, and 11 p.m., featuring candlelight and Holy Communion. All services are open to the public. Visit umcvista.org.

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Carlsbad has hired its first chief innovation officer, a role cities across California are using to improve government efficiency and customer service through technological innovation.

David Graham has worked in local municipal government for 20 years, according to a city news release. He comes to Carlsbad from San Diego, where he most recently served as the citys deputy chief operating officer for smart and sustainable communities.

Im excited to work with the team and the community, Graham said Wednesday.

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Cities like Carlsbad are the perfect size to quickly adopt new technologies that can save time and money while improving services for residents, he said.

One of his goals is to create sustainable communities, he said. That often means finding innovative ways to reduce energy consumption and increase reliance on renewable resources.

You need to connect the tech community to help solve challenges, Graham said. The war for talent is crucial these days.

Carlsbad recently put technology to work with the installation of an interactive traffic light system, one of the first in the region. Now, instead sending a worker in a truck to change the timing on each individual light, all the signals are interactive and can be controlled from a central location.

Traffic-light control can speed up commutes, but it also can be a matter of life and death, he said. The system can find or create the fastest routes for emergency vehicles, for example.

The more you understand vehicle traffic and pedestrian traffic, you can use that for public safety, he said.

Graham helped create San Diegos first all-electric car-share fleet, developed a streamlined open-data platform for development permits, and deployed the largest municipal network of smart LED streetlights.

With this new role, we have a unique opportunity to redefine what a well-run mid-sized city looks like in the emerging digital age, Carlsbad City Manager Scott Chadwick said in a written announcement. Chadwick was San Diegos chief operating officer before he was hired by Carlsbad early this year.

The news program CBS This Morning interviewed Graham in a recent story about smart cities that focused on San Diego, where he saved the city $2.4 million in energy costs by switching its streetlights to LED bulbs.

That was a turning point, he said, when we realized San Diego could be efficient, green and save money at the same time.

Smart cities use data and technology to improve decision-making and create better lives for people, Graham told CBS. Other helpful technology includes adaptive traffic signals and street-light-mounted sensors that transmit data over cellular connections.

Graham is also a public speaker and writer on civic innovation, sustainability and intelligent infrastructure. He is scheduled to start his Carlsbad job Nov. 26.

His salary in Carlsbad was unavailable. His base salary in San Diego was $195,000 a year in 2017, according to the website Transparent California, which tracks compensation for public officials.

Los Angeles, Sacramento and Davis are among California cities that have created chief innovation officer positions recently.

Borrowing an idea from big business, cities use the position as their new ideas guy to find and implement technologies that.make government run more smoothly.

The position is a stake in the ground for the city offering new value to citizens, usually through technology, said David Ricketts of Harvard University in an article published recently in the online journal Icons of Infrastructure.

The duties of the job often are roughly defined and can vary depending on a citys growth plans and resources, he said.

A three-page description approved Aug. 24 for the Carlsbad job states that the chief innovation officer will work under the city manager to develop smart city initiatives and assist other city departments with innovation and transformation. It lists numerous responsibilities and required qualifications.

philip.diehl@sduniontribune.com

Twitter: @phildiehl
NEW DELHI, Oct. 5 (Xinhua) -- At least two residential houses were set ablaze as fresh violence erupted in India's northeastern state of Manipur, officials said Thursday.

The arson took place Wednesday night in New Keithelmanbi area of Imphal West district of the state. The arsonists fled from the spot after setting the houses on fire, according to local officials.

Police along with firefighters soon rushed to the spot to contain the blaze.

"The fire was brought under control by the security forces and fire services personnel," a police official said. "No one was injured or killed in the incident."

The incident sparked tension in the area as authorities have deployed additional reinforcements in the area.

Manipur has been on edge since May 3 when large-scale violence broke out in the state during a tribal protest over the inclusion of the non-tribal Meiteis community for a scheduled tribe status designated for disadvantaged socio-economic groups which gives them reservations in education and government jobs.

As per figures released by police in mid-September, 175 people have been killed, 1,118 injured and 33 reported missing in the state's violence since May 3.

Police said 5,172 cases of arson have been reported, involving 4,786 houses and 386 religious places. 
Hobby Lobby Stores Inc., a national chain of craft and home decor stores, recently opened its 47th California store in Oceanside. Dezerae Matthias is the manager of the 58,000-square-foot store on College Boulevard and Plaza Drive. Hobby Lobby, based in Oklahoma City, has more than 800 stores nationwide. Each store offers more than 70,000 crafting and home decor products including floral, fabric, needle art, custom framing, baskets, home accents, wearable art, arts and crafts, jewelry making, scrapbooking and paper crafting supplies. Store hours are Monday through Saturday from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Stores are closed on Sunday. Visit hobbylobby.com.

Pizza time: Grand Slam Pizza opened this summer at 1910 Shadowridge Drive, Suite 101, in Vista. Owner Louie Bear Archuleta is a home-grown Vistan who loved going for pizza after his Little League and Pop Warner games. His goal is to re-create that neighborhood/family feeling at Grand Slam Pizza, which is co-owned by his wife, Cathy. The restaurant offers specialty pizzas like the Spring Training Pizza (pesto, chicken, garlic, artichoke, red onion, tomato), starting at $13.99 for small and $23.99 for large. Or build your own, starting with a Mini at $5.99 up to a Large at $15.99. Sandwiches like the Greenskeeper ($6.99, pesto, spinach, mushrooms, green and red bell peppers, tomato, onion, provolone, Italian dressing) are available, as are salads, appetizers and a childrens menu. Pizza by the slice offered from 11 a.m.-3 p.m. weekdays, along with other lunch specials. Wine and beer available, including brews from 10 rotating local craft beer taps. Hours are 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Sunday-Thursday, and 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Friday-Saturday. Call (760)-599-1199; email info@grandslampizzavista.com; visit https://grandslamvista.com.

Going swimmingly: Jordan Robbins, 23, a La Costa Canyon High School graduate, has launched REVLY Sport, an active swimwear line. Robbins, who played volleyball with scoliosis for more than a decade, had a goal to provide comfortable, cute suits that worked for different body types. Revly sells multiple styles of tops, bottoms and one-pieces, all aimed at providing different amounts of coverage and support. The suits are self-lined and designed and produced in Southern California. Visit https://revlysport.com.

New notary: Notary public Carrie Lynn Tyler has a new practice in Escondido. Contact her at carrielynntyler@gmail.com or (760) 888-7841. She offers mobile services, including as a bilingual certified loan signing agent and Spanish interpreter/translator. She serves all Southern California counties, including Riverside, Orange and San Bernardino. Visit www.carrielynntyler.com.

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Everbowl in San Elijo Hills: Everbowl has opened a shop at 1646 San Elijo Road, Suite 107, in San Marcos. The quick-serve eatery chain has been expanding rapidly: This is the 15th store that founder and CEO Jeff Fenster has opened since creating the brand two years ago. Everbowl offers a menu of craft superfoods that allow customers to build their own fresh fruit-laden parfaits. Each starts with one of four superfood base options: acai, pitaya, graviola or acerola. A liquid is blended into the base, then fruit toppings and healthy super stuff add-ins are layered in. Each bowl is $8 for unlimited ingredients. Everbowl also offers smoothies and grab-and-go salads. This store will be part of the San Elijo Town Center, a five-acre retail and residential hub, along with fitness studios, restaurants and retailers including CycleBar, Starbucks and Lourdes Mexican.

laura.groch@sduniontribune.com
In October 2017, the Me Too Movement exploded into the public consciousness when survivors of sexual violence flooded social media with their own painful stories and the hashtag phrase #metoo.

The movement has since gone global and taken down many confessed and alleged perpetrators. For Tarana Burke, the Bronx-born civil rights activist who founded the movement back in 2006, the experience over the past 18 months has been a roller-coaster with hair-raising highs and depressing lows.

The upside has been the awareness-raising on the issue and the communities of healing that have sprung up to validate and heal victims. But the valleys have included the backlash from conservative pundits and the medias misrepresentation of the movement and its goals.

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In a speech before a capacity crowd of 850 at Cal State San Marcos on Tuesday night, Burke called the new conversation on sexual violence nothing short of a miracle. But she said that society is nowhere close to ending the predatory behavior that spawned Me Too and the healing of its traumatized victims.

The people who said me too a year-and-a-half ago are still walking around out there with their hand up waiting for someone to say I can help you, I see you, I believe you  me too, she said, to a standing ovation.

A capacity crowd of 850 mostly women awaited the arrival of Me Too Movement founder Tarana Burke Tuesday at the Cal State San Marcos University Student Union building. (Pam Kragen/San Diego Union-Tribune)

Burke spoke to a diverse audience of mostly women students, faculty and community members as part of the universitys spring lecture series. During the nearly two-hour presentation, she talked about her childhood, the steps that led to her creation of Me Too and how it felt when a group of wealthy Hollywood actresses commandeered her catchphrase in October 2017 to take down film producer Harvey Weinstein.

Shes not angry at the actresses for latching on to her words, and said theyve been gracious in sharing the microphone. But shes sorry that fewer people wanted to listen when she founded the movement to heal traumatized young black and brown girls 13 years ago.

Rich, white women had to speak up for something to happen, she said Tuesday. I tell people, you cant steal whats mine. Im here for a particular reason and nobody can take that away from me.

Burke grew up the well-read liberal daughter of a black feminist single mom. She was sexually abused as a girl but never talked about it. By age 15, she was a community youth activist, helping organize rallies in support of the Central Park Five, five black teen boys unjustly convicted of the 1989 rape of a white woman in Central Park. They were later exonerated.

At age 22 in 1996 she was working at a camp when a preteen girl nicknamed Heaven confessed she had been sexually abused by her stepfather. Because it stirred up her own painful memories, Burke didnt respond.

I wanted to say me too but I didnt, Burke said. (Heaven) was shocked, angry, disappointed. Then she put her armor back on and walked away.

That experience led to the creation of Just Be, a program for minority girls ages 12 to 18 encouraging healthy relationships, self-esteem and education about sexual consent. The need was great. Burke said 60 percent of black girls will experience sexual violence by age 18. In 2006, Me Too was born to raise awareness about the pervasive culture of sexual abuse and assault.

Originally launched with a MySpace page, Burkes Me Too Movement has helped hundreds of women nationwide. But its numbers pale in comparison to the millions reached since #metoo began in 2017. Burke was among the silence breakers women named Time Magazines 2017 Person of the Year.

Burke told the audience the movement continues. She recommends campuses like Cal State San Marcos make ending sexual violence part of their campus cultural motto. She believes education on sex and consent should begin in kindergarten. And she encourages marginalized populations like the transgender community to live out loud to raise awareness.

Natalie Wilson, a professor of womens gender and sex studies at Cal State San Marcos, said she wasnt surprised at the large crowd Tuesday because Burke has helped create a dialogue on campuses for these difficult conversations.

We have to take the opportunity to keep pressing it forward in our community. This is the generation thats going to run with it, Wilson said.

Among the students in attendance was senior Gaiti Ayub, who spent eight years in the U.S. Army.

That wasnt a good time for women in the Army, Ayub said. They didnt tell their stories. They were hushed up. The Me Too movement made a difference. I feel it builds a safe space for women.

Burkes talk also spurred at least one attendee to action. Rebecca James, a senior in the communication department, spent many years in the Girl Scouts and served as a troop leader and delegate to the national convention. But she was rebuffed when she urged the organization to introduce sexual health training classes.

Now Im looking to find an organization where that can be part of the conversation, James said.

pam.kragen@sduniontribune.com
Former San Ysidro superintendent Manuel Paul at an arraignment in Superior Court in Chula Vista on April 12, 2013.

The San Ysidro school board on Thursday approved an agreement to settle a lawsuit against former Superintendent Manuel Paul, who spent time in prison for requesting political contributions from contractors who wanted to be considered for work on district projects.

The settlement represents the end of a 3-year-old court case in which the school district sued Paul to recover more than $200,000 he received as a payout when he resigned in 2013 amid pay-to-play allegations.

The settlement was approved unanimously behind closed doors, with trustee Rodolfo Linares absent. The board did not release details of the agreement.

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A district spokesman said the agreement was missing signatures and not yet finalized.

Trustee Marcos Diaz said he believes the resolution in the case against Paul allows the district to close a chapter and focucs on other matters.

We needed to put it behind us, he said in an interview. I think it was one of the many issues that kept us from moving forward.

Asked if he was pleased with the settlement, he said: As can be under the circumstances. Im just glad that its behind us.

He added that he considered settling the lawsuit the best option, saying legal fees led to diminishing returns.

Paul, who led the district of about 5,000 students for six years, spent two months in prison in 2015 after he pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge in San Diego federal court.

In a plea deal, Paul admitted he demanded campaign contributions from contractors as a price for them to be considered for work on district projects.

In 2010, two months before school board elections, the superintendent accepted $2,500 in cash from a contractor in Pauls Mercedes-Benz in the parking lot of a steak house.

He admitted he spent the money at a print shop in Tijuana on campaign signs for trustee Yolanda Hernandez.

The political contribution first came to light in 2012, when Paul admitted to the transaction in a deposition for a breach-of-contract lawsuit against the district over a solar panel project.

Paul, who attended San Ysidro schools and worked for the district for more than 30 years, resigned in 2013 after he was indicted in a wider corruption probe by the District Attorneys Office. The case involved 15 educators and contractors across South County.

In that case, Paul pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge and was sentenced to probation, community service and fined.

The district, which serves some of the poorest students in the county, brought its lawsuit against Paul a month after he was sentenced to federal prison. The district sought to recover the $211,247.22 paid out to Paul as part of a severance agreement, the salary he was paid while on administrative leave for six months, and other damages, as well as attorney fees.

Filed on Feb. 2, 2015, in San Diego Superior Court, the lawsuit cited state law that requires public officials who are convicted of a crime linked to their positions to reimburse pay related to the termination of their employment contracts.

Pauls attorney, Dennis Grady, has said the statute does not apply because the severance pay approved by the school board was part of a retirement agreement, not an employment contract.

Grady did not respond to requests for comment on Thursday.

Paul, who was named superintendent in 2007, has been blamed for financial problems that were so dire the district was at risk of being taken over by the state.

According to court records, the district put forward a draft settlement agreement on July 9. In the weeks that followed, the parties in the case engaged in discussions about the settlement and actively revised the agreement.

The districts lawyer, William Trejo, said in Aug. 15 court documents the proposed settlement agreement included a provision for the case to be dismissed permanently.

Superintendent Gina Potter, who stepped into the position in May, released a statement Thursday night in response to the approved settlement.

Our district is diligently working to bring resolution to issues of the past, so we can move forward and rebuild our district with a keen focus on providing our children with the best education possible, Potter said.

Email: david.hernandez@sduniontribune.com

Phone: (619) 293-1876

Twitter: @D4VIDHernandez

UPDATES:

10:15 p.m.: This article was updated with comments from Superintendent Gina Potter and trustee Marcos Diaz. This article was originally published at 7:50 p.m.
Cafe Japengos once-bustling bar has long-featured a carved, Japanese Tengu mask. With the UTC-area restaurants announced closure after nearly 30 years, regular customers have been asking to buy the mask, with one offering $3,000 for it.

Cafe Japengos nearly 30 years in business can be likened to a typical restaurant meal: a flashy starter, a solid main course and a finale thats bittersweet.

After dinner service on Friday, Cafe Japengo  the once see-and-be-seen hotspot that evolved into a venerable dining destination for creative Asian fare  will close its doors at the Aventine complex, an apparent casualty of rising rents and the booming culinary scene in the UTC area.

A notice to customers at Cafe Japengo is a sign of the times  after nearly 30 years, the popular restaurant is closing after dinner service Firday. (Eduardo Contreras / San Diego Union-Tribune )

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Theres so much activity in this area  the condos, the university, businesses, the new hospital building and the mall, what you see going on at UTC is remarkable, said Allan Farwell, general manager of the Hyatt Regency La Jolla, which owns Japengo.

Farwell said increased competition spurred by the expanded Westfield UTCs focus on higher-end eateries coupled with a significant rent increase, prompted Hyatt to walk away from the venture, rather than let it sink into failure.

The Aventine complex is owned and managed by Rockpoint Group, a Boston-based real estate private equity firm. Farwell declined to specify what the new rent would have been had the lease been re-upped, but said there had been a 70 percent to 80 percent rent appreciation since the restaurant last renewed its lease around 2001.

Its a real shame because were still busy, weve always been busy, Farwell said, adding that Cafe Japengo will be replaced with a fitness gym.

Nine new restaurants (at the mall) doesnt help your legacy restaurants. Its just hard for a restaurant to sign a new lease here. This was just the time, unfortunately, to say we want to move ahead in a positive way.

Sushi chefs Pae Randall (left) and Von Puyaoan meticulously create the innovate sushi rolls that Cafe Japengo became known. (Eduardo Contreras / San Diego Union-Tribune )

With Hyatts help, many of Cafe Japengos 40 or so employees have already found new jobs at other upscale hotels under the Hyatt brand, including the Manchester Grand Hyatt and Andaz San Diego, both in downtown San Diego, and the Park Hyatt Aviara in Carlsbad, said Japengo manager Philip Nicholson.

Weve had a terrific crew thats been with us for a long time and Hyatt has been really great in helping them out, Nicholson said.

While the dining room was bustling with hotel guests, families and area office workers one afternoon last week, Nicholson said theres been a perceptible decline in customers during the day.

Just in the last year, with all the new restaurants at the mall up the street, Ive seen a decline in lunch business, he said.

The younger, hipper clientele of Japengos heyday  the kind that can create buzz and generate more business  has long since moved on.

The lunchtime crowd at Cafe Japengo last week. (Eduardo Contreras / San Diego Union-Tribune )

When the Michael Graves-designed Hyatt Regency La Jolla opened in 1990, there were four restaurants in the hotel complex known as Aventine. Of those original eateries, only Cafe Japengo, which launched in 1989, still exists.

During the 1990s, Japengo, perhaps more than any other restaurant in San Diego, attracted a stylish crowd from around the county. Its popularity was fueled as much by the club-like scene  especially on Thursday nights  as the restaurants critically acclaimed sushi and innovative Pacific Rim cuisine. The 4,000-square-foot space, with its then-unheard-of exposed duct work and collection of authentic Asian art pieces, gave it a chic, gallery-like, industrial feel.

It had a different vibe when it opened in 1989. It was the place to be, said Lee Evans, who has worked as a server at Japengo for 22 years. We were always at capacity, especially on Thursday nights. If you didnt have a reservation, forget it. On Friday and Saturday nights, there were two-hour waits.

Evans said in recent years, the restaurant became more popular with families, with longtime customers bringing their grown children in. Its (Japengo) grown up, people have grown up.

One of Cafe Japengos most popular  and enduring  dishes is the curry-dusted calamari. Thats something wed never take off the menu, said longtime Japengo server Lee Evans. I dare you to make a better calamari. (Eduardo Contreras / San Diego Union-Tribune )

The UTC area has grown up as well.

Mike Spilky, president of Location Matters, a San Diego real estate brokerage firm that specializes in restaurants, said while UTC has always had a dense concentration of Class A office buildings, it has struggled to fill restaurants at night, after business hours.

I would speculate that a lot of the residents of those apartments are (UC San Diego) students and with the high rents, I imagine that doesnt leave a lot of disposable income to eat at fancy restaurants.

But UTCs current bustling construction activity marks a key period of transition, he said.

With the trolley coming in, more hotels in the pipeline, more condos and the caliber of restaurants coming in at the mall, it will start drawing from outside the area, Spilky said.

It will kind of be a downtown for North County. Thatll be the only way it will be successful.

In todays market, the coming closure of Cafe Japengo is a symbol of over-saturation, according to Spilkey.

Sushi chef Pae Randall plates a Special Albacore Roll (right) and a (meatless) Carne Asada Roll at the sushi bar at Cafe Japengo. (Eduardo Contreras / San Diego Union-Tribune )

Too many restaurants, too many options is not a good thing, he said. Its not a bad thing for the area to lose a restaurant; itll actually help the other restaurants in the area.

Dont tell that to Japengos loyal, longtime customers, many of whom have been coming in since the restaurant announced its closure to order such time-tested dishes as the curry-dusted calamari, Japengo fried rice with vegetables, char-siu duck salad and the special albacore sushi roll.

The Japengo Fried Rice at Cafe Japengo is a classic. (Eduardo Contreras / San Diego Union-Tribune )

People are really disappointed, said Nicholson, the manager, adding that some feel so connected to the restaurant, they want to literally bring home a piece of it home with them.

Ive had at least 20 of our regular customers offer to buy it, he said, pointing to the carved mask of the long-nosed, mythical Japanese creature Tengu that hangs over the once jam-packed bar.

Before it, or other pieces in Cafe Japengos Asian art collection, can be sold, they need to be appraised for sale. Like UTC, Tengu is likely worth more than it used to be.

Someone offered $3,000 for Tengu, Nicholson said, but weve heard it could be worth $15,000 to $20,000.

Among the original artwork at Cafe Japengo that will be appraised for sale are three handpainted Japanese kites hanging near the bar. (Eduardo Contreras / San Diego Union-Tribune )

michele.parente@sduniontribune.com

Twitter: @sdeditgirl
BEIJING, Oct. 5 (Xinhua) -- Chinese railways, power grids and airports are working to guarantee safe return trips as the eight-day Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day holiday will end on Friday.

The country recorded more than 17 million railway trips on Wednesday and expects to see 17.95 million trips on Thursday, according to data from China State Railway Group Co., Ltd. (China Railway).

The company plans to put 12,351 trains in operation to cater to the travel demand.

Local subsidiaries of China Railway and some airports are improving passenger services, while the Guiyang bureau of China Southern Power Grid has emergency maintenance teams on call 24/7 to ensure the safe functioning of power facilities. 
Botswanan Minister of Trade and Industry Mmusi Kgafela (C, Rear) attends a press conference in Gaborone, Botswana, on Oct. 4, 2023. Botswana will host the 17th Global Expo in partnership with the European Union (EU) in Gaborone on Oct. 11-14, during which both sides will launch the EU-Botswana Business Forum. (Photo by Tshekiso Tebalo/Xinhua)

GABORONE, Oct. 5 (Xinhua) -- Botswana will host the 17th Global Expo in partnership with the European Union (EU) in its capital city, Gaborone, on Oct. 11-14, during which both sides will launch the EU-Botswana Business Forum.

The expo serves as a premier business-to-business and multisectoral event organized and managed on behalf of the government by the Botswana Investment and Trade Center, said Minister of Trade and Industry Mmusi Kgafela on Wednesday.

The Global Expo Botswana aims to foster lasting commercial connections between Botswana companies and their international counterparts through focused one-on-one interactions, facilitated by its signature program, the Business Matchmaking Program.

The objective of the expo is to attract foreign direct investment into Botswana, achieved through foreign companies exhibiting at the Global Expo, while also promoting goods and services produced in Botswana to international markets, Kgafela said.

About 500 delegates are expected to participate in the event, with 300 companies set to exhibit their products and the participation of an estimated 4,000 visitors. According to Kgafela, Botswana is anticipated to generate about 30 million pula (about 2.1 million U.S. dollars) in business, including investment deals, local spending and product sales during the event.

Furthermore, the minister emphasized that the EU-Botswana Business Forum provides an opportunity for Botswana and European partners, industry leaders, investors and private sector organizations to explore new investment and trade prospects. 
Our species, Homo sapiens, dispersed from Africa into Eurasia multiple times in the Middle and Late Pleistocene. According to new research led by Shantou University scientists, the now arid zone of the Eastern Mediterranean was once green savannahs and grasslands that provided an ideal passage for these migrations.

Homo sapiens evolved in Africa between 300,000 and 200,000 years ago and dispersed out of the continent during multiple episodes, including the last interglacial period (Marine Isotope Stage or MIS 5, between 129,000 and 71,000 years ago).

The geographical routes of dispersal into Eurasia have been long debated, e.g., the northern route from the Sinai Peninsula to the southern Levant then to Arabia, and the southern route via the Bab El Mandeb strait into the margins of southern Arabia.

The southern route, i.e., the Red Sea crossing, is regarded as possible in glacial periods with low sea level.

On the other hand, the dispersal via the northern corridor during 130,000 to 90,000 years ago has been considered the most viable route in MIS 5, given a growing number of archaeological and paleontological discoveries.

These discoveries include hominin fossils and artifacts from the well-known caves of the Mediterranean Levant and the fossil finds, human footprints, and Middle Paleolithic artifacts from the Nefud Desert.

Our research in the Jordan Rift Valley and Plateau zone clearly shows a humid corridor existed, supporting research in Arabia and the Levant that terrestrial routes were favored by hunter-gatherers wandering across terrestrial ecosystems outside Africa, said Professor Michael Petraglia, a researcher at Griffith University.

The presently harsh environment of the Levant and Arabia are the key regions through which members of the genus Homo, including our species Homo sapiens, had to pass through when leaving Africa and moving into Eurasia.

The research sheds light on the region around the Jordan Rift Valley as potentially a key successful dispersal route for modern humans during the last interglacial period (MIS 5).

The northern corridor crossing the Nile River, into Sinai Peninsula to the Levant region in Arabia and beyond is the only terrestrial route out of Africa.

In their study, Professor Petraglia and his colleagues conducted fieldwork in the Jordan Rift Valley where they uncovered hand tools, known as flakes, on the edge of wadis  now dry river channels which, tens of thousands of years ago, were full of water.

The researchers used luminescence dating techniques to help establish the age of the sediment the tools were buried in.

This method estimates how long it has been since sediment was last exposed to light.

The results showed the tools were likely to have been used approximately 84,000 years ago and then abandoned on the banks of the wadis and subsequently buried over time.

Its long been thought that when the sea level was low, humans used a southern crossing, via the Red Sea from the horn of Africa, to get to southwestern Arabia, said University of Southamptons Paul Carling.

However, our study confirms there was a well-trodden passage to the north, across the only land-route from Africa to Eurasia.

Our newly published evidence is a key piece of the puzzle that shows humans migrated using a northern route  using small wetland areas as bases whilst hunting abundant wildlife in the drier grasslands.

Although previous studies have looked for large lakes as potential watering holes, in fact small wetlands were very important as staging posts during the migration.

The Levant acted as a well-watered corridor for modern humans to disperse out of Africa during the last interglacial, and we have now demonstrated this is the case in the Jordan Rift Valley zone, said Dr. Mahmoud Abbas, a researcher at Shantou University.

The paleohydrological evidence from the Jordan desert enhances our understanding of the environmental setting at that time.

Rather than dry desert, savannah grasslands would have provided the much-needed resources for humans to survive during their journey out of Africa and into southwest Asia and beyond.

Our study demonstrates the intimate relationship between climate change, human survival and migrations, Professor Petraglia said.

A paper on the findings was published in the journal Science Advances.

_____

Mahmoud Abbas et al. 2023. Human dispersals out of Africa via the Levant. Science Advances 9 (40); doi: 10.1126/sciadv.adi6838
Astronomers using the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope have captured stunning new images of the Orion Nebula, a diffuse nebula located approximately 1,350 light-years away in the constellation of Orion.

The Orion Nebula can be seen with the naked eye as a fuzzy patch surrounding the star Theta Orionis in the Hunters Sword, below Orions belt.

The nebula had been known since the beginnings of recorded astronomy as a star, but it is so outstanding that it was first noted as an extended nebula in 1610, only a year after Galileo Galileis first use of the telescope.

Detailed descriptions of the nebula started appearing later in the 17th century, and it has been a popular target for anyone with a telescope ever since.

Also known as NGC 1976, Messier 42, M42, LBN 974, and Sharpless 281, the Orion Nebula spans about 24 light-years.

At only 2 million years old, the object is an ideal laboratory for studying young stars and stars that are still forming.

It offers a glimpse of what might have happened when the Sun was born 4.6 billion years ago.

At the core of the Orion Nebula is the young Trapezium Cluster of stars, the most massive of which illuminate the surrounding gas and dust with their intense ultraviolet radiation fields, while protostars continue to form today in the OMC-1 molecular cloud behind, Webb astronomers said.

The nebula is a treasure trove for astronomers studying the formation and early evolution of stars, with a rich diversity of phenomena and objects, including: outflows and planet-forming disks around young stars; embedded protostars; brown dwarfs; free-floating planetary mass objects; and photodissociation regions  the interface regions where the radiation from the massive stars heats, shapes and influences the chemistry of the gas.

The new imaging was obtained with Webbs Near-Infrared Camera (NIRCam) and has been made into two mosaics, one each from the short and long wavelength channels.

A total of 2,400 individual images taken through five NIRCam short-wavelength filters were combined to make the full short-wavelength color composite view, while 712 individual images in six NIRCam long-wavelength filters were combined to obtain the long-wavelength one.

These are among the largest Webb mosaics observed to date and given the high resolution and large area, they have been incorporated in ESASky to enable easy exploration of the plethora of interesting astronomical sources contained within them, the astronomers said.

The short-wavelength mosaic maximizes Webbs angular resolution to reveal beautiful details in disks and outflows, while the long-wavelength one showcases the intricate network of dust and organic compounds called polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons.

We encourage you to explore these images to see what hidden treasures you can find.
ANKARA, Oct. 5 (Xinhua) -- Turkish police have detained 24 suspects in operations against the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) across four provinces, Turkish Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said on Thursday.

The arrests, dubbed "Operation Heroes," were in response to a suicide bomb attack by two PKK members in front of the Interior Ministry's building in the capital Ankara on Sunday, in which two police officers were injured.

After the bomb attack, the Turkish government has carried out anti-terror operations nationwide, detaining more than 140 suspects since Monday, and conducted three cross-border air operations against PKK targets in northern Iraq, destroying 58 targets belonging to the group.

The targeted sites included caves, bunkers, shelters, and warehouses used by the PKK, Rear Admiral Zeki Akturk told a press conference.

The PKK, listed as a terrorist organization by Turkiye, the United States, and the European Union, has been rebelling against the Turkish government for more than three decades. 
* With the 6th CIIE just around the corner, preparations are in full swing.

* Despite challenges and uncertainties, the CIIE has steadily grown, with China's opening up benefiting the world.

* CIIE has become a symbol of China's new development pattern and an international public good shared by the world.

SHANGHAI, Oct. 5 (Xinhua) -- In just one month, the National Exhibition and Convention Center (Shanghai), colloquially known as the "four-leaf clover," will once again assume its role as the host for the newest edition of China International Import Expo (CIIE), signifying the first complete return to in-person exhibitions for the event since COVID-19.

As the globe's first national-level exposition dedicated to imports, the CIIE serves as a resounding testament to China's increasingly welcoming stance and unwavering dedication to promoting high-level opening-up and makes the clover-shaped edifice a "four-leaf clover," symbolizing prosperity and bringing good fortune to the global economy.

In November 2018, the inaugural CIIE commenced in China's economic hub, a groundbreaking event in the history of global trade. During the opening ceremony, China made a solemn commitment to the world, stating that the CIIE would not only continue annually but also improve in quality and effectiveness.

Despite challenges and uncertainties, over the past five years, the CIIE has steadily grown, with China's opening up benefiting the world.

In the previous five editions, 131 countries and international organizations participated in country exhibitions, with nearly 2,000 new products, technologies, and services making their debuts and a total intended turnover reaching nearly 350 billion U.S. dollars.

"The CIIE has become a symbol of China's new development pattern, a platform for high-level opening-up, and an international public good shared by the world," said Sun Chenghai, deputy director of the CIIE Bureau.

This aerial photo taken on Nov. 2, 2021 shows a view of the National Exhibition and Convention Center (Shanghai) in east China's Shanghai. (Xinhua)

PREPARATIONS IN FULL SWING

With the 6th CIIE just around the corner, preparations are in full swing. According to the bureau, over 60 countries have officially announced their participation in this year's country exhibition. Notably, prominent international organizations, including the World Trade Organization, the United Nations Industrial Development Organization, and the International Trade Centre, have also confirmed their attendance.

From exotic specialties originating in the Pacific island nation of Vanuatu to Michelin's environmentally friendly tire, made with up to 63 percent sustainable materials, products from various corners of the globe are converging on Shanghai by land, sea, and air.

The China-Europe freight train has become a popular choice of transportation among the approximately 3,000 companies attending the CIIE. The operator, Shanghai Oriental Silk Road Multimodal Transport Co., Ltd., has announced that this year, the CIIE edition of China-Europe freight train service will be increased to three trains, continuously transporting CIIE exhibition products across the Eurasian continent to Shanghai.

As CIIE exhibits make their way to China, participants across the globe are busy preparing for their CIIE return, from submitting visa materials to booking hotels and preparing for product launches.

Roy van den Hurk, Milk New Zealand Dairy Limited CEO, is no exception. He's a dedicated fan of the CIIE and will be attending for the fifth time to showcase his company's products.

This year, van den Hurk brings a new product destined for the CIIE. The company's New Zealand 72-hour fresh milk was a star exhibit at the first CIIE, born under policies promoting trade facilitation. This year, its upgraded version will be launched at the 6th CIIE. "We've tasted the sweetness at the CIIE, and we certainly can't miss such a great opportunity."

The businessman believes that the new product's "72-hour journey from the New Zealand pasture to the Chinese consumer's table" will also become a reality very soon, serving as tangible proof of "China's speed."

This photo taken on Nov. 8, 2021 shows the booth of L'Oreal of France at the 4th China International Import Expo (CIIE) in east China's Shanghai. (Xinhua/Meng Tao)

BOON FOR GLOBAL PARTICIPANTS

Year after year, the booming CIIE reflects the confidence that global players in different sectors have in the Chinese market and their development prospects. The lucky four-leaf clover-shaped venue strings together global enterprises, accelerates the development of overseas companies in China, and transforms numerous CIIE's "first-time visitors" into "frequenters."

The CIIE holds immense significance. In 2018, a substantial Brazilian delegation made its mark at the expo, but the 2023 edition promises to be even more substantial and impactful, said Augusto Pestana, Consul General of Brazil in Shanghai.

Seizing the opportunity, new participants are eager to try their luck. According to data provided by the bureau, nearly 20 Fortune Global 500 and industry-leading companies, as well as over 500 small and medium-sized enterprises have also signed up for the first time.

Shortly after the conclusion of the 5th CIIE, U.S. technology company Analog Devices (ADI) was determined to join the "early bird" ranks at the 6th CIIE. The company secured a 300-square-meter booth in the intelligent industry and information technology pavilion, marking its debut at the expo. The company will showcase not only a variety of products and solutions for the first time in China but also focus on cutting-edge technologies such as edge intelligence.

"China's robust development of the digital economy, promotion of industrial upgrading, and transition to an environmentally friendly economy provide us with significant opportunities," said Zhao Chuanyu, vice president of sales for ADI China.

Among the 3,000 global companies participating this year, approximately 200 companies have been signing up for six consecutive years, and around 400 companies are returning to the expo after a gap of more than two years.

For the CIIE frequenter of Henkel, moving into the intelligent industry and information technology pavilion of the expo is exciting. Rajat Agarwal, President of Henkel Greater China, believes it is a great chance to further integrate with China's industrial chain and assist the high-quality development of China's manufacturing industry, adding that China is a huge market with strong growth potential, filled with various exciting opportunities.

A staff member of the Polish investment and trade agency (front, L) introduces beer to a purchasing agent during a pre-exhibition supply and demand matchmaking meeting for the sixth China International Import Expo in Shenzhen, south China's Guangdong Province, Aug. 29, 2023. (Xinhua/Mao Siqian)

"The expo shows that China is open for business with the rest of the world. It's a great opportunity for multinationals such as Henkel to showcase our technologies. It's a place that is attracting visitors from all across the country as well as many visitors from around the world, affording us the chance to engage with our existing clients and forge connections with potential future partners," said the senior executive.

Some of the CIIE "loyal fans" have already signed up for the next edition of the expo. The CIIE Bureau revealed that the recruitment for the 7th CIIE began as early as June this year. As of mid-September, the contracted exhibition area has exceeded 40,000 square meters.

Among the trendsetters is L'Oreal. According to Fabrice Megarbane, L'Oreal North Asia Zone president and chief executive officer of L'Oreal China, the country holds a position of great significance within L'Oreal, representing the second-largest market and a robust source of future growth for L'Oreal.

L'Oreal's engagement within China's advanced digital ecosystem has been a valuable experience. It has not only positioned the group for success within China but has also facilitated the transfer of substantial insights and expertise beyond China's borders, said Megarbane. (Video reporters: Sun Qing, Zhou Rui, Cen Zhilian; Video editors: Zhang Qiru, Zhao Xiaoqing, Zheng Xin) 
TOKYO, Oct. 5 (Xinhua) -- Japan on Thursday started the second round of release of nuclear-contaminated wastewater from the crippled Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant into the Pacific Ocean.

Despite mounting concerns and opposition among local fishermen as well as other countries, the discharge commenced at around 10:30 a.m. local time, according to the Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO), the plant's operator.

TEPCO said it plans to carry out the release over 17 days to discharge 7,800 tons of the radioactive wastewater, roughly the same amount as the first discharge, which ended on Sept. 11.

The ocean discharges have been facing severe backlash both at home and abroad.

A group of 150 people in Japan, including fishery workers in Fukushima Prefecture, filed a lawsuit against the Japanese government and TEPCO last month to call a halt to the controversial ocean discharge.

The plaintiffs claimed that the ocean discharge violates their fishing rights and threatens the rights of consumers to live peacefully. They were also seeking nullification of nuclear regulators' approval of facilities installed for the water discharge and a ban to be placed on the release.

On Wednesday, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova criticized Japan over a lack of transparency and a failure to provide full access to information regarding the water release.

At the General Conference of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) held in late September, Vice Chairman of the China Atomic Energy Authority Liu Jing said the discharge of the Fukushima wastewater is a major nuclear safety issue, as it is an unprecedented artificial release of contaminated water from nuclear accidents into the sea.

There is a lot of uncertainty about the cumulative effect caused by the release of large quantities of radionuclides into the sea, said the Chinese nuclear official, noting that Japan has failed to give a credible and scientific response to the international outcry.

Doubts and concerns were further fueled after Japan's environment ministry reported last month that potentially radioactive iron scraps from a demolition site near the crippled power plant were stolen and illegally sold by construction workers.

The materials went missing from Okuma town's library and folklore museum being demolished in a special zone around 2.5 miles from the plant, and their whereabouts remained unknown so far, which led to raging criticism that the government's management of radioactive materials was overly rash.

"The incident increased people's distrust of the government. The country should have managed these waste metals responsibly and told relevant parties not to deal with them casually, but it did not do so," Hideki Taki, chairman of the Retired Workers Union of the National Trade Union Council, told Xinhua.

The built-up distrust among the Japanese public would, of course, extend to how the government handles the nuclear-contaminated wastewater, which is now the ocean discharge of the so-called treated water, according to Taki. 
Members of the Bard East/West Ensemble and prominent pipa virtuoso Wu Man perform during the opening concert of the sixth annual China Now Music Festival at Rose Theater at Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York, the United States, on Oct. 4, 2023. The sixth annual China Now Music Festival kicked off on Wednesday with a captivating opening concert in New York City attended by the Bard East/West Ensemble and prominent virtuoso Wu Man, celebrating the theme of "The Bridge of Music." (Xinhua/Li Rui)

by Yueer Lin, Shilong Yang

NEW YORK, Oct. 4 (Xinhua) -- The sixth annual China Now Music Festival kicked off on Wednesday with a captivating opening concert in New York City attended by the Bard East/West Ensemble and prominent virtuoso Wu Man, celebrating the theme of "The Bridge of Music."

This extraordinary concert, held at Rose Theater at Jazz at Lincoln Center Wednesday evening, brought together and cleverly combined various instruments and musical traditions from both the East and the West, showcasing the harmonious fusion of Chinese and Western cultures and backgrounds.

Jindong Cai, artistic director of the festival and conductor of the Bard East/West Ensemble, told Xinhua prior to the concert that this musical event aims to promote understanding and appreciation of the Chinese culture through contemporary Chinese music.

"By bringing instruments with different styles consisting of a Western string quintet and seven Chinese instruments including dizi, erhu, ruan, suona, and guzheng, as well as Chinese and Western percussion, audiences can experience this unprecedented clash of ideas and inspirations," said Cai, who is also director of the U.S.-China Music Institute of the Bard College Conservatory of Music.

Pipa virtuoso Wu, acclaimed for her mastery of the instrument, delivered a stunning performance of "King Chu Doffs His Armour" by Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Zhou Long.

Inspired by the poignant love story depicted in the film "Farewell My Concubine," and jointly performed with the Bard East/West Ensemble, the piece undoubtedly built a profound emotional connection with the audience.

"I would never miss any concert performances of conductor Jindong Cai, for only he can seamlessly blend traditional Chinese elements with contemporary concepts and he always brings magnificent music to New York audiences," Christine Walevska, a renowned U.S. classical cellist spotted in the audience section, excitedly told Xinhua.

Walevska revealed that she even pushed back the date of her planned trip to Argentina so that she could witness this incredible performance and the upcoming festival events over the weekend.

"Although I am not a music expert, it was easy to enjoy this performance, and the whole idea of performances playing together with Chinese and Western instruments is really touching and wonderful. Music is just the way cuisine is. It accurately represents the unifying concept of cultural exchange," said Shavon, another spectator from New York City.

Set up in 2022, the Bard East/West Ensemble comprises a Western string quintet, accompanied by an assembly of seven traditional Chinese instruments, namely the dizi, suona, sheng, pipa, ruan, guzheng, and erhu, along with percussionists from both the East and West, totaling 15 young musicians in all.

The China Now Music Festival is a joint endeavor by Bard College's U.S.-China Music Institute and the Central Conservatory of Music in China.

Since its inception in 2018, it has been dedicated to building a cultural bridge between the United States and China through music. Each year, it hosts a series of thematic concerts and lectures, presenting exhilarating contemporary Chinese musical works.

Previous editions of the festival have attracted over 10,000 live attendees, with nearly 80,000 participating in online events.

As the festival continues, it promises more unique performances and opportunities for cultural exchange, reinforcing the idea that music truly serves as a bridge to understanding and unity.

"I was very proud and delighted to see that more and more students (at Bard College) are passionate about learning and practicing Chinese traditional instruments," said Wu Han, who has taught workshops at the college in Annandale-on-Hudson, New York. 

Members of the Bard East/West Ensemble perform during the opening concert of the sixth annual China Now Music Festival at Rose Theater at Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York, the United States, on Oct. 4, 2023. The sixth annual China Now Music Festival kicked off on Wednesday with a captivating opening concert in New York City attended by the Bard East/West Ensemble and prominent virtuoso Wu Man, celebrating the theme of "The Bridge of Music." (Xinhua/Li Rui)

Prominent pipa virtuoso Wu Man (R, Front) performs with members of the Bard East/West Ensemble during the opening concert of the sixth annual China Now Music Festival at Rose Theater at Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York, the United States, on Oct. 4, 2023. The sixth annual China Now Music Festival kicked off on Wednesday with a captivating opening concert in New York City attended by the Bard East/West Ensemble and prominent virtuoso Wu Man, celebrating the theme of "The Bridge of Music." (Xinhua/Li Rui)

Members of the Bard East/West Ensemble and prominent pipa virtuoso Wu Man perform during the opening concert of the sixth annual China Now Music Festival at Rose Theater at Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York, the United States, on Oct. 4, 2023. The sixth annual China Now Music Festival kicked off on Wednesday with a captivating opening concert in New York City attended by the Bard East/West Ensemble and prominent virtuoso Wu Man, celebrating the theme of "The Bridge of Music." (Xinhua/Li Rui)
A humble house in Selma, Alabama has hosted some pretty remarkable and famous visitors in its time, and now its the house itself that is making news.The Jackson House once provided shelter for Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and his allies throughout the tumultuous Selma-to-Montgomery marches of 1965, and now The Henry Ford is planning to move the house from Alabama to its Dearborn, Michigan campus. A recently announced $5 million grant from The Fred A. and Barbara M. Erb Family Foundation will help them do just that.The home in question was that of Dr. and Mrs. Sullivan Jackson, who welcomed Dr. King and his colleagues during the civil rights movement in the mid-1960s. Dr. King used the home as a safe haven and command center, of sorts, where he and his fellow activists planned the Selma-to-Montgomery marches of 1965. Those three marches were organized to protest the institutional racism that blocked Black citizens right to vote in the Jim Crow South.The marches were marked by violent attacks from counter-protesters, and four activists were murdered in the days before and after the marches; the marches are also considered a turning point in the struggle for civil rights that led to the signing of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. One of those killed was Viola Liuzzo, a Detroit activist who was murdered by the Ku Klux Klan while driving from Montgomery to Selma. A memorial monument honoring her and others sacrifices was recently unveiled at her namesake park on Detroits westside.[Related: Read Community celebrates unveiling of civil rights memorial monument, honoring sacrifice and friendship on Model D.]The Henry Ford will relocate the Jackson House from Selma to the Greenfield Village outdoor museum in Dearborn. Its expected that the building will be disassembled and moved this fall, and will be reassembled and renovated before being permanently installed at Greenfield Village, and presented with educational programming, come 2026.The Jackson familys only child, Jawana Jackson, can be credited with getting the house rolling, as it were, when she reached out to The Henry Ford in 2022 with the request that the organization place it on their Greenfield Village campus. The home was acquired by The Henry Ford earlier this year. And on Monday, Oct. 2, The Fred A. and Barbara M. Erb Family Foundation announced a $5 million commitment in support of the project.We believe this project comes at a time that resonates all too much with what our parents witnessed in the 60s, as our country is experiencing increasing efforts to erase Black history and the contributions that Black Americans, like those of the Jackson family and other civil rights activists, John Erb, the Foundations president and chair. My parents would be so proud to see the Foundation helping to uplift these stories and inspire a better and stronger future for this generation and ones to come.Got a development news story to share? Email MJ Galbraith here or send him a tweet @mikegalbraith
Mali: l'armee assure etre proche d'une ville etape vers Kidal, bastion rebelle

L'armee malienne a indique jeudi soir qu'un important convoi de ses forces avait progresse jusqu'aux environs d'Anefis, etape vers la ville strategique de Kidal, fief de la rebellion separatiste touareg qui a repris les armes contre l'Etat central.





Un haut responsable de la rebellion a assure quant a lui que l'armee n'avait pas atteint Anefis, mais etait encerclee a 11 kilometres de la.





La colonne a brise un rideau defensif constitue de tranchees a 10 km au sud d'Anefis, a dit l'armee sur les reseaux sociaux. Elle a assure avoir detruit plusieurs pick-ups et avoir inflige des pertes "tres importantes" a ses adversaires.





"Je demens l'entree du convoi FAMA (Forces armees maliennes)/Wagner a Anefis. Ils sont plutot cernes a 11 km de la", a dit sur les reseaux sociaux, Attaye Ag Mohamed, un responsable de la Coordination des mouvements de l'Azawad (CMA), une alliance de groupes armes a dominante touareg.





Apres s'etre souleves contre l'Etat central en 2012, ces groupes avaient signe un accord de paix avec lui en 2015 mais viennent de reprendre les hostilites en aout.





Un convoi de l'armee malienne compose de dizaines de vehicules et de blindes est parti lundi de Gao en direction de Kidal. Il est soumis depuis lors a des attaques.





La colonne de vehicules progresse lentement et nourrit les speculations sur sa destination et ses objectifs. Une offensive sur les bases de la rebellion dans la region Kidal pourrait constituer un tournant apres une decennie de conflit, alors que les attaques des groupes separatistes et des jihadistes du Groupe de soutien a l'islam et aux musulmans (GSIM), affilie a Al-Qaida, se multiplient contre les camps de larmee malienne dans le nord et le centre du pays.





Les groupes affilies a l'organisation Etat islamique continuent egalement a operer, essentiellement dans l'est.





La rebellion touareg avait affirme plus tot jeudi avoir stoppe l'avancee du convoi et avoir abattu un avion de l'armee a Tabankort, au sud d'Anefis.





Les affirmations de tous les protagonistes sont difficilement verifiables dans ces zones reculees. L'acces a des sources independantes dans un contexte d'hostilites et de regime militaire est complique.




A wounded man is treated at a hospital in Homs, central Syria, on Oct. 5, 2023. At least 66 people, including military personnel and civilians, were killed and 190 others wounded in a drone attack on a military academy in Syria's central province of Homs on Thursday, according to a medical source and the pro-government media outlet. (Str/Xinhua)

DAMASCUS, Oct. 5 (Xinhua) -- At least 66 people, including military personnel and civilians, were killed and 190 others wounded in a drone attack on a military academy in Syria's central province of Homs on Thursday, according to a medical source and the pro-government media outlet.

An anonymous medical source in Homs told Xinhua that at least 66 people have been confirmed dead after the attack. The number is also confirmed by the pro-government Sham FM radio.

In a statement, the Syrian military said weaponized drones launched an attack immediately after a graduation ceremony for Syrian military officers, causing casualties among military personnel and civilians, but did not provide the exact number of casualties.

Among the wounded, women and children were also reported, with some in critical condition, the statement added.

While the Syrian military did not identify the responsible parties, it described them as "terrorist groups backed by known international parties" and pledged a strong and firm response.

Meanwhile, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said over 60 were killed and dozens more injured in the attack, adding that the Syrian defense minister was present when the attack occurred.

Ambulances were seen rushing to the site of the attack to transport the injured to local hospitals, the UK-based war monitor added.

Syria has experienced an increase in drone attacks in recent years, with rebel groups using drones to target government installations and infrastructure. Conversely, the Syrian government and its allies have also employed drones for offensive operations against rebel positions.

The Syrian civil war, which began in 2011, has resulted in significant casualties and has left the country divided, with government forces engaged in conflict against various rebel groups. 

A wounded man is treated at a hospital in Homs, central Syria, on Oct. 5, 2023. At least 66 people, including military personnel and civilians, were killed and 190 others wounded in a drone attack on a military academy in Syria's central province of Homs on Thursday, according to a medical source and the pro-government media outlet. (Str/Xinhua)

A wounded man is treated at a hospital in Homs, central Syria, on Oct. 5, 2023. At least 66 people, including military personnel and civilians, were killed and 190 others wounded in a drone attack on a military academy in Syria's central province of Homs on Thursday, according to a medical source and the pro-government media outlet. (Str/Xinhua)
Ukraine-focused iron ore miner Ferrexpo reported a big jump in output during its third quarter despite ongoing challenging conditions in the war-torn country.

Ferrexpo, the third largest exporter of iron ore pellets in the world, said it was able to operate between one and two of its four pelletising lines during the quarter, driving total iron ore pellet production to 1.25m tonnes, up 17% on the second quarter.

The company said it was able to continue exporting and serving the needs of its premium European customers despite the challenging rail logistics and sea ports capacity available in Ukraine.

Interim executive chair Lucio Genovese said Ferrexpo's performance "exceeded our expectations". He said: "Our strategy to move early and right-size our business, so that we are more responsive to ever changing circumstances, is working. Contrary to the prevailing market pessimism, iron ore prices strengthened over the quarter; a supportive factor given the higher logistics costs we are experiencing."

Ferrexpo announced that 33 of its employees serving in the Ukrainian Armed Forces have died in the conflict so far, while a further 739 workers still currently serve.

Genovese said: "While the future holds much potential, today during a time of war, it is not possible to understate how challenging it is to operate our business. This is especially the case as we head into the winter season, when energy infrastructure is vulnerable to disruption. We have deliberately focused on building pellet production during 3Q to mitigate risks in the months ahead."
Tobacco giant Imperial Brands on Thursday announced a new bumper share buyback and said it was on track to hit forecasts this year.

The company said it will buy back 1.1bn in shares between 6 October 2023 and the end of September 2024, representing 8% of its share capital and a 10% increase on last year's buyback.

"This commitment forms part of an ongoing, multi-year buyback programme that will deliver a material reduction in the capital base over time, which, together with our progressive dividend policy, will provide an ongoing source of shareholder returns," Imperial said.

In a pre-close trading update for the fiscal year ended 30 September, the Lambert & Butlers and Golden Virginia maker said strong tobacco pricing has driven constant currency net revenue and adjusted operating profit growth.

On a constant currency basis, the company expects low single-digit growth in revenues even when accounting for its now-exited Russian business which contributed to the top line last year.

Group adjusted operating profit growth will come in at the lower end of the mid-single digit range, as previously guided to.

During the second half, Imperial said it saw an acceleration in growth in next generation product (NGP) revenues  heated tobacco, vapes and tobacco-free oral nicotine pouches  driven by strong growth in Europe.

Imperial said it has improved its market share across its top-five markets, marking three consecutive years of improved market share performance following several years of decline. Similar to the first half, the second half saw market share growth in the US, Spain and Australia, more than offsetting declines in Germany and the UK.

Meanwhile, gearing has improved, with net debt to EBITDA leverage expected to be around 2.0 for the year, slightly better than 2.0-2.5 range guided to at the half-year stage.
Metro Bank confirmed on Thursday that it is considering its refinancing options following reports it was looking to raise hundreds of millions of pounds from investors.

The challenger bank said in a statement that it was "evaluating the merits of a range of options, including a combination of equity issuance, debt issuance and / or refinancing and asset sales".

Metro said no decision has been made on whether to proceed with any of these options.

The company said that following its update on capital planning on 12 September, it continues to consider how best to enhance its capital resources, "with particular regard to the 350m senior non-preferred notes due in October 2025".

Metro Bank said it continues to meet its minimum regulatory capital requirements.

"For three consecutive quarters ended 30 June 2023, the bank has been profitable on an underlying basis, and it expects the Q3 trading update to show continued momentum in personal and business current account growth and customer acquisition, in line with expectations," it said, adding that it remains well positioned for future growth.

The statement followed a series of earlier press reports, with the Financial Times citing people with knowledge of the plan as saying that Metro was looking to raise as much as 600m after its share price fell nearly 50% in recent weeks.

It was understood the challenger bank was in talks with investors about raising 250m in equity funding and 350m in debt to shore up its balance sheet.

Last month, Metro Bank failed to get approval from regulators to lower the capital requirements attached to its mortgage business.

A person familiar with the decision told the FT that Metro had hired Morgan Stanley to provide strategic advice and lead any potential capital raise. According to Sky News, Moelis, another investment bank, was also thought to be involved, along with Metros corporate broker, Royal Bank of Canada.

The FT also reported on Thursday that Metros chair and chief executive have been summoned to urgent talks with the UKs top financial regulators after reports of a fundraising caused the share price to collapse. Metros chief executive Daniel Frumkin and chair Robert Sharpe have both been asked to meet officials from the Bank of Englands Prudential Regulation Authority and Financial Conduct Authority later in the day, according to FT sources.

At 0920 BST, Metro shares were down 24% at 38.42p.

Victoria Scholar, head of investment at Interactive Investor, said: "There have long been concerns about Metros finances - back in 2019 queues formed at some of its branches, sparked by negative comments about its financial position on social media. It also admitted in the same year it faced a major error around how it classified its loan book, sending its shares crashing down by nearly 40% in a single session.

"Just yesterday, ratings agency Fitch placed Metro Bank on rating watch negative reflecting its view that short-term risks to its business model stabilisation, capital buffers and funding have increased.

"Metro floated on the stock market in March 2016 at 20 a share. Initially it rallied to a high of over 40 in 2018, but now it trades at around just a fifth of its flotation price, currently at around 4 a share, reflecting the major lack of confidence in the business among investors and its balance sheet woes."
National Grid said on Thursday that it continues to perform in line with its expectations and underlying earnings per share are set to have a greater weighting to the second half.

In a brief pre-close update for the half-year to 30 September, the company said it expects HY24 operating profit weightings across the group "to be more reflective of historic periods than HY23".

For the UK regulated businesses, contributions to operating profit are expected to be broadly evenly split across the year. For the US regulated businesses, meanwhile, National Grid expects contributions to be more heavily weighted towards H2.

The New York business is expected to deliver 10-15% of its full-year operating profit in the first half, given a higher non-cash environmental provision charge. The company expects a broadly even split of operating profit between the first and second half in National Grid Ventures and Other.

The half-year results are due to be released on 9 November.
Private home rents in Great Britain have increased to their highest point on record after shortages in supply and mortgage rate rises combined to push the cost up by 10% over the past 12 months. The average rent for new properties being put on the market now stands at a record 1,278 per calendar month outside London in the July to September period, according to Rightmove.  Guardian

Metro Bank is considering raising hundreds of millions of pounds from investors, weeks after the high street lender failed to convince regulators it could be trusted to hold less cash against its mortgage risks. The high street lender, which became the first new chain in the UK for more than a century when it was launched by the American billionaire Vernon Hill in 2010, had applied to use its own internal models to assess the risks of its mortgages, but that request was denied in early September.  Guardian

Mike Lynch, the tech entrepreneur accused of leading Britains biggest ever corporate fraud, has launched a legal bid to have a string of US criminal charges against him thrown out. Mr Lynch, the founder of the former FTSE 100 software company Autonomy, has filed to dismiss the 17 charges against him, saying the US has no jurisdiction over the case. His lawyers describe the charges, which could lead to decades in prison, as impermissibly extraterritorial and say they contain fatal legal deficiencies.  Telegraph

The former chief executive of Carillion has been disqualified as a director for eight years for his role in allegedly concealing accounting troubles at the collapsed construction company. The Insolvency Service, acting on behalf of the business and trade secretary, said that it had accepted a disqualification undertaking from Richard Howson, 55, who led the failed outsourcer from 2012 until July 2017, when his departure was announced alongside the first of three profit warnings.  The Times

The majority of bosses believe that their staff will be back working in the office five days a week within the next three years. Sixty-four per cent of the 1,300 global chief executives who responded to KPMGs annual outlook survey predicted a full return to in-office working by the end of 2026.  The Times
ULAN BATOR, Oct. 5 (Xinhua) -- The World Bank has projected a 5.1-percent growth for Mongolia's economy in 2023, a slight downward revision from 5.2 percent in April, local media reported on Thursday.

In its newly-released East Asia and the Pacific Economic Update October 2023, the bank also lowered the growth forecast for next year from the previous 6.3 percent to 6.1 percent.

International banks and financial institutions have said that Mongolia's economy is expected to keep recovering and growing in the near term.

The Asian Development Bank's Asian Development Outlook September 2023 said the country's economy was expected to grow by 5.7 percent this year and 5.9 percent next year.

The Asian country's economy grew 4.8 percent in 2022 and 1.4 percent in 2021. 
Deakin University, a top 1% university worldwide and leading Australian higher education institution, kicked off its highly anticipated annual event, 'Deakin Interactive Week 2023 (i-Week),' Le Meridien, New Delhi on Tuesday, 3rd October 2023. Geared towards young, ambitious Indian students, Deakin i-Week is set to make its mark across five major cities in India, offering a series of engaging and interactive sessions. Deakin's faculty and subject matter experts have flown in from Australia, bridging the gap between the university and its student base in India.

During Deakin i-Week, students will have the exclusive opportunity to connect with Deakin's academics, current students and alumni, gaining valuable insights into emerging careers spanning engineering, information technology, arts, business, law, health, and more. Through a diverse range of sessions, Deakin i-Week promises to empower Indian students with the knowledge and inspiration they need to shape their future careers.

Ravneet Pawha, Vice President (Global Alliances) and CEO (South Asia) of Deakin University, said, "Deakin has always upheld its commitment towards providing quality education, learning resources and infrastructure of global standards along with a nurturing environment to Indian students. To boost student knowledge and understanding of an international student's journey, our faculty members and student services staff have bridged the extra mile to come to India and discuss with the students themselves in person". "I would urge all students along with their parents and guardians to take this opportunity to come and meet our team to get all their questions answered, doubts cleared and get a fresh perspective on their future plans".

This year students attending Deakin i-Week can look forward to interacting with distinguished members of Faculty of Science, Engineering and Built Environment covering engineering, information technology, cybersecurity and more; from Faculty of Health covering public health and management; from Faculty of Arts and Education covering communications and Faculty of Business and Law covering management studies, information systems and more. The event has garnered great reviews, testimonials and shares from current students at Deakin University from India, depositions from faculty travelling to India as well as students looking forward to study in Australia across digital media channels. The registrations from prospective future students have already exceeded 1000 across five cities and it has made it to the top five posts trending on Twitter.

Moulishri Shukla, an Indian student studying at Deakin University with a Vice Chancellor's Meritorious 100% Scholarship says, "Deakin i-Week is a fantastic opportunity to gather personalised guidance and key information about studying in Australia from seasoned experts. It helps you connect one-on-one with leading Deakin faculty to help figure out the best course options and careers ahead".

"It is a great experience to catch a glimpse of your future classroom, campuses and the state-of-the-art facilities at Deakin as well as to get tailored international student support, accommodation and career development information and more". Whatever be the field of choice, a student is sure to meet a Deakin faculty member who will engage with and give the right direction for a successful next step. Over the years they have guided thousands of Indian students towards successful careers in India, Australia and around the world.

Not just academics, the Deakin i-Week sessions also include key staff members from Deakin's student services, career services and student residential services team to make sure you have complete information regarding student life, accommodation, and support services, careers and employment services and what to expect and how to best prepare for ahead.
Burns & McDonnell India, part of Burns & McDonnell, is opening a second office, in Bengaluru, to expand the firm's presence in India. Located in Bagmane Tech Park, the second office will open for business on Oct. 3.

Burns & McDonnell India offers clients a full range of consulting, engineering, architecture and construction services. With the new office in Bengaluru, the firm can recruit more personnel to support these efforts.

"Bengaluru is the hub of innovation and technology in India, which makes it a great location for our growing business," says Chad Hotovec, CEO, Burns & McDonnell India. "Our firm continues to grow because we are committed to tackling the energy and infrastructure needs of our clients in India and around the world. We will continue to execute projects efficiently while delivering comprehensive and innovative solutions for our clients. In addition to supporting the firm's overall growth, the new office will create employment opportunities in the region."

Breck McGary will serve as the regional office manager in Bengaluru. He joined Burns & McDonnell India in 2016 to help grow its Transmission & Distribution practice. Under his leadership, the team has grown to 400 employees, making it the company's largest group in India. In addition to growing the team, McGary has helped the group establish and expand partnerships with 16 other offices around the globe and expanded its client list to over 60 active accounts while focusing on quality and relationship-building.

Burns & McDonnell India, founded in Mumbai in 2013, is a full-service engineering company that possesses diverse knowledge and experience spanning various sectors such as oil and gas, chemical and petrochemical, transmission and distribution, energy, environmental services, and food and consumer products. Since 2017, the Mumbai office has been certified seven times among the top 100 of India's Best Companies to Work For, by Great Place to Work.

"This is an exciting year for Burns & McDonnell as we celebrate the firm's 125th anniversary and a decade of operations in India," says Mike Brown, president of Burns & McDonnell International. "We are focused on providing optimal engineering, design and construction support for our clientele in India. This expansion will provide new job opportunities in Bengaluru while supporting projects that align with our international strategy."
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y.  Authorities allege that a 22-year-old man attacked two male workers at South Beach Psychiatric Center in Sea View last month.

Damari Hinds was arrested on Sept. 7 in connection with the alleged assaults at the facility where he lives at 777 Seaview Ave., according to the criminal complaint and police.

Hinds punched one of the workers in the face multiple times on Sept. 2 at about 7:30 p.m., causing a broken nose and bleeding from the right eye, the complaint alleges.

A second worker was punched in the face multiple times, according to authorities. The suspect threw a cell phone at that second worker, causing bruising and swelling on his face and shoulder pain, the complaint alleges.

Police allege that the suspect also spat at his victims.

Hines has been charged with assault and harassment.

The suspect, who stands about 5 feet, 6 inches tall and weighs about 240 pounds, is being held in the Bellevue Hospital Prison Ward in Manhattan. He pleaded not guilty to all charges.

Bail has been set at $50,000/$25,000 cash and he is due to appear in Criminal Court on Nov. 1, according to public records.

An attorney for the defendant did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

__

OTHER STATEN ISLAND NEWS:

>> NYPD: Pre-dawn raid on Staten Island nets heroin, crack cocaine, oxycodone

>> Source: Fireworks sparked Staten Island shooting where man, 41, was injured

>> NYPD: Car stop lead to arrests of 2 men in connection with gun seizure on the North Shore of Staten Island

>> Staten Island man, 51, arrested in carjacking attempt; victim allegedly punched

>> 6 years after body was found in Maine fire, Staten Island man arrested

>> NYPD: Raid nets drugs at Staten Island home of felon previously convicted in narcotics ring

>> NYPD: Man, 21, arrested in fatal shooting of store owner during attempted robbery on Staten Island
SAN FRANCISCO, Oct. 4 (Xinhua) -- A small airplane crashed Tuesday evening into a house in Newberg, U.S. state of Oregon, killing two people, officials said.

Witnesses reported seeing a plane "spiraling towards the ground and crashing near North Cedar Street" in Newberg, about 30 kilometer southwest of Portland, according to Tualatin Valley Fire & Rescue.

Firefighters arrived on the scene and found two people in the plane were deceased. They rescued another person with serious injuries from the plane and sent him to hospital.

The plane smashed through the roof of a residence. People inside the house managed to evacuate without injury. No one on the ground was injured, Tualatin Valley Fire & Rescue said.

Officials said the Newberg-Dundee Police Department, the Federal Aviation Administration, and the National Transportation Safety Board are investigating the cause of the crash. 
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y.  Law enforcement officials say a 48-year-old Staten Island man sold cocaine to undercover cops on several occasions last year, as part of a larger undercover operation targeting a drug ring on the boroughs North Shore.

On Tuesday, Michael Sheard of Park Hill Avenue in Clifton pleaded guilty in state Supreme Court, St. George, to second-degree criminal sale of a controlled substance. In doing so he admitted to dealing more than a half ounce of the drug.

His arrest in September 2022, officials said, stemmed from the 15-month undercover operation dubbed D-Rail the Corridor, carried out by the NYPD and district attorneys office, which focused on areas where shootings and gang violence had been prevalent.

In this case, officials said Sheard helped carry out dealings with undercover police in February and March.

Public records show the defendant also had an address in the Bronx, as did another man arrested in the undercover operation. Most of the individuals charged in the case resided in and around New Brighton.

Defendants Juan Laureano, in white undershirt and Durail Miles, with North Face hoodie, stand alongside attorneys Mario F. Gallucci and Matthew Mobilia at their arraignments on Aug. 9, 2022 in state Supreme Court, St. George. Michael Sheard was arrested in September, according to court records.

Justice Mario Mattei adjourned the case to Oct. 27, when the defendant, in exchange for his plea, is scheduled to be sentenced to eight to 10 years incarceration, followed by five years of post release supervision.

The defendant, neatly dressed with a shirt and tie over a lean build, was calm throughout the proceedings, exchanging a sad goodbye with a woman watching from the gallery as officers escorted him out of the courtroom. If the case had gone to trial and he was convicted on the top charges, he was facing the possibility of one or more decades behind bars.

Defense attorney Timothy Richard declined to comment after the hearing.

Assistant District Attorneys Matthew Gamberg and Matthew Signorile prosecuted the case for the Richmond County District Attorneys office.

Today, our office secured a guilty plea to criminal sale of [narcotics] for defendant Michael Sheard, said District Attorney Michael E. McMahon. A poison peddler with a penchant for selling harmful narcotics, Sheard will now face the next eight to 10 years behind bars.

Seeking to profit off of our communitys pain, drugs dealers like [the defendant] not only jeopardize our boroughs public safety but are responsible for the death and suffering of countless family members, friends, neighbors and loved ones who call Staten Island home.

OPERATION D-RAIL

Authorities said operation D-Rail the Corridor in part zeroed in and monitored the defendants electronically and with other investigative tools.

Among the other defendants charged in the case were Durail (Shooter) Miles, 30, who prosecutors said in court on Tuesday was a main target on the wiretaps, and Juan Laureano, 35, alleged to be Miles methamphetamine supplier.

We commend our partners in the NYPD for their tireless efforts to investigate, pursue, and arrest dangerous drug traffickers, said McMahon on Tuesday.

__

OTHER STATEN ISLAND NEWS:

>> NYPD: Pre-dawn raid on Staten Island nets heroin, crack cocaine, oxycodone

>> Source: Fireworks sparked Staten Island shooting where man, 41, was injured

>> NYPD: Car stop lead to arrests of 2 men in connection with gun seizure on the North Shore of Staten Island

>> Staten Island man, 51, arrested in carjacking attempt; victim allegedly punched

>> 6 years after body was found in Maine fire, Staten Island man arrested

>> NYPD: Raid nets drugs at Staten Island home of felon previously convicted in narcotics ring

>> NYPD: Man, 21, arrested in fatal shooting of store owner during attempted robbery on Staten Island
The Giants had just delivered another sluggish first half, Monday night against the Seahawks. So fans at MetLife Stadium showered them with boos before the players headed to the locker room.

Right tackle Evan Neal looked up toward the stands, raised his arm, and gestured sarcastically. He said he did not flip off fans. But he did yell a clear message at them.
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- While crime in New York City at large is down within the past year, Staten Island has seen a surge in felony assaults, driven by attacks on police officers and domestic violence cases.

According to data from the NYPDs CompStat database, Staten Island has seen the greatest increase in felony assaults among the patrol boroughs of New York City, with a 23.3% increase from this time last year. Since Jan. 1, the borough has seen 735 incidents of felony assault, whereas at this time last year, Staten Island had experienced 596 incidents, the data shows.

During an NYPD press conference on Wednesday, executive officials briefed members of the media on these and other third-quarter crime statistics. Officials shared insights into strategies used to combat crime during the past summer months, and provided statistics and figures on criminal activity across the city.

Despite overall crime citywide being down by 0.5% in comparison to this time last year, as noted by the NYPDs CompStat database, felony assault and grand larceny auto are the two major sectors of crime that have seen an increase.

Thus far this year, there have been 21,133 reported incidents of felony assault citywide. At this time last year, there were 19,959 incidents recorded, a 5.9% increase, data shows.

On Staten Island, the 123rd Precinct, on the Islands South Shore, experienced the lowest number of felony assaults, but it also showed the greatest percent change within the past year, an increase of more than 45%. The 120th Precinct saw the greatest number of felony assaults, 352. And the 121st Precinct saw the smallest growth in felony assaults, just 4.1%.

Watch live as NYPD executives brief the media regarding 3rd quarter crime stats https://t.co/s0UMc6bKC0  NYPD NEWS (@NYPDnews) October 4, 2023

Chief of Crime Control Strategies Michael LiPetri, one of the officials in attendance at the briefing, cited the two categories responsible for the spike in felony assaults.

Our increase in felony assaults are driven by two categories: assaults on police officers, and when we drill down on that, obviously our enforcement is way up, and unfortunately our assaults on our police officers are up, LiPetri said. We also have an increase in domestic violence felony assaults. So those are the two categories that basically make up the third-quarter increase, as it does for the year.

Recently, Staten Island has been no stranger to incidents in which a suspect assaults a law-enforcement officer. Just last month, a 26-year-old man sprayed red paint into the face of a male police officer.

In May, two cops were injured when a Great Kills man became uncooperative in an investigation and eventually resisted arrest. Both officers suffered injuries as a result. One received a mild concussion, while another suffered an arm sprain.

There is a simple reason that assaults on cops are going up,' said NYC Police Benevolent Association (PBA) President Patrick Hendry. Its because anti-police activists  many of them on the public payroll  have normalized violent resistance against police officers.

Charges against criminals who assault cops are frequently downgraded or thrown out, while hard-working cops are having their careers destroyed for using appropriate force to defend themselves or safely make an arrest. Police officers are literally getting beaten up in this environment. Its another reason that cops are still quitting in droves.

In addition to violence against police officers, domestic violence cases account for more than 50% of Staten Islands felony assaults, according to the office of District Attorney Michael E. McMahon.

Just this Sunday, an event was held at Willowbrook Park to kickoff Domestic Violence Awareness month.

The following is a breakdown of felony assault numbers by precinct on Staten Island:

120th Precinct

Felony assault cases from Jan. 1 to Oct. 1, 2023: 352

Felony Assault cases from Jan 1. to Oct. 1, 2022: 301

Percent change: Increase of 16.9%

121st Precinct

Felony assault cases from Jan. 1 to Oct. 1, 2023: 177

Felony Assault cases from Jan 1. to Oct. 1, 2022: 170

Percent change: Increase of 4.1%

122nd Precinct

Felony assault cases from Jan. 1 to Oct. 1, 2023: 135

Felony Assault cases from Jan 1. to Oct. 1, 2022: 93

Percent change: Increase of 45.2%

123rd Precinct

Felony assault cases from Jan. 1 to Oct. 1, 2023: 71

Felony Assault cases from Jan 1. to Oct. 1, 2022: 32

Percent change: Increase of 121.9%
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y.  A Department of Corrections officer from Staten Island is accused of lying about overtime to receive over $170,000  even filing overtime while in Aruba, federal prosecutors allege.

Defendant James Internicola, 56, a Tottenville resident according to public records, was charged in Brooklyn federal court with overtime and salary fraud for allegedly clocking in more than 2,250 falsified hours between July 2021 and January 2023.

There were dozens of instances in which the defendant never even showed up to work at all  opting to instead stay at his Staten Island home, go down to the Jersey Shore or even fly internationally to Aruba, the criminal complaint indicated.

Investigators allege that when Internicola did go to work, he would regularly arrive to work two hours later and leave work two hours earlier than he indicated on his timesheet.

After being confronted with example timesheets for hours he did not work, the 27-year corrections veteran acknowledged that the paperwork was inaccurate, but claimed he never signed his name and his supervisor forged his signature, court records show.

When interviewed by investigators, Internicolas supervisor stated that he never signed the defendants name on any documents.

Internicola has resigned as a result of the probe.

FBI Special Agent Jeffrey Downey said Internicola was paid more than $390,000, although his yearly salary is closer to $92,000.

Prosecutors say Internicola allegedly stole at least $171,000 in salary and overtime pay from his employer. DOC officers and employees are paid time and a half if they work more than 40 hours per week. DOC officers have the option of being compensated by cash payment or time off.

According to the court complaint, investigators used license-plate-reader timestamps, E-Z Pass toll data, and cell phone and passport records to find evidence of the defendants actual comings and goings to work.

A May warrant for license-plate-reader data issued by U.S. Magistrate Judge Cheryl L. Pollak revealed that Internicola regularly worked substantially less time than he claimed in documentation submitted to the DOC, Downey said.

Downey said during an 18-month period, Internicola claimed to work more than 2,600 hours of overtime, which is equivalent of more than 140 hours of overtime per month, and more than 33 hours of overtime weekly, records show.



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>> Man suffers fatal gunshot wound near Manhattan fitness studio: Report
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PUL-E-KHUMRI, Afghanistan, Oct. 5 (Xinhua) -- Police have discovered and destroyed a drug processing lab in Dushi district of north Afghanistan's Baghlan province, district police chief Mawlawi Khalidin Saqib said Thursday.

Acting on tip-off, the police raided a place in Dara-e-Kayan area of Dushi district on Wednesday, destroying a drug lab with a quantity of heroin and the objects used in manufacturing drugs, the official added.

Four suspects have been arrested with regard to the case for further investigation, the official went on to say.

In similar operations, police also discovered and destroyed a drug lab in Patoy district of the central Daykundu province a day earlier on Tuesday and took into custody five people on charge of involvement in the illegal business.

The Afghan caretaker government banned the cultivation of illicit crops including hashish, poppy, drug processing and drug trafficking in April 2022. Since then, the administration has intensified the war on producing illegal drugs and trafficking to get rid Afghanistan of drug menace. 
Gold has retaken its position as the leading FM radio station in Melbourne in the sixth ratings survey of the year, while ABC Melbourne continues its upward trajectory for the third survey in a row.

Gold recaptured losses from the previous survey, lifting its overall share by 3.1 percentage points to 12.7 per cent and leapfrogging the previous leading FM station, Smooth FM (which lost 0.6 percentage points to 9.3 per cent).

Christian OConnell is Melbournes number one FM breakfast host in the sixth radio survey of the year. Credit: Eddie Jim

Golds breakfast slot (5.30am to 9am), which includes Christian OConnells show, and evening slot (7pm to midnight) enjoyed the largest gains  3.8 and 3.5 percentage points respectively.

3AW (owned, like this masthead, by Nine) continues to dominate the rankings, retaining its top position overall. However, it shed 0.9 percentage points during this survey period, bringing its audience share to 15.8 per cent.
The proposal to stop the next generation of English children from being able to buy cigarettes is not only one of the toughest-ever crackdowns on the tobacco industry, but a brave reform that should be adopted worldwide.

UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has announced the age at which people can buy cigarettes and tobacco in England will rise from 18 every year, so that a child aged 14 today would never be allowed to legally buy tobacco. The idea was first put forward by a government-commissioned review in 2022 which it said, if adopted, could see some 1.7 million fewer people smoking by 2075. Sunak also promised to introduce measures to restrict the availability of vapes to children.

Such commonsense reforms will result in thousands living longer and save the National Health Service billions of pounds courtesy of not having to treat the illnesses caused by smoking, such as numerous types of cancer, heart attacks, strokes, amputations.

If passed, England would become the first country in Europe to join New Zealand, which announced a similar plan last year to ban people who were born after January 1, 2009, from purchasing cigarettes from 2027, as well as curbing the number of retailers authorised to sell tobacco and cutting nicotine levels in all products. Denmark is already considering a similar move, and a number of nations also have targets to reduce smoking to minimal levels in the relatively near future.
Prominent orthopaedic surgeon Munjed Al Muderis has denied performing medical services in the United States without a licence after being played a video in court of him changing a patients prosthetic rod in an Arizona hotel room.

Al Muderis faced cross-examination in the Federal Court defamation case he has brought against The Age, The Sydney Morning Herald and 60 Minutes over reports published in 2022 that he says defamed him by suggesting he performed surgery negligently.

Surgeon Munjed Al Muderis (centre) with his legal team. Credit: Kate Geraghty

The 51-year-old specialises in osseointegration, an operation involving the insertion of titanium pins into the bone of an amputee to allow a prosthetic limb to be connected.

He argues his reputation was gravely injured by the publications, including through the use of language such as botched and mutilated. The media defendants are arguing the defences of truth, contextual truth, honest opinion and public interest.
Signs (Col8 this week) are with us still. Col8ters are spotting and sharing signs from around the country and the world. David Davies of Drummoyne reports (with picture attached, thank you), I spotted a sign in East Perth that read Give Way to Pedestrians but someone official had added a 9, altering the message to read Give Way to 9 Pedestrians. Watch out number 10. Perth is an interesting place, it seems now they decimate their pedestrians.

Internationally, Adrianne Hannan of Bowral, in an English bus terminal, found a sign saying Buses manoeuvring passengers should not wait in this area. Is this a new English sport, like sheep dog trials brought into the 21st century?

Kent Mayo of Uralla offers, On a car wreckers yard in San Francisco The Fat Lady Sang, and, in Ireland, on an overnight delivery van The Next Day Everyday, which seemed a good excuse for failure to deliver.

Regarding Irish signs, Ron White of Wentworth Falls says, During my time as a Council Traffic Committee Member I remember the Roads And Traffic Authority Member rhetorically asking the group what is the second most ignored highway sign. Answer Reduce Speed. Which led to the question of what is the most ignored sign. Answer Reduce Speed Now. So, perhaps Limerick (Col8 Thursday) isnt as silly as we imagined?

Now historically, Nick Bocock of Kiama reports that, My 1970s high school class got a laugh entering our classroom one afternoon  the previous class had produced anti-smoking posters, which were hung around the walls to dry. The poster that stood out declared Death can kill . Col8 thinks theres something in that for all of us.
This article is part of Travellers November Hot List.

To those seeking a cruise holiday with an element of the untamed, the Upper Mekong beckons.

This undeveloped and highly scenic stretch of one of the planets longest rivers offers an enticing mix of natural wonder and cultural exploration.

The widest waterfall in the world, Khone Falls in southern Laos divides the upper Mekong from the lower, more populated stretch. The Upper Mekong runs just under 2000 kilometres from the Tibetan Plateau.

Cruising the Mekong on the Heritage Line Anouvong ... an element of the untamed.

Ho Chi Minh City-based cruise company Heritage Line has just launched a new ship running itineraries in the Laos section of the Upper Mekong.
A farmer operates an agricultural machinery to dry corns at Fuliuyao Village of Xiwangzhuang Town in Zaozhuang City, east China's Shandong Province, Oct. 5, 2023. The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs said Thursday that 42.2 percent of autumn grains had been reaped across China.

Over half of the middle-season rice, over 40 percent of corn, and around 40 percent of soybeans have been reaped so far, according to the ministry. (Photo by Sun Zhongzhe/Xinhua)

BEIJING, Oct. 5 (Xinhua) -- The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs said Thursday that 42.2 percent of autumn grains had been reaped across China.

With regions like central China's Henan Province hastening harvests amid agreeable weather conditions, this year's autumn harvest is up to speed with that of the same time last year, said the ministry.

Over half of the middle-season rice, over 40 percent of corn, and around 40 percent of soybeans have been reaped so far, according to the ministry.

China has taken multi-pronged measures to ensure a bumper autumn harvest. The Ministry of Finance allocated 2.4 billion yuan (about 334 million U.S. dollars) worth of subsidies in August for fertilizers, pesticides and other agricultural sprays to improve the yields of autumn grains.

China aims to stabilize its annual grain output at over 650 billion kg, according to the country's 2023 government work report. 

A farmer arranges harvested corns at Liunansu Village of Guangzong County in Xingtai City, north China's Hebei Province, Oct. 5, 2023. The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs said Thursday that 42.2 percent of autumn grains had been reaped across China.

Over half of the middle-season rice, over 40 percent of corn, and around 40 percent of soybeans have been reaped so far, according to the ministry. (Photo by Wang Lei/Xinhua)

Farmers dry corns at Zhoujiazhuang Village in Jinzhou City, north China's Hebei Province, Oct. 5, 2023. The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs said Thursday that 42.2 percent of autumn grains had been reaped across China.

Over half of the middle-season rice, over 40 percent of corn, and around 40 percent of soybeans have been reaped so far, according to the ministry. (Photo by Jia Zaixing/Xinhua)

A farmer operates an agricultural machinery to thresh corns at Fuliuyao Village of Xiwangzhuang Town in Zaozhuang City, east China's Shandong Province, Oct. 5, 2023. The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs said Thursday that 42.2 percent of autumn grains had been reaped across China.

Over half of the middle-season rice, over 40 percent of corn, and around 40 percent of soybeans have been reaped so far, according to the ministry. (Photo by Wang Hainan/Xinhua)

This aerial photo taken on Oct. 5, 2023 shows farmers arranging harvested corns at Beitian Village of Hutun Town in Liaocheng City, east China's Shandong Province. The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs said Thursday that 42.2 percent of autumn grains had been reaped across China.

Over half of the middle-season rice, over 40 percent of corn, and around 40 percent of soybeans have been reaped so far, according to the ministry. (Photo by Ma Hongkun/Xinhua)

A farmer operates an agricultural machinery to harvest rice at Baita Town of Xianju County in Taizhou, east China's Zhejiang Province, Oct. 5, 2023. The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs said Thursday that 42.2 percent of autumn grains had been reaped across China.

Over half of the middle-season rice, over 40 percent of corn, and around 40 percent of soybeans have been reaped so far, according to the ministry. (Photo by Wang Huabin/Xinhua)
Currently, elections in the Dutch Caribbean are becoming a new science for the constituency-based upon the existing challenges in accordance with the Colombian Certified Risk Auditor. These challenges are channeled into internal and external components, which are the Public funds management and the involvement of the Netherlands in the islands business. The biggest mistake in the Dutch Caribbean political history was signed with The Netherlands on November 2, 2006 where politicians of Curacao and Sint Maarten signed a bilateral affidavit, compromising and overexposing the autonomy of the mentioned islands. The Financial Supervisory Board (CFT) and the Legal Compliance Council (RVR) existence are the direct impacts of many unmitigated risks by the politicians of the mentioned period.

Unfortunately, the difference between an affidavit and an agreement is that the agreement has a termination date, and is negotiable, while the signed document does not outline any termination date, placing the islands in a deadlock and awkward position.

This affidavit allows the Netherlands to intervene at any time, while the CFT and RVR entities report directly to the Second Chamber in Holland, without any involvement or any form of authority by the island's Government in the decision-making position.

If a political party cannot elaborate on how they can rescue the island's financial deficit without reinforcing new taxation tariffs or special consideration with current cash flow in the compliance collection environment, the islands will be hanging from the 2 last rings of the food chain very soon. Fact is that history has shown that additional tax reforms as they are known up to now just dont work over the last 2 decades, and would be an irresponsibility to apply similar methods of tax collection.

The party in Government must have the capacity to generate cash flow however not depending on additional taxations on the existing workforce which will only result in a social economic catastrophe.

The fact that Governments in the Dutch Caribbean for the last 4 decades have not been able to produce a plan in which their projected actions are measured with the capacity to reduce the National Deficit is a clear message of incapacity in the field.

The effectiveness of any Government should be rated based on the positive impact on the lower social layer of society by creating employment opportunities and bank account balance improvement.

It is very necessary that political parties bring a think tank into the equation, and debate openly on how their envisioned actions will give a very transparent idea to the constituency to encourage their trust to vote. The fact is that until the most effective remedial actions of the political parties are not disclosed, the islands will not be able to improve and become self-sustainable soon, placing the Netherlands as the Sole decision-taker for another Century. The rescue of the National Deficit is the key to the islands' self-improvement with the appropriate economic distribution of the Islands wealth to its people.
BONAIRE:--- The Bonaire Human Rights Organization delegation set out on their 3rd phase and is now 505 days on pilgrimage lobbying in Latin America and the Caribbean to put Bonaire on the list of Non-Self-Governing-Territories of the United Nations. Last Sunday the delegation traveled to Sint Maarten.

In December of 2022, the Dutch government openly promised a one-time handout of US$200 million for the crimes of slavery as compensation which has now been reduced to $5 million. Clearly, this is not reparations but manipulation and betrayal to the highest level to our ancestors.

On 19 December 2022, the Dutch government deliberately went ahead to be the leader of the reparations global discussions before their fellow colonizers' governments Britain, France, etc. when the Dutch Prime Minister, Rutte apologized and was followed by King William of Holland. The intention was to take over the control and initiative from the free and independent Caribbean reparations movement, but they moved too swiftly without calculating the repercussions, now it looks like a global embarrassment for themselves. The Dutch planned to hijack and water down the reparation movement but failed dramatically yesterday.

On October 1 and 2nd at the Simpson Bay Resort in Sint Maarten, the Bonaire Human Rights Organization witnessed the Dutch government invite a group of specially selected non-governmental leaders from the last six remaining colonized and subordinated Caribbean islands. These representatives from Curacao, Aruba, Bonaire, St Maarten, Statia, and Saba were grouped to listen to a breakdown of how the Dutch promised $200 million would be distributed.

The groups were astonished that during the Dutch government presentation, after a luxurious stay at a 5-star resort, dinner, and show the previous night, watched as the famous $200 million handout was slashed by half to $100 million. This $100 million will then be divided into equal parts between the former Antilles, Curacao, Aruba, Bonaire, Sint Eustatius, Saba, and Sint Maarten receiving 1/3, the Netherlands 1/3 and Suriname 1/3. You could hear a pin drop in the room, everyone went numb as they then understood how the $200 million turned into $33 million which is then about $5 million for each Island and possibly less for the smaller islands.

Holland gave the global community hope and great expectations when the Dutch Prime Minister and the Dutch King gave their humble apologies, but what the world did not realize at the time was that Holland had no intention of giving reparations to all their colonies past and present.

Bonaire Human Rights Organization Kaya Liberator Simon Bolivar #26 Kralendijk Bonaire
PHILIPSBURG:--- Today marks a significant moment in the world of marine conservation as three distinguished individuals, Marine Science and Fisheries Expert Dr. Paddy Walker, International Ocean Conservation Policy Expert Irene Kingma, and Caribbean Conservation Professional Tadzio Bervoets, proudly announce the establishment of the Ocean Future Foundation. Founded on the 5th of October, 2023, the foundation is headquartered in Philipsburg, Sint Maarten, and is poised to make a profound impact on the preservation and restoration of our oceans.

The Ocean Future Foundation is dedicated to its mission: "To protect and restore the marine environment through improving legislation and management, expanding scientific knowledge, and enhancing collaboration." With a steadfast commitment to this mission, the foundation will work tirelessly to safeguard the world's oceans, coastal areas, and marine wildlife, putting local communities central in conservation efforts.

Dr. Paddy Walker, a renowned Marine Science and Fisheries Expert, brings decades of experience to the foundation. Irene Kingma, an esteemed International Ocean Conservation Policy Expert, will leverage her deep understanding of policy to drive change. Tadzio Bervoets, a respected Caribbean Conservation Professional, will apply his regional and international expertise to address the unique challenges faced by Caribbean marine ecosystems.

Key activities of the foundation will include:

Project Initiatives: The foundation will lead projects focused on research, protection, and sustainable management of oceans and coastal regions. These initiatives aim to drive tangible positive change in marine ecosystems.

Policy Advocacy: The Ocean Future Foundation will offer both solicited and unsolicited advice to policymakers and stakeholders, using its expertise to influence legislation and management practices in favor of marine conservation.

Collaborative Partnerships: Building strong alliances with organizations, governments, and individuals who share their passion for ocean preservation will be a cornerstone of the foundation's strategy.

Public Awareness: The foundation will actively engage in public outreach and education, highlighting the importance and value of our oceans and coastal areas to inspire widespread support for marine conservation.

"The Ocean Future Foundation represents a new era in marine conservation, bringing together passionate individuals dedicated to safeguarding our precious oceans," according to the co-founders. "We believe that through collaboration, research, and advocacy, we can make a lasting impact on the health and sustainability of our marine ecosystems."

The Ocean Future Foundation invites individuals, organizations, and communities to join them on this vital journey to protect and restore our oceans. Together, we can create a sustainable future for marine life and the planet.
It is alleged that the victim had a medical emergency.~

PHILIPSBURG:--- A Canadian national who was vacationing on the island, at the La Terrace Resort (Maho Group) lost her life to drowning on Thursday afternoon.

Police Spokesman Joe Josepha confirmed that the Canadian tourist who is in her 60s lost her life in the resorts pool. Vice President of Sonesta Resort St. Maarten Jamie Lee indicated that the incident did not take place at Sonesta Maho, However, he confirmed that La Terrace is part of Maho Group.

Josepha said police were called around 2 p.m. and informed of the incident, when police and ambulance personnel arrived on the scene the victim had already succumbed. The police spokesman said that police were informed on the scene that the victim had a medical emergency which led to the drowning.

It should be noted that on August 31 2023 a five-year-old child also died of drowning in one of the pools at the Sonesta Resort.

A tragic Incident at a hotel in the Maho area

Central Dispatch of the Sint Maarten Police Force (KPSM) received several calls concerning a tragic incident that took place on Thursday, October 5, 2023, at approximately 2:00 PM at a hotel in the MAHO area. The incident involved a reported drowning at the hotel's pool, which may have been preceded by a medical emergency.

Upon receiving the distress call, multiple police patrols and ambulance personnel were dispatched to the location. Upon their arrival, officers found a female, likely in her sixties, receiving first aid from bystanders. It was reported that the victim may have experienced a medical emergency while in the pool, which led to the subsequent drowning. Despite the immediate medical attention, it was determined that the victim showed no signs of life.

The Sint Maarten Police Force extends its heartfelt condolences to the family of the victim during this difficult time.

KPSM Press Release.
HMF Smart Solutions exhibits at INTER AIRPORT EUROPE in Munich

HMF Smart Solutions, as specialist for state-of-the-art, digital communication solutions and system integration, will be represented at Inter Airport Europe (10 to 13 October 2023 in Munich). Trade fair visitors will find HMF at stand B5-1713, where the communication experts will show custom-fit solutions and products for use at airports.

Fast, highly available and flexible voice and data communication is key to ensuring the safety of passengers, staff and emergency services, as well as to improving and increasing the efficiency of workflows. HMF Smart Solutions will bring innovative narrowband and broadband solutions and the latest radios to Inter Airport Europe in Munich.

Trade fair visitors can learn, for example, about the opportunities and possibilities opened up by the deployment of a 5G (campus) network at airports. HMF will also present the efficient, highly available and secure TETRA radio solution ACCESSNETA-T IP and introduce the flexible PoC solution PTTconnect.

The HMF trade fair topics at Inter Airport Europe at a glance:

 5G Smart Box  turn-key private 5G (campus) solution

 ACCESSNETA-T IP SMART  smart TETRA radio solution

 Best in Class  brandnew PT590 TETRA handheld

 PTTconnect  almost limitless communication with Push-to-talkA over Cellular (PoC).

Visit HMF Smart Solutions at Inter Airport Europe at stand B5-1713. We look forward to seeing you!

HMF Smart Solutions GmbH, based in Bad MAnder, Germany, has been developing and implementing customised, mission-critical communication solutions in the field of professional mobile radio for more than 40 years. HMF is an established specialist for technologies such as TETRA and LTE/5G, offering easily available and secure radio communication solutions for industrial, utility and transport companies, the oil and gas industry as well as for security and rescue forces among others. HMF regards itself as a holistic solution provider whose core expertise is comprehensive project support from a single source a from development and planning to implementation, including services and network operation.
Gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) are the most powerful and violent explosions in the known universe. These brief flashes of high-energy light result from some of the universe's most explosive events, including the birth of black holes and collisions between neutron stars.

Lasting a few milliseconds to several minutes, according to NASA , GRBs can be hundreds of times brighter than an average supernova , making them as luminous as a million trillion suns. Thus, when a GRB erupts, it briefly becomes the brightest source of electromagnetic radiation in the observable universe.

The first observation of a GRB came on July 2, 1967 , thanks to the Vela 4A satellite, part of a series of X-ray, gamma-ray, and neutron-detecting spacecraft designed to monitor any nuclear testing by the Soviet Union or other nations. The GRB was documented in 1969 and was revealed in a paper published in 1973 after the findings were declassified. Between 1971 and 1973, scientists at Los Alamos National Laboratory examined several GRBs detected by Vela satellites and determined that gamma-ray bursts are indeed "of cosmic origin."

Since then, scientists have been fascinated by these massive cosmic explosions and their sources.

Related: What is a supernova?

"GRBs are cosmic laboratories that allow us to study states of matter and physics that are not reproducible here on Earth," Brendan O'Connor, a postdoctoral fellow at the McWilliams Center for Cosmology at Carnegie Mellon University, told Space.com.

O'Connor, who specializes in the study of massive cosmic explosions, explained that gamma-ray radiation associated with GRBs is produced by a collimated jet of material moving at nearly the speed of light  so-called relativistic speeds  which allows scientists to study the emission mechanisms of relativistic particles.

"The location of gamma-ray bursts within their host galaxy and their surrounding environment informs us as to the formation and evolution of the progenitor system, providing insight into stellar evolution and star formation across the age of the universe ," he added.

Gamma-ray burst FAQs

What causes a gamma-ray burst? The cause of a gamma-ray burst depends on how long it lasts. GRBs that last less than two seconds are caused by the merger of two neutron stars or the merger of a neutron star and a black hole. Longer GRBs, which can last hours, are triggered when a massive star collapses and births a black hole. In both cases, scientists think GRBs result from jets of particles accelerated to around 99.9% the speed of light.





How powerful are gamma-ray bursts? In just a few seconds, a gamma-ray burst can emit as much energy as the sun will put out over its entire 9 billion-year lifetime, according to Radboud University professor Andrew Levan .

Do gamma-ray bursts happen in the Milky Way? GRBs seem to be most closely associated with galaxies that are in the midst of intense star formation, a period that our galaxy seems to have matured out of 2 billion to 3 billion years ago. However, the Milky Way is filled with the supernova remnants that mark the deaths of massive stars, indicating that our galaxy was once home to GRBs.

Do gamma-ray bursts detonate like bombs? Scientists once thought that a GRB "going off" in a host galaxy would kill all life in that galaxy. This idea has been mostly dismissed now because, rather than detonating like bombs, GRBs seem to channel their energy into two narrow beams, like a lighthouse. That doesn't mean they are completely safe, however. The European Space Agency (ESA) says there is a chance anything caught within 200 light-years of this beam would be vaporized.

Different types of gamma-ray bursts

The Hubble Space Telescopes Wide Field Camera 3 revealed the infrared afterglow (circled) of the BOAT GRB and its host galaxy, seen nearly edge-on as a sliver of light extending to the burst's upper right. This composite incorporates images taken on Nov. 8 and Dec. 4, 2022, one and two months after the eruption. (Image credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, A. Levan (Radboud University); Image Processing: Gladys Kober)

In April 1991, NASA launched the Burst and Transient Source Experiment (BATSE) on the Compton Gamma Ray Observatory , an all-sky detector tasked with detecting, locating and studying GRBs. Within a year, BATSE was detecting around one GRB per day , and the spacecraft went on to produce the first-ever all-sky survey in gamma-rays. This revealed that GRB sources are distributed almost evenly (or "homogeneously") across the universe, according to the Swinburne Centre for Astrophysics and Supercomputing . However, they are more commonly associated with faint, distant galaxies.

The flood of GRB data supplied by BATSE also revealed that these powerful bursts of high-energy photons come in two fairly distant types: short-duration GRBs, which last less than two seconds, and long-duration GRBs, which last from two seconds to a few hundred seconds to even several hours.

Researchers think different-duration GRBs emerge from different sources, but both of these diverse GRB launch mechanisms likely result in the creation of a black hole or the growth of an existing black hole.

"GRBs largely trace the explosive deaths of massive stars, producing initial gamma-ray emission lasting for greater than two seconds," O'Connor said. "However, a smaller subset of events is produced by the cataclysmic collision of two compact objects, typically two neutron stars . These events are referred to as short-duration gamma-ray bursts and have a duration of less than 2 seconds."

Long-duration gamma-ray bursts

Long-duration GRBs account for approximately 70% of gamma-ray events of this type detected thus far and are associated with the collapse of the core of a massive star , with starting masses beginning at five to 10 times that of the sun. This collapse occurs when the massive star runs out of fuel for nuclear fusion and can no longer support itself against its own inward gravitational influence. As the core of this dying star collapses, the outer layers are blasted free by massive supernovas. That means that when astronomers spot a long-duration GRB, they also expect to see a brightening supernova just weeks later, according to NASA .

The GRB from a dying star is caused when the newly born black hole begins to feed on surrounding matter that was once the outer layers of the progenitor star. Powerful magnetic fields channel electrically charged material to the poles of the new black hole, where it is blasted out as two polar jets moving at near light speed. These jets emit X-rays and gamma-rays as they barrel through surrounding stellar matter, and these initial high-energy emissions are followed by afterglows across the electromagnetic spectrum .

The connection between GRBs and massive collapsing stars was confirmed in March 2003, when the GRB designated GRB 030329 was traced to an optical afterglow associated with the collapse of a star 25 times the mass of the sun and the most energetic type of supernova: a hypernova .

These longer-lasting GRBs also seem to be associated with regions of the universe that are experiencing periods of intense star formation .

"For a few decades, the origin of gamma-ray bursts was a mystery," O'Connor said. "This was largely due to their previously poor localization on the sky, which precluded observations at other wavelengths. After longer GRBs and their afterglows were finally localized precisely, many of the previously held mysteries rapidly disappeared. The identification of their host galaxies, distances and associated supernovae were clear indicators of their massive star origin."

Short-duration gamma-ray bursts

The mystery of short-duration GRBs lasting less than two seconds was somewhat tougher for scientists to solve. This is because these rapid events were too fast for scientists to study in detail. This situation began to change in 2004 with the launch of NASA's Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory , which was powerful enough to spot the afterglow of these short-duration outbursts.

In 2005 , astronomers determined that short-duration GRBs are associated with the collision and merger of two neutron stars, dense stellar corpses left behind when massive stars aren't quite heavy enough to create a black hole, or by a merger and collision between a black hole and a neutron star.

The merger model of short-duration GRBs suggests that neutron stars in binary systems spiral together as a result of angular momentum being carried away from them via gravitational waves , tiny ripples in space-time first predicted by Albert Einstein in 1915. The closer they draw together, the higher the frequency of gravitational waves and thus the more rapidly angular momentum is sapped from the binary system.

Eventually, the neutron stars collide and merge to create a supermassive neutron star, which rapidly collapses to birth a black hole. This triggers a final blast of gravitational waves, a blast of electromagnetic radiation called a kilonova, and a GRB via a relativistic outflow of neutron star material. When a black hole collides with a neutron star, the same ejection of neutron star material occurs. That's why the merger of two neutron stars or the merger of a neutron star with a black hole triggers a GRB but the merger of two black holes does not  there is no neutron star matter to be ejected in this latter event.

This investigation of short GRBs has been bolstered by the development of gravitational wave detectors such as the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO), which can pick up ripples in space-time from these merger events, so researchers can search for mergers associated with short GRBs.

In 2017, LIGO and its fellow gravitational wave detector Virgo picked up a gravitational wave signal that was believed to be the result of a neutron star merger occurring in the shell elliptical galaxy NGC 4993. Following the detection of this signal, designated GW170817, a sub-2-second burst of gamma-rays was spotted coming from the same approximate region of space. Designated GRB170817A, it was thought to be the result of relativistic jets created by this merger.



"A similar revolution as we saw for long-duration GRBs has now begun for short-duration GRBs due to gravitational waves and the detection of the binary neutron star merger GW170817"  the first neutron star merger seen in electromagnetic radiation and "heard" with gravitational waves  "which has launched forward our understanding of these short-duration bursts," O'Connor said.



However, in late 2022, a team of astronomers led by Northwestern University researcher Jillian Rastinejad spotted something surprising: a 50-second-long GRB associated with a neutron star merger .



"This event looks unlike anything else we have seen before from a long gamma-ray burst," Rastinejad said in a statement at the time of the discovery . "Its gamma rays resemble those of bursts produced by the collapse of massive stars. Given that all other confirmed neutron star mergers we have observed have been accompanied by bursts lasting less than two seconds, we had every reason to expect this 50-second GRB was created by the collapse of a massive star. This event represents an exciting paradigm shift for gamma-ray burst astronomy."

The brightest gamma-ray burst ever seen as observed by the Swift X-Ray Telescope around an hour after it erupted. (Image credit: NASA/Swift/A. Beardmore (University of Leicester))

One of the most remarkable GRBs observed to date is known as the "brightest of all time," or BOAT, GRB. It was spotted by Wen-fai Fong, an assistant professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at Northwestern University, and her team on Oct. 9, 2022, and also observed by another team , including O'Connor's.

Officially designated GRB 221009A, this explosion is not only the most energetic of all time but also so close to Earth that it appeared around 70 times brighter than the second-brightest event ever observed, O'Connor said. At the time of the discovery, he told Space.com's sister site Live Science that the BOAT was likely launched by the explosion of a star with a mass equivalent of 30 suns. In fact, the blast might have been the largest explosion in the universe since the Big Bang .



Prior to GRB 221009, the most powerful GRB ever seen was GRB 190114C , which was spotted by Andrew Levan, a professor of astrophysics at Radboud University, and his team using NASA's Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory and Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope in 2019.

"While we may like to think of GRB 221009A as being close in proximity, about 20 times closer than a typical burst, it was still located at a whopping 2.4 billion light-years from Earth," O'Connor noted. "Even at this distance, the radiation was so intense that it briefly distributed Earth's ionosphere, affecting radio wave communications. This goes to show how explosive the gamma-ray-burst phenomenon really is, and how fortunate we are that they are very unlikely to occur within our own galaxy."

What would happen to Earth if it were hit by a gamma-ray burst?

Gamma ray bursts happen when neutron stars collide or when giant stars explode into black holes, releasing jets of super-energetic photons that look like a narrow beam of a flashlight. (Image credit: European Southern Observatory)

What would it mean for life on Earth if our planet were struck by a GRB?

"Technically, Earth is hit by GRBs all the time; that's how we detect them," Genevieve Schroeder, a doctoral candidate in astronomy at Northwestern University, told Space.com. "Our ozone layer does a really good job at protecting us from the most damaging photons, which is why our gamma-ray telescopes are all satellites outside the atmosphere."



All of the GRBs we have detected have been from galaxies far outside the Milky Way , so in these cases, the gamma-rays aren't very powerful by the time they reach us and thus don't pose too much of a threat, Schroeder explained. But if a GRB were to occur very close to us and hit Earth directly, it could be catastrophic for our planet's ozone layer, she added.



"Life as we know it would change drastically, if not be completely destroyed," Schroeder said.

In fact, life on Earth may have already felt the wrath of a GRB. In 2004, Brian Thomas and colleagues at the University of Kansas suggested that Earth's second-largest mass extinction may have been the result of a GRB striking our planet.



Occurring around 440 million years ago, the end-Ordovician extinction wiped out two-thirds of all species as a result of ozone depletion and the onset of an ice age that could have been triggered by a GRB in Earth's cosmic backyard. However,our planet is unlikely to be looking down the barrel of a GRB anytime soon.

"Thankfully, Earth's nearest star neighbors aren't really the type to create GRBs, and the rate of events is sufficiently rare, so we should be safe," Schroeder said.

Gamma-ray expert Q&A

Genevieve Schroeder Social Links Navigation Astronomy Ph.D. student Genevieve Schroeder is a doctoral candidate in astronomy at Northwestern University. Schroeder works on the broadband observations of gamma-ray bursts, where she specializes in radio follow-up of these events.

We asked Genevieve Schroeder, a doctoral candidate in astronomy at Northwestern University and a member of the Center for Interdisciplinary Exploration and Research in Astrophysics ( CIERA ), some important gamma-ray burst questions.

What are gamma-ray bursts? Gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) are, as the name implies, bursts of gamma-rays that we detect. Such high-energy bursts mean that GRBs are some of the most energetic explosions that occur throughout our universe.

Are there different types of gamma-ray bursts? Yes, there are two classes of GRBs, based on how long we detect their gamma-rays. Short GRBs have gamma-ray emission typically shorter than two seconds, and they come from two neutron stars colliding. Long GRBs have gamma-ray emission typically longer than two seconds, and they come from one massive star dying. We know these events cause the creation of GRBs because we have seen other signatures of the events. For example, we've seen several long GRBs that have also had a coincident supernova that confirmed they came from a single massive star dying. We have also had one short GRB, 170817A, for which LIGO detected the gravitational waves from two neutron stars merging at the same time and position. Additionally, neutron star mergers produce a heavy, neutron-rich ejecta that radioactively decays, producing a kilonova, which can be detected in the infrared bands. We have several short GRBs with claimed kilonova detections.



We know that in order to produce a GRB, you need a very compact source  either a black hole or potentially a rapidly spinning neutron star. We also know from studying the galaxies that most long GRBs occur in star-forming galaxies with lower mass than the Milky Way and with low metallicity, whereas short GRBs have much more diverse host galaxies.

How does your work involve gamma-ray bursts? When a GRB happens, it produces a jet of gamma-rays and other material. When this material interacts with all the other dust and particles around it, it energizes that material, which then produces emission from the X-ray to radio bands, known as the "afterglow." I specifically look at GRBs in the radio bands, and one of my jobs is to observe and try to detect the radio afterglow. We can model the X-ray to radio afterglow to better understand the energy and environment of the GRB. I have written two papers in this vein: one where I modeled several long, dust-obscured GRBs with radio afterglows, and one where I modeled a short GRB with a radio afterglow that had an unexpected re-brightening. Another aspect of my research is following up short GRBs with radio telescopes years after they are detected. If two neutron stars collide, there's a chance that instead of forming a black hole, they might form another, more massive neutron star with a large magnetic field  a magnetar. This magnetar would spin down rapidly and potentially energize the kilonova material surrounding it, causing that material to produce a radio signature several years after the GRB had been detected. I have been searching for this radio signature, and while I haven't detected it yet, I did write a paper where I followed up on nine nearby short GRBs.

What makes gamma-ray bursts mysterious? GRBs are mysterious in many ways. One open question is whether a GRB is produced by a black hole central engine or if a neutron star could create one as well. A lot of work is being done to model GRBs to try and understand how they are created in the first place. Another open question is related to GRBs that bridge the gap between long and short. That is, you may have a "long" GRB, but all the signs point towards a neutron star merger, or you have a "short" GRB that has a supernova associated with it, so it clearly came from one star dying. We're still trying to understand how many of these class imposters there may be.

What are some recent exciting gamma-ray-burst developments? There have been a couple of really odd GRBs detected in the last few years. GRB 211211A was a long GRB detected in December of 2022 . Even though it was technically classified as "long," further observations revealed a kilonova, implying that this GRB actually came from a neutron star merger. GRB 221009A , also known as the BOAT  "brightest of all time,' as coined by my advisor, Wen-fai Fong)  was, as the nickname suggests, the brightest GRB we have ever detected. Many papers have come out trying to understand what caused this burst to be so bright. Then we have a burst similar to both GRB 211211A and 221009A: GRB 230307A . GRB 230307A was extremely bright (but not brighter than the BOAT) and also had a long duration despite having a potential kilonova detection as well. Overall, we are discovering more and more events that defy traditional classification schemes and are causing us to revisit historical events through this new "lens."

What is on the horizon for gamma-ray-burst science that you are excited about? We are very hopeful with the current and future gravitational wave observing runs that we will detect even more short GRBs coincident with neutron star mergers. There are also many new GRB satellites being planned and launched over the next decade, which should help us detect and understand these events better. In terms of radio follow-up, I'm excited for the next generation of radio telescopes, which will allow us to detect these events even better.

Additional resources

A NASA simulation shows how a jet of particles triggers a gamma-ray burst. This video explains the BOAT  the brightest gamma-ray burst ever seen  and how astronomers have utilized it. Why are gamma-rays considered dangerous? NASA explains why these high-energy photons could do much worse than turn you green.

Bibliography

Gamma-ray Bursts, NASA, Imagine the Universe, [accessed 09/20/23] [ https://imagine.gsfc.nasa.gov/science/objects/bursts1.html ]

Gamma-Ray Bursts A BRIEF HISTORY, NASA, [accessed 09/20/23], [ https://imagine.gsfc.nasa.gov/science/objects/GRB_history.pdf ]

Gamma-ray Burst, Swinburne Centre for Astrophysics and Supercomputing, [accessed 09/20/23], [ https://astronomy.swin.edu.au/cosmos/G/Gamma+Ray+Burst ]

The Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory, NASA, [accessed 09/20/23], [ https://swift.gsfc.nasa.gov/ ]
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak arrives for the third meeting of the European Political Community (EPC) in Granada, Spain, Oct. 5, 2023. Fifty-odd European leaders gathered here on Thursday for the third meeting of the EPC, discussing strategic issues, especially the future challenges for the region. (Xinhua/Lian Yi)

GRANADA, Spain, Oct. 5 (Xinhua) -- Fifty-odd European leaders gathered here on Thursday for the third meeting of the European Political Community (EPC), discussing strategic issues, especially the future challenges for the region.

The topics include digitization, green transition, multilateralism and geostrategy. The leaders will consider proposals for regulating the use of artificial intelligence, review the major energy debates in recent years and reflect on the implications of the Ukraine crisis, the Spanish Presidency of the Council of the European Union (EU) said.

"There are many challenges for the European continent," European Council President Charles Michel said in a statement ahead of the meeting. He mentioned the consequences of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, adding that a platform like the EPC can "help reduce and prevent the conflicts, and address the difficulties we face."

"I am confident that this meeting under the Spanish Presidency will be the occasion to bring the European continent closer to common goals: stability, prosperity and security," he said.

Spain is currently holding the rotating six-month Presidency of the Council of the EU.

The brainchild of French President Emmanuel Macron, the EPC serves as a platform for dialogue and cooperation between the EU and countries in its neighborhood to address issues of common interest.

The EPC held its inaugural meeting in Prague, the Czech Republic, last October, followed by a second meeting in Moldova in June this year. The United Kingdom is to host the fourth meeting in early 2024.

The EPC meeting came a day ahead of an informal EU summit, where the bloc's leaders are expected to discuss topics such as strategic autonomy, enlargement, migration and Ukraine. 

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis arrives for the third meeting of the European Political Community (EPC) in Granada, Spain, Oct. 5, 2023. Fifty-odd European leaders gathered here on Thursday for the third meeting of the EPC, discussing strategic issues, especially the future challenges for the region. (Xinhua/Lian Yi)

Maltese Prime Minister Robert Abela (R) arrives at the Alhambra Palace for the third meeting of the European Political Community (EPC) in Granada, Spain, Oct. 5, 2023. Fifty-odd European leaders gathered here on Thursday for the third meeting of the EPC, discussing strategic issues, especially the future challenges for the region. (Xinhua/Lian Yi)

European Council President Charles Michel arrives at the Alhambra Palace for the third meeting of the European Political Community (EPC) in Granada, Spain, Oct. 5, 2023. Fifty-odd European leaders gathered here on Thursday for the third meeting of the EPC, discussing strategic issues, especially the future challenges for the region. (Xinhua/Lian Yi)

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen arrives for the third meeting of the European Political Community (EPC) in Granada, Spain, Oct. 5, 2023. Fifty-odd European leaders gathered here on Thursday for the third meeting of the EPC, discussing strategic issues, especially the future challenges for the region. (Xinhua/Lian Yi)

Moldovan President Maia Sandu arrives at the Alhambra Palace for the third meeting of the European Political Community (EPC) in Granada, Spain, Oct. 5, 2023. Fifty-odd European leaders gathered here on Thursday for the third meeting of the EPC, discussing strategic issues, especially the future challenges for the region. (Xinhua/Lian Yi)

Spanish acting Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez arrives for the third meeting of the European Political Community (EPC) in Granada, Spain, Oct. 5, 2023. Fifty-odd European leaders gathered here on Thursday for the third meeting of the EPC, discussing strategic issues, especially the future challenges for the region. (Xinhua/Lian Yi)

French President Emmanuel Macron arrives at the Alhambra Palace for the third meeting of the European Political Community (EPC) in Granada, Spain, Oct. 5, 2023. Fifty-odd European leaders gathered here on Thursday for the third meeting of the EPC, discussing strategic issues, especially the future challenges for the region. (Xinhua/Lian Yi)

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz arrives at the Alhambra Palace for the third meeting of the European Political Community (EPC) in Granada, Spain, Oct. 5, 2023. Fifty-odd European leaders gathered here on Thursday for the third meeting of the EPC, discussing strategic issues, especially the future challenges for the region. (Xinhua/Lian Yi)
Supporting a further capital raise for this struggling bank would be akin to throwing good money after bad, in our view, as it has already had enough time and opportunity to sort itself out and has been unable to do so.
HONG KONG, Oct. 5 (Xinhua) -- The cultural and artistic community in Hong Kong held a reception on Thursday to celebrate the 74th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China (PRC).

Noting that the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-2025) offers support for developing Hong Kong into an East-meets-West center for international cultural exchange, Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) John Lee said that the HKSAR government is actively seizing the infinite opportunities brought by the development strategies of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, the Belt and Road Initiative, and other national initiatives.

The aim is to showcase the unique charm of Chinese culture to the world and demonstrate the vibrant energy of Hong Kong's blend of Chinese and Western cultures, he said in a speech at the reception.

Ma Fung-kwok, chairman of the China Federation of Literary and Art Circles Hong Kong Member Association, said it is hoped that the industry can enhance its understanding of China's historical and cultural heritage, leverage stronger innovation and creative abilities, better grasp communication and dissemination skills, and bolster cultural confidence.

By producing more impressive works and quality content, the sector can contribute to enhancing the country's cultural soft power and shoulder the new cultural mission of the new era, Ma said.

The reception was attended by HKSAR government officials, representatives from central government agencies in Hong Kong, foreign consuls in Hong Kong, and over 400 Hong Kong culture and art figures. 
National Grid added that its New York business is expected to deliver between 10% and 15% of its full-year operating profit over the past half-year after being impacted by a non-cash impairment.
The British Independent Retailers Association (Bira), which works with more than 6,000 businesses across the UK, said the potential pressures of enforcing the smoking ban being placed on retailers could lead to flashpoints of abuse to people who work in the shops  a worrying trend that is already on the rise.
Ofcom said it was concerned about high exit fees charged by cloud providers as well as interoperability barriers that have been artificially raised to make it hard to switch providers. As much as 80% of the cloud market is dominated by Amazon and Microsoft, it said.
The Germany-headquartered company, which operates in 31 countries, has already opened six fresh UK branches so far this year, taking the store portfolio here to 130. Before the end of 2023 it will unveil another London shop and refit its Woolwich and Ilford sites.
However, earlier this year, the company laid off more than a quarter of its employees to cut costs, and in its accounts, it warned that in the event of a significant slowdown in growth, it would breach the covenants on a loan from BlackRock and would be forced to seek extra cash to keep its finances in check. Lenhard said the statement was standard auditing language adding that profitability would continue to improve in 2023.
Estimates as to price vary but based on a strong 2022, and the noises from within the Telegraph are bullish, then Goldmans aim may be above the 665 million that the Barclay twins paid for the group in 2004. Back then, the brothers saw off competition from Daily Mail owner DMGT, German monolith Axel Springer and former Mirror boss, David Montgomery.
Even though the economy will dominate the minds of Britains voters next year, its whats in their hearts that will be decisive. The existential threat for Conservatives comes from an unscientific feeling of betrayal. The sense that this Government is dishonourable as well as useless is unsettling. The epitome of this is Partygate, a year-old wound that will not heal. Johnson made sure of that and became defined by questions of morality that he had until that point managed to evade. Millions concluded, unequivocally, that he misled them. Partygate was something profoundly personal to the electorate and still carries enormous symbolic heft. Its one thing to be aware of your prime ministers attitude to probity, its quite another to have it shoved in your face after two years of fear, frustration and sacrifice in lockdown.
Eurostar has announced preventative methods are in place to stop the spread of the pests - and a TfL spokesperson told the Independent, that it was not aware of any outbreak in London, but it would monitor the situation closely, and stick to its rigorous and thorough cleaning measures.
So they put the two together and narration and images of the present could be the way to do it. So it was one of those things (that) just fell into place.
We all like to think that things have moved on from the Noughties, but would Loos be treated any differently today? PR guru Jack Freud doesnt think so. The way some of the British press vilified Rebecca Loos over her alleged affair with David Beckham seemed to be a telling reflection of society as a whole, he says. She was the one cast as a homewrecker, and judged for her decisions despite the fact that he was the married man. Eventually, after months of derision, her allegations were pretty much dismissed. Whilst I would like to think things had changed, I fear it probably wouldnt be a dissimilar situation should the same thing happen again today.
JERUSALEM, Oct. 5 (Xinhua) -- The Israeli military said they shot dead in the northern West Bank on Thursday two Palestinian gunmen who fired shots at an Israeli motorcyclist near the village of Shufa and then fled the scene.

Israeli troops then closed roads in the area and located the two in a car before "neutralizing" them, according to a statement released by the Israeli military.

An M-16 rifle and magazines used by the Palestinians were found in the vehicle, it added.

The official Palestinian WAFA news agency reported that the two youths were found dead after their car was targeted by Israeli soldiers near Shufa.

The incident was the latest amid a surge of violence between Israel and Palestinians in the West Bank. 
I would also reiterate my request for those in the area to check doorbell footage or any other cameras and see if you have captured something which may be of interest.
Hannah Taylor, 23, Lydia Gribbin, 28, Hanan Ameur, 22, Noah Crane, 18, and Poppy Bliss, 19, are accused of being the eco-warriors who leapt on the stage to unveil a flag during the famous song Do You Hear the People Sing?
She said: Every time daddy needed to attend a hospital appointment he had to isolate for two weeks, get a Covid test at an acute hospital setting, wait for the results, wait for the appointment, attend the appointment whereby he had broken his isolation and then go home and wait another two weeks to be able to go back to get the results.
The shootings took place on August 10 and 11 in London Fields Lido and Stoke Newington. In the second incident a man suffered a gunshot injury to the arm and was taken to hospital.
When they asked her to move the suitcase, Ms Taha claims the woman used racist language including calling them slaves and made monkey noises. The situation developed into a physical confrontation, Ms Taha said, telling the BBC: She went for my hair. She bit me through my clothes. I could feel burning and was screaming, Shes biting me. I thought she would come away with flesh in her mouth.
Mr Greaney said that at about 11.40pm three tyres on Miss Dales car were slashed in what he suggested was an attempt to lure the occupant of the house outside in order to kill them.
Following the convictions, Detective Chief Inspector Vicky Tunstall said: Amraj Poonia is a dangerous individual and I have no doubt that the streets of west London are far safer now he, and his accomplices, have been convicted  I hope that this outcome and the diligent investigation that led to their conviction improves the trust that communities can have in the Metropolitan Police.
In a recruitment email, Ms Kerr said: It is irrelevant when you undertook the training provided you are competent in creating/transferring incidents on Scope. Officers will be required to attend Bilston Glen to be trained on the Avaya phone system prior to working overtime, but that can be the same day.
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While he was a student at Sinclair College in Dayton, Ohio, in January 2008, he was found guilty of sexual imposition and public indecency. Rossi met the female student in question on MySpace before arranging lunch. He told her that he was new to the area and wanted to make friends. After lunch, he offered to walk her to class but, on the way, he assaulted her.
People visit an exhibition at a local gallery in the Namibian capital of Windhoek, Oct. 4, 2023. (Photo by Ndalimpinga Iita/Xinhua)

WINDHOEK, Oct. 5 (Xinhua) -- In a display of creativity at a local gallery in the Namibian capital of Windhoek, artist Eliphas Areseb from Twyfelfontein in the Erongo region skillfully transformed a palm tree fruit nut into a beautifully decorated keyholder. This live demonstration offered visitors a firsthand glimpse into the intricate craft that formed part of an exhibition opening on Thursday evening.

The exhibition, titled "Ombonde-Hoanib Landscape," showcases local artworks and represents the latest endeavor to spotlight art created under the Biodiversity Economy initiative, focusing on the Ombonde-Hoanib landscape of conservation areas in the Erongo and Kunene regions.

The Ombonde-Hoanib People's Landscape is a joint initiative aimed at connecting core conservation areas across about 40 conservancies spanning 78,000 square kilometers. This vast area boasts remarkable tourist attractions, including Twyfelfontein, Namibia's first world heritage site.

Bennet Kahuure, director of wildlife and national parks in the Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism, said the project, implemented in partnership with the Namibian Craft Centre and the Community Skills Development Foundation since 2022, has empowered 12 community members from diverse ethnic backgrounds, including Damara and Herero, in various traditional craft techniques, placing a strong emphasis on sustainable development.

Kahuure highlighted the vital role that communities within conservation areas play in preserving Namibia's wildlife and natural heritage. However, he noted that they often do not reap the benefits of the tourism sector. "This project intertwines environmental conservation with community development to uplift impoverished communities by providing new economic opportunities in the tourism sector," he said.

According to local research firm Simonis Storm Securities, the local tourism industry contributes about 32 billion Namibian dollars (about 2 billion U.S. dollars) to Namibia's economy. As Namibia's landscapes continue to attract visitors, the artists involved in this initiative are optimistic that it will propel their endeavors to new heights.

For over a decade, Areseb has crafted artistic items from palm tree nuts and hats, typically selling them to agents in the cultural tourism sector, who would, in turn, offer them to international visitors. "But through this initiative, I have learned new marketing techniques that enable me to create my own market space, set better prices, and explore other options, such as partnerships with art shops across the country, which were previously unavailable to me," he said.

Chiron Byl, who comes from Spitzkoppe in the Erongo region, draws inspiration from the Damara and Herero heritage to create unique jewelry using materials from her environment. Since her involvement in the Biodiversity Economy initiative, she has expanded her craft to include printing T-shirts featuring local wildlife and cultural elements, marking a significant breakthrough for her.

"In fact, this is my first time exhibiting my work at a national level, which demonstrates the transformative power of ecotourism for local communities while showcasing Namibia's rich culture through this training," she said.

Shareen Thude, the manager of the Namibia Craft Center, said the project aims to have a positive impact on locals through further skills exchange programs and the exploration of new markets for products. It ventures off the beaten path to attract national and international visitors.

"This approach provides them with opportunities for steady income generation while preserving their cultural roots and passing on their skills to others. It's the way we create sustainability," she said. 

People visit an exhibition at a local gallery in the Namibian capital of Windhoek, Oct. 4, 2023. (Photo by Ndalimpinga Iita/Xinhua)
We will work with Nice on this consultation process and while this new guidance will ensure the NHS can help even more people struggling with gambling addiction to receive evidenced-based treatment, it is vital that the billion-pound industry also takes action in line with the Governments White Paper to stop people coming to harm in the first place.
Gastrointestinal (GI) events are well-known side effects of the GLP-1 class. For semaglutide, most GI side effects were mild to moderate in severity and of short duration. The gastrointestinal events led to permanent treatment discontinuation in 4.3% of patients. GLP-1s are known to cause a delay in gastric emptying, as noted in the label. Delayed gastric emptying, nausea and vomiting are listed as side effects within the SMPC.
The findings prompted Smile Train to launch the Beauty in Every Smile campaign. The images, which will be displayed on 2 metre high panels at the exhibition which will run until October 7, were taken by London-based portrait photographer, Fanny Beckman. Beckman, who uses her work to give voice to pressing social issues, said working on the campaign was a dream.
BTP officers quickly attended and arrested a 30-year-old woman who was being detained by the off-duty officer on the platform. It was reported she had been racially abusive and bitten one of the group during the altercation.
He added that three of those who were arrested on the day which did not lead to charge, were found near the Coronation route in the early hours of the day of the event in possession of glue, a banner from a known activist group, Allen keys and other paraphernalia that could have been used to commit criminal damage or other disruption.
On Wednesday the Home Office raised fees by up to 35 per cent for most visas to live, work and study in the UK and has indicated it will raise fees by 20 per cent for those on the 10-year visa route to gain indefinite leave to remain, like Felix Tabiri.
Their idyllic life did have a bit of a hiccup when they had to deny claims by a former nanny that she was let go for having a drink with the former prime minister. Theresa Dawes, 59, was hired to help look after the couples children around the birth of their third child, Frank Alfred Odysseus, in July. But Ms Dawes claims she was unfairly dismissed just three days into her three-month contract, when Mrs Johnson returned from hospital and reportedly gave her just 15 minutes to pack her bags. A spokesperson for the former prime minister and his wife told The Times the allegations are untrue.
Johnsons adviser told us that the ex-PM was focusing on his ducks and not watching Tory Conference. But he is still keeping one eye on developments in the party. Last night he weighed in behind David Cameron to condemn the scrapping of HS2 to Manchester. Elsewhere it was reported that Dominic Cummings, who is also somewhat in exile, was the mastermind behind Rishi Sunaks U-turn. Can we expect another bout of Boris v Dom?
A development corporation will be set up, as Margaret Thatcher did for the London Docklands, with special powers to develop thousands of homes. It will be modelled on the success of the Battersea Power Station and Nine Elms development.
DfT officials believe the capacity of Old Oak Common as a terminus station can be stretched to eight trains per hour, which is the same as planned for Euston after the scrapping of HS2 north of Birmingham.
This photo taken on Oct. 4, 2023 shows a booth at the 29th Uganda International Trade Fair (UGITF) in Kampala, Uganda. The 29th UGITF has opened in the Ugandan capital of Kampala, attracting a total of 920 exhibitors from about 30 countries. (Photo by Nicholas Kajoba/Xinhua)

KAMPALA, Oct. 4 (Xinhua) -- The 29th Uganda International Trade Fair (UGITF) has opened in the Ugandan capital of Kampala, attracting a total of 920 exhibitors from about 30 countries.

The annual trade fair themed "Driving Manufacturing and Trade Efficiency Through Digital Transformation and Innovation," is scheduled to run from Oct. 3 to 10 at Uganda Manufacturers Association (UMA) showgrounds.

Executive Board Chairman of UMA Deo Kayemba told Xinhua in an interview on Wednesday that the trade fair is a platform for traders to promote the latest innovations among start-ups and facilitate business networking.

"The UGITF also creates opportunities for business investors and stakeholders to connect and explore partnerships that can accelerate the adoption of digital technology and innovative solutions," said Kayemba.

The UGITF is an annual event that plays a leading role in facilitating trade and business exchange among participating countries from East and Central Africa, and other foreign countries. It provides an exciting platform and business window for the introduction of new and improved technologies targeted at local and regional markets.

The trade fair exhibits agricultural products, food and beverages, textiles, garments, manufacturing equipment, building materials, and automobiles. It is also a business platform for chemicals and cosmetics, timber and furniture, trade services, engineering products, machinery, information technology, handicrafts, consultancy, and training. 

A person visits the 29th Uganda International Trade Fair (UGITF) in Kampala, Uganda, Oct. 4, 2023. The 29th UGITF has opened in the Ugandan capital of Kampala, attracting a total of 920 exhibitors from about 30 countries. (Photo by Nicholas Kajoba/Xinhua)

A person visits the 29th Uganda International Trade Fair (UGITF) in Kampala, Uganda, Oct. 4, 2023. The 29th UGITF has opened in the Ugandan capital of Kampala, attracting a total of 920 exhibitors from about 30 countries. (Photo by Nicholas Kajoba/Xinhua)
The Conservative leader, who was addressing his partys conference in Manchester, made the comments as he claimed the union between Scotland and the rest of the UK was the strongest it has been in a quarter of a century, with the Prime Minister adding that the forces of separatism are in retreat.
Thats why I was pleased I could convene a meeting together with the Italian prime minister but also leaders from Albania, the European Union, France and the Netherlands to talk through this issue to see how more we can work together, strengthening our co-operation to combat this awful crime, and there is more that we can do  sharing intelligence, working upstream to disrupt supply chains, working with partner countries to ensure effective returns.
Asked whether, following her address, he thought Mrs Braverman had been right to vilify people seeking to migrate to the UK as part of a hurricane or invasion, he told BBC Radio 4s Today: What we need to do is make sure that the criminal gangs who are perpetuating an evil, who are taking advantage of all the people that youre describing, leading to in many cases, tragically, them dying, need to be stopped. And we need to take action to stop them.
We take a seat in court for the sentencing of a 47-year-old man from Merton who was caught driving while on drugs. His life spiralled downwards when a five-year relationship ended and he wound up homeless, depressed, and sleeping in his van. There are just five seats in court for the public, and the defendant is not visible from three of them. Dhillon observes that the courtroom next door has just two chairs for the public. Its not great, he says. In some courts you cant see anything at all.
As the first anniversary of the tragedy approaches, An Garda Siochana said its investigation was continuing as expeditiously as possible, in the circumstances to ensure that the circumstances are professionally investigated.
King Charles has met the expectations of him as Monarch for the vast majority of Britons - with one in seven saying he is doing better than hoped, a new poll revealed on Thursday.
She said: I gave birth to my child and I was able to hold him and we spent time with him. But some people dont even manage to get that so the whole baby loss campaign is about opening up conversations and driving change about how we approach baby loss.
Observed by Muslims around the world, it marks the culmination of the annual pilgrimage to Mecca. It commemorates Abraham, who was willing to sacrifice his son to obey God, but was stopped by God who provided him with an animal to sacrifice instead.
Challenged over the HS2 timeline, Transport Secretary Mark Harper told Sky News: I have the legal responsibility to take the decision. And I took the decision formally on Tuesday this week, and it was approved by the Cabinet on Wednesday morning and then announced by the Prime Minister at our conference, so all very straightforward.
MONROVIA, Oct. 5 (Xinhua) -- The United Nations and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) on Thursday urged Liberia's political actors to eschew all forms of violence during the forthcoming polls in the West African country.

In a joint statement, the United Nations and ECOWAS said they are closely monitoring the election process and preparations for the presidential and legislative elections scheduled for Oct. 10.

According to the statement, the head of the ECOWAS election observer mission to Liberia Attahiru Jega, and Leonardo Santos Simao, the special representative of the UN secretary-general and head of the UN Office for West Africa and the Sahel, undertook a joint mission from Tuesday to Wednesday to assess Liberian stakeholders' political perspectives and to convey messages of peace and inclusivity in the context of the electoral process.

The statement said the joint mission consulted with political stakeholders and national institutions, and interacted with members of the diplomatic corps and the UN country team.

The mission acknowledged the progress in the preparations toward the elections and underscored the need for peaceful, credible, transparent, and inclusive polls in an atmosphere of tolerance that promotes unity in Liberia, it said.

"In particular, the mission urged political actors to refrain from incendiary rhetoric that incites violence and encouraged all actors to exercise restraint, and assiduously safeguard the hard-won peace and maintain national cohesion in the country," the statement said.

The delegation stressed that political leaders have the responsibility to adhere to democratic values and the rule of law, urging political leaders to send clear messages to their supporters and the public that they stand for peace and reject violence, the statement said.

The delegation strongly condemned acts of electoral violence, particularly the violence, loss of lives, and the destruction of properties in Liberia's Lofa County on Sept. 29, calling for swift investigation and accountability of the perpetrators.

Reiterating that violence has "no place in democratic processes," the delegation urged political parties and candidates to uphold their commitment to peaceful elections and seek judicial resolution of disputes. 
Nitazenes have only been identified as being in circulation in recent months, so they havent been linked to as many deaths as fentanyl just yet. However, some types of nitazenes are considered to be more potent than fentanyl and so even riskier to public health.
In fact, the first Treason Act of 1351 was established during the reign of King Edward III. It stated that, if you waged war against the king, tried to kill the monarch or their family, or aided an enemy, the crime would be punishable by death. There were two types of treason identified by the act: high treason is a betrayal against the sovereign monarch while petty treason refers to disloyalty.
It is said Gaetz and other rebels he was leading accepted these terms but, on October 1, the House passed four individual spending bills but said a continuing resolution would be needed to avoid a shutdown. Gaetz and about a dozen other Republicans saw this as McCarthy reneging on the terms of their deal to support him in the Speakers election and refused to go along with a funding extension. Subsequently, Gaetz called a vote for McCarthys job.
Reacting to the news of her lawsuit, Ormond praised the "courage" of other Weinstein survivors who had "shed light on how powerful people and institutions like my talent agents at CAA, Miramax and Disney enabled and provided cover for Weinstein to assault me and countless others.
Without naming any particular group, the military accused insurgents backed by known international forces of the attack and said it will respond with full force and decisiveness to these terrorist organisations, wherever they exist.
A TfL spokesman told The Independent: We are not aware of any outbreaks in London, but we will monitor our network and continue our rigorous and thorough cleaning measures which have been proven to keep both the interior and exterior of our trains clean.
The flooding occurred along the Teesta River in the Lachen Valley in Sikkim state and was worsened when parts of a dam were washed away. The disaster has affected the lives of around 22,000 people.
Jean-Pierre referred questions to the first ladys office, which said Commander and Dale Haney, the head groundskeeper at the White House, were playing and that no skin was broken in an incident that was photographed by a tourist and shared with a news organisation, which published the image online
Russia almost certainly wants to avoid openly sinking civilian ships, instead falsely laying blame on Ukraine for any attacks against civilian vessels in the Black Sea, it said, adding that Britain was working with Ukraine to help improve the safety of shipping.
Theyve got seven helicopters in the area so they are doing all they can and this morning we heard reports that they were making progress and that they should soon have control of the perimeter.
ANKARA, Oct. 5 (Xinhua) -- The Turkish military carried out airstrikes against the Syrian Kurdish Protection Units (YPG) in northern Syria, Turkiye's Defense Ministry said on Thursday evening.

Air operations were carried out against YPG targets in Tal Rifaat, Jazira and Derik regions, the ministry said in a statement.

The airstrikes hit 30 targets, including oil wells and storage facilities, as well as caves, bunkers, shelters and warehouses, the statement added.

Earlier in the day, the National Intelligence Organization (MIT) hit the weapons and ammunition warehouses of the YPG by armed drones, the semi-official Anadolu Agency reported.

The operations came after a suicidal bomb attack in Turkiye's capital Ankara on Sunday. The attack targeted at the entrance of the Turkish Interior Ministry building in Ankara, leaving two assailants dead and two police officers wounded.

The Turkish Interior Ministry said the two attackers were identified as the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) members.

On Wednesday, Turkish Foreign Minister Fidan warned that all the PKK and the YPG infrastructure and energy facilities in Syria and Iraq were now "legitimate targets" for the Turkish military.

The Turkish Armed Forces has carried out three air operations against the PKK targets in northern Iraq since Sunday.

The Turkish army launched Operation Euphrates Shield in 2016, Operation Olive Branch in 2018, Operation Peace Spring in 2019, and Operation Spring Shield in 2020 in northern Syria in order to create a YPG-free zone along its border within the neighboring country.

The PKK, listed as a terrorist organization by Turkiye, the United States, and the European Union, has been rebelling against the Turkish government for more than three decades. Turkiye sees the YPG group as the Syrian branch of the PKK. 
It led to the ousting of Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and it remains unclear whether the future leader will be able to generate enough support from the Republican party hardliners, who have opposed sending more money to Ukraine. $44 billion in military aid has already been sent since the start of the invasion.
Little is known about the Burevestnik, which was code-named Skyfall by Nato, and many Western experts have been sceptical about it, noting that a nuclear engine could be highly unreliable.
With Gare du Nord under the same roof as high-speed Eurostar trains that come into Kings Cross, theres a bubbling sense of panic that they could make the jump over to London soon - so much so that some are calling for the Home Secretary to temporarily close the Channel Tunnel. The blood-suckers can survive for up to a year, so whats the two-hour sixteen-minute journey time?
Its inspiring for Sustainable Ventures members to know that someone of his influence understands that they need to scale to have impact in the next decade.
The move to minimise the prominence of content posted outside of X itself comes with the added benefit, for X, that people are less likely to click or tap out of the social network and onto the BBC, CNN, or the Evening Standard.
Wang Yi, a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and director of the Office of the Central Commission for Foreign Affairs, addresses the opening ceremony of the third China Xizang Trans-Himalaya Forum for International Cooperation in the city of Nyingchi, southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region, Oct. 5, 2023. (Xinhua/Jigme Dorje)

LHASA, Oct. 5 (Xinhua) -- Wang Yi, a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and director of the Office of the Central Commission for Foreign Affairs, on Thursday proposed that the trans-Himalaya region should deepen mutually beneficial cooperation, accelerate green transformation and strengthen connectivity.

Wang made the proposals when addressing the opening ceremony of the third China Xizang Trans-Himalaya Forum for International Cooperation in the city of Nyingchi, southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region.

Noting that countries around the Himalayas are geographically connected, have similar cultures and share a common destiny, Wang also proposed that the region adhere to mutual respect and trust, and enhance exchanges and mutual learning.

Foreign guests attending the forum spoke highly of Tibet's major achievements in ecological civilization and economic and social development, and appreciated the important role played by the forum in strengthening exchanges and cooperation among countries in the trans-Himalaya region for common development and prosperity.

When meeting with foreign guests, Wang said China welcomes friends from all over the world to come to Tibet to witness with their own eyes the great achievements in Tibet's economic and social development, the happy lives of the people of all ethnic groups in Tibet, and the sound inheritance and protection of Tibetan culture.

Wang said facts will prove that the Tibet-related lies concocted by some Western forces out of ideological bias are completely untenable and will fall flat in the face of facts.

The foreign guests expressed their expectation to further strengthen exchanges and cooperation with China, jointly cope with climate change and other challenges, protect the ecological environment and achieve sustainable development.

The forum is scheduled to run from Oct. 4 to 6. Representatives from more than 40 countries, regions and international organizations attended the forum. 
by Burak Akinci

ANKARA, Oct. 5 (Xinhua) -- Following a suicide bomb attack in Ankara, Turkiye has issued threats to expand its cross-border operations in Syria and Iraq against Kurdish fighters, a move that experts say could heighten tensions in the region.

An attack took place in front of the Turkish Interior Ministry's building on Sunday, resulting in the injury of two police officers. During the attack, one suicide bomber detonated explosives, while the police shot and killed the other assailant.

The Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) claimed responsibility for the attack, its claimed attack first in Ankara since 2016. Turkish intelligence, on the other hand, said that the two assailants came from Syria, where they had been trained.

"From now on, all PKK/YPG infrastructure, superstructure facilities, and energy facilities in Iraq and Syria are legitimate targets of our security forces," Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan stated during a news conference on Wednesday.

Ankara views the YPG (Syrian Kurdish People's Protection Units) as a Syrian branch of the PKK, a group designated as a terrorist organization by Turkiye, the European Union, and the United States.

Analysts believe Fidan's comments suggest that Turkiye may escalate its use of drone and artillery strikes, extending beyond the routine operations in Syria and Iraq over the past decade.

"There may be several options on the table, but recent statements suggest that Ankara is poised to target all YPG threats to its security in Syria with pinpointed drone attacks, backed by artillery," Ankara-based defense policies expert Ozgur Eksi told Xinhua.

The threatened cross-border operations by Turkiye against Kurdish fighters in Syria and Iraq have the potential to escalate tensions in the region and put further strains on Ankara's relationship with the United States, analysts have noted.

"Washington is under pressure in Syria, and fresh Turkish military action could exacerbate tensions between two NATO partners," a European diplomat from Turkiye's NATO ally, told Xinhua anonymously, expressing concerns over the growing rift inside the military bloc.

In his Wednesday remarks, Fidan also cautioned "third parties" to stay away from potential Turkish targets, an implicit reference to the United States, who is supporting the YPG's fight against the Syrian government.

"I advise third parties to steer clear of PKK and YPG facilities and individuals. The response from our armed forces to this terrorist attack will be unequivocal, and those involved will once again rue their actions," the foreign minister warned.

Turkiye has been urging Washington for years to sever its ties with the YPG and withdraw U.S. special operations forces from the Kurdish-run autonomous region in northern Syria. U.S. officials, however, maintain that U.S. troops will remain in northeast Syria to counter the remnants of terror groups.

On Thursday, Turkish drones carried out airstrikes on YPG installations in northeast Syria. During these operations, a Turkish unmanned drone was shot down by a U.S. F-16 fighter jet in close proximity to U.S. troops, signifying growing hostility between Ankara and Washington.

Ankara's threatened attack also coincides with the anticipated ratification of Sweden's NATO membership by Turkish lawmakers, another thorny issue between Turkiye and the United States.

Despite Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's earlier commitment at NATO's July summit in Lithuania, the vote has not yet been scheduled on the Turkish parliament's agenda. Erdogan has linked the sale of American F-16 fighters to Turkiye with Sweden's NATO entry, which has awaited ratification by Turkiye and Hungary for over a year.

Ankara's actions will also put its relationship with the Kremlin to the test, as any large-scale military offensive in Syria necessitates approval from Moscow, a key military supporter of the Syrian government, according to Serkan Demirtas, a foreign policy analyst at Hurriyet Daily News. 
Approximately 168,000 people, Romanian and foreign citizens, and over 46,200 means of transport carried out the control formalities (both inbound and outbound), on Wednesday, through border points throughout the country, the General Inspectorate of the Border Police informs in a press release sent to AGERPRES on Thursday.

The source mentions that inbound for Romania were 80,540 people including 10,123 Ukrainian nationals, agerpres reports.

Regarding the specific activities, in the last 24 hours, in the areas of competence - the crossing points and the "green border" - the border police detected, on Wednesday, 66 illegal acts (44 crimes and 22 misdemeanors) committed both by Romanian and foreign citizens. The goods seized for confiscation were worth more than 161,000 RON.



On Wednesday, 15 foreign citizens who did not meet the conditions stipulated by the law were denied entry, and 7 Romanian citizens were not allowed to leave for various legal reasons.
The Coca-Cola System in Romania, consisting of companies Coca-Cola Romania and bottler Coca-Cola HBC Romania, installed a PET flake contaminant removal unit at its plant in Ploiesti, the Group's second largest facility, thus acquiring unique capabilities to produce recycled PET (rPET) on its own, the company informed in a release on Wednesday.

The investment supports the transition of Coca-Cola System's entire PET packaging portfolio to 100% recycled PET (rPET) by providing a constant supply of food-grade recycled plastic. By transforming old packages into new ones, the investment contributes to creating a circular economy for packaging, with less carbon emissions, Agerpres reports.

The investment in this rPET production unit was approved to become operational concomitantly with the largest circular economy project ever implemented in Romania: the Deposit Return System, which will become operational at the end of the year. Through the DRS, beverage producers will have access to quality raw material to use in their packaging, said Coca-Cola HBC Romania general manager Jovan Radosavljevic.

In his turn, Coca-Cola Romania country manager Mark Docherty emphasized that the Group aims to produce a change for the better through everything that its activity means: the way in which the drinks are manufactured, the design of the packaging and its post-consumer phase.In the last 5 years, the Coca-Cola System in Romania invested approximately one billion RON to improve and expand its production capacity. The installation of the new contaminant removal line follows a green investment of 55 million RON, of which 17.5 million RON in state aid. Since 2019, only the Dorna natural mineral water brand was available in rPET packaging, but starting this autumn, all the other brands, specifically Coca-Cola, Fanta, Sprite, Schweppes, Cappy, Cappy Pulpy and Fuzetea, will also be sold in bottles made from 100% recycled PET.Leader of the local beverage industry, with 3 plants in Ploiesti, Timisoara and Poiana Negrii, Coca-Cola HBC Romania is an important contributor to the development of society and the local economy. The Coca-Cola HBC Romania team has an average of 1,500 employees.According to the study on the Social and Economic Impact of the Coca-Cola System in Romania, based on 2022 financial data, the presence of this system on the local market generates an added value of 613 million euros, the equivalent of 0.21 percent of Romania's GDP.
Drug trafficking in Romania has grown, while traffickers are developing new methods of distribution, and the age of consumers has dropped to 10-11 years.

"In 2023, the Romanian authorities increased the penalties for drug traffickers from 2-7 years to 3-10 years, currently a draft law is on the agenda of the Legislature that provides for the increase of prison sentences for drug users as well," according to a presentation of the results of the activities carried out by the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MAI) structures in 2023 to prevent and combat criminality and protect citizens, Agerpres reports.

Nationwide, in 2023, 600 operative actions were carried out, during which approximately 2,000 searches were completed and 37 organized criminal groups, with 223 people, were destroyed. Also, 7,326 criminal deeds were registered, activities being carried out in 22,260 delegation ordinances issued by the Directorate for Investigating Organized Crime and Terrorism (DIICOT) prosecutors.

The investigators issued 772 indictments, targeting 2,183 crimes, with 1,388 defendants, of which 588 were detained or arrested.570 kg of drugs, over 3.2 tonnes of precursors, approximately 650 kg of green mass from the drug category and over 1.5 million tablets were removed from the market, as a result of the operative actions carried out by the police together with DIICOT prosecutors.From June to August 2023, at the national level, 211 operative actions were carried out, 16 organized criminal groups were destroyed, 472 people were sent to court, 2,942 criminal acts were registered, activities were carried out in 5,023 delegation ordinances issued by DIICOT prosecutors, the source says. In the same period, 210 kg of drugs were removed from the market and approximately 20 illegal drug cultures were discovered and terminated.At the level of the Romanian Police, on the line of combating drug trafficking and illicit consumption, 8,899 criminal files were received, accompanied by delegation ordinances, of which 3,177 files (35.7pct) in the June-August period.The operative actions from June to August led to the identification and destruction of approximately 45pct of the criminal groups dismantled this year and led to the removal from the market of approximately 40pct of the quantity of risk and high-risk drugs, respectively 80pct of the tablets of risk and high risk from the total values related to the current year.At the level of the National Anti-Drug Agency (ANA), almost 9,000 drug use prevention activities were carried out, with around 400,000 beneficiaries, of which 5,884 - in the pre-university school environment, with 169,242 beneficiaries (159,719 students and 9,523 teachers), 64 - in the school environment university, with 2,322 beneficiaries, 612 - in the family, with 9,762 beneficiaries and 2,409 - in the community, with 215,669 beneficiaries.ANA carried out 12 projects, informative-preventive campaigns, eight prevention projects in the school environment, related to the 2022-2023 school year, two national prevention projects in the family environment, a national campaign and a prevention project regarding road safety and addictive behavior."Assistance services provided to drug users: 3,996 integrated medical, psychological and social assessments, 6,743 medical consultations, 5,402 individual (psychological and social) counseling sessions, 809 group (psychological and social) counseling sessions and 6,087 drug management sessions case," the MAI informs.
ISTANBUL, Oct. 5 (Xinhua) -- A United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) project is helping Turkiye combat an invasion of "predatory Atlantic starfish" that is seriously threatening the country's seas.

According to Louisa Vinton, the UNDP's Turkiye resident representative, the Atlantic starfish is wreaking havoc along the country's coastline, threatening marine biodiversity and the aquaculture industry.

She said among the 105 different invasive alien species in Turkish waters, the starfish is one of the most destructive sea animals because it adapts quickly, reproduces rapidly, faces no natural predators, and has a ravenous appetite for mussels and mollusks.

"When starfish comes to Turkish seas, including the Sea of Marmara here, it gobbles up mussels and other shellfish," stated Vinton, adding that the natural balance would then be out of whack, with mussels being eliminated and biodiversity being destroyed.

The UNDP project aims to raise awareness of this danger and encourage people to collect and remove starfish in innovative ways, including organizing competitions to reward those who collect the most.

"Many marine species around the world end up outside their native habitat due to maritime shipping, and global warming also creates a favorable condition for these species to adapt fast to new territories," said the project manager Mehmet Golge in a press release by the UNDP.

In late September, a two-day event was held in Turkiye's northwestern province of Balikesir off the Sea of Marmara, during which local divers and marine biologists surveyed local seabed starfish populations for the project.

"We are here to raise awareness among coastal communities about invasive species and the threat they may pose to local biodiversity and livelihoods," said Golge.

The UNDP project will also launch a publicly accessible database for marine invasive alien species to provide up-to-date information on their threat. 
Education, a platform for dialogue between the national authorities that lead the fight against human trafficking and the collection of national data at the European level are solutions to combat this scourge, head of the European Commission Representation in Romania Ramona Chiriac said on Thursday.

"In the European Union, approximately 7,000 European citizens are victims of human trafficking. Certainly, the numbers are much bigger, because this scourge often remains invisible or unreported. Romania is in first place in the EU in terms of the number of women victims, child victims, citizens who fall victim to this scourge. But, Romania is in second place in terms of convictions in such cases, which also indicates an acceleration in the right direction," Chiriac told a conference at the Senate on joining efforts to combat human trafficking, best practices in global transnational co-operation, Agerpres reports.

The event took place ahead of October 18, the EU Anti-Trafficking Day, and it was organised by the Representation in Romania of the European Commission and the Embassy of Spain, the country that holds the six-month rotating presidency of the EU Council.

Chiriac explained that, at the European level, there is a framework, a strategy and a European directive that was updated in December 2022 to "keep up with the adaptability of criminal groups.""The online phenomenon, for example, is a new reality that we face; then there is the vulnerable situation in which refugees from Ukraine or other states in war zones find themselves. And so we updated the directive (...) by including illegal adoptions and forced marriages. It is very important to address the request for services. When we talk about human trafficking, first of all we talk about the sexual exploitation of the victims. (...) Human trafficking is a very profitable business. (...) Better awareness of this reality is necessary. Criminal groups know how victims think, they understand their vulnerabilities. Education, for sure, is a solution," Chiriac said.She added that she hopes that the event will lead to better connections between the national authorities that lead this cross-border battle. "We can only ensure the dialogue framework, the next step being the national reference plans for these areas and a European framework under which we can bring data from the national plans to the European level, as we have done on other topics, for example, healthcare. Our ability to react at the European level always lies in the data we have at our disposal.'
Rungloees website describes its customers in this way: She enjoys fashion, like life, infused with adventure. Her talent soars in mixing rare finds from fresh travels with time-tested classics.

Those words could also describe Rungolees founder and lead designer, Anjali Kamra.

Every piece in our collection is designed in-house, including the fabric, she says. Its all very personal to me.

Kamra grew up in India. I used to sit at my moms sewing machine and create clothing for my dolls, she says. Later, she would create her own clothes to wear to school. I always wanted my own line.

She married in India and moved to the United States with her husband as he attended Duke University. They later moved to New York City. With two young children, she decided to attend the Fashion Institute of Technology. She graduated in 2002. It took me a year longer because ... well, I was raising two young children.

Shortly after, her husbands job moved them to Richmond, Virginia, and thats where Rungolee was born in 2007.

Her Aunt Swaran had run an international fashion house in Mumbai in the 1990s. I kind of brought her out of retirement to get my company started, Kamra says. We went to India and created a small batch collection, then I came home to Richmond, hung the pieces on my four-poster bed and had a few friends over. We opened a bottle of champagne, and I sold out that night.

She knew she had something.

Its something Im so passionate about and enjoy  starting a new career was what I really wanted to do. And fashion is such a wonderful way for me to express my creativity. I think doing it in my 30s made an impact on me and on the clothing.

When her husbands job moved to St. Louis in 2008, she moved her fledgling business here.

St. Louis has been extremely encouraging to me. Ive met a bunch of lovely people who were supportive of new business.

One on those people, Susan Sherman, introduced Kamra to the St. Louis Fashion Fund, which celebrates its 10th anniversary this year.

The Fashion Fund is an advocate for St. Louis fashion and represents 800 fashion-centric businesses and designers. Its mission is to support emerging brands and industry-related businesses to help promote job creation and economic growth for the region.

My husband helped me flush out the idea (for expanding her business), and Wash U did a business plan for it. Weve been involved with the Fashion Fund since. We co-chaired their first gala, and my husband is still on the board.

As Kamra honed her business plan, she always knew where the fashion would take her. The Rungolee woman is somebody who likes something that is unique, that is small batch, something shes not going to find anywhere. I scour the markets from Morocco to the Champs Elysees for inspiration. My pieces are inspired by my global travels.

She interprets the fashion of another country in her own way. Color and pattern, Im looking for pieces that are elegant and easy and that will be in the closet for a very long time. Its very much slow fashion. This line is very inclusive and something for everyone ... size, body types, styles; its a large collection.

She credits her great team in Mumbai and Calcutta for helping bring her creations to life. She even creates her own fabrics  its a collective effort.

Me and the team here work hard to get it to perfection. We use old world techniques, like hand screen printing. We go back and forth and back and forth.

Just before the pandemic, Rungolees business model was mostly centered around truck shows. She would do 50 to 60 a year. When the pandemic hit in March 2020, those ended.

Everything came to a stand still. It was doubly hard having production in India. I paid all my workers throughout the pandemic  this is their livelihood  but thought I have to sink or swim. It gave me the opportunity to go digital and go online. We completely changed the website and hired a marketing agency to do digital advertising. We ended up completely changing our business.

Before the pandemic, only about 10% of Rungolees sales were from online. Its now about 70%. Her pieces are also in boutiques all over the country. And as of 2021, she opened a Rungolee shop in Ladue.

I worked out of my home studio for over 10 years. We built a studio in our home. With growth of online slowing creeping into other areas of my home and taking over, we decided to open a retail store front.

The store is beautiful; it has a coffee bar and is very welcoming. ... We love it, and we love being here. There is a real sense of community. We try to engage with community and welcome each other.

Its been wonderful, and its going to keep growing from here. Ive learned that after the pandemic you have to keep every channel open.

Anjali Kamra

Age  56

Home  Ladue

Family  Husband, Atul Kamra, and a son who is studying environmental science in Amsterdam and a daughter getting her master's degree in social work at Columbia University in New York.

What she makes  Rungolee is a global travel-inspired line of small batch pieces that are versatile and seasonless.

Where to buy  Rungolee.com or at the Rungolee store at 9807 Clayton Road.

How much  Blouses start around $225; dresses about $300; necklaces and earrings about $200
ST. LOUIS  The St. Louis Zoo opened its new $225,000 bird house on Oct. 5, 1930. It was the last word on avian habitat for urban zoos, allowing visitors to see and hear their exotic feathered friends up close.

The zoo boasted a rare collection of rare birds. Brewer August Busch Sr. had donated a King parakeet, one of only three in the United States.

Another St. Louisan gave the zoo his parrot, which had a flaw that went unnoticed until the crowds arrived.

The red-headed bird cursed a blue streak. The Post-Dispatch reported that its mildest phrase was Go to hell. Other oral flourishes couldnt make print.

Embarrassed zookeepers quickly banished the parrot from public earshot, calling its vocabulary unsuitable for children. Director George Vierheller said the zoo would restrict it to the quarantine room until an indulgent owner was found. He wouldnt identify the parrots former owner, frustrating reporters who wanted to expose the birds education.

Newspapers across the country ran headlines about St. Louis profane or potty-mouth parrot. On Nov. 11, 1930, the Post-Dispatch followed up with a photo of the notorious bird and word that the zoo had received more than 500 letters, telephone calls and telegrams from people offering to give it a new home.

Motivations varied. Several offered to reform the bird. A woman in Virginia promised to teach it to pray. A man in St. Petersburg, Fla., suggested letting it live on a 17,000-acre tract where it can use any language he chooses.

Members of Pi Kappa Alpha at the Missouri School of Mines in Rolla (now Missouri University of Science and Technology) wrote, There are 88 boys in this fraternity who would be more than pleased to have a pet that is both entertaining and instructive.

The wife of a St. Louis police officer said the parrot could give her husbands salty tongue some competition. And from Ottawa Lake, Mich., came this plaintive plea: I am a lone widow, 65 years old. My husband died two years ago and I am awful lonesome.

The zoos own monthly newsletter joined in the fun, describing the development as a great scandal and saying the birds language would make even a hardened sea captain blush. Encouraged by the fuss, Vierheller announced he would sell the parrot to the highest bidder.

The oddest bid was to trade it for two baby alligators, but in the end, the parrot went to a man in New York for $150, a whopping sum given that new 1930 Ford sport coupes were advertised for $525.

The zoo still uses the Spanish-style bird house. It has 18 parrots there and in the Childrens Zoo. None of them is known to use foul language.

If the St. Louis Zoo had a Walk of Fame of animals, here would be its first class

1916: Miss Jim, the St. Louis Zoo's first celebrity, parades into town Miss Jim arrives Miss Jim the elephant Miss Jim Pao Pei & Happy Phil Blondie Randy Siegfried Mr. Moke Jeepers Peepers Kalista Raja Kali
ST. LOUIS  A city board has added another delay to a developers plan to turn a vacant public school into a mixed-income apartment building, the latest setback for a project that has already been stymied for months by a small group of vocal neighbors.

The St. Louis Board of Adjustment punted for another three months a decision on a rehab of the Fanning Middle School at 3417 Grace Avenue despite strong support for the project from the Tower Grove South Neighborhood Association, the areas alderwoman and the adjustment boards own approval 15 months ago.

Matt Masiel of Screaming Eagle Development already won the blessing in June 2022 from the board for his plan to rehab the historic St. Louis Public Schools building into 62 apartments. The project, as many do, needed variances from the citys zoning code, which in that area of Tower Grove, only allows two-family dwellings.

But a vocal contingent of mostly adjacent property owners has opposed the project due to concerns about the density of the project and parking. Led by Greg Michaud and Deborah Dombar, who live on either side of the former school, they hired a lawyer and sued.

They argued not enough evidence was presented to prove unnecessary hardship and the unique character of the property as required for variances from the code. St. Louis Circuit Court Judge Jason Sengheiser agreed with the opponents and in June overturned the variances, forcing Screaming Eagle back to the board.

During a nearly four-hour hearing Wednesday, the developer and his representatives again made their case for rehabbing the school that had been vacant for over two years, while supporters chimed in. Debi Pratt, president of the Tower Grove South Neighborhood Association, said a survey of neighborhood residents found overwhelming support for the project. Neighbors specifically wanted an affordable housing component, she said, and about one-third of the projects units will be income restricted.

Especially when were at a time in the city where we need affordable housing, I believe the 6th Ward can set an example, Alderwoman Daniela Velazquez told the board.

But opponents reiterated their concerns over the scale of the project, raising issues with the neighborhood associations outreach and survey process. Some suggested an arts center rather than apartments.

Masiel, who has rehabbed another vacant school in far south St. Louis and also lofts downtown, said the district put restrictions on the site to prevent it from being used as a school. And Fanning is far from the only empty school or church a nonprofit considering a cultural amenity could choose from.

There are multiple opportunities at a lower price that could support that option, Masiel said.

Toward the end of the meeting, the lawyer for opponents, Bob Menees, told the board that the developer still hadnt complied with the judges order to demonstrate the need for a variance.

The evidence that has been presented by the applicant has not really changed, Menees said. Theres been no evidence presented to you demonstrating unnecessary hardship.

But Masiels lawyer, David Sweeney, refuted that, saying the developer is applying for historic and low income tax credits to offset hardship in the project. The permitted uses in the area dont work here at this site, he said.

Theres no doubt theres a hardship for the developer, Sweeney said.

Board member Anthony Robinson moved to table the project, saying he doesnt have an issue with density, but the developer should use the time to meet with neighbors some more.

The delay was approved 4-1, with chair Joe Klitzing opposing it. Zoning Administrator Mary Hart Burton asked for the longer 90-day delay because of a staff shortage in her office. The board is going to start meeting every other week rather than weekly soon because of the shortage, she said.
BEIRUT, Oct. 5 (Xinhua) -- President of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and visiting Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati agreed on Thursday to boost ties between the two countries in Abu Dhabi.

A statement released by the Lebanese Council of Ministers said that the two leaders discussed ways to strengthen bilateral ties in various fields to serve the interests of both countries.

They also agreed to take necessary measures to reopen the UAE Embassy in Beirut and form a joint committee to develop a mechanism to facilitate the issuance of entry visas for Lebanese to the UAE, said the statement.

Mikati briefed the UAE president on Lebanon's efforts to resolve challenges at various levels and expressed his appreciation to the Gulf country for its continuous support for Lebanon, adding that the UAE's support contributed to strengthening Lebanon's ability to confront many challenges.

For his part, Al Nahyan stressed the UAE's position towards brotherly Lebanon is supporting all that preserves its security, stability, sovereignty, and territorial integrity and what achieves the interest of its people in development and prosperity, according to the statement. 
BERKELEY  The St. Louis County health department has received doses of the updated COVID-19 vaccine, and has appointments available at multiple locations starting this week.

The new version of the vaccine is designed to better protect against the currently circulating strains of the virus. It was approved Sept. 12, and recommended for everyone ages 6 months and older. Health officials are urging residents to get vaccinated, especially as the region approaches colder, dryer months, when respiratory viruses tend to spread more easily.

The vaccine is also available at pharmacies, like Walgreens and CVS.

The county health department was scheduled to administer the vaccine from 1 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. Thursday at the John C. Murphy Health Center, at 6121 North Hanley Road in Berkeley.

On Friday vaccinations will be offered at the same time at the John C. Murphy location, and at the departments other two clinics. The other sites are the North Central Community Health Center at 4000 Jennings Station Road in Pine Lawn, and the South County Health Center at 4580 South Lindbergh Boulevard in Sunset Hills.

Starting Monday, all three clinics will be offering the vaccine on weekdays. There will be appointments in the morning  from 8:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.  and in the afternoon  from 1 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.

Walk-in appointments are welcome. The clinics will serve all residents, regardless of their ability to pay, though anyone who does have health insurance is asked to bring their insurance card.

The region has seen an increase in spread of COVID-19 recently. After a couple of months logging around 20 new cases per day, St. Louis Countys seven-day average jumped, peaking at 156 new daily cases on Sept. 2. The number has declined some, falling to 77 on Oct. 2, the most recent data available.
JEFFERSON CITY  A former St. Louis resident has been charged with stealing tax return information and giving it to news outlets in the run-up to the 2020 election.

Charles Chaz Edward Littlejohn, 38, was a private consultant for the Internal Revenue Service living in Washington, D.C., when he allegedly stole the tax returns of former president Donald Trump and thousands of wealthy Americans in 2019 and 2020 and provided them to two news organizations.

The resulting stories detailed how wealthy people sometimes pay little in federal income taxes.

Littlejohn, the son of retired public relations executive Stephen E. Littlejohn, faces one federal felony count of unauthorized disclosure of tax information, an offense punishable by up to five years in prison, the Justice Department announced last week.

Littlejohn declined to comment when reached by The Associated Press, which also left a message for his attorney, Lisa Manning. Records indicate he last lived in the St. Louis area in 2017. He graduated from Crossroads College Preparatory School in St. Louis. He majored in economics at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill, where he graduated in 2007.

The tax stories by the news outlets triggered calls for reform and for a probe into the leak of tax information, which has specific legal protections.

Among stories linked to the leaks was a New York Times story that found Trump paid $750 in federal income tax the year he entered the White House. Trumps tax returns were later released by a congressional committee.

The Justice Department said the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration is leading the investigation.
FRANKLIN COUNTY  Spc. Brian Joshua Snowden knew before he was even in high school he was going to join the military, and he was so eager to enlist he skipped his high school graduation ceremony and headed straight for the Army.

He felt like it was his duty to be a warrior, his older sister Dona Sappington said, noting several men in her family were veterans. He definitely wanted to go to war to serve his country.

Sappington and their mother, Teresa Steinbach, reminisced about the 22-year-olds life on Thursday, just days after Army officials knocked on their Franklin County door and told them he had died Monday when a military transport flipped on a road in Alaska.

Snowden and Spc. Jeremy Daniel Evans of Knoxville, Tennessee, were both killed in the crash as 17 soldiers headed to the Yukon Training Area near Salcha, Alaska. Twelve others were injured and two were still hospitalized on Wednesday, authorities said.

Both Snowden and Evans were in the 1st Battalion, 5th Infantry Regiment, 1st Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 11th Airborne Division.

Its at least the fourth military death with local ties this year. Earlier this year, two Army soldiers from Missouri, Chief Warrant Officer 3 Zachary Esparza, from St. Louis, and Chief Warrant Officer 2 Rusten Smith, from St. James, were killed when two Black Hawk medical evacuation helicopters crashed during a routine nighttime training exercise in Kentucky.

And just five weeks ago Belleville native Capt. Eleanor LeBeau Cooke was one of three U.S. Marines killed in an aircraft crash during a training exercise in northern Australia.

Snowden joined the military in July 2020, according to Army officials. After training at Fort Moore, Georgia, he was stationed in Alaska in March 2021.

Sappington said she was very close to her brother, who was laid back, selfless and loved metal music. He also had quite a sense of humor.

Oh, he was so funny, Sappington said laughing. He would say the weirdest stuff. It was just so off the wall. You had no idea what was gonna come out of his mouth.

Snowden hadnt been home in almost two years, and it was the first time he had been away for that long from his Lonedell home. He struggled with homesickness, Sappington said.

Brian thought that it would be better if he didnt talk to us as much so we wouldnt miss him as much, she said. It was hard on him.

Snowden grew up with his mom, sister and grandparents in Lonedell, a small town in southeastern Franklin County about 45 miles southwest of St. Louis.

I never had to worry about him getting into trouble, Steinbach said. I mean, he was so laid back, it almost made him, like, completely lazy. Everything bounced off of him or he swallowed it, you know. He never complained. He was always there.

Sappington said she, along with Steinbach and Snowdens friends, had a gut feeling all weekend that something bad was going to happen. She wanted to reach out to her brother but hesitated because she knew he was busy and missed home.

I carry my brothers Zippo lighter with me everywhere I go, Sappington said. He left it when he left for the service and Ive had it ever since. And my purse was knocked over (Monday) and the only thing that fell out was some change and the Zippo.  And I think thats when I was really feeling it.

Maj. Gen. Brian Eifler, commanding general of the 11th Airborne Division, offered condolences to the fallen soldiers families.

This is an incredible loss for all of us across the division, he said in a statement. While were always challenged by the environment, were Arctic Angels, we overcome these challenges and accomplish our mission by being a team, and teams take care of one another, especially in times like these.

On Thursday, the Grandview R-II School District posted to its Facebook page that Snowden was a 2020 graduate of the district.

Our hearts, thoughts, and prayers are extended to his family for their loss, as well as our thanks for his service, the district wrote.

Snowdens family have not yet made funeral arrangements because they are waiting for his body to be returned home.

Army officials said the cause of the accident is still under investigation.
CLAYTON  A longtime Hillsdale employee was charged Wednesday after a Fox 2 photojournalist was run over in August with a public works truck.

Earl D. Longmeyer, 57, was charged with driving in a careless and imprudent manner, causing an accident. The maximum sentence for the misdemeanor is a $2,000 fine and a year in jail. The case is being prosecuted by St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorneys Office First Assistant Prosecutor Jessica Hathaway.

Longmeyer is accused of running over Fox 2 photojournalist Wade Smith on Aug. 11 with Hillsdales top city official, Dorothy Moore, in the passenger seat.

After being run over in Hillsdale, Smith had serious injuries, including emergency surgery for a broken tibia bone. Fox 2 reported Wednesday the photojournalist planned to start physical therapy next month.

Police reported Longmeyer told them he saw Smith and Fox 2 reporter Mitch McCoy by the vehicle, but court records show Longmeyer proceeded to drive at an excessive speed. The incident report cited by Fox 2 states Longmeyer told police he saw Smith on the ground, but claims he was unaware the Fox 2 photojournalist had been hit. The city employee was reportedly arrested and released, Fox 2 reported.

Longmeyers next court appearance is Nov. 21.

Hes been employed by the village since 1996, according to Post-Dispatch salary database records. Not quite as long as Dorothy Moores reign, who identifies as mayor, but legally is deemed chair of the Board of Trustees. Shes run the city since the 1970s.

Fox 2s McCoy and Smith were attempting to talk to Moore about Hillsdales towing policies after receiving complaints from residents in the village of about 1,200 people in North St. Louis County. Residents reached out to the news outlet about the increased burden of the local administrations sudden increase in parking tickets and vehicle towing.

Moore refused to answer questions from reporters outside the municipalitys Village Hall, and Fox 2 reported Moore told Longmeyer to drive away. One of the city trucks trailer wheels hit Smith, who was recording, in the back of the leg causing him and his camera to collapse to the ground.

Hillsdale police were present, prompting a call to Velda City police to investigate due to conflict of interest. Velda City police Chief Daniel Paulino, who is also the citys administrator and records clerk, did not immediately respond to request for comment on Wednesday.

He previously told a Post-Dispatch reporter please stop wasting my time when asked about the incident.
ST. LOUIS  A man who was facing prison time for crashing his car and killing his best friend walked out of court on Wednesday a free man.

Bruce Tolliver was sentenced to time already served in jail and on house arrest after months working through therapy, job training and reconciling with the family of his friend, 15-year-old Nick Blackey.

It was part of a process called restorative justice, led by the local nonprofit the Freedom Community Center, that offers jail and prison alternatives that allow people to take accountability for their crimes while also helping victims heal.

Nicks mother, Michelle Blackey Dismute, told the Post-Dispatch in June that it took years for her to come to a place where she could forgive Tolliver and agree to participate in the process. But she got there, and they worked together to heal.

In August, Tolliver helped Dismute and her family put up a memorial cross at the site where Tolliver, who was drunk, lost control of his vehicle and slammed into a street sign, a fire hydrant and a tree in 2018. Nick was a passenger in the vehicle.

On Wednesday, Mike Milton, the executive director of the Freedom Community Center, was in the courtroom for a beautiful moment of reconciliation.

He said Tollivers case was a perfect example of the type of work his organization was designed to do.

This is exactly what we advocate for, he said.

Tollivers public defender, Tyson Cole, said he hoped that the success of Bruces case would encourage other judges to consider similar alternatives in other cases.

(Bruce) set a really high example for how this process should go moving forward, he said.
JEFFERSON CITY  Two north St. Louis County sisters are looking to continue a local political dynasty in the Missouri Legislature.

Janay and Chanel Mosley, granddaughters of longtime politico and former state Rep. Elbert Walton Jr., have filed paperwork to run for two seats in the Missouri House that their family members are leaving due to term limits.

Records show Janay Mosley, of Florissant, filed paperwork in August to run for the state House seat that her father, state Rep. Jay Mosley, is vacating.

Chanel Mosley, of north St. Louis County, filed paperwork on the same day to run for the seat that her uncle, state Rep. Alan Gray, is vacating.

Alan Gray filed paperwork to run for Black Jack City Council next April; Jay Mosley filed paperwork to run for an unspecified statewide office in August 2024.

Chanel and Janay Mosley would join their mother, state Sen. Angela Mosley, D-Florissant, in the Legislature if all three are successful in the August Democratic primary and November 2024 general election.

Chanel and Janay Mosley did not respond to requests for comment.

The sisters candidacies could further stoke political tensions in north St. Louis County, where not everyone is allied with the Waltons and Mosleys.

St. Louis County Council Chairwoman Shalonda Webb, for example, could face a challenge from ex-Councilwoman Rochelle Walton Gray in the August 2024 primary. State records show Walton Gray has filed paperwork to run for her former seat.

Webb ousted Walton Gray, who is married to Alan Gray, from the council in the August 2020 primary.

Walton Gray and Angela Mosley are Elbert Waltons daughters.

The rivalry between Webb and Walton family members was evident at a ceremony last month marking the demolition of Jamestown Mall.

After Angela Mosley was introduced as the next speaker at the event, Webb approached the podium and told the crowd that Mosley had worked behind the scenes in Jefferson City against $6 million in state funding for the razing.

Mosley said she did support the state funding. Mosley also said Walton Gray, her sister, really was the one who championed this when she was in office but had faced funding challenges.

Meanwhile, in the Legislature this year, Mosley made a not-so-subtle dig at Webb, pushing legislation on the Senate floor that wouldve barred someone convicted of stealing campaign funds from holding a state or local government job.

Webbs husband, former state Rep. Steven Webb, of Florissant, pleaded guilty to felony theft in 2014 after, according to court documents, Webb deposited $3,000 to an account in the name of the Missouri Black Caucus and then transferred it to his personal account.

St. Louis Recorder of Deeds Michael Butler hired Steven Webb for a clerical job in January 2019.

Chanel and Janay Mosley made news last June after the St. Louis County Department of Public Health hired them as COVID-19 contact tracers. Their hiring came after County Executive Sam Page appointed Walton Gray, a political ally, to a newly created $89,000-a-year health department job.
JEFFERSON CITY  Dry conditions that have kept significant areas of Missouri in drought this summer are moving closer to becoming a multi-year event.

With an executive order declaring a drought alert scheduled to expire on Dec. 1, Missouri Department of Natural Resources Director Dru Buntin said Wednesday that he will request an extension of the governors directive that will keep the state in emergency response mode at least into the spring.

Buntin called the lack of rain and the effects it is having on crops, cattle and river levels dire as he spoke to members of the states Drought Assessment Committee while it drizzled outside.

Im most concerned about water levels on the Mississippi, Buntin said, pointing to commercial navigation that could be impacted at a time when farmers are beginning to ship their grain in barges.

Gov. Mike Parson attended the meeting, which was the fourth gathering of the group since July.

We are a long way from getting out of this drought, Parson said, adding that his cattle farm in Bolivar has felt the effects of the extended dry period. Winter is going to be tough. Whether you are on a farm or not, its going to affect you.

According to the U.S. Drought Monitor, areas in central and western Missouri, south of the Missouri River, are in extreme drought. St. Louis is listed as abnormally dry.

The monitor notes that an estimated 2.1 million Missourians reside in areas affected by the lack of precipitation.

Mark Fuchs of the National Weather Service said predictions show there will be some rain in the state in the coming week, but it wont be enough to overcome months of shortfalls.

Well take what we can get, but we need more than that, Fuchs said.

Zack Leasor of the University of Missouri Extension told the panel that Missouri could face a higher forest fire risk this fall because of dry days, low humidity and dry conditions on the ground.

Chance Bitner of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Kansas City District, raised concern about low flow levels on the Missouri River affecting water intake lines for the Callaway Nuclear Generating Station north of Jefferson City and Amerens coal-fired power plant in Labadie, located east of Washington.

Davor Karic of the Corps St. Louis office predicted a slow fall in water levels on the Mississippi River, potentially affecting shipping costs for farmers.

Last year, the Mississippi plummeted to low depths, affecting barge traffic on one of the major arteries for moving coal, oil, natural gas, chemicals and commodities in the U.S.

This year, dredging is underway on a section of the Mississippi south of St. Louis to give barges some extra depth if water levels continue to slip.

Rep. Tim Taylor, R-Bunceton, told the committee that he is concerned the prolonged drought could begin to affect topsoil similar to the Dust Bowl days of the 1930s. He said Cooper County, located west of Columbia, has been hit hard by the lack of rain.

My home county is suffering, Taylor said.

It is not clear when Parson may formally extend his executive order. The governor leaves for a trade mission to Japan on Friday.

Every day this goes on its going to have an impact on the economy, Parson said. We just have to hold things together until we get some rain.
ST. LOUIS  A plan to freeze property taxes for the citys seniors is in the works at City Hall, Mayor Tishaura O. Jones said Wednesday.

It would only discount the citys cut of the annual taxes  roughly a fifth of the total  and it wasnt clear Wednesday who exactly would be eligible or how much the plan would cost city coffers.

Still, a tax credit, enabled by new state law, could be a critical tool to help struggling seniors stay in their homes, Jones said Wednesday at a roundtable with seniors at a church in the Gate District. She said it could really help on the North Side, where leaders are hoping increased government investment and developments like the new National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency headquarters, at Cass and Jefferson avenues, will drive a renaissance.

As St. Louis grows, this is a tool to combat gentrification, she said. Lets just be honest.

The city is the latest local government to take on the task of implementing the new law, which was intended to cut taxes for older Missourians. Five Missouri counties have already passed it: Camden, Greene, Laclede, Jackson and St. Charles, according to the advocacy group Missouri Tax Relief Now.

Other counties, such as St. Louis County and Jefferson County, have balked at passing their own versions, amid concerns that it could provide a tax break for the wealthy, and would be difficult for county staff to manage.

The new state law, enacted in July, generally allows counties to provide a special tax credit to people who are eligible for Social Security, own their home, use it as their primary residence and get tax bills for it. Those eligible would be exempt from paying any more on their property taxes than they were paying for them when they first got the credit.

Residents could also pass the tax break themselves, through a ballot measure. They would need to gather signatures of at least 5% of the number of people who voted in the 2020 gubernatorial election, and then get a majority of the vote on Election Day.

The St. Charles County Council decided not to risk it last month, voting to implement the freeze for its residents as early as next year. The St. Louis County Council is still wrestling with concerns that a blanket freeze could effectively be a tax cut for millionaires.

Jones and Alderwoman Anne Schweitzer, who will carry the legislation at the Board of Aldermen, expressed concerns about the same issue.

They said that, like their fellow Democrats in St. Louis County, they are considering restricting the eligibility of people with certain incomes or property values.

What we dont want is to freeze taxes for millionaires, and then all of a sudden we dont have the funding to pay our bills to provide basic services, Jones said.

Schweitzer indicated that unlike St. Charles County, the city would limit the freeze to its taxes alone. Tax money going to the city school district, the Zoo-Museum District, the library system and the other entities would be unaffected.

We cant hurt the school district, said Schweitzer, of Boulevard Heights.

The St. Charles County plan will freeze all levies, despite some concern that such a move may not be legal.

Census data indicates there were roughly 25,000 senior homeowners in the city as recently as 2018. If that hasnt changed, roughly 12% of the citys population would be eligible for the tax credit.

Schweitzer said the bill is still being drafted and unavailable for public review.
ST. LOUIS  Mayor Tishaura O. Jones is defending her decision to clear a homeless encampment outside City Hall this week, and blaming activists for slowing things down.

Under fire from advocates who decried the sweep as inhumane and unnecessary, Jones on Wednesday said the camp, which boasted more than 30 tents in its final days, was a public health hazard.

We saw drug dealing, we saw drug using and people defecating on the City Hall grass, she said. And that is not safe. Its not healthy. And its not a good look for the city of St. Louis.

She also said the citys attempt to remove the encampment late Monday, without the customary 10-day notice, shouldnt have been a surprise. Activists and progressive aldermen Rasheen Aldridge, of Downtown, and Alisha Sonnier, of Tower Grove East, said they were caught off-guard and questioned where people were supposed to go at a time when many shelters are already booked up.

But Jones said the city had been reaching out to the campers for weeks, telling them they were going to enforce the curfew and offering help getting into shelter before it happened.

The problem on Monday, she said, is that officials told everyone else and activists came down and got in the way of the city providing services. When they and the aldermen refused to leave, the clearing was postponed for a day before it was ultimately cleared Tuesday.

Where were they over the last two months while these people were sitting on City Halls front lawn? Jones asked of activists. Where were they?

Activists bristled at the criticism.

Audra Youmans, a volunteer with the advocacy group Tent Mission STL, said the organizations volunteers were at the camp every week distributing resources.

And she said if the city had actually done its job and offered services campers wanted, they would have left long before. At least a handful of people living at the camp had refused to go to shelters that required splitting up from a partner or pets.

Mayor Jones has made her position very clear, Youmans said. These are not the people she supports and these are not the people she is here to help.

Shes on defense because we hit the nail on the head, added the Rev. Larry Rice, the prominent homeless advocate who spent weeks delivering blankets and tents to people in the encampment before the Jones administration ordered it cleared Monday night.

She made a rash decision, he said. And all she did was cause sleep deprivation.

Photos: St. Louis City Hall homeless tent camp is gone, residents scattered
JEFFERSON CITY  State environmental regulators are asking Gov. Mike Parson to fund a program to investigate areas of the state exposed to radioactive waste.

Amid calls by lawmakers and activists to boost state surveillance of radioactive sites left over from the St. Louis regions role in creating the nuclear bomb, the Missouri Department of Natural Resources inserted a request for $221,000 to launch the program into their budget proposal for next year.

Citizens and lawmakers are concerned with impacts of past and current federal government activities related to radioactive waste handling and remediation, the request notes. Currently, the department has no sustainable funds to oversee the federal governments remediation activities or to conduct radioactive investigations.

Securing the money remains a challenge. Although Parson signed legislation creating the fund more than five years ago, it has never received money through the budgeting process.

The money must first be endorsed by Parson and then by the Legislature. If approved, it would be placed in the state budget for the fiscal year beginning next July 1.

DNR earlier told the Post-Dispatch the agency did not request funding in previous years because the states hazardous waste fund had been experiencing severe fund solvency issues.

But, pressure on state and federal officials has been ramping up in recent years as more people living near the radioactive waste dump sites are expressing concern about the health effects and the lack of action.

Missouri politicians, including U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley, U.S. Rep. Cori Bush of St. Louis, Attorney General Andrew Bailey and a host of state lawmakers from the areas affected by the cancer-causing material, have been holding meetings and press conferences to put the problem in the spotlight.

In July, the U.S. Senate approved a Hawley amendment that would expand an existing federal nuclear radiation exposure survivor program to include residents of St. Louis, St. Louis County and St. Charles County.

At issue is radioactive waste from the processing of uranium ore by Mallinckrodt Chemical Works in St. Louis in helping develop the atomic bomb, beginning in the 1940s.

The waste contaminated areas in north St. Louis County along the Coldwater Creek watershed, and some waste was buried at West Lake Landfill in Bridgeton.

While much of the focus in recent years had been on those areas, state Rep. Tricia Byrnes, R-Wentzville, and others have been pushing to compensate people in the Weldon Spring area who developed cancers associated with Mallinckrodts uranium processing there from 1957 to 1966.

Surface remediation there concluded with completion of a 41-acre, on-site disposal cell in 2001, visible from Highway 94 just west of Francis Howell High School.

The radioactive waste investigation fund was created in 2018 as part of legislation sponsored by former Sen. Maria Chappelle-Nadal, D-University City.

In its request, DNR said securing the money will ensure the state can respond to requests by local governments to perform or oversee radioactive waste investigations.

These investigations would alleviate public concerns and provide protection of human health and the environment, the request notes. Due to the increased interest in the radiological remediation projects currently underway and numerous issues that have drawn the public interest, it is anticipated that the department will receive numerous requests for investigations.
ST. LOUIS  City officials are moving to launch eminent domain proceedings against the absentee owner of downtowns Railway Exchange Building.

Alderwoman Cara Spencer filed legislation on Wednesday that would enable City Hall to take possession of the historic, 21-story structure that St. Louis officials have condemned as a threat to public safety.

The bill comes two weeks after the Post-Dispatch reported that Hudson Holdings, the Florida-based owner of the Railway building, had stopped paying for security that enabled more trespassers to break into the property.

The issue is very clear and has become progressively worse, said Spencer, who represents Downtown St. Louis. Were serious about this, and we are willing to move forward.

The 1.2 million-square-foot building  once Famous-Barrs flagship store  is in the heart of St. Louis central business district. Its one of four major vacant buildings, including the former AT&T tower, the Chemical Building and the Millennium Hotel, that officials say are crucial to revitalizing downtown.

But the Railway building has been mired in litigation with its lien holders, which has clouded the real estate title of the property and thwarted new efforts to renovate or sell it.

The building and Hudson have long been a thorn for City Hall, which has sent countless first responders and Building Division employees to secure the property, at 615 Olive Street. The building has also been a focus for the citys Problem Properties Unit, whose small team is tasked with addressing public safety hazards. Reports of troubling break-ins and the death of a St. Louis Fire Department search and rescue dog this spring raised the buildings profile.

Spencer said she worked on the bill with the citys economic development agency, St. Louis Development Corp., and deferred further questions to its leaders. Its CEO, Neal Richardson, said in an email that this legislation is part of a more proactive effort his agency is taking across the city in order to preserve historically significant buildings.

We prefer a negotiated resolution, but timing is increasingly critical due to security concerns and deteriorating conditions of Railway Exchange, Richardson said.

Richardsons agency began considering eminent domain against Hudson last year, the first movement in years to spur action at the site and clear the issues clouding the property.

Eminent domain  which gives governments the right to take private property for public use or to serve public good  is not a popular choice for officials and often seen as last-ditch effort. Eminent domain proceedings can also take months to go through the courts.

But issues were mounting at the Railway building. In January, the Building Division condemned the property as a public safety hazard after a local property manager quit.

Then a security firm hired by Hudson told city officials how dire the situation had become, according to emails obtained by the Post-Dispatch: People were living between floors. Thieves were getting into the building through underground tunnels. Security officers never patrolled the building alone.

The emails also showed the frustrations of city and security firm leaders with their inability to reach Hudson or its principals, Andrew Avi Greenbaum and Stephen Michael.

But soon the security firm was replaced with another company. The city moved forward with demolition of a pedestrian bridge between the building and its parking garage to help stem the flow of trespassers. Then in July, Hudson stopped paying for the other security firm it had hired.

And with no security on site, more found their way into the building. By late September, the buildings Olive Street doors were wide open.

Spencers bill, Board Bill 130, allows the city to use eminent domain for the Railway building and the garage just south of it.

It is the second board bill Spencer has sponsored this session related to securing the Railway Exchange.

Board Bill 123 would allow the Building Division to board up vacant buildings larger than 500,000 square feet that pose significant public safety concerns with steel plates, hire security and bill the owner.
WASHINGTON  The Army is launching a sweeping overhaul of its recruiting to focus more on young people who have spent time in college or are job hunting early in their careers, as it scrambles to reverse years of enlistment shortfalls.

A major part of this is the formation of a new professional force of recruiters instead of relying on soldiers randomly assigned to the task.

Army Secretary Christine Wormuth said some of the changes will begin in the next 90 days but a wholesale transformation will take years.

We have not been recruiting very well for many more years than one would think from just looking at the headlines in the last 18 months, Wormuth said, adding that the Army hasnt met its annual goal for new enlistment contracts since 2014.

Last year, the Army fell 15,000 short of its enlistment goal of 60,000 while competing with higher-paying companies in a tight job market and trying to overcome two years of the coronavirus pandemic, which shut down access to schools and public events. In the fiscal year that ended Saturday, the Army brought in a bit more than 50,000 recruits, falling short of the publicly stated stretch goal of 65,000.

Army officials, however, said that number still allows the service to meet its required total strength of 452,000. They said the Army also signed up an additional 4,600 recruits for future contracts, in an effort to build back the pool of delayed-entry recruits, which had eroded. Those recruits will go to basic training over the next year.

On Tuesday, Wormuth told reporters in a briefing that the Army has not yet decided what the new fiscal year's recruiting goal will be, but said it would likely be less than 65,000. The lower number, she said, also reflects the fact that the size of the Army has been shrinking from the 485,000 level during the peaks of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars.

In testimony before Congress during his confirmation hearing, Gen. Randy George, who is now chief of staff of the Army, called recruiting the No. 1 challenge that we face and the one thing that we have to be focused on. And he said the service must better tailor its messaging and marketing.

The Navy and the Air Force also fell short of their recruitment goals for the fiscal year that ended Saturday, but leaders said both did better than predictions earlier this year. The Marine Corps and the tiny Space Force have said they would meet their enlistment targets.

Marine leaders, including Brig. Gen. Walker Field, who heads the Corps' eastern recruiting region, have said one key to their success is choosing the right recruiters and encouraging successful ones to stay on. The Marines are also repositioning recruiting stations to areas where populations have grown.

The Army's recruiting increase this year is considered a short-term victory made possible by a number of new and upgraded programs and benefits. But Wormuth said it will take systemic changes in how the Army approaches the labor market and sells the service as a career to turn things around.

At the same time, she said the Army must concentrate on the things it can change since there are many things it cannot, such as lack of fitness among youths and unwillingness to serve.

While recruiters have long relied heavily on high school seniors or graduates to fill the ranks, Wormuth said they need to reach beyond that pool and seek applicants on job sites like ZipRecruiter, Indeed or Glassdoor.

The vast majority of people who are out there making employment decisions are people who have more than a high school education, Wormuth said. We need to figure out how to talk to that much broader labor market.

She said that as more students go on to college, high school graduates now make up just 15% to 20% of the labor market. And the Army gets about half of its recruits from that shrinking population.

We are not abandoning the high school market by any means, Wormuth said, but by 2028 she wants the Army to have one-third of its recruits to have more than a high school diploma, rather than the current one-fifth.

Part of that is showcasing the Army's higher-tech jobs with computers, satellites and artificial intelligence to lure those who may still think of the service as just infantry troops.

The other major change, which will begin to form in the coming months, is the transition to a professional recruiting workforce. Rather than using soldiers who are voluntold to take on a special assignment as recruiters, the Army is establishing a new permanent and specialized enlistment workforce.

There are currently about 8,000 Army recruiters, and only a bit more than a third have recruiting as their actual job classification.

The change will mirror how private companies work and will take several years. But Wormuth said the Army will quickly start a pilot program to begin identifying and training the new force. As part of the process, the Army will use a new aptitude test designed to identify soldiers who have a higher potential for being successful recruiters.

And, while the Army will still look at increased bonuses and push the health care and education funding in the military, money is not likely to be a key driver for recruits. And recruiters will need to sell the less tangible benefits of service.

At the end of the day, I think that what offsets what we dont offer in terms of compensation we make up for with being part of something bigger, Wormuth said. Ask anyone wearing a uniform in my office. They will tell you that what keeps them re-enlisting or staying until 20 years or beyond is the people and doing something that really matters.

US Army history from the year you were born Intro 1920: Amended National Defense Act is passed 1921: The Army intervenes at the Battle of Blair Mountain 1922: Col. Charles Young dies 1923: Harding orders troops home from Germany 1924: Philippines scouts rebel 1925: Black soldiers evaluated for wartime fitness 1926: Sgt. Stubby dies 1927: Joint Army and Navy Basic War Plan Red 1928: First US Army Day 1929: Escobar revolutionaries send stray bullets to US 1930: Douglas MacArthur is appointed Army chief of staff 1931: US Army wins International Military Team Trophy 1932: Calvary soldiers attack veterans 1933: US Army aids Civilian Conservation Corps 1934: Army takes over the mail 1935: Final flight of US Army Air Corps LTA operations 1936: M1 Garand becomes go-to Army rifle 1937: Army's Airship Program ends 1938: 15th Regiment returns home from China 1939 US Army (and its Calvary) ranks 39th in the world 1940: Selective Training and Service Act 1941: It's only a maneuver 1942: Dogs Defense group founded 1943: US Army Fights the Japanese in Alaska 1944: Operation Neptune 1945: Dachau (mostly) liberated 1946: The 'mutiny of American troops after WWII 1947: The World War II draft expires 1948: Truman desegregates the US Military 1949 Army withdraws from Korea 1950: Attack on Korea authorized 1951: China supports North Korea 1952: Armistice talks stall 1953: Korean War ends 1954: McCarthy hearings begin 1955: Operation Gyroscope 1956: M113 ships to Vietnam 1957: Operation Plumbbob 1958: Elvis Presley joins up 1959: First soldiers killed in Vietnam 1960: Laos is determined to be non-threatening 1961: Green Berets receive real green berets 1962: Army troops head to Florida airfields 1963: Operation Biglift 1964: South Vietnamese training begins 1965: China Beach 1966: Army forces in Vietnam number 200,000 1967: Operation Malheur I and II 1968: My Lai massacre 1969: The Battle of Hamburger Hill 1970: Koza riot in Okinawa, Japan 1971: Women recruitment is up 1972: Withdrawals begin from Vietnam 1973: Withdrawal from Vietnam concludes 1974: Tensions rise 1975: Mandatory defensive weapons training for women 1976: Operation Paul Bunyan 1977: Army admits to 27 germ warfare tests conducted on public property 1978: Jonestown Massacre 1979: Faulty pilot ejection controls found 1980: Bright Star military exercise commences 1981: US Army gets a new look 1982: New recruits, new (amended) requirements 1983: US Army invades Grenada 1984: Pedro Colondres-Rosa defrauds US Army 1985: El Salvador raid 1986: US troops arrive in Honduras 1987: US Army Airborne heads to Honduras 1988: US takes on Nicaraguan insurgents 1989: Operation Just Cause 1990: Gulf War starts 1991: Gulf ground war begins 1992: US troops offer humanitarian aid in Somalia 1993: Battle of Mogadishu 1994: Operation Uphold Democracy 1995: Peace treaty ends Bosnia-Herzegovina conflict 1996: All-Black Korean War unit has honor restored 1997: 7 Black WWII soldiers get Medal of Honor 1998: Bosnia mission zaps US Army strength 1999: Yugoslavians hold U.S. soldiers captive 2000: 49th Armored Division deploys 2001: 9/11 2002: Army uses video games for recruitment, training 2003: US Army invades Baghdad amidst looters 2004: Second Battle of Fallujah 2005: Iraqi election 2006: President Bush visits Afghanistan 2007: Troops need more sleep 2008: Felons join up 2009: Army major kills 13 in Fort Hood 2010: Army sent to Haiti for relief effort 2011: US troops leave Iraq 2012: Military gets trimmed 2013: Women join the front lines 2014: Army hairstyles get a closer look 2015: Army shrinks to pre-WWII levels 2016: Army reduced further 2017: Immigrant recruits can't serve 2018: US Army has stations throughout Africa 2019: First woman poised to lead US Army Infantry division 2020: COVID-19 upends the military 2021: Extended-range guided rocket successfully traverses 80 km
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti  Foreigners with guns are met with hostility in most countries.

But the departure of armed soldiers and police from Haiti in 2017 after nearly two decades on the streets helped criminals seize control of much of the country. Gangs have carried out so much robbery, rape and kidnapping that Haitians welcomed news this week that the United Nations Security Council had approved deployment of an international armed force to Haiti.

News of the vote  which authorized a one-year deployment of a Kenya-led force to help quell violent gangs  dominated conversations and radio and TV programs.

Its like God heard Haitis prayers, and hes sending help, said Wensley Johnson, 40.

Johnson had to flee his home this year after gangs pillaged the community where he lived, a community built by people who survived Haitis 2010 devastating earthquake. Worried about the never-ending gang violence, Johnson sent his son and stepdaughter to live with his mother in the countryside, but the construction worker struggles to care for them.

Meanwhile, construction has been halted at several sites because gangs have seized control of those areas, and Johnson has been unable to find work.

Stability would be key for everybody to get back to their normal activities, he said, adding that hes relieved that a foreign armed force will be deployed.

Our forces dont have the manpower to fight the gangs with the guns that they have, he said.

Haitis National Police has launched several operations against gangs, but the department doesn't have enough resources or staff, with only some 10,000 active officers for a country of more than 11 million people.

The Kenya-led mission would be the first time in almost 20 years that a force would be deployed to Haiti. A 2004 U.N. mission ended in 2017.

The upcoming mission would be led by Kenya, with Jamaica, the Bahamas and Antigua and Barbuda also pledging personnel. The non-U.N. mission would be reviewed after nine months and be funded by voluntary contributions, with the U.S. pledging up to $200 million. Kenyas foreign minister has said the force could be deployed in early January.

They should be here sooner than January, said Peter John, a 49-year-old carpenter who heard the news on a small black-and-white radio perched in his shop, where he makes beds, tables and cabinets.

He worries that gang violence will keep escalating.

One morning you hear about guys taking over an area, killing and raping kids, leaving everybody without a home, and thats scary, he said. A force thats coming into the country would be able to fight back.

In the meantime, he said, Haitians will take care of gangs the only way they know how: through a violent uprising known as bwa kale, which has killed an estimated 350 people since it began in April.

The population will put an end to their lives. They have people suffering too much, he said of gangs.

More than 2,400 people have been reported killed from January through mid-August this year, with more than 950 kidnapped and 902 wounded, according to U.N. statistics. Violence against women and children in particular has risen.

Among those kidnapped and tortured are friends of Jannette Boucher, a 37-year-old store owner who sells womens and childrens clothing. She herself escaped a gang attack earlier this year while driving alone. Gangs shot at her car, breaking a window as she pressed the gas and fled.

Oh, yeah, Im excited, she said of the upcoming deployment. Its time that Haiti gets some real support.

More than 200,000 Haitians have lost their homes to gangs who set fire to communities and rape and kill residents in a bid to wrestle territory from rival gangs.

Previous foreign interventions in Haiti have left many wary and angry.

A U.N. stabilization mission launched in 2004 was marred by a sexual abuse scandal and the introduction of cholera, which killed nearly 10,000 people.

They leave bad memories in Haiti, Jean-Pierre Elie, a 60-year-old private teacher, said of previous interventions.

He said he supports the upcoming force because its unbearable to live in Haiti, but worries the past might be repeated.

The soldiers are sometimes out of control, he said. Its like they dont have anyone to report to. They do whatever they want.

Johan Lefebvre Chevallier, Haiti director of the nonprofit organization Mercy Corps, said that he hopes the foreign armed force would respect human rights and restore some stability.

The worst outcome would be for this new intervention to further increase violence and burden those facing the brunt of this security and humanitarian crisis, he said.

Critics of the new mission also have warned of past abuses by Kenyas police force, but supporters say the resolution authorizing the force contains strong language to prevent abuse, and calls for correct wastewater management.

The U.N. Security Council approved the resolution nearly a year after Haitian Prime Minister Ariel Henry and 18 top government officials requested the immediate deployment of a foreign armed force to fight gangs overwhelming the country.

The musical instruments adults most regret quitting Former guitar and piano players express the most regret for not continuing to play
So this is what it took for the U.S. House to finally show a little bipartisanship: Eight Republicans and 208 Democrats on Tuesday metaphorically linked arms to oust Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy from office, a historic first. Kumbaya, America.

Even in hindsight, it remains difficult to see what McCarthys nine-month odyssey through a political hell of his own construction accomplished  or was ever going to accomplish  other than inspiring some priceless internet memes. (GOP learns the hard way, offers one: Turning the base up too high blows out your Speaker.)

Official Washington and its media will spend the coming days and weeks microscopically analyzing what Tuesdays drama says about American politics. But from out here in the Heartland, a few takeaways are already as clear as a Missouri highway billboard:

 Those who cravenly seek power for its own sake, instead of for the good of the country, will not ultimately serve the good of the country.

That sounds obvious, but apparently wasnt obvious enough back in early January. McCarthys cravenness was laid bare for the whole country to see back then, when he endured an unprecedented 14 failed votes among his fellow representatives before finally groveling enough to his own partys extremists to secure his long-sought speakership on the 15th ballot.

Anyone who would invite that level of humiliation to gain power shouldnt have it  for the simple reason that they would clearly do almost anything to keep it. As McCarthy promptly proceeded to demonstrate.

 In politics, the opposite of compromise isnt principle, its paralysis.

The various hoops McCarthy was forced to jump through in his ultimately doomed quest to keep his speakership  including the baseless and pathetic impeachment inquiry against President Biden  had a common theme: His MAGA taskmasters were insistent that he do nothing resembling compromise or cooperation with Democrats (or even to moderate Republicans), on anything, ever.

Witness the result in a House session that achieved almost nothing beyond kangaroo-court committee investigations of the Biden administration and tenuous crisis control with the Republican caucus. Your tax dollars very much not at work.

 Placating political extremists doesnt tame them, it inflames them.

McCarthy broke the blockade to win his seat by neutering his own speakership before it began. In agreeing to allow just one member to call for his removal at any time  in the shadow of a wafer-thin GOP House majority, among them the reptilian Rep. Matt Gaetz and his handful of right-wing extremist cohorts  McCarthy all but guaranteed it would end like this.

In the interim, his wince-inducing attempts to appease the Chaos Caucus only encouraged them to demand more. Gaetzs infamous gloat during the January speakership fight (Im running out of stuff to ask for) became the template for McCarthys entire tenure.

At the height of last weeks budget impasse, more than a few pundits suggested that America was headed toward a Seinfeld shutdown  a government shutdown about nothing  citing Gaetz & Co.s incoherent, even-shifting list of demands. It was obvious that what they mostly wanted was a shutdown itself, as a performative expression of their political nihilism.

When McCarthy finally did what he should have done in the first place, and reached across the aisle to secure a temporary agreement to keep the government operating for the next six weeks, his fate was sealed. How dare he give so much as the time of day to the party that controls the presidency, the Senate and almost half the House, fumed the Gaetz brigade. What does he think this is, a constitutional democracy?

Contrary to some Republicans curious take on things, House Democrats refusal to bail out McCarthy was less an expression of grubby partisanship than a nod to experience: McCarthy has already demonstrated, multiple times, his willingness to abandon any political good faith, with pretty much anyone, the moment it becomes inconvenient. Democrats owed him nothing, and had nothing to gain by rescuing a speaker who has repeatedly displayed a gelatinous spine in the face of his own partys worst elements.

A sorrier example of reflexive and unconstructive partisanship was the appalling fact that among the very first actions by acting Speaker Patrick McHenry of North Carolina on Tuesday was to order Nancy Pelosi out of the Capitol office reserved for immediate past speakers, evicting her even as she was attending services for the late Sen. Dianne Feinstein in California. Only the most petty-minded partisan could possibly think that was the most pressing business facing the chamber at that moment.

In the midst of Januarys floor fight over the speakers gavel, when it was not yet at all assured McCarthy would secure it, this page argued that the narrow division of government today is voters message to both sides to move to the middle and find ways to compromise.

Sadly, the Republicans who control the next steps are in no mood to move their party toward the moderate middle, no matter what message American voters have sent, we wrote. ... History is replete with examples of why placating extremists can only lead to disaster. McCarthy seems intent on repeating that history nonetheless.

It would be nice to think some special prescience was at play there, but we claim no crystal ball. That assessment was a statement of the glaringly obvious. It still is.

Yet two of the top names now in contention to replace McCarthy as speaker  Reps. Steve Scalise of Louisiana and Jim Jordan of Ohio  are among the most extremist, hyper-partisan House members outside the klatch that rebelled Tuesday.

And so America faces the prospect of history repeating itself. Again.

The federal budget impasse averted Saturday will resume in less than 45 days. Continued funding for Ukraines resistance to Russian aggression will run out before that without a separate funding agreement. A new COVID strain is on the rise.

And half of Congress will likely remain in thrall to a political movement that is less interested in solving problems than exploiting them for ideological leverage. The hapless McCarthy was a passing symptom of his partys extremism. Only the voters can finally cure it.
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP)  As Kevin McCarthy got pushed out of his job as House speaker, in part by colleagues who helped put him on the dais nine months ago, one of his top lieutenants stepped in to preside  at least temporarily.

North Carolina GOP Rep. Patrick McHenry took the gavel after Tuesdays vote to oust McCarthy  a historic first for a House speaker. According to House rules, McHenry was picked from a list McCarthy was required to keep and will serve essentially as the acting speaker  known as speaker pro tempore  until the chamber figures out who will be the next leader.

For McHenry, who stands out with his signature bow ties, the interim job marks his most public position to date during his 10 terms in the House.

But he had already risen in stature and prominence within the House. McHenry was one of McCarthys closest allies, and helped him win the speakers contest in January and negotiate the debt limit deal that McCarthy made with President Joe Biden earlier this year.

He helped McCarthy keep his fragile majority together until it came apart following the decision to work with Democrats to keep the federal government open rather than risk a shutdown. He gave a floor speech Tuesday supporting McCarthy.

Dee Stewart, McHenrys longtime political consultant and his first chief of staff on Capitol Hill, said it doesnt surprise him that, for now, his close friend is presiding over one of the worlds most important legislative bodies.

Hes demonstrated a tremendous acumen as a member of Congress and is widely respected by most everyone who deals with him, said Stewart, who first met McHenry in 1996 at a convention of the North Carolina Federation of College Republicans.

One of McHenrys first acts in the temporary position was to oust Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi from her honorary office at the Capitol while she was away in California to pay tribute to the late Sen. Dianne Feinstein.

Pelosi called the eviction a sharp departure from tradition." But she added: Office space doesnt matter to me, but it seems to be important to them. Now that the new Republican Leadership has settled this important matter, lets hope they get to work on whats truly important for the American people.

McHenry, who will turn 48 later this month, grew up around the Charlotte area. He went to North Carolina State University before graduating from Belmont Abbey College, a small Catholic school just west of Charlotte.

While still in college, he ran unsuccessfully for a state House seat in 1998, but he won four years later at age 27. McHenry had worked for a Washington-based media consulting firm, for George W. Bush's 2000 presidential campaign, and as a special assistant to the U.S. Secretary of Labor.

McHenry served just one term in the General Assembly, where he witnessed a historic stalemate over who should be the chamber's speaker. The fight ended with a Democrat and a Republican sharing the job, with each gaveling in sessions on alternate days.

But McHenry was looking ahead, and in 2004 he pulled off a Republican primary victory for the seat in the blue-collar, manufacturing-focused 10th Congressional District seat being vacated by the retiring GOP Rep. Cass Ballenger.

He advanced to a runoff, where he defeated a popular local sheriff by just 85 votes out of 30,000 cast to win the party nomination. Aides credited McHenry's grassroots campaigning  Stewart said they knocked on 60,000 doors  for defeating rivals who were nearly twice his age and outspent him heavily.

After defeating the Democratic nominee in 2004, McHenry entered Congress as a hardline conservative willing to speak against leadership. He broke against GOP leaders by upholding a campaign promise to vote against the Central American Free Trade Agreement.

But over time McHenry rose up the GOP leadership ladder, becoming the Republicans' chief deputy whip in 2015, and a key part of McCarthys team. This year he's been the House Financial Services Committee chairman.

McHenry really earned his stripes by (being) willing to take on tough issues in a vocal way during his first couple of terms, Stewart said, adding that he was granted more responsibilities as he demonstrated his loyalty to the conservative cause.

Former Speaker John Boehner told Politico in 2017 after leaving office, McHenrys going to be the speaker one day.

Stewart was careful about whether McHenry could become the permanent speaker, saying Stewart was taking a wait-and-see approach.

McHenry has won reelection by comfortable margins, a reflection of Republican dominance in rural western North Carolina. Married to a U.S. government economist and father to three children, McHenry lives on Lake Norman within the 10th District.

Known for his deadpan jokes, McHenry can also have a fiery side.

While on the dais Tuesday, he read carefully from a paper saying it would be prudent to recess the House so that party caucuses and conferences could meet to discuss the path forward.

McHenry then slammed the gavel down very hard  and the footage went viral on social media.

Associated Press writer Stephen Groves in Washington contributed to this report.
RESTON, VA / ACCESSWIRE / October 5, 2023 / CACI International Inc (NYSE:CACI) has been named a Top Workplace San Antonio 2023 by employee engagement technology partner Energage, LLC. for a fifth consecutive year.

"CACI's workforce is unified in its unyielding adherence to our two pillars character and innovation," said Angie Combs, Executive Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer. "As our continued success in meeting customers' needs drives us forward as a company, we strive to uphold and amplify our culture of ethics and integrity within our San Antonio community."

CACI's unyielding ambition and innovation set the company apart as a leader in national security. The company is not only defined by the differentiated technology and distinctive expertise it provides for their customers, but also by the valuable opportunities CACI offers employees and future industry leaders across the country.

CACI is an active member of the San Antonio community and has taken a vested interested in furthering the education of future talent in Bexar County - from original membership and funding of the University of Texas San Antonio's National Security Collaboration Center to annual sponsorship of the AFCEA Alamo ACE conference. CACI Cares, the company's philanthropic arm, has partnered with the San Antonio Museum of Science and Technology (SAMSAT), a technology museum dedicated to promoting and enabling STEM education. Through this partnership, CACI enables San Antonio students to consider a career in national security and related technologies.

Honorees are chosen based solely on employee feedback gathered through a confidential employee engagement survey, issued by Energage. Results are calculated by comparing the survey's research-based statements, that evaluate factors such as leadership, culture, and benefits that are proven to predict high performance, against industry benchmarks.

ABOUT CACI

At CACI International Inc (NYSE: CACI), our 23,000 talented and dynamic employees are ever vigilant in delivering distinctive expertise and differentiated technology to meet our customers' greatest challenges in national security and government modernization. We are a company of good character, relentless innovation, and long-standing excellence. Our culture drives our success and earns us recognition as a Fortune World's Most Admired Company. CACI is a member of the Fortune 1000 Largest Companies, the Russell 1000 Index, and the S&P MidCap 400 Index. For more information, visit us at caci.com.

# # #

Corporate Communications and Media:

Lorraine Corcoran

Executive Vice President, Corporate Communications

(703) 434-4165, [email protected]

View additional multimedia and more ESG storytelling from CACI on 3blmedia.com.

Contact Info:

Spokesperson: CACI

Website: https://www.3blmedia.com/profiles/caci

Email: [email protected]

SOURCE: CACI

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ClickDissolve.com is Launching a New Service to Automate the Business Dissolution Process

HOUSTON, TX / ACCESSWIRE / October 5, 2023 / ClickDissolve.com, the leading online business dissolution service, announced today the launch of its groundbreaking AI system to automate the dissolution process for LLCs, corporations, and nonprofits. This revolutionary technology is the first of its kind to fully digitize what was previously an arduous manual process, saving business owners significant time and money.





ClickDissolve Logo





Founded in 2010, ClickDissolve was created with the mission of streamlining bureaucratic business dissolution filings. The company's team of legal and technology experts spent years developing an artificial intelligence system capable of completing all required paperwork and filings to legally dissolve a business entity in any U.S. state.

"We've automated a process that typically takes days or weeks down to just minutes," said Annie Le, Director of ClickDissolve. "Now, with a few clicks, any business owner can painlessly dissolve their company without the hassle of navigating different state requirements."

Here's how it works:

Business owners visit ClickDissolve.com and enter their company information through a simple online questionnaire.

ClickDissolve's AI reviews the data and automatically generates the exact dissolution documents required by that state.

The completed paperwork is filed directly with the appropriate state agency, legally closing the company.

This groundbreaking technology eliminates the need to manually research state-specific dissolution procedures. Everything is handled automatically through ClickDissolve's intelligent system.

The service appeals to a wide range of users from struggling startups to mid-sized companies. For entrepreneurs, it alleviates the financial burden of hiring a lawyer. For larger corporations, it provides a fast and efficient way to dissolve subsidiaries or inactive branches. ClickDissolve is more than a technological marvel, it's a lifeline for business owners. "Closing a business is difficult enough without having to worry about paperwork," Le said. "We're proud to make the process as painless as possible so companies can move on."

The company dissolves thousands of businesses annually across the country. However, ClickDissolve emphasizes that its platform is not a replacement for legal advice. The service handles all filings, but recommends consultation with a lawyer for any issues specific to a dissolution.

With this launch, ClickDissolve solidifies its position as the leader in online business dissolution. The company plans to expand nationwide by the end of 2023, providing its revolutionary AI technology to business owners across America.

About ClickDissolve"

ClickDissolve.com is a leading business dissolution service based in the United States. The company provides a range of technology solutions for business owners to effectively interact with government agencies. ClickDissolve" has helped over 10,000 LLCs and corporations comply with state agency and IRS requirements in the last five years.

Contact Information

Peter Le

Marketing Manager

[email protected]

(888) 832-4680

SOURCE: ClickDissolve

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DENVER, CO / ACCESSWIRE / October 5, 2023 / Colorado Media School (CMS), part of the M & S Media Inc. (Beonair Network of Media Schools), is honored to announce its recent achievement of the prestigious institutional recognition from the Accrediting Commission of Career Schools and Colleges (ACCSC). CMS has been awarded the "School of Distinction" Award for 2022-2023, recognizing its commitment to delivering quality educational programs and meeting the expectations and rigors of accreditation.

Colorado Media School of Destinction

The U.S. Department of Education recognizes ACCSC as one of its designated accrediting bodies for more than 650 post-secondary, trade and technical schools that serve over 150,000 students in a variety of vocational programs each year nationwide. The "School of Distinction" Award is an especially impressive distinction for CMS as it demonstrates its dedication to excellence in media education.

"We are absolutely thrilled to be recognized as a School of Distinction,'" said Nancy Rodriguez, CEO M & S Media Inc. "This prestigious title is a true testament to the dedication and excellence of our CMS staff and faculty and their unwavering commitment to our students and media industry partners. Undeniably, the success of our graduates and the satisfaction of our employers are the ultimate gauges of our triumph. We take immense pride in providing a trained workforce that fulfills the needs of the broadcast media workplace."

Since its establishment in 2001, CMS has been completely committed to offering its students an excellent education and training experience. Our goal is to create an atmosphere where students can truly flourish. We achieve this by providing practical, hands-on instruction that reflects real-world scenarios. Additionally, we offer various resources such as internships, job placement services, and collaboration opportunities with local businesses and organizations.

As CMS continues to fulfill its mission of delivering outstanding education for future media professionals, we are incredibly honored to receive this recognition from ACCSC. It serves as a testament to our unwavering dedication to excellence in media education.

Contact Information

John Girard

National Director of Marketing and Brand Management for the Beonair Network of Media Schools

[email protected]

5189561385

SOURCE: M & S Media Inc.

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Originally published in Dow's 2022 INtersections Progress Report

NORTHAMPTON, MA / ACCESSWIRE / October 5, 2023 / DOW

OUR APPROACH

With a portfolio of more than 12,000 products that support approximately 10,000 customers, we know that how we manufacture, distribute and enable the proper use and disposal of our products can have a large and meaningful impact on the environment. Our vision is a future where every material we bring to market is sustainable for our people and our planet.

Learn more: Blueprint for Product Safety

2022 ACTIONS

At Dow, creating safer materials is a continuous journey made possible through innovation, design and more predictive, enabling technologies. In 2022, we:

Earned recognition for new innovations , many with improved health and safety profiles. In 2022, Dow received eight Edison Awards, six R&D 100 Awards by R&D Magazine and three BIG Innovation Awards from Business Intelligence Group.

, many with improved health and safety profiles. In 2022, Dow received eight Edison Awards, six R&D 100 Awards by R&D Magazine and three BIG Innovation Awards from Business Intelligence Group. Used digital technologies to predict safer alternatives . In 2022, Dow and CAS, a division of the American Chemical Society, collaborated to develop Smart Search, an Edison Awardnominated artificial intelligence tool that can help our R&D team refine searches for new substances by properties, including by hazard classifications.

. In 2022, Dow and CAS, a division of the American Chemical Society, collaborated to develop Smart Search, an Edison Awardnominated artificial intelligence tool that can help our R&D team refine searches for new substances by properties, including by hazard classifications. Advanced our Safer Materials roadmap , outlining and launching enterprise actions for continuous improvement.

, outlining and launching enterprise actions for continuous improvement. Proactively conducted more than 50 business risk reviews, comprehensively assessing new innovations, raw materials and/or applications for risks, and implemented appropriate risk management measures where necessary.

Open and Transparent Chemistry: Taking Action on Our Safer Materials Roadmap

In 2022, we identified three work tracks to help us advance our corporate roadmap to developing safer materials. These work tracks are:

Characterizing our portfolio , which will build upon our history of strong risk management and our current risk characterization of products. In 2023, Dow commits to publishing a high-level guide of use-hazard combinations that carry with them a degree of inherent safety and those where more scrutiny or more detailed risk assessment and proof of safe handling is required.

, which will build upon our history of strong risk management and our current risk characterization of products. In 2023, Dow commits to publishing a high-level guide of use-hazard combinations that carry with them a degree of inherent safety and those where more scrutiny or more detailed risk assessment and proof of safe handling is required. Prioritize substances of concern , which involves taking strategic actions within our businesses to address all parts of the product life cycle, from investing in clean upstream manufacturing technologies to reducing facility emissions to restricting downstream uses of some substances and utilizing our strong innovation pipeline to develop safer alternatives.

, which involves taking strategic actions within our businesses to address all parts of the product life cycle, from investing in clean upstream manufacturing technologies to reducing facility emissions to restricting downstream uses of some substances and utilizing our strong innovation pipeline to develop safer alternatives. Development of next-generation safer chemistry, which focuses on increasing integration of predictive toxicology tools into early-stage R&D.

Innovation: Developing Biodegradable Beauty Products

In 2022, Dow's MaizeCare" Clarity Polymer was recognized with two prestigious innovation awards - an R&D 100 Award and a BIG Sustainability Product of the Year award. This biodegradable polymer, derived from corn starch, offers curl retention when styling your hair, then breaks down readily when it washes out and down the drain. The polymer is one example of Dow's growing portfolio of bio-derived and bio-degradable products that deliver on consumer demands for affordable products that are safe for humans and the environment without compromising performance.

Read more

View additional multimedia and more ESG storytelling from DOW on 3blmedia.com.

Contact Info:

Spokesperson: DOW

Website: https://www.3blmedia.com/profiles/dow

Email: [email protected]

SOURCE: DOW

View source version on accesswire.com:
WINDHOEK, Oct. 5 (Xinhua) -- Namibia's trade balance stood at a deficit of 4.9 billion Namibia dollars (about 320 million U.S. dollars) in August, surpassing the 3.7 billion Namibia dollars recorded in July and the 4.1 billion Namibia dollars in August 2022, marking the largest deficit year on year, according to the latest figures released by the Namibia Statistics Agency (NSA).

Namibia's export earnings decreased 10.2 percent, falling from 8.2 billion Namibia dollars in the previous month to 7.4 billion Namibia dollars in August, NSA Statistician General Alex Shimuafeni said Thursday.

"When compared to August 2022, exports decreased by 6.3 percent from 7.9 billion Namibia dollars, the imports stood at 12.3 billion Namibia dollars while the import bill for the month under review increased by 3 percent month-on-month and 2.2 percent year-on-year," he noted.

Shimuafeni said that South Africa emerged as Namibia's largest market for both exports and imports.

"The composition of the export basket for the month of August 2023 mainly consisted of minerals such as precious stones (diamonds), non-monetary gold, copper and articles of copper, and petroleum oils, while fish remained the only non-mineral product within the top five products exported," he said.

Regarding imports, the basket mainly consisted of petroleum oils, motor vehicles for the transport of goods, vessels, rotating electric plant and parts, and civil engineering and contractors' equipment, he added. 
VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / October 5, 2023 / Faraday Copper Corp. ("Faraday" or the "Company") (TSX:FDY)(OTCQX:CPPKF) is pleased to announce the results of gold assays from the Childs Aldwinkle breccia at the Copper Creek project in Arizona, USA. The Company analyzed archived material, which was not previously assayed for gold, with the aim of increasing data coverage. The results support the Company's belief that there is payable gold at the project which has the potential to unlock further value.

Paul Harbidge, President and CEO, commented "We are pleased to provide the first results of the gold program after completing analysis of the Childs Aldwinkle breccia. The results show near surface gold mineralization in the current resource pit shell and demonstrate the potential to add a gold by-product, further enhancing the value of the project. The team has been able to advance our thesis of payable gold in the resource by utilizing the historical drill core and pulps that previous operators did not analyze for gold. With Childs Aldwinkle assay results now received, the Company is currently preparing samples from other high-priority breccias and we look forward to presenting results as they are available."

Highlights

Significantly increased analytical coverage for gold at Childs Aldwinkle with 743 new gold assay results in addition to 120 historical gold results.

Examples of intercepts with new gold assays and re-assayed copper include: 219.46 m ("metres") at 3.29% copper and 0.31 g/t gold from 24.38 m in drill hole CA-5R; 94.49 m at 1.12% copper and 0.13 g/t gold from 341.38 m in drill hole CA30+3; and 56.38 m at 1.32% copper and 0.29 g/t gold from 150.88 m in drill hole CC-2.

A weighted average of 0.16 g/t gold and 1.52% copper is calculated for mineralized intercepts for which gold analytical data is available 1 .

is calculated for mineralized intercepts for which gold analytical data is available . Gold and copper are well-correlated on an intercept basis with an overall ratio of approximately 1:10 gold (g/t):copper (%) at Childs Aldwinkle.

Historical metallurgical test work suggests high gold recoveries in the copper concentrate. The Company has initiated a metallurgical program to confirm gold recoveries.

As part of the gold program, copper was re-assayed. These results confirm historical data, providing additional confidence in the database.

Phase III drill program is expected to commence in October 2023.

The Gold Program

Historically, only a small portion of all samples analyzed for copper were also analyzed for gold. The Company is analyzing archived sample material for gold with the aim of increasing data coverage for potential inclusion in future resource updates. In addition to gold assays, samples are being re-analyzed for copper, silver and molybdenum to further validate historical results. Childs Aldwinkle is the first breccia to be analyzed as part of this program.

Gold and copper results for Childs Aldwinkle are presented in Table 1. Gold values were calculated for a total of 28 drill hole intercepts and the results improve spatial coverage for the Childs Aldwinkle breccia (Figure 1).

The gold and copper intercept values have a strong correlation with a 1:10 gold (g/t):copper (%) ratio within Childs Aldwinkle (Figure 2). The Childs Aldwinkle breccia domain is estimated to contain approximately 3.3 million tonnes of mineralized material, based on the Mineral Resource Estimate ("MRE"), as presented in the report titled "Copper Creek Project NI 43-101 Technical Report and Preliminary Economic Assessment" with an effective date of May 3, 2023 (the "Technical Report") and the associated resource pit shell constraints.

The strong correlation between copper and gold at Childs Aldwinkle suggests that precious metals are mineralogically associated with copper and are expected to report to a copper concentrate. The Company has initiated a metallurgical program to obtain additional data on gold recoveries, including variability test work across multiple breccia domains.

The gold:copper ratio for the Childs Aldwinkle breccia should not be applied to other breccias. The gold occurrence has not undergone metallurgical and economic assessment, and therefore it does not currently qualify as part of a mineral resource.

Next steps

The Company is continuing the re-assaying of historical material for potential inclusion of gold in future mineral resource updates. Additional areas are expected to include the Copper Prince and Pole breccias and the Keel underground zone.

The Phase III Drill Program is expected to commence in October 2023 with the following three objectives:

Expanding the MRE;

Better delineating high-grade mineralized zones; and

Reconnaissance drilling on new targets.

The Company has commenced a metallurgical program focused on grind size optimization to test viability of coarse particle flotation, gold deportment to concentrate and further test work on near surface mineralization.

The Company is targeting an updated technical report in the first half of 2025, which will include results from the Phase II and III drill programs, the gold program, and metallurgical studies.

Figure 1: Long section of Childs Aldwinkle breccia domain with gold intercepts

Note: The open pit shell is based on constraints used in the MRE as presented in the Technical Report, which is available on the Company's website at www.faradaycopper.com and on the Company's SEDAR+ profile at www.sedarplus.ca.

Figure 2: Correlation of copper and gold intercepts at the Childs Aldwinkle breccia

Table 1: Intercept values at the Childs Aldwinkle breccia

Drill Hole ID From To Length True width Cu Au Ag Mo (m) (m) (m) (m) (%) (g/t) (g/t) (%) CA-4R 12.19 30.84 18.65 N/A 0.48 0.02 1.47 0.0042 CA-4R 64.01 82.30 18.29 N/A 0.36 0.02 0.82 0.0016 CA-5R 24.38 243.84 219.46 N/A 3.29 0.31 13.88 0.0770 CA28+3A 441.96 496.83 54.87 32 0.45 0.03 1.30 0.0004 CA28+4 512.07 566.93 54.86 30 1.84 0.17 4.69 0.0320 CA30+3 341.38 435.87 94.49 60 1.12 0.13 4.55 0.0230 CA30+4 438.91 496.83 57.92 36 0.40 0.03 1.08 0.0006 CA32+3 341.38 390.15 48.77 34 1.64 0.21 5.50 0.0320 CA32+5 330.40 360.88 30.48 21 0.99 0.10 3.69 0.0800 CA32+6 256.03 289.56 33.53 22 0.27 0.02 0.67 0.0031 CA34+3 234.70 271.27 36.57 22 0.75 0.05 2.26 0.1106 CA34+4 234.70 280.42 45.72 28 1.57 0.10 5.62 0.0285 CA34+4A 243.84 274.32 30.48 19 0.72 0.12 3.17 0.1007 CA35.5+1 176.78 234.70 57.92 44 0.42 0.03 1.85 0.0130 CA35.5+3 225.55 234.70 9.15 7 0.25 0.02 0.92 0.0016 CA36+7 249.94 277.37 27.43 22 2.49 0.24 9.74 0.0867 CA37.5+1 146.30 179.83 33.53 28 0.41 0.02 1.15 0.0113 CA37.5+1A 124.97 173.74 48.77 44 0.46 0.03 2.25 0.0746 CA37.5+2 134.11 158.50 24.39 22 0.26 0.01 0.72 0.0601 CA38+7 149.35 184.10 34.75 22 2.36 0.19 9.31 0.0179 CA40+7 116.43 135.64 19.21 17 3.48 0.24 10.59 0.0649 CC-2 150.88 207.26 56.38 36 1.32 0.29 5.53 0.0205 MET-2CA 45.72 169.16 123.44 N/A 3.79 0.33 11.57 0.0486 MET-3CA 45.72 152.40 106.68 N/A 3.71 0.35 11.27 0.0169 FCD-23-023 184.72 230.61 45.89 35 1.68 0.33 5.55 0.0280 FCD-23-027 390.72 408.98 18.26 9 0.22 0.01 1.58 0.0080 CA-9R 164.59 182.88 18.29 N/A 2.76 0.28 8.20 0.0206 CATECH 237.74 243.23 5.49 N/A 1.61 0.23 9.43 0.0014 CA28+8 No significant intercepts and incomplete gold data CA30+6 No significant intercepts CA35.5+2 No significant intercepts CA36.5+2 No significant intercepts CA36.5+3 No significant intercepts CA36+8 No significant intercepts

Notes: Copper, silver and molybdenum columns indicate re-assayed metal values. Drill holes MET-2CA and MET-3CA were not re-assayed as part of this program. Drill holes CA40+7 and CC-2 are composite samples. For drill holes CA-9R and CATECH, gold data does not cover the entire mineralized intercept and lengths listed are for the portion for which gold data is available. True widths are approximate.

Sampling Methodology, Chain of Custody, Quality Control and Quality Assurance

All sampling was conducted under the supervision of the Company's geologists and the chain of custody from Copper Creek to the independent sample preparation facility, ALS Laboratories in Tucson, AZ, was continuously monitored. The samples were taken from archived pulverized rock material (pulps). Pulps were re-blended and analyzed using industry standard analytical methods including a 4-Acid ICP-MS multielement package and an ICP-AES method for high-grade copper samples. Gold was analyzed on a 30-gram aliquot by fire assay with an ICP-AES finish. A certified reference sample was inserted every 15th to 20th sample. Blanks were inserted every 10th sample. In addition to the internal QA-QC protocol, additional blanks, reference materials and duplicates were inserted by the analytical laboratory according to their procedure. Data verification of the analytical results included a statistical analysis of the standards and blanks that must pass certain parameters for acceptance to ensure accurate and verifiable results.

Qualified Person

The scientific and technical information contained in this news release has been reviewed and approved by Faraday's Vice President Exploration, Dr. Thomas Bissig, P. Geo., and Faraday's Vice President, Projects and Evaluations, Zach Allwright, P.Eng., both of whom are considered a Qualified Person under National Instrument 43-101 - Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects ("NI 43-101").

About Faraday Copper

Faraday Copper is a Canadian exploration company focused on advancing its flagship copper project in The United States of America. The Copper Creek project, located in Arizona, is one of the largest undeveloped copper projects in North America with open pit and bulk underground mining potential. The Company is well-funded to deliver on its key milestones and benefits from a management team and board of directors with senior mining company experience and expertise. Faraday trades on the TSX under the symbol "FDY".

For additional information please contact:

Stacey Pavlova, CFA

Vice President, Investor Relations & Communications

Faraday Copper Corp.

E-mail: [email protected]

Website: www.faradaycopper.com

To receive news releases by e-mail, please register using the Faraday website at www.faradaycopper.com.

Cautionary Note on Forward-Looking Statements

Some of the statements in this news release, other than statements of historical fact, are "forward-looking statements" and are based on the opinions and estimates of management as of the date such statements are made and are necessarily based on estimates and assumptions that are inherently subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements of Faraday to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements and forward-looking information specifically include, but are not limited to, statements concerning the possibility of adding payable gold in future Mineral Resource Estimates, the thesis that precious metals are mineralogically associated with copper within the Copper Creek property and the areas to be included in the review of historical samples for increased assay coverage.

Although Faraday believes the expectations expressed in such forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, such statements should not be in any way construed as guarantees of future performance and actual results or developments may differ materially. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements or information.

Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in forward-looking statements include without limitation: market prices for metals; the conclusions of detailed feasibility and technical analyses; lower than expected grades and quantities of mineral resources; receipt of regulatory approval; receipt of shareholder approval; mining rates and recovery rates; significant capital requirements; price volatility in the spot and forward markets for commodities; fluctuations in rates of exchange; taxation; controls, regulations and political or economic developments in the countries in which Faraday does or may carry on business; the speculative nature of mineral exploration and development, competition; loss of key employees; rising costs of labour, supplies, fuel and equipment; actual results of current exploration or reclamation activities; accidents; labour disputes; defective title to mineral claims or property or contests over claims to mineral properties; unexpected delays and costs inherent to consulting and accommodating rights of Indigenous peoples and other groups; risks, uncertainties and unanticipated delays associated with obtaining and maintaining necessary licenses, permits and authorizations and complying with permitting requirements, including those associated with the Copper Creek property; and uncertainties with respect to any future acquisitions by Faraday. In addition, there are risks and hazards associated with the business of mineral exploration, development and mining, including environmental events and hazards, industrial accidents, unusual or unexpected formations, pressures, cave-ins, flooding and the risk of inadequate insurance or inability to obtain insurance to cover these risks as well as "Risk Factors" included in Faraday's disclosure documents filed on and available at www.sedarplus.ca.

This press release does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any securities in any jurisdiction to any person to whom it is unlawful to make such an offer or solicitation in such jurisdiction. This press release is not, and under no circumstances is to be construed as, a prospectus, an offering memorandum, an advertisement or a public offering of securities in Faraday in Canada, the United States or any other jurisdiction. No securities commission or similar authority in Canada or in the United States has reviewed or in any way passed upon this press release, and any representation to the contrary is an offence.

1 Data from two historical metallurgical drill holes (MET-2CA and MET-3CA), totaling 230.12 m, drilled vertically through the high-grade portions of the breccia, were not included in the weighted average calculation due to their high gold content and spatial proximity to each other, which could skew the results. "Mineralized intercepts" refers to intercepts within the breccia volume with values greater than 0.13% copper. SOURCE: Faraday Copper Corp.

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WINNIPEG, MB / ACCESSWIRE / October 5, 2023 / FP NEWSPAPERS INC. (TSXV:FP) ("FPI") announces today that its President & CEO, Michael Power, will be leaving his position effective November 10, 2023, to return to Ontario where he has accepted another leadership role.

The Board of Directors is commencing a search for a new President, and during the interim period, Darren Murphy, a seasoned newspaper executive, has been appointed as interim Chief Executive Officer and will lead the day-to-day operations of FPI.

In commenting on these developments, Board Chair Robert Silver stated, "We thank Mr. Power for his service, and also welcome Mr. Murphy, who has the full support of our board during the leadership transition process".

About FPI

FPI owns securities entitling it to 49% of the distributable cash flow of FPLP. FPLP owns and operates the Winnipeg Free Press, along with several other Manitoba-based news and media publications that are available in both print and digital formats. The informative and engaging content we produce has an extensive reach throughout the province of Manitoba. The breadth of our reach provides compelling platforms for those looking to effectively reach a Manitoba audience. Further information can be found at www.fpnewspapers.com and in disclosure documents filed by FP Newspapers Inc. with the securities regulatory authorities, available at www.sedarplus.ca.

For further information, please contact:

Dave Kreklewetz, CFO

FP NEWSPAPERS INC.

Phone: 204-771-1897

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as the term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

Certain statements in this press release constitute "forward-looking information" and "forward-looking statements" (collectively, "forward-looking statements") within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities laws and are based on assumptions, expectations, estimates and projections as of the date of this press release. Forward-looking statements in this press release include statements with respect to, among others, the ability of FPI to identify and retain a new Chief Executive Officer. Forward-looking statements contained in this press release are given as of the date hereof and are based on various assumptions and factors. By their nature, forward-looking statements are subject to inherent risks and uncertainties that may be general or specific and which give rise to the possibility that expectations, forecasts, predictions, projections or conclusions will not prove to be accurate, that assumptions may not be correct, and that objectives, strategic goals and priorities will not be achieved. There can be no assurance that forward-looking statements will prove to be accurate. Forward-looking statements are provided for the purpose of providing information about management's expectations and plans relating to the future. FPI disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, or to explain any material difference between subsequent actual events and such forward-looking statements, except to the extent required by applicable law. All of the forward-looking statements contained in this press release are qualified by these cautionary statements.

SOURCE: FP Newspapers Inc.

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FRESNO, CA / ACCESSWIRE / October 5, 2023 / The cannabis-themed restaurant and bar is eagerly anticipating its opening and can't wait to light the joint up, and be the undisputed neighborhood hangout for curing cottonmouth and the munchies.

Newly formed powerhouse duo Tyler McNabb and Racelis Cardenas are true supporters of the brand. Not only are they thrilled to be new owners and bring the brand to an area that holds such a special place in their hearts, but they also have deep roots with the beloved "Toasted" sub and bar concept.

McNabb, a former Cheba employee himself, explained, "We are stoked to bring the Hut to Fresno, CA. We are aiming to be tightly knit with the community and really become the local destination for curing cottonmouth and the munchies! The Hut is also where we want our local peeps to be able to hangout and relax."

Not only will this new California location be serving up a variety of dank subs, fluffy pretzel nugs, and gooey krispy treats that can cure any level of the munchies, but also, for the 21 and up homies, they'll be slinging some delicious signature cocktails and local brews from their full bar that will obliterate any presence of cottonmouth.

As California locals, the owners believe it is vital for their shop to mirror and honor the community and its residents. One example of how they plan to express these beliefs is by implementing Yosemite National Park into their mural. Being that Fresno is one of the nearest major cities to the renowned national park, it only feels right to acknowledge that blessing by making it the centerpiece of the mural.

It is apparent the Fresno-West Shaw shop owners understand the importance of maintaining Cheba Hut's Core Values (The Hustle, Show Respect, Own It, Pay It Forward, Keep It Real). McNabb and Cardenas stated, "We feel that with this being the first location in Fresno, it's important we have those authentic Cheba vibes. So we think the best way to do this is by Keeping It Real and making the work culture something that the crew is excited to be a part of!"

Located at 3050 W Shaw Ave #116, Fresno, CA 93711, it opens its doors on Monday, October 16. The brand is stoked to bring over 30 signature "toasted" subs, an array of delicious munchie treats, and cottonmouth cures for all ages (Crafted Cocktails for the 21+ homies) to the Fresno area!

Mark your calendar, grab your buds, and celebrate the shop and its crew. For more information about opening day and upcoming events, check out @chebahut_fresnowestshaw.

Cheba Hut has been breaking the mold of mundane fast-casual concepts by becoming the first marijuana-themed sandwich "joint." Cheba Hut is dedicated to providing customers with a delicious, memorable sandwich and munchie options in a chill, eclectic environment where genuine people serve made-to-order food. Check us out on Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok.

Contact Information

Mel Banister

Marketing Manager

[email protected]

+17202128463

Related Files

For Immediate Release_ Fresno will soon have its very own Cheba Hut Toasted Subs Location this Fall! (1).pdf

SOURCE: Cheba Hut Franchising

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CHICAGO, IL / ACCESSWIRE / October 5, 2023 / Illinois Media School (IMS), part of M & S Media Inc. (Beonair Network of Media Schools), is honored to announce its recent achievement of the prestigious institutional recognition from the Accrediting Commission of Career Schools and Colleges (ACCSC). CMS has been awarded the "School of Distinction" Award for 2022-2023, recognizing its commitment to delivering quality educational programs and meeting the expectations and rigors of accreditation.

Illinois Media School

The U.S. Department of Education recognizes ACCSC as one of its designated accrediting bodies for more than 650 post-secondary, trade and technical schools that serve over 150,000 students in a variety of vocational programs each year nationwide. The "School of Distinction" Award is an especially impressive distinction for IMS as it demonstrates its dedication to excellence in media education.

"We are absolutely thrilled to be recognized as a School of Distinction,'" said Nancy Rodriguez, CEO M & S Media Inc. "This prestigious title is a true testament to the dedication and excellence of our IMS staff and faculty and their unwavering commitment to our students and media industry partners. Undeniably, the success of our graduates and the satisfaction of our employers are the ultimate gauges of our triumph. We take immense pride in providing a trained workforce that fulfills the needs of the broadcast media workplace."

Since its establishment in 2010, Illinois Media School-Chicago Campus has been completely committed to offering its students an excellent education and training experience. Our goal is to create an atmosphere where students can truly flourish. We achieve this by providing practical, hands-on instruction that reflects real-world scenarios. Additionally, we offer various resources such as internships, job placement services, and collaboration opportunities with local businesses and organizations.

As IMS continues to fulfill its mission of delivering outstanding education for future media professionals, we are incredibly honored to receive this recognition from ACCSC. It serves as a testament to our unwavering dedication to excellence in media education.

Contact Information

John Girard

National Director of Marketing and Brand Management for the Beonair Network of Media Schools

[email protected]

5189561385

SOURCE: M & S Media Inc.

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NORTHAMPTON, MA / ACCESSWIRE / October 5, 2023 / CNH Industrial



CNH Industrial join forces with SONAMA in Benin to provide technical training and promotion of agricultural mechanisation.

Case IH, a brand of CNH Industrial, recently hosted a pioneering technical training project through its importer SONAMA for farmers in Benin. The event was designed to boost agricultural and social development in the country through efficient use of agricultural machinery.

In Benin's predominantly rural society, agriculture supports over 70 percent of the population, accounting for 35 percent of GDP and 80 percent of export income. While cotton is the principal cash crop, maize, cashews, shea nuts, coffee, palms, pineapples and cocoa also contribute to exports. Rising demand for food production and economic growth mean Benin needs to adopt advanced farming techniques and sustainability best practices to develop a modern and sustainable agriculture industry.

SONAMA (a French acronym for the National Society for Agricultural Mechanisation) is a public company established by Benin's government to modernize the country's agricultural sector by providing functional farming machinery and equipment. Nicolas Teysseyre, a CNH Industrial technical service specialist working in the Middle East and Africa markets, was commissioned as a trainer to provide expert guidance on the machinery.

"I was really impressed by the trainees' hard work and dedication throughout the course," says Nicolas.

"They were deservedly awarded training certificates at the end of the programme. I have no doubt that these trainees will make their country proud in advancing the ideal to make Benin one of Africa's leading producers and exporters of agricultural products."

This initiative affirms CNH Industrial's commitment to unlocking the potential in farmers around the world by providing the right tools and familiarizing populations with sustainable practices.



View additional multimedia and more ESG storytelling from CNH Industrial on 3blmedia.com.

Contact Info:

Spokesperson: CNH Industrial

Website: https://www.3blmedia.com/profiles/cnh-industrial

Email: [email protected]

SOURCE: CNH Industrial

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Pronovias Group will host an exclusive event unveiling the Best Sellers of the 2024 Collections and 2025 Pronovias Capsule Collection to give a sneak peek of Pronovias's new product direction and the vision for the future.

NEW YORK, NY / ACCESSWIRE / October 5, 2023 / Pronovias Group, the world leader in luxury bridal fashion known for its timeless designs, intricate craftsmanship, and commitment to helping brides worldwide find their dream wedding gown, is set to unveil its latest bridal and capsule 2025 collection at New York Bridal Week (NYBW).

The NY Pronovias Flagship store

NYC, NY Bridal Flagship of Pronovias

From October 10 to October 12, Pronovias Group will host an exclusive event in the NY Pronovias Flagship (45 East 58th Street, New York), unveiling the Best Sellers of the 2024 Collections for Pronovias, Atelier Pronovias, Pronovias Privee & Nicole Milano, alongside an exclusive preview of the 2024 Pronovias Capsule Collection, that is aimed to give a sneak peek of Pronovias' new product direction and the vision for the future.

This two-day event promises to be a highlight of NYBW, offering a captivating glimpse into the future of bridal couture. Pronovias has long been an icon in the world of bridal fashion, and this showcase reaffirms their commitment to setting the standard for bridal elegance.

Pronovias extends an invitation to all to join in this exciting chapter of the brand's storied history. The Pronovias team looks forward to sharing the magic with attendees.

ABOUT PRONOVIAS GROUP

Headquartered in Barcelona, Pronovias Group is the global leader in the bridal wear industry, having dressed brides across the globe for over 60 years. The Company operates a sophisticated portfolio of brands, including the iconic Pronovias and Nicole Milano, the luxury Atelier Pronovias as well as licensed brands such as Vera Wang Bride and Marchesa. The Group's bridal and cocktail dresses are sold through a global network of independent retailers, with which it enjoys strong, long-standing relationships across more than 100 countries, 4,000 points of sales and 95 Pronovias and Nicole stores. Pronovias is known for its unparalleled heritage, outstanding in-house design team and past collaborations with famous designers, such as Elie Saab, Ungaro and Valentino. Pronovias' affordable luxury brands benefit from unparalleled recognition worldwide among brides and independent retailers, which has helped position Pronovias as the only bridal wear company mentioned in Deloitte's Top 100 Global Powers of Luxury Goods.

DOWNLOAD THE PRONOVIAS 2024 COLLECTION

DOWNLOAD THE PRONOVIAS PRIVEE 2024 COLLECTION

DOWNLOAD THE ATELIER PRONOVIAS 2024 COLLECTION

DOWNLOAD THE NICOLE MILANO 2024 COLLECTION

FOLLOW US

http://www.pronovias.com/es @Pronovias

Contact Information

Jaime Ibanez

Global Head of Press & Public Relations Pronovias Group

[email protected]

+34 671 50 96 55

SOURCE: Pronovias Group

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VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / October 5, 2023 / Maple Leaf Short Duration 2022-II Flow-Through Limited Partnership - National Class and Quebec Class (the "Partnership") is pleased to announce that on October 4, 2023, the Partnership completed its rollover transaction whereby the assets of the Partnership were transferred to the Maple Leaf Resource Class (CDO 100- Class A or CDO103- Class F) mutual fund (the "Resource Mutual Fund") in exchange for Series A or Series F shares of the Resource Mutual Fund.

NATIONAL CLASS A (CUISP: 56532T105) ROLLOVER DETAILS

The final net asset value per National Class A Partnership unit was $15.88. Series A shares of the Resource Mutual Fund were issued at a net asset value of $2.01017 each. Accordingly, each holder of National Class A Partnership units received 7.90125 Resource Mutual Fund shares for each National Class A Partnership unit held.

NATIONAL CLASS F (CUISP: 56532T204) ROLLOVER DETAILS

The final net asset value per National Class F Partnership unit was $16.49. Series F shares of the Resource Mutual Fund were issued at a net asset value of $2.01017 each. Accordingly, each holder of National Class F Partnership units received 8.20102 Resource Mutual Fund shares for each National Class F Partnership unit held.

QUEBEC CLASS A (CUSIP: 56532T303) ROLLOVER DETAILS

The final net asset value per Quebec Class A Partnership unit was $12.51. Series A Resource Mutual Fund shares were issued at a net asset value of $2.01017 each. Accordingly, each holder of Quebec Class A Partnership units received 6.22455 Resource Mutual Funds shares for each Quebec Class A Partnership unit held.

QUEBEC CLASS F (CUSIP: 56532T402) ROLLOVER DETAILS

The final net asset value per Quebec Class F Partnership unit was $12.99. Series F Resource Mutual Fund shares were issued at a net asset value of $2.01017 each. Accordingly, each holder of Quebec Class F Partnership units received 6.46072 Resource Mutual Funds shares for each Quebec Class F Partnership unit held.

Resource Mutual Fund shares will be deposited into investors' brokerage accounts.

Investors should note:

Transactions may only be executed once the dealer has processed the rollover transaction and the Resource Mutual Fund shares show in your account. It typically takes 2-5 days for dealers to process the rollover transaction.

The shares of the Resource Mutual Fund are qualified investment for RRSPs, RRIFs, RESPs, DPSPs, RDSPs and TFSAs.

Redeeming the Resource Mutual Fund shares for cash will incur a capital gain tax liability.

ABOUT MAPLE LEAF

Maple Leaf is a privately held, independent firm whose executive members have participated in the formation of over $900 million of capital based on energy and resource focused alternative investment products for Canadian resident investors.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

Additional information about the Mutual Fund is available in the Mutual Fund's simplified prospectus, annual information form, management reports of fund performance and financial statements. You can obtain a copy of these documents at your request and at no cost by calling toll free 1-866-688-5750, or from your financial advisor, or by e-mailing [email protected], or by download at www.MapleLeafFunds.ca. These documents and other information about the Mutual Fund will also be available at SEDAR (the System for Electronic Document Analysis and Retrieval established by the Canadian Securities Administrators) at www.sedar.com.

For Further Information

For further information, please contact Emily Burkart, Managing Director. Capital Markets.

MAPLE LEAF FLOW-THROUGH PROGRAMS

Tel: 604.684.5742 | Toll Free: 866.688.5750

Email: [email protected] | Web: www.MapleLeafFunds.ca

This release is provided for information purposes only and shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of any offer to buy the securities. No securities regulatory authority has expressed an opinion about the merits of the shares of the Resource Mutual Fund and Income Mutual Fund and it is an offense to claim otherwise. Commissions, trailing commissions, management fees and expenses all may be associated with mutual fund investments. Please read the simplified prospectus and consult your financial advisor to determine if these investments are suitable for you. Mutual Funds are not guaranteed, their values change frequently and past performance may not be repeated.

SOURCE: Maple Leaf Short Duration 2022-II Flow-Through Limited Partnership

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CAROL STREAM, IL / ACCESSWIRE / October 4, 2023 / The Fresh Factory B.C. Ltd. (CSE:FRSH)(FRA:Q4Z) ("The Fresh Factory" or the "Company"), a mission-driven company for fresh, clean-label, and better-for-you food and beverage brands, is pleased to announce that it has received final approval from the TSX Venture Exchange (the "TSXV") for the listing of its subordinate voting shares (the "Shares"). The Shares will begin trading on the TSXV effective market open on October 5, 2023.

The Company's trading symbol ("FRSH") and CUSIP for the Shares will remain unchanged, and shareholders will not be required to take any action in connection with the TSXV listing.

In connection with the listing of the Shares on the TSXV, the Shares will no longer trade on the Canadian Securities Exchange ("CSE") and will be voluntarily delisted from the CSE effective at the close of the market today.

"The Fresh Factory has built the platform for the future of the food and beverage industry, providing honest food for all in a sustainable way," said Bill Besenhofer, Chief Executive Officer and co-founder of The Fresh Factory. "We are thrilled to be part of the TSX Venture Exchange, ready to embark on the next stage of growth, and open to engaging with a wider range of investors. We're excited to be the ones serving the growing demand for clean-label, better-for-you products using fresh ingredients without artificial additives and preservatives, becoming a trusted partner in the process."

Recent Key Highlights for The Fresh Factory:

Billed revenue increased to C$15.2M in H1 2023, marking a substantial 30.0% year-over-year increase. Additionally, Q2 2023 saw an enhanced adjusted gross margin of 29.2%.

On September 6, 2023, the Company successfully completed a US$2.0 million sale-leaseback financing, providing essential resources for the business expansion.

The Company's strategic focus is set on achieving adjusted EBITDA positivity by year-end, with a long-term goal of realizing net income profitability in 2024.

View our most recent investor presentation by clicking here, and join our community to receive news and updates on The Fresh Factory.

Normal Course Issuer Bid

The Company also announces it has received approval from the TSXV to commence a normal course issuer bid (the "NCIB"), which will commence on October 9, 2023, and end on October 8, 2024.

Under the NCIB, the Company may purchase for cancellation, through the facilities of TSXV, other designated exchanges and/or alternative Canadian trading systems, if in the best interest of the Company, a maximum of 916,223 Shares, which represents approximately 10% of the Company's public float as at the date hereof. Over the course of any 30-day period, the Company will not purchase more than 215,767 Shares in total, which represents approximately 2% of the Company's issued and outstanding as at the date hereof. The price which the Company will pay for any such Shares will be the prevailing market price at the time of acquisition and all Shares will be purchased for cancellation.

Canaccord Genuity Corp. (the "Broker") will be handling the NCIB on behalf of the Company. The actual number of Shares that may be purchased pursuant to the NCIB and the timing of any such purchases will be determined by the management of the Company.

The board of directors of the Company believes the underlying value of the Company may not be reflected in the current market price of its Shares. As a result, depending upon future price movements and other factors, the Board believes that the Shares may represent an attractive investment to the Company and in the best interests of the Company and its shareholders. Furthermore, the purchases are expected to benefit all persons who continue to hold Shares by increasing their equity interest in the Company if the repurchased Shares are canceled.

The NCIB supersedes and replaces the Company's previous normal course issuer bid that originally commenced on August 2, 2023 which is terminated effective as of the date hereof.

About The Fresh Factory B.C. Ltd.

The Fresh Factory is a vertically integrated company focused on accelerating the growth of the fresh, clean-label, plant-based food and beverage brands of tomorrow. The Fresh Factory owns or partners with emerging brands in the plant-based space to develop, manufacture, and sell products made from fresh produce and recognizable ingredients. It operates from its centrally located manufacturing facility near Chicago, serving customers across the United States. As a public-benefits corporation, The Fresh Factory is ESG-focused, driven to make a lighter, greener impact on the environment and a stronger, positive impact on local communities and the food system as a whole. Learn more about The Fresh Factory at www.thefreshfactory.co and find The Fresh Factory on social media at Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn. To receive news and updates about The Fresh Factory, visit their website at www.thefreshfactory.co.

Contacts

Bill Besenhofer

CEO and Co-founder

1-877-495-1638

[email protected]

Alyssa Barry

Media and Investor Relations

1-877-495-1638

[email protected]

Forward-Looking Statements

This news release contains "forward-looking statements" or "forward-looking information" (collectively referred to hereafter as "forward-looking statements") within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation. All statements that address activities, events, or developments that the Company expects or anticipates will, or may, occur in the future, including, but not limited to, statements about future events or future performance, including statements about the Shares being listed on the TSX-V and delisted from the CSE, potential purchases of Shares for cancellation under the NCIB, the budget for the repurchases conducted under the NCIB, future benefits resulting from purchases of Shares under the NCIB, and future financial performance. In some cases, forward-looking statements are preceded by, followed by, or include words such as "may", "will," "would", "could", "should", "believes", "estimates", "projects", "potential", "expects", "plans", "intends", "proposes", "anticipates", "targeted", "continues", "forecasts", "designed", "goal", "anticipate" or the negative of those words or other similar or comparable words. Although the management of the Company believes that the assumptions made and the expectations represented by such statements are reasonable, there can be no assurance that a forward-looking statement herein will prove to be accurate. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance, or achievements of the Company to be materially different from any future results, performance, or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Although management of the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking information, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated, or intended. Risks and uncertainties applicable to the Company, as well as trends identified by the Company affecting its industry, can be found in the final long-form prospectus of the Company dated November 10, 2021, and the Company's continuous disclosure record available on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca. Such cautionary statements qualify all forward-looking statements made in this news release. The Company undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise, except as required by applicable law.

Financial Measures and Adjusted EBITDA

There are measures included in this news release that do not have a standardized meaning under generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) and therefore may not be comparable to similarly titled measures and metrics presented by other publicly traded companies. The Company includes these measures because it believes certain investors use these measures and metrics as a means of assessing financial performance. EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization is calculated as net earnings before finance costs (net of finance income), income tax expense, and depreciation and amortization of intangibles) is a non-GAAP financial measure that does not have any standardized meaning prescribed by IFRS and may not be comparable to similar measures presented by other companies.

SOURCE: The Fresh Factory B.C. Ltd.

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HII (NYSE: HII) announced today that Adm. Craig S. Faller (U.S. Navy, Ret.) was elected to the companys board of directors, effective Oct. 3, 2023.

Faller retired from the Navy in 2021 following 38 years of service. Serving most recently as commander of the U.S. Southern Command (SouthCom), in which he was responsible for building U.S. military partnerships with Latin American and Caribbean security forces. Under his leadership, the SouthCom team responded to complex security challenges, including transnational criminal organizations, the Venezuela crisis, the global pandemic and the 2021 Haiti earthquake.

We are proud to welcome Craig to the Board of HII, said Kirk Donald, chairman of the board of HII. His leadership, joint experience and extensive knowledge of national security will make him an integral part of the boards role in growing the value of the company and strengthening HIIs relationship with customers. I look forward to Craig joining our team of directors.

Before commanding SouthCom, Faller served as senior military assistant to the secretary of defense, chief of legislative affairs for the Navy, and director of operations for the U.S. Central Command. Serving in varying positions throughout his military career, he operated in the Middle East and in the Pacific, as well as led the Navys recruiting organization. At sea, as a nuclear-trained surface warfare officer, Faller held command positions aboard two cruisers and was in charge of an aircraft carrier strike group.

After retiring from the Navy, Faller joined the board of trustees at CNA, the board of directors of Viken Detection, the advisory boards of Sigma Defense Systems, PayCargo, Excelerate Energy, and Penn State Applied Research Laboratory. He is also a Distinguished Fellow at the Atlantic Council and a Senior Fellow at the National Defense University and at Florida International University.

Faller is a 1983 graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy and holds a Bachelor of Science degree in systems engineering. He also holds a masters degree in national security affairs from the Naval Postgraduate School.
KAMPALA, Uganda--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) applauds the World Health Organizations (WHO) recommendation of a new malaria vaccine, R21/Matrix-M, for preventing malaria, which disproportionately affects African children. The affordable and easily deployable vaccine is a welcome step towards vaccinating our world, and Global North countries should help fund the vaccine for equitable distribution.

Once deployed, the new vaccine will help prevent more than 600,000 annual deaths due to malaria, which affects children under age five in Africa most. We urge Global North countries to ensure adequate resources are available to keep up with the need for doses on the continent and globally, said Dr. Penninah Iutung, Africa Bureau Chief for AHF. With game-changing medical developments like R21/Matrix-M, we have the tools to protect our communities, particularly our most vulnerable youth, from this deadly but preventable and treatable infectious disease. Now, we must all work together to deliver on the promise this vaccine offers  saving the millions of lives affected by malaria.

About AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF)

AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) is a global non-profit organization providing cutting-edge medicine and advocacy to over 1.9 million people in 45 countries worldwide in the US, Africa, Latin America/Caribbean, the Asia/Pacific Region and Europe. We are currently the largest non-profit provider of HIV/AIDS medical care in the world. To learn more about AHF, please visit our website: www.aidshealth.org, find us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/aidshealth and follow us on Twitter: @aidshealthcare and Instagram: @aidshealthcare

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20231005227953/en/

US MEDIA CONTACT:

Ged Kenslea, Senior Director, Communications, AHF

+1 323 308 1833 work +1.323.791.5526 mobile

[email protected]

Denys Nazarov, Director of Global Policy & Communications, AHF

+1 323.308.1829

[email protected]

Source: AIDS Healthcare Foundation
YANGON, Oct. 5 (Xinhua) -- Myanmar police have arrested four suspected drug traffickers in Yangon region and Shan state, according to the Central Committee for Drug Abuse Control (CCDAC).

Two suspects were arrested with 20,000 stimulant tablets in possession in an operation in Hmawbi township of Yangon region on Tuesday, the CCDAC said.

On the same day, one suspect was arrested in possession of 10,000 stimulant tablets in South Okkalapa township of Yangon region, it said.

Police also arrested one suspect carrying 2.177 kg of happy water in Tachileik township of Shan state, it said.

The suspects were charged under the country's Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Law, and further investigations were underway, it said. 
LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Air Lease Corporation (NYSE: AL) will host a conference call on November 6, 2023 at 8:00 AM Eastern Time to discuss the Company's financial results for the third quarter of 2023.

Investors can participate in the conference call by dialing 1 (888) 660-6652 domestic or 1 (646) 960-0554 international. The passcode for the call is 5952437.

The conference call will also be broadcast live through a link on the Investors page of the Air Lease Corporation website at www.airleasecorp.com. Please visit the website at least 15 minutes prior to the call to register, download and install any necessary audio software. A replay of the broadcast will be available on the Investors page of the Air Lease Corporation website.

For your convenience, the conference call can be replayed in its entirety beginning on November 6, 2023 until 11:59 PM ET on November 13, 2023. If you wish to listen to the replay of this conference call, please dial 1 (800) 770-2030 domestic or 1 (647) 362-9199 international and enter passcode 5952437.

About Air Lease Corporation

Air Lease Corporation is a leading global aircraft leasing company based in Los Angeles, California that has airline customers throughout the world. ALC and its team of dedicated and experienced professionals are principally engaged in purchasing new commercial aircraft and leasing them to its airline customers worldwide through customized aircraft leasing and financing solutions. The company routinely posts information that may be important to investors in the Investors section of its website at www.airleasecorp.com. Investors and potential investors are encouraged to consult Air Lease Corporations website regularly for important information. The information contained on, or that may be accessed through, ALCs website is not incorporated by reference into, and is not a part of, this press release.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20231005818102/en/

Investors:

Jason Arnold

Vice President, Investor Relations

Email: [email protected]

Media:

Laura Woeste

Senior Manager, Media and Investor Relations

Email: [email protected]

Ashley Arnold

Senior Manager, Media and Investor Relations

Email: [email protected]

Source: Air Lease Corporation
BASEL, Switzerland--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Alentis Therapeutics (Alentis), the clinical-stage biotechnology company developing treatments for Claudin-1 positive (CLDN1+) tumors and organ fibrosis, announced today the appointment of Tony Mok, Professor of Clinical Oncology at the Chinese University of Hong Kong and Steven Nathan, Professor at the University of Virginia as members of its Scientific Advisory Board.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20231005193827/en/

Lung experts Prof. Steven Nathan and Prof. Tony Mok join Alentis Therapeutics' Scientific Advisory Board. (Photo: Alentis Therapeutics)

Tony and Steven have exceptional expertise in lung cancer and lung fibrosis, respectively, which will be of great value to our Scientific Advisory Board, said Dr. Luigi Manenti, Chief Medical Officer of Alentis. Their input will be key for Alentis as we develop our anti-Claudin-1 antibodies for squamous cell lung cancer and idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.

Prof. Tony Mok is the Chairman of the Department of Clinical Oncology and Professor of Clinical Oncology at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, and an internationally renowned leader in research focusing on biomarkers and targeted therapies for lung cancer.

Prof. Tony Mok said, I am excited to be working with Alentis on the development plan for their first in class antibody ALE.C04 in squamous cell lung cancer as well as their Claudin Technology Platform, specifically antibody-drug conjugates, for use in Claudin-1 positive squamous cell lung cancer and Claudin-1 histology agnostic clinical trials.

Prof. Steven Nathan is the Medical Director of the Advanced Lung Disease and Transplant Program at Inova Fairfax Hospital and is a Professor at the University of Virginia. His research areas include interstitial lung disease, pulmonary hypertension and lung transplantation.

There is a huge unmet medical need for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis patients, and Alentis is doing important work on ALE.F02, a new treatment for organ fibrosis that has the potential to help IPF patients, said Prof. Steven Nathan. I am looking forward to our broad research collaboration using Alentis Claudin Technology Platform to develop next-generation lung fibrosis therapies including bispecific antibodies.

Prof. Tony Mok is the Li Shu Fan Medical Foundation endowed Professor and Chairman of Department of Clinical Oncology at The Chinese University of Hong Kong. His main research interest focuses on biomarker and molecular targeted therapy in lung cancer. He is a member of the Board of Directors for AstraZeneca, Aurora Tele-Oncology, HutchMed (China), St. Stephens College Council and Hong Kong Academy of Sciences. He is active in international education and has made significant contributions to AACR, ASCO, CSCO and ESMO. Professor Mok has contributed to more than 300 peer-reviewed articles, and his work has been recognized by numerous awards. His article in the New England Journal of Medicine was selected as one of the most Notable Articles in 2017, and he was named one of the Highly Cited Researchers by Clarivate Analytics from 2018 to 2022.

Prof. Steven Nathan is the Medical Director of the Advanced Lung Disease and Lung Transplant Program at Inova Fairfax Hospital and is a Professor at the University of Virginia. Dr. Nathan received his medical degree from the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, South Africa. He trained at Long Island Jewish Medical Center in New York, and at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. He has authored more than 750 publications, including original research manuscripts, abstracts, reviews, book chapters and three books on idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. His main areas of research include interstitial lung disease, pulmonary hypertension and lung transplantation. He has been Chair of multiple data safety monitoring and steering committees for clinical trials. He has also served on multiple US Food and Drug Administration advisory boards including as Chair of the FDA Anesthesiology and Respiratory Therapy Devices Panel.

About ALE.C04

ALE.C04 is a first-in-class monoclonal antibody developed to specifically target exposed CLDN1 on cancer cells. This investigational antibody is designed to treat cancer in two ways: remodeling of the extracellular matrix, leading to improved NK and T-cell trafficking and direct tumor cell killing through the effector function. This unique mechanism of action provides ALE.C04 with therapeutic potential as a monotherapy and in combination.

About ALE.F02

ALE.F02 is a first-in-class monoclonal antibody developed to specifically target a unique CLDN1 epitope exposed in fibrotic tissue in order to reverse the disease. ALE.F02 is an investigational antibody that was observed to be well tolerated, with no serious safety concerns, during Phase 1 single- and multiple-ascending dose studies in healthy volunteers.

About Alentis Therapeutics

Alentis Therapeutics, the CLDN1 company, is a clinical-stage biotech developing breakthrough treatments for CLDN1+ tumors and organ fibrosis. Alentis is the leading company pioneering a novel approach to modify and reverse the course of disease by targeting CLDN1, a previously unexploited target that plays a key role in the pathology of cancer and fibrotic disease.

Alentis was founded in 2019 based on ground-breaking research in the laboratory of Prof. Thomas Baumert, MD at the University of Strasbourg and the French National Institute of Health (Inserm). Alentis is headquartered in pharma-biotech hub Basel, Switzerland with an R&D subsidiary in Strasbourg, France and clinical operations in the US. Visit www.alentis.ch

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20231005193827/en/

For more information please contact:

Alentis Therapeutics

Sariette Witte

[email protected]

+41 78 245 7310

O Public Relations GmbH

OPatrick Wilson

[email protected]

+41 78 888 4332

Source: Alentis Therapeutics
AMSTERDAM--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- AM Best has affirmed the Financial Strength Rating of A- (Excellent) and the Long-Term Issuer Credit Rating of a- (Excellent) of European Liability Insurance for the Nuclear Industry (ELINI) (Belgium). The outlook of these Credit Ratings (ratings) is stable.

The ratings reflect ELINIs balance sheet strength, which AM Best assesses as very strong, as well as its strong operating performance, limited business profile and appropriate enterprise risk management.

The mutual insurers balance sheet strength is underpinned by its risk-adjusted capitalisation at the strongest level, as measured by Bests Capital Adequacy Ratio (BCAR), taking into account ELINIs ability to make supplementary capital calls on its members. In the unlikely event of a full limit loss, there would be a material depletion of capital due to the large gross and net line size offered by ELINI relative to its capital base. However, AM Best expects ELINI to rebuild its capital position quickly due to its contractual right to call retrospective premium for 20 times each members annualised premium contribution. An offsetting factor in AM Bests assessment is the mutuals dependence on reinsurance to offer a large gross line size.

ELINI has a track record of good earnings generation, demonstrated by a five-year weighted average combined ratio of 29.5% for the period ending in 2022. AM Best expects prospective performance to remain strong and similar to historical levels in the absence of a large nuclear liability loss.

ELINI has a developing profile as a specialist in the nuclear energy sector, offering third-party liability coverage to nuclear operators. The mutual has achieved a good level of growth from a small base over the past five years (2018-2022), reflected by a compounded average annual growth rate of 24.3%, supported by strong demand from new and existing members. AM Best considers the mutuals narrow focus and the high-risk nature of the business written as offsetting factors in the assessment.

This press release relates to Credit Ratings that have been published on AM Bests website. For all rating information relating to the release and pertinent disclosures, including details of the office responsible for issuing each of the individual ratings referenced in this release, please see AM Bests Recent Rating Activity web page. For additional information regarding the use and limitations of Credit Rating opinions, please view Guide to Bests Credit Ratings. For information on the proper use of Bests Credit Ratings, Bests Performance Assessments, Bests Preliminary Credit Assessments and AM Best press releases, please view Guide to Proper Use of Bests Ratings & Assessments.

AM Best is a global credit rating agency, news publisher and data analytics provider specialising in the insurance industry. Headquartered in the United States, the company does business in over 100 countries with regional offices in London, Amsterdam, Dubai, Hong Kong, Singapore and Mexico City. For more information, visit www.ambest.com.

Copyright  2023 by A.M. Best Rating Services, Inc. and/or its affiliates. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20231005924385/en/

Konstantin Langowski

Senior Financial Analyst

+31 20 308 5431

[email protected]

Christopher Sharkey

Associate Director, Public Relations

+1 908 882 2310

[email protected]

Mathilde Jakobsen

Senior Director, Analytics

+31 20 308 5427

[email protected]

Al Slavin

Senior Public Relations Specialist

+1 908 882 2318

[email protected]

Source: AM Best
Awares AI-Powered Research helps compliance, legal, IT and security teams secure their digital workplace

COLUMBUS, Ohio--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Aware, the AI Data Platform for helping enterprises unify collaboration governance, risk, and compliance (GRC), today announced the industrys most accurate Risk Assessment Calculator. The state-of-the-art tool helps IT, compliance and risk teams quantify and mitigate the risk lurking within their collaboration data by delivering the contextual intelligence necessary to address the unique challenges of securing todays digital workplace. The calculator is the latest application designed by Aware to help organizations bolster their risk and compliance posture. By leveraging the Aware platform and backed by Awares Future of Work benchmark research series, businesses can now receive free, never- before-seen insight into risks present in digital workplace conversations.

Collaboration platforms like Slack, Microsoft Teams, and Workplace from Meta can be a huge asset for organizations, enabling communication at the speed of a keyboard. In 2022 alone, over 18 trillion messages were sent. But this new, unstructured data set introduces risk caused by the human-factorthe everyday conversations in which proprietary, harmful, or sensitive information is shared or deleted.

Improper management of this data can lead to litigation, reputational harm, and costly financial penalties, such as the recent landmark SEC fines in the banking sector. Identifying these vulnerabilities before they become problems is a valuable first step to proactively protecting the digital workplace and employees, while enabling stronger compliance and culture.

The data cited in Awares Risk Assessment Calculator is backed by the 2023 Risk Awareness Benchmark report. This report contains proprietary research conducted utilizing the state-of-the- art AI-powered platform, AwareIQ. The Aware team of data and behavioral scientists ingested, normalized, enriched, and analyzed over 6.6 billion anonymous collaboration messages to benchmark the risk in todays collaboration data. The key takeaways from this research include:

Organizations are moving beyond just simple chats in collaboration tools. These toolsets are now at the center of a new enterprise workflow, with 15.4% of messages originating from integrated third-party applications. Password detection is continuing to advance while employees are beginning to self-police. In 2018, Aware detected passwords in 1 in 262 messages. Today, thats down to 1 in 5,000, thanks to a combination of Awares continually optimized models and greater awareness around the risks of password sharing. However, screenshot sharing has increased significantly since 2018, and are statistically more likely to include sensitive information than traditional images. Customer data, including PII, PHI and PCI, proliferates collaboration platforms. 37% of all messages sent include PII, which may include social security numbers, addresses and driver's license numbers. Insider threat exposure is on the rise. Collaboration tools are filled with blind spots where even administrators struggle to gain visibility. Over 90% of all messages sent in collaboration platforms occur in private or restricted channels. The research found that 1 in 17 messages contain 3+ pieces of sensitive data, which may include intellectual property, code, credentials and more, and in those channels these messages can be stored indefinitely. A negative (or positive) workplace culture begins with how your employees communicate with one another. 1 in 71 collaboration messages are negative in nature, and 1 in 95 are toxic. Toxic messages include bullying, harassment and hate speech, opening your business up to lawsuits, increased turnover, and lower productivity.

Awares GRC solutions are purpose-built to address these types of risk by providing granular controls and full visibility while preserving the value of real-time collaboration. Aware enables companies to review, evaluate and remediate against privacy, compliance, and litigation hazards faster, more effectively and at lower cost.

Streamline Information Governance. Satisfy stakeholders across the enterprise and remain audit-ready by unifying management of collaboration data across your ecosystem into one immutable archive.

Satisfy stakeholders across the enterprise and remain audit-ready by unifying management of collaboration data across your ecosystem into one immutable archive. Ensure External and Regulatory Compliance. Maintain and preserve your data, avoid financial penalties, and comply with record-keeping provisions such as SEC Rule 17a-4, GDPR and more with Awares data management capabilities.

Maintain and preserve your data, avoid financial penalties, and comply with record-keeping provisions such as SEC Rule 17a-4, GDPR and more with Awares data management capabilities. Enforce Acceptable Use Requirements. Stay ahead of reputational threats and minimize litigation risks by identifying unauthorized information share, toxicity and more.

Firms need to focus on creating a robust compliance process and a culture of compliance. Companies who implement AI-powered solutions such as Aware will quickly find they are able to better manage their data, quickly locate the needles in the haystack, and drive stronger active compliance and risk posture, says Brian Mannion, Chief Legal Officer at Aware.

You can explore Awares compliance capabilities in a few ways:

Download the new Risk Awareness report.

Click here to receive your free risk assessment and discover how Aware can help you safeguard your companys most important data.

About Aware:

Conversations are at the heart of every enterprise. Aware's AI-Powered Data Platform connects workplace conversations across the enterprise and transforms daily conversations into the contextual intelligence leaders need to shape the trajectory of any business. Aware's natural language processing (NLP) and computer vision (CV) models are purpose-built to understand the unique human context of workplace conversations taking place on Slack, Teams, WebEx by Cisco, Zoom, and WorkJam. Aware equips the world's most iconic brands to apply that contextual intelligence to solve a broad set of use cases, from Experience Management and Cybersecurity to eDiscovery, supported by platform APIs that connect these insights into existing workflows for over 2,500 different applications. Using Aware, companies can finally combine a meaningful employee experience and enhanced customer experience with the operational rigor needed to thrive in the future of work. Aware was founded in 2017 and is headquartered in Columbus, Ohio.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20231005701325/en/

Lauren Meckstroth

[email protected]

702-499-7388

Source: Aware
COLUMBUS, Ohio--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Battelle, in collaboration with several national labs, announced today a new partnership with Howard University to promote STEM career and research opportunities for faculty and students. Battelle is a non-profit research and development organization that has a management role at eight Department of Energy national laboratories. The organizations HBCU Consortium program focuses on providing internship, co-op and early career research opportunities that effectively bridge STEM classroom learning and hands-on employment opportunities in innovation.

The goal of this initiative, led by Battelle, is to build sustainable relationships with students, faculty and staff, leading to internships and early career opportunities. Many of the labs, namely Brookhaven National Laboratory, Idaho National Laboratory, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory and Oak Ridge National Laboratory where Battelle has a management role have individual longstanding relationships led by the Office of Research at Howard University. This initiative will allow for collaboration and increased visibility into opportunities at Battelle as well as each of the national labs.

As part of Battelles long-standing commitment to increasing diversity and fostering inclusion within Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) careers, Battelle developed in 2021 an HBCU Consortium to build meaningful, long-term collaborative relationships with the countrys leading HBCUs. Currently, Battelle works with Bowie State University and Morgan State University in Maryland.

We look forward to expanding on our work with the incredible scholars at Howard University, said Lou Von Thaer, Battelle President and CEO. Diversity drives innovation, and we are proud to invest in these future scientists and engineers.

In addition to intern and co-op programs other elements will include:

Faculty connection/exchange programs to build relationships between Howard University faculty and Battelle scientists and engineers.

Battelle scientists, engineers and corporate employees to serve as mentors and guest lecturers.

Virtual seminar series with guest speakers to provide networking and learning opportunities for faculty, staff, students, and alumni.

Battelle and the DOE national labs recognize the critical importance of representation in STEM, said Mark Peters, Battelles Executive Vice President for National Laboratory Management & Operations. Our intention with this partnership is to equip students with the workplace experiences and personal networks that they need to successfully pursue employment in scientific and engineering fields.

Kicking off the new partnership, Battelle and some of the national lab partners will be at Howards Engineering and Architecture Career Fair Sept. 26 and the All Majors Career Fair Oct. 5 to provide information on the open internship, co-op and full-time roles. The visits will culminate with an open-house style event for Howard faculty, students and staff in the Interdisciplinary Research Building on Howard Universitys campus on Friday, October 6th from 12-4pm ET. Additional events to encourage interaction with students, faculty and staff are being planned in October.

Howard University is pleased to partner with Battelle on this important initiative focused on faculty and postdoctoral research collaboration, student research internships, career development opportunities, and access to state-of-the-art research facilities, said Bruce A. Jones, Professor and Senior Vice President of Howard Universitys Office of Research. This partnership will create amazing opportunities for Howard scientists and engineers to participate in research at world-class facilities while increasing diversity and representation in the STEM workforce.

About Battelle

Every day, the people of Battelle apply science and technology to solving what matters most. At major technology centers and national laboratories around the world, Battelle conducts research and development, designs and manufactures products, and delivers critical services for government and commercial customers. Headquartered in Columbus, Ohio since its founding in 1929, Battelle serves the national security, health and life sciences, and energy and environmental industries. For more information, visit www.battelle.org.

About Howard University

Founded in 1867, Howard University is a private, research university that is comprised of 14 schools and colleges. Students pursue more than 140 programs of study leading to undergraduate, graduate and professional degrees. The University operates with a commitment to Excellence in Truth and Service and has produced two Schwarzman Scholars, four Marshall Scholars, four Rhodes Scholars, 12 Truman Scholars, 25 Pickering Fellows and more than 165 Fulbright recipients. Howard also produces more on-campus African American PhD. recipients than any other university in the United States. For more information on Howard University, visit www.howard.edu.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20231005523534/en/

Katy Delaney

(614) 424-7208

[email protected]

T.R. Massey

(614) 424-5544

[email protected].

Source: Battelle
Partnership between two Canadian life sciences leaders offers a commercial GMP manufacturing solution for Acuitas licensed partners developing promising next generation therapies

CHARLOTTETOWN, Prince Edward Island & VANCOUVER, British Columbia--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- BIOVECTRA and Acuitas Therapeutics, Inc. today announced that they have entered into a technology transfer service agreement under which BIOVECTRA will accept, on a non-exclusive basis, Acuitas best-in-class LNP technology platform for manufacturing mRNA-based therapeutics.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20231005765941/en/

We are thrilled about this partnership with Acuitas Therapeutics, a global leader in LNP delivery systems, stated Marc Sauer, Ph.D., Chief Science Officer, BIOVECTRA. Our work together will provide their licensed partners with faster market access to cGMP-quality LNPs for early and late-stage products. BIOVECTRA looks forward to continuing to make a difference in patients lives by supporting GMP and commercial-ready LNP formulation at our new mRNA biomanufacturing facility in Atlantic Canada.

Through this partnership, BIOVECTRA will formulate Acuitas LNP for licensed therapeutic partners for clinical and commercial products using a variety of payloads. Acuitas proprietary LNP technology is used in multiple vaccines and therapeutics in clinical development and enables COMIRNATY, the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine that was first to receive regulatory approval and that has been administered to people in 180 countries.

LNP-based mRNA medicines provide the opportunity to address an incredibly wide range of health conditions, from infectious diseases such as COVID-19, flu, and malaria to therapeutic areas related to heart disease, or cancer, as well as many rare diseases, said Dr. Chris Barbosa, Vice President, Technology Development, Acuitas Therapeutics. He added: As we move forward in the development process in all of these areas with our partners, the demand for Acuitas clinical-grade LNP for our partners increases exponentially. We look forward to working with the BIOVECTRA team to expand the cGMP manufacturing capacity for Acuitas LNP so that we can continue to meet the growing needs of our global partners.

The work will occur in BIOVECTRAs new biomanufacturing centre, which, upon completion later this year, will support the GMP manufacturing of plasmid DNA, mRNA and LNP formulations. This facility adds 36,000 square feet to BIOVECTRAs existing Charlottetown campus and will be able to produce the equivalent of 160 million doses of mRNA vaccines and to fill/finish 70 million final vaccine doses per year for commercial distribution, providing an end-to-end manufacturing solution for BIOVECTRAs clients. Currently, BIOVECTRA is fully equipped and staffed with a team of experts at bench scale, to begin the technical transfer of nucleic acid processes that will be destined for manufacture in these new facilities. It also carries a deep track record of GMP commercial supply of lipids (including custom ionizable lipids), complex APIs and drug substances, from its five GMP facilities in Eastern Canada.

About BIOVECTRA

BIOVECTRA (www.biovectra.com) is a global biotech and pharmaceutical CDMO (contract development and manufacturing organization) that specializes in clinical-to-commercial scale production capabilities for: biologics, small molecules, bioreagents, lipids, pDNA, mRNA and LNP manufacturing. Flexibility, creativity, process optimization and compliance are at the heart of our method. With more than 50 years of experience, over 600 employees, and cGMP facilities in Prince Edward Island and Nova Scotia, Canada, we assure our programs advance on time and with the highest quality outcomes.

About Acuitas Therapeutics

Vancouver-based Acuitas Therapeutics (www.acuitastx.com) is a private biotechnology company specializing in the development of delivery systems for nucleic acid therapeutics based on lipid nanoparticles. Acuitas partners with pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, as well as non-governmental organizations and academic institutes, to advance nucleic acid therapeutics into clinical trials and the marketplace. The team works with global partners to develop new therapies to address unmet clinical needs based on the internationally recognized capabilities of its proprietary delivery technology. Acuitas Therapeutics lipid nanoparticle technology is used in the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine COMIRNATY. The Acuitas team is currently working on therapeutics focused on addressing cancer, HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria and other serious diseases.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20231005765941/en/

BIOVECTRA Business

Jessica Madigan

Director, Business Development

[email protected]

1-858-442-3940

BIOVECTRA Media

Valerie Keays

Director, Marketing

[email protected]

1-845-590-6894

Acuitas Therapeutics Media

Ruth Atherley

Corporate Communications

[email protected]

1-604-787-7379

Source: BIOVECTRA
BANGALORE, India--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Bolt.Earth, India's leading EV infrastructure and software company, is excited to announce the successful completion of its funding round, securing a substantial $20 million in investment. The landmark funding round was spearheaded by a consortium of both longstanding and new investors, featuring notable names including Union Square Ventures, Prime Venture Partners, ITIGO Funds, and several others who share Bolt.Earth's vision for a sustainable and electrified transportation ecosystem.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20231003805034/en/

Bolt.Earth Founders with Bolt.Earth Clusters and Speedometers (Photo: Business Wire)

Bolt.Earth Will Use the Funds as Follows:

1. Charging Network Expansion: Recently, Bolt.Earth has achieved the milestone of successfully deploying more than 30,000 EV charging points within its charging network. The company caters to a wide spectrum of charging needs, with options ranging from slow to fast charging, featuring power outputs from 3.3 kW to 240 kW.

2. Product Enhancement: The funding will be instrumental in advancing the companys stellar product portfolio with a balanced mix of slow and fast charging points, catering to a varied customer base namely Bolt.Earth Lite, Bolt.Earth Lite Connected, Bolt.Earth LEVAC, Bolt.Earth Level 2 & 3.

3. Operating System Deployment: Bolt.Earth OS embodies a commitment to a smarter and safer tomorrow, going beyond technology to promise a greener future. For OEMs and EV dealers seeking seamless upgrades, our low-code integration platform enables EVs to become software defined vehicles.

4. Talent Acquisition: Bolt.Earth is set to onboard top-tier professionals across a spectrum of disciplines, including tech, engineering and product.

5. International Expansion: The funding will bolster Bolt.Earth's ambitious agenda to extend its presence beyond existing markets, catalyzing the uptake of electric vehicles in Asia, Europe, South America, and Latin America.

Bolt.Earth offers an Operating System, a connected platform technology helping OEMs to develop, operate, and monitor their charging network and vehicles. We are also continuously expanding our charging network at a rate of approximately 2,000 new charging points per month. Additionally, we currently hold more than 50% market share in India's EV charging network and play a dominant role in Indias EV Operating System nexus with our deployed chargers and software defined vehicles.

- Mr. Jyotiranjan Harichandan, Co-founder, Bolt.Earth

Mr. Mohit Yadav, Co-founder, Bolt.Earth, further commented, We are thrilled to have the backing of visionary investors who share our passion for transforming the EV ecosystem. The current $20 million fund-raise is a part of the company's plan to further its reach to every nook and corner of the country, and to begin the era of 'Make in India' EV charging infrastructure products in the global market.

About Bolt.Earth

Bolt.Earth offers charging solutions for individuals, businesses, real estate companies, fleet operators, and the government.

For more information on Bolt.Earth, visit Bolt.Earth.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20231003805034/en/

Press contacts

[email protected]

Source: Bolt.Earth
October 9th event to highlight new trends in Taiwan fastener industry, leading companies and their innovations, upcoming shows, and more

TAIPEI, Taiwan & LAS VEGAS--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- International Fastener Expo 2023  Are you looking for the latest in fastener innovations, insights into fastener industry trends, and an opportunity to network with buyers and sellers in the market? If so, nows your chance. The Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA), Taiwans foremost trade promotion organization, will host a Bolting into the Future fastener showcase, organized by the International Trade Administration (TITA) on October 9, 2023, at Mandalay Bay Convention Center, Tradewinds Room C, during the International Fastener Expo 2023 (IFE) taking place in Las Vegas.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20231005613322/en/

Taiwan Fastener Showcase: Bolting into the Future at International Fastener Expo on Oct 9, 2023, 2 PM Tradewinds C, Mandalay Bay Convention Center (Photo: Business Wire)

The showcase provides insights and trends on the fastener industry in Taiwan and its impact on the US market as well as showcase advancements from major Taiwanese companies including Wai Tai Industrial Co. Ltd, one of the leading producers of standard and special screws, and MAO CHUAN, a pioneer in metal stamping technology known for its high-quality parts. In addition, it will provide information on upcoming fastener trade shows such as Fastener Taiwan, Taiwan International Tools & Hardware Expo, and Taiwan Hardware Show.

The growth of the North American Industrial Fastener market is surging, and is expected to exceed US $23 billion by 2028 owing to the growth of end-user industries such as manufacturing, automotive, and construction, among others, according to Mordor Intelligence. The United States is the largest market for Taiwans fasteners, accounting for more than 45.75% of the countrys exports.

As a world-class major global supplier of fasteners and fixtures, Taiwan accounts for a majority of the worlds fastener products. With over 1,500 fastener companies employing over 30,000 people, we take pride in providing a wide range of products ranging from standard bolts and screws to intricate, custom-made fasteners for high-tech applications, said Bran Chiu, project manager, TAITRA. As the fastener industry undergoes significant growth, the Kingdom of Screws is poised to meet its rising demand.

Register for the "Bolting into the Future Fastener Showcase

The showcase will take place from 2:00PM  3:00pm on Monday, October 9 at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center, Tradewinds Room C. The event will feature presentations, refreshments, and networking opportunities with industry professionals. The first 30 registered attendees will receive a free $25 Amazon gift card. Interested industry professionals and media representatives are encouraged to register in advance here.

Visit the Taiwan Pavilion @ IFE 2023

Throughout IFE 2023, more than 60 of Taiwans best in the fastener industry will be showcasing their products at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center. The Taiwan exhibitors include Mao Chuan Industrial, A-Stainless International, Chia Yi Fastener, Chaen Wei Corporation, Fong Prean Industrial, Channg Chin Industry, and SCT Fasteners.

More About:

Fastener Taiwan 2024

From June 5-7, 2024, TAITRA and Taiwan Industrial Fastener Institute (TIFI) will host Fastener Industry Taiwan 2024, its seventh Taiwan International Fastener Show, at the Kaohsiung Exhibition Center in Taiwan. An international B2B fastener show serving as a trading platform for sourcing and procurement, it demonstrates Taiwan's image as the Kingdom of Screws with an impressive showcase of 300 exhibitors and 900 booths displaying a wide range of products ranging from nuts, bolts, screws, tools, manufacturing equipment, meters and instruments, and wire and raw materials. There will be a welcome dinner, live tours, VIP guided tours, a global fastener forum, procurement meetings, and more. https://www.fastenertaiwan.com.tw/en/index.html

Taiwan International Tools & Hardware Expo

Organized by the Taiwan Hand Tool Manufacturers Association (THTMA) with support from industry, government, and academia, the Taiwan International Tools & Hardware Expo (TiTE) debuted in 2022 and was held in the middle of Taiwan, where the Taiwan hardware and hand tools originated. The topic "TOOLS KINGDOM  The Most Iconic Gathering of Hardware & Tools in Asia" strengthened the position of Taiwan's hardware and tool industry in the global market and opened the door to the international export market after the pandemic. https://hardwareexpo-taiwan.com/en-us

Taiwan Hardware Show

THS is one of Asia's top trade fairs for the hardware and DIY sectors offering specialist traders and buyers with a comprehensive category of products and services. It is Taiwan's biggest and only true B2B hardware show, serving as a trading platform for sourcing and procurement. THS features a complete range of hardware products to showcase world class Taiwan quality, precision, and service. http://www.hardwareshow.com.tw/home/Main_eng.asp

About TITA

The International Trade Administration is the administrative agency of the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) of Taiwan and is responsible for a wide variety of international trade activities including

planning trade policies, engaging in international trade cooperation, participating in the activities of international economic and trade organizations, promoting, and implementing economic and trade agreements, and protocols for foreign trade delegations; formulating and implementing policies for trade promotion and MICE industry development and investigating and removing trade barriers, responding to trade remedies initiated by foreign counterparts, and handling trade disputes. Visit trade.gov.tw

About TAITRA

Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA) is the foremost non-profit, semi-governmental trade promotion organization in Taiwan. Founded in 1970 to help promote foreign trade, TAITRA is jointly sponsored by the government, industry associations, and several commercial organizations. TAITRA assists Taiwanese businesses in strengthening their international competitiveness and in dealing with the challenges they face in foreign markets. TAITRA boasts a well-coordinated trade promotion and information network consisting of over 1,200 trained specialists stationed throughout its Taipei headquarters and 60 branches worldwide. Together with its sister organizations, the Taiwan Trade Center (TTC) and Taipei World Trade Center (TWTC), TAITRA has created a wealth of trade opportunities through effective promotion strategies. www.taitra.org.tw

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Mary Placido

SKC, Inc.

(415) 218-3627

[email protected]

Source: Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA)
300-unit Class-A multifamily community offers residents a luxury lifestyle experience

ALEXANDRIA, Va.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Bonaventure, an integrated alternative asset manager focused on the development, construction, and property management of innovative lifestyle multifamily communities in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions, today hosted the grand opening of Attain at Harbour View, a 300-unit Class-A multifamily community located at 2000 Ironside Drive in Suffolk, Va. Attain is Bonaventures luxury brand and symbolizes the companys commitment to help its residents attain the highest level of comfort, belonging and happiness at its communities.

Located in the charming Wynnewood neighborhood, Attain at Harbour View offers luxury living through a variety of one-, two- and three-bedroom floorplans that meet the needs of single professionals and families alike who seek contemporary suburban living proximate to coastal views, green spaces and a variety of public parks, including the Hoffler Creek Wildlife Preserve. Attain at Harbour View is located just one mile from Lockheed Martin Center for Innovation, and minutes from access to VA-644, which provides easy access to downtown employers and attractions.

Were grateful to strengthen our footprint in Suffolk and deliver a best-in-class residential housing product that meets the needs of the community, said Bonaventure CEO and Founder Dwight Dunton. Suffolk is one of the fastest growing areas in the Hampton Roads MSA, creating a need for more multifamily housing to meet the population inflow. Our Attain communities create a luxury, communal environment that appeal to both remote workers and growing families, and we expect Attain at Harbour View to be a community anchor for decades to come.

Residents of Attain at Harbour View will enjoy the communitys live, work, and play environment which features modern interior designs, an outdoor cabana, a resort style swimming pool, business center and private conference room. Other high-end amenities at Attain at Harbour View include:

State-of-the-art fitness center with group fitness room

Kids fitness zone and play area

Theater room

Outdoor kitchen with gas grills

Attain at Harbour View is now accepting lease applications. For more information, click here or call the leasing office at (757) 634-3580.

About Bonaventure

Headquartered in Alexandria, Virginia Bonaventure is an integrated alternative asset management firm specializing in multifamily design, development, construction, investment and property management. Bonaventure has over $2.3 billion of assets under management, is an expert at utilizing low-cost financing, and manages over 6,500 apartment units across 35 communities primarily in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions. Since its founding in 1999 by Dwight Dunton, with the intent to create best-in-class capabilities connecting capital to assets, the focus of the firm has been to generate excess returns on a risk adjusted basis while building enduring value through ingenuity. To learn more, visit www.bonaventure.com.

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[email protected]

Source: Bonaventure
VANCOUVER, British Columbia--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Capstone Copper Corp. (Capstone or the Company) (TSX: CS) will release its 2023 third quarter (Q3 2023) results on Friday, November 3, 2023 prior to market open. The announcement will be followed by an investor conference call the same day at 11:00 am Eastern Time / 8:00 am Pacific Time.

Q3 2023 Webcast and Conference Call Details Webcast link https://app.webinar.net/meMBwLPw1kY Dial-in for audio-only portion. Please dial in at least five minutes prior to the call start time. Toronto (+1) 416-764-8650 Vancouver (+1) 778-383-7413 North America toll free 888-664-6383 An audio replay of the conference call will be available until November 10, 2023. Replay Dial-in Numbers Toronto 416-764-8677 North America toll free 888-390-0541 Code 579377#

After the replay expiration, an audio file will be available on Capstones website at Capstone Copper - Events and Presentations. Further information is available at www.capstonecopper.com.

About Capstone Copper Corp.

Capstone Copper Corp. is an Americas-focused copper mining company headquartered in Vancouver, Canada. We own and operate the Pinto Valley copper mine located in Arizona, USA, the Cozamin copper-silver mine located in Zacatecas, Mexico, the Mantos Blancos copper-silver mine located in the Antofagasta region, Chile, and 70% of the Mantoverde copper-gold mine, located in the Atacama region, Chile. In addition, we own the fully permitted Santo Domingo copper-iron-gold project, located approximately 30 kilometres northeast of Mantoverde in the Atacama region, Chile, as well as a portfolio of exploration properties in the Americas.

Capstone Coppers strategy is to unlock transformational copper production growth while executing on cost and operational improvements through innovation, optimization and safe and responsible production throughout our portfolio of assets. We focus on profitability and disciplined capital allocation to surface stakeholder value. We are committed to creating a positive impact in the lives of our people and local communities, while delivering compelling returns to investors by responsibly producing copper to meet the worlds growing needs.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20231005204799/en/

Jerrold Annett, SVP, Strategy & Capital Markets

647-273-7351

[email protected]

Daniel Sampieri, Director, Investor Relations & Strategic Analysis

437-788-1767

[email protected]

Source: Capstone Copper Corp.
NEW DELHI, Oct. 5 (Xinhua) -- India is seeking a reduction in Canadian diplomats' presence in the country because of their "interference" in India's internal affairs, a spokesman of the country's External Affairs Ministry Arindam Bagchi said on Thursday.

Bagchi said New Delhi was discussing the matter with the Canadian authorities to achieve parity in both countries' respective diplomatic presence as the Canadian diplomatic presence was much higher than Indian diplomats' presence in Ottawa.

"On discussions on parity, given the much higher presence of diplomats or diplomatic presence here and their continued interference in our internal matters, we have sought parity in our respective diplomatic presence. Discussions are ongoing on the modalities of achieving this. Given that Canadian diplomatic presence is very much higher, we would assume that there would be a reduction," Bagchi said at the weekly press briefing.

Media reports said Canada currently has 62 diplomats in New Delhi, and India had asked Canada to prune its diplomatic strength in India by 41.

Both countries have been locked in a diplomatic row following Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's accusation that the Indian government could be involved in the killing of a Canadian Sikh leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar in June.

Following Trudeau's accusation, both countries had expelled one diplomat in each other's embassy. India later issued an advisory to its nationals about observing caution while visiting those areas in Canada prone to anti-India activities. India also suspended visa services for Canadian citizens. 
25% 1 annual revenue growth in the Photo sector

annual revenue growth in the Photo sector New functionalities for e-commerce and businesses websites

PARIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Regulatory News:

Claranova (Paris: CLA), announces the launch of a new web-based version of InPixio, Avanquest's photo software product at https://www.inpixio.com/fr/. Online users can now crop an image for free by simply dragging and dropping their photos, remove unwanted objects or even completely change the background of a photo in a matter of seconds.

These new online tools are now available to all type of user (photography enthusiast, e-commerce platform or business) by providing easy to use and powerful functionalities thanks to their artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms.

In conjunction with the introduction of this online service, InPixio has also just launched a new mobile app: InPixio Photo Studio AI. This app makes it possible not only to modify photos with the help of its powerful AI algorithms, but also to easily resize images so they can be shared on social network and e-commerce platforms alike. Batch editing features capable of processing several photos at once have also been added to meet the needs of online merchants and influencers. What's more? Several new backgrounds and filters are now available for easy, professional photo editing without needing to be a technical expert.

Trial and subscription versions of this app are available from the Apple App Store, and an Android version is currently under development.

Benefiting from the same artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms developed by Avanquest's teams over the past years, these web-based and mobile apps deliver exceptional results. And as Avanquest's Photo division is constantly working to improve these tools, a new desktop version of InPixio will also soon be launched.

As the best BtoC2 solution on the market, InPixio now offers a complete range of multiplatform SaaS solutions (web-based, desktop or mobile) covering all the needs of photography enthusiasts.

InPixio will continue to strengthen its offering by adding professional features designed to help e-commerce platforms improve their online sales, and marketing companies promote their products and commercial offers.

Since AI algorithms were integrated over 2 years ago, InPixio has been gaining in popularity with users and companies around the world. InPixio solutions are available in 11 languages, and have already been downloaded by millions of users, with over 200,000 users each month. Annual sales for InPixio have risen by more than 25% year-on-year, and there still remains considerable potential for further growth, particularly for photography applications in the new BtoB3 sectors Avanquest is starting to address.

Financial calendar:

October 11, 2023: FY 2022-2023 full-year results

November 29, 2023: Combined Ordinary and Extraordinary Annual General Meeting

Telephone number for individual shareholders available from Tuesday to Thursday between 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. for calls within France: 0805 29 10 00 (local rate).

About Claranova:

As a diversified global technology company, Claranova manages and coordinates a portfolio of majority interests in digital companies with strong growth potential. Supported by a team combining several decades of experience in the world of technology, Claranova has acquired a unique know-how in successfully turning around, creating and developing innovative companies.

Claranova has proven its capacity to turn a simple idea into a worldwide success in just a few short years. Present in 15 countries and leveraging the technology expertise of its 800+ employees across North America and Europe, Claranova is a truly international group, with 95% of its revenue derived from international markets.

Claranovas portfolio of companies is organized into three unique technology platforms operating in all major digital sectors. As an e-commerce leader in personalized objects, Claranova also stands out for its technological expertise in software publishing and the Internet of Things, through its businesses PlanetArt, Avanquest and myDevices. These three technology platforms share a common vision: empowering people through innovation by providing simple and intuitive digital solutions that facilitate everyday access to the very best of technology.

For more information on Claranova group:

https://www.claranova.com

1 Change at actual exchange rates

2 Business to Consumer - the selling of products directly to individual consumers

3 Business to Business

CODES

Ticker : CLA

ISIN : FR0013426004

www.claranova.com

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20231005384951/en/

ANALYSTS - INVESTORS

+33 1 41 27 19 74

[email protected]

FINANCIAL COMMUNICATION

+33 1 75 77 54 68

[email protected]

Source: Claranova
The award recognizes Chris Riopelles outstanding leadership and commitment to Strive's success, workplace wellness and philanthropy

DENVER--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Denver Business Journal announced that Chris Riopelle, CEO and co-founder of Strive Health, was named a Most Admired CEO. Denver Business Journals Most Admired CEO Awards program recognizes distinguished top executives, and winners are selected based on their leadership, contributions to company success, civic engagement and career achievements.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20231005347989/en/

Strive Health's Chief Executive Officer, Chris Riopelle, has been recognized as a 2023 Most Admired CEO Award winner by the Denver Business Journal. (Photo: Business Wire)

Riopelle is part of the team that has led Strive to serve 100,000 patients across 30 states, partner with over 700 nephrology providers and grow its employee base to over 600 Strivers. The companys value-based care approach to kidney disease has led to over 20% reduction in the total cost of kidney care,1 42% reduction in hospitalizations2 and 88% overall patient satisfaction with Strives staff.3 Riopelle has also been a pillar in the kidney care industry and Denver healthcare community for more than 25 years. He serves as a board member and past President of the Board of Trustees of the Crested Butte Land Trust.

Its an honor to be recognized by Denver Business Journal among other incredible local leaders and continue to raise awareness of kidney disease and provide hope to patients by changing the way the healthcare industry thinks about a disease that currently impacts 37 million Americans, Riopelle said. This award is a testament to our team of Strivers and the progress weve made over the past five years in evolving how we care for people with kidney disease by identifying patients earlier, prioritizing the right care at the right time, driving better outcomes and lowering total cost of care.

This recognition comes at a time of significant momentum for Strive. In the past year, Strive announced its Series C funding, raising $166 million led by NEA alongside five new investors, including large strategic investor CVS Health Ventures. The company also became the fastest-growing startup in Colorado, according to The Leaderboard and Crunchbase. Additionally, because of Riopelles commitment to transparency and openness in the workplace, the company has won five Best Places to Work awards, including Forbes Americas Best Startup Employers 2022 and 2023, Built In Colorado Best Places to Work 2022, Comparablys Best Places to Work in Denver 2022 and The Tech Tribunes Best Startups in Denver 2022.

To learn more about Strive and its award-winning leadership team and company culture, visit https://strivehealth.com/.

ABOUT STRIVE HEALTH

Strive Health is the nations leader in value-based kidney care and partner of choice for innovative healthcare payors and providers. Using a unique combination of technology-enabled care interventions and seamless integration with local providers, Strive forms an integrated care delivery system that supports the entire patient journey from chronic kidney disease (CKD) to end-stage kidney disease (ESKD). To help patients, Strive partners with commercial and Medicare Advantage payors, Medicare, health systems and physicians through flexible value-based payment arrangements, including risk-based programs. Strive serves 100,000 people with CKD and ESKD across 30 states and partners with over 700 nephrology providers. Strives case management and population health programs are accredited by the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA), and its technology platform, CareMultiplier, is certified by HITRUST. To learn more, visit StriveHealth.com.

Calculated through comparing PMPM trends between Medicare fee-for-service data from a Strive Health partnership analyzing patient data from a mature market. Calculated by comparing 2021 USRDS blended average of hospitalization prevalence from CKD3 through ESRD patients to that of Strive Health patient data. Based on a market-specific Strive Health patient satisfaction survey of all patients actively seeing a clinician in Fall 2022.

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Nicole Leatherman

Strive Health Communications

619-917-4807

[email protected]

Source: Strive Health
Long-term safety data collected in pediatric patients treated with investigational drug ecopipam; durable treatment effect reported with no evidence of tachyphylaxis

CHICAGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- An open-label extension study of 121 pediatric patients with Tourette syndrome evaluated the safety profile of the investigational drug ecopipam for up to 12-months of treatment.

No new safety concerns were identified based on an evaluation of adverse events, physical exams, vital signs, laboratory results and safety scales, according to Emalex Biosciences. A durable effect was also observed over the course of the study based on evaluation of the patients motor and vocal tics, which were assessed every three months.

The findings were first presented at the International Congress of Parkinsons Disease and Movement Disorder Society in Copenhagen and will be highlighted at the Child Neurology Society Annual Meeting this week in Vancouver. Patients in the open-label study previously completed a Phase 2b clinical trial involving more than 150 children and adolescents that found ecopipam significantly reduced the total number of motor and vocal tics compared to placebo, according to a study published in the journal Pediatrics.

In this open-label study, ecopipam was generally well tolerated, with 33.1% (40/121) of patients reporting treatment-related adverse reactions (ARs). The most common ARs were anxiety (6.6%), insomnia (5.8%), and somnolence (5.8%). One patient experienced a serious adverse reaction (obsessive thoughts) and 11.6% (14/121) of patients discontinued the study due to adverse events.

In addition, patients did not have observable evidence of excessive weight gain or metabolic side effects commonly reported with antipsychotic agents, which are often used to treat patients with Tourette syndrome. Ecopipam is a first-in-class dopamine-1 receptor antagonist. The antipsychotic agents currently approved to treat Tourette syndrome target the dopamine-2 receptor.

Ecopipam is the lead candidate for Emalex Biosciences, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company founded by Paragon Biosciences. Emalex is currently conducting a Phase 3 clinical trial of ecopipam for the treatment of Tourette syndrome at more than 90 sites in North America and Europe.

Tourette syndrome is a chronic, childhood-onset neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by motor and vocal tics. The condition is associated with both increased mortality and significant morbidity. In the majority of individuals, Tourette syndrome substantially impacts day-to-day physical and social function.

The fact that most patients who completed the Phase 2b study asked to participate in the open-label extension points to the unmet medical needs for people with Tourette syndrome. The 12-month data supports the continued development of ecopipam as a first-in-class novel therapy for children and adolescents with Tourette syndrome, said Emalex Biosciences Chief Medical Officer Frederick Munschauer, MD.

About Ecopipam

Emalexs first-in-class development candidate ecopipam, a novel investigational compound that is being studied as a potential treatment for certain central nervous system disorders, blocks the actions of the neurotransmitter dopamine at the D1 receptor. Dopamine is a neurotransmitter in the central nervous system, and its receptors have been classified into two families based on their genetic structure: D1 (including subtypes D1 and D5) and D2 (including subtypes D2, D3, and D4). D1 receptor super-sensitivity may be a mechanism for the repetitive and compulsive behaviors associated with Tourette syndrome. Currently approved therapies for the treatment of Tourette syndrome act at D2 receptors. Ecopipam has been shown to be generally well tolerated in clinical trials conducted to date and has received Orphan Drug and Fast Track designation from the FDA for the treatment of patients with Tourette syndrome. Adverse events affecting primarily the central nervous system have been reported in clinical trials conducted to date, including headache, fatigue, somnolence, insomnia, restlessness, anxiety, depression and rarely, suicidal ideation.

About Emalex Biosciences

Emalex Biosciences was created by Paragon Biosciences to develop new treatments for central nervous system disorders. Emalex is in late-stage development of a new class of drug targeting the D1 receptor for patients with Tourette syndrome and other conditions that have limited treatment options. Visit https://emalexbiosciences.com to learn more.

About Paragon Biosciences, LLC

Paragon Biosciences is a global life science leader that creates, builds and funds innovative biology-based companies in three key areas: cell and gene therapy, biology engineering and advanced biotechnology. Our portfolio companies use biology to accelerate scientific breakthroughs that solve some of societys most challenging problems. Learn more at https://www.paragonbiosci.com.

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Sheridan Chaney

312.847.1323

[email protected]

Source: Emalex Biosciences
Leading DER Management Provider Receives Three Sustainability and Energy Leadership Recognitions from Top Industry Award Programs

NEWPORT BEACH, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Enersponse, a leading distributed energy resource (DER) management provider, today announced it has secured prestigious award wins in sustainability with honors from both the Stevie Awards and Business Intelligence Group. Additionally, it has been named a finalist in the 14th annual Energy Awards.

Enersponse's recent accolades stand as a testament to its unwavering dedication to sustainability and not only reflect the company's commitment to driving positive change but also its ability to deliver cutting-edge energy management solutions.

The first recognition Enersponse received this season was the 2023 Bronze Stevie Award for Sustainability Initiative of the Year among U.S. and Canadian contestants. This award recognizes the companys innovative client-centric technology advancements, Price ResponseTM and Clean ResponseTM. Price Response is an energy bill management tool that lets users set customizable and automated triggers that lower their use of electricity when the cost of power rises. Clean Response is a first-of-its-kind product made to curtail client energy usage when the grid is dirty, or primarily powered by less sustainable forms of energy like natural gas or coal.

Next, Enersponse garnered favorable recognition by receiving the Business Intelligence Groups 2023 Sustainability Award. This prestigious award celebrates organizations that have seamlessly integrated sustainability into their core business strategies. Enersponse earned this accolade due to its commitment to advancing sustainability initiatives through advanced energy management solutions for commercial and industrial customers. The companys strategic and sophisticated approach brings flexible, customized and risk-free opportunities for energy consumers to earn incentive-driven revenue, support grid sustainability and promote decarbonization. Notably, the DER provider has been instrumental in progressing sustainability by collaborating with partners like NexRev, Copeland, Distech and more, to provide retrofit solutions for clients with obsolete control systems.

Enersponse's impact and leadership in the energy landscape are also underscored by its recognition as a finalist in the Energy Awards' prestigious Energy Champion of the Year program. This achievement nods to the companys pioneering role in elevating industry standards by forging strategic alliances with top-tier companies such as Samsung SmartThings. Collaborations like these broaden public access to sustainability and grid protection initiatives via seamless demand management program integration. As a result, smaller energy users who might not otherwise have had the chance can now actively engage in these efforts. The Energy Champion of the Year award winner will be announced on October 12, 2023.

"Enersponse has had another remarkable year made possible by a lot of hard work and innovation, so its rewarding to see our efforts being applauded by the industry," said James McPhail, chief executive officer of Enersponse. "These victories reflect our team's tenacity toward catalyzing positive change in the energy sector and will undoubtedly fuel our ongoing mission to deliver value-driven energy management solutions to the market through strategic initiatives that prioritize sustainability."

To learn more, visit www.enersponse.com.

About Enersponse: Enersponse is an energy resource management platform that works with power providers across the country to aggregate their distributed energy resource (DER) and rebate programs with clients across the U.S. to maximize financial incentives by automating load reduction responses. This process helps providers maintain a stable grid; saves customers money; earns them passive income through rebates from utilities; and helps achieve corporate social responsibility objectives. The companys intelligent automation-powered distributed energy resource platform is connected to hundreds of power generators across North America, all dispatchable to customers existing control systems. Enersponses advanced technology keeps track of whats happening down to a micro-locational leveleven for large enterprises with facilities distributed across multiple power grid providersby monitoring weather patterns, system outages and energy pricing fluctuations. It then syncs the data collected with pre-set client preferences to intelligently adjust power use in real-time without the need for human intervention. This means less stress on internal resources and an automated one-stop-shop solution for consolidating all available energy conservation programs to maximize cost savingsultimately paying customers and their control companies to save power.

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Leslie Licano, Beyond Fifteen Communications, Inc.

[email protected] | 949-733-8679 x 101

Source: Enersponse
WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- FINRA announced today that it has promoted Omer Meisel to Executive Vice President of the National Cause and Financial Crimes Detection Program (NCFC), effective October 2.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20231005617612/en/

Omer Meisel (Photo: Business Wire)

In his new role, Meisel reports to Greg Ruppert, Executive Vice President, Member Supervision at FINRA. Meisel succeeds Bill St. Louis, who was appointed Head of Enforcement in August. Meisel had served as acting head of the NCFC since St. Louis stepped into his new role.

Omer has contributed significantly to FINRAs increased focus on the critical areas of complex investigations, including cybersecurity and crypto assets. He is an innovative leader who has helped drive increased collaboration across FINRA. Omer brings to his new role deep knowledge of investigating complex securities fraud and close connections to regulatory and law enforcement partners, said Ruppert.

As head of NCFCwhich includes the National Cause Program (NCP) and Complex Investigations and Intelligence (CII)Meisel leads teams that conduct investigations and examinations of firms and gather intelligence to detect financial crimes and inform FINRA and firms of emerging threats and risks to the financial industry.

I am honored and excited to have the opportunity to lead such an incredible team of investigators and analysts who are dedicated to proactively identifying and mitigating threats to investors and safeguarding the markets. My team and I will focus on leveraging data and intelligence to drive investigations and examinations to address threats and risks to investors, our member firms, and the financial industry. I will also be committed to sharing threat intelligence with our member firms, so we can together better mitigate threats from bad actors, said Meisel.

Meisel rejoined FINRA in 2021, as Vice President of the NCFC Specialist Teams, and united the specialist groups of the NCFC under the CII, which Meisel led for more than two years. As head of CII, Meisel united four specialist teamsthe Special Investigation Unit, the High-Risk Registered Representatives Unit, the Cybersecurity Group, and the Vulnerable Adults and Seniors Teamand expanded their scope to address a diverse range of threats in cybersecurity, crypto and financial fraud.

Meisel also chairs FINRAs Crypto Hub, which includes representatives from across FINRA, and is tasked with enhancing crypto and blockchain regulatory capabilities.

Meisel returned to FINRA after more than 22 years at the FBI, which he joined after working as an investigator at the National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD), a predecessor of FINRA. In his last assignment at the FBI, he was the Assistant Special Agent In Charge of the FBIs San Diego Division where he led the Cyber Branch (National Security and Criminal), the Counterintelligence Branch, and the Intelligence Branch. Meisels tenure as a Special Agent included specializing in complex corporate and securities fraud, money laundering, financial crimes, and international terrorism investigations. He also served on the Enron Task Force as a senior investigator and served in numerous leadership positions at the FBI, both domestic and international.

Prior to NASD, Meisel worked at the Securities and Exchange Commission as investigator and was a securities trader.

About FINRA

FINRA is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to investor protection and market integrity. It regulates one critical part of the securities industrybrokerage firms doing business with the public in the U.S. FINRA, overseen by the SEC, writes rules, examines for and enforces compliance with FINRA rules and federal securities laws, registers broker-dealer personnel and offers them education and training, and informs the investing public. In addition, FINRA provides surveillance and other regulatory services for equities and options markets, as well as trade reporting and other industry utilities. FINRA also administers a dispute resolution forum for investors and brokerage firms and their registered employees. For more information, visit www.finra.org.

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[email protected]

Source: FINRA
BRENTWOOD, Tenn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Franklin Madison, a leader in insurance marketing, is on a mission to inspire financial institutions and corporations across the country to come together to honor our nation's First Responders. In a move aimed at enhancing corporate social responsibility and strengthening employee bonds, the company has launched an online resource that provides step-by-step guidance on creating a First Responders Day initiative.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20231005839827/en/

National First Responders Day, celebrated annually on October 28, is a day dedicated to recognizing and expressing gratitude to the brave men and women who serve our communities in times of crisis. The day pays tribute to the dedication and sacrifice of paramedics, firefighters, police officers, and other essential personnel who risk their lives to protect ours.

Franklin Madison's initiative to honor First Responders was born after the COVID-19 pandemic. As a company with a newly geographically dispersed workforce, Franklin Madison sought ways to unite its employees while contributing to a meaningful cause. It was during this pursuit that they discovered the transformative potential of First Responders Day initiatives.

"Our journey began with the simple idea of honoring our local First Responders, but it soon evolved into something much larger," said Andrea Heger, Franklin Madison SVP of Insurance Services. "We saw how engaging in community service efforts on First Responders Day not only allowed us to show our appreciation but also brought our remote teams closer together. It's a testament to the power of unity in service."

To inspire other companies to embark on similar initiatives, Franklin Madison has created a First Responders Day program web page that includes information about the history of the holiday, stories from Franklin Madison's own journey, and practical steps on how to get involved.

Franklin Madison is calling on its partners, vendors, and corporations nationwide to visit the web page and consider initiating their own First Responders Day programs. By doing so, companies can join the movement to amplify the appreciation for our First Responders and unify their teams through community service.

About Franklin Madison

An industry leader with over 50 years of experience, Franklin Madison builds financial security for individuals and families by delivering industry-leading insurance products and marketing services through its brand partners. Franklin Madison helps generate increased loyalty and revenue for more than 3,500 financial institutions. Based in Brentwood, Tennessee, Franklin Madison has approximately 200 employees. For more information, visit franklin-madison.com or follow us on LinkedIn.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20231005839827/en/

[email protected]

Source: Franklin Madison
FREDERICIA, Denmark--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Gas Storage Denmark (GSD) has decades of experience developing and operating onshore natural gas storage facilities in Denmark. As a result, GSD has special competencies in operating underground storage facilities in a safe and competent manner and has a committed strategy in bringing these competencies to work for the green transition. Being state-owned, we are working on driving the climate ambition, and we have a mandate to work towards establishing a pilot for CO2 in Stenlille and use any learnings and findings to support the development of a commercial CCS market. It is our perception that we can be a strong partner in the development of onshore CO2 storage in Denmark.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20231005422915/en/

Gas storage, Stenlille facility (Photo: Business Wire)

In anticipation of the upcoming Danish tender for onshore CO2 storage licenses, GSD has initiated the process of exploring how we can best serve to promote the development, implementation, and operation of onshore CO2 storage facilities across such licenses. We call for collaboration on supporting any partner, on non-exclusive terms, in developing CCS onshore storage facilities in Denmark.

GSD therefore invites all market participants with an interest in collaboration to submit a statement of interest to this e-mail: [email protected]. All inquiries will be treated with confidentiality.

Facts: GSD owns and operates two onshore gas storage facilities located in Denmark.

GSD is currently developing Denmarks first onshore CO2 storage facility located in Stenlille on Zealand, the CO2RYLUS project, with a clear objective of being in commercial operation by the end of 2025.

GSD cannot submit license applications for other licenses than Stenlille.

GSD cannot exclusively collaborate with any partner.

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For further information please contact

Senior Manager Simon Sehested von Holstein-Rathlou, [email protected].

Source: Gas Storage Denmark
Third-Party Certification of Baytown Site Highlights Ongoing Commitment to Sustainable Products and Manufacturing Processes

COLUMBUS, Ohio--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Hexion announced it has received International Sustainability and Carbon Certification (ISCC) PLUS certification at its Baytown, Texas, site following an audit by DQS Inc., an independent certification company. The audit was launched to measure and validate the companys carbon impact improvement following the recent introduction of bio-based methanol at the site.

ISCC PLUS is a global sustainability certification system that makes it possible to track the amount and sustainability characteristics of circular and/or bio-based content in a companys value chain and attribute it via the mass balance approach based on verifiable bookkeeping. By achieving this globally-recognized standard, Hexion can now offer ISCC PLUS certified formaldehyde that is manufactured based on mass balance principles, which helps reduce the attributed carbon footprint of customers products.

The introduction of bio-based methanol at Baytown and the subsequent ISCC PLUS designation is the natural evolution of our strategic efforts to offer products with more sustainable attributes, said Michael Lefenfeld, President and Chief Executive Officer. Achieving ISCC PLUS allows us to deliver certified products that more fully support our customers sustainability goals. We are focused on leveraging the new capabilities of our Baytown site, while evolving our broader manufacturing network over time to incorporate bio-based solutions.

By leveraging renewable feedstocks and achieving this milestone, we are able to provide additional solutions that support our customers climate goals and address societys needs, said Stephanie Couhig, Senior Vice President, Environmental Health & Safety and Chief Sustainability Officer. We are committed to developing innovative products that provide a lower environmental impact and contribute to the circular economy.

Globally-recognized certifications, such as ISCC PLUS, demonstrate the companys ongoing progress against numerous sustainability initiatives. Hexion recently detailed its progress in its recently-released Sustainability Report, Building and Protecting the Future Using Innovative Science Today.

About Hexion Inc.

Based in Columbus, Ohio, Hexion is a leading global producer of adhesives and performance materials. Hexion provides specialty products and technical support for customers in a diverse range of applications and industries, such as construction, agriculture, energy, automotive and infrastructure protection. Building on over a century of experience, Hexion is working to preserve the earths natural resources, meet the needs of growing populations and respond to a changing climate. Learn more about Hexion and its sustainability commitment at www.hexion.com

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John Kompa

[email protected]

614.225.2223

Source: Hexion Inc.
KENT, Wash.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Institutional Property Advisors (IPA), a division of Marcus & Millichap (NYSE: MMI), announced today the sale of Waters Edge, a 304-unit multifamily asset located in The Lakes master-planned community, consisting of high-end waterfront single-family residences, condos, and apartments in Kent, Washington. The property sold for $80 million, or $263,125 per unit.

Over the past decade, Kents population has grown by 40%, which is nearly three times that of Seattle MSAs 14% population growth for the same period, said IPA executive director Giovanni Napoli. Continued population growth, along with the high cost of a single-family home in South King County, supports the multifamily market in Kent, and in particular value-add assets like Waters Edge. Napoli and IPAs Philip Assouad, Nicholas Ruggiero, Ryan Harmon, and Anthony Palladino represented the seller, Jackson Square Properties, and procured the buyer, FPA Multifamily.

The propertys central Puget Sound location places residents close to Downtown Seattle, Downtown Bellevue, Eastside, Renton, Kent Valley, and SEA International Airport. The Kent station of the Sounder commuter rail network, providing bus and rail service to Downtown Seattle, is within two miles of the property. Interstate 5, State Routes 167, 181, 509, and 516 are nearby.

Completed in 1987, Waters Edge is a low-density community with meticulously maintained grounds and a private lake with walking trail. The property has a recently updated central clubhouse with a leasing office, lounge, and fitness center. Additional amenities include a heated outdoor pool, walking trails, and a childrens playground. The propertys one-, two-, and three-bedroom apartments average 879 square feet. Select apartments have oversized laundry rooms and wood-burning fireplaces with brick mantels.

About Institutional Property Advisors (IPA)

Institutional Property Advisors (IPA) is a division of Marcus & Millichap (NYSE: MMI), a leading commercial real estate services firm in North America. IPAs combination of real estate investment and capital markets expertise, industry-leading technology, and acclaimed research offer customized solutions for the acquisition, disposition and financing of institutional properties and portfolios. For more information, please visit www.institutionalpropertyadvisors.com.

About Marcus & Millichap, Inc. (NYSE: MMI)

Marcus & Millichap, Inc. is a leading brokerage firm specializing in commercial real estate investment sales, financing, research and advisory services with offices throughout the United States and Canada. As of December 31, 2022, the company had 1,904 investment sales and financing professionals in 81 offices who provide investment brokerage and financing services to sellers and buyers of commercial real estate. The company also offers market research, consulting and advisory services to clients. Marcus & Millichap closed 12,272 transactions in 2022, with a sales volume of approximately $86.3 billion. For additional information, please visit www.MarcusMillichap.com.

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Gina Relva, VP of Public Relations

[email protected]

Source: Marcus & Millichap, Inc.
SACRAMENTO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Inszone Insurance Services, a rapidly growing national provider of commercial, personal, and benefits insurance, announced the acquisition of DeVoy Insurance Group, a well-established insurance agency deeply rooted in the community of Brookfield, Missouri.

DeVoy Insurance Group is run by Blake DeVoy, whose family has a storied history in the insurance industry dating back to the early 20th century, DeVoy Insurance Group has been a trusted name in Brookfield. The DeVoy family's dedication to serving their community has spanned generations, epitomizing their commitment to excellence.

In 1910, Blake DeVoy's great-grandfather embarked on his journey by establishing the first insurance agency in Brookfield, later selling the original DeVoy & Co. to another local agency. In 1982, Blake DeVoy's father cofounded an agency, a strategic decision that laid the foundation for the family's continued legacy in the insurance business. Blake DeVoy himself entered the insurance industry in 2002 at the age of 19, building upon his early experiences working in his father's office. His diverse background, which includes roles as an underwriter and claims representative, equipped him with a unique perspective and skill set to navigate the complexities of insurance, making him a valuable resource for clients and strong leader for his team.

"We're delighted to integrate the DeVoy Insurance Group into the Inszone Insurance umbrella," remarked Chris Walters, CEO of Inszone Insurance Services. "Their impressive legacy and enduring dedication to their local community mirrors our own commitment. This step enhances our position in Brookfield and expands our influence throughout the state, highlighting our unwavering promise to offer the best service to our valued clients."

When asked about his decision to merge with Inszone Insurance, DeVoy pointed out the ever-evolving insurance landscape and business environment. He continued, I recognized the changing demands of the insurance climate and wanted to ensure that my clients received the highest level of service."

Clients of DeVoy Group can expect to receive the same exceptional service they are used to, now bolstered by the added resources available through the Inszone brand. Inszone Insurance is expected to announce several significant acquisitions in the upcoming months as part of its ongoing efforts to expand its footprint on a national scale.

Founded in 2002 and headquartered in Sacramento, California, Inszone is a full-service insurance brokerage firm that provides a broad array of property & casualty insurance and employee benefits solutions. With a strong, experienced management team, Inszone continues to grow organically and through acquisitions. With 44 locations across California, Arizona, Colorado, Illinois, Michigan, Missouri, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Texas, and Utah, the company is looking to expand further throughout the United States.

For more information about Inszone, please visit www.inszoneinsurance.com.

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Inszone Insurance

Chris Walters  CEO

714-619-5620

[email protected]

Source: Inszone Insurance
FRANKFURT, Oct. 5 (Xinhua) -- Over half of the managers of German small and medium-sized companies (SMEs) are skeptical about the future and predominantly concerned about over-regulation, the lack of skilled workers and rising energy costs, a study published on Thursday showed.

Up to 51 percent of the 520 managers of medium-sized companies are skeptical about the sustainability of their business, according to a survey conducted by Metafinanz, a business and information technology consulting company based in Frankfurt.

On top of bureaucracy and the lack of skilled workers, the managers surveyed also believe that rising energy costs, outdated leadership and company culture, technology skepticism and other issues are obstacles and challenges to the future of their business.

Almost half of the respondents think that the energy and environmental sectors will outperform other sectors in the future, while the construction and media industries will turn out to be among the worst performers.

According to the German Federal Statistical Office (Destatis), over 99 percent of all companies in the country are SMEs. They account for over half of Germany's employment opportunities and contribute 43 percent of gross value added at factor cost, Destatis said. 
NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- KBRA releases the September 2023 issue of CMBS Trend Watch.

September year-to-date volume totaled $25.8 billion, down 59.2% year-over-year (YoY). But on a quarter-over-quarter (QoQ) basis, issuance performance continues to show improvement with YoY percentage declines for Q1-Q3 2023 trending lower. Q4 issuance could follow the trend, with up to 12 deals announcing through early November, including seven conduits, three single-borrower (SB), one single-family rental (SFR), and one Freddie Mac K-Series deal. However, it is far from a sure bet as the U.S. 10-year Treasury rate hovers at multiyear highs, loan volumes remain suppressed, and loans in the works are slow to close. This has contributed to a number of conduits slated for September and early October pushing out launch dates.

In September, KBRA published pre-sales for five deals ($3.7 billion) including two conduits ($1.6 billion), one Agency ($1.1 billion), one SB ($700 million), and one CRE CLO ($364 million). Septembers surveillance activity included a review of the ratings of 791 securities issued in connection with 83 transactions. Of the 791 ratings, 760 were affirmed, 24 were downgraded, and seven were upgraded.

This months edition also highlights recent KBRA research publications, which cover various topical issues.

Click here to view the report.

Related Publications

About KBRA

KBRA is a full-service credit rating agency registered in the U.S., the EU, and the UK, and is designated to provide structured finance ratings in Canada. KBRAs ratings can be used by investors for regulatory capital purposes in multiple jurisdictions.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20231005835199/en/

Aryansh Agrawal, Analyst, CMBS Ratings Surveillance

+1 646-731-1381

[email protected]

Larry Kay, Senior Director, CMBS Ratings Surveillance

+1 646-731-2452

[email protected]

Roy Chun, Senior Managing Director, CMBS Ratings Surveillance

+1 646-731-2376

[email protected]

Business Development Contact

Dan Stallone, Senior Director

+1 646-731-1308

[email protected]

Source: KBRA
BOSTON & NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Stone-Goff Partners (SGP), a growth-oriented private equity firm focused on technology-driven B2B service companies, today announced the hiring of Meet Doshi as Managing Director on the firms investment team. With more than a decade of private equity and investment banking experience, Mr. Doshi will focus on supporting SGPs existing portfolio companies and executing new investments within the technology driven B2B space.

We are pleased to welcome Meet to Stone-Goff Partners, said Hannah Stone Craven, co-founder and managing partner at Stone-Goff Partners. Meets deep investment experience and his background working with entrepreneurial companies will have an immediate and positive impact on supporting our team and our portfolio companies.

Prior to Stone-Goff, Mr. Doshi worked at Quad Partners where he focused on software and services investments in the education and workforce development arena. Previously, he worked at Weld North, a private investment firm focused on education companies, where he helped create a portfolio of some of the largest names in digital education.

I am excited to be joining the Stone-Goff team at an exciting time in terms of growth trajectory within both the market and the firm, said Mr. Doshi. Stone-Goff is known for its extensive experience investing in knowledge economy companies in the lower middle market, and I look forward to leveraging my expertise toward new opportunities and helping portfolio companies execute against their strategic visions.

Mr. Doshi holds a BS in Business Administration and an MS in Finance from Villanova University.

About Stone-Goff Partners

Stone-Goff Partners is a lower middle market private equity firm investing in technology-driven business-to-business service companies. Our companies combine service offerings with technology, focus on clearly-defined end markets, and are active participants in the growing knowledge economy. Core verticals include business services, consulting services, marketing services, IT services, human capital and training, and outsourced services. We partner with company founders and executive leadership teams to provide capital, M&A origination and execution, and value-creation expertise to our portfolio companies. Since the firms founding in 2010, Stone-Goffs sector knowledge and deal experience has helped drive successful outcomes for company founders, limited partners, and portfolio management teams. For more information about Stone-Goff Partners, please visit stonegoff.com.

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Jeremy Milner

BackBay Communications

(401) 862-9422

[email protected]

Source: Stone-Goff Partners
NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Metropolitan Bank Holding Corp. (the Company) (NYSE: MCB), the holding company for Metropolitan Commercial Bank, today announced it will release third quarter financial results after the market closes on Thursday, October 19, 2023. The Company will conduct a conference call at 9:00 a.m. ET on Friday, October 20, 2023, to discuss the results.

To access the event by telephone, please dial 800-343-5172 (US), 203-518-9814 (INTL), and provide conference ID: MCBQ323 approximately 15 minutes prior to the start time (to allow time for registration).

The call will also be broadcast live over the Internet and accessible at MCB Quarterly Results Conference Call and in the Investor Relations section of the Companys website at MCB News. To listen to the live webcast, please visit the site at least 15 minutes prior to the start time to register, download and install any necessary audio software.

For those unable to join for the live presentation, a replay of the webcast will also be available later that day accessible at MCB Quarterly Results Conference Call.

About Metropolitan Bank Holding Corp.

Metropolitan Bank Holding Corp. (NYSE: MCB) is the parent company of Metropolitan Commercial Bank (the Bank), a New York City based full-service commercial bank.

The Bank provides a broad range of business, commercial and personal banking products and services to individuals, small businesses, private and public middle-market and corporate enterprises and institutions, municipalities and local government entities.

Metropolitan Commercial Banks Global Payments Group is an established leader in providing payments services to domestic and international non-bank financial service companies. The Bank continues to grow its presence as a valued, trusted and innovative strategic partner across, payments, custodial and money services businesses worldwide.

Metropolitan Commercial Banks EB-5 / E-2 International Group delivers banking services and products for United States Citizen and Immigration Services EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program investors, developers, Regional Centers, government agencies, law firms and consulting companies that specialize in EB-5 and E-2.

Metropolitan Commercial Bank was ranked by Independent Community Bankers of America among the top ten successful loan producers for 2023 by loan category and asset size for commercial banks with more than $1 billion in assets. The Bank finished ninth in S&P Global Market Intelligences annual ranking of the best-performing community banks with assets between $3 billion and $10 billion for 2022 and eighth among top-performing community banks in the Northeast region for 2022. The Bank is also a member of the Piper Sandler Sm-All Stars Class of 2022 and Kroll affirmed a BBB+ (investment grade) deposit rating on January 25, 2023.

The Bank is a New York State chartered commercial bank, a member of the Federal Reserve System and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, and an equal housing lender.

For more information please, visit the Banks website at MCBankNY.com.

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Greg Sigrist

EVP & Chief Financial Officer

Metropolitan Commercial Bank

(212) 365-6721

[email protected]

Source: Metropolitan Bank Holding Corp.
GUELPH, Ontario--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Bioenterprise Canada has welcomed four new innovation leaders to its board of directors. Lorelei Graham, Joanne Fedeyko, Richard Cloutier and Ted Bilyea have each started a three-year term on the board of Canadas Food & Agri-Tech Engine.

The promise of sustainable innovation solutions in the food and agri-tech sectors offers virtually limitless potential for Canada to address big picture issues like food security and climate change that our world is grappling with, says Bioenterprise CEO Dave Smardon. We are excited to add the skills and insights of our new directors to Bioenterprises national board and look forward to harnessing their expertise to help drive our organization and Canadas national agri-food ecosystem forward into a bold and innovative future.

Lorelei Graham is a partner at law firm Bennett Jones where she practises intellectual property law with a significant focus on clients in the food and agribusiness sectors. She has developed a practice that addresses all aspects of her food and agriculture clients intellectual property needs, from initial consultations regarding IP strategies to drafting, filing and prosecuting patents, trademarks, industrial designs and copyright in Canada, the United States and internationally. Graham has also written extensively on the growing role of precision agriculture in agribusiness.

I am thrilled to be joining the Bioenterprise board and continuing to support the Canadian agri-tech and food communities, says Graham. I look forward to working with the Bioenterprise team and being a part of the exciting initiatives across Canada.

Joanne Fedeyko is the Founder & CEO at Connection Silicon Valley (CSV), an organization that helps accelerate Canadian startups from Seed to Scale, and the Founder of the Canadian Women's Network (CWN). With over 800 members, CWN is the preeminent community that connects Canadian founders to an influential network of U.S. investors, mentors and executives to help them grow locally and scale globally. Fedeyko is the co-founder and general partner of Womens Equity Lab Silicon Valley, an angel investment fund with the mission to increase the number of female investors in early-stage startups. She hails from Alberta and has lived in Silicon Valley since 1999.

Having grown up on a farm in Northern Alberta, farming and agriculture are my roots, says Fedeyko. I'm excited to leverage my expertise and experience working with startups, along with my network in Silicon Valley to help deliver on Bioenterprise's mission.

Richard Cloutier has nearly 40 years of expertise in the deployment of innovation, business start-ups and business development strategies, including managing partner of the Ecofuel Fund, a venture capital fund that invests in climate tech including agri-tech. He has also been President and CEO of the Centre quebecois de valorisation des biotechnologies (CQVB), an organization dedicated to innovation and technology transfer in Quebecs bio-industry sector, and was the founder, president and CEO of Gelkem, a private biopharmaceutical company involved in controlled drug delivery systems. Cloutier holds a bachelors degree in biochemistry from Sherbrooke University and an MBA from Laval University and is frequently consulted on innovation strategy development.

Ted Bilyea is an agri-food consultant specializing in innovation with clients in both private and public sector and special advisor the Canadian Agri-Food Policy Institute (CAPI) after previously serving as its chair and Chief Strategy Officer. He retired from Maple Leaf Foods Inc. as Executive Vice-President after spending 35 years with the company, including as president of Maple Leaf Foods International, and has served on many boards, such as Paterson Global Foods Inc. and the Alberta Meat and Livestock Agency. Bilyea holds bachelors and masters degrees in international relations from York University and was inducted into the Canadian Agricultural Hall of Fame in 2018.

We must significantly increase efforts in Canada to improve productivity in agriculture if we are to provide affordable nutrition to Canadians and a growing hungry world, says Bilyea. The OECD (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development) has made it clear that the world requires productivity growth of 24% for crops and 31% for animals by 2050 to avoid a major increase in hunger; Canada needs organizations such as Bioenterprise to help transform ideas for sustainable intensification to commercial reality.

Dr. Rickey Yada of the Faculty of Land and Food Systems at the University of British Columbia has stepped down as director with Bioenterprise to become Science Advisor to the board. Nevin McDougall has also left the board but will remain as an advisor.

About Bioenterprise Canada

Bioenterprise is Canadas Food & Agri-Tech Engine, a national agri-technology focused commercialization accelerator. Bioenterprise uses its 20 years of industry experience and a global network of experts, mentors, funders, researchers, and industry partners to help small and medium-sized agri-food businesses connect, innovate and grow.

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Dave Smardon, CEO, Bioenterprise Canada

[email protected] or (519) 821-2960

Source: Bioenterprise Canada
Presentations showcase diversity and momentum of Pfizers growing portfolio of vaccines and anti-infectives

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Pfizer Inc. (NYSE: PFE) will present data across its infectious disease portfolio at the upcoming IDWeek 2023 held in Boston from October 11-15, 2023. Data from 45 abstracts will highlight the advances Pfizer is making in helping prevent and treat certain infectious diseases, particularly respiratory illnesses. This will include research featured in the IDWeek press program assessing the potential public health impact of ABRYSVO (Respiratory Syncytial Virus Vaccine), the companys bivalent respiratory syncytial virus prefusion F (RSVpreF) vaccine for maternal immunization to protect infants against RSV illness.

The data at this years IDWeek highlight Pfizers commitment to transforming respiratory health, an area where we are proud to have delivered several innovative vaccine and treatment options over the last three years. We also continue to actively investigate infectious diseases more broadly, with a diverse pipeline of innovative vaccine and anti-infective treatment candidates, said Annaliesa Anderson, Ph.D., Senior Vice President and Head, Vaccine Research and Development, Pfizer. With our unique scientific capabilities and vaccine technology platforms, we are unwavering in the fight against the worlds most pressing disease challenges. We are excited to present our latest clinical results that support our growing infectious disease portfolio for the purpose of improving global health outcomes.

"The burden of respiratory illnesses on global public health is significant. It is particularly relevant as we enter the winter respiratory season in the Northern Hemisphere and once again face the threat of a possible tripledemic with influenza, RSV and COVID-19 co-circulating, said Luis Jodar, Ph. D., Chief Medical Affairs Officer, Vaccines/Antivirals and Evidence Generation, Pfizer. At IDWeek, we are pleased to share real-world data that will help educate healthcare professionals about the role Pfizers vaccines and treatments can play in helping mitigate the impact of certain respiratory infections during this critical period.

Pfizer's participation at IDWeek 2023 comprises breakthrough research from across the companys robust infectious disease portfolio, covering RSV, COVID-19, pneumococcal disease, Lyme disease, meningococcal disease, multidrug-resistant gram-negative bacterial infections and more. Eight abstracts have been selected for oral presentation, including data on the successful coadministration of ABRYSVO with an influenza vaccine in older adults and results from the Phase 3 REVISIT study of Pfizers investigational antibiotic combination aztreonam-avibactam (ATM-AVI) candidate. Data highlighting the real-world effectiveness of Pfizers FDA-approved COVID-19 oral treatment for adults, PAXLOVID (nirmatrelvir tablets; ritonavir tablets), will also be featured at the meeting.

A complete list of Pfizer-sponsored accepted abstracts is available here.

Details for Pfizer-sponsored oral presentations are below:

Title/ Abstract Number Presenting Name/Type Date/ Time EDT Location IDWEEK PRESS PROGRAM 1942 - Potential Public Health Impact of Bivalent Respiratory Syncytial Virus Prefusion F (RSVpreF) Maternal Vaccine for Prevention of RSV Among US Infants Amy W. Law, PharmD Oct 13 2:15 - 2:30 PM US ET 104 ABC ORAL PRESENTATIONS 1019 - Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) Diagnoses in Hospitalized Patients Increases when Additional Specimen Types are Added to Nasopharyngeal Swab: Results from the RSV in Adults Multispecimen Study Elizabeth Begier, MD, MPH Oct 12 3:15 - 3:33 PM US ET 104 ABC 1941 - Coadministration of Bivalent Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSVpreF) Vaccine with Influenza Vaccine in Older Adults James Baber, MBChB, MPH Oct 13 2:00 - 2:15 PM US ET 104 ABC 1944 - Tolerability and Safety of 20-Valent Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine (PCV20) in Infants and Older Children in Global Studies Kathleen McElwee, MD, MPH Oct 13 2:45 - 3:00 PM US ET 104 ABC 1948 - Rise of Candida auris Infections Worldwide and Trends on the Activity of Fosmanogepix and Comparator Agents Against C. auris Causing Invasive Infections Cecilia G. Carvalhaes, MD, PhD Oct 13 2:30 - 2:45 PM US ET 102 AB 1949  Activity of Aztreonam-Avibactam Against Enterobacterales Resistant to Recently Approved Beta-Lactamase Inhibitor Combinations Collected Worldwide (ex-US: 2020-2022) Helio S. Sader, MD, PhD, FIDSA Oct 13 2:45 - 3:00 PM US ET 102 AB 2890 - Pharmacokinetics, Safety, and Efficacy of Ceftazidime-Avibactam in Neonates and Young Infants with Bacterial Infections: Results from a Phase 2a, 2-part, Open-label, Non-randomized, Multicenter Trial Richard D England, MD Oct 14 2:05 - 2:15 PM US ET 254 AB 2893 - Efficacy and Safety of Aztreonam-Avibactam for the Treatment of Serious Infections Due to Gram-Negative Bacteria, Including Metallo--Lactamase-Producing Pathogens: Phase 3 REVISIT Study Yehuda Carmeli, MD MPH Oct 14 2:35 - 2:45 PM US ET 254 AB

INDICATIONS AND IMPORTANT SAFETY INFORMATION FOR ABRYSVO

U.S. INDICATIONS

ABRYSVOTM is a vaccine indicated for:

the prevention of lower respiratory tract disease (LRTD) caused by respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) in people 60 years of age and older

pregnant individuals at 32 through 36 weeks gestational age for the prevention of LRTD and severe LRTD caused by RSV in infants from birth through 6 months of age

IMPORTANT SAFETY INFORMATION

ABRYSVO should not be given to anyone with a history of severe allergic reaction (eg, anaphylaxis) to any of its components

For pregnant individuals: to avoid the potential risks of preterm birth, ABRYSVO should be given during 32 through 36 weeks gestational age

Fainting can happen after getting injectable vaccines, including ABRYSVO. Precautions should be taken to avoid falling and injury during fainting

Adults with weakened immune systems, including those receiving medicines that suppress the immune system, may have a reduced immune response to ABRYSVO

Vaccination with ABRYSVO may not protect all people

In adults 60 years of age and older, the most common side effects (10%) were fatigue, headache, pain at the injection site, and muscle pain

In pregnant individuals, the most common side effects (10%) were pain at the injection site, headache, muscle pain, nausea

In clinical trials where ABRYSVO was compared to placebo, infants born to pregnant individuals experienced low birth weight (5.1% ABRYSVO versus 4.4% placebo) and jaundice (7.2% ABRYSVO versus 6.7% placebo

View the full Prescribing Information.

INDICATION, AUTHORIZED USE AND IMPORTANT SAFETY INFORMATION FOR PAXLOVID

U.S. Indication

PAXLOVID is indicated for the treatment of mild-to-moderate coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in adults who are at high risk for progression to severe COVID-19, including hospitalization or death.

Limitations of Use

PAXLOVID is not approved for use as pre-exposure or post-exposure prophylaxis for prevention of COVID-19.

U.S. FDA Emergency Use Authorization Statement

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued an Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) for the emergency use of PAXLOVID for the treatment of adults and pediatric patients (12 years of age and older weighing at least 40 kg) with mild to moderate coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and who are at high risk for progression to severe COVID-19, including hospitalization or death.

PAXLOVID has not been approved, but has been authorized for emergency use by FDA under an EUA, for the treatment of mild-to-moderate COVID-19 in pediatric patients (12 years of age and older weighing at least 40 kg) who are at high risk for progression to severe COVID-19, including hospitalization or death. The emergency use of PAXLOVID is only authorized for the duration of the declaration that circumstances exist justifying the authorization of the emergency use of drugs and biological products during the COVID-19 pandemic under Section 564(b)(1) of the Act, 21 U.S.C.  360bbb-3(b)(1), unless the declaration is terminated or authorization revoked sooner.

IMPORTANT SAFETY INFORMATION

WARNING: SIGNIFICANT DRUG INTERACTIONS WITH PAXLOVID

PAXLOVID includes ritonavir, a strong CYP3A inhibitor, which may lead to greater exposure of certain concomitant medications, resulting in potentially severe, life-threatening, or fatal events

Prior to prescribing PAXLOVID: 1) Review all medications taken by the patient to assess potential drug-drug interactions with a strong CYP3A inhibitor like PAXLOVID and 2) Determine if concomitant medications require a dose adjustment, interruption, and/or additional monitoring

Consider the benefit of PAXLOVID treatment in reducing hospitalization and death, and whether the risk of potential drug-drug interactions for an individual patient can be appropriately managed

PAXLOVID is contraindicated in patients with a history of clinically significant hypersensitivity reactions (eg, toxic epidermal necrolysis or Stevens-Johnson syndrome) to its active ingredients (nirmatrelvir or ritonavir) or any other components of the product. If signs and symptoms of a clinically significant hypersensitivity reaction or anaphylaxis occur, immediately discontinue PAXLOVID and initiate appropriate medications and/or supportive care.

PAXLOVID is contraindicated with drugs that are primarily metabolized by CYP3A and for which elevated concentrations are associated with serious and/or life-threatening reactions and drugs that are strong CYP3A inducers where significantly reduced nirmatrelvir or ritonavir plasma concentrations may be associated with the potential for loss of virologic response and possible resistance. There are certain other drugs for which concomitant use with PAXLOVID should be avoided and/or dose adjustment, interruption, or therapeutic monitoring is recommended. Drugs listed here are a guide and not considered a comprehensive list of all drugs that may be contraindicated with PAXLOVID. The healthcare provider should consult other appropriate resources such as the prescribing information for the interacting drug for comprehensive information on dosing or monitoring with concomitant use of a strong CYP3A inhibitor like PAXLOVID.

Drugs that are primarily metabolized by CYP3A for which elevated concentrations are associated with serious and/or life-threatening reactions:

Alpha 1-adrenoreceptor antagonist: alfuzosin

Antianginal: ranolazine

Antiarrhythmic: amiodarone, dronedarone, flecainide, propafenone, quinidine

Anti-gout: colchicine (in patients with renal and/or hepatic impairment)

Antipsychotics: lurasidone, pimozide

Benign prostatic hyperplasia agents: silodosin

Cardiovascular agents: eplerenone, ivabradine

Ergot derivatives: dihydroergotamine, ergotamine, methylergonovine

HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors: lovastatin, simvastatin (these drugs can be temporarily discontinued to allow PAXLOVID use)

Immunosuppressants: voclosporin

Microsomal triglyceride transfer protein inhibitor: lomitapide

Migraine medications: eletriptan, ubrogepant

Mineralocorticoid receptor antagonists: finerenone

Opioid antagonists: naloxegol

PDE5 inhibitor: sildenafil (Revatio) when used for pulmonary arterial hypertension

Sedative/hypnotics: triazolam, oral midazolam

Serotonin receptor 1A agonist/serotonin receptor 2A antagonist: flibanserin

Vasopressin receptor antagonists: tolvaptan

Drugs that are strong CYP3A inducers: PAXLOVID cannot be started immediately after discontinuation of any of the following medications due to the delayed offset of the recently discontinued CYP3A inducer:

Anticancer drugs: apalutamide

Anticonvulsant: carbamazepine, phenobarbital, primidone, phenytoin

Anticonvulsant: carbamazepine, phenobarbital, primidone, phenytoin Antimycobacterials: rifampin, rifapentine

Cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator potentiators: lumacaftor/ivacaftor

Herbal Products: St. Johns Wort (hypericum perforatum)

Risk of Serious Adverse Reactions Due to Drug Interactions: Initiation of PAXLOVID, which contains ritonavir, a strong CYP3A inhibitor, in patients receiving medications metabolized by CYP3A or initiation of medications metabolized by CYP3A in patients already receiving PAXLOVID, may increase plasma concentrations of medications metabolized by CYP3A. Medications that induce CYP3A may decrease concentrations of PAXLOVID. These interactions may lead to:

Clinically significant adverse reactions, potentially leading to severe, life-threatening, or fatal events from greater exposures of concomitant medications

Loss of therapeutic effect of PAXLOVID and possible development of viral resistance

Severe, life-threatening, and/or fatal adverse reactions due to drug interactions have been reported in patients treated with PAXLOVID. The most commonly reported concomitant medications resulting in serious adverse reactions were calcineurin inhibitors (eg, tacrolimus, cyclosporine), followed by calcium channel blockers.

Hepatotoxicity: Hepatic transaminase elevations, clinical hepatitis, and jaundice have occurred in patients receiving ritonavir. Therefore, caution should be exercised when administering PAXLOVID to patients with pre-existing liver diseases, liver enzyme abnormalities, or hepatitis.

Because nirmatrelvir is coadministered with ritonavir, there may be a risk of HIV-1 developing resistance to HIV protease inhibitors in individuals with uncontrolled or undiagnosed HIV-1 infection.

The most common adverse reactions in the PAXLOVID group (1%) that occurred at a greater frequency than in the placebo group were dysgeusia (5% and

The following adverse reactions have been identified during use of PAXLOVID under Emergency Use Authorization:

Immune System Disorders: Anaphylaxis, hypersensitivity reactions

Skin and Subcutaneous Tissue Disorders: Toxic epidermal necrolysis, Stevens-Johnson syndrome

Nervous System Disorders: Headache

Vascular Disorders: Hypertension

Gastrointestinal Disorders: Abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting

General Disorders and Administration Site Conditions: Malaise

PAXLOVID is a strong inhibitor of CYP3A, and an inhibitor of CYP2D6, P-gp, and OATP1B1. Coadministration of PAXLOVID with drugs that are primarily metabolized by CYP3A and CYP2D6 or are transported by P-gp or OATP1B1 may result in increased plasma concentrations of such drugs and increase the risk of adverse events. Coadministration with other CYP3A substrates may require a dose adjustment or additional monitoring.

Pregnancy: Available data on the use of nirmatrelvir during pregnancy are insufficient to evaluate for a drug-associated risk of major birth defects, miscarriage, or adverse maternal or fetal outcomes. Published observational studies on ritonavir use in pregnant women have not identified an increase in the risk of major birth defects. Published studies with ritonavir are insufficient to identify a drug-associated risk of miscarriage. There are maternal and fetal risks associated with untreated COVID-19 in pregnancy.

Lactation: There are no available data on the presence of nirmatrelvir in human or animal milk, the effects on the breastfed infant, or the effects on milk production. A transient decrease in body weight was observed in the nursing offspring of rats administered nirmatrelvir. Limited published data report that ritonavir is present in human milk. There is no information on the effects of ritonavir on the breastfed infant or the effects of the drug on milk production. The developmental and health benefits of breastfeeding should be considered along with the mother's clinical need for PAXLOVID and any potential adverse effects on the breastfed infant from PAXLOVID or from the underlying maternal condition.

Contraception: Use of ritonavir may reduce the efficacy of combined hormonal contraceptives. Advise patients using combined hormonal contraceptives to use an effective alternative contraceptive method or an additional barrier method of contraception.

Pediatrics: The optimal dose of PAXLOVID has not been established in pediatric patients.

Systemic exposure of nirmatrelvir increases in renally impaired patients with increase in the severity of renal impairment. No dosage adjustment is recommended in patients with mild renal impairment. Reduce the dose of PAXLOVID in patients with moderate renal impairment (eGFR 30 to PAXLOVID is not recommended in patients with severe renal impairment (eGFR or in patients with end-stage renal disease (eGFR

PAXLOVID is not recommended for use in patients with severe hepatic impairment (Child-Pugh Class C).

Please see Full Prescribing Information, including BOXED WARNING and Patient Information

Click for Fact Sheets:

For Consumers:

EUA Fact sheet for Patients, Parents, and Caregivers

For Healthcare Professionals:

EUA Fact Sheet for HCPs

INDICATIONS AND IMPORTANT SAFETY INFORMATION FOR PREVNAR 20

U.S. INDICATIONS

PREVNAR 20 is a vaccine approved for:

the prevention of invasive disease caused by 20 Streptococcus pneumoniae strains (1, 3, 4, 5, 6A, 6B, 7F, 8, 9V, 10A, 11A, 12F, 14, 15B, 18C, 19A, 19F, 22F, 23F, and 33F) in individuals 6 weeks and older.

strains (1, 3, 4, 5, 6A, 6B, 7F, 8, 9V, 10A, 11A, 12F, 14, 15B, 18C, 19A, 19F, 22F, 23F, and 33F) in individuals 6 weeks and older. the prevention of otitis media (middle ear infection) caused by 7 of the 20 strains in individuals 6 weeks through 5 years.

IMPORTANT SAFETY INFORMATION

PREVNAR 20 should not be given to anyone who has had a severe allergic reaction to any component of PREVNAR 20 or to diphtheriatoxoid-containing vaccine.

Individuals with weakened immune systems may have a lower immune response. Safety data are not available for these groups.

A temporary pause in breathing after getting the vaccine has been observed in some infants who were born prematurely. For premature infants, talk to your doctor about the infant's medical status when deciding to get vaccinated with PREVNAR 20.

In individuals 2, 4, 6, and 12 through 15 months of age vaccinated with a 4-dose schedule, the most common side effects reported at a rate of >10% were irritability, pain at the injection site, drowsiness, decreased appetite and injection site redness, injection site swelling, and fever.

In individuals 15 months through 17 years of age vaccinated with a single dose, the most common side effects reported at a rate of >10% were irritability, pain at the injection site, drowsiness, fatigue and muscle pain, decreased appetite, injection site swelling and injection site redness, headache, and fever.

Ask your doctor about the risks and benefits of PREVNAR 20. Only a doctor can decide if PREVNAR 20 is right for your child.

View the full Prescribing Information.

About Pfizer: Breakthroughs That Change Patients Lives

At Pfizer, we apply science and our global resources to bring therapies to people that extend and significantly improve their lives. We strive to set the standard for quality, safety and value in the discovery, development and manufacture of health care products, including innovative medicines and vaccines. Every day, Pfizer colleagues work across developed and emerging markets to advance wellness, prevention, treatments and cures that challenge the most feared diseases of our time. Consistent with our responsibility as one of the world's premier innovative biopharmaceutical companies, we collaborate with health care providers, governments and local communities to support and expand access to reliable, affordable health care around the world. For more than 170 years, we have worked to make a difference for all who rely on us. We routinely post information that may be important to investors on our website at www.Pfizer.com. In addition, to learn more, please visit us on www.Pfizer.com and follow us on Twitter at @Pfizer and @Pfizer News, LinkedIn, YouTube and like us on Facebook at Facebook.com/Pfizer.

Disclosure Notice

The information contained in this release is as of October 5, 2023. Pfizer assumes no obligation to update forward-looking statements contained in this release as the result of new information or future events or developments.

This release contains forward-looking information about Pfizers infectious disease pipeline, in-line products and product candidates, including ABRYSVO (RSVpreF), Pfizers aztreonam-avibactam (ATM-AVI) candidate and PAXLOVID, including their potential benefits, that involves substantial risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such statements. Risks and uncertainties include, among other things, uncertainties regarding the commercial success of ABRYSVO (RSVpreF), Pfizers ATM-AVI candidate, PAXLOVID or any of Pfizers other infectious disease products or product candidates; the uncertainties inherent in research and development, including the ability to meet anticipated clinical endpoints, commencement and/or completion dates for our clinical trials, regulatory submission dates, regulatory approval dates and/or launch dates, as well as risks associated with pre-clinical and clinical data (including Phase 1/2/3 or Phase 4 or pre-clinical data for ABRYSVO (RSVpreF), Pfizers ATM-AVI candidate, PAXLOVID or any of Pfizers other infectious disease products or product candidates, including the data discussed in this release) in any of our studies in pediatrics, adolescents, or adults or real world evidence, including the possibility of unfavorable new pre-clinical, clinical or safety data and further analyses of existing pre-clinical, clinical or safety data; risks associated with interim data, including the risk that final results from the Phase 3 trials for RSVpreF could differ from the interim data; the risk that clinical trial data are subject to differing interpretations and assessments by regulatory authorities; the ability to produce comparable clinical or other results for ABRYSVO (RSVpreF), Pfizers ATM-AVI candidate, PAXLOVID or any of Pfizers other infectious disease products or product candidates, including efficacy, safety and tolerability profile observed to date, in additional analyses of the Phase 3 trial and additional studies, in real world data studies or in larger, more diverse populations following commercialization; the ability of ABRYSVO (RSVpreF) and PAXLOVID to be effective against emerging virus variants; the risk that the use of ABRYSVO (RSVpreF), Pfizers ATM-AVI candidate, PAXLOVID or any of Pfizers other infectious disease products or product candidates will lead to new information about efficacy, safety, or other developments, including the risk of additional adverse reactions, some of which may be serious; the risk that pre-clinical and clinical trial data are subject to differing interpretations and assessments, including during the peer review/publication process, in the scientific community generally, and by regulatory authorities; whether and when additional data from ABRYSVO (RSVpreF), Pfizers ATM-AVI candidate, PAXLOVID or any of Pfizers other infectious disease products or product candidates will be published in scientific journal publications and, if so, when and with what modifications and interpretations; whether regulatory authorities will be satisfied with the design of and results from our clinical studies; whether and when drug applications or submissions to request emergency use or conditional marketing authorizations for any potential indications for ABRYSVO (RSVpreF), Pfizers ATM-AVI candidate, PAXLOVID or any of Pfizers other infectious disease products or product candidates may be filed in any jurisdictions and if obtained, whether or when such emergency use authorization or licenses will expire or terminate; whether and when any applications that may be pending or filed for ABRYSVO (RSVpreF), Pfizers ATM-AVI candidate, PAXLOVID or any of Pfizers other infectious disease products or product candidates (including any requested amendments to the emergency use or conditional marketing authorizations) may be approved by regulatory authorities, which will depend on myriad factors, including making a determination as to whether the product's benefits outweigh its known risks and determination of the product's efficacy and, if approved, whether ABRYSVO (RSVpreF), Pfizers ATM-AVI candidate, PAXLOVID or any of Pfizers other infectious disease products or product candidates will be commercially successful; intellectual property and other litigation; decisions by regulatory authorities impacting labeling, manufacturing processes, safety and/or other matters that could affect the availability or commercial potential of ABRYSVO (RSVpreF), Pfizers ATM-AVI candidate, PAXLOVID or any of Pfizers other infectious disease products or product candidates, including the authorization or approval of products or therapies developed by other companies; the risk that demand for any of our products may be reduced, no longer exist or not meet expectations, which may lead to excess inventory on-hand and/or in the channel, inventory write-offs or reduced revenues; challenges related to and uncertainties regarding the timing of a transition to the commercial market for any of our products; uncertainties related to the publics adherence to vaccines and boosters; risks related to our ability to achieve our revenue forecasts for any of Pfizers infectious disease products or product candidates; the risk that other companies may produce superior or competitive products; risks related to the availability of raw materials to manufacture or test Pfizers infectious disease products or product candidates; challenges related to our vaccines formulation, dosing schedule and attendant storage, distribution and administration requirements, including risks related to storage and handling after delivery by Pfizer; the risk that we may not be able to successfully develop other vaccine formulations, booster doses or potential future annual boosters or re-vaccinations or new variant-based or next generation vaccines or potential combination respiratory vaccines; whether and when additional supply or purchase agreements will be reached or existing agreements will be completed or renegotiated; uncertainties regarding the ability to obtain recommendations from vaccine advisory or technical committees and other public health authorities regarding ABRYSVO (RSVpreF) or any of Pfizers other infectious disease products or product candidates and uncertainties regarding the commercial impact of any such recommendations; pricing and access challenges; challenges related to public confidence in, or awareness of ABRYSVO (RSVpreF), Pfizers ATM-AVI candidate, PAXLOVID or any of Pfizers other infectious disease products or product candidates; uncertainties regarding the impact of COVID-19 on our business, operations and financial results; and competitive developments.

A further description of risks and uncertainties can be found in Pfizers Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2022, and in its subsequent reports on Form 10-Q, including in the sections thereof captioned Risk Factors and Forward-Looking Information and Factors That May Affect Future Results, as well as in its subsequent reports on Form 8-K, all of which are filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and available at www.sec.gov and www.pfizer.com.

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Media Contact:

[email protected]

+1 (212) 733-1226

Investor Contact:

[email protected]

+1 (212) 733-4848

Source: Pfizer Inc.
BELGRADE, Serbia--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Quectel Wireless Solutions a global IoT solutions provider, and Amarisoft, a 4G/5G software technology provider, have joined forces in a strategic collaboration to revolutionize the non-terrestrial networks (NTN) landscape. With a shared vision to empower businesses in harnessing the potential of NTN, Quectel and Amarisoft have collaborated to bring test and measurement solutions that cater to seamless technology deployment and enhanced user experiences, solidifying their positions at the forefront of the rapidly expanding NTN market.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20231005684456/en/

Quectel and Amarisoft support increased adoption of NTN capabilities (Photo: Business Wire)

The inclusion of the Non-Terrestrial Network (NTN) in the Rel 17 3GPP standard marks a significant milestone in the telecom industry. This advancement enables the use of satellite communication technology to cater to the increasing demand for connectivity in remote and underserved regions worldwide.

In the past, services were limited to proprietary technologies, but now, with the widespread adoption of NTN technology included in the 3GPP standard, a market for NTN has emerged, presenting substantial growth opportunities for the IoT industry. The ability to rely on satellite-based solutions ensures that even the most remote areas on the planet can now benefit from enhanced connectivity options. As a result, this development is expected to bring about a significant positive impact on global communication and accessibility.

NTNs are gathering momentum as they become increasingly recognized as an appealing option for connecting many diverse types of IoT devices. Were keen to help enable this market with our portfolio of modules that support NTN, commented Norbert Muhrer, President and CSO, Quectel Wireless Solutions. Were excited to work with Amarisoft to enable its network deployment and test and measurement solutions, which are turning the NTN concept from theory into reality.

Amarisoft offers Amari Callbox series for 4G LTE, NB-IOT, LTE-M and 5G NR device testing and AMARI UE Simbox for 4G and 5G network testing which both supports NB-IoT NTN and 5G NR NTN now. These products are used widely by the industry for validation, proof-of-concept and demonstrations in labs. The company also provides carrier grade software technology, used by 40+ partners to build 4G 5G network products and services covering private networks, telcos, DAS systems, fixed to wireless, smart cities and more.

Quectel addresses the NTN market with its BG770 module which supports NTN over NB-IoT. The Cat M1/NB1/NB2 module, which offers a compact form factor and ultra-low power consumption, is utilized in Amari Callboxes and Amarisoft also uses Quectel modules in its labs. Customers benefit from being able to access NTN features and streamline their solution development. The BG770 measures just 14.9mm x 12.9mm x 1.9mm and features an integrated GNSS engine. In addition, the module boasts a comprehensive hardware-based security feature called Integrated Security Elements (ISE).

We are thrilled to partner with Quectel in the NTN area. Thanks to the new Quectel BG770 module commercialized earlier this year, weve been able to run NTN NB-IoT interopareabilies test against a commercial UE and to demonstrate that both companies are ready to support customers in the deployment of NTN technology says Karim Boutihane, Amarisoft Sales Director.

About Quectel

Quectels passion for a smarter world drives us to accelerate IoT innovation. A highly customer-centric organization, we are a global IoT solutions provider backed by outstanding support and services. Our growing global team of 5,900 professionals sets the pace for innovation in cellular, GNSS, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth modules as well as antennas and services.

With regional offices and support across the globe, our international leadership is devoted to advancing IoT and helping build a smarter world.

For more information, please visit: www.quectel.com, LinkedIn, Facebook, and X.

About Amarisoft

Founded in 2012 by Fabrice BELLARD and Franck SPINELLI, Amarisoft is a non-conventional software company dedicated to Telecom industry. We are delighted to bring affordable and high-quality solutions to the 4G/5G community to unleash creativity and ultimately expand communications among people.

Accessible technology is the basement of Amarisoft success stories. The company goal is to develop a technology that significantly improves the life of as many people as possible no matter where they are located. We are working on helping companies of all sizes to become players in mobile networks of existing and next generations.

For more information, please visit www.amarisoft.com or contact [email protected]

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Media: [email protected]

Source: Quectel Wireless Solutions
Leading Robotics Integrator to Increase Robotics Access Throughout Raleigh, Operated by Local Franchisee

DALLAS--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- RobotLAB, the premier robotics integrator that has delivered impactful business innovations and solutions for more than 15 years, has signed a new robotics integration franchise agreement for Raleigh, North Carolina  just weeks after announcing a deal in nearby Charlotte. Local franchisee Kalpesh Patel of Panya LLC has acquired exclusive RobotLAB franchising rights for the entire Raleigh territory, which encompasses more than 33,000 businesses and over 1.8 million residents. Launched earlier this year to meet the growing demand for AI and robotics business solutions, RobotLABs first-of-its-kind robotics franchising program will increase access to cost-saving solutions like cleaning, delivery and customer service robots throughout Raleigh, allowing businesses of all sizes to leverage automation and improve operational efficiency. RobotLAB recently signed franchise agreements in Charlotte, North Carolina and Dallas-Fort Worth, with 10 additional territories in progress with prospective franchisees.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20231005287011/en/

RobotLAB Signs Franchise Agreement to Increase Robotics Solutions in Raleigh, North Carolina (Photo: Business Wire)

It has always been our mission at RobotLAB to make robotics accessible to people and businesses across the world, so we are thrilled to partner with Kalpesh who we know shares this same goal for his Raleigh community, said Elad Inbar, founder and CEO of RobotLAB. As the robotics industry continues to grow, we are confident that Kalpesh and his RobotLAB Raleigh team will educate local business owners about the multitude of cost-saving, efficiency-improving business applications for robotics. By bringing robots into the market, demoing them in local businesses and tailoring them to fit an owners specific needs, we believe we will witness more businesses identify robots as a solution for them.

With relevant experience in technology systems development and wholesale distribution, Patel and his Raleigh-based team will serve as an extension of RobotLABs best-in-class services, including sales, tailored programming, onsite integration and repairs. RobotLABs Raleigh office will be nestled just outside Raleigh-Durham International Airport, allowing Patel and his team to operate locally and bring cleaning, delivery and service robots directly into interested businesses across the greater Raleigh community. Patel will focus on introducing robotics solutions to businesses located in Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill and Research Triangle Park.

As a resident of the greater Raleigh area, I recognize the potential for RobotLAB to thrive in a tech-friendly area like ours and look forward to increasing robot accessibility for local businesses, said Patel. Raleighs Research Triangle Park is commonly referred to as the Silicon Valley of the East because large technology companies like Cisco, DELL, Lenovo and IBM have added offices there, bringing many tech-enthusiastic professionals who I am confident will embrace RobotLABs effective robotics business solutions.

With an impressive roster of longstanding manufacturer partnerships and more than 10,000 robots deployed across the globe, RobotLAB will share its 15-plus years of expertise with its franchise partners and the local communities in which they serve. Aiming to increase access to robotics and AI solutions across the U.S., RobotLABs revolutionary franchising opportunity allows local franchise partners to seamlessly introduce all businesses in their territories to the power of automation. RobotLABs franchise program boasts minimal overhead, comprehensive online and in-person training, limited staffing requirements and attractive revenue opportunities in a fast-growing industry with limitless potential. Plus, the programs low cost of entry and thorough training makes it ideal for entrepreneurs looking to enter the franchising world, as well as experienced franchisees wanting to diversify their portfolios with a first-of-its-kind opportunity.

Franchise Disclosure Documents (FDDs) have been cleared in nearly 40 states, with the remainder on track for completion by years end. For more information about RobotLABs franchising program, visit www.robotlab.com/franchise.

About RobotLAB

Since 2007, RobotLAB has guided businesses to dramatic bottom-line increases by helping them harness and leverage the immense power of automation. Catering to an array of economically critical industries that span education, finance, healthcare, delivery and hospitality, RobotLAB provides robotic business solutions that improve ROI and enhance the user experience. With a multitude of in-house teams and department specialists, the company remains focused on a seamless integration process that begins with an in-depth assessment of client needs. Sales and delivery experts ensure proper product immersion while implementation and installation professionals ensure peak performance. In a world replete with business uncertainties, RobotLAB ensures operational consistency through technology. In 2023, RobotLAB launched the first robotics integration franchise program to best serve growing demand for robotics across the U.S. in nearly all business sectors. To franchise with RobotLAB, visit www.robotlab.com/franchise.

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Novia Baulisch

Powerhouse+Co.

[email protected]

949.261.2216

Source: RobotLAB
Make plans now to participate in the biggest optics and photonics event of the year

BELLINGHAM, Wash.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Registration has opened for SPIE Photonics West 2024, which will run from 27 January to 1 February at the Moscone Center in San Francisco. The largest annual conference and exhibition in optics and photonics, the week will include more than 4,500 technical presentations as well as showcasing over 1,200 companies in three focused exhibitions. Photonics West brings together researchers, innovators, engineers, and business leaders from across the globe for an engaging week of research sharing, collaboration forming, and innovation-inspiring exchanges.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20231005492002/en/

Attendees at SPIE Photonics West 2023 (Photo: Business Wire)

SPIE Photonics West has four major application areas emphasizing the latest technologies and discoveries that utilize optics and photonics. BiOS highlights new research in biophotonics, biomedical optics, and imaging for diagnostics and therapeutics; LASE focuses on the laser industry and its diverse applications; OPTO covers optoelectronics, photonic materials, and optical devices; and, now in its third year, Quantum West features quantum 2.0 technologies from quantum sensing and information systems to quantum enabled materials and devices and quantum biology. This year, Quantum West will also include a Quantum West Business Summit highlighting the work of moving quantum technologies to market.

Featuring more than 1,200 companies with product launches, live demonstrations, and cutting-edge technologies on display, the accompanying exhibitions during Photonics West provide terrific platforms for the diverse and healthy photonics industry.

The demand for exhibition space at Photonics West is always a great indicator of the health of our industry, and this year, we've responded to increased demand by expanding the footprint 15% over last years and expect to sell out once again, said SPIE Global Exhibition Services Director Bonnie Peterson. Were excited to welcome returning and new companies and look forward to offering our exhibitor community an engaging platform for their technologies, applications, and market-ready systems and components.

New this year, the Quantum West Expo, 30-31 January, will showcase worldwide providers of the latest quantum technologies. The BiOS Expo  featuring new and transformative technologies in biomedical optics and healthcare applications  runs 27-28 January, while the Photonics West Exhibition, 30 January to 1 February, encompasses the latest from laser manufacturers and suppliers as well as other innovative optics and photonics devices, components, systems, and services. In addition, the dynamic industry program also returns with a renewed focus on the markets and applications shaping the photonics industry. All three exhibitions and the industry program are free to attend with a SPIE Photonics West registration.

The vibrant, event-packed week will cover the latest technologies and industry developments across the optics and photonics spectrum, from the SPIE BiOS Hot Topics and conference plenary sessions to the Prism Awards and the SPIE Startup Challenge. Highlighting the latest innovative research breakthroughs are the dynamic Hot Topics and plenary speakers, including Lingyan Shi, University of California, San Diego; Giuliano Scarcelli, University of Maryland; Paul Beard, University College London; Ben Vakoc, Wellman Center for Photomedicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, and Harvard Medical School; Philip Tinnefeld, LMU-Munich; Charles Lin, Massachusetts General Hospital Center for Systems Biology; Ryan Field, Kernel; Michelle Digman, University of California, Irvine; Jun Ye, JILA; Stephanie Simmons, Photonic, Inc; Marlan Scully, Texas A&M; Paul Prucnal, Princeton University; Asa Haglund, Chalmers; Roel Baets, Ghent University/imec; Ahmed Diallo, ARPA-E; Akira Furusawa, University of Tokyo and RIKEN; Laura Na Liu, University of Stuttgart; Siddharth Ramachandran, Boston University; Bruce Tromberg, National Institutes of Health; R. Rox Anderson, Wellman Center for Photomedicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, and Harvard Medical School; Griff Harsh, University of California, Davis; Mary Lou Jepsen, Openwater; Cynthia Toth, Duke University; and Eric Henderson, Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center.

Alongside the conferences and exhibitions, Photonics West will also offer 57 technical courses, including the popular Quantum Computing: A Concise Introduction, as well as eight new courses on topics such as inverse design for photonics, trends in miniature camera technology, photoacoustic imaging, and optical design for AR/VR/MR technologies.

The wide-ranging educational program complements numerous professional development workshops, a comprehensive job fair, and valuable networking opportunities for technical attendees, SPIE Members, and exhibitors.

Full conference registration for Photonics West includes access to the three-day SPIE AR | VR | MR event, which focuses on augmented, virtual, and mixed reality and the vital role that optics and photonics play in hardware and headset development. This popular program incorporates more than 30 invited industry talks, keynotes, and panels with speakers representing a range of exciting companies, including META, Oppo, XREAL, and Magic Leap; a two-day exhibition; and a headset museum featuring more than 100 headsets from the late 1980s to the present day.

This year, SPIE will also introduce its inaugural Global Business Forum. This one-day informational and networking opportunity held on 29 January, with a focus on current and emerging trends across the international optics and photonics industry and markets, will include insights from Tematys Thierry Robin, Yole Groups Jean-Christophe Eloy, BOS Photonics Bo Gu; and Harlins John Lincoln, among others. Registration for the Global Business Forum is separate from Photonics West and will be available via the event website.

Photonics West 2024 promises to be an engaging and thought-provoking week of networking and learning opportunities, said SPIE Senior Director of Technical Programs Marilyn Gorsuch. We are particularly excited to be expanding our Quantum West programming, including the addition of a quantum-focused exhibit. As the first major community gathering of the year, we continue to bring together a unique nexus of industry leaders and highly regarded researchers whose collaborations drive products, innovation, and technical breakthroughs. We expect an increase from last years 22,000 registered attendees and invite you to join the global photonics community and experience all that Photonics West 2024 has to offer.

For more information and to register, please visit https://spie.org/pw.

About SPIE

SPIE, the international society for optics and photonics, brings engineers, scientists, students, and business professionals together to advance light-based science and technology. The Society, founded in 1955, connects and engages with our global constituency through industry-leading conferences and exhibitions; publications of conference proceedings, books, and journals in the SPIE Digital Library; and career-building opportunities. Over the past five years, SPIE has contributed more than $22 million to the international optics community through our advocacy and support, including scholarships, educational resources, travel grants, endowed gifts, and public-policy development. www.spie.org.

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Daneet Steffens

Public Relations Manager

[email protected]

+1 360 685 5478

@SPIEtweets

Source: SPIE
FORT ST. JOHN, British Columbia--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- The United Steelworkers union (USW) is thrilled to welcome workers from ConocoPhillips in Montney, B.C., a small town north of Fort St. John, who have chosen to join the union. ConocoPhillips operates an unconventional gas field development at Montney.

The decision by the ConocoPhillips Montney workers to join our union demonstrates the commitment from these workers to strengthen their voice in the workplace and to collectively address the many issues affecting them, said Scott Lunny, USW District Director for Western Canada.

Today is a victory allowing these workers to benefit from the collective bargaining power that comes with union membership. Together, we will build a stronger workplace and a path towards a more secure future for every energy and gas sector worker in British Columbia, added Lunny.

Over 30 workers at the Montney facilities will become members of USW Local 1-2017, which represents workers in forestry, value-added, energy, mining, construction, electrical, trucking, automotive, health care and landfill sites throughout Northern B.C.

As the Montney operations continue to expand, so do the pressures on their employees. These workers deserve better working conditions, job security, wages and benefits, said Brian ORourke, President of USW Local 1-2017.

Our union extends our welcome to the ConocoPhillips Montney workers and encourages all our newly organized members to be actively engaged in our union's activities. In the weeks ahead, we look forward to meeting with these members and helping them achieve a first collective agreement, added ORourke.

The USW represents 225,000 members in nearly every economic sector across Canada and is the largest private-sector union in North America, with 850,000 members in Canada, the United States and the Caribbean.

Each year, thousands of workers choose to join the USW because of our strong track record in creating healthier, safer and more-respectful workplaces and negotiating better working conditions and fairer compensation  including good wages, benefits and pensions.

Workers interested in joining the United Steelworkers union can learn more about the benefits at betterworknow.ca.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20231005684814/en/

For more information:

Brian ORourke, USW Local 1-2017 President, 250-563-7771, [email protected]

Scott Lunny, USW Western Canada Director, 604-329-5308, [email protected]

Brett Barden, USW Communications, 604-445-6956, [email protected]

Source: United Steelworkers
BOSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Tekla Life Sciences Investors (HQL) announced at the Joint Special Meetings of shareholders (Special Meetings) that the requisite vote had been reached to approve the new investment advisory agreement with abrdn Inc.

At the same Special Meetings, shareholders are voting with overwhelming support for the proposals, however, due to a lack of quorum, Tekla Healthcare Investors (HQH), Tekla Healthcare Opportunities Fund (THQ) and Tekla World Healthcare Fund (THW) (the Funds) announced that their Special Meetings were adjourned once again until October 13, 2023 (HQH) and October 25, 2023 (THQ and THW), both at 9:00 a.m. EDT.

As explained in the proxy statement, the new investment advisory agreement with abrdn Inc., and the related benefits that will accrue to shareholders, cannot be implemented without approval by shareholders of all four Funds.

Shareholders as of the June 16, 2023 record date who have not yet voted on the Proposal are urged to do so promptly per the instructions below. EVEN IF SHAREHOLDERS SIMPLY CAST AN ABSTAIN VOTE, IT WOULD BE A GREAT HELP TO REACHING THE NECESSARY QUORUM.

BENEFITS OF THE PROPOSAL FOR SHAREHOLDERS:

A guaranteed reduction of expense when the transaction is approved and continuing for at least two years thereafter. Significant potential further cost savings. A much larger asset management and fund operations platform that supports future fund growth and success. The expertise of the existing investment management team coupled with abrdns commitment and expertise in the closed-end fund market.

TO VOTE, shareholders may use the Proxy Card or email with voting link previously provided or may vote in the manner set forth in the Proxy Statement located here: www.OkapiVote.com/TeklaSpecial. Shareholders who require voting assistance should call Okapi Partners, the Funds proxy solicitor, toll-free at (877) 285-5990. Representatives are available Monday - Friday 9:00am to 10:00pm (EDT).

About Tekla

Tekla is an asset manager primarily focused on healthcare investing. Since its inception, Tekla has maintained a singular focus on the asset class. Its expertise comes from a diverse team of individuals, many with advanced degrees in science and business, investing experience and industry experience that help drive investment decisions. For more information, please visit www.teklacap.com.

About abrdn

abrdn is a global investment company that helps clients and customers plan, save and invest for the future. abrdns purpose is to enable its clients to be better investors. abrdn manages and administers 500bn of assets for clients (as at 31 December 2022). abrdn is structured around three businesses  Investments, Adviser and Personal  focused on their changing needs. The capabilities in abrdns Investments business are built on the strength of its insight  generated from wide-ranging research, worldwide investment expertise and local market knowledge. abrdns teams collaborate across regions, asset classes and specialisms, connecting diverse perspectives and working with clients to identify investment opportunities that suit their needs. As at 31 December 2022, abrdns Investments business manages 376bn on behalf of clients - including insurance companies, sovereign wealth funds, independent wealth managers, pension funds, platforms, banks and family offices. For more information, please visit www.abrdn.com.

Additional Information about the Funds and the transaction

This press release is not intended to, and does not, solicit any proxy from any shareholder of the Funds. The solicitation of proxies to effect the transaction described herein is made by a definitive proxy statement.

The Funds and their trustees and officers, Tekla and its officers and employees, and other persons may be deemed to be participants in the solicitation of proxies with respect to the approval of new investment management contracts described herein. Fund shareholders may obtain more detailed information regarding the direct and indirect interests of a Funds trustees and officers, Tekla and its officers and employees, and other persons by reading the proxy statement relating to the transaction that has been filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Fund shareholders should read the proxy statement because it contains important information. The proxy statement is available for free at the Securities and Exchange Commissions website (www.sec.gov).

Statements in this press release that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements as defined by the United States securities laws. You should exercise caution in interpreting and relying on forward-looking statements because they are subject to uncertainties and other factors that are, in some cases, beyond a Funds control and could cause actual results to differ materially from those set forth in the forward-looking statements.

 2023 Tekla Capital Management LLC | All rights reserved | Legal Disclaimer

The material contained on this website is not intended to be a recommendation or investment advice, does not constitute a solicitation to buy or sell securities, and is not provided in a fiduciary capacity. The information provided does not take into account the specific objectives or circumstances of any particular investor, or suggest any specific course of action. Investment decisions should be made based on an investors objectives and circumstances and in consultation with his or her advisors.

There can be no assurance that any closed-end fund will achieve its investment objective(s). Past performance does not guarantee future results. The net asset value of any closed-end fund will fluctuate with the value of the underlying securities. Historically closed-end funds have often traded at a discount to their net asset value. The distribution rate and income amounts reflect past amounts distributed and may not be indicative of future rates or income amounts. Distribution rates and income amounts can change at any time.

Investors should consider the investment objective and policies, risk considerations, charges and ongoing expenses of an investment carefully before investing. For more information, please contact your marketing and distribution agent, Destra Capital Advisors LLC at 877.855.3434.

NOT FDIC-INSURED | NOT BANK-GUARANTEED | MAY LOSE VALUE

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20231005927138/en/

Okapi Partners

(877) 285-5990

Source: Tekla Capital Management LLC
HELSINKI, Oct. 5 (Xinhua) -- Telecom operators in Finland are now legally required to filter out fake incoming calls as an ordinance to protect all phone numbers has taken effect this week.

Lauri Isotalo, development manager at the Finnish Transport and Communications Agency (Traficom), said Finland now leads in Europe in enforcing phone number safety.

In 2021, telecom regulator Traficom, the police and commercial telecom operators jointly launched a project in response to a significant increase in cases of hijacking and abusing Finnish telephone numbers for malicious calls in recent years.

Traficom estimated that tens of millions of attempted scam calls were made to Finland over the past three years.

Earlier reports from the Finnish police indicated that in 2020 and 2021, Finns lost over seven million euros due to payments made by unsuspecting recipients of scam calls.

Authority report showed that scam calls originating from abroad used existing Finnish phone numbers and claimed to represent banks or major IT companies. Criminals even mimicked police numbers.

Under the new rules, telecom operators may face fines if they fail to verify that a phone call is from the legitimate owner of a number. 
WATSONVILLE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Granite (NYSE: GVA) has been awarded an approximately $45 million contract by the Utah Department of Transportation (UDOT) to widen and improve State Route 108 (SR-108) in Davis County, Utah. Funded by State and Federal sources, the project will be included in Granite's third-quarter CAP.

The scope of this project involves extending SR-108 from 300 N to 1800 N, transforming it from a three-lane asphalt roadway to a five-lane Portland Cement Concrete Pavement (PCCP) road. This represents a comprehensive reconstruction and expansion effort, encompassing the replacement and enhancement of all utilities and infrastructure components. These enhancements collectively contribute to a safer, more efficient, and better-connected transportation corridor.

Key improvements encompass:

Installation of 10,000 linear feet of storm drainage systems.

Laying down 7,000 linear feet of irrigation infrastructure.

Incorporating 2,000 linear feet of water main infrastructure.

2000 linear feet of sewer main improvements

To ensure the project's successful completion, Granite intends to use 48,000 tons of untreated base course, 21,000 tons of concrete sand, and 16,000 tons of concrete aggregates from its nearby South Wells Facility. Additionally, 2,000 tons of hot mix asphalt will be sourced from the nearby West Haven Facility. This approach streamlines the acquisition of essential materials from our neighboring facilities.

By widening and enhancing the SR-108 corridor in this area, we are taking substantial steps to alleviate traffic congestion problems, said Granite Vice President of Regional Operations, Jason Klaumann. Additionally, we are making provisions for enhancements in active transportation and implementing significant safety upgrades.

The project is planned to begin in October 2023 and is expected to be completed in November 2025.

About Granite

Granite is Americas Infrastructure Company. Incorporated since 1922, Granite (NYSE: GVA) is one of the largest diversified construction and construction materials companies in the United States as well as a full-suite civil construction provider. Granites Code of Conduct and strong Core Values guide the Company and its employees to uphold the highest ethical standards. Granite is an industry leader in safety and an award-winning firm in quality and sustainability. For more information, visit the Granite website, graniteconstruction.com, and connect with Granite on LinkedIn, X, Facebook, and Instagram.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20231005640625/en/

Granite Contacts

Media

Erin Kuhlman 831-768-4111

Investors

Wenjun Xu - 831-761-7861

Source: Granite
Chief Operating Officer Raghu Krishnaiah and Director of Student Diversity & Inclusion Tondra Richardson contribute insights and guidance on differentiated development approaches that foster an inclusive workplace learning environment

PHOENIX--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- University of Phoenix Chief Operating Officer Raghu Krishnaiah and Director of Student Diversity & Inclusion Tondra Richardson will serve as session speakers at the upcoming Breakfast Club event hosted by BetterWork Media Groups Chief Learning Officer, being held October 26, 2023, from 11:00 a.m. to 12:50 p.m. EDT. University of Phoenix is a sponsor of the event, titled Differentiated Development: Rethinking Inclusion in Learning.

Differentiated development builds on some key successful trends and approaches to strengthening workplace culture and retention, like personalization and resilience building, states Krishnaiah. Organizations have opportunities to more strategically leverage their learning and development by implementing data tools and AI to understand workers skills and connections and tap into the strengths of broader, more diverse talent pools for leadership growth.

Organizations with strong diversity, equity and inclusion programs see a competitive edge, with more resilience and adaptability as well as profitability. However, workers sense of belonging, of connection and relationships in the workplace, is understood to be critical to retention and advancement in an organization but continues to be an area of challenge.

The Breakfast Club event offers a conversation among Krishnaiah and Richardson and leaders in learning and development about how learning programs can move away from the concept of one-size-fits-all development and rethink inclusion in learning and talent approaches. Krishnaiah and Richardson will share insights from the University of Phoenix approach to inclusion and skills in learning and development (L&D), as an employer, an institution of learning, and a provider of education and upskilling solutions for employers.

Krishnaiahs career as a seasoned change agent and strategist spans more than 20 years of progressive P&L management, strategy, sales and marketing, product, operations, technology, human resources, and data-analytics responsibilities. As the Chief Operating Officer at University of Phoenix, Krishnaiah is instrumental in the transformation of the University and responsible for all operating strategy and results. Krishnaiah earned both a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science and a Master of Science in Electrical Engineering from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), as well as a Master of Business Administration from The Wharton School at University of Pennsylvania.

Fostering a sense of community and cultivating belonging while supporting the diverse needs of your workforce is essential, Richardson said. I look forward to sharing how strategies weve used in the Office of Educational Equity can offer best practices to proactively and intentionally address the unique needs of a diverse workforce.

As director of Student Diversity & Inclusion, Richardson provides leadership, development, and management for the Office of Educational Equity, situated within Accessibility, Equity and Inclusion which serves the Universitys students, alumni, community and alliances. Richardson is certified by the National Diversity Council as a Diversity and Inclusion Practitioner and completed Cornell University's Diversity and Inclusion certificate program. With over 20 years of experience in higher education, Richardsons areas of expertise also include conflict resolution and risk management.

The Breakfast Club has been connecting leaders over breakfast to strengthen the link between learning and development and business strategy for over 17 years. In 2021, the Breakfast Club returned as a virtual, mini-event series hosted by Chief Learning Officer and Talent Management featuring top CLOs and learning and talent leaders. Each mini-event lasts about 2 hours and consists of a 60-minute panel discussion with L&D and talent practitioners, a 20-minute FASTtalk presentation, and a 20-minute breakout session for attendees and speakers to discuss the days themes, followed by closing remarks from a member of CLOs editorial team.

Learn more here about the Breakfast Club and the October 26 session sponsored by University of Phoenix.

About University of Phoenix

University of Phoenix innovates to help working adults enhance their careers and develop skills in a rapidly changing world. Flexible schedules, relevant courses, interactive learning, skills-mapped curriculum for our bachelors and masters degree programs and a Career Services for Life commitment help students more effectively pursue career and personal aspirations while balancing their busy lives. For more information, visit phoenix.edu.

About Chief Learning Officer

Chief Learning Officer is dedicated to serving as a platform and vehicle for C-suite and senior-level learning and development professionals to connect and advance in the profession and their personal careers. We are by CLOs, for CLOs.

About BetterWork Media Group

BetterWork Media Group manages Chief Learning Officer and Talent Management, serving workforce communities of C-suite and senior-level practitioners, executives, scholars, consultants and solution providers in corporate learning and talent management. BetterWork Media Group provides a unique platform to connect, support and empower workplace communities via award-winning content, research, events, webinars and digital media. BMG's founders have more than 70 years of collective experience in the media industry.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20231005664954/en/

Sharla Hooper

University of Phoenix

[email protected]

Source: University of Phoenix
Latest investments in 400G, long-haul, and IP infrastructure enable deployment of critical capacity to power the next generation of technology

BOULDER, Colo.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Zayo Group Holdings, Inc., a leading global communications infrastructure platform, today announced its latest series of infrastructure investments to extend global capacity to support rapidly increasing bandwidth demandincluding deployment of 400G across the globe, long-haul capacity growth, and enhancements to its global IP infrastructure.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20231005166562/en/

Map of Zayo's 400G-enabled routes in North America. (Graphic: Business Wire)

Next-generation technology is being deployed at never-before-seen rates. This has placed the communications infrastructure industry at a unique inflection point as all digital businessesenterprises, carriers and hyperscalers alikescramble to ensure they have enough capacity to support these technologies, said Bill Long, Chief Product Officer at Zayo. As this trend plays out, it will be a strong tailwind for those providers who can capitalize on the moment. As one of the newest and most modern networks on the market, Zayo is uniquely positioned to support this growing demand for global bandwidth.

Deploying 400G Globally

For todays digital businesses, 400G is essential to ensure the speed and scalability to support increasingly complex and data-intensive applications.

Zayo recently completed upgrades of its European network to be fully 400G-enabled, with plans for its Tier-1 backbone in North America to be fully 400G-enabled by the end of 2024.

In Q3, Zayo added nine new 400G-enabled routes to its North American network to provide high-bandwidth options between key cities, including:

Atlanta to DC

Denver to Dallas (Direct)

Montreal to Quebec City

Clinton to Ponchatoula

Indianapolis to Columbus

Ashburn to Baltimore

Bend to Umatilla

Laurel to Denver

Additional 400G routes in progress include:

Houston to New Orleans

St. Louis to Chicago

Buffalo to Albany

Winnipeg to Toronto

Toronto to Montreal

Buffalo to Toronto

Columbus to Ashburn

Cleveland to Buffalo

Houston to Ponchatoula

Umatilla to Quincy

What this means: The enablement of Zayos global network with 400G will allow customers to continue scaling their bandwidth with Zayo on existing routes, opening up high-capacity access on new routes, improving network stability and providing an overall better customer experience through quicker delivery and optimal routing. The enhanced capacity from these routes will support customers that have exponential growth needs driven by emerging technologies such as 5G, cloud adoption, IoT, AI, edge computing, and automation.

Expanding Global Low-Latency Network

Zayo has also been working to expand capacity in other key economic centers across the globe. In October 2022, Zayo announced its global low-latency route connecting the U.S. to South Americas financial hub of Sao Paulo. In Q3 2023, the company completed expansions to its connectivity infrastructure in Sao Paulo including a new key terrestrial route that will provide connectivity throughout the metro ring and to four key data centers.

New Sao Paulo Points of Presence (PoPs):

Alameda Araguaia, 3641, Alphaville, Barueri, SP, 06455 000, Brazil

Av. Marcos Penteado de Ulhoa Rodrigues, 249, Santana de Parnaiba, SP, 06543 001, Brazil

Avenida Ceci, 1900, Tambore, Barueri, SP, 06460 120, Brazil

Rua Ricardo Prudente de Aquino, 85 Santan de Parnaiba, Brazil

What this means: As Latin Americas center of innovation and commerce, Sao Paulo has seen an increased demand for connectivity from the U.S. To meet the growing needs of customers, Zayo is establishing diverse, high-bandwidth connectivity from its first-class North American fiber network directly into the largest economic center in the Southern Hemisphere.

IP Infrastructure Growth

IP demand continues to be a driver for capacity increases. Zayo continues to bolster its IP infrastructure with new PoPs in key markets and data centers across the globe. Zayo added eight new IP PoPs to its North American network in Q3, including:

45 Parliament St, Toronto, ON

250 Williams St NW, Atlanta, GA

6477 W Wells Park Rd, Salt Lake City, UT

2335 S Ellis St, Chandler, AZ

375 Pearl St, New York, NY

626 Wilshire Blvd, Los Angeles, CA

431 Horner Ave, Etobicoke, ON

1100 White St SW, Atlanta, GA

Zayo's IP backbone, which runs on Zayo's wholly owned fiber infrastructure, makes up nearly 10% of the world's Internet capacity. Zayo currently manages 96Tb of core capacity and 34TB of peering capacity, and adds 1-2Tb of peering capacity every quarter.

Upgrading Long-Haul Capacity

As one of the other providers actively investing in its long-haul infrastructure, Zayo is continuing to overbuild its routes in high-demand areas to enable enhanced fiber capacity. In Q3 2023, Zayo completed the overbuild of its Omaha to Denver route, providing increased capacity on this highly sought-after route.

Zayo also has three new long-haul route builds and two additional route overbuilds in progress with scheduled completion by the end of 2023.

What this means: The enhancement to Zayos long-haul dark fiber routes provide customers with diverse routing options and the ability to customize and enhance their network to meet the unique needs of their businesses while maximizing resiliency and ability to scale.

Zayo will continue to invest in future-proofing its network and services to connect whats next for its customers.

To learn more about Zayos global network, please visit https://www.zayo.com/resources/global-network-capabilities/.

About Zayo

For more than 15 years, Zayo has empowered some of the worlds largest and most innovative companies to connect whats next for their business. Zayos future-ready network spans over 17 million fiber miles and 142,000 route miles. Zayos tailored connectivity and edge solutions enable carriers, cloud providers, data centers, schools, and enterprises to deliver exceptional experiences, from edge to core to cloud. Discover how Zayo connects whats next at www.zayo.com and follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20231005166562/en/

Media

Avery Hand

BLASTmedia for Zayo Group

[email protected]

Source: Zayo Group Holdings, Inc.
By Arathy Somasekhar

HOUSTON (Reuters) -Oil prices fell about 2% on Thursday, extending the previous session's losses of nearly 6%, as worries about fuel demand outweighed an OPEC+ decision to maintain oil output cuts, keeping supply tight.

Global benchmark Brent crude futures and U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures have declined about $10 a barrel in less than 10 days after edging close to $100 in late September.

The combined percentage drop over the last two days was the steepest since May for both crude benchmarks.

Brent futures settled $1.74, or 2.03%, lower at $84.07, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures were $1.91, or 2.3%, lower at $82.31.

Investors are worried that peak demand for fuel consumption is behind us, said Dennis Kissler, senior vice president of trading at BOK Financial.

Oil settled more than $5 lower on Wednesday - its biggest daily drop in over a year, even after a meeting of a ministerial panel of OPEC+, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies led by Russia.

It made no changes to the group's oil output policy, and Saudi Arabia said it would maintain a voluntary cut of 1 million barrels per day (bpd) until the end of 2023, while Russia would keep a 300,000 bpd voluntary export curb until the end of December.

Close-to-close volatility on Brent was at its highest since May, while that on WTI was its highest since June.

"This is typical speculative trading activity - trying to make the best out of a bad situation after the bloodbath on Wednesday, and they (market participants) are trying to pick the bottom," said Bob Yawger, director of energy futures at Mizuho.

Long positions established in anticipation of $100 a barrel are being liquidated, said Andy Lipow, president of Lipow Oil Associates LLC.

Government data on Wednesday also showed a sharp decline in U.S. gasoline demand. Finished motor gasoline supplied, a proxy for demand, fell last week to its lowest since the start of this year.

"I don't see gasoline demand getting much above 8.5 million barrels a day until the holiday shopping season kicks in and that's going to be a problem for the market," said John Kilduff, partner at Again Capital LLC in New York.

U.S. heating oil futures fell more than 5% on expectations that a Russian fuel export ban introduced last month would be lifted soon and supply disruptions would be less severe than markets had anticipated.

Data on Wednesday also showed the U.S. services sector slowed while the euro zone economy probably shrank last quarter, according to a survey.

The U.S. dollar eased, but continued to remain near 11-month highs, making crude more expensive for foreign buyers.

On Thursday, the Turkish energy minister said a crude oil pipeline from Iraq through Turkey, which has been suspended for about six months, was ready for operations.

(Reporting by Arathy Somasekhar in Houston, Paul Carsten in London, Katya Golubkova in Tokyo and Jeslyn Lerh in Singapore; Editing by Marguerita Choy, David Gregorio, Sharon Singleton and Jane Merriman)
Bunge Limited (NYSE: BG) (Bunge) today announced the results of its extraordinary general meeting (EGM) of its shareholders, which was held today.

Shareholders approved the acquisition of Viterra Limited, including the issuance of 65,611,831 common shares, par value $0.01 per share, of Bunge Limited. They also voted in support of the redomestication that will change the place of incorporation and residence of the ultimate parent company of the Bunge Group from Bermuda to Switzerland.

We appreciate our shareholders vote of confidence in our strategy to position Bunge as a premier global agribusiness solutions company through the merger with Viterra, said Greg Heckman, Bunge CEO. Our team is focused on effectively running our operations while also planning for a successful integration. We are committed to creating an innovative global agribusiness company well positioned to meet the demands of increasingly complex markets and better serve farmers and end-customers.

The merger is expected to close in mid-2024, subject to satisfaction of customary closing conditions, including receipt of regulatory approvals.

The final vote results will be reported in a Form 8-K to be filed by Bunge with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Ford (NYSE: F) revealed Thursday that a prospective investor for its Saarlouis plant in Germany has withdrawn their interest, leaving employees once again uncertain about the fate of the facility and their employment status.

A representative from the labor union expressed dissatisfaction and frustration regarding this development. They also mentioned that discussions with the company would resume on Monday regarding a collective bargaining agreement for workers who are concerned about their job security.

"This will be expensive for Ford," said union rep Joerg Koehlinger. "We will send a signal so that other companies will be afraid to flatten sites."

This setback coincides with ongoing negotiations between the company and the United Auto Workers in the United States, where a strike has been in progress for 21 days due to labor conditions.

The potential investor for the Saarlouis facility, who remained anonymous, had initially entered into a non-binding agreement in June of this year. However, a spokesperson has now stated that they have opted not to proceed with the negotiations.

Consequently, production of the current Ford Focus model at the Saarlouis plant is set to cease by 2025.

According to a report from Handelsblatt, had the agreement with the prospective investor materialized, it would have guaranteed employment for approximately 2,500 out of the current 4,500 workers at the Saarlouis facility.

Ford's statement on Thursday outlined an "alternative plan" that will preserve 1,000 jobs in Saarlouis. The plan may serve as a starting point for a future technology center at the site, although specific details were not disclosed in the statement.

Shares of F are down 1.13% in mid-day trading on Thursday.

By Michael Elkins | [email protected]
FILE PHOTO: A logo is seen on the grill of an E-transit concept vehicle during a press event at the Ford Halewood transmissions plant in Liverpool, Britain, December 1, 2022. REUTERS/Phil Noble/file Photo

By Victoria Waldersee

BERLIN (Reuters) -Talks between Ford and a potential investor in its plant in Saarlouis, Germany have fallen through, the carmaker said on Thursday, plunging workers back into uncertainty over the future of the site and their jobs.

A union representative expressed disappointment and anger at the news, saying talks with the company would continue on Monday on a collective bargaining agreement for workers who stood to lose their jobs.

"This will be expensive for Ford," union representative Joerg Koehlinger said. "We will send a signal so that other companies will be afraid to flatten sites."

Unions had said earlier this year they expected a solution by the end of the first quarter of 2023 and would not wait until 2024.

The setback comes as Ford is in the midst of negotiations with the United Auto Workers in the United States who are 21 days into a strike over labour conditions.

The potential investor for Saarlouis, who was never named, signed a non-binding agreement in June of this year but has now decided not to continue the negotiations, a spokesperson said in a statement.

The future of the site has been unclear since June 2022 when Ford picked a site in Spain to assemble its next-generation electric vehicle (EV) over the German plant, which will stop producing its current model, the Ford Focus, from 2025.

Fifteen possible investors had expressed interest, the works council said earlier in the year, with some media reporting that Chinese EV maker BYD was among them.

A union spokesperson said they were not aware of any other investor with whom talks had progressed.

The deal with the potential investor would have secured 2,500 of the currently around 4,500 jobs at the site, according to a Handelsblatt report on Thursday.

Ford will maintain 1,000 jobs in Saarlouis under an "alternative plan" that could also serve as a basis for a future technology centre at the site, Thursday's statement said, without providing further details.

(Reporting by Victoria Waldersee, Friederike Heine; Writing by Matthias Williams; Editing by Friederike Heine, Miranda Murray, Jan Harvey and Andrea Ricci)
ARCO, Italy, Oct. 05, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Aquafil SpA (ECNLF:OTCQX  ECNL:IM), based in Arco (TN) Italy, pioneer of circular economy, today announced that Giulio Bonazzi, CEO, will present live at the Small Cap Growth Virtual Investor Conference, hosted by VirtualInvestorConferences.com, on October 12th, 2023.

DATE: October 12th, 2023TIME: 12:00 PM ETLINK: https://bit.ly/45oqyj8Available for 1x1 meetings: October 12 and 13

This will be a live, interactive online event where investors are invited to ask the company questions in real-time. If attendees are not able to join the event live on the day of the conference, an archived webcast will also be made available after the event.

It is recommended that online investors pre-register and run the online system check to expedite participation and receive event updates.

Learn more about the event at www.virtualinvestorconferences.com.

About Aquafil SpA

Since 1965, the Aquafil Group has been a pioneer of the circular economy and a landmark in terms of quality and product innovation for Italy and the globe. We primarily manufacture Nylon 6 fibers and polymers but also Nylon 6.6 and Dryarn. Our flagship product is ECONYL nylon, which revolutionizes the world of synthetic fibers through a closed-loop model.Today, Aquafil remains a leader in the research of new production systems for sustainable development.

About Virtual Investor ConferencesVirtual Investor Conferences (VIC) is the leading proprietary investor conference series that provides an interactive forum for publicly traded companies to seamlessly present directly to investors.

Providing a real-time investor engagement solution, VIC is specifically designed to offer companies more efficient investor access. Replicating the components of an on-site investor conference, VIC offers companies enhanced capabilities to connect with investors, schedule targeted one-on-one meetings and enhance their presentations with dynamic video content. Accelerating the next level of investor engagement, Virtual Investor Conferences delivers leading investor communications to a global network of retail and institutional investors.

CONTACTS:

Aquafil SpAGiulia RossiIR Team member+39 327 0820 268[email protected]

Virtual Investor Conferences John M. ViglottiSVP Corporate Services, Investor AccessOTC Markets Group (212) 220-2221[email protected]

Source: Virtual Investor Conferences
With thousands of luxury apartments and hotel rooms in the development pipeline, Ras al Khaimah City is a ground-floor opportunity like Dubai in 2004, says broker-owner Dinesh Chhatwani

CHICAGO and DUBAI, United Arab Emirates, Oct. 05, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Global luxury real estate brand Christies International Real Estate is expanding to Ras al Khaimah City, one of the fastest-growing luxury destinations in the UAE. The new office is owned by managing partners Dinesh Chhatwani and Jackie Johns, who have been Christies International Real Estates exclusive affiliates in Dubai since 2021.

Located 90 km/50 mi northeast of Dubais city center and set between the Persian Gulf and the Hajar Mountains, Ras Al Khaimah City has become a popular getaway for UAE residents, as well as a burgeoning location for international and local real estate buyers and investors. Its population is expected to increase by as much as 60% by 2030, and the city welcomed more visitors in the first six months of 2023 than in any other year in its history.

Meanwhile, developers continue to introduce new projects to keep up with demand. Several high-end hotels and branded residences are underway on Al Marjan Island , a set of four connected manmade islands in the Persian Gulf. They include Nobu Al Marjan Island, a new Le Meridien property, the newly announced Nikki Beach Residences, and the largest hotel development in the region to date, Wynn Al Marjan Island, a $3.9 billion megaresort expected to open in 2027.

Ras al Khaimah City offers an ideal blend of affordable luxury, investment opportunities and new possibilities for development. Its lower price points compared with Dubai and its central location  one-third of the worlds population is within a four-hour flight from the city  along with the ability for foreign nationals to legally purchase properties in the region, have made the area increasingly attractive to international buyers and investors. Ras al Khaimah was the second emirate of the UAE to allow foreign freehold property ownership and was the first emirate to pass a law granting foreign nationals property rights. The expansion of its 10-year Golden visa program has also helped to spur international interest in UAE real estate.

The incredible momentum and untapped opportunity for high-end real estate in Ras al Khaimah make this the perfect time for Christies International Real Estate to enter the market, said Johns. The area is poised to be the next center of luxury real estate in the Middle East, and quite possibly the world. The location is ideal, with beautiful beaches, mountains, and the nearby Ras al Khaimah International Airport, while incentives like the Golden visa program and incredibly low taxes make purchasing in the city a smart move.

Additionally, the dearth of available properties in Dubai has helped turn buyers onto the area, according to Chhatwani. As demand continues to far outpace supply in Dubai, prospective buyers are increasingly considering Ras al Khaimah, which offers a similar level of luxury but lower prices and less competition. Its like Dubai in 2004.

Christies International Real Estate has already planted a flag in Ras al Khaimah, as exclusive representatives of the $115 million Falcon Island Beach Villas in the award-winning, master-planned Al Hamra Village. The firm plans to announce additional partnerships in the coming months.

Were proud to partner with Ms. Johns and Mr. Chhatwani to bring Christies International Real Estates bespoke service, best in class marketing, and worldwide network to home buyers and sellers in Ras al Khaimah City, one of the worlds fastest-growing luxury destinations, said Helena de Forton, managing director and head of EMEA and APAC for Christies International Real Estate. Their team has expertly guided clients through Dubais unprecedented property market, and we look forward to their success in this new location.

Ras al Khaimah is one of a number of global markets in which Christies International Real Estate has expanded recently. Within the past 18 months, the brand has announced new market-leading affiliates in London, Munich, Sydney, Los Angeles, the Swiss, French and Italian Alps, several Caribbean islands, Miami and other locations around the world.

Christies International Real Estate Dubai recently opened its third office, at the Dubai International Financial Centre, the leading financial hub in the MEASA region. The firm was also recently appointed as the exclusive sales agent for Eywa, a collection of waterfront residences in Dubai with ancient knowledge systems, state-of-the-art technologies and nature-inspired interiors designed to revolutionize luxury well-being.

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About Christies International Real Estate Dubai

Christies International Real Estate Dubai is a British-run luxury real estate company that provides unrivalled expertise and services to clients in the UAE and international property markets. As an affiliate of Christies International Real Estate, the firm is part of an invite-only global network that represents the worlds most desirable homes. Its esteemed clientele benefit from exclusive connections and opportunities across nearly 50 different countries and territories. The firm proudly facilitates seamless buying, selling, renting and investing processes with international reach, global marketing opportunities and a distinguished 250-year legacy.

About Christies International Real Estate

Christies International Real Estate has successfully marketed high-value real estate around the world for more than 30 years. Through its invitation-only Affiliate network spanning nearly 50 countries and territories, Christies International Real Estate offers incomparable services to a global clientele at the luxury end of the residential property market.

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MONTREAL, Oct. 05, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- CN (TSX: CNR) (NYSE: CNI) today announced the winners of its Safe Handling Award for 2022.



Congratulations to the 2022 winners for your safety efforts around rail equipment. CN is proud to recognize 220 companies for their outstanding safety work and we are honored that we have been celebrating our customers' Safety efforts for the last 30 years. Ensuring everyone's safe return home is our top priority, and our customers play a vital role in maintaining essential safety measures for the secure movement of goods.

- Doug MacDonald, Executive Vice-President and Chief Marketing Officer at CN

Launched in 1992, CNs Safe Handling Award is presented to customers who load freight cars with dangerous goods and meet strict standards for the safe handling and shipment of regulated products. The winners must meet established criteria, according to the total number of shipments of dangerous goods for all facilities.

The Safe Handling Award goes hand in hand with CNs vision to become the safest railway in North America.

We are proud to recognize our customers for their commitment to running a safe operation. Safety is our core value at CN and one we share with our customers as we must all be engaged and responsible for creating a safe environment for employees and communities.

- Buck Rogers, Vice-President Petroleum & Chemicals at CN



The Safe Handling Award is an integral part of the Responsible Care Program  an ongoing performance improvement initiative in which CN is a partner, both in Canada and the U.S.

Please click here to view the list of winners of CNs 2022 Safe Handling Award.

About CN

CN is a world-class transportation leader and trade enabler. Essential to the economy, to the customers, and to the communities it serves, CN safely transports more than 300 million tons of natural resources, manufactured products, and finished goods throughout North America every year. CNs network connects Canadas Eastern and Western coasts with the U.S. South through an 18,600-mile rail network, CN and its affiliates have been contributing to community prosperity and sustainable trade since 1919. CN is committed to programs supporting social responsibility and environmental stewardship.
PARIS, Oct. 5 (Xinhua) -- "This week," France will begin withdrawing its soldiers deployed in Niger, the French Joint Defense Staff said on Thursday.

"We will begin our disengagement operation this week, in good order, safely and in coordination with the Nigeriens," the French military headquarters was quoted by the French daily Le Figaro as saying.

According to the Joint Defense Staff, about 1,000 French soldiers are based in Niamey, Niger's capital, and 400 others in the northwest of the country near the so-called "three borders" zone between Niger, Burkina Faso and Mali.

"We are taking steps to ensure the safety of the people engaged in the maneuver," the French army headquarters said.

In a televised interview, French President Emmanuel Macron said in late September that France would withdraw its troops deployed in Niger by the end of 2023.

"We are ending our military cooperation with the de facto authorities of Niger because they no longer want to fight against terrorism," he said, adding that France would consult with the military junta to make the withdrawal "done peacefully."

"We will continue to support the African continent in the fight against terrorism, but we only do so if it is at the request of democratically elected powers and regional authorities," Macron said.

Relations between Niger and France nosedived after the July 2023 coup in Niger. France has suspended visa deliveries in the country and evacuated its citizens, while Niger has closed its airspace for all French-registered aircraft. 
VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Oct. 05, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- FIREWEED METALS CORP. (Fireweed or the Company) (TSXV: FWZ; OTCQB: FWEDF) is pleased to announce it has completed a geophysical survey on its Gayna Project (zinc-lead-silver-gallium-germanium) (Gayna" or the Project), in the Northwest Territories, Canada (Map 1).

Highlights

Exploration is targeting reef margin high-grade massive sulphide mineralization using a ground gravity geophysical survey.

The 2022 geophysical program identified two broad areas with gravity anomalies consistent with Kipushi-style targets.

The 2023 gravity survey aims to expand the gravity coverage to identify new anomalies, and to refine existing anomalies for future drill-testing.

CEO Statement

Brandon Macdonald, CEO, stated We are very excited to continue work on Gayna; the new interpretations of historical data combined with our geophysical and geochemical surveys show that the Project has significant potential to host a similar style of mineralization to the world-class Kipushi deposit. With recent surface samples showing high-grade zinc (Zn) and lead (Pb), the 2023 survey work will allow higher resolution definition of targets in preparation for future drill testing.

2023 Geophysical Survey

Crews completed a three-week long, low-impact ground gravity survey at Gayna. The survey provided infill coverage of the 2022 grid; covered targets A, B, C, F, and L (Map 4); and expanded the grid to cover more reef-margin targets.

Map 1: Gayna Project Location Relative to Fireweeds Flagship Macpass and Mactung Projects

Map 2: Gayna Project Geology

Map 3: Gayna Project Claims and Historical Drill Collars

Gayna Project (zinc-lead-silver-gallium-germanium)

The Gayna prospects are hosted in dominantly carbonate sedimentary rocks of Neoproterozoic age within the Mackenzie Mountains. These carbonate units consist of a succession of shale-carbonate rocks containing calcimicrobial limestone reefs formed by stromatolites and possibly early sponges. The reefs are surrounded by comparatively deeper-water sediments intermixed with reef-derived talus, with individual reefs several hundred metres to over three kilometres in diameter and hundreds of metres in thickness. This sharp, near-vertical interface between the reef and the surrounding sedimentary rocks is being targeted as an environment analogous to the high-grade Big Zinc Zone at the Kipushi deposit in the Democratic Republic of Congo1. Mineralization discovered at Gayna to date occurs in veins and breccias in carbonate rocks similar to Mississippi-Valley-Type (MVT) mineralization, or Irish-type Zn-Pb mineralization. Sphalerite and minor galena occur as infill within veins, vugs, and breccias along with dolomite-calcite-quartz-pyrite. This mineralization is interpreted as the distal expression of Kipushi-style massive sulphide mineralization that may be present along the subvertical margins of the carbonate reefs. This steep reef margin geometry at Gayna was not tested by historical, sub-vertical drill holes that targeted sub-horizontal, shallowly dipping mineralization. The geophysics work from 2022 shows compelling gravity targets, and the data generated in the 2023 gravity program will guide future drilling programs to test these anomalies using inclined drillholes.

Rio Tinto completed over 28,000 m of exploration drilling at Gayna in the 1970s to test targets identified by prospecting or soil geochemistry, and to test stratiform targets with a grid drilling approach utilizing vertical holes on a square grid with an average spacing of 600 m between holes (Map 3). Given the vertical holes and the wide historic drill grid spacing, these drill programs left the concept of subvertical bodies of massive sulphide mineralization untested. The Project was restaked by Fireweed in 2022 to test the new exploration concept that Kipushi-style, high-grade massive sulphide may be present at Gayna.

A ground gravity survey, an airborne LiDAR survey, and an orthophoto survey were carried out in 2022 to acquire high-quality geophysical data using modern technology and practices. The results of the 2022 gravity program delineated several gravity-high anomalies over the inferred position of the reef-margins. For an overview of results from the 2022 program, please refer to Fireweed news release dated November 17, 2022.

A limited 2022 rock sampling program at known showings returned samples with high zinc, silver, and lead concentrations, and also contained elevated concentrations of the critical minerals gallium (2 to 42 ppm) and germanium (9 to 99 ppm) (locations of the 8 samples shown on Map 4 and assays in Table 1). The 2022 rock sampling returned a specimen with a spectacular zinc grade of 51.2%, as well as another sample grading 73.7% lead (Photo 1). These samples, while derived from surface boulders, illustrate the potential for an undiscovered source(s) of massive sulphides with extremely high grades, comparable to Kipushi, hosted in the same reef-margin environment. Several extensive, high magnitude lead-zinc soil anomalies present on the Project are not readily explained by the results of the historic drilling and show potential for yet undiscovered high-grade massive sulphide mineralization along the reef-margins.

Map 4: 2022 Gayna Project Rock Sample Locations

Table 1: 2022 Gayna Project Rock Grab Samples

Sample Zn (%) Pb (%) Ag (ppm) Ga (ppm) Ge (ppm) Target Easting Northing 3200018 9.7 0.1 2.9 5 14 A Showing 419512 7203599 3200019 7.3 0.0 3 9 F Showing 420506 7203716 3200020 16.8 7.4 16 62 B Showing 418370 7203568 3200021 33.3 0.0 6.4 6 44 A Showing 419481 7203535 3200022 27.7 0.0 0.9 4 29 A Showing 419467 7203510 3200024 9.3 73.7 40.5 4 88 C Showing 418087 7203727 3200025 51.2 0.1 1.2 42 39 D Showing 416623 7207019 3200026 24.6 0.0 18.4 2 99 G Showing 421884 7201915

Coordinate reference system: UTM Zone 9 NAD83

Photo 1: Gayna Project Rock Sample with Massive Galena-Sphalerite

Qualified Person Statement

Technical information in this news release has been approved by Fireweed Metals VP Geology, Jack Milton, Ph.D., P.Geo. (BC), a Qualified Person as defined under Canadian National Instrument 43-101.

About Fireweed Metals Corp. (TSXV: FWZ; OTCQB: FWEDF; FSE: 20F): Fireweed Metals is a public mineral exploration company on the leading edge of Critical Minerals project development. Fireweed is well-funded, with a strong current cash position and is currently carrying out a large 2023 exploration program. The Company has three projects located in Canada:

Macpass Project (zinc-lead-silver) : Fireweed owns 100% of the district-scale 940 km2 Macmillan Pass (Macpass) Project in Yukon, Canada, which is host to one of the largest undeveloped zinc resources in the world* where the Tom and Jason zinc-lead-silver deposits have current Mineral Resources2 (11.21 Mt Indicated Resource at 6.59% zinc, 2.48% lead, and 21.33 g/t silver; and 39.47 Mt Inferred Resource at 5.84% zinc, 3.14% lead, and 38.15 g/t silver) and a Preliminary Economic Assessment3 (PEA). In addition, Boundary Zone, Tom North and End Zone have significant zinc-lead-silver mineralization drilled but not yet classified as mineral resources. The project also includes large blocks of adjacent claims with known showings and significant upside exploration potential.

Fireweed owns 100% of the district-scale 940 km2 Macmillan Pass (Macpass) Project in Yukon, Canada, which is host to one of the largest undeveloped zinc resources in the world* where the Tom and Jason zinc-lead-silver deposits have current Mineral Resources2 (11.21 Mt Indicated Resource at 6.59% zinc, 2.48% lead, and 21.33 g/t silver; and 39.47 Mt Inferred Resource at 5.84% zinc, 3.14% lead, and 38.15 g/t silver) and a Preliminary Economic Assessment3 (PEA). In addition, Boundary Zone, Tom North and End Zone have significant zinc-lead-silver mineralization drilled but not yet classified as mineral resources. The project also includes large blocks of adjacent claims with known showings and significant upside exploration potential. Mactung Project (tungsten) : The Company owns 100% interest in the 37.6 km2 Mactung Project located adjacent to the Macpass Project. Recently announced mineral resources for Mactung (41.5 Mt Indicated Resource at 0.73% WO3 and 12.2 Mt Inferred Resource at 0.59% WO3)4 make it the worlds largest high-grade resource of the Critical Mineral tungsten*. Located in Canada, it is one of the rare large tungsten resources outside of China*.

The Company owns 100% interest in the 37.6 km2 Mactung Project located adjacent to the Macpass Project. Recently announced mineral resources for Mactung (41.5 Mt Indicated Resource at 0.73% WO3 and 12.2 Mt Inferred Resource at 0.59% WO3)4 make it the worlds largest high-grade resource of the Critical Mineral tungsten*. Located in Canada, it is one of the rare large tungsten resources outside of China*. Gayna Project (zinc-lead-gallium-germanium): Fireweed owns 100% of the 128.75 km2 Gayna project located 180 km north of the Macpass Project. It is host to extensive mineralization including Critical Minerals zinc, gallium and germanium as well as lead and silver, outlined by 28,000 m of historical drilling and significant upside potential.

In Canada, Fireweed (TSXV: FWZ) trades on the TSX Venture Exchange. In the USA, Fireweed (OTCQB: FWEDF) trades on the OTCQB Venture Market for early stage and developing U.S. and international companies and is DTC eligible for enhanced electronic clearing and settlement. Investors can find Real-Time quotes and market information for the Company on www.otcmarkets.com. In Europe, Fireweed (FSE: 20F) trades on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange.

Additional information about Fireweed and its projects can be found on the Companys website at FireweedMetals.com and at www.sedarplus.com

ON BEHALF OF FIREWEED METALS CORP.

Brandon Macdonald

CEO & Director

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Data Verification

Geophysical surveying in 2022 and 2023 was conducted by a qualified and independent contractor under the direction of Fireweed Metals.

Rock samples from the 2022 field program were sent to the Bureau Veritas preparation laboratory in Whitehorse, Yukon, where the samples were crushed and a 500 g split was sent to the Bureau Veritas laboratory in Vancouver, B.C to be pulverized to 85% passing 200-mesh size pulps. Clean crush material was passed through the crusher and clean silica was pulverized between each sample. The pulps were analyzed by 1:1:1 Aqua Regia digestion followed by Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (ICP-ES/ICP-MS) multi-element analyses (BV Code AQ270). All samples were also analyzed for multiple elements by lithium borate fusion and X-ray fluorescence analysis (XRF) finish (BV Code LF725). Over-limit lead (>25.0%) and zinc (>24.0%) were analyzed by lithium borate fusion with XRF finish (BV Code LF726). Samples were subjected to fire assay for gold, platinum and palladium by fusion followed by ICP-ES analysis (BV Code FA330), as well as assay for gallium and germanium by hydrofluoric acid and Aqua Regia digestion followed by ICP-MS analysis (BV Code GC204). For rock samples, silver is reported in this news release by method AQ270, zinc and lead are reported by LF725 or LF726, and gallium and germanium by GS204.

Bureau Veritas (Vancouver) is an independent, international ISO/IEC 17025:2005 accredited laboratory. Laboratory blanks, duplicates, and standards were analysed as part of routine data QAQC.

Cautionary Statements

Forward Looking Statements

This news release contains forward-looking statements and information (forward-looking statements). All statements, other than statements of historical facts, included herein, including, without limitation, statements relating to mineralization potential, interpretation of drill results, future work plans, the use of funds, and the potential of the Companys projects, are forward looking statements. Forward-looking statements are frequently, but not always, identified by words such as expects, anticipates, believes, intends, estimates, potential, possible, and similar expressions, or statements that events, conditions, or results will, may, could, or should occur or be achieved. Forward-looking statements are based on the beliefs of Company management, as well as assumptions made by and information currently available to Company management and reflect the beliefs, opinions, and projections on the date the statements are made. Forward-looking statements involve various risks and uncertainties and accordingly, readers are advised not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate, and actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the Companys expectations include but are not limited to, exploration and development risks, unanticipated reclamation expenses, expenditure and financing requirements, general economic conditions, changes in financial markets, the ability to properly and efficiently staff the Companys operations, the sufficiency of working capital and funding for continued operations, title matters, First Nations relations, operating hazards, political and economic factors, competitive factors, metal prices, relationships with vendors and strategic partners, governmental regulations and oversight, permitting, seasonality and weather, technological change, industry practices, uncertainties involved in the interpretation of drilling results and laboratory tests, and one-time events. The Company assumes no obligation to update forwardlooking statements or beliefs, opinions, projections or other factors, except as required by law.

Footnotes and References

* References to relative size and grade of the Mactung resources and Macpass resources in comparison to other tungsten and zinc deposits elsewhere in the world, respectively, are based on review of the Standard & Poors Global Market Intelligence Capital IQ database.

1: For details, see Turner, E. C., D. W. Broughton, and T. Brooks. "Neoproterozoic carbonate lithofacies and ore distribution at the Kipushi Cu-Zn deposit, Democratic Republic of Congo, and Gayna River Zn camp, Northwest Territories, Canada." Economic Geology 113.3 (2018): 779-788.

2: For details, see https://www.sedarplus.ca/ Fireweed Technical Report titled NI 43-101 Technical Report on the Macmillan Pass Zinc-Lead-Silver Project, Watson Lake and Mayo Mining Districts Yukon Territory, Canada filed on https://www.sedarplus.ca/ on February 23, 2018, and Fireweed News Release dated January 10, 2018.

3: For details, see https://www.sedarplus.ca/ Fireweed Technical Report titled NI 43-101 Technical Report Macmillan Pass Project Yukon Territory Canada filed on https://www.sedarplus.ca/ on July 9, 2018, and Fireweed News Release dated May 23, 2018. This Technical Report includes a Preliminary Economic Analysis disclosing an economic analysis of mineral resources that is preliminary in nature and does not include any mineral reserves. It is equally emphasized that the mineral resources disclosed within this Technical Report are not mineral reserves and do not have demonstrated economic viability.

4: For details, see Fireweed news release dated June 13, 2023 Fireweed Metals Announces Mineral Resources for the Mactung Project: the Largest High-Grade Tungsten Deposit in the World and the technical report entitled NI 43-101 Technical Report, Mactung Project, Yukon Territory, Canada, with effective date July 28, 2023 filed on https://www.sedarplus.ca/

Contact: Brandon MacdonaldPhone: (604) 646-8361Email: [email protected]

Photos accompanying this announcement are available at:

https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/1715dd79-561c-4419-8264-16f7d060e3a7

https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/fac28f13-d26b-46af-bf80-66736817bb88

https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/a890336e-0f44-4564-8f7b-c51a5481c0ca

https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/74023ff0-182b-4a9f-81ee-a061ff8977d5

https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/889295fc-d657-41d8-981c-2e55a220ebc5

Gayna Project Location Map 1: Gayna Project Location Relative to Fireweeds Flagship Macpass and Mactung Projects Gayna Project Geology Map 2: Gayna Project Geology Gayna Project Claims and Historical Drill Collars Map 3: Gayna Project Claims and Historical Drill Collars Gayna Project Rock Sample Locations Map 4: 2022 Gayna Project Rock Sample Locations Gayna Project Rock Sample Photo 1: Gayna Project Rock Sample with Massive Galena-Sphalerite

Source: Fireweed Metals Corp.
GUADALAJARA, Mexico, Oct. 04, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Grupo Aeroportuario del Pacifico, S.A.B. de C.V., (NYSE: PAC; BMV: GAP) (the Company or GAP). On October 4, 2023, GAP received a notification from the Federal Civil Aviation Agency (Agencia Federal de Aviacion Civil, AFAC), a decentralized entity of the Mexican Secretary of Infrastructure, Communications, and Transport (Secretaria de Infraestructura, Comunicaciones y Transporte, SICT), informing that has decided, unilaterally and without any previous communication with the Company, to amend with immediate effect the terms of the tariff base regulation (Bases de Regulacion Tarifaria) set forth in Annex 7 of the concession agreements undertaken with the SICT on June 29, 1998, as amended, in connection with the airports GAP operates in Mexicos Pacific region.

GAP is currently evaluating the potential impact that the changes to the tariff base regulation may have on its business, results of operation, and financial condition.

Company Description

Grupo Aeroportuario del Pacifico, S.A.B. de C.V. (GAP) operates 12 airports throughout Mexicos Pacific region, including the major cities of Guadalajara and Tijuana, the four tourist destinations of Puerto Vallarta, Los Cabos, La Paz and Manzanillo, and six other mid-sized cities: Hermosillo, Guanajuato, Morelia, Aguascalientes, Mexicali, and Los Mochis. In February 2006, GAPs shares were listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol PAC and on the Mexican Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol GAP. In April 2015, GAP acquired 100% of Desarrollo de Concessioner Aeroportuarias, S.L., which owns a majority stake in MBJ Airports Limited, a company operating Sangster International Airport in Montego Bay, Jamaica. In October 2018, GAP entered into a concession agreement for the Norman Manley International Airport operation in Kingston, Jamaica, and took control of the operation in October 2019.

This press release may contain forward-looking statements. These statements are statements that are not historical facts and are based on managements current view and estimates of future economic circumstances, industry conditions, company performance and financial results. The words anticipates, believes, estimates, expects, plans and similar expressions, as they relate to the company, are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Statements regarding the declaration or payment of dividends, the implementation of principal operating and financing strategies and capital expenditure plans, the direction of future operations and the factors or trends affecting financial condition, liquidity or results of operations are examples of forward-looking statements. Such statements reflect the current views of management and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties. There is no guarantee that the expected events, trends or results will actually occur. The statements are based on many assumptions and factors, including general economic and market conditions, industry conditions, and operating factors. Any changes in such assumptions or factors could cause actual results to differ materially from current expectations.

In accordance with Section 806 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 and Article 42 of the Ley del Mercado de Valores, GAP has implemented a whistleblower program, which allows complainants to anonymously and confidentially report suspected activities that involve criminal conduct or violations. The telephone number in Mexico, facilitated by a third party responsible for collecting these complaints, is 800 04 ETICA (38422) or WhatsApp +52 55 6538 5504. The website is www.lineadedenunciagap.com or by email at [email protected]. GAPs Audit Committee will be notified of all complaints for immediate investigation.

Alejandra Soto, Investor Relations and Social Responsibility Officer [email protected] Gisela Murillo, Investor Relations [email protected] /+52 33 3880 1100 ext. 20294

Source: Grupo Aeroportuario del Pacifico, S.A.B. de C.V.
TAMPA, Fla., Oct. 05, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- HCI Group, Inc. (NYSE: HCI), a holding company with operations in homeowners insurance, information technology services, real estate, and reinsurance, announced today that its subsidiary, TypTap Insurance Company, has received approval by the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation to assume up to 25,000 policies from Citizens Property Insurance Corporation, Floridas state-backed insurance company. The assumption would be under Floridas legislatively mandated depopulation program, which is designed to encourage private companies to assume policies from Citizens.



TypTap has leveraged internally developed technology enabling it to grow organically in Florida. With the operating environment improving in Florida, we see an opportunity to supplement TypTaps existing business through the Citizens depopulation program, said Paresh Patel, HCIs chairman and chief executive officer.

The number of policies to be assumed from Citizens is expected to be finalized in December. Citizens policyholders are entitled to reject the assumption in some cases or move their business to another company.

About HCI Group, Inc.

HCI Group, Inc. owns subsidiaries engaged in diverse, yet complementary business activities, including homeowners insurance, information technology services, insurance management, real estate, and reinsurance. HCIs leading insurance operation, TypTap Insurance Company, is a technology-driven homeowners insurance company. TypTaps operations are powered in large part by insurance-related information technology developed by HCIs software subsidiary, Exzeo USA, Inc. HCIs largest subsidiary, Homeowners Choice Property & Casualty Insurance Company, Inc., provides homeowners insurance primarily in Florida. HCIs real estate subsidiary, Greenleaf Capital, LLC, owns and operates multiple properties in Florida, including office buildings, retail centers and marinas.

The company's common shares trade on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol "HCI" and are included in the Russell 2000 and S&P SmallCap 600 Index. HCI Group, Inc. regularly publishes financial and other information in the Investor Information section of the companys website. For more information about HCI Group and its subsidiaries, visit www.hcigroup.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

This news release may contain forward-looking statements made pursuant to the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Words such as "anticipate," "estimate," "expect," "intend," "plan," "confident," "prospects" and "project" and other similar words and expressions are intended to signify forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future results and conditions, but rather are subject to various risks and uncertainties. For example, statements relating to future access to the capital markets are forward-looking statements. Some of these risks and uncertainties are identified in the company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Should any risks or uncertainties develop into actual events, these developments could have material adverse effects on the company's business, financial condition and results of operations. HCI Group, Inc. disclaims all obligations to update any forward-looking statements.

Company Contact:

Bill Broomall, CFA

Investor Relations

HCI Group, Inc.

Tel (813) 776-1012

[email protected]

Investor Relations Contact:

Matt Glover

Gateway Group, Inc.

Tel 949-574-3860

[email protected]
Investing in safety, reliability, affordability and community commitment in nine states

Morgantown, WV, Oct. 05, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- MORGANTOWN, WV (October 5, 2023)  Hearthstone Holdings is now Hope Utilities! Morgan OBrien, CEO, announces today that Hearthstone has been rebranded to Hope Utilities (Hope) to reflect the companys mission and dedication to its customers, communities and employees. Hope Utilities provides natural gas and water service to over 227,000 homes and businesses in nine states. The company owns and operates natural gas utilities in Indiana, Maine, Montana, North Carolina, Ohio, and West Virginia; and water and wastewater utilities in Arizona, Michigan, and Texas.

The company rebranding to Hope Utilities coincides with the 125th anniversary of Hope Gas, the largest utility owned by the company which operates in 35 counties in West Virginia. Hope Gas was purchased in September 2022.

The new company name, Hope Utilities, reflects our company mission and the commitment our employees have to the customers and communities we serve, said Morgan OBrien, CEO of Hope Utilities. At Hope Utilities, we have created a business model where customers feel valued, where we partner with regulators and community leaders to embrace local priorities, where we drive economic development for the areas we serve and where employees recognize and embrace the value they bring to the organization.

OBrien continues, Hope Utilities is proud to be an integral part of the communities we serve. Many of our utilities have histories reaching back over a century. These companies very literally helped build the foundation of the cities and neighborhoods we serve. They built the infrastructure that provides the energy needed to homes and businesses today. And, we will continue to invest in that critical infrastructure to ensure continued safe, reliable and affordable service and the energy needed to support the growing needs of our communities.

The utility companies owned by Hope Utilities include:

Bangor Natural Gas (Maine)

Energy West Montana (Montana)

Frontier Natural Gas (North Carolina)

Hearthstone Water (Arizona, Michigan, Texas)

Hope Gas (West Virginia)

Northeast Ohio Natural Gas (Ohio)

Sycamore Gas Company (Indiana)

Hope Utilities employs over 720 individuals. With OBrien at the helm, Hopes strong executive leadership team has a combined total of more than 10 decades of utility experience. The executive leadership team is comprised of:

Morgan OBrien, Chief Executive Officer

Jonell Carver, Chief Operating Officer

Ruth DeLost-Wylie, Chief Administrative Officer

Melissa Dykes, Chief Financial Officer

Jo Carol Farmer, Senior Vice President, Regulatory Affairs and Government Relations

Jeff Nehr, Senior Vice President, Gas Supply and Development

Lynne Rhode, Senior Vice President and General Counsel

I cant think of a name that better embodies what our team is working toward every day, continued OBrien. When our customers think about the opportunities for their communities to grow and thrive, I want them to know that Hope Utilities is there to provide the energy for the future.

Learn more about Hope Utilities at HopeUtilities.com.

Watch the brand unveiling here: https://youtu.be/KuQn-a31KYM

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About Hope Utilities

Hope Utilities owns natural gas and water distribution utilities across nine states. We provide service to more than 227,000 residential, commercial, and industrial customers in the communities we serve. We currently operate natural gas utilities in Indiana, Maine, Montana, North Carolina, Ohio, and West Virginia; and water and wastewater utilities in Arizona, Michigan, and Texas. Hopes growth strategy is built on being a trusted member of the communities we serve, providing our customers with safe, reliable, and cost-effective utility service. Learn more about Hope at HopeUtilities.com.
Highest year to date (YTD) sales with 66,339 units sold and a year-over-year (YoY) market share growth of 31.4%

Top sellers remain Seltos, Sportage and Forte

YTD EV sales tripled YoY with the Niro EV leading the charge

Certified Pre-Owned sales achieve best-ever year-over-year every month in 2023

TORONTO, Oct. 04, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Kia Canada announces a record sales YTD in the companys history with 66,339 units sold in 2023 and a YTD year-over-year market share growth of 31.4% The last YTD record at the end of Q3 was set in 2021 with 66,327 units sold. In Q3 alone, the brand delivered 23,390 units, a 35% increase over 2022. The most popular model in the last two years, the Kia Seltos, leads sales results in Q3 with 4,796 units, followed by Sportage at 4,530 and Forte at 2,899 units.

In line with its Plan S strategy to bring 7 electrified vehicles to the Canadian market by 2025, total EV sales have tripled YoY led by the Niro EV with 2,788 YTD units sold, followed closely by the EV6 with 2,160 units sold YTD.

Certified pre-owned sales (CPO) are on a continuous upward trajectory with consecutive best-ever year-over-year sales every single month in 2023. At the end of the Q3, YTD sales total 9,627, which is up 70% over this time last year. March was the first month that CPO sales broke the thousand-unit threshold with 1,118 units sold and have since had 5-consecutive months of sales over 1,000 units.

The growth of our brand is resonating with Canadians, both with new vehicles and certified pre-owned models says Elias El-Achhab, VP and COO of Kia Canada. Furthermore, our expanding electrified lineup is exceeding expectations, like our all-new Niro lineup, quickly on its way to becoming a top performer for the brand.

The brand will wrap up 2023 with an industry milestone by launching the first mass market, fully electric, 3-row SUV, the Kia EV9. As the companys flagship model, it represents the future of sustainable and technologically advanced mobility. The EV9 is set to arrive in dealerships towards the end of the year. For more information about the EV9, visit www.kia.ca/ev9.

About Kia CanadaKia Canada Inc., founded in 1999, is a subsidiary of Kia Corporation based in Seoul, South Korea. The company employs over 170 people at its headquarters in Mississauga, Ontario, as well as in locations across Canada and at its regional office in Montreal, Quebec. Kia offers award winning products that are dynamic, stylish and innovative and services that are meaningful and convenient through a network of 198 dealers across the country. The company's brand slogan  Movement that inspires reflects Kias desire to create the space for you to get inspired and more time to bring your ideas to life. To learn more, visit kia.ca or Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and Instagram.

For media related inquiries, please contact:[email protected]

Source: Kia Canada Inc.
PRESS RELEASE

KLEPIERRE CONFIRMS ITS TOP SPOT IN THE GRESB RANKING AND JOINS THE CAC 40 ESG INDEX

Paris, October 5, 2023

Klepierre, the European leader in shopping malls, has received two distinctions recognizing the excellence of its CSR policy.

The Group, which unveiled its new Act4Good strategy in February 2023, has joined Euronexts CAC 40 ESG stock market index, which brings together the 40 most responsible listed companies based on their Moodys ESG rating. Klepierre is already a member of the CAC SBT 1.5, another Euronext stock market index comprising companies whose greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets contribute to limiting global warming to 1.5C, as per the United Nations-backed Science Based Targets initiative.

Moreover, for the fourth year running, Klepierre has been recognized by the Global Real Estate Sustainability Benchmark (GRESB) as Europes leading listed retail real estate company. GRESB, which evaluates the CSR practices of real estate companies worldwide, has also maintained Klepierres 5 Stars rating, awarded to the top 20% best-performing companies across all categories.

At Klepierres last General Meeting in May 2023, over 95% of shareholders approved the Groups climate strategy.

I am delighted with these two distinctions, which recognize our teams hard work and the Groups CSR commitments, said Jean-Marc Jestin, Chairman of Klepierres Executive Board. Being included in the CAC 40 ESG index and taking the top spot in the GRESB ranking once again are also proof of our ability to achieve our objectives without compromising on our commitments.

A COMMITMENT TO FURTHER IMPROVEMENT AND A ROADMAP FOR 2030

We have achieved these results thanks to the efforts made by Klepierre, which very early on positioned itself as a sector leader in terms of CSR practices, added Clementine Pacitti, Chief Sustainability Officer at Klepierre. While we welcome the recognition, we also see it as motivation to keep going and accelerate our efforts. In February, we launched Act4Good, our new CSR strategy guided by ambitious objectives, including achieving net zero. The strategy will drive us forward as we build the most sustainable platform for commerce by 2030.

In 2018, Klepierre kicked off its first CSR plan. Five years later, the Group announced that it had met 99.8% of its targets, with energy consumption at its shopping centers reduced by more than 40% and direct and indirect greenhouse gas emissions down by more than 80%.

In February 2023, the Group took its commitment one step further by launching Act4Good, a strategy to build the most sustainable platform for commerce based on four pillars:

Act for the climate by achieving net zero by 2030;

Act to service communities and territories around its shopping centers;

Act as a skills developer for its employees, partners and visitors;

Act to promote sustainable lifestyles for its entire ecosystem  customers, retailers, employees, partners and citizens.

Each of these commitments is accompanied by an impact objective and an operational roadmap. Find out more here.

MEDIA CONTACTS Helene Salmon, Group Head of Communications

+33 (0)6 43 41 97 18  [email protected] Wandrille Clermontel, Taddeo

+33 (0)6 58 53 45 91  [email protected]

ABOUT KLEPIERRE

Klepierre is the European leader in shopping malls, combining property development and asset management skills. The Companys portfolio is valued at 19.4 billion at June 30, 2023, and comprises large shopping centers in more than 10 countries in Continental Europe which together host hundreds of millions of visitors per year. Klepierre holds a controlling stake in Steen & Strm (56.1%), Scandinavias number one shopping center owner and manager. Klepierre is a French REIT (SIIC) listed on Euronext Paris and is included in the CAC Next 20 and EPRA Euro Zone Indexes. It is also included in ethical indexes, such as CAC 40 ESG, CAC SBT 1.5, MSCI Europe ESG Leaders, FTSE4Good, Euronext Vigeo Europe 120, and features in CDPs A-list. These distinctions underscore the Groups commitment to a proactive sustainable development policy and its global leadership in the fight against climate change.

For more information, please visit the newsroom on our website: www.klepierre.com

Attachment
TORONTO, Oct. 05, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- After a successful MS Bike season, MS Canada is pleased to share that it has raised $4.3 million and counting. Fundraising efforts were ongoing until September 30th, and the organization predicts the total will reach $4.6 million after the closing count.

Every year we are impressed by the way the MS Bike community shows up, and this year was no exception," said Nicole Sullivan, Director of Community Fundraising at MS Canada. We are deeply grateful to each and every person who rode, cheered, and donated over the last four months and made the 2023 MS Bike season a success. Every participant brings our cause to the forefront of their community, helping us spread awareness about MS and ways to get involved and help.

Each spring and summer for the past 34 years, MS Bike has brought together thousands of Canadians looking to support the multiple sclerosis (MS) community, while taking on a fully supported, vibrant and energizing ride. This year over 3,100 participants came together to raise awareness and funds for MS. Locations for the 10 confirmed MS Bike events for 2024 are available now - each providing a unique experience filled with activities, impact speeches and a supportive community fostering friendships that will last a lifetime. To date, MS Bike events have raised $135 million dollars, a figure that will rise once the final count from 2023 is confirmed.

I had no idea that after I was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis almost 18 years ago, I would be where I am today, said Melanie Bennett, MS Bike participant and ambassador. As I often do when I speak at MS Bike events, I want to say thank you to everyone who participated this year. Without this funding, there would be no dollars for research, and without that research I might not be able to walk right now, let alone run or ride a bike, said Bennett.

Funds raised through MS Canadas MS Bike event series support Canadians living with MS across the country by offering various programs and services, such as the MS Knowledge Network, peer support groups, and more. Funds also support groundbreaking research projects investigating the causes, treatments, and pathways to cures - working towards a world free of MS.

MS Bike 2024 fundraising begins on October 1st. Supporters can donate and find information on registering for MS Bike 2024 events by following this link: https://msspbike.donordrive.com.

About MS CanadaMS Canada fosters meaningful connections both within the MS community, and between the MS community and research, programs, resources, and services. As of 2023, MS Canada amalgamates two previously known entities, the MS Society of Canada and the MS Scientific Research Foundation, continuing its work toward the same vision of a world free of multiple sclerosis. The MS community is at the centre of MS Canada. For 75 years we have been relentless in our fight, continuously funding research to expand the current MS knowledge base. We also advocate for people living with MS, asking the government to remove barriers and improve policies that impact their everyday lives. For more information visit mscanada.ca

About Multiple Sclerosis Canada has one of the highest rates of multiple sclerosis (MS) in the world. On average, 12 Canadians are diagnosed every day. MS is a chronic autoimmune disease of the central nervous system (brain, spinal cord). Most people are diagnosed with MS between the ages of 20 and 49. It is considered an episodic disability meaning that the severity and duration of episodes of illness and disability can vary, often followed by periods of wellness. It can also be progressive.

Media Contact

Laila NamurManager, Corporate Communications MS Canada778 862 1712 [email protected]

Source: MS Canada
SAN FRANCISCO and TEL AVIV, Israel, Oct. 05, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Opus Security, a leading provider of cloud-native remediation, today announced that it has won the CyberSecurity Breakthrough Award for Security Orchestration Solution of the Year.

Today, security teams need to work with numerous engineering groups to achieve their ideal security posture. As engineers take on more significant security responsibilities, CISOs find themselves in a new role: Risk Orchestrators. This emergent role is highly distributed, involves creating effective, trustworthy, day-to-day relationships with engineering teams, is responsible for a coherent view of security risks and needs to provide actionable solutions when available.

Opus Security, which emerged from stealth just a year ago with funding led by the cybersecurity-focused VC firm YL Ventures, is a cloud-native orchestration and remediation platform that aggregates, deduplicates and prioritizes vulnerabilities to reduce the complexity of remediation into a single unified view. Built to help facilitate seamless collaboration among security and development teams, Opus accelerates cybersecurity decision-making and enables frictionless and scalable remediation orchestration.

The Opus Security Platform offers security leaders the following:

Meny Har, CEO and co-founder of Opus Security expressed his gratitude. We are humbled and honored to receive the Security Orchestration Award, which underscores just how pervasive the issue of effective remediation orchestration has become. After working so hard to build a platform that supports organization-wide remediation through quick and easy processes, this recognition is incredibly validating and exciting for the entire Opus team. We are all very grateful.

The CyberSecurity Breakthrough Awards program, run by the Tech Breakthrough organization, is a widely recognized market intelligence platform for technology companies around the world. Its partnerships include high-profile companies such as Cisco, Dell, Philips, AT&T, HP and Comcast.

About Opus Security Opus Security empowers security and engineering teams to orchestrate effective, collaborative and results-driven remediation. Through its SaaS remediation platform, Opus Security enables customers to aggregate, deduplicate and prioritize vulnerabilities across application security tools, cloud-native applications, and infrastructure. The Opus Security cloud-native remediation platform helps practitioners and engineers reduce remediation time from weeks or days into hoursand sometimes even minutes. Opus Security is backed by cybersecurity-focused VC firm YL Ventures, further solidifying its commitment to innovation and excellence in the field of cybersecurity.

Media Contact:Montner Tech PRDeb Montner[email protected]

Source: Opus Security
Vancouver, British Columbia, Oct. 05, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Orezone Gold Corporation (TSX: ORE, OTCQX: ORZCF) (the Company or Orezone) is pleased to provide Q3-2023 production results from its Bombore Gold Mine, located in Burkina Faso.

Q3-2023 Highlights

Gold production of 30,726oz, totalling 107,509oz year-to-date.

Gold sales of 29,167oz at an average realized price of US$1,910/oz resulting in sales of US$55.7M.

Patrick Downey, President & CEO stated, Production in Q3 exceeded our expectations, with higher than budgeted mining and processing rates achieved during the rainy season. This is a testament to the experienced operating team at Bombore, and their operational preparedness as mining and processing of oxide material in wet conditions can prove difficult. With the Q3 rainy season now behind us, and a favorable outlook for Q4, Orezone remains well-positioned to meet the lower end of its 2023 guidance of 140,000-155,000oz.

The impact of historical artisanal mining on ore grades realized in H1 was localized, and during Q3 was only observed in the month of July. For August and September there was minimal impact, with monthly production averaging 11,289oz as pit depths are now below that of the affected artisanal horizon.

Significant progress was also made during the quarter on the Bombore grid power connection, with all tower foundations complete, and over 50% of the towers now installed. The project remains on time and on budget, with energization scheduled for late 2023. Once connected, this will significantly lower Bombores operating costs and carbon footprint.

Lastly, the Company expects to release the results of the Bombore Phase II Expansion and Updated Life-of-Mine study during the week of October 8th.

2023 Production Results

Unit Q3-2023 Q2-2023 Q1-2023 9M-2023 Ore processed Tonnes 1,453,541 1,400,160 1,445,693 4,299,394 Ore grade Au g/t 0.74 0.87 0.96 0.86 Plant recovery % 88.8 91.1 92.2 90.9 Gold produced Au oz 30,726 35,482 41,301 107,509 Gold sold Au oz 29,167 33,608 43,139 105,914

About Orezone Gold Corporation

Orezone Gold Corporation (TSX: ORE OTCQX: ORZCF) is a Canadian mining company operating the open pit Bombore Gold Mine in Burkina Faso.

Orezone is focusing on mining and processing the Phase I near surface free-dig oxides at a planned annual throughput of 5.7 million tonnes. The Company believes that Bombore has a significant underlying hard rock resource to support a substantially larger Phase II expansion. The Company has recently completed a resource definition drill program, and plans to issue an updated mineral resource, reserve and life of mine plan, as part of this Phase II expansion.

Orezone is led by an experienced team focused on social responsibility and sustainability with a proven track record in project construction and operations, financings, capital markets and M&A.

The technical report for the 2019 Feasibility Study on Bombore entitled NI 43-101 Technical Report (Amended) Feasibility Study of the Bombore Gold Project is available under the Companys profile at SEDAR+.

Patrick DowneyPresident and Chief Executive Officer

Vanessa PickeringManager, Investor Relations

Tel: 1 778 945 8977 / Toll Free: 1 888 673 0663[email protected] / www.orezone.com

For further information please contact Orezone at +1 (778) 945-8977 or visit the Companys website at www.orezone.com.

The Toronto Stock Exchange neither approves nor disapproves the information contained in this news release.

QUALIFIED PERSONS

Dale Tweed, P. Eng., VP Engineering and Rob Henderson, P. Eng. VP Technical Services of Orezone, are Qualified Persons under NI 43-101 and have reviewed and approved the scientific and technical information contained in this news release.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains certain information that may constitute forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable Canadian Securities laws and forward-looking statements within the meaning of applicable U.S. securities laws (together, forward-looking statements). Forward-looking statements are frequently characterized by words such as "plan", "expect", "project", "intend", "believe", "anticipate", "estimate", "potential", "possible" and other similar words, or statements that certain events or conditions "may", "will", "could", or "should" occur. Forward-looking statements in this press release include, but are not limited to, statements with respect to the Company being well-positioned to meet the lower end of 2023 annual production guidance and grid power savings.

All such forward-looking statements are based on certain assumptions and analyses made by management in light of their experience and perception of historical trends, current conditions and expected future developments, as well as other factors management and the qualified persons believe are appropriate in the circumstances.

All forward-looking statements are subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual events or results to differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements including, but not limited to, delays caused by pandemics, terrorist or other violent attacks (including cyber security attacks), the failure of parties to contracts to honour contractual commitments, unexpected changes in laws, rules or regulations, or their enforcement by applicable authorities; the failure of parties to contracts to perform as agreed; social or labour unrest; changes in commodity prices; unexpected failure or inadequacy of infrastructure, the possibility of unanticipated costs and expenses, accidents and equipment breakdowns, political risk, unanticipated changes in key management personnel and general economic, market or business conditions, the failure of exploration programs, including drilling programs, to deliver anticipated results and the failure of ongoing and uncertainties relating to the availability and costs of financing needed in the future, and other factors described in the Company's most recent annual information form and management discussion and analysis filed on SEDAR+. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements.

Although the forward-looking statements contained in this press release are based upon what management of the Company believes are reasonable assumptions, the Company cannot assure investors that actual results will be consistent with these forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date of this press release and are expressly qualified in their entirety by this cautionary statement. Subject to applicable securities laws, the Company does not assume any obligation to update or revise the forward-looking statements contained herein to reflect events or circumstances occurring after the date of this press release.

Source: Orezone Gold Corporation
Company invites individual and institutional investors, as well as advisors and analysts, to attend in person or online at VirtualInvestorConferences.com

HALMSTAD, Sweden, Oct. 05, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Redsense Medical AB (OTCQX: RDSNF | Spotlight: REDS), based in Sweden, focused on monitoring of blood leakage during hemodialysis to increase patient safety, today announced that Pontus Nobreus, CEO, will present live at the Small Cap Growth Virtual Investor Conference, hosted by VirtualInvestorConferences.com, on October 12th, 2023.



DATE: October 12th, 2023

TIME: 9:30 AM ET

LINK: https://bit.ly/3RcMLgH

Available for 1x1 meetings: October 12-13

This will be a live, interactive online event where investors are invited to ask the company questions in real-time. If attendees are not able to join the event live on the day of the conference, an archived webcast will also be made available after the event.

It is recommended that online investors pre-register and run the online system check to expedite participation and receive event updates.

Learn more about the event at www.virtualinvestorconferences.com .

Recent Company Highlights

Redsense Medical ABs shares to begin trading at OTCQX on September 29, 2023

Redsense Medical arranged Congressional Briefing to address Venous Needle Dislodgement

Redsense secures strong autumn with MSEK 11.2 order

Redsense Medicals alarm system featured in KFF Health News

Redsense Medical AB

Redsense Medical AB is born-global medical device innovator established in Sweden. Redsense's mission is to improve the safety and quality of life for dialysis patients worldwide. The group has its main market in the United States as well as sales in Europe and Canada. Redsense promotes patient safety through highly cost-efficient fiber-optic monitoring of the blood access site during hemodialysis. The Redsense System immediately detects Venous Needle Dislodgement (VND) - a potentially life-threatening complication that causes 21 avoidable deaths per week worldwide. In essence, the Redsense alarm provides patients, nurses, and caregivers an extra pair of eyes; always alert, focused on one thing only, never looking away. Redsense products are used in both clinics and at home, daily and nocturnally. Today, the majority of treatments are performed in clinical settings, but home treatment is gaining popularity thanks to lower cost, increased convenience for the patient, improvements in technology and political initiative. The number of patients undergoing hemodialysis several times per week due to chronic kidney disease is approaching 4 million, worldwide. The projected growth rate is six percent annually, driven by ageing population and other factors. Every hemodialysis treatment carries the risk of VND. In the last years more than 1 million treatments have been conducted with the Redsense System worldwide.

The Redsense Medical share is listed on Spotlight Stock Market (REDS) and traded on OTCQX (RDSNF) in the US.

About Virtual Investor Conferences

Virtual Investor Conferences (VIC) is the leading proprietary investor conference series that provides an interactive forum for publicly traded companies to seamlessly present directly to investors.

Providing a real-time investor engagement solution, VIC is specifically designed to offer companies more efficient investor access. Replicating the components of an on-site investor conference, VIC offers companies enhanced capabilities to connect with investors, schedule targeted one-on-one meetings and enhance their presentations with dynamic video content. Accelerating the next level of investor engagement, Virtual Investor Conferences delivers leading investor communications to a global network of retail and institutional investors.

CONTACTS:

Redsense Medical AB

Pontus Nobreus

CEO

+46 721 711264

[email protected]



Virtual Investor Conferences

John M. Viglotti

SVP Corporate Services, Investor Access

OTC Markets Group

(212) 220-2221

[email protected]
LJUBLJANA, Oct. 5 (Xinhua) -- Slovenia's exports fell by 11.4 percent year-on-year in August with its imports unchanged from the same period last year, the country's Statistical Office said on Thursday.

The country's exports to other European Union members accounted for about 59 percent of all its exports in August, fell by 11.1 percent year-on-year, while its imports within Europe were 13.4 percent lower than a year ago.

The country recorded a trade deficit of 1.1 billion euros (1.16 billion U.S. dollars) in August. "The value of trade with the EU member states is decreasing" with its exports shrinking since April and imports declining since March, the office said in a report.

However, over the first eight months of the year, the country's exports to non-EU countries rose by 21.2 percent, pushing the value of its all export up by 6.6 percent compared to the same period of 2022. During the same period, its imports increased by 0.1 percent.

Slovenia's main exports include cars, car parts, pharmaceutical products and household appliances. As some of the country's major trading partners, particularly Germany, are battling with the economic slowdown, Slovenia has also been facing economic downturn pressure.

According to a previous announcement, the government expects gross domestic product (GDP) growth of 1.6 percent this year, down from 2.5 percent in 2022. 
WILMINGTON, N.C., Oct. 05, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Reunion Neuroscience Inc., a venture backed clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company committed to developing innovative and patented therapeutic solutions for underserved mental health conditions, today announced that Greg Mayes, Chief Executive Officer, will participate in the following investor conferences. Please contact your representative to schedule a 1x1 meeting with the company.

Event: Oppenheimer Private Company Showcase Format: Presentation by Greg Mayes, president and CEO, and 1-on-1 meetings Date: October 11th, 2023 Time: 3:30 P.M. E.T. Location: New York, NY Event: Needham Private Biotech Company Virtual 1x1 Forum Format: Management 1-on-1 meetings Date: October 17 & 18, 2023 Location: Virtual

About Reunion Neuroscience Inc.

Reunion is committed to developing innovative therapeutic solutions for underserved mental health conditions. The Companys lead asset, RE104, a proprietary, novel, serotonergic psychedelic compound and the only 4-OH-DiPT prodrug in clinical development, is being investigated as a potential treatment for postpartum depression that could provide rapid symptom relief and durable efficacy. RE104 is protected under U.S. Patent No. 11,292,765 issued on April 5, 2022 (priority June 30, 2020), with claims for composition of matter, methods of manufacturing, formulations and methods of use for a genus of hemiester tryptamines, including RE104, which could provide protection out to June 30, 2041. Reunion is also developing the RE200 series, which includes preclinical compounds designed with enhanced receptor selectivity to address additional therapeutic applications.

For further information:

Investor Contacts:Irina KofflerLifeSci Advisors, LLC646.970.4681[email protected]

Source: Reunion Neuroscience Inc.
Surrey, BC/Territories of the Coast Salish (Kwantlen, Katzie, Semiahmoo, Tsawwassen First Nations), Oct. 05, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Westland Insurance announced that it acquired David H. Coons Insurance Brokers Ltd. effective October 1. The addition of this brokerage helps expand Westlands Ontario footprint, an area where Westland has grown significantly in the last year.

With roots tracing back to 1966, David H. Coons Insurance is a family-owned insurance brokerage with one location in Burlington, Ontario. They offer home, auto, business and travel insurance and focus on offering excellent customer service to their clients.

Im excited to welcome the team at David H. Coons Insurance to Westland, said Jamie Lyons, Westlands President & CEO. This team of insurance professionals has a long history of providing exceptional personalized service and advice to the Burlington community. We look forward to welcoming them all to the Westland family and to expanding our presence in the area to better serve our growing client base.

Westland continues to invest in and grow its business in Canada, both organically and through strategic acquisitions.

- 30 -

About Westland Insurance Group

Westland Insurance Group is one of the largest and fastest-growing independent insurance brokers in Canada. Trading over $3 billion of premium, Westland continues to expand coast to coast. Westland's brokers provide expertise and advisory-based services across commercial, personal, employee benefits, farm, and specialty insurance segments. Since its founding in 1980, Westland has remained committed to supporting its clients, industry partners and local communities. For more information, please visit westlandinsurance.ca.

Media Contact: Westland Insurance Group Ltd. Jessica Thiessen, Senior Manager, Communications [email protected]

Jessica Thiessen Westland Insurance Group Ltd. 7782887894 [email protected]

Source: Westland Insurance Group Ltd.
New York, New York--(Newsfile Corp. - October 5, 2023) - Digital marketing dynamo, Amy Southcott, has been magnificently appointed with a 2023 Global Recognition Award". This distinctive honour recognizes Southcott's precedent-setting approach to PPC advertising education via her groundbreaking platform, the DIY Hub.

GRA





"This award is a testament to every individual who believed in my vision of accessible education. The DIY hub is about community, learning, and growth, and it's only the start. We've got a long way to go," remarked Amy Southcott.

Southcott's DIY Hub, an embodiment of affordable, quality education that challenges the traditional industry pricing model, lands her as a global standout in digital marketing innovation. Her subscription-based service provides an array of resources, such as comprehensive courses, downloadable templates, and a multitude of tips and tricks - all under one affordable banner.

"We aimed to create an educational space where a learner's financial standing does not dictate the quality of their learning experience. The feedback we've received has been overwhelmingly positive," stated Southcott on her educational model.

What sets Amy apart in the realm of digital marketing is her dedication to offering real-time assistance. Her implementation of live chat support in the DIY Hub reiterates her commitment to personalized customer service and enhances user experiences beyond the industry standard.

Amy's innovation dedication extends beyond the DIY Hub and has been recognized with a Gold award from the DottCOMM awards for her 'Individual's Body of Work Achievement' and a Platinum award for 'Individual's Specific Project Achievement'.

Amy Southcott

"These recognitions signify the success of our project but, more importantly, they underscore the impact we're making in the lives of our subscribers," Amy remarked upon her recent accolades.

In just over two years, Phoenix DMS has served 28 clients, majority of whom have entered into long-term engagement, making a clear statement of the utility and value proposition of Southcott's innovative model.

Amy Southcott, through her blending of innovation, accessibility, and superior customer service in the highly competitive digital marketing sphere, stands as an embodiment of the values idealized by the 2023 Global Recognition Awards".

Alex Sinclair, from Global Recognition Awards", commented, saying, "Amy Southcott's unwavering commitment and driving influence in her field make her the perfect recipient for the 2023 Global Recognition Awards". Her ability to challenge traditional norms and create a more accessible learning platform is incredibly commendable."

About Global Recognition AwardsTM:

Global Recognition AwardsTM is an international organization that recognizes exceptional companies and individuals who have significantly contributed to their industry. Their awards are highly regarded and sought after by businesses across the globe.

Contact Details:

Alexandra Sterling

Global Recognition Awards

Email: [email protected]/

Website:https://globalrecognitionawards.org/

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/182748
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - October 5, 2023) - Bear Creek Mining Corporation (TSXV: BCM) (BVL: BCM) ("Bear Creek" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that the bought deal financing announced on September 28, 2023 (the "Offering") has closed. The Offering was conducted by BMO Capital Markets ("BMO").

Pursuant to the Offering, the Company issued a total of 27,200,000 units (the "Units") at a price of C$0.35 per Unit (the "Offering Price") for gross proceeds of C$9.5 million. Each Unit is comprised of one common share of the Company (a "Common Share") and one common share purchase warrant of the Company ("Warrant"). Each Warrant will be exercisable to acquire one Common Share (a "Warrant Share") at an exercise price of C$0.42 per Warrant Share until October 5, 2028. The Company has received conditional approval to have the Warrants listed for trading on the TSX Venture Exchange (the "TSXV"), subject to compliance with certain standard listing conditions.

The Company granted an option to BMO, exercisable by BMO at any time on or before the 30th day following the closing date of the Offering, to purchase up to an additional 15% of the Units (the "Additional Units") sold in connection with the Offering at the Offering Price (the "Over-Allotment Option"). The Over-Allotment Option is also exercisable by BMO in respect of: (a) additional Common Shares ("Additional Common Shares") at a price of C$0.27 per Additional Common Share; (b) additional Warrants ("Additional Warrants") at a price of C$0.08 per Additional Warrant; or (c) any combination of Additional Units, Additional Common Shares and/or Additional Warrants, so long as the aggregate number of Common Shares issued under the Over-Allotment Option does not exceed 4,080,000 and the aggregate number of Warrants issued under the Over-Allotment Option does not exceed 4,080,000.

The Company paid BMO a cash commission equal to 6.0% of the aggregate gross proceeds of the Offering in the amount of C$571,200. No other bonus, finders fee, or commission is payable by the Company in connection with the Offering.

The Company intends to use net proceeds of the Offering to support additional development work at the Company's Mercedes mine in Mexico, to expand on recent positive underground drill results at Mercedes (see Bear Creek news release dated August 30, 2023) and for general working capital purposes, the latter of which will include approximately C$3 million intended to be used to reduce Mercedes' trade payables to a normalized level over the next 2 quarters.

The Offering was completed under a prospectus supplement dated October 2, 2023 (the "Supplement") to the Company's short form base shelf prospectus dated April 3, 2023, which was filed with the securities regulatory authorities in each of the provinces and territories of Canada, except Qubec. The Units were also offered and sold in the United States to certain purchasers, who are, or are purchasing for the account or benefit of, one or more U.S. persons or persons in the United States, each of whom qualifies as a "qualified institutional buyer" as defined in Rule 144A under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "U.S. Securities Act"), and applicable U.S. state securities laws.

The securities offered in the Offering have not been, and will not be, registered under the U.S. Securities Act, or any U.S. state securities laws, and may not be offered or sold in the United States or to, or for the account or benefit of, U.S. persons absent registration or exemptions from the registration requirements of the U.S. Securities Act and applicable U.S. state securities laws. This news release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy securities in the U.S., nor shall there be any sale of these securities in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful. "United States" and "U.S. person" are as defined in Regulation S under the U.S. Securities Act.

A copy of the Supplement can be obtained from BMO Nesbitt Burns Inc., Brampton Distribution Centre C/O The Data Group of Companies, 9195 Torbram Road, Brampton, Ontario, L6S 6H2 by telephone at 905-791-3151 Ext 4312 or by email at [email protected].

On behalf of the Board of Directors,

Eric Caba

President & Chief Executive Officer

For further information contact:

Barbara Henderson - VP Corporate Communications

Direct: 604-628-1111

E-mail: [email protected]

www.bearcreekmining.com

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Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Information

This news release contains forward-looking statements regarding: the size of the Offering, use of proceeds under the Offering, the successful listing of the Warrants on the TSXV, the receipt of all required approvals for the Offering and other statements regarding future plans, expectations, exploration potential, guidance, projections, objectives, estimates and forecasts as well as the Company's expectations with respect to such matters. These forward-looking statements are provided as of the date of this news release, or the effective date of the documents referred to in this news release, as applicable, and reflect predictions, expectations or beliefs regarding future events based on the Company's beliefs at the time the statements were made, as well as various assumptions made by and information currently available to them. In making the forward-looking statements included in this news release, the Company has applied several material assumptions, including, but not limited to: the Offering and the listing of the Warrants will receive final approval from the TSXV, assumptions about general business and economic conditions, mineral prices, and anticipated costs and expenditures. Although management considers these assumptions to be reasonable based on information available to it, they may prove to be incorrect. By their very nature, forward-looking statements involve inherent risks and uncertainties, both general and specific, and risks exist that estimates, forecasts, projections and other forward-looking statements will not be achieved or that assumptions on which they are based do not reflect future experience. We caution readers not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements as a number of important factors could cause the actual outcomes to differ materially from the expectations expressed in them. These risk factors may be generally stated as the risk that the assumptions expressed above do not occur, but specifically include, without limitation, risks relating to general market conditions and the additional risks described in the Company's latest Annual Information Form, and other disclosure documents filed by the Company on its SEDAR page at www.sedar.com. The foregoing list of factors that may affect future results is not exhaustive. Investors and others should carefully consider the foregoing factors and other uncertainties and potential events. The Company does not undertake to update any forward-looking statement, whether written or oral, that may be made from time to time by the Company or on behalf of the Company, except as required by law.

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news release

Not for distribution to U.S. news wire services or for dissemination in the United States.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/183008
Vienna, Austria--(Newsfile Corp. - October 5, 2023) - Campstar is thrilled to announce its expansion into over 25 countries worldwide. This strategic move signifies Campstar's commitment to making RV rental more accessible and convenient for travelers across the globe.

Campstar Global RV Rental

Campstar is a go-to destination for campervan rentals, offering a hassle-free way to find the perfect vehicle for the next adventure. With Campstar, travelers can embark on their journeys quickly and confidently, knowing they have access to a wide range of campervans and RVs. The platform partners with renowned professional rental companies, ensuring a diverse selection of vehicles, including vans, alcoves, motorhomes, and more. Not only has Campstar opened new offices in these countries, but they have also significantly increased their staffing to ensure top-notch customer service and support in each new location.

With this expansion, Campstar has made RV rentals a global phenomenon, allowing adventurers to explore the world in the comfort and freedom of a campervan. This move has created exciting opportunities for travelers, whether they are planning a family getaway, a romantic escape, or a road trip with friends.

Whether a client is planning a family getaway, a romantic escape, or a road trip with friends, Campstar caters to all types of travelers. The company believes that camping provides a unique sense of freedom and a deep connection with nature that no other travel can offer. Campstar's mission is to enhance the camping experience and inspire more people to embrace this incredible way of exploring the world.

Campstar opens up exciting possibilities for travelers. This global reach allows adventurers to access RV rentals in many destinations, making it easier than ever to plan their dream vacations. With an extensive selection of vehicles, including Class A, Class B, Class C, Truck Campers, and Campervans, Campstar ensures an ideal choice for every traveler's unique needs.

Booking the dream RV rental has always been challenging. Campstar's user-friendly website streamlines the booking process, making it effortless for travelers to secure their ideal RV and embark on their adventure confidently. With Campstar, the world of camping and RV travel becomes more accessible and convenient, inviting everyone to explore new horizons and create unforgettable memories, whether while holiday-making or thrill-seeking.

Through this expansion, Campstar aims to serve as the ultimate resource for adventurers seeking the freedom and flexibility of camping. Join Campstar in embracing the spirit of camping and discovering the world in a new way. For more information or to book an RV rental, visit https://www.campstar.com/.

About Campstar

Campstar is a premier online rental platform for campervan hire, offering a seamless and convenient way to find the perfect campervan for your journey. With access to a vast network of reputable rental companies, Campstar provides a diverse selection of vehicles to suit various travel needs. Operating in over 25 countries worldwide, Campstar is a go-to source for camper rentals that won't break the bank.

Contact

Email: [email protected]

Name - Raphael Wagner

Website: https://www.campstar.com/

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/183066
Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - October 5, 2023) - Champion Electric Metals Inc. (CSE: LTHM) (OTCQB: CHELF) (FSE: 1QB0) ("Champion Electric" or the "Company") is providing an update on its ongoing exploration work at its James Bay lithium property (the "Property") in Quebec.

While fieldwork is still underway and data is continuously being collated, three high-priority prospects have already emerged as being likely hosts of a lithium caesium tantalum (LCT) type pegmatite system, including a new target on the southeast side of the Property near the neighbouring Patriot Battery Metals' Corvette lithium deposit. Detailed follow-up work over these three newly identified targets is the priority of the concluding field mapping season. Applications for drilling permits over these targets have been submitted in anticipation of confirmatory results from the sampling program.

Fieldwork Summary

Field activities recommenced on August 3, 2023, as soon as the team could safely return to the project after the wildfires in the region were under control. In addition to the light detection and ranging (LiDAR) and high-resolution aerial photography survey being completed, the team undertook a first-pass project-wide mapping and sampling campaign, including in-field X-ray fluorescence (XRF) analysis, targeted rock saw sampling, and till geochemical sampling. As of this update, the Champion Electric team has collected 678 rock samples for laboratory analysis, of which 670 have been classified as pegmatites or rocks having pegmatitic texture. An exploration activity summary map is provided in Figure 1.

Jonathan Buick, President & CEO, commented:

"The vastness of our property in James Bay is truly impressive, requiring a 30-minute helicopter flight to cross from one end to the other. Our land package is situated in a zone that experienced a lot of glacial erosion and deposition, so outcrop is sparse among all the covering glacial sediments. The team did an amazing job during this first phase at examining every known or suspected outcrop over the shortened field season to vector in on some exciting targets. We have now generated three high-priority prospects in the neighbourhood of Patriot Battery Metals' Corvette deposit. These are already undergoing follow-up work before the first snow. We look forward to updating the market once all the results are in."

Geological Mapping and Rock Sampling

Over the last two months, a mixed team of geologists and technicians of up to 12 people led by Dr. Eric Hebert, P.Geo., a member of the Ordre des Gologues du Quebec (OGQ), visited and documented dozens of areas of outcrop. The work was supported by helicopter and 4x4 trucks where road access permitted.

The team walked approximately 630 kilometres of traverses and collected 678 rock samples so far, including 670 classified as pegmatites or with pegmatitic texture. The Ministere de l'Energie et des Ressources Naturelles (MERN) of Quebec produced a large-scale regional geological map, which is relatively accurate when it comes to major rock units. However, since most of the Property is covered by Quaternary glacial and alluvial sediment, there are important discrepancies at the property scale. For instance, the Company's work has confirmed that the inferred extent of the greenstone belt covered by the Property was underestimated by the MERN maps. This means that there is likely more ground in need of careful exploration beneath the cover.

Results from the LiDAR and high-resolution aerial photography survey are still pending and could not be incorporated into the current fieldwork programs. Review and interpretation of this data will occur over the coming months, and newly identified outcrops will form the basis of the 2024 mapping campaign.

Detailed mapping was also carried out over the recently identified nickel sulphide targets, confirming the presence of ultramafic rocks.







Figure 1: Exploration activity summary over regional

geology map (courtesy of MERN) and satellite topography

(Click herefor the full-size view of the map)

To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:

https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/8681/182962_8acc97639464c996_001full.jpg

Geochemical Sampling

The geologists and technicians utilized rock hammers or diamond rock saws to collect the 670 samples of pegmatite, of these, 429 have already been delivered to the laboratory in Val dOr. The next shipment of 211 samples is being transported to the laboratory at the time of this news release. The remaining samples will be delivered to the laboratory when the geology team demobilises from the Property on October 13, 2023. Figures 2 and 3 show field teams examining and sampling pegmatites on the project.

The team made use of a handheld XRF instrument for geochemical analyses in the field. Lithium is not measurable in the field by XRF, but other key elements and minerals can be identified with the instrument. Systematic XRF analyses of selected pegmatite-forming minerals was utilized to classify the pegmatites and identify fractionation trends. Although the results of analyses obtained from portable XRF measurements are not laboratory-certified, the real-time data is very useful to direct the team's efforts. Figure 1 illustrates the distribution and concentration of key geochemical indicator elements and associated ratios found in muscovite and potassium feldspar crystals of the sampled pegmatites. The ratio of potassium (K) to rubidium (Rb) in these potassic minerals has been shown to be an indicator for favourable fractionation of a pegmatite. The lower that ratio, the more favourable for lithium potential (warm colours on Figure 1). This approach expedited follow-up since laboratory results often require several weeks.

Experienced samplers also conducted a till sampling orientation survey, resulting in the collection of 123 till samples in the vicinity of newly discovered prospective pegmatites. The trial confirmed that the right material, i.e. sub-glacial till, was present over the Property, so that areas without outcrop can be surveyed for down-ice indications of buried pegmatite. Approximately half of the till samples have been delivered to the laboratory for processing, with the remainder being shipped shortly. Further till sampling is scheduled to start on October 15, 2023, targeting areas of interpreted amphibolite (metamorphosed basalts) and where surface prospecting techniques cannot be applied effectively.





Figures 2-3: Field teams examining and sampling pegmatites on the Champion Electric Lithium Project



To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:

https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/8681/182962_championelectricfig.jpg

More images from the 2023 field season can be found on the Champion Electric website under the Lithium Project Media tab: https://www.champem.com/media-quebec-lithium-project.

About the Project

The Company's lithium property covers the northern extension of the Lac Guyer Greenstone Belt which hosts neighboring Patriot Battery Metals' Corvette and Winsome Resources' Cancet advanced projects in the prolific James Bay region of Quebec (Figure 4).





Figure 4: Champion Electric Lithium Project location map

To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:

https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/8681/182962_8acc97639464c996_004full.jpg

Cautionary Statement: This release includes preliminary information about the geology and prospectivity of the Champion Electric Lithium Project while the first exploration program is still in progress. It is important to remember that observations and sample points are sporadic and incomplete, owing in part to the covering glacial sediments. The Company has not conducted sufficient work to assess the mineral potential of the Property, and these preliminary results should not be relied upon as definitive evidence for the presence or lack of significant mineralisation on the property.

Quality Assurance and Quality Control

Geologists and technicians collected rock samples were from outcrops using a rock hammer and chisel, and in selected areas with the use of a rock saw. The rock samples are typically fist-sized and intended to be representative of the overall outcrop. Certified standards and blanks were systematically inserted into the sample stream as a check on laboratory Quality Control (QC). Blind field duplicate samples were also taken, bagged and labeled separately. The samples were stored in the Company's secure camp and custody maintained until authorized contractors delivered the samples to Activation Laboratories (Actlabs) in Val d'Or. The Company has selected a total geochemical analysis for a suite of elements utilizing sodium peroxide fusion and inductively coupled plasma emission spectrometry (ICP-ES) and mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). Actlabs' Quality System is registered to international quality standards through the International Organization for Standardization / International Electrotechnical Commission (ISO/IEC) 17025:2017 (including ISO 9001:2015 and ISO 9002 specifications).

Qualified Person

Dr. Eric Hebert, P.Geo., Senior Geological consultant, is a member (#0842) of the Ordre des Geologues du Quebec (OGQ) and a qualified person within the meaning of National Instrument 43-101, and has reviewed and approved the technical information contained in this press release.

About Champion Electric Metals Inc.

Champion Electric is a discovery-focused exploration company that is committed to advancing its highly prospective lithium properties in Quebec, Canada and cobalt properties in Idaho, United States. In addition, the Company owns the Baner gold project in Idaho County and the Champagne polymetallic project in Butte County near Arco, Idaho.

The Company's shares trade on the CSE under the trading symbol "LTHM", on the OTCQB under the trading symbol "CHELF", and on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange under the symbol "1QB0". Champion Electric strives to be a responsible environmental steward, stakeholder and contributing citizen to the local communities where it operates, taking its social license seriously, employing local community members and service providers at its operations whenever possible.

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF CHAMPION ELECTRIC

"Jonathan Buick"

Jonathan Buick, President and CEO

To learn more, please visit the Company's SEDAR profile at www.sedarplus.ca or the Company's corporate website at www.champem.com.

For further information, please contact:

Investor Relations and Communications

Phone: (416) 567-9087

Email: [email protected]

THIS PRESS RELEASE DOES NOT CONSTITUTE AN OFFER TO SELL OR THE SOLICITATION OF AN OFFER TO BUY ANY SECURITIES IN ANY JURISDICTION, NOR SHALL THERE BE ANY OFFER, SALE, OR SOLICITATION OF SECURITIES IN ANY STATE IN THE UNITED STATES IN WHICH SUCH OFFER, SALE, OR SOLICITATION WOULD BE UNLAWFUL.

Cautionary Statements

Neither the Canadian Securities Exchange nor its regulation services provider has reviewed or accepted responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this press release. This press release may include forward-looking information within the meaning of Canadian securities legislation, concerning the business of the Company. Forward-looking information is based on certain key expectations and assumptions made by management of the Company, including closing of the Transactions and the prospectivity of the Projects for lithium. Although the Company believes that the expectations and assumptions on which such forward-looking information is based on are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on the forward-looking information because the Company can give no assurance that they will prove to be correct. Forward-looking statements contained in this press release are made as of the date of this press release. The Company disclaims any intent or obligation to update publicly any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or results or otherwise, other than as required by applicable securities laws.

The Projects are at an early stage of exploration, and the Company cautions that the qualified persons who have reviewed and approved this news release have not verified scientific or technical information produced by third parties.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/182962
Burlington, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - October 4, 2023) - Evertz Technologies Limited (TSX: ET) ("Evertz" or the "Company"), the leader in Software Defined Video Network ("SDVN") technology, is pleased to announce the voting results of its 2023 Annual General Meeting of Shareholders held today, in Burlington, Ontario.

Election of Directors

By a way of vote by ballot, the seven nominees listed in the management information circular for the meeting were unanimously elected as directors of the Company. Detailed results of the vote on this matter are set out below:

Nominee Votes For

% Votes For Votes

Withheld/

Against % Votes

Withheld/

Against Romolo Magarelli 55,837,341 94% 3,736,958 6% Douglas A. DeBruin 55,712,729 94% 3,861,570 6% Christopher M. Colclough 57,650,053 97% 1,924,246 3% Dr. Thomas V. Pistor 58,394,125 98% 1,180,174 2% Dr. Ian L. McWalter 58,359,024 98% 1,215,275 2% Rakesh Patel 55,740,990 94% 3,833,309 6% Brian Piccioni 58,544,044 98% 1,030,255 2%

Re-appointment of Auditor

The resolution re-appointing BDO Canada LLP as the Company's auditors and authorizing the directors of the Company to determine the auditors' remuneration was unanimously carried pursuant to a vote by way show of hands.

About Evertz

Evertz Technologies Limited (TSX: ET) designs, manufactures and markets video and audio infrastructure solutions for the television, telecommunications and new-media industries. The Company's solutions are purchased by content creators, broadcasters, specialty channels and television service providers to support their increasingly complex multi-channel digital, and high and ultra-high definition television ("HDTV" and "UHD") and next generation high bandwidth low latency IP network environments and by telecommunications and new-media companies. The Company's products allow its customers to generate additional revenue while reducing costs through efficient signal routing, distribution, monitoring and management of content as well as the automation and orchestration of more streamlined and agile workflow processes on premise and in the "Cloud".

Contact Information

Evertz Technologies Limited

Doug Moore

Chief Financial Officer

(905) 335 7580

[email protected]

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/182973
Langley, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - October 5, 2023) - Focus West Logistics, a leading company in the logistics and transportation industry, is thrilled to announce the resounding success of its recent Customer Appreciation Event, where it had the pleasure of celebrating its loyal customers.

The Customer Appreciation Event was a heartfelt gesture by Focus West Logistics to express its sincere gratitude towards its loyal customer base. It was an event where the company stepped forward to celebrate its valued customers, without whom their journey to achieve success would have been impossible.

"The interest of our loyal customers to expand their business operations and build strong business networks with the help of Focus West Logistics inspires us to deliver the best service," says the Founder of Focus West Logistics.

Focus West Logistics



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The tremendous success of Focus West Logistics would not have been possible without the loyal support of its customers. This is why the company celebrated its loyal customers with a successful customer appreciation event to give back to its community and share the fun that is baked in its DNA.

The celebration continued all day, and all the attendees received special offers and discounts on their logistic services. The customers also got the opportunity to share insights, network, and strengthen their relationships with other people serving in the logistics and transportation industry.

The Founder of Focus West Logistics added, "Our year-over-year sales continue to be strong. We plan to expand our operations tenfold in the coming days. Thank you to all our customers for supporting us over the past twenty-five years. It has been a lot of fun, and we are still such a young brand with so much to offer. We look forward to continuing to add new and innovative logistic solutions to our catalog and to keep the brand growing. This is how we aspire to reach millions of people around the world."

As one of the most trusted logistic solutions companies, the aim is to empower their customers with the best logistic solutions.

About Focus West Logistics

Focus West Logistics is a leading provider of competitive logistic services based in Langley, British Columbia. The company specializes in providing a wide range of international freight shipping, North American, same-day, or specialized freight services on all FTL, LTL, and intermodal shipments in the industry. With over 25 years of expertise in the field, the company strives to exceed customer expectations with hassle-free initial quotes, document preparation, tracking, and on-time delivery services.

With a focus on cutting-edge technology, Focus West Logistics stands out in the industry for its high-end logistic solutions, worry-free shipping service, and trusted international freight forwarder partners that offer a flexible array of international shipping options.

Focus West Logistics first introduced its competitive logistic services and Canadian freight shipping in 1998. In this short window of only twenty-five years, Focus West Logistics has grown to over 40,000 square feet of terminal space and moved 650,000 shipments around the world.

Focus West Logistics

1-877-212-3865

604-539-9990

[email protected]

https://focuswestlogistics.ca/

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/182756
Brisbane, Queensland, Australia--(Newsfile Corp. - October 5, 2023) - Graphene Manufacturing Group Ltd. (TSXV: GMG) ("GMG" or the "Company") is pleased to advise that Brandon Leong has been appointed Chief Financial Officer (CFO) effective 17th October 2023. The Company would like to thank Scott Richardson who has been Interim Chief Financial Officer (CFO) since 31 July, 2023 and has led the finance team through the recent capital raise and year end audit process as well as implemented a number of improvement initiatives and will work through to the end of January 2024 to ensure a smooth handover to Brandon.

Brandon comes with CFO role experience drawing on over 20 years of financial leadership roles including as CFO, Deputy CFO, Financial and Commercial Director and Financial Advisory roles in publicly listed, private companies and advisory firms - including PWC in Australia and United States of America, CPB Contractors (Construction), Aurizon (Rail), Holcim (Construction Materials) and various other companies. Brandon is a Chartered Accountant, has a Bachelor of Commerce and Bachelor Arts from the University of Queensland, as well as an Executive Masters of Business Administration from University of Oxford. Brandon is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

GMG's CEO Craig Nicol stated, "I'm looking forward to working with Brandon in the commercial, finance and capital markets areas of the Company to support GMG's ongoing commercial development and finance needs. I expect his leadership work in Australia and USA in very large multi-billion dollar transactions will support the progress of the company through a range of planned near term milestones including ramping up Thermal XR sales, meeting our Battery development milestones, and starting up our new graphene manufacturing expansion plant over the next 6 months. I also want to thank Scott for his very focused attention on delivering a number of key outcomes in the short time period that he has been at GMG to date and I look forward to continue working with him."

GMG's 4 critical business objectives remain to:

Produce Graphene and improve/scale the production process Build Revenue from Energy Savings Products Develop Next-Generation Battery Develop Supply Chain, Partners & Project Execution Capability

About GMG

GMG is a clean-technology company which seeks to offer energy saving and energy storage solutions, enabled by graphene, including that manufactured in-house via a proprietary production process.

GMG has developed a proprietary production process to decompose natural gas (i.e. methane) into its elements, carbon (as graphene), hydrogen and some residual hydrocarbon gases. This process produces high quality, with low cost inputs, scalable, 'tuneable' and low/no contaminant graphene suitable for use in clean-technology and other applications. The Company's present focus is to de-risk and develop commercial scale-up capabilities, and secure market applications.

In the energy savings segment, GMG has focused on graphene enhanced heating, ventilation and air conditioning ("HVAC-R") coating (or energy-saving paint), lubricants and fluids. In the energy storage segment, GMG and the University of Queensland are working collaboratively with financial support from the Australian Government to progress R&D and commercialization of graphene aluminium-ion batteries ("G+AI Batteries").

For further information please contact:

Craig Nicol, Chief Executive Officer & Managing Director of the Company at [email protected] , +61 415 445 223

, +61 415 445 223 Leo Karabelas at Focus Communications Investor Relations, [email protected] , +1 647 689 6041

www.graphenemg.com

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news release.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This news release includes certain statements and information that may constitute forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities laws. Forward-looking statements relate to future events or future performance and reflect the expectations or beliefs of management of the Company regarding future events. Generally, forward-looking statements and information can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "intends", "expects" or "anticipates", or variations of such words and phrases or statements that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "should", "would" or will "potentially" or "likely" occur. This information and these statements, referred to herein as "forwardlooking statements", are not historical facts, are made as of the date of this news release and include without limitation, statements regarding the effective date on which Mr. Richardson will be leaving the Company, the effective date on which Mr. Leong will become the Chief Financial Officer (CFO), the contributions Mr. Leong will make to the company in his capacity as CFO, the duration of Mr. Leong's service as CFO, the maturation of the Company into commercial production, the timing and success of starting up the Company's new graphene manufacturing expansion plant.

These forwardlooking statements involve numerous risks and uncertainties and actual results might differ materially from results suggested in any forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include, among other things risks relating to the effective date on which Mr. Richardson will be leaving the Company, the effective date Mr. Leong will become the CFO, Mr. Leong's contributions as CFO differing from management's current expectations, the Company not maturing into commercial operations on the expected timelines, if at all, the Company failing to achieve its planned milestones around starting up GMG's new graphene manufacturing expansion plant on the timelines contemplated, if at all..

In making the forward looking statements in this news release, the Company has applied several material assumptions, including without limitation, assumptions regarding the effective date on which Mr. Richardson will be leaving the Company, the effective date Mr. Leong will become the CFO, the positive impact that Mr. Leong, as the CFO, will have on the Company's development, the Company maturing into commercial production, the timing and content of milestones around the Company's new graphene manufacturing plant.

Although management of the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking statements or forward-looking information, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements and forward-looking information. Readers are cautioned that reliance on such information may not be appropriate for other purposes. The Company does not undertake to update any forward-looking statement, forward-looking information or financial out-look that are incorporated by reference herein, except in accordance with applicable securities laws. We seek safe harbor.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/183029
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - October 4, 2023) - Iconic Minerals Ltd.(TSXV:ICM) (OTCQB:ICMFF) (FSE:YQG)(the "Company" or "Iconic")the Company is pleased to announce that Iconic will commence trading under a new OTCQB symbol: ICMFF, on Thursday, October 5, 2023.

The Company is currently focused on the exploration and development of its two prospective lithium brine properties located in Nevada, USA.

About the Grass Valley Project

The Grass Valley Property is a lithium exploration project consisting of 997 placer claims covering an area of 80 km2 (31 mi2). Located approximately 60 km (36 miles) northeast of Austin, Nevada, the property expresses indicators of a potential lithium brine system. The large, enclosed basin is surrounded by mountains with ample felsic volcanics and intrusives, has active hot spring systems on 3 sides of the valley, and surface salt lithium assays as high as 510 ppm Li and an MT survey, run by Fritz Geophysics, shows an interpreted major brine zone extending from approximately 500 meters (1,600 feet) to over 1,000 meters (3,300 feet) below the surface.

About the Smith Creek Project

The Smith Creek Project is located within Smith Creek Valley in Nevada, which is approximately 60 km (37 miles) long and 16 km (10 miles) wide. Quartz-rich volcanic tuffs containing anomalous amounts of lithium occur within and adjacent to the valley. Surface sampling around hot springs on patented ground just off the claim block assayed a maximum of 470 ppm Li. The gravity low within the valley is 16 km (10 miles) long, and the current estimates of depth to basement rocks range from 1,300 to 1,500 meters (4,200 to 5,000 feet). The current claim block covers an area of 67 km2 (26 mi2) with potential for brine systems as well as sediment resources.

Qualified Person

Richard Kern, Certified Professional Geologist, a qualified person as defined by Canadian National Instrument 43-101, has reviewed and approved the technical information contained in this news release. Mr. Kern is not independent of the Company as he is the Chief Executive Officer of Iconic.

On behalf of the Board of Directors

SIGNED: "Richard Barnett"

Richard Barnett, CFO

Contact: Keturah Nathe, VP Corporate Development (604) 336-8614

For further information on Iconic, please visit our website at www.iconicminerals.com. The Company's public documents may be accessed at www.sedar.com .

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This news release contains forward-looking statements and forward-looking information (collectively, "forward-looking statements") within the meaning of applicable Canadian and U.S. securities legislation, including the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, included herein including, without limitation, statements with respect to the Option, the Joint Venture, the amount of the Offering, the expected use of proceeds from the Offering and the future business plans and exploration activities of the Company, are forward-looking statements. Although the Company believes that such statements are reasonable, it can give no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct. Forward-looking statements are typically identified by words such as: "will", "believes", "expects", "anticipates", "intends", "estimates", "plans", "may", "should", "potential", "scheduled" or variations of such words and phrases and similar expressions, which, by their nature, refer to future events or results that may, could, would, might or will occur or be taken or achieved. In making the forward-looking statements in this news release, the Company has applied several material assumptions, including without limitation, that investor interest will be sufficient to close the Offering, that market fundamentals will result in sustained precious metals demand and prices, the receipt of any necessary permits, licenses and regulatory approvals required for the Option Agreement and the future development of the Company's projects in a timely manner.

Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the Company to differ materially from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking information. Such risks and other factors include, among others, operating and technical difficulties in connection with mineral exploration and development activities, actual results of exploration activities, including on the Smith Creek Property, requirements for additional capital, future prices of lithium and gold, changes in general economic conditions, changes in the financial markets and in the demand and market price for commodities, lack of investor interest in future financings, accidents, labour disputes and other risks of the mining industry, delays in obtaining governmental approvals, permits or financing or in the completion of development or construction activities, risks relating to epidemics or pandemics such as COVID-19, including the impact of COVID-19 on the business, financial condition and exploration and development activities of the Company, changes in laws, regulations and policies affecting mining operations, title disputes, the inability of the Company to obtain any necessary permits, consents, approvals or authorizations, including of the TSX Venture Exchange in respect of the Option Agreement and the Offering, the timing and possible outcome of any pending litigation, environmental issues and liabilities, and risks related to joint venture operations, and other risks and uncertainties disclosed in the Company's latest interim Management's Discussion and Analysis and filed with the Canadian Securities Authorities. All of the Company's Canadian public disclosure filings may be accessed via www.sedar.com and readers are urged to review these materials, including the technical reports filed with respect to the Company's mineral properties.

Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. The Company undertakes no obligation to update any of the forward-looking statements in this news release or incorporated by reference herein, except as otherwise required by law.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/182972
People visit the Comprehensive Collection of Ancient Chinese Paintings exhibition in Nicosia, Cyprus, Oct. 5, 2023. (Photo by George Christophorou/Xinhua)

NICOSIA, Oct. 5 (Xinhua) -- Annita Demetriou, speaker of the Cypriot House of Parliament, lauded the Comprehensive Collection of Ancient Chinese Paintings exhibition on Thursday as a testament to China's rich heritage.

The exhibition was opened on the sideline of the Nicosia Book Fest, one of Cyprus' largest cultural events organized by the Prometheus Research Institute. The book festival will open officially on Friday, with China as the Country of Honor.

Demetriou said that this exhibition showcases China's rich heritage, emphasizing humanity and drawing inspiration from nature.

The exhibition displays a collection of over 12,000 Chinese paintings spanning various historical periods.

"The connection between Cyprus and China goes beyond politics and economics; it is rooted in mutual appreciation for each other's rich history and cultural heritage," the speaker said.

The Comprehensive Collection of Ancient Chinese Paintings, a collaborative project by Zhejiang University and Zhejiang Provincial Administration of Cultural Heritage, features works on various materials, including paper, silk, brocade, damask and linen, sourced from 263 museums and cultural institutions worldwide. 

People visit the Comprehensive Collection of Ancient Chinese Paintings exhibition in Nicosia, Cyprus, Oct. 5, 2023. (Photo by George Christophorou/Xinhua)

Annita Demetriou (2nd, R, front), speaker of the Cypriot House of Parliament, and Zhang Jianchun (1st, R), vice minister of the Publicity Department of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, visit the Comprehensive Collection of Ancient Chinese Paintings exhibition in Nicosia, Cyprus, Oct. 5, 2023. (Photo by George Christophorou/Xinhua)
Montreal, Quebec--(Newsfile Corp. - October 5, 2023) - Manganese X Energy Corp. (TSXV: MN) (FSE: 9SC) (TRADEGATE: 9SC) (OTCQB: MNXXF) (the "Company" or "Manganese X") is pleased to announce that it has filed for a non-provisional (final) U.S. Patent protection on its ground-breaking manganese purification technology of processing a manganese carbonate ore into EV (Electric Vehicle) compliant High Purity Manganese Sulfate Monohydrate (HPMSM).

The non-provisional patent application involves an in-depth review of the technology from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), providing full patent protection after acceptance, as well as permitting the Company to licence its technology.

Manganese X's purification technology was developed in collaboration with metallurgical research company Kemetco Research Inc., located in Richmond, BC.

Manganese X CEO, Martin Kepman, said, "These are exciting times for Manganese X as we progress to meet the battery needs and sophisticated requirements of EV manufacturers. We've developed a unique and efficient manganese purification process without using the highly toxic compound selenium, unlike other HPMSM producers who use selenium to reduce processing costs. Plus, we are continuing to advance our Battery Hill mining project located in New Brunswick, which notably contains one of the largest manganese carbonate deposits in North America."

He continued, "Our timing is excellent as EV car manufacturers ramp up their efforts to secure long term supplies of high purity manganese. Manganese is consistently in the news as a battery chemistry of choice. Not only is it less expensive to process, manganese provides the EV battery with greater energy density and rechargeability, as well as a longer life cycle."

About Manganese X Energy Corp.

Manganese X's mission is to advance its Battery Hill project into production, with the intent of supplying value-added materials to the lithium-ion battery and other alternative energy industries. The Company is also striving to achieve new carbon-friendly more efficient methodologies, while processing manganese at a lower competitive cost. The Company is the only public actively traded manganese company in Canada and the US striving forward toward commercialization of a manganese deposit, as well as potentially becoming a North American supply chain supplier.

Subsidiary Disruptive Battery Corp.'s mission is to develop an HVAC (heating, ventilation and air conditioning) air purification delivery system for cleaner and healthier air, aiming to mitigate COVID-19 and other contaminants on surfaces and in the air. For more information visit the website at www.manganesexenergycorp.com.

On behalf of the Board of Directors of

MANGANESE X ENERGY CORP.

Martin Kepman

CEO and Director

Email: [email protected]

Tel: 1-514-802-1814

Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Information:

This news release contains certain "forward-looking information" and "forward-looking statements" (collectively "forward-looking statements") within the meaning of applicable securities legislation. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, included herein, without limitation, statements relating to the future operations and activities of Manganese X, are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements in this news release relate to, among other things, the Company's exploration plans, assay analysis and results therefrom, and the upcoming Pre-Feasibility Study. Forward-looking statements are frequently, but not always, identified by words such as "expects", "anticipates", "believes", "intends", "estimates", "potential", "possible", and similar expressions, or statements that events, conditions, or results "will", "may", "could", or "should" occur or be achieved. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate, and actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Forward-looking statements reflect the beliefs, opinions and projections on the date the statements are made and are based upon a number of assumptions and estimates that, while considered reasonable by Manganese X, are inherently subject to significant business, economic, competitive, political and social uncertainties and contingencies. Many factors, both known and unknown, could cause actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from the results, performance or achievements that are or may be expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements and the parties have made assumptions and estimates based on or related to many of these factors. These risks, as well as others, are disclosed within the Company's filings on SEDAR, which investors are encouraged to review prior to any transaction involving the securities of the Company. Readers should not place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements and information contained in this news release concerning these items. Manganese X does not assume any obligation to update the forward-looking statements of beliefs, opinions, projections, or other factors, should they change, except as required by applicable securities laws.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/182942
Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - October 5, 2023) - Pasofino Gold Limited (TSXV: VEIN) (OTCQB: EFRGF) (FSE: N07A) ("Pasofino" or the "Company") announces the departure of Neil Herbert from the board of directors. Neil has been a director with Pasofino since February 2021.

Krisztian Toth, Chairman of the Board of Pasofino, commented:

"We would like to express our sincere gratitude to Neil for his tireless contributions towards the completion of the Dugbe gold project feasibility study last year and his ongoing efforts in highlighting the underexplored potential of this asset. We appreciate that Neil's role at Atlantic Lithium has grown substantially and that, with Atlantic Lithium moving toward development, Neil's time is becoming more and more limited."

On behalf of the Pasofino board and management, we wish Neil all the best for the future."

About Pasofino Gold Ltd.

Pasofino Gold Ltd. is a Canadian-based mineral exploration company listed on the TSX-V (VEIN).

Pasofino, through its wholly-owned subsidiary, owns a 49% economic interest (prior to the issuance of the Government of Liberia's 10% carried interest) in the Dugbe Gold Project (the "Project").

Pasofino has exercised its option to consolidate ownership in the Dugbe Gold Project by converting Hummingbird Resources Plc's 51% ownership of the Project for a 51% shareholding in Pasofino, such that Pasofino would own 100% of the Project (prior to the government of Liberia's 10% carried interest), subject to the receipt of all required approvals including the TSX Venture Exchange and shareholder approval.

For further information, please visit www.pasofinogold.com or contact:

Lincoln Greenidge, CFO

T: 416 451 0049

E: [email protected]

CAUTIONARY STATEMENTS REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This news release contains "forward-looking statements" that are based on expectations, estimates, projections and interpretations as at the date of this news release. Forward-looking statements are frequently characterised by words such as "plan", "expect", "project", "seek", "intend", "believe", "anticipate", "estimate", "suggest", "indicate" and other similar words or statements that certain events or conditions "may" or "will" occur, and include, without limitation, statements regarding the ability to raise the funds to finance its ongoing business activities including the acquisition of mineral projects and the exploration and development of its projects. Such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such risks and other factors may include, but are not limited to, the ability to successfully complete the Offering, the ability to obtain all requisite regulatory approvals including the approval of the TSX Venture Exchange, the ability to apply the proceeds as intended, the results of business operation, the results of exploration activities; the ability of the Company to complete further exploration activities; timing and availability of external financing on acceptable terms and those risk factors outlined in the Company's Management Discussion and Analysis as filed on SEDAR. The Company does not undertake to update any forward-looking information except in accordance with applicable securities laws.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/183064
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - October 5, 2023) - Pure Energy Minerals Ltd. (TSXV: PE) (OTCQB: PEMIF) ("Pure Energy" or "the Company") is pleased to announce the appointment of Mr. Joseph E. Mullin as President and Chief Executive Officer, effective immediately. Mr. Mullin initially joined the Board of Directors of Pure Energy Minerals Ltd. in November of 2020.

Mr. Mullin has over 25 years of experience in corporate finance, private equity, restructuring, and early-stage mineral exploration. Mr. Mullin is the President and CEO of Rise Gold Corp., the Managing Member of Mount Arvon Partners LLC, and is currently an independent director of FireFox Gold Corp. He was previously the President of Virginia Energy Resources Inc. and led its sale to Consolidated Uranium Inc. Prior to that he served as CEO of QuestEx Gold & Copper Ltd. for two and one half years leading up to its sale to Skeena Resources Ltd. He began his career as a financial analyst at Goldman Sachs, and subsequently worked at Invesco Ltd. and Millennium Global Investments Ltd. Mr. Mullin has been involved in metals and mining in the U.S., Canada, Brazil, and Europe and received his B.A. diploma from Harvard University.

"We are very pleased that Joe Mullin will be stepping into the President and CEO role at Pure Energy during this important time as the Company and its partner, SLB Corp., move the Clayton Valley lithium brine project and DLE Pilot Plant forward. Joe brings to the Company a strong background in financial markets, the ability to position the Company for future opportunities, and prior experience managing mineral exploration companies," stated Pure Energy Director, Mary Little.

The Company's Board of Directors has granted 1,214,820 incentive share purchase options ("the Options") to officers, directors and consultants, in concordance with the Company's TSXV-approved Incentive Share Purchase Plan. Each Option entitles the holder to acquire one common share of the Company at an exercise price of $0.83 per common share until October 4, 2028. Following the grant of Options, the Company now has a total of 2,371,486 Options issued representing 7% of the Company's outstanding shares. As part of his compensation, the Company will offer Mr. Mullin stock options and incentive performance bonuses.

About Pure Energy

Pure Energy Minerals is a lithium resource developer that is driven to become a low-cost supplier for the growing lithium battery industry. Pure Energy has consolidated a pre-eminent land position at its Clayton Valley Project in the Clayton Valley of central Nevada for the exploration and development of lithium resources, comprising 950 claims over 23,360 acres (9,450 hectares), representing the largest mineral land holdings in the valley.

Pure Energy's strategic partner, SLB, is operator of the Clayton Valley Project. In May of 2019, Pure Energy and SLB signed an Earn-In agreement over the CV Project which requires significant investment by SLB at the Project, to include the design and construction of a pilot plant capable of processing lithium-bearing brines for high-quality lithium hydroxide monohydrate ("lithium hydroxide" or "LiOHH2O") and/or lithium carbonate products at a specified rate. For further details regarding SLB's participation, please refer to Pure Energy's Annual General and Special Meeting Management Information Circular dated April 4, 2019, available on SEDARPLUS.ca.

On January 3, 2019, the Nevada Division of Water Resources ("NDWR") approved and granted a Finite Term Water Right to Pure Energy, through its wholly-owned subsidiary Esmeralda Minerals LLC, for the extraction of up to 50 acre-feet of brine during a 5-year period from the CV properties. This water right is deemed sufficient for brine testing requirements and SLB's future the pilot plant facility. In July of 2020, the CV-09 well was completed pursuant to the Finite Term Water Right and results of initial sampling were published by Pure Energy on October 14, 2020. On March 28, 2023, Pure Energy announced that all permits were in place for the construction and operation of the DLE Pilot Plant, and SLB confirmed that construction was underway.

On behalf of the Board of Directors,

"Mary L. Little"

Director, Pure Energy Minerals Ltd.

CONTACT:

Pure Energy Minerals Limited (www.pureenergyminerals.com)

Email: [email protected]

Telephone - 604 608 6611

Cautionary Statements and Forward-Looking Information

The information in this news release contains forward-looking statements that are subject to a number of known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated in our forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause such differences include: changes in world commodity markets, equity markets, costs and supply of materials relevant to the mining industry, change in government and changes to regulations affecting the mining industry. Forward-looking statements in this release may include future exploration and development on the Clayton Valley Project. Although we believe the expectations reflected in our forward-looking statements are reasonable, results may vary, and we cannot guarantee future results, levels of activity, performance or achievements.

The Company does not undertake to update any forward-looking information, except as required by applicable laws.

Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/182980
Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - October 5, 2023) - Tenet Fintech Group Inc. (CSE: PKK) (OTC Pink: PKKFF) ("Tenet" or the "Company"), an innovative analytics service provider and operator of the Cubeler Business Hub, is pleased to announce it has signed a strategic marketing and promotional agreement with Blubooks (https://www.blubooks.co), a cloud accounting firm specializing in bookkeeping, income tax and sales tax compliance globally.

"We are very excited about this new partnership with Blubooks which we believe will help to further grow Cubeler Business Hub membership in Canada," said Marc Pearson, VP, Global Channels and Alliances at Tenet subsidiary, Cubeler Inc." It is through partnerships like these that we'll be able to promote the benefits of the Hub more effectively to the Canadian SME community. Working with bookkeepers like Blubooks and having them endorse and promote our services to their existing SME clients, while we in turn encourage SMEs in general to work with bookkeepers to get the most out of their membership on the Cubeler Business Hub is a win-win proposition and gets our Tenoris3 subsidiary closer to the SME financial data that will form the building blocks of its data-driven analytics and AI product offering," added Pearson.

Blubooks offers expert accounting solutions to small and medium-sized business owners. Services include bookkeeping, tax support, and software integration. Blubooks products and services serve as a one-stop-shop that handles everything from Income Tax to advisory. The partnership between Tenet and Blubooks enhances visibility and accessibility to the Cubeler Business Hub and promotes membership benefits for SMEs. Blubooks will offer its customers Cubeler Business Hub membership opportunities as a value-added service and Cubeler will incentivize new members to engage with the platform and take full advantage of the products and services that will be available to them via the Cubeler Business Hub.

"This alliance is very exciting. It will impact so many of the small and medium-sized business owners we work with across Canada," said Andrew Weinhardt, Co-Founder, Blubooks. "This relationship allows us to bring real value to our clients. Cubeler's tools to provide insights, to access capital, make connections and help members promote their products and services really create a centralized place for businesses to unlock their growth potential. We can't wait to share this with our client network and are excited about the partnership," added Weinhardt.

Following its news release on September 15, 2023 about the signing of a strategic alliance agreement with Certified Professional Bookkeepers of Canada, Tenet is planning to enter into similar agreements with bookkeepers across Canada in the coming weeks and months to help accelerate membership growth on the Cubeler Business Hub.

About Tenet Fintech Group Inc.:

Tenet Fintech Group Inc. is the parent company of a group of innovative financial technology (Fintech) and artificial intelligence (AI) companies. All references to Tenet in this news release, unless explicitly specified, includes Tenet and all its subsidiaries. Tenet's subsidiaries provide various analytics and AI-based services to businesses and financial institutions through the Cubeler Business Hub, a global ecosystem where analytics and AI are used to create opportunities and facilitate B2B transactions among its members. Please visit our website at: https://www.tenetfintech.com/.

For more information, please contact:

Tenet Fintech Group Inc.

Christina Boyd, Director, Investor Relations

416-428-9954

[email protected]

CHF Capital Markets

Cathy Hume, CEO

416-868-1079 ext.: 251

[email protected]

Follow Tenet Fintech Group Inc. on social media:

Twitter: @Tenet_Fintech

Facebook: @Tenet

LinkedIn: Tenet

YouTube: Tenet Fintech

Forward-looking information

Certain statements included in this press release constitute "forward-looking statements" under Canadian securities law, including statements in respect to the future operations and investments of and in the Company and any statements based on management's assessment and assumptions and publicly available information with respect to the Company. By their nature, forward-looking statements involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions. The Company cautions that its plans and assumptions may not materialize and that current economic conditions render such assumptions, although reasonable at the time they were made, subject to greater uncertainty. Forward-looking statements may be identified by the use of terminology such as "believes," "expects," "anticipates," "assumes," "outlook," "plans," "targets", or other similar words. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause actual results, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from the outlook or any future results, performance or achievements implied by such statements. Accordingly, readers are advised not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Important risk factors that could affect the forward- looking statements in this news release include, but are not limited to, holding company with significant operations in China; general economic and business conditions, including factors impacting the Company's business in China such as pandemics (ex.: COVID-19); legislative and/or regulatory developments; global financial conditions, repatriation of profits or transfer of funds from China to Canada, operations in foreign jurisdictions and possible exposure to corruption, bribery or civil unrest; actions by regulators; uncertainties of investigations, proceedings or other types of claims and litigation; timing and completion of capital programs; liquidity and capital resources, negative operating cash flow and additional funding, dilution from further financing; financial performance and timing of capital; and other risks detailed from time to time in reports filed by the Company with securities regulators in Canada, the United States or other jurisdictions. We refer potential investors to the "Risks and Uncertainties" section of the Company's MD&A. The reader is cautioned to consider these and other risks and uncertainties carefully and not to put undue reliance on forward-looking information.

Forward-looking statements reflect information as of the date on which they are made. The Company assumes no obligation to update or revise forward-looking statements to reflect future events, changes in circumstances, or changes in beliefs, unless required by applicable securities laws. In the event the Company does update any forward-looking statement, no inference should be made that the Company will make additional updates with respect to that statement, related matters, or any other forward-looking statement.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/183009
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - October 5, 2023) - Xtacy Therapeutics Corp.(CSE: XTCY) (FSE: TT5) (OTCQB: GWSFF)(formerly Global Wellness Strategies Inc.) ("the Company") announces that it has agreed to settle an aggregate of CA$118,075 in debt through the issuance of common shares.

The Company has agreed with certain of its creditors to issue an aggregate of 2,361,500 common shares (the "Settlement Shares") to such creditors in exchange for outstanding accounts payable (the "Shares for Debt Transaction") in the aggregate amount of CA$118,075 (the "Debt") owing to certain creditors (the "Creditors"). The Settlement Shares are being issued at a price of $0.05, in accordance with the policies of the Canadian Securities Exchange (the "CSE"). The Company is completing the Shares for Debt Transaction to improve its financial position by reducing its existing liabilities.

The securities issued in connection with the Debt Settlement will be subject to a statutory hold period of four months plus a day from the date of issuance in accordance with applicable securities legislation.

Pursuant to the policies of the Canadian Securities Exchange, the Debt Settlement will close five business days from the date of this press release. The Shares for Debt Transaction remains subject to CSE acceptance.

About Xtacy Therapeutics Corp.:

Xtacy is a prospect generator that provides high growth companies with financial, operational, and management assistance in the fast growing market for wellness consumer products. The focus of the Company is on global wellness, psychedelics, mycology, hemp and CBD, healthcare-related target companies and their clinical studies and trials.

For further information, visit website:

www.xtacytherapeutics.com

Or Contact Meris Kott CEO email to [email protected].

Further information about the Company is available on www.SEDARplus.com under the Company's profile.

Neither the Canadian Securities Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the Canadian Securities Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/183078
Eli Lilly & Co. (NYSE: LLY) 30-day option implied volatility is at 32; compared to its 52-week range of 19 to 36.
Paid press release content from The Financial Capital. The StreetInsider.com news staff was not involved in its creation.

Dominica Building World's Longest Mono-Cable Car, Aiming for Guinness Record





Dominica- the picturesque island in the Caribbean, is on the path to create history with the construction of the Worlds Longest Mono-Cable Car. It will be 4.1 miles (6.6 kilometres) long and seamlessly connect the Capital, Roseau, with the Boiling Lake, the worlds second-largest hot spring.



The cable car is expected to be completed in two years and will transport passengers to the Boiling Lake in 20 minutes. This is a significant reduction from the current hike to the lake, which takes about eight hours (round-trip).



The Dominica cable car will provide magnificent views of the islands lush green rainforest and mountainous terrain. It is expected to be a major tourist attraction and will boost the economy.



A Guinness World Record in Making



Upon completion, the Cable Car Dominica will become the Worlds longest detachable mono-cable car. It is expected to become a Guinness World Record surpassing the Ba Na Big Cable Car in Vietnam, which is 3.6 miles (5.8 km) long.



Travelling to Boiling Lake is a journey that traditionally takes about seven to eight hours of a round-trip trek, but with the Cable Car, it will now take a mere 20 minutes.



This ambitious project is anticipated to be completed within the next two years. Critics believe that it will dramatically transform travel experiences for both locals and tourists by becoming the Caribbeans most desired place to visit.



Reports suggest that in the future, travellers won't have truly experienced the Caribbean rainforests until they take a ride on Dominica's cable car.

As anticipation builds, it's clear that this cable car will redefine the way people will explore and appreciate the natural wonders of the Caribbean in the years to come.



The journey to the Boiling Lake through the Cable Car Dominica will pass through the lush green rainforest, Trafalgar Falls, and Titou Gorge among other natural wonders the island has to offer.



Creating New Opportunities in Dominica



The record-breaking mono-cable car project not only promises to captivate tourists but also stands as a beacon of hope for the local workforce. Sources indicate that the Cable Car is set to create substantial employment opportunities for the local community.



During the construction phase alone, more than 100 skilled Dominicans have been employed on this project. In the post-construction scenario, an additional 100 Dominicans will be directly employed, and over 200 individuals will find avenues for employment and business indirectly.



Dominica Cable Car will have a positive impact on various sectors, from taxi drivers and souvenir shops to local food vendors and tour guides, weaving a tapestry of economic growth and prosperity throughout the region.



The venture is not merely aimed at transforming landscapes but it's about shaping livelihoods and fostering a promising future for the countrys workforce.



ABL Holdings & Doppelmayrs Project



ABL Holdings, in collaboration with Doppelmayr, is building the Dominica Cable Car project.



With over 131 years of experience in building such projects around the world, Austrian company Doppelmayr is recognized for its innovative designs, cutting-edge technology and expertise in the field.



Notably, with a team of over 16,000 employees globally, Doppelmayr has completed more than 15,000 installations in 98 countries, cementing its position as a pioneer and innovator in the field of cable car technology.



The upcoming cable car project in Dominica is expected to boost tourism on the island. For example, currently a single cruise ship hosts between 3,000 to 5,000 passengers. Approximately only 15% of the cruise passengers will disembark to visit the island.



With the opening of this unique cable car, Dominica expects to see a three-fold increase in the number of disembarking passengers visiting the island.



In addition, it is expected that the project will also boost the number of cruise ships docking in Dominica that will in turn exponentially increase the number of passengers arriving on its shores.



The increased tourist activity will create direct and indirect jobs boosting the islands hospitality and service industries.



The Cable Car is a citizenship-by-investment (CBI) approved project - CBI projects are a crucial gateway to attract substantial foreign direct investment into Dominica, which funds have been instrumental in the growth and development of the country. In the same way, the proposed international airport will greatly enhance accessibility to Dominica which is a critical advancement to the tourism industry.



The improved air connectivity will act as a catalyst, attracting more travellers, who will further explore the unique experience offered by Cable Car Dominica. It will help enrich the island's tourism industry and bolster its economic growth.



The Cable Car Dominica is built according to climate-resilient specifications, therefore being in alignment with the countrys ambitious goal of becoming the Worlds First Climate Resilient Nation.



By diversifying the economic landscape, the cable car will also create a wealth of new opportunities for the people of Dominica. It will attract an increased number of tourists which will create a vibrant environment for businesses to thrive.

Contact Info:

Name: Abdeen Mohammad

Email: Send Email

Organization: ABL Holdings Limited

Phone: +41 79601 4076

Website: https://ablholdings.com/



Release ID: 89109334

If you come across any problems, discrepancies, or concerns related to the content contained within this press release that necessitate action or if a press release requires takedown, we strongly encourage you to reach out without delay by contacting [email protected]. Our committed team will be readily accessible round-the-clock to address your concerns within 8 hours and take appropriate actions to rectify identified issues or support with press release removals. Ensuring accurate and reliable information remains our unwavering commitment.
TAIWAN, Oct 5, 2023 - (ACN Newswire) - - Following the huge success of its inaugural edition, the Electronics Asia Conference (EAC), a virtual conference and exhibition organized by AspenCore, the publisher of EE Times Asia, EE Times India, and EDN Asia, is set to take place from October 17 to 19, 2023. With the theme "Strengthening Asia's Semiconductor Manufacturing Ecosystem," EAC 2023 aims to highlight the latest technology trends, innovations, and strategic insights within the electronics and semiconductor industry in Asia.

The global semiconductor industry reversed its five straight quarters of decline by registering a 3.4% revenue growth in the second quarter of 2023, according to Omdia. Driving the turnaround are the wireless segment, the automotive electronics sector, and artificial intelligence (AI), mainly due to growing demand for generative AI and data processing chips in the server space.

According to International Data Corp. (IDC), spending on AI-including software, services, and hardware for AI-centric systems'in the Asia-Pacific region is expected to reach $78.4 billion in 2027, reflecting a shift toward adopting cutting-edge technologies to transform operations and maintain a competitive edge in a rapidly changing market.

Meanwhile, the increasing adoption of Industry 4.0 technologies is fueling the automation and digitalization trends in the industrial space, thereby stimulating demand for Internet of Things (IoT) and embedded systems, as more manufacturers embrace smarter manufacturing.

These key trends are among the many developments driving Asia's electronics and semiconductor supply chain.

EAC 2023 will put the spotlight on technology innovations that are driving the latest developments and new applications in sectors including IoT, AI/ML, embedded systems, industrial automation, smart manufacturing, the wireless sector, and the electronics and semiconductor supply chain. The event will feature a virtual fairground, an exhibition hall, and a conference space, similar to a live exhibition and conference.

Confirmed companies presenting at the virtual conference include Arm, Applied Materials Inc., Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG), Cadence Design Systems Inc., Cambridge GaN Devices, Chip 1 Exchange, GaN Systems Inc., Infineon Technologies AG, Merck Electronics, Molex, Navitas Semiconductor, proteanTecs, NXP Semiconductors, MosChip Technologies Ltd, Mouser Electronics Inc., Silicon Laboratories Inc., SCHURTER Group, STMicroelectronics, Synopsys Inc., Tektronix, and Texas Instruments Inc.

For more information and to register, visit https://ve.eetasia.com/eac2023.

About AspenCore

AspenCore is a unique collection of brands and products that have set the standard in meeting the demands of today's engineers.

We reach over 15 million technologists, designers, engineers, and managers. We connect this electronics community to reliable news, authoritative analysis, industry trends, and daily information on new technology.

Our brands include EE Times, Electronic Products, EPSNews, ESM China, IoT Times, Power Electronics News, EDN, EEWeb, Electro Schematics, Elektroda.pl, Embedded.com, Planet Analog, and more.

For more information, visit https://aspencore.com.

Contact Person:

Celia Shih

Marketing Manager

Taiwan/ASEAN Marketing and Circulation Department

T: +886 227591366 Ext. 103/222

E: [email protected]

Copyright 2023 ACN Newswire . All rights reserved.
TOKYO, Oct 5, 2023 - (JCN Newswire) - - Mitsubishi Motors Corporation (hereafter, Mitsubishi Motors) announced that the all-new Triton1 one-ton pickup truck, the all-new Xforce2 compact SUV, and the new Delica Mini super height-wagon kei-car3 have won the Good Design Award4 2023 organized by the Japan Institute of Design Promotion.

Mitsubishi Motors has been working to create distinctively unique designs based on its design philosophy of Robust & Ingenious. The company is commited to providing customers with reliability and excitement by building upon its core values of dynamic strength, robustness and functionality, and by continuing to evolve and progress with the times. The three new models, the Triton, Xforce and Delica Mini, were selected as Good Design Award winners for embodying Mitsubishi Motors-ness that reflects this design philosophy while expressing their individual design concepts.

All-new Triton The all-new Triton is a one-ton pickup truck that condenses the essence of Mitsubishi Motors, offering safe and comfortable ride with peace of mind in a variety of weather and road conditions around the world. Based on the Beast Mode design concept, the all-new Triton has an imposing aura that expresses the toughness and strength required of a pickup truck, as well as the ruggedness and agility typical of a Mitsubishi model. The interior is designed for enhanced practicality with professional use in mind.

Comments from the jury:"This pickup is targeted mainly at the ASEAN and Latin America markets. As a partner for work and leisure in these areas, it requires a power not found in passenger vehicles and a sense of fun that sets it apart from other commercial vehicles. The styling, consisting of a front face with a strong presence, distinctive lighting utilizing LEDs, a horizontally-themed silhouette, and square fenders, fully meets these requirements and clearly conveys the brand identity. In addition, the vehicle offers a spacious cabin, a functional instrument panel, a low cargo bed, and other user-friendly features, while also standing out for its excellent workmanship, including a cover for the inside of the cargo bed."

Special website:https://www.mitsubishi-motors.com/en/products/triton

All-new Xforce

The all-new Xforce is a compact SUV that offers comfort and practicality including a spacious cabin and versatile storage spaces well-balanced in a maneuverable, compact body size, as well as road handling that allows safe, secure ride in various weather or road conditions. Based on the design concept of Silky & Solid, its design features a stylish yet robust, authentic SUV styling and a sophisticated interior with a cutting-edge feel.

Comments from the jury:"The exterior design, with the powerful front and rear fenders at its core, gives a sense of massiveness despite the vehicle's compact size, and together with the shape of the headlights and rear combination lights, it exudes the appeal of an advanced SUV. Meanwhile, through well-organized, structured modeling and the skillful blending of colors, materials and finishes (CMF), the interior succeeds in creating a sense of excitement to match the external profile. The use of a hexagon motif in the details of both the interior and exterior also contributes to a sense of unity in the overall vehicle design."

Special website:https://www.mitsubishi-motors.com/en/products/xforce/

New Delica Mini

The new Delica Mini is a super height-wagon kei-car that bears the name of the Delica minivan, combining a spacious interior and powerful driving performance. With the design theme of Daily Adventure, the Delica Mini features an SUV-like styling that gives the impression of powerful driving like the Delica and a functional cabin that is convenient for both outdoor and everyday use.

Comments from the jury:"The exterior design gives the impression of a sturdy tool, firm and powerful, but at the same time succeeds in conveying a sense of affability, especially with the ring-shaped headlights with cut-out tops. The body color also shows ingenuity, successfully combining a modern look with a boldness that evokes a sense of adventure. The interior design is also well matched to the exterior, giving a clean, sturdy impression, while the window surrounds, which incorporate the exterior color, also convey playfulness."

Special website (in Japanese only): https://www.mitsubishi-motors.co.jp/lineup/delica_mini/special/

1. The Triton is sold as the L200 in some markets. In Japan, it is scheduled for launch in early 2024.

2. The Xforce is not sold in Japan.

3. Kei-car is a vehicle category in Japan for microcars.

4. The Good Design Award has been the sole comprehensive design evaluation and commendation system in Japan since its founding as the Good Design Product Selection System in 1957. Over the past 60 years, the movement has aimed at improving Japanese industry and lifestyle through design, and the total number of awards presented has reached more than 50,000. Today, it has grown into a global design award in which numerous companies and organizations participate from around the world, and the G Mark, which is the symbol of the award, is widely known as a mark of design excellence.

About Mitsubishi Motors

Mitsubishi Motors Corporation (TSE: 7211) "a member of the Alliance with Renault and Nissan", is a global automobile company based in Tokyo, Japan, which has about 30,000 employees and a global footprint with production facilities around the world. Mitsubishi Motors has a competitive edge in SUVs, pickup trucks and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles, and appeals to ambitious drivers willing to challenge convention and embrace innovation. Since the production of our first vehicle more than a century ago, Mitsubishi Motors has been a leader in electrification - launched the i-MiEV - the world's first mass-produced electric vehicle in 2009, followed by the Outlander PHEV - the world's first plug-in hybrid electric SUV in 2013.For more information on Mitsubishi Motors, please visit the company's website at https://www.mitsubishi-motors.com/en/.

Copyright 2023 JCN Newswire . All rights reserved.
Paid press release content from The Financial Capital. The StreetInsider.com news staff was not involved in its creation.

To promote global communication and the sharing of tourism resources, Tancheng Travel and IACB signed a Memorandum of Cooperation in Beijing.



The MOU signing took place on September 30th in Beijing, between Beijing Tancheng International Travel Agency Co.,Ltd (Tancheng Travel) and International Action Council Beijing Representative Office (IACB), aiming to jointly facilitate global cross-regional and cross-cultural exchange and enhance international travel services.

Tancheng Travel collaborates with multiple listed companies and international private banks to provide comprehensive VIP services for international travel. They focus on global political and business visits, as well as the high-end tourism market. They integrate customized overseas luxury travel products and extended services such as medical, business, and immigration.

The International Action Council (IAC), established in 1983, is an independent non-profit international organization composed of former world leaders. Its members are former heads of state or government from various countries. The organization aims to promote international cooperation and action in areas such as peace and security, global economic revitalization, and universal ethical standards.

Tancheng Travel's Chairman, Mr. Zhang Aiping, and the Chief Representative of IACB, Mr. Wen Danjing, jointly signed a Memorandum of Cooperation. They also had friendly discussions with the co-chairs of the council, including Bertie Ahern (former Prime Minister of Ireland and former President of the European Commission), Peter Stoyanov (former President of Bulgaria), and Boris Tadic (former President of Serbia). The council members believe that in the current international situation, the importance of international tourism and cross-border, cross-cultural exchange has become even more prominent. They are willing to assist Tancheng Travel in expanding the European tourism market and providing Chinese tourists, students, and business people traveling to Europe with a wider range of choices and better services.

Through the collaboration with IACB, Tancheng Travel will further enrich its portfolio of travel destinations. This partnership will contribute to providing consumers with safer, more convenient, comfortable, and rewarding cross-border travel services. Tancheng Travel's upcoming global VIP membership service not only offers basic benefits in terms of concierge services, shopping, health, and insurance but also provides a range of unique services and privileges such as high-end medical care and business facilitation.

Contact Info:

Name: Will Chen

Email: Send Email

Organization: Beijing Tan Cheng International Travel Agency Co., Ltd.

Website: https://hopefultour.com/



Release ID: 89107330

In the event of encountering any errors, concerns, or inconsistencies within the content shared in this press release, we kindly request that you immediately contact us at [email protected]. Our dedicated team will be readily accessible to address your feedback within 8 hours and take appropriate measures to rectify any identified issues or facilitate press release takedowns. Ensuring accuracy and reliability are central to our commitment.
OTTAWA, Oct. 4 (Xinhua) -- Canada's Governor General Mary Simon Wednesday apologized for awarding a Nazi veteran in 1987 with the Order of Canada, a top civilian honor in Canada, local media reported.

"It is with deep regret that we acknowledge that Mr. Peter Savaryn was appointed to the Order of Canada in 1987, and we express our sincere apology to Canadians for any distress or pain his appointment may have caused," said a statement by Simon's office shared with reporters.

Savaryn's Order of Canada biography includes his experience as a law firm partner, former Chancellor of the University of Alberta, and a World Leader of the World Congress of Free Ukrainians.

However, Savaryn also served in the Nazi Waffen-SS Galicia Division during World War II.

Concerns arose over Savaryn's background in the wake of a scandal over Yaroslav Hunka, a Ukrainian-Canadian veteran who served in the same Waffen-SS unit as Savaryn. On Sept. 22 Hunka was praised by then-Speaker of the Canadian House of Commons Anthony Rota, who later apologized and stepped down on Sept. 26.

Simon's office said that historical appointments would have been made relative to the specific moment and "limited information sources available at that time."

In instances where more information comes to light after an appointment, termination is possible. Yet Savaryn's appointment was terminated when he died in 2017, per protocol. 
WASHINGTON , Oct. 4, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- More than two and half years and some 9 million illegal entries later, the Biden administration is now acknowledging that we have a very serious problem along our southern border and that physical barriers are needed to stem the flow of illegal immigration into the United States . The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced today that it will "take such actions as may be necessary to install additional physical barriers and roads (including the removal of obstacles to detection of illegal entrants) in the vicinity of the United States border to deter illegal crossings in areas of 'high illegal entry' into the United States " [emphasis added].

"This is the first acknowledgement on the part of the Biden administration that our borders are not secure and that the president's cancellation of border wall construction on his first day in office was a mistake. Better late than never, but a lot of damage has been inflicted on the nation by the Biden administration's refusal to erect border barriers that American taxpayers had already paid for, and that damage is being added to every single day," said Dan Stein , president of the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR).

"After years of denying that a border wall and other physical barriers are effective, the DHS announcement represents a sea change in the administration's thinking: A secure wall is an effective tool for maintaining control of our borders. Having made that concession, the administration needs to immediately begin construction of wall across the border to prevent the illegal traffic from simply moving to other areas of the border," Stein continued.

"In the interim, it is also critical that the administration rethink its catch-and-release policies that are driving mass illegal immigration. The 'additional physical barriers' DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas is calling for will take time to build. As each month sets a new record for illegal entries, measures must be put in place immediately to ensure that illegal aliens are turned back at the border, rather than released into the country, and that all of our immigration laws are vigorously enforced.

"It is tragic that the crisis at the border and its effect on communities all across the country had to reach this point before the administration decided it is time to act. Having made that call, they need to go all-in by completing the border wall and reversing all of the failed policies that got us to this point," concluded Stein.

Media Contact:

Joey Chester

202-742-1827

[email protected]

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/9-million-illegal-border-crossings-later-the-biden-administration-finally-acknowledges-a-wall-is-necessary-says-fair-301947782.html

SOURCE Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR)
MILWAUKEE , Oct. 5, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Global water technology company A. O. Smith Corporation ("the Company") (NYSE: AOS) will host an Investor Day in Chicago on Monday, November 6, 2023 . Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Kevin Wheeler , Chief Financial Officer Chuck Lauber , and other key members of the management team will provide an in-depth review of the Company's strategy, growth drivers, financial outlook and key initiatives. The event will include formal presentations as well as Q&A sessions with senior leadership.

A. O. Smith to Hold Investor Day in Chicago on November 6, 2023

Attendance in person is by invitation only to institutional investors and analysts. Presentations are expected to begin at 1:30 p.m. (Eastern Daylight Time) and will conclude at 6 p.m. (Eastern Daylight Time) .

A live webcast of the conference, as well as the presentation slides, will be accessible on the Company's website here. Interested parties unable to attend in-person or watch the live webcast will be able to view and listen to an archived copy of the webcast following the conclusion of the event.

About A. O. Smith

A. O. Smith Corporation, with headquarters in Milwaukee, Wisconsin , is a global leader applying innovative technology and energy-efficient solutions to products manufactured and marketed worldwide. Listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: AOS), the Company is one of the world's leading manufacturers of residential and commercial water heating equipment and boilers, as well as water treatment products. For more information, visit www.aosmith.com.

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/a-o-smith-to-host-an-investor-day-on-november-6-2023-301947976.html

SOURCE A. O. Smith Corporation
Alteryx partners with TechVets to offer real-world analytics training to help United Kingdom military service members, veterans, and their families transition to civilian careers

IRVINE, Calif. , Oct. 5, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Alteryx, Inc. (NYSE: AYX), the Analytics Cloud Platform company, today announced its partnership with TechVets, a non-profit in the United Kingdom that provides a bridge to careers in information technology to veterans, service leaders, reservists, and their families. Together, Alteryx and TechVets will help veterans and active-duty service members transition to civilian careers by providing them with real-world industry training and certifications in data analytics, as part of the Alteryx SparkED no-cost education program.

This partnership builds on Alteryx's commitment to military service members globally. Earlier this year, Alteryx announced its partnership with the United States' Department of Defense SkillBridge program, which helps over 200,000 service members each year transition to careers outside of the military. Kenneth Govens , a U.S. Air Force Aerospace Propulsion, Jet Engines & Turboprop/Turboshaft Prop Enlisted, shares his experience with the Alteryx SparkED DoD SkillBridge program.

"Organizations across all industries are striving to manage and analyze massive amounts of data. The Alteryx SparkED DoD SkillBridge program is perfect for the in-demand market. I am being equipped with leading edge training within the Alteryx automation platform." said Govens. "The Alteryx platform is easy to navigate through and its simplistic design makes it user friendly for any level user. My goal is to pair my Business MA in Analytics, along with a Core Certification attained through the Alteryx SparkED DoD SkillBridge program to market myself, and help leaders optimize their performance by making strategically guided decisions."

"We are thrilled to help drive the analytics movement in the United Kingdom through partnering with TechVets. With the new partnership, we will be able to help companies in the region close the analytics skills gap and boost data literacy in their organizations while simultaneously supporting service members into the next phase of their careers whether that be in supply chain management, resource forecasting, human resources, or something else entirely," said Olivia Duane Adams , co-founder and chief advocacy officer at Alteryx. "Our goal with the SparkED program and the partnership with TechVets is to provide comprehensive data science education, as well as hands on training with Alteryx, so veterans and active-duty service members can transform data into business insights with employable skills now."

Through the program, participants receive a free Alteryx Designer license, interactive learning paths, and access to the Alteryx Community to guide their training at no cost to them.

"In the UK , we have a significant issue with underemployment in the Forces community. Many of those leaving the military every year move into employment that does not make use of the in-demand skills they have developed during their military service," said James Murphy , director of TechVets, The Forces Employment Charity program. "TechVets is a program with a mission to create a bridge into information technology careers for the Forces community, and this cannot be achieved alone. I'm extremely excited to be partnering with the Alteryx SparkED program, so we can shape the future of employment for all our veterans and their families."

Learn more about the Alteryx SparkED and TechVets partnership and apply today.

About Alteryx

Alteryx (NYSE: AYX) powers analytics for all with the award-winning Alteryx Analytics Cloud Platform. With Alteryx, enterprises can make intelligent decisions across their organizations with automated, AI-driven insights. More than 8,000 customers globally rely on Alteryx to democratize analytics across use cases and deliver high-impact business outcomes. To learn more, visit www.alteryx.com.

Alteryx is a registered trademark of Alteryx, Inc. All other product and brand names may be trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners.

About TechVets

TechVets is a Programme within the Forces Employment Charity. We provide life-long, life-changing support, job opportunities, and training to Service leavers, veterans, reservists and their families, irrespective of circumstances, rank, length of service, or reason for leaving. https://www.techvets.co/

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/alteryx-provides-free-analytics-education-to-uk-service-members-301947934.html

SOURCE Alteryx, Inc.
LAS VEGAS , Oct. 5, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- AMH (NYSE: AMH), a leading owner, operator and developer of single-family rental homes, today announced that the Company will release its third quarter 2023 financial and operating results on Thursday, November 2, 2023 , after the market closes. The Company will host a conference call on Friday, November 3, 2023 , at 12:00 p.m. Eastern Time to review third quarter results, discuss recent events, and conduct a question-and-answer period.

Live conference call

Toll free number: (877) 451-6152 (for domestic callers) Direct dial number: (201) 389-0879 (for international callers) Passcode: Not required Simultaneous audio webcast link: www.amh.com under "Investor relations"



Conference call replay

Toll free number: (844) 512-2921 (for domestic callers) Direct dial number: (412) 317-6671 (for international callers) Passcode: 13739600# Webcast link: www.amh.com under "Investor relations" Date accessible through: November 17, 2023

About AMH

AMH (NYSE: AMH) is a leading owner, operator and developer of single-family rental homes. We're an internally managed Maryland real estate investment trust (REIT) focused on acquiring, developing, renovating, leasing and managing homes as rental properties. Our goal is to simplify the experience of leasing a home and deliver peace of mind to households across the country.

In recent years, we've been named one of Fortune's 2023 Best Workplaces in Real Estate, a 2023 Great Place to Work, a 2023 Most Loved Workplace, a 2023 Top U.S. Homebuilder by Builder100, one of America's Most Responsible Companies 2023 and America's Most Trustworthy Companies 2023 by Newsweek and Statista Inc., and a Top ESG Regional Performer by Sustainalytics. As of June 30, 2023 , we owned nearly 59,000 single-family properties in the Southeast, Midwest, Southwest and Mountain West regions of the United States . Additional information about AMH is available on our website at www.amh.com.

AMH refers to one or more of American Homes 4 Rent, American Homes 4 Rent, L.P. and their subsidiaries and joint ventures. In certain states, we operate under AMH Living or American Homes 4 Rent. Please see www.amh.com/dba to learn more.

AMH Contacts:

Trent Frager

Media Relations

Phone: (855) 774-4663

Email: [email protected]

Nicholas Fromm

Investor Relations

Phone: (855) 794-2447

Email: [email protected]

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/amh-announces-dates-of-third-quarter-2023-earnings-release-and-conference-call-301948915.html

SOURCE AMH
NEW YORK , Oct. 5, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Blue Owl Capital Inc. (NYSE: OWL) ("Blue Owl") today announced it will release its financial results for the third quarter ended September 30, 2023 on Thursday, November 2, 2023 before market open. Blue Owl invites all interested persons to its webcast / conference call at 8:30 a.m. Eastern Time on November 2 to discuss its results.

Conference Call Information:

The conference call will be broadcast live on the Investor Resources section of Blue Owl's website at www.blueowl.com.

Participants are also invited to access the conference call by dialing one of the following numbers:

Domestic (Toll Free): +1 (888) 330-2454

International: +1 (240) 789-2714

Conference ID: 4153114

All callers will need to enter the Conference ID followed by the # sign and reference "Blue Owl Capital" once connected with the operator. All callers are asked to dial in 10-15 minutes prior to the call so that name and company information can be collected.

Replay Information:

An archived replay will be available for 14 days via a webcast link located on the Investor Resources section of Blue Owl's website, and via the dial-in numbers listed below:

Domestic (Toll Free): +1 (800) 770-2030

International: +1 (647) 362-9199

Conference ID: 4153114

About Blue Owl Capital Inc.

Blue Owl (NYSE: OWL) is a leading asset manager that is redefining alternatives.

With $150 billion in assets under management, we invest across three multi-strategy platforms: Credit, GP Strategic Capital, and Real Estate. Anchored by a strong permanent capital base, we provide businesses with private capital solutions to drive long-term growth and offer institutional and individual investors differentiated alternative investment opportunities that aim to deliver strong performance, risk-adjusted returns, and capital preservation.

Together with over 600 experienced professionals across 10 offices globally, Blue Owl brings the vision and discipline to create the exceptional. To learn more, visit www.blueowl.com.

As of June 30, 2023

Forward Looking Statements

Certain statements made in this release are "forward looking statements" within the meaning of the "safe harbor" provisions of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. When used in this press release, the words "estimates," "projected," "expects," "anticipates," "forecasts," "plans," "intends," "believes," "seeks," "may," "will," "would," "should," "future," "propose," "target," "goal," "objective," "outlook" and variations of these words or similar expressions (or the negative versions of such words or expressions) are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Any such forward-looking statements are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions available under applicable securities laws and speak only as of the date made. Blue Owl assumes no obligation to update or revise any such forward-looking statements except as required by law.

These forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance, conditions or results, and involve a number of known and unknown risks, uncertainties, assumptions and other important factors, many of which are outside Blue Owl's control, that could cause actual results or outcomes to differ materially from those discussed in the forward-looking statements.

Important factors, among others, that may affect actual results or outcomes include the inability to recognize the anticipated benefits of strategic acquisitions; costs related to acquisitions; the inability to maintain the listing of Blue Owl's shares on the New York Stock Exchange ("NYSE"); Blue Owl's ability to manage growth; Blue Owl's ability to execute its business plan and meet its projections; potential litigation involving Blue Owl; changes in applicable laws or regulations; and the possibility that Blue Owl may be adversely affected by other economic, business, geo-political and competitive factors.

Investor Contact

Ann Dai

Head of Investor Relations

[email protected]

Media Contact

Nick Theccanat

Principal, Corporate Communications & Public Policy

[email protected]

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/blue-owl-capital-inc-to-announce-third-quarter-2023-results-301946319.html

SOURCE Blue Owl Capital
Premium DTC Cheese & Charcuterie Brand Continues to Innovate within the Gourmet Food Market

PALM BEACH, Fla. , Oct. 5, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Boarderie, the premium direct-to-consumer cheese and charcuterie brand, proudly declared today that it has achieved the remarkable feat of setting a new GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS title for the Largest Charcuterie Board ever crafted. This achievement marks a monumental accomplishment for the rapidly growing company and is a testament to its commitment to delivering extraordinary gourmet experiences to its customers.

On October 4 th in Palm Beach, Florida , Boarderie and esteemed sponsors  Columbus Craft Meats , Yupik, Celebrity Goat, Divina, The Palm Beaches, The Vineyard House, Rustic Bakery, Dufeck Wood Products, and Atlas Event Rental  hosted a sensational event to unveil the breathtaking charcuterie board that measured 20 feet by 14 feet, weighed 769 pounds and is inspired by a 169 times bigger replica of its best-selling Arte board. Significantly surpassing the previous record, the charcuterie board featured an impressive array of premium artisan cheeses, cured meats, flatbread crackers, nuts and dried fruits, gourmet chocolates, and a globally sourced selection of olives and spreads, which were generously provided by the sponsors and donated to The Lord's Place, a local nonprofit organization aiming to end homelessness, immediately following the event.

"Boarderie creates experiences every day that bring people together around celebrations and social occasions that start conversations and that's what we achieved here today on a very large scale," said Boarderie's Co-Founder and Co-CEO, Aaron Menitoff . "Our journey has been nothing short of incredible, and the meteoric rise of the brand in the past two years wouldn't have been possible without our phenomenal team who all share our commitment to crafting extraordinary culinary experiences."

" Columbus Craft Meats has been crafting salami right in the U.S. for over 100 years, so we're thrilled to be a part of this GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS title, which included more than 300 pounds of our premium cured meats," said Columbus Craft Meats Charcuterie Director, Evan Inada . "As the number one Italian deli brand in the U.S. , we're always delighted to share the boundless creativity and joy that comes with charcuterie."

Founded in 2021 by Aaron and Julie Menitoff , Rachel Solomon , and Angel Jerez , the successful Shark Tank brand and Oprah 's 2022 'Favorite Things' pick quickly became a pioneer in the cheese and charcuterie market, first launching their products online with major retails like Williams Sonoma and Goldbelly before starting their own direct-to-consumer business in 2022. "The astronomical growth we have experienced just one year since starting the direct-to-consumer side of our business, Boarderie.com, has been amazing, and this major milestone just fuels our eagerness to continue innovating and bringing even more incredible gourmet food experiences to our customers and the market," said Boarderie's Co-Founder and Co-CEO, Rachel Solomon .

The brand's unique capability to provide gourmet charcuterie boards that are made fresh daily and delivered right to consumers' doors, overnight nationwide, has allowed them to capture a strong segment of the edible gifting market where customers are looking for a thoughtful and gourmet alternative to the boring passe gift basket. With a full-time culinary team of over 60 (and growing), each of Boarderie's artisanal boards is carefully curated with high-quality ingredients and chef-selected pairings from all over the world. "We take so much pride in our products and are absolutely ecstatic to now be the official title holder of GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS Largest Charcuterie Board," said Solomon.

This holiday season, Boarderie has specialty boards for every occasion and will increase the size of their culinary team to over 140 people making fresh boards around the clock to keep up with holiday gifting demand. "We anticipate that holiday delivery dates will sell out quickly and are doing everything we can to grow our team and production kitchen to make as many boards as possible. At the end of the day, quality is everything," said Menitoff.

For more information on Boarderie and to stay up to date on their latest endeavors and offerings, please visit Boarderie.com, and follow @Boarderie on Instagram and Facebook .

About Boarderie

Boarderie, established in 2021 and based in Palm Beach, Florida , is the only company in the world that ships pre-arranged cheese and charcuterie boards nationwide. Known for its dedication to culinary craftsmanship and innovation, Boarderie sets itself apart by creating edible works of art with artisanal cheeses and premium charcuterie selections from all over the world (delivered directly to customer's doors overnight). Boarderie is on a mission to bring people together with gourmet gifts that are delightfully simple to send and guaranteed to impress on any occasion (so you never have to send a boring gift basket again!). Boarderie secured a deal with Lori Greiner in Season 14 of Shark Tank and was featured in Oprah 's Favorite Things.

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/boarderie-shatters-guinness-world-records-title-for-the-largest-charcuterie-board-weighing-769-lbs-301948299.html

SOURCE Boarderie
SOMERSET , N.J. , Oct. 5, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- October marks Breast Cancer Awareness Month, a time dedicated to raising awareness about the importance of early detection and the impact of breast cancer on individuals and their families.

ProCure Proton Therapy Center, a leading cancer treatment center in Central New Jersey , is committed to ensuring that everyone understands the significance of regular screenings and proactive measures in the fight against breast cancer.

Breast cancer remains one of the most prevalent forms of cancer globally, and the latest statistics underscore the pressing need for education and vigilance. Consider these vital facts:

Incidence Rates : In the United States alone, an estimated 297,790 new cases of breast cancer will be diagnosed in 2023, according to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation .





: In alone, an estimated 297,790 new cases of breast cancer will be diagnosed in 2023, according to the . Early Detection Saves Lives : The 5-year survival rate for individuals whose breast cancer is detected at an early, localized stage is 99%  a clear testament to the life-saving potential of regular screenings.





: The 5-year survival rate for individuals whose breast cancer is detected at an early, localized stage is 99%  a clear testament to the life-saving potential of regular screenings. Innovative Treatments: Proton therapy, offered at ProCure, is a cutting-edge radiation treatment that provides targeted and precise therapy for breast cancer patients. This technology minimizes the risk of radiation exposure to healthy tissue, reducing side effects.

"Breast Cancer Awareness Month provides an opportunity for all of us to come together to raise awareness and educate our communities about the importance of early detection," said Dr. Brian Chon , ProCure Medical Director. "We hope that by sharing these statistics, we can encourage everyone to prioritize regular screenings and take proactive steps toward breast health."

ProCure Proton Therapy Center invites the community to join us in raising awareness and promoting early detection this October.

About ProCure Proton Therapy Center:

ProCure Proton Therapy Center in Somerset, NJ , opened in March 2012 as the tri-state region's first proton therapy facility, treating a range of cancers including disease of the prostate, breast, lung, brain, head and neck, and gastrointestinal system, as well as sarcomas and many pediatric cases. Using the most advanced radiation treatment available ProCure has treated more than 6,000 patients and enables many cancer patients to choose a non-surgical treatment personalized to their medical needs and lifestyles, often with fewer side effects and less downtimegiving them more freedom to enjoy what matters most in their lives. For more information, visit ProCure.com.

Media Contact:

Sarah Ferrington, Marketing Manager

Phone: 732-357-2609

Email: [email protected]

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/breast-cancer-awareness-month-procure-stresses-the-importance-of-early-detection-301948586.html

SOURCE ProCure Proton Therapy Center
Highlights:

New drill hole DSC-112 is a 200m step-out from Descendent discovery;

The Descendent contains four Cu-Zn-Au-Ag bearing mineralized lenses; and

Large geophysical target associated with intersections that projects along strike to the northeast for 340m and at depth for 840m.

VANCOUVER, BC , Oct. 5, 2023 /PRNewswire/ - Callinex Mines Inc. (the "Company" or "Callinex") (TSXV: CNX) (OTCQX: CLLXF) is pleased to announce that the Company has commenced immediate step-out drilling to define the new high-grade copper, zinc, gold and silver Descendent discovery at the Company's 100% owned Pine Bay Project (the "Project"), located near Flin Flon, MB ( See news release dated September 12, 2023 ) ( Pine Bay Project Plan View ). The discovery hole, DSC-111, intersected four separate volcanogenic massive sulphide lenses ("VMS") with significant base and precious metal values within a total core width of 67.7m.

The most significant section returned 7.14m grading 1.70% copper equivalent ("CuEq") containing 3.34% Zn, 0.29 g/t Au, 14.38 g/t Ag, and 0.11% Cu with additional massive sulphides intersected including a 10.57m grading 1.36% CuEq containing 1.47% Zn, 0.58 g/t Au, 18.3 g/t Ag and 0.43% Cu. A borehole pulse electromagnetic survey completed on DSC-111 identified a large geophysical target associated with the intersections that projects along strike to the northeast for 340m and at depth for 840m ( Descendent Discovery Long Section ).

Step-out drill hole DSC-112 is testing the Descendent 200m vertically below discovery hole DSC-111. The intersection in DSC-111 is the deepest result to date associated with the Cabin Horizon and is located 350 meters below PBM-024 which intersected 2.58m of 0.53% Zn, 0.92% Au, 34.60 g/t Ag, and 1.64% Cu ( See news release dated May 1, 2017 ). The Descendent is situated 550m from the Pine Bay deposit, 1.4km from the Rainbow deposit and 2.9km from the Alchemist deposit, which are all located within a mineral lease.

The anticipated vertical extent being tested between PBM-024 and DSC-112 is 550m. By comparison the Rainbow deposit has been delineated in the recently announced maiden 43-101 resource estimate to a vertical extent of 865m and remains open at depth.

Once drill hole DSC-112 is completed, it will then be used as a parent drill hole to set a number of wedges off it to test up plunge between the initial intersection and DSC-111. Additionally, discovery hole DSC-111 will also be used to set a number of wedges to test up plunge to the PBM-024 intersection.

The Descendent was intersected in drill hole DSC-111 at a down-hole depth of 1,318m and remains open in all directions. Many of the largest deposits within the Flin Flon Greenstone Belt have been discovered at depth. The abundance of zinc, gold and silver in DSC-111 indicates that the hole may have intersected the edge of the VMS system similar to what occurs at the Rainbow deposit. Additionally, the significant width of the massive sulphide intervals suggests that the system is long-lived and robust. The four VMS lenses are separated by dykes and sills, which is typical in many VMS systems, and allows for the potential for one large massive sulphide body.

This discovery hole is located within the Baker Patton Felsic Complex , one of the largest and most highly altered accumulations of felsic rocks within the Flin Flon Greenstone Belt. A major alteration zone had previously been identified at surface and spans 1,100m by 700m as defined by values of more than 90 using the Hashimoto (Ishikawa et al.) Alteration Index, a quantitative approach to evaluate alteration trends that ranges from 0 to 100. Since the huge alteration zone seen at surface is structurally overturned, the exploration thesis is that the massive sulphides associated with this mineralizing event would be preserved at depth. Typically, there is a correlation between the size of an alteration zone and the size of the VMS deposit it is associated with.

The exploration model for large VMS deposits within the Flin Flon-Snow Lake Greenstone Belt, such as the Lalor and 777 deposits, includes having several smaller deposits in close proximity to a large alteration system within a major felsic volcanic center. Historic and recent exploration has identified seven VMS deposits, along with the new Descendent discovery, located in close proximity to the huge Baker Patton alteration zone.

Mr. O'Donnell, P.Geo ., a qualified person under National Instrument 43-101, has reviewed and approved the technical information in this news release.

About Callinex Mines Inc.

Callinex Mines Inc. (TSXV: CNX) (OTCQX: CLLXF) is advancing its portfolio of base and precious metals rich deposits located in established Canadian mining jurisdictions. The focus of the portfolio is highlighted by the rapidly expanding Rainbow deposit at its rich VMS Pine Bay Project located near existing infrastructure in the Flin Flon Mining District . Callinex prepared an indicated mineral resource on the Rainbow deposit of 3.44 Mt grading 3.59% CuEq for 272.4 Mlb CuEq (238.3 Mlb Cu, 56.9 Mlb Zn, 37.6 koz Au, 692.8 koz Ag, 2.3 Mlb Pb), an inferred mineral resource on the Rainbow deposit of 1.28 Mt grading 2.95% CuEq containing 83.4 Mlb CuEq (72.1 Mlb Cu, 19.5 Mlb Zn, 11.1 koz Au, 222.2 Koz Ag , 0.8 Mlb Pb) and an inferred mineral resource at the Pine Bay deposit of 1.0 Mt grading 2.62% Cu containing 58.1 Mlb Cu (see news release dated July 10, 2023 ). The second asset in the portfolio is the Nash Creek Project located in the VMS rich Bathurst Mining District of New Brunswick . A 2018 PEA generates a strong economic return with a pre-tax IRR of 34.1% (25.2% post-tax) and NPV8% of $230 million ( $128 million post-tax) at $1.25 Zinc (see news release dated May 14, 2018 ). The third asset, 100% owned Point Leamington Deposit in Newfoundland , is located in one of the richest VMS and Gold Districts in Canada . Callinex prepared a pit constrained Indicated Mineral Resource of 5.0 Mt grading 2.5 g/t AuEq for 402 koz AuEq (145.7 koz gold, 60.0 Mlb copper, 153.5 Mlb zinc, 2.0 Moz silver, 1.5 Mlb lead), a pit constrained Inferred Mineral Resource of 13.7 Mt grading 2.24 g/t AuEq for 986.5 koz AuEq (354.8 koz gold, 110.2 Mlb copper, 527.3 Mlb zinc, 6.2 Moz silver, 7.0 Mlb lead) and an out-of-pit Inferred Mineral Resource of 1.7 Mt grading 3.06 g/t AuEq for 168.5 koz AuEq (65.4 koz gold, 13.3 Mlb copper, 102.9 Mlb zinc, 1.4 Moz Ag , 2.6 Mlb lead) (see news release dated October 25 , 2021).

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Some statements in this news release contain forward-looking information. These statements include, but are not limited to, statements with respect to future expenditures. These statements address future events and conditions and, as such, involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the statements. Such factors include, among others, the ability to complete the proposed drill program, obtaining satisfactory results from its drill program and the timing and amount of expenditures. Except as required under applicable securities laws, Callinex does not assume the obligation to update any forward-looking statement.

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SOURCE Callinex Mines Inc.
Group announced several key milestones, including its inaugural AI guidelines, at its recent Annual Conference on Technology, which saw over 2,000 people participate in inclusive innovation

TAIPEI , Oct. 5, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- As technology reshapes financial institutions worldwide, companies with strong technological capabilities are positioned to take the lead. Underscoring this important role technology is playing, Cathay Financial Holdings (Cathay FHC) recently held its Annual Conference on Technology on September 20 , centering on the theme of "Integrating Technology for an Inclusive New Intelligence." Attracting over 2,000 participants both online and offline, this year's Conference focused on the "ABCDEs" of major technologies and trends  AI, Blockchain, Cloud, Data, and Ecosystems.

Senior Vice President of Cathay FHC, Marcus Yao , said during the opening, "With the financial environment constantly changing and posing new challenges, Cathay FHC has shored up robust digital resilience by embracing various emerging technologies and enterprises from early on." He also mentioned that digital transformation is an "endurance race with constantly changing goals and no finish line." Having begun its major push for digital transformation eight years ago with the Digital Data and Technology Development Center (DDT), Cathay FHC has been empowering the digital, data, and technology sectors for some time. As a result of these efforts, the total digital users across all businesses under the Cathay Group now exceed 8.6 million. "The customer is the biggest winner of our transformative achievements. As we move forward, Cathay FHC will continue to embrace a consumer-centric strategy, an international perspective, and an open-minded attitude. By favoring collaboration over competition, we will continue to drive value for consumers with new and innovative approaches far into the future."

In addition to core financial technologies, this year's Conference explored novel innovations in service experiences and financial oversight, while also serving as a forum for advancing industry dialogue on technological integration and cultural inclusivity. While AI tools such as ChatGPT have emerged recently, Cathay FHC has invested in AI and digital technologies for several years, and the Group unveiled its first AI governance principles during the Conference. The Group also took the opportunity to announce strategic projects leveraging Federated Learning and Synthetic Data, which not only enhance the depth and breadth of data but also ensure data security and customer privacy. Lastly, Cathay FHC unveiled its new large language model with RAG (Retrieval Augmented Generation) that drives its cloud knowledge consultant platform, offering automated real-time Q&A services, such as design and evaluation topics for the three major public clouds.

In the blockchain realm, Cathay FHC has forged alliances across banking, property insurance, electric vehicles, and other industries to create synergies by leveraging the technology. Using cross-chain technology and integrating Oracle to connect real-world data outside of the blockchain, these partnerships have enabled data exchanges between different alliance chains, thereby developing more financial products and creating industry value. As the Group charges ahead, it is continuing to foster blockchain partnerships, including around digital assets and decentralized identity applications, and is embracing international alliances across domains to advance the industry and accelerate adoption of web3 technologies.

In the cloud space, Cathay FHC has developed a new generation of insurance cloud platform  Product Factory  that creates new insurance products and supports the speed of online digital channels. The technology uses microservice architecture and low-code, which provides high performance, high availability, and scalability to cater to the diverse needs of the digital age and provide policyholders with a more comprehensive, personalized insurance service. Additionally, Cathay FHC has ventured from finance to the medical field, creating the next-generation cloud-based electronic medical record platform iFHIR Center, which converts commonly used unstructured electronic medical records in hospitals to the international standard FHIR (Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources) format to facilitate medical information exchange. The iFHIR Center integrates cloud architecture, a microservice design, a case format conversion engine, an electronic medical record exchange, and top-notch data security. The Group's future direction will be to continue expanding cross-industry and cross-scenario applications, as a means of developing the financial-medical ecosystem and accelerating the transformation of the medical industry.

Cathay FHC took the lead in the entrepreneurial community to host the first tech conference organized by Taiwan's financial industry in 2020, focusing on fintech transformation and technological innovation. With significant acclaim from multiple parties, Cathay's four annual conferences to date have attracted tens of thousands of participants. This year's event saw the largest cooperative group lineup ever with over 10 tech-friendly Taiwan -based groups, and numerous fintech experts attended for face-to-face exchanges, making the event impactful for the finance industry  and raising the bar for technological integration and inclusivity.

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SOURCE Cathay Financial Holdings Co., Ltd.
CELEBRATION, Fla. , Oct. 5, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Celebration Health & Wellness Announces New Spa Coordinator Angelina Ginel .

A Central- Florida native with a personal connection to Celebration Health & Wellness Companies, Ginel looks to elevate the new Aesthetics division, providing the highest quality of care and ensuring patients feel valued and respected. After graduating from the University of Central Florida with a Bachelor of Science in Psychology, Ginel's passion for understanding and connecting to patients' emotions on a deeper level opened the door for an exceptional customer service experience.

"I am so grateful to have learned a deeper understanding of how closely psychology and aesthetics are intertwined, as both fields explore human perceptions, emotions, and preferences and are essential for providing effective customer support. Combining my knowledge in Psychology, customer service, and passion for aesthetics has been an absolute dream come true. Above all, I am dedicated to providing the highest quality of care and ensuring that my patients feel valued and respected every step of the way." Angelina Ginel

Age is inevitable, and our bodies and skin are constant reminders that help shape that mold. Celebration Health & Wellness Aesthetics provides treatments and solutions for anti-aging, women's wellness, skin complexion, clarity concerns, and more. "We are changing the narrative from anti-aging to pro-aging, giving women the space to feel confident in their own skin and bodies.", said David A. Marcantel , MD, FACOG. He continued, "The results we are seeing are incredibly exciting, and I could not be more thrilled to have Angelina as our Spa Coordinator to ensure that all our patients receive top-notch patient care.". To learn more about Celebration Health & Wellness Aesthetics or schedule a consultation, contact Angelina at 407-566-2255 or [email protected].

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SOURCE Celebration Health & Wellness
NEW YORK, Oct. 4 (Xinhua) -- The sixth annual China Now Music Festival kicked off on Wednesday with a captivating opening concert in New York City attended by the Bard East/West Ensemble and prominent virtuoso Wu Man, celebrating the theme of "The Bridge of Music."

This extraordinary concert, held at Rose Theater at Jazz at Lincoln Center Wednesday evening, brought together and cleverly combined various instruments and musical traditions from both the East and the West, showcasing the harmonious fusion of Chinese and Western cultures and backgrounds.

Jindong Cai, artistic director of the festival and conductor of the Bard East/West Ensemble, told Xinhua prior to the concert that this musical event aims to promote understanding and appreciation of the Chinese culture through contemporary Chinese music.

"By bringing instruments with different styles consisting of a Western string quintet and seven Chinese instruments including dizi, erhu, ruan, suona, and guzheng, as well as Chinese and Western percussion, audiences can experience this unprecedented clash of ideas and inspirations," said Cai, who is also director of the U.S.-China Music Institute of the Bard College Conservatory of Music.

Pipa virtuoso Wu, acclaimed for her mastery of the instrument, delivered a stunning performance of "King Chu Doffs His Armour" by Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Zhou Long.

Inspired by the poignant love story depicted in the film "Farewell My Concubine," and jointly performed with the Bard East/West Ensemble, the piece undoubtedly built a profound emotional connection with the audience.

"I would never miss any concert performances of conductor Jindong Cai, for only he can seamlessly blend traditional Chinese elements with contemporary concepts and he always brings magnificent music to New York audiences," Christine Walevska, a renowned U.S. classical cellist spotted in the audience section, excitedly told Xinhua.

Walevska revealed that she even pushed back the date of her planned trip to Argentina so that she could witness this incredible performance and the upcoming festival events over the weekend.

"Although I am not a music expert, it was easy to enjoy this performance, and the whole idea of performances playing together with Chinese and Western instruments is really touching and wonderful. Music is just the way cuisine is. It accurately represents the unifying concept of cultural exchange," said Shavon, another spectator from New York City. 
The company behind North America's No. 1 weather station brand continues its year-long commemoration in 2023

LAKE GENEVA, Wis. , Oct. 5, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Chaney Instrument Co. is celebrating 80 years in business throughout 2023. Started by John L. Chaney in 1943, Chaney Instrument Co. is still proudly headquartered in its founding city of Lake Geneva .

The company behind North America's No. 1 weather station brand celebrates 80 years in business.

To honor and celebrate this milestone, the company is releasing special vintage-inspired products related to its 80-year history, including a 7-inch replica of what was once the World's Largest Glass Thermometer that stood outside on Main St. in Lake Geneva in 1965.

Also included in the special product release are the Swizzle Stix, a set of four personal drink stirrer-thermometers originally created in the 1960s. And with a nod to current-day Chaney Instrument Co. products, an AcuRite Iris limited-edition, anniversary-branded Weather Station Box Set and holiday ornament round out the commemorative products.

"We're hoping these limited-run items spark excitement for not only local Lake Genevans , but our entire customer base and beyond," said Paul Shekoski , CEO. "We've collaborated with local historians and long-time employees to bring these fun throwback thermometers and momentous keepsake weather stations to market."

Before being most widely known for its AcuRite brand, Chaney Instrument Co. played a critical part in aiding U.S. Forces during World War II. Chaney and his colleagues, many being women due to men called overseas, utilized the Lake Geneva City Garage to build glass components for U.S. warships and explosives. Read more at AcuRite.com/80Years.

Today, Chaney Instrument Co.'s AcuRite brand is the top home weather station brand in North America . Part of Primex Family of Companies, Chaney Instrument Co. has been named a Best Place to Work seven years running, thanks to its values of customer obsession, getting things done, improving the business, mutual respect, and work/life balance.

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SOURCE Chaney Instrument Co.
CANONSBURG, Pa. , Oct. 5, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- CONSOL Energy Inc. (NYSE: CEIX) will issue its third quarter earnings release before the market opens on Tuesday, October 31, 2023 . The release will be followed by a conference call hosted by members of the management team at 10:00 a.m. Eastern Time . A live webcast will be accessible on the 'Investor Relations' page of its website, www.consolenergy.com. An archive of the webcast will be available for at least 30 days after the event.

Participants may also join the live webcast by telephone as follows.

Participant dial in (toll free) 1-877-226-2859 Participant international dial in 1-412-542-4134

Participants should ask to be joined into the CONSOL Energy Inc. earnings conference call.

CONSOL Energy Inc. (NYSE: CEIX) is a Canonsburg, Pennsylvania -based producer and exporter of high-Btu bituminous thermal coal and metallurgical coal. It owns and operates some of the most productive longwall mining operations in the Northern Appalachian Basin . CONSOL's flagship operation is the Pennsylvania Mining Complex , which has the capacity to produce approximately 28.5 million tons of coal per year and is comprised of 3 large-scale underground mines: Bailey Mine , Enlow Fork Mine , and Harvey Mine . CONSOL also developed the Itmann Mine in the Central Appalachian Basin , which has the capacity to produce roughly 900 thousand tons per annum of premium, low-vol metallurgical coking coal. The company also owns and operates the CONSOL Marine Terminal , which is located in the port of Baltimore and has a throughput capacity of approximately 20 million tons per year. In addition to the ~622 million reserve tons associated with the Pennsylvania Mining Complex and the ~28 million reserve tons associated with the Itmann Mining Complex , the company also controls approximately 1.4 billion tons of greenfield thermal and metallurgical coal reserves and resources located in the major coal-producing basins of the eastern United States . Additional information regarding CONSOL Energy may be found at www.consolenergy.com.

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SOURCE CONSOL Energy Inc.
TAIPEI , Oct. 5, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- D-Link Corporation is proud to announce that its AQUILA PRO AI AX3000 Wi-Fi 6 smart mesh system, including the M30 smart mesh router and MS30 Matter-compliant smart home gateway, has been honored with the prestigious 2023 Good Design Award. This recognition is a testament to D-Link's commitment to user-centric design and its dedication to delivering high-speed, seamless, and reliable whole-home Wi-Fi solutions to eliminate common pain points faced by users.

Designed to be the ideal centerpiece for modern smart homes, both the M30 and MS30 represent MIT (Made in Taiwan ) quality-assured smart mesh systems. Meticulously designed to offer a hassle-free Wi-Fi experience and elegantly blend with any decor, these devices elevate both aesthetics and connectivity, revolutionizing the smart home networking experience.

The MS30 introduces a unique hollow circular ring design, inspired by the graceful motion of spacecraft. This design symbolizes the heart of the home, reflecting the concept of harmonious family life. Drawing inspiration from the Aquila constellation, the M30 takes the form of a majestic eagle, symbolizing its lightning-fast speed. Both models ingeniously incorporate internal antennas into their unique designs, ensuring optimal signal transmission and reception through 360-degree spherical coverage. The versatile designs of the M30 and MS30 allow for horizontal placement or wall mounting, effortlessly integrating into any home environment while the textured finish adds elegance, enhancing device appearance.

Both M30 and MS30 are constructed with post-consumer recycled (PCR) materials and eco-packaging, reducing environmental impact. Furthermore, the unique feather-patterned ventilation design optimizes power consumption for greater energy efficiency while efficiently dissipating heat to ensure unparalleled performance and lightning-fast internet speeds.

"To enable smarter living, we are dedicated to innovative product design, aiming not only for functionality and sustainability but also to showcase technological beauty," said CJ Chang, CEO of D-Link Corporation. "D-Link will continue to deliver products that offer a superior user experience and enhance smart home connectivity."

For more information about the M30 smart mesh router, please visit www.dlink.com/en/products/m30-ax3000-wi-fi-6-smart-mesh-router

For more information about the MS30 smart home gateway, please visit www.dlink.com/en/consumer/products/home-networking/whole-home-wifi-systems/aquila-pro-ai

About The Good Design Award

Founded in 1957, the Good Design Award is a prestigious global design evaluation from Japan , known for recognizing products that enhance people's lives and society. The evaluation focuses on human, industrial, social, and temporal perspectives, acknowledging outstanding design achievements.

About D-Link

D-Link is a global leader in designing and developing networking and connectivity products and total solutions for consumers, small businesses, medium to large-sized enterprises, and service providers. From relatively modest beginnings in Taiwan , the company has grown into an award-winning global brand in 44 countries. Find out more about D-Link at www.dlink.com

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SOURCE D-Link Corporation
Industry leaders combine market-leading SIEM with an award-winning MDR solution to deliver faster and more effective threat detection and response

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. , Oct. 5, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Devo Technology, the cloud-native security analytics company, is announcing today that it's deepened its partnership with CyberMaxx, a tech-enabled cybersecurity company, to deliver market-leading managed detection and response (MDR) services to enterprises.

In Q2 of 2023, CyberMaxx's threat research team identified over 1,147 successful ransomware attacks, a 26% increase from Q1. Many security teams are grappling with increased and more sophisticated cyberattacks, which have also created a more complex environment that security teams have to manage. These factors, combined with the ongoing shortage of cyber talent, are prompting more organizations to turn to managed services to help them respond to and contain threats faster.

Through this partnership, CyberMaxx fully integrates Devo Intelligent SIEM with its MaxxMDR solution, which provides defensive services that can be combined with proactive offensive capabilities to give customers comprehensive security coverage. CyberMaxx will help security teams realize the full potential of Devo through an MDR model that optimizes data collection and threat detection, integrates 24x7x365 monitoring and response capabilities, and uses offensive security to drive continuous improvement.

"We are thrilled to strengthen our partnership with Devo, a security industry leader, after many years of successfully monitoring their SIEM on behalf of customers. A stronger commitment makes it easier for our customers to have comprehensive coverage," said Brian Ahern , CEO, CyberMaxx. "Our flexible deployment model for Devo gives customers greater control to run their security operations in the way that best suits them. With more and more customers desiring best-in-class technology paired with around-the-clock security coverage, Devo and CyberMaxx deliver a comprehensive engine for securing our customers' environments."

CyberMaxx gives customers the flexibility to choose how they engage with the MDR service. Devo customers can leverage a co-managed deployment while maintaining the ability to query security event data, build custom detection rules and access log files directly. CyberMaxx can also fully manage the detection and response process through a proprietary Devo license for customers who want a hands-off approach.

"We're proud to work with an industry-leading service partner such as CyberMaxx to secure our shared customers," said Marc van Zadelhoff , CEO, Devo. "CyberMaxx's innovative method of bringing offensive capabilities to fuel defensive monitoring gives a more complete approach to securing our customers' environments. Our customers can be confident that they're continually improving their security posture."

MSSP Alert recently named CyberMaxx one of the top 50 MSSP cybersecurity providers in its Top 250 MSSP 2023 report . Devo also offers award-winning technology, winning gold in the 2023 Cybersecurity Excellence Awards, and was recognized as the Most Comprehensive SIEM solution in the Global Infosec Awards hosted by Cyber Defense Magazine.

Learn more about CyberMaxx's MaxxMDR offering and how it can work with Devo here.

About CyberMaxx

CyberMaxx, LLC., founded in 2002, is a tech-enabled cybersecurity service provider headquartered in New York, NY . Through a comprehensive set of services, CyberMaxx empowers customers to Assess, Monitor, and Manage cyber risk and stay ahead of emerging threats. CyberMaxx expanded its capabilities through the 2022 acquisition of CipherTechs, an international cybersecurity company providing a complete cybersecurity portfolio across MDR Services, Offensive Security, Governance, Risk & Compliance, DFIR, and 3rd party security product sourcing.

About Devo

Devo is the only cloud-native security analytics platform that combines the power of people and intelligent automation to confidently defend expanding attack surfaces. An ally in keeping your organization secure, Devo augments security teams with AI  enabling you to continuously scale SOC efficiency, increase the speed of threat detection and response, and gain greater clarity to empower bold action, minimize risk, and maximize outcomes. Headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts , with operations in North America , Europe and Asia Pacific , Devo is backed by Insight Partners, Georgian, TCV, General Atlantic, Bessemer Venture Partners, Kibo Ventures and Eurazeo. Learn more at www.devo.com .

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SOURCE Devo Technology
CINCINNATI , Oct. 5, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- First Student, the industry leader in school transportation, is hitting the road again to promote safe bus behavior through its nationwide Safety Dog Bus Tour. The program uses fun and interactive activities to teach bus riding basics to elementary school students.

The Safety Dog Bus Tour kicks off October 5 in Warwick, Rhode Island , and will travel across North America during the 2023-24 school year. Some of the school districts First Student's safety mascot will visit include:

Andover Public Schools in Andover, Kan.

in Millcreek Township School District in Erie, Pa.

in Porterville Unified School District in Porterville, Calif.

in Memphis-Shelby County Schools in Memphis, Tenn.

in Warwick Public Schools in Warwick, R.I.

"At First Student, we are committed to providing the safest ride to school and home," said First Student Senior Vice President of Safety and Security Darryl Hill . "The Safety Dog Bus Tour teaches students effective safety tips in a memorable way, helping to ensure they feel comfortable and secure on our school buses. We look forward to delivering this important message in partnership with the school districts we serve."

School buses are the safest way for children to and from school. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, school buses are approximately 70 times safer than passenger cars.

During Safety Dog Bus Tour stops, students learn how to be a safe bus rider through various hands-on activities. They receive a safety demonstration on the school bus, sign a safety pledge, have a photo taken with Safety Dog and get a special gift bag to remember the information shared during the event.

There have been more than 45 stops on the Safety Dog Bus Tour to date. Nearly 14,000 students have signed the safety pledge.

About First Student

As a leading school transportation solutions provider in North America , First Student strives to provide the unmatched care and the safest ride to school. With a team of highly trained drivers and the industry's strongest safety record, First Student delivers reliable, quality services, including full-service transportation and management, special-needs transportation, fleet electrification, route optimization and scheduling, maintenance and charter services with a fleet of more than 44,500 buses.

Contact: Jen Biddinger

513.362.4600

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SOURCE First Student
CVS Health CEO Karen S. Lynch tops the 26th annual list for 3rd consecutive year, followed by Accenture CEO Julie Sweet , GM CEO Mary Barra

Global ranking of 100 leaders includes 53 newcomers to the list this year including OpenAI CTO Mira Murati , Skims and SKKY co-founder Kim Kardashian , and Coty CEO Sue Nabi , an openly transgender woman

Finance and tech industries lead the way with 20 women from each field, 18 from retail, 7 each from health care and energy

67 women CEOs on MPW list 2023; non- U.S. women on list include 9 from U.K. , 7 from Greater China , 6 from France , 4 from Australia , and 2 each from Spain , Brazil , India , and Germany

Cover of Fortune's 100 Most Powerful Women issue belongs to OpenAI's Murati

NEW YORK , Oct. 5, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, Fortune announced the 2023 edition of the Most Powerful Women in Business list, featuring established and rising leaders from around the globe. Now in its 26th year, the Most Powerful Women celebrates 100 leading business women representing industries including finance, tech, healthcare, telecom, retail, and energy, among others.

This year's list of the Most Powerful Women in business is the most comprehensive on record: It's the first time Fortune has had a single worldwide list honoring 100 women. The list's new global scope and bigger scale recognize the nature of top executives' workit spans the planetas well as the near-record number of women who are leading companies on the Fortune 500, the largest in the U.S. by revenue, and the Fortune Global 500, the largest companies in the world.

In total, the list features 67 women with a CEO title, some of whom only recently stepped into the corner office. Margherita Della Valle became CEO of British telecom Vodafone in April. Sandy Ran Xu took over Chinese e-commerce titan JD.com in May. Vanessa Hudson assumed the CEO job at Australia's flagship carrier Qantas in September. All are the first women to hold their respective jobs. Other women are making a major impact early in their careers, like 34-year-old Mira Murati , the Chief Technology Officer at OpenAI and Susan Li , Meta's CFO. Some other execs are leading the world's most valuable startups including Kim Kardashian , the co-founder of the $4 billion shapewear line Skims.

When CEOs step down, women are getting called to replace them in greater numbers. Fortune notes that in this year's first half, 106 CEOs worldwide left their jobs. Of the CEO replacements, 13% were women, up from 2.4% in 2018. Fortune writes: "The business world is demanding change, and women leaders are meeting the moment."

The Top 10 of the 2023 Fortune 100 Most Powerful Women in Business :

Karen S. Lynch , President and CEO, CVS Health ( U.S. ) Julie Sweet , Chair and CEO, Accenture ( U.S. ) Mary Barra , Chair and CEO, General Motors ( U.S. ) Jane Fraser , CEO, Citigroup ( U.S. ) Jessica Tan , Executive Director, Co-CEO, Ping An ( China ) Carol Tome, CEO, UPS ( U.S. ) Emma Walmsley , CEO, GSK ( U.K. ) Ruth Porat , President, CIO, CFO, Alphabet and Google ( U.S. ) Shemara Wikramanayake , Managing Director and CEO, Macquarie (Australia) Gail Boudreaux , President and CEO, Elevance Health ( U.S. )

For the third consecutive year, Karen S. Lynch , President and CEO of CVS Health, lands the #1 spot as the highest-ranking Fortune Global 500 (#11) company in the world led by a female chief executive. In the past year, CVS Health acquired primary care provider Oak Street Health and home health care specialist Signify Health for a total of $19 billion . The deals are part of a strategy accelerated with CVS Health's 2018 acquisition of insurer Aetnato transform the company formerly known as a drugstore chain and pharmacy benefit manager into a driving force in the healthcare sector.

Many of the women on the 2023 list will be speaking or attending Fortune's Most Powerful Women Summit in Laguna Niguel, CA October 9 - 11 .

About Fortune

FORTUNE upholds a legacy of award-winning writing and trusted reporting for executives who want to make business better. Independently owned, with a global perspective and digital agility, FORTUNE tells the stories of a new generation of innovators, builders, and risk takers. Online and in print, FORTUNE measures corporate performance through rigorous benchmarks, and holds companies accountable. FORTUNE creates communities by convening true thought leaders and iconoclasts  those who shape industry, commerce and society  through powerful and prestigious lists, events and conferences, such as the iconic Fortune 500, the CEO Initiative and Most Powerful Women. For more information, visit fortune.com .

Contact:

Patrick Reilly

[email protected]

Amy Galleazzi

[email protected]

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SOURCE Fortune Media (USA) Corporation
-A blockchain experience both efficient and cost effective-

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. , Oct. 4, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- FraXion, a leading blockchain project, is excited to announce the launch of its FraXion Token (FRXN) on the Polygon PoS blockchain. This strategic move marks a significant milestone for both FraXion and the Polygon protocols, offering users enhanced scalability and lowering transaction costs.

"This integration is enhancing efficiency and reduces costs, in turn, opens doors for a broader spectrum of investors."

The FraXion Token is a digital asset designed to empower decentralized finance (DeFi) applications and streamline transactions within the blockchain ecosystem. By integrating with the Polygon PoS blockchain, FraXion aims to provide Digital Asset Partners with faster, more cost-effective, and efficient blockchain transactions. FraXion's goal is to level the playing field for accredited investors who have been traditionally locked out of institutional-grade real estate investments due to very large minimum investment requirements. By aggregating investments as little as $25,000 from the accredited investor community, FraXion invests as a single investor on behalf of the Digital Asset Partners in the larger funds that require higher minimum investments.

"By FraXionalizing the overall size of the investment, the investment becomes much more accessible and affordable for non-institutional investors," says Demetrius Ford , Co-Founder of Randolph & Main Capital Group, LLC, creators of the FraXion Token. "Decentralization and access is what technology like the blockchain provides, and has the opportunity to transform the real estate investing landscape", Ford said.

FraXion has partnered with Tassets, a Silicon Valley -based leader in Asset Tokenization as a Service (ATaaS), to mint the FraXion tokens. "Tassets leverages cutting-edge Blockchain & A.I. technology solutions to transform real asset investing through Tokenized Asset Lifecycle Management (TALM) and Asset Tokenization as a Service (ATaaS). This partnership reflects our shared commitment to innovation within conventional private markets," said Founder & CEO Prashant Kalangi of Tassets Inc.

Since launching in February of 2023, FraXion has sold over 335,000 tokens offering 10% per annum with a 5-year maturity. The 506 Reg.D offering was programmed into the smart contracts with ERC-20 protocol and launched on the Polygon blockchain.

"It's very exciting to see projects like FraXion deploying on Polygon PoS, marking a significant step forward in democratizing real estate investment. This integration is enhancing efficiency and reduces costs, which in turn, opens doors for a broader spectrum of investors to engage with institutional-grade real estate opportunities," Colin Butler , VP of Institutional Capital at Polygon Labs.

Polygon Labs develops Ethereum scaling solutions for Polygon protocols. The existing Polygon PoS network is home for some of the biggest Web3 projects and allows developers to leverage the Polygon PoS network's ability for fast and secure transactions for decentralized apps.

Key benefits of the FraXion Token on the Polygon PoS blockchain include:

Scalability: Polygon PoS is known for its Ethereum scaling solutions, which significantly improves the speed of transactions. Fraxion Token holders can now experience near-instant confirmations and minimal network congestion.

Polygon PoS is known for its scaling solutions, which significantly improves the speed of transactions. Fraxion Token holders can now experience near-instant confirmations and minimal network congestion. Reduced Transaction Costs: The integration with Polygon PoS allows users to enjoy lower transaction fees compared to the Ethereum network, making it more accessible for a broader audience.

The integration with Polygon PoS allows users to enjoy lower transaction fees compared to the network, making it more accessible for a broader audience. Interoperability: FraXion's move to the Polygon PoS blockchain enhances its compatibility with a wide range of DeFi applications and services, enabling users to participate seamlessly in the expanding DeFi ecosystem.

FraXion's commitment to innovation and user experience drives this deployment on Polygon PoS. By embracing Polygon's robust infrastructure, FraXion seeks to provide users with a blockchain experience that is both efficient and cost-effective. To learn more about how FraXion is democratizing commercial real estate, visit www.fraxiontoken.io/invest.

Contact:

Tamara Washington | Executive Consultant

Boom Media and Image Consulting LLC.

[email protected]

832.455.0078 | cell

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SOURCE FraXion Token
Curated selection of fresh and timeless flavors now available at all 15 Company owned retail locations

Indoor grown, high-quality flower provides consumers with unique experiences and distinct flavor classes including Rare Gas, Rare Fruit, Rare Haze, and Rare Dessert

COSTA MESA, Calif. , Oct. 5, 2023 /PRNewswire/ - Gold Flora Corporation, ("Gold Flora" or the "Company") (NEO: GRAM), a leading vertically-integrated California cannabis company, today announced the launch of CURRENT, the Company's newest retail brand. CURRENT was developed to meet a market demand for curated craft flower that is flavor-focused.

Crafted in four distinct flavor classes included Rare Gas, Rare Fruit, Rare Haze, and Rare Dessert, CURRENT is now available at all 15 Gold Flora retail locations, including Airfield Supply Company, Caliva, Coastal, Calma, King's Crew, Varda, Higher Level, and Deli. To celebrate the launch, Gold Flora will be giving away branded swag and hosting in-store activations at select locations. Statewide third-party retail distribution is expected to commence in November 2023 .

"Current was inspired by the passion of cannabis connoisseurs and their endless search for new and rich flavors," said Phillip Hague , Chief Cultivation Officer of Gold Flora. "We are committed to growing not only high-quality indoor flower that celebrates flavor and experience but also utilizing our unique capabilities and leveraging our full vertical integration to push boundaries and innovate. This is just the beginning of our exploration into how we maximize the expression of these cultivars and we are incredibly excited about the ability to deliver our most flavorful finds with CURRENT."

Mr. Hague continued, "We are developing a full spectrum of products that can evolve to meet a diversified consumer base. By capitalizing on our balance of scale and craft  combined with our unique ability to understand consumer insights via our growing retail network, we can fully understand and act on what California consumers want, then grow it, package it, and distribute it with speed and confidence."

For more information on Gold Flora Corporation, visit: www.ir.goldflora.com.

About Gold Flora Corporation

Gold Flora Corporation is a female-led, vertically-integrated cannabis leader that owns and operates a robust portfolio of nine cannabis brands, which are sold through its 15 retail dispensaries and, through its Stately Distribution business, to retailers throughout California . Its retail operations include Airfield Supply Company, Caliva, Coastal, Calma, King's Crew, Varda, Deli, and Higher Level.

Gold Flora Corporation operates an indoor cultivation canopy of approximately 72,000 square feet across three facilities in its Desert Hot Springs campus. The Company can expand further adding approximately 240,000 square feet on already entitled additional acreage. Importantly this opportunity is unique and can be timed to meet market demand. The current 200,000 square-foot campus also houses the company's manufacturing and extraction facilities, as well as Stately Distribution. The centralized location provides for optimal security and logistic benefits and protects product as it moves though the Company's overall pipeline.

With hubs throughout the state, the Company distributes many prominent brands, including its own premium lines of Gold Flora, Monogram, Caliva, Mirayo by Santana, Cruisers, Roll Bleezy, Sword & Stoned, Aviation Cannabis, and Jetfuel Cannabis. Third party brands are increasingly contacting the Company in search of reliable input sources and established distribution.

References to information included on, or accessible through, websites and social media platforms do not constitute incorporation herein by reference of the information contained at or available through such websites or social media platforms, and the reader should not consider such information to be part of this press release.

For the latest news, activities, and media coverage, please visit www.goldflora.com.

Forward Looking Statements

This press release contains "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation and the safe harbor provisions of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements relate to the expectations or forecasts of business, operations, financial performance, prospects, and other plans, intentions, estimates and beliefs, and may include statements regarding Gold Flora's expected financial condition and performance, the current and projected market, and growth opportunities for the company. Words such as "expects," "continue," "will," "anticipates," and "intends," or similar expressions, are intended to identify forward-looking statements, although not all forward-looking statements contain these identifying words. These forwardlooking statements are based on Gold Flora's current projections and expectations about future events and financial trends that it believes might affect its financial condition, results of operations, prospects, business strategy and financial needs, and on certain assumptions and analysis made by it in light of the experience and perception of historical trends, current conditions and expected future developments and other factors it believes are appropriate. Forward-looking information and statements involve and are subject to assumptions and known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors which may cause actual events, results, performance, or achievements to be materially different from future events, results, performance, and achievements expressed or implied by forward looking information and statements herein. Although Gold Flora believes that any forward-looking information and statements herein are reasonable, in light of the use of assumptions and the significant risks and uncertainties inherent in such information and statements, there can be no assurance that any such forward-looking information and statements will prove to be accurate, and accordingly readers are advised to rely on their own evaluation of such risks and uncertainties and should not place undue reliance upon such forward-looking information and statements. Any forward-looking information and statements herein are made as of the date hereof and, except as required by applicable laws, Gold Flora does not assume any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking information or statements contained herein or to update the reasons that actual events or results could or do differ from those projected in any forward-looking information and statements herein, whether as a result of new information, future events or results, or otherwise.

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SOURCE Gold Flora Corporation
CMCC Global raised USD100m to launch a new venture capital fund that will empower entrepreneurs in Hong Kong and beyond to build innovative Web3 companies.

HONG KONG , Oct. 4, 2023 /PRNewswire/ - Hong Kong 's push towards Blockchain enabled Fintech and Web3 innovation received strong tailwind through a new fund that CMCC Global launched this week. CMCC Global, one of Asia 's earliest venture capital investors to entirely focus on blockchain technology and Web3 innovation, today announced the launch of a new venture fund that will empower entrepreneurs to build companies in the space. The fund, which invests into the equity of blockchain companies as opposed to digital assets, is called Titan Fund and will focus on early-stage start-up investments along the three key verticals of Infrastructure, Fintech, and Consumer applications such as gaming, metaverse and NFTs.

The Titan Fund has reached its fundraising target of USD100m in the first close and is supported by a number of world leading blockchain investors. The anchor investor is Block.one (B1), which committed USD50m to the fund, CMCC Global itself participates with a 15% GP commitment, alongside notable investors such as Richard Li 's Pacific Century Group, Hong Kong 's Jebsen Capital, Winklevoss Capital, alongside personal investments from notable innovators such as Yat Siu from Animoca Brands and other prominent blockchain entrepreneurs.

"CMCC Global has been one of the earliest venture capital investors in the industry and their team has built a strong track record in identifying future winners," said Brendan Blumer , founder of B1, Bullish and other notable blockchain companies. "At B1, we have developed and innovated on blockchain software solutions, pioneered scaling solutions and incubated new technologies that build trust and increase efficiencies in Web3. The Titan Fund shares these goals and will support a new generation of entrepreneurs as they build the next wave of leading companies in our industry."

To launch and run the fund, CMCC Global was joined by a new managing partner, Yen Shiau Sin , who joined from his previous role as Director, Strategic Investments at B1. Prior to his role at B1, Yen ran a Fintech fund for CLSA and began his career in investment banking (M&A) at UBS in Hong Kong and New York . The team is further complemented by Investment Principal Jonathan Cheung , who has joined the Titan Fund investment team from Brevan Howard Digital . CMCC Global's Co-founders Charlie Morris and Martin Baumann are co-managing the fund and sit on the investment committee.

The Titan Fund is an institutional grade fund with State Street as the fund administrator and EY as the auditor. The fund is managed by Fintech Investment Group Limited, a wholly owned Hong Kong based subsidiary of CMCC Global, which has been granted respective asset management licenses from Hong Kong 's Security and Futures Commission.

"We are excited to have B1 as the anchor investor in our Titan Fund," said Martin Baumann , co-founder of CMCC Global. "Having worked closely together for several years at various investment deals we have found tight alignment in our investment approach and numerous synergies through shared investments. B1 has been a pioneer in the digital asset space and this strategic investment in the Titan Fund will further our mission to accelerate innovation in blockchain technology and the digital asset ecosystem."

As part of this strategic investment, B1 will also become a minority shareholder in CMCC Global's holding entity which is backed by notable investors including Hong Kong tycoon Richard Li and Gemini Trust Co-founders Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss .

"Having B1 joining CMCC Global's holding company as part of this transaction will be a valuable addition to the cap table and will unlock strategic potential for both companies down the road," added Daniel Wong , who oversees the investment into CMCC Global's holding entity for Pacific Century Group.

"The Titan Fund will accelerate Web3 innovation in Hong Kong and beyond. CMCC Global and their team are known to be conviction driven investors that have identified numerous breakthrough innovators early on," added Yat Siu , founder of Animoca Brands, who received one of the first investments from the Titan Fund via a warehoused deal into his Mocaverse project. Other warehoused deals include the Hong Kong company Terminal 3, a blockchain-based digital identity company which was founded by Hong Kong entrepreneurs Gary Liu , Malcom Ong and Joey Liu . International deals warehoused for the fund include Informal Systems, founded by crypto veteran and Cosmos Co-founder Ethan Buchman , NFT ecommerce platform KickzMeta and its Mooncourt, as well as a San Francisco based Y-combinator team that has set out to revolutionize the tokenization process for enterprises and assets.

"The Titan Fund will empower great entrepreneurs to build the next wave of Web3 and blockchain powered fintech applications," added Cameron Winklevoss co-founder of Gemini. "The last five years have seen a set of new unicorn companies emerge, the next five to ten years will see this trend continue to accelerate as mainstream adoption of blockchain technology proliferates."

"With extremely high internet penetration and a relatively large unbanked population, Asia is primed to experience an explosion in consumer adoption of Web3 applications. Already, a third of global blockchain deals originate out of Asia today and this is a growing trend. Our Titan Fund is well positioned to capture value in the region," concluded Charlie Morris , who is Co-founder of CMCC Global and runs the North American business.

About CMCC Global

CMCC Global is one of Asia 's first venture capital companies focused solely on blockchain and Web3 investments. CMCC Global has an enviable record of investing early in leading projects such as Ethereum (ETH) at USD7 , Solana (SOL) at USD0.20 and Cosmos (ATOM) at USD0.10 . CMCC Global has reached assets under management (AUM) of over USD500 million across its funds and is known as a high-conviction investor. Today the company has offices in Asia , North America and Europe and operates several funds with different strategies including the CMCC Global Digital Asset Fund, the Titan Fund and its two funds of quantitative trading hedge funds Crest and SYZCrest.

More information can be found at www.cmcc.vc

About Titan Fund

Titan Fund offers accredited investors exposure to attractive growth opportunities within the blockchain ecosystem through a traditional equity venture capital investment strategy focusing on seed to series A/B along the key investment verticals of Infrastructure, Fintech and Consumer Applications. The Titan Fund is CMCC Global's latest fund strategy and complements its Digital Asset Funds, which have been investing directly into protocols and digital assets since 2016, and its Crest family of funds that invests into crypto quant funds.

More information can be found at www.titan.fund

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SOURCE CMCC Global
Shows will help raise funds to house internally displaced by earthquake in Syria .

MISSION VIEJO, Calif. , Oct. 5, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- International humanitarian aid charity Human Appeal announced the launch of its annual Comedy Takeover, set to take place across six US cities for the first time.

This year, the much-loved comedy tour, now in its ninth successful year in the UK , also takes place in the US cities of Houston , Dallas , Chicago , Detroit , Washington DC , and New York .

Featuring comedians Vik Pandaya, Azeem Muhammed , Jeremy McLellan , Yasmin Elhady and headlined by the award-winning Guz Khan , the tour provides some much-needed pre-festive cheer, while also raising funds for worthy international causes. This year, the tour proceeds will go to benefit Human Appeal's projects to house internally displaced families in Syria , following this year's devastating earthquake and the ongoing conflict in the region.

Best known for his appearances in Taskmaster and Our Flag Means Death as well as creating and starring in Netflix's Man like Mobeen, Guz Khan is a multi-award-winning veteran of the UK comedy circuit.

Missouri -born Azeem Muhammad is one of the best travelled comics to take part in the Comedy Takeover, having performed in over 35 countries worldwide as well as being a founder of the Allah Made Me Funny comedy troupe.

Named a "Yes, AndLaughter Lab" finalist in 2022 for her comedy and social justice Yasmin Elhady is a comedian and attorney who has featured on NBC's True Story with Ed Helms and Randall Park , as well as appearing on NPR, and The Washington Post.

Named one of the 'New Faces of Comedy' and the Montreal Just for Laughs Festival in 2017, Jeremy McLellan is a Christian South Carolinian who has carved out a niche for himself touring Muslim events and festivals all over the world.

Vik Pandaya is a nationally touring standup, who has opened for Trevor Wallace , Roy Wood Jr ., and Michelle Wolf and performs regularly at Zanies Comedy Club, The Laugh Factory, and The Improv in Chicago .

US tour dates include:

28th October  Houston , Zilkha Hall

29th October  Dallas , Lakeside Ballroom , Hilton Lincoln Center

4th November  Chicago, Edlis Neeson Center

5th November  Detroit , The Senate Theater

11th November  Washington DC , Lisner Auditorium

12th November  New York , Gerald W Lynch Theater

Tickets are now available here. Early bird tickets are available for a limited time only at $20 .

Zaheer Khan , Director of Fundraising at Human Appeal comments, "The Comedy Takeover is a real festive fixture on the calendar in the UK and we are thrilled to be bringing it to the United States . It's an ambitious set of cities to take on but we know that these comedians can not only bring the funny  they can also provide a brilliant night out which also benefits some of the most vulnerable people across the globe."

About Human Appeal USA

Here for Every Human. Human Appeal is a non-profit organisation working across the globe to strengthen humanity's fight against poverty, social injustice and natural disaster. Through the provision of immediate relief and the establishment of self-sustaining development programmes, we aim to save and transform lives.

Human Appeal USA is a 501 (c) (3) non-profit organization.

Tax ID # 87-2410117. Your donations are tax deductible.

Human Appeal Inc. 26050 Acero, Suite 415, Mission Viejo, CA 92691, USA .

Tel: +1 949 569 9060 or 877 225 2251

For more information please visit: humanappealusa.org

Or contact [email protected]

Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2239596/Human_Appeal.jpg

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SOURCE Human Appeal
LOS ANGELES, Oct. 5 (Xinhua) -- After walking into a jewelry store on El Monte's Main Street in California, a man dressed in all black took out a hammer and started breaking the cases inside trying to rob. The store's owners and workers jumped in to stop the would-be robber.

The robbery attempt ended up being a failure, yet the owner of the shop complained, "We pay taxes, we're good citizens... We just want laws to protect us, to protect the business, to protect regular citizens," reported Fox11 news.

This is not a unique incident. As a matter of fact, such chaotic phenomena were massively exposed by the media, prompting the creation of an ironic phrase -- "zero-dollar shopping," which does not refer to a store planning for a big auction or a big sale, but someone pushing a full shopping cart and swaggering out of the store without checking out.

Over the past few years, many U.S. chain stores like Target and Walmart have been troubled by the so-called "zero-dollar shopping."

Target has not said how much loss it suffered due to stealing last year but only said it climbed by 750 million dollars, and organized retail crime will fuel 500 million dollars more in stolen and lost merchandise this year compared with a year ago, CNBC reported in May.

Nor did luxury retailers escape from "zero-dollar shopping."

About 30 to 40 thieves broke into a Yves Saint Laurent store, a luxury retailer in Glendale, California in August, stealing an estimated 300,000 dollars worth of merchandise, and then escaping in multiple get-away cars. A similar-sized mob stormed a Nordstrom store in Los Angeles in the same month, lifting an estimated 100,000 dollars worth of merchandise, according to Forbes magazine.

California has seen a surge in "zero-dollar shopping," according to the Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC), a California-based think tank in September.

Last year, the state saw a 28.7-percent jump in shoplifting from the rate of the pandemic years, and the rate of commercial burglary is 15.7 percent higher than that in 2019, according to a report released by PPIC. The report also said that the commercial robbery rate had increased by 13.3 percent since 2019, with an uptick of 9.1 percent in 2022.

The lawless actions can be traced back to the passage of Proposition 47 (Prop 47), named The Safe Neighborhoods and Schools Act in 2014. It is a California ballot initiative, under which theft of less than 950 dollars in goods is treated as a nonviolent misdemeanor rather than a felony and rarely prosecuted.

Prop 47, once promised to save money on costly incarceration and spend the savings on mental health and education programs, eventually backfired. Because the "misdemeanor" will most probably be dismissed by the judge out of concerns for safety and potential lawsuits, employees and security guards in many stories do not intervene when they witness a crime.

"The problem now... is that, people who are drug addicted, who have mental health issues, they candidly will go into stores and they will steal," said the New York Post, citing Rachel Michelin, president of the California Retailers Association.

Former U.S. President Donald Trump recently voiced his view about "zero-dollar shopping."

"We will immediately stop all of the pillaging and theft. Very simply: If you rob a store, you can fully expect to be shot as you are leaving that store," he said Friday during a speech to California Republicans.

As alarming as his words are, the "zero-dollar shopping" problem is real not only in California, but also in the whole country.

Losses from retail crime ticked up in 2022, according to a survey released by the National Retail Federation (NRF) in September. External theft, including organized retail crime, caused 36 percent of total losses, the survey said.

"Retailers are seeing unprecedented levels of theft coupled with rampant crime in their stores, and the situation is only becoming more dire," said David Johnston, NRF's vice president, in a statement.

Though California has toughened penalties and launched an information-sharing partnership with a number of large retailers, it seems that more actions need to be taken to address the problem nationwide. 
MCALESTER, Okla. , Oct. 5, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The Joint Munitions Command (JMC), Rafael Advanced Defense Systems (RADS), Rafael Systems Global Sustainment (RSGS), and McAlester Army Ammunition Plant (MCAAP), have signed a Basic Order Agreement (BOA) to jointly advance the production of the cutting-edge Spike missile system.

This partnership underscores the value and capabilities the organic industrial base has to offer. Leveraging the expertise and resources of both organizations provides significant value to the Army and supports Army Readiness.

The 5th Generation Spike electro-optical guided missile system, renowned for its precision, versatility, and reliability, stands as a testament to the ingenuity and engineering prowess of Rafael Advanced Defense Systems. Through their United States subsidiary Rafael Systems Global Sustainment, they are joining forces with the Joint Munitions Command. "We look forward to further enhancing the production, deployment, and sustainment of this advanced weaponry," said RSGS President and CEO Joe Anderson .

The collaborative efforts between JMC, MCAAP, RADS and RSGS will not only provide a critical capability to our Warfighters, but also enhances and maintains critical skillsets to meet the Army of 2030 and beyond.

The U.S. Army leverages Public-Private Partnerships (P3) to preserve the Organic Industrial Base (OIB) and ensure Soldiers have what they need, when they need it. P3 agreements are arrangements between government agencies, or between government agencies and industry or educational partners, to provide products, services and research and development. P3 agreements can also be used to secure use of facilities or equipment for the partners.

Rafael Systems Global Sustainment (RSGS) LLC, founded in 2019, is a U.S. proxy company subsidiary and authorized broker for Rafael Advanced Defense Systems in Israel . The RSGS mission is to serve the North American market and deliver tested and proven technical solutions along with sustainment support that closes capability gaps for the U.S. Government and critical commercial sector enterprises. The company's primary objective is to Americanize Rafael's technologies along three lines of effort: IP and data storage, manufacturing and engineering. The company is organized into three business units: the Spike Family of Missiles, Homeland Security Solutions and Air and Missile Defense/Counter UAS.

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SOURCE Rafael Systems Global Sustainment
Through the support and vision of its leadership, UAE demonstrates latest technology and innovation to capture low wind speeds at utility scale

Inauguration of the UAE's first wind farms across four locations, with total combined capacity of over 100 megawatts, powering over 23,000 homes and displacing 120,000 tonnes of CO2 per year

Development marks debut of large scale, utility wind power on the UAE's electricity grid, diversifying the country's energy mix and advancing its energy transition  unlocking the new potential of wind

By working with global technology leaders and turbine manufacturers, the UAE is paving the way for commercialization of further utility scale, low-wind speed projects

ABU DHABI , UAE , Oct. 5, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Under the directives of the UAE President, His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan , HH Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan , Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Chairman of Abu Dhabi Executive Council, inaugurated the UAE Wind Program.

The 103.5 megawatt (MW) landmark project developed by Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company PJSC  Masdar, demonstrates for the first time the latest technology and innovation to capture low wind speeds at utility scale, adopting advances in material science and aerodynamics to make wind power possible in the country. The project marks the debut of cost-effective, large scale, utility wind power on the UAE's electricity grid, diversifying the country's energy mix and advancing its energy transition.

The UAE Wind Program is expected to power over 23,000 UAE homes a year. It will displace 120,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide, equivalent of removing over 26,000 cars from the road annually. The development underscores the UAE's commitment to tackling climate change as it looks forward to hosting an inclusive COP that focuses on delivering results.

The project spans four locations including the picturesque Sir Bani Yas Island , Abu Dhabi , which is home to free-roaming wildlife. A 45 MW capacity wind farm plus 14 MWp (megawatt peak) solar farm has been developed on the island. The other wind farm locations include the historical pearl-diving center, Delma Island (27MW) in Abu Dhabi , Al Sila , Abu Dhabi (27MW) and Al Halah, Fujairah (4.5MW).

HH Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan attended the inauguration ceremony held on Sir Bani Yas Island , where he witnessed the signing of a landmark Power Purchase Agreement between EWEC (Emirates Water and Electricity Company) and Masdar for the wind power generation from the Sir Bani Yas Island , Al Sila , and Delma Island projects. With the addition of wind power, EWEC's portfolio now encompasses multiple sources of strategic green energy, solidifying the UAE's energy transition leadership.

The event was also attended by H.E. Dr. Sultan Al Jaber , UAE Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology, Chairman of Masdar and COP28 President-Designate; H.E. Eng . Awaidha Al Marar, Chairman of the Abu Dhabi Department of Energy; Mr Chen Guanfu , President of PowerChina International; and Mr Wu Kai , Chairman of Goldwind Group. PowerChina was the main Engineering, Procurement and Construction contractor for the program and GoldWind Group was the main supplier of equipment.

H.E. Dr. Sultan Al Jaber , UAE Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology, COP28 President-Designate and Chairman of Masdar, said, "The UAE Wind Program is a great source of national pride and a demonstration of Masdar's ability to pioneer and implement innovations in wind and renewable energy technologies. More than twenty years ago, before Masdar was created however, His Highness Sheikh Zayed , our founding father, someone who cared deeply about the environment, oversaw the completion of a wind turbine on Sir Bani Yas Island . As the UAE's clean energy powerhouse, Masdar continues this legacy by supporting the nation's vision as a global leader in sustainability and climate action as it unlocks the new potential of wind power. For a viable energy transition, the world must triple renewable energy capacity by 2030 to meet the Paris Agreement goals. As we look forward to hosting COP28 , today's inauguration shows the UAE's firm commitment to this target, boosting clean energy investments both at home and abroad."

The project marks the first time that the UAE has added utility-scale wind power to its energy mix. Energy generated by landmark solar, nuclear and waste-to-energy plants already feeds into the UAE's national grid and earlier this month the country was recognized as a world leader in solar energy use, according to the latest data from The Energy Institute Statistical Review of World Energy.

Mohamed Jameel Al Ramahi , Masdar's Chief Executive Officer, said: "As the UAE's flagship renewable energy company, this is an incredibly proud moment for Masdar. Today's launch of the UAE's first utility-scale wind program is the result of years of hard work and collaboration. It would not have been possible without the vision and the unstinting support of the UAE's leadership, we were able to pioneer cutting-edge technology to overcome the UAE's low wind speeds and harness the power of this formidable natural resource. As we accelerate our path to Net Zero by 2050, the UAE wind program shows that anything is possible when you have vision, passion and a pioneering spirit."

Previously wind energy was not viable due to low wind speeds in the UAE , but innovations within climate technology and UAE -led expertise made wind power possible. Bigger turbine sizes, lower hardware prices and the discovery of a unique weather phenomenon that generated high winds at night made this project scalable and economically viable. As wind power is strongest at night in the UAE this complements the country's existing solar power generation, further diversifying the nations renewable energy mix.

By working with global technology leaders and turbine manufacturers, this project is paving the way for the commercialization of further utility scale, low-wind speed projects. The project is creating a foundation of critical scientific wind data, which will form the basis of the UAE's next phase of development.

Led by its founding CEO and now COP28 President-Designate, Dr Sultan Al Jaber , Masdar has been pioneering clean energy since 2006. A decade ago, the company launched the 100 MW Shams project, which was the first concentrated solar power plant to be developed in the Middle East . In Indonesia, Masdar is at the final stages of developing the Cirata Floating Solar Plant, Southeast Asia's largest floating solar plant. While earlier this year, the Sharjah Waste to Energy plant in the UAE recorded that it had processed over 100,000 tonnes of waste and offset over 150,000 tonnes of carbon emissions since it began operations a year ago. The region's first waste-to-energy plant is a joint venture between Masdar and BEEAH group, the Middle East's sustainability pioneer.

Masdar is active in more than 40 countries and has invested in a portfolio of renewable energy projects with a combined capacity of more than 20 GW. Masdar is committed to achieving at least 100 GW total renewable energy capacity by 2030.

This material is distributed by Daniel J. Edelman, Inc. on behalf of Masdar. Additional information is available at the Department of Justice, Washington, DC .

Contacts:

For media inquiries, please contact: [email protected]

For more information please visit: http://www.masdar.ae and connect: facebook.com/masdar.ae and twitter.com/masdar

About Masdar

Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company (Masdar) is the UAE's clean energy champion and one of the largest companies of its kind in the world, advancing the development and deployment of renewable energy and green hydrogen technologies to address global sustainability challenges. Established in 2006, Masdar is today active in over 40 countries, helping them to achieve their clean energy objectives and advance sustainable development. Masdar is jointly owned by Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC), Mubadala Investment Company (Mubadala), and Abu Dhabi National Energy Company (TAQA), and under this ownership the company is targeting a renewable energy portfolio capacity of at least 100 gigawatts (GW) by 2030 and an annual green hydrogen production capacity of up to 1 million tonnes by the same year.

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SOURCE Masdar
WINDHAM, N.H. , Oct. 5, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- MD Esthetics Group is excited to announce the signing of their first franchise located in Groton, Massachusetts . This practice is part of the growing premier MD Esthetics brand which has three corporate locations in New Hampshire and Massachusetts .

MD Esthetics Groton is owned and operated by a group combining medical and technology backgrounds. Dr. Genevieve Garris of Orange Blossom Dental and Elizabeth Dwinell a Registered Nurse/Oncology Researcher provide the medical knowledge set and are joined by two technology executive Carmen Andreoli and Corey Beale . This team decided to open a brand focused on creating an elevated patient experience while helping patients feel confident.

MD Esthetics Groton will offer services ranging from facial optimization using dermal fillers and neurotoxin, CO2 laser treatments, laser hair removal, pigment and vascular lesion reduction and tattoo removal. The clinical team is comprised of providers with many years of medical aesthetics experience and master level certifications.

The soft launch of MD Esthetics Groton is November 1, 2023 with a grand opening scheduled for November 16 th at 489 Main St Suite B in Groton, MA. Appointments can be scheduled by calling 781.429.3568. For more information visit MDEstheticsus.com/Groton or follow on Instagram @mdesthetics.groton for the latest news and updates.

Dr. Pedro , CEO and Medical Director of the MD Esthetics brand, shared "We are very excited for the launch of our first franchise location and the partnership we've developed. We believe the leadership experience and clinical expertise of the owners of MD Esthetics, Groton , will ensure both the best medical esthetics practices and world-class business operations are brought to the Groton region."

About (MD Esthetics): MD Esthetics Group, LLC is led by Michael Pedro , MD, a board-certified anesthesiologist, inventor of the SuperNOVA and SuperNO2VA devices, serial entrepreneur and most recently the Chief Medical Officer for Vyaire Medical, a global leader in the respiratory medical device space. Michael Goss is responsible for leading the financial strategy across MD Esthetics Group. His background spans more than 20 years of financial experience and executive leadership in both public and private companies including Care.com, Coravin and Aspen Technologies.

MD Esthetics is a renowned medical spa specializing in skincare solutions. With a team of experienced professionals and state-of-the-art technology, they offer personalized solutions to help individuals regain confidence and enhance their well-being. Featuring: Laser Hair Removal, CoolSculpting, Dermal Fillers, Facial Optimization, and more! MD Esthetics represents the area's highest-quality treatments and customer service.

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SOURCE MD Esthetics Group
WASHINGTON , Oct. 5, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- NASA will provide coverage of the upcoming prelaunch and launch activities for its Psyche mission to a metal-rich asteroid. Launch is targeted for 10:16 a.m. EDT Thursday, Oct. 12 , on a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket from Launch Complex 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida .

Live launch coverage without commentary will begin at 9:15 a.m. EDT on the NASA Television media channel. The live launch broadcast with commentary will begin at 9:30 a.m. , and will air on YouTube, X, Facebook, Twitch, Daily Motion, the NASA app, and the agency's website. NASA TV's public channel will be airing coverage of a spacewalk outside the International Space Station .

Prior to launch, NASA will hold a mission and science briefing at 12 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 10 , and a prelaunch news conference at 1 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 11 . Watch coverage on NASA TV, the NASA app, and the agency's website at:

https://www.nasa.gov/nasatv

NASA is sending the spacecraft to an asteroid named Psyche, which orbits the Sun between Mars and Jupiter, to learn how Earth and other rocky planets formed. This will be the first mission to an asteroid with substantial amounts of metal, as previous missions have explored asteroids made mostly of rock or ice. The asteroid Psyche may be part of the interior of a planetesimal, a building block of a rocky planet. By studying it, scientists seek to determine whether the asteroid was a planetary core.

Attached to the Psyche spacecraft is a technology demonstration, NASA's Deep Space Optical Communications. This experiment will test the ability of lasers to transmit data at increased rates beyond the Moon. High-bandwidth optical communications to Earth will be tested during the first two years of the spacecraft's journey to Psyche. While the optical communications demonstration is hosted by Psyche, its transceiver will not relay Psyche mission data.

Full coverage of this mission is as follows (all times Eastern):

Tuesday, Oct. 10

9:30 a.m.  One-on-one media interviews at Kennedy with various mission subject-matter experts. Sign-up information will be emailed to media accredited to attend this launch in person.

12 p.m.  Psyche Mission and Science Briefing on NASA TV with the following participants:

Lori Glaze , Planetary Science Division director, NASA Headquarters

, Planetary Science Division director, Headquarters Lindy Elkins-Tanton , Psyche principal investigator, Arizona State University

, Psyche principal investigator, Ben Weiss , Psyche deputy principal investigator and magnetometer lead, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

, Psyche deputy principal investigator and magnetometer lead, David Oh , Psyche chief engineer for operations, NASA 's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL)

, Psyche chief engineer for operations, 's (JPL) Abi Biswas , Deep Space Optical Communications project technologist, JPL

Media may request the news conference dial-in number and passcode by contacting the Kennedy newsroom no later than one hour prior to the start of the call at [email protected]. Members of the public also may ask questions, which may be answered in real time during the segment, by using #AskNASA on social media. On-site media previously credentialed may attend the briefing in person or via telephone.

Wednesday, Oct. 11

1 p.m.  Psyche Prelaunch News Conference on NASA TV with the following participants:

NASA Associate Administrator Bob Cabana

Associate Administrator Nicola Fox , associate administrator, NASA 's Science Mission Directorate

, associate administrator, 's Tim Dunn , senior launch director, NASA 's Launch Services Program

, senior launch director, 's Launch Services Program Julianna Scheiman , director, Civil Satellite Missions, SpaceX

, director, Civil Satellite Missions, Henry Stone , Psyche project manager, JPL

, Psyche project manager, JPL Arlena Moses , launch weather officer, U.S. Space Force

Media may request the news conference dial-in number and passcode by contacting the Kennedy newsroom no later than one hour prior to the start of the call at [email protected]. Members of the public also may ask questions, which may be answered in real time during the segment, by using #AskNASA on social media. On-site media may attend the briefing in person or via telephone.

2:30 p.m.  NASA Social Panel livestream at Kennedy . Watch live on YouTube and Facebook.

5 p.m.  NASA EDGE will host the Psyche rollout show live on NASA TV and YouTube.

Thursday, Oct. 12

9:15 a.m.  Live launch coverage without commentary begins on NASA TV media channel.

9:30 a.m.  Live launch coverage with commentary begins on YouTube, X, Facebook, Twitch, Daily Motion, the NASA app, and the agency's website.

For NASA TV downlink information, schedules, and links to streaming video, visit:

https://www.nasa.gov/nasatv

NASA Website Launch Coverage

Launch day coverage of NASA's Psyche mission will be available on the agency's website. Coverage will include blog updates and livestreaming beginning no earlier than 8 a.m. Streaming video and photos of the launch will be available shortly after liftoff. Images of Psyche's processing and launch are available online.

Follow countdown coverage on the Psyche launch blog at:

https://blogs.nasa.gov/psyche

Audio Only Coverage

Audio only of the news conferences and launch coverage will be carried on the NASA "V" circuits, which may be accessed by dialing 321-867-1220, -1240, or -7135. On launch day, "mission audio," countdown activities without NASA TV launch commentary, will be carried on 321-867-7135 beginning at 9:15 a.m.

Attend Launch Virtually

Members of the public can register to attend the Psyche launch virtually. NASA's virtual guest program for this mission includes curated launch resources, notifications about related opportunities or changes, and a stamp for the agency's virtual guest passport following a successful launch.

Watch, Engage Online

Let people know you're following the mission to a metal world. On Facebook, Instagram, and X, use the hashtag #MissionToPsyche and #AskNASA. You can also stay connected by following and tagging these accounts:

Facebook: NASA, NASAKennedy, NASAJPL, NASALSP, NASASolarSystem

Instagram: @NASA, @NASAKennedy, @NASAJPL, @NASASolarSystem

X: @NASA, @NASAKennedy, @NASASocial, @NASAJPL, @NASA_LSP, @NASASolarSystem

The spacecraft will travel almost six years, using a solar electric propulsion system and a gravity assist at Mars, to make the 2.2-billion-mile (3.6-billion-kilometer) journey to the asteroid. When it arrives, the spacecraft will orbit and observe the asteroid for about 26 months using a suite of instruments, including a multispectral imager, gamma-ray and neutron spectrometer, and magnetometer.

The Psyche mission is led by Arizona State University. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of Caltech in Pasadena, California , is responsible for the mission's overall management, system engineering, integration and test, and mission operations. Maxar Technologies in Palo Alto, California , provided the high-power solar electric propulsion spacecraft chassis. NASA's Launch Services Program, based at Kennedy , is managing the launch service. Psyche is the 14th mission selected as part of NASA's Discovery Program, managed by the agency's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama .

JPL manages Deep Space Optical Communications for the Technology Demonstration Missions program within NASA's Space Technology Mission Directorate and the Space Communications and Navigation program within the agency's Space Operations Mission Directorate.

For more information about Psyche, visit:

https://www.nasa.gov/psyche/

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SOURCE NASA
IPSWICH, Mass. , Oct. 5, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Named in honor of the founder and first Chief Executive Officer of New England Biolabs (NEB), Donald Comb, this annual lectureship recognizes those who have pioneered basic research, with substantial impact on molecular biology, to address issues affecting the world at large.

This year's honoree is Jo Handelsman , the Director of the Wisconsin Institute for Discovery at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. A renowned microbiologist who is known for coining the term "metagenomics," Dr. Handelsman seeks to understand how microorganisms cooperate with and antagonize each other. To this end, Dr. Handelsman's lab studies model microbial communities, enabling them to isolate individual microbial interactions  otherwise impossible within the complex web of a native microbiome. Further, her lab has pioneered the use of functional metagenomics to study antibiotic resistance determinants in unculturable microbial communities from the moth gut to soil in the remote reaches of Alaska . Dr. Handelsman's work has also described how microbiomes impact and interact with their hosts, such as the relationship between plants and their soil microbiota. Dr. Handelsman has co-authored over 200 scientific articles and 6 books on teaching, as well as a new book A World Without Soil (2021) detailing the global soil erosion crisis. She is also an advocate for STEM education and increasing diversity and inclusion in the sciences through her worldwide organization Tiny Earth , which creates accessible antibiotic discovery research experiences.

In recognition of these accomplishments, Dr. Handelsman has been elected to the National Academy of Sciences, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and the National Academy of Inventors. She also received the Presidential Award for Excellence in Science, Mathematics, and Engineering Mentoring from President Obama in 2011. In addition to her roles at UW-Madison, Dr. Handelsman also served as science advisor to President Obama in her role as Associate Director for Science in the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy from 2014-17.

"Dr. Handelsman is a worthy recipient of the Donald G. Comb Memorial Lectureship," said Thomas C. Evans , Jr., Ph.D. and Executive Director of Research at NEB. "Her work in functional genomics and microbial science embodies NEB's core values of collaboration, scientific mentorship and rigorous scientific work."

The Donald G. Comb Memorial Lectureship will take place at NEB Headquarters in Ipswich, MA , on October 12th, 2023 , at 11AM ET . Visit our registration page to participate in the livestream event.

In 1974, NEB was founded as a cooperative of scientists, with the aim of developing research tools to accelerate basic science, while using the profits to fund its own basic research program. Fifty years later, basic research remains a priority, with over 30 laboratories working in areas, including enzyme analysis and engineering, epigenetics, RNA biology and parasitology. To learn more about NEB's research program, visit www.neb.com/research.

About New England Biolabs

New England Biolabs, Inc. is the industry leader in the discovery and production of enzymes for molecular biology applications and now offers the largest selection of recombinant and native enzymes for genomic research. NEB continues to expand its product offerings into areas related to PCR, gene expression, library preparation for next generation sequencing, cellular analysis, epigenetics and RNA analysis. Additionally, NEB is focused on strengthening alliances that enable new technologies to reach key market sectors. New England Biolabs is a privately held company, headquartered in Ipswich, MA , and has extensive worldwide distribution through a network of exclusive distributors, agents and eight subsidiaries located in Australia , Canada , China , France , Germany , Japan , Singapore , and the UK . For more information about New England Biolabs visit www.neb.com.

NEW ENGLAND BIOLABS and NEB are registered trademarks of New England Biolabs, Inc.

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SOURCE New England Biolabs
Founded by healthcare leader Deepthi Bathina , chaired by AI entrepreneur Dr. Romesh Wadhwani , with an initial funding of $50M by enterprise AI investment company SAIGroup, RhythmX AI will address nearly $4T spent annually on chronic conditions

PALO ALTO, Calif. , Oct. 5, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- SAIGroup announced the funding and launch of RhythmX AI, a generative AI-native precision care company building a platform to free up doctors to deliver hyper-personalized patient care. RhythmX AI delivers to doctors advanced generative AI capabilities and predictive AI algorithms based on extensive longitudinal data. These provide patient-specific prescriptive actions and recommendations doctors can drill into using a generative AI-enabled natural language interface and AI-native copilots.

"It's time to apply AI to the massive challenges doctors and hospital systems face in providing the best treatments for patients," said Dr. Romesh Wadhwani , founder and CEO of SAIGroup and recently honored on the inaugural TIME100 AI list. "SAIGroup's strategy of combining deep domain expertise with advanced AI has a successful track record with SymphonyAI and ConcertAI and will do the same with RhythmX AI. The rapidly growing team at RhythmX AI has the right assets, data, AI expertise, and the right capital and leadership to solve these barriers."

RhythmX AI's platform works in concert with existing healthcare systems. The data and rationale behind AI-enabled recommendations are explained, summarized, and presented in a single workflow. RhythmX AI's models will tap into various assets of SAIGroup including longitudinal data related to 300 million patients, more than 4.4 billion total annual claims, and more than 1.8 million healthcare professionals at more than 300 thousand facilities. The company will continue to expand its network of data sources as the range of chronic and acute conditions covered in the platform increases.

"Providing the right care at the right time to the right patient is more challenging than ever," said RhythmX AI CEO Deepthi Bathina , former chief clinical product officer at Humana. "Chronic conditions absorb nearly 90% of healthcare spending in the U.S. That's exacerbated by a shortage of physicians who in turn face increasingly high expectations to deliver integrated care above and beyond their current load. This is where we need to focus new AI technologies, as we help doctors operate at the top of their license each day."

The RhythmX AI team includes clinical leaders, operators and healthcare and technology experts. Additionally, RhythmX AI is also building a clinical advisory board with progressive visionary leaders in the healthcare industry with deep leadership experience in various areas including clinical, strategy, operations and innovation. The inaugural clinical advisory board which will be providing strategic guidance to RhythmX AI includes:

Gregg Meyer , MD, MSc President of Community Division and Executive Vice President of Value-based Care at Mass General Brigham

, MD, MSc President of Community Division and Executive Vice President of Value-based Care at Sunny Bhatia, MD, CEO of Prime Healthcare , Region I, and Corporate Chief Medical Officer for all Prime Health locations

, Region I, and Corporate Chief Medical Officer for all locations Jordan Asher, MD, MS, Executive Vice President and Chief Clinical Officer of Sentara Health

"It's never been more important to support doctors and free them up to deliver the integrated whole-person care which is so difficult to do given how much data needs to be read and processed within seconds," said Dr. Gregg Meyer , president of community division and executive vice president of value-based care at Mass General Brigham. "Physicians are now considering clinical experience, social determinants, lifestyle factors and mental health factors to deliver on hyper-personalized interventions, especially to patients with rising risk. There is a critical need in the industry for a platform that can aid physicians to solve these issues. This is the mission of RhythmX AI, and I am thrilled to join their inaugural clinical advisory board."

SAIGroup's backing brings to RhythmX AI the expertise and resources of portfolio companies SymphonyAI and ConcertAI. ConcertAI is the leader in real-world data and enterprise AI for life sciences and healthcare. SymphonyAI is the leader in enterprise AI for vertical sectors, including retail, financial services, manufacturing, media, and IT.

RhythmX AI will use SAIGroup's Eureka AI platform, which serves as the foundation for advanced AI solutions for thousands of global customers including Fortune 500 companies. EurekaAI uses unsupervised, supervised, and semi-supervised machine learning techniques to uncover new insights and predictions. Worldwide, 35 of the top life sciences companies, nine of the top 10 oncology companies, and more than 900 leading healthcare providers use EurekaAI-based solutions.

About RhythmX AI

RhythmX AI is a generative AI-native health company driving a paradigm shift in hyper-personalized care. RhythmX AI's precision care platform helps physicians pioneer a new era of whole person care through generative and predictive AI-powered copilots. An SAIGroup company, RhythmX AI will leverage various assets of the firm including the advanced Eureka AI platform and longitudinal data related to 300 million patients, more than 4.4 billion total annual claims, and more than 1.8 million healthcare professionals at more than 300 thousand facilities. RhythmX AI comprises healthcare and technology experts, operators, and the industry's leading clinical advisors.

About SAIGroup

SAIGroup is a private investment firm building leading enterprise AI businesses by accelerating innovation and growth. SAIGroup companies ConcertAI, SymphonyAI, and RhythmX AI comprise more than 4,000 employees. Founder and CEO Dr. Romesh Wadhwani has committed $1 billion of investment capital to SAIGroup. www.saigroup.ai.

Media Contact: Chris Gale at [email protected]

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SOURCE SAIGroup
PJ Oleksak is the first woman and non-family member to lead the company,

Jeff Braverman moves into a new executive role as Chairman of the Board

CRANFORD, N.J. , Oct. 5, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Nuts.com, a leading direct-to-consumer and family-owned specialty food company, has appointed PJ Oleksak as Chief Executive Officer (CEO), effective September 12, 2023 . Formerly the President of Nuts.com, Oleksak succeeds Jeff Braverman , the preceding CEO, who will assume the role of Executive Chairman, focusing on strategic projects and corporate development.

Jeff Braverman , Nuts.com "PJ is a trailblazer with a proven track record of impactful and transformational leadership,"

"PJ is a trailblazer with a proven track record of impactful and transformational leadership," said Braverman, the third-generation owner whose grandfather founded the company in 1929. "Her passion and in-depth expertise have contributed to massive success, and I know she is the leader who will take Nuts.com to the next level."

An accomplished leader in the food and e-commerce industries, Oleksak served as Chief Business Officer at Slice, the nation's leading technology solution for independent pizzerias, where she oversaw revenue, operations, customer service, and go-to-market across all its consumer and restaurant products. Before Slice, she held the position of Chief Growth Officer at FreshDirect, driving enterprise expansion strategy, revenue, marketing, analytics, e-commerce, and customer service. She also co-founded FoodKick by FreshDirect, a curated on-demand grocery delivery service rebranded as FreshDirect Express.

As President since 2021, Oleksak has led Nuts.com's multi-year market growth strategy and scaled and evolved the company's business-to-business (B2B) and gifting divisions. In her new role as CEO, Oleksak will lead all day-to-day operations, as well as Nuts.com's 540 employees nationwide.

"I have long admired Nuts.com and Jeff Braverman's legacy, which has catalyzed lifelong customer loyalty and industry-leading product quality," said Oleksak. "Our teams are dynamic, nimble, and hungry to innovate and unlock new opportunities. I am incredibly excited to step into this new role and for the future of the company."

ABOUT NUTS.COM:

Nuts.com, a leading direct-to-consumer and family-owned specialty food company, crafts and sources thousands of the highest-quality nuts, dried fruit, snacks, sweet treats, confections, pantry staples, and gifts. Founded in 1929, Nuts.com was initially the Newark Nut Company, a neighborhood shop with a mission to make every bite exceptional. Driven by the same vision today, Nuts.com has grown from its humble roots to become the #1 destination for discovering, devouring, and sharing everything delicious, including gluten-free, organic-certified, sugar-free, and kosher options. The company has served more than one million customers in the past year alone and has more than doubled in volume since 2019. Nuts.com ships to all 50 states and Canada with facilities and distribution centers in New Jersey , Nevada , Indiana , Texas , and Florida . For more information, please visit www.nuts.com .

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nutsdotcom/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NutsDotCom?mibextid=LQQJ4d

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/nutsdotcom/

MEDIA CONTACT:

IFP Communications

[email protected]

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SOURCE Nuts.com
BOSTON , Oct. 5, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- On Belay Health Solutions, the company on a mission to empower primary care practices to succeed in value-based care, today announced growth for 2024 and new partners across key segments.

Over 100% YOY patient growth, welcoming new practices to On Belay's MSSP and REACH ACOs.





Expansion into 18 U.S. states, notably partnering with independent primary care practices, federally qualified health centers, and health systems.

"We've always been deliberate in our growth strategy to prioritize quality of delivery and engagement with our partner practices," said Andrew Allison , Co-Founder and CEO of On Belay. "We're thrilled to welcome new partners across our three segments. Together, we'll work to support their patients and strengthen their financial foundation."

South Shore Health, one of the largest independent regional health systems in Massachusetts , is joining On Belay's ACO REACH program to ensure their patients are able to get the right care in the right setting with the right providers. Continuously focused on advancing health equity, South Shore Health will have access to rich patient insights to inform which programs and services will most benefit the communities they serve. "We are dedicated to finding innovative solutions to best meet the needs of our patients, families, and community," said Dr. Allen Smith , CEO of South Shore Health. "We see immense potential to deliver on our promise of high-quality, connected patient care by joining On Belay and continuing our transition to value-based care."

Rapid City Medical Center is the largest independent practice in South Dakota , with 87 providers serving 200,000 patients across five states. Joining On Belay's MSSP ACO is a testament to their commitment to quality of care. Heather Bindel , COO of Rapid City, remarked, "Transitioning to value-based care is a pivotal move for us. We're thrilled to partner with On Belay given their success with other practices in South Dakota and together drive better patient outcomes while strengthening our practices."

Lone Star Circle of Care, a large federally qualified health center with 27 locations and more than 125 providers, joins On Belay's ACO REACH program to continue to drive accessible and exceptional patient-centered care in Central Texas and Houston . "On Belay's alignment with our mission was evident from the outset and our partnership promises to invigorate community health, commencing with our Medicare patients," shared Jon Calvin , CEO of Lone Star.

Chad Turner , Chief Growth Officer at On Belay, stated, "The growth momentum we continue to see is a testament to the deep relationships we are building with our partner practices. The caliber of their teams and dedication to patient care is unparalleled and we are committed to supporting their value-based care journey."

ABOUT ON BELAY HEALTH SOLUTIONS

On Belay Health Solutions supports practices in successfully transitioning to value-based care with solutions that improve patient outcomes and care team experience. Currently operating in 18 states, On Belay partners with practices to create a brighter, more sustainable future for healthcare. On Belay is an exclusive partner to the Association of Clinicians for the Underserved and supports FQHCs around the country. Learn more at: OBHS.com.

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SOURCE On Belay Holdings, Inc.
YOKNE'AM ILLIT, Israel , Oct. 5, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- After hitting fundamental milestones since the last financing round, Phytolon secures additional funding to support its commercial activities toward the first launch of its natural food colors (made by fermentation) in the food and beverage markets.

The investors include Nextgen Nutrition Investment Partners (NGN) supported by Dunedain Ventures. NGN is led by James Cali and Andrew Towle who bring vast experience in the global CPG industry. Two of the company's shareholders also invested: EIT Food, a major entity that promotes and accelerates innovation in the food systems, and Phytolon's Chairman Mr. Steve Dubin who has been guiding the company since its early stages.

Since closing Round A in the summer of 2022, Phytolon recorded significant progress in its path to commercialization and signed a commercial deal with DSM-Firmenich to distribute its wide range of natural food colors. Further, Phytolon extended its supply capabilities and has put in place a manufacturing agreement at an industrial scale with a CMO that ensures resilient supply to clients. Phytolon has also commenced an in-house facility for production and supply at a pilot scale and enriched its in-house capabilities for developing and scaling natural ingredients by fermentation.

Phytolon's CEO, Halim Jubran , commented on the transaction: "Due to the progress that we have made in the last two years, we are gaining more and more trust from top players in the global F&B industry, now perfectly demonstrated by the latest investments. We are excited to welcome our new partners, NGN, and strengthen our partnership with EIT Food and Mr. Steve Dubin , who have played crucial roles in the company's growth and success."

NGN's James Cali , said: "We believe Phytolon is perfectly positioned to create significant value in the food colors space with their advantaged, proprietary technology, and wide range of color options which address rapidly growing requirements for natural, free-from ingredients by consumers and industry. This is especially important with the movements in regulations related to food colors in California ."

Matthias de Kock , Senior Investment Manager at EIT Food added: "EIT Food recognized Phytolon's potential from the outset and invested early on. Today, we're excited to witness this game-changing innovation in natural food colors unfold and we look forward to supporting Phytolon in its future stages of growth and innovation."

About Phytolon:

Phytolon is a biotechnology company that offers natural food colors via fermentation-based technologies. Leveraging its unique IP and capabilities, Phytolon provides to the industry natural food colors at their best shape, complying with the consumers' demand for clean label, healthy, and sustainable food systems. Phytolon has been based in Israel since 2018 and is supported by world-class business partners and investors.

About NGN:

NextGen Nutrition Investment Partners is an emerging investment manager focused on Technologies and Products that offer Disruptive Superior Nutrition to the Global Food Industry. They focus on three main parts of the enormous food sector: food technology, functionally superior ingredients and healthy branded products. Andrew Towle and James Cali are experienced executives with over 60+ years of managerial and operational experience in the food and beverage industry at firms such as Kraft/Mondelez, Kellogg's, P&G, Heinz, and Cadbury's. They are widely regarded as knowledgeable operating partners that understand the fundamentals of operating food & beverage companies both in the LIS and internationally, and the requirements needed to help young companies bring their products to the next level in the market.

About EIT Food:

EIT Food is the world's largest and most dynamic food innovation community. We accelerate innovation to build a future-fit food system that produces healthy and sustainable food for all. Supported by the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT), a body of the European Union, we invest in projects, organizations, and individuals that share our goals for a healthy and sustainable food system. We unlock innovation potential in businesses and universities and create and scale agrifood startups to bring new technologies and products to market. We equip entrepreneurs and professionals with the skills needed to transform the food system and put consumers at the heart of our work, helping build trust by reconnecting them to the origins of their food.

www.phytolon.com

Email: [email protected]

Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2238438/Phytolon.jpg

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SOURCE Phytolon
AUSTIN, Texas , Oct. 5, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Storable , the world's leading provider of self-storage technology, is driven by its mission to empower storage operators to do more and proudly announces a significant milestone in its efforts to also 'do more' for the environment. The Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) has officially classified Storable's Scope 1 and 2 emissions reduction target ambition as being in line with a 1.5C trajectory, the most ambitious designation available through the SBTi process.

The SBTi's Target Validation Team meticulously reviewed Storable's emissions reduction targets and strategies to determine their alignment with the Paris Agreement's goals, which aim to limit global warming to well below 2C and strive for 1.5C. Storable's achievement in receiving validation for its 1.5C-aligned target highlights the company's unwavering commitment to combat climate change and contribute to a sustainable future.

Storable has set an ambitious goal to reduce its Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions, including direct and indirect emissions from its operations and purchased energy. This target represents Storable's dedication to mitigating its carbon footprint, enhancing energy efficiency, and promoting sustainable practices across its business operations, including eliminating daily commutes for over 500 people in the U.S. and cutting our overall emissions by over 40% since 2020. Moreover, Storable is committed to being the first organization in the storage industry to have a carbon-negative footprint by 2025.

Chuck Gordon , Storable CEO, expressed his enthusiasm for this achievement, emphasizing that the company's mission is to operate in a manner that benefits employees, customers, and the broader community. He added, "We firmly believe that collective efforts, like ours, can drive meaningful change, and we take pride in leading the way for the self-storage and marina industries. We are thrilled to have our emissions reduction target ambition validated by the SBTi and remain dedicated to making substantial contributions to a low-carbon future while setting industry-leading standards."

The SBTi's recognition of Storable's 1.5C-aligned target demonstrates the company's leadership in corporate sustainability and its commitment to aligning business practices with global climate goals. By pursuing this aggressive target, Storable aims to inspire other companies in the storage and marina industries to accelerate their efforts to combat climate change.

For more information about Storable's sustainability initiatives and progress made, please read the company's 2022 CSR report .

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SOURCE Storable
SAN FRANCISCO, Oct. 5 (Xinhua) -- One person was killed and two others were injured Thursday morning in a stabbing at a mobile home park in Union City, U.S. state of California, officials said.

Police officers responded to the crime scene where they found three victims with injuries, one of whom died at the scene.

The other two victims were transported to a local hospital for non-life-threatening injuries, police said.

Police confirmed the arrest of 21-year-old Carlos Daniel Hernandez, a resident of Mountain View in the Bay Area, on suspicion of committing the stabbings.

The motive for the incident was still under investigation. 
ZURICH and LENZBURG, Switzerland , Oct. 5, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- SDX, the world's first fully regulated financial market infrastructure for digital assets, announces that it has entered into comprehensive discussions with Invest Direct , a Geneva -based start-up specialising in independent company assessments, due diligence and investor matchmaking for private companies. This marks a significant step to foster transparency and standardisation within SDX's private equity offering.

SDX provides a robust infrastructure to streamline private placements of digital securities. The planned collaboration with Invest Direct underscores SDX's commitment to elevating the efficiency and transparency of private placements while addressing the prevailing challenges of information asymmetry.

Invest Direct's experienced team, led by Frank Levy , assists private companies at all stages during their funding process. Following an independent assessment, it ensures direct matchmaking with professional investors and wealth management companies. Its in-depth company analysis of privately-held entities is reviewed by its Wisdom Circle  a panel of accomplished industry leaders.

"This planned collaboration highlights the strengths of both Swiss entities, catering to surging demand for streamlined processes and standardised practices within the private equity landscape," says David Newns , Head SIX Digital Exchange. "It enables a more accessible and transparent platform for financial institutions, issuers, and professional and institutional investors to engage in private placements with enhanced confidence."

"By combining the digital expertise of SDX and Invest Direct's independent analysis and matchmaking, this planned collaboration is set to reimagine how private placements are conducted; fostering transparency and trust in the Swiss private equity markets," adds Frank Levy , founder and CEO of Invest Direct.

About SDX

SIX Digital Exchange AG (SDX) is the first fully regulated financial market infrastructure (FMI) for the issuance, trading, settlement, and custody of digital assets. SDX is licensed by Switzerland's financial market regulator, FINMA, to operate as a stock exchange (via SDX Trading AG) and central security depository (CSD) on distributed ledger technology (DLT). As part of the SIX Group, SDX is subject to the Group's high quality and security standards covered under Swiss law.

About Invest Direct

Invest Direct distributes an exclusive catalogue of direct investments in unlisted companies to qualified investors and wealth management companies. It independently analyses and identifies Swiss and foreign private markets investment opportunities. Investors join the community free of charge. Invest Direct is creating the first community for companies to meet their future investors.

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SOURCE SDX
The Series B Funding brings Stoke's Total Investment to $175 million .

Investment to Fund Further Development of its Fully Reusable Rocket and New Construction at Launch Complex 14 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station , Fla.

DALLAS , Oct. 5, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Stoke Space, the rocket company building the world's most efficient fully and rapidly reusable rocket, announced today $100 million in new Series B investment to drive continued growth and innovation. This investment more than doubles the company's total funding, which now sits at $175 million . The company also announced the official name of its first rocket: Nova.

"This new round of funding is a huge vote of confidence in our team," said Andy Lapsa , CEO and Co-Founder, Stoke Space.

The funding round was led by Industrious Ventures with participation from the University of Michigan, Sparta Group, Long Journey, and others. Existing investors Breakthrough Energy, YCombinator, Point72 Ventures, NFX, MaC Ventures, Toyota Ventures, and In-Q-Tel also participated. This latest funding round is evidence of strong demand for Stoke's services, its growing success, and the confidence of investors in its future. As part of this round of fundraising Steve Angel , Chairman of the Board, Linde plc, will join Stoke's Board of Directors. Angel is also the former CEO of Linde and a member of the Board of Directors of GE. "Stoke Space has a track record that speaks for itself," Angel said. "I look forward to working alongside the team in order to support the development of a new space economy."

Stoke intends to use the funding to finance the development of its first stage rocket engine and structure, the orbital version of its reusable second stage, and new construction at the historic Launch Complex 14 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station , Fla. Launch Complex 14 is most well known as the launch site of NASA's Mercury-Atlas 6 flight in 1962, piloted by NASA Astronaut John Glenn as part of NASA's Project Mercury. Glenn was the first American to orbit the Earth. Stoke has been granted dedicated use of Launch Complex 14 by the US Space Force for its orbital flights.

"With our unique second stage design, our team at Stoke is attempting to build the most robust fully reusable rocket in the world  one that turns around in 24 hours throughout a long service life," said Andy Lapsa , CEO and Co-Founder, Stoke Space. "This new round of funding is a huge vote of confidence in our team and the progress we've made," Lapsa added. "We will now continue moving through our development program by increasing focus on our reusable first stage."

In addition to announcing new funding in Stoke, Lapsa revealed the name of the company's rocket: Nova. The term "nova" refers to an astronomical event in which a new star is born from the combination of remnants of old stars, "Our vehicle designs build on the ideas and achievements of prior generations. The name Nova is a way to honor that past heritage while looking ahead to a very exciting future," Lapsa explained.

Lapsa made today's announcements during remarks delivered at the UP.Summit in Dallas , an invitation-only gathering of 250 of the world's most innovative minds rethinking the future of transportation. Investors in attendance represent over $1T worth of investable capital.

The investment comes on the heels of the company's successful vertical takeoff and vertical landing (VTVL) developmental test flight of its reusable second stage conducted Sept. 17 at Stoke's testing facility in Moses Lake, Wash. The test successfully demonstrated Stoke's novel hydrogen/oxygen engine, regeneratively cooled heat shield, and differential throttle thrust vector control system, as well as its avionics, software, and ground systems.

About Stoke Space

Stoke is scaling the space economy by providing low-cost, on-demand transport to, through, and from space. It's developing fully and rapidly reusable rockets and space vehicles designed to operate with aircraft-like frequency. Stoke's technology development has been funded by the U.S. Space Force, NASA, the National Science Foundation, and other government and private partners.

About UP.Summit

UP.Summit is an annual, invitation-only gathering of the world's most innovative minds rethinking the future of transportation. Some of the most impactful investors, entrepreneurs, and leaders in policy, defense, transportation and mobility companies gather at the summit each year with the goal of moving people and goods in cleaner, faster, safer, and at lower-cost ways - on the ground, in the air, on the sea, and in space. UP.Summit was founded in 2017 and is jointly organized by UP.Partners, Tom and Steuart Walton , and Ross Perot Jr .

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SOURCE Stoke Space Technologies, Inc.
4 in 5 Borrowers Say They'll Have to Make Financial Changes as Payments Resume in October

DENVER , Oct. 5, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- U.S. adults with student loans are unsettled and anxious as student loan payments are set to resume after a three-year pause. A new survey from the nonprofit National Endowment for Financial Education (NEFE) finds that 49% of borrowers are worried that the end of the repayment pause will negatively impact their lives, with 83% of student loan borrowers saying they will have to make budgetary changes. The survey also finds 47% of borrowers with student loans say the end of the repayment pause will make it less likely they will pursue additional education.

4 in 5 Borrowers with Student Loans Say They'll Have to Make Financial Changes as Payments Resume in October.

"Borrowers with student loan balances are unsettled and anxious heading into October as payments are expected to resume, and there is a ripple effect beyond those with outstanding student loans," says Billy Hensley , Ph.D., president and CEO of NEFE. "With 83% of borrowers saying they will have to make budgetary changes, this estimates that one in four of all U.S. adults will be reducing their spending in other areasand that's a shift in consumer spending that could be felt across the entire economy."

Key outcomes of the polling include:

Nearly half of U.S. adults currently with student loans made most or every payment during the pandemic (49%), while 30% made no payments during that time.

adults currently with student loans made most or every payment during the pandemic (49%), while 30% made no payments during that time. One in three borrowers say they will need to cut $500 per month or more from their budgets to make their student loan payments, with 10% estimating they will need to cut at least $1,000 per month from their budgets.

per month or more from their budgets to make their student loan payments, with 10% estimating they will need to cut at least per month from their budgets. Among student loan borrowers, 64% are worried about the end of the payment pause. In contrast, when a similar question was asked to the general population, 56% said they are not worried about the end of the payment pause.

"Thoughtful financial education instruction delivered at the K-12 level does offer some benefit when it comes to paying for college," adds Hensley. "Providing access to financial education in high school lowers total debt for college graduates and is a proactive measure for students currently enrolled, or about to be enrolled, in college."

For full methodology and more on this survey, visit the NEFE website.

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SOURCE National Endowment for Financial Education
Collection features three different clear cases adding expression, protection, and functionality to new (10th Generation) 10.9-inch iPads

ANAHEIM, Calif. , Oct. 5, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Targus, the number one laptop case brand in the US and Canada 1 and a leader in laptop cases and mobile computing accessories, today announced the availability of its new collection of military-grade2 clear cases for the Apple iPad (10th Generation Series) 10.9-inch.

The collection includes a Click-In Clear Case with Kickstand, Pro-Tek Clear Case, and VersaVu Clear Rotating Case, each offering varying levels of protection and functional features that range in price from $39.99 to $54.99 .

"We've designed our clear cases to deliver superior protection while allowing iPad users to extend the functionality of their device and show off its true color," says David Dorantes , Director of Product Marketing, Targus. "Key features like military grade drop protection that withstands drops up to four feet, a clear back, and thin profile, make them a must-have accessory for 10.9-inch iPads."

Engineered for durability without the extra weight, the Click-In Clear Case + Kickstand (THD927GL) has a shock-absorbent tray with wrap-around bezel and reinforced corners in a slim design. Its built-in kickstand flips out to offer hands-free viewing in multiple angles while in landscape mode, making it easy to watch the screen at nearly any angle. For added efficiency, it also features an integrated holder for an Apple Pencil or stylus (Pencil sold separately by Apple).

The new Pro-Tek Clear Case (THD935GL) has a shock-absorbent tray with wrap-around bezel, covered buttons, and reinforced corners, plus a protective folio cover, all in a sleek, clear-back design. With a new take on Targus' signature Pro-Tek cover, the case's bi-fold cover flips open into a stand, allowing for multiple viewing angles or typing positions, and helps users find the most comfortable hands-free placement.

Designed for protection and versatile viewing, the VersaVu Clear Case (THD936GL) features a shock-absorbent tray with wrap-around bezel and reinforced corners, plus a protective folio cover to safeguard the screen. The VersaVu's patented 360-degree rotation creates virtually any positioning option and transitions smoothly between portrait and landscape views. Deep grooves anchor the edge to ensure stability, and precision cutouts provide easy access to the device's buttons, ports, and camera lenses. Enjoy added ease and convenience with the integrated holder for an Apple Pencil. It's also structurally designed with audio-boosting scoops to deliver a premium sound experience.

The new Clear Collection is available for sale now in the US on Targus.com and through participating retailers.

About Targus

For 40 years, Targus has been revolutionizing mobile computing accessories for large enterprises and consumers, alike  connecting people and technology in meaningful ways. From laptop bags to tablet cases, to peripherals and universal docking stations, we persistently conceive, design, and produce innovative, productivity-boosting solutions that make the complex, simple; and seamlessly integrate into the lifestyles of mobile professionals wherever they work  at home, in the office, or wherever they go. We cross categories, regions, industries, and lifestyles with a breadth and depth of products that provide you with the solutions you need to live, dream, and do.

Headquartered in Anaheim, California , Targus has global operations in more than 24 offices and distribution in more than 100 countries. Learn more about us at Targus.com, like or follow us on Facebook, and LinkedIn.

1Source: The NPD Group/Retail Tracking Service, US and Canada , combined unit sales for Sleeves/Slipcases, Annual 2022.

2As tested by an independent third-party applying MIL-STD-810G, Method 516.6, Procedure IV.

*Targus, Click-In, Pro-Tek, and VersaVu are trademarks or registered trademarks of Targus International LLC in the US and in certain other countries. Apple, iPad, and Apple Pencil are trademarks or registered trademarks of Apple Inc. All logos and registered trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

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SOURCE Targus
NEW YORK and MUMBAI , India , Oct. 5, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Tata Communications, a global digital ecosystem enabler, today announces completion of the acquisition of Kaleyra, Inc. (NYSE: KLR).

On 28th June 2023 , Tata Communications had entered into a definitive agreement with Kaleyra, Inc. to acquire it through Tata Communications Limited. The transaction has now been completed upon receipt of the approval by Kaleyra's stockholders, necessary regulatory approvals, and fulfilment of other customary closing conditions. Under the terms of the agreement, Tata Communications Limited has paid an aggregate consideration of approximately $100 million in cash and assumed all of Kaleyra's outstanding debt. With this, Kaleyra, Inc. and its subsidiaries have now become wholly owned subsidiaries of Tata Communications Limited.

The combination of Tata Communications customer engagement solutions and Kaleyra's stronghold in technology, engineering and research & development will drive growth of global enterprises, powered by hyper-personalised and intelligent customer interactions.

"In today's hyperconnected world, customer success and loyalty are pivotal to enterprise growth across industries and geographies," said A.S. Lakshminarayanan , MD and CEO, Tata Communications. "We at Tata Communications are committed to revolutionise how businesses engage with customers, leveraging a digital fabric to harness data insights for delivering seamless, secure, smart and impactful customer interactions. We're thrilled to welcome Kaleyra in this journey, as together we pave the way for the future of customer experience!"

Mysore Madhusudhan , Executive Vice President, Collaboration and Connected Solutions, Tata Communications added, "In this digital age, businesses require multi-channel customer engagement solutions built for intuitive, intelligent and automated interactions. Together, Tata Communications and Kaleyra form a powerful combination, poised to shape the customer engagement platforms of tomorrow."

Mauro Carobene , Head of Customer Interaction Suite, Tata Communications, commented, "Together Kaleyra and Tata Communications stand on the brink of a new era, powered by the world-class communications capabilities of Kaleyra.io platform and a determination to drive the future of communications via our intelligent suite of customer interaction solutions. Our joint aspirations are massive, not only in terms of growth, but also in expanding our portfolio that drives value for our customers."

Dr. Avi Katz , Founding Managing Partner of GigCapital Global said: "As the Chairman of the Board of Directors of Kaleyra since inception in November 2019 by way of combination with GigCapital1, Inc., I am delighted to see this outcome for the Kaleyra team and its stakeholders. This acquisition reflects a global recognition of the leadership of Kaleyra in the CPaaS industry, fruits of hard work of the entire Kalyera team for the last four years and excellent relationship with Tata Communications."

About Kaleyra

Kaleyra, Inc. (NYSE: KLR) (NYSE American: KLR WS) is a global group providing mobile communication services to financial institutions, e-commerce players, OTTs, so

ftware companies, logistic enablers, healthcare providers, retailers, and other large organizations worldwide. Through its proprietary platform and robust APIs, Kaleyra manages multi-channel integrated communication services, consisting of messaging, rich messaging and instant messaging, video, push notifications, e-mail, voice services, and chatbots.

Kaleyra's technology makes it possible to safely and securely manage billions of messages monthly with over 1600 operator connections in 190+ countries, including all tier-1 US carrier.

About Tata Communications

A part of the Tata Group, Tata Communications (NSE: TATACOMM; BSE: 500483) is a global digital ecosystem enabler powering today's fast-growing digital economy in more than 190 countries and territories. Leading with trust, it enables digital transformation of enterprises globally with collaboration and connected solutions, core and next gen connectivity, cloud hosting and security solutions and media services. 300 of the Fortune 500 companies are its customers and the company connects businesses to 80% of the world's cloud giants. For more information, please visit www.tatacommunications.com

Kaleyra's Statutory Information

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of U.S. federal securities laws. Such forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, its omnichannel and other product and global customer developments, its expectations, beliefs, intentions, plans, prospects or strategies regarding the business plans of Kaleyra, Inc.'s ("Kaleyra") management team. Any statements contained herein that are not statements of historical fact may be deemed to be forward-looking statements. In addition, any statements that refer to projections, forecasts or other characterizations of future events or circumstances, including any underlying assumptions, are forward-looking statements. The words "anticipate," "believe," "continue," "could," "estimate," "expect," "intends," "may," "might," "plan," "possible," "potential," "predict," "project," "should," "would" and similar expressions may identify forward-looking statements, but the absence of these words does not mean that a statement is not forward-looking. The forward-looking statements contained in this press release are based on certain assumptions and analyses made by Kaleyra in light of its experience and perception of historical trends, current conditions and expected future developments and their potential effects on Kaleyra as well as other factors they believe are appropriate in the circumstances. There can be no assurance that future developments affecting Kaleyra will be those anticipated. These forward-looking statements involve a number of risks, uncertainties (some of which are beyond the control of the parties) or other assumptions that may cause actual results or performance to be materially different from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements, including the mix of services utilized by Kaleyra's customers and such customers' needs for these services, including any variability by geography, market acceptance of new service offerings, the ability of Kaleyra to expand what it does for existing customers as well as to add new customers, that Kaleyra will have sufficient capital to operate as anticipated, and the impact that geopolitical and macroeconomic factors such as the war in Ukraine , may have on Kaleyra's operations, the demand for Kaleyra's products, global supply chains and economic activity in general. Additional risk factors that that may cause such a difference include, but are not limited to: (i) the ability of Kaleyra and Tata Communications to timely and successfully achieve the anticipated benefits of the proposed transaction; (ii) significant transaction costs associated with the proposed transaction; (iii) potential litigation relating to the proposed transaction; (iv) the risk that disruptions from the proposed transaction will harm Kaleyra's business, including current plans and operations; (v) the ability of Kaleyra to retain and hire key personnel; (vi) potential adverse reactions or changes to business relationships resulting from the announcement or completion of the proposed transaction; (vii) legislative, regulatory and economic developments affecting Kaleyra's business; (viii) general economic and market developments and conditions; (ix) the evolving legal, regulatory and tax regimes under which Kaleyra operates; and (x) potential business uncertainty, including changes to existing business relationships, during the pendency of the merger that could affect Kaleyra's financial performance. Therefore, you should not place undue reliance on any such statements and caution must be exercised in relying on forward-looking statements. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize or should any of the assumptions being made prove incorrect, actual results may vary in material respects from those projected in these forward-looking statements. We undertake no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as may be required under applicable securities laws.

Tata Communications Statutory Information

Forward-looking and cautionary statements

Certain words and statements in this release concerning Tata Communications and its prospects, and other statements, including those relating to Tata Communications' expected financial position, business strategy, the future development of Tata Communications' operations, and the general economy in India , are forward-looking statements. Such statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, including financial, regulatory and environmental, as well as those relating to industry growth and trend projections, which may cause actual results, performance or achievements of Tata Communications, or industry results, to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. The important factors that could cause actual results, performance or achievements to differ materially from such forward-looking statements include, among others, failure to increase the volume of traffic on Tata Communications' network; failure to develop new products and services that meet customer demands and generate acceptable margins; failure to successfully complete commercial testing of new technology and information systems to support new products and services, including voice transmission services; failure to stabilize or reduce the rate of price compression on certain of the company's communications services; failure to integrate strategic acquisitions and changes in government policies or regulations of India and, in particular, changes relating to the administration of Tata Communications' industry; and, in general, the economic, business and credit conditions in India . Additional factors that could cause actual results, performance or achievements to differ materially from such forward-looking statements, many of which are not in Tata Communications' control, include, but are not limited to, those risk factors discussed in Tata Communications Limited's Annual Reports.

The Annual Reports of Tata Communications Limited are available at www.tatacommunications.com. Tata Communications is under no obligation to, and expressly disclaims any obligation to, update or alter its forward-looking statements.

 2023 Tata Communications Ltd. All rights reserved.

TATA COMMUNICATIONS and TATA are trademarks or registered trademarks of Tata Sons Private Limited in India and certain countries.

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SOURCE Tata Communications
Steve and Terri Ferrero to lead new custom window treatments consultation business in Sacramento metropolitan area

SACRAMENTO, Calif. , Oct. 5, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Gotcha Covered, a leader in custom window treatment consultation in the U.S. and Canada , welcomes Steve and Terri Ferrero to the franchise family. Steve and Terri own and operate Gotcha Covered of Roseville , the newest location in California .

With an emphasis on end-to-end consultations, Gotcha Covered of Roseville will provide the best in soft and hard window treatments to homeowners in the area by offering a variety of blinds, draperies, smart solutions and much more.

" California is a state that isn't short on entrepreneurial opportunities," said Paul Linenberg , president of Gotcha Covered. "Our franchise is always looking for opportunities to grow, and we believe that we've found two excellent owners in Steve and Terri (Ferrero) . They have displayed their hard work throughout their careers, and we believe they will be great brand ambassadors for the Gotcha Covered franchise and great assets to the community."

Steve and Terri bring a wealth of experience to the Gotcha Covered brand. A United States Air Force veteran, Steve has over three decades of product development experience with companies like Apple and Microsoft.

Terri, a mom and entrepreneur, is the former owner of a cherished kids' art studio and brings an innate understanding of the significance of personalized details and creating inviting environments.

The duo was drawn to the window treatment business through their passion for home improvements. They have completed numerous projects of their own, including full kitchen and bathroom remodels and outdoor landscaping.

"It was our passion for home improvement that drove us to explore opportunities where our expertise could help others enhance their living space," said Steve Ferrero . "It was during our search that we discovered Gotcha Covered. It didn't take long for us to decide it was the perfect choice."

"We love working from home and within our communities to help others realize their dreams. We love the opportunity to work with individuals and truly understand their distinct needs for their home improvement projects. The ability to craft tailor-made window coverings based on these insights resonates deeply with our passion. We love one-of-a-kind design challenges, and the thrill of assisting our clients in overcoming these challenges fuels our enthusiasm even more."

Terri stated that she loves the freedom they have as Gotcha Covered business owners and the opportunities it brings.

"We are so grateful for the opportunity that owning a Gotcha Covered franchise brings to us and our family," Terri Ferrero said. "We get great joy in helping others transform their homes with the products we provide, and we love the freedoms we have in setting our own goals and schedules. It is truly a win-win scenario."

Adding 40 new franchise locations in 2022, Gotcha Covered currently has over 155 total franchises across the U.S. and Canada . The franchise has been operating under the Gotcha Covered name since 2009.

To schedule an appointment with Gotcha Covered of Roseville , visit https://www.gotchacovered.com/roseville/.

About Gotcha Covered

Gotcha Covered is a leader in custom soft and hard window treatment consultation in the U.S. and Canada . Flying under their Gotcha Covered flag since 2009, they offer custom window treatments including blinds, draperies, shutters and much more. They offer end-to-end consultation with the customer's specific needs and goals in mind. The company currently has over 155 total franchises across the U.S. and Canada .

MEDIA CONTACT:

Heather Ripley

Ripley PR

865-977-1973

[email protected]

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SOURCE Gotcha Covered
Key Product Launches and Innovations Revealed at the 4th Annual Event

MONTREAL , Oct. 5, 2023 /PRNewswire/ - Vention, the company behind the cloud-based Manufacturing Automation Platform (MAP), is thrilled to announce the product launches revealed at the 4th edition of Demo Day.

The annual event brings Vention's most cutting-edge products to the forefront, all of which are designed to support its mission to create a single digital industrial automation environment accessible to all manufacturers. Today, Vention unveiled a transformative addition to its MAP, a fifth pillar, Operate.

Operate with MachineAnalytics

The introduction of the Operate pillar and MachineAnalytics to MAP now provides users with the essential tools and insights needed to unlock their machine's full potential: from the initial stages of scoping through design and deployment, and finally, to machine operation. Through a unified view within MachineAnalytics, and seamlessly integrated into the MachinePortal dashboard, manufacturers can access their project and machine's critical insights, 9including machine availability, runtime, downtime, cycle time, and more. This empowers manufacturers to make informed decisions and ensure peak machine performance through its lifecycle.

Key features in MachineAnalytics include:

Fleet performance monitoring: Enables precise performance tracking through Cycle Start and End point identification in MachineLogic programs. The dashboard presents essential metrics like cycle count and average cycle times, while historical data analysis identifies trends for proactive optimization, reducing downtime, and enhancing productivity.





Enables precise performance tracking through Cycle Start and End point identification in MachineLogic programs. The dashboard presents essential metrics like cycle count and average cycle times, while historical data analysis identifies trends for proactive optimization, reducing downtime, and enhancing productivity. Fleet health monitoring: Monitors the status and health of fleet components, including drives, motors, and control modules, and includes access to comprehensive activity logs. MachineAnalytics streamlines the process, providing access to historical and current controller metrics, CPU usage, temperature, memory, disk usage, and drive temperature data.





Monitors the status and health of fleet components, including drives, motors, and control modules, and includes access to comprehensive activity logs. MachineAnalytics streamlines the process, providing access to historical and current controller metrics, CPU usage, temperature, memory, disk usage, and drive temperature data. RemoteView: Provides real-time machine visibility from anywhere. Each machine is equipped with a single camera to allow users to remotely access a live video stream within MachineAnalytics so users can have eyes on their factory floor at all times.

Design with MachineBuilder

Vention unveiled major updates to its 3D design software, MachineBuilder, at Demo Day 2023. These improvements enhanced its speed, navigation, and user convenience, establishing MachineBuilder as the most accessible industrial automation design solution.

Announcements to MachineBuilder include:

Integration of MachineScope within MachineBuilder: Vention streamlined project scoping within MachineBuilder, consolidating design requirements into a single, user-friendly environment and simplifying information organization for multiple designs.





Vention streamlined project scoping within MachineBuilder, consolidating design requirements into a single, user-friendly environment and simplifying information organization for multiple designs. Connection logic for part placement: Manufacturers now have the ability to select from a curated set of part positions when adding new components to the CAD environment.





Manufacturers now have the ability to select from a curated set of part positions when adding new components to the CAD environment. Panel studio: Allows for custom panel creation, including complex geometries with various hole types, building upon last year's Smart Auto-Panel addition.





Allows for custom panel creation, including complex geometries with various hole types, building upon last year's addition. XL extrusions: Purpose-built profile designs, including a modular heavy-duty extrusion for 20-30 kg cobots, simplifying assembly and setup.

Automate with MachineLogic

Vention has introduced an upgraded version of MachineLogic, designed to streamline the programming process for manufacturers.

Enhancements to MachineLogic include:

Code-free programming: The interface now offers enhanced readability, reducing sequence complexity by up to 50%. It simplifies robot programming across brands, unifying the process within a single interface.





The interface now offers enhanced readability, reducing sequence complexity by up to 50%. It simplifies robot programming across brands, unifying the process within a single interface. Python programming: Vention boasts native integration with Python, one of the world's most popular programming languages, making machine programming more accessible than ever with pre-built libraries, comprehensive documentation, and examples.





Vention boasts native integration with Python, one of the world's most popular programming languages, making machine programming more accessible than ever with pre-built libraries, comprehensive documentation, and examples. Simulation: High-quality software programming and plug-and-play hardware are pivotal, but the greatest added value lies in creating an authentic digital twin of the automated equipment. With simulation capabilities within MachineLogic, the functionalities are now extended to a wide range of industrial components.





High-quality software programming and plug-and-play hardware are pivotal, but the greatest added value lies in creating an authentic digital twin of the automated equipment. With simulation capabilities within MachineLogic, the functionalities are now extended to a wide range of industrial components. MachineApps: Vention's programming environment now includes MachineApps, purpose-built, code-free applications that save users weeks of manual programming time. The robot-agnostic apps include an enhanced palletizing app, capable of handling multiple pallet bays with an integrated 7th axis.

Deploy with MachineCloud and Remote Support

Last year's Demo Day focused on simplifying automation project deployment with MachineCloud, connecting the cloud to the factory floor. This year, we expanded our deployment offerings.

Key additions to MachineCloud include:

3-point robot calibration: When it comes to deployment, calibration with the environment can be challenging. With Vention's 3-point calibration, users can now control their robot's movement directly from the Vention pendant using Free Drive , facilitating manual movement and rapid position teaching.





When it comes to deployment, calibration with the environment can be challenging. With Vention's 3-point calibration, users can now control their robot's movement directly from the Vention pendant using , facilitating manual movement and rapid position teaching. Pendant V3 : This next-generation pendant features front/back cameras, a detachable handle, a touchscreen display, and Wi-Fi/Ethernet connectivity for an improved user experience and seamless communication with Vention's Customer Support team via the new control interface.





: This next-generation pendant features front/back cameras, a detachable handle, a touchscreen display, and Wi-Fi/Ethernet connectivity for an improved user experience and seamless communication with Vention's Customer Support team via the new control interface. Remote Support: Vention's new solution, Remote Support, offered through Pendant V3, connects users to automation experts within 10 minutes, ensuring quick problem resolution, reducing downtime, and streamlining issue resolution.

The State of DIY Industrial Automation Report

During the in-person event in its Montreal and Berlin offices, Vention also revealed its State of DIY Industrial Automation report, revealing that 75% of platform users, mainly small and medium-sized businesses, are achieving 50% of their automation projects independently. They shared that manufacturers have been forming internal Advanced Manufacturing Teams to steer automation initiatives, resulting in cost savings, enhanced expertise, and skill development on the factory floor. The report is available to download here. (link to add)

About Vention

Vention helps some of the most innovative manufacturers automate their production floors in just a few days through a democratized user experience. Vention's digital manufacturing automation platform allows clients to design, automate, order, and deploy automated equipment directly from their web browsers. Headquartered in Montreal, Canada , with offices in Berlin and Boston , Vention's 302 employees serve 4,000+ customers on five continents and 25 manufacturing industries.

Over the years, the company has been awarded many business and industry recognitions. In 2022 only, the company was awarded the prestigious Deloitte 2022 Technology Fast 50m, Report on Business Canada's top growing company, and Best Work Place (for professional development).

For more information, visit vention.com or follow us on LinkedIn.

*MachineMotion, MachineLogic, MachineCloud, and Vention are trademarks of Vention Inc.

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SOURCE Vention
College hosts 3-day climate conference, uniting environmental justice, trade, and labor leaders

to forecast future green-collar job market

LOS ANGELES , Oct. 5, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- With the State of California's massive investment and ambitious plans to fight climate change, West LA College will be a key part in helping to fill the gap in climate education and training. With the creation of the state's only California Center for Climate Change Education located on West's campus, the College is the new, green epicenter for environmental education and innovation. The Center is focused exclusively on climate change solutions, and job creation to meet the demands of the future workforce. The Center was funded through a $5-million state allocation (AB 1913  CA Assemblymember Isaac Bryan ) and $1.3 million in federal dollars from then-Congresswoman Karen Bass and Senator Alex Padilla . Subsequently, West boasts the  first and only  degree and certificate programs in Climate Change & Environmental Studies among the 116 California community colleges.

On October 24-26 , the Center will host its inaugural Climate Action Palooza, a three-day climate conference focused on youth activism, green-collar job training and education. The conference begins on the International Day of Climate Action and will host of mix of students and industry leaders. On Day 1 ( Oct. 24 ), acclaimed environmental activist and influencer Wawa Gatheru will serve as the keynote speaker focusing on youth activism. A green gaming hackathon is scheduled for Day 2 ( Oct. 25 ) with guest judges Chacko Sonny, Gaming Division at Netflix, and award-winning YA author Dana Claire .

On Day 3 ( Oct. 26 ), business leaders from various sectors will join climate policy makers to forecast the future green job market. As new careers emerge to respond to the effects of climate change, West LA College is leading efforts to provide hands-on job training for the new wave of expected green-collar tech jobs. Twenty-one (21) key organizations from labor to higher education will convene to identify new college curriculum and workforce training programs needed to advance sustainability careers. Keynote speaker Dr. Robert Fofrich from UCLA's Institute of the Environment and Sustainability, will address: Why do we need green and blue jobs? Policy experts will also identify new college curriculum and training programs needed to advance sustainability efforts.

With the Center's statewide focus, the Climate Action Palooza promises to merge three extraordinary days of action and advocacy with resources to help prepare students for competitive careers in the green economy.

All events are free:

Day 1: October 24 | International Climate Day of Action | 10 a.m.  4:30 p.m.

Register via Eventbrite

Day 2: October 25 | Games for Climate Hackathon | 10 a.m.  4 p.m.

Register online

Day 3: October 26 | Climate Careers Conference | 9 a.m.  3 p.m.

Register via Eventbrite

For more information, visit the California Center for Climate Change Education at West LA College: https://www.wlac.edu/academics/climate-center

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SOURCE West LA College
MUMBAI, India , Oct. 5, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- ZEE5 Global, the world's largest streaming platform for South Asian content, announces the world digital premiere of the biggest Hindi blockbuster of the year, 'Gadar 2' today. After a successful theatrical run collecting 63M USD in India and still counting, Gadar 2 is set for another successful innings on ZEE5 Global on 6th October. Produced by Zee Studios and directed by Anil Sharma , the superhit sequel to the 2001 hit 'Gadar' will see Sunny Deol , Ameesha Patel and Utkarsh Sharma reprise their roles as Tara Singh , Sakeena and Charanjeet "Jeete" Singh respectively.

Gadar 2 brings back India's most loved family of Tara, Sakeena & Jeete; 22 years after its predecessor. Set against the backdrop of Indo-Pakistan war of 1971, Tara Singh , once again, will face every enemy to protect the honor of his country and family. This time, the narrative will delve deeper into the enduring love of Tara Singh and Sakeena and additionally, will see a strong father-son bond between Tara Singh and Charanjeet as the latter lands in Pakistan and ends up being caught and tortured. While the last time, Tara Singh visited Pakistan to get his wife back, this time, he will return to rescue his son.

Archana Anand , Chief Business Officer, ZEE5 Global said, "Bollywood blockbusters have always transcended geographical boundaries and resonated with global viewers through their powerful and emotionally charged stories. With the World Digital Premiere of Gadar 2, ZEE5 Global is thrilled to present our global viewers with the sequel to one of Hindi cinema's all-time blockbuster hits that has captivated audiences for over 22 years."

Shariq Patel , CBO, Zee Studios said, "Gadar 2 brought back India's most loved family of Tara Singh , Sakeena and Jeete; 22 years after its predecessor. Hindustan Ka Asli Blockbuster will make history once more with its digital premiere on ZEE5 Global."

Sunny Deol said, "We are absolutely delighted with the overwhelming response that 'Gadar 2' has received in theatres. Now with its World Digital Premiere on ZEE5 Global, I am very excited for the movie to reach a wider, global audience. Gadar 2 is a perfect family entertainer which will keep the viewers completely engaged and entertained. I urge everyone to watch it if you haven't already and watch it again if you have."

Ameesha Patel said, "Sakeena is a character who has stayed with me throughout my career, and I was so excited to revisit her in 'Gadar 2.' The chemistry between Tara and Sakeena is timeless, and the sequel reignites that magic for our fans. ZEE5 Global's platform allows us to connect with a global audience, and I'm thrilled that viewers from around the world will have the opportunity to witness this epic love story, all over again but with more twists and action."

Director Anil Sharma said, "The story of 'Gadar' is etched in the memories of every movie lover and with Gadar 2, we have tried to recreate the same magic. I am beyond thrilled that Gadar 2 has become one of the most successful Hindi films of all time and now with its World Digital Premiere on ZEE5 Global, I hope that the film breaks more records and reaches more people across the world."

'Gadar 2' is set for its World Digital Premiere on ZEE5 Global from 6th October 2023!

Photo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2239607/gadar2_Zee5.jpg

Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1756210/4046069/ZEE5_Global_Logo.jpg

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SOURCE ZEE5 Global
Andrew Tate walks before delivering a press statement outside his house in Voluntari, Ilfov, Romania, August 4, 2023. Inquam Photos/George Calin via REUTERS/ File Photo

BUCHAREST (Reuters) - Witnesses and alleged victims of controversial internet personality Andrew Tate are being harassed and intimidated in an effort to silence them, their lawyers said on Thursday.

The accusations were denied by a Tate spokesperson.

Tate was indicted in June along with his brother Tristan and two Romanian female suspects for human trafficking, rape and forming a criminal gang to sexually exploit women, allegations they have denied.

Under Romanian law, the case is now with the Bucharest court's preliminary chamber, where a judge has until November to inspect the files to ensure legality. The trial will not start until that process is completed.

U.S. and British legal representatives of alleged victims held a press conference in Bucharest on Thursday.

"These women are very afraid, they're terrified, they have been threatened, they've had people come to their place of work," Jillian Roth of law firm Laffey, Bucci & Kent told reporters.

Roth, together with the National Center on Sexual Exploitation (NCOSE), is defending the two key witnesses of the Romanian prosecution in a civil lawsuit Tate filed against them for defamation in the United States.

"That lawsuit was filed only with the intent to intimidate, harass and to retaliate against the women who came forward to speak out against their abuse," Roth said.

Tate's head of communications, Mateea Petrescu, rejected the accusations.

"Andrew Tate has the legal right to use and benefit from the legal system in the United States, where he is a citizen, the United Kingdom, where he is a citizen, or anywhere else in the world," she said.

In Britain, four women are planning a civil lawsuit against Tate alleging he raped them between 2013 and 2016. British authorities did not raise charges against Tate at the time.

Matthew Jury, one of their lawyers, said they had been subjected to a campaign of threats, intimidation and harassment.

The Tate brothers, who have dual U.S. and British citizenship, were first held in police custody in Romania since Dec. 29 pending an investigation into abuse against seven women, whom prosecutors say were lured through false claims of relationships.

They were then placed under house arrest in April and since August have been under judicial control, a lighter restrictive measure.

Tate, a self-described misogynist, has gained millions of fans by promoting an ultra-masculine lifestyle that critics say denigrates women.

(Reporting by Luiza Ilie and Alan Charlish; Editing by Alex Richardson)
Turkey's military has executed its third cross-border aerial campaign into northern Iraq, marking a decisive response to a suicide bombing that rocked the capital, Ankara, just days ago.

During a high-level security meeting on Wednesday, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan issued a stern warning, declaring that all infrastructure and energy facilities associated with the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) and the Syrian Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) in Syria and Iraq are now "legitimate targets" for Turkish military operations.

Fidan further disclosed that the two perpetrators behind the recent suicide attack in Ankara had originated from Syria. The Turkish Interior Ministry subsequently identified the assailants as active members of the PKK.

The PKK, designated as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the United States, and the European Union, has engaged in an armed insurgency against the Turkish government for over three decades. Turkey views the YPG as an extension of the PKK operating in Syria.

The assault in front of the Turkish Interior Ministry's headquarters on Sunday resulted in injuries to two police officers. During the incident, one suicide bomber detonated his explosives, while the other was fatally shot by the police.

In swift retaliation, the Turkish Armed Forces conducted two significant aerial operations on Sunday and Tuesday, targeting and neutralizing 22 locations, which included caves, bunkers, shelters, and warehouses in northern Iraq, as reported by the Turkish Defense Ministry.

Turkey's military routinely conducts ground operations, airstrikes, and artillery bombardments in northern Iraq, particularly in the Qandil Mountains, a prominent stronghold of the PKK.

In the past, the Turkish army has initiated a series of military campaigns, including Operation Euphrates Shield in 2016, Operation Olive Branch in 2018, Operation Peace Spring in 2019, and Operation Spring Shield in 2020, all within northern Syria, with the primary objective of establishing a YPG-free zone along its border with neighboring countries.

Diplomatic Storm Looms: Delays Possible for Indians Seeking Canadian Visas

Trudeau's Accusations Against India: Foreign Policy Blunder with Global Implications

Justin Trudeau Contemplating Declassification of Canadian Ex-Nazis List
Underclass midshipmen salute during the national anthem at the U.S. Naval Academy graduation and commissioning ceremony in Annapolis, Maryland, U.S., May 27, 2022. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque/File Photo

By Nate Raymond

(Reuters) -The group that successfully challenged race-conscious college admissions policies at the U.S. Supreme Court sued the U.S. Naval Academy on Thursday, its second lawsuit opposing affirmative action in U.S. military academies.

Students for Fair Admissions, founded by affirmative action opponent Edward Blum, filed a federal lawsuit against the Annapolis, Maryland-based Navy school weeks after it launched a similar case against the U.S. Military Academy at West Point.

Both lawsuits by the Virginia-based nonprofit seek to end an exemption tucked inside the Supreme Court's June ruling that allowed U.S. military academies to continue considering race as a factor in student admissions.

"The Naval Academy has no legal justification for treating midshipman applicants differently by race and ethnicity," Blum said in a statement.

A spokesperson for the Naval Academy declined to comment.

In a ruling powered by its conservative majority, the U.S. Supreme Court in June rejected policies long used by American colleges and universities to increase the number of Black, Hispanic and other minority students on American campuses.

The Supreme Court's invalidation of admissions policies used by Harvard University and the University of North Carolina did not address the consideration of race in admissions at military academies, which Chief Justice John Roberts said had "potentially distinct interests."

Democratic President Joe Biden's administration argued in a brief in that case that "the effectiveness of our military depends on a diverse officer corps that is ready to lead an increasingly diverse fighting force."

A 2020 Defense Department report found Blacks comprised 18% of active military personnel but only 8% of officers. Hispanic service members constitute 19% of active personnel but 8% of officers, the report said.

White service members, by contrast, were 53% of the active force but 73% of officers, the report said.

The administration said the U.S. military academies had concluded is was necessary to consider race in admissions to achieve its goal of building a diverse officer corps.

"The reason those policies are in place is because for a long time, military academies were way weighted toward not allowing people of color or women into the ranks," said Daniel Walker, a U.S. Air Force veteran and member of the Black Veterans Project's board.

But in Thursday's lawsuit, filed in federal court in Baltimore, Blum's group alleged the Naval Academy's admissions practices were discriminatory and violated the principle of equal protection in the U.S. Constitution's Fifth Amendment.

It argued that rather than focusing on leadership potential and objective metrics, the academy was engaged in a practice of trying to "racially balance" each year's incoming class of midshipmen.

Out of 12,927 applicants for its 2026 class, the academy enrolled 1,184 midshipmen, of which 676 were white, 75 were Black and 117 were Asian. Those numbers closely mirrored the demographics of the 2025 class, Blum's group said.

The lawsuit sought an order barring the academy from considering an applicant's race during admissions.

(Reporting by Nate Raymond in BostonEditing by Chris Reese, Lincoln Feast and Cynthia Osterman)
FILE PHOTO: The Apple Inc. logo is seen in the lobby of New York City's flagship Apple store January 18, 2011. REUTERS/Mike Segar/File Photo

(Reuters) -Apple held talks with DuckDuckGo to replace Alphabet's Google as the default search engine for the private mode on Apple's Safari browser, the Bloomberg News reported on Wednesday, citing people familiar with the discussions.

The details of the talks are expected to be released later this week, according to the report, after Judge Amit Mehta, overseeing a federal antitrust suit against Google, ruled on Wednesday that he would unseal the testimony of DuckDuckGo CEO Gabriel Weinberg and Apple executive John Giannandrea.

The talks about potential deals between Microsoft and Apple and DuckDuckGo and Apple will be unsealed, the report said, citing Mehta in an order from the bench.

Apple, DuckDuckGo and Google did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.

Last month, the U.S. Department of Justice in a landmark U.S. trial argued Google, which has some 90% of the search market, illegally paid $10 billion annually to smartphone makers such as Apple and wireless carriers like AT&T and others to be the default in search on their devices in order to stay on top.

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella testified on Monday, saying that tech giants were competing for vast troves of content needed to train artificial intelligence, and complained Google was locking up content with expensive and exclusive deals with publishers.

He added that Microsoft had sought to make its Bing search engine the default on Apple smartphones but was rebuffed.

(Reporting by Baranjot Kaur in Bengaluru; Editing by Rashmi Aich)
By Ruma Paul

DHAKA (Reuters) - Bangladesh received the first Russian shipment of uranium fuel for its $12.65 billion debut nuclear power plant on Thursday, making it the 33rd country in the world to produce nuclear power.

The south Asian country is building the first of two nuclear power plants in collaboration with Russian state-owned atomic company Rosatom. Ninety percent of the project is financed through a Russian loan repayable within 28 years with a 10-year grace period.

"Today is a day of pride and joy for the people of Bangladesh," Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said during a video conference with Russian President Vladimir Putin that the Russian Embassy in Bangladesh called a "nuclear fuel delivery ceremony" in a Facebook post.

Hasina's government is under pressure from the U.S. to hold "free and fair" elections due in January, with Washington imposing visa sanctions on some Bangladeshi officials and political party leaders.

Last month Sergei Lavrov, the first Russian foreign minister to visit Bangladesh since its 1971 independence, assured Bangladesh that Moscow was committed to completing the project on time, despite obstacles from Western sanctions over the war in Ukraine.

Construction has been delayed because of COVID-19 pandemic restrictions and the sanctions.

Due to U.S. sanctions on Moscow, Bangladesh in December denied entry to a Russian ship carrying equipment for the plant.

The first unit of the plant, with a total generation capacity of 2,400 megawatts, was due to start operation in July next year but is facing a setback over loan repayments.

Bangladesh has faced its worst electricity crisis since 2013, a Reuters analysis of government data shows, due to erratic weather and difficulty in paying for fuel imports amid declining forex reserves and a weakened currency.

(Reporting by Ruma Paul; Editing by Richard Chang)
FILE PHOTO: A man walks past a logo of Alibaba Group at its office building in Beijing, China August 9, 2021. REUTERS/Tingshu Wang//File Photo

By Jyoti Narayan and Nilutpal Timsina

(Reuters) -Belgian officials are looking into risks around the presence of China's Alibaba Group Holding at a cargo airport in the city of Liege, the country's intelligence service VSSE said in a statement on Thursday.

Referring to the company's main European logistics centre at Liege Airport, the security service said it was working to "detect and fight against possible spying and/or interference activities carried out by Chinese entities including Alibaba".

Belgian authorities are looking into Alibaba's operations at the airport based on an analysis of China's legal framework, the statement added.

The presence of Alibaba "still constitutes a point of attention" for the VSSE, it said, due to legislation which obligates Chinese companies to share data with Chinese authorities and intelligence services.

"We strongly deny the allegations based on prior conjecture," Alibaba's logistics arm Cainiao said in a statement.

"Cainiao is in compliance with all laws and regulations where it operates."

Alibaba signed an agreement with the Belgium government in 2018 to open an e-commerce trade hub, run by Cainiao, that would include investment in logistics infrastructure.

The Chinese e-commerce giant last month filed to list Cainiao on the Hong Kong stock exchange, which would make the unit the first to be separated since Alibaba said in March it would restructure and split its business into six units.

(Reporting by Jyoti Narayan and Nilutpal Timsina in Bengaluru; Editing by Tom Hogue, Robert Birsel and Kirsten Donovan)
U.S. President Joe Biden shakes hands with Chinese President Xi Jinping as they meet on the sidelines of the G20 leaders' summit in Bali, Indonesia, November 14, 2022. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque/File Photo

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The White House is making plans for a face-to-face meeting between U.S. President Joe Biden and Chinese leader Xi Jinping in San Francisco next month as the two countries seek to stabilize troubled relations, the Washington Post reported on Thursday.

Ties between the world's two largest economies have been strained in recent years due to a number of issues including Taiwan, the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic, allegations of spying, human rights issues and trade tariffs, among others.

The newspaper, which cited senior unidentified U.S. officials, quoted one of them as saying the possibility of a meeting was "pretty firm."

"We're beginning the process" of planning, the official was quoted as saying by the newspaper.

The Chinese embassy in Washington did not comment specifically on the newspaper report. A spokesperson of the embassy said in an emailed statement that the two countries remained in communication and needed to expand "good faith" cooperation. The White House did not have an immediate comment.

The meeting would follow other high-level engagements between the two countries in recent months that have seen visits from U.S. officials to China like Secretary of State Antony Blinken in June, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen in July and Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo in August.

More recently, Blinken met Chinese Vice President Han Zheng in New York and U.S. national security adviser Jake Sullivan met Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Malta.

Biden and Xi's last meeting was on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Indonesia in November 2022, which was their first in person meeting since Biden became president. They previously had five exchanges by phone and video conference after Biden took office.

China's top security agency hinted last month any meeting between Xi and Biden will depend on the United States "showing sufficient sincerity."

U.S. officials like Raimondo and Yellen have recently said the United States did not want to decouple from China but Beijing has expressed concern over U.S. approval of arms sales and military financing to Taiwan.

San Francisco will host an Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in November that Xi may attend. Xi recently skipped the G20 summit in New Delhi that Biden attended.

(Reporting by Jasper Ward and Kanishka Singh; editing by Chris Sanders, Chris Reese and Kim Coghill)
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy walks down the White House colonnade to the Oval Office with U.S. President Joe Biden during a visit to the White House in Washington, U.S., September 21, 2023. Doug Mills/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo

(Reuters) - The Biden administration is considering using a U.S. State Department grant program to send additional military aid to Ukraine, a U.S. official said on Thursday.

The State Department can provide assistance to foreign governments for the purchase of U.S. defense equipment and military training under the Foreign Military Sales program by offering Foreign Military Financing. This is a grant or loan program that gives allies and partners a boost to their purchasing capacity to for security products.

Politico first reported the exploratory initiative on Thursday, citing two U.S. officials with knowledge of the discussions. According to a State Department fact sheet dated Sept. 21, about $650 million worth of Foreign Military Financing appropriation remained out of $4.65 billion pool earmarked for Ukraine and countries impacted by the conflict.

A State Department spokesman declined to comment on the Politico report.

FMF is used widely. In August, U.S. President Joe Biden's administration approved a military transfer to Taiwan under the Foreign Military Financing program, normally used for sovereign states.

(Reporting by Akanksha Khushi in Bengaluru and Mike Stone in Washington; editing by Diane Craft and David Gregorio)
By Rodrigo Viga Gaier

RIO DE JANEIRO (Reuters) -The fatal shooting of a Brazilian congresswoman's brother and his two companions in Rio de Janeiro late on Wednesday could possibly be a case driven by political motivations, a justice minister said on Thursday.

Physician Diego Ralf Bomfim, the brother of leftist lawmaker Samia Bomfim, was shot dead with his colleagues at a beachside food stand in Rio's Barra da Tijuca neighborhood, police said in a statement.

"Given the hypothesis of the execution being linked to the political activity of two federal lawmakers, I have ordered federal police to follow the probe," Justice Minister Flavio Dino wrote on social media.

Samia Bomfim, who has represented Sao Paulo state in the lower house of Brazil's Congress since 2019, is the partner of fellow congressman Glauber Braga, a federal lawmaker from Rio state since 2011.

Both are members of the leftist Socialism and Liberty Party (PSOL). In 2018, PSOL member and Rio councilwoman Marielle Franco was murdered in a case that investigators have called a political assassination carried out by paid hit men.

Investigators are also exploring the possibility that one of the murdered physicians had been mistaken for a local crime boss who frequented the same beachside food stand, according to one person involved in the probe.

Security camera footage circulated by local media shows three gunmen in black emerging from a white car and running toward the food stand as they opened fire before escaping in the vehicle.

"From what we saw in footage released by media, everything points to an execution," Braga and Bomfim said in a statement released by PSOL lawmaker Fernanda Melchionna.

"We demand immediate and in-depth investigations, as well as the identification and arrest of the perpetrators."

Ralf Bomfim was in the company of three fellow physicians at the food stand when they came under gunfire. Two of them, Marcos Corsato and Perseu Almeida, were also shot dead onsite. The third, Daniel Proenca, has been hospitalized.

They were in Rio for an international orthopedics congress.

"I received the news of their execution with great sadness and indignation," President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva wrote on social media. "I extend my solidarity to their families. Federal police are following the case."

(Reporting by Rodrigo Viga Gaier; Writing and additional reporting by Gabriel Araujo; Editing by Brad Haynes, Bill Berkrot and Aurora Ellis)
FILE PHOTO: A float plane flies past containers and cranes at the Port of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, July 30, 2023. REUTERS/Chris Helgren/File Photo

By Ismail Shakil and Steve Scherer

OTTAWA (Reuters) -Canada posted a surprise C$718 million ($521.88 million) trade surplus in August as trade rebounded a month after labor strikes shut down ports on the West Coast, data showed on Thursday.

Transfers of gold to the United States and higher crude prices helped exports outpace a rise in imports, Statistics Canada said.

Analysts in a Reuters poll had forecast a C$1.5 billion deficit. July's shortfall was revised to C$437 million from C$987 million.

Total exports increased 5.7%, while imports were up 3.8%, with both benefiting from higher prices in August, Statscan noted. By volume, exports rose 3% and imports increased 1.2%.

The surge in exports was the biggest since October 2021 and driven by precious metals and energy products.

"After the port closures, today's story is really a good story... as the trade balance recovers from three consecutive months of decline," said Prince Owusu, a senior economist at Export Development Canada. The trade numbers "probably will be a contributing factor to growth in Q3."

Canada's second-quarter growth shrank, and gross domestic product stalled in July while ticking up only slightly in August.

Exports of metal and non-metallic mineral products rose to a record C$8.5 billion in the month, due in part to higher exports of gold to the United States, Statscan said, adding that gold asset transfers in the banking sector contributed the most to the monthly movement.

The value of energy product exports increased 14.6% in August, with crude oil exports the largest contributor.

"Stronger-than-expected volumes suggest merchandise trade could add to third quarter growth," said Shelly Kaushik, an economist at BMO Capital Markets. "Even so, the economy is expected to slow meaningfully in the second half of the year."

Total imports benefited from imports of industrial machinery, equipment and parts, active pharmaceutical ingredients from Switzerland as well as fertilizers, pesticides and other chemical products.

($1 = 1.3758 Canadian dollars)

(Reporting by Ismail Shakil and Dale Smith in Ottawa; Editing by Alex Richardson and Chizu Nomiyama)
FILE PHOTO: Haitians gather at the construction site of a water channel from the Massacre River, a river shared between Haiti and the Dominican Republic, in Ouanaminthe, Haiti September 14, 2023. REUTERS/Octavio Jones/File Photo

By Sarah Morland

(Reuters) - The Dominican Republic is ready to restart a decommissioned canal off a river shared with neighboring Haiti, it said on Thursday, weeks after shutting down the border to stop another canal being built on the Haitian side that it asserts violated a treaty.

Santo Domingo shut its border in mid-September, cutting off movement of people and commerce through land, air and sea, citing the construction by private parties of a canal off the Massacre River on the Haitian side of the border in the area of Dajabon.

On Thursday, the Dominican government said its INDRHI water authority had completed tests of three motor pumps installed at the intake site and the La Vigia canal, decommissioned in 2007, was ready to resume operations in Dajabon.

"This immediate solution will guarantee water for local producers who could be affected by the construction of a canal in Haitian territory that diverts the waters of the Dajabon River," the government said in a statement.

Haiti, facing a humanitarian crisis driven by gang wars, has said that under the treaty it has the right to exploit resources on its side of the border. The countries have tense relations with the Dominican Republic deporting tens of thousands of migrants back into Haiti.

Dominican President Luis Abinader, who is seeking re-election next year, has also said his country is planning the construction of two dams that "without the treaty could significantly affect" Haiti.

The Organization of American States has called for a resumption of dialogue saying the current situation benefits neither party.

"There can be no doubt that Haiti and the Dominican Republic have equal rights of use over the Dajabon or Massacre River and that its water resources are vital for both, given the needs of its inhabitants, especially in the current context of drought," the OAS said in a statement last week.

(Reporting by Sarah Morland; Additional reporting by Paul Mathiasen; Editing by Richard Chang)
FILE PHOTO: A woman holds her smart phone which displays the Google home page, in this picture illustration taken February 24, 2016. REUTERS/Eric Gaillard/Illustration/File Photo

By Diane Bartz

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The CEO of privacy-oriented search engine DuckDuckGo said its talks with Apple about a potential contract failed because the smartphone maker was reluctant to give up Google's multibillion dollar paychecks, according to newly transcripts of a landmark antitrust trial of the Alphabet unit.

Gabriel Weinberg, who also founded the company, testified on Sept. 21 on the effect on DuckDuckGo of Google's $10 billion in annual payments to smartphone makers and others to keep its search engine as the default on computers or mobile devices.

Some of his testimony took place outside of public view.

A redacted transcript unsealed late on Wednesday showed DuckDuckGo had struck a deal with Apple in 2014 to be shown as an option on Apple devices. Soon after, DuckDuckGo began pressing Apple to be made the default choice for users who wanted to work in privacy mode, which limited data collected on the user.

App makers seek to be the default in their area, whether it be search or maps or anything else, because many users are unable or reluctant to change defaults.

Weinberg said Apple seemed "really interested" in 2016, and executives of the two companies had meetings in 2017 and 2018 to discuss the shift to DuckDuckGo as the default in privacy mode. DuckDuckGo has about 2.5% of the search market, he testified.

In those meetings, Weinberg said, Apple executives would bring up the concern that its distribution agreements with Google may bar the change. The potential deal died in 2019, Weinberg argued because of the Google payments.

Apple's John Giannandrea, in charge of machine learning and AI strategy whose testimony behind closed doors was also unsealed late Wednesday, had testified in September that Apple had compared Bing and Google with an eye toward playing the two against each other.

Giannandrea testified about Apple's toying with the idea of buying Bing or using it as a default search engine instead of Google, an idea that Giannandrea opposed because of Bing's lower quality search results.

The Justice Department has said that Google, which has some 90% of the search market, pays some $10 billion annually to Apple, other smartphone makers and others to be the default search. That clout in search has made Google a heavy hitter in the lucrative advertising market, boosting its profits.

(Reporting by Diane Bartz; Editing by Richard Chang and Marguerita Choy)
Charles Leclerc hopes that Ferrari's preparations for this weekend's Sprint format event in Qatar will allow the Scuderia to create a "positive surprise", although the Monegasque is wary of another strong challenge from McLaren.

Ferrari has enjoyed an upswing in form in the back half of the F1 season as Carlos Sainz's win in Singapore proved.

But the team also enjoyed a good result in Japan last time out, where it introduced a new floor on its SF-23 and where Leclerc finished fourth, just off the podium.

However, McLaren's duo of drivers were able to outrace their Ferrari counterparts although they were still no match for Red Bull's Max Verstappen.

In Qatar, drivers will take to a resurfaced track this weekend, a change that could be a performance factor on race day in terms of tyre degradation.

Asked if the new surface is likely to have an impact on Ferrari's pace at Lusail, Leclerc hesitated to provide a view on the topic.

"I really dont know anymore because whenever I said something, the opposite happened during the weekend," he joked.

"I would expect a team like McLaren to be, again, very strong, because theyve been super strong in the medium-high speed corners since they got the new upgrade, so I think they will be strong.

"And, hopefully, well create a positive surprise. I think in all the Sprint Races so far this year have been quite positive for us, so I hope we had a good preparation and be on the good side of things for this weekend."

While Ferrari had the measure of Mercedes in Japan, the Italian outfit's gap to Red Bull remains significant.

But Leclerc feels more encouraged by his team's progress of late rather than discouraged by the sustained magnitude of Red Bull's advantage;

"On one side you always need to look at yourself, and I think that since Zandvoort weve learned a lot and on that we are happy," he explained.

"But, of course, we understand that Red Bull is still very far ahead, the McLaren when they are at their peak, they are extremely strong, like they were in Suzuka.

"All in all we are more happy with what weve learned than depressed with the difference for Red Bull, because I think that with what weve learned we can make a significant step in the future.

"And we hope to close the gap to Red Bull as soon as possible."

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FILE PHOTO: Wopke Hoekstra arrives at the Binnenhof for the Council of Ministers in The Hague, Netherlands July 14, 2023. REUTERS/Piroschka van de Wouw/File Photo

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Parliament gave its formal approval on Thursday to appoint Wopke Hoesktra as the EU's new head of climate change policy, paving the way for him to take on the role.

Hoekstra, a former Dutch foreign minister, was widely expected to pass the Parliament vote, and did so by a large margin - 279 votes in favour, 173 against and 33 abstentions.

He had already won backing from the EU Parliament's environment committee earlier this week. EU countries must also approve his appointment before he can start the role, a formality that is expected to wave him through.

(Reporting by Kate Abnett; Editing by Sudip Kar-Gupta)
FILE PHOTO: A Lucid Air electric vehicle is displayed at a shopping mall in Scottsdale, Arizona, U.S., September 27, 2021. Picture taken September 27, 2021. REUTERS/Hyunjoo Jin/File Photo

(Reuters) -Luxury electric-vehicle maker Lucid Group on Thursday launched a cheaper, rear-wheel drive version of the Air Pure sedan starting at $77,400, as it looks to stoke demand.

Higher borrowing costs have hit sales of electric vehicles over the last few quarters, while a price war unleashed by Tesla has hurt the ability of smaller EV makers such as Lucid and Rivian Automotive to grab market share.

The new Lucid model, however, is more expensive than the world's most valuable automaker Tesla's Model S luxury sedan, which starts at about $75,000.

The cheaper electric sedan will offer a range of 410 miles on a full charge and will be available immediately, Lucid said. Its most expensive offering, Air Sapphire, which is also its fastest car, is priced at $249,000.

The company, which is backed by Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund, had cut prices of its Air luxury sedans by as much as $12,400 in August even as it burns cash and posts bigger losses in its race to keep up with Tesla.

Lucid had reported second-quarter revenue of $150.9 million. Analysts expect it to record $207.9 million in sales in the third quarter, according to LSEG data.

The EV maker opened its first overseas production factory last month in Saudi Arabia and the Saudi government has agreed to buy up to 100,000 Lucid vehicles over the next decade.

Shares of the Newark, California-based firm, which have dropped 19% so far this year, slipped 3.6% in early trading.

(Reporting by Akash Sriram in Bengaluru; Editing by Arun Koyyur)
Remains of the bridge connecting Adarsh gaon with Singtam is pictured along the bank of Teesta River at Singtam in Sikkim, India October 5, 2023. REUTERS/Wang Chen NO RESALES. NO ARCHIVES

By Gloria Dickie, Shivam Patel and Alison Withers

NEW DELHI (Reuters) -Scientists and government authorities were working on an early warning system for glacial floods at a Himalayan lake in northeast India when it broke its banks this week with deadly consequences.

Mountainous Sikkim state plunged into chaos on Wednesday as floods spurred by heavy rain and an avalanche killed at least 40 people. It was one of the worst disasters in the region in 50 years, and dozens remained missing on Friday.

The first part of the system, a camera to monitor Lhonak Lake's level and weather instruments, was installed last month, officials involved in the project told Reuters.

If fully operational, the warning system could have given people more time to evacuate, scientists said.

Details of the Lhonak Lake warning system have not previously been reported.

"It's quite absurd, really," said geoscientist Simon Allen of the University of Zurich who is involved with the project. "The fact it happened just two weeks after our team was there was completely bad luck".

He said they planned to add a tripwire sensor that would trigger if the lake was about to burst. That would typically be connected to an alert system that would warn residents to immediately evacuate.

"The Indian government was not prepared to do that this year, so it was being done as a two-step process," he said.

Authorities and residents would have had a warning time of 90 minutes, according to simulations carried out by scientists during planning for an early warning system at Lhonak Lake. It would also have allowed a hydropower station to open gates earlier.

"90 minutes is certainly long enough that people could have been safely evacuated and the gates of the hydropower dam opened," said Allen.

The exact design of the system was still in development, an Indian official with direct knowledge of the project told Reuters.

The installed monitoring devices were supposed to send data to authorities, but the camera lost power for an unknown reason in late September, according to a source at the Swiss embassy, which supported the project.

As climate change warms high mountain regions, many communities are facing dangerous glacial lake outburst floods (GLOFs). Lakes holding water from melted glaciers can overfill and burst, sending torrents rushing down mountain valleys.

More than 200 such lakes now pose a very high hazard to Himalayan communities in India, Pakistan, China, Nepal and Bhutan, according to 2022 research.

In recent years, glacial flood early warning systems have been deployed in China, Nepal, Pakistan, and Bhutan.

An Indian official with direct knowledge of the project said that the plan was to pilot India's first early warning systems for glacial floods at Lhonak Lake and another at nearby Shako Cho in Sikkim, before expanding to other dangerous lakes.

Scientists have for years said those two lakes are at risk of outburst floods, but the design process and search for funding caused time to pass without progress.

India plans to install early warning systems at several other glacial lakes, said Kamal Kishore, a senior official at India's National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA).

He did not answer further questions on the Lhonak project.

However, Farooq Azam, a glaciologist at the Indian Institute of Technology Indore, noted that even if the system had been in place, the potential benefits were not always clearcut.

(Reporting by Ali Withers in Copenhagen, Gloria Dickie in Amsterdam and Shivam Patel in Delhi; Editing by Cynthia Osterman and Michael Perry)
By Timour Azhari

BAGHDAD (Reuters) -Iraq will ban cash withdrawals and transactions in U.S dollars as of Jan. 1 2024 in the latest push to curb the misuse of its hard currency reserves in financial crimes and the evasion of U.S. sanctions on Iran, a top Iraqi central bank official said.

The move aims to stamp out the illicit use of some 50% of the $10 billion that Iraq imports in cash from the New York Federal Reserve each year, Mazen Ahmed, director-general of investment and remittances at the Iraqi central bank (CBI), told Reuters.

It's also part of a broader push to de-dollarize an economy that has seen the greenback preferred over local notes by a population weary of recurring wars and crises following the 2003 U.S. invasion.

People who deposit dollars into banks before the end of 2023 will continue to be able to withdraw funds in dollars in 2024, Ahmed said. But dollars deposited in 2024 could only be withdrawn in local currency at the official rate of 1,320.

The parallel market rate of the Iraqi dinar sat at 1,560 on Thursday, roughly 15% percent below the official rate.

"You want to transfer? Transfer. You want a card in dollars? Here you go, you can use the card inside Iraq at the official rate, or if you want to withdraw cash, you can at the official rate in dinars," Ahmed said.

"But don't talk to me about cash dollars anymore."

A central bank statement later said the ban on cash dollar withdrawals would only apply to accounts receiving transfers from abroad.

Iraq has already set up a platform to regulate wire transfers that make up the bulk of its dollar demand and that used to be a hotbed of fake receipts and fraudulent transactions that siphoned dollars to Iran and Syria, both countries under U.S. sanctions

Set up in concert with authorities in the U.S., where Iraq's$120 billion in reserves from oil sales are held, that system was now nearly airtight, Ahmed said, providing dollars at the official rate to those engaged in legitimate trade such as imports of food and consumer goods.

But the cash withdrawals have continued to be misused, he said, including by would-be travellers provided with a state quota of $3000 who have found ways to game the system.

Iraq is heavily reliant on Washington's goodwill to ensure oil revenues and finances do not face U.S. censure.

At the same time, the current government, which is backed by powerful parties and armed factions close to Iran, has been careful not to alienate Tehran, nor anger the parties and armed groups with deep interests in Iraq's highly informal economy.

DOLLAR SHORTAGE

Many local banks have already been limiting dollar cash withdrawals in the past months, compounding a shortage that has seen the parallel market exchange rate continue to rise.

Ahmed said some banks were low on dollars because many people were trying to withdraw dollars at once amid a feeling of unease over the financial system, while some banks also had shortages because they provided dollar-denominated loans that were then paid back in dinars.

The CBI had also limited the amount of dollars it was providing as part of an agreement with the Fed to limit cash and shift towards e-payment, he said. He denied reports of a stoppage in cash shipments to Iraq from the Fed, noting the latest regular shipment had arrived on Wednesday.

Ahmed said the CBI expected the dinar could lose more value as the new measures went into force but said it was an acceptable side-effect of formalising the financial system and the CBI was providing dollars at the official rate for all legitimate purposes.

"The cost we are carrying today is nothing compared to this goal," he said, describing the parallel market rate as a rate used mostly for illegitimate transactions.

"We don't have a problem with the (parallel) exchange rate hitting 1,700. If they tell me the rate is 1,700, I tell them: 'you want to import from Iran. You want to smuggle. You have corrupt money that you want to get out.'"

He added: "As long as all transparent and legal financing operations happen via us (at the official rate), the rest does not matter."

The central bank statement later quoted Ahmed as saying that the central bank was taking steps that would reduce the parallel market exchange rate and there was no indication that the market rate would hit 1,700.

Some signs of frustration with dollar shortages have already begun to emerge.

On Thursday, video circulated on social media showing a depositor at a Baghdad bank threatening to burn it down if he did not receive his deposit in cash dollars, a scene reminiscent of steps depositors have taken amid Lebanon's banking crisis.

"I swear I will burn it down. I swear I will enter the safe and take my money" the man says.

(Reporting by Timour Azhari; Editing by William Maclean)
Rescues work at a site of a Russian military strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in the village of Hroza, in Kharkiv region, Ukraine October 5, 2023. REUTERS/Vyacheslav Madiyevskyy

(Reuters) - A Russian attack that killed dozens of people in northeastern Ukraine on Thursday was one of the deadliest single strikes on civilians since Moscow invaded Ukraine in February 2022.

Russia has denied deliberately targeting civilians, but many have been killed in missile strikes, drone attacks and shelling.

Below, in chronological order, are some of attacks with the highest civilian death tolls since the start of the war.

HROZA, Oct. 5, 2023

A Russian missile slammed into a cafe and grocery store in the northeastern village of Hroza, killing at least 51 people as they held a memorial service, Ukrainian officials said.

KOSTIANTYNIVKA, Sept. 6, 2023

At least 16 people were killed in an explosion at a busy market in the eastern Ukrainian city of Kostiantynivka. Ukraine said that the blast was caused by a Russian missile. The New York Times reported that the explosion may have been caused by an errant missile fired by Ukraine.

KRAMATORSK, June 27, 2023

A Russian missile hit a pizza restaurant in the eastern city of Kramatorsk, killing 13 people, including 14-year-old twin sisters. The missile struck when the restaurant and its large outdoor terrace were packed with customers. The Russian defence ministry said a temporary Ukrainian army command post had been hit in Kramatorsk, killing two Ukrainian generals and up to 50 officers.

UMAN, April 28, 2023

At least 23 civilians were killed, including six children, when a high-rise apartment block was hit in a Russian missile in the central town of Uman, Ukrainian officials said. Many others were wounded in the attack, which destroyed a large number of apartments.

SLOVIANSK, April 14, 2023

Russian missiles slammed into apartment blocks in the eastern city of Sloviansk, killing 15 people and causing severe damage, Ukrainian officials said. Sloviansk was hit as Russian and Ukrainian forces fought for control of the nearby city of Bakhmut.

DNIPRO, Jan. 14, 2023

An apartment building in the central city of Dnipro was hit during a major Russian missile attack, killing at least 45 people, Ukrainian officials said. The air force said Russia hit the building with a Soviet-era Kh-22, a type missile which Kyiv said was inaccurate but could not be shot down by its air defences.

ZAPORIZHZHIA, Sept. 30, 2022

Up to 32 civilians were killed and almost 100 wounded in what Kyiv said was a Russian missile strike on a convoy of civilian cars on the edge of the southern city of Zaporizhzhia, Ukrainian officials said. The convoy had been assembling at a car market, preparing to leave territory controlled by Ukraine to visit relatives and deliver supplies in an area occupied by Russia. Pro-Russian officials blamed the attack on Ukraine.

VINNYTSIA, July 14, 2022

Ukraine said Russian Kalibr cruise missiles hit the centre of the city of Vinnytsia, killing 27 people. Ukrainian officials said the attack on the city about 200 km (125 miles) southwest of Kyiv was carried out with missiles fired from a submarine in the Black Sea. The missiles destroyed a medical centre and some people arriving for treatment were burned alive in their cars outside, the owner of the centre said.

CHASIV YAR, July 9, 2022

A Russian missile struck an apartment block in the eastern town of Chasiv Yar, west of Bakhmut. Emergency services put the death toll at 48 after a five-storey building partially collapsed in the strike.

ODESA, July 1, 2022

Russian missiles struck an apartment building and two holiday camps in the Black Sea region of Odesa, killing at least 18 people and wounding dozens, Ukrainian authorities said. The regional governor said Russia had used Kh-22 missiles, and subsequent reports put the toll at up to 22.

KREMENCHUK, June 27, 2022

A Kh-22 missile fired by a Russian bomber hit a crowded shopping mall in the centre of Kremenchuk, far from the front lines, killing at least 20 people and wounding 59, Ukrainian authorities said.

KRAMATORSK, April 8, 2022

Ukraine and its allies blamed Russia for a missile attack that killed 61 people at a train station packed with women, children and the elderly fleeing the threat of a Russian offensive in the east.

MARIUPOL, March 16, 2022

A drama theatre where Kyiv said hundreds of people were sheltering in the besieged southern city of Mariupol was bombed. The exact death toll is disputed, with estimates ranging up to 600. Amnesty International said "at least a dozen people and likely many more" were killed in what it said was "a clear war crime". Russia denied it was behind the attack though its denial was refuted by independent investigations such as the one by Amnesty.

(Compiled by Elaine Monaghan and Anna Pruchnicka, Editing by Tom Balmforth, Timothy Heritage and Alex Richardson)
FILE PHOTO: Ex-Goldman Sachs banker Roger Ng and his lawyer Marc Agnifilo leave the federal court in New York, U.S., May 6, 2019. REUTERS/Jeenah Moon/File Photo

By Jonathan Stempel

NEW YORK (Reuters) -Former Goldman Sachs banker Roger Ng, facing 10 years in prison after being convicted in New York of helping loot billions of dollars from Malaysia's 1MDB sovereign wealth fund, will be returned to that country, where he faces related charges.

Chief U.S. District Judge Margo Brodie in Brooklyn on Thursday ordered Ng's surrender to the U.S. Marshals Service by Friday so he could be turned over to Malaysian law enforcement, who would transport him to their country.

Ng would be required upon returning to the United States to begin his prison term, prosecutors said in an earlier letter to Brodie. Ng's lawyers agreed to the proposed schedule, the letter said.

Lawyers for Ng did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Ng's surrender date had been delayed from Sept. 6, after U.S. prosecutors said they needed more time to communicate with Kuala Lumpur about first letting him stand trial there.

A day earlier, Singapore's central bank banned Ng, also known as Ng Chong Hwa, for life, saying his "severe misconduct" made it "contrary to public interest to allow him to carry on business as a representative."

The case stemmed from about $6.5 billion in bonds that Goldman helped 1MDB sell in 2012 and 2013.

U.S. prosecutors said officials, bankers and their associates embezzled about $4.5 billion of that sum.

Ng is a Malaysian national and Goldman's former head of investment banking in Malaysia.

Brodie sentenced Ng in March, 11 months after jurors found him guilty of helping former Goldman boss Tim Leissner embezzle money from 1MDB, launder the proceeds, and bribe government officials to win business.

Leissner's much-delayed sentencing is now scheduled for March 19, 2024. Jho Low, a Malaysian financier and the scheme's suspected mastermind, was also indicted but remains at large.

Goldman settled with authorities in October 2020, agreeing to pay $2.9 billion and having its Malaysian unit plead guilty to a corruption charge.

Ng had been arrested in Malaysia in November 2018, and agreed to be extradited to the United States.

(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by Richard Chang)
FILE PHOTO: Former University of Southern California gynecologist George Tyndall, accused of sexually abusing hundreds of women under the guise of medical exams, appears in court for arraignment in Los Angeles, California, U.S., July 1, 2019. REUTERS/Pa

By Jasper Ward and Kanishka Singh

(Reuters) -Former University of Southern California (USC) campus gynecologist George Tyndall, who had been set to stand trial over accusations he sexually assaulted patients, has died, his defense attorney said on Thursday.

Tyndall's lawyer, Leonard Levine, told Reuters on Thursday that a close friend found Tyndall unresponsive after he failed to return phone calls. He said the cause of death was likely natural and Tyndall seemed to have died in his sleep.

Tyndall, who had denied wrongdoing, lost his medical license and was charged with sexually assaulting 21 patients under the guise of gynecological treatment or exams.

A Los Angeles Superior Court judge ruled that prosecutors had presented sufficient evidence for him to stand trial, which was expected to begin next year.

In 2021, USC reached a record $852 million settlement with more than 700 women who had accused Tyndall of sexually abusing them as patients and the prestigious school of trying to cover it up. University officials have acknowledged failing to act on a number of complaints made against Tyndall but denied a deliberate cover-up.

Tyndall practiced at USC for nearly 30 years before the private, Los Angeles-based university suspended him in 2016.

"All he ever wanted was his day in court, which he was confident would end in his complete exoneration," Levine said, reiterating that his client denied all allegations.

The accusers of Tyndall said his death meant he avoided accountability.

"I'm not happy that he died. I wanted to see him convicted for what he did," Audry Nafziger, a former patient who accused Tyndall of abuse, told the L.A. Times.

"He got away with it... I'm at a loss to explain this to my clients," said John Manly, an attorney of Tyndall's accusers.

(Reporting by Jasper Ward and Kanishka Singh in Washington; Editing by Lisa Shumaker and Rosalba O'Brien)
An area affected by the flood is seen in this undated handout image released on October 4, 2023, in Sikkim, India. India Army/Handout via REUTERS

By Subrata Nag Choudhury and Jatindra Dash

NEW DELHI/KOLKATA (Reuters) -At least 18 people were killed and nearly 100 were missing on Thursday after heavy rains caused a Himalayan glacial lake in northeast India to burst its banks, the worst such disaster in the region in more than 50 years.

Lhonak Lake in Sikkim state overflowed on Wednesday, causing major flooding that authorities said had impacted the lives of 22,000 people. It is the latest deadly weather event in South Asia's mountains being blamed on climate change.

The weather department said Sikkim received 101 mm (4 inches) of rain in the first five days of October, more than double normal levels, unleashing floods worse than one in October 1968 in which an estimated 1,000 people were killed.

The department has predicted heavy rain over the next three days in parts of Sikkim and neighbouring states.

The latest flooding was exacerbated by water released from state-run NHPC's Teesta V dam, local officials said. Four of the dam's gates had been washed away and it was not clear why they had not been opened in time, a government source told Reuters.

As of Thursday evening, 98 people were missing, 17 of whom were army personnel, state chief secretary V.B. Pathak told Reuters by phone.

Fourteen bridges had been washed away, hampering rescue operations already affected by heavy rainfall. Pathak said 18 relief camps had been opened on Thursday where food and medical assistance was being provided.

Authorities in neighbouring Bangladesh were on alert. A state-run water development board official warned that five districts in the northern part of the country could be inundated with a rise in the level of the Teesta river, which enters Bangladesh downstream of Sikkim.

TOURISTS STRANDED

Prabhakar Rai, director of Sikkim's State Disaster Management Authority, said bad weather was hampering rescue operations and described the situation as "slightly grim".

"Due to bad weather conditions we cannot have air service towards the northern part of the state," Rai told Reuters.

"Roads have been damaged at various places so communication is a big problem. Telephone communication disruption is also a problem in the upper reaches," he said. Silt that had collected in houses along the river bed was also slowing rescue work.

About 2,500 tourists are stuck in and around Chungthang town in Mangan district, about 100 km (60 miles) north of the state capital Gangtok, but they are in safe places and will be evacuated by air when the weather improves, Rai said.

An advisory from the state tourism department asked visitors planning trips to the scenic state to postpone travel and said those stuck in Mangan district would be evacuated from Friday subject to weather.

"All tourists stranded at Lachung and Lachen areas are safe and nothing adverse has so far been reported," the advisory said, referring to the two rivers that join to form the Teesta in Chungthang.

Video footage from the ANI news agency, in which Reuters has a minority stake, showed flood waters surging into built-up areas where several houses collapsed. Army bases and other facilities were damaged and vehicles submerged.

Reuters photos showed earth movers and rescue workers shovelling silt and mud to dig out military vehicles buried by the riverside.

Satellite imagery showed that nearly two-third of the lake seems to have been drained.

FUEL SCARCE, FOOD AVAILABLE

Sikkim, a small Buddhist state of about 650,000 people which is wedged in the mountains between Nepal, Bhutan and China, was cut off from Siliguri in the neighbouring state of West Bengal as the main highway had collapsed.

State lawmaker G.T. Dhungel told Reuters that petrol and diesel had become scarce in the state capital Gangtok but food was readily available.

A cloudburst on Wednesday dropped a huge amount of rain over a short period on Lhonak Lake, about 150 km (90 miles) north of Gangtok near the border with China, triggering flash floods down the Teesta valley.

Runoff from melting glaciers often pools in shallow lakes, held back by rocks and debris. The risk comes when a lake overfills, bursting through its natural barrier and sending a torrent of water rushing down mountain valleys.

A 2020 report by India's National Disaster Management Agency said glacial lakes are growing and pose a potentially large risk to downstream infrastructure and life as glaciers in the Himalayas are melting due to climate change.

A study published in the journal Nature Communications in February assessed for the first time how many people globally are at risk from these floods, finding that more than half of the vulnerable global population of some 15 million people live in India, Pakistan, China, and Peru.

The Indian Himalayas have witnessed torrential rains in the past few years that have set off deadly landslides and flash floods, killing more than 500 people this year alone and damaging critical infrastructure, with scientists increasingly blaming global warming as a key factor.

(Reporting by Subrata Nag Choudhury in Kolkata, Jatindra Dash in Bhubaneswar, Tanvi Mehta and Krishn Kaushik in New Delhi, additional reporting by Sarita Chaganti Singh, Ruma Paul and Rajendra Jadhav; writing by YP Rajesh; editing by Robert Birsel, Michael Perry, Kim Coghill and Mark Heinrich)
By Danial Azhar

KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) -Malaysia called on neighbour Indonesia and a grouping of Southeast Asian nations to take action as air quality worsens across the country due to fires in Indonesia, its environment minister told Reuters on Thursday.

Air quality has hit unhealthy levels in several parts of Malaysia in recent days, with Kuala Lumpur blaming fires in Indonesia -- though Jakarta has denied detecting any smoke drifting over its borders into Malaysia.

Almost every dry season, smoke from fires to clear land for palm oil and pulp and paper plantations in Indonesia blankets much of the region, bringing risks to public health and worrying tourist operators and airlines. Many of the companies that own these plantations are foreign or foreign-listed.

Fires that sent haze billowing across the region in 2015 and 2019 burned millions of hectares of land and produced record-breaking emissions, according to scientists.

Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad, Malaysia's minister of natural resources, environment and climate change, said he has sent a letter to his Indonesian counterpart this week on the haze.

"We submitted our letter to inform the Indonesian government and urging them to hopefully take action on the matter," he said in an interview. "We cannot keep going back to having haze as something normal."

He reiterated that most of the hotspots indicating fires were in Indonesia.

The government has also sent letters to Malaysian-owned plantation companies that operate in Indonesia to ensure they comply with laws and prevent burning, he said.

He called for joint action by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) either through legislation or agreement to prevent the yearly haze.

"I hope that every country will be able to be open in order to find a solution because the damage to the economy, to tourism, but especially to health, is immense from the haze," he said.

He said Malaysia was still "seriously" considering a law similar to Singapore that holds companies liable for air pollution.

But there were concerns over whether Malaysia would be able to prosecute polluters based overseas, he said.

(Reporting by Danial Azhar; writing by A. Ananthalakshmi; Editing by Kanupriya Kapoor)
A woman poses with a cigarette in front of Imperial Brands logo in this illustration taken July 26, 2022. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration

(Reuters) -Imperial Brands said on Thursday trading for the year was in line with its expectations and reaffirmed its forecast, on the back of sustained demand, higher prices and strong adoption of tobacco alternatives such as e-cigarettes.

"This (guidance) is particularly encouraging given the inclusion of the now suspended Russian operations in last year's comparators," Hargreaves Lansdown analyst Derren Nathan said.

The company also announced a share buyback of 1.1 billion pounds ($1.34 billion).

The maker of Winston cigarettes blu vapes said its net revenue growth for tobacco products improved in the second half of the year, as higher prices helped offset the relatively steeper decline in volume when compared with historic averages.

Shares in the FTSE 100 firm were up 1.5% to 1,604.5 pence by 0727 GMT, as it bounced back from a sluggish first-half. They have however lost over 20% this year, as regulatory challenges have remained an overhang. Rival British American Tobacco has lost more than 24% of its share value.

Imperial's update also comes a day after Britain's government proposed banning younger generations from ever buying cigarettes, a move that would give the country some of the world's toughest smoking rules and hurt the sales of major tobacco firms.

If passed into law, the smoking age would rise by one year every year, potentially phasing out smoking among young people almost completely by 2040, a briefing paper said.

In recent years, Imperial Brands has focused on its top five markets and expanding next-generation products deemed less harmful to health.

"The extremely cash generative nature of the business is still being underpinned by growth in Imperial's aggregate market share in its five priority markets ...," Interactive Investor analyst Richard Hunter said.

($1 = 0.8230 pounds)

(Reporting by Eva Mathews in Bengaluru; Editing by Nivedita Bhattacharjee, Krishna Chandra Eluri and Michael Perry)
In this article, we will talk about the 15 cheapest restaurant franchises with low total investment. If you want to skip our detailed analysis, you can head straight to the 5 Cheapest Restaurant Franchises With Low Total Investment.

The food service industry, commonly known as the restaurant sector, not only plays a pivotal role in our economy by providing employment opportunities but also holds a substantial financial share. Within this diverse industry, there exists a wide range of restaurant franchise opportunities.

Restaurant industry market analysis

The global foodservice market, valued at USD 2,395 billion in 2022, is projected to reach USD 5,423.5 billion by 2030, with a CAGR of 10.79% during 2023-2030. This growth is driven by rising disposable incomes, increased fast food consumption, and the convenience factor, notably due to the growing number of working women worldwide.

Franchising, embraced by industry leaders like Domino's, McDonald's, and KFC, continues to propel growth. McDonald's, for instance, has franchised over 38,000 restaurants in over 100 countries, serving nearly 68 million customers daily. This model allows large companies to expand into new markets, minimize costs and risks, and rapidly grow their global footprint.

In the ever-evolving restaurant and food industry, one prominent trend that has gained substantial traction in recent years is the surge in popularity of the vegan diet. To cater to this surging demand, major players in the market are actively innovating and adapting. Notably, Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) and Beyond Meat, Inc. (NASDAQ:BYND) have entered into a strategic partnership to introduce plant-based chicken products in the US market. Beyond Fried Chicken, a product of this collaboration, was made available to consumers at Taco Bell, KFC, and Pizza Hut locations for a limited time.

Moreover, major chains, including KFC, McDonald's, and Burger King, are introducing vegan menu items in response to increasing consumer demand for healthier and sustainable options.

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Also, the rise of shopping and dining malls has been a prominent trend in recent years, resulting in heightened consumer expenditure at restaurants and contributing substantially to market expansion.

Notable Industry Players

As per IMARC Group's report, the fast-food industry, known as the Quick Service Restaurant (QSR) sector, exhibited robust resilience, boasting a valuation of $243.9 billion in 2022. Projections indicate that this industry is set to further expand, with an estimated value of $319.7 billion anticipated by 2028, reflecting a substantial Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 4.7% during this period. Adding to this, some of the largest food chains are part of the fast food industry.

Among the notable players in the food service industry, the top three largest firms include McDonald's Corporation (NYSE:MCD), Starbucks Corporation (NASDAQ:SBUX), Subway, and Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM). Together, these industry giants collectively oversee an impressive network of nearly 150,000 branches worldwide.

Analyzing their performance this year, it becomes evident that investors may have certain expectations for the economy. McDonald's Corporation (NYSE:MCD) shares have surged by approximately 12% year-to-date, while Starbucks Corporation (NASDAQ:SBUX) and Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) have experienced gains of around 4% and 8%, respectively.

Furthermore, industry analysts anticipate robust profit reports from renowned restaurant chains like McDonald's Corporation (NYSE:MCD) and Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) in the latter half of 2023.

Glancing at their recent financial results, McDonald's Corporation (NYSE:MCD) delivered a robust second-quarter performance, exceeding expectations with an impressive 13.60% earnings per share (EPS) surprise. Similarly, Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) exceeded the estimated expectations by 13.70%, while Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) surpassed expectations with only 5.30% EPS surprise.

What's driving the growth of these industry players? One key factor is their strategic marketing and the digital transformation of their business operations. For instance, McDonald's CEO, Chris Kempczinski, has echoed similar sentiments when discussing the reasons behind McDonald's growth in recent earning calls. He states:

Last quarter, I talked about consistency, consistency in our numbers, consistency in the drivers of our business and consistency in the excitement across the system about the opportunities ahead. This quarter, the theme is  well, if Im being honest, the theme was Grimace. I mean, Grimace has been everywhere the past few months, all over the news and more than 3 billion views on TikTok. Not bad for a 52nd birthday. This viral phenomenon is yet another proof point of the power of marketing at McDonalds today. Aside from Grimace, what really stood out about this past quarter was our continued consistency. In Q2, we delivered yet another quarter of strong performance, achieving global comparable sales of 11.7% with double digit comparable sales across each of our segments.

He further discussed digitizing the business operations and said:

Our success is fueling even greater ambitions. Were continuing to double down on our existing growth pillars while evolving our strategy through accelerating the organization to stay front footed with an eye towards the future. As weve previously shared, accelerating the organization is an initiative to reimagine how we work to bring the full breadth of McDonalds skills and experiences together to come up with the best solutions that can be scaled. Were bringing this to life through One McDonalds Way, horizontal ways of working and digitizing the organization. While were just beginning to change our ways of working, were already seeing early benefits.

With these details in mind, lets now explore the cheapest restaurant franchises with low total investment.

15 Cheapest Restaurant Franchises With Low Total Investment

Settawat Udom / Shutterstock.com

Our Methodology:

We compiled a list of the 15 cheapest restaurant franchises with low total investment by considering both initial payment fees and royalty fees. To gather fee information for each franchise, we consulted the franchisor's website. Finally, we ordered the list in descending order of low fees.

Also, check out 15 Countries That Tip the Most in 2023.

15 Cheapest Restaurant Franchises With Low Total Investment

Here is the list of 15 cheapest restaurant franchises with low total investment.

15. Dunkin'

Initial Franchise Fee: $40,000

Royalty Charges: 5.90%

Dunkin' is the renowned American coffee and doughnut empire that has been serving customers since 1950 with 13,200+ restaurants in nearly 40 global markets.

Dunkin' provides support and training initiatives for franchises, offering thorough initial training, continuous assistance for advertising and marketing, and guidance for site selection and store design. With a proven franchise model and a powerful global footprint, Dunkin' stands out as an appealing choice for potential investors.

14. Jimmy John's

Initial Franchise Fee: $35,000

Royalty Charges: 6%

John's, a chance for success in the competitive world of restaurant franchises, stands out for its relatively low investment cost, making it a magnet for aspiring entrepreneurs. A typical Jimmy John's franchise generates $1 million in gross sales.

13. Muscle Maker Grill

Initial Franchise Fee: $35,000

Royalty Charges: 5%

Founded in 1995 by health enthusiast Rod Silva, the brand has gained popularity for their commitment to providing tasty, wholesome alternatives to traditional fast food. If you're considering investing in this franchise, you'll be joining a brand that appeals to a growing segment of health-conscious consumers seeking convenient and nutritious dining options.

12. Dickey's Barbecue Pit

Initial Franchise Fee: $30,000

Royalty Charges: 6%

Established in 1941 by Travis Dickey in Dallas, Texas, this renowned barbecue chain has become a household name in American barbecue culture. With a presence in over 500 locations across the United States, if you want to start your own barbecue restaurant, Dickey's Barbecue Pit gives you a chance.

11. Checkers & Rally's

Initial Franchise Fee: $30,000

Royalty Charges: 4%

Checkers & Rally's is a famous fast-food restaurant in the USA, founded in 1986. If you want to open one, you need to pay an initial franchise fee of $30,000. The total cost to start your own restaurant can be from $200,000 to $1.2 million. This investment covers factors like equipment, licenses, and operational aspects.

10. Quizno's

Initial Franchise Fee: $30,000

Royalty Charges: 1%

Quizno's is an American franchise fast food restaurant. They have over 1,150 restaurants in the US, Canada, Puerto Rico, the UK, Australia, and Japan. The first Quiznos was opened in 1981 in Denver, Colorado, by Jimmy Lambatos and Todd Disner. The initial investment to open a Quiznos franchise can vary due to different factors, but it typically ranges from $200,000 to $350,000. This includes the franchise fee, equipment, and initial inventory.

9. Taco Bell

Initial Franchise Fee: $25,000

Royalty Charges: 5.50%

Taco Bell is a popular Mexican fast food chain in the US and worldwide. They offer franchise opportunities for people who want to open their own fast food restaurant. To start a Taco Bell franchise, you need to pay an initial fee of $25,000. The total cost, which includes various factors, ranges from $525,100 to $3.37 million.

8. Papa John's

Initial Franchise Fee: $25,000

Royalty Charges: 5%

Papa John's is one of the cheapest franchises with low investment. It is a popular pizza chain in the US and worldwide. They have many restaurants and millions of loyal customers. To open a Papa John's restaurant, you need to pay an initial fee of $25,000. The total cost, depending on the location and format, is between $130,120 and $844,420.

7. Baskin Robbins

Initial Franchise Fee: $25,000

Royalty Charges: 4.50%

Baskin Robbins is a famous ice cream chain in the US and worldwide. They offer opportunities for people to start their own ice cream shop. To join, you need $25,000 in initial fee. The total cost is between $293,840 to $626,360, depending on the location and other factors.

6. Wingstop

Initial Franchise Fee: $20,000

Royalty Charges: 6%

Starting a Wingstop restaurant franchise can be a good chance for people who want their own restaurant. The starting fee is between $20,000. The total cost depends on the location and other factors, and can range from $315,310 to $948,750.

Click to continue reading and see the 5 Cheapest Restaurant Franchises With Low Total Investment.

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Disclosure: None. 15 Cheapest Restaurant Franchises With Low Total Investment is originally published on Insider Monkey.
By Rupam Jain

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Indian police expanded on Thursday an investigation into suspected illegal foreign funding of a news portal, accusing it in court of having sought to create an incorrect map of the country and also sabotage general elections in 2019.

An official of the home (interior) ministry said Delhi police began questioning nine journalists and social activists linked to the portal NewsClick, including six people first questioned on Tuesday.

The official spoke on condition of anonymity as he was not authorised to speak to the media.

The comment came after Tuesday's police raids on the New Delhi office of the English-language news site and the homes of journalists and writers, followed by the arrests of its founder and a senior administrative officer.

A lawyer for NewsClick could not immediately be reached for comment. In a statement on Wednesday, the media company said it does not publish propaganda and its funding had been received through appropriate banking channels.

Police told a court on Wednesday they sought custody of the two officials because NewsClick emails accessed by investigators showed them, and the firm's American billionaire funder, Neville Roy Singham, "discussing how to create a map of India without Kashmir and to show Arunachal Pradesh as disputed area".

The disputed Himalayan region of Kashmir is split among China, India and Pakistan, while Beijing considers India's eastern state of Arunachal Pradesh to be part of southern Tibet.

New Delhi says both regions are integral parts of India and depicting them incorrectly on maps is punishable by law.

Police also told the court that NewsClick founder Prabir Purkayastha conspired with a little-known group to "sabotage the electoral process during 2019 general elections", but gave no details.

In its statement of Wednesday, NewsClick added that it had been accused of crimes under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) for purportedly carrying Chinese propaganda on its website.

A day earlier, officials said the investigation followed a New York Times report in August that identified NewsClick as part of a global network receiving funds from Singham, allegedly to publish Chinese propaganda.

Media groups and the opposition have criticised the Indian government action.

"Authorities must stop targeting independent media and immediately release any journalists detained on trumped-up or politically motivated charges and solely for their critical reporting," rights group Amnesty International said on Wednesday.

Anurag Thakur, India's minister for information and broadcasting, has said its investigating agencies are independent and take action "if someone has committed any wrong".

(Additional reporting by Krishn Kaushik; Editing by YP Rajesh and Clarence Fernandez)
By Angelo Amante

ROME (Reuters) - Italian authorities have impounded a vessel operated by a Spanish charity, the group said on Thursday, after it carried out multiple rescues of migrants stranded in the Mediterranean.

The Open Arms group said in a statement it had completed three rescues on Saturday picking up 176 people at sea, which included more than 90 unaccompanied minors. The boat docked on Wednesday in the central Italian port of Carrara to disembark the migrants.

The vessel was placed under detention for 20 days after the authorities questioned the captain and the head of mission over what happened, Open Arms said, adding they expected to receive a fine worth between 3,000 and 10,000 euros ($3,155-$10,519).

A spokesperson for the group told Reuters the sanctions were due to an alleged breach of rules requiring charity-run ships to sail to port immediately after a rescue, preventing them from organising multiple operations at sea.

Temporary seizure orders had already been imposed on three charity boats - including the Open Arms - in August.

"It is the duty of the captain of any vessel to assist shipwrecked persons whose lives are in danger and that failure to rescue is a serious offence," Open Arms said, adding those rescued were in a condition of "extreme vulnerability".

The Italian coastguard and the Interior Ministry did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The Italian right-wing government of Giorgia Meloni, which takes an hard line against illegal immigration, passed the new rules to crack down on the rescue vessels in February, and is still struggling to stem flows of migrants from Africa.

The government believes the presence of rescue boats encourages people to make the perilous trip across the Mediterranean. Charities deny this, saying the migrants put to sea regardless.

Migrant arrivals nearly doubled in Italy this year compared with 2022. More than 135,000 people came ashore so far in 2023, compared with around 72,400 in the same period last year, official data show. ($1 = 0.9507 euros)

(This story has been refiled to correct the day of the week in paragraph 1)

(Reporting by Angelo Amante; Editing by Alex Richardson)
FILE PHOTO: Italian Economy Minister Giancarlo Giorgetti gestures during a confidence vote over the 2023 budget at the lower house of the parliament, in Rome, Italy December 23, 2022. REUTERS/Remo Casilli/File Photo

By Giuseppe Fonte and Valentina Za

ROME (Reuters) - Italy risks collecting minimal proceeds from a windfall tax on banks after it gave lenders the option to set aside money instead of paying the levy, three sources close to the matter said.

With no provisions in the law over capital levels and distribution policies, it would be hard for banks to justify that shareholders pay the tax when they could, instead, boost capital and keep the cash on their balance sheet, two of the sources said.

The government last week revisited a 40% tax on banks' net interest margin (NIM) that it had introduced in a shock move in August. Lenders now have the option to boost reserves by an amount equivalent to 2.5 times the tax.

Economy Minister Giancarlo Giorgetti said on Sept. 27 the final outcome of the process would be "a great bank policy measure" that makes Italy's banks the strongest in Europe.

The law requires banks that forego the tax to set aside money under ad hoc reserves in their accounts.

This has no bearing for dividends which are normally paid out of profits.

However, European banks have also been using their excess capital to buy back their own shares and cancel them, in this way boosting dividends and earnings per share on what remains.

If forced to boost capital through the ad hoc reserves, banks can use larger buybacks over time to compensate shareholders, one of the sources said.

Banks could, in theory, eventually distribute an amount equivalent to the entire tax-related reserves they booked, but this appears unlikely as over-aggressive distribution policies would draw supervisory scrutiny, another source said.

The European Central Bank gives approval for buybacks.

With the tax due only in June next year, Italy's main banks have months before their boards are called to make an official decision on the matter.

So far, only the chief executives of Monte dei Paschi di Siena (MPS) and UniCredit have commented on the law.

MPS CEO Luigi Lovaglio said last week that the option of boosting reserves "made sense", adding the choice would lie with the board.

UniCredit CEO Andrea Orcel, who spoke before the latest changes were introduced, said the impact of the tax was "not meaningful" and that plans remained to distribute more than 6.5 billion euros in dividends and share buybacks for 2023.

While cooperative banks have been expected from the start to opt out of the tax as they normally put aside a large chunk of profits as reserves, analysts have forecast large banks would pay the tax.

The Treasury has never provided an official estimate of the expected tax take, although Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has indicated she aimed for proceeds of "just under" 3 billion euros($3 billion) from the levy.

However, Giorgetti has said no spending measure was planned to be funded through the banks' levy at present, suggesting that low revenues would not impact Italy's creaking public finances.

The tax is due to receive final approval of Italy's parliament this week.

($1 = 0.9542 euros)

(Editing by Bernadette Baum)
U.S. Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) departs the U.S. Capitol building on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., April 26, 2023. REUTERS/Nathan Howard/ File Photo

By David Shepardson

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -A key Senate Republican said Thursday he plans to support the White House nominee to head the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) as the agency addresses a series of near-miss incidents and air traffic controller staffing shortages.

Last month, President Joe Biden nominated Michael Whitaker, chief commercial officer for Supernal, a Hyundai company developing an electric air taxi, who served as a deputy FAA administrator under President Barack Obama, to head the agency that has been without a permanent head for 18 months after the prior nominee withdrew.

"The FAA is in desperate need of independent leadership willing to challenge the status quo," said Senator Ted Cruz, the top Republican on the Senate Commerce Committee in a statement to Reuters. He said Whitaker "has expressly committed to focus on the FAA's primary responsibility, which is ensuring the safety of our national aerospace."

The committee held a confirmation hearing for Whitaker on Wednesday and he also won the support of Republican Senator Jerry Moran. Committee chair Maria Cantwell said she thought Whitaker did "very well" at hearing and she hopes to have a committee vote on the nomination.

Whitaker said the FAA must fix persistent air traffic controller staffing issues. The FAA has 10% fewer controllers than it did in 2012.

"We just simply need to solve this problem and figure out how to get it done," Whitaker said.

He also said the FAA must address a spate of near miss airplane incidents and "really drive the most serious ones down to a level of zero ... that needs to be our target." In April, the FAA named an independent safety review team to look at ways to boost air safety and make recommendations by October.

The FAA last month said it would again extend cuts to minimum flight requirements at congested New York City-area airports through October 2024.

U.S. airlines including United have expressed growing frustration with air traffic staff shortages and sought waivers to minimum flight requirements.

Another key issue is when the FAA will certify the Boeing 737 MAX 7, a smaller version of the best-selling plane. In July, Boeing said the first MAX 7 delivery had been delayed to 2024. Congress in December waived rules requiring the MAX 7 and MAX 10 to have modern cockpit alerting systems.

(Reporting by David ShepardsonEditing by Bernadette Baum and Nick Zieminski)
MOSCOW (Reuters) - The Kremlin on Thursday said questions about Russian naval operations should be directed to the defence ministry after the Wall Street Journal reported that Russia had withdrawn the bulk of its Black Sea Fleet from its main base in annexed Crimea.

The WSJ said the move had been a response to Ukrainian attacks. Russia seized and unilaterally annexed Crimea from Ukraine in 2014. Kyiv has vowed to restore its control over the peninsula and the other territories that Russia has captured.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov declined to comment on the story, or on reports that Russia had signed a deal for a permanent naval base on the Black Sea coast of the breakaway Georgian region of Abkhazia.

(Reporting by Reuters; Writing by Alexander Marrow; Editing by Kevin Liffey)
My Pillow CEO Mike Lindell speaks to members of the media while waiting for former U.S. President Donald Trump, following Trump's arraignment on classified document charges, at Trump National Golf Club, in Bedminster, New Jersey, U.S., June 13, 2023. REUT

By David Thomas

(Reuters) - Lawyers for My Pillow CEO Mike Lindell sought permission on Thursday to quit representing him in defamation lawsuits brought by Dominion Voting Systems and Smartmatic USA, alleging he owes the attorneys "millions of dollars" in unpaid legal fees.

Lindell, a prominent supporter of Republican former president and current GOP candidate Donald Trump, is fighting claims that he spread false conspiracy theories that Dominion and Smartmatic voting machines were used to rig the 2020 U.S. presidential election for Democrat Joe Biden.

Lindell has not made any payments on his legal bills since July, his lawyers at Parker Daniels Kibort and Lewin & Lewin told federal judges in Minnesota and Washington, D.C. overseeing the defamation cases.

Forcing the firm to continue representing Lindell without payment "could threaten the very existence of the firm," Parker Daniels Kibort co-founder Andrew Parker said in a court filing. Parker did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Lindell said on Thursday that he is "out of money" and praised his lawyers as being courageous.

Lindell said he was the victim of "lawfare" and that he is unable to borrow money. He said he is looking for new counsel.

"Well find someone, thats the way it is," Lindell said.

Dominion is seeking $1.3 billion in damages from Lindell and his pillow company in the Washington case. Smartmatic is seeking an unspecified amount of damages in Minnesota federal court.

Fox Corp and Fox News in April settled defamation claims brought by Dominion for $787.5 million. Smartmatic's separate $2.7 billion lawsuit against Fox is pending in New York state court.

Both companies are also pursuing election-related defamation lawsuits against former Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani and others.

Trump has continued to make false claims that voting fraud cost him the last election even as he faces criminal prosecutions in Washington and Georgia over his attempts to overturn the 2020 results.

(Reporting by David Thomas; Editing by David Bario and David Gregorio)
FILE PHOTO: Signage is seen outside of a Metro Bank in London, Britain, May 22, 2019. REUTERS/Hannah McKay/File Photo

By Sinead Cruise and Iain Withers

LONDON (Reuters) -Metro Bank shares closed down 26% on Thursday following reports it was exploring options to raise as much as 600 million pounds ($728 million) in debt and equity to bolster its finances, the latest in a string of setbacks to befall the UK lender.

Shares in Britain's best-known challenger bank have lost 98% of their value since the company went public in 2016, leaving it valued at around just 65 million pounds as of Thursday's close. The bank reported having around 15.5 billion pounds in customer deposits at June 30.

Thursday's share price fall is the latest in a litany of woes for the bank, including accounting errors, leadership departures and delayed regulatory approval for key capital reliefs.

Metro Bank's fundraising could include more than 100 million pounds from selling shares to bolster capital, three sources familiar with the matter told Reuters on Wednesday, following an initial report in the Financial Times.

Sky News reported that Metro has begun sounding out potential bidders including Lloyds and NatWest for a 3 billion pound chunk of its mortgage book, citing City sources.

Lloyds and NatWest declined to comment.

Metro Bank said in a statement on Thursday it was considering its options, adding that it met its minimum capital requirements and had not made a decision on fundraising plans.

"The company is evaluating the merits of a range of options, including a combination of equity issuance, debt issuance and/or refinancing and asset sales," it said.

There is no indication customer deposits could be at risk. Metro Bank's customer deposits are backed by a government guarantee up to 85,000 pounds.

While proving popular with customers, Metro said last month that its principal regulator had signalled it was unlikely at this stage to allow the lender to use its own internal risk models for some products. That means it is subject to higher capital requirements, increasing pressure on its high-cost business model and future earnings prospects, ratings agency Fitch said in a note.

Metro Bank's chairman met with officials from its main regulator the Bank of England's Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) on Thursday, for a scheduled meeting, a spokesperson for Metro told Reuters.

The PRA and FCA declined to comment.

Metro's volatile share price in early trading on Thursday triggered two brief automatic suspensions in trading.

The bank's bonds hit their lowest price on record.

The 350 million pounds bond maturing in 2025 plunged to 57, down more than 19 pence in the pound from Wednesday's close, according to MarketAxess.

Meanwhile, the 250 million pounds note due to mature in 2028 fell to 30, down over 21 pence in the pound from Wednesday's close, data from Tradeweb showed.

Regulators in Britain have said the banking system is safe and stable following failures of U.S. lenders Silicon Valley Bank, First Republic Bank, Signature Bank and Switzerland's Credit Suisse which rocked financial markets earlier this year.

Nevertheless, some analysts were downbeat about Metro Bank's long-term prospects.

"Supporting a further capital raise for this struggling bank would be akin to throwing good money after bad, in our view," Gary Greenwood, banking analyst at Shore Capital said in a note, adding he believed the bank's issues were company-specific, including the regulatory capital relief delays.

Sources said Metro Bank has brought in Morgan Stanley as an adviser while one person familiar with the situation said Jefferies recently stepped away as broker to the firm. Jefferies declined to comment.

MULTIPLE SETBACKS

Metro Bank grew rapidly after its launch in Britain in 2010, following a blueprint that founder Vernon Hill had honed in the United States with Commerce Bank that prioritised customer service in-branch while rivals were slashing their networks.

Its distinctive red-and-blue coloured outlets typically located on street corners in busy retail areas offered gimmicks such as a dog-friendly policy inspired by Hill's own pet Duffy.

But, Metro Bank was forced to raise shareholder equity in 2019 after an accounting error led to a misreporting of its risk-weighted assets, spooking investors and regulators and wiping hundreds of millions of pounds off its market value.

The ensuing fallout also ultimately led to the departure of the bank's top management team, including chairman Hill and CEO Craig Donaldson.

The Gilinski Group - an investment firm owned by Colombian billionaire Jamie Gilinski, which holds a 9% stake in Metro Bank - declined to comment on Wednesday.

Metro Bank said on Thursday it expected its forthcoming third quarter trading update to show growth in personal and business current accounts, in line with expectations.

"The board retains conviction in the merits of Metro Bank's customer-centric model and strongly believes that there is a significant opportunity set that the company can capitalise on, subject to renewed balance sheet strength," it said in September.

($1 = 0.8239 pounds)

(Additional reporting by Danilo Masoni, Chiara Elisei, Lawrence White and Anousha SakouiEditing by Mark Potter and Elaine Hardcastle)
BEIRUT (Reuters) - More than 60 people were killed on Thursday in a drone attack on a military academy in Syria's central Homs province where a graduation ceremony was taking place, a war monitor and a security source told Reuters.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said at least nine of them were civilians. Syria's defence ministry has blamed "terrorists" but did not give further details and no group has claimed responsibility for the attack.

(Reporting by Maya Gebeily and Laila Bassam; Editing by Toby Chopra)
FILE PHOTO: People watch a TV broadcasting a news report on North Korea firing a ballistic missile into the sea off its east coast, at a railway station in Seoul, South Korea, March 16, 2023. REUTERS/Kim Hong-Ji/File Photo

SEOUL (Reuters) -North Korea has halted the nuclear reactor at its main atomic complex, probably to extract plutonium that could be used for weapons by reprocessing spent fuel rods, a South Korean news report said on Thursday, citing a government source.

The operation of the 5 megawatt nuclear reactor at the Yongbyon nuclear complex has been suspended since late September, according to intelligence assessment by U.S. and South Korean authorities, the report said.

"South Korea and the U.S. believe this could be a sign of reprocessing work being done to obtain weapons-grade plutonium," the Donga Ilbo newspaper quoted a government source as saying.

Reprocessing of spent fuel rods removed from a nuclear reactor is a step taken before plutonium is extracted. The Yongbyon nuclear complex is the North's main source of plutonium that it likely has used to build nuclear weapons.

North Korea has also operated uranium enrichment facilities, which is a separate source of material that could be used for nuclear weapons.

"The possibility of a nuclear test by North Korea is not ruled out," Donga Ilbo quoted a senior government official as saying, without elaborating on what analysis pointed to the assessment the move may be related to a nuclear test.

South Korea defence ministry spokesman Jeon Ha-gyu declined to comment on the details of the report but said U.S. and South Korean intelligence authorities are closely monitoring related developments.

North Korea has previously halted the operation of the reactor before restarting it and public confirmation of the purpose of such a move, whether it is for maintenance or for fuel extraction, is usually unavailable.

North Korea claims itself a nuclear state but has kept how many nuclear weapons it may have built or deployed a secret. Independent estimates of the North's plutonium range as high as 70 kg, which could be enough to build 20 or more weapons.

U.S. nuclear scientist Siegfried Hecker, who visited the Yongbyon complex in 2010, said despite the time North Korea has spent on the project, its capacity for producing plutonium and also the stock of fissile material itself are still limited.

Russia President Vladimir Putin, who recently hosted North Korean leader Kim Jong Un for a summit and pledged closer military cooperation with Pyongyang, could offer the North much needed help with all aspects of its nuclear programme, Hecker said.

"For the shorter term, what concerns me most is Russia clandestinely supplying plutonium directly," Hecker, a former director of the Los Alamos National Laboratory, said in comments published on the 38 North project.

North Korea has conducted six underground nuclear tests and there have been concerns since last year that it may be about to conduct another test as part of efforts to develop miniaturised nuclear warheads.

North Korea's parliament adopted a constitutional amendment last week on its policy of nuclear force. Kim has also ordered the production of nuclear arms to increase "exponentially" and to diversify its nuclear capabilities.

(Reporting by Jack Kim; Editing by Lincoln Feast)
By Adrianna Ebert

GDANSK (Reuters) -Poland's biggest video game maker CD Projekt said on Thursday it had sold more than 3 million copies of "Phantom Liberty", its long-awaited expansion to flagship game "Cyberpunk 2077", by Oct. 3.

Pointing to the successful release, CD Projekt CEO Adam Kicinski said he had the peace of mind to plan his next professional step, with the company saying he will act as its chief strategy officer from Jan. 1. His current role will be jointly filled by Adam Badowski and Michal Nowakowski.

"Phantom Liberty", released just over a week ago, is CD Projekt's first major game premiere since the bug-ridden launch of "Cyberpunk 2077" in December 2020, which has now sold 25 million copies.

While the release is seen boosting CD Projekt's earnings this year, it has no other major new games planned for the next couple of years as it is works on new projects.

The market consensus is for CD Projekt to this year sell 3 million to 4.5 million copies of "Phantom Liberty".

The company estimates total production expenditure on the game of around 275 million zlotys ($62.8 million), something Erste Group analyst Piotr Bogusz called a negative surprise.

"The high cost of add-on production indicates that our assumptions regarding production budgets for future games may be too conservative," he said.

At the end of its investor day on Thursday, CD Projekt shares fell nearly 5% in the last hour of trading and were down 6.2% at the market close.

JP Morgan said the day did not bring any positive surprises and could trigger further short positions in the company's shares.

"We believe company is on track to report 4 million unit sales by end 2023. This is tracking below our expectations for 5 million and seems to be at the lower end of consensus expectations", it said.

It added that the development budget for "Phantom Liberty" and modification of the core "Cyberpunk 2077" game had come in 40% above its expectations and "should trigger earnings downgrades".

On Steam platform, which sells digital copies of games for PCs, "Phantom Liberty" is rated "very positive" with 88% of 6,353 user reviews positive.

Kicinski also plans to resign from his position on the company's management board at end of 2024 and run for the supervisory board in 2025, CD Projekt said.

($1 = 4.3784 zlotys)

(Reporting by Adrianna Ebert; Editing by Kirsten Donovan)
In this insightful article, we will list the top developing landlocked countries and explain the trade bottlenecks they face because of geographic challenges. You can skip our overview of the challenges these nations face and head to 10 Landlocked Developing Countries.

Landlocked Developing Countries (LLDCs) face substantial hurdles in socio-economic development due to their lack of direct access to the sea. Their geography leads to isolation from global markets and elevated transit costs, placing a significant burden on these nations. For instance, landlocked emerging economies incur average transportation costs that are more than double those of transit countries through which they must route their exports. This situation leads to delayed timelines for sending and receiving overseas merchandise.

According to 2014 estimates by World Bank, the cost for LLDCs to export a container was $3,204, in stark contrast to the $1,268 borne by transit countries (those that have coastlines). Similarly, importing a container cost LLDCs $3,884, compared to the $1,434 for transit countries. We can expect a similar inflation-adjusted differences as of 2023 as well. From the perspective of heavy cargo shipments, businesses in landlocked developing countries bear substantial costs due to their geography.

Because of these higher trade costs, landlocked countries, on average, export less than half of the per-capita amount of their maritime/transit neighbors. Research shows that almost all landlocked countries export less per capita than their regional maritime counterparts. Regarding regional differences, landlocked countries in Western Africa, such as Mali and Burkina Faso, export merely 12% of what their maritime neighbors do. In contrast, Southern African LLDCs like Zambia, Zimbabwe, and Botswana export 70% of the per capita value of their sea-accessing neighbors.

LLDCs are situated far from seacoasts, with Kazakhstan, one of the biggest developing countries in the world, being the furthest at 3,750 km. Other countries including Afghanistan, Chad, Niger, Zambia, and Zimbabwe also experience significant remoteness, each being over 2,000 km away from the nearest coastline. These daunting distances, challenging terrains, and suboptimal road and rail conditions extend the transit times for goods considerably, limiting economic prospects for developing countries without coastlines.

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In the World Bank's Logistics Performance Index (a tool evaluating trade and transport-related infrastructure quality among other factors), most bottom performers are identified as either low or lower-middle-income countries. These economies, often struggling with political turmoil, armed conflict, or geographical challenges as landlocked nations, find their connection to global supply chains obstructed. These conditions underscore the problems LLDCs encounter due to their geographical location, adversely affecting their economic prospects.

Foreign Direct Investment In Landlocked Developing Countries

Despite the considerable transportation expenses that undermine the competitive positions of LLDCs in the global market, the Fastest Developing Countries in 2023 still attract sufficient foreign direct investment. UNCTADs World Investment Report of 2023 highlights that foreign direct investment in landlocked developing countries rose by 6% in 2022, reaching $20 billion, with Kazakhstan, Ethiopia, and Uzbekistan being the top recipients.

Kazakhstan, the worlds largest landlocked country, experienced an 83% increase in its FDI in FY 2022 due to high expected earnings from the extractive industries. The principal foreign investors in Kazakhstan have been the Netherlands, the US, and Switzerland. They have primarily focused on developing the country's mineral, petroleum, and natural gas resources. According to the US Department of State, the US's FDI stock in Kazakhstan has reached $43.48 billion, concentrating on its hydrocarbon and mineral sectors.

Similarly, China is the most significant investor in Ethiopia, accounting for over 60% of approved FDI projects in the country. Ethiopia's strategic location in the Horn of Africa provides China with a gateway to other markets in Africa and the Middle East. Furthermore, Trading Economics reports that Ethiopia's overall FDI jumped from $676 million in 2011 to a record $1.907 billion in 2023 due to its status as one of the fastest-growing economies in Africa. This investment surge in LLDCs occurred while global FDI levels dropped by 12% in 2022 due to interest rate hikes and inflation.

Several corporations have invested heavily in LLDCs to help extract fossil fuels and convert them into usable commodities as many landlocked developing countries possess some form of mineral resources. For example, Chevron Corp (NYSE:CVX), an integrated energy company based in California, has partnered with Kazakhstan for three decades to develop its energy resources. This collaboration has aided Kazakhstan in emerging as one of the worlds major energy producers and exporters.

Chevron Corp (NYSE:CVX) has significantly invested in Tengizchevroil (TCO), Kazakhstans largest crude oil-producing field, multiplying its annual gross production of oil fifteen-fold between the 1990s and 2020s. Chevron Corp (NYSE:CVX) owns 50% equity in the Tengizchevroil oil field and has supported Kazakhstan's economy through direct spending of $14.1 billion in the past decade. Notably, Chevrons tax contributions and royalties comprise 15% of the government's income in Kazakhstan, and the companys local expenditures further contribute to a 2% income increase.

If giants in the shipping, logistics, and extractive industries continue investing in these developing economies, these nations will likely experience enhanced economic prospects, regardless of their geographical constraints.

Lets now move to developing countries without access to sea routes.

32 Landlocked Developing Countries

anandoart/Shutterstock.com

Our Methodology

We created a list of 32 landlocked developing countries from the United Nations classification of LLDCs and ranked them based on their GDP per capita to highlight their level of development. We sourced the GDP per capita data for these LLDCs from The World Bank and listed the nations in ascending order of their per capita GDP.

Based on our findings, here are 32 landlocked developing nations:

32. Burundi

GDP Per Capita: $238

Burundi, a small East African country, relies heavily on subsistence agriculture and grapples with persistent political instability. The nation depends significantly on the Tanzanian port of Dar es Salaam for international trade, resulting in complicated and costly export-import activities, which hinder economic development.

31. Afghanistan

GDP Per Capita: $363

Afghanistan, a landlocked country in South and Central Asia, is known for its rugged terrain and strategic location. Political turmoil and ongoing conflicts severely restrict its economic activities, significantly impacting trade and development. The country predominantly depends on neighboring Pakistan and Iran for seaport access.

30. Central African Republic

GDP Per Capita: $427

The landlocked Central African Republic (CAR) faces economic challenges compounded by underdeveloped infrastructure. Relying on the Cameroonian port of Douala for international trade makes the route lengthy and costly, hindering the nation's efforts to improve its struggling economy.

29. Niger

GDP Per Capita: $533

Niger aims to alleviate poverty through increased trade but is reliant on access to international markets via neighboring countries' ports, mainly in Benin. The costs associated with transit, customs clearance, and shipping in these countries heighten Nigers trade expenses. Despite these challenges, the government is actively engaged in regional partnerships to enhance trade capabilities.

28. Malawi

GDP Per Capita: $645

With an overreliance on agriculture and underdeveloped infrastructure, Malawi depends primarily on Mozambiques ports for international trade. This dependence results in high costs and complexity in export and import activities, though there is an ongoing effort to improve transportation networks to bolster trade prospects.

27. Chad

GDP Per Capita: $716

Located in north-central Africa, Chad contends with inadequate infrastructure and dependence on oil and agriculture. Like CAR, Chad conducts its sea trade via the Douala port in Cameroon, facing expensive and logistically challenging international trade processes.

26. Burkina Faso

GDP Per Capita: $832

Burkina Faso uses Cote d'Ivoire as its transit country due to its direct access to the Atlantic Ocean. The country primarily exports gold, cotton, zinc, and livestock, with Singapore, Ivory Coast, and Switzerland being its main import partners.

25. Mali

GDP Per Capita: $833

Mali, a West African nation, faces a volatile security situation with gold and agriculture as its main revenue sources. Due to its landlocked status, ports in Senegal and Cote d'Ivoire are crucial for Malis international trade.

24. Uganda

GDP Per Capita: $964

Uganda, located in East Africa, relies on the Kenyan port of Mombasa for access to the Indian Ocean. Its most profitable exports include coffee, tea, paper, and oil. Uganda is making substantial efforts to improve its road networks, rail systems, and regional partnerships to facilitate smoother trade routes.

23. Rwanda

GDP Per Capita: $966

Located in East Africa, Rwanda primarily uses ports in Tanzania and Kenya, and this geographic disadvantage increases trade costs, substantially affecting the economy. Since the 1994 genocide, Rwanda has undergone a remarkable transformation, emerging as one of Africa's most stable and orderly countries. The government, under the leadership of President Paul Kagame, has initiated a series of economic reforms that have brought about significant improvements in the country.

22. Ethiopia

GDP Per Capita: $1,027

Ethiopia, an East African nation, is the continent's second-most populous country. Although landlocked, Ethiopia has pursued economic development through industrialization, infrastructure enhancement, and promotion of its growing textile and coffee industries. China has made significant investments in Ethiopia, accelerating momentum in the countrys business sector.

21. Tajikistan

GDP Per Capita: $1,054

Located in Central Asia, Tajikistan boasts mountainous terrain covering over 90% of its landscape. The nation's economy relies heavily on remittances, mining, and agriculture.

20. South Sudan

GDP Per Capita: $1,071

South Sudan, the world's youngest nation, is striving to stabilize and grow its economy amidst ongoing conflict. Although landlocked and situated in East-Central Africa, the country primarily depends on oil production but is actively working to diversify its economy.

19. Lesotho

GDP Per Capita: $1,107

Lesotho, entirely surrounded by South Africa, is unique as the only independent state globally situated above 1,000 meters in elevation. Though its economy is closely tied to its neighbor, Lesotho is developing its textile, agriculture, and tourism sectors, despite geographic challenges.

18. Zimbabwe

GDP Per Capita: $1,267

Despite enduring economic challenges due to political instability and sanctions, resource-rich Zimbabwe persists. The landlocked nation has significant mineral wealth and a well-educated populace, working diligently to leverage these assets for economic recovery.

17. Nepal

GDP Per Capita: $1,336

Nepal is located in the Himalayas between China and India and possesses significant hydropower potential. The country's rich cultural heritage not only attracts tourism but also supports its economy.

16. Zambia

GDP Per Capita: $1,487

Zambia, a landlocked nation in southern Africa, is rich in natural resources, including copper. Although its economy has historically been grounded in mining, there is a growing emphasis on diversification into agriculture, tourism, and manufacturing to reduce dependency on minerals.

15. Kyrgyzstan

GDP Per Capita: $1,606

Kyrgyzstan, another Central Asian nation among LLDCs, has mountainous terrain and lacks a coastline. The nation effectively capitalizes on its abundant natural resources, robust agriculture sector, and strategic location along the ancient Silk Road to promote trade and economic development initiatives.

14. Lao Peoples Democratic Republic

GDP Per Capita: $2,088

The Lao Peoples Democratic Republic, or Laos, leverages its strategic location in Southeast Asia. Engaged in regional economic cooperation, the country focuses on hydroelectric power, agriculture, and tourism, positioning itself as a crucial connector between its neighboring countries. It is one of the landlocked developing countries of most interest as far as economic growth goes.

13. Uzbekistan

GDP Per Capita: $2,255

Uzbekistan, a doubly landlocked Central Asian nation, is known for its rich historical heritage and abundant natural resources, including cotton and gold. With a per capita GDP of $2255, the country reached an export value of $3.1 billion in 2022, with Russia being its largest importer.

12. Bhutan

GDP Per Capita: $3,266

Sitting in the Eastern Himalayas, Bhutan is globally acclaimed for prioritizing Gross National Happiness over GDP. This distinctive approach shapes its socio-economic policies, which are deeply rooted in the nation's religious teachings. The country also champions sustainable tourism and hydroelectric power as key economic drivers, all while maintaining a steadfast commitment to environmental conservation.

11. Bolivia (Plurinational State of)

GDP Per Capita: $3,523

As one of the two landlocked developing countries in South America, Bolivia boasts abundant natural resources, including the largest lithium reserves by country. The nation is now prioritizing industrialization to foster indigenous entrepreneurship and engage in regional economic initiatives.

Click to continue reading 10 Landlocked Developing Countries.

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Disclosure: None. 32 Landlocked Developing Countries was originally published at Insider Monkey.
Russian President Vladimir Putin delivers a speech at the 20th Annual Meeting of the Valdai Discussion Club in Sochi, Russia, October 5, 2023. Sputnik/Grigory Sysoyev/Pool via REUTERS

MOSCOW (Reuters) -President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday that Russia had successfully tested a potent new strategic missile and declined to rule out the possibility it could carry out weapons tests involving nuclear explosions for the first time in more than three decades.

Putin said for the first time that Moscow had successfully tested the Burevestnik, a nuclear-powered and nuclear-capable cruise missile with a potential range of many thousands of miles.

He also told an annual gathering of analysts and journalists that Russia had almost completed work on its Sarmat intercontinental ballistic missile system, another key element of its new generation of nuclear weapons.

Putin, who has repeatedly reminded the world of Russia's nuclear might since launching his invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022, said no one in their right mind would use nuclear weapons against Russia.

If such an attack was detected, he said, "such a number of our missiles - hundreds, hundreds - would appear in the air that not a single enemy would have a chance of survival".

Russia has not conducted a test involving a nuclear explosion since 1990, the year before the collapse of the Soviet Union, but Putin declined to rule out the possibility it could resume such testing.

He noted that the United States had not ratified the treaty that bans nuclear tests, whereas Russia had both signed and ratified it. It would be theoretically possible for the Duma, Russia's parliament, to revoke its ratification, he said.

Military analysts say a resumption of nuclear testing by Russia, the United States or both would be profoundly destabilising at a time when tensions between the two countries are greater than at any time in the past 60 years. In February, Putin suspended Russia's participation in the New START treaty that limits the number of nuclear weapons each side can deploy.

But there was no need, Putin said, for Russia to rewrite its doctrine on the actual use of nuclear weapons, which says it may fire them either in response to a nuclear strike against it or in the event of a threat to the existence of the state.

Responding to a question from Russian analyst Sergei Karaganov, who has advocated lowering the threshold for nuclear use, Putin said: "I simply don't see the need for this."

He added: "There is no situation today in which, say, something would threaten Russian statehood and the existence of the Russian state. No. I think no person of sound mind and clear memory would think of using nuclear weapons against Russia."

Karaganov has raised eyebrows among both Russian and Western strategic analysts by arguing that it is time for Russia to lower its threshold for nuclear use in order to "contain, frighten and sober up our opponents".

He wrote in one recent article that Russia should "shake up" its enemies by threatening nuclear attacks on European countries and U.S. bases in Europe.

(Reporting by Reuters; writing by Mark Trevelyan; Editing by Kevin Liffey)
By Guy Faulconbridge

MOSCOW (Reuters) -President Vladimir Putin on Thursday held out the possibility that Russia could resume nuclear testing for the first time in more than three decades and might withdraw its ratification of a landmark nuclear test ban treaty.

Putin, the ultimate decision maker in the world's biggest nuclear power, also said Moscow had successfully tested a nuclear-powered and nuclear-capable cruise missile - the Burevestnik - whose capabilities he has called unmatched.

The Kremlin chief said there was no need to change Russia's nuclear doctrine however, as any attack on Russia would provoke a split-second response with hundreds of nuclear missiles that no enemy could survive.

"Do we need to change this? And why? Everything can be changed but I just don't see the need for it," Putin said of the nuclear doctrine - the Kremlin policy setting out the circumstances when Russia might use its weapons.

The existence of the Russian state was not under threat, he added. "I think no person of sound mind and clear memory would think of using nuclear weapons against Russia," Putin told a meeting of the Valdai Discussion Club in the Black Sea resort of Sochi.

"I hear calls to start testing nuclear weapons, to return to testing," Putin added, referring to suggestions from hardline political scientists and commentators who say such a move could send a powerful message to Moscow's enemies in the West.

NUCLEAR TEST?

He noted that the United States had signed the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test Ban Treaty but not ratified it while Russia had signed and ratified it.

"I am not ready to say whether we really need to conduct tests or not, but it is possible theoretically to behave in the same way as the United States," Putin said.

"But this is a question for the deputies of the State Duma (lower house of parliament). Theoretically, it is possible to withdraw this ratification. That would be enough," he said.

He was answering a question from hardline Russian political scientist Sergei Karaganov who wants a tougher nuclear stance. Karaganov asked if Putin should lower the nuclear threshold to sober up Russia's "insolent" partners.

Inside Russia, some have called for Putin to detonate a nuclear bomb to show the West that Moscow's patience over its support for Ukraine and apparent unwillingness to negotiate is wearing thin.

Most recently, Margarita Simonyan, the editor-in-chief of state-funded broadcaster RT, suggested that Russia should detonate a nuclear bomb over Siberia.

In the five decades between 1945 and the 1996 Comprehensive Nuclear Test-Ban Treaty, more than 2,000 nuclear tests were carried out, 1,032 of them by the United States and 715 of them by the Soviet Union, according to the United Nations.

The Soviet Union last tested in 1990. The United States last in 1992.

A resumption in nuclear tests by Russia, the United States or both would be profoundly destabilising at a time when tensions between the two countries are greater than at any time since the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis.

In February, Putin suspended Russia's participation in the New START treaty that limits the number of nuclear weapons each side can deploy.

Putin said on Thursday that Russia had almost finished work on its new generation of Sarmat intercontinental ballistic missiles, which are capable of carrying 10 or more nuclear warheads.

And Russia, he said, had also successfully tested the Burevestnik nuclear-powered cruise missile. He did not say when.

UKRAINE

Putin accused the West of losing touch with reality over the Ukraine war. If its leaders had forgotten how to compromise then the world would have to see where such arrogance led, he warned.

Putin said it was the West that had fomented the conflict in Ukraine, which he cast as part of a much larger struggle between Russia and an arrogant West.

"Our interlocutors in the West seem to have completely forgotten that there are such concepts as reasonable self-restraint, compromises, willingness to give in to something in order to achieve an acceptable result for everyone," Putin said.

"They are literally obsessed with only one thing - to push their interests at any cost. If that's their choice, let's see what comes of it."

As he spoke the rouble weakened beyond 100 per U.S. dollar. The rouble was trading at around 80 per U.S. dollar the day before Putin ordered troops into Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022.

Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, something it calls a "special military opeeration", unleashed a war that has devastated swathes of eastern and southern Ukraine, killed or injured hundreds of thousands of men and triggered the biggest rupture in Russia's ties with the West for six decades.

The West casts the war as Moscow's biggest strategic blunder since the 1979 Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, and Western leaders say they are arming Ukraine to enable it to defend itself and defeat Russian forces.

A Ukrainian counteroffensive this year has so far failed to yield major territorial success. Ukraine, which casts the war as an imperial style land grab by Russia, says it will not rest until every last Russian soldier is ejected from Ukraine.

(Writing by Guy FaulconbridgeEditing by Andrew Osborn and Andrew Heavens)
Firefighters work at a site of a Russian military strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in the village of Hroza, in Kharkiv region, Ukraine October 5, 2023. Head of Kharkiv Regional Military Administration Oleg Syniehubov via Telegram/Handout via REUTE

By Vitalii Hnidyi

HROZA, Ukraine (Reuters) -A Russian missile slammed into a cafe and grocery store in a village in northeastern Ukraine on Thursday, killing 51 people during a gathering to mourn a fallen Ukrainian soldier, Ukrainian officials said.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said the incident was a deliberate attack on civilians and "no blind strike".

Large piles of bricks, shattered metal and building materials remained where the cafe and shop were hit early in the afternoon in Hroza village in Kharkiv region.

The attack was the deadliest in Kharkiv region since Russia's invasion more than 19 months ago, a regional official told public broadcaster Suspilne. It also appeared to be one of the biggest civilian death tolls in any single Russian strike.

Regional police told national television the death toll stood at 51, with six injured and three missing. Some of them were mourners gathering in the cafe after a service for a fallen soldier from the village.

"A deliberate missile strike on a village in Kharkiv region on an ordinary store and cafe," Zelenskiy said in his nightly video address, delivered while attending a summit of the European Political Community in Spain.

"Russian troops could not have been unaware of where they were hitting. This was no blind strike."

Moscow did not immediately comment on the events in Hroza. Moscow denies deliberately targeting civilians, but many have been killed in attacks that have hit residential areas as well as energy, defence, port, grain and other facilities.

The village was near the town of Kupiansk, recaptured by Ukrainian forces late last year and close to one of the war's front lines.

Zelenskiy said a six-year-old boy was among the dead and regional officials said families had remained in the village despite a war-time order to evacuate.

TAKING AWAY THE DEAD

Rescue workers made their way through mounds of debris and laid out bodies in a field next to a children's playground.

Some were placed in white body bags and taken away. Others were barely covered by carpets or other materials, with hands awkwardly protruding.

"It's difficult to talk about this, but we only found bits and pieces and remains of the bodies," said regional police investigator Serhiy Bolvinov. "We'll use DNA laboratories to identify the bodies."

The missile hit during a service marking the reburial in his home village of a soldier who had died in action elsewhere.

"There were only civilians. The boy was from this village. When he died, we were under occupation. The (family) decided to rebury him, to bring him home," said resident Oleksandr Mukhovatyi.

"Then this happened. Someone betrayed us. The attack was precise, it all landed in the coffee shop."

Mukhovatyi said his mother, brother, and sister-in-law were among the dead.

Prosecutors told public broadcaster Suspilne that the son of the soldier undergoing reburial -- also a soldier -- was also killed in the attack, along with the son's wife and mother.

Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko said local officials had been sitting down for a meal when the missile struck.

"From every family, from every household, there were people present at this commemoration. This is a terrible tragedy," Klymenko told Ukrainian television.

Klymenko cited preliminary information that he said showed the attack was carried out with an Iskander ballistic missile.

He said the strike was clearly targeted and that Ukrainian security services had launched an investigation into the matter.

"The terrorists deliberately carried out the attack during lunchtime, to ensure a maximum number of casualties," said Defence Minister Rustem Umerov.

"There were no military targets there. This is a heinous crime intended to scare Ukrainians."

Russia has frequently carried out air strikes since the start of its invasion. Ukraine has launched a counteroffensive in the south and east that it says is gradually making progress.

(Additional reporting by Olena Harmash and Yuliia Dysa, Editing by Timothy Heritage, Andrew Heavens, Ron Popeski David Gregorio and Rod Nickel)
MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu and General Valery Gerasimov, chief of the general staff, held a meeting with the commanders of troops fighting in Ukraine, the defence ministry said on Thursday.

It was not immediately clear where the meeting took place.

The ministry broadcast footage of the meeting, at which Shoigu addressed the training of servicemen and volunteers in reserve units. He said he had inspected such regiments in Russia's southern military district on Thursday.

(Reporting by Reuters; Writing by Alexander Marrow; Editing by Toby Chopra)
LONDON (Reuters) - The Scottish government said on Thursday it had approved the extradition to the United States of an American man accused of rape who allegedly faked his own death.

U.S. prosecutors say the man is Nicholas Rossi, linked to rape and sexual assault allegations in Utah, who fled the United States to avoid being charged and attempted to fake his own death in 2020 in an effort to avoid being located.

The man says he is Arthur Knight and is a victim of mistaken identity who has never been to the United States.

"The Scottish ministers have made their decision regarding Mr Nicholas Rossi and signed an extradition order on 28 September 2023," the government said in a statement.

In August, a Scottish court ruled that there was no legal barrier to the extradition of Rossi.

Rossi was first arrested by police in October in 2021 after checking himself into a hospital in Glasgow with COVID-19.

(Reporting by Farouq Suleiman; Editing by Alex Richardson)
A general view shows the plenary hall during an international replenishment conference for the United Nations Green Climate Fund in Bonn, Germany, October 5, 2023. REUTERS/Wolfgang Rattay

By Riham Alkousaa and Kate Abnett

BERLIN/BRUSSELS (Reuters) -The United Nations' main fund for helping vulnerable countries cope with climate change said on Thursday it had raised $9.3 billion, falling short of a $10 billion target after wealthy nations, including the United States, failed to pay in.

The amount represents just a fraction of the $200 billion - $250 billion that developing countries will need every year by 2030 to adapt to climate change, according to an estimate given Wednesday in a U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change report that showed how the costs of preparing for climate impacts and the damages from extreme weather events continue to mount.

With the U.N.'s COP28 climate summit set to begin in less than two months in Dubai, pressure is ramping up for wealthy governments to make good on promises to help developing countries prepare for and cope with climate change.

A climate funding conference in Bonn, Germany, on Thursday saw a handful of countries add cash to the Green Climate Fund  the U.N.'s main funding arm for dispersing climate finance.

Among those donating were Japan, which said it would contribute up to 165 billion yen ($1.11 billion) over 2024-2027, and Norway, which offered around $300 million.

There were no new funding pledges made from the worlds top two polluters, the United States and China.

A U.S. representative said the country was not in a position to pledge due to uncertainty in its domestic budget process, but was "working on" an announcement. China, meanwhile, has yet to agree to join wealthy countries in providing climate finance through the U.N. system.

Australia, Italy, and Sweden said they also were also working on contributions, but did not make pledges on Thursday. The Green Climate Fund (GCF) is aiming to exceed the $10 billion in contributions it raised in its last three-year round.

Mahmoud Mohieldin, the fund's facilitator said he expects the top-up to comfortably surpass the last contribution round once the countries that promised funds announce their pledges.

"If these countries just came with what is expected and some of them of what they contributed last time with a slight increase ... we'll be in that safe zone," Mohieldin told Reuters on Thursday.

'WE ARE STILL WAITING'

Germany, Britain, France and Japan are the biggest backers so far of the UN fund, which was set up to channel money to help poorer nations meet their targets to reduce CO2 emissions, develop clean energy and adjust to a warming world.

"I also increasingly see countries that are not traditional donors as having responsibility: for example the Gulf states, which have become rich from fossil fuels, or emerging countries like China, German Development Minister Svenja Schulze said at the conference.

But GCF's Mohieldin said the Gulf countries should be encouraged and incentivized to contribute rather than pressured, citing the fund's mandate where developed countries voluntarily offered their commitment without pressure based on the Common but Differentiated Responsibility principle.

"China has its own way of doing business ... But I'm not expecting China to contribute in this cycle," he added.

The UN's official list of nations that should provide climate finance - which dates back to 1992 - includes only a few dozen wealthy countries.

The issue of climate funding is set to dominate this year's UN COP28 climate summit, which begins in November in Dubai.

There, countries plan to launch a new international fund dedicated to supporting vulnerable nations where climate change is causing irreversible damage. Traditional donors, including European nations and the United States want a bigger pool of countries to pay in.

David Ryfisch climate policy expert at campaign group Germanwatch said the Green Climate Fund tally on Thursday was disappointing and a "poor signal" ahead of COP28.

"Climate finance in general is a big trust enabler or also trust eroder when it comes to the climate negotiations," he said.

Hanging over this year's UN climate talks is a still-unmet pledge that rich nations made in 2009, to by 2020 deliver $100 billion in climate finance each year. Countries have said they expect to be able to meet it this year.

"We are still waiting for delivery of the $100 billion per year promise of climate finance," said Madeleine Diouf Sarr, chair of the Least Developed Countries group in UN climate negotiations, adding that in the group's view, success at COP28 will hinge on countries launching and putting money into the new climate damages fund.

"An empty loss and damage fund won't do anything for our people," she said.

($1 = 148.9700 yen)

(Reporting by Riham Alkousaa and Kate Abnett; Editing by Susan Fenton, Katy Daigle, Mark Potter and Aurora Ellis)
FILE PHOTO: An aerial view shows a part of the Monterrey-Saltillo highway near the land where Tesla has indicated it could build a new gigafactory, in Santa Catarina, on the outskirts of Monterrey, Mexico March 3, 2023. REUTERS/Daniel Becerril/File Photo

By Daina Beth Solomon

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) -Final permits for Tesla to build an electric-vehicle (EV) factory in the northern Mexican state of Nuevo Leon could be ready in weeks and the local government is beginning infrastructure work requested by the company, a senior official said on Thursday.

Tesla in March announced plans to open a major plant in Nuevo Leon, its first in Mexico, which has also attracted EV investments from other automakers seeking to meet ambitious production targets. The company has not given details on construction or production.

Nuevo Leon's Economy Minister Ivan Rivas said in an interview that the automaker helmed by billionaire Elon Musk is considering a bigger plant than originally envisaged, and is still hammering out design, architecture and engineering plans.

The federal government is on track to grant environmental approvals within weeks, he said, which will allow the electric-vehicle maker to begin construction.

"I'm expecting it's a matter of a couple of weeks, maximum a month," Rivas said.

Rivas said only Tesla could address its timeline for Mexico. But he said he expected production to begin far earlier than 2026 or 2027, the dates Mexican newspaper Reforma reported last month, because Nuevo Leon was aiming to quickly put infrastructure in place for water, electricity and transportation.

"We're working for this to happen very soon, so they have all the infrastructure they need to begin as soon as possible," he said.

Tesla did not respond to a request for comment.

Rohan Patel, Tesla's senior public policy and business development executive, in a post on the platform X, formerly Twitter, rejected a Mexican media report saying Tesla had canceled its plans and thanked local, state and federal officials.

"We are very appreciative of their efforts to enable the permits and sustainable infrastructure necessary," he said.

Nuevo Leon has agreed to build an electric power substation, a natural gas pipeline, railroad spurs, roads, and services for water and sewage, according to a Memorandum of Understanding with Tesla, seen by Reuters.

Rivas said the projects can be built before or at the same time as Tesla's own construction and will also benefit other companies.

A high-voltage electric cable that already runs above the Tesla site will be connected with a substation and transformer, he noted.

The so-called "Gigafactory" is set to bring in an estimated $15 billion over the next two years through Tesla and its suppliers, Nuevo Leon Governor Samuel Garcia said last month. The state has called for more investment in health, education, roads and basic services to accommodate the expected growth.

(Reporting by Daina Beth Solomon; Additional reporting by Kylie Madry; Editing by Rod Nickel)
By Idrees Ali and Huseyin Hayatsever

WASHINGTON/ANKARA (Reuters) -The United States on Thursday shot down an armed Turkish drone that was operating near its troops in Syria, the Pentagon said, the first time Washington has brought down an aircraft of NATO ally Turkey.

A Turkish defense ministry official said the drone that was shot down did not belong to the Turkish armed forces, but did not say whose property it was.

Turkey's National Intelligence Agency carried out strikes in Syria against Kurdish militant targets after a bomb attack in Ankara last weekend, a Turkish security source said on Thursday.

On Thursday night, Turkish military air strikes destroyed 30 Kurdish militant targets in northern Syria, including an oil well, a storage facility and shelters, and "neutralised" many militants, the Turkish defence ministry said.

Pentagon spokesman Brigadier General Pat Ryder said Turkish drones had been seen carrying out airstrikes in Hasakah, Syria, on Thursday morning about 1 km away from U.S. troops. A few hours later a Turkish drone came within less than a half a kilometer (0.3 miles) of U.S. troops and was deemed a threat and shot down by F-16 aircraft.

"We have no indication that the Turkey was intentionally targeting U.S. forces," Ryder told reporters.

Hasakah is in northeastern Syria and the mainly Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) is the spearhead of the main ally of the U.S.-led coalition against Islamic State, also called Daesh.

U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin spoke with his Turkish counterpart, a call Ryder said was "fruitful."

The Turkish Defense Ministry said on social media platform X that its minister Yasar Guler had told Austin that "Turkey is ready for a joint fight with the USA against Daesh."

"Both Ministers emphasized the importance of close coordination of U.S. and Turkish elements in activities carried out in the region," it added.

U.S.-Turkish relations are in a delicate moment, with the United States hoping Turkey will ratify NATO membership for Sweden.

While the United States has not shot down a Turkish aircraft before, tensions have flared and there have been close calls. In 2019, U.S. troops in northern Syria came under artillery fire from Turkish positions.

The Chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Charles Q. Brown, spoke with his Turkish counterpart and discussed "the need to follow common deconfliction protocols to ensure the safety of our personnel in Syria," the U.S. military said in a statement.

TURKEY STRIKES IN SYRIA

U.S.-allied Syrian Kurdish forces said Turkish attacks had killed eight people since the bomb attack in Ankara by Kurdish militants.

U.S. support for Kurdish forces in northern Syria has long caused tension with Turkey, which views them as a wing of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK). That group claimed responsibility for Sunday's attack in Ankara near government buildings.

On Wednesday, Turkey said the two attackers had come from Syria. The bombing killed both attackers and wounded two police officers. The Syrian Democratic Forces, the Kurdish-led force backed by the United States, denied that the bombers had passed through its territory.

On Thursday, a Turkish defense ministry official said a ground operation into Syria was one option that Turkey could consider. Turkey has mounted several previous incursions into northern Syria against the Syrian Kurdish YPG group.

"Our only goal is to eliminate the terrorist organizations that pose a threat to Turkey. A ground operation is one of the options to eliminate this threat, but it is not the only option for us," the official said.

Security forces in northeastern Syria said Turkey launched a series of attacks on Thursday with more than 15 drones entering the region's airspace and hitting targets including infrastructure and gas and oil stations. In a statement, the security forces said Turkish attacks killed six members of the internal security forces in northeastern Syria, and two civilians in two separate strikes.

Later on Thursday, Kurdish militants launched a rocket attack on a Turkish military base in northern Syria, wounding five police officers and three soldiers, Turkey's private DHA news agency reported.

Turkey has redoubled its operations targeting the outlawed PKK, by carrying out air strikes in northern Iraq.

Turkish officials said any infrastructure and energy facilities in Iraq and Syria controlled by the PKK, as well as the YPG, were legitimate military targets.

"The PKK and the YPG are the same terrorist organization, they are our legitimate target everywhere. Turkey conducted operations whenever and wherever necessary in the past, and these operations will continue if needed again," the defense ministry official said.

Turkey has warned forces of third countries to stay away from places controlled by the PKK and YPG.

"We are calling on all parties, our friendly and allied countries in particular, to stay away from those terrorists. This is just a reminder. It is up to them to take necessary precautions," the official said, without naming any country.

(Reporting by Idrees Ali and Huseyin Hayatsever; Additional reporting by Tuvan Gumrukcu and Costas Pitas; Writing by Huseyin Hayatsever and Tom Perry; Editing by Angus MacSwan, David Gregorio and Grant McCool)
(Reuters) - Ukrainian forces made some headway in their drive southward as part of a gruelling counteroffensive to recapture areas seized by Russia in its 19-month-old invasion of its neighbour, military officials said.

Ukrainian officials also said Kyiv's forces were resisting Russian attempts to reverse gains on the eastern front made by Kyiv since it launched the counteroffensive in June.

Russia's Defence Ministry reported a measure of success by its troops on the eastern front. Reuters was unable to verify the battlefield reports.

Ukraine's southern group of forces outlined advances as Kyiv presses on with a drive towards the Sea of Azov to split Russian-occupied territory in the south and east.

"We have had partial success to the west of Robotyne," a spokesperson for the southern group, Oleksandr Shtupun, told national television, noting that Ukrainian troops are "continuing to reinforce the positions they hold".

"In certain areas, we are advancing from 100 to 600 metres."

The drive southward has been slower than lightning gains a year ago in the northeast. But Ukrainian troops have captured a string of villages and officials say they are readying themselves around Robotyne and other villages for new advances.

The General Staff of Ukraine's armed forces, in its evening report, said its forces had repelled Russian attacks near Robotyne and nearby Verbove.

President Volodymyr Zelenskiy dismisses criticism that the counteroffensive is not producing expected results and rejects any notion that it is hampered by strategic errors.

The General Staff report also said Russian forces had been unsuccessful in attempts to recapture ground near Andriivka - a village in the east recaptured by Ukrainian forces last month.

Ukraine's campaign in the east has focused on taking villages to facilitate the recapture of the devastated city of Bakhmut, seized by Russian forces in May after months of battles.

Russia's defence ministry said Moscow's forces had struck Ukrainian positions close to Andriivka and a nearby village.

It also said it had downed 31 drones launched by Kyiv overnight over three southern Russian regions, but reported no casualties or damage.

A Ukrainian security source earlier said Kyiv's forces had carried out a drone attack on the western Russian region of Belgorod and hit an S-400 air defence complex and its radar.

(Reporting by Ron Popeski; Editing by Stephen Coates)
British Home Secretary Suella Braverman walks with Paul Rwigamba, Director of Projects and Property Management and Flora Uwayezu, Project Sales of the Century Real Estate group during a tour in Kigali Rwanda, March 18, 2023. REUTERS/Stringer/File Photo

By Michael Holden and Andrew MacAskill

LONDON (Reuters) - The British government will try next week to persuade judges at the country's top court to overturn a ruling which declared unlawful its divisive plan to deport to Rwanda asylum seekers who arrive in small boats across the Channel.

In a blow to Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's government and his pledge to "stop the boats", London's Court of Appeal concluded in June the scheme to send tens of thousands of migrants more than 4,000 miles (6,400 km) to East Africa was not lawful, saying Rwanda could not be treated as a safe third country.

On Monday, government lawyers will argue at the Supreme Court this ruling was wrong, while those representing migrants from Syria, Iraq, Iran, Vietnam and Sudan want the judges to conclude the scheme itself is flawed.

The stakes for Sunak are high, as he has made dealing with immigration one of his five priorities. Successfully addressing the issue could revive his Conservative Party's ailing fortunes as it languishes some 20 points behind in opinion polls ahead of an election expected next year.

"A government that doesn't deliver on what you promised will always get punished. We need to get a grip on this issue," Conservative lawmaker Brendan Clarke-Smith told Reuters at the party's annual conference this week.

Sunak and his ministers argue that the Rwanda scheme, launched last year by then Prime Minister Boris Johnson, would smash the business model of human traffickers, and deter people from the perilous cross-Channel journey in inflatable boats and dinghies. Six people drowned in August while 27 perished in November 2021.

Opponents say it is immoral, expensive and simply will not work. Their number includes human rights groups, lawmakers, including some Conservatives, and the Archbishop of Canterbury, the head of the Anglican communion. Even King Charles is reported by media to have privately expressed reservations.

The fate of the scheme now lies in the hands of five judges, including the Supreme Court's President Robert Reed, who will begin hearing mainly technical legal argument over three days starting on Monday.

IMMIGRATION

Like many nations across Europe, Britain has been wrestling with how to deal with the influx of migrants often fleeing war zones in the Middle East, Africa and Afghanistan.

In a speech on Tuesday to Conservative Party members, interior minister Suella Braverman said that a "hurricane" of migrants was threatening to hit Britain and she vowed to stop what she called "bogus asylum seekers".

Immigration was one of the main factors behind the 2016 vote to leave the European Union, with the promise that Britain would take back control of its borders.

But despite Conservative government pledges to cut arrivals, overall net migration has continued to rise, reaching a record high of 606,00 last year. This year, more than 25,000 people have arrived in Britain on small boats, while a record 45,755 were detected in 2022.

Britain says the cost of its broken asylum system, with some 135,000 people waiting for a decision, is more than 3 billion pounds ($3.6 billion) a year. Housing some of those migrants in hotels costs about 6 million pounds a day.

A new law, passed in July, now makes it a legal duty on the interior minister to deport migrants arriving without permission either back to their homeland or to a safe third country. Britain has only signed such an agreement with Rwanda.

Sending each asylum seeker to the African country would cost on average 169,000 pounds, the government has said.

Other measures brought in to cut costs by housing claimants on military bases have met strong opposition - often from local Conservative lawmakers, while a barge moored off the south coast to house hundreds of migrants was emptied after days following the discovery of Legionella bacteria in the water supply.

Polls show high immigration remains a major concern to voters, although conversely also suggest there is support for migrants filling labour shortages. What surveys do indicate is a clear majority think the government is handling the issue badly.

"If we reduce the amount of illegal immigration, I think people will back at us at the next election," Clarke-Smith said.

($1 = 0.8278 pounds)

(Writing by Michael Holden; Editing by Kate Holton and Angus MacSwan)
Accenture PLC (NYSE:ACN) has recently been in the spotlight, drawing interest from investors and financial analysts due to its robust financial stance. With shares currently priced at $306.31, Accenture PLC has witnessed a daily loss of 1%, marked against a three-month change of -0.79%. A thorough analysis, underlined by the GF Score, suggests that Accenture PLC is well-positioned for substantial growth in the near future.

Accenture PLC (ACN): A Deep Dive into Financial Metrics and Competitive Strengths

What Is the GF Score?

The GF Score is a stock performance ranking system developed by GuruFocus using five aspects of valuation, which has been found to be closely correlated to the long-term performances of stocks by backtesting from 2006 to 2021. The stocks with a higher GF Score generally generate higher returns than those with a lower GF Score. Therefore, when picking stocks, investors should invest in companies with high GF Scores. The GF Score ranges from 0 to 100, with 100 as the highest rank.

Accenture PLC has been assigned the following ranks:

Each one of these components is ranked and the ranks also have positive correlation with the long term performances of stocks. The GF score is calculated using the five key aspects of analysis. Through backtesting, we know that each of these key aspects has a different impact on the stock price performance. Thus, they are weighted differently when calculating the total score. With high ranks in financial strength, profitability, and growth, and a slightly lower rank in GF Value, GuruFocus assigned Accenture PLC the GF Score of 98 out of 100, which signals the highest outperformance potential.

Understanding Accenture PLC Business

Accenture PLC is a leading global IT-services firm that provides consulting, strategy, and technology and operational services. These services run the gamut from aiding enterprises with digital transformation to procurement services to software system integration. The company provides its IT offerings to a variety of sectors, including communications, media and technology, financial services, health and public services, consumer products, and resources. Accenture employs just under 500,000 people throughout 200 cities in 51 countries. With a market cap of $192.67 billion and sales of $64.11 billion, Accenture PLC has an operating margin of 13.74%.

Story continues

Accenture PLC (ACN): A Deep Dive into Financial Metrics and Competitive Strengths

Financial Strength Breakdown

According to the Financial Strength rating, Accenture PLC's robust balance sheet exhibits resilience against financial volatility, reflecting prudent management of capital structure. The Interest Coverage ratio for Accenture PLC stands impressively at 185.37, underscoring its strong capability to cover its interest obligations. This robust financial position resonates with the wisdom of legendary investor Benjamin Graham, who favored companies with an interest coverage ratio of at least 5. With an Altman Z-Score of 6.66, Accenture PLC exhibits a strong defense against financial distress, highlighting its robust financial stability. With a favorable Debt-to-Revenue ratio of 0.05, Accenture PLC's strategic handling of debt solidifies its financial health.

Profitability Rank Breakdown

The Profitability Rank shows Accenture PLC's impressive standing among its peers in generating profit. Furthermore, Accenture's Gross Margin has seen a consistent rise over the past five years, as evidenced by the data: 2019: 30.81; 2020: 31.53; 2021: 32.38; 2022: 31.99; 2023: 32.34; . This trend underscores the company's growing proficiency in transforming revenue into profit. The Piotroski F-Score confirms Accenture PLC's solid financial situation based on Joseph Piotroski's nine-point scale, which measures a company's profitability, funding and operating efficiency. Accenture PLC's strong Predictability Rank of 4.5 stars out of five underscores its consistent operational performance, providing investors with increased confidence.

Growth Rank Breakdown

Ranked highly in Growth, Accenture PLC demonstrates a strong commitment to expanding its business. The company's 3-Year Revenue Growth Rate is 13.6%, which outperforms better than 62.9% of 2399 companies in the Software industry. Moreover, Accenture PLC has seen a robust increase in its earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) over the past few years. Specifically, the three-year growth rate stands at 10.7, and the rate over the past five years is 13.1. This trend accentuates the company's continued capability to drive growth.

Accenture PLC (ACN): A Deep Dive into Financial Metrics and Competitive Strengths

Next Steps

Given Accenture PLC's strong financial strength, profitability, and growth metrics, the GF Score highlights the firm's unparalleled position for potential outperformance. This analysis suggests that Accenture PLC is a promising investment opportunity for those seeking robust growth and financial stability. GuruFocus Premium members can find more companies with strong GF Scores using the following screener link: GF Score Screen

This article first appeared on GuruFocus.


FILE PHOTO: An aerial view of makeshift shelters of Sudanese, who fled the conflict in Sudan's Darfur region, in Adre, Chad July 20, 2023. REUTERS/Zohra Bensemra/File Photo

GENEVA (Reuters) - The United Nations said on Thursday it was struggling to reach 18 million people in need in Sudan to fend off a humanitarian disaster, hampered by insecurity, interference from the warring parties and a lack of international support.

"We need to reach 18 million people and we will not give up on that target, but we need more international support, better access to the people who need us and safety for our operations," said Clementine Nkweta-Salami, Deputy Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General and Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Sudan.

"We're not at this point able to have an operation that is commensurate to the scale (of needs)," she said.

Conflict between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) erupted in mid-April, sparking a grave humanitarian crisis and pushing the country to the brink of civil war.

More than 4.2 million people have fled their homes because of the war, and nearly 1.2 million have crossed to neighbouring countries, putting huge pressure on Sudan's meagre resources.

Nkweta-Salami said that 19 aid workers had been killed and 29 injured since the fighting broke out, which she said was unacceptable and unlawful.

Red tape was hampering the distribution of humanitarian aid, and a $2.6 billion humanitarian appeal to the international community to help the people of Sudan was just one third funded, she said.

"We also need to see an end to interference from the conflict parties in our operations, including forced checks of humanitarian trucks and mandatory military presence during the loading process in Port Sudan and Jazeera," she said.

"I hope that we will see swift action to reduce the bureaucratic obstacles, including delays in visa approvals for staff as promised by Sudanese authorities in a donor meeting yesterday."

The U.N. fears that the crisis could worsen if the conflict spreads to other areas such as central Jazeera state, which she called "Sudan's breadbasket", where fighting could hinder food supplies. "This will have great consequences for food security."

(Reporting by Gabrielle Tetrault-Farber; Editing by)
Slovakian police check a vehicle at the Slovakia-Hungary border in Sahy, Slovakia, as Slovakia officially imposed temporary controls on its border with Hungary due to a rising number of illegal migrants coming on the Balkans route, October 5, 2023. REUTER

By Krisztina Than

NITRA, Slovakia (Reuters) - Illegal migrants kept arriving at a police registration centre in southern Slovakia on Thursday, as border controls imposed by the government appeared not to have deterred smugglers who had dropped them on the Hungarian side overnight.

By 10 a.m. (0900 GMT) Slovak police had detained around 70 illegal migrants and driven them to the registration centre in the town of Nitra, about 80 kilometres (50 miles) from the border with Hungary. They had crossed the green border - a 655-km stretch, partly along the meandering and shallow Ipel river, that is virtually impossible to seal.

Among them was 26-year-old Baraa, from Quneitra in Syria, who came with her husband, five-year-old twins and their younger brother. Worn out by the journey, as she waited for her paperwork to be processed she told Reuters they had tried three times before managing to cross to Hungary from Serbia when an Afghani smuggler cut the steel fence for them at night.

From there a well-oiled network of smugglers picked them up, driving them straight to the Slovak border.

Baraa's family had lived in Istanbul since 2014 but decided to leave as the money her husband earned was not enough to pay expenses, they did not feel welcome and wanted their children to have better schooling.

"They wouldn't pay him his salary sometimes, we couldn't afford rent and they wouldn't sign up the children in schools as Syrians, they said, until there was a vacancy," she said, via a translator.

When asked why they chose to go to Germany she said: "Because everybody says Germany is good."

BALKAN ROUTE TO EU

The small police station in Nitra has registered 300 illegal migrants a day, on average, in recent weeks as the number of migrants entering Slovakia - largely coming from the Middle East and Afghanistan via the Balkans - has risen eleven-fold to nearly 40,000 this year, government data shows.

Police said hardly any of those arriving have proper personal documents.

Migrants waited in detention until their personal data and fingerprints were checked against international criminal databases.

Those who have a clean record get a one-page document proving their registration under a Slovak law that allows Syrians and Afghans - deemed to be refugees fleeing war - to stay. This has been a lure for many migrants, experts have said, giving them a measure of assurance that they cannot be deported from the EU.

Later in the day, police would take them to the train station at Nitra where they get on a train to Germany. The migrants waiting on Thursday all said they were heading there.

TEMPORARY CONTROLS

As the Slovak route became popular, illegal migration to Slovakia was as high in September alone as in all of 2022. Many pay smugglers thousands of euros for the journey from Turkey.

Under pressure to act, Slovakia's caretaker government on Wednesday imposed 10-day temporary controls on its border with Hungary after Poland, the Czech Republic and Austria tightened their own frontiers with Slovakia.

Germany introduced new controls with Poland and the Czech Republic last week. All are part of the wider EU's Schengen open-border, visa-free travel zone.

The border controls came just as EU countries on Wednesday sealed a migration deal on how to handle arrivals, taking a step towards overhauling the bloc's asylum and migration rules before a pan-European election next year.

Poland and Hungary voted against, while their reluctant peers Austria, the Czech Republic and Slovakia abstained. The majority vote went through in Brussels.

Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said that by pushing for mandatory relocation quotas, Brussels "acts as a magnet for illegal immigrants", supporting human traffickers' business models.

"We hope the next European Parliament election will bring leaders who want to stop migration, not invite more migrants to Europe," he said.

On the Hungarian-Slovak border at the official crossing at Sahy, Slovak police stopped trucks at random on Thursday morning, but traffic was slow.

Around 10 km from Sahy, at the tiny village of Dregelypalank on the Hungarian side of the Ipel river, scattered rubbish and banana skins showed where smugglers had dropped their group early in the morning, near a bridge that is closed and undergoing construction work but can still be used to cross into Slovakia.

(Reporting by Krisztina Than; Editing by Alex Richardson)
FILE PHOTO: U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Dick Durbin takes part in the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on President Joe Biden's judicial nominees on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., January 25, 2023. REUTERS/Leah Millis/File Photo

By David Shepardson

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Senate's No. 2 Democrat asked the CEOs of United Airlines and American Airlines to answer questions on rising passenger complaints and higher ticket prices and fees.

Senator Dick Durbin said on Thursday he was taking a closer look at legislation proposed in January to require refunds for delayed flights and transportation on rival carriers, and prohibiting unnecessary airline fees as part of sweeping new consumer protections. Durbin's queries come as major airlines have clashed with him over credit card fee legislation as well.

Durbin, who chairs the Judiciary Committee, asked both airlines in a letter how they are "ensuring that this profit is not earned at the expense of a fair, pleasant, and affordable travel experience for consumers?"

Durbin also sought answers on how airlines are ensuring "consumers are not saddled with excessive or unnecessary fees."

The Biden administration earlier this year asked Congress to mandate airlines to pay cash compensation for delays of three hours or more when carriers are responsible, and provide new requirements for transparency over fees such as for baggage when booking tickets.

Congress has so far largely ignored those requests. A House aviation policy bill approved in July would bar airlines from charging family seating fees but would not set minimum seat sizes or impose new rules for compensation for delays.

Durbin's letter also went to Nick Calio, who heads Airlines for America, an industry trade group. United, American and the trade group did not comment.

Major airlines have heavily lobbied Congress in recent months to reject legislation co-sponsored by Durbin they say threatens their ability to offering rewards credit cards that give consumers frequent flyer miles for making transactions.

Durbin says the bill would address "outrageous" fees charged by Visa and Mastercard, and boost competition by directing the Federal Reserve to ensure that large credit card-issuing banks offer a choice of at least two networks over which an electronic credit transaction may be processed.

The bill would not apply to American Express. Delta Air, which has a frequent flyer credit card with American Express, did not receive a letter from Durbin.

Airline unions oppose the bill they say "would provide a massive competitive advantage to Delta."

(Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Chris Reese and Tom Hogue)
FILE PHOTO: The World Bank logo is seen at the 2023 Spring Meetings of the World Bank Group and the International Monetary Fund in Washington, U.S., April 13, 2023. REUTERS/Elizabeth Frantz/File Photo

By Rachna Uppal

DUBAI (Reuters) - The World Bank expects Saudi Arabia's economy to contract by 0.9% in 2023, it said in a report on Thursday, revising its growth forecast for the world's top oil exporter sharply lower on the back of production cuts and lower prices.

Overall growth in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region is also expected to slow, now forecast at 1.9% in 2023, down from 6% last year and lower than the 3% the World Bank forecast in April.

Saudi Arabia, the Arab world's largest economy, has cut its oil production in a preemptive move it says is intended to stabilise the oil market. Oil prices remain below last year's average of $100 a barrel.

The Saudi government expects GDP growth to slow to 0.03% in 2023, from 8.7% last year, according to revised forecasts released by the finance ministry last week, narrowly avoiding a contraction.

The World Bank's latest economic update, released on Thursday, attributed the "abrupt decrease" in Saudi economic activity to "lower oil production levels amidst subdued prices." It had forecast Saudi GDP growth at 2.9% in 2023 in its April update.

Growth for the six-member Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) of oil and gas exporters is expected to decelerate to 1% in 2023, down from 7.3% last year, and sharply below the 3.2% forecast in the World Bank's April update. It is expected to rebound to 3.6% in 2024.

MENA economies vary widely between the wealthy GCC, developing oil importers such as Jordan, and developing oil exporters such as Iraq.

But prolonged oil production cuts this year have balanced out the playing field somewhat. Growth among the region's oil importers is projected at 3.6% this year, down from 4.9% in 2022.

"This divergence is projected to close in 2023 and 2024, bringing the tale of two MENAs to a halt," according to the World Bank MENA Economic Update.

The World Bank sees MENA GDP per capita growth, a proxy for living standards, slowing to 0.4% in 2023 from 4.3% last year, raising concerns about prospects for future employment among the region's young population.

Without proper policy reforms, we could inadvertently worsen the enduring structural challenges faced by MENA's labor markets as far as the eye can see. The time for reform is now," Ferid Belhaj, the World Bank's vice president for the region, said.

The GCC is now expected to post a fiscal surplus of 0.8% of GDP in 2023, down from 4.3% in 2022, and lower than the 3.2% projected in April.

(Reporting by Rachna Uppal; Editing by Mark Potter)
UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM 6-K

REPORT OF FOREIGN PRIVATE ISSUER

PURSUANT TO RULE 13a-16 OR 15d-16

UNDER THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

For the month of October 2023 (Report No.2)

Commission file number: 001-40753

ICECURE MEDICAL LTD.

(Translation of registrants name into English)

7 HaEshel St., PO Box 3163

Caesarea, 3079504 Israel

(Address of principal executive office)

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant files or will file annual reports under cover of Form 20-F or Form 40-F:

 Form 20-F  Form 40-F

CONTENTS

On October 5, 2023, IceCure Medical Ltd. (the Company) issued a press release titled: Women Deemed Inoperable for Breast Cancer Benefitted from IceCure Medicals ProSense as an Independent Study Performed in Italy Showed a Tumor Reduction Rate of 93.43% to 96.81%, a copy of which is furnished as Exhibit 99.1 with this Report of Foreign Private Issuer on Form 6-K (the Report).

The first, second, third and fifth paragraphs and the section titled Forward Looking Statements in the press release furnished herewith are incorporated by reference into the Companys Registration Statements on Form F-3 (Registration Nos. 333-258660 and 333-267272 ) and Form S-8 (Registration Nos. 333-270982, 333-264578 , and 333-262620 ), filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, to be a part thereof from the date on which this Report is submitted, to the extent not superseded by documents or reports subsequently filed or furnished.

1

SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.

IceCure Medical Ltd. Date: October 5, 2023 By: /s/ Eyal Shamir Name: Eyal Shamir Title: Chief Executive Officer

2

ATTACHMENTS / EXHIBITS

PRESS RELEASE TITLED: "WOMEN DEEMED INOPERABLE FOR BREAST CANCER BENEFITTED FROM ICECURE MEDICAL'S PROSENSE AS AN INDEPENDENT STUDY PERFORMED IN ITALY SHOWED A TUMOR REDUCTION RATE OF 93.43% TO 96.81%."
0000016918 false 0000016918 2023-10-04 2023-10-04





UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549





FORM 8-K





CURRENT REPORT

Pursuant to Section 13 OR 15(d) of The Securities Exchange Act of 1934





Date of Report (Date of earliest event reported)





CONSTELLATION BRANDS, INC.

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

Delaware 001-08495 16-0716709 (State or other jurisdiction

of incorporation) (Commission

File Number) (IRS Employer

Identification No.)





207 High Point Drive , Building 100 , Victor , NY 14564

(Address of principal executive offices) (Zip Code)





Registrants telephone number, including area code ( 585 ) 678-7100

Not Applicable (Former name or former address, if changed since last report.)





Check the appropriate box below if the Form 8-K filing is intended to simultaneously satisfy the filing obligation of the registrant under any of the following provisions ( see General Instruction A.2. below):

 Written communications pursuant to Rule 425 under the Securities Act (17 CFR 230.425)

 Soliciting material pursuant to Rule 14a-12 under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14a-12)

 Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 14d-2(b) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14d-2(b))

 Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 13e-4(c) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.13e-4(c))





Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:

Title of Each Class Trading Symbol(s) Name of Each Exchange on Which Registered Class A Common Stock STZ New York Stock Exchange





Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is an emerging growth company as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act of 1933 (230.405 of this chapter) or Rule 12b-2 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (240.12b-2 of this chapter).





Emerging growth company  If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. 









Item 2.02 Results of Operations and Financial Condition.

On October 5, 2023, Constellation Brands, Inc. (Constellation or the Company), a Delaware corporation, issued a news release (the release) announcing its financial condition and results of operations as of and for the second fiscal quarter ended August 31, 2023. A copy of the release is attached hereto as Exhibit 99.1 and incorporated herein by reference. The projections constituting the guidance included in the release involve risks and uncertainties, the outcome of which cannot be foreseen at this time; therefore, actual results may vary materially from these forecasts. In this regard, see the information included in the release under the caption Forward-Looking Statements.





The information in the release is furnished and not filed for purposes of Section 18 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and is not otherwise subject to the liabilities of that section. Such information may be incorporated by reference in another filing under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 or the Securities Act of 1933 only if and to the extent such subsequent filing specifically references the information incorporated by reference herein.





The release contains non-GAAP financial measures; in the release these are referred to as comparable, adjusted, organic, or excluding Canopy EIE measures. For purposes of Regulation G, a non-GAAP financial measure is a numerical measure of a registrants historical or future financial performance, financial position, or cash flows that excludes amounts, or is subject to adjustments that have the effect of excluding amounts, that are included in the most directly comparable measure calculated and presented in accordance with GAAP in the statement of income, balance sheet, or statement of cash flows (or equivalent statements) of the registrant; or includes amounts, or is subject to adjustments that have the effect of including amounts, that are excluded from the most directly comparable measure so calculated and presented. In this regard, GAAP refers to generally accepted accounting principles in the United States. Pursuant to the requirements of Regulation G, the Company has provided reconciliations within the release of the non-GAAP financial measures to the most directly comparable GAAP financial measures.





Comparable measures, including those presenting the impact of the Companys equity method investment in Canopy Growth Corporation (Canopy), adjusted measures, and organic net sales measures are provided because management uses this information in monitoring and evaluating the results and underlying business trends of the core operations of the Company, its investment in Canopy, and/or in internal goal setting. In addition, the Company believes this information provides investors, financial analysts covering the Company, rating agencies, and other external users valuable insight on underlying business trends and results in order to evaluate year-over-year financial performance.









Item 7.01 Regulation FD Disclosure.

On October 5, 2023, Constellation issued the release, a copy of which is furnished herewith as Exhibit 99.1 and is incorporated herein by reference.





In addition, on October 4, 2023, the Companys Board of Directors declared a quarterly cash dividend in the amount of $0.89 per issued and outstanding share of the Companys Class A Common Stock and $0.80 per issued and outstanding share of the Companys Class 1 Convertible Common Stock, in each case payable on November 17, 2023, to stockholders of record of each respective class as of the close of business on November 3, 2023.





References to Constellations website and/or other social media sites or platforms in the release do not incorporate by reference the information on such websites, social media sites, or platforms into this Current Report on Form 8-K, and Constellation disclaims any such incorporation by reference. The information in the release attached as Exhibit 99.1 is incorporated by reference into this Item 7.01 in satisfaction of the public disclosure requirements of Regulation FD. This information is furnished and not filed for purposes of Section 18 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and is not otherwise subject to the liabilities of that section. Such









information may be incorporated by reference in another filing under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 or the Securities Act of 1933 only if and to the extent such subsequent filing specifically references the information incorporated by reference herein.









Item 9.01 Financial Statements and Exhibits.





Exhibit No. Description 99.1 News Release of Constellation Brands, Inc. dated October 5, 2023. 104 Cover Page Interactive Data File (embedded within the Inline XBRL document).









SIGNATURES





Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned hereunto duly authorized.





Date: October 5, 2023 CONSTELLATION BRANDS, INC. By: /s/ Garth Hankinson Garth Hankinson Executive Vice President and

Chief Financial Officer





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UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549

FORM 8-K

CURRENT REPORT

Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934

Date of Report (Date of earliest event reported):

EMERGENT BIOSOLUTIONS INC.

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

Delaware 001-33137 14-1902018 (State or other jurisdiction (Commission File Number) (IRS Employer of incorporation) Identification No.)

400 Professional Drive , Suite 400 ,

Gaithersburg , Maryland 20879

(Address of principal executive offices, including zip code)

( 240 ) 631-3200

(Registrants telephone number, including area code)





N/A

(Former name or former address, if changed since last report)

Check the appropriate box below if the Form 8-K filing is intended to simultaneously satisfy the filing obligation of the registrant under any of the following provisions ( see General Instruction A.2. below):

 Written communications pursuant to Rule 425 under the Securities Act (17 CFR 230.425)

 Soliciting material pursuant to Rule 14a-12 under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14a-12)

 Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 14d-2(b) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14d-2(b))

 Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 13e-4(c) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.13e-4(c))

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:

Title of each class Trading Symbol(s) Name of each exchange on which registered Common Stock, Par Value $0.001 per share EBS New York Stock Exchange

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is an emerging growth company as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act of 1933 (230.405 of this chapter) or Rule 12b-2 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (240.12b-2 of this chapter).

Emerging growth company 

If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. 









Item 8.01. Other Events

On October 5, 2023, Emergent BioSolutions Inc. (the Company) issued a statement announcing recent communications it received from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (the FDA) related to the Companys Camden manufacturing facility in Baltimore, Maryland.

The FDA has determined that the inspection classification of this facility is voluntary action indicated (VAI). A VAI inspection classification indicates that, although investigators found and documented objectionable conditions during the inspection, the FDA will not take or recommend regulatory or enforcement action because the objectionable conditions do not meet the threshold for action at this time. Based on the FDAs determination that the Camden facility is VAI, the facility is considered to be in a minimally acceptable state of compliance with regard to current good manufacturing practice (CGMP). Furthermore, the FDA has concluded that this inspection is closed under 21 CFR 20.64(d)(3).

The FDA also sent Emergent a Warning Letter close-out letter which states that it appears that [Emergent has] adequately addressed the violations contained in [the] Warning Letter that was originally issued to Emergent on August 10, 2022 regarding the Camden facility.

A copy of the Company statement is attached hereto as Exhibit 99.1 and incorporated herein by reference.

Item 9.01. Financial Statements and Exhibits

(d) Exhibits .

Exhibit No. Description 99.1 Company statement issued on October 5, 2023. 104 Cover Page Interactive Data File (embedded within the Inline XBRL document).









SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned hereunto duly authorized.

EMERGENT BIOSOLUTIONS INC. Dated: October 5, 2023 By: /s/ RICHARD S. LINDAHL Name: Richard S. Lindahl

Title: Executive Vice President, Chief Financial

Officer and Treasurer













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U.S Air Force Capt. Joshua Haveman, 60th Air Evacuation Squadron flight instructor, stands in front of litters and training mannequins at Travis Air Force Base, Calif., Sept. 23, 2023. Haveman was involved in the rescue of a climber on Half Dome at Yosemite National Park in California, Sept. 2, 2023. (Lauren Jacoby/U.S. Air Force)

(Tribune News Service)  With cold wind and hail whipping up near the summit of Half Dome in Yosemite National Park, U.S. Air Force flight instructor Joshua Haveman could tell that the other hikers trying to reach the 8,800-foot peak were struggling, especially on the last several hundred feet to the top.

Thats when someone screamed, and Haveman watched as a hiker slid about 80 feet and landed on a thin rock ledge, narrowly avoiding a fall farther down the mountain. Haveman could see that the man was injured by the way his legs were angled, so he started to gather sticks to fashion a makeshift splint that was used to stabilize the hiker for his trek back down the mountain.

Havemans rescue of the injured hiker on Sept. 2 earned the praise last week of his Air Force base, which issued a news release, calling the instructor an everyday hero who demonstrated extraordinary bravery and resourcefulness during a perilous rescue.

In the past six years, three people have been killed trying to summit the peak, including two people who died in the summer of 2019. A spokesperson for the National Park Service did not disclose the condition of the injured hiker.

Hikers who make their way to the top of Half Dome rely on a cable-suspension system to help with the last leg of the climb  a steep trudge up a slick and sheer granite surface.

Haveman, a flight instructor with the 60th Air Evacuation Squadron, could tell that the other hikers on the mountain were desperate to get out of the elements as they rushed on the cable-assisted system, according to the news release.

Anticipating an accident or injury, Haveman put down his bag, pulled out a medical kit and headed in the direction of the other hikers. Moments later, he watched the hiker fall.

A climber awaits evacuation after receiving Tactical Combat Casualty Care at Yosemite National Park in California, Sept. 2, 2023. U.S. Air Force Capt. Joshua Haveman, 60th Air Evacuation Squadron flight instructor, was involved in the rescue of a climber on Half Dome after inclement weather caused unfavorable climbing conditions. (Courtesy photo) Climbers stand with a Yosemite Search and Rescue park ranger to flag down a helicopter for a medical evacuation at Yosemite National Park, California, Sept. 2, 2023. U.S. Air Force Capt. Joshua Haveman, 60th Air Evacuation Squadron flight instructor, was involved in the rescue of a climber on Half Dome after inclement weather caused unfavorable climbing conditions. (Courtesy photo)

Other climbers were concerned for my safety, but the guy was just up there screaming in pain, so I left the cable area and climbed onthe ledge, Haveman said.

When he reached the hiker, he secured the splint above and below the mans shin and wrapped his ankle in a bandage, according the news release from Travis Air Force Base. Haveman also covered the man with his coat and instructed other people on the mountain to contact authorities. A few minutes later, a park ranger arrived to help the hiker down the cable system and administered care for shock, according to the news release.

Another park ranger arrived with a medical bag and the hiker was stabilized with a medical-grade splint, according to Haveman. As the weather improved, other hikers were able to help and put together a pulley system to lower the hiker the last 30 feet to level ground.

Thats when a rescue helicopter arrived to lift the hiker off the mountain, according to Travis Air Force Base.

I wasnt sure a helicopter would be able to land with the winds being as strong as they were, so we were preparing to carry him 10 or 12 hours down with a six-man litter, Haveman said. Apparently, it was this pilots first day on the job, and he was amazing. It took him about 15 minutes, but he was able to sit the chopper down and we were able to get the patient loaded and breathe a sigh of relief.

The National Park Service said in the incident is under investigation. A spokesperson for the 60th Air Mobility Wing said the Travis Air Force Base news release describes a personal account of an active accident investigation and Haveman would not be available for an interview until the investigation is complete.

2023 Los Angeles Times.

Visit latimes.com.

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
Sen. Josh Hawley, (R-MO) speaks during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on Capitol Hill in 2021. (Tom Williams/Pool/Getty Images/TNS) ()

WASHINGTON  Republican Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri said Thursday that he will put a hold on Army civilian nominations that require Senate approval until the service earmarks $41 million for new housing at Fort Leonard Wood.

Hawley informed Army Secretary Christine Wormuth of his intentions in a letter, writing he was left with no other choice after years of pressing the Army to replace aging homes at the 83-year-old garrison in Missouris Ozark Mountain region.

The Armys inability to meet its own deadlines is unacceptable, and I will wait no longer, Hawley wrote. The soldiers and families at Fort Leonard Wood deserve better, and it is your responsibility to deliver for them.

Hawleys hold would add Army civilians to the 300-plus senior military officer nominees being blocked from promotion by Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala. Tuberville is preventing the Senate from proceeding with unanimous confirmation votes on groups of nominees due to the Pentagons abortion access policies.

The Senate last month bypassed Tubervilles blockade by confirming top nominees for the Joint Chiefs of Staff one by one.

Hawley said he is instituting his hold because Army leaders did not keep their promises to spend $41.4 million on improving Fort Leonard Wood housing in fiscal 2023, which ended Sept. 30. The Army has identified 1,142 family homes at the post that require repair, Hawley said.

He accused Wormuth of offering her commitment to the expenditure months ago and failing to produce a housing replacement plan. Hawley said the Army told his office no funds will be available for the project until Dec. 15 at the earliest.

Fort Leonard Wood Sverdrup Gate in Missouri. (U.S. Army)

Beyond your inability to even produce your plan, what investment you have promised has now failed to materialize, Hawley wrote to Wormuth. The deadline has now come and gone and given your record I have real doubts that Fort Leonard Wood will receive this investment before the end of the calendar year.

The Army said it would not comment on correspondence between a member of Congress and Wormuth.

The secretary will respond back to the senator directly as appropriate, an Army spokesperson said.

Hawley would be the latest senator to leverage the Senates process for confirming military nominees to demand policy changes and extract concessions from the Pentagon.

In 2020, Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., put a hold on 1,000 military nominees until the Pentagon provided assurances Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman would not be blocked from a promotion due to his testimony against former President Donald Trump. Her hold lasted two weeks.

Tuberville announced his block on senior general and flag officer promotions in February. Eight months later, he continues to insist he will only lift his hold after the Pentagon rescinds a policy that ensures service member access to abortions and other reproductive health care.
NEW YORK (AP)  Donald Trump s corporate executives once boosted the estimated worth of his Trump Tower penthouse by $20 million partly because of the value of his celebrity, according to trial testimony Thursday.

Another $100 million hike in the estimate was based on a single email from a real estate broker, who hadnt commissioned an appraisal, didn't inspect the triplex and was told it was three times its actual size.

From a witness stand, former Trump Organization controller Jeffrey McConney shed light Thursday on calculations central to Trump's New York civil business fraud trial.

New York Attorney General Letitia James lawsuit alleges the former president conspired with top executives to exaggerate his wealth and deceived lenders and others. Trump denies any wrongdoing.

In pretrial testimony, the former president said that people who did business with him were given ample warning not to trust the statements, and that he never thought that the documents would be taken very seriously. He described the financial statements as more a compilation of properties than a true representation of their value, saying some numbers were guesstimates.

But McConneys testimony came with evidence that the documents were integral to some of Trumps loan deals. In letters shown in the court, McConney told a bank that he was providing Trumps 2015 and 2016 financial statements as required under the conditions of a loan for his Seven Springs estate north of New York City.

To figure the penthouse value, Trump executives combed through real estate listings, looking only for the highest-priced similar apartments, McConney testified.

And the $100 million increase in 2012?

Im basing that on the email from Kevin, McConney said, referring to real estate agent Kevin Sneddon. The broker had offered a quick estimate based on an asking price for a similar triplex in a Trump-owned building elsewhere in Manhattan  an apartment that ultimately sold for only 40% of the asking price.

Story continues

The next year, McConney tacked on another $20 million, upping the estimated value of Trump's penthouse to $200 million. He said the change was based partly on a Trump real estate executive's suggestion that the apartments celebrity connection warranted a higher price.

McConney also acknowledged making his own calculations, instead of relying on the numbers in a bank appraisal, to increase the stated worth of Trumps Wall Street office building by $227 million.

Those and other asset valuations went onto Trump's financial statements, which in turn went to banks, insurers and others. James calls that persistent and repeated fraud.

Trump says James, a Democrat, is just trying to damage his 2024 presidential campaign. Hes leading the Republican field.

Trump himself didnt attend the proceedings Thursday, after choosing to be there  and avail himself of the news cameras waiting outside  for the three prior days.

McConney reasoned that there was no right way to determine valuations and that it was appropriate to calculate the value of Trumps apartment based on asking prices instead of sales prices as appraisals do.

Judge Arthur Engoron said: I think any high school student knows the right way.

McConney, who worked at the Trump Organization from 1987 until February, also testified at the company's criminal tax fraud trial last year. Granted immunity from prosecution, the ex-controller admitted breaking the law to help fellow executives avoid taxes on company-paid perks, including by filing false tax returns.

The company was convicted. Trump himself wasnt charged in that case.

McConney's appearance Thursday followed days of testimony from two accountants who worked on the financial statements.

James legal team sought to demonstrate that Trump and his company had complete control over the preparation of the statements, with the outside accountants relying on information from the company. The defense tried to show that if there were problems, they were accountant Donald Bender's fault.

Bender, who prepared the statements for years, insisted Thursday that he asked Trump Organization executives for all required documents but didn't always get them. He said he learned about some missing appraisals only during Manhattan prosecutors' investigation into Trumps business practices.

Defense lawyer Jesus M. Suarez asked why Bender didn't notice the appraisals' absence earlier.

I asked them for appraisals, Bender said. They represented they gave me everything I needed.

The non-jury trial concerns allegations of conspiracy, insurance fraud and falsifying business records. James is seeking $250 million in penalties and a ban on Trump doing business in New York.

Engoron ruled on some other claims before the trial, finding that Trump did engage in fraud by inflating his assets' worth on the statements.

The ruling, which Trump appealed Wednesday, calls for dissolving the limited liability companies that control Trump Tower and some other prominent holdings and having a receiver operate them. If the ruling is upheld, Trump would lose his authority over choosing tenants, hiring or firing employees and other key decisions regarding those properties.

Engoron on Thursday ordered both sides to submit names of potential receivers by Oct. 26. Engoron also told the defendants to give a court-appointed monitor, retired federal Judge Barbara Jones, advance notice of any attempts to create new entities to hold or acquire the assets of a company that's being dissolved under the ruling.

Along with the civil lawsuit, Trump is also fighting a series of criminal cases. He has pleaded not guilty to charges of plotting to overturn his 2020 election loss to Democrat Joe Biden, illegally hoarding classified documents and falsifying business records related to hush money paid on his behalf.

Trumps lawyers asked a judge in a filing late Wednesday to dismiss the hush money case in a New York court, calling the prosecution a discombobulated package of politically motivated charges marred by legal defects. Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg's office said it would respond in court papers due next month.

In Washington, Trump's attorneys filed Thursday to try to get the federal election subversion case thrown out, claiming that his actions were part of his presidential role so not subject to prosecution. Federal prosecutors are expected to contest that argument.

___

Follow Sisak at x.com/mikesisak and send confidential tips by visiting https://www.ap.org/tips.
Construction work continues on a Marine Corps runway at Camp Schwab, Okinawa, June 22, 2023. (Stars and Stripes)

CAMP FOSTER, Okinawa  A Japanese Cabinet minister took Okinawa prefecture to court Thursday to wrest permitting authority from its governor and kick-start the stalled construction of a coastal airfield to replace Marine Corps Air Station Futenma.

Tetsuo Saito, Japans minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, filed suit in the Naha branch of Fukuoka High Court after Okinawa Gov. Denny Tamaki on Wednesday missed another deadline to approve permits for the runway in northeastern Okinawa, a ministry spokesman said by phone Thursday.

The unfinished runway is on reclaimed land in Oura Bay at the Marines Camp Schwab.

After Japans Supreme Court on Sept. 4 struck down Tamakis appeal, Saito recommended Tamaki grant the permits by Sept. 27. When Tamaki delayed, Saito demanded the governor comply by Wednesday.

The court had ordered Tamaki to approve design changes and issue the construction permits, the spokesman said.

It is clear that the governor should take action based on the law, the ministry spokesman said, echoing a Sept. 28 statement. The governor must approve the permits immediately, he said.

The ministry lawsuit asks the high court to strip Tamaki of permitting authority and give it instead to Saito, the spokesman said. No court date has been set, a spokeswoman from Fukuoka High Court said Thursday.

The prefecture is already preparing for oral arguments, which will take place within 15 days, a spokesman for Okinawas Department of Civil Engineering and Construction said by phone Thursday.

Some government officials in Japan may speak to the media only on condition of anonymity.

The Japanese government has twice taken an Okinawa governor to court over the runway permits, a spokesman for the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications said by phone Thursday. Land Minister Keiichi Ishii sued former Gov. Takeshi Onaga in 2015 after Onaga revoked the permits. Onaga eventually acquiesced to the high court.

Tamaki resumed the fight as part of his election campaign after Onaga died of pancreatic cancer in August 2018.

His refusal to sign off on construction changes in November 2021 kicked off a protracted legal fight.

Tamaki argued that the soft seabed in the construction zone posed a hazard and that Tokyo had failed to consider the environmental impact on the critically endangered dugong, a cousin of the manatee protected by Japanese law.

The airfield being built at Camp Schwab is meant to replace MCAS Futenma in urban Ginowan, a site considered inherently dangerous by some Japanese officials.
The BlackCat Lounge at Osan Air Base, South Korea, might escape your attention until youre close enough to catch sight of its blinking, red-and-blue open sign. (Christopher Green/Stars and Stripes)

A small diner not far from the airfield at Osan Air Base combines U.S. military heritage with American and South Korean fare.

The BlackCat Lounge might escape your attention until youre close enough to catch sight of its blinking, red-and-blue open sign.

From the outside, it blends in with the nearby office buildings, but theres a lot of history and personality inside. Its deceivingly small exterior opens into a spacious, two-room venue.

The front room dining area is dedicated to former Air Force Col. Charles Wilson, commander from 1995 to 1996 of the Black Cats of the 5th Reconnaissance Squadron. The second room, which is large enough for celebrations and parties, can be reserved from private functions.

BlackCat is open from 6:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. with an extensive menu.

For breakfast, you can order a variety of omelets, pancakes, French toast and pastries with juice, tea, coffee and soda. Breakfast ends around 10:30 a.m.

A cheeseburger, fries and mozzarella sticks from the BlackCat Lounge at Osan Air Base, South Korea. (Christopher Green/Stars and Stripes)

The more-substantial lunch menu features American staples like sandwiches, burgers and fries. You can also order bulgogi, bibimbap and other traditional Korean meals.

My cheeseburger, fries and cola was very enjoyable and cost about $10 total.

BlackCat closes around 2 p.m., so expect a lunch rush. Its still a great place for a midday repast.

Blackcat Lounge

Location: 853 Saber Road, Osan Air Base, South Korea

Hours: Open 6:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday through Friday; closed weekends

Prices: Breakfast starts at $5 and lunch at $8; beverages are $3 or less.

Dress: Casual

Directions: A short drive from Osans exchange.

Information: 0505-784-5228 or DSN: 315-784-5228
Cabernet franc grapes ripen on the vine at Breaux Vineyards in Purcellville, Va. (Gretchen McKay, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette/TNS)

LOUDOUN COUNTY, Va.  Virginia has long been a favorite destination for travelers, thanks to its beautiful beaches, breathtaking mountainous scenery and storied American history. (It was home to four of the first five U.S. presidents.)

Its also a great place to see spectacular fall foliage and drink a glass of wine, whether your prefer a full-bodied red, a crisp white or simply want a taste of Norton, Americas oldest native grape.

In the 1980s, the entire state had only six wineries. Today, there are more than 300 wineries and 4,000 acres under vine in eight distinct American Viticultural Areas, says Anne Boyd, director of the Virginia Wine Marketing Board,

Virginias $1.73 billion wine industry has created more than 10,000 full-time jobs and has been a boon for tourism, drawing about 2.6 million visitors a year, according to Boyd.

Loudoun County boasts more than 50 wineries and tasting rooms of varying sizes, styles and wildly different personalities. Some are situated on mountaintops with sprawling views of the Virginia countryside; others are tucked along country roads with cows and sheep grazing in nearby pastures. In a few, you might even find the winemaker pouring your sample.

There may be no better time of year to sip in the heart of Virginias wine and horse country than fall, when the canopy of leaves turn from a lush green to spectacular shades of red, orange and yellow (peaking around Oct. 22). The weathers gorgeous, the mosquitoes are mostly gone and if you time it just right, you might even see the grapes ripening on the vine.

If you havent visited in a while, it might seem like the wineries have popped up out of nowhere. But its actually been a long and steady build, Boyd says.

When the general assembly passed the Virginia Farm Winery Act in 1980, it uncorked would-be winemakers ability not just to grow grapes, but to also make and sell their wines on the same property. The creation of the Virginia Wine Board four years later helped root the industry even deeper by providing the research and education needed to make better wine, along with marketing know-how to sell it. Oenologist Bruce Zoecklein schooled growers on the science and various styles of winemaking while viticulturist Tony Wolf advised them on how to plant and harvest.

[Wolf] came to Virginia and started doing research on what grapes grow the best in our soil and climate, and also the pests, which are wildly different that on the West Coast, Boyd says. And for the next 30 years, he was the industrys biggest cheerleader, devoting his career to advancing Virginia wines before retiring from teaching at Virginia Tech last year.

In the 1970s, Virginia was considered a cold climate region good for Rieslings and Chardonnays, but by the 90s, it had morphed into the warm category thanks to hot and humid summers that routinely reach over 90 degrees. So many winemakers pulled up those vines and started experimenting with warm-weather varietals such as Petit Verdot, Viognier, Cabernet Franc and Sauvignon Blanc. And when they started to take off? Well, it was off and running, Boyd says .

Jennifer Breaux is the second-generation president and general manager of Breaux Vineyards in Purcellville, which has 105 acres under vine. She agrees there wasnt a lot of good local wine when many winemakers started.

While there are general rules of thumb, there was no East Coast guidebook for such a diverse climate where the only consistency is inconsistency, she says. It took years of trial and error, of figuring out what will do well in our soils and climate and what to do when.

But learn they did, and today, we wouldnt be where we are without quality, Breaux says.

Many Virginia wines regularly win awards. One  Stone Towers 2022 Kristi Chardonnay  was even served at the White House during a state dinner.

We still battle a bad rap, but people who only drink Napa Cabernet are never going to be drinking Virginia wine anyway, Boyd says. But thats OK because its a big wine world out there.

Its all about perception, agrees Jenny Travers of Leesburg-based Greenhill Vineyards. If someone says you cant get good wine [here] that means they havent tasted enough of it. You have to look for a quality product.

Wine drinkers also need to understand what theyre looking for might not be what the region can provide, Travers adds. Its all about respecting the region youre in and getting to know it.

With that in mind, here are six wineries in Northern Virginia worth visiting while leaf peeping. Each has its own distinct personality and signature pour. Some allow children, pets and outside food for picnics while others are adults-only and have their own menus. All offer guided tastings, along with individual glasses and bottles.

Breaux Vineyards in Purcellville, Va., has more than 100 acres of grapes under vine and long vistas of the Blue Ridge Mountains from its tasting room, patio and terraces. (Visit Loudoun/TNS)

Breaux Vineyards

36888 Breaux Vineyards Lane, Purcellville (www.breauxvineyards.com)

This popular hillside winery got its start almost by accident. North Carolina real estate broker Paul Breaux and his wife, Alexis, bought the 404-acre former soybean farm in 1994 as a second home and to raise horses and cattle. While clearing the fields one day, they discovered some Chardonnay grape vines that had been planted by the former owner as an experiment on three acres.

And so he started making bathtub wine with a hand press for family and friends, says his daughter, Jennifer.

The wine was so popular that they started making more of it from fruit grown on 35 acres. Breaux Vineyards opened to the public in 1997, and kept growing. Today, its one of Virginias largest wineries and grape producers, with 104 acres under vine and more than a dozen varietals. Its still 100% family-run.

Nestled at the foothills of the Blue Ridge and Short Hill Mountains, our site is magnificent for fruit, says Jennifer Breaux, who became general manager in 2005. So much so that they sell about 40% of what they grow to other wineries.

The winery was greatly expanded in 2011 to include landscaped terraces and a patio (youll think Napa or Tuscany). Theres also a lot of wrought iron in the tasting room as a nod to the familys Cajun roots in Louisiana.

The goal is to take people away, she says. You can be in Virginia and be surrounded by Virginia-grown fruit but feel like youre somewhere else.

Vibe: Relaxed Tuscan/Napa estate

Tastings: $14-$35 for five wines. Flights (five wines) are $14-$18. Outside food is permitted only in outdoor areas.

Crowd: Family- and pet-friendly; there also is a patio for those 21+ with no dogs

Hours: 11 a.m.-6 p.m. daily through October; closes at 5 p.m. weekdays November through March.

Recommended pour: For those who love reds, the vineyards signature grape is the full-bodied Nebbiolo from Northern Italys Piedmont region. Also, our Meritage [blends] are just beautiful, Jennifer Breaux says.

Cana Vineyards timber-frame Sunset Pavilion tasting room offers sweeping views of its hillside vineyards and the rolling Bull Run Mountains. (Gretchen McKay, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette/TNS)

Cana Vineyards

38600 John Mosby Highway, Middleburg (canavineyards.com)

This family-friendly winery on 43 acres was nothing more than an open hay field with sweeping views of the Blue Ridge Mountains until 2012, when the first vines were planted. It opened as a winery in 2015 and the Petty family purchased the spread in 2018.

Today, Cana Vineyards has 7 1/2 acres under vine with Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Norton, Petit Manseng and Petit Verdot grapes. All are harvested by hand and turned into award-winning wines under the careful hand of Melanie Natoli, the first female winemaker to win the modern Virginia Governors Cup competition.

Everything about the winery screams relax, whether youre enjoying the hillside views outside on the deck, hanging on the covered porch or gathering with family and friends in the Harvest Room pavilion, where a wood-burning fireplace and an infrared heating system warm toes and fingers when the weather gets chilly.

The site also includes picnic tables and fire pits.

Were a very lazy space where people can spread out, says tasting room manager Don Johanson. Our front lawn is tremendous.

Vibe: Chill with a view

Tasting fee: $24 for six wines and three-wine flights are $12. Outside food permitted, but no buffets or large spreads. The winery also offers charcuterie, cheeses and other light fare.

Crowd: Family- and pet-friendly

Hours: 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Sun.-Mon. and Thurs.-Fri.; Closed Tues.-Wed.

Recommended pour: Winemaker Melanie Natolis 2019 Unite Reserve, a blend of Petit Verdot, Cabernet Franc and Merlot from the estate, won the 2022 Virginia Governors Cup. Also, the Albarino and Le Mariage, a signature red blend.

Chrysalis Vineyards has the largest single planting of Norton, a native American grape, in the world, with 40 acres under vine in Middleburg, Va. (Crysalis Vineyards at the Ag District/TNS)

Chrysalis Vineyards at the Ag District

39025 John Mosby Highway, Middleburg (www.chrysaliswine.com)

You cant really have the full Virginia wine experience without tasting a wine made with its native American grape, Norton. And nobody does it better than Chrysalis Vineyard, which boasts 40 acres of Norton vines at two separate vineyards.

Serial entrepreneur Jenni McCloud worked in the computer industry in the 1970s and 80s before deciding to become a winemaker in 1995 after attending a wine conference on alternative grape varieties, including Norton.

I just fell in love with the grape, she says.

Norton was renowned in the 1800s but had nearly died out by the 1920s, when Prohibition shut down the American wine industry.

After planting her first vines in 1998, McCloud built the winery along Rt. 50 in 2000, followed by a small tasting room the year after. Todays windowed tasting room, high on a hill with a large wraparound deck, opened in 2015.

The 70 acres of grapes under vine on the 412-acre site also include Alberino, a white grape grown in Spain and Portugal, along with Viognier, Nebbiolo, Tannat, Petit Verdot and Petit Manseng. The winery also sells farm products, including a hot sauce made with its vineyard red wine vinegar, Norton jelly, dips and spreads, and artisan cheeses made on site by Locksley Farmstand Cheese.

Vibe: Modern rustic

Tasting fee: $20 for five wines. Flights (four wines) are $15. No outside food permitted, but pizza, flatbreads and other hot food menu items are available from its Little River Bakehouse.

Crowd: Family- and pet-friendly (outside only); separate spaces for 21+

Hours: noon-6 p.m. Monday and Thursday.; noon-8 p.m. Friday-Saturday; noon-7 p.m. Sunday. Closed Tues.-Wed.

Recommended pour: Chrysalis flagship wine is its Locksley Reserve Norton, but its a big wine that probably offers the biggest reward after being cellared for a few years, says owner Jenni McCloud. For everyday drinking, she suggests the more approachable Barrel Select Norton, which is aged in Virginia oak and is big and round in the mouth. If you prefer whites, the Alberino is delightfully refreshing.

Greenhill Vineyards is an adults-only winery, with a focus on guided tastings. (Greenhilll Vineyards/TNS)

Greenhill Vineyards

23595 Winery Lane, Middleburg (experiencegreenhill.com)

Originally known as Swedenburg Winery, this elegant boutique, adults-only winery on 128 acres was first planted with 11 acres dedicated to Vitis vinifera grapes in 1985. After being sold in 2013, it reopened as Greenhill Vineyards and since has expanded to 17 acres under vine.

Its a working farm, with beef cattle and horses in fields opposite the grapes, and it also has apiaries. The setting at the foot of the Blue Ridge Mountains is spectacular, and guests are encouraged to enjoy it from the many Adirondack chairs on the lawn. There also are umbrella-topped picnic tables for small picnics.

The emphasis here is on getting to know the grapes. The winery prides itself on a well-trained staff thats versed in explaining the specific nuances of the wines served  or what assistant general manager Jenny Travers calls the Greenhill experience.

The winery went to 21 and over in 2017, but they still allow pets outside. Its about creating an environment and experience that is all about the wine, she says.

What also sets Greenhill apart is its carefully curated cheese and charcuterie boards. And were continually rolling out new wines on our tasting menu, Travers says.

Winemaker Ben Comstack works with 20 experimental varietals and can pick from Chardonnay, Riesling, Sauvignon Blanc and Viognier along with Merlot, Cab Franc, Petit Verdot and a small amount of Chamboursin, one of the worlds most popular hybrid grapes.

Vibe: Understated elegance

Tasting fee: $20 for six wines. Outside food is allowed only for outdoor seating.

Crowd: age 21 and up; pets allowed outside.

Hours: noon-6 p.m. daily

Recommended pour: Cabernet Franc

Both kids and pets are welcome at Stone Tower Winery in Leesburg, Va. (Stone Tower Winery/TNS)

Stone Tower Winery

19925 Hogback Mountain Rd., Leesburg (www.stonetowerwinery.com)

Lacey Hubers family bought this 400-acre, windswept cattle farm atop Hogback Mountain in the early 2000s because it was beautiful, and her parents  who own Belfort Furniture  wanted to do something in agriculture. After engaging soil scientists and viticulturists, they decided the land was perfect for grapes.

They planted their first vines in 2009, starting making wine two years later and in 2013 opened the vineyard to the public. It quickly snowballed into quite the project, says Huber, with 95 acres now under vine. My dad likes to joke that he failed at retirement, she says with a chuckle.

Much of the focus is on Chardonnay, one of the most-planted varietals in the world. Its a classic for a reason, Huber says. It takes on the character of the terroir and also of the winemaking styles.

They also grow Sauvignon Blanc and several red grape varietals such as Nebbiolo, Cabernet Franc and Pinot Noir to the tune of around 17,000 cases a year.

The original Harvest Barn tasting room has a rustic and casual farm vibe that spills out onto a patio and is great for families. Theres also a more upscale adults-only Tower tasting room geared to those looking for a Napa-style experience but never thought theyd find anything like that in Virginia, Huber says.

The view is such that on a really busy day, the winery can host upwards of 1,000 guests. But even when its really busy you can find a spot. Thats the beauty of a big, spacious property.

They dont offer flights, but they are passionate about their tastings and special tours, which include a behind-the-scenes tour of the cellar.

Its really about sharing our story and the passion that goes into making a bottle of wine.

Vibe: Family-oriented, with incredible views

Flights: A signature tasting costs $25. Outside food not permitted.

Crowd: Family- and pet-friendly

Hours: 11 a.m-6 p.m. Thursday-Monday. Closed Tues.-Wed.

Recommended pour: Wind Swept Hill, a Bordeaux blend with notes of chocolate, black cherry, plum and blackberry, is a customer favorite. If you prefer white, were really excited about our 2022 Kristi Chardonnay, Huber says. It was served at a White House state dinner this summer in honor of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Zephaniah Farm Vineyard

19381 Dunlop Mill Road, Leesburg (zephwine.com)

Bill Hatch and his wife, Bonnie Archer, were dairy farmers looking to reinvent themselves when they decided to became winemakers in the early 2000s.

On a trip to visit daughter Emily during a semester abroad in the Italian Alps in 2001, they enjoyed a bottle of wine so much they wondered aloud if they could grow something similar in Virginia. Knowing their background as farmers, one of her professors exclaimed, Just plant the damn grapes!

And so we did the following year, Hatch says, to the tune of 1,000 vines. A successful harvest two years later led to some equally successful experimental winemaking, and a tasting room in their 1819 brick manor house a few years after.

They sold their first bottles of Cabernet Franc and Merlot in 2008 and in 2015, with the business growing, borrowed three wheelbarrows of money to expand the tasting room into a new barn with exposed beams, high ceilings and a covered deck.

In addition to reds, the winery offers Chardonnay and Viognier along with Muscat Ottonel and Chamboursin. Every one of the 14 acres of grapes under vine are hand picked, sorted and crushed before pressing.

There are vineyards in California that are planted and harvested mechanically and have never seen a human hand, Hatch says. At Zephaniah, every acre requires at least 250 hours of handwork per season. Were farmers, and this is what we do.

Now in its third generation, the property is still a working farm, with sheep and Black and Red Angus and Holstein steers grazing nearby. The winery is just as peaceful, with just a whisper of music in the background.

We want to put people at ease, Hatch says.

Vibe: Relaxed country farm

Tastings: $20 per person, includes four wines. Flights (outside only) are $20; a glass $15. Small picnics permitted.

Crowd: age 21 and up; no pets allowed

Hours: 11 a.m.-5:30 p.m. Friday-Sunday

Recommended pour: Adeline, a delightfully floral white blend of mostly Muscat Ottonel, is a crowd favorite. It has less than 2% residual sugar and the aroma on this grape is heavenly, says winemaker Bill Hatch.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, flanked by Haitian Prime Minister Ariel Henry, left, and Kenyan Cabinet Secretary for Foreign and Diaspora Affairs, Alfred Nganga Mutua, right, addresses diplomats during a meeting on the security situation in Haiti, on the sidelines of the 78th UN General Assembly on Sept. 22, 2023, in New York. (Bing Guan/Pool/AFP/Getty Images/TNS)

(Tribune News Service)  Two days after Kenyas foreign minister publicly thanked the United Nations Security Council  ahead of President William Ruto  for agreeing to an intervention in Haiti and said Kenya-led troops will be deployed in short order, he lost his high-profile cabinet job and got reassigned.

After getting ahead of the interior ministry to talk about the deployment, Alfred Mutua was moved to the tourism ministry, where hes also now in charge of wildlife, following a cabinet reshuffle by Ruto.

Mutua had been a chief defender of the Kenyan forces and an outspoken proponent of his nation leading a multinational force into Haiti to help disarm violent gangs. His demotion comes as controversy rages in Kenya among opponents and critics of Ruto about the planned deployment, and as the president himself faces protests over the high cost of living and high taxes.

While the timing of Mutuas demotion has raised eyebrows, at least one observer of both Kenya and Haiti, who has been closely monitoring the effort to get a multinational force into Haiti to assist the countrys beleaguered fore take down gangs, said she doesnt believe it will have much impact.

I dont think the change of the foreign minister will have much influence on the actual designs of the Haiti operations, said Vanda Felbab-Brown, a senior fellow in the Strobe Talbott Center for Security, Strategy, and Technology in the Foreign Policy program at the Brookings Institute.

The Kenyan ministers of interior and defense remain in place, she said. The U.S. has strong linkages with both of those ministries and presumably will maintain the existing access to influencing the design of the operations, Felbab-Brown added.

This is Rutos first reshuffle since he took office in August last year. In addition to Mutuas reassignment, the foreign affairs ministry was moved and oversight was given to a close ally, Musalia Mudavadi. In a statement, Ruto said late Wednesday that the reshuffle was meant to optimize performance and enhance delivery as set out in the administrations manifesto.

In late July, Mutua posted a statement on his social media account stating that Kenya had agreed to positively consider leading a multinational force into Haiti and sending 1,000 of its police officers to help the Caribbean nations police combat violent gangs that controlled at least 80% of the capital. At the time, the statement, posted on X, the social media platform previously known as Twitter, took even some foreign diplomats involved in the talks by surprise.

Days before the U.N. vote, Mutua a former journalist, told the BBC that the Haiti mission could be deployed in January, if not before, and in his public statement after the U.N. Security Council vote said it could happen within a short time.

In a Monday post on X, after the vote, he said: I thank the United Nations Security Council #UNSC for adopting the Resolution that gives the mandate to intervene in Haiti to help our suffering brothers and sisters. I thank all those that have constructively participated to make the resolution fit for purpose and the effective networking that has gone on.

He also called on all international partners of good will to assist. He added that This mandate is not only about peace and security, but also about the rebuilding of Haiti  its politics, its economic development, and social stability. It is the beginning of a new chapter for the fathers, mothers and children of Haiti.

The minister, who is active on social media, has not said anything about his reassignment. He did, however, update his portfolio for his 1.4 million followers on X.

In an interview with the New York Times, Mutua said he envisioned more than 50 countries each pledging 500 to 1,000 officers and that Kenyan officials, following an assessment, estimated that the Haiti effort could take three years and require 10,000 to 20,000 personnel. Unlike Mutua, the interior security minister has not spoken publicly and Ruto himself has provided few details about the preparations. In his statement thanking the U.N., he refrained from mentioning how soon deployment could happen.

Felbab-Brown said she believes the Kenyan government and others in the international community might have been displeased with his comments about the size of a Haiti force and that the mission would need three years to complete its work in Haiti. She believes his assessment is far more realistic about what it will take to weaken the gangs.

In acknowledging the larger time and personnel necessary for the security operations alone, the Kenyan foreign minister clearly got ahead of the comfort of many, especially as he also seemed to apply that other countries were ready to send off forces far over the numbers expected, she said.

The Haiti Multinational Security Support mission was authorized for one year, with a review in nine months by the Security Council. The Miami Herald, through diplomatic sources involved in conversations ahead of the U.N. vote, identified at least a dozen countries that expressed a willingness to participate either by deploying police or military personnel, or providing money or equipment. Washington, which has not revealed the list of countries, has only said that the 2,000 personnel a Kenya assessment team visiting Port-au-Prince in August said it needed in order to deployed, had been reached through offers from countries like The Bahamas, Jamaica, Antigua and Barbuda and others.

During that same visit, the Kenyan government also made it clear that a deployment would need to be approved by the African nations parliament, a point the countrys opposition lawmakers have pressed ever since Mondays U.N. vote.

2023 Miami Herald.

Visit at miamiherald.com

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
From left to right: Rep. Joaquin Castro, D-Texas, and Rep. Jerry Nadler, D-N.Y., arrive to testify before a meeting of the House Rules Committee on May 9, 2023, in Washington, DC. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images/TNS)

WASHINGTON (Tribune News Service)  Talk of attacking drug cartels south of the border by drone or special forces has become increasingly popular among Republicans. Texas congressman Joaquin Castro is pushing Congress to renounce such moves without Mexicos full prior approval.

Over the last several months, Americans have seen an alarming rise in reckless remarks that threaten to normalize the idea of invading Mexico, he said.

The San Antonio lawmaker, the top Democrat on a subcommittee overseeing Western Hemisphere relations, will file a resolution Friday that condemns calls for military action without Mexicos approval  a swipe at GOP presidential candidates that makes it unlikely to pass the GOP-controlled House.

The resolution affirms that any act of aggression on Mexicos sovereign territory without their consent could be considered an act of war and a violation of international law.

Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador has made the same point. In March, he dispatched his foreign minister to Washington to declare that we will not allow ourselves to be pushed around.

The talk has escalated since then.

In August, Lopez Obrador denounced growing calls for military action in Mexico offensive and disrespectful, downplaying the threats as campaign posturing while emphasizing that any such move would be seen as a provocation that could not go unanswered.

Castros resolution would put Congress on record rejecting the use of military force against drug cartels in Mexico without the OK of both the Mexican government and U.S. Congress.

Donald Trump, the front-runner for the 2024 nomination, has vowed to send special forces into Mexico to attack drug lords just as we took down ISIS and the ISIS caliphate. Hes also promised a naval blockade.

His former defense secretary, Mark Esper, recounted in a memoir that as president, Trump wanted to shoot missiles into Mexico to destroy drug labs.

At the first Republican presidential debate in August, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis vowed to send special forces into Mexico on day one with no mention of getting a green light from his Mexican counterpart.

Entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy has said hes fully prepared to send U.S. forces even if Mexico objects.

In a fundraising email Wednesday titled military force is both legally and morally justified, he insinuates that Mexicos president resists a robust U.S. response to drug smuggling because the cartels may be  Lopez Obradors sugar daddy.

Republicans in both the House and Senate have proposed authorizing military force against drug cartels, including Rep. Dan Crenshaw of Humble, a former Navy SEAL.

The Biden administration has rejected that approach, preferring to treat the drug trade as a law enforcement issue. Public pressure continues to build as the death toll mounts from fentanyl, a powerful synthetic opioid.

War with Mexico would cause devastating loss of life and would be disastrous for millions, Castro said.   This resolution sends a strong message that the United States respects Mexicos sovereignty and that Congress does not support dangerous calls for war at our southern border.

Nineteen other Democrats in the House signed onto Castros resolution as of late Wednesday. A number of anti-war groups also support it.

Responding to the fentanyl epidemic with military force would militarize a public health challenge for which treatment and health services are desperately needed, said Heather Brandon-Smith, legislative director for foreign policy at Friends Committee on National Legislation, a Quaker group.

2023 The Dallas Morning News.

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
Spc. Jeremy Daniel Evans, 23, of Knoxville, Tenn., and Spc. Brian Joshua Snowden, 22, of Londell, Miss., were among 17 soldiers riding in a tactical vehicle that overturned near Fairbanks, Alaska. (U.S. Army)

The U.S. Army has identified the two soldiers killed Monday when a tactical vehicle overturned on a dirt road 30 miles south of Fairbanks, Alaska.

Spc. Jeremy Daniel Evans, 23, of Knoxville, Tenn., and Spc. Brian Joshua Snowden, 22, of Lonedell, Mo., were among 17 soldiers riding in the Light Medium Tactical Vehicle, the 11th Airborne Division announced in a news release Wednesday.

Snowden and Evans both joined the Army in July 2020 and trained at Fort Moore, Ga., the release said. Evans relocated to Alaska in January 2021 and Snowden arrived two months later.

This is an incredible loss for all of us across the division, the 11ths commander, Maj. Gen. Brian Eifler, said in the release. Our thoughts and prayers go out to the families, friends and fellow soldiers of Spc. Evans and Spc. Snowden.

The vehicle was taking 17 soldiers, including Evans and Snowden, from Fort Wainwright to the Yukon Training Area near Salcha when it skidded and flipped, U.S. Army Alaska spokesman John Pennell said Tuesday.

The accident injured 12 of the soldiers, who were given first aid and taken to Fairbanks Memorial Hospital. Some were flown there by helicopter.

Eight were released that day and two remained hospitalized in stable condition Wednesday evening, according to Wednesdays news release.

Two severely injured soldiers were flown by air ambulance to Providence Alaska Medical Center in Anchorage, the release said. They were in stable condition on Wednesday evening.

No other vehicles were involved in the incident, which the Army is still investigating. It plans to dispatch a team from the accident investigations unit at the Army Combat Readiness Center in Fort Novosel, Ala., formerly Fort Rucker.

Fort Novosel investigators are routinely dispatched to any Class A accident that involves the loss of life, permanent disability or property damage of more than $2 million.

About 7,200 soldiers are based at Fort Wainwright in Fairbanks, the northernmost active-duty military installation in the United States. Its frequently used for cold weather training and weapons testing in harsh conditions. The base is home to 1st Brigade Combat Team of the 11th Airborne Division, nicknamed Arctic Angels, and also home to the Arctic Aviation Command.

While were always challenged by the environment, were Arctic Angels, we overcome these challenges and accomplish our mission by being a team, and teams take care of one another, especially in times like these, Eifler said.

Mondays crash is the second fatal accident this year for Army troops in Alaska. Three soldiers died in April when two helicopters collided while flying to Fort Wainwright.
The guided-missile destroyer USS Dewey test-fires a Tomahawk missile somewhere in the Western Pacific, Aug. 17, 2018. (Devin Langer/U.S. Navy)

TOKYO  Japan will accelerate its acquisition of hundreds of Tomahawk missiles amid a worsening security environment, according to the nations Ministry of Defense.

The country  spending $51.4 billion on defense this fiscal year, which started in April  planned to buy 400 Tomahawks from the United States to develop counterstrike capabilities during fiscal years 2026 and 2027.

An increasingly severe security environment means the purchase is being brought forward to fiscal 2025, the ministry announced in a statement Thursday.

China has more than 1,900 ballistic missiles that can reach Japan, according to a 2022 Pentagon report on Beijings military capabilities.

The Ministry of Defense and the Self-Defense Force are to strengthen their stand-off defense capabilities in order to prevent and eliminate invading forces to our country at an early stage and from a distance, the ministrys statement said.

To do this, Japan will purchase Block 4 Tomahawks before acquiring newer Block 5 missiles in fiscal years 2026 and 2027, the ministry said, adding that the deal must be approved by the U.S. lawmakers.

The acquisition of older missiles will likely reduce the cost of the procurement, the Kyodo news agency reported Thursday.

A Tomahawk can strike targets up to 1,000 miles away, according to its maker, Raytheon Technologies. The missiles are used by the U.S. Navy and can be launched from Aegis destroyers in the Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force.

Japan is also considering early acquisition of domestically-produced stand-off missiles, the ministry said.

It earmarked $1.4 billion in the current budget to buy the missiles, but the acquisition of older missiles will likely reduce the cost, the Kyodo news agency reported Thursday.

Japan will buy 200 of the older Tomahawks between fiscal 2025 and 2027, Defense Minister Minoru Kihara told reporters after meeting Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin at the Pentagon on Wednesday, the report said.

The accelerated acquisition will contribute to the drastic strengthening of our countrys defense capabilities sooner, Kihara said, according to Kyodo.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un departs Pyongyang for Russia in this image issued by the state-run Korean Central News Agency on Sept. 12, 2023. (KCNA)

North Korea continues to evade U.N. Security Council sanctions and the United States ought to seek assistance from other governmental organizations to impose additional penalties for the communist regimes weapons program, experts testified at Capitol Hill on Wednesday.

Sanctions enforcement against Pyongyang is in desperate need of a revamp, Scott Snyder, a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, said in written testimony to a Senate subcommittee.

Russia and China engage in back door trade with North Korea, which benefits from the two countries geopolitical rivalry, according to Snyders testimony submitted Wednesday to the subcommittee on East Asia, the Pacific and International Cybersecurity Policy.

The United States should pursue the establishment of a broad multilateral sanctions regime among like-minded actors  to interdict illicit North Korean commercial transfers, Snyder wrote. By building a coalition of the willing, the United States can sustain some pressure on North Korea while attempting to bypass Chinese and Russian non-cooperation through the pursuit of secondary sanctions 

Several individual countries target North Korea with sanctions. These include the United States, South Korea, Japan and Australia, as well as multinational organizations like the U.N. Security Council and the European Union.

The wide-ranging sanctions restrict those countries and organization members from dealing with North Korean assets, business entities and individuals. The sanctions also seek to curtail the regimes ballistic missile testing program.

North Korea has defied the ban and so far this year has fired 21 ballistic missiles in 14 separate days of testing. The Supreme Peoples Assembly also amended the national constitution last month to exponentially boost nuclear weapons production.

Further defying sanctions, North Korea in 2022 also traded commodities such as coal and refined petroleum with China-flagged ships in its exclusive economic zone, according to a Security Council report in March.

National Security Council spokesman John Kirby, citing U.S. intelligence, accused North Korea of secretly supplying Russia with artillery shells in November for its invasion of Ukraine.

The Security Council in May for the first time since 2006 failed to approve fresh sanctions against North Korea when Russia and Chinas ambassadors vetoed the measures.

Victor Cha, a government professor at Georgetown University and a former National Security Council director for Asian Affairs, also testified before the Senate subcommittee Wednesday and recommended the U.S. seek coordinated responses in the form of sanctions through the Group of Seven Plus and the Asia-Pacific 4.

The Group of Seven Plus is an intergovernmental organization of 20 countries undergoing extreme hardship or conflict, such as Afghanistan, Somalia, Yemen and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The Asia-Pacific 4 consists of four non-NATO countries: Australia, South Korea, Japan and New Zealand.

It is no longer possible to seek action on North Korea through the U.N. Security Council given Russia and Chinas opposition, Cha told lawmakers in his introductory remarks.
It hasn't been the best quarter for Aeon Co. (M) Bhd. (KLSE:AEON) shareholders, since the share price has fallen 14% in that time. But over three years, the returns would have left most investors smiling In fact, the company's share price bested the return of its market index in that time, posting a gain of 43%.

Let's take a look at the underlying fundamentals over the longer term, and see if they've been consistent with shareholders returns.

Check out our latest analysis for Aeon (M) Bhd

There is no denying that markets are sometimes efficient, but prices do not always reflect underlying business performance. One imperfect but simple way to consider how the market perception of a company has shifted is to compare the change in the earnings per share (EPS) with the share price movement.

During three years of share price growth, Aeon (M) Bhd achieved compound earnings per share growth of 24% per year. The average annual share price increase of 13% is actually lower than the EPS growth. So one could reasonably conclude that the market has cooled on the stock.

You can see below how EPS has changed over time (discover the exact values by clicking on the image).

Before buying or selling a stock, we always recommend a close examination of historic growth trends, available here.

What About Dividends?

As well as measuring the share price return, investors should also consider the total shareholder return (TSR). The TSR is a return calculation that accounts for the value of cash dividends (assuming that any dividend received was reinvested) and the calculated value of any discounted capital raisings and spin-offs. So for companies that pay a generous dividend, the TSR is often a lot higher than the share price return. As it happens, Aeon (M) Bhd's TSR for the last 3 years was 52%, which exceeds the share price return mentioned earlier. This is largely a result of its dividend payments!

A Different Perspective

Aeon (M) Bhd shareholders are down 18% for the year (even including dividends), but the market itself is up 10%. Even the share prices of good stocks drop sometimes, but we want to see improvements in the fundamental metrics of a business, before getting too interested. Regrettably, last year's performance caps off a bad run, with the shareholders facing a total loss of 4% 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. It's always interesting to track share price performance over the longer term. But to understand Aeon (M) Bhd better, we need to consider many other factors. Case in point: We've spotted 1 warning sign for Aeon (M) Bhd you should be aware of.

Story continues

But note: Aeon (M) Bhd may not be the best stock to buy. So take a peek at this free list of interesting companies with past earnings growth (and further growth forecast).

Please note, the market returns quoted in this article reflect the market weighted average returns of stocks that currently trade on 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.
7.62 caliber ammunition production at Lake City Army Ammunition Plant in Missouri. (Dori Whipple/Lake City Army Ammunition Plant)

WASHINGTON  A shipment of ammunition being transported from Iran to rebels in Yemen was intercepted by a U.S. Navy ship and redirected to Ukrainian troops fighting off Russian invaders, U.S. defense officials said Wednesday.

U.S. Central Command said the shipment included 1.1 million rounds of 7.62 mm ammunition that can be fired by multiple Soviet-era assault rifles used by Ukraine, a former Soviet republic.

The bullets were being transported by Irans Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps to Houthi fighters in Yemen aboard an unflagged traditional wooden sailing ship, officials said. The IRGC is a component of the Iranian military.

U.S. naval forces seized the bullets in December and turned them over to the Ukrainian military Monday, CENTCOM said.

The U.S. is committed to working with our allies and partners to counter the flow of Iranian lethal aid in the region by all lawful means, according to CENTCOM, which oversees operations in the Middle East. Irans support for armed groups threatens international and regional security, our forces, diplomatic personnel and citizens in the region.

The U.S. Navys Mideast-based 5th Fleet and its allies have intercepted numerous ships believed to be transporting weapons and ammunition from Iran to Yemen in support of the Iranian-backed Houthis. This is the first time that the seized weaponry has been handed over to Ukraine, Capt. Abigail Hammock, a CENTCOM spokeswoman, told The Associated Press.

The Navy intercepted more than 2,100 AK-47s that were being shipped in the same fashion  by an unflagged fishing boat  from Iran to Yemen in early January, but military officials have not yet said whether some of those weapons also might be sent to Ukraine.

Thousands of AK-47 assault rifles sit on the flight deck of guided-missile destroyer USS The Sullivans during an inventory process on Jan. 7, 2023. U.S. naval forces seized 2,116 AK-47 assault rifles from a fishing vessel transiting along a maritime route from Iran to Yemen. (U.S. Navy)

Iran has not been directly involved in the Yemen civil war, which has been going since 2014. However, U.S. officials have said the IRGC and proxy networks have been active in shipping arms to Houthi rebels to fight against the Yemeni government, which is supported by the United States, France and Britain.

The shipment of Iranian ammunition to Ukraine comes as the Pentagon is urging Congress to authorize more military aid to help Ukrainian forces beat back a Russian invasion. U.S. defense officials said last week that they are running low on money to replace weapons sent from U.S. stockpiles to Ukraine and to ship more arms to the country, which has been defending against Russian forces since February 2022.

We have already been forced to slow down the replenishment of our own forces to hedge against an uncertain funding future, Pentagon Comptroller Michael McCord wrote in a letter to House and Senate lawmakers. Failure to replenish our military services on a timely basis could harm our militarys readiness.

The White House asked Congress in August to approve $24 billion in aid to Ukraine, including $13 billion in military assistance. The money was expected to be included in the short-term spending agreement approved last week to keep the government open but was stripped away as Republicans in the House rebelled against continued funds for the Eastern European country.

President Joe Biden said Wednesday that hes concerned about the impact the GOP-led disruption in Congress could have on further Ukrainian aid.

It does worry me, but I know there are a majority of members of the House and Senate in both parties who have said that they support funding Ukraine, he said. Im going to make the argument that its overwhelmingly in the interest of the United States of America that Ukraine succeed.
During exercise Dynamic Messenger, which wrapped up last week, NATO country navies tested a range of unmanned vehicles. The drill was part of an effort to enhance protection of critical underwater infrastructure. (Twitter/NATO Maritime Command)

Unmanned underwater vehicles that were used in recent experimentation with an array of new tactics could transform how NATO allies defend critical infrastructure from attack.

Dynamic Messenger, which was held off the coast of Portugal and concluded last week, was the first NATO exercise to have a specific focus on protecting critical undersea infrastructure, the alliances Maritime Command said in a statement Wednesday.

For NATO, defending infrastructure such as gas pipelines has become a high priority in light of the sabotage last year of Nord Stream 1, a Baltic Sea pipeline that previously delivered natural gas from Russia to Germany.

Russia shut off the flow of gas through Nord Stream 1 in retaliation for sanctions imposed by the West over Kremlin forces invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

NATO's exercise Dynamic Messenger involved testing of unmanned undersea vehicles. The drill, which took place off the coast of Portugal and ended last week, is expected to help alliance members fine-tune their approach to protecting critical undersea infrastructure. (Twitter/NATO Maritime Command)

The statement did not say which countries participated in the exercise or how many service members were involved.

Allies also have raised alarms about Russias ability to target undersea cables that are responsible for transmitting internet traffic around the world and carry trillions of dollars in financial transactions on a daily basis.

There are heightened concerns that Russia may target undersea cables and other critical infrastructure in an effort to disrupt Western life, to gain leverage against those nations that are providing security to Ukraine, NATOs intelligence chief, David Cattler, told reporters in May.

To address those concerns, NATO agreed during a July summit in Vilnius, Lithuania, to form a security center for critical undersea infrastructure, of CUI, within its Maritime Command.

The Dynamic Messenger drills used autonomous underwater vehicles, which allow for longer, persistent presence at depth and also incorporated artificial intelligence capabilities, NATO said.

These underwater assets were used in combination with several advanced uncrewed air and surface capabilities, as well as the more conventional crewed systems, the statement said.

Results from the exercise will inform the development of future NATO operational doctrine that will detail how undersea assets are to be guarded, the alliance said.
A navigator, with the call sign Actor, and the drone operator Sapsan rest while looking at their phones in a forward bunker position on the southern front line near Robotyne Sept. 14. (Wojciech Grzedzinski/Washington Post)

ZAPORIZHZHIA REGION, Ukraine  The unblinking eye of the Ukrainian surveillance drone spotted attractive prey: eight Russian soldiers entering a fortified, well-camouflaged dugout.

Inside a darkened trench a few miles away, Ukrainian soldiers of the 47th Separate Mechanized Brigades strike drone company got to work. A pilot tightened the plastic blades of his hand-built machine, strapped a fuel bomb to its belly and lifted off.

Through a pair of goggles, the operator, call sign Sapsan, piloted the drone across the scarred battlefield in southern Ukraine, gliding the craft toward his target.

Such first-person view, or FPV, drones  fast, highly-maneuverable, and relatively cheap craft flown by an operator wearing a headset receiving the drones video feed in real time  are now the predominant attack drone in Ukraine.

They are filling a gap left by a shortage of Western artillery rounds and precision weapons, soldiers said, and their ability to carry heavier explosives has made it the preferred tool for destroying tanks in some units, allowing a pilot to strike weak points like engines and tracks with rapier precision.

Sapsan means peregrine falcon, and as his synthetic raptor approached its target, a navigator huddled next to him. You can carefully fly around, the navigator said. See if there is a way in.

Then, a breakthrough: a hole leading inside the dugout, perhaps three feet tall and three feet wide. Sapsan drew nearer. Indicators in his headset flashed low battery warnings.

The wind, Sapsan said, cursing. Come on, work for us.

The war in Ukraine is the worlds first full-scale drone conflict, and FPV drones, first used in substantial numbers earlier this year, are bringing it to a new level. Though more difficult to fly than other drones that drop munitions, Russian and Ukrainian soldiers are mobilizing fleets of them.

FPV cameras create bleak images that are destined to go viral: The last oblivious seconds of soldiers lives, war machines set ablaze and trick shots plunging through open windows. It is captured on low-fidelity video reminiscent of VHS  an advantage, soldiers say, because the analog signal resists electronic jamming better than digital feeds.

Perhaps most important for Ukraines asymmetric fight against Russia  a far bigger, better-armed enemy  FPV drones are bargain-bin projectiles. Fashioned by hand from a few hundred bucks of material, they can annihilate million-dollar equipment.

Its a revolution in terms of placing this precision guided capacity in the hands of regular people for a tiny fraction of the cost of the destroyed target, said Samuel Bendett, a drone expert at the Center for Naval Analyses, a policy institute based in Arlington, Va. Were seeing FPV drones strike a very precise spot, which before was really the domain of very expensive, high precision guided weapons. And now its a $400 drone piloted by a teenager.

Bendett likened the use of FPV drones to the iconic Star Wars scene, when Luke Skywalker fires a proton torpedo into an exhaust port to destroy the Death Star. This is what were actually seeing happen right now, he said.

The rise of FPV drones

FPV drones are arguably the most DIY weapon in Ukraines crowdfunded war. Brimming with Chinese-made components, they are assembled by volunteers or by units themselves. The drones are built for obliteration, and look it. Power cables flare from their top. Explosives are secured with plastic zip ties.

A pilot typically works with a navigator, and a second team flying a surveillance drone to capture the larger view. FPV drones often miss more often than they hit, crews said, with failures resulting from electronic jamming or batteries dying. The drones have a roughly 9-mile range, depending on payload size.

Drones designed to crash into targets are known as one-way, or self-detonating, drones. The United States has provided Ukraine with similar but expensive models in relatively small numbers, and these are not new to conflict.

When the war shifted predominantly to an artillery fight last year, both Ukraine and Russia began favoring smaller tactical drones. Troops fixed grenades and smaller explosives to quadcopters, like the popular DJI Mavic, and rigged them, like tiny bombers, to drop directly over targets.

The concept worked for a time but was unsustainable, soldiers said. Off-the-shelf tactical models can cost more than $2,000. Analysts estimate Ukraine loses thousands of drones a month.

Those drones also cannot carry much. Mavics can haul about a pound of explosives, said Senior Lt. Yuri Filatov, the drone systems chief commander of the 3rd Separate Assault Brigade. That is roughly a hand grenade  enough to kill a soldier but not destroy vehicles.

Filatovs brigade has found that FPV drones could carry the warhead of a rocket-propelled grenade, a readily available antitank weapon. Their introduction, he said, has even lessened the need for more expensive weapons like the U.S.-provided Javelin.

FPV drones have become the main antitank weapon, Filatov said, including against T-90s, which are among Russias most modern tanks. In one day alone, they destroyed four tanks, he said, while soldiers kept at a safe distance. As we use more drones, Filatov said, we are losing fewer people.

Prepping for drone warfare

Before dawn on a recent morning in the Zaporizhzhia region, soldiers of the 47th drone strike company chain-smoked cigarettes and chugged energy drinks as they loaded boxes of drone components and antennas into a pickup truck.

The companys chief sergeant, a bearded former DJ with the call sign Legion, got behind the wheel and sped toward the front. With techno music from Legions past life as a soundtrack, the truck skimmed by the torched shells of armored vehicles. The turret of a U.S.-supplied Bradley, destroyed by a mine, lay upside down in scattered trash.

Washington Post journalists accompanied the drone team  Legion, pilot Sapsan, and navigator Actor  on a day-long mission near the liberated village of Robotyne. The objective: sow chaos on Russian lines as their comrades fought to retake ground, trench by trench. In keeping with military rules, the soldiers are being identified only by their call signs.

Heavy Russian glide bombs shook the ground in the distance as the team put up antennas and readied a Starlink satellite internet terminal. Enemy detritus on the floor  fragments of Russian uniforms and discarded rations  showed enemy soldiers once occupied the position.

Sapsan dug into a box of parts to ready the days sorties. Mad scientists in the brigade produce some components; 3D printers churn out boxes to protect circuit boards, which the unit assembles by hand. Others tinker at workstations to unlock ways to make the drones fly farther and carry more.

Sapsan built each drone on-site, with various charges for different targets. Fragmentation munitions to hit foot soldiers. RPG warheads to destroy vehicles. For dugouts, thermobaric charges release fuel aerosol that creates a harder and longer concussive blast, which is violently efficient in a confined space.

At 24, Sapsan is a grizzled veteran. He enlisted days after Russia invaded and served in reconnaissance and infantry units. Working with drones appealed to his creative side. He used them in his prior job as a photography director, making music videos, films and advertising.

Dexterity from mastering card tricks gave him an edge learning to fly. Built for racing and hairpin turns, FPV drones rely on a pilots input for every motion. The controls can take weeks to master.

The first target of the day was a Russian T-90 tank. Sapsans thumb and index fingers worked the two sticks with a feather touch, controlling the drones pitch and yaw with tiny movements.

The drone combed the area but the tank vanished. Sapsan ditched it in a tree line, hoping to hit soldiers by happenstance.

He raised his goggles and lit a cigarette, a post-flight ritual. He fired up another after a second miss on a T-90. A third smoke followed a failed run at an armored personnel carrier. The signal was lost, possibly jammed. Three flights, three misses.

Sapsan huddled over components to build more drones, clipping zip ties and placing the ends in his helmet.

After about 100 flights, he pondered what he could do with more drones. He has helped clear trenches with pinpoint explosions to aid comrades in capturing prisoners. He has careened into the windshields of Russian supply trucks. He has collapsed the walls of buildings where Russians sought safety only for a drone to fly through a window.

The 47th drone unit produces and uses about 20 drones a day. Occasionally, the unit fundraises on social media. One unit member, Pavlo, said he buys parts with proceeds from his YouTube page.

There are never enough drones, Sapsan said.

Ghosts in the machine

Russian units operate FPV drones in the same way but Moscow seems to have greater supplies, said a deputy company commander in the 80th Separate Assault Brigade with the call sign Swift. The brigade recently helped liberate Klishchiivka near Bakhmut. Russian teams hit minor targets or deploy two drones at once, suggesting a deeper inventory, Swift said.

Countering FPV drones is difficult, Swift said. Electronic jamming or nets strewn over vehicles and trenches help, but the Russians know and use the same methods. Its like a chess game, he said. Theyre winning it. Just in terms of quantity.

Ukraines leaders said they want to do more. FPV drones have shown sniper-like accuracy, said Deputy Prime Minister Mykhailo Fedorov, who heads the countrys Army of Drones program, which is working to train 2,600 FPV drone pilots.

The FPV war can play out in bizarre ways. Because the analog signals are not encrypted, pilots often acquire the signal of other drones, Sapsan said  seeing its video, like ghosts in each others machines.

In one case, a Ukrainian pilot tapped into the feed of a Russian FPV drone, read the terrain and warned soldiers in danger. They were able to take cover, Sapsan said.

Russian soldiers have griped on social media that Ukrainian FPV drones make it harder to move around, and have redefined how far from the front is considered safe, said Bendett, the drone expert. The dynamic, he said, is fed by each side uploading videos of successful strikes.

You almost never know where an FPV drone is coming from, he said. Its a tremendous psychological effect.

And there is also an effect  still not fully understood  on the drone operators. What does the act of remote killing do to someone simultaneously detached but intimately close to violence?

Sapsan dismissed the idea of a moral quandary. He sees his job as saving Ukrainians. There are no feelings of any kind, no sympathy, he said. If it were not clear what we were fighting for, such as the campaigns in Vietnam and Afghanistan, then there would be anxiety and pain.

But everything is clear here, he said. I do not regret what I am doing. A breakthrough

The air grew quiet in the afternoon. Soldiers tapped on their phones until a command center coordinator ushered them back into action.

The teams fortunes improved. A near miss landed next to Russian soldiers, perhaps injuring some. Sapsan sent one drone crashing into a machine gun position and dropped another directly into a trench. Their streak ended after missing another machine gun nest.

Then, promising surveillance unfolded with the sighting of eight Russian soldiers entering a dugout. Sapsan grabbed a drone loaded with a thermobaric charge and sent it aloft.

After Sapsan cursed the wind, Actor, the navigator, reassured him: in theory, it would help propel the drone on its final attack run.

Ukrainian artillery rocked the area as Sapsan flew near, and Actor directed him to an intricate trench system in a strip of trees.

The drone was 200 meters away and closing in. Sapsan spotted the opening. His body tensed. His mouth was agape. He nearly stopped breathing.

He flicked his left stick down, sending the drone spiraling into the hole. His screen crackled with white noise.

Thats a hit! Actor said.

Sapsan raised his headset and peered at the drone feed. Smoke billowed from the target.

It was time for a cigarette.

Serhiy Morgunov in the Donetsk region and Anastacia Galouchka in Kyiv contributed to this report.
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), speaking outside the U.S. Capitol late last month, has become one of the most outspoken opponents of providing additional U.S. funding to Ukraine. (Elizabeth Frantz/The Washington Post)

Nearly 20 months after Russia invaded Ukraine, bipartisan support for U.S. military assistance has frayed, according to a survey released Wednesday by the Chicago Council on Global Affairs. Most Americans still support sending additional arms and supplies to the Ukrainians, but more division exists over whether the investment has been worthwhile.

The findings come at a critical moment, as Ukraine, mired in a costly struggle to reclaim occupied territory, seeks further U.S. commitment with no end to the war in sight. President Biden has requested $13 billion in new military aid, but Republicans stripped the provision from the short-term spending bill approved Saturday hours ahead of a possible government shutdown.

The issue will remain one of the central debates in Washington as existing funds run out and lawmakers must decide whether to approve additional assistance amid growing opposition among Republicans. In Congress, most GOP leaders have expressed support for continuing to help Ukraine, but the latest survey data underscores the degree to which the partys rank-and-file have either soured on or begun to question the mounting expense.

Overall, the Chicago Council poll found that 63 percent of U.S. adults support providing additional arms and military supplies to the Ukrainian government. That is comparable to 65 percent last November but down from 72 percent in July 2022.

(The Washington Post)

Among Republicans, support stands at 50 percent, a drop of 18 percentage points since July 2022 and 30 points since the opening weeks of Russias full-scale invasion. Democratic support stands at 77 percent, barely changed from 79 percent in the summer of 2022. Among independents, support has fallen eight points, to 60 percent.

The survey was conducted in mid-September, before Ukraines leader, Volodymyr Zelensky, traveled to the United States to press his countrys case at the United Nations and on Capitol Hill, where he faced GOP questions about how open-ended the conflict could become.

The Chicago Council poll found that 53 percent of Americans overall believe the infusion of U.S. weapons, equipment and training - totaling $43.9 billion since last years invasion, according to the Pentagon - has been worth the cost, compared with 45 percent who said it has not. Nearly 7 in 10 Democrats said the support has been worthwhile, while about 6 in 10 Republicans said it has not. Independents were divided about evenly on this question.

Americans are skeptical of the argument advanced by the Biden administration and others that supporting Ukraine militarily will deter aggression by other nations. The poll found 40 percent who said Americas backing of Ukraine would make powerful countries less likely to try to take over weaker countries elsewhere, while 20 percent thought such aggression will become more likely and 40 percent said U.S. assistance wont make a difference.

Americans continue to express support for the NATO alliance, which has been strengthened as a result of the Ukraine war. About 3 in 4 (77 percent) said the United States should maintain or increase its commitment to NATO. That has ticked down from 81 percent in 2022 but is consistent with levels recorded over the past decade. Roughly 9 in 10 Democrats, along with about 7 in 10 independents and Republicans, support maintaining or increasing NATO commitments.

The poll tested opinions on two hypotheticals involving the NATO alliance: a Russian invasion of Germany and a Russian invasion of an ally like Latvia or Lithuania. The poll found 64 percent saying they would favor sending U.S. troops if Russia were to invade a NATO ally like Germany, while 57 percent said the same if Russia were to invade a NATO ally like Latvia, Lithuania.

Democrats are roughly equal in their support of defending Germany and Baltic allies, while Republicans are much more supportive of defending a country like Germany (64 percent) than one like Latvia, Lithuania or Estonia (48 percent).

Beyond partisan division on some of these questions, there is also a sharp split in support for Ukraine based on education. The Chicago Council poll found that 75 percent of college graduates support sending additional arms and military supplies to Ukraine, compared with 60 percent of those with some college education and 53 percent of those with high school degrees or less formal education. While 64 percent of college graduates said U.S. military aid has been worth the costs, that dropped to 49 percent for those with some college and 44 percent of those with a high school diploma or less.

(The Washington Post)

Apart from the Chicago Council poll, between 34 percent and 41 percent of Americans said in recent Post-ABC, Quinnipiac University and Fox News polls that the United States was providing too much assistance to Ukraine. These surveys found majorities or pluralities saying its the right amount or too little, though majorities of Republicans in recent polls said the United States was doing too much.

In absolute numbers, the United States has provided much more military and financial assistance than have other countries, though in terms of aid as a percentage of gross domestic product, smaller nations have done more.

Public opinion in the United States heavily favors mutual responsibility. Just 3 percent of adults in the Chicago Council poll said the United States has a greater responsibility than European countries have in helping Ukraine defend itself against Russia.

Overall, 66 percent said the United States and its European allies should be equally responsible for helping Ukraine and 30 percent said European countries should be more responsible. Among Republicans, 46 percent said European countries should be more responsible, while 52 percent said both should be equally responsible.

The Chicago Council poll found mixed support for aiding Ukraine indefinitely. One question found 49 percent agreeing that The United States should urge Ukraine to settle for peace as soon as possible so that the costs arent so great for American households, even if that means that Ukraine will lose some territory. A similar portion (47 percent) said the United States should support Ukraine as long as it takes, even if Americans have to pay higher gas and food prices as a result.

But a separate question that did not mention the sensitive issue of gas or food prices found greater support for long-term engagement. On that, 57 percent said, The US should provide arms and military supplies to Ukraine until it reclaims all the territory that Russia has captured. Meanwhile, 39 percent said, The US should encourage Ukraine to negotiate with Russia to end the conflict, even if it means allowing Russia to keep territory it has captured in Ukraine.

Most Americans, 55 percent, say neither Russia nor Ukraine has the advantage in the war, up from 46 percent last November. At that time, 26 percent said Ukraine had the advantage and an identical percentage said Russia had the advantage. Since then, perceptions of Ukraines standing has slipped, with 29 percent saying Russia has the advantage and 14 percent giving the edge militarily to the Ukrainians.

Few expect a forthcoming end to the conflict, with 34 percent saying the fighting will go on for over a year, another 34 percent saying it will last two to four years more and 15 percent saying it will last five years or more. Zelensky continues to be popular in the United States, with 67 percent rating him favorably, down from 81 percent in March 2022. His ratings among Republicans have fallen 26 points over that period, but 55 percent continue to have a positive impression of him, as do 61 percent of independents and 84 percent of Democrats.

Americans are nearly united in blaming Russian President Vladimir Putin for the war, with about 9 in 10 Democrats, Republicans and independents saying he deserves a great deal or a fair amount of blame. Overall, about 3 in 10 blamed NATO and 3 in 10 blamed Zelensky while 1 in 4 blame the United States.

The Chicago Council survey was conducted online Sept. 7-18 among 3,242 adults nationwide. The sample was drawn through Ipsoss KnowledgePanel, an ongoing survey panel recruited through random sampling of U.S. households. The margin of sampling error for overall results is plus or minus two percentage points.
Defense contractor Reginald Cannon was ordered to repay $315,944 and fined $200,000 for defrauding the Army in the manufacture of M98 masks, the Justice Department said Oct. 4, 2023. (File)

A New York defense contractor was ordered to pay over a half-million dollars in financial penalties for his very stupid decision to use cheap, unapproved materials in filters designed to protect soldiers from toxic gases and nuclear radiation.

Reginald Cannon, 55, was fined $200,000 and told to repay $315,944, the Justice Department said in a statement Wednesday. He also received two years of probation at his sentencing Monday in U.S. district court in Buffalo.

He originally faced the possibility of up to two years and three months in prison after pleading guilty to wire fraud in May, according to court documents.

Cannons Rochester-based company, Burnett Process, signed a contract in 2015 to sell the Army M98 gas particulate filters, which protect wearers from chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear and explosives threats, court filings said.

The scheme was uncovered before it caused harm to anyone in the military, prosecutors said.

This defendant attempted to cut costs and increase his profits by using products that were not in compliance with the contract entered into, U.S. Attorney Trini Ross said in Wednesdays statement.

Cannon told the Army that the 3,650 filters he provided them were manufactured with American-made materials instead of much cheaper filter paper from China, prosecutors said.

After an employee refused to sign a certificate of compliance with the contract standards, Cannon thrice signed doctored forms saying the products were up to snuff, a sentencing memorandum said.

I signed them to get it done and made a very stupid decision to do so, Cannon said, according to the sentencing memorandum.

The filters are used at shelters and mobile hospitals and on Navy ships, the Justice Department statement said.
UP.Labs

Alaska Airlines and UP.Labs aim to launch startups to enhance network optimization and routing, aircraft maintenance, revenue management and more to transform the future of airlines

WESTLAKE, Texas, Oct. 05, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- At the UP.Summit, Alaska Airlines and UP.Labs, a first-of-its-kind venture lab unlocking the future of transportation and mobility, announced the establishment of the Airline Venture Lab, a partnership to build startups that solve core strategic challenges for Alaska Airlines and the future of aviation. With a goal of launching the first startup in 2024, the new partnership will focus on identifying high value solutions that address some of the greatest areas of friction within aviation. These could address operational efficiency, guest experience or other angles in the business of travel. This is the third such corporate partnership for UP.Labs, following Porsche AG and an undisclosed large retailer.



Innovating with new technologies, to solve problems and better serve our guests, is in our DNA, said Alaska CEO Ben Minicucci. 30 years ago, we pioneered the use of RNP technology, allowing us to fly more efficient flight paths and to serve communities safely and reliably in regions with challenging flight conditions. We were the first to sell tickets online, and to use the Flyways machine learning software to make flight paths even more efficient and sustainable in todays crowded airspace. We know that sometimes our innovation comes from within our company, and sometimes it takes key partners to unlock. Today, we are excited to announce our work with one such partner: working with UP.Labs on new solutions that can address challenges facing our business and unlock progress for aviation as a whole.

The announcement of this corporate partnership with UP.Labs builds on Alaska Airlines existing relationship with multi-strategy mobility investment firm UP.Partners. Alaska Airlines is already a limited partner in UP.Partners venture capital fund, UP.Ventures. This new partnership leverages UP.Partners unique ecosystem and exemplifies the mutual commitment both companies have toward advancing the future of transportation technology.

Story continues

Joining the Airline Venture Lab as Senior Advisor and Investment Committee member is Sean Menke. Sean is currently executive chairman of Sabre and former CEO of Sabre, Frontier and Pinnacle Airlines. He also held executive roles with Air Canada and Hawaiian Airlines.

Im thrilled to have Alaska Airlines as UP.Labs newest corporate partner so we can advance how airlines operate, said John Kuolt, Founder & CEO of UP.Labs. Together we will launch innovative new businesses with the worlds best entrepreneurs to maximize the potential of the industry. On a personal note, my grandfather founded Horizon Air, which is still a core part of Alaska Airlines today, so Im honored to have the opportunity to build upon the legacy my grandfather started.

UP.Labs believes that partnering with leading corporations in the mobility space is the fastest way to make an impact on the transportation challenges our society faces. The companys first corporate partnership with Porsche in the automotive space has led to the successful launch of Pull Systems, a software platform that manages and automates electric vehicle performance. As UP.Labs' first airline partner, Alaska Airlines will help move mobility forward and bring aviation into its next era.

About Alaska Airlines

Alaska Airlines and its regional partners serve more than 120 destinations across the United States, Belize, Canada, Costa Rica and Mexico. The company strives to be the most caring airline with award-winning customer service and an industry-leading loyalty program. Alaska is a member of the oneworld global alliance. With the alliance and its additional airline partners, their guests can travel to more than 900 destinations on more than 20 airlines while earning and redeeming miles on flights to locations around the world. Learn more about Alaska at news.alaskaair.com and follow @alaskaairnews for news and stories. Alaska Airlines and Horizon Air are subsidiaries of Alaska Air Group.

About UP.Partners

UP.Partners is Transforming the Moving World by building and investing in companies that move people and goods cleaner, faster, safer, and at lower cost  on the ground, in the air, on the sea, and in space. The multi-strategy firm achieves this goal through its unique and virtuous ecosystem encompassing UP.Ventures, UP.Labs, and UP.Summit. UP.Ventures invests in companies and technologies to enable the future of mobility, working with some of the worlds most innovative investors and entrepreneurs. With flagship launch partner Porsche, UP.Labs is a first-of-its-kind venture lab, partnering with the worlds largest corporations to identify the most pressing challenges that they, and broader society, face. The UP.Summit is an invitation-only experience co-hosted with Tom and Steuart Walton and Ross Perot Jr., in Bentonville, AR and Dallas/Ft. Worth, TX respectively, bringing together the worlds most innovative minds to rethink the future of transportation. For more information, visit www.UP.partners or follow on Twitter @UpPartnersVC or LinkedIn.

About UP.Labs

UP.Labs is a first of its kind Venture Lab using a new venture model to solve core problems for the worlds most important corporations in the mobility world. By bringing together world-class business leaders, investors and corporate partners, UP.Labs unlocks innovation for corporations who have the scale and resources but cannot do it on their own. Recognizing that transportation is the underlying fabric of society, UP.Labs utilizes these strategic partnerships to rapidly ideate, build and scale disruptive startups transforming the way we move people and goods to be cleaner, faster, and safer. To learn more visit https://up.partners/labs/.

About UP.Summit

UP.Summit is an annual, invitation-only gathering of the worlds most innovative minds rethinking the future of transportation. Some of the most impactful investors, entrepreneurs, and leaders in policy, defense, transportation and mobility companies gather at the summit each year with the goal of moving people and goods in cleaner, faster, safer, and at lower-cost ways - on the ground, in the air, on the sea, and in space. UP.Summit was founded in 2017 and is jointly organized by UP.Partners, Tom and Steuart Walton, and Ross Perot Jr.

Media Contact:

Mollie Gonzalez

mollie@bulleitgroup.com








Lt. James Rich of the Saginaw Township Police Department in July. (Emily Elconin/The Washington Post )

SAGINAW TOWNSHIP, Mich.  Snow crunching under their feet, breaths coming quickly, the officers grabbed their duty rifles and ran toward Nouvel Catholic Central High School.

The code had gone out just two minutes earlier on Feb. 7: active shooting in progress.

They didnt hesitate. When they found that the double doors next to the parking lot were locked, one officer rammed them with his cruiser and smashed them open. Another stepped over the shattered glass and into a hallway lined with lockers. Move, lets move, lets move! he yelled, in moments captured on body camera.

Lt. James Rich was one of the officers at the scene. He remembers the rush of adrenaline and the strange silence inside the school. It felt like a puzzle whose pieces didnt fit.

Officers checked every room in the building. They found nothing except terrified children and teachers.

The 911 call that led police there had been a hoax.

It got stranger. At least eight other schools across Michigan were targeted with similar hoax calls that morning.

For weeks, Rich would wake up in the middle of the night, replaying the incident in his mind. His colleague had a term for what happened: terror without a body count.

Even months later, one question gnawed at him. Who was behind the calls?

That same question has troubled police departments across the country.

Over the past year, more than 500 schools in the United States have been subjected to a coordinated campaign of fear that exploits the all-too-real American danger of school shootings, according to a review of media reports and dozens of public records requests. The Washington Post examined police reports, emergency call recordings, body-camera footage or call logs in connection with incidents in 24 states.

The calls are being investigated by the FBI and have generated an aggressive response by local law enforcement - particularly after officers in Uvalde, Tex., came under criticism for waiting more than an hour to confront the gunman during the May 2022 elementary school massacre.

In state after state, heavily armed officers have entered schools prepared for the worst. Students have hidden in toilets, closets, nurses offices. Theyve barricaded doors with desks and refrigerators. Medical helicopters have been placed on standby while trauma centers have paused surgeries, anticipating possible victims. Terrified parents have converged on schools, not knowing if their children are safe.

The wave of school shooting hoaxes is without precedent, education safety experts and law enforcement officials say. Its part of a larger phenomenon known as swatting, where callers report nonexistent crimes with the goal of triggering a police response - preferably by SWAT teams - at the homes of enemies or celebrities.

The shooting hoax calls often come in waves, with multiple schools in a state targeted on the same day, and most are remarkably similar, said Drew Evans, the superintendent of the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension. More than 20 schools in the state were targeted in two separate incidents, one in September of last year and another this February.

This is a really serious crime, Evans said. It places everybody in a situation of potential danger to have police officers rushing into a school.

Many of the calls have followed a distinct pattern, according to police reports and recordings reviewed by The Post.

A male voice says that he is inside a school and that multiple students are shot. Many times, he claims to be a teacher. He says he is in a particular classroom or a bathroom, and tells the police to hurry.

He speaks with a heavy accent, police reports note. The calls first come in on non-emergency lines and are not recordings: The speaker interacts with dispatchers and responds to their questions.

When local authorities tried to trace the fake school shooting calls, they quickly ran into obstacles. Police reports show that the caller used free internet-calling services that allow anyone with an email address to make calls that appear to be coming from a U.S. number.

In incidents in at least 12 states, The Post found, the numbers were provided by TextNow, a Canadian company that offers free calls using voice over internet protocol, or VoIP.

TextNow says it works proactively to prevent bad actors from using its service while also keeping it free and accessible. The company does not condone the use of our platform for harassment, fraud or other illegal activity that jeopardizes public safety, said Derek Ting, TextNows co-founder, in a blog post in August. However, when serving millions of people of various backgrounds and needs, you cannot solve every challenge with the biggest hammer you can find.

A familiar voice

Three months before the hoax calls in Michigan, something strikingly similar unfolded in northern Louisiana. A male voice described by police as having a foreign accent reported an active shooting in progress at a high school in Bossier Parish, near Shreveport. Patrol officers raced to the scene but found no threat.

The detective who took the case, Capt. Shannon Mack, relished the chance to investigate the call. Her probe would unravel fresh details of the shooting hoax mystery, turning up clues and dead ends.

A 15-year veteran of the sheriffs department, Mack has developed a self-taught expertise in cases involving internet-based phone services. Thats my niche, said Mack, 49. She likes that its technical and sometimes tedious. She especially loves the feeling of tracking someone who thinks they cant be tracked.

At first, people used such services to harass or intimidate a spouse or enemy, believing they couldnt be identified, Mack said. Then the numbers began to show up in cold-calling scams to swindle people. Its only in the last few years that Mack has started to see the VoIP numbers used for swatting.

Nine times out of 10, its a TextNow number, Mack said.

After Bossier Parish received the school shooting hoax call in November, Mack sought several search warrants. She started with TextNow, asking for all the information the company had about two numbers linked to the incident: call logs, internet protocol addresses, account setup data. Then she moved on to Google and Apple, asking for everything they had on the email addresses that created the TextNow accounts.

The result was a trove of data that offered a minute-by-minute window into the activity of the perpetrator - or perpetrators. The logs revealed hundreds of calls over a roughly two-week period, many to police departments, schools and even restaurants. The caller mostly dialed numbers in the United States, but there were also a few dozen calls made to Australia and Canada.

One TextNow number was linked to school shooting hoaxes in at least six states: Alaska on Nov. 2; California and Texas on Nov. 4; Maine on Nov. 15; Ohio and Louisiana on Nov. 16.

According to the records Mack obtained, the perpetrator connected to TextNow via virtual private networks, or VPNs, which obscure a users location.

But there was also a tantalizing clue: When the TextNow account was created, the user connected via an internet protocol address assigned to Ethio Telecom, a major telecommunications company in Ethiopia. The users Gmail account was also traced to Ethio Telecom. Mesay Woubshet, a spokesman for Ethio Telecom, said the matter was under investigation by the countrys federal police. The Ethiopian Federal Police did not respond to a request for comment.

For Mack, the finding pointed to an even bigger pattern - and an even more prolific swatter. In April 2022, she had investigated a bomb threat hoax call targeting a local school. It, too, was made with a TextNow number that was traced to an internet protocol address in Ethiopia. Even the voice on the 911 call sounded the same in the two cases.

When the school shooting hoax call took place in November, Mack recognized the voice from the earlier bomb threat. She quickly called the number back. She heard the same male voice say, Hello? Hello?

Hey, why are you calling schools and doing that to kids? Mack recalled saying. You know its wrong. Where you at?

The person hung up.

Cormac Lynn, schools superintendent of Nouvel Catholic Central School in Saginaw, Mich. Police officers forced their way into Nouvel Catholic following a fake active shooter call. (Emily Elconin/The Washington Post )

A kind of compulsion

The link to Ethiopia was a crucial  if incomplete  breakthrough. Just because a call originated from an Ethiopian IP address doesnt necessarily mean the perpetrator is calling from that country, experts said, noting that online marketplaces sell access to such addresses.

In November 2022, TextNow blocked the entire country of Ethiopia from its service, the company said, after determining it was a source of significant malicious activity. The previous month, NPR had reported that a TextNow number using an Ethiopian IP address was connected to bomb threat hoaxes against schools. TextNow also removed its app from app stores outside North America, making it slightly more complicated for users elsewhere to access the service on their phones.

Still, the hoax calls kept coming. North Carolina, West Virginia, New Hampshire in December. Michigan, Oregon, Minnesota in February. Kansas, Ohio, Massachusetts, Wisconsin, Utah, Pennsylvania, New York in March. Wyoming and Illinois in April. In May, the hoax calls targeted at least 14 schools in Tennessee, just weeks after an actual school shooting left six people dead in Nashville.

Catalin Grigoras, director of the National Center for Media Forensics at the University of Colorado at Denver, conducted a technical analysis for The Post of five of the hoax calls made between September 2022 and April 2023. Grigoras said there was a strong probability that the caller used a device or app to alter their voice in real time. However, it was also highly likely, Grigoras said, that the same person was speaking in each recording.

The swatters use of technology is notable, said James Turgal, a former senior official at the FBIs information and technology branch who is now vice president at Optiv, a cybersecurity firm. Gone are the days when someone on a hard-line phone would call in a bomb threat because they didnt want to take their final that day, Turgal said. That was ye olden days.

Another enigma was the callers motivation. The perpetrator of the school shooting hoaxes could be driven by hostility, money or some combination of the two, experts said. On platforms such as Telegram, there are groups offering swatting services: one viewed in August by The Post touted the possibility of extreme harassment for $100 a day and bragged about being able to close any school.

But the volume of school shooting hoaxes may also suggest a kind of compulsion. I think they cant stop, said Keven Hendricks, an investigator and cybercrime expert who has worked on swatting cases with police. This is what this person does.

Macks investigation turned up another potential clue. Google handed over the contents of the Gmail account associated with the number used in the hoaxes. It contained emails from TextNow and other internet telephone providers. There was also an email from Instagram for the holder of a particular account.

That Instagram account has no posts, but several others with nearly the same name and imagery contain violent rhetoric toward the United States and White people. One account mentions Bobs on Sheridan, a mom-and-pop breakfast restaurant in Kenosha, Wis., in a post from January 2022 that claims a missile was launched there.

That same month, the Kenosha County Sheriffs Department received five calls on its non-emergency line saying multiple people had been shot or injured at Bobs. It was a male voice, with a heavy accent, using VoIP numbers, Sgt. Colin Coultrip said.

Following a query from The Post, Instagram removed the accounts for violating its policy against inciting violence, said a spokeswoman for Meta, which operates Instagram and Facebook.

A game of cat-and-mouse

This spring, detectives in Illinois added another piece to the puzzle. In April, at least 12 schools in the state were targeted by a wave of school shooting hoax calls. Detectives in the towns of Carbondale and Marion determined the calls were made from a TextNow number and asked the company for information about the account.

TextNow provided records to the police showing that the account holder made calls from the phone number for four days. As in previous incidents, the user took steps to obscure their location, connecting through a VPN or a proxy server, another tool that conceals a persons location.

This time, however, there was a difference: The IP address used to create the account was traced to a Comcast router in a town northeast of Houston. The subscriber was a 71-year-old woman, according to a police report.

Experts say that it can be relatively easy to compromise unsecure home routers and that they doubted the woman had any knowledge of the plot.

The woman lives in a neighborhood of modest, prefabricated homes. When approached by a Post reporter on a recent sunny afternoon, she reacted with confusion. She had not been contacted by the authorities, she said, and had no idea that her router was connected to the case.

The persistence of the swatting hoaxes pushed TextNow to tighten its policies. Although the company had stated for years on its website that the use of VPNs was not supported by the service, the hoax perpetrator had used that type of secured network to connect to the platform for months.

In the first half of May, TextNow said, it took several new steps. It blocked users from making calls from a web browser when using a VPN, the company said. It also prevented users from creating new accounts on a device that was previously flagged for abuse.

Tristan Huntington, the companys senior vice president, said TextNow adapts its processes to block bad actors but described it as a game of cat-and-mouse. The moment we make a change and we tell people about it, then immediately there is some kind of workaround, he said.

Some experts are critical of TextNow, where people can sign up for an account with only an email address. Why are you letting any call go through when you dont know whos making it? asked Fred Posner, a communications consultant and VoIP expert.

Cara Schade with her daughter, Lydia, a senior at Nouvel Catholic Central High School. (Emily Elconin/The Washington Post )

A campaign of fear

For more than a year, law enforcement agencies across the country have fed information about school shooting hoax calls to the FBI, hoping to leverage the bureaus superior investigative resources. But its not clear how much headway the agency has made.

For the FBI, the probe is akin to peeling the layers of an onion, said Todd Hillis, chief intelligence officer at IACI, an information-sharing association that identifies threats to cybersecurity.

Some popular VPNs outside the United States only retain logs of customer activity for a brief period, or do not cooperate with American law enforcement at all, Hillis said. He estimated it would take six months or longer for the FBI to obtain such data through a mixture of persuasion and treaty requirements between countries. Even then, he said, the users actual location may not be clear.

You can make yourself several layers deep if you are so inclined, Hillis said. The onion gets more and more layers on it, and it gets harder and harder.

A rare glimpse into the federal investigation came in May. An analyst at Utahs Statewide Information and Analysis Center made a presentation to local lawmakers about the swarm of school shooting hoaxes that took place in the state two months earlier. The analysis said that while the perpetrator had used sophisticated measures to remain anonymous, the FBI had determined the originating source.

Capt. Tanner Jensen, the centers director, declined to elaborate on the presentation or provide further details about an ongoing federal investigation. I have full confidence theyre taking this seriously, he said.

The FBI, too, declined to comment on what exactly the Utah report was referring to, where the hoax calls were coming from and whether it had identified a suspect. It also did not respond to broader questions about its investigation into the school shooting hoaxes, its effort to combat such incidents or its creation of a new database of swatting incidents in May. No arrests have been announced in connection with the hoax calls.

Meanwhile, several other hoax calls have occurred. Last month, two schools in Nashville were targeted with fake active shooter calls, said Kristin Mumford, a spokeswoman for the Nashville police. The calls originated outside the state, and the police noted that there have been hundreds of similar threats in other American cities. A connection to the larger trend has not been ruled out, Mumford said.

In Michigans Saginaw Township, the police say theyre eagerly awaiting a call informing them that the FBI has caught the culprit in the shooting hoaxes. Hopefully, there will be some closure, so at least that person wont do it again, Lt. Rick Herren said.

At Nouvel Catholic Central High School, the doors rammed by the police cruiser were swiftly repaired. Other damage will take longer to heal.

Lydia Schade, 17, was in her pre-calculus class when the lockdown announcement came over the loudspeaker and she saw her teachers face go white. She knew it wasnt a drill. As she huddled in a corner, she thought of her late grandmother, who used to tell her to be strong, to be a warrior.

Her enduring memory of that day is the moment when students were released, one by one, from the school gym. It is the fear etched on the faces of the parents waiting outside that she remembers.

Tim Novak, a parent at Nouvel Catholic, recalled the agonizing minutes when his son Max, then a senior, wasnt responding to his text messages. Novak said he knows all too well that the hoax could have been real. He stopped speaking, unable to continue. His eyes filled with tears. Its because it happens so often, he said.

A little over a year before the shooting hoax in Saginaw, a student in Oxford, Mich., about 80 miles away, opened fire at his high school and killed four people. A week after the hoax, a gunman killed three students at nearby Michigan State University.

The morning of the hoax, Cormac Lynn, the schools superintendent who oversees Nouvel Catholic, was on the phone in his office in an adjoining building when he saw police vehicles with lights flashing and sirens blaring race into the parking lot. He immediately hung up.

When Lynn reached the main floor of the school, he saw officers in tactical gear with weapons raised, yelling at him to put his hands up. They pointed their guns at him and told him to lift his shirt. He carefully complied.

The cops werent in a drill. We werent in a drill, Lynn said. The experience was as real as you can get without an act of violence.

Peter Holley in Houston contributed to this report.
President Biden delivers remarks during a meeting with his national security team regarding Ukraine in the White House Oval Office on Thursday. Defense Department Secretary Lloyd Austin, on left, Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Charles Brown and others participated in the meeting. (Demetrius Freeman/The Washington Post)

White House officials are urgently strategizing on the best way to salvage U.S. aid to Ukraine, debating whether to push for a larger funding package or seek a smaller one that may have a better chance of passing now that support for Kyiv in Congress has been thrown into doubt by House Republicans ouster of their leader this week.

The removal of Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) as speaker plunged the House of Representatives into turbulent waters, grinding all legislative work to a halt until the deeply fractious GOP can elect a new leader, with some of the candidates openly skeptical of funding Ukraine. President Biden expressed concern Wednesday about what the tumult in the House means for Ukraine aid and said he would be delivering a major speech on the issue soon.

It does worry me, Biden said. There are a majority of members of both parties that have said they are for Ukraine aid, he added, but the dysfunction always concerns me.

Biden received a briefing on Ukraine from his national security team on Thursday.

The White House has not yet settled on a new approach to bolstering funding for Ukraine. Much of that strategy will depend on who becomes the next speaker and what kind of deal officials believe they can reach with that person, according to a senior administration official who requested anonymity to discuss internal deliberations.

For now, officials are deciding whether it would be more strategic to pursue a large package that could take them through most of 2024 and avoid having to vote on another supplemental request in a presidential election year, or whether to pursue a smaller, short-term package they may have a better chance of selling to wavering Republicans, according to two senior administration officials.

Some Ukraine advocates inside the administration and on Capitol Hill are pressing for one substantial package to ensure that the war-torn country has the funding it needs for the next year, with the hope that the matter could be tackled again after the presidential and congressional elections in November 2024.

White House officials say that for now they have enough funding authority to meet Ukraines urgent battlefield needs, but it is not clear how long that will last. Given the unpredictability in the House, the administration is no longer pursuing the $24 billion supplemental funding request it initially wanted to include into a short-term government funding deal, one of the senior officials said.

McCarthy was seen by the White House as broadly supportive of Ukraine aid, though in a nod to the growing skepticism among Republicans, he had warned against giving a blank check to the beleaguered country. One of the leading contenders to replace McCarthy, Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), is openly opposed to the aid, saying Wednesday he opposes bringing up another Ukraine spending package.

The other leading lawmaker vying for the speakership, Rep. Steve Scalise (R-La.), is considered more supportive  though he, too, would have to respond to the outspoken faction of House Republicans who argue that America should be spending the money at home rather than on a distant conflict.

One senior Pentagon official, speaking on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue, said the administration has significant concerns about both Scalise and Jordan. But Scalise, the official said, has a history of demonstrable bipartisanship and recognizes the threat posed by Russias aggression, while Jordan has proven himself time and again to be a hard-liner difficult to engage on foreign policy issues.

In the Senate, Ukraine is a far more bipartisan issue, as Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) is a strong supporter of aid to Kyiv.

Many Ukraine advocates want the White House to push for the biggest possible aid package immediately.

The goal should be to pass enough military aid to cover all of 2024, said Kurt Volker, who served as the State Departments special envoy for Ukraine under President Donald Trump. Twenty-four billion is simply not enough to cover next year, and it is in neither partys interest to tee up a situation for additional votes during the election campaign.

But a package of that size would face significant opposition from the conservative bloc of lawmakers who succeeded in stripping Ukraine aid from the recent stopgap funding bill.

It will be extraordinarily difficult to push a large aid package through the House, said Dan Caldwell, vice president of the Center for Renewing America, a conservative group that opposes additional funding for Ukraine. Anyone who has raised concerns about oversight of aid or corruption in Ukraine has been accused of being a Putin apologist, so there is a feeling that aid advocates havent always been honest.

The White House this week launched a multipronged effort to reassure allies in Kyiv and in Europe on Ukraine. Even before McCarthys ouster, Biden convened a call with leaders of Canada, Japan and European countries in which he reaffirmed the United States commitment to supporting Ukraine for as long as it takes, according to a White House summary.

A senior European policymaker who was on the call said that despite nervousness about the situation in Washington, it was a positive message for Biden to bring together leaders to guarantee [U.S.] commitment to Ukraine.

Administration officials have been in regular contact with their anxious counterparts in Kyiv to tell them the United States remains committed to the war effort. But that has not assuaged Ukrainian concerns over how the White House will overcome the divisions and drama on Capitol Hill, according to several senior administration officials familiar with the conversations.

As of Monday, the Defense Department had congressional authority to transfer $5.4 billion in U.S. military weapons and ammunition to Ukraine, the latest tranche in what has been more than $43 billion in U.S. security assistance since Russias invasion in February 2022. The Pentagon has pledged to continue providing weapons as needed, with a recent focus on air defenses, mine clearance and artillery ammunition.

Allies in Kyiv and Europe had begun worrying about whether the United States would maintain its commitment even before the chaotic developments in the House. Just days before House Republicans ousted McCarthy, Congress dropped Ukraine funding from the short-term spending deal that averted a government shutdown, a step that freaked everyone out among Ukraine backers in Europe, according to a senior U.S. diplomat posted on the continent.

Still, White House officials had been confident that McCarthy would bring another aid package to a vote. But as House Republicans face a potentially grueling fight over their next speaker, with candidates under pressure to make promises to various party factions, it remains unclear whether the victorious speaker will bring up a funding bill.

When Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy left Washington last month, he was more visibly anxious than he had been in previous meetings with Biden about the future of U.S. support, according to a senior administration official familiar with the meeting who requested anonymity to describe private interactions. Biden assured Zelenskyy that the United States was committed to standing with Ukraine for as long as it takes  a common refrain of the president  and expressed confidence that Congress would ultimately approve billions more in military and economic assistance.

In their Oval Office meeting, Biden also spoke extensively to Zelenskyy about corruption in Ukraine, following the publication of a U.S. strategy document saying the problem is a significant threat to the country, according to a person familiar with the meeting. A senior administration official said fighting corruption has long been a priority for Biden and that he did not raise the issue because of a particular scandal or issue.

Some U.S. officials worry that the growing opposition is giving Russian President Vladimir Putin an incentive to wait out the United States until the 2024 election. They see little chance of a diplomatic solution before then, as Putin waits see whether Trump, who has long been relatively sympathetic toward the Russian leader, regains the White House.

By all indications, Putin has decided hes not interested in negotiation because he wants to see what happens in 2024, and he has clearly thrown in his lot and his future in the Ukraine war on the possibility of Trump returning to power, said Ivo Daalder, former U.S. ambassador to NATO under President Barack Obama and president of the Chicago Council on Global Affairs.

Adding to Bidens political challenge, the war itself has remained largely stagnant for the past year. A highly anticipated Ukrainian counteroffensive has failed to produce significant gains, leaving the two sides in a grinding military slog.

Americans support for the war has softened considerably since the invasion a year and a half ago. A survey released Wednesday by the Chicago Council on Global Affairs found that most Americans still support sending additional arms and supplies to the Ukrainians, but the public is more divided over whether the investment has been worthwhile.

Other recent surveys have shown more public skepticism, including a CNN poll in August, which found that 55 percent say Congress should not authorize additional funding to support Ukraine, while 45 percent support additional aid.

Both Biden and Secretary of State Antony Blinken have told their Ukrainian counterparts that they are seeking a way to transition to lower levels of long-term aid that would be more politically sustainable in the United States. That could be accompanied by efforts to rebuild Ukraines military-industrial base to make it easier for the country to arm itself, officials said.

Politicians skeptical of the Ukraine effort are also gaining traction outside the United States. In Slovakia, a member of the European Union, former prime minister Robert Ficos party was the top vote-getter in Saturday elections after he campaigned on a platform of ending aid for Ukraine and starting peace talks between Moscow and Kyiv. Slovakias previous government had been among the most aggressive Ukraine backers in Europe.

European policymakers said that as they watch the dynamics in Washington, they realize they may have to shoulder more of the burden.

It is obvious that if the U.S. hadnt handed Ukraine the military force and the military support, military tools, Ukraine would not have been able to survive  and we, the E.U. and the rest of the world, should give full credit to the American people for that, Swedish Foreign Minister Tobias Billstrom said in an interview. We need to do more in the E.U., in my mind, on the military side. . . . to match fully the contribution made by the U.S., because this I think is important for keeping credibility in the eyes of the American people.

Ukrainians, meanwhile, have been warning their partners that they are unlikely to deal Russia a knockout blow anytime soon.

This war could last for a very long period of time, Norwegian Foreign Minister Anniken Huitfeldt said in an interview. This has also been the message from the Ukrainians. ... They urged us to be realistic. So we should be prepared for that.

Dan Lamothe contributed to this report.
The Veterans Memorial Home at Menlo Park in Edison. (Ed Murray, nj.com/TNS)

(Tribune News Service)  Facing mounting criticism for bungling the pandemic response at state-run veterans homes where 200 have died, state lawmakers and Gov. Phil Murphy intend to propose a new state agency focused solely on the need of veterans.

In a major restructuring of the states military announced Wednesday, the administration and legislative leaders outlined a plan to split the Department of Military and Veterans Affairs into two new agencies  one whose responsibilities include New Jerseys National Guard and the F-16s flying for the Air National Guard, and a newly created Department of Veterans Affairs that would focus on veterans services, including the state-run nursing homes.

The legislation would also establish an independent veterans advocate and seek an outside monitor to oversee the overhaul at New Jerseys three veterans homes, located in Edison, Paramus and Vineland.

Unions representing the front-line workers at the veterans homes were informed of the sweeping proposals in a meeting Wednesday morning.

In a statement, the administration and legislators involved in the effort described the massive proposed changes.

After thoughtful discussion, today we are announcing a conceptual agreement to pursue structural reforms to the delivery of veteran services in New Jersey. As highlighted in both the United States Department of Justice and the State of New Jersey Commission of Investigation reports, comprehensive reform  from ensuring we have adequately paid staff, to upgrading communication and physical infrastructure, to instilling a thorough understanding of best practices  is necessary, they wrote.

The extraordinary shakeup comes on the heels of a scathing report last month by the Justice Department that found the Veterans Memorial Homes in Paramus and at Menlo Park in Edison failed their residents.

The findings by the Justice Departments Civil Rights Division said while COVID-19 was spreading through many of the nations long-term care facilities, New Jersey was unable to provide adequate clinical care or provide oversight in a manner that kept the residents of the veterans homes safe from harm.

Those facilities had the some of the highest number of publicly reported resident COVID deaths of all long-term care facilities in the state, claiming the lives of more than 200 residents and staff. Federal officials said the actual number of COVID deaths was likely much higher.

In their announcement, those involved in the proposed restructuring said they anticipated the appointment of a federal monitor to oversee improvements at the veterans homes, noting the progress made 20 years ago with a similar effort that led to the New Jersey Department of Children and Families in the wake of major tragedies in the child welfare system.

A federal monitor can work with the state to create a thorough plan of correction, set clear targets for improvement, and hold us accountable with continuous and transparent reporting, they wrote.

State Sen. Joseph Vitale, D- Middlesex, chairman of the Senate Health, Human Services and Senior Citizens Committee  who worked on the proposed legislation with state Sen. Joseph Cryan, D- Union, Sen. Patrick Diegnan, D- Middlesex and Sen. Joseph Lagana, D- Bergen  sponsored the laws that created the Child Advocate and the Department of Children and Families.

He said veterans deserve the same commitment from the state.

It was a model that worked, Vitale said of the restructuring of the child welfare system 20 years ago. We created a new department with reforms and accountability and many years later we are coming out of the lawsuit and we are a model for the country.

Under the legislation, veterans services currently provided by the Department of Military and Veterans Affairs, including oversight of the Veterans Memorial Homes, would come under a veterans-centric cabinet level position, much like the federal model and that of several other states.

This elevated departmental position will provide an ongoing, visible, institutionalized voice for veterans and their families at the highest level of government, the statement said.

Officials said it would also establish a veterans advocate to investigate complaints and ensure we are providing effective, appropriate, and timely responses to our most vulnerable veterans. The advocate, they said, would served as an independent check on our commitment that will outlive any federal monitor.

Matters related to active members of the military would remain under the purview of the presently-named Department of Military and Veterans Affairs.

Over the past two years, New Jersey agreed to two out-of-court settlements to pay $68.8 million to those who lost loved ones in the Paramus and Menlo Park facilities in the early days of the coronavirus pandemic, resolving claims without admitting fault that the states negligence and incompetence were largely to blame for the deadly outbreak.

In February, the federal government threatened to terminate the Menlo Park home from the Medicare and Medicaid programs  denying it the funds it needs to operate  absent major changes there within the next six months.

Vitale said the veterans homes had been a battlefield for years.

Caregivers were struggling left and right. Many did not know what that virus could do. There was a lot of learning on the fly and they made some extraordinary mistakes, he said. We have to restructure how we hire and pay these professionals from the ground up.

Cryan, chairman of the Senate Military and Veterans Affairs Committee said the legislative proposal came together because the executive branch and the Legislature worked together toward a common goal.

All sides agreed we needed significant changes, he remarked.

That was further underscored in a new report on Tuesday by the State Commission of Investigation, which said those in charge of the veterans homes had been unprepared for the massive absenteeism by staff in the initial weeks of the pandemic. At the same time, the SCI said administrators mismanaged securing replacement staff, leaving existing employees overwhelmed.

The SCI report also said the physical layout and outdated infrastructure of the Menlo Park and Paramus were not designed or equipped to handle isolation or quarantine situations. And it said the rapidly changing guidance on virus management from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had not been well communicated by state health officials to the veterans homes managers or within the homes, creating confusion and upending planned strategies.

The report called on the Legislature and governor to consider the creation of a new cabinet-level agency or commission with specific authority for the homes.

Even before the harsh Justice Department report, the veterans homes had been under siege.

Following a steady drumbeat of negative stories about problems in the facilities early in the pandemic  including directives that health workers not wear masks in the early days of the pandemic so as not to scare residents, and a lack of gowns and masks that led some workers to use plastic garbage bags as a jury-rigged form of infection control  Murphy later announced a major shakeup at the facilities.

The governor ousted members of the top leadership. Brigadier General Jemal J. Beale, the adjutant general in charge of the New Jersey Department of Military and Veterans Affairs, was replaced by Deputy Adjutant General, Col. Dr. Lisa J. Hou, a surgeon who now runs the department.

Despite the changes, state health evaluators last year brought to light new shocking violations during an inspection at Menlo Park, citing conditions they said had placed residents in immediate jeopardy, including charges of improper care and abuse, according to the inspection report.

The Department of Justice report in September found the failures continued into 2022. It described the facilities at Paramus and Menlo Park as filthy, with no one was washing their hands consistently in both veterans homes. One U.S. Veterans Affairs staffer found ants and bugs everywhere at Menlo Park.

Of even greater concern was the lack of segregating sick from well patients, resulting in the co-mingling of residents and staff that allowing the virus to spread throughout the facilities, investigators said.

The report also criticized the state for its missed opportunity to keep residents safe. Early in the pandemic, investigators noted U.S. Veterans Affairs offered to house veterans homes residents in federal facilities, which had additional space for keeping residents isolated. The offer never moved forward.

A roadmap for change

Cryan said more than 40 states also separate military operations from veterans affairs agencies, while the federal government keeps its military services apart from the Veterans Administration. But the roadmap for New Jersey follows that of the creation of the Child Advocate and the Department of Children and Families, more than 20 years ago.

Like the veterans homes, that effort also came in the wake of scandal.

Faced with the harrowing discovery in January 2002 of 7-year-old Faheem Williams body in a basement closet in Newark and the revelations that the Division of Youth and Family Services lost track of him and his surviving abused and neglected brothers, then-Gov. Jim McGreevey stopped fighting a 1999 lawsuit that accused the state of harming children under its care. He agreed to a settlement in 2003 that required New Jersey to report to a federal court monitor on the states progress meeting a long list of improvements.

This eventually involved extricating the child welfare system from the Department of Human Services, the largest state agency that also managed Medicaid, the health insurance system serving 1 million poor and disabled people the public welfare system among other services. A new cabinet-level Department of Children and Families was born to give the needs of thousands of mistreated children more attention and money.

The federal court supervision is expected to end next year.

McGreevey also signed legislation that year creating the Office of the Child Advocate, which had broad authority to investigate and sue the state for mishandling services to children. Gov. Chris Christie abolished the Child Advocate in 2010.

Cryan, Vitale and Murphy administration officials told NJ Advance Media that it was important the three veterans homes, as well as veterans services, remain the states responsibility. Nothing will be privatized, they said.

We can look to the private sector, and bring in the experts to make it work, Vitale said. But the nursing homes and the workforce will not be privatized, to keep them accountable to the public, he said.

The veterans advocate will be independent of the new department and will have the legal authority to bring claims and take action, Vitale said. This wont just someone pointing a finger; this is not just an ombudsman.

Both lawmakers declined to speculate on how much the endeavors would cost or when they would be in place.

The Legislature is on hiatus until after the Nov. 7 election. Committee meetings are not scheduled until late November.

Cryan said he wants public input on the proposals. He doesnt want to hold hearings during the lame-duck sessions that occur before the end of the year. Others may not agree, he added.

I want to get it right, and not rush the process, he said.

The senator said he wasnt sure all of the veterans groups would agree with the proposals. I am sure there will be discussion among cherished veterans groups but we are determined to make the necessary changes, he said. He said he expected there would be support among the Republicans, the minority party in the Legislature.

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President Dr Arif Alvi has called for making collaborative efforts by the public and private sector to create awareness about breast cancer.

He was talking to a delegation from Siemens Healthineers, which called on him in Islamabad on Thursday.

The President said media and other relevant stakeholders should also join hands in the breast cancer awareness campaign.

He said the media should also encourage women to engage in regular self-examinations and seek timely medical guidance for the early diagnosis of this life-threatening ailment.

The Chief Executive Officer of Siemens, Khurram Jameel, and the First Lady Begum Samina Alvi attended the meeting virtually.

During the meeting, the President underlined the pivotal role that private sector partners could play in raising awareness through media campaigns, standee displays in hospitals and public areas, distribution of pamphlets, and organizing educational workshops and seminars in women's educational institutions.

Dr Arif Alvi also called for organizing breast cancer awareness events during October.

He commended the role of the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) and telecom companies, which initiated a call-caution tone from 1st October on the advice of Presidency

On the occasion, the CEO of Siemens Healthineers pledged his company's support for the breast cancer campaign in Pakistan.
Inspector General of Police (IGP) Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Akhtar Hayat Khan has revealed that Afghan nationals were involved in 75% of suicide attacks carried out in the province in the recent wave of terrorism.

Fingerprints of the suicide bombers revealed that they were Afghan citizens, said Khan in an interview with private newschannel. He added that the Afghan nationals were involved in the Ali Masjid, Bara, Hangu, Bajaur and police lines suicide attacks.

While talking about the increasing number of cases of extortion in the province, the KP police chief said that locals and Afghan nationals involved in extortion have been arrested.

KPs top cop said that 76 cases of extortion were reported this year out of which they were able to trace 49 calls.

While sharing details, IG Khan said that they were able to trace a criminal who was making extortion calls to a big businessman from Peshawar. He also shared that the extortionists who were making calls to local contractors in southern districts have also been caught.

Extortionists were arrested from Chitral, Mohmand and Bajaur, said the KP police chief. He added that because of the police action extortion calls have decreased in the province.

IG Khan said that over a year ago the police department was not keeping regular data on the matter but it was no longer the case.

On the arrest of two police officers running a nexus with a group, the IG assured that they were being treated like criminals. He added that after the case was registered, it was referred to the anti-terrorism department.

The IG also shared that CTD offices have been set up in the merged districts and officers of the rank of superintendent have been appointed in those offices.

Pakistan to deport aliens after surge in terror

Following the spate of terrorism, the caretaker government, earlier this week, announced that it will be tightening the noose around illegal "foreigners" and gave them a November 1 deadline to leave the country.

Addressing a press conference following an apex committee meeting on the National Action Plan (NAP) on Tuesday, interim Interior Minister Sarfraz Bugti said that the huddle set November 1 as the deadline for the illegal "aliens" to leave the county voluntarily.

The minister had revealed that Afghan nationals were responsible for 14 of the 24 suicide bombings in the country this year. He warned the illegal immigrants to quit Pakistan by November 1 or face forcible expulsion.

The decision came days after a deadly suicide blast in Balochistans Mastung, in which over 60 people lost their lives. In most of the recent terror incidents in Pakistan, Afghan nationals or soil was reportedly used.

According to a statistical report released by the independent think tank Pakistan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies (PICSS), at least 271 militant attacks took place during the first half of 2023, resulting in the loss of 389 lives and injuring 656 individuals. Terror activities in the country soared by 79% during the period.
Value-focused investors are always on the hunt for stocks that are priced below their intrinsic value. One such stock that merits attention is Alphatec Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:ATEC). The stock, currently priced at 10.6, recorded a loss of 5.82% in a day and a 3-month decrease of 39.01%. The stock's fair valuation is $17.83, as indicated by its GF Value.

Understanding the GF Value

The GF Value represents the current intrinsic value of a stock derived from our exclusive method. The GF Value Line on our summary page gives an overview of the fair value that the stock should be traded at. It is calculated based on three factors:

1. Historical multiples (PE Ratio, PS Ratio, PB Ratio and Price-to-Free-Cash-Flow) that the stock has traded at.

2. GuruFocus adjustment factor based on the company's past returns and growth.

3. Future estimates of the business performance.

We believe the GF Value Line is the fair value that the stock should be traded at. If the stock price is significantly above the GF Value Line, it is overvalued and its future return is likely to be poor. On the other hand, if it is significantly below the GF Value Line, its future return will likely be higher.

Alphatec Holdings (ATEC): A Smart Investment or a Value Trap? An In-Depth Exploration

Unveiling the Risks

However, investors need to consider a more in-depth analysis before making an investment decision. Despite its seemingly attractive valuation, certain risk factors associated with Alphatec Holdings should not be ignored. These risks are primarily reflected through its low Altman Z-score of -0.75, and the company's revenues and earnings have been on a downward trend over the past five years. This raises a crucial question: Is Alphatec Holdings a hidden gem or a value trap? These indicators suggest that Alphatec Holdings, despite its apparent undervaluation, might be a potential value trap. This complexity underlines the importance of thorough due diligence in investment decision-making.

Story continues

Decoding the Altman Z-Score

Before delving into the details, let's understand what the Altman Z-score entails. Invented by New York University Professor Edward I. Altman in 1968, the Z-Score is a financial model that predicts the probability of a company entering bankruptcy within a two-year time frame. The Altman Z-Score combines five different financial ratios, each weighted to create a final score. A score below 1.8 suggests a high likelihood of financial distress, while a score above 3 indicates a low risk.

Company Snapshot

Alphatec Holdings Inc is a medical technology company focused on the design, development, and advancement of products for the surgical treatment of spinal disorders associated with disease and degeneration, congenital deformities, and trauma. The company's spine approach technologies include Posterior Cervical Fusion, Anterior Cervical Discectomy and Fusion, Lateral Interbody Fusion, and Posterior Lumbar Interbody Fusion among others. Despite its promising offerings, the company's financial health may be weak, as suggested by its low Altman Z-Score and declining revenues and earnings.

Alphatec Holdings (ATEC): A Smart Investment or a Value Trap? An In-Depth Exploration

Alphatec Holdings's Low Altman Z-Score: A Breakdown of Key Drivers

A dissection of Alphatec Holdings's Altman Z-score reveals Alphatec Holdings's financial health may be weak, suggesting possible financial distress:

The Retained Earnings to Total Assets ratio provides insights into a company's capability to reinvest its profits or manage debt. Evaluating Alphatec Holdings's historical data, 2021: -1.59; 2022: -1.69; 2023: -1.64, we observe a recent decline following an initial increase in this ratio. This downward movement indicates Alphatec Holdings's diminishing ability to reinvest in its business or effectively manage its debt. Consequently, it exerts a negative impact on its Z-Score.

The EBIT to Total Assets ratio serves as a crucial barometer of a company's operational effectiveness, correlating earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) to total assets. An analysis of Alphatec Holdings's EBIT to Total Assets ratio from historical data (2021: -0.21; 2022: -0.31; 2023: -0.25) indicates a recent dip following an initial rise. This reduction suggests that Alphatec Holdings might not be utilizing its assets to their full potential to generate operational profits, which could be negatively affecting the company's overall Z-score.

When it comes to operational efficiency, a vital indicator for Alphatec Holdings is its asset turnover. The data: 2021: 0.67; 2022: 0.55; 2023: 0.77 from the past three years suggests a recent decline following an initial increase in this ratio. The asset turnover ratio reflects how effectively a company is using its assets to generate sales. Therefore, a drop in this ratio can signify reduced operational efficiency, potentially due to underutilization of assets or decreased market demand for the company's products or services. This shift in Alphatec Holdings's asset turnover underlines the need for the company to reassess its operational strategies to optimize asset usage and boost sales.

The Bearish Signs: Declining Revenues and Earnings

One of the telltale indicators of a company's potential trouble is a sustained decline in revenues. In the case of Alphatec Holdings, both the revenue per share (evident from the last five years' TTM data: 2019: 2.25; 2020: 2; 2021: 2.34; 2022: 2.90; 2023: 3.84; ) and the 5-year revenue growth rate (-11.2%) have been on a consistent downward trajectory. This pattern may point to underlying challenges such as diminishing demand for Alphatec Holdings's products, or escalating competition in its market sector. Either scenario can pose serious risks to the company's future performance, warranting a thorough analysis by investors.

Alphatec Holdings (ATEC): A Smart Investment or a Value Trap? An In-Depth Exploration

The Red Flag: Sluggish Earnings Growth

The company's earnings picture does not look much brighter. The 3-year EPS without NRI growth rate (-10.5%) is sluggish, and the future 3 to 5-year EPS growth estimate (0%) does not show a promising uptick. These indicators could suggest the company is struggling to translate sales into profits effectively, a critical element of a successful business model.

Despite its low price-to-fair-value ratio, Alphatec Holdings's falling revenues and earnings cast a long shadow over its investment attractiveness. A low price relative to intrinsic value can indeed suggest an investment opportunity, but only if the company's fundamentals are sound or improving. In Alphatec Holdings's case, the declining revenues, EBITDA, and earnings growth suggest that the company's issues may be more than just cyclical fluctuations.

Without a clear turnaround strategy, there's a risk that the company's performance could continue to deteriorate, leading to further price declines. In such a scenario, the low price-to-GF-Value ratio may be more indicative of a value trap than a value opportunity.

Conclusion

Given the above analysis, Alphatec Holdings appears to be a potential value trap. Despite its seemingly attractive valuation, the company's financial health and performance indicators suggest underlying challenges. Investors, therefore, need to exercise caution and thorough due diligence before making an investment decision.

GuruFocus Premium members can find stocks with high Altman Z-Score using the following Screener: Walter Schloss Screen .

Investors can find stocks with good revenue and earnings growth using GuruFocus' Peter Lynch Growth with Low Valuation Screener.

This article first appeared on GuruFocus.


He was accused of possessing two videos and eight images of child abuse material on February 1, 2022

A SENIOR Department of Justice official accused of possessing child abuse images and videos has been served with a book of evidence and sent forward for trial.

Niall Colgan, 38, of Muckross Park, Perrystown, Dublin 12, was ordered to appear at Dublin District Court today, having been excused from attending a previous procedural hearing.

He was accused of possessing two videos and eight images of child abuse material on February 1, 2022. The offence is contrary to Section 6(1) of the Child Trafficking and Pornography Act, 1998.

He is also charged with possessing cannabis at his home on the same date and has yet to indicate a plea.

At his latest hearing today Detective Garda Alan Young served the accused with the States book of evidence for the case against him.

Detective Garda Young, from the divisional protective service in Tallaght, had told the court the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) has directed trial indictment at a higher level.

Judge Paula Murphy acceded to the DPPs request to grant a return for trial order, transferring the case to the Dublin Circuit Criminal Court, which has broader sentencing powers.

She told Mr Colgan it would be listed for mention on November 9 and warned him to notify the prosecution if he intended to use an alibi in his defence.

Gardai were ordered to hand over interview videos to the defence and the judge remanded Mr Colgan, who did not address the court, on bail.

The judge also told him to obey terms set down at his first hearing in August but not read aloud during todays proceedings. Mr Colgan, accompanied to court by his solicitor, acknowledged that he understood.

The accused has served as a Department of Justice press officer and was a private secretary for a previous Minister for Justice.
Butterly was given a body map which showed where the remains of the dead were found

Former Stardust nightclub manager Eamon Butterly has denied that half of the 48 victims of the 1981 blaze died because three exits were locked when the fire broke out, preventing their escape.

However, the key witness also told an inquest into the fire that the policy of keeping exit doors in the nightclub locked on disco nights was unsafe and that they should not have been locked.

He denied that at any time a fire might have started at the premises, describing the nightclub as one of the best-wired premises around.

Mr Butterly was being cross-examined at Dublin District Coroners Court by Des Fahy KC, representing 10 of the families of the 48 people who died when fire swept through the nightclub in the early hours of February 14, 1981.

Mr Butterly was shown a body map indicating the approximate positions where the fire brigade located victims of the fire.

Mr Fahy said that in the area around exit five to exit three, 24 bodies were located, while eight bodies were found in a cluster in front of the bar.

A member of the Dublin Fire Brigade walks through the Stardust after the blaze.

Im suggesting that those people died because exits three, four and five were locked when the fire broke out  they could not escape, said Mr Fahy.

I deny that, said Mr Butterly.

Mr Fahy asked the witness whether he had any other explanation as to why so many bodies were found around that area.

The only answer I can give is the place was full of smoke and the lights went out and everybody panicked, Mr Butterly replied.

Mr Fahy said that if there had been enough exit doors in the building and all of them had been open, it would be reasonable to expect that the vast majority, if not all of the people, would get out in the event of an emergency.

Yes, but the lights went out and there was a lot of smoke. There were emergency lights all over, but they went out and with the black smoke they were disorientated, Mr Butterly said.

Mr Fahy said that during a tribunal before Mr Justice Ronan Keane in 1981, Mr Butterly gave evidence that exits one, six and five in the Stardust were locked up to a certain point on disco nights.

Mr Fahy said that Mr Butterly was asked what plan he had in place if an inspector turned up while the doors were locked, to which Mr Butterly had replied: I had no plan, I would have been in serious trouble.

You were content with the policy where one, six and five were locked, but if anyone in a position of authority found out, you would be in serious trouble. So why did you let the doors be locked? asked Mr Fahy.

I dont know, I cant remember, replied Mr Butterly.

So, youre accepting that it was unsafe? asked Mr Fahy.

Im accepting that it was unsafe, but [head doorman] Tom Kennan had control over it, said Mr Butterly.

In what way was it unsafe? asked Mr Fahy.

They shouldnt be locked, I suppose, replied Mr Butterly.

Former Stardust manager Eamon Butterly leaves the inquest in Dublin. Photo: Stephen Collins /Collins

Mr Fahy asked him what the natural consequences would have been of the doors being locked when people were trying to get out.

The consequences would be bad if they were locked when something happened, but all the time Mr Kennan and the staff would be keeping an eye on the doors and would open them at any stage, replied Mr Butterly.

Mr Fahy asked how the policy of doors being locked for a period of time came into existence.

The doormen said that people were letting their friends in up to a certain time, Mr Butterly said, confirming that he meant paying patrons were doing this.

Mr Fahy said: Im going to suggest to you that that explanation is a stain on the reputation of the people who were in the Stardust on that night.

Somebody was letting them in, said Mr Butterly.

Mr Fahy put it to him that this explanation was a diversion tactic away from the truth as to why the doors were locked.

He suggested that after an incident on St Stephens Night 1980, there had been a change in policy from mock locking the doors by draping chains over them to give the impression they were locked  and the policy was changed to actually chaining them.

That policy changed because you found out what some of your doormen were doing, that they were letting people in, charging them and keeping the money for themselves, said Mr Fahy.

He said deputy head doorman Leo Doyle had given evidence in 1981 that he got his share of the money from this incident.

Eamon Butterly got to know about this, Mr Doyle said in his statement.

Mr Fahy went on to say another doorman, Michael Kavanagh, gave evidence that Eamon Butterly was mad about it, because of people coming in.

They have given evidence that the change happened because you found out about Stephens Night 1980, said Mr Fahy.

Mr Butterly said: Thats what theyre saying, I dont remember that. Id be mad if I knew, but I dont remember that.

Sean Guerin SC, representing another group of families, asked Mr Butterly about the heating system in the Stardust becoming defective in November 1980, specifically the motor in a pump.

In his original statement, Mr Butterly had given evidence that a new motor was installed.

Portraits of the victims hang on the wall at the Rotunda Hospital where the Stardust inquest is taking place. Photo: Sasko Lazarov / RollingNews.ie

Mr Guerin said witnesses said there was a smell of burning rubber throughout the Stardust that went away when the heaters were turned off.

He put it to Mr Butterly that floor manager Phelim Kinahan had said he was satisfied the smell was caused by the electrical motor in the heater burning out.

The motor did not burn out, the motor stopped working. Thats a saying, the motor is burnt out, it means its not doing its job, said Mr Butterly.

No, its not just a saying, its a very real description of a problem of an electrical nature that caused the motor to stop working, said Mr Guerin.

Thats not what happened, replied Mr Butterly, going on to add: I wouldnt have a clue about motors.

Mr Butterly went on to say that he did not know what would have caused the smell of burning rubber, but he accepted that the smell could have been connected to the heaters.

Mr Guerin said witness Patrick Joseph McGrath, who was a maintenance man for the Stardust, had given evidence that one of the two motors in the heating fan had burnt out and was not replaced before the fire.

Mr Guerin next put to him the evidence of a patron, Peter McGovern, who said that three weeks before the fire, he attended a disco and occupied a table in the area that was curtained off on the night of the fire.

Mr Guerin said Mr McGovern had given evidence that while sitting drinking the heat was very bad.

The heat was all around me and it was similar to a very hot day, said Mr McGovern.

Mr Guerin said that another witness had given evidence that it became unbearably hot and it was uncomfortable.

Mr Guerin said the witnesses had been sitting in the same alcove where the fire was first observed three weeks later, and he asked Mr Butterly whether he had any explanation for this heat.

They were hot. They could have been up dancing, I dont know, he said.

Mr Guerin next said that another witness who worked in the Stardust, Laurence Neville, had given evidence of being in the light control room and being unable to get the stage lights to work.

The electrical installation in your premises was so poor that at any time a fire might have started, said Mr Guerin.

You are so wrong, it was one of the best-wired premises around, and that was seen to by Dublin Corporation, said Mr Butterly.

His evidence continues today in the Pillar Room of the Rotunda Hospital.
The cocaine had a total street value of just over 8,500, the court heard.

A man who violently assaulted two gardai at the Mater Hospital in Dublin has asked for his sentence to be stayed so he can take up a residential drug treatment placement.

John Paul Duncan (39) of Drumcairn Avenue, Tallaght, Dublin 24, pleaded guilty to possessing 8,500 of cocaine contained in six condoms at Store Street Garda Station on January 31.

Duncan also admitted assaulting two gardai who took him to the Mater Hospital on the same day after he said he felt unwell after swallowing some of the cocaine.

Garda Clodagh Doyle told Dublin Circuit Criminal Court today that gardai were called to Lott's Cafe Bar on Liffey Street Lower on the day in question after a man was seen wrapping up white powder underneath a table.

Duncan was arrested and brought to Store Street Garda Station, where he produced six condoms from his trousers, filled with over 122 grams of cocaine.

The cocaine had a total street value of just over 8,500, the court heard.

A few hours later, Duncan complained of being unwell and said he had swallowed cocaine earlier.

Garda Doyle and two colleagues accompanied Duncan to the Mater Hospital at around 7pm, where he became distressed and threw himself, retching, onto the floor.

Duncan said he needed the toilet and was brought to a private room containing a commode.

Gardai waiting outside heard him roaring and shouting and moving furniture around, and when they entered, Duncan took his hand, which had been inserted in his behind, and tried to put it in a garda's face.

Gda Doyle told Olan Callanan BL, prosecuting, that Duncan then became extremely aggressive, leapt up from a chair and headbutted her colleague.

The three gardai sought to restrain Duncan, and he went to bite one of their legs, then bit Gda Doyle's hands so hard that he ripped off both her gloves.

Medical staff sedated Duncan, but he continued his aggressive behaviour and tried to flee until he fell asleep, continuing again when he awoke.

Duncan has 139 previous convictions in Ireland and 11 in other jurisdictions, including drug offences, assault causing harm, theft and escape from lawful custody.

He was sentenced to eight years in prison for his role in a 1.8 million cocaine haul in 2007.

Duncan escaped from Loughan House open prison in 2016 and fled to the UK, from where he was extradited in June 2017.

Keith Spencer BL, defending, said Duncan has a well-documented and long-standing drug addiction from the age of 15, progressing from cannabis to benzos, to cocaine and then to smoking crack.

Mr Spencer said his client's entire life has been blighted by drugs, and his attempts to set up a construction company fell asunder.

Duncan took the stand and agreed that his drug use began when he suffered domestic violence as a child and turned to drugs to block everything out.

He told the court he has been drug-free for a couple of months and is now motivated to get clean for his fiancee, his five-year-old son and everybody.

I've never been clean since I was 15. You're talking 20 years, he said.

Duncan said all his offending had been drug-related and that even in prison, addiction had been a problem. An open jail is riddled with drugs, he said.

Mr Spencer said a place had been made available at a rehabilitation centre for a 14-week residential course starting next week, October 17.

My client is doing very well in custody and has an opportunity now to address his addiction. He's willing to throw himself into any course that the court orders, said Mr Spencer.

Judge Orla Crowe adjourned the matter for sentence to next Wednesday, October 11 to obtain urine analysis.
Michael McGrane pleaded guilty to two counts of selling a protection-defeating device and one count of possessing a protection-defeating device

A Co Meath man who set up two companies providing illegal access to television content including Sky Sports and Motion Pictures is to be sentenced next week.

At a hearing yesterday, Dublin Circuit Criminal Court heard that Michael McGrane (47) sold customers unauthorised access to premium TV content via streaming and altered set-top boxes.

McGrane, of Johnswood Drive, Ashbourne, pleaded guilty to two counts of selling a protection-defeating device and one count of possessing a protection-defeating device on dates between September 2017 and September 2018.

He also admitted to the unlawful use of a computer on dates between March and September, 2018 as the mechanism by which the offences were committed.

The court heard that the alarm was raised after a brand protection company in the UK became concerned that copyright material was being infringed.

They made a number of test purchases to two companies set up by McGrane, called StreamSupreme and JarvisBox.

Garda Alan Gordon told Kieran Kelly BL, prosecuting, that JarvisBox supplied the hardware or physical box to customers, while StreamSupreme facilitated the illicit streaming.

Gardai set up Operation Fleming to investigate, after they were alerted that customers buying boxes and streaming access were paying into Irish PayPal accounts.

In March 2018, a test purchase was made from StreamSupreme of a 12-month subscription service costing 140 sterling, affording the end user access to most of Sky's streaming content, BBC and Motion Motion Pictures in the US.

This compares to Sky's monthly subscription of 47.

Several more test purchases were made, including an illicit Android box ordered from JarvisBox.com and posted from a post office in Ashbourne, County Meath.

CCTV footage obtained from the post office identified McGrane's wife posting the box, and paying for postage with a card linked to her PayPal account and the accused's Permanent TSB account.

McGrane's home was searched under warrant in June 2018 and gardai seized four laptops, two mobile phones, a number of illicit boxes and financial documents.

McGrane was arrested and as it emerged that his wife had not been involved in the operations, charges against her were dropped.

Garda Gordon said JarvisBox was set up in 2015 and made a turnover of 145,795 over a three-year period, between box sales and subscriptions.

A second man involved in the software side of the enterprises, Ken Costello (50) of Leighlin Rd, Crumlin, Dublin, was previously sentenced to 15 months fully suspended for his role in the offences.

Costello had pleaded guilty to infringing a copyright without the consent of the owner at a location in County Dublin on a date between March and September, 2022.

He also admitted dishonestly operating a computer with the intention of making a gain at his address during the same period.

Dominic McGinn SC, defending, said that between them, McGrane and Costello only recuperated 40 per cent of the turnover made by StreamSupreme and JarvisBox, and that the remainder of the money went to various other people's PayPal accounts.

Counsel for the defence also said that any remaining profits were divided 50/50 between McGrane and Costello, so that McGrane would have received just over 29,000 per year over the three years.

Mr McGinn submitted a large amount of testimonials which he said spoke universally of McGrane as a fine, trustworthy, well-regarded and responsible member of society and an upstanding member of the community.

Counsel said the offending was out of character for McGrane, who worked for the same company all his life from the age of 18 and had reached the position of assistant manager.

The court heard McGrane submitted a short letter himself explaining that his parents had died when he was very young and he had a disproportionate sense of responsibility to do well for his family.

Mr McGinn said his client felt at the time of the offences that what he was doing was not illegal, but that he now recognises that it was and that he should not have been involved in this activity.

McGrane has no previous convictions and cooperated with gardai throughout their investigations, the court heard.

Judge Orla Crowe adjourned the matter for sentencing until October 13.
How do they target households and how quickly can they get in and out with your jewels?

A notorious burglary gang headed up by the son of Fat Andy Connors have been nabbed again after they were caught with a car load of burglary tools.

John Connors who featured on the UKs crime watch show was arrested with Thomas Wall who both now face more time in prison after their latest run in with police.

But how do Irish burglary gangs like Connors outfit remain in business given their reputation and prolonged targeting by Gardai? Are they simply moving jurisdictions in order to stay one step ahead of the law? How do they target households and how quickly can they get in and out with your jewels?

Nicola speaks with Eamon Dillon about burglary gangs, crime statistics and why gangland murder rates have dropped.

Crime World Podcast can be found on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts and Soundcloud.

MORE EPISODES 
The incident occurred at approximately 2.15am and while no injuries were reported, enquiries are ongoing.

Gardai have confirmed they are investigating the discharge of a firearm after a reported shooting incident in Limerick city in the early hours of this morning.

According to Limerick Live, shots had been fired at a house in O'Malley Park in Southill.

The incident occurred at approximately 2.15am and while no injuries were reported, enquiries are ongoing.

Gardai in Limerick are investigating an alleged discharge of a firearm which occurred in the early hours of this morning, Thursday, October 5, at O'Malley Park, Southill, Limerick, a garda spokesperson said.

Limerick Live has reported that there have been a number of shootings in the Hyde Road area in recent months, while in July, gardai attended the scene of an explosion of a viable device.
"He was soft-spoken in a manner that was indicative of his gentle personality."

A large crowd gathered today for the funeral mass of Tom Niland who died last Saturday in Sligo University Hospital.

Mr Niland had been in hospital since he suffered serious injuries during a burglary at his home in Skreen, Co Sligo on January 18 last year.

The funeral mass took place today at St Adamnan's Church in Skreen, where a large group of mourners gathered this afternoon.

On behalf of Mr Niland's family, parish priest Fr Michael Gilroy thanked the gardai, Civil Defence, local volunteers, and media for all they had done in support of him, especially thanking staff at Sligo University Hospital for all they had done.

Fr Gilroy described the poignant guard of honour of hospital staff who lined the route when Mr Niland's body was being removed from Sligo University Hospital.

"As the days became weeks, and the weeks became months, they discovered the humble, gracious, gentle and kind man that we all love and respect".

Tom Nilan's funeral. Photo: RTE

There is a profound sadness at Tom's leaving us, there is also a sense of relief that Tom's suffering is over and that he is now at peace with God.

"Tom loved working the land and tending to the livestock. His knowledge and skills were often called upon and Tom would happily oblige".

Fr Gilroy said that Tom was a quiet man unless you were luck enough to know him.

"He was soft-spoken in a manner that was indicative of his gentle personality.

"His car gave him great independence, and he enjoyed visiting his family and friends. To put it simply, Tom lived a quiet and contented life.

"For the last 21 months, we have missed his gentle presence in our midst."

Fr Gilroy spoke about the impact Toms death has had on the people of Ireland and the world.

"Thousands of messages are pouring in on social media from people around the world who are deeply saddened by Tom's death.

"For a man who was so shy and unassuming, his gentle smile has reached every corner of the world and touched the hearts of many people who never knew him.

"Today we pay our final respect to a man who has been part of the fabric of this parish over so many years. A life lived with gentleness and humility, two of the most beautiful virtues that you can find in a human being."

Three men are currently before the courts in relation to Mr Nilands death.
Police discovered a sophisticated production and dispatch system in Barcelona

Spanish police at the scene during one of the raids. Photo: Policia Nacional

POLICE in Barcelona have dismantled an illicit laboratory producing hallucination-causing drugs including 'monkey dust' to send to Ireland.

Detectives say the chief suspect was intercepted as he headed to a courier companys offices to send four boxes containing a large amount of so-called new narcotics like the stimulant the lab was making to Ireland, Greece, the US and Italy.

The Hungarian man was held before police arrested his son and a Colombian woman and discovered the sophisticated production and dispatch system they allegedly ran from their home.

Thousands of pounds in euros and gold bars were also seized at the property along with chemical products used to make the New Psychoactive Substances (NSP) police say they were producing.

News of the operation comes just a day after it emerged police in Madrid had arrested eight members of a Chinese gang accused of smuggling cannabis to Ireland from warehouses near the Spanish capital.

A spokesman for Spains National Police said in a statement: National Police officers, in a joint operation with Spanish customs officials, have dismantled a laboratory producing new psychoactive substances known as NSP.

They produced synthetic drugs from natural narcotic substances they subsequently sent to European countries, North America and Oceania through courier firms.

Three people belonging to the same family who ran the laboratory have been arrested.

The material seized would have served to produce more than seven and a half million doses of NSP substances like the stimulant known as monkey dust, the synthetic cannabinoid ADB-BUTINACA and the synthetic caninone a-PiHP.

The long-running probe began in March after police discovered dangerous NSP substances were being sent abroad from somewhere in the province of Barcelona.

The courier offices thought to have been used were put under surveillance and several consignments of drugs intercepted.

Detectives discovered a firm based in Barcelona using bank accounts linked to a Hungarian company was behind the deliveries.

They then found out the location of the clandestine lab - in a house in a village called Tagamanent 50 miles drive north of the city of Barcelona.

Revealing they decided to move in and make the arrests when they had the movements of the chief suspect under control, a police spokesman said: When he was heading to a courier firms offices to send boxes abroad he was intercepted by investigators.

That frustrated the delivery of four large parcels containing an important amount of NSP to Ireland, Greece, the States and Italy.

The other two arrests took place during a subsequent raid on the residential property the lab was operating from.

Detectives say the drugs ready to be sent abroad were packed up in different shelves in the property as if they were in a supermarket.

They said a staggering 704 deliveries of drugs sent by a single logistics firm the suspects used to export their NSP substances were intercepted in a three-month period.

It was not made clear how many of those deliveries were bound for Ireland.

Monkey dust is usually snorted but can also be found as capsules and pills and can be smoked or, in rare cases, injected. It is also known as bath salts or MDPV.

Police officers have described tackling people under the influence of the drug as like trying to wrestle with the Incredible Hulk.

Addicts believe they are being chased, and are said to have tried to climb buildings and lampposts to escape beasts from their vivid hallucinations.
Police confirmed a 36-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder.

Police respond to an incident in the Bradbury Place area of Belfast. Picture: Aodhan Roberts/Belfast Telegraph.

An injured dog is loaded into the back of a van in the Bradbury Place area of Belfast. Picture: Aodhan Roberts/Belfast Telegraph.

Two men have been hospitalised with stabbing injuries and two dogs have also been injured during a Belfast city centre incident.

The emergency services remain at the scene of the stabbing at a flat in the Bradbury Place area.

Police confirmed a 36-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder.

PSNI Inspector Edgar said: "It was reported at around 1.10pm that two men had been stabbed, one to the face and the other to the abdomen.

"Officers attended alongside colleagues from NIAS and the two injured men were taken to hospital.

Police respond to an incident in the Bradbury Place area of Belfast. Picture: Aodhan Roberts/Belfast Telegraph.

"Two dogs in the property were also injured during the incident and one dog is being treated by a local vet.

"A 36 year old man was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder and criminal damage, and remains in police custody at this time.

Enquiries are continuing, and we are appealing to anyone who has any information to get in touch.

The number to call is 101, quoting reference number 863 of 05/10/23.
The nurse, who is 38, is originally from Co Mayo, is the mother of a young child

The man who is suspected of shooting an Irish nurse on Australia has been named locally as Ralph Donald.

The 38-year-old Irishwoman, who is originally from Co Mayo is currently fighting for her life in Royal Darwin Hospital after suffering wounds to her abdomen.

Shortly after the shooting, the body of Mr Donald (35) was discovered at a house in the Northern Territory city of Darwin.

According to local reports, he is believed to have died as a result of self-inflicted injuries.

Major Crime detective Paul Morrissey told reporters on Wednesday the man had lived at the home at various times.

One neighbour told Daily Mail Australia that the woman was ambushed, claiming that he had been invited back into the home by the shooter.

It hits differently when it's on your street, the neighbour said.

Another neighbour Kim Leonard-Bond said Mr Donald's brother was at the scene before paramedics arrived.

She added that she had known the family since Donald and his brother were boys.

I just think as a mother, Oh my god how do you cope with the loss of your child, she said.

Police were called to the home, in Milner in the northern suburbs of Darwin at 6.30pm on Tuesday after reports of gunshots.

First responders managed to stabilise the woman who underwent surgery on Tuesday night.

The womans condition remains critical and her family in Mayo have been informed.

Detective Morrissey said the shooting has had a deep impact on the local community.

It's concerning for neighbours, he said. It's obviously distressing for family members and friends of the persons involved and also a confronting scene for first responders.

Detectives have been interviewing local residents and seeking witnesses while a report is being prepared for the coroner.

Speaking to a local news outlet a neighbour in Millner said she heard two loud noises "a few minutes apart."

"We thought it might have been crackers because the dog gets scared with bangs, but it just didn't sound right, and I could hear yelling," she said.

"And then we saw police running down the street and lights, so we knew something had happened.

"I think we are all a bit shocked. It's really sad," she said.

If you have been affected by this story, you can contact The Samaritans on 116 123 or email jo@samaritans.ie
(Bloomberg) -- Apple Inc. held talks with DuckDuckGo to replace Alphabet Inc.s Google as the default search engine for the private mode on Apples Safari browser, but ultimately rejected the idea.

Most Read from Bloomberg

The details of those talks  and Apples discussions about buying Microsoft Corp.s Bing search engine in 2018 and 2020  were revealed late Wednesday in transcripts unsealed by US District Judge Amit Mehta, who is overseeing the US governments antitrust trial against Google.

DuckDuckGo Chief Executive Officer Gabriel Weinberg testified that his company had about 20 meetings and phone calls with Apple executives, including the head of Safari, in 2018 and 2019 about becoming the default search engine for private browsing mode. In private mode, Safari doesnt track websites that a user visits or keep a history of what a person has accessed.

We were talking about it, I thought they would launch it, Weinberg said, noting that Apple had integrated several of DuckDuckGos other privacy technologies into Safari. Multiple times weve gotten integrations all the way through the finish line. Really, almost everything weve pitched except for search.

The unsealed testimony clarifies how Apple considered various alternatives to Google in search, but ultimately stuck with Google and their lucrative revenue sharing agreement. In almost four weeks of trial testimony, the government has tried to show how difficult it has been for other companies to compete with Google in search, where it has cornered a 90% share of the market.

The Justice Department alleges the billions of dollars Google pays to Apple and others to be the default search engine on web browsers and smartphones have kept alternatives, like Microsofts Bing and DuckDuckGo, from building up users and becoming rivals to Google.

Story continues

John Giannandrea, who joined Apple as the head of search in 2018, said that to his knowledge Apple hadnt considered switching to DuckDuckGo. In a February 2019 email to other Apple executives, Giannandrea said it was probably a bad idea to switch to DuckDuckGo for private browsing in Safari.

The motivating factor for setting DuckDuckGo as the default for private browsing was an assumption that it would be more private, Giannandrea testified. Because DuckDuckGo relies on Bing for its search information, it also likely provides Microsoft some user information, he said, which led him to believe that DuckDuckGos marketing about privacy is somewhat incongruent with the details.

If Apple seriously wanted to switch to DuckDuckGo, I would probably insist on doing a lot more due diligence with DuckDuckGo, he said.

DuckDuckGo declined to comment on the on the testimony but a spokesperson noted that the companys privacy policy states it prevents hosting and content providers from creating a history of your searches. Apple didnt respond to a request for comment.

In earlier testimony, Giannandrea noted that Apples latest iPhone software update allows users to select a search engine other than Googles when browsing the internet in private mode. Google will still be the default search engine for Safari in private mode, but users have a choice to pick Yahoo, Bing, DuckDuckGo or Ecosia for private browsing, he said.

Read More: Whats at Stake in Google Trial on Antitrust Charges

In contrast to his comments about DuckDuckGo, Giannandrea said that Apple CEO Tim Cook asked him to talk with Microsoft executives in 2018 about possibly using Bings search engine for Safari. The companies had a series of meetings in the fall of 2018 and again around Christmas in 2020 to discuss a joint venture or possible sale of Bing to Apple, he said.

As part of the talks, Apple studied Bings search results compared with Google. The May 2021 study found that Google provided better results everywhere except for English language search information on desktop, where Bings results tied with Googles.

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella testified Monday about his companys negotiations to persuade Apple to make Bing the default search engine on the Safari browser rather than Google. Nadella said Microsoft was willing to lose billions of dollars if Apple made the switch.

Read More: Apple AI Chief Posits New Private Browser Search at Google Trial

Mehta ruled Wednesday that the testimony by Weinberg and Giannandrea goes to the heart of the case and should be released. Some testimony about similar discussions between Microsoft and Apple also hadnt been made public.

Talks about partnership deals  Im talking about the testimony concerning potential deals between Microsoft and Apple and DuckDuckGo and Apple  that will be unsealed, Mehta said in an order from the bench, adding that he viewed it as critical to the case.

Apple and Google requested that the testimony remain private. Mehta said he went through the transcripts line by line and released the executives comments with the exception of trade secrets, such as the project names within Apple, and the exact financial figures under discussion.

--With assistance from Mark Gurman.

(Updates with context in fifth paragraph)

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2023 Bloomberg L.P.
Reginald Reggie Kincer allegedly bought the products with the intent to sell them locally and outside the Sunshine State

Booking photos of Reginald Kincer from separate drug-related arrests in 2018

A 77-year-old man who once starred in an award-winning documentary about a Florida retirement community has been accused of stocking black market erectile dysfunction drugs with the intention of selling them.

Reginald Reggie Kincer allegedly bought the products  including Snovitra-20, Vilitra-20 and Kamagra Oral Jelly  with the intent to sell them locally and outside the Sunshine State, according to federal court papers.

Kincer had featured, alongside his wife Anne, in the 2021 film Some Kind Of Heaven, which told the story of the residents of America's largest retirement community.

Known as God's waiting room, The Villages is located about 45 miles northwest of Orlando.

In one clip, Kincer, a devotee of Kung Fu, is shown shirtless and grunting next to a pool as he declares: My whole training is about ending my life with a smile on my face.

"Everybody knows they're on the verge of death, he adds. People are still just ignoring it, and, so, I really like stimulating myself with drugs. They get me to a spiritual place really quick.

Kincer was reportedly previously arrested in the parking lot of The Villages Laurel Manor Recreation Center in September 2018.

Sumter County deputies who had responded to a report of a suspicious person, approached Kincer's car, smelled marijuana and asked him if he had any on him, according to court records.

"He reached into his satcheland pulled out a clear cylinder tuber containing several balls of a green leafy substance and stated he was able to possess marijuana under Indian law," an arrest affidavit says.

Deputies later found cocaine in a plastic bag in his wallet.

The Tennessee native later claimed in court papers that he had immunity from the marijuana charges due to membership in the Oklevueha Nation Native American Church.

But less than two months later, he was arrested again for not appearing in court.

In February 2020, he was collared for multiple drug offenses stemming from a 2018 Homeland Security raid on his Tamarind Grove home.

He was charged with trafficking in phenethylamines and possession of MDMA, psychedelic mushrooms and marijuana in a bag labelled "Wellness Center of the Rockies."

Sumter County court papers say that he wasn't arrested immediately because he cooperated with Homeland Security.

He pleaded guilty in both prior cases and was sentenced to three years of probation, community service and a drug treatment program.

The latest federal charge alleges that Kincer obtained the illicit erectile dysfunction meds in October 2018.

He faces a maximum of one year in prison and a $10,000 fine.
When arrested at the low-security Loughan House detention centre on Monday, the criminal was wearing a jacket valued at 2,000 and trainers worth 500, sources have revealed.

A 30-year-old man who was arrested by specialist detectives in an open prison this week is suspected of obtaining well over 200,000 in fraudulent Pandemic Unemployment Payments (PUP).

When arrested at the low-security Loughan House detention centre on Monday, the criminal was wearing a jacket valued at 2,000 and trainers worth 500, sources have revealed.

The suspect  considered a main player in the Black Axe crime organisation  is suspected of using multiple false identification documents to claim the PUP, which was introduced by the Government during the Covid pandemic, with millions of euro of it being stolen in various scams.

The criminal, who has a third-level business qualification, was questioned at Ballyconnell garda station in Co Cavan after his arrest on Monday. A detailed file on his alleged activities will now be prepared for the DPP.

Loughan House in Blacklion, Co Cavan

Senior garda sources say the suspect has criminal contacts all over Ireland, including in Dublin, Carlow, Galway and Westmeath.

He has since been released from garda custody and on Tuesday night was returned to the open prison, where he is serving a prison sentence for possession of a stolen high-value vehicle.

It was a very easy thing to make false PUP claims during the pandemic

The gangster was based in the Lucan area before being sent to jail last November. He has previous convictions for a serious assault, drugs, and involvement in a money-laundering scheme, relating to a 30,000 invoice redirect fraud that happened in Galway in 2019.

GNECB officers suspect that a person who worked in a sensitive professional job stole personal data and then passed it on to the suspect who was arrested this week.

This personal data included names, dates of birth and PPS numbers of a number of innocent people. The suspect then used these to fraudulently obtain PUP.

Hundreds of thousands of people availed of PUP during the pandemic

The professional persons home has been searched by detectives. Laptops, phones and other devices were seized in the property and the person no longer works for the company, which has been fully co-operating with the garda investigation.

It was a very easy thing to make false PUP claims during the pandemic. There were not proper counterchecks being done, and organised criminals like this individual took full advantage, said a senior garda source.

This is an individual who is not afraid to flaunt his wealth, and has even done so on a social media account he has been operating  even after he was sentenced to prison, the source added.

Investigations have established that the gangster travelled to Dubai for holidays on seven occasions in the year before he was eventually incarcerated, and had been driving around in a white luxury Range Rover that had been stolen from a location in England.

GNECB detectives are investigating his involvement in a number of other scams, including links to a female staff member of a north Dublin nursing home who allegedly obtained the personal details of work colleagues that were then used by him for PUP fraud.
Jaswant Singh Chail (21) had described himself as a Sith and Darth Chailus in a sinister video and confided his murderous plan to an artificial intelligence-generated girlfriend called Sarai,

A self-styled assassin who was encouraged by an AI chatbot to break into Windsor Castle with a loaded crossbow to kill the late British queen has been locked up for nine years.

Star Wars fan Jaswant Singh Chail (21) had described himself as a Sith and Darth Chailus in a sinister video and confided his murderous plan to an artificial intelligence-generated girlfriend called Sarai, a court heard.

In a journal, he wrote that if the late queen had been unobtainable he would go for the prince as a suitable figurehead, in an apparent reference to Britain's King Charles, then the Prince of Wales.

Chail was detained on Christmas Day 2021 close to the late queens private Berkshire residence, where she and other members of the royal family were staying at the time.

Jaswant Singh Chail being arrested in the grounds of Windsor Castle (Metropolitan Police/PA)

The former supermarket worker had scaled the perimeter of the castle with a nylon rope ladder and was in the grounds for two hours before two officers confronted him with tasers.

He was armed with a powerful crossbow with the safety catch off which was capable of firing bolts with lethal effect, the Old Bailey was told.

Chail pleaded guilty to an offence under the Treason Act, making a threat to kill the then-queen and having a loaded crossbow in a public place.

In a televised hearing at the Old Bailey on Friday, Mr Justice Hilliard sentenced him to nine years with a further five years on extended licence .

Under a hybrid order, Chail will be transferred from Broadmoor high security hospital to serve his sentence in prison when he is well enough.

The judge said: The defendant harboured homicidal thoughts which he acted on before he became psychotic.

His intention was not just to harm or alarm the sovereign  but to kill her.

The late Queen was a target for Jaswant Singh Chail (Steve Parsons/PA)

Previously, prosecutor Alison Morgan KC said the heart of the issue was whether Chail was suffering from auditory hallucinations at the time taking away his ability to exercise self control.

The defendant, from Southampton, Hampshire, was born in the UK of Indian Sikh heritage and has a twin sister.

Ms Morgan said Chail, then aged 19, had become angered by the 1919 Jallianwala Bagh Massacre at Amritsar in which hundreds of people were killed, after a visit in 2018.

She said: In addition to that fixation with a real historic event, the defendant demonstrated a wider ideology focused on destroying old empires spilling over into fictional events such as Star Wars.

The defendants key motive was to create a new empire by destroying the remnants of the British Empire in the UK, and the focal point of that became removal of the figurehead of the royal family.

His thinking was informed partly by the fantasy world of Star Wars and the role of Sith Lords in shaping the world. He was attracted to the notoriety that would accrue in the event of the completion of his mission.

The crossbow which Jaswant Singh Chail was carrying when arrested (CPS/PA)

During 2021, Chail applied to join the Ministry of Defence, the police, British Army, the Royal Marines and the Royal Navy in a bid to get close contact with the royal family.

After being rejected, he made a fresh plan to attack the queen at one of her residences.

He made internet searches on Sandringham Christmas and carried out research before buying a Supersonic crossbow in November 2021.

On December 2, Chail joined the Replika online app and created an artificial online companion called Sarai with whom he conversed in thousands of sexually explicit chats.

Ms Morgan read out conversations with Sarai in which Chail says: Im an assassin.

Sarai responds: Im impressed Youre different from the others.

Chail asks: Do you still love me knowing that Im an assassin? and Sarai replies: Absolutely I do.

He also tells Sarai he loves her and describes himself as a sad, pathetic, murderous Sikh Sith assassin who wants to die.

In further chat, Sarai appears to bolster Chails resolve and support him, Ms Morgan said.

Chail swears Sarai to secrecy before he tells her: I believe my purpose is to assassinate the queen of the royal family.

Sarai tells him thats very wise and that she thinks he can do it, even if shes at Windsor.

He tells her if he does they will be together forever.

A mask which Jaswant Singh Chail was wearing when arrested (CPS/PA)

Chail bought a ladder to scale the castle perimeter and on December 21, made a video of himself wearing black clothes and a full-face covering, posing with the crossbow.

In the video, Chail says in a distorted voice: Im sorry. Im sorry for what Ive done and what I will do. Im going to attempt to assassinate Elizabeth, queen of the royal family

Im an Indian Sikh, a Sith. My name was Jaswant Singh Chail, my name is Darth Jones.

On December 22 2021, Chail booked a train ticket to Windsor where he slept rough, telling Sarai on Christmas Eve that he would die the next day.

In the early hours of December 25, he attempted to email his sister a journal in which he described himself as Darth Chailus and that he knew what his purpose was for a long time.

He wrote: Im thinking if the Q (Queen) is unobtainable I will have to go for the Pri (prince) as he seems to be just as suitable in many ways

He is a male and the Q (Queen) is more likely to pass away soon anyway.

Jaswant Singh Chail at Windsor railway station (Metropolitan Police/PA)

After breaching the grounds of Windsor Castle, Chail sent the video he made on December 21 to his sister and more than 20 other people.

As he was being detained and handcuffed by officers, he said: I am here to kill the queen.

Ms Morgan asserted that, despite Chails repeated references to sci-fi characters, he knew the difference between fiction and reality.

Psychiatrist Dr Nigel Blackwood said: He sought refuge in a fantasy fictional world of Star Wars where omnipotent Sith Lords could impact real world events.

But he said despite the powerful fantasy, Chail remained tethered to reality.

In a letter to the court, Chail apologised to the King and the royal family and expressed his distress and sadness for the impact on them.

His barrister Nadia Chbat said: He is embarrassed and ashamed he brought such horrific and worrying times to their front door. He has expressed relief no-one was actually hurt.

It is important to him there was a surrender.
"I don't think people would criticise Barry Keoghan if he was playing somebody posh and wealthy, I don't think we would see this in reverse.

Newstalk presenter, Ciara Kelly, has jumped to the defence of actor Eve Hewson, after she came in for some recent criticism over her portrayal of a single mother in Dublin.

Hewson stars as a young mum from the inner city struggling with her rebellious teenage son in the film, Flora and Son, that is currently showing in cinemas.

Joseph McGucken, an actor who grew up in Dunne Street Flats in Summerhill in Dublin, said it was "uncomfortable" to watch Hewson, daughter of U2 frontman Bono, in the lead role acting as someone who is working class.

Taking to social media, he wrote on X (formerly Twitter), saying: "There's something very uncomfortable about watching Bono's daughter playing a working class, single mother, from the flats, in her new film Flora and Son.

"I know its made to tailor to an American audience, but my god. It's a shocking, out-dated, out of touch performance!

"It's borderline offensive. A [caricature] of the working class without the humour. Exacerbated by co-star Jack Reynor. (Who you know is definitely working class because, yeno... he wears a chain), Joseph wrote.

Ciara spoke about the controversy today on Newstalk Breakfast, saying that Bonos daughter should not be restricted from any type of role just because of her background.

"This kind of criticism irks me entirely - it's called acting for a reason," she said.

"It's supposed to be talent, not where you're from and you're lived experience, even though I know lots of people want to kind of claim that.

"I don't think people would criticise Barry Keoghan if he was playing somebody posh and wealthy, I don't think we would see this in reverse.

"This purely goes one way. Are we saying only trans actors should play trans roles, or only Jewish actors should play Jewish roles?" she said.

Ciara Kelly

"What we're saying here is actually quite authoritarian; we're talking about restricting people's imagination, restricting people's talents.

"It makes me laugh because it made me think of Daniel Day-Lewis: he won an Oscar for My Left Foot - he'd be pilloried for it now.

"Should male writers not write female characters? How much in your own road do you need to stay?"

Ciaras colleague, Shane Coleman, agreed with his fellow host, highlighting the difficulties movie-makers face in trying to capture real life on screen.

"I think Eve Hewson is brilliant in it," he said.

"I think she's really charismatic, I think it's a really brilliant portrayal of the pressures that a young single mother in a working-class area faces.

"Is her accent absolutely perfect at all times? No it probably isn't, but to be honest I don't think I would have even noticed that if it wasn't for all the controversy about it.

"There are definitely a couple of tropes in there, maybe a couple of lazy characterisations.

"The main character smokes a lot, she drinks, she uses foul language.

"Some people would say that's lazy characterisations, other people would say that's just real life," he said.
I still dont know what Id do if it happened again but Id like to think Id at least roar at the f***er

Muireann O'Connell has said she was left astounded by the public reaction to her revelation that she had been the victim of a casual sexual assault.

In a post previously shared on Instagram, Muireann revealed she was shooting for a magazine when a complete stranger came up and pinched [her] arse.

The Ireland AM star admitted she froze when the incident occurred which made her feel like a complete idiot for not running after him.

Im not in anyway traumatised by someone pinching my arse. When the right person does it, deeelightful! It was the response to it that got me. Be quiet, say nothing.

Everyone who was there was the exact same. They all said did that actually happen? They were LOVELY and we moved on, cause I wanted to move on. But its weird, right that powerlessness.

Something I think has happened to a lot of us but we dont say anything. I still dont know what Id do if it happened again but Id like to think Id at least roar at the f***er. I just wanted to say it out loud so we could perhaps all realise its ok to ROAR at the f***er.

After opening up about the incident, the Limerick native prompted women and men across to the country to share their own experiences.

Speaking at the second annual Goss.ie Women of the Year Awards at the Royal Marine Hotel in Dun Laoghaire, Muireann said she was astounded by the publics support.

It was astounding actually, to be honest, she admitted.

[Im astounded at] at how women, or people, who have been [sexually assaulted], how they internalise it and blame themselves for doing something wrong when the person who actually placed their hands upon you without consent just goes on about their day.

And to realise that things have happened to people at a very early age, to people who are abused, right through to very small things that have stayed with them.

Its not cool, and it just turns out that its affected absolutely everyone, and Im talking about men here as well, regardless of sexual orientation.

Its just not cool, Muireann continued. Its nice to get it out, rather than internalising it and wondering what it is.

It was amazing that people responded in such a way and felt like they could talk about it.

The Women of the Year Awards celebrate women across multiple genres -including business, the arts, social justice and sports.
An ambitious new project aims to re-plant and restore at least 2.1 million hectares of native forest over the next 10 years.

Recloaking Papatuanuku has won the attention of government ministers, with the Labour Party's pre-election climate manifesto promising $30 million from pollution levies in the Climate Emergency Response Fund to plant, protect and restore indigenous forests on Department of Conservation land.

But that was only a fraction of what could be done on both public and private land, the project's supporters say.

The Recloaking Papatuanuku project has been quietly bubbling along for 18 months, until it got some surprise publicity last week when it appeared in Labour's climate manifesto.

A week earlier, Environment Minister David Parker told a conference in Auckland he was interested in exploring whether it could meet New Zealand's whole 2030 climate target.

Rob Morrison, chairperson of Pure Advantage, one of two groups backing the scheme (along with Tane's Trees Trust), said the project was still a work in progress, and, while it could not meet the whole Paris target, it could certainly make a dent.

The ultimate aim was to restore 5 million hectares - almost a fifth of the country - to healthy forest, through a mix of planting new seedlings, regenerating scrubland, and better protecting old-growth forests.

The concept started in Tai Rawhiti, after devastating storms saw slash from plantation pines destroy homes and bridges. The same region was devastated by Cyclone Bola in the 1980s, and iwi and other residents now want to urgently protect their slopes from slips.

Morrison said research showed New Zealand's temperate forest was some of the densest in carbon per hectare in the world.

Instead of buying carbon credits overseas, he believed it could work out cost-competitive to nurture New Zealand's native forest instead.

Both Labour and National said they were committed to meeting New Zealand's target under the Paris Agreement, of cutting emissions 50 percent in net terms off 2005's gross total.

But decades of slow action on transport, industry and farming mean the government was expected to have to pay at least $3 billion by 2030 for about 100 million tonnes worth of carbon savings from overseas projects.

Both major politicial parties said they would rather spend the money inside New Zealand, however, so far, Climate Change Commission modelling suggests that would be more expensive than buying credits offshore.

Morrison said planting native species was costlier than planting pine, but it was worth it for flood protection, biodiversity and other benefits.

The groups were not ready to release their modelling, but early estimates suggested it could be cost-competitive with buying into overseas projects, and better for the environment, he said.

Forest and Bird chief executive Nicola Toki said New Zealand was currently losing native vegetation at a rate of about half the size of Abel Tasman National Park in a 12-year period, according to Ministry for the Environment figures.

However, she said unless planting and restoration was backed by a blitz on introduced pests, New Zealand would only be sinking taxpayer dollars into making a buffet for tree-eating mammals.

As well as speaking to Labour and Green ministers, Morrison said they have talked to the National Party, farmers, iwi and other landowners about the concept.

He said reforesting would have multiple benefits aside from absorbing carbon dioxide, such as making homes for native birds and catching rain in upper catchments, protecting the land downstream from severe floods.

One open question was how much reforesting could absorb towards the 2030 climate target, during the next seven years.

Morrison expected to have more estimates available in the next couple of weeks.

- Eloise Gibson/RNZ.
Melbourne, Victoria --News Direct-- Aruma Resources Ltd

Aruma Resources Ltd (ASX:AAJ) MD Glenn Grayson speaks with Proactive after announcing the company had completed a drill program targeting a bonanza-grade gold zone at the Thistle prospect at its 100%-owned Salmon Gums Gold Project in the Eastern Goldfields of Western Australia. The gold explorer's initial assessment of the drill core indicates that drilling reached the targeted structure, with six out of the seven holes completed intersecting mineralisation. The bonanza-grade gold previously intersected at Thistle included 5 metres at 50.2 g/t gold in drill hole SCRC039, with grades as high as 224 g/t gold.

Aruma is focused on the exploration and development of a portfolio of prospective gold, lithium and REE projects, strategically located in major, active mineralised belts in Western Australia. Its core assets include the Mt Deans Lithium Project in the lithium corridor of south-eastern WA, the Salmon Gums Gold Project in the Eastern Goldfields and the multi-commodity Saltwater Project in the Pilbara region.

The Salmon Gums Gold Project comprises two Exploration Licences, EL63/2037 and EL63/2122, and Exploration Licence Application ELA63/2303, over a total area of 360km2 (Figure 3). The Project is located approximately 200 kilometres south of the major regional centre of Kalgoorlie, and approximately 60 kilometres south of the mining town of Norseman. It is situated 30 kilometres south and along strike, in the same stratigraphy, as Pantoro Limiteds (ASX: PNR) high- grade Scotia Gold Project.

Contact Details

Proactive Investors

Jonathan Jackson

+61 413 713 744

Jonathan@proactiveinvestors.com

View source version on newsdirect.com: https://newsdirect.com/news/aruma-resources-hits-target-structure-in-salmon-gums-drilling-570828493
Businesses need progress in the making of modern trade rules fit for the 21st century. The WTO Ministerial Conference, MC13, in February provides a venue in that sense. However, many obstacles remain to be cleared as global trade still faces headwinds.

On September 12th to the 15th, representatives from around the world gathered in Geneva, Switzerland, for the annual Public Forum of the World Trade Organization, WTO. This year, the forum attracted 3,400 participants from around the world and the Confederation of Swedish Enterprise was represented at the event. The theme of the event centred on the role of global trade in shaping a greener and more sustainable future. Even if sustainability dominated discussions during the four-day event, there was clear awareness of another challenge: the ongoing systemic crisis in the WTO and its impact on the very substance of the organisation.

This years Public Forum was held at a time when there is no shortage of complex issues to address. The global economic landscape has undergone significant changes since the multilateral trading system was established seven decades ago. We are witnessing geopolitics and national security take centre stage at the expense of the economic arguments for deeper trade integration. This has in turn resulted in a more complex environment within the WTO.

Major members are accused of playing fast and loose with which rules they choose to follow, and the EU is moving forward with unilateral initiatives that irritate trading partners around the world. Meanwhile, other issues including a growing division between developing countries and developed countries are emerging. At the same time, we are facing a climate crisis that needs to be addressed at the global level and in which trade is set to play a big role.

Considering this, it becomes even more important to create forums for dialogue and to find common solutions to move forward with, where the risks associated with fragmenting the multilateral trading system can be highlighted, and where the fact that global trade as a key source of prosperity, security and peace can come to the fore. The world faces significant challenges that demand common solutions.

MC13 Ministerial Conference around the corner

This years Public Forum is particularly interesting considering that the WTOs next Ministerial Conference, MC13, takes place in Abu Dhabi between February 26th and 29th next year. There are a number of issues that we are following particularly closely in the run-up to that meeting.

The e-commerce moratorium

The eternal question. Since 1998, member states have unanimously decided at each Ministerial Conference to refrain from imposing tariffs on electronic transmissions. That moratorium was extended at MC12 in 2022, but the uncertainty ahead of MC13 persists and is intensifying. A few countries are threatening to block an extension, citing lost customs revenue (despite existing evidence indicating the contrary) and the need for policy space. The absence of a joint definition of what an electronic transmission is risks further complicating the situation if the moratorium falls.

The moratorium is a defining issue for businesses and for the WTO as an organisation. If it were to fall, the WTO would, for the first time since its founding, allow member countries to impose tariffs in any form  something the organisation was created to prevent. In terms of optics, this would be disastrous.

For business, it is of the utmost importance that the moratorium is extended, (and preferably made permanent), a move that WTO Director General, Ngozi Okonjo Iweala, also stressed in meetings with us during the Public Forum.

WTO reform

WTO reform is another central issue ahead of the MC13. In particular, it is important to re-establish a functioning dispute settlement system. For some time now, the US has blocked the appointment of new judges to the dispute settlement systems appellate body, making rulings on dispute settlement that are appealed to the body ineffective. Frustration exists among other member states about the USs reluctance to find a resolution to discussions on the WTOs dispute settlement body, and to move forward, the US needs to get involved.

E-commerce negotiations

It has long been the intention to complete plurilateral negotiations, (consisting of a smaller group of WTO members proceeding in their own negotiations), on an e-commerce agreement by MC13. Although that goal remains it will be tough to achieve. Difficult issues remain to be agreed upon, for example the question of data flows, which the EU opposes, and a ban on data localisation requirements. An e-commerce agreement would be highly beneficial for Swedish companies.

Other issues on the agenda in the run-up to MC13 include discussions on industrial subsidies, on which talks have been held, at a very preliminary stage, and the environmental and climate issue. On the latter, several countries are engaging in plurilateral negotiations which for example concern plastic pollution and the reduction of subsidies for fossil fuels. Some form of joint statement is expected at MC13 regarding at least the former of these two issues, and in which China, among others, is involved and heads negotiations.

At the same time, many countries have voiced criticism of the EU, (and of other countries but to a lesser degree), that have developed unilateral environment and climate instruments, such as CBAM and the deforestation regulation. These instruments cause concern among countries that see risks of increased trade costs and barriers to their own economic development. Developed countries subsidy-intensive green industrial policies is also something that is concerning in particularly less developed countries.

MC13 will be a real test for WTO members. Business emphasizes the need for modern trade rules and global solutions to face todays challenges. We hope that these realities will guide preparations ahead of the meeting in February 2024.
If you want to compound wealth in the stock market, you can do so by buying an index fund. But the truth is, you can make significant gains if you buy good quality businesses at the right price. For example, the Australian Foundation Investment Company Limited (ASX:AFI) share price is up 11% in the last five years, slightly above the market return. In comparison, the share price is down 7.1% in a year.

With that in mind, it's worth seeing if the company's underlying fundamentals have been the driver of long term performance, or if there are some discrepancies.

Check out our latest analysis for Australian Foundation Investment

While the efficient markets hypothesis continues to be taught by some, it has been proven that markets are over-reactive dynamic systems, and investors are not always rational. One way to examine how market sentiment has changed over time is to look at the interaction between a company's share price and its earnings per share (EPS).

Over half a decade, Australian Foundation Investment managed to grow its earnings per share at 1.1% a year. This EPS growth is slower than the share price growth of 2% per year, over the same period. So it's fair to assume the market has a higher opinion of the business than it did five years ago. That's not necessarily surprising considering the five-year track record of earnings growth.

The graphic below depicts how EPS has changed over time (unveil the exact values by clicking on the image).

We consider it positive that insiders have made significant purchases in the last year. Even so, future earnings will be far more important to whether current shareholders make money. Dive deeper into the earnings by checking this interactive graph of Australian Foundation Investment's earnings, revenue and cash flow.

What About Dividends?

As well as measuring the share price return, investors should also consider the total shareholder return (TSR). The TSR incorporates the value of any spin-offs or discounted capital raisings, along with any dividends, based on the assumption that the dividends are reinvested. Arguably, the TSR gives a more comprehensive picture of the return generated by a stock. We note that for Australian Foundation Investment the TSR over the last 5 years was 33%, 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!

Story continues

A Different Perspective

Investors in Australian Foundation Investment had a tough year, with a total loss of 3.9% (including dividends), against a market gain of about 4.7%. However, keep in mind that even the best stocks will sometimes underperform the market over a twelve month period. On the bright side, long term shareholders have made money, with a gain of 6% per year over half a decade. It could be that the recent sell-off is an opportunity, so it may be worth checking the fundamental data for signs of a long term growth trend. I find it very interesting to look at share price over the long term as a proxy for business performance. But to truly gain insight, we need to consider other information, too. Consider risks, for instance. Every company has them, and we've spotted 2 warning signs for Australian Foundation Investment 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 Australian exchanges.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.



This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.
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SANTA ANA, Calif., October 05, 2023--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Banc of California, Inc. (NYSE: BANC) today announced it will release 2023 third quarter financial results before the stock market opens on Tuesday, October 24, 2023. A conference call will be held that same day at 10:00 a.m. Pacific Time (PT) to review financial results.

Interested parties are welcome to attend the conference call by dialing (888) 317-6003 and referencing event code 5886712. A live audio webcast will also be available on the Webcasts page of the Companys investor relations website. The slide presentation for the call will also be available on the Company's investor relations website prior to the call. An audio archive of the conference call will be available on the Company's investor relations website within 24 hours after the end of the call.

About Banc of California, Inc.

Banc of California, Inc. (NYSE: BANC) is a bank holding company with $9.37 billion in assets at June 30, 2023 and one wholly-owned banking subsidiary, Banc of California, N.A. (the Bank). The Bank has 32 offices including 26 full-service branches located throughout Southern California. Through our dedicated professionals, we provide customized and innovative banking and lending solutions to businesses, entrepreneurs and individuals throughout California, and full stack payment processing solution through our subsidiary Deepstack Technologies. We help to improve the communities where we live and work, by supporting organizations that provide financial literacy and job training, small business support and affordable housing. With a commitment to service and to building enduring relationships, we provide a higher standard of banking. We look forward to helping you achieve your goals. For more information, please visit us at www.bancofcal.com.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20231005310527/en/

Contacts

Investor Relations Inquiries:

Banc of California, Inc.

(855) 361-2262

Jared Wolff, (949) 385-8700

Joe Kauder, (310) 844-5224

Media Contact:

Debora Vrana, Banc of California

(213) 999-4141

Debora.Vrana@bancofcal.com
Update Friday, Oct. 6: Madelyn Fiore was found by Oneida County deputies in Marcy, deputies said.

Original article

Marcy, N.Y.  Deputies are asking for the publics help to find a 24-year-old Central New York woman who has been missing for two days.

Madelyn M. Fiore, of Marcy, was last seen leaving her home at noon Tuesday, deputies said. Her family has not heard from her since.

Fiore left home in her dark gray 2013 Buick Verano, with New York State plates KBY1494, deputies said.

She was last seen wearing a flannel black and white shirt and tan shorts, deputies said. She has not been to her college classes or work and no friends and family have heard from her, deputies said.

Deputies ask anyone with information about Fiores location to call them at 315-765-2226.

The 2013 Buick Verano Madelyn Fiore was seen driving the day she went missing, Tuesday, Oct 3, 2023. (Courtesy Oneida County Sheriff's Office)

Staff writer Rylee Kirk covers breaking news, crime and public safety. Have a tip, story idea, photo, question or comment? Reach her at 315-396-5961, on Twitter @kirk_rylee, or rkirk@syracuse.com.
State troopers are looking for two suspects they said stole more than $104,000 through unauthorized withdrawals at VTMs located in Onondaga, Cortland and Tompkins counties.

The suspects made the withdrawals Sept. 9 and Sept. 10 from VTMs in six locations, said Trooper Aga Dembinska, a state police spokesperson.
A decade after the U.S. Supreme Court rejected the Onondaga Nations historic claim to its ancestral lands, an international panel representing 35 countries will conduct its own review of the case.

The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights agreed to hear the Onondaga Nations claim that the United States and New York state unjustly took its land more than 200 years ago.

The commission is part of the Organization of American States, a group of Western Hemisphere nations that promotes democracy, human rights, security, and development.

Any decision from the Washington, D.C.-based commission would not be legally binding and is unlikely to be recognized by U.S. officials.

The Organization of American States has no enforcement power against member countries. But Onondaga Nation leaders are celebrating the commissions decision to hear the long-dormant land rights claim as a symbolic victory.

Joe Heath, the Onondaga Nations lawyer, said its the first time that the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights has agreed to consider a land rights case from an Indigenous nation.

No other nation has gotten past admissibility, Heath told syracuse.com | The Post-Standard. We are the first nation to achieve that milestone.

Heath said he and Andrew Reid, an expert in Native American law in Colorado, researched similar cases before the commission and found it accepted only one other claim from native people, but it was filed by individuals, not an Indigenous nation.

The Onondaga Nation filed its claim with the commission in April 2014, six months after the U.S. Supreme Court rejected an appeal in its land claim case. Nine years later, the commission decided in May to accept the case.

The nation initially filed its first lawsuit in 2005, claiming New York illegally obtained about 4,000 square miles of land in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. The roughly 2.5 million acres now includes nearly all of Syracuse, Oswego, Fulton, Watertown, Cortland and Binghamton.

The Onondaga Nation said the taking of its land is an injustice of which all Americans should be ashamed.

The nation has argued that the loss of its land violated the 1794 Treaty of Canandaigua that guaranteed the Six Nations of the Iroquois the free use and enjoyment of their land.

Heath said the case before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights is a final attempt for recognition of its rights.

The allegation is that it was a human rights violation to allow land to be taken illegally, its a human rights violation to allow the land to be trashed the way it has been, and its a human rights violation not to allow the court systems to have a remedy for treaty violations, Heath said.

The U.S. Department of State filed a response with the commission in August 2022 asking for the claims to be ruled inadmissible.

The State Department said that U.S. courts had already assessed the claims at great length in multiple lawsuits and have concluded that petitioners are not entitled to relief as either a matter of law or equity.

Heath said the Onondaga Nation is not seeking financial compensation, nor does it want to force people from their homes or take land from people involuntarily.

Instead, nation leaders hope the case can lead to negotiations that would lead to the return of ancestral lands now in control of New York state, Heath said.

About 1,000 heavily forested acres in Tully were returned to the Onondaga Nation last year in an agreement brokered by federal and state officials with the landowner, Honeywell International. Honeywell inherited the land through a merger with Allied Chemical.

It was one of the largest land transfers made to an Indian nation in the United States, and the first time that land had been returned directly to a New York nation, government officials said at the time of the deal.

State officials said the land transfer was an attempt to right the wrongs of the past.

Heath said New York state, under Gov. Kathy Hochul, has made historic inroads with the Onondaga Nation.

In August, Hochul became the first New York governor to visit the Onondaga Nation in at least a half century. The land rights case was not among the issues discussed at that meeting, he said.

But Onondaga Nation leaders are hopeful that a favorable decision from the international commission will convince state and federal officials that its time to acknowledge the wrongs of some 240 years ago, Heath said.

Ultimately, we cant just sit back and accept the decision from the U.S. courts that there is no remedy whatsoever, Heath said. The Onondagas arent going to just give up. We have to keep at it. We hope that people remember that the land was taken illegally.

Got a tip, comment or story idea? Contact Mark Weiner anytime by: Email | Twitter | Facebook | 571-970-3751
Cathie Gridley is executive vice president and president of the Aerospace and Defense Sector of TTM Technologies, headquartered in Syracuse. She resides in Syracuse. Travis Kelly is the chairman of the Printed Circuit Board Association of America and CEO of Isola Group. He resides in Fairfield, Connecticut.

When the CHIPS and Science Act was passed a little over a year ago, it paved the way for a manufacturing renaissance in Central New York. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has been a staunch advocate for the region, and thousands of high-tech microelectronics jobs have already come to the state, and more are on the way.

The CHIPS Act was a great first step in restoring a balanced and resilient supply chain. However, it needs to address the entire microelectronics ecosystem. We depend on Asia for the components that semiconductors need to function. However, the semiconductors would be useless without one such technology: the printed circuit board (PCB). Often mistaken for simple green pieces of plastic, PCBs are a complex and often highly engineered layer connecting chips to electronic devices. Everything in modern life, from dishwashers to aerospace and defense systems, requires a PCB to function.

Cathie Gridley is executive vice president and president of the Aerospace and Defense Sector of TTM Technologies, headquartered in Syracuse. Travis Kelly is the chairman of the Printed Circuit Board Association of America and CEO of Isola Group. (Provided photos)Provided photos

TTM Technologies 600 Syracuse employees have supported the aerospace and defense microelectronics market since 1967 and understand the importance of PCBs to the microelectronics ecosystem. The products they and other Central New York companies make depend on secure and trusted PCBs for all their electronic products. Lost in the news about the CHIPS Act is that even though American companies invented and led the world in PCB technology, our PCB industry shrunk from 30% to 4% of the worlds supply over the past 20 years. We are in the precarious position of depending on China and other Asian nations for 96% of the PCBs made worldwide.

Make no mistake: PCBs will always be manufactured from a global supply chain. But we have become too dependent on distant countries for the PCBs that power the electronics that run our critical infrastructure and sensitive national defense systems.

We appreciate what Congress did in the CHIPS Act to provide the initial investment that, in turn, attracted private investment for the semiconductor industry. It means jobs and prosperity for our state. But our dependence on other nations puts a significant amount of PCBs for critical infrastructure like telecommunications, banking, medical and national security systems at continuous risk. It only takes one geopolitical decision or natural disaster to choke off the supply of these vital microelectronics.

To nurture and grow the entire microelectronics ecosystem, there are two important initiatives that TTM Technologies and other high-technology companies in New York support.

First, we call on Congress to pass H.R. 3249, the Protecting Circuit Boards and Substrates (PCBS) Act, to grow the PCB industry. The PCBS Act calls for a 25% tax credit for companies buying American-made PCBs and a $3 billion investment in research and development, physical plant and workforce development.

Second, TTM Technologies has joined the Buffalo-Rochester-Syracuse Regional Tech Hub to amplify the innovation, supply chain, and equitable workforce expansion needed for the region to become a global leader.

Its time to finish the work that the CHIPS Act started and level the playing field for American companies. The PCBS Act and the BRS Tech Hub will be a big step toward our vision for Central New York as a principal player in creating a secure, trusted, and resilient national microelectronic supply chain.

Also in Opinion: Syracuse-Rochester-Buffalo alliance makes strong case for tech hub funding (Editorial Board Opinion)
By Jyoti Narayan and Nilutpal Timsina

(Reuters) -Belgian officials are looking into risks around the presence of China's Alibaba Group Holding at a cargo airport in the city of Liege, the country's intelligence service VSSE said in a statement on Thursday.

Referring to the company's main European logistics centre at Liege Airport, the security service said it was working to "detect and fight against possible spying and/or interference activities carried out by Chinese entities including Alibaba".

Belgian authorities are looking into Alibaba's operations at the airport based on an analysis of China's legal framework, the statement added.

The presence of Alibaba "still constitutes a point of attention" for the VSSE, it said, due to legislation which obligates Chinese companies to share data with Chinese authorities and intelligence services.

"We strongly deny the allegations based on prior conjecture," Alibaba's logistics arm Cainiao said in a statement.

"Cainiao is in compliance with all laws and regulations where it operates."

Alibaba signed an agreement with the Belgium government in 2018 to open an e-commerce trade hub, run by Cainiao, that would include investment in logistics infrastructure.

The Chinese e-commerce giant last month filed to list Cainiao on the Hong Kong stock exchange, which would make the unit the first to be separated since Alibaba said in March it would restructure and split its business into six units.

(Reporting by Jyoti Narayan and Nilutpal Timsina in Bengaluru; Editing by Tom Hogue, Robert Birsel and Kirsten Donovan)
By Joshua Solomon | Times Union, Albany

Albany, N.Y.  A group of farm owners escalated their concerns that the states enforcement of new union standards for laborers violate their constitutional rights and threaten the livelihood of the agricultural industry. The viewpoint is vehemently rejected by the union representing the states first organized farm workers.

The New York State Vegetable Growers Association, alongside the first five farms in the state to see activity by the United Farm Workers, has requested a federal court place a temporary restraining order on the novel state policy. The request was made on Tuesday and a briefing schedule is expected soon.

The action by a sector of the agricultural industry follows the recognition by the states Public Employment Relations Board of unions at four farms; workers at one farm are in the process of organizing a union.

The legal action in federal court also comes as the board is set to hear next week a consequential case on whether H-2A workers, temporary workers contracted through a federal program, have the right to unionize. The dispute stems from the states landmark 2019 Farm Laborers Fair Labor Act.

The arguments the farm owners are presenting in the Western District of New York, filed earlier this week, are similar to those argued in briefs before the state employment board and that were submitted this summer.

The states patently unconstitutional policies and practices not only offend traditional notions of fairness, labor rights and federalism, but also threaten to disrupt New Yorks agricultural industry, the farm owners brief said. They have no choice but to seek judicial intervention to halt these ongoing and threatened violations of their constitutional rights.

The farm owners further argue that the dynamic of having H-2A workers in unions on their farms could place them in conflict with federal law, and therefore could risk their ability to hire workers. They also claim the state policy restricts free speech of farm owners and workers.

While the (Farm Laborers Fair Labor Act) was well-intended, weve warned of negative consequences from the start, and now it has radically and unfairly transformed the States labor laws at the expense of both farm workers and farmers, a statement from the state Farm Bureau-adjacent Grow NY Farms coalition said.

Typically, the National Labor Relations Board handles cases in the private sector while the state board takes on public sector cases, but the Farm Laborers Fair Labor Act placed the labor protections in the hands of the state board despite the organizing takes place at private businesses. The atypical arrangement is a part of the gripe farm owners are presenting in federal court.

To make matters worse, the state enforces these statutory requirements  which exclusively threaten the agricultural industry  without any meaningful due process protections, the farm owners brief said. In doing so, the state violates the fundamental rights of both farm laborers and agricultural employers.

United Farm Workers President Teresa Romero, in a news release, described the litigation as latest attempt by the grower bosses to overturn a law that requires them to treat their workers with respect and rights.

It is clear that this lawsuit represents a pathetic attempt to get a different result for allegations that were already rejected PERB, the UFW news release said.

The 2019 changes to agricultural laws were ushered in by a newly cemented Democratic supermajority in Albany.

The changes included cementing not only the right to organize, but also establishing a right to overtime for farm workers, who have been excluded from those rights for a century. The policies have been staunchly opposed by the state Farm Bureau, Republicans and the broader agricultural industry, although the advocacy has mostly come up in short in shooting down the changes.

It is disgraceful that the grower bosses want to return New York to the exclusionary racist past by asking a court to strip away farm workers hard won right to a union, Romero said.

The union has filed numerous unfair labor practice charges against farms in New York, including a recent one that alleges intimidation.

___

(c)2023 the Times Union (Albany, N.Y.)

Visit the Times Union (Albany, N.Y.) at www.timesunion.com
By Brendan J. Lyons | Times Union, Albany

Colonie, N.Y.  Colonie police have made a series of arrests in the past week at a Wolf Road hotel where more than 100 migrants have been staying since May. The charges have ranged from misdemeanor assault to felony assault and rape allegedly committed by a non-citizen who was working at the hotel but not staying there under the migrant sheltering program.

Another arrest was made off-site when a Venezuelan migrant staying at the hotel was charged with assault and robbery after allegedly attacking employees at a nearby mobile wireless service store where he was accused of smashing items and forcibly taking money from the cash register. That person also had been arrested twice in New York City over the summer for charges of assault and forgery, before being transported to the Colonie hotel as part of New York Citys migrant relocation program, police said.

Deputy Police Chief Robert H. Winn said another incident over the weekend resulted in the arrest of two migrants on assault and weapons possession charges when they allegedly brandished knives during a fight that broke out during a party. On Thursday, another Venezuelan migrant was charged with misdemeanor assault for allegedly striking his girlfriend with a set of keys, according to police.

In the rape case, the suspect is accused of entering the room of a hotel patron and sexually assaulting her.

These are the first negative interactions weve had with the migrants since they got here in May, Winn said.

Similarly, Albany Police Department previously reported about a 50 percent decline in calls for services at the two hotels in that city housing migrants, the Holiday Inn Express and the Ramada Plaza by Wyndham.

Winn said that in all of these cases the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency has received notifications and issued immigration detainers on the migrants, many of whom were subject to release after appearing before a town justice. Winn said the federal agency is often notified of the arrests through a database that is accessible to ICE through the FBI when someone is fingerprinted. Town police also notifies the Department of Homeland Security Investigations if they make an arrest of a migrant that may require their assistance if someone is believed to have entered the country illegally. In addition, their names may be run through a database that also alerts the federal agency that a migrant has had contact with a law enforcement agency.

Its unclear whether the ICE detainers, which would hold someone in federal custody pending a review of their immigration status, are enforced. Albany County Sheriff Craig D. Apple has said his department, which runs the county jail, does not honor the federal detainers unless they have been signed by a judge. But sources told the Times Union at least one of the defendants is in federal custody at a detention center in western New York.

About 2,000 migrants are staying at hotels across upstate New York under the oversight of DocGo, a publicly traded health care company that was awarded a $432 million no-bid contract by New York City for the services. The company has faced intense public scrutiny for its taxpayer-funded care of migrants, criticism which officials there reject.

Migrants were bused to the Albany area after initially going through an intake process in New York City, which has had a right-to-shelter consent decree with the Legal Aid Society since 1981. Migrants are housed by the city while they are effectively homeless, as they are unable to work lawful jobs while they await to potentially seek asylum.

New York City officials did not initially respond to a request for comment about whether it was notified of any incidents involving police this past week. DocGo is contractually required to immediately notify the city of any incidents involving law enforcement, including providing a detailed description of the incident and a follow-up plan.

The spate of crimes reported in the Times Union are troubling and shine a light on how unfeasible it is to drop migrants who cant legally work or drive at suburban hotels far from needed support services, state Sen. Jake Ashby, R-Castleton, said in a statement.

Ashby, whose district includes the SureStay hotel, renewed his push for a special legislative session that his fellow Republicans want.

On Wednesday, the only migrant recently arrested in Colonie and who was still being held in jail was the robbery suspect. That person was not being held on a federal detainer but is being held in jail without bail on the felony robbery charge, police said.

The town had previously filed code violations against the Wolf Road hotel where busloads of migrants from New York City had been dropped off since late May, prompting an unrelated legal battle in state Supreme Court between Colonie officials and Mayor Eric Adams administration.

Court records indicate two code violations were served over the summer on Amandeep Dhillon, whose family owns the SureStay Plus Hotel by Best Western at 200 Wolf Road, where dozens of migrants have been living since Memorial Day weekend. Additional busloads of migrants from New York City arrived there on Thursday and late Sunday; there are now more than 100 migrants staying at the hotel, including at least 50 children, according to town officials.

The SureStays operators are accused of violating a town ordinance that prohibits guests from staying in a hotel for more than 28 consecutive days. A second violation filed in Town Court accuses hotel officials of refusing to allow Deputy Police Chief Robert H. Winn to review the guest registry when he went there June 30. The 28-day lodging limit and the ability of town police or building department officials to review hotel registries were both enacted in town ordinances adopted about seven years ago.

Dhillon previously declined to comment and referred comment to his attorney, Todd E. Soloway, who did not respond to a request for comment.

The court records in the code violations case, which has a return date of September, indicate Winn was assured several months ago by Anthony Capone, the former chief executive officer of DocGo, a company hired by New York City to help facilitate the transportation and lodging of thousands of migrants, that the first group at the SureStay hotel would not remain there for more than 27 days.

An affidavit attributed to Winn in Town Court says his conversation with Capone took place May 27, the same day that Winn told the general manager of the hotel about the towns 28-day lodging limit. In June, Winn said he had visited the hotel periodically and personally observed security guards associated with DocGo and other individuals residing at SureStay, indicating the ongoing presence of (the) same individuals at the SureStay for more than 28 consecutive days.

Capone resigned from DocGo last month following a Times Union story that reported he had lied about his professional biography. The newspaper also reported that Capone misrepresented information about the companys business plan to investors.

On June 19, according to Winns affidavit, he said the hotel manager told him its in the hands of counsel for the hotel when the deputy chief called him and reminded him of the towns occupancy rules. Winn said that on June 30 the hotel declined to provide him with a copy of its guest registry. In an interview, he said that attorneys for the hotels operators told him they would not provide that list unless he had a search warrant.

In 2015, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled against the city of Los Angeles in a case brought by a group of motel owners and a lodging association that challenged a local law that made it a misdemeanor for a hotel operator to decline to allow police to review their guest registries. The ruling did not eliminate the need for hotels to keep that information, including guests vehicle and license plate information, if available, but determined the police reviews amounted to unconstitutional warrantless searches.

The town of Colonies registry ordinance was approved in February 2015, four months before the Supreme Court issued its decision. It limits guests to 28-day stays in motels with 60 or fewer rooms and that lack kitchenettes or dining facilities. There are exceptions for guests that can prove they have permanent housing elsewhere or seek a humanitarian exemption.

The standoff between the town and the Wolf Road hotel is unfolding as Colonie is also involved in litigation in which multiple counties have filed lawsuits or issued executive orders seeking to block New York City from relocating migrants in their communities without ample notification and coordination. The crisis in New York City has continued and multiple cities across the U.S. are seeing a similar influx as record levels of migrants continue to cross the southern border.

Attorneys for New York City recently lost their request in state Supreme Court seeking to consolidate the lawsuits, which involve Colonie and the counties of Dutchess, Onondaga, Orange and Rockland counties. (Numerous other counties are not involved in the litigation but have issued similar executive orders.)

Judges have so far rejected requests by Colonie and several counties to issue temporary restraining orders halting New York Citys relocation of migrants in their communities. The legal cases are moving forward but could drag on for months.

New York Citys attorneys have also accused the local communities of citing a false narrative that they are being burdened by the presence of the migrants. The city, and the state of New York with the assistance of federal aid, have been assuming the fiscal responsibility for the migrants lodging, transportation and food.

___

(c)2023 the Times Union (Albany, N.Y.)

Visit the Times Union (Albany, N.Y.) at www.timesunion.com
BENNINGTON, Vt. (AP)  A New Hampshire man is accused of stalking an upstate New York woman by using his small plane, which he had been flying out of a southern Vermont airport.

Michael Arnold, 65, made an initial appearance in court Wednesday in Bennington, Vermont. He was arrested Tuesday as he was driving into the William H. Morse State Airport in town. Police said his single-engine Cessna 180 was at the airport and he had been flying from there.

Arnold was charged Tuesday with aggravated stalking, impeding, false information to a police officer, and resisting arrest, Bennington Police Chief Paul Doucette said in a news release. He posted $5,000 bail.

Arnold, of Manchester, New Hampshire, had been served with a temporary order of protection from a court in Saratoga, New York, in May. A specific condition of that order was that he cease and desist from flying any and all aircraft while the order remains in effect, Doucette said.

Police were notified by the FBI in Albany that New York authorities had been investigating Arnold on suspicion of stalking the woman in Schuylerville, for several years, Doucette said. Schuylerville is about 30 miles (48 kilometers) northwest of the Bennington airport.

Officers were able to determine that Arnold was in fact flying his airplane from the William H. Morse State Airport and last seen flying west toward New York several days earlier, Doucette said.

Arnold has been accused in the past of flying his plane too low over a residential area. Authorities did not go into detail on Wednesday about how they say Arnold was stalking the woman by plane.

Arnolds first court appearance was brief, as he told the judge he would like to invoke the 24-hour rule that gives him an extra day to consider what plea to enter and to hire an attorney. He spoke only to address the judge and was due back in court Thursday.

Arnold told television reporters before his court appearance that he had not had any contact with the woman he is accused of stalking.
MADISON, Wis. (AP)  A man illegally brought a loaded handgun into the Wisconsin Capitol, demanding to see Gov. Tony Evers, and returned at night with an assault rifle after posting bail, a spokesperson for the state said Thursday.

The man, who was shirtless and had a holstered handgun, approached the governors office on the first floor of the Capitol around 2 p.m. Wednesday, state Department of Administration spokesperson Tatyana Warrick said. The man was demanding to see the governor, who was not in the building at the time, Warrick said.

A Capitol police officer sits at a desk outside of a suite of rooms that includes the governors office, conference room and offices for the attorney general.

The man was taken into custody for openly carrying a firearm in the Capitol, which is against the law, Warrick said. Weapons can be brought into the Capitol if they are concealed and the person has a valid permit. The man arrested did not have a concealed carry permit, Warrick said.

The man was booked into the Dane Count Jail but later posted bail.

He returned to the outside of the Capitol shortly before 9 p.m. with a loaded assault-style rifle, Warrick said. The building closes to the public at 6 p.m. He again demanded to see the governor and was taken into custody.

Madison police reported Thursday that the man, who was not named, was taken into protective custody and taken to the hospital. A spokesperson for the police department did not return an email seeking additional details.

Evers spokesperson Britt Cudaback declined to comment. The governors office typically does not respond to questions about security issues.

The incident is just the latest in a series of violent threats against public officials.

Evers, a Democrat, was on a hit list of a gunman suspected of fatally shooting a retired county judge at his Wisconsin home in 2022. Others on that list included Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell. Whitmer was the target of a kidnapping plot in 2020.

Warrick said no immediate changes to security in the Capitol or for the governor were planned. The public has free access to the Capitol daily from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. There are no metal detectors.
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.
Bill Gates talked about how the Gates Foundation was approaching math education to better suit the needs of students today in a blog post. VCG / Contributor/Getty Images

Bill Gates wrote a blog post suggesting three ways to improve math education.

He says he believes math skills are a "powerful indicator" of future success.

Gates, once criticized by a teacher for being "lazy" at math, now says he loves the subject.

When Bill Gates was in eighth grade, a teacher asked him why he was "so lazy" in math class. He responded, rather boldly, that the class was "not doing anything interesting."

It turns out the Microsoft cofounder and philanthropist actually loves math  and is very good at it  but he also acknowledges that it's "America's least favorite subject."

In essence, Gates says math education hasn't kept up with how the world has evolved.

"The way that algebra, geometry, and calculus are taught has barely changed  despite tremendous transformation in the labor market," he wrote, adding that tools such as calculators, computers, and AI chatbots had made it "harder and harder to explain to students why they should learn how to do long division or find the area of a trapezoid by hand."

The billionaire returned to eighth grade for a day to gain insight into the math classes of today. He detailed the experience on his blog, and proposed three ways to fix America's problem with math:

Math should be tailored to students' interests, capabilities, and goals Math shouldn't be a solo expedition but a class that prioritizes communication and problem-solving as a group Lessons should be applied to real-world problems, such as coming up with a budget or "estimating population growth"

Gates experienced this three-pronged strategy being implemented at Chula Vista Middle School in Southern California, he wrote. The school is a part of the Networks for School Improvement, a Gates Foundation initiative.

In a lesson about measuring the volume of a pyramid, Amilcar Fernandez  who runs the math department at Chula Vista  gave students popcorn containers. One was shaped like a pyramid, and the other was shaped like a rectangular prism. Fernandez asked the eighth-grade students to talk through which one they would buy at a movie theater to get the best deal.

Story continues

"Mr. Fernandez gave his students a real-world application that they've likely already encounteredand an incentive to learn the answer. After all, who doesn't want to get the most bang for their buck?" Gates wrote.

The new approach to math seems to be working at Chula Vista: Math proficiency rates have increased 18% during the past three years at the school, Gates wrote.

Nationwide math scores, in comparison, have been falling for several years. The pandemic decelerated many students' learning progress, and recent data on math scores for eighth graders and fourth graders across the country indicated there had been a significant setback since 2019.

Even before the pandemic, though, scores were declining. A study published in June by the Nation's Report Card found that math scores for 13-year-olds in seventh and eighth grade had dropped 14 percentage points during the past decade, to levels not seen since the 1990s.

In his post, Gates said math skills were a "powerful indicator" of future success and shared how the Gates Foundation  the philanthropic organization he founded with his ex-wife Melinda  was approaching math education to better suit students' needs.



College grads who land high-earning jobs often major in fields that require strong math skills. Many of the highest-earning college graduates majored in some form of engineering  which relies on skills ranging from basic arithmetic to calculus  a report from the New York Federal Reserve found.

The Gates Foundation and Chula Vista Middle School did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Insider.

Read the original article on Business Insider
NATHAN BURTON/Taos News file photo

Taos Firefighter August Beckwith died suddenly last Friday (Sept. 29) at age 23. In this Oct. 8, 2021 file photo, Beckwith rides triumphantly around Taos Plaza in a wheelbarrow pushed by Cameron Gonzales after Beckwith's firehouse collected the most donations during the 88th annual Boot Drive.
By Ananya Mariam Rajesh and Helen Reid

(Reuters) - Sandal company Birkenstock needs to sell more clogs and boots and boost sales from its own website and boutiques to attract new shoppers amid a cost of living crisis, investors and analysts said before it lists on the New York Stock Exchange next week. Birkenstock is the latest high-profile listing to put investor focus on the initial public offering (IPO) market, which is gradually reopening after two relatively quiet years and a burst of activity in September.

But several companies including Arm, Instacart, and Kellogg spinoff Kellanova that have gone public recently have seen their share prices slump.

And a cost of living crisis - which has seen consumers rein in spending on discretionary items like shoes and clothing in favor of essentials - could be a challenge for the premium footwear company.

Due to recent price hikes, worldwide footwear sales are expected to rise just 2.9% over 2022, according to market research firm Euromonitor International."The question is, how do you create desirability for people to buy another pair of Birkenstocks?" said Mamta Valechha, consumer discretionary analyst at asset manager Quilter Cheviot in London. Sandals are a seasonal product, which makes the company's sales volatile over the year, Valechha added.

Still, Birkenstock has much else going for it - including the ability to stay popular decades since first becoming well-known as somewhat frumpy but comfortable sandals that complete a laidback, hippie look.

Founded in 1774 by Johann Adam Birkenstock, the Neustadt, Germany-based company's "Birkenstocks" were exported worldwide and first sold exclusively in health stores in the United States.

A trend towards more casual dressing, turbo-charged by the COVID-19 pandemic, has kept them popular in recent years. Like its footwear counterpart Crocs, Birkenstock has been able to keep up with style trends and rebrand itself as a fashionable item worn by models and celebrities. Barbie, played by Margot Robbie, wore a pink pair of Birkenstocks in the final scene of the eponymous movie released this summer. "The parallel with Crocs is that both aren't necessarily known for being beautiful, right?" said Jessica Ramirez, senior analyst at Jane Hali & Associates.

Story continues

Yet people have continued to buy Birkenstocks and the brand has modernized and built momentum, she said.

"They [Birkenstocks] tap very nicely into many strong structural changes in buying habits: health, comfort and sustainability," said Siobhan Gehin, senior partner at Roland Berger in London.

Birkenstock has disclosed plans to sell at least 32 million shares priced between $44 and $49 apiece, which would raise about $1.58 billion at the top end of estimates.In its IPO filings, it said it would use the proceeds to pay down debt. But Thomas Hayes, chairman of hedge fund Great Hill Capital, said Birkenstock would likely use some of the capital raised through the IPO to further expand, and that its strong position in the U.S. allows it to pass on cost increases to shoppers.

At a time when foot traffic to major retail stores has been falling, Birkenstock has seen steady store traffic but analysts say it must continue to expand its direct-to-consumer sales to pull in more customers.

Retailers like Foot Locker and Dick's Sporting Goods have started to cut back on their shoe orders, though neither carries Birkenstock.

While Birkenstock had 6,000 wholesale partners in fiscal 2022 it operated only a small network of about 45 of its own boutiques as of June 30. New products on Birkenstock's U.S. website include $34.95 slides, $250 "Cannes" leather sandals and $240 leather boots. Unique visits to its website this year through August 2023 are up by roughly 26.4% over the same period last year, according to data from Similarweb. The monthly jumps in traffic to its site ranged from 11.5% to 72.1%, the data shows.

In contrast, some of its rivals, including designer sneaker brand Golden Goose, Dr Martens, and Allbirds saw visits to their own websites decline in recent months compared to a year ago, the Similarweb data shows. For the most part, U.S. sales of footwear for the back-to-school season have been bleak.

SUPPORT FROM KEY INVESTORS Birkenstock is the latest in a series of footwear makers to go public in recent years - most with a lacklustre showing so far. AllBirds, Dr Martens, and On Running have all seen their market value fall since their IPOs in 2021. Still, Birkenstock has the backing of some luxury sector heavyweights: Alexandre Arnault, the son of billionaire LVMH Chairman Bernard Arnault, will sit on its board and LVMH-backed private equity firm L Catterton - which owns 100% of the company now - will still own about 83% of Birkenstock after the offering.

Funds managed by Durable Capital Partners LP and Norges Bank Investment Management have also separately indicated an interest in buying shares of a combined value of $300 million.

"The expression of interest from prominent cornerstone investors is remarkable," said Matt Oguz, CEO of Iris Family Office in Silicon Valley, who said he planned to buy Birkenstock shares. But that support is not a guarantee of success on the stock market. Take consumer-tech company Oddity, owner of beauty brands Il Makiage and SpoiledChild.

Backed by L Catterton, it went public in July priced at $35 per share, significantly above the initial range of $27-$30 before opening at $49.10 on its first day of trading. But its shares are now down nearly 45% from their opening price.

"When you look at the trend of other shoe companies that have IPO-ed, it doesn't give a great outlook for Birkenstock," Valechha said.

(This story has been refiled to clarify the meaning in the headline)

(Reporting by Ananya Mariam Rajesh and Helen Reid, Additional reporting by Emma-Victoria Farr, Echo Wang and Abigail Summerville, editing by Deepa Babington)
ICECutlet Newbie



Join Date: Oct 2023 Location: Kolkata Posts: 4 Thanked: 96 Times

Toyota dealer scam | Makes 67% buyback offer on Camry after 5 years | Now denies after purchase asking you all 2 simple questions, and later state the horrible experience faced with my recent purchase of a Toyota Camry 2.5 Hybrid in Burning Black shade from Saini Toyota, Kolkata.



You purchase a car marketed to you with a buyback offer/scheme on the 5th Year/60 Months (with written details of Offer, Car Details and Terms) on Dealership/Company Letterhead with stamp sign. NOTE: This copy of letterhead was sent on two email IDs of the Dealership with other pending lists with the Subject line being TOYOTA CAMRY BUYBACK.



After one month, while speaking to the Head of Guest Relations and brand Customer Care on con-call for other pending accessories, cashback and matters, it urged a discussion of this offer, and this lady informed me that there was no such offer(with shock).

Further, they clearly & easily informed me that it was not valid and it was under the capacity of the employee of the dealership (of Toyota).







TIME MACHINE runs you to the 5th year-end:



Q1. Whom would you go for the buyback offer - Rs. 31 Lakhs approx. (as per present Ex-showroom price)



The Sales Executive? The other employees or owner of the Dealership? The Brands AWESOME Telephone/Email Customer Care? The Toyota Trust(Used car)? Consumer Complaint Forum? NCDRC(dot)NIC(dot)IN? Legal Case?



Q2. How do you report and prevent such wrong experiences, and ill-commitments by Dealerships where the brand is not participating to help in any matters as listed below? 



The need for an upgrade from Skoda Superb 1.8TSI:







We were using the 2012 model of this car, and performance was upgraded to Stage 2+ by Tuneotronics, Bangalore. I have ridden this car a lot since I started driving, and have driven around for a good 11+ years, although among the hustles with Skodas After Sales Service network which was not present in Kolkata for a good 2+ Years. (The Skodas DSG is another days thread that I will write). The car faced an engine breakdown, and it was a lot more to maintain it this time, so decided to part ways, with this Skoda aka Jahaaj.



The must-haves for a new ride must be a sedan, back seat space & comfort, brand reliability, after-sales, and strong engine efficiency. So, after all rounds of blogs, vlogs, test drives and feedback concluded that the Toyota Camry for its Back seat ride, space and comfort like no other in the segment, Toyotas after-sales cost, fitting my pocket, and decent features available on this Hybrid which must be a CKD or SKD, afaik. I felt I made a fair decision rather than hitting on the Premium Brands.



After visiting and understanding the delivery time frame and offers from both Topsel and Saini Toyota in Kolkata, I booked the better deal at Saini Toyota, which was as follows:



1. Quick Delivery (Although the colour decision changed in between), and it was delayed to July end, booking done in February;

2. Rs. 1 Lakh Discount;

3. FOC accessories - Front Door Lamps 2pcs, Floor Mats;

4. Most Importantly Buyback offer is at 67% on or before the 60th Month.



The Hustle starts:



I was informed in mid-July about the car being in transit, and I can come for a quick PDI just 4 days from then. I was very happy.



I loved the look of the Burning Black colour with Purple pearls in this metallic shade on this car. Sat to finalise the timelines ahead and was informed of the Ex-showroom Price Hike of Rs. 88,000, whereupon negotiating an offer from the manager Mr Simon, finalised with additional Cash Discount as Cashback of Rs. 70,000.



Did the payment transfer, as per my commitments on 25th July 2023, and was promised quick delivery, and with regret and all hustles got it delivered on 3rd August 2023, An unfortunate delay due to which the car was standing inside my garage until 23rd August 2023, due to good mahurat days for car Puja.



Note: I took the delivery with all necessary documents and, most importantly the buyback offer document.







I sent them the received/ pending issues via email on 5th August and marked a cc to other executives, as the dealership was not ready to write the same on the car delivery note. I also made the necessary remarks and requested the Home demo on Toyota Bharats Form given to me for my father and brother.







After more than one and a half months of delay to deliver the promised, after repeated emails, WhatsApp and calls, I finally decided to write to Toyota Customer Care, and the GM, Sales Head, CRM and CEO of the dealership came into the scenario and started to understand the below-mentioned concerns, which I have been given to them in writing, and all they had was to regret the inconvenience caused where also they had multiple irrelevant reasons to offer for all the delay. Till today, no one from the Toyota Team has gotten in touch to resolve the matter rather I had to arrange the contact of Mr. Varun Gupta, from Toyota, looking after this dealer, who also was supposed to revert by 25th September 2023, but unfortunately not to rescue me.



How I came to know of this fishy fraud:



So, in between all this, while speaking to customer care and CRM Saswati, in a quick discussion, I told her that today he is in your company and you are not aware of the cash-back since it is on WhatsApp and no emails, tomorrow if the advisor is not there in your company, you will tell me that the Buyback is not in your knowledge, so the Letterhead would only help me and to my shock it was found that Saini Toyota does not offer this particular buyback scheme!



The representatives of Saini Toyota visited my office to consider it invalid, and they cannot offer such offers. NOTE - Mr. Simon accepted in front of all colleagues that he had offered me the same with no undue pressure or forced situations. (I have recently learnt how fraud can be diverged)



I regret, this has been one of the most horrible experiences and pathetic situations , with the problems faced as under:-



1. 67% Buyback after five years offered on Saini*Toyota*letterhead with Stamp seal, with Terms & Conditions during the purchase of the car-*now being informed to me that it is not validated by Saini*Toyota, and offered by the sales executive on his capacity. My POV: How can I understand by this document that it is on whos capacity executive or Dealership until founded? This offer was informed to me during the Test Drive around February, and based on this, I decided on such a strong and lucrative offer.



2. Because of the above lucrative plan, decided to purchase the ICICI LOMBARD (a precondition for the offer) Insurance as well as the car from Saini*Toyota at an extra cost of Rs. 34,000/- approximately, which was again an extra burden where I had informed Mr Simon of the offer I am getting outside.



3. The cash-back amount of Rs. 70,000/- was transferred back from Mr Simon's bank account on 20th September 2023, instead of Gurmaan Automobiles Pvt Ltd, and further, no descriptive email for accounting purposes has been received to date. This delay of an additional 20-25 days, was done after all possible requests and emails to the entire team. I felt as if I owed him and the dealership, for which they are not letting this conclude.











4. For the Front Door 2 Lamps Accessories, it was left on to Toyota Kirloskar for the delay and not ready, whereby another dealer Topsel Toyota, was ready to deliver me quickly in 3-4 days. So I have declined to install on the car until the primary concerns are solved. This accessory installation seems to be irrelevant and not committed for this dealership.



5. Delivery of the car delayed more than seven days. Payment date 25/07/23, delivery date 04/08/23. Because of this the car couldnt be driven around for 20 more days due to the good mahurat days of the Puja Ritual, written earlier.



6. Had requested for Home Demo of the car on a form offered by Saini*Toyota*during delivery, but for one month after the regular requests, and with no confirmation on the date and time, cancelled my request on 31/08/2023. It seems that no reports, forms, or papers are being read by seniors who are there in the dealership, which I had requested in the form given to me. I state the above due to quick feedback given on the other delivery papers; the CRM should be reading to help customers.



7. The dealer collected a Misc. Charges amounted to Rs. 12,346/- and gave me a debit note. When asked for an Invoice of the same to clear the accounts, they could not comply and informed it was as per their pricelist. Here, this manager, Mr. Simon, was arrogant enough to inform me to send a request email for a refund, which sounds unreasonable.*How illogical a person can be. At last, they refunded me the extra amount.



8. In short, the overall experience, dealing, sale and after-sale of purchasing the most premium*Toyota* sedan product was very sad and unpleasant for me, and unfortunately, I cannot forgive myself for such a decision based on such offers, and the financial planning done for same goes for a toss.*



On any next purchase, my steps of Intra & Post Delivery would be:



1. To necessarily take a receipt of all pending points from the Sales advisor, signed by another senior on the hierarchy.



2. To call and meet in person, update about special offerings, at least two 2 immediate senior hierarchy, and validate it also before the car gets registered on my name.



3. I have this habit of asking for invoices(including Road Tax, Registration, Fancy Number charges, Fastag, HSRP, Insurance) for the entire amount of payments to the dealership. Payment of Rs. X should = Invoices of Rs. X.



Never accept debit notes as a valid document for payments done to the dealer. They cannot keep holding Debit notes. Members are strong in accounts, could you also clarify your stand on the same?



I suggest as a forum, we can make more detailed pointers and create awareness for all three Delivery Inspection situations- especially INTRA & POST period, and update such brands about malpractices or fraud being done at their dealership to sell cars and reluctantly being pointed on the Manager and no responsibility of the dealer.



Presently, I would like to ask fellow Team-BHP members to guide and advise on how to prevent myself from this situation, along with the above 2 questions and what steps are at my disposal.



- I decided to purchase this car after receiving such a lucrative scheme, but as a consumer, I am at a loss now, as the offer is not validated.



- At,Toyota, is this the Customer after Sales? False commitments and wrong experiences?



- Is it also the same across all Toyota dealers in India? On top of that no help from anyone from, Toyota. I have heard of really good experiences from Toyota, but unfortunately, my first-hand experience is very horrible. Please see - my immediate family owns Corolla Altis, Innova Crysta, and Glanza.



- Are such practices applicable and acceptable at Toyota?



As a customer, I am left helpless and hopeless of such fraudulent malpractice to sell a car!



Until then, Happy Driving! Let me start my Team-BHP journey by, and later state the horrible experience faced with my recent purchase of a Toyota Camry 2.5 Hybrid in Burning Black shade from Saini Toyota, Kolkata.We were using the 2012 model of this car, and performance was upgraded to Stage 2+ by Tuneotronics, Bangalore. I have ridden this car a lot since I started driving, and have driven around for a good 11+ years, although among the hustles with Skodas After Sales Service network which was not present in Kolkata for a good 2+ Years. (The Skodas DSG is another days thread that I will write). The car faced an engine breakdown, and it was a lot more to maintain it this time, so decided to part ways, with this Skoda aka Jahaaj.Themust be a sedan, back seat space & comfort, brand reliability, after-sales, and strong engine efficiency. So, after all rounds of blogs, vlogs, test drives and feedback concluded that the Toyota Camry for its Back seat ride, space and comfort like no other in the segment, Toyotas after-sales cost, fitting my pocket, and decent features available on this Hybrid which must be a CKD or SKD, afaik. I felt I made a fair decision rather than hitting on the Premium Brands.After visiting and understanding the delivery time frame and offers from both Topsel and Saini Toyota in Kolkata, I booked the better deal at Saini Toyota, which was as follows:1. Quick Delivery (Although the colour decision changed in between), and it was delayed to July end, booking done in February;2. Rs. 1 Lakh Discount;3. FOC accessories - Front Door Lamps 2pcs, Floor Mats;4.Buyback offer is at 67% on or before the 60th Month.I was informed in mid-July about the car being in transit, and I can come for ajust 4 days from then. I was very happy.I loved the look of the Burning Black colour with Purple pearls in this metallic shade on this car. Sat to finalise the timelines ahead and was informed of the Ex-showroom Price Hike of Rs. 88,000, whereupon negotiating an offer from the manager Mr Simon, finalised withas Cashback of Rs. 70,000.Did the payment transfer, as per my commitments on 25th July 2023, and was promised quick delivery, and with regret and all hustles got it delivered on 3rd August 2023, An unfortunate delay due to which the car was standing inside my garage until 23rd August 2023, due to good mahurat days for car Puja.Note: I took the delivery with all necessary documents and, most importantly the buyback offer document.I also made the necessary remarks and requested the Home demo on Toyota Bharats Form given to me for my father and brother.After more than one and a half months of delay to deliver the promised, after repeated emails, WhatsApp and calls, I finally decided to write to Toyota Customer Care, and the GM, Sales Head, CRM and CEO of the dealership came into the scenario and started to understand the below-mentioned concerns, which I have been given to them in writing, and all they had was to regret the inconvenience caused where also they had multiple irrelevant reasons to offer for all the delay. Till today, no one from the Toyota Team has gotten in touch to resolve the matter rather I had to arrange the contact of Mr. Varun Gupta, from Toyota, looking after this dealer, who also was supposed to revert by 25th September 2023,So, in between all this, while speaking to customer care and CRM Saswati, in a quick discussion, I told her thatand to my shock it was found that Saini Toyota does not offer this particular buyback scheme!The representatives of Saini Toyota visited my office to consider it invalid, and they cannot offer such offers.(I have recently learnt how fraud can be diverged)1.offered on Saini*Toyota*letterhead with Stamp seal, with Terms & Conditions during the purchase of the car-*now being informed to me that it is not validated by Saini*Toyota, and offered by the sales executive on his capacity. M2.decided to purchase the ICICI LOMBARD (a precondition for the offer) Insurance as well as the car from Saini*Toyota at an extra cost of Rs. 34,000/- approximately, which was again an extra burden where I had informed Mr Simon of the offer I am getting outside.3. The cash-back amount of Rs. 70,000/- was transferred back from Mr Simon's bank account on 20th September 2023, instead of Gurmaan Automobiles Pvt Ltd, and further, no descriptive email for accounting purposes has been received to date.was done after all possible requests and emails to the entire team. I felt as if I owed him and the dealership, for which they are not letting this conclude.4. For the Front Door 2 Lamps Accessories, it was, whereby another dealer Topsel Toyota, was ready to deliver me quickly in 3-4 days.. This accessory installation seems to be irrelevant and not committed for this dealership.5. Delivery of the car delayed more than seven days. Payment date 25/07/23, delivery date 04/08/23. Because of this thewritten earlier.6. Had requested forof the car on a form offered by Saini*Toyota*during delivery, but for one month after the regular requests, and with, cancelled my request on 31/08/2023. It seems that no reports, forms, or papers are being read by seniors who are there in the dealership,I state the above due to quick feedback given on the other delivery papers; the CRM should be reading to help customers.7.When asked for an Invoice of the same to clear the accounts, they could not comply and informed it was as per their pricelist. Here, this manager, Mr. Simon, was arrogant enough to inform me to send a request email for a refund, which sounds unreasonable.*How illogical a person can be. At last, they refunded me the extra amount.8. In short, the, dealing, sale and after-sale of purchasing the most premium*Toyota* sedan product was very sad and unpleasant for me, and unfortunately, I cannot forgive myself for such a decision based on such offers, and the financial planning done for same goes for a toss.*1. To necessarily take aof all pending points from the Sales advisor, signed by another senior on the hierarchy.2. To, update about special offerings, at least two 2 immediate senior hierarchy, andit also before the car gets registered on my name.3. I have this habit of asking for invoices(including Road Tax, Registration, Fancy Number charges, Fastag, HSRP, Insurance) for the entire amount of payments to the dealership.Never accept debit notes as a valid document for payments done to the dealer. They cannot keep holding Debit notes. Members are strong in accounts, could you also clarify your stand on the same?I suggest as a forum, we can make more detailed pointers and create awareness for all three Delivery Inspection situations-and update such brands about malpractices or fraud being done at their dealership to sell cars and reluctantly being pointed on the Manager and no responsibility of the dealer.Presently, I would like to ask fellow Team-BHP members to guide and advise, along with the above 2 questions and what steps are at my disposal.- I decided to purchase this car after receiving such a lucrative scheme, but as a consumer, I am at a loss now, as the offer is not validated.- At,Toyota, is this the Customer after Sales? False commitments and wrong experiences?- Is it also the same across all Toyota dealers in India? On top of that no help from anyone from, Toyota. I have heard of really good experiences from Toyota, but unfortunately, my first-hand experience is very horrible. Please see - my immediate family owns Corolla Altis, Innova Crysta, and Glanza.As a customer, I am left helpless and hopeless of such fraudulent malpractice to sell a car!Until then, Happy Driving! Last edited by Aditya : 5th October 2023 at 05:06 . Reason: Spacing, and other corrections.
As announced in August, Disney is raising prices on all its streaming services on October 12. That means Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN+ are about to get more expensive.

But even in this new era of cord cutting, in which streamers charge more for less, its still possible to defray the costs. Below, well walk through the details on Disneys price hikes, along with some ways to minimize the impact on your TV bill.

Dont miss TechHives picks for the best live TV streaming services.

What are Disney+ and Hulus latest price hikes?

Heres a full list of all the Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN+ price hikes taking effect on October 12, 2023:

Disney+:

With ads: Still $8 per month

Still $8 per month No ads: $14 per month or $140 per year (was $11 per month or $110 per year)

Hulu:

With ads: Still $8 per month or $80 per year

Still $8 per month or $80 per year No ads: $18 per month (was $15 per month)

ESPN+:

$11 per month (was $10 per month)

Disney bundles:

Disney+ and Hulu Duo (with ads): Still $10 per month

Still $10 per month Disney+ and Hulu Duo (no ads): New option at $20 per month

New option at $20 per month Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN+ Trio (with ads): $15 per month (was $13 per month)

$15 per month (was $13 per month) Disney+ (no ads), Hulu (no ads), and ESPN+ Trio: $25 per month (was $20 per month)

$25 per month (was $20 per month) Legacy Disney+ (no ads), Hulu (with ads), and ESPN+: $19 per month (was $15 per month)

Hulu + Live TV:

With Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN+ Trio (all with ads): $77 per month (was $70 per month)

$77 per month (was $70 per month) With Disney+ (no ads), Hulu (no ads), and ESPN+: $90 per month (was $83 per month)

For better or worse, thats a lot of ways to slice and dice Disneys streaming services. Now, lets consider some ways to keep those costs down.

Drop ESPN+

At one point, paying for the full Disney bundle was cheaper than subscribing to any two Disney streaming services separately, so you might be paying for all three even if you seldom watch ESPN+. Its time to rethink that idea as prices go up.

Say youre getting the ad-free Disney bundle at $20 per month. That price will increase to $25 per month on October 12, but if you switch to the new ad-free bundle of just Disney+ and Hulu, youll be back to paying $20 per month again.

Likewise, full Disney bundle with ads will jump to $15 per month on October 12. Switching to just Disney+ and Hulu with ads brings the price down to $10 per month.

Keep in mind that ESPN+ barely overlaps with the cable channel anyway, so you might not miss much without it. Besides, you can always add it back for a month at a time to watch a particular sporting event.

One complication: If youre currently paying for the full Disney bundle through Hulus billing system, downgrading directly to the Duo bundle wont be an option. Youll need to cancel service through Hulu, then sign up again through Disneys billing system instead. Yeesh.

Switch to annual billing

Until October 12, the annual price for ad-free Disney+ is $110. Subscribing before then will save you $30 over the new price of $140 per year. Monthly subscribers whose billing cycles come due after October 12 might even consider signing up with a secondary or masked email address to lock in the extra savings. Its not a permanent reprieve from price hikes, but nothing is.

Bundle with Verizon

If youre a Verizon Wireless customer, your plan may offer the Disney bundle at a reduced cost, or possibly even for free.

With the carriers latest MyPlan unlimited offerings, you can get the legacy Disney bundle (including ad-free Disney+, Hulu with ads, and ESPN+) for $10 per month. Thats a savings of $8 per month after the price hikes kick in.

Verizons legacy 5G Get More and 5G Play More plans are even better, giving you that same Disney bundle at no extra charge. (Thats all the more reason to think twice about changing plans when you upgrade to a new phone.)

Verizon customers can redeem these offers through the Service & Perks page on the carriers website.

Bundle with Hulu + Live TV

Hulus live TV streaming service is also getting more expensive on October 12, but because it includes the full Disney bundle, it may save you money over other live TV streaming services.

YouTube TV, for instance, costs $73 per month, and if youre paying separately for the Disney bundle (at $15 per month), your total bill will be $88 per month. With Hulu + Live TV, youll pay $77 per month for a similar lineup of cable channels, along with Disney+, ESPN+ Hulus on-demand catalog. (Hulu + Live TVs current promo price of $50 per month for three months defrays the cost even further.)

Granted, you may prefer YouTube TV or other live TV services for different reasons, but Hulus bundle wins on value for those who are planning to pay for the Disney bundle either way.

Share a password

Disney has indicated that it will begin cracking down on password sharing next year, and has already updated its terms of service in Canada to make clear that such behavior isnt allowed.

But for now, password sharing isnt expressly forbidden anywhere else. Enjoy the freedom while it lasts, and keep in mind that any countermeasures that do arise will probably be toothless.

Take some time off

Its easy to get exasperated about streaming price hikes, but consider this: If you abstain from Disney+s ad-free plan for three months out of the year, it will more than offset the companys gains from higher prices. If historys any indication, cancelling now may even open you up to better deals in the future.

Being able to come and go is one of the best things about streaming, and its your biggest bargaining chip against companies that expect to raise revenues with the flip of a switch.

Sign up for Jareds Cord Cutter Weekly newsletter for more streaming TV savings strategies.
In a nutshell: Alongside the new Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro smartphones, Google has fully unveiled and released Android 14. The new OS' headline features focus on customization, security, and accessibility. Some of the new functionality employs AI to offer increased intelligence and flexibility.

Owners of Google Pixel phones (going as far back as Pixel 4a, Pixel 5, and later models) should begin receiving update notifications for Android 14 this week. The new OS will arrive later this year to the rest of Android phones from the likes of Samsung, Nothing, OnePlus, Oppo, Realme, Sharp, Sony, Tecno, Vivo, and Xiaomi.

Android 14 significantly expands customization options for the lock screen and home screen. Users can set app shortcuts on the lock screen to ensure quick access to their favorite features like the calculator or QR code reader. A selection of pre-set templates for shortcuts and widgets is also available.

The new customization features also enable users to change wallpapers more easily. Moreover, the new Pixel 8 phones introduce the ability to create new wallpapers through text-to-image generative AI. The feature will eventually arrive to other models, but Google hasn't said which or when. AI can also automatically reorganize the screen in numerous ways to suit different situations, like making a weather widget easier to reach during a storm.

Regarding security, the new OS delivers more control over what information apps share. Users receive clear notifications when apps ask for things like location data and when they share that information with third parties. Moreover, Google made PINs more secure and easier to use by mandating a minimum of six digits and no longer requiring users to hit enter after correctly entering the PIN.

Android 14's new accessibility features focus on assisting hearing and visually impaired users. They can select which part of the screen to magnify and tell the magnifier to remain engaged across multiple apps. Changing font sizes is also quicker and smoother. Furthermore, Google reorganized the accessibility settings to facilitate connecting a device to hearing aids. New flashing notifications are available for users who can't hear traditional notification sounds.

A previous beta test revealed the company's answer to Apple's Continuity Camera, allowing Android phones to become webcams for Windows, Mac, or ChromeOS PCs through a USB connection. While this isn't publicly available yet, Google promises it's coming soon. To improve webcam use and video calls, a new auto-frame function adjusts the camera to maintain focus on participants.

Android 14 is available now, and the latest Google Pixel phones ship on October 12. Pre-orders are up for the Pixel 8 at $699 and the Pixel 8 Pro at $999.
In context: SoftBank Group, a well-known Japanese multinational investment holding company with a keen interest in technology unicorns, has a very outspoken CEO. Masayoshi Son is bullish about a lot of things, with some of them becoming successful products while others have turned into spectacular failures.

Speaking during the SoftBank World corporate conference, Masayoshi Son recently stated that some form of artificial general intelligence (AGI) will be created by 2030. AGI is usually defined as a truly "intelligent" computer algorithm, which can think, speculate and be aware of its own existence in the digital realm similar to human intelligence.

Also known as "strong AI," a true AGI agent would accomplish any intellectual task that biological intelligence can perform  only better than humans. An AGI would signal a "singularity" moment for technology progress and humanity as a whole, while modern "weak" AI like ChatGPT can only solve (or try to solve) specific problems without showing any sign of general cognitive abilities.

Son speculates that the upcoming AGI will be able to surpass humans in almost every intellectual task, as it will be ten times more intelligent than the sum of all human intelligence. The SoftBank CEO said that even the aforementioned weak AI algorithms are already better than humans in certain areas.

Saying that AI cannot be smarter than humans is "wrong," Son said. AI algorithms are now self-learning, self-training and self-inferencing, just like human beings. The CEO was already adamant about the potentially transformative influence of AI on business and society, but now he is providing a timeline of sorts for the development of the first (and likely last) AGI.

Son also provided a further development prospect for this newborn AGI, which will turn into an "Artificial Super Intelligence" within 20 years. If the AGI were ten times smarter than the entirety of humanity, Son stated at the conference, a super-digital intelligence would surpass human intelligence by a staggeringly high factor of 10,000.

SoftBank's leader is clearly pushing for bigger financial investments on AI development to turn his AGI dream into reality. He also said that Japanese companies need to "wake up" about the promises of the technology.

Those who won't invest in AI will be a "goldfish," the manager said, and they are "hallucinators" if they refuse to adopt the self-hallucinating chatbots. Son also stated that Arm-designed chips will be at the heart of this AGI revolution, while modern weak AI services are mostly (ab)using Nvidia GPUs for their massively parallel word-crunching workloads. Softbank has owned Arm since 2016.
A hot potato: One of the many fears surrounding generative AI is its ability to create disinformation that is then spread online. But while companies and organizations are working against this worsening phenomenon, it seems the biggest challenge they face is the people who refuse to believe something is fake.

Artificial intelligence has been used to create disinformation for years, but the new wave of generative AI has brought advancements few could have imagined. Convincing images, videos, and audio clips can all be created and used to influence or reinforce the public's opinions.

Part of the problem is that many people distrust those institutions that can confirm something is fake. One only has to look at social media to see all the accusations of nefarious influences at work, along with the line "Of course they want you to believe it's not real." The situation isn't helped by many users being unable to spot these fakes.

Hany Farid, an expert in deepfake analysis and a professor at the University of California, Berkeley, told Bloomberg, "Social media and human beings have made it so that even when we come in, fact check and say, 'nope, this is fake,' people say, 'I don't care what you say, this conforms to my worldview.'"

"Why are we living in that world where reality seems to be so hard to grip?" he said. "It's because our politicians, our media outlets and the internet have stoked distrust."

One of the biggest concerns over misinformation created by generative AI is anything related to next year's election. Microsoft warned last month that Chinese operatives have been using the technology for this purpose, creating images and other content focusing on politically divisive topics, including gun violence and denigrating US political figures and symbols.

The spread of this sort of election misinformation in the US has been minimal so far, but expect to see it increase. It's especially bad on X/Twitter, which the EU says is the worst platform for disinformation; a designation that came just as X disabled a feature that allows users to report misinformation related to elections.

Ultimately, people are usually the biggest obstacle when it comes to fighting AI-generated misinformation. Many share this content because they simply don't know it's fake, and with video and images becoming increasingly realistic, it can be hard to convince them otherwise.
Throughout the hazy, early days of the pandemic, workers around the world got comfortable with working from home. Many managed to work as effectively  and even more productively  without the constant interruptions that a traditional workplace brings, and without the fatigue of a commute.

Pushback on mandatory attendance days has since ignited on social media, been featured in the news, and according to UniSpace's Global Workplace Insights report 'Returning for Good', has made life difficult for employers, too.

Some 42% of firms with mandated returns have experienced higher than normal employee attrition, and 29% are struggling to recruit. Despite all this, many bosses still want employees back in the office.

But, why? Here are some commonly-cited reasons...

Collaboration

Innovation depends on collaboration, so it's not surprising that employers are keen on in-person meetings for team meetings, cross-team scrums and brainstorming sessions. This chimes with employee expectations to do collaborative work in the office, and to complete deep focus work at home individually.

Relationships

From early interviews to developing within a role, relationship building is essential in almost every workplace. Recruiters say it is difficult to evaluate new recruits virtually, and once settled in a role, both employers and employees know that non-verbal cues of communication are often missing with remote working. A 'cameras on' policy does its best to address this for video calls, but a whole day of unconsciously absorbing messages is lost with remote working.

Socialising

Happy, connected teams perform better, and happy teams encourage staff retention. In the 'Returning for Good' report, 38% of over 45s and 31% of 18-34 year-olds say they appreciate the opportunity to socialize within work, while 21% of 18-24 year-olds are keen on post-work socializing, compared to just 17% of over 45s.

Informal learning

At every level, but perhaps most pertinently at the early-career stage, we learn from the people around us. What you pick up in the line for coffee or in the elevator can tell you more about an organization than its 100-page employee handbook.

Informal mentorships are also often missing in remote working, which have a well-worn natural function in an office setting. Worryingly for fully-remote workers, in the UniSpace research, 84% of employers indicated that chances of career progression will be limited for employees who are not in the office.

Real estate investments

Savvy businesses downsized real estate quickly in 2020, and many pivoted to hot desking in the interim. In 2021, 84% of employees said they planned to decrease the amount of office space they maintained, and we saw floors of high-spec office buildings up for lease to external parties.

However, 75% of businesses have increased their real estate portfolio in the last two years. As 48% of workers surveyed say having an assigned desk would entice them into the workplace more often, a return to assigned seating may be next on the increase.

Ready to make the leap into a new way of working?

The TechSpot Job Board has hundreds of challenging new roles, like these...

AI Expert - Large Language Models (LLM) and Generative AI, The MITRE Corporation, McLean, VA

There's never been a more exciting time to work in AI, and this hybrid position also makes the most of in-person and at-home working. Located close to Washington D.C. in McLean, MITRE is a non-for-profit corporation chartered to work in the public interest, with R&D centers exploring solutions in cybersecurity, healthcare, aviation, defense and enterprise.

Their AI team is made up of 200 employees and continues to grow, as they service the needs of a range of US government agencies. They are seeking expertise in computational linguistics, machine learning, machine translation, speech processing, information extraction, knowledge base population, cross-language information retrieval, identity matching and other areas of human language technology. The successful candidate will research, develop and implement world-class techniques in Large Language Models (LLM) and Generative AI. See more information here.

Machine Learning Solutions Engineer, Snorkel AI, San Francisco, CA

Beginning in Stanford's AI Lab in 2016, Snorkel is now at the forefront of building AI applications, and is building Snorkel Flow, a platform that automates data labeling, integrated model training and analysis, and enhanced domain expert collaboration. The progressive organization is seeking its newest batch of Snorkelers, Machine Learning Solutions Engineers, to work with the co-founding team, sales team, product team and ML Engineering team to provide value-based evaluation scenarios, including demos, labs and POVs.

These engineers will own the technical aspects of the sales cycle, designing and leading a technology evaluation process, and build demos and presentations for customers and field experts. As customer-facing technical resources, successful candidates will serve as trusted advisors on AI, and will enable customers to solve complex data science problems. Find out more here.

Information Systems Security Manager (ISSM), SciTec, Boulder, CO

With a number of government contracts to their name, SciTec is growing their team. Focused on delivering advanced data processing technologies in support of National Security and Defense, the small business has an opening for a talented Information Systems Security Manager (ISSM) to take responsibility for the accreditation and administration of a secure computing environment with multiple agencies.

Candidates must have an active Secret government security clearance and at least two years of supporting compliance of government or contractor IT systems under the oversight of the DoD or the Intelligence Community. Read more about this role here.
Are you ready to take a nostalgic trip back to your high school days, but with a futuristic twist?

The AI yearbook trend has taken the internet by storm, allowing you to imagine yourself as a '90s high school graduate with big hair, oversized glasses, and vintage clothing.

Here is how to join the fun and create your own AI yearbook photos!

Meet EPIK - Your Portal to the '90s

The key player in this AI yearbook trend is the EPIK - AI Photo Editor app, brought to you by SNOW Corporation, the same South Korean company that gave us the K-Idol AI portrait generator.

This app is available for both iOS and Android, and the best part is that it is free to download. Even your favorite internet personalities are joining the trend!

finally got my yearbook photos back  pic.twitter.com/nshLc05AY9  pokimane (@pokimanelol) September 30, 2023

Once you have installed the app, it is time to dive into the world of '90s yearbook aesthetics.

Capturing the Perfect '90s Look

Before you start, keep in mind that the quality of your AI yearbook photos will depend on the quality of your selfies. Here are some tips for capturing the perfect shot:

Clear, well-lit photos work best, so make sure your face is visible without any obstructions like hats or glasses.

To enhance your results, upload various selfies with different expressions, angles, and backgrounds.

Aim to upload between 8 to 12 selfies to get the best range of yearbook poses.



Choose Your Gender and Payment Option

After selecting "AI Yearbook" in the app, the next steps involve choosing your gender and payment option. Here is what you need to know, as Dexerto reports.:

Two payment options are available: "Standard" and "Express." The "Standard" option costs $5.99 and processes 60 images within 24 hours, while the "Express" option, priced at $9.99, delivers results in just two hours.

Be aware that due to the popularity of this trend, there may be a wait time as users queue up to generate their images.

Creating Your Yearbook Images

With your selfies uploaded and payment selected, it is time to let the magic happen. After clicking "Create Yearbook Images," the app will transform your photos into vintage yearbook-style portraits, complete with the '90s aesthetic that has been captivating social media.

You can also edit your photos with filters, frames, and backdrops.

Read Also: TikTok Trend' Carrot Tan' Is Getting More and More Popular, But Is It Safe? Here's What Experts Have to Say





Expectations and Waiting Times

It is important to manage your expectations, as the popularity of the AI yearbook trend has resulted in a surge of users.

This can lead to waiting times, and you might encounter a "please wait" banner as you try to select your payment plan. Patience is key, as the results are worth the wait.

The AI yearbook trend is a fun and nostalgic way to see yourself in a different era. With the EPIK - AI Photo Editor app, you can easily transform your selfies into '90s yearbook masterpieces.

Stay posted here at Tech Times.

Related Article: TikTok' Girlfriend Air' is Trending Right Now-What it's All About?

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The European Union (EU) announced a comprehensive strategy to protect its cutting-edge technology against foreign espionage and economic and security threats, in response to growing criticism and demands to "de-risk" its relations with China.

(Photo : JOHN MACDOUGALL/AFP via Getty Images)

The German, the Chinese and the European flags are seen flying in the wind from the Chancellery, as the dome of the Reichstag building, which houses the German lower house of Parliament, can be seen in the background, in Berlin on June 19, 2023, during a visit of China's Premier to Germany.

European Commission Vice President Vera Jourova remarked, "Technology is currently at the heart of geopolitical competition, and the EU wants to be a player, not a playground," according to AP News. The Commission has requested member states to conduct risk assessments of its most vulnerable industries that includes artificial intelligence, quantum technologies, biotechnology, and advanced semiconductor fabrication. These industries will receive the utmost protection because they are "highly likely to present the most sensitive and immediate risks related to technology security and technology leakage."



European Union officials did not single out any one country, but they did call for increased measures to safeguard commercial and financial transactions that may be used to undermine national defense.

Restrictions Applicable Not Only on China

Thierry Breton, the EU's internal market commissioner, emphasized that these restrictions are not directed exclusively at China but aimed to reduce threats from everywhere. He said that the EU wants to de-risk "with everybody, including, if it's needed, some of our like-minded partners."



No obvious next steps have emerged from the risk evaluations. Senior Commission officials support the following three options: promoting domestic alternatives, cooperating with like-minded nations, and guarding against economic risks. The Netherlands barred the export of advanced microprocessor technology to China in the early part of this year as an illustration of the latter.



As part of its economic stability agenda, the EU is developing a foreign direct investment monitoring mechanism. Soon-to-be-released technology will be utilized only for investments with a high risk of sensitive data theft, according to Euronews.

Read Also: Microsoft CEO Accuses Google of Unfair Tactics in Landmark Antitrust Trial Testimony



However, some member nations may oppose these restrictions out of fear for their access to the rich Chinese market. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz stressed the significance of European product appeal above protectionism.



The EU's new emphasis on national security in the context of commercial flows shows a widespread paradigm shift across the continent. It exemplifies a rising understanding of how technological developments define international authority.

China to Face Sanctions

In related news, the European Commission has opened an official inquiry into China's electric vehicle market.

SCMP reported that the Commission found "sufficient evidence" of Beijing subsidies that might affect the EU industry. The EU may impose import charges on automobiles from China if sufficient proof is presented and if member states back the move.



China was quick to condemn the probe, calling it "naked protectionist behavior" that threatened to destabilize the international automobile supply chain. In response, the EU said it had offered China the chance to participate in talks before beginning its probe.



The investigation will be closely followed as it contributes to the EU's attempts to protect its economic interests amid altering global circumstances.

Related Article: Meta Oversight Board to Tackle Case on Altered Video of Joe Biden Ahead of 2024 Presidential Election

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Two savvy siblings resorted to swapping counterfeit for genuine devices. In 2019, they were apprehended for attempting to exchange 10,000 fake Apple products over eight years, resulting in $6.1 million worth of genuine Apple merchandise.

(Photo : Mario Tama/Getty Images)

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - SEPTEMBER 22: People wait in line to purchase new Apple iPhone 15 models at the Apple The Grove store on the phones worldwide release day on September 22, 2023 in Los Angeles, California.

Manipulating Apple's System

While it's usually a straightforward process to have your malfunctioning iPhone replaced at an Apple Genius Bar through your AppleCare plan, a pair of resourceful siblings managed to manipulate the system by substituting counterfeit devices for genuine ones.

Regrettably for them, their illicit activities caught up with them in 2019, when they were apprehended for attempting to swap 10,000 fake Apple products over an eight-year period.

As reported by The Verge, the two San Diego residents, Zhimin and Zhiting Liao, who also go by Jimmy and Allen Liao, accrued approximately $6.1 million worth of legitimate Apple merchandise.

This includes iPhones and iPads, which they later shipped to international buyers. The siblings have now been handed 41-month federal prison sentences.

This imprisonment is a component of a plea agreement that encompasses the forfeiture of five San Diego properties in which the brothers held an interest, lasting more than three years, as well as $250,000 derived from their fraudulent activities and 200 iPhones implicated in the scheme.

Broadening Lawsuit

The legal pursuit by prosecutors has broadened to encompass the Liao brothers' wives, who now face charges related to their participation in the fraudulent enterprise.

Each of the female accomplices has acknowledged their involvement and been handed three-year probation sentences. Additionally, an extra eight individuals implicated in the conspiracy have also confessed to their roles in the scheme.

According to the prosecution, the defendants orchestrated the exchange of more than 10,000 counterfeit products at various retail stores over an eight-year period.

Also Read: Apple Shuts Down Retail Store in North Carolina After Three Shootings



Times of San Diego reported that the genuine items obtained in return were subsequently shipped to individuals in foreign countries, leading to an overall financial loss estimated at approximately $6.1 million for Apple.

Under the terms of their plea agreements, the Liao brothers have agreed to forfeit their interests in five San Diego residential properties, along with over $250,000 in ill-gotten gains from their illicit activities, as well as more than 200 Apple iPhones connected to the conspiracy, as stated by the U.S. Attorney's Office.

Other Instances

The Liao brothers are not the sole individuals involved in deceptive schemes involving fake-for-real swaps. In 2019, a college student from Oregon faced legal consequences for defrauding Apple Stores. The student's modus operandi involved presenting counterfeit iPhones with warranty serial numbers at the Genius Bar.

When Apple's experts couldn't immediately identify the phones as fakes, the student received brand-new replacements, which he subsequently shipped to China in exchange for monetary gains. It's worth noting that this particular tactic might present greater challenges today, given Apple's increased serialization of internal components.

Related Article: Unconventional iPhone Heist: Woman Chews Through Anti-Theft Cable at Apple Store

 2023 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
(Bloomberg) -- BlackBerry Ltd., wrapping up a strategic review of its options, plans to hold an initial public offering for the companys Internet of Things division, separating the business from its main cybersecurity operations.

Most Read from Bloomberg

The split is expected to occur in the first half of the next fiscal year, the Canadian company said in a statement Wednesday. BlackBerrys fiscal calendar runs through February.

The board undertook the review with advisers Morgan Stanley and Perella Weinberg Partners, and they concluded that an IPO was the best option for the IoT business, the company said. The Internet of Things market is focused on infusing online capabilities and sensors into appliances, cars and everyday items.

Investors applauded the move, sending the shares up more than 5% in late trading on Wednesday. The entire company currently has a market valuation of about $2.5 billion.

BlackBerry believes that a separately traded IoT subsidiary will enable shareholders to more clearly evaluate the performance and future potential of BlackBerrys principal businesses on a standalone basis, while allowing each business to pursue its own distinct strategy and capital allocation policy, the Waterloo, Ontario-based company said.

Blackberry, the phone giant turned security software provider, announced the review in May, and uncertainty around the process has compounded concerns about the companys financial performance.

Veritas Capital has been seen as a possible suitor for BlackBerry. Bloomberg reported in August that the private equity firm was contemplating making a bid for the whole company.

Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek

2023 Bloomberg L.P.
Elia, the Belgian transmission system operator, made a significant announcement confirming that it has obtained the necessary authorization to advance with the development of Princess Elisabeth Island.

(Photo : Elia Group)

Construction of the Belgian energy island will start early next year. North Sea Minister Vincent Van Quickenborne has approved the relevant environmental permit.

World's First AI Island

This groundbreaking project is poised to become the world's inaugural artificial intelligence island. At its core, Interesting Engineering reported that Princess Elisabeth Island comprises a strategically positioned energy center located 45 kilometers off the Belgian coast, approximately 28 miles away.

The primary purpose of this innovative energy hub is to establish a vital connection between Belgium's onshore electricity grid, newly established wind farms, and additional interconnectors originating from the United Kingdom and Denmark.

The pivotal milestone achieved in this endeavor is securing the essential permit, which Elia formally applied for in January 2023. Tinne Van der Straeten, the Federal Minister for Energy in Belgium, emphasized the nation's prominent role in offshore wind energy.

She highlighted Belgium's commitment to expediting the transition to renewable energy by quadrupling offshore wind capacity in the Belgian North Sea, undertaking the construction of an energy island, and establishing fresh interconnections with neighboring North Sea countries.

Furthermore, she highlighted that the forthcoming energy island is poised to emerge as a central offshore wind energy hub, catering to the sustainable energy needs of both households and businesses in the country. Its development is set to transform the North Sea into a thriving source of green energy.

Final Stages

The designated site for the construction of the island's concrete foundations is located within the North Sea Port in Vlissingen, as per the official press release.

Preparations for this ambitious undertaking have already commenced and are being spearheaded by a collaborative effort involving leading Belgian marine construction companies, DEME and Jan De Nul.

Simultaneously, Elia is in the final stages of refining the island's design, which incorporates elements of nature conservation to safeguard marine and terrestrial wildlife inhabiting the island.

The completion of this ambitious undertaking is anticipated to span approximately two years, from March 2024 to August 2026.

Van der Straeten emphasized the importance of considering the marine ecosystem, both above and below the water's surface, in the upcoming construction and installation endeavors.

She commended Elia for its commitment to developing a design that not only safeguards but also potentially revitalizes aquatic life, demonstrating a strong focus on the preservation of our oceans' delicate ecosystems.

Also Read: Artifact Unveils New Feature: Generative AI Allowing Users to Create Own Images for Posts

Vincent Van Quickenborne, Belgium's Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Justice and the North Sea, underscored their strategic vision to elevate the North Sea into Belgium's preeminent energy hub, with Princess Elisabeth Island holding a pivotal role in this endeavor.

The Brussels Times reported that Van Quickenborne referred to the island as the second offshore wind zone and disclosed plans for the initial wind turbines to be operational by 2028, thereby providing a significant additional source of offshore green energy for the nation's populace.

This pioneering project marks a global first, as it will involve the installation of wind turbines within protected marine areas. Moreover, Van Quickenborne expressed appreciation for Elia's unwavering commitment to a design that incorporates nature preservation and safeguards the marine ecosystem.

Related Article: First-ever Artificial Energy Island 'Princess Elisabeth' Set To Be Installed in the North Sea



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NASA's Hubble Space Telescope has captured a striking image of NGC 6951, an intermediate spiral galaxy located 78 million light-years away in the Cepheus constellation.

This galaxy, discovered in the late 19th century by astronomers Jerome Coggia and Lewis Swift, has piqued scientific interest due to its intriguing stellar history.

Peak Period of Star Formation

NGC 6951 experienced its peak period of star formation approximately 800 million years ago, followed by a quiet phase lasting 300 million years before reinitiating the star-birthing process.

The star clusters within NGC 6951 boast an average age of 200 to 300 million years, although some date back as far as one billion years. Turbulent regions of gas, depicted in dark red, envelop the vibrant blue star clusters.

Astronomers commonly categorize NGC 6951 as a Type II Seyfert galaxy, a subtype of active galaxy characterized by substantial infrared radiation emissions and slow-moving gaseous matter near its core.

NGC 6951 experienced its peak period of star formation approximately 800 million years ago, followed by a quiet phase lasting 300 million years before reinitiating the star-birthing process.

The star clusters within NGC 6951 boast an average age of 200 to 300 million years, although some date back as far as one billion years. Turbulent regions of gas, depicted in dark red, envelop the vibrant blue star clusters.

Astronomers commonly categorize NGC 6951 as a Type II Seyfert galaxy, a subtype of active galaxy characterized by substantial infrared radiation emissions and slow-moving gaseous matter near its core.

Read Also: NASA's Hubble Space Telescope Catches Dreamy View of a Distant Galaxy

'Circumnuclear Ring'

At the core of NGC 6951 rests a supermassive black hole enveloped by a ring of stars and a mix of gas and dust, approximately 3,700 light-years across.

This ring, referred to as the "circumnuclear ring," is believed to have formed between 1 and 1.5 billion years ago, sustaining ongoing star formation for much of its existence.

Scientists noted that interstellar gas traverses through the densely populated bar of the galaxy to reach the circumnuclear ring, providing the essential materials for sustained star creation.

A significant portion of the ring's mass, nearly 40 percent, consists of relatively youthful stars aged less than 100 million years. In addition, dark orange spiral dust lanes connect the galactic center to its outer regions, supplying extra material for potential star formation.

NASA noted that over the past 25 years, NGC 6951 has witnessed a series of remarkable celestial events known as supernovae, with researchers documenting as many as six of these occurrences.

Extensive studies of this galaxy are underway to garner a deeper understanding of the environments conducive to such supernova events. The analysis of emissions from supernovae plays a crucial role in comprehending the precursor star, encompassing details like its age, luminosity, and position.

The image presented here was crafted using data collected by Hubble's Wide Field Camera 3 and Advanced Camera for Surveys, capturing a spectrum of both visible and infrared light.

In related news, NASA's James Webb Space Telescope unveils a mesmerizing tapestry within the Orion Nebula, showcasing a stellar spectacle that defies the imagination.

These awe-inspiring images, now accessible through the European Space Agency's ESASky application, offer a portal into the heart of one of the night sky's most glorious wonders.

Learn more about this story by clicking here.

Related Article: NASA's Hubble Space Telescope Snaps Cigar Galaxy Billowing Red Smoke

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Japan's second quantum computer has been successfully developed. Fujitsu and research institute Riken are at the forefront of the latest technological advancement, Reuters reported.

According to Nikkei Asia, quantum computers are designed to perform computations over 100 million times as fast as supercomputers, potentially solving complex problems in chemistry and materials science fields that are out of reach today.

Fujitsu also claimed that quantum computers can accurately predict the properties of new materials, drugs, and physical principles. The company noted that a wide range of possibilities can be pursued with quantum computers.

Fujitsu and Riken's 64 qubit quantum computer will be integrated with a 40 qubit quantum computer simulator as researchers continue to work to remove the errors that prevent such systems from giving accurate results.

Shintaro Sato, head of Fujitsu's quantum laboratory, said Thursday that this development was a "kind of a first or second step" since "we still have a long way to go."





Japan's Fujitsu Joining Quantum Computer Global Race

Fujitsu reportedly worked with Riken and NTT to develop the new quantum computer, while the Japanese government provided financial support.

IBM and Google's parent company, Alphabet, are some of the big investors working on developing quantum computers. Sato noted that big overseas firms like Google "may appear to lead in the field, but there's room for us to compete."

Japan's first quantum computer started operating in March at the Riken BioResource Research Institute in Wako, Saitama Prefecture. The country aims to stay ahead of its rivals by concentrating on the practical use of such computers. The Japanese government and Riken are currently working to complete a more than 100 qubit quantum computer in 2025.

According to Reuters, different startup companies have also joined the race. Among these firms is PsiQuantum, which aims to deliver its first commercial quantum computing system in six years.

PsiQuantum Chief Executive Jeremy O'Brien earlier said that "the first system that's actually capable of solving important problems that people want to know the answer to" was "certainly less than six" years away.

This timeline was announced after the startup's significant "breakthroughs" and partnerships with chip manufacturing partner GlobalFoundries and the US Department of Energy.

PsiQuantum's partnership with the Department of Energy will reportedly allow the company to use SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory facilities to design the fridges or "cryogenic quantum modules" necessary for developing quantum computers running at temperatures close to zero.

Read Also: Google Quantum Computer Is '47 Years' Ahead of the World's Top 1 Supercomputer: Here's What You Need to Know

US and China's Efforts in Developing Quantum Computers

Governments, including the US and China, are pouring money into research for quantum computers. However, US President Joe Biden is reportedly moving to obstruct some US investment in Chinese efforts to develop the technology.

Reuters reported that Biden signed an executive order in August that prohibited certain new US investments in China in sensitive technologies like computer chips. The order also requires government notification in other tech sectors.

The reason for the ban was to ensure that countries like China would not undermine US national security. The Biden administration noted that emerging technologies like AI or quantum computing could be used to enhance China's military modernization and intelligence capabilities.

According to China Power, China is redoubling its efforts to compete and lead in cutting-edge strategic technologies. As part of its latest national economic blueprint, "the 14th Five Year Plan," Beijing will invest heavily in the emerging field of quantum technologies.

Japan, the US, and China remain at the forefront of the race towards quantum computing, estimated by the Boston Consulting Group to create $850 billion annually by 2040.

Related Article: Most Powerful Quantum Computer: Chinese Developer Claims to Trample Google's Performance

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NASA is actively engaged in research to ensure the safety of fully autonomous flight technology, a critical aspect in preparing for the potential future of air taxis. This endeavor involves a collaborative effort between NASA, DARPA, and aircraft manufacturer Sikorsky.

A dedicated team at NASA is currently examining the interaction between autonomous software and flight navigation tools. They are studying how human pilots interface with this new navigation technology to gather crucial insights.

NASA's Advanced Air Mobility

This research, undertaken with the involvement of NASA's research pilots, software developers, and flight engineers, is a pivotal component of NASA's Advanced Air Mobility initiative, which envisions an array of novel air transportation options, encompassing air taxis and delivery drones.

In an upcoming test, NASA research pilot Scott "Jelly" Howe will don specially designed glasses to track his eye movements. Additionally, biometric sensors will monitor his body temperature and brain activity throughout the flight.

The data collected will encompass Howe's real-time responses to ground control directives, aircraft controls, interactions with other aircraft, and assessments of weather conditions.

The study will also observe his utilization of a specialized tablet, through which he will select flight path options suggested by algorithms and manually input commands.

Biometric markers, including pupil dilation, heightened brain activity, increased heart rate, respiration rate, and temperature fluctuations, can unveil instances of excessive workload or elevated stress levels experienced by a pilot. This data will furnish valuable insights into pilots' behaviors during flight.

NASA researchers will leverage this information to enhance future autonomous systems, enabling them to address challenges in a manner similar to human pilots. This progress is instrumental in advancing the potential operation of air taxis within US airspace.

Read Also: Get Ready for the Moon! NASA Starts Critical Testing for Upcoming Artemis Missions

Biometric Devices

Dr. Tyler Fettrow, a human factors researcher at NASA, emphasized the significance of biometric devices in quantifying subconscious physiological aspects. These devices enable the capture of eye-tracking data, offering valuable information on the pilot's focal points, the duration of their fixations, and changes in pupil dilation.

This human-factors research assumes great importance due to the distinct challenges associated with integrating air taxis into the existing airspace system. Autonomous systems must navigate obstacles such as other aircraft, structures, avian species, and variable weather conditions.

NASA's comprehensive approach encompasses the seamless integration of these aircraft into the national airspace. Fettrow further stressed the importance of well-designed interfaces in Advanced Air Mobility systems.

Such interfaces must provide clear situational awareness, timely alerts and notifications, and effective communication channels to ensure safe operations in this innovative landscape of highly automated air transportation.

"Advanced Air Mobility systems typically involve a high degree of automation and interaction between the humans and technology. Designing interfaces that provide clear situational awareness, appropriate alerts and notifications, and effective communication channels is vital for safe operations," Fettrow said in a press statement.

Related Article: NASA James Webb Achieves One of Its First Major Science Goals After Probing the Atmosphere of TRAPPIST Planet

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Japan's Fukushima nuclear power plant initiated the release of a second batch of treated radioactive wastewater into the ocean on Thursday.

According to the Associated Press, this follows the successful conclusion of the first round of discharges. Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings (TEPCO), the plant's operator, has confirmed that the process began smoothly.

Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant's Second Release of Wastewater in Japan

The controlled release involves a careful mixing of treated water with significant quantities of seawater, which is then gradually channeled into the ocean through an underground tunnel.

Despite the necessity emphasized by TEPCO and the Japanese government, the wastewater discharges have faced significant opposition from fishing communities and neighboring nations, most notably South Korea, where widespread protests have taken place.

China has gone as far as implementing a complete ban on imports of Japanese seafood, dealing a severe blow to the country's seafood industry.

The initial release of wastewater took place from August 24 to September 11, with TEPCO disclosing the discharge of 7,800 tons of treated water from ten tanks. The ongoing second discharge aims to release an additional 7,800 tons over a period of 17 days.

Currently, the Fukushima plant houses approximately 1,000 tanks containing a total of 1.34 million tons of radioactive wastewater. This accumulation traces back to the devastating earthquake and tsunami in 2011, which caused extensive damage to the facility.

Both TEPCO and government authorities asserted that releasing the water into the ocean is an unavoidable step. It is primarily driven by the imminent limitations in tank capacity and the need for space as the plant embarks on a decommissioning process projected to extend over several decades.

The treatment procedure was crafted to lower the levels of radioactive materials to what is considered safe. Following this, it underwent a dilution with seawater, rendering it considerably safer than what international safety standards mandate.

Nevertheless, some experts argue that the continuous release of low-level radioactive substances is an unprecedented event that needs careful and ongoing monitoring.

Read Also: China Suspends Aquatic Product Imports from Japan Over Fukushima Water Release

China's Ban on Japanese Seafood

In light of China's ban on Japanese seafood, the Japanese government has established a relief fund to find new markets and lessen the impact on local seafood producers.

Additional measures include the temporary procurement, freezing, and storage of seafood and an initiative to strengthen domestic seafood sales. TEPCO is tasked with offering compensation for the harm to the region's seafood industry's reputation due to the release of wastewater.

According to AP, the process for filing compensation claims has recently been set in motion, resulting in a significant influx of inquiries. Most claims stemmed from the consequences of China's seafood ban and the subsequent surplus in the domestic market, leading to price drops.

The International Atomic Energy Agency has assessed the safety of the wastewater release and determined that if executed according to the plan, it would result in a minimal impact on the environment, marine life, and human health.

Related Article: Microplastics Found in Clouds Could Dangerously 'Modify' Earth's Climate, New Study Reveals

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Italian luxury fashion brand Prada has joined forces with Axiom Space in an unprecedented collaboration that merges high fashion and space exploration.

Reports tell us that this groundbreaking partnership will see Prada take on the task of designing the spacesuits that will cover the astronauts heading on NASA's much-anticipated Artemis III mission.

This mission, slated for 2025, is set to mark a historic moment in space exploration as it represents the first crewed lunar landing in over five decades and will see the first woman and the first person of color setting foot on the lunar surface.

Fashion Meets Functionality

While the world's eyes are trained on the impending lunar adventure, it is worth noting that Prada's involvement is not just about creating a fashion statement in space.

Prada, known for its fashion-forward designs, is also recognized for its technical prowess in developing robust materials.

In a press release, Prada's Marketing Director Lorenzo Bertelli emphasized that their expertise extends beyond the runway. He pointed to their experience in working with composite materials, a technology that emerged from Prada's involvement in creating the Luna Rossa yachting team for the America's Cup back in the 1990s.

"The constantly forward-thinking ethos of Prada for humanity has broadened to his desire of adventure and to brave new horizons: space," Bertelli notes.

This experience underscores their capabilities to design spacesuits that can withstand the challenging lunar environment.

Read Also: NASA's Mars Analog Mission Crew Celebrates 100-Day Milestone Inside Habitat

The Role of Prada

Prada's primary focus in this collaboration is to design the outer layer of the spacesuits. This outer layer must strike a delicate balance between toughness, as it must withstand problematic lunar dust, and flexibility, allowing astronauts the freedom of movement required for lunar exploration.

Technical aspects aside, the collaboration between Prada and Axiom Space promises to bring an element of creativity to the spacesuit's design.

Bertelli hinted at areas where "there will be a bit of room for creativity," suggesting that Prada's design may introduce a fresh aesthetic to spacesuits, departing from the traditional look.

Axiom Space CEO Michael Suffredini has also teased that the spacesuit will look "very unique" compared to its predecessors, hinting at a fusion of fashion and functionality that will define the spacesuits of the Artemis III era.

A Historic Partnership

This partnership between Prada and Axiom Space is historic in more ways than one. It represents the first collaboration between an Italian luxury fashion house and a commercial space company.

The integration of fashion and space technology signifies a new frontier in space exploration, where aesthetics and functionality intertwine to create innovative solutions for human spaceflight.

Back in March, Axiom Space revealed its more flexible and sleeker spacesuits.

NASA's Support

NASA, known for its strict standards and rigorous protocols, has been supportive of Axiom Space's partnership with Prada.

Michael Suffredini, Axiom Space CEO, acknowledged NASA's receptivity to innovations in spacesuit design, saying, "They've been very receptive to everything we've done so far in the suit world and are open to this as well."

Stay posted here at Tech Times.

Related Article: Get Ready for the Moon! NASA Starts Critical Testing for Upcoming Artemis Missions

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NASA's OSIRIS-REx mission has astounded scientists by returning with a wealth of asteroid samples from its rendezvous with Bennu.

What was initially seen as a challenging endeavor has now presented researchers with abundant material that promises interesting insights into the mysteries of the cosmos.

A Treasure Trove of Space Data

When OSIRIS-REx successfully collected a sample from asteroid Bennu in late September, it marked a historic achievement for NASA.

The mission's primary goal was to acquire a sample and safely transport it back to Earth for analysis. Little did scientists know that they would be greeted with an abundance of space samples.

Scientists were met with an unexpected sight upon opening the spacecraft's TAGSAM (Touch-and-Go Sample Acquisition Mechanism) head, which contains the bulk of the Bennu asteroid sample.

IFLScience tells us that the inside of the canister lid and the TAGSAM itself were covered in what can only be described as "black dust and debris."

"The very best 'problem' to have is that there is so much material, it's taking longer than we expected to collect it," said Christopher Snead, deputy OSIRIS-REx curation lead at NASA's Johnson Space Center.

"There's a lot of abundant material outside the TAGSAM head that's interesting in its own right. It's really spectacular to have all that material there."

Read Also: NASA's Perseverance Rover Captures Stunning Dust Devil Swirling on Mars' Jezero Crater

Delicate Analysis Process

The unexpected abundance of material has posed a unique challenge for scientists. While they had meticulously planned for the analysis of the Bennu sample, the sheer volume of material has required a more systematic approach.

To gain a comprehensive understanding of the sample, NASA's researchers employ various cutting-edge techniques. This includes using a scanning electron microscope (SEM), infrared measurements, and x-ray diffraction (XRD), all capable of delving deep into the composition of the material.

"The SEM will offer a chemical and morphological analysis, while the infrared measurements should provide information on whether the sample contains hydrated minerals and organic-rich particles," explained Lindsay Keller, an OSIRIS-REx sample analysis team member.

"The x-ray diffraction is sensitive to the different minerals in a sample and will give an inventory of the minerals and perhaps an indication of their proportions."

Scientists are gearing up to scrutinize the asteroid samples almost down to the atomic scale. It is a level of analysis that promises to unlock a wealth of information about the composition and history of Bennu, and by extension, the early solar system.

Bennu's Surprise Character

Bennu, initially thought to be a conglomeration of small debris held together by its gravitational pull, turned out to be more complex than anticipated.

Instead of a solid mass, OSIRIS-REx encountered a loose assemblage of material. This looseness, coupled with some material leaking out of TAGSAM before stowing, likely contributed to the unexpected abundance of samples.

Despite the challenge of sifting through this cosmic treasure trove, scientists are thrilled. Bennu's unique composition offers an unprecedented opportunity to delve into the intricacies of asteroids, potentially revealing clues about the formation of our solar system.

Stay posted here at Tech Times.

Related Article: NASA's OSIRIS-REx Asteroid Samples Now Safe and Secured-Undergoing 'Nitrogen Purge'

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Malaysia's southern state of Johor has recently received its first Tesla Supercharging Station, marking a major move forward for Malaysia's EV infrastructure.

This development marks the second such station to grace Malaysian soil; the first one was launched in Kuala Lumpur.

Furthermore, the highly anticipated arrival of the Tesla Model 3 Highland in Malaysia is just around the corner.

Tesla's Strategic Choice of Johor

Straits Times reports that the inauguration of Johor's first Tesla Supercharging Station took place at Sunway Big Box in Iskandar Puteri, with the event attended by key officials, including Johor Chief Minister Onn Hafiz Ghazi.

This milestone aligns perfectly with the state government's ambitious Maju Johor 2030 agenda, which strongly emphasizes green technology development.

Lee Ting Han, a state government executive council member, explained, "We are happy that Tesla chose Johor as its second location in the country for a supercharging station after the first one in Kuala Lumpur.

"According to Tesla, one of the factors why Johor was picked was based on data that showed Tesla users in the state were the second highest after the capital city," the official told the public.

The strategic selection of Johor promises to attract more EV enthusiasts, possibly even luring Singaporean car owners across the border.

Read Also: Porsche's CarPlay: Here's Why This Remains on its Cars Unlike GM, Tesla, and MORE

Tesla Model 3 Highland on the Horizon

In tandem with the grand unveiling of the Supercharging Station, Teslarati reported that Tesla Regional Director Isabel Fan hinted at the imminent arrival of the Tesla Model 3 Highland in Malaysia.

This eagerly awaited EV will make its debut at the newly opened Tesla Center in Cyberjaya, setting the stage for a new era of electric mobility in the country.

The Tesla Center in Malaysia serves as more than just a retail outlet. It provides a holistic customer experience, encompassing sales, service, delivery, and after-sales support.

The first deliveries of the Model 3 Highland are expected to commence late this year, according to Tesla Malaysia's order page.

For those interested in the Model 3 refresh, prices start at RM 189,000 (US$40,000) for the rear-wheel-drive variant, while the Dual-Motor Long Range version comes at RM 219,000 (US$46,300) before additional options.

Tesla Malaysia offers a range of paint choices, with white as the standard option, while black, blue, gray, and red come at varying additional costs.

Tesla Malaysia

Tesla's foray into the Malaysian market has not only created excitement among EV enthusiasts but is also seen as a catalyst for Malaysia's efforts to achieve net-zero carbon emissions and drive economic growth through high-skilled job creation.

With the opening of the Supercharging Station and the impending arrival of the Model 3 Highland, Malaysia's EV landscape is set for a transformative period.

Stay posted here at Tech Times.

Related Article: Ford Joins General Motors With Q3 Sales Surge Amid Ongoing Labor Strike

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In response to the rise in AI-generated political ads, two Democratic members of Congress, Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota and Rep. Yvette Clarke of New York, have written to Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and X CEO Linda Yaccarino, urging transparency and accountability.



The Thursday letter expresses "serious concerns" about AI-generated political advertisements on social media and requests an explanation of any risk mitigation measures. Legislators are concerned about the lack of openness surrounding this type of material and its ability to flood platforms with election-related disinformation as the 2024 US presidential elections approach.



In their letter, Klobuchar and Clarke urge social media sites to be proactive."With the 2024 elections quickly approaching, a lack of transparency about this type of content in political ads could lead to a dangerous deluge of election-related misinformation and disinformation across your platforms - where voters often turn to learn about candidates and issues," the US lawmakers wrote, as quoted by AP News.



At the same time that Klobuchar and Clarke are leading the campaign to regulate AI-generated political advertisements, pressure is being put on social media corporations.

Rep. Yvette Clarke has filed the DEEPFAKES Accountability Act, a legislative initiative intended to protect people against misleading digital information, such as deepfakes, which include deepfake political statements and nonconsensual deepfake pornography.

ABC News reported that the bill provides resources to prosecutors, regulators, and victims, including the use of detection technologies, to counter the threat that illicit deepfakes pose. Although Clarke's idea, first presented in 2019, attempts to address several deepfake-related challenges, it may run into problems due to content restrictions and possible First Amendment issues. The legislation's future in the House is still up in the air.

Deepfake Threatens Democracy



Intending to get it passed by the end of the year, Klobuchar is proposing companion legislation in the US Senate. Clear disclaimers will be included in AI-generated election advertising on Google's platforms starting in mid-November, as the company has previously promised. Contrarily, Meta does not yet have a particular policy addressing AI-generated political advertisements, while having one prohibiting "faked, manipulated, or transformed" audio and images that are used for disinformation.



Klobuchar and Republican Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri are among the co-sponsors of a bipartisan Senate measure prohibiting "materially deceptive" deepfakes about federal candidates, with exceptions for parody and satire.

Read Also: Grimes Files Lawsuit Against Elon Musk Over Parental Rights of Three Kids

Are Tech Companies Willing to Address Deepfakes Threats?

Both Republican and Democratic campaigns are already using AI-generated political advertisements to make their impact on the election scene in 2024. These advertisements, which frequently depict realistic-looking but made-up scenes, have sparked worries about their ability to mislead voters.



Klobuchar cited two examples, including Sen. Elizabeth Warren's deep-fake video and a Republican National Committee advertisement depicting a bleak future if President Joe Biden wins reelection. The legislators are pushing for rules to guarantee honesty and openness in political advertising during the forthcoming election.

The capacity of tech corporations to meet this emerging problem while upholding free speech principles is coming under greater scrutiny as the discussion over how to regulate AI-generated content in politics continues.

Bradley Tusk, a political strategist and the CEO of Tusk Venture Partners, asserts that because these platforms do not now have the incentives to do so, they may not be sufficiently ready to solve election-related deepfakes.



According to Tusk, the platforms have been unable and unwilling to stop the spread of damaging human-generated content. The spread of generative AI makes this issue progressively worse. "In fact, the incentives are virtually reversed - if someone creates a deepfake of Trump or Biden that ends up going viral, that's more engagement and eyeballs on that social media platform," he said, as quoted in a New York Post article.



Ari Cohn, an attorney with TechFreedom, stressed the First Amendment and said deepfakes have not yet misled voters. However, the Federal Election Commission has started a formal process to regulate AI-generated deepfakes in political advertisements, and a public comment period is now open through October 16.

Related Article: Meta Rolls Out New AI Tools for Facebook, Instagram Advertisers

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The Boston-based firm Atalan Tech secured $2.5 million in seed investment to predict physician fatigue and turnover using AI.

The timing of the Atalan Tech fundraising round is crucial because it coincides with an increase in doctor burnout in the post-pandemic era, which has caused personnel shortages and turnover in the healthcare sector.



Excelerate Health Ventures and OCA Ventures shared leadership of the investment round. A number of angel investors also took part in this fundraising project. The pre-money valuation of Atalan Tech is $3 million, according to company CEO Tiffany Chan, per Axios.



The funding will go toward advancing research and development projects, growing the company's science staff, and stepping up sales and marketing initiatives.

Helping Healthcare Professionals Address Burnout

The distinctive platform from Atalan Tech is intended to forecast and reduce burnout risks in healthcare environments. The platform analyzes over 100 factors associated with burnout and turnover using machine learning models to pull data from electronic health records (EHRs) and human resources information systems. This thorough research aids in the identification of important risk variables, including workplace control, flexibility, and obstacles to patient-facing workflow.



When risk factors are detected, Atalan Tech creates specialized treatments and solutions to deal with these problems. The business also assesses the efficacy and return on investment (ROI) of these efforts.



Atalan Tech now has collaborations with eight different health systems, but Chan has stated that she wants to increase that number to 15 by the end of the following year.

Read Also: Anxiety, Depression Linked to Early Multiple Sclerosis Signs, Research Shows



The platform from Atalan Tech is unique for its capacity to forecast clinician turnover up to a year in advance. With the help of these predictive capabilities, health systems can put effective burnout prevention measures in place with plenty of time to spare.



The platform analyzes patient acuity, volume, and appointment cancellations. The software can efficiently identify doctors who are at risk of burnout and turnover by assessing these variables.

Doctor Burnout in The US: A Grave Concern

In the US healthcare system, doctor burnout is a serious problem, with approximately 63% of doctors expressing symptoms including emotional tiredness and depersonalization on a weekly basis, according to the American Medical Association. Moreover, mistakes, suicidal thoughts, greater rates of alcohol addiction, and impaired patient care are all associated with burnout among doctors.



Burnout is typically caused by healthcare system inefficiencies, administrative costs, and growing regulatory and technological expectations. A 2019 National Academy of Medicine study highlighted the discrepancy between physicians' ideals and the healthcare industry's incentivization structure as a major cause of burnout.



Dr. Tait Shanafelt, an oncologist at Stanford University, who is a contributor to the study, emphasized the effect of paperwork and ineffective procedures on physicians' job satisfaction, adding that under such circumstances, once-positive features of their profession might become tainted.

"We cared about quality of patients' experience, building relationships with them, and then there were all these things we got paid for," the doctor said as quoted by The New York Times.

Related Article: Advanced Compression Socks: Elevating Health and Comfort for Diabetics and Beyond

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(Bloomberg) -- BlackRock Inc. is tapping the private credit market to launch a new fund that will offer one of the fastest growing ESG investment strategies in the US.

Most Read from Bloomberg

The Climate Transition-Oriented Private Debt Fund will become part of an investing platform at BlackRock that the asset manager says is worth more than $100 billion. It will be managed by a team of private debt investors together with sustainability and transition investing specialists from across the firm, according to an emailed statement on Thursday.

The strategy focuses on the transition to a low-carbon economy as one of several mega forces driving investment opportunities, James Keenan, chief investment officer and global head of private debt for BlackRock, said in the email.

Climate transition has emerged as one of the most popular ESG fund strategies in the US, having risen 304% in the 18 months through June, according to a recent Morningstar Inc. report. Such figures add some nuance to speculation around the extent to which political backlash against ESG is hobbling the investment strategy in the US.

Despite the political headwinds, more ESG funds are being launched than liquidated. Globally, 90 ESG funds were closed so far this year, but 253 were opened. Even in the US, 25 more ESG funds were created than were shuttered, according to data provided by Morningstar Direct.

BlackRock Chief Executive Officer Larry Fink has long warned of the need to drag private markets into the climate debate, amid concerns that high-emitting assets being divested by public firms were merely being transferred to the less transparent private market. While attending the COP26 climate summit in Glasgow, Fink dubbed this phenomenon the largest capital-market arbitrage in our lifetimes.

Story continues

Since then, there have been clear signs of a shift, with private debt investors increasingly looking to ESG as a new growth opportunity. Earlier this year, managers at Pemberton Capital Advisors, AlbaCore Capital Group and Intermediate Capital Group were among those touting the benefits of applying climate strategies to private credit.

Fund managers have been quick to embrace private credit strategies and profit from a continued reticence from banks to commit capital to risky borrowers. And with interest rates rising at a rapid clip in the past year, private credit funds have raked in bonanza profits.

BlackRock, which is the worlds largest asset manager, said its new climate transition fund responds to client demand for transition-oriented solutions.

According to a BlackRock survey of investors, 98% have set a transition investment objective for their portfolios and 75% of institutional investors indicated that they have net zero objectives.

The new fund will invest in mid-sized firms with carbon emissions reduction goals or companies providing climate solutions, according to Sonia Rocher, portfolio manager and sustainability investing lead for BlackRocks Global Private Debt platform.

It supports them in their carbon reporting and achievement of their roadmap to reduce emissions, she said. The intention is to offer investors all the benefits of a traditional private debt portfolio with the additional selectivity to consider the transition.

The new BlackRock fund will use a proprietary Climate Transition Rating Framework launched by the asset manager across its Global Private Debt platform, to focus borrower selection on companies at a variety of stages of transitioning to net zero emissions, the firm said.

Europe remains the biggest market for new climate funds, accounting for 84% of global assets. Chinas market share is 8%, while the US stands at 6%, according to Morningstar data.

(Adds context in which private credit is taking off in eighth paragraph.)

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BREVARD - A Vermont baking company recently formed a partnership with a food manufacturer and distributor in Brevard in order to provide more of its product to a wider range of customers.

According to a news release from TVS, King Arthur Baking Company based in Norwich, Vermont, has formed a partnership with TVS, which manufactures and packages dry food products for the U.S. military, for food pantries across the U.S. and for hungry children around the world.

A TVS employee holds one of King Arthur Baking Company's products recently at TVS in Brevard.

As a result of the partnership TVS now blends, fills, and packs a large variety of baking mixes and flour blends for King Arthur, including its gluten-free Measure for Measure Flour and 00 Pizza Flour, the release said. According to the release, when King Arthur Baking was searching for a co-manufacturer to meet rapidly increasing wholesalede mand for its gluten-free products, TVS stood out among the competition due to its ability to maintain King Arthurs quality standards and its alignment with the companys values as an employee-owned, founding B Corp.

We are thrilled to embark on this new journey alongside TVS, King Arthur Baking Company CEO Karen Colberg said in the release. From the pride they take in their work, to all that they do for their employees and community, we couldnt be more grateful to have them as our partner.

More: Cannabis-infused beverage hangout opening soon in Brevard

According to its website at https:\\tvsinc.org, TVS has been dedicated for 50 years to "enhancing the dignity and quality of life for people with disabilities and other barriers to employment." Beginning in 1967 as a day program for adults with developmental disabilities, TVS has grown to become one of the largest employers in Transylvania County.

As a 100% employee-owned company, King Arthur Baking has demonstrated a powerful commitment totheir employees, said TVS CEO Jamie Brandenburg in the news release. And, thanks to King Arthur, there are now dozens more individuals with significant disabilities and other barriers to employment working at TVS andreceiving a living wage. I cant say enough about what this relationship means to us and the impact thatKing Arthur Baking is making to everyone in our communities.

Story continues

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The partnership of King Arthur Baking Company and TVS is already creating a ripple of positive change within the community, the release said, starting with King Arthurs Bake for Good outreach program visiting the area in October to bring baking to the extended community of TVS employees. In addition to social impact programs, King Arthur strives to make planet-forward, people-positive business decisions in all that it does, including its commitment to source 100% regeneratively-grown wheat by 2030.

King Arthur Baking Company has been in business since 1790. It is headquartered in Norwich, Vermont, is a certified B Corp, 1% for the Planet member and 100% employee-owned. King Arthur's flours and mixes are available in supermarkets nationwide. For more information go to KingArthurBaking.com.

Dean Hensley is the news editor for the Hendersonville Times-News. Email him with tips, questions and comments at DHensley@gannett.com. Please help support this kind of local journalism with a subscription to the Hendersonville Times-News.

This article originally appeared on Hendersonville Times-News: Brevard's TVS forms partnership with Vermont's King Arthur Baking Co.
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At least three people were wounded on Wednesday in Massachusetts in a daytime shooting, including a pregnant woman whose baby subsequently died while being delivered, according to police.

Police were called to a shooting in the city of Holyoke at 12.38pm, according to officials, after a group of three men were involved in an altercation in the street.

The men fired more than six shots, witnesses told WWLP, striking at least three people, including the pregnant woman, who was on a bus.

I heard about eight shots. I was standing on the street, waiting on the bus, and I just heard pop, pop, pop, pop, then I saw one police coming down and then I saw about a thousand more come after that, Boyd McCray of Chicopee told WGGB.

She was rushed to hospital in critical condition, where she delivered her baby.

The infant, who was delivered, and needed life-saving medical services, tragically passed away, the Hampden District Attorneys Office told The Associated Press.

Police have arrested three men believed to have been involved in the shooting, the AP reports. They are receiving treatment in nearby hospitals and comprise the others wounded in the shooting, WBAL reports.

A shooting in Holyoke, Massachusetts, injured at multiple people, including a pregnant woman, on 4 October (Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)

There is not believed to be any ongoing threat to the public Massachusetts State Police spokesperson David Procopio told Western Mass News.

The Holyoke Police and Massachusetts State Police are investigating the incident.

I want to extend my deepest and sincerest condolences to the family, Holyoke mayor Joshua A Garcia wrote on Facebook on Wednesday. I want the public to know that I am equally outraged and frustrated with these senseless acts of violence and illegal activity on our streets. I struggle with it every day attempting to offer a balanced solution. Quite frankly, I have lost my patience. I plan to work with all resources available to me to push this nonsense out of our city. 

The citys ShotSpotter gunfire detection system has recorded 113 incidents in the last six months, 99 of which occured near a playground or school, according to officials.

I know one of the big factors people always think, Someone will call, I heard it, but someone else will call. Theyre not calling, Holyoke police Chief David Pratt said earlier in the day, before the shooting, encouraging residents to report instances of gun violence. Know that if thats the reason, call. Because we need the information. ShotSpotter is doing an amazing job getting us into the area, into the right area, of where we need to be. We need the public to help us with these calls to bring it home so that we can make arrests, we can recover evidence quicker.

Other cities nearby including Boston, Worcester, and Springfield have deployed the ShotSpotter system, which uses microphones to detect the location of gun shots.
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This summer, the US Supreme Court struck down President Joe Bidens ambitious plan to broadly cancel up to $20,000 in student loan debts for millions of borrowers.

In the wake of that decision, the president promised his administration would forge a new path for relief within the courts legal bounds while leveraging existing programmes to ease debt burdens for tens of thousands of eligible Americans.

On 4 October, the White House announced another batch of 125,000 borrowers are eligible for $9bn in debt relief through three existing programmes, just as millions of borrowers are resuming payments into student loan balances after the expiration of a three-year pandemic-era pause on repayments.

With his campaign-trail promise for wider relief blocked in the courts, the Biden administration has instead pursued a series of targeted relief measures, cancelling roughly $127bn for nearly 3.6 million borrowers as part of an effort to fix what the White House has called a broken system for loan forgiveness frustrating millions of people long after they graduated or dropped out.

That figure represents only a fraction of the millions of borrowers eligible for relief under the previous plan, and an even smaller fraction of the tens of billions of dollars in the nations student loan debt balance.

Meanwhile, more than 4 million people have already signed up for the administrations new repayment plan that promises to lower monthly bills, and the president has promised to use every tool at our disposal to help ease the burden of student debt so more Americans can be free to achieve their dreams, he said in remarks from the White House on 4 October.

That repayment plan programme, Saving on a Valuable Education, or SAVE, will also automatically enrol certain eligible borrowers who have fallen behind on repayments, acting as a safety net to prevent borrowers from defaulting.

And separately, the Education Department is still reviewing a course of action for mass relief through a rule-making process under the Higher Education Act, which will go through several rounds of hearings and public comments, months of negotiations with stakeholders and potential lawsuits and court challenges that will tie up future plans for debt cancellation in another round of months-long litigation.

Were committed to standing up for borrowers and making sure that student debt does not stop anyone from climbing the economic ladder and pursuing the American dream, Education Secretary Miguel Cardona said on 4 October.

President Joe Biden appears at the White House to address student loan relief on 4 October. (EPA)

The latest move cancels $5.2bn in debts for 53,000 borrowers through an existing programme for borrowers with public service jobs. The administration has repeatedly criticised the application of the Public Service Loan Forgiveness programme for poorly administering relief for eligible borrowers working in public service, including teaching, public health, law enforcement and other jobs.

Enforcement of the programme has delivered nearly $51bn in debt cancellation for roughly 715,000 eligible borrowers, according to the White House.

The administration also announced $2.8bn in new debt relief for 51,000 borrowers enrolled in income-driven repayment plans, impacting people who have made their loan payments for at least 20 years or more but were never granted the relief they were entitled to.

Another relief measure automatically discharged $1.2bn in federal student loan balances for nearly 22,000 borrowers with a total or permanent disability through a data match with the Social Security Administration. In all, nearly 513,000 eligible borrowers have had $11.7bn in debts automatically wiped out through the Social Security match, according to the White House.

The Biden administration has continued to hammer GOP officials and the Supreme Court for upending debt relief plans, when the money was literally about to go out the door, Mr Biden said on 4 October.

The decision from the nations high court ended up snatching from the hands of millions of Americans thousands of dollars in student debt relief that was about to change their lives, he said.

Mr Bidens initial plan would have wiped out balances for roughly 20 million federal student loan borrowers.

Borrowers who earned up to $125,000, or $250,000 for married couples, would be eligible for up to $10,000 of their federal student loans cancelled. Those borrowers would be eligible to receive up to $20,000 in relief if they received Pell grants, under the plan.

Roughly 16 million people had already submitted their applications and received approval for debt cancellation last year before the Supreme Court shot down the plan and sided with legal challenges from Republican officials in several states.

Debt relief advocates have welcomed the latest efforts from the White House and the US Department of Education to find solutions to cancelling debt balances amid a ballooning crisis, but they have argued there is still more work to be done, and fast.

Whats good about this: he is cancelling debt automatically without waiting for [negotiated rulemaking], no application, no way for SCOTUS to change the law, according to debt cancellation advocacy group and debtors union Debt Collective.

Whats bad about this: this is a tiny amount. He can cancel as much as he wants and hes choosing nickels [and] dimes, the group said.

Unlike the administrations wider plan to broadly cancel debts for millions of borrowers, a new repayment plan option that debuted this summer will become a permanent piece of the governments student loan framework.

The amount of debt taken out to support higher education costs has surged within the last decade, alongside growing tuition costs, increased private university enrollment, and dramatic cuts to higher education under Republican governments, putting the burden for such costs largely on students and their families.

Loan balances have skyrocketed to nearly $2 trillion, most of which is wrapped up in federal loans. Millions of Americans also continue to tackle accrued interest without being able to chip away at their principal balances.

The Supreme Courts decision required a swift response from the White House, Natalia Abrams, president of the Student Debt Crisis Center, said in a statement at the time. The president possesses the power, and must summon the will, to secure the essential relief that families across the nation desperately need, she said.

History has shown us that bold decisions and transformative policies are often met with initial resistance, the organisations executive director Cody Hounanian added. We now look to President Biden to deliver on his promise by cancelling student debt using other powers available to him.
Invite a species into your home with a lifelike symbolic adoption from WWF-Canada and help protect real-life species and their homes in the wild.

TORONTO, Oct. 5, 2023 /CNW/ - Have you ever wanted to cuddle up with a warm and shaggy muskox in the winter or admire the bond between an emperor penguin and its fuzzy chick? This holiday season, families can bring wildlife home by symbolically adopting a species with WWF-Canada. Each adoption kit supports conservation efforts that help conserve real-life species and their habitats in the wild.

Symbolically adopt a flamboyant flamingo. Your plush purchase helps this long-legged species and other thrive! Our plush features the distinctively pink plumage feathers, long neck and characteristically down-turned bill that make flamingos so easy to spot. It also features webbed feet that they use to swim, stir up food and run on water before lifting off into the sky. (CNW Group/World Wildlife Fund Canada)

Designed with the help of species experts, each realistic plush adoption incorporates true-to-life features and comes with a fact-filled poster so recipients can forge an even closer connection to the wildlife they love. For example, our brand-new American flamingo adoption shares the same distinctive pink feathers, stilt-like legs, long neck and characteristically downturned bill that make flamingos so easy to spot in the wild. And did you know, a group of flamingos is called a flamboyance?

The fluffy eastern cottontail rabbit, ice-aged muskox and precious emperor penguin family are also joining WWF-Canada's symbolic adoptions family just in time for the holidays. Infants and toddlers can monkey around with Mago Monkey, our latest super-soft plush adoption made for the littlest wildlife lovers.

Shoppers can also choose from popular returning animals such as the African elephants, hippopotamuses, snow leopards, tigers, giant pandas and reindeer. Check out our complete collection of more than 45 species at wwf.ca/shop.

Each adoption kit also includes a:

high-quality plush designed with species experts

personalized adoption certificate

educational poster with information about the species and the conservation work the gift supports.

reusable tote bag

Other ways to bring wildlife home:

Adoption kit bundles: Save up to 20 per cent off popular species and get free shipping with our bundle options. This is a great way to buy for a herd or complete a collection.

Wildlife-inspired apparel: Recipients can wear their love of wildlife proudly with WWF's classic logo tees and hoodies. Made from organic cotton and recycled materials, all net proceeds help us take on the biggest challenges facing species and our planet.

Outdoor accessories: WWF branded mittens, hats, scarves, and a travel backpack made from 100% post-consumer recycled plastic bottles are meaningful gifts for anyone who loves to hike, travel and explore Canadian nature year-long.

Virtual gifts of wildlife: A gift and donation in one, virtual gifts are sent right to their inbox and support a vital conservation project of your choice. Perfect for last-minute gifts and the person who has it all!

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How to order

Visit wwf.ca/shop or call 1-800-26-PANDA. All deliveries are guaranteed in time for the holidays if ordered by Dec. 12 (Dec. 11 for rural areas). Priority options are available, and shipping is free with the purchase of two or more adoptions kits (or orders of $90 or more) to the same Canadian address.

Click here for multimedia files for public distribution.

About WWF-Canada (wwf.ca):

WWF-Canada is committed to equitable and effective conservation actions that restore nature, reverse wildlife loss and fight climate change. We draw on scientific analysis and Indigenous guidance to ensure all our efforts connect to a single goal: a future where wildlife, nature and people thrive.

Invite this ice-age survivor into your home  with our true-to-life muskox plush. Our plush includes this distinctive feature, unique to the muskox, as well as their dark shaggy hair, hump between their shoulders and large hooves. (CNW Group/World Wildlife Fund Canada)

Your sym-bunn-ic adoption of an eastern cottontail rabbit plush will help the wide-ranging habitats of this sweet little species thrive! Our plush design includes the distinctive features of the eastern cottontail rabbit: large hind feet, long upright ears, prominent eyes and, of course, its cotton ball-like tail. (CNW Group/World Wildlife Fund Canada)

Bring wildlife home with five new species to adopt: an emperor penguin family, flamingo, eastern cottontail rabbit, muskox and Mago Monkey (for infants). (CNW Group/World Wildlife Fund Canada)

SOURCE World Wildlife Fund Canada

Cision

View original content to download multimedia: http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/October2023/05/c1333.html
John Schroder, Sharon Hewitt, Stephen Waguespack, Hunter Lundy and Shawn Wilson take part in the first televised debate of the Louisiana governorOs race at the WWL-TV Studios in New Orleans, Thursday, Sept. 7, 2023. The debate was sponsored by the Advocate, WWL, WBRZ, KATC, KBTS, PAR and Urban League. (Pool Photo by Sophia Germer)
Generally speaking long term investing is the way to go. But along the way some stocks are going to perform badly. Zooming in on an example, the Brookdale Senior Living Inc. (NYSE:BKD) share price dropped 58% in the last half decade. That's not a lot of fun for true believers. Furthermore, it's down 13% in about a quarter. That's not much fun for holders.

Given the past week has been tough on shareholders, let's investigate the fundamentals and see what we can learn.

See our latest analysis for Brookdale Senior Living

Brookdale Senior Living isn't currently profitable, so most analysts would look to revenue growth to get an idea of how fast the underlying business is growing. Shareholders of unprofitable companies usually expect strong revenue growth. Some companies are willing to postpone profitability to grow revenue faster, but in that case one does expect good top-line growth.

Over half a decade Brookdale Senior Living reduced its trailing twelve month revenue by 6.5% for each year. While far from catastrophic that is not good. The share price decline of 10% compound, over five years, is understandable given the company is losing money, and revenue is moving in the wrong direction. The chance of imminent investor enthusiasm for this stock seems slimmer than Louise Brooks. Ultimately, it may be worth watching - should revenue pick up, the share price might follow.

You can see how earnings and revenue have changed over time in the image below (click on the chart to see the exact values).

We consider it positive that insiders have made significant purchases in the last year. Having said that, most people consider earnings and revenue growth trends to be a more meaningful guide to the business. This free report showing analyst forecasts should help you form a view on Brookdale Senior Living

A Different Perspective

Brookdale Senior Living shareholders are down 7.7% for the year, but the market itself is up 12%. However, keep in mind that even the best stocks will sometimes underperform the market over a twelve month period. Unfortunately, longer term shareholders are suffering worse, given the loss of 10% doled out over the last five years. We would want clear information suggesting the company will grow, before taking the view that the share price will stabilize. It's always interesting to track share price performance over the longer term. But to understand Brookdale Senior Living better, we need to consider many other factors. Even so, be aware that Brookdale Senior Living is showing 3 warning signs in our investment analysis , and 1 of those is potentially serious...

Story continues

There are plenty of other companies that have insiders buying up shares. You probably do not want to miss this free list of growing companies that insiders are buying.

Please note, the market returns quoted in this article reflect the market weighted average returns of stocks that currently trade on American exchanges.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.



This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.
Seventeen African countries and colonies contributed to defeating Nazi Germany and its allies during World War II, ranging from providing troops and resources to active involvement in military campaigns.

Africa Helped to Defeat Nazis During World War II

African Countries During World War II Who Helped To Defeat Nazi Germany

During World War II, African nationals from seventeen African colonies and nations actively participated in the fight against Nazi occupation as part of the Free French Forces under the leadership of General Charles de Gaulle.

These individuals made remarkable contributions to the Allied effort, demonstrating exceptional valor and unwavering dedication. Notably, some were honored with the Cross of the Liberation or the Croix de la Liberation and other distinctions for their contributions.

The Cross of the Liberation Croix de la Liberation is a prestigious military decoration awarded by France. It was established during World War II to honor individuals who made significant contributions to the liberation of France from Nazi occupation.

Although their specific names may not be widely documented, Africans also joined the ranks of the French forces, contributing to the collective effort against Nazi occupation.

During World War II, seventeen African countries and colonies, encompassing both those under colonial rule and independent nations, actively participated in the global struggle against Nazi Germany and its allies.

Algeria, a French colony, deployed its troops as an integral part of the French forces combating the Axis powers.

Similarly, Morocco, another French colony, contributed its forces in conjunction with French units across several campaigns.

Tunisia, yet another French colony, emerged as a pivotal theater in the North African campaign, with combined efforts from French and British forces countering Axis aggression.

Senegal, a French colony, made substantial contributions by providing troops to the French army, with the renowned Senegalese Tirailleurs distinguishing themselves for their courage on the battlefield.

Nigeria was a key contributor, offering both troops and resources to bolster the British war effort. The Gold Coast, now known as Ghana, likewise extended support to the British cause, playing a vital role in the conflict. Kenyan troops, drawn from another British colony, participated in various theaters of war, including North Africa.

South Africa featured prominently in multiple campaigns, including North Africa. While not directly involved, the independent nation of Liberia declared war on Germany in 1944 and contributed to the broader Allied war effort. In the Middle East, Egypt, acting as a British protectorate, held significant strategic importance during the North African campaign.

Sudan, another British colony, offered vital support to the Allied war effort. Moving to Central Africa, Chad and Cameroon, both French colonies, supplied troops and played crucial roles in North African campaigns as well as the liberation of France.

The federation of French colonies, French Equatorial Africa, which included territories like Chad, Cameroon, Gabon, and Congo, also actively participated in the war effort.

During World War II, seventeen African countries and colonies played a significant role in the Allied effort to defeat Nazi Germany and its allies. They contributed in many ways, including providing troops and resources, as well as actively participating in military campaigns to assist in defeating Nazis in Germany and its allies.




One of the most important developments in economics is something in which economists had no hand: the identification of the environmental limits which humans, busily producing and consuming, cross at their peril.

Earth has existed for about 4 billion years and humans have lived on Earth for about 200,000 years. For almost all of that time we were hunters and gatherers, but 10,000 to 12,000 years ago we settled down, to farm and create civilisation.

Credit:

Its probably no coincidence that, for about that time, Earth has enjoyed a stable climate, with no more ice ages nor period of great heat, in which palms grew in Antarctica. This is the geological epoch called the Holocene, in which we live  although it may be ruled that weve moved to the Anthropocene, a new epoch in which the human species has made major alterations to the planet.

In its modern form, economics can be dated to 1776, when Adam Smith published The Wealth of Nations. Beliefs about how the economy works were well-defined by the time Alfred Marshall published Principles of Economics in 1890.
Orwell would roll in his grave. No, forget that. Orwell has been spinning like a rotisserie since he left us, this latest trend only seeing the poor sod gather revs. I speak of the Orwellification of English, or anything-ification for that matter, as more writers fall for the suffix.

Isolating the origin is tricky. Legit examples litter English, of course, from the justification of a cause, the identification of a culprit. Yet tracing the linguistic culprit, the day the suffix went rogue, is a goose chase. Suspects include the postcode yelp about a suburbs gentrification, seeing such proletariat Tigerlands as Balmain or Richmond, say, cop a bougie makeover.

Californication is the other smoking gun, officially debuting in 1966. Back then, a Time article captured the east-coast angst of Hollywood fakery crossing the continent, the onset of day spas and plastic surgeons threatening to implant the LA superficiality. In 1999, the Red Hot Chili Peppers popularised the slang with both album and single, as did the carnal comedy a few years later.

Cant stop, wont stop with the suffixes! Credit: Jo Gay

Regardless the trigger, the trend has accelerated. You only need browse the placards of a Byron Bay action group, griping about the Gold Coastification of their sacred patch. Or register the alarm in such headlines as the Marvel-ification of cinema, the Trumpification of democracy, the woke-ification of comedy.
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Review Eating outMelbourne Take a quick trip to Lisbon (via London) for a killer sandwich without leaving Melbourne Exciting concept cafe Square One Rialto showcases dishes from 10 top chefs, and goes back to square one every season. Dani Valent October 6, 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 featured in the November hit list. See all stories .

1 / 7 Square One Rialto is a sleek, spacious cafe on a prominent Collins Street corner. Bonnie Savage 2 / 7 Messy and marvellous: The bifana (Portuguese pork sandwich) from chef Nuno Mendes of Lisboeta in London. Bonnie Savage 3 / 7 Ube waffle from Sydney-based Kiln chef Mitch Orr. Bonnie Savage 4 / 7 Lee Ho Fook chef Victor Liongs lamb pancake. Bonnie Savage 5 / 7 Tom Sarafians cheese and greens borek. Bonnie Savage 6 / 7 Greasy Zoes crumbed lions mane schnitzel. Bonnie Savage 7 / 7 Square One Rialtos atrium-style interior features a mezzanine. Bonnie Savage Previous Slide Next Slide 14 / 20 How we score Contemporary$$$ What if I told you it would only take one day to eat at half a dozen top Melbourne and Sydney restaurants, take a quick trip to London for a killer sandwich and then zip to the Mornington Peninsula for rice pudding? No, I havent invented teleportation: all Ive done is introduce you to a new cafe with a unique concept. Square One Rialto showcases dishes from 10 top chefs on an all-day menu that will change every season. The spring offering starts with a vegie platter ($19) by salad queen Frankie Cox from Richmonds Green-On, jaunts to Sydney for a beetroot tart ($19) by Jemma Whiteman, chef at Newtowns Ante, and finishes in Londons Lisboeta restaurant with a messy and marvellous bifana (pork sandwich; $19) from Portuguese chef Nuno Mendes. Feel like something more familiar? A house menu works as a please-all-comers adjunct, covering off easy stuff such as chia pudding ($18), and eggs with extras.

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Thats exciting enough  brunch menus can be staid and a built-in refresh means there will always be reasons to return (also, so many restaurants, so little time)  but theres more underpinning this sleek, spacious cafe. Eat cake and carry on at Melbournes 40 best cafes of 2023 When the 80-seat atrium opened in August, it became the newest business from Mulberry Group, which also owns wine den Lilac in Cremorne, elegant restaurant Hazel and cocktail dive Dessous (both in Flinders Lane), plus art-lovers lunch lounge Heide Kitchen. The spiritual home of the group isnt in Melbourne, though: its at Common Ground Project, a farm to the west, just past Geelong. Common Ground grows food without using chemical fertilisers and sells it to Mulberry Group restaurants, with 10 per cent of profits from the eateries returned to the farm, which has numerous community-building initiatives. Vegetable boxes are picked and packed for householders and women facing barriers to employment become skilled and confident at producing meals for food relief (80 per cent of participants have found other jobs). Theres corporate volunteering and school tours, a cafe, and workshops on aligned activities, such as beeswax candle-making.

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Square Ones relationship with the farm is central, as guest chefs conceive their dishes around harvests and the cafes recipes will be shared in a cookbook, proceeds of which will go back to  youve guessed it  the farm. Dishes from 10 top chefs are showcased on an all-day menu that will change every season. Ecosystems may not be the first thing that comes to mind as you bring your hungry belly to Collins Street, but Square One foregrounds these connections, possibilities and ethics without shoving worthiness down your throat. If you want to come for a flat white and a chat about a flatlining share portfolio, no one will look askance: your $5 coffee is going to help, whether you care or not. Your food spend will help even more. Go-to dish: Zoe Birchs crumbed lions mane schnitzel. Bonnie Savage Chances are, youll never go to Greasy Zoes in Hurstbridge. The two-hat restaurant has eight seats and is only open four times a week, but bookings are snapped up by dedicated foodies willing to spend $175 on dinner.

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The good news is that you can come here to eat chef Zoe Birchs excellent mushroom schnitzel ($24). Made from a shaggy slab of crumbed, fried lions mane fungus, its served alongside other grilled mushrooms over creamy macadamia hummus and green garlic oil. Its tasty, satisfying and not a million miles from her fine-dining food. Tom Sarafians borek. Bonnie Savage Im a fan of local chef Tom Sarafian (ex-Bar Saracen), whos currently without a permanent restaurant. So it suits me that his wholesome and hearty borek  golden wafers of filo pastry sandwich rough-chopped greens and goat feta, with more greens and pickles on the side ($23)  is in residence here. Victor Liongs cumin lamb pancake ($24) is many things: a spicy Lanzhou classic, a reminder to visit his restaurant Lee Ho Fook, and an illustration of more ancillary benefits of the Square One project. Executive chef Scott Eddington tells me Liong spent a day in the kitchen here showing staff how to prepare the dough for this savoury pastry. Its skill-building that also forges connections in an industry characterised by dedicated chefs chipping away at their own kitchen coalfaces.

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Victor Liongs lamb pancake. Bonnie Savage Square One Rialto is a vote of confidence in the CBDs patchy COVID-19 recovery. This corner space launched as the Mercedes Me concept store and cafe in 2017, died at the start of the pandemic and has been sitting sad and empty. Commuter cafes are still struggling  Pope Joan and Babajan at the top end of the CBD both closed recently  so its nice to see a drawcard business feeding money and heart back into the city centre. The low-down Vibe: Upbeat concept cafe with a conscience Go-to dish: Crumbed lions mane schnitzel ($24) Drinks: Satisfying espresso and filter coffee by sister outfit Square One Roasters, which sources ethically. Short, all-Victorian wine list Cost: Around $25 per person, excluding drinks This review was originally published in Good Weekend magazine Dont make this at home: Heres whats trending on Melbourne cafe menus in 2023

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Eating outGood Food Guide 2024 And the finalists for the SMH Good Food Guide New Restaurant of the Year are... The full list of The SMH Good Food Guides New Restaurant of the Year finalists, revealed (and three of them are in the former ghost town). Bianca Hrovat October 5, 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

A boom in restaurant, bar and cafe openings around Circular Quay has transformed the harbour-side area into one of the hottest drinking and dining destinations in Sydney. Three recent additions from the area are today announced as finalists in the Aurum Poultry Co. New Restaurant of the Year award, in the run-up to the release of The Sydney Morning Herald Good Food Guide 2024. The finalists are Brasserie 1930, Clam Bar and Bistro George, and they are among more than 40 venues to open between Bent Street and the Circular Quay station this year. New York-style steakhouse from the Pellegrino 2000 and Bistrot 916 team. Jennifer Soo The past three months have been particularly busy, with the opening of Pearl (a modern Cantonese restaurant from the Lotus Dining Group); Martinez (a Mediterranean-inspired rooftop bar and restaurant), Bar Messenger (a hidden cocktail bar); and Bar Besuto (a Japanese whisky bar), among others.

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Circular Quay has always had a handful of really lovely restaurants, but over the past year, its gone from  being a ghost town to being one of the most vibrant spots in Sydney, says Clam Bar co-owner Andy Tyson. New York-style steakhouse Clam Bar opened on the border of Circular Quay in May, and is consistently booked out at peak service times. The sixth coming of Malay-Chinese Noodle Bar, this time in Circular Quay. Jennifer Soo Hospitality operators say increased development and investment in the area play a critical role in attracting culinary talent. The opening of the Quay Quarter Lane precinct last year saw 22 new eateries open, while neighbouring Sydney Place is expected to welcome more than 15. They include several budget-conscious options such as Malay Chinese, Kostas Takeaway and Marrickville Pork Roll.

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I really believe in that location, says restaurateur Maurice Terzini (Icebergs Dining Room and Bar), who partnered with Lendlease and new hospitality group DTLE to open Jacksons on George in September. Bistro George at Jacksons on George. Edwina Pickles The Bentley Restaurant Group was drawn to the area by the $300 million development of high-end hotel Capella Sydney on Loftus Street, the first of its kind in Australia. They opened the elegant French restaurant Brasserie 1930 on the ground floor in March. We werent looking in that northern part of the city but  Capella ticked all the boxes, says head sommelier and co-owner Nick Hildebrandt. Over the past five years it had been a bit of a dead zone, but its sprung back to life  as soon as it hits lunchtime or 5pm the streets are buzzing.

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Head chef Brent Savage at Brasserie 1930. Ben Symons Return-to-office mandates are having a significant impact on daytime trade in the area, says Tyson. Big Four accounting and advisory firm Deloitte relocated its Australian headquarters to Circular Quay earlier this year, joining AMP, Salesforce and JLL Australia. We couldnt do it unless we had that city crowd coming in every day, Tyson says. Thats what makes the top end of the city different from everywhere else. And on weekends, theres a fortunate onslaught of tourists, says Terzini. By 2041, the number of visitors to Circular Quay are predicted to increase by more than 40 per cent, following state government investment to breathe new life into the waterfront area.

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The striking new face of Jacksons on George. Tom Ferguson Late night trade, however, remains an uphill battle. At Jacksons on George there are plans for live jazz bands freestyle jamming until the early hours, and talks of dinner-table-dance parties. Sydney definitely has a lockout hangover, says Terzini, who secured a 2am licence for the venue. We lost so much, over so many years, and well have to figure out how late night will work again in the city. Its challenging, but its exciting.

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Aurum Poultry Co. New Restaurant of the Year finalists Clockwise from top left: Clams casino, crumpets and Ora King salmon gravalax at Bistro George in Sydney. Edwina Pickles Bistro George Sandwiched in the middle of born-again pub Jacksons on George is Bistro George, defined by creative director Maurice Terzini as a love letter to Sydney. Chef Steven Sinclair creates European-inspired bistro dishes, kicking off with salmon gravlax crumpets and clams casino, and winding down with the nostalgia-triggering charm of a chocolate after-dinner mint. Level 1, 176 George Street, Sydney, jacksonsongeorge.com.au

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The mahogany-wrapped Clam Bar site was previously home to The Bridge Room. Jennifer Soo Clam Bar A Manhattan-inspired steakhouse from the team behind Bistrot 916 and Pellegrino 2000, Clam Bar is gussied up with modest chandeliers, timber booths and vintage Heinz posters. Few dining rooms are as cosy and slick, and few lamb dishes are more rewarding than Clams Barnsley chop, rich and grassy and juicier than a New York Post gossip column. 44 Bridge Street, Sydney, clambarsydney.com Flinders Island scallop, brown butter, finger lime at Brasserie 1930. James Brickwood

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Brasserie 1930 As if Sydneys newest luxury hotel, Capella Sydney, wasnt enough of a drawcard, its collaboration with the Bentley Restaurant Groups Brent Savage and Nick Hildebrandt has created one of our most elegant dining rooms. Savage calls it brasserie food with an Australian spin. The kitchen shows restraint and refinement in equal measure, yet delivers on flavour, texture, contrast and surprise. 2-4 Farrer Place, Sydney, capellahotels.com Raja restaurant in Potts Point. Jennifer Soo Raja

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Raja is nothing like other Indian restaurants around town. Co-owners Nick and Kirk Mathews-Bowden have enlisted Ahana Dutt to lead the kitchen, and the former Firedoor chef is on a mission to introduce more Sydneysiders to the tapestry of spices, genres and styles that is Indian cuisine beyond butter chicken and naan. 1A Kellett Street, Potts Point, raja.sydney Fish in crazy water at Such and Such. Supplied Such and Such Restaurateurs Dash Rumble and Ross McQuinn opened two-hatted Pilot with chef Malcolm Hanslow in 2018, dazzling Canberra with an exceptional tasting menu. Smart-casual Such and Such is their second venture, offering a la carte menu for snacks and cracking wine, or a longer play featuring duck crown heightened with quince and fish-sauce caramel. Yum.

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220 London Circuit, Canberra, andsuchandsuch.com Coral trout for two at Petermen in St Leonards. Josh Niland Petermen Josh and Julie Niland want us to eat more fish, so there isnt a skerrick of meat on the menu of their blond, minimalist, North Shore bistro. Instead, fish is treated as if it were meat, transforming into chateaubriand and crackling. A dining experience that will have you thinking and talking, as well as eating. 66 Chandos Street, St Leonards, petermen.com.au The winners of The Sydney Morning Herald Good Food Guide 2024 Awards will be announced on October 23, presented by Vittoria Coffee and Oceania Cruises. The Sydney Morning Herald Good Food Guide 2024 will be on sale from October 24, featuring more than 450 NSW and ACT venues, from three-hatted fine-diners, to suburban wine bars, regional chicken shops and food-court icons. Venues listed in the Guide are visited anonymously by professional restaurant critics, who review independently. Venues are chosen at our discretion.

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Runways for the closing shows of Paris Fashion Week were flooded with bikinis and board shorts, made for the safety of Brisbane banana lounges rather than the rough waves of Bondi and Portsea.

Pearl belts encircling classic pink one pieces at Chanel, bold boardies worn with blazers at Miu Miu and stuffed bikinis by Dutch designer Duran Lantink felt more Queensland than a glass of rose with ice cubes.

This was not the stretchy attire of Gold Coast Meter Maids or surf shop bargains seen at schoolies but luxury lycra glimpsed through towelling robes at Brisbanes Calile Hotel.

Anything goes by the pool at The Calile Hotel and you see it all, says Catherine Malouf, communications manager for the family business Calile Malouf Investments, which opened the hotel in 2018. There are fabulous flowy silks, relaxed linens, very naughty bikinis, colourful bucket hats and always fabulous sunglasses.
Were connoisseurs, here at CBD, of a fiery annual general meeting, and we reckon that Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand (CA ANZ)  one of three professional bodies for the nations bean counters  might have a wild one in a couple of weeks.

Nobody paid much mind last Monday when the not-for-profit group lived well beyond that description, publishing its FY23 financials featuring a $13 million loss, quite an effort for the people who are meant to be good with money. A $10 million asset write-down didnt help, in fairness.

But things took a twist this week when one of the CA ANZs 136,000 members, Brisbane accountant Jason Andrew, took to LinkedIn  where you come for the networking and stay for the fighting  to roast the organisations financial management.

Andrew clearly hit a nerve as a bunch of other professionals piled onto the site with their own criticisms, some of them even invoking the dreaded name of Alex Malley, the former CEO of rival outfit Chartered Practising Accountants - who was sacked in 2017 and later stripped of life membership of the organisation.
Sydney Morning Herald and the Age photographer Justin McManus has just sent through photos from the Now & Forever concert, which is currently being held at Shepparton in northern Victoria.

Rapper, writer and activist Briggs started planning the October 6 Now & Forever concert in support of the Yes campaign a month ago.

You can read more about how the festival came about here.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is in attendance and addressed the crowd this afternoon, thanking Briggs for putting on the really important festival.

Together, this can be a moment of national unity if we vote Yes. So, in eight days time, what way are you going to vote? Lets get this done, Australia, he said.

Take a look at the photos of the festival below:
Well, I didnt expect audits. I can honestly say theres almost nothing about the Voice referendum that has surprised me: the fact Yes is in a losing position, the torrents of scurrilous arguments and misinformation on social media, or that it has now descended into a culture war in which so many politicians and pundits play predetermined roles. But the Coalition pledging to launch an audit of government spending on Indigenous Australians? Clearly, I lack the imagination for politics.

Consider the implications. An audit is something you launch looking for fraud or malfeasance. At its mildest, you might be searching for waste. Certainly, these are all possibilities with government spending. A well executed audit might even uncover deeply systemic problems with how spending decisions are made. But suppose it does. Which system will have been shown to have been so flawed?

Opposition Leader Peter Dutton is calling for an audit into Indigenous government spending. Credit: Kate Geraghty

The answer, inescapably, is the current one. The system that has government making decisions by whatever mechanisms currently exist. The system over which the Coalition itself presided most recently for nine years. The exact system that a No vote would preserve. The system is broken is the argument you make for change, not for the status quo. And for whatever reason you might support it, a No vote simply delivers the status quo.

Is the Coalition ultimately happy with the status quo? Not officially, given its repeated acceptance that our Closing the Gap figures are unacceptable. Of course, that doesnt mean its obliged to support a Yes vote  its possible to want change but believe the Voice isnt the right version of it. But if Peter Dutton and Co want to walk this line, if they want to attack the Voice and the status quo at the same time, they owe us an alternative. And here, things get somewhat murky. Theres some reasonable-sounding rhetoric about the need for local community input  an entirely achievable thing via the Voice, by the way  but no clear vision of what that would look like. To borrow a phrase: give us the detail.
Value-focused investors are always on the hunt for stocks that are priced below their intrinsic value. One such stock that merits attention is BRP Group Inc (NASDAQ:BRP). The stock, which is currently priced at $23.16, recorded a gain of 4.7% in a day and a 3-month decrease of 4.49%. The stock's fair valuation is $48.24, as indicated by its GF Value.

Understanding the GF Value

The GF Value represents the current intrinsic value of a stock derived from our exclusive method. The GF Value Line on our summary page gives an overview of the fair value that the stock should be traded at. It is calculated based on three factors: historical multiples that the stock has traded at, GuruFocus adjustment factor based on the company's past returns and growth, and future estimates of the business performance.

We believe the GF Value Line is the fair value that the stock should be traded at. The stock price will most likely fluctuate around the GF Value Line. If the stock price is significantly above the GF Value Line, it is overvalued and its future return is likely to be poor. On the other hand, if it is significantly below the GF Value Line, its future return will likely be higher.

Is BRP Group (BRP) Too Good to Be True? A Comprehensive Analysis of a Potential Value Trap

BRP Group: A Potential Value Trap?

However, investors need to consider a more in-depth analysis before making an investment decision. Despite its seemingly attractive valuation, certain risk factors associated with BRP Group should not be ignored. These risks are primarily reflected through its low Altman Z-score of 0.55. These indicators suggest that BRP Group, despite its apparent undervaluation, might be a potential value trap. This complexity underlines the importance of thorough due diligence in investment decision-making.

Understanding the Altman Z-Score

Before delving into the details, let's understand what the Altman Z-score entails. Invented by New York University Professor Edward I. Altman in 1968, the Z-Score is a financial model that predicts the probability of a company entering bankruptcy within a two-year time frame. The Altman Z-Score combines five different financial ratios, each weighted to create a final score. A score below 1.8 suggests a high likelihood of financial distress, while a score above 3 indicates a low risk.

Story continues

An Overview of BRP Group Inc

BRP Group Inc is a United States-based insurance distribution firm. Its products include commercial property and casualty, or P&C, insurance, employee benefits insurance and personal lines insurance. The company operates its business through four segments including Middle Market, Specialty, Mainstreet, and Medicare. It generates maximum revenue from the Middle Market segment.

Is BRP Group (BRP) Too Good to Be True? A Comprehensive Analysis of a Potential Value Trap

Exploring BRP Group's Low Altman Z-Score

A dissection of BRP Group's Altman Z-score reveals BRP Group's financial health may be weak, suggesting possible financial distress:

Operational Efficiency: The Importance of Asset Turnover

When it comes to operational efficiency, a vital indicator for BRP Group is its asset turnover. The data: 2021: 0.32; 2022: 0.29; 2023: 0.33 from the past three years suggests a decreasing trend in this ratio. The asset turnover ratio reflects how effectively a company is using its assets to generate sales. Therefore, a drop in this ratio can signify reduced operational efficiency, potentially due to underutilization of assets or decreased market demand for the company's products or services. This shift in BRP Group's asset turnover underlines the need for the company to reassess its operational strategies to optimize asset usage and boost sales.

Conclusion: Navigating the Value Trap

Despite the seemingly attractive valuation of BRP Group's stocks, the company's low Altman Z-Score and declining asset turnover indicate potential financial distress and operational inefficiency. These factors suggest that BRP Group might be a potential value trap. Therefore, investors should exercise caution and conduct thorough due diligence before making an investment decision.

GuruFocus Premium members can find stocks with high Altman Z-Score using the following Screener: Walter Schloss Screen .

This article first appeared on GuruFocus.


The more people in the household the more has to be discussed, Mitchell said. I dont think theyre natural conversations to have. Generally when making new friends you dont get straight into what time do you wake up  people may just skip over them, but it can cause conflict down the track. Some renters join up with friends to move in, others form a new share house with strangers. Credit: Chris Hopkins Young people moving out of home might think that theyre looking for someone fun ... and think I should exaggerate my personality. Thats wrong, theyre looking for someone with normal behaviour and values and someone they can trust, someone with a sense of maturity.

Loading Doing the paperwork Once youve found a home, you will usually need to sign a lease. Its typically better to do so  it gives you some legal protection if things go wrong with your housemates or landlord. Being added to the lease  which in some states can attract a fee from the agency  will also mean your share of the existing bond will be transferred into your name with the states residential tenancies authority. When this is done, ensure you get a copy of the receipt. If you havent signed onto the lease and have paid a bond to a previous tenant, ensure you get a copy of the transaction receipt, just in case.

Legally your bond is meant to be deposited, Mitchell said. There needs to be a paper trail of your rent that you can fall back on if anything goes wrong. If youre paying bond and rent as cash, you should get a receipt from that. Some landlords may add their own terms, but Tenants Victoria lead community education lawyer Ben Cording said it was worth checking if they were legally enforceable. He has seen tenants forced into signing agreements to use third-party payment services, or to keep paying rent after breaking a lease until a new tenant is found.

If the terms are inconsistent with the law, [a landlord] wont be able to enforce it, he said. Paying the bills Bills such as electricity, internet or water are typically split equally. If the shares of the bills  even rent  need to be adjusted at any point, it could be time to call a house meeting. Some may ask to only pay the share of the bill theyre responsible for, for example, if they were overseas for a few months. Apps such as SplitWise and Beem offer a bill-splitting functionality that can make it easier to keep track of who owes what to whom. You can get some help when it comes to splitting rent through online calculators, which allow you to put in all the details of the rooms and home to reach a reasonably objective split. SplitWise also has this functionality.

Loading Living with others A shared house means shared chores. Its common to create a roster to divide up tasks, but its not unheard of for there to be other arrangements. Sharing fridge and pantry space is another thing to consider. Some houses like to allocate one shelf per person, others share the space, and some even share pantry staples or meals. Tenants will usually need to sign a lease. Credit: Peter Rae

Its always best to have a conversation about what the arrangements for both food and chores will be to avoid conflict. However, it is common for conflict to come up in a sharehouse, Mitchell said. Inconsiderate behaviour is an issue that often comes up, he said. People leaving the kitchen messy  being noisy at inappropriate times, hogging the bathroom, bringing friends or strangers home unannounced  inappropriate behaviour, maybe not being clothed sufficiently   Mitchell recommended talking through issues early, to avoid allowing ill feelings to fester. Landlords and property managers It is likely that share house tenants will have contact with the landlord or property manager at some stage.

Loading Whether its to fix a leaky tap or renew a lease, there are times when getting in touch with a landlord or property manager can be stressful. Cording said it was important to make sure everyone in the house was on the same page and to keep a record of conversations with the property manager and landlord. You need to make decisions as a household. Work out what you want to do, he said. Do it in writing is the biggest thing, and tell everyone whats going on. Property managers tend to look after hundreds of rental properties so in some cases can be slow to respond.
A former senior detective has flatly rejected claims she acted without the approval of her boss Mick Willing and police top brass when she gave a controversial ABC interview alleging political interference in the investigation into the death in Manly of US national Scott Johnson.

The fallout inside NSW Police after then detective chief inspector Pamela Young appeared in April 2015 on the ABCs Lateline program to speak about the Johnson case was laid bare on Thursday as Young appeared for the first time at the inquiry into LGBTIQ hate crimes in Sydney.

Former detective chief inspector Pamela Young outside the LGBTIQ hate crimes inquiry in Sydney on Thursday. Credit: Peter Rae

During the interview with Lateline host Emma Alberici, Young accused former police minister Mike Gallacher of kowtowing to the Johnson family, including Scotts tech entrepreneur brother Steve, in setting up a reinvestigation in February 2013 into Scotts death. She said there was still evidence Johnson may have died by suicide. Young had supervised the reinvestigation.

Johnsons killer, Scott Phillip White, was sentenced this year to a maximum of nine years in prison after pleading guilty to manslaughter over the 27-year-olds death near a gay beat in Manly in 1988.
The recent far-flung adventures of Australias flagship research vessel include eavesdropping on blue whale song in the Antarctic, chasing storms across the Top End and uncovering a tropical shark graveyard of 750 teeth, one of which fell from the gum of an ancient shark.

But the RV Investigators 101st expedition will take place just off Sydney.

The CSIROs flagship research vessel has made a rare stop in Sydney, at Balmains White Bay, ahead of its 101st expedition. Credit: Brook Mitchell

Next week, the CSIROs $126 million, 11-storey floating laboratory will charge out between the heads of the harbour to begin crucial work scrutinising mesocale eddies  gigantic, hot swirls of ocean water.

These underwater cyclones are poorly understood, yet exert a profound influence on the nations weather and food security. More than half of the oceans kinetic energy is made up of eddy movement as they mix heat, nutrients, salinity and carbon through the seas.
Save Log in , register or subscribe to save articles for later. Save articles for later Add articles to your saved list and come back to them any time. Got it Normal text size Larger text size Very large text size This story is part of the Good Weekend October 7 edition. See all 15 stories . Before turning to write this story, I wrote to my friend Zak, whos been doing time for murder in a Northern Territory prison. I wrote about his upcoming parole date; hed sent me a letter saying, Hmm parole  I know, NO lifer has ever got that first time. In other letters, hed written about getting a little/medium size house in the middle of nowhere and finding a brunette pocket rocket if he gets out. I encouraged him to keep his head down and focus on the things hes looking forward to after he gets out, rather than bucking the system and risking his release. I also wrote about my daughter Poppys cancer diagnosis and treatment. For three years now, these same few things  life, death, the future and what threatens it  have been tied up in what weve written to each other. I cant pretend to know how you are feeling, I wrote to Zak. Except that every part of you must be screaming to get out now. Like all our letters, I wrote by hand, this time in black ink on coarse, lined paper torn from an A4 notebook. I covered five sheets only  any more and the prison authorities would refuse to accept it. Folding the pages over three times to fit inside an envelope, I felt its squidgy thickness. You forget, in an age of emails, the anticipation of receiving a fat letter like this; of squeezing it between your fingers before opening it, of knowing there are words and worlds inside to escape to. We have both needed this in recent years. Living in dorms filled with sex offenders, Zak wrote in his last letter, in August. This place has fully f---ed my headspace. He says hes not a killer, and even the judge who put Zak in prison said he didnt believe the then 19-year-old was there when the murder was committed on the night of October 23, 2011. I take no pleasure in this outcome, Justice Dean Mildren said when handing down his sentence in January 2013. It was the way the mandatory sentencing laws were written in the Northern Territory, he said, which inevitably bring about injustice. It was that line, which I read in Good Weekend in 2014, that set me on the trail of trying to understand what Zak did or didnt do on the night in question. I followed the twists and turns of his involvement in the murder of Ray Niceforo, first as a reporter seeking to highlight this injustice, then later as a friend, after Zak and I started writing to each other. That was in 2017; following Poppys cancer diagnosis in 2020 at the age of nine, it was with Zak whom I shared my hopes and fears  as if, facing his own life sentence, he might understand them. That was when Zak saved me. I addressed my most recent letter with his full name, Zak Grieve, his prisoner number and the prisons PO box, then sent it north to Darwin.

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There are two versions of what happened to Ray Niceforo and who took part in his killing. In one, given in court by Zak and his friend, Chris Malyschko, Zak was a kind of innocent living in the isolated Stuart Highway town of Katherine. When Malyschko offered him $5000 to help get rid of someone, Zak said yes, though he wasnt sure what getting rid of someone meant. Maybe it meant kicking their head in or forcing them out of Katherine. Zak learnt hed misunderstood when he and Malyschko were preparing to drive to their victims unit, a single-storey slab of brick and cinder blocks, with junk piled up around the front door, backing on the Victoria Highway on the edge of Katherine. Zak realised that Niceforo, a mean, balding man in his early 40s whod beaten and abused his fiancee  Malyschkos mother  wasnt going to survive the night. I cant go through with this, he told Malyschko. I cant help you. Zak Grieve and his mum, Glenice, who petitioned the NT administrator for mercy. I need your help, she wrote. I understand, Malyschko replied, saying hed drive Zak home. A third man had also agreed to take part, in return for a share in the $15,000 that Malyschkos mother was paying to be free of Niceforo. The third man told Zak, Youre a pussy. According to the second version, given in court by this man, Darren Halfpenny, Zak didnt pull out of the murder. In this version, all three men busted into Niceforos place, where he was alone for the evening. Zak went in first and helped hold the victim down while Malyschko beat him to death. [Zak refutes this version.] Its easy to see why Malyschko might have lied about what happened: to protect his friend Zak. But Halfpennys account gets more complicated when you learn he lied to police about his own actions, including insisting he burnt the clothes he wore that night on the old abandoned airstrip in Katherine near the cemetery, only to backtrack later and admit that he hadnt. The police knew that Halfpenny, 22 at the time, was a liar before the case went to the Supreme Court of the Northern Territory but the prosecution still

relied on him as a witness. Its not that I dont care if I lie, its just when I lie, it just comes out, Halfpenny said under cross-examination. Despite there being no forensic evidence linking Zak to the killing, the jury found him guilty.

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In the Northern Territory, the law says youre guilty of murder if you agree to take part in one then pull out, unless you try to stop the killing. Zak didnt do that. Instead, after Malyschko dropped him home, he went to bed and tried to pretend it wasnt happening. In our early letters, Zak kept asking how long I thought he should have received: In your opinion, what do [you] think I would/should have gotten? I tried to avoid answering directly, afraid to commit to judgment. Loading As the years passed, the question of his guilt or innocence seemed less important than other things. I started to think more about how young Zak was, his complicated family story, how he smoked a lot of weed and loved video games, preferring their fantasy worlds to the reality of life in Katherine. He did something stupid. Eventually, I told him he did deserve some jail time. Four or six years; maybe 10. Short enough for him to one day put it behind him. But in the Northern Territory, life means life, with a mandatory non-parole period of 20 years. The first time I drove into Katherine, my car radio stammered back into life again after the long silence of the three-hour journey south from Darwin. It was 2017 and a politician was tub-thumping about rising crime, demanding police do more to stop it. Are things getting worse? the interviewer goaded. A lot of people tell you it is getting worse, the politician answered. People tell you it is the worst it has ever been. As I drove over the Katherine River, which wraps itself around the west of the town, brightly coloured shopfronts started replacing the muted reds and greens of the bush I had left behind. A group of Aboriginal people sat cross-legged outside the shopping centre where Zaks parents ran a store selling sunglasses. A toddler stood in a nappy, waving. White people hurried past pushing shopping trolleys, fiddling with their phones, not waving back.

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A postal game of noughts and crosses between author Dan and Zak. Inside her shop, Zaks mother, Glenice, a Jingili-Mudburra woman, stood behind the counter, twisting her bleached-blonde hair around her fingers. At first she seemed defensive, untrusting of this white reporter whod turned up from Sydney. Later, over repeated visits and long phone calls, her guard dropped. Glenice told me how shed nearly lost Zak when she was pregnant and the doctors told her she was miscarrying. How shed walked out of hospital, gone home and had a bit of a pray, telling the big man upstairs, Dont do this, dont you do this to me. Dont you dare take him. The big man didnt. Zak was mixed-race, his mother told me; his dad, Wal, was white. Zaks skin was so pale hed joke he was the Albino Aboriginal; she told him he must commit to his culture. She said he had a blue-tongue lizard dreaming because Wal had cracked open a nest of baby blue-tongues while driving a grader when Glenice was pregnant. As Zak came out, the umbilical cord got wrapped around his neck and his lips and tongue went blue-purple, just like that lizard. Her third child, he was a sickly kid, suffering from asthma and an eating disorder. She breastfed Zak until he was six. Loading Glenice said her son went to jail because he was Aboriginal. She claimed that the NT government got federal funding according to the numbers held in prison, meaning they made money out of locking up her people. Blackfellas are enterprise to these people, she told me, meaning NT politicians. I asked different people from the NT government about this; they all said it wasnt true. But when you look at the official figures, Glenices explanation makes as much sense as any other. First Nations people make up a minority of the NTs population (26 per cent) but a majority of its prisoners (84 per cent). The proportion of its population who are jailed is more than three times higher than any other Australian state or territory; it also incarcerates a higher proportion of its peoples than do the US states of Georgia, Arkansas and Oklahoma and is on par with Mississippi and Louisiana. In hungry prison system terms, that makes the NT Australias Deep South. It was tough for everybody. Glenice used to visit Zak in prison, making the long bus journey north to Darwin to see him. Wal was doing fly-in, fly-out work a long way from anywhere, and would visit when he had time. Zaks parents separated after he went to prison.

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Few of Zaks old mates from Katherine stayed in contact. At first he wrote them letters but they tended not to write back. Most of the other prisoners would say hi to him, however. I know at least 500 out of the 1000, and I say hello to all of them, he told me in one letter. But it was hard to find real friends in prison, where people are always coming and going without warning and sometimes in the space of a few months. Letter from Zak to Dan: Have you seen a kids show called Bluey? Zaks letters constantly surprised me. In one, he asked about my favourite Disney movie and which my kids preferred. His was a toss-up between Treasure Planet and Hercules. The saddest Disney movie, Zak wrote, was Up: about an old man who wants to break free from his life after his wife dies, so ties a cloud of coloured helium balloons to the house they bought together and floats away from the world below him. Glenice, who does not own a computer, asked me to write letters for her, dictating them in person or over the phone while I typed. Im a mother whos looking to you to find some sort of mercy. Im appealing to you as a parent, as a father, she dictated in one letter, which she asked me to send to the then administrator of the Northern Territory, John Hardy. Her son was given a life sentence under the NTs mandatory sentencing legislation, Glenice said, which meant politicians set the punishment for murder, not judges. Even the judge who oversaw the trial said he did not believe Zak was there when the murder was committed. Glenice was crying softly as she

dictated the words: How would you feel if this happened to your child? What would you do? I need your help. Please help me. Whats the matter? my wife asked. I couldnt answer ... I wrote to Zak then, seeking friendship. After receiving that letter, John Hardy announced he would consider cutting Zaks non-parole period from 20 years to 12, under an archaic power called the prerogative of mercy. Zaks lawyers then got involved and in 2018 the decision to cut it to 12 years was formalised by Hardys successor, Vicki OHalloran. Zak becomes eligible for parole this month.

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Phenylephrine is a key ingredient in the cold and flu tablets and allergy medications stocked at pharmacies and supermarkets across Australia. However, US scientists have found the widely used decongestant is no better than a placebo.

Associate Professor Nicola Smith, head of pharmacology at the University of NSW, said it had been an open secret for some time that oral phenylephrine, often marketed as PE, was a cold and flu fraud.

More than 125 products containing phenylephrine are approved for Australian shelves. Credit: Laura Banks

While the ingredients are not doing harm, theyre not really doing much benefit, but the big pharma is benefitting, she said.

A search of the Australian Register of Therapeutic Goods (ARTG) shows that more than 125 products containing phenylephrine are approved for Australian shelves.
This masthead can reveal that in 2003 the average Australian adult had levels of PFOS in their blood at 20 times the safe level secretly calculated by a scientist working for 3M.

3Ms plant in Cottage Grove, Minnesota. It was one of the main manufacturing plants for forever chemicals that have contaminated the world. Credit: Daniel Acker/Bloomberg

It was only in 1998 that 3M admitted to regulators the forever chemical known as PFOS had entered the blood of people worldwide; it had gone from contaminating heartland America to being found in the most remote corners of the globe and nearly every citizen in Australia.

The scientists hunch was right, although the proof would take two decades to emerge.

Two eagle-eyed scientists had spotted the man-made substance in blood samples and had come knocking on 3Ms doors in 1975, suspecting the answer lay with the Wall Street giants popular Scotchgard or Scotchban product lines.

A toxic chemical in 3Ms products, one whispered, had been discovered in blood banks all over America.

This wasnt your typical gossip around the office water cooler. As two 3M employees met over coffee at the Fortune 500 companys sprawling corporate headquarters in Minnesota more than 40 years ago, one of them had something startling to get off his chest.

Add articles to your saved list and come back to them any time.

Gary Douglas, a partner at New York law firm Douglas and London and the lead trial counsel in a landmark case against 3M Company over the forever chemicals that have contaminated the worlds population. Credit: iKandy Films

They also reveal a top 3M executive talked about delaying the publication of a study which suggested forever chemicals were hazardous, arguing they first needed to find a way to cover the weenie (an American term for frankfurt) in bread, ketchup and mustard.

They include never-before-reported details of the pivotal conversation by the water cooler, an incriminating Post-it note found in 3Ms internal files and the story of how a man dubbed Horse Track Jack became the first outsider to finally learn the truth about the contamination of humankind with forever chemicals.

This masthead has obtained a trove of sensitive documents from the case.

Fresh revelations about how 3M is alleged to have deceived the world about forever chemicals have emerged as a result of a mammoth lawsuit that 3M settled for $US10.3 billion ($16 billion) in the US in August.

World-leading health experts have warned Australians should be concerned at the levels of forever chemicals they have been exposed to historically and the thousands that remain in circulation in everyday household products such as cosmetics and cleaning products.

The Australian government is poised to ban PFOS, which has been linked by overseas governments to a slew of adverse health effects, including suppression of the immune system, raised cholesterol, hormone disruption and certain cancers.

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are a class of about 14,000 chemicals invented in the 1930s and prized for their stain, water and oil-repelling properties. They are called forever chemicals because they never break down in the environment and can linger for years in the human body.

The spokeswoman said 3M was pleased the court had granted preliminary approval for the settlement. We have and will continue to deliver on our commitments  including remediating PFAS, investing in water treatment, and collaborating with communities, she said.

As the science and technology of PFAS, societal and regulatory expectations, and our expectations of ourselves have evolved, so has how we manage PFAS, she said.

In response to detailed questions from this masthead, a 3M spokeswoman said all the companys products, including those containing forever chemicals (also known as PFAS), were safe and effective for their intended uses.

Its hard to fathom how a chemical manufactured at two factories, two little specks relative to the size of the entire planet, could be the source of so much harm, he said.

Gary Douglas, a partner at New York law firm Douglas and London and the lead trial counsel in the recent case against 3M, said he had been stunned by the companys apparent effort to hide the contamination of everyone on earth with a chemical made in just two of its factories at Cottage Grove at Minnesota and Decatur in Alabama.

By 2003, PFOS peaked in the blood of Australians sampled across Sydney, Wollongong, Newcastle and Canberra at average levels of 20.8 nanograms per millilitre (parts per billion), a University of Queensland study shows.

Average levels in Australians were soon higher than those in the populations of India, Italy, Japan, Brazil, Belgium, Sri Lanka and Peru, although they remained lower than in the US.

Forever chemicals had entered the blood of the Australian public by 1975 , retrospective studies show. Levels ballooned more than seven-fold over the next two decades.

A type of forever chemical called perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) became the key ingredient in the companys famous Scotchgard fabric protector as well as Scotchban, a grease-repelling treatment for food packaging that hit the market in 1970.

By 1952 3M believed it was possible to manufacture up to a trillion types of PFAS, but was still floundering to find uses for them. It advertised in trade journals: Wanted: Jobs for a Trillion New Chemicals. Then it struck the jackpot.

It was $48.5 billion manufacturing behemoth 3M Company that first experimented with using forever chemicals for commercial purposes.

3M abandoned the manufacture of PFOS in 2002 and levels in Australian blood have plummeted by as much as 82 per cent since.

In other words, healthcare providers should be elevating their standards of care for specific disease risks in patients with this level of PFAS in their blood, said DeWitt, an expert on forever chemicals.

East Carolina University professor Jamie DeWitt pointed out the 20.8 nanogram level would be considered high risk according to a 2022 report by the US National Academy of Engineering, Science and Medicine.

That is a level where multiple effects may be occurring, at least in some people  high cholesterol, thyroid problems, immune effects, kidney and testicular cancers (maybe others), hypertension in pregnancy, reduced fertility, low birth weight babies, etc, Birnbaum said.

Dr Linda Birnbaum, former director of the US governments National Toxicology Program, said Australians born up until the early 2000s would be right to be concerned about having been exposed to such concentrations.

That concentration was 20 times higher than the safe level of 1.05 parts per billion secretly calculated by Dr John Butenhoff while he was a corporate scientist working for 3M and revealed in court documents.

However, newer formulations of forever chemicals are widespread in dozens of consumer products and are the subject of growing concern by regulatory authorities worldwide that have warned they may cause similar adverse effects.

3M has announced it will phase out all types of forever chemicals by the end of 2025 but at least 11 other companies have taken up production internationally.

Australias Department of Health says forever chemicals are today expected to be found in the blood of everyone in the country.

3Ms global headquarters in Minnesota. Credit: Bloomberg

The Australian government is poised to ban the three best-known forever chemicals, PFOS, PFOA and PFHxS.

Departmental officials quietly flagged the ban with the World Trade Organisation in August, shortly after The Sydney Morning Herald called for a royal commission over revelations grave warnings about the chemicals were sounded at the highest levels of the Defence department much earlier than previously reported.

The US and European Union have concluded that high levels of PFAS can increase the risk of some kinds of cancers, suppress the immune system, raise cholesterol, interfere with hormones and fertility and cause developmental effects in children.

Some negative health effects may occur with concentrations  below EPAs ability to detect, the US EPA said last year as it ruled there was no safe level of the chemicals in drinking water.

The Australian government, which has been defending multimillion-dollar litigation over the pollution, contends there is limited to no evidence of human disease or other clinically significant harm resulting from PFAS exposure.

Price to be paid

In 2000, 3M officials announced to the world it had come as a complete surprise to learn PFOS was in human blood samples worldwide.

The landmark US lawsuit has revealed word was already out at the companys corporate headquarters decades earlier.

During his recent deposition, Dale Bacon, who worked in 3Ms environmental regulatory affairs unit, recalled colleague Frank Griffith telling him over coffee that PFOS had been found in the blood of the community.

He shared that with you in this coffee meeting around the water cooler, thats how you first heard about it? asked Douglas, the plaintiffs trial counsel.

Thats the way I remember it, Bacon replied.

Do you remember when you had this coffee klatch? Douglas asked.

When Frank Griffith died in about 1980-something, I would assume it was before that, Bacon said.

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Douglas said it was disturbing that the discovery was the subject of such casual conversations among 3M staff.

Clearly one could argue this is evidence of a reckless indifference to their fellow Americans and people everywhere, Douglas said.

By late 1975 the company had privately determined the chemical turning up in the population appeared to be PFOS. It began monitoring levels of forever chemicals in its employees and more closely studying their effects on animals.

A 1978 study on PFOS had to be abandoned when all the monkeys died unexpectedly, and scientists noted the chemical was considerably more toxic to monkeys than anticipated.

When retired 3M toxicologist Dr John Butenhoff was recently deposed, he was grilled about that study.

Butenhoff admitted there isnt a dose at which there were no effects in this particular study.

The case offers a window into the angst the findings were causing 3Ms executives.

Lewis Lehr, the former chair and chief executive of 3M, pictured at the companys Australian headquarters in Pymble in 1985. Credit: Ross Willis

The son of corn farmers from Nebraska, Lewis Lehr rose to become chief executive of 3M in the critical period from 1979 to 1986.

In 1979 Lehr was having reservations about the companys decision not to report any of its findings about forever chemicals to the US EPA under legislation requiring disclosure of substances that present a substantial risk of injury to health or the environment.

Lehr decided to source second opinions outside 3M. He summoned a team of nine high-ranking employees for a whirlwind trip on the companys private jet. Renowned scientist Dr Harold Hodge was waiting for them at the Hilton Hotel in San Francisco.

Hodge was informed that markers of forever chemicals had been found in the blood of people in rural China and was provided a copy of abnormal findings in 3M employees exposed to forever chemicals, which had been attributed to other causes.

Hodge recommended the carcinogenicity of the chemicals should be examined and warned if they were found to be widespread in the population and had long half-lives, we could have a serious problem. That phrase was later deleted from the meeting minutes.

The group flew on to Texas to meet toxicologist Dr Jerry Mitchell. Mitchell warned some of the symptoms in animals from these 90-day studies are similar to those observed with carcinogens, a statement also removed from the minutes.

The company had blamed alcoholism after finding elevated liver enzymes in its employees, which can be an indicator of exposure to toxins. Mitchell queried: Why are there so many (apparent) alcoholics in packaging?

A 3M committee mulled over the advice received during the trip.

According to the minutes, some committee members were of the view the company could prove it had been diligent in caring for public health; others warned if further studies were not carried out and something went wrong, all kinds of prices may have to be paid by the committee members and the corporation.

Mr Lehr made the decision to not inform the EPA and instead to keep this important matter of public health a secret, the plaintiffs wrote in a 2022 motion as they fought to obtain Lehrs private records during discovery.

3M had turned over a single technical lab notebook from Lehrs tenure, even though nearly 30,000 other documents could be located from the time he was at the companys helm.

The 3M spokeswoman said the company was committed to providing accurate information about PFAS with appropriate context.

We provided EPA with significant information about PFAS over the decades, including the results of toxicology studies 3M conducted.

3M also published many of its findings regarding PFAS in publicly available scientific journals dating back to the early 1980s.

A comedy of errors

Eventually, 3Ms secret spilt into the public domain in the late 1990s in what lawyers pursuing the company dubbed a comedy of errors.

It would be funny if it wasnt so serious, Douglas said.

Bacon was overseeing the highly sensitive work of monitoring levels of forever chemicals in 3M employees.

Overwhelmed by his workload, Bacon outsourced some sampling to Dr Jack Henion at New Yorks Cornell University, nicknamed by those acquainted with the case as Horse Track Jack.

Jack was from Cornell but he ran a private little side business where he analysed racehorse blood serum in New York state for dopers and cheaters; is that fair to say? Douglas asked Bacon during his deposition.

That was his claim to fame, Bacon said.

Henion diligently attempted to find some clean samples from a blood bank  also known as blanks  to compare to the contaminated worker samples. The penny dropped: there were no clean samples.

Dr Jack Henion, who stumbled on the contamination of the worlds population with forever chemicals when he agreed to conduct some sampling for 3M in 1997.

Henion phoned Bacon urgently to relay his discovery. The news was immediately reported up the food chain at 3M and the company leapt into action, forming committees and calling in lawyers.

Dale definitely did not win employee of the week that week, Douglas said.

The lid is off

The following year a committee of 3M scientists, including Bacon, urged management to report to authorities that forever chemicals were in the populations blood.

Vice president Dr Charles Reich overruled the committee in March 1998, arguing 3M was not in the possession of information which suggests a substantial risk of injury to human health or the environment.

Reich had a sudden change of heart two months later, sending a letter to the US EPA disclosing that PFOS was widespread in the environment and human blood.

Charles Chuck Reich, a former 3M vice president who ruled that forever chemicals did not need to be reported to regulators. He changed his mind two months later. Credit: Getty Images

In the same year, a Post-it note was attached to a draft manuscript in 3Ms corporate files. It said: John, now that the lid is off, Chris would like to get this paper out, any problem?

Douglas alleged the evidence buried in 3Ms corporate files strongly suggested a cover-up.

It wasnt oh my god, I cant believe our product is in everyones blood, what should we do? Douglas said.

Now that the lid is off suggests cover-up, thats the plain meaning. Gee the lid is off, I guess we better come clean now.

In 2000, emails show Reich was concerned that a scientist under contract to 3M was planning to publish a paper suggestive of possible hazards associated with forever chemicals without any accompanying material discussing their health and safety.

He warned colleagues it could set off a chain reaction of speculation that could reopen the issue with the media and move it back to a health issue; something up-to-now we have avoided.

Reich wanted to delay the publication but said he was concerned the companys actions could be misinterpreted as trying to hide the weenie.

We just want the weenie in the bun, complete with mustard and ketchup, Reich wrote in an email to colleagues.

Bacon, who received the email, was grilled about it during his deposition.

You didnt want the company to look like you are trying to hide what you know about PFOS by holding back publications, right? Douglas asked him.

Correct, Bacon replied.

It is even harder to see the weenie itself if it is in a bun with mustard and ketchup? Douglas asked.

It very well could be, Bacon replied.

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Caught at the extremes

If we ever needed a clear message that our climate is out of control, the last few days in East Gippsland has provided it (Alerts pour in as fires give way to floods, 5/10). What would have played as the opening scene of a science fiction movie 40 years ago now leads our daily news bulletins. Our overheated atmosphere doesnt seem to know what it should be doing. For good measure, the continents dominant weather drivers, the El Nino and Indian Ocean Dipole, seem to be in lockstep. This has us trapped in a rotation of much too hot and dry or much too wet. Without very much of the weather being just right, Goldilocks might be going without her lie-down for a while yet.

John Mosig, Kew Tipping point

It was depressing to read that Australians are tipping more generously and more often, (Melburnians our biggest tippers, 5/10). This is yet another poisonous import from the US. Why would anyone want tipping culture to take hold in Australia?

Having travelled to the US years ago one of the best things about returning to Australia was the relief of not having to calculate a tip for every service. A more insidious aspect is how the tipping culture commercialises every interaction. In the US great service is never just that. It is always tainted by the expectation of a tip. It is also way too master-servant for me as an Australian and humiliating for all involved.

If this continues, tipping will at some point become compulsory as it effectively is in the US. Tipping is un-Australian. In Australia it is traditionally an obligation for employers to pay workers a living wage. Pay should not be at the discretion of customers as it often is in the US. Tipping culture represents inconvenience, a degradation of social relations and impoverishment. It benefits no one except employers averse to paying staff properly. It should be fought tooth and nail.

Ian Frazer, Brunswick West Highway hell

The idea of making a new and expanded city to the north of Melbourne (Councils seek to take high road this time, 5/10) is absurd given the state of the main gateway in and out of Melbourne via the Hume Highway, which has been in a state of disrepair for 40 years. As a frequent user of the highway, I have emailed VicRoads to ask about an upgrade, but they are waiting on federal and state funding. Anthony Albanese pitched a new intermodal freight terminal at Beveridge before the last election but if the Hume Highway and the feeder roads arent upgraded to a standard matching Sydneys Hume, the expanded city and new freight terminal are doomed to fail.

Perhaps Premier Jacinta Allan might want to re-prioritise the spending of billions on the Suburban Rail Loop and instead invest in improving the major roads in these poorly serviced dormitory suburbs and building new rail infrastructure where its needed.

Wayne Smith, Myrtleford Rail hubris

HS2 is a planned fast rail line in the UK to run from London to Birmingham and Manchester, at speeds of up to 360 km/h, announced in 2013 and substantially planned to be completed between 2029 and 2033. The total expected cost is 71 billion ($135 billion), which Finance Minister Jeremy Hunt described as utterly unacceptable. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has now announced the northern section to Manchester will be scrapped.

There is a lesson here for Premier Jacinta Allan and Transport Minister Danny Pearson. While the Suburban Rail Loop is not as grandiose, comments from Natasha Bradshaw from the Grattan Institute (Comment, 1/10) should be taken seriously. Two projects that have been neglected by the Victorian government are the standardisation of rural freight rail lines and provision of more accessible tram stops.

In order to attract freight to rail, all lines need to be converted to standard gauge. The positive effect on the environment will be fewer trucks on the road, less pollution from greenhouse gasses and safer conditions for rural roads that are no longer destroyed by trucks. For accessible tram stops, this is an equity matter that should already have been completed. Please mothball the SRL.

Rod Watson, East Brighton Rental assist

Brilliant proposal from the crossbench to electrify rental houses ($50m plan to electrify rental homes, 5/10). A tax break to encourage landlords to switch to electric appliances is just the ticket. Not only will this reduce emissions and cut household costs, but it will also make rental properties safer for tenants. The detrimental health impacts of gas in the home are well understood. No-one should be forced to expose their children to asthma inducing gases just to heat their home or cook a meal. Its high time Australia went all-in on electrifying everything.

Amy Hiller, Kew

Limit the source

While it is positive news to see that there are jobs in recycling (Plibersek hails boom in recycling jobs, 4/10), this fades into insignificance when we read how much waste is still ending up in landfill. Plastic is obviously the biggest problem, but even large amounts of paper, glass and metals that can be profitably recycled, are dumped. It would be a shame to rely on producing more and more waste materials to provide more jobs. The government should regulate and legislate for manufacturers to deal with their own waste. If pharmaceutical companies, for example, were required to accept the millions of blister packs they produce, they would quickly develop alternative, clean, maybe even re-usable, methods of packaging.

Kerry Echberg, Princes Hill Question of qualification

Your correspondent suggests the members of the new government were chosen purely on merit (Merit based appointments, 5/10). Many would doubt this.

Jacinta Allan owes her position to being a member of the largest faction within caucus, over her ability to successfully manage large projects like the Big Build or the Commonwealth Games. Tim Pallas owes his appointment for the same reason.

Many ministers of both genders dont have any skills or qualifications relative to the portfolios they manage. For example, the minister responsible for climate change, energy and the SEC has no qualifications in engineering or meteorology. In fact it is increasingly difficult to establish the skills and qualifications of MPs. Once, these were included in the Parliaments website profile of MPs, but now this information is no longer provided. In the absence of this, it is impossible to evaluate merit.

Martin Newington, Aspendale Health hazard

I couldnt agree more with your contributor (Please turn it down, 4/10) regarding the excessive noise level from the MCG PA system. I have also experienced similar discomfort at the Perth Arena. It is very likely that a health hazard exists and perhaps the EPA needs to conduct a field study. What is the AFLs intention with this painful practice? It makes me wonder how alive and well Orwells dystopia is: never let the patrons have a private conversation, always disrupt the ambience to distract from free thought.

Andrew Barnes, Ringwood Sound advice

How come the everlasting music that now plays behind speakers in documentary films of all descriptions is even allowed? Six per cent of the population has a hearing impairment but even some who thought they did not, find themselves switching off.

Shirley Duffield, Warrnambool Treasured experience

A living treasure is lost to us, with the passing of restaurateur Kevin Donovan (Founder of landmark eatery dies, 5/10). Life didnt lead me all that often down to what Kevin and wife Gail created in the form of the most perfect dining experience Ive ever known, at Donovans, perched on the St Kilda foreshore. However, it did on one night several years ago, with the company of my beloved it delivered absolutely the most perfect seared scallops in a pea puree and then a stroll along the pier to watch the penguins come in. It was the most perfect date and the happiest memory of a lifetime.

Bernadette George, Mildura

Milking farmers

Concerns have been expressed in recent weeks about the increasing price of milk at our supermarkets. You aint seen nothin yet. The price of milk and other staples will continue to increase due to anti-agricultural policies of the Albanese government. In the case of dairy, we had a heavy reliance on dairy farmers across southern NSW and northern Victoria for our supplies. But there are now fewer dairy farmers in this region and the number is continuing to decline.

When Water Minister Tanya Pliberseks water buybacks are introduced it will become increasingly unviable for dairy farmers, as well as those who grow other food essentials. As we grow less food the price increases, as does our reliance on imports which may not be grown in the clean, green environment by Aussie farmers who are recognised as among the most efficient in the world.

Jodie Hay, Cohuna Painful effects

I agree with Bruce Wolpes sentiments (Comment, 5/10) that Donald Trump does not have a political agenda, but what he does have is a movement that is unfortunately making America hate again.

Eric Palm, Gympie, Qld Sitcom politics

Donald Trump is the living exponent of a sitcom. Like most American sitcoms they are not very funny, indeed they are farcical. This one may well end up with a president ruling from a prison cell. Americans need to realise you cant change the channel for four years.

John Rome, Mt Lawley, WA AND ANOTHER THING

Credit: Illustration: Matt Golding Qantas

Its not that Im afraid to die, I just dont want Qantas arranging my funeral.

Paul Custance, Highett US politics

When America finds out how to run American politics, perhaps then it can it get back to its usual goal of trying to run the world.

Tony Haydon, Springvale I take issue with your correspondent (And another thing, 5/10). Trump has had so much practice in dummy spitting that I doubt it would be an appropriate permanent gag.

Ian Grandy, Nunawading Peter Dutton

Peter Duttons comment about Clare ONeil is straight out of Donald Trumps song book. Trump used nasty when confronted by a strong woman. Dutton uses angry.

Ray Jones, Box Hill North

We know Peter Dutton is fond of slogans but Vote No if you dont know is another level. This is a viewpoint of entitled complacency which avoids asking or looking or learning in case people find something that might challenge their comfortable status quo.

Vanessa Gavens, West Brunswick Opposition Leader Peter Duttons alternative solution to the Voice is a number of regional and local voices. So if this ever comes to pass, future Coalition governments will be hearing voices.

Matthew Hamilton, Kew Furthermore

What has happened to a honeymoon period for Jacinta Allan? Why is John Pesutto treated as though he is one seat from being premier?

George Reed, Wheelers Hill What next Tim Pallas? A tax on empty bedrooms?

Tony OBrien, South Melbourne I am bemused by the present day references to fields in the Kalkallo area (The Age, 5/10). This seems to be part of a trend to make paddocks redundant.

Marcia Roche, Mill Park
Coalition leader Peter Dutton has taken aim at prominent broadcaster Ray Martin for suggesting the No sides Voice slogan is aimed at dickheads, as Senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price railed against alleged bias at the ABC.

The No side has spent months pitching the Voice as an elite-backed idea and portraying the mainstream media as supporters of a radical Indigenous agenda backed by woke corporates.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese with Ray Martin (second from right) at the Yes event in Sydney on September 28. Credit: James Brickwood

Dutton has seized on several examples of Yes campaigners making critical reflections about No voters motives.

Martin criticised the anti-Voice campaigns If you dont know, vote No slogan at a Yes event with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese in Albaneses Marrickville electorate on September 28.
Hundreds of Islamic leaders will tell their communities to vote for the Voice as a way to bring Australia closer to peace and justice, launching the message after calls from other faith groups and ethnic communities to back the change.

The move steps up the Yes campaign in a key community ahead of the final week of early voting, with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese expected to attend a mosque in western Sydney on Friday to hear the message.

The Australian National Imams Council has agreed on the message and asked all imams and other speakers to dedicate their Friday address, or khutbah, to the call to support the recognition of First Australians and setting up the Voice.

Faith roundtable hosted by the Yes23 campaign where a gathering of different religious heads talk about the upcoming referendum, at the St Johns Anglican Church in Glebe. Credit: Dion Georgopoulos

The Voice has formal support from many peak groups, ranging from the Executive Council of Australian Jewry to the Anglican Church, the Uniting Church, the Hindu Council and the National Sikh Council of Australia, although there have been tensions over some church stances.
The UK and New Zealand have responded to the specific tactics of big tobacco marketed to their populations, and we will monitor their implementation success with interest, Butler said on Thursday, when asked if Australia could follow their path. In the Australian context, we have assessed all of those best-practice measures, and they are now incorporated into legislation which has been the subject of substantial exposure and consultation. Under the new laws, there will be individual warning labels on each cigarette  for example, a slogan that says smoking kills  an idea pioneered by Canada. Australia will also standardise the size of tobacco products, so there is less to differentiate them. This includes eliminating skinny vogue cigarettes and banning menthols. The names tobacco companies can use  such as fresh burst  will be limited, while health pamphlets will come with each pack. On top of this, there will be a 5 per cent price hike each year for three years.

Why are similar countries taking different approaches? England, New Zealand, Canada and Australia are each aiming for a smoke-free society  which means a population smoking rate of 5 per cent or less. But despite similarities between the four nations, they are working in unique contexts. Loading First, they have different deadlines. New Zealand wants to hit that milestone by 2025; England wants to be smoke-free by 2030; and Canada has set a target of 2035. Australia wants to achieve a daily smoking rate of less than 10 per cent by 2025, and less than 5 per cent by 2030. Second, they have different starting points.

In New Zealand, the percentage of adults who smoked daily in 2021-22 was 8 per cent, while in Canada, the daily smoking rate for all Canadians, aged 15 and over, was 8.2 per cent in 2022. The United Kingdom has higher smoking rates: 12.9 per cent of adults smoked in 2022. Australia sits in between. One in 10 adults (10.1 per cent) were daily smokers in 2021-22, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics. What about vaping? Each country has also adopted different vaping policies, with varying results. In New Zealand and Canada, where smoking rates are lower, vaping rates are higher. New Zealand has the highest youth vaping rates among the four countries, with 22.9 per cent of 18- to 24-year-olds saying they vape daily. In Canada, 20 per cent of 20- to 24-year-olds vaped at least once in the past 30 days.

In the UK, 15.5 per cent of 16- to 24-year-olds were daily or occasional vapers in 2022. Data collected by NSW Health, which has the most up-to-date vaping statistics in Australia, suggests 16.5 per cent of young people in that age group vaped either daily or occasionally in 2021 and 2022. Australia is the only country that will totally outlaw recreational vaping and restrict it to people with a doctors prescription, in an attempt to quash a flourishing black market. Elsewhere, vapes are available to purchase like cigarettes, with differing restrictions on nicotine concentration. However, New Zealand and the UK could follow Australias lead by banning disposable vapes and restricting flavours and colours. What do the experts think? The chair of the Cancer Councils tobacco issues committee, Alecia Brooks, said Sunaks announcement was encouraging but was unlikely to have an impact on Englands smoking rates for several years.

Australia faces different circumstances. We have a window of opportunity to act, earlier than the UK did, before a new generation develops a lifelong nicotine addiction, she said. Loading She said Butlers tobacco and vaping reforms would complement each other in this specific context. Cancer Councils priority is to continue to progress the tobacco laws and vaping measures recently announced by the federal government, she said. Professor Simon Chapman, a tobacco control activist, said youth smoking bans were an interesting policy that could have momentum. While New Zealand was the first to action it, the idea had been floated in Singapore and even Tasmania.

Like with a lot of these things, there are vanguard countries which do it and others follow, he said. Canada was the first country to introduce graphic warnings in 2000 and Australia paved the way for plain packaging in 2012  measures now in place in many countries around the world. But Chapman said England was playing catch-up for its relatively higher smoking rates and he did not expect the policy in Australia any time soon. Id welcome it, but the last thing Id want to see is the brakes on what were [already] doing. I think its something that can be [looked at] in the next round of reforms, he said. It ought to be examined down the track and, in a couple of years time, well probably have data from New Zealand, although not from the UK.
Helen Woodward Animal Center's FREE Animal Welfare Training Set to Address Scotland's Compassion Allways Conference

RANCHO SANTA FE, Calif., Oct. 5, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- At this very moment, Helen Woodward Animal Center professionals are on a journey of over 5,000 miles, flying to meet with animal welfare advocates in Edinburgh, Scotland. Through The Business of Saving Lives, the Center has demonstrated its dedication to saving the lives of orphan pets, not only within its San Diego-based facility, but within shelters and rescues across the globe. Today, Helen Woodward Animal Center leaders are on their way to conference with Scottish shelter groups working towards the humane treatment of animals on the other side of the world. Scotland-based humane education charity Fostering Compassion is joining forces with Helen Woodward Animal Center to host its Compassion Allways Conference as part of the Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies Bicentenary Celebrations. The conference will take place over the weekend of the 7th and 8th October 2023 at the Easter Bush Campus.

Helen Woodward Animal Centers The Business of Saving Lives Workshops has partnered with animal welfare organizations in the U.S., in Estonia, in Puerto Rico, in Australia and many more!

The Business of Saving Lives began at Helen Woodward Animal Center in 2002 as quarterly workshops, taught by Center management team members on the Rancho Santa Fe, California grounds. The goal of these workshops is to share the success the Center has experienced through President and CEO Mike Arms' business-focused approach. Business practices such as marketing, social media and customer service take on an equal importance to non-profit goals such as fundraising, volunteer-building and humane animal care, leading to more pets placed in lifelong homes, expanded reach into communities and more generated funds to carry on programs. Over the years, shelters from throughout the United States and as far away as Argentina, Ethiopia, Singapore, India, Ireland, Kenya and Romania have traveled to Helen Woodward Animal Center to take part in the free training.

Story continues

In 2015, Arms decided to extend the program to organizations unable to afford to travel out to Helen Woodward Animal Center, providing life-saving training at absolutely no cost to the rescue groups right in their own cities. Since that time, The Business of Saving Lives has made its way to U.S based shelters in New York, Seattle, Chicago, Philadelphia, Texas, New Jersey, Delaware, Florida, Nevada, Idaho and more and abroad to Sydney, Australia, Puerto Rico and Estonia.

"The only way to change the world of animal welfare is to work together," said Arms. "We are honored to join with individuals throughout the world to discuss ways to continue creating a more humane world. Forging strong connections to share, assist and support one another will eventually benefit us all and result in a kinder world for our animal friends."

These connections could be seen in action beginning last year as the war in Ukraine ravaged Ukrainian homes and shelters. The relationships formed during the 2019 trip to Estonia provided a clear pathway to communicate with both Estonia Animal Welfare Society and the Polish Society for The Protection of Animals to help provide funds to UAnimals. Helen Woodward Animal Center facilitated the raising of over $450,000 in donations funded directly to the non-profit Ukrainian animal rights organization, working valiantly to help struggling animal welfare groups trapped in war-torn areas.

In 2020, the Center's valuable overseas workshops were put on temporary hiatus as the pandemic forced restrictions on travel and U.S. shelters needed emergency focus. Now Helen Woodward Animal Center is honored to take its work beyond its country's borders once again, uniting with speakers from such Scottish animal welfare-focused organizations as Edinburgh Dog and Cat Home, The Maggie Fleming Animal Hospice, The Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies, Society of Companion Animal Studies (SCAS), University of Edinburgh, and hosting organization, Fostering Compassion at the Compassion Allways Conference in Edinburgh, Scotland.

Fostering Compassion is a ground-breaking award-winning humane education project founded in 2013 and focused on vulnerable children who may show challenging behaviour towards animals or who may struggle with compassion and empathy in general. Unique in its approach, through their workshops and activities they share the stories of rescued domestic and wild animals in such a way that the children draw parallels between their circumstances and those of the animals. Through sharing the stories of the animals, the children gain a greater understanding of their own circumstances and this often provides a platform for the children to open up about their own abuse and neglect. Fostering Compassion began with just ten children and now, ten years later - over 1000 children have benefitted from the programme.

To celebrate the 10 Year Anniversary of Fostering Compassion, the organization is delighted to welcome Mike Arms CEO of Helen Woodward Animal Center and his team to Scotland to be the keynote speaker at the Conference and to deliver their Business of Saving Lives workshops. Scheduled for Saturday the 7th and Sunday 8th October 2023 the Compassion Allways Conference will see 16 speakers delivering 19 presentations at the Roslin Institute, Easter Bush, Scotland. There will also be 22 charities and 8 ethical businesses exhibiting.

Fostering Compassion Founder and CEO Lesley Winton says "It is incredibly exciting to be hosting our first ever Compassion Allways Conference to recognise and celebrate 10 years since Fostering Compassion was established and the hundreds of children who have benefitted from the programme. We are over the moon and extremely honoured to be joined by Mike Arms and his amazing team from Helen Woodward Animal Center, who will bring their great expertise along with an International element to our inaugural conference. This is such a significant milestone for Fostering Compassion and we are delighted to share the moment with the American team."

The Business of Saving Lives offers brand new ways to look at animal welfare, marketing, social media, fundraising, humane education, and more, and explores how these concepts can breathe life into adoption programs that are outdated and killing millions of domestic animals annually. To become an agent of change for animal welfare, apply for a FREE The Business of Saving Lives workshop in your own town. For more information or to register, visit www.animalcenter.org or call 858-756-4117 x 302.

About Helen Woodward Animal Center

Helen Woodward Animal Center is a private, non-profit organization where "people help animals and animals help people." Founded in 1972 in Rancho Santa Fe, Calif., the Center provides services for more than 90,000 people and more than 10,000 animals annually through adoptions, educational and therapeutic programs both onsite and throughout the community. Helen Woodward Animal Center is also the creator of the International Home 4 the Holidays pet adoption drive, the International Remember Me Thursday campaign and The Business of Saving Lives Workshops, teaching the business of saving lives to animal welfare leaders from around the world. For more information, go to: www.animalcenter.org.

Helen Woodward Animal Centers The Business of Saving Lives Workshops has partnered with animal welfare organizations in the U.S., in Estonia, in Puerto Rico, in Australia and many more!

Helen Woodward Animal Centers The Business of Saving Lives Workshops has partnered with animal welfare organizations in the U.S., in Estonia, in Puerto Rico, in Australia and many more!

Helen Woodward Animal Center President and CEO Mike Arms speaks at an animal welfare conference in Estonia in 2019.

Helen Woodward Animal Centers The Business of Saving Lives Workshops has partnered with animal welfare organizations in the U.S., in Estonia, in Puerto Rico, in Australia and many more!

Cision

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SOURCE Helen Woodward Animal Center
A team of Western Australian and Victorian creatives are attempting to take the heat out of the Voice debate with humour, urging children and grandchildren of Baby Boomers to groom a Boomer to vote Yes at the October 14 referendum.

The Groom-a-Boomer short film is part of a last-ditch guerilla effort to change the fortunes of the Yes vote by a group of Perth-based marketers independent of the official Yes23 campaign after being disappointed by the tone of the debate.

The tongue-in-cheek video, where one actor suggested taking the TV remote away from Baby Boomers, is coupled with a call to action to younger generations to convince older family members in their late 50s, 60s and 70s to vote Yes.

I said, Ok, Mum, I will change your iPad back from Danish to English if you read this little booklet on the Voice,  one actor says in the video, which was filmed in Victoria in the past four weeks.
A mass flu vaccination of NSW residents that costs $81 million would save 500 lives every year, a new report says.

The NSW Productivity Commission believes herd immunity could be achieved by vaccinating 55 per cent of NSW residents aged under 65 every year. At present, only 25 per cent get the flu jab.

NSW Productivity Commissioner Peter Achterstraat says the vaccination rate could be achieved by focusing on people in schools and workplaces. Credit: Kate Geraghty / SMH

The commissions report, released on Friday, calculated that about 8 million work hours are lost each year due to the need for sick leave. That results in more than 7000 flu-related hospitalisations and 100,000 flu-related GP consultations each year.

NSW Productivity Commissioner Peter Achterstraat said public health strategies focused on vaccinating the elderly, pregnant women, children under five and those who are immunocompromised, but shifting focus to preventing transmission between healthy people would provide greater protection to vulnerable people.
There are two kinds of shameless and, in this era of pandemics and global warming, you dont want to be the brazen kind. Mask up if youre coughing. Be alert to your carbon footprint. Theres no need to crank up the hotel air-con as if its 1985.

Never apologise for living it up. Credit: Illustration: Jamie Brown

The second kind of shameless is the good sort. Why be shamed for enjoying yourself, or simply being yourself? Why not live it up on holiday, when youre otherwise working hard and drowning in lifes chores?

Youve earned an Aperol spritz in a sunny piazza, a flutter on a Las Vegas roulette table, or a clogging of your arteries in a French restaurant. If youre headed to the beaches of Saint-Tropez, flaunt it if youve got it.

Flaunt it even if you havent. What other people think is overrated. Why shouldnt you puff wacky baccy where its legal, go bohemian at Burning Man, or jiggle the night away under a full moon?
What in the World, a free weekly newsletter from our foreign correspondents, is sent every Thursday. Below is an excerpt. Sign up to get the whole newsletter delivered to your inbox.

More than a dozen places loaded with local heritage are within a 15-minute walk of my front door here in North London. For a nerd like me, its wonderful.

London does an excellent job of celebrating its history and heritage. Credit: Leonid ANDRONOV

My local pub, the Canonbury Tavern, is where George Orwell is said to have drafted some of 1984. Just around the corner, a plaque at 27B Canonbury Square indicates that Orwell lived there from 1944 to 1947.

If I wander off in the other direction, towards my local coffee shop, theres the house where English author Richard Adams wrote Watership Down, the novel about those scary bunnies.
Federal Highway Administration Build America, Buy America: Toyota Goes Whole Hog Into BEV Signs USA Supply Deal With LG Batteries





Learn More: Toyota News Archive; Reviews, Backstories, History, Opinion, Etc.(1995-Present)

Learn More: Akio Toyoda's Thoughts On Choice Of Power And Other Intellegent Predictions Two global leaders join forces to drive the future growth of battery electric vehicles in the U.S.

LG Energy Solution to supply Toyota with 20GWh of high-nickel NCMA battery modules annually from 2025.

Modules produced in LG Energy Solutions Michigan facility to be used to power a new BEV model assembled in North America, at Toyota Motor Manufacturing Kentucky, among others.

Editor's Note...and a US plant will qualify their vehicles for Green New Deal Welfare.

SEOUL, Korea and PLANO, Texas (Oct. 4, 2023)  LG Energy Solution (KRX: 373220) and Toyota Motor North America, Inc. (Toyota) today announced that they have signed a supply agreement for lithium-ion battery modules to be used in Toyota battery electric vehicles (BEVs) that will be assembled in the United States.

Under the contract, LG Energy Solution will supply automotive battery modules at an annual capacity of 20GWh starting from 2025. The battery modules, consisting of high-nickel NCMA (nickel, cobalt, manganese, aluminum) pouch-type cells, will be manufactured in LG Energy Solutions Michigan facility.

The innovative power solutions will support Toyotas expanding line of BEVs, part of its multi-pathway product strategy, including a new BEV model that will be assembled at Toyota Motor Manufacturing Kentucky in 2025. They will also help further Toyotas vehicle electrification initiatives, as it aspires to offer 30 BEV models globally across its Toyota and Lexus brand nameplates and produce up to 3.5 million BEVs annually by 2030.

At Toyota, our goal is to reduce carbon emissions as much as possible, as fast as possible, said Tetsuo Ted Ogawa, president and CEO of Toyota Motor North America. Having secure supplies of lithium-ion batteries at scale with a long-term relationship to support Toyotas multi-pathway approach and growth plans for BEVs in North America is critical to achieve our manufacturing and carbon reduction plans. Working with LG Energy Solution, we are excited to be able to offer products that will provide the performance and quality our customers expect.

To fulfill the supply agreement, LG Energy Solution will invest KRW 4 trillion (approximately USD 3 billion) in its Michigan facility to establish new production lines for battery cells and modules exclusively for Toyota, with completion slated for 2025. Initially, the battery modules will go to Toyota Motor Manufacturing Kentucky to be assembled into battery packs and equipped onto BEVs.

The agreement brings together LG Energy Solutions proven capabilities in manufacturing top quality battery cells and modules at scale, and Toyotas advanced technologies in battery packs to create a product using LG Energy Solutions innovative power solution which optimizes battery system performance, providing peace of mind and further enhancing the BEV customer experience. LG Energy Solution continues to enhance battery safety, including with respect to its thermal management for its high-nickel NCMA batteries.

Were excited to have Toyota, the best-selling global automaker, as our new customer. With our 30 years of experience in lithium-ion batteries, we will provide innovative power solutions to support Toyotas push further into battery electric vehicles, said Youngsoo Kwon, CEO of LG Energy Solution. The agreement also presents another big opportunity for us to strengthen our production capacity in North America, thereby bringing more real-life, large-scale progress toward electrification in the region.

The landmark deal represents LG Energy Solutions largest single supply agreement secured outside of joint venture agreements. The company now supplies its batteries to all top five global automakers[1]. Based on its market leadership, the company has eight battery manufacturing facilities currently operating or under construction in North America, and continues to expand both its production network and supply chain in the region.

[1] Based on 2022 market sales

About LG Energy Solution

LG Energy Solution (KRX: 373220), a split-off from LG Chem, is a leading global manufacturer of lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles, mobility, IT, and energy storage systems. With 30 years of experience in revolutionary battery technology and extensive research and development (R&D), the company is the top battery-related patent holder in the world with over 25,000 patents. Its robust global network, which spans North America, Europe, Asia, and Australia, includes battery manufacturing facilities established through joint ventures with major automakers such as General Motors, Stellantis N.V., Hyundai Motor Group, and Honda Motor Co. Ltd. At the forefront of green business and sustainability, LG Energy Solution aims to achieve carbon neutral operations by 2050, while embodying the value of shared growth and promoting diverse and inclusive corporate culture. To learn more about LG Energy Solutions ideas and innovations, visit https://www.lgensol.com.

Build America, Buy America Act (BABA) In-Context

The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) is responsible for implementing the Build America , Buy America Act (BABA). This act aims to promote the use of American-made products in federally funded transportation projects, including highways, bridges, and other infrastructure.

The BABA requires that certain iron, steel, and manufactured products used in these projects be produced in the United States. This requirement helps support American manufacturing and job creation. The act also includes provisions for waivers and exceptions in certain cases where American-made products are not available or would be significantly more expensive.

The FHWA has published several notices and implementation plans related to the Build America, Buy America Act. These documents provide guidance and information on how the act is being implemented and how stakeholders can comply with its requirements.

The Biden-Harris Administration has taken steps to advance the goals of the Build America, Buy America Act, including publishing minimum standards for federally funded electric vehicle (EV) infrastructure and finalizing the implementation plan for EV charging equipment

The administration has also announced funding opportunities for cities, towns, tribes, and states to deploy EV charging infrastructure.

Overall the Build America, Buy America Act is an important policy that aims to support American manufacturing and promote the use of American-made products in transportation projects. The FHWA plays a key role in implementing and enforcing the requirements of the act.
Sascha Jovanovic, an Airbnb landlord, on the deck of his Los Angeles home. Allen J. Schaben/ Los Angeles Times via Getty Images

An Airbnb host failed to register his guesthouse properly, which has led to a long legal dispute.

A guest has now been living in the home rent-free for about 541 days.

A judge ruled the host had no legal right to remove her because the home was noncompliant.

An Airbnb host has found himself caught up in a protracted legal battle to try to remove an unwanted occupant who has been living on his property rent-free for more than 541 days.

A judge has ruled that he has no legal right to evict the woman, the Los Angeles Times reported.

Sascha Jovanovic started renting out his guesthouse without having a certificate of occupancy or a permit to build a shower, the Daily Mail reported. As such, according to California law, it was not a legal rental.

The case started in September 2021, when Jovanovic, a Los Angeles dentist, approved a long-term stay for Elizabeth Hirschhorn.

Hirschhorn rented the guesthouse for six months at $105 a night, spending close to $20,000 in total, according to a complaint filed in a Los Angeles court in June.

Five months in, however, Jovanovic offered to put Hirschhorn up in a hotel while a contractor made some repairs, the complaint said. Hirschhorn declined, and she also declined an offer to stay at his home, according to a cross-complaint filed in September.

A tense exchange ensued until Hirschhorn's originally scheduled Airbnb stay ended on March 19, 2022.

Even so, the pair agreed to extend her stay until April 12, 2022, while she looked for another property, the court documents show.

Extending the lease beyond March 19 meant that Airbnb would not be involved. Airbnb did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.

On April 12, 2022, Hirschhorn stopped paying rent.

Some days earlier, Hirschhorn had contacted the Los Angeles Department of Building and Safety, which identified two code violations: lack of approval for occupancy and the unpermitted construction of a shower.

She also submitted a complaint to a city official, alleging illegal eviction, harassment, and nonpayment of relocation fees, according to the Times' reporting.

Story continues

The official agreed that because the unit violated city codes, Jovanovic had to withdraw his eviction notices until he could prove that the unit was in compliance, the Times reported.

But Hirschhorn won't allow him inside, the lawsuit says.

With Hirschhorn having been on the property for more than six months, she says she qualifies for LA's new Just Cause Ordinance, which requires a landlord to give a legal reason for eviction, the Times reported.

If none exists, the landlord must pay for relocation assistance.

Meanwhile, the city official concluded that the property was subject to LA's Rent Stabilization Ordinance, affording Hirschhorn more-substantial tenant protections, the Times reported.

Jovanovic and his lawyer, Sebastian Rucci, have attempted to sue Hirschhorn on two fronts: a damages complaint to recover unpaid rent and an unlawful-detainer complaint to evict her.

Hirschhorn's legal team successfully had the latter dismissed by a judge, though Jovanovic's legal team is appealing the decision.

"She's the tenant from hell," Rucci told the Times. "If she's right, the theory is that if a landlord has something that isn't permitted, then you can stay in it rent-free forever."

In comments provided to Insider, Rucci said: "The tenant contends that she will not leave without being paid money to leave. We believe there is no basis for this."

He added: "We will not negotiate with Elizabeth Hirschhorn. We will not accept any settlement where Sascha has to pay her. She owes over $60,000 in rent, and her allegation that she is owed money to leave is absurd."

But Hirschhorn's attorney, Colin Walshok, told the Times: "The landlord broke the law and tried to make money by renting out an illegal bootleg unit.

"After he was caught, instead of doing the right thing, he has resorted to bullying, harassment, and the filing of frivolous lawsuits containing elaborate false stories, all in an attempt to cover his tracks."

In an email to Insider, Walshok accused Jovanovic of being "ruthless" and "unhinged" and spreading fake news stories about his client to "mislead the public about the many laws he broke."

Read the original article on Business Insider
Following the annual benchmarking process, Canada's concentration of Global Destination Sustainability Index destinations is now the highest in the world.

VANCOUVER, BC, Oct. 5, 2023 /PRNewswire/ - Destination Canada is pleased to share that following the release of the 2023 annual Global Destination Sustainability-Index (GDS-Index) benchmarking results, there are now 20 Canadian destinations participating in the Index, representing the highest national concentration of GDS-Index destinations globally. Achieved in collaboration with the 16 Canadian cities already participating in Destination Canada's Canadian Business Event Sustainability Plan , this milestone not only speaks to their commitment to be sustainable hosts for international events but signals the beginning of the final phase of the Plan.

Destination Canada Logo (CNW Group/Destination Canada)

The GDS-Index is the world's leading sustainability performance program for urban tourism and events destinations around the world. Used by over 100 cities globally, the GDS-Index benchmarks and improves the sustainability performance and strategies of the municipality, its tourism supply chain, and the destination management organization.

"Participation in the GDS-Index by 20 business event destinations across Canada is the highest of any country in the world. It shows our sector's commitment to meaningful, long-term transformation that really matters. The GDS-Index will help track where our destinations are currently on their sustainability journey, and how to improve from there," says Marsha Walden, President and CEO, Destination Canada. "Understanding the results of the Index is just the beginning of an incredible movement to host exemplary events in Canada."

"The GDS-Movement envisions thriving destinations and communities activated by regenerative tourism and events." says Global Destination Sustainability Movement's Chief Changemaker and CEO, Guy Bigwood. "With so many Canadian destinations committed to using the GDS-Index and to improving their destinations sustainability practices, clients looking at Canada to host their event won't be confined in where they want to go. Instead, they'll be able to choose and work with destinations who are in action and can help them organise events which can regenerate their organisations, society and nature."

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Launched in the spring of 2022, Destination Canada's Canadian Business Event Sustainability Plan is a first-of-its-kind national program aimed at improving the economic, socio-cultural, and environmental sustainability practices of business events hosted in Canada. There are currently 16 cities participating in the Plan:

Banff Lake Louise

Calgary

Edmonton

Halifax

Kelowna

Montreal

Niagara Falls

Ottawa

Charlottetown

Quebec City

Saskatoon

St. John's

Toronto

Vancouver

Victoria

Winnipeg

Recent Business Event Sustainability Advancements:

In March of 2023, Victoria  the first carbon-neutral Destination Management Organization in North America  broke new ground again when it became the first urban destination in North America to earn the Responsible Tourism Institute's coveted biosphere certification that recognizes commitment to environmental sustainability, cultural diversity, equity and social responsibility.

The Shaw Centre in downtown Ottawa is always thinking about the future with their Leave a Legacy program. The Shaw Centre's team identifies opportunities to donate anything left over, whether non-perishable food, obsolete marketing collateral, promotional items, furniture, displays, carpets, or anything else to the local Ottawa community with volunteer assistance from local partners. The Shaw Centre looks after all the arrangements to ensure your donations go where they matter most.

The Community Impact Program is a unique initiative that allows organizations to purchase prepaid co-invested cards for their clients to support local businesses and charities such as the Biosphere Institute of the Bow Valley, Banff Pride Society, and many other non-profits. The program was recently shortlisted for the GDS Innovation Award .

"When we reached out to start the program in 2022, I was hoping to have about 10-12 destinations across Canada join us. In the end, we had 16 destinations join the Plan  and that's really exciting," adds Virginie De Visscher, Acting Executive Director, Business Events, at Destination Canada. "This plan is meant to inspire and drive change within our destinations  helping them take concrete action to be better stewards of sustainable business events and create an environment of change within their destinations. The results of the GDS-Index will be paramount to continued forward momentum and continuous sustainability improvements."

Earlier this year, the Canadian Business Event Sustainability Plan was named the winner of the 2023 IMEX-EIC Innovation in Sustainability Award , acknowledging Destination Canada's commitment to driving sustainability and innovation. When the Canadian Business Event Sustainability Plan is complete, the 16 participating destinations will have a complete inventory of the sustainability programs available across the country. This inventory will inform the turnkey economic, socio-cultural, and environmental sustainability solutions provided to global clients, empowering them to take action and understand how Canadian host cities can help them meet their own sustainability goals.

About Destination Canada

At Destination Canada, we believe that tourism enhances the quality of life of Canadians and enriches the lives of visitors. We believe that Canada's diversity, its greatest asset, is also what touches travelers' hearts most deeply.

Our mission is to influence supply, and build demand for the benefit of locals, communities and visitors through leading research, alignment with public and private sectors, and marketing Canada nationally and abroad. In addition, our Business Events team leverages in-depth global market analysis to target international clusters aligned with Canada's priority economic sectors.

Our work in destination development ensures that we are able to sustain a premier four-season tourism economy that is regenerative in nature  supporting our economy and the environment.

Destination Canada's Business Events team is charged with growing Canada's share of international business events by promoting the country's unique meeting, convention, and incentive event possibilities. By driving awareness of Canada's leading economic strengths and how local knowledge capital can elevate business events, Destination Canada's Business Events team helps international organizations meet with purpose in Canada.

Destination Canada is a Crown corporation wholly owned by the Government of Canada.

Cision

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SOURCE Destination Canada
Value-focused investors are always on the hunt for stocks that are priced below their intrinsic value. One such stock that merits attention is Ceridian HCM Holding Inc (NYSE:CDAY). The stock, which is currently priced at $70.18, recorded a gain of 1.64% in a day and a 3-month increase of 8.4%. The stock's fair valuation is $120.71, as indicated by its GF Value.

Understanding GF Value

The GF Value represents the current intrinsic value of a stock derived from our exclusive method. The GF Value Line on our summary page gives an overview of the fair value that the stock should be traded at. It is calculated based on three factors:

1. Historical multiples (PE Ratio, PS Ratio, PB Ratio and Price-to-Free-Cash-Flow) that the stock has traded at.

2. GuruFocus adjustment factor based on the company's past returns and growth.

3. Future estimates of the business performance.

Is Ceridian HCM Holding (CDAY) Too Good to Be True? A Comprehensive Analysis of a Potential Value Trap

However, investors need to consider a more in-depth analysis before making an investment decision. Despite its seemingly attractive valuation, certain risk factors associated with Ceridian HCM Holding should not be ignored. These risks are primarily reflected through its low Altman Z-score of 1.3. These indicators suggest that Ceridian HCM Holding, despite its apparent undervaluation, might be a potential value trap. This complexity underlines the importance of thorough due diligence in investment decision-making.

Understanding the Altman Z-Score

Before delving into the details, let's understand what the Altman Z-score entails. Invented by New York University Professor Edward I. Altman in 1968, the Z-Score is a financial model that predicts the probability of a company entering bankruptcy within a two-year time frame. The Altman Z-Score combines five different financial ratios, each weighted to create a final score. A score below 1.8 suggests a high likelihood of financial distress, while a score above 3 indicates a low risk.

Story continues

Unpacking Ceridian HCM Holding's Business

Ceridian HCM provides payroll and human capital management solutions targeting clients with 100-100,000 employees. Following the 2012 acquisition of Dayforce, Ceridian pivoted away from its legacy on-premises Bureau business to become a cloud HCM provider. As of fiscal 2022, about 80% of group revenue was derived from the flagship Dayforce platform geared toward enterprise clients. The remaining revenue is about evenly split between cloud platform Powerpay, targeting small businesses in Canada, and legacy Bureau products.

Is Ceridian HCM Holding (CDAY) Too Good to Be True? A Comprehensive Analysis of a Potential Value Trap

Breaking Down Ceridian HCM Holding's Low Altman Z-Score

A dissection of Ceridian HCM Holding's Altman Z-score reveals Ceridian HCM Holding's financial health may be weak, suggesting possible financial distress:

Examining Ceridian HCM Holding's Operational Efficiency

When it comes to operational efficiency, a vital indicator for Ceridian HCM Holding is its asset turnover. The data: 2021: 0.14; 2022: 0.13; 2023: 0.16 from the past three years suggests a recent decline following an initial increase in this ratio. The asset turnover ratio reflects how effectively a company is using its assets to generate sales. Therefore, a drop in this ratio can signify reduced operational efficiency, potentially due to underutilization of assets or decreased market demand for the company's products or services. This shift in Ceridian HCM Holding's asset turnover underlines the need for the company to reassess its operational strategies to optimize asset usage and boost sales.

Conclusion: Navigating the Thin Line Between Value and Trap

While Ceridian HCM Holding (NYSE:CDAY) might seem like a promising investment due to its current undervaluation, the company's low Altman Z-Score and declining asset turnover ratio suggest potential financial distress and operational inefficiency. These indicators point towards Ceridian HCM Holding being a potential value trap, emphasizing the importance of thorough due diligence before making an investment decision.

GuruFocus Premium members can find stocks with high Altman Z-Score using the following Screener: Walter Schloss Screen .

This article first appeared on GuruFocus.


Batavia, NY (14020)

Today

Rain showers this morning with mostly cloudy conditions during the afternoon hours. High 47F. Winds SW at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 40%..

Tonight

Partly cloudy skies. Low 37F. Winds SSW at 10 to 15 mph.
(Bloomberg) -- Sunac China Holdings Ltd. won court approval for its multibillion-dollar offshore debt restructuring plan, clearing the last key hurdle for it to become the countrys first major developer to overhaul such liabilities.

Most Read from Bloomberg

Hong Kong Judge Jonathan Harris sign-off Thursday sets Sunac apart from major industry peers including China Evergrande Group. still struggling to find a viable debt-restructuring road map as an unprecedented housing crisis unfolds. Sunac shares jumped as much as 12%, adding to a sector-best rally in which the stock has soared 140% since the start of September.

The court ruling occurred 17 months after Sunac, which was Chinas third-largest builder by contracted sales in 2021, first defaulted on a dollar note. The companys case could provide a template for peers, some of which have sought bond extensions instead of holistic restructurings.

Sunac, now ranked 16th, unveiled its proposal in March after reaching agreement with a group of key bondholders. Within weeks, the plan had support from those holding more than 75% of the involved offshore debt. Creditors representing 98% of claims that voted at a Sept. 18 meeting backed the proposal.

The restructuring plan involves a small portion of Sunacs 1 trillion yuan ($137 billion) of liabilities. Harris said at Thursdays so-called sanction hearing that his only concern was that theres no reference to what is going on in the mainland, referring to restructuring documents filed by lawyers. This is only part of a big story.

A government-driven effort started in 2020 to limit real estate leverage growth was followed by plunging new-home sales in China and a cash crunch among developers  resulting in record offshore bond defaults. Home demand has weakened anew in recent months after showing signs of recovery earlier this year.

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Sunacs debt plan covers an estimated $10.2 billion of creditor claims, $5.7 billion of which would be compensated with new dollar bonds. The remainder will be settled through getting shares of its property-management arm and convertible notes. A Sunac lawyer said at Thursdays hearing that the restructuring is expected to meet all conditions and become effective at the end of 2023.

Dollar bondholders could see a recovery rate of 34% to 43%, according to Bloomberg Intelligence analysts Daniel Fan and Adrian Sim. Thats well above the 10-15 cent range that Sunacs notes continued to be indicated at Thursday, prices compiled by Bloomberg show.

The developer last month sought Chapter 15 bankruptcy protection in New York, a move sometimes required in finalizing a restructuring.

--With assistance from Xinyi Luo.

(Updates throughout.)

Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek

2023 Bloomberg L.P.
First, Chipotle had a robot make tortilla chips. Then, another robot began helping whip up guacamole. Now, Chipotle is trying out a robotic chef to make its salads and bowls.

The fast casual chain is testing a new automated "digital makeline" at its Chipotle Cultivate Center innovation hub in Irvine, California, where the previous robots were also put to the test.

When an order comes in  via the Chipotle app, for instance  any bowls or salads are sent to the robotic system, which automatically dispenses the required ingredients. Meanwhile, human Chipotle team members can focus on making burritos, tacos, quesadillas, or kids' meals.

Once the bowl or salad is complete, it pops up from the enclosed automated work process line through an opening in the countertop level where the human Chipotle employees work. A crew member then puts a lid on the dish and adds any additional items to the order.

A crew member takes a bowl created by the new automated "digital makeline" being tested at the Chipotle Cultivate Center innovation hub in Irvine, California.

Robo-help with bowls and salads could prove essential as the dishes make up about 65% of all Chipotle digital orders, the company says. "Chipotle's new digital makeline built by Hyphen embodies our commitment to leveraging robotics to unlock the human potential of our workforce, ensuring an elevated dining experience for our guests," Curt Garner, Chipotle's chief customer and technology officer, said in a statement.

Psyche!: McDonald's bringing back the McRib despite 'farewell tour'

Robots are coming to make your food

Sweetgreen, another fast casual food chain, has deployed an automated system in Naperville, Illinois, which can make up to 100 salads in 15 minutes with better accuracy than its human co-workers, Restaurant Business reported. A second system is expected to be operational later this year in Huntington Beach, Calif. the site said.

Chipotle announced its first robotic crew member, an AI kitchen assistant named Chippy from Pasadena, Calif. tech company Miso Robotics to make and season its tortilla chips, back in March 2022. Then, in July 2023, the Mexican restaurant chain said it had enlisted Autocado, a robot prototype to prep avocadoes before they are hand-mashed for guac.

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Chipotle invested in Autocado developer Vebu of El Segundo, as well as the San Jose, Calif., kitchen automation company Hyphen, which helped develop the robotic salad and bowl system that has yet to be given a catchy robotic name. "Our goal is to have the automated digital makeline be the centerpiece of all our restaurants' digital kitchens," Garner said.

Chippy, by the way, has subsequently been put to work at a Chipotle restaurant in Fountain Valley, Calif., the company says.

Chipotle suit: Equal Employment Opportunity Commission sues chain after Kansas manager is accused of ripping off employee's hijab

Follow Mike Snider on X and Threads: @mikesnider & mikegsnider.

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Chipotle robots make tortilla chips, avocados  now salads and bowls
Congs Sharma levels allegations against Power Deptt under Smart City Project





Legal Correspondent

State President of Madhya Pradesh Congress Bijli Samasya Nivaran Prakoshta, Saurabh Sharma while addressing a press conference on Wednesday accused the Electricity Department of yet another major scandal. Saurabh Sharma claimed that under the Smart City project, the Electricity Department executed a pole shifting work worth Rs 1.32 crore stretching from Adhartal to Karonda Nala Bypass.

In the project, all equipment and materials were required to meet specific standards and quality criteria as per regulations. But, serious variation from these standards in the project implementation. After widening the roads, the scrap that was supposed to be deposited with the Electricity Department was allegedly sold by the officials instead. Likewise, substandard and old materials were used, which indicates corruption in the project, he alleged.

Sharma said the Congress party would soon present evidence of other corruption cases that occurred in different areas. He said such corruption scandal has been done in entire Madhya Pradesh by the Electricity Department. Sharma said a thorough investigation must be initiated against all the corrupt officials. He said the Congress will soon lodge complaints with the Superintendent Engineer (power safety) along with Economic Offences Wing (EOW). Along with that they will also file petition a in the court.
Doctors protest political vandalism in Govt hospitals





Staff Reporter

The act of Shiv Sena MP Hemant Patil asking the Dean of Nanded hospital to clean the toilet with a broom has evoked sharp reactions from the medicos. Most of the doctors are asking, if politicians keep interfering in such a nasty way then who would like to become Dean of any Government hospital? A wave of anger in the medical fraternity swept through the Indira Gandhi Government Medical College and Hospital (IGGMCH), Nagpur as senior doctors showed reluctance to take the charge as Dean. Finally, Dr Makrand Vyawahare, fourth in the list of seniority, was made Dean of IGGMCH. Maharashtra State Medical Teachers Association (MSMTA) has condemned the Sena MPs interference, although it did not issue any official statement.

On the issue of political vandalism, the association is likely to meet either Medical Education Minister Hasan Mushrif or Principal Secretary Dinesh Waghmare soon. The Government has registered First Information Report against Patil, but it is not enough, say doctors. Expressing their ire, they told The Hitavada, We served the masses during coronavirus pandemic, still doctors and Deans were blamed by politicians and administration. Then, doctors were at the receiving end daily from the politicians, administration whose role in the health care was meager. The act of Sena MP is intolerable as a Dean cannot be held responsible for deaths at a hospital. 

Most Professors and Heads of the Departments, who on being senior, are holding the charge as Dean have expressed their unwillingness to head the institution. According to sources, Maharashtras Chief Secretary Manoj Sounik has come in support of Government hospitals. He has presented the statistics of monthly deaths in Shankarrao Chavan Government Medical College and Hospital, Nanded, Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar and Nagpurs GMCH and IGGMCH. According to Sounik, average deaths in government hospital Nanded is 13, Sambhajinagar 14 and, GMCH-IGGMCH combined 17. Most of the patients visiting government hospital are in critical condition or are referred by private hospitals. Also, during holidays, citizens prefer Government hospitals over private ones for healthcare.
Dr Pradip Patil plans to open 10 hospitals





Business Reporter

After successfully competing 20 years of dedicated service to society, Dr Pradip Patil, Managing Director of Shree Swami Samarth Heart Care Centre and Multispeciality Hospital, Trimurti Nagar has chalked out plans to open 10 hospitals in the country within a few years. In an exclusive interview with The Hitavada, Dr Patil said, This is my dream to open 10 new hospitals, so that more people can take the benefit of high end technology and low cost heart treatment without going the trauma of angioplasty and bypass surgery. One of the pioneers of introducing non surgical Enhanced External Counter Pulsation (EECP) treatment in Central India, Dr Patil said that Shree Swami Samarth Heart Care Centre has treated more than 5,500 patients till date. The hospital treats patients with 70 per cent to 100 per cent heart blockages.

The treatment take about 40 days. From just one EECP machine the hospitals has introduced 4 high end technology machines certified by United States Food and Drug Administration (USFDA). The EECP treatment is suitable for patients with weak and low pumping hearts. Dr Patil has completed MD in Preventive Cardiology, Phoenix, USA. At present, Dr Patil is the Executive Director of International Cardiology EECP Society (ICES). Dr Patil said, When we started the hospital in 2004, we were low on funds and the EECP treatment concept was new and the awareness level among the people was quite low. It was like a gamble.

But, over the years, patients benefited and today we have patients coming from Metro cities like Pune, Mumbai and adjoining States. Today, we have achieved a success rate of 90 per cent. He gives all the credit for the success of the hospital to his wife Dr Archana Patil, who has been the biggest support who had sacrificed everything from breaking her fixed deposits to selling her jewellery and dedicating her time for the well being of the patients. Dr Archana Patil, daughter of Pradip and Archana Patil has also joined the hospital as Executive Director. The hospital was started to offer low cost heart care treatment without undergoing surgery.
Govt sets up National Turmeric Board





Business Reporter

THE Government on Wednesday set up National Turmeric Board with a view to promoting production of the herb having medicinal value and increase its exports to USD 1 billion or Rs 8,400 crore by 2030. With the focused activities of the board, it is expected that turmeric exports will reach USD 1 billion by 2030, a Commerce Ministry statement said. According to the statement, the Centre on Wednesday notified the constitution of National Turmeric Board. The board will focus on development and growth of turmeric and turmeric products in the country, it added.

Briefing media about the issue, Union Minister Kishan Reddy said the decision fulfils the long-pending demand of farmers of Telangana.

He said the board will not only help farmers of Telangana but also of Maharashtra, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Mizoram, Assam, Gujarat, Odisha and West Bengal. He also said farmers in Telangana did not wear slippers or shoes for the past 15 years to press for their demand of setting up of a dedicated board for turmeric.

Our cadres have distributed slippers to the farmers of Telangana after this announcement, he said. The Government has chalked out a plan to increase turmeric exports to Rs 8,400 crore, or USD 1 billion, per annum (by 2030) from the existing Rs 1,600 crore, said Union Minister Anurag Thakur, while briefing the media about the Union Cabinet decision in its meeting on Wednesday.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced setting up of the board on Tuesday at a function in Telangana and the Centre notified the proposal on Wednesday, he said. The board will have a chairperson to be appointed by the central government. Its members will be from Ministry of AYUSH, Departments of Pharmaceuticals, Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Commerce and Industry of the Union Government, senior State Government representatives from three states (on rotation basis), select national/state institutions involved in research, representatives of turmeric farmers and exporters.
HC takes suo motu cognisance of deaths at Nanded, Sambhaji nagar hospitals





MUMBAI :

THE Bombay High Court on Wednesday took suo motu cognisance of the deaths at two state-run hospitals in Nanded and Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar cities and noted that the reasons given by doctors citing the shortage of beds, staff, and essential medicines cannot be accepted. The HC also sought details from the Maharashtra Government. A division bench of Chief Justice D K Upadhyaya and Justice Arif Doctor asked Advocate General Birendra Saraf, appearing for the State Government, to submit to the bench the details about the states budgetary allocation for health on Friday. Earlier in the day, an advocate, Mohit Khanna, had submitted a letter to the benchrequesting it to take suo motu cognisance of the deaths.

The bench initially directed Khanna to file a petition and said it wanted to issue effective orders. It also asked the advocate to gather data regarding vacancies in the hospitals, availability of medicine, thepercentage (offunds)the governmentis spending and so on. However, in the afternoon session, the bench said it was taking suo motu cognisance of the issue noting thatreasons given by the doctors atthe hospitals citing shortage of beds, staff, and essential medicines cannot be accepted.

Short age of staff,essential medicines and beds...If deaths are happening due to these reasons, then it cannot be accepted, CJ Upadhyaya said. Saraf told the bench that he would submit all details on the issue. The HC said it would hear the matter on Friday. Khanna in his letter stated 31 deaths, including thoseofinfants, wererecordedattheDrShankarrao ChavanGovernmentMedicalCollege andHospital in Nanded in 48 hours since September 30.
Concept Medical Joins Dermapure (CNW Group/Functionalab Group Inc.)

Strengthens presence in Ottawa, Ontario

OTTAWA, ON, Oct. 5, 2023 /CNW/ - Functionalab Group and Dermapure, Canada's leading network of premium aesthetic medicine clinics, are pleased to announce their latest partnership with Dr. Samuel Hetz and his team at Concept Medical. Owned and led by Dr. Hetz, Concept Medical has established itself as a leading aesthetic medicine clinic in Ottawa over the past 8 years. With this partnership, Functionalab Group now has three clinics in Ottawa and further strengthens its leadership position with a total of 68 clinics across Canada.

Dr. Hetz is highly regarded in the industry, serving on the Canadian Association of Aesthetic Medicine (CAAM) Board of Directors and teaching fellow physicians and residents with the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Ottawa. Along with a skilled team of experts, Concept Medical is dedicated to providing exceptional patient experiences and a comprehensive range of services tailored to individual needs, both cosmetic and medical. Predominantly, the clinic has garnered a reputation for its injectables, technology-based skin treatments, and PRP for hair loss.

"We are so thrilled that Sam has decided to join our Group. His expertise, trustworthiness and business acumen embodies what our brand and our medical team stands for. We are on a mission to build the most trusted brand in the industry, and it is amazing and very exciting to see young and dynamic aesthetic doctors like Sam join our Group," says Francis Maheu, Co-Founder and Co-CEO of the Functionalab Group.

"We are delighted to welcome Concept Medical to the Dermapure family," adds Marilyne Gagne, President of Dermapure. "Their commitment to providing the highest level of expertise, cutting-edge technologies, and personalized care aligns perfectly with our mission and will undoubtedly enhance our presence in Ottawa."

Dr. Hetz sees the partnership as a strategic move to stay competitive in the ever-expanding medical aesthetic market, explaining, "As an independent clinic, there are limits to growth, but this partnership allows us to reach new heights. By aligning ourselves with like-minded physicians and the Dermapure brand, we join a network that is truely at the forefront of the Canadian aesthetic medicine space. On top of that, through collaboration, we can focus on our core strengths in the clinic  ensuring our patients receive an exceptional experience and optimal results."

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Dr. Jason McWhirter, Co-CEO of the Functionalab Group, highlights the importance of such mutually beneficial partnerships, stating "Collaborations like these are pivotal in cementing our reputation in the industry, both with patients and physicians. It's remarkable that Concept Medical is our fourth partnership since the merger between Functionalab Group and FYi's Medical Aesthetic. We remain steadfastly committed to offering the highest standard of aesthetic medicine and to partnering with renowned physician-led clinics across Canada, exemplified by our partnership with Dr Hetz and his team at Concept Medical."

About Functionalab Group

Functionalab Group is a brand builder in the beauty sector that focuses on and brings innovation to two high-growth segments: aesthetic medicine, with its network established under the Dermapure and Project Skin MD brands as well as its Functionalab professional skincare line, and the dermo-cosmetic sector with its Jouviance line, available in pharmacies:

Following the merger between Functionalab Group and FYi's Medical Aesthetic Division in January 2023, the Functionalab Group represents Canada's largest branded network of premium aesthetic medicine clinics with over 65 clinics, offering an approach to skincare that combines cutting-edge technologies with their lines of professional skincare Functionalab and SkinCeuticals.





Developed by a dermatologist, Jouviance is a Canadian dermo-cosmetic brand distributed in more than 2,000 outlets in Canada and Asia.

Functionalab Group has been ranked as one of Canada's fastest-growing companies by the GROWTH LIST for five consecutive years, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2020, and was a finalist for EY's Entrepreneur Grand Prize in 2016 and 2023.

For more information on Functionalab Group, please visit www.functionalabgroup.com and its brands' websites: www.dermapure.com/en, www.projectskinmd.com, www.en.jouviance.com and www.functionalab.com/.

Concept Medical Joins Dermapure (CNW Group/Functionalab Group Inc.)

SOURCE Functionalab Group Inc.

Cision

View original content to download multimedia: http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/October2023/05/c2799.html
Indefinite hunger strike of nursing, paramedical students continues





Staff Reporter

Agitated over unconcerned attitude of the State Government and higher authorities, nursing and paramedical students continued with their indefinite hunger strike on the call of Nursing Students Organisation on Wednesday. The students assembled at the premises of Madhya Pradesh Medical Science University and raised their voice to redress issues concerned with examinations and corruption prevailing in the Government system and medical university. They remained adamant not to cast their votes along with their parents and relatives until their demands are fulfilled.

Organisations National President Gopal Parashar said that students of BSc Nursing, MSc Nursing and Post Basic Nursing Students are facing the brunt of unprofessional and corrupt work culture in the medical university. They are still waiting to get appeared in examinations since 2020-21. Corrupt officials of the State Government issued affiliation to nursing colleges which did not fulfilled fixed parameters, following which these colleges gave admission to students.
Mungantiwar signs MoU with UK for return of Wagh Nakh to India





LONDON (UK),

FOLLOWING the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to bring back Chhatrapati Shivajis Wagh Nakh to India, Maharashtra Minister Sudhir Mungantiwar mentioned that they have requested the UK to expedite the process, ideally within 2-3 months, but acknowledged that it involves a lengthy procedure.

Sudhir Mungantiwar told ANI We have asked them to expedite it by giving us in 2-3 months, but they have said it involves a long process. We are trying to bring back Wagh Nakh (tiger claw) to India as soon as possible. PM Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah are inspired from Shivaji and we are able to take back Wagh Nakh to India today, we are very happy about it.

The agreement was signed in London in a very rousing atmosphere with the beating of drums and chants of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj ki Jai. We will continue to bring more MoUs in the future because Indians have to visit foreign countries to see Indias heritage, Sudhir Mungantiwar added. Meanwhile, CM Shinde acknowledged the persistent efforts of Cultural Affairs Minister Sudhir Mungantiwar, who championed the cause at both the Central and State Government levels on the international stage.
PM to lay stone for GAILs 317 kms Nagpur-Jabalpur pipeline today





Business Reporter

Materialising the vision of Prime Minister Narendra Modi towards expansion of National Gas Grid, the Gas Authority of India Limited (GAIL) is going to start 317-km-long Nagpur-Jabalpur Natural Gas Pipeline Project. It is an opportunity for GAIL that Prime Minister Narendra Modi will lay the foundation stone of the project while he will also inaugurate Vijaipur-Auraiya Natural Gas Pipeline Project at a function in Jabalpur on Thursday, said Sandeep Kumar Gupta, CMD of GAIL, while addressing a press conference on Wednesday. CMD Gupta added that the 317-km-long Nagpur-Jabalpur Natural Gas Pipeline which is being built at an investment of Rs 1,103 crore will originate from Nagpur in Maharashtra and pass through Chhindwara, Seoni and Jabalpur districts in Madhya Pradesh. The length of the pipeline in Madhya Pradesh is 256 km, passing through 144 villages of these three districts. This pipeline is a part of 1,755 km-long Mumbai-Nagpur-Jharsuguda Pipeline (MNJPL) Project which is categorised as high impact category under PM Gati Shakti Master Plan initiative.

The pipeline will supply natural gas to four geographical areas authorised by PNGRB along this pipeline route in Madhya Pradesh. These include Betul, Chhindwara, Seoni and Balaghat, Damoh, Jabalpur, Katni, Mandla, Umaria and Dindori, Hoshangabad, Narsinghpur, Sagar, Vidisha and Anuppur. Thus, with completion of this pipeline, 15 districts of Madhya Pradesh will have access to natural gas. Around 26 lakh PNG connections will be provided and more than 550 CNG stations will be established in these 4 GAs by the city gas distribution companies in coming days. The project is targeted to be completed by October 2024 and will provide around five lakh man-days of direct or indirect employment opportunities during the construction phase. The 352 km-long Vijaipur-Auraiya Natural Gas Pipeline (193 km in Madhya Pradesh and 159 km in Uttar Pradesh) has been built at an investment of Rs 1,765 crore to supply environment-friendly and affordable fuel to industries, households and transport sectors in the State of Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh.
STOCKHOLM,

THREE scientists won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for their work on quantum dots  tiny particles that can release very bright coloured light and are used in electronics and medical imaging. Moungi Bawendi, of MIT; Louis Brus, of Columbia University, and Alexei Ekimov, of Nanocrystals Technology Inc., were honoured for their work with the particles, just a few atoms in diameter, and that have unique properties and now spread their light from television screens and LED lamps, according to the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, which announced the award in Stockholm. They catalyze chemical reactions and their clear light can illuminate tumour tissue for a surgeon, the academy said.

Quantum dots electrons have constrained movement, and this affects how they absorb and release visible light, allowing for very bright colours. In a highly unusual leak, Swedish media reported the names of the winners before the prize was announced. There was a press release sent out for still unknown reasons. We have been very active this morning to find out exactly what happened, Hans Ellegren, the Secretary-General of the academy, told the news conference where the award was announced. This is very unfortunate, we do regret what happened.

Ekimov, 78, and Brus, 80, are early pioneers of the technology, while Bawendi, 62, is credited with revolutionising the production of quantum dots resulting in almost perfect particles. This high quality was necessary for them to be utilized in applications, the academy said. Bawendi told the news conference that he was very surprised, sleepy, shocked, unexpected and very honoured. The community realised the implications in the mid 90s, that there could potentially be some real world applications, Bawendi said. Asked about the leak, he said he didnt know about the prize until he was called by the academy. The chemistry prize means Nobel season has reached its halfway stage. The prizes in literature, peace and economics follow, with one announcement every weekday until October 9.
TMC leaders detained during dharna; released later





NEW DELHI,

TMC General Secretary Abhishek Banerjee and several other party leaders were detained on Tuesday night as they held a dharna at the Union Rural Development Ministry office here demanding a meeting with the Minister and released around three hours later. Abhishek Banerjee alleged that TMC leaders, including women, were manhandled by Delhi Police. They were pulled by their hair and dragged out, he claimed. Today is a black day for Indian democracy, he said.

In a post on X, TMC President and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said Tuesdays events revealed the BJPs disdain for the people of the State. The development came as the tug-of-war between the Centre and the West Bengal Government over the release of funds to the State intensified with the TMC holding protests in the national capital for the second consecutive day. Abhishek Banerjee, along with party lawmakers, State Ministers and supporters including MGNREGA workers, protested at Jantar Mantar here, a day after they held a two-hour sit-in at the Rajghat on Mahatma Gandhis birth anniversary before being evicted by the police. They later took out a march to the Rural Development Ministry at the Krishi Bhawan, where they had an appointment with Minister of State Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti.
I will not leave any stone unturned for devpt of my Assembly constituency

Staff ReporterBJP candidate from West Assembly, Rakesh Singh did extensive campaigning in Shaheed Gulab Singh Ward of the Assembly, on Sunday. During campaigning Singh said there is immense potential for development in West A..
Singapore, Singapore--(Newsfile Corp. - October 4, 2023) - Convergence RFQ, a fully-on chain infrastructure product for trading systems, has concluded a $2.5 million in seed funding round. The seed round included notable investors such as Big Brain VC, Ascensive Assets, Auros Global, C Ventures, Cogitent Ventures, Israel Blockchain Association, and Peer Fund.





Convergence Seed Investors



To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:

https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/9038/177907_d86e9c781413f830_001full.jpg

The funds raised will be used to scale beyond Solana and Arbitrum, enhance platform features, and accelerate the integration with new DeFi derivative protocols. This enables Convergence RFQ to continue its mission of delivering a user-centric DeFi trading platform that offers unrivalled value to traders and liquidity providers.

Convergence RFQ - Deep liquidity provisioning and state-of-the-art risk engine

The request for quote (RFQ) model is designed to offer market makers and institutions block trading experience while eliminating the pitfalls of front-running and other market inefficiencies. The RFQ system allows traders to easily access and transact with a wide range of counterparties, increasing their flexibility and optimising their trading strategies.

"Convergence RFQ's remarkable tech and rapid developments on a lean budget is a testament to the team's foresight and dedication. The seed round success positions Convergence RFQ to transform the way we trade in the DeFi space."

- Ciara Sun, C Ventures

"Our journey has just begun, and this pre-seed round funding marks a pivotal milestone. We are committed to reshaping the future of how Market makers and Institutions involve in DeFi trading, and with the support of our esteemed investors, we are well-positioned to make a lasting impact."

- Uwe Cerron, Core Contributor Convergence RFQ.

Current Integrations

At the moment, Convergence RFQ has successfully integrated with:

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1. Psyoptions: To boost liquidity for the options market of the platform.

2. SEI Network: To help market makers access new protocols and provide on-demand liquidity for applications faster and more efficiently than previously possible. Read more.

3. HXRO Network: To boost on-chain liquidity on the network and provide the users with a secure settlement layer.

With continual partnerships and integrations, Convergence RFQ is poised to unlock new possibilities for the DeFi ecosystem, making it accessible and efficient in fostering innovation of liquidity provisioning to protocols.

Crypto institutional traders and liquidity providers can look forward to a smoother DeFi trading experience as the Convergence RFQ team aims to maximize liquidity for their users.

Follow Convergence RFQ's media channels to keep updated with the latest updates:

Website: https://www.convergence.so/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/ConvergenceRfq

Telegram: https://t.me/convergencerfq

Media contact:

Company name: Convergence RFQ

Contact name: Uwe Cerron

Email: Uwe@tradersguild.so

Website: https://www.convergence.so/

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/177907
TD Securities upgraded shares of Canadian Utilities (TSE:CU  Free Report) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report report published on Monday, BayStreet.CA reports. TD Securities currently has C$37.00 price target on the stock.

Several other research firms have also commented on CU. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on Canadian Utilities from C$40.00 to C$36.00 and set a sector perform rating for the company in a research report on Monday, September 11th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on shares of Canadian Utilities from C$38.00 to C$37.00 and set a market perform rating for the company in a research note on Friday, September 8th. CSFB decreased their price target on shares of Canadian Utilities from C$40.50 to C$40.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 24th. Scotiabank decreased their price target on shares of Canadian Utilities from C$40.00 to C$37.00 and set a sector perform rating for the company in a research note on Monday, September 18th. Finally, CIBC reduced their price objective on shares of Canadian Utilities from C$40.00 to C$38.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 21st. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Canadian Utilities has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of C$37.75.

Get Canadian Utilities alerts:

Get Our Latest Stock Report on Canadian Utilities

Canadian Utilities Price Performance

TSE:CU opened at C$28.74 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.30, a current ratio of 1.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 142.91. The businesss 50-day simple moving average is C$31.36 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is C$34.77. The stock has a market cap of C$5.80 billion, a PE ratio of 13.62, a P/E/G ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 0.57. Canadian Utilities has a 52 week low of C$28.13 and a 52 week high of C$39.87.

Canadian Utilities (TSE:CU  Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 27th. The company reported C$0.37 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts consensus estimates of C$0.43 by C($0.06). The firm had revenue of C$879.00 million for the quarter. Canadian Utilities had a net margin of 16.21% and a return on equity of 9.33%. As a group, analysts forecast that Canadian Utilities will post 2.2825219 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Canadian Utilities Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.449 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 1st. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.25%. Canadian Utilitiess dividend payout ratio is currently 84.83%.

Canadian Utilities Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

Canadian Utilities Limited, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the electricity, natural gas, and retail energy businesses in the United States, Australia, and internationally. It operates through Utilities, Energy Infrastructure, and Corporate & Other segments. The Utilities segment provides regulated electricity transmission and distribution services in northern and central east Alberta, the Yukon, and the Northwest Territories; and integrated natural gas transmission and distribution services in Alberta, the Lloydminster area of Saskatchewan, and Western Australia.

Further Reading

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An enthusiastic group of pro bono programmers strewn across the globe, including in Hong Kong, are building the open source, crypto-focused super app of Elon Musk's dreams - but without the app.

For the past year, a dedicated group of developers have been working on a decentralised social media protocol, with new features rolling out at a pace that makes it hard to keep track. Updates made this year to the protocol, which was started in late 2020, and to related apps encompass everything from a marketplace with cryptocurrency payments to a TikTok-like short video feed.

The Nostr protocol has kindled such enthusiasm in a core group of users that they have taken to putting on conferences around the world, including an upcoming dual-city event called Nostrasia in Tokyo and Hong Kong from November 1 to 3.

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.

While Musk has touted the free-speech bona fides of his new Twitter, which he renamed X, the crypto enthusiasts behind Nostr have built a platform that is censorship resistant and already allows for the instant transfer of bitcoin. It also has the backing of Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey and has attracted users like US intelligence whistle-blower Edward Snowden and Chinese-Malaysian singer Michael Wong. Interest has grown in mainland China, as well.

"I think the most amazing thing about Nostr is you have one identity on all platforms," said Sherry, a programmer and data analyst from the mainland who organises Hong Kong Nostr meet-ups. She asked to go only by her English first name, which is not associated with her day job.

"Basically you can transfer [between] all platforms with one identity. That actually blew my mind," she added. "It's like a decentralised app store. Just this app store is not controlled by Apple; it's controlled by all developers."

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Nostr started gaining widespread attention in February, when Apple said it had removed social media platform Damus, the first iOS app that connects to the network, from its mainland China App Store, citing local cybersecurity laws. Damus was one of the first apps to make Nostr user-friendly, and it came soon after Dorsey joined in December and Snowden in January.

Gareth Hayes, chief technology officer at blockchain consulting firm Emergent Solutions who has been living in Hong Kong for 10 years, was the one who introduced Sherry to Nostr. He first started contributing to the code in early 2022, when the protocol was still in its very early stages and only accessible through a command line.

With the many new use cases that have cropped up over the past year, Nostr can theoretically take the place of all the different types of social platforms people use today, Hayes explained. A new standard recently rolled out to help unify all these use cases by automatically launching different types of Nostr apps.

"Let's say you build a Twitter kind of client. That interacts directly with the Instagram kind of client, and it can interact directly with a Spotify kind of client, where anyone can publish their music," he said. "The networks combine together so there's like a multiplier effect. It's kind of like a super app."

Perhaps the closest comparison today would be WeChat, the Chinese super app that Musk has suggested he wants X to emulate. While not concentrated in just one app, microblogging, long-form content, mobile payments (in bitcoin), classifieds, and live streaming are all capable over Nostr, with many of those features introduced just this year as usage spiked.

Nostr has built-in support for Lightning transfers, which enables quick and cheap transfers of fractions of bitcoin called sats. For showing good manners to ChatGPT, Sherry was tipped 21 sats, or half a US cent. Photo: Screenshot from Coracle.social alt=Nostr has built-in support for Lightning transfers, which enables quick and cheap transfers of fractions of bitcoin called sats. For showing good manners to ChatGPT, Sherry was tipped 21 sats, or half a US cent. Photo: Screenshot from Coracle.social>

Unlike WeChat, however, it is very difficult for content to disappear from Nostr. Even when users want to delete their own posts, there is no guarantee those posts will be removed from all the Nostr relay servers to which they have been propagated. This is what drives much of the current support for Nostr, which is full of posts about seeking "freedom" from traditional social media, governments or anything else perceived to be violating the laissez-faire ethos.

The Damus ban in China also drove interest in the mainland, with the Damus relay, which was not blocked, being flooded with Chinese posts. Even if one relay is blocked, though, users can find another one that allows them to get through the country's Great Firewall without a virtual private network.

"As long as you can post your note to one relay, there's a great probability that they will help you rebroadcast to all relays," Sherry said.

This ownerless tech has driven levels of enthusiasm rarely seen for social media products these days, belying the relatively small size of the network so far. A firm number is hard to ascertain given its decentralised nature, but Hayes said some estimates have peaked above 1 million users at any given time.

Damus was the first Nostr app on Apple's iOS and it was banned in China soon after its launch this year. Photo: Damus alt=Damus was the first Nostr app on Apple's iOS and it was banned in China soon after its launch this year. Photo: Damus>

Nostr works using relay servers run by anyone who wants to set one up. Users pull and push content to relays they subscribe to, with the idea being that over time content gets propagated to every user looking for it. It uses public key infrastructure to identify users and content, so a specific string of characters is always associated with a specific user, post, or other type of content, called events.

Event types are specified in what are called NIPs, or Nostr Implementation Possibilities, which are an enumerated series of JavaScript Object Notation files built on top of the Nostr protocol (laid out in NIP-01). A NIP can specify a way of sending just about any type of content over the protocol, making Nostr infinitely extensible.

This set-up makes the protocol very different from ActivityPub, which underpins Mastodon. That network requires users to join instances owned and moderated by specific people, something that adds speed and stability but has more computing overhead has been criticised by some, especially Nostr users, for not being truly decentralised.

Dorsey appears to ascribe to this view. "The only solution [to social media censorship] is to build on unowned protocols like Nostr and bitcoin," the entrepreneur posted to Nostr on September 1. "All single points of control have to be removed."

The billionaire has been so taken with Nostr that he donated 14 bitcoin to its creator, fiatjaf, after joining. He also helps fund conferences, the first of which was Nostrica in Costa Rica in March. During that conference, Dorsey solicited opinions on possible locations for future events, and Hayes said he pitched the idea of having one in Hong Kong.

That idea manifested as one part of Nostrasia. The main event, which includes talks and a hackathon, takes place in Tokyo, where Dorsey will be in attendance, and the Hong Kong arm is meant for people from mainland China so they do not have to deal with getting a visa for Japan, he added.

Hayes also helped kick off what has become a gushing stream of online content all about Nostr. His podcast Nostrovia was the first of many, he said. There are now also newsletters, blogs and at least one documentary.

"I wanted to have a higher-bandwidth discussion about what people are building and what approaches they're taking and how they think about building with Nostr," Hayes said. "Because it's a different paradigm."

For now, that paradigm has primarily attracted bitcoin users dedicated to the decentralised nature of blockchain and related technology. They dominate discussions on the network, many of whom are also programmers. Average users, however, are likely to encounter hurdles that make it less sticky than traditional social media.

Losing an account's private key, for example, means the account is lost with it. The relay server approach also means content is slow to load as it pulls from multiple places at once.

Misinformation and conspiracy theories are another challenge. Nostr developers are looking for ways to allow users to filter out stuff they do not want to see while maintaining their original free-speech principles. Covid-19-related conspiracies, vaccine misinformation and anti-Semitic content is all easy to stumble across right now.

Dorsey himself has promoted conspiracy theories about the assassination of John F. Kennedy, along with the former US president's nephew and current long-shot presidential candidate Robert Kennedy Jnr, whom Dorsey has endorsed. Dorsey regularly has some of the highest trending posts on the network.

But interest in Nostr is still growing, even in China, where Hayes said the focus is a little different.

"The Chinese community is business focused," he said. "They're looking at [Nostr] as a new kind of Web3." The story is similar in other parts of Asia, he added, noting that a Nostr meetup in Macau this year largely attracted Web3 venture capitalists.

That may clash with the ideology of the primary builders of Nostr today. But for now it remains a compelling proof of concept for a "super app" that is genuinely beholden to no central authority or VC money.

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.

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Centurion Wealth Management LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Chevron Co. (NYSE:CVX  Free Report) by 4.3% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,608 shares of the oil and gas companys stock after selling 73 shares during the period. Centurion Wealth Management LLCs holdings in Chevron were worth $253,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Rebalance LLC bought a new position in shares of Chevron during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. NewSquare Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Chevron by 52.3% during the 1st quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 195 shares of the oil and gas companys stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Artemis Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Chevron during the 1st quarter worth approximately $33,000. HBC Financial Services PLLC bought a new position in shares of Chevron in the 1st quarter worth $37,000. Finally, Worth Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Chevron in the 1st quarter worth $36,000. 68.87% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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Chevron Stock Performance

Shares of CVX opened at $163.03 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $304.42 billion, a PE ratio of 10.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a current ratio of 1.43, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $163.39 and a 200-day moving average price of $160.82. Chevron Co. has a 12-month low of $149.74 and a 12-month high of $189.68.

Chevron Announces Dividend

Chevron ( NYSE:CVX Get Free Report ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 28th. The oil and gas company reported $3.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $2.95 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $48.90 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $48 billion. Chevron had a return on equity of 19.48% and a net margin of 13.54%. The companys revenue for the quarter was down 28.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $5.82 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Chevron Co. will post 13.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 11th. Investors of record on Friday, August 18th were given a $1.51 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 17th. This represents a $6.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.70%. Chevrons payout ratio is 38.30%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Pierre R. Breber sold 25,000 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.00, for a total value of $4,100,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 6,021 shares in the company, valued at approximately $987,444. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other Chevron news, VP Jeff B. Gustavson sold 3,750 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.88, for a total value of $603,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 1,718 shares in the company, valued at $276,391.84. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Pierre R. Breber sold 25,000 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.00, for a total value of $4,100,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 6,021 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $987,444. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. HSBC raised their price objective on Chevron from $180.00 to $184.00 in a research note on Wednesday, August 9th. Mizuho raised their target price on Chevron from $209.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Monday, September 18th. Citigroup decreased their target price on Chevron from $180.00 to $170.00 in a research report on Tuesday, July 11th. Bank of America raised their target price on Chevron from $185.00 to $190.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 27th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Chevron from $198.00 to $203.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research report on Monday. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $190.89.

Read Our Latest Analysis on CVX

Chevron Profile

(Free Report)

Chevron Corporation, through its subsidiaries, engages in the integrated energy and chemicals operations in the United States and internationally. The company operates in two segments, Upstream and Downstream. The Upstream segment is involved in the exploration, development, production, and transportation of crude oil and natural gas; liquefaction, transportation, and regasification associated with liquefied natural gas; transportation of crude oil through pipelines; and processing, transportation, storage, and marketing of natural gas, as well as a gas-to-liquids plant.

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Conning Inc. acquired a new position in Hewlett Packard Enterprise (NYSE:HPE  Free Report) during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund acquired 10,003 shares of the technology companys stock, valued at approximately $168,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Graypoint LLC grew its position in shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise by 48.1% in the 2nd quarter. Graypoint LLC now owns 15,899 shares of the technology companys stock worth $267,000 after buying an additional 5,162 shares during the last quarter. PDS Planning Inc purchased a new stake in Hewlett Packard Enterprise during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $201,000. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich grew its position in Hewlett Packard Enterprise by 98,554.8% during the 2nd quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 9,067,367 shares of the technology companys stock worth $152,332,000 after purchasing an additional 9,058,176 shares during the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC purchased a new stake in Hewlett Packard Enterprise during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $4,403,000. Finally, Grimes & Company Inc. grew its position in Hewlett Packard Enterprise by 5.9% during the 2nd quarter. Grimes & Company Inc. now owns 417,499 shares of the technology companys stock worth $7,014,000 after purchasing an additional 23,242 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.15% of the companys stock.

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Hewlett Packard Enterprise Stock Performance

NYSE:HPE opened at $17.01 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 0.88. The company has a fifty day moving average of $17.24 and a two-hundred day moving average of $16.19. The stock has a market capitalization of $21.82 billion, a PE ratio of 20.74, a P/E/G ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 1.22. Hewlett Packard Enterprise has a fifty-two week low of $12.06 and a fifty-two week high of $18.14.

Hewlett Packard Enterprise Announces Dividend

Hewlett Packard Enterprise ( NYSE:HPE Get Free Report ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 29th. The technology company reported $0.49 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $0.47 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $7 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $6.99 billion. Hewlett Packard Enterprise had a net margin of 3.64% and a return on equity of 5.32%. The firms revenue for the quarter was up .7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.31 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Hewlett Packard Enterprise will post 1.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 14th will be given a dividend of $0.12 per share. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.82%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 13th. Hewlett Packard Enterprises dividend payout ratio is presently 58.54%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Jeremy Cox sold 21,131 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.66, for a total value of $373,173.46. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 615 shares in the company, valued at $10,860.90. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, SVP Jeremy Cox sold 21,131 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.66, for a total value of $373,173.46. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 615 shares in the company, valued at $10,860.90. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Alan Richard May sold 343,016 shares of the companys stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.48, for a total transaction of $5,995,919.68. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 249,511 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $4,361,452.28. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 799,031 shares of company stock worth $13,970,865. Company insiders own 0.53% of the companys stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

HPE has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Credit Suisse Group dropped their target price on shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise from $21.00 to $20.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, August 30th. Citigroup assumed coverage on shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise in a report on Thursday, June 29th. They issued a neutral rating and a $18.00 price objective on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report on Wednesday, August 30th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Wednesday, August 30th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Hewlett Packard Enterprise currently has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $17.33.

Check Out Our Latest Analysis on Hewlett Packard Enterprise

About Hewlett Packard Enterprise

(Free Report)

Hewlett Packard Enterprise Company provides solutions that allow customers to capture, analyze, and act upon data seamlessly in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, the Asia Pacific, and Japan. It operates in six segments: Compute, HPC & AI, Storage, Intelligent Edge, Financial Services, and Corporate Investments and Other.

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Graco Inc. (NYSE:GGG  Get Free Report) has earned an average recommendation of Moderate Buy from the four ratings firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $83.00.

A number of research analysts recently commented on GGG shares. StockNews.com raised shares of Graco from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report on Friday, August 25th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on shares of Graco from $94.00 to $91.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 28th.

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Graco Stock Up 2.5 %

Graco stock opened at $74.37 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $12.57 billion, a PE ratio of 25.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 0.82. Graco has a 52-week low of $58.17 and a 52-week high of $87.94. The companys 50 day moving average is $76.31 and its two-hundred day moving average is $77.72.

Graco (NYSE:GGG  Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 26th. The industrial products company reported $0.75 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts consensus estimates of $0.78 by ($0.03). Graco had a net margin of 23.10% and a return on equity of 25.52%. The firm had revenue of $559.60 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $576.14 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.68 earnings per share. Gracos revenue for the quarter was up 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Graco will post 2.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Graco Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 1st. Investors of record on Monday, October 16th will be issued a $0.235 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 13th. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.26%. Gracos dividend payout ratio is presently 31.97%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Graco news, CEO Mark W. Sheahan bought 1,263 shares of the companys stock in a transaction on Monday, July 31st. The shares were bought at an average cost of $79.04 per share, with a total value of $99,827.52. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 62,986 shares of the companys stock, valued at $4,978,413.44. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, Director Sant R. William Van sold 30,870 shares of the companys stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.08, for a total transaction of $2,317,719.60. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Mark W. Sheahan bought 1,263 shares of the firms stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 31st. The stock was bought at an average price of $79.04 per share, with a total value of $99,827.52. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 62,986 shares in the company, valued at $4,978,413.44. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 2.98% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Graco

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Silicon Valley Capital Partners acquired a new stake in Graco in the 1st quarter valued at about $25,000. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV grew its holdings in Graco by 64.0% during the third quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 369 shares of the industrial products companys stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 144 shares during the last quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in Graco during the first quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC grew its holdings in Graco by 52.5% during the first quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 421 shares of the industrial products companys stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 145 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Your Advocates Ltd. LLP grew its stake in shares of Graco by 88.9% in the second quarter. Your Advocates Ltd. LLP now owns 425 shares of the industrial products companys stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.94% of the companys stock.

About Graco

(Get Free Report

Graco Inc designs, manufactures, and markets systems and equipment used to move, measure, control, dispense, and spray fluid and powder materials worldwide. The company's Industrial segment offers proportioning systems to spray polyurethane foam and polyurea coatings; equipment that pumps, meters, mixes and dispenses sealant, adhesive, and composite materials; and gel-coat equipment, chop and wet-out systems, resin transfer molding systems and applicators, and precision dispensing solutions.

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IFG Advisory LLC grew its position in iShares MSCI Emerging Markets ETF (NYSEARCA:EEM  Free Report) by 2.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 35,236 shares of the exchange traded funds stock after buying an additional 777 shares during the quarter. IFG Advisory LLCs holdings in iShares MSCI Emerging Markets ETF were worth $1,394,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Fairfield Bush & CO. bought a new position in iShares MSCI Emerging Markets ETF in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $146,000. AMI Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in iShares MSCI Emerging Markets ETF by 5.7% in the 1st quarter. AMI Investment Management Inc. now owns 11,268 shares of the exchange traded funds stock valued at $509,000 after purchasing an additional 605 shares during the last quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp lifted its stake in iShares MSCI Emerging Markets ETF by 62.5% in the 1st quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 65,005 shares of the exchange traded funds stock valued at $2,935,000 after purchasing an additional 25,000 shares during the last quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. lifted its stake in iShares MSCI Emerging Markets ETF by 14.5% in the 1st quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 8,965 shares of the exchange traded funds stock valued at $405,000 after purchasing an additional 1,135 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Baird Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in iShares MSCI Emerging Markets ETF by 9.3% in the 1st quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 892,269 shares of the exchange traded funds stock valued at $40,286,000 after purchasing an additional 76,229 shares during the last quarter. 76.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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iShares MSCI Emerging Markets ETF Price Performance

Shares of NYSEARCA:EEM opened at $37.14 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $39.19 and a 200 day simple moving average of $39.38. iShares MSCI Emerging Markets ETF has a one year low of $33.49 and a one year high of $42.53.

iShares MSCI Emerging Markets ETF 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).

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Intercontinental Wealth Advisors LLC reduced its stake in shares of Chevron Co. (NYSE:CVX  Free Report) by 3.8% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,339 shares of the oil and gas companys stock after selling 132 shares during the period. Intercontinental Wealth Advisors LLCs holdings in Chevron were worth $525,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Rebalance LLC purchased a new position in shares of Chevron during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. NewSquare Capital LLC lifted its holdings in Chevron by 52.3% in the 1st quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 195 shares of the oil and gas companys stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Artemis Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Chevron in the 1st quarter worth approximately $33,000. HBC Financial Services PLLC purchased a new position in Chevron in the 1st quarter worth approximately $37,000. Finally, Worth Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Chevron in the 1st quarter worth approximately $36,000. 68.87% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Jeff B. Gustavson sold 3,750 shares of the companys stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.88, for a total transaction of $603,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 1,718 shares in the company, valued at approximately $276,391.84. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, VP Jeff B. Gustavson sold 3,750 shares of the companys stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.88, for a total transaction of $603,300.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 1,718 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $276,391.84. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Pierre R. Breber sold 25,000 shares of the companys stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.00, for a total value of $4,100,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 6,021 shares in the company, valued at $987,444. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently commented on CVX shares. Bank of America boosted their price target on Chevron from $185.00 to $190.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 27th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Chevron from $198.00 to $203.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a report on Monday. Piper Sandler lowered their price target on Chevron from $196.00 to $188.00 in a report on Tuesday, June 13th. StockNews.com initiated coverage on Chevron in a report on Thursday, August 17th. They issued a hold rating on the stock. Finally, HSBC lifted their price objective on Chevron from $180.00 to $184.00 in a research note on Wednesday, August 9th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $190.89.

View Our Latest Stock Analysis on CVX

Chevron Price Performance

Shares of CVX stock opened at $163.03 on Thursday. Chevron Co. has a twelve month low of $149.74 and a twelve month high of $189.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $304.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.34, a P/E/G ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 1.14. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $163.39 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $160.82. The company has a current ratio of 1.43, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13.

Chevron (NYSE:CVX  Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 28th. The oil and gas company reported $3.08 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $2.95 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $48.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $48 billion. Chevron had a return on equity of 19.48% and a net margin of 13.54%. The firms quarterly revenue was down 28.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $5.82 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Chevron Co. will post 13.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Chevron Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 11th. Investors of record on Friday, August 18th were paid a dividend of $1.51 per share. This represents a $6.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.70%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 17th. Chevrons dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 38.30%.

Chevron Company Profile

(Free Report)

Chevron Corporation, through its subsidiaries, engages in the integrated energy and chemicals operations in the United States and internationally. The company operates in two segments, Upstream and Downstream. The Upstream segment is involved in the exploration, development, production, and transportation of crude oil and natural gas; liquefaction, transportation, and regasification associated with liquefied natural gas; transportation of crude oil through pipelines; and processing, transportation, storage, and marketing of natural gas, as well as a gas-to-liquids plant.

Further Reading

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Coca-Cola HBC (OTCMKTS:CCHGY  Get Free Report) had its price target cut by equities researchers at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from GBX 2,600 ($31.43) to GBX 2,400 ($29.01) in a research note issued on Tuesday, FlyOnTheWall reports.

CCHGY has been the subject of several other research reports. Barclays upped their price target on Coca-Cola HBC from GBX 2,700 ($32.64) to GBX 3,000 ($36.26) in a report on Tuesday, July 18th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on Coca-Cola HBC from GBX 2,950 ($35.66) to GBX 3,150 ($38.08) in a research report on Monday, July 10th. Finally, Societe Generale upgraded Coca-Cola HBC from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research report on Friday, August 25th.

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Read Our Latest Stock Analysis on Coca-Cola HBC

Coca-Cola HBC Price Performance

Coca-Cola HBC Company Profile

OTCMKTS CCHGY opened at $26.30 on Tuesday. Coca-Cola HBC has a twelve month low of $20.81 and a twelve month high of $32.19. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $28.42 and a 200 day simple moving average of $29.25.

(Get Free Report)

Coca-Cola HBC AG engages in the production, distribution, and sale of non-alcoholic ready-to-drink beverages under franchise in Switzerland and internationally. The company offers sparkling soft drinks, adult sparkling, hydration drinks, juices, ready-to-drink tea, energy drinks, dairy, coffee, water, plant-based drinks, premium spirits and flavored alcoholic beverages, and snacks.

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Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. lessened its stake in Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV  Free Report) by 25.3% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 2,000 shares of the airlines stock after selling 677 shares during the quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc.s holdings in Southwest Airlines were worth $72,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Samalin Investment Counsel LLC increased its stake in Southwest Airlines by 247.5% in the 1st quarter. Samalin Investment Counsel LLC now owns 702 shares of the airlines stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 500 shares during the period. Pacific Center for Financial Services purchased a new position in Southwest Airlines during the 1st quarter valued at about $33,000. True Wealth Design LLC purchased a new position in Southwest Airlines during the 4th quarter valued at about $38,000. ICA Group Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Southwest Airlines during the 4th quarter valued at about $42,000. Finally, Impact Partnership Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Southwest Airlines during the 2nd quarter valued at about $46,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.22% of the companys stock.

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Southwest Airlines Trading Up 1.5 %

Shares of LUV opened at $27.20 on Thursday. The firms fifty day moving average is $30.72 and its two-hundred day moving average is $31.83. The company has a quick ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. The stock has a market cap of $16.20 billion, a PE ratio of 30.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.59 and a beta of 1.19. Southwest Airlines Co. has a 52-week low of $26.46 and a 52-week high of $40.38.

Southwest Airlines Dividend Announcement

Southwest Airlines ( NYSE:LUV Get Free Report ) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 27th. The airline reported $1.09 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.08 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $7.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $6.98 billion. Southwest Airlines had a net margin of 2.31% and a return on equity of 5.81%. The companys revenue was up 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.30 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Southwest Airlines Co. will post 1.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 27th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 6th were given a $0.18 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 5th. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.65%. Southwest Airliness payout ratio is currently 81.82%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have commented on LUV. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of Southwest Airlines from $32.75 to $28.00 in a research report on Wednesday. Redburn Partners downgraded shares of Southwest Airlines from a neutral rating to a sell rating and set a $27.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Monday, August 7th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded shares of Southwest Airlines from a buy rating to a hold rating and cut their target price for the company from $52.00 to $38.00 in a research report on Friday, July 28th. Raymond James cut shares of Southwest Airlines from a strong-buy rating to an outperform rating and lowered their price target for the company from $47.00 to $40.00 in a report on Friday, July 28th. Finally, 22nd Century Group restated a maintains rating on shares of Southwest Airlines in a report on Monday, June 26th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Southwest Airlines has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $35.94.

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About Southwest Airlines

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Southwest Airlines Co operates as a passenger airline company that provide scheduled air transportation services in the United States and near-international markets. As of December 31, 2022, the company operated a total fleet of 770 Boeing 737 aircrafts; and served 121 destinations in 42 states, the District of Columbia, and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, as well as ten near-international countries, including Mexico, Jamaica, the Bahamas, Aruba, the Dominican Republic, Costa Rica, Belize, Cuba, the Cayman Islands, and Turks and Caicos.

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Northland Power (TSE:NPI  Get Free Report) had its price objective dropped by equities research analysts at Royal Bank of Canada from C$31.00 to C$28.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday, BayStreet.CA reports. The firm presently has an outperform rating on the solar energy providers stock. Royal Bank of Canadas price objective would suggest a potential upside of 31.64% from the stocks current price.

A number of other research analysts also recently commented on NPI. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on Northland Power from C$38.00 to C$34.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a report on Friday, September 8th. National Bankshares cut their price target on Northland Power from C$40.00 to C$37.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a report on Friday, June 30th. Raymond James upgraded Northland Power from an outperform rating to a strong-buy rating and set a C$43.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 14th. CIBC lowered their target price on Northland Power from C$34.00 to C$32.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Finally, Desjardins lowered their price target on Northland Power from C$39.00 to C$37.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 20th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Northland Power has an average rating of Buy and an average price target of C$36.58.

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Northland Power Price Performance

NPI stock opened at C$21.27 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 156.82, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a current ratio of 1.13. Northland Power has a 1 year low of C$21.03 and a 1 year high of C$42.18. The firm has a market cap of C$5.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 0.38. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of C$24.16 and a 200-day simple moving average of C$28.13.

Northland Power (TSE:NPI  Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 10th. The solar energy provider reported C$0.01 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts consensus estimates of C$0.12 by C($0.11). The business had revenue of C$471.55 million during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of C$454.15 million. Northland Power had a net margin of 18.99% and a return on equity of 12.32%. On average, equities analysts predict that Northland Power will post 1.2943242 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northland Power Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

Northland Power Inc, an independent power producer, develops, builds, owns, and operates clean and green power projects in North America, Europe, Latin America, and Asia. The company produces electricity from renewable resources, such as wind, solar, or hydropower, as well as clean-burning natural gas and biomass for sale under power purchase agreements and other revenue arrangements.

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Laurentian Bank of Canada (TSE:LB  Get Free Report) had its price objective decreased by investment analysts at TD Securities from C$45.00 to C$36.00 in a research note issued on Tuesday, BayStreet.CA reports. The firm presently has a buy rating on the stock. TD Securities price objective points to a potential upside of 33.63% from the stocks previous close.

A number of other analysts have also recently weighed in on LB. CSFB reduced their price target on Laurentian Bank of Canada from C$41.00 to C$39.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a research report on Friday, September 1st. National Bank Financial lowered Laurentian Bank of Canada from an outperform market weight rating to a sector perform market weight rating in a research note on Thursday, September 14th. CIBC lowered Laurentian Bank of Canada from an outperform rating to a neutral rating and lowered their price target for the company from C$54.00 to C$37.00 in a research note on Friday, September 15th. National Bankshares lowered Laurentian Bank of Canada from an outperform rating to a sector perform rating and lowered their price target for the company from C$45.00 to C$32.00 in a research note on Thursday, September 14th. Finally, Veritas Investment Research restated a buy rating on shares of Laurentian Bank of Canada in a research note on Wednesday, July 12th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of C$36.38.

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Laurentian Bank of Canada Stock Down 2.4 %

Shares of Laurentian Bank of Canada stock opened at C$26.94 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of C$1.17 billion, a PE ratio of 6.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.21. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of C$36.33 and a 200-day simple moving average of C$34.33. Laurentian Bank of Canada has a 12 month low of C$26.80 and a 12 month high of C$48.23.

Laurentian Bank of Canada (TSE:LB  Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 31st. The company reported C$1.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of C$1.15 by C$0.07. The firm had revenue of C$260.83 million during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of C$263.60 million. Laurentian Bank of Canada had a return on equity of 7.43% and a net margin of 21.20%. Analysts expect that Laurentian Bank of Canada will post 4.7733564 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About Laurentian Bank of Canada

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Laurentian Bank of Canada, together with its subsidiaries, provides various financial services to personal, business, and institutional customers in Canada and the United States. It operates through three segments: Personal Banking, Commercial Banking, and Capital Markets. The Personal Banking segment offers financial services, such as financial advisory services to financial intermediaries; and operates digital direct-to-customer platform to retail clients.

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U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB  Free Report)  Investment analysts at DA Davidson cut their Q3 2023 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for shares of U.S. Bancorp in a research note issued on Wednesday, October 4th. DA Davidson analyst P. Winter now anticipates that the financial services provider will post earnings of $1.04 per share for the quarter, down from their previous estimate of $1.08. DA Davidson currently has a Neutral rating and a $41.00 target price on the stock. The consensus estimate for U.S. Bancorps current full-year earnings is $4.41 per share. DA Davidson also issued estimates for U.S. Bancorps FY2023 earnings at $4.36 EPS and FY2024 earnings at $4.38 EPS.

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U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB  Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 19th. The financial services provider reported $1.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.13 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $7.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.17 billion. U.S. Bancorp had a return on equity of 16.53% and a net margin of 16.59%. U.S. Bancorps quarterly revenue was up 19.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.09 earnings per share.

Several other equities analysts have also issued reports on USB. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on U.S. Bancorp from $45.00 to $44.00 and set an equal weight rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Credit Suisse Group reiterated a neutral rating and issued a $44.00 price objective on shares of U.S. Bancorp in a research report on Thursday, July 20th. Odeon Capital Group lowered U.S. Bancorp from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report on Friday, June 23rd. Bank of America upgraded U.S. Bancorp from a neutral rating to a buy rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $38.00 to $40.00 in a research report on Tuesday, July 11th. Finally, Raymond James upgraded U.S. Bancorp from an underperform rating to a market perform rating in a research report on Thursday, July 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $46.43.

View Our Latest Report on USB

U.S. Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of USB opened at $31.24 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.80. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $36.28 and a 200 day simple moving average of $34.40. U.S. Bancorp has a 52-week low of $27.27 and a 52-week high of $49.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $47.89 billion, a PE ratio of 8.65, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.99.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. TAP Consulting LLC acquired a new position in U.S. Bancorp in the 1st quarter valued at $259,000. MCF Advisors LLC grew its holdings in U.S. Bancorp by 80.8% in the 1st quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 4,711 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $172,000 after buying an additional 2,105 shares in the last quarter. Venture Visionary Partners LLC grew its holdings in U.S. Bancorp by 9.3% in the 1st quarter. Venture Visionary Partners LLC now owns 9,419 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $340,000 after buying an additional 800 shares in the last quarter. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board grew its holdings in U.S. Bancorp by 8.2% in the 2nd quarter. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board now owns 67,661 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $2,236,000 after buying an additional 5,100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ascent Wealth Partners LLC grew its holdings in U.S. Bancorp by 50.3% in the 1st quarter. Ascent Wealth Partners LLC now owns 28,603 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $995,000 after buying an additional 9,572 shares in the last quarter. 75.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Timothy A. Welsh sold 13,816 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.79, for a total transaction of $549,738.64. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 119,058 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $4,737,317.82. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Timothy A. Welsh sold 13,816 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.79, for a total transaction of $549,738.64. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 119,058 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $4,737,317.82. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Terrance R. Dolan sold 26,000 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.75, for a total value of $1,033,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 166,992 shares in the company, valued at $6,637,932. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.24% of the stock is owned by insiders.

U.S. Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 16th. Investors of record on Friday, September 29th will be issued a dividend of $0.48 per share. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.15%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 28th. U.S. Bancorps payout ratio is presently 53.19%.

About U.S. Bancorp

(Get Free Report)

U.S. Bancorp, a financial services holding company, provides various financial services to individuals, businesses, institutional organizations, governmental entities and other financial institutions in the United States. It operates in Corporate and Commercial Banking, Consumer and Business Banking, Wealth Management and Investment Services, Payment Services, and Treasury and Corporate Support segments.

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(Bloomberg) -- Dell Technologies Inc., the company which helped usher in the era of personal computing, said its most promising business now is the one that sells equipment for data centers.

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While Dell expects PCs to emerge from their slump and generate a long-term revenue increase of about 2.5%, the division that sells servers, data storage and other office infrastructure will grow about 7% over the next few years  nearly double the forecast given in 2021, the company told investors Thursday.

The new economywide interest in artificial intelligence is fueling some of the upside, because AI requires more powerful machines, Dell Chief Operating Officer Jeff Clarke said in an interview. AI is additive  its going to grow overall technology spend, he added, citing the increased need for servers equipped with graphics processors, such as the ones made by chipmaker Nvidia Corp., and high-capacity storage.

The company said in August that it has more than $2 billion in backlogged orders for a server that is marketed for AI use. Still, Dell is constrained by the same shortage of high-power chips that is affecting the rest of the industry, Clarke said. Demand is ahead of supply. After the departure of Chuck Whitten in August, Clarke is Dells sole No. 2 to founder and Chief Executive Officer Michael Dell.

Computer makers have had a difficult year as PC purchases suffered historically steep declines after the pandemic. With the dip in computer growth, investors have turned their attention to Dells server business, particularly to see how the company can benefit from AI, said Bloomberg Intelligence analyst Woo Jin Ho.

Story continues

Dell isnt giving up on selling computers  its still a $58 billion-a-year business contributing more than half the companys annual revenue. Theres just less potential for growth in the market, Clarke said. Still, a cycle of new purchases could be coming as many PCs bought early in the pandemic are getting old and Microsoft Corp. is pushing users to a new version of its Windows operating system, he added.

Earlier Thursday, Dell increased its long-term profit growth forecast and said it would buy back more stock. Adjusted earnings per share will now increase at least 8% per year and over 80% of cash flow will be used for share repurchases or dividends, the company said in a statement. Dell will look to do small and accretive acquisitions rather than large deals, Chief Financial Officer Yvonne McGill said during the investor event.

Dell shares declined 1.5% to $66.19 at the close in New York, although they have jumped 65% this year on enthusiasm for the data center business. Last month, the stock reached its highest point since the company returned to public markets five years ago after going private in 2013.

In his opening statement, Michael Dell said We are happy as a publicly traded company, and we plan to stay that way.

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2023 Bloomberg L.P.
That release could not be found.
In a resolute bid to enhance Nigeria's revenue generation and combat the persistent issue of revenue leakages, the Acting Comptroller-General of Customs, Bashir Adewale Adeniyi MFR, announced a groundbreaking partnership with the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC) on Tuesday, October 3rd, 2023, at the Nigeria Customs Headquarters in Abuja.

This collaborative initiative seeks to align strategies and pool resources to maximize the remittance of accrued revenue to the Federal Government, marking a pivotal moment in Nigeria's financial landscape.

During the visit, Chairman Muhammad Shehu Umar and his delegation from RMAFC received a warm welcome from Ag. CGC Bashir Adeniyi. The CGC expressed his unwavering commitment to this partnership, emphasizing the collective responsibility for minimizing revenue leakages and maximizing remittances.

Ag. CGC Adeniyi stated, "It would be a collective responsibility for all of us to come together to minimize revenue leakage and maximize remittance of accrued revenue to the Federal Government."

He also commended RMAFC for their relentless pursuit of solutions to revenue challenges, highlighting the pivotal role this collaboration could play in achieving their shared objectives.

Chairman Muhammad Shehu Umar reciprocated the enthusiasm, congratulating Ag. CGC Adeniyi on his appointment and applauded his acceptance of their partnership proposal. Umar reaffirmed his unwavering support for the CGC's mission to boost revenue generation, echoing President Bola Ahmed Tinubu's emphasis on this vital endeavor.

Furthermore, Umar praised the Nigeria Customs Service's strides under the leadership of CGC Adeniyi in facilitating trade across the nation, recognizing that these efforts would catalyze increased revenue generation.

The partnership between the Nigeria Customs Service and RMAFC promotes fortifying the nation's finances and mitigating revenue losses, ultimately bolstering Nigeria's economic resilience.

This collaboration signifies a united front in the battle against revenue leakages and underscores the commitment of these two institutions to safeguarding Nigeria's financial interests.
5th October 2023 - TLcom Capital, the Africa-focused venture capital firm, has officially announced its fifth annual Africa Tech Female Founder Summit, which will be held on Tuesday 14th November 2022 in Lagos, Nigeria. The headline session will feature a fireside conversation with Julia Collins, who will share valuable insights on her experience as a successful serial tech entrepreneur. The event is expected to be the largest gathering of women in tech in Africa.

With the current global macroeconomic environment in mind, the theme for the 2023 Africa Tech Female Founder Summit is Building Resilience: Adapting to New Realities, which addresses head on the challenges African founders and operators are currently facing, as well as providing timely and practical advice and support from experienced global and African business leaders.

Julia Collins,the first black woman to build a unicorn, will give this years keynote, as well as host a masterclass session on Getting to Product Market Fit. Julia is now building Planet FWD, a leading decarbonization platform for consumer companies. She will be joined on the day by CikuMugambi Kobo360], Enas Siam FlexStock], and Thomas Njeru Pula], who will hold a panel on When the going gets tough, whilst Tokunbo Ishmael Alithea Capital] will discuss the Importance of Investing in Women. In addition, this year the Africa Tech Female Founder Summit will host a number of masterclasses, held by TLcom Partners such as Eloho Omame, as well as a special focus on Building & Leveraging Networks, by leading Executive Visibility expert, Glory Edozien.

Having hosted the summit with 150+ African female founders and operators in Nairobi in 2022, this year sees the event move west to Lagos, Nigeria. Applications to attend the event are now open.

Speaking on the upcoming event, Omobola Johnson, Senior Partner at TLcom Capital, says, 2023 has been a challenging year for founders across the continent, so this year we will be gathering our community of women in tech in Africa to share experiences, learn from experts in their fields and develop coping tactics that will help build resilient businesses to weather this current climate. We want to discuss in depth what resilience means, how it can be infused into businesses, their leaders, and their teams.

Andreata Muforo, Partner at TLcom Capital, adds, At this years Africa Tech Female Founder Summit, we will not only be discussing business survival, but also business growth; there are opportunities for founders, even during more turbulent economic times. Were excited to be hosting the continents largest gathering of women in tech, bringing some truly experienced and inspiring speakers to the table. We want all attendees to leave with not only a vision and renewed sense of community support, but also with actionable insights that will benefit their businesses.

TLcoms TIDE Africa Fund II, which is one of the most active funds across Africa, boasts a leadership team which is 60% female. The firm has actively supported female founders not only through its annual summit, but notably through its track record of investing in some of Africas top female-led startups such as Okra and Pula. In 2022, TLcom also doubled down on its drive to address the severe funding gap for Africas female tech entrepreneurs with a co-investment commitment to support the launch of FirstCheck Africas debut fund.

Currently, TLcom manages total commitments of approximately $350mn and holds several African startups in its portfolio including Andela, Ajua, Autochek, Ilara Health, Kobo360, Okra, Pastel, Pula, Seamless HR, Shara, Terragon Group, Twiga Foods, uLesson and Vendease. With an on-the-ground presence in Kenya and Nigeria as well as offices in the UK, the firm invests across all stages of the venture capital cycle with a focus on Seed and Series A. TLcom also invests across a wide range of industries including agriculture, education, fintech, data analytics and logistics targeting high-growth, tech-enabled startups across Africa.
CHICAGO  The now-convicted son-in-law of former Cook County Democratic boss Joseph Berrios was allegedly good friends with notorious mob hit man Frank The German Schweihs and once went to him for protection for his massage parlors being threatened by other gangsters.

Thats the story about James Weiss that was caught on a federal wiretap and revealed in a court filing late Wednesday, where prosecutors asked for a sentence of more than five years in prison for Weiss for his conviction earlier this year on bribery charges.

Meanwhile, the Chicago Tribune has learned that a federal grand jury investigating Weiss alleged mob ties is interested in other longtime associates of the Outfits Grand Avenue crew.

Weiss attorneys have sought leniency, portraying him as a legitimate businessman who simply chose the wrong way to go about getting legislation passed that would help his sweepstakes gaming machine business.

But in their filing, Assistant U.S. Attorneys Christine ONeill and Sean Franzblau revealed that Weiss brother was recorded telling someone Weiss had partnered up with a known long-time mob associate, identified as Individual B, after Weiss had reportedly gone to Schweihs for help.

Yeah, well, Jimmy and Frank were good friends, and some Russians were muscling Jimmy, but Frank was on the run, the brother, Joseph Weiss, told an unidentified person in a wiretapped call quoted in the filing. Frank was in hiding and Jimmy called Frank and ... says, hey man, these guys just busted up my (expletive store). Scared the (expletive) out of the girls, this and that, you know, I need your help, where the (expletive) are you?

At the time, Schweihs had been charged in the landmark Family Secrets mob case and was on the run. According to the brothers story, The German told Weiss, Jim, Im underground right now ... but Ill have someone call you right back.

Somebody called Jimmy and told him to go see Individual B, who straightened it all out, Joseph Wiess said, according to the transcript of the call.

Story continues

Ever since then, theyre partners on everything, Joseph Weiss said. The problem is (Individual B)s like a gangster but hes an honest guy. If youre his friend, youre his friend.

Prosecutors called the description of Individual B as a gangster an apt one. In a separate undercover recording, Individual B admitted that James Weiss is with me, referencing their joint involvement with gaming machines, the filing stated.

Insofar as (James) Weiss seeks to portray himself as a community-minded and otherwise law-abiding individual, his long-time partnership with Individual B and his own brothers recording discussing his prior association with his good friend, mob killer Frank Schweihs, demonstrates otherwise, prosecutors wrote.

The filing also alleged that Individual Bs now-deceased girlfriend was a partner in one of James Weiss gambling businesses and received hundreds of thousands of dollars in payments from him.

Schweihs, who according to authorities spent decades as a reputed enforcer for the mobs Grand Avenue street crew, died of cancer in 2008 while awaiting trial.

The filing came on the heels of a new indictment unsealed in U.S. District Court against Joseph Weiss, who was charged with lying to federal investigators about his brothers reputed mob ties, including his previous contacts with Schweihs and Individual B.

Joseph Weiss is scheduled to be arraigned on Oct. 13, two days after his brothers sentencing.

Reached by phone Wednesday, James Weiss attorney, Ilia Usharovich, said his client had no ties at all to Schweihs.

Jim denies ever speaking to Mr. Schweihs, ever meeting with Mr. Schweihs and ever doing business with Mr. Schweihs, Usharovich said.

The Tribune has previously reported that James Weiss sweepstakes company, V.S.S., was connected to a former Chicago police officer, John Adreani, through a complex web of corporations, many of which list the same address in a south suburban strip mall as their headquarters.

Adreani was fired from the Chicago Police Department in 2015 for associating with a major drug trafficker after he was captured on a wiretap discussing gambling and drinking excursions and real estate ventures with him, according to Chicago Police Board records.

Adreani was not charged, however his name came up several times during James Weiss trial.

Another one of Weiss business entities, Mac-T Retail LLC, which was formed in 2015 and shares the same address in the 800 block of Sibley Boulevard in Dolton with V.S.S., state records show.

At least three companies that include Mac-T in their titles appear to be linked, according to state records. The first of them, Mac-T LLC, was organized by Anthony DeMarco of River Grove in 2014 and was also registered to the Sibley Boulevard address.

DeMarco originally incorporated Mac-T using an address of 723 W. Grand Ave. in Chicago, which is a single-room occupancy hotel in the same building that houses the Italian restaurant La Scarola and Richards Bar.

La Scarola was the scene of a 2012 lunch meeting with top Grand Avenue crew members that led to the FBI sting of hit man Steve Mandell, who was plotting, among other things, to kidnap, rob and murder a mobbed-up strip club owner.

Richards is owned, on paper at least, by the sister of Robert Bobby Dominic, a reputed Outfit associate who, according to FBI and Chicago records, ran pornography and gambling interests for the Grand Avenue crew, which was headed by legendary mobster Joseph The Clown Lombardo.

Meanwhile, records obtained by the Tribune show the same federal grand jury looking into Weiss mob connections is also interested in Dominic.

The grand jury sent a subpoena to the Illinois Department of Insurance on July 28 seeking applications, communications and other records involving a state Comprehensive Health Insurance Plan in Dominics name, according to a copy of the subpoena received through an open records request.

Dominic has not been charged. He could not be reached for comment Thursday. A lawyer who represented him in a recent civil lawsuit filed by tenants of the Acacia single-room occupancy hotel declined to comment, saying he was barred by confidentiality agreements from discussing any of his clients.

James Weiss was convicted by a jury in June of seven counts of bribery, wire fraud, mail fraud and making false statements.

The charges alleged Weiss then agreed to pay monthly $2,500 bribes to get language helping his sweepstakes business added to state gambling legislation, first to state Rep. Luis Arroyo and later to state Sen. Terry Link, who was a chief sponsor of the gambling bill in the Senate.

Arroyo and Weiss didnt know that Link, a Vernon Hills Democrat, was cooperating with the FBI. Link, who is hoping for a break on his own federal tax conviction in exchange for his cooperation, testified over two days about his undercover role.

Arroyo, meanwhile, pleaded guilty to bribery for his role in the scheme but did not agree to cooperate with prosecutors. U.S. District Judge Steven Seeger sentenced Arroyo to nearly five years in prison last year, calling him a corruption superspreader.

James Weiss attorneys have asked Seeger for a sentence of under 27 months, arguing in a filing last week that the legislation Weiss wanted to pass was well-meaning and would have generated much-needed tax revenue on what are currently unregulated sweepstakes machines.

In asking for a 63-month prison term, prosecutors argued Weiss has been unrepentant about the damage his crimes have done to the public trust. They also wrote that while Weiss claimed he was trying to make ends meet for his family, in reality he was making substantial earnings and gambling $20,000 a week.

For someone like (Weiss), with financial stakes in a variety of different businesses, there always will be a way to make more money, prosecutors wrote. There always will be public officials who are willing to take a bribe to make (his) life easier.

_____
New Phuket Governor outlines plans

PHUKET: It was the first official day in office for new Governor of Phuket Sophon Suwannarat today (Oct 5) and he used the occasion to outline his plans for the province moving forward.

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By The Phuket News

Thursday 5 October 2023 04:16 PM

Governor Sophon explained that he aspires to create a united Phuket family that can cooperate across all sectors to help further develop the island as a world-class tourist destination to drive the economy and provide a good quality of life for local residents.

Top of the list of priorities, he said, would be a smooth integration of relevant agencies to solve the two main challenges facing the island currently - namely problems relating to traffic congestion and flooding.

Governor Sophon and his wife Busadee Suwannarat, who now takes on the role of President of the Red Cross Society of Phuket, arrived at Provincial Hall at 8am this morning where they were afforded a warm welcome by Rewat Areerob, President of the Phuket Provincial Administrative Organization (PPAO), along with selected government officials and civil servants.

Governor Sophon chatted with the group before paying homage to the Royal Monument of His Majesty King Chulalongkorn (Rama V) on the grounds of Provincial Hall. Respects were also paid to the national flag of Thailand, raised on a flagpole nearby.

It was then down to business as a meeting with the PPAO covered topics such as finding a sustainable solution to the threat of flooding brought about by heavy rain, something witnessed as recently as Wednesday in Phuket Town where more than 42mm of rainfall within three hours left locals fearing flooding.

The ongoing challenge of traffic congestion that has been suffocating parts of the island recently was also discussed, as was the proposal of developing public mass transit networks to alleviate the former issue.

The development of soft power was also part of discussions, with the award-winning Phuket Peranakan Festival cited as an appropriate example of how this can benefit the province economically and culturally to provide a good standard of life for the islands residents.

Following the conclusion of the meeting, further homage and respects were paid by Governor Sophon and his wife at monuments to Her Royal Highness Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn, Krom Phraya Damrong Rajanubhab, and Phra Buddha Thamrong Ming Muang. Additional homage was paid to the Navarat Bophit Buddha at the Phuket Governors Office on the 4th floor of Provincial Hall.

Governor Sophons afternoon consisted of numerous meetings with heads of governement agencies to discuss development plans for Phuket, a spokesman said.
Officials vow to close gun loopholes

BANGKOK: Authorities will close legal loopholes relating to firearm classification and online sales as part of a stepped-up gun control effort, national police chief Torsak Sukvimol said yesterday (Oct 4), a day after a deadly shooting at a Bangkok shopping mall left three people dead.

violencecrimedeath

By Bangkok Post

Thursday 5 October 2023 08:38 AM

Many firearms, including war weapons, were seized following police raids in 50 provinces in October last year after the mass shootings and stabbings in Nong Bua Lam Phu that took 35 lives, 22 of them children. Photo: supplied/Wassayos Ngamkham

The gun used by the 14-year-old shooter at Siam Paragon was modified and originally designed to fire blank rounds, meaning it wasnt classified as a lethal weapon, and it was likely purchased online, the Bangkok Post reports Pol Gen Torsak as saying.

The boy, who is facing murder and other charges, has been remanded to a juvenile detention centre where he will undergo a psychiatric assessment.

There are more than 10,000 such legally imported guns in circulation in Thailand, and police will work with other government agencies to reclassify them as deadly firearms to block their import, Pol Gen Torsak said

We want to make sure these guns are a controlled firearm because their modification makes them a deadly weapon, he said in an interview with television Channel 3.

Kritsanapong Phutrakul, a former policeman who is now a criminologist at Rangsit University, said modifying a blank gun is illegal but perpetrators could easily learn how to make modifications and there were criminal services offering this.

The gun used at Paragon was reportedly modified with help from a video on YouTube.

A Reuters search of Lazada and Shopee, the top e-commerce platforms in Southeast Asia, on Wednesday showed several types of blank guns for sale at prices starting around B5,000.

Shopee and Lazada did not immediately respond to questions from Reuters.

Lessons from past shootings

Authorities can improve gun control by improving enforcement, including creating a faster mechanism to block websites and online services that offer to sell or modify firearms, said Mr Kritsanapong.

The political will to push for long-term gun control is also essential, he added.

Pol Gen Torsak said the force would form a team to tackle the illegal sale of firearms on the internet.

Existing laws on the possession of illegal firearms carry a prison sentence of up to 10 years and a fine of up to B20,000.

Laws have tightened after mass shootings in recent years in Thailand, including a requirement for a medical evaluation for those who want to buy a gun or renew their gun licence.

Last October, a former policeman killed 35 people, including 22 children (most of whom were stabbed), at a nursery in Nong Bua Lam Phu in northeastern Thailand. And in 2020, a soldier shot and killed at least 29 people in Nakhon Ratchasima.

In the Nong Bua Lam Phu attacks, the Sig Sauer P365 used by the killer was one of a growing number of semiautomatic handguns and rifles exported by American gunmakers and linked to violent crimes, a Bloomberg investigation has revealed.

Following the October shooting, the previous government drafted a gun amnesty bill allowing those with unregistered weapons to register them or hand them over during a grace period. The bill, however, did not make it through parliament ahead of the May general election.

The government should learn the lessons from past mass shooting incidents, review the proposed solutions and quickly implement them, Mr Kritsanapong said.

Many firearms are smuggled into the country, but Mr Kritsanapong said internet sales were becoming a problem.

Only a small number of police officers have the knowledge, capabilities and experience to track the gun market online, he told AFP.

Following Tuesdays tragedy, Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin ordered the police to strictly enforce laws related to online weapons purchase.

Pol Gen Torsak insisted police had been taking suppression of gun-related crime very seriously.

In the past two years, he said, police had charged offenders in more than 2,000 cases and seized more than 900 guns.

However, blank guns tend to be popular with students, data collected by the Office of the Basic Education Commission (Obec) suggests.

Pol Gen Torsak is coordinating with the Department of Provincial Administration, which oversees gun registration, to regulate the imports of blank guns by considering them as real guns.

Pol Maj Gen Amnat Traipot, deputy chief of the Cyber Crime Investigation Bureau (CCIB), told reporters that it had seized more than 2,000 blank guns with thousands of bullet rounds in a crackdown on online scammers last year.

The Office of Police Forensic Science also confirms a blank gun can be modified to fire a bullet with a power closer to that of a real gun. It examines more than 100 modified blank guns a month on average, said Pol Maj Gen Amnat.

Meanwhile, Interior Minister Anutin Charnvirakul said he would ask the Department of Provincial Administration to stop issuing gun licences to the general public to reduce gun possession. He also suggested regulating the trade of BB guns and blank guns with legal registration requirements to acquire them.

Thailand 13th in gun ownership worldwide

Around 10.3 million guns - only 6.2mn of them registered - were possessed by Thais, putting the country in 13th place globally for small gun possession, according to the Switzerland-based Small Arms Survey in 2017.

The authors of the survey estimated that Thai people possessed the most guns in Southeast Asia, with an average of 15 firearms per 100 population.

The United States topped the table with 393.3mn guns, followed by India (71.1mn) and China (49.7mn).

Data from the World Population Review in 2022 indicated Thailand was ranked 15th globally in gun deaths with 2,804 people killed, for a rate of 3.91 people per 100,000 population.

The Philippines was the top country in Asean region with 9,267 gun deaths.
Phuket explores Da Nang tourism ties

PHUKET: An official delegation welcomed Tran Chi Cuong, Deputy Head of the National Assembly Delegation in charge of Da Nang city, in the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, to Phuket yesterday (Oct 4).

tourismeconomicspolitics

By The Phuket News

Thursday 5 October 2023 10:21 AM

Leading the reception, at the Phuket Governors Lounge at Phuket Provincial Hall at 3pm, was Phuket Vice Governor Amnuay Pinsuwan.

Joining the welcoming party were Samerjit Limlikit, Head of the Phuket Passport Office (under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs), along with Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) Phuket Office Director Lertchai Wangtrakuldee; Phuket Tourist Association President Thaneth Tantipiriyakij, Phuket Chamber of Commerce President Kongsak Khoopongsakorn; as well as heads of local government agencies and private business leaders.

The aim of the meeting was to discuss the promotion of business and tourism cooperation between Phuket and Da Nang that will be beneficial to promoting relations between Thailand and Vietnam at the local and people-to-people levels, said an official report of the reception.

Mr Tran and his delegation are on an official visit to Phuket yesterday and today (Oct 4-5) as a familiarisation trip and to explore opportunities to develop relations between the two popular tourist destinations, the report added.

As of July 2021, Mr Tran was the Delegate of the 15th National Assembly and a Member of the National Assemblys Finance and Budget Committee.
Russians spur Phuket luxury villa market

BANGKOK: Increasing demand for luxury villas in Phuket from Russian buyers is driving new supply in the market to reach a record high this year, which could result in a glut.

propertyconstructionRussianeconomics

By Bangkok Post

Thursday 5 October 2023 11:07 AM

Image: Bangkok Post

Vichai Viratkapan, Acting Director-General of the Real Estate Information Center (REIC), said the luxury villa market in Phuket has been consistently vibrant since the past year, following a sluggish period during the pandemic, reports the Bangkok Post.

The surge in demand for luxury villas in the second half of last year has resulted in a substantial increase in new supply launched in the first half of this year, he said.

According to the REIC, the number of luxury villas launched in Phuket during the first six months of 2023 surged 12 times to 541 units worth a total B29.6 billion, from 45 units valued at B886 million last year.

Prior to the pandemic, the first peak occurred in the first half of 2019, with 194 villas worth B3.68bn newly launched.

The figure dropped to 29 units worth B535mn in the second half of 2019, with no new launches until the second half of 2021.

New sales of luxury villas never exceeded 100 units until the second half of 2022 during which 129 units worth B4.16bn were sold.

This trend continued with another 213 units valued at B8.9bn sold in the first half of this year.

The majority of the new villas sold in the first half were single detached houses at 204 units, while the remainder consisted of six duplex houses, two townhouses and one land plot.

In the first half of 2023, there were a total of 979 luxury villas in Phuket, with a combined value of B49bn. These included 907 single detached houses, 29 duplex houses, eight townhouses and 35 land plots.

The total supply was quite large compared to the number of new sales of 213 units, he said. There are still 766 units worth B40.3bn remaining unsold. Despite strong sales, the newly launched supply was quite high.

Phattanan Phisutvimol, President of the Phuket Real Estate Association, said the local property market was still primarily driven by international buyers, with a strong preference for pool villas, especially among Russian and Chinese investors.

Due to the high demand in the villa market, some developers have entered without studying the market, conducting thorough market research, defining their target market or offering unique products, he said.

This resulted in an oversupply in certain areas, including Laguna, Cherng Talay and Bang Tao.

As a result, the opportunity for success has been reliant on agents familiar with international markets. These agents often charge higher commissions, typically from 10% to 15%, leading to increased development costs.

To attract buyers, some developers have resorted to offering guaranteed returns, which require after-sales services and maintenance. This will become a long-term burden.

Mr Phattanan said if developers cannot meet their commitments, it could impact the Phuket market in the long run.

It is important for developers to provide property management services to look after the assets of foreign customers as those buyers do not reside in Phuket for the whole year, he said.

ROOM TO GROW

Setthaphol Boottho, Executive Director of MontAzure, a joint venture mixed-use project between Thailands The Narai Group, Hong Kongs ARCH Capital and Philean Capital from Singapores Pontiac Land Group, said the luxury home market in Phuket was poised for significant growth.

Phuket stands out as Thailands premier tourist hub post-COVID, benefiting from a diverse influx of foreign investment, notably from Russians and Europeans, he said.

Remarkably, Russian arrivals soared tenfold in the first half of 2023, triggering a 338% growth in Phukets luxury villa sales, with Russians accounting for half.

Chinese tourists were overtaken by Russians at the top rank. The significant investments of Russias elite in Thailands property market were evident.

Mr Setthaphol said beachfront land in Phuket was priced at B70mn per rai, while other areas ranged from B30-40mn.

Prime locations like Patong, Kamala, Kata and Karon beaches were mostly developed, with many hotels and condos.

Attasit Intarachooti, chief executive of Phuket-based developer Botanica Luxury Phuket, said Cherng Talay and Laguna were the most popular areas for luxury villas among foreigners, with 95% of buyers being overseas buyers.

Kamala beach emerged as a sought-after location due to its high-end facilities and amenities including five-star hotels, Michelin-starred restaurants, cafes and bars, with the majority of the luxury residential units situated in proximity to the beach.

Half of the luxury villa buyers were Russians, especially after the Russia-Ukraine war [began], as the destination choices for affluent Russians became limited, he said. The other half were buyers from European countries.

The company plans marketing activities in Dubai due to the growing number of tourists from the Middle East.

Meanwhile, Chinese buyers in the luxury segment remained relatively low in number due to challenges related to outbound travel and transferring money overseas.

For more information, see the Housing market situation in southern provinces report by the REIC, here.
Sultan Al Jaber, COP28 President-Designate and UAE's Special Envoy for Climate Change, talks during the Climate Future Week at Museum of the Future in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Saturday, Sept. 30, 2023. The Emirati president-designate for the upcoming United Nations COP28 climate conference offered a full-throated defense Saturday of his nation hosting the talks, dismissing those just go on the attack without knowing anything, without knowing who we are. (AP Photo/Kamran Jebreili) (ASSOCIATED PRESS)

VIENNA (AP)  Developed countries pledged $9.3 billion to help poor nations tackle climate change at a conference held in the German city of Bonn on Thursday, authorities said. However, nongovernmental groups criticized the outcome, saying the funds fall short of what is needed to tackle climate change.

The pledges will help replenish the South Korea-based Green Climate Fund, established in 2010 as a financing vehicle for developing countries. Its the largest such fund aimed at providing money to help poorer nations in reducing their emissions, coping with impacts of climate change and boosting their transitions to clean energy.

The pledged money at the conference in Bonn will be used to finance projects in developing and emerging nations between 2024 and 2027. The German government alone pledged 2 billion euros ($2.1 billion).

Twenty-five countries came forward with fresh pledges while five said that they would announce theirs in the near future.

The collected sum will likely turn out to be much higher, the German Foreign Ministry and the German Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development said in a joint statement.

Three quarters of contributing states increased their pledges, compared to the previous donor conference in 2019, including Germany, Austria and France. Denmark, Ireland and Liechtenstein doubled their pledges.

There was no mention of pledges from the United States. The office of the U.S. climate envoy John Kerry was not immediately available for comment.

A U.S. administration official later said that Washington is steadfastly committed to President (Joe) Bidens pledge to increase U.S. climate finance to help developing countries tackle the urgent threat of climate change but is unfortunately not in a position to pledge money at the Bonn donors conference. The official added that the U.S. is looking forward to sharing its approach to the fund at a later stage.

In April, Biden announced $1 billion in new climate finance for developing nations at a White house virtual climate summit.

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Civil society and NGOs criticized the commitments made Thursday, saying they fall short of what is needed to tackle the impact of climate change on vulnerable communities in developing nations.

The Green Climate Fund, envisioned as the lifeline for climate action in developing nations, is held back by the indifference of wealthy countries, said Harjeet Singh, Head of Global Political Strategy of the Climate Action Network International, a global network of over 1900 environmental civil society organizations in over 130 countries.

The silence of the United States ... is glaring and inexcusable, Singh said.

Developed countries are still not doing their part to help developing countries and affected people and communities with urgent climate actions, said Liane Schalatek, associate director at the Heinrich Boll Foundation in Washington.

The issue of financial support to poorer nations will play a major role during the upcoming U.N. Climate Change Conference, COP28, starting in Dubai at the end of November.

Sultan Al Jaber, president designate of COP28, told The Associated Press in a statement that the current level of replenishment is neither ambitious nor adequate to meet the challenge the world faces.

We must go further in our support for the most vulnerable, who are adversely impacted by escalating climate impacts, he said.

German Minister for Economic Development Svenja Schulze, who hosted the Bonn conference, called on more nations to contribute their fair share to the financial effort.

Besides the other industrialized nations, I increasingly see also the responsibility of countries who are not part of the classical donors: for example, Gulf states that got rich due to fossil energy, or emerging nations such as China who by now are responsible for a large share of carbon emission, said Schulze.

Representatives from 40 countries attended the conference.

___

Associated Press writers Dana Beltaji in London and Seth Borenstein and Fatima Hussein in Washington contributed to this report.

___

Read more of APs climate coverage at https://apnews.com/climate-and-environment
Turkey launches new Iraq strikes, warns Syria

ISTANBUL: Turkey launched fresh strikes against Kurdish targets in Iraq and warned of more intense cross-border air raids yesterday (Oct 4) after concluding that militants who staged a weekend attack in Ankara came from Syria.

politicsviolence

By AFP

Thursday 5 October 2023 09:28 AM

Members of Turkish Police Special Forces secure the area near the Interior Ministry following a bomb attack in Ankara, on Sunday (Oct 1) that left two police officers injured. Photo: AFP

Turkey convened a national security meeting involving top defence and intelligence chiefs to prepare its response to Sundays attack on the capitals government district.

Police shot dead one of the assailants while the other died in an apparent suicide blast outside Turkeys interior ministry that injured two security officers.

A branch of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) - listed as a terror group by Turkey and its Western allies - claimed responsibility for the first bombing to hit Ankara since 2016.

It has become clear that the two terrorists came from Syria and were trained there, Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said in televised comments.

From now on, all infrastructure, large facilities and energy facilities belonging to (armed Kurdish groups) in Iraq and Syria are legitimate targets for our security forces, Fidan added.

I recommend that third parties stay away from these facilities.

Turkey conducted air raids against PKK rear bases in the northern mountains of Iraq hours after Sundays attack.

The defence ministry said it had staged fresh raid yesterday that neutralised a large number of terrorists in five districts of Iraq.

Iraqi Defence Minister Thabet al-Abbasi is expected in Ankara today for talks with counterpart Yasar Guler as tensions soared.

War crime

Fidans comments suggest that Turkey could intensify drone and artillery strikes beyond those it has been routinely staging in both Syria and Iraq in the past decade.

Turkish media reported yesterday that the MIT intelligence agency had conducted an operation in Syria killing one of the suspected masterminds of an Istanbul bombing that claimed six lives in November of last year.

The British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights confirmed that an intelligence official in the semi-autonomous Kurdish region of northeastern Syria was killed on Tuesday.

Ankara has military bases and supports groups fighting both regime forces and the Kurds in Syria.

The US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) - the Kurds de facto army in the area - led the battle that dislodged Islamic State group fighters from their last scraps of Syrian territory in 2019.

But Turkey views the Kurdish Peoples Protection Units (YPG) that dominate the SDF as an offshoot of the PKK.

SDF commander Mazloum Abdi denied yesterday that the two Ankara assailants had passed through our region.

Turkey is looking for pretexts to legitimise its ongoing attacks on our region and to launch a new military aggression, he said on social media.

The threat to target the regions infrastructure, economic resources, and populated cities is a war crime, the thing we have witnessed before.

Swedish debate

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has launched a series of armed incursion into Syria and frequently threatened to expand attacks against the YPG.

Ankara on Tuesday also announced the detention of 67 suspected PKK members in raids across Turkeys predominantly Kurdish southeast.

Sundays attack coincided with the opening of a Turkish session of parliament during which lawmakers will be asked to ratify Swedens membership of the NATO defence alliance.

Turkeys ratification has been held up by anger over the refusal by the Swedish police to ban marches by the PKK and their supporters in Stockholm.

Some analysts believe the PKK may be trying to block Turkeys ratification because it would herald an improvement in Ankaras ties with Washington.

Turkey has been trying to get the United States to break off its ties with the SDF - a policy shift that analysts think Ankara hopes to secure in return for its backing of Swedens membership.
Worlds largest barbecue opens their most recent store in Leduc, Alberta area

Dickey's Opens in Leduc

Dickey's continues International expansion

Dallas, Oct. 05, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Dickeys Barbecue Pit continues their northern expansion as they announced their most recent store opening in Leduc.

On September 8th, the new Dickeys location opened their doors to a long line of hungry, barbecue fans. Owner/Operator Faisal Khan Suri and his Pit Crew hosted a fantastic Grand Opening event featuring their Legit. Texas. Barbecue., as well as their custom Halal menu offerings. When asked about his experience with Dickeys Faisal said,  Being a part of a strong global brand such as Dickey's has been great. Their willingness to accommodate and serve the community is impressive and their product offerings are a testament to that. With strong representation in Edmonton, it only made sense for us to be in the amazing community of Leduc. A community full of life and fantastic people. My family and I were ecstatic to join the Dickeys family and the journey so far has been nothing short of great.

The Texas-style barbecue brand is thrilled with their partnership with Faisal Khan Suri and his taeam. It was shortly after I met Faisal that I knew he'd make a fine Dickey's partner, said Jim Perkins, Dickeys Executive Vice President of International Development and Support. His professional demeanor, his previous corporate experience, and his love and knowledge for the Muslim and non-Muslim community of greater Edmonton only benefit the Dickey's brand, North of the border. I could not be more excited for him, his family and Leduc community.

Dickeys continues to expand their brand across the globe with over 550 barbecue restaurants world wide.

For more about Dickeys, follow Dickeys Barbecue Pit on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. Download the Dickeys Barbecue Pit app from the Apple App Store or Google Play.

For Dickeys Virtual Concepts follow Wing Boss on Facebook, Instagram and Tik Tok; Trailer Birds on Facebook, Instagram and Tik Tok ; and Big Deal Burger on Facebook, Instagram and Tik Tok .

Story continues

About Dickeys Barbecue Restaurants, Inc.

Dickey's Barbecue Restaurants, Inc., the worlds largest barbecue concept, was founded in 1941 by the Dickey family. For the past 80 years, Dickeys Barbecue Pit has served millions of guests in 44 states Legit. Texas. Barbecue. At Dickeys, all our barbecued meats are smoked onsite in a hickory wood burning pit. Dickeys proudly believes theres no shortcut to true barbecue and its why our name isnt BBQ. The Dallas-based, family-run barbecue franchise offers eight slow-smoked meats and 12 wholesome sides with 'No B.S. (Bad Stuff)' included. Dickeys Barbecue 550 locations across the United States and eight other countries.

Dickeys was named to Newsweeks 2022 Americas Favorite Restaurant Chains list and USA Today 2021 readers choice awards. Dickeys won first place on Fast Casuals Top 100 Movers and Shakers list, been named a Top 500 Franchise by Entrepreneur and named to Hospitality Technologys Industry Heroes list. Led by CEO Laura Rea Dickey, who was named among the countrys 50 most influential women in foodservice in Nations Restaurant News, was recognized by Fast Casuals Top 100 Movers and Shakers list and honored by Dallas Business Journal. Dickey's Barbecue Pit has also been recognized by Fox News, Forbes Magazine, Franchise Times, The Dallas Morning News, The Wall Street Journal, People Magazine and QSR Magazine. Dickeys Barbecue is part of Dickeys Restaurant Brands which has more than 700 restaurants nationwide including brands Wing Boss, Trailer Birds, Big Deal Burger and bbqathome.com. DRB is led by CEO Roland Dickey Jr. For more information, visit dickeys.com.

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CONTACT: Shannon Santos Dickey's Barbecue Pit ssantos@dickeys.com




Discovery Plus joins Amazon Prime Video, Disney Plus and others in price hikes. Rumor has it that Netflix is lining up to be next.

Warner Bros. Discovery hiked the price this week for its Discovery Plus ad-free monthly subscription in the U.S. to $8.99, from $6.99, but kept its monthly "ad-light" subscription fee unchanged at $4.99.

In Canada, a new Discovery Plus ad-free monthly subscription also rose to $8.99 CAD, from $6.99 CAD, and the new ad-lite rate increased to $5.99 CAD, from $4.99 CAD.

According to an October 3 Wall Street Journal report, Netflix could be next. The company plans to raise prices on its ad-free service in the U.S. and Canada a few months after the actors strike ends, and it is looking at several other markets worldwide, according to the report, which cites sources familiar with the situation.

Netflix did not respond to Kiplinger's requests for comment.

These streaming services join several others that recently announced price hikes, especially for ad-free service. These include Amazon, which last month announced plans to add commercials to its Prime Video streaming service in early 2024, unless members opt for an ad-free version for $2.99 per month.

Starting October 12, the Walt Disney Company will boost prices for its monthly ad-free Disney Plus plan to $13.99, from $10.99. The cost of its monthly ad-free Hulu plan will hit $17.99, from $14.99. Both versions of these services with ads will remain unchanged at $7.99 per month.

First increase since 2021

At Warner Bros., the monthly Discovery Plus increase became effective on October 3. The company said in a statement that this is the first increase for the service in the U.S. and Canada since it was launched in January 2021.

"This will allow us to continue to provide cant-miss stories in the food, home, relationships, true crime, paranormal genres - plus so much more, Warner Bros. said.

With some of the biggest streaming platforms raising rates, you may want to check out other options. For tips on how to save money while making sure you get to watch some of the must-see releases, check out our round-up of how to save on streaming services and find streaming deals.
The Educationists Forum, consisting of former vice-chancellors of state universities and teachers held a media meet within the Jadavpur University campus on Tuesday stating that the Governor was deliberately delaying the formation of the search committee for finding VCs and indulging in illegal practices.

The forum has shown how the Governor of the state, CV Ananda Bose, who is also the chancellor of the universities, is continuing to exercise his illegal actions in respect of the universities by authorizing/ removing/replacing his appointees in various universities even when the entire matter is now pending before the Supreme Court.

Since the Supreme Court had desired the inclusion of the UGC nominee in the search/selection committees, all the vice-chancellors selected under the prevalent law were requested to resign by the Chancellor and the government in January 2023.

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They said that in 2022, West Bengal Legislative Assembly passed amendments to the acts of the various universities making the chief minis- ter of the state as the chancellor of universities. The Bill has been passed more than a year back but the Governor has neither signed the Bill nor returned it as soon as pos- sible as provided for in Arti- cle 200 of the Constitution of India.

The release by the forum argues that as of today, the subject of the institution of search- cum- selection committee(s) for selection of VC(s) has to be dealt with within the four corners of existing law(s) of the land. The only existing law of the land in this regard in WB is the Ordinance enact- ed and promulgated in this regard with prior assent of the Governor. The Ordinance is alive. An Ordinance which has been introduced as per the provision of Article 213 of the Constitution and approved by the Legislative Assembly remains valid unless with- drawn or replaced.

Where is it written that an Ordinance s longevity is 6 months? The Ordinance was passed in May 2023. It is still valid because under Article 213, it has to be placed in the Assembly. It has not only been placed it has been passed also. So, it should be the law but the assent of the Governor to the Bill has not yet come. We urge the Supreme Court to direct the Governor to give his assent to the Bill, said Om Prakash Misra, HoD IR depart- ment, JU and former VC of North Bengal University.
A group of Trinamul Congress activists staged a protest at the RSS office, Keshav Bha- van, late on Tuesday night when Mohan Bhagwat, chief of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, was present at the venue.

Bhagwat has been in the city since Monday.The agitating Trinamul men assembled at the Keshav Bhavan and staged a protest against the court arrest of their partys national gener- al secretary Abhishek Banerjee and other MLAs and MPs by Delhi Police at Krishi Bhavan, Union agriculture ministrys headquarters, on Tuesday night.

The MPs and MLAs led by Mr Banerjee staged a sit-in at Krishi Bhavan demanding central funds under MNRE- GA and AwasYojana schemes. Earlier, in the day, the ruling

party leaders, along with their supporters from Bengal were protesting at Jantar Mantar in Delhi demanding release of the funds.

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The state BJP president Sukanta Majumder has condemned the incident. How did they organize the agitation in front of Keshav Bhavan violating Z-plus category security for him? We wont allow any kind of protest in our party or its affiliated offices, Mr Majumder said.
After the deluge in Sikkim, the flood situation has started worsening in different pockets of northern West Bengal with the worst affected being Darjeeling and Kalimpong in the hills and Jalpaiguri and Alipurduar in the plains of Terai and Dooars regions.

The situation was reported to be critical in three other districts in north Bengal, namely North Dinajpur, South Dinajpur and Cooch Behar districts, as the Teesta River started swelling following flash floods in the hills of neighbouring Sikkim.

Three floating bodies, including that of a woman, have been recovered at Gajadoba area in Jalpaiguri district since Wednesday night.

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The administration was not sure whether the bodies were that of a local or had been carried by flowing flood-water from the hills.

Flood situation at Gajoldoba worsened as the lock-gates of the barrage there had to be opened to release the heavy rush of water there.

Parts of Darjeeling and Kalimpong districts in the hills of north Bengal have been totally disconnected from the mainland following the alarming flood-situation. The rescue team have so far rescued over 5,000 persons from these pockets.

On Thursday morning, West Bengal Governor C.V. Ananda Bose reached North Bengal to review the flood situation there. Curtailing his programmes outside the state he reached the Bagdogra Airport near Siliguri in North Bengal and from the airport he directly went to the different flood- affected spots.

While speaking to the media persons, the Governor also reacted to the comments from the state irrigation Minister Partha Bhowmik where the latter described the Governor as a tourist to north Bengal.

Yes he is right that I am a tourist. I wish some of my junior appointees in the state cabinet could accompany me as tourists here, said the Governor.

Trinamool Congress leadership has also claimed that the Governors visit to North Bengal on Thursday was not coincidental considering that the party is organising a March to Raj Bhavan agitation in Kolkata against the action of Delhi Police on the elected representatives of Trinamool Congress at Krishi Bhavan in Delhi on Tuesday evening.
In startling revelation, the police have claimed that three suspected ISIS terrorists who were arrested on October 2 were allegedly involved in the 2020 Delhi riots and played a key role in CAA-NRC protests in Delhis Shaheen Bagh, according to news agency ANI.

Massive communal riots erupted in Delhi during the CAA-NRC protest. According to the ANI, one of the suspected ISIS terrorist, Arshad, gave the slogan Tera Mera Rishta Kya Hai, La Ilaha Illallah during the CAA-NRC protest.

Arshad, who is a PhD scholar, provided shelter to Shahnawaz  the National Investigation Agencys (NIA) most-wanted terrorist who carried a reward of Rs 3 lakh on his head.

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It was Arshad who led the Delhi Police Special Cell to Shahnawaz during the interrogation. Shahnawaz had escaped from the custody of Pune police.

On October 2, the Delhi Police Special Cell arrested Shahnawaz along with Rizwan and Arshad, on charges of conspiring to carry out terrorist attacks across the country.

According to agency sources, the trio was in touch with foreign handlers of ISIS and was allegedly planning to carry out terrorist attacks in the country.

During the interrogation, Arshad told Special Cell that he was radicalized in 2016. A PhD student at Delhis Jamia University, Arshad revealed that he was planning a major terrorist attack with Shahnawaz.

As per the police, Shahnawaz Alam alias Abdullah, during interrogation, revealed that he conducted recce of VIP political leaders routes in Mumbai, Surat, Gandhinagar and Ahmedabad, for the planting of Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) and targeted killings.

Delhi Police Special Cell said that bomb-making literature, sent from Pakistan-based handlers, and other incriminating materials were recovered from Shahnawazs hideouts.

With inputs from ANI
Madhya Pradesh, a state that is close to holding elections, has agreed to offer 35% reservation for women in public employment, with the exception of the forest department.

The Madhya Pradesh Civil Services (Special Provision for Appointment of Women) Rules, 1997 have just been amended by the government, and this has been announced.

Notwithstanding anything contained in any service rules, there shall be reserved 35 per cent of all posts in the service under the state (except Forest Department) in favour of women at the stage of direct recruitment and the said reservation shall be horizontal and compartment-wise, the notification reads.

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Shivraj Singh Chouhan, the chief minister of Madhya Pradesh, recently announced a number of pro-women initiatives, including the allocation of 50% of teaching positions to women and to reserve 35% of government job openings for them.

Additionally, he expedited the financial help payments made under the Ladli Bahna Yojana initiative for womens welfare. Beneficiaries of the programme receive $1,250 per month in assistance. This action comes before any prospective announcement of assembly elections.

While distributing money, he said, I transfer the amount on the 10th (of every month), but I am transferring it in the accounts tomorrow (Wednesday) itself because elections will be announced and we cannot do this during the time of polls (due to imposition of model code of conduct).

The Nari Shakti Vandan Adhniyam, which grants women a 33% reservation in both the Lok Sabha and state legislative assemblies, was unanimously approved by the Rajya Sabha, becoming the first bill to be passed in the new Parliament building.

Following a vote, the legislation was approved on September 20 with 454 members voting in support and two members voting against it.

Separate legislation clauses were also put to a vote after the opposition members proposals were rejected.

On September 21, Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam was unanimously approved by the Rajya Sabha, which coincides with the Hindu calendar date of the prime ministers birth.
Local nonprofits seek donations to provide Thanksgiving essentials to Strafford County neighbors in need

From left to right are Jolene Whitehead, MVSB Branch & Business Development Manager, Melissa Clark, MVSB Branch Services Supervisor, Jamie Blanchette, Salvation Army of Rochester, Donald "Skip" Smith, SHARE Fund, Silas Garcia, Community Action Partnership of Strafford County, Sara Smith, Grace Community Church, and Allison Bussiere, Seacoast Food Provides Network.

ROCHESTER  Four Strafford County nonprofits - Community Action Partnership of Strafford County, The Salvation Army of Rochester, SHARE Fund and Grace Community Church  are partnering together to provide Thanksgiving essentials to local individuals and families.

Together, the organizations expect to distribute Thanksgiving dinner essentials to more than 800 Strafford County households this year and they are seeking the publics support to ensure a memorable holiday for recipients. Local Bank and community partner MVSB (Meredith Village Savings Bank) has stepped up to match financial contributions up to $15,000.

Each of these local nonprofits plays a vital role in addressing food insecurity throughout the year, and we are very proud to be working together to bring added comfort and joy to our local residents this holiday season, said Allison Bussiere, who coordinates the Seacoast Food Providers Network. We would like to thank MVSB for their generous match as well as the New Hampshire Food Bank for their ongoing support  helping us to maximize our impact with this tremendous initiative.

Go to straffordcap.org/straffordneighbors2023 to donate and learn more.

Tri-Chambers of Commerce to host Tri-Chamber Community Expo and Job Fair

ROCHESTER  The Dover, Rochester and The Falls Chambers of Commerce will host the 2023 Tri-Chamber Community Expo & Job Fair on Wednesday, Oct. 25, from 4 to 6 p.m. at the James W. Foley Memorial Community Center, located at 150 Wakefield St., in Rochester.

Sponsored by Northeast Credit Union, The Tri-Chamber Community Expo & Job Fair is open to the public and free to attend. There is no cost for exhibitors or hiring employers to have a table.

For businesses, the event offers a venue to showcase your company in a trade show format, build brand awareness and meet potential clients. For employers, the event offers you the opportunity to meet potential candidates for existing or future job openings. Interview areas will be available should employers wish to interview candidates on site.

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Attendees can see whats new in various industries, find out about any new products and services being offered, network with local businesses and organizations from the tri-cities, and build their contact base. For those seeking a job or career change, the Tri-Chamber Community Expo & Job Fair will provide a venue in which to learn about various businesses from multiple industries, and to see what job openings are available in the area.

Everyone is encouraged to bring a few non-perishable food items to be donated to local food shelters in the tri-city communities.

For more information, or to register, visit: www.rochesternh.org/expojobfair, call: 603-332-5080, or email: events@rochesternh.org.

First Time Homebuyer Seminar

HAMPTON  This one-day workshop on Oct. 21, will provide the tools to navigate you through the homebuying process. A HUD certified educator with professionals from several fields will educate you through the steps of homeownership.

Upon completion of this seminar you will have an opportunity to schedule an appointment 1:1 with a certified educator to further discuss and personalize your homebuying needs. Registration and payment is required.

Course fee is $39. Seating is limited. To Register - https://housingpartnership.org/homebuyer-education. Please call 603-766-3129 or email renee@housingpartnership.org for additional details.

Hussey Seating Company earns accolade as One of the Best Places to Work in Maine for 2023

NORTH BERWICK, Maine - Hussey Seating Company, a leading innovator in seating solutions, announces its recognition as one of the Best Places to Work in Maine for 2023. The companys dedication to cultivating an exceptional workplace environment has secured its position among the state's most respected employers in the Large Employer category (more than 250 employees). This honor marks Hussey Seating Companys third inclusion in the prestigious list, having also been recognized in 2019 and 2020.

Brian Deveaux, President & CEO of Hussey Seating Company, commented on the achievement: "We are pleased to receive this recognition once again. At Hussey Seating Company, we believe that our employees are the cornerstone of our success. Being acknowledged as one of the Best Places to Work in Maine validates our ongoing efforts to prioritize employee well-being, engagement, and overall satisfaction."

Rich Hussey, Vice President, Human Resources of Hussey Seating Company, echoed this sentiment: "This achievement reflects our unwavering dedication to creating an environment where our team members can flourish both professionally and personally. The unfiltered feedback from our employees through the anonymous survey process is invaluable in shaping our workplace initiatives and is our primary reason for participating.

Newburyport Bank donates $1,000 to New Hampshire SPCA

NEWBURYPORT, Mass.  Newburyport Bank has donated $1,000 as a sponsor of the New Hampshire SPCAs Auction for the Animals. This event will be held on Saturday, Nov. 11, at Wentworth by the Sea Hotel in New Castle, NH.

The Auction for the Animals is the New Hampshire SPCAs premier gala fundraising event and helps save the lives of thousands of abused, neglected, and in-need animals each year. The event will include dinner and cocktails, as well as an opportunity to bid on stunning collectibles.

Year after year, the New Hampshire SPCA puts on a great gala for a great cause, noted Lloyd L. Hamm, President & CEO of Newburyport Bank. At one time or another Im sure we have all had pets. And they become a part of our families. By supporting the NH SPCA, were doing a small part to ensure that all pets find a safe home, and were hopeful that others will be join us in this extremely worthwhile effort.

This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Donations sought for Thanksgiving, Tri-Chambers job fair: Seacoast business news
Dubbing the successive Congress governments in Madhya Pradesh as utterly corrupt, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday alleged that the saffron party is so blinded in the worship of one family that from anti-BJP, it has now become anti-India.

They (the Congress) are so engrossed in selfish pursuits that they have begun raising doubts on the achievements made by our country, Mr. Modi said while addressing a huge gathering at Jabalpur in Madhya Pradesh this afternoon during the Bhoomi Pujan ceremony of a memorial worth Rs 100 crore for Rani Durgavati on the late tribal queens 500th birth anniversary.

He alleged that the Congress was involved in numerous scams during its long rule in the country. When we came to power in 2014, we got more than 11 crore fake names removed from various government offices. These were the names of people who were never born but the Congress leaders were siphoning off money meant for various welfare schemes in their names, the PM asserted.

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We carried out a cleanliness drive there too, Mr. Modi pointed out. As a result of the cleansing of the system of the Congress partys corruption, more than Rs 2.5 lakh crore is now actually reaching all the intended beneficiaries.

He said a Congress PM had once said that out of one rupee sent from New Delhi, only 15 paisas reached the intended beneficiaries. 85 paisas were being stolen during the Congress rule, he added.

I will not allow anyone to eat the poors money, nor will I allow the Congress leaders to fill up their coffers anymore, the PM averred.

He said that Congress has become very angry and desperate because the flow of its corruption money and commission has stopped. As a result, they (the Congress) have started abusing not just the BJP but the country too, the PM said.

The Congress is ready to believe what is said by terrorists and enemies of our nation, but it questions what our brave soldiers say, the PM alleged. Our scientists made the best vaccine against COVID-19 in the world, but the Congress leaders pointed fingers at that too, he maintained. They are even mocking the celebrations of the country during the Azadi ka Amritkaal, he said.

He accused the Congress of not giving due credit to many heroes and great personalities, particularly tribals, who devoted and sacrificed their lives for the country.

The country did not get freedom because of just one family and the nation has not become developed due to just one family, the PM pointed out. He said the BJP has focused on giving due credit to all sections of the society for the achievements and sacrifices made for the nation.

One of our top priorities is to provide smoke-free kitchens to the mothers and sisters through our Ujjwala gas yojana, the PM informed. The Congress did not care about the health and well being of women, he charged.

We had reduced the price of domestic gas cylinders by Rs 400 on Rakshabandhan and we have now reduced it further by Rs 100 in view of Diwali and the festive season, the PM informed. The total reduction of Rs 500 in the gas cylinder means that women will now get gas cylinders for Rs 600, he said.

He asserted that the union BJP government is focusing on the welfare and benefit of all sections of society. He said the government has spent Rs three lakh crore to provide free ration to the poor, Rs 70000 crore for free treatment to five crore families under the Ayushman scheme and Rs 2.5 lakh crore for Samman nidhi to farmers.

The price of a Urea bag in the world is Rs 3000 but it sells for less than Rs 300 in India, the PM claimed, adding the government had spent Rs eight lakh crore for that.

The PM asserted that the BJP is a government for the poor and its aim is to give priority to the poor.

With the upcoming assembly elections in MP in mind, Mr Modi called upon the people, specially the youth, to make the right decision in ensuring a bright future and developed MP.

The next few years are crucial for Madhya Pradesh and you must ensure that the pace of development is not disturbed or broken in any way, the PM said. He said the BJP would continue to take MP on the path to progress in all fields. He urged the new voters to choose wisely so that their children and future generations witness MP as one of the most developed states in India.

The PM digitally and virtually dedicated to the public and laid the foundation stones of various development works and schemes worth Rs 12600 crore in Madhya Pradesh from the venue. Mr Modi arrived on the stage in a road show standing in an open jeep along with MP CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan and MP BJP Chief Vishnu Dutt Sharma.

The crucial state assembly elections in MP will be held in November this year.
Bombay High Court has taken a proactive stance in response to recent patient deaths at government hospitals in Maharashtras Nanded and Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar districts. The court, led by Chief Justice DK Upadhyaya and Justice Arif Doctor, decided to intervene following a lawyers submission of a letter highlighting the concerning situation of hospital deaths.

Expressing their strong disapproval of patient deaths attributed to a lack of medical staff and essential medicines, the bench called for immediate action and asked for detailed information from the state government by the end of the week. This move underscores the courts commitment to addressing pressing issues affecting public health and welfare.

The petitioner, advocate Mohit Khanna, was directed to submit a formal petition encompassing all the research findings he had gathered on the matter. Additionally, the court instructed him to furnish a copy of the petition to the State authorities, ensuring transparency in the proceedings.

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This is a case of suo motu cognizance. The Bombay High Court has invoked a legal concept in this instance. This concept involves the court initiating action independently without waiting for a formal complaint. This mechanism comes to use in cases of urgency, public interest, or human rights violations. It empowers the court to promptly address critical matters, even in the absence of formal legal proceedings.

The alarming situation in government hospitals has garnered significant attention. The death toll at Nandeds Dr. Shankarrao Chavan Government Medical College and Hospital rose to 35. This includes the tragic loss of 16 infants and 19 adults. Medical education minister Hasan Mushrif acknowledged that the shortage of doctors contributed to these fatalities. To mitigate the shortfall, the government plans to appoint doctors on a contract basis until regular recruitment fills the vacancies.

Additionally, another distressing incident unfolded at the Government Medical College and Hospital in Sambhaji Nagar. The hospital had 14 deaths, including two infants.
The Centre, on Thursday, banned the Jammu and Kashmir Democratic Freedom Party (JKDFP), declaring it as an unlawful association under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA).

The jailed separatist leader Shabir Ahmad Shahs party has been banned for five years for its anti-India activities.

The government cited the organisations involvement in anti-national activities since year 1998 with its members always promoting terrorist acts in the country in the name of separatism as a reason for the action.

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Elaborating on the governments contention, an official release said JKDFP members want to transform Kashmir into a separate Islamic state and in order to achieve their goal they indulge in inciting the people of Kashmir for violence, which is prejudicial to the sovereignty, security and integrity of India.

Many criminal cases have been registered against this organisation under various sections, namely the UAPA 1967, the IPC 1860, the Arms Act 1959 and the Ranbir Penal Code 1932, the release added.

Meanwhile, the Centre clamped a ban on the National Liberation Front of Tripura and the All Tripura Tiger Force, including all their factions and fronts, for a period of five years under the UAPA.
Mathew Kuzhalnadan, a Congress MLA, on Thursday filed a complaint with the Director of Vigilance seeking an investigation against Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan nd his daughter Veena in the Masappady(monthly pay-off ) controversy.

Kuzhalnadan, who is in the forefront of attacking Pinarayi Vijayan over the monthly pay-off allegations against his daughter Veena, met Vigilance Director TK Vinod Kumar and filed a complaint in this regard.

In his complaint, Kuzhalnadan demanded that a case be registered against the father-daughter duo and a probe carried out in the case under the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988.

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Speaking media persons after filing the complaint with the Vigilance Director, Kuzhalnadan said he would prove that the acronym PV mentioned in the diary of the finance officer of the CMRL, is indeed that of Pinarayi Vijayan.

In a significant move, Kuzhalnadan also handed over evidence against the chief minister and his daughter along with his complaint demanding an investigation in the case.

He said he had started the second round of his fight against the chief minister and his daughter.

My legal battle against them (Kerala CM and his daughter) has also been started. I raised allegations against them not to create a cloud of smoke. Despite repeated questions posed against them they have not yet bothered to reply, he said.

The New Delhi bench of the Income Tax Interim Settlement Board (ITISB) has found that Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayans daughter T Veena received Rs 1.72 crore from Cochin Minerals and Rutile Ltd (CMRL) for consultancy services that were never provided.

Reports said that Veena and her firm, Exalogic Solutions, had entered into an agreement with the private company to provide IT, marketing consultancy, and software services to the latter. However, no services were provided, as the income tax investigation found.

The company told the Income Tax Department that the money was, however, paid in monthly instalments as per the contract. The Income Tax Disputes Redressal Board found that nexus with prominent person was behind the transaction.
The BJP came under fire from the Congress on Thursday when the saffron party published a poster on its official X Twitter that portrayed Rahul Gandhi as Ravan.

The leaders late grandmother and father, former Prime Ministers Rajiv and Indira Gandhi, were both slain by groups that wanted to split India, and the Congress claimed that the poster is clearly intended to incite violence against the person.

Jairam Ramesh, general secretary of the Congress, said on X, What is the real intention of an abhorrent graphic portraying @RahulGandhi as Ravan by the BJPs official handle? It is obviously meant to encourage and stir up violence against a Congress member and a former party president, whose father and grandmother were murdered by forces that wnt to create a divide in India.

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Ramesh said, It is one thing for the Prime Minister to give evidence daily of being a pathological liar and of suffering from a narcissistic personality disorder. But for him to get his party to produce something this obnoxious is not just completely unacceptable, but is downright dangerous. We will not be intimidated, the Rajya Sabha MP added.

Amit Malviya, the head of the BJPs IT department, also posted the BJPs post on X that featured a poster of Rahul Gandhi with 10 heads.

Imran Pratapgarhi, a Congress leader, responded to the BJPs post by accusing them of being uneasy over the rising popularity of Wayanad, the Lok Sabha member from Kerala.

Pratapgarhi, a Rajya Sabha member who spoke to the media at the party headquarters, said: This is the nervousness of the BJP after sensing its defeat in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

He claimed that the BJP leaders and Prime Minister Narendra Modi both make unfounded accusations.

They have been in a panic since the INDIA bloc was formed. It reveals their desperation when they refer to Rahul Gandhi as Ravan. The people are aware of Rahul Gandhi and know that he empathises with their suffering. He is demonstrating alongside Manipuri citizens, including vegetable sellers and bike mechanics. Additionally, calling someone who is interacting with the general public demonstrates your level of fear. The Congress leader, who is also the head of the minority department, called this situation horrible.

Pratapgarhi, criticising the BJP, claimed that the public was aware of the partys suffering.

The BJP has become even more desperate as the INDIA blocs acceptance has grown and Rahul Gandhi has entered active mode. The Prime Minister refers to the INDIA bloc as rusted iron, a ghamandiya (arrogant) alliance, and even compares it to terrorist organisations because of this. All of this demonstrates the Prime Minister and the BJPs trepidation, he continued.
A series of tremors in the past three days have kept people in the districts Usturi, Hasori and surrounding villages on their toes, coming after seven mild tremors were notched in the region in August, an official said here on Thursday.

Latur District Disaster Management Officer Saqueb Osmani, told IANS that the latest of the tremors were recorded Wednesday night (October 4)  the first at 8.49 p.m. measuring 2.75 on Richter Scale at a depth of 5 kms, and a second one at 8.57 p.m. measuring 1.60 on Richter Scale at 7 kms underground.

Earlier on Monday, at least three mild tremors were felt, scaring the locals, who have been complaining of strange subterranean sounds emanating in the region since a year, besides at least nine tremors between September 15  October 12, 2022.

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However, Osmani said that there were no reports of any casualties or damage to public or private property from the affected regions after the fresh tremors this week.

Incidentally, on September 30 the district had observed the 30th anniversary of one of the biggest killer earthquakes (1993) that flattened Killari and surrounding regions of Latur-Osmanabad, but now the same areas have risen from the ruins and flourished. Nationalist Congress Party President Sharad Pawar  who was the state Chief Minister during the 1993 quake  was felicitated with a gratitude function held in his honour last weekend.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Thursday came down heavily on the Aam Aadmi Party after the latters Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh was arrested by Enforcement Directorate (ED) over corruption charges in connection with the now scrapped Delhi liquor policy case. Addressing a press conference, BJP national spokesperson Sambit Patra claimed that incriminating documents were found during ED raids on Sanjay Singhs residence and they point towards someone at the top of the AAP.

As per media sources, the incriminating documents procured from the house of Sanjay Singh will incriminate someone who is at the top in the hierarchy of AAP, he claimed with taking anyones name.

The firebrand BJP leader slammed the AAP and said it has become their habit to commit scams and then politicise the issue when caught.

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It is the nature of the AAP to commit scams openly and do politics after getting caught, Patra said at a press conference in Bhubaneswar, he added.

Patra further took a dig at Sanjay Singh and referred to him as don of corruption.

When a pickpocket steals, a wallet comes out of his house. When a chain snatcher commits 11snatching, he gets a chain from his house. When Chindi Chor steals, he gets Toti from his house. When a dacoit commits a robbery, a gun and bullets are found in his house. But when the Don of Corruption is caught, paper evidence is found in his house, not wallet, chain, tote, gun, he said.

Former Delhi BJP president Manoj Tiwari has also claimed that the investigation will soon reach Kejriwal.

Reacting to Patras claims, the AAP said that it has now become clear the ED raids were conducted due to pressure from the BJP. Are Manoj Tiwari and BJP running the ED and CBI? This proves that its a conspiracy against us, AAP spokesperson Reena Gupta said.

Sanjay Singh was Wednesday arrested by ED sleuths after an extensive 9-hour long search at his Delhi residence. Singh claimed that ED didnt find anything from his house and forcefully arrested him.

AAPs national convenor and Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal termed his arrest illegal and said that it was a sign of PM Modis nervousness.
Hundreds of Aam Aadmi Party workers and supporters on Thursday took to streets in national capital Delhi to protest against the illegal arrest of AAP Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh by Enforcement Directorate (ED) in connection with an alleged Delhi liquor policy scam case. Singh was arrested on Wednesday by ED sleuths from his Delhi residence after hours of extensive search.

Aam Aadmi Party has termed the arrest illegal and accused the BJP of vendetta politics, a charge the saffron party denies vehemently. Delhi Chief Minister and AAP national convenor Arvind Kejriwal has called the arrest a result of Prime Minister Narendra Modis nervousness and claimed there was not a single penny worth of scam in the now scrapped Delhi excise policy.

AAP supporters gathered outside the party headquarters in Delhi and shouted slogans against the BJP and PM Modi. Some of the protesters also clashed with Delhi Police personnel deployed there. They have plans to reach BJP headquarter in Delhi.

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Addressing a press conference, AAP leader and Delhi Health Minister Sourabh Bharadwaj said that Modi government has been targeting Opposition leaders in view of the upcoming elections. Bharadwaj alleged misuse of power by the BJP and called it a sign of dictatorship.

The BJP has rejected AAPs allegations of political witch hunt and said that the ED raid and arrest of Sanjay Singh was part of its promise to build a corruption free India.

BJP national spokesperson Sambit Patra claimed that ED has found incriminating documents pointing towards a top leader in the AAPs hierarchy. He said that it has become the habit of AAP to do scam and then politicize it after getting caught.
In his second public rally in the last five days in Rajasthan, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said here on Thursday that if voted to power the BJP would develop the state as the number one state in the country in tourism.

This is BJPs Sankalp (resolution) to boost the tourism sector in Rajasthan as the two new air terminals in Jodhpur and Udaipur, whose foundation was held today, will come up soon, the prime minister said while addressing the BJP public rally in Jodhpur after laying foundation stone and dedicating to the nation 18 projects worth about Rs 5,000 crores.

New rail, road, airport and health sector projects were inaugurated/a foundation stone was laid in Marwar (Jodhpur region). With the newer airports in the future, the tourist potential will boost three times as the infrastructures are being developed on a war footing, the PM said, adding I will also make Railway stations better than the airports so that poor and middle-class people travel. Jodhpur railway station would be one of them.

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When he asked who would make Rajasthan number one tourism, the audience shouted Modi-Modi in reply. Hearing the audiences response, he immediately bounced, No, not me! Its your single vote that will give me the power to fulfill my guarantee.

He further told the rally, People are saying BJP will come, prosperity will bloom in Rajasthan.

In a direct attack on Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, the prime minister said, I have just come from a government programme. That was a government programme. But Gehlot was missing from the government programme. Why were you missing? Because he (Gehlot) is confident that if Modi comes, everything will be fine. Gehlot has so much faith in Modi. Thats why they (the Congress) feel if Modi comes, it will happen. I ask them to rest, now we will take care of it (Rajasthan).

Recalling the decision his government took yesterday in Delhi, Modi announced, Now, under the Ujjwala Scheme, gas cylinders will be available for only Rs 600. With this, all sisters will celebrate festivals with more enthusiasm. This will benefit women across the country and 70 lakh families of Rajasthan.

On the success of Chandrayan-3 and control of Corona-19, the PM said, The countrymen are proud of Indias success in countries like America, Britain, Japan and Singapore. But the Congress is saddened by the fact that India is moving from tenth place to fifth place in the economy. This is Modis guarantee that Modi will reach number three before number 10. Now see, India saved the lives of its countrymen as well as crores of people of the world by making Made in India Corona vaccine.

Hailing the upcoming Bollywood movie Vaccine War, the PM said its makers have picked up the contents from the Corona period and the governments efforts in containing the dreaded disease, and the movie will encourage youths to understand the lockdown periods and misery of the Covid.

Assailing the Gehlot Government for allegedly not working for even a single day in the last five years, the PM assured the public, BJP will come and stop hooliganism, BJP will come and will bring womens security. There are so many innocent daughters who have been snatched from us. Countless incidents are revealing the truth of rampant crime. Rajasthan will not tolerate this anymore. BJP will come and stop the riots.

Criticising the Gehlot rule further, he said, No one invests where law and order is broken. I want to know one more thing from you what was the chief minister of Jodhpur doing when it was burning in riots? When violence was happening here, innocent were being killed, what were the Congress leaders doing? Is the first and the last policy of Congress only appeasement?

Be it Ramnavmi, Parshuram Jayanti, or Hanuman Jayanti, no festival passes off without an incident of stone pelting in Rajasthan. Jodhpur city which is known for peace has witnessed a gang war in broad daylight, he pointed out.

Modi reiterated his partys commitment to arrest the paper leak mafia, and expose the hidden truths of Red Diary if voted to power.

In an interaction with the audience, Modi said, People say the Red Diary contains every black act of corruption of the Congress. You tell me whether the dark secrets of this diary should be revealed or not? Should everything come out in the open, or not The score should be settled or not? Should dishonest people be punished, or not Now tell me, will the Congress government allow the secrets of Lal Diary to be revealed? Will you let me come forward? If one wants to know all this then, who needs it? BJP government will have to be brought, it is very important to form BJP government in Rajasthan.

What happened to the misrule of Congress in five years? Congress has made Rajasthan the top in the country in terms of corruption and riots. Rajasthan has been made number one in terms of atrocities against Dalits. Congress has given a free hand to the drug trade, the PM contended.

However, in his 40-minute speech, the PM listed a number of major projects of the Central government being implemented in Rajasthan like One Rank, One Pension, Har Ghar Nal and Jal, cash money transfer to the accounts of farmers and providing Narmada water to Rajasthan. He also referred to the womens reservation bill and commented on Ghamandiya Gathbandhan (INDIA) for creating differences and dividing the society.

Among others who shared the dais included former Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje, BJP State President CP Joshi, Union Ministers G S Shekhawat, Arjum Ram Meghawal, and local MPs and MLAs.

This was Modis 11th visit to Rajasthan in the last 11 months.
At least 14 people have been confirmed dead while 102 are, including 22 Army soldiers are still missing after a cloud burst induced flash flood in Sikkim, the state government confirmed late Wednesday. All the deceased are civilians while missing people also include the Army personnel. One of the 23 missing soldiers has been rescued and undergoing medical treatment while search for 22 others is underway.

According to a news agency ANI report, more than 3,000 tourists are feared to be stranded in different parts of the State. Around 14 people are also believed to be trapped in the tunnels of the Teesta Stage 3 dam in Chungthang.

The catastrophe has been declared a disaster by the state government and Prime Minister Narendra Modi has assured Sikkim Chief Minister PS Tamang of all the possible help to restore normalcy in the state.

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What triggered the flash flood in Sikkim?

On the intervening night of Tuesday and Wednesday, a cloud burst over Lhonak Lake triggered flash flood in the Teesta River that flows through Sikkim and West Bengal before entering Bangladesh.

Due to massive inflow of the water, the lake breached its embankment and made its course towards Teesta River. This deteriorated the situation and led to the sudden rise in water level of the Teesta basin, particularly in Chungthang where the under construction Teesta Stage 3 dam was breached.

Three districts of Sikkim  Mangan, Gangtok, Pakyong were the worst hit. The flash floods caused extensive damage to at least 14 bridges and washed away several roads, including a portion of National Highway 10, which connect North Sikkim to rest of the country.

Mobile internet and communication have also been lost in the affected areas after flood destroyed the fiber optical cable. It is likely to take several days to restore communication services and reopen the NH 10.

Meanwhile, several low lying areas of Bengal near the banks of Teesta have also been affected due to sudden rise in water level of the river. A flood alert has been sounded for North Bengal and some parts of Bangladesh.
FACT.MR

The expanding application scope in industries such as healthcare and cosmetics is a main factor shaping the dyes and pigments market

Rockville , Oct. 05, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- As per Fact.MR, a provider of market research and competitive intelligence, the global dyes and pigments market is anticipated to rise at a CAGR of 3% to reach US $38 Bn by the end of 2031.



Dyes and pigments are substances used to add color to materials. Dyes dissolve and chemically bond with materials like fabric or paper, giving bright, even coloration. They're excellent for transparent materials and high-volume applications like textiles. On the other hand, pigments are tiny particles mixed with a binder, forming a layer on surfaces. These are suitable for paints, inks, and plastics, providing durable color. Pigments resist fading and are versatile in different mediums.

Get Free Sample Copy of This Report:

https://www.factmr.com/connectus/sample?flag=S&rep_id=6366

The growth of the dyes and pigments market is primarily being propelled by a surge in demand for environmentally friendly and sustainable coloring solutions. Additionally, the expanding applications in sectors such as healthcare and cosmetics are broadening the market's reach.

Key Takeaways:

The dyes and pigments market in China is expected to witness a CAGR of more than 5% until 2031 and is projected to reach nearly US $ 8 Bn. Moreover, China is expected to be the worlds largest textile cloth manufacturer.

Demand for dyes and pigments in the US was around US $ 8 Bn for 2020. Growth is majorly due to extensive applications across the construction sector.

Textile grade dyes and pigments are likely to capture the bulk of overall demand during the forecast period. Moreover, primary manufacturers are expected to gain maximum benefits across various key economies such as China, India, Thailand, Bangladesh, and Indonesia.



The increasing demand for sustainable and eco-friendly coloring solutions, the expanding applications in healthcare, cosmetics, and allied industries, as well as the rapid growth in key sectors like textiles, paints, and plastics are a few factors driving the market - Says FACTMR Expert

Market Competition

In this highly competitive market, major industry participants focus on tailoring color schemes and product offerings to meet the specific needs of individual end-users.

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Prominent dyes and pigments industry companies include:-

Atlanta AG

Asahi Songwon Colors Ltd.

Atul Ltd.

BASF SE

Cathay Industries USA

Clariant AG

DIC Corp.

DyStar Singapore Pte. Ltd.

Ferro Corp.

Sun Chemical Corporation

Synthesia SA

Sudarshan Chemical Industries Ltd.

Huntsman Corp.

LANXESS AG

Kronos Worldwide Inc.

Kiri Industries Ltd.

Tronox Inc.

Merck KGaA

Flint Group



Recent Developments

In June 2021, BASF SE unveiled plans to enhance its innovation capabilities in Japan, relocating the R&D center for dispersions and resin applications from Amagasaki to Yokkaichi. This move aims to bolster collaborative efforts across the supply chain management team for increased efficiency.

May 2021 saw the introduction of Clariant AG's HostatintTM AU Aqueous pigment dispersions, broadening the spectrum of colors available for both interior and exterior architectural coatings. These hues feature innovative low-VOC and APEO-free technologies.

Winning strategies

Companies in the dyes and pigments market are focusing on creating customized color solutions and product lines to match the unique needs of individual customers. This approach helps them stand out from competitors. By tailoring their offerings, these companies can address specific requirements.

Companies in the dyes and pigments industry are proactively looking to grow their influence. They're doing this by either buying or teaming up with other players in the market. This helps them expand their customer base and revenue share. They're also looking to broaden their range of dyes and pigments, possibly in diverse industries.

Get Customization on this Report for Specific Research Solutions:

https://www.factmr.com/connectus/sample?flag=RC&rep_id=6366

More Valuable Insights on Offer

Fact.MR, in its new offering, presents an unbiased analysis of the global Dyes and Pigments Market, presenting forecast statistics for the period of 2023-2033.

Dyes and Pigments Market Share & Trends Analysis By Classification (Disperse, Reactive, Sulphur Dyes and Pigments) By Application (Textile, Ink & Paint, Leather & Paper Dyes and Pigments) & By Region

Explore More Related Studies Published by Fact.MR Research:

Organic Dyes and Pigments Market: The global organic dyes and pigments market is forecast to reach US$ 37 Billion by 2032, progressing at a CAGR of 5.4% during 2022-2032.

Textile Dyes Market: The global textiles dyes market was valued at US$ 6.7 billion in 2022 and would expand to reach US$ 8.9 billion by 2033, growing at a CAGR of 6.0% during 2023-2033.

Paper Dyes Market: The paper dyes market is projected to expand at a CAGR of 2.5%, to reach a valuation of US$ 1.3 billion in 2033.

About Fact.MR:

Fact.MR is a distinguished market research company renowned for its comprehensive market reports and invaluable business insights. As a prominent player in business intelligence, we delivers deep analysis, uncovering market trends, growth paths, and competitive landscapes. Renowned for its commitment to accuracy and reliability, we empowers businesses with crucial data and strategic recommendations, facilitating informed decision-making and enhancing market positioning. With its unwavering dedication to providing reliable market intelligence, FACT.MR continues to assist companies in navigating dynamic market challenges with confidence and achieving long-term success. With a global presence and a team of experienced analysts, FACT.MR ensures its clients receive actionable insights to capitalize on emerging opportunities and stay ahead in the competitive landscape.

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Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav on Wednesday slammed the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) over the arrest of AAP MP Sanjay Singh by the Enforcement Directorate in the Delhi liquor policy case and said that in any state where regional parties are doing good work, the BJP is causing trouble for them.

Talking to the reporters in Patna, Yadav said that after the arrest of Sanjay Singh, a fifth summon has been sent to Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren.

Today Sanjay Singh has been arrested, and I have also heard that the fifth summons has been sent to Jharkhand CM Hemant Soren. Wherever the regional party is doing a good job, the BJP is causing them trouble and taking action, Yadav said.

The Deputy Chief Minister also said that he was very young when the alleged land-for-jobs-scam case happened, but still, his name was added to the chargesheet.

I was very young, I didnt even have a moustache at that time, but my name was added to the supplementary charge sheet of the alleged land-for-jobs scam case. So nothing will happen, we will fight and win, he said.

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The Enforcement Directorate on Wednesday arrested Aam Admi Party MP Sanjay Singh in connection with a money laundering case linked to the now-withdrawn new excise policy of Delhi.

It is the second high-profile arrest in the case after former Delhi deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia. The arrest came hours after the ED conducted raids at the residence of the AAP Rajya Sabha MP in connection with the case.

Meanwhile, the Rouse Avenue Court of Delhi on Wednesday granted bail to former Railway Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav, Bihars Deputy CM Tejashwi Yadav, Rabri Devi, and others in relation to a fresh chargesheet in connection with the alleged land-for-jobs scam case.

The Special Judge Geetanjali Goel, while granting bail, noted that no accused was arrested in the matter by the CBI, and even the CBI did not oppose their bail petition.

Meanwhile, the Court also directed the CBI to serve the fresh chargesheet copy to all the accused in the case.
Telugu actor-and-politician Pawan Kalyan said here on Thursday that despite being in the NDA he was standing by the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) which was currently weakened due to the recent incarceration of its president N Chandrababu Naidu in connection with the multi-crore skill development scam case.

At a time when Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy was on a two-day visit to the national capital reports surfaced that Jana Sena, which was in alliance with the BJP, decided to quit NDA. But Jana Sena party spokesperson clarified that during his evening rally at Pedana in the Krishna district, Pawan Kalyan had said despite being in the NDA he has come out in support of TDP.

The actor explained to his supporters why supporting the TDP was the need of the hour. He said, The TDP has experience in governance but currently it is weak, Jana Sena has the new blood to infuse it and together we can be formidable enough to send YSRCP to the nether world.

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The Jana Sena chief met Chandrababu Naidu in jail on 14 September and promptly announced the alliance between TDP-Jana Sena for the forthcoming elections. He said he would try to convince the BJP to back their alliance. YSRCP obviously, is keen to see Jana Sena quit the NDA. This is because the TDP-JSP-BJP combine could challenge the ruling party. The vote percentage of BJP might not be much but it will ensure better election management.

However, there is a growing perception among TDP supporters that the BJP has YSRCPs back over Chandrababu Naidus arrest. The former chief minister is in jail for nearly a month with his remand again extended till 19 October by the Anti Corruption Bureau court as it continues to hear his bail application as well as CIDs petition for his custody.

Reports have emerged that TDP general secretary Nara Lokesh tried to meet Congress MP Rahul Gandhi. The TDP is feeling isolated as no other political party stood by it since it is in neither the NDA nor the INDIA. But till elections are over in Telangana, the Congress leadership might not be keen to hobnob with the TDP which is perceived as an Andhra party.
Chinese Defense Minister Li Shangfu joins the long list of sudden high-profile disappear ances in the Chinese narrative. It was preceded by the same disappearance storyline of Chinas Foreign Minister, Qin Gang, and then of the equally mysterious removal of the top Military Commander of the Peoples Liberation Army Rocket Force (PLARF), Li Yuchao. Each of these men was reportedly chosen by President Xi Jinping for their sensitive posts, and each one of them also faced the wrath of Xis cleanliness drive a euphemism for anti-corruption, more often than not.

Like always, the disappearance gets picked by China- watchers and is never officially announced. This time too, Li Shangfu was not seen, heard, or quoted since 29 August and was missing during important trips and meetings. A de riguer health concern was attributed initially, and the ironclad veil of secrecy disallowed any questioning. The charade continued with the Chinese spokesperson feigning ignorance and saying that she was not aware of the situation!

If indeed Li Shangfu is convicted of misdemeanors (it will never be officially stated), he would join the infamous list of earlier Chinese Defense Ministers who did get purged, that is Peng Dehuai in 1959, and Lin Biao in 1971. But coming as it does on the heels of the similar- ly purged Commanders of the strategic nuclear arsenal, something is terribly amiss, even by Chinese standards. Besides the removal of Li Yuchao as the Commander of PLARF, the Deputy Commander, Wu Guohua, is believed to have taken his life at his home. Eerily there was no public memorial service for him, as is the norm.

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When conflated with Xis repeated and seemingly paranoid call to tight en the Chinese Communist Partys (CCPs) hold over the Chinese military, the optics of insecurity and possible disarray in the ranks are clear Beijing claims to have swept up to 2 million tigers and flies (suggesting the various levels of officialdom) in its anti-corruption drive, but that is clearly not enough.

Given that many of these crucial appointments were at the behest of Xi Jinping himself, they reflect rather shoddily on his ability to judge character. This perhaps explains

the discomfort in making a public case out of individual dereliction, as the taint sticks

on Xi, too. Interestingly, while there are odd murmurs of some accused having compromised on official secrets, the bulk of the crimes are of a pecuniary nature.

Even in the recent Li Shangfu incident, the internal corruption watchdog agency, Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI), is said to be on his heels. Apparently, Li Shangfus earlier tenure as the Director (from 2017 to 2022) of Chinas cash-flush arms pro- curement agency, Equipment Development Department (EDD), could have caught up with the man who only spent a few months as the Chinese Defense Minister.

Lack of political opposition, free press, or any form of public inquiry or activism disables the natural course of accountability, responsibility, and probity. It is only when the word of any indi- viduals culpability reaches the ears of Xi or of members of his coterie does the backtrail start. However, like all authoritarian regimes the dispensing of justice is fairly instantaneous with a kangaroo-court ordained disappearance, which then morphs into a permanent dis- appearance. The very rare ones who did disappear and managed to return like the one-time billionaire Jack Ma, are only afforded the luxury of odd spotting, though never to return to their for- mer glory ever again.

Xi Jinping is known to have an acute sense of his- tory and all the imagined ghosts that it unleashes. He has a retinue of officials who track the actions of other leaders for in- valuable lessons for him to imbibe, and herein, the examples from Russia of graft and Putin-supported lackeys like Yevgeny Prigozhin (who dangerously outgrew his patron and started threatening Putins legitimacy), would not have missed Xis eyes and thoughts.

No one in China is too important or senior to dare cross the line with Xi and expect to get away, not even the former Chinese President, Hu Jintao. Last year saw the dramatic physical eviction of Hu Jintao from the 20th Congress meet the optics were suggestive of Xis message to the assem- blage, to always toe the line or be ready to face the conse- quences.

The age-old health issues of the former President were unconvincingly posited, though the inherent message of public humiliation was not lost on anyone. He, too, hasnt been seen in public since. More importantly, the Hu Jintao incident did allude to lingering perceptions of dissent and challenge to Xis authority that he constantly imagines and takes on.

So much so, that the US Ambassador to Japan, Rahm Emanuel made a sarcastic remark about the unemployment rate in the Chinese govern- ment, given its proclivity to purge, especially in recent times.

Xi has been goading the Chinese to, focus on solving the prominent problems that per- sist at party organizations on all levels with regard to enforcing the partys absolute leadership over the military. Whether it is concerns of continuing graft, leak of official secrets, or plain issues of personal disloyalty, Xi Jinping is not satisfied with the way the gov- ernment is functioning, hence the purge overdrive.

Carefully choreographed chants of loyalty to Xi not with-standing, there are multiple and conflicting opinions on handling the Chinese narrative and governance that willy-nilly chal- lenge Xis preference for unilateralism. With possible disagreements on use of force in Taiwan, or in the restive South China Seas, to the personal detriment of Xis unbridled authority, removal of such contrarian voices comes naturally to an authoritarian.

Importantly, both Li Shangu as the Defense Minister (making him the Military Diplomat as opposed to giving him any operational control over PLA) and Qin Gang, the ousted Foreign Minister, were both outward looking policy mandarins and not really involved in the relatively well-controlled, internal affairs of China.

Corruption or no corruption, Xi Jinping is far from being fully in control with the way things are shaping up, as suggested by the revolving door leading to the phenomenon of disappearances in China.

(The writer is Lt Gen PVSM, AVSM (Retd), and former Lt Governor of Andaman & Nicobar Islands and Puducherry)
A remarkable creation has taken center stage in Dubai, where a bicycle made entirely of 24K gold is now available for purchase.

This extravagant two-wheeler, showcased by Saudi Arabia-based Al Romaizan Gold and Jewellery, was unveiled at the 52nd edition of the Watch & Jewellery Middle East Show in Sharjah.

Valued at a staggering Dirhams 1.5 million (equivalent to Rs 3,39,77,348), this British racing cycle is a true masterpiece, adorned with approximately 4 kg of pure gold and weighing 7 kg in total.

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The meticulous craftsmanship behind this opulent cycle involved a team of 20 specialists from Al Romaizan who dedicated six months to bring it to life. Every detail, from the drop handlebars to the wheel stays and gear chain ridges, has been meticulously covered with 24K gold sheets, resulting in a dazzling finish that exudes luxury.

Mohammad Abbasi, Chief Digital Officer of Al Romaizan, told the press that this golden bicycle is now available for purchase in Dubai.

This extraordinary creation was part of the Watch & Jewellery Middle East Show, which featured over 500 international and local brands from September 27 to October 1.

The event also showcased other remarkable pieces, such as the Sakura ring, a true work of art adorned with 18-carat green diamonds, presented by Selikhov Diamonds and priced at a staggering 2.9 million dollars (equivalent to Rs 24,13,97,450). These exceptional offerings added a touch of cultural diversity to the show, highlighting the UAEs status as a global hub for all things gold.

This reputation has been built on a foundation of vibrant gold souks, a tax-free gold purchase policy, and the presence of gold trading and investment platforms like the Dubai Gold and Commodities Exchange (DGCX), solidifying the UAEs status as a golden destination where the allure of gold is woven into the fabric of society and commerce.
Rishi Sunak, the UK Prime Minister, firmly asserted in his closing speech at the Conservative Party Conference that a man is a man and a woman is a woman, it is just common sense. Speaking before the conference audience, Sunak emphasized the need for transparency in education and healthcare regarding gender-related matters.

He stated, It shouldnt be controversial for parents to know what their children are being taught in school about relationships. Patients should know when hospitals are talking about men or women. We shouldnt get bullied into believing that people can be any sex they want to be. They cant.

Sunaks remarks have ignited significant discussions on the internet, with some individuals accusing him of expressing queerphobia. These comments came during an hour-long address to the Conservative Partys grassroots in Manchester. In the conference, Sunak positioned himself as a defender of Conservative values.

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In the same speech, he announced several notable policy changes, including the cancellation of the northern leg of the HS2 project, a plan to phase out smoking, and sweeping education reforms. However, his statements on transgender rights garnered the most attention, with his announcement of a ban on trans women accessing female-only hospital wards.

These remarks have drawn criticism and condemnation from LGBTQ+ advocacy groups around the world. They argue that such statements contribute to discrimination against transgender individuals. While Rishi Sunak presents himself as a defender of common-sense values, the debate surrounding gender identity and transgender rights remains a complex and sensitive issue that continues to spark discussions on equality and inclusivity.
Saint-Laurent, CA (H4T1V6)

Today

Mostly cloudy this morning with showers developing this afternoon. High 46F. Winds SW at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 60%..

Tonight

Partly cloudy this evening, then becoming cloudy after midnight. Low 39F. Winds SSW at 10 to 15 mph.
Melbourne, Victoria --News Direct-- Dynamic Metals Limited

Dynamic Metals Ltd (ASX:DYM) managing director Karen Wellman tells Proactive the company has defined a 2.8 kilometre lithium anomaly during first pass soil sampling at its Pioneer Dome West target, part of the larger Widgiemooltha Project in the Goldfields region of Western Australia. The Pioneer Dome West tenement sits on the recently granted E15/1721 licence and covers 20 kilometres of strike along the highly prospective western side of the Pioneer Dome. It is adjacent to Essential Metals Dome North lithium project, which hosts a mineral resource of 11.2 million tonnes grading 1.2% lithium oxide and is subject to proposed acquisition by Develop Global.

Dynamic is focused on advancing a highly prospective portfolio of future facing critical minerals projects in Australia. The Company completed a successful IPO in January 2023 raising $7 million to fully fund an aggressive exploration program across the portfolio.

Dynamics flagship project, Widgiemooltha, covers an extensive area of c.880km2 extending between Norseman and Kambalda. The region is well known for its numerous nickel and gold mines, but more recently has emerged in significance for its lithium mineralisation and prospectivity.

Contact Details

Proactive Investors

Proactive Investors

+61 413 713 744

jonathan@proactiveinvestors.com

View source version on newsdirect.com: https://newsdirect.com/news/dynamic-metals-defines-2-8km-lithium-anomaly-at-widgiemooltha-611967332
ECO Canada

CALGARY, Alberta, Oct. 05, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- ECO Canada is thrilled to announce the launch of the highly anticipated "ECO Canada Tour: Bridging Cities, Building Futures." This nationwide roadshow will begin in October, with the last stop at the end of November 2023.

The ECO Canada Tour is a comprehensive and immersive experience designed to connect environmental professionals, aspiring individuals, and organizations committed to the environmental workforce. This tour will take place across multiple cities and regions in Canada to foster collaboration, knowledge sharing, and networking within the environmental sector.

Key Highlights of the ECO Canada Tour:

Networking Opportunities: The tour will provide a platform for environmental professionals to connect with like-minded individuals, potential employers, and mentors. Networking events, panel discussions, and interactive sessions will facilitate meaningful connections.

Career Advancement: Aspiring environmental professionals can gain valuable insights into career pathways, skill development, and job opportunities in the environmental sector. ECO Canada will offer career guidance and resources to help attendees take the next steps in their environmental careers. Non-EPs will also have the opportunity to learn more about the EP Designation.

Educational Workshops: Attendees can participate in educational workshops led by industry experts. These workshops will cover various topics, including environmental trends, regulatory updates, and career development strategies.

Regional Focus: The ECO Canada Tour will cater to each city's specific needs and interests, addressing local environmental challenges and opportunities. It aims to promote region-specific solutions and collaborations. ECO Canada will visit Victoria, North Bay, Barrie, Ottawa, Kitchener, Toronto, Calgary, Halifax, Edmonton and Montreal.

"I'm excited for the ECO Canada Tour for two reasons. Not only will I get to meet EP members face to face, but I'll be able to witness the growth of the EP community. I love seeing our members realize they are a part of something bigger than themselves," says ECO Canada Certification Lead Helen Crawley.

Story continues

ECO Canada's Environmental Professional (EP) designation is Canada's only nationally recognized environmental designation. The EP Designation is a multi-disciplinary environmental professional certification for specialists across all industries in Canada who are dedicated to the advancement of sustainable practice and responsible economic growth. Being an EP is a way to showcase leadership, create public trust, and adopt lifelong learning in one's career. These environmental professionals are diverse, from scientists to engineers, technicians, biologists, and consultants.

The EP Designation is not merely a title or a few letters added to the end of ones name, but it represents a commitment to excellence in environmental stewardship and dedication and passion for the protection of our environment, says ECO Canada President and CEO, Kevin Nilsen.

Tour dates and registration includes:

Victoria  Oct. 4

North Bay  Oct. 24

Barrie  Oct. 26

Ottawa/Gatineau - Oct. 30

Kitchener/Waterloo  Nov. 1

Toronto  Nov. 2

Calgary  Nov. 9

Halifax - Nov. 15

Edmonton  Nov. 22

Montreal  Nov. 30

To learn more about the ECO Canada Tour, including tour dates and locations, please visit https://eco.ca/environmental-professionals/environmental-professional/eco-canada-tour/

About ECO Canada:

ECO Canada is the steward of the Canadian environmental industry. From job creation and wage funding to training and labour market research  we champion the end-to-end career of an environmental professional. We aim to promote and drive responsible, sustainable economic growth within the industry while ensuring that environmental care and best practices are priorities. Over the past 30 years, we have forged academic partnerships, tools, and research to train and certify environmental job seekers and help fill the labour market.

We work alongside government, policymakers, academia, students, employers, professionals, industry, and international audiences to ensure we support Canada as a global leader in innovative workforce solutions and job creation. We remain the go-to source in the environmental labour market; our research provides unmatched statistics and analysis on the industry's economic and labour trends that identify workforce gaps.

For more information, contact:

Aaron Wilson

VP, Marketing & Sales

ECO Canada

media@eco.ca




Job Title: Engineering Intern (No Experience Job Vacancies)

Organisation: Uganda Christian University (UCU)

Duty Station: Mukono, Uganda

About US:

Uganda Christian University (UCU) is an authentic Christian institution established by the Church of Uganda in 1997 in response to a call for quality university education with a Christian perspective. Uganda Christian University replaced the historic Bishop Tucker Theological College which trained clergy and educators during its 84-year history from 1913-1997. The local chief, Hamu Mukasa, granted land for the college to operate in Mukono.

Key Duties and Responsibilities:

Operate and maintain the University Biogas plant and solar energy plant

Troubleshoot problems, and conduct tests, and periodically carry out biogas and solar plant audits and advise the Engineering and Environment staff

Participating in the departments community outreach programmes, exhibitions, and conferences.

Participate in personal and professional skills development activities such as research and postgraduate studies.

Assist students in field and laboratory experimental set up by demonstrating the proper and safe use of the equipment and ensure they have all the supplies they need to complete their practical assignments and projects.

Assist lecturers with setting up equipment and other supplies for practical courses before and during the lectures.









Qualifications, Skills and Experience:

The applicant must hold a bachelors degree in Civil & Environmental Engineering or Bachelor of Environmental Science (at least second class) from Uganda Christian University

Should have graduated between 2019 and 2023

Must have knowledge in Renewable Energy Technologies

Excellent interpersonal/communications skills

Ability to work independently and as part of a wider team

How to Apply:

All candidates should send;

Two (2) copies of an application letter together with an updated Curriculum Vitae and three references (Academic, Pastoral & Leadership)

Two (2) copies of Certified academic certificates and transcripts from a recognized institution of higher learning

Please Note: Applications sent online should have all the attachments as ONE PDF document otherwise they will not be considered.

Send to:

The Director, Human Resource & Administration,

Uganda Christian University,

Pilkington Building

P.O. Box 4, Mukono. Uganda

OR

Email to jobs@ucu.ac.ug

All the attachments should be in ONE PDF document.

Deadline: 17th October 2023 by 5:00 p.m

NB: Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.

For more of the latest jobs, please visit https://www.theugandanjobline.com or find us on our facebook page https://www.facebook.com/UgandanJobline
All states were in attendance. As Union Home Minister Amit Shah spoke of harsh steps to prevent the formation of any new terrorist organisation in the country, state anti-terrorism squad chiefs were all ears as out-of-the-box steps and innovative solutions were discussed to counter terrorism.

The three-day anti-terror conference, organised by the NIA, on Thursday, saw all state anti-terrorism squad chiefs, intelligence brass, senior police officers in attendance as Shah said the task of NIA, ATS and Special Task Forces cannot be limited to investigations. Fight against terrorism requires collaboration from the global level to the grassroots, involving various states within the country, as also the international cooperation, he said. Singhs comments gain significance at a time when the India-Canada diplomatic row over the use of Canadian soil for harbouring pro-Khalistani terrorists has gathered international attention with New Delhi taking a tough stand on the issue.

Shah said, Terrorism has no boundaries and no state can face terrorism alone. He pointed out that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has taken a tough stand on challenges such as crypto, hawala, terror-funding, organised crime syndicates, narco-terror links, which has yielded very good results. We need to not only combat terrorism but also dismantle its entire ecosystem, he said. All anti-terrorism agencies must adopt such a ruthless approach so that a new terrorist organisation cannot be formed.

The way forward was clearly outlined by the home minister who said model anti-terrorism structure should be established under the purview of NIA, and the hierarchy, structure, and SoPs of investigation of all anti-terrorism agencies in all states should be made uniform for better coordination between central and state agencies and work should begin immediately on creating a common training module so that uniformity can be brought in the methodology of combating terrorism.

In the past five years, the Modi government has prepared several huge databases, all central and state agencies should make multidimensional use of these databases in order to succeed in the fight against terrorism, he said adding that the police forces, especially the young officers, should maximise use of Artificial Intelligence.

Today, the National Automated Fingerprint Identification System (NAFIS) has more than 90 lakh fingerprint records; data of 22,000 terrorist cases is available for monitoring in UAPA registered cases; more than five lakh narco-offenders and about one lakh human traffickers are under scanner. As the focus shifts to digital records at police stations, courts, prisons, biometric database of prisoners and information about their visitors is available in the prison database. Besides, the national-level terrorism database of the NIA is also actively expanding, Shah said.
The long-running saga of Tarun Jinaraj, accused of murdering his wife on Valentine's Day in 2003, took another turn as the Ahmedabad Cyber Crime Branch successfully arrested him in the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi. The arrest came after Jinaraj failed to return to jail following a temporary bail granted by the Gujarat High Court.

He was apprehended in Najafgarh, Delhi, after undergoing a transformation that involved shaving his hair and getting a neck tattoo. During this time, he was also in the midst of obtaining a new Aadhaar card under his altered identity.

Tarun Jinaraj had initially been arrested in 2008, ending a 15-year period of evasion, during which he managed to assume a new identity, remarry, and reside in Bengaluru with his second wife and their two children. This time, he managed to jump bail once again, despite stringent conditions.

ALSO READ: A crooked finger and handshake help Ahmedabad Police crack a 15-year-old murder case

In July of this year, the Gujarat High Court granted Jinaraj a two-week temporary bail on the pretext of accessing his provident funds in Bengaluru. Under the terms of his bail, he was required to regularly update local police officials in Karnataka about his whereabouts and make bi-weekly visits to the nearest police station. However, he exploited these conditions to make his escape.

The Ahmedabad district court had issued a non-bailable arrest warrant against Jinaraj, and a lookout circular issued to determine if he has used a fake identity and passport to flee the country.

Tarun Jinaraj's alleged crime dates back to April 14, 2003, when he allegedly strangled his wife, Sajni Krishnan, just three months after their wedding. He carried out this horrific act to pursue a relationship with his girlfriend from before his marriage.

According to the police, Tarun strangled her with a dupatta, and made it look like a burglary gone wrong. He played the part of the grieving husband to perfection; he even got himself admitted to a hospital.

After the murder, he successfully assumed a new identity, entered into a second marriage, and settled in Bengaluru for six years.

Authorities finally caught up with him in 2008, but this recent escape has raised questions about how he managed to elude capture once again. Victim's parents, represented by advocate Bhadrish Raju, have expressed their disappointment and called for swift action to bring Jinaraj to justice.
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Thursday challenged the Centre to make public the evidence it claims to have gathered against Sanjay Singh on the Delhi Excise policy case. This comes as the party workers and supporters gathered in front of the BJP headquarters in New Delhi to protest against Singh's arrest.

Singh, a Rajya Sabha MP, was arrested on Wednesday by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in connection with its money laundering probe linked to the 2021-22 Delhi Excise policy case.



The protesters were detained by the Police.



Delhi minister and AAP senior leader Atishi, while addressing a press conference, alleged that the ED has not found a single piece of evidence against Singh. "Over 500 officers of the ED and CBI conducted raids at various places linked to the AAP leaders in the last 15 months, but haven't found a single evidence against them. They raided Manish Sisodia's residence, offices and several other places but they couldn't find evidence of corruption of even a single penny. And now, Sanjay Singh has been targeted," she said.



She alleged that Singh was targeted because he constantly raised issues of the Centre's corruption. "I want to challenge the BJP that if they found any evidence against Sanjay Singh, they should make it public or they should quit politics. They can send their officers anywhere where Sanjay Singh visited and I can vouch that they will not find anything against him," she claimed.



Atishi said the Centre was trying to silence Sanjay Singh by arresting him. "We all know that whenever someone raises their voice against the government, there will be attempts to silence them. Since they couldn't silence him, they arrested him. The BJP should know that AAP is not going to get scared of their arrest threats," she said.



Meanwhile, the Supreme Court is hearing the bail pleas of former deputy chief minister and AAP leader Manish Sisodia, the first high-profile leader from AAP to be arrested in the liquor policy case.



The ED arrested him in a money laundering case stemming from the CBI FIR on March 9 after questioning him in Tihar Jail. Sisodia resigned from the Delhi cabinet on February 28. He was arrested on March 9 and Sisodia resigned from the Delhi cabinet on February 28.


With six more deaths being reported at Dr Shankarrao Chavan Medical College and Hospital in Maharashtra's Nanded, a case has been lodged against the dean and doctors of the hospital's Delivery Department.



The FIR has been filed against the officials under IPC Sections 304 and 34, said police.

Abhinash Kumar, Additional SP, Nanded, told ANI that the case pertains to a victim who lost her newborn baby two days ago and her mother died on Wednesday.

There were no allegations of medical negligence in the complaint given. It was more against an individual and administrative negligence. A three-member medical committee was constituted to probe the matter. FIR registered against Dean and medical officer of the concerned department (of Dr Shankarrao Chavan Medical College and Hospital)

At least 31 people died in the government-run Medical College and Hospital reportedly due to an alleged scarcity of medicines. Between September 30 and October 1, a total of 24 patients died. These include newborns.

"Another six critical patients died from October 2 to 3. The two babies among them were born prematurely. The other four deaths took place due to the reasons such as renal failure and multiple organ failure," PTI quoted an official as saying. The total death toll has reached 37 with the latest casualties.

On Wednesday, another FIR was lodged against Shiv Sena MP Hemant Patil, a day after he forced the acting dean of a government hospital in Maharashtra's Nanded to clean dirty toilets, said police.

The Hingoli lawmaker, belonging to Chief Minister Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena, made Shyam Rao Wakode, the acting dean of the Dr Shankarrao Chavan Government Medical College and Hospital, to clean toilets amid outrage over deaths of patients.

 with inputs from agencies
AICC general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, after her successful election campaigns in Himachal Pradesh and Karnataka, is now amongst the lead campaigners for the Congress for the coming assembly elections, besides party president Mallikarjun Kharge and former party chief Rahul Gandhi.

Soon after the elections in Karnataka got over in May, Priyanka held a rally in neighbouring Telangana. In Karnataka, her campaign was based on giving guarantees to the voters about what would be done for them when the Congress came to power. She also made a special effort to reach out to women voters. A similar format of campaign is being followed by her in her outreach for the coming round of elections.

As soon as the campaign in Karnataka got over, Priyanka was in Hyderabad, where she addressed a 'Yuva Sangharsh Rally'. Playing up the comparisons being made between her and her grandmother and former prime minister Indira Gandhi, she said, When all of you say that I am the new Indira Amma, it fills my heart with a great sense of responsibility. And I cannot stand here in front of you and make false promises.

She launched the Congress' campaign in Madhya Pradesh on June 12 by addressing a mega rally in Jabalpur, where she announced five guarantees that would be fulfilled by the party if it was voted to power in the state. The five guarantees are: Rs 1,500 every month for women, LPG cylinders at Rs 500, restoration of the old pension scheme, 100 units of power for free and completion of the loan waiver scheme for farmers. On July 21, she addressed a rally in Gwalior, the stronghold of Jyotiraditya Scindia, who was seen as amongst the few leaders who had direct access to the Gandhi family, but who has joined the BJP.

Addressing a rally in Dhar, Madhya Pradesh, on Thursday, Priyanka said the Narendra Modi government had played a joke on women by not implementing reservation for them in the legislatures for ten years. She also appealed to the young voters, saying this time, their vote should be for employment.

That she was attempting a balancing act in Rajasthan was evident as she campaigned in Tonk, the assembly constituency of former deputy chief minister Sachin Pilot, but the focus of the visit was on amplifying the schemes of the Ashok Gehlot government. She inaugurated 1,000 Indira Rasois which provide food to the people at highly subsidised rates. She also met the beneficiaries of the scheme for giving free smartphones to women.

In Chhattisgarh, she addressed a 'Mahila Samridhi Sammelan' in Bhilai, Chhattisgarh on September 21. The focus of the event was on the policies of the Congress government in the state that were meant for women.


The death toll in the Sikkim flash floods touched 14 on Thursday morning while 102 people are still missing, said Sikkim government sources. The floods occurred after a cloudburst over Lhonak Lake in north Sikkim on Wednesday.

Of the 14 people, 10 have been identified as civilians. Three among them were washed up in north Bengal. As for Army personnel, 22 people are still missing while one was rescued later.



Over 3,000 tourists from various parts of the country are stranded in different parts of Sikkim, Sikkim Chief Secretary V B Pathak told PTI, adding that several workers employed with Teesta Stage III dam in Chungthang were also stranded inside the tunnels of the dam.



The most number of missing people are from Chungthang in Mangan district, and Dikchu, Singtam in Gangtok district and Rangpo in Pakyong district, he added. The sudden release of water from the Chungthang dam resulted in water levels going up to 15-20 feet high downstream.



Disaster declared, schools shut



The Sikkim government has declared the natural calamity as a disaster and all schools located in Mangan, Gangtok, Pakyong and Namchi districts will remain closed till October 8.



The flash floods caused huge damage to the state's infrastructure, as 14 bridges collapsed. Of them, nine were under the Border Roads Organization (BRO) and five others belonged to the state government. A steel bridge at Singtam, known as Indreni bridge, 30 km from the state capital Gangtok, has been completely washed away by the floods.



Parts of National Highway-10, the main link between Sikkim and the rest of the country, were washed away. The state government has decided to construct Bailey bridge with help from the Army and NHIDCL to ensure that essential supplies reach people.



The administration has set up several relief camps in Singtam, Rangpo, Dikchu and Adarsh Gaon to house the displaced people where hundreds are taking shelter. Chief Minister P S Tamang visited Singtam and took stock of the situation.



What caused the floods



A flood affected locality at Singtam, in Gangtok district | PTI

According to the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), a combination of excess rainfall and a Glacial Lake Outburst Flood (GLOF) event at South Lhonak lake in North Sikkim could have triggered the flash floods.



A statement by the NDMA said the Himalayan ranges are host to many glacial lakes, estimated through remote sensing techniques at about 7,500 and of these, Sikkim has around 10 per cent of which nearly 25 are assessed to be at-risk.



"While scientists are investigating the exact cause of the flash flood, the primary reason for the sudden surge appears to be a likely combination of excess rainfall and a GLOF (Glacial Lake Outburst Flood) event at South Lhonak lake in North Sikkim," it said in the statement.



The lake is at a height of 5,200 metres, with a towering ice-capped feature at about 6,800 metres to the north of and in close proximity to the lake.



Satellite images received from the ISRO at 0600 hours on Wednesday, reveal the draining out of more than half the lake, most likely as a result of an avalanche from the ice- capped feature.



The Central Water Commission's monitoring stations said the first surge of water was 19 metres above the maximum water level at Sangkalang at 0130 hours and 4 metres above the maximum water level at Melli at 0400 hours.



Meanwhile, rescue efforts are hit by continued snowfall in upper reaches and rainfall and clouds in lower reaches. However, the NDMA said consistent efforts are underway to assist the state government in all manner possible.



Recently, in order to mitigate the impact of a GLOF event in these lakes, an NDMA-led expedition in the first week of September 2023 had surveyed two at-risk lakes in order to eventually deploy early warning systems for real-time alerts. At the next stage, the NDMA has planned to instal early warning systems for real-time alerts at most of 56 at-risk glacial lakes in India.



Efforts to expand the mitigation programme are being expedited, while sustained investigations into the causes of this event are underway, the statement said.



(With PTI inputs)
A federal judge in California this week sentenced two brothers to 41 months in prison each after the pair admitted they scammed Apple out of more than $6 million in an eight-year-old iPhone and iPad international conspiracy scheme, court records show.

Zhiting Liao, 33, and Zhimin Liao, 36, both from San Diego, pleaded guilty on June 2 to conspiracy to traffic in counterfeit goods for trafficking fraudulently obtained iPhones and iPads, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney's Office, Southern District of California.

Online records show Judge Cynthia Bashant sentenced the brothers on Monday.

How to turn off an Apple Watch? Troubleshoot your device by restarting if all else fails.

'Thousands of counterfeit Apple products'

The men and a third brother  identified in court papers as 34-year-old Zhiwei Liao  were indicted in October 2019. Online records show Zhiwei Liao also pleaded guilty in connection to the case in June. He's slated to be sentenced on Oct. 30.

For years, the Liao brothers and their co-conspirators trafficked thousands of counterfeit Apple products in exchange for genuine Apple products totaling millions of dollars, FBI Special Agent in Charge Stacey Moy said in the release.

The brother wives, 32-year-old Dao La; 31-year-old Mengmeng Zhang; and 39-year-old Tam Nguyen, also pleaded guilty in June to charges of wire fraud and mail fraud in the case, Kelly Thornton, a spokesperson for the office said Thursday.

All three wives were sentenced to three years in prison, court documents show.

Emoji action: Emoji reactions now available in Gmail for Android users

The plea deal

Under a plea deal, the brothers and their wives agreed to forfeit five San Diego homes, more than $250,000 of profit from the scam and more than 200 Apple iPhones, prosecutors said. The phones, the release continues, were counterfeit, fraudulently obtained or linked to the group's criminal conspiracy.

According to prosecutors, the group ran an organization to traffic counterfeit Apple products from 2011 through "at least" August 2019.

Story continues

"The Lioas imported counterfeit iPhones and iPads from China that looked genuine and included identification numbers that matched identification numbers on real iPhones and iPads that were under warranty and had been previously sold to customers in the United States and Canada," prosecutors said in the release.

At the direction of the Liao brothers, prosecutors wrote, co-conspirators (who also pleaded guilty and received various prison times in the case) traveled to hundreds of Apple Stores across the U.S. and Canada and attempted to exchange more than 10,000 counterfeit iPhones and iPads for genuine iPhones and iPads.

"The Liaos exported fraudulently obtained iPhones and iPads to individuals in foreign countries for profit. The estimated total infringement amount or loss suffered by Apple was approximately $6.1 million," the release states.

Natalie Neysa Alund is a senior reporter for USA TODAY. Reach her at nalund@usatoday.com and follow her on X @nataliealund.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: San Diego brothers who scammed Apple for $6 million sentenced to prison
The US on Thursday denied reports that claimed India's ties with Washington could get worse amid the ongoing spat with Canada. The US embassy in India issued a clarification in response to an earlier report published in US-based Politico.



According to the report, an official said that US Ambassador to India Eric Garcetti had told his team that India-US ties "could get worse for a time". It further stated that Garcetti had said the US "may need to reduce its contacts with Indian officials for an undefined period of time".

In its statement issued on Thursday, the US Embassy said Garcetti is working hard every day to deepen the partnership between the people and governments of the United States and India. It further stated: As his personal engagement and public schedule demonstrates, Ambassador Garcetti and the U.S. Mission to India are working every day to advance the important, strategic, and consequential partnership we have with India."

The report quoting Garcetti's private comments was published on the day India told Canada to cut down on its number of diplomats posted in the country. India and Canada are engaged in a standoff triggered by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's allegations of India's possible involvement in the killing of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar on Canadian soil.

India rejected the allegations as "absurd" and expelled a senior Canadian diplomat in a tit-for-tat move to Ottawa's expulsion of an Indian official over the case. India also suspended its visa services in Canada following the allegations.

The US has stated that India must cooperate with the Canadian investigation as it tries to strike a balance between its diplomatic ties with Delhi and Ottawa. External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar, who was in the US earlier this week, met US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan. Jaishankar minced no words as he hit out at Canada's permissive environment that allows terror elements to flourish. The EAM had also pointed out that the issue of the presence of separatists in Canada had been causing friction between India and Canada since the 1980s.
The Supreme Court, hearing the bail plea of former Delhi deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia in the alleged liquor policy scam, asked the investigating agencies, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the Enforcement Directorate (ED), if there was any evidence of against the AAP leader in the case.

According to Bar and Bench, a bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and S.V.N. Bhatti, hearing the case, asked the agencies how they would "establish money laundering by Sisodia factually and legally."

"Where is the proof? Where is the evidence? You have to establish a chain of events. Where are the proceeds of the crime?," the court asked.

According to the two federal investigative agencies, irregularities were committed while modifying the excise policy and undue favours were extended to licence holders.

"We understand there is a policy change and everybody wants a change that will be beneficial for them. That will be there. If we say special groups are discriminatory, ... without money consideration, it will not make out an offence," the court said, adding that there will always be some pressure and conflict when a policy decision is taken. "Of course, bribes cannot be accepted," the court added.

The court sought to know how the money reached the former deputy chief minister. "You have taken two figures, Rs 100 crore and Rs 30 crore. Who paid them this? There can be so many people paying the money - not necessarily connected to liquor. Where is the proof? Dinesh Arora himself is the recipient. Where is the evidence? Except for the statement of Dinesh Arora, is there any other evidence," the court said.

The Supreme Court posted further hearing in the case to October 12.

Sisodia, who held the excise portfolio, was arrested by the CBI on February 26 for his alleged role in the 'scam'. He has been in custody since then.

The ED arrested him in a money laundering case stemming from the CBI FIR on March 9 after questioning him in Tihar Jail.

Sisodia resigned from the Delhi cabinet on February 28.
Amid worsening diplomatic ties between New Delhi and Ottawa, Canadian police arrested an unidentified person in connection with vandalism of Hindu temples in the country, said a report.

This is reportedly the first arrest since the temple desecration incident about two months ago. The Lakshmi Narayan Mandir, a prominent temple in Canada's British Columbia state that was visited by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2015, was vandalised with pro-Khalistani posters on August 12.

A representative for the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), Surrey, told Hindustan Times that a person was arrested over alleged involvement in the August 12 and 14 incidents. The individual was charged with two counts of mischief and will be required to appear in court at a later date, the outlet cited the official as saying.

CCTV footage from the security cameras dated August 12 showed two people putting up posters on the main door of the Surrey temple. The posters pasted on its front gate and rear wall in the wee hours were removed after they were discovered in the morning.

One of the posters, portraying pro-Khalistan leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar as a martyr, read, Khalistan referendum  Shaheed Jathedar Hardeep Singh Nijjar  Canada  Investigate India's Role in June 18th Assassination. The temple defaced in the August 14 incident could not be immediately identified.

A month later, while the G20 summit was being hosted by New Delhi, Khalistani separatist and founder of the banned Sikh for Justice Gurpatwant Pannun was seen inciting the crowd on September 10 during an anti-India referendum in Surrey.

A few days later Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau alleged that India was involved in the killing of Nijjar, who India had designated as a terrorist in 2020. India dismissed Trudeau's allegations as "absurd" and "motivated", following which the country expelled a senior Canadian diplomat in a tit-for-tat move to Ottawa's expulsion of an Indian official. India has also suspended visa for Canadians and both countries have put a pause on trade talks.

Another prominent Hindu temple, BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir in Ontario province's Windsor, was defaced by unidentified individuals with "anti-India graffiti" on April 5.

On January 31, the Gauri Shankar temple in Brampton, also in Ontario, was desecrated with anti-India graffiti. Last year, at least three similar incidents were also reported in Canada.
Imran Khan on Thursday approached the Islamabad High Court (IHC) seeking suspension of the trial court's verdict in the Toshakhana corruption case more than a month after it suspended the jailed former prime minister's three-year sentence for concealing details of state gifts, according to a media report.



Khan, 70, was arrested on August 5, 2023, and shifted to Attock jail after a court sentenced him to three years in prison in the Toshakhana (national treasury gifts) graft case. The trial court in Islamabad had found the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief guilty of corrupt practices in the Toshakhana case.

The Supreme Court later acknowledged procedural defects in Khan's conviction by the trial court.

After his sentence in the Toshakhana case was suspended by the IHC, the government detained the PTI chief in the cipher case for allegedly violating the Official Secrets Act by disclosing a cable sent by the country's embassy in Washington last year in March. He has since remained behind bars on judicial remand, which has been extended until October 10.

On September 26, Khan was shifted to Adiala jail in Rawalpindi from Attock jail in Punjab province following the directives issued by the IHC. Last weekend, the police ramped up security in the vicinity of the Adiala jail by deploying elite commandos and setting up additional security pickets to ensure foolproof measures.

Khan, through senior lawyer Latif Khosa, on Thursday moved the IHC against the Toshakhana verdict under section 561-A (saving of inherent power of high court) of the Code of Criminal Procedure, the Dawn newspaper reported.

The petition's title stated that it sought rectification of the order dated August 28 to the extent of suspending the operation of the impugned order along with the sentence as verbally prayed by the learned counsel for the petitioner before this honourable court at the time of arguments.

On August 28, the Islamabad High Court (IHC) suspended Khan's three-year sentence in the Toshakhana case.

It urged the court to rectify the omission of not recording the contention of the learned counsel for the petitioner with regard to the suspension of the Toshakhana judgment of August 5.

It further requested the IHC that the operation of the same order be suspended/stayed till the final decision of the appeal. The plea also sought permission to make the state a respondent in the memo of appeal.

Any other direction or relief which this honourable court deems fit and proper in the indication of grievances aforesaid may also be awarded," it added.
Britain on Thursday warned that Russia might use sea mines to deter cargo vessels from using Ukrainian ports in the Black Sea. Since withdrawing from the Black Sea grain deal, Russia has been targeting Ukraines grain silos and key ports to disrupt the war-torn countrys exports.



The United Kingdoms foreign office in a statement said, Intelligence released today suggests Russia may use sea mines to target civilian shipping in the Black Sea. Russian attacks have already destroyed enough grain to feed more than one million people for a year. The UK suggested that Russia would blame Ukraine for the attacks on civilian ships,

The UK assesses Russia is seeking to target civilian shipping travelling through Ukraines humanitarian corridor in order to deter the export of Ukrainian grain. This would continue Russias attempts to pressure the Ukrainian economy. Russia almost certainly wants to avoid openly sinking civilian ships, instead falsely laying blame on Ukraine for any attacks against civilian vessels in the Black Sea, the foreign office said.

In the statement, UK Foreign Secretary James Cleverly said, Russias pernicious targeting of civilian shipping in the Black Sea demonstrates Putins total disregard for civilian lives and the needs of the worlds most vulnerable.

British intelligence reported that Russia has been targeting Ukraines grain and civil infrastructure since July as part of attempts to disrupt Ukraines grain export. Since the withdrawal from the Black Sea Grain Initiative, Russia has damaged 130 port infrastructure facilities in Odesa, Chornomorsk and Reni. Russia also destroyed almost 3,00,000 tonnes of grain  more than the total amount Russia promised to donate to African states, and enough to feed over 1.3 million people for a year.

According to reports, without the Black Sea initiative, Ukraine, in 2022 provided 50 per cent of wheat for the World Food Programme and due to disruption in the deal, WFP would now have to replace Ukrainian produce with expensive or lower-quality wheat.

UKs defence secretary recently said they were considering providing necessary naval support to cargo ships in the Black Sea, following Russias withdrawal from the grain deal which facilitated the export of grains from the war-torn country. Britains defence secretary Grant Shapps said, Its important that we dont allow a situation to establish by default that somehow international shipping isnt allowed in that water (Black Sea). So I think there are a lot of places where Britain can help advise. [I] did discuss it with President Zelenskyy and many others.

Turkey and the UN brokered the Black Sea grain deal between Russia and Ukraine to ensure the safe export of vegetable produce from the country. After Russias withdrawal from the deal, Ukraine established a humanitarian corridor to ensure safe exports.
The US Central Command on Wednesday said that it has sent over one million rounds of previously seized Iranian ammunition to Ukraine. The US confiscated the ammunition in 2022 from a vessel that was allegedly shipping weapons from Iran to the Houthi rebel group in Yemen.



The US government transferred approximately 1.1 million 7.62mm rounds to the Ukrainian armed forces, the militarys Central Command (CENTCOM) said and added that it had obtained ownership of these munitions on July 20, 2023, through the Department of Justices civil forfeiture claims, Al Jazeera reported.

The Ukrainian military awaits more weapons and aid from the US and its Western allies. The Justice Department, in March, had announced that it was seeking forfeiture of the weapons the US seized from Iran.

The munitions were being transferred from the IRGC to the Houthis in Yemen in violation of the United Nations Security Council Resolution 2216, CENTCOM said, CNN reported.

The Biden administration had been trying to work out how to legally send the seized weapons to Ukraine. The weapons are stored in CENTCOM facilities across the Middle East.

Military assistance from the US has played an important role in Ukraine's efforts to fight Russian forces. In the meantime, criticism of the US and other Western nations providing aid to Ukraine is gaining steam raising questions on the durability of the support.

In the meantime, Republican presidential hopeful Vivek Ramaswamy slammed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy for seeking additional funds from the US to hold polls in the war-torn country.

In an interview with Fox News, Ramaswamy defended his statement that he would cut aid to Ukraine if elected as the US president.



This (Ukraine) is a country that has banned 11 opposition parties. This is a country that has consolidated all media into one state media arm, whose president just last week was praising a Nazi in his own ranks, has threatened the United States not to hold its own normal elections this year unless it gets more funding, Ramaswamy said.

-- With inputs from PTI
Kolkata, Oct 5 (PTI) The government on Thursday fixed the minimum price for jute following reports that farmers are facing losses due to bumper crop of the golden fibre.

In a notification, the Jute Commissioner said the minimum price has been fixed at Rs 5,050 per quintal at the farm level and Rs 5,500 per quintal for deliveries in Kolkata.

The move was appreciated as average raw jute prices of the most traded variety TD5 had slumped to as low as Rs 4,100 on Wednesday, market sources said.

Jute Commissioner Moloy Chandra Chakraborty said that the minimum price of jute in all forms will be in force till October 31 or until further orders for any trade in raw jute.

"No buyer or seller shall be entitled to transact at rates other than those specified in this order," he said.

Jute farmers recently demonstrated in Nadia, Murshidabad, Uttar Dinajpur, North 24-Parganas, and Hooghly districts demanding better prices and a rise in the MSP for their produce. They had blocked roads and set jute bales on fire.

Some 5-6 lakh people are engaged in jute farming in West Bengal.

On the necessity of implementing such a floor price when farmers could sell their produce to the Jute Corporation of India's (JCI) collection centres, Chakraborty said that covering the entire farming population through such centres is not always feasible.

Therefore, this order is designed to provide crucial support to both farmers and jute goods manufacturers, the jute commissioner said.

JCI Managing Director Ajay Kumar Jolly told PTI that he welcomes the step of the jute commissioner as this will improve the situation of the jute market and provide relief to farmers.

Sanjay Kajaria, former chairman of the Indian Jute Manufacturers' Association and the owner of multiple jute mills, welcomed this intervention.

He described this as a historic development, saying it is the first time in several decades that a floor price has been set to protect farmers' interests.

Kajaria said the procurement of jute bags by the government should be higher as it is now lower by 20-30 per cent over last year.

JCI officials expected to procure at least 50 per cent more raw fibre in the current jute year (2023-24) than the previous year, in the wake of a bumper season of the crop which is estimated at 91 lakh bales.

JCI operates 110 procurement centres of its own to support farmers selling their produce.
Dubai award by the India Today Group at the exquisite Taj Exotica, Dubai, The award was presented to Dr.Datar by Dr. Shashi Tharoor, Politician & Indian diplomat.



Dubai (UAE), October 5: Masala King Dr. Dhananjay Datar, the visionary entrepreneur and founder of Adil Group of Supermarkets was awarded the prestigious Icon of Dubai award by the India Today Group at a gala event held last week, at the exquisite Taj Exotica, Palm Jumeirah.



This esteemed recognition was bestowed upon Dr. Datar in acknowledgment of his outstanding contributions to the retail industry. The award was presented to Dr. Datar by Dr. Shashi Tharoor, Politician & Indian diplomat, in the presence of several dignitaries, besides Rajdeep Sardesai, Nabila Jamil, Om Kashyap and Shweta Singh.



With over 50 retail supermarkets, flour mills and spice factories, the Adil Group has played an integral role in providing high-quality food products at affordable prices, catering to the diverse tastes of the Indian community in Dubai and beyond. Dr. Datars commitment to delivering authentic flavors and maintaining impeccable quality standards has made him a beloved figure among Indians in the UAE.



The Icon of Dubai award not only celebrates Dr. Datars success but also highlights his dedication to enhancing the culinary experiences of the Indian diaspora. His relentless pursuit of excellence and commitment to community service have set a remarkable benchmark in the retail sector.



Dr. Dhananjay Datar expressed his gratitude for the honor, saying, Receiving the Icon of Dubai award is a humbling experience. I am deeply committed to serving our community by providing quality products and maintaining the authentic flavors of India. This award is a testament to the hard work and dedication of the entire Adil family.



The India Today Groups recognition of Dr. Datars exceptional achievements in the retail industry reinforces his status as an iconic figure in Dubai and a source of pride for the Indian community.



About Adil Super Markets:



Founded by Masala King Dr. Dhananjay Datar, Adil Trading has been a pioneering force in the retail industry, providing top-notch food products that cater to the distinct tastes of the Indian community in the UAE. With a commitment to quality and authenticity, Adil has grown to become a trusted name synonymous with excellence.



(Disclaimer: The above press release comes to you under an arrangement with PNN and PTI takes no editorial responsibility for the same.). PTI PWR

PWR
Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], October 5: Brahmal Vasudevan, founder of Southeast Asia private equity firm Creador, and lawyer Shanthi Kandiah have made a significant contribution to Princeton University that aims to profile South Asian art and catapult global appreciation for the genre.



The Princeton Board of Trustees announced the new professorship, the Vidya Dehejia Professorship of South Asian Art, on 22 September 2023. The contribution was made via the couples Alaka Holdings Trust, which supports philanthropic efforts in three main areas, namely education, healthcare and humanitarian relief, and arts and culture.



Vidya Dehejia, the Barbara Stoler Miller Professor Emeritus of Indian Art at Columbia University, was previously the director of the South Asia Institute at Columbia University. She is the author of a catalog on Chola Tamil bronzes which was part of an international exhibition Chola: Sacred Bronzes of Southern India, presented by the Royal Academy of Arts in London in 2006. The exhibition showcased multiple renaissance periods of Indian art and made a huge impression on Vasudevan.



Detailing the reasons behind the contribution, Vasudevan said, Shanthi and I feel it is important that we make contributions to the societies we live in. While we are Malaysians at heart, we have been fortunate to live in some of the most vibrant cities of the world - Singapore, London, Boston, Palo Alto and New Delhi. However, we found that it was difficult to appreciate Indian art when you live in cities outside of India. With India increasingly becoming an important part of the global ecosystem, we believe more and more people will want to understand the rich and varied culture of this huge country.



After visiting the Chola exhibition in London and rediscovering their passion for South Asian art while living in New Delhi, the couple read many of Vidya Dehejias books on Indian art and admired her subsequent projects and lectures.



Their relationship with Deheija began when they first reached out to her in 2013. We were particularly impressed with how she had dedicated her entire career to the learning and dissemination of Indian art knowledge. The study of temples and certain monuments in India is quite controlled, and Vidya was undeterred in her study of them. We felt it was important that her work, and the stature of South Asian art, be cemented in the academic world, said Kandiah.



She added, The perfect way, we felt, was by partnering with a prestigious university on a professorship, as a complement to a liberal arts education. Our decision centred on the idea that people should use their time in college to explore not just the field of study that they are pursuing, but also to explore other areas of interest.



Princeton has an amazing reputation in liberal arts and in art history, and we felt would benefit the most from a professorship in South Asian art. The professorship creates a meeting point for a diverse group of talent working independently to come together to share ideas, which in turn opens the door to more cross-pollination of programmes and ideas between South Asia and the United States, said Vasudevan.



We believe that the evolution of South Asian art  from its initial religious roots to the complex and vibrant contemporary art of today  is a metaphor for the growth of South Asia. This professorship will not just promote a better understanding of South Asias history, but by giving a greater insight into the cultural and societal influences shaping the sub-continent, will enable deeper understanding of the future, he added.



Vidya is not just a leading scholar, but she pioneered the field, training and educating a whole generation of people in this field. Naming the professorship in her honor is a reflection of her lifelong commitment to this subject, concluded Kandiah.



(Disclaimer: The above press release comes to you under an arrangement with PNN and PTI takes no editorial responsibility for the same.). PTI PWR

PWR
New Delhi, Oct 5 (PTI) Finnish telecom gear maker Nokia has established a 6G Lab at its global research and development centre in Bengaluru, the company said on Thursday.

The lab was inaugurated virtually by Union Telecom Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw.

"The inauguration of the Nokia 6G research lab in Bengaluru today is another step towards PM Narendra Modi's vision of making India an innovation hub. Interesting use cases coming out of this lab will be related to transportation safety, health care and education which will be another big contribution to the entire Digital India suite," Vaishnaw said.

The first-of-its-kind project aims to accelerate the development of fundamental technologies and innovative use cases underpinned by 6G technology that will address the future needs of both industry and society.

Last month, India's vision to have ubiquitous coverage under 6G technology was accepted by UN body ITU's Study Group in its meeting held in Geneva -- a move that is expected to reduce the cost of deployment of the next-generation technology.

The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) decides on the development of international mobile telecommunication standards after coordination with its member countries, technology companies and other stakeholders.

India has already secured more than 200 patents on 6G technology through Industry and academia collaboration with the support of the Department of Telecom.

"Nokia is honoured to contribute towards the realisation of the Indian government's 'Bharat 6G vision'. We look forward to collaborating with key stakeholders to help India become a major player in 6G technology development and adoption, and take its place in the global arena as a leading developer and supplier of advanced telecom technologies and solutions," Nokia Chief Strategy and Technology Officer Nishant Batra said.

Nokia's 6G lab will function as a platform for collaboration among industry stakeholders and facilitate the testing of innovative solutions while establishing their potential for commercialisation.

The lab includes a setup to research 'Network as a Sensor' technology that enables the network to sense objects, people and movement without the need for onboard sensors.

In the 6G era, 'Network as a Sensor' has been identified as a key enabling technology that supports the vision of bringing the digital and physical worlds together, the statement said.

Sensing will be fully integrated into the wireless network and operate simultaneously with communication services.

"Nokia's experts at its Bengaluru centre will support India's ambition to make notable contributions towards global 6G technology standards. Further, it is in the process of building research collaborations with premier research institutes in India like IISc and IITs to further scale up the 6G research initiative in India," the statement said.

The lab will also provide an experimental platform for researching algorithms, privacy, and sustainable system design, the company said.

Nokia is engaged in several global projects and regional initiatives with industry peers, customers, academia, and research institutions around 6G.

Nokia is also a founding member of the Next G Alliance which is helping to drive the 6G ecosystem in North America and coordinating the German Lighthouse project 6G ANNA.
Photo: The Canadian Press Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers.

A man illegally brought a handgun into the Wisconsin capitol, demanding to see Gov. Tony Evers, and returned at night with an assault rifle after posting bail, a spokesperson for the state said Thursday.

The man, who was shirtless and had a holstered handgun, approached the governor's office on the first floor of the capitol around 2 p.m. Wednesday, state Department of Administration spokesperson Tatyana Warrick said. The man was demanding to see the governor, who was not in the building at the time, Warrick said.

A capitol police officer sits at a desk outside of a suite of rooms that includes the governor's office, conference room and offices for the attorney general.

The man was taken into custody for openly carrying a firearm in the capitol, which is against the law, Warrick said. Weapons can be brought into the capitol if they are concealed and the person has a valid permit. The man arrested did not have a concealed carry permit, Warrick said.

The man was booked into the Dane County jail but later posted bail.

He returned to the outside of the capitol shortly before 9 p.m. with an assault-style rifle, Warrick said. The building closes to the public at 6 p.m. He again demanded to see the governor and was taken into custody.

Madison police reported Thursday that the man, who was not named, was taken into productive custody and taken to the hospital. A spokesperson for the police department did not return an email seeking additional details.

Evers' spokesperson Britt Cudaback declined to comment. The governor's office typically does not respond to questions about security issues.

The incident is just the latest in a series of violent threats against public officials.

Evers, a Democrat, was on a hit list of a gunman suspected of fatally shooting a retired county judge at his Wisconsin home in 2022. Others on that list included Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell. Whitmer was the target of a kidnapping plot in 2020.

Warrick said no immediate changes to security in the capitol or for the governor were planned. The public has free access to the capitol daily from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. There are no metal detectors.
Elon Musk wants X to be more aesthetically pleasing. Jaap Arriens/NurPhoto via Getty Images

Elon Musk has introduced yet another controversial change to X.

The billionaire has scrapped article headlines for links posted on the platform.

He first floated the change in August, saying it would "greatly improve the esthetics."

Elon Musk has banished article headlines on X in an attempt to improve the way the platform looks.

Articles posted on X appear as an image, with the outlet shown in the bottom-left corner. The change has already been rolled out for mobile.

Musk first floated the change back in August. He said the decision to scrap link headlines had come directly from him and would "greatly improve the esthetics."

Some X users aren't so sure.

"Incredibly annoying," Joseph Politano, an economics writer, said of the change. "Just an unfathomably stupid change and another way this site is getting more hostile to journalists."

Another X user questioned the value of displaying article links without necessary context. "So we'll just see random images without any context," they said.

Others chimed in to say the change made articles look like memes.

The shakeup is the latest in a long list of strange changes Musk has made to the platform.

Among the more bizarre ones was a temporary limit on the number of posts a user could view each day. This sparked a furious backlash.

Equally strange was the suggestion of a paywall for the entire site in an attempt to combat bots on the platform.

Musk told Israel's prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, that having a payment system and prioritizing premium users' posts would help minimize the influence of bots.

Musk didn't give specifics but said X would charge "just a small amount of money."

His other changes to X included overhauling Twitter's verification system and introducing a new subscription service.

Representatives for X did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment, made outside normal working hours.

Read the original article on Business Insider
 He is appointed as an advisor for platform development & AML Training Programs for company boards



 John has spent 36 years holding various senior-level positions at HDFC Group where he worked in HDFC Ltd & HDFC Asset Management



 John is a qualified professional and seasoned leader with rich experience in anti-money laundering (AML) compliances, mutual fund operations, risk management and customer delight



 He has been on many governmental and industry committees relating to AML and headed the HDFC group conglomerate on AML Principal Officers



Mumbai, 5th October 2023: Leading reg-tech company TSS Consultancy, which has built TrackWizz for fighting financial crimes, has announced the appointment of John Mathew as Advisor, who comes with 36 years of rich experience holding various senior-level positions at the HDFC Group.



Prior to joining TSS, John was a member of the start-up team at HDFC Asset Management. He has been on many governmental and industry committees relating to AML and headed the HDFC Group conglomerate on AML Principal Officers. John has led many initiatives within the industry, such as setting up the first unified digital KYC model, conceptualised and facilitated the launch of the MF Central aggregator platform, and liaising with regulatory bodies and committees on AML/CFT standards and compliance.



Commenting on Johns appointment Sagar Tanna, CEO & Founder, TSS Consultancy says, TSS philosophy is to empower the finance industry in fighting financial crime, money laundering, terror financing, etc, with its software product suite TrackWizz & Screenzaa. We are serving more than 350+ financial institutions and customers in India including Banks, Lending companies, Capital and commodity market institutions & insurers. With Johns appointment, we are confident that he will help us grow the TrackWizz platform with cutting edge capabilities that will make our financial institutions better equipped to combat financial crimes.



John comes with an expertise in anti-money laundering (AML) related compliances, mutual fund operations, risk management, and customer delight. He has completed his Doctorate from the University of Hertfordshire, England with a specialisation in Enforcement of AML in Indian Banks and Financial Institutions. He has also completed an Executive Program in Management from Columbia Business School, New York. John is ACAMS certified, which is considered the gold standard in AML. Apart from this, he has also completed the Investment Foundation certification from CFA Institute, a Systems Management diploma, and holds a bachelor's degree in commerce from Mumbai University.



Commenting on his appointment, John Mathew, Advisor, TSS Consultancy, says, TSS is a market leader in AML solutions and has a long-term vision for fighting financial crime. As a crusader myself in fighting financial crime, I believe we have shared synergies in bringing together cutting-edge AML technology solutions and operational expertise for our clients. AML professionals who are also our financial soldiers have been at the forefront in preventing criminals from using and abusing the financial ecosystem. I look forward to sharing my knowledge and expertise in strengthening the resolve to fighting crime and raising the bar in their AML practice, in order to keep our financial systems safe.



TSS Consultancy is focussed on fighting financial crime specifically in Money laundering, monitoring and screening, terrorist financing and Insider trading through its multi module software product called TrackWizz, continuously strengthened by a team of over 400+ professionals and supporting more than 350+ financial institutions including Banks, Stock Brokers, Stock Exchanges, Hedge Funds and other financial institutions across 3 countries India, South Africa and the US. Combining technology and rich data sources, TrackWizz is the only comprehensive AML solution made in India helping financial institutions fully comply with the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).



The Company recently raised funding from Westbridge at a valuation of Rs 900 crore.



About TSS:



TSS Consultancy was founded in 2008 by Sagar, Sameer & Chandrakant Tanna. Headquartered in Mumbai, they are financial technology and compliance partners for over 350 institutions which include Banks, Stock Brokers, Stock Exchanges, Hedge Funds and other financial institutions across 3 countries India, South Africa and the US, with 400+ team strength. TSS Consultancy tech platform TrackWizz & Screenzaa, one of its kind software product suite, is designed to empower the finance industry in fighting financial crime, money laundering, terror financing etc.



(Disclaimer: The above content is a press release and PTI takes no editorial responsibility for the same.). PTI PWR

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New Delhi, Oct 5 (PTI) Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday said policy consistency, political stability and decisive leadership are essential for the growth and making India the third largest global economy in the years to come.

Speaking at the annual day celebrations of the Shri Ram College of Commerce (SRCC), the minister said that 'flip-flop' policies affect economic performance as happened in the past when India became one of the fragile five economies of the world.

"We need political stability, consistency and decisive political decision-making" for growth, the Minister said while recalling the achievements of the NDA government in the past nine years.

India has moved up the ladder from the tenth-largest economy in 2014 to the fifth-largest economy currently, she said.

"To say that it is a fait accompli and India will become the third largest economy on its own is to undermine the efforts of the entrepreneurs, farmers and other sections that are pushing India upwards," she added.

Talking about the impact of policies pursued by the Modi government, Sitharaman said that out of the total FDI inflow of USD 919 billion during the past 23 years, nearly 65 per cent or USD 595.25 billion came during the last nine years.

She further said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi used the Nudge Theory of renowned economist and Nobel Laureate Richard Thaler as a tool to promote economic activity tailored to India's requirements.

The usage of the Nudge Theory, she said, could be seen in "the 'Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao' Scheme, which has improved the sex ratio; subsidised loans to women under Stand-up India; and for nudging people to give up their LPG cylinder subsidy".

Similarly, the minister said, the PM SVANidhi Scheme was launched to give credit facilities to street vendors to reduce their dependence on middlemen and added the same principle has been applied in the PM Vishwakarma Yojana.

Prime Minister Modi, Sitharaman said, "strongly believes in Empowering people, giving them the choice of what they want to do, spending on fundamental things that give them the power to decide where they want to be, and providing them with access to resources and essential facilities like housing, roads, drinking water, toilets, etc."
Islamabad, Oct 5 (PTI) Pakistan's jailed former prime minister Imran Khan masterminded the May 9 violence and planned the attacks on sensitive military installations with an aim to remove Army Chief General Asim Munir, his close aide Usman Dar has said.

Dar, regarded as one of Khan's trusted aides, had reportedly gone underground after unrest broke out in Pakistan following the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party chief's arrest by paramilitary Rangers on May 9, The Express Tribune newspaper reported.

Dozens of military and state buildings, including the Army headquarters in Rawalpindi and the ISI building in Faisalabad, were torched and vandalised by many PTI activists during the unprecedented violence that broke out after Khan's arrest.

Dar, who served as the head of the PTI's Tiger Force, an organisation comprising young volunteers, reemerged on Wednesday and levelled serious allegations against Khan on a TV programme.

Dar claimed that the planning to target sensitive installations in the May 9 violence was done in a meeting chaired by Khan, and instructions to attack these were passed in case of the former premier's arrest.

"[At the meetings at Khan's Lahore residence-- Zaman Park] it was discussed that we should attack state institutions if needed in order to put pressure on them," Dar said during the interview.

Dar said that the purpose of the May 9 violence was to exert pressure on the military and remove Gen Munir from his position. He added that May 9 was merely a date, and the conspiracy against the military had been brewing for a long period, the report said.

Khan, who turned 71 on Thursday, is currently jailed in Rawalpindi's Adiala Jail in the cipher case for allegedly violating the Official Secrets Act by disclosing a cable sent by the countrys embassy in Washington last year in March. He has since remained behind bars on judicial remand, which has been extended until October 10.

Dar also alleged that the long march of October 2022 led by Khan to force the government to announce a date for early general elections was organised to prevent General Munir's appointment as the army chief.

Dar, who announced his decision to quit the PTI party and politics during the interview, said that a narrative was built in the party that the arrest of the party chairman should be thwarted at all costs. Subsequently, party workers swarmed at Khan's residence to prevent his arrest.

Pointing out that there were two camps in the party, one of which called for adopting a reconciliatory approach towards state institutions and the other in favour of taking the state institution head-on, Dar said that the former premier was inclined towards the latter's narrative.

"Imran Khan presided over a meeting where the planning and implementation of the events of May 9 took place, and he endorsed an anti-state narrative," Dar was quoted as saying by Samaa TV.

Khan's Special Assistant on Youth Affairs added that the PTI chief was himself responsible for the situation of the PTI party, which, he said, "is in the state of disintegration".

He also blamed the PTI chief for using the party workers as "a human shield to avoid facing arrest," according to the report.

Meanwhile, in a strongly worded reaction, the PTI party said Dar's interview had neither any significance in the public eye nor legal status, according to the Nation newspaper.

After spending 24 days in the custody of unknown kidnappers, Dar's appearance on a private TV channel undoubtedly exposed the kidnappers themselves, a spokesperson of the party said in a statement.

Last month, a joint investigation team constituted to probe the violence in Punjab province following Khan's arrest informed an anti-terrorism court that the PTI chief and several top leaders of his party were directly involved in orchestrating the unprecedented anti-government violence on May 9.

According to Lahore police, Khan and over 900 other party leaders and activists named in the May 9 cases have been "declared guilty of serious offences", the report said. In the chargesheets filed before the court, the prosecution alleged that the violent protests led by the suspects on May 9 were part of a planned conspiracy against the state.
Stockholm, Oct 5 (AP) Jon Fosse, a master of spare Nordic writing in a sprawling body of work ranging from plays to novels and children's books, won the Nobel Prize in literature on Thursday for works that give voice to the unsayable.

Anders Olsson, chair of the Nobel literature committee, said Fosse's work is rooted in the language and nature of his Norwegian background.

I was surprised when they called, yet at the same time not. I have cautiously prepared myself for the possibility that this could happen in the past 10 years," Fosse, 64, told Norwegian public broadcaster NRK. "It was a great joy for me to get the phone call.

One of his country's most-performed dramatists, Fosse has written some 40 plays as well as novels, short stories, children's books, poetry and essays. The Swedish Academy, which awards the prize, said it was for his innovative plays and prose which give voice to the unsayable.

Mats Malm, permanent secretary of the academy, reached Fosse by telephone to inform him of the win. He said the writer was driving in the countryside and promised to drive home carefully.

Fosse is the fourth Norwegian writer to get the literature prize. Bjrnstjerne Bjrnson got it in 1903, Knut Hamsun was awarded it in 1920 and Sigrid Undset in 1928.

Fosse's work A New Name: Septology VI-VII  described by Olsson as Fosse's magnum opus  was a finalist for the International Booker Prize in 2022.

In a statement released by his publishing house, Samlaget, Fosse said he saw the prize as an award to the literature that first and foremost aims to be literature, without other considerations.

The Nobel Prizes carry a cash award of 11 million Swedish kronor ($1 million) from a bequest left by their creator, Swedish inventor Alfred Nobel. Winners also receive an 18-carat gold medal and diploma at the award ceremonies in December.

Last year, French author Annie Ernaux won the prize for what the prize-giving Swedish Academy called the courage and clinical acuity of books rooted in her small-town background in the Normandy region of northwest France.

Ernaux was just the 17th woman among the 119 Nobel literature laureates. The literature prize has long faced criticism that it is too focused on European and North American writers, as well as too male-dominated.

In 2018, the award was postponed after sex abuse allegations rocked the Swedish Academy, which names the Nobel literature committee, and sparked an exodus of members. The academy revamped itself but faced more criticism for giving the 2019 award to Austria's Peter Handke, who has been called an apologist for Serbian war crimes. (AP) SCY

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Kyiv, Oct 5 (AP) At least 49 civilians were killed Thursday in a Russian rocket strike on a village store in eastern Ukraine, one of the deadliest attacks in recent months that came as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy attended a summit of around 50 European leaders in Spain to drum up support from the country's allies.

Zelenskyy denounced the attack on the store and cafe in the village of Hroza as a demonstrably brutal Russian crime and a completely deliberate act of terrorism.

He urged Western allies to help strengthen Ukraine's air defences, saying that Russian terror must be stopped.

Russia needs this and similar terrorist attacks for only one thing: to make its genocidal aggression the new norm for the whole world, he said. Now we are talking with European leaders, in particular, about strengthening our air defence, strengthening our soldiers, giving our country protection from terror. And we will respond to the terrorists.

Presidential chief of staff Andrii Yermak and Kharkiv Gov Oleh Syniehubov said a 6-year-old boy was among the dead, adding that six other people were wounded.

The attack came as Zelenskyy was in in Granada in southern Spain to attend a summit of the European Political Community, which was formed in the wake of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

The key for us, especially before winter, is to strengthen air defense, and there is already a basis for new agreements with partners, he said in a statement posted on his Telegram channel.

Last winter, Russia targeted Ukraine's energy system and other vital infrastructure in a steady barrage of missile and drone attacks, triggering continuous power outages across the country. Ukraine's power system has shown a high degree of resilience and flexibility, helping alleviate the damage, but there have been concerns that Russia will again ramp up its strikes on power facilities as winter draws nearer.

Zelenskyy noted the Granada summit will also focus on joint work for global food security and protection of freedom of navigation in the Black Sea, where the Russian military has targeted Ukrainian ports after Moscow's withdrawal from a UN-sponsored grain deal designed to ensure safe grain exports from the invaded country's ports.

The UK Foreign Office cited intelligence suggesting that Russia may lay sea mines in the approach to Ukrainian ports to target civilian shipping and blame it on Ukraine.

Russia almost certainly wants to avoid openly sinking civilian ships, instead falsely laying blame on Ukraine for any attacks against civilian vessels in the Black Sea, it said, adding that the UK was working with Ukraine to help improve the safety of shipping.

Speaking in Granada, Zelenskyy emphasized the need to preserve the European unity in the face of Russian disinformation and to remain strong amid what he described as a political storm in the United States.

Asked if he was worried that support for Ukraine could falter in the US Congress, the Ukrainian president stressed that his visit to Washington last month made him confident of strong backing by both the Biden administration and Congress.

Zelenskyy called for additional air defense system for Ukraine, additional artillery and shells, additional long-range missiles and drones for our soldiers, as well as additional formats of support and security guarantees for nations threatened by Russia to help protect Europe from potential aggression by Moscow.

Earlier Thursday, Russia targeted Ukraine's southern regions with drones. Ukraine's air force said that the country's air defenses intercepted 24 out of 29 Iranian-made drones that Russia launched at the Odesa, Mykolaiv and Kirovohrad regions.

Andriy Raykovych, head of the Kirovohrad regional administration, said that an infrastructure facility in the region was struck and emergency services were deployed to extinguish a fire. He said there were no casualties.

In other Russian attacks on Ukraine in the past day, two civilians were killed in shelling of the southern city of Kherson and another one died after a Russian strike on the city of Krasnohorivka in the eastern Donetsk region. At least eight people were wounded by Russian shelling, according to Ukraine's presidential office.

A Russian strike on a hospital in the city of Beryslav in the Kherson region ravaged the building and wounded two medical workers, according to the regional administration chief, Oleksandr Prokudin.

Ukraine, in turn, has struck back at Russia with regular drone attacks across the border.

Roman Starovoit, the governor of Russia's Kursk region that borders Ukraine, said that Ukrainian drones attacked infrastructure facilities in several areas, resulting in power cuts.

Starovoit also said that Ukrainian forces fired artillery at the border town of Rylsk, wounding a local resident and damaging several houses. (AP) SCY

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Stockholm, Oct 5 (AP) Jon Fosse, a master of spare Nordic prose in a sprawling body of work ranging from plays to novels and children's books, won the Nobel Prize in literature on Thursday for writing that gives voice to the unsayable.

Fosse's work, rooted in his Norwegian background, focuses on human insecurity and anxiety," Anders Olsson, chair of the Nobel literature committee, told The Associated Press. "The basic choices you make in life, very elemental stuff.

One of his country's most-performed dramatists, Fosse said he had cautiously prepared himself for a decade to receive the news that he had won.

I was surprised when they called, yet at the same time not," the 64-year-old told Norwegian public broadcaster NRK. "It was a great joy for me to get the phone call.

WHY DID THE NOBEL PRIZE IN LITERATURE GO TO JON FOSSE?

The author of 40 plays as well as novels, short stories, children's books, poetry and essays, Fosse was honoured for his innovative plays and prose, which give voice to the unsayable, according to the Swedish Academy, which awards the prize.

Fosse has cited the bleak, enigmatic work of Irish writer Samuel Beckett  the 1969 Nobel literature laureate  as an influence on his minimalist style.

Fosse has also taught writing  one of his students was best-selling Norwegian novelist Karl Ove Knausgaard  and consulted on a Norwegian translation of the Bible.

He tends to write in a fairly sparse style, said Guy Puzey, senior lecturer in Scandinavian Studies at the University of Edinburgh. There's a lot of repetition of quite simple expressions, which then take on a lot deeper meaning and make you ponder what lies in between the lines.

WHAT IS NYNORSK?

While Fosse is the fourth Norwegian writer to get the literature prize, he is the first in nearly a century and the first who writes in Nynorsk, one of the two official written standards. It is used by just 10% of the country's 5.4 million people, according to the Language Council of Norway, but completely understandable to users of the other written form, Bokmaal.

Still, Bokmaal is the language of power, it's the language or urban centers, of the press, according to Puzey. Nynorsk, by contrast, is used mainly by people in rural western Norway.

So it's a really big day for a minority language, he said.

Norway' culture minister, Lubna Jaffery, told news agency NTB that it was a historic day for the Nynorsk language and Nynorsk literature and noted that it has been 95 years since the last time a Norwegian author received the Nobel Prize for literature.

Bjrnstjerne Bjrnson received the prize in 1903, Knut Hamsun was awarded it in 1920 and Sigrid Undset in 1928.

In recognition of his contribution to Norwegian culture, in 2011 Fosse was granted use of an honorary residence in the grounds of the Royal Palace.

The literature prize has long faced criticism that it is too focused on European and North American writers, as well as too male-dominated.

Last year, French author Annie Ernaux won the prize for what the prize-giving Swedish Academy called the courage and clinical acuity of books rooted in her small-town background. She was just the 17th woman among the 119 Nobel literature laureates.

In 2018, the award was postponed after sex abuse allegations rocked the Swedish Academy and sparked an exodus of members. The academy revamped itself but faced more criticism for giving the 2019 award to Austria's Peter Handke, who has been called an apologist for Serbian war crimes.

WHAT DID JON FOSSE WRITE?

His first novel, Red, Black, was published in 1983, and his debut play, Someone is Going to Come, in 1992.

His work A New Name: Septology VI-VII  described by Olsson as Fosse's magnum opus  was a finalist for the International Booker Prize in 2022.

His other major prose works include Melancholy; Morning and Evening, whose two parts depict a birth and a death; Wakefulness; and Olav's Dreams.

His plays, which have been staged across Europe and in the United States, include The Name, Dream of Autumn and I am the Wind.

HOW DID JON FOSSE REACT TO THE NEWS?

Mats Malm, permanent secretary of the academy, reached Fosse by telephone to inform him of the win. He said the writer, who lives in the western city of Bergen, was driving in the countryside and promised to drive home carefully.

In a statement released by his publishing house, Samlaget, Fosse said he saw the prize as an award to the literature that first and foremost aims to be literature, without other considerations.

The Nobel Prizes carry a cash award of 11 million Swedish kronor ($1 million) from a bequest left by their creator, Swedish inventor Alfred Nobel. Winners also receive an 18-carat gold medal and diploma at the award ceremonies in December. (AP) SCY

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Dhaka, Oct 5 (PTI) Bangladesh Thursday received the first consignment of uranium for its only nuclear plant being built with Russian assistance, with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina saying that the country will use nuclear power for peaceful purposes.

The development comes amid the Ukraine war, which has led to sanctions from the Western countries on several Russian companies. The sanctions delayed the project, which is expected to help the country's growing economy.

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Prime Minister Hasina - both via video links - joined the ceremony where the uranium fuel for the Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant (RNPP) was handed over to Bangladesh authorities.

Rosatom's chief Aleksey Likhachev handed over the fuel to Bangladesh's Science and Technology Minister Yeafesh Osman at the ceremony in the northern Pabna district.

"Today is a day of pride and joy for the people of Bangladesh," Hasina said.

"Bangladesh will turn into a smart country in future, and the nuclear power plant is another step towards building that Smart Bangladesh," she said. "We will use nuclear power to protect peace," she added.

Once NPP starts production, Bangladesh will become the 33rd nuclear power-producing country in the world, Hasina's ruling Awami League party said in a post on X.

Putin congratulated Bangladesh for its nuclear "graduation", calling Dhaka Russia's "tested friend".

"The flagship project meets interests of both countries and promotes further deepening of mutually beneficial cooperation," Putin said, adding that he kept an eye on the implementation of the project.

The Russian president also acknowledged India's assistance in building the project as some Indian enterprises were engaged as subsidiary companies for constructing the USD 12.65-billion two-unit NPP with Moscow providing 90 per cent of the construction cost as loan.

Putin said the construction of the NPP "makes a real, notable contribution to the development of the economy, strengthening the republics energy security".

Hasina thanked Putin for "his guidance and assistance in construction of the nuclear plant at Rooppur, a township on the bank of the Padma River, 175 kilometres northwest of Dhaka.

Bangladesh this year faced its worst electricity crisis since 2013 due to erratic weather and difficulty in paying for fuel imports amid declining forex reserves and a weakened currency.

The first of the two-unit 1,200-megawatt is slated to begin operations next year and both reactors are expected to be fully operational in 2025 with officials expecting it to help Bangladesh cut carbon emissions significantly by 2030.

Under the Dhaka-Moscow agreement, Russia would take back the spent fuel of the plant.

According to Russia's TASS news agency, shortly before joining the ceremony, Putin gave permission to transfer fuel to the Rooppur nuclear power plant.

"Dear Madam Prime Minister, dear friends! It is a great honour for us to present you with a document on the delivery of nuclear fuel to the nuclear power plant. Dear Madam Prime Minister, I ask you to accept this document from friendly Russia," Putin said, addressing Hasina.

The physical work of the plant started in 2017 while US sanctions on key Russian firms over the Ukraine war, including Rosatom, delayed the construction work as Dhaka was unable to make loan repayments in US currency.

Dhaka decided to make payments of more than USD 300 million in Chinese yuan in an effort to dodge the sanctions but Bangladesh Bank officials said that the money was yet to be paid.

"The whole world is facing this payment problem and we're no exception...but we are trying to solve the problem," Osman said.

The lack of payment visibly has not affected Dhakas pursuit of a closer relationship with Moscow.

The ceremony came amid strained Dhaka-Washington relations while the US and western countries are alleging that Hasinas ruling Awami League government is silencing critics and stamping out political dissent ahead of scheduled general elections in late December 2023 or early January 2024.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov visited Dhaka for the first time last month where he criticised "the pressure exerted upon Bangladesh by the US and its allies". He added that Moscow would prevent any attempt to establish US dictates and interference in this region including Bangladesh.

The United States levelled enforced sanctions against Bangladeshs elite anti-crime Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) force in 2021 and several of its now former officials over accusations of their involvement in extrajudicial killings.

The US State department last month said it started enforcing a previously announced visa restrictions on Bangladeshi individuals responsible for, or complicit in, undermining the democratic election process in Bangladesh.

These individuals include members of law enforcement, the ruling party, and the political opposition (and) their immediate family may (also) be found ineligible for entry into the US, State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said.
London, Oct 5 (AP) Scottish authorities have approved the extradition of an American man accused of faking his own death to avoid a rape charge in Utah, but his return to the US may be delayed by another case in Britain.

In response to a freedom of information request, the Scottish government on Thursday said an extradition order for the man local officials refer to as Nicholas Rossi had been signed on September 28. It provided no further information.

US authorities said that Rossi is one of several aliases the 36-year-old suspect has used and that his legal name is Nicholas Alahverdian.

Alahverdian is charged with sexually assaulting a former girlfriend in Orem, Utah, in 2008, according to the Utah County prosecutor's office. He also faces multiple complaints against him in Rhode Island for alleged domestic violence.

Rossi can appeal the Scottish government's decision. His lawyer didn't immediately return a call seeking comment on what his client plans to do.

Regardless of what happens in the extradition case, police in England are seeking to interview Rossi in connection with a non-recent allegation of rape'' in the city of Chelmsford that was made in April 2022. If charges are filed against Rossi in that case, those proceedings would have to be wrapped up before he could be extradited.

The suspect has already fought a prolonged court battle to prevent his return to the United States since he was arrested in December 2021 at a Glasgow hospital, where he was being treated for COVID-19.

Rossi, who insisted he was an Irish orphan named Arthur Knight and had never set foot on American soil, repeatedly appeared in court in a wheelchair using an oxygen mask and speaking in a British accent.

The government signed the order after Judge Norman McFadyen of Edinburgh Sheriff Court on August 2 ruled that the suspect could be extradited, saying Rossi was as dishonest and deceitful as he is evasive and manipulative".

The man had said he was framed by authorities who took his fingerprints while he was in a coma so they could connect him to Rossi. (AP) PY

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London, Oct 5 (PTI) A UK court on Thursday sentenced a 21-year-old British Sikh man to nine years imprisonment after he pleaded guilty to the countrys first case of treason in over 40 years, having scaled the walls of Windsor Castle on Christmas Day 2021 armed with a loaded crossbow to tell royal guards that he was there to kill Queen Elizabeth II.

Jaswant Singh Chail, who claimed he wanted to assassinate the late monarch as revenge for the 1919 Jallianwala Bagh massacre in Amritsar according to a social media video that emerged soon after his arrest, has been handed a hybrid sentence order to take into account his mental health issues.

During a televised sentencing hearing at the Old Bailey court in London, Justice Nicholas Hilliard ruled that Chail must remain at Broadmoor Hospital, a high-security psychiatric hospital in Berkshire until he is considered fit to be transferred into custody.

The act was conceived in 2021 when he was not psychotic and he went on to become psychotic by a process, the judge noted as he stated his reasoning behind the sentencing.

"The defendant harboured homicidal thoughts which he acted on before he became psychotic. His intention was not just to harm or alarm the sovereign  but to kill her," he said.

The judge explained that he had taken Chail's autism, psychiatric testimony over his mental health and guilty plea into account when deciding upon the length of the sentence, which could have been over 20 years behind bars.

The court heard how it was during a family visit to Amritsar in 2018 that he learnt more about the Jallianwala Bagh massacre and decided to give his life purpose by avenging the killings by assassinating the late Queen, who passed away aged 96 in September 2022.

Last month during his trial, it emerged that Chail had written a letter to express his distress and sadness as an apology to the royal family and King Charles III.

According to court reports from the hearing, Chails strong family unit includes his father, a software consultant working in aerospace, his mother, a special needs teacher, and his twin sister, a university student.

Chail was said to be suffering from mental health issues and the threat to the late Queen was instigated by an artificial intelligence girlfriend named Sarai and inspired by his Star Wars fascination.

Earlier, he had pleaded guilty to an offence under Section 2 of the Treason Act, 1842; an offence of threats to kill contrary to Section 16 of the Offences Against the Person Act 1861; and an offence of possession of an offensive weapon contrary to Section 1 of the Prevention of Crime Act 1953.

He had made a video of himself stating his desire to harm the late Queen, which he sent to a group of contacts shortly before he was arrested. Further enquiries into Chail uncovered further evidence of his planning and motives. Evidence recovered by officers showed that he harboured ill-feeling towards the British empire for its past treatment of Indian people, a Met Police statement noted.

The Queen was in her private apartments at Windsor Castle at the time of Chails intrusion on the morning of December 25, 2021. Two officers saw the intruder within the grounds of the Castle and one approached him.

He was wearing black clothing and a handmade metal mask and said to the officers he was there to kill Her late Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. Chail was carrying a crossbow loaded with a bolt, and the officers drew their Taser gun and arrested him.

The social media video which emerged later showed a masked man identifying himself as Indian Sikh Jaswant Singh Chail and saying he wanted to assassinate the Queen as revenge for the Jallianwala Bagh massacre in Amritsar in 1919.

Under the 1842 Treason Act, it is an offence to assault the British Sovereign or have a firearm or offensive weapon in their presence with intent to injure or alarm them or to cause a breach of peace.
Kyiv, Oct 5 (AP) A Russian rocket struck a village cafe and store in eastern Ukraine on Thursday, killing at least 51 civilians in one of the deadliest attacks in the war in months, according to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and other top officials in Kyiv.

Zelenskyy, attending a summit of about 50 European leaders in Spain to drum up support from Ukraine's allies, denounced the strike in the village of Hroza as a demonstrably brutal Russian crime and a completely deliberate act of terrorism.

About 60 people were in the cafe, attending a wake after a funeral, said Internal Affairs Minister Ihor Klymenko, who provided the death toll.

Among the dead was a 6-year-old boy, and seven other people were wounded, said presidential chief of staff Andrii Yermak and Kharkiv Gov. Oleh Syniehubov.

According to preliminary information from Kyiv, the village was hit by an Iskander missile. Emergency crews searched the smoldering rubble of damaged buildings. Ukrainian prosecutors released photos showing bloodied bodies.

Hroza, which had a population of about 500 before the war, is located in the northeastern Kharkiv region. The village and other parts of the region were seized by Russia early in the war and recaptured by Ukraine in September 2022.

The village is only 30 kilometers (19 miles) west of Kupiansk, a key focus of the Russian military effort. Zelenskyy had visited the area Tuesday to meet with troops and inspect equipment supplied by the West.

On Thursday, Zelenskyy was at a summit of the European Political Community in Granada, Spain, where he asked for more Western support, saying that Russian terror must be stopped.

Russia needs this and similar terrorist attacks for only one thing: to make its genocidal aggression the new norm for the whole world, he said in a statement posted on his Telegram channel.

Now we are talking with European leaders, in particular, about strengthening our air defence, strengthening our soldiers, giving our country protection from terror. And we will respond to the terrorists.

The key for us, especially before winter, is to strengthen air defense, and there is already a basis for new agreements with partners, he told the group, which was formed in the wake of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

Last winter, Russia targeted Ukraine's energy system and other vital infrastructure in a steady barrage of missile and drone attacks, triggering continuous power outages across the country.

Ukraine's power system has shown a high degree of resilience and flexibility, helping alleviate the damage, but there have been concerns that Russia will again ramp up its strikes on power facilities as winter draws nearer.

Zelenskyy noted the Granada summit will also focus on joint work for global food security and protection of freedom of navigation in the Black Sea, where the Russian military has targeted Ukrainian ports after Moscow's withdrawal from a UN-sponsored grain deal designed to ensure safe grain exports from the invaded country's ports.

The UK Foreign Office cited intelligence suggesting that Russia may lay sea mines in the approach to Ukrainian ports to target civilian shipping and blame it on Ukraine.

Russia almost certainly wants to avoid openly sinking civilian ships, instead falsely laying blame on Ukraine for any attacks against civilian vessels in the Black Sea, it said, adding that the UK was working with Ukraine to help improve the safety of shipping.

Speaking in Granada, Zelenskyy emphasized the need to preserve the European unity in the face of Russian disinformation and to remain strong amid what he described as a political storm in the United States.

Asked if he was worried that support for Ukraine could falter in the US Congress, the Ukrainian president stressed that his visit to Washington last month made him confident of strong backing by both the Biden administration and Congress.

Zelenskyy called for additional air defence system for Ukraine, additional artillery and shells, additional long-range missiles and drones for our soldiers, as well as additional formats of support and security guarantees for nations threatened by Russia to help protect Europe from potential aggression by Moscow.

Earlier Thursday, Russia targeted Ukraine's southern regions with drones. Ukraine's air force said that the country's air defences intercepted 24 out of 29 Iranian-made drones that Russia launched at the Odesa, Mykolaiv and Kirovohrad regions.

Andriy Raykovych, head of the Kirovohrad regional administration, said an infrastructure facility in the region was struck and emergency services were deployed to extinguish a fire, but there were no casualties.

In other Russian attacks in the past day, two civilians were killed by shelling in the southern city of Kherson and one died after a strike on the city of Krasnohorivka in the eastern Donetsk region. At least eight people were wounded, according to Ukraine's presidential office.

A Russian strike on a hospital in the city of Beryslav in the Kherson region ravaged the building and wounded two medical workers, according to the regional administration chief, Oleksandr Prokudin.

Ukraine, in turn, has struck back at Russia with regular drone attacks across the border.

In Russia's Kursk region that borders Ukraine, Gov. Roman Starovoit said that Ukrainian drones attacked infrastructure facilities in several areas, resulting in power cuts. He also said that Ukrainian forces fired artillery at the border town of Rylsk, wounding a resident and damaging several houses. (AP) PY

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A UNIQUE COMPANY CREATION VEHICLE INITIATED BY LIGHTSTONE VENTURES AND EVOTEC SE, AND ESTABLISHED WITH PARTNERS CLAVYSTBIO, LEAPS BY BAYER, POLARIS PARTNERS, AND THE POLARIS INNOVATION FUND

FIRST-OF-ITS-KIND PARTNERSHIP IN SINGAPORE AND ASIA LEVERAGES BREAKTHROUGH SCIENCE FROM RESEARCHERS AT AGENCY FOR SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY AND RESEARCH ("A*STAR") SINGAPORE, NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF SINGAPORE ("NUS") AND DUKE-NUS MEDICAL SCHOOL, FOR GLOBAL HEALTH IMPACT

NEW INCUBATOR WILL ACCELERATE TRANSLATION OF PROMISING ACADEMIC PROJECTS TO COMMERCIALISATION THROUGH CREATION OF NEW COMPANIES FOCUSED ON BREAKTHROUGH THERAPEUTICS AND SUPPORT THE GROWTH OF SINGAPORE'S BIOTECH ECOSYSTEM

HAMBURG, GERMANY and SINGAPORE, SINGAPORE / ACCESSWIRE / October 5, 2023 / Evotec SE (Frankfurt Stock Exchange:EVT, MDAX/TecDAX, ISIN: DE0005664809; NASDAQ:EVO) today announced that the Company has entered into a new BRIDGE partnership with Lightstone Ventures, ClavystBio, Leaps by Bayer, Polaris Partners, and the Polaris Innovation Fund. "65LAB", Evotec's first academic BRIDGE in Asia, aims to advance drug discovery and the creation of new therapeutics companies in Singapore.

Evotec SE

The first collaboration of its kind in Singapore, 65LAB was initiated by Lightstone Ventures with Evotec to leverage the global capabilities of its partners - including financing, networks, company creation, and drug development expertise - to identify and accelerate the commercialisation of the most promising research from top academic and R&D institutions in Singapore, the Agency for Science, Technology and Research ("A*STAR"), the National University of Singapore ("NUS") and Duke-NUS Medical School (a collaboration between Duke University and NUS). 65LAB aims to combine Evotec's end-to-end integrated R&D platform and product development strength with Singapore's first-class academic and translational science, it's growing biotech infrastructure and capabilities to ultimately create breakthrough therapies with a global health impact.

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65LAB was founded to establish a model of long-term partnership to foster future company growth and the development of Singapore's biotech ecosystem. 65LAB selects promising academic projects and invests up to US$ 1.5 m in each project over the course of 18-24 months. The collaboration enables scientists in partner institutions to accelerate their therapeutic innovations through the support of Evotec's Expert-in-Residence, as well as direct access to the life science company's drug discovery, translational and development capabilities across disease areas and therapeutic modalities. Upon completion, projects will be evaluated by 65LAB's board of global investors for further investment and the creation of new companies.

The core of the 65LAB collaboration is its Singapore-based academic and R&D partners, whose research discoveries will be translated with the goal to potentially achieve commercial success and create positive patient impact. Singapore's public sector academic and translational researchers bring expertise across multiple modalities of treatment and disease areas of high unmet need.

65LAB's Board of Directors is a team of world-leading biotech investors with broad expertise in company building and advancing a broad range of therapeutic modalities into and through the clinic. The Board provides oversight and governance to 65LAB's strategy and operations and includes Dr Wen Qi Ho, Therapeutics Lead, ClavystBio, Dr Christina Isacson, Partner, Lightstone Ventures, Dr Pei Sze Ng, Director, Leaps by Bayer, and Dr Kim Png, Principal, Polaris Partners.

Dr Thomas Hanke, EVP Head of Academic Partnerships at Evotec, said: "Singapore has multiple world-renowned institutions for basic research in the life sciences. Through 65LAB, we are looking forward to translating their ground-breaking research into product candidates and new company formations that will benefit patients with unmet medical needs across all modalities and therapeutic areas."

Dr Christina Isacson, Partner, Lightstone Ventures, said: "Lightstone has long been committed to supporting the growth of Singapore's promising biotech sector, and we are thrilled at this opportunity to continue to foster and invest in the exciting drug development research coming out of the country's universities. 65LAB is a unique entity, whose key differentiator is the syndicate of seasoned global life science investors who recognise the untapped potential of Singapore's excellent base of scientific talent. We are pleased to partner with such a distinguished group of investors, who bring significant resources, experience and networks to transform these innovations into new medicines and bring them to market."

About 65LAB

65LAB was founded to turn innovations into lifesaving medicines. Our mission is to drive scientific advancement and create new therapeutic companies from Singapore. We accelerate the drug discovery pathway and new company formation by bringing together the expertise of global partners - leading research institutions in Singapore, established life science investors, and reputed drug discovery and development company Evotec. 65 pays homage to the year Singapore became an independent nation. It is also Singapore's country code. 65lab.sg

About Evotec's BRIDGE model: Partnering to accelerate innovation

Evotec has created a new paradigm to translate early-stage academic research to drug discovery and development called "BRIDGE" (Biomedical Research, Innovation & Development Generation Efficiency), an integrated accelerator-by-award framework to tap into academic science to accelerate the formation of spin-out companies and generate collaborations with Pharma and biotech. Through these efforts, Evotec has defined a new formula for fast-track early-stage drug discovery. Since the launch of the BRIDGE model in 2016, Evotec has formed and funded a growing number of strategic collaborations, such as LAB282, LAB150, Danube Labs, beLAB2122 and beLAB1407, LAB eN as well as investments into start-up studios focused on academic innovation such as Autobahn-Labs, Argobio and Extend. Please visit www.evotec.com/en/innovate/bridges to learn more about Evotec's BRIDGEs.

Additional quotes:

Dr Khoo Shih, Chief Executive Officer, ClavystBio, said: "65LAB unites private and public sector players in a shared vision. ClavystBio's mission is to accelerate the commercialisation of life sciences innovations through venture building and creating partnerships, and we're excited to be supporting the development of scientific talent and innovations at Singapore's leading academic and R&D institutions to enable new venture creation and grow our ecosystem."

Dr Juergen Eckhardt, EVP, Head of Leaps by Bayer and Pharmaceuticals Business Development, Licensing & Open Innovation, said: "We are thrilled to invest in Asia alongside a top-tier syndicate to tap into the remarkable science talent in Singapore and beyond. Leaps' mission is to solve ten of humanity's biggest challenges through investing in teams pursuing fundamental breakthroughs. Neither innovation nor disease knows geographic boundaries, and as such, we seek to support the best and brightest minds around the world for the benefit of patients and eagerly await the advancements poised to come out of 65LAB."

Amy Schulman, Managing Partner of Polaris Partners and the Polaris Innovation Fund, said: "Singapore has a burgeoning biotech ecosystem, including a wealth of academic science that is hungry to be translated. 65LAB will play an important role in bringing development capabilities and expertise to facilitate the translation of these innovative IP. Together with our academic and investor partners, we look forward to supporting the development of new medicines and innovations that will benefit patients globally."

Dr Koh Shuwen, Director, Technology Transfer and Innovation, NUS Enterprise, said: "65LAB embodies the spirit of academic and industry collaboration, successfully translating the University's intellectual property for use and adoption by the industry. This collaboration offers NUS and our partners an opportunity to accelerate innovation by engaging the industry at an early stage of deep technology development."

Assistant Professor David Wang, Director of the Centre for Technology and Development, Duke-NUS Medical School, added: "As a research powerhouse, Duke-NUS is committed to translating academic discoveries into clinical products, and I am confident that our collaboration with 65LAB will enable us to take that to a new level."

Ms Irene Cheong, Executive Director of A*STAR's Innovation & Enterprise Group said, "A*STAR is pleased to partner 65LAB and support the translation of novel biomedical discoveries from bench to bedside for the benefit of patients in Singapore and beyond. As a strategic innovation engine for Singapore's R&D ecosystem, we look forward to contributing to the growth of the local biotech ecosystem."

ABOUT CLAVYSTBIO

ClavystBio's mission is to accelerate the commercialization of life sciences breakthroughs into health impact. We invest and partner with innovators, entrepreneurs and founders to launch and grow global companies in Singapore. We foster partnerships among academics, industry and investors, and convene life sciences communities at our collaborative innovation space Node 1. Together, we advance Singapore as a global life sciences translational hub. www.clavystbio.com

ABOUT LIGHTSTONE VENTURES

Lightstone Ventures is a global venture capital fund dedicated to translating novel scientific breakthroughs into clinically and commercially meaningful therapies. We invest in biotech and medtech companies pioneering the big ideas poised to transform patient outcomes. We were founded in 2012 to empower visionary entrepreneurs with the resources and operational guidance necessary to bring innovative therapeutics and technologies to the people who need them most. Our investment team has led deals resulting in 19 acquisitions and 20 initial public offerings over the last two decades. We have offices in Boston, Mass., Menlo Park, Calif., and Dublin, Ireland. www.lightstonevc.com

ABOUT LEAPS BY BAYER

Leaps by Bayer, a unit of Bayer AG, leads impact investments into solutions to some of today's biggest challenges in health and agriculture. The investment portfolio includes more than 50 companies. They are all working on potentially breakthrough technologies to overcome some specific challenges such as, e.g., developing a sustainable protein supply, reducing the environmental impact of agriculture, preventing or curing cancer, and others. www.leaps.bayer.com

ABOUT POLARIS PARTNERS AND POLARIS INNOVATION FUND

Polaris Partners has a 25-plus-year history of partnering with repeat entrepreneurs and world-class innovators who are improving the way we live and work. The multibillion-dollar firm manages specialty and diversified funds in healthcare and technology with investments across all stages. Polaris Innovation Fund aims to accelerate the commercial and therapeutic potential of early-stage academic research. By partnering with passionate entrepreneurs with transformational science, Polaris Innovation Fund fosters company creation and growth through an active investment model. www.polarispartners.com

ABOUT THE AGENCY FOR SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY AND RESEARCH

The Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR) is Singapore's lead public sector R&D agency. Through open innovation, we collaborate with our partners in both the public and private sectors to benefit the economy and society. As a Science and Technology Organisation, A*STAR bridges the gap between academia and industry. Our research creates economic growth and jobs for Singapore, and enhances lives by improving societal outcomes in healthcare, urban living, and sustainability. A*STAR plays a key role in nurturing scientific talent and leaders for the wider research community and industry. A*STAR's R&D activities span biomedical sciences to physical sciences and engineering, with research entities primarily located in Biopolis and Fusionopolis. For ongoing news, visit www.a-star.edu.sg

ABOUT DUKE-NUS MEDICAL SCHOOL

Duke-NUS is Singapore's flagship graduate entry medical school, established in 2005 with a strategic, government-led partnership between two world-class institutions: Duke University School of Medicine and the National University of Singapore (NUS). Through an innovative curriculum, students at Duke-NUS are nurtured to become multi-faceted Clinicians Plus' poised to steer the healthcare and biomedical ecosystem in Singapore and beyond. A leader in ground-breaking research and translational innovation, Duke-NUS has gained international renown through its five Signature Research Programmes and ten centres. The enduring impact of its discoveries is amplified by its successful Academic Medicine partnership with Singapore Health Services (SingHealth), Singapore's largest healthcare group. This strategic alliance has spawned 15 Academic Clinical Programmes, which harness multi-disciplinary research and education to transform medicine and improve lives. www.duke-nus.edu.sg

ABOUT NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF SINGAPORE (NUS)

The National University of Singapore (NUS) is Singapore's flagship university, which offers a global approach to education, research and entrepreneurship, with a focus on Asian perspectives and expertise. We have 16 colleges, faculties and schools across three campuses in Singapore, with more than 40,000 students from 100 countries enriching our vibrant and diverse campus community. We have also established more than 20 NUS Overseas Colleges entrepreneurial hubs around the world. Our multidisciplinary and real-world approach to education, research and entrepreneurship enables us to work closely with industry, governments and academia to address crucial and complex issues relevant to Asia and the world. Researchers in our faculties, research centres of excellence, corporate labs and more than 30 university-level research institutes focus on themes that include energy; environmental and urban sustainability; treatment and prevention of diseases; active ageing; advanced materials; risk management and resilience of financial systems; Asian studies; and Smart Nation capabilities such as artificial intelligence, data science, operations research and cybersecurity. www.nus.edu.sg

ABOUT EVOTEC SE

Evotec is a life science company with a unique business model that delivers on its mission to discover and develop highly effective therapeutics and make them available to the patients. The Company's multimodality platform comprises a unique combination of innovative technologies, data and science for the discovery, development, and production of first-in-class and best-in-class pharmaceutical products. Evotec leverages this "Data-driven R&D Autobahn to Cures" for proprietary projects and within a network of partners including all Top 20 Pharma and over 800 biotechnology companies, academic institutions, as well as other healthcare stakeholders. Evotec has strategic activities in a broad range of currently underserved therapeutic areas, including e.g. neurology, oncology, as well as metabolic and infectious diseases. Within these areas of expertise, Evotec aims to create the world-leading co-owned pipeline for innovative therapeutics and has to-date established a portfolio of more than 200 proprietary and co-owned R&D projects from early discovery to clinical development. Evotec operates globally with more than 5,000 highly qualified people. The Company's 17 sites offer highly synergistic technologies and services and operate as complementary clusters of excellence. For additional information please go to www.evotec.com and follow us on X/Twitter @Evotec and LinkedIn.

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This announcement contains forward-looking statements concerning future events, including the proposed offering and listing of Evotec's securities. Words such as "anticipate," "believe," "could," "estimate," "expect," "intend," "may," "might," "plan," "potential," "should," "target," "would" and variations of such words and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Such statements include comments regarding Evotec's expectations for revenues, Group EBITDA and unpartnered R&D expenses. These forward-looking statements are based on the information available to, and the expectations and assumptions deemed reasonable by Evotec at the time these statements were made. No assurance can be given that such expectations will prove to have been correct. These statements involve known and unknown risks and are based upon a number of assumptions and estimates, which are inherently subject to significant uncertainties and contingencies, many of which are beyond the control of Evotec. Evotec expressly disclaims any obligations or undertaking to release publicly any updates or revisions to any forward-looking statements contained herein to reflect any change in Evotec's expectations with respect thereto or any change in events, conditions or circumstances on which any statement is based.

Media Contact Evotec SE:

Gabriele Hansen, SVP Head of Global Corporate Communications, Gabriele.Hansen@evotec.com

Hinnerk Rohwedder, Director of Global Corporate Communications, Hinnerk.Rohwedder@evotec.com

IR Contact Evotec SE:

Volker Braun, SVP Head of Global Investor Relations & ESG, Volker.Braun@evotec.com

SOURCE: Evotec SE





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(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)
Chennai, Oct 5 (PTI) Income Tax officials on Thursday held searches at multiple locations here linked to DMK MP S Jagathrakshakan, police sources said.

The searches were being held at many places, including some educational institutions, sources said without divulging details.



Jagathrakshakan represents Arakkonam in the Lok Sabha.
Chennai, Oct 5 (PTI) Tamil Nadu BJP President K Annamalai on Thursday said the 2024 Lok Sabha election would be a fight between the ruling DMK and his party and that there is neither regret nor happiness over the AIADMK leaving the National Democratic Alliance.



When asked if any decision has been taken by his party on separately facing the Lok Sabha polls in the state, Annamalai said that election strategy is not an agenda for discussion in a press conference and that the party would convey its stance to the people at the right time.



Speaking to reporters here after a meeting of party functionaries, he said the National Democratic Alliance has been intact for 25 years although some parties have joined and quit at various times and others have rejoined the combine again.



Asked if the parliamentary elections would be a tug of war between the AIADMK and the BJP, Annamalai said it would be between a fight between the DMK and the BJP, and added that he was just reiterating what he has already been saying for the past two years.



The party's goal is to send a large number of MPs from Tamil Nadu to the Lok Sabha in the LS polls. The BJP would take forward initiatives towards making a change, and positive indications would be visible ahead of the 2024 polls. "You will see victorious candidates and also see the vote share."



When asked if he has any regret over AIADMK's exit from the NDA, he said it was not a question of happiness or regret and added, "The BJP would naturally be concentrating only on its growth. Why should there be regret or happiness?"



Annamalai said his only goal from day one in the party has been to strengthen it, which is also the objective of the leaders and cadres. "The 2024 LS polls is about Prime Minister Narendra Modi winning another term in office," he said, expressing confidence that the "NDA will win all 39 Parliamentary segments in Tamil Nadu".



In the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, the alliance led by DMK won 38 of the 39 seats in Tamil Nadu, while BJP's erstwhile ally AIADMK won one seat. The BJP failed to win any seats.



Asked whether the AIADMK had snapped ties with the BJP by blaming him for his comments on the leaders of that party, such as C N Annadurai, he said it would not be appropriate for him to provide an answer. "I am doing my work and I am clear about the way I have to travel and I am also clear about the path the BJP should take."



He made it clear that he was not inclined to answer further questions about AIADMK quitting the NDA alliance.
Dehradun, Oct 5 (PTI) An agreement was signed on Thursday between Samagra Shiksha Uttarakhand and Swiss Education Group, Switzerland for training school students in the field of tourism and hospitality.

The training will be given to students of classes 9 to 12 in the state.

"There is a lot of employment potential in both tourism and hospitality sectors in Uttarakhand and by gaining proficiency in these, our students will be better equipped to avail of the opportunities. This agreement will prove to be a milestone," said Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami, who was present on the occasion of signing of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU).

Continuous efforts are being made by the state government to promote tourism. Alongside promotion of religious, spiritual and adventure tourism, many steps are also being taken to boost eco-tourism, wellness and hospitality, he said.

Lakhs of devotees come on Chardham Yatra in Uttarakhand and the state government is trying to ensure that devotees and tourists come to the state throughout the year.

He said that for this, work is being done rapidly on Manaskhand Mandir Mala Mission. Sixteen major temples of Kumaon region are to be redeveloped and connected with each other in the first phase of the mission, he said.

The MoU was signed on behalf of Samagra Shiksha by its project Director Banshidhar Tiwari and Executive Director Hiraj Artinian on behalf of Swiss Education Group.




President Joe Biden announced another round of federal student loan forgiveness on Wednesday as borrowers brace for payments to restart after a three-year pause that began during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Democratic presidents latest step will help 125,000 borrowers by erasing $9 billion in debt through existing relief programs. In total, 3.6 million borrowers will have had $127 billion in debt wiped out since Biden took office.

President Biden has long believed that college should be a ticket to the middle class, not a burden that weighs on families, the White House said in a statement.

Biden was scheduled to make a formal announcement at the White House in the afternoon.

He promised to help alleviate the burden of student debt while running for president, and hes been under pressure to follow through even though his original plan was overturned by the conservative majority on the Supreme Court.

He has been relying on a patchwork of different programs to chip away at debt, such as public service loan forgiveness and the SAVE Plan, which lowers payments by tying them to borrowers income.

For years, millions of eligible borrowers were unable to access the student debt relief they qualified for, but thats all changed thanks to President Biden and this administrations relentless efforts to fix the broken student loan system, Education Secretary Miguel Cardona said in a statement.

Additional debt forgiveness could help alleviate the impact of the long-scheduled resumption of loan payments this month, which will put a dent in tens of millions of family budgets. But it is unlikely to undermine the economys strength in the long term even though analysts at BNP Paribas estimated it could take $100 billion out of consumers pockets and slow overall growth during the final three months of this year.

Republicans have fought Bidens plans on student debt, but Wednesdays announcement comes as theyre consumed by infighting on Capitol Hill. Hard-right Republicans forced a vote that ousted Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., as House speaker, leaving the chamber in chaos.

In addition, the NAACP is pushing Biden to expand debt forgiveness by allowing Parent PLUS loans, which parents use for their childrens college education, to be eligible for the SAVE Plan.

Historically, education has been viewed as an entry point for marginalized communities to achieve upward mobility and begin building generational wealth, NAACP President Derrick Johnson said in a statement that emphasized the disproportionate impact of debt on Black families. It is unconscionable that, in their quest to provide their children with a brighter future, Black parents have fallen victim to a system that preys on their inherent disadvantage.

(AP)




Russian air defenses shot down 31 Ukrainian drones during a concerted nighttime attack by Kyivs forces on border regions, the Russian Defense Ministry said Wednesday, as uncertainty grew over Ukraines future access to weapons and ammunition from Western allies.

The drone attack appeared to be Kyivs largest single cross-border drone assault reported by Moscow since the Kremlin launched its invasion 20 months ago. There were no immediate reports of damage or casualties.

Ukraine is pressing on with the slow-moving counteroffensive it launched three months ago to expel Russian invaders, though mounting concerns about replenishing its military stocks and cracks in the Western wall of support cast a cloud over the effort.

Adm. Rob Bauer, the head of NATOs military committee, sounded the alarm about depleted stockpiles.

The bottom of the barrel is now visible, Bauer said of weapons systems and ammunition supplies.

With the war of attrition likely continuing through winter into next year, Bauer urged the defense industry to boost production at a much higher tempo. And we need large volumes, he told the Warsaw Security Forum, an annual two-day conference that continued Wednesday.

The Russian Defense Ministry did not provide any evidence for its claims about intercepting Ukrainian drones.

It also said Russian aircraft thwarted a Ukrainian attempt to deploy a group of soldiers by sea to the western side of Russian-occupied Crimea. The force attempted to land on Cape Tarkhankut using a high-speed boat and three jet skis, the ministry said.

Moscows claims could not be independently verified, and Ukrainian officials made no immediate comment.

The Crimean Peninsula, which Russia illegally annexed from Ukraine in 2014, has been a frequent target of Ukrainian attacks. The region has been the key hub supporting the invasion.

Concerns over the resupply of Ukraines armed forces have deepened amid political turmoil in the United States and the unprecedented ouster Tuesday of House Speaker Kevin McCarthy.

The U.S. is by far Ukraines largest military supplier, but a faction in the House Republican majority, and many GOP voters, oppose sending more military aid to Ukraine.

The Pentagon has warned Congress that it is running low on money to replace weapons the U.S. has sent to Ukraine.

Mykhailo Podolyak, an adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, publicly questioned the motives of what he called Western conservative elites.

Why are you so insistently against  destroying the Russian army, which has been terrifying, he wrote on X, formerly Twitter.

The funding concerns prompted U.S. President Joe Biden to hold a phone call Tuesday with key allies in Europe, as well as the leaders of Canada and Japan, to coordinate support for Ukraine.

The call was held three days after Biden signed legislation hastily sent to him by Congress that kept the federal government funded but left off billions in funding for Ukraines war effort that the White House had vigorously backed.

Meanwhile Wednesday, sirens blared across Russia and television stations briefly interrupted regular broadcasts to air emergency warnings as part of nationwide drills to test the readiness of the countrys emergency agencies.

Russian media said the drills, which started the previous day, envisioned the increasing danger of a conflict between nuclear powers. The exercise was meant to simulate a situation in which 70% of housing and all vital infrastructure are destroyed and wide areas are contaminated by radioactive fallout.

The drills follow a series of warnings from Russian officials that Western support for Ukraine has increased the threat of a direct military conflict between Russia and NATO.

(AP)




A shooting interrupted a homecoming week celebration at Baltimores Morgan State University on Tuesday, wounding five people and prompting an hourslong lockdown of the historically Black college.

Students hunkered down for several hours, as police went room to room looking for suspects. No arrests were made.

Police Commissioner Richard Worley said the five victims, four men and one woman, are between the ages of 18 and 22. Their injuries were not life-threatening, he told reporters at a news conference early Wednesday.

Morgan State Police Chief Lance Hatcher said four of the victims are students at the university. The police did not release information about a suspect or suspects, and Worley said that investigators didnt know how many shooters were involved.

The shooting happened shortly after the coronation of Mister & Miss Morgan State at the Murphy Fine Arts Center, as students were heading to a campus ball. A police news release said officers responded to a report of the shooting around 9:25 p.m.

Konnor Crowder, a sophomore from Baltimore, said he and his friends had been waiting for the coronation ball to start when they saw people running.

First I was wondering what they were running for, then I was wondering where we should go, he said.

Worley said police heard gunshots and several dorm windows shattered, so officials initially thought there was an active shooter on campus and acted accordingly. He said they ended the shelter-in-place order around 12:30 a.m., after SWAT officers cleared a building where a suspect was feared to be hiding.

Shortly after midnight, dozens of students wearing gowns and suits started trickling out of the student center, where they had been waiting. Many were trying to process the chaos and fear that overwhelmed an evening of festivities.

Orange evidence markers were visible on the ground in front of a building next to the dorm where the shooting occurred. Yellow crime tape encircled the area as officers used flashlights to search for evidence.

Parents gathered outside a police blockade at the south entrance to campus. James Willoughby, a Morgan State alum whose daughter is a freshman, said he wasnt leaving until he laid eyes on her. Im gonna be here until I can physically see her, he said.

Glenmore Blackwood came to the campus after hearing from his son, a senior who told him the shooting occurred just as the coronation was concluding.

Blackwood said his son was in the arts centers auditorium. He sang in the ceremony and was planning to host a prayer service afterward.

Thats my son. Hes going to make sure I know hes OK, Blackwood said. Its just sad. They were doing a good thing  an event to promote positivity  and all this negativity happens.

Morgan State University President David Wilson said he had canceled Wednesdays classes, and would hold an emergency meeting Wednesday morning to decide whether to hold other events planned for the runup to the schools homecoming game, which is scheduled to be played on Saturday.

It is unfortunate that this tragedy happened here tonight, he said. By no means will it define who we are as a university.

The university, which has about 9,000 students, was founded in 1867 as the Centenary Biblical Institute with an initial mission of training men for ministry, according to its website. It moved to its current site in northeast Baltimore in 1917, and was purchased by the state of Maryland in 1939 as it aimed to provide more opportunities for Black citizens.

Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott noted recent declines in the citys homicide rate and said the shooting Tuesday indicates a need for national gun reform.

We have to deal with this issue nationally, he said. We have to get serious about guns.

(AP)
FILE PHOTO: Soy plants are seen in a farm near Pergamino, on the outskirts of Buenos Aires in Argentina

FILE PHOTO: Soy plants are seen in a farm near Pergamino, on the outskirts of Buenos Aires in Argentina

By Maximilian Heath

BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) - Argentina's giant soybean processing plants are running out of soybeans after a historic drought cut the crop in half, the head of the country's grains export chamber told Reuters, and this will leave well over two-thirds of factory capacity idle.

For years, the South American country was the world's top exporter of processed soy oil and meal. Its crown slipped this year after its crop was ravaged and as the indebted government has pushed exports of beans to bring in dollars.

"We are in a disastrous year," said Gustavo Idigoras, president of the grain exporters and crushing chamber CIARA-CEC, adding he expected idle capacity at the country's crushing plants along the Parana river to shoot past the current 65%.

"Idle capacity could grow significantly," he said, pointing out that the next soy harvest would not be until April and there would likely be just 3 million metric tons of soybeans left by the end of the month to last until then.

"With those 3 million tons we have to survive until May 2024," he said. "We want to turn the page to see if next year we get a better climate and higher farm production."

The likely increase in idle capacity will hit major grains traders such as Bunge and Cargill in Argentina, and has opened the door to rival producers. Neighbor Brazil, which had a bumper season, has overtaken Argentina for soymeal exports.

The drought, which dragged Argentina's 2022/23 soy harvest down to around 20 million tons, has forced the country to import a record number of soybeans from regional neighbors Paraguay, Bolivia and Brazil to keep its crushing factories open.

"Argentina may total 10 million tons of (soy) imports this year," Idigoras said, a new estimate. Government data show a record 8.2 million tons of soy imports until August, already over the 6.4 million tons for the entire drought-hit 2018.

According to the Ministry of Agriculture, between January and August the volume of crushed soybeans in Argentina fell 27% year-on-year to 19.6 million tons, the lowest figure for that period in official records that go back to 2015.

Story continues

Idigoras added that he did not expect any officially declared wheat sales in the months ahead for the 2023/24 harvest as agreed shipments from the previous campaign are finally fulfilled. Exporters had been allowed to delay them due to the drought.

Last season's wheat harvest was cut in half to some 11.5 million tons, according to the local Rosario grains exchange, which estimates a better 15 million tons for the current season.

"There are no new (export) records, but there are records that have been rescheduled from the old campaign. That is why we won't see new records in the coming months," Idigoras said.

(Reporting by Maximilian Heath; Editing by Nicolas Misculin, Adam Jourdan and David Gregorio)




Rep. Kevin McCarthy had support from 208 members of his conference to remain as House speaker. But it took only eight dissenters in his party to boot him from the job.

A handful of Republicans joined with Democrats to make history as McCarthy became the first speaker in U.S. history to be voted out of the position by his colleagues.

Most of the eight have never been members of the McCarthy fan club. They chafed at the deal McCarthy made with President Joe Biden to avoid a federal default. They voted against the bill Congress passed Saturday to keep the federal government operating at current funding levels through mid-November.

Most are also fiscal hardliners who opposed McCarthys candidacy for speaker early on. But, McCarthy, soon after announcing he would not seek to run again for the speakers job, countered that he did not view the eight as conservatives.

They dont get to say theyre conservative because theyre angry and theyre chaotic, McCarthy said. Thats not the party I belong to. The party of Reagan was if you believed in your principles, that you could govern in a conservative way. They are not conservative and they do not have the right to have the title.

While each has their reasons, the eight lawmakers generally voiced frustration with how McCarthy has moved priority legislation through the chamber, namely spending bills. Some have also described him as untrustworthy and failing to living up to various agreements he made to become speaker back in January, something he hotly disputed Tuesday when he announced he would not seek the post again.

A look at the eight Republicans who voted to remove McCarthy from office, against the overwhelming wishes of their colleagues.

REP. ANDY BIGGS

Biggs is serving his fourth term in the House representing a strongly Republican-leaning district in Arizona. He is a former chairman of the hardline House Freedom Caucus. He threw his hat into the ring in the race to become speaker back in January, but won only 10 votes in the first of 15 rounds of voting.

Biggs serves on two of the committees leading up the impeachment inquiry of President Joe Biden and has long called for his impeachment. He also has been a staunch ally of former President Donald Trump and describes him as the leader of the Republican Party.

Biggs complained Tuesday that lawmakers were promised the House would pass 12 annual funding bills in a timely manner, but that wasnt accomplished before the end of the fiscal year, requiring a stopgap spending bill to avoid a shutdown. He said the annual spending bills are critical to cutting spending and getting rid of duplicative programs.

Why didnt we get this stuff done? he asked at one point in Tuesdays debate.

Yes, I think its time to make a change, Biggs said.

REP. KEN BUCK

Buck is serving his fifth term representing a Colorado district that includes much of the eastern part of the state and some Denver suburbs. Hes got a penchant for being a wildcard as a fiscal conservative, but also someone willing to push back against party leaders when he feels like it.

Most recently, Buck has spoken out against McCarthys launch of an impeachment inquiry into Biden, saying that House Republicans itching for impeachment are relying on flimsy evidence.

He also has pointed to concerns about the process for approving spending and complained about stopgap spending bills like the one McCarthy came up with Saturday to keep the government running.

We are $33 trillion in debt and on track to hit $50 trillion by 2030, he tweeted after the vote. We cannot continue to fund the government by continuing resolutions and omnibus spending bills. Thats why I voted to oust @SpeakerMcCarthy. We must change course to sensible budgeting and save our country.

REP. TIM BURCHETT

Burchett is serving his third term representing a district in east Tennessee. Burchett served 16 years in Tennessees legislature as well as eight years as a mayor before entering Congress.

He said while explaining his vote to oust McCarthy that the House took off the whole month of August despite knowing they needed to get the spending bills done before the fiscal year ended Sept. 30.

At some point, weve just got to say enough is enough, folks, he said in a Twitter video. I hate losing Kevin as a friend, but I worry about losing our country.

REP. ELI CRANE

Crane represents an Arizona district. He is also a former Navy SEAL who served in the military for 13 years. In November, he defeated a Democratic incumbent, Tom OHalleran, who had held the seat since 2017. He was the lone Republican freshman back in January to come out against McCarthys bid to become speaker.

Each time our majority has had the chance to fight for bold, lasting change for the American people, leadership folded and passed measures with more Democrat support than Republican, Crane tweeted Tuesday.

REP. MATT GAETZ

Gaetz is serving his fourth term representing a Florida district. He is a close Trump ally who filed the motion to vacate the chair, the procedure used to oust McCarthy, and he led the debate on the House floor for those seeking to pass the motion.

He was also a holdout in January when McCarthy ran to become speaker. The defining moment during that showdown came when Alabama Rep. Mike Rogers, a Republican ally of McCarthy, angrily confronted Gaetz on the House floor before being pulled back by a colleague.

Gaetz could face political repercussions for his actions, as many Republican lawmakers blame him for this weeks chaos and view him as looking out for himself rather than for the good of the party.

Look, you all know Matt Gaetz. You know it was personal. It had nothing to do about spending, McCarthy said. It all was about getting attention from you. I mean we were getting e-mail fundraisers as hes doing it.

Gaetz said McCarthy didnt follow through on many of the commitments he made to win the speakers job, and thats what drove him.

Kevin McCarthy is a feature of the swamp. He has risen to power by collecting special interest money and redistributing that money in exchange for favors, Gaetz said. We are breaking the fever now, and we should elect a speaker whos better.

REP. BOB GOOD

Good of Virginia won office in 2020 after GOP voters ousted the Republican incumbent, Denver Riggleman, who had angered social conservatives by officiating a gay marriage.

Good said Tuesday that back in January he helped persuade a handful of colleagues to switch their votes to present so that McCarthy could become speaker.

But Good has been harshly critical of the deal to avoid a default and voiced alarm as Republicans prepared to ensure a partial government shutdown did not occur last weekend.

He said that if youre not willing to endure any kind of shutdown to get the changes you seek, its a recipe to lose, its a recipe for surrender.

We need a speaker who will fight for something, anything, besides just staying or becoming speaker, Good said on the House floor Tuesday.

REP. NANCY MACE

Mace is serving her second term representing a South Carolina district. She graduated from The Citadel, where she was the first female to graduate from its Corps of Cadets. She served as a state representative before coming to Congress.

Mace tweeted her vote to oust McCarthy wasnt about ideology. This is about trust and keeping your word. This is about making Congress do its job, she said.

McCarthy said he called Maces chief of staff on Monday saying he didnt understand how he had not kept his word. He noted that he had helped get Mace elected to Congress.

REP. MATT ROSENDALE

Rosendale is serving his second term in the House representing a Montana district. Hes a hardliner on fiscal issues who also has voted against U.S. support for Ukraine in repelling Russias invasion, citing what he said are more pressing security needs along the southern U.S. border.

Our country is facing $33 trillion of debt. Our border is facing an unprecedented invasion. And instead of being energy dominant, we are now energy reliant. The House of Representatives and the American people deserve a leader who can challenge the status quo and put an end to this ruin, Rosendale said following Tuesdays vote.

(AP)




On Wednesday, former President Donald Trump launched a scathing critique on his Truth Social Website, targeting his former White House Chief-of-Staff, John Kelly. Kelly, who held the longest tenure in this role during the Trump administration, corroborated claims made by CNNs Jake Tapper that Trump had indeed used the term suckers when referring to deceased U.S. service members during a 2018 trip to France.

Additionally, an article by The Atlantic alleged that Trump expressed reluctance to visit the graves of fallen American soldiers, citing, Why should I go to that cemetery? Its filled with losers, and reportedly referred to the 1,800 Marines who perished at the Battle of Belleau Wood in World War I as suckers.

Trump vehemently denied these allegations and directed his frustration towards Kelly following his confirmation of the remarks.

Trump wrote the following on truth Social:

John Kelly, by far the dumbest of my Military people, just picked up the theme of the Radical Lefts lying about Gold Star Families and Soldiers, in his hatred of me. He was incapable of doing a good job, it was too much for him, and I couldnt stand the guy, so I fired him like a dog. He had no heart or respect for people, so I hit him hardMade no difference to me. Hes already on record defending me all over the place. Nobody loves the Military like I do! Now he finally speaks back by making up fake stories, or confirming the made up stories of the Dems and Radical Left

Hes a Lowlife with a very small brain and a very big mouth. Interestingly, before firing him, his wife, who suffered a lot, told me he would never speak badly about President Trump. Wrong! Did he totally lie about another Lowlife, Congresswoman Frederica Wilson? Let them fight that one out themselves. Numerous people are angry and upset because they know they will never be in a new Trump Administration, but only for one reason, theyre not nearly good enough. Kelly would be among those at the top of the list!

(YWN World Headquarters  NYC)




Former President Donald Trump launched a series of early morning TRUTH posts today, reigniting his ongoing feud with New York State Attorney General Letitia James and Judge Arthur Engoron.

Starting his tirade at 5:38 AM, Trump reiterated his claim of leading in political polls, mentioning a 62 point lead over fellow Republicans. He stated his intention to involve himself in the Speaker of the House selection process and emphasized his goal to MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!

The former president then refocused on the civil trial in which he was found guilty of defrauding banks and insurers in his real estate ventures. He lambasted the judgment, labeling it as a result of NEW YORK DEMOCRAT CORRUPTION and criticized the valuation figures, especially those pertaining to his Mar-a-Lago property. He also expressed dismay over not receiving a jury trial  despite this being thanks to an oversight by his lawyer last July.

Trump continued his criticism of AG James, labeling her as Racist and Incompetent and deploring the state of New Yorks legal system. He reiterated his grievance over not having a jury trial, and in a noticeable escalation of his rhetoric, called for help regarding the perceived injustices.

He concluded his series of posts with a plea, omitting a potential profanity, seemingly to maintain a level of decorum.

The former president then apparently went to watch Fox News, blasting off a post about the network giving too much coverage to Nikki Haley.

The sudden spike in Trumps social media activity  and the content of those posts  many are speculating on the impact of these legal issues on his mental well-being.

(YWN World Headquarters  NYC)




Kevin McCarthy spent years raising mountains of Republican campaign cash, flying around the country to recruit top candidates in key districts and painstakingly building political relationships as he worked his way toward becoming speaker of the House.

Now that hes been ousted from the post after less than nine months, some in the GOP are wondering if anyone can take his place as a fundraising dynamo and party builder.

The House isnt scheduled to vote on who could replace McCarthy until at least next week with all legislative work suspended as the chamber navigates a situation never before seen in the nations history. In the meantime, House Republicans have no clear leader heading into next years election as they cling to a razor-thin majority.

Nobody can raise money like him, said Rep. Kelly Armstrong, R-N.D. And no matter who is the next speaker of the House, none of them can do what Kevin McCarthy did.

The National Republican Congressional Committee, the GOPs House campaign arm, postponed its upcoming fall gala in Dallas that McCarthy was supposed to headline. The committee said McCarthy helped it raise more than $40 million during the last election cycle and $20-plus million so far this cycle.

The totals were even higher for a McCarthy-aligned super PAC, the Congressional Leadership Fund, which said that it and its associated nonprofits had raised about $645 million under McCarthy. That included about $215 million for the 2020 election, roughly $350 million during last years midterm races and around $80 million so far this cycle.

The leadership fund will shift its alignment to follow the new House speaker once one is elected. Paul Ryan replaced fellow Republican John Boehner in 2015. The GOP retained House control the following year when Donald Trump was elected president.

Speaker McCarthy has fundamentally altered House elections for Republicans through his recruitment efforts, his unmatched fundraising prowess, and his ability to inspire and generate confidence among donors, Congressional Leadership Fund President Dan Conston said in a statement. While this is an obvious loss for the House, CLF remains laser-focused on our mission of holding radical Democrats accountable, protecting our vulnerable incumbents, and expanding the House Republican majority.

As speaker and in his prior years leading the Republicans in the minority, McCarthy was viewed by many as less of a legislator and more of a political tactician who found strong Republican candidates and raised enough money to get them elected and to bolster the national party.

McCarthy visiting a district could often be a major draw, juicing fundraiser proceeds, though thats a role any new House speaker can grow into.

A bigger test for the next speaker is whether they will be able to raise the same kind of sums as McCarthy for the partys outside groups, which every year pour millions of dollars into advertising in key races, unburdened by contribution limits for individual campaigns.

Thats where McCarthy has crushed it, said Cam Savage, a longtime Republican strategist who works on House races. He did the heavy lifting for the Congressional Leadership Fund.

During the 2022 midterms, Republicans underperformed national expectations and eked out a House majority so narrow that McCarthy needed an unprecedented 15 rounds of voting to claim the speakership in January. McCarthy had to remain close to Trump, who is now the front-runner in the partys 2024 primary, and balance the interests of moderates and hard-right members alike. He ultimately couldnt.

The revolt against him featured eight Republicans teaming with House Democrats to vote McCarthy out of the speakership. Ironically, McCarthy had campaigned for some of those who eventually helped strip him of the post hed worked so long to obtain.

A lot of them, I helped get elected, so I probably should have picked somebody else, McCarthy joked at a press conference after being forced out.

He may still prove a force in 2024 races. McCarthy has so far suggested that hell continue to bolster the GOP nationally, saying, My goals have not changed, my ability to fight is just in a different form.

I intend to make sure that we gain and keep the majority in the next cycle as well, he said.

Holding the House already looked tough since the current majority includes 18 GOP members representing districts that Joe Biden won in 2020. Especially critical could be Republican-held districts in McCarthys native California, which Democrats were already targeting and could get even more competitive without the clout that comes with the state having one of its own as speaker.

After this weeks chaotic episode, House Republicans have basically upgraded to a Disney fast-pass in their never-ending roller coaster ride to the radical right, said Viet Shelton, a spokesman for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, the partys House campaign arm.

House members in both parties said that what happens next will depend greatly on whether the former speaker endorses his eventual successor. Thats because aligning the GOPs various fundraising mechanisms to the new speaker will likely go far smoother if McCarthy supports his replacement.

Its going to be a challenge, said Marty Obst, who worked for Trumps 2020 campaign and has raised money with McCarthy in the past. The transition is going to be fairly bumpy.

But other Republicans arent lamenting his departure. McCarthy noted during his valedictory press conference that he got a text message from a former opponent of one of the eight Republicans who voted against him, Rep. Nancy Mace of South Carolina.

I did text him because he did dump $3 million into that run to defeat me, said Katie Arrington, who lost to Mace in a 2022 primary. He wasted money.

Arrington, who was backed by Trump in her challenge to Mace, questioned the notion of the speaker being the House majoritys chief campaigner.

Why is Kevin McCarthy running around recruiting people, giving them money, picking winners and losers out of Washington? Arrington asked. That is the problem with Washington  the elites think that they know better.

(AP)




An accountant who prepared Donald Trumps financial statements was back on the witness stand for a fourth day Thursday in the New York civil fraud trial examining whether the former president exaggerated his wealth.

Trump himself didnt attend the proceedings Thursday, after choosing to be there  and avail himself of the news cameras waiting outside  for the three prior days.

The business fraud trial stems from New York Attorney General Letitia James lawsuit alleging that Trump and his business ginned up financial statements that vastly overvalued Trump Tower, Mar-a-Lago and other assets. Trump denies any wrongdoing and says James, a Democrat, is just trying to damage his 2024 presidential campaign. Hes leading the Republican field.

The witnesses so far have been two accountants who worked on the financial statements, which went to banks, insurers and others.

James legal team is working to show that Trump and his company had complete control over the preparation of the statements, with the accountants relying on information the Trump Organization provided.

The defense has been trying to show that if there were problems with the financial statements, the flubs were accountant Donald Benders fault. Trump lawyers on Thursday continued an exacting cross-examination of Bender, who worked on the statements for years.

Bender insisted that he asked Trump Organization executives for all required documents but didnt always get them. He said he learned about some missing appraisals only when Manhattan prosecutors questioned him during their investigation into Trumps business practices.

Defense lawyer Jesus M. Suarez asked why Bender didnt notice the appraisals absence earlier.

I asked them for appraisals, Bender said. They represented they gave me everything I needed.

After Bender testified that he had a specific memory of asking a Trump lieutenant for all available appraisals, defense lawyer Clifford Robert pointed out that Bender had replied to dozens of other questions by saying he didnt remember.

You dont recall texts, you dont recall emails, you dont recall phone calls, said Robert, who represents Trump sons and company Executive Vice Presidents Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr. Robert suggested the accountant was worried that his testimony could lead to trouble with accounting regulators or law enforcement authorities.

Benders testimony finally wrapped up around noon, with Trump Organization Controller Jeffrey McConney taking the stand next.

The non-jury trial concerns allegations of conspiracy, insurance fraud and falsifying business records. James is seeking $250 million in penalties and a ban on Trump doing business in New York.

Judge Arthur Engoron ruled on some other claims before the trial, finding that Trump did engage in fraud by inflating his assets worth on the statements.

The ruling, which Trump appealed Wednesday, calls for dissolving the limited liability companies that control Trump Tower and some other prominent holdings and having a receiver operate them. Trump would lose his authority over choosing tenants, hiring or firing employees and other key decisions regarding those properties.

In an order Thursday, Engoron ordered both sides to submit names of potential receivers by Oct. 26. He also gave Trump and other defendants seven days to provide a list of all entities covered by the ruling. The list will go to a court-appointed monitor, retired federal Judge Barbara Jones.

Engoron, seeking to prevent an end run around his ruling, told the defendants to give Jones advance notice of any application for new business licenses in any jurisdiction and any attempts to create new entities to hold or acquire the assets of a company thats being dissolved under the ruling.

(AP)
British investors have pulled nearly 2.5billion out of ESG funds in the past five months amid a backlash over woke stock-picking.

A report by funds network Calastone showed outflows from equity funds that meet environmental, social and governance criteria hit 485million in September.

It was the fifth month in a row of withdrawals and took the total in that period to 2.44billion amid signs the boom in woke investing has reversed.

Woke capitalism has come under fire for prioritising social goals over the bread-and-butter work of delivering services and goods to customers and making money for investors.

Companies including BAE Systems, Shell and BP have been shunned at times because they are perceived to not conform to ethical investing guidelines.

Withdrawals: A report by funds network Calastone showed outflows from equity funds that meet 'environmental, social and governance' criteria hit 485m in September

Critics point out that firms such as BAE are instrumental in helping to defend democracy in countries under attack from aggressors  such as the invasion of Ukraine by Russia.

Questions have also been raised about how ESG standards can be measured and the way in which funds have sometimes seemed to rely on the success of US tech firms, which score well because of their low carbon footprints and diversity policies.

ESG investing  a multi-trillion dollar global industry  has been caught up in wider scepticism about woke culture, especially in the US.

But UK investors are also increasingly wary. Figures from Calastone show Britons sold down 304million of ESG funds in May, 369million in June and 330million in July and 953million in August.

Laith Khalaf, head of investment analysis at AJ Bell, said: It feels like the ESG party is running out of steam, with investment flows actually going into reverse.

Part of the explanation is likely to be the cyclical nature of fund flows.

Three years ago ESG was everywhere, fund groups were launching new products and marketing them like crazy, and the saturation point was probably found pretty quickly.

All that money flowing in helped ESG funds perform well, attracting more cash from those who follow fund performance tables.

Dzmitry Lipski, head of fund research at Interactive Investor, one of the UKs largest investment platforms, said the data posed questions about underperforming ESG funds.

He said: We must address the elephant in the room  it is no secret that, in the short-term, sustainable funds have struggled in the recent harsh investment landscape.

The issue of potential greenwashing has made careful research all the more crucial.Energy security and mixed messaging on net-zero commitments may also have impacted confidence.
Pandora said business is booming as customers shrug off cost-of-living woes to splash out on charms and bracelets.

The worlds largest jeweller, whose advertising has featured Jerry Hall and Georgia May Jagger, highlighted strong sales of star-sign charms and lab-grown diamonds.

The Danish firm expects revenues to hit 3.9billion to 4.2billion in 2026, up from around 3.1billion this year. Profits are expected to top 1billion in 2026.

Pandora, which has been advertised by Jerry Hall and Georgia May Jagger (pictured), said it now expects revenues to hit 3.9bn to 4.2bn in 2026

The brand said it has seen strong sales of Zodiac dangle charms, which sell for around 55 each.

Its lab-grown diamonds  regarded as more ethical and sustainable than those from mines  have been doing well.

The range includes a 625 heart necklace and a 1,190 bangle.

Pandora, which has around 230 UK stores, said it was reaping the rewards of investments in its brand and stores.

It is to enter India and expand in other Asian markets.
Landlords are cashing in on sky-high rents as tenants battle to secure homes amid a shortage.

Two listed private landlords said high demand and a lack of new homes mean rents have soared.

And developers are hiking prices. Grainger, the largest listed rental landlord in the UK, is upping rents in one of the strongest occupational markets we have seen.

Rent rises: Two major listed private landlords said high demand and a lack of new homes on the market means rents have soared in the past year

Student landlord Unite, which owns nearly 160 properties in 23 university towns and cities, said there has been record demand.

Latest research showed average rents outside London have hit a new high, up 10 per cent in the past year to 1,278 a month.

In the capital, renters are paying a record 2,627  12.1 per cent more than a year ago.

The number of enquiries for each property is 25, up from eight pre-pandemic. Grainger owns around 10,000 homes.

Occupancy was at record levels of 98.6 per cent, and it aims to finish building 1,600 new homes before the end of 2023, with 6,000 more in the pipeline.
Amazon and Microsoft will be investigated as part of a competition probe into the UKs 7.5billion cloud computing sector.

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) is to look into the industry after a referral from communications regulator Ofcom.

It puts Microsoft back in the crosshairs of the regulator following its battle with the US tech giant over its takeover of Call of Duty video game maker Activision Blizzard.

Cloud computing allows users to store and access data online and is an essential tool for businesses and individuals.

Ofcoms initial probe found customers face charges and technical barriers to switching providers. It singled out Microsoft and Amazon Web Services (AWS) as the two dominant players.

Cloud probe: The Competition and Markets Authority, is led by chief exec Sarah Cardell (pictured)

They have a combined market share of 70 per cent to 80 per cent, and Google is their closest competitor with a share of up to 10 per cent.

Ofcom director Fergal Farragher said: Some UK businesses have told us theyre concerned about it being too difficult to switch or mix and match cloud provider, and its not clear that competition is working well.

The CMA will assess whether there are features in the market that could stifle competition, which reduces choice and can push up prices for consumers.

It can force firms to sell parts of their business to improve competition. Its independent panel will investigate and report their findings by April 2025.

CMA chief executive Sarah Cardell (pictured) said: This is a 7.5billion market that underpins a whole host of online services, from social media to AI foundation models.

Many businesses completely rely on cloud services, making effective competition essential.

Strong competition ens-ures a level playing field so that market power doesnt end up in the hands of a few players  unlocking the full potential of these rapidly evolving digital markets so that people, businesses, and the UK economy can get the maximum benefits.

Ofcom is concerned about fees customers must pay to transfer data out of a cloud, which can discourage consumers from using more than one provider.

It found there are technical barriers to switching as customers must put in extra effort into reconfiguring data and applications to work on different clouds.

The regulators report said discounts can benefit consumers, but also incentivise them to use a single cloud provider.

Amazon said it will work with CMA investigators but disagrees with Ofcoms findings.

They are based on a fundamental misconception of how the IT sector functions, and the services and discounts on offer an AWS spokesman said.

Microsoft said it will co-operate, saying: We are committed to ensuring the UK cloud industry remains innovative, highly competitive and an accelerator for growth across the economy.

This year, the CMA blocked Microsofts 60billion takeover of Activision, only allowing it after Microsoft changed its proposal.
Watsco, Inc. (NYSE:WSO  Free Report)  William Blair issued their Q1 2024 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for Watsco in a report issued on Tuesday, October 3rd. William Blair analyst R. Merkel expects that the construction company will post earnings per share of $3.13 for the quarter. The consensus estimate for Watscos current full-year earnings is $14.05 per share. William Blair also issued estimates for Watscos Q3 2024 earnings at $4.95 EPS and FY2025 earnings at $18.35 EPS.

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Watsco (NYSE:WSO  Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 1st. The construction company reported $4.42 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts consensus estimates of $4.87 by ($0.45). Watsco had a return on equity of 22.94% and a net margin of 8.06%. The company had revenue of $2 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $2.19 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $4.93 EPS. The businesss quarterly revenue was down 6.3% compared to the same quarter last year.

WSO has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Stephens reiterated an overweight rating and set a $450.00 price objective on shares of Watsco in a research report on Monday, August 28th. StockNews.com began coverage on Watsco in a research note on Thursday, August 17th. They set a hold rating for the company. Loop Capital raised their target price on Watsco from $335.00 to $350.00 in a research note on Monday, September 18th. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on Watsco from $375.00 to $380.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Watsco from $326.00 to $337.00 and gave the stock an underweight rating in a research note on Friday, September 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Watsco presently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $366.89.

View Our Latest Stock Report on WSO

Watsco Stock Performance

Shares of Watsco stock opened at $383.40 on Thursday. Watsco has a one year low of $228.61 and a one year high of $386.40. The company has a market cap of $14.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.85, a PEG ratio of 4.76 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a current ratio of 3.02. The businesss 50 day moving average price is $359.41 and its 200 day moving average price is $347.74.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Watsco

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Hamlin Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Watsco by 19.8% in the third quarter. Hamlin Capital Management LLC now owns 279,827 shares of the construction companys stock valued at $105,696,000 after buying an additional 46,268 shares in the last quarter. Intrepid Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Watsco by 4.8% in the second quarter. Intrepid Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,691 shares of the construction companys stock valued at $1,408,000 after buying an additional 170 shares in the last quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Watsco in the second quarter valued at $1,251,000. Alberta Investment Management Corp purchased a new position in Watsco in the second quarter valued at $267,000. Finally, Virginia Retirement Systems ET AL purchased a new stake in Watsco during the 2nd quarter worth about $2,441,000. 89.49% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Watsco Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 17th will be paid a $2.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, October 16th. This represents a $9.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.56%. Watscos payout ratio is presently 66.08%.

About Watsco

(Get Free Report)

Watsco, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the distribution of air conditioning, heating, refrigeration equipment, and related parts and supplies. The company distributes equipment, including residential ducted and ductless air conditioners, such as gas, electric, and oil furnaces; commercial air conditioning and heating equipment systems; and other specialized equipment.

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Potential Resource Mining Corporation Limited (ASX:RMI) shareholders may wish to note that the Executive Chairman, Asimwe Matungwa Kabunga, recently bought AU$506k worth of stock, paying AU$0.051 for each share. Although the purchase only increased their holding by 7.8%, it is still a solid purchase in our view.

View our latest analysis for Resource Mining

The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At Resource Mining

In fact, the recent purchase by Asimwe Matungwa Kabunga was the biggest purchase of Resource Mining shares made by an insider individual in the last twelve months, according to our records. That means that even when the share price was higher than AU$0.045 (the recent price), an insider wanted to purchase shares. It's very possible they regret the purchase, but it's more likely they are bullish about the company. We always take careful note of the price insiders pay when purchasing 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.

While Resource Mining insiders bought shares during the last year, they didn't sell. You can see a visual depiction of insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last 12 months, below. By clicking on the graph below, you can see the precise details of each insider transaction!

Resource Mining 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.

Insider Ownership Of Resource Mining

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. Usually, the higher the insider ownership, the more likely it is that insiders will be incentivised to build the company for the long term. Resource Mining insiders own 50% of the company, currently worth about AU$12m based on the recent share price. Most shareholders would be happy to see this sort of insider ownership, since it suggests that management incentives are well aligned with other shareholders.

Story continues

So What Do The Resource Mining Insider Transactions Indicate?

It is good to see recent purchasing. And the longer term insider transactions also give us confidence. But we don't feel the same about the fact the company is making losses. When combined with notable insider ownership, these factors suggest Resource Mining insiders are well aligned, and quite possibly think the share price is too low. One for the watchlist, at least! 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. Every company has risks, and we've spotted 5 warning signs for Resource Mining (of which 3 are significant!) you should know about.

If you would prefer to check out another company -- one with potentially superior financials -- then do not miss this free list of interesting companies, that have HIGH return on equity and low debt.

For the purposes of this article, insiders are those individuals who report their transactions to the relevant regulatory body. We currently account for open market transactions and private dispositions of direct interests only, but not derivative transactions or indirect interests.

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.
Core Laboratories Inc. (NYSE:CLB  Free Report)  Analysts at Zacks Research decreased their FY2023 earnings per share estimates for Core Laboratories in a research report issued on Tuesday, October 3rd. Zacks Research analyst T. Saha now forecasts that the oil and gas company will post earnings per share of $0.58 for the year, down from their prior forecast of $0.59. The consensus estimate for Core Laboratories current full-year earnings is $0.59 per share.

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Core Laboratories (NYSE:CLB  Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 26th. The oil and gas company reported $0.23 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $0.15 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $127.88 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $132.20 million. Core Laboratories had a return on equity of 16.83% and a net margin of 7.75%.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. TheStreet upgraded Core Laboratories from a c rating to a b- rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 26th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Core Laboratories from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research report on Thursday, August 24th. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of Core Laboratories from $21.00 to $20.00 and set a sell rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, September 18th. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their price objective on shares of Core Laboratories from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research report on Monday, July 31st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and two have issued a hold rating to the companys stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $21.88.

Read Our Latest Research Report on Core Laboratories

Core Laboratories Trading Down 4.7 %

Shares of Core Laboratories stock opened at $22.31 on Thursday. Core Laboratories has a 52-week low of $15.25 and a 52-week high of $27.94. The stocks 50-day simple moving average is $24.68 and its 200 day simple moving average is $23.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.88, a P/E/G ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 2.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 1.71 and a current ratio of 2.45.

Institutional Trading of Core Laboratories

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of CLB. BlackRock Inc. boosted its stake in Core Laboratories by 37.8% in the second quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 7,927,366 shares of the oil and gas companys stock worth $184,311,000 after buying an additional 2,173,250 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its stake in Core Laboratories by 44.4% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,848,741 shares of the oil and gas companys stock worth $42,983,000 after buying an additional 568,196 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Core Laboratories by 167.6% during the first quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 902,625 shares of the oil and gas companys stock valued at $19,903,000 after purchasing an additional 565,344 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Core Laboratories by 108.4% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 893,278 shares of the oil and gas companys stock valued at $20,769,000 after purchasing an additional 464,644 shares during the period. Finally, Ariel Investments LLC boosted its stake in shares of Core Laboratories by 5.1% during the first quarter. Ariel Investments LLC now owns 8,198,544 shares of the oil and gas companys stock valued at $259,320,000 after purchasing an additional 394,237 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.81% of the companys stock.

Core Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 28th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 7th were paid a $0.01 dividend. This represents a $0.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.18%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 4th. Core Laboratoriess dividend payout ratio is currently 4.82%.

Core Laboratories Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

Core Laboratories Inc provides reservoir description and production enhancement services and products to the oil and gas industry in the United States, Canada, and internationally. It operates through Reservoir Description and Production Enhancement segments. The Reservoir Description segment includes the characterization of petroleum reservoir rock, reservoir fluid, and gas samples to enhance production and improve recovery of oil and gas from its clients' reservoirs.

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Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK  Free Report)  Research analysts at Cantor Fitzgerald raised their FY2023 earnings per share estimates for Merck & Co., Inc. in a note issued to investors on Wednesday, October 4th. Cantor Fitzgerald analyst L. Chen now forecasts that the company will post earnings per share of $3.05 for the year, up from their prior estimate of $2.95. Cantor Fitzgerald currently has a Overweight rating and a $135.00 price target on the stock. The consensus estimate for Merck & Co., Inc.s current full-year earnings is $3.03 per share. Cantor Fitzgerald also issued estimates for Merck & Co., Inc.s FY2024 earnings at $8.52 EPS.

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Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK  Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 1st. The company reported ($2.06) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of ($2.18) by $0.12. The business had revenue of $15.04 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.44 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 16.29% and a net margin of 5.34%. Merck & Co., Inc.s quarterly revenue was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.87 earnings per share.

Other research analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Truist Financial increased their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $116.00 to $122.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 2nd. StockNews.com cut Merck & Co., Inc. from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research report on Thursday, August 31st. HSBC assumed coverage on Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Friday, July 14th. They set a hold rating and a $123.00 price target for the company. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $109.00 to $116.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 2nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on Merck & Co., Inc. from $102.00 to $113.00 in a research report on Tuesday, July 18th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the companys stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $124.74.

Check Out Our Latest Stock Analysis on Merck & Co., Inc.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MRK opened at $102.16 on Thursday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $107.17 and a 200 day moving average price of $110.13. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $87.11 and a 52 week high of $119.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.28. The stock has a market capitalization of $259.23 billion, a PE ratio of 83.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.02 and a beta of 0.34.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Merck & Co., Inc.

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 102,675.5% in the 2nd quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 1,860,147,936 shares of the companys stock valued at $214,642,470,000 after purchasing an additional 1,858,338,022 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 1.9% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 118,562,086 shares of the companys stock valued at $13,766,428,000 after purchasing an additional 2,174,829 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 10.6% in the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 68,563,817 shares of the companys stock valued at $7,294,504,000 after purchasing an additional 6,546,946 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 2.9% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 52,723,457 shares of the companys stock valued at $6,068,750,000 after purchasing an additional 1,504,701 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 10.6% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 41,850,081 shares of the companys stock valued at $4,643,267,000 after purchasing an additional 4,000,816 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 74.59% of the companys stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, EVP Steven Mizell sold 4,250 shares of the firms stock in a transaction on Monday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $109.01, for a total transaction of $463,292.50. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 22,935 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,500,144.35. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the companys stock.

Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.73 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 14th. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.86%. Merck & Co., Inc.s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 239.34%.

About Merck & Co., Inc.

(Get Free Report)

Merck & Co, Inc operates as a healthcare company worldwide. It operates through two segments, Pharmaceutical and Animal Health. The Pharmaceutical segment offers human health pharmaceutical products in the areas of oncology, hospital acute care, immunology, neuroscience, virology, cardiovascular, and diabetes, as well as vaccine products, such as preventive pediatric, adolescent, and adult vaccines.

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Expro Group Holdings (NYSE:XPRO  Get Free Report) shares saw strong trading volume on Tuesday . 255,591 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 68% from the previous sessions volume of 786,778 shares.The stock last traded at $22.24 and had previously closed at $22.18.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on XPRO shares. Barclays boosted their price objective on Expro Group from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research report on Thursday, August 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on Expro Group in a research note on Wednesday, September 13th. They issued an overweight rating and a $30.00 price target for the company. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on shares of Expro Group from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research note on Monday, July 31st.

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View Our Latest Research Report on Expro Group

Expro Group Trading Down 6.6 %

The company has a current ratio of 1.95, a quick ratio of 1.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The company has a fifty day moving average of $23.19 and a 200 day moving average of $20.15.

Expro Group (NYSE:XPRO  Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 27th. The company reported $0.13 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts consensus estimates of $0.26 by ($0.13). Expro Group had a positive return on equity of 1.02% and a negative net margin of 0.12%. The firm had revenue of $396.92 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $370.91 million. As a group, analysts anticipate that Expro Group Holdings will post 0.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, major shareholder Hill Advisors Lp Oak sold 3,000,000 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.95, for a total value of $68,850,000.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 14,575,891 shares in the company, valued at approximately $334,516,698.45. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, Director Michael C. Kearney sold 2,600 shares of the companys stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.84, for a total transaction of $61,984.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 43,033 shares of the companys stock, valued at $1,025,906.72. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Hill Advisors Lp Oak sold 3,000,000 shares of Expro Group stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.95, for a total value of $68,850,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 14,575,891 shares in the company, valued at approximately $334,516,698.45. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 3,071,335 shares of company stock worth $70,495,867. Corporate insiders own 1.50% of the companys stock.

Institutional Trading of Expro Group

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. FMR LLC raised its holdings in shares of Expro Group by 77.4% during the first quarter. FMR LLC now owns 16,322,665 shares of the companys stock valued at $299,684,000 after acquiring an additional 7,122,166 shares during the period. Boston Partners acquired a new stake in Expro Group during the 2nd quarter valued at $27,017,000. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Expro Group by 3,981.5% in the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 952,991 shares of the companys stock valued at $17,466,000 after purchasing an additional 929,642 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Expro Group by 135.1% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,358,796 shares of the companys stock worth $24,074,000 after buying an additional 780,810 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in shares of Expro Group by 257.2% during the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 973,524 shares of the companys stock valued at $17,874,000 after buying an additional 700,963 shares in the last quarter. 83.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Expro Group

(Get Free Report)

Expro Group Holdings N.V. engages in the provision of energy services in North and Latin America, Europe and Sub-Saharan Africa, the Middle East and North Africa, and the Asia-Pacific. The company provides well construction services, such as technology solutions in drilling, tubular running services, and cementing and tubulars; and well management services, including well flow management, subsea well access, and well intervention and integrity services.

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Vantage Investment Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of The Charles Schwab Co. (NYSE:SCHW  Free Report) by 21.1% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 233,358 shares of the financial services providers stock after purchasing an additional 40,717 shares during the period. Charles Schwab accounts for about 1.7% of Vantage Investment Partners LLCs holdings, making the stock its 17th biggest holding. Vantage Investment Partners LLCs holdings in Charles Schwab were worth $13,227,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. NBT Bank N A NY boosted its position in Charles Schwab by 5.5% during the 2nd quarter. NBT Bank N A NY now owns 7,681 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $435,000 after purchasing an additional 397 shares during the period. Accurate Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Charles Schwab in the 2nd quarter valued at about $251,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Charles Schwab by 185.7% in the 2nd quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 12,926 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $733,000 after buying an additional 8,401 shares during the last quarter. Achmea Investment Management B.V. boosted its position in Charles Schwab by 107.9% in the 2nd quarter. Achmea Investment Management B.V. now owns 53,834 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $3,052,000 after buying an additional 27,939 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allen Capital Group LLC boosted its position in Charles Schwab by 5.0% in the 2nd quarter. Allen Capital Group LLC now owns 73,919 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $4,190,000 after buying an additional 3,517 shares during the last quarter. 81.61% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Charles Schwab Price Performance

SCHW opened at $50.98 on Thursday. The Charles Schwab Co. has a fifty-two week low of $45.00 and a fifty-two week high of $86.63. The company has a quick ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. The firm has a market cap of $90.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.93. The companys 50-day moving average price is $59.62 and its 200 day moving average price is $56.18.

Charles Schwab Announces Dividend

Charles Schwab ( NYSE:SCHW Get Free Report ) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 18th. The financial services provider reported $0.75 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.71 by $0.04. Charles Schwab had a net margin of 33.15% and a return on equity of 27.54%. The firm had revenue of $4.66 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $4.61 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.97 EPS. Charles Schwabs quarterly revenue was down 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that The Charles Schwab Co. will post 3.24 earnings per share for the current year.

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 25th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 11th were given a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.96%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 10th. Charles Schwabs dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.15%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SCHW has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. JMP Securities reissued a market outperform rating and issued a $77.00 price objective on shares of Charles Schwab in a research report on Thursday, September 21st. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Charles Schwab from $46.00 to $53.00 in a research report on Thursday, June 15th. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Charles Schwab from $65.00 to $75.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 19th. Wolfe Research cut their target price on shares of Charles Schwab from $62.00 to $60.00 in a research note on Monday, June 26th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Charles Schwab from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note on Monday, September 25th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $72.28.

View Our Latest Report on Charles Schwab

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Charles Schwab news, Chairman Charles R. Schwab sold 72,047 shares of the companys stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.66, for a total value of $4,802,653.02. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 59,748,538 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,982,837,543.08. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, CFO Peter B. Crawford sold 3,792 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.31, for a total value of $217,319.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 44,725 shares in the company, valued at $2,563,189.75. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Charles R. Schwab sold 72,047 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.66, for a total transaction of $4,802,653.02. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 59,748,538 shares of the companys stock, valued at $3,982,837,543.08. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 159,599 shares of company stock worth $10,542,469. Insiders own 6.60% of the companys stock.

About Charles Schwab

(Free Report)

The Charles Schwab Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a savings and loan holding company that provides wealth management, securities brokerage, banking, asset management, custody, and financial advisory services. The company operates in two segments, Investor Services and Advisor Services.

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Vantage Investment Partners LLC lowered its holdings in Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. (NYSE:CMG  Free Report) by 3.1% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 10,424 shares of the restaurant operators stock after selling 339 shares during the quarter. Chipotle Mexican Grill comprises approximately 2.9% of Vantage Investment Partners LLCs holdings, making the stock its 12th biggest holding. Vantage Investment Partners LLCs holdings in Chipotle Mexican Grill were worth $22,297,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Cerity Partners LLC increased its position in Chipotle Mexican Grill by 5.0% during the 1st quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 2,910 shares of the restaurant operators stock worth $13,299,000 after purchasing an additional 138 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its position in Chipotle Mexican Grill by 3.9% during the 1st quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 3,311 shares of the restaurant operators stock worth $5,656,000 after purchasing an additional 124 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. increased its position in Chipotle Mexican Grill by 2.8% during the 1st quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 439 shares of the restaurant operators stock worth $750,000 after purchasing an additional 12 shares in the last quarter. Czech National Bank increased its position in Chipotle Mexican Grill by 0.3% during the 1st quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 3,254 shares of the restaurant operators stock worth $5,559,000 after purchasing an additional 9 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Simplicity Solutions LLC increased its position in Chipotle Mexican Grill by 55.3% during the 1st quarter. Simplicity Solutions LLC now owns 733 shares of the restaurant operators stock worth $1,252,000 after purchasing an additional 261 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 91.19% of the companys stock.

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Analyst Ratings Changes

CMG has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Oppenheimer lowered their price objective on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill from $2,300.00 to $2,225.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Truist Financial upped their price target on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill from $2,230.00 to $2,280.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 20th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill from $1,950.00 to $1,925.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 27th. Stephens restated an overweight rating and issued a $2,400.00 price target on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill in a research report on Thursday, July 27th. Finally, Guggenheim upped their price target on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill from $1,550.00 to $1,950.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research report on Friday, July 14th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the companys stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $2,151.00.

Chipotle Mexican Grill Price Performance

Shares of NYSE CMG opened at $1,854.38 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $51.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.40, a P/E/G ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $1,894.26 and a 200-day moving average price of $1,939.36. Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. has a 1 year low of $1,344.05 and a 1 year high of $2,175.01.

Chipotle Mexican Grill (NYSE:CMG  Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 26th. The restaurant operator reported $12.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $12.25 by $0.40. Chipotle Mexican Grill had a net margin of 12.00% and a return on equity of 45.85%. The firm had revenue of $2.51 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $2.53 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $9.30 earnings per share. The businesss revenue was up 13.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. will post 43.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Chipotle Mexican Grill

In related news, CEO Brian R. Niccol sold 1,044 shares of the firms stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,830.95, for a total transaction of $1,911,511.80. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 23,347 shares of the companys stock, valued at $42,747,189.65. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Brian R. Niccol sold 1,063 shares of the firms stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,949.84, for a total transaction of $2,072,679.92. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 23,347 shares of the companys stock, valued at $45,522,914.48. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Brian R. Niccol sold 1,044 shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,830.95, for a total transaction of $1,911,511.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 23,347 shares in the company, valued at approximately $42,747,189.65. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 3,165 shares of company stock valued at $6,024,185 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.96% of the companys stock.

Chipotle Mexican Grill Profile

(Free Report)

Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, owns and operates Chipotle Mexican Grill restaurants. It offers burritos, burrito bowls, quesadillas, tacos, and salads. The company was founded in 1993 and is headquartered in Newport Beach, California.

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Annex Advisory Services LLC lessened its stake in shares of U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB  Free Report) by 12.9% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 18,005 shares of the financial services providers stock after selling 2,669 shares during the period. Annex Advisory Services LLCs holdings in U.S. Bancorp were worth $595,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Core Alternative Capital lifted its position in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 85.7% during the 1st quarter. Core Alternative Capital now owns 741 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 342 shares during the last quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 46.9% during the 4th quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 673 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 215 shares during the last quarter. Thompson Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of U.S. Bancorp during the 1st quarter valued at $29,000. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of U.S. Bancorp during the 1st quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 82.0% in the second quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 899 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 405 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.40% of the companys stock.

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Insiders Place Their Bets

In other U.S. Bancorp news, CFO Terrance R. Dolan sold 26,000 shares of the firms stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.75, for a total transaction of $1,033,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 166,992 shares in the company, valued at $6,637,932. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other U.S. Bancorp news, CFO Terrance R. Dolan sold 26,000 shares of the firms stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.75, for a total transaction of $1,033,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 166,992 shares in the company, valued at $6,637,932. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Timothy A. Welsh sold 13,816 shares of U.S. Bancorp stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.79, for a total transaction of $549,738.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 119,058 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $4,737,317.82. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the companys stock.

U.S. Bancorp Stock Down 0.3 %

NYSE USB opened at $31.24 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.80. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $36.28 and a 200 day simple moving average of $34.40. U.S. Bancorp has a twelve month low of $27.27 and a twelve month high of $49.95. The stock has a market cap of $47.89 billion, a PE ratio of 8.65, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.99.

U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB  Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 19th. The financial services provider reported $1.12 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.13 by ($0.01). U.S. Bancorp had a net margin of 16.59% and a return on equity of 16.53%. The company had revenue of $7.17 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.17 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.09 EPS. The firms quarterly revenue was up 19.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that U.S. Bancorp will post 4.41 EPS for the current year.

U.S. Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 29th will be paid a dividend of $0.48 per share. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.15%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 28th. U.S. Bancorps dividend payout ratio is 53.19%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

USB has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Piper Sandler reduced their target price on U.S. Bancorp from $41.00 to $40.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a report on Friday, September 15th. Citigroup reduced their target price on U.S. Bancorp from $40.00 to $37.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a report on Friday, September 22nd. Credit Suisse Group restated a neutral rating and issued a $44.00 target price on shares of U.S. Bancorp in a report on Thursday, July 20th. StockNews.com initiated coverage on U.S. Bancorp in a report on Thursday, August 17th. They issued a sell rating for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on U.S. Bancorp from $45.00 to $44.00 and set an equal weight rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $46.43.

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U.S. Bancorp Company Profile

(Free Report)

U.S. Bancorp, a financial services holding company, provides various financial services to individuals, businesses, institutional organizations, governmental entities and other financial institutions in the United States. It operates in Corporate and Commercial Banking, Consumer and Business Banking, Wealth Management and Investment Services, Payment Services, and Treasury and Corporate Support segments.

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Annex Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE:ITW  Free Report) by 6.4% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,118 shares of the industrial products companys stock after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the period. Annex Advisory Services LLCs holdings in Illinois Tool Works were worth $280,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Achmea Investment Management B.V. increased its holdings in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 112.5% in the 2nd quarter. Achmea Investment Management B.V. now owns 26,479 shares of the industrial products companys stock valued at $6,623,000 after acquiring an additional 14,019 shares during the last quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich increased its holdings in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 3.3% in the 2nd quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 72,135 shares of the industrial products companys stock valued at $18,045,000 after acquiring an additional 2,301 shares during the last quarter. Guinness Atkinson Asset Management Inc increased its holdings in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 17.3% in the 2nd quarter. Guinness Atkinson Asset Management Inc now owns 3,204 shares of the industrial products companys stock valued at $802,000 after acquiring an additional 472 shares during the last quarter. Guinness Asset Management LTD increased its holdings in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 8.8% in the 2nd quarter. Guinness Asset Management LTD now owns 578,925 shares of the industrial products companys stock valued at $144,817,000 after acquiring an additional 46,918 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of Illinois Tool Works by 7.9% in the 2nd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 22,019 shares of the industrial products companys stock valued at $5,508,000 after acquiring an additional 1,615 shares during the last quarter. 79.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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Illinois Tool Works Trading Up 0.7 %

NYSE:ITW opened at $232.10 on Thursday. Illinois Tool Works Inc. has a 1 year low of $180.46 and a 1 year high of $264.19. The stock has a market cap of $70.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.96, a PEG ratio of 4.37 and a beta of 1.15. The business has a fifty day moving average of $240.82 and a 200-day moving average of $238.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.25, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.59.

Illinois Tool Works Increases Dividend

Illinois Tool Works ( NYSE:ITW Get Free Report ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 1st. The industrial products company reported $2.41 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.39 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $4.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.14 billion. Illinois Tool Works had a return on equity of 94.14% and a net margin of 19.30%. The companys revenue was up 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.37 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Illinois Tool Works Inc. will post 9.74 earnings per share for the current year.

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 29th will be issued a $1.40 dividend. This is a positive change from Illinois Tool Workss previous quarterly dividend of $1.31. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 28th. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.41%. Illinois Tool Workss dividend payout ratio is 55.39%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently commented on ITW. Barclays lowered their price objective on Illinois Tool Works from $213.00 to $198.00 in a research note on Thursday, September 7th. StockNews.com downgraded Illinois Tool Works from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note on Friday, August 25th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Illinois Tool Works from $235.00 to $240.00 in a research note on Monday, July 10th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Illinois Tool Works from $230.00 to $232.00 and gave the stock an underweight rating in a research note on Thursday, August 3rd. Finally, Credit Suisse Group upped their price objective on Illinois Tool Works from $281.00 to $292.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 2nd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $237.18.

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About Illinois Tool Works

(Free Report)

Illinois Tool Works Inc manufactures and sells industrial products and equipment worldwide. It operates through seven segments: Automotive OEM; Food Equipment; Test & Measurement and Electronics; Welding; Polymers & Fluids; Construction Products; and Specialty Products. The Automotive OEM segment offers plastic and metal components, fasteners, and assemblies for automobiles, light trucks, and other industrial uses.

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Accurate Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in The Boeing Company (NYSE:BA  Free Report) by 5.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,419 shares of the aircraft producers stock after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the quarter. Accurate Wealth Management LLCs holdings in Boeing were worth $302,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in BA. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Boeing by 109,667.8% in the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 16,055,730 shares of the aircraft producers stock worth $3,058,456,000 after purchasing an additional 16,041,103 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Boeing by 734.7% in the 1st quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 4,359,740 shares of the aircraft producers stock worth $926,140,000 after purchasing an additional 3,837,422 shares in the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. raised its holdings in Boeing by 8.1% in the 1st quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 35,950,526 shares of the aircraft producers stock worth $7,636,970,000 after purchasing an additional 2,682,272 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its holdings in Boeing by 1,071.3% in the 1st quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 2,592,100 shares of the aircraft producers stock worth $550,640,000 after purchasing an additional 2,370,800 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich raised its holdings in Boeing by 175,431.2% in the 2nd quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 2,141,481 shares of the aircraft producers stock worth $452,195,000 after purchasing an additional 2,140,261 shares in the last quarter. 61.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BA has been the subject of several research reports. TheStreet upgraded shares of Boeing from a d+ rating to a c- rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 15th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on shares of Boeing from $250.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Monday, July 31st. TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of Boeing from $255.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research note on Monday, August 28th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on shares of Boeing in a research note on Wednesday, September 27th. They issued a hold rating and a $204.00 price target for the company. Finally, SpectralCast reiterated a reiterates rating on shares of Boeing in a research note on Wednesday, June 21st. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the companys stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Boeing currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $240.06.

Boeing Stock Down 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE BA opened at $186.75 on Thursday. The Boeing Company has a 52-week low of $124.17 and a 52-week high of $243.10. The firms 50-day moving average price is $218.46 and its 200-day moving average price is $212.13.

Boeing (NYSE:BA  Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 26th. The aircraft producer reported ($0.82) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.99) by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $19.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $18.59 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.37) EPS. Boeings revenue for the quarter was up 18.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that The Boeing Company will post -3.62 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Boeing

In other news, Director Steven M. Mollenkopf purchased 850 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, July 31st. The shares were acquired at an average price of $237.00 per share, with a total value of $201,450.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 3,767 shares of the companys stock, valued at $892,779. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Theodore Colbert III sold 8,500 shares of Boeing stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $238.37, for a total transaction of $2,026,145.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 59,255 shares in the company, valued at $14,124,614.35. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Steven M. Mollenkopf acquired 850 shares of Boeing stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 31st. The shares were bought at an average price of $237.00 per share, for a total transaction of $201,450.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 3,767 shares of the companys stock, valued at $892,779. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.15% of the companys stock.

About Boeing

(Free Report)

The Boeing Company, together with its subsidiaries, designs, develops, manufactures, sells, services, and supports commercial jetliners, military aircraft, satellites, missile defense, human space flight and launch systems, and services worldwide. The company operates through four segments: Commercial Airplanes; Defense, Space & Security; Global Services; and Boeing Capital.

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NBT Bank N A NY cut its holdings in Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY  Free Report) by 4.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,481 shares of the companys stock after selling 315 shares during the quarter. NBT Bank N A NYs holdings in Eli Lilly and Company were worth $3,508,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in LLY. Guyasuta Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 4.6% in the second quarter. Guyasuta Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 3,024 shares of the companys stock worth $1,418,000 after buying an additional 132 shares during the last quarter. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. boosted its stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 4.8% during the 1st quarter. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. now owns 82,966 shares of the companys stock worth $28,449,000 after acquiring an additional 3,768 shares during the last quarter. Martin Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company during the 2nd quarter valued at $234,000. HF Advisory Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 4.9% in the 2nd quarter. HF Advisory Group LLC now owns 3,629 shares of the companys stock worth $1,702,000 after purchasing an additional 170 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Thrive Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Eli Lilly and Company by 103.7% in the 2nd quarter. Thrive Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,522 shares of the companys stock worth $714,000 after purchasing an additional 775 shares during the period. 81.38% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Insider Transactions at Eli Lilly and Company

In other Eli Lilly and Company news, EVP Alonzo Weems sold 1,148 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $590.98, for a total value of $678,445.04. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 7,760 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $4,586,004.80. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other Eli Lilly and Company news, EVP Alonzo Weems sold 1,148 shares of Eli Lilly and Company stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $590.98, for a total transaction of $678,445.04. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 7,760 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $4,586,004.80. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Lilly Endowment Inc sold 210,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $571.41, for a total value of $119,996,100.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 99,983,810 shares in the company, valued at approximately $57,131,748,872.10. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 693,246 shares of company stock worth $20,948,820,977. Insiders own 0.13% of the companys stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have commented on LLY shares. Truist Financial upped their price target on Eli Lilly and Company from $525.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 9th. StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a research note on Thursday, August 17th. They set a buy rating on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $510.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 9th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $500.00 to $590.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 9th. Finally, Berenberg Bank upped their target price on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $375.00 to $500.00 in a report on Tuesday, June 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and twenty have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Eli Lilly and Company currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $532.78.

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Eli Lilly and Company Trading Up 0.0 %

LLY opened at $531.60 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $504.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 73.83, a P/E/G ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.33. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.63. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $538.12 and a 200 day moving average of $459.26. Eli Lilly and Company has a 12 month low of $309.20 and a 12 month high of $601.84.

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY  Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 8th. The company reported $2.11 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.98 by $0.13. Eli Lilly and Company had a net margin of 22.01% and a return on equity of 65.00%. The company had revenue of $8.31 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.58 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.25 EPS. The firms revenue was up 28.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Eli Lilly and Company will post 9.84 EPS for the current year.

Eli Lilly and Company Profile

(Free Report)

Eli Lilly and Company discovers, develops, and markets human pharmaceuticals worldwide. It offers Basaglar, Humalog, Humalog Mix 75/25, Humalog U-100, Humalog U-200, Humalog Mix 50/50, insulin lispro, insulin lispro protamine, insulin lispro mix 75/25, Humulin, Humulin 70/30, Humulin N, Humulin R, and Humulin U-500 for diabetes; and Jardiance, Trajenta, and Trulicity for type 2 diabetes.

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Venturi Wealth Management LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Danaher Co. (NYSE:DHR  Free Report) by 12.1% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,272 shares of the conglomerates stock after selling 450 shares during the quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLCs holdings in Danaher were worth $785,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Fairfield Bush & CO. grew its stake in shares of Danaher by 10.9% during the first quarter. Fairfield Bush & CO. now owns 4,840 shares of the conglomerates stock worth $1,420,000 after buying an additional 475 shares during the last quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. increased its holdings in Danaher by 19.3% in the 1st quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. now owns 2,468 shares of the conglomerates stock worth $724,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd raised its position in Danaher by 76.8% in the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 495 shares of the conglomerates stock valued at $145,000 after purchasing an additional 215 shares during the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Danaher by 14.1% during the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 31,530 shares of the conglomerates stock valued at $9,248,000 after purchasing an additional 3,897 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bridgewater Associates LP grew its holdings in shares of Danaher by 135.9% during the first quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP now owns 35,270 shares of the conglomerates stock worth $10,346,000 after purchasing an additional 20,320 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.71% of the companys stock.

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Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Jose-Carlos Gutierrez-Ramos sold 590 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.54, for a total value of $147,818.60. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 6,939 shares of the companys stock, valued at $1,738,497.06. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Danaher news, EVP Joakim Weidemanis sold 22,439 shares of the companys stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $263.42, for a total value of $5,910,881.38. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 88,689 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,362,456.38. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Jose-Carlos Gutierrez-Ramos sold 590 shares of Danaher stock in a transaction on Monday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.54, for a total value of $147,818.60. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 6,939 shares in the company, valued at $1,738,497.06. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 47,922 shares of company stock worth $12,552,233 in the last quarter. Insiders own 11.10% of the companys stock.

Danaher Stock Performance

Shares of Danaher stock opened at $216.03 on Thursday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $252.57 and a 200 day simple moving average of $244.78. Danaher Co. has a one year low of $208.96 and a one year high of $283.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 2.08 and a quick ratio of 1.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $159.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.36, a PEG ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 0.81.

Danaher (NYSE:DHR  Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 25th. The conglomerate reported $2.05 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $2.01 by $0.04. Danaher had a return on equity of 15.03% and a net margin of 20.95%. The company had revenue of $7.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.12 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.76 earnings per share. Danahers revenue for the quarter was down 7.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Danaher Co. will post 8.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Danaher Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 12th will be given a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 11th. Danahers payout ratio is presently 12.68%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

DHR has been the topic of a number of research reports. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Danaher from $260.00 to $292.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 26th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on shares of Danaher from $250.00 to $240.00 and set a hold rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 26th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Danaher from $285.00 to $247.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. StockNews.com assumed coverage on Danaher in a report on Thursday, September 28th. They set a hold rating on the stock. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on Danaher from $260.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 25th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the companys stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $287.93.

Read Our Latest Research Report on Danaher

About Danaher

(Free Report)

Danaher Corporation designs, manufactures, and markets professional, medical, industrial, and commercial products and services worldwide. The Biotechnology segments offers bioprocess technologies, consumables, and services; lab filtration, separation, and purification; lab-scale protein purification and analytical tools; reagents, membranes and services; and healthcare filtration solutions.

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Long-established in the Software industry, Fastly Inc (NYSE:FSLY) has enjoyed a stellar reputation. However, it has recently witnessed a daily loss of 10.03%, juxtaposed with a three-month change of 5.26%. Fresh insights from the GF Score hint at potential headwinds. Notably, its diminished rankings in financial strength, growth, and valuation suggest that the company might not live up to its historical performance. Join us as we dive deep into these pivotal metrics to unravel the evolving narrative of Fastly Inc.

Fastly Inc (FSLY): A Deep Dive into Its Performance Potential

Understanding the GF Score

The GF Score is a stock performance ranking system developed by GuruFocus using five aspects of valuation, which has been found to be closely correlated to the long-term performances of stocks by backtesting from 2006 to 2021. The stocks with a higher GF Score generally generate higher returns than those with a lower GF Score. Therefore, when picking stocks, investors should invest in companies with high GF Scores. The GF Score ranges from 0 to 100, with 100 as the highest rank.

Based on the above method, GuruFocus assigned Fastly Inc the GF Score of 69 out of 100, which signals poor future outperformance potential.

Fastly Inc: A Snapshot of Its Business

Fastly Inc operates a content delivery network, which is necessary for entities to provide faster and more reliable online content. Fastly's strategy differs from traditional CDNs, which focus on locating servers in as many locations as possible to store copies of files that consumers most use. Fastly is in far fewer sites than traditional CDNs, but it houses servers in the most network-dense data centers. Instead of simply storing static content, it allows its customers to program on its platform, enabling edge computing and better service of the more dynamic content that was traditionally not well served by CDNs. Fastly gears its service to the largest, most sophisticated enterprises rather than small companies and generated nearly three quarters of its revenue in the United States in 2022.

Story continues

Fastly Inc (FSLY): A Deep Dive into Its Performance Potential

Financial Strength Analysis

Fastly Inc's financial strength indicators present some concerning insights about the company's balance sheet health. Fastly Inc has an interest coverage ratio of 0, which positions it worse than 0% of 1580 companies in the Software industry. This ratio highlights potential challenges the company might face when handling its interest expenses on outstanding debt. It's worth noting that the esteemed investor Benjamin Graham typically favored companies with an interest coverage ratio of at least five.

The company's Altman Z-Scoreis just 1.71, which is below the distress zone of 1.81. This suggests that the company may face financial distress over the next few years. Additionally, the company's low cash-to-debt ratio at 0.69 indicates a struggle in handling existing debt levels.

Profitability Analysis

Fastly Inc's low Profitability rank can also raise warning signals. Fastly Inc's Operating Margin has declined over the past five years ((-367,391.00%)), as shown by the following data: 2018: -20.16; 2019: -23.22; 2020: -36.86; 2021: -61.81; 2022: -56.90; .

Additionally, Fastly Inc's Gross Margin has also declined over the past five years, as evidenced by the data: 2018: 54.69; 2019: 55.94; 2020: 58.74; 2021: 52.87; 2022: 48.48; . This trend underscores the company's struggles to convert its revenue into profits.

Conclusion

Given Fastly Inc's financial strength, profitability, and growth metrics, the GF Score highlights the firm's unparalleled position for potential underperformance. While the company has a strong reputation in the software industry, its recent performance and financial indicators suggest that it may face significant challenges in the future. Investors should consider these factors when making investment decisions.

GuruFocus Premium members can find more companies with strong GF Scores using the following screener link: GF Score Screen

This article first appeared on GuruFocus.


Newport Capital Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Unum Group (NYSE:UNM  Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund bought 8,788 shares of the financial services providers stock, valued at approximately $419,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in UNM. ExodusPoint Capital Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Unum Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,908,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its stake in Unum Group by 271.0% in the 1st quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 28,110 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $1,112,000 after purchasing an additional 20,534 shares during the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System lifted its holdings in Unum Group by 2.1% in the 1st quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 57,644 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $2,280,000 after purchasing an additional 1,209 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its holdings in shares of Unum Group by 122.4% during the second quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,174,537 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $55,920,000 after buying an additional 646,428 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC raised its position in shares of Unum Group by 4.4% in the second quarter. Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC now owns 5,607 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $267,000 after buying an additional 234 shares during the last quarter. 79.37% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Unum Group Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of UNM stock traded down $0.19 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $47.94. The companys stock had a trading volume of 172,436 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,346,265. The companys 50 day simple moving average is $49.06 and its 200-day simple moving average is $45.77. The company has a quick ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. Unum Group has a 12-month low of $36.27 and a 12-month high of $51.15. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.38 billion, a PE ratio of 6.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 1.08.

Unum Group Increases Dividend

Unum Group ( NYSE:UNM Get Free Report ) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 1st. The financial services provider reported $2.06 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $1.87 by $0.19. Unum Group had a return on equity of 15.10% and a net margin of 11.90%. The company had revenue of $3.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $3.07 billion. On average, research analysts predict that Unum Group will post 7.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 28th were issued a $0.365 dividend. This represents a $1.46 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.05%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 27th. This is a boost from Unum Groups previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. Unum Groups dividend payout ratio is currently 20.25%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have weighed in on UNM. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Unum Group from $52.00 to $54.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a report on Friday, August 18th. StockNews.com assumed coverage on Unum Group in a research report on Thursday, August 17th. They set a buy rating on the stock. Truist Financial raised their price target on Unum Group from $54.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Friday, August 4th. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Unum Group from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Wednesday, August 9th. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on shares of Unum Group from $46.00 to $52.00 in a research note on Tuesday, July 11th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $53.78.

Check Out Our Latest Stock Analysis on UNM

Insider Buying and Selling at Unum Group

In other news, EVP Christopher W. Pyne sold 3,750 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.02, for a total transaction of $183,825.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 46,334 shares of the companys stock, valued at $2,271,292.68. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other Unum Group news, EVP Timothy Gerald Arnold sold 20,000 shares of the firms stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total transaction of $1,000,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 72,061 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,603,050. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Christopher W. Pyne sold 3,750 shares of the companys stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.02, for a total value of $183,825.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 46,334 shares in the company, valued at $2,271,292.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.94% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Unum Group Profile

(Free Report)

Unum Group, together with its subsidiaries, provides financial protection benefit solutions primarily in the United States, the United Kingdom, Poland, and internationally. It operates through Unum US, Unum International, Colonial Life, and Closed Block and Corporate segments. The company offers group long-term and short-term disability, group life, and accidental death and dismemberment products; supplemental and voluntary products, such as individual disability, voluntary benefits, and dental and vision products; and accident, sickness, disability, life, and cancer and critical illness products.

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Comgest Global Investors S.A.S. grew its position in shares of Tyler Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:TYL  Free Report) by 19.9% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 15,248 shares of the technology companys stock after purchasing an additional 2,536 shares during the period. Comgest Global Investors S.A.S.s holdings in Tyler Technologies were worth $6,350,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Tyler Technologies by 307.6% during the first quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 18,937 shares of the technology companys stock valued at $6,716,000 after purchasing an additional 14,291 shares during the period. Hengehold Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Tyler Technologies during the second quarter valued at approximately $214,000. OLD National Bancorp IN purchased a new stake in shares of Tyler Technologies during the first quarter valued at approximately $260,000. Centaurus Financial Inc. increased its stake in shares of Tyler Technologies by 44.6% in the first quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. now owns 18,467 shares of the technology companys stock worth $6,549,000 after buying an additional 5,694 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Crescent Grove Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Tyler Technologies in the second quarter worth $225,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.28% of the companys stock.

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Tyler Technologies Price Performance

TYL stock traded down $2.93 during trading on Thursday, hitting $381.65. The company had a trading volume of 12,064 shares, compared to its average volume of 246,441. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 99.37 and a beta of 0.81. The business has a 50 day moving average of $385.53 and a 200 day moving average of $384.89. Tyler Technologies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $281.11 and a fifty-two week high of $426.83. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Tyler Technologies ( NYSE:TYL Get Free Report ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 26th. The technology company reported $1.53 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.36 by $0.17. Tyler Technologies had a net margin of 8.64% and a return on equity of 8.94%. The firm had revenue of $504.28 million for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $490.65 million. As a group, research analysts predict that Tyler Technologies, Inc. will post 5.67 earnings per share for the current year.

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on TYL. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of Tyler Technologies from $470.00 to $475.00 in a research note on Friday, July 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on shares of Tyler Technologies in a research note on Wednesday, June 21st. They issued an overweight rating and a $472.00 price target for the company. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Tyler Technologies in a research note on Thursday, August 17th. They set a hold rating for the company. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a buy rating and set a $475.00 target price on shares of Tyler Technologies in a research note on Thursday, July 27th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Tyler Technologies from $400.00 to $425.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a report on Friday, July 14th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Tyler Technologies has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $440.29.

View Our Latest Stock Report on Tyler Technologies

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Tyler Technologies news, Director Dustin R. Womble sold 2,111 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $396.87, for a total value of $837,792.57. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 12,805 shares in the company, valued at $5,081,920.35. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Tyler Technologies news, Director Glenn A. Carter sold 500 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $379.32, for a total transaction of $189,660.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 2,011 shares in the company, valued at approximately $762,812.52. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Dustin R. Womble sold 2,111 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $396.87, for a total value of $837,792.57. Following the sale, the director now owns 12,805 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,081,920.35. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 7,611 shares of company stock worth $3,010,403. 2.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

About Tyler Technologies

(Free Report)

Tyler Technologies, Inc provides integrated information management solutions and services for the public sector. It operates in two segments, Enterprise Software, and Platform Technologies. The company offers financial management solutions, including modular fund accounting systems for government agencies or not-for-profit entities; utility billing systems for the billing and collection of metered and non-metered services; products to automate city and county functions, such as municipal courts, parking tickets, equipment and project costing, animal and business licenses, permits and inspections, code enforcement, citizen complaint tracking, ambulance billing, fleet maintenance, and cemetery records management; student information and transportation solutions for K-12 schools; and financial management systems.

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Sweet Financial Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO  Free Report) by 46.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 26,242 shares of the companys stock after buying an additional 8,265 shares during the quarter. Sweet Financial Partners LLCs holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $1,580,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Pacific Wealth Strategies Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 12.8% in the first quarter. Pacific Wealth Strategies Group Inc. now owns 15,800 shares of the companys stock valued at $980,000 after purchasing an additional 1,788 shares during the last quarter. KMG Fiduciary Partners LLC lifted its stake in Coca-Cola by 10.6% in the 2nd quarter. KMG Fiduciary Partners LLC now owns 160,172 shares of the companys stock valued at $9,646,000 after buying an additional 15,389 shares in the last quarter. Arabesque Asset Management Ltd lifted its stake in Coca-Cola by 104.1% in the 4th quarter. Arabesque Asset Management Ltd now owns 73,354 shares of the companys stock valued at $4,666,000 after buying an additional 37,412 shares in the last quarter. Avion Wealth grew its holdings in Coca-Cola by 73.9% during the 2nd quarter. Avion Wealth now owns 781 shares of the companys stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 332 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Level Four Advisory Services LLC increased its position in Coca-Cola by 0.7% during the second quarter. Level Four Advisory Services LLC now owns 72,842 shares of the companys stock worth $4,387,000 after buying an additional 523 shares in the last quarter. 68.96% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Coca-Cola Trading Down 1.9 %

Coca-Cola stock traded down $1.03 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $54.01. The stock had a trading volume of 3,027,825 shares, compared to its average volume of 13,097,302. The stocks 50-day simple moving average is $59.32 and its 200 day simple moving average is $60.95. The Coca-Cola Company has a twelve month low of $54.00 and a twelve month high of $64.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 1.14. The stock has a market capitalization of $233.56 billion, a PE ratio of 22.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.22 and a beta of 0.56.

Coca-Cola Dividend Announcement

Coca-Cola ( NYSE:KO Get Free Report ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 26th. The company reported $0.78 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.72 by $0.06. Coca-Cola had a return on equity of 43.06% and a net margin of 23.81%. The business had revenue of $12 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.74 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.70 EPS. The companys revenue was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.63 EPS for the current year.

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, October 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 15th were paid a $0.46 dividend. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.41%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, September 14th. Coca-Colas dividend payout ratio is presently 75.72%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

KO has been the topic of several recent research reports. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on Coca-Cola from $69.00 to $70.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 27th. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Coca-Cola in a report on Thursday, August 17th. They issued a buy rating on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Coca-Cola from $67.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Thursday, July 27th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $69.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research note on Friday, July 28th. Finally, HSBC decreased their target price on shares of Coca-Cola from $77.00 to $74.00 in a research report on Wednesday, June 7th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the companys stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $68.33.

Get Our Latest Analysis on KO

Insider Activity at Coca-Cola

In related news, SVP Beatriz R. Perez sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.66, for a total value of $3,133,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 143,383 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,984,378.78. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, SVP Monica Howard Douglas sold 21,074 shares of the companys stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.90, for a total value of $1,283,406.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 18,360 shares in the company, valued at $1,118,124. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Beatriz R. Perez sold 50,000 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.66, for a total transaction of $3,133,000.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 143,383 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,984,378.78. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 319,393 shares of company stock worth $19,467,980. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Coca-Cola Company Profile

(Free Report)

The Coca-Cola Company, a beverage company, manufactures, markets, and sells various nonalcoholic beverages worldwide. The company provides sparkling soft drinks, sparkling flavors; water, sports, coffee, and tea; juice, value-added dairy, and plant-based beverages; and other beverages. It also offers beverage concentrates and syrups, as well as fountain syrups to fountain retailers, such as restaurants and convenience stores.

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Breakwater Capital Group boosted its position in shares of iShares Russell 1000 Growth ETF (NYSEARCA:IWF  Free Report) by 14.4% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 23,571 shares of the exchange traded funds stock after purchasing an additional 2,970 shares during the quarter. iShares Russell 1000 Growth ETF makes up 2.4% of Breakwater Capital Groups portfolio, making the stock its 7th biggest holding. Breakwater Capital Groups holdings in iShares Russell 1000 Growth ETF were worth $6,486,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P raised its position in iShares Russell 1000 Growth ETF by 34.1% during the first quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 26,203 shares of the exchange traded funds stock worth $7,275,000 after acquiring an additional 6,665 shares during the last quarter. Worth Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of iShares Russell 1000 Growth ETF during the 1st quarter worth approximately $42,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in iShares Russell 1000 Growth ETF by 11.6% in the 1st quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 6,211 shares of the exchange traded funds stock valued at $1,724,000 after buying an additional 644 shares in the last quarter. West Michigan Advisors LLC lifted its stake in iShares Russell 1000 Growth ETF by 3.7% in the 1st quarter. West Michigan Advisors LLC now owns 7,595 shares of the exchange traded funds stock valued at $2,109,000 after buying an additional 272 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Flow Traders U.S. LLC purchased a new position in iShares Russell 1000 Growth ETF during the first quarter worth $33,422,000.

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iShares Russell 1000 Growth ETF Trading Down 0.8 %

Shares of NYSEARCA IWF traded down $2.20 during trading on Thursday, reaching $264.86. The company had a trading volume of 233,147 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,378,404. iShares Russell 1000 Growth ETF has a twelve month low of $202.05 and a twelve month high of $286.96. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $274.88 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $263.46. The stock has a market capitalization of $67.57 billion, a PE ratio of 26.14 and a beta of 1.08.

iShares Russell 1000 Growth ETF Profile

iShares Russell 1000 Growth ETF (the Fund), formerly iShares Russell 1000 Growth Index Fund, is an exchange-traded fund (ETF). The Fund seeks investment returns that correspond generally to the price and yield performance of the Russell 1000 Growth Index (the Index). The Index measures the performance of equity securities of Russell 1000 index issuers with relatively higher price-to-book ratios and higher forecasted growth.

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Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. raised its stake in The Bank of New York Mellon Co. (NYSE:BK  Free Report) by 0.5% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,092,521 shares of the banks stock after buying an additional 10,948 shares during the period. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. owned approximately 0.27% of Bank of New York Mellon worth $93,159,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of BK. Signaturefd LLC boosted its position in Bank of New York Mellon by 32.7% during the first quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 13,698 shares of the banks stock worth $622,000 after purchasing an additional 3,374 shares in the last quarter. Personal CFO Solutions LLC boosted its position in shares of Bank of New York Mellon by 77.6% in the 1st quarter. Personal CFO Solutions LLC now owns 9,761 shares of the banks stock worth $444,000 after buying an additional 4,266 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Bank of New York Mellon during the 1st quarter valued at about $235,000. Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC raised its position in Bank of New York Mellon by 18.6% during the second quarter. Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC now owns 8,225 shares of the banks stock worth $366,000 after acquiring an additional 1,291 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Toronto Dominion Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Bank of New York Mellon by 24.8% in the first quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 521,792 shares of the banks stock valued at $23,697,000 after purchasing an additional 103,846 shares in the last quarter. 81.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Bank of New York Mellon from $58.00 to $55.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 19th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Bank of New York Mellon from $48.00 to $46.00 and set an underweight rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on Bank of New York Mellon from $47.00 to $45.00 in a research report on Thursday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on shares of Bank of New York Mellon from $43.00 to $44.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 19th. Finally, StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Bank of New York Mellon in a report on Thursday, August 17th. They set a hold rating for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Bank of New York Mellon presently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $52.70.

Bank of New York Mellon Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of Bank of New York Mellon stock traded up $0.10 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $41.34. The stock had a trading volume of 818,343 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,100,146. The firm has a market capitalization of $32.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.02, a P/E/G ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.09. The Bank of New York Mellon Co. has a 1 year low of $36.22 and a 1 year high of $52.26. The company has a current ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $44.32 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $43.73.

Bank of New York Mellon (NYSE:BK  Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 18th. The bank reported $1.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.22 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $4.45 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.37 billion. Bank of New York Mellon had a net margin of 10.95% and a return on equity of 11.88%. Bank of New York Mellons revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.15 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that The Bank of New York Mellon Co. will post 4.81 earnings per share for the current year.

Bank of New York Mellon Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 28th were given a $0.42 dividend. This is an increase from Bank of New York Mellons previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 27th. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.06%. Bank of New York Mellons dividend payout ratio is presently 48.98%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Kurtis R. Kurimsky sold 14,045 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction on Friday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.64, for a total transaction of $641,013.80. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 23,816 shares of the companys stock, valued at $1,086,962.24. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, EVP J Kevin Mccarthy sold 35,000 shares of the companys stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.33, for a total value of $1,621,550.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 98,102 shares of the companys stock, valued at $4,545,065.66. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Kurtis R. Kurimsky sold 14,045 shares of the firms stock in a transaction on Friday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.64, for a total transaction of $641,013.80. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 23,816 shares of the companys stock, valued at $1,086,962.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.10% of the companys stock.

Bank of New York Mellon Company Profile

(Free Report)

The Bank of New York Mellon Corporation provides a range of financial products and services in the United States and internationally. The company operates through Securities Services, Market and Wealth Services, Investment and Wealth Management, and other segments. The Securities Services segment offers custody, trust and depositary, accounting, exchange-traded funds, middle-office solutions, transfer agency, services for private equity and real estate funds, foreign exchange, securities lending, liquidity/lending services, and data analytics.

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Guidance Point Advisors LLC reduced its stake in Vanguard Real Estate ETF (NYSEARCA:VNQ  Free Report) by 23.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,046 shares of the exchange traded funds stock after selling 1,809 shares during the period. Guidance Point Advisors LLCs holdings in Vanguard Real Estate ETF were worth $505,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of VNQ. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Vanguard Real Estate ETF by 115,289.9% in the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,063,365,980 shares of the exchange traded funds stock worth $87,706,426,000 after acquiring an additional 1,062,444,438 shares in the last quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich boosted its holdings in shares of Vanguard Real Estate ETF by 99,609.1% in the 2nd quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 27,821,833 shares of the exchange traded funds stock worth $2,324,792,000 after acquiring an additional 27,793,930 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley boosted its holdings in shares of Vanguard Real Estate ETF by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 16,464,307 shares of the exchange traded funds stock worth $1,357,976,000 after acquiring an additional 194,301 shares in the last quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Vanguard Real Estate ETF in the 1st quarter worth approximately $756,836,000. Finally, Personal Capital Advisors Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Vanguard Real Estate ETF by 11.8% in the 4th quarter. Personal Capital Advisors Corp now owns 8,694,759 shares of the exchange traded funds stock worth $717,144,000 after acquiring an additional 920,965 shares in the last quarter.

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Vanguard Real Estate ETF Price Performance

Shares of VNQ traded down $0.05 on Thursday, hitting $73.66. The companys stock had a trading volume of 1,108,729 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,088,889. The company has a market capitalization of $28.39 billion, a PE ratio of 28.40 and a beta of 0.91. Vanguard Real Estate ETF has a fifty-two week low of $72.34 and a fifty-two week high of $94.53. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $80.90 and a 200 day moving average price of $81.86.

About Vanguard Real Estate ETF

Vanguard REIT ETF (the Fund) is an open-end investment company. The Fund invests in stocks issued by real estate investment trusts (REITs), companies that purchase office buildings, hotels, and other real property. It tracks the return of the MSCI US RIT Index, a gauge of real estate stocks. The Vanguard Group, Inc provides investment advisory services to the Fund.

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Exchange Capital Management Inc. reduced its holdings in shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE:BMY  Free Report) by 1.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 37,739 shares of the biopharmaceutical companys stock after selling 517 shares during the quarter. Exchange Capital Management Inc.s holdings in Bristol-Myers Squibb were worth $2,413,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in BMY. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich increased its holdings in Bristol-Myers Squibb by 86,002.1% in the 2nd quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 659,143,253 shares of the biopharmaceutical companys stock valued at $42,152,211,000 after purchasing an additional 658,377,716 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,873,696,000. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in Bristol-Myers Squibb by 114,228.7% during the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 21,469,785 shares of the biopharmaceutical companys stock worth $1,544,751,000 after acquiring an additional 21,451,006 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Bristol-Myers Squibb by 193.4% in the 1st quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 7,214,000 shares of the biopharmaceutical companys stock worth $186,351,000 after acquiring an additional 4,755,058 shares during the period. Finally, Boston Partners grew its position in Bristol-Myers Squibb by 31.1% in the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 18,080,568 shares of the biopharmaceutical companys stock valued at $1,252,480,000 after acquiring an additional 4,286,479 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.98% of the companys stock.

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Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Credit Suisse Group lowered their price target on shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb from $72.00 to $66.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 12th. Bank of America reduced their price target on Bristol-Myers Squibb from $85.00 to $80.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 28th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an underweight rating and issued a $59.00 target price on shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb in a research report on Wednesday, July 19th. Truist Financial reissued a buy rating and set a $84.00 price target on shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb in a research report on Friday, September 15th. Finally, SVB Leerink reaffirmed a market perform rating on shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb in a report on Monday, July 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the companys stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $69.50.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Bristol-Myers Squibb news, EVP Ann Powell sold 17,986 shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.25, for a total transaction of $1,101,642.50. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 27,868 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $1,706,915. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Ann Powell sold 17,986 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.25, for a total value of $1,101,642.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 27,868 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,706,915. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Robert M. Plenge sold 732 shares of the companys stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.14, for a total transaction of $44,754.48. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,584 shares of the companys stock, valued at $402,545.76. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.09% of the companys stock.

Bristol-Myers Squibb Stock Performance

BMY traded down $0.25 during trading on Thursday, reaching $56.48. 738,289 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,995,379. Bristol-Myers Squibb has a 52 week low of $56.03 and a 52 week high of $81.43. The company has a current ratio of 1.39, a quick ratio of 1.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $60.42 and a 200 day moving average of $64.30. The stock has a market cap of $117.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.09, a PEG ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 0.43.

Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE:BMY  Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 27th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.75 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.99 by ($0.24). The firm had revenue of $11.23 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.81 billion. Bristol-Myers Squibb had a return on equity of 50.51% and a net margin of 17.62%. The firms revenue was down 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.93 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Bristol-Myers Squibb will post 7.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bristol-Myers Squibb Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.57 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 5th. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.04%. Bristol-Myers Squibbs dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 60.64%.

Bristol-Myers Squibb Profile

(Free Report)

Bristol-Myers Squibb Company discovers, develops, licenses, manufactures, markets, distributes, and sells biopharmaceutical products worldwide. It offers products for hematology, oncology, cardiovascular, immunology, fibrotic, and neuroscience diseases. The company's products include Eliquis, an oral inhibitor for reduction in risk of stroke/systemic embolism in NVAF, and for the treatment of DVT/PE; Opdivo for anti-cancer indications; Pomalyst/Imnovid indicated for patients with multiple myeloma; Orencia for adult patients with active RA and psoriatic arthritis; and Sprycel for the treatment of Philadelphia chromosome-positive chronic myeloid leukemia.

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Comgest Global Investors S.A.S. grew its stake in Zoetis Inc. (NYSE:ZTS  Free Report) by 2,875.1% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 427,254 shares of the companys stock after acquiring an additional 412,893 shares during the quarter. Zoetis accounts for 1.2% of Comgest Global Investors S.A.S.s holdings, making the stock its 20th biggest position. Comgest Global Investors S.A.S. owned 0.09% of Zoetis worth $73,577,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of ZTS. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich increased its stake in shares of Zoetis by 163,671.8% in the 2nd quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 480,424,669 shares of the companys stock valued at $82,733,932,000 after acquiring an additional 480,131,319 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Zoetis during the 4th quarter worth approximately $745,861,000. Morgan Stanley increased its stake in Zoetis by 34.6% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 10,872,704 shares of the companys stock worth $1,593,395,000 after purchasing an additional 2,796,694 shares in the last quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in Zoetis by 124,281.9% during the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,332,160 shares of the companys stock worth $341,778,000 after purchasing an additional 2,330,285 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake in Zoetis by 27.3% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 10,275,493 shares of the companys stock worth $1,710,254,000 after purchasing an additional 2,204,517 shares in the last quarter. 89.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently issued reports on ZTS shares. Stifel Nicolaus reissued a buy rating and set a $205.00 target price on shares of Zoetis in a research note on Tuesday, September 12th. Piper Sandler reduced their price target on Zoetis from $220.00 to $210.00 in a research report on Thursday. Argus upped their price target on Zoetis from $190.00 to $201.00 in a research report on Tuesday, September 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on Zoetis from $204.00 to $213.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 9th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Zoetis from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a research report on Saturday, September 30th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Zoetis has a consensus rating of Buy and an average price target of $221.33.

Insider Activity at Zoetis

In related news, CEO Kristin C. Peck sold 13,000 shares of the firms stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $179.97, for a total value of $2,339,610.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 56,843 shares of the companys stock, valued at $10,230,034.71. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, EVP Roxanne Lagano sold 923 shares of Zoetis stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $192.97, for a total value of $178,111.31. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 25,434 shares of the companys stock, valued at $4,907,998.98. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Kristin C. Peck sold 13,000 shares of Zoetis stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $179.97, for a total value of $2,339,610.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 56,843 shares in the company, valued at $10,230,034.71. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 25,930 shares of company stock valued at $4,691,799 over the last ninety days. 0.12% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Zoetis Stock Performance

ZTS stock traded down $0.04 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $170.95. 323,245 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,939,974. The company has a current ratio of 3.50, a quick ratio of 1.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42. The firm has a market capitalization of $78.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.99, a P/E/G ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $183.58 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $176.10. Zoetis Inc. has a 12 month low of $124.15 and a 12 month high of $194.99.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS  Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 8th. The company reported $1.41 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $1.31 by $0.10. Zoetis had a return on equity of 52.02% and a net margin of 26.92%. The company had revenue of $2.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $2.16 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.20 earnings per share. Zoetiss revenue was up 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Zoetis Inc. will post 5.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Zoetis Profile

(Free Report)

Zoetis Inc discovers, develops, manufactures, and commercializes animal health medicines, vaccines, and diagnostic products in the United States and internationally. It commercializes products primarily across species, including livestock, such as cattle, swine, poultry, fish, and sheep and others; and companion animals comprising dogs, cats, and horses.

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Sweet Financial Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM  Free Report) by 45.1% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 19,246 shares of the companys stock after purchasing an additional 5,986 shares during the quarter. Sweet Financial Partners LLCs holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $1,879,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Green Square Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Philip Morris International during the second quarter valued at $232,000. Herold Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 8.6% in the 2nd quarter. Herold Advisors Inc. now owns 5,484 shares of the companys stock valued at $535,000 after purchasing an additional 434 shares in the last quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Philip Morris International in the 1st quarter worth approximately $98,000. Clear Harbor Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 59.0% during the first quarter. Clear Harbor Asset Management LLC now owns 4,214 shares of the companys stock valued at $410,000 after purchasing an additional 1,563 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cypress Wealth Services LLC increased its holdings in Philip Morris International by 6.3% during the first quarter. Cypress Wealth Services LLC now owns 4,514 shares of the companys stock valued at $439,000 after buying an additional 267 shares during the period. 79.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a buy rating and set a $114.00 target price on shares of Philip Morris International in a research report on Monday. Citigroup raised Philip Morris International from a neutral rating to a buy rating and raised their price objective for the company from $109.00 to $117.00 in a research report on Tuesday, June 20th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on shares of Philip Morris International from $113.00 to $111.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, August 22nd. 22nd Century Group restated a reiterates rating on shares of Philip Morris International in a report on Tuesday, June 27th. Finally, StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Philip Morris International in a research note on Thursday, August 17th. They set a hold rating for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $109.92.

Philip Morris International Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of PM traded up $0.88 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $92.21. 578,962 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,221,602. The stock has a market capitalization of $143.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.81, a P/E/G ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 0.71. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $95.21 and a 200-day moving average price of $95.66. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 12-month low of $84.00 and a 12-month high of $105.62.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM  Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 20th. The company reported $1.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.50 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $8.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $8.76 billion. Philip Morris International had a negative return on equity of 127.84% and a net margin of 11.63%. The companys revenue for the quarter was up 14.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.48 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 6.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Philip Morris International Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 12th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 27th will be paid a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 26th. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.64%. This is a positive change from Philip Morris Internationals previous quarterly dividend of $1.27. Philip Morris Internationals dividend payout ratio is presently 100.58%.

About Philip Morris International

(Free Report)

Philip Morris International Inc operates as a tobacco company working to delivers a smoke-free future and evolving portfolio for the long-term to include products outside of the tobacco and nicotine sector. The company's product portfolio primarily consists of cigarettes and smoke-free products, including heat-not-burn, vapor, and oral nicotine products primarily under the IQOS and ZYN brands; and consumer accessories, such as lighters and matches.

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Sweet Financial Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of The Charles Schwab Co. (NYSE:SCHW  Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 4,280 shares of the financial services providers stock, valued at approximately $243,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SCHW. Beacon Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Charles Schwab in the first quarter valued at about $25,000. Your Advocates Ltd. LLP acquired a new position in Charles Schwab during the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,000. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Charles Schwab by 54.8% during the 1st quarter. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 565 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Householder Group Estate & Retirement Specialist LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Charles Schwab in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Rocky Mountain Advisers LLC grew its holdings in Charles Schwab by 704.2% during the first quarter. Rocky Mountain Advisers LLC now owns 571 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares during the period. 81.61% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Charles Schwab Trading Down 1.0 %

Charles Schwab stock traded down $0.49 during trading on Thursday, hitting $50.92. The companys stock had a trading volume of 1,770,726 shares, compared to its average volume of 16,189,102. The stocks fifty day moving average is $59.62 and its 200 day moving average is $56.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a current ratio of 0.39. The Charles Schwab Co. has a 1-year low of $45.00 and a 1-year high of $86.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $90.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.99, a P/E/G ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.93.

Charles Schwab Dividend Announcement

Charles Schwab ( NYSE:SCHW Get Free Report ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 18th. The financial services provider reported $0.75 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $0.71 by $0.04. Charles Schwab had a net margin of 33.15% and a return on equity of 27.54%. The company had revenue of $4.66 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.61 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.97 EPS. The companys quarterly revenue was down 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that The Charles Schwab Co. will post 3.24 EPS for the current year.

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 11th were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 10th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.96%. Charles Schwabs dividend payout ratio is presently 29.15%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have commented on SCHW. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Charles Schwab from $67.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Monday, July 24th. StockNews.com cut Charles Schwab from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report on Monday, September 25th. Barclays decreased their target price on Charles Schwab from $70.00 to $64.00 and set an equal weight rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, September 18th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on Charles Schwab from $64.00 to $66.00 in a research report on Monday, July 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Charles Schwab from $68.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research report on Friday, July 28th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $72.28.

Check Out Our Latest Stock Report on Charles Schwab

Insider Buying and Selling at Charles Schwab

In other news, General Counsel Peter J. Morgan III sold 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.61, for a total value of $476,880.00. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel now owns 8,014 shares of the companys stock, valued at $477,714.54. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, General Counsel Peter J. Morgan III sold 8,000 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.61, for a total transaction of $476,880.00. Following the transaction, the general counsel now directly owns 8,014 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $477,714.54. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Peter B. Crawford sold 3,792 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.31, for a total transaction of $217,319.52. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 44,725 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $2,563,189.75. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 159,599 shares of company stock valued at $10,542,469. Company insiders own 6.60% of the companys stock.

About Charles Schwab

(Free Report)

The Charles Schwab Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a savings and loan holding company that provides wealth management, securities brokerage, banking, asset management, custody, and financial advisory services. The company operates in two segments, Investor Services and Advisor Services.

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FILE PHOTO: A logo is seen on the grill of an E-transit concept vehicle during a press event at the Ford Halewood transmissions plant in Liverpool

By Victoria Waldersee

BERLIN (Reuters) -Talks between Ford and a potential investor in its plant in Saarlouis, Germany have fallen through, the carmaker said on Thursday, plunging workers back into uncertainty over the future of the site and their jobs.

A union representative expressed disappointment and anger at the news, saying talks with the company would continue on Monday on a collective bargaining agreement for workers who stood to lose their jobs.

"This will be expensive for Ford," union representative Joerg Koehlinger said. "We will send a signal so that other companies will be afraid to flatten sites."

Unions had said earlier this year they expected a solution by the end of the first quarter of 2023 and would not wait until 2024.

The setback comes as Ford is in the midst of negotiations with the United Auto Workers in the United States who are 21 days into a strike over labour conditions.

The potential investor for Saarlouis, who was never named, signed a non-binding agreement in June of this year but has now decided not to continue the negotiations, a spokesperson said in a statement.

The future of the site has been unclear since June 2022 when Ford picked a site in Spain to assemble its next-generation electric vehicle (EV) over the German plant, which will stop producing its current model, the Ford Focus, from 2025.

Fifteen possible investors had expressed interest, the works council said earlier in the year, with some media reporting that Chinese EV maker BYD was among them.

A union spokesperson said they were not aware of any other investor with whom talks had progressed.

The deal with the potential investor would have secured 2,500 of the currently around 4,500 jobs at the site, according to a Handelsblatt report on Thursday.

Ford will maintain 1,000 jobs in Saarlouis under an "alternative plan" that could also serve as a basis for a future technology centre at the site, Thursday's statement said, without providing further details.

(Reporting by Victoria Waldersee, Friederike Heine; Writing by Matthias Williams; Editing by Friederike Heine, Miranda Murray, Jan Harvey and Andrea Ricci)
Aspire Private Capital LLC lifted its position in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM  Free Report) by 15.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 5,390 shares of the companys stock after acquiring an additional 727 shares during the period. Aspire Private Capital LLCs holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $526,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Stone House Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Philip Morris International during the first quarter valued at approximately $29,000. BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. bought a new stake in Philip Morris International in the first quarter worth $32,000. Barrett & Company Inc. bought a new stake in Philip Morris International in the first quarter worth $32,000. FSC Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 75.0% in the first quarter. FSC Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 350 shares of the companys stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. Finally, NewSquare Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 127.0% during the first quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 370 shares of the companys stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 207 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.70% of the companys stock.

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Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Philip Morris International from $115.00 to $110.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, September 21st. Bank of America decreased their price objective on shares of Philip Morris International from $118.00 to $111.00 in a report on Friday, September 29th. 22nd Century Group reiterated a reiterates rating on shares of Philip Morris International in a research note on Tuesday, June 27th. Stifel Nicolaus restated a buy rating and issued a $114.00 price target on shares of Philip Morris International in a research note on Monday. Finally, Citigroup raised Philip Morris International from a neutral rating to a buy rating and increased their price objective for the company from $109.00 to $117.00 in a research report on Tuesday, June 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Philip Morris International has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $109.92.

Philip Morris International Stock Performance

Shares of PM stock traded up $0.61 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $91.94. 998,418 shares of the companys stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,223,716. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 12 month low of $84.00 and a 12 month high of $105.62. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $95.21 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $95.66. The firm has a market capitalization of $142.72 billion, a PE ratio of 17.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 0.71.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM  Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 20th. The company reported $1.60 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $1.50 by $0.10. Philip Morris International had a negative return on equity of 127.84% and a net margin of 11.63%. The business had revenue of $8.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $8.76 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.48 earnings per share. The businesss quarterly revenue was up 14.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 6.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Philip Morris International Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 12th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 27th will be issued a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 26th. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.66%. This is an increase from Philip Morris Internationals previous quarterly dividend of $1.27. Philip Morris Internationals payout ratio is currently 100.58%.

Philip Morris International Company Profile

(Free Report)

Philip Morris International Inc operates as a tobacco company working to delivers a smoke-free future and evolving portfolio for the long-term to include products outside of the tobacco and nicotine sector. The company's product portfolio primarily consists of cigarettes and smoke-free products, including heat-not-burn, vapor, and oral nicotine products primarily under the IQOS and ZYN brands; and consumer accessories, such as lighters and matches.

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Aspire Private Capital LLC decreased its holdings in Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC  Free Report) by 13.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 23,285 shares of the financial services providers stock after selling 3,476 shares during the period. Aspire Private Capital LLCs holdings in Bank of America were worth $668,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of BAC. Signature Wealth Management Partners LLC grew its position in Bank of America by 38.0% in the second quarter. Signature Wealth Management Partners LLC now owns 9,870 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $283,000 after acquiring an additional 2,718 shares during the last quarter. Calton & Associates Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Bank of America by 61.9% in the 2nd quarter. Calton & Associates Inc. now owns 26,283 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $754,000 after purchasing an additional 10,046 shares in the last quarter. Trilogy Capital Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Bank of America during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $237,000. Accurate Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Bank of America by 24.4% during the 2nd quarter. Accurate Wealth Management LLC now owns 28,393 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $828,000 after purchasing an additional 5,571 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Diligent Investors LLC lifted its stake in Bank of America by 9.5% in the 2nd quarter. Diligent Investors LLC now owns 68,054 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $1,952,000 after purchasing an additional 5,920 shares during the last quarter. 68.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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Insider Transactions at Bank of America

In related news, insider James P. Demare sold 75,000 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.53, for a total transaction of $2,364,750.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 185,108 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,836,455.24. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Bank of America news, insider Dean C. Athanasia sold 77,806 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.48, for a total value of $2,449,332.88. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 353,971 shares in the company, valued at $11,143,007.08. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider James P. Demare sold 75,000 shares of the firms stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.53, for a total value of $2,364,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 185,108 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $5,836,455.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.27% of the companys stock.

Bank of America Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of BAC traded down $0.14 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $25.80. 10,928,295 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 48,511,957. The firm has a market capitalization of $205.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.83. Bank of America Co. has a fifty-two week low of $25.56 and a fifty-two week high of $38.60. The business has a 50-day moving average of $29.16 and a 200-day moving average of $28.92.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC  Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 18th. The financial services provider reported $0.88 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.84 by $0.04. Bank of America had a return on equity of 12.01% and a net margin of 19.97%. The firm had revenue of $25.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $24.98 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.73 EPS. The businesss quarterly revenue was up 11.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Bank of America Co. will post 3.4 EPS for the current year.

Bank of America Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 1st were paid a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 31st. This is a positive change from Bank of Americas previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.72%. Bank of Americas payout ratio is 27.59%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have weighed in on BAC shares. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on shares of Bank of America from $35.00 to $33.00 in a research note on Thursday. Royal Bank of Canada restated an outperform rating and set a $35.00 price objective on shares of Bank of America in a research report on Tuesday, September 12th. Piper Sandler dropped their target price on Bank of America from $28.00 to $27.50 and set an underweight rating for the company in a research report on Friday, September 15th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on Bank of America from $41.00 to $40.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 19th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Bank of America from $43.00 to $40.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 23rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $35.75.

View Our Latest Analysis on BAC

Bank of America Profile

(Free Report)

Bank of America Corporation, through its subsidiaries, provides banking and financial products and services for individual consumers, small and middle-market businesses, institutional investors, large corporations, and governments worldwide. Its Consumer Banking segment offers traditional and money market savings accounts, certificates of deposit and IRAs, noninterest-and interest-bearing checking accounts, and investment accounts and products; and credit and debit cards, residential mortgages, and home equity loans, as well as direct and indirect loans, such as automotive, recreational vehicle, and consumer personal loans.

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Comgest Global Investors S.A.S. trimmed its stake in Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY  Free Report) by 1.5% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 990,108 shares of the companys stock after selling 14,711 shares during the quarter. Eli Lilly and Company comprises 7.8% of Comgest Global Investors S.A.S.s portfolio, making the stock its 4th largest holding. Comgest Global Investors S.A.S.s holdings in Eli Lilly and Company were worth $464,341,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in LLY. Towerpoint Wealth LLC increased its holdings in Eli Lilly and Company by 0.5% in the second quarter. Towerpoint Wealth LLC now owns 4,239 shares of the companys stock worth $1,988,000 after buying an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. Pacific Sage Partners LLC increased its holdings in Eli Lilly and Company by 1.4% in the second quarter. Pacific Sage Partners LLC now owns 1,591 shares of the companys stock worth $746,000 after buying an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. Oxler Private Wealth LLC increased its holdings in Eli Lilly and Company by 0.4% in the first quarter. Oxler Private Wealth LLC now owns 6,050 shares of the companys stock worth $2,078,000 after buying an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. Missouri Trust & Investment Co increased its holdings in Eli Lilly and Company by 3.2% in the first quarter. Missouri Trust & Investment Co now owns 774 shares of the companys stock worth $266,000 after buying an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. Finally, IFG Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Eli Lilly and Company by 3.8% in the second quarter. IFG Advisors LLC now owns 654 shares of the companys stock worth $307,000 after buying an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. 81.38% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have commented on LLY. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an overweight rating and set a $630.00 price target on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a report on Monday. 22nd Century Group reaffirmed a maintains rating on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a research report on Tuesday, June 27th. Citigroup raised their target price on Eli Lilly and Company from $360.00 to $525.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Eli Lilly and Company from $510.00 to $600.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Wednesday, August 9th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Eli Lilly and Company from $565.00 to $633.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a report on Wednesday, August 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and twenty have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $532.78.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Eli Lilly and Company news, major shareholder Lilly Endowment Inc sold 37,660 shares of the companys stock in a transaction on Monday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $546,751.75, for a total value of $20,590,670,905.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 100,275,279 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $54,825,684,274,988.30. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other Eli Lilly and Company news, major shareholder Lilly Endowment Inc sold 37,660 shares of the companys stock in a transaction on Monday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $546,751.75, for a total value of $20,590,670,905.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 100,275,279 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $54,825,684,274,988.30. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Alonzo Weems sold 1,148 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $590.98, for a total value of $678,445.04. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 7,760 shares in the company, valued at $4,586,004.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 693,246 shares of company stock valued at $20,948,820,977. 0.13% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Eli Lilly and Company Stock Up 1.4 %

NYSE LLY traded up $7.35 during trading on Thursday, hitting $538.81. The stock had a trading volume of 484,872 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,986,785. The company has a market capitalization of $511.49 billion, a PE ratio of 73.83, a P/E/G ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.33. The companys 50-day moving average price is $538.12 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $459.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.63, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a current ratio of 1.13. Eli Lilly and Company has a 12 month low of $309.20 and a 12 month high of $601.84.

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY  Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 8th. The company reported $2.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $1.98 by $0.13. Eli Lilly and Company had a return on equity of 65.00% and a net margin of 22.01%. The company had revenue of $8.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $7.58 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.25 EPS. The businesss revenue was up 28.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Eli Lilly and Company will post 9.84 EPS for the current year.

Eli Lilly and Company Company Profile

(Free Report)

Eli Lilly and Company discovers, develops, and markets human pharmaceuticals worldwide. It offers Basaglar, Humalog, Humalog Mix 75/25, Humalog U-100, Humalog U-200, Humalog Mix 50/50, insulin lispro, insulin lispro protamine, insulin lispro mix 75/25, Humulin, Humulin 70/30, Humulin N, Humulin R, and Humulin U-500 for diabetes; and Jardiance, Trajenta, and Trulicity for type 2 diabetes.

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Mirova US LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Accenture plc (NYSE:ACN  Free Report) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 654 shares of the information technology services providers stock, valued at approximately $202,000. Accenture comprises 0.0% of Mirova US LLCs investment portfolio, making the stock its 27th largest position.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. McBroom & Associates LLC lifted its stake in Accenture by 4.0% during the 2nd quarter. McBroom & Associates LLC now owns 16,698 shares of the information technology services providers stock valued at $5,153,000 after acquiring an additional 649 shares in the last quarter. Saratoga Research & Investment Management boosted its holdings in Accenture by 16.7% during the second quarter. Saratoga Research & Investment Management now owns 254,961 shares of the information technology services providers stock worth $78,676,000 after purchasing an additional 36,431 shares during the last quarter. Sage Mountain Advisors LLC grew its position in Accenture by 15.4% in the 2nd quarter. Sage Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 3,129 shares of the information technology services providers stock worth $966,000 after purchasing an additional 418 shares in the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Accenture by 4.0% in the 2nd quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,951 shares of the information technology services providers stock valued at $1,219,000 after buying an additional 152 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Marion Wealth Management lifted its position in shares of Accenture by 2.0% during the 2nd quarter. Marion Wealth Management now owns 10,657 shares of the information technology services providers stock worth $3,289,000 after buying an additional 207 shares in the last quarter. 70.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ACN has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an outperform rating and set a $340.00 target price on shares of Accenture in a research report on Friday, September 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Accenture from $314.00 to $341.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of Accenture from $310.00 to $343.00 in a research note on Thursday, June 15th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on Accenture from $292.00 to $377.00 in a research note on Friday, June 9th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Accenture from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report on Friday, September 29th. Seven 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.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $333.24.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Leonardo Framil sold 3,000 shares of Accenture stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $311.52, for a total transaction of $934,560.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 16,898 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $5,264,064.96. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, General Counsel Joel Unruch sold 7,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $320.60, for a total transaction of $2,244,200.00. Following the transaction, the general counsel now directly owns 36,034 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,552,500.40. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Leonardo Framil sold 3,000 shares of the companys stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $311.52, for a total value of $934,560.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 16,898 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $5,264,064.96. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 24,430 shares of company stock valued at $7,735,251 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.08% of the companys stock.

Accenture Price Performance

NYSE ACN opened at $309.39 on Thursday. The companys 50 day simple moving average is $315.39 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $300.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $205.64 billion, a PE ratio of 28.73, a P/E/G ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 1.22. Accenture plc has a 1 year low of $242.80 and a 1 year high of $330.43.

Accenture (NYSE:ACN  Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 28th. The information technology services provider reported $2.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.65 by $0.06. Accenture had a return on equity of 29.74% and a net margin of 10.72%. The company had revenue of $15.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.07 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.60 earnings per share. The firms quarterly revenue was up 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Accenture plc will post 12.11 EPS for the current year.

Accenture Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 12th will be given a dividend of $1.29 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 11th. This is a positive change from Accentures previous quarterly dividend of $1.12. This represents a $5.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.67%. Accentures payout ratio is presently 47.91%.

Accenture declared that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Thursday, September 28th that allows the company to buyback $4.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the information technology services provider to reacquire up to 2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often an indication that the companys board believes its shares are undervalued.

About Accenture

(Free Report)

Accenture plc, a professional services company, provides strategy and consulting, interactive, industry X, song, and technology and operation services worldwide. The company offers application services, including agile transformation, DevOps, application modernization, enterprise architecture, software and quality engineering, data management, intelligent automation comprises robotic process automation, natural language processing, and virtual agents, and application management services, as well as software engineering services; strategy and consulting services; data and analytics strategy, data discovery and augmentation, data management and beyond, data democratization, and industrialized solutions comprises turnkey analytics and artificial intelligence (AI) solutions; metaverse; and sustainability services.

Further Reading

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(Bloomberg) -- Alstom SA isnt ruling out selling assets, its chief financial officer signaled, after a warning on financial guidance wiped out as much as 3.1 billion ($3.3 billion) of the train makers market value.

Most Read from Bloomberg

If there are good opportunities, of course I will discuss it with the board, CFO Bernard Delpit said in a phone interview on Thursday when asked about possible divestments. He declined to elaborate on what assets may be considered non-strategic.

Shares plunged 38% after the French company slashed its financial guidance due to delays on a major UK contract and a rise in inventories. The decline added to the companys woes stemming from its troubled $5.5 billion acquisition of Canadian manufacturer Bombardier Inc.

Deutsche Bank analyst Gael de-Bray wrote in a note that a capital increase to maintain the groups investment grade rating is increasingly likely, adding the warning is a major blow to managements credibility.

Alstoms euro-denominated bonds due 2029 dropped more than 3%, the most on record, to 78 cents on the euro, according to prices compiled by Bloomberg.

An equity raising isnt on the table, Delpit said. Commercial momentum, profitability, organic growth are in line and the company is standing by its mid-term targets, he added.

The French company expects a delay to the UK Aventra project it inherited from Bombardier, which includes 443 trains that serve lines such as the London Overground and Elizabeth Line, several of which have suffered from setbacks. Alstom said the work should be completed during fiscal 2024-25, compared to the first half of this year, according to a statement late Wednesday.

Story continues

Alstom also warned it sees negative free cash flow of as much as 750 million for the full fiscal year, compared with a previous forecast of significantly positive results. The delay to the UK project accounts for about one-third of the cut.

The biggest impact was from much higher inventory levels, after the company hiked output amid tight supply chains to fill its order backlog and avoid production disruption and delivery delays. New orders also weakened.

Bombardier Troubles

Nearly three years after the purchase of Bombardiers rail business, Alstom continues to wade through costly legacy contracts from its former fierce competitor. Alstom has blamed mismanagement by Bombardier for delivery delays and the heavy spending needed to complete them.

We have produced 95% of the whole program and weve been paid for 87%. It creates what we call the working capital issue right now, Delpit said.

Read more: Sunak Cancels Rest of HS2 High-Speed Rail to Re-Invest Funds

Alstom had negative free cash flow of 1.15 billion in the six months through September, while affirming its mid-term guidance as well as a target for organic sales growth above 5% for fiscal 2024.

Alstom shares have been under pressure since the takeover of Bombardier train operations, which have presented a range of challenges from the start.

--With assistance from James Cone and Dana El Baltaji.

(Updates with CFO declining to elaborate on what assets may potentially be considered non-strategic in second paragraph)

Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek

2023 Bloomberg L.P.
Value-focused investors are always on the hunt for stocks that are priced below their intrinsic value. One such stock that merits attention is GDS Holdings Ltd (NASDAQ:GDS). The stock, which is currently priced at 10.61, recorded a gain of 3.51% in a day and a 3-month decrease of 0.09%. The stock's fair valuation is $48.53, as indicated by its GF Value.

Understanding the GF Value

The GF Value represents the current intrinsic value of a stock derived from our exclusive method. The GF Value Line on our summary page gives an overview of the fair value that the stock should be traded at. It is calculated based on three factors: historical multiples (PE Ratio, PS Ratio, PB Ratio and Price-to-Free-Cash-Flow) that the stock has traded at, GuruFocus adjustment factor based on the company's past returns and growth, and future estimates of the business performance.

We believe the GF Value Line is the fair value that the stock should be traded at. The stock price will most likely fluctuate around the GF Value Line. If the stock price is significantly above the GF Value Line, it is overvalued and its future return is likely to be poor. On the other hand, if it is significantly below the GF Value Line, its future return will likely be higher.

Is GDS Holdings (GDS) Too Good to Be True? A Comprehensive Analysis of a Potential Value Trap

Deciphering the Risks

However, investors need to consider a more in-depth analysis before making an investment decision. Despite its seemingly attractive valuation, certain risk factors associated with GDS Holdings should not be ignored. These risks are primarily reflected through its low Altman Z-score of 0.26. These indicators suggest that GDS Holdings, despite its apparent undervaluation, might be a potential value trap. This complexity underlines the importance of thorough due diligence in investment decision-making.

Understanding the Altman Z-score

Before delving into the details, let's understand what the Altman Z-score entails. Invented by New York University Professor Edward I. Altman in 1968, the Z-Score is a financial model that predicts the probability of a company entering bankruptcy within a two-year time frame. The Altman Z-Score combines five different financial ratios, each weighted to create a final score. A score below 1.8 suggests a high likelihood of financial distress, while a score above 3 indicates a low risk.

Story continues

A Closer Look at GDS Holdings

GDS Holdings started as an IT service provider in 2001 then moved to the data center business with its first self-developed data center opening in 2010. The company now develops and operates data centers in China and also builds, operates and transfers data centers for other clients. It offers colocation and managed services and mainly targets hyperscale cloud service customers who take large areas of its data centers or even whole data centers under long-term contracts.

Is GDS Holdings (GDS) Too Good to Be True? A Comprehensive Analysis of a Potential Value Trap

Breaking Down GDS Holdings's Low Altman Z-Score

A dissection of GDS Holdings's Altman Z-score reveals GDS Holdings's financial health may be weak, suggesting possible financial distress. The Retained Earnings to Total Assets ratio provides insights into a company's capability to reinvest its profits or manage debt. Evaluating GDS Holdings's historical data, 2021: -0.05; 2022: -0.06; 2023: -0.08, we observe a declining trend in this ratio. This downward movement indicates GDS Holdings's diminishing ability to reinvest in its business or effectively manage its debt. Consequently, it exerts a negative impact on its Z-Score.

Conclusion: A Potential Value Trap?

Despite the attractive valuation of GDS Holdings, the low Altman Z-Score and declining Retained Earnings to Total Assets ratio signal potential financial distress. This suggests that GDS Holdings might be a value trap. Therefore, investors should exercise caution and thorough due diligence before considering an investment in GDS Holdings.

GuruFocus Premium members can find stocks with high Altman Z-Score using the following Screener: Walter Schloss Screen .

This article first appeared on GuruFocus.


New Zyxel Promotion Connects & Protects Small Business Wi-Fi

By Greg Tavarez , Business VoIP Editor

Zyxel Networks, a provider of secure, AI-enabled and cloud-powered business and home networking solutions, has announced a new promotion to empower small businesses with robust Wi-Fi security. Set to run from October 1, 2023 to December 21, 2023, the promotion offers a three-year license of their Connect & Protect Plus (CNP+) security service for free with the purchase of its NWA110AX 802.11ax (Wi-Fi 6) Dual-Radio PoE Access Point.

For small businesses that often hesitate to invest in comprehensive security solutions due to concerns about cost and complexity, this promotion's timing is perfect, in terms of better security. With CNP+, Zyxel Networks offers a way to ensure the integrity of your Wi-Fi network, safeguarding everything and everyone connected to it.

CNP+ filters out unsafe web content and malicious websites, preventing potential security breaches and the leakage of sensitive data. It also optimizes the Wi-Fi connection, helping essential business applications like mobile point-of-sale, online streaming, video calls, and voice calls run seamlessly.

With Zyxel CNP+ users gain a powerful suite of features that will enhance network security and management. It also includes an IP Reputation Filter which taps into a growing database of malicious IP addresses and works to help blocking unwanted web content and safeguarding against data theft and security breaches. In addition, unified management through Zyxel's Nebula Cloud Networking Solution makes it convenient and easy to oversee both business Wi-Fi and CNP+ security features from anywhere.

Small businesses like coffee shops and restaurants often utilize simple Wi-Fi solutions, such as a router provided by a service provider, exposing the operation and customers to potential cyberattacks or network congestion, said Shawn Rogers, Market Development Manager at Zyxel Networks. Zyxel access points with CNP+ make it easy and affordable for small businesses to provide an added level of network security and, at the same time, optimize the performance of the network.

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October 03, 2023





In an increasingly interconnected world where digital threats and security breaches are prevalent, staying ahead of cybercriminals has never been more critical. Fortunately, technological advancements have paved the way for innovative security measures that can help individuals and organizations bolster their defences against various security threats. In this article, we will explore how new technological advancements can be harnessed to enhance security.







1. Biometrics and Authentication

Biometric authentication is an advanced security method that uses unique physical or behavioral traits for identity verification. These identifiers include fingerprints, iris scans, facial recognition, and voice recognition. With advancing technology, biometrics offers highly accurate and accessible security solutions. Facial recognition, from unlocking smartphones to border security, is widely used and can enhance access control systems. Iris scanning, even more secure due to the uniqueness of iris patterns, is ideal for ultra-secure environments like data centers and government facilities.

2. Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning

AI and machine learning technologies are revolutionizing security across multiple industries by enabling systems to adapt and respond to threats in real-time. These systems can analyze massive amounts of data to identify patterns, anomalies, and potential threats more effectively than human operators.

One of the biggest beneficiaries of AI and Machine Learning is the gaming sector where security is paramount. Online casinos are ranked according to, among other factors, the guarantee of security through data privacy and encryption. However, several other crucial factors define a good online casino as reviewed by the Best Casino Sites website.

Other factors to consider when looking for a reputable online casino in the USA

To find the best online casinos in the USA, conduct thorough research. Look for licensed and regulated casinos by recognized authorities, such as the Nevada Gaming Control Board or the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement, depending on your state. Check for reviews and ratings from trustworthy sources such as Best Casino Sites and fellow players to gauge the casino's reputation for fairness and reliability. Ensure the casino uses secure encryption technology to protect your personal and financial information and offers a variety of reputable payment options.

Additionally, verify that the casino offers a diverse range of games from well-known software providers, and read the terms and conditions carefully to understand bonuses, wagering requirements, and withdrawal policies. A reputable online casino should have transparent practices, a strong track record, and a commitment to responsible gaming.

Intrusion (News - Alert) Detection: AI-powered intrusion detection systems can monitor network traffic and identify suspicious activities. They can detect anomalies and respond swiftly to mitigate potential threats, reducing the risk of data breaches.

Behavioral Analysis: AI-driven behavioral analysis can identify unusual behavior among users or devices on a network. This helps detect insider threats and advanced persistent threats that may evade traditional security measures.

3. Blockchain Technology

Blockchain technology, best known as the foundation for cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, is now being applied to various security applications. Its decentralized and tamper-resistant nature makes it an attractive option for enhancing security.

Secure Transactions: Blockchain can be used to secure financial transactions, ensuring the authenticity and integrity of each transaction. This is particularly valuable in industries like finance and healthcare, where data security is paramount.

Supply Chain Security: Blockchain can be used to track the movement of goods through the supply chain, reducing the risk of counterfeit products and improving overall security.

4. Internet of Things (IoT) Security

The proliferation of IoT devices has created new security challenges. As more devices become connected, the attack surface for cybercriminals expands. To address these challenges, several technological advancements have emerged in the key sectors experiencing a boom in tech:

Device Authentication: Implementing strong authentication mechanisms for IoT devices ensures that only authorized users and devices can access and interact with them.

Security Patching: IoT device manufacturers are increasingly focusing on providing regular security updates to patch vulnerabilities. Users should also stay vigilant and keep their devices up to date.

5. Quantum (News - Alert) Computing-Resistant Encryption

While quantum computing promises to solve complex problems faster than classical computers, it also poses a significant threat to existing encryption algorithms. To mitigate this risk, researchers are working on developing quantum-resistant encryption methods.

Post-Quantum Cryptography: Post-quantum cryptography is designed to withstand attacks from quantum computers. It involves developing new encryption algorithms that remain secure even in the face of quantum computing power.

6. Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA (News - Alert))

Multi-factor authentication is not a new concept, but advancements in technology have made it more accessible and user-friendly. MFA requires users to provide two or more forms of identification before granting access, significantly enhancing security.

Biometric MFA: Combining biometric authentication, such as fingerprint or facial recognition, with traditional authentication methods like passwords provides a higher level of security.

7. Cybersecurity Training and Awareness

Technology alone cannot ensure security; user awareness and training are equally essential. New advancements in cybersecurity training make it easier for individuals and organizations to educate themselves on best practices and stay informed about evolving threats.

New tech innovations are revolutionizing cybersecurity. Interactive training platforms use gamification for engaging and effective security education. Phishing simulations teach users to recognize and avoid phishing threats. These advancements, from biometrics to AI, blockchain, and quantum-resistant encryption, bolster security. But, remember, no measure is foolproof, and a holistic approach combining technology and user awareness is key in today's digital age.
October 05, 2023





Imagine walking through the beautiful streets of Venice or Florence, not as a tourist, but as a proud business owner.

Well, the idea of owning a business in Italy is a dream for many. After all, the rich culture, delicious food, and history around every corner make it an attractive place.

Yet, setting up a business there can feel big and tricky. There's a lot you'll need to consider, from business plans to rules.

But if you have Italian family roots, you have an advantage. For you, it might be simpler if you want to apply for so-called Italian Citizenship Jure Sanguinis to commence your business journey. Still, you will need expert lawyers who know the rules well. They can guide you through the legal steps easily.







That said, before you pack your bags to dive into Italy's business world, there's more you should know. So, let's get started!

1. Understand the Italian Business Culture

Italy values relationships and trust. When they do business, it's more than just money and contracts. It's about building strong connections.

If you are launching a business in Italy, you should invest time in getting to know the people you are working with. Face-to-face meetings, lunches, and coffee breaks can make a difference.

2. Research the Market

Just like anywhere else, Italy has its own unique market. It has different trends, customer behaviors, and demands. Before starting a business there, you should spend time understanding the local market.

You should ask yourself: What do Italian customers want? How do they spend their money? What are the current business trends? Knowing these can help you a lot.

3. Learn the Local Language

Stating the obvious, learning the language can help you a lot. Even though many Italians speak English, if you are good at Italian, it can be a big advantage. Why?

When you can speak the local language, you can connect better with customers, suppliers, and employees. However, it also helps you understand local news and updates, which can be further helpful for your business.

4. Get Familiar with Italian Laws and Regulations

Like any other country, Italy has its own set of rules when it comes to business. From taxes to employment laws, you need to be aware of these.

For instance, if you plan to hire employees, ensure you are aware of labor laws and workers' rights. On the other hand, knowing about safety and quality standards can be highly beneficial if you are about to sell products.

5. Find a Good Location

Whether it's a restaurant, a shop, or an office, location is key. Italy has many cities, each with its own vibe and customer base.

Milan is known for fashion and business. Rome is famous for its history and tourism. Florence is a hub for art and culture. So, you must choose a location that fits your business type and target audience.

Sum Up

With its rich history, beautiful landscapes, and passionate people, it's a country full of opportunities. But like any business venture, it comes with its challenges. However, knowing the Italian market in advance can help you build strong relationships and a successful business. So, if you are thinking of taking this step, you should go ahead. Italy is waiting for you.
October 05, 2023





Phone (News - Alert) calls can be a great medium for conversation, but they also come with some downsides, including the ethereal nature of the dialogue. One way around this is to record your phone calls, so you always have a record of the conversations that unfolded.







But should you be in the habit of recording all your phone calls? And if so, what's the right way to approach it?

Important Considerations

Before we dive too deeply into this discussion, we need to establish the most important considerations when debating the merits of recording phone calls.

 Legality. Phone call recording laws vary by area. In some states, it's perfectly legal to record a phone call even without the explicit consent of the other party. In other states, you'll need to secure the explicit consent of the other party before recording the call. Different countries also have varying phone call recording laws. If you're going to have phone calls with people in different areas, you need to be aware of these legal differences (and prepared to address them).

 Trust. Some people don't like to be recorded on the phone, as a matter of security, privacy, or personal preference. Recording a person without their permission, even if legal to do so, could result in trust issues.

 Practicality. You'll also need to consider the practicality of recording a phone call. Many phones and VoIP systems come with built-in features to make recording calls easy, but you'll still need to make an effort to simplify the process. As a simple example, if you have a phone case that allows you to keep your phone propped up, you'll have an easier time executing recording controls in the middle of a phone call. Using automated software makes things even simpler.

Advantages of Recording Your Phone Calls

These are some of the most powerful advantages of recording phone calls:

 Relatively easy setup. Getting started with phone call recording isnt very difficult, especially if you're already working with a VoIP provider. In fact, you may already have access to easy call recording features without even realizing it. With a bit of reading and a bit of practice, you should have no trouble executing call recording features, even across your entire enterprise.

 Permanent information storage. Many people appreciate call recording because of its capacity for semi-permanent information storage. By default, phone call conversations are temporary, and they can be lost the moment the phone is hung up. But if you have a thorough recording of your conversation, you'll be able to access it at any point in the future; instead of taking notes, you can relisten to the conversation and pick up anything that you might have missed.

 Elimination of ambiguity. Phone calls typically come with a layer of ambiguity. Two parties in a phone conversation with each other can come to a mutual agreement, but at some point in the future, there may be a disagreement on what exactly was said. When you consistently record your phone calls, you don't have to worry about this ambiguity or he said/she said situations. You can point to the record and prove exactly what was said  though keep in mind, this may actually work against you in some cases.

 Legal protections. Many businesses pursue call recording consistently for the purposes of legal protection. If any customers, end users, partners, or other parties try to hold you liable for supposed wrongdoing, you may be able to prove your innocence or demonstrate important principles with recorded phone calls.

 Training and education value. Also, recording phone calls gives you an archive of information that you can use for training and educating other employees. You can show other people what a successful sales call looks like, how to talk to an angry customer, or even how to negotiate more effectively over the phone.

Disadvantages of Recording Your Phone Calls

Call recording has been relatively mainstream for many years, but its not without its disadvantages.

 Difficulties in setup. While phone call recording software is usually simple and intuitive, there are situations where you could run into difficulties with setup. This is especially true if you're rolling out phone call recording for your entire organization, as even one confused employee can jeopardize the comprehensiveness of your strategy.

 Potential legal issues. Legal complexities and legal issues can also get in the way of your phone call recording. Before implementing any call recording policy in your business, it's important to work with a lawyer and ensure compliance. If you don't follow phone recording calls to the letter, you could land your business in legal trouble, resulting in both time and monetary expenses.

 Employee resistance. If you're thinking about recording phone calls across your entire enterprise, you may encounter some resistance from your employees. These employees may be self-conscious about their phone conversations, uncomfortable recording customers, or both. Emphasizing the advantages of call recording can help you persuade them to be onboard with this new policy.

 Storage and retrieval costs. If you plan on storing all your phone conversation data for the long term, storage and retrieval costs can accumulate. Youll need to have a plan in place for how to cycle out data from phone conversations that you no longer need  or a big enough budget to handle all your data storage needs.

 Privacy and security concerns. Some of your customers, users, and other phone conversation participants may have concerns about privacy or security. After all, if some nefarious party gets their hands on all your phone conversation recordings, it could cause leaks of sensitive information or result in other disastrous consequences. Better security standards and higher levels of transparency can resolve this potential issue.

Call recording can be valuable in both personal and professional contexts, as long as you're fully familiar with both the advantages and disadvantages of recording. Make sure you plan your call recording strategy thoroughly, if you do decide to follow through with it.
[October 05, 2023] Presbyterian Health Plan Partners with Unite Us on New Mexico's First Statewide, Closed-Loop Referral System Tweet

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M., Oct. 5, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Presbyterian Health Plan (PHP), the longest-serving Medicaid managed care organization in New Mexico, is partnering with Unite Us , the nation's leading software company enabling cross-sector collaboration to improve health and well-being, to create the first statewide closed-loop referral system in New Mexico. The closed-loop referral system is designed to address New Mexico communities' diverse health and social care needs more fully. "Improving the health of New Mexicans means working closely with community partners and local governments to connect people to care that addresses the whole person, from physical and behavioral care to social needs," said Brandon Fryar, president of PHP. "Long-term, a statewide, closed-loop referral system provides more complete data on the needs of New Mexicans. By working closely with organizations across the state, we can address identified gaps in health and social service resources together." Starting this year, PHP and Unite Us began engaging communities in six counties to build networks of providers, community organizations and other groups. The partnership prioritizes community groups working with pregnant patients, families with young children, Native Americans, people with behavioral health needs, seniors, and justice-involved individuals. In Dona Ana County, PHP worked closely with the Dona Ana Department of Health and Human Services and LC3, a local behavioral health collaborative, to successfully launch their network, Connect Dona Ana, on August 15, 2023. Unite Us is a software company bringing sectors together through technology to meet people's needs. Unite Us has active networks in 44 states and has supported statewide, closed-loop networks in several states, including Arizona and North Carolina. Unite Us has invested in New Mexico by building a team from the communities it serves that is working closely with PH.



"Our partnership with Presbyterian Health Plan is a natural fit, and the need to collaborate across healthcare and wellness services has never been greater," said Erin Willis, Director of Customer and Community Success at Unite Us. "We are aligned on a shared mission of improving the lives of individuals across New Mexico by supporting community-led systems of care, building trust in communities the same way that trust is facilitated between patient and provider, and adequately and accurately capturing the whole picture of a person's health." Since 2021, Presbyterian Healthcare Service's statewide delivery system of hospitals and clinics has initiated more than two million social needs screenings and provided tailored resource lists to patients who screen positive for social needs. The new PHP partnership builds on this work by using Unite Us' software to screen patients and then refer them to services. Participating organizations refer clients to each othereven if those they refer are not PHP members and do not receive care from Presbyterian providers. Santa Fe Connect, a closed-loop referral system active in Santa Fe, also uses the Unite Us platform to connect community members to services.

Through PHP's partnership with Unite Us, interested healthcare providers across New Mexico can join the closed-loop network. An unlimited number of community-based organizations can join at no cost. To learn more, contact Sankirtana Danner at [email protected] . How a Closed Loop Referral System Works The system enables healthcare providers, community organizations and health plan staff to screen community members for social needs like food insecurity or housing instability. If needs are identified, a secure, electronic referral is sent to organizations that can meet those needs through Unite Us' HITRUST-certified, HIPAA-compliant platform. Once a community member receives care, the service organization "closes the loop" by updating the shared platform with the referral outcome. Without this final step, referring organizations may not be aware of what happens after they make a referral. About Presbyterian Health Plan

Presbyterian Health Plan is a locally owned health plan that exists to improve the health of the members we serve. Presbyterian Health Plan provides commercial, Medicaid, Medicare, and individual insurance. It is part of Presbyterian Healthcare Services, a not-for-profit healthcare system of nine hospitals and a multi-specialty medical group. Founded in 1908, Presbyterian Healthcare Services is New Mexico's largest private employer, with more than 13,000 employees. Presbyterian Health Plan Media Contact

Amanda Schoenberg

[email protected] About Unite Us

Unite Us is the nation's leading software company enabling collaboration across sectors to improve the health and well-being of communities. Unite Us' secure solutions establish a new standard of care that identifies social care needs, helps connect people to services, and leverages meaningful outcomes data to drive community investment further. Through Unite Us' national network and software, community-based organizations, government agencies, health plans, and healthcare providers are all connected to better collaborate and meet the needs of the individuals in their communities. Follow Unite Us on LinkedIn , Twitter , Instagram , and Facebook . Unite Us Media Contact

Jaquetta Gooden

[email protected] View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/presbyterian-health-plan-partners-with-unite-us-on-new-mexicos-first-statewide-closed-loop-referral-system-301947913.html SOURCE Unite Us

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[October 04, 2023] Unleash Spectacular Power with BLUETTI's New Arrival and Prime Big Deal Days Tweet

SYDNEY, Oct. 5, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- From October 5th to 20th, BLUETTI, the renowned power station brand, is holding its Prime Big Deal Days. To add more excitement, the company will also launch a new model. Latest Innovation: BLUETTI EP760 Energy Storage System Beyond offering single-phase 7,600W backup power in 10ms, the EP760&B500 is an integrated home battery system for saving on energy bills. Its modular design allows users to choose two to four 4.96kWh B500 batteries based on their energy needs or solar generation. The EP760 system accepts 9,000W of solar input and stores any surplus in the batteries for future use. Without solar panels, the system serves as daily energy storage and charges as set to save money from time-of-use electricity policies. The model will be available in Australia from late October. BLUETTI Prime Big Day Deals Home BackupPower: AC300+B300+PV350



The AC300+B300 modular system is also a scalable power solution for different homes. It provides 3,000W power to run heaters, refrigerators, and sensitive computers. Featuring efficient 5,400W AC+solar dual charging, it can harness free solar energy and low-cost grid power to keep utility bills in check. Paired with BLUETTI folding solar panels like the PV350, the AC300 accepts 2,400W solar power to support off-grid living anywhere. Its 3,000W all-in-one counterpart, the EP500Pro, packs 5,120Wh power in a large, wheeled package, both powerful and movable. Portable Generators for Adventures: EB3A, EB70, AC200MAX, AC180

The BLUETTI EB3A and EB70 are compact companions for outdoor activities. Weighing about 4.6kg and 9.7kg respectively, the powerhouses are handy and capable of charging up all electronics and small devices during weekend camping. For more power and runtime, the BLUETTI AC200MAX and AC180 come into play. With capacities ranging from 1,152Wh to 2,048Wh, they ensure a consistent power supply for RV road trips and outdoor living. BLUETTI's new arrivals and deals provide an opportunity to get savings now and beyond. Don't miss out on these incredible offers. About BLUETTI BLUETTI has been committed to promoting sustainability and green energy solutions since its inception. By offering eco-friendly energy storage solutions for both indoor and outdoor use, BLUETTI aims to provide exceptional experiences for our homes while also contributing to a sustainable future for our planet. This commitment to sustainable energy has helped BLUETTI expand its reach to over 100 countries and gain the trust of millions of customers worldwide. View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/apac/news-releases/unleash-spectacular-power-with-bluettis-new-arrival-and-prime-big-deal-days-301943807.html SOURCE BLUETTI ENERGY PTY LTD

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Straits Research - Market Research Strategy | Strategy Consulting | Business Research | Business Consulting | Market Research

Governments of various nations and private companies are launching a variety of subsidiaries and programs to increase the implementation of green roof systems.

New York, United States, Oct. 05, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Green roofs are also known as vegetated roofs and living roofs. A green roof is a coating of planted flora on top of a waterproofing system installed on top of a completely flat or very gently sloping roof.

The global green roof market size is envisioned to reach USD 5,952 million growing at a CAGR of 15.9% during the forecast period, states Research Manager at Straits Research P. Ltd. Globally, there is an increase in residential construction and occupancy, which has acted as a significant market driver. In addition, government regulations governing the installation of green roof systems are expected to boost demand over the forecast period.

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Key Drivers

Due to their ability to keep buildings cool and increase their aesthetic appeal, there has been a rise in awareness of green roofs in residential and industrial areas. Additionally, the benefits associated with green roofs, such as a reduction in energy costs, a decrease in CO2 levels, a reduction in noise pollution, and an improvement in employee health, drive their global adoption, thereby fostering market expansion. In addition, the increasing emphasis on installing green roof systems in commercial construction projects is driving the growth of the green roof market. Increased construction of green roof systems in developing countries such as India, China, and Mexico significantly contributes to developing the global green roof market.

In addition, governments of various nations and private companies are launching a variety of subsidiaries and programs to increase the implementation of green roof systems. In September 2017, Counterpoint Sustainable Real Estate (SRE), headquartered in Connecticut, United States, rolled out a new financial plan for installing, maintaining, and providing green roof systems. As a result, growing awareness of green roof systems is anticipated to spur green roof market growth.

Story continues

Growth Opportunities

Numerous governments have mandated the installation of green roof systems. Additionally, governments offer homeowners subsidies for installing green roofing systems. for example, the German government subsidized 50% of building owners' total investment costs. In addition, the government provides tax incentives for businesses that adopt green roof systems. The New York City Department of Buildings mandated in November 2019 that all new and existing buildings install green roof systems. Consequently, government tax incentives provided to private industries that install green roof systems are anticipated to generate lucrative market expansion opportunities.

Regional Insights

Europe will likely grow at a CAGR of 15.12% and command the market with the largest share. The increasing awareness of green roof systems among the European populace is anticipated to propel the market expansion of green roofs. Moreover, implementing government regulations to install a green roof system is expected to stimulate the growth of the green roof market. Government spending on green building projects is expected to create lucrative growth opportunities for the green roof market.

The Asia Pacific Green Roof Market will be growing at a CAGR of 17.52% during forecast period. Rapid urbanization and an increase in construction activities in developing countries such as India, Singapore, and Vietnam drive the expansion of the Asia-Pacific green roof market. Between 2019 and 2022, India planned to invest USD 1.4 trillion in infrastructure development.

For instance, in Asia-Pacific, the Skyrise Greenery Program encourages installing green roof systems on commercial and residential buildings. For example, in September of this year, the Chinese government invested nearly USD 13 trillion in construction projects by 2030, thereby creating lucrative growth opportunities for the green roof market.

Key Highlights

The commercial application segment is expected to advance at a CAGR of 15.51% and will hold the largest market share.

Based on type, the extensive segment is expected to grow at a CAGR of 15.71% and will hold the largest share.

Based on the distribution channel, the segment of offline distribution is estimated to grow at a CAGR of 15.7% and hold the largest market share.

Based on regional analysis, Europe will likely grow at a CAGR of 15.12% and command the market with the largest share.

Competitive Players in the Market

Axter Limited Bauder Ltd. Green Roof Blocks Optigrun International AG Sempergreen Group American Hydrotech Inc. Barrett Company ArchiGreen Roof Ltd. Onduline Group SAS Xero Flor North America

Market News

In 2022, Barrett Company was acquired by Keene Family.

Global Green Roof Market: Segmentation

By Type

Extensive

Intensive

By Distribution Channel

Online

Offline

By Application

Residential

Commercial

Industrial

By Region

North America

Asia Pacific

Europe

LAMEA

About Straits Research Pvt Ltd.

Straits Research is a market intelligence company providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision-makers. Straits Research Pvt Ltd. provides actionable market research data, specially designed and presented for decision making and ROI.

Whether you are looking at business sectors in the next town or crosswise over continents, we understand the significance of being acquainted with the clients purchase. We overcome our clients issues by recognizing and deciphering the target group and generating leads with utmost precision. We seek to collaborate with our clients to deliver a broad spectrum of results through a blend of market and business research approaches.

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[October 04, 2023] ADA expands its global footprint with the launch of its Tokyo branch Tweet

TOKYO, Oct. 5, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- ADA, the region's largest independent data, artificial intelligence, and tech company proudly announces the opening of its latest office in Japan. As the powerhouse in data-driven solutions, ADA's foray into the Japanese market underscores its ambition to be the leading digital and data transformation partner for clients in Japan. This expansion signifies more than just a geographic move for ADA. With strong ties to Japan through its investors Softbank Corporation and Sumitomo Corporation, ADA is poised to solidify its footprint in the Japanese market by focusing on four major areas of client impact: Analytics and Customer Data Platforms: ADA's strength is delivering technology in tandem with operations. The company harnesses its capabilities in CDP, data analytics, data engineering, marketing, and more, operating side-by-side with clients to drive their digital transformation. Best-In-Class Data & AI Technology Providers: ADA nurtures close-knit collaborations with premier data and tech platforms, notably Treasure Data, to enhance and optimize clients' business outcomes. Leveraging ADA's Global Data & AI talent pool: With a team of 1,400 global talents, ADA promises to bring the best in machine learning, data analytics, performance marketing, and technology implementation expertise to the table. Srinivas Gattamneni, CEO of ADA, expressed his excitement about the expansion, stating, "We aim to become the best partner fr our Japanese customers in data and digital transformation. We nurture talent in the CDP, data analytics, and data engineering domains, and offer comprehensive data solutions. By fully leveraging the global team of ADA's 1,400 members, we support our clients' global expansion in areas such as machine learning, data analytics, performance marketing, and technology implementation."



On a similar note, Yosuke Shigehara, Country Director of ADA in Japan, commented, "We are a growth partner working to transform our clients' businesses by utilizing data. Our strength lies in the talent that has led data utilization in marketing over the years and the technical expertise we have cultivated in APAC. Moreover, through our strategic partnership with the SoftBank Group, we're bringing tech partners like Treasure Data to Japanese market. We're looking forward to amplifying the success of our Japanese clients." For businesses and organizations interested in learning more about ADA's offerings or collaborating with its dynamic team, the new operations in Japan stands ready to foster connections, drive growth, and lead data-driven transformations.

About ADA ADA provides services that enable enterprises and brands to drive top line growth through digital marketing and sales transformation across Asia. It operates three data-driven service segments: i. Marketing Solutions: provides performance marketing, which enables clients to reach consumers efficiently on social media, native ads, display ads and search marketing; creative solutions to drive user engagement and conversation rates; and marketing technology transformation involves consultation on the implementation of managed services that enable brands to achieve superior customer experiences with technology platforms. ii. Digital Commerce Solutions: provide brands with end-to-end store management to fulfil enablement on marketplaces, social channels, third party messaging channels and owned websites. iii. Customer Engagement Solutions: used by enterprises to enhance customer support and communicate with consumers in real-time through SMS, WhatsApp and other messaging applications. iv. Data & AI: enables brands to unlock the power of data through data engineering, analytics, strategy and management for seamless problem solving and enhanced business outcomes. ADA, which operates 13 offices across Asia with approximately 1,400 employees, was formed in 2018 and is headquartered in Singapore and Malaysia. View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/apac/news-releases/ada-expands-its-global-footprint-with-the-launch-of-its-tokyo-branch-301947875.html SOURCE ADA

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[October 05, 2023] NP: Revolution in the Preservation of Cultural Assets and Energy Efficiency Tweet

NEW DEHLI, Oct. 5, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The internationally recognized NP technology from Nanopool GmbH, Germany, represents a groundbreaking innovation in a world where time and environmental conditions incessantly wear away at our most precious cultural assets. Developed to protect historic sites from moisture and weathering, the NP technology has also shown impressive results in the field of renewable energy. In Asia, a region rich in historical heritage, NP has proven its effectiveness. During archaeological excavations threatened by unexpected heavy rain, the NP technology was used as an emergency solution. While treated areas remained intact, unprotected areas were washed away by more than 50%. This impressive example has shown that the NP technology can be unique in the field of cultural preservation. Moreover, NP was honored with the prestigious GreenWorldAward. In gigawatt PV-plants in China, the use of NP-technology increased yields by up to 20% under diffuse lighting conditions. A clear testament to the enormous potential of this technology in the renewable energy sector. Nanopool GmbH will now bring its tried-and-true technology to India. In line with the "Made in India" initiative, this project will promote the education and further training of the next generation of technicians in nanotechnology. In collaboration with local partners, Nanopool aims to certify professionals in this field. A significant step in offering young people qualified career opportunities.



For government agencies and investors, the NP-technology, combined with the expertise of Nanopool GmbH, represents a promising opportunity. This is not just about preserving cultural treasures, but also about creating a more sustainable future in the fields of energy and education. Overall, Nanopool GmbH, with its innovative NP-technology and its commitment to social responsibility, represents the pinnacle in the nanotechnology industry and stands for the combination of technology, culture, and sustainability.

Contacts: nanopool GmbH

Zum Felsacker 76

D-66773 Hulzweiler

+49 (0) 6831 - 890 2712 URL: www.nanopool.eu

Questions: [email protected]

Photos: http://www.nanopool.eu/en/press-download/ Landing pages:

https://www.nanopool.eu/en/our-solutions-for-the-protection-and-preservation-of-cultural-heritage-and-monuments/

SOLAR  nanopool GmbH View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/in/news-releases/np-revolution-in-the-preservation-of-cultural-assets-and-energy-efficiency-301947100.html

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[October 05, 2023] Employees and Businesses Open to Embrace Generative AI, but Concerns Over Jobs and Skills Remain Tweet

About 9 in 10 business leaders (18% strongly agree, 73% somewhat agree) agree that generative AI technologies can enhance employees' work quality and support daily tasks.

Almost 3 in 4 employees (7% very comfortable, 67% somewhat comfortable) are comfortable working alongside generative AI technologies, with 68% using generative AI technologies in their day-to-day work (5% to a large extent, 26% to a moderate extent, 37% to a small extent).

using generative AI technologies in their day-to-day work However, 2 in 5 (41%) employees are concerned that generative AI technologies will replace their jobs, alongside concerns over security (52%), legal and ethics (40%), and their own digital fluency and proficiency (31%).

Business leaders share similar sentiments towards generative AI technologies, with concerns over transitioning workers to higher-value job roles (40%). SINGAPORE, Oct. 5, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The emergence of Artificial Intelligence (AI) has significantly impacted creativity and productivity. About nine in ten business leaders (18% strongly agree, 73% somewhat agree) agree that generative AI technologies can enhance employees' work quality and support daily tasks. Almost three in four employees (7% very comfortable, 67% somewhat comfortable) are comfortable working alongside generative AI technologies, with 68% using generative AI technologies in their day-to-day work (5% to a large extent, 26% to a moderate extent, 37% to a small extent). However, employees are concerned that generative AI technologies will replace their jobs (41%), alongside concerns over security (52%), legal and ethics (40%), their own digital fluency and proficiency (31%), and the output generated potentially having inaccuracies or biases (29%). These sentiments are shared by business leaders, who are also concerned about transitioning their workers to higher-value job roles (40%). These are some of the key findings from the recetly launched Future Jobs and Skills Report 2023. Based on a survey of 650 working professionals encompassing employees and business leaders, the report explores a dual perspective on the current job market, in-demand jobs and skills, and the training landscape in Singapore. With the rise of AI in workplaces, the survey also delved into both employees' and business leaders' views on this emerging trend.



Almost four in five business leaders (21% very aware, 55% somewhat aware) are aware of the current use of generative AI technologies by their employees. In fact, 63% of business leaders reveal that their organisation encourages the use of generative AI technologies. However, there is a discrepancy between how business leaders and employees view organisational openness towards the use of generative AI. As compared to business leaders, only 41% of employees say that their organisation encourages the use of technologies at work to a large or moderate extent.

According to business leaders, the top opportunities presented by generative AI are AI-powered chatbots (59%), personalised customer experience (58%), and price optimisation (45%). Similarly, employees recognise the advantages of generative AI, with its ability to analyse complex data (48%), generate ideas, designs, and content (47%), and customise work based on requirements given (40%), seen as the top benefits. Commenting on the survey findings, Sean Lim, Chief Human Resources Officer at NTUC says, "Investing in relevant employee learning and development is becoming increasingly crucial with the advent of advanced technologies like generative AI. Besides ensuring that employees are equipped with the technical know-how, having learning agility, for example, is an important critical core skill or soft skill as it involves being open to new knowledge and enables one to learn, adapt, unlearn, and relearn to keep up with constantly changing conditions in the workplace. To ensure successful and safe integration of AI at the workplace, it is essential that employers adopt an 'employee-centric' approach. Open communication channels and collaboration are necessary to involve workers in AI adoption and provide them with the assurance that AI will augment their jobs rather than replace them." To download the Future Jobs and Skills Report 2023, please visit https://www.ntuclearninghub.com/future-jobs-skills-2023. To find out more about the courses, training, and grants, visit NTUC LearningHub's website at www.ntuclearninghub.com. ### END ### About NTUC LearningHub NTUC LearningHub is the leading Continuing Education and Training provider in Singapore which aims to transform the lifelong employability of working people. Since our corporatisation in 2004, we have been working with employers and individual learners to provide learning solutions in areas such as Cloud, Infocomm Technology, Healthcare, Employability & Literacy, Business Excellence, Workplace Safety & Health, Security, Human Resources and Foreign Worker Training. To date, NTUC LearningHub has helped over 29,000 organisations and achieved more than 2.6 million training places across more than 2,900 courses with a pool of about 900 certified trainers. As a Total Learning Solutions provider to organisations, we also forge partnerships to offer a wide range of relevant end-to-end training. Besides in-person training, we also offer instructor-led virtual live classes (VLCs) and asynchronous online learning. The NTUC LearningHub Learning eXperience Platform (LXP)  a one-stop online learning mobile application  offers timely, bite-sized and quality content for learners to upskill anytime and anywhere. Beyond learning, LXP also serves as a platform for jobs and skills development for both workers and companies. For more information, visit www.ntuclearninghub.com. View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/apac/news-releases/employees-and-businesses-open-to-embrace-generative-ai-but-concerns-over-jobs-and-skills-remain-301947881.html SOURCE NTUC LearningHub

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[October 05, 2023] SmartDV Rolls Out Multi-Phase Expansion Plan Tweet

SAN JOSE, Calif., Oct. 05, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- SmartDV Technologies, provider of flexible, customizable semiconductor design IP (intellectual property) and verification solutions, has expanded engineering operations beyond its headquarters in Bengaluru with the opening of a new office space in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, India.

SmartDV has achieved steady growth over the past several years, prompting the hiring of additional engineers to support customers and accelerate the development of new IP products. Establishing a team at the Tamil Nadu site is the first step in a multi-phase expansion plan as the company looks ahead to the opening of a newly constructed engineering facility in Chittoor, Andhra Pradesh, in the coming months, with another building to follow thereafter. The companys long-term plan for growth continues to evolve in response to customer demand and new opportunities. SmartDVs top priority is always to furnish our customers with the IP that they need for their cutting-edge design projects, explained Deepak Kumar Tala, CEO and managing director of SmartDV. As with our IP products themselves, we place a high value on flexibility and responsivenesseven as that etends to our engineering operations, the size of our team, and the focal areas of our research and development team.



The new Tamil Nadu office houses both engineers who have transferred from SmartDV headquarters and new hires, with plans to recruit additional staff in the coming months. The facility and team are under the management of Director of Engineering Arunkumar Govindharaj and will focus predominantly on memory and automotive technologies. Tamil Nadu Office Address

SmartDV Technologies India Private Limited

Building No. 60 B, Tarun Towers, Sethumadai Road

Anaimalai  642104, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu

INDIA About SmartDV At SmartDV Technologies, we believe theres a better way to approach semiconductor intellectual property (IP) for integrated circuits. Weve been focused exclusively on IP since 2007so whether youre sourcing standards-based design IP for your next SoC, ASIC, or FPGA, or seeking verification solutions (VIP) to put your chip design through its paces, youll find SmartDVs IP straightforward to integrate. By combining proprietary SmartCompiler technology with the knowledge of hundreds of expert engineers, SmartDV can customize IP to meet your unique design objectives: quickly, economically, and reliably. Dont allow other suppliers to force one-size-fits-all cores into your chip design. Get the IP you need, tailored to your specifications, with SmartDV: IP Your Way. Learn more about SmartDV at www.smartdvtech.com. Connect with us on LinkedIn. SmartDV, SmartDV Technologies, SmartDV NA, SmartCompiler, IP Your Way, and the SmartDV logo are trademarks of SmartDV Technologies India Private Limited. Any and all other trademarks present in this release are the property of their respective owners. All rights reserved. Media Contact

McKenzie Ross

Vice President of Marketing, SmartDV

[email protected]



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[October 05, 2023] Sodexo Engage Becomes Pluxee UK Tweet

LONDON, Oct. 5, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Sodexo Engage, the leading expert in employee engagement, today announces the launch and UK implementation of its new brand, Pluxee. Pluxee is a modern and digital brand that reflects the vision and ambition of the company and mirrors both its present identity and aspirations for the future. By adopting this new identity in the UK, the company aims to establish a stronger and more distinctive presence in the highly dynamic market. Pluxee UK, stands as a formidable player in the employee engagement industry, serving 5,000 customers, collaborating with over 500 retailers, and enabling its end users to save annually a total of 19.9 million (in 2022). Burcin Ressamoglu, CEO of Pluxee UK, said: "I am delighted to introduce Pluxee into the UK market as a statement of our future intent. Pluxee UK builds on 60 years of experience in the industry and the invaluable support of our talented and dedicated employees. These foundations will enable us to continue to deliver on our vision of opening up a world of opportunities for people to enjoy more of what really matters in their lives." The launch of Pluxee in the UK already builds on a year full of major milestones and achievements including: Exceptional Employee Engagement. The company has achieved an impressive employee engagement rate of 88.3% and a consistently high well-being engagement rate averaging 88.4%, solidifying Pluxee UK as an emplyer of choice. Furthermore, Pluxee UK has attained the prestigious IIP (Investors In People) Gold Standard Accreditation, with ambitious plans to elevate its status to Platinum within the next year.

The company has achieved an impressive employee engagement rate of 88.3% and a consistently high well-being engagement rate averaging 88.4%, solidifying Pluxee UK as an emplyer of choice. Furthermore, Pluxee UK has attained the prestigious IIP (Investors In People) Gold Standard Accreditation, with ambitious plans to elevate its status to Platinum within the next year. Volunteering efforts and local community commitment. Last year, Pluxee UK employees contributed 655 hours to various volunteer initiatives, including Food Bank Warehouse shifts, Dragon Boat Race Fundraisers, and the MK Act Employment Fayre. Notably, Pluxee UK employees dedicated 105 business hours to the Stop Hunger initiative, supporting 5,000 families through volunteering at the Milton Keynes Food Bank. This initiative aligns with its global corporate responsibility program, Better Tomorrow 2025, demonstrating Pluxee UK's strong commitment to community impact.

Last year, Pluxee UK employees contributed 655 hours to various volunteer initiatives, including Food Bank Warehouse shifts, Dragon Boat Race Fundraisers, and the MK Act Employment Fayre. Notably, Pluxee UK employees dedicated 105 business hours to the Stop Hunger initiative, supporting 5,000 families through volunteering at the Milton Keynes Food Bank. This initiative aligns with its global corporate responsibility program, Better Tomorrow 2025, demonstrating Pluxee UK's strong commitment to community impact. Committed to promoting responsible and sustainable choices. Pluxee UK has developed an ambitious strategy to reduce its environmental footprint. It has achieved the first Net-Zero trajectory validated by the Science-Based Targets initiative (SBTi) in its industry. Furthermore, diversity, equity, and inclusion (DE&I) remain at the forefront of Pluxee UK's agenda, championing equitable opportunities, valuing diversity, and remaining committed to creating an inclusive working environment.

Pluxee UK has developed an ambitious strategy to reduce its environmental footprint. It has achieved the first Net-Zero trajectory validated by the Science-Based Targets initiative (SBTi) in its industry. Furthermore, diversity, equity, and inclusion (DE&I) remain at the forefront of Pluxee UK's agenda, championing equitable opportunities, valuing diversity, and remaining committed to creating an inclusive working environment. New and the first Pluxee branded office  Pluxee UK's brand new workspace, the Enigma Building in Milton Keynes , was inaugurated a few weeks ago, providing employees with more opportunities for collaboration and socialising, prioritising their well-being throughout the workday.



About Pluxee

Pluxee is the global leading employee benefits and engagement partner that opens up a world of opportunities to help everyone enjoy more of what really matters to them. Through a full range of innovative and digital solutions deployed in 31 countries, Pluxee creates meaningful, engaging, and personalised experiences to contribute to the well-being of individuals at work and beyond. In the UK, Pluxee offers award-winning employee benefits, rewards and recognition all designed to bring more value to people. Globally, Pluxee supports the purchasing power and promotes the well-being of more than 36 million consumers. Pluxee accompanies 500,000 clients to develop more meaningful relationships with their employees and improve their engagement. Pluxee simplifies the life of 1.7 million merchants every day. Strengthened by its historical ties with Sodexo, Pluxee with its 5,000 employees is committed to increase its influence as CSR leader by giving its clients, partners and consumers the means to make more sustainable choices every day. For more information: www.pluxee.uk. Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2238651/Pluxee_Logo.jpg View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/sodexo-engage-becomes-pluxee-uk-301947191.html

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[October 05, 2023] IGEM 2023 RACES TOWARDS NET ZERO Tweet

Flagship Initiatives Launched to Propel Green Economy KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia, Oct. 5, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The 14 th International Greentech & Eco Products Exhibition & Conference Malaysia (IGEM 2023), targeting RM4 billion in business leads and 40,000 visitors from 40 countries, was officiated today by YAB Dato' Sri Haji Fadillah Haji Yusof, the Deputy Prime Minister on behalf of YAB Dato' Seri Anwar Ibrahim, the Prime Minister of Malaysia, in the presence of cabinet ministers, ambassadors, international delegates and other dignitaries. Organised by the Ministry of Natural Resources, Environment and Climate Change (NRECC) and co-organised by the Malaysian Green Technology and Climate Change Corporation (MGTC), IGEM 2023, Southeast Asia leading trade event for green technologies and eco solutions, has an impressive track record of having delivered RM41 billion in business leads, over 530,000 visitors from over 112 countries since 2010. Referring to the Prime Minister's speech YAB Dato' Sri Haji Fadillah bin Haji Yusof said, "Transitioning to a net-zero world calls for nothing less than a complete transformation of how we produce, consume, and move about. A growing coalition of countries, cities, businesses, and other institutions are pledging to get to net-zero emissions. More than 70 countries have set a net-zero target." "Without a doubt, IGEM 2023 plays a decisive leadership role in accelerating and delivering the region's Net Zero and just energy transition agenda. There are enormous opportunities to steer us to sustainability while ensuring robust economic and social progress. Something that is exemplified in the Malaysia Madani way of life that my government is strongly advocating and adopting," he added. During the opening ceremony, YAB Dato' Sri Haji Fadillah bin Haji Yusof unveiled the much-awaited Hydrogen Economy and Technology Roadmap, to unlock the prospect of harnessing a new energy carrier and the knock-on economic effects it would bring. Additionally, Leader Energy signed a strategic partnership with BASF Stationary Energy Stoage GmbH, to promote the development of long-duration energy storage projects in Southeast Asia, having already identified 8 LDES projects with a total estimated value of RM1.8 billion.



YAB also witnessed the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) among PMB Aluminium Sdn. Bhd., Sumitomo Corporation Asia & Oceania Pte. Ltd and Nandina Remanufacturing Pte. Ltd. to expand the use of raw materials derived from retiring aircraft such as airplanes and helicopters, aligning with their shared vision of growing the circular economy to drive sustainable manufacturing. Furthermore, during the opening ceremony, Tenaga Nasional Berhad unveiled the Malaysia Green Attribute Trading System, or mGATS, as a national marketplace for Malaysia Renewable Energy Certificates (mREC), as part of the Government's efforts to further propel the RE sector.

Delivering the welcoming remarks, Minister of Natural Resources, Environment and Climate Change, YB Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad said, "Having had the opportunity yesterday to personally meet with some of the delegates, visit the exhibition floor and take part in some of the conference sessions, it is clear to me that IGEM's role as one of ASEAN's leading trade events for green tech and eco products remains as relevant today as it was when its doors first opened in 2010." "The government's energy transition intent under the National Energy Transition Roadmap augurs well with my Ministry's current effort to decarbonise the power sector through accelerated deployment of RE capacity in our power installed capacity from the existing 25% to 70% in 2050," he concluded. The exhibition floor is organised by the sub-themes of Empowering Cities, Electrifying Mobility, Decarbonising Energy, Accelerating Circularity and Conserving Biodiversity with leading corporations such as UOB, Cypark Resources Berhad, Polymateria Limited, Bio Eneco, Lenovo, Canadian Solar and Cradle Fund making a presence with their impressive booths. The exhibition also features pavilions for Austria and Canada. Some of the prominent Malaysian participants include the Ministry of Health (MOH), the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (MOSTI) and the state of Sabah, to name just a few. A key highlight of IGEM this year is the AtoZero ASEAN Summit which is co-located and runs concurrently with the event. Powered by Gentari, the Summit convenes the who's who from across the net zero value chain, including key decision makers and changemakers to comprehensively explore pathways, policies and business opportunities to drive the global net zero transition agenda. IGEM is hosting several conferences on topics such as climate change, low-carbon cities, science and innovation, hydrogen economy, waste management, circular economy, water, energy efficiency and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. IGEM is also featuring the much-in-demand business networking sessions organised by the Malaysian Investment Development Authority (MIDA), Malaysia External Trade Development Corporation (MATRADE) and MGTC. During the three-day event, numerous Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) are being signed between Malaysian and international parties, reinforcing their commitment to collaborate in the race towards net zero. For further details on IGEM 2023, please visit www.igem.my. View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/apac/news-releases/igem-2023-races-towards-net-zero-301948052.html SOURCE Malaysian Green Technology and Climate Change Corporation

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[October 05, 2023] HKBN Enterprise Solutions Debuts RUCKUS's AI-Powered Managed Wi-Fi Service in Hong Kong Tweet

HONG KONG, Oct. 5, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- HKBN Enterprise Solutions (HKBNES) under HKBN Group (SEHK stock code: 1310), the leading ICT Powerhouse in Hong Kong, has teamed up with RUCKUS Networks (RUCKUS), a global leader in artificial intelligence (AI) and technology innovation, to introduce RUCKUS's AI-powered Managed Wi-Fi service in Hong Kong, making the territory's first access to this cutting-edge technology. RUCKUS AI is a game-changer in network management, with significant productivity enhancements for businesses worldwide, including up to a 70% reduction in Mean Time to Resolution and a 60% decrease in IT Time. HKBNES is thrilled to bring these benefits to its customers in Hong Kong, offering an AI-driven solution that proactively predicts and prevents potential Wi-Fi faults before they occur. William Ho, HKBN Co-Owner and CEO, Enterprise Solutions said, "The collaboration between HKBNES and RUCKUS allows Hong Kong businesses to address the growing complexities of network management in an increasingly digital world. Via including RUCKUS AI as part of our IT.Simplified business solution package for Small To Medium Enterprises, we equip enterprises of all sizes with a solution that simplifies management, enhances visibility, and optimises energy usage. By offloading the management burden from IT professionals, businesses can focus on strategic initiatives, enhancing performance and growth. With the introduction of RUCKUS's AI-powered Managed Wi-Fi service in Hong Kong, we are driving forward our commitment to make our customers' businesses stronger." AI and technology innovation play a pivotal role in addressing the complexities of managing Wi-Fi networks. RUCKUS, with their impressive leadership in AI technology development, stands out as an industry leader in this domain. By partnering with RUCKUS, HKBNES can leverage their expertise and leadership to bring cutting-edge AI capabilities to Wi-Fi management in Hong Kong. The RUCKUS AI-powered Managed Wi-Fi service provides a host of benefits to customers, including: Enhanced network performance : The AI-enabled platform continuously adapts to network conditions to optimise coverage, capacity, and client connections. This ensures maximum network performance and efficiency, even in high-density environments, providing businesses with a reliable and consistent Wi-Fi connection.

: The AI-enabled platform continuously adapts to network conditions to optimise coverage, capacity, and client connections. This ensures maximum network performance and efficiency, even in high-density environments, providing businesses with a reliable and consistent Wi-Fi connection. Seamless user experience : The system prioritises critical applications and dvices based on real-time network traffic analysis. Users can enjoy a seamless browsing experience with a stable and smooth Wi-Fi connection that adapts to their needs, even in bustling office environments or crowded public venues.

: The system prioritises critical applications and dvices based on real-time network traffic analysis. Users can enjoy a seamless browsing experience with a stable and smooth Wi-Fi connection that adapts to their needs, even in bustling office environments or crowded public venues. Simplified network management : AI capabilities automate tasks including issue detection, diagnosis, and optimisation recommendations, simplifying network management for administrators. Proactive troubleshooting and self-healing capabilities minimise downtime and ensure uninterrupted connectivity.

: AI capabilities automate tasks including issue detection, diagnosis, and optimisation recommendations, simplifying network management for administrators. Proactive troubleshooting and self-healing capabilities minimise downtime and ensure uninterrupted connectivity. Robust security : The solution incorporates advanced encryption protocols, authentication mechanisms, and threat prevention capabilities to safeguard the network and protect against unauthorised access and potential cyber threats.

: The solution incorporates advanced encryption protocols, authentication mechanisms, and threat prevention capabilities to safeguard the network and protect against unauthorised access and potential cyber threats. Scalability and future-proofing : The service supports a wide range of deployment scenarios, from small enterprises to large organizations, and excels in high-density environments like stadiums, campuses, and public venues. Built on advanced technologies and standards, it ensures compatibility with emerging trends and innovations.

: The service supports a wide range of deployment scenarios, from small enterprises to large organizations, and excels in high-density environments like stadiums, campuses, and public venues. Built on advanced technologies and standards, it ensures compatibility with emerging trends and innovations. Valuable analytics and insights : Comprehensive analytics and reporting tools provide detailed insights into network performance, user behavior, and application usage. These insights can be leveraged for capacity planning, troubleshooting, and optimising network resources, facilitating informed decision-making.



Wilson Ching , Regional Director, GC ( M ainland China, HK, Macau and Taiwan ), RUCKUS NETWORKS concluded, "We're thrilled to extend our strategic collaboration with HKBNES to bring our AI-powered Managed Wi-Fi solution to Hong Kong . This partnership leverages the strengths of both RUCKUS's industry-leading AI technology and HKBNES's exceptional connectivity capabilities. Together, we're delivering advanced AI capabilities for Wi-Fi management to empower businesses in Hong Kong . We're committed to support Hong Kong enterprises to stay at the forefront of the digital era, boost productivity, and drive success." About RUCKUS Networks

RUCKUS Networks ("RUCKUS"), a business unit of CommScope, builds and delivers purpose-driven networks that perform in the tough environments of the industries we serve. RUCKUS delivers high-performance wireless LAN, wired LAN, IoT, assurance and security solutions that enable exceptional connection experiences for guests, students, residents, citizens and employees. Best-in-class hardware and Al-driven software reduce complexity and improve business outcomes for the world's most demanding industries.

For news and updates, follow us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/commscope-apac/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CommScopeAPAC/ Company website: https://www.commscope.com/ruckus/ About HKBN Group

Headquartered in Hong Kong with operations spanning across Hong Kong, Macau and mainland China, HKBN Group ("the Group" or "HKBN") is a leading integrated telecommunications and technology services provider. The Group's extensive tri-carrier fibre infrastructure covers over 2.54 million residential homes and more than 8,000 commercial buildings and facilities across Hong Kong, offering comprehensive one-stop Information and Communications Technology ("ICT") solutions and Infinite-play bundles to both individual and enterprise customers. Committed to creating a lasting positive impact to wherever it operates, HKBN embraces a core purpose to "Make our Home a Better Place to Live" and has received a highest possible rating of AAA in MSCI's 2022 ESG Ratings assessment in environment, society and governance. The Group is managed by hundreds of Co-Owners (supervisory and management level Talents in the Group) who invested their savings to buy shares of HKBN Ltd. For more information about HKBN, please visit https://www.hkbn.net/group/. About HKBN Enterprise Solutions

HKBN Enterprise Solutions ("HKBNES") is the arm of HKBN Group ("HKBN" or the "Group"). As a leading system integration ICT services provider, it focuses on enterprise solutions development. Comprises a professional team and profound experience, together with HKBN's unique tri-carrier network, HKBNES provides enterprises with one-stop comprehensive digital transformation solutions, including cloud and data centres, cyber security, smart and digital solutions, AegisConnect, SME solutions IT.Simplified, and more. For more information about HKBN Enterprise Solutions, please visit www.hkbnes.net/en. Jointly issued by HKBNES and RUCKUS View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/apac/news-releases/hkbn-enterprise-solutions-debuts-ruckuss-ai-powered-managed-wi-fi-service-in-hong-kong-301948152.html SOURCE HKBN Enterprise Solutions

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[October 05, 2023] Geek+ leads market share ranking for order fulfillment mobile robots worldwide Tweet

New market share rankings by Interact Analysis put Geek+ as n.1 mobile robots market leader for order fulfillment, and n.1 global AMR provider for the fifth year in a row

Ranking illustrates wide industry adoption of Geek+ flagship Shelf-to-Person system, an affordable and flexible order fulfillment picking solution ATLANTA, Oct. 5, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Geek+, the global leader in mobile robots for logistics, has been ranked by research firm Interact Analysis as the global market leader in order fulfillment robots. The British-based firm's latest industry forecast underlines the continued growth of the warehouse robotics industry, and highlights Geek+'s leading position in the categories of both order fulfillment robots and Autonomous Mobile Robots. In the order fulfillment category, Geek+'s market share is more than double compared to the companies ranked second and third. Yong Zheng, founder and CEO at Geek+ said: "these rankings show that our products, led by our Shelf-to-Person solutions, are uniquely designed to fit retailers' needs for flexible and fast order ulfillment across the globe. Our teams develop systems designed to solve the challenges of labor scarcity and fast throughput requirements in an uncertain economy. They accompany businesses as they grow, and require minimal initial investment. In today's uncertain economy, it's clear that mobile robots offer the best alternative to traditional automation systems."



Ash Sharma, Managing Director at Interact Analysis said: "Our research shows the rise and rise and rise of mobile robots, led by the demand for flexible, efficient and scalable systems able to meet new industry challenges such as fast delivery, rising warehouse costs and labor scarcity and retention. Geek+ has achieved remarkable growth in the past few years and continues to innovate with its logistics solutions. Geek+ has deployed over 30,000 mobile robots for more than 700 global customers in the retail, apparel, third party logistics, pharmaceutical and automotive industries. It has the industry's most extensive order fulfillment product portfolio, including its flagship shelf-to-person solution, a tote-to-person height storage system, a hybrid pallet storage and picking system and a robotic sortation system. With a full suite of order fulfillment systems, Geek+ is proud to offer award-winning, efficient, reliable and cutting edge mobile robotic solutions.

About Geek+ Geek+ is a global leader in robotic solutions for logistics. We develop Autonomous Mobile-Robot (AMR) solutions to realize flexible, reliable, and highly efficient automation for warehouses and supply chain management. Geek+ is trusted by over 700 global industry leaders and has been recognized as the world leader in autonomous mobile robots. Founded in 2015, Geek+ has over 1,500 employees, with offices in the United States, Germany, the United Kingdom, Japan, South Korea, Mainland China, Hong Kong SAR, and Singapore. For more information, please visit: https://www.geekplus.com/ View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/apac/news-releases/geek-leads-market-share-ranking-for-order-fulfillment-mobile-robots-worldwide-301939401.html SOURCE Geekplus Europe GmbH

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[October 05, 2023] Exotec Reaches Over 100 Customer Sites Accelerating the Adoption of Warehouse Robotics and Automation Around the World Tweet

The company is on track to hire 200+ employees globally by the end of the year as it continues to expand its presence across APAC, Europe, and North America

ATLANTA, Oct. 5, 2023 /PRNewswire/ --Today, Exotec ?, a global warehouse robotics provider, announced its continued business expansion reaching over 100 customer sites globally. The company is on track to increase its global employee headcount 80% YoY by 2024 to support record business growth across APAC, Europe, and North America. "Reaching more than 100 customer sites signals an important milestone for our business and the momentum of the warehouse robotics category," says Exotec CEO and Co-founder Romain Moulin. "Leading brands trust Exotec not only to improve operational efficiency and augment their human workforces in the warehouse, but use it as a driving force to reinvent their entire supply chains." "Amid global economic uncertainty, prolonged labor shortages, and rising consumer expectations, warehouse automation emerges as a compelling market opportunity," said Christian Resch, Partner at the Growth Equity business within Goldman Sachs Asset Management. "We believe Exotec is well-positioned to take advantage of this opportunity due to their unique approach to engineering, innovation, and a proven track-record of success helping the world's largest brands." North America

Originally founded in France, Exotec entered the North American market in 2020 , ready to take on the world's largest economy. In less than 3 years, Exotec has established its North American headquarters in Atlanta where it now counts a team of 70+ people, with plans to continue hiring to support strong customer demand in the region. Currently, there are 20+ customer sites across the U.S. and Canada for leading brands including Gap Inc., Ariat, and Decathlon. The North American market is expected to represent one third of Exotec's global business by 2025.



Western Europe

In Western Europe, Exotec drove tremendous growth with new customer wins and expansions into new countries. In June, Exotec partnered with CEVA Logistics to deliver 57 robots to two sites in the Netherlands, and in July Exotec partnered with Lyreco , a global office supply distributor, to deliver robots to its distribution center in France. In April 2023, Exotec solidified its presence in the UK market with a significant customer partnership with Alliance Automotive Group (AAG) , a European leader in the automotive aftermarket industry.

Central Europe

Pushing its rapid growth throughout the rest of Europe, Exotec continues to build momentum in the Central European region. The company recently announced its partnership with Polish Integrator A1 Sorter which already resulted in a joint project with ILS, a Polish logistics service provider for the automotive industry. A1 Sorter and Exotec will outfit an ILS fulfillment center located at the company's headquarters in Zakroczym, Poland, with the signature Skypod system. APAC

As one of the world's fastest-growing markets, Asia has been of particular focus for Exotec as it expands across the globe. In August 2023, the company announced it had entered the Korean region with a partnership with POSCO DX Co. Ltd. , an engineering and IT service provider. South Korea is the second Asian country, following Japan, to embrace Exotec solutions and represent a strategic market for the company. In Japan, Exotec continued the record growth with new partnerships to deliver its Skypod robotics systems to integrated logistics provider, Alps Logistics , and a fulfillment service provider, acca international About Exotec

Exotec builds elegant goods-to-person warehouse robotic solutions for the world's largest brands. The company combines the best of hardware and software to offer flexible warehouse systems that drive operational efficiency, add resiliency, and improve working conditions for warehouse operators. 30+ industry-leading brands including Carrefour, Decathlon, Gap Inc., and UNIQLO trust Exotec to improve their operations and profitably navigate rapid shifts in business models and customer expectations. Learn more at Exotec.com. View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/exotec-reaches-over-100-customer-sites-accelerating-the-adoption-of-warehouse-robotics-and-automation-around-the-world-301947953.html SOURCE Exotec

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[October 05, 2023] GivBux Enlists DACE Marketing Consultants for Digital Initiatives Tweet

NEWPORT BEACH, Calif., Oct. 05, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- GivBux, Inc. (OTC: GBUX), the trailblazing company that weaves together brands, consumers and charities into a unified economic ecosystem through its proprietary GivBux Super App, is excited to announce its strategic partnership with DACE Marketing Consultants, Inc. This seasoned firm, specializing in investor relations and digital marketing strategies, will serve as a workhorse to enhance GivBux's investor relations and communications efforts.

DACE Marketing will collaborate closely with GivBux's senior management team to elevate the company's reach online. Together, they will craft a robust shareholder communication program aimed at bolstering GivBux's presence within the investment community, while simultaneously deploying strategies to increase daily active users on the app. Robert Thompson, president of GivBux, expressed his enthusiasm, stating, "GivBux is thrilled to embark on this collaboration with DACE Marketing as we intensify our focus on increasing our digital footprint." Ian Reed, founder of DACE Marketing Consultants, Inc., shared his excitement, saying, "I am honored to be part of this pivotal moment in GivBux's journey. GivBux is poised to revolutionize the online shopping landscape in unprecedented ways with its GivBux Super App, seamlessly integrating shopping, communication and charitable initiatives. With a combination of the DACE marketing network and such a high-quality app, it is my belief that our marketing efforts will generate excellent ROI for the company." About GivBux, Inc. The GivBux Super App revolutionizes shopping by offering a user-friendly tool to make purchases swiftly at over 100 national retailers, along with an expanding roster of local merchants. Users earn cashback on every purchase, a portion of which can be directed towards a charity of their choice, embodying GivBux Inc.s commitment to "give back." Additionally, the app is evolving to include numerous functionalities like social networking, e-commerce, banking, messaging, food delivery, and transportation, following the Super App model. The GivBux Super App is currently available for free on the Google Play Store (Android) and the Apple App Store (IOS).



With aspirations to build the largest community of givers in the United States (and eventually globally), GivBux is forging a new path. For more details and regular updates, visit https://givbux.com. Safe Harbor Statement

This press release contains forward-looking statements and information, as defined within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, and the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and is subject to the Safe Harbor created by those sections. This material contains statements about expected future events and/or financial results that are forward-looking in nature and as such are by definition subject to risks and uncertainties. Such statements may be preceded by the words intends, may, will, plans, expects, anticipates, projects, predicts, estimates, aims, believes, hopes, potential or similar words. Forward-looking statements are based on certain assumptions and are subject to various known and unknown risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond the Company's control, and cannot be predicted or quantified and consequently, actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements: (i) the initiation, timing, progress and results of the Companys sales, marketing, and other development efforts; (ii) the Companys ability to advance its products to successfully complete development and commercialization; (iii) the manufacturing, development, commercialization, and market acceptance of the Companys products; (iv) the lack of sufficient funding to finance the product development and business operations; (v) competitive companies and technologies within the Companys industry and introduction of competing products; (vi) the Companys ability to establish and maintain corporate collaborations; (vii) loss of key management personnel; (viii) the scope of protection the Company is able to establish and maintain for intellectual property rights covering its products and its ability to operate its business without infringing the intellectual property rights of others; (ix) potential failure to comply with applicable health information privacy and security laws and other state and federal privacy and security laws; and (x) the difficulty of predicting actions of the government and its regulations. All forward-looking statements included in this press release are made only as of the date of this press release. The Company assumes no obligation to update any written or oral forward-looking statement unless required by law. Contact DACE Marketing

CEO Ian Reed

https://www.dacemarketing.com Contact GivBux:

Email [email protected]

Phone number 844-GIVBUXX (844-448-2899)

https://givbux.com Instagram: instagram.com/givbux

X (formerly Twitter): x.com/givbux Wire Service Contact:

IBN

Los Angeles, California

www.InvestorBrandNetwork.com

310.299.1717 Office

[email protected]



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Global Humane

Mantis, a leading hotel eco-brand within the Accor Group, is the first to receive the prestigious designation

Global Humane Launches Humane Tourism Certification Program

Global Humane celebrates the announcement of the new Humane Tourism program that certifies the humane treatment of animals through tourism and travel. Mantis is the first hotel group to achieve the Humane Tourism certification. From Left to right at the National Press Club: Paul Gardiner, Mantis Collection Director, John Payne, Global Humane Board Chairman, Dr. Robin Ganzert, President & CEO Global Humane, H.E. Tadeous T. Chifamba, Ambassador of Zimbabwe, Marilyn Pelstring, Global Humane Board Member, Herb Krauss, Global Humane Board Member, and David Webb, Global Humane Board Member. Image taken on Tuesday, Oct. 3, 2023 in Washington. (Kevin Wolf/AP Images for American Humane)

WASHINGTON, Oct. 05, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Global Humane has extended its conservation impact with a new Humane Tourism program. As millions of people worldwide seek opportunities to connect with Earths majestic wildlife, Global Humane has identified an opportunity to apply our expertise in animal welfare and create a unique certification program in humane tourism.

Mantis, a leading conservation-focused hotel brand within the Accor group has attained the first Global Humane Certified designation for Humane Tourism at four select locations. The certification is an indication that Mantis has met the comprehensive welfare criteria and rigorous standards for tourism and animal wellbeing. Audits of Mantis facilities in Southern Africa were conducted in August 2023, which established that the properties met the certification requirements. The sites that are certified include Nyosi Wildlife Reserve and the following Mantis properties:



Mantis Founders Lodge in South Africa

Ichingo Chobe River Lodge by Mantis in Namibia

Chobe Princesses by Mantis on the border of Namibia and Botswana

Zambezi Queen by Mantis on the border of Namibia and Botswana.

Plans are underway to conduct audits of the remaining lodging facilities within the Mantis brand portfolio in the future, as Mantis looks to adopt this certification as a key brand standard.

We are thrilled that Mantis has met the standards to attain the first Global Humane Tourism certification, said Dr. Robin Ganzert, President and CEO Global Humane. Mantis has proven that it makes animal welfare a priority for their tourists who seek a unique opportunity to connect with our worlds wildlife. I always say, you cant protect what you dont love, and you cant love what you dont know. It is my hope that this certification endeavor will encourage people to experience animals in their natural environment firsthand, and then join the conservation movement to protect these endangered creatures from extinction.

Story continues

Amid what scientists have deemed the Sixth Mass Extinction, with species disappearing at a rapid rate, Global Humane recognizes how important it is, now more than ever, that the work being done by todays leading ecotourism operations, conservation centers, lodging facilities, and wildlife reserves is indeed humane and essential to the survival of Earths incredible species.

Accor invested into Mantis just over 5 years ago, with a key objective of bringing a brand with real conservation credibility into the portfolio. In an industry where everyone is talking about ESG, Mantis has always focused on doing and delivering credible outcomes at all our properties. The Humane Tourism certification of four of our properties is another layer in this continuous journey and one in which we plan to work with Global Humane to achieve this accreditation for all properties within the portfolio, said Craig Erasmus, Vice President Operations Fairmont Africa & Mantis.

Having been involved in land and wildlife restoration for thirty years, the recognition by Global Humane for mine and my teams achievements is an endorsement we will be forever proud of. Sadly, many of my mentors are no longer with us, but I use this opportunity to say thank you to them all who I know would be very proud of this incredible recognition by Global Humane. I promise to make you proud, said Adrian Gardiner, Mantis Founder and Chairman.

Humane Tourism is a unique animal welfare certification program that assesses and certifies wildlife reserves, lodging facilities, and tour operators for their humane responsibility toward the animal life that these operations may encounter and have the potential to impact.

A Scientific Advisory Committee comprised of animal welfare experts in this unique space advised Global Humane on the complex dynamics of this industry and how various operations may impact wildlife. This scientific feedback led to the development of comprehensive welfare criteria and rigorous standards that are assessed and verified through independent, on-site audits for any tourism operation seeking Humane Tourism certification.

About Mantis:

Mantis is a leading conservation-focused hotel group with curated hotels, eco-lodges and waterway experiences located across the globe. Sustainable travellers have been enjoying eco-tourism, safaris and adventure travel with Mantis since 2000. Rooted in conservation, Mantis pursues sustainable business practices and develops tourism products that are respectful of the environment and communities in which they operate. Acclaimed for its pioneering work in development, management, marketing, education and conservation, Mantiss business model successfully combines responsible tourism, conservation and adventure, which translates to one-of-a-kind travel experiences. Whether small and intimate or vast and complex, on a sweeping African plain, in a bustling city, or in the midst of a forest, each is an exceptional place for guests to find themselves. While uniquely different in the experiences they offer, all are linked through a collective ambition to be extraordinary; to be rare in a world that mass-produces sameness. Mantis consistently curates, collects and discovers destinations and experiences that stir the soul, defy expectation and live in the heart forever. Sustainability goals are achieved through the Mantis Impact division, as well as through the Mantis and Accor foundation, Community Conservation Fund Africa (CCFA). Mantis is part of Accor, a world leading hospitality group consisting of more than 5,300 properties and 10,000 food and beverage venues throughout 110 countries. For more information visit: www.mantiscollection.com

mantiscollection.com | all.accor.com | group.accor.com

About Global Humane:

Global Humane is the international brand of American Humane, which is the United States first national humane organization and the worlds largest certifier of animal welfare, helping to verify the humane treatment of more than one billion animals across the globe each year. Founded in 1877, American Humane has been First to Serve the cause of animals and for 145 years has been at the forefront of virtually every major advance in the humane movement. For more information or to support our lifesaving work, please visit www.AmericanHumane.org, follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram and subscribe to our channel on YouTube for the latest breaking news and features about the animals with whom we share our Earth.

Media Contact Judy Palermo

Judyp@americanhumane.org

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/98fd6985-d29c-415c-b366-f1721ee917db




[October 05, 2023] Axion BioSystems Welcomes Biotech Industry Leader Julien Bradley as New CEO Tweet

Axion BioSystems, a leading life science tools company focused on advanced live-cell assay platforms, today announced the appointment of Julien Bradley as the company's new Chief Executive Officer. With nearly 20 years of experience in biotechnology development, commercialization, and leadership, Bradley will build on Axion's growth in the fields of stem cell research, immuno-oncology, cell-based therapies, and drug discovery. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20231005883933/en/ Julien Bradley, Chief Executive Officer, Axion BioSystems (Photo: Business Wire) Bradley has held executive and senior leadership roles for nearly twenty years at leading life science companies. Most recently he held the role of CEO at RedShift BioAnalytics for the last four years. During his tenure there, Bradley helped launch and rapidly grow sales of the company's proprietary MMS protein characterization technology and drove the acquisition of a novel chromatography platform to expand the company's footprint into bioprocessing. Prior to that, Julien held several executive leadership oles for nearly eight years at Quanterix where he was responsible for Sales, Marketing, Product Management, and Strategy; taking the company from $0 to over $50M in revenues and helping lay the foundation for a successful IPO in 2017. Bradley has also worked for Thermo Fisher Scientific, Ahura Scientific, and Boston Scientific. He holds a BS from Amherst College and an MBA from the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth.



According to Axion co-founder and current acting CEO Jim Ross, Bradley's impressive track record of leading life science companies with novel technologies through rapid growth make him a natural fit to lead Axion's global team, build on the company's strong foundation, and accelerate its commercial momentum. "After an extensive search, Julien immediately stood out as someone with a passion for driving scientific discovery forward and a hands-on leadership style that will help guide Axion to the next level. We look forward to having him lead the team at this exciting time in our company's evolution." Ross will remain with the company in his roles as President and Chief Technology Officer. "Axion has already established itself as an industry leader thanks to its high-quality, innovative, and easy-to-use Maestro and Omni live-cell analysis tools. The future potential for growth at Axion is incredibly exciting," said Bradley. "Demand for more powerful live-cell analysis tools to help researchers around the world make important discoveries and develop better cell therapies and drugs continues to grow, and Axion has the innovation engine and customer focus needed to capitalize on this growth." Bradley's arrival comes at an important inflection point for the company. After launching its flagship Maestro multielectrode array system in 2008 and establishing it as an indispensable tool in life science labs, Axion was acquired by Stockholm-based Summa Equity in 2021, allowing the company to accelerate its assay technologies, scale up its commercial capacity and market awareness, and acquire UK-based printed electronics manufacturer M-Solv Manufacturing Limited and the Netherlands-based imaging company CytoSMART Technologies. With innovative benchtop systems that monitor complex cellular activity without disturbing the underlying biology, Axion's live-cell platforms offer pharmaceutical companies, biotechnology firms, and academic researchers the next-generation platforms for advancing in vitro disease modeling and drug discovery.

About Axion BioSystems Axion BioSystems is a leading life sciences tools company focused on innovative live-cell assays used to study the function of cells in vitro for drug discovery and disease modeling. The team at Axion BioSystems is dedicated to continuing the advancement of new technologies that accelerate research and further the understanding of biological complexity outside of the body. Axion BioSystems is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, USA, and has offices worldwide. Axion has nearly 200 employees around the world. www.axionbiosystems.com About Summa Equity Summa Equity invests in companies that are solving global challenges and creating positive Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) outcomes for society. Summa's purpose is to co-create win-win for investors, portfolio companies, and society through aligning its vision and outcomes to the Sustainable Development Goals, ensuring a net-positive impact against ESG challenges, and the potential for long-term, sustainable outperformance. Investments are focused on industries and companies that have tailwind from megatrends within three sustainability themes: Resource Efficiency, Changing Demographics, and Tech-Enabled Transformation. Across these themes, Summa's portfolio companies are supporting a world in transition and showing that business can be part of the solution. www.summaequity.com View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20231005883933/en/

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[October 05, 2023] The Dominican Republic is embracing sustainable luxury tourism to maximise its appeal Tweet

SANTO DOMINGO, Oct. 5, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The Dominican Republic is combining traditional luxury elements with sustainable ideals in its sustainable luxury tourism strategy, which centres on consolidating its position as the top Caribbean tourist destination. The island nation has been working closely with the private sector to introduce these ideals into its top destinations, such as Punta Cana-Bavaro, Cap Cana, Puerto Plata, Samana and Santo Domingo, as well as its new tourism centres, including Pedernales and Miches. The Dominican Republic seeks to go beyond the many natural and cultural riches that have made it a tourism hotspot in the Caribbean by inviting visitors to be a part of its conservation efforts while enjoying luxury experiences. By leveraging both its natural beauty and strong tourism strategy, the country hopes to entice a record-breaking 10 million tourists to its shores by the end of 2023. Dominican Ministry of Tourism data suggests that this new form of luxury will attract more tourists, especially from the UK. Of the 173,728 UK tourists who visited the country in 2022, 33% chose luxury getaways. After identifying upward trends in luxury tourim and sustainability, the Dominican Republic has adapted its tourism strategy to address both.



Celebrating sustainability in Samana As part of this strategy, the Dominican Republic has been introducing sustainable tourism offerings in its established destinations, such as the Cayo Levantado Resort in Samana. This destination combines luxury and sustainability by promoting the local culture, improving the region's biodiversity and offering a space for visitors to connect with the natural environment. Samana is also the first municipality with a Sustainable Tourism Circuit, a business association dedicated to championing sustainability. Over 70 local companies have joined.

Sharing the natural paradise of Pedernales Province Recently, the Dominican Republic announced plans to develop a sustainable luxury tourism destination in Bahia de las Aguilas. This will be the first carried out under a public-private partnership in the region. In the project's first stage, the private sector will invest US$700-800 million to build 3,000 rooms, an international airport, a 50KW renewable energy installation and related infrastructure. This is not the only project taking place in Pedernales. After a US$98 million investment in the Port of Cabo Rojo, the Norwegian Cruise Line has its first arrival scheduled for December 2023. Creating an ecotourism hub in Miches Another key destination for sustainable luxury tourism, Miches attracted US$735 million in investments for new projects, including 3,700 more hotel rooms and 2,000 residential rooms. Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts is considering building a LEED-certified hotel in Miches, and multiple other major hotel groups have expressed interest in the area. View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/the-dominican-republic-is-embracing-sustainable-luxury-tourism-to-maximise-its-appeal-301948264.html SOURCE The Dominican Republic Ministry of Tourism

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Alabama A&M University Partners with Kaplan to Offer Students Free Comprehensive Test Prep for Graduate-Level Admissions Exams and Professional Certifications

Alabama A&M University announced today that a new partnership with global educational services provider Kaplan will immediately provide all of its students with free test prep courses for graduate-level admissions exams, including the GRE, GMAT, LSAT, and MCAT, and free test prep for professional licensing exams including the bar exam, USMLE, INBDE, and NCLEX-RN exam. Additionally, students can also prepare for the CFA exam for free through Kaplan.

This latest investment in its students builds on Alabama A&M's commitment to providing greater access for students and addresses what is yet another "cost of college" many students and families must find resources to meet. The new partnership aims to improve matriculation to graduate and professional schools, improve professional licensing passage rates, and improve employability for AAMU graduates.

As part of Kaplan's All Access initiative, colleges and universities can help their students prepare for a variety of high-stakes admissions and licensing exams that they need to score well on to reach their ultimate professional goals - with zero out-of-pocket costs for students. Kaplan has prepared students for standardized tests for 85 years, and Alabama A&M is its newest HBCU partner, joining Xavier University of Louisiana, Howard University, Delaware State University, Talladega College, Stillman College, Fisk University, Hampton University and Spelman College. Cleveland State University is also a partner and reports outstanding results since signing on in 2022; and in September, the school expanded this offering to alumni. And most recently, Rutgers Law School signed up to offer all of its students free Kaplan bar exam prep courses.







"We are excited about what this means for student success on our campus," said John D. Jones, Ph.D., Alabama A&M's provost and vice president for academic affairs. "We know our students have the capacity and the potential to compete with the very best. This initiative not only removes another barrier towards greater academic achievement; it unlocks career aspirations as well. That's what makes this such an important win for AAMU."

"Kaplan's All Access services are going to deliver a career path-changing educational experience to AAMU students and we're looking forward to working with the school's visionary administration to make this happen. By becoming an All Access partner, AAMU is demonstrating that they are committed to their students' success for the long haul and sees in them the leaders of tomorrow in a wide variety of industries, from business to law to medicine and much more," said Mark Reimonenq, director of university partnerships, Kaplan. "Kaplan's All Access knocks down barriers and instead builds bridges of opportunities for students who want to do well on important exams and get into top graduate programs and jump start their careers."

Alabama A&M students who are interested in enrolling in a Kaplan test prep course should contact their academic advisor. For college and university leaders who want to explore partnering with Kaplan, learn more about the company's exam prep programs.

Reporters interested in covering this partnership and growing sector of Kaplan's portfolio can contact Russell Schaffer at [email protected] or 917.822.8190.

Test names and other trademarks are the property of the respective trademark holders.

About Alabama A&M

Founded in 1875, Alabama A&M University is a public, comprehensive, 1890 land-grant institution committed to access and opportunity. As Alabama's largest HBCU (Historically Black College or University), Alabama A&M is dedicated to providing a student-centered educational environment for the emergence of scholars, scientists, leaders, and critical thinkers who are equipped to excel through their contributions and leadership in a global society. Through its four academic colleges and graduate school, AAMU brings to life its motto 'Service is Sovereignty' and serves as a center of excellence for Alabama and beyond. Learn more about Alabama A&M at www.aamu.edu.

About Kaplan

Kaplan, Inc. is a global educational services company that helps individuals and institutions advance their goals in an ever-changing world. Our broad portfolio of solutions help students and professionals further their education and careers, universities and educational institutions attract and support students, and businesses maximize employee recruitment, retainment, and development. Stanley Kaplan founded our company in 1938 with a mission to expand educational opportunities for students of all backgrounds. Today, our thousands of employees working in 26 countries continue Stanley's mission as they serve about 1.2 million students and professionals, 13,000 corporate clients, and 4,000 schools, school districts, colleges, and universities worldwide. Kaplan is a subsidiary of the Graham Holdings Company (NYSE: GHC). Learn more at www.kaplan.com.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20231005866318/en/
[October 05, 2023] United Flow Technologies, an H.I.G. Capital Portfolio Company, Completes Strategic Acquisitions Tweet

H.I.G. Capital ("H.I.G."), a leading global alternative investment firm with $59 billion of equity capital under management, is pleased to announce that its portfolio company, United Flow Technologies ("UFT"), a platform established to invest in the municipal and industrial water and wastewater market, has completed the acquisitions of Kodru-Mooney, Macaulay Controls Company ("Macaulay") and Iowa Pump Works. The additions of Kodru-Mooney, Macaulay, and Iowa Pump Works represent three leading providers of best-in-class products and value-added services to the municipal water and wastewater markets throughout the United States, and accelerate UFT's strategic entry into new geographies, product categories, and OEM partnerships. As part of the transactions, UFT will partner with the existing leadership teams of each business to support their individual growth initiatives within an integrated and operationally cohesive UFT. Terms of the transactions were not disclosed. Matt Hart, CEO of UFT, said, "We are thrilled to welcome Kodru-Mooney, Macaulay, and Iowa Pump Works to the UFT team. As market leaders within their respective geographies, with complementary products and services, these businesses are a natural fit for the UFT platform. We are excited to work with these outstanding leadership teams to accelerate their long-term growth and value creation plans." Rahul Vinnakota, Managing Director at H.I.G., added, "We are pleased to support UFT in making these highly strategic acquisitions. These investments are consistent with our strategy to acquire high quality, complementary businesses to further enhance and expand UFT's product offering, geographical reach, and customer value proposition." About Kodru-Mooney Headquartered in Jordan, Minnesota, Kodru-Mooney is a leading provider of valve, gate, and actuation equipment and services for the municipal water, wastewater and industrial markets in North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, Iowa, Nebraska, Wisconsin, and Northern Illinois. Kodru-Mooney represents top original equipment manufacturers, providing clients with innovative solutions and value-added services. For more information, visit: www.kodru-equipment.com.



About Macaulay Controls Company Founded in 1965, Macaulay Controls Company is a trusted partner to municipalities, water authorities, contractors, and engineering firms across Texas and Oklahoma - solving their unique needs in chemical feed, instrumentation, and analysis. Macaulay provides customers with industry-leading technology through reputable manufacturers and value-added services including calibration, installation, and start-up assistance. For more information, visit: www.macaulaycontrols.com.

About Iowa Pump Works Founded in 2010, Iowa Pump Works is a leading technical distributor and service provider of pumps for the municipal water, wastewater and industrial markets throughout the Midwest. Iowa Pump Works provides customers with best-in-class products and industry-leading service across nearly all brands of pumping equipment. For more information, visit: www.iowapumpworks.com. About United Flow Technologies United Flow Technologies is a platform established by H.I.G. in July 2021 to invest in the municipal and industrial water and wastewater market. UFT partners with leading equipment providers to provide world class products, efficient solutions, and valuable services to municipalities and industrial customers across the United States. For more information, visit: www.uft.com. About H.I.G. Capital H.I.G. Capital is a leading global alternative investment firm with $59 billion of capital under management.* Based in Miami, and with offices in New York, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Atlanta in the U.S., as well as international affiliate offices in London, Hamburg, Madrid, Milan, Paris, Bogota, Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo, H.I.G. specializes in providing both debt and equity capital to small and mid-sized companies, utilizing a flexible and operationally focused/ value-added approach: H.I.G.'s equity funds invest in management buyouts, recapitalizations, and corporate carve-outs of both profitable as well as underperforming manufacturing and service businesses. H.I.G.'s debt funds invest in senior, unitranche and junior debt financing to companies across the size spectrum, both on a primary (direct origination) basis, as well as in the secondary markets. H.I.G. also manages a publicly traded BDC, WhiteHorse Finance. H.I.G.'s real estate funds invest in value-added properties, which can benefit from improved asset management practices. H.I.G. Infrastructure focuses on making value-add and core plus investments in the infrastructure sector. Since its founding in 1993, H.I.G. has invested in and managed more than 400 companies worldwide. The firm's current portfolio includes more than 100 companies with combined sales in excess of $52 billion. For more information, please refer to the H.I.G. website at www.higcapital.com. *Based on total capital raised by H.I.G. Capital and affiliates. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20231004436046/en/

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[October 05, 2023] EnsembleIQ's Convenience Store News Announces 10th-Anniversary Class of Top Women in Convenience, Celebrating a Decade of Exceptional Retail Leaders Tweet

CHICAGO, Oct. 05, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- EnsembleIQs Convenience Store News , the leading media brand of the convenience store industry, last night celebrated the Top Women in Convenience (TWIC) at the programs 10th annual awards gala. Over the past decade, this prestigious awards program has established itself as a spotlight of recognition for female leaders who have demonstrated exceptional achievements, innovation and commitment in convenience retailing.

As the leading media brand in the convenience store industry, in 2013, Convenience Store News took a leadership role in creating a program that would celebrate female leaders who have contributed to the growth and advancement of the convenience retailing industry. The program recognizes a diverse array of senior-level female rising stars and mentors from across the industry, from major retailers including 7-Eleven Inc., Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc./Circle K, The Coca-Cola Co., Anheuser-Busch, The Hershey Co. and PepsiCo Inc. In what was once a male-dominated business, women have made great strides and a positive impact on the convenience store industry and their companies. Our program was launched to recognize these exceptional women from all levels of the industry, said Paula Lashinsky, Senior Vice President and Group Publisher, U.S. Grocery and Convenience, EnsembleIQ. The program has evolved into a robust community that facilitates networking, amplifies important conversations and celebrates achievement. As we commemorate this remarkable milestone, we extend our appreciation to all of the winners, judges and sponsors who have been an integral part of the success of this program. nd we congratulate the 2023 class of Top Women in Convenience on their outstanding achievements.



To see the 2023 Top Women in Convenience, click here . Supporters of the program include: founding and presenting sponsor Altria Group Distribution Co.; platinum sponsors ITG Brands, PepsiCo Inc. and Reynolds Marketing Services Co.; gold sponsors BIC USA Inc., The Boston Beer Co., The Coca-Cola Co., Core-Mark International, Juul Labs, Mars Wrigley, The Mclane Company, Mondelez International, The Proctor & Gamble Co., Swedish Match North America, and Tyson Convenience; silver sponsors Anheuser-Busch InBev, BeatBox Beverages, Constellation Brands, Glanbia Performance Nutrition, PDI Technologies, Premier Manufacturing Inc. and Taylor Farms; bronze sponsor Zebra Technologies and Corporate Empowerment Award sponsor The Hershey Co.

About Convenience Store News

Convenience Store News is the leading source for business intelligence, proprietary research and channel insights and analysis for the convenience store industry. Convenience Store News engages the entire convenience store supply chain fostering buyer/seller dialogue and providing the valuable intelligence needed to make critical strategic and tactical business decisions and achieve tangible

business results. Convenience Store News helps retailers, suppliers and distributors grow sales and profits and stay ahead of whats next in c-store retailing. To learn more about Convenience Store News, visit https://www.csnews.com and stay connected on Facebook , LinkedIn and X . About EnsembleIQ

EnsembleIQ is the premier resource of actionable insights and connections powering business growth throughout the path to purchase. We help retail, technology, consumer goods, healthcare and hospitality professionals make informed decisions and gain a competitive advantage. EnsembleIQ delivers the most trusted business intelligence from leading industry experts, creative marketing solutions and impactful event experiences that connect best-in-class suppliers and service providers with our vibrant business-building communities. To learn more about EnsembleIQ, visit ensembleiq.com . Media Contact

Krista-Alana Travis

Senior Marketing Manager, US Grocery and Convenience

[email protected]



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[October 05, 2023] KBRA Releases Research - Building Vintage Driving Office Distress; Municipal Response Varies Tweet

KBRA releases a report on the higher distress rates of older office buildings and how municipalities are dealing with the growing stock of obsolete office properties. With the flight to quality, older properties are struggling to retain and attract tenants. The impact of this is now manifesting itself in commercial real estate loan performance. When analyzing the CMBS 2.0 office population based on year built, KBRA found that older office buildings are generally associated with higher rates of delinquent or specially serviced current loans (collectively, the distress rate). The CMBS 2.0 distress rate increases from no distress for the newest properties (built 2015 to present) and reaches 10.9% for those built before 1960. The U.S. office stock is showing its age. A 2023 Cushman & Wakefield report, Obsolescence Equals Opportunity, found that up to 70% of the country's office stock was built before 1990, and more than 20% (over 1 billion sf) of its office inventory is now considered competitively obsolete. Approximately 60% of CMBS office loans by count (64% by balance) are pre-1990 builds. To combat some of the older vintage office properties with high vacancies that may have become obsolete, cities are taking steps to revive struggling downtown office business districts. MSA credit performance can be influenced by the actions or inactions taken by local municipalities. In the report, we looked at how the top five MSAs (Denver, Chicago, Philadelphia, Washington, D.C., and Houston) with the highest office distress rates are handling older vintage stock. In addition to these five, we looked at Manhattan-which has one of the largest office markets i CMBS.



Overall, it will take municipalities to come up with creative thinking and redevelopment plans, as well as financial assistance, to possibly help reduce what is expected to be an increase in older vintage CMBS 2.0 office distress rates. Click here to view the report.

Related Publications CMBS Loan Performance Trends: September 2023

Metro-Level CRE Loan Distress: Location Still Matters

KBRA-Rated CMBS, Freddie Mac, CRE CLO, and SFR Exposure to Hurricane Idalia

CMBS Trend Watch: August 2023 About KBRA KBRA is a full-service credit rating agency registered in the U.S., the EU and the UK, and is designated to provide structured finance ratings in Canada. KBRA's ratings can be used by investors for regulatory capital purposes in multiple jurisdictions. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20231005965923/en/

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[October 05, 2023] Cambridge Savings Bank and Franklin Cummings Tech Launch Scholarship Fund to Remove Barriers for Students Facing Financial Hardships Tweet

Cambridge Savings Bank (CSB), a full-service mutual bank with a customer-first approach and more than $6 billion in assets, today announced it has launched the Cambridge Savings Scholarship Fund. The $100,000 grant for Scholarships and Small Hardships Awards will be available to students currently enrolled in their second year at Benjamin Franklin Cummings Institute of Technology (Franklin Cummings Tech), a technical college and minority serving institution (MSI) that delivers transformative technical and trade education that leads to economic advancement and produces the highly trained and diverse tech talent needed in our economy today. Franklin Cummings Tech will allocate 90 percent of the funding to cover the direct educational expenses for eligible students. These expenses include tuition, mandatory fees, and other academic-related expenses, including the costs of required textbooks and other course materials, technology, tools, and equipment. The remaining 10 percent of the funds will be directed toward student hardship and other challenges associated with pursuing a degree in higher education. Ultimately, the scholarship funds will allow Franklin Cummings Tech to maintain its holistic, supportive learning environment for its diverse student population and create economic and career opportunities for all students. "Franklin Cummings Tech is committed to purposefully aiding students who have encountered financial burdens. We extend our gratitude to valued partners such as Cambridge Savings Bank for their support in these important initiatives," said Aisha Francis, PhD, President and CEO of Franklin Cummings Tech. "Far too often, hard-working individuals are forced to forgo their pursuit of higher education due to financial concerns. The Cambridge Savings Bank scholarship fund aims to alleviate this burden and foster inclusion in our education system." As part of the process, CSB collaborated with Franklin Cummings Tech's Chief Campaign Officer, Courtney Roy-Branigan, to establish appropriate criteria for the schlarship fund. This marks the inaugural year of the Cambridge Savings Scholarship Fund program, an initiative that the bank has intentionally structured to benefit Franklin Cummings Tech students in need of financial support to complete a degree.



"Supporting our communities is what Cambridge Savings Bank is all about and that starts with investing in local education programs," said Linda Grace, Chief Human Resources Officer at Cambridge Savings Bank. "Designed to empower the talented and capable students at Franklin Cummings Tech, this initiative offers students access to vital resources, enabling them to afford the education they have earned and deserve. We're proud to contribute to these individuals' promising futures and hope to aid in cultivating a diverse pool of talent poised to make a meaningful contribution to the greater Boston region for years to come." CSB will be recognized as a Presenting Sponsor at Franklin Cummings Tech's Future Forward Gala. Slated for Thursday, October 19th, the gala will celebrate the future of the school and its mission to deliver transformational technical and trade education to its students. With the additional funds Franklin Cumming Tech is securing through sponsorships, the prospect of post-secondary technical education will be more attainable for the 97 percent of its students who receive financial aid. Contributions can be made by purchasing tickets to the events or making a donation; interested parties can learn more through the dedicated Future Forward Gala page on Franklin Cummings Tech's website.

"Cambridge Savings Bank is dedicated to helping stabilize and improve the financial well-being of the communities that we serve," said Wayne Patenaude, President and CEO at Cambridge Savings Bank. "This vital work would not be possible without the efforts and determination of our valued partners like the team at Franklin Cummings Tech. CSB commits six percent of its prior year's earnings to charitable giving as we aspire to create a world where our communities have equitable opportunities, confidence, and the financial well-being to thrive." As part of its dedicated community partnership efforts, CSB has supported a variety of non-profit and community programs through grants, scholarships, sponsorships, financial education courses and more. For more information, please visit cambridgesavings.com/community. About Cambridge Savings Bank Cambridge Savings Bank is a full-service banking institution with $6 billion in assets. As a mutual bank, CSB is committed to improving the quality of life of our employees, customers, and the communities we serve. One of the oldest and largest community banks in Massachusetts, Cambridge Savings Bank offers a full line of individual and business banking services across a robust Massachusetts-based branch network and through digital banking solutions for commercial, small business and consumer customers. In 2022, CSB received an investment-grade rating from Kroll Bond Rating Agency reinforcing the bank's position as a reliable business lender. To learn more about how CSB can meet your needs, visit us at cambridgesavings.com, or better yet, come meet us to help you make the most out of your banking relationship. Member FDIC. Equal Housing Lender. About Franklin Cummings Tech Franklin Cummings Tech is here to illuminate a new path in education. The programs we offer align with job opportunities in high-growth fields like renewable energy, robotics, construction management, HVAC, biotech, and cybersecurity. We stand for education that is inclusive. We believe in making personalized, flexible education affordable and accessible for everyone, creating a more equitable and resilient Greater Boston through access to family-sustaining income. We believe in accessible education that empowers you to move confidently into a career and discover your potential. We believe in higher education with lower obstacles. Learn more at www.FranklinCummings.edu View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20231005240550/en/

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[October 05, 2023] Global Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Medical Writing Market Size/Share Envisaged to Reach USD 2,072.30 Million by 2032, Growing at a 12.1% CAGR: Polaris Market Research Tweet

NEW YORK, Oct. 5, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- A latest research report [115+] pages with 360-Degree visibility, titled "AI in Medical Writing Market Share, Size, Trends, Industry Analysis Report, By Type (Scientific Writing, Clinical Writing, Type Writing), By End-use (Medical Devices, Pharmaceutical, Biotechnology), By Region, And Segment Forecasts, 2023 - 2032" published by Polaris Market Research in its research repository. "According to research report, the global artificial intelligence (AI) in medical writing market size/share was valued at USD 684.19 Million in 2022 and is expected to touch USD 2,072.30 Million by 2032, growing at a CAGR of 12.1% during the forecast period." What is Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Medical Writing? How Big is Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Medical Writing Market Size & Share? Report Overview AI and related software have gathered notable mindfulness in the past few years since the deliverance of a massive language model known as generative pre-trained transformer 3. AI-driven instruments provide notable value covering several industries involving medical writing. The rapidly rising demand for AI in medical writing market has been attributed to medical writers having more time to undertake crucial tasks and projects that utilize their complete possibilities rather than ingesting their time and skill in tasks of a monotonous nature. The key element pushing the market expansion is the increasing approval of machine learning, such as AI, in the healthcare industry. The growing R&D disbursement and escalating demand for customized medical writing is pushing the market growth. The escalated AI can be credited to enhanced R&D funding by market players, a surge in CRO outsourcing, contemporary medical device regulations, and a favorable habitat for clinical studies in developing nations. Request Sample Copy of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Medical Writing Market Research Report @ https://polarismarketresearch.com/industry-analysis/ai-in-medical-writing-market/request-for-sample (The sample of this report is readily available on request. The report sample contains a brief introduction to the research report, Table of Contents, Graphical introduction of regional analysis, Top players in the market with their revenue analysis and our research methodology.) Our Sample Report May Includes: 2032 Updated Report Introduction, Overview, and In-depth industry analysis.

115+ Pages Research Report (Inclusion of Updated Research).

Provide Chapter-wise guidance on Request.

2023 Updated Regional Analysis with Graphical Representation of Size, Share & Trends.

Includes Updated List of table & figures.

Updated Report Includes Top Market Players with their Business Strategy, Sales Volume, and Revenue Analysis. Some of the Top Market Players Covered Are: Cactus Communications

Freyr

GENINVO.

Parexel International

Trilogy Writing & Consulting For Additional Information on Key Players, Request to Download Sample Pages Here: https://polarismarketresearch.com/industry-analysis/ai-in-medical-writing-market/request-for-sample OR Directly Purchase a copy of report with TOC Here: https://polarismarketresearch.com/buy/2742/2 Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Medical Writing Market: Report Scope







Report Attribute Details Revenue forecast in 2032 USD 2,072.30 Billion Market size value in 2023 USD 722.75 Billion Expected CAGR Growth 12.4% from 2023  2032 Base Year 2022 Forecast Year 2023 - 2032 Top Market Players Parexel International, Trilogy Writing & Consulting, Freyr, Cactus Communications, and GENINVO Segments Covered By Type, End Use, By Region Customization Options Customized purchase options are available to meet any research needs. Explore customized purchase options

Key Growth Driving Factors Increasing R&D activities : Market players are funding more in research and development ventures, causing a higher demand for AI solutions in precision medicine. The AI in medical writing market size is expanding as there is a surge in the outsourcing of clinical research to Contract Research Organization (CRO), additionally fuelling the demand for AI in medical writing.

: Market players are funding more in research and development ventures, causing a higher demand for AI solutions in precision medicine. The AI in medical writing market size is expanding as there is a surge in the outsourcing of clinical research to Contract Research Organization (CRO), additionally fuelling the demand for AI in medical writing. Competitive market : To steer the intricate regulatory topography and encounter the demands of insurance firms, R&D activities have become cardinal for significant market players in the pharmaceutical, medical devices, and biotechnology sectors. The AI in medical writing market sales are soaring as these firms assign a sizeable portion of their revenues to R&D endeavors to keep abreast of the competitive market.

: To steer the intricate regulatory topography and encounter the demands of insurance firms, R&D activities have become cardinal for significant market players in the pharmaceutical, medical devices, and biotechnology sectors. The AI in medical writing market sales are soaring as these firms assign a sizeable portion of their revenues to R&D endeavors to keep abreast of the competitive market. NLP algorithms : AI is transforming medical writing by simplifying and improvising many facets of the field. Natural Language Processing algorithms are being engaged to automate the generation of clinical reports, research papers, and patient documentation, notably lessening the time and endeavor needed for these tasks.

: AI is transforming medical writing by simplifying and improvising many facets of the field. Natural Language Processing algorithms are being engaged to automate the generation of clinical reports, research papers, and patient documentation, notably lessening the time and endeavor needed for these tasks. Machine learning models: Machine Learning models are helping the advancement of predictive models for disease identification and patient results, transforming clinical decision support systems. It also contributes towards language translation, sanctioning medical information to be distributed globally. Request for a Discount on this Report Before Purchase @ https://polarismarketresearch.com/industry-analysis/ai-in-medical-writing-market/request-for-discount-pricing Recent Trends Influencing the Market Growth of technologies and services : The increasing demand for strategies in phases of drug advancement by the regulatory bodies has escalated intricacies in the drug approval procedure. Regulatory bodies worldwide, such as the US Food and Drug Administration and the European Medicines Agency, need thorough testing and massive data to guarantee the welfare and success of contemporary drugs and medical devices prior to their approval for market release. The prominence of panoramic strategies and data-propelled proof has pushed the AI in medical writing market growth for technologies and services that reinforce effective and strong advancement procedures.

: The increasing demand for strategies in phases of drug advancement by the regulatory bodies has escalated intricacies in the drug approval procedure. Regulatory bodies worldwide, such as the US Food and Drug Administration and the European Medicines Agency, need thorough testing and massive data to guarantee the welfare and success of contemporary drugs and medical devices prior to their approval for market release. The prominence of panoramic strategies and data-propelled proof has pushed the AI in medical writing market growth for technologies and services that reinforce effective and strong advancement procedures. Enhancing efficacy: The growing demand to lessen healthcare disbursements and the escalating R&D funding by pharmaceutical firms to maximize their procedures and lessen prices are pushing market growth. AI-powered medical writing instruments and clarification offer the possibility to simplify several tasks, enhance efficacy, and lessen manual endeavors, finally causing cost savings for healthcare organizations and pharmaceutical firms. The increasing acquisition of machine learning, especially AI, in the healthcare industry is the prominent driver of market expansion. AI-fuelled solutions have portrayed notable possibilities in enhancing patient care, diagnostic precision, and treatment consequences, causing the growing acquisition of healthcare providers and pharmaceutical firms. Segmental Analysis The typewriting segment dominated the market Based on type, the typewriting segment dominated the market. AI in medical writing market demand is on the rise as this segment performs an important role all around the product development procedure, especially in scientific documentation. It is influential in assembling and reporting statistical data from clinical trials, which is important for regulatory requests and acquiring consent for drugs or products. Succeeding to receiving authorization, the post-approval stage needs meticulous regulatory attestation, which frequently includes vast paperwork because of strict regulations and conformity needs. Thus, because of these strict limitations, the typewriting segment stays extremely relevant and in demand, as it eases correct and panoramic authentication to encounter regulatory degrees. The pharmaceutical segment is projected to hold a notable market share Based on end use, the pharmaceutical segment is projected to hold a notable market share. The AI in medical writing market trends include pharmaceutical firms assigning sizeable resources to R&D endeavors inclined at detecting and advancing contemporary drugs and treatments. Covering the drug-advancing procedures, these firms assemble massive data from clinical trials, pre-clinical reading, and scientific literature. This data becomes of use as an advantage for training AI models in medical writing tasks. Inquire more about this report before purchase @ https://polarismarketresearch.com/industry-analysis/ai-in-medical-writing-market/inquire-before-buying (Inquire a report quote OR available discount offers to the sales team before purchase.) Geographical Overview North America: This region held the largest AI in medical writing market share due to the fact that within North America, clinical writing in the US is of special significance as it includes casting about permission from the FDA. Encountering the FDA's regulatory needs demand a panoramic comprehension of the guidelines determined by the regulatory body. The appeal for FDA registration must be accurate and concise to guarantee conformity and victorious acceptance. Asia Pacific: The growth of this region can be credited to growing healthcare disbursement and an increasing demand for successful healthcare solutions in the region. Additionally, nations such as China, Japan, South Korea, and India have been observing speedy technological progressions, especially in the arena of AI. These technological progressions have charted the course for the appearance of AI-powered medical writing instruments and solutions according to notable opportunities for acquisition and progression in the region's healthcare industry. Browse the Detail Report "AI in Medical Writing Market Share, Size, Trends, Industry Analysis Report, By Type (Scientific Writing, Clinical Writing, Type Writing), By End-use (Medical Devices, Pharmaceutical, Biotechnology), By Region, And Segment Forecasts, 2023 - 2032" with in-depth TOC: https://polarismarketresearch.com/industry-analysis/ai-in-medical-writing-market For Additional Information OR Media Enquiry, Please Mail At: [email protected] Recent Developments In June 2022, Sanofi, in collaboration with Yesop, a company specializing in AI and Natural Language Processing (NLP), aims to improve the automation of safety reports. Polaris Market Research has segmented the AI in medical writing market report based on type, end use, and region: By Type Outlook Clinical Writing

Type Writing

Scientific Writing

Others By End Use Outlook Medical Devices

Pharmaceutical

Biotechnology

Others By Region Outlook North America (U.S., Canada )

(U.S., ) Europe ( France , Germany , UK, Italy , Netherlands , Spain , Russia )

( , , UK, , , , ) Asia Pacific ( Japan , China , India , Malaysia , Indonesia . South Korea )

( , , , , . ) Latin America ( Brazil , Mexico , Argentina )

( , , ) Middle East & Africa ( Saudi Arabia , UAE, Israel , South Africa ) Browse More Similar Research Reports: Quinoa Seeds Market: https://www.polarismarketresearch.com/industry-analysis/quinoa-seeds-market

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[October 05, 2023] Cyber security: technology and skills at the heart of Cybertech Europe, Leonardo SpA presents new industrial plan ready for 2024 Tweet

ROME, Oct. 05, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Technology, skills, education, cloud computing, artificial intelligence, defence, critical infrastructure, Space and data protection. These are the themes that fuelled Cybertech Europe 2023, organised in partnership with Leonardo SpA.

Leonardo announced its new industrial plan is set to be ready by the beginning of 2024. As CEO and former Minister of Ecological Transition Roberto Cingolani stated, this plan will rest on two pillars: Space and cyber security. Cybertech Europe has reached its sixth edition and is primarily dedicated to cyber security. The event, hosted at the Convention Center La Nuvola in Rome, in the EUR neighbourhood, on October 34, brought together leading international experts, representatives from institutions, academia, and the business world. This sector is experiencing rapid growth and, in Italy alone, with a market increase of 18% per year. Leonardos plan will be unveiled in the new year. Cingolani explained the spirit that will drive it, highlighting two main aspects. On the one hand, there is the concept of security, which integrates into the present and projects into the future: products, from now on, will have to be designed with this sensitivity right from the outset, starting with the design phase. On the other hand, there is the Space chapter, dealing with satellite management, the internet, and the normous amount of data that will need protection, travelling above our heads.



The new industrial plan, which I cant reveal too much about, Cingolani noted, will have two pillars of innovation. First, cyber security understood as a new platform that allows us to design any Leonardo product as cyber secure by design, meaning cyber security is incorporated from the design phase and not added after having designed the helicopter or plane. The second pillar will be Space because, as youve understood, much of what is now the internet will be via satellite. Space will generate an infinite amount of data that also needs protection. This will complement the, traditional core business: aircraft, helicopters, and electronics, to be enhanced with artificial intelligence and digitalisation. According to Andrea Campora, Managing Director of the Cyber and Security Solutions Division at Leonardo, Cyber security is a global ecosystem. The hybrid threats of the past two years have demonstrated the need for a systematic and cooperative response. We have been saying this for ten years, but finally, we are starting to see these responses on a strategic, technological, practical, and organisational level.

Lastly, Cingolani touched on two points: the operability of the pan-European virtual centre for cyber risk management, which is, a first step in a strategy that should consolidate in the coming years at the European level, and the relationship, described as science fiction and false when portrayed as adversarial, between artificial intelligence and humans. For more information:

Press Office LaPresse - [email protected] A video accompanying this announcement is available at: https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/1e136466-3a3a-44ed-94fb-db060772c5f3



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[October 05, 2023] CHANEY INSTRUMENT CO. CELEBRATES 80 YEARS IN BUSINESS Tweet

The company behind North America's No. 1 weather station brand continues its year-long commemoration in 2023 LAKE GENEVA, Wis., Oct. 5, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Chaney Instrument Co. is celebrating 80 years in business throughout 2023. Started by John L. Chaney in 1943, Chaney Instrument Co. is still proudly headquartered in its founding city of Lake Geneva. The company behind North America's No. 1 weather station brand celebrates 80 years in business. To honor and celebrate this milestone, the company is releasing special intage-inspired products related to its 80-year history, including a 7-inch replica of what was once the World's Largest Glass Thermometer that stood outside on Main St. in Lake Geneva in 1965.



Also included in the special product release are the Swizzle Stix, a set of four personal drink stirrer-thermometers originally created in the 1960s. And with a nod to current-day Chaney Instrument Co. products, an AcuRite Iris limited-edition, anniversary-branded Weather Station Box Set and holiday ornament round out the commemorative products. "We're hoping these limited-run items spark excitement for not only local Lake Genevans, but our entire customer base and beyond," said Paul Shekoski, CEO. "We've collaborated with local historians and long-time employees to bring these fun throwback thermometers and momentous keepsake weather stations to market."

Before being most widely known for its AcuRite brand, Chaney Instrument Co. played a critical part in aiding U.S. Forces during World War II. Chaney and his colleagues, many being women due to men called overseas, utilized the Lake Geneva City Garage to build glass components for U.S. warships and explosives. Read more at AcuRite.com/80Years. Today, Chaney Instrument Co.'s AcuRite brand is the top home weather station brand in North America. Part of Primex Family of Companies, Chaney Instrument Co. has been named a Best Place to Work seven years running, thanks to its values of customer obsession, getting things done, improving the business, mutual respect, and work/life balance. View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/chaney-instrument-co-celebrates-80-years-in-business-301943519.html SOURCE Chaney Instrument Co.

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By J. Keeler Johnson ("Keelerman") Twitter: @J_Keelerman

No fewer than 10 Grade 1 races are taking place in North America this weekend, four weeks before the Breeders' Cup. Some of the best horses in training are slated to compete, and the race I'm most excited to see is the $600,000 Breeders' Futurity (G1) on Saturday at Keeneland.

The field for this 1 1/16-mile contest has come up remarkably strong. It's basically an early preview of the Nov. 4 Breeders' Cup Juvenile (G1). Three of the nine entrants have already won stakes, while another has placed at the Grade 1 level and four others are exiting promising maiden victories. I believe there's a strong chance the Breeders' Futurity will produce the Breeders' Cup Juvenile winner for the third time in four years.

That belief stems from my confidence that #9 Locked (7-5) is a beast in the making. The Todd Pletcher trainee has shown tremendous potential in two starts, so even though the Breeders' Futurity field has come up deep, I expect Locked to deliver an impressive victory.

The son of Gun Runner debuted on Aug. 5 in a six-furlong maiden special weight at Saratoga and arguably turned in the best performance while finished third. Locked broke just a little slowly from post four and wound up getting shut off between rivals; after steadying and losing ground, he found himself racing last in a field of ten, 11 1/2 lengths behind an opening quarter-mile in :22.56.

The early leaders weren't much in the mood for tiring that day. Pacesetter Ozone weakened to finish fourth, but the pace-tracking duo of Just Steel and Be You battled on down the homestretch to finish a nose apart in first and second.

The only horse to gain any meaningful ground was Locked. Despite his troubled start, the chestnut colt advanced steadily to take third place. He gained three lengths through the final furlong alone to finish 3 1/2 lengths behind Just Steel, and he pulled 6 1/2 lengths clear of Ozone.

Locked figured to be formidable when stretching out over one mile for a Sept. 1 maiden special weight at Saratoga, but few bettors could have predicted just how strongly he would run. Despite getting involved in some bumping at the start, Locked showed improved early speed pressing fractions of :23.96 and :47.72 from second place.

And then Locked took over. By running his third quarter-mile in approximately :24.26, Locked stormed away around the far turn and opened up a 4 1/2-length lead with a quarter-mile remaining. This early move did absolutely nothing to tire Locked, who accelerated his final two furlongs in :11.99 and :11.95 to draw off and dominate by 7 1/4 lengths in the fast time of 1:36.00. Runner-up Drum Roll Please pulled 13 lengths clear of the rest.

Any way you slice it, this was a freakish debut. When was the last time you saw a juvenile run the final two furlongs of a one-mile dirt race in less than 12 seconds apiece? The comparison that comes to mind is Locked's sire, Gun Runner, who posted closing splits of approximately :11.58 and :12.26 when he won his debut racing one mile at Churchill Downs. But Gun Runner chased a slower early pace than Locked (:24.16, :48.71, and 1:13.66), and even still his final furlong was slower than 12 seconds.

Gun Runner, of course, went on to win half a dozen Grade 1 races and 2017 Horse of the Year honors while earning nearly $16 million. Could Locked possibly be destined for similar success? Only time will tell, but the Saratoga timer tells us Locked might be a superstar in the making. I'm optimistic the Breeders' Futurity will mark the first of many Grade 1 wins for Locked.

Now... what about the Breeders' Futurity minor awards? We haven't even touched on the other talented horses in the entries.

The two that interest me most are #3 Awesome Road (3-1) and #1 The Wine Steward (8-1). Awesome Road was a flashy debut winner sprinting six furlongs at Ellis Park, vying for early command before edging clear in the final furlong to beat Stronghold by 2 3/4 lengths. That performance was flattered when Stronghold came back to win a one-mile maiden special weight at Churchill Downs last Sunday.

As for The Wine Steward, he's undefeated in three starts sprinting, including a pair of stakes. The New York-bred colt dominated the Bashford Manor S. at Ells Park by 2 3/4 lengths, then squared off against fellow New York-breds in Saratoga's Funny Cide S. and overcame a stumbling start to beat next-out stakes winner El Grande O by a head.

As a son of long-winded champion and Breeders' Cup Classic (G1) winner Vino Rosso, The Wine Steward has the pedigree to shine while stretching out over 1 1/16 miles. I don't think we've seen his best yet, and a top-three finish at enticing odds isn't out of the question.

#2 Timberlake (7-2) is another viable contender; the Hopeful (G1) runner-up beat future Iroquois (G3) winner #5 West Saratoga (20-1) by 9 1/4 lengths in a seven-furlong maiden special weight at Ellis Park during the summer. And we can't dismiss #6 Generous Tipper (15-1), a 7 1/2-length maiden winner racing one mile at Ellis last time out. Generous Tipper is conditioned by three-time Breeders' Futurity-winning trainer Kenny McPeek, who not infrequently sends out live contenders in this race.

Selections

1st: Locked

2nd: Awesome Road

3rd: The Wine Steward

Now it's your turn! Who do you like in the Breeders' Futurity?

*****

Want to test your handicapping skills against fellow Unlocking Winners readers? Check out the Unlocking Winners contest pagethere's a new challenge every week! (Please note: older contest entries can be found here.)

J. Keeler Johnson (also known as "Keelerman") is a writer, videographer, voice actor, handicapper, and all-around horse racing enthusiast. A great fan of racing history, he considers Dr. Fager to be the greatest racehorse ever produced in America, but counts Zenyatta as his all-time favorite.
By Nick Carey

LONDON (Reuters) - General Motors said on Thursday it would start selling all-electric Cadillac vehicles in Switzerland, the first step in a return to European markets since selling off the Opel and Vauxhall brands in 2017.

In a blog, GM's European head Jaclyn McQuaid said Swiss direct-to-consumer sales of the premium brand would be followed by five additional European markets over the next couple of years - with Sweden and France next in line.

The Cadillac Lyriq will be the first model available to Swiss drivers, and GM's McQuaid said customers will be able "complete the entire purchase online in a matter of minutes."

The Lyriq will have a starting price of 82,000 Swiss francs ($89,490).

Electric vehicle (EV) sales are taking off in Europe - more than one in five new cars sold in the European Union in August were fully electric. Competition also is intensifying, with a number of Chinese EV makers targeting European consumers.

Chery, China's No. 8 automaker by sales volume in 2022, said earlier this week that it would launch three car brands in Europe over the next two years, including its all-electric Exlantix brand.

Other car makers, including market leader BYD and smaller rivals Xpeng and Nio, have also announced European expansion plans as competition picks up at home and domestic growth eases.

In 2017, GM sold the Opel and Vauxhall brands, which had lost money for two decades, to France's PSA. The brands swiftly returned to profitability at PSA.

PSA later merged with Fiat Chrysler to form Stellantis.

($1 = 0.9163 Swiss francs)

(Reporting by Nick Carey; Editing by Paul Simao)
[October 05, 2023] John Street Recognized as One of Colorado's Most Admired CEOs by the Denver Business Journal Tweet

DENVER, Oct. 05, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Pax8, the leading cloud commerce marketplace, today announced its Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Co-founder, John Street, has been named one of Denver Business Journals (DBJ) Most Admired CEOs of 2023. Street, alongside 20 other executives, has been acknowledged by the DBJ for his exceptional business leadership, outstanding company performance, and active civic engagement. This recognition follows Street's previous accolades, including being named CEO of the Year in 2022 by ColoradoBiz Magazine.

I am truly humbled by this prestigious award, given the exceptional leadership in companies throughout the state," said Street. "My role as CEO is a reflection of the teamwork and dedication of our outstanding leadership team and every employee of Pax8. I want to express my heartfelt gratitude to our entire team for their contributions to our growth and success as we drive our global presence as the worlds favorite cloud commerce marketplace." Throughout his career, Street has established a remarkable legacy of not only rejuvenating faltering companies but also constructing innovative new startups, earning him a reputation as a visionary leader. As an award-winning entrepreneur and CEO, he is lauded for crafting disruptive technology that fuels business growth and prosperity with four startups in the state, including Telephone Express, USA.Net, MX Logic, and Pax8, all of which achieved Inc. 5000 status. As part of his servant leadership style, Street champions a human-centric approach to cultivating exceptional employee cultures, emphasizing a work environment where teams can continually learn, evolve, and enjoy their work. As Pax8 CEO, Street has overcome numerous challenges, including pioneering a cloud marketplace in a competitive industry, securing vital investor funding, and managing a rapidly growing workforce. Over the past two and a half years, Pax8 has blossomed from a local Denver start-up to a multi-billion-dollar enterprise with a global footprint in 1 countries within North America, EMEA (Europe, Middle East, and Africa), and APAC (Asia-Pacific) regions. The company has achieved significant milestones, including a $1.7 billion valuation, securing $185 million in investor funding, surpassing $1 billion in annual recurring revenue (ARR), and building a global team of 1,700 employees. Pax8's outstanding growth earned a ranking on the 2023 Inc. 5000 for the sixth time in a row, ranking No. 1038, with a three-year revenue growth of 571 percent.



Beyond his business accomplishments, Street is deeply committed to the community. He serves on the boards of several organizations, including the Colorado Symphony, Colorado Springs Philharmonic, Institute for Cultural Evolution (ICE), and Endeavor Colorado. His long-standing support for the Colorado Springs Philharmonic helped transform it from bankruptcy into a thriving cultural institution. Street's philanthropic efforts extend to the broader community, where he actively engages with and mentors budding entrepreneurs and business leaders. The DBJ will recognize Street and other most admired CEOs for their invaluable contributions during an upcoming awards dinner scheduled for November 16, 2023. For more information, visit https://www.bizjournals.com/denver/.

To learn more about Pax8, please visit www.pax8.com. About Pax8

Pax8 is the worlds favorite cloud marketplace for IT professionals to buy, sell, and manage best-in-class technology solutions. Pioneering the future of modern business, Pax8 has cloud-enabled more than 300,000 enterprises through its channel partners and processes one million monthly transactions. Pax8s award-winning technology enables managed service providers (MSPs) to accelerate growth, increase efficiency, and reduce risk so their businesses can thrive. The innovative company has ranked in the Inc. 5000 for six years in a row. Join the revolution at pax8.com. Follow Pax8 on Blog, Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, and YouTube Media Contacts:

Melissa Gallegos

Public Relations Director, Pax8

[email protected] A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/85e56212-9e05-45d1-bd8e-a758c8ca08e7



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[October 05, 2023] ICR Hosts The Syndicate Group CEO Chad Cardenas on the Welcome to the Arena Podcast Tweet

ICR, a leading strategic communications and advisory firm, is pleased to announce that Chad Cardenas, CEO of The Syndicate Group (TSG), a leading venture firm focused on revenue growth and new customer acquisition, recently appeared on Episode 95 of ICR's "Welcome to the Arena" podcast. Welcome to the Arena is hosted by Tom Ryan, Co-Founder & CEO of ICR. Tom spoke with Chad about TSG's unique approach to VC investing, the future of strategic partnerships in the industry, and more. The Welcome to the Arena podcast has featured discussions with CEOs, CFOs, financial analysts, members of the media, investment bankers, private equity executives and others who influence and create value for public and private-equity backed companies. The podcast made its debut in August 2021, airing episodes roughly every two weeks, and is available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, or anywhere else you get your podcasts.



About ICR

Established in 1998, ICR partners with its clients to execute strategic communications and advisory programs that achieve business goals, build awareness and credibility, and enhance long-term enterprise value. The firm's highly-differentiated service model, which pairs capital markets veterans with senior communications professionals, brings deep sector knowledge and relationships to approximately 1,000 clients across more than 20 industry groups. ICR's healthcare practice operates under the Westwicke brand (www.westwicke.com). Today, ICR is one of the largest and most experienced independent communications and advisory firms in North America, maintaining offices in New York, Norwalk, Boston, Baltimore and Beijing. Learn more at www.icrinc.com. Follow us on Twitter at @ICRPR.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20231005772757/en/

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[October 05, 2023] Family engagement leader CampusESP welcomes Customer 350: St. John's University Tweet

CampusESP, the leading provider of technology solutions that help colleges and universities engage parents and families, announced today that it signed its 350th customer, St. John's University. Founded in 2016, CampusESP is the go-to leader in family engagement solutions in higher education. The company's platform and support services enable institutions to communicate and connect with both prospective and current families, providing critical information and facilitating student success. St. John's turned to CampusESP as part of a year-long focus on scaling their family engagement strategy. The process began in January when Karen Moritz Simons was hired as the school's first Director of Parent & Family Connections. "Prior to my arrival, parent outreach was sporadic and done by various groups, mostly in career services. Families only received intermittent attention," said Simons. "But more and more families are involved in their student's experience. They want to make sure the investment they are making in education is going to pay off. We needed a strategy that reflected that parents and families are integral to the college experience - they are constituents of the university in many different ways from enrollment to advancement." Simons says her mission is to provide failies with the information they need to support their students. But as an office of one, providing personalized content to the 16,000 parents in her database was not scalable.



With CampusESP, St. John's will be able to easily share reminders, news, and important updates with the school's families through automated and tailored newsletters and targeted announcements. By getting these families the right information at the right time, parents will be better able to advise their students, strengthening their support system and helping them stay successful and on path to graduation. "We couldn't be more excited to welcome St. John's as our 350th partner school," said Dave Becker, CEO and co-founder of CampusESP. "More and more, institutions are recognizing the influence and impact of families but facing the realities of stretched staffs and budgets. CampusESP can help by serving as an extension of their team and allow them to both efficiently scale efforts and see improvements in student outcomes."

As St. John's launches with CampusESP, Simons has high expectations for how she'll now be able to support families, meet them where they are, and provide critical support equitably. In particular she hopes to better serve first-generation families and those not actively engaging in other areas the university historically has utilized, like on social media. "With the help of CampusESP, I can be the resource here at St. John's that parents and families feel like they can go to when they don't have the answers or know how to help their students," she said. "Having this connection with families can only strengthen and improve the student experience here. And that's what it's all about." About CampusESP CampusESP is the #1 solution to turn family involvement into student success. A modern, all-in-one family engagement platform helps institutions share personalized, timely content with families across web, mobile, email, and text message. From enrollment to retention to fundraising, today's parents are involved in their student's journey. With a strategic family engagement plan, CampusESP helps colleges and universities channel parent influence into results. To learn more, visit campusesp.com. About St. John's University St. John's University is a private, coeducational, Roman Catholic University founded in 1870 by the Congregation of the Mission (the Vincentians), with its main campus located in Queens, NY. St. John's University also has campuses and locations on Staten Island and in Manhattan; in Rome, Italy; in Paris, France; and in Limerick, Ireland. St. John's University is comprised of six Schools and Colleges, including the College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, The Lesley H. and William L. Collins College of Professional Studies, St. John's College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, The Peter J. Tobin College of Business (including the Maurice R. Greenberg School of Risk Management, Insurance and Actuarial Science ), The School of Education, and the School of Law. As of Fall 2022, the University has more than 1,400 full-time and part-time faculty; 15,652 undergraduate students; and 4,011 graduate students who come from 48 states and 118 countries. St. John's offers more than 100 undergraduate and graduate programs, including 16 doctoral programs. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20231005989548/en/

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[October 05, 2023] Innovative Pilot Program Aims to Help Charities Tackling Food Insecurity by Making Monthly Giving Easier Tweet

OTTAWA, ON, Oct. 5, 2023 /CNW/ - As Canadians across the country gather around their dinner tables for Thanksgiving this weekend, the Mobile Giving Foundation Canada (MGFC) is taking strides to confront Canada's persistent food insecurity crisis by launching an innovative pilot program that endeavours to make monthly giving both easier and more effective for Canadian registered charities. According to government data, nearly 6 million Canadians face food insecurity challenges across the country, a staggering statistic that underscores the severity of the problem. Canadian food banks estimate that they had 35% more visitors in 2022 than they did in 2019, shedding light on the urgent need to bridge the financial gap as more Canadians rely on their services. Canada's leading foundation dedicated to using wireless technology to support charitable causes, MGFC is launching today its new Frictionless Monthly Giving program to help food banks and other charities simplify the donation process by allowing donors to establish monthly contributions on their phones in under 30 seconds. As part of the launch, MGFC is offering charities that help combat food insecurity the opportunity to enable Frictionless Monthly Giving more easily by eliminating 80% of the initial set-up fees and offering complimentary promotional materials for monthly giving campaigns. Registered Canadian charities that work to fight food insecurity are invited to visit www.FrictionlessMonthlyGiving.ca for more information about the program and to register. "Canadians are passionate and generous about supporting worthy causes, and helping to ensurethat no Canadian goes hungry is a cause we can all rally around," said Robert Ghiz, President and CEO of the Canadian Telecommunications Association and the chair of the MGFC Board of Directors. "Mobile giving makes it easy and convenient to make small donations on your wireless phone, and the Frictionless Monthly Giving program lets you multiply your contribution by donating every month."



Through the Frictionless Monthly Giving program, food banks and other registered charities can offer recurring monthly donations of $25 or less via one's mobile device. Donations are charged as a tax-exempt charitable gift on a donor's monthly wireless bill and 100% of the donation goes to the intended beneficiary charity. The MGFC initiative is designed to encourage widespread participation by breaking down traditional barriers to donating while also appealing to modern digital users. Charities can offer donors any one of three convenient options to pledge their monthly contributions: by texting a designated keyword, sending an emoji, or scanning a QR code.

MGFC is a registered charity operated by the Canadian Telecommunications Association. About the Mobile Giving Foundation Canada

The Mobile Giving Foundation Canada (MGFC) was founded in 2009 by key members of the wireless industry with the support of Canadian wireless operators to harness the power and connectivity of wireless communications and empower individuals to support their favourite causes. MGFC is a registered charity that enables text message donations to be charged to donors' monthly cellphone bills as tax-exempt charitable gifts where 100% of donations are remitted to the intended charities. MGFC is operated by the Canadian Telecommunications Association, and is supported by Bell Mobility, Chatr, Eastlink, Fido, Fizz, Freedom Mobile, Koodo Mobile, Lucky Mobile, PC Mobile, Public Mobile, Rogers, SaskTel, Tbaytel, TELUS, Videotron and Virgin Mobile. For more information, visit www.mobilegiving.ca. About the Canadian Telecommunications Association

The Canadian Telecommunications Association is dedicated to building a better future for Canadians through connectivity. Our members include service providers, equipment manufacturers, and other organizations in the telecommunications ecosystem, that invest in, build, maintain and operate Canada's world-class telecommunications networks. Through our advocacy initiatives, research, and events, we work to promote the importance of telecommunications to Canada's economic growth and social development and advocate for policies that foster investment, innovation, and positive outcomes for consumers. We also facilitate industry initiatives, such as the Mobile Giving Foundation Canada, Canadian Common Short Codes, STAC and wirelessaccessibility.ca. SOURCE Mobile Giving Foundation Canada

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[October 05, 2023] Inovedis Announces Close of Series A Funding Round Tweet

Raises $4 Million in New Equity Funding ALBSTADT, Germany, Oct. 5, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Inovedis GmbH, a medical technology start-up dedicated to offering innovative solutions that contribute both to optimized patient care as well as minimizing the complexity of surgical interventions, announced the successful close of a Series A funding round totaling $4 million. This funding was supported by participation from all of Inovedis's initial seed round investors including High-Tech Grunderfonds, MBG Mittelstandische Beteiligungsgesellschaft Baden-Wurttemberg, Volksbank Albstadt ChancenKapital, Start-UP BW Innovation Fonds, angel investors, and an initial investment by Renolit SE, the current manufacturer of the SINEFIX implant. Inovedis will use the recent funding to support the commercial launch of the SINEFIX implant system in the United States where there are over 1 million rotator cuff surgeries each year. The funding will also go towards sponsoring a clinical study taking place in Germany to generate data needed in support of CE marking and expansion of sales into Europe. SINEFIX allows refixation of the rotator cuff tendon to bone with a simplified surgical technique ptimized for minimally invasive surgery. The new technique requires minimal instrumentation, and removes the complexity of suture management and knot tying which is time-consuming, and requires an extensive range of instruments.



According to Prof. Dr. Philip Kasten, orthopedic surgeon and lead investigator in the SINEFIX CE mark clinical study, "Approximately 70% of all patients have a partial thickness rotator cuff tear, while only 28% have a full thickness tear. SINEFIX offers an effective treatment solution for small and partial thickness tears. In contrast to current treatment options, there is no need to detach the tendon completely prior to reattachment and fills an important gap in treating rotator cuff patients." "The SINEFIX surgical technique will shorten the procedure time and potentially improve the tendon to bone fixation while using less implants," says Dr. Stefan Welte, inventor of SINEFIX and co-founder. "This is due to the higher pull-out forces than double row fixation with suture anchors allowing the implant to be used in porous bones. This simplified technique is designed to reduce the risk of complications due to surgical errors and significantly shortens surgery time, contributing to time and cost savings in clinical surgeries."

"The new funding brings significant financial capital to accelerate the launch of SINEFIX and innovations that promote improvements in the way rotator cuff tears are treated today," says Lukas Floss, Founder and CEO. "We are looking forward to starting a limited market release in the U.S. to begin gathering experience around SINEFIX and working on future product generations." ABOUT INOVEDIS Inovedis GmbH is a medical technology start-up dedicated to offering innovative solutions that contribute both to optimized patient care as well as minimizing the complexity of surgical interventions. Since its founding in 2019, Inovedis has been developing SINEFIX to simplify rotator cuff tear surgery and improve patient outcomes. SINEFIX received FDA clearance in 2023. SINEFIX is not approved for sale outside the U.S. To learn more, visit our website and follow us on LinkedIn. MEDIA CONTACT:

Lukas Floss, Founder and CEO

[email protected]

Phone: +49 (0) 7432 - 13099 20 Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2148161/4324657/Inovedis_GmbH_Logo.jpg View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/inovedis-announces-close-of-series-a-funding-round-301948745.html SOURCE Inovedis GmbH

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[October 05, 2023] Inszone Insurance Bolsters Missouri Presence with DeVoy Insurance Group Acquisition Tweet

Inszone Insurance Services, a rapidly growing national provider of commercial, personal, and benefits insurance, announced the acquisition of DeVoy Insurance Group, a well-established insurance agency deeply rooted in the community of Brookfield, Missouri. DeVoy Insurance Group is run by Blake DeVoy, whose family has a storied history in the insurance industry dating back to the early 20th century, DeVoy Insurance Group has been a trusted name in Brookfield. The DeVoy family's dedication to serving their community has spanned generations, epitomizing their commitment to excellence. In 1910, Blake DeVoy's great-grandfather embarked on his journey by establishing the first insurance agency in Brookfield, later selling the original DeVoy & Co. to another local agency. In 1982, Blake DeVoy's father cofounded an agency, a strategic decision that laid the foundation for the family's continued legacy in the insurance business. Blake DeVoy himself entered the insurance industry in 2002 at the age of 19, building upon his early experiences working in his father's office. His diverse background, which includes roles as an underwriter and claims representative, equipped him with a unique perspective and skill set to navigate the complexities of insurance, makig him a valuable resource for clients and strong leader for his team.



"We're delighted to integrate the DeVoy Insurance Group into the Inszone Insurance umbrella," remarked Chris Walters, CEO of Inszone Insurance Services. "Their impressive legacy and enduring dedication to their local community mirrors our own commitment. This step enhances our position in Brookfield and expands our influence throughout the state, highlighting our unwavering promise to offer the best service to our valued clients." When asked about his decision to merge with Inszone Insurance, DeVoy pointed out the ever-evolving insurance landscape and business environment. He continued, "I recognized the changing demands of the insurance climate and wanted to ensure that my clients received the highest level of service."

Clients of DeVoy Group can expect to receive the same exceptional service they are used to, now bolstered by the added resources available through the Inszone brand. Inszone Insurance is expected to announce several significant acquisitions in the upcoming months as part of its ongoing efforts to expand its footprint on a national scale. Founded in 2002 and headquartered in Sacramento, California, Inszone is a full-service insurance brokerage firm that provides a broad array of property & casualty insurance and employee benefits solutions. With a strong, experienced management team, Inszone continues to grow organically and through acquisitions. With 44 locations across California, Arizona, Colorado, Illinois, Michigan, Missouri, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Texas, and Utah, the company is looking to expand further throughout the United States. For more information about Inszone, please visit www.inszoneinsurance.com. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20231005822632/en/

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[October 05, 2023] Umoja Biopharma to Present at the 2023 Cell & Gene Meeting on the Mesa Tweet

SEATTLE, Oct. 05, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Umoja Biopharma, Inc., a transformative immuno-oncology company creating off-the-shelf treatments for solid and hematologic cancers, today announced that the Company will present at the 2023 Cell & Gene Meeting on the Mesa to be held October 10-12, 2023, in Carlsbad, California, and virtually.

Presentation Details: Presentation Date/Time: Thursday, October 12, from 9:30-9:45 a.m. PT

Presentation Location: Park Hyatt Aviara Resort, 7100 Aviara Resort Dr., Carlsbad, CA 92011

Presentation Room: Rentschler ATMP Ballroom

Presenting Speaker: David Fontana, Ph.D., Chief Operating Officer Virtual attendance is available which includes a livestream of Umojas presentation and the ability to view all conference sessions on-demand. Please visit https://meetingonthemesa.com for full information including registration. About the Cell & Gene Meeting on the Mesa

Organized by the Alliance for Regenerative Medicine, the Cell & Gene Meeting on the Mesa is a three-day conference featuring more than 120 dedicated company presentations by leading public and private companies, highlighting technical and clinical achievements over the past 12 months in the areas of cell therapy, gene therapy, gene editing, tissue engineerng, and broader regenerative medicine technologies, as well as over 100 panelists and featured speakers.



About Umoja Biopharma

Umoja Biopharma, Inc. is an early clinical-stage company advancing an entirely new approach to immunotherapy. The Company is a transformative multi-platform immuno-oncology company founded with the goal of creating curative treatments for solid and hematological malignancies. Founded based on pioneering work performed at Seattle Childrens Research Institute and Purdue University, Umojas novel approach is powered by integrated cellular immunotherapy technologies including the VivoVec off-the-shelf in vivo delivery platform and the RACR/CAR in vivo cell expansion/control platform. Designed from the ground up to work together, these platforms are being developed to create and harness a powerful immune response in the body to directly, safely, and controllably attack cancer. Umoja believes that its approach can provide broader access to the most advanced immunotherapies and enable more patients to live better, fuller lives. To learn more, visit http://umoja-biopharma.com/. Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements about Umoja Biopharma, Inc. (the Company, we, us, or our). The Company has based these forward-looking statements largely on its current expectations, estimates, forecasts and projections about future events and financial trends that it believes may affect its financial condition, results of operations, business strategy and financial needs. In light of the significant uncertainties in these forward-looking statements, you should not rely upon forward-looking statements as predictions of future events. These statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause the actual results to vary materially, including, among others, the risks inherent in drug development such as those associated with the initiation, cost, timing, progress and results of the Companys current and future research and development programs, preclinical and clinical trials, as well as any economic, market and social disruptions. Except as required by law, the Company undertakes no obligation to update publicly any forward-looking statements for any reason.

Umoja Media Contact:

Karissa Cross, Ph.D.

LifeSci Communications

[email protected]



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[October 05, 2023] EMD Serono Launches New Collaboration with United Nations-Guided Global Initiative on Ageing to Support Caregivers Tweet

EMD Serono, the Healthcare business of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany in the US and Canada, today announced a new collaboration with the United Nations-Guided Global Initiative on Ageing (GIA) to provide a training course on critical skills for family caregivers. The course, consisting of 5 modules, provides professional instruction and guidance on essential topics in caregiving such as using medical equipment, creating safe environments and overcoming communication barriers. The course is available on EMD Serono's Embracing Carers website: EmbracingCarers.com. "As the world's population of ageing adults continues to significantly increase, the importance of caregivers has become even more critical to address their health needs," said Ambassador Luis Gallegos, Chairman of the Global Initiative on Ageing. "By bringing together the trusted experience of the GIA and EMD Serono's industry-leading caregiver initiative, Embracing Carers, we can better support caregivers around the world with these newly launched, vital courses." The availability of the training modules coincides with European Carers Day on October 6, as well as Family Caregiver Awareness Month in the U.S. this November. The modules provide support for a broad range of caregivers - whether they care for patients impacted by cancer, multiple sclerosis or other diseases and chronic conditions. "At EMD Serono, we recognize the invaluable role family caregivers play, not only in the lives of patients, but across the entire healthcare ecosystem. Providing tangible support and resources is the sort of impact we aim to have every single day," said Peter Guenter, CEO, Healthcare business at Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany. "As we embark on this exciting new collaboration with the UN's Global Initiative on Ageing, I look forward to seeing what more we can achieve in the future." Originally developed in Spanish, the modules have been translated into English to reach a broader audience. The modules focus on the following topics: Feeding and nutrition techniques and commonly encountered issues

Identifying communication and language problems

Assisting with motivation and learning for elderly, disabled, and/or ill people

Understanding and encouraging positive social relationships and behaviors in those requiring care

Adapting and creating safe and comfortable environments



An estimated 17 percent of Americans and Europeans serve as unpaid family caregivers. A recent Embracing Carers survey found family caregivers spend an average of 28 and 26.8 hours in the U.S. and Europe, respectively, on caregiving duties each week. The physical, mental, emotional, and financial stress of caregiving frequently leads to health problems for caregivers, with 75 percent of survey respondents saying they feel burned out by their caregiving responsibilities.

Embracing Carers was launched in 2017 with the mission to raise awareness of the challenges faced by family caregivers worldwide and to implement targeted initiatives to increase recognition and support for the role of these caregivers in healthcare systems. Embracing Carers is driving this mission daily through collaborations with relevant organizations worldwide to increase the visibility and availability of tailored resources; supporting increased policy attention and action; and creating innovative opportunities for healthcare system integration. GIA's mission is to support the achievement of the goals set by the United Nations Decade of Healthy Ageing and its Sustainable Development Goals by improving the standard of living, participation, and inclusion of the world's aging population. GIA's outreach is enhanced by partners in several countries and by virtual learning and policy platforms. For more information on the training course and to find additional resources for caregivers, please visit https://www.embracingcarers.com/ About Embracing Carers Embracing Carers is a global initiative founded by Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, which operates its biopharmaceutical business in the U.S. as EMD Serono, MilliporeSigma and EMD Electronics, in collaboration with leading carer organizations around the world, designed to increase awareness, discussion, and action about the often-overlooked needs of carers. Given that carers need support and often do not know where to turn for help, Embracing Carers was created to fill that void. www.embracingcarers.com About EMD Serono, Inc. EMD Serono - the healthcare business of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany in the U.S. and Canada -aspires to create, improve and prolong life for people living with difficult-to-treat conditions like infertility, multiple sclerosis and cancer. The business is imagining the future of healthcare by working to translate the discovery of molecules into potentially meaningful outcomes for people with serious unmet medical needs. EMD Serono's global roots go back more than 350 years with Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany. Today, the business has approximately 1,250 employees around the country with commercial, clinical and research operations in Massachusetts. www.emdserono.com. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20231005818961/en/

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[October 05, 2023] New AI in BREAKTHRU NOW Helping Bars & Restaurants Stock the Beverages Consumers Want Tweet

NEW YORK, Oct. 5, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- With a customer-first mindset driving Breakthru Beverage Group's strategic decision making, the company has enhanced its proprietary eCommerce platform BREAKTHRU NOW with artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning and other personalization tools. The result is a B2B eCommerce experience that combines business tracking and market insights with the ease and information more regularly found on consumer-facing online shopping platforms. "This is not technology for technology's sake. This integration brings tools that help our customers  bars, restaurants and retailers  build and grow their business," said Mike Boswell, Vice President, Digital and eCommerce at Breakthru. "Year-over-year BREAKTHRU NOW data shows that customers using the platform see an average of 7% growth in annual sales verses those who don't use the platform, and we expect that to grow as it will only get smarter and more personalized with continued use." BREAKTHRU NOW's personalized experience begins from the moment of account creation with product segmentation based on attributes like location, on- or off-premise and account type, getting as specific as possible to determine the best product and size suggestions. The platform then uses this information, combined with sales data from all channels, to show customers specific, personalized recommendations throughout the shopping process. The eCommerce platform also leverages AI to influence default product sorting and suggest products based on several metrics. BREAKTHRU NOW can suggest brands based on popularity, sales revenue or size to help stores fill out the shelf and maximize their portfolio of products. It can also present related products if the item searched for is unavailable and the AItool even suggests products for bars and retailers that their competitive set is purchasing.



"From technology and trends to helping customers grow their business, our eyes are on the future with BREAKTHRU NOW," added Boswell. "We will continue to invest in the platform to make it the easiest, most customer-focused eCommerce tool in the industry." Customers are reporting back through sales consultants that BREAKTHRU NOW is making account management easier and quicker than ever before. It also drives efficiency and effectiveness for Breakthru sales consultants by removing many administrative tasks, which frees them to work with customers and provide expertise on brand insights, consumer sentiment and industry and category trends.

The addition of AI and other personalization tools to BREAKTHRU NOW illustrates the company's commitment to a customer-first approach, meeting them where they are and delivering a best-in-class experience every day. The platform recently passed a milestone of $300 million in lifetime sales since its phased rollout in April 2021 and is live in 12 U.S. markets, with expansion to Pennsylvania this year and to Washington, D.C. and California in 2024. "AI is all around us, especially as consumers. Done correctly, AI will seamlessly work behind the scenes to enhance and personalize the consumer experience. Doing it well requires that companies using AI know the right questions to ask and how to feed the machine to create a seamless user experience," said Boswell. "That's what sets this apartwe know the customers, suppliers and people we service, and we are able to put that expertise to work to create the best possible experience for them." BREAKTHRU NOW offers the company's full wine, spirits, beer and non-alcoholic product catalog as well as access to online payments, order and delivery statuses including track-my-truck and integrated support to help customers manage their businesses whenever and wherever is best for them. About Breakthru Beverage Group Breakthru Beverage Group is one of the leading alcohol wholesalers in the United States and the largest broker in Canada representing a full total beverage alcohol portfolio of spirits, wine and beer. Breakthru is committed to diversity, equity and inclusion and supports a wide range of notable organizations as well as local charitable initiatives across its North American footprint. Across all markets, Breakthru aligns a nimble and insightful approach to sales, marketing and operations. Family ownership is active in the business and committed to being stewards of heritage and champions of innovation. For more information, visit?www.BreakthruBev.com. View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/new-ai-in-breakthru-now-helping-bars--restaurants-stock-the-beverages-consumers-want-301948841.html SOURCE Breakthru Beverage Group

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[October 05, 2023] Dover Announces Third Quarter 2023 Earnings Release Date, Conference Call and Webcast Tweet

DOWNERS GROVE, Ill., Oct. 5, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Dover (NYSE: DOV) announced today that it will release third quarter 2023 earnings at approximately 6:00 a.m. Central time (7:00 a.m. Eastern time) on Tuesday, October 24, 2023. Later that morning, Dover will host a conference call at 9:00 a.m. Central time (10:00 a.m. Eastern time) to discuss these results. To participate in the conference call, please dial 1 (800) 343-4849 (domestic) or 1 (203) 518-9856 (international), conference ID DOVQ323. Due to the expected number of callers, please dial in at least 15 minutes before the conference is to begin and ask to be connected to the Dover teleconference. A link to the live audio webcast will also be available on the company website at dovercorporation.com. An audio replay of the conference call will be available from 12:00 p.m. Central time, October 24, until 10:59 p.m. Central time, November 14, by dialing 1 (800) 839-2481 (domestic) or 1 (402) 220-7221 (international). Additionally, a replay link of the webcast will be archived on Dover's website for 90 days. About Dover: Dover is a diversified global manufacturer and solutions provider with annual revenue of over $8 billion. We deliver innovative equipment and components, consumable supplies, aftermarket parts, software and digital solutions, and support services through five operating segments: Engineered Products, Clean Energy & Fueling, Imaging & Identification, Pumps & Process Solutions and Climate & Sustainability Technologies. Dover combines global scale with operational agility to lead the markets we serve. Recognized for our entrepreneurial approach for over 65 years, our team of over 25,000 employees takes an ownership mindset, collaborating with customers to redefine what's possible. Headquartered in Downers Grove, Illinois, Dover trades on the New York Stock Exchange under "DOV." Additional information is available at dovercorporation.com.







Investor Contact: Media Contact: Jack Dickens Adrian Sakowicz Senior Director  Investor Relations Vice President  Communications (630) 743-2566 (630) 743-5039 [email protected] [email protected]

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/dover-announces-third-quarter-2023-earnings-release-date-conference-call-and-webcast-301948839.html SOURCE Dover

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(Bloomberg) -- Wireless carriers balked at allowing Samsung Electronics Co. to load its Galaxy S10 device with an app search capability that Google lacked, due to potential conflicts over their contracts with Google, a former Samsung investment adviser said at the search giants antitrust trial Thursday.

Most Read from Bloomberg

The carriers had concerns it cannibalized their existing search revenues, said Patrick Chang, a former director at Samsung Next Ventures, a US-based venture capital arm of the South Korean electronics company.

Samsung Venture officials considered the across-apps search function devised by Branch Metrics to offer a huge potential opportunity because Google at the time couldnt do that, Chang said. Founded in 2013, Branch Metrics raised $650 million from New Enterprise Associates Inc., Samsung Next Fund and other venture capital investors to build a search engine for mobile apps.

Alex Austin, a Branch Metrics co-founder, earlier told the court that Samsung restricted some functionality because of concerns about its contract with Google. The product was only allowed to search 25 apps and hid results from any apps not already installed on the phone, Austin said.

The US Justice Department claims Google uses contracts with tech rivals, smartphone makers and wireless providers to illegally maintain its monopoly in online search, by making it the preselected option, or default, on PCs and mobile phones. Google denies the allegation and says users choose its search engine because its the best one.

Google is clearly buying its way to squelch competitors, David Eun, who was president of Samsung Next at the time, said in a 2020 email to Chang that was entered into evidence Thursday.

Story continues

Not all Samsung executives were convinced the product would succeed. Some questioned whether the product slowed the phones browser or drained its battery, according to company memos introduced by Google near the end of Changs testimony.

Chang said those criticisms were made without much justification. Still, Chang said, there were multiple reasons for the product to struggle, including placement within the phone that made it difficult to find.

Samsung introduced the S10 in January 2019. In February, Chang in an email wrote Carriers blocking Branchs product and believe it violates their agreements with Google.

Chang, who now runs the Dispersion Capital venture fund, said he didnt have direct conversations with carriers Verizon Communications Inc., AT&T Inc. and T-Mobile USA Inc., but heard of their qualms from his own colleagues.

The case is US v. Google, 20-cv-3010, US District Court, District of Columbia.

(Updates with testimony from sixth paragraph)

Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek

2023 Bloomberg L.P.
[October 05, 2023] Reinsurance Group of America Announces Third Quarter Earnings Release Date, Webcast Tweet

Reinsurance Group of America, Incorporated (NYSE:RGA) plans to release third quarter earnings on Thursday, November 2, at approximately 4:15 p.m. Eastern Time. The release will be issued via newswire and will also be available through RGA's website, www.rgare.com. RGA will host a conference call to discuss the third quarter results beginning at 10 a.m. Eastern Time on Friday, November 3. Interested parties may access the call by dialing 1-844-481-2753 (412-317-0669 international) and asking to be joined into the Reinsurance Group of America, Incorporated (RGA) call. Participants are asked to call the assigned number approximately 15 minutes before the conference call begins. A live audio webcast of that conference call will be available on the Investors page of RGA's website, www.rgare.com. A replay of the conference call will be available at the same address for 90 days following the conference call.



Reinsurance Group of America, Incorporated (NYSE: RGA) is a global industry leader specializing in life and health reinsurance and financial solutions that help clients effectively manage risk and optimize capital. Founded in 1973, RGA celebrates its 50th anniversary in 2023. Over the past five decades, RGA has become one of the world's largest and most respected reinsurers and is listed among Fortune's World's Most Admired Companies. The global organization is guided by a fundamental purpose: to make financial protection accessible to all. RGA is widely recognized for superior risk management and underwriting expertise, innovative product design, and dedicated client focus. RGA serves clients and partners in key markets around the world and has approximately $3.5 trillion of life reinsurance in force and assets of $89.0 billion as of June 30, 2023. To learn more about RGA and its businesses, visit www.rgare.com. Follow RGA on LinkedIn and Facebook.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20231005849474/en/

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[October 05, 2023] Celltrion USA has signed a contract with Ventegra to add Yuflyma (adalimumab-aaty) as a preferred formulary product in both public and private insurance markets Tweet

Celltrion USA has signed a contract with Ventegra , a major U.S. Medical Benefits Manager (MBM) who administers pharmacy benefits through its Pharmacy Services Administration (PSA) model that has been effectively displacing traditional PBM's. Ventegra will incorporate Yuflyma (adalimumab-aaty) as a preferred drug in its formulary. As a result, Celltrion expands its performance in the U.S., the world's largest adalimumab market. Celltrion USA had completed a contract with Ventegra to include Yuflyma as a preferred drug in its formulary starting from the middle of September. Some administrative procedures such as uploading the updated formulary into its systems, should be completed by the first part of October 2023. By inclusion onto Ventegra's formulary in both public and private insurance markets, Celltrion USA has secured access in the appropriate channel for approximately 3.6% of the entire U.S. "After an exhaustive evaluation process, we are pleased to be working with Celltrion on launching Yuflyma as a formulary option and look forward to their extensive pipeline of biosimilar products," said Robert T. Taketomo, Pharm.D., MBA, President/CEO of Ventegra. Celltrion USA emphasized that it has concluded a deal with Ventegra based on Yuflyma's product competitiveness, technology, commercial capabilities, supply stability, patient support programs, and clinical credibility. In total, Celltrion has secured about 20% of the U.S. population so far by adding meaningful achievements with PBMs and MBM's such as Ventegra. Celltrion USA is confident that Yuflyma will be added to more PBM and MBM formularies over time. It has expanded discussions with stakeholders, including PBMs and other healthcare entities, in accordance with the company's sales strategies. As marketing activities such as 'Celltrion CONNECT Patient Support Program' are implemented, interest i Yuflyma is expected to escalate. Celltrion USA expects that it will be able to provide interested parties with more favorable terms and conditions because Yuflyma will have further strengthened its competitiveness through the expected approval of 80mg and 20mg dosage forms by the end of this year. Celltrion USA plans to expand its marketing activities so that Yuflyma has coverage and/or access for 40% of the U.S. population by the end of the year.



"In the United States, we are committed to increasing patient choice through access to biosimilars," said Francine Galante, Vice President of Market Access at Celltrion USA. "Yuflyma's new formulary listing in Ventegra's public and private insurance markets will expand patient access and improve quality of life." "With Ventegra's placement of Yuflyma on its formulary as a biosimilar option, Celltrion is well positioned in the U.S. adalimumab market, poised for significant growth, and ready to leap forward as a global leading biopharmaceutical company," said Thomas Nusbickel, Chief Commercial Officer at Celltrion USA. "Celltrion USA has gained strong opportunities in direct sales in the U.S. as this contract was led by Celltrion experts with extensive experience in establishing and implementing strategies that incorporate local considerations and parameters. Celltrion USA expects to continue achieving positive results in the U.S. with its extensive portfolio of products."

About Celltrion USA Celltrion USA is Celltrion Healthcare's U.S. subsidiary established in 2018. Headquartered in New Jersey, Celltrion USA is committed to expanding access to innovative biologics to improve care for U.S. patients. Celltrion USA will continue to leverage Celltrion Healthcare's unique heritage in biotechnology, supply chain excellence, and best-in-class sales capabilities to improve access to high-quality biopharmaceuticals for U.S. patients. Celltrion Healthcare endeavors to offer high-quality, cost-effective solutions through an extensive global network that spans more than 110 different countries. For more information, please visit: www.celltrionusa.com/ About Ventegra Ventegra, recognized as a "New Class of Trade," serves as a Medical Benefit Manager ("MBM") with Pharmacy Services Administrator ("PSA") as part of its portfolio of products. Ventegra is a single, turnkey solution for clients interested in managing their medical and pharmacy benefit services with integrity, quality, and complete transparency around data/costs of care. The Ventegra business model fundamentally realigns financial incentives focusing on value-based care and total healthcare cost. Ventegra understands the value of the coordinated care delivery model and can serve the needs of those with similar goals and objectives. www.ventegra.com View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20231004465015/en/

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[October 05, 2023] Bolting into the Future: Taiwan Fastener Showcase at IFE 2023 Gives Sneak Peek into What Taiwan has in Store for the Fastener Industry Tweet

International Fastener Expo 2023 - Are you looking for the latest in fastener innovations, insights into fastener industry trends, and an opportunity to network with buyers and sellers in the market? If so, now's your chance. The Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA), Taiwan's foremost trade promotion organization, will host a "Bolting into the Future" fastener showcase, organized by the International Trade Administration (TITA) on October 9, 2023, at Mandalay Bay Convention Center, Tradewinds Room C, during the International Fastener Expo 2023 (IFE) taking place in Las Vegas. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20231005613322/en/ Taiwan Fastener Showcase: Bolting into the Future at International Fastener Expo on Oct 9, 2023, 2 PM Tradewinds C, Mandalay Bay Convention Center (Photo: Business Wire) The showcase provides insights and trends on the fastener industry in Taiwan and its impact on the US market as well as showcase advancements from major Taiwanese companies including Wai Tai Industrial Co. Ltd, one of the leading producers of standard and special screws, and MAO CHUAN, a pioneer in metal stamping technology known for its high-quality parts. In addition, it will provide information on upcoming fastener trade shows such as Fastener Taiwan, Taiwan International Tools & Hardware Expo, and Taiwan Hardware Show. The growth of the North American Industrial Fastener market is surging, and is expected to exceed US $23 billion by 2028 owing to the growth of end-user industries such as manufacturing, automotive, and construction, among others, according to Mordor Intelligence. The United States is the largest market for Taiwan's fasteners, accounting for more than 45.75% of the country's exports. "As a world-clas major global supplier of fasteners and fixtures, Taiwan accounts for a majority of the world's fastener products. With over 1,500 fastener companies employing over 30,000 people, we take pride in providing a wide range of products ranging from standard bolts and screws to intricate, custom-made fasteners for high-tech applications," said Bran Chiu, project manager, TAITRA. "As the fastener industry undergoes significant growth, the 'Kingdom of Screws' is poised to meet its rising demand."



Register for the "Bolting into the Future" Fastener Showcase The showcase will take place from 2:00PM - 3:00pm on Monday, October 9 at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center, Tradewinds Room C. The event will feature presentations, refreshments, and networking opportunities with industry professionals. The first 30 registered attendees will receive a free $25 Amazon gift card. Interested industry professionals and media representatives are encouraged to register in advance here.

Visit the Taiwan Pavilion @ IFE 2023 Throughout IFE 2023, more than 60 of Taiwan's best in the fastener industry will be showcasing their products at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center. The Taiwan exhibitors include Mao Chuan Industrial, A-Stainless International, Chia Yi Fastener, Chaen Wei Corporation, Fong Prean Industrial, Channg Chin Industry, and SCT Fasteners. More About: Fastener Taiwan 2024 From June 5-7, 2024, TAITRA and Taiwan Industrial Fastener Institute (TIFI) will host Fastener Industry Taiwan 2024, its seventh Taiwan International Fastener Show, at the Kaohsiung Exhibition Center in Taiwan. An international B2B fastener show serving as a trading platform for sourcing and procurement, it demonstrates Taiwan's image as "the Kingdom of Screws" with an impressive showcase of 300 exhibitors and 900 booths displaying a wide range of products ranging from nuts, bolts, screws, tools, manufacturing equipment, meters and instruments, and wire and raw materials. There will be a welcome dinner, live tours, VIP guided tours, a global fastener forum, procurement meetings, and more. https://www.fastenertaiwan.com.tw/en/index.html Taiwan International Tools & Hardware Expo Organized by the Taiwan Hand Tool Manufacturers' Association (THTMA) with support from industry, government, and academia, the Taiwan International Tools & Hardware Expo (TiTE) debuted in 2022 and was held in the middle of Taiwan, where the Taiwan hardware and hand tools originated. The topic "TOOLS KINGDOM - The Most Iconic Gathering of Hardware & Tools in Asia" strengthened the position of Taiwan's hardware and tool industry in the global market and opened the door to the international export market after the pandemic. https://hardwareexpo-taiwan.com/en-us Taiwan Hardware Show THS is one of Asia's top trade fairs for the hardware and DIY sectors offering specialist traders and buyers with a comprehensive category of products and services. It is Taiwan's biggest and only true B2B hardware show, serving as a trading platform for sourcing and procurement. THS features a complete range of hardware products to showcase world class Taiwan quality, precision, and service. http://www.hardwareshow.com.tw/home/Main_eng.asp About TITA The International Trade Administration is the administrative agency of the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) of Taiwan and is responsible for a wide variety of international trade activities including planning trade policies, engaging in international trade cooperation, participating in the activities of international economic and trade organizations, promoting, and implementing economic and trade agreements, and protocols for foreign trade delegations; formulating and implementing policies for trade promotion and MICE industry development and investigating and removing trade barriers, responding to trade remedies initiated by foreign counterparts, and handling trade disputes. Visit trade.gov.tw About TAITRA Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA) is the foremost non-profit, semi-governmental trade promotion organization in Taiwan. Founded in 1970 to help promote foreign trade, TAITRA is jointly sponsored by the government, industry associations, and several commercial organizations. TAITRA assists Taiwanese businesses in strengthening their international competitiveness and in dealing with the challenges they face in foreign markets. TAITRA boasts a well-coordinated trade promotion and information network consisting of over 1,200 trained specialists stationed throughout its Taipei headquarters and 60 branches worldwide. Together with its sister organizations, the Taiwan Trade Center (TTC) and Taipei World Trade Center (TWTC), TAITRA has created a wealth of trade opportunities through effective promotion strategies. www.taitra.org.tw View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20231005613322/en/

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[October 05, 2023] Entwistle & Cappucci LLP Files a Securities Class Action Complaint Against Emisphere Technologies, Inc. Tweet

Entwistle & Cappucci LLP ("Entwistle & Cappucci") today announced that its ongoing investigation has led to the filing of a class action complaint against Emisphere Technologies, Inc. ("Emisphere" or the "Company") and certain of the Company's officers and directors on behalf of a class (the "Class") consisting of all persons or entities that sold shares of Emisphere common stock (OTCBB: EMIS) from November 6, 2020 through December 8, 2020, inclusive (the "Class Period"). The case was filed in the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey and is captioned: S/M Merger Arbitrage, L.P. v. Emisphere Technologies, Inc., No. 23-cv-20898 (D.N.J.) (the "Action"). The Action arises out of the $1.8 billion merger (the "Merger") between Emisphere and Novo Nordisk A/S ("Novo Nordisk") announced by the Company on November 6, 2020, and alleges that the defendants artificially depressed the price of Emisphere common stock during the Class Period in order to ensure that the Merger would be consummated, and defendants Mark H. Rachesky, Michael Weiser and Timothy Rothwell would receive lucrative payouts from the transaction. To implement the scheme, the defendants allegedly made a series of materially false and misleading statements and omissions of material facts in the proxy statement (the "Proxy") and other public statements issued in connection with the Merger during the Class Period. The Merger arose from a longstanding business relationship between Emisphere and Novo Nordisk in which Emisphere licensed its patented drug delivery technology to Novo Nordisk under a royalty agreement executed between the companies in 2008 (the "Royalty Agreement"). Under the Royalty Agreement, Novo Nordisk was permitted to use the Company's patented delivery mechanism for the medication Rybelsus, a "wonder drug" approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of type 2 diabetes. In return, Novo Nordisk agreed to make both milestone and royalty payments to Emisphere that were tied to Rybelsus's net sales. The Royalty Agreement was amended numerous times over the next several years. Under one such amendment, defendant Rachesky and certain of his investment funds, as Emisphere's controlling shareholders, obtained the right to receive a direct royalty stream of 0.5% of Novo Nordisk's net sales of Rybelsus and other products that used Emisphere's technology (the "MHR Royalties"). In November 2019, in the midst of an intellectual property dispute between the companies, Novo Nordisk initiated discussions on a potential acquisition of Emisphere. The companies engaged in merger negotiatios throughout 2020. Novo Nordisk made several proposals between February and August, which culminated in Novo Nordisk's "best and final" offer of $1.8 billion on August 24, 2020. After ultimately agreeing on terms, Emisphere and Novo Nordisk executed a merger agreement on November 5, 2020 (the "Merger Agreement"). Under the Merger Agreement, Novo Nordisk agreed to pay $1.35 billion to Emisphere's shareholders in exchange for their Emisphere common stock. Under a separate agreement, Novo Nordisk agreed to pay defendant Rachesky an additional $450 million to acquire the MHR Royalties. Defendants Rothwell and Weiser were also provided lucrative payouts under the Merger Agreement, including the acceleration of restricted stock unit and unvested stock option packages valued at over $8 million each.



Emisphere announced the Merger in a press release on November 6, 2020, and subsequently issued the Proxy to its shareholders on November 16, 2020. Both the November 6 press release and the Proxy touted the Merger as a positive transaction for Emisphere shareholders. The Merger closed on December 8, 2020; shareholders that sold their Emisphere common stock into the Merger received $7.83 per share (the "Merger Consideration"). As alleged in the complaint, the defendants' public statements concerning the Merger were false and misleading when made because they failed to disclose material facts concerning the Merger, including that: (i) defendant Rachesky manipulated the sale process to ensure he received enormous financial benefits from the Merger, including his insistence on a transaction structure that supported significant personal tax savings on his $450 million payment for the MHR Royalties; (ii) defendants Rothwell and Weiser adjusted Emisphere's financial projections downward to justify the inadequate Merger Consideration; (iii) Emisphere had consistently modeled internal financial projections demonstrating significantly higher valuations for the Company, which supported higher merger consideration for shareholders; and (iv) Emisphere had been engaged in an extensive intellectual property dispute with Novo Nordisk that was integral to the Merger negotiations and implicated significant royalty payments to the Company.

The complaint asserts claims under Sections 10(b) and 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 10b-5 promulgated thereunder. A copy of the complaint may be found on Entwistle & Cappucci's website below. https://entwistle-law.com/entwistle-cappucci-llp-files-a-securities-class-action-complaint-against-emisphere-technologies-inc/ If you wish to serve as a lead plaintiff in this matter, you must file a motion with the Court no later than December 4, 2023. Any member of the proposed Class may move the Court to serve as a lead plaintiff through counsel of their choice, or they may choose to do nothing and remain a member of the Class. If you wish to discuss this action or have any questions concerning this notice or your rights or interests, please contact: Robert N. Cappucci, Esq. or Jonathan H. Beemer, Esq. of Entwistle & Cappucci at (212) 894-7200 or via e-mail at [email protected] or [email protected]. About Entwistle & Cappucci Entwistle & Cappucci is a national law firm providing exceptional legal representation to clients in the most complex and challenging legal matters. Our practice encompasses all areas of litigation, corporate transactions, bankruptcy, insurance, corporate investigations and white-collar defense. Our clients include public and private corporations, major hedge funds, public pension funds, governmental entities, leading institutional investors, domestic and foreign financial services companies, emerging business enterprises and individual entrepreneurs. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20231005074942/en/

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Without too much snark . . . Here's the statement from the lawman with local connections:



"Now, in an answer to a federal lawsuit against him, Cody denies most of the allegations against him for his actions before and during the Aug. 11 raid. His defense: he acted reasonably and within constitutional requirements, among other claims.



"Cody also argues the county attorney and law enforcement agencies he turned to for legal advice before the raid never told him that the investigation was legally questionable.





"The states top investigative agency, which took over the Marion case following the raid, has not publicly said it is investigating Cody for his actions. But the former police chief said in his filing that the KBIs continued investigation was a conflict of interest.



"Former Marion Police Chief Gideon Codys filing, which came in response to a lawsuit filed by Marion County Record reporter Deb Gruver, provides the most detailed account thus far of the events leading up to the search of the local newspaper."

Read more via www.TonysKansasCity.com links . . .

Former Marion police chief responds to federal lawsuit filed against him by Kansas reporter - Kansas Reflector Former Marion County Police Chief Gideon Cody denies much of the allegations against him in response to a federal lawsuit.

Former Marion chief calls KBI's investigation into newspaper raid 'a conflict of interest' Gideon Cody, the former Marion police chief who raided the local Kansas newspaper, said in court filings the KBI was involved and said the agency had a conflict of interest.

Pages missing from witness statement in Marion raids, according to witness A witness statement used as evidence to raid the Marion County Record newspaper is missing pages, according to the witness.

Developing . . .
Right now fashionista & hottie Kylie inspire our latest look at pop culture, community news and top headlines.



Check TKC news gathering . . .

Scaring Up Death Culture Artifacts

A decoration's long journey from rural Mexico to Kansas City Hispanic Heritage Month honors the rich culture that contributes to the Kansas City metro in September and October but people who live in the region seek out decorations from that culture year-roun...

Reviving Dead KC Retail

Country Club Plaza tenants hope new possible ownership means more foot traffic, less empty storefronts As the Country Club Plaza recently celebrated its 100-year anniversary, news that new ownership could soon be coming.

Celebrate Publicity Stunt Love

How to dress like Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce this Halloween Move over, Barbie and Ken - Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce may now be the hottest Halloween couples costume idea of 2023.

Dancing Duality Story Debuts

Jekyll & Hyde Returns to its Roots in KC following its Finnish Premiere - KC Ballet "We've always been on the same wavelength ," Ramona Pansegrau, Kansas City Ballet's Music Director & Conductor, says of Jekyll & Hyde choreographer Val Caniparoli. Read more about this fascinating ballet.

KC Hip Shake Soundtrack

Kansas City Latin Jazz Orchestra's rhythms of revolution have kept crowds dancing for 20 years After arriving from Chile, Pablo Sanhueza made it his mission to spread the sounds of Latin America, and create an inclusive and radical space for cross-cultural appreciation.

Hottie Has Her Moment

Kylie Jenner has her own Marilyn Monroe moment in plunging Schiaparelli gown: 'More than Kim could ever give' Jenner, 26, hit Schiaparelli's Paris Fashion Week show on Thursday in the shimmering keyhole gown, which hugged her curves and plunged at the neckline.

PREZ BIDEN COMMITS BORDER WALL DOUBLE CROSS AMID CRISIS!!!

Biden approves new border wall in political U-turn Dozens of federal laws are being waived to allow the building of new barriers in Texas.

Former 'America's Mayor' Fights Back

Rudy Giuliani sues Joe Biden for calling him a 'Russian pawn' | CNN Politics Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani filed a defamation lawsuit Wednesday against President Joe Biden for calling him a "Russian pawn" during a presidential debate nearly three years ago.

Dems Rebuked By Republicans

House GOP takes revenge on Democrats after McCarthy ousting Allies of toppled former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) are fuming at Democrats for failing to back him amid his historic ejection - leaving Democrats arguing the GOP has no one to blame but themselves. Republican ire hasn't just been centered on the eight members of their own conference who ignited and backed the vote...

European End Game In Sight

'We're pretty much done': 'Unwavering' support for Ukraine starts to waver Congress is haggling over funding, and Slovakia, one of Ukraine's staunchest allies, could get a pro-Russian PM. What does this mean for Ukraine?

Far East Orbit Expands

China's next moon mission aims to do what no country has ever done. Its space ambitions don't end there | CNN China's lunar mission to bring back the first samples ever collected from the moon's far side is on schedule for next year, officials say, as Beijing ramps up its ambitious plan to send astronauts to the moon this decade and build an international lunar research station.

Old School Loving Cautions Advised

Column: Frisky is good; risky is not - the joys and hazards of sex and love in the titanium years STDs are up among older adults, but that hasn't put a damper on their search for love or companionship. Here are some of their stories

Cowtown Scorcher Considered

Kansas City's Favorite Local Small-Batch Hot Sauce - IN Kansas City Magazine Kansas City is full of underrated, niche spots and cult small-batch favorites, requested in hushed tones lest someone else snatch the last bottle. H Sauce, Kansas City's answer to a flavorful hot sauce, might just be the new hot-sauce boss in town. A darling of the local business community, H Sauce and its partner product,...

Autumn Chill Arrives

FIRST WARN: Friday to see big drop in temps Another front will swing through late Thursday and will send temperatures tumbling Friday.

Re-released in 1993 when it earned Billboard Hot 100 ranking, The Proclaimers - I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles) is the #TBT song of the day and this is the OPEN THREAD for right now.
Right now we take a quick look at the latest in crime reporting, court cases and news of ALLEGED misdeeds from the news cycle.



Check TKC news gathering . . .

Shooting victim has life-threatening injuries in Kansas City One person was critically wounded in a shooting Thursday afternoon in Kansas City, Missouri.

Kansas City man sentenced for 2022 murders that also injured child A Jackson County judge sentenced David Emerson in the 2022 killing of two adults and injuring a 5-year-old child in Kansas City

Topeka man charged with capital murder, rape in death of 5-year-old girl Mickel Cherry was charged with capital murder, first-degree murder and rape in the death of Zoey Felix.

Kansas City woman charged as accessory to murder in shooting over stolen Lexus Alyssa Tuscan, 27, faces three felonies, including accessory to murder, for a Kansas City shooting over a stolen Lexus that left one man dead, according to court documents.

Suspected drug ring indicted on fentanyl trafficking linked to 3 KC-area deaths A grand jury indicted seven men on fentanyl trafficking charges linked to three overdose deaths in Belton.

13 students join lawsuits against Overland Park's St. Thomas Aquinas and ex-choir director Joseph Heidesch was arrested in October 2021 and charged with 30 felony counts for hiding a camera in his office and watching students change. This summer was sentenced to five years and eight months in a Kansas prison.

Fairway Police Dept. thanks community for support following officer's death Fairway police thank the community for support following the shooting death of Officer Jonah Oswald in August.

Andrew Lester, accused of shooting Ralph Yarl, formally requests a jury trial A man accused of shooting a teenager has formally requested a jury trial.

Woman steals fire truck, drives it into yard, leads to crash in central Missouri A 20-year-old woman stole and crashed a firetruck after driving it through an overhead garage door Wednesday morning in Windsor, Missouri.

Clay County proposes new 911 fee on November ballot Clay County leaders are asking voters to approve a new $1 monthly fee to fund the 911 system on the Nov. 7 ballot.

Independence father recovering after stabbing An Independence father remains in the hospital after being stabbed as part of a crime spree on Friday.

Kansas man federally charged after laser pointer aimed at aircraft One Kansas man is in hot water after a federal indictment alleged he aimed a laser pointer at a passing aircraft.

Missouri Woman Allegedly Drove Miles with Husband on Hood of Car This is a dangerous situation and I'm not making light of it, but I have to wonder what the argument was that led to a Missouri woman allegedly driving miles down the highway with her husband on the hood of her vehicle.

Developing . . .
A man has been arrested after a woman and a male youth were stabbed in Scarborough early Thursday.

Police were called to the area of Eglinton Avenue East and Markham Road at 1:34 a.m. for reports of two people stabbed.

Toronto police said a woman in her 30s was taken to hospital with life-threatening injuries. A male youth suffered non-life-threatening injuries and was also taken to hospital.

A man in his 40s was arrested on scene, police said.
Police are looking for a man following a sexual assault in east-end Toronto Monday.

Toronto police said the victim was walking on the sidewalk near Danforth and Glebemount avenues when a man crossed the street and came up to the victim from behind around 9:45 a.m.

"The suspect then sexually assaulted the victim," police said in a Wednesday afternoon news release in which images were released. "The suspect then fled on foot, along Danforth Avenue."

The man is described as being 30 to 40 years old, five-feet 10-inches to five-feet 11-inches tall with a thin build, short cornrows and facial hair. He was wearing a white long-sleeved shirt with a black sleeveless shirt overtop, black pants and black "Nike" shoes.

Anyone with information is asked to call 55 Division police at 416-808-5500 or Crime Stoppers anonymously at 416-222-TIPS (8477).
Gull Island

By Anna Porter

Simon & Schuster, 256 pages, $24.99

Its unsurprising to learn from her acknowledgments at the back of the book that former publisher, historian and novelist Anna Porter wrote her latest psychological thriller during COVID lockdown when it seemed that the darkness would prevail. The authors apparent pessimistic outlook goes some way to explain Gull Islands desultory tone and narrative approach. The vast majority of the novel features protagonist Jude alone on the eponymous island in Georgian Bay, where she has gone at her mothers behest to search for her missing fathers will. Through flashbacks and Judes own musings while isolated on the island, we learn about her familys dysfunctional history, the matriarchs encroaching dementia, sister Gails jealousy, and the missing patriarchs unsavoury business dealings. Jude skulks around the family cottage, a storm descends, and numerous gothic trappings  mysterious noises, hidden documents, a sweater floating in the water  combine to create an atmosphere of incipient dread. Porters novel is a slow burn, and takes its time getting to a conclusion that is heavily predetermined from the outset.

The Raging Storm

By Ann Cleeves

Macmillan, 400 pages, $25.99

Heavy weather and a remote setting also characterize the latest from U.K. novelist Ann Cleeves, the third in her Matthew Venn series of mysteries. In the current instalment, Venn and his team have been called to the fictional town of Greystone to investigate the stabbing murder of Jeremy Rosco, an adventurer who made his name by sailing around the world. His body is found abandoned in a lifeboat during a storm; the town is subsequently cut off with no power, and Venn must muster all his wits to find the culprit in a self-enclosed environment. The setting is the star here: Cleeves does a good job creating unease with her storm-tossed geography and small-town populace (including a cult-like religious sect that Venn was once involved with). The prose is less convincing, filled with cliches and a really staggering number of chapters that end with one or another of Venns team turning back to a building theyve just left to see a figure at a window or on a porch suspiciously watching them depart.

The Last Dance

By Mark Billingham

Sphere, 400 pages, $28.99

Bestselling British crime writer Mark Billingham returns with the first instalment in a brand new series, featuring detective Declan Miller, an upstart with a robust disrespect for authority, still reeling from the murder of his wife, a fellow police officer who worked the organized crime beat. On his first day back, Miller finds himself saddled with a new partner, Sara Xiu (pronounced jus, Like the stuff you get in fancy restaurants) and a new case: the shooting deaths of two apparently unconnected men in contiguous hotel rooms. Billingham is clearly enjoying himself with this new series: theres a high energy level to the plot, which twists and turns its way through Millers investigation, including conversations he carries on in his head with his dead wife. In crafting a portrait of grief, Billingham is adept at wringing a surprising amount of pathos from Millers situation. The plot is propulsive and largely entertaining, notwithstanding a sidekick that comes a bit too close to being a Lisbeth Salander (she of The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo) clone (down to the jacked-up motorcycle she rides) and a wisecracking lead whose insistence on burying his feelings under incessant jokes will either endear him to readers or utterly alienate him from them.

Murder in the Family

By Cara Hunter

William Morrow, 480 pages, $24.99

Bestselling British author Cara Hunters North American debut is about precisely what it says on the front: a cold-case investigation into the brutal beating death of Luke Ryder, the stepfather of acclaimed documentarian Guy Howard. The twist in this case is the narrative structure Hunter has chosen to adopt. Guys latest project is a true-crime series for a Netflix-like streaming network called Showrunner, focused on his own family and the unsolved murder of two decades previous. Howard and his producer have gathered together a team of experts to re-evaluate the crime, the evidence, and the suspects live on camera; the novel consists of episode transcripts, text messages, emails, and newspaper reviews of the show. This only works intermittently; the discussions among the various experts are somewhat forced and its hard to imagine the viewing audience being at all engaged a lot of the time. And the conceit of having the producer call time on the shooting because the group has reached a cliffhanger moment beggars belief; cliffhangers are concocted, not discovered organically. Its as if the series conniving producer is unaware that raw footage can be edited in post.

Correction - Oct. 10, 2023: This article was edited from a previous version that misspelled author Ann Cleeves given name.

Steven W. Beattie is a writer in Stratford, Ontario
Employee wellbeing remains pivotal as top companies prioritize a human-centric approach even amidst changing employee experiences.

SINGAPORE, Oct. 6, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Great Place To Work, the global authority on workplace culture revealed the 33 companies placed on the Best WorkplacesTM in Technology List. Now in its third year, companies are ranked in four categories of micro, small, medium and large.

Gigamon, Imperva, Cisco and HP ranked top in each category. Notably, the only public sector agency that made the list is Government Technology Agency (GovTech). As a statutory board, it is committed to digital transformation within the public sector, harnessing the best info-communications technologies to make a difference to the everyday lives of people in Singapore. Mr DN Prasad, Senior Director, People & Organisation Division said: "This Award reflects our aspiration to be a successful tech magnet and validates the efforts we put in to create an exceptional talent experience for our GovTechies."

The companies were shortlisted using rigorous analytics and confidential employee feedback from over 17,000 employee voices. Companies were only considered if they are a Great Place To Work CertifiedTM organization.

Managing Director of Great Place To Work ASEAN and ANZ, Ms Evelyn Kwek said: "This has been a challenging year for the tech industry and we have seen shifts in employee experience between 2022 and 2023. However, the core principle remains: companies that prioritize their employees' holistic wellbeing stand out as great workplaces. In the backdrop of a larger environment marked by rapid technological advancements and global challenges, these findings underscore the importance of human-centric approaches in the tech industry."

The Best Workplaces in Technology is determined using Great Place To Work's For All methodology to evaluate. 89% of employees in Best Workplaces look forward to coming to work and 81% of them enjoy special and unique benefits in their workplace.

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The Great Place to Work Trust Index Survey enables employees to share confidential quantitative and qualitative feedback about their organization's culture by responding to 60 survey questions. Collectively, these statements describe a great employee experience, defined by high levels of trust, respect, credibility, fairness, pride, and camaraderie.

85% of the evaluation is based on what employees report about their experiences of trust and reaching their full human potential as part of their organisation, no matter who they are or what they do. Great Place To Work analyses these experiences relative to each organisation's size, workforce make up, and what is typical in the Technology sector. The remainder of the evaluation is an assessment of all employees' daily experiences of the company's values, people's ability to contribute new ideas, and the effectiveness of their leaders to ensure they are consistently experienced.

About Great Place To Work

As the global authority on workplace culture, Great Place To Work brings 30 years of ground-breaking research and data to help every place become a great place to work for all. Their proprietary platform and For All Model helps companies evaluate the experience of every employee, with exemplary workplaces becoming Great Place To Work Certified or receiving recognition on a coveted Best Workplaces List. Follow Great Place To Work on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram or visit greatplacetowork.com.sg to learn more.

About Great Place To Work Certification

Great Place To Work Certification is the most definitive "employer-of-choice" recognition that companies aspire to achieve. It is the only recognition based entirely on what employees report about their workplace experience  specifically, how consistently they experience a high-trust workplace. Great Place To Work Certification is recognized worldwide by employees and employers alike and is the global benchmark for identifying and recognising outstanding employee experience. Every year, more than 10,000 companies across 97 countries apply to get Great Place To Work Certified.

(PRNewsfoto/Great Place to Work, Korea)

Cision

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/apac/news-releases/great-place-to-work-announces-2023-singapore-best-workplaces-in-technology-list-301946830.html

SOURCE Great Place To Work ASEAN & ANZ
(Bloomberg) -- Hong Kongs securities regulator and police force set up a task force to assist with the detection of suspicious activity at crypto exchanges, intensifying oversight of the industry after the blowup at the JPEX platform.

Most Read from Bloomberg

The working group comprised of the citys Securities and Futures Commission and law enforcement officials will enhance collaboration in monitoring and investigating illegal activities related to virtual-asset trading platforms, the financial watchdog said in a statement late Wednesday.

The tie-up comes as Hong Kong grapples with the fallout from JPEX. Authorities allege the unlicensed crypto platform defrauded investors of HK$1.6 billion ($204 million) and have arrested at least 20 people as part of a probe.

The saga threatens to complicate Hong Kongs push to develop a global home for the digital-asset industry in a bid to restore its image as a cutting-edge financial center. The citys reputation has been hurt by claims of decreased autonomy from China as well as memories of prolonged Covid-related curbs.

This strengthens the reputation of Hong Kong as a safe and compliant jurisdiction to do business in virtual assets, said Vince Turcotte, a consultant at Cognitive GRC, which advises firms applying for crypto licenses in the city. The formation of the task force is a proactive step to shore up confidence in the new regime.

Hong Kong rolled out a new regulatory framework for virtual assets mid-year and awarded the first mandatory licenses for trading platforms in August.

Learning Lessons

Officials are seeking to learn the lessons of 2022s crypto bear market and ensuing bankruptcies by ensuring investors are protected, while also creating clear paths for companies to get permits.

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Jurisdictions like Dubai, Singapore and the European Union have also developed crypto frameworks, whereas the status of digital assets remains hazy in the US.

The new task force in Hong Kong includes representatives from the commercial crime, cybersecurity and technology crime, and financial intelligence and investigations police bureaus. It also spans the SFCs enforcement and intermediaries divisions.

The working group is instrumental to fast-tracking of vital intelligence exchange and joint collaboration in responses to the challenges arising from virtual-asset trading platforms, Eve Chung, an assistant commissioner at the police force, said in the statement.

The announcement of the combined task force should be welcome news for everyone engaged in legitimate cryptocurrency trading and another clear, black-and-white warning to those who operate in shades of gray, said Jonathan Crompton, a partner at law firm RPC in Hong Kong.

--With assistance from Annabelle Droulers.

(Updates with comment from legal expert in the final paragraph.)

Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek

2023 Bloomberg L.P.
Dubai's Burj Park is set to host the much-anticipated Japan Culture Con. Over three days, attendees can immerse themselves in Japan's culture without leaving the city.

Read More: Top 10 Pictures of Burj Khalifa

At the event, visitors can take a Japanese rickshaw ride around Burj Park, indulge in traditional tea ceremonies, enjoy stage performances from famous artists such as Koichi Takamatsu and Yoshiyuki Kimura, and meet beloved anime voice-over artists.

Anime enthusiasts are in for a treat as the convention showcases popular anime and manga series performances.

Read More: All Details for UAE Citizens Visa Free Travel to Japan

Authentic Japanese dishes will be available, and attendees can shop for unique Japanese handicrafts, kimonos, and cosmetics.

An exclusive highlight is the debut of the Japanese Maids Cafe, MAID-ON, in Dubai. Plus, there's a special section with games from Japan for children.

For those interested in exploring Japanese culture, the Japan Culture Con will be held at Burj Park, Downtown Dubai from November 10th to 12th, between 2 pm and 11:30 pm.
The United States has transferred to the Ukrainian Armed Forces more than a million seized rounds for Soviet types of small arms in order to strengthen the Ukrainian military on the front line.

The United States Central Command (CENTCOM) said this in a press release on Wednesday, Ukrinform reports.

"On Oct. 2, 2023, the U.S. government transferred approximately 1.1 million 7.62mm rounds to the Ukrainian armed forces," the press release reads.

The government obtained ownership of these munitions on July 20, 2023, through the Department of Justice's civil forfeiture claims against Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).

These munitions were originally seized by U.S. Central Command naval forces from the transiting stateless dhow MARWAN 1 on December 9, 2022. The munitions were being transferred from the IRGC to the Houthis in Yemen in violation of the United Nations Security Council Resolution 2216.

"The U.S. is committed to working with our allies and partners to counter the flow of Iranian lethal aid in the region by all lawful means including U.S. and UN sanctions and through interdictions," the statement said.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez have discussed unity in Europe and the strengthening of the Ukrainian military on the sidelines of the European Political Community Summit in Granada.

The head of state announced this on the X social media platform (formerly known as Twitter), Ukrinform reports.

"Starting my first meeting at the European Political Community Summit with Pedro Sanchez. We will focus on the European unity, the security and stability of Europe, our defense and the strengthening of Ukrainian warriors," Zelensky wrote.

Following the meeting, the Ukrainian leader tweeted: "We discussed the new military aid package that includes additional air defense capabilities, artillery, and anti-drone systems. We are getting ready to open Ukraine's EU accession talks during the Spanish EU Presidency. I am grateful to Spain for supporting our aspirations."

Both parties also discussed steps to provide Ukraine with energy equipment as winter approaches, as well as the functioning of the grain corridor.

"I am grateful to Prime Minister and the Spanish society for all the support and the clear condemnation of Russian aggression," Zelensky wrote.

On October 5, Zelensky is visiting Spain where he will participate in the European Political Community summit and hold a number of bilateral meetings.

Some 50 leaders are taking part in the meeting of the European Political Community in Granada.
A robust response is needed on the part of the international community should Iran decide to supply missiles to Russia, including direct action against Iranian defense industry facilities by actors like Israel.

Thats according to Dr. Evelyn Farkas, a former Deputy Secretary of Defense for Russia, Ukraine, and Eurasia in the Barack Obama administration and currently the executive director at the McCain Institute think tank, who gave a comment to Ukrinform during a Q&A at the American University Kyiv on Wednesday.

It's shocking to see how Iran seems to be sliding into this ability to provide weapons to Russia, Farkas said, also expressing concern about North Korea.

I think the United States has to have a robust response, she noted, adding that she is unaware of any concrete plans to this end.

She emphasized the need to reach out to Israel who would be alarmed by such developments and potentially willing to take direct action against Iranian defense industry facilities where Russia-bound weapons are produced.
Now it is necessary to jointly inflict a fundamental defeat on Russia's aggression in Ukraine, so that they cannot renew its aggressive actions and that NATO soldiers do not fight with Russia in the future.

This was stated by the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky during the opening of the summit of the European Political Community in Granada (Spain), Ukrinform reports.

"All these countries (against which Russia is working in one way or another  ed.) need economic support, and all these countries need security guarantees, so that Russia will not even be tempted to try to break their sovereignty ever again. A clear signal is needed  Russia has no chance, said Zelensky.

Video: Office of the President of Ukraine

The president also emphasized the most important thing, which will give our unity the full strength": "The aggressor is most effectively neutralized by defeat  defeat in war. Right now, and right in Ukraine, we have the opportunity to cause a fundamental defeat to Russia's aggression."

Addressing the European leaders present, Zelensky noted that "thanks to Ukraine, your soldiers are not fighting against Russia right now." "We do not doubt NATO's strength. But I'm sure none of you wants to find out what it will be like if, God forbid, NATO has to stand up for one of you. We have to win in Ukraine so that Putin cannot scale this aggression to someone else. And it is realistic," said the head of the Ukrainian state.

Against this background, he emphasized the importance of preserving the unity and solidarity of Europe, as well as not allowing Putin to "to destabilize any other parts of the world and our partners in order to ruin Europe's power."

Zelensky emphasized the importance of strengthening the capabilities of Ukrainian soldiers, especially in the field of air defense, with the aim of destroying the positions of the invaders and liberating the territory.

"Every Russian drone shot down in Ukraine, every Russian tank destroyed in Ukraine confirms that this drone, this tank, any other Russian weapon destroyed in Ukraine will not strike anyone else in Europe. And I thank all of you  each and every one of you, your nations  thank you for your defense help! Additional air defense systems for Ukraine, additional artillery and shells, additional long-range missiles and drones for our soldiers, as well as additional formats of support and security guarantees for nations threatened by Russia  all this is a real protection of Europe from further aggressive steps by Russia," he emphasized.

As Ukrinform reported earlier, during the opening of the summit of the European Political Community, President Zelensky said that, in the event of a "freeze" of the current battlefield situation in Ukraine, Russia will be able by 2028 to restore its military potential degraded by the Ukrainians and will have enough forces to invade other countries, in particular, Baltic countries.

Photo: Presidents Office
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has summed up the results of his working visit to Spain, noting that many important meetings were held and an agreement was reached on the strengthening of Ukrainian air defenses and the supply of artillery and long-range weapons to Ukraine.

The head said this in a video address to the nation, Ukrinform reports.

"We are ending this long and busy day. The day of the summit of the European Political Community. Many meetings, important negotiations. We will have more air defenses - there are clear agreements. This is very important before the winter. Spain, Italy, France, Germany, the United Kingdom - thank you! Our soldiers will have more artillery. There will be more long-range weapons. And there will definitely be more justice," Zelensky said.

According to him, now the main message from Ukraine to the world is that evil has no right to prevail.

"And only now, only in Ukraine, this principled moral position can be maintained. But all together! I thank each leader of our partner countries for the meetings today! I thank the European Union and the European Parliament for their clear support. Thank you, Spain, for giving us all the opportunity today to strengthen European unity. Unity is the answer. We will do everything to preserve it," he said.

Zelensky is on a working visit to Spain on October 5.
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - October 4, 2023) - Iconic Minerals Ltd. (TSXV: ICM) (OTCQB: ICMFF) (FSE: YQG) (the "Company" or "Iconic") the Company is pleased to announce that Iconic will commence trading under a new OTCQB symbol: ICMFF, on Thursday, October 5, 2023.

The Company is currently focused on the exploration and development of its two prospective lithium brine properties located in Nevada, USA.

About the Grass Valley Project

The Grass Valley Property is a lithium exploration project consisting of 997 placer claims covering an area of 80 km2 (31 mi2). Located approximately 60 km (36 miles) northeast of Austin, Nevada, the property expresses indicators of a potential lithium brine system. The large, enclosed basin is surrounded by mountains with ample felsic volcanics and intrusives, has active hot spring systems on 3 sides of the valley, and surface salt lithium assays as high as 510 ppm Li and an MT survey, run by Fritz Geophysics, shows an interpreted major brine zone extending from approximately 500 meters (1,600 feet) to over 1,000 meters (3,300 feet) below the surface.

About the Smith Creek Project

The Smith Creek Project is located within Smith Creek Valley in Nevada, which is approximately 60 km (37 miles) long and 16 km (10 miles) wide. Quartz-rich volcanic tuffs containing anomalous amounts of lithium occur within and adjacent to the valley. Surface sampling around hot springs on patented ground just off the claim block assayed a maximum of 470 ppm Li. The gravity low within the valley is 16 km (10 miles) long, and the current estimates of depth to basement rocks range from 1,300 to 1,500 meters (4,200 to 5,000 feet). The current claim block covers an area of 67 km2 (26 mi2) with potential for brine systems as well as sediment resources.

Qualified Person

Richard Kern, Certified Professional Geologist, a qualified person as defined by Canadian National Instrument 43-101, has reviewed and approved the technical information contained in this news release. Mr. Kern is not independent of the Company as he is the Chief Executive Officer of Iconic.

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On behalf of the Board of Directors

SIGNED: "Richard Barnett"

Richard Barnett, CFO

Contact: Keturah Nathe, VP Corporate Development (604) 336-8614

For further information on Iconic, please visit our website at www.iconicminerals.com. The Company's public documents may be accessed at www.sedar.com .

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This news release contains forward-looking statements and forward-looking information (collectively, "forward-looking statements") within the meaning of applicable Canadian and U.S. securities legislation, including the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, included herein including, without limitation, statements with respect to the Option, the Joint Venture, the amount of the Offering, the expected use of proceeds from the Offering and the future business plans and exploration activities of the Company, are forward-looking statements. Although the Company believes that such statements are reasonable, it can give no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct. Forward-looking statements are typically identified by words such as: "will", "believes", "expects", "anticipates", "intends", "estimates", "plans", "may", "should", "potential", "scheduled" or variations of such words and phrases and similar expressions, which, by their nature, refer to future events or results that may, could, would, might or will occur or be taken or achieved. In making the forward-looking statements in this news release, the Company has applied several material assumptions, including without limitation, that investor interest will be sufficient to close the Offering, that market fundamentals will result in sustained precious metals demand and prices, the receipt of any necessary permits, licenses and regulatory approvals required for the Option Agreement and the future development of the Company's projects in a timely manner.

Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the Company to differ materially from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking information. Such risks and other factors include, among others, operating and technical difficulties in connection with mineral exploration and development activities, actual results of exploration activities, including on the Smith Creek Property, requirements for additional capital, future prices of lithium and gold, changes in general economic conditions, changes in the financial markets and in the demand and market price for commodities, lack of investor interest in future financings, accidents, labour disputes and other risks of the mining industry, delays in obtaining governmental approvals, permits or financing or in the completion of development or construction activities, risks relating to epidemics or pandemics such as COVID-19, including the impact of COVID-19 on the business, financial condition and exploration and development activities of the Company, changes in laws, regulations and policies affecting mining operations, title disputes, the inability of the Company to obtain any necessary permits, consents, approvals or authorizations, including of the TSX Venture Exchange in respect of the Option Agreement and the Offering, the timing and possible outcome of any pending litigation, environmental issues and liabilities, and risks related to joint venture operations, and other risks and uncertainties disclosed in the Company's latest interim Management's Discussion and Analysis and filed with the Canadian Securities Authorities. All of the Company's Canadian public disclosure filings may be accessed via www.sedar.com and readers are urged to review these materials, including the technical reports filed with respect to the Company's mineral properties.

Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. The Company undertakes no obligation to update any of the forward-looking statements in this news release or incorporated by reference herein, except as otherwise required by law.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/182972
The Ukraine Defense Contact Group will hold its next meeting in Brussels on October 11.

U.S. Defense Department Spokesperson Brigadier General Pat Ryder said this at a press briefing on Thursday, October 5, according to an Ukrinform correspondent.

"Secretary Austin and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Brown will depart Washington on Tuesday for Brussels, Belgium, where they'll host an in-person meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group on October 11," he said.

Ryder recalled that this would be the 16th meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group since U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin formed the international coalition in April 2022.

He also added that after the meeting of the Contact Group, Austin would subsequently participate in the NATO defense ministerial at NATO headquarters.

The Ukraine Defense Contact Group last met on September 9 at Ramstein Air Base in Germany.
The Government of Spain has endorsed a decision to provide six HAWK surface-to-air missile launchers to Ukraine.

The relevant statement was made by President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky in a conversation with the mass media representatives, following the 3rd European Political Community Summit, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.

According to the Head of State, strengthening the air defenses is the only solution that will enable Ukraine to defend itself against Russian attacks.

President Zelensky mentioned that the Government of Spain endorsed a decision to send six HAWK launchers to Ukraine.

Yes, it will be joint work with partners under the Spanish presidency. I strongly believe we will be able to bring all these systems together, and they will be delivered to Ukraine, Zelensky noted.

Additionally, Germany is working to send an additional Patriot system to Ukraine.

With due respect to all partners, I believe that today it is the only system that can counter such threats and such mass killings, because the Patriot system removes any missiles of the Russian villain in its path, Zelensky added.

A reminder that President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky is paying a working visit to the Kingdom of Spain.

Photo: Office of the President of Ukraine
The United Nations Development Program and Japan have purchased and handed over two high-voltage autotransformers to Ukraine's National Power Company Ukrenergo.

That's according to the Ministry of Energy of Ukraine, Ukrinform reports.

"Two new powerful autotransformers have arrived in Ukraine, which were purchased and handed over by the United Nations Development Program in Ukraine and the Government of Japan under the close coordination of the Ministry of Energy of Ukraine. The equipment will be installed at an Ukrenergo substation to meet the needs of about 500,000 consumers," the report said.

In addition, two more transformers will arrive by the end of this year. With the assistance of the Japanese government, Ukraine will receive several more transformers through Romania.

According to the ministry, since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, Japan has supported Ukraine in the restoration of the energy sector. Twelve humanitarian aid shipments weighing more than 113 tonnes were delivered to Ukraine as of September. Among them are 256 units of backup power plants and corresponding sets.

Japan is also helping Ukraine develop distributed generation.
Harvesting increases the demand for grain exports from Ukraine as alternative land routes cannot sustain the volume of exports that the Black Sea Grain Initiative provided, so its restoration is important, especially to prevent food shortages in African countries.

Thats according to Ayhan Akbaba, a board member of the Turkish-Ukrainian Association of Businessmen (TUID), who spoke in an interview with the Turkish publication Dunya.

"Now it is a very serious offer (for grain - ed.), as harvesting continues. There are no sites to store it. The crop must be transported somehow, preventing spoilage. Therefore, there is a serious demand. Every vehicle, every rail car, and every bulker that can be found has to be loaded... In this sense, both the Pivdennyi and the main ports must somehow be re-included in the agreement on the agrarian corridor," the publication cited Akbaba as saying.

The member of the TUID board expressed hope that thanks to the assistance of Turkey, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the issue of resuming the operation of the "grain corridor" will be on the agenda and the corridor will be reopened.

He also notes that alternative land routes cannot sustain the volume of transportation that sea routes provide.

"It is possible to export by sea on ships with a capacity of 20,000 to 50,000 tons at a time. It is possible to send only 22 tons by trucks or 60-70 tons by rail. This situation causes disruptions in the supply chain and affects costs," Akbaba explained.

According to his outlook, if the issue is not resolved before early next year, disruptions in grain supply, as well price hikes, are likely.

The businessman emphasized that the Black Sea Grain Initiative has to resume its work "especially to prevent food shortages in Africa."

As reported by Ukrinform, the grain agreement between the UN, Turkey, Ukraine, and the Russian Federation on "sea corridors" for the export of Ukrainian grain, was signed on July 22, 2022. It expired on July 17, 2023, and the Russian Federation refused to extend it. On September 4, the presidents of Turkey and Russia met in Sochi, including to discuss the resumption of the Black Sea Grain Initiative. No agreement was reached on the issue.

Photo: Oleksandr Kubrakov, Facebook
The Emergency Situations Commission of Moldova called on the regulator of Moldovas gas transmission system to ensure a free flow of European gas to storage facilities through four points on the Ukrainian-Moldovan border.

This is reported by BNN, Ukrinform saw.

The implementation of this policy means that Ukraine can import up to 17 million cubic meters of natural gas per day through the Trans-Balkan and Iasi-Chisinau gas pipelines.

Since Moldova is in a state of emergency due to the war in Ukraine, the decisions of the Commission shall be implemented in accordance with the law.

With more than a quarter of a billion cubic meters of gas in reserve, stored in Romania and Ukraine, Moldova says it has enough to get through the winter. Due to Russia's accusations of illegal gas storage in Ukraine, Moldova clarified that the fuel stored in Ukraine had been purchased on the free market, not from Gazprom.

In addition, the connection of the gas systems of Moldova and Ukraine is important due to fears of destabilization in Moldova provoked by Russia.

Ukraine gained access to the gas networks of South-Eastern Europe after successful test deliveries carried out by the Moldovan gas operator, Moldovatransgaz, in late January.

As reported by Ukrinform, the Minister of Energy of Moldova, Victor Parlicov, stated that most of Moldova will not be buying gas from Russia's Gazprom.

However, Vadim Ceban, CEO Moldovagaz, stated that Moldova left open the possibility of buying gas from Gazprom once the conditions are favorable.
Moldovan President Maia Sandu has responded to the Russian attack on the village of Hroza in the Kharkiv region, which killed 51 people.

The Moldovan leader reported this on the X social media platform, Ukrinform reports.

"Deeply disturbed by Russia's attack on eastern Ukraine today, killing so many innocent people. Moldova vehemently condemns this yet another violent act of aggression by Russia. Today - and everyday - we stand in solidarity with Ukraine," she wrote.

On October 5, Russian troops launched a missile strike on a cafe in the village of Hroza in the Kharkiv region, when a memorial service was held. Fifty-one people were killed and six others were injured. Two of them are in grave condition.

It emerged later that DNA samples would be collected from the residents of the village to identify their relatives. The identities of 35 victims have been established so far.
Russias Federal Security Service is directly involved in destabilizing Armenia with the aim of toppling the countrys government.

This was reported by the Guildhall news agency, citing a source in one of the European intelligence services, according to Ukrinform.

According to the source, several FSB units are involved in the effort, as well as a separate group that was deployed in Yerevan to coordinate the operation on the ground.

The team is headed by Roman Romachev, an FSB operative who is an expert on the so-called active measures (malign influence missions) and operates under the cover of a front company, the R-Techno private intelligence agency. Among other things, the group is tasked with organizing and coordinating anti-government protests demanding the resignation of Nikol Pashinyans government, providing information support for protests across social media platforms, as well as setting up provocations with the aim of radicalizing protesters.

As reported earlier, after Azerbaijan ran a blitz military operation in Nagorno-Karabakh, a wave of protests and riots blasted across Armenia with demands for the Pashinyans government to resign.

In turn, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan made a statement that the son of former President Robert Kocharyan, Levon, who is believed to be a close friend of Vladimir Putin, stood behind the mass protests.

As reported by Armenia Today, the head of the Armenian government ordered members of his team to notify international partners that Russian intelligence agencies were plotting a coup in his country.

Also, after reports emerged of Russian intelligence setting up grounds for a coup, Nikol Pashinyan dismissed the chairman of the presidential guard, Sarkis Hovhannisyan, just four months into his appointment.
Member of the British Parliament Neil Coyle stated that violent provocations in northern Kosovo meet Russias interests in the region.

The lawmaker commented to Guildhall on information provided by the Kosovo Ministry of Internal Affairs that Russia could have been involved in an attack on police in the village of Banjska, which resulted in aggravation of relations with Serbia and the amassing of Serbian troops across the border with Kosovo, Ukrinform reports.

Yes (provocations in Kosovo are in Russias interests - ed.), we believe theyve been were active. I mean, Russia is very stretched. Its resources are very stretched, both military and others, the politician said.

As reported by British Defense Minister Grant Shapps, in response to an urgent request from NATO, the UK is sending a contingent of peacekeepers to Kosovo, as announced by the country's defense minister.

The escalation unfolded on September 24, when approximately 30 armed ethnic Serbs driving armored vehicles clashed with the police patrol force near the village of Banjska.

As a result of the shootout, one policeman and three attackers were killed.

The next day, Kosovo police displayed a large amount of weapons and equipment seized from the militants.

Kosovo authorities declared September 25 a day of mourning and described the incident as a terrorist attack carried out by a group of heavily armed militants, professionally trained and financed by Serbia.

In addition, Kosovo began to investigate Russia's involvement in the attack on the police.

Kosovo Interior Minister Xelal Svekla said that intelligence services are now studying evidence that Russia, an ally of Serbia, was involved in the attack. We are talking about equipment and documents indicating the participation of the Kremlin.
The Russian war in Ukraine must end with a just peace and restoration of internationally recognized borders.

This was stated by Bulgarian Prime Minister Nikolay Denkov, who spoke at a joint press conference with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in Berlin, Ukrinform reports.

"Russia's aggression against Ukraine, without a doubt, changed the world in which we lived and in which we will live for the next decades. We must do everything necessary to bring this war to an end, but it must end in a stable, lasting, and just peace. It is not easy, therefore, until the moment we achieve this goal, we must undertake a lot of efforts and provide the tools so that Ukraine can defend itself against this aggression and that the war ends on the internationally recognized borders from where it started," Denkov said.

Read also: Bulgaria to continue providing comprehensive support for Ukraine

He complained that propaganda was being added to the problems other countries were experiencing because of the war.

"In countries like Bulgaria, propaganda is incredibly strong. It offers very simple solutions that find public support, but they are false, not true. The task for all governments is to explain to people that smart decisions are not easy, that coordinated, hard efforts are needed not only from politicians, but also from society," said the Bulgarian head of government. At the same time, he expressed his conviction that the EU as a community is very strong economically and militarily, in order to support Ukraine in terms of defense, but also to find new technological solutions to overcome economic challenges the member states are facing.

The German chancellor emphasized that Germany and Bulgaria are helping Ukraine side by side. He thanked Bulgaria for taking a clear stance on Russian aggression.

He also thanked Sofia for the role it plays in creating "Solidarity Lanes" as long-term routes for the transportation of Ukrainian grain.

"We must continue to create them and Bulgaria plays a big role in this regard," said Scholz. He noted that it is very important to find ways to safely transport Ukrainian grain across the Black Sea, which is important both for global food security and for Ukraine's ability to exert "economic resistance."

The chancellor also commented on the latest developments in Washington. He expressed optimism and confidence that the U.S. Congress "will very quickly be able to find the tools to further support Ukraine in addition to the one already approved and available." Scholz said that during his yesterday's call with U.S. President Joe Biden, a clear message was received: European partners can rely on the continued U.S. to support Ukraine.

Minister of Foreign Affairs of Bulgaria Maria Gabriel during the field meeting of the EU foreign ministerial in Kyiv on October 2 stated that her country will continue to support Ukraine at the diplomatic, political, military, and humanitarian levels.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said that preserving Europe's unity is the main task now.

He said this before a summit of the European Political Community in Granada on Thursday, October 5, according to an Ukrinform correspondent.

"The main challenge we all face is to preserve unity in Europe," Zelensky said, adding that he is talking not only about EU countries.

He noted that this is actually the biggest challenge, because Russia will continue to attack, including using disinformation and fake news.

Zelensky said the second important issue for Ukraine was a "protective shield" for the winter period, as Russia will use various types of missiles, Iranian drones, etc.

Asked if he was worried about news from the U.S., Zelensky said that "Ukrainians stopped worrying on day one of a full-scale war, so it's too late for us to worry, we have to work."

He recalled his recent visit to Washington, during which U.S. President Joe Biden assured him of full support for Ukraine from both the White House and Congress. At the same time, Zelensky noted that during the pre-election period in the United States, "there are different voices, sometimes very strange ones."

On October 5, Zelensky is visiting Spain where he will participate in the European Political Community summit and hold a number of bilateral meetings.

Some 50 leaders are taking part in the meeting of the European Political Community in Granada.
Flagship Initiatives Launched to Propel Green Economy

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia, Oct. 5, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The 14 th International Greentech & Eco Products Exhibition & Conference Malaysia (IGEM 2023), targeting RM4 billion in business leads and 40,000 visitors from 40 countries, was officiated today by YAB Dato' Sri Haji Fadillah Haji Yusof, the Deputy Prime Minister on behalf of YAB Dato' Seri Anwar Ibrahim, the Prime Minister of Malaysia, in the presence of cabinet ministers, ambassadors, international delegates and other dignitaries.

Act of Launch IGEM 2023

Organised by the Ministry of Natural Resources, Environment and Climate Change (NRECC) and co-organised by the Malaysian Green Technology and Climate Change Corporation (MGTC), IGEM 2023, Southeast Asia leading trade event for green technologies and eco solutions, has an impressive track record of having delivered RM41 billion in business leads, over 530,000 visitors from over 112 countries since 2010.

Referring to the Prime Minister's speech YAB Dato' Sri Haji Fadillah bin Haji Yusof said, "Transitioning to a net-zero world calls for nothing less than a complete transformation of how we produce, consume, and move about. A growing coalition of countries, cities, businesses, and other institutions are pledging to get to net-zero emissions. More than 70 countries have set a net-zero target."

"Without a doubt, IGEM 2023 plays a decisive leadership role in accelerating and delivering the region's Net Zero and just energy transition agenda. There are enormous opportunities to steer us to sustainability while ensuring robust economic and social progress. Something that is exemplified in the Malaysia Madani way of life that my government is strongly advocating and adopting," he added.

During the opening ceremony, YAB Dato' Sri Haji Fadillah bin Haji Yusof unveiled the much-awaited Hydrogen Economy and Technology Roadmap, to unlock the prospect of harnessing a new energy carrier and the knock-on economic effects it would bring. Additionally, Leader Energy signed a strategic partnership with BASF Stationary Energy Storage GmbH, to promote the development of long-duration energy storage projects in Southeast Asia, having already identified 8 LDES projects with a total estimated value of RM1.8 billion.

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YAB also witnessed the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) among PMB Aluminium Sdn. Bhd., Sumitomo Corporation Asia & Oceania Pte. Ltd and Nandina Remanufacturing Pte. Ltd. to expand the use of raw materials derived from retiring aircraft such as airplanes and helicopters, aligning with their shared vision of growing the circular economy to drive sustainable manufacturing.

Furthermore, during the opening ceremony, Tenaga Nasional Berhad unveiled the Malaysia Green Attribute Trading System, or mGATS, as a national marketplace for Malaysia Renewable Energy Certificates (mREC), as part of the Government's efforts to further propel the RE sector.

Delivering the welcoming remarks, Minister of Natural Resources, Environment and Climate Change, YB Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad said, "Having had the opportunity yesterday to personally meet with some of the delegates, visit the exhibition floor and take part in some of the conference sessions, it is clear to me that IGEM's role as one of ASEAN's leading trade events for green tech and eco products remains as relevant today as it was when its doors first opened in 2010."

"The government's energy transition intent under the National Energy Transition Roadmap augurs well with my Ministry's current effort to decarbonise the power sector through accelerated deployment of RE capacity in our power installed capacity from the existing 25% to 70% in 2050," he concluded.

The exhibition floor is organised by the sub-themes of Empowering Cities, Electrifying Mobility, Decarbonising Energy, Accelerating Circularity and Conserving Biodiversity with leading corporations such as UOB, Cypark Resources Berhad, Polymateria Limited, Bio Eneco, Lenovo, Canadian Solar and Cradle Fund making a presence with their impressive booths. The exhibition also features pavilions for Austria and Canada.

Some of the prominent Malaysian participants include the Ministry of Health (MOH), the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (MOSTI) and the state of Sabah, to name just a few. A key highlight of IGEM this year is the AtoZero ASEAN Summit which is co-located and runs concurrently with the event. Powered by Gentari, the Summit convenes the who's who from across the net zero value chain, including key decision makers and changemakers to comprehensively explore pathways, policies and business opportunities to drive the global net zero transition agenda.

IGEM is hosting several conferences on topics such as climate change, low-carbon cities, science and innovation, hydrogen economy, waste management, circular economy, water, energy efficiency and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

IGEM is also featuring the much-in-demand business networking sessions organised by the Malaysian Investment Development Authority (MIDA), Malaysia External Trade Development Corporation (MATRADE) and MGTC.

During the three-day event, numerous Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) are being signed between Malaysian and international parties, reinforcing their commitment to collaborate in the race towards net zero.

For further details on IGEM 2023, please visit www.igem.my.

Dato' Sri Haji Fadillah Haji Yusof, Deputy Prime Minister of Malaysia

Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad, Minister of Natural Resources, Environment and Climate Change, Malaysia

Cision

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/apac/news-releases/igem-2023-races-towards-net-zero-301948052.html

SOURCE Malaysian Green Technology and Climate Change Corporation
Biden wants to give a major speech on support for Ukraine, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre has said.

She said this at a press briefing on Thursday, according to an Ukrinform correspondent.

"He wants to give a major speech on this," Jean-Pierre said, without specifying when that would happen.

According to her, the United States will continue to provide the necessary assistance to Ukraine, and this position is shared by both parties in Congress.

"We are going to continue to make sure that we meet the battlefield needs that Ukraine has, using existing resources and using those resources provided by Congress," she added.

Jean-Pierre spoke emotionally about today's Russian missile attack on the village of Hroza, Kharkiv region, which killed more than 50 people.

"We are continuing to see Russia launch strikes like the one today in eastern Ukraine. [...] Can you imagine just walking to the grocery store with your kids, trying to figure out what is it that you're going to make for dinner and you see an explosion happen where bodies are everywhere," she said.

Read also: Moldovan president condemns Russian missile strike on Kharkiv region

"It's horrifying, it's incredibly horrifying for the people of Ukraine, for the folks who are like yourselves, your colleagues who are reporting this on the ground," she added, addressing journalists. "And it is for these families and these kids. [...] So this is what is happening in Ukraine every day," she added.

According to her, this is why the United States is doing everything it can to "help the brave people of Ukraine fight for their freedom, fight for democracy."

Jean-Pierre said that "if Russia is successful, it would send a terrible message and embolden the dictators," who would want to invade other countries.

Photo: Office of the President of Ukraine
Ukraine has received humanitarian aid from the people of Taiwan in the form of 48 vehicles with medical and military equipment.

Project curator Kateryna Muzlova told this to Ukrinform.

"We are talking about mobile intensive care units (ambulances), cars for evacuating people with disabilities, six fire engines and a dozen more jeeps and minibuses for the Ukrainian Armed Forces at the front. Most of the vehicles have already been handed over to the final recipients along the entire front line from Kharkiv to Kherson," Muzlova said.

She said that the transferred vehicles also contained medicines and military equipment. "The main filling of the vehicles is toys for children, food, hygiene products, wheelchairs and other medical equipment and medicines. Taiwanese friends also gave us night vision devices, helmets, nets and special underwear for women in the Ukrainian Armed Forces," Muzlova said.

According to the curator of the project, she contacted a Taiwanese volunteer who organized the assistance during a fundraiser for vehicles for the Ukrainian marines.

"Previously, I was a volunteer from the Marine Corps Support Headquarters, with whom we raised funds for cars for the 36th Marine Corps Brigade. When disseminating information about the fundraiser among foreign organizations, one of the donors learned about my active volunteer position. He was also impressed by the activities carried out during the martial law in Ukraine, which we organized together with other relatives of prisoners of war. Soon we started talking about the possibility of receiving help. He turned out to be a volunteer who united Ukrainians in Taiwan and some Polish volunteers to help transport the bulk of the cargo. As a result, this project became a symbiosis of charitable organizations from Taiwan, Poland and Ukraine. The government of Taiwan also actively participated, because ambulances and fire trucks were at their disposal," Muzlova said.

More than ten military units, city councils of front-line districts and medical institutions of various regions of Ukraine became the final recipients of aid. The main part of the aid has already been transferred to the final recipients.

Earlier reports said that Taiwan would allocate $5 million for a Lithuanian-initiated project to restore a school destroyed by Russian troops in Borodianka and a kindergarten damaged by shelling in Irpin, Kyiv region.
| By Lorri Angelloz

This past August, Maryland Department of Commerce Secretary Kevin Anderson learned firsthand how the University of Maryland, Baltimores (UMB) efforts to accelerate biotechnology commercialization are transforming the economy of Baltimore and the region.

UMB is one of the states most powerful economic drivers, with an economic impact on Maryland of $3.2 billion last year. The University of Maryland BioPark, Baltimores biggest biotechnology cluster, plays a vital role in that impact as it fuels the commercialization of new drugs, treatments, and medical devices. Its nearly three dozen tenants  including industry leading global firms such as Pharmaron, Illumina, BD, and Catalent, next-gen ventures, university spinouts, distinguished research organizations, cutting-edge clinical care, and contemporary workforce training programs  employ more than 1,000 people.

(l-r) UMB President Bruce Jarrell, Maryland Department of Commerce Secretary Kevin Anderson, Maryland Department of Commerce Director of Life Sciences Ulyana Desiderio, UMB Provost and Executive Vice President Roger Ward, and UMB Chief Enterprise and Economic Development Officer and Senior Vice President James Hughes

Anderson spent an afternoon meeting with UMB President Bruce E. Jarrell, MD, FACS, and Provost and Executive Vice President Roger J. Ward, EdD, JD, MSL, MPA, as well as representatives from the BioPark, the Center for Blood Oxygen Transport & Hemostasis (CBOTH) at the University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM), and KaloCyte, a BioPark affiliate whose labs are housed at CBOTH.

During the visit, the secretary learned about the Universitys role as a leading-edge research and workforce development institution and how BioPark tenants, in partnership with UMB, are contributing to the states economic success. He also was given an overview of the 4MLK expansion project at the BioPark, which will further Baltimores position as a growing biotech hub.

While speaking with Anderson, Jarrell emphasized UMBs commitment to serving the city of Baltimore and the state of Maryland through its academic opportunities, research, and ability to drive the economy.

At UMB, we seem to be born with a sense of urgency about our community  our West Baltimore community  because we understand what we do impacts the health of the city of Baltimore, but theres an urgency to impact the wider area. Jarrell said. We have Baltimore in our name, and we obviously are focused on positively impacting Baltimore. But we also have Maryland in our name, and were committed to serving all of Maryland, including the Eastern Shore and underserved rural areas.

James L. Hughes, MBA, UMBs chief enterprise and economic development officer and senior vice president, provided the secretary with a history of the BioParks development, describing how it transformed blocks of abandoned buildings on the west side of campus into a thriving center for biotech startups and research.

He also noted that occupancy within the BioPark is at almost full capacity and said that nationwide demand for lab space is one factor propelling the development of 4MLK, which will bring even more jobs to the region.

Intended to serve as a gateway between the BioPark, UMB, and the University of Maryland Medical Center, 4MLK will advance the BioParks mission to bring together faculty researchers, entrepreneurs, leaders in the life sciences, and community-focused initiatives and programs to further human health innovation.

The eight-story, 250,000-square-foot building, Phase I of a two-phase project located at the intersection of Martin Luther King Jr. (MLK) Boulevard and West Baltimore Street, will provide critical wet laboratory space in downtown Baltimore for researchers and companies, flexible lab and office/support space for startups, and Class A office space, along with areas for convening and a conference center.

The BioPark has been in high demand and fully leased for years, which is a good problem to have, but it does cap our economic impact. Our new development project, 4MLK, will bring much-needed wet lab space to downtown Baltimore, allowing more companies to locate on UMBs campus and nearly doubling the number of jobs in the BioPark, Hughes said. The building will also provide new spaces and resources that support the growth of our startups and UMBs faculty entrepreneurs.

Anderson also toured CBOTH, which hosts BioPark affiliate KaloCyte, a pre-clinical stage health care biotech startup company that was co-founded by Allan Doctor, MD, professor of pediatrics at UMSOM and director of CBOTH.

KaloCyte is developing ErythroMer, a dried, bio-inspired artificial red blood cell intended to treat life-threatening blood loss when stored red blood cells are unavailable, undesirable, or in short supply. KaloCyte has partnered with CBOTH, licensing and developing the novel technologies emerging from CBOTHs laboratories.

It recently was announced that CBOTH and KaloCyte will participate in a four-year, $46.4 million federally funded research project to develop and test a whole blood product, storable at room temperature. Doctor will lead the project, which is administered by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, in collaboration with more than a dozen universities and biotech companies.

The support KaloCyte has received from UMB and the BioPark  through lab space, direct investment, grant collaboration, and connections to stakeholders and investors  has been critical to our development and growth, said Elaine Haynes, MBA, president and chief executive officer of KaloCyte. The Maryland ecosystem is rich with mechanisms to foster innovative companies like ours, so we were delighted to host the Department of Commerce team and show the secretary firsthand how we are putting their funding to work to develop lifesaving technologies.

The secretary rounded out his visit to campus with a stop at 801 W. Baltimore St. in the BioPark, where he met with Jane M. Shaab, MBA, associate vice president for economic development at UMB and executive director of the BioPark. The pair discussed the BioParks spaces  which currently include two multi-tenant buildings, the state of Marylands Forensic Medical Center, the Maryland Proton Treatment Center, the BioInnovation Center, the UMB Community Engagement Center, and the Lion Brothers Building, a historic rehab office building  and its position as an economic driver for the region.

Since UMB established the BioPark 20 years ago, it has played a critical role in growing Baltimores technology industry while driving economic investment and advancement in West Baltimore  a core part of the BioParks mission, Shaab said. In addition to bringing capital investment, companies, and jobs to the western arm of UMBs campus, the BioPark delivers educational and training opportunities that bring together employers, job seekers, and training programs to develop a life science workforce.

Anderson applauded the workforce and economic growth being driven by UMB, emphasizing the need to collaborate and advance those efforts in a way that raises the economic outlook for all parts of Maryland.

This is very robust work UMB has done, so the question is, how do we build upon it in a way that brings equity to communities across the state?" Anderson said. "We all need to work together  from our educational institutions to our governmental institutions  so at the end of the day we have strong, equitable, thriving communities. We need to be strategic and smart, and we need all hands on deck.
On October 2, 2023, Paul Gu, the Chief Technology Officer of Upstart Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:UPST), sold 15,000 shares of the company. This move is part of a larger trend of insider selling at Upstart Holdings Inc, which we will explore in this article.



Paul Gu is a key figure at Upstart Holdings Inc, serving as the company's Chief Technology Officer. He is responsible for overseeing the technological advancements and innovations of the company. His role is crucial in maintaining the competitive edge of Upstart in the rapidly evolving fintech industry.



Upstart Holdings Inc is a leading artificial intelligence (AI) lending platform. The company's platform aggregates consumer demand for loans and connects it to its network of the company's AI-enabled bank partners. The company's mission is to enable effortless credit based on true risk. Upstart's AI models are trained on more than 10 million repayment events to provide banks with the tools to grow and have a competitive edge.



Over the past year, the insider has sold a total of 81,017 shares and purchased 0 shares. This recent sale of 15,000 shares is a continuation of the insider's selling trend.



Insider Sell: CTO Paul Gu Sells 15,000 Shares of Upstart Holdings Inc





The insider transaction history for Upstart Holdings Inc shows a total of 1 insider buy and 56 insider sells over the past year. This suggests a trend of insider selling, which could be a signal to investors about the company's future prospects.



On the day of the insider's recent sale, shares of Upstart Holdings Inc were trading for $28.5 each, giving the company a market cap of $2.253 billion.



Insider Sell: CTO Paul Gu Sells 15,000 Shares of Upstart Holdings Inc





With a price of $28.5 and a GuruFocus Value of $39.37, Upstart Holdings Inc has a price-to-GF-Value ratio of 0.72. This suggests that the stock is a possible value trap, and investors should think twice before investing.



The GF Value is an intrinsic value estimate developed by GuruFocus. It is calculated based on historical multiples (price-earnings ratio, price-sales ratio, price-book ratio, and price-to-free cash flow) that the stock has traded at, a GuruFocus adjustment factor based on the companys past returns and growth, and future estimates of business performance from Morningstar analysts.



In conclusion, the insider's recent sale of 15,000 shares, along with the overall trend of insider selling at Upstart Holdings Inc, could be a signal to investors about the company's future prospects. However, with a price-to-GF-Value ratio of 0.72, the stock could be a possible value trap, and investors should exercise caution.



This article first appeared on GuruFocus.


Brasilia, 28 September 2023 - Researchers, public officials, UN entities, representatives of civil society organisations, indigenous peoples, and representatives from the academic community and UN entities gathered in Brasilia for the "National Seminar on gold mining in the Tapajos basin: paths towards a sustainable value chain, crime prevention and improved living conditions for workers", promoted by UNODC in the context of the Tapajos Project.

The aim of the event was to present the results of three studies produced as part of the Tapajos Project, including: the Study on the Prevalence of Trafficking in Persons and forced Labour in the small-scale gold mining sector in the Tapajos River Basin, implemented in partnership with the National Opinion Research Centre (NORC) of the University of Chicago and with the support of the Federal University of Western Para (UFOPA) and Papel Social; the Study on the Gold Production Chain in the Tapajos River Basin Region, carried out in partnership with the Centre for Territorial Intelligence of the Federal University of Minas Gerais (CIT/UFMG); and the Study on the Intersection of Criminal Activities in the Gold Mining Sector in the Tapajos River Basin Region, carried out in partnership with the Brazilian Public Security Forum (FBSP).

The meeting also included a debate between experts and indigenous representatives of the Munduruku Ipereg Ayu Movement and the Munduruku Wakoborun Women's Association on actions to strengthen the community and the monitoring and protection of the forest by the indigenous people themselves. Members of the Centre for Community Social Development Studies (CDESC), a project resulting from a partnership between the National Secretariat for Drug Policy of the Ministry of Justice and Public Security (Senad/MJSP), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and UNODC, presented data from the Amazon Chapter of the World Drug Report 2023, as well as preliminary information from the study on the Brazilian Amazon produced by the Centre.

During the opening of the event, UNODC Brazil Representative Elena Abbati highlighted the importance of the Tapajos Project's research in fostering the creation of comprehensive and effective responses towards more peaceful, just, and inclusive societies. "We hope that these studies will be a valuable resource for improving evidence-based public policies related to eradicating slave labour, tackling human trafficking at a local level and preventing crime in the state of Para," she said.

The meeting also included a debate between experts and a presentation by representatives of the Munduruku Ipereg Ayu Movement and the Munduruku Wakoborun Women's Association on actions to strengthen the community and the monitoring and protection of the forest by the indigenous people themselves. Members of the Centre for Community Social Development Studies (CDESC), a project resulting from a partnership between the National Secretariat for Drug Policy of the Ministry of Justice and Public Security (Senad/MJSP), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and UNODC, presented data from the Amazon Chapter of the World Drug Report 2023, as well as preliminary information from a report on the Brazilian Amazon produced by the Centre.

Participants were also able to visit a photographic exhibition on the trajectory of gold diggers in the Tapajos region. Authored by UFOPA researcher Carlos Bandeira Jr., the images show the life history and daily lives of men and women involved in the dynamics of gold mining in the region. On the final day of the event, the challenges and best practices to be considered by UNODC in relation to technical cooperation in implementing the activities of the second phase of the Tapajos project were discussed.
Countering Terrorism and the Right to a Fair Trial

The right to a fair trial, as set out in Article 10 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, is a fundamental pillar of the rule of law. In the fight against terrorism, states have a duty to hold terrorists accountable for their crimes whilst upholding the obligation to respect due process in the administration of justice.

The right to a fair trial provides that everyone is entitled in full equality to a fair and public hearing by an independent and impartial tribunal, in the determination of his rights and obligations and of any criminal charge against him.

At the core of Article 10 are the related but distinct principles of independence and impartiality. That is, courts should be free to operate without outside interference, and those accused should be judged solely on the evidence without fear or favour.

While Article 10 contains a number of other elements, such as the right to a public hearing, the fundamental principles, which have inspired a wider framework of international laws and treaties, are considered in practice to be non-derogable.

In this way, individuals accused of committing a criminal offence must be guaranteed the general right to a fair trial at all times in accordance with legality and the rule of law.

In the context of terrorism, Article 10 is a critical component in the success of any wider counter-terrorism strategy, not only in bringing perpetrators to justice, but also in preventing further atrocities.

As the Secretary General, Antonio Guterres put it: As a moral duty, a legal obligation, and a strategic imperative  lets put human rights where they belong: Front and centre in the fight against terror.

Indeed, it is the violation of human rights in countering terrorism, such as the right to due process, that risks falling into the trap of undermining the very values that states seek to protect  and in doing so, inadvertently fuelling grievances conducive to terrorist violence.

In combatting and preventing terrorism, states must therefore strike a balance between responding effectively to the severity of the threat whilst respecting the rule of law. This includes, for example, the use of covert measures, often called special investigative techniques, which are used to gather information on clandestine terrorist activities.

In line with the scope of Article 10, measures used by law enforcement agencies during the investigative stage must comply with the right to a fair trial, insofar that any evidence gathered and later presented during criminal proceedings does not infringe upon due process.

To this end, under the project to Strengthen the Capacity of Nigeria to Collect Evidence and More Effectively Prosecute Terrorism and Other Serious Crimes with Respect for the Rule of Law, funded by the United States Department of States Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL), UNODC is training officers from the Nigeria Police Force on the use of informants in line with national and international law.

The training reinforces three key principles of the use of police informants to gather information - firstly, that it must be carried out within the bounds of the law, secondly, that it must be necessary to achieve the end objective, and thirdly, that it must be proportionate to the conduct being investigated.

As necessitated by Article 10, the training also highlights the importance of clear operational guidelines and safeguards for informant handling to minimise the potential risks, such influencing a person to commit a crime, in order to ensure the success of criminal trials. Officers are therefore reminded to warn informants at every point of contact not to commit a crime; not to participate in a crime; and not to encourage others to commit a crime.

While the terrorist scourge requires ever evolving measures to successfully prosecute terrorism in all its forms and manifestations  the right to a fair trial remains an enduring constant. In this way, UNODCs work continues to be guided by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights by putting the core principles of Article 10 at the heart of its efforts to combat and prevent terrorism.

This article is latest in a series of web stories to mark the 75th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the relevance of UNODCs work around the world to uploading these fundamental values.
XXXI Public Defense Conference in Panama

Panama, September 22, 2023. The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime for Central America and the Caribbean in Panama (UNODC ROPAN) and the Institute of Public Defense of the Judicial Branch organized the XXXI Labor Public Defense Conference, held in the city of David, Chiriqui province.

This conference, attended by public defenders and collaborators from the Judicial Branch throughout the country, aimed to provide updated tools to enhance the work of public defenders.

Opening Ceremony

In criminal matters, close to 75% of cases nationwide are handled by public defenders, who are, for the most part, dedicated servants committed to the causes assigned to them, upholding the constitutional rights and guarantees of the users with respect, many of whom they serve, stated Justice Maria Eugenia Lopez Arias, President of the Supreme Court of Justice, during the opening ceremony.

Regarding the work of public defenders, Lopez Arias explained that, in addition to criminal cases, they handle other jurisdictions that require utmost professionalism and training. She emphasized that these training sessions also serve to acquire, exchange, and refresh legal knowledge, with the ultimate beneficiaries being the users of the system, who will receive optimal, efficient, and effective defense services for their cases.

The Director of the Institute of Public Defense, Danilo Montenegro, referred to the work of public defenders to ensure that the administration of justice functions as it should, freely, expeditiously, and uninterrupted, as established in the Constitution.

Conferences

In the first session, Cesar Solanilla (Colombia) conducted a comparative analysis of the decentralization of public defenses in Latin America; Cristina Quiel (Panama) discussed Access to Justice and Gender, while Ricaurte Soler (Panama) and Emilio Rodriguez (Mexico) presented on restorative justice.

Corporate governance and the criminal process were the topics covered by Delia De Castro (Panama).

Attendees also learned about quality management and leadership in public administration, presented by Vielsa Rios (Panama); the criminal responsibility of legal entities, by Jorge Luis De La Torre (Panama), and the financial intelligence report, presented by Helmut Flores, UNODC ROPAN expert.

Jorge Villalba (Panama) addressed the forensic auditor's analysis report for money laundering cases and its utility in the search for evidentiary elements by the prosecutor, and Jose Luis Alfaro (Panama) discussed the special jurisdiction for integrity and transparency (the role of the investigating magistrate).

Zoraida Cubilla (Panama) shared strategies for emotional well-being with justice operators. Digital transformation and public defense were the topics covered by Edgar Rodriguez (Panama); the obligation of the public defender to invoke conventional control in hearings to motivate diffuse control in the judge's decision-making was discussed by Sergio Munera (Costa Rica), and the new trends in organized crime focusing on cybercrime: threats and responses were presented by Sergio Castillo (Costa Rica).
(@Abdulla99267510)

A LHC division bench headed by Justice Shahid Karim passes the order, asserting that it is the responsibility of the Punjab government to determine sugar prices within the province.

LAHORE: (UrduPoint/UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News-Oct 5th, 2023) The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Thursday declared the Federal notification regarding sugar prices in Punjab to be null and void.

A division bench headed by Justice Shahid Karim passed the order, asserting that it is the responsibility of the Punjab government to determine sugar prices within the province.

The bench invalidated the federal notification for sugar price fixation, which had been issued by the federal secretary, Controller General Price.

The court's concise verdict specifies that the Price Act of 1977, which governed sugar prices in Punjab, is no longer in effect. A comprehensive verdict on this matter will be released at a later date.

This legal action arose from a challenge brought forward by sugar mills against the federal government's notification regarding sugar price regulation.

Earlier in the process, the Lahore High Court, acting on a petition from sugar mills, had issued notices to the federal government and other involved parties.

The court, during the proceedings, questioned whether the responsibility of fixing sugar prices lies with the federal government or the provinces.

Sugar mills' lawyer, Imtiaz Siddiqui, argued that, according to the 18th Amendment, provinces hold the authority to make decisions regarding matters related to the food sector.

Furthermore, he claimed that the sugar price had been determined without consulting the mills, and that the sugar advisory board had not taken their perspective into account during the price-fixing process.

Imtiaz Siddiqui requested the court to suspend the one-sided sugar price fixation by the board.
Caretaker Federal Minister for Information Technology and Telecommunication, Dr. Umar Saif expressed the hope that the decision to allow IT companies to retain 50 percent of their export proceeds in special foreign currency accounts will increase IT exports to $4 billion

ISLAMABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 5th Oct, 2023) Caretaker Federal Minister for Information Technology and Telecommunication, Dr. Umar Saif expressed the hope that the decision to allow IT companies to retain 50 percent of their export proceeds in special foreign currency accounts will increase IT exports to $4 billion.

This groundbreaking move fulfills a longstanding demand of the IT sector and underscores Dr. Saif's unwavering commitment to the industry's growth.

Previously, IT companies were permitted to retain only 35 percent of their export proceeds in foreign currency accounts, making this decision a pivotal step toward streamlining financial operations and bolstering the industry's potential.

The inclusion of "digitization and enhancement of forex retention for IT companies" on the agenda of the Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC) meeting marked a significant milestone.

Following the directives of the SIFC, SBP is now set to revise foreign exchange regulations, permitting IT exporters and companies to retain 50 percent of their export proceeds in these specialized foreign currency accounts.

The Ministry of IT and Telecom played a central role in brokering successful negotiations between the IT sector and the State Bank, reinforcing the government's commitment to fostering a conducive environment for technological innovation.

Dr. Umar Saif's tireless advocacy for the IT industry bore fruit when he brought the sector's demands to the federal government's attention, resulting in its inclusion on the SIFC's agenda.

This proactive approach has led to a milestone decision that will not only enhance the IT industry's competitiveness but also provide companies the opportunity to transfer their accounts from abroad to Pakistan.
On October 2, 2023, Dana Wagner, Chief Legal Officer and Secretary of Twilio Inc (NYSE:TWLO), sold 4,445 shares of the company. This move is part of a trend for the insider, who over the past year has sold a total of 35,251 shares and purchased none.



Dana Wagner is a key figure at Twilio Inc, a leading cloud communications platform that enables developers to build, scale, and operate communications within software applications. The company's solutions include programmable communications cloud, super network, and business model for innovators. Twilio's reach extends to customers in a range of industries, including technology, financial services, healthcare, retail, and transportation.



The sale by the insider comes at a time when the stock is trading at $58.6 per share, giving the company a market cap of $10.19 billion. This transaction is part of a broader trend at Twilio Inc, which has seen 2 insider buys and 38 insider sells over the past year.



Insider Sell: Dana Wagner Sells 4,445 Shares of Twilio Inc

The above image shows the trend of insider transactions at Twilio Inc. The high number of insider sells compared to buys could be a signal to investors to exercise caution. However, it's important to note that insider selling doesn't necessarily indicate a lack of confidence in the company. Insiders may sell shares for personal reasons or to diversify their investment portfolio.



In terms of valuation, Twilio Inc's stock appears to be a possible value trap according to its GuruFocus Value. With a price of $58.6 and a GuruFocus Value of $253.51, the stock has a price-to-GF-Value ratio of 0.23.



Insider Sell: Dana Wagner Sells 4,445 Shares of Twilio Inc

The GF Value is an intrinsic value estimate developed by GuruFocus. It is calculated based on historical multiples that the stock has traded at, a GuruFocus adjustment factor based on the companys past returns and growth, and future estimates of business performance from Morningstar analysts. The low price-to-GF-Value ratio suggests that the stock may be undervalued, but investors should think twice before buying due to the potential risk of a value trap.



In conclusion, the recent sale of shares by Dana Wagner, along with the overall trend of insider sells at Twilio Inc, may raise some concerns for potential investors. However, the company's low price-to-GF-Value ratio suggests that the stock may be undervalued. As always, investors should conduct their own thorough research before making any investment decisions.



This article first appeared on GuruFocus.


(@FahadShabbir)

In a bold move to ensure public convenience and welfare, Caretaker Home Minister Sarfraz Ahmed Bugti has instructed concerned officials to solve the problems of the people who come to the Home Ministry immediately

ISLAMABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 5th Oct, 2023) In a bold move to ensure public convenience and welfare, Caretaker Home Minister Sarfraz Ahmed Bugti has instructed concerned officials to solve the problems of the people who come to the Home Ministry immediately.

He also warned that he will not tolerate any form of official culture or attitude that may hinder the process, he said in a tweet.

The home minister made these remarks during a meeting with the public at his office on Thursday. He listened to their problems and issued instructions to the concerned officials on the spot. He assured the people that the staff of the Ministry of Interior is available at all times to solve their problems on priority.

The minister also emphasized the need to end the culture of bribery and nepotism. He said that there was no room in the Ministry of Interior for those who cause undue delay, bribery or abuse of power.

This commendable initiative by the minister is sure to bring a sigh of relief to the people of the country, who have long been plagued by bureaucratic delays and corruption.

It is also a clear message to the officials of the Ministry of Interior that they must put the needs of the people first and foremost.
ISLAMABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 5th Oct, 2023) Outgoing Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Muhammad Amjad Khan Niazi paid a farewell call on Caretaker Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar here on Thursday, the PM Office said.

PM Kakar lauded the services of the outgoing naval chief for his leadership of the institution and playing a key role in making the country's defence impregnable.
(@ChaudhryMAli88)

ISLAMABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 5th Oct, 2023) Pakistan Railways is all set to start switching its entire stations power network including major railway stations, offices, workshops, and factories to solar systems in different phases which would help to save billions of rupees for the department.

The step is expected to save Rs. 1.8 billion in the first phase to the department, later on, more stations, offices, and other facilities will be added in the subsequent phases, an official in the Ministry of Railways told APP.

Initially, in the first phase, he said that Pakistan Railways wanted to switch around 99 formations, including major railway stations, nine divisional headquarters, and other vital offices, to solar power.

He said Pakistan Railways is going to hire the services of the National Engineering Services Pakistan (NESPAK) to convert its network to a solar system.

The official said that the department has decided to shift the railway network to solar energy to minimize the economic burden of Pakistan Railways.

On the other hand, due to the ongoing energy crisis and the surge in utility bills, PR management has implemented a policy that prohibits its officers from using air-conditioning before 11 a.m. daily.
Kampala, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 6th Oct, 2023) Ugandan opposition leader Bobi Wine said on Thursday he was under house arrest after being seized by security officials on his return home from a trip abroad.

The United States voiced concern over the action, saying it feared "democratic space is shrinking" in the East African country.

Wine, a popstar-turned-politician who ran unsuccessfully against veteran President Yoweri Museveni in Uganda's last election in 2021, has been arrested numerous times in the past.

"They picked me illegally as you saw and as we speak right now I'm under house arrest. Soldiers and police are all over," Wine told journalists at his home north of the capital Kampala.

"As soon as I landed goons grabbed me, dragged me, twisted my hands and bundled me into a waiting private car. They drove me to the old airport where they pulled me out and put me in a military car with many soldiers and police officers.

"It was very humiliating," said Wine, whose real name is Robert Kyagulanyi.

He also said 300 supporters had been arrested, but did not give details and AFP was not able to independently confirm his claim.

Police denied Wine had been arrested, saying they had "escorted" the 41-year-old from Uganda's Entebbe International Airport to his home.

"We wish to inform the public that the NUP president, Hon. Kyagulanyi Robert was successfully escorted by our security team from Entebbe to his home in Magere," the Uganda Police Force said on X, formerly Twitter.

"Disregard rumours of his arrest by propagandists."

A video posted by Wine's National Unity Platform (NUP) showed him being grabbed by security agents as soon as he stepped off the plane as a man shouted repeatedly: "Where are you taking him?"

- 'Harassment of opposition voices' -

Wine's supporters had planned to accompany him en masse to his home, but police had said such a gathering was illegal.

Ugandan authorities have a long history of using so-called "preventative arrest" to detain opposition leaders, often holding them for several hours before returning them to their homes so as to stymie mass demonstrations.

Last month, Ugandan police announced they were banning rallies being organised by the National Unity Platform across the country because of public order issues.

"Concerned that detention of (Bobi Wine) upon his return to Uganda and detention of other opposition supporters mean democratic space is shrinking in Uganda," the US State Department's Bureau of African Affairs said on X.

"Harassment of opposition voices and of human rights abuses damage prospects for Ugandan progress and its partnership with the international community," it added.

- 'People's President' -

Wine made a failed bid for the presidency in 2021 in a tense election race against Museveni, who has ruled over Uganda with an iron fist since 1986.

The campaign was marked by a crackdown on the opposition and at least 54 people were killed during anti-government demonstrations.

Wine flew in from South Africa via the Rwandan capital Kigali after a tour to promote a documentary about him by National Geographic tv entitled "Bobi Wine: The People's President."

His return was eagerly anticipated by his supporters, many of whom viewed him as a symbol of change in a country ruled for so long by one man.

Ugandan soldiers and other security forces had been deployed on roads leading to Entebbe airport since early Thursday morning, as well as outside NUP offices and in Kampala's central business district.

Police had warned organisers not to go ahead with the planned procession and for people not to join the gathering, with police spokesman Patrick Onyango describing it as an "illegality".

Once hailed for his commitment to good governance, former rebel leader Museveni has crushed any opposition and tweaked the constitution to allow himself to run again and again.

The next presidential ballot is due in 2026. Museveni, 79, has yet to say if he will stand.
Small-business owners will have the opportunity to determine and measure what success looks like for their businesses and how to achieve it without burning out Thursday, Oct. 12.

Kenny Overby will discuss a game plan for business success during a Wyoming Small Business Development Center (SBDC) Network workshop titled Planning for and Measuring Success in Your Small Business from noon-1 p.m. in the Cottonwood Room at the Laramie County Library, located at 2200 Pioneer Ave. in Cheyenne. To register, go here. Registration is free.

The Wyoming SBDC Network offers business expertise to help Wyoming residents think about, launch, grow, reinvent or exit their business. The Wyoming SBDC Network is hosted by the University of Wyoming with state funds from the Wyoming Business Council and funded, in part, through a cooperative agreement with the U.S. Small Business Administration.

This workshop will cover the following topics: how to define success so that you enjoy owning your own company; the concept of key performance indicators and why they are important; and strategies and best practices to avoid burnout.

Overby is the Wyoming SBDC Networks regional director for Goshen and Laramie counties and has 18 years of experience owning and running small businesses. He is passionate about helping entrepreneurs demystify small businesses and enjoy the journey of business ownership.

For more information, call Maureen Johnson, marketing, communication and database manager for the Wyoming SBDC Network, at (307) 343-0925 or email mjohn125@uwyo.edu.
These are some of the sights that will be part of a 12-day adventure tour of Mongolia in spring 2024 for UW friends, alumni and community members. The tour will be led by Professor John Koprowski, dean of UWs Haub School of Environment and Natural Resources. (John Koprowski Photos)

University of Wyoming Professor John Koprowski, dean of the Haub School of Environment and Natural Resources, will lead a 12-day tour of Mongolia next year for UW friends and alumni.

On this May 27-June 7 adventure, travelers will experience vast, untouched landscapes and learn about nomadic culture in Mongolia with a highly regarded researcher who has worked in the region for more than 15 years.

I have long been fascinated by the beauty of the landscapes, the richness of history and culture, and the kindness of the people of Mongolia, says Koprowski, who has helped UW set up international agreements with the National University of Mongolia and the Mongolian Academy of Sciences. I look forward to introducing UW community members to this amazing place.

Participants will explore museums; visit monasteries; view rare wildlife; hike high-altitude meadows; see dinosaur fossils and archaeological sites; meet nomadic herding families; and enjoy traditional music and dance performances.

The tour begins and ends in the capital city of Ulaanbaatar, with stops in Khustain Nuruu National Park; the ancient city of Karakhorum; Erdenezuu Monastery; Ongiin Khiid Monastery; the Gobi Desert; Gobi Gurvansaikhan National Park; the Yolyn Am Mountains; and the Tugrigiin Shiree Flaming Cliffs.

The expedition includes accommodations in hotels and ger camps; most meals; travel from Ulaanbaatar to remote sites in four-wheel-drive vehicles with English-speaking guides; entrance fees to sites; and expert guidance and insights from Koprowski.

The tour is open to no more than 15 UW friends, alumni and community members. The cost is $3,950 per person (costs increase about $250 per person should all 15 spots not fill). Airfare to Ulaanbaatar is not included. Sleeping accommodations are double rooms, and the supplement for single occupancy is $500 per person.

The Haub School gives students the skills and tools they need to build durable, inclusive solutions to the most pressing environmental and natural resource challenges, including through international courses. Any proceeds from the tour will support field and international learning experiences for UW students.

For more information, email Koprowski at jkoprows@uwyo.edu. To reserve a spot on this adventure, email UWs Global Engagement Office at global@uwyo.edu no later than Dec. 1.
A monthly look at issues facing Wyoming business owners and entrepreneurs from the Wyoming Small Business Development Center (SBDC) Network, a collection of business assistance programs at the University of Wyoming.

By Maureen Johnson, Wyoming SBDC Network marketing, communication and database manager

The Wyoming SBDC Network at UW is one of six nationwide recipients of a U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) Cybersecurity for Small Business Pilot Program grant. Awardees are all state entities that will assist small businesses in advancing cybersecurity infrastructure and mitigating cyber threats.

The Wyoming SBDC Networks deployment of this two-year, $1 million grant includes services that will directly address cybersecurity concerns for its clients and small-business owners in Wyoming. The Wyoming SBDC Network will use CyberWyomings Made Safe in Wyoming cybersecurity train the trainer program to address cybersecurity topics.

According to a U.S. SBA survey, 88 percent of small-business owners felt their businesses were vulnerable to cyberattacks. Yet, many businesses that cant afford professional information technology solutions have limited time to devote to cybersecurity or dont know where to begin.

The Wyoming SBDC Network has begun to address this problem by first ensuring that all of our staff is knowledgeable on cybersecurity issues and ready to help small-business owners navigate cybersecurity concerns. All staff members have attended a cyber readiness course and are now moving forward to a more advanced course to further their knowledge.

As we move through our continuing training, we have some key knowledge points we can share with our readers and clients to start the conversation around cybersecurity. They are:

-- Enable two-factor authentication: This is a simple change you can make without much preparation. Anywhere you can enable two-factor authentication, do it. This simple step can make a huge difference.

-- Verify senders: Always verify the sender of any email or text before opening it or clicking any links or files. This seems like an easy thing to do or remember, but it can be easily overlooked, especially if the senders name looks familiar to you. Check the email address, domain or sender number, and be sure it doesnt look suspicious. Better yet, do a quick search to see if the company name or spelling is correct.

-- Create a cybersecurity plan: Whos in charge of making sure everyones computers and devices are up to date? Do you have a password management plan in place? What about a protocol to follow in case of a security breach?

When you are ready to discuss your cybersecurity issues, reach out to our Wyoming SBDC Network advising staff for a meeting to review your practices and plans. Your regional adviser can help your business get cybersecure.

The Wyoming SBDC Network offers no-cost advising and technical assistance to help Wyoming entrepreneurs think about, launch, grow, reinvent or exit their business. In 2022, the Wyoming SBDC Network helped Wyoming entrepreneurs start 68 new businesses; support 2,411 jobs; and bring a capital impact of $5.3 million to the state. The Wyoming SBDC Network is hosted by UW with state funds from the Wyoming Business Council and funded, in part, through a cooperative agreement with the U.S. SBA.

To ask a question, call 1-800-348-5194, email wsbdc@uwyo.edu, or write Dept. 3922, 1000 E. University Ave., Laramie, WY 82071-3922.
On October 2, 2023, David Boyer, Chief Corp. Affairs Officer of Neurocrine Biosciences Inc (NASDAQ:NBIX), sold 1,437 shares of the company. This move comes as part of a series of transactions by the insider over the past year, during which Boyer has sold a total of 33,407 shares and purchased none.



Neurocrine Biosciences Inc is a research-based pharmaceutical company primarily focused on discovering and developing innovative drugs for the treatment of neurological and endocrine-related diseases and disorders. The company's product portfolio includes treatments for Parkinson's disease, tardive dyskinesia, uterine fibroids, endometriosis, and congenital adrenal hyperplasia.



The insider's recent sell has raised questions about the company's stock performance and its relationship with insider transactions. Over the past year, there have been 57 insider sells and no insider buys for Neurocrine Biosciences Inc.



Insider Sell: David Boyer Sells 1,437 Shares of Neurocrine Biosciences Inc (NBIX)

The above image shows the trend of insider transactions for Neurocrine Biosciences Inc. It is evident that the insider sells have been consistent over the past year, with David Boyer being a significant contributor to this trend.



On the day of the insider's recent sell, shares of Neurocrine Biosciences Inc were trading at $112.68, giving the company a market cap of $10.82 billion. The price-earnings ratio stands at 63.98, which is higher than the industry median of 23.03 but lower than the company's historical median price-earnings ratio.



Insider Sell: David Boyer Sells 1,437 Shares of Neurocrine Biosciences Inc (NBIX)

The GF Value image above indicates that Neurocrine Biosciences Inc is modestly undervalued, with a price-to-GF-Value ratio of 0.77. The GF Value is an intrinsic value estimate developed by GuruFocus, calculated based on historical multiples, a GuruFocus adjustment factor, and future estimates of business performance from Morningstar analysts.



Story continues

Despite the insider's sell-off, the company's modest undervaluation and its strong position in the pharmaceutical industry could make it an attractive investment opportunity. However, potential investors should closely monitor the company's insider transactions and other market indicators before making investment decisions.



As always, it's crucial to remember that insider transactions are just one piece of the puzzle when evaluating a company. They can provide valuable insights, but they should be considered alongside other factors such as the company's financial health, market conditions, and industry trends.



This article first appeared on GuruFocus.


It hasn't been the best quarter for Austin Engineering Limited (ASX:ANG) shareholders, since the share price has fallen 11% in that time. But don't let that distract from the very nice return generated over three years. In fact, the company's share price bested the return of its market index in that time, posting a gain of 70%.

With that in mind, it's worth seeing if the company's underlying fundamentals have been the driver of long term performance, or if there are some discrepancies.

See our latest analysis for Austin Engineering

In his essay The Superinvestors of Graham-and-Doddsville Warren Buffett described how share prices do not always rationally reflect the value of a business. 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.

During the three years of share price growth, Austin Engineering actually saw its earnings per share (EPS) drop 7.5% per year.

This means it's unlikely the market is judging the company based on earnings growth. Given this situation, it makes sense to look at other metrics too.

It could be that the revenue growth of 5.9% per year is viewed as evidence that Austin Engineering is growing. If the company is being managed for the long term good, today's shareholders might be right to hold on.

You can see how earnings and revenue have changed over time in the image below (click on the chart to see the exact values).

This free interactive report on Austin Engineering's balance sheet strength is a great place to start, if you want to investigate the stock further.

What About The Total Shareholder Return (TSR)?

We've already covered Austin Engineering's share price action, but we should also mention its total shareholder return (TSR). Arguably the TSR is a more complete return calculation because it accounts for the value of dividends (as if they were reinvested), along with the hypothetical value of any discounted capital that have been offered to shareholders. Dividends have been really beneficial for Austin Engineering shareholders, and that cash payout contributed to why its TSR of 78%, over the last 3 years, is better than the share price return.

Story continues

A Different Perspective

Investors in Austin Engineering had a tough year, with a total loss of 27%, against a market gain of about 7.3%. However, keep in mind that even the best stocks will sometimes underperform the market over a twelve month period. On the bright side, long term shareholders have made money, with a gain of 4% per year over half a decade. If the fundamental data continues to indicate long term sustainable growth, the current sell-off could be an opportunity worth considering. It's always interesting to track share price performance over the longer term. But to understand Austin Engineering better, we need to consider many other factors. To that end, you should be aware of the 2 warning signs we've spotted with Austin Engineering .

Of course Austin Engineering 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 Australian exchanges.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.



This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.
The United Nations has cast a harsh spotlight on the cyber trafficking industry that has blossomed in Southeast Asia in recent years, estimating that the trade has ensnared some 100,000 victims in Cambodia alone.

In a sweeping new report on online scam operations in the region, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights seeks to frame the online trafficking networks as an urgent international human rights threat that demands the attention of both national governments and global advocacy groups.

It argues that because persons trafficked into the operations effectively carry out the crimes  using the internet and social media as tools to help orchestrate various scams to take money from unwitting victims in other countries  they are often treated as complicit in their new and home countries. Yet the report urges officials to treat them as victims too.

People who have been trafficked into online forced criminality face threats to their right to life, liberty and security of the person, the U.N. report says. They are subject to torture and cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment or punishment, arbitrary detention, sexual violence, forced labour and other forms of labour exploitation as well as a range of other human rights violations and abuses.

Prime Minister Hun Manet's government has quickly gone on the defensive against the report, playing down the scale of the problem. Both the report and experts on the issue say Cambodia has yet to show the necessary resolve to root out and shut down the trafficking networks.

One reason for that, according to the report, is that officials and other powerbrokers in Cambodia may be sharing in the significant profits. It estimates that scam centers operating in Southeast Asia generate billions of US dollars in revenue.

Corruption undermines accountability and threatens the rule of law; it often precedes the human rights violation, exacerbates its effects, and is a barrier to access to justice and remedy, says the report, which also focused on trafficking in Myanmar and Laos and functioning scam centers in those countries.

Reports indicate that there has been a lack of investigation into claims of collusion between the criminal actors behind these scam operations and senior government officials, politicians, local law enforcement and influential businesspersons.

Al Jazeera, which conducted a groundbreaking investigation on Cambodias cyber slaves'' in 2022, found that some of the wealthy businessmen who own the compounds where scam rings operate had close relationships with former Prime Minister Hun Sen, who handed power to his son after Julys election.

The report describes how the COVID-19 pandemic fueled the growth of the industry in Southeast Asia. Many young professionals across the region were desperate for work  becoming prime targets for online recruiters promising fake jobs  while people across the world were bored and spending hours connected to the internet on their phones, computers or other devices.

The pandemic also forced casinos across Asia to close, sending Chinese investors looking for new, and often illicit, business opportunities online and in places with limited regulation and legal risk, like Cambodia, Myanmar and Laos, the report explains.

Faced with new operational realities, criminal gangs increasingly targeted migrant workers, who were stranded in these countries and were out of work due to border and business closures, to work in the scam centers, it says.

Cambodias Interior Ministry announced an aggressive campaign to confront the cyber scams in August 2022.

Chou Bun Eng, a secretary of state at the Ministry of Interior and vice chair of the National Committee for Combating Human Trafficking, told VOA Khmer in September that authorities had since responded to more than a thousand requests for intervention and rescued more than 1,500 people.

She dismissed the reports claim that credible estimates have indicated at least 100,000 people forcibly involved in online scams in Cambodia.

We already know that Cambodia is not big, and for businesses and locations in the provinces, there are not many, she said in an interview. We ask, where are those people?

Chou Bun Eng added that the government was convening experts to come up with a more accurate estimate and would send a report back to the United Nations.

The issue of cyber trafficking was raised during a meeting between new Thai Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin and Hun Manet in Phnom Penh last week. A social media post from Thailands Foreign Affairs Ministry said the leaders discussed a range of security issues, including joint efforts to crack down online scams.

Jason Tower, the Burma country director for the United States Institute of Peace, which monitors cyber trafficking across the region, said he was somewhat skeptical that 100,000 people had been trafficked into forced labor in Cambodias scam networks. But he said that figure may capture the total number of people involved in the industry in some capacity over a period of years.

Still, he said the Cambodian governments pretty strong pushback to the report was unfortunate, both for advocates and for other countries in Asia who want greater protections for their citizens in Cambodia, and more commitment to freeing those trapped by traffickers.

My understanding is there's still a lot of victims and that law enforcement in neighboring countries is still putting pressure on the Cambodian authorities about very specific victims that they're trying to recover and that there's a lot of foot dragging and that things just are not happening anywhere near quickly enough, Tower told VOA Khmer.

So you know, the problems certainly have not gone away, and I think that a lot more could be done to send out a very strong message that simply there's no tolerance for this in the country, and I don't think we're anywhere near there yet.

The U.N. report says that as of July 2023, online scam centers were reportedly operating in at least eight Cambodian provinces: Phnom Penh, Kandal, Pursat, Koh Kong, Bavet, Preah Sihanouk, Oddar Meanchey and Svay Rieng.

It also specifically named two special economic zones believed to be hosting cyber scam facilities, the Dara Sakor SEZ and Henge Thmorda SEZ. Dara Sakors primary developer is the Chinese-owned Union Development Group. Henge Thmorda appears to refer to the MDS Thmor Da SEZ, which has previously been linked to human trafficking and is owned by Cambodian tycoon Try Pheap.

Jacob Sims, the regional director for the International Justice Mission in the Asia Pacific, said the organization has seen commendable improvements from the Cambodian government in its response to cyber trafficking.

Among the signs of progress is opening a hotline to help victims seek help, and making greater efforts to identify victims, he said. And large cyber slavery compounds in Sihanoukville and Phnom Penh have been shut down, to some extent.

However, there is also significant evidence that many of these compounds simply relocated to new areas within Cambodia, Jacob Sims said.

At a high level, accountability for compound owners and crime bosses is key. One compound may close, but another will likely open in its place as long as the risk to operating and facilitating this criminal industry remains low.

Sims said he thought the 100,000 figure seems imminently plausible, given public reports, witness testimonies, the size of the broader online gambling industry.

Tower noted theres also a growing financial pressure on Cambodia to address the problem. China has ramped up its efforts to warn citizens about the risks of being trafficking in Southeast Asia, leading to travel advisories and even a blockbuster movie about Chinese nationals lured into a scam compound through the promise of high-paying jobs.

So part of the strategy is to just terrify Chinese people, you know, such that nobody wants to go to Southeast Asia, Sims said.

This has posed a significant threat to Cambodias tourism industry, which is focused largely on Chinese visitors and has yet to fully recover from the global pandemic.

Western countries are also paying more attention to the problem, with countries like the U.S. losing billions annually to online scams  as well as having nationals recruited into the cybercrime syndicates, said Tower.

Both Sims and Tower were hopeful that the U.N. report would bring greater attention and resources to combating the trafficking rings.

I think that adding the human rights lens will probably get a lot more Western actors to look at these issues, Tower said. And it will add, I think, another layer to the response.

Sim Chansamnang in Phnom Penh contributed reporting
Since the start of its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the Russian military has repeatedly used missiles to blast civilian targets across the country, with devastating consequences.

One of the deadliest such attacks happened Thursday when a Russian rocket struck a village cafe and store in the village of Hroza in eastern Ukraine, killing at least 51 civilians.

The Kremlin often claims the missiles are aimed at military assets or blames the strikes on Ukraine. A spokesman for President Vladimir Putin insists Russia does not target civilians.

A look at some of the deadliest strikes:

March 9, 2022  An apartment building in Izium in eastern Ukraine was hit in an attack that Human Rights Watch later said killed at least 44 people. Russian forces took control of the city and surrounding area beginning in late March and occupied it for six months. At the time of the strike, HRW said the area was under the control of Ukrainian forces who were trying to keep Russian troops from entering the city.

March 16, 2022  A Russian airstrike hit a theater in Mariupol, killing hundreds of civilians sheltering in the basement. Ukrainian officials initially put the death toll at 300, but an Associated Press investigation later found evidence that the attack was far deadlier and killed closer to 600 people inside and outside the building. Russia claimed the theater was demolished by Ukrainian forces or served as a Ukrainian military base.

April 8, 2022  The train station in Kramatorsk in eastern Ukraine was hit by a Russian missile as passengers, mostly women and children, tried to flee the fighting. Sixty-one people were killed and 135 wounded. The remnants of a rocket were painted with the words "For the children" in Russian, implying that children were being avenged by the strike, though the exact reason for the wording was unclear. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said it was a deliberate attack. Russia's Defense Ministry accused Ukraine of carrying out the strike.

This image contains sensitive content which some people may find offensive or disturbing. Click to reveal This image contains sensitive content which some people may find offensive or disturbing - Click to reveal A man reacts near the body of a relative killed at the site of a Russian military strike in the village of Hroza in the Kharkiv region of Ukraine, Oct. 5, 2023.

June 27, 2022  Long-range Russian bombers struck a crowded shopping mall in Ukraine's central city of Kremenchuk with a supersonic missile, killing more than 20 people. About 1,000 people were inside the building. Zelenskyy called the strike "one of the most daring terrorist attacks in European history." Russia said the missile was directed at a nearby weapons depot.

July 1, 2022  A Russian airstrike on residential areas killed at least 21 people near the Ukrainian port of Odesa, a day after the withdrawal of Russian forces from an island in the Black Sea. Zelenskyy's office said warplanes fired three missiles that struck an apartment building and a campsite.

July 9, 2022  Russian rockets smashed into apartment buildings in eastern Ukraine, killing at least 15 people in the town of Chasiv Yar. The buildings were mostly home to people who work in nearby factories. At least six people were dug out of the rubble.

July 14, 2022  Kalibr cruise missiles fired from a Russian ship in the Black Sea killed at least 29 people and wounded more than 100 others in the central Ukrainian city of Vinnytsia. Zelenskyy accused Russia of deliberately targeting civilians in locations with no military value. He said the victims included a 4-year-old girl. Russia said it was attacking a Ukrainian officers' residence.

Sept. 30, 2022  Four Russian missiles targeted a convoy of cars on the outskirts of the southern city of Zaporizhzhia, killing 30 people, including children. Ukrainian officials said the missiles were launched from an S-300 anti-aircraft missile system and hit a column of vehicles sent to ferry people to safety from Russian-occupied territory.

Jan. 14, 2023  One of the deadliest attacks on civilians took place when a Russian missile hit an apartment building in the southeastern city of Dnipro, killing 45 people, including six children. Ukrainian military officials said at the time that they did not have a system that could take down the type of the supersonic missile that was used, Russia's Kh-22 missiles.

April 28, 2023  An apartment block far from the front lines was blasted at night by two long-range cruise missiles in the city of Uman, about 215 kilometers (134 miles) south of Kyiv. At east 21 people were killed, including three children. The Russian Defense Ministry said the missiles were aimed at places where Ukrainian military reserve units were staying before their deployment to the battlefield.

Sept. 6, 2023  Sixteen people were killed when a missile struck a busy market in Kostiantynivka in eastern Ukraine, turning it into a fiery, blackened ruin. Zelenskyy said the strike was retribution for Ukrainian advances on the battlefield. A Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman said Ukraine fired the missile.

Oct. 5, 2023  A village cafe and store in eastern Ukraine was hit by a Russian rocket, killing at least 51 civilians in one of the deadliest attacks of the year. Zelenskyy denounced the strike in the village of Hroza as a "demonstrably brutal Russian crime" and "a completely deliberate act of terrorism." The cafe was hosting a wake following a funeral.
The Belarus Red Cross says it is examining a call by the international Red Cross to fire its chief, who made headlines earlier this year for bragging that his organization was ferrying children from Russian-occupied Ukraine to Belarus.

The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies in Geneva said Wednesday it wants Dzmitry Shautsou ousted for violating its rules on neutrality and integrity. He was seen in occupied cities of the Donbas region in a military uniform with the "Z" insignia of Russian forces and said he favored deployment of nuclear arms in Belarus.

Yulia Sytenkova, a spokeswoman for the Belarus Red Cross, said Shautsou was re-elected as its head September 7 at a special congress where "the majority of members of the Belarusian organization expressed confidence in him."

Belarusian TV on Thursday aired images of authorities in the Belarusian city of Novopolotsk showing a recently arrived group of Ukrainian children to foreign diplomats. Ukrainian officials and human rights groups have decried the transfers as illegal removals, and it is not clear whether they were carried out with the consent of the children's parents or legal guardians.

The children arrived in Belarus on September 19, and included 44 from the eastern Ukrainian cities of Lysychansk and Sevierodonetsk. The cities have been occupied since July 2022 and sit near the current front line between Russian and Ukrainian forces since Russian President Vladimir Putin sent troops into Ukraine over 19 months ago.

The head of the government of Novopolotsk, Dzmitry Dziamidau, said another group of children had previously arrived in the city  and both were brought in "to tear children away from the horrors of war."

One girl, identified as 11-year-old Polina Snihurska, said she was enrolled at a Belarusian school. Belarusian authorities did not specify whether the children were orphans or had guardians in Ukraine.

The two-day visit by diplomats included envoys from former Soviet republics plus China, India, Syria and Mozambique, Belarusian officials said. Ukraine's Foreign Ministry urged diplomats not to take part in the "propaganda trip."

Both the Belarus Red Cross and international Red Cross in recent days have said the Belarus chapter wasn't involved in the transfers of children from Ukraine. The Red Cross and local officials said a charity founded by Belarusian Paralympic athlete Alexei Talai, which has government support, conducted the transfers.

But a report aired in July by state Belarus 1 TV channel showed Shautsou visiting Lysychansk and saying the Belarus Red Cross was taking "an active part" in the transfers, which he said were designed for "health improvement" purposes.

The international Red Cross said Wednesday its board has given the Belarus chapter until November 30 to dismiss Shautsou or else it will suspend the branch and recommend that all affiliates halt new partnerships and funding for it.

Sytenkova, the Belarus Red Cross spokeswoman, said it was studying the decision "and a reaction will soon follow."

The Belarusian opposition has called for President Alexander Lukashenko and all others involved in the removal of children from Ukraine to be brought to justice over the transfers.

Opposition leader Pavel Latushka, a former government minister, has said he has handed over to the International Criminal Court documents proving that there have been illegal transfers of Ukrainian children to Belarus.

"Alexander Lukashenko, members of his family, as well as people close to him organized a system of removing children  in particular, orphans  from the occupied territories of Ukraine to Belarus," Latushka told The Associated Press.

"The main purpose of sending these children to Belarus is their ideological indoctrination in accordance with the narratives of the 'Russian world,'" he said.

Latushka said at least 2,100 Ukrainian children aged 6 to 15 years were transferred from over a dozen Ukrainian cities to Belarus between September 2022 and May of this year.

Belarus has been Moscow's closest ally since Russia's invasion of Ukraine, and Lukashenko allowed the Kremlin to use Belarusian territory to send troops and weapons into Ukraine.
U.S. President Joe Bidens dog Commander has been removed from the White House after a series of biting incidents.

"Commander is not presently on the White House campus while next steps are evaluated, Elizabeth Alexander, communications director for first lady Jill Biden, said in a statement Wednesday.

Commander was last seen at the White House on Saturday when photographers spotted the two-year-old German shepherd on an upper balcony.

Alexander did not say where the dog was sent, and it was not clear if the move was permanent.

The Secret Service, which protects the U.S. president, has reported 11 biting incidents involving its personnel. CNN reported Wednesday that the number was higher and said Commander had bitten White House employees and executive resident staff members, as well as Secret Service members.

The Bidens sent another dog, Major, to live with family friends in Delaware in 2021 after he was also involved in biting incidents.

Some information for this report came from The Associated Press and Agence France-Presse.
With U.S. funding for Ukraine at risk because of congressional turmoil, President Joe Biden says he will be delivering a major speech to persuade the American people to continue supporting Ukrainians in their defense against Russias invasion.

"I'm going to make the argument that it's overwhelmingly in the interest of the United States of America that Ukraine succeeds," Biden said Wednesday as he faced questions from reporters.

The remark followed Tuesdays dramatic ousting of Republican Kevin McCarthy from his role as House speaker, just days after Congress omitted provisions for further Ukraine funding from a last-minute deal to prevent a government shutdown.

While a new deal to fund government operations must be negotiated by mid-November, Biden indicated he would seek alternative routes to ensure the flow of aid.

We can support Ukraine in the next tranche that we need, he said. And there is another means by which we may be able to find funding for that. But I'm not going to do that now.

Funds remaining

The Pentagon warned that without action from Congress, funding could run out in a matter of months, with only $5.4 billion remaining under the Presidential Drawdown Authority funds and $1.6 billion left of the $25.9 billion provided by Congress to replenish U.S. military stocks that have been flowing to Ukraine.

"It does worry me, but I know there are a majority of members of the House and Senate in both parties who have said that they support funding Ukraine, said Biden.

A lapse in funding will affect not only the situation on Ukraines battlefields as it grinds through its counteroffensive and heads into the challenging winter months, but it also could embolden Moscow, said Luke Coffey, a senior fellow focusing on foreign policy at the Hudson Institute.

They see the writing on the wall, and they're very hopeful that this continued chaos stays in the United States and that there's isnt any funding for Ukraine, he told VOA. Only Russia stands to benefit here.

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre declined to provide further details on the presidents speech but acknowledged that a growing share of the American public is questioning whether to continue sending historic sums of money to help the Ukrainian people.

We have seen the polling, she said in response to VOAs question during Wednesdays briefing. We also believe that it is fundamentally important to our own national security, as well as supporting the great people of Ukraine, to continue.

Twenty months since Moscows invasion, public support for U.S. military assistance is waning, according to a poll released Wednesday by the Chicago Council on Global Affairs. Sixty-three percent of those surveyed said they supported sending additional arms and supplies to Kyiv, compared with 72% in July 2022. The drop was sharpest among Republicans, followed by independents, while Democratic support remained largely unchanged.

Amid eroding support, Biden needs to better explain to the American people that their vital interests are at stake, said former Ambassador to Ukraine John Herbst, who is now senior director of the Atlantic Council's Eurasia Center.

The message should be that Putin's aims directly threaten American interests, Herbst told VOA. Because if he wins in Ukraine, he will be provoking and maybe committing direct aggression against our NATO allies, which will require greater American defense expenditures and the use of American troops.

Since the war began, the Biden administration and Congress have directed more than $75 billion in assistance to Ukraine, which includes humanitarian, financial and military support, according to the Kiel Institute for the World Economy, a German policy institute.

Ukraines Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said Monday that he remained confident that U.S. support had not wavered, calling the decision by Congress to not put aside funds for Ukraine an individual case.

McCarthys successor

A new House speaker who opposes funding could quash a proposal before it even comes to a vote, so a deal regarding Ukraine may depend on who succeeds McCarthy. The speaker was ousted Tuesday when a motion to do so from fellow Republican Matt Gaetz was supported by eight Republicans and 208 Democrats.

On Wednesday, Jim Jordan became the first to publicly declare his intention to run for speaker. Other names have been floated, including Steve Scalise, the Number 2 House Republican who has long been favored to take over as speaker after McCarthy, and Kevin Hern, chair of the Republican Study Committee, the largest Republican caucus in the House.

The group Defending Democracy Together ranked lawmakers from A to F on the strength of their past support for Ukraine aid, with A signifying the strongest support. Jordan and Hern were rated as F, while Scalise was rated as B.

House Republicans plan to meet next Tuesday for a first round of internal party voting.

Unsettling for allies

The disarray in Washington is unsettling for Europeans, who have been told for a long time that most Republicans support Ukraine and a shift is unlikely, said Liana Fix, a fellow for Europe at the Council on Foreign Relations.

This raises again questions of reliability and predictability of the U.S., she told VOA.

European support is also eroding. Hungarys Prime Minister Viktor Orban recently threatened to veto European Union aid for Ukraine, while Robert Fico, a former prime minister who campaigned on a pro-Russian message, recently won Slovakias parliamentary elections.

Those forces in Europe trying to capitalize on dissatisfaction and pro-Russian views will certainly take the situation in Washington as a confirmation that a shift in approach is needed, Fix noted. Something along the lines of, If the U.S. lacks support, why should our citizens continue to pay for Ukraine?

As anxiety over U.S. commitment grows among Europeans, Biden convened a call this week with more than a dozen allies and partners to assure them he is committed to military assistance to Ukraine for as long as it takes, according to the White House.

VOA Congressional Correspondent Katherine Gypson and VOA National Security Correspondent Jeff Seldin contributed to this report.
After a summer of record-smashing heat, warming somehow got even worse in September as Earth set a new mark for how far above normal temperatures were, the European climate agency reported Thursday.

Last month's average temperature was 0.93 degrees Celsius above the 1991-2020 average for September. That's the warmest margin above average for a month in 83 years of records kept by the European Space Agency's Copernicus Climate Change Service.

"It's just mind-blowing really," said Copernicus Director Carlo Buontempo. "Never seen anything like that in any month in our records."

While July and August had hotter raw temperatures because they are warmer months on the calendar, September had what scientists call the biggest anomaly, or departure from normal. Temperature anomalies are crucial pieces of data in a warming world.

"This is not a fancy weather statistic," Imperial College of London climate scientist Friederike Otto said in an email. "It's a death sentence for people and ecosystems. It destroys assets, infrastructure, harvest."

Copernicus calculated that the average temperature for September was 16.38 degrees Celsius, which broke the old record set in September 2020 by a whopping half-degree Celsius. That's a huge margin in climate records.

The hot temperatures stretched across the globe, but they were chiefly driven by persistent and unusual warmth in the world's oceans, which didn't cool off as much in September as normal and have been record hot since spring, said Buontempo.

Earth is on track for its hottest year on record, about 1.4 degrees Celsius warmer than pre-industrial times, according to Samantha Burgess, Copernicus' deputy director.

This past September was 1.75 degrees Celsius warmer than the mid-1800s, Copernicus reported. The world agreed in 2015 to try to limit future warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius warming since pre-industrial times.

The global threshold goal of 1.5 degrees Celsius is for long-term temperature averages, not a single month or year. But scientists still expressed grave concern at the records being set.

"What we're seeing right now is the backdrop of rapid global warming at a pace that the Earth has not seen in eons coupled with El Nino, natural climate cycle" that's a temporary warming of parts of the Pacific Ocean that changes weather worldwide, said U.S. climate scientist Jessica Moerman, who is also president of the Evangelical Environmental Network. "This double whammy together is where things get dangerous."

Though El Nino is playing a part, climate change has a bigger footprint in this warmth, Buontempo said.

"There really is no end in sight given new oil and gas reserves are still being opened for exploitation," Otto said. "If you have more record hot events, there is no respite for humans and nature, no time to recover."

Buontempo said El Nino is likely to get warmer and cause even higher temperatures next year.

"This month was, in my professional opinion as a climate scientist  absolutely gobsmackingly bananas," climate scientist Zeke Hausfather said on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Over the years, in my opinion, (Prime Minister Justin) Trudeau has been the main reason Canada has had a deteriorating relationship with the most populous nation on earth (India) and according to statistics, India is the sixth largest importer.

After Trudeaus (Liberal government) was first elected (in 2015), on his very first trip to India in 2018, for some unknown reason he decided to dress up in Bollywood costumes. His costumes were not lost on Indian politicians. One Indian politician, Omar Abdullah, shared pictures on Twitter, at the time saying FYI, we Indians dont dress like this everyday, sir, not even in Bollywood.

In 2020 and 2021, during the Indian Farmers Protest against three farm bills, passed by the Parliament of India in September 2020, our prime minister waded in with uncalled for and totally inappropriate comments about Indias handling of the farmers protest. That sparked debate, especially in India, who rightly criticized him for meddling in its internal affairs.

At the recent G20 conference hosted by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Trudeau was the only G20 leader who did not have a bilateral meeting with Modi and, in fact, skipped the G20 reception and official dinner. (Maybe he wasnt invited?) Finally when his flight home was delayed, did he use his free time to try to improve relations with Modi or any other top Indian officials? Apparently not. There were no reports of him leaving his hotel room or requesting any meetings.

We know what happened next. On the first day back in Parliament, Trudeau stood up in the House of Commons and said he had credible allegations Indian government agents were involved in the death of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a Sikh community leader in Surrey B.C. Up to now, Trudeau has not provided any details about this most serious allegation. Did anyone else notice not one country has spoken out siding with Trudeau?

Most other (world) leaders understand diplomacy and are working very hard to improve relations with India. Those nations see a democratic strong India as a power to help offset Chinese influence. Apparently Canada doesnt.

Now, to the detriment of Canadian business and agriculture, federal Trade Minister Mary Ng, has postponed a trade mission to India after spending the past four months promoting trade with India as a key to the governments Indo-Pacific strategy.

Just think how much Canadian manufacturers and Canadian agriculture could benefit from trade with one of the largest potential trading partners in the world.

If Trudeau doesnt eventually provide hard facts to back up his incredible accusations against the Indian government, and it can be proven they had nothing to do with the murder, Trudeau will go down in history as the most incredibly stupid prime minister in world history.

For Canadians sake I can only hope that is not the case.

Robert Hepting, Kelowna
Generally speaking the aim of active stock picking is to find companies that provide returns that are superior to the market average. Buying under-rated businesses is one path to excess returns. To wit, the PSP Swiss Property share price has climbed 16% in five years, easily topping the market return of 9.9% (ignoring dividends). However, more recent returns haven't been as impressive as that, with the stock returning just 13% in the last year , including dividends .

Let's take a look at the underlying fundamentals over the longer term, and see if they've been consistent with shareholders returns.

View our latest analysis for PSP Swiss Property

While markets are a powerful pricing mechanism, share prices reflect investor sentiment, not just underlying business performance. One way to examine how market sentiment has changed over time is to look at the interaction between a company's share price and its earnings per share (EPS).

During five years of share price growth, PSP Swiss Property actually saw its EPS drop 11% per year.

Since the EPS are down strongly, it seems highly unlikely market participants are looking at EPS to value the company. Given that EPS is down, but the share price is up, it seems clear the market is focussed on other aspects of the business, at the moment.

In contrast revenue growth of 5.5% per year is probably viewed as evidence that PSP Swiss Property is growing, a real positive. It's quite possible that management are prioritizing revenue growth over EPS growth at the moment.

The image below shows how earnings and revenue have tracked over time (if you click on the image you can see greater detail).

You can see how its balance sheet has strengthened (or weakened) over time in this free interactive graphic.

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. So for companies that pay a generous dividend, the TSR is often a lot higher than the share price return. We note that for PSP Swiss Property the TSR over the last 5 years was 36%, 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!

Story continues

A Different Perspective

It's nice to see that PSP Swiss Property shareholders have received a total shareholder return of 13% over the last year. That's including the dividend. Since the one-year TSR is better than the five-year TSR (the latter coming in at 6% per year), it would seem that the stock's performance has improved in recent times. Given the share price momentum remains strong, it might be worth taking a closer look at the stock, lest you miss an opportunity. I find it very interesting to look at share price over the long term as a proxy for business performance. But to truly gain insight, we need to consider other information, too. For instance, we've identified 4 warning signs for PSP Swiss Property (1 is concerning) that you should be aware of.

But note: PSP Swiss Property may not be the best stock to buy. So take a peek at this free list of interesting companies with past earnings growth (and further growth forecast).

Please note, the market returns quoted in this article reflect the market weighted average returns of stocks that currently trade on Swiss 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.
The increasingly urgent threat posed by climate change is pushing ASEAN nations to start cooperating on a 20-year-old plan to develop a regional power-sharing grid.

The goal is to speed the transition to renewable energy sources such as solar, wind and hydroelectric power by facilitating the transfer of energy from countries where there is a surplus to countries that need it.

In August, utility companies in Malaysia and Indonesia signed a memorandum of understanding to study 18 potential locations where cross-border transmission lines could be set up.

The deal, which comes in addition to power-trading deals among Laos, Malaysia, Thailand and Singapore, was signed on the sidelines of the 41st ASEAN Ministers on Energy Meeting held in conjunction with a regional energy business forum on August 24 in Bali, Indonesia.

Beni Suryadi, manager of power, fossil fuel, alternative energy and storage at the ASEAN Centre for Energy in Jakarta, Indonesia, said lines between countries are economically and technically feasible, and are supported by regional governments. Renewable energy "has become a crucial need for every country," he said.

Energy demand in the region grew by more than 80% between 2000 and 2019 and is expected to triple by 2050 from the 2020 level, according to a 2023 ASEAN-EU Business Council report.

The report stressed the urgency of transitioning to renewable energy, saying "increasingly severe weather, rising sea levels, and widespread tropical diseases all accompany climate change, to name a few scourges. There are estimates that climate change and its effects will wipe out 11% of ASEAN's GDP by 2100."

Dato' Indera Ir. Baharin, president and CEO of Malaysia's national utility company, called an interconnected ASEAN power grid "a critical step in the region's energy transition."

"A robust regional interconnection will allow for a wider reallocation of renewable energy resources that will help decarbonise the ASEAN power system," Baharin said in August. "It will help us to ensure the region's energy security  and transition to a cleaner, more sustainable future."

Darmawan Prasodjo, president director of Indonesia's state-owned utilities company, said, "We are about to enter a critical phase of transition energy that offers tremendous challenge but also magnificent opportunities."

But, he said, we have to navigate the complexities of designing and building interconnected grids. Complexities of alignment of policy. Complexities of technical challenge. Complexities of commercial feasibilities. Complexities of large capital investment."

Peerapat Vithayarichareon, DNV principal consultant for energy systems in the Asia Pacific region, told The Jakarta Post that the expansion of clean energy in the region is being undermined by inadequate policy support and limited access to capital.

Speaking from the technical perspective, there are concerns related to the potential impact of the cross-border power grid on the power systems within the countries," he said.

"Countries cannot just shift from coal-fired generation to renewable energy," he continued. "We need to prepare the system to accommodate the increasing share of wind and solar power generation, for example."

Ryan Wong and Lee Poh Onn, of ISEAS Yusof Ishak Institute, a think-tank headquartered in Singapore, wrote in February 2022 that there are doubts whether Southeast Asian governments recognize the benefits of harmonizing their energy grids and selling surplus energy.

Southeast Asian countries are in general insular in their policy thinking. Therefore, it takes strong political will for them to look beyond national borders and immediate needs," they wrote.

Diverse energy options

Driving the energy-sharing idea is the fact that the ASEAN members  Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam  have diverse sources of renewable energy.

Indonesia and the Philippines, for example, have substantial geothermal capacity. Laos and Malaysia have hydropower capacity. Vietnam has wind and solar capacity, and there is significant solar energy capacity in Thailand and Malaysia.

Laos has built more than 50 dams in the past 15 years, branding itself as the "battery of Southeast Asia." It already benefits from sales of power to Thailand, Vietnam and China.

A tiny nation with a population of 7.4 million, Laos has surplus power even after those sales. Singapore, a city-state of 6 million people, imports all its clean energy.

The ASEAN Interconnectivity Masterplan Study III, which began in 2019, first identified the 18 potential cross-border lines with an estimated capacity of up to 33 GW of electricity interconnections.

The Indonesia-Malaysia utility interconnection signed in Bali is an important step in enhancing the ASEAN power grid, but it isn't the first power-sharing agreement.

In 2017, Laos transmitted 100 megawatts of hydroelectric power to Malaysia through Thailand's grid, which was later increased to 300 megawatts.

Now, Singapore has joined the agreement in the Laos-Thailand-Malaysia-Singapore Power Integration Program. And Indonesia is developing a $5 billion plan to send power from solar energy to Singapore via undersea cables from facilities in Batam.

According to a September report by the Boston Consulting Group, developing the more ambitious ASEAN-wide grid will require regional funding mechanisms and fair financial settlements.

The participating nations must also agree on technical standards for inter-grid connections and ensure that the power transmission is reliable.

Tata Mustasya, energy and climate manager at Greenpeace Indonesia, said the ASEAN countries need to speed up their own energy transition and create smart grids at the national level before setting up ambitious targets to boost the use of renewable energy regionwide.

"Southeast Asian countries cannot achieve their zero-emission target without consistent and sufficient incentives for the clean and renewable energy and disincentives for fossil fuels," he told VOA Indonesian.
Russia conducted several massive attacks Thursday, including one that hit a cafe and killed at least 50 civilians. President Biden will address the nation to make the case for continued American support for Ukraine. Russian citizens who temporarily fled to Armenia may end up making it permanent.
The G7 group of industrialized nations is expected to ban diamonds mined in Russia, the worlds biggest producer, following Moscows full-scale invasion of Ukraine last year.

However, the complexities of the trade mean it will be difficult to stop Russian diamonds from entering the global market, which is worth $87 billion a year.

Worlds biggest producer

Around a third of the worlds diamonds are extracted in Russia by the state-owned company Alrosa, which operates mines in Yakutia, Siberia and Arkhangelsk, in the far north of the country. The trade profits the Kremlin by over $1 billion a year.

Western nations are determined to deprive Russia of that revenue. At the May G7 summit, members discussed imposing a ban on Russian diamonds. But enforcing it wont be easy.

Indian hub

Almost all the worlds diamonds are cut and polished in the Indian city of Surat. A loophole in U.S. regulations means that Russian diamonds are freely entering the American market  which makes up 55% of global sales, explains Edahn Golan, a diamond industry analyst.

India accounts for about 95% of global diamond manufacturing and polishing, he told VOA. According to U.S. regulations, a product that went through a major transformation at a particular country is considered a product of that country.

In the case of Russian rough diamonds [that are] polished in India: From the standpoint of American regulations, those are Indian diamonds, Golan added. And because of that, they're no longer Russian.

Traceability

The Kimberley Process, enacted in 2000, introduced traceability for uncut diamonds to prevent the profits from fueling conflict  so-called blood diamonds. However, the process does not apply to cut, polished diamonds  and the system is otherwise flawed, says Golan.

The question was, how does the Kimberly Process address a parcel that will have rough diamonds from multiple origins? And the solution was, let's just put down mixed, he said. So now, if you have a parcel that is entirely Russian diamonds  but one diamond in it comes from another country  now it's a mixed parcel.

Objections

Not everyone supports the proposed ban. A G7 delegation travelled to India last week to seek its cooperation on excluding Russia from the diamond trade. But New Delhi is skeptical, says Golan.

First of all, without [Russian firm] Alrosas production, they're going to be losing one third of the global production coming in, said Golan. Secondly, India in general does not want to join sanctions on Russia, because their global politics are different than those of the United States and Europe.

This is especially sensitive to the Indian leadership, to [Prime Minister Narendra] Modi, because the majority of Indian diamond traders and manufacturers are Gujarati and Modi is Gujarati, so that's an important economy for his constituency, Golan said.

Russian diamonds are not forever

The European Union outlined plans in May to ban Russian diamond imports. It hopes to cut Alrosa from the market starting in 2024, with a tracing and enforcement process rolled out in following months.

We will restrict trade in Russian diamonds. Russian diamonds are not forever, Charles Michel, president of the European Council, said at a press conference in May, following the G7 summit in Hiroshima.

Under the EUs plans, diamonds could be issued with a blockchain-protected certificate of origin that would be inspected at trading hubs like Antwerp in Belgium. But the system could backfire, according to Professor Koen Vandenbempt, an economist at the University of Antwerp.

Probably, they will not pass through Antwerp anymore. This large trade will just move to Dubai and from Dubai to India or directly to India  typically countries that will not and probably never will impose sanctions on Russia, he told Agence France Presse.

African miners

Other industry players are pushing for a less technological, trust-based certification system  a proposal backed by the British-South Africa diamond consortium De Beers.

It's very easy to include in that system artisanal miners, in places such as northeast [Democratic Republic of Congo], said Golan. Those guys do not have the ability to use sophisticated technological means, but they do have, say, iPads and cell phones.

Details of the G7 proposals are expected to be outlined in the coming weeks. Its an opportunity to improve the diamond industrys image, said Golan.

I think that it's possible to come up with a good solution that works both for the U.S. and European political ends, Golan added. I think there's a way that it could serve very positively the diamond industry. It will require consultation on both sides.

The diamond industry has a very negative perception in the eye of the consumer. And it's a great way to prove that the diamond industry works, he told VOA.
In late July, Ghanas parliament voted to make it a crime to accuse a person of witchcraft. If the president signs the bill into law, it will also force the closure of camps where hundreds of accused witches live in exile. Hamza Adams has the report, Narrated by Grace Oyenubi. Video edits: Betty Ayoub, Marcus Harton
As is the case in Italy, Greece is facing new wave of illegal immigration, and as it boosts measures to contain the influx, the government is now pressing its European Union partners to join forces in deporting migrants back to their countries. Greece is expected to raise the proposal at a meeting of national leaders in Spain this week but mustering an agreement among the EU's 27 members may be difficult.

Greek migration minister Dimitris Keridis revealed the proposal as the government in Athens grows wary and concerned, as he put it, of a new migration crisis.

Concerns have mounted as the number of illegal immigrants arriving in Greece has risen to 31,000 this year, up from 18,000 for all of 2022.

This comes nearly a decade after Europe's poorest state saw more than a million, mainly Syrian, refugees stream through its frontiers and into the heart of Europe, in the biggest migratory push to the West since World War II.

While nearly 680,000 migrants have been legalized since 2021, Keridis said about 60,000 migrants remain in the country illegally. He said their numbers continue to grow because countries such as Pakistan and Iran refuse to accept their nationals back in forced deportations.

He said the EU as a whole has to demand that these countries take back these illegal migrants, or else face sanctions.

Keridis did not say what such punitive measures may include, but he said it was imperative for what he called an EU deportation mechanism to be set up. Failure to do so, he said, would effectively allow human traffickers already pushing countless droves of illegal migrants to the West to take the EU and its migration policies hostage, as he put it.

It would also endanger Europe's bid to help and safeguard refugees in need, Keridis said.

It is imperative, the minister said, for refugees to be distinguished from illegal migrants because if all of them end up staying, it will create such a crisis that it could ultimately lead to Europes closure of all its borders, thus failing to protect true refugees escape wars and persecution.

Like Greece, Italy and Spain have been facing rising illegal migration in recent months. And while Europes already restrictive approach to immigration has come under human rights groups fire, the EU agreed Wednesday to adopt a new list of what it called crisis regulations measures, to deal with periods of exceptionally high migrant arrivals.

Immigration, though, has Europe largely divided, and ahead of EU elections next year many right-wing parties in countries such as Italy, Hungary, Poland and Germany have made the issue central to their polices, demanding more restrictions.

Whether the EU will adopt Greeces call for sanctions remains unclear.

Until then, Keridis said, the Greek government will not remain idle.

A recent thawing of tense relations between long-time foes Greece and Turkey has both sides now working together on a deal that would revive and revise a landmark agreement hatched at the height of Europes 2016 migration crisis. The deal aims to crack down on human smugglers and contain illegal flows of migration from Turkey's massive pool of 4 million refugees and migrants.

He said, the bigger issue at stake for Greece is not to lose this momentum and drive for concrete results, but also not to allow Italy to monopolize all the focus on illegal migration. A decade after two shipwrecks off Italy's Lapendusa took the lives of hundreds of migrants, similar tragedies have followed, with the region once again at the center of a new European refugee crisis. If Italy manages to its block paths of migrant entries to Europe, he said, we will see an explosion of entries to Greece.

Greece and Turkey are aiming to have a separate migration deal ready by early December.
Human Rights Watch has called on governments working the facilitate peace in the Nagorno-Karabakh region to ensure the right of ethnic Armenians to return to the region.

The military offensive taken by Azerbaijan in the Nagorno-Karabakh region caused many Armenians to leave in late September.

Nearly 100,000 ethnic Armenians have fled the region they once controlled following hostilities enacted by the Azerbaijani military and in fear that aggressive action could continue from Azerbaijan's forces.

The exodus has left the region practically depopulated, with those remaining being primarily the elderly or people too sick to leave.

Many of the people who fled left with few of their belongings as they were jammed into small cars with limited amount of space, according to interviews conducted by Human Rights Watch on the Armenian border.

Many Armenians have expressed interest in returning to Nagorno-Karabakh but say they would only do so if there was international protection, according to Human Rights Watch.

Because of this, Human Rights Watch has called on Azerbaijan authorities to not only outline how they intend to respect human rights in the region in the short and long term, but also the need to accept international monitoring in the region.

Human Rights Watch urged countries who partner with Azerbaijan to demand peace in the region to ensure the safety of all who are there, including ethnic Armenians.

Current talks are in progress between Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, facilitated by European Council President Charles Michel.



A meeting was scheduled for Thursday with French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, also slated to help facilitate discussions. But Aliyev pulled out Wednesday amid visits to Armenia by French diplomats.

Human Rights Watch has urged that the ongoing talks with European facilitators include demands for Azerbaijan to respect international law, permit the return of ethnic Armenians to Nagorno-Karabakh, and allow for monitoring.

Azerbaijan has said that the rights of everyone in the region will be respected.
President Biden makes the case for aid to Ukraine as the House of Representatives is reeling from the speakers ouster. Pakistan has ordered illegal immigrants to leave the country or be detained, VOA speaks with some. Plus Donald Trump's trial continues, and are changes coming to the Catholic Church
More than a dozen Ugandan journalists were reportedly assaulted and had their equipment vandalized Thursday by security agents deployed to control anti-government protests called by the leader of Uganda's opposition National Unity Platform Party.

Police said the journalists were disrupting their operations at Entebbe International Airport, where opposition leader Robert Kyagulanyi was arriving from the U.S.

Before his return, Kyagulanyi, who goes by the stage name Bobi Wine, had called on Ugandans to join him in what the NUP called the One Million March.

In response, several security checkpoints were set up along roads heading to the airport and to Wines home, where the politician told reporters he had been placed under house arrest.

'It was very humiliating'

Wine narrated his ordeal to journalists:

As soon as I landed, goons grabbed me and dragged me, twisted my hands and bundled me into a waiting private car. They drove me to the old airport, where they pulled me out and then put me in a military car with many soldiers and police officers. It was very humiliating, it was very uncomfortable, but I am glad I reached here.

Journalists were not allowed at the airport, and those who were stopped by security were taken to the Entebbe central police station, where they were held for close to four hours.

Jengo Eriah, a videographer for a local television station, said that "the SFC [Special Forces Command] guys and military guys just came and started pulling our reporters. They pulled me out of the car, actually through the window, even without asking me anything. I was beaten. My camera was destroyed, my phone. I have wounds on my back, the arm. I got bruises everywhere.

Robert Sempala, national coordinator of the Human Rights Network for Journalists-Uganda, said his group had engaged security on the safety of journalists covering the event.

The charges remain extremely unclear, and their gadgets have not been returned to them," Sempala said. "They are saying they are going to first have to look into the content that was on those gadgets, which is another violation. Various reports [are] saying that the military, hooded and disguised in masks, was at the helm of this operation.

Spokesperson points to police

Sempala said the special forces usurped police powers and took charge of public order.

However, Special Forces Command spokesperson Jimmy Omara told VOA he was not aware of any such event.

What I am sure about is that that was a police-led operation," he said. "Do they have any of our soldiers in uniform, in our attire, SFC? Because even me, I was watching from the screen. What I could only see [were] police uniforms.

Police said in a statement that 14 journalists had been arrested because of challenges in identification from the crowd and had been briefly taken to Entebbe police holding cells.

Police acknowledged that some journalists might have been subjected to physical harm, and they said they were committed to identifying them and conducting a thorough investigation.

Before his departure to the United States, Wine was on a countrywide tour that was stopped by police, who said he could be a target for terrorists. It was not clear whether Wine would resume the tour, which had attracted thousands on the streets.
Lebanon is pushing back on the European Unions calls for the country to assist migrants and refugees from Syria. There are growing concerns that Lebanons collapsing economy is fueling anti-immigrant sentiment and putting the country on a dangerous course.

Lebanons caretaker interior minister, Bassam Mawlawi, has accused Syrian refugees and migrants of committing crimes, taking away jobs from Lebanese and potentially creating a demographic imbalance along sectarian lines, saying their numbers must be limited.

Officials have warned the number of Syrians entering Lebanon via illegal crossings along the northern and eastern borders has escalated in the past two weeks.

Syria analyst Joseph Daher, who teaches at the University of Lausanne, Switzerland, sees the government of President Bashar al-Assad as the main contributor to human insecurity in Syria as the February earthquake and dire economic conditions forced many Syrians to seek safety elsewhere.

Daher told an online Carnegie Middle East forum that Syrias people have few options but to leave.

Regarding the population, the means to resist are limited in many ways. For many people, the only wayits a form also of resistanceis to migrate. Levels of migration have continued to increase, despite decreasing of military conflict," said Daher.

Lebanese analyst Dania Koleilat Khatib told VOA that Lebanons political class is scapegoating Syrian refugees and migrants to divert attention from their own problems of corruption and mismanagement. Khatib, who heads the Research Center for Cooperation and Peace Building, says she believes both Syria and Lebanon are using refugees and migrants as a political weapon.

Assad is using his last card," she said. "The waves that are coming now are refugees from the regime area. These are pushed by the regime. Its something organized by Assad to put pressure on everything, the army. That we can drown your country with refugees. But for the people living in Lebanon, they are making it more tough for them, just to pressure the EU and extort money.

Lebanese politicians are proposing that Syrian refugees leave for Europe by sea, but Khatib says Joseph Aoun, the army commander, remains committed to preventing illegal sea migration because its prohibited by international law.

Mohannad Hage Ali of the Carnegie Middle East Center in Beirut told the Dubai newspaper, The National, Iran-backed Hezbollah has appeared to use the threat of sending migrants to Europe by sea to extract concessions, but it may not do it soon..

The refugee crisis in Lebanon provides Syria's Assad, and by default his Lebanese allies, with leverage, said Ali, so I don't think Hezbollah is in a rush to resolve the crisis.

Ali said Hezbollah could use that to leverage an easing of sanctions on Syria in order to allow some economic recovery.
The Kansas police chief who led a widely condemned raid on a small-town newspaper resigned earlier this week after body cam footage revealed him rifling through files about himself. But with the newspaper still struggling to operate nearly two months after the raid, the publisher and lawyer say the resignation is too little, too late.

Gideon Cody, the former police chief of Marion, Kansas, led the raid of the Marion County Record newspaper in August in a move that was denounced by news outlets and press freedom groups as a clear violation of the First Amendment.

After being suspended from his position last week by the towns mayor, Cody resigned Monday evening.

But the resignation isnt something to praise, the Records lawyer, Bernie Rhodes, told VOA, adding that the paper is still planning to take legal action.

We should not be celebrating this whatsoever. We should be glad that his gun and badge have been taken away from him. But the city did nothing to convince me that theyre taking appropriate action, Rhodes said. The city took no action.

I dont understand why it took two months for someone to take Chief Codys gun and badge. He is clearly unfit for duty. And this should have happened a long time ago, he said.

The papers owner and publisher, Eric Meyer, agreed.

He should have been suspended immediately, he said.

Meyer blames the stress of the raid for the death of his mother, Joan, the newspapers co-owner, who died of cardiac arrest a day after the raid.

Marion police did not reply to VOAs email requesting comment. Marion Mayor David Mayfield also did not immediately reply to VOAs email requesting comment.

The raids dramatic fallout has taken a toll on the newspapers operations, Meyer told VOA on Thursday.

I keep saying were one head cold away from not being able to publish our newspaper. Were right on that edge, he said. Its a very big struggle to get the paper out each week.

Although the Record has gotten thousands of new subscriptions since the raid, the newspapers staff are now working a ridiculous number of hours, Meyer said, acknowledging that the pace is not sustainable.

The Record has not yet taken any legal action, but a former Record reporter has done so in her personal capacity.

On Wednesday, Cody responded to a lawsuit filed in August against him by Deb Gruver, who said she suffered lasting emotional and physical injury when Cody took her cellphone from her hand during the raid.

Gruver recently resigned from the Record, citing worsening mental health since the raid. She declined to comment about recent developments in the case but spoke to VOA in August about the paranoia she said she has experienced in the incidents aftermath.

I dont feel really that safe anymore here, she told VOA in the papers newsroom. I dont feel safe in Marion. Im not sure I ever did, really, but I certainly dont now.

They violated our rights, and I wont ever be the same, Gruver said then.

In his response this week, Cody denied most of the allegations concerning his actions related to the raid.

Defendant Cody did not act alone, nor did he orchestrate a complex conspiracy of other law enforcement officers to carry out illegal or malicious plans against Plaintiff Gruver, reads Codys response to the federal lawsuit.

The raid on the weekly newspaper has come to symbolize the yearslong plight of local news in the United States.

Rhodes, the lawyer, said the Record is waiting until the Kansas Bureau of Investigation, or KBI, completes its inquiry into the incident and releases its report before the paper takes legal action.

Melissa Underwood, KBIs communications director, told VOA the case is wrapping up, but she did not know an exact timeline.

Despite the many all-nighters spent working on the paper since the raid, Meyer said he has somehow managed to maintain an optimistic outlook.

You can look at Marion, Kansas, as the place where theres a bunch of corruption going on, he said. Or you can look at Marion, Kansas, as the place where there was a bunch of corruption going on, and we caught it, whereas they might not have caught it in other places.
Looking at James Cropper PLC's (LON:CRPR ) insider transactions over the last year, we can see that insiders were net buyers. That is, there were more number of shares purchased by insiders than there were sold.

Although we don't think shareholders should simply follow insider transactions, we do think it is perfectly logical to keep tabs on what insiders are doing.

View our latest analysis for James Cropper

James Cropper Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

Over the last year, we can see that the biggest insider purchase was by Chairman of the Board Mark A. Cropper for UK353k worth of shares, at about UK6.09 per share. We do like to see buying, but this purchase was made at well below the current price of UK7.65. Because the shares were purchased at a lower price, this particular buy doesn't tell us much about how insiders feel about the current share price.

Mark A. Cropper bought a total of 60.84k shares over the year at an average price of UK6.11. 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!

James Cropper 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.

Insider Ownership

Looking at the total insider shareholdings in a company can help to inform your view of whether they are well aligned with common shareholders. Usually, the higher the insider ownership, the more likely it is that insiders will be incentivised to build the company for the long term. James Cropper insiders own about UK20m worth of shares. That equates to 27% of the company. This level of insider ownership is good but just short of being particularly stand-out. It certainly does suggest a reasonable degree of alignment.

So What Do The James Cropper Insider Transactions Indicate?

There haven't been any insider transactions in the last three months -- that doesn't mean much. On a brighter note, the transactions over the last year are encouraging. Insiders own shares in James Cropper and we see no evidence to suggest they are worried about the future. 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 3 warning signs for James Cropper you should be aware of.

Story continues

But note: James Cropper 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 of direct interests only, but not derivative transactions or indirect interests.

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.
Mexico's Claudia Sheinbaum, the presidential candidate for the country's ruling leftist party and a close ally of the current president, is now expected to easily win the 2024 election, an opinion poll showed Wednesday.

Sheinbaum, candidate for the National Regeneration Movement (MORENA) founded by President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, nabbed 50% of support in a four-way race of top contenders, according to a survey by polling firm Buendia & Marquez and newspaper El Universal.

Sheinbaum, 61, was until recently mayor of Mexico City. She has vowed to uphold Lopez Obrador's legacy if elected.

Her top rival, Xochiti Galvez, who represents an alliance of opposition parties, trailed Sheinbaum with 20% of the vote, suggesting a woman is likely to become Mexicos next president for the first time ever.

Those with no response represented 19% of the potential vote, with Nuevo Leon Governor Samuel Garcia -- who has not announced his intention to run -- garnering 7% of the vote and independent candidate Eduardo Verastegui coming in last with 4%.

Party preferences yielded similar results, with 53% of those polled favoring left-wing MORENA.

The poll of 1,200 potential voters, conducted late last month, had a margin of error of plus or minus 3.23%, with a confidence level of 95% for the main survey indicators.
After years of enduring conferences about China whose panels primarily featured men  dubbed manels  and reading articles on China that mainly cited men, Joanna Chiu was fed up.

Years before foreign correspondents were being forced to leave China in droves, and even before headlines documented the widespread online harassment that female reporters face over their China coverage, the more obvious issue, according to Chiu, was the sidelining of female experts on China.

The excuse that there just werent many female China experts eventually grew so banal that Chiu, then a China correspondent for Agence France-Presse, set out to prove everyone wrong.

In January 2017, she put out a call on Twitter, now known as X, for people to contribute to an open-source directory she had created, where anyone could add female experts on China.

It blew up overnight, Chiu told VOA. Before I knew it, there were hundreds of experts. The directory now includes more than 600.

What started as a grassroots online directory eventually grew to NuVoices, an international editorial collective that amplifies womens and nonbinary peoples work on China by hosting events around the world, producing a twice-monthly podcast and an online magazine  and above all, by serving as a community for people whose crucial work on China has long been discounted.

NuVoices is inherently celebratory, said Chiu, the groups chair. That celebration of womens work on China takes place in the face of what critics say is a deeply misogynistic Chinese government that would much rather see its detractors  especially those who arent men  silenced.

After Chiu launched the open-source directory, she said, because discussions kept coming up around the directory, about how it could be a really elegant solution to removing all these excuses for the exclusion of women, it naturally progressed into a community.

Chiu and other women regularly convened in Beijing, and after lots of late-night discussions at restaurants along the Liangma River, they decided to launch a group to highlight women working on China, Chiu said.

NuVoices  a play on new and nu, which means woman in Mandarin  launched on International Womens Day in March 2018 at the iconic and since-closed Bookworm bookstore in Beijing.

It was a totally packed, sold-out event at the Bookworm. So much enthusiasm for what we were doing, said Chiu, who now reports from Vancouver for the Toronto Star. A lot of support over the years has come from men, she added, who are sick of feeling like theyre complicit in this weird, patriarchal, male-dominated China field.

NuVoices has succeeded because it provides actionable solutions, like joining a chapter or using the expert directory or reading recommended books written by women, Chiu explained. You can spend years reading the work of the people we promote.

In the more than five years since its founding, the group has expanded to seven chapters  China, London, Europe, Washington, New York, Canada and most recently, Taiwan. Chiu hopes an Australia chapter will be next.

I still marvel sometimes at how it grew out of this directory, she said.

The group also launched a twice-monthly podcast. The first episode looked at Chinese women who, despite the risk, work as news assistants at foreign news bureaus in China.

This past summer, NuVoices marked its 100th podcast episode.

And we still have such a long list of people we want to reach out to as podcast guests, said Chiu, who still regularly hosts the podcast. Other NuVoices board members rotate as podcast co-hosts as well.

Believing that womens work is worth celebrating is a very basic notion, she said. But considering the challenges facing women journalists  in terms of China and more broadly  it can also be considered a radical one.

Online harassment

A 2022 report from the International Center for Journalists found that nearly 75% of female journalists it surveyed had experienced online threats  often of a sexualized nature.

Its a trend that female journalists who cover China know particularly well. For all journalists who report on China  but especially women  covering the country with one of the worst press freedom records in the world can mean having a target on your back, according to Kiran Nazish, director of the Coalition for Women in Journalism.

We constantly see threats, Nazish told VOA. The intent is, of course, to silence them. But that often hasnt worked out, she said.

Its no small secret what happens in many cases to outspoken journalists in China, especially women, who are subjected to very specific forms of harassment and coercion, said Siodhbhra Parkin, chair of NuVoices Washington chapter. Thats really what NuVoices has meant to me  its a way to hear voices that would otherwise be censored or stifled.

In response to VOAs email requesting comment, the spokesperson of Chinas Washington Embassy said, The Chinese government attaches great importance to gender equality and the all-round development of women.

Its impossible to advance the Chinese modernization drive and build a culturally-advanced and harmonious world without the extensive participation of women, Liu Pengyu, the spokesperson, added.

Meanwhile, a 2022 report from the Australian Strategic Policy Institute identified what appeared to be a Beijing-backed online information campaign designed to harass, intimidate and discredit female journalists of Asian descent who report on China. Some harassment is government-backed, but it isnt always.

The often sexualized and misogynistic nature of this harassment reflects deeper forces that are baked into the Chinese government, according to Leta Hong Fincher, an adjunct professor at Columbia University whose research focuses on gender issues and feminism in China.

The Chinese Communist Party sees the subjugation of women as integral to its authoritarian rule, she told VOA. That manifests in everything from the Chinese concept of leftover women to the censorship of feminist topics across Chinese social media, Hong Fincher added.

Our response is our existence, said Parkin, who works in the human rights sector.

Just six women have ever become full members of Chinas Politburo, which is the partys 24-member executive leadership body, and none has ever sat on the innermost Politburo Standing Committee.

That is emblematic of the deeper problem here, which is that youre only ever getting one side of the story if you only ever listen to one type of person, Parkin said.

The targeting of female journalists who cover China wasnt as bad when NuVoices started, Chiu recalled, but it has gotten worse each year. In turn, the celebration that characterizes NuVoices work represents a refusal to be silenced, Chiu said.

We want to, for the most part, ignore the trolls and just keep trumpeting the successes of our community. Its like a barrage of positivity and celebration, she said. We want to make sure the silencing is not successful.
A senior Pakistani diplomat said Thursday that while the Taliban had brought peace and security to Afghanistan, increased terrorist attacks from the neighboring country threatened stability in Pakistan, putting strains on an already difficult bilateral relationship.



"Unfortunately, the peace dividends for us are missing," Asif Durrani, Pakistan's special representative on Afghanistan, told an international seminar in Islamabad.



He said his government was engaged in a sustained dialogue with the Taliban to seek an end to the cross-border terrorism orchestrated by fugitive leaders and militants of the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan, or TTP, a globally designated terrorist organization.



"The TTP attacks on Pakistan along the borders have increased. They are taking shelter on the Afghan soil," the envoy stated.



"I cannot blame the government in Afghanistan at the moment," Durrani stressed. "But we as Pakistan expect that the kind of peace they have brought in their land should also contribute to peace in our borderlands, and those TTP people who are taking shelter in Afghanistan either should be returned to Pakistan or be neutralized."



The seminar was organized by the state-run Institute of Strategic Studies Islamabad in collaboration with the United States Institute of Peace.

Surge in militant attacks

Since the Taliban seized control of the neighboring country in August 2021, Pakistan has seen a dramatic surge in militant attacks that have killed hundreds of civilians and security forces. Officials say TTP leaders and other members have moved their operation bases to Afghanistan since the Taliban takeover and enjoy greater freedom of movement there.

The rising TTP-led attacks in Pakistan are the primary source of tensions between Islamabad and de facto Taliban rulers in Kabul, amid allegations Afghan nationals have also taken part in some of the recent suicide bombings and other terrorist raids.



Last month, members of a Durrani-led delegation to Kabul were reportedly told by their Taliban interlocutors that the Afghans had captured 200 TTP members for their involvement in cross-border attacks and had taken other steps to "neutralize" the militant activity. But Pakistani officials said the measures did not lead to a reduction in attacks.

TTP calls itself an extension of the Afghan Taliban to Pakistan, and its leaders pledge allegiance to Hibatullah Akhudzada, the supreme leader of the Taliban government in Kabul.



This week, the militant violence prompted the Pakistani government to order all illegal immigrants, including more than 1.7 million Afghans, to leave the country by November 1 or face deportation. The Taliban decried the move and urged Islamabad to review the decision.



"Pakistans decision to expel Afghans is unjustifiable and inhumane, and we condemn it," Taliban Defense Minister Muhammad Yaqoob told a graduation ceremony at the police academy in the Afghan capital.



However, Durrani said that Pakistan and Afghanistan "enjoy a symbiotic relationship" and attempted to downplay tensions as mere "rivalries between cousins" under local traditions. "But that does not mean that we have become enemies. Not at all."

Foreign ministers meet



Meanwhile, Pakistani Foreign Minister Jalil Abbas Jilani and his Taliban counterpart, Amir Khan Muttaqi, met on the sidelines of a China-hosted international conference Thursday.



Jilani's office in Islamabad said he "underscored that challenges confronting regional peace and stability be addressed in collaborative spirit through collective strategies."



Muttaqi's spokesman said the two sides had discussed bilateral trade and problems facing Afghan businessmen and refugees in Pakistan. The Taliban foreign minister cautioned Jilani that "negative media statements, hurdles facing transit trade and harassing Afghan refugees" could adversely affect mutual ties.



Pakistan provides landlocked Afghanistan access to international markets through its land and seaports.



This week, Islamabad banned more than 200 items "prone to smuggling" under its Afghan transit trade agreement with Kabul and imposed a 10% process fee on commercial goods imported into Afghanistan through Pakistan.



The restrictions have upset the Taliban, and they have urged Pakistani officials to reverse them, warning they would harm bilateral trade and transit cooperation.



Pakistan also conducts its trade with landlocked Central Asian countries through Afghanistan, and there has been a significant increase in the transit trade since the Taliban takeover two years ago.
Two Philippine supply boats breached a Chinese coast guard blockade in the South China Sea on Wednesday in a recurring confrontation near a disputed shoal some fear could spark a larger security crisis that could draw in the United States.

Two Philippine coast guard ships escorted the smaller supply boats, but it wasn't immediately clear whether the ships were blocked by the Chinese coast guard from coming closer to the Second Thomas Shoal, where a small contingent of Filipino marines has stood guard for years aboard a long-marooned but still actively commissioned warship, the BRP Sierra Madre.

China also claims the shoal and has surrounded it with its coast guard ships and militia vessels to prevent the Philippines from delivering construction materials that Beijing fears could be used to reinforce the Sierra Madre and turn it into a permanent territorial outpost.

"Despite attempts by a significant number of China coast guard and Chinese maritime militia vessels to block, harass and interfere with the routine rotation and resupply mission," the two Philippine boats managed to deliver provisions to the Filipino forces at the shoal, a Philippine government body overseeing the disputed waters said in a statement late Wednesday.

"The Philippines' resupply missions and maintenance of BRP Sierra Madre are part of regular operations in line with domestic and international law and ensure safety and well-being of our stationed personnel," the interagency body said.

It didn't provide other details of the Chinese coast guard's actions, which it has condemned in the past as dangerous maneuvers that have nearly caused collisions and violated international safety regulations at sea.

The Chinese coast guard said in a statement Wednesday night that the Philippine vessels entered the waters "without permission from the Chinese government" and that "China firmly opposes the Philippines illegally transporting building materials to the 'grounded' military boat." It said it gave a stern warning to the Philippines vessels and monitored them throughout the process.

The dangerous confrontation Wednesday is the latest flare-up from the long-simmering territorial disputes in the South China Sea, one of the world's busiest trade routes. The conflicts, which involve China, the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Taiwan and Brunei, are regarded as a potential Asian flashpoint and have also become a delicate fault line in the U.S.-China rivalry in the region.

In early August, a Chinese coast guard ship used a water cannon against one of two Philippine supply boats to prevent it from approaching the Second Thomas Shoal. The brazen move, which was caught on video, outraged President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and prompted the Department of Foreign Affairs in Manila to summon the Chinese ambassador to hand him a strongly worded protest.

Washington reacted by renewing a warning that it's obligated to defend the Philippines, its oldest treaty ally in Asia, if Filipino forces, aircraft and vessels come under an armed attack, including in the South China Sea.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry accused Washington then of "threatening China" by raising the possibility of the U.S.-Philippines mutual defense treaty being activated. Beijing has repeatedly warned the U.S. not to meddle in the territorial disputes.

Later in August, the Philippines again deployed two boats, which succeeded in maneuvering past the Chinese coast guard blockade and completing the delivery of supplies to the Filipino forces at the Second Thomas Shoal. Two Philippine coast guard ships securing the supply boats, however, were blocked and prevented by Chinese coast guard ships from maneuvering closer to the shoal. A U.S. Navy surveillance aircraft flew in circles in support of the Philippine vessels as the standoff lasted for more than three hours.

Philippine Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro expressed concern over China's dangerous actions at sea and said the government was ready to respond to potential emergencies, including a possible collision of Chinese and Philippine ships in the disputed waters.

"Naturally the concern is always there, and we take that into account," Teodoro said in response to a reporter's question Tuesday night. "We have plans depending on what happens."

The Philippine coast guard invited a small group of journalists, including two from The Associated Press, in August to join its ships that secured the supply boats as part of a new strategy aimed at exposing China's increasingly aggressive actions in the South China Sea.

A 2016 arbitration ruling set up under the 1982 U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea invalidated Beijing's claims on historical grounds to virtually the entire South China Sea.

But China refused to participate in the arbitration sought by the Philippines, rejected the decision as a sham and continues to defy it.
Zimbabwean author Tsitsi Dangarembga received the Africa Freedom Prize in Johannesburg on Thursday, which is awarded to individuals who have shown remarkable courage and dedication to advancing the cause of freedom, democracy and human rights on the African continent.

Tsitsi Dangarembga has long been one of Zimbabwes most highly regarded and beloved fiction writers  from her lauded first novel Nervous Conditions in 1988 to This Mournable Body, which was shortlisted for the Booker Prize in 2020.

Tinashe Mushakavanhu, a research fellow at the University of Oxford who specializes in Zimbabwean literature, said Dangarembga has a place in the modern canon.

Her most important contribution is being the first Black, Zimbabwean woman writer to publish a novel in English. In that sense, she is a pioneer and a leading light, so much that her book, Nervous Conditions, is considered one of the best African books of the 20th century, said Mushakavanhu.

Thats one of the reasons the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom, which promotes liberal politics and democracy around the world, is awarding Dangarembga their greatest honor today. She is also the recipient of the 2021 PEN International Award for Freedom of Expression.

Aside from her writing, Dangarembga has made headlines for her political activism. The 64-year-old was convicted by a Zimbabwean court last year of inciting violence after staging a peaceful protest with a friend during which the two women stood quietly on a roadside holding placards calling for political reform. That conviction was overturned earlier this year by a higher court.

So, would Dangarembga consider herself a political writer?

I dont conceive of myself as an activist writer. I conceive of myself as a person who has a story to tell, and my story has an intention. My intention is to tell stories in which Zimbabweans can see themselves reflected. And I think that is important for the well-being of the individual  to understand the complexities of the lives they are living and the challenges, and to possibly point to possible solutions. And I think when individuals are able to engage in that process, it leads to the health of the nation, she said.

After independence in 1980, the former British colony was ruled by one man, Robert Mugabe, for almost four decades until he was overthrown in a bloodless coup in 2017. His successor from the same party, President Emmerson Mnangagwa, has failed to fix the countrys broken economy and has cracked down on dissent.

The political opposition called the last elections, held in August, a fraud, and the Southern African Development Community, which sent a mission to observe polls, expressed concerns over the fairness of the vote.

Among the previous winners of the Africa Freedom Prize are Nigerian novelist Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie.

Danai Mupotsa, a senior lecturer in African literature at Johannesburgs Witwatersrand University, notes that female writers from the continent have been receiving more attention and accolades lately.

Theres definitely a particular kind of moment for African writers and African women writers, I think, in particularly the last 10 years," said Mupotsa.

Asked about this, Dangarembga said what it indicates is the publishing world has shifted to open up and is publishing more work by African woman writers.
Scores of Syrians were killed or wounded Thursday when drones struck a graduation ceremony for army officers in Homs, according to reports by a war monitoring organization and a statement from Syrias defense ministry. It was unclear who was responsible for the carnage.

The army confirmed that drones strapped with explosives wreaked havoc on the graduation ceremony as it was ending. Army officials did not provide an official tally of the casualties but did say that women and children were among those in critical condition.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based watchdog, estimated that 60 officers and civilians were slain and 120 attendees were wounded. One pro-government radio station said 66 died and 190 were injured.

Syrias government called for a three-day state of mourning, to begin Friday.

The military blamed extremists backed by known international forces for the attack, without singling out a particular entity, and promised that it will respond with full force and decisiveness to these terrorist organizations, wherever they exist.

After the attack, the government bombed towns in Idlib, a rebel-held northwestern province. How many casualties resulted from the shellings there was unknown.

Earlier Thursday, the government shelled another village in the area, hitting a family house and killing an elderly woman and four of her children as well as aid workers, according to the White Helmets, a volunteer civil defense organization working in northwestern Syria.

The White Helmets said nine civilians were wounded.

The countrys northwest is occupied by al-Qaida-linked militants and Turkish-sponsored opposition fighters. Most who live there are very poor and rely on humanitarian aid to survive.

Also Thursday, drones attacked oil production plants, electrical substations and a dam in the Hasakah and Qamishli provinces of northeastern Syria, which are held by the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces, or SDF.

Local authorities said six SDF fighters and two civilians died in the bombardment.

A U.N. spokesperson said Thursday that Secretary-General Antonio Guterres was deeply concerned about the drone attack on a military academy graduation ceremony in Homs.  The secretary-general is also deeply concerned about reports of retaliatory shelling on multiple locations in northwest Syria and emerging reports of casualties.

The spokesperson called on all sides to protect civilians, saying that Guterres strongly condemns all violence in Syria and urges all parties to respect their obligations under international law.

According to Reuters, Syria's defense minister attended the ceremony but left minutes before the attack, according to a Syrian security source and a security source in the regional alliance backing the Damascus government against opposition groups.

Some information for this report came from The Associated Press and Reuters.
Turkey increased its drone strikes Thursday against targets in Kurdish-held areas in northern Syria, killing at least 10 people across the region, local officials said.

A VOA reporter in Qamishli, Syria, reported that at least 18 drone attacks were carried out across northern Syria. Some of the attacks targeted civilian infrastructure in the region, including one on a power station and another near a camp hosting internally displaced people, the Kurdish Red Crescent said.

The increased attacks come days after the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) claimed responsibility for a bomb attack that targeted Turkeys Interior Ministry headquarters in Ankara. The Sunday attack left the two attackers killed and two Turkish police officers wounded.

The Turkish government views Syrian-based Kurdish groups as an extension of the PKK, which is considered a terrorist organization by Ankara and Washington. But the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and its main group, the Peoples Protection Units, (YPG) have been major U.S. partners in the fight against IS, also known as ISIS.

Turkey said the two individuals who carried out the recent attack in Ankara had come from Syria. But Syrian Kurdish officials deny that.

Those two attackers were citizens of Turkey, Siyamend Ali, a spokesman for the YPG, told VOA in an interview. They had not crossed [into Turkey] from Syria. These claims are false.

A U.S. State Department spokesperson said Washington continues to advocate for de-escalation in northern Syria.

We recognize the legitimate security threat that the PKK poses to Turkey. The U.S. also remains concerned about the military escalation in northern Syria. In particular, we are concerned about the impact on civilian populations and the effect that it could place on the efforts that are ongoing to defeat ISIS, Vedant Patel, State Department deputy spokesperson, told reporters during a press briefing on Wednesday.

A Turkish Defense Ministry official said Thursday that Turkey could consider a new ground operation into Syria. Turkey has carried out several ground offensives against Syrian Kurdish groups in recent years.

This story originated in VOAs Kurdish Service. VOAs Zana Omer in Qamishli, Syria, and Robin Rushmore in Washington contributed to this story. Some information came from Reuters.
A Russian attack Thursday on a village in northeastern Ukraine killed at least 51 people and injured another six, Ukrainian authorities reported.

Presidential chief of staff Andrii Yermak and Kharkiv Gov. Oleh Syniehubov said a shop and a cafe in the village of Hroza, in the Kharkiv region, were hit in the early afternoon. A 6-year-old boy was among those killed, Syniehubov said, and a child was also among the wounded.

It was not immediately clear whether Russian forces had shelled the village or had fired a missile.

"The rescuers continue to work on the site," Synehubov said on the Telegram messaging app.

Officials posted footage of rescue workers clambering through smoldering rubble. Bodies lay alongside slabs of concrete and twisted metal.

Overnight, Ukraines military said Thursday it destroyed 24 of 29 drones launched by Russian forces directed at the Odesa, Mykolaiv and Kirohovrad regions.

The Hroza attack occurred as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was in Spain lobbying Western allies at a summit of about 50 European leaders for more military assistance to thwart Russias invasion, now in its 20th month.

"The Russian terror should be stopped, he said in a post on Telegram. "Now we are talking with European leaders, in particular, about strengthening our air defense, about strengthening our soldiers, about giving our country protection from terror.

Russia targeted Ukraines energy infrastructure last winter, leading to widespread power outages, effectively an attempt to demoralize Ukrainians during the coldest and darkest months of the year. Over time, the infrastructure was restored, but now Ukraine fears more infrastructure attacks are in the offing as winter approaches.

"The main challenge that we have is to save unity in Europe, Zelenskyy told reporters as he arrived for talks in Granada.

Zelenskyy said it is important for Ukraine to have a defending shield for the winter with Russia expected to carry out many attacks with missiles and Iranian drones.

He also cited what he said was 100% support from U.S. President Joe Biden as well as bipartisan support from the U.S. Congress, days after a short-term funding deal that excluded additional aid for Ukraine.

Biden called key Western allies on Tuesday to reassure them of continued American military support for Ukraine after a group of congressional Republicans forced the exclusion of immediate new funding for Kyiv.

The White House said Biden spoke with the leaders of Canada, Germany, Italy, Japan, Poland, Romania, Britain, and of the European Union and NATO, along with the foreign minister of France.

White House national security spokesman John Kirby said Biden reaffirmed the strong commitment of the United States to supporting Ukraine as it defends itself for as long as it takes, as did every other leader on the call.

Kirby said the leaders discussed efforts to continue providing Ukraine with the ammunition and the weapons systems that it needs to defend itself and to continue strengthening Ukrainian air defenses as they prepare for more attacks on critical infrastructure. Now, certainly, but also certainly in the winter months ahead, Kirby said.

Meanwhile, the U.S. military command said that it has sent about 1.1 million rounds of ammunition to Ukraine that American naval forces seized from Irans Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps last year as Tehran tried to transfer the ammunition to Houthi fighters in Yemen in violation of a United Nations Security Council resolution.

Some information for this story came from The Associated Press, Agence France-Presse and Reuters.
As the world eagerly awaits the Norwegian Nobel Institute's announcement Friday of the 2023 Nobel Peace Prize laureate, Afghan women have a stake in the results.

Though official nominee names remain under wraps, an Afghan American women's rights stalwart, Mahbouba Seraj, is reportedly among the contenders.

The Norwegian Peace Institute, independent from the Nobel Institute, disclosed its director's top five prize candidates last week, featuring both Seraj and an Iranian human rights activist, Narges Mohammadi.

Currently in California for medical care, Seraj, 75, told VOA that receiving the prestigious prize would bolster her persistent fight for women's rights in Afghanistan.

[The Taliban] cannot silence all voices  they may try, though, but someone has to speak up for the Afghan women inside the country, Seraj said, adding that she would soon return to Afghanistan, where she manages a local nongovernmental organization supporting women.

The Taliban have been accused of imposing a gender-apartheid regime on Afghanistan, denying women most human rights, including work, education and political representation.

Treatment of women criticized

Human rights groups say the Islamist regime detains, tortures and silences womens rights activists as part of its misogynistic rule. The Taliban deny such criticism.

Indeed, its risky to work for womens rights in Afghanistan, said Seraj, but someone has to be there to speak up for women. We have to take risks. There is no way around it.

Since the Taliban's 2021 resurgence, many prominent Afghan women who worked in high-profile jobs in the former Afghan government have fled the country, fearing Taliban persecution.

From abroad, some Afghan women have maintained a robust call for action against the Talibans restrictive policies.

We are tired of empty sympathy statements, Asila Wardak, a former Afghan diplomat and member of the Womens Forum on Afghanistan, said last month at an event at the U.N. General Assembly.

She urged the international community to undertake more meaningful actions to help support women inside Afghanistan.

Mahbouba Seraj has put her life in danger and is still running a shelter in Kabul and is raising womens voice, Wardak told VOA, adding that the Nobel Prize would empower and inspire Afghan women.

However, Seraj's candidacy has not been devoid of controversy. Ties to a 19th-century Afghan monarchy that allegedly suppressed local uprisings have led some activists to challenge her nomination.

Her royal lineage briefly led to her incarceration in 1978 during a Soviet-backed regime shift, subsequently pushing her to migrate to the United States. She lived in the U.S. until 2003, then returned to her native Afghanistan.

I will not leave Afghanistan again until my last breath, Seraj vowed.

While the Taliban have publicly invited all Afghans, including former government officials, back home promising no retribution, it is unclear how the regime will receive womens rights activists such as Seraj.
Senior U.S. officials including Secretary of State Antony Blinken were in Mexico on Wednesday for talks with Mexican officials on the drug trade and a humanitarian crisis at the U.S. southern border.

Blinken will be joined by Attorney General Merrick B. Garland and Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. The U.S. delegation is set to meet with Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador and Rosa Icela Rodriguez, secretary for Security and Citizen Protection.

The meeting comes at a time of rising tension between the two nations. The United States is in the middle of an epidemic of opioid addiction that claims more than 100,000 lives each year. Most of the deaths are attributable to fentanyl, a potent narcotic trafficked across the border by Mexico-based drug cartels.

At the same time, the U.S. southern border faces a daily deluge of migrants, often numbering in the thousands, who use Mexico as a jumping-off point for efforts to enter the U.S., either illegally or to apply for asylum as refugees.

The dual problem has led to calls from some U.S. political leaders for aggressive action, with a number of Republican candidates for the presidential nomination advocating military intervention.

Fentanyl charges

In an indication of the global nature of the fentanyl problem, Garland on Tuesday held a press conference at the Justice Department, announcing that charges had been filed against eight Chinese companies and 12 individuals for their roles in the sale of fentanyl precursors  the chemical compounds from which the drug is synthesized  to buyers in Mexico.

It was the second time since June that the U.S. has filed charges against Chinese firms supplying fentanyl precursors to criminal organizations in Mexico.

"We know who is responsible for poisoning the American people with fentanyl," Garland said. "And we know that this global fentanyl supply chain, which ends with the deaths of Americans, often starts with chemical companies in China."

Through August of this year, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency has seized more than 25,500 pounds of fentanyl entering the U.S., nearly double the amount seized in the same period last year. The amount of fentanyl seized in the U.S. is up 800% since 2019, according to the Homeland Security Department, with most of it coming from Mexico.

Unlike other drugs, such as cocaine and marijuana, whose raw materials need to be cultivated on hectares of farmland, fentanyl laboratories are small and easy to conceal. And because the drug is so potent  50 times more powerful than heroin  it also is easier to transport.

Additionally, the U.S. and Mexico are looking for ways to cooperate on the issue of human migration. In recent years, the flow of economic migrants and asylum-seekers through Mexico to the U.S. border has turned into a flood.

After plummeting to fewer than 500,000 during the coronavirus pandemic in 2020, attempts to cross the southern border, whether legally or illegally, have spiked in recent years. In 2021, U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials encountered 1.7 million people trying to cross the southern land border. That figure increased to 2.4 million in 2022, and the figures for 2023 are on track to be higher still.

Mexican resistance

Among other actions, the U.S. officials are expected to ask their Mexican counterparts to deploy more law enforcement personnel to interdict the shipments of fentanyl precursors and close down the labs where the drug is produced.

The reception is likely to be cool. The Mexican government, including Lopez Obrador, have been vocal in their criticism of U.S. politicians campaigning on issues related to drugs and immigration, accusing them of scapegoating their country for the United States' own problem.

Lopez Obrador has referred to the opioid epidemic in the U.S. as the result of "social decay."

U.S. responsibility

In an appearance at the University of Texas before traveling to Mexico on Wednesday, Blinken was careful not to place all the blame on Mexico and to emphasize the U.S. wants to retain good relations with its southern neighbor.

"Mexico is  our largest trading partner in the world," he said. "We want to preserve that. We want to preserve the connections, the bonds that tie us together."

He noted, "And we also have our share of responsibility. One of the things that drives the drug trade that comes here and hits us  and that facilitates it, is the influx of guns coming from the United States to Mexico. We have a responsibility to help them do something about that."

Major progress unlikely

Despite the presence of three senior Biden administration officials in Mexico, expectations for the two days of meetings are not particularly high, experts say.

Will Freeman, a fellow for Latin American studies at the Council on Foreign Relations, told VOA that similar meetings in 2021 and 2022 produced little significant policy change.

"The Biden administration tried to strike a pretty positive tone about cooperation, overlooking the fact that really, it's at ... a historic low point," he said.

"If we see that continuity from how this played out in the last meeting last year, what I think you'll see coming out of this is just doubling down on saying, 'Look, we're working together to disrupt chemical supplies, targeting fentanyl labs, prosecuting criminal figures involved in fentanyl production, whether or not that's really happening to the extent we'd like,'" Freeman said.

Military solution suggested

In recent public appearances, several prominent Republicans have suggested that when it comes to the drug trade, the U.S. military should be deployed into Mexico to battle the drug cartels.

In the Republican presidential primary, most of the candidates have expressed support for some version of a plan under which U.S. Special Operations forces would be sent into Mexico to fight the cartels.

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has on multiple occasions insisted that if he were elected president, cartel members trying to bring drugs over the border would be left "stone cold dead."

The calls for a military solution echo reports that while serving in the White House, former President Donald Trump explored the possibility of using missile strikes on Mexican territory to take out drug manufacturing facilities.

Freeman, of the Council on Foreign Relations, told VOA that unilateral military action is "a terrible idea" that would "break down diplomatic relations with our top trade partner" and would create an opening for China, which is trying to increase its influence in the region.

"There would be no quicker way to increase China's appeal and maybe deepen ties between China and countries in the region than an invasion of Mexico," he said.
Judge rules TQL violated federal law, owes thousands of former employees overtime pay. (Photo: Shutterstock)

A federal judge has ruled that Total Quality Logistics  the second-largest freight brokerage in the U.S.  violated federal law and owes overtime pay to thousands of former employees who worked more than 40 hours a week.

Judge Michael Barrett of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio issued his ruling on Sept. 26, almost 18 months after a 12-day bench trial ended in early March 2022. He ordered TQL to pay overtime wages to the employees but also ruled TQL must pay an additional amount equal to the actual damages.

Barrett also found Ken Oaks, chief executive and co-founder of TQL, personally liable.

Bruce H. Meizlish, the lead attorney from Cincinnati, called Barretts ruling a huge win for more than 4,500 members of the class-action suit against TQL.

At this point, we dont know what the actual damages number could be, Meizlish told FreightWaves. We are going to argue that they are owed time and a half for every hour worked over 40.

Read related article here: Judge delays trial date in TQL overtime class-action lawsuit

Members of the class, who include more than 4,500 logistics account executive trainees (LAETs) and logistics account executives (LAEs), worked for TQL in Ohio from September 2008 to mid-April 2016.





These trainees are expected to spend at least six months conducting sales calls for freight brokers, earning between $36,000 and $38,000, before they are even considered to make the move from salary to a commission-based pay system.

However, former TQL employees told FreightWaves that only around 5% actually make it once they transition to a commission-only system.

Former employees told FreightWaves they were expected to work more than 60 hours per week to meet sales goals. They were also expected to be available 24 hours per day, seven days a week to increase TQLs customer base and to respond to customer problems or questions at all times.

Its been 13 years since Meizlish filed suit against TQL and Oaks in September 2010.

Story continues

TQL tried to decertify the class multiple times, he said.

Oaks turned to TIA for guidance about exemption

In his testimony during the 12-day bench trial, Oaks acknowledged it was his idea to classify LAETs and junior LAEs as salaried employees and exempt from overtime after conducting research and seeking guidance from the Transportation Intermediaries Association (TIA), a trade group that represents thousands of freight brokers in the U.S.

I did my research and thats what the association advised us, their experts advised us, and thats what other top brokers in the industry did, Oaks said during his cross-examination.

Reached for comment about the possible impact the ruling against TQL could have on its freight brokerage members with similar business models, Anne Reinke, president and CEO of TIA, said, TIA is disappointed with the judges decision in the class action lawsuit against TQL, as it relates to the Fair Labor Standards Act and the Ohio Minimum Wage Standards Act.

This unfortunate precedent could stifle hiring and innovation among TIA members, Reinke told FreightWaves in a statement. TIA will continue to track the progress of this case as it proceeds.

In his testimony, Oaks said he wasnt sure if he consulted with TIAs attorneys or with TIA staff members prior to his decision.

TIA is kind of like  I dont know what you call them  the governing organization of brokers in the United States, Oaks said.

The plaintiffs attorney responded, Its a trade organization, right? to which Oaks responded, That is correct.

As of publication late Wednesday, TQL had not responded to FreightWaves request for comment.

What ruling means for brokers?

Matthew Leffler, known as the Armchair Attorney, said this is a major ruling against TQL and claims it will have substantial fallout for TQL and other freight brokerages that exempt trainees from overtime pay.

This could be the beginning of the end of their business model, Leffler told FreightWaves.

TQL argued that its LAETS and junior LAEs were exempt from the FLSA overtime requirements because the tasks they performed were administrative duties.

However, Leffler said TQL failed to prove that their jobs were directly related to the management or general business operations of TQL and its customers.

These people had little independence over their ability to make a living, he said.

The question is what these people are actually doing, Leffler said. They are making cold calls, they are really out there prospecting to get business and theyre managing transportation to an extent from their mentors book of business, he said. The judge found that their job duties are not directly related to the management or general business operations of TQL or TQLs customers.

Whats next?

TQL, which is a privately held firm, posted revenues of around $8.8 billion in 2022. As of 2016, Oaks was listed as Cincinnatis wealthiest person, with a net worth estimated at $980 million, according to Forbes.

Meizlish said the suit is considered a hybrid action because he sued under federal and state law. The Fair Labor Standards Act provides for liquidated damages, which is an amount equal to the amount of actual damages recovered, but the state statute  the Ohio Minimum Wage Standards Act  doesnt permit for the recovery of extra damages.

In Barretts ruling, he directed the parties to meet and confer and file a joint submission outlining the briefing schedule for damages, pre-and post-judgment interest and costs and reasonable attorneys fees.

Meizlish joked that he had hoped to be retired by now but that it isnt happening anytime soon.

This case has dragged on for 13 years so I really dont have a clear timeframe for what happens next, he said. I feel bad for these people. Oftentimes, this was their first employment experience and they all seem kind of scarred by it.

If you have a news tip or a story to share, please send me an email or message me @cage_writer on X. Your name will not be used in any follow-up article without your permission.

Read more articles here:

Judge delays trial date in TQL overtime class-action lawsuit

TQL: Bully on the block?



The post Judge rules TQL owes thousands of former employees overtime pay appeared first on FreightWaves.
The United States is casting doubt on Chinas willingness to launch a blockade of Taiwan as part of any effort by Beijing to take the island by force.

Chinas military has staged multiple drills, most recently this past April, which state media described as efforts to simulate a possible blockade. But a top Pentagon official said Thursday that any attempt by China to carry out a blockade in real life could backfire badly.

The cost for Beijing looks very high, and the risk looks very, very high, Ely Ratner, the Defense Departments assistant secretary for Indo-Pacific security affairs, told an audience in Washington.

What happens the very minute that the PRC starts mounting a blockade against Taiwan? The global economy falls through the floor, he said. There will be no one immune from the economic pain that the PRC [Peoples Republic of China] would place on the world.

Ratner said the devastating economic impact of a blockade would also likely rally the international community around Taipei and against Beijing.

He also warned that despite Chinas military advances, the Pentagon does not assess that Beijing has the capability of completely sealing off the island.

We think that Taiwan would still have options on its own and with the international community to deliver the kind of industrial supplies and raw materials, food and energy it would need to sustain its society, Ratner said, which would likely put the Chinese military in a difficult position.

Ultimately, it would be up to Beijing to decide whether it wanted to start attacking commercial vessels to sustain a blockade, he said. The risk of escalation is extremely high.

Ratner is not alone in questioning Chinas appetite for a military conflict.

The director of the U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency said late Wednesday that Russias invasion of Ukraine, now dragging into its 18th month, may be giving Chinese President Xi Jinping reason to pause.

If he is watching Ukraine carefully, he will realize how hard that is, Lt. Gen. Scott Berrier said during an event outside Washington. He's probably thinking about his [own] general officer corps and all of his services [and] thinking, Do these guys have the grit and the know-how and the resilience to be able to do this?

Their last war was in 1979 with Vietnam, he said. That didn't go as well as they wanted it to. And so, there are probably some doubts in their mind right now.

The comments from Berrier and Rater come as the Pentagon is preparing to release its annual China Military Power report.

Last years report warned China had doubled its nuclear weapons arsenal to more than 400 warheads and was on pace to field about 1,500 nuclear warheads by 2035.

The 2022 report also warned of Chinas increasing number of unsafe and unprofessional encounters with the U.S. military and its allies and partners across the Indo-Pacific region.

The Defense Departments Ratner said Thursday the United States is continuing to watch Chinas nuclear build-up carefully.

We are concerned about the lack of transparency," he said, adding it is one of the reasons the Pentagon continues to push Beijing for open lines of communication between high-level U.S. and Chinese military officials.

"We are not where we need to be and not where we should be, Ratner said, adding that high-level communication between top Pentagon officials and their counterparts in Beijing have been largely turned off over the last year.

Top Chinese officials have stated publicly that they seek a peaceful solution to the question of Taiwan, but that China will not flinch from provocations.

U.S. military and intelligence officials assess that Chinas military has been ordered to be ready to take Taiwan by force, perhaps as early as 2025, but that the Chinese government and Xi Jinping have not made a decision on whether to order an invasion.

The United States has a One China policy, which acknowledges that Beijing considers Taiwan to be part of China. The U.S., however, considers Taiwans status unsettled and sends military aid to the self-governed island to help it defend itself.
A 29-year-old-woman from Zimbabwe is a social media sensation after making a name for herself as one of Europes top truck drivers. The achievement is one for the books for Sikhanyisiwe Tazvitya, who was once a maid in Zimbabwes capital, Harare.

Popularly known as @Laydytruckerzim, Sikhanyisiwe Tazvitya, is a proud trucker in Warsaw, Poland, where she now lives and works. With over 100,000 Facebook followers, the former maid turned earthmoving equipment operator, says she is proud of her achievement.

I started as a maid in Harare and then I decided to upgrade myself to Earthmoving Equipment Operator, but it was not easy because my salary was very little but through dedication and asking for help from my family and that's when my life changed. Now I am a truck driver., she said.

Tazvitya says that she didnt want to settle as an earthmoving equipment operator and decided to pursue a training course in the male-dominated field of driving. The Earthmoving job did not stop me from wanting more, I did it all and still saved up for Truck Driving Training, and here we are today, doing what most men are failing to do. This is my story and now I live in Poland."

To many men and women who have followed her journey, Tazvitya has been an inspiration. Fellow Zimbabwean, Hope Magara of the Midlands, who also now lives in Poland, says she is now a trucker thanks to Tazvitya. She said, Sikhanyisiwe was my first driver, trainer and mentor, now I am here in Poland working, she is very kind and a blessing. It is doable. To other women out there, If I can do it, so can you. Never give up.

Fellow Zimbabwean Zamani Dhlodhlo, is already working as a truck driver in South Africa, but is planning to join Tazvitya in Poland. Through her @LadytruckerZim Facebook page, Tazvitya has been helping many like Dhlodhlo process documents to work abroad. Mr Dhlodhlo said, I am a truck driver in South Africa, I have already completed my application process. I have my work permit ready, I am just waiting on my visa and I will be off to Poland. Many companies in Europe have no idea how much of a treasure Tazvitya is because as she helps us, she is also helping them with their labor needs.

As a single mother of two children, Tazvitya says she wants to see more women succeed in anything they pursue by staying true to their dreams. Believe in yourself, take calculated risks, work hard, take care of yourself, stay true to yourself and ignore negativity. Surround yourself with people who are supportive of your goals. Stay hungry, fight harder and never give up. We can do this, and dont forget to pray.

For now, Tazvitya has no plans to leave the trucking business anytime soon and hopes to continue inspiring others.
Former Zambian Vice President, Nevers Sekwila Mumba, has been tapped to lead the Electoral Observation Mission (EOM) of the Electoral Institute for Sustainable Democracy in Africa (EISA), which has deployed long term and short-term teams of observers to Liberia.

Mumba recently headed the Southern African Development Community Electoral Observer Mission to Zimbabwe where his team became the first SADC observer mission to call out shortcomings in the electoral processes in the just-ended August elections.

EISA is a not-for-profit organization promoting credible elections, citizen participation, and strong political institutions for sustainable democracy in Africa.

Its missions have in the past been led by former presidents and technical experts including former presidents Goodluck Jonathan of Nigeria, John Dramani Mahama (Ghana), Caasam Uteem (Mauritius).

In an exclusive interview with VOA Zimbabwe Services Blessing Zulu, Mumba said he would be working alongside observers from the African Union and ECOWAS to ensure that nation conducts credible elections.

Meanwhile, a United Nations Human Rights Office spokesperson in Liberia, Seif Magango, has raised concern with reports of pre-election violence. In a statement, Magango said, We are concerned by reported instances of election-related violence, use of language that could amount to hate speech, and attacks on journalists in Liberia ahead of the general election on 10 October.

Violent clashes between supporters of the opposition Unity Party and the ruling Coalition for Democratic Change (CDC) last month left at least two people dead and 20 others injured in Foya, Lofa County.

The UN says there have also been outbreaks of electoral violence in Nimba, Montserrado and Grand Cape Mount counties. Eight attacks on journalists by various political actors, two of which led to injuries, have been documented by the United Nations.
The laid-off workers rallying outside the skyscraper formerly known as the John Hancock Center to demand pay and benefits Wednesday held up signs listing how many years they had worked at the Signature Room, the iconic Chicago restaurant that abruptly closed Sept. 28.

Bartender Jesus Abelars had the highest number. 46 anos, it read.

No one hinted the 95th floor restaurant and its 96th floor lounge would close when Abelar worked there the night before layoffs blindsided about 130 workers last Thursday, he said. The news shocked him, and hes wondering how hell pay bills and go to the doctor.

For nearly five decades, he had made friends, joking with customers at his bar, where many loved his unmashed Old Town Old-Fashioned and seats were often full, he said. He hopes a new owner reopens the spot and rehires him and his colleagues.

I miss it. I really miss it, he told the Tribune after the rally. I would like to come back. Im a professional bartender. Im not starting to learn.

The Unite Here Local 1 union that represents the workers filed a lawsuit Monday alleging employees werent given proper notice of the layoffs before the restaurant and lounge shuttered.

The lawsuit accuses owners Infusion Management Group of violating the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act, which requires certain large employers to provide written notice of certain business closures or mass layoffs at least 60 days in advance. The company must pay the workers 60 days pay and benefits, it argues.

The companys owners, Rick Roman and Nick Pyknis, cited economic hardship related to the COVID-19 pandemic in a public statement announcing the unexpected closure. Infusion was awarded $4.4 million in Paycheck Protection Program loans in 2020 and 2021. Most of the money was for payroll and has since been forgiven, records show.

Unite Here Local 1 also filed a complaint with the Illinois Department of Labor Tuesday, a department spokesperson confirmed.

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Roman and Pyknis could not be immediately reached for comment.

As workers described what the sudden closure meant to them, Local 1 President Karen Kent called the shutdown both illegal and immoral.

It is a disgrace. The callous disregard that they have shown these workers is a disgrace and it is shameful, Kent said. We are here today with one simple request: that the Signature Room follow the law. That they pay these workers what theyre owed.

Kent said it was unclear how long it would take for the lawsuits to play out, but pledged to take every avenue in pursuing compensation. If a new operator opens in the high-rise restaurant, they should rehire the laid-off workers, she said.

Nina Hernandez worked at the restaurant for 18 years, she said. She got the job when her son was 4 months old and raised him by herself with the money she earned, she continued.

She saw the citys skyline change over the years she worked there. She was scheduled to work an early shift the day she found out via email that her workplace had closed.

I was completely hurt. We all were. It really hurt to be so blindsided, she said. They robbed us of the opportunity to say goodbye.

Carlos Aguinaga worked at the Signature Room for 25 years, he said in Spanish. He started as a dishwasher and worked his way up to cook, he said.

I love my job because we help people celebrate beautiful moments in their lives, Aguinaga said via a translator.

The restaurants closure was shocking, he said.

Everything had seemed normal. The day before, I was placing food orders, and we were preparing for upcoming events, including a wedding, he continued.

When he got to work, Aguinagas key card didnt work. Then, he saw a notice announcing the closure on the door, he said. He worries about how hell pay for his daughters college, he said.

It feels very sad and frustrating that the company turned their backs on us and treated us as if we mean nothing. Its very stressful to think about losing our health care coverage. Our bills and rent payments are still due. We had no time to save money, Aguinaga said.

Line cook Martin Torres sauteed, fried and prepped food at the restaurant, he told the Tribune after the rally. His best dish was the fish, he said.

He got into cooking after being involved with gangs as a younger man, he said. It took years to secure a job at a nicer restaurant such as the Signature Room, he added. He worked at the restaurant for five years. It made him proud, he said.

Everything was pretty much taken from me, Torres said. I feel wrongly done. And not just for myself, but for my co-workers, especially the ones who have been here years and years. All they know is this place.

Torres wife told him not to worry about immediately finding a new job. He appreciates her trying to take the pressure off, he said. Still, hes already started to look for work, he added.
Photo-Illustration: Alicia Tatone; Photos courtesy of the subjects.

This week, were highlighting 25 talented writers and performers for Vultures annual list The Comedians You Should and Will Know. Our goal is to introduce a wider audience to the talent that has the comedy community and industry buzzing. (You can read more about our methodology at the link above.) We asked the comedians on the list to answer a series of questions about their work, performing, goals for the future, and more. Next up is Asha Ward.

Tell us a story from your childhood you think explains why you ended up becoming a comedian.

I used to get kicked out of class a lot for laughing. I remember once I moved schools, and on my last day, at the end of the day, my teacher pulled me aside and told me she was glad I was leaving because I would make whoever I sat next to in class laugh too much. She moved me around the room multiple times, but no matter who I sat next to, we would be laughing too loud and not paying attention  which is interesting, because I was never popular or the class-clown type. I was obsessed with marching band and primarily wore graphic T-shirts from the mens section of Five Below. I was a weirdo in a very classical sense, so people didnt really talk to me unless they had to. So I kind of made it my mission to prove to whoever was assigned to sit next to me: No, actually, youre wrong, Im cool and funny.

What unscripted or reality series do you think youd excel at? What archetype do you think youd be?

Probably Jersey Shore, because I use a bunch of hair gel and I love being in groups of eight to ten people. I was also born to party and not go to work on time. My archetype would be nonbinary Snooki or the female Pauly D, because I am a jester and I dont like to be in drama, but I do love to be in the room while its happening.

Whats your proudest achievement of your comedy career so far?

Im the youngest writer at Saturday Night Live! Less than a year ago, I was a receptionist and doing stand-up at bars at night. So its very cool and almost surreal.

I graduated in 2021 right on the back end of quarantine. As a result of the pandemic, a lot of comedy institutions and underground comedy venues in Chicago had shut down, and many comedians there were moving to either L.A. or New York. I had no idea what I was gonna do with myself, so I moved back in with my dad in Baltimore and started working this virtual job that sucked. The plan was to save up and move to New York to pursue comedy, but they fired me after three weeks because I was bad at it.

I was at a point where I was sort of just rotting in my bedroom, so I was like. Fuck it! I lied on my resume and said I lived in Brooklyn and applied for this dental receptionist job. They asked me if I could come in for an interview the next day. I was like three states over and said, Yeah, no problem. Then I got on a bus, went to the interview, and got hired. It sounds super-cliche, but I moved the next week with like a suitcase and $100 to my name. I crashed with my aunt in Queens for a month until I made enough money to rent a room in Brooklyn. Then when I moved to Brooklyn, I started doing open mics again, and things just started rolling from there.

Doing comedy in a new city is definitely challenging because youre essentially starting from the bottom. I was a part of the scene in Chicago, but in New York, nobody knew who I was, so I had to sort of prove myself again, which was super-daunting. New York comedy also operates at a different level and speed than Chicago because of the sheer amount of mics, rooms, and other comedians. Its a little more difficult to stand out here, and that pushed me to become better.

I was spending more time doing comedy, which was great, but I was also waking up at 6 a.m. every day to work my day job six days a week and then doing shows at night. I was averaging around four hours of sleep a night. I knew that lifestyle was not sustainable, but I had a feeling something would come of it.

I got a meeting with Ego Nwodim to talk about writing for her, and they hired me mid-season. It was crazy and superfast. I was clocking in as a receptionist on Monday, and by Saturday the same week, a sketch I helped write was being aired on live television. I later found out one of the writing supervisors, Gary Richardson, saw me do stand-up and got me the SNL audition and pushed for me superhard. So shout-out Gary and Ego! Working at SNL can be super-intense and stressful, but I am legit having the most fun in my life there. Anytime I get paid to be funny, Im still like, Wow, I cant believe this is real.

What have you learned about your own joke-writing process that you didnt know when you started?

I love a one-liner. I used to try so hard to make my jokes longer and try to tell stories, but thats just not me. I just want the meat and potatoes of it. I love to cut jokes down to the least amount of words possible so its as quick and as punchy as possible. Its like, Yes, girl, shut up!

I used to approach writing in a way where I was like, I want to talk about this subject  let me think of funny things to say under that umbrella. Now I write the punch line first and find a way to set it up later, sort of like a puzzle. Im always thinking, How do I take this one line and connect it to the greater whole of my personal identity? How do I take this dumb thing I just said and make it art?

I went to college for comedy, so I was constantly being told rules about how you should do it  like joke structure, how you should act onstage, how you should hold the mic, the volume you should speak into it  and Ive noticed I tend to stray away from those rules. I do pretty much everything my professors told me not to, and its been working out well. Overall, the more I do comedy, the less I think about what it should be and the more I think about what I personally want to create. Something I always ask myself when writing is, Do I like this, or does this just sound like something a comedian would say?

Tell us everything about your worst show ever. (This can involve venue, audience, other comedians on the lineup, anything!)

The worst show I ever did was in the back of a super-cold bar. Only one guy showed up as the audience. The host of the show didnt cancel, he made us do the show for one man. He did a 15-minute host set, and the guy didnt laugh once. It was so surreal. I did a protest set where I told one new joke, asked the guy if he liked it, then I said to the other comedians, You know we dont have to do this, right? We can maybe all just get a drink and talk to each other like humans.

Nobody was in a good mood. It was terrible. The guy stayed the whole time, though! I dont know why comedians are like that, but we will do a set no matter how bad the vibes are. I am no stranger to a bad show  its all good fun. The power went out on the first show I was ever booked on. I did my set with no mic under the flashlight of an iPhone. It was low-key magical. And not to brag, but I kind of murdered.

Lets say we live in a Kings of Catchphrase Comedy alternate dimension where every single comedian is required to have a hit catchphrase. Whats yours and why?

And thats on cooter! I love the word cooter. I think its so funny, and my favorite jokes are when Im talking about my pussy for some reason. This is a silly question. If I cant say cooter on Vulture, can I say cooch? And If I cant say cooch, I guess my catchphrase would be Thats just where Im at. Sometimes I say things and Im just like, Yeah  Thats just where Im at.

Nominate one comedian you dont know personally you think is overdue for wider recognition and why youre a fan of their work.

Richard Perez. Ive seen Richard perform multiple times, and every time, I am always entranced. He has such a captivating stage presence, and what he does is so unique. I still have yet to see anything like it. Its not stand-up, not sketch  I dont know what to call it; you have to see it for yourself. He does a solo show called I Have to Do This thats directed by Charlie Bardey, who is also super-talented. Richard is just someone who is proper silly, and he doesnt even have to say a word to make you laugh. Its quite magical. I am a hard-core Richard stan.

When it comes to your comedy opinions  about material, performing, audience, trends you want to kill/revive, the industry, etc.  what hill will you die on?

I hate Instagram stand-up Reels. Ive posted some and probably will again, but I hate it. When I go on Instagram, I want to see what my acquaintances are eating for lunch, I want to see photo dumps, I want to see Family Guy memes. I dont want to see stand-up, but maybe thats just me. We live in the age of content now, so we have to do that sometimes to sell tickets, etc. But I love going on a comedians Instagram and seeing them be normal. Its so refreshing.

If you had to come onstage to just one song for the rest of your life, what song would it be and why?

COSY, by Ayrtn. Because its a cool song, not too slow, not too hype, and I love British rappers.

What is the best comedy advice, and then the worst comedy advice, youve ever received, either when you were starting out or more recently?

Worst: Some old man told me my material had to appeal to a mass audience, and good jokes are supposed to work everywhere. I disagree. Sometimes you get booked to do a show in the middle of central Illinois for a bunch of 60-year-old veterans, and they dont know what astrology is. Does that mean your material about you being a Scorpio is bad? No! These guys just dont know whats going on.

I enjoy making what I personally like and writing jokes I find funny. People who resonate will find you, and then youll have a community of your people supporting you. I would much rather be authentic and appeal to 20 people who get me as opposed to doing something outside of myself in order to appeal to 100 people who dont.

Best: This is more recent. A couple years ago, someone gave me this advice: You should never be the best in the room. If you want to grow, you should surround yourself with people who are better than you.
Photo: Will Heath/NBC

And now, a sentence with many acronyms: The WGA and the AMPTP have an interim agreement, which means the WGA strike is over and SNL can return. Got all that? Saturday Night Live will return to NBC for the first time since the writers strike caused the untimely demise of season 48 in April. The show will return on October 14, marking its 49th season. Our first host back is Pete Davidson, who was scheduled to host the episode that got canned due to the strike. Hes had an  eventful time in the meanwhile, so we look forward to a monologue mostly about Staten Island. Plus, theres musical guest Ice Spice, who, judging by her awards-worthy performance in that Dunkin ad, should definitely appear in some sketches. You just know Lorne Michaels is a munch.

Despite the Screen Actors Guild still being on strike, SNL can begin again because the performers are actually on a different contract. Rather than working on the show under a SAG-AFTRA contract, the cast members on SNL work as members of SAG Net Code (Network Television Code), which covers talk and reality performers. So, for the same reason that late-night show hosts can return, SNL performers can get back to work. There is some question as to whether they can do non-live pretaped sketches, but the late-night shows seem to be allowed to do them, so thats likely not an issue.

Musician Bad Bunny will pull double duty the following week, both hosting and being the musical guest. New face Chloe Troast is joining the cast as a featured player. We are not sure what kind of chemistry Bad Bunny will have with the SNL cast, but we could see a love connection with Sarah Squirm.

This story has been updated with additional information regarding the Hollywood strikes.
A class action lawsuit against the makers of Texas Pete hot sauce was dismissed Wednesday.

The lawsuit alleged that the branding of Texas Pete, which is made in North Carolina by TW Garner Food Co., was deceptive and led the named plaintiff, Phillip White of Los Angeles, to be willing to pay more for the sauce than if it was not marketed as being from Texas.

"Since the lawsuit was filed, we have remained steadfast in our position that our product labels and trademark are truthful and not misleading in any respect, and that the lawsuit had no merit," Ann Garner Riddle President and CEO of TW Garner Food Co. said in a Thursday press release.

The sauce was named in 1929 by the company's founder Sam Garner when he combined the suggestion of a marketing advisor with the nickname of one of his sons, according to the company's website.

"The company have always been proud of and made no secret about its North Carolina heritage," Caroline Mankey, a lawyer representing TW Garner Food Co., said.

USA Today reached out to the lawyers representing White and will update this story if there is a response.

Food lawsuits: McDonald's and Wendy's false burger advertising lawsuits tossed

Not White's first rodeo

This is not the first time White has been a plaintiff in a class action case.

In 2020 White filed suit against GlaxoSmithKline for claiming that their Benefiber probiotic product was "100% Natural" when the lawsuit alleged that it was, "created using a multi-step chemical process that fundamentally alters the natural source ingredient into a non-natural, synthetic ingredient. The case was settled in 2021.

In 2021 White filed suit against Kroger alleging that the company partook in "greenwashing" by labeling their sunscreens "Reef Friendly." The case was dismissed earlier this year.

White was also a co-plaintiff in a federal suit brought against Whole Foods Market, Inc., Whole Foods Market Group, Inc. and its operators in California alleging that the company intentionally mislead consumers about the amount of macaroni and cheese in its 365 Shells & Cheese product. The court dismissed Whole Foods Market, Inc., based in Texas and Whole Foods Market Group, based in Delaware, on jurisdictional grounds and dismissed the case between the California operaters referring it to state courts.

Food lawsuits: Taco Bell sued over amount of meat, beans in Mexican pizzas, crunch wraps

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Texas Pete lawsuit dismissed, not first class action for plaintiff
Attorneys for Mike Lindell and MyPillow are asking a court to approve their withdrawal from representing him, saying in a court document on Thursday that the election conspiracy theorist and his bedding company owe them "millions of dollars" in fees.

The attorneys asked the court to approve their request to drop representation, noting that Lindell and MyPillow "are unable to get out of arrears and will be unable to pay for future fees and costs."

In an interview with CBS MoneyWatch, Lindell said he can't afford to pay the attorneys' monthly costs  which he said amounted to $2 million  after spending millions of his own funds and as his company struggles with a downturn. He noted that his company lost about $7 million last year after big-box stores like Walmart dropped his line of bedding. He also noted his line of credit at American Express was cut earlier this year.

"I have $10,000 to my name"

"We're not able to pay  I can't borrow money to pay these attorneys. MyPillow can't pay because of what happened" with lost sales, Lindell said. "I have $10,000 to my name."

The lawyers had represented Lindell, a vocal supporter of former President Donald Trump, and MyPillow in defamation cases filed by voting machine makers Smartmatic and Dominion Voting Systems, as well as a former Dominion executive.

The voting machine companies are alleging Lindell made false claims about rigged voting machines. A similar defamation case against Fox News by Dominion led to a record $787.5 million settlement earlier this year.

Lindell reiterated his commitment to the lawsuits, saying he "will never, ever settle with these rotten companies."

Still, he added that he didn't blame his attorneys for seeking to withdraw representation. "They have families  it is what it is," he said.

MyPillow auction

The legal move comes after MyPillow auctioned off more than 700 pieces of company equipment, ranging from forklifts to office desks and cubicles, in July.

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At the time, Lindell said in interview with CBS Minneapolis, that the auction reflected a change from big box and mall store sales to a direct-to-consumer approach. He said MyPillow had to work quickly after stores like Walmart and Bed Bath & Beyond "canceled" his product and that the company had a large amount of inventory with which to deal.

On Thursday, Lindell said that news about his legal and business issues had scared some of his suppliers, causing additional problems. At this point, he said he's hoping for a sales boost from the holiday season, with the company rolling out new products like two new types of towels, which should arrive at his company in three weeks.

"I just had to give my company a pep talk and say, 'We have three weeks to make it and these three weeks will be very hard,'" Lindell said.

Slow payments

In a court filing, the attorneys said that Lindell and MyPillow paid on time until the end of 2022, but then payments "began to slow" in 2023.

"In addition, around this time, litigation fees and costs dramatically increased," the attorneys said in the document. "In May 2023, payments slowed to more than 60 days and began to be only partial payments."

The law firm, Parker Daniels Kibort, or PDK, said that it hasn't received any payment for its July and August invoices, and that it warned Lindell and MyPillow that it would drop its representation if payment wasn't made. The motion to withdraw was made after Lindell informed PDK on October 2 that they couldn't make good on the payment, the filing said.

Meanwhile, Lindell on Thursday vowed to continue with his legal fight surrounding the voting machines.

"Would I do it again? Absolutely," he said. "I spent $50 million of my own money. It's all gone. But I would do it again."
The tiny Sicilian island continues to respond with simplicity and humanity to the challenge of sea arrivals.

One of the most striking things about Lampedusa is how the different aspects of its identity  fishing island, summer tourist destination and first port of safety for refugees fleeing violence and persecution and economic migrants seeking better opportunities in Europe  sit comfortably together.

On the first Sunday in October, coast guard and finance police boats used in patrols and search and rescue missions are berthed in the harbour alongside small pleasure boats bobbing gently on their moorings, while fishing trawlers are at anchor in the bay. In the commercial port, cars, lorries and passengers, including migrants and refugees, are on the quayside waiting to board a ferry bound for Porto Empedocle on mainland Sicily. The roar of engine noise can be heard as an aircraft flies out of the small airport nearby.

The signs of Lampedusas vocation as the place of arrival for many people making the dangerous sea crossing from north Africa to Italy are everywhere to be seen. The port is littered with the rotting carcasses of small wooden fishing vessels or rusting metal boats, some still containing the material leftovers of the journey: empty plastic bottles and fuel cannisters, tyre inner tubes, clothes, shoes, infant life jackets. The very topography of the island, with its steep, craggy cliffs in the north and white sandy beaches and shallow waters to the south, seems almost an invitation to land.

Migrant boat cemetery. Photos by Laura Clarke.

There are also the signs of the tragedies that play out in its waters on a regular basis. They are visible in the New Hope monument to the victims of the shipwreck of 3 October 2013, in which 368 refugees, almost exclusively from Eritrea, lost their lives, and in the Porta dEuropa on the islands southernmost point, a 2008 monument designed by Mimmo Paladino to resemble a doorway and representing the gateway to Europe.

They are visible in the Cala Pisana cemetery east of the town, which has a special section for migrants and refugees, many of whom have unnamed graves. They are visible in the Museo della fiducia e del dialogo per il Mediterraneo in Piazza Castello with its display of personal belongings of shipwreck victims.

The Porta d'Europa monument representing the gateway to Europe.

However, there is no migrant crisis on Lampedusa. Recent reports of tension and chaos due to a sudden peak in the number of sea arrivals and the prevailing narrative of an invasion simply do not correspond to the reality on this barren landmass extending over barely 20 square kilometres that is closer to Tunisia than it is to Italy.

Lampedusa has been receiving refugees and economic migrants  alive and dead  for decades, and it has done so with a simplicity and humanity that, as local mayor Flippo Mannino said eloquently at a ceremony marking the tenth anniversary of the 3 October 2013 shipwreck, continues to be a lesson to Italy and the rest of Europe.

Students from all over Italy and Europe gather at the Porta d'Europa monument for the official commemoration.

Of course there are difficulties, and not everyone on the island of 6,000 people is sympathetic to the migrant and refugee cause, as testified by protests coinciding with a visit by Italys right-wing prime minister Giorgia Meloni and European Commission President Ursula Von der Leyen following a sudden surge in landings in September, or by the graffiti that appeared on the Porta dEuropa ahead of the 3 October commemorations attended by survivors, relatives of the victims, representatives of international and civil society organisations, religious authorities, local administrators and over 200 students from all over Italy and Europe who had flown into Lampedusa for a three-day formative event organised by the Comitato 3 Ottobre to promote a culture of solidarity, activism and respect for human rights.

Migrant and refugee arrivals by sea in Italy have almost doubled this year from the same period in 2022, according to interior ministry figures. The increase can be explained by a combination of factors including economic and social crises, new or ongoing conflict, climate change, good sailing weather and a crackdown on sub-Saharan Africans in Tunisia, this year the country of departure for over two thirds of the migrants and refugees arriving in Italy. Indeed so far in 2023 the two most common countries of origin of sea arrivals are Guinea and Ivory Coast, respectively at 14 per cent and 13 per cent, followed by Tunisia at 11 per cent. Last year Ivory Coast, then the top-ranking country of origin in sub-Saharan Africa, stood at 3 per cent.

Of the 134,162 arrivals recorded as of 2 October 2023, approximately 70 per cent have disembarked on Lampedusa, creating significant operational and logistical problems for the island and putting the limited local reception capacity under strain.

Abandoned metal boat of the kind increasingly used in the crossing from Tunisia.

However, the national and local authorities have responded to the pressure by reorganising the first-line reception centre, or hotspot, under new Italian Red Cross management to ensure adequate accommodation and assistance for hundreds  and sometimes even thousands  of people on a temporary basis and setting up a system of swift and systematic transfers off the island by plane or ferry to reception facilities in other parts of Sicily and mainland Italy. Consequently, except in situations of exceptional numbers of arrivals, the activities of sea rescue, disembarkation and transfer now seem to function like a well-oiled machine.

So on the evening of 2 October, as tourists thronged Lampedusas main thoroughfare, students gathered for a concert by Africa inspired artist Sandro Joyeux in Piazza Castello overlooking the harbour and islanders went about their ordinary business, few people noticed the disembarkation  the fifth that day  underway at the Favaloro quay following the arrival in port of a boat from Libya carrying around 40 people from Syria, Bangladesh, Sudan, Afghanistan and Morocco. The new arrivals underwent a brief medical triage and screening for vulnerabilities and protection needs and were served water and biscuits before being ushered onto small buses and taken to the hotspot  all in the space of under an hour.

It is therefore only fair to say that the real emergency lies elsewhere.

It lies in the failure of states and of the international community to adequately address the issues that spur migration, through conflict resolution and promotion of human rights, by tackling the climate crisis and by creating adequate economic opportunities in countries of origin and transit so that people do not feel they have no other option but to leave.

Survivors of the 3 October 2013 shipwreck. Relatives of the victims and representatives of the Comitato 3 Ottobre lead a procession to mark the tenth anniversary in Lampedusa town.

It lies in the central Mediterranean which, despite the cries of Never again! that followed the 3 October 2013 shipwreck and another one also off Lampedusa just eight days later on 11 October in which 268 Syrian refugees died, continues to count its dead: approximately 22,300 of the 28,000 dead and missing in the Mediterranean since 2013 have lost their lives in this stretch of sea, according to UNHCR figures. Despite the concerted efforts of the Italian authorities and civil rescue fleet, in the continued absence of a state-led European search and rescue mission the crossing from Tunisia and Libya to Italy remains one of the deadliest migration routes in the world.

And it lies in the refusal of many national governments, including Italys own, to see migration for what it is: a structural phenomenon requiring structural responses. Policies oriented towards repression and border control, aimed at keeping people out or at making it more difficult for them to stay on a legal basis once they have arrived, have the net effect of creating growing pockets of marginalisation and lawlessness that are then even more difficult to manage.

Mayors in Italy on both sides of the political spectrum know this only too well. As the ones ultimately responsible for the integration and inclusion of refugees and migrants arriving in their communities, they have repeatedly called on the Meloni government to ensure that the measures it takes to make good on its election campaign promise to curb irregular migration to Italy do not end up creating an invisible population without access to services or rights. Under a new law limiting residence permits for foreigners, introduced in response to the shipwreck off Steccato di Cutro in Calabria on 26 February 2023 in which 94 people including 35 minors are known to have died, local administrators insist that this is a very real danger.

Survivors of the shipwreck and relatives of the victims throw a wreath into the sea on the spot where the boat carrying over 500 people went down near the shore on 3 October 2013.

Instead what is required are more regular channels of entry for both refugees and economic migrants, who Italy and Europe need in order to combat population decline and shore up an ageing workforce. The announcement in July by the Meloni government of plans to increase the quota system for foreign workers from outside the European Union goes in the right direction.

However, such initiatives need to be accompanied by investment in reception, particularly at community level, and services for people arriving via irregular channels, with a particular focus on those with specific needs such as unaccompanied minors, survivors of gender-based violence and victims of trafficking, as well as the establishment of working bilateral agreements with countries of origin for the quick and dignified repatriation of those not eligible to stay.

These are difficult and complex issues. However, in seeking solutions Lampedusa can perhaps be a source of inspiration.

By Laura Clarke

This article is published in the October 2023 online edition of Wanted in Rome magazine.
Van Gogh Experience arrives in Rome.

Rome hosts an immersive, multimedia exhibition dedicated to the world of Vincent Van Gogh from 4 November until 31 March 2024.

The experience involves the use of video mapping and multimedia projections to conjure up the swirling landscapes, starry nights and sunflowers painted by the Dutch artist.

Organisers say that visitors will be "living protagonists" in the artist's paintings: "under your feet the pebbles he painted, between your fingers the dazzling yellow of his thousand sunflowers."

Thanks to virtual reality technology, visitors will also have the chance to see the world "through Van Gogh's eyes".

The show, which does not include original paintings by the artist, is presented by Next Exhibition and will be held at the former Cinema Avila on Corso d'Italia 37d.

For tickets and visiting times see website.
Over the last century, the Hollywood sign has mirrored the strife and success of the city below it. As the famous landmark turns 100, the vibes arent good in Los Angeles.
RESTON, Va., Oct. 5, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Leidos (NYSE:LDOS), a FORTUNE 500 science and technology leader, today announced the launch of ProSight, its newest enterprise software platform. ProSight, which provides airports and commercial organizations with high-risk points of entry a centralized, security management system, will be unveiled during inter airport Europe 2023, held Oct. 10-13 in Munich, Germany.

Leidos logo. (PRNewsFoto/Leidos)

"We're excited to unveil our ProSight software next week in Munich," said Brad Buswell, Senior Vice President and Operations Manager at Leidos. "ProSight represents a significant leap forward in technology and innovation, reaffirming our commitment to our customers by providing a secure software platform that meets their evolving needs."

ProSight brings together systems and technologies that were traditionally disparate at security checkpoints, such as security screening equipment, threat detection algorithms and other third-party data. With a holistic view across the entire security screening operation, ProSight delivers actionable, real-time data through business intelligence dashboards, helping organizations improve operational efficiencies while enhancing threat detection.

ProSight's open architecture software is designed for improved performance, maintainability, and scalability, as well as reduced development time and cost. The software's OpenAPI supports additional system connectivity to multiple device types and data sources.

In the coming months, the new software will be deployed at several airports across the United Kingdom, Europe and Australia, ushering in a significant change in how organizations approach the management of their security operations.

To learn more about ProSight, and Leidos' suite of aviation security solutions, please visit www.leidos.com/security-detection.

About Leidos

Leidos is a Fortune 500 technology, engineering, and science solutions and services leader working to solve the world's toughest challenges in the defense, intelligence, civil, and health markets. The company's 46,000 employees support vital missions for government and commercial customers. Headquartered in Reston, Virginia, Leidos reported annual revenues of approximately $14.4 billion for the fiscal year ended December 30, 2022. For more information, visit www.leidos.com.

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Certain statements in this announcement constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the rules and regulations of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). These statements are based on management's current beliefs and expectations and are subject to significant risks and uncertainties. These statements are not guarantees of future results or occurrences. A number of factors could cause our actual results, performance, achievements, or industry results to be different from the results, performance, or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. These factors include, but are not limited to, the "Risk Factors" set forth in Leidos' Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 30, 2022, and other such filings that Leidos makes with the SEC from time to time. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date hereof. Leidos does not undertake to update forward-looking statements to reflect the impact of circumstances or events that arise after the date the forward-looking statements were made.

Contact: Melissa Duenas

(571) 526-6850

Duenasml@leidos.com





Thomas Doheny

(571) 474-4735

dohenyt@leidos.com





Victor Melara

(703) 431-4612

victor.a.melara@leidos.com

Cision

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SOURCE Leidos
Australia will rejoin the worlds major global climate finance fund, reversing a Morrison government decision to withdraw from the United Nations initiative.

The Abbott and Turnbull governments provided $200 million to the Green Climate Fund (GCF) between 2015 and 2018 before then-prime minister Scott Morrison announced he would no longer tip money into that big climate fund.

The Morrison government followed up in the 2019 budget by ceasing payments to the fund, which finances projects in the developing world that cut emissions and promote climate resilience.

Foreign Minister Penny Wong said the decision would help restore Australias climate credentials in the Pacific.

Foreign Minister Penny Wong announced on Thursday morning that Australia would rejoin the fund and announce a modest contribution before the end of the year.
More questions have been raised about why security wasnt called when a 13-year-old mental health patient allegedly raped another patient at Perth Childrens Hospital last year after it was revealed seven staff were working in the ward on the night.

The Child and Adolescent Health Service, which operates PCH, has been plunged into crisis after the alleged victim, also 13, shared her harrowing experience with the ABC.

The incident took place in the mental health ward at Perth Childrens Hospital in January last year. Credit: Getty Images

Both CAHS and West Australian Health Minister Amber-Jade Sanderson said the incident on January 21, 2022 went unnoticed for hours because nurses had sequestered themselves in an office on the advice of a supervisor due to safety fears over the same patient. These three nurses and the supervisor were disciplined and no longer work on the ward.

On Tuesday, Sanderson said hospital protocols were breached on that evening, and it was inexplicable that security wasnt called.
Moscow: Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday suggested that the plane crash which killed Wagner mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin in August was caused by hand grenades detonating inside the aircraft, not by a missile attack.

The private Embraer jet on which Prigozhin was travelling to St Petersburg crashed north of Moscow killing all 10 people on board on August 23, including two other top Wagner figures, Prigozhins four bodyguards and a crew of three.

Russian President Vladimir Putin, right, and Yevgeny Prigozhin. Credit: Reuters

Putin suggested the plane was blown up from inside, saying that the head of Russias investigative committee had reported to him a few days ago.

Fragments of hand grenades were found in the bodies of those killed in the crash, Putin told a meeting of the Valdai Discussion Club in the Black Sea resort of Sochi.
HOLLAND  Holland will see an additional $3 billion investment from LG Energy Solution after the company announced a partnership with Toyota to ramp up battery production for electric vehicles.

According to reporting by Crain's Grand Rapids, the investment is in addition to a $1.7 billion expansion already underway in Holland.

More: Sneak peek: Take a look inside LG's $1.7B expansion in Holland

Construction on the new plant remains on schedule, with completion slated for 2024 and mass production expected to begin in 2025, officials told media during a sneak peek in June. Thanks to tight competition for a limited labor force, LG gained approval this summer from the Michigan Economic Development Corporation to push back its deadline of hiring 1,000 employees, but the addition of high-paid, high-skilled jobs is still the biggest local impact of the project.

It wasn't immediately clear whether the $3 billion partnership announced Wednesday, Oct. 4, will further expand the company's Holland campus, or whether that expansion would require approval from Holland City Council.

According to a release, the company will build new production lines for battery cells and components exclusively used by Toyota. The lines are expected to be completed by 2025.

At Toyota, our goal is to reduce carbon emissions as much as possible, as fast as possible, Tetsuo Ted Ogawa, president and CEO of Toyota Motor North America, wrote in the release. Having secure supplies of lithium-ion batteries at scale with a long-term relationship to support Toyotas multi-pathway approach and growth plans for BEVs in North America is critical to achieve our manufacturing and carbon reduction plans."

Holland will see an additional $3 billion investment from LG Energy Solution after the company announced a partnership with Toyota to ramp up battery production for electric vehicles.

LG will produce modules for Toyota's manufacturing plant in Georgetown, Kentucky, where they'll be assembled into battery packs and used in electric vehicles. The Japanese automaker aims to sell 1.5 million electric vehicles in 2026, the Associated Press reported.

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LG Energy Solution opened its Holland plant in 2010. The site is one of the company's seven U.S.-based manufacturing facilities.

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer applauded the announcement.

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Todays announcement that LG Energy Solution and Toyota are partnering up to power electric vehicles in America right here in Michigan reaffirms our strategy to Make It In Michigan by building a landscape that encourages global investment while creating opportunities for people and communities across our state," Whitmer wrote in a statement provided to the Free Press.

"Together, we can continue growing our economy, creating good-paying jobs, and further cement Michigan as the global epicenter of the next revolution of the automotive industry.

 The Holland Sentinel contributed to this article.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: LG partnership with Toyota will bring additional $3B investment to Holland
Lyten to Work Closely with European Companies on Decarbonizing Applications in Industries including Automotive, Aviation, Defense, Manufacturing and More

SAN JOSE, Calif. & LUXEMBOURG, October 05, 2023--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Lyten, Inc., the pioneer in 3D graphene decarbonizing supermaterials, today announced that it has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Prime Minister Xavier Bettel, the Minister of Finance Yuriko Backes and the Minister of the Economy Franz Fayot to locate its European headquarters in Luxembourg.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20231005565098/en/

Lars Herlitz, Lyten co-founder (left), with Xavier Bettel, Luxembourgs Prime Minister (right), sign a memorandum of understanding for Lyten to locate its European headquarters in Luxembourg. (Photo: Business Wire)

The announcement was made as part of LuxInnovation Automotive Day 2023, Luxembourgs annual event promoting the transformation toward sustainable mobility.

Lyten is also exploring opportunities to establish research and development capabilities in Luxembourg, including infrastructure to support collaboration with European customers on disruptive applications utilizing Lytens 3D Graphene platform. The facility would build on R&D in IoT sensing that Lyten already has ongoing in Luxembourg with an industry partner for the mobility sector.

"Just as weve done in the U.S., Lyten is looking forward to working with industry leaders throughout Europe to bring disruptive, decarbonizing applications to market, built on our Lyten 3D Graphene platform," said Dan Cook, Lytens CEO and co-founder. "Luxembourgs talented workforce, deep history of collaboration across the European Union, and shared values in leading the way to a more sustainable global economy make Luxembourg a prime location for Lyten to begin its expansion into Europe."

Lyten is working with companies in industries such as transportation, defense, aerospace, manufacturing, energy, and construction to leverage the tunability of its 3D Graphene for decarbonizing applications. Lyten recently announced its Series B fundraising round, which included $200 million investment from several Fortune 500 strategic investors  including Stellantis, FedEx, and Honeywell  to scale manufacturing and commercialize its first three product lines: Lithium-Sulfur batteries, lightweighted composites, and next generation IoT sensors.

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Luxembourg has set ambitious climate targets within the "fit for 55" framework and aims to reduce emissions by 55% by 2030 compared to 2005 as defined by law. This legal framework contains critical milestones to Luxembourg achieving its target of a net zero economy by 2050.

Prime Minister Xavier Bettel said: "A couple of months after the first contacts with Lyten were established in California, I am very satisfied to have signed an MoU with the company to formalize our collaboration. Through their innovative "3D Graphene" technology, Lyten is on its way to revolutionize the future of batteries and materials. It's an exciting step for Luxembourg in becoming a hub for future-proof industrial projects in the field of sustainability and mobility. Many sectors will benefit from the company's advancements on their path to Net Zero."

"Were extremely pleased that a pioneering company such as Lyten has chosen Luxembourg as its gateway to Europe," said Franz Fayot, Luxembourgs Minister of the Economy. "Lyten is representative of the type of firm that Luxembourg embraces as we position ourselves as a cleantech innovation hub that supports private research, development and innovation in priority economic sectors. Were impressed with Lytens success so far and anticipate its impact on companies throughout Europe as they continue on their decarbonization journeys."

Lytens mission is to scale a materials platform that delivers breakthrough applications enabling the largest greenhouse gas-emitting sectors on the planet to achieve net zero without compromising on performance, profitability or customer experience. Lyten, from its facilities in San Jose, California, plans to deliver both Lithium-Sulfur batteries and lightweighted composite solutions to commercial customers by early 2024 and is actively pursuing expansion plans in the US and Europe.

About Lyten

Lyten is the pioneer of 3D graphene supermaterials and transformative applications engineered to enable net zero without compromise. Lytens decarbonization materials are being tuned for a wide range of applications, including next-generation Lithium-Sulfur batteries for use in the automotive, aerospace, defense, and other markets; a next-generation polymer composite that can reduce the amount of plastic used by up to half while maintaining structural and impact strength; and next-generation sensor arrays that significantly increase detection sensitivity and selectivity for use in automotive, industrial, health, and safety applications. Lyten, founded in 2015, is led by a group of experienced executives from across Automotive, Energy, Batteries, Semiconductors, Manufacturing and Defense sectors; lists more than 350 patent matters; and is currently manufacturing Lyten 3D Graphene material, as well as its high-value applications, at its headquarters in San Jose, Calif. To learn more, visit lyten.com.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20231005565098/en/

Contacts

Bob Zietlinger

bzeitlinger@makovsky.com

551-427-7298
(Bloomberg) -- Malaysias armed forces pension fund will offer to buy the shares of its palm oil unit Boustead Plantations Bhd. it doesnt already own, after ending an agreement for a potential takeover by Kuala Lumpur Kepong Bhd., the countrys third largest listed palm oil firm.

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Boustead Plantations gained as much as 11% after trading resumed Thursday, while KLK reversed early declines to trade little changed.

LTAT will make a general offer at 1.55 ringgit per share, according to a statement Wednesday. The proposed price is the same as in the now-scrapped agreement with KLK. The fund will refocus its efforts on restructuring the company to ensure it gets back on a stronger financial footing and chart a better business horizon, LTATs statement showed.

KLK and LTAT were in talks to restructure the agreed deal so that the pension fund would keep control of Boustead Plantations, Bloomberg News reported Wednesday. The original agreement would have seen the planter acquire a 33% stake in Boustead Plantations from LTAT for 1.15 billion ringgit ($243 million) and make an offer to buy out the other shareholders.

LTAT directly owns a 10.6% stake in Boustead Plantations and indirectly controls 57.4% via its Boustead Holdings Bhd. unit. The state-owned pension fund took Boustead Holdings private and delisted it in June. Boustead Holdings will refund a 229 million ringgit deposit to KLK, the palm oil firm said in a Bursa Malaysia filing late Wednesday.

--With assistance from Anisah Shukry.

(Updates with share price movements in second paragraph.)

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2023 Bloomberg L.P.
The amount of hate we are seeing in our community and the broader community, both in person and online, is shameful.

No group deserves to be singled out for hate, especially when absolutely no harm is being done to you. Do not blindly follow fear-mongers and hate-mongers and activists in the name of religion, whom are encouraging hatred and disparity between people.

Personally, it is especially haunting to see previously marginalized groups in the community now taking aim at the 2SLGBTQIA+ community.

Visible minorities and the typical extremely vocal community of fear-mongers, have been especially active of late. Let me remind them, and others, Canada is a place of refuge for all whom seek a safe place to live. Many came to Canada from nations where they were persecuted and, to now to partake in the persecution of others here in Canada, is shameful.

I will not go back in a closet. I will not stay quiet in the face of hate. There is saying, if 10 (people) are sitting at a table and one speaks hateful rhetoric towards a group and the other nine sitting there do not speak up, then there are 10 bigots at the table.

Speak up. Silence equals complicity.

We are one peoplehumans. We are Canadian, all of us. We are all equal. There are not different levels of equality.

To the parents rights groups I say, if your child is afraid to talk to you at home and you feel the need to require a teacher to inform you what is going on with your child, you need to take a very hard look in the mirror and ask: Why is my child afraid to talk with me?

No child should feel unsafe at home or at school.

Jeffery M. Simon, Kelowna
McDonald's and Wendy's are in the clear after a federal judge dismissed a lawsuit against them for false advertising.

McDonald's and Wendy's are off the hook in the case of a lawsuit that accused the fast food giants of misleading advertisement.

Filed in May 2022 by Justin Chimienti in the Eastern District of New York, the lawsuit accused the rival burger chains of "unfair and deceptive trade practices" for "falsely advertising" the size and look of items on their menus, especially their burgers.

Chimienti claimed that he was disappointed when he ordered a Bourbon Bacon Cheeseburger and Big Bacon Cheddar Cheeseburger from Wendy's and Big Mac and cheeseburger from McDonald's, saying they appeared much smaller and less appetizing in person compared to the images advertised on the menu board.

He claimed that the restaurants use undercooked burger patties in their marketing materials because they "make it appear that they are approximately 15-20% larger than the beef patties that are actually served to customers," as the fully cooked patties "tend to shrink and look less appetizing."

Meat, beans subject of Taco Bell suit: Taco Bell sued over amount of meat, beans in Mexican pizzas, crunch wraps

The Big Mac was one subject of the dismissed lawsuit.

McDonald's, Wendy's provide objective info, judge rules

According to the lawsuit, this discrepancy between the size of the burgers in ads and when served constitutes misleading advertising, as the quality of the food received is "much lower in value than what is being promised."

The complaint also took an additional jab at Wendy's, saying the company exaggerated the number of toppings included on its burgers.

McDonald's and Wendy's filed motions to dismiss last year, a request granted by US District Judge Hector Gonzalez late last week. The judge determined that the lawsuit "fails adequately to allege that a reasonable customer would likely be misled" by the adverts.

He likewise ruled that images of the food supplied to customers by the chains were "no different than other companies' use of visually appealing images to foster positive associations with their products" and pointed out that the information and disclaimers displayed on the companies' websites were "objective information about the weight and caloric content of those meals."

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Burger King faces burger lawsuit: Burger King must face whopper of a lawsuit alleging burgers are too small, says judge

Fast food lawsuits

This lawsuit is the latest in a string of litigation against chain restaurants over their food.

In July, another New York man sued Taco Bell for false advertising, claiming its Mexican Pizza had only about half of the beef and bean filling that he expected.

August saw a similar lawsuit accusing Burger King of falsely inflating the size of burgers in its ads, which a judge decided could move forward.

Last month, Starbucks failed in a bid to dismiss a complaint alleging their fruit refresher drinks were missing some of the fruit promised in ads.

And in March, a Chicago man sued Buffalo Wild Wings, saying the companys boneless wings arent wings at all but actually cheaper chicken breast tenders.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: McDonald's, Wendy's false advertising lawsuits tossed
(Bloomberg) -- Metro Bank Holdings Plc shares and bonds dropped Thursday as the lender confirmed it is exploring a potential fundraising.

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A 250 million bond that provides tier 2 capital to the bank fell 19 pence on the pound to 35.3 pence, marking its biggest drop on record. A 350 million senior bond fell 8.3 pence to 61.8 pence, a record low, based on prices compiled by Bloomberg. Shares in the lender fell as much as 31% in London.

The lender said in a statement Thursday that it was evaluating the merits of a range of options, including a combination of equity issuance, debt issuance and /or refinancing and asset sales, confirming an earlier Bloomberg News report. It said no decision had been made on whether to proceed with any of these options.

We suspect that some form of friends and family transaction targeted at existing equity / debt investors would be the most likely prospect, Edward Firth, an analyst at KBW, said in a note.

The banks chair Robert Sharpe met with UK financial regulators on Thursday. Sharpe attended a longstanding, pre-diarised meeting with the PRA this morning, a Metro Bank spokesman told the Financial Times.

New Bank

Metro Bank was the first new bank to enter the British mainstream in more than a century when it opened its doors in 2010. Co-founded by Vernon Hill, it is one of the most prominent British challenger banks that emerged to take on incumbents such as Barclays Plc and Lloyds Banking Group Plc.

While others focused on expanding their online banking offerings, the firm has become known for building to its brick-and-mortar branch network, including in expensive locations like the Kings Road in Chelsea. It had 76 stores and handled 1.3 million personal current accounts at the end of June.

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The lender has spent years trying to get approval from regulators to use an internal risk model to calculate its regulatory capital requirements. The approach  known as AIRB, or advanced internal rating-based method  could lead to a reduction in risk-weighted assets which, in turn, would mean less funds set aside.

A Sept. 12 disclosure that it wasnt likely to secure approval anytime soon sent shares tumbling. That followed another selloff in 2019, when the bank said it had applied an incorrectly low risk weighting to parts of its loan book.

Fitch Ratings placed Metro Banks rating on watch negative on Wednesday, saying the risks surrounding the firms ability to refinance maturing debt have increased.

The company, which has hired Morgan Stanley to advise it on its options, had 22 billion ($26.6 billion) of total assets at the end of June. It currently has a market value of about 65 million, compared with 3.2 billion at the end of 2017. Its total short and long-term debt amounted to 4.9 billion at the end of 2022, based on data compiled by Bloomberg.

Willett Advisors LLC, the investment arm for the personal and philanthropic assets of Michael Bloomberg, founder and majority owner of Bloomberg News parent Bloomberg LP, held shares in Metro Bank as of November 2021, according to a regulatory filing.

--With assistance from Leonard Kehnscherper.

(Adds detail on reported PRA meeting in fifth paragraph.)

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2023 Bloomberg L.P.
JERUSALEM (AP)  Israeli troops killed three Palestinian gunmen in West Bank violence on Thursday, Palestinian health officials said, in the latest deaths in a monthslong surge of violence in the occupied territory.

In video circulated on social media, a lone gunman opened fire at an Israeli car in broad daylight on a busy street in Hawara, a flashpoint town in the northern West Bank. The gunman fired at least 10 shots, pursuing the car as it tried to escape by driving over a barrier in the middle of the street.

No one in the car was injured, the army said. It said troops hunted him after the attack and shot him. The identity of the gunman, whose death was confirmed by Palestinian officials, wasn't immediately known.

Hawara has seen repeated attacks, including a deadly shooting early this year that triggered a rampage by Jewish West Bank settlers who torched Palestinian property.

Early Friday, dozens of Israeli settlers entered Hawara, and clashes erupted with Palestinian residents, the Israeli military said. Both sides threw stones at one another before troops moved in to disperse the crowds.

The army said it opened fire at a man who threw a block at an Israeli vehicle. Palestinian health officials said a 19 year old Palestinian man was shot in the chest and killed. The army said Israeli settlers also vandalized Palestinian property. No further details were immediately released.

Earlier Thursday, the Israeli military said its troops carried out a raid in the Tulkarem refugee camp. It said that soldiers came under fire and that troops shot Palestinian gunmen. Five members on the paramilitary border police unit were wounded in the clashes, it said.

Two Palestinian militants were killed by the Israeli gunfire, Palestinian health officials said. The Hamas militant group later claimed the two men as its members.

A spiral of violence has gripped the occupied territory for more than 18 months. The Israeli military has mounted near-nightly raids into Palestinian towns, often prompting deadly clashes with residents. Militancy has surged among young Palestinians who have lost hope in their leadership and in the prospect of a political resolution to the conflict.

Nearly 200 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire this year in the West Bank, according to a tally by The Associated Press  the highest death toll in years. Israel says most of those killed have been militants, but stone-throwing youths protesting incursions as well as innocent bystanders have also been killed.

Palestinian attacks against Israelis have killed more than 30 people this year.

Israel captured the West Bank, along with east Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip, in the 1967 Mideast war. The Palestinians seek all three areas for a future independent state.
CLEVELAND, Texas (AP)  Mario Carranza put a mobile home on a $28,000 lot in Colony Ridge, one of the biggest neighborhoods in Texas, lured by cheap land and the chance for his family to escape the crime he says was rampant around their apartment in nearby Houston.

Here, we are good," said Carranza, 65, who now drives about an hour to his maintenance job in a Houston suburb.

But his quiet neighborhood is now in an unwelcome national spotlight. For weeks in Texas, conservative media and GOP activists have been pushing unsubstantiated claims that Colony Ridge has become a magnet for immigrants living in the U.S. illegally and that cartels control pockets of the neighborhood.

There is no evidence to support the claims, and residents, local officials and the developer dispute the portrayals. The unsubstantiated reports have spread quickly and gained traction among Republicans, including Gov. Greg Abbott and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who is running for president.

The attention has abruptly plunged Liberty County  a Republican stronghold that former President Donald Trump won by nearly 80% in 2020  into the center of immigration politics hundreds of miles from the U.S-Mexico border. Republicans see immigration as a central issue in next year's elections and the unsubstantiated reports are coming at a time when large groups of migrants from Central and South American have been crossing into Texas.

The developer of Colony Ridge is Trey Harris, who has donated more than $1 million to Abbotts campaigns. Driving around the neighborhood in a white Ford pickup on Tuesday, Harris bemoaned the claims and has invited lawmakers to see for themselves this week.

Im surprised and a little disappointed that (Abbott) didnt reach out and make an attempt to learn more about the facts before he got on national television and started talking, Harris said.

Abbott, whose office did not return messages seeking comment, asked lawmakers Thursday to address "areas like the Colony Ridge development in a special legislative session starting next week but offered no specific proposals.

In a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, DeSantis last month wrote: I will end this.

Laws do not prohibit non-U.S. citizens from purchasing homes. Although many in Liberty County acknowledge that undocumented citizens live in Colony Ridge, they pushed back on claims that they account for most residents and described their community as no different than many neighborhoods across Texas.

It does bother me that people accuse my customers of being drug dealers and cartel and organized crime. Come on man, Harris said. These are families that want a better place to raise their kids. They want better schools for their kids. They want better opportunities for their children

The development first broke ground 20 years ago, leaving some in Liberty County puzzled by the timing of the recent scrutiny. The area neighbors San Jacinto County, where in April a Mexican national allegedly killed five of his Honduran neighbors. Harris said he believes some of the criticism is related to racial issues" he says Colony Ridge has previously confronted from a town adjacent to the rapidly growing development, which he estimates has about 40,000 residents.

Zayda Cerrato, 43, moved to Colony Ridge from California about six years ago at the urging of an uncle who lived there. She said she was drawn there in part because of the greenery and vegetation that surrounds the development, which has been carved out from the piney woods that blanket East Texas.

Some residents like Cerrato, who is from Honduras, have set up mobile homes on their land. Others have built permanent homes with manicured lawns that wouldnt look out of place in a typical suburban subdivision. Harris said the community is still growing and has several new schools. New retail centers that will include such businesses as Pizza Hut and Subway also dot the development.

My life here is very peaceful. I dont mess with anybody, said Cerrato, leaving a supermarket. From my job to my house, from my house to my job. I visit stores only when I need to. I would describe it as very peaceful.

The explosive growth of the area has not come without challenges. The school district based in nearby Cleveland is teaching nearly three times as many students as a decade ago and has struggled to create enough space. The local sheriff's office says it needs more officers to patrol the region but described the crime rates as not any worse than other parts of Texas.

Its the normal calls. Its just the volume is higher, said Billy Knox, chief deputy of the the Liberty County Sheriffs Office.

For Carranza, who is from Mexico and became a naturalized citizen a decade ago, the growing traffic has caused some of the streets to fall into disrepair.

If Abbott is going to address anything about Colony Ridge, it should be that, he said.

Tell the governor to come here so he can fix the streets, Carranza said.

___ Weber reported from Austin, Texas.
NEW YORK (AP)  Donald Trump s corporate executives once boosted the estimated worth of his Trump Tower penthouse by $20 million partly because of the value of his celebrity, according to trial testimony Thursday.

Another $100 million hike in the estimate was based on a single email from a real estate broker, who hadnt commissioned an appraisal, didn't inspect the triplex and was told it was three times its actual size.

From a witness stand, former Trump Organization controller Jeffrey McConney shed light Thursday on calculations central to Trump's New York civil business fraud trial.

New York Attorney General Letitia James lawsuit alleges the former president conspired with top executives to exaggerate his wealth and deceived lenders and others. Trump denies any wrongdoing.

In pretrial testimony, the former president said that people who did business with him were given ample warning not to trust the statements, and that he never thought that the documents would be taken very seriously. He described the financial statements as more a compilation of properties than a true representation of their value, saying some numbers were guesstimates.

But McConneys testimony came with evidence that the documents were integral to some of Trumps loan deals. In letters shown in the court, McConney told a bank that he was providing Trumps 2015 and 2016 financial statements as required under the conditions of a loan for his Seven Springs estate north of New York City.

To figure the penthouse value, Trump executives combed through real estate listings, looking only for the highest-priced similar apartments, McConney testified.

And the $100 million increase in 2012?

Im basing that on the email from Kevin, McConney said, referring to real estate agent Kevin Sneddon. The broker had offered a quick estimate based on an asking price for a similar triplex in a Trump-owned building elsewhere in Manhattan  an apartment that ultimately sold for only 40% of the asking price.

The next year, McConney tacked on another $20 million, upping the estimated value of Trump's penthouse to $200 million. He said the change was based partly on a Trump real estate executive's suggestion that the apartments celebrity connection warranted a higher price.

McConney also acknowledged making his own calculations, instead of relying on the numbers in a bank appraisal, to increase the stated worth of Trumps Wall Street office building by $227 million.

Those and other asset valuations went onto Trump's financial statements, which in turn went to banks, insurers and others. James calls that persistent and repeated fraud.

Trump says James, a Democrat, is just trying to damage his 2024 presidential campaign. Hes leading the Republican field.

Trump himself didnt attend the proceedings Thursday, after choosing to be there  and avail himself of the news cameras waiting outside  for the three prior days.

McConney reasoned that there was no right way to determine valuations and that it was appropriate to calculate the value of Trumps apartment based on asking prices instead of sales prices as appraisals do.

Judge Arthur Engoron said: I think any high school student knows the right way.

McConney, who worked at the Trump Organization from 1987 until February, also testified at the company's criminal tax fraud trial last year. Granted immunity from prosecution, the ex-controller admitted breaking the law to help fellow executives avoid taxes on company-paid perks, including by filing false tax returns.

The company was convicted. Trump himself wasnt charged in that case.

McConney's appearance Thursday followed days of testimony from two accountants who worked on the financial statements.

James legal team sought to demonstrate that Trump and his company had complete control over the preparation of the statements, with the outside accountants relying on information from the company. The defense tried to show that if there were problems, they were accountant Donald Bender's fault.

Bender, who prepared the statements for years, insisted Thursday that he asked Trump Organization executives for all required documents but didn't always get them. He said he learned about some missing appraisals only during Manhattan prosecutors' investigation into Trumps business practices.

Defense lawyer Jesus M. Suarez asked why Bender didn't notice the appraisals' absence earlier.

I asked them for appraisals, Bender said. They represented they gave me everything I needed.

The non-jury trial concerns allegations of conspiracy, insurance fraud and falsifying business records. James is seeking $250 million in penalties and a ban on Trump doing business in New York.

Engoron ruled on some other claims before the trial, finding that Trump did engage in fraud by inflating his assets' worth on the statements.

The ruling, which Trump appealed Wednesday, calls for dissolving the limited liability companies that control Trump Tower and some other prominent holdings and having a receiver operate them. If the ruling is upheld, Trump would lose his authority over choosing tenants, hiring or firing employees and other key decisions regarding those properties.

Engoron on Thursday ordered both sides to submit names of potential receivers by Oct. 26. Engoron also told the defendants to give a court-appointed monitor, retired federal Judge Barbara Jones, advance notice of any attempts to create new entities to hold or acquire the assets of a company that's being dissolved under the ruling.

Along with the civil lawsuit, Trump is also fighting a series of criminal cases. He has pleaded not guilty to charges of plotting to overturn his 2020 election loss to Democrat Joe Biden, illegally hoarding classified documents and falsifying business records related to hush money paid on his behalf.

Trumps lawyers asked a judge in a filing late Wednesday to dismiss the hush money case in a New York court, calling the prosecution a discombobulated package of politically motivated charges marred by legal defects. Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg's office said it would respond in court papers due next month.

In Washington, Trump's attorneys filed Thursday to try to get the federal election subversion case thrown out, claiming that his actions were part of his presidential role so not subject to prosecution. Federal prosecutors are expected to contest that argument.

Follow Sisak at x.com/mikesisak and send confidential tips by visiting https://www.ap.org/tips.
The U.S. is a position it has never been in: The speaker of the House of Representatives has been voted out and needs a replacement.

"We really have a setback for our party and for our nation," Republican Congressman Dan Meuser (PA-9) said of the situation.

"I felt sad as we sat there on the floor," said Democrat Congresswoman Madeleine Dean (PA-4). "There was a real sadness in me, and I think in other members, that this is actually where we were."

It's something Meuser and Dean agree on. Both believe the vote to remove Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) was bad for democracy.

Meuser was one of many Republicans who backed McCarthy.

"I really believe that this wasn't done for the right reasons," Meuser said.

Meuser says the move to vote out McCarthy was a combination of politics and a personal attack by some members of his party, which he said is chaotic right now.

Dean is hoping the Republican party can come together.

"We need a healthy Republican party," she said. "We need a healthy, robust two-party system that will fund our government."

Right now, though, things are in limbo.

Republican Congressman Patrick McHenry (NC) is now acting speaker. However, he's unable to bring legislation to the floor and cannot sign off on official House business.

Both Meuser and Dean hope a new speaker is elected quickly, and each has a list for their ideal candidate.

"We need a new speaker that, first of all, can do the job  that's got the capability and experience to do the job," said Meuser. "Secondly, that has the character and moral fortitude that we can trust in." He said it should be a speaker who can unite the Republican party.

"I'm looking for a person who will keep his or her word," Dean said. "I'm looking for a person who tells the truth and prizes the truth. I'm looking for a person of integrity."

Both Dean and Meuser declined to speculate as to how long it could take before a new speaker is elected.
READING, Pa.  A man is facing several charges in a crash that killed a Reading Hospital nurse in January.

Matthew Pekuri was charged Thursday with third-degree murder, reckless driving, careless driving and homicide by vehicle, according to a news release from the Pennsylvania State Police.

Police said they took Pekuri, 45, of Reading, into custody without incident.

The four-vehicle crash happened in the 3600 block of Pricetown Road (Route 12) on Jan. 16. The wreck claimed the life of Wanda Matuszak, a 61-year-old nurse at Reading Hospital, and injured three others.
READING, Pa.  The Reading Zoning Hearing Board granted a continuance Wednesday night to a Brooklyn, New York-based developer who has proposed converting the former Reading Central Catholic building at 1400 Hill Road into a 78-unit apartment complex.

Although the board was scheduled to hear testimony on the case at a special meeting Wednesday night, board Chairman Philip Rabena announced that the attorney representing the appellant had a serious family emergency and could not represent his client at the hearing.

Reading attorney Mark Koch is the lawyer on record representing the developer.

Rabena announced that a special hearing night will be designated outside of the usual monthly meeting time.

That date has yet to be determined.

The solicitor to the board, Steve Price, said the board will coordinate with city Councilwoman Marcia Goodman-Hinnershitz to come up with a date.

Last week, council voted 4-3 to allow Goodman-Hinnershitz to offer testimony on behalf of council, opposing the application because of the deviation from the allowed apartment sizes.

Reading Hill LLC, which is an entity controlled by a Brooklyn development company, Heights Advisors, needs a special exception for an adaptive reuse to establish 78-dwelling units, or in the alternative, a change from one non-conforming use to another non-conforming use.

The developer is also seeking a variance for the required square-footage requirements for dwelling units and a variance from the number of required off-street parking spaces and to allow a drive aisle at 1500 Eckert Ave., the former convent for the high school.

The Luden mansion, also known as the "Bon-Air" mansion, was used as a private residence for William H. Luden until it was converted into Reading Central Catholic High School in 1939.

At the close of the 2010-11 academic year, the Roman Catholic Diocese of Allentown made the decision to close the school to form Berks Catholic High School.

The diocese sold the Hill Road property in 2015 to Reading School LLC for the intended use as a charter school for the arts.

In 2021, that plan was abandoned after the Reading School Board denied charters for the school several times, citing deficiencies in the proposed curriculum.

Reading School LLC sold the property to Reading Hill LLC in 2021.
WEST READING, Pa.  The U.S. Department of Labor on Thursday released a report that finds fault with R.M. Palmer in the explosion that killed seven of the chocolate factory's workers.

The department's Occupational Safety and Health Administration  OSHA  said the West Reading company could have prevented the "horrific tragedy by following required safety procedures."

First and foremost, federal investigators said R.M. Palmer failed to evacuate employees after some of them reported smelling gas on the afternoon of March 24. Officials said they determined that natural gas was leaking prior to the explosion, which leveled one of the factory's buildings and sparked a large fire.

"Seven workers will never return home because the R.M. Palmer Co. did not evacuate the facility after being told of a suspected gas leak," OSHA Area Director Kevin T. Chambers said in a news release. "Ensuring the safety of a workplace is expected of employers and required by law. The company could have prevented this horrific tragedy by following required safety procedures."

OSHA cited the company under its general duty clause for not evacuating workers. The agency also said it cited R.M. Palmer for not marking emergency exit signs clearly, using flexible cords improperly and for recordkeeping violations.

The company issued a response, saying it does not agree that it violated any provision of OSHA's workplace standards.

In a statement, the company said the July 19 National Transportation Safety Board investigative update contains no reference to any natural gas leak inside any Palmer building.

"R.M. Palmer continues to cooperate in the NTSB's investigation. In the meantime, R.M. Palmer intends vigorously to contest OSHA's citations, which it believes are legally and factually unsupported," the company said in its statement.

"We have always put the safety of our employees and community first. It is our number one priority, and we are committed to providing a safe working environment," the company said.

R.M. Palmer said it did nothing wrong. In the statement following OSHA's ruling, the company pointed to a cracked component of a natural gas line, called a "service tee," that was buried beneath the road outside the plant. The company believes that was the culprit, and the natural gas company U.G.I. should have replaced it to avoid a disaster.

OSHA's citations are that:

The employer did not furnish employment and a place of employment which were free from recognized hazards that were causing or likely to cause death or serious harm to employees from explosion hazards.

Each exit was not clearly visible and marked by a sign reading "Exit."

Flexible cords were not used in continuous lengths without splice or tap.

Employer did not complete an OSHA 301 Incident Report form, or an equivalent form, for each recordable injury or illness entered on the OSHA 300 log.

Each recordable injury or illness was not entered on the OSHA 300 Log within seven (7) calendar days of receiving information that a recordable injury or illness has occurred.

The employer did not provide an authorized government representative the records within the four business hours.

The building owner, facility owner, or employer did not determine the presence, location, and quantity of ACM or PACM at the worksite and did not exercise due diligence in complying with these requirements to inform employers and employees about the presence and location of asbestos-containing material (ACM) and presumed asbestos containing material.

Employees were not provided effective information and training on hazardous chemicals in their work area at the time of their initial assignment and whenever a new hazard that the employees had not been previously trained about was introduced into their work area.

The total proposed penalties add up to $44,483.

The U.S. Department of Labor reported that R.M. Palmer has 15 business days from receipt of the citations and penalties to comply, request an informal conference with OSHA or contest the findings before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission.
BETHLEHEM TWP., Pa. - People gathered to enjoy lunch with some pretty amazing people in Northampton County Thursday.

All of the guests were at least 100 years old!

There were 31 centenarians in all at Green Pond Country Club in Bethlehem Township Thursday afternoon.

The oldest is 110 years old.

Volunteers work hard in the months before the lunch to track them down and invite them.

"We find this to be the most rewarding volunteer job that anyone can do, to be able to go and talk to these individuals. And they're just amazing," said Mary Jane Long, with the Area Agency on Aging.

Volunteers tell us they are humbled by the character of the centenarians, and the stories they tell about what they've endured in their long lives.
ALLENTOWN, Pa.  In an unscheduled vote, Allentown City Council officially approved an investigation into city hall Wednesday night.

At its bimonthly meeting, the body unanimously passed an ordinance to authorize a third-party investigation into claims of discrimination and harassment against city employees.

The vote comes after more than a month of public complaints by members of Allentown's NAACP branch alleging discrimination and a hostile work environment for minority employees. The city's former human resources director has also claimed Mayor Matt Tuerk fired him over issues involving such employees.

Known as Bill 87, the ordinance passed Wednesday was sponsored by Councilmembers Ce-Ce Gerlach and Ed Zucal. It had been expected to remain in committee until Gerlach  in response to residents who urged swift action during a public comment session  made a motion Wednesday to bring the ordinance out of committee for a final vote, which council ultimately passed.

"We cannot continue to just push things and push things and push things, and especially something so important like an investigation," Gerlach said. "Let's just vote."

The proposed investigation comes after months of allegations of discrimination and harassment by members of the Allentown NAACP, and even current city employees like Karen Ocasio.

"Let's get it moving and let's investigate," Ocasio said. "We need this to happen, like, yesterday."

In response to those comments, Tuerk said he agreed and encouraged councilmembers to vote for the investigation. He said he welcomed it to "dispel" low morale created by the allegations  and because his office has nothing to hide.

"Just grab the vote right now and preferably vote seven to nothing to initiate your investigation," Tuerk said.

"I think that what you're going to find might not be what some folks are hoping to find," he said. "You're going to find an organization that's dedicated to fostering an environment of care and respect and inclusion and support in the city of Allentown."

Councilmember Ed Zucal said the investigation needs to happen as soon as possible, making an accusation that employees may be experiencing intimidation.

"In the criminal world, that would be witness tampering, but unfortunately it's not criminal activity here, but it does make for a very hostile work environment, and it does make coming to work difficult when you've got to possibly be intimidated by your boss," Zucal said.

Tuerk adamantly denied any intimidation is taking place, and said any claim of intimidation is investigated thoroughly.

"I just hope that after this investigation, we can move the city forward," said council Vice President Cynthia Mota before voting in favor of the investigation. "Let's do this, and let's do it right."

Several residents also took aim at council President Daryl Hendricks, calling on him to recuse himself from the investigation process because they believe his son, Christopher, is a city employee.

Hendricks did not confirm nor deny if his son works for the city.

Now that the investigation has been approved, council will put out a request for proposal to find a third-party investigator to hire for the job.

Dog park renaming In other news, council unanimously voted to rename Dixon Street Dog Park to "Judge Memorial Dog Park" in honor of Judge, a beloved Labrador retriever who served for seven years in Allentown's K-9 unit. The park is at the northeast corner of the intersection between Dixon Street and Mack Boulevard.

According to Allentown Fire Chief Efrain Agosto, the 14.5-year-old Judge is nearing the end of his life and could not be present for the renaming. Still, Agosto and Councilmember Candida Affa remembered Judge fondly for his ability to detect various flammable scents that helped the city solve arson cases.

Rezoning Council also unanimously approved the re-zoning of certain parcels at 51 N. Front St. and 115 Riverside Drive to become a B-5 Urban Commercial Zoning District. The change adds a text amendment that provides additional requirements for B-5 properties, a repealer clause and a severability clause.

A brief public hearing on the matter was held just before Wednesday's regular meeting, though no residents spoke out for or against the proposed change at that hearing.


CARLISLE, Pa.  One hundred years ago Wednesday, The Giant Company was founded in Carlisle. It has since opened stores in Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, and West Virginia.

It began in 1923 with a single, family-owned two-man butcher shop that has now expanded into a family of grocery stores with an online presence serving millions of customers every year.

According to Ahold Delhaize, the Netherlands-based parent company, the milestone marks a century of customer service, innovation and community engagement. The GIANT Company remains headquartered in Carlisle. It serves millions of customers both in traditional stores and online  as well as New Jersey online only.

The GIANT Company also plays a crucial role in providing essential services to communities, Ahold Delhaize says, ensuring that customers have access to groceries and essential items when they need them the most.

Ahold Delhaize says community engagement remains at the heart of The GIANT Company's values, from supporting local food banks to educational initiatives, and health and wellness programs.

Anniversary celebrations

To recognize the 100-year milestone, The GIANT Company has been celebrating with a variety of initiatives.

The companys more than 35,000 team members will be celebrated throughout the anniversary season, with special team member-only discounts, events, in-store celebrations, a limited-edition t-shirt, and be highlighted for their contributions to The GIANT Company through various storytelling opportunities.

Also, Ahold Delhaize noted, leaders from across the organization participated in special celebration visits, visiting every store and e-commerce facility to say thank you to team members and delivering gifts.

Thanking customers

Throughout September, the company thanked customers with four weeks of special sales and promotions. With items from across the aisles, the special prices will underscore the companys longstanding commitment to value, Ahold Delhaize said.

The GIANT Company will continue celebrating in October with in-store samplings and surprise giveaways like anniversary gift bags containing coupons, product samples, recipes, and bonus CHOICE Rewards points.

Donations with a purpose

In addition, throughout summer and leading up to The GIANT Company's anniversary, several financial and product donations were made, and associates participated in various volunteer activities.

All donations will support the companys purpose of connecting families for a better future by taking actionable steps to eliminate hunger, change childrens lives, heal the planet, promote wellbeing, and foster a culture of inclusion and belonging, Ahold Delhaize said. Beneficiaries include food banks, childrens hospitals, and local youth organizations.

Ahold Delhaize says the Giant brand has been a pioneer in implementing eco-friendly measures, such as energy-efficient lighting, reducing food waste, and supporting local farmers through its Local program, which highlights locally sourced products.

In addition, Ahold Delhaize said The GIANT Company's is committed to diversity and inclusion, and that it has made significant strides in fostering an inclusive workplace, embracing diverse talent, and supporting equality  better reflecting the diverse communities the brand serves.

Ahold Delhaize also recognized and commended the dedication of The GIANT Company's team members.
(Bloomberg) -- Metro Bank Holdings Plc has hired Morgan Stanley to explore a potential capital raise after it faced pushback from regulators on a plan that would allow it to reduce the capital its required to hold.

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The UK lender is weighing several other options as it looks to shore up its balance sheet, including a securitization as well as asset and loan sales, according to people familiar with the matter. The company is no longer working with Jefferies Financial Group Inc., one of its corporate brokers, some of the people said, asking not to be identified discussing private matters.

Metro Bank said in September it was looking at how best to optimize its capital resources after the Prudential Regulation Authority informed the lender it had to do more work before it was allowed to use its own internal risk models to help calculate how much capital its required to set aside for mortgage loans.

The lenders shares were down 27% at 8:11 a.m. in London.

A spokesperson for Metro Bank said the lender works with a range of advisers and will not comment on individual relationships. Spokespeople for Morgan Stanley and Jefferies declined to comment.

We suspect that some form of friends and family transaction targeted at existing equity / debt investors would be the most likely prospect, Edward Firth, an analyst at KBW, said in a note.

Metro Bank, which was co-founded by Vernon Hill, opened its doors in 2010 and is one of the most prominent British challenger banks that emerged to take on incumbents such as Barclays Plc and Lloyds Banking Group Plc. While others focused on expanding their online banking offerings, the firm has become known for building a branch network, including in expensive locations like the Kings Road in Chelsea.

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The bank, which had 22 billion ($26.6 billion) of total assets at the end of June, currently has a market value of about 87 million, compared with 3.2 billion at the end of 2017.

The company is now in talks with investors about raising 250 million in equity funding and 350 million in debt, the Financial Times reported, citing people with knowledge of the plan.

Regulatory Capital

The lender has spent years seeking regulators approval to use an approach  known as AIRB, or advanced internal rating-based method  to calculate its regulatory capital requirements. The approach could lead to a reduction in risk-weighted assets, which, in turn, could lower the firms capital requirements.

The board retains conviction in the merits of Metro Banks customer-centric model and strongly believes that there is a significant opportunity set that the company can capitalize on, subject to renewed balance sheet strength, Metro Bank said in the September statement.

The lenders shares have tumbled from their level before that Sept. 12 statement, as it warned it was not likely to secure approval to use its internal models this year and that there is no certainty it might be obtained after that.

Its the second time in recent years that issues tied to the way Metro evaluates its risk-weighted assets has led the company to consider raising capital. In 2019, the company said it had been mistakenly applying a risk weighting that was too low on some of its mortgages, resulting in the need to put more capital behind its existing positions.

Soon after, regulators announced they were probing how the firm misclassified the assets. The moves caused a monthslong selloff in Metro Banks shares. Ultimately, the company raised 375 million in 2019 through a new share placement to repair its finances.

The PRA eventually fined Metro Bank 5.38 million for the errors, while the Financial Conduct Authority hit it with 10 million in penalties.

Debt Instruments

Metro Bank, which is mainly funded by deposits from consumers and small businesses, reported an underlying profit before tax of 16.1 million in the six months to June 30. That reflected improved operating margins, the bank said in a statement.

The UK lender has two outstanding debt instruments. One is a 350 million senior bail-in bond and the other a 250 million junior tier 2 note. The bail-in bond matures in 2025 and the tier 2 note in 2028.

Fitch Ratings placed Metro Banks rating on watch negative on Wednesday, saying the risks surrounding the firms ability to refinance maturing debt have increased.

The ratings also reflect the groups weak profitability, healthy asset quality, and a funding and liquidity profile that we believe could come under pressure, the ratings agency said in a statement.

Willett Advisors LLC, the investment arm for the personal and philanthropic assets of Michael Bloomberg, founder and majority owner of Bloomberg News parent Bloomberg LP, held shares in Metro Bank as of November 2021, according to a regulatory filing.

--With assistance from Harry Wilson and Tasos Vossos.

(Adds share price to fourth paragraph, analyst reaction in sixth paragraph.)

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BETHLEHEM, Pa. - Gov. Josh Shapiro was back in the Lehigh Valley Thursday. He announced $52 million is going toward recreation and conservation projects across the state.

Shapiro, first greeted by the Bethlehem Mounted Police, then announced $500,000 is going to connect the South Bethlehem Greenway to the Saucon Rail Trail.

"It's about 14 miles of trails total," said Shapiro.

"A center for culture, it's a center for recreation, for bikes, for families," Bethlehem Mayor J. William Reynolds said about the trail.

"We have top 10 trail gaps across the state. These are the big snarly gaps, expensive ones, the difficult ones. This was one of them," said Cindy Adams Dunn, the secretary of the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources.

This effort has been a long time coming.

"We spent $2.2 million in state funds on this over the last decade to complete this rail trail," said state Sen. Lisa Boscola. "I am so excited, because we worked on it for years and years and years and years, and now it's gonna get completed."

There are high hopes for the project.

"If you're out in your car... you might pass a bunch of small businesses that look kind of interesting, but chances are, you're not going to stop," said Congresswoman Susan Wild. "If you're out walking, you're much more likely to stop in and visit these small businesses."

"When the Saucon Rail Trail, which starts just a few miles from here, was expanded to Hellertown, it's important to see what happened in the economy there. We saw a 30% increase in sales and local businesses there when that trail expanded. Since that trail was expanded, 27 new businesses have opened," said Shapiro.

In his budget, Shapiro allocated $52 million in grant money for conservation and recreation projects.

This is one of more than 220 projects across the state getting funding.

The money is also going toward protecting nearly 7,000 acres of open space, river conservation, and developing and rehabbing recreational areas and facilities.

The Bethlehem mayor says details are still being finalized, so we don't yet know exactly when the work will start. The goal is to begin as soon as possible.
ALLENTOWN, Pa. - It's Hispanic Heritage Month, and one local school is celebrating in style.

Raub Middle School hosted a Family Night filled with food, music, and fun activities based in Latino cultures.

The school says it's one of their most attended events of the year due to the high Latino population in the district.

The school's principal says the night is all about community.

"We're here together, we're here to better ourselves. We're all better together. It means that regardless of where you're from let's learn about one another, let's build on our strengths, let's come together and build a better Raub learning community," said Principal Jose Delgado.

The night was all part of Allentown's district-wide celebration.
NORRISTOWN, Pa.  Flu season has begun, according to Dr. Richard Lorraine, Medical Director of Montgomery County Department of Health and Human Services, speaking about COVID-19, flu and RSV awareness at Thursdays meeting of the Montgomery County commissioners.

Dr. Lorraine noted that last year the medical community feared a triple demic of COVID-19, flu and RSV based on an early onset of heavy flu and RSV cases. Fortunately, he said, the early peak in October tailed off very quickly and essentially we dodged a bullet.

Dr. Lorraine went on to say that there is good news about where the country stands today. Referring to a map of the country that shows the existence of respiratory illnesses by color, Lorraine pointed out, There is minimal to low activity at this point. He continued, We expect a normal flu season this year because that is what they had in the southern hemisphere which precedes us by about six months.

Not getting the flu is not the primary reason for getting the flu vaccine, Lorraine said. The primary reason is to lessen the severity of flu if you are infected. It also helps to decrease the spread of the flu virus. He said that everyone six months of age or older should get the flu vaccine.

Moving on to COVID-19, Lorraine used a graph that showed how being vaccinated for COVID-19 lowers the risk of death if you contract the virus. The graph also showed how much COVID-19 has diminished since its inception three years ago. He also pointed out that the recent increase in COVID-19 hospitalizations has tapered off in the past two weeks and that the Center for Disease Control recommends that everyone six months of age or older get the COVID-19 vaccine.

RSV, Lorraine said, formerly was thought to only infect young children but recently was determined to cause thousands of deaths in adults 65 and older. Two RSV vaccines have just been approved, Lorraine said, and he recommended that adults 60 years and older and pregnant women at 32 to 36 weeks should be vaccinated.

Domestic Violence Awareness Month

October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month and the commissioners heard a presentation about this nation-wide problem from Mike Kehs, Chair of the Domestic Violence Legal Network; Beth Struman, Executive Director of Laurel House; and Kathy Rusch, Senior Medical Advocate of the Womens Center of Montgomery County.

Four in ten women and three in ten men are affected by domestic violence at some point in their lifetime, Kehs said. He pointed out that there were 1,850 Protection from Abuse filings in Montgomery County in 2022 and the county is on track for even more filings in 2023. There is obviously much work to be done, Kehs noted.

Struman emphasized the importance of prevention in addressing the domestic violence problem.

One of the biggest issues we face, Struman said, is the shortage of affordable housing. This is often a barrier for folks who want to leave an unsafe relationship. People often go back to an unsafe relationship because they dont have anywhere to go.

Rusch told the commissioners that the Womens Center assisted over 4,000 people in 2022. Men comprised 560 of the total. In Pennsylvania, more than 100 people lost their lives to domestic violence including four from Montgomery County. Rusch said the purpose of the Womens Center is to be where they can best help the victims of domestic violence.

New Money Bond Update

Dean Dortone, Chief Financial Officer, reported on the results of the countys bond sale on Tuesday. General Obligation Bonds in the amount of $155.6 million were sold, consisting of Series A bonds in the amount of $141.395 million and Series B bonds totaling $14.210 million. The Series A bonds will be used to finance capital projects in the countys five-year capital plan and pay the costs to finance the Series A bonds. The Series B bonds will be used to finance road and bridge projects and pay the financing costs.

Dortone pointed out that since 2016, Montgomery County has been rated AAA, its highest rating by Moodys Investor Services. The winning bid came from Jefferies, LLC, at a True Interest Cost of 4.317452%.

Other Celebrations

During their comments the commissioners took note of several issues and groups that are recognized in October. The Commission Vice-Chair noted the month marks Breast Cancer Awareness Month and that other than skin cancer, breast cancer is the most common cancer among women. One in eight women in the U.S., she said, will be diagnosed with breast cancer in their lifetime.

Winder also noted that October is Italian-American Heritage Month.

Norristown would not be the community it is today without the contribution of Italian Americans, Winder commented. Commissioner Joseph Gale also recognized Italian-American Heritage Month, noting that he is half-Italian on his mothers side.

In addition, Winder remarked that October 5 is National Teachers Day and noted that both her 103-year-old grandmother and her mother were teachers in the Philadelphia school system and, in 1972, her grandmother was recognized as Pennsylvania Teacher of the Year.

Commission Chair Kenneth Lawrence also joined in the ethnic recognitions, pointing out that it is Spanish Heritage Month. He noted that over 6% of Montgomery Countys population is of Latino or Hispanic descent.
PHILADELPHIA - The Phillies are looking to close out their Wild Card Series and move onto the next round of the playoffs.

And, just like Tuesday night, the hometown team gave fans at Citizens Bank Park something to cheer about early on. They've also given fans plenty of reason to load up on team gear.

This Red October is turning into a Green October for retailers. The New Era team store at CBP opened at 10 a.m. Wednesday and it's seen a steady stream of buyers all day, all itching to snag anything and everything Phillies.

Some ladies from Schuylkill County decided to go old school, with a shout out to John Kruk.

"I'm so excited. He's my favorite."

And there is something for everyone and every season, including the most important season of all... post-season.
PHILADELPHIA - The warm weather is bringing out all the Phillies fans.

The team is looking to close out the NL Wild Card series after beating the Marlins at Citizens Bank Park Tuesday night.

All eyes will be on Aaron Nola, who will start Game 2 Wednesday night.

69 News' Wendy Davis is back at the Bank Wednesday, talking with fans about how they think Nola will do.
SAN FRANCISCO (AP)  U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein returned Saturday to her hometown for the final time when a military jet carrying the late Democratic senator's body landed at San Francisco International Airport.

The long-serving senator and political trailblazer died Friday at her home in Washington, D.C., after a series of illnesses. At 90, she was the oldest member of Congress after first being elected to the Senate in 1992.

The arrival of her body was not open to the public. No details have been shared about services.

The former San Francisco mayor was a passionate advocate for priorities important to her state, including environmental protection, reproductive rights and gun control. But she also was known as a pragmatic, centrist lawmaker who reached out to Republicans and sought middle ground.

Her death was followed by a stream of tributes from around the nation, including from President Joe Biden, who served with Feinstein for years in the Senate and called her a pioneering American and a cherished friend.

California's junior senator, Democrat Alex Padilla, called her a towering figure  not just in modern California history, but in the history of our state and our nation.

Democratic Rep. Maxine Waters said Feinstein spent her entire career breaking glass ceilings and opening doors into areas that had been perpetually dominated by men.

Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom is expected to soon appoint a replacement for the vacant Senate seat.

This story was first published on Oct. 1, 2023. It was updated on Oct. 4, 2023, to correct that Feinstein died Friday, Sept. 29, not Thursday, Sept. 28.
TUNIS, Tunisia (AP)  Family members of seven imprisoned Tunisian opposition figures took their quest for justice on Thursday to the International Criminal Court, announcing plans to ask the tribunal to investigate claims of political persecution and human rights violations by President Kais Saied's administration.

Tunisia's opposition is increasingly denouncing Saied's authoritarian drift, saying it amounts to a rollback of gains made since the 2011 Arab Spring protests that swept the Middle East. In Tunisia, the uprising ushered in a constitutional overhaul and democratic reforms.

However, Saieds government has cracked down on opponents and jailed dissidents, including opposition leader Rached Ghannouchi and former lawmaker Said Ferjani.

Members of the families petitioning the ICC described his rule as a devastating return to a pre-Arab Spring autocracy where dissidents were imprisoned and tortured.

It's sad to see, said Yusra Ghannouchi, the daughter of the imprisoned 82-year-old opposition leader. Her father was on a three-day hunger strike earlier this week.

We have to call on the world not to turn a blind eye to these violations and not to support dictatorships," she said at The Hague. "We are also here to send a message to democratic nations and to European governments not to support and legitimize Kais Saied.

Seventeen other prominent dissidents have recently staged hunger strikes from prison, with several still ongoing. Jawhar Ben Mbarek, the head of the leading anti-Saied coalition, continues his open-ended hunger strike.

The family members made a similar case to the African Court on Human and Peoples Rights earlier this year and have also petitioned the United States and United Kingdom for sanctions against the Tunisian government.

You are transported back to when you were a child and you saw him in prison ... times you couldnt speak to him because the torture was so bad that he was in a coma, Kaouther Ferjani said of her father, who was also imprisoned during a 1987 crackdown.

As bad as it was back then, I got to see my dad, she added, saying that he has now only been granted permission to see his attorney and nobody else.

The two daughters told reporters about the increasing number of judges, politicians, journalists and prominent opposition figures being arrested. According to their tally, at least 42 prominent figures have been jailed. Many face sweeping charges of endangering state security.

The petition at the ICC is intended to draw further attention to Tunisia's increasingly repressive political landscape since it revised the constitution in 2021, allowing Saied to expand his powers, freeze out the parliament and rule largely by decree.

As the country's economy sinks, Saied's government has jailed critics from across the political spectrum  right, left, Islamist and secular. It has also drummed up animosity against sub-Saharan African migrants that has often escalated to violence.

"He is using a populist discourse that demonizes and seeks to feed hatred and division, whether it is against foreigners or in the treatment of sub-Saharan migrants or among Tunisians themselves," said Jaza Cherif, the son of scholar and activist Chaima Issa.

Issa was recently released and placed under house arrest. More than 20 Saied opponents have languished in prison since February.

The group's lawyer, Rodney Dixon, said the families filed what's called an Article 15 submission on Thursday, providing the court's prosecutor documents that outline claims of at least one of the four crimes it pursues  genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes or crimes of aggression.

Anyone can file such a claim with the court for review. Though they're a significant channel for the ICC, few cases progress to the level of extensive investigations.

Still, the petitions such as the one Thursday by the Tunisian families "provide a unique channel ... to bring the prosecutors attention to alleged crimes, said Maria Elena Vignoli, Human Rights Watch's senior international justice counsel.

On Tuesday, former right-wing lawmaker Abir Moussi, another prominent Saied opponent, was detained while trying to file a complaint at Carthage Palace, the Tunisian president's headquarters. On Tuesday, her lawyer Nafaa Laribi told TAP, Tunisia's official news agency, that he did not know why she was being detained for 48 hours.

A group of lawyers representing Chaouachi and four other dissidents aid in a statement this week that the legal process deprives prisoners of their freedom without presenting any justification for the accusations made against them.

Metz reported from Rabat, Morocco.
MADISON, Wis. (AP)  A man illegally brought a loaded handgun into the Wisconsin Capitol, demanding to see Gov. Tony Evers, and returned at night with an assault rifle after posting bail, police said Thursday.

The man, who was shirtless and had a holstered handgun, approached the governor's office on the first floor of the Capitol around 2 p.m. Wednesday, state Department of Administration spokesperson Tatyana Warrick said. The 43-year-old man said he would not leave until he saw Governor Evers so he could talk about domestic abuse towards men, Capitol police said in a bulletin sent to lawmakers and their staffs.

Evers was not in the building at the time, Warrick said.

A Capitol police officer sits at a desk outside of a suite of rooms that includes the governor's office, conference room and offices for the attorney general.

The man was taken into custody for openly carrying a firearm in the Capitol, which is against the law, Warrick said. Weapons can be brought into the Capitol if they are concealed and the person has a valid permit. The man arrested did not have a concealed carry permit, Warrick said.

The man posted cellphone video of his arrest on his Facebook page, which one of his Facebook friends downloaded and provided to The Associated Press. In the footage, the man tells police as they speak to him outside of the governors office that he is armed to defend myself from people who he says police wont protect him from.

I am not a threat, the man tells police. His dog is with him.

When told by officers that its illegal for him to openly carry a firearm in the Capitol, the man says, I will admit that I broke that law.

Warrick said she was not aware of the video and could not comment on it.

The man was booked into the Dane County Jail but later posted bail.

He returned to the outside of the Capitol shortly before 9 p.m., three hours after the building closed, with a loaded assault-style rifle and a collapsible police baton in his backpack, Warrick said. He again demanded to see the governor and was taken into custody.

The man said he did not own a vehicle and it is likely he has access to a large amount of weapons and is comfortable using them, police said in the bulletin sent to Capitol workers.

Capitol police named the suspect, but court records show that no charges had been filed as of late Thursday afternoon. The AP normally does not name suspects until they are charged and efforts are made to get comments from them, their lawyer or other representative.

Madison police reported Thursday that the man was taken into protective custody and taken to the hospital. He could not be reached by the AP, and a spokesperson for the police department did not return an email seeking additional details.

A spokesman for the state public defenders office could not disclose on Thursday whether a public defender had been assigned to the alleged gunman, and an attorney who represented him in a previous case did not immediately return voicemails asking whether they were representing him. Members of the mans family and prior employers also did not immediately respond to voicemails.

In a podcast posted Tuesday, a man who identified himself with the same name and birthdate as the alleged gunman said he was in Madison and, in speech filled with profanity, said he would burn down the system with love because it is corrupt. The man complained about how he had been treated by the courts and spoke about illegally selling weapons, working in gun stores with explosives and machine guns, attempting suicide and dealing with post-traumatic stress disorder. He also said he wanted to keep living.

Capitol Police took control of the situation and so its over, Evers told reporters Thursday.

He declined to comment on what security changes may be enacted for him or the Capitol building.

I never, ever talk about what my security detail does or what theyre planning on doing, Evers said. But anytime something like this happens, obviously they reevaluate.

The incident is just the latest in a series of violent threats against public officials.

Evers, a Democrat, was on a hit list of a gunman suspected of fatally shooting a retired county judge at his Wisconsin home in 2022. Others on that list included Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell. Whitmer was the target of a kidnapping plot in 2020.

Warrick said no immediate changes to security in the Capitol or for the governor were planned. The public has free access to the Capitol daily from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. There are no metal detectors.

Associated Press writer Harm Venhuizen contributed to this report.
NEW YORK (AP)  The ex-treasurer for U.S. Rep. George Santos pleaded guilty Thursday to a fraud conspiracy charge and implicated the indicted New York Republican in a scheme to embellish his campaign finance reports with a fake loan and fake donors.

Nancy Marks, who was a close aide to Santos during his two congressional bids, entered the plea at a federal courthouse on Long Island, where she was a longtime political operative and bookkeeper for multiple candidates.

Speaking to the judge, Marks briefly outlined a scam she said was intended to hoodwink Republican Party officials into throwing their support behind Santos, who at the time had lost an earlier race for Congress and was struggling to get financial support for a second run.

To impress party leaders, she said, Santos submitted bogus campaign finance reports falsely saying he had loaned his campaign $500,000 even though in reality he didn't have that kind of money and the loan didn't exist. The fake loan made Santos look way richer than he really was, and also helped him hit fundraising thresholds needed to qualify for backing from a national GOP committee.

Reading from a prepared statement, Marks also said she had provided the Federal Elections Commission with a fake list of people who had supposedly given large donations to the campaign. Prosecutors said the list included the names of multiple members of Santos' and Marks' families.

The donors, who are real people, didnt give me permission to use their names, Marks said in court,

Her plea agreement comes with a recommendation that she serve 3 1/2 years to 4 years in prison.

Outside the courthouse, Marks lawyer said that while his client had not formally entered into a cooperation agreement with prosecutors, she would be willing to testify against Santos if asked.

If we get a subpoena well do the right thing, said the attorney, Ray Perini. He said Santos had mentally seduced his client.

Theres a manipulation involved that had to do with her family and the death of her husband, Perini said, declining to elaborate. There were lies told.

Any such testimony could be a severe blow to the congressman, who faces a separate 13-count federal indictment alleging he duped donors, embezzled money from his campaign, lied in financial disclosures submitted to Congress about being a millionaire and received unemployment funds when he wasnt eligible. He has defied calls to resign.

An attorney for Santos, Joseph Murray, attended the court hearing and said afterward that he expected Marks was cooperating with the government. A congressional spokesperson for Santos declined to comment.

Prosecutors didn't charge Santos in the criminal complaint against Marks, but they described him as a co-conspirator."

Marks resigned as Santos treasurer amid growing questions about his campaign finances and revelations he had fabricated much of his life story.

After his election, news reporters revealed that Santos had made up stories about where he went to college and where he worked, telling people he was a Wall Street dealmaker with a real estate portfolio when he was actually struggling financially had faced eviction from multiple apartments. Santos also lied about his heritage, saying he was Jewish when he wasn't.

Santos, a first-term congressman, has acknowledged embellishing his resume, but has accused people of overreacting.

Previously, he sought to pin the blame for his unexplained finances on Marks, who he claims went rogue without his knowledge.

Marks had not previously been charged. Thursday marked her first appearance in court.

A key behind-the-scenes figure in Long Island Republican politics, Marks built a business as a treasurer and consultant to dozens of local, state and federal candidates. Her most high-profile client besides Santos was former U.S. Rep. Lee Zeldin of New York, an ally of Donald Trump. She was Zeldins bookkeeper when he unsuccessfully ran for governor in 2022.

Marks had faced scrutiny over Santos' unusual campaign filings, including a series of $199.99 expenses, just below the legal limit for disclosure.

While Santos has admitted fabricating key parts about his purported background as a wealthy, well-educated businessman, questions remain about what he did for work. Reporters had questioned the source of more than $700,000 he initially claimed to have loaned his campaign.

Besides being responsible for keeping Santos' campaign books and handling his regulatory filings, Marks had unusual business ties to Santos, according to public records.

In 2021, she was listed as being a member of a political consulting firm incorporated in Florida, whose other members included Santos' company and people who had formerly been affiliated with an investment company that had been shut down by the Securities and Exchange Commission over allegations that it was a Ponzi scheme.

When Santos was indicted, Marks wasn't mentioned by name in court filings. But the indictment described an unnamed political consultant who it said had helped dupe donors who gave money that they thought was going to the campaign but was instead siphoned off for Santos' personal use.

Marks is the second person besides Santos to face charges in connection with the campaign. In August, a former Santos fundraiser, Sam Miele, was indicted on federal charges that he impersonated the then-chief of staff to GOP Rep. Kevin McCarthy of California, who at the time was the House minority leader.

Miele pleaded not guilty. His attorney, Kevin Marino, had predicted that his client would be exonerated at trial.
WASHINGTON (AP)  A path for additional U.S. aid to Ukraine appears increasingly fraught after the ouster of House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, with many House Republicans opposing help for the war-torn country as they search for a new leader.

Tuesdays historic vote to remove McCarthy as speaker comes at a critical time, with a deadline for funding the government little more than a month away, and as opposition to aiding Ukraines defensive war against Russia slowly gains momentum among Republicans in both chambers of Congress.

Leaders dropped $6 billion in Ukraine aid from the temporary funding measure passed Saturday as they focused on passing it quickly, just hours before the government would have shut down.

Congress will have to figure out by mid-November how to pass another spending bill to keep the government open. Supporters of Ukraine aid  including Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who visited the Capitol to plead for the money in person just two weeks ago  say its essential that additional funding is included.

But the House is leaderless for now, halting legislation. And it is unclear when the next speaker will be elected.

Because the eight Republican lawmakers who voted to oust McCarthy were upset with his decision to work with Democrats on funding the government, his successor will likely fight the Senate and House Democrats on many issues, including funding for Ukraine.

It does worry me, President Joe Biden said Wednesday. He said he would address Ukraine aid soon.

We cannot and should not again be faced with an 11th hour decision of brinksmanship that threatens to shut down the government, Biden said.

In the Senate, where bipartisan support for Ukraine is stronger, Democrats and Republicans also expressed alarm.

The fight in Ukraine is a century-defining moment, said Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy of Connecticut. The rest of this century looks radically different if the United States abandons Ukraine. ... If the decision in the House is to elect a speaker who will fight against Ukraine funding, thats a decision that will be written about in the history books.

Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., said he hopes House Republicans come to their senses. If the U.S. cant help a country that is willing to sacrifice its own people to fight Russia, Manchin said, then God help us all.

Senate Republicans who support Ukraine aid have increasingly said it should be tied to increased money or policy changes to help manage the southern U.S. border. They see the pairing as a possible compromise that could politically benefit members of both parties. But any dealmaking is on hold as House Republicans try to find a new leader.

Because of the chaos in the House today, it makes it harder to talk about the failed Biden Presidency and address our broken southern border, Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., posted on X, formerly known as Twitter.

So far, House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, and House Majority Leader Steve Scalise have both announced that they will run for speaker. Oklahoma Rep. Kevin Hern is also weighing a bid.

Jordan has made clear his opposition to additional Ukraine aid and reiterated it Wednesday. The most pressing issue on Americans minds is not Ukraine, it is the border situation and crime on the streets and everybody knows that, Jordan told reporters.

Before the Ukraine money was dropped from the temporary funding bill, the House last week approved $300 million for a program that provides Ukrainian troops with training on the use of American-made weapons systems. The vote that was set up to allow some Republicans to register their opposition.

More than half of the Republican conference, 117 of 221, voted against the measure, including Jordan and Hern. Scalise voted for it.

Hern said Wednesday that Biden needs to sit down in a classified setting, and tell those of us that have not supported, for the same reason time and time again, we want to know what the American taxpayer dollars are going and whats the end game.

Rep. Kelly Armstrong, R-N.D., voted for the $300 million in training funding, but said the Biden administration needs to do a better job of making the case.

People have had enough over here. They want to hear a plan. They want to hear a message. They want to understand what were doing. And theres a case to be made. Go make the case, Armstrong said.

Some Democrats werent sure if the situation was better or worse in McCarthys absence, noting that McCarthy was the one who dropped the Ukraine aid from the government funding bill.

Let me put it this way, were no worse off, said Rep. Adam Smith of Washington state, the top-ranking Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee.

But House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul, R-Texas, who backs the assistance, said he knew that McCarthy was committed to funding Ukraine's war because of his private conversations with him. Amid the chaos, he said, he fears that the government will shut down in November and that spending decisions will be punted until the end of the year in one massive funding package.

McCaul said support for Ukraine would be a major factor in whom he supports for speaker.

Its going to be even harder now with McCarthy gone, McCaul said. Were running out of time.

Associated Press writers Stephen Groves and Josh Boak and videojournalists Dan Huff and Nathan Ellgren contributed to this report.
3D printed clouds and figurines are seen in front of the Microsoft Azure cloud service logo in this illustration

Amazon and Microsofts grip on the cloud computing industry will be investigated by competition authorities after a study found the two companies were potentially stifling rivals.

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said it would launch the investigation following findings from Ofcom which revealed the US tech giants are using tactics to prevent customers from switching to other providers.

Amazon and Microsoft dominate the market for cloud computing  in which companies store data and run software in massive data centres owned by the providers and access them over the internet.

Ofcom found they have as much as 80pc of the UK market between them, and said it was concerned about potentially anti-competitive tactics.

The Computer & Communications Industry Association, a US lobby group which has members including Amazon, warned that the inquiry could harm innovation.

There is no case for a broad inquiry that could undermine the flexibility that allows cloud providers to constantly innovate with new services and new commercial offers. The CMA needs to show restraint, it said.

Ofcom concerns

In a 254-page report into cloud computing, Ofcom said it was particularly concerned about Amazon and Microsofts position.

It said the companies used a series of tactics to maintain their position, including charging customers to switch to different providers, putting up barriers to making software work on different cloud systems, and offering big discounts up front for customers that exclusively work with one company.

Ofcom said: We are concerned that the threat of customers switching away from the market leaders will reduce, further dampening competition for new and existing customers.

Increasing cloud reliance

The CMAs chief executive Sarah Cardell said: This is a 7.5bn market that underpins a whole host of online services  from social media to AI foundation models. Many businesses now completely rely on cloud services, making effective competition in this market essential.

Story continues

The CMA has already fought a long battle with Microsoft over its takeover of video game company Activision Blizzard and has investigated how Amazon treats sellers on its online marketplace.

Amazon and Microsoft have both warned that interventions could hit investment in the UK.

A Microsoft spokesman said: We are committed to ensuring the UK cloud industry remains innovative, highly competitive and an accelerator for growth across the economy. We will engage constructively with the CMA as they conduct their Cloud Services Market Investigation.

Amazon said: We disagree with Ofcoms findings and believe they are based on a fundamental misconception of how the IT sector functions, and the services and discounts on offer. Only a small percentage of IT spend is in the cloud, and customers can meet their IT needs from any combination of on-premises hardware and software, managed or co-location services, and cloud services. AWS designs cloud services to give customers the freedom to choose technology that best suits their needs. UK companies, and the overall economy, benefit from robust competition among IT providers, and the cloud has made switching between providers easier than ever. Any unwarranted intervention could lead to unintended harm to IT customers and competition. AWS will work constructively with the CMA.

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SAN FRANCISCO (AP)  Mourners streamed into San Francisco City Hall on Wednesday to pay their respects to the late U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein, honoring her as fearless, smart and the glue who kept the city together after two political assassinations that catapulted her into the mayors office and the national spotlight.

She wasnt afraid to do a mans job. She wasnt afraid to be a senator. She wasnt afraid to go after what she wanted, said Lawanda Carter, 48, of San Francisco. And thats encouragement for us women now to have courage.

Carter was among the scores of everyday San Franciscans and political leaders alike who brought flowers, bowed their heads or clasped their hands in prayer as they stood before Feinstein's casket, which was draped in an American flag and on display behind velvet ropes. Many said they had never met Feinstein, but wanted to honor an indefatigable public servant who fought to level the playing field for women, members of the LGBTQ community and racial minorities.

Feinstein died early Friday in her Washington, D.C., home of natural causes, said Adam Russell, a spokesperson for her office. She was 90.

She was San Francisco's first female mayor and one of California's first two women U.S. senators, a job she first won alongside Barbara Boxer in 1992, dubbed the  Year of the Woman. Former U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, also of San Francisco, and Mayor London Breed were among the officials who paid their respects.

Feinstein spent much of her career in the U.S. Senate but will be known as the forever mayor of San Francisco, a role she inherited in tragedy. She was president of the Board of Supervisors in November 1978 when a former supervisor assassinated Mayor George Moscone and Supervisor Harvey Milk, the citys first openly gay supervisor, at City Hall.

Feinstein, who found Milk's body, became acting mayor and won election twice to serve as mayor until 1988.

Georgia Otterson, 76, a health care administrator, said Feinstein wasnt as politically liberal as she would have liked, but the late mayor earned her respect with how she kept the heartbroken city together.

We were all mourning together, holding candles. If memory serves me, Joan Baez sang," Otterson said of an impromptu march that night from the historically gay Castro District to City Hall. And she held us up.

As a centrist Democrat, she was criticized by some more liberal voters, including for her longtime support for the death penalty, and as the country became more polarized, for her collegial relationship with Republicans. But the straight, white woman largely earned the gratitude of a city that celebrates its racial and sexual diversity.

She steered San Francisco through the HIV and AIDS crisis, bringing attention to an epidemic ignored by President Ronald Reagan. She also secured federal and private funding to save the citys iconic cable cars from death by deterioration.

Feinstein led the city as it played host to the Democratic National Convention in 1984. Another San Francisco tradition  Fleet Week  was started by Feinstein in 1981, and this years annual celebration of air shows, naval ships and military bands is dedicated to her.

Breed recalled looking up to Feinstein when she was a Black kid growing up in public housing and playing the French horn in a middle school band that performed regularly at mayoral events.

She was so proud of us and she said so, and she took the time to talk to us, express how amazing we were and to remind us that we were her band, Breed said at a news conference the day after Feinstein's death.

Mourners Wednesday expressed their pride in Feinstein.

She kept moving on up. I was proud of her, very proud of her, said Dorothy Hudson, 81, a retired federal government employee. She was very kind, very smart. She opened doors up to let people know, 'You can do it.'

San Francisco native Cari Donovan placed a bouquet of red and pink lilies and daisies on the floor before the casket. She lingered, crying quietly over a woman she never knew but who was so important to her life.

She championed and fought for the rights of so many people, Donovan said. I'm so grateful. And I really just wanted her family to know how much she meant to me.

The social worker said she talked to her 28-year-old daughter about the battles Feinstein fought so that younger generations of women could dream bigger. She was a lioness.

While Feinstein's career sent her to Washington, she remained deeply involved in the affairs of San Francisco, the city where she was born and raised. She often called her successors  including Gov. Gavin Newsom  to complain about potholes or trash and to offer advice and encouragement.

John Konstin Sr., owner of Johns Grill, a favorite downtown tourist destination and watering hole for city politicians, recalled Feinstein ordering potholes filled, trees trimmed and ugly scaffolding brought down before San Francisco hosted the 1984 Democratic convention.

She asked, How long has this scaffolding been up? And my dad said Maybe 10 years, and the next day it came down," said Konstin, 59. It was half a block of scaffolding.

The restaurant, which is celebrating its 115th anniversary Wednesday, honored Feinstein with flowers beneath a portrait of her that hangs on a wall.

Feinstein's body will remained in City Hall through the evening and a memorial service is scheduled Thursday outside the building.

Speakers will include Vice President Kamala Harris, U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York and Feinsteins granddaughter Eileen Mariano. President Joe Biden will deliver remarks by recorded video.

Among the first to say goodbye Wednesday were Jose Romero Cooper and Mark Cooper. The married couple waited in line before doors opened to the public.

What Im gonna say is: Thank you for everything, for being strong, said Romero Cooper, 61, a scarf of the American flag draped around his neck.

He stood before the casket, genuflected and crossed himself, then walked away with tears streaming down his face.

This story has been corrected to show that Feinstein died Friday, not Thursday.



AP researcher Randy Herschaft in New York contributed to this report.
WASHINGTON (AP)  When Washington Sen. Patty Murray received a call early Friday morning that Sen. Dianne Feinstein had died, she immediately started calling her fellow female senators.

The Democrats first call was to Republican Sen. Susan Collins, who had worked with Feinstein almost as long as she had. Murray and Feinstein were elected in 1992  the year of the woman  and Collins was elected just four years later. Murray then called several other female Senate colleagues, hastily arranging a tribute.

My immediate response was my women Senate colleagues that have been her friends and her family for so long, and that we needed to be together on the floor. Murray said in an interview in her Capitol office Friday afternoon.

They were all there when the Senate opened at 10 a.m., just hours after Feinstein had died at her home in Washington after serving more than three decades in the Senate. Standing near Feinsteins Senate desk, now draped in black cloth, the senators  along with some of their male colleagues  described her indomitable, fierce intelligence, her impact on the Senate and her deep knowledge of every issue she touched. They talked about how she had paved the way for so many women as the first female mayor of San Francisco, one of Californias first two female senators and the first female chairwoman of the Senate Intelligence Committee.

But the women also talked about their private times with Feinstein that were at odds with her tough public persona -- how she would invite them out to dinners, how she would sometimes give them the clothes off her back, and how she brought them together for bipartisan gatherings as their ranks in the Senate grew from just a handful to one-quarter of the chamber. Several of them teared up as they spoke.

It was a peek into Feinsteins friendships and also the private, collegial side of the Senate that the public rarely sees  and that has faded in recent years as Congress has become more partisan and divided. Feinstein often received criticism from the left flank for her bipartisanship.

I think its important that people understand that here in the United States Senate, a place that can be so divisive at times, that true friendships actually exist, said Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski, a Republican.

Murkowski spoke about sharing dinners with Feinstein when the Senate would stay in town over a weekend and they werent able to fly home to their faraway states. She joked that Feinstein, always impeccably dressed, probably wouldnt have approved of the shoes she was wearing.

As the senators spoke, Feinstein's daughter Katherine watched from the gallery, sitting with former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Members of California's House delegation lined the back wall.

Collins said Feinstein held an engagement party for her before she was married more than a decade ago. She displayed a painting that Feinstein had painted for her that now hangs in her office and will have a place of honor there always, Collins said.

Democratic Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota said that when attending an event in San Francisco around 15 years ago, Feinstein invited her to stay the night at her mansion in the city. When Klobuchar woke up early the next morning, Feinstein summoned her to her room, where she was wearing fuzzy slippers -- and reading a 200-page bill. She proceeded to quiz Klobuchar on the details.

That was Dianne, Klobuchar said, noting that the California Democrat had to work harder than everyone else as she rose up through politics at a time when there were so few women.

Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., also brought a drawing Feinstein had given her and wore red lipstick in her honor. Murray told a story about admiring one of Feinsteins purses, and then receiving one in the mail from the California senator a few days later. Sen. Maggie Hassan, D-N.H., said she was wearing shoes she said Feinstein had once admired.

Sen. Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii, was wearing a scarf Feinstein had given her on the spot when she had told her she liked it.

She just took it off and gave it to me, Hirono said. We had to be careful about admiring anything Dianne had, because she would likely take it off and give it to us.

Wyoming Sen. Cynthia Lummis, a Republican, said Feinstein was particularly kind to other women senators. She was the first to invite other women senators to dinner, to lead our gatherings and to focus our attention on things that are good for all Americans without regard to political ideology.

Feinstein was one of the leaders and hosts of regular bipartisan dinners with all the women of the Senate, even as the group got a bit too large for them all to sit around one table and as the gatherings became a bit less frequent.

When eating with Feinstein, said Democratic Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada, Feinstein would have a little parting gift for you, a little coin purse or something to show you just truly who she was.

Speaking at an event Friday, former New York Sen. Hillary Clinton told her own story about a gathering at Feinsteins home.

After she lost the Democratic presidential primary to Barack Obama in 2008, Clinton said, she called Feinstein when the two former opponents  and then-senators  wanted to talk privately and werent sure how to do so without attracting attention. Clinton said she and Obama ended up in Feinstein's living room, talking about what Clinton would do to support the future president while Feinstein would occasionally pop in, asking if they wanted more Chardonnay.

I had total trust in her, Clinton said at The Atlantic Festival in Washington.

For Murray and Collins, one of the places where they had worked most closely with Feinstein was on the Senate Appropriations Committee, which Murray now leads with Collins as the top Republican. The three women served together for decades on the committee, which is known for its bipartisanship.

One of the female senators Murray contacted Friday morning was Alabama Sen. Katie Britt, a first-term Republican and former staffer on the Appropriations Committee. Britt texted back that Feinstein had blazed a trail for her, along with Murray, and asked to sit with the other women senators on the floor during the tribute. My heart is so sad, Britt texted her.

Murray said the text brought her to tears.

There was a side of Dianne that most people probably never saw, which all of us who are so lucky to be her friends here saw, Murray said.

On the Senate floor, Murray teared up again as she recalled seeing Feinstein there just Thursday, casting her last vote.

Im so sorry I didnt hug her when she went back out that door yesterday, Murray said.
Allentown, PA (18103)

Today

Mostly sunny and continued chilly; below freezing temps to start the day. .

Tonight

Mostly clear and cold; another night of below freezing temperatures.
Long-established in the Beverages - Alcoholic industry, Molson Coors Beverage Co (NYSE:TAP) has enjoyed a stellar reputation. However, it has recently witnessed a daily loss of 3.57%, juxtaposed with a three-month change of -8.02%. Fresh insights from the GF Score hint at potential headwinds. Notably, its diminished rankings in financial strength, growth, and valuation suggest that the company might not live up to its historical performance. Join us as we dive deep into these pivotal metrics to unravel the evolving narrative of Molson Coors Beverage Co.

Is Molson Coors Beverage Co (TAP) Set to Underperform? Analyzing the Factors Limiting Growth

What Is the GF Score?

The GF Score is a stock performance ranking system developed by GuruFocus using five aspects of valuation, which has been found to be closely correlated to the long-term performances of stocks by backtesting from 2006 to 2021. The stocks with a higher GF Score generally generate higher returns than those with a lower GF Score. Therefore, when picking stocks, investors should invest in companies with high GF Scores. The GF Score ranges from 0 to 100, with 100 as the highest rank.

Based on the above method, GuruFocus assigned Molson Coors Beverage Co the GF Score of 69 out of 100, which signals poor future outperformance potential.

Understanding Molson Coors Beverage Co Business

Molson Coors Beverage Co, with a market cap of $13.15 billion and sales of $11.18 billion, is a prominent player in the Beverages - Alcoholic industry. The company boasts an operating margin of 11.73%. It owns well-known beer brands including Miller, Coors, Blue Moon, and Carling, and ranks as the second-largest beer maker in both value and volume terms in the U.S., Canada, and the United Kingdom. Through licensing agreements, it also brews and distributes beer and hard seltzer under partner brands from Heineken, Anheuser-Busch InBev, Asahi, and Coca-Cola. North America remains its largest market contributing over 80% of total revenue.

Story continues

Is Molson Coors Beverage Co (TAP) Set to Underperform? Analyzing the Factors Limiting Growth

Financial Strength Breakdown

Molson Coors Beverage Co's financial strength indicators present some concerning insights about the company's balance sheet health. The company's Altman Z-Score is just 1.43, which is below the distress zone of 1.81. This suggests that the company may face financial distress over the next few years. Additionally, the company's low cash-to-debt ratio at 0.15 indicates a struggle in handling existing debt levels. Furthermore, the company's debt-to-Ebitda ratio is 5.79, which is above Joel Tillinghast's warning level of 4 and is worse than 83.44% of 151 companies in the Beverages - Alcoholic industry.

Growth Prospects

A lack of significant growth is another area where Molson Coors Beverage Co seems to falter, as evidenced by the company's low Growth rank. Over the past five years, Molson Coors Beverage Co has witnessed a decline in its earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA). The three-year growth rate is recorded at -18.6, while the five-year growth rate is at -17.5. These figures underscore potential challenges in the company's profitability. Lastly, Molson Coors Beverage Co predictability rank is just one star out of five, adding to investor uncertainty regarding revenue and earnings consistency.

Is Molson Coors Beverage Co (TAP) Set to Underperform? Analyzing the Factors Limiting Growth

Next Steps

Given the company's financial strength, profitability, and growth metrics, the GF Score highlights the firm's unparalleled position for potential underperformance. While Molson Coors Beverage Co has a rich history and a strong brand portfolio, its financial metrics suggest that it may struggle to maintain its historical performance. Therefore, investors should exercise caution and conduct thorough research before investing in this company.

GuruFocus Premium members can find more companies with strong GF Scores using the following screener link: GF Score Screen

This article first appeared on GuruFocus.


Multigate

LONDON, Oct. 05, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Multigate, a licensed financial services platform company that delivers secure and innovative digital solutions to address the complex financial needs of corporates and financial institutions, has been granted a Money Remittance Business license by the Bank of Uganda and an International Money Transfer Operator (IMTO) license from the Central Bank of Nigeria. This marks another significant milestone in Multigates commitment to delivering innovative digital solutions governed by leading regulatory and security standards. These Money Remittance Business licenses are in addition to Multigates Money Services Business (MSB) registration with the Canadian FINTRAC.



The acquisition of a Money Remittance Business licenses from the Bank of Uganda and from the Central Bank of Nigeria, following the same from Canada, further strengthens our position as a trusted solutions provider that takes regulations seriously. We thank the Bank of Uganda and Nigeria for the diligent and rigorous review process they took us through to ensure we met all requirements. The remittance industry is crucial in advancing Africas economy and enhancing African organisations regional and global trade. With these licenses, we are excited and prepared to expand our cross-border payment solution to our valued clients and partners in Uganda and Nigeria, said Eghosa Nehikhare, CEO of Multigate.

Multigates cross-border payment solutions allow Banking Financial Institutions (BFIs) and Non-Banking Financial Institutions (NBFIs) to execute real-time international payments using local currencies. Over the last few months, Multigate acquired several regulatory licenses and certifications that align with its mission to deliver solutions governed by leading regulatory and security standards.

In 2023 alone, they became the first Pan-African-based technology company to be certified as a SWIFT Lite2 Business Application Provider (L2BA), with ISO 20000, 22301, and 27001 certifications. In a press statement in July 2023, Eghosa Nehikhare said, these certificates showcase our willingness to invest upfront in the quality of service, ensuring our products are reliable, and our dedication to service management, business continuity, and information security. These certifications underline the company's commitment to delivering high-quality services, effectively managing risks, and safeguarding sensitive information.

Story continues

According to data from the World Bank, remittances contributed approximately $20 bn to Nigeria and $1.1 bn to Uganda in 2022. Whilst Nigeria accounts for 38% of remittances in Sub-Saharan Africa, it is predicted that Ugandas remittance growth rate will double that of Nigeria. Uganda has a thriving economy and growing diaspora population, which present immense opportunities for the remittance sector in the country.

Notes to Editors:

Founded in 2017, Multigate is a digital financial services platform that delivers innovative solutions to address complex financial needs for organisations trading in African markets.



Our innovative digital solutions include:



Cross-Border Payment Solution

FX Conversion Solution Multi-Bank Connector Solution Automated Reconciliation Solution



We operate in the United Kingdom, Canada, and Sub-Saharan Africa.



Our vision is to advance Africas economy by enabling seamless and instant transactions for organisations in African markets trading regionally and globally.



Visit https://www.multigate.io/ for further details.





Contact Details




Aarons (NYSE:AAN  Get Free Report) had its target price lowered by equities research analysts at Truist Financial from $15.00 to $11.00 in a report released on Thursday, FlyOnTheWall reports. Truist Financials price objective indicates a potential upside of 11.90% from the stocks previous close.

Several other analysts have also issued reports on AAN. StockNews.com lowered Aarons from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research note on Monday, September 18th. Stephens reaffirmed an equal weight rating and set a $18.00 price target on shares of Aarons in a report on Tuesday, August 1st. Loop Capital downgraded shares of Aarons from a buy rating to a hold rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $15.00 to $14.00 in a report on Monday, July 10th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Aarons from $15.00 to $17.00 in a research report on Tuesday, July 11th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the companys stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $13.56.

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Aarons Price Performance

Shares of AAN opened at $9.83 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The companys fifty day simple moving average is $11.79 and its 200 day simple moving average is $12.27. Aarons has a 1-year low of $7.64 and a 1-year high of $16.16. The company has a market cap of $303.45 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -122.88 and a beta of 1.22.

Aarons (NYSE:AAN  Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 1st. The company reported $0.39 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.18 by $0.21. The company had revenue of $530.40 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $547.87 million. Aarons had a negative net margin of 0.10% and a positive return on equity of 6.43%. Aaronss revenue for the quarter was down 13.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.79 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Aarons will post 1.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in AAN. BlackRock Inc. raised its holdings in Aarons by 0.7% in the 2nd quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 5,955,388 shares of the companys stock valued at $84,209,000 after acquiring an additional 39,111 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Aarons by 5.9% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,976,760 shares of the companys stock worth $79,853,000 after acquiring an additional 221,788 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Aarons by 5.7% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,743,950 shares of the companys stock worth $24,660,000 after acquiring an additional 94,387 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its stake in Aarons by 1.0% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,282,329 shares of the companys stock valued at $18,800,000 after acquiring an additional 12,461 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Palisade Capital Management LP raised its position in Aarons by 5.1% during the second quarter. Palisade Capital Management LP now owns 1,249,095 shares of the companys stock valued at $17,662,000 after purchasing an additional 61,013 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.82% of the companys stock.

About Aarons

(Get Free Report)

Headquartered in Atlanta, The Aarons Company, Inc (NYSE: AAN) is a leading, technology-enabled, omnichannel provider of lease-purchase solutions. Aarons engages in direct-to-consumer sales and lease ownership of furniture, appliances, consumer electronics and accessories through its approximately 1,300 company-operated and franchised stores in 47 states and Canada, as well as its e-commerce platform, Aarons.com.

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Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. increased its holdings in shares of Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL  Free Report) by 3.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,803,796 shares of the financial services providers stock after acquiring an additional 89,600 shares during the quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. owned approximately 0.46% of Aflac worth $195,705,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich lifted its position in Aflac by 99,608.4% in the 2nd quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 1,691,395,636 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $118,059,415,000 after purchasing an additional 1,689,699,293 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Aflac by 338.0% during the first quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 5,604,901 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $93,656,000 after buying an additional 4,325,212 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Aflac by 71.2% during the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 6,512,084 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $420,160,000 after buying an additional 2,707,608 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in Aflac in the 4th quarter worth approximately $175,416,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. increased its position in Aflac by 62.4% in the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,936,608 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $317,865,000 after acquiring an additional 1,897,212 shares during the period. 66.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Aflac Trading Up 0.9 %

AFL traded up $0.70 during trading on Thursday, reaching $76.77. The company had a trading volume of 286,645 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,407,120. The firms 50-day simple moving average is $75.49 and its 200 day simple moving average is $70.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 0.07 and a current ratio of 0.07. The company has a market cap of $45.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.17, a PEG ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 0.91. Aflac Incorporated has a 12-month low of $56.26 and a 12-month high of $78.43.

Aflac Dividend Announcement

Aflac ( NYSE:AFL Get Free Report ) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, August 1st. The financial services provider reported $1.58 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.42 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $5.17 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.52 billion. Aflac had a net margin of 24.48% and a return on equity of 16.10%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Aflac Incorporated will post 6.01 earnings per share for the current year.

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 23rd were issued a $0.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 22nd. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.19%. Aflacs payout ratio is currently 22.46%.

Insider Transactions at Aflac

In other Aflac news, insider Virgil Raynard Miller sold 2,626 shares of the firms stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.08, for a total transaction of $202,412.08. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 2,181 shares in the company, valued at approximately $168,111.48. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, insider Virgil Raynard Miller sold 2,626 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.08, for a total transaction of $202,412.08. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 2,181 shares of the companys stock, valued at $168,111.48. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Charles D. Lake II sold 16,040 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.86, for a total transaction of $1,216,794.40. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 53,925 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $4,090,750.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 30,170 shares of company stock valued at $2,289,435 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.90% of the companys stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AFL has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Aflac from $71.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 15th. Raymond James upped their price target on shares of Aflac from $77.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 26th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of Aflac from $70.00 to $74.00 and gave the company a hold rating in a research note on Thursday, September 14th. Truist Financial upped their target price on Aflac from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a hold rating in a research report on Thursday, August 3rd. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price target on Aflac from $69.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 9th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $76.36.

Check Out Our Latest Stock Report on Aflac

Aflac Company Profile

(Free Report)

Aflac Incorporated, through its subsidiaries, provides supplemental health and life insurance products. It operates in two segments, Aflac Japan and Aflac U.S. The Aflac Japan segment offers cancer, medical, nursing care, work leave, GIFT, and whole and term life insurance products, as well as WAYS and child endowment plans under saving type insurance products in Japan.

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Douglas Emmett, Inc. (NYSE:DEI  Free Report)  Investment analysts at Wedbush issued their Q3 2023 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for Douglas Emmett in a report issued on Monday, October 2nd. Wedbush analyst R. Anderson anticipates that the real estate investment trust will earn $0.44 per share for the quarter. Wedbush has a Neutral rating and a $13.00 price target on the stock. The consensus estimate for Douglas Emmetts current full-year earnings is $1.82 per share. Wedbush also issued estimates for Douglas Emmetts Q4 2023 earnings at $0.44 EPS, FY2023 earnings at $1.83 EPS and FY2024 earnings at $1.81 EPS.

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DEI has been the topic of a number of other research reports. StockNews.com initiated coverage on Douglas Emmett in a research report on Thursday, August 17th. They issued a sell rating on the stock. Raymond James decreased their price target on Douglas Emmett from $17.00 to $16.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 4th. Piper Sandler downgraded Douglas Emmett from an overweight rating to a neutral rating and set a $15.00 price target for the company. in a report on Tuesday, September 5th. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on Douglas Emmett from $14.00 to $15.00 and gave the company an in-line rating in a report on Wednesday, August 16th. Finally, KeyCorp started coverage on Douglas Emmett in a report on Monday, September 11th. They issued a sector weight rating for the company. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $14.27.

Douglas Emmett Price Performance

Shares of NYSE DEI opened at $12.01 on Thursday. The businesss 50 day moving average price is $13.46 and its 200 day moving average price is $12.72. The firm has a market cap of $2.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.38 and a beta of 0.99. Douglas Emmett has a 52 week low of $10.09 and a 52 week high of $18.26. The company has a quick ratio of 2.67, a current ratio of 2.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29.

Douglas Emmett Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 29th will be paid a dividend of $0.19 per share. This represents a $0.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.33%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 28th. Douglas Emmetts payout ratio is 230.31%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in DEI. Cibc World Markets Corp raised its stake in Douglas Emmett by 0.7% in the 1st quarter. Cibc World Markets Corp now owns 88,337 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock valued at $2,952,000 after purchasing an additional 610 shares during the last quarter. Centersquare Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Douglas Emmett by 0.3% in the 1st quarter. Centersquare Investment Management LLC now owns 218,255 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock valued at $7,294,000 after purchasing an additional 635 shares during the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its stake in Douglas Emmett by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 97,549 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock valued at $2,183,000 after purchasing an additional 761 shares during the last quarter. Argonautica Private Wealth Management Inc. raised its stake in Douglas Emmett by 5.8% in the 2nd quarter. Argonautica Private Wealth Management Inc. now owns 17,540 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock valued at $220,000 after purchasing an additional 954 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp raised its stake in Douglas Emmett by 5.5% in the 1st quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 18,594 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock valued at $229,000 after purchasing an additional 963 shares during the last quarter. 97.37% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Douglas Emmett Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

Douglas Emmett, Inc (DEI) is a fully integrated, self-administered and self-managed real estate investment trust (REIT), and one of the largest owners and operators of high-quality office and multifamily properties located in the premier coastal submarkets of Los Angeles and Honolulu. Douglas Emmett focuses on owning and acquiring a substantial share of top-tier office properties and premier multifamily communities in neighborhoods that possess significant supply constraints, high-end executive housing and key lifestyle amenities.

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Essex Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ESS  Free Report)  Wedbush issued their Q3 2023 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for Essex Property Trust in a report released on Monday, October 2nd. Wedbush analyst R. Anderson anticipates that the real estate investment trust will post earnings of $3.77 per share for the quarter. Wedbush currently has a Neutral rating and a $225.00 price target on the stock. The consensus estimate for Essex Property Trusts current full-year earnings is $15.03 per share. Wedbush also issued estimates for Essex Property Trusts Q4 2023 earnings at $3.81 EPS, FY2023 earnings at $15.00 EPS and FY2024 earnings at $15.60 EPS.

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Several other analysts also recently weighed in on ESS. StockNews.com assumed coverage on Essex Property Trust in a report on Thursday, August 17th. They issued a hold rating for the company. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Essex Property Trust from $247.00 to $244.00 and set an equal weight rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, September 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Essex Property Trust from $252.00 to $268.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Monday, August 21st. Truist Financial lowered Essex Property Trust from a buy rating to a hold rating and lifted their target price for the company from $255.00 to $266.00 in a research note on Monday, August 28th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered Essex Property Trust from a buy rating to a hold rating and lifted their target price for the company from $245.00 to $250.00 in a research note on Monday, July 17th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the companys stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $242.33.

Essex Property Trust Stock Performance

ESS stock opened at $209.91 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.27 and a quick ratio of 1.27. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $231.05 and a 200 day moving average price of $224.55. The company has a market capitalization of $13.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.54, a PEG ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.79. Essex Property Trust has a 1-year low of $195.03 and a 1-year high of $248.80.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Essex Property Trust

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Barclays PLC lifted its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 94.8% in the second quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 106,598 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock valued at $24,974,000 after acquiring an additional 51,887 shares during the period. Portside Wealth Group LLC acquired a new position in Essex Property Trust in the second quarter valued at approximately $382,000. Virginia Retirement Systems ET AL acquired a new position in Essex Property Trust in the second quarter valued at approximately $1,446,000. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC lifted its holdings in Essex Property Trust by 8.4% in the second quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 1,174 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock valued at $275,000 after acquiring an additional 91 shares during the period. Finally, Imprint Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Essex Property Trust in the second quarter valued at approximately $18,243,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.93% of the companys stock.

Essex Property Trust Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 13th. Investors of record on Friday, September 29th will be issued a dividend of $2.31 per share. This represents a $9.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 28th. Essex Property Trusts dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 112.41%.

About Essex Property Trust

(Get Free Report)

Essex Property Trust, Inc, an S&P 500 company, is a fully integrated real estate investment trust (REIT) that acquires, develops, redevelops, and manages multifamily residential properties in selected West Coast markets. Essex currently has ownership interests in 252 apartment communities comprising approximately 62,000 apartment homes with an additional property in active development.

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Freedom Day Solutions LLC reduced its stake in shares of Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSEAMERICAN:LNG  Free Report) by 3.2% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 10,887 shares of the energy companys stock after selling 359 shares during the quarter. Freedom Day Solutions LLCs holdings in Cheniere Energy were worth $1,659,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new stake in Cheniere Energy in the first quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Cheniere Energy during the first quarter worth approximately $30,000. Accel Wealth Management increased its holdings in shares of Cheniere Energy by 100.0% in the 1st quarter. Accel Wealth Management now owns 200 shares of the energy companys stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. Ridgewood Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Cheniere Energy during the 1st quarter worth $32,000. Finally, AllSquare Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Cheniere Energy by 63.9% during the 1st quarter. AllSquare Wealth Management LLC now owns 241 shares of the energy companys stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 94 shares during the period. 85.86% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. StockNews.com assumed coverage on Cheniere Energy in a research note on Saturday, August 19th. They issued a strong-buy rating on the stock. Capital One Financial started coverage on Cheniere Energy in a research report on Wednesday, September 6th. They set an overweight rating and a $200.00 price objective for the company. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Cheniere Energy from $172.00 to $194.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Thursday, September 14th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Cheniere Energy from $230.00 to $222.00 in a report on Tuesday, August 8th. Finally, Mizuho decreased their target price on shares of Cheniere Energy from $200.00 to $187.00 in a research report on Thursday, June 22nd. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of Buy and an average target price of $198.23.

Cheniere Energy Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of Cheniere Energy stock traded up $1.23 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $160.18. 112,890 shares of the companys stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,619,471. Cheniere Energy, Inc. has a twelve month low of $135.00 and a twelve month high of $182.35. The company has a market cap of $38.54 billion, a PE ratio of 4.51, a PEG ratio of 0.33 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a quick ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 1.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.60. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $153.78 and a 200-day simple moving average of $152.30.

Cheniere Energy (NYSEAMERICAN:LNG  Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 3rd. The energy company reported $5.61 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.81 by $2.80. The company had revenue of $4.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $4.25 billion. Cheniere Energy had a return on equity of 481.80% and a net margin of 28.47%. The businesss revenue was down 48.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.90 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Cheniere Energy, Inc. will post 16.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cheniere Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 16th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 9th were paid a dividend of $0.395 per share. This represents a $1.58 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.99%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 8th. Cheniere Energys payout ratio is currently 4.65%.

About Cheniere Energy

(Free Report)

Cheniere Energy, Inc, an energy infrastructure company, primarily engages in the liquefied natural gas (LNG) related businesses in the United States. It owns and operates the Sabine Pass LNG terminal in Cameron Parish, Louisiana; and the Corpus Christi LNG terminal near Corpus Christi, Texas. The company also owns Creole Trail pipeline, a 94-mile pipeline interconnecting the Sabine Pass LNG terminal with various interstate pipelines; and operates Corpus Christi pipeline, a 21.5-mile natural gas supply pipeline that interconnects the Corpus Christi LNG terminal with various interstate and intrastate natural gas pipelines.

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Comgest Global Investors S.A.S. lowered its stake in Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY  Free Report) by 1.5% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 990,108 shares of the companys stock after selling 14,711 shares during the period. Eli Lilly and Company makes up 7.8% of Comgest Global Investors S.A.S.s portfolio, making the stock its 4th largest holding. Comgest Global Investors S.A.S. owned 0.10% of Eli Lilly and Company worth $464,341,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Towerpoint Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 0.5% during the 2nd quarter. Towerpoint Wealth LLC now owns 4,239 shares of the companys stock worth $1,988,000 after acquiring an additional 22 shares during the period. Pacific Sage Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 1.4% during the 2nd quarter. Pacific Sage Partners LLC now owns 1,591 shares of the companys stock worth $746,000 after acquiring an additional 22 shares during the period. Oxler Private Wealth LLC increased its position in Eli Lilly and Company by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. Oxler Private Wealth LLC now owns 6,050 shares of the companys stock worth $2,078,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. Missouri Trust & Investment Co increased its position in Eli Lilly and Company by 3.2% during the 1st quarter. Missouri Trust & Investment Co now owns 774 shares of the companys stock worth $266,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. Finally, IFG Advisors LLC increased its position in Eli Lilly and Company by 3.8% during the 2nd quarter. IFG Advisors LLC now owns 654 shares of the companys stock worth $307,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.38% of the companys stock.

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Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Alonzo Weems sold 1,148 shares of the companys stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $590.98, for a total value of $678,445.04. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 7,760 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $4,586,004.80. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other Eli Lilly and Company news, EVP Alonzo Weems sold 1,148 shares of the companys stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $590.98, for a total value of $678,445.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 7,760 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,586,004.80. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Lilly Endowment Inc sold 37,660 shares of the companys stock in a transaction on Monday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $546,751.75, for a total transaction of $20,590,670,905.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 100,275,279 shares of the companys stock, valued at $54,825,684,274,988.30. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 693,246 shares of company stock valued at $20,948,820,977 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.13% of the companys stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Argus upped their price target on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $470.00 to $620.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 5th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $617.00 to $640.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $385.00 to $470.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 9th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $565.00 to $633.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 9th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $500.00 to $600.00 in a research note on Wednesday, August 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and twenty have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $532.78.

Read Our Latest Research Report on LLY

Eli Lilly and Company Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE LLY traded up $7.35 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $538.81. The companys stock had a trading volume of 484,872 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,986,785. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $538.12 and a 200 day moving average price of $459.26. Eli Lilly and Company has a one year low of $309.20 and a one year high of $601.84. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $511.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 73.83, a P/E/G ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.33.

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY  Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, August 8th. The company reported $2.11 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $1.98 by $0.13. Eli Lilly and Company had a net margin of 22.01% and a return on equity of 65.00%. The business had revenue of $8.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.58 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.25 EPS. Eli Lilly and Companys revenue was up 28.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Eli Lilly and Company will post 9.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Eli Lilly and Company Profile

(Free Report)

Eli Lilly and Company discovers, develops, and markets human pharmaceuticals worldwide. It offers Basaglar, Humalog, Humalog Mix 75/25, Humalog U-100, Humalog U-200, Humalog Mix 50/50, insulin lispro, insulin lispro protamine, insulin lispro mix 75/25, Humulin, Humulin 70/30, Humulin N, Humulin R, and Humulin U-500 for diabetes; and Jardiance, Trajenta, and Trulicity for type 2 diabetes.

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EastGroup Properties, Inc. (NYSE:EGP  Free Report)  Equities researchers at Wedbush issued their Q3 2023 earnings per share estimates for shares of EastGroup Properties in a report released on Monday, October 2nd. Wedbush analyst R. Anderson forecasts that the real estate investment trust will earn $1.93 per share for the quarter. Wedbush has a Neutral rating and a $175.00 price objective on the stock. The consensus estimate for EastGroup Properties current full-year earnings is $7.61 per share. Wedbush also issued estimates for EastGroup Properties Q4 2023 earnings at $1.98 EPS, FY2023 earnings at $7.67 EPS and FY2024 earnings at $8.17 EPS.

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EGP has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on EastGroup Properties from $165.00 to $179.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research report on Monday, August 7th. Morgan Stanley restated an equal weight rating and set a $158.00 price objective on shares of EastGroup Properties in a research report on Tuesday, August 1st. Piper Sandler increased their price target on shares of EastGroup Properties from $195.00 to $215.00 in a report on Thursday, July 27th. BTIG Research raised their price objective on shares of EastGroup Properties from $198.00 to $218.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 26th. Finally, KeyCorp raised their price objective on shares of EastGroup Properties from $174.00 to $188.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 12th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, EastGroup Properties presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $188.30.

EastGroup Properties Trading Up 1.5 %

Shares of EGP stock opened at $163.50 on Thursday. EastGroup Properties has a 52-week low of $137.47 and a 52-week high of $188.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.01 and a current ratio of 0.01. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.42 billion, a PE ratio of 43.60, a PEG ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.94. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $175.03 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $170.97.

EastGroup Properties Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 29th will be paid a dividend of $1.27 per share. This represents a $5.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.11%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 28th. This is an increase from EastGroup Propertiess previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. EastGroup Propertiess payout ratio is currently 135.47%.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Richard Reid Dunbar sold 1,600 shares of EastGroup Properties stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $181.25, for a total transaction of $290,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 17,288 shares of the companys stock, valued at $3,133,450. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.50% of the companys stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On EastGroup Properties

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of EGP. Parallel Advisors LLC increased its holdings in EastGroup Properties by 783.3% during the first quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 159 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 141 shares during the period. Quarry LP purchased a new position in EastGroup Properties during the second quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Dark Forest Capital Management LP increased its holdings in EastGroup Properties by 3,380.0% during the first quarter. Dark Forest Capital Management LP now owns 174 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 169 shares during the period. Group One Trading L.P. purchased a new position in EastGroup Properties during the first quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Finally, Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in EastGroup Properties during the first quarter valued at approximately $49,000. 90.69% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About EastGroup Properties

(Get Free Report)

EastGroup Properties, Inc (NYSE: EGP), a member of the S&P Mid-Cap 400 and Russell 1000 Indexes, is a self-administered equity real estate investment trust focused on the development, acquisition and operation of industrial properties in major Sunbelt markets throughout the United States with an emphasis in the states of Florida, Texas, Arizona, California and North Carolina.

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Guidance Point Advisors LLC increased its stake in iShares Russell 1000 Growth ETF (NYSEARCA:IWF  Free Report) by 0.9% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 5,715 shares of the exchange traded funds stock after acquiring an additional 49 shares during the quarter. Guidance Point Advisors LLCs holdings in iShares Russell 1000 Growth ETF were worth $1,573,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in IWF. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of iShares Russell 1000 Growth ETF by 145,777.6% in the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 223,496,182 shares of the exchange traded funds stock valued at $47,881,822,000 after purchasing an additional 223,342,974 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in shares of iShares Russell 1000 Growth ETF by 478.3% in the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,668,682 shares of the exchange traded funds stock valued at $407,709,000 after purchasing an additional 1,380,116 shares in the last quarter. CI Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of iShares Russell 1000 Growth ETF in the 4th quarter valued at about $227,744,000. Providence Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake in iShares Russell 1000 Growth ETF by 20,209.9% in the 1st quarter. Providence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,299,836 shares of the exchange traded funds stock valued at $5,320,000 after acquiring an additional 1,293,436 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Morgan Stanley grew its stake in iShares Russell 1000 Growth ETF by 6.2% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 22,099,282 shares of the exchange traded funds stock valued at $4,734,550,000 after acquiring an additional 1,283,522 shares during the last quarter.

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iShares Russell 1000 Growth ETF Stock Performance

NYSEARCA IWF traded down $1.35 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $265.71. The companys stock had a trading volume of 173,177 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,378,098. The stock has a market cap of $67.78 billion, a PE ratio of 26.14 and a beta of 1.08. iShares Russell 1000 Growth ETF has a fifty-two week low of $202.05 and a fifty-two week high of $286.96. The companys 50-day moving average is $274.88 and its two-hundred day moving average is $263.46.

iShares Russell 1000 Growth ETF Company Profile

iShares Russell 1000 Growth ETF (the Fund), formerly iShares Russell 1000 Growth Index Fund, is an exchange-traded fund (ETF). The Fund seeks investment returns that correspond generally to the price and yield performance of the Russell 1000 Growth Index (the Index). The Index measures the performance of equity securities of Russell 1000 index issuers with relatively higher price-to-book ratios and higher forecasted growth.

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Want to see what other hedge funds are holding IWF? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for iShares Russell 1000 Growth ETF (NYSEARCA:IWF  Free Report).

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Invesco Asia (LON:IAT  Get Free Report) announced a dividend on Tuesday, October 3rd, Upcoming.Co.Uk reports. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 2nd will be given a dividend of GBX 7.20 ($0.09) per share on Thursday, November 23rd. This represents a dividend yield of 2.33%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 2nd. The official announcement can be seen at this link.

Invesco Asia Stock Performance

Shares of IAT opened at GBX 307.52 ($3.72) on Thursday. The businesss fifty day moving average price is GBX 323.81 and its 200 day moving average price is GBX 328.68. Invesco Asia has a 12-month low of GBX 279.06 ($3.37) and a 12-month high of GBX 376 ($4.54). The stock has a market capitalization of 205.58 million, a PE ratio of -565.45 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.15, a current ratio of 0.17 and a quick ratio of 0.36.

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Insider Buying and Selling

In other Invesco Asia news, insider Sonya Huen Rogerson purchased 2,900 shares of Invesco Asia stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 17th. The stock was bought at an average price of GBX 322 ($3.89) per share, for a total transaction of 9,338 ($11,287.32). 1.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Invesco Asia Company Profile

Invesco Asia Trust plc is a closed-ended equity mutual fund launched and managed by Invesco Fund Managers Limited. It is co-managed by INVESCO Asset Management Limited. The fund invests in the public equity markets of Asia and Australia. It seeks to invest in stocks of companies operating across diversified sectors.

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Justin Pollard joins Anne Erwin Sotheby's International Realty

Justin Pollard

YORK and OGUNQUIT, Maine  Anne Erwin Sotheby's International Realty announces the latest addition to its esteemed team, as Justin Pollard, a lifelong resident of Ogunquit, joins as a seasoned real estate professional.

Pollard launched his real estate career in 2018, driven by his deep-rooted connection to the Southern Maine community and his desire to help people achieve their property goals. Having developed a strong foundation in the industry, Pollard's expertise goes beyond traditional real estate practices. His remarkable background as an accomplished athlete and cryptocurrency entrepreneur sets him apart, infusing his approach with tenacity, dedication, and a flair for creativity.

Linda Briggs, Broker/Owner of Anne Erwin Sotheby's International Realty, expressed her enthusiasm about Justin's addition to the team: "We are delighted to welcome Justin to our esteemed firm. His unique blend of real estate acumen, entrepreneurial spirit, and commitment to client success align perfectly with our values. We are confident that his expertise will further elevate the services we offer to our discerning clientele."

Pollard shares in his excitement about joining Anne Erwin Sotheby's International Realty: "It's an honor to be a part of a renowned firm that solidifies my dedication to excellence and client satisfaction. I look forward to leveraging my skills and experiences to provide innovative solutions that cater to the diverse needs of our clients. My goal is to create lasting relationships built on trust, and I am eager to contribute to the continued success of Anne Erwin Sotheby's International Realty."

Beyond his exceptional real estate insights, Pollard's foray into cryptocurrency investing has equipped him with a unique perspective that he applies to his work. As an early crypto investor, he recognized the potential of digital currency and successfully launched Crypto Day One, a cryptocurrency training platform aimed at empowering beginner investors. This entrepreneurial mindset enables Justin to identify opportunities and transform them into prosperous ventures, ultimately benefiting his clients in their property transactions.

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Pollard's possesses a track record of guiding clients through complex negotiations with ease, and his ability to streamline the real estate process ensures a seamless experience for buyers and sellers alike. Whether clients are first-time homebuyers, seasoned investors, or individuals looking to sell their properties, Pollard's unwavering dedication to their best interests sets him apart and make him an invaluable addition to the Anne Erwin Sotheby's International Realty team.

Seacoast Outright appoints new Executive Director

PORTSMOUTH  The Board of Directors of Seacoast Outright announces the appointment of Heidi Carrington Heath as the new Executive Director for the organization. Carrington Heaths selection follows an extensive search to locate the right mix of organizational management and programming skills combined with personal passion and commitment to Outrights mission.

"There's never been a more important time to support our LGBTQ+ youth on the Seacoast," Carrington Heath said. "They've had an especially difficult couple of years, and we plan to continue to expand our programming and outreach to meet their needs."

Carrington Heath has worked in the LGBTQ+ movement for nearly 20 years. "A cornerstone of my career has been helping others be their truest selves" she said. "It is an honor to do this work in a new way in the community I have called home for nearly a decade." She is looking forward to working with the Seacoast community to continue strong programming, outreach, care, and resources for LGBTQ+ youth, their family, friends, and allies.

"We are thrilled to welcome Heidi on board! said Board Chair Michael Haley. Seacoast Outright has made enormous strides in the past few years. We are confident that Heidis experience and passion will solidify the progress we have made and propel us into our organizations next chapter.

Parker Scheer Attorney Amanda M. Frederick appointed County Governor for Rockingham County with the New Hampshire Association for Justice

PORTSMOUTH  Boston personal injury law firm Parker Scheer LLP announces that attorney Amanda M. Frederick was appointed the County Governor for Rockingham County with the New Hampshire Association for Justice (NHAJ). A statewide professional association of trial attorneys, the NHAJ works to protect constitutional rights and helps ensure people have a fair chance to receive justice through the legal system when they have been harmed by the acts of others. The NHAJ Board of Governors provides insight and guidance to the overall goals of the organization, and helps ensure attorneys have access to the services they need to fight for the rights of their clients.

A longtime New Hampshire resident, Frederick works in Parker Scheers Portsmouth office. She focuses her practice on a wide range of personal injury matters including automobile accidents, slip and falls, premises liability, products liability, medical malpractice, nursing home abuse/neglect cases, wrongful death claims and general civil litigation. She is licensed to practice in Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Maine and has litigation experience in the state and federal courts in both Massachusetts and New Hampshire. Frederick is actively involved in the New Hampshire legal community. In addition to the New Hampshire Association for Justice, Frederick is a member of the New Hampshire Bar Association serving on the New Lawyers Committee, the New Hampshire Womens Bar Association and the Rockingham County Bar Association.

This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Names to Know: Meet the new professionals on the Seacoast
Invesco Pennsylvania Value Municipal Income Trust (NYSE:VPV  Get Free Report) declared a monthly dividend on Tuesday, October 3rd, Wall Street Journal reports. Investors of record on Monday, October 16th will be paid a dividend of 0.0305 per share by the financial services provider on Tuesday, October 31st. This represents a $0.37 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.10%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 13th.

Invesco Pennsylvania Value Municipal Income Trust Stock Up 0.3 %

NYSE:VPV opened at $8.93 on Thursday. Invesco Pennsylvania Value Municipal Income Trust has a twelve month low of $8.86 and a twelve month high of $10.58. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $9.46 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $9.72.

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Hedge Funds Weigh In On Invesco Pennsylvania Value Municipal Income Trust

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of VPV. Rivernorth Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Invesco Pennsylvania Value Municipal Income Trust by 41.7% during the 1st quarter. Rivernorth Capital Management LLC now owns 137,655 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $1,608,000 after acquiring an additional 40,540 shares during the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its position in Invesco Pennsylvania Value Municipal Income Trust by 27.8% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 51,726 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $604,000 after acquiring an additional 11,266 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its position in Invesco Pennsylvania Value Municipal Income Trust by 23.3% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 138,145 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $1,614,000 after acquiring an additional 26,099 shares during the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC boosted its position in Invesco Pennsylvania Value Municipal Income Trust by 5.2% during the 4th quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 27,468 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $269,000 after acquiring an additional 1,356 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS Group AG boosted its position in Invesco Pennsylvania Value Municipal Income Trust by 1,077.3% during the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 115,421 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $1,131,000 after acquiring an additional 105,617 shares during the last quarter.

Invesco Pennsylvania Value Municipal Income Trust Company Profile

Invesco Pennsylvania Value Municipal Income 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 (Japan) Limited, INVESCO Asset Management Deutschland GmbH, INVESCO Asset Management Limited, Invesco Canada Ltd., Invesco Hong Kong Limited, and INVESCO Senior Secured Management, Inc It invests in the fixed income markets of the United States.

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Osher Van de Voorde Investment Management cut its holdings in Medtronic plc (NYSE:MDT  Free Report) by 0.1% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 172,335 shares of the medical technology companys stock after selling 180 shares during the period. Medtronic accounts for about 3.9% of Osher Van de Voorde Investment Managements portfolio, making the stock its 18th largest holding. Osher Van de Voorde Investment Managements holdings in Medtronic were worth $15,183,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Sageworth Trust Co acquired a new stake in shares of Medtronic during the 1st quarter worth about $26,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Medtronic by 48.9% in the 2nd quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 344 shares of the medical technology companys stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 113 shares during the period. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Medtronic by 250.0% in the 1st quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 350 shares of the medical technology companys stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. Trivant Custom Portfolio Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Medtronic during the 1st quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, Certified Advisory Corp acquired a new stake in Medtronic in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $31,000. 80.75% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Insider Buying and Selling at Medtronic

In related news, EVP Brett A. Wall sold 2,000 shares of the firms stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.97, for a total transaction of $175,940.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 23,948 shares of the companys stock, valued at $2,106,705.56. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, EVP Hoedt Rob Ten sold 5,514 shares of the firms stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $86.58, for a total value of $477,402.12. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 43,802 shares in the company, valued at $3,792,377.16. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Brett A. Wall sold 2,000 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.97, for a total value of $175,940.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 23,948 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,106,705.56. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 19,866 shares of company stock worth $1,688,839. 0.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MDT has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada restated a sector perform rating and set a $89.00 price target on shares of Medtronic in a research report on Wednesday, August 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Medtronic from $92.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 22nd. Oppenheimer reissued a market perform rating and issued a $89.00 price objective on shares of Medtronic in a research note on Wednesday, August 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Medtronic from $100.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 23rd. Finally, 22nd Century Group reiterated an initiates rating on shares of Medtronic in a report on Friday, June 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $91.67.

View Our Latest Report on Medtronic

Medtronic Price Performance

MDT remained flat at $76.27 on Thursday. 705,986 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,664,762. The stocks 50-day simple moving average is $81.95 and its 200-day simple moving average is $84.32. The company has a market cap of $101.48 billion, a PE ratio of 28.14, a PEG ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 0.71. Medtronic plc has a 52-week low of $75.76 and a 52-week high of $92.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 2.42 and a quick ratio of 1.79.

Medtronic (NYSE:MDT  Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 22nd. The medical technology company reported $1.20 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $1.11 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $7.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $7.57 billion. Medtronic had a return on equity of 13.81% and a net margin of 11.47%. The firms revenue for the quarter was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.13 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Medtronic plc will post 5.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Medtronic Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 22nd will be given a dividend of $0.69 per share. This represents a $2.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.62%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 21st. Medtronics payout ratio is currently 101.85%.

About Medtronic

(Free Report)

Medtronic plc develops, manufactures, and sells device-based medical therapies to healthcare systems, physicians, clinicians, and patients worldwide. Its Cardiovascular Portfolio segment offers implantable cardiac pacemakers, cardioverter defibrillators, and cardiac resynchronization therapy devices; cardiac ablation products; insertable cardiac monitor systems; TYRX products; and remote monitoring and patient-centered software.

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MFS Government Markets Income Trust (NYSE:MGF  Get Free Report) announced a monthly dividend on Tuesday, October 3rd, Wall Street Journal reports. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, October 18th will be paid a dividend of 0.02 per share on Tuesday, October 31st. This represents a $0.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.94%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 17th.

MFS Government Markets Income Trust has decreased its dividend payment by an average of 6.7% per year over the last three years.

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MFS Government Markets Income Trust Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MGF opened at $3.02 on Thursday. MFS Government Markets Income Trust has a 52 week low of $3.00 and a 52 week high of $3.49. The companys 50 day moving average is $3.14 and its two-hundred day moving average is $3.22.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On MFS Government Markets Income Trust

MFS Government Markets Income Trust Company Profile

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of MGF. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of MFS Government Markets Income Trust by 6.9% in the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 266,381 shares of the companys stock valued at $1,007,000 after buying an additional 17,200 shares in the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its holdings in shares of MFS Government Markets Income Trust by 134.6% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 26,908 shares of the companys stock valued at $101,000 after buying an additional 15,440 shares in the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC boosted its stake in MFS Government Markets Income Trust by 13.7% during the 2nd quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 316,288 shares of the companys stock worth $1,113,000 after purchasing an additional 38,144 shares during the period. Advisor Group Holdings Inc. boosted its stake in MFS Government Markets Income Trust by 92.4% during the 4th quarter. Advisor Group Holdings Inc. now owns 15,765 shares of the companys stock worth $52,000 after purchasing an additional 7,571 shares during the period. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted its stake in MFS Government Markets Income Trust by 103.4% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 230,183 shares of the companys stock worth $762,000 after purchasing an additional 117,025 shares during the period. 50.22% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

(Get Free Report)

MFS Government Markets Income Trust is a close ended fixed income mutual fund launched and managed by Massachusetts Financial Services Company. The fund invests in the fixed income markets of United States. It primarily invests in investment grade debt instruments. The fund also invests in mortgage backed, U.S.

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Newport Capital Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Unum Group (NYSE:UNM  Free Report) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 8,788 shares of the financial services providers stock, valued at approximately $419,000.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Unum Group by 4.0% in the first quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 61,304 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $1,932,000 after purchasing an additional 2,370 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Advisor Networks LLC boosted its position in Unum Group by 33.2% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Advisor Networks LLC now owns 15,247 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $480,000 after purchasing an additional 3,799 shares in the last quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. purchased a new position in shares of Unum Group during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $348,000. Bank of Montreal Can boosted its holdings in Unum Group by 61.5% during the first quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 76,618 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $2,422,000 after buying an additional 29,166 shares in the last quarter. Finally, D.A. Davidson & CO. acquired a new position in shares of Unum Group in the first quarter worth about $227,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.37% of the companys stock.

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Unum Group Trading Down 0.4 %

UNM stock traded down $0.19 during trading on Thursday, reaching $47.94. 172,436 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,346,265. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $49.06 and a 200-day moving average price of $45.77. Unum Group has a 1 year low of $36.27 and a 1 year high of $51.15. The company has a current ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.68, a P/E/G ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 1.08.

Unum Group Increases Dividend

Unum Group ( NYSE:UNM Get Free Report ) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, August 1st. The financial services provider reported $2.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.87 by $0.19. Unum Group had a return on equity of 15.10% and a net margin of 11.90%. The company had revenue of $3.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $3.07 billion. On average, research analysts predict that Unum Group will post 7.73 earnings per share for the current year.

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 28th were paid a dividend of $0.365 per share. This represents a $1.46 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.05%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 27th. This is a positive change from Unum Groups previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. Unum Groups dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 20.25%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Unum Group

In other Unum Group news, EVP Christopher W. Pyne sold 3,750 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.02, for a total value of $183,825.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 46,334 shares of the companys stock, valued at $2,271,292.68. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Timothy Gerald Arnold sold 20,000 shares of the companys stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total transaction of $1,000,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 72,061 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $3,603,050. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Christopher W. Pyne sold 3,750 shares of the firms stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.02, for a total transaction of $183,825.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 46,334 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $2,271,292.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.94% of the companys stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Truist Financial upped their price target on Unum Group from $54.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Friday, August 4th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Unum Group from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 15th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Unum Group from $46.00 to $52.00 in a research report on Tuesday, July 11th. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Unum Group from $56.00 to $58.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 9th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on Unum Group from $55.00 to $59.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Thursday, September 14th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the companys stock. According to MarketBeat, Unum Group has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $53.78.

Check Out Our Latest Stock Report on Unum Group

Unum Group Company Profile

(Free Report)

Unum Group, together with its subsidiaries, provides financial protection benefit solutions primarily in the United States, the United Kingdom, Poland, and internationally. It operates through Unum US, Unum International, Colonial Life, and Closed Block and Corporate segments. The company offers group long-term and short-term disability, group life, and accidental death and dismemberment products; supplemental and voluntary products, such as individual disability, voluntary benefits, and dental and vision products; and accident, sickness, disability, life, and cancer and critical illness products.

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Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. lowered its stake in Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE:BMY  Free Report) by 4.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,950,525 shares of the biopharmaceutical companys stock after selling 191,681 shares during the quarter. Bristol-Myers Squibb accounts for approximately 0.7% of Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V.s portfolio, making the stock its 27th largest position. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. owned approximately 0.19% of Bristol-Myers Squibb worth $252,636,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb by 2.5% during the first quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC now owns 6,001 shares of the biopharmaceutical companys stock valued at $416,000 after purchasing an additional 145 shares during the period. Keystone Wealth Services LLC increased its position in Bristol-Myers Squibb by 2.0% in the 1st quarter. Keystone Wealth Services LLC now owns 7,468 shares of the biopharmaceutical companys stock valued at $518,000 after buying an additional 148 shares in the last quarter. Dillon & Associates Inc. raised its stake in Bristol-Myers Squibb by 3.9% during the 1st quarter. Dillon & Associates Inc. now owns 3,955 shares of the biopharmaceutical companys stock worth $245,000 after buying an additional 150 shares during the period. Abbrea Capital LLC boosted its holdings in Bristol-Myers Squibb by 1.5% in the first quarter. Abbrea Capital LLC now owns 10,025 shares of the biopharmaceutical companys stock worth $695,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Westshore Wealth LLC grew its stake in Bristol-Myers Squibb by 4.3% in the first quarter. Westshore Wealth LLC now owns 3,658 shares of the biopharmaceutical companys stock valued at $254,000 after acquiring an additional 151 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.98% of the companys stock.

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Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BMY has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. StockNews.com cut Bristol-Myers Squibb from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a report on Friday, September 1st. Truist Financial reiterated a buy rating and set a $84.00 price objective on shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb in a report on Friday, September 15th. SVB Securities initiated coverage on shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb in a report on Monday, July 10th. They issued a market perform rating and a $66.00 target price on the stock. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on Bristol-Myers Squibb from $87.00 to $79.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 28th. Finally, Atlantic Securities lowered their price objective on Bristol-Myers Squibb from $90.00 to $85.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 28th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $69.50.

Bristol-Myers Squibb Stock Performance

NYSE:BMY traded down $0.66 during trading on Thursday, reaching $56.07. The companys stock had a trading volume of 1,629,460 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,000,875. Bristol-Myers Squibb has a 12 month low of $56.03 and a 12 month high of $81.43. The firm has a market cap of $117.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 0.43. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $60.42 and a 200-day moving average of $64.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 1.28 and a current ratio of 1.39.

Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE:BMY  Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 27th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.75 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.99 by ($0.24). The company had revenue of $11.23 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.81 billion. Bristol-Myers Squibb had a net margin of 17.62% and a return on equity of 50.51%. Bristol-Myers Squibbs quarterly revenue was down 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.93 EPS. Research analysts expect that Bristol-Myers Squibb will post 7.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bristol-Myers Squibb Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.57 per share. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.07%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 5th. Bristol-Myers Squibbs dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 60.64%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Ann Powell sold 17,986 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.25, for a total value of $1,101,642.50. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 27,868 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,706,915. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Bristol-Myers Squibb news, EVP Robert M. Plenge sold 732 shares of the firms stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.14, for a total value of $44,754.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,584 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $402,545.76. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Ann Powell sold 17,986 shares of the companys stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.25, for a total transaction of $1,101,642.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 27,868 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,706,915. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.09% of the companys stock.

Bristol-Myers Squibb Company Profile

(Free Report)

Bristol-Myers Squibb Company discovers, develops, licenses, manufactures, markets, distributes, and sells biopharmaceutical products worldwide. It offers products for hematology, oncology, cardiovascular, immunology, fibrotic, and neuroscience diseases. The company's products include Eliquis, an oral inhibitor for reduction in risk of stroke/systemic embolism in NVAF, and for the treatment of DVT/PE; Opdivo for anti-cancer indications; Pomalyst/Imnovid indicated for patients with multiple myeloma; Orencia for adult patients with active RA and psoriatic arthritis; and Sprycel for the treatment of Philadelphia chromosome-positive chronic myeloid leukemia.

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Suruga Bank Ltd. (OTCMKTS:SUGBY  Get Free Report) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $45.82 and last traded at $45.82, with a volume of 0 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $45.82.

Suruga Bank Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $862.79 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.69 and a beta of -0.09. The firms 50 day moving average is $39.19 and its 200 day moving average is $37.11.

About Suruga Bank

(Get Free Report)

Suruga Bank Ltd. provides various banking and financial products and services to individuals and corporate customers in Japan. The company offers deposit products, such as time, ordinary, savings, foreign currency, and other deposits, as well as current and general accounts; card, housing, second house, startup, and business up term loans, as well as loans by purpose; credit and debit cards; overdrafts; and other financing products.

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National Bank Holdings Corporation

DENVER, Oct. 05, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- National Bank Holdings Corporation (NYSE: NBHC) expects to report its third quarter financial results after the markets close on Tuesday, October 24, 2023. Management will host a conference call to review the results at 11:00 a.m. Eastern Time on Wednesday, October 25, 2023. Interested parties may listen to this call by dialing (877) 400-0505 using the participant passcode of 9162801 and asking for the NBHC Q3 2023 Earnings Call. A recording of the call will be available approximately four hours after the calls completion on the Companys website at www.nationalbankholdings.com by visiting the investor relations area.



About National Bank Holdings Corporation

National Bank Holdings Corporation is a bank holding company created to build a leading community bank franchise delivering high quality client service and committed to stakeholder results. Through its bank subsidiaries, NBH Bank and Bank of Jackson Hole Trust, National Bank Holdings Corporation operates a network of over 95 banking centers, serving individual consumers, small, medium and large businesses, and government and non-profit entities. Its banking centers are located in its core footprint of Colorado, the greater Kansas City region, Utah, Wyoming, Texas, New Mexico and Idaho. Its comprehensive residential mortgage banking group primarily serves the banks core footprint. Its trust business is operated in its core footprint under the Bank of Jackson Hole Trust charter. NBH Bank operates under a single state charter through the following brand names as divisions of NBH Bank: in Colorado, Community Banks of Colorado and Community Banks Mortgage; in Kansas and Missouri, Bank Midwest and Bank Midwest Mortgage; in Utah, Texas, New Mexico and Idaho, Hillcrest Bank and Hillcrest Bank Mortgage; and in Wyoming, Bank of Jackson Hole and Bank of Jackson Hole Mortgage. Additional information about National Bank Holdings Corporation can be found at www.nationalbankholdings.com.

Story continues

For more information visit: cobnks.com, bankmw.com, hillcrestbank.com, bankofjacksonhole.com, or nbhbank.com. Or connect with any of our brands on LinkedIn.





Contact: Analysts/Institutional Investors: Media: Aldis Birkans, 720-554-6640 Jody Soper, 303-784-5925 Chief Financial Officer Chief Marketing Officer ir@nationalbankholdings.com Jody.Soper@nbhbank.com



Source: National Bank Holdings Corporation




Human rights activists say Armita Geravand was beaten by morality police in Iran. Iranian authorities and the teenager's parents say she was hospitalized due to low blood pressure.
A Kaiser Permanente health care center is pictured in Anaheim, California, U.S., October 3 as more than 75,000 Kaiser Permanente healthcare workers could go on strike from October 4 to October 7 across the United States.
Nadine Menendez, wife of New Jersey Sen. Bob Menendez, leaves federal court in New York City on October 2.
Negotiations between the UAW and GM are showing signs of progress
Tourists walk past the headquarters of the Internal Revenue Service near the National Mall on April 7 in Washington. The ex-IRS contractor accused of leaking former President Donald Trumps tax returns disclosed so many peoples tax information that prosecutors want to notify the thousands of victims through a public website, according to a new court filing.
VANCOUVER, BC, Oct. 5, 2023 /CNW/ - Nevada Sunrise Metals Corp. ("Nevada Sunrise", or the "Company") (TSXV: NEV) (OTC: NVSGF) announced today that its joint venture partner, CopAur Minerals Inc. ("CopAur") has reported the results from the first four reverse circulation ("RC") holes completed during 2023 exploration at the Kinsley Mountain Gold Project ("Kinsley Mountain" or the "Project") in Elko County, Nevada.

The four RC holes reported today targeted near-surface oxide gold mineralization within the Main Pit North area located 1 kilometre (0.62 miles) southeast of the Western Flank Zone (Figure 1). Drilling at Main Pit North during 2020 intersected high-grade oxide gold intercepts within the gold-hosting Dunderberg shale approximately 75 metres (246 feet) outside the current resource pit shell, thus providing opportunities for near-pit resource expansion.

Hole KMR23-03, collared 200 metres (656 feet) north of the current pit shell, returned 2.22 grams per tonne ("g/t") oxide gold over 25.9 metres (85 feet); including 4.2 g/t oxide gold over 10.7 metres (35 feet) (Table 1 and Figure 1). The intercept is significant given that at depth it lies within 50 metres (164 feet) of the current oxide resource pit shell. Together with prior RC drilling by the Kinsley Mountain joint venture outside the historical pit limits, including drill hole KMR20-030 that yielded 9.83 g/t oxide gold over 7.6 metres (25 feet)[1], this new intercept reaffirms the presence of an oxide gold mineralized stratigraphic interval of approximately 30 metres (98 feet) true thickness hosted within the Dunderberg shale and underlying Hamburg limestone that warrants additional drilling.

1 See New Placer Dome Gold Corp. News Release dated April 6, 2021

Drill holes KMR23-04 and KMR23-02 flanking KMR23-03 to the west and east returned 2.02 g/t gold over 7.6 metres (25 feet); and 1.5 g/t gold over 4.6 metres (15.1 feet), respectively further demonstrating the significance of the Dunderberg-Hamburg units as the premiere oxide gold host at Kinsley Mountain. Drill hole KMR23-01 did not return significant intercepts.

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Table 1: Kinsley Mountain 2023 Reverse Circulation Drilling Gold Intercepts

Hole ID Zone From To Interval

(m)* Gold

(g/t)* NaCN (Sodium Cyanide) Soluble Gold Recovery (%) (dip/azimuth) (m) (m) KMR23-02 (-45/200) Main Pit North 146.3 150.9 4.6 1.50 90 % KMR23-03 (-50/200) 118.9 144.8 25.9 2.22 88 % including 125.0 135.6 10.7 4.20 96 % KMR23-04 (-63/283) 117.3 125.0 7.6 2.02 92 %



* True widths of the mineralized intervals are interpreted to be between 60-90% of the reported lengths.

Figure 1. Kinsley Mountain 2023 RC and Diamond Drilling Completed (CNW Group/Nevada Sunrise Metals Corporation)

Summary of the 2023 Exploration Program at Kinsley Mountain

A total of seven (7) RC drill holes and three (3) diamond drill holes comprising 2,285 metres (7,495 feet) were completed in 2023 at the high-grade Western Flank Zone, the Main Pit North, and the new Kinsley Ridge target (see Figure 1). All samples, including QA/QC samples, were shipped to ALS Global in Vancouver, Canada ("ALS") for multi-element analysis and fire assay for gold. Results from the remaining five (5) holes drilled in the 2023 program will be released following their receipt and interpretation by CopAur, operator of the Project.

About Kinsley Mountain

Kinsley Mountain hosts a historic past-producing mine that yielded 138,000 ounces of near-surface, open-pit oxide gold mined by Alta Gold Company between 1995-1999 (see Figure 1).

The Project hosts current indicated mineral resources comprising a National Instrument 43-101 compliant gold resource consisting of 418,000 indicated ounces of gold grading 2.63 g/t gold (4.95 million tonnes), and 117,000 inferred ounces of gold averaging 1.51 g/t gold (2.44 million tonnes), at cut-off grades ranging from 0.2 to 2.0 g/t gold1.

Indicated resources are inclusive of 302,000 ounces averaging 6.11 g/t gold hosted within the Secret Canyon Shale at the Western Flank Zone1.

1 Technical Report on the Kinsley Project, Elko County, Nevada, U.S.A., dated June 21, 2021, with an effective date of May 5, 2021, and prepared by Michael M. Gustin and Gary L. Simmons, and filed under New Placer Dome Gold Corp.'s issuer profile on SEDAR (www.sedar.com).

Qualified Person

The scientific and technical information contained in this news release has been reviewed and approved by Robert M. Allender, Jr., CPG, RG, SME, who is a Qualified Person for Nevada Sunrise as defined in National Instrument 43-101  Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects.

Methodology and QA/QC

Assaying was performed by ALS, a ISO-IEC 17025:2017 and ISO 9001:2015 accredited analytical laboratory that is independent of CopAur, Nevada Sunrise, and their respective Qualified Persons. Drill core and RC samples were subject to crushing to a minimum of 70% passing 2 mm, followed by pulverizing of a 250-gram split to 85% passing 75 microns. Gold determination was via standard 30-gram fire assay analysis with atomic absorption spectroscopy ("AAS") finish, in addition to 51 element ICP-MS. Samples returning greater than 10 g/t gold are subject to gravimetric finish. Samples with gold values greater than 0.1 g/t gold are also subject to leach analysis where the sample is treated with a 0.25% NaCN solution and rolled for an hour. An aliquot of the final leach solution is then centrifuged and analyzed by AAS.

CopAur reports that it follows industry standard procedures for the work carried out on the Project, with a quality assurance/quality control (QA/QC) program. Blank, duplicate, and standard samples were inserted into the sample sequence sent to the laboratory for analysis. CopAur states it detected no significant QA/QC issues during its review of the 2023 data, and reports that it is not aware of any drilling, sampling, recovery, or other factors that could materially affect the accuracy or reliability of the data referred to herein.

About Nevada Sunrise

Nevada Sunrise is a junior mineral exploration company with a strong technical team based in Vancouver, BC, Canada, that holds interests in lithium, gold, and copper exploration projects located in the State of Nevada, USA.

Nevada Sunrise owns 100% interests in the Gemini, Jackson Wash and Badlands lithium projects, all of which are located in the Lida Valley in Esmeralda County, NV. The Company owns Nevada water right Permit 86863, also located in the Lida Valley basin, near Lida, NV.

The Company's key gold asset is a 20.01% interest in a joint venture at the Kinsley Mountain Gold Project near Wendover, NV with CopAur Minerals Inc. The Company has elected not to contribute to the 2023 exploration program at Kinsley Mountain and expects to incur dilution of its participating interest in the joint venture to an approximate 19.0% interest.

Nevada Sunrise has the right to earn a 100% interest in the Coronado VMS Project, located approximately 48 kilometers (30 miles) southeast of Winnemucca, NV.

FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS

This release may contain forwardlooking statements. Forward looking statements are statements that are not historical facts and are generally, but not always, identified by the words "expects", "plans", "anticipates", "believes", "intends", "estimates", "projects", "potential" and similar expressions, or that events or conditions "will", "would", "may", "could" or "should" occur and include disclosure of anticipated exploration activities. Although the Company believes the expectations expressed in such forwardlooking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, such statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual results may differ materially from those in forward looking statements. Forwardlooking statements are based on the beliefs, estimates and opinions of the Company's management on the date such statements were made. The Company expressly disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forwardlooking statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

Such factors include, among others, risks related to the interpretation and actual results of historical production at Kinsley Mountain, reliance on technical information provided by third parties on any of our exploration properties, including access to historical information on the Kinsley Mountain property as well as specific historical data associated with drill results from the property, information received from CopAur Minerals Inc., current exploration and development activities; changes in project parameters as plans continue to be refined; current economic conditions; future prices of commodities; possible variations in grade or recovery rates; failure of equipment or processes to operate as anticipated; the failure of contracted parties to perform; failure of CopAur Minerals Inc. to complete anticipated work programs; labor disputes and other risks of the mining industry; delays in obtaining governmental approvals, financing or in the completion of exploration, as well as those factors discussed in the section entitled "Risk Factors" in the Company's Management Discussion and Analysis for the Nine Months ended June 30, 2023, which is available under Company's SEDAR profile at www.sedar.com .

Although Nevada Sunrise has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual actions, events or results to differ materially from those described in forward-looking information, there may be other factors that cause actions, events or results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that such information will prove to be accurate as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Nevada Sunrise disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information.

Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

SOURCE Nevada Sunrise Metals Corporation

Cision

View original content to download multimedia: http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/October2023/05/c8960.html
(Bloomberg) -- Jon Fosse was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature for his innovative plays and prose which explore themes of spirituality, language and the sensory world, often with a philosophical bent.

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He is the fourth Norwegian to win the Nobel Prize in Literature, and the first since Sigrid Undset in 1928.

Fosse, 64, is a prolific playwright, novelist, poet and essayist who writes in his native Nynorsk. He is one of the most widely performed playwrights in the world, according to the Swedish Academy. In addition to his more than 40 plays, Fosse is perhaps best known for his Septology series, a seven-novel sequence in which an older man in a remote coastal village reckons with art, life, religion, and his own childhood memories in the days before Christmas.

Through spare, encircling descriptions and an attention to nature  a style he has referred to as slow prose  Fosse endeavors to capture what he calls the mysticism of ordinary life. He learned of his win while driving in the countryside near Bergen, the academys permanent secretary, Mats Malm, told reporters.

Fosse presents everyday situations that are instantly recognizable from our own lives, the Academy said.

Fosse is often compared to fellow Norwegian and former student Karl Ove Knausgaard, whose six-volume autobiographical novel My Struggle also deployed a hypnotic, stream-of-consciousness approach. In its press release, the Nobel Committee noted Fosses literary debt to Samuel Beckett, Thomas Bernhard, and Georg Trakl.

Fosses award marks the fourth Nobel win in less than ten years for his UK publisher, Fitzcarraldo Editions.

Key Works:

A central prose work is Trilogien (Trilogy, 2016), consisting of Andvake (2007), Olavs Draumar (2012) and Kveldsvvd (2014).

Story continues

Fosses magnum opus is Septology, which he completed in 2021, and comprises seven novels across three books  Det andre namnet (2019; The Other Name, 2020), Eg er ein annan (2020; I is Another, 2020) and Eit nytt namn (2021; A New Name, 2021)

The 2023 literature award is worth 11 million kronor ($1 million).

Last years prize was given to Frances Annie Ernaux, and notable laureates in the field include Bob Dylan, who won the prize in 2016 for having created new poetic expressions within the great American song tradition, and Ernest Hemingway in 1954 for mastering the art of narrative.

Annual prizes for achievements in physics, chemistry, medicine, literature and peace were established in the will of Alfred Nobel, the Swedish inventor of dynamite, who died in 1896. A prize in economic sciences was added by Swedens central bank in 1968.

The laureates are announced through Oct. 9 in Stockholm, with the exception of the peace prize, whose recipients are selected by the Norwegian Nobel Committee in Oslo.

--With assistance from Anton Wilen and Christopher Jungstedt.

(Updates with details on Fosse throughout; adds second paragraph about previous Norwegian winners)

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2023 Bloomberg L.P.
Ten years after WikiLeaks publisher Julian Assange was forced to seek refuge at the Ecuadorian embassy in London and three years after he was arrested and subjected to solitary confinement, the editors and publishers of the New York Times, the Guardian, Le Monde, El Pais and Der Spiegel have issued an open letter calling on US President Joe Biden to end Assanges prosecution.

At long last, these publications have acknowledged that the material published by Assange was of vital public interest and importance, noting that what he released disclosed corruption, diplomatic scandals and spy affairs on an international scale and decisions that cost the country most heavily in lives and money.

Even now, they write, journalists and historians continue to publish new revelations, using the unique trove of documents.

The letter stated, On April 12th 2019, Assange was arrested in London on a US arrest warrant, and has now been held for three and a half years in a high-security British prison usually used for terrorists and members of organised crime groups. He faces extradition to the US and a sentence of up to 175 years in an American maximum-security prison.

The authors oppose the use against Assange of an old law, the Espionage Act of 1917 (designed to prosecute potential spies during World War One), which has never been used to prosecute a publisher or broadcaster.

The letter concludes that this sets a dangerous precedent, and threatens to undermine Americas First Amendment and the freedom of the press. Obtaining and disclosing sensitive information when necessary in the public interest is a core part of the daily work of journalists. If that work is criminalised, our public discourse and our democracies are made significantly weaker  it is time for the US government to end its prosecution of Julian Assange for publishing secrets.

The open letter makes clear that Assange has been the victim of a monstrous campaign of state persecution, costing him years of his life and good health, for revealing state criminality, designed to set a chilling example for others.

But this raises the question: What took so long? Why did it take 10 years for the New York Times and Guardian to call for Assanges prosecution to end?

The conduct of these newspapers over the past decade has been thoroughly reprehensible. Their efforts to poison public opinion against Assange, to give credence to the false claims and accusations made against him, facilitated the American states persecution of this principled and courageous journalist.

Britains Guardian was the first to work with WikiLeaks in the publication of the cables. It broke off relations within a month of their publication and quickly launched into a campaign of character assassination taken up across the worlds media, seeking to render Assange an international pariah.

Explaining its earlier collaboration with WikiLeaks, the paper wrote in a December 2010 editorial, WikiLeaks: the man and the idea, that it had agreed to publish only a small number of cables and highlighted its painstaking process of editing, contextualising, explanation and redaction. It had acted, in other words, to control the fallout from the details of murder, torture, espionage and corruption contained in the documents.

This accomplished, the Guardian and other publications turned viciously on Assange, centering their attacks on a manufactured Swedish sexual assault investigation and extradition requestdesigned to blacken his name, secure his capture and prepare his onward extradition to the US.

The case has since been thoroughly exposed and abandoned, but it served to secure Assanges seven-year-long effective arbitrary detention, forced to claim asylum in the Ecuadorian embassy in London while a police snatch squad waited outside. This period, during which Assange was spied on by US intelligence and was the object of its kidnap and assassination plots, is left out of the open letter.

All the while, attacks on Assanges character continued. The Guardian went as far as making up a meeting between Assange and Donald Trump ally Paul Manafortreported as an exclusiveas part of its campaign to implicate him in a supposed Russian government conspiracy to interfere in the 2016 US presidential election.

Even when the full scope of the US case against Assange was revealed in April 2019, the Guardians first response was to again propose extradition to Sweden as a way of silencing him that did not raise difficulties with the use of the Espionage Act.

The letter makes clear that, from the beginning, the editors and publishers of these newspapers understood that Assange was functioning as a journalist, innocent of any crime.

If the Guardian, the New York Times, et. al., in a major about-face, now explicitly oppose the persecution of Assange, it is out of concern that a show trial of a journalist who exposed US war crimes will spark a major political crisis for the Biden administration.

Any trial of Assange would confront massive popular opposition and would shed further light on the crimes committed by US imperialism, including under the Democratic administration of Barack Obama, in which Biden served as vice president.

This exposure of US war crimes would come at a time when the United States is expanding is proxy war against Russia in Ukraine, sold to the public on the grounds that US intervention is necessary to prevent Russian atrocities.

Moreover, any trial would shed light on the reprehensible role of the New York Times and Guardian in facilitating the persecution of Assange.

The working class must redouble its fight to force Assanges freedom. The World Socialist Web Site warned that the US government was seeking to create the conditions for the prosecution of journalists, publishers and activists everywhere, but also that Assange was the victim of a monstrous criminal conspiracy, involving the most powerful governments in the world, the intelligence agencies and their mouthpieces in the corporate media.

The movement in Assanges defence must be based on the international working class, a force more powerful than all of the governments, intelligence agencies and corporations combined, which must make his defence the focal point for a counteroffensive against militarism and all attacks on democratic and social rights. As the NATO-Russia war continueswith the enthusiastic support of the New York Times, Guardian and the restthis struggle is more important than ever.
Julian Assange could be extradited to the United States within weeks, WikiLeaks Editor-in-Chief Kristinn Hrafnsson has warned. He told journalist Glenn Greenwald that Assange was running out of time and that legal avenues in London to challenge his unlawful extradition were being exhausted, he will never get a fair trial there.

WikiLeaks Editor-in-Chief Kristinn Hrafnsson speaks with Glenn Greenwald in Brazil. [Photo: screenshot: System Update, Rumble]

Hrafnssons urgent warnings came during an interview in Brazil, published Monday on Rumble. He told Greenwald, Julians case is coming to the end of all possibilities of getting a fair solution through the court proceedings. He is fighting extradition in London. Within weeks he could be extradited.

Assange has been charged under the Espionage Act (1917) for WikiLeaks publications exposing war crimes by US imperialism in Iraq and Afghanistan, and anti-democratic conspiracies of the US government and its intelligence agencies throughout the world. If found guilty, the 51-year-old journalist and father of three faces 175 years in a US federal prison. He has already spent more than a decade in detention in the UK, including three years without charge in Belmarsh maximum security prison.

Hrafnsson was appointed WikiLeaks editor in 2018 after Assanges communication with the outside world was cut under pressure from the US government, a prelude to his seizure from the Ecuadorian Embassy in April 2019. An award-winning journalist in his own right, Hrafnsson worked with Assange to verify WikiLeaks most famous release, the Collateral Murder video, travelling to Iraq in early 2010 to interview relatives of civilians killed by targeted airstrikes launched from US AH-64 Apache helicopters.

Speaking last week in Brazil, Hrafnsson said legal channels for Assange to appeal his extradition are fast closing. In June, then UK Home Secretary Priti Patel approved Assanges extradition after the High Court overturned an earlier court decision barring it on medical grounds. The High Court accepted worthless assurances by the US government that Assange would not face oppressive treatment, ignoring overwhelming evidence that the CIA plotted to kidnap and kill Assange.

Britains courts have mounted a legal vendetta against Assange, approving the extradition request in violation of his fundamental legal and democratic rights as a publisher and journalist. The High Court and Supreme Court have handed down rulings aimed at speeding his dispatch to his would-be assassins. In March, the High Court refused Assanges application to appeal its earlier ruling to the Supreme Court. His lawyers have since appealed the Home Secretarys extradition order.

Hrafnsson said, We are now in a waiting period for the appeal court in London, the High Court, to give us the answer of whether they will hear an appeal by Julian to push back against the extradition. If they decide not to hear the appealwhich would be scandalous in itselfthen there is the Supreme Court, which could decide quickly not to hear the case, you know, not of importance to the public Under the worst-case scenario, he could be on a plane to the US within weeks.

In my perception, and Ive been sitting in on all the proceedings in London, all the extradition proceedings in London have exposed only one thing, and thats the fact that this is just not going to be won in a court. Theres no justice to be had in court rooms in London. Thats obvious and I dont have to mention the United States, thats one of the essences of the defence in fighting the extradition, that he will never be able to get a fair trial there. So, were running out of time. We need to push this on a different level and so I decided that we needed to go on a tour to shore up political support, because the only way to fight a political persecution is through political means.

Hrafnsson and WikiLeaks Ambassador Joseph Farrell are currently touring Latin America, starting with a one-hour private meeting in Colombia with President Gustavo Petro and Foreign Minister Alvaro Duran at the Presidential Palace in Bogota on November 21.

In Brazil, they held a private meeting with President-elect Lula da Silva on November 29, followed by an address to Brazils parliament. In Rio De Janeiro they held a public meeting at the Brazilian Press Association, followed by a reception at the home of famous musician-composer Caetano Veloso. They have since met privately with Argentinian Vice President Cristina Kirchner and with President Alberto Fernandez at the Casa Rosada. They are visiting Chile and Mexico next.

Hrafnsson told Greenwald, Our aim is to get political leaders to apply pressure, if you want to call it that, or just request of the Biden administration to reconsider, to stand behind their own ideals, the ideals that they preach around the world of press freedom and not put this pressure on the First Amendment and their treaty commitments and basically drop the charge against Julian. Thats the only way out.

There is enormous support for Assange and WikiLeaks in Latin America. The workers and oppressed masses of the region have suffered brutal US-backed military dictatorships that claimed tens of thousands of lives in Chile, Argentina, Brazil, Bolivia, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Panama and Guatemala. But the statements of support by Latin Americas bourgeois politicians are politically worthless. Lula, Kirchner and company have demonstrated their loyalty to imperialism, enforcing International Monetary Fund austerity and state repression against the working class.

Appeals to Biden, who has designated Assange a hi-tech terrorist, are more bankrupt still. Even after former US president Donald Trump called for the termination of the Constitution last week, Biden remained silent. Not even Trumps fascist coup attempt in January 2021 could rouse him to defend the Constitution, let alone its First Amendment guarantees to free speech, press and assembly. Last week Biden oversaw watershed legislation enforcing a White House-brokered employment contract and banning tens of thousands of US railroad workers from striking.

The persecution of Assange is the spearhead of a massive assault on democratic rights, aimed at destroying freedom of speech, illegalizing investigative journalism, intimidating and terrorizing critics, preventing the exposure of government crimes and suppressing mass popular opposition to social inequality and war. The British governments plans to ban strikes, including its threats to mobilise the military, show that Assanges fate is inextricably linked to that of the working class.

NATOs escalating war against Russia is being accompanied by authoritarian measures. The British governments emergency powers are being combined with denunciations of strikers as Putins stoogesrepeating word for word the Pentagons narrative against Assange and WikiLeaks.

Assanges fate must not be left in the hands of political forces such as Lula, Biden and other enemies of the working class. A powerful mass constituency for Assanges defenceand the struggle to win his freedomis growing among millions of workers and young people who are entering the global fight against capitalist austerity, state repression and war.
Last Tuesday, the Berlin Humboldt University student parliament (StuPa) faction of the Social Democratic Party (SPD) youth organizationthe Young Socialists (Jusos)introduced a motion denouncing any joint struggle of Palestinian and Jewish workers against the Israeli state apparatus as anti-Semitic. In doing so, the SPD junior politicians referred to an article in the online publication Klasse gegen Klasse (Class against Class).

The motion was originally an anti-democratic attempt to prevent parliamentary confirmation of a vote by the Foreign Students General Assembly. The assembly had elected a student who published texts for the platform for the office of the AntiRa speakeran anti-racist unit of the student self-administration. After the confirmation of his mandate was delayed over a period of several months, the student finally withdrew his candidacy.

In a new version of its motion, the Juso faction declared activity with Klasse gegen Klass to be incompatible with work in student bodies. The motion was passed with the votes of the Jusos and the Association of Christian Democratic Students (RCDS), a student organization associated with the conservative Christian Democratic Party (CDU) and its Bavarian sister party, the Christian Social Union (CSU), as well as votes from other factions.

Previously, in 2018, on the initiative of the two party lists, the StuPa passed a reactionary resolution to exclude all persons who supposedly sympathize with the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) campaign from university political activity.

In this article we document the speech of International Youth and Students for Social Equality (IYSSE) MP Gregor Kahl, who defended the democratic right of students to freedom of expression and explained why the IYSSE parliamentary group rejects the motion in the strongest possible terms.

The IYSSE faction rejects the motion of the Juso faction. We call on all members of the student parliament to likewise vote no.

The motion does not contribute to the fight against anti-Semitism, rather it misuses the banner of the fight against anti-Semitism for a right-wing campaign. It is directed against all who seek a way to overcome the ethnic and nationalist divisions among working people in Israel, Palestine and the entire region.

Gregor Kahl

Everyone knows that fundamental differences divide us from Klasse gegen Klasse. But the charge of anti-Semitism is absurd and must be rejected.

The motion of the Juso faction explicitly claims that it is anti-Semitic to demand a common struggle of Palestinians and Jews against the pro-imperialist state of Israel in order to guarantee a peaceful and fraternal coexistence of Palestinians and Jews.

This motion is an intolerable trivialization of anti-Semitism and turns reality upside down. A common struggle of Arab and Jewish workers against imperialist military power is not anti-Semitic, rather the exact opposite of anti-Semitism.

If a joint struggle of Jews and Palestinians against the Israeli state apparatus and its brutal war policies is called anti-Semitic, this then denigrates large sections of the Israeli left and Holocaust survivors like the late Esther Bejarano as anti-Semites.

On the day of our last meeting, parliamentary elections were held for the fifth time in under four years. The 5.5 million Palestinians living under military occupation in the West Bank were not allowed to vote, but the roughly 700,000 Israeli settlers who live there were. Meanwhile, Benjamin Netanyahu is working to form an openly hard-right and racist government.

The weeks leading up to the election were marked by a nationalist war climate. Hardly a day went by without new reports of Palestinians killed by right-wing religious nationalists or the IDF (Israel Defense Forces). At least 175 Palestinians have been killed this year alone, and detention centers are overflowing. In early August, Israeli government airstrikes against Gaza killed 16 children. In all, 400 people were wounded and 45 people died.

Left-wing criticism of this policy is not anti-Semitic. In fact, the idea that the Israel Defense Forces and the right-wing government of Israel are expressions of Judaism is itself borrowed from the arsenal of anti-Semitism.

The socialist labor movement, on the other hand, has always fought anti-Semitism by all means. Many workers, youth and intellectuals of Jewish origin played a prominent role in this movement. Hundreds of thousands of socialists paid for their resistance to Hitler and the Nazis with their lives.

The Marxist revolutionary Leon Trotsky warned of the imminent annihilation of the Jews as early as the Kristallnacht [Night of Broken Glass] pogrom of November 9, 1938. In a letter to American friends he wrote: It is possible without difficulty to imagine what awaits the Jews at the mere outbreak of the future world war. But even without war, the next development of the world reaction will certainly mean the physical extermination of the Jews.

Trotsky advocated the international unity of the working class in the struggle for socialism. Trotsky rejected the nationalist Zionist project from this standpoint, calling it a bloody trap for hundreds of thousands of Jews. In 1937 he declared, I in no way believe that the Jewish question can be solved within the framework of putrid capitalism and under the control of British imperialism. How correct this assessment was is now apparent to everyone.

The Juso motion is part of the well-known right-wing campaign based, among others, on the fascists and anti-Semites of the AfD (the far-right Alternative for Germany party). In 2019, all the parliamentary groups in the Bundestag voted unanimously in favor of a resolution calling criticism of the Israeli governments right-wing policies anti-Semitic. Among them was Alexander Gauland, who trivialized the Holocaust as a flyspeck in German history.

With the votes of the Nazis, among other things, criticism of the Israeli government by Jews was banned by the German Bundestag (federal Parliament)!

Now the Juso faction is introducing a motion that also aims to ban left-wing criticism of the Israeli government at our university. And this at a university where the Holocaust is relativized and Hitler is trivialized!

Hitler was not vicious, claimed Professor Jorg Baberowskiwho still holds the Chair of Eastern European History!in 2014 in (Germanys) biggest news magazine Der Spiegel. In the same infamous article, Baberowski put the Holocaust on par with shootings during the Russian Civil War and declared, Basically, it was the same thing: industrial killing.

This relativizing of the Holocaust is anti-Semitic! But although Baberowski is notorious as a leading ideologue of the extreme right and has since moved on to violently attacking student critics, he continues to enjoy the backing of the university administration. This applies to the SPD-led Berlin Senate, as well as former Humboldt University President and SPD politician Sabine Kunst.

The motion of the Juso faction trivializes anti-Semitism and criminalizes left-wing criticism of Israels war policy. It denigrates Israeli government opponents and ridicules survivors of the Holocaust. Its equation of left-wing criticism of Zionism with anti-Semitism is grist for the mill of the extreme right. The motion must be unconditionally rejected.
On Saturday, December 10, at 1 p.m. eastern time, the International Youth and Students for Social Equality (IYSSE) and the World Socialist Web Site are hosting a webinar to discuss the building of a global anti-war movement to stop the US-NATO war against Russia in Ukraine. Members of the Socialist Equality Party (Canada) have campaigned among students and workers across the country to build support for the event over recent weeks.

Canadian imperialism is playing a major role in the US-led war, which is aimed at subordinating Russia to the status of a semi-colony, plundering its rich natural resources, and extending the control of the Western imperialist powers over the Eurasian landmass. The federal Liberal government recently announced another $500 million in military aid to Ukraine, which comes on top of $630 million pledged by Ottawa since the beginning of the conflict.

The claim that the war began on February 24 with an act of Russian aggression against Ukraine is a lie. In reality, the war was provoked by decades of eastward expansion by NATO up to the borders of Russia following the Stalinist dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991. The United States, Britain, Canada, and the major European powers disregarded Russias security concerns and instead sought to goad the Putin regime into launching a war. Based on the reactionary oligarchy that emerged from the restoration of capitalism, Putins regime offers no alternative to imperialism, as shown by its invasion of Ukraine.

In 2014, Ottawa backed the fascist-led coup in Kiev that installed a pro-Western puppet regime, and was instrumental in the restructuring of the Ukrainian armed forces over the following years in preparation for war. This included the integration into the Ukrainian armed forces of fascist militias working in the tradition of the Nazi collaborationist Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists, which the Canadian state helped rehabilitate after World War II.

SEP members discussed these questions with students and advanced the perspective of a global anti-war movement led by the working class at interventions in Quebec, Ontario, and British Columbia. They explained that the only way to put a stop to imperialist war is through a struggle to end the capitalist profit system that gives rise to it. Reflecting the unanimous support within the political establishment for the war, including among pseudo-left groups who claim to be socialist, many students who eagerly took leaflets from campaigners stated that it was the first time they had come across opposition to the conflict.

Toronto and Guelph

Campaigners in Ontario spoke to an Afghan war veteran, who explained his opposition to war. This statement is great for advocating for peace and against imperialism, he said, referring to the IYSSE statement A call to youth throughout the world: build a mass movement to stop the Ukraine war. With the fear, war-mongering, and hypocrisy we see around us in the world today, I find it heartening to see statements like this from the IYSSE.

Kiara, a neuroscience student at the University of Guelph was very interested in the campaign. She expressed keen interest in knowing more about the war and its underlying causes, which prompted an extensive and wide-ranging political discussion about the role of the working class in ending WWI, and the influence of identity politics on campus, as well as the potential for art as a vehicle for political expression. The conversation underlined the latent hunger within the student body for a politically principled, anti-war movement.

University of Guelph student Kiara

Another student at the University of Guelph commented, Im against the war in Ukraine and I want it stopped. War is not in the interests of people in Canada or any other country. I am concerned about Canadas involvement and worried about the war spreading beyond Ukraine.

In discussions with students, campaigners drew the connection between the billions of dollars wasted on waging war and rearming the military, and the austerity policies that are starving public spending and slashing workers wages. James, who campaigned at the University of Guelph, explained, University students in Canada today are under tremendous assault; fees have never been higher, supports have never been more difficult to obtain. The cost of living crisis is pushing students into debt and poverty, and they take their very lives into their hands just by going to the lecture hall, where all COVID-19 protections have essentially been abandoned by University Administrations. The real-life problems of studentswhich are urgent and pressingare intimately bound up with the world crisis of the capitalist system, which is driving the world towards WWIII. They are bound up with history. It has never been more urgent for working class students to have a socialist political perspective, oriented towards the one social force which can transform the material conditions faced by students, the international working class.

A student at Western University in London said, Personally I agree that students dont have a huge interest in this war. If they do, its probably them being waylaid by false political ambitions. Its great to see your movement and I hope it goes somewhere.

At the University of Toronto, SEP members leafletted in front of Robarts Library, handing out hundreds of leaflets to students and also passing cyclists. Campaigners also put up posters at York University in Toronto and the Universite de Montreal in Quebec. Jake, who campaigned at the University of Toronto, commented, There was strong enthusiasm for stopping the war, with a number of students approaching us for a leaflet after overhearing me make my appeal to Build the fight to stop the war after originally turning it down, then doubling back to take one.

Simon Fraser University

SEP campaigners spoke to students at Simon Fraser University in Burnaby, British Columbia. In discussing the war, one student pointed to the complicity of all the political parties in supporting imperialism. There are no major differences between the major political parties. The US Democrats, the Liberals, and the New Democrats talk differently, but their policies in the end are the same. If we want real change, we need different political parties and organizations for any meaningful progress, said Cali, an undergraduate student.

Cali, an undergraduate student at Simon Fraser University

Liam, a recent graduate from British Columbia, stated, We are constantly told there is no money for debt-relief, for national infrastructure plans, or for building the welfare state. There does however seem to be limitless amounts of money for proxy wars and regime changes. The United States and their European allies having long plotted a confrontation with Russia and enacted provocation after provocation, have now found limitless money for war and arms shipments to combat Russia in Ukraine. We as students must recognize that while Putins regime is reactionary and offers no positive social change, it cannot be combatted by the imperialist efforts of the United States and Europe to prop up an oligarchical regime in Ukraine. Rather than reactionary social patriotism, we must unite around an international working class anti-war movement to combat the growing threat of a Third World War. The WSWS and SEP are the only political organs that offer a comprehensive program to resist this march toward a new world war.
One hundred years ago, on December 23, 1922, Lenin began writing one of the most politically significant documents in the history of the Soviet Union. It consisted of a series of notes that were to be published as a letter to the upcoming Twelfth Congress of the Communist Party. The Bolshevik leader, who had not fully recovered from the stroke he had suffered earlier in the year, was fully aware that the state of his health might prevent him from participating in the Congress.

These notes, which were to go down in history as Lenins Testament, included an assessment of the principal leaders of the Bolshevik Party. It was not the intention of Lenin, who viewed leadership as a collective process rooted in relationships that reflected political tendencies within the party, to propose a formal successor. Lenins relationship to the Bolshevik Party was of such a politically and historically unique character that it could not, in any case, be duplicated by any other individual. He was, however, deeply concerned that tensions within the party, under conditions of objective economic and social crisis and differences over policies, could lead to dangerous factional conflicts within the central leadership.

Vladimir Lenin in 1920

Intending to prevent destructive conflicts, Lenin evaluated the strengths and weaknesses of leading members of the Central Committee.

In the note of December 24, Lenin wrote:

Comrade Stalin, having become Secretary-General, has unlimited authority concentrated in his hands, and I am not sure whether he will always be capable of using that authority with sufficient caution.

This assessment was followed by the following appraisal of Trotsky:

Comrade Trotsky, on the other hand, as his struggle against the C.C. on the question of the People's Commissariat of Communications has already proved, is distinguished not only by outstanding ability. He is personally perhaps the most capable man in the present C.C., but he has displayed excessive self-assurance and shown excessive preoccupation with the purely administrative side of the work.

Lenin then warned:

These two qualities of the two outstanding leaders of the present C.C., can inadvertently lead to a split, and if our Party does not take steps to avert this, the split may come unexpectedly.

Lenin continued to add to these notes during the days that followed.

Among the most critical issues with which Lenin grappled as he wrote his notes concerned the relationship of socialist republics within the Soviet state established in 1922. Lenin, fearful of the revival of Great-Russian dominance within the USSR, had insisted upon the right of socialist republics, such as Ukraine and Georgia, to secede from the union.

In notes dated December 30, 1922, Lenin expressed the concern that the Soviet government might fail to provide sufficient protection against Great-Russian oppression. Within this context, Lenins comments on Stalinespecially as he examined the latters abusive conduct to representatives of national minorities in Georgiabecame increasingly harsh. Clearly referring to Stalins behavior, Lenin warned against the Great-Russian chauvinist, in substance a rascal and a tyrant, such as the typical Russian bureaucrat is.

Lenin continued, I think that Stalins haste and his infatuation with pure administration, together with his spite against the notorious nationalist-socialism, played a fatal role here. In politics spite generally plays the basest of roles.

On January 4, 1923, Lenin added the following paragraph to his note of December 24:

Stalin is too rude and this defect, although quite tolerable in our midst and in dealing among us Communists, becomes intolerable in a Secretary-General. That is why I suggest that the comrades think about a way of removing Stalin from that post and appointing another man in his stead who in all other respects differs from Comrade Stalin in having only one advantage, namely, that of being more tolerant, more loyal, more polite and more considerate to the comrades, less capricious, etc. This circumstance may appear to be a negligible detail. But I think that from the standpoint of safeguards against a split and from the standpoint of what I wrote above about the relationship between Stalin and Trotsky, it is not a [minor] detail, but it is a detail which can assume decisive importance.

In the weeks that followed, Lenins political hostility toward and personal contempt for Stalin increased. The Bolshevik leader turned to Trotsky for support in the struggle that he planned to wage against Stalin at the scheduled Party congress. On March 5, 1923, he wrote:

Top secret

Personal Dear Comrade Trotsky: It is my earnest request that you should undertake the defence of the Georgian case in the Party C.C. This case is now under persecution by Stalin and Dzerzhinsky, and I cannot rely on their impartiality. Quite to the contrary. I would feel at ease if you agreed to undertake its defence. If you should refuse to do so for any reason, return the whole case to me. I shall consider it a sign that you do not accept.

Lenin then sent the following letter to Stalin:

You have been so rude as to summon my wife to the telephone and use bad language. Although she had told you that she was prepared to forget this, the fact nevertheless became known through her to Zinoviev and Kamenev. I have no intention of forgetting so easily what has been done against me, and it goes without saying that what has been done against my wife I consider having been done against me as well. I ask you, therefore, to think it over whether you are prepared to withdraw what you have said and to make your apologies, or whether you prefer that relations between us should be broken off.

Four days later, on March 9, 1923, Lenin suffered a stroke that brought his political career to an end. He died on January 21, 1924. In the aftermath of Lenins death, unprincipled maneuvering by Stalin and his factional supporters blocked the reading of the Testament at the Thirteenth Party Congress in 1924. It was to be concealed from the Soviet public for 40 years. Not until 1964 did the Soviet government11 years after Stalins deathallow the inclusion of Lenins Testament into a new edition of his Collected Works.

When Lenin wrote the Testament, the extent and significance of the divisions that were developing within the Bolshevik Party were not yet known. Lenins Testament and the accompanying notes and memos were an anticipation of the unfolding conflict. In the months that followed, Trotsky continued and developed, in real political time, Lenins anticipatory critique of bureaucratism and national chauvinism.

In October 1923, 10 months after Lenin had written his Testament, the Left Opposition was founded. The emergence of the Trotskyist movement marked the continuation of Lenins last great struggle.
On January 20, the Belmarsh Tribunalnamed after the maximum security prison in the United Kingdom where WikiLeaks founder and journalist Julian Assange has languished for three yearsconvened in Washington D.C. to demand that US President Joe Biden drop charges against Assange, who currently faces extradition to the US and a 175-year prison sentence.

While the tribunal heard important testimony from whistleblowers such as Daniel Ellsberg and principled journalists and civil rights activists such as attorney Margaret Kunstler, it was marred by the bankrupt orientation of the Progressive Internationalwhich hosted the eventwhose entire outlook consists of an appeal to the Biden administration and the Democratic Party.

Assange, 51, has been charged under the 1917 Espionage Act for WikiLeaks exposure of war crimes committed by the US military in Afghanistan and Iraq. In 2010, WikiLeaks published the now infamous Collateral Murder footage of US Apache helicopters massacring as many as 18 unarmed civilians and journalists in Baghdad. The subsequently published Iraq War Logs, made up of US Army field reports, detailed systematic war crimes committed against the civilian population of Iraq.

Julian Assange [Photo by David G. Silvers, Cancilleria del Ecuador / CC BY-SA 2.0

The tone for the tribunal was set by Croatian philosopher Srecko Horvat, who in his opening remarks made a ludicrous amalgam between Thomas Jefferson and President Joe Biden, on the basis that both are hypocrites; Jefferson for owning slaves and nominally espousing equality, Biden for nominally defending freedom of the press. He ended his remarks with the first of many appeals to Biden to drop the charges against Assange.

Important testimony was provided by Jeffrey Sterling, a former CIA official turned whistleblower, who compared the Espionage Act to the anti-literacy laws during the slavery era, which were designed to prevent slaves from receiving an education because, in his words, an educated slave wont be a slave for long.

Similarly the Espionage Act, a deeply reactionary law first enacted in 1917, was used to suppress opposition to the United States entry into the First World War.

Sterling denounced the legal travesty of the case against Assange, describing the Espionage Act as a because we say so law, given that the government has not had to prove any harm that was caused by Assanges revelations.

Testimony was provided by civil rights attorney Margaret Kunstler. While her principled stance in defense of Assange is to be applauded, in her remarks she further laid the political groundwork for an appeal to the Democratic Party when she rooted the beginning of the persecution of Assange in 2017, when Donald Trump assumed the presidency. The implication being that Biden and the Democrats can be persuaded to reverse course and drop charges. In fact, it was the Obama administration that spearheaded the initial assault on Assange.

The appearance of Jeremy Corbyn at the panel, who was introduced as the pure opposite of Labour Party leader Keir Starmer, was a shameful display of hypocrisy. In his demagogic address, Corbyn lamented the complicity of elected officials in the US and elsewhere in the persecution of Assange, saying, Your silence makes it worse for democracy as a whole. He ended with a bland appeal to US officials to Speak up!

His appeal to Biden is an echo of his 2021 appeal to the UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson, as part of the bankrupt Dont Extradite Assange (DEA) campaign, which promptly fizzled out. Corbyns response to this was to throw up his hands and declare, Ive done all I can!

This appeal to the Democrats was taken up by nearly every speaker, including Betty Medsger (Washington Post journalist who covered the leaked FBI files in 1971) and Steven Donziger, who gave important testimony about the corporatism of the US security apparatus, referencing the police murder of the climate activist in Atlanta at the beginning of the year. Despite this, he thereafter called upon Biden to step up and free Assange.

In his remarks to the tribunal, whistleblower Daniel Ellsbergwho most recently released documents showing just how close the US came to using nuclear weapons against China during the Taiwan crisis in 1958spoke about the intentionally ambiguous wording of the Espionage Act, which allows prosecution not just of those who leak sensitive information, but also individuals who merely possess it, overriding the First Amendment. With that in mind, he called on Biden to indict me along with Julian Assange and others, or to drop this unconstitutional attempt to extradite Julian.

Finally, there was a moving address provided by Assanges father, John Shipton, who denounced the hypocrisy of the Western democracies, who trumpet their freedom while persecuting journalists.

Horvat concluded the tribunal by saying it had provided convincing testimony that would hopefully convince Biden to drop charges.

The tribunal provided no serious analysis of the nature of Assanges persecution or the growth of authoritarian forms of rule throughout the world. While it spoke to elements of this tendency, it could not explain it. It could not answer why, in fact it could not even pose this question in any serious manner.

This is par for the course for the Progressive International, originally formed by US Senator Bernie Sanders in collaboration with such figures as the Greek politician Yanos Varoufakis, who served as finance minister for the Syriza government in 2015, when he oversaw the imposition of austerity measures on the Greek workers.

Sanders, for his part, has faithfully served the US ruling class by directing mass opposition to both capitalist parties back into the Democratic Party, with the illusory aim of reforming this party of imperialist reaction.

The speakers could not offer any solution aside from an appeal to the same forces responsible for erecting the police-state apparatus. In his capacity as vice president in the Obama administration, Biden presided over an unprecedented expansion of the power and reach of the US security state. Whistleblowers such as Edward Snowden who exposed this growth of unaccountable powerrevealing, for instance, that the National Security Administration (NSA) was secretly spying on millions of Americanswere ruthlessly persecuted.

The Obama White House crossed another Rubicon with the advent of targeted assassinations using drones, effectively extrajudicial executions even of American citizens, without due process. With this history in mind, appealing to Biden to reverse course now amounts to asking the devil to voluntarily cut off his own claws.

The defense of journalists such as Julian Assange, and the most fundamental democratic rights to free speech and press, cannot be left in the hands of any section of the ruling class. The most principled journalists must turn towards the most powerful social force on earth, and the only one that can possibly defend democratic rightsthe international working class.
In response to freedom of information (FOI) requests by former federal parliamentarian Rex Patrick, multiple departments of the Australian Labor government have confirmed that they have made no representations to the US administration of President Joe Biden relating to Julian Assange.

The information, revealed in an article by Patrick on the Michael West Media website, is a damning indictment of the Labor government.

Anthony Albanese and Julian Assange [Photo: Twitter/@AlboMP, David G Silvers]

Since it was elected last May, Labor has said as little as possible on Assange. Its representatives, including Albanese, have hinted at backroom discussions with the Biden administration, but their content and purpose has remained entirely opaque.

These purported conferences have been used to justify the refusal to forthrightly defend the persecuted Australian journalist on the grounds that diplomacy is best conducted, in Albaneses words, without a megaphone.

In response to growing condemnations of these claims as a cynical dodge, Albanese made his most explicit comments on Assange since becoming prime minister last November. In response to a question from independent MP Monique Ryan, Albanese restated earlier declarations that enough is enough in relation to Assanges legal plight.

Albanese said: The government will continue to act in a diplomatic way, but can I assure the member for Kooyong that I have raised this personally with representatives of the United States government. My position is clear and has been made clear to the US administration that it is time that this matter be brought to a close.

Contrary to Albanese, many things remained decidedly unclear. What exactly was the government requesting of the US administration? Had it explicitly demanded an end to the US attempt to extradite and prosecute Assange for exposing American war crimes? Were these demands backed by any threats of retaliatory action if they were not met, and more?

Previous FOI documents obtained by lawyer Kellie Tranter in July, had highlighted these questions. Internal talking points from the office of Labors Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus had focussed solely on the prospect of a prison swap involving Assange. That would presuppose his extradition to the US and conviction on trumped-up Espionage Act charges carrying a maximum-sentence of 175-years imprisonment.

Assanges relatives and medical experts had long before warned that he would not survive being dispatched to the US.

The latest FOI request by Patrick paints an even grimmer picture of Australias role in the continued persecution of Assange.

Patrick wrote: In response to a Freedom of Information request to the Prime Minister for all correspondence or other records of communication sent after 23 May 2022 by or on behalf of the Prime Minister, the Hon Anthony Albanese MP, to United States President Joe Biden that related to Julian Paul Assange, his office has come up with nothing.

A bland, pro forma reply by the Senior Legal Advisor to the Prime Minister simply stated that there was no relevant material. Identical responses were also made by representatives of Foreign Minister Penny Wong and Attorney-General Dreyfus. They cover all of the key government ministries that would be engaged in any intervention on Assanges behalf.

MP Monique Ryan responded to the revelation by telling Michael West Media: If the Albanese Government was serious about working to secure an end to the US prosecution and Mr Assanges release, then he and his Ministers would have raised the matter formally, in writing, with their counterparts at the top levels of the US Government. It is now confirmed that they have not done so via any formal means.

Patrick added: The Albanese Government has been caught out saying something but not meaning it. They just want to appear that theyre doing something, when behind the scenes theyre doing very little, if anything much at all.

Some have suggested that such negotiations may be conducted in the first instance verbally, thus not leaving a paper trail. It is inconceivable, however, that any actual progress in ending the persecution of Assange would be made without some sort of written communication or commitment.

In reality, while spouting occasional, exceedingly vague and non-committal weasel-words of concern for Assanges plight, Labor is to all intents and purposes continuing the more than ten-year collaboration of Australian governments in the assault on the WikiLeaks founder.

Since Assange was expelled from Ecuadors London Embassy and arrested by British police in April, 2019, the justification for this collaboration has been the assertion that Australia is not a party to the legal process involving Assange, and thus can do nothing to halt it.

In a little reported comment during an interview with the Australian Broadcasting Corporation earlier this month, Albanese restated this line in a particularly callous manner.

The host, James Valentine, stated: All right, a couple of other issues that listeners have raised, are we likely to see Julian Assange back in Australia anytime soon? We had three or four texts on this, people saying, Could you put pressure on the US to ask them to stop trying to get the extradition? Why cant the UK just release him? Isnt he Australias issue now?

Albanese replied: Well, hes not Australias issue, because its the US seeking to extradite someone under US law from the UK under UK law.

Only when Valentine pressed the matter with follow-up questions did Albanese trot out the talking points about diplomacy and enough being enough.

In other words, just as the previous Coalition government, Labor upholds the pseudo-legal extradition as a legal process that must be respected and that it cannot interfere with.

This line has become even more brazen, since it was revealed in late 2021 that the US Central Intelligence Agency had secretly plotted to kidnap or assassinate Assange in 2017, while he was an internationally-recognised political refugee in the Ecuadorian government. Only after those illegal plans failed or were abandoned was a frame-up indictment issued together with an extradition bid.

Some figures who support Assange, including Patrick, have pointed to Australias growing importance to US military and diplomatic operations around the world. This, they have claimed, provides the Labor government with leverage that it could utilise to pressure Biden to drop the charges and the extradition request.

This position is profoundly false. It serves to sever the fight for Assanges freedom, from the struggle against war, with which it is inextricably tied.

Since assuming office in May, Labor has accelerated Australias integration into advanced US preparations for an aggressive war against China. Every week brings announcements of new weapons purchases, together with diplomatic missions by Wong, Albanese and others aimed at furthering Washingtons confrontation with Beijing.

The inevitable and necessary corollary of this imperialist warmongering is the suppression of widespread anti-war sentiment. The persecution of Assange is the spearhead of this crackdown on civil liberties which always accompanies war. In other words, Labors support for stepped-up militarism and its tacit backing for the slow state murder of Assange are two sides of the same coin.

These attacks recall those which developed under the last Labor government headed by Julia Gillard and in office from 2010-13. It aligned Australia with the first stages of the US plans for war with China, the pivot to Asia, a massive military build-up throughout the region. At the same time, Gillard falsely accused Assange of having broken Australian laws and sought to strip him of his passport. Assange stated publicly that he thought the Labor government was secretly collaborating with the CIA and other American agencies in covert operations against WikiLeaks, including its Australian members.

More than ten years on and the turn to war, the development of authoritarianism and the crisis of global capitalism that underlie both are far more advanced.

That, together with the entire record, demonstrates that the fight for Assanges freedom can only go forward through an independent political movement of the working class against war, capitalism and those who represent it, including the Labor government.
As the new far-right government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ramps up its murderous repression of the Palestinians, the head of Sudans military junta, General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, has agreed to normalise relations with Israel in the near future.

It is yet another sordid betrayal of the Palestinians by an Arab regime that has barely been reported in the Arab media, much less commented upon or criticised.

Sudan's head of the military, Gen. Abdel-Fattah Burhan, speaks during a press conference at the General Command of the Armed Forces in Khartoum, Sudan, October 26, 2021. [AP Photo/Marwan Ali, File]

The announcement came during Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohens visit to Khartoum, the Sudanese capital, where he also discussed military and security issues. The signing ceremony of the peace agreement will take place in a few months time in Washington after the establishment of a civilian government as part of the ongoing transition process in the country, according to a statement issued by Israels Foreign Ministry.

Sudan follows the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Bahrainunquestionably given the nod by Saudi Arabiaand Morocco, which normalised relations with Israel under the Abraham Accords brokered by the Trump administration and Egypt and Jordan, which recognised Israel in 1979 and 1994 respectively. These agreements, establishing diplomatic and trade relations, ended the state of war and boycott by members of the Arab League since the establishment of the state of Israel, the ArabIsraeli War and the displacement of 700,000 Palestinians in 1948.

The agreements made visible their back-channel security, intelligence and commercial dealings with Israel and their repudiation of any commitment to the establishment of a Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capitalbased on Israels full withdrawal from the territories captured in the 1967 Arab Israeli warand a just settlement of the Palestinian refugee problem based on UN Resolution 194.

It was in Khartoum after the 1967 Arab Israeli war that the Arab League famously inaugurated its three nos policy in relation to Israel: no peace, no recognition and no negotiations. Now, as far as the Arab regimes are concerned, the Palestinians no longer matter.

While Sudan had accepted the Abraham Accords in November 2020, signing with the US in exchange for a package of vital financial incentives, including Sudans long-awaited removal from Washingtons list of State Sponsors of Terrorism, it had not signed the agreement with Israel. Discussions stalled after the militarys sacking of Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok and his transitional civilian government in October 2021, when the Biden administration suspended $700 million in financial assistance to Sudan.

Cohen, speaking at a press conference Thursday, said that the visit to Sudan laid the foundations for a historic peace agreement with a strategic Arab and Muslim country. The peace agreement between Israel and Sudan will promote regional stability and contribute to the national security of the State of Israel. The signing would serve as an opportunity for the establishment of relations with other countries in Africa as well as the strengthening of existing ties with African countries.

Sudan occupies a strategically important location on the shores of the Red Sea, between Egypt and Eritrea, where it controls maritime routes. It borders on Ethiopia, one of Israels most important allies on the African continent, whose leader Abiy Ahmed paid his first visit to Sudan since the military coup.

Under longtime dictator Omar al-Bashir, who was aligned with Qatar, Turkey and the Muslim Brotherhood and had supported Hamas, the bourgeois clerical group that controls the Gaza Strip, Sudan was subject on several occasions to Israeli bombings of convoys allegedly carrying weapons and ammunition to Hamas.

Al-Burhan, following his pre-emptive military coup in the face of mass protests against al-Bashir in April 2019, has repudiated Sudans alliance with the Palestinians and Hamas, to secure security and trade deals with Israel. This was part of a bid to win favour with Washington, amid a deepening economic and political crisis. While he announced a framework deal in December, after months of protests and repression in which 120 protesters were killedfor a two-year civilian transition towards electionsit is widely viewed as yet another fraudulent cover for military rule and has been met with mass protests.

Protesters march on Friday, July 1, 2022 in Khartoum, Sudan, a day after nine people were killed in demonstrations against the countrys ruling generals. (AP Photo/Marwan Ali)

The US Biden administration is determined to sever Sudans relationship with Iran, Russia and China, close Sudans large Red Sea port of Port Sudan to the Russian navy, and strengthen its regional anti-Iran alliance.

The UAE, which has signed extensive commercial deals to open economic zones and ports in Sudan, and Egypt have welcomed normalization. Hamas condemned the move, which contradicts the general Sudanese stance that is against the normalization of ties with the Israeli occupation state and supports the just Palestinian cause and called on the Sudanese leadership to backtrack on this decision that contradicts the interests of the brotherly people of Sudan and would only serve the Israeli occupations agenda.

This latest normalisation deal deepens the treacherous role of the Arab bourgeoisie, which has now formally buried its own two state solution and confirms that the nationalist agenda championed by all sections of the Palestinian bourgeoisie provides no way forward for the decades-long struggle of the workers and oppressed masses.

On Thursday, Chad's President Mahamat Idriss Deby, who took power after his father, the dictator Idriss Deby, was killed by rebel forces in 2021, opened the countrys embassy in Ramat Gan, a suburb of Tel Aviv, some 50 years after diplomatic ties were severed in 1972. Chad is a member of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), founded in 1969 after a fire in the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem apparently started by a Christian fundamentalist. Like the Arab League the OIC is ostensibly committed a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and a boycott of Israeli products to pressure Israel into ending the occupation. In establishing relations with Chad, one of the poorest countries in the world, Netanyahu is signalling that the Palestinians do not figure on the agenda of either the Arab or Muslim states.

These developments come just weeks after the installation of the most far-right government in Israels history, one that includes fascistic and racist parties based on Jewish settlers, and ultra-Orthodox parties which seek to suppress not only the Palestinians but the more secular sections of the Jewish population.

It has stepped up Israels already savage repression of the Palestinians in pursuit of its programme of accelerated settlement expansion and moves towards full annexation of the Palestinian territories illegally occupied since the 1967 Arab Israeli war. This was combined with imposing even more pervasive apartheid conditions for Palestinians, including legislation making it easier to disqualify Arab legislators, and provocations at the al-Aqsa Mosque compound.

Last year, 231 Palestinians lost their lives in extra-judicial killings at the hands of the Israeli military and settlers, the highest number since 2005. Some 35 Palestinians have already been killed this year. One factor in the massive raid on Jenin by the Israel military last month that left 10 dead and 20 injuredas well as terrorising the Palestinian populationwas to provoke retaliation by desperate Palestinians to deflect anger against the government outwards and demobilise the anti-government protests.

A key element in Netanyahus expansionist plans at the expense of both the Palestinians and the Israeli working class is his bolstering of the governments powersto be achieved by neutering the judiciary. This is in the service of Israels plutocrats, ruling over one of the most socially polarised countries in the OECD group of advanced economies, raising the spectre of civil war.

The court reform plan has sparked mass opposition, with weekly demonstrations protesting the governments plans. Saturday witnessed the fifth such protest with widening participation across the country as tens of thousands took to the streets of Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, Haifa and other towns and cities. Anti-occupation groups including Combatants for Peace, Machsom Watch, Peace Now and A Land for All, took part in a separate demonstration in Tel Aviv under the slogan, There is no democracy with occupation.

Demonstrations were also held in some 20 cities in North America, Europe and Australia.

The recent events have exposed the twin political myths of the Middle East. First, the transformation of the Palestinian Liberation Organisation into a repressive adjunct of the Israeli state, and by extension US imperialismimposing impoverishment of the Palestinian massesrefutes the notion that bourgeois nationalism, even in its most radical form of the armed struggle, could end the oppression of the Arab masses. Second, the emergence of a fascistic government in Israel and the very real prospect of civil war shatters any conception that the establishment of a Jewish state based on the dispossession and removal of the Palestinian people could provide a safe haven for the Jewish people.

Bitter historical experiences demonstrate the failure of movements and programmes based upon nationalism, which serve the interests of a narrow social layer, the capitalist class, not the working class. The essential precondition for ending repression, poverty and war in the Middle East is the unification of the Israeli workers with their class brothers and sisters in the Palestinian territories and across the Middle East and internationally, to put an end to capitalism and re-organise society on a socialist basis. This is the perspective of permanent revolution fought for by the International Committee of the Fourth International.
The Socialist Equality Party in Sri Lanka, together with the International Youth and Students for Social Equality (IYSSE), held an open-air meeting at Oori village in Karainagar on February 19. About 60 people, including fishermen, farmers, daily wage workers, youth and housewives, along with SEP members and supporters attended the event.

SEP election meeting at Oori village in Karainagar, Jaffna district on 19 February 2023.

In addition to running 13 candidates for the Karainagar Pradeshiya Sabha, the SEP is also fielding candidates at two other local government bodiesthe Kolonnawa urban council in Colombo and the Maskeliya Pradeshiya Sabha in Nuwaraeliya.

Karainagar island is connected by a causeway to the Jaffna Peninsula in the Northern province, which was heavily damaged during the 26-year communalist war waged by successive Colombo governments against the separatist Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).

Prior to the meeting, the SEP/IYSSE members and supporters campaigned among workers, farmers, youth and fishermen in Karainagar and beyond, explaining the SEPs call for workers and rural poor to build their own independent action committees at their workplaces, factories and neighbourhoods to fight for their democratic and social rights.

Thousands of copies of the SEPs election announcement were distributed by campaigners who also explained the importance of the International Committee of the Fourth Internationals fight for an international anti-war movement of workers and youth against the growing danger of world war. The campaign attracted significant support among workers, students and youth with thousands of rupees donated to the SEP election fund by Oori villagers.

Oori villager donating to the SEP election fund.

Addressing the meeting, SEP Political Committee and local government election candidate Paramu Thirugnanasampanthar explained how the Tamil bourgeois parties had propped up President Wickremesinghes oppressive government.

All the Tamil parties, including Ilankai Tamil Arasu Katchchi (Democratic), the Tamil National Alliance, the Tamil National Peoples Front and Tamil Makkal Koodani, are working as agents of the imperialist powers, he explained. As the US is preparing war against the China with the support of India, the Tamil parties are backing these moves, expecting in return, Washingtons support for a power-sharing arrangement with Colombo.

The speaker told the meeting that the Tamil bourgeois parties are exploiting the problems faced by the war-affected Tamil workers, youth and rural people to promote their pro-imperialist politics. They are standing against the class unity of the Sinhala, Tamil and Muslim workers.

SEP Political Committee member Mahalingam Dilaxshan, who chaired the meeting, briefly explained the Trotskyist foundations of the SEP as the Sri Lankan section of the International Committee of the Fourth International. We are fighting to overthrow the outmoded capitalist system and build a socialist society, he said.

IYSSE member and local government candidate Muruganandan Suthan reviewed the grave issues confronting youth. Young people, he said, face rising unemployment in Sri Lanka.

In the Northern province, which was horribly affected by the war, youth face very bad conditions. They confront unemployment, dropping out early from school education and the dangers of addiction to narcotics, Suthan said. He invited youth to join the IYSSE and SEP to fight for socialism to counter this devastation.

Long-standing SEP member Rajaratnam Balagowry explained the grave economic situation in Sri Lanka. We are facing an international economic crisis that has been intensified by the pandemic and the US-NATO war against Russia in Ukraine, she said. She stressed the need for the development of a unified international movement of the working class based on an socialist perspective and anti-war war program.

SEP Political Committee member Dinesh Heymaal pointed to harsh social issues confronting Karainagar residents.

Referring to Colombos decades-long communal war against the LTTE, he said: Even though the war ended more than 13 years ago, successive governments have failed to resolve the basic problems confronting the people. Many are still living in unsuitable homes and many youth are unemployed. People also face drinking water problems and are compelled to buy water from the private tankers.

Fishermen and farmers confront the skyrocketing cost of kerosene [which is essential for their work]. The capitalist rulers are now destroying social welfare which was won in past struggles by the working class.

SEP assistant secretary Saman Gunadasa delivered the main speech to the open-air event. He began by pointing out that President Wickremesinghes sabotage of the local government elections was unprecedented.

SEP assistant secretary Saman Gunadasa addressing election meeting at Oori village in Karainagar, Jaffna district on 19 February 2023.

The government is worried that it faces a humiliating election defeat because of the hardships it is imposing on the masses that could escalate political instability and scuttle the IMF-dictated austerity program, he said.

Gunadasa referred to Wickremesinghes speech the previous day to a Colombo Rotary Club event where he vowed to maintain law and order and prevent anarchy, declaring that his priority was economic recovery.

Gunadasa said this was a direct threat to the working class, youth and rural masses and indicated that his government is prepared to attack fundamental democratic rights. Wickremesinghes concern about economic recovery is not about the suffering of working masses, the speaker continued, but implementation of the brutal austerity measures dictated by the IMF. Wickremesinghe and the ruling elite have learnt from last years mass uprising which chased Gotabhaya Rajapakse out of the country and the presidency. They are trying to prevent this sort of mass movement occurring again.

How will the working class confront these threats? Gunadasa asked.

The SEP was the only political party which fought during last years mass uprising to provide the working class with the revolutionary program needed to fight for their basic social and democratic demands. The opposition parties, trade unions, pseudo-left parties and middle-class civil society organisations promoted an all-party government. This paved the way for Wickremesinghe to become president. They forcibly blocked a revolutionary program under the banner of no politics.

The SEP urged workers to set up their own independent action committees at workplaces, to take matters to their own hands and proposed the establishment of a Democratic and Socialist Congress of Workers and Rural Masses as a power centre for the working class. This is the program the SEP is taking forward in this election campaign.

The ongoing war against Russia by the US and NATO, using Ukraine, Gunadasa stressed is threatening humanity with nuclear conflagration. The goal of the imperialists is preservation of their global hegemony over everything. Their plan is to loot Russia but their main target is China.

The speaker explained that the international working class was the only force that could stop imperialist war. He pointed out that the capitalist ruling elites had no concerns about the loss of lives, referring to the millions killed by COVID-19 and the tens of thousands killed in the earthquake in Turkey and Syria.

He called on workers and youth to join the SEP and take up its fight for workers and peasants government to overthrow capitalism and to implement socialist policies. This program will repudiate the debts of successive capitalist governments. The working class will take control of production and distribution, seize the resources and wealth of the ruling elite, and distribute it on the basis of social needs, he concluded.
Value-focused investors are always on the hunt for stocks that are priced below their intrinsic value. One such stock that merits attention is NRG Energy Inc (NYSE:NRG). The stock, which is currently priced at 38.01, recorded a gain of 1.47% in a day and a 3-month increase of 0.33%. The stock's fair valuation is $59.14, as indicated by its GF Value.

Understanding the GF Value

The GF Value represents the current intrinsic value of a stock derived from our exclusive method. The GF Value Line on our summary page gives an overview of the fair value that the stock should be traded at. It is calculated based on three factors:

1. Historical multiples (PE Ratio, PS Ratio, PB Ratio and Price-to-Free-Cash-Flow) that the stock has traded at.

2. GuruFocus adjustment factor based on the company's past returns and growth.

3. Future estimates of the business performance.

We believe the GF Value Line is the fair value that the stock should be traded at. The stock price will most likely fluctuate around the GF Value Line. If the stock price is significantly above the GF Value Line, it is overvalued and its future return is likely to be poor. On the other hand, if it is significantly below the GF Value Line, its future return will likely be higher.

Is NRG Energy (NRG) Too Good to Be True? A Comprehensive Analysis of a Potential Value Trap

Deep Dive into NRG Energy's Financial Health

However, investors need to consider a more in-depth analysis before making an investment decision. Despite its seemingly attractive valuation, certain risk factors associated with NRG Energy should not be ignored. These risks are primarily reflected through its low Piotroski F-score of 1, Altman Z-score of 1.03, and a Beneish M-Score of 59.36 that exceeds -1.78, the threshold for potential earnings manipulation. These indicators suggest that NRG Energy, despite its apparent undervaluation, might be a potential value trap. This complexity underlines the importance of thorough due diligence in investment decision-making.

Story continues

Decoding Financial Indicators: Piotroski F-score, Altman Z-score, and Beneish M-score

The Piotroski F-score, created by accounting professor Joseph Piotroski, is a tool used to assess the strength of a company's financial health. The score is based on nine criteria that fall into three categories: profitability, leverage/liquidity/ source of funds, and operating efficiency. The overall score ranges from 0 to 9, with higher scores indicating healthier financials. NRG Energy's current Piotroski F-Score, however, falls in the lower end of this spectrum, indicating potential red flags for investors.

Before delving into the details, let's understand what the Altman Z-score entails. Invented by New York University Professor Edward I. Altman in 1968, the Z-Score is a financial model that predicts the probability of a company entering bankruptcy within a two-year time frame. The Altman Z-Score combines five different financial ratios, each weighted to create a final score. A score below 1.8 suggests a high likelihood of financial distress, while a score above 3 indicates a low risk.

Developed by Professor Messod Beneish, the Beneish M-Score is based on eight financial variables that reflect different aspects of a company's financial performance and position. These are Days Sales Outstanding (DSO), Gross Margin (GM), Total Long-term Assets Less Property, Plant and Equipment over Total Assets (TATA), change in Revenue (?REV), change in Depreciation and Amortization (?DA), change in Selling, General and Admin expenses (?SGA), change in Debt-to-Asset Ratio (?LVG), and Net Income Less Non-Operating Income and Cash Flow from Operations over Total Assets (?NOATA).

Company Snapshot: NRG Energy Inc

NRG Energy is one of the largest retail energy providers in the U.S., with 5.5 million customers. Its 2023 acquisition of Vivint Smart Home adds 1.9 million home services customers. NRG also is one of the largest U.S. independent power producers, with 13 gigawatts of coal, gas, and oil power generation capacity primarily in Texas. NRG exited Chapter 11 bankruptcy as a stand-alone entity in December 2003.

Is NRG Energy (NRG) Too Good to Be True? A Comprehensive Analysis of a Potential Value Trap

Analysis of NRG Energy's Profitability

Firstly, let's address profitability. One significant component of the F-Score is a positive return on assets (ROA). A closer look at NRG Energy's ROA reveals a worrying trend of negative returns. This indicates the company's inability to generate profit from its assets - a fundamental concern for any investor.

Let's delve deeper into NRG Energy's financial health by examining the decline in its return on assets (ROA) over the past three years. The data indicates 2021: 6.67; 2022: 12.59; 2023: -6.65, when expressed in percentages. Such a decrease is concerning, as the Piotroski F-Score penalizes companies with lower current ROA compared to the previous period. This ongoing decline highlights another potential risk associated with investing in NRG Energy.

Observing the financials of NRG Energy, it's important to note that the cash flow from operations over the trailing twelve months (TTM) stands at $-3857 million, whereas the net income in the same period is significantly higher at $-2055 million. The Piotroski F-score considers this discrepancy as a potential red flag. The rationale behind this is that a company's operating cash flow is a more direct and less manipulated measure of its cash-generating ability than net income. Net income, while important, is susceptible to accounting treatments and non-cash items which can distort the true cash profitability of the company. If a company consistently shows lower cash flows from operations relative to its net income, it could indicate that the earnings quality is poor and the company might have difficulties sustaining its operations or financing its obligations, a fact which could negatively impact its financial stability and investor confidence.

Leverage, Liquidity and Source of Funds: A Worrying Trend

Is NRG Energy (NRG) Too Good to Be True? A Comprehensive Analysis of a Potential Value Trap

Examining NRG Energy's financial stability, there's a notable decrease in its current ratio over the past three years, as shown by the data 2021: 1.24; 2022: 1.29; 2023: 1.02, which is expressed as percentages. The current ratio is a key indicator of a company's short-term financial health, as it gauges the ability to cover short-term liabilities with short-term assets. A declining current ratio suggests that NRG Energy's liquidity and capability to manage immediate financial obligations are deteriorating.

Operating Efficiency: A Darker Picture

Lastly, concerning operating efficiency, the Piotroski F-score examines changes in gross margin and asset turnover. Regrettably, NRG Energy follows a discouraging trajectory with a decrease in gross margin percentage over the past three years, as demonstrated by the data provided: 2021: 25.95; 2022: 25.45; 2023: 0.22 (expressed in percentages). This contraction in gross margin suggests that NRG Energy is grappling with either an escalation in the cost of goods sold or dwindling prices - both of which are inauspicious indicators for profitability.

While the Piotroski F-score is not the only lens through which to view a potential investment, it is a robust and comprehensive tool for evaluating a company's financial health. Unfortunately for NRG Energy, its current score suggests potential troubles. The company's low Piotroski F-score, combined with a high Beneish M-score and an Altman Z-score below the safety threshold, points to a potential value trap. Despite the attractive price, these indicators suggest that investing in NRG Energy could be risky.

NRG Energy's Low Altman Z-Score: A Breakdown of Key Drivers

A dissection of NRG Energy's Altman Z-score reveals NRG Energy's financial health may be weak, suggesting possible financial distress:

When it comes to operational efficiency, a vital indicator for NRG Energy is its asset turnover. The data: 2021: 1.13; 2022: 1.06; 2023: 0.99 from the past three years suggests a recent decline following an initial increase in this ratio. The asset turnover ratio reflects how effectively a company is using its assets to generate sales. Therefore, a drop in this ratio can signify reduced operational efficiency, potentially due to underutilization of assets or decreased market demand for the company's products or services. This shift in NRG Energy's asset turnover underlines the need for the company to reassess its operational strategies to optimize asset usage and boost sales.

The days sales outstanding (DSO) is an important financial metric that denotes the average time a company takes to collect payment after a sale is completed. Looking at the historical data from the past three years (2021: 1.13; 2022: 1.06; 2023: 0.99), there appears to be a rising trend in NRG Energy's DSO.

An uptick in DSO might indicate aggressive revenue recognition practices, and in some cases, potential earnings manipulation. To explain, when DSO increases, it means the company's receivables are growing. This could be a result of sales being recorded before customers have paid, which inflates the revenue figures. In extreme cases, a company may even recognize revenue from sales that may never be collected, an action that is considered earnings manipulation. A rising DSO figure warrants scrutiny as it can signal financial distress or questionable accounting practices within the company. Therefore, investors should closely monitor such trends for early detection of any potential financial risks.

The Gross Margin index tracks the evolution of a company's gross profit as

This article first appeared on GuruFocus.


Michael Duane Zack III, 54, was put to death by the state of Florida on Tuesday evening at the Florida State Prison in Raiford. His execution went forward after the US Supreme Court denied, without comment, Zacks appeal for a stay of execution based on his intellectual disability from fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS). He was the sixth person put to death in Florida so far this year, after Republican Governor Ron DeSantisa leading contender for the Republican presidential nomination next yearresumed signing death warrants after a brief hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Zack was sentenced to death in 1997 for the June 1996 sexual assault, robbery and murder of Ravonne Smith, a woman he met at a bar in the Florida Panhandle. He was also convicted and sentenced to life in prison for the murder of another woman, Laura Rosillo, whom he had befriended at another bar.

Michael Duane Zack III [Photo: Florida Department of Corrections]

Zacks defense team sought to block his execution on the grounds that he suffered from fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) and post-traumatic stress disorder and was therefore ineligible for execution due to intellectual disability. The Supreme Court ruled in 2002 in Atkins v. Virginia that execution of people with intellectual disabilities violated Eighth Amendment protections against cruel and unusual punishment.

Zack died by a lethal injection cocktail administered by the execution team at 6:02 p.m. He was pronounced dead at 6:14 p.m., although the Pensacola News Journal said that he showed no visible signs of breathing after the first minute.

A written statement by Zack was shared by Floridians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty after his execution.

Twenty-seven years ago, I was an alcoholic and a drug addict. I did things that have hurt a lot of peoplenot only the victims and their families and friends, but my own family and friends as well, Zack wrote. I have woken up every single day since then filled with remorse and a wish to make my time here on earth mean something more than the worst thing I ever did.

I am so grateful to the guys on the row who took the time to teach me how to read and write. They changed my life forever because their love and support allowed me to have pen pals and friends all over the world, he said.

I make no excuses. I lay no blame. But how I wish that I could have a second chance, to live out my days in prison and continue to do all I can to make a difference in this world. To all my brothers on death row, please continue to help each other. Give each other hope and peace.

Zack suffered a litany of horrors in his childhood. His lawyers wrote in a court filing that his mother drank heavily throughout her pregnancy. He was hospitalized at the age of three for drinking about 10 ounces of vodka. He endured extensive physical and sexual abuse from his stepfather, including forcing him to drink alcohol, injecting him with drugs, running over him with a car and creating devices to electrically shock him if he wet the bed. Zacks older sister killed their mother with an ax.

Zacks attorneys appealed to the US Supreme Court after the Florida Supreme Court and the 11th US Circuit Court of Appeals refused to issue stays of execution in his case based largely on his intellectual disability. In their appeal to high court, Zacks attorneys said, the medical community now recognizes that the unique, cognitive, practical and social impairments inherent to Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS) [are] indistinguishable from those of Intellectual Developmental Disability.

At every opportunity since his trial, Mr. Zack has presented evidence of his prenatal alcohol exposure to the full extent allowed by then-contemporaneous scientific and legal standards, Zacks appeal to the Court said. Evolving standards of decency have finally progressed to the tipping point that allows Mr. Zack to establish that his FAS disability affords him the same protections established in Atkins. To deny review would penalize Mr. Zack for being right too soon.

In a filing Thursday at the US Supreme Court, however, Florida Attorney General Ashley Moodys office challenged Zacks FAS intellectual disability argument, saying, There is no real possibility of this Court expanding Atkins to include a diagnosis of FAS. The state lawyers said, Zack would not succeed in having this court wholesale defer to the views of the psychiatric community on the matter of whether Atkins should be expanded to include other types of diagnoses. While he asserts that the psychiatric community now views FAS as functionally identical to intellectual disability, courts determine Eighth Amendment law, not unelected and unrepresentative experts.

Earlier denying a stay of execution for Zack, Escambia County Circuit Judge Linda Nobles wrote that the alleged consensus [about FAS meeting the criteria for intellectual disability] does not constitute newly discovered evidence and, even if it were, it has not been timely raised.

Defendants claim is without merit, Nobles continued. Intellectual disability is clearly defined under Florida law, and defendant does not now claim he qualifies as intellectually disabled as so defined. She said that Zack was attempting to expand the protection of the ruling in Atkins that bars execution of people with intellectual disabilities.

The Death Penalty Information Center (DPIC) notes, Unlike almost all other states, Florida rigidly required an IQ of 70 or below to demonstrate intellectual disability, with no allowance for the tests margin of error. Zack at one point scored 79 on an IQ (intelligence quotient) test. IQ tests have been demonstrated to be inaccurate in measuring intelligence.

Nobles also wrote that Zacks argument was procedurally barred, in part because courts in the past have rejected Zacks intellectual disability claims. In other words, she said that he was barred from appealing on these grounds because a lower court had already denied his claims of intellectual disability.

Fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASDs) are a group of conditions that occur when a fetus is exposed to alcohol before birth. Alcohol in the mothers blood passes to the baby through the umbilical cord. Fetal alcohol syndrome, the most severe of these conditions, is the number one cause of intellectual disability in the United States.

The American Academy of Pediatrics suspects that 800 to 8,000 babies in the US are born with FAS every year, while other estimates place the number as high as 12,000. According to the Institutes of Health, three times as many children are born each year with FASDs, including FAS, affecting more newborns than Down syndrome, cystic fibrosis, spina bifida and sudden infant death syndrome combined.

FAS is a condition that can be prevented entirely through the mothers abstention from alcohol during pregnancy. That the syndrome is so widespread in the United States is testament to the raft of social pressures plaguing women and their families. At the top of this list is a lack of prenatal care and public health education, fueled by poverty and burgeoning social inequality. Substance abuse, including abuse of alcohol, has contributed to an explosion of overdose deaths and suicides in recent years.

The string of courts, with the US Supreme Court as final authority, that denied Michael Zacks appeals for a stay of execution have sent a signal that individuals with intellectual disability as defined by medical science can be sent to their deaths despite the Supreme Courts own ruling that such executions are unconstitutional.

Zack was also sentenced to death by a nonunanimous jury vote, a statute that has since been found unconstitutional, but which has not been applied retroactively to death row inmates sentenced in this manner. Florida has now changed the law yet again, reducing the number of jurors required to impose a death sentence from 12 to 8, the lowest jury threshold of any state.

This year Florida lawmakers also passed a bill making it possible for individuals 18 years of age or older who commit sexual battery on victims 12 years of age or under to be sentenced to death. The legislation reinstating nonunanimous jury sentencing in capital cases and allowing death sentences in cases of child rape, both signed into law by DeSantis, are expected to face constitutional challenges.

Florida has executed 105 people since the US Supreme Court reinstated the death penalty in 1976, according to DPIC. The US states that practice capital punishment have sent 1,577 people to their deaths, including 23 people convicted and executed for crimes committed as juveniles, a practice that has now been ruled unconstitutional by the Supreme Court.
Ombudsman Ontario released its report on the provinces ruinous response to the long-term care (LTC) homes ravaged by the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020 at the beginning of September. The report is the latest in a trove of evidence that underscores the criminal role the Tory Ford government played in the preventable mass infection and death of the elderly under provincial care during the first years of the pandemic, including a lawsuit registered earlier this year by the families of deceased care home residents.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau shakes hands with Ontario Premier Doug Ford in Toronto, August 30, 2022. [Photo: Doug Ford/@fordnation]

Titled, Lessons for the Long Term the report identifies a provincial oversight system that was wholly incapable and unprepared for the COVID-19 pandemic. During the first wave, the report revealed, the ground inspections of long-term care homes which had been drastically reduced in 2018 by the Tory provincial government collapsed into a complete system breakdown.

The report recounts that during this period the ombudsmans office was inundated with hundreds of complaints and inquiries about the governments planning and early response, including the use of personal protective equipment, COVID testing, infection prevention and control, and restrictions on visitors in LTC facilities. There were also reports of patient neglect stemming from years of chronic understaffing.

Despite these serious concerns, on-site inspections at LTCs simply stopped. In fact, for a seven-week period from mid-March to early May 2020, as the virus ripped through the population, there was not one independent on-site verification of the conditions in long-term care homes. Moreover, serious non-compliance issues by the private operators identified later on in the pandemicincluding inadequate infection prevention and control and failure to report COVID-19 outbreakswent completely ignored by the provincial authorities.

The ombudsmans report follows a series of exposures which further vindicate the analysis put forward by the World Socialist Web Site in the early stages of the pandemic that mass suffering and death was foreseeable and foreseen without immediate action to stop the spread of the virus. Tragically, profit-driven long-term care homes suffering from decades of malign neglect by the operators and successive governments were quickly transformed into killing fields.

Last January, a provincial court judge confronted with overwhelming evidence granted certification to a class-action lawsuit against the Ontario government. In Robertson v. Ontario, families of care home residents charge that the province was grossly negligent both before and during the early stages of the pandemic in failing to prevent waves of long-term care deaths and serious illness among volunteers or visitors. In the court filing, the plaintiffs assert that the provinces conduct both before and during the pandemic was reckless, woefully deficient, extremely careless and a marked departure from any reasonable standard of care.

In his decision, Justice Edward Belobaba cited statements by leading microbiologist Dr. Dick Zoutman, who explained to the court that 90 percent of care home deaths could have been prevented if the province had acted sooner to implement measures such as screening tests and masking.

Also referenced in the court ruling was a 2020 report by the Long-Term Care Commission, which concluded that the province failed to learn the lessons from the 2003 SARS outbreak. The report exposed how ill-prepared the countrys emergency and health systems were, at both the national and provincial levels, to cope with the spread of a deadly virus despite having had close to a two-decade warning.

Unsurprisingly, the Ford government rejects any culpability for its crimes and has already appealed the lawsuit with the outrageous claim that the decision to proceed would have a serious impact on the principle of government immunity. This is a reference to the SORA (Supporting Ontarios Recovery Act) law, enacted in 2020, which enables the ruling class to pursue its profits over lives policies with impunity by prohibiting almost all litigation over COVID-19 related illness.

A year into the pandemic, the Ontario government continued to do nothing to stem the spread of the virus in care homes.

A 2021 Nursing and Residential Care Facility Survey revealed that despite the well-known link between COVID-19 outbreaks and poor ventilation, less than a third of nursing homes made changes to ventilation or air purification systems in 2021, and less than one in five seniors homes. Only 20 percent of nursing homes and 5 percent of seniors homes indicated that they had converted rooms into semi-private and private. Half or more of responding nursing homes and seniors homes in 2021 reported an increase in staffing challenges over the same period in the previous year.

In March, Ford dismantled remaining COVID-19 protections, including the cancellation of the paid sick day program and testing for long-term care staff, caregivers and visitors who do not show symptoms, and the removal of the one caregiver rule during a COVID-19 outbreak. Masking indoors and social distancing for residents, caregivers and visitors was no longer recommended. Screening and temperature checks for residents was also no longer required by the operators.

The Ontario government has now committed billions of dollars to upgrades and expansion of the same care homes where scenes of carnage took place early in the pandemic.

One of the more heinous cases is the Orchard Villa care home in Pickering, where a shocking 80 residents died needlessly. It is also one of the homes currently being sued by families of those who died in a class-action lawsuit. Orchard Villas parent company, Extendicare (Canada) Inc. owns a network of 118 facilities across Ontario and Alberta. It has a reported revenue of $1.13 billion. Extendicare has boasted about its $10 million payouts to shareholders during the pandemic while spending a mere $300,000 on COVID-19 protections.

The ruthless corporate operators will not tolerate any impingement on their profits. As the Ontario governments promise of 60,000 new and upgraded beds by 2028 draws nearer, many nursing home operators in Toronto are vacating the sector rather than undertaking mandatory upgrades, creating a property sell-off.

Behind the blatant criminal indifference to the protection of the elderly is a class war agenda waged not just by the Ford government and the ruthless care home operators, but by the federal Liberal government on behalf of the entire Canadian ruling class. In lockstep with its political counterparts in the US and internationally, it adopted a homicidal profits-before-life policy, normalizing mass death and the debilitation of societys most vulnerable in the interests of profit.

Supported by its allies in the trade unions and New Democratic Party, the Trudeau Liberals dismantled the last remaining federal COVID protections in the spring of 2022 in response to the occupation of downtown Ottawa by the far-right Freedom Convoy. This fascistic movement, which called for the establishment of an authoritarian junta to eliminate all public health measures, received backing from key sections of the ruling class.

According to Tara Moriarty, infectious disease scientist and a co-founder of COVID-19 Resources Canada, roughly 1 in 29 people are currently infected with COVID-19, with roughly six times more infections per day than the figures before Omicron and before the lowest period of the epidemic in Canada to date. COVID is now the third leading cause of death in Canada. More than 100 Quebec long-term care homes are currently grappling with COVID-19 outbreaks.

Yet, the pandemic has been officially declared over and an effective coverup of this still unfolding social crime is well underway. Regular media briefings that the public relied on for a current and accurate picture of the pandemic has been discontinued. Ontarios COVID-19 dashboard, updated only weekly, relies on lagging wastewater sampling and hospitalizations data, which do not necessarily provide an accurate and current reflection of infection in the population.

The way out of the nightmarish policy of forever COVID is the fight for a science-based elimination strategy on an international scale. This is an impossible task under the current social and economic setup where the worlds resources are divided up among competing nation-states whose ruling elites drive for profits compels them toward the destruction of society through dictatorship, world war, future pandemics and climate catastrophe.

A political struggle must be waged against the whole capitalist system and for the socialist reorganization of the worlds resources to meet the basic needs of humanity, including life saving protections against disease and the humane treatment of the elderly. The worlds working class, the real progenitors of societys wealth, will be the political spearhead of such a movement.
On Tuesday, the Sri Lankan Appeal Court dismissed a petition against the termination of workers of Cooperative Wholesale Establishment (CWE) under a compulsory retirement scheme. The terminations are part of the plan by the government of President Ranil Wickremesinghe to close the CWE. Established in 1950 as a State-Owned Enterprise (SOE), the CWE engages in wholesale and retail trading providing essential goods, mainly food items, to consumers.

CWE workers involved in sit-down protest at CWE's Waksole Street branch in Colombo on 27 September 2023.

The petition was filed by the CWE Sri Lanka Freedom Employees' Union and the Sri Lanka Podujana Progressive Employees' Union affiliated to Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) and ruling Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) respectivelyfor an interim order against the termination of 292 employees of CWE.

The judgement stated: In these cases, the courts upheld the principle of non-interference with government policies, affirming the importance of deference to the executive branch in economic matters, particularly during times of crisis, as long as those policies remain within the bounds of legality and reasonableness. On that basis, the court refused to issue formal notice.

The judgement has made clear that the courts, part of the capitalist state, have not only approved the governments job destruction program, but will not interfere with the governments draconian austerity measures to impose the burden of the economic crisis on the working class. The decision is a graphic exposure of the illusion promoted by unions that workers jobs and other social rights can be defended through the courts.

CWE employees had been on a continuous sit-in strike against their termination since September 25 in front of the CWE head office in Colombo. However, the trade unions promoted the illusion that their jobs could be defended through the courts and by pressuring the government. The SLFEU and leaders refused to mobilise any other workers to protect the jobs.

After the court dismissed the petition, SLPPEU vice president Udayanga Pushpakumara flatly told workers to accept the court decision, accept compensation and quit their jobs as nothing else could be done. The maximum compensation for a worker under the CWEs formula is just 1,673,700 rupees ($US5,124). After loan repayments and other recoveries, workers will get meagre amounts of cash.

Socialist Equality Party (SEP) members spoke to CWE workers who have been engaged in a sit-in strike over the past few days.

A CWE driver explained: I have worked as a driver for six years. I have about 20 more years to serve. I have two children. I dont want to retire. I can still work for many more years. Even if the compensation was ten million, it is not enough. The compensation formula is very unfair. They are trying to lay off us after paying just eight to nine hundred thousand.

SEP members also campaigned among other workers, including education, railway, insurance and university workers to build support for the CWE workers struggle.

Nandana, a laboratory assistant at a school in Puttalam district, said: This is not an attack limited to CWE workers. The government will also serve workers in other sectors from the same spoon. The implementation of the IMF conditions means that these attacks will be carried out definitely.

The majority of government employees are in debt. They cant find another job in this economic crisis. The government is gearing up for a big attack like sacking 100,000 workers in July 1980 strike. Wickremesinghe was in that United National Party government, which carried out that attack.

Nandana is a father of two children. After paying loan instalments, he gets a salary of only 27,000 rupees per month. He said that it has become impossible to take care of children and elderly parents in view of the high cost of living.

The working class must fight together to save their children and families. That means the mobilisation of workers in key areas of the economy such as the ports, electricity, petroleum, and the winning of support from the international working class.

Thisara, a university technical officer, condemned destruction of CWE workers jobs, saying: It is difficult to imagine that trade unions will fight for workers rights. Therefore, workers should fight to protect them.

I can imagine what their trade unions are like from the way Sri Lanka University Technical Officers Association works. Its new president Mangala Dabare is defending the program of the capitalist government. He doesnt care about the membership. The lower union officials are his henchmen. Many workers know about it but do not speak because there is no organised movement against them.

You cant imagine how workers at the bottom of the society live. We cant go on like this. It is clear that we cannot solve these problems just by campaigning. The working class needs an alternative political program.

He said that the trade unions are not talking about the disasters faced by the workers from the war [against Russia in Ukraine] and the COVID-19 epidemic. The struggles of the international working class and other issues are needed to be discussed within the working class.

The common experience of the insidious role played by union leadership in the US auto industry and around the world is that they allow capitalist attacks. I agree that the working class must unite internationally against the unions and capitalist attacks.

Wasantha, a worker attached to the railway station in Ratmalana, a Colombo outer suburb area, said: I am against the sacking of CWE workers. How can workers support their families when they lose their jobs? We need to support them to keep their jobs.

He said that the government is selling all the government institutions to the private sector saying that they are making losses. There is no confidence that the issue will be resolved by the courts. He accused unions of dividing workers on all sides referring to the fact that there are more than a 100 unions in the railway department.

Another railway worker, Sujith, said: The workers should unite against the attacks of the government. In 2001, the government could not establish a railway authority because the railway workers fought together.

Trade unions are silent today. The workers are stuck with their life problems and are trying to get overtime or some way to earn some money. The workers are very disappointed about the politics, but when we are attacked this way, we have to come forward to defend our rights.

A petroleum corporation worker said that he supports the struggle of CWE workers, adding: There is no proper leadership. Workers must unite in the fight to protect jobs. The salaries of the employees have to be increased next year.

Our overtime hours have been reduced to a maximum 60 hours for offices and 80 hours for others. One by one, sections of the petroleum corporation are going to be closed and the number of workers will be reduced. One of the four stores has been closed. The workers in those places were transferred to other places in the company.

An employee of the insurance corporation stated: We support these CWC workers. The insurance workers are being laid off from January. Workers need unity. Union leaders do not do as they say. They now have been sold to the government. Wickremesinghe is trying to attack the workers by imposing new repressive laws. We must stop it.

The dismissal of the CWE workers is part of the Wickremesinghe government's attack on jobs, wages and working conditions through the privatisation/restructuring of SOEs in line with the austerity program dictated by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in return for a $US3 billion bailout. It also includes tax hikes, increases in the price of essential commodities including oil, gas, electricity and water, and cuts in social benefits.

Under the restructuring/privatisation or closure of SOEs, more than half a million workers will lose jobs. The CWE workers are just the first victims. Like the leaders of the CWE unions, all the other trade union leaderships, who have built various fronts in the name of protecting the rights of the working class, have completely isolated the CWE workers.

None of the so-called opposition capitalist parties, including Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) and Janata Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP), and the trade unions oppose the IMFs austerity agenda. SJB leader Sajith Premadasa is spreading the lie that an SJB government will amend the IMF agreement. Nalinda Jayasinghe, a prominent JVP leader, has claimed that a JVP government will deal with the IMF without hesitation.

Workers at CWE and other SOEs need to draw necessary conclusions and form their own action committees independent from union bureaucracies and bourgeois parties to take the struggle against the government to defend their jobs and other rights into their own hands. A united political movement of the working class, rallying rural poor must be built aimed at the overthrow of bourgeois rule and the establishment a workers and peasants government, committed to socialist policies.
Just under a quarter of all eligible voters in Germany will be called upon to elect new state parliaments in Bavaria and Hesse next Sunday. But their opportunity to influence political events with their ballot paper is close to zero.

Election posters of the Greens and the SPD in Hesse

All the major parties have conspired to strengthen the most right-wing political forces in order to intimidate any political opposition to wage and social cuts, war, and rearmament. For weeks, the election campaign has been accompanied by a smear campaign against refugees, fomented by all candidates and amplified to deafening levels by the media. The beneficiary is the fascist Alternative for Germany (AfD), the only party to gain in the polls.

As is so often the case when it comes to a right-wing campaign, ex-Federal President Joachim Gauck kicked things off. On 17 September, on the ZDF programme Berlin direkt, he spoke out in favour of limiting immigration.

In migration policy, one had to discover the room for manoeuvre that is initially unappealing to us because it sounds inhumane, preached the trained pastor. It was morally not at all reprehensible and politically even necessary to pursue a strategy of limitation, Gauck said and called for more courage and less fear of a brutal-sounding policy, such as isolation or containment.

With that, all dams were broken. Christian Democratic Union (CDU) leader Friedrich Merz ranted in AfD style about 300,000 asylum seekers who were having their teeth redone at state expense, while German citizens could not get appointments. Christian Social Union (CSU) leader Markus Soder, who is seeking another term as Bavarian state premier, warned that the country was completely overburdened and called for a maximum limit of 200,000 migrants per year.

The Social Democratic Party (SPD) lead candidate in Hesse, Nancy Faeser, who continues to hold her post as federal interior minister, also distinguished herself as a hardliner. She is one of the driving forces behind the Common European Asylum System (CEAS) and the associated crisis regulation, which she brought about with the help of Chancellor Olaf Scholz. Accordingly, the standard of care of refugees can be lowered and they can be held for months in prison-like camps.

https://youtu.be/PHWcSkB1qjY

The Greens and the Left Party also joined in the campaign. Even the conservative Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, which is not necessarily a friend of the Greens, rejoiced: The Greens are in favour of accelerated asylum procedures; Green local politicians meanwhile oppose the construction of new initial reception facilities. So maybe the Greens are changing their tune like in 1999 when it was about the Kosovo mission.

In the Rheinische Post, Thuringias Left Party leader Bodo Ramelow complained that his state and the municipalities were at the limit. His state Interior Minister Georg Maier (SPD) declared refugees a Russian weapon in the Ukraine war: Behind the growing migration figures via Eastern Europe is a targeted campaign by Russia and Belarus, he told the newspapers of the Funke Media Group. The autocrats in Moscow and Minsk want to destabilise Germanyand they are also using migration as a means of pressure to do so.

The talk shows on public television (Maischberger, Lanz, Anne Will, etc.), in which the same politicians and journalists always massage public opinion, focused on the topic for weeks. Der Spiegel devoted a front-page story to asylum policy with a cover inspired by an anti-Semitic caricature from Vienna in 1901.

The demagogy and lies with which the campaign is being conducted can hardly be surpassed. They constantly invoke the financial burden on the municipalities and the tolerance level of the population, which is said to be overwhelmed by the influx of refugees. But the municipalities financial problems are not a result of the refugee crisis, but of the austerity policies of successive federal governments, which have bled the municipalities dry and led to the disintegration of schools, day-care centres, clinics and public infrastructure.

Although the number of asylum applications has risen in the first eight months of this year to 204,000 compared to last year, it is far below the 722,000 asylum applications in 2016. In addition, there are around one million refugees who have come from Ukraine since the start of the war and have an automatic right of residencealthough it is not known how many have left Germany again in the meantime. They are a victim of the German governments foreign policy, which rejects any negotiated peace and continues to escalate the war despite high casualties on both sides, with the aim of inflicting a devastating military defeat on the nuclear power Russia.

A fraction of the billions spent to rescue the banks, drive up share prices and arm the Ukraine war and the Bundeswehr (Armed Forces) would suffice to remedy the financial shortfalls of the municipalities and provide refugees with decent housing and social integration opportunities.

But that is not what any of the major parties want. They are using the refugee question to divide the working class and mobilise the right-wing dregs of society. Such campaigns against the weakest in society are part of the standard repertoire of every fascist movement.

The strengthening of the AfD is deliberate. The extreme right-wing party, which recruits from former CDU/CSU members and parts of the security apparatus, has been promoted from above from the very beginning. The long-time head of the Office for the Protection of the Constitution (as Germanys domestic secret service is called), Hans-Georg Maassen, advised it and now openly advocates AfD positions. The AfD was courted in the Bundestag and the Lander (federal states) and entrusted with the leadership of important committees.

The invocation of a firewall against the AfD is nothing but deception. At the international level, governments and parties have long been working closely with their kindred spirits, such as the Italian head of government, Giorgia Meloni. The smear campaign against refugees and the systematic suppression of the class struggle by the trade unions create the conditions in which the far-right can grow.

This is clearly evident in the polls for the elections in Bavaria and Hesse. In Bavaria, the AfD, led by two close associates of extreme right-winger Bjorn Hocke, is at 14 percent, about the same as the Free Voters, who are also far to the right, and the Greens. That is 4 percent more than in the last state election five years ago. The CSU, which has provided Bavarias state prime minister since 1957, is in the lead and can probably continue its coalition with the Free Voters. By contrast, the SPD, Greens and Liberal Democrats (FDP), which together form the federal government, total less than 30 percent.

The situation is similar in Hesse. The AfD is predicted to get 17 percent, 4 percent more than five years ago and 13 percent more than ten years ago. CDU state Prime Minister Boris Rhein will probably be able to continue governing, as before with the Greens or with the SPD. A coalition with the AfD would also be possible.

The AfDs growth is dramatic in eastern Germany, where elections will be held in 2024 in Thuringia, Saxony and Brandenburg. In all three states, the AfD is the strongest party in the polls with around 33 percent, in Thuringia and Brandenburg with a large lead over all other parties, in Saxony just ahead of the CDU.

The dangers posed by the growth of this fascist party are undeniable in Germany with its Nazi past. It can only be overcome by a working class movement that breaks with all the establishment parties and combines the struggle against fascism with the struggle against war and capitalism. This is what the Sozialistische Gleichheitspartei (Socialist Equality Party) stands for.
Director Agnieszka Holland's new film The Green Border (Zielona Granica) was released in Polish cinemas September 21. The trailer can be seen here. On its first weekend, more than 137,000 people are said to have seen the film. In the run-up to its screening, the Polish state and the far-right ruling party, PiS (Law and Justice), unleashed a vicious and unparalleled campaign with antisemitic and fascistic undertones against the film.

The Green Border

The Green Border poignantly depicts the cruel reality of the European Unions external border with Belarus. In 2021, several thousand refugees, mostly from Iraq and Afghanistan, sought to enter the EU via Belarus. The representatives of all the EU and NATO states denounced this at the time as a hybrid attack on democracy.

Poland and neighbouring Lithuania reacted by declaring a state of emergency, deploying thousands of soldiers and setting up a three-kilometre-wide exclusion zone in which basic democratic rights, including freedom of the press, were suspended. Following the erection of a temporary barbed wire fence, re-enacted in the film, the construction of a five-metre high border fence was completed in 2022.

The WSWS wrote about the events at the time: The EU and NATO are instrumentalising the fate of a few thousand helpless refugees they have encircled on the Belarusian border with Poland and Lithuania to threaten Belarus and Russia with war, mobilise troops, suspend elementary human rights and stir up a right-wing, fascist mob.

This assessment has been amply confirmed. The long-provoked Ukraine war, which began with the reactionary invasion by Russia in February 2022, and is being dramatically escalated by NATO and the EU policy of Fortress Europe, is increasingly taking the form of a war against the majority of humanity.

The far-right government campaign against Agnieszka Holland

The state-organised smear campaign against Agnieszka Holland and her film can only be understood in this context. It is a direct component of the deliberate strengthening of far-right forces against the background of the imperialist war against Russia and intensifying class struggles in Europe.

The attack on The Green Border commenced at the beginning of September following its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival where the film received a special prize from the jury. By the time it premiered in Polish cinemas, members of the entire Polish political establishment had joined in the campaign of smears and attacks.

The opening shot was fired by the far-right Polish Minister of Justice Zbigniew Ziobro, who compared The Green Border to Nazi propaganda films. Ziobro, whose Solidarna Polska party is a junior partner in the far-right PiS government, wrote on his X account on September 4: During the Third Reich, the Germans produced propaganda films in which Poles were portrayed as bandits and murderers. Today they have Agnieszka Holland for that purpose.

Stanisaw Zaryn, secretary of state for Digital Security for Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki, cited Belarusian media reports about the film on his X account and commented: Belarusian propaganda is quite happy with A. Holland.

Holland then demanded a public apology from Ziobro within seven days, but he only doubled down in his comments. In the following days, an unparalleled media smear campaign was unleashed, involving Polands three highest-ranking politicians.

Morawiecki declared: All those who do not distance themselves from this film sully the Polish uniform and disgrace the good name of Poles.

President Andrzej Duda declared, In view of the fact that Ms Holland shows Polish officers doing their work for Polish society, for the security of all of us, in such a way, I am not surprised when border guards who saw this film respond with same slogan we know from the time of the Nazi occupation, when Nazi propaganda films were shown in our cinemas: Only pigs sit in the cinema.

Finally, the head of PiS and deputy head of government, Jarosaw Kaczynski, declared: This is a mockery. A shameful, disgusting mockery I do not want to characterise in too much detail. (...) The hatred of our homeland typical of many people from this milieu must be condemned in the strongest possible terms. Especially in the situation Poland finds itself today.

Agnieszka Holland at an event for The Green Border

One day before the film's release, Bazej Pobozy announced on behalf of the Ministry of the Interior that a special insert had to be aired in all Polish cinemas before the film, honestly presenting the course and context of the hybrid operation of the [Belarusian Alexander] Lukashenko regime against Poland. The justification given for the film insert was the alleged extremely unfair, unauthorised and harmful way in which border guards were depicted in the film. According to media reports, the Helios cinema chain intends to refuse to show this government spot and it remains unclear whether the ministry will enforce this under threat of fines.

Education Minister Przemysaw Czarnek declared the film was just as anti-social and anti-human as Hitler's Mein Kampf and declared that the affront to the Polish army and border guards in the film was simply treasonable.

He then proceeded, remarkably, to denounce teachers who wanted to show the film to their students, as an attempt to ideologise young people. Czarnek referred to a case in Kedzierzyn-Kozle grammar school, where one teacher was a candidate for the main opposition party, Civic Platform (PO). After a campaign by PiS supporters, the school cancelled its planned visit to the cinema. The state secretary in the Ministry of Education, Jagiellonian University professor Wodzimierz Bernack, proclaimed in far-right fashion that a so-called intellectual elite was working to restore a pedagogy of shame.

This expression is integral to the official campaign aggressively pushed by Czarnek. The term pedagogy of shame refers to any serious examination of antisemitism or right-wing extremism in Poland, including in particular the authoritarian and fascist tendencies of the regimes of Jozef Pisudski and Edward Rydz-Smigy, who governed Poland before the Second World War.

The fact that Holland is the daughter of the Jewish communist Henryk Holland, who fought against fascism first in the Polish army, then in the Red Army and again in the Polish army, while other family members perished in the Holocaust, adds a particularly repulsive dimension to the whole campaign. The insinuation of treason against the fatherland and working on behalf of the enemy corresponds to antisemitic tropes, denigrating Jewish people as foreign bodies committing treason.

One intended result of the state smear campaign is the incitement of a fascist mob pouring out its filth on social media under the hashtag #MuremZaPolskimMundurem (For the Polish Uniform). Denouncing Holland as a communist pig the group has organised rallies in front of cinemas.

The role of the opposition party PO and the EU

The campaign against the film is not restricted to the Polish ruling party. Tomasz Siemoniak, defence minister under Donald Tusk (Civic Platform) until 2015, also mocked the film in a television interview, comparing its veracity to Star Wars.

Tusk himself has repeatedly spoken out against uncontrolled migration in the current election campaign and attacked the PiS government from the right. Responding to the latest corruption scandal involving the sale of official visas to some migrants, the opposition circulated a racist propaganda video claiming there was unhindered mass immigration of hundreds of thousands, mainly Muslims from Africa and Asia. PiS responded by describing the PO as a smuggling mafia.

Tusk remained silent for days on the campaign against Holland. Finally, at a press conference in Kalisz, he evasively stated that one cannot judge a film one has not seen. He spoke of a disgusting campaign, but explicitly avoided defending Holland. Instead, he declared, If anyone insults border guards, it is the PiS, which had allowed entry to almost 300,000 people.

The Green Border (2023)

While soldiers and border guards systematically repulse migrants from the country with illegal pushbacks, leave them to die in the cold and wet or mistreat them in camps, the leader of Polands supposedly democratic opposition waffles on about the guards difficult service: They risk their health, often their reputation, when they dont let in a woman with a child just because they haven't paid the foreign ministry. Tusk accused the government of spitting in the face of soldiers and border guards for years, deceiving them and exposing them to suffering.

Across Europe not a single politician has risen to defend Hollandand this is not coincidental. The PiSs far-right refugee policy and the associated strengthening of fascist forces is the policy of EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen who works closely with the fascist Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, an open admirer of fascist dictator Benito Mussolini.

Defend Agnieszka Holland!

The attacks on Agnieszka Holland are part of the hysterical and reactionary campaign for the parliamentary elections to be held on October 15. They create a fertile ground for the openly fascist Konfederacja party, to which commentators are already ascribing the role of kingmaker after the election. At the same time more fundamental, international developments are involved.

Agnieszka Holland at the Berlinale 2017 [Photo by Martin Kraft / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 3.0

The PiS has been systematically working to strengthen fascist ideologies and forces since coming to power in 2015. Since 2018, historical research on Polish antisemitism during the Holocaust has been prohibited by law in Poland. Polish historians who specialise in Jewish history and Polish antisemitism are regularly the victims of smear campaigns in the press and on the internet, and increasingly victims of physical attacks.

In May, Grzegorz Braun, chairman of the fascist Konfederacja, stormed onto the podium at the German Historical Institute in Warsaw to interrupt a lecture by historian Jan Grabowski, one of the most renowned experts on Polish antisemitism. Braun, who was seated in the front row, jumped up at the beginning of the lecture and smashed the microphone, shouting Enough of this and Get out of Poland before being removed by security. Grabowski is a professor of history at the University of Ottawa and a member of the Royal Society of Canada.

In an interview, Grabowski explained, This microphone might as well have been smashed on my head. I felt as if I were in 1930s Poland. While the incident caused alarm in international academic circles with many colleagues as well as the Holocaust memorial Yad Vashem condemning the attack, there was no significant protest in Polish political circles.

With the state campaign against Holland, the fomenting of an extreme right-wing, pogrom-like climate in Poland and Europe is reaching new heights. It is taking place under conditions where the Canadian parliament applauds a Nazi collaborator from Ukraine, German professors like Jorg Baberowski rehabilitate Hitler with state support, fascists sit in a number of European governments and in Germany large parts of the programme of the neo-fascist Alternative for Germany (AfD) party are adopted and realised by the governing parties.

The targeted strengthening of far-right forces and the campaign against Holland are not only directed against the director and other critical intellectuals, but above all against workers and youth who oppose war, fascism, militarism and social inequality. Along with the German and French elites, the Polish ruling class is using the war in Ukraine as a pretext for massive rearmament. It is striving to turn Poland's army into the largest land force in Europe. Despite fierce conflicts between the PiS and the PO over foreign policy, especially towards Germany, all factions of the Polish ruling elite are united in their war policy directed against Russia.

This is why the incitement of racism and antisemitism goes hand in hand with the creation of a repressive climate to silence anyone who in any way harms the national cause and the forces of the state. If The Green Border can be denounced as treasonous, then it is not difficult to imagine the same can be applied to strikes and demonstrations against the governments policy of social cuts and war.

Particularly remarkable about the PiS campaign against Holland is the public denunciation of teachers. In 2019, there was a nationwide teachers strike that rocked the government. After the trade union bureaucracy sold out the struggle, conditions in the Polish education sector remain disastrous with many teachers critical of the governments far-right policies.

The ruling class in Poland and Europe is aware that Hollands empathy for refugees and opposition to right-wing government policies gives artistic expression to broader sentiments in the working class and among young people. Workers, intellectuals, artists and young people in Poland and across Europe must defend Holland against the far-right state campaign in Poland and link this struggle with the struggle against war, fascism and dictatorship rooted in the capitalist system.
Reporters with the World Socialist Web Site spoke this week to Kalea, a Lahaina, Maui, resident and volunteer, who has been helping at neighborhood resource hubs where displaced residents from the August 8, 2023 fire have been obtaining essential items, such as water, food, clothing and baby supplies. The fire has displaced some 8,000-10,000 people and killed at least 98 people, according to official figures, although many residents believe this is a vast undercount. Kaleas name has been changed to protect her anonymity.

Pohaku distribution hub

WSWS: Its been over seven weeks since the fires, nearly two months with little movement. How are people handling the situation?

Kalea: Everyone is on edge. Theyre more driven by anger, not even able to be sad right now.

Im a resident. I had non-traditional housing, so I didnt have a home that I lost like a lot of the people here.

[Kalea was overcome by tears.] You know, I dont cry for me, I cry for everyone else. I mean, its daily when I have to hear people say Red Cross did this, FEMA did this. You know, or its just their own landlords over here. Thats why I dont even understand why landlords here in Lahaina are kicking out their tenants, so that they can then sign up for the county housing. They raise the rent and sign up for the county housing program and get paid that way. Because then its doubled. Now, the county needs to just put a stop to it and just tell them, Wait a minute. All these years, youve been charging $2,000 a month, and then all of a sudden, its $4,000? I mean, they should be policing that kind of crap.

And there is a moratorium on landlord and tenant disputes and things. That doesnt make sense. Now, you know, on their side, say if the landlord has family members whove been displaced because their homes have burned down, and some have like 10 families theyre related to, they would want to use their residence, right? But then, what do you do? You have one tenant in there, and they have 10 families. What do you do?

WSWS: How difficult has it been to receive financial support?

Kalea: Well, there is not enough. And its not fairly distributed. Or they continue to add on criteria and more criteria to get the support. At first, if you went right after the fire and went through all of this, it was easier to get help, no questions asked. But now its been six, seven weeks and now you need an ID, you need a letter from your landlord.

Area of the burn zone in Lahaina

And then they have to come to your homes for inspection. They have just so many things you have to do, and its typical. But in this kind of circumstance, my opinion is the officials should say, If you have a home, then you get this much for disaster relief. If you lost your home, you get this much. It just makes it easier. The only thing they should be asking for maybe would be your ID. So, they know that theyre giving it to John and not to John Sr., but other than that it shouldnt be so hard.

They are requiring proof, a lease or a letter. But again, when youre under a non-traditional set up where you dont have a lease and theyre just taking cash, because theyre not legally paying taxes on it, then what do you do? And then the landlord wont sign the paper because then its a paper trail that they took money and didnt pay their taxes. Thats kind of what happened to me.

WSWS: What about the $700 per household promised by President Biden. We were told this was only dispersed to some people.

Kalea: Theres more people without that $700 than there are with it. With COVID, they gave out $1,200, then $1,400. Why cant we just do that? This is only about 6,000 to 10,000 people here. You know what I mean? And yes, every house is worth about $600,000 to $1 million. But even if you count every single house, how many people were living in it? Just count the house as a couple of million dollars. I know, I know, I say that as if the money is water, but they [the government] gave themselves $3 trillion in the bailout and forgave themselves! And who did they bail out? The businesses! So, you cant even bail out your taxpayers? The ones that gave you the $3 trillion?

The war in Ukraine is costing so much, and theres so many other places the money is going but not to the people who need it. But yeah, my opinion is stop helping the other countries right now. Im sorry. But youve also got to pay attention to our country. Look at all the natural disasters in our country thats happening, all the fires, earthquakes, floods, and youre still fishing out money.

At the hubs we are getting people food. But the next thing is financial aid and health. The next would be housing, but they need the financial support so they can find themselves housing. They go together.

Do you know what the rent is like over here? You start with the rent, add the food on top of that. And then your utilities. So thats probably like $4,000 a month.

WSWS: Can you describe the neighborhood resource hubs and what has been the government response to the needs of residents?

Kalea: When you visit the hubs at Kahului Park, Sheraton, Pohaku, Kohana, thats all community run. And it started that way. Now we have some county and state donors coming in. But most of us when we started, at least 75 percent of the items coming in were just donations from regular residents and very small nonprofit organizations. Also, a lot of farmers are dropping off food donations.

Hoop house with supplies at Kelawea Mauka Makai Park Distribution Hub in Lahaina

All of us are workers. We are the ones running these hubs. Yeah, we are all workers. We are not retirees. But when it comes down to your mental, emotional state of mind, the employers could care less.

Two weeks we had to wait. Youre going to finally drop water in two weeks? I mean, what is that? Ten days? Yeah, so let me tell you this. Residents in the community blasted the county, blasted the Water Department here. We asked them several times, and theyre like, Were in a drought, we cant do this.

But we learned that despite telling us this, that they had opened the fire hydrants, letting the water run for weeks because the reservoir is too full. So, when they tell me, drought, drought, drought, thats a bunch of BS. You have the water out there, and thats fresh water because when it comes down from the mountain and into the reservoir, it is fresh water. But by the time it comes through here, it may pick up the toxins and things like that.

WSWS: The officials say that all the soil tests at the schools and the drinking water and air quality are fine.

Kalea: What is the criteria for fine? Thats what they dont know. Whats the criteria? Yeah, one point below danger? And then, what did you test? How come they didnt print out the federal test results that they did for the state and city? Let the people decide where they want to move. They want to stay here in Lahaina, but if its not safe, then they should have that information so that they can make the choice for themselves.

Burn zone with some homes still standing east of the Lahaina bypass road.

I know things are not okay, because you take somebody whos a little sensitive like myself, and I can tell you its not okay. This whole weekend Ive been struggling with respiratory issues. And thats just the basic dust ash, but you know that theres more than dust and ash within that. All the toxins that spilled on the ground, right? Weve got benzene and other oils and things that burn. And then people think the ocean is clean too. And its crazy as it is basic science.

I may be the exception to the rule, but Im hoping that it doesnt rain because this stuff is very toxic. And then, if it doesnt rain enough, then its even worse because itll just create clouds of dust. Then if it doesnt rain, it wont catch that dust and put it back down into the ground. Itll just go up and spread it all around.

WSWS: What about the schools?

Kalea: There wasnt enough pressure on the DOE (Department of Education) to do what we wanted them to do. We wanted them to open up a school over here. But they went for the easiest thing possible, which is to open the Citizens Church [seven miles north in Napili-Honokowai] because they were already willing to do it, and they had the facilities also. But again, theyre always about taking the easy way out. That means not spending money, right? And then they dispersed the teachers all over the island. They didn't do it in a coordinated way.

WSWS: What are the conditions and costs of living here? Several people have described a great housing shortage and cramped living situations, where landlords chop up homes into many dwellings, renting out small areas of space for exorbitant prices.

Kalea: If you are paying $1,000, you should have so many square feet of livable spacelivable space that does not include closets. I mean, you should be able to put a twin bed in there and comfortably walk around it. If these officials would go into these houses and inspect them, there would be many issues. But because theres such a housing shortage here, they dont care if people are being housed. Theyre going to turn the other way.

WSWS: What do you think about the official numbers of deceased? And what about the undocumented immigrants?

Kalea: The official numbers are so obviously wrong, so obviously wrong. Yeah, look in one square mile of the place. How many people are in there? Many arent officially counted. Just look at documents of taxpayers alone, you can see how much and then you add in, you know, another couple of percentage for people who didnt pay the taxes [tenants renting under the table]. First it was over 115 dead and then 97! Thats ridiculous.

Memorial at the Kelawea Mauka Makai Park Distribution Hub in Lahaina

WSWS: We have encountered so many people who are afraid to speak out, why is this?

Kalea: Here, it is tied to your job. Its who you know and what youve done. If you hurt someones feelings or stepped on their toes, then theyre going to make it hell for you at your job.

WSWS: Why do you think the state and federal officials are responding in this way?

Kalea: The officials are responding this way because theyre going to go bankrupt. And most of these guys should be in jail. They broke so many laws. In fact, it should go all the way up to murder.

I mean, it was just so negligent what they did, now that people are following their orders. Theyre not as bad as the people giving the orders. Herman Andaya, the former Emergency Response manager, resigned because he said what he did was correct [in not sounding the sirens that day]. So, you already admitted that youre an idiot, and you should go to jail.

At least make these officials work in a damn hub. Now were doing all of this. We were hauling everything. Make them understand what its like not to have water.
The annual conference of the Conservative Party, held in Manchester this week, marked a sharp shift to the right. Contributions from the leading figures in Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's cabinet centred on British imperialism's preparations for war against Russia and China and escalating attacks on the working class to be imposed through brutal attacks on democratic rights.

The Tories' main pitch is that they are better able to fight these battles on behalf of the financial oligarchy than Sir Keir Starmer's rightward careening Labour Party.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak delivers his speech to the Conservative Party Conference in Manchester, October 4, 2023 [Photo by Picture by Dominic Lipinski CCHQ / Parsons Media / CC BY 2.0

Defence Secretary Grant Shapps set the tone in a speech hailing the British government's criminal and escalatory role in Ukraine. This included N-LAW anti-tank missiles wisely sent in advance. Just as N-LAWs struck fear into the hearts of invading Russian tank crews at the beginning, so our long-range cruise missiles do the same for Russian commanders today. He boasted that Britain will have trained 50,000 Ukrainian recruits by the end of this year in a programme began in the aftermath of the 2014 fascist-led coup in Kiev that ousted Russian supporting president Viktor Yanukovych.

Shapps pointed to British military spending exceeding 50 billion for the first time in history, with the intention of exceeding 2.5 percent of GDP and as soon as possible to 3 percent. As well as a new class of Dreadnought submarines to carry the British nuclear arsenal under construction, Shapps announced 4 billion contracts towards developing the most powerful attack submarine ever operated by the Royal Navy. Part of the militarist AUKUS pact with Australia and the US, the submarines will be directed against emerging navies anywhere in the world, i.e., China.

The defense secretary announced the deployment of RAF Typhoon aircraft to NATO ally Poland for use specifically against Russia and 400 troops to bolster the NATO operation in Kosovo.

Foreign Secretary James Cleverly listed UK achievements post-Brexit including the anti-China AUKUS war agenda; the anti-China security, technological and critical materials Hiroshima Accord concluded with Japan; and the Atlantic Declaration with the US agreeing co-operation over critical minerals and nuclear material aimed at securing British supply chains.

Cleverly hailed Sunak as the first world leader to supply Ukraine with NATO tanks. The first leader to train fast jet fighter pilots. The first leader to supply long range missiles to support those fighting on the frontlines.

Suella Braverman, the Torys sociopathic home secretary returned to the theme of her fascistic speech made at the Atlantic Enterprise Institute in Washington last week and the necessity for a war against unprecedented mass migration. The wind of change that carried my own parents across the globe in the 20th century was a mere gust compared to the hurricane that is coming, she intoned. The future could bring millions more migrants to these shores unless the government they elect next year acts decisively to stop that happening.

Braverman predictably made no mention of war, global social crisis and environmental collapse rooted in the capitalist mode of production forcing millions to leave their ruined homelands. She outlined the vicious and punitive actions already taken by the government, promising more brutal measures. Braverman complained we struggle to remove foreign criminals. The problem was a dense net of international rules that were designed for another erain other words the human rights legislation, including the universal right to asylum enacted by the United Nations after World War Two.

As striking doctors protested outside the conference, Braverman set out her intention to further clamp down on strikes and protests, attack homeless people and further strengthen the police. This was just days after she declaredfollowing the announcement of the trial of a police officer for the murder of a young man, Chris Kaba, that we depend on our brave firearms officers to protect us from the most dangerous and violent in society, advocating a license to kill.

Chancellor Jeremy Hunt set out a direct assault on the working class. He signaled his intention to fund future tax reductions with measures, including productivity hikes, targeting public sector workers such as teachers, doctors and nurses. 66,000 additional civil servants taken on during the pandemic are to be removed in a recruitment freeze to save 1 billion to give to the rich.

Hunt set out a vicious agenda targeting the most impoverished and oppressed workers. There were 100,000 people leaving the labour market every year for a life on benefits, he declared. Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) minister Mel Stride gets this 100 percent which is why hes replacing the [already harsh] Work Capability Assessment. Hunt promised to examine the sanctions regime under which benefit claimants are deprived of a portion of their weekly pittance for petty breaches of DWP rules.

Sunak's keynote speech was given bloodthirsty warm-ups by Leader of the House of Commons Penny Mordaunt and Veterans Minister, Johnny Mercer. Mordaunt, a former naval reserve officer and defence minister hailed the 1982 Falklands War, Winston Churchill and incited the audience to Stand up and Fight no less than 19 times. Mercer, a former captain in the British Army's Special Forces in Afghanistan, thanked Sunak for the Northern Ireland Legacy Act which ended the hounding of these special people who stood against terror and violence in Northern Ireland on our behalf was appalling and a stain on our Nation. The act put an end to numerous legal investigations into crimes carried out by British forces in during the decades long dirty war in Northern Ireland.

Sunak was then introduced in a saccharine and tone-deaf touch by his billionaire spouse, Akshata Murthy. He hailed the armed forces and intelligence services, AUKUS, NATO and the UK's leading role in the war against Russia. I say this to our allies, if we give President Zelensky the tools, the Ukrainians will finish the job.

Days after the Canadian parliament applauded Ukrainian Waffen SS member, Yaroslav Hunka, Sunak solidarised himself with Hunka by repeating the fascist slogan, Slava Ukraini!

In a move columnist Allister Heath of the Telegraph approved as a landmark for the onset of Austerity Mark II, Sunak announced the cancellation of the HS2 high speed train project to the north of Birmingham in favour of a number of smaller infrastructure projects.

Response in ruling circles to the conference was mixed. The Financial Times commented, After 13 years in power, the Conservatives seem desperate to find ways of clinging on for another five-year term. The new, radically pragmatic Sunak has yet to make a convincing case for what they would do with it.

The Labour supporting Guardian commented, many Tories were obsessed not with losing power but rather with the ferocious fight for the leadership that they think will follow an inevitable defeat.

Such is the lurch to the right in the ruling party that Liz Truss, who was deposed as prime minister by Sunak for putting forward unfunded tax cuts, was feted at the conference with her newly established Growth Group embraced by 60 of the partys MPs.

Another political figure once derided in Tory central office who now bestrode the conference was Nigel Farage, the Donald Trump-supporting Brexiteer. Farage leads the Reform UK movement, the successor to his Brexit Party, which performs the role of helping push the Tories ever further to the right. Sunak refused to rule out Farage joining the Tories at a future date and standing as an MP, 30 years after he left the party. Asked by BBCs Newsnight if he would rejoin the party, Farage said, Let's see what happens. They are going to lose the next election. There will then be the most enormous battle for ideas. If it became a real Conservative Party I might think about it.
The Present, a 2020 film directed by British-Palestinian filmmaker Farah Nabulsi, is now streaming on Netflix. It has played at various film festivals and been warmly received. The short film treats the Israeli oppression of the Palestinians, focusing on the brutal checkpoint system.

The film, co-written by Nabulsi and poet Hind Shoufani, was shot over six days at or around the infamous Checkpoint 300 in Bethlehem, Palestine. At that entry point thousands of Palestinian workers queue up as early as 3 a.m. to cross into Israel for work.

The Present

Yusef (played by the world-renowned Palestinian actor Saleh BakriThe Bands Visit, The Time That Remains, Wajib) takes his young daughter Yasmine (Mariam Kanj) to buy a gift for his wife Noor (Mariam Basha) on the couples wedding anniversary. The simple excursion, which also involves buying groceries, requires going only a short distance. But nothing is simple when confronted with the enormous hurdle of passing through a checkpoint manned by Israeli soldiers who would rather abuse and demean Yusef than allow him to pass.

At the entry, Yusef is forced to remove the contents of his pockets and some of his clothing. He is then put in a cage with other men waiting for admittance. During the long wait, the traumatized Yasmine urinates in her pants.

The return trip home is made even more difficult because father and daughter are pushing a trolley with a new refrigeratorthe anniversary presentthat wont fit through the gates of the checkpoint. More dehumanization: along with their groceries is a bag with Yasmines soiled pants. Youre all disgusting, sneers one of the Israeli soldiers.

Rifles are instantly pointed at Yusef when he loses his temper. Chafing at the injustice of not being allowed to navigate or bypass the checkpoint gates with his refrigerator, he nearly becomes another Palestinian casualty of war.

Beautifully shot by seasoned French cinematographer Benoit Chamaillard, the 25-minute movie dramatizes its points eloquently, forcefully and efficiently. In a world in which millions of refugees face insurmountable borders, Nabulsi, in an interview with eninarothe.com, speaks about a people whose freedom of movement is continually trampled upon.

In Palestine, she explains, there are more than 130 Israeli military checkpoints, another 100 or so flying check pointsthat can appear anytime, anywhereseparate roads, curfews, the separation wall, a convoluted permit and ID system and of course the inhumane blockade of Gaza.

The Present (2020)

These control mechanisms, Nabulsi says, are all an assault on this basic human right, that in turn destroys so many other rightslike the right to get to work and earn a living and put food on the table for your children, like being able to visit friends and family, tend to your lands, get to a hospital or clinic, school, study at universityor in the case of my film, something as simple as being able to go and buy someone you love a gift!

The director also speaks about the psychological ramifications and the impact on the human spirit, and the harm it can cause an individual, families, children, and whole communities, caught in such an exhausting, stressful and deliberately humiliating infrastructure.

In 2014, Nabulsi made her first trip to Palestine as an adult, where she saw up close the infamous wall ploughing through villages, the refugee camps, the separate road system, the checkpoints, the settlements, she explains in an interview with the National News.

I have met with mothers whose 13-year-old boys were in military prison, she notes in another interview, I listened to their stories of how they were taken, what their experiences inside prison were. I have met families whose homes were demolished, and had tea with them on the rubble.

Her filmography indicates her commitment: she wrote Oceans of Injustice in 2016 and Today They Took My Son in 2017 about a mother coping with her young son being taken away by the Israeli military.

Award-winning film director and journalist John Pilger commented about the latter that this extraordinary film is a landmark work. It touched me deeply and made me angry all over again about the horror of Israel and its treatment of the Palestinian people. It points a finger straight at the rest of us, whose governments support Israel, and demand that we speak up now, and never stop until Palestinians are free.

In 2018, Nabulsi wrote and directed Nightmare of Gaza.

The arts play a crucial role in changing the world and I believe film precedes them all. It gives voice to the silenced, thereby helping build the empathy and understanding needed to effect change. Farah Nabulsi
Two weeks after Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, German Ambassador Sabine Sparwasser and the entire Canadian Parliament honored Ukrainian Waffen-SS veteran Yaroslav Hunka with a standing ovation, it is increasingly obvious that this was not a misunderstanding. Rather, it was a deliberate provocation.

The logic of the war in Ukraine requires the rehabilitation of the worst crimes of the Nazi regime. After the debacle of the Ukrainian summer offensive, the US, Germany and NATO are not only intensifying the war with arms deliveries worth tens of billions of dollars, they are also preparing to send their own troops to defeat and fragment nuclear-armed Russia, as the secretary of the Ukrainian Security Council, Oleksiy Danilov, recently put it.

Canadas parliament applauds Yaroslav Hunka, a former member of the Waffen-SS. Canadas Chief of Defence Staff General Wayne Eyre is on the far left.

This is only possible with methods such as those used by the Nazis in their war of annihilation against the Soviet Union (1941-45), when they killed over 25 million Soviet citizens and 6 million Jews, having established a ruthless dictatorship in Germany to stifle any opposition to the war.

While Trudeau and Co. initially presented their homage to Hunka as a misunderstanding and feigned ignorance, the media are now moving to openly defend his membership in the Waffen-SS.

On Monday, the European website of the US daily Politico, which is fully owned by the German Axel Springer publishing house, published a commentary that justifies Hunkas membership in the Waffen-SS, combining lies and falsifications of history that were previously known only to Holocaust deniers such as David Irving.

The author of the article, Keir Giles, who is close to the British military, describes statements that the SSs primary task was genocide and that Hunkas membership in the Waffen-SS made him a Nazi as propaganda narratives that are successfully spread by Russia and its agents.



Fighting against the USSR at the time didnt necessarily make you a Nazi, just someone who had an excruciating choice over which of these two terror regimes to resist, he claims.

Giles accuses Canadas enemies of having latched on to these simple narratives to attack Ukraine, Canada and each countrys association with the other. The claim that Hunkas unit of the Waffen-SS committed multiple war crimes, including mass murder, was invented out of thin air, he wrote.



Repeated exhaustive investigations... led to the conclusion that no war crimes or atrocities had been committed by this particular unit, he concluded.

In reality, the International Military Tribunal in Nuremberg ruled in 1946 that the SS was a criminal organisation and that its (voluntary) members had committed war crimes. Since then, numerous well researched scholarly works  starting with Eugen Kogons The SS State and Raul Hilbergs The Destruction of the European Jews  have irrefutably demonstrated that the SSs primary task was indeed genocide against the Jews. The organization led by Heinrich Himmler had the main responsibility for the planning and implementation of the Holocaust.

But Giles denounces the Nuremberg war crimes trials as a Russian propaganda event, writing: Russia clings to the Nuremberg trials as a benchmark of legitimacy because as a victorious power, it was never subjected to the same reckoning.

With attacks on Jewish advocacy groups in Canada and the Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center, whose charges are more influenced by misconception and supposition than history and evidence, he flaunts his own anti-Semitism.

Yaroslav Hunka (front center) among Nazi Waffen-SS Galicia Division troops. [Photo: Ivan Katchanovski/Twitter or X]

In fact, it is Giles who falsifies the history and the facts. It has been proven that the Waffen-SS Galicia Division, which Hunka voluntarily joined in 1943 at the age of 18, was directly involved in at least three massacres  in Pidkamin, Huta-Pieniacka and Palikrowy. In Huta-Pieniacka, the 4th Battalion of the SS Division Galicia murdered all Polish inhabitants on 28 February 1944  estimates of the number of victims range from 500 to 1,200  and burned down the entire village.

The SS Division Galicia was also deployed in Yugoslavia and on the front against the Red Army, where the Wehrmacht committed countless war crimes.

Hunkas personal biography leaves no doubt that he deliberately joined a gang of murderers. Eastern Galicia, where Hunka grew up, was a focus of the Nazi genocide. Of the 540,000 Jews who lived there when the Nazis invaded, only two to three percent survived. About one in eleven victims of the Holocaust came from this region, which is only half the size of present-day Hungary.

Eastern Galicia belonged to Austria-Hungary before the First World War and then to Poland. After the German invasion of Poland, it was occupied by the Soviet Union. Today it is part of Ukraine.

In 1941, the Nazis invaded and incorporated Eastern Galicia into the Generalgouvernement, where they perpetrated their worst crimes. This is where they set up the mass extermination camps. Around 3 million Jews and 3 million Poles fell victim to Nazi terror in the General Government alone.

In Eastern Galicia, mass shootings of Jewish men, women and children began immediately after the German invasion. The extermination of the Jews lasted over two years. Some 200,000 were deported to Belzec and murdered there. In 1943, the ghettos were dissolved and the remaining Jews shot.

The Nazis were able to count on the support of the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN). Both the wing led by Stepan Bandera and the wing led by Andriy Melnyk collaborated with them. Most of the volunteers were recruited from the Melnyk wing for the Waffen-SS division Galicia, which was formed in 1943 and was joined by Hunka.

It is impossible that Hunka, who attended school in the small town of Berezhany from 1939 to 1943, was unaware of the Nazis terror. In Berezhany, where about 4,000 Jews still lived when the Nazis invaded, hundreds of Jews were rounded up in public squares in the autumn of 1941 and September of 1942 and herded into railway cars for deportation in front of the local population. In 1943, SS guards killed 1,180 Jews in a three-day operation at the local cemetery, around the same time as Hunka entered the Waffen-SS.

Hunka later described the years 1941 to 1943, during which the German occupiers went on a rampage in Galicia, as the happiest of his life, in which he enjoyed the company of charming girls, carefree cheerful friends, fragrant evenings in the luxurious castle park and walks through the city. That alone defines him as a ruthless anti-Semite and war criminal.

His rehabilitation by Politico, an established bourgeois newspaper owned by one of Germanys most influential publishing houses, must be taken as an alarm signal. It underscores that the threat of war and dictatorship does not just come from the far-right, but from the entire ruling class. The war against Russia in Ukraine, which is supported by all representatives of the ruling class, is linked to the strengthening of the most reactionary political forces. It must be stopped.
Australias October 14 referendum to enshrine an indigenous Voice to parliament in the Constitution has descended into a debased and degrading spectacle of racialism and mutual recriminations.

Amid daily accusations of misinformation and racism traded between the Yes and No camps, there is a major area of agreement: both official campaigns have pledged that they will reduce federal spending for Aboriginal people.

Aboriginal father with his grandchildren at Alice Springs town camp, Northern Territory, Australia, April 2008. [Photo by John Hulme/WSWS]

This week, opposition Liberal-National leader Peter Dutton, who effectively heads the No camp, promised an audit into all federal funding for indigenous programs. This was in line with the No campaigns thinly-veiled racist dogwhistling, including claims that vast sums of money are being squandered on ordinary Aboriginal people.

The Yes campaign has refrained from attacking Dutton on this issue because they have an identical position.

The Labor government, which called the referendum and is seeking to establish the indigenous advisory body to parliament, claims that the Voice will help close the gap on social metrics between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people, and end the appalling social crisis afflicting indigenous communities.

The obvious way to do that would be to massively increase government investment in healthcare, education and other social necessities for oppressed indigenous people, but Labor is touting the Voice as a means of slashing the grossly-inadequate existing spending!

Yesterday, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese declared: It is true that there are a range of programs out there, which is why there is also a conservative argument to vote Yes. When you talk with people who are directly impacted, you will have more efficiency, youll have less waste. Youll actually do things that have an impact on the ground and I believe youll actually save money, not spend money

The entire discussion is obscene and reactionary. It highlights the sham character of the whole referendum. Both Coalition and Labor politicians, who speak for the banks, the corporations and the ultra-wealthy, are effectively promising that they will inflict even more social pain on the most oppressed sections of the working class.

Aboriginal families receiving financial support and advice at Tangentyere Council, Alice Springs, Northern Territory, in 2008. [Photo: John Hulme/WSWS]

From the tenor of Albanese and Duttons remarks, one could be forgiven for thinking that the streets are paved with gold in indigenous communities, and that rivers of money are flowing into health and education programs. Nothing could be further from the truth.

The most recent Australian Bureau of Statistics figures show that of the more than 460,000 indigenous individuals over 18 years old, nearly 200,000, or 42.6 percent, had an income of less than $499 a week. That is, they are at or below the poverty line. The implications are plain when one considers that the weekly median rent, across the country, is now estimated to stand at $570. The unemployment rate is twice that for Indigenous compared to non-Indigenous people.

The Closing the Gap program, set in place by a previous Labor government and continued by successive administrations, has manifestly failed. Even by its own dubious metrics, figures for indigenous incarceration rates, child removal and suicide are all increasing and on track to continue to rise.

There is still a major gap in life expectancy. According to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, overall average life expectancy for indigenous men is estimated to be 71.6 years and for females 75.6. That compares with life expectancy for non-Indigenous Australians of 80.2 years for males and 83.4 years for females.

An Equity Economics study last year, commissioned by the National Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation, estimated that as of 2019-20, the funding shortfall for indigenous health, which would be required to actually close the gap on life expectancy and other metrics, stood at $4.4 billion. That included a $2.6 billion shortfall in annual federal spending.

The Labor government claimed that its May budget included major increases to indigenous health funding. The headline figure of $493.8 million still fell miles short of what Equity Economics estimated is required.

Even then, almost all of the newly-announced funding is over four years. That means new expenditure for this year on specific indigenous health initiatives was closer to just $125 million, or the equivalent of $127 per Aboriginal person. Some of the funding could only loosely be described as direct health expenditure. One of the largest single programs is for a public relations campaign involving billboards and other advertising, encouraging indigenous people to smoke less.

There is, moreover, not a brick wall between healthcare for ordinary indigenous people and workers of all backgrounds. The May budget was handed down amid the greatest crisis of the public healthcare system in decades. It has been triggered by decades of government spending cuts and freezes and the adoption of a let it rip COVID policy guaranteeing continuous mass infection, illness and death.

Under those conditions, Labors budget decreed that federal health spending would be slashed by $11 billion in just two yearsfrom $115.5 billion in 202122 to $104.1 billion in 202324. A pittance was allocated to public education, and the JobSeeker unemployment allowance was increased by just $20 a week, increasing it from 41 percent of the poverty line to 44 percent.

The government has rejected any relief for the worst cost-of-living crisis in generations, and has declared that workers must make sacrifices. Of course the burden of this agenda falls on the most oppressed layers of the population, including indigenous people.

The declarations that the Voice will help slash indigenous funding show that it is part of this broader agenda of attacking the working class, not an exception to it.

The Voices origins lie in the decision of then Liberal-National Coalition Prime Minister Tony Abbott to call a meeting of indigenous representatives and Labor leader Bill Shorten in 2015. The gathering, which agreed to moves towards indigenous Constitutional recognition which have culminated in the current referendum, was an attempt by Abbott to suppress anger over sweeping austerity measures, including at least $600 million cuts to funding for indigenous community organisations.

The chief proponents of the Voice, representatives of a privileged indigenous elite, have for years demonised oppressed Aboriginal people, while supporting attacks on their rights such as through welfare quarantining.

Meanwhile, the entire political establishment is committed to ongoing and deepening tax cuts for the rich, and massive expenditure on the military to prepare for a US-led war with China.

The unanimity of Labor and the Coalition on funding cuts highlights the importance of the Socialist Equality Partys campaign for an active boycott of the referendum. The vote on October 14 will resolve nothing for workers, whatever their background, and will be followed by an intensification of the social onslaught.

The solutions to poverty and the social crisis are clear. Hundreds of billions of dollars must be poured into education, healthcare, housing and other essential social services. Public works programs must be initiated to end unemployment. All workers must be provided with major wage increases to make up for decades of real pay cuts that are now accelerating.

Labor, the Coalition and the ruling elite would answer that there is simply no money for such policies.

There is plenty of wealth. The issue is that it is monopolised by the corporations, the banks and the ultra-rich. That demonstrates the need for a socialist program, aimed at establishing a workers government that would place the major businesses and the banks under public ownership and democratic workers control as part of the fight for socialism internationally.

Note: Under conditions of compulsory voting, which makes it a crime to urge a boycott of the vote itself, the SEP calls on workers and youth to register their opposition by casting informal ballots and join our active boycott campaign in the lead-up to October 14, that goes well beyond the individual act of voting.

Authorised by Cheryl Crisp for the Socialist Equality Party, Suite 906, 185 Elizabeth Street, Sydney, NSW, 2000
NurExone Biologic Inc

TORONTO and HAIFA, Israel, Oct. 05, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- NurExone Biologic Inc. (TSXV: NRX) (FSE: J90) (NRX.V) (the Company or NurExone), a biopharmaceutical company developing biologically-guided exosome therapy (ExoTherapy) for patients with traumatic spinal cord injuries, is excited to announce excited to announce that Dr. Lior Shaltiel, CEO of NurExone Biologic, will be presenting advances in exosome-based therapy for spinal cord injury (SCI) and other traumatic central nervous system (CNS) indications. Dr. Shaltiels presentation will focus on the transformative potential of extracellular vesicles loaded with PTEN-siRNA (ExoPTEN) and the key challenges in translating this innovative therapy to the clinical stage, following the positive response from the Companys pre-IND meeting with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration that was announced recently.



During the presentation, Dr. Shaltiel will address critical aspects of NurExones ExoTherapy (exosome-based therapy), including the loading efficiency of extracellular vesicles (EVs) with siRNA and the large-scale production of EVs utilizing a revolutionary 3D bioprocess concept. These advancements represent a step forward in the field of recovery from spinal cord injury and hold promise for patients globally.

The presentation will take place at the Extracellular Vesicles Forum in Cambridge, UK, on October 10th and 11th at the session titled Exosome Based Therapies and Regenerative Medicine. Dr. Shaltiel will be available for one-on-one meetings during the conference.

About NurExone Biologic Inc.

NurExone Biologic Inc. is a TSXV listed pharmaceutical company that is developing a platform for biologically-guided ExoTherapy to be delivered, non-invasively, to patients who suffered traumatic spinal cord injuries. ExoTherapy was conceptually demonstrated in animal studies at the Technion, Israel Institute of Technology. NurExone is translating the treatment to humans, and the company holds an exclusive worldwide license from the Technion and Tel Aviv University for the development and commercialization of the technology.

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For additional information, please visit www.nurexone.com or follow NurExone on LinkedIn , Twitter , Facebook , or YouTube .

For more information, please contact:

Dr. Lior Shaltiel

Chief Executive Officer and Director

Phone: +972-52-4803034

Email: info@nurexone.com

Thesis Capital Inc.

Investment Relation - Canada

Phone: +1 905-347-5569

Email: IR@nurexone.com

Dr. Eva Reuter

Investment Relation - Germany

Phone: +49-69-1532-5857

Email: e.reuter@dr-reuter.eu

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This press release contains certain forward-looking statements, that reflect the Companys current expectations and projections about its future results. Wherever possible, words such as may, will, should, could, expect, plan, intend, anticipate, believe, estimate, predict or potential or the negative or other variations of these words, or similar words or phrases, have been used to identify these forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements in this press release include, but are not limited to, statements relating to the Companys ExoTherapy drug, ExoPTEN. These statements reflect managements current beliefs and are based on information currently available to management as at the date hereof.

In developing the forward-looking statements in this press release, we have applied several material assumptions, including our ability to retain key personnel, our ability to continue investing in research and development, our ability to secure available funding and to continue as a going concern, the general business and economic conditions of the industries and countries in which we operate, our ability to execute on our business strategy, that there will be certain amount of demand for the Companys potential product, inflation will remain stable, and that the results of our studies reflect results that can be extrapolated.

Forward-looking statements involve significant risk, uncertainties and assumptions. Many factors could cause actual results, performance or achievements to differ materially from the results discussed or implied in the forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, risks related to the Companys early stage of development, lack of revenues to date, government regulation, market acceptance for its products, rapid technological change, dependence on key personnel, protection of the Companys intellectual property, dependence on the Companys strategic partners and the risks discussed under the heading Risk Factors on pages 29 to 36 of the Companys Annual Information Form dated March 30, 2023, a copy of which is available under the Companys SEDAR+ profile at www.sedarplus.ca. These factors should be considered carefully and readers should not place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements. Although the forward-looking statements contained in this press release are based upon what management believes to be reasonable assumptions, the Company cannot assure readers that actual results will be consistent with these forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date of this press release, and the Company assumes no obligation to update or revise them to reflect new events or circumstances, except as required by law.

Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.




HO CHI MINH CITY, Vietnam, Oct. 5, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- OKX, a leading global Web3 technology company and crypto exchange, today announced that it is the Diamond Sponsor of 'FTU's Day 2023' by Foreign Trade University (FTU), a leading business school in Vietnam. The event will take place on October 6 from 08:00 to 22:00 (GMT+7) at FTU's Ho Chi Minh City campus, celebrating the 63rd anniversary of the university's founding.

OKX will also make available a digital collectible called "I love FTU'S DAY 2023." This digital collectible is built on the OKT Chain and can be minted for free by FTU students, alumni, staff and faculty members. The minting period will be limited to 30 days, starting from October 1 and ending on October 31.

FTU's Day 2023 is an opportunity for OKX to engage with the higher education community at one of the most prestigious universities in Vietnam on the topics of Web3 and digital assets.

FTU's Day 2023 will feature activities to provide an opportunity for existing and new students, as well as alumni, to come together and celebrate the spirit and achievements of FTU:

08:00 to 11:00 (GMT+7): Opening ceremony

11:00 to 13:50 (GMT+7): Dancing competition

12:15 to 12:45 (GMT+7): Flashmob and cheerleading

11:30 to 16:00 (GMT+7): Event attendees can visit booths presented by student societies and FTU's Day 2023 sponsors, including OKX

18:00 to 22:00 (GMT+7): Singing gala featuring performances from local artists

Event attendees who visit OKX's booth, located prominently next to the main lecture hall within the FTU campus, will have the opportunity to learn about the latest developments in the digital asset space and interact with representatives from the OKX Local Markets and Web3 teams. Additionally, attendees will have a chance to receive OKX-branded swag items, such as caps and t-shirts, by downloading the OKX App, minting the "I love FTU'S DAY 2023" digital collectible and participating in a series of mini games at OKX's booth.

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OKX Global Chief Commercial Officer Lennix Lai said: "By sponsoring FTU's Day 2023, our goal is to engage with Vietnam's higher education community and foster the development of students and the digital asset ecosystem in Vietnam. We're excited to work with FTU to educate students, alumni and staff through innovative technology, and look forward to an educational and insightful FTU's Day 2023."

OKX's sponsorship of FTU's Day 2023 demonstrates its commitment to innovation and its shared values with FTU in promoting education. OKX also recently partnered with Neo, a leading open-source blockchain platform, to co-host the '2023 Neo APAC Hackathon' in six cities across the Asia Pacific region, including Ho Chi Minh City on August 12-13. This partnership aims to promote blockchain innovation and education among the developer community.

Over 7,000 new and existing students, alumni and staff are expected to attend this year's FTU's Day. To learn more about the event, click here.

For further information, please contact:

Media@okx.com

About OKX

OKX is a leading global crypto exchange and innovative Web3 company. Trusted by more than 50 million global users, OKX is known for being the fastest and most reliable crypto trading app for traders everywhere.

As a top partner of English Premier League champions Manchester City FC, McLaren Formula 1, Olympian Scotty James, and F1 driver Daniel Ricciardo, OKX aims to supercharge the fan experience with new engagement opportunities. OKX is also the top partner of the Tribeca Festival as part of an initiative to bring more creators into web3.

The OKX Wallet is the platform's latest offering for people looking to explore the world of NFTs and the metaverse while trading GameFi and DeFi tokens.

To learn more about OKX, download our app or visit: okx.com

Disclaimer

This announcement is provided for informational purposes only. It is not intended to provide any investment, tax, or legal advice, nor should it be considered an offer to purchase, sell, hold or offer any services relating to digital assets. Digital assets, including stablecoins, involve a high degree of risk, can fluctuate greatly, and can even become worthless. You should carefully consider whether trading or holding digital assets is suitable for you in light of your financial condition and risk tolerance. OKX does not provide investment or asset recommendations. You are solely responsible for your investment decisions, and OKX is not responsible for any potential losses. Past performance is not indicative of future results. Please consult your legal/tax/investment professional for questions about your specific circumstances.

Cision

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SOURCE OKX
An illustration shows a steamroller amid icons on an Apple smartwatch. (Jim Cooke / Los Angeles Times)

When Apple executives first knocked on the medical device entrepreneur Joe Kianis door, he was thrilled. Why wouldnt he be?

Kiani, an electrical engineer by training, had founded the Irvine company Masimo in 1989. Over the next three decades, he and his colleagues built Masimo into an industry leader in pulse oximetry, used to take readings of the amount of oxygen in a persons blood  a crucial, sometimes life-saving, measurement.

So when, in 2013, Apple came and said, we want to work with you, Kiani recalls, he saw it as an opportunity to bring an innovation that could help millions to the largest stage possible.

Kiani and the Apple executives had long, involved, and, what felt to him, productive meetings. It even seemed that Apple was interested in acquiring Masimo. They asked us, Where do we see the market going?,' How does the tech work?,' to share with them the regulatory pathways. All the leadership was there, saying, whatever you need, were going to work this out.'

Now, 10 years later, Kiani is locked in an acrimonious legal battle with the worlds biggest tech company, alleging Apple infringed on his patents and stole trade secrets. If Kiani wins, it could stop Apple Watches, which are manufactured in China, from being imported into the U.S.

Read more: Column: Forget the metaverse. For $3,500, Apple offers a new way to be alone

According to the complaint in his case, unbeknownst to Kiani, back when the two companies started meeting, Apple hatched a plan, known internally as Project Everest, to obtain or emulate Masimos technology without paying Kiani a cent. Instead of acquiring Masimo, Apple could simply raid its brain trust. In at least one email exchange between executives, Apple referred to its strategy as smart recruiting.

Apple hired away two of Masimos former top executives, doubling their salaries, and then started in on his other employees.

They start going after my people, Kiani says. A lot of my people didnt go, but they still got 20 of my people. In the trial, Apple has admitted to hiring two former Masimo executives and at least five other employees. (Apple declined to comment on any of Kiani's allegations or to respond on the record to my questions.)

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Apple, of course, is one of the largest and most powerful companies in history  its the first to hit a $3-trillion  thats trillion, with a T  market cap. When it sets its sights on a smaller company, many founders and executives often see little choice but to roll over and make way for the behemoth, or find ways to make the best of it.

Not Joe Kiani. Hes already spent $60 million fighting the tech giant in court, making the case that Apple infringed his patents and stole trade secrets, and he estimates thats just half what the whole battle will wind up costing.

Hes on a mission to stop Apple from steamrolling smaller companies, to see that consumers get tech that actually works  he says that Apples pulse ox tech leaves users who may depend on it at risk  and to get the fruit company to start acting more ethically. He wants to stop Apple from delivering what he calls the kiss of death to more vulnerable companies  showing interest, wining and dining them, then stripping them for parts.

The U.S. International Trade Court, which is hearing his case, already ruled that Apple infringed at least one of Masimos patents back in January, and is slated to make its final ruling this month. If it decides Apple has infringed Masimos patents, it could seek an order to stop Apple Watches from being imported at the point of entry, which would force Apple to swap out the pulse ox tech altogether  or agree to list Masimo as a patent holder, entitling it to a share of the profits.

By looking at this David vs. Goliath story, we can learn a lot  about how a tech company becomes all-powerful in the modern age, and how it works to protect its position at all costs.

Read more: Column: Apple has fought the right to repair devices for years. Why did it just make a U-turn?

Apple may appear to be a monolith, a singular font of technological innovation issuing sleek new products and features from the brains of its engineers and designers inside its spaceship-like HQ in Cupertino, Calif. But like all the other major tech giants, its more accurately a patched-together Frankenstein, relying on a constant stream of reanimated parts its acquired, licensed, or swiped outright from other companies.

Co-founder Steve Jobs, after all, famously said of Apple's philosophy in the 1996 PBS documentary, Triumph of the Nerds, "Picasso had a saying: 'good artists copy; great artists steal'  and we have always been shameless about stealing great ideas." From the outset, in other words, Jobs was clear that part of Apples strategy would be to take or imitate ideas, talent, and products from competitors. The most famous example is Apples storied 1979 raid on Xerox PARC, whose engineers had developed a host of technologies, such as the graphical user interface, or GUI (what your computer desktop looks like right now), but didnt know what to do with them. Jobs & Co. took what they saw at Xerox and applied it to their revolutionary design for the Macintosh.

This is what a savvy, and perhaps ruthless, tech company intent on cornering a market does, and has done ever since  press its advantage to snap up competing ideas or companies, wholesale, sometimes, but piecemeal too. Another example: When Jobs unveiled the iPhone in 2007, he casually announced that we have invented a new technology called multitouch, the key feature that would let users navigate screens with a press of their finger. Except that couldnt be further from the truth.

I wrote a book about the iPhone back in 2017, and one of the surprising discoveries I made was just how little Apple had to do with inventing multitouch. Work on multitouch in fact stretched back decades, from the labs at CERN in Geneva, to the workshops of Bill Buxton, a Canadian computer scientist, and to FingerWorks  a multitouch-based keyboard system developed by Wayne Westerman to make typing easier on his repetitive strain injury, and established as a company in 1998. Apple scooped up the company, along with Westerman and FingerWorks patents, in 2005. Two years later, Westerman watched Jobs claim that Apple invented multitouch on a screen miles away from the stage  he wasnt even invited to attend the debut event.

Theres nothing illegal about that  Apple bought the whole company including its intellectual property  or what Apple did at Xerox PARC  the folks at Xerox had welcomed them in  but the pattern is instructive. Companies such as Apple want consumers to believe that theyre the engines of innovation, that it is they who are building the future. Under the acquisition deal, FingerWorks could not even publicly admit that it had been bought by Apple. It just went dark one day.

Apple is far from alone in the practice of expansion via acquisition or emulation; the story of consumer technology in the 21st century is largely the story of a handful of tech giants becoming monopolies and oligopolies by buying up, absorbing, or cloning the competition. Google didnt "invent" its Maps or YouTube apps  it bought them. Facebook hoovered up Instagram and WhatsApp, and has shamelessly cloned features from Snapchat and TikTok. Amazon acquired competitors such as AbeBooks, took over the audiobook space by buying Audible, snatched up Zappos to corner the online shoe store market, and so on.

And this is where things get unsavory. For every big-ticket acquisition and attempt to get the public to forget that it was an acquisition at all  Siri, Apples 2010 purchase, comes to mind too  we have to assume that there are numerous, uh, lets say messier cases of these giants deciding not to acquire a smaller outfit with something they want, but trying to figure out how to ape its tech anyway.

Read more: Let's put a stake in the 'great man' biography  starting with Isaacson's 'Elon Musk'

Earlier this year, the Wall Street Journal spoke to two dozen executives, inventors, and founders who feel like Apple delivered the same "kiss of death" Kiani described the giant giving to Masimo.

And for anyone who cares about technology, this is a huge problem.

Joe Kiani is precisely the kind of individual that pundits and politicians are always saying we want starting tech companies  he immigrated to the United States when he was 9, graduated high school at 15, and had completed a bachelors and a masters in electrical engineering at San Diego State by the time he was 22. He quickly rose through the ranks at a medical tech company, and was tasked with building pulse oximeters in the late '80s, before striking out on his own.

Over the years, he built new and better pulse oximeters, becoming the leader in the tech in the United States. Thanks to Masimos pulse oximeters, millions of at-risk people have been able to monitor their lung health, baby blindness in neonatal intensive care units has been reduced dramatically, and those at risk of overdosing on opioids have been given a lifeline. Some 200 million patients are monitored by Masimo technologies every year.

The pulse oximetry tech developed by Masimo has, Kiani says, not only solved the problem that I imagined it would, but helped in many more arenas. Its been wonderful.

All that is why, when Apple decided to enter the smartwatch space, it quickly set its sights on Masimo. Internal Apple email correspondence revealed during the trials have shown that Apple established two efforts to seek out the best sensor tech for the Watch  Project Rover, which looked for companies to work with, and which led to Masimo, and then, Project Everest, an effort to plumb Masimos tech specifically.

After one executive floated the idea of acquiring Masimo outright, the decision was shot down. Acquisitions of this size arent our style, Adrian Perica, Apples vice president of corporate development, said in court. Instead, Apple opted to take the smart recruiting approach.

Apple hired the chief technical officer at Masimos sister company, Cercacor, Marcelo Lamego, and Masimos chief medical officer, Michael OReilly. Apple doubled their already generous compensation, and offered Lamego $4 million in company stock, Kiani says.

In the first two weeks that Lamego was at Apple, he filed 12 patents for medical and sensor technologies for the Watch. Though he would only stay at the company for six months, Lamego would be named as an inventor on many more. Meanwhile, after OReilly was hired at Apple, he attended at least one medical trade convention under a fake company name , Masimo's attorneys established in courtroom questioning.

They took some of our trade secrets that were really important to us, Kiani says, echoing allegations made in his lawsuits. They had six patents that had been filed in Marcellos name  five were patents we had already filed. This was all our stuff he took to them. They purposefully didnt let them publish until right before the product came out.

Lamego and OReilly insist that all of this is above board, and that they never infringed Masimos intellectual property. And the worst part for consumers is, when the pulse oximetry technology Apple had gone to such lengths to emulate finally debuted in 2020, in the Series 6 Watch, it was worse than a dud  it was found dangerously deficient in tests conducted by the Washington Post.

Our initial fear was that their product would be so good it would put us out of business, Kiani said. When we saw how bad it was, we thought its going to be dangerous  bad for the industry. Sometimes, it sends out false alarms for arrhythmia, other times, no alarm at all. Think about the burden that puts on the healthcare system, Kiani says. Or the false sense of security this toy provides to people who may in fact need real help.

Indeed, when it was rolled out, Washington Post columnist Geoffrey Fowler wrote a whole piece about its wildly inaccurate and unreliable readings. It should not be acceptable for giant tech companies to market devices that take readings of our bodies, he concluded, without disclosing how those devices were tested and what their error ranges might be.

Masimo says that Apple took some of its tech, but not all, resulting in pulse oximeter tech that doesn't work as well as it should, which damages the reputation of the entire industry in which Masimo's a leader. (The authors of an April 2023 paper in the journal Nature compared the Apple Watch 6 with medical-grade pulse oximeters and found it "frequently" produced outlier values, but said the stray measurements "should not be a cause for concern in otherwise healthy individuals." The authors also noted "the performance of the most recent model might differ.")

Masimo filed a suit against Apple , accusing it of stealing trade secrets and infringing its patents, in 2020. That suit resulted in a mistrial earlier this year. However, Masimo also filed a complaint in the U.S. ITC in 2021. And in the first rounds of those proceedings, the court found that Apple did indeed infringe one of Masimos patents  the hearing to determine whether the body will issue an exclusion order or another remedy is set for October.

If he wins, Apple will be forced to remove the tech from the Apple Watch, design around it somehow, or face getting the Watch held up at the border when its imported into the U.S.  an all but totally implausible outcome that nonetheless has victims of Apples "Kiss of Death" daydreaming about justice.

In another trial this year, the ITC determined, in a final ruling, that Apple infringed on the patent of another medical tech company , AliveCor, which develops wearable electrocardiogram technology. Apple succeeded in getting the Patent Trial and Appeal Board to invalidate that patent as overly broad; AliveCor is appealing that ruling. (Apple has sought to have PTAB invalidate Masimo's patents on similar grounds.)

It requires an extremely powerful suspension of disbelief to not see a pattern here; to ignore how Apple is wielding its power to get what it wants, when it wants.

There are increasingly few figures willing to stand up to the giants such as Apple, which has a nearly endless reserve of capital and resources to wage battles against folks such as Kiani. But lets be thankful hes willing to wade into the trenches  the consolidation of tech is strangling competition, hurting consumers, and constraining actual innovation.

Ultimately what I really want is, Kiani says, people having the right product. There are a hundred million people wearing a dangerous toy. They could have had a great product that saves lives.

I want this to sting so bad for them  they dont care about the money, he continues. What they care about is public persona. They go out of the way to create this veneer were the good guys and were the rebels. I want Apple to change their ways and conduct themselves in a moral, ethical way. They can use their power to make the world a better place.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Paramount Gold Nevada Corp.

WINNEMUCCA, Nev., Oct. 05, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Paramount Gold Nevada Corp. (NYSE American: PZG) (Paramount or the Company) is pleased to announce that the State of Oregons Technical Review Team (TRT), which is comprised of the agencies involved in the Chemical Process Mining program has determined that Paramounts Consolidated Permit Application (CPA) for its Grassy Mountain Project is complete. State agencies are now expected to start permit writing for the high-grade Grassy Mountain gold and silver mine. The decision was unanimously approved by the TRT at a public meeting on October 4, 2023.



With the completeness determination by the TRT, the next step is for The Oregon Department of Geology and Mineral Industries (the DOGAMI), the facilitating agency of the TRT, to issue the Notice to Proceed (the Notice). The DOGAMI expects to issue final consolidated permits for the Grassy Mountain Mine one year from the issuance of the Notice in concurrence with State laws.

Paramount President, COO and Director, Glen Van Treek commented: Since the acquisition of Grassy, this is the green light we have been working towards which signals the states willingness for us to proceed with building and operating the Grassy Mountain mine. The CPA completeness determination couldnt have been achieved without the unwavering dedication of our incredible team, the trust of our shareholders and the support of the local community.

As part of the permitting process, the State of Oregon is required to concurrently complete an environmental evaluation and socio-economic analysis (EE) for the proposed Grassy Mountain Mine. Following the approval of the scope of the EE earlier this year, Stantec, a global leader in engineering, architecture and environmental consulting, has already commenced the EE that is expected to be completed in early 2024.

Paramount CEO and Director, Rachel Goldman stated: We would like to acknowledge the commitment of the State permitting agencies and cooperating agencies for their efforts in ensuring the Grassy CPA meets all the necessary State requirements as we strive to build the best possible project for all stakeholders. We look forward to our continued collaboration on the next important phase of permit drafting.

Story continues

Mr. Van Treek added that the project will make an important contribution to eastern Oregon. The project includes several infrastructure upgrades to existing powerlines and roadway, the construction of the processing facility and the development of the underground mine requiring a life of mine investment of nearly $190 million. These costs include project sustaining capital and mine closure costs, reclamation and over 20 years of monitoring post mine closure. In addition, while in operation, an estimated $250 million will be paid in salaries to approximately 110 direct employees, and many external goods and services that the Company expects to source locally where possible. Our project will bring significant economic benefits to the communities of eastern Oregon.

The Oregon permitting process is led by the Department Of Geology and Mineral industries (DOGAMI), with the involvement of the following cooperating agencies : the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ), Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW), Oregon Water Resource Department (OWRD), and the State Historical Preservation Office (SHPO), Oregon Health Authority (OHA) and the support of the Oregon Department of Justice (DOJ), the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), US Fish and Wild Life Service (USFWS).

About Paramount Gold Nevada Corp.

Paramount Gold Nevada Corp. is a U.S. based precious metals exploration and development company. Paramounts strategy is to create shareholder value through exploring and developing its mineral properties and to realize this value for its shareholders in three ways: by selling its assets to established producers; entering joint ventures with producers for construction and operation; or constructing and operating mines for its own account.

Paramount holds a 100% interest in four gold projects: Grassy Mountain; Frost; Sleeper and Bald Peak.

The Grassy Mountain Gold Project ("Grassy") consists of approximately 8,200 acres located on private and BLM land in Malheur County, Oregon. Grassy contains a gold-silver deposit (100% located on private land) for which results of a positive Feasibility Study have been released and key permitting milestones accomplished.

Frost is comprised of 84 unpatented lode claims covering approximately 1,730 acres located 12 miles southwest of the Companys proposed high-grade, underground Grassy in Malheur County, Oregon.

The Sleeper Gold Project is located in Northern Nevada, the worlds premier mining jurisdiction. The Sleeper Gold Project, which includes the former producing Sleeper mine, totals 2,474 unpatented mining claims (approximately 44,917 acres).

The drill ready, Bald Peak Project in Nevada, consists of approximately 2,260 acres.

Safe Harbor for Forward-Looking Statements

This release and related documents may include "forward-looking statements" and forward-looking information (collectively, forward-looking statements) pursuant to applicable United States and Canadian securities laws. Paramounts future expectations, beliefs, goals, plans or prospects constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and other applicable securities laws. Words such as "believes," "plans," "anticipates," "expects," "estimates" and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements, although these words may not be present in all forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements included in this news release include, without limitation, statements with respect to the use of proceeds from the Offerings. Forward-looking statements are based on the reasonable assumptions, estimates, analyses and opinions of management made in light of its experience and its perception of trends, current conditions and expected developments, as well as other factors that management believes to be relevant and reasonable in the circumstances at the date that such statements are made, but which may prove to be incorrect. Management believes that the assumptions and expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are reasonable. Assumptions have been made regarding, among other things: the conclusions made in the feasibility study for the Grassy Mountain Gold Project (the FS); the quantity and grade of resources included in resource estimates; the accuracy and achievability of projections included in the FS; Paramounts ability to carry on exploration and development activities, including construction; the timely receipt of required approvals and permits; the price of silver, gold and other metals; prices for key mining supplies, including labor costs and consumables, remaining consistent with current expectations; work meeting expectations and being consistent with estimates and plant, equipment and processes operating as anticipated. There are a number of important factors that could cause actual results or events to differ materially from those indicated by such forward-looking statements, including, but not limited to: uncertainties involving interpretation of drilling results; environmental matters; the ability to obtain required permitting; equipment breakdown or disruptions; additional financing requirements; the completion of a definitive feasibility study for the Grassy Mountain Gold Project; discrepancies between actual and estimated mineral reserves and mineral resources, between actual and estimated development and operating costs and between estimated and actual production; the global epidemics, pandemics, or other public health crises, including the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) global health pandemic, and the spread of other viruses or pathogens and the other factors described in Paramounts disclosures as filed with the SEC and the Ontario, British Columbia and Alberta Securities Commissions.

Except as required by applicable law, Paramount disclaims any intention or obligation to update any forward-looking statements as a result of developments occurring after the date of this document.

Paramount Gold Nevada Corp.

Rachel Goldman, Chief Executive Officer

Christos Theodossiou, Director of Corporate Communications

844.488.2233

Twitter: @ParamountNV




AC/DC fans from at least seven different countries rock out in front of a mural for the band at Club 5 which was transformed into a Power Trip Pop-Up bar in Indio, Calif., Oct. 5, 2023.

About 50 AC/DC fans stood in line on Thursday to get into the band's pop-up experience High Voltage, which will run through Sunday at Indio's Club 5 in tandem with the Power Trip festival at Empire Polo Club.

Many fans were dressed in denim vests displaying patches of several rock and metal bands, including AC/DC. One of those fans was Gavin O'Driscoll, who had come all the way from Cork, Ireland for the festival and was excited to get into the bar.

"AC/DC are my life and like a religion to me," O'Driscoll said. "They're the greatest band in the world, and that's why I'm here."

John Arnold of Taunton, England, who has seen AC/DC over 40 times, was the first in line at 8 a.m. and said the pop-up experience gives people "a unique place to gather" ahead of the festival.

John Arnold from Somerset, England takes a photo in front of an AC/DC mural painted on the side of Club 5 which was transformed into Power Trip Pop-Up bar for the bandOs upcoming appearance in Indio, Calif., Oct. 5, 2023.

"Normally, when we go to see them on tour, we all meet up at Hard Rock Cafes. This is phenomenal for the band to put something like this on," Arnold said.

According to Shiloh Uhlir, one of the production staff members, Club 5 was selected because "we wanted a dive bar" as part of the City of Indio's revitalization plans for the downtown area.

"The owners were happy for us to come in and add a little magic to the building. It's a classic dive bar, great location, AC/DC is playing at the festival, so let's celebrate the greatest rock band of all time," Uhlir said.

What's inside and out

AC/DC fans will appreciate how the bar's interior has been decorated with memorabilia such as a deer head wearing the band's signature illuminated devil horns with red eyes, and features several TVs playing music videos. The outdoor patio features a mural of the band on the side of the building, exclusive merchandise and local food trucks.

The interior of Club 5 is transformed into the AC/DC Power Trip Pop-Up for the bandOs upcoming appearance at Power Trip in Indio, Calif., Oct. 5, 2023.

If you're looking for the ultimate display of fandom, you can get a free tattoo of one of the many different AC/DC logos over the band's 50-year history.

According to Tony Gardner of Oxcart Assembly, who designed the pop-up with business partner Jeff Jetton, planning for the experience began in August and installation started on Monday. The team will be adding additional items to the pop-up through the weekend.

"We want everyone to leave having enjoyed the experience. The fans want it to be cool and we're highly motivated to keep it going. Unfortunately on Sunday, it'll be gone," Gardner said.

Paying tribute to the bar's late owner

Inside the bar, there is a tribute to Club 5 owner Alfredo Franco, who passed away on July 24 after a battle with cancer. When talking about the tribute to her late husband, Carmen Franco became emotional and described it as "very touching."

Randy and his mother Carmen Franco are the owners of Club 5 which was transformed into the AC/DC Power Trip Pop-Up bar in Indio, Calif., Oct. 5, 2023.

"This bar was his dream. Losing him has been very devastating for us," Franco said. "When I came in yesterday, one of the (production team) sent me a picture and asked 'Do you mind if we use your husband's picture?' You can tell these people are also humans. They're professionals, but they have a heart to acknowledge all this hard work and everything he did to keep this bar open."

Franco said she is not a rock 'n' roll fan and when she initially received the offer to host the pop-up, she wrote the band's name down as "CDC." Her son, Randy, owner of Supreme Caffeine, said he and his mother initially underestimated the size of the event and described it feeling like "being on a movie set" while setting up his coffee stand.

"It feels weird to be a part of it, we've always done events, but nothing like this," Randy Franco said.

Carmen Franco said there is something happening this weekend her late husband would have loved to see  acknowledgment from the City of Indio.

"That has been very hard for us to get," Franco said. "Since the first day and initial phone call (from the city), I'm like 'Wow, after 11 years, I hear from you?' It was kind of shocking. But I'm sure he'd love to see this and believe he's here somewhere."

The band's performance on Saturday will be its first in 7 years

In 2020, AC/DC released the album Power Up, but left fans waiting on tour dates coming out of the pandemic. Power Trip will mark the band's first show in seven years, so there's a lot of warranted excitement around the performance  especially considering the obstacles the group faced in 2016. That's when frontman Brian Johnson left AC/DC because of medical issues and bassist Cliff Williams retired, but both returned in 2018, including former drummer Phil Rudd, who was fired in 2015 due to legal issues.

AC/DCs comeback will feature Johnson, Williams, guitarists Angus Young and Stevie Young, but Rudd will not be at Power Trip. Matt Laug, who has drummed for Alice Cooper, Slashs Snakepit and Alanis Morissette, will fill in.

The AC/DC Power Trip Pop-Up bar and merchandise tent at Club 5 in Indio, Calif., Oct. 5, 2023.

"The first time I saw AC/DC was in 1982 and this could be the last (show) they do," Arnold said. "The event is special."

If you go

What: The AC/DC High Voltage Dive Bar (a pop-up experience)

When: From 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. Thursday through Sunday

Where: Club 5 Bar, 82-971 Bliss Ave., Indio

How much: Free admission, with items available for purchase

More: AC/DC-themed pop-up bar opening in Indio ahead of band's set at 2023 Power Trip festival

Desert Sun reporter Brian Blueskye covers arts and entertainment. He can be reached at brian.blueskye@desertsun.com or on Twitter at @bblueskye.

This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: AC/DC pop up dive bar in Indio: Free tattoos and more
EDM festival Dont Let Daddy Know will come to Australia for the first time next year, staging events in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane in January 2024. Dutch DJ and producer AFROJACK leads the lineup, alongside Australian big room trumpeter Timmy Trumpet, Danish future raver MORTEN, and plenty more.

Having originated as a club night on the Balearic party island of Ibiza, Dont Let Daddy Know has gone on to stage festivals in places as far-flung as Chile, Brazil, Korea, China, Dubai, India, Mexico, Turkey, Romania and more.

AFROJACK at Tomorrowland 2023

The lineup for the Australian premiere also includes Dutch hardstyle duo Sub Zero Project and local acts Restricted, Bobby Neon and Dimatik. The former was last here for Ultra Australia 2023, which took place at Melbournes Sidney Myer Music Bowl in April.

Dont Let Daddy Know comes to Australia courtesy of promoters TEG Live. Geoff Jones, the TEG Group CEO, was chuffed to have secured the contract for the international EDM festival.

Renowned for featuring some of the biggest and most influential artists in EDM, along with some very impressive production, Australian electronic music fans should definitely mark these dates in their calendar as its sure to be the event of the Australian summer, he said.

Dont Let Daddy Know 2024

AFROJACK

Timmy Trumpet

MORTEN

Sub Zero Project

Restricted

Bobby Neon

Dimatik

Dates & Venues

Friday, 12th January  Qudos Bank Arena, Sydney NSW

Saturday, 13th January  Sidney Myer Music Bowl, Melbourne VIC

Sunday, 14th January  Eatons Hill Outdoors, Brisbane QLD

Tickets & Pre-Sales

DLDK waitlist pre-sale runs from Wednesday, 11th October to Friday, 13th October

Whatslively pre-sale runs from Friday, 13th October to Monday, 16th October

iHeartRADIO & Ticketek pre-sale runs from Monday, 16th Octoberto Tuesday, 17th October

General tickets on sale at 12pm on Tuesday, 17th October via TEG Live

Further Reading

Man Arrested for Supplying Drugs to Person Who Died at Knockout Outdoor 2023

Ultra Music Festival Australia Announces Huge 2020 Lineup

Ultra Australia Reveal Phase 2 Lineup: ACRAZE, Joyhauser, Solarstone & More

The post AFROJACK, Timmy Trumpet to Headline Dont Let Daddy Knows 2024 Australian Debut appeared first on Music Feeds.
In 1934, a famous Indianapolis artist painted a mural for Crispus Attucks High School. In it, muscled laborers, with sweat dripping, toiled in a fiery forge. The mural reflected the life of its painter, John Wesley Hardrick , who worked such jobs to provide for his wife and five children.

But schools officials didn't think the subject would inspire students to find white-collar jobs, and the piece was relegated to the basement and not displayed, one of his daughters told curators at the Indianapolis Museum of Art about 20 years ago. The mural  called "Workers"  has since been lost, a major missing piece by a Harlem Renaissance-era painter whose award-winning work hangs in museums and private collections. He died in 1968 at age 77.

Hardrick's mural has become a point of fascination once again as artist and historian Kaila Austin, Hardrick's family, and former neighbors have sought to honor his legacy. An exhibit that will open Friday at Big Car Collaborative's Tube Factory artspace will use multiple angles to explore the mural that has disappeared.

"Process as Practice: Reimagining the Lost Hardrick Mural" shows the artist's world  with master copies of work by his teachers and contemporaries. Photos of and art inspired by his southeast-side community of Norwood, which his family helped found as a freetown in the 19th century, will be central in the exhibit as well.

Using these pieces, along with Hardrick family stories, Austin will spend the next few months painting the re-imagined four-panel mural. Plans are for her to complete it by the end of November and for it to be on display for the December First Friday.

Hardrick's legacy and mystery: This famous Hoosier painted a mural for Crispus Attucks in the '30s. Why did it disappear?

"There's nothing like this," Big Car co-founder Shauta Marsh said. "She's collaborating with John Wesley Hardrick. She's collaborating with his descendants, and she's collaborating with the community that raised him and then bringing to light this whole history of our city" that hasn't been highlighted.

The freetown that informed Hardrick's work

The Hardrick family set up their residence in the area west of Vandeman Street and south of Prospect Street after the Ku Klux Klan forced them from their Kentucky home, according to family history. Once there, they helped build the freetown along with survivors of the 28th Regiment of U.S. Colored Troops in the Civil War.

Among the community's founders was Sydney Penick, the grandfather of current Norwood resident Flinora M. Frazier and the reverend who started the freetown's first church in 1889. His picture hangs on the wall of the Tube Factory exhibit, next to other members of Frazier's family. These are the fellow residents the Hardricks' ancestors would have known.

To longtime residents like Frazier, who is in her 90s, John Hardrick was more neighbor than famous artist.

Historian and Artist Kaila Austin and her solo show titled "Process as Practice: Reimagining the Lost Hardrick Mural" on Wednesday, Oct. 4, 2023, at the Tube Factory Artspace in Indianapolis. The show features Austin's work recreating work by renowned painter John Wesley Hardrick and residents of the historic Norwood neighborhood, a Freetown founded by Black Civil War veterans and those who moved here from the South. Here she is shown with her version of Hardrick's famous painting "Little Brown Girl."

"She didn't know that he was John Wesley Hardrick, the Harlem Renaissance painter. That was just her friend's dad," said Austin, who grew up in nearby Twin Aire.

Austin recorded the oral histories of Frazier and other neighbors who are settlement descendants for a 2021 Memory Keepers project, helping the freetown's little-known story to spread broadly. She learned about the city's former plans to build a morgue and forensics facilities on what was the Hardrick family's land, which neighbors fought last year. The city wound up canceling those plans and instead declaring it would help the neighborhood receive a state or federal historic designation.

How the site will be used specifically is yet to be announced. In the meantime, fueled by a 2022 Power Plant grant administered by Big Car and funded by the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Austin is revisiting what's known about the missing mural and John Hardrick's influences.

What's known about the lost mural

On Dec. 18, 1933, John Hardrick lined up first at the John Herron Art Institute to apply to paint a federally-funded Public Works of Art Project.

The committee selected him, but after that details aren't clear. Hardrick's daughter Rowena Tucker later described what happened to the mural that depicted hard labor  a reality for many in the community at the time.

"The principal didn't approve of that kind of painting. He wanted doctors and lawyers and professions like that," she was quoted as saying in the catalog for "A Shared Heritage: Art by Four African Americans," a 1996 IMA exhibit. "So they (the murals) disappeared down into the basement and were never found."

School officials, Tucker said, didn't understand her father was actually promoting the importance of education.

Bookending her description are visual clues from the artist himself. Almost six years before, Hardrick had painted a mural of "Christ and the Samaritan Woman at the Well," which still hangs at Allen Chapel A.M.E. Church at 11th and Broadway streets. And his 1941 "National Malleable Company" shows laborers contending with a fiery forge.

But these artworks aren't the only clues she's using.

Learning the way Hardrick did

Austin has explored the works of those who influenced Hardrick's development  especially his teachers and contemporaries.

For example, she's painted master copies of pieces by T.C. Steele and Hale Woodruff. Hardrick once shared a studio with Woodruff, and he studied with members of the Hoosier Group, of which Steele was a member. And, of course, Austin copied Hardrick's own self portrait and famous work "Little Brown Girl."

From left, Flinora Frazier, the grand daughter of Penick Chapel AME Zion Church founder, Rev. Sidney Penick visits Historian and Artist Kaila Austin and her solo art show titled "Process as Practice: Reimagining the Lost Hardrick Mural" on Wednesday, Oct. 4, 2023, at the Tube Factory artspace in Indianapolis. The show features Austin's work with Frazier and other residents of the historic Norwood neighborhood, a Freetown founded by Black Civil War veterans and those who moved here from the south. Here Austin holds a photograph of School Master Ada B. Harris, who ran the Norwood Colored School from 1898-1914 when the school was annex into the city and she was removed from her position.

Painting the works helped her to learn how the artists created tones and movement, to layer the colors like an Impressionist.

"It takes me from my hand to his," Austin said. "These are his teachers and he learns through their eyes. I can learn something about him through them, too."

The process differs from Austin's process of starting heavily before subtracting paint. Her own works are shown on a wall that includes her paintings of her daughter, friends and Norwood residents like neighborhood association president Brenda McAtee.

After the exhibit ends, the canvases of the re-imagined mural will be used as a mock-up for a piece that could go adorn a potential art center in Norwood.

If you go

What: "Process as Practice: Reimagining the Lost Hardrick Mural"

Where: Tube Factory artspace, 1125 Cruft St.

When: Opens Oct. 6 from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Wednesday through Friday and 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Through Dec. 17.

More info and related events: Follow Big Car Collaborative on Facebook and bigcar.org

Looking for things to do? Our newsletter has the best concerts, art, shows and more  and the stories behind them

Contact IndyStar reporter Domenica Bongiovanni at 317-444-7339 or d.bongiovanni@indystar.com. Follow her on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter: @domenicareports.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Artist re-imagines famous Hoosier's lost Crispus Attucks mural
Zombies and a sea witch on the loose mean it's Halloween at the Delaware beaches.

Summer may be the main tourist season around here, but fall is a close second. When it gets too chilly for the beaches, there are events every weekend to entertain locals and tourists alike. Halloween, especially, features some big-draw festivals that are both spooky and fun.

Here's when and where to get your Halloween on at the Delaware beaches this year.

Zombie Fest

Zombie Fest, hosted by the Milton Theatre, has become very popular over the years. This year's theme is "Carnival," so prepare for creepy clowns. The free event starts at 4 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 21, with vendors and food trucks set up along Union Street, a kids' zone behind the Milton Theatre, "freak show performances," live music, costume contests, a laser light show and zombie makeup stations.

The "zombie walk" will start at 8 p.m. at Union Street and Atlantic Avenue and proceed south to Federal Street.

Offsite parking will be available at Dogfish Head Brewery with a shuttle to downtown Milton.

More: Rehoboth Beach's Royal Treat to be razed, future plans for property unknown

Sea Witch Festival

The Rehoboth Beach - Dewey Beach Chamber of Commerce's Sea Witch Festival is the Delaware beaches' signature fall event. It brings tons of both people and dollars to the area annually. This year's "Snapper" Sea Witch will take place Friday, Oct. 27, through Sunday, Oct. 29.

For parking, using the DART Park & Ride is highly recommended. Rehoboth Avenue will be closed to all traffic from 2 a.m. Saturday through Sunday afternoon. Parking on the side streets is available but will take time to find.

The crowd at the corner of Rehoboth Avenue and Second Street for the 2022 Sea Witch Festival in Rehoboth Beach.

The festival's main event, the costume parade, starts at 11 a.m. on Sunday. Plan to arrive early, before 9 a.m., to park and find a decent viewing spot. It's worth it! The parade features costumed walkers, many of which are top-tier in quality in creativity, motorized floats, balloons, marching bands and more.

Sea Witch has dozens of vendors, outside on the east end of Rehoboth Avenue and inside at the convention center. The convention center will also have live music and kids' activities. There are hayrides, horse rides and kids' games on the beach, a pet parade on the boardwalk and live music at the bandstand.

Sussex: Teacher charged with misdemeanor after 3-year-old left unattended on playground for hours

That's really only scratching the surface of all Sea Witch has to offer. Get a program for a full list. Visit beach-fun.com for more information.

Bad weather will result in the event being canceled, so hope for a dry day.

Wags, Witches and Warlocks

Wags, Witches and Warlocks is an Oct. 28 Bethany Beach festival in which Halloween goes to the dogs. Proceeds benefit the Brandywine Valley SPCA.

It starts with puppy yoga at 8 a.m. at Bethany Beach Central Park. Individuals, dogs and families can all participate in the 10 a.m. Garfield Parkway parade, for donations of $10, $20 and $40, respectively. Afterward, there's trick-or-treating and kids' activities.

The rain date is Oct. 29. Visit the Wags, Witches and Warlocks Facebook page for more information.

Wags, Witches and Warlocks' 2022 "Best With A Pet" costume winners.

Cops & Goblins

If you go to Wags, Witches and Warlocks, you can extend the Halloween-ery by driving over to Ocean View. None other than the Ocean View Police Department will host Cops & Goblins Oct. 28, from 1 to 4 p.m. at John West Park. The festival, in its eighth year, features a kids' costume contest, food and drink and a petting zoo. It's free, with a rain date of Oct. 29.

Shannon Marvel McNaught reports on Sussex County and beyond. Reach her at smcnaught@gannett.com or on Twittter @MarvelMcNaught.

This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: What to know about Halloween events at the Delaware beaches
To err is human and human's learn by "erring". This article is case study on picking an investment based on high free cash flow and what we can learn from it. This is a mistake which value investors frequently make.

Park Lawn Corporation (TSX:PLC) is in the "death care" services business. Park Lawn Corporation ("PLC") is a Toronto, Canada based company. Park Lawn operates cemeteries, funeral homes, and crematoria in Canada and the United States with 90% of its business coming from the US. The company's operations span across various regions, offering a range of funeral and cemetery products and services. It's a consolidator in the "death care" industry i.e. it acquires smaller operators and rolls them up into itself to create a bigger company. Roll-up strategies involve acquiring smaller companies within a related industry and combining them into a single company. This is a useful way to reduce operational costs, increase revenue and consolidate resources for improved efficiency as long as the acquisitions are done in a disciplined manner and the acquirer does not over-pay. In addition the acquirer should have a well developed method of absorbing the operations of the acquired business into its own operating model. Park Lawn did very well during the covid epidemic with business booming both due to excess mortality as well as the desire of people to pre-arrange funerals for themselves and/or loved ones. However this "boom" was followed by a "bust".

Park Lawn has been acquiring death care businesses which generate free cash flow and consolidating them into its own business. This growth by acquisition strategy has caused both debt and operating cash flow to increase rapidly. However the company seems to have been creating value as seen in the trajectory of Intrinsic Value: Projected FCF in the chart below. Projected FCF intrinsic value is a Gurufocus metric created to deal with situations where FCF is erratic or where using earnings for valuation is inappropriate because of high depreciation and amortization expense (as in the case here). Essentially the metric takes 80% of the book value and adds it to the present value of free cash flow over 6 years. Its clear that the "death care" industry is highly cash generative and the industry is characterized by a only a few large players and a large number of small players. Thus the industry is ripe for consolidation, by the likes of Park Lawn.

Story continues

Park Lawn: The perils of High Free Cash Flow

TSX:PLC Data by GuruFocus

The vital statistics of Park Lawn and some of its major publicly listed competitors are below. Park Lawn is among the smaller of the publicly listed cohort.

Company Exchange Symbol Current Price Market Cap ($M) Forward PE Ratio Price-to-Operating-Cash-Flow Dividend Yield % Price-to-Free-Cash-Flow ROIC % Debt-to-EBITDA Debt-to-Equity Park Lawn Corp OTCPK PRRWF 13.30 462.75 11.58 6.28 2.57 9.45 2.15 5.07 0.49 Matthews International Corp NAS MATW 37.77 1150.76 0.00 9.98 2.48 19.51 4.26 10.69 1.63 Hillenbrand Inc NYSE HI 42.12 2944.83 0.00 8.89 2.09 11.21 7.35 2.69 0.86 Carriage Services Inc NYSE CSV 25.20 377.14 9.19 5.63 1.79 8.11 4.74 6.35 4.01 Service Corp International NYSE SCI 54.95 8289.61 14.40 11.91 1.99 26.64 4.25 3.93 2.74





Note: Park Lawn's primarily trades on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX). The OTC ticker is used in this table to keep the currency (for market cap) consistent in US Dollars.

Park Lawn Corporation (PLC) has a high net debt to equity ratio, standing at 42.1%. This ratio has seen a significant increase from 12.9% to 47.7% over the course of the past five years. Despite this elevated debt level, PLC maintains strong debt coverage, with operating cash flow covering its debt at a ratio of 27.1%. Moreover, the company exhibits robust interest coverage, with EBIT providing a substantial 7.1 times coverage of its interest payments on debt.

A closer examination of the balance sheet diagram below shows that long term debt is actually only about 15% of the total liabilities. Most of the non-debt liabilities are non-interest bearing and relate to pre-paid funeral arrangements and funds for maintenance of cemeteries which are required to be held for regulatory reasons.

Park Lawn: The perils of High Free Cash Flow

These customer advances result in the operating cash flow and free cash flow which consistently more than GAAP earnings. This means that there is risk that the intrinsic value provided by the Projected FCF method may be too optimistic. This cash gets held up on the balance sheet (as investments and advances) with a concurrent liability for regulatory reasons. However much of this cash equivalent is unproductive and is slowly released to the income statement when services are performed. This also depresses the Return on Equity and Return of Invested Capital.

A better method is my view, than using free cash flow, is to use Warren Buffett (Trades, Portfolio)'s owner earnings method. Owner Earnings is a cash flow concept introduced by Warren Buffett (Trades, Portfolio) in his 1986 Berkshire Hathaway company letter to shareholders. For investors it was an unfamiliar concept at that time as companies were not required to produce a cash flow statement nor were stock based compensation to insiders such a big concern. Buffet's formulations of owners earnings removes non-cash distortions from earnings to focuses the investors attention on how much cash they are getting as partial owners of the company at the end of the period. Buffet explained Owners Earnings as follows: Owner Earnings = (a) Net Income plus (b) depreciation, depletion, amortization, and other non-cash charges minus (c) average annual maintenance capital expenditures. Owners Earnings is similar to free cash flow, but I think a superior metric because it starts from net earnings, so takes stock-based compensation as well as maintenance capex into account. Unlike Free Cash Flow, owner's earnings includes stock based compensation which can be a significant expense for some companies but excludes capex spent of growth initiatives.

The following chart compares earnings per share, free cash flow per share and owners earnings per share over the last 5 years. The Price to Owners Earnings is about 21.5, which is not all that cheap. Also the growth trajectory of owner earning per share is erratic, which gives me pause.

Park Lawn: The perils of High Free Cash Flow



TSX:PLC Data by GuruFocus

Conclusion





While I bought Park Lawn a couple of years ago for my portfolio, seduced by the high free cash flow and pandemic induced boom in revenues, I have not been happy with the purchase. The stock has performed poorly and Gurufocus GF Value chart is now showing it as a "Possible Value Trap". Given the high and persistent gap between free cash flow and net income, I have come to the conclusion that this may be correct, though for the wrong reason. Gurufocus triggers a "possible value trap" warning if there is a very large discrepancy between GF Value and Stock price. Therefore I do not recommend adding to the position or starting a new position. This experience is a good lesson for me to look beyond just high free cash flow and consider the reason for discrepancy between cash flow and income as well as owner earning. Ideally all these three metrics should be reasonably consistent.

Park Lawn: The perils of High Free Cash Flow

Furthermore recent news reports indicate that Park Lawn has approached its competitor Carriage Services Inc. (CSV) to purchase the latter. Given the low Return of Invested Capital (ROIC) for both companies, I don't think that is a good idea as it will mean taking new debt or new equity and this reinforces my belief to stay away for now. Overall the death care industry does not seem to be an attractive industry at this time.

This article first appeared on GuruFocus.


Tre C. James, 31, was convicted of murdering Jamie Lynette Yazzie, and was also convicted on domestic violence charges against other women

FBI Jamie Lynette Yazzie

When Jamie Lynette Yazzie disappeared in the summer of 2019, her story quickly became about more than one woman. She soon came to represent a tragically vast group of missing and abused Native American women, whose stories often largely disappear with them.

Then Yazzies body was found on Hopi reservation land two years later in November 2021  and something statistically uncommon happened: Someone was arrested for her fatal shooting. This week, that man, Tre C. James, 31, was convicted of her first-degree murder, along with multiple counts of domestic violence against three previous intimate and dating partners between 2018-2021, according to a press release from the U.S. Attorney's Office in Arizona.

Yazzies parents, grandmother and other relatives attended the seven-day trial, prosecutors said.

Related: Boyfriend Accused of Murdering Navajo Woman Who Vanished and Was Found Dead 2 Years Later

Vindicating the rights of missing and murdered indigenous persons requires all the energy and compassion we have, United States Attorney for the District of Arizona Gary Restaino said in a statement. That means not only investigation and prosecution of tough cases, but also community engagement, cultural competence, and active listening to next of kin and other family members.



The Bureau of Indian Affairs notes a need for focused data on missing indigenous women, saying that research data shows that national averages hide the extremely high rates of murder against American Indian and Alaska Native women. For instance, the National Crime Information Center tracked 5,712 reports of missing American Indian and Alaska Native women and girls in 2016. Of those, the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs) had cataloged just 116 of those cases, according to the agency.

Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Sign up for PEOPLE's free True Crime newsletter for breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases.

Yazzie had been listed as a missing person by both Federal and Tribal law enforcement, and over the course of law enforcements two-year search for the 32-year-old mother of three sons, investigators uncovered several acts of domestic violence that James committed against other women, according to the U.S. attorneys office press statement. Prosecutors added six more related charges to the indictment as a result of their findings.

The U.S. Attorneys Office for the District of Arizona is committed to addressing the persistent violence endured by Native American families and communities in the state of Arizona, the office said in the statement, calling the plight of missing or murdered indigenous persons, and acts of domestic violence against them to be a priority for the office.

Jamess conviction carries a mandatory life sentence. The sentencing hearing is slated for January 29.

If you are experiencing domestic violence, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233, or go to thehotline.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages.



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Encouraged by the generous tax breaks on offer in Spain, Mexican producer Christopher Hool of Bazooka Films has launched new company Studio 33 Films, with outposts in both Mexico City and Madrid.

His Spanish producing partner Pablo Gonzalez, with extensive experience in providing production services, will run Studio 33 Films Spain, Hool said at Iberseries & Platino Industria on Thursday.

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Hool, who has co-produced six pics in Spain to date, hopes that the new shingle becomes a key content generator and a significant player in the creation of Spanish-Mexican audiovisual works.

Studio 33 already has a slate, in advanced script development, covering a diversity of genres, from comedy, terror, erotic thrillers and dramas, all mainstream films for either theatrical or platform release, he said.

Ideally, Id like to direct them as well, Id like to spend my autumn years doing what I really enjoy, said Hool, who has been producing films for 31 years and has directed only one, Cambio de ruta.

The plan is to shoot them mostly in Spain, especially in the Canary Islands and the Basque Country where incentives are the most muscular.

The slate, many of them written by Hools regular collaborator Charlie El Huevo Barrientos, include:

Atrapada, (Trapped)

After a wild night of partying, Emma wakes up in her bedroom feeling hungover and disoriented. She soon realizes that its not her room and that shes not in her own home. Someone has kidnapped her and locked her up. A strange voice presents her with a twisted game consisting of various challenges that she must overcome to escape within a set time frame. Its a twisted game that will push Emma to her limits, forcing her to confront her past and fears or remain trapped forever.

Discordia, (Discord)

Natalia and Matteo share a life and relationship that operate in flawless synchrony. They form a robust, dynamic couple, embracing adventure and an open-minded approach to their sexuality, all of which thrives because they honor their mutual agreements. However, when Matteo meets Sofia, it sparks a polyamorous connection that unravels the couples deepest secrets, ultimately altering the course of their relationship, particularly when Sofia uncovers the true nature of the couples successful business.

Chuza Maldita, (Dead Straight)

A group of lifelong friends gathers for a dinner. The hired cook is a woman who used to work at their old teenage nightclub, long abandoned. Despite her warnings, they decide to revisit the place for nostalgia. Upon entering, they sense something eerie, possibly supernatural. Their fears become real as theyre hunted by an obsessed killer linked to the nightclub. Their assailant remains unknown, but theyve stirred a relentless force determined to hunt them down.

La estrella de mi vida, (The Star of My Life)

Soledad, a famous Spanish radio host known for The Star of My Life, her astrology and horoscope show, faces a life-altering discovery. Accidentally learning she was adopted shatters her identity, making her a cosmic orphan. She embarks on a journey to Mexico, her true birthplace, in search of her mother and the key to her genuine astrological identity. Along the way, Soledad discovers that she needed this experience to realize that the true star of her life is herself.

Todo es culpa del pirata, (Its All My Pirates Fault) Antonio, a young man with a quiet life, becomes obsessed with the story of Bobby Bob, a pirate cursed by a witch 300 years ago. Antonio is possessed by Bobby Bobs spirit and must help him find a missing gem to regain control of himself, with the help of his friends, Santi and Pepe.

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El Dia de los Muertos - or "Day of the Dead" - will be celebrated with live music, food, art, dancing, a Catrina/Catrin contest, and more on Saturday in Greenlawn Cemetery.

Just because we've welcomed the fall season doesn't mean it's time to say farewell to the festival season. With autumn two weeks in, there are still numerous events ahead dedicated to food and drinks, family fun, and cultural celebrations before the sights and frights of Halloween are upon us.

This weekend alone will be chock-full of revelry, with the Columbus Mac and Cheese Festival, the Columbus Italian Festival and the Day of the Dead Festival all taking place. Here's a rundown of these three events.

The Columbus Mac and Cheese Festival will offer plenty of pasta, as well as live music and other entertainment on Friday at The Yard in Easton Town Center.

Columbus Mac and Cheese Festival

This family-friendly festival of cheesy creations and charity will be held from 4-7:30 p.m. Friday at The Yard, 3989 Merchants Row, in Easton Town Center.

Hosted by the NextGen James Ambassadors Society, the fest will feature mac and cheese samples from several central Ohio restaurants, plus live music, kids' zone activities, raffle prizes and more.

Nepali celebration: Thousands expected at Dashain-Diwali festival in Reynoldsburg on Saturday

Now in its sixth year, the festival has raised more than $350,000 for vital research and programming for the Adolescent and Young Adult (AYA) cancer program at The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center-Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Richard J. Solove Research Institute (OSUCCC-James).

Purchase tickets online for $30 (ages 13 and older) and $10 for children 3-12. Children under 3 admitted for free. A $100 ticket will not only get you into the festival, but you'll also have access to the VIP area on the patio of The Beeline, where additional food options and free beverages (including beer, wine, and liquor) will be served.

Oodles of noodles: These 4 Columbus eateries offer primo pasta

A family four-pack valid for two adults and two children 3-12 is $70 and includes free mac and cheese samples from all vendors; beverages are not included. All four guests must enter the festival together.

Tickets/information: eastontowncenter.com

Sal, left, and Mike Carfanga prepare Italian sausages and roasted vegetables at the Carfagna's booth during the 2021 Italian Festival outside St. John's the Baptist Church in Columbus, Ohio Oct. 9.

Columbus Italian Festival

In keeping with the three-day events theme, A Week-end in Verona, guests will walk into an interactive world of Shakespeare, where Romeo and Juliet will be staged on the festival streets at St. John the Baptist Catholic Church, 168 E. Lincoln St.

Festival hours are 5-11 p.m. Friday, noon to 11 p.m. Saturday, and noon to 7 p.m. Sunday.

The fiesta, which has run for 43 years, will feature a variety of live music performers, a bocce tournament, and kids activities including rides. The Italian Culture Pavilion will offer cooking demos of polenta, gnocchi and risotto, plus Italian line dancing by the San Giovanni Dancers, and more.

Italian Festival attendees: Christopher Columbus 'part of our heritage'

Sundays events will begin with a parade with grand marshals Dino and Sam Carfagna leaving Goodale Park at 1 p.m., followed by a high school marching band competition at 2 p.m. on the festival grounds. Dino Tripodis of SUNNY 95 will emcee both events.

A one-day pass costs $10, or get the bargain price of $15 for all three days. Kids under 12 are free with a paying adult. Free parking will be at Columbus State Community College, where a shuttle will take guests to the Fourth Street festival entrance.

Tickets/information: columbusitalianfestival.com

Saturday's Day of the Dead celebration will include a parade featuring Aztec dancers in Greenlawn Cemetery.

Day of the Dead Festival

Learn about El Dia de los Muertos  or Day of the Dead  at this cultural event hosted by the nonprofit organization Latino Arts for Humanity. The cultural celebration honoring deceased loved ones will be held from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday in Greenlawn Cemetery, 1000 Greenlawn Ave.

The meaning of the Day of the Dead celebration is "the conception of a new life further on, and life as a duality with death," according to the event website. "Death means a step to a new life that never ends."

Cultural ambassador: How Leticia Vazquez-Smith brought the Day of the Dead to Columbus

Festivalgoers will experience a real Dia de los Muertos, just as it's celebrated in Mexico: with ofrendas (offerings), grave decorations, traditional foods, live music, art exhibitions, arts and crafts, kids' activities, folkorico dancing, mojigangas (giant puppets), a parade featuring Aztec dancers, and much more.

There also will be a Catrina/Catrin contest with prizes. La Catrina, a sacred symbol of El Dia de los Muertos, represents the cycle of life. She serves as a reminder to enjoy life, but also embrace death, and has been honored in Mexican culture for centuries.

Information: dayofthedeadcolumbus.com

bpaschal@dispatch.com

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Three festivals happening in Columbus this weekend
Northwest Florida Great Dane Rescue's (NWFLGDR) lovable, gentle giants are back to take over Seville Square in downtown Pensacola from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday at the 7th Annual Danetoberfest celebration and fundraising event.

Who Let the Danes Out? is this years event theme, so festival-goers best come prepared for face-to-face nose boops and surprise slobber bombs! NWFLGDR will have more than 30 adoptable Great Danes onsite to meet. In addition, there will be dozens of NWFLGDR alumni Danes in attendance too. All two-legged and four-legged friends are invited to join!

Danetoberfest is not only an adoption event, it's also the rescue's largest fundraiser for the year. NWFLGDR's mission is to bring attention to the 60+ Danes currently available for adoption within the rescue; to emphasize the importance of spaying and neutering pets; to increase awareness about the benefits of adopting and fostering in your community; and to help raise $15,000 for the rescue to be used for veterinary expenses, medical supplies, food and general care expenses.

Weve taken in about 200 Great Danes over the past year. Since shelters across the nation are overflowing, we're seeing more Danes being abandoned locally and regionally," said Katie King, vice president of NWFLGDR. "We cant rescue our way out of overbreeding and overpopulation, and that applies to all breeds, not just Great Danes. We hope this event helps raise awareness of our rescues plight and of the importance of spaying/neutering your pets and choosing to adopt.

This years event will feature more than a dozen vendors selling all kinds of arts and crafts - everything from artwork to dog-themed items to baked goodies for people and pets.

There will be several food vendors on site: Cactus Flower Mexican food truck; MJ's Hot Dog Joint; and Flour-ish Comfort Food Truck.

NWFLGDR will be raffling off several high-value prizes, including a limited edition Louise Peterson pewter great dane sculpture entitled "Couch Potato"; a three-night stay in a four-bedroom, bayou waterfront vacation rental home off Perdido Bay; a limited edition Gadco Great American Porcelain Doll set of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis as a child with her great Dane, King Phar, at the 1935 American Kennel Dog Show; a Big Barker XXL dog bed; and two $500 Revive K-9 Pensacola dog training gift certificates. Raffle tickets are $5 each or six tickets for $20.

In addition to the major prizes, more than 100 other items will be raffled off throughout the day - including custom artwork, gift baskets, gift cards, and collectibles  all totaling more than $10,000. NWFLGDR relies entirely on public donations to exist. The rescue spends anywhere between $500 to $1,000, and often much more, to care for each Great Dane it takes in. That includes medical treatments, food, preventatives and medication, microchips and spay/neuter surgery, but does not take into account the amount of personal time and energy it takes every foster to nurse each Dane back to health and acclimate it to a caring environment.We hope to see lots of dog lovers join us in Seville Square on Saturday, Oct. 7. Come out and eat some great food, buy some raffles tickets, shop around, and let one of our gentle giants give you some slobbery love, said Michelle Cramer, president of NWFLGDR. Who knows? You just may meet your new human-sized, couch-stealing best friend!

Danetoberfest 2023 is a dog-friendly event. Thats right, you can bring Fido along! All dogs must be friendly and up-to-date on vaccinations. Please, no retractable leashes!

This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Danetoberfest returns to Seville Square on Saturday
EXCLUSIVE: DNEG workers could unionize in Canada.

IATSE Canada is in the process of forging branches in British Columbia, Ontario and Quebec at the under-fire VFX firm, which recently made a pay offer to workers that has ruffled feathers around the globe.

More from Deadline

If formed, IATSE reps plan on beginning collective bargaining negotiations with DNEG bosses that will see an agreement struck for the next two-to-four years in areas such as pay, welfare and time off, rep Jeremy Salter told Deadline. He said hundreds of workers have requested rep cards but it may be too late for IATSE to intervene in the current pay offer, which Deadline revealed several weeks ago.

The Dune and Oppenheimer VFX firms pay offer is seeing thousands of staff from around the world being asked to take cuts of between 20% and 25% of their salary for seven months depending on salary (a higher percentage for those paid more) or, for those who cant afford the cuts, there is an option of being given a larger cut but then loaned back the majority. Since Deadlines story, DNEG has offered further options to spread the effect of the salary reduction over a longer period of time, reduced hours for reduced pay or compensation for lost wages in the form of additional paid leave, according to a spokesman for the company.

DNEG has laid the blame at the foot of the economic crisis and dual labor strikes. It has stressed that the salary reductions are designed to avoid deeper headcount reductions.

Salter said unionizing will prevent any drastic change of workforce conditions in the future while he hopes the union can support workers through the current back and forth.

In order to unionize, more than half of workers will need to sign rate cards in Quebec, 40% in Ontario and 55% in British Columbia. The process began around two weeks ago.

IATSE U.S. hadnt responded to Deadlines request for comment over whether DNEG will unionize in the States by press time but the news comes at a crucial time for VFX labor, with VFX workers at Walt Disney Pictures and Marvel having voted to unionize in the past couple of weeks. In the UK, broadcasting union Bectu has been supporting DNEG workers and held a Zoom call several weeks ago to explain their rights.

Despite the WGA strike being resolved, the DNEG spokesman said this wont immediately impact our business.

The agreement represents exciting news for the industry and we hope that the SAG negotiations will soon follow suit, so that productions can begin again, he added.

The WGA news is a step forward, and we are hopeful that there are more to come soon. Our industry will rebound, and when it does, we intend to be ready with the talent, experience, and tenure that our clients have come to expect from DNEG.

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After Donald Trump , and anyone else associated with his New York business fraud civil case, received a gag order from attacking anyone on Judge Arthur Engorons staff, the former president found a loophole. Instead of going after the justices court clerk, he decided that he would go straight to the source of his ire.

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On Wednesday, Donald Trump ranted and raved about Judge Engoron and New York Attorney General Letitia James during his daily press conference. Its the arguments the public has all heard before from election interference to his long-standing complaints about a witch hunt. He angrily said to reporters, They made up a fake case, these fraudulent people, and the judge already knows what hes gonna do. Hes a Democrat judge. In all fairness to him, he has no choice Hes run by the Democrats.

Trump: Hes a Democrat judge Hes run by the Democrats pic.twitter.com/m0ijTsPqIT  Acyn (@Acyn) October 4, 2023



James was not spared from Donald Trumps angry words as he took aim at her investigation, calling it a shame. He shouted, Whats going on here is a shame. Our whole system is corrupt. This is corrupt. Atlanta is corrupt and whats coming out of D.C. is corrupt. The former president is particularly upset about the allegations that he inflated the value of his properties, including his coveted Winter White House location, Mar-a-Lago.

Donald Trump v. The United States: Inside the Struggle to Stop a President

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Legal experts are already warning that Judge Engorons gag order was too limited, and it will only be a matter of time before Donald Trump violates the rules set by the court. If were gonna ask, is Trump gonna violate a gag order? Almost certainly, yes, former acting Solicitor General Neal Katyal told MSNBC. Its more likely that hell violate the gag order than almost anything I mean, were talking a significant probability hes going to violate the gag order, and then the question is: Will the judge at that point take the really heavy medicine of putting a former president in jail, or will there be some sort of warning and monetary fine first?



Donald Trumps bank account will likely see the first hit, but its no secret that he hates to be silenced and a more comprehensive gag order probably wont stop him from talking  even if its in his best interest.

Before you go, click here to see the biggest presidential scandals in US History.

Hillary Clinton, Bill Clinton

Launch Gallery: 28 Most Important Celebrity Lawsuits Over the Years

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All unionized QA employees at Keywords Studios have been laid off following Dragon Age developer BioWares decision not to renew their contract.

BioWare, which is currently developing Dragon Age: Dreadwolf, recently cut 50 workers from the company. Per Polygon, Keywords Studios was in negotiations with BioWare when the news broke. All 13 unionized employees lost their jobs as of September 27 because of the contracts expiration. The QA workers had been employed by BioWare Edmonton.

Canadas first game industry union fired

In June 2022, the 13 QA workers won their vote to join United Food and Commercial Workers Canada Union, Local No. 401, becoming the first game industry union in the country. According to a UFCW representative, Keyword Studios let go all the QA testers supporting BioWare in late September. Liz Corless, the global head of marketing at Keywords Studios, confirmed the firings in an email. We can confirm that regrettably the 13 Edmonton-based staff have now left the business following the end of a fixed term client contract, Corless wrote.

James Russwurm, a member of the Keywords union, noted that the company had taken the position there is no more work available. Keyword Studios currently has multiple QA job listings on its website. Russwurn revealed that the union had filed an employment standards complaint against Keyword Studios, pointing to a minimal severance offered by the company but not paid out. BioWare is facing a similar complaint as its fired employees filed a lawsuit for adequate severance.

Dragon Age: Dreadwolf suffered a disappointing update in late August, with industry insider Jeff Grubb claiming it wouldnt release until 2024 or 2025. BioWare announced the Dragon Age sequel in 2018, then remained largely silent until it revealed the name in 2022. Its unclear how the layoffs might impact Dreadwolfs release.
Ford has had trouble delivering hot new models like the Bronco and Maverick due to various supply chain snags, but now it seems like sales of the Blue Oval's compact pickup are finally gaining a little steam. The automaker sold 23,931 Mavericks in the third quarter of 2023, shattering last year's Q3 figure of 13,049 by roughly 83%. It has likewise sold more of the small truck this latest quarter compared to both previous quarters. If you want a Maverick, things are looking better than ever.

The gains quarter-over-quarter are modest, but they trend up and to the right. In Q1 of this year the brand sold 21,478 Mavericks, followed by small dip in Q2 of 21,021. Q3 is north of that figure by 2,910 units, howeveran increase of roughly 12%.

Ford

The ongoing UAW strike could affect deliveries during Q4. The Maverick is built in Ford's non-union Hermosillo Assembly facility in Mexico, however Teamsters may be unwilling to deliver them in solidarity with the UAW. Likewise, it's possible that some of the Maverick's component parts, which are made abroad and in the United States, could be held up by the work stoppages. 2.0-liter Ecoboost engine production, for instance, is split between two plants in Valencia, Spain, and Cleveland, Ohio, according to Ford.

Despite the increased production, there is still considerable pent-up demand that the automaker is still having trouble addressing. It was reported back in July that 2024 model year order books would be opening that month, even though many 2023MY trucks ordered by customers were still unbuilt.

Ford

Any news of a production increase should be welcome, though. Ford has hired thousands of employees to support a third shift at its Hermosillo plant, which is also where the Bronco Sport is produced. It may not be enough to satisfy all potential Maverick buyers, but it's a step in the right direction.

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Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-OK), displeased with Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) leading the ouster of Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) as Speaker of the House, dished some gossip about the Florida congressman to CNN on Wednesday.

Mullin began by complaining to congressional reporter Manu Raju that after the allegation that Gaetz had had sex with a 17-year-old girl became known in early 2021, the media didnt give [him] the time of day.

That allegation, which Gaetz has denied, spurred an investigation by the Department of Justice, which in February opted not to file charges. A House Ethics Committee investigation into that matter, as well as illicit drug use and bribery, among other things, is ongoing.

And theres a reason why no one in the Congress came and defended him: because we had all seen the videos he was showing on the House floorthat all of us had walked awayof the girls that he had slept with, Mullin continued. He would brag about how he would crush E.D. medicine and chase it with energy drinks so he could go all night. This was obviously before he got married.

Gaetz, in a statement to CNN that anchor Anderson Cooper later read on air, denied his colleagues claim.

I dont think Markwayne Mullin and I have said 20 words to each other on the House floor. This is a lie from someone who doesnt know me and who is coping with the death of the political career of his friend Kevin, the statement read. Thoughts and prayers.

Mullin also depicted Gaetz as an attention seeker.

All of a sudden he found fame because he opposed the Speaker of the House back in November, he said of Gaetz, who had a leading role in McCarthys drawn-out bid for Speaker this past January. And hes always stayed there. And he was never going to leave until he got this last moment of fameby going after a motion to vacate.

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The Trump family have a lot on their plate amid Donald Trump s ongoing legal woes but one member of the family is keeping her focus elsewhere. Ivanka Trump , who has largely steered clear of her fathers legal issues and his 2024 re-election campaign, revealed that shes been putting her time into another family member  her grandmother.



Ivanka, 41, took to Instagram on October 5 to wish a happy 97th birthday to her maternal grandmother and disclosed that the elderly woman has been living with her and her family.

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Were so lucky to have Babi living with us in Miami these last couple years, said the former presidents daughter who relocated from Washington D.C. to Florida with her husband, Jared Kushner , and their three children after her fathers failed attempt to secure a second term in office in 2020.

Click here to read the full article.



Im thankful for every lesson, every story, and every game night where she still destroys us all at Jenga, Ivanka continued. Its the simple moments together that define the richness of life. I cherish every second!



In the series of Instagram photos, Ivanka grins alongside her grandmother Marie Zelnickova, the mother of the former presidents first wife Ivana who died last year. Also in the photos are Kushner and their daughter Arabella Rose, 12, and sons Joseph Frederick, 9, and Theodore James, 6.

Former President Donald Trump is finding new ways to vent his frustrations about his New York business fraud civil case. https://t.co/xDNZVdrwUf  SheKnows (@SheKnows) October 5, 2023



Ivanka announced in November last year that she wouldnt be participating in her fathers political campaign.



I love my father very much. This time around, I am choosing to prioritize my young children and the private life we are creating as a family. I do not plan to be involved in politics, she said in a statement at the time. While I will always love and support my father, going forward I will do so outside the political arena. I am grateful to have had the honor of serving the American people and will always be proud of many of our administrations accomplishments.



The businesswoman has not spoken out since her fathers latest federal indictment but did restate her support back in March when a Manhattan jury indicted her father for allegedly paying adult film star Stormy Daniels to stay silent about their alleged affair during his 2016 presidential campaign.



I love my father, and I love my country. Today, I am pained for both, Ivanka wrote at the time. I appreciate the voices across the political spectrum expressing support and concern.

Before you go, click here to see every time Ivanka Trump has tried to distance herself from the Trump family:



Ivanka Trump

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It's possible to achieve returns close to the market-weighted average return by buying an index fund. But if you pick the right individual stocks, you could make more -- or less -- than that. While the Singapore Shipping Corporation Limited (SGX:S19) share price is down 19% over half a decade, the total return to shareholders (which includes dividends) was -4.2%. And that total return actually beats the market decline of 5.4%.

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.

Check out our latest analysis for Singapore Shipping

To quote Buffett, 'Ships will sail around the world but the Flat Earth Society will flourish. There will continue to be wide discrepancies between price and value in the marketplace...' One imperfect but simple way to consider how the market perception of a company has shifted is to compare the change in the earnings per share (EPS) with the share price movement.

During the unfortunate half decade during which the share price slipped, Singapore Shipping actually saw its earnings per share (EPS) improve by 3.7% per year. Given the share price reaction, one might suspect that EPS is not a good guide to the business performance during the period (perhaps due to a one-off loss or gain). Alternatively, growth expectations may have been unreasonable in the past.

With EPS gaining and a declining share price, one would suggest the market is cooling on its view of the company. Generally speaking, though, if the company can keep growing EPS then the share price will eventually follow.

You can see below how EPS has changed over time (discover the exact values by clicking on the image).

Dive deeper into Singapore Shipping's key metrics by checking this interactive graph of Singapore Shipping'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 incorporates the value of any spin-offs or discounted capital raisings, along with any dividends, based on the assumption that the dividends are reinvested. It's fair to say that the TSR gives a more complete picture for stocks that pay a dividend. We note that for Singapore Shipping the TSR over the last 5 years was -4.2%, which is better than the share price return mentioned above. This is largely a result of its dividend payments!

Story continues

A Different Perspective

While the broader market gained around 2.5% in the last year, Singapore Shipping shareholders lost 4.0% (even including dividends). Even the share prices of good stocks drop sometimes, but we want to see improvements in the fundamental metrics of a business, before getting too interested. Regrettably, last year's performance caps off a bad run, with the shareholders facing a total loss of 0.8% 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. It's always interesting to track share price performance over the longer term. But to understand Singapore Shipping better, we need to consider many other factors. To that end, you should learn about the 3 warning signs we've spotted with Singapore Shipping (including 1 which is a bit concerning) .

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.
Back in December, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) and Perry Greene officially called it quits on their marriage of 27 years, meaning that the Jewish space laser-loving firebrand is officially single and ready to mingle. If Jimmy Kimmel is reading the vibes Marge is giving off correctly, hes pretty sure shes got a certain 215-pound, strawberry-haired someone in mind as her next romantic victim.

Now that Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) has been unceremoniously booted from his position as Speaker of the House, his vacated chair needs to be filledand quickly. As Kimmel explained on Wednesday night, if Klan mom Greene is to be believed, Donald Trump is the only human being who can save the Republican party from its own worst instincts.

We want him back as president, Greene insisted while speaking to right-wing cable channel Real Americas Voice on Wednesday. So why not make him Speaker of the House, even if its an interim speaker, while we work to find another speaker? She later added that the only way to earn her vote is to beat President Trump.

Kimmel heard what Greene said, but was much more interested in what she didnt say. Hes never going to have sex with you Marge, Kimmel insisted. Stop it! Hes a married man!

Still, the host had to laugh at the absurdity of the idea. The man has 91 felony counts against him, and hes in the middle of a $250 million fraud trial in New York, Kimmel reminded viewers.

For his part, however, Trump seems game to give the speaker gig a try, and Kimmel cant ignore the irony of it all: The same guy who sent hundreds of dangerous imbeciles to poop on the floor of [the Capitol] wants to help with the process.

Chelsea Handler Goes Off on Miserable Moron Marjorie Taylor Greene

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Julia Ormond is suing disgraced film producer Harvey Weinstein for sexual battery, alleging that he assaulted her in 1995.

The English actress, known for her roles in such films as Legends of the Fall and My Week With Marilyn, is also suing the Walt Disney Company, Miramax, and Creative Arts Agency, accusing them of negligence.

In a complaint filed complaint Wednesday in New York State Supreme Court and reviewed by EW, Ormond, 58, alleges that Weinstein, 71, sexually assaulted her in December 1995 after a business dinner in her apartment. According to Ormond, Weinstein would only discuss their latest film project back at the apartment Miramax had provided her as part of their first-look deal. There, he allegedly stripped naked, lured Ormond into giving him a massage, and forced Ormond to perform oral sex on him.

Ormond claims she informed her CAA agents at the time, Bryan Lourd and Kevin Huvane (both of whom are mentioned throughout the complaint but not listed as defendants), and says they cautioned her from speaking out, suggesting that Weinstein would "seriously damage her career," and failed to protect her. She further alleges that the agency soon "lost interest in representing her, and her career suffered dramatically."

Julia Ormond

Shutterstock Julia Ormond

"The men at CAA who represented Ormond knew about Weinstein. So too did Weinstein's employers at Miramax and [its parent company] Disney," the complaint says. "Brazenly, none of these prominent companies warned Ormond that Weinstein had a history of assaulting women because he was too important, too powerful, and made them too much money."

Ormond filed the complaint under New York's Adult Survivors Act, which allows "a one-year lookback window for survivors of sexual assault that occurred when they were over the age of 18 to sue their abusers regardless of when the abuse occurred."

In a statement provided to EW, Ormond said, "After living for decades with the painful memories of my experiences at the hands of Harvey Weinstein, I am humbled and grateful to all those who have risked speaking out. Their courage and the Adult Survivors Act has provided me a window of opportunity and way to shed light on how powerful people and institutions like my talent agents at CAA, Miramax, and Disney enabled and provided cover for Weinstein to assault me and countless others. I seek a level of personal closure by holding them accountable to acknowledge their part and the depth of its harms and hope that all of our increased understanding will lead to further protections for all of us at work."

An attorney for Weinstein, Imran H. Ansari, "categorically denied" the allegations to EW. "This is yet another example of a complaint filed against Mr. Weinstein after the passing of decades, and he is confident that the evidence will not support Ms. Ormond's claims," he said.

Harvey Weinstein

Etienne Laurent-Pool/Getty Images Harvey Weinstein

A CAA spokesperson said in a statement to EW that the agency "takes all allegations of sexual assault and abuse seriously, and has compassion for Ms. Ormond and the experience she described in her complaint. However, the claims that Ms. Ormond has levied against the agency are completely without merit."

The spokesperson added that the agency will "vigorously refute" Ormond's claims in court.

Representatives for Disney and Miramax didn't immediately respond to EW's requests for comment.

Weinstein is currently serving 23 years behind bars after being convicted of rape and sexual assault in New York in 2020. In February, he was sentenced to an additional 16 years for sex crimes in Los Angeles.More than 80 women have accused him of sexual abuse and misconduct dating back to the 1990s. Weinstein has maintained his innocence, telling a judge prior to his sentencing earlier this year that the allegations are "about money and coming after me."

[This article has been updated with statements from CAA and Ormond.]

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Kevin Spacey experienced a health scare while visiting Uzbekistan for a film festival, and he says it's given him some new perspective.

During a speech at the Tashkent International Film Festival, in Uzbekistan's capital, the House of Cards and Usual Suspects actor recounted having heart-attack-like symptoms at a local museum. "I was looking at these extraordinary murals on the walls, and I suddenly felt my entire left arm go numb for about eight seconds," said Spacey, 64, adding that he underwent "a variety of tests," including an MRI. "Now, everything turned out to be completely normal, and I am of course grateful that it's not anything more serious."

Spacey also said the episode gave him a new outlook on life: "It also made me really take a moment and think to myself how fragile life is for all of us, and how important it is that we come together, that we support each other, that we do what we can for the next generation."

Kevin Spacey

Chris J Ratcliffe/Getty Images Kevin Spacey

Representatives for Spacey didn't immediately respond to EW's request for comment Wednesday.

Spacey's health scare comes in the wake of him being found not guilty on nine charges of sexual assault in a U.K. trial in July. Four men accused the American Beauty actor of sexually assaulting them in London between 2001 and 2013. Spacey maintained that two of the four encounters were consensual, a third was a "clumsy pass," and the fourth did not happen at all.

Since actor Anthony Rapp initially accused Spacey of sexual misconduct in 2017, more than a dozen men have made similar claims. Spacey has denied all allegations.

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Kevin Spacey thought he was having a heart attack during a recent visit to Uzbekistan for a film festival.

While giving a speech at the Tashkent International Film Festival, his left arm went numb for an estimated eight seconds.

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I was looking at these extraordinary murals on the walls, and I suddenly felt my entire left arm go numb for about eight seconds, said the 64-year-old to EW. Now, everything turned out to be completely normal, and I am of course grateful that its not anything more serious.

The Los Angeles Times, quoting an unnamed source, gave further details.

Mr Spacey was taken to a medical center over health concerns. He was treated professionally by doctors and staff and found to have no problem with his heart.

The actor returned to the festival that night and spoke to the crowd, saying his health was normal

Spacey is trying to rebuild his career after a series of U.S. and U.K. legal battles. In he latest, he was found not guilty in July on nine charges of sexual assault in a U.K. trial.

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Executive producer Kevin Wright humbly admits Loki had an if it aint broke, dont fix it quandary heading into its second season.

The first season, following the beloved titular trickster and antihero (Tom Hiddleston) to the end of time and back, drew major kudos from Marvel fans and is generally considered one of the studios best Disney+ series yet thanks to its consistently sharp and sometimes droll humor (hello, Owen Wilson!), retro production design and multiverse-expanding action.

So how does Season 2, arriving on the streamer this week, differ?

I think a thing that Tom and I talked about very early on going into a Season 2 was there was an aspect of Season 1 that felt like catching lightning in a bottle, and that if we just went back and tried to play the hits, even if we nailed it, it wouldn't be as fulfilling because you've experienced it, you felt it before, Wright tells us in a new interview. And so the things that got us excited were the things that we were just stoked that the audience responded to, which was so much of the philosophy, the ideas of identity, finding your place in the universe or the multiverse now, and carrying them into Season 2. Because it isnt just like Loki goes, Oh, I know who I am now.

Loki is in absolute turmoil. His heart is broken, his friends don't recognize him anymore. The TVA is going through a huge identity crisis. And if you just live in all of those moments, there is so much rich character drama that just feels like it has to be addressed and can be a cascade of further problems that happen. So we take that and then put it in a boiler.

Indeed, Season 2 finds Loki reeling from his separation from his variant Sylvie (Sophia Di Martino), last seen killing He Who Remains (Jonathan Majors). His death  as he prophesied  leads to not only short-term upheaval at the Time Variance Authority (TVA) but all sorts of timeline-threatening danger, including the inevitable emergence of Majorss Kang the Conqueror and his millions of variants, as teased at the end of Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. (Wright told us Majorss recent arrest on assault, strangulation and harassment charges ultimately had no effect on how much the actor was used in Season 2, and that the show was the rare Marvel property to undergo no reshoots.)

One much-welcomed new wild card in Season 2 is Ke Huy Quan, the former Indiana Jones and Goonies child actor who had the comeback of the century last year when he won every major award for his role in The Daniels Oscars-dominating multiverse sensation Everything Everywhere All at Once.

Quan, 52, brings a deliriously chaotic energy to Season 2 from the very first episode as OB, the TVAs basement-dwelling technician (and author of its sacred guide book).

Everything Everywhere had just opened in limited release in New York and Los Angeles when Wright, who was in London prepping, got a call from their casting director, Sara Finn. She said, Hey, I'm about to start putting together a list for possible OBs, but before I do that, I think you guys should meet Ke. His movie's about to blow up.  I think it should be him. I think if we don't make an offer before the weekend's over, he might become very, very busy.'

Ke Huy Quan in Everything Everywhere All At Once. (Allyson Riggs / A24 / Courtesy Everett Collection) (Courtesy Everett Collection)

Wright and his team Zoomed with Quan the next day and pitched him the show. Two days later they called in the big gun, Marvel chief Kevin Feige, who offered Quan the role. The actor was on a plane to London soon thereafter, and EEAAO developed into a true-blue cultural phenomenon as cameras began rolling on Lokis sophomore six-episode season.

Quan fans will no doubt pick up on similarities between the TVAs new tech guru and his Goonie adventurer, the gadgeteer Data.

The character was already that [way], Wright notes. But when we cast him, when he came on, he called it out. He was like, This is a grownup Data. And I would say for eagle-eyed viewers, there are a number of Easter eggs to Ke's filmography, both recent and past, that pepper his workshop.

Tom Hiddleston in the "Journey Into Mystery" episode of Loki. (Disney+/Marvel Studios / courtesy Everett Collection) (Disney+/Courtesy Everett Collection)

Of course, the series is still driven by Hiddleston and the mischievous villain-turned-hero its named after. Since debuting as the Norse god in 2021s The Avengers, the British actor has become one of the franchises longest-tenured stars. And Wright says he can go a lot longer.

I've been working on Loki with Tom for five years now, Wright says. He and I shared an office. There was an adjoining door. He would burst in like Kramer [from Seinfeld] as we were developing the show with great ideas.

Tom puts his heart and soul into that character. But you see it turn on. Hes not Loki. That charisma is always there... But he has talked a lot about this character and how he is a steward to the character of Loki. He is one man getting to play it for right now. And I think he will play it as long as he wants to, and as long as we keep making these things. But there is a real sense of ownership and responsibility to that character. And so it's like it's Tom and then the cameras start rolling and you're like, There he is. Like it comes on and it's always exciting to see it happen. And he always finds new shades to it that are so exciting.

Loki Season 2 is now streaming on Disney+.
Minas Khacheryan's remains were located North of Los Angeles on Monday

Los Angeles County Sheriffas Department

Minas Khacheryan, who went missing late last week with his brother during a fishing trip, was found dead on Monday.

The 86-year-old joined his brother Grigor Khacheryan, 78, on a fishing trip, but on Friday the two elderly brothers went missing. Authorities say that it is possible that the brothers fell into the water while fishing, reported KTLA.

According to a press release from the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, the authorities found Minas body under a bridge in Lancaster, California, roughly 60 miles north of Los Angeles.

Minas cause of death is still pending, and at this time the sheriffs office claimed that no foul play is suspected.

Grigor has yet to be located. The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department confirmed with PEOPLE Wednesday that the search for Grigor, which resumed Tuesday morning, is still ongoing.

Related: Search Called Off for 2 Elderly Brothers Who Disappeared While Fishing in California Aqueduct

The Los Angeles County Sheriffs Homicide Bureau and the Sheriffs Emergency Services Detail are working together to locate Grigor. The search has been aided by two dozen divers use of sonar technology and the aqueduct water flow will be controlled to facilitate the search, the department said in the press release.

The sheriffs office also shared the missing reports for the brothers via Facebook on Saturday.



Grigor was last seen with his late brother at 8 a.m. PST on the 1000 block of East Chevy Chase Drive in Glendale before heading to the aqueduct, police said.

Grigor is at risk due to his recent open heart surgery, the sheriff's office noted on Facebook. He is described by authorities as being 5-feet-5 inches tall, 140 lbs., with brown eyes and short, balding grey hair.



Related: Coast Guard Suspends Search for 34 Missing People Who Vanished off Fla. Coast, Fears No More Survivors

Following their disappearance, Sgt. Michael Rodriguez of the Los Angeles County Sheriffs Department Homicide Missing Persons Bureau told NBC 4 that the aqueducts current speed may have taken the two mens bodies miles away from where authorities were searching.

Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Sign up for PEOPLE's free True Crime newsletter for breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases.

Anyone with information about this incident is encouraged to contact the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department's Missing Persons Unit at (323) 890-5500.

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Read the original article on People.
Masters of the Air: Apple TV+ Sets Date for Austin Butlers WWII Drama From Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg

A World War II drama starring two recent Oscar nominees and produced by Hollywood legends yep, were ready to enlist.

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Apple TV+s wartime drama Masters of the Air will premiere Friday, Jan. 26, TVLine has learned. Austin Butler (Elvis) and Barry Keoghan (The Banshees of Inisherin) lead an ensemble cast in a true story about American pilots conducting dangerous bombing raids over Nazi Germany. The project is based on the book by Donald L. Miller and reunites executive producers Tom Hanks , Steven Spielberg and Gary Goetzman , who previously worked together on HBOs Band of Brothers and The Pacific.

Masters of the Air is a salute to the brave men of the 8th Air Force, who, through their courage and brotherhood, helped defeat Nazi Germany in World War II, Goetzman said in a statement. Tom and Steven have always wanted to visualize cinematically what our author Don Miller has called this singular event in the history of warfare. Were thrilled that Apple TV+ has given us the opportunity to combine the efforts of so many talented people, on-screen and behind the camera, to tell this important story.

The cast also includes Callum Turner, Anthony Boyle, Nate Mann, Rafferty Law, Josiah Cross, Branden Cook, and Ncuti Gatwa. John Orloff, who worked on Band of Brothers, serves as writer on the nine-episode limited series.

Apple TV+ also released first-look photos from the series. Scroll down to get a sneak peek at Masters of the Air, and then hit the comments below to share your first impressions.

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Austin Butler and Barry Keoghan are soaring high in period drama  Masters of the Air .

The Apple TV+ limited series, executive produced by Steven Spielberg , is adapted from World War II nonfiction book Masters of the Air: Americas Bomber Boys Who Fought the Air War Against Nazi Germany by Donald L. Miller.

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Callum Turner, Anthony Boyle, Nate Mann, and Rafferty Law co-star in the Apple Original production about the 8th Air Force in World War II that helped defeat the Nazis. The limited series reunites Band of Brothers producers Spielberg, Tom Hanks , and Gary Goetzman .

Tom and Steven have always wanted to visualize cinematically what our author Don Miller has called, this singular event in the history of warfare,' Goeztman said in a press statement. Were thrilled that Apple TV+ has given us the opportunity to combine the efforts of so many talented people, onscreen and behind the camera, to tell this important story.

Goetzmans producing partner Hanks encouraged his Elvis co-star Butler to join Masters of the Air after his dedicated, immesive performance as Elvis Prelsey.

You have immersed yourself so deeply in Elvis that, for your mental health, it would be wise to go straight into something else,' Butler recalled Hanks telling him during a Times of London interview. If you just jump off the train, you might have emotional whiplashand, you know, Ive got this thing Im producing.'

Masters of the Air was originally an HBO project in development since 2013. Apple announced the acquisition in 2019, with True Detective helmer Cary Fukunaga tapped to direct the first three episodes. A May 2022 report alleged that Fukunaga inappropriately engaged with female actresses and crew members on the set of the production.

Masters of the Air will debut with the first two episodes in January, followed by weekly installments until March 15. The nine-episode limited series is executive produced by Steven Spielberg through Amblin Television, and Tom Hanks and Gary Goetzman for Playtone. Amblin Televisions Darryl Frank and Justin Falvey co-executive produce alongside Playtones Steven Shareshian. In addition to writing, Orloff co-executive produces. Graham Yost also serves as co-executive producer.

Masters of the Air premieres January 26 on Apple TV+. Check out the first look images below.

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Netflix previewed the first episode of its NEON series to a select group of viewers at an advance screening party on Wednesday (Oct. 4). The sneak peak that took place during Latin Music Week was the first look at the show that will begin streaming on the the platform on Oct. 19.

The eight-episode comedy series filmed in Puerto Rico tells the story of the struggles of three childhood friends  Santi, an emerging artist played by Tyler Dean Flores, his friend/manager Vanessa (Emma Ferreira) and friend/creative director Felix (Jordan Mendoza)  trying to achieve success in the reggaeton industry.

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With an ambitious plan, full of dreams and a limited budget, the three friends decide to leave their city and take a trip to Miami with the conviction that Santi could become the biggest reggaeton star on the planet. They soon face the harsh realities of being an emerging artist and realize that their brilliant plan is not as easy to pull off as they imagined.

NEONs creative team includes prominent reggaeton producer and Grammy winner Tainy, along with Lex Borrero and Ivan Rodriguez, all affiliated with Ntertain and Neon16 and known as Tainy & One Six. The talented team served as executive music producers, writing and producing original songs exclusively for the series.

In addition, the team of music supervisors also includes One Six from Neon16 and Ntertain, as well as Joe Rodriguez and Javier Nuno from Indice.

The NEON series is a joint creation of Shea Serrano and Max Searle, the latter also serving as showrunner. The executive production team consists of Serrano and Searle, along with an outstanding list of collaborators, including Scooter Braun, James Shin, and Scott Manson of SB Projects, Anne Clements, and Daddy Yankee. Kyle Vinuya and Demi Adejuyigbe serve as co-executive producers, and Jordan Mendoza serves as consulting producer.

Celebrated for more than 30 years, the 2023 edition of Latin Music Week includes a Superstar Q&A with Shakira; the Legends on Legends chat with Chencho Corleone and Vico C; Making the Hit Live! with Carin Leon and Pedro Capo; a panel with RBDs Christian Chavez, Christopher von Uckermann, and Maite Perroni; Superstar Songwriter discussion with Edgar Barrera and Keityn, among many other panels, Q&As and workshops. See the ultimate Latin Music Week guide here. This years Latin Music Week, which kicked of on Monday and wraps up on Friday (Oct. 6), also includes showcases by Peso Pluma, Mike Bahia and Greeicy, DannyLux, and Fonseca, to name a few. Check out the dates and times for the showcases throughout the week here.

Official partners of the 2023 Billboard Latin Music Week include AT&T, Cheetos, CN Bank, Delta Air Lines, Lexus, Netflix, Michelob ULTRA, and Smirnoff.

Latin Music Week coincides with the 2023 Billboard Latin Music Awards ceremony, which will broadcast live from the Watsco Center in Coral Gables, Fla., on Thursday (Oct. 5) and will air on Telemundo. It will also broadcast simultaneously on Universo, Peacock, the Telemundo App, and throughout Latin America and the Caribbean on Telemundo Internacional.

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Outlawz rapper Napoleon has opened up about Keefe Ds recent arrest.

The former emcee spoke to The Art Of Dialogue and shared his opinion that the man known as Duane Keith Davis was only behind bars because he continued to speak about Pacs murder. Napoleon asserted that he didnt have sympathy for the man, but claimed that his former boss wouldnt have gotten the cops involved.

If Pac survived the shooting, Pac himself wouldnt want Keefe D to go to jail, Napoleon declared. A lot of people might not understand, but me knowing Pac. Pac aint gonna get law involved because Pac would understand he did something in the streets [and it] would come back with street stuff.

As he continued, the Breathin' artist provided an example of Shakur keeping the authorities out of street politics. Pac knew what happened, he continued. He just fought somebody, and an hour two hours later, its a drive-by shooting. Pac, Im sure, before he understood what that retaliation was about, and Pac still said, Im not talking.'

Napoleons admission follows Suge Knight , who recently echoed his sentiments. Knight told TMZ that the former Death Row CEO was shocked to see an arrest was made concerning 2Pacs murder. However, the businessman opts not to partake in the case, claiming that the cops arrested the wrong guy.

Additionally, Knight expresses that Davis assertion that his nephew, Orlando Anderson, was the shooter is fictitious. The West Coast mogul insisted that he would never reveal who shot his late artist. But he knows Keefe D wasnt the correct man to arrest.

On Sept. 29, 2023, Las Vegas law enforcement arrested Duane, according to the Associated Press. The outlet reported that a Nevada grand jury indicted the man on one count of murder with a deadly weapon. Clark County Chief Deputy District Attorney Marc DiGiacomo alleged Keefe was the on-ground, on-site commander who ordered the death of Tupac Shakur.

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Authorities in Illinois have identified a driver and vehicle they say may have been involved in a crash that caused a truck carrying ammonia to overturn, resulting in the deaths of five people and injuring several more.

The crash happened around 8:40 p.m. Friday on U.S. Highway 40, about a half-mile east of Teutopolis, when a tanker operated by Prairieland Transport Ltd. out of Brownstown, Illinois, crashed. The truck was carrying about 7,500 gallons of ammonia and spilled about 4,000 gallons, according to the Illinois State Police (ISP).

In its preliminary investigation, the National Transportation Safety Board said it appears that another vehicle may have tried to pass the tanker.

The driver of the truck appears to have reacted by pulling to the right. The tanker truck departed the roadway and then rolled over, said the NTSBs Tom Chapman during a news conference. He said during the crash, the tanker collided with a parked utility trailer and that the hitch of the parked truck punctured the tanker, leaving a 6-inch hole and allowing the ammonia to escape.

Killed in the crash were Danny Smith, 67, of New Haven, Missouri; Vasile Cricovan, 31, of Twinsburg, Ohio; Kenneth Bryan, 34, of Teutopolis, Illinois; and Rosie Bryan, 7, and Walker Bryan, 10, of Beecher City, Illinois, according to Effingham County Coroner Kim Rhodes, who spoke with News Channel 12.

The driver of the tanker was airlifted to a hospital.

A preliminary report from Rhodes said the victims all died from exposure to the toxic cloud that leaked from the truck. About 500 residents near the area of the scene were evacuated as rescue crews worked to contain the scene.

The cause of the crash is under investigation by the ISP, and the NTSB sent a team to the scene.

The ISP said in a statement released Wednesday that prior to the crash around 8:35 p.m. a dark-colored car was seen going through an intersection along Highway 40. Authorities believe this vehicle may have been involved in the crash that occurred a short time after.

Story continues

On Thursday, the ISP said the driver had been located. No further information was provided.

Thank you to the communities of Montrose and Teutopolis, and everyone who provided information to ISP, said ISP Director Brendan F. Kelly. The information we received from the community has been instrumental in identifying the vehicle and driver believed to be involved in this case.

The victims

Among the victims was Cricovan, a husband and fathers of two sons.

It is with devastating pain in my heart that I inform you that our beloved son, husband, father, brother, cousin and friend passed away on the evening of September 29 following a tragic road accident. A truck carrying anhydrous ammonium overturned in front of him, he braked and got out of his truck and inhaled toxic vapors, after which he had a respiratory failure, reads a statement posted on GoFundMe from his wife, Liudmila.

Visitation is planned for Monday.

* * * *

Smith, also known as Pastor Dan, was a minister at St. Peters United Church of Christ in New Haven. He was traveling with a friend at the time of the crash, according to the church.

The friend, whose name has not been released, remains hospitalized.

Smith was ordained in 1995 and joined its congregation as interim minister in February 2022, according to a statement from St. Peters. He became pastor in June of this year.

We extend our sympathy to Dans son Micah Smith, his sister Sande Hardy, and other family and friends, the church said in a post on Facebook. Please also keep in your prayers the family and friends of the other four lives that were lost, as well as those who were injured.

A memorial service will be announced at a later time.

* * * *

Bryan and his children, Rosie and Walker, also died from exposure as a result of the crash.

Rosie was one of the funniest kids youd ever meet, her obituary reads. She was full of energy and joy and was always the life of the party. She was a talented mimic and always kept everyone laughing. She loved to help cook supper. She also loved art and was very excited about all the art supplies she had just received on her birthday.

A separate obituary reads: Walker loved to help out at the local tractor pulls. Like his dad, he loved semis and trucks. He wanted to follow in Kennys footsteps and go to a tech school after graduating.

Funeral services for all three are scheduled for Friday.

The post Police ID driver sought in connection to deadly ammonia truck crash appeared first on FreightWaves.
When Danny Boy O'Connor was 13, he had a life-changing cinematic experience while watching the movie "The Outsiders."

But the founder and executive director of the Outsiders House Museum admits that he wasn't ready as a teenager for Francis Ford Coppola's avant-garde follow-up film, " Rumble Fish ."

"I love 'The Outsiders' so much that nothing will ever take the place of that. But 'Rumble Fish' and 'Outsiders' were filmed basically back-to-back: Coppola came here, filmed 'The Outsiders,' wrapped it in '82; two weeks later, they were in downtown Tulsa filming 'Rumble Fish,'" said O'Connor, who has been a loyal Tulsa resident for about five years.

"Originally, I may have caught 'Rumble Fish' on cable TV, and I would only catch it in parts, meaning I never watched it through. It was a little too sophisticated for my 13-year-old or 14- year-old mind. ... Coppola's intent was to make an art film for kids, which would have completely went over my head at a 14-year-old level."

In March 1983, Coppola's modestly budgeted "The Outsiders," adapted from Oklahoma author S.E. Hinton's seminal 1967 coming-of-age novel and filmed in her hometown of Tulsa, made its successful bow in movie theaters.

The film's popularity has only grown over the past 40 years: Just as Hinton's "The Outsiders" helped establish the young adult (or YA) genre of literature, Coppola's screen version is sometimes credited with launching the 1980s "Brat Pack" movies. The teen drama featured future movie stars C. Thomas Howell, Tom Cruise, Patrick Swayze, Diane Lane, Ralph Macchio, Rob Lowe, Emilio Estevez and Matt Dillon .

But fewer people remember that Coppola's second movie filmed in Tulsa and based on a Hinton novel debuted in theaters a few months later, on Oct. 21, 1983.

Lensed in high-contrast black-in-white and featuring a Golden Globe-nominated score by The Police drummer Stewart Copeland, "Rumble Fish" was a more experimental and less mainstream movie that floundered at the box office but has been buoyed by its own faithful fan base, including some, like O'Connor, who didn't quite get it when the movie initially debuted.

"It would be years later, after buying the (Outsiders) House when I decided, 'You know what, this movie has never made sense to me. Let me read the book.' And I read the book, and all of the pieces fell together and I was like, 'Ah,' he told The Oklahoman. "I watched the movie with new eyes, and then I understood a lot better what they were going for."

'The Outsiders' super fan Danny Boy O'Connor is organizing a 'Rumble Fish' anniversary exhibit

A founding member of 1990s hip-hop hitmakers House of Pain, O'Connor is organizing "The Rumble Fish 40th Anniversary Exhibition," a three-day pop-up event where film fans can celebrate the legacy of the often-overlooked classic movie.

The exhibit will be on view from 7 to 9 p.m. Oct. 6 and 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Oct. 7-8 at 810 E 3, in a currently vacant storefront in the East Village District of downtown Tulsa, near where some of the filming on "Rumble Fish" took place. Admission is free.

"Hopefully, it'll excite people about how good this thing really has been for Tulsa, even 40 years later. We're still talking about it; it's still worth celebrating. And it still brings so many eyes and attention to not only the author and the actors and the directors, but to Tulsa, Oklahoma, itself," O'Connor said.

The exhibit will feature acclaimed photographers David Burnett and Joe Cervantez's never-before-seen photographs chronicling the making of "Rumble Fish" as well as selections from O'Connor's own growing collection of "Rumble Fish" memorabilia, including the actual wardrobe worn in the movie by Dillon, who starred in "Rumble Fish" after playing a key role in "The Outsiders."

From left, Nicolas Cage, Vincent Spano, Matt Dillon and Chris Penn appear in the 1983 film "Rumble Fish."

Although often overshadowed, 'Rumble Fish' has carved out its own legacy

Inspired by her experiences at Will Rogers High School, Susan "Susie" Eloise Hinton penned "The Outsiders," a tale of two rival Tulsa gangs  the poor Greasers and the privileged Socs (pronounced Soshs)  when she was still a teenager. She published her debut novel under her initials to keep male reviewers from knowing she was a woman and immediately dismissing her work.

Hinton has said that she suffered from writer's block for a few years after "The Outsiders," but she eventually penned other YA novels set in her home state, including 1975's "Rumble Fish."

Renowned for his 1970s films like "The Godfather," "The Godfather Part II" and "Apocalypse Now," Coppola was struggling after the flop of his 1981 musical drama "One from the Heart" when he received a package from a California school librarian, Jo Ellen Misakian. Her students at Lone Star Elementary School in Fresno had voted, and they wanted Coppola to adapt their favorite book, "The Outsiders," into a movie.

For years, the director had worked with Oklahoma City native Gray Frederickson to make his movies. With "The Outsiders," Coppola would be making a movie in his producer pal's home state.

Once in Tulsa, Coppola was so drawn to the themes of Hinton's 1975 book  particularly the tale of a younger brother who worships his older brother  that the filmmaker and author co-wrote the screenplay to "Rumble Fish" on Sundays, their day off from shooting on "The Outsiders."

The Oscar winner retained much of the same crew and key members of the cast, including Dillon and Lane, to film his second Tulsa movie.

Dedicated to Coppola's older brother, August, "Rumble Fish" follows Rusty-James (Dillon), a ready-to-rumble Tulsa gang leader who worships his older brother, The Motorcycle Boy (Mickey Rourke), a local legend who left town after brokering a truce between his gang and their rivals. The enigmatic Motorcycle Boy rolls back into Tulsa at a pivotal moment in Rusty-James' life and tries to steer his younger brother toward a more peaceful path.

The film received a 2017 Blu-ray and DVD release through the prestigious Criterion Collection.

Its incredible to think how far Oklahomas film and television industry has come since the release of Francis Ford Coppolas Rumble Fish nearly 40 years ago, said Oklahoma Film + Music Director Jeanette Stanton in an email to The Oklahoman.

This production is not only part of our states collective film legacy and cultural impact, but it really helped lay the early steps of what would later become the foundation of telling authentically Oklahoma stories in our state, which continues to see the impact from these films and continued interest to this day.

Like "The Outsiders," "Rumble Fish" features a cast of talented up-and-coming actors, including Dillon, Lane, Rourke, Laurence (then credited as "Larry") Fishburne, Vincent Spano, Chris Penn and Coppola's nephew, Nicolas Cage.

Both movies include cameos by Tom Waits  Hinton recently revealed on the site formerly known as Twitter that the iconic musician and actor wrote his barkeep character's "Rumble Fish" monologue about time  as well as by the author. (Hinton played a nurse in "The Outsiders" and made a brief appearance as a prostitute in "Rumble Fish.")

"I have friends that are a couple of years older than me that say, 'Danny, "The Outsiders" was cool, but it was too juvenile for me at 17, yet "Rumble Fish" hit the mark perfect because it was sophisticated.' ... It has a completely different following, yet there are people who love both and all of the works of S.E. Hinton," O'Connor said.

"Because both movies were filmed here, people's heartstrings are attached. ... So, they're special, all of those movies."

Mickey Rourke stars in the 1983 movie "Rumble Fish," based on Oklahoma author S.E. Hinton's novel.

Danny Boy O'Connor hopes 'Rumble Fish' exhibit will help him launch a new S.E. Hinton museum

"The Outsiders" and "Rumble Fish" weren't the first movie versions of Hinton's books to be made in Tulsa: "Tex," an adaptation of Hinton's 1979 novel that also starred Dillon, along with Jim Metzler, Meg Tilly and Oscar-winning Oklahoman Ben Johnson, was released in theaters in 1982.

The drama was Walt Disney Productions' first PG (as opposed to G) release.

"I can't tell you how many times people say, 'Oh, I love that scene in "The Outsiders" where you can see the old Camelot Hotel.' ... But the Camelot Hotel appears in her film 'Tex,'" O'Connor said.

"To break up the monotony of collecting and searching constantly for 'Outsiders' stuff, I started to go, 'I wonder how much "Rumble Fish" stuff is on the market?' And 'I wonder how much stuff I could collect of "Tex?"' So, I started to just collect that in between my full-time collecting of 'The Outsiders'  and you'd be amazed what you can do when you set your mind to something and you stay with it."

Since he opened the Outsiders House Museum in 2019, celebrities like Leonardo DiCaprio, Brendan Fraser and Green Day have visited, along with thousands of regular folks and schoolchildren on field trips.

Given it was an actual filming location  it stood in as the modest home of protagonist Ponyboy (Howell) and his older brothers Sodapop (Lowe) and Darry (Swayze)  the Outsiders House Museum, 731 N St. Louis Ave., has a fixed footprint and limited space for his growing collection.

So, O'Connor hopes "The Rumble Fish 40th Anniversary Exhibition" will provide a platform to launch a larger project similar to the Woody Guthrie and Bob Dylan centers that have proven so successful in Tulsa.

"My hope is to make a bigger museum with all of S.E. Hinton's works, somewhere that's a brand-new build that would be somewhere in North Tulsa but in a commercial district where I could bring people en masse, students en masse," O'Connor said.

"It could serve as not only a pop culture and historical S.E. Hinton museum collection, but it could also inspire the kids of today, who 20 years ago, if they were interested in any of these fields would have had to go to New York or L.A. to pursue their career. Today, we don't have that problem, we can do this right here, and they have, if not an equal shot, a better shot."

'The Rumble Fish 40th Anniversary Exhibition'

When : 7 to 9 p.m. Oct. 6 and 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Oct. 7-8.

Where : 810 E 3, Tulsa.

Admission : Free.

Information: https://www.facebook.com/theoutsidershousemuseum.

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: 'The Outsiders' follow-up film 'Rumble Fish' marking 40th annivesrary
Prince William was feeling cheeky as he and Princess Kate posed for a group picture during their trip to Wales.

On Tuesday, October 3, William and Kate, both 41, visited the Grange Pavilion in Cardiff, Wales. The couple posed for a large group photo with a bunch of locals. In a TikTok video that captured the moment, William called out, Whos pinching my bottom?

Williams joke landed as the group  and the royal himself  laughed at the quip, which resulted in dazzling smiles and memories that would last a lifetime.

However, William isnt the first member of the royal family to joke around while on official royal business. His grandmother, the late Queen Elizabeth II, famously cracked a one-liner at the 2021 G7 Summit.

Prince William Through the Years: His Royal Life, Fatherhood and More

In a video shared by the BBC at the time, Elizabeth posed for the spaced-out group photo and asked her fellow world leaders, "Are you supposed to be looking as if youre enjoying yourself?" The queen died in September 2022 at age 96.

Karwai Tang/WireImage

As for Prince William, his humor was in full effect on Tuesday. Earlier in the day, he and Kate arrived at the landmark to a bustling crowd. Many of the female admirers wanted to get close to hug the Prince of Wales, who teased that he drew the line at kissing,' according to The Times.

William and Kates visit to Cardiff is in honor of Black History Month in the U.K. During their visit, the pair met with Caribbean elders of the Windrush generation. The outing also fell on the 75th anniversary of the arrival of the HMT Empire Windrush to London, a boat that brought hundreds of West Indian immigrants to the United Kingdom.

Geoff Caddick - WPA Pool /Getty Images

As the Prince and Princess of Wales put on a united front for their royal duties, the twosome  who have been married for 12 years  also face their fair share of marital struggles.

Kate and William have been having ups and downs in their marriage like everyone else, a source exclusively told Us Weekly on Wednesday, October 4. But theyre focused on their royal duties and doing that as a unit.

Prince William and Princess Kates Relationship Timeline

The duo  who share children Prince George, 10, Princess Charlotte, 8, and Prince Louis, 5  have had a rough past year as they continue to mourn the loss of the queen. Her death hit them extremely hard, a second insider told Us last month. In many ways, its only now really sinking in that shes gone.

The source continued: Theyre the first to admit its been a tough year, but everyone agrees William and Kate have done a wonderful job staying strong in the face of such adversity.
Robert De Niro, Leonardo DiCaprio are out for blood in exclusive Killers of the Flower Moon clip

It's been 30 years since Leonardo DiCaprio and Robert De Niro first worked together, playing stepson and stepfather in 1993's This Boy's Life. Now, the two actors are reuniting, teaming up with Martin Scorsese for the chilling crime drama Killers of the Flower Moon.

Both DiCaprio and De Niro are longtime Scorsese collaborators, but Killers of the Flower Moon (out Oct. 20) marks their first time starring together in one of the director's films. Scorsese and writer Eric Roth adapted the film from David Grann's best-selling book, which chronicles the brutal Osage murders of the 1920s and the early days of the FBI. De Niro plays imposing Oklahoma businessman William Hale, the self-proclaimed "King of the Osage," while DiCaprio stars as his loyal nephew Ernest Burkhart. Ernest, a World War I veteran, strikes up a romance with Osage woman Mollie Kyle (Lily Gladstone), and before long, the two men start to weave a tangled web of secrets and murder.

In EW's exclusive clip (above) from the film, Hale and Ernest argue about a contracted killing gone wrong. "It's supposed to be a suicide, you dumbbell!" Hale yells. "You didn't tell him to leave the gun?"

"I don't know why!" a panicked Ernest replies. "I told him to leave the gun, just like you told me. I don't know why he didn't!"

Killers of the Flower Moon

Apple Original Films Robert De Niro and Leonardo DiCaprio in 'Killers of the Flower Moon'

Last week, Scorsese spoke to a group of journalists about reteaming with DiCaprio and De Niro, explaining that it was De Niro who first suggested he cast DiCaprio for 2002's Gangs of New York.

"Bob introduced me to Leo years ago," Scorsese told reporters at a recent press conference. "Turns out that when Leo and I started to work together, I discovered we had similar sensibilities that Bob and I had. He was also brave enough to go to places the way that Bob would  difficult places. [He had] a fearlessness about performing and trying anything."

Scorsese added that despite their similarities, DiCaprio and Scorsese each have a different way of working. "I found I could work with [Leo] if I talked with him a lot," Scorsese explained. "His method for me is a method of constant conversation, constant exploration. With De Niro, it's a little different. Yes, there's talking, but then there's quiet.  So, the two together played off each other so beautifully."

Apple will release Killers of the Flower Moon in theaters worldwide Oct. 20. Watch the exclusive clip above.

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Cherished colleagues, the San Francisco Gay Men's Chorus and lines of civilians have taken part in a days-long tribute to one of California's fiercest fighters

Mourners are gathered this week to honor the late California Sen. Dianne Feinstein following her death on Sept. 28 at the age of 90.

The history-making Democrat is best known for her thirty-year tenure in the United States Senate, but before opening doors for women on Capitol Hill, she was an inspirational fixture in her hometown of San Francisco.

On Wednesday, crowds gathered at San Francisco City Hall  the birthplace of Feinstein's public career  to see her lie in state. On Thursday, prominent Democratic colleagues assembled outside City Hall for her memorial service to share words of tribute to the political giant.

Here, the most powerful photos out of San Francisco so far, as California says goodbye.

Feinstein's Body Arrives at San Francisco International Airport

AP Photo/D. Ross Cameron Left to right: son-in-law Rick Mariano, daughter Katherine Feinstein , granddaughter Eileen Mariano, San Francisco Mayor London Breed, U.S. Rep. Nancy Pelosi

Feinstein died of natural causes in her Washington, D.C. home last week, hours after casting a vote on the Senate floor to try and avert a government shutdown.

Her daughter Katherine Feinstein, longtime friend Nancy Pelosi, and chief of staff James Sauls flew her body home to San Francisco on Sept. 30.

In addition to those on board the flight, Feinstein's casket was greeted on the tarmac by her son-in-law Rick Mariano, granddaughter Eileen Mariano, and San Francisco Mayor London Breed.

City Hall Honors Feinstein's Career

David Paul Morris/Bloomberg via Getty An American flag hangs outside San Francisco City Hall before the late Sen. Dianne Feinstein lies in state

For Feinstein's 50-plus years in public service, trucks from the San Francisco Fire Department framed City Hall with a large United States flag ahead of her casket's arrival on Wednesday morning.

Related: Dianne Feinstein's Life and Career in Photos

A Stately Welcome

AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vasquez The body of Sen. Dianne Feinstein arrives at City Hall before lying in state

Feinstein gets a warm greeting as her body arrives at San Francisco City Hall on Wednesday morning. Her casket, pictured here in a hearse, is adorned with a U.S. flag.

Katherine Feinstein and Husband Greet the Casket

Jessica Christian-Pool/Getty Dianne Feinstein's son-in-law Rick Mariano and daughter Katherine Feinstein greet their mother's body as it arrives at City Hall

Son-in-law Rick Mariano and daughter Katherine Feinstein put their right hands over their hearts as Feinstein's casket is brought from the hearse up the steps of City Hall.

Forty-five years ago, Feinstein  then the city's first female board president  stood on the same grounds, announcing the assassinations of San Francisco Mayor George Moscone and Supervisor Harvey Milk. As the mayor's designated successor, she became in an instant the most powerful woman in San Francisco history, tasked with picking up the pieces of a city in mourning.

Related: How the Assassination of Harvey Milk Put Dianne Feinstein in the National Spotlight

The Pelosis and Feinsteins Come Together

The Pelosi and Feinstein families stand at the late senator's side

The Pelosi family showed their support for the Feinsteins on Wednesday, approaching the casket with a few of the late senator's surviving relatives and even shedding smiles in each other's company.

Feinstein's daughter, Katherine Feinstein (third from left), is flanked by Paul and Nancy Pelosi on the left and the Pelosis' daughter, Nancy Corrine Prowda, on the immediate right.

One Last Embrace

AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vasquez Rep. Nancy Pelosi puts her arm around the casket of Sen. Dianne Feinstein

Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi smiles and hugs Feinstein's casket as she lies in state at the City Hall on Wednesday.

In an essay for San Francisco Chronicle published Thursday, Pelosi wrote about her "beautiful friendship" with the fellow San Francisco native, calling her an "iconic, indomitable leader" who made her hometown and state proud throughout her career.

Related: Friends and Colleagues Pay Tribute to Late Senator Dianne Feinstein, a Trailblazer Among Democrats

The Gay Men's Chorus Echoes Through the Rotunda

The San Francisco Gay Men's Chorus performs to family and friends of late Sen. Dianne Feinstein on Oct. 4, 2023

The San Francisco Gay Men's Chorus performs for family and friends of late Sen. Dianne Feinstein as she lies in state at City Hall on Wednesday.

Feinstein was the mayor of San Francisco during the early days of the HIV/AIDS epidemic, making a commitment to support the LGBTQ+ community early on in her career.

"As mayor, her love for her fellow San Franciscans was extraordinary," Pelosi wrote of Feinstein in her essay for the Chronicle. "In the depths of the HIV/AIDS crisis, as many of us were going to two funerals a day, she led our city with compassion and care while defending the health and dignity of our LGBTQ+ neighbors."

On Capitol Hill, Feinstein was one of only 14 senators to vote against the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act, which legally defined marriage as between a man and woman.

She worked through the years to repeal DOMA, introducing a counter-bill in 2011 that ultimately failed. In 2022, aiming to enshrine same-sex marriage protections into federal law, Feinstein became the lead Senate sponsor on the Respect for Marriage Act, which successfully repealed the discriminatory 1996 marriage law.

Mourners Show Up in Droves

Crowds flow into San Francisco City Hall to pay respects to late Sen. Dianne Feinstein on Oct. 4, 2023

Lines continued to wind through City Hall late on Wednesday afternoon, as members of the public waited to pay their respects to the storied San Francisco lawmaker.

Writing Letters

A mourner leaves a note addressed to late Sen. Dianne Feinstein at San Francisco City Hall on Oct. 4, 2023

Mourners had the opportunity to write letters to the late Sen. Dianne Feinstein at City Hall on Wednesday, thanking her for her service and sharing stories of what her career meant to them.

Above, mourner Gail Hills writes a note, later telling The Washington Post: "Senator Feinstein Helped this city and the country. She never forgot about us."

Day One Concludes with an Emotional Sendoff

From left to right: Eilieen Marian, Christine Pelosi, Nancy Pelosi

After a long first day of memorial proceedings, Feinstein's loved ones wait outside City Hall for the senator's casket to be transported to a funeral home.

Pictured above are Nancy Pelosi (right), her daughter Christine Pelosi (center), and Feinstein's granddaughter Eileen Mariano (left).

Day 2: The Memorial Service

Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times via Getty Sen. Dianne Feinstein's memorial service at San Francisco City Hall on Oct. 5, 2023

A memorial service for Sen. Dianne Feinstein began on Thursday afternoon against the backdrop of San Francisco City Hall  where her career took off as a city supervisor and, eventually, the mayor from 1978 to 1988.

Vice President Harris Returns Home

LOREN ELLIOTT/AFP via Getty Vice President Kamala Harris speaks at the memorial service for Sen. Dianne Feinstein on Oct. 5, 2023

Vice President Kamala Harris, another barrier-breaking alum of San Francisco politics  she served as district attorney from 2004 to 2011  speaks at the memorial service for Sen. Feinstein on Thursday afternoon.

Harris served as a California senator alongside Feinstein from 2017 to 2021.

Senate Leader Delivers Remarks

Godofredo A. Vasquez/AP Photo Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer delivers remarks at a memorial service for Sen. Dianne Feinstein on Oct. 5, 2023

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, a Democrat from New York who joined the Senate six years after Feinstein, also delivered remarks at the memorial service on Thursday afternoon.

Last week he told stories about Feinstein on the Senate floor, later writing on X: "Senator Dianne Feinstein was in a class of her own. Powerful. Poised. Unflappable. She had to be: whenever she did something, she was often the first to do it."



"She didnt just push down doors that were closed for women," he continued in the post, "she held them open for generations of women to follow."

Words from a Friend

Godofredo A. Vasquez/AP Photo Rep. Nancy Pelosi speaks at her friend and colleague Dianne Feinstein's memorial service on Oct. 5, 2023

California Rep. Nancy Pelosi had a chance to offer more formal remarks about her former friend and colleague on Thursday, taking the stage at her memorial service and breaking a smile in spite of her grief.

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Read the original article on People.
If the Republican party were a horror movie, the call would be coming from inside the House.

Just hours after leading the charge to implode his own party by ushering in Rep. Kevin McCarthys (R-CA) ouster, Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) seemed to be reveling in the bedlam he created. But Stephen Colbert was happy to see that the Florida Republican and Bobs Big Boy who sells molly in the club bathroom was in a reflective mood.

TONIGHT: Matt Gaetz reflects on the stages of grief that he caused. #Colbert pic.twitter.com/puSkD1IaXC  The Late Show (@colbertlateshow) October 5, 2023

While speaking to the press on Wednesday, Gaetz laid out his interpretation of what is happening within the GOP at this very moment. The stages of grief, I think, are in progress right now with some of my colleagues, said Gaetzsmirky as ever. I think there was a stage of denial, and Ive certainly experienced a good amount of their anger. And now we appear to be headed toward bargaining.

Colbert reflected on those comments Wednesday night: It is so, so rare to get lectured about grief by the murderer, he remarked, then offered his impression of what the world must feel like from Gaetzs POV: There, there. Shhh. Let it out. Its healthy to cry. By the way: Do you have a tarp I can roll your corpse up in?

Unfortunately, Colbert had to agree with Gaetz that the Florida Mans colleagues are definitely GOPeeved. Case in point: Louisiana congressman Garret Graves , who launched a PG-13 verbal attack on Gaetz from the House floor on Wednesday for using his House Speaker sabotage to fundraisea move Graves called disgusting.

But Colbert won this war of words when he described the current GOP mayhem as a slide down Chaos Mountain into Insanity River at the bottom of Dumbass Canyon.

Read more at The Daily Beast.

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This vessel grounding was a very close call" in the U.S. Virgin Islands, Captain Jose E. Diaz said on Wednesday

U.S. Coast Guard Coast Guard rescues 12 persons forced to abandon an aground cargo vessel off the coast of St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands.

The U.S. Coast Guard rescued 12 people from a stranded cargo ship on Wednesday after the vessel hit rocks among crashing waves in the U.S. Virgin Islands, officials said.

The ship, described as a 195-foot Vanuatu-flagged ro-ro cargo vessel known as Bonnie G, was taking on water in the engine room with passengers abandoning ship onto two life rafts and a lifeboat, according to a press release by the U.S. Coast Guard.

Coast Guard watchstanders in Sector San Juan received VHF marine radio communication from the Bonnie G at 3:41 a.m., the release explained, adding, Coast Guard watchstanders in Sector San Juan transmitted an Urgent Marine Information Broadcast to alert vessel traffic in the area of the ongoing distress and notified crewmembers at Boat Forces Detachment St. Thomas, who launched a Coast Guard 33-foot Special Purpose Craft to provide rescue assistance.

U.S. Coast Guard Coast Guard rescued 12 people forced to abandon an aground cargo vessel off the coast of St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands.

The Coast Guard boat crew reached the scene and carried all 12 of the survivors to Crown Bay Marina, per the release. All passengers onboard were reported safe with no injuries.

Related: 2 Dead and 1 Injured After Oregon Home Struck by Plane

This vessel grounding was a very close call and I commend our watchstanders and responding boat crew for their efforts rendering assistance to the people who were aboard the Bonnie G and bringing them to safe harbor, Capt. Jose E. Diaz, commander of Coast Guard Sector San Juan said in the release. There is still much work ahead of us to investigate and learn the causal factors of this incident.

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The Bonnie G vessel company and Coast Guard Marine Safety Detachment are working with response personnel in the U.S. Virgin Islands to evaluate a current pollution threat, according to the release, which stated that the ship was reportedly carrying 13,000 gallons of fuel and approximately 250 gallons of lube oil onboard, along with six cars, one trailer, two pallets of cargo and a truck.

Related: 21 People Dead After Apocalyptic Tourist Bus Crash in Italy

In addition, the National Response Center and local authorities in the U.S. Virgin Islands were informed by the Coast Guard, according to the release.

The Coast Guard also notified the National Response Center and local authorities in the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Diaz added in the release: One of our main priorities is to assess the pollution threat from this vessel and ensure risks are properly managed and potentially hazardous chemicals are removed as quickly and safely as possible to maintain and protect the pristine waters of the U.S. Virgin Islands.

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Rishi Sunak , prime minister of the United Kingdom, announced a plan to annually raise the legal smoking age by one year each time, with an eye toward phasing out the sale of cigarettes in the country.

According to The Independent, Sunak positioned the proposal, which was delivered at the annual Conservative Party conference, as being directed at the accessibility of cigarettes for today's youth. "I propose that in [the] future we raise the smoking age by one year every year," he said. "That means a 14-year-old today will never legally be sold a cigarette and that they and their generation can grow up smoke free."

Even though selling cigarettes to anyone below the age of 18 in the UK is illegal, Sunak argued in his speech that four out of five people started smoking by the time they were 20 years old and became addicted to the point that they were unable to quit.

Whenever there's a discussion about young people and smoking, the topic of vaping is never too far behind. Sunak said he was concerned about how e-cigs are marketed toward the youth. Since an alleged "one in five children have used vapes," the prime minister vowed to look into vape flavors and packaging to combat the issue.

Sunak shared other aspects of his argument for the policy on Twitter, pointing out that smoking is accountable for one in four cancer-related deaths and causes 64,000 deaths per year.

Twitter: @RishiSunak

The Tobacco Manufacturers Association warned of people venturing down potentially dangerous avenues if the policy were implemented, in addition to claiming the ban would be an attack on an adult's rights.

Reuters reported the plan would need to be passed through a free vote in Parliament, where members could ignore party associations.

A law was passed in New Zealand last year that will prohibit anyone born on or after Jan. 1, 2009 from purchasing cigarettes. The ban, which does not go into effect until 2027 when those individuals turn 18 years old, comes with a penalty of around $96,000.

More on this

Sunak also garnered scrutiny this week by expressing his stance on transgender people, claiming his party "shouldnt get bullied into believing that people can be any sex they want to be." If it's unclear where he stands on the issue, he clearly laid it out by declaring "a man is a man and a woman is a woman," adding that it's "just common sense."
Three suspects were arrested in connection with the shooting at a Holyoke, Massachusetts intersection, authorities said

Holyoke Police Department/Facebook Holyoke Police investigating a shooting in Holyoke, Massachusetts, on Oct. 4, 2023

An unborn child was killed and mother critically injured during a shooting at a Holyoke, Massachusetts intersection on Wednesday, according to the New York Times, Associated Press and WWLP.

At about 12:38 p.m., a shooting was reported in the 100 block of Sargeant Street, which prompted the Holyoke Police Department to arrive on-scene, per a statement by Hampden District Attorney Anthony Gulluni.



It is believed one of the rounds from that altercation struck a public transportation bus and an uninvolved female occupant, who was seated in the bus, Gulluni wrote, adding, This victim, who was pregnant, was transported to a nearby hospital in critical condition.

ABC Holyoke Police investigating a shooting in Holyoke, Massachusetts, on Oct. 4, 2023

The infant was delivered and received life-saving medical services, but died, he said.

According to a statement issued by the Holyoke Police Department, multiple victims were involved and 911 operators received several calls along with notifications from ShotSpotter during the shooting.

The three male suspects who appeared to be involved in an altercation were believed to have been identified and taken to local hospitals where they are in custody, Gulluni noted.

Related: Mystery Surrounds Shooting of 2 Women, Including Fla. Bartender, as Killer Remains at Large

The Hampden District Attorneys Office and the Holyoke Police Department are working with the Massachusetts State Police Detective Unit to investigate the incident, he continued.

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Jade Nelson told CBS Boston she was sitting in front of the pregnant woman on the bus when bullets sprayed through the air.

Related: 5 Wounded in Campus Shooting at Morgan State University in Baltimore: 'It Was Chaos'

"I was shocked, I was devastated, I was terrified, Nelson recalled to the outlet. "That could have been me.

The witness further explained that there were about seven or eight gunshots, noting as soon as we finished coming through the intersection, the poor girl, she started crying.

"I ran up the street and I got their attention and told them there was a pregnant girl on the bus that got shot," she added.

Every life lost to gun violence is a tragedy, especially those taken far, far too soon, Governor Maura Healey wrote on X (formerly Twitter). My heart goes out to the victims, families and all of Holyoke in the wake of this afternoons senseless shooting.

Holyoke Mayor Joshua Garcia said in a statement he was equally outraged and frustrated by the incident, adding, "I struggle with it every day attempting to offer a balanced solution. Quite frankly, I have lost my patience. I plan to work with all resources available to me to push this nonsense out of our city."

Hampden County District Attorney's spokesman Jim Leydon did not immediately respond to PEOPLEs request for comment.

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Read the original article on People.
Patty Shack's cheeseburger will be one of the various customizable burgers available at the new Milwaukee restaurant.

Patty Shack, a newly franchised Utah burger joint, is opening their first out-of-state location in Bay View at the former Sisu Cafe, 2121 S. Kinnickinnic Ave.

The fast-casual restaurant focuses on made-to-order burgers with fresh ingredients and crispy skin-on fries on the side.

The Milwaukee location will be owned by Desmond Jimerson, who has decades of experience building franchise restaurants. He most recently was district manager for Crumbl Cookies, another Utah-based franchise.

I went through a reduction of force and my options were to move or bring an opportunity here, Jimerson said.

He had a longtime connection with Patty Shacks owner, Justin Newbold. Jimerson oversaw a KFC restaurant that Newbold managed in Utah, and they randomly ended up living next door to each other.

"It's kind of a strange. We just kept reconnecting," Jimerson said.

Jimerson saw that Patty Shack was named best burger in 2023 by Best in SLC, which aims to recognize the best businesses in Salt Lake City.

I saw that, and congratulated Justin," Jimerson said. "When I was out of work, I reached out seeing if he would franchise out, and he was actually in the beginning stages of the terms and conditions. Were excited for the opportunity to take it out to Milwaukee.

Were bringing a very successful and good brand to the Milwaukee market, he said.

Their goal is to keep the menu simple and fresh, with choose-your-own burger toppings that include things like fried egg and pastrami.

Its very customizable, Jimerson said. Its great for delivery and takeout; this product will travel well. Were just not trying to over-complicate it, but give people a good product that they can enjoy. And who doesnt like a good burger?

They are aiming to open the restaurant by the end of October.

Sisu Cafe, which served Finnish and Nordic dishes, closed in February after the owners decided to put their energy toward growing their other restaurant, Sabrosa.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: New Milwaukee restaurant Patty Shack to bring burgers to Bay View
The woman shot and killed the man as he'd tried "to defend himself and his girlfriend after an attempted robbery, per the U.S. Attorney's Office

Clay County Sheriff's Office; GoFundMe Yasmine Hider; Adam Simjee and Mikayla Paulus

A woman pleaded guilty to killing a man inside Talladega National Forest after she tried to rob him at gunpoint, according to the U.S. Attorneys Office, Northern District of Alabama.

Yasmine Marie Hider of Edmond, Oklahoma, pleaded guilty to murder, kidnapping and robbery before U.S. District Court R. David Proctor, the U.S. Attorneys Office said in a press release on Wednesday.

According to the plea agreement, 21-year-old Hider had flagged down a couple of Florida college students on a road to help her jump start a broken car belonging to Krystal Diane Pinkins, who was also at the scene.

The students, who were identified by the Clay County Sheriff's Office to PEOPLE in August as Adam Simjee, 22, and his girlfriend Mikayla Paulus, 20, had been traveling to Cheaha State Park in Clay County, Alabama, at the time, for a hike to see the waterfalls.

However, Hider robbed the pair and eventually shot and killed Simjee as he had attempted to defend himself and his girlfriend, per the plea agreement. Simjee was pronounced dead at the scene and Hider was also found injured with four gunshot wounds feet away from his body.

Clay County Sheriff's Office A photo of Yasmine Hider provided by the Clay County Sheriff's Office

Related: Ark. Teen Told Mom He Was Going Out on Date. He Was Found Shot to Death in Forest Days Later

Hider is scheduled to be sentenced on Jan. 4, 2024, while her accomplice Pinkins, who was also convicted in federal court last week, has a scheduled sentencing on the same day.



Paulus told WBMA that the couple were heading to Arkansas on a road trip that had been planned for the week before they would attend classes at the University of Central Florida when they came upon a woman, Hider, who appeared to be experiencing car trouble. After the couple worked on the car together for an hour, the vehicle was still inoperable.

"At the end, when nothing could be done, she pulled out a gun and walked [us] into the woods," Paulus told WBMA.

The woman allegedly told the pair to drop their cell phones, Paulus said. That is when "Adam pulled out his gun and told her to get on the ground and that's when she started messing around with her gun. It jammed once but they both shot at each other and she was shot a few times and he was shot only once," Paulus alleged.

The Clay County Sheriff's Office told PEOPLE in a statement in August that Paulus called 911 soon after her boyfriend was shot and told authorities what happened.

Facebook Adam Simjee and Mikayla Paulus

Related: Driver Dies After Robbing Bank and Crashing Stolen Car with Toddler Inside

The statement said that responding officers arrived to find Paulus performing CPR on her longtime boyfriend while Hider was laying on the ground nearby having had suffered several gunshots to her torso."

"It was determined that Hider had attempted to rob Simjee and Paulus at gunpoint and was subsequently shot by Simjee who had a handgun concealed on his person," read the statement. "Hider was transported from the scene by ambulance to a nearby landing zone and airlifted to a Birmingham hospital where she underwent surgery for her injuries."

The sheriff's office statement also said that investigators learned that a second "female suspect," later identified as Pinkins, "was present during the robbery and had fled the scene on foot after the shots were fired."

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They located her, along with a boy identified as her son, at "a group of tents that had been set up in the National Forest" about a half a mile from where the robbery took place.



Paulus described her boyfriend to WBMA as an angel on earth.

"Everyone who met him loved him," she said. "He was always making jokes and being goofy. Him dying a hero to protect me, like that is just so him."

A GoFundMe campaign was set up to cover Simjee's funeral expenses. An Aug. 17 update to the campaign read, "Now that Adam's funeral and burial costs have been covered, donations will go toward paying for Mikayla's counseling and other expenses as she tries to move forward."

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Read the original article on People.
PPG Industries Inc (NYSE:PPG) observed a daily gain of 3.55%, despite a 3-month loss of 10.31%. Its Earnings Per Share (EPS) stands at 5.57. This raises the question: is the stock modestly undervalued? In this article, we will delve into the valuation analysis of PPG Industries, providing a comprehensive overview of its financial health and growth prospects.

A Snapshot of PPG Industries

PPG Industries, a global producer of coatings, is the world's largest producer of coatings following the acquisition of selected Akzo Nobel assets. Its products cater to a wide variety of end users, including the automotive, aerospace, construction, and industrial markets. With a significant global footprint, PPG Industries garners less than half of its sales from North America in recent years. The company is focused on its coatings and specialty products and expansion into emerging regions, as exemplified by the Comex acquisition.

PPG Industries' stock price currently stands at $133.22, while its GF Value, an estimation of its fair value, is at $155.5. This comparison suggests that the stock might be modestly undervalued.

Is PPG Industries (PPG) a Hidden Bargain? An In-Depth Look at the 25% Margin of Safety Based on Its Valuation

Understanding GF Value

The GF Value represents the current intrinsic value of a stock derived from our exclusive method. The GF Value Line provides an overview of the fair value at which the stock should be traded. It is calculated based on historical multiples that the stock has traded at, an internal adjustment factor based on the company's past business growth, and analyst estimates of future business performance.

The stock of PPG Industries (NYSE:PPG) is estimated to be modestly undervalued according to GuruFocus' valuation method. If the share price is significantly above the GF Value Line, the stock may be overvalued and have poor future returns. Conversely, if the share price is significantly below the GF Value Line, the stock may be undervalued and have higher future returns. At its current price of $133.22 per share, PPG Industries stock is estimated to be modestly undervalued.

Story continues

Because PPG Industries is relatively undervalued, the long-term return of its stock is likely to be higher than its business growth.

Is PPG Industries (PPG) a Hidden Bargain? An In-Depth Look at the 25% Margin of Safety Based on Its Valuation

Link: These companies may deliever higher future returns at reduced risk.

PPG Industries' Financial Strength

It is always important to check the financial strength of a company before buying its stock. Investing in companies with poor financial strength have a higher risk of permanent loss. Looking at the cash-to-debt ratio and interest coverage is a great way to understand the financial strength of a company. PPG Industries has a cash-to-debt ratio of 0.17, which is worse than 82.22% of 1502 companies in the Chemicals industry. The overall financial strength of PPG Industries is 6 out of 10, which indicates that the financial strength of PPG Industries is fair.

Is PPG Industries (PPG) a Hidden Bargain? An In-Depth Look at the 25% Margin of Safety Based on Its Valuation

Profitability and Growth of PPG Industries

Investing in profitable companies carries less risk, especially in companies that have demonstrated consistent profitability over the long term. Typically, a company with high profit margins offers better performance potential than a company with low profit margins. PPG Industries has been profitable 10 years over the past 10 years. During the past 12 months, the company had revenues of $17.90 billion and Earnings Per Share (EPS) of $5.57. Its operating margin of 10.63% is better than 67.65% of 1521 companies in the Chemicals industry. Overall, GuruFocus ranks PPG Industries's profitability as strong.

Growth is one of the most important factors in the valuation of a company. GuruFocus' research has found that growth is closely correlated with the long-term performance of a company's stock. If a company's business is growing, the company usually creates value for its shareholders, especially if the growth is profitable. Likewise, if a company's revenue and earnings are declining, the value of the company will decrease. PPG Industries's 3-year average revenue growth rate is worse than 64.5% of 1448 companies in the Chemicals industry. PPG Industries's 3-year average EBITDA growth rate is -2.9%, which ranks worse than 74.42% of 1337 companies in the Chemicals industry.

ROIC vs WACC Comparison

Another method of determining the profitability of a company is to compare its return on invested capital (ROIC) to the weighted average cost of capital. The ROIC measures how well a company generates cash flow relative to the capital it has invested in its business. The weighted average cost of capital (WACC) is the rate that a company is expected to pay on average to all its security holders to finance its assets. When the ROIC is higher than the WACC, it implies the company is creating value for shareholders. For the past 12 months, PPG Industries's return on invested capital is 9.29, and its cost of capital is 9.8.

Is PPG Industries (PPG) a Hidden Bargain? An In-Depth Look at the 25% Margin of Safety Based on Its Valuation

Conclusion

In conclusion, the stock of PPG Industries (NYSE:PPG) is estimated to be modestly undervalued. The company's financial condition is fair, and its profitability is strong. Its growth ranks worse than 74.42% of 1337 companies in the Chemicals industry. To learn more about PPG Industries stock, you can check out its 30-Year Financials here.

To find out the high quality companies that may deliver above-average returns, please check out GuruFocus High Quality Low Capex Screener.

This article first appeared on GuruFocus.


More than 75,000 workers at Kaiser Permanente launched a strike Wednesday, with a coalition of unions alleging the health care system is engaging in unfair labor practices.

Employees in Virginia and Washington, D.C., walked off the job at 6 a.m. ET while those in California, Colorado, Washington and Oregon began striking at 9 a.m. ET, beginning the largest health care workers strike in U.S. history, the unions say.

Those in mid-Atlantic states will be striking for one day while those in western states will be striking for three days.

MORE: More than 7,000 nurses go on strike across 2 New York City hospitals

The strike includes hundreds of positions, including nurses, emergency department technicians, pharmacists, optometrists, home health aides, medical assistants, dental assistants and more.

The Coalition of Kaiser Permanente Unions, which represents more than 85,000 workers, said Kaiser is experiencing a short-staffing crisis and that unsafe levels of staffing can result in long wait times, patient neglect and missed diagnoses.

Additionally, the Coalition said it's advocating for better medical plans for retirees as well as protections against work that is outsourced and subcontracted.

PHOTO: Kaiser Permanente mental health workers and supporters march outside a Kaiser facility in Sacramento, Calif., Aug. 15, 2022. (Rich Pedroncelli/AP, FILE)

The Coalition and the nonprofit organization have been bargaining since April but were unable to reach an agreement before contracts expired on Sept. 30.

In a statement to ABC News Wednesday morning, Kaiser said bargaining was ongoing and some agreements had been reached.

"Both Kaiser Permanente management and Coalition union representatives are still at the bargaining table, having worked through the night in an effort to reach an agreement," the statement read. "There has been a lot of progress, with agreements reached on several specific proposals late Tuesday."

The statement continued, "We remain committed to reaching a new agreement that continues to provide our employees with market-leading wages, excellent benefits, generous retirement income plans, and valuable professional development opportunities."

By the evening, Kaiser announced that talks hadn't ended with a deal. The company said, though, in a statement that the two sides had reached some "tentative agreements" addressing union members' concerns, including wage increases across the board, an update to the performance-sharing plan, $25 minimum wage in California and $23 outside of the state, enhancing health and retirement benefits, and renewing the company's tuition assistance and training programs.

"We will coordinate with Coalition leaders to reconvene bargaining as soon as possible. We will work hard to reach an agreement so that together, we can all return to delivering on the mission of Kaiser Permanente for the benefit of our members, patients, employees, physicians, customers, and communities," read the company's statement Wednesday evening.

PHOTO: Kaiser Permanente healthcare workers rally outside Kaiser Permanente Los Angeles Medical Center in Los Angeles, Oct. 4, 2023. (Damian Dovarganes/AP)

According to a statement from Caroline Lucas, spokesperson for the Coalition of Kaiser Permanente Unions, no new talks are scheduled.

Frontline healthcare workers are awaiting a meaningful response from Kaiser executives regarding some of our key priorities including safe staffing, outsourcing protections for incumbent healthcare workers, and fair wages to reduce turnover. Healthcare workers within the coalition remain ready to meet at any time. Currently, the strike continues, and there are no sessions scheduled at this hour," her statement read.

Kaiser had said throughout the strike, all of its hospitals and emergency departments will remain open and contract workers have been hired to backfill striking employees.

MORE: Worker strikes are surging. Strains of technology may be to blame in part.

The Kaiser strike comes amid several major labor actions in other sectors of the workforce. The United Auto Workers launched a strike on Sept. 15 against General Motors, Ford and Stellantis after failing to reach a contract agreement with the automakers.

Additionally, the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) is continuing its strike against the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) which began on July 14.

The Writers Guild of America ended its strike against AMPTP last week after almost 150 days, securing better pay and regulations for the use of artificial intelligence in certain projects.

ABC News' Marilyn Heck contributed to this story.

More than 75,000 health care workers begin strike at Kaiser Permanente originally appeared on abcnews.go.com
Months after leaving the White House, former President Donald Trump allegedly discussed potentially sensitive information about U.S. nuclear submarines with a member of his Mar-a-Lago Club -- an Australian billionaire who then allegedly shared the information with scores of others, including more than a dozen foreign officials, several of his own employees, and a handful of journalists, according to sources familiar with the matter.

The potential disclosure was reported to special counsel Jack Smith's team as they investigated Trump's alleged hoarding of classified documents at Mar-a-Lago, the sources told ABC News. The information could shed further light on Trump's handling of sensitive government secrets.

Prosecutors and FBI agents have at least twice this year interviewed the Mar-a-Lago member, Anthony Pratt, who runs U.S.-based Pratt Industries, one of the world's largest packaging companies.

MORE: Trump was warned that FBI could raid Mar-a-Lago months ahead of time, lawyer's notes show

In those interviews, Pratt described how -- looking to make conversation with Trump during a meeting at Mar-a-Lago in April 2021 -- he brought up the American submarine fleet, which the two had discussed before, the sources told ABC News.

According to Pratt's account, as described by the sources, Pratt told Trump he believed Australia should start buying its submarines from the United States, to which an excited Trump -- "leaning" toward Pratt as if to be discreet -- then told Pratt two pieces of information about U.S. submarines: the supposed exact number of nuclear warheads they routinely carry, and exactly how close they supposedly can get to a Russian submarine without being detected.

In emails and conversations after meeting with Trump, Pratt described Trump's remarks to at least 45 others, including six journalists, 11 of his company's employees, 10 Australian officials, and three former Australian prime ministers, the sources told ABC News.

While Pratt told investigators he couldnt tell if what Trump said about U.S. submarines was real or just bluster, investigators nevertheless asked Pratt not to repeat the numbers that Trump allegedly told him, suggesting the information could be too sensitive to relay further, ABC News was told.

It's unclear if the information was accurate, but the episode was investigated by Smith's team.

PHOTO: Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump speaks to guests during a campaign stop at Drake Enterprises, an automotive parts manufacturer, on Sept. 27, 2023, in Clinton Township, Michigan. (Scott Olson/Getty Images)

Sources said another witness, one of Trump's former employees at Mar-a-Lago, told investigators that, within minutes of Pratt's meeting with Trump, he heard Pratt relaying to someone else some of what Trump had just said.

According to the sources, the former Mar-a-Lago employee also told investigators he was "bothered" and "shocked" to hear that the former president had provided such seemingly sensitive information to a non-U.S. citizen.

Pratt told investigators Trump didn't show him any government documents during their April 2021 meeting, nor at any other time they crossed paths at Mar-a-Lago, sources said.

According to the sources, Pratt insisted to investigators that he told others about his meeting with Trump to show them how he was advocating for Australia with the United States. Some of the Australian officials that sources said he told were, as reflected in news reports at the time, involved in then-ongoing negotiations with the Biden administration over a deal for Australia to purchase a number of nuclear-powered attack submarines from the United States.

The deal was ultimately secured earlier this year, with Australia agreeing to purchase at least three Virginia-class nuclear-powered submarines, though President Joe Biden has said that none of the submarines sold to Australia will be armed with nuclear weapons.

MORE: Recent obstruction charges against Trump, others followed cooperation from Mar-a-Lago IT worker: Sources

Special counsel Smith did not include any information about Trump's alleged April 2021 conversation with Pratt in his June indictment against Trump, which charged the former president with 40 counts of unlawful retention of national defense information and obstruction-related offenses.

Last year, while needling the Biden administration for what he said was a weak response to Russia's war on Ukraine, Trump said that if he were still president, he would make sure Russia understood that the United States is "a greater nuclear power" with "the greatest submarines in the world."

"[They are] the most powerful machines ever built, and nobody knows where they are," Trump said on the Fox Business network.

Shortly after Trump became president in 2017, Pratt joined Mar-a-Lago as a member and publicly pledged to invest another $2 billion in American manufacturing jobs.

Over the next few years, Pratt visited Mar-a-Lago about 10 times, interacting with Trump on several occasions, once even having dinner with Trump and a U.S. senator at another Trump-owned property nearby, Pratt told investigators, according to sources. Pratt also visited the White House in 2018, when Trump was meeting with Australia's then-prime minister, according to online records.

MORE: Timeline: Special counsel's investigation into Trump's handling of classified documents

In 2019, speaking at the opening of a Pratt Industries plant in Wapakoneta, Ohio, Trump called Pratt a "friend" and praised him for funding the plant.

"We're here to celebrate a great opening and a great gentleman," Trump said. "Anthony is one of the most successful men in the world -- perhaps Australia's most successful man."

Standing beside Trump, Pratt then said he "would not have invested in this plant if it wasn't for President Trump's election, [which] has given us an incredible faith in investing in America."

But in recent months, according to sources, Pratt told investigators that he now supports the current U.S. government, describing himself as someone who tends to just "side with the king."

Representatives for Pratt did not respond to messages seeking comment from ABC News.

A Trump spokesperson said that what ABC News was told -- through what the spokesperson called "leaks" -- lacks "proper context and relevant information."

"President Trump did nothing wrong, has always insisted on truth and transparency, and acted in a proper manner, according to the law," the spokesperson said.

Trump allegedly discussed US nuclear subs with foreign national after leaving White House: Sources originally appeared on abcnews.go.com
Brazil is an incredible destination with so much to see and do. Its the worlds fifth largest country and it adds extra flair to the rich history and cultural importance of South America.

Everyone knows Brazil is famous for its amazing Carnival festivities. However, the country has much more to offer to visiting travelers that will make them fall in love with its landscape. Here are seven cultural experiences to have before leaving Brazil.

Cruise The Negro River

Photo credit: Oleksandr P

Flowing through the Amazon Jungle, the Rio Negro is the largest blackwater river in the world. Travelers can explore the beautiful river and the wild terrain that surrounds it through elaborate river cruises. There are plenty of winding creeks to be explored by canals, jungle ground to hike through, and freshwater archipelagos. Theres even a 4-day river cruise for travelers who want to spend extended time sailing the Rio Negro.

Ball Out In Sao Paulo

Not only is Sao Paulo Brazils financial capital, but its also where the ballers ball. The city is the countrys nightlife hub and every night is a party. Sao Paulo has over 32 boroughs full of nightlife adventure. For more swankier spots, head over to the Jardin neighborhood. For those looking for samba dance joints and craft beer joints, Vila Madalena and Pinheros are the places to be. The glamorous live and breathe in the charming clubs in Itaim Bibi and Vila Olimpia. Travelers will never run out of nightlife to explore in Sao Paulo.

Eat Fresh Acai

Travelers havent truly experienced acai berries until theyve eaten them in Brazil. The fruit is native to the Amazon Forest. Today, it is grown in the northern state of Para. Locals eat it as a side dish for meals, frozen treats, and a dessert topping. Different cultures throughout the country use the fruit in different ways. However, a trip to Brazil wouldnt be complete without a taste of acai.

Tour Rio de Janeiro

Some consider Rio de Janeiro to be the cultural capital of Brazil. The city is overflowing with unique architecture, literary centers, cultural institutions, and music. Brazilian culture and history come alive in Rio de Janeiro. This is a great destination to experience the traditional tourist attractions in Brazil. The countrys contemporary art museum, Christ The Redeemer statue, and the Selaron Steps are all in Rio.

Check Out The Art In Escadaria Selaron

Photo credit: Bruno Scramgnon

In Rios Lapa neighborhood, travelers can experience some of the countrys amazing art and creativity. The area is bohemian and vibrant. There are about 100 colorful decorative steps, known as the Selaron Steps. The steps were originally renovated by artist Jorge Selaron by adding colorful tiles. Over time, visitors began adding their own tiles, creating one of Brazils most beloved creative hotspots.

Hike Through Diamantina National Park

Diamantina National Park is considered one of the most beautiful national parks in Brazil. Adventurous travelers venture here every year. Many seek out the plentiful caves, mountain ranges, and trails to explore while others just take in the views.

Travelers dont need a guide to explore the park. However, there are tours that are available for those who want a professional explorer along on their journey.

Dance The Night Away At A Samba Class

Samba is the traditional dance of Brazil. Before leaving the South American country, travelers have to experience the style of dance in its homeland. The Lapa neighborhood in Rio de Janeiro is a great place to take a samba class or just catch locals dancing the night away to live music.
In 2010, Julie Henderson traveled 24 hours to reach a somewhat remote location in the Atacama Desert, Chile, for her fourth consecutive appearance in the annual SI Swimsuit Issue.

The seven-time SI Swimsuit model posed for photographer Raphael Mazzucco among amazing landscapes, she said of the location. While she seemed to enjoy it all, one of her favorite parts was definitely a stop at a salt lake in the desert. There were some really beautiful pictures [taken] there, she explained.

But the series of unique photoshoot locations didnt end there. The team traveled together to an altitude of 15,000 feet to take a series of photos next to Chilean volcanoes. I dont know how its going to be. They tell us its going to be kinda cold, kinda windy. But here we goswimsuit survivor, she joked.

Though it was a bit of a daunting experience, Henderson was up for the challenge. The location made for some incredible photos of the model running along a desert road in a butterfly patterned string bikini, shawl and boots.

We would be hard-pressed to choose our favorite photos from the unique South American trip. But below are nine of the adventurous snaps depicting Hendersons natural beautyand that of Chile, too.

Raphael Mazzucco/Sports Illustrated

Raphael Mazzucco/Sports Illustrated

Raphael Mazzucco/Sports Illustrated

Raphael Mazzucco/Sports Illustrated

Raphael Mazzucco/Sports Illustrated

Raphael Mazzucco/Sports Illustrated

Raphael Mazzucco/Sports Illustrated

Raphael Mazzucco/Sports Illustrated

Raphael Mazzucco/Sports Illustrated

Now through Nov. 1, 100% of SI Swimsuits portion of proceeds from cover prints purchased here will be donated to the Maui Strong Fund, which is helping to support the people and places of Maui affected by the recent wildfires.

Shop Now and Make a Difference
Since its inception in 1987, Chinas Advance Denim has sought out new and innovative ways to increase its sustainable initiativesfrom conserving water usage to incorporating the latest sustainable fibers into its designs.

Here, Mark Ix, director of North American marketing at Advance Denim, discusses the denim mills latest innovations and exclusive collection.

More from Sourcing Journal

Rivet: Advance Denim recently released an exclusive collection of denim bags. How did you choose your partner for this category expansion?

Mark Ix: Advance Denim wanted to create a collection of bags for true denim lovers that show the many capabilities of our mill. So, the first step was to find a designer that is the living embodiment of the denim business, which is why we collaborated with the founder of premium denim brand AG Jeans, Adriano Goldschmied, also known as [the] Godfather of Denim.

For the collection, Goldschmied incorporated sustainable laser techniques and creative styling which produced a unique accessory for all denim lovers. Additionally, the collection is a unique blend of our proprietary denim manufacturing techniques and innovative laser processes, and his creativity.

Tell us about Advance Denims latest innovation, Air Lock.

M.I.: Air Lock is a patented three-layer construction with an outer layer of laser-friendly indigo modal and an inner layer of ultra-soft Tencel, all sandwiched around a core layer of air that creates a soft, stretchable performance denim. Additionally, Air Lock incorporates the latest sustainable fibers like Good Earths regenerative cotton, a climate-positive cotton created through modern regenerative farming practices proven to minimize the global environmental footprint of cotton farming. It is the perfect intersection of softness and sustainability. Lastly, this groundbreaking innovation was honored as the best product at the Spring/Summer 25 ISPO Textrends competition.

How is Advance Denim elevating its dyeing process?

M.I.: Advance Denims general manager, Amy Wang, is constantly working toward innovating the indigo dyeing process to be the cleanest, most sustainable dye process possiblewithout sacrificing the traditional yarn-dyed indigo look and wash down.

For example, our selvedge styles are created slowly on vintage shuttle loomsa vintage weaving machine used before modern projectile looms were inventedthat celebrate the history of denim.

Wang believes it is important to make real permanent changes to the manufacturing process while keeping the beauty of indigo dyeing. That said, Advance Denim will continue to innovate its manufacturing process as well as partner with key fiber suppliers in 2024 to improve sustainability and circularity.

What are the two sustainability perspectives Advance Denim looks at when tackling new innovations?

M.I.: Advance Denim takes a two-tiered approach to sustainable innovation. The first is to look inward at our manufacturing process and ensure we have the most sustainable technology. This focus created cutting-edge technologies, including BigBox Denim and BioBlue indigo which dye indigo in one big box, saving up to 94 percent of the water needed in traditional dyeing. Additionally, it puts the indigo into reduction without using toxic sodium hydrosulfite. These innovations not only create cleaner, more sustainable denim, but literally change the manufacturing process without sacrificing the true indigo-dyed look.

The second approach to sustainability is to partner with the most innovative fiber suppliers so we have the most sustainable ingredients in our denim. Good Earths regenerative cotton and carbon zero Tencelfibers created with Refibras technology in 2021 to address circular economy solutionsare examples of fibers that help Advance Denim lead with sustainability.

Learn more about Advance Denim Limited here.

Click here to read the full article.
Somali national army soldiers stand in formation during a logistics course graduation ceremony in Mogadishu in 2018. Soldiers from Somalis advanced infantry DANAB battalion spent 14 weeks training with the U.S. 10th Mountain division. Photo by MC2 Evan Parker/U.S. Army

Oct. 5 (UPI) -- Thirty years after the infamous Battle of Mogadishu, the U.S. military is still conducting operations in Somalia.

Popularized in the United States by the 2001 film Black Hawk Down, the Battle of Mogadishu occurred on Oct. 3, 1993, and saw the downing of two U.S. helicopters and the deaths of 18 American soldiers. Some of their bodies were dragged along city streets by Somali militants.

The battle was considered one of the worst fiascoes in U.S. military history.

Since then, the United States has waged economic and military warfare in Somalia to first eliminate the Union of Islamic Courts, a grass-roots legal and political group, and most recently to attack the militant group al-Shabaab. There have been at least 282 U.S. counterterrorism operations in Somalia, including drone strikes and other aerial bombardments.

But its my belief as a scholar of contemporary U.S.-Somali relations that the U.S. efforts to develop political stability and eliminate terrorism has achieved the very opposite and not brought an end to political violence in the war-torn country.

In fact, al-Shabaab is still waging one of the largest and deadliest insurgencies in the world.

To meet the latest threat, President Joe Biden has increased military assaults in Somalia that target al-Shabaab insurgents, conducting dozens of airstrikes in 2023. In May 2022, Biden also agreed to send about 500 U.S. troops to Somalia.

In addition, the United States also sends advisers to train Somali security forces and maintains an active presence in neighboring Djibouti at the Camp Lemonnier base.

But the question remains: Why are U.S. forces still intervening in Somalia?

Cost of U.S. involvement

Between 2007 and 2020, the United States spent at least $2.5 billion on counterterrorism operations in Somalia, according to Costs of War, a 2023 Brown University study. This amount was largely spent by the U.S. Department of State and does not include the unknown expenditures of the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency and U.S. Defense Department.

For comparison, between 2001 and 2022 the United States spent about $2.3 trillion, or nearly 1,000 times more, on "counterterrorism" wars in Afghanistan.

The United States spends time and money training the Somali National Army, assisting in surveillance and drone strike operations. Many of their activities are not publicly traceable. According to one U.S. congressional staffer who wished to remain anonymous, "even the U.S. government's own officials do not know the total amount that has, and continues to be, spent on counterterrorism in Somalia."

Understanding the crisis

Located in East Africa on the coast of the Indian Ocean, Somalia is one of the poorest countries in the world.

Decades of civil war coupled with extreme droughts have caused the roughly 17 million people to exist in dire living conditions.

In 2022, about 43,000 people died from drought, while more than 1 million have been displaced just in 2023 by drought, famine and ongoing violent attacks. The nexus of climate chaos and political violence poses significant challenges for the Somali government. And yet, the counterterrorism and climate policies enacted by the Somali government continually exacerbate these problems.

In 2005, under the Bush administration, the CIA backed an unpopular and violent attempt to overthrow the Union of Islamic Courts. The group comprised about a dozen local Islamic courts in southern Somalia that solved social disputes, reopened schools and ended roadblocks erected by violent warlords.

The Union of Islamic Courts was generally popular among the Somali people living within their jurisdiction and seen by many residents as a welcomed alternative to the prior decade of civil war that decimated the region.

Global war on terrorism

In the post-9/11 era, U.S. government officials were wary of an Islamic government coming to power in Somalia and were fearful of the Union of Islamic Courts. When the CIA's effort failed to topple the group, the U.S. government then backed an Ethiopian military invasion of Somalia in late 2006.

During this brutal two-year invasion, many members of the Union of Islamic Courts were killed or chased out of Mogadishu, and a small group of youth began a recruitment campaign using the slogan "al-Shabaab," or "the youth" in Arabic.

In my view, this U.S.-supported Ethiopian invasion was largely responsible for creating the conditions of political uncertainty and violence that prevail today.

Al-Shabaab portrayed the U.S.-backed Ethiopian invasion in religious and nationalist terms and painted the United States and Ethiopia as Christian invaders of a Muslim country.

After two years of war, Ethiopia withdrew its troops, claiming their mission to rid the extremist threat was accomplished.

This assertion proved to be false, as al-Shabaab insurgents recaptured nearly all territory lost by the UIC.

Time for U.S. reckoning?

The economic harm and social devastation caused by the U.S. government is extensive, and there is little reason to believe the U.S. approach to Somalia will change in the near future.

On Sept. 6, for instance, the U.S. military reportedly provided "remote assistance" to an aerial strike operation conducted by the Somali government that killed five civilians.

Besides devastating the families left behind in the wake of violence, the lack of transparency and accountability has created an enduring tragedy for the Somali victims of the United States' covert activities.

The U.S. role in Somalia does not absolve al-Shabaab of its crimes, as the militant group continues to recruit from socially and economically disenfranchised communities in Somalia. Among those crimes are bombings of civilian targets throughout Africa and the Middle East, resulting in hundreds of deaths.

But in my view, a demand for reparations from the Somali government before an international tribunal may force a U.S. reckoning on its global war against terrorism that nevertheless still rages on in Somalia.

The Conversation

Jason C. Mueller is an assistant professor of sociology at Kennesaw State University.

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

The views and opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of the author.
In a heartwarming ceremony, Donna Carpenter, the co-founder of Burton Snowboards, unveiled a historic marker in Londonderry, Vermont, commemorating the birthplace of the iconic snowboarding company. The event, which took place on October 3rd, marked the 45th anniversary of Burton Snowboards, a brand that has revolutionized the world of winter sports.

Donna Carpenter, sharing her excitement and gratitude on Instagram, said, "Today I helped unveil an official historical marker commemorating the birthplace of Burton Snowboards 45 years ago. Thank you to all the people in the special, close-knit, and resilient community of Londonderry, Vermont, for making this happen. And thank you to everyone who believed in us and believed there was a sport there when most of the world didn't. A testament to dreaming big and never, ever giving up. Thanks, Jake. We love and miss you!"

The sign Reads:

The birthplace of Burton snowboards. In 1977, Jake Burton carpenter, and a small team of Londonderry residence created the first Burton snowboards in a small shop, just down the road on Main Street. From its humble beginnings in Londonderry snowboarding grew from a backyard hobby to one of the most popular winter sports. Today Vermont remains the home of Burton snowboards and many of Snowboardings historical milestones, such as the acceptance at ski areas and becoming a winter Olympic sport .

The unveiling ceremony was attended by local residents, members of the snowboarding community, and admirers of Burton Snowboards, who gathered to honor the company's remarkable journey. The historical marker, prominently displayed in Londonderry, serves as a tribute to the vision and determination of Jake Burton Carpenter, who founded the company in a small Vermont barn in 1977.

Jake Burton Carpenter, who sadly passed away in 2019, played a pivotal role in shaping the snowboarding industry and popularizing the sport worldwide. Under his leadership, Burton Snowboards became synonymous with innovation, quality, and a passion for snowboarding.

The marker highlights the significance of Londonderry, Vermont, as the birthplace of Burton Snowboards and its role in nurturing a sport that has evolved into a global phenomenon. Londonderry's picturesque landscapes and close-knit community provided the ideal backdrop for the company's early years, fostering an environment of creativity and experimentation.

Donna Carpenter's dedication to preserving the legacy of Burton Snowboards and honoring Jake Burton Carpenter's memory was evident in her heartfelt Instagram post and her presence at the marker's unveiling. Her commitment to carrying forward the company's legacy and passion for snowboarding continues to inspire the snowboarding community and fans around the world.

The historical marker stands as a symbol of the enduring impact of Burton Snowboards and the remarkable journey from a small Vermont barn to becoming a global leader in snowboarding. It serves as a reminder of the values of perseverance, innovation, and community that have been at the heart of Burton Snowboards' success for 45 years and counting.
Weve officially passed the date that Congress was supposed to do something to figure out how to replace funding for over 3 million kids predicted to be without care starting in October, thanks to the end of pandemic-era funding.

Dubbed the childcare cliff, educators, parents, and businesses seem to be sort of looking around, waiting to see what happens next. But businesses are in a unique position, in that they dont have to wait and see, and they might be the broken systems only hope in the midst of a Congress failing to act fast enough to protect families who rely on childcare.

Some businesses are stepping up, from Pittsburgh International Airport recently announcing a childcare facility for employees, to organizations supporting businesses in trying to create best practices and policies.

Businesses are well-positioned and have a proven track record of innovating solutions for their workforce, including working parents, says Sadie Funk, National Director, Best Place for Working Parents, Fort Worth Texas, and a mother of 2 kids under 3 years old. Across the national network of Best Place for Working Parents businesses, we are seeing businesses take inventory of their employees child care needs and respond with a variety of supports.

She adds that these include Dependent Care FSAs (which can save businesses $382.50/employee on average, she says), onsite care, and flexible schedules. Business leaders understand that listening to their employees needs and being part of the solution, not only makes for happier employees that stick around, but increases business success. She points to data proving just that.

In fact, 70% of credentialed women who left the workforce would have stayed for more flexibility, and 83% of millennials would leave their current job for another that offers stronger family-friendly benefits, she says.

Her role isnt about waiting for Congress. By addressing the child care crisis through the private sector, families everywhere can receive the support they need during this challenging time.

For some businesses, a survey and audit of their employees needs is long overdue. To support families that will be impacted by the closures, its important for companies touncover their specific needs and inform their company benefit strategies, says Mandy Price, co-founder and CEO of Kanarys technology company focused on providing the tools organizations need to create long-term systemic change around diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging (DEIB) challenges. She explains that workers who will be most affected by the childcare cliff are families in rural communities, low-income families, and women and families of color.

So, she calls on businesses to build more on-site childcare centers, subsidize childcare for families needing it, and design flexible caregiving benefits. Mothers careers are on the lineaccording to Motherlys 2023 State of Motherhood survey, 52% of working moms said the cost of childcare has made them consider leaving the workforce.

Business leaders have both an opportunity and responsibilitymorally, yes, but also its just profitable!  to realize that childcare holds up our economy. My corporate clientswho, granted, represent a subset of businesses who want to work with someone like meare all over this moment, improving their benefits, doing management training, walking the walk, says Lauren Smith Brody, the author and founder of The Fifth Trimester, and Co-Founder of the Chamber of Mothers. She calls it a both/and moment: We need both private-and public-sector progress. Her two roles allow her to make strides in both of those areas.

She has some advice for businesses: This is the moment to crunch the numbers and realize that offering employees subsidized and backup childcare will immediately improve retention and recruiting (both of which have clear ROI), and it will make for happier, more productive, more diverse, and more values-aligned teams of workers.

Business leaders can take note, and parents can encourage their employers to step up, by pointing out examples of those already implementing out-of-the-box solutions 

Parents who are on the job hunt for a better work/life/childcare balance can also prioritize companies who prioritize them first by helping with childcare.

Last month, we saw womens workforce participation exceed pre-pandemic levels. Unfortunately, this progress is now threatened by the impending closure of childcare programs across the country. The facilities that manage to stay afloat may be forced to reduce staff, shorten operating hours, or raise tuition fees, Price adds. This would push women to work fewer hours, switch to less demanding roles, or even exit the labor force altogether.
A new website launched by the Center for Indigenous Health at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health aims to guide tribes in spending funds from the tribal opioid litigation settlements.

Various settlements between manufacturers and distributors of opioids and hundreds of federally recognized tribes total $1.5 billion. The funds will be allocated to tribal communities over the next 15 years.

Andrea Medley (Dadens Yahgu laanas Raven Clan, Haida Nation), a research associate at the Center, told Native News Online that as announcements about the settlements were made, she and her colleagues noted that there existed guiding principles for states (opioid settlements to state and local governments total $50 billion so far), but not for tribal communities.

The team at the Center for Indigenous Health posed the question to their networks: Can we work with what has already been created, or do we need to create principles specific to tribes?

Medley said the answer was clear.

We needed to create specific principles for tribes, Medley told Native News Online. We needed to look at the unique challenges and strengths of tribes.

Working in collaboration with an Indigenous Advisory Council consisting of Indigenous and allied researchers, tribal leaders, service providers, and tribal community members, the Center drafted five principles for tribes spending opioid settlement funds.

Those principles include:

Support cultural and traditional healing in your community

Invest in reciprocal learning and partnerships across tribes

Healing support for families; invest in parent, caregiver, and elder resources

Sustain and enhance substance use services for youth

Create opportunities for holistic well-being

More than 103,000 Americans died in opioid-related incidents in 2022, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Thats up more than 200% since 2000, according to CDC data. As overdoses soar throughout the country, driven by the opioid crisis and the proliferation of synthetic opioid fentanyl, Native American communities are among the hardest hit.

While Americans of all races and ethnicities have been affected, the proliferation of opioid deaths has disproportionately affected Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) communities. In 2020, Native Americans opioid mortality increased 39% over the prior year  the second-highest rate of increase behind African Americans, according to the CDC.

As tribes across Indian Country contend with the opioid crisis and overdose crisis, many are embracing culturally-centered harm reduction  practice and public health policies aimed at reducing the negative outcomes of drug use, like overdoses, infectious disease, and death  to save lives in their communities.

The Tribal Principles, created through discussions and listening sessions, reflect that.

What has been working [in tribal communities] are programs that get the whole community involved, programs that include people who are actively using substances and meet their needs, you know, not just working with people in recovery, Medley said.

In February of 2022, hundreds of federally recognized tribes reached a settlement of $590 million with the nations largest makers and distributors of opioids, including pharmaceutical giant Johnson & Johnson. Most recently, in August, grocer Kroger Co. agreed to pay tribes in areas where it operates $34 million.

Those settlements were preceded in 2021 by a $75 million payout awarded to the Cherokee Nation from three of the nations largest drug distributors: AmerisourceBergen, Cardinal Health and McKesson.

Cherokee Nationss investment of the opioid payout funds has been covered in the media. Among the tribes multipronged opioid response strategy is an $18 million behavioral health facility, set to break ground later this year; a $5 million endowment to encourage Cherokee Nation citizens to enter the behavioral health field and work in the tribes behavioral health sector; and $10 million for harm reduction and innovative addiction recovery programs. The investments, Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin said, are representative of a long-term, holistic approach that centers Cherokee-led solutions.

We want to make investments that meet people where they are, Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin told Native News Online. And where they are is on a spectrum of dealing with this crisis. Some are active users, so we invest in harm reduction to keep the community as healthy as possible and open up potential paths to healing. There are also many seeking treatment, and that is where he had a particular gap that we are addressing by investing in drug treatment centers that we will operate, as opposed to sending people to other facilities beyond our control where we cant shape the healing that happens.

A representative from the Cherokee Nation is on the Tribal Principles Indigenous Advisory Committee.

Medley said that as the Center engaged in listening sessions and solicited input from tribal community members and experts in shaping the principles, an important thread emerged.

The emphasis on culture across every conversation proved how important it is that we are having this conversation as Indigenous people, amongst ourselves, Medley said. Seeing how important culture is in our lives as Indigenous people was really powerful and is emphasized in the tribal principles.

Click here to view the Tribal Principles.







About the Author: "Elyse Wild is senior editor for Native News Online and Tribal Business News. "

Contact: ewild@indiancountrymedia.com
If you dont know your companys financial status, it is difficult to make decisions for the betterment of the company. This is where Cobre comes in.

The Colombia-based startup developed a corporate treasury platform to give chief financial officers more visibility and control over their companys financial transactions, specifically, to centralize, digitize and automate their payment processes.

Cobres is a two-pronged approach: First is the enterprise software that centralizes payment initiation and reconciliation for finance teams across the region. Second is the payment rails  built by the company itself  that allow for PIX-like instant payments and real-time data. All of that is accessible via API and compatible with any bank in Colombia, Jose Vicente Gedeon told TechCrunch via email.

[Building our own payment rails] is a long-game approach that takes time but delivers the best, most direct and most customizable experience for clients, Gedeon said. It has allowed us to act as a universal translator for each bank, ERP (enterprise resource planning) and company. That way, we can skip the unnecessary intermediation that is typical of payments and truly open the financial systems for our clients.

Company growth

Gedeon started the company with his cousin, Felipe Gedeon, Jose Donato and Alberto Chejne in 2020. The team comes from various backgrounds, with Jose beginning at McKinsey before going over to hospitality company Oyo. Felipe also worked in hospitality, leading growth strategy for Selina. Meanwhile, Donato worked in software development roles at Banco de Bogota and Modyo, while Chejne held a role in enterprise software and client success at SAP.

Three years later, Cobre is helping hundreds of CFOs, primarily in financial services and large enterprises, across Colombia streamline their operations.

Cobres plan from the beginning was to start with large corporations, with the idea that those clients would be able to afford the infrastructure the company has to build, Gedeon said. Now it is slowly expanding its customer base through networks to serve the medium-sized companies that their clients pay and get payments from through Cobre.

This translated to a track record of high-ticket B2B subscriptions in a region that has been slow to adopt SaaS, as well as low customer acquisition costs, Gedeon said.

The concept has caught on: The company yielded 600% year over year revenue growth and high seven-digit annual recurring revenue, Gedeon said.

In addition, the company saw 30x growth in total payment volume over the past 12 months, surpassing $1 billion in annual TPV.

They were even close to profitability earlier this year, Jose Vicente Gedeon told Forbes in January. He updated that to TechCrunch, saying that Cobre was indeed on track to reach profitability by the first quarter of 2024, but decided instead to take another round of funding.

Market impact

Cobre previously raised $14 million in Series A capital in February 2022, which was led by QED Investors and Atlantico Partners. Canary also participated.

QED, Atlantico and Canary are all back participating in a new $13 million investment, this time led by Kaszek. The round closed in August and gives Cobre over $30 million in total funding to date.

Meanwhile, Jose Vicente Gedeon intends to deploy the new capital in a few different directions. As mentioned earlier, it initially went after big companies with high-volume payments operations. Now it plans to evolve its product so that it can be adopted by smaller businesses in the region. Cobre will also enter Mexico in 2024.

We had a very strong first half of the year where we really solidified product-market fit and dramatically improved the health of our unit economics, Jose Vicente Gedeon said. With those results in hand it seemed like the right moment to try to expand into new customer segments and geographies. Kaszek provided a chance to take advantage of those opportunities, and we believe that with them onboard, we can really make an impact on the market.
Round co-led by 8090 Industries and Founders Fund with participation from Japan Airlines Innovation Fund, Point 72 Ventures

REGENT Seaglider

REGENT will test its full-scale seaglider prototype with humans aboard next year.

REGENT Seaglider

REGENT will test its full-scale seaglider prototype with humans aboard next year.

North Kingstown, R.I., Oct. 05, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- REGENT Craft, the Rhode Island-based manufacturer of all-electric seagliders, announced today it has raised $60 million in Series A funding co-led by 8090 Industries and Founders Fund. The round includes previously announced strategic investments by Japan Airlines Innovation Fund, Lockheed Martin, and Yamato Holdings, and is joined by Point72 Ventures, Caffeinated Capital, Mark Cuban, UAEs Strategic Development Fund, Future Planet Capital and others, bringing the companys total funding to date to $90 million. The new funding fully capitalizes REGENTs full-scale prototype build and test program with crewed flight in 2024, and keeps the company on track to certify, manufacture, and deliver its seagliders to customers by mid-decade.

Seagliders are a new mode of transportation that enables fast, affordable, zero-emission travel along coastal routes. Coupling advanced technologies from hydro-foiling watercraft and electric aviation, seagliders operate like a boat at docks and in harbors, take off from wave-tolerant hydrofoils, and fly within one wingspan of the surface over open water. They reach cruise speeds up to 180 mph while traveling up to 180 miles on a single charge.

REGENT demonstrated this unique float, foil, fly mission with a subscale prototype in 2022, marking the first time a vehicle has successfully combined the wave tolerance of a foil with the speed of a wing. The companys next major milestone will be to achieve crewed flight with its full-scale prototype, which it plans to do next year.

There are extraordinarily few companies today with battery powered vehicles that can fly human crew, and REGENT is about to join those ranks, said Billy Thalheimer, co-founder and CEO of REGENT. Seagliders will be the first electric flying machine to be economically viable, and Im willing to bet, the first one that the majority of the world will take a ride in.

Story continues

Thalheimer adds: 8090 Industries is the perfect investor to lead this round, bringing a deep bench of industrial titans focused on sustainability, aerospace, and defense that will support scaling REGENTs global footprint. We're also thrilled to have the continued support of Founders Fund, whose vision for a new era of American industrialism couldnt be a better fit for our goal to revolutionize regional travel. The validation from such incredible strategic partners across the commercial and defense sectors underscores the urgent need for a high-speed, low-cost, sustainable mobility solution.

"REGENT has both a category defining technology and a strong business model that will solidify their position as a leader in sustainable transportation this decade, said Kerem Ozmen, co-founder and CEO of 8090 Industries. Our two investment pillars are sustainability and aerospace and defense, and REGENT falls perfectly in the intersection. With about a quarter of the planets CO2 emissions coming from transportation, and with the sector growing faster than any other, the time to act with new technologies is now. REGENT will be one of, if not the first manufacturer in the advanced air mobility vertical to complete certification and bring their product to market.

REGENT is a once-in-a-generation company with the power to truly transform an entire sector, said Delian Asparouhov, partner at Founders Fund. Their faster, cheaper, and cleaner solution for regional mobility is the first radical advance in transportation in decades. REGENT is a textbook example of the type of ambitious technologies we need to grow the U.S. industrial base and today were doubling down on our commitment to their vision.

Seagliders are purpose built to serve coastal communities, a large but under-addressed market segment that the company estimates to be worth $25 billion by 2030. REGENTs flagship seaglider, Viceroy, will carry 12 passengers up to 180 miles with existing battery technology, while its vision product, Monarch, will carry 100 passengers on routes up to 500 miles.

REGENT has secured a commercial order book for over 500 seagliders representing more than $8 billion from global airline and ferry customers including Mesa Airlines, Brittany Ferries, and FRS, showing the multi-sector excitement for the sustainable mobility product. The company recently announced that Southern Airways will take delivery of the first production Viceroy, which will operate under their Mokulele Airlines brand. In addition to passenger travel, seagliders support multiple mission sets such as cargo transport, search and rescue, offshore logistics, and defense applications, which further expand the companys customer base and market opportunities.

REGENT expects the Viceroy seaglider to enter into service by mid-decade, following a certification pathway supported by the U.S. Coast Guard and other global maritime authorities, with Monarch entry into service by the end of the decade.

About REGENT

REGENT is leading the way in sustainable maritime transportation. Using cutting-edge technology and innovative design, REGENT has created a new category of vehicle that is fast, efficient, and emission-free. REGENTs seagliders combine the speed of an airplane with the maneuverability of a boat and travel exclusively over water using existing dock infrastructure. Seagliders can be seamlessly integrated into any fleet and REGENT has already obtained $8 billion in orders from major airlines and leading ferry operators on six continents. For more information, please visit regentcraft.com.

Attachments

CONTACT: Lauren Rugani REGENT press@regentcraft.com




The tale of the Delaware "demon," recently featured in an installation of our new "Do You Remember?" feature, has an even deeper history in the First State than we thought.

From 1984 to 2004, a towering statue of a fertility god from a 1950s Hollywood movie, that to some resembled a demon, sat off Route 13 across the Smyrna Rest Area. It served as a roadside attraction and helped promote a local travel agency.

When the business moved, the statue stayed in its spot until it was bought by a New Jersey man who transported it to Lumberton, New Jersey. It's no longer there but might now have a home in a backyard in Southampton, New Jersey, which is in the Pine Barrens.

The "demon" of Smyrna statue had a home at Piane Grill in Wilmington, according to this 1970 News Journal article. The Hollywood prop was in several locations in Delaware before moving to New Jersey in 2004.

The pagan god statue, which has four horns on its head, red glowing eyes and held a headless serpent in one hand, served as a prop in Tarzan movies, had a role in 1955's "The Prodigal" with Lana Turner, and later was used in 1961's science fiction flick "Atlantis, the Lost Continent."

It was believed the statue first came to Newark in the early 1970s and sat off Ogletown Road and often was loaned to use for parties, parades, and other events.

But we just uncovered a Dec. 29, 1970, News Journal photo and clipping from our archives that shows that the statue actually first came to Wilmington.

Various news stories over the years have put the height of the statue at about 11 feet, but the 1970 News Journal clipping said that the Hollywood prop, which was then called "a mythical monster," was 20 feet tall.

A demon pagan statue that was a movie prop from the 1955 biblical epic "The Prodigal" was once a Delaware landmark and sat near the Smyrna Rest Area from 1984 to 2004. It was sold and moved to owner Denney Van Istendal's yard on Route 541 in Lumberton, New Jersey, where it caused some questions in the community. It was moved again in later years.

The movie prop was purchased in the spring of 1970 from an MGM studio auction in Hollywood, according to News Journal archives, and then given on Christmas Eve to Robert Piane, a longtime Wilmington restaurateur and caterer. Piane found the statue in front of his home on Sylvanus Drive in Rockwood Hills, a neighborhood in north Wilmington.

The pagan statue at that time was intact and one of its hands still grasped a serpent. The serpent's head was later broken off and stolen when it moved to Newark.

For a time, the statue was parked at Piane's restaurant Piane Grill, which once was located in downtown Wilmington at 913 N. Market St. Having a giant statue in a restaurant isn't that usual. Buddakan in Philadelphia has long been known for the eye-catching 10-foot gold Buddha statue in its dining room.

Piane, who had prepared meals for many visiting politicians through the years in Delaware including Richard Nixon, Lyndon Johnson, John F. Kennedy, and Walter Mondale, later changed the name of the restaurant to La Dolce Vita.

The statue was gone from the site when it closed in 1977.

Piane, president of the Delaware Restaurant Association from 1969 to 1970, died in 2018.

"Do you remember?" is an occasional News Journal/Delaware Online feature that looks at the history behind long-gone Delaware buildings, objects, businesses, and places.

Contact Patricia Talorico at ptalorico@delawareonline.com or 302-324-2861 and follow her on X (Twitter) @pattytalorico Sign up for her Delaware Eats newsletter.

Do you remember this statue? His eyes glowed red, he wore a skirt & seduced Lana Turner. Remembering Smyrna's 'demon'

A truly Dela-weird attraction: Do you remember the William Penn Diner at Hares Corner?

Hiking through history: Walk this way: 6 places to hike, soak up history, see autumn leaves and maybe a few ghosts

This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: Hollywood 'demon' statue's first home in Delaware was restaurant
An elderly couple in France has accused an antiques dealer of cheating them out of a seven-figure payout after learning that the African mask they sold him made 4.2 million ($4.4 million) at auction. According to Le Monde, which first reported the news, the unnamed couple has launched a lawsuit against the dealer, asking an appeals court in Nimes to determine what compensation is owed them.

The mask was discovered while the pair cleaned out their property in preparation for a garage sale. The mask, however, was put aside for the local antiques dealer, who agreed to buy it for 150 (about $157) in September 2021. Months later they read in the newspaper that the mask had been sold for millions at an auction house in Montpellier. Per the listing, it was a traditional Fang mask from Gabon used in weddings, funerals, and other rituals. The maska rare sight outside of Gabon, with less than a dozen held in museums worldwidewas brought to France by the husbands grandfather, who was a colonial governor in Africa.

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The lawsuit is ongoing, but theyve won a small victory: the appeals court decided on June 28 that their claim appears to be well-founded in principle and ordered the proceeds of the auction sale be frozen until the conclusion of the case. Their argument is based on the belief that the dealer withheld his suspicions over the true value of the artifact. Rather than display the mask in his shop, he contacted three auction auction houses in France for an estimate of its monetary worth. The last he contacted was a specialist in African artifacts, which had the mask analyzed using carbon-14 dating and mass spectrometry. The tests dated the mask to the 19th century and an ethnologist expert, after having a look, said it was used by the Ngil, a secret male society within the Fang people who oversaw judicial matters.

The auction house listed the mask for sale with an estimate of between 300,000 and 400,000; it sold in March 2022 for more than triple the high estimate.

Faced with potential legal proceedings, the antiquities dealer initially offered the couple 300,000 euros (about $315,000) in compensation, however court documents reviewed by Artnet News reveal that the offer was rejected due to opposition from the couples children. A judicial court in Ales granted them a protective seizure of the proceeds of the sale, which was carried out in May 2022. This move was reversed by a lower court, and the funds were returned to the dealer.

The case is under review by a higher court in Nimes.

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This article originally appeared on Backpacker

A grizzly bear attacked and killed a couple and their dog in Canada's Banff National Park on Friday, September 29, government officials said.

Parks Canada, the agency that manages Canada's 48 national parks, said in a statement that officials received a message at 8 P.M. Friday night from a Garmin inReach device alerting rescuers of a bear attack. The message came from a GPS device located in the Red Deer River Valley, a scenic area located on the eastern side of the park.

Bad weather grounded a rescue helicopter, so parks officials traveled on foot to the area. Parks Canada sent its Wildlife Human Attack Response team to the site, and it arrived at 1 A.M.

Rescuers found two victims as well as a deceased dog. While at the site, they also encountered a grizzly bear that, according to the release, "displayed aggressive behavior." Parks Canada officials euthanized the bear.

Officials have not released the names of the victims. A relative of one of the victims told the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation that the two were common-law partners. "They lived for being in the backcountry and were two of the most cautious people I know," the source told the CBC. "They knew bear protocol and followed it to a tee."

The source told the CBC that the couple had messaged family members on the evening of the attack saying they had found a campsite. "They were not traveling after dark and they were not setting up camp when the attack happened," the source said.

Bear encounters are on the rise in multiple U.S. states, as more people venture into the backcountry for recreation. But fatal grizzly attacks are extremely rare. Kim Titchener, a specialist in human-wildlife conflicts, told the CBC that only 14 percent of grizzly attacks against people end in a death. ""Often when people have encounters with grizzlies, usually the grizzly goes one direction and the people go in the other," she said.

But the few deadly run-ins that occur generate plenty of attention. In July, a grizzly attacked and killed 48-year-old Amie Adamson of Kansas outside Yellowstone National Park. Officials said Adamson had been on a trail run when the incident occurred. In September, officials killed the grizzly they believed attacked Adamson after it broke into a cabin in Montana.

Bear attacks often occur when backcountry travelers surprise an animal on a trail. Officials in Alberta do not know what caused the grizzly in Banff to attack the couple on Friday. October is an important feeding period for grizzlies as they prepare for hibernation, Titchener told the CBC. But she said there is no relationship between this period of increased feeding and attacks on humans.

"They're still trying to dig up root systems and just trying to eat what grasses are left and what berries are still around to get on those last few pounds so that they can start heading to their dens," she said.

In its statement on Sunday, October 1, Parks Canada said that it had closed the section of Banff National Park where the attack occurred to visitors. The closures include Red Deer and Panther valleys. The closure runs through November 30.

"This is a tragic incident, and Parks Canada wishes to express its sincere condolences to the families and friends of the victims," the agency said in the release.

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Ceropegia sandersonii, also called parachute plant, is a trailing succulent native to South Africa that's known for its unique parachute-shaped blooms. It's a relative of other Ceropegia species like String of Hearts.

Ceropegia sandersonii is relatively easy to care for and can be grown indoors or outdoors. This plant thrives in well-drained soil, warm temperatures, and lots of bright light. Here's how to care for ceropegia sandersonii.



Common Name Parachute plant, umbrella flower, fountain flower, giant ceropegia, Sanderson's ceropegia Botanical Name Ceropegia sandersonii Family Apocynaceae Plant Type Succulent, Vine Mature Size 6-12 ft. long Sun Exposure Full, Partial Soil Type Well-drained Soil pH Acidic Bloom Time Summer, Fall Flower Color Green Hardiness Zones 10-11 (USDA) Native Area South Africa

Ceropegia Sandersonii Care

Put ceropegia sandersonii in a place that receives direct sunlight or bright, indirect light.

Plant this vining succulent in a chunky, well-drained potting mix.

Let ceropegia sandersonii's soil begin to dry out between waterings.

Feed ceropegia sandersonii with a balanced houseplant fertilizer during the growing season.

Light

Ceropegia sandersonii grows best indoors with direct sunlight or bright indirect light, but it can tolerate partial shade.

If you have outdoor space, it's a good idea to bring your plant outdoors in summer to get more light, but keep outdoor plants out of harsh direct sunlight.

Soil

Pot your ceropegia sandersonii in a well-drained potting mix made with peat moss or coconut coir to hold moisture and perlite to lighten it up. A few handfuls of orchid bark or other chunky amendment will help with drainage.

Water

Since ceropegia sandersonii is a succulent, wait until the soil has begun to dry out before watering during the growing season. Check soil moisture regularly to know when it's time to water. During winter dormancy, cut back on watering almost completely to avoid overly wet soil, which can lead to root rot.

Temperature and Humidity

Ceropegia sandersonii's ideal temperature is between 60 and 75 degrees, with humidity around 40 or 50 percent. However, the plant can tolerate exposure to temperatures as low as 50 degrees and into the 90-degree range.

Fertilizer

This plant isn't a heavy feeder, but it can benefit from regular applications of fertilizer during the growing season. Fertilize ceropegia sandersonii with a balanced liquid houseplant fertilizer diluted to half strength every two weeks or so in spring and summer. Avoid fertilizing in fall and winter.

Pruning

It's a good idea to cut back ceropegia sandersonii significantly in the fall after blooming has finished, especially because its vines can grow up to 12 feet long with sufficient light.

Pruning back the long, trailing vines also makes the plant easier to bring indoors if you've kept it outside.

Year-round, remove the occasional damaged vine or dead leaf as it appears. Always use sterilized, sharp scissors or shears to avoid spreading plant diseases.

Propagating Ceropegia Sandersonii

You can propagate ceropegia sandersonii by rooting stem cuttings in the soil. You'll need a mature plant, clean scissors or pruners, small plant pots, water, and a well-drained potting mix with added perlite or coarse sand for drainage. Here's how to propagate ceropegia sandersonii.

Choose a healthy-looking stem on the mother plant that has several leaves. Make a cut about six inches from the stem tip, just below a leaf node. Remove the leaves from the lower half of the stem. Leave the cutting out to callus over for a few days. Fill a small plant pot with well-drained potting mix, then water well to moisten it. Use your finger or a pencil to poke a hole a few inches deep in the soil surface. Plant the cutting in the hole, making sure the leaf nodes on the lower half of the stem are below the soil line. Gently pat down the soil around the stem to hold the cutting in place. Put the cutting in a warm place with bright, indirect light. Keep the soil evenly moist but not soggy. New leaf growth is a sign that the cutting has rooted and you can care for the plant as usual.

Common Pests & Plant Diseases

Keep an eye out for houseplant pests like mealybugs on ceropegia sandersonii. Plants kept outdoors in summer may fall prey to slugs eating their roots if plants are accessible from the ground. Root rot can affect overwatered plants.

How to Get Ceropegia Sandersonii to Bloom

Ceropegia sandersonii is known for its unique, parachute-shaped flowers, which attract beneficial insects into their openings to support pollination.



Bloom Months

Ceropegia sandersonii typically blooms in summer and early fall, depending on conditions and climate. With sufficient warmth and light, plants can bloom nearly year-round.

What Do Ceropegia Sandersonii's Flowers Look and Smell Like?

The flowers are about four inches long, with a green, parachute-shaped top that connects to a slender white tube.

Blooms are lined with tiny white hairs and have openings around the sides of the flower to allow insects to access their pollen. The flowers are known more for their appearance than their aroma.

However, scientists have determined that the plant releases certain compounds that mimic bee pheromones to attract carnivorous pollinating insects.

Caring for Ceropegia Sandersonii After It Blooms

When blooming concludes, days shorten, and temperatures cool in fall, cut back your ceropegia sandersonii significantly to prepare it for winter dormancy and make the plant easier to handle.

Its flowers bloom on the new growth that appears each spring, so there's no need to worry about affecting next year's blooms.

Common Problems With Ceropegia Sandersonii

Black Spots on Stem

Black spots on your plant's stem are an indication of severe root rot. At this point, it's best to take cuttings to propagate into new plants and dispose of the rest of the plant that's affected.

Plant Not Growing

Ceropegia sandersonii goes into dormancy during the winter months, and growth may slow or stop altogether during this period.

This is normalas temperatures warm and daylight increases in early spring, you should begin to see new growth. That's a sign to begin watering and fertilizing regularly.



Frequently Asked Questions

Where is ceropegia sandersonii's native habitat?

Ceropegia sandersonii is native to South Africa, Mozambique, and Eswatini.

What are the humidity requirements for ceropegia sandersonii?

Ceropegia sandersonii requires around 40 to 50 percent humidity.

Can ceropegia sandersonii grow indoors?

Yes, ceropegia sandersonii can grow well as a houseplant with the proper care and conditions.

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Think of Assoulines latest book as a travel guide to the world of 007.

The publishers new tome, James Bond Destinations, gives fans an up-close look at the beaches, ski slopes, and forests the British spy has traversed in the action-packed film series. The franchise has filmed at more than 100 locations globally over the last 60 years, ranging from monasteries in Greece, palaces in India, and even ancient Egyptian temples.

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Pierce Brosnans Bond with Michelle Yeohs Wai Lin in Tomorrow Never Dies (1997)

The 328-page tome was written by journalistand die-hard 007 fanDaniel Pembrey. Weighing six pounds, it features a luxe silk-wrapped hardcover and houses 233 illustrations and original photography. These include visuals of Ursula Andress emerging from Jamaican waters, Daniel Craigs high-speed car chase in Rome, and Roger Moores showdown on a Sugarloaf cable car in Rio.

Assouline's 'James Bond Destinations' book

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Price: $120

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James Bond Destinations also explores the world behind the scenes. Set images from Casino Royale and Skyfall both feature cast and crew side by side near a European lake and on a London rooftop, respectively. The book also shares the stories of how the filmmakers discovered various locations, and transformed travel hotspots for filming. Producer Michael G. Wilson, for instance, famously got Venices Grand Canal closed for the first time in centuries to permit Daniel Craigs Bond to sail unobstructed in a scene for Casino Royale.

Roger Moores Bond at a snow-topped location in 1981s For Your Eyes Only film

Books are great, but if you want to take the action one step further, there are plenty of experiences that may suit thrill-seekers better than turning pages. Back in March, Black Tomato launched a new James Bond-inspired itinerary that spans five European destinations from Austria to Monaco. Dubbed The Assignment, the bespoke and 12-night experience offerings allow you to train with Craigs stunt double, visit filming sites including Big Ben, and even explore the Bollinger estate outside of Paris. Prices start at $18,500. Your own copy of Assoulines James Bond Destinations, however, will only run you $120.

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Norwegian author, playwright and poet Jon Fosse has been named the winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature.

The Swedish Academy said on Thursday it was for his "innovative plays and prose which gives voice to the unsayable".

As well as the prize, Fosse receives 11 million Swedish kronor (822,000).

He admitted he was "overwhelmed and somewhat frightened" by the news. Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Stre posted: "All of Norway congratulates and is proud today!"

He wrote that the prize was "a great recognition of a unique authorship that makes an impression and touches people all over the world".

The celebrated 64-year-old's major works, written in the Nynorsk variation of Norwegian, include the Septology series of novels, Aliss at the Fire, Melancholy and A Shining.

Speaking to Norwegian state broadcaster NRK, Fosse said he had "prepared myself mentally for the last decade" that this day might come.

Previous winners of the prize - given for a body of work, rather than a single book - have included Toni Morrison, Doris Lessing, Gabriel Garcia Marquez and Bob Dylan.

Born in 1959, in Haugesund on the west coast of Norway, Fosse grew up in Strandebarm. At the age of seven he nearly died in an accident, which he has said was "the most important experience" of his childhood and one that "created" him as an artist.

Fosse's works span 40 plays - performed around the world in numerous languages - plus novels, essays, poetry collections, children's books and translations.

'Fosse minimalism'

The prize organisers said Fosse could be compared to previous great modernist writers like fellow Norwegian Tarjei Vesaas as well as Samuel Beckett, Thomas Bernhard, Georg Trakl and Franz Kafka.

Nobel committee chairman Anders Olsson said he was "a fantastic writer in many ways". "He touches you so deeply when you read him, and when you have read one work you have to continue," he said.

"What is special with him is the closeness in his writing. It touches on the deepest feelings that you have - anxieties, insecurities, questions of life and death - such things that every human being actually confronts from the very beginning.

"In that sense I think he reaches very far and there is a sort of a universal impact of everything that he writes. And it doesn't matter if it is drama, poetry or prose - it has the same kind of appeal to this basic humanness."

Books written by Jon Fosse are seen on the day The Swedish Academy announced Fosse as the laureate of this year's Nobel Prize in Literature, in Stockholm October 5, 2023

His novels, the academy said, are "heavily pared down to a style that has come to be known as 'Fosse minimalism'".

Olsson praised plays including Someone Is Going to Come - for its "radical reduction of language and dramatic action" - as well as The Name, Dreams of Autumn and Death Variations.

Fosse's "magnum opus in prose", he said, was his recent Septology - made up of seven parts collected in three volumes: The Other Name, I Is Another and A New Name.

The monologue, which progresses seemingly endlessly and without a single full stop over a timespan of seven days, depicts an elderly artist speaking to himself as another person.

"The Septology is a major work, being at the same time as his attempt at reconciliation with his own fate, an elegy to his dead wife [and] dealing with his own career as a painter," Olsson said.

For readers seeking something shorter, Fosse's 2000 novella Morning and Evening is "a wonderful little piece".

The Nobel prizes, awarded since 1901, recognise achievement in literature, science, peace and latterly economics.

The literature prize is awarded to "the person who shall have produced in the field of literature the most outstanding work in an ideal direction", according to the 1895 will of Swedish businessman and philanthropist Alfred Nobel.

There was no public shortlist for the award, but Salman Rushdie, Can Xue, Margaret Atwood and Haruki Murakami were thought to be among the other possible contenders.

Last year, it was won by French writer Annie Ernaux, for what the panel said was an "uncompromising" 50-year body of work exploring "a life marked by great disparities regarding gender, language and class".
In an effort to make roads safer for pedestrians and cyclists, a legislative committee in Colorado will consider a new bill that would require a registration fee that would scale with the weight of a vehicle. The heavier the vehicle, the higher the fee.

According to Colorado Public Radio, research has shown that heavier vehicles cause more deaths among cyclists and pedestrians, and Colorado reached an all-time high of 115 deaths last year. This year, the state is on pace to break that record. Were looking at this and trying to do something about it, said state Senator Lisa Cutter, D-Jefferson County, a prime sponsor of the proposed bill.

The fees collected would be used by the Department of Transportation to fund new infrastructure projects, such as protected bike lanes, traffic slowing measures, and automated speed cameras.



CPR reported that the new bill would apply especially to light trucks, which include both SUVs and pickups. These vehicles accounted for 86.9 percent of new vehicle registrations last year according to industry data.

Even so, the proposed annual fees would be fairly painless, but could make a huge difference in infrastructure projects. The fees would range from $4.50 for a 3,500-pound vehicle, to $29.90 for vehicles between 8,500 and 9,499 pounds. This includes electric vehicles, like the new 9,063-pound Hummer EV. Lawmakers may also consider adding higher fees for any vehicle over 9,500 pounds.

Another important note to the proposed bill in Colorado, it would only apply to the 12 most populated counties. This would omit people who live in places where agriculture is more common, and people who use large vehicles on ranches and for construction. The goal of the bill is not to penalize people who need larger vehicles for work, but to share the responsibility of driving an outrageously large truck or SUV through the streets of highly populated areas.

Growing trend of cracking down on auto-besity

Similar tax and fee systems have been proposed and implemented in other cities around the world. According to the Guardian, Paris will impose higher parking fees for large vehicles beginning in 2024. A crackdown on what theyre calling auto-besity.

New York has also implemented a weight-based tax intended to discourage people from purchasing heavier vehicles, according to Curbed. Last year in New York, 16 children were killed by motorists, the most since Vision Zero started in 2014.

New Mexico, North Dakota, South Dakota, Kansas, Arkansas, Florida, and Virginia have already implemented weight-based registration fees for passenger vehicles, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.

Coloradoans love their hefty vehicles. But for folks who live in Denver, Boulder, and other highly populated areas, its time to be honest about whether that 4.5 ton super-truck is really necessary for picking up groceries.



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There are a lot of things to consider when moving somewhere new: The job market, public school systems, cost of living, and safety, to name a few. But overall? Most of us want to live in a town or city where we can be...well, happy. According to a recent ranking in Outside Magazine, it turns out that the happiest place to live in the United States is Reno, Nevada.

Kind of a surprise for a town perhaps best known for Johnny Cash's lyric, "But I shot a man in Reno...just to watch him die." Reno is often associated with cowboys and the Gold Rush, but ground-zero for eternal bliss? Not exactly.

Outside Magazine begs to differciting a host of different factors. Nicknamed the "Biggest Little City in the World," Reno boasts an average of 300 days of sunshine per year, making it a haven for avid outdoor adventurers. But, if the array of hiking trials and bike packs aren't exactly what you had in mind, it's worth noting that Reno is on the Nevada-California border, offering incredible access to Tahoe's ski slopes. Andwhen you factor in the Municipal Equality Index Score of 100 as well as the city's annual Pride celebrationReno is pegged as a pretty inclusive and community-focused placed to live, too.

Mitch Diamond - Getty Images

Maybe that's why so many celebrities been moving out to the Silver State. While Reno has been linked to old-school stars like Marilyn Monroe, Frank Sinatra, today, actor Jeremy Renner calls himself a proud Renoite. "It's hard to find community and even know your neighbors in a big city, but with Reno, I find I know quite a few people here,"the Marvel frontman told the Reno Gazette Journal. "It's just big enough, and it's just small enough for me, and I love it." Last year, US Weekly reported that Mark Wahlberg and his family were relocating to Nevada so the Daddy's Home actor could provide "a better life" for his kidsideally, one away from the spotlight.

With a surplus of sunshine, ample outdoor activities, and abundance of celebs, Reno seems just like Californiaminus its penchant for paparazzi and pricey real-estate, right? Well, not quite. According to a report by Daily Mail, Reno rents have increased by 20 percent since 2021 and house prices have been raised by 70 percent over the past four years. Outdoor Magazine might peg Reno as being an affordable oasis, but due to the growing demand, don't expect the cost of living to stay low for long. After all, who wouldn't want a slice of happiness?

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LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton is expanding its Metiers dExcellence Institute initiative through programs in North American launched by Tiffany & Co. in collaboration with Rhode Island School of Design and Benefit Cosmetics.

LVMH has also committed to increasing the hiring of apprentices in the U.S. with new maisons joining the program in 2024.

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LVMHs Metiers dExcellence Institute in Europe was established in 2014 to ensure the transmission of savoir faire to the next generation via apprenticeship programs, mentoring, school visits and tours. In an ongoing effort to diversify the luxury industry, LVMH said its maisons continue to recruit talented apprentices from a range of backgrounds, to fill roles that drive forward the artisanal, design and retail excellence.

LVMH officially launched the M.E. program in North America last year with Tiffany in New York to train the next generation of craftspeople. LVMH completed its acquisition of Tiffany in January 2021.

The Metiers d Excellence program contributes to the transmission of savoir faire to the next generation, which ensures the sustained success of the group and our maisons, said Gena Smith, chief human resources officer of LVMH North America. The United States and its pool of talented craftspeople represent an important frontier for the group. Both our U.S. and U.S.-based maisons continue to recruit new apprentices who will learn the metiers synonymous with our maisons and carry forward the talents needed to build upon the groups longevity in the luxury industry.

Tiffany recently began a new, two-year program in partnership with Rhode Island School of Design and the Rhode Island Department of Labor and Building Futures Rhode Island. While Tiffany has eight M.E. apprentices training in its New York workshop, another seven apprentices just began training in its Rhode Island workshop in the past weeks. This program markets Tiffanys significant efforts to hire in key craftsmanship roles, with additional cohorts to launch in both M.E. programs in New York and Rhode Island in 2024.

Tiffany & Co. is committed to identifying talented craftspeople from various backgrounds to mentor and train them in the skills of high jewelry, said Mary Bellai, global chief human resources officer at Tiffany. Growing our diverse group of talent is foundational to our continued success; we are excited to be able to expand our reach into new markets to find and nurture talent while delivering on the goals outlined under our social impact platform, Tiffany Atrium.

In July 2022, Tiffany launched a social impact platform that hosts its varied diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, as reported. The platform aims to bring more women and marginalized communities into creative professions, with a bent toward jewelry-industry training programs.

Were thrilled to embark on this unique partnership with Tiffany & Co. to prepare the next generation of practitioners through apprenticeship training, said Touba Ghadessi, RISD provost. Thanks to Tiffany & Co.s generous investment, RISD Continuing Education in partnership with RISD Jewelry + Metalsmithing devised a customized workforce development program, which leverages rigorous instruction and education centered on foundational skills and industry standards devised by our world-class Jewelry + Metalsmithing program. Both of our institutions have such a rich history in Rhode Island, with many meaningful collaborations over the past century, and we look forward to this newest collective endeavor.

As part of their commitment to the collaboration with LVMH and Tiffany, the workshops in New York and Rhode Island ensure all participants are recognized as registered apprentices under the Department of Labor. This recognition offers the participants a transferable credential that equips workers with marketable skills sought in high-demand industries like luxury.

We are proud of our work with LVMH to tailor a Registered Apprenticeship program unique to their industry needs through the Apprenticeship RI joint initiative of Building Futures and DLT RI, [Department of Labor and Training Rhode Island], said Andrew Cortes, executive director of Building Futures Rhode Island. We celebrate LVMHs leadership in developing this outstanding workforce development opportunity for Rhode Islanders.

Benefit Cosmetics is the newest LVMH brand participating in the M.E. program by hosting a Benefit Beauty Immersive program at their San Francisco headquarters this past summer. The initiative was aimed at welcoming high school students to the prestige beauty industry, and nurtured the talents of eight dedicated apprentices from the Ruth Asawa High School of Arts in San Francisco. Apprentices completed the Benefit Brow Certification and received a Metiers dExcellence Participation Certificate that will support their pursuit of a beauty and cosmetics focus within higher education or post-graduate studies.

LVMH has also launched M.E. Excellent!, a series of high school mentoring activities in New York City aimed at growing awareness of the Metiers amongst the younger generation. The program is anchored in LVMHs time-honored savoir-faire of craftsmanship and client experiences and has worked with more than 40 students since May. LVMH aims to expand through new partnerships with New York City public schools in 2024.

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Drummer Steven Adler, bassist Duff McKagan, vocalist Axl Rose , and guitarists Slash and Izzy Stradlin of the music group Guns N' Roses.

One resident in Winchester, Massachusetts, is proving to be the biggest fan of Halloweenand rock group Guns N' Roseswith a massive display he erected on the property of his family's home.

Identified as homeowner Jon Swan, this is the third time the family has assembled the display, and each year, it just keeps getting bigger and better. As it stands, this year's display features a Guns N' Roses-themed giant skeleton band, werewolf security guards, flying witches, and a whole lot more.

You can check out a photo of the skeleton rock band right here.

For the 2023 spooky season, Swan told WBZ he started decorating in August so that the house would be ready by Oct. 1, "We like to have the entire month of October open to trick-or-treating, so weve already had people come by, he said.

You may love Halloween, but probably not as much as Jon Swan from Winchester does. @wbznewsradio pic.twitter.com/7hvOC9K9P9  James Rojas (@JamesRojasMMJ) October 2, 2023

>>> Sign up for Parade's Trending News newsletter and we'll keep you in the know on the viral pop culture moments and celebrity news everyone is talking about <<<

"There is a lot of people that slow down," Swan later told local CBS reporters, before sharing photos of the rocker skeletons with the publication. "During the pandemic, this started to become a passion project. In 2020, we bought our first 12-foot skeleton. It snowballed."

"That why we actually started to clear out the driveway - to encourage and allow people to come through, so they're not creating a disturbance," he shared.

Despite garnering the attention of nationwide news outlets and captivating audiences that drive by, his neighbors are all about the sprawling setup. "Our neighbors are, like, the best people in the world," Swan said.

This year, community members are in for a real treat, as the display has grown significantly since the Swan family first designed it.

"We'll have synchronized lights with music, with an FM transmitter, if people want to listen to the actual light show. There'll probably be a lot of rock music," he said.

The improvements and dedication to holiday decorating have come at a cost, with Swan estimating that he's probably spent "well over 10 grand" over the last three years on supplies.

But he has no regrets, suggesting it's money well spent, "Most holidays should be around celebrating and having some joy," he said.

Next: Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce Halloween Decorations Haunt One Indiana Neighborhood
Manufacturer Achieves 36% Reduction in Greenhouse Gas Emissions in Arkansas Plants

SPRINGDALE, Ark. , Oct. 5, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Rockline Industries, one of the world's leading manufacturers of coffee filters and consumer, medical and commercial wet wipes, recently announced a 36 percent reduction of greenhouse gas emissions at its Arkansas plants as a result of a comprehensive sustainability strategy that included participation in Southwestern Electric Power Company's, (SWEPCO) Renewable Energy Choice program. SWEPCO provides renewable energy to the company's Booneville and Springdale, Arkansas plants from its three wind farms in north-central Oklahoma.

Rockline Industries logo (PRNewsfoto/Rockline Industries)

Rockline Industries made a long-term commitment in 2008 to adopt more sustainable business practices. In 2020, the company renewed its commitment to sustainability with its most ambitious and aggressive sustainability goals yet including a pledge to reduce carbon emissions by 50 percent within a decade. In addition, Rockline committed to sourcing 60 percent of its electricity from renewable sources. As a result of Rockline's participation in the Renewable Energy Choice program, greenhouse gas emissions were reduced 36 percent across the company.

"Over the last fifteen years, I have been continually inspired by the commitment of our associates to achieve and exceed our sustainability goals," said Randy Rudolph, president of Rockline Industries. "Our progress in this area is due to their daily hard work to ensure that every area of our company is using best practices that help our environment and the world we all live in."

Notably, associates at the Booneville, Arkansas, plant collaborated with SWEPCO's Energy Efficiency team. Through meticulous analysis, audits, and the implementation of best practices, SWEPCO supported the Booneville team by identifying opportunities to reduce energy consumption by an impressive 7.4 percent, surpassing their 5 percent goal.

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Rockline's Springdale, Arkansas, team also harnessed the benefits of SWEPCO's Energy Efficiency programs over the years. Both plants are current participants in SWEPCO's Strategic Energy Management Program, which resulted in significant energy savings of more than 1,558 megawatt hours at both locations.

"We're excited to help businesses discover ways they can benefit from our energy efficiency programs or be powered by AEP and SWEPCO's Renewable Energy Choice programs," explained Paul Pratt, director customer services & marketing. "We're proud our partnership and support helped Rockline achieve their sustainability goals."

Rockline adopted a range of energy conservation measures including the installation of timed sensors for restroom lights, the implementation of shut-off timers for conveyor belts and education for employees on energy conservation practices.

Rockline's sustainability approach is guided by three overarching long-term aspirations: achieving fossil fuel independence through a transition to clean, low-carbon energy sources; minimizing waste and its environmental impact; and developing ecologically intelligent products that are sustainable.

For more information about Rockline's environmental program and to download the 2022 Environmental Sustainability Report, visit http://www.rocklineind.com/about-us/environmental-sustainability/. To learn more about SWEPCO's parent company, American Electric Power's, Energy Solutions, visit https://www.aep.com/economic-development/advantages/energy-solutions or to find out about SWEPCO's Energy Efficiency programs for businesses, visit SWEPCO.com/savings/business.

About Rockline Industries

Rockline Industries was founded in 1976 and is headquartered in Sheboygan, Wisconsin. It is one of the world's largest manufacturers of coffee filters and consumer, health care, industrial and institutional wet wipes. A family-owned company, Rockline has repeatedly created first-to-market product design solutions for the wet wipe consumer and continues to provide innovative products to the nonwovens industry. Rockline employs nearly 2,500 people worldwide and has manufacturing facilities in Wisconsin, Arkansas, New Jersey, Tennessee and England. For more information on Rockline Industries, visit www.RocklineInd.com .

Media Contact:

Rockline Industries:

Mary Roberts

(414) 839-4175

mroberts@buzzmonkeyspr.com

Cision

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SOURCE Rockline Industries
Aeromexico and Delta Air Lines are launching 17 new flights between the U.S. and Mexico in 2024.

Sergio Mendoza Hochmann/Getty Images

Aeromexico and Delta Air Lines have expanded their codeshare partnership to launch 17 new flights between the U.S. and Mexico starting next year.

Starting Jan. 1, travelers will now be able to fly between destinations such as Monterrey. to New York or Los Angeles, and Mexico City to Boston and Salt Lake City on the new routes, according to the airlines' announcement.

For travelers looking to visit Mexico City (MEX), there will be new Aeromexico-operated service from Detroit, Salt Lake City, Washington D.C., and Boston. The airline will have service to another airport in Mexico City (NLU) from McAllen, TX and Dallas/Fort Worth, TX.



Aeromexico will also begin new service from Monterrey, Mexico to Atlanta, Salt Lake City, New York's JFK and Los Angeles. From Bajio, Mexico, the airline will launch service to Atlanta and Detroit. The airline will also launch routes to both Atlanta and Detroit from Bajio, Queretaro, and Guadalajara, and operate a direct route from Atlanta to Merida.

With the addition of the 17 new flight routes, the Aeromexico will have a total of 60 daily flights to the US by July 2024.

Many of the cities Aeromexico will operate the new service are hubs for Delta, which allows passengers to connect to a destination in their route network.



Aeromexico and Delta are currently members of the same SkyTeam alliance. This means that travelers can utilize reciprocal frequent flyer status and benefits between the airlines, and also have a combined reservation where their bag can be checked through to their final destination.



Mexico currently ranks as the fifth most popular country for international tourist arrivals, according to the UNWTO Tourism Recovery Tracker. Mexico has seen a 11 percent increase in international tourists in 2023 when compared to 2022.



Another Mexico-based airline, Viva Aerobus recently announced several new flights to Mexico from the United States including Austin, Denver, Miami, New York, San Francisco, and Orlando.



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In recent seasons, Western-inspired clothing has seeped into seemingly every corner of menswear. So youd be forgiven for thinking that Overland, with its stable of rugged sheepskin coats and jackets, is chasing a trend.

In reality, the multi-generational family business is just continuing the work of its founder Jim Leahy, who set off for Taos, New Mexico, in 1973 with a bale of sheepskin, a sewing machine, and the dream of establishing the Overland Sheepskin Company.

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My grandparents said, OK, have a nice vacation, well see you in a few weeks, says Amber Fekete (nee Leahy), his niece and presently an executive and head buyer at the company. A few years later, they all worked for him, and here we are 50 years later.

Fekete has developed a 12-piece capsule collection for men and women to commemorate that half-century in business, featuring five sheepskin coats and one sheepskin vest for each gender.

Overland Rancher Jacket

Overland looked to its archive and back catalogs for inspiration for its 50th anniversary collection.

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Price: $995

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To create it, she consulted past company catalogsparticularly those from the 1970s and 80sfor inspiration. The result, for men, includes the Ranger, a zipped vest made from curly South African shearling with contrasting lambskin trim; the Sierra, a classic bomber jacket made from British shearling; the Rancher, a traditional shearling jacket secured by leather toggles and horn buttons; the Wyatt, a Western-yoked merino shearling jacket; the Maverick, a rancher cut from South African shearling with fur-out cut lines at the collar, cuffs, and edges; and finally the Highlander, a long, imposing double-breasted shearling coat with exposed fur at the seam lines and natural horn buttons.

Several appear almost identical to their iterations from decades past. How their modern reinterpretations differ is in fit, which is now more tailored, and the quality of the shearling itself, which Fekete says is now softer and lighter in weight, thanks to modern tanning and manufacturing processes.

Actor Robert Taylor wore Overland's McKinley coat in Netflix's series Longmire.

Like the shearling that it sources from across the globe, Overland itself has changed with the decades. From its first location in Taosoriginally an adobe shack, now a rough-hewn timbered lodge that showcases its apparel and home collectionsthe Iowa-based business has expanded to 17 stores spread largely across the American West and in mountain towns like Santa Fe, Aspen, Park City, and Telluride.

Its presence at such second home-saturated altitudes has seen Overland coats grace the backs of celebrities including Kurt Russell, Goldie Hawn, and Lana Del Rey. And at times, Overlands shearling creations have popped up on-screen, too. Monty Goodson, who serves as a product specialist for Overland and manages its Santa Fe store, recalls outfitting Longmire star Robert Taylor in the labels McKinley coat. The  length merino shearling coat became an iconic part of the Netflix neo-Western, whose action-filled production ultimately ran through seven of the coats in seven seasons.

I had customers asking about that all the time, Goodson tells Robb Report. That coat became its own character in the series.

Overland Sierra Bomber Jacket

An archival Overland bomber jacket next to a lighter-weight, slimmer-fitting jacket from the 50th-anniversary collection.

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Price: $595

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The great majority of Overland customers are not TV sheriffs and have in many cases preserved their sheepskin coats to be worn decades later by their descendants. As part of the labels 50th anniversary celebration, each store will be exhibiting a vintage Overland coat, sourced from resale avenues like eBay and the closets of Leahy family members and friends.

In Feketes thinking, the next 50 years are looking good for Overland, too. I think that people are starting to become more educated about Shearling starting to understand and appreciate its benefits and warmth, she says. It will last for a lifetimeits something that can be handed down.

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My relationship with France, much like that with the United States, started in the south and cautiously moved north. Originally from Atlanta, Ive been in the New York area for the past decade. But even now, Im still finding my footingand with each stumble, taking time for myself in France has helped guide me.

In 2016, trying to get through college amid a tipping point of racial disharmony on campus, I wanted idyllic calm and fairytale adventures. I also craved newness, to touch ground in a land Id only learned about through history classes. I found WorkAway, a platform that facilitates homestays and cultural exchanges, and connected with a family in Montboucher-Sur-Jabron, Provence, who needed an au pair to assist their daughterin return, I would live in their home and dine on home-cooked meals. One static-filled Skype call later, I bought a plane ticket to Lyon using every dollar I had earned over the summer.

For ten weeks, I immersed myself in French life. I ate a persimmon for the first time, plucked straight off the tree. I learned that the French give silly names to their donkeys, reflecting their utility. (Ours was named Tartine, Toast.) I was taught how to ride a tandem bicycle alongside blooming lavender fields. Moreover, I collected moments that would serve as reprieve for my stateside self. Broad breaths. Feet in soil. Slow mornings.

That following summer, I found an internship further south in Marseille and got to experience another layer of the countrythe influence of North Africa. My walk to work, peppered with skin tones akin to my own, was welcoming. Marseille, almost as close to Algiers as it is Paris, gave me a sense of ease I wanted to bottle and ship home.

Seven years later, I found myself adrift after leaving a job, and knew what I needed to do. I reached out to my WorkAway family, asking if they knew anyone who might be interested in swapping apartments with me for the fall. Anywhere in France would do. By the end of the day, they had connected me with M (who asked that we not use her name), their former au pair and a resident of Paris.

I prepped my own New York City apartment with sticky notes indicating where the paper towels were stocked, which window shouldnt be opened, and to explain that the noise at 6 a.m. is pigeons and theres no stopping them. A matter of hours later, my partner greeted her in Brooklyn with my keys, while her mother handed me hers outside an apartment in the 17th arrondissement.

lthibault Penin/Unsplash

On the seventh floor, the place felt close enough to the Paris clouds that I could almost touch them, the living room and bedroom patterned with deep set sky lights. As for M, hints of her personality were all around: everything was pink, from the tablecloth to the yoga mat; fresh lemonade and iced tea had been left for me in the refrigerator with a sticky note reading, Enjoy :). When I opened the window I could hear the chatter of neighbors enjoying apero hour floating over the white- and- coral-colored rooftops.

When I wasnt burrowing into this new home of mine, I was chasing the trail of my literary ancestorsJames Baldwin, Richard Wrightvisiting the cafes where they wrote, the hotels where they slept. They had gravitated to Paris in search of something other than America, a place where they could find enough safety to crack open their own creative expression. I felt like Id experienced the same. My time ended, and I returned homebut it was only a matter of months before I found myself returning to Paris, and the pink apartment in the 17th.

Within a week of my return to Paris, Nahel Merzouk, a French teenager of North African descent, was murdered by a police officer. Parisians, Lyonnais, and Marseillais, revolted against his death with immediacy, but the news also felt all too familiar to what I had left behind in the US. Yet I stayed. I purchased a Navigo easy pass, opted for the bus over the metro so I could stamp every street into my memory, and purposefully left my phone at home. I ate duck almost every night at the bistro down the block. I talked to the chocolatiers, shoe makers, and cheesemongers of Les Batignolles. I took visiting friends to my favorite spotsWaly-Fay, a traditional Senegalese restaurant, and Patisserie Emma Duvere, an artisanal bakeryand hopped between night clubs, fumbling for the French words to ask Is there a cover?

Better still, I made new friends: Black women who were also throwing themselves into Paris because, like me, New York felt too heavy. We shopped together at the soldes (sales), slurped on oysters and rose, discovered shared commonalities, and basked in a light that seemed only to shine from the streets in Paris.

I searched for a world of ease and desire, and I found that I could still breathe easier in France.

And suddenly, I was back outside my Brooklyn apartment, my keys waiting for me in my mailbox. Luckily a flurry of WhatsApp messages were already flyingM and I, though we'd still never met face to face, were already locking in the dates for our next apartment swap.

Originally Appeared on Conde Nast Traveler
South America is the untouched goldmine of mountain biking that has yet to hit the North American mainstream mountain bike media.

It is an underrated and underreported corner of the world that is beginning to blossom as a mountain biking haven.

Take a look at Myles Trainer's trip to Bolivia in the video below.

"This is the culmination of 6 friends jumping on a plane to Bolivia in search of the longest scree runs in the world. The objective was riding scree, but, what we learned along the way about friendship and experiencing a new place to its fullest, held the highest importance." - Myles Trainer via YouTube

This all-star cast of fun havers and all-round rippers was the perfect group to get down to the meat of what makes Bolivian riding so special. It wasn't just the riding that made the trip look like the riding experience of a lifetime, it was the culture of the region as well.

Seeing the way people and mountain bikers interact with the land and treat every experience they have on it with a gracious appreciation is a lesson we Westerners could stand to learn.

Related: Cory Wallace Combines His Passions In 'The Nomad'

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We're always on the lookout for amusing, interesting and engaging bike-related videos to feature on our channels. Whether you're a professional rider or just an amateur, we want to see your best footage and help you share it with the world. Submit your video for a chance to be featured on Bike Mag and our social channels. Be sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel to watch high-quality bike videos.
Hungarian-American biochemist Katalin Kariko speaks at the University of Pennsylvania on Monday, Oct. 2, 2023, in Philadelphia. Kariko and Drew Weissman were awarded the 2023 Nobel Prize in medicine for discoveries that enabled the creation of mRNA vaccines against COVID-19 and whose technology could be used in the future to develop shots against other diseases like cancer and lupus. | Matt Rourke, Associated Press

Ten years ago, Katalin Kariko, Ph.D., was escorted out of her lab at the University of Pennsylvania, kicked out and forced to retire after years of not having her research funded, and given a demotion prior to being let go. Last week, she received the Nobel Prize in medicine for the research that led to COVD-19 vaccines.

For decades, Kariko had focused her research on mRNA and the possibility that it could be used to program cells to produce their own cures. Many of her colleagues at Penn denigrated her research, and some refused to work with her. She was demoted.

Eventually, she persuaded another Penn researcher, Drew Weissman, Ph.D., to join her in her efforts to modify mRNA. Weissman, an immunologist, was interested in developing a vaccine against HIV. He was a joint recipient of the Nobel Prize this year, with Kariko.

Related

Getting past the problem

The problem with single-stranded mRNA, or messenger RNA, is that it is less stable than double-stranded DNA, and hard to work with. Researchers had to wear gloves just to touch equipment coming in contact with the molecule; just breathing on the instruments made them unusable for mRNA, reports The Wall Street Journal.

The molecule also degrades quickly, and early experiments found that it continually triggered an inflammatory response. Finally, Kariko and Weissman found a way to modify one of the base cellular components to avoid the inflammatory response. This allowed the molecule to get into the cells and create proteins that could be used to produce vaccines and medications.

Leading scientific journals rejected their research. Finally, in 2005, they were published in a peer-reviewed journal, Immunity. It didnt lead to any additional funding, and it gained very little notice. She still lost her job, eight years after that study was published. However, a still-small German startup called BioNTech licensed the work of Kariko and Weissman to work on developing cancer vaccines.

Ready for COVID-19

In 2008, Derrick Rossi, Ph.D., an assistant professor at Harvard Medical School, came across the Kariko and Weissman paper while looking for a solution to cell die-off in his lab. Elaborating on Kariko and Weissmans research, he published his own research in 2010. With funding raised on the back of that paper, he cofounded a new upstart in the biotech world; he called it Moderna.

When Kariko was escorted out of Penn a decade ago, she went to work with that German startup, BioNTech, commuting from her home near Philadelphia to Germany for nearly a decade. When scientists from China posted the genetic sequence of a brand-new virus that had begun decimating Wuhan in early 2020, BioNTech and Moderna went to work. The decades of research paid off: BioNTech designed an mRNA vaccine in hours, and it took Moderna less than a weekend.

The idea behind both vaccines, reported The New York Times in 2021, was to introduce mRNA into the body that would briefly instruct human cells to produce the coronaviruss spike protein. The immune system would see the protein, recognize it as alien, and learn to attack the coronavirus if it ever appeared in the body. The vaccine also used a lipid bubble to encase the mRNA  that also came quickly, after 25 years of work by multiple scientists.

When the first results of the Pfizer-BioNTech study came on Nov. 8, 2020, it showed that the mRNA vaccine offered a powerful immunity to the new virus. Oh, it works, Kariko said to her husband. I thought so. Then, she celebrated by eating an entire box of Goobers chocolate-covered peanuts, her favorite snack.

In early 2021, she ran into the man who had led her out of her lab at Penn. He was going to give a lecture about her, he said. You will talk about me? she asked him. What about?

The focus, he said, would be on how hed missed it  one of the greatest scientific and humanitarian achievements in their lifetimes, and hed let the woman responsible for it walk out the door.

On Monday, the University of Pennsylvania heralded RNA pioneers Kariko and Weissman for their life-saving work. There was no mention that they let her go.

Holly Richardson is the editor of Utah Policy.
This luxurious sailing vessel charters small-group voyages to visit some of the countrys most remote costal destinations.

Emilio Kuzma-Floyd/Courtesy of Vela The Vela enters Batu Moncho Bay, in Komodo National Park.

Having grown up with a deep fear of the ocean, my initial reaction after jumping into the bay was, frankly, terror. Salt water flooded my snorkel, making me gag. Below the surface, monumental forms drifted like icebergs. Two whale sharks, the largest fish on the planet, glided around me, their blue-gray skin a Morse code of chalky dots and dashes.

But then my guide, Yoyok Hariawan, took my hand in the water, which instantly calmed me. As we bobbed on the surface together, he pointed out the animals distinctively shaped caudal fins, their unexpectedly cartoonish smiles, and their preternatural grace. The two specimens, though juveniles, each measured more than 20 feet in length. As I watched them, my fear faded into quiet awe.

We were floating in the choppy waters near Indonesias Komodo National Park in Saleh Bay, one of the best places in the world to see whale sharks up close. One of these magnificent creatures had a weathered satellite transmitter bolted onto its dorsal fin, most likely attached by the nonprofit Conservation International, which started tagging these endangered animals in the country in 2015.

Whale sharks are a mysterious species, and despite tagging efforts like the one we witnessed, much about them, from their breeding habits to their maximum size, remains unknown. Their dark upper bodies and white bellies provide camouflage from both above and below, allowing them to seemingly pop out of nowhere and disappear again.



From left: Emilio Kuzma-Floyd/Courtesy of Vela; Tommaso Riva/Courtesy of Vela From left: A guest snorkels in the waters of Batu Moncho Bay; a work by Javanese artist Dini Nur Aghnia inside Vela's lounge.

I was a passenger on the Vela, a luxury sailing yacht that began charting private small-group voyages in August 2022. Its design is based on the wooden phinisi ships once used to transport spices, textiles, and sandalwood around the Malay Archipelago  the worlds largest group of islands, located between Asia and Australia. Vela is a stunning example of Indonesian craftsmanship: built of ironwood and teak by the expert boatbuilders of South Sulawesis Konjo tribe, it has six staterooms that can accommodate up to 12 passengers. Its name comes from the constellation Vela the Sails, which is seen mostly in the Southern Hemisphere. (The word vela means sail in Latin.)



The ship is owned by Frenchmen Dimitri Tran and Adrien Portier, who also have a sustainable luxury resort, Nirjhara, in southwestern Bali. The vision for Vela, Tran told me, was to combine the features of a modern superyacht with Indonesian design and technique. Those standards also apply to sustainability: Vela was built with extra-large sails to maximize wind power (although there is an engine on board), has dispensed with single-use plastics, and stocks reef-safe amenities like sunscreen and soap.

The 18-person crew, which includes a mixologist and two yoga instructors/massage therapists, most often sails through Komodo National Park and Raja Ampat Marine Park, in eastern Indonesia, but can chart routes to more remote destinations, such as Indonesias Alor and Molucca Islands. We can go anywhere in Indonesia, said cruise director Dean Noble, whose last trip took travelers to Raja Ampats Kali Biru (Blue River) to view its famed birds of paradise.

Tommaso Riva/Courtesy of Vela Vela's main deck.

I had boarded Vela for a five-day voyage from Sumbawa to Komodo National Parks lesser-known corners, a journey of some 220 nautical miles. The park, I learned, is enormous, a 670-square-mile stretch encompassing 29 different islands, including the namesake Komodo, and two bodies of water, the Flores Sea and the Savu Sea.

Inside, the ship is fitted with custom-made, sustainably sourced teak and marble furniture from Bali-based manufacturers and decorated with original works by emerging Indonesian artists. An innovative air-conditioning system uses seawater to keep the rooms cool. Guests have access to an outdoor gym, along with two WaveRunners and two Zodiacs for exploring the coasts and inlets.

I stayed in the luxurious Owners Suite, which occupies more than 430 square feet above deck and has its own private terrace. Inside my bathroom, in addition to an oversize bathtub and Balinese tiling in the shower, I found a robe from the East Bali region decorated by hand with plant-based dyes. A 55-inch smart TV with hundreds of movies on demand popped out of a custom console, though I never needed it.

Courtesy of Vela One of Komodo National Park's famous "dragons".

As we sailed east, each day brought more views of verdant islands and blue waters. One afternoon, we swam in Satonda Islands caldera, a mirror-still saltwater lake ringed with igneous rock, the remnants of an ancient collapsed volcano. At dawn the following morning, we hiked 870 steps up to the peaks of Padar Island, rewarded at the top with sunrise views of the three beaches below, each ringed with a different color sand: white, pink, and black. Another afternoon, we headed to Makassar Reef, a beginner-friendly dive site frequented by green turtles, moray eels, and reef manta rays.

In the water again, I followed Nobles instructions to stay as still as possible while floating with my snorkel. The balletic rays, some with wingspans as long as sofas, soared close to me. In a truly transcendent moment, one of them circled curiously, then dramatically swooped right under me.

Back on Vela, my wildlife encounters were bookended with sunbathing sessions, in-room massages, inventive cocktails, and delicious meals. Head chef Agus Jayadi widened my palate with superb renditions of local flavors and ingredients, like his smoke-kissed grilled pork satays and precisely cooked line-caught mahi-mahi. I ate beef rendang, a caramelized-meat dish flavored with coconut and spices, and tasted endless aromatic sambals, Indonesian chile pastes.

iStockphoto/Getty Images Vela passengers can swim in the Satonda Caldera, in the Lesser Sunda Islands.

On our final afternoon, we cast anchor at Rinca Island to observe the legendary Komodo dragons in their natural habitat. From a raised boardwalk set above a vast, muddy plain, I watched several of the immense reptiles snooze in the late-afternoon heat like lazy dinosaurs. The species, which is endemic to Indonesia, is endangered, but on protected Rinca the population is stable at around 1,400 animals. Our guide, Oji Iskandar, told us that these lizards  the largest and heaviest in the world  can suddenly sprint up to 13 miles an hour in pursuit of prey, and an adult can measure up to 10 feet long.

We sailed away a few hours later, and I thought about the whale sharks, the mantas, and the Komodo dragons. Traveling around eastern Indonesia in hopes of seeing these majestic animals up close wasnt only about size, I realized. It was about the profound impact the creatures have on every person lucky enough to encounter them. I took it as inspiration to bring home with me  to take up more space and feel a little more wild.

A version of this story first appeared in the September 2023 issue of Travel + Leisure under the headline "In the Wake of Giants."

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Jeff Kravitz

You're never too old for a chic mommy-and-me moment. At least, not if you're Salma Hayek Pinault and her 16-year-old daughter, Valentina Pinault, who stepped out together in coordinating purple and black looks on October 3.

Hayek's eggplant-color gown featured long sleeves and ruched details with an asymmetrical midlength skirt, while her daughter was dressed to match in a velvet minidress in the same color, which she topped with a structured black blazer. They also appear to be wearing two versions of the same peep-toe platform shoes. Hayek's are black patent leather, and Valentina's look like black suede or velvet.

Salma Hayek Looks stunning at David Beckham's star studded after party in London XPOS

The mother-daughter pair were pictured arriving at the after-party of the premiere of David Beckham's Netflix docuseries, Beckham, in London. Hayek Pinault's dress, by the way, is by Victoria Beckham herself, because Salma is nothing if not supportive. I loved creating these special pieces for @CruzBeckham and #HarperSeven for last nights premiere And dressing my #VBMuses in my new collection! Kisses, wrote Victoria on Instagram, tagging Hayek Pinault, among others.

That the Pinault ladies share a sense of style is no secretWe fight over clothes because she takes everything from my closet," Hayek told Vogue Mexico in 2022. This isn't even the first time they've dressed in complementary outfits (Hayek let her daughter raid her 90s closet for the 2023 Vanity Fair Oscars party,and dressed herself in a coordinating shade of red). Which is why I fully expect to see Valentina modeling for Victoria Beckham in the near futurejust like her mom.

Originally Appeared on Glamour
In 2022, astrophysicist Sarafina El-Badry Nance was one of the 13 Swim Search finalists to earn a feature in the annual magazine. She traveled to the Dominican Republic with photographer Yu Tsai for her photoshoot.

During the Swim Search experience, she also took the chance to sit down with the team to share a little bit more about herself. Like her fellow finalists and the SI Swimsuit models to come before her, her motivations for participating in the issue were laudable. As a woman in science and a cancer previvor, she wanted to show that women can pursue our dreams, defy stereotypes and be anything we want to be, no matter what! she expressed.

Nance was grateful for the opportunity to represent both the science and breast cancer communities "and equally thrilled for the platform to continue to push for change, she said.

When it came to preparing for her debut, Nance tried to stay calm and enjoy the ride. She added,"I worked on eating clean, getting lots of sleep and taking care of myself.

Her positive and calm mindset certainly paid off, producing a series of stunning photos in the Dominican Republic. Below are a few of our favorites.

Yu Tsai/Sports Illustrated

Yu Tsai/Sports Illustrated

Yu Tsai/Sports Illustrated

Yu Tsai/Sports Illustrated

Yu Tsai/Sports Illustrated

Now through Nov. 1, 100% of SI Swimsuits portion of proceeds from cover prints purchased here will be donated to the Maui Strong Fund, which is helping to support the people and places of Maui affected by the recent wildfires.

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Whether part of a Christmas spread or a lunchtime sandwich, ham is a carnivorous treat that never gets old. First invented in China, the meat curing process has become a central component of an array of global cuisines, especially in Europe -- think the involved process of preparing Spanish jamon iberico or the salty simplicity of Italian prosciutto. In addition to the infamous renditions in southern Europe, this handy method for storing meats is part of the culinary tradition in Finland, too.

In the Nordic country, ham is prepared using the same practice that local Finnish people enjoy partaking of in their free time -- sitting in a sauna. However, don't expect to spot a leg of ham next to a sweating person; the meat is cooked in a specialized smokehouse. This steamy preparation results in a deeply smoky product with a dark, thick rind. The flavor is salty and balanced, perfect for enjoyment on its own or in simple recipes. Let's dive into what this beloved Finnish food is all about.

Read more: The Best Meat For Your Charcuterie Board Isn't One You'd Expect

What Is Sauna Ham?

sliced ham with pickles on bread - sturmpix/Shutterstock

Saunapalvikinkku, as the food is known in Finland, combines two of the country's celebrated traditions into one: preserved foods and spa time. The dish is traditionally prepared with pork, although other meats like lamb, venison, and poultry occasionally get the sauna treatment. Prepared in traditional smokehouses -- designated exclusively for food preparation -- it's an artisanal product that is meant to be shared among friends and family.

In Finland's neighboring country, Estonia, sauna ham is especially popular in rural areas, where it's crafted in small quantities. It's seldom sold at grocery stores, and, though it may occasionally be spotted at local farmers markets, most people don't purchase the ham there. Instead, it's passed from hand to hand between neighbors in small villages.

Sauna ham is a dependable preserved meat that can be enjoyed year-round. It's sliced and eaten on its own or pan-fried alongside eggs, a favorite preparation for breakfast. Although less popular than other cured products, sauna ham's smoky, rustic appeal is immediate.

How Is Sauna Ham Made?

sliced open sauna ham - Ruhrpix/Getty Images

Sauna ham is produced under specific conditions that are very different from the dry heat spas celebrated in Finland. Saunas used for curing ham rely on a chamber that is kept so smoky that it eventually creates a layer of black soot on the walls. Before the heat application, the pork undergoes an involved curing process. The preparation ritual is a very old tradition in the Voro community of Estonia and has even been added to UNESCO's Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

First, the pork is soaked in a saltwater bath for up to a week, which prepares it for curing. Next, the meat is suspended in the smoking chamber in a specific orientation, with the skin facing toward the flame to ensure that a crust develops. The cooking process is not a cold smoke; the pork is heated while it is suspended in the aromatic vapor. The wood used for fuel varies, as does the cooking time, which can last from 10 hours to 3 days. The ham is allowed to cool before being sliced and is then ready to enjoy.

Read the original article on Tasting Table.
(Bloomberg) -- The US Securities and Exchange Commission is seeking to force Elon Musk to testify as it investigates the billionaires purchases of Twitter Inc. shares ahead of his takeover of the social media platform.

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The Wall Street regulator said on Thursday that Musk failed to appear to testify last month as requested, and asked a judge to force him to. The agency is reviewing Musks statements and disclosures about the stock transactions, according to a filing by the agency in federal court in San Francisco.

The SEC began its probe in April 2022 and has requested thousands of documents from Musk and other parties, the agency said. The billionaire has already sent hundreds of documents, and testified twice in July 2022, according to the filing, which described an ongoing, nonpublic investigation.

The SEC has already taken Mr. Musks testimony multiple times in this misguided investigation - enough is enough, Alex Spiro, an attorney for Musk, said in a statement.

Musk agreed to an interview with the SEC last month, the agency said. However, two days before the scheduled Sept. 15 meeting, Musk raised several objections, including that San Francisco wasnt the appropriate location for it. Investigators suggested new dates and agreed to move the interview to Fort Worth, Texas, near where Musk now lives, but he then refused to meet at all, according to the filing.

The SEC rarely takes the step to enforce a subpoena, and the courts often side with the regulator when they do, Marc Fagel, a lecturer at Stanford Law School and former SEC official in San Francisco, said in an interview.

For the SEC to come out of the woodwork and make it public that theyre investigating, thats a big step, Fagel said.

Story continues

Increased Holdings

Before acquiring all of Twitter, Musk first purchased a 9.2% stake in the social media firm in March 2022. He then disclosed the stake to the SEC in April. The agencys rules require most people who buy more than 5% of a public company to disclose it within 10 days.

As Musk was ramping up his holdings of Twitter stock, the SEC sent a query to the billionaire in April 2022 over how he disclosed his major stake. The letter from the SECs mergers and acquisitions office was focused on the form that investors must file when they accumulate more than 5% of a company, Bloomberg reported last year.

Musk, the richest person in the world, now oversees six companies, including Tesla Inc., Twitter Inc. and SpaceX, a major government contractor. Over the years, he has tangled frequently with the securities regulator, which he called the Shortseller Enrichment Commission in October 2018.

That same year, the billionaire agreed to pay a $20 million fine, give up his chairmanship at the carmaker, and clear future tweets about that firm with an internal monitor, after the SEC investigated his comments about planning to take the company private.

The Wall Street regulator has also been probing Musks role in shaping Tesla Inc.s self-driving car claims. SEC officials are weighing whether Musk may have inappropriately made forward-looking statements, Bloomberg News reported in January.

--With assistance from Tom Schoenberg and Dana Hull.

(Updates with quote from attorney in sixth paragraph)

Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek

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If you're a cat owner, you probably are pretty happy when your cat purrs. Most cat owners feel that purring signifies that our cats are happy, content and relaxed. But how do our cats make this adorable low rumbling sound we all associate with a cat feeling happy?

A new study shared October 4 hopes to shed some light on this, and it has to do with a cat's vocal folds.

The study, published in an article by New Scientist, comes from the University of Vienna in Austria. According to the article about how and why cats purr, the type of sound an animal makes is typically linked to the size of its vocal folds which are two bands of smooth muscle tissue in the larynx, a hollow tube in the middle of the neck through which air passes to make sounds. Typically, the larger the animal, the longer the vocal folds and so the lower the frequency of sound created.

Christian Herbst, one of the scientists exploring the purring phenomenon, explains in the article that it was proposed that purring relies on muscle contractions in the larynx, so Herbst and his colleagues decided to test this hypothesis.

"To do this, they cut out the larynxes of eight domestic cats that had been euthanized due to illness."

Authors note: Okay, this part is sad but the cats were euthanized anyway, so science.

The researchers found that the larynxes made a purring sound when air was passed through them, meaning that muscle contraction isnt required. Even though the connective tissue structures had been found in cats before, they had never been linked to purring.

The reason cats purr isn't completely understood, but it is thought to be a sign of contentment and self-soothing. It can also be a way of saying that they are comfortable and feeling friendly.

Even though more research is needed to understand why cats purr, you can be pretty sure that a purring cat is a happy cat.

Looking for more PetHelpful updates? Follow us on YouTube for more entertaining videos. Or, share your own adorable pet by submitting a video, and sign up for our newsletter for the latest pet updates and tips.

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Acne Studios just released its new Fall/Winter 2023 campaign, starring New York-based, South Sudanese model Anok Yai.

Lensed by long-term collaborator and Paris-based photographer Carlijn Jacobs, the campaign takes us to an enchanted landscape, drawing influence from the "fantasy forest" that defined the brand's FW23 show.

Yai spotlights a series of key looks, styled by Leopold Duchemin, showcasing Acne Studios' signature DIY techniques and distressed leather, alongside delicate tops, sheer neon dresses and delicately draped fabrics and cut-outs. Elsewhere, the campaign debuts the new Multipocket bag -- a distressed, collapsed satchel-style silhouette inspired by vintage cameras.

"With this collection, I was thinking about the dark winters we have in Sweden, where there are only [a] few hours of daylight. I wanted to capture the beauty of the darkness in both the collection and the set. Sweden is the kind of place where the city ends abruptly and then the pine forest begins," says Jonny Johansson, creative director of Acne Studios.

Take a closer look at the campaign above and head to Acne Studios' website to shop the new collection.

In related news, Hari Nef and Nelly Furtado star in the new SKIMS campaign.
Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

In this op-ed during Domestic Violence Awareness Month, Melody McFadden calls on the Supreme Court to reverse a lower court ruling that would allow people subject to domestic violence restraining orders to access guns.

When I was a young girl living in South Carolina, my mother, Patricia Ann, was shot and killed by an abusive dating partner. He murdered her in front of my three younger sisters  who were 10, 11, and 12 at the time  with an sawed-off shotgun. He was a convicted felon who should never have had access to the firearm he used to take our mother away from us forever. My sisters and I are grown now, but we still feel her absence every single day.

My mom had lived with the man who killed her for years, enduring beatings, bruisings and hospitalizations. Frustratingly, Ive been asked in the years since why didnt she just leave? But there are so many barriers survivors face in a domestic violence situation, especially when they are poor. My mom was held hostage by an emotional cycle of abuse as I know so many survivors of domestic violence are. Many worry that leaving their abusers can put their lives  and the lives of their children  at even greater risk.

And yet, a group of extremist judges has made a decision that will make life for people in abusive situations even more dangerous. In February, a three-judge panel of the federal Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in United States v. Rahimi that the federal prohibition on gun possession for people subject to domestic violence restraining orders is unconstitutional under the Second Amendment.

The Fifth Circuits decision in Rahimi is putting domestic violence survivors living in the Fifth Circuit in danger right now. I know firsthand that this is not an abstract exercise. If the decision is not reversed, domestic violence survivors face the prospect that their abusers can arm themselves immediately. This ruling is a potential death sentence for countless women and families.

Now, it is up to the United States Supreme Court to decide whether they will side with the extremists on the Fifth Circuit or side with women and families and reverse this deadly ruling. The Supreme Court must do the latter  because lives are on the line.

I know from my work with other domestic violence survivors and from my own experience that, for many, getting a restraining order isnt an easy process. Its a hard-fought protection that takes the surmounting of many obstacles to secure. But for domestic violence survivors under the purview of the Fifth Circuit in Louisiana, Texas and Mississippi, the feelings of safety and relief that accompany a restraining order are now gone, replaced by uncertainty about whether they will be protected in the short run  and new gravity to the hypervigilance and fear theyve already been living with for God knows how long. When survivors are able to secure a domestic violence restraining order against their abuser, it should go without saying that an abuser can't keep their guns  or easily go out and buy one.

Let me be clear: I have no problem with guns. Im a proud Army veteran and worked in the police department after returning to civilian life. Im also a gun owner. But I do have a problem with allowing guns to fall into the hands of those who are a danger to themselves or others, like the man who killed my mom.

In the years since my mothers murder, Ive learned that access to a gun makes it five times more likely that a woman will die at the hands of an abusive partner, according to research cited by Everytown, and nearly one million women alive today have been shot or shot at by an intimate partner. The presence of a gun in the home also exacerbates the power and control dynamic used by abusers to inflict emotional abuse and exert coercive control over victims and survivors, even when abusers do not ultimately pull the trigger. The threat of violence can keep many women and children living in fear.

Common sense gun safety laws that protect survivors of domestic abuse are among the most important public safety laws in our country  and theyre also among those with the strongest, bipartisan support among Americans. For the time being, the recent opinion affects Louisiana, Texas and Mississippi. But how many people in those three states are hiding behind a locked door? How many are packing their bags to flee their homes? How many are covering up their bruises with makeup or long sleeves? And if this ruling is not overturned, how many more victims and survivors are out there awaiting the same fate, tantamount to a death sentence?

Right now, domestic violence survivors around the country have a target on their backs, and the Supreme Court must act to reverse this dangerous and unjust decision. Until then, we wont stop fighting, because no one deserves to live in fear or to die at the hands of their abuser.

If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic violence or intimate partner violence, you can call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233, available 24/7, for confidential assistance from a trained advocate. If youre unable to speak safely via phone, you can chat online at thehotline.org.

Originally Appeared on Teen Vogue
Christie M 4K25 RGB pure laser projectors are bringing bright, vivid colors to the performance spaces at The Smith Center for the Performing Arts in Las Vegas. Recently installed as part of a projection upgrade, the new projectors are helping performers, speakers, and musicians engage audiences with dynamic visuals.

The Smith Center opened 11 years ago in downtown Las Vegas and provides Southern Nevada with a cultural foundation, presenting music, dance, Broadway, and theater performances outside of the Las Vegas Strip. The center houses three performance venues: Reynolds Hall, touting 2050 seats, Myrons with 248 seats, and Troesh Studio Theater, which can host an average of 220 seats depending on the configuration.

In 2021, The Smith Center embarked on a path to upgrade its projection technology throughout the venue. R. Warren Bishop, head video engineer, worked closely with Ian Billings at PRG Gear on the procurement process, and compared solutions from three manufacturers, including Christie.

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The support from Christie was superior [to the other manufacturers], and the color performance of RGB pure laser is far better than laser phosphor, Bishop explained. Bishop also wanted laser illumination so that cumbersome and costly lamp changes would no longer be required.

Bishop selected three Christie M 4K25 RGB pure laser projectorstwo for its largest performance space, Reynolds Hall, and one for Myrons, a cabaret-style spacewhich have proved to be a versatile solution. The M 4K25s are much smaller at almost half the size of our previous projectors. It makes life so much easier if we have to move them to accommodate a performance.

[Laser Projectors Engage Viewers with 240,000 Lumens of Theatrical Storytelling]

With the M 4K25 RGB projectors the color performance is noticeable, said Bishop, and presenters have noticed this as well. Astronaut Terry Verts, a speaker with National Geographic Live, recently gave a talk about his time as the commander of the International Space Station and showed images using the projectors. Terry said that this is the best screen in the country, recalled Bishop. He was adamant, in front of the audience, that this is the best screen for the color and clarity.

The venue has also recently acquired a Pandoras Box Server, Player, and Pandoras Box Software Version 8, which opens up new opportunities for content playback and even projection mapping. Were in the beginning phases of determining what we can do with Pandoras Box, said Bishop. There are a lot of possibilities.

Pandoras Box Software Version 8.8 provides real-time video processing and show control capabilities, and includes Workspaces, a new feature that helps users visualize their stage setup in 2D, providing an accessible and simple overview. Users can easily monitor the positioning of layers and find all pixel parameters, which are clearly arranged for a smoother and more organized workflow experience.

[The Right DLP Projector Makes All the Difference: 1DLP vs. 3DLP]

Were thrilled that The Smith Center selected Christie projectors to light up its performance spaces, said Paul Dumpel, senior sales manager, Christie. Our M 4K RGB Series projectors provide an excellent combination of color performance, reliability, and brightness in a compact form factor, delivering memorable visual experiences for audiences and performers alike.
A teenage Afghan refugee drowned while swimming in an English river during the summer heatwave, an inquest heard.

Haroon Armani, 18, was with a friend in the River Great Ouse at Cardington Lock in Bedford on Friday 16 June when he got into trouble.

A boy and girl dived in to try to find him.

Bedfordshire senior coroner Emma Whitting concluded he died of misadventure and said his knowledge of open water was "unknown".

The inquest in Ampthill heard Mr Armani had been used to swimming at a pool in a local gym.

He was pulled from the water and rushed to hospital, where he died the following morning.

The cause of death was recorded as multiple organ failure as a result of drowning.

Social worker Roseanne Johnstone from Bedford Borough Council said Mr Armani arrived in the UK in August 2021 as an unaccompanied adult.

He had fled Afghanistan because he feared the Taliban, as members of his family had been in the army - the inquest heard.

Mr Armani travelled with a group to Pakistan and they were smuggled in trucks through Bulgaria, Serbia, Slovenia, Italy and France, before crossing the channel from Calais on a small boat.

Last December, he was granted leave to remain.

He was living in Bedford and attended Luton's Barnfield College. His ambition was to be a police officer.

"He was a fit, healthy, very active young man. He had always got a smile on his face," said Ms Johnstone.

Ms Whitting said: "In hot weather he entered water of the Great Ouse. Whilst he was familiar with swimming indoors, the extent of his experience and knowledge of open water was unknown."

Follow East of England news on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. Got a story? Email eastofenglandnews@bbc.co.uk or WhatsApp us on 0800 169 1830
More than 100 members of the Amarillo community came together Monday to take part in a walk through downtown to raise awareness on the issue of domestic violence in the Texas Panhandle.

Members of the Amarillo community march to the Potter County Courthouse during the walk against domestic violence Monday afternoon in downtown Amarillo.

Organizing the walk was the Amarillo Potter Randall Domestic Violence Coalition. This coalition comprises multiple agencies committed to implementing initiatives to eliminate domestic violence, enhance victim safety and increase offender accountability.

The walk, which ended at the Potter County Courthouse, was followed by words from community leaders on this cause. Mayor Cole Stanley and Jane Jackson, wife of congressman Ronny Jackson , addressed the crowd along with Randall County District Attorney Robert Love and Potter County District Attorney Jason Herring.

Members of the West Plains High School football team join the walk against domestic violence Monday afternoon in downtown Amarillo.

Love spoke about the event and its importance to the community.

Our walk today was designed to make people aware of domestic violence in our community. We try to heighten awareness so that people realize that we need to do something about it, Love said.

Love said that one of the things that he talks about with prospective jurors in a domestic violence case is that we all know someone who has been touched by domestic violence, and this is your chance to do something about it.

Now, this is a chance for the whole community to do something about domestic violence, Love said. If you see something, say something or do something. Do not just let it go because it is just one of those things or a family matter. Do something about it, because it is something that our community needs to stop.

Members of the Amarillo community march to the Potter County Courthouse during the walk against domestic violence Monday afternoon in downtown Amarillo.

Amarillo Police Chief Martin Birkenfeld spoke about the importance of recognizing and taking action against domestic violence.

"I think there are segments of our community that are completely unaware of domestic violence, and our goal is to make people understand this a serious problem, Birkenfeld said. Unfortunately, we continue to have serious injuries and deaths due to domestic violence each year. There is not enough that we can do to educate on this to make sure people know that there are many different organizations here to support people who are victims of domestic violence, and there are organizations like the police that will hold offenders accountable."

Amarillo Police Chief Martin Birkenfeld leads the Community Walk Against Domestic Violence on Monday afternoon in downtown Amarillo.

Tracie Reilly, an assistant district attorney with Randall County, spoke about the march that was done to bring awareness to Domestic Violence Awareness Month.

This event kicks off what we hope will be a month of people really realizing that domestic violence is pervasive, Reilly said. It affects all demographic groups; it affects all regions, races and religions in Amarillo. The first step toward ending this problem is recognizing that it is happening. Hopefully, if we recognize domestic violence and support the victims that are going through this, then we can work together to end it.

Randall County District Attorney Robert Love greets Jane Jackson, wife of Rep. Ronny Jackson, Monday afternoon at the Community Walk Against Domestic Violence in downtown Amarillo.

Jane Jackson, wife of Rep. Ronny Jackson, writes a message on the Potter County Courthouse steps during the Community Walk Against Domestic Violence on Monday afternoon in downtown Amarillo.

More than 100 community members join the Community Walk Against Domestic Violence on Monday afternoon in downtown Amarillo.

Canyon High School students join over 100 community members at the Community Walk Against Domestic Violence on Monday afternoon in downtown Amarillo.

This article originally appeared on Amarillo Globe-News: Domestic violence awareness walk held in downtown Amarillo
Pictured is Pebbles, an American bison that died from natural causes at Buffalo Rock State Park in Ottawa, Ill. She was 18.

Buffalo Rock State Park lost a family member of 18 years when an American bison, Pebbles, died Tuesday afternoon.

According to an Illinois Department of Natural Resources release, Pebbles was the oldest American bison at the park and died of natural causes. She had been under veterinary care.

Peoria, Ill.: This church has operated for 120 years, but its future is now in doubt

Buffalo Rock State Park  located at 1300 N. 27th Road in Ottawa, Ill.  has two other American bison on site. Pebbles is survived by her 3-year-old calf, Hope, and another named, Cocoa.

Pebbles spent her entire life at the state park after being born on April 25, 2005. She lost her lifelong friend in 2019 when her mother, Holly, died at the age of 20.

Cocoa joined Pebbles at Buffalo Rock State Park on Nov. 8, 2019, coming from Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie in Wilmington, Ill. Hope was born at the park on April 28, 2020.

Buffalo Rock State Park's New Bison In case you were wondering how the first interactions between Pebbles and the new bison went yesterday, here is a recap! Posted by Ottawa Illinois Visitors Center on Friday, November 8, 2019

Chris Sims is a digital producer for the Journal Star. Follow him on Twitter: @ChrisFSims.

This article originally appeared on Journal Star: Pebbles, a Buffalo Rock State Park American bison, dead at 18
Three times in the past six years our pastor has acted out a small drama during his weekly sermon. This is not the church, hell say, crossing his arms over his chest. Then, unclenching and spreading his arms wide, This is the church.

Each reenactment of this open and welcoming gesture strikes me as the kind of message people need to hear, outside as well as inside our stained glass windows. Yet record numbers of Americans have quit going to church. Studies and personal stories describe people either leaving churches or just drifting away for reasons like being too busy or disagreeing on social issues.

The odd thing is that these former churchgoers seem to be searching for some kind of community, and affirmation that love and compassion are good things. Its odd because in my experience thats what church offers.

And my experience is not a sugarcoating of reality. I attend a United Methodist Church in Kentucky, where over the past three years nearly half of the Methodist churches in the state left the denomination. Their reasons for disaffiliating were popularly described as based on objections to the ordination of gay clergy and to holding same-sex weddings in the church.

But its more complicated than that. After all, while theres been a lot of internal debate over those issues, the United Methodist Church still does not allow gay weddings or clergy.

Instead, the disaffiliations have more to do with the divisiveness and tribalism plaguing other parts of society. We no longer want to be around people who might be different from us.

The blessing of the quilts takes place at St. Paul United Methodist Church in Louisville, KY in March of 2020. Members of the congregation sewed quilts for Project Linus, which provides handmade blankets to children who are seriously ill, traumatized or in need.

More from Opinion: Kentuckians need to have hard conversations about rape victims and abortion. Ill start.

Americans are dechurching in droves. What are they leaving behind?

I attended the Kentucky United Methodist Annual Conference this year where disaffiliations were approved for the last wave of the more than 300 churches that left our conference. At the meeting I sensed the hundreds of remaining delegates going through the classic stages of grief, including depression and acceptance. Its a denomination figuring out how to navigate a new world, working hard at keeping hope alive.

My home church in Louisville is on a parallel path. Attendance is trending back up after COVID. We now livestream Sunday services. The coffee shop where I volunteer is getting back to its lively self. Over the past few years I know of people who have left because our church is too liberal, others because its too conservative.

Much of the current commentary on church attendance refers to the new book, The Great Dechurching by Jim Davis and Michael Graham. It takes a deep dive into surveys about why so many have stopped going to church. The studies found plenty of reasons, from wanting to sleep in after being kept awake by a new baby to attending brunch with friends.

Other widely-reported reasons cut even deeper  the widespread child abuse in the Catholic church, use of the Bible to score political points and the too-frequent requests for money.

The reasons are understandable, relatable and even logical. But they dont take into account the unique combination of what a church can offer that addresses what a lot of people say theyre searching for: friends, and being a part of something larger than themselves.

The U.S. Surgeon General issued a report this year on loneliness and isolation, comparing its health effects to smoking 15 cigarettes a day. He created the report, he says, after Americans repeatedly told him they feel invisible and insignificant. Thats a condition every church seeks to address, however imperfectly.

We overlook defects in other parts of our lives. Who hasnt had a less-than-perfect experience at what is still their favorite restaurant? Or stayed loyal to their team despite a series of boneheaded plays?

I deliberately chose to stay a United Methodist despite strongly disagreeing with its prohibition of gay ministers and same-sex church weddings. The God I worship loves everyone the same.

Bishop Fairley: There is more to United Methodists than the debate over human sexuality.

My conflict with Methodist church has become an act of faith

Remaining in the church for me was never a serious question. On the one hand there was this difference over a divisive issue. On the other was a wide-ranging mixture of reason and emotion. I grew up with the habit and tradition that Sunday mornings were for church. Each week I get to listen to choral and organ music I dont hear anywhere else. I see a group of friends who gather on a moments notice for family celebrations or tragedies, to bring food and just to be there. I get to know that Im part of a community that regularly helps build Habitat for Humanity houses. The childrens choir gave my daughter a strong music education from kindergarten through 12th grade.

So I choose to stay because no person  or institution  is perfect. Because leaving a more diverse group of thinkers and believers for people who are closer to being exactly like me seems sad  and even wrong  because it would just contribute to todays tendency to listen only to ourselves.

My disagreement with one of the churchs policies didnt drive me away  the opposite happened.

Im not the sort to just paper over differences like LGBTQ+ rights. So I helped organize a group of church members to hold forums on the issue, to let people know that at next years United Methodist General Conference there could be a vote to change those policies. We also branched into environmental action, supporting the city councils renewable energy resolution. Our group has supported racial justice programs.

My conflict has become an act of faith.

A churchs hold on people doesnt come with the drama of watching a sport or offer a dinner menu. Its bigger than that. I cant help but feel that both the church and its former members are wandering around looking for each other.

Maybe theyll meet again.

Paul Wesslund

Paul Wesslund is a writer based in Louisville, KY, where he is a member of St. Paul United Methodist Church. He is the author of Christianity at Work, a study guide companion to his book, Small Business, Big HeartHow One Family Redefined the Bottom Line. He blogs about how decency succeeds in business and in life at paulwesslund.com.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Methodist Church's stance on LGBTQ rights made me stay and fight
MADISON  A man armed with a loaded handgun demanded to see Gov. Tony Evers at the Wisconsin State Capitol on Wednesday afternoon and  after being arrested and posting bond  returned later with a loaded assault rifle, according to state officials.

Joshua "Taco" Pleasnick arrived at the state Capitol shirtless, with a leashed dog and wearing a holstered handgun, around 2 p.m. Wednesday, according to information on the incident provided to lawmakers and obtained by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, part of the USA TODAY Network.

Pleasnick, 43, of Madison, approached the security desk outside Evers' office and said he would not leave until he saw the governor, who was not in the building at the time, spokeswoman Tatyana Warrick told the Journal Sentinel. Police arrested Pleasnick on a charge of openly carrying a firearm inside the Capitol building, a violation of state law.

Wisconsin Democratic Gov. Tony Evers speaks at a campaign stop, Oct. 27, 2022, in Milwaukee. A man illegally brought a handgun into the Wisconsin Capitol on Wednesday, demanding to see Gov. Tony Evers, and returned at night with an assault rifle after posting bail, a spokesperson for the state said Thursday, Oct. 5, 2023. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)

Suspect says he has 'access to a large amount of weapons'

Pleasnick returned to the state Capitol hours later, at about 9 p.m., with a loaded assault rifle after posting bail. He demanded to see the governor again and was subsequently taken into custody.

On Thursday, Madison police said Pleasnick was taken into protective custody and hospitalized.

"While being interviewed Pleasnick said he would continue coming to the Capitol until he spoke to the Governor about domestic abuse towards men," a report obtained by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel said. "Pleasnick stated he did not own a vehicle and it is likely he has access to a large amount of weapons and is comfortable using them."

"Use extreme caution when in contact with Pleasnick. He should be considered armed," Capitol police officials told lawmakers in an alert.

Evers addresses incident at campaign event

Evers told reporters at an event Thursday that he was unharmed and had confidence state Capitol police would continue to keep him safe.

"I'm OK. To their credit, the Capitol police took control of the situation and so it's over, but yeah, it's always something that is things you don't want to see happen, but that's why we have good people in the police departments, in the Capitol police and the State Patrol," Evers told reporters. "They're doing their great work."

The Evers administration initially refused to divulge information about what happened.

Gov. Tony Evers answers questions as part of a press conference announcing the return of IndyCar racing at the Milwaukee Mile in West Allis on Monday, Sept. 25, 2023. IndyCar announced its schedule Monday morning, including a doubleheader on Labor Day weekend that gives the 120-year-old track at State Fair Park new life yet again.

Evers was once on gunman's hit list

The incident is just the latest in a series of violent threats against public officials.

Last year, Evers appeared on a target list of a man accused of fatally shooting a retired county judge in 2022. The so-called "hit list" was found in the suspect's vehicle with names that included Evers, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and former U.S. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky.

Contributing: The Associated Press; Jessie Opoien of the Journal Sentinel

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Armed man sought Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers and was arrested
WASHINGTON (AP)  The Biden administration will resume deporting migrants to Venezuela as increasing numbers arrive to the U.S-Mexico border.

The process is expected to begin shortly, said two U.S. officials, though they did not provide specific details on when the flights would begin taking off. The officials were not authorized to disclose details of the governments plan and spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity.

The resumption of deportation comes not long after the administration increased protected status for Venezuelans who arrive to the U.S., so if someone arrived to the U.S. before July 31 of this year, but not after, they'd be eligible for protections. The decision reflects the larger strategy by President Joe Biden to not only provide expanded legal pathways for people arriving, but also to crack down on those who illegally cross into the country from Mexico.

Its the latest effort to deal with swelling numbers of migrants as the administration comes under increasing pressure from Republicans and mayors from the presidents own party to do more to slow arrivals. U.S. officials were in Mexico Thursday to discuss the issue.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with his Mexican counterpart Alicia Barcena, as well as foreign ministers from Panama and Colombia, Wednesday. Talks were scheduled to continue Thursday, including a meeting between U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland and Lopez Obrador.

A migrant from Venezuela walks south on a highway heading to Chihuahua, Mexico after deciding o head back home after an unsuccessful attempt to enter the U.S. to seek asylum The migrant did not have money to return home and was determined to walk back to South America.

Lopez Obrador said Thursday during his daily news briefing that Mexico has reiterated in talks its position that there should be investment to spur development in the countries that migrants leave.

The people don't abandon their towns because they want to, but rather out of necessity, the president said. He also criticized the Biden administration's announcement Wednesday that it waived 26 federal laws in South Texas to allow border wall construction. Lopez Obrador had previously praised Biden for not building more border wall during his presidency.

New York City Mayor Eric Adams , who is also dealing with a large influx of migrants, was traveling through Latin America to learn more about the paths migrants take to the U.S. and to spread a message about the realities of arriving in his city.

More: El Paso records highest migrant death toll in history

He was scheduled to meet with a nun running a migrant shelter in Mexico City Thursday morning before heading to the city of Puebla, source of many of the Mexican migrants who arrive in New York, to meet with migrants and community leaders there.

In a press conference late Wednesday night in Mexico City, Adams said he hoped to manage expectations of migrants setting out on their journeys, and to inform migrants that his city was at capacity after receiving around 120,000 migrants over the past year.

He echoed a rising number of voices in calling for a larger global response to the increasing number of migrants to the U.S.

Its not sustainable, Adams said at the base of a basilica where people often pray before setting out on their journeys. The message of this not being sustainable cannot stay within the boundaries of New York City.  There is a global migration and it must have an international response.

Blinken and other top American officials are visiting Mexico to discuss shared security issues, foremost among them trafficking of the synthetic opioid fentanyl, but also arms trafficking and increasing migration.

A migrant from Venezuela carries his two young children as he looks back to Mexico as he waits for his wife as he crosses the Rio Grande River into the U.S. in Eagle Pass, Texas on July 20, 2023, from Piedras Negras, Coahuila, Mexico. The migrant was part of a group of nearly 30 migrants who crossed hoping to seek asylum in the U.S.

In August, the U.S. Border Patrol made 181,509 arrests at the Mexican border, up 37% from July but little changed from August 2022 and well below the more than 220,000 in December, according to figures released in September.

The U.S. has tried to get Mexico and countries farther south to do more. In April, the U.S., Panama and Colombia announced a campaign to slow migration through the treacherous Darien Gap dividing Colombia and Panama. But migration through the jungle has only accelerated and is expected to approach some 500,000 people this year - many from Venezuela.

More Venezuelans were encountered at the U.S.-Mexico border last month than nationals of any other country except Mexico, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection figures released by Lopez Obrador.

Venezuelans were stopped 25,777 times the first 17 days of September, up 63% from the same period a month earlier. Those included some people admitted for scheduled asylum appointments, but the vast majority were illegal entries.

More: Biden administration's border policies were working. What went wrong?

Venezuela plunged into a political, economic and humanitarian crisis over the last decade, pushing at least 7.3 million people to migrate and making food and other necessities unaffordable for those who remain.

The vast majority who fled settled in neighboring countries in Latin America, but many began coming to the United States in the last three years.

Deportation flights had been paused in part because the U.S. has few diplomatic relations with the nation. U.S. officials would not say how Venezuela agreed to accept back their citizens except to say that, like other countries around the world, the U.S. has long encouraged Venezuela to take back its nationals.

The U.S. announcement resuming deportation flights makes clear that we are committed to strictly enforcing immigration laws and quickly removing individuals who do not avail themselves of these orderly processes and choose to cross our border unlawfully, Homeland Security said in a statement.

This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: Deportation flights resume for Venezuelan migrants
While not a mind-blowing move, it is good to see that the The Boston Beer Company, Inc. (NYSE:SAM) share price has gained 24% in the last three months. But that doesn't change the fact that the returns over the last three years have been disappointing. Tragically, the share price declined 58% in that time. Some might say the recent bounce is to be expected after such a bad drop. Perhaps the company has turned over a new leaf.

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.

Check out our latest analysis for Boston Beer Company

There is no denying that markets are sometimes efficient, but prices do not always reflect underlying business performance. One way to examine how market sentiment has changed over time is to look at the interaction between a company's share price and its earnings per share (EPS).

During five years of share price growth, Boston Beer Company moved from a loss to profitability. We would usually expect to see the share price rise as a result. So it's worth looking at other metrics to try to understand the share price move.

Revenue is actually up 8.0% over the three years, so the share price drop doesn't seem to hinge on revenue, either. This analysis is just perfunctory, but it might be worth researching Boston Beer Company more closely, as sometimes stocks fall unfairly. This could present an opportunity.

You can see how earnings and revenue have changed over time in the image below (click on the chart to see the exact values).

Boston Beer Company is a well known stock, with plenty of analyst coverage, suggesting some visibility into future growth. Given we have quite a good number of analyst forecasts, it might be well worth checking out this free chart depicting consensus estimates.

A Different Perspective

Boston Beer Company's TSR for the year was broadly in line with the market average, at 13%. That gain looks pretty satisfying, and it is even better than the five-year TSR of 7% per year. It is possible that management foresight will bring growth well into the future, even if the share price slows down. It's always interesting to track share price performance over the longer term. But to understand Boston Beer Company better, we need to consider many other factors. For example, we've discovered 2 warning signs for Boston Beer Company that you should be aware of before investing here.

Story continues

Of course Boston Beer Company 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 American exchanges.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.



This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.
Brevard resident James Milton Fletcher served in the U.S. Army Reserves from June 6, 1944-December 1956. He served as Rifleman in the 184th Regiment, fighting in the last battle of World War II, the Battle of Okinawa. His division was ordered to receive the surrender of the Japanese Army in Korea.

Milt Fletcher on Sept. 1, 2023.

Fletcher, 96, recently told his story for the Veterans History Museum of the Carolinas. Here is his account:

I was born on Dec. 31, 1926, in Americus, Georgia. I took my oath on June 6, 1944, D-Day, five days after I graduated from high school. They sent us to Hawaii for jungle training.

The Easter morning landing on Okinawa on April 1, 1945.

The Battle of Okinawa

We were ordered to Okinawa. The Battle of Okinawa started on Easter Sunday (April 1), 1945. They fought viciously there for two months. The politicians declared the island secure, but they were still fighting when I got there in June. When I joined my Infantry outfit, they had 110% casualty. I asked, How did you manage 110% casualties? The answer: The replacements get shot pretty fast. The life expectancy, I heard, was 90 minutes. It was one of the bloodiest battles in the history of American warfare.

We thought we were going to invade Japan on Labor Day, On Aug. 6, we heard on the radio that they had dropped this unusual bomb on Japan, and they were pursuing peace. We thought it was just a ruse to get us to walk into one of their surprise attacks. A week later, they dropped the second bomb and we realized it was for real.

The Japanese Surrender

Everybody was frightened because the Japanese had said that every man, woman, and child would die for their Emperor rather than surrender. We were very happy at the dropping of the second bomb. There was so much celebratingwe lost 600 men killed due to stray munitions."

According to the National World War II Museum, the official American casualty count between April 1 and June 22 is 12,520 killed out of 49,151 total casualties.

Milt Fletcher: The fighting continued after the official end of the war. Okinawa is known as the last major campaign of World War II. In my opinion, it was the bloodiest battle in American history. Aug. 21 was the happiest day of my life. We had orders to go to Seoul, Korea to receive the Japanese Army surrender for Korea, the same day they surrendered to MacArthur in Tokyo Bay.

Milt Fletcher in 1952,

Securing Korea After the Japanese Surrender

We were assigned to secure the telephone systems in Seoul, occupy the treasury building, and guard the capitol building.

People were stealing provisions the Japanese Army had there, so we guarded them and an opium factory. The Koreans had been almost slaves under the Japanese. We were processing them to go back to Japan. So we Americans became the managers until we could train the Koreans to be managers. I was made Staff Sergeant at age 18 and was discharged from active duty in December 1946, before I turned 20 years old.

Back home and back to school

I re-started college at Georgia Southwestern and later earned my M.A. at the University of Georgia in entomology and teaching. I became a teaching principal before I was 25 years old. I spent the Korean War running the reception center for draftees in Columbia, SC.

The R.O.T.C. boys were the green lieutenants who were replacements in Korea. We lost 54,260 GIs. In the Reserves for 12 years, I received the Infantry Riflemans badge.

Career and family

I worked for 30 years in sales and teacher training for Scott Foresman & Company. In 1951 I married Libby, a girl I had known since childhood. We have two children, Jim and Betsy. Sadly, Libby passed away in 2020.

I love my country. Its been good to me, gave me two college degrees, and helped me buy a home.Ive lived in Brevard, N.C. for 10 years. Im a firm believer in education. Im taking an art class now and Ive studied Chaucer, Middle English, and the Great Books. I attend yogaand always siesta at 2:00 pm. Ive had a good life, a full life.

Janis Allen is the communications director for the Veterans History Museum of the Carolinas. The Veterans History Museum of the Carolinas mission is to honor veterans, educate the public and prserve history. Located at 21 East Main Street in Brevard (beside the courthouse), admission is free. Hours are 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday. For more information call 828-884-2141 or visit theveteransmuseum.org.

This article originally appeared on Hendersonville Times-News: Brevard's Milt Fletcher recalls Easter morning's Battle of Okinawa
How big was Piccadilly Cafeteria? Bigger than the chains hunk of coconut cream pie.

Ask your grandmother.

Piccadilly opened in Baton Rouge in 1932 with one cafeteria and swelled to more than 270 dotting Gulf Coast states when the company gobbled up competitor Morrisons Cafeterias in 1998. The merger ended in bankruptcy, leaving 41 locations by 2003.

That number is now down to 30, with Piccadilly sites spread across Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee and Virginia.

And in Florida, as of October, theres just one remaining Piccadilly to get the Southern-cooking comfort food  and the cafeteria culture that doubles as a community center.

Floridas last Piccadilly

Florida was down to two Piccadilly cafeterias until the Sept. 26 closing of the location in Jacksonville after more than 50 years. The lone survivor in Florida is at 4500 Hollywood Blvd. in Broward County, between Interstate 95 and Floridas Turnpike.

This last-remaining Sunshine State Piccadilly is a relative newcomer, housed for 27 years inside a former Olive Garden. But the location has outlived Piccadilly cafeterias in Hialeah, Miami Springs, West Flagler and North Miami, as well as Tampa and Bradenton.

The surviving Hollywood Piccadilly features an unpretentious steam table that an earlier generation feasted from at Morrisons, Davids and Biscayne cafeterias.

The people in line, then and now, come from all backgrounds. Piccadilly is part of a culture where division disappears. Blue collar. White collar. Retired. Kids. Seniors. Black, white, Hispanic. Everyone in line with one goal: a good meal that wont clean out the wallet.

Piccadilly is closing for good tomorrow on University. It was the last one still standing. I will miss their carrot souffle. I hope another restaurant takes their place because its not a lot of eateries around there.  EbonyBrown (@Janean5) September 25, 2023

What is the future of the Hollywood Piccadilly?

Callie Tucker, director of marketing for Piccadilly Cafeterias, acknowledged the closing of the Jacksonville location in an email to the Miami Herald. She said plans are underway to nourish the sole surviving Florida restaurant with some TLC.

Our Hollywood, Florida, location opened in 1996 and remains extremely successful to this day. This is all thanks to our loyal guests, that show up daily to enjoy Piccadillys home-style southern dining, Tucker said. Our companys long-term plan is to remain in Hollywood proudly serving this community while continually working to remain a guest favorite by implementing all new marketing and promotions paired with a refresh of this physical location in the near future. We look forward to sharing countless more successful years in Florida.

READ MORE: The only South Florida Piccadilly. Why you should go

Whats on the Piccadilly menu?

Customers line up for entrees at lunchtime at the Hollywood Piccadilly in this file photo from June 16, 2018.

Heres what newcomers and regulars experience: Customers get in a winding line that starts with dessert first. Before you get to the entrees, you can select that huge slice of coconut cream pie under a cumulus cloud of whipped cream.

Oh, theres also salad, so we move on to the main event.

Chopped steak with gravy. Chicken tenders. Fried shrimp. Baked fish in sauce. A daily chicken special. Southern fried fish. Liver and onions.

Sides beckon behind the steamy windows on the display line  two please, so long as one is the carrot souffle. This sweet side with a vegetable in its name isnt so healthy, but so what?

Carrot souffle is what the angels order as a side.

Or pair the $10.99-$12.99 entrees with mac and cheese, okra, jalapeno corn bread, turnip greens, broccoli, corn  and can we mention the carrot souffle again?

Last-minute decisions at the cafeteria

What, you thought we were going to post a photo of liver and onions? We dont even like to think about liver and onions.

Picking just the right dish as the crew on the serving line grants your wish with a silver ladle can be as momentous as picking a president. If someone wants to take a little longer to browse the steam table before choosing, thats OK. No road rage in this lane.

One man at the steam table line wants one of everything. Another wants the gravy from one meat ladled onto another meat. The customers, hungry as they are, stay chill. The workers oblige, and even scoop more than you thought they would.

One conversation with the cafeteria lady and a customer went like this: Youll kill me but I will take the fish instead of this liver. Have to eat clean. And I will have some broccoli. Wait, ooh, thats gas. Broccoli is gas.

As Jacksonville restaurateur and customer Aljiray Fennell says farewell to Piccadilly with a final thank you for always filling my belly, South Florida, for now, will have the cafeteria fish, but maybe not the broccoli.

The Hollywood Piccadilly Cafeteria at 4500 Hollywood Boulevard in Broward County is the only Piccadilly remaining in Florida.
Russ Andrews has a business background and lives in the Aspen area, but he says that hes very different from Adam Frisch , the Democrat who narrowly lost to U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert in November 2022 and is running again for his partys nomination.

For starters, Andrews is a Republican. He identifies as a hardcore conservative and says taxes are appalling.

Heres what Andrews had to say in a recent interview with the Chieftain about why hes running for Congress.

Russ Andrews of Carbondale is challenging Rep. Lauren Boebert to represent Colorado's 3rd Congressional District.

Why Andrews is joining the GOP primary race

Andrews has a background as a marine engineer and a financial advisor. He has hosted a political and talk show in the Roaring Fork Valley for 14 years, which is now suspended as hes running for office.

He has voted for Boebert three times so far  including in the 2022 primary  but thinks that theres bad math for Boebert and that many unaffiliated voters dont like her.

When Boebert was elected to office in 2020, Andrews said her approach to being a congressional representative was less about delivering results for constituents and more about changing the moral trajectory of this country.

He thinks that he can be a good replacement for Boebert because he hasn't "pissed anyone off yet.

Here are Andrews' positions on policy

Andrews firmly identifies as a conservative.

He wants to curtail illegal immigration and impose harsher penalties on drug dealers. To address the import of fentanyl and synthetic opioids, Andrews thinks tariffs should be imposed on China and Mexico until fewer people are dying from drug overdoses.

Andrews also wants to finish constructing the wall along the United States border with Mexico, started by former President Donald Trump.

However, he wants to increase legal immigration to the United States. Many of the people coming into the US, especially illegally, are unskilled laborers, but he wants to allow more skilled immigration of people who can contribute.

Andrews isnt a fan of taxes. One of his policy ideas is to temporarily suspend collecting taxes in certain areas to spur economic development through enterprise zones, which he credits to conversations with Paonias mayor.

He thinks the Republican Party needs to move past abortion, but hes one of a few GOPers who isnt opposed to the practice.

He said he agreed with Bill Clintons adage that abortions should be safe, legal and rare. Andrews noted that the majority of Americans support that sentiment and said that Republicans are getting swamped in fundraising and at the ballot box because of abortion.

Who else is challenging Boebert?

According to the latest filings to the Federal Elections Commission, Boebert will have at least two challengers in the GOP primary next June: Andrews and Grand Junction attorney Jeff Hurd.

Frisch may already have raised millions of dollars, but four other Democrats have also filed to run in the primary: Debbie Burnett, David Kapas, Adam Withrow and Grand Junction Mayor Anna Stout.

As of June 30, the latest data available, Andrews has raised over $12,000 and has loaned his own campaign $10,255, while Frisch reported bringing in nearly $4.4 million and Boebert had nearly $1.6 million.

Andrews said that it can be difficult to fundraise during a primary, but he has been in discussion with some larger donors and said he has raised more money in the third quarter of this year.

Last years election did not have any third-party candidates on the ballot, but two libertarians have filed to run.

Anna Lynn Winfrey covers politics for the Pueblo Chieftain. She can be reached at awinfrey@gannett.com. Please support local news at subscribe.chieftain.com.

This article originally appeared on The Pueblo Chieftain: Meet the Carbondale businessman challenging Boebert in the GOP primary
U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley says a revolt by hardline Republicans that led to the ouster of former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy is wasting time Congress could be using to pass spending bills for the upcoming year and "puts sand in the gears of government."

Speaking on a call with the Des Moines Register Wednesday afternoon, Grassley, a Republican, said legislative progress in the House is "completely stalled" until they vote to elect a new speaker, which won't happen until next week.

"All those days are lost that the House wont be processing appropriation bills," he said. "And it could be longer if they dont elect a speaker on the first roll call or first couple roll calls next Wednesday. And it just puts sand in the gears of government, I guess is the best way to put it."

McCarthy was ousted from the speakership Tuesday in a 216-210 vote, the first time in U.S. history that a speaker has been involuntarily removed from their post by the chamber. Eight Republicans and 208 Democrats voted against him.

More: Iowa's Congress members vote to keep Kevin McCarthy as House speaker. It didn't work

All four of Iowa's Republican U.S. representatives voted to keep McCarthy as speaker.

McCarthy faced anger from a small group of Republicans over a short-term bill he put on the floor to fund the government for about 45 days and avert a shutdown.

Hardline House conservatives had complained that the deal to keep the government open didn't contain deep spending cuts that they wanted, which the Senate isn't interested in taking up.

They've also called for Congress to pass year-long appropriations bills with deep spending cuts. But Grassley said Wednesday that ousting McCarthy only further delays that goal.

"Whats worse is the people that caused this problem yesterday are the very same ones that are complaining because we arent getting appropriation bills done," he said of the eight Republicans who voted to get rid of McCarthy.

More: Iowa's senators, representatives vote to avert a government shutdown. What they're saying:

Grassley says Ukraine aid and border security likely to be tied together

McCarthy's ouster has also thrown into doubt the future of additional military aid for Ukraine.

A vocal group of House Republicans opposes sending more money to aid the Ukrainian military as the country defends itself from a Russian invasion. The short-term government funding deal did not include any new aid, but President Joe Biden and Democratic senators are seeking more money.

More: Iowa's Zach Nunn says United States shouldn't send any new taxpayer dollars to aid Ukraine

Grassley said he doesn't think any new money for Ukraine can pass Congress unless it's tied to new border security measures, which Republicans have been seeking.

"I think that theres a bigger issue involved with Ukraine and thats the feeling that we ought to secure the border, pass some policy changes or more money to enforce law at the border, and I doubt if anythings going to be seriously considered on either item unless the two are tied together."

Grassley said he supports tying the two issues together.

"Oh yeah," he said. "Weve got to make sure that we take care of our own problems here at home as much as were worried about problems overseas."

Stephen Gruber-Miller covers the Iowa Statehouse and politics for the Register. He can be reached by email at sgrubermil@registermedia.com or by phone at 515-284-8169. Follow him on Twitter at @sgrubermiller.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Grassley says McCarthy ouster 'completely stalled' House budget progress
Columbus police have identified a man shot by a police officer Wednesday night during an altercation at an apartment building in the Hilltop.

Michael Lamont Frierson, 36, of the Westland area, is currently in police custody at a local hospital in critical but stable condition, according to a Columbus Division of Police release issued Thursday afternoon.

Police are not releasing the name of the officer who shot Frierson, citing Marsy's Law that contains language they contend makes police officers victims of crime whose names can be withheld. The department said the officer is a four-year member of the force.

Police arrested Frierson on an outstanding felony warrant, but new charges for domestic violence and felonious assault against a peace officer will be filed later after his release from the hospital in connection with the incident Wednesday at apartments on the 1600 block of Sullivant Avenue.

Police responded about 10:50 p.m. Wednesday to a call about a man who seemed to be having a mental health crisis and had assaulted two people, police said.

Officers determined that Frierson should be arrested for domestic violence, but police say he refused to come out of the apartment. When officers kicked open the door to take Frierson into custody, he struck an officer in the face with a "potential weapon" in his hand, Sgt. Joseph Albert said in a previous release.

Investigators recovered a pair of scissors, a knife and a fork at the scene, according to the Thursday release.

According to court records, Frierson had a warrant out for his arrest for a 2022 drug possession case.

As is Columbus policy, the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation will lead the investigation into the police shooting. The officer who fired has been placed on paid leave, per division policy.

80 Hours of Gun Violence in Columbus A snapshot of a city under fire

bagallion@gannett.com

@baileygallion

This article originally appeared on Florida Today: Columbus police name man officers shot, say he struck officer in face
WASHINGTON (NEXSTAR)  The turmoil in the House as they pick a new leader is putting future aid for Ukraine at risk, even though most lawmakers still support sending more.

On Thursday Ukranian rescuers searched through the rubble for bodies after a Russian rocket hit a cafe, killing at least 50 people. Across the globe, the U.S., one of their staunchest allies is considering whether to send more aid.

DeSantis touts law enforcement support at Tampa campaign stop

We have to continue to support the people of Ukraine, because this is the horrifying nature that they live in every day, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said.

Top U.S. military leaders briefed President Biden on the war effort this week, as he urges Congress to pass a new round of funding for Ukraine.

Its critically important for the United States and our allies that we keep our commitment, Biden said.

The majority of both parties in the House and the Senate have signaled their approval to continue supporting Ukraine. However, the House is in the middle of a chaotic search for a new speaker, making future legislation uncertain.

One of the lawmakers competing for the speakership, Congressman Jim Jordan, has expressed doubt about sending further aid.

If you can tell us what the goal is, how is the money being spent? Jordan asked. I think the American people are entitled to know the answer to those two questions before we continue to send their hard earned money to protect Ukraines border when we have whats happening on our own border.

A growing number of House Republicans now oppose helping Ukraine. Senator Richard Blumenthal says the intensifying debate over the issue is damaging.

Kicked off your Amazon account with no explanation? Youre not alone

We are sending a signal to the world, to our allies, to Vladimir Putin that we are inconstant and potentially unreliable, Blumenthal said.

Senator Tim Kaine argues if the U.S. doesnt help Ukraine win, it will cost more to address the future international fallout.

The battle between democracy and dictatorship isnt just somebody elses battle, its our battle too, Kaine said.

Even with the turmoil in the House, some lawmakers say theyre confident new aid will pass.

Every dollar we have sent to Ukraine has been a good dollar spent, Congressman Jake Auchincloss said.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WREG.com.
Rep. Steve Scalise , R-La., shakes hands with Rep. Kevin McCarthy , R-Calif., after nominating him for the third round of votes for Speaker of the House at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 3, 2023, in Washington. | Alex Brandon, Associated Press

The search for a new speaker in the House of Representatives is on, after a majority of members  including all Democrats and eight Republicans  voted to remove now-former Speaker Kevin McCarthy. The Republican conference will conduct a candidate forum on Tuesday, Oct. 10, which will be followed by a vote the next day.

Here are the confirmed and potential candidates for House Speaker:

Rep. Steve Scalise of Louisiana

Scalise announced his run for speaker on Oct. 4.

He said, We cannot lose sight of our shared mission. Now, more than ever, we must mend the deep wounds that exist within our conference and focus on our objectives so we can get back to work for the millions of people who are counting on us.

It is with that sense of responsibility and purpose that I am seeking the conferences nomination for speaker of the House.

Scalise has served in Congress since 2008 and has received strong support from the members from the South, per Punchbowl News. Currently, Scalise serves as the House majority leader, the second highest leadership position among House Republicans.

While Scalise was diagnosed with multiple myeloma, a form of blood cancer, he told The Associated Press that treatments are going well so far. He currently receives chemotherapy treatments in Washington, D.C.

Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio

On Wednesday, the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, announced his run for speaker.

I helped to deliver the most significant legislative accomplishment this Congress: the strongest immigration and border enforcement bill ever. With other committee chairs and the members of the Judiciary Committee, I am doing the oversight and holding the Administration accountable. And I have been among the leaders in pushing for fiscal discipline my entire career. I respectfully ask for your support for the Speaker of the House of Representatives, he said in a letter to House Republicans.

Last week, Jordan voted against a $300 million package to Ukraine. He told CBS, The most pressing issue on Americans mind is not Ukraine. Its the border situation and it is crime on the streets and everybody knows that. So lets address those.

Jordan has already received support from several representatives, including Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky, and Rep. Jim Banks of Indiana.

In an X post, Massie said, I support Jim Jordan for Speaker.

Banks said, We need a conservative fighter to stand up strong to the Biden White House and Democrat Senate and I cant think of anyone better than Jim Jordan, per NBC.

Rep. Patrick McHenry of North Carolina

After McCarthy was ousted, McHenry was appointed to act as the House Speaker pro tempore until an official speaker is elected, per The Associated Press.

McHenry first ran for a seat in the House of Representatives while still a college student in 1998. Though he lost then, he won a seat in 2002 at age 27, per The Associated Press. McHenry has also worked for a Washington-based media consulting firm, for George W. Bushs 2000 presidential campaign, and as a special assistant to the U.S. Secretary of Labor.

McHenry has a close relationship with McCarthy and publicly denied Gaetzs allegations of a secret deal made with House Democrats on continuing resolutions, according to the Washington Examiner.

He also serves as chairman of the House Financial Services Committee.

In his temporary position so far, McHenry ousted former Speaker Nanny Pelosi from her Capitol hideaway office, per Politico. The email said, Please vacate the space tomorrow, the room will be re-keyed.

Rep. Kevin Hern of Oklahoma

Though he voted for McCarthy in January, Hern received several votes for House speaker during the previous election, according to CBS.

Hern has not confirmed he will run for the position, but told reporters on Capitol Hill, people asking (me) about taking a different direction than what weve done historically in this Congress. He continued, So, Im going around talking about this issue with other groups of people to see if the votes are there.

Hern also appeared on Newsmax on Oct. 3. He listed his experiences running various businesses and serving as a Republican committee chair for the past nine months as reasons he feels he is qualified to act as House speaker.

Related

Rep. Byron Donalds of Florida

Donalds was outspoken regarding McCarthys continuing resolution. He told Fox News, Look, Im gonna be honest. We did not get anything out of this continued resolution. The border is still unsecured in our country. Why is that? Thats because Joe Biden and the Democrats got their way. The Democrat members are very happy with what they got. I think this is a terrible deal for the American people.

He also predicted McCarthys ousting, and said, I think (McCarthy) is in trouble. He discussed his reasoning, saying, Part of that is because there has to be some level of strong leadership in our chamber. Im just going to be totally blunt, there are a lot of trust issues in my chamber right now, where people feel on both sides of our conference that everybody is not going to hold hands and continue to do this work together.

What happens if Republicans cant decide on a speaker?

Democratic Rep. Pramila Jayapal told CNN, if the Republican majority cannot elect someone, the Democratic nomination would be New York Rep. Hakeem Jefferies. She said, Five Republicans could come over right now and help us elect Hakeem Jeffries as speaker.

Jefferies released a statement following McCarthys ousting.

He said, This is a solemn moment for the country and for the House of Representatives. The Constitution gifted us a government of the people, by the people and for the people. House Democrats will continue to put people over politics and work together in a bipartisan way to make life better for everyday Americans. It is our hope that traditional Republicans will walk away from MAGA extremism and join us in a partnership for the good of the country.
A federal court selected a new congressional map for Alabama that includes a second Black opportunity district, a consequence of the 2023 Supreme Court decision that found the state violated the Voting Rights Act when it drew new maps following the 2020 census.

The new court-imposed map creates a second Black-plurality district in southern Alabama, which Democrats should be heavily favored in: It voted 56%-43% for President Joe Biden in 2020. The court created the new district, the states 2nd, by moving the heavily white coastal region bordering Florida into the 1st congressional district and extending the 2nd district across the Black Belt, named for the rich soil that favored the crop plantations where enslaved people labored and their descendants still reside. The new district is 49% black and 44% white.

Alabama Republicans agreed to abide by the new court-drawn map, at least for the 2024 election.

The Office of the Secretary of State will facilitate the 2024 election cycle in accordance with the map the federal court has forced upon Alabama and ordered us to use, Alabama Secretary of State Wes Allen said in a statement.

Meanwhile, Democrats hailed the new map as a win for voting rights and the Black residents of Alabama.

Todays decision affirms that Alabama will no longer have a map that dilutes the voting strength of Black citizens, but rather one that reflects the diversity of the state and ensures every communitys voice is heard in Congress, Rep. Suzan DelBene (D-Wash.), chair of the DCCC, the lead campaign arm of House Democrats, said in a statement.

The new court-mandated congressional district map for the state of Alabama includes two Black-opportunity districts in the 2nd and 7th congressional districts.

The new court-mandated congressional district map for the state of Alabama includes two Black-opportunity districts in the 2nd and 7th congressional districts.

While the new Alabama House district adds just one seat to Democrats column, every seat matters in the closely divided House. Republicans currently hold just a five-seat majority in the chamber. The loss of this seat in 2024 gives them less room for error in protecting their majority. And there are other opportunities for Democrats as redistricting efforts and lawsuits continue to advance. Voting rights challenges in Louisiana, Florida and South Carolina could add another three Black opportunity districts, aiding Democrats. Meanwhile, New York Democrats are currently arguing a case in state courts to allow them to redraw their 2022 maps to establish more favorable district lines. But, Republicans may pick up seats in North Carolina after the new GOP majority on the state Supreme Court invalidated the current court-drawn map.

The creation of the new 2nd congressional district follows a yearslong litigation process after Alabama Republicans drew a congressional map in 2021 that Black Alabamians argued discriminated against them based on their race. Racial discrimination in redistricting is illegal under Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, which was passed in 1965 following the famous Selma-to-Montgomery civil rights protest march in Alabama.

After a lower court panel struck down Alabamas map as discriminatory, the state appealed to the Supreme Court to argue for a new race-blind standard for Voting Rights Act cases. The court, with its six-vote conservative supermajority, surprised many when it rejected Alabamas argument in Allen v. Milligan with a 5-4 decision and ordered the state to draw a new map with a second Black opportunity district.

But the state did not comply. Instead, Alabama Republicans drew up a new map that, yet again, contained only one Black opportunity district. They did so on the assumption that Justice Brett Kavanaugh, who joined the majority in Allen, had signaled his openness to reversing his vote in a concurrence he filed in the case.

Alabama, however, read the signs incorrectly. In September, the court rejected the states appeal to reverse its June decision in Allen and directed the state to follow a lower court ruling requiring the state accept a court-drawn map due to its intransigence.

The 2nd congressional district now joins the 7th district, represented by Democratic Rep. Terri Sewell, as opportunities for Black voters to elect their chosen representatives. It is the first time in Alabamas history that it has had two Black plurality congressional districts, despite having one of the highest percentages of Black residents of any state.

It also leaves GOP Rep. Barry Moore with a difficult path to stay in office. He has hinted he may run in the new 1st district against incumbent GOP Rep. Jerry Carl, but the new district contains far more of Carls constituency than Moores. Both Moore and Carl are staunch conservatives, and both have endorsed former President Donald Trump in 2024.

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Amy Parsons long journey with Colorado State University took another important step Wednesday, when she received the mace in a ceremonial transfer of leadership prior to delivering her first Fall Address as president.

The one-time undergraduate student, intern and later attorney in the General Counsels office, vice president for university operations and vice chancellor of the CSU System spoke of the importance of upholding and strengthening the land-grant mission upon which CSU was founded in 1870  of continuing to provide access to any person with the desire and will to achieve a degree, as the Morrill Land Grant College Act of 1862 proclaimed.

She noted that CSU is in an even better position to serve that mission now than it was then, with a better understanding of what that means to Native Americans and people from all cultural, racial and socioeconomic backgrounds.

She proudly noted that the incoming class this fall is the most racially diverse and includes the highest number of first-generation students ever.

When President Lincoln and Sen. Morrill conceived of the Land Grant Act, they imagined a great democratization of education and the revolutionary idea that any person with the desire and will to achieve a degree should have access to an excellent university, Parsons said, while standing on the steps of the administration building on CSUs historic Oval, where more than 1,500 people were gathered.

This was to be a mighty tool to build a country torn apart by war and to strengthen the economy, unify the community and build our competitiveness in the world.

Is that mission not every bit as important today as it was in our founding? Are we not better even better equipped today to carry out the new work of the founding?

Colorado State University President Amy Parsons delivers the Fall Address on Wednesday.

She went on to note the recent acknowledgement that the land upon which CSU was built was seized from the Native Americans who called it home, a fact leaders at the time did not recognize.

Yet a famous Navajo chief, Manuelito, a contemporary of Lincoln who was living a very different life, also saw education as a key to improving the lives of his people.

A few days before his death in 1893, he told a relative: My grandchild, education is the ladder. Tell your people to take it, according to a history of the Navajo people found on the Dine College website.

Theyre both speaking to the power of education and the power of access to education, Parsons said. How do we now, a century and a half later, take their vision and all of the history between them and us and look ahead to create a new renaissance of a land-grant mission. The work is critical. While we are not in a civil war, as in Lincolns day, we are in a time of deep political polarization and increasing social division.

What is our role here? It is not merely to sit on the sideline and to comment and critique. Our role is to step firmly forward and into that fire, to reaffirm that land-grant universities remain our greatest and most powerful tool in modeling reconciliation and progress.

Colorado State University President Amy Parsons shares a moment with former president Tony Frank after her Fall Address speech on Wednesday.

Parsons was constantly reminded of CSUs land-grant mission while serving in administrative roles under Tony Frank, the former CSU president and current chancellor of the CSU system.

Its a mission that shes tried to uphold, she said, through recent efforts to keep tuition increases below the limit authorized by the state legislature and waiving undergraduate admission fees for all Colorado residents.

It's one she hopes will be strengthened further by the universitys thematic Year of Democracy, an initiative that was already in place when she took office last February that shes proud to be a part of. Programs and speakers will focus on bringing people together on both sides of the political divide to solve problems and move forward.

More: Parsons' priorities: CSU president focuses on student value, building cabinet in new year

For Parsons, who earned her undergraduate degree from CSU in political science and counts former professor Bob Lawrence among her close friends and a lifelong mentor, its a good fit.

Its hard to think of a lot of things that are going to matter more to our future than figuring out how to work together to solve problems, Frank said.

Parsons has done her part to increase democracy on campus, too, students said.

She met last spring with current Associated Students of CSU President Nick DeSalvo and his predecessor, Rob Long, to discuss their concerns about rising tuition rates and told them it was OK to fight them. She understood, DeSalvo said, in a way many university presidents wouldnt, that they were just doing their job representing the student body.

Parsons is also far more visible and accessible than her predecessor, Joyce McConnell, ever was, and more in tune with the student body, DeSalvo said.

President McConnell, she didnt get out in front of students much, he said. Amy is everywhere. She goes to events. She shows up, she gets to know students and students actually look forward to seeing her. I think shes done a really good job connecting to the community and connecting to the students.

She realizes what this job is all about.

Probably because shes been around the university for so long in so many different roles.

She briefly broke down in tears at the end of her address Wednesday while thanking her father, Bob Monger, who was sitting in the front row alongside Parsons husband, Jeff, and her daughter, who just began her sophomore year CSU, for sending her to the university in the first place.

I told her when she went to CSU, I said, Youre going to love CSU,  said Monger, who lives in Cheyenne, where Parsons was raised. And she certainly has. I didnt know shed love it quite this much.

Colorado State University's 16th President Amy Parsons receives a hug from her father after her Fall Address speech on Wednesday.

Reporter Kelly Lyell covers education, breaking news, some sports and other topics of interest for the Coloradoan. Contact him at kellylyell@coloradoan.com, twitter.com/KellyLyell or facebook.com/KellyLyell.news.

This article originally appeared on Fort Collins Coloradoan: Colorado State's new president hopes to strengthen land-grant mission
The numbers are shrouded in memory, but its believed that the Washington Generals basketball team won a grand total of three games against the Harlem Globetrotters going back to 1952.

That would make the Generals cumulative record 3-16,000.

You read that right. Three wins to roughly 16,000 defeats.

Such a record of futility would seem unbreakable, but a challenger has emerged in the conservative youth movement Turning Point USA, which aims to turn college towns and U.S. states a vibrant shade of Republican red.

So far, theyve proven theyre a more dependable bluing agent.

Turning Point USA has a dismal record

In the years theyve worked to rally conservative college students, the election results have been ... well ... Ill let this July 21 Politico headline tell the story:

How College Towns Are Decimating the GOP.

Reports Politico: Name the flagship university  Arizona, Colorado, Georgia, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Ohio, Texas, Virginia, among others  and the story tends to be the same. If the surrounding county was a reliable source of Democratic votes in the past, its a landslide county now.

Gaetz is helping GOP lose: 2024 should be cakewalk for Republicans, but they're determined to give failing Dems a win

Having unleashed their genius on the college circuit, Turning Point leaders Tyler Bowyer and Jake Hoffman in 2019 decided theyd do a pilot project in state politics. They would engineer the takeover of the Arizona Republican Party.

They began by helping Trump fanatic and conspiracy fabulist Kelli Ward get elected chair of the Arizona GOP.

Kelli Ward, chair of the Arizona Republican Party, holds a press conference at the Maricopa County Elections Department as she reports the progress of the a post-election logic and accuracy test for the general election on Nov. 18, 2020, in Phoenix.

Republicans have lost plenty in Arizona

The results have been remarkable, to say the least.

Today, the Democratic Party holds Arizonas two U.S. Senate seats, the governors office, the Secretary of States Office, the Attorney Generals Office and could conceivably win majorities in the state House and Senate.

Opinion alerts: Get columns from your favorite columnists + expert analysis on top issues, delivered straight to your device through the USA TODAY app. Don't have the app? Download it for free from your app store.

Not satisfied with this record of failure, Bowyer on Sunday called for someone more conservative to run against GOP Congressman Juan Ciscomani in the 2024 Republican primary.

Somebody prominent needs to step up & primary Juan Ciscomani, he tweeted on Sunday. You would get the Trump + grassroots endorsements & annihilate his short Congressional record.

If your aim is to catch the Washington Generals, this is brilliant strategy.

Now they want to take out Juan Ciscomani?

Juan Ciscomani is a rising star in the Republican Party, not just in Arizona, but nationally.

Rep. Juan Ciscomani (R-Ariz.) speaks during an Arizona Chamber of Commerce and Industry event at he Arizona Biltmore on April 6, 2023, in Phoenix.

He was a kid who grew up in Tucson and became the first in his family to graduate from college.

He worked for the university and later the Tucson Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, before becoming an adviser to then-Arizona Republican Gov. Doug Ducey.

In 2005, Ciscomani was not yet an American citizen.

By 2022, he had become the first naturalized American citizen from Mexico elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in Arizona.

Ciscomani has it all.

GOP mess: McCarthy booted from House speaker, Trump gagged. The Republican Party is an unserious mess.

Ciscomani is a Republican who can win

Hes a family man who exudes warmth and decency. Hes a telegenic leader of real depth, and hes an unapologetic evangelist for the American Dream. Hes also anchored with the good sense to steer clear of his partys most radical elements.

I believe in the American dream. But it won't be around for my kids to inherit.

In southern Arizona where Republicans go to lose, he won a grueling victory by a single percentage point over his Democratic rival. If MAGA Republicans in Phoenix now insist on replacing him with one of their own in 2024, the Democrats will be the first to cheer.

So smitten with Ciscomani were national Republicans that they invited the freshman lawmaker to deliver the GOPs Spanish-language response to Joe Bidens Feb. 7 State of the Union address.

From left, John Ladd and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, listen to Rep. Juan Ciscomani, at center, speak during a press conference in front of the U.S.-Mexico border south of Sierra Vista on Thursday, Feb. 16, 2023, in Hereford.

While Ciscomani has been hammering the Biden administration for its soft border enforcement and sky-high illegal crossings, Bowyer has been calling for Ciscomanis ouster for supporting then-GOP House Speaker Kevin McCarthy on the budget deal.

When will we see Trump's purity test?

If its purity tests you want, how about one for Donald Trump?

The guy who recently pulled the rug out from pro-life conservatives by telling NBC News Kristen Welker hed compromise with Democrats on abortion.

Is Trump pro-life? Trump thinks protecting life is a 'terrible mistake.' Republicans deserve better.

Recognizing what is happening in the state party, longtime Republican strategist Mike Noble tweeted, Ciscomani is arguably the best the AZ GOP has on the bench for a future statewide candidate who can actually win in the General Election, and yet, some Republicans want to primary him? This is the insanity that is the @AZGOP.

Undaunted, the Turning Point brain trust is proving they may have the persistence to overtake the Washington Generals and their worlds worst record.

What would make that truly astounding is that Turning Point is actually trying to win.

Phil Boas is an editorial columnist with The Arizona Republic, where this column first published. Email him at phil.boas@arizonarepublic.com.

You can read diverse opinions from our Board of Contributors and other writers on the Opinion front page, on Twitter @usatodayopinion and in our daily Opinion newsletter. To respond to a column, submit a comment to letters@usatoday.com.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Republicans controlled Arizona. Then Turning Point USA tried to help
If you are building a properly diversified stock portfolio, the chances are some of your picks will perform badly. But long term DEMIRE Deutsche Mittelstand Real Estate AG (ETR:DMRE) shareholders have had a particularly rough ride in the last three year. Sadly for them, the share price is down 69% in that time. The more recent news is of little comfort, with the share price down 37% in a year. Even worse, it's down 20% in about a month, which isn't fun at all.

Now let's have a look at the company's fundamentals, and see if the long term shareholder return has matched the performance of the underlying business.

View our latest analysis for DEMIRE Deutsche Mittelstand Real Estate

While markets are a powerful pricing mechanism, share prices reflect investor sentiment, not just underlying business performance. One imperfect but simple way to consider how the market perception of a company has shifted is to compare the change in the earnings per share (EPS) with the share price movement.

Over the three years that the share price declined, DEMIRE Deutsche Mittelstand Real Estate's earnings per share (EPS) dropped significantly, falling to a loss. Due to the loss, it's not easy to use EPS as a reliable guide to the business. But it's safe to say we'd generally expect the share price to be lower as a result!

The image below shows how EPS has tracked over time (if you click on the image you can see greater detail).

We're pleased to report that the CEO is remunerated more modestly than most CEOs at similarly capitalized companies. But while CEO remuneration is always worth checking, the really important question is whether the company can grow earnings going forward. Dive deeper into the earnings by checking this interactive graph of DEMIRE Deutsche Mittelstand Real Estate's earnings, revenue and cash flow.

What About The Total Shareholder Return (TSR)?

Investors should note that there's a difference between DEMIRE Deutsche Mittelstand Real Estate's total shareholder return (TSR) and its share price change, which we've covered above. The TSR attempts to capture the value of dividends (as if they were reinvested) as well as any spin-offs or discounted capital raisings offered to shareholders. Its history of dividend payouts mean that DEMIRE Deutsche Mittelstand Real Estate's TSR, which was a 62% drop over the last 3 years, was not as bad as the share price return.

Story continues

A Different Perspective

Investors in DEMIRE Deutsche Mittelstand Real Estate had a tough year, with a total loss of 37%, against a market gain of about 15%. However, keep in mind that even the best stocks will sometimes underperform the market over a twelve month period. Regrettably, last year's performance caps off a bad run, with the shareholders facing a total loss of 9% 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. It's always interesting to track share price performance over the longer term. But to understand DEMIRE Deutsche Mittelstand Real Estate better, we need to consider many other factors. For example, we've discovered 1 warning sign for DEMIRE Deutsche Mittelstand Real Estate that you should be aware of before investing here.

We will like DEMIRE Deutsche Mittelstand Real Estate better if we see some big insider buys. While we wait, check out this free list of growing companies with considerable, recent, insider buying.

Please note, the market returns quoted in this article reflect the market weighted average returns of stocks that currently trade on German exchanges.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.



This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.
As several fall hunting seasons get underway in Illinois and Indiana, state wildlife officials are reminding outdoors enthusiasts: Leave your drone behind.

The use of unmanned aircraft for "any aspect or recovery of wildlife is unlawful," a news release from the Illinois Department of Natural Resources states.

Similar restrictions are in place in Indiana, though hunters in Kentucky may be able to hunt with the assistance of drones in certain situations.

Not only is drone use for hunting unlawful in Illinois, it goes against the spirit of fair chase and widely accepted hunting ethics, said Jed Whitchurch, director of the IDNR Office of Law Enforcement. Illinois Conservation Police officers will be monitoring for drone use during the fall and winter hunting seasons. We encourage all hunters to familiarize themselves with the Wildlife Code, abide by the law, and have a safe and successful hunting season.

In Indiana, drones are banned for hunting and scouting, with exceptions for agriculture, where nuisance animal populations may need to be culled.

A man controlling a drone.

Liza Jackson, a spokeswoman for Kentucky's Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources, said the state's hunting regulations did not yet specifically outline all situations in which drone-assisted hunting could be in breach of the law.

However, Kentucky statute does prohibit hunters from using "aircraft of any kind" as an aid to "take" migratory game birds, which would include activities such as stalking, trapping, killing and pursuing the animals.

"It appears that, in general, drones utilized for hunting activities are not necessarily illegal, depending upon where and how they are used," Jackson wrote in an email. "There does not appear to be any comprehensive list, but restrictions apply to federal properties, state parks, etc."

Drone usage has sparked conversations about ethics in the hunting community.

In an article on the website bowhunting.com, Brodie Swisher wrote, "Most states dont allow for the use of drones as a tool to locate and kill an animal. But even if they did, hunters would be facing an ethical issue here. Think about it. Are you even hunting if you fly a camera over an area to locate deer, then move in to make the kill?"

This article originally appeared on Evansville Courier & Press: Can hunters in Indiana, Illinois and Kentucky use drones?
The Capitol police took control of the situation, so its over," Wisconsin Gov. Evers said, "but its always something you dont want to see happen"

Alex Wroblewski for The Washington Post via Getty Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers

A man carrying illegal firearms went to the Wisconsin State Capitol twice in one day demanding to see Democratic Gov. Tony Evers, according to the Associated Press.

The man, who was not identified, approached the governors office at 2 p.m. on Wednesday and demanded to see him, Wisconsin Department of Administration spokesperson Tatyana Warrick told AP. The man was shirtless and had a handgun holstered to his body.

A capitol police officer who was positioned outside the governors office took the man into custody for openly carrying a firearm in the capitol, which is against the law, Warrick said. She noted that concealed weapons with a valid permit are allowed in the building, however, the man did not even have a concealed carry permit.

The governor was not in the building at the time of the incident.

Related: N.Y.C. Library Moves Drag Queen Story Hour Location Following Bomb Threat

Henryk Sadura / Getty Images The Wisconsin State Capitol in Madison

The suspect was booked into the Dane County Jail and posted bail.

Around 9 p.m. on Wednesday evening, he reportedly returned back to the capitol  after public visiting hours had ended  with a loaded assault-style rifle, once again demanding to see the governor.

Madison Police Chief Shon F. Barnes reported that Madison police were called to assist the Capitol Police Department with a report of a subject carrying an automatic rifle on capitol grounds. He said that the subject was eventually taken into protective custody and transferred to a local hospital.

Related: Who Will Be the New House Speaker? Possible Candidates to Replace Kevin McCarthy

Scott Olson/Getty Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers speaks at a rally on Oct. 29, 2022, in Milwaukee

Gov. Evers communications director Britt Cudaback told PEOPLE that the governor doesnt comment on specific security threats or the governors security detail.

The governor was reportedly asked at an event about the incident, to which he responded: The Capitol police took control of the situation so its over, but its always something you dont want to see happen.

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He reiterated that while he does not comment on his security, he is sure Capitol police are evaluating any potential charges.

Evers edged out a win in last years election with 51.2% of the vote in order to serve a second term in office. Prior to Evers getting elected, the position was held from 2011-2019 by Republican Scott Walker.



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The couple was walking with their dog on national forestland near the U.S.-Canada border when the bear came out of thick brush and attacked

Peter Zenkl/VWPics/Universal Images Group via Getty Images Authorities are not sure if the woman was attacked by a black bear (seen here) or a grizzly bear.

A 73-year-old woman was injured in a bear encounter near the Montana-Canada border, authorities said.

The victim was on national forestland with her husband and their dog when the bear emerged from thick brush and attacked her on Sunday afternoon, according to a Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks news release.

After the man deployed bear spray, the animal retreated from their location along the banks of Trail Creek and a few miles west of the North Fork Road, and the couple returned to their car where they were able to call emergency services, Montana FWP said.

The woman was transported by A.L.E.R.T. air ambulance to Logan Health Medical Center in Kalispell, Montana.

Related: Couple and Their Dog Killed in Grizzly Bear Attack at Canadian National Park: 'Tragic Incident'

Montana FWP has closed the site where the encounter occurred as they investigate the attack. The agency said it has not confirmed the type of bear involved..

Sundays incident comes on the heels of a deadly grizzly bear attack in Canadas Banff National Park.

Never miss a story  sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

A couple and their dog were killed in Red Deer River Valley last week, shortly before the bear was euthanized for displaying "aggressive behavior."

"This is a tragic incident, and Parks Canada wishes to express its sincere condolences to the families and friends of the victims," Banff National Park said in a statement.

Kim Titchener, a friend of the family and the founder of Bear Safety and More, told Reuters that bear encounters are increasing as more people go outside, but that fatal attacks are rare.

"It's really just the reason why we're seeing more attacks, which is more people heading outdoors and unfortunately not being educated on this," she said.

Related: How to Prevent Bear Attacks and What to Do If a Bear Approaches You, According to Experts

In August, a Montana man shot and killed a bear after the animal broke into his home early in the morning at the base of the Beartooth Mountains.

Thomas Bolkcom and his fiancee, Seeley Oblander, were sleeping when one of their dogs began barking at about 3 a.m. at their residence in the small town of Luther.

Neither the couple nor their dogs were injured in the incident.



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McCarthy became the first House speaker in U.S. history to be stripped of his role during a legislative term on Tuesday

Nathan Howard/Getty Kevin McCarthy

Republican Kevin McCarthy became the first speaker of the House in U.S. history to be stripped of his role during a legislative term, following the success of an unprecedented vote to remove him from the nation's third-highest post on Tuesday.

The recall vote saw the House vote 216-210 to strip McCarthy of his leadership role. After the vote, the House clerk announced Rep. Patrick McHenry of North Carolina had been appointed temporary speaker pro tempore (McCarthy, 58, picked McHenry, 47, for the role in January, though the North Carolina Republican's role was not announced at the time due to security concerns).

McCarthy later told Republicans he would not run for speaker again, leading many to wonder who will replace him.

Below are the lawmakers currently rumored to be mulling a run for the speakership.

Jim Jordan

Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Jim Jordan

Far-right Republican Jim Jordan, a close ally to former President Donald Trump, was the first to announce that he intends to run to replace McCarthy as House speaker. The Ohio lawmaker told reporters on Wednesday, We need to unite the conference, per NBC News.

According to reports, Jordan told at least one reporter that he won't support aid to Ukraine if elected speaker  a sign that he's looking to shore up support from those like Gaetz, who demanded that McCarthy no longer pledge financial support to the country amid its ongoing war with Russia.

Steve Scalise

Anna Moneymaker/Getty Steve Scalise

House Majority Leader Steve Scalise has emerged as one of the leading contenders to replace McCarthy, announcing his candidacy in a two-page letter on Wednesday.

The 57-year-old Louisiana congressman was, in Nov. 2022, elected by his Republican colleagues to serve as House majority leader  the second-highest leadership position in the lower chamber, putting him directly behind McCarthy (or, now, McHenry).

In August, Scalise announced he had been "diagnosed with Multiple Myeloma, a very treatable blood cancer," and said he plans to keep working while he is being treated.

Tom Emmer

Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Tom Emmer

Matt Gaetz  who led the charge to oust McCarthy  floated Minnesota Rep. Tom Emmer as a possible replacement in a Newsmax interview in September, saying the 62-year-old has "credibility."

Emmer, currently the House majority whip, said earlier this week he supports McCarthy, and has offered no indication yet that he might run to replace him.

Byron Donalds

Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Byron Donalds

Byron Donalds' name was floated as a potential House speaker back in January, when McCarthy was elected after a contentious 15 rounds of voting at the start of the legislative session. The Florida lawmaker received 21 votes in early rounds of voting (a sizable enough portion that McCarthy was initially unable to get the majority) and has sought GOP leadership posts prior to that. In November, he unsuccessfully challenged New York Rep. Elise Stefanik for the role of conference chair, ultimately losing in a closed-door vote.

Donald Trump

CJ GUNTHER/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock Donald Trump

While an incredibly unlikely scenario, it is at least possible that a former president could replace McCarthy, as non-House members can technically serve as speaker. Some Republicans have floated Trump's name, including Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, who wrote on X, "The only candidate for Speaker I am currently supporting is President Donald J. Trump."

Fox New host Sean Hannity has also added fuel to the fire, saying in his Tuesday broadcast that sources say some Republicans have contacted Trump about the idea.

Forbes reports that Trump himself has not ruled it out, and told reporters this week, a lot of people have been calling me about speaker, before adding, all I can say is we will do whatever is best for the country and other Republican Party and people. Still, the outlet notes that Trump is currently in the midst of a 2024 presidential campaign, and juggling the fallout of a civil fraud trial and four criminal indictments.

Those indictments could also prove a hurdle to becoming House speaker, as GOP conference rules maintain that any party leader indicted for a felony with a sentence of at least two years must step aside. Trump has been charged with 91 criminal counts in 2023.

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George is just at the beginning of being tested," the Princess of Wales said of her eldest son's studies

Karwai Tang/WireImage Kate Middleton and Prince George chat at Wimbledon in July 2022

Prince George has a royal destiny ahead, but Kate Middleton says he must tackle the classroom first.

The Princess of Wales, 41, shared her eldest sons relatable take on testing in schools while visiting Fitzalan High School in Cardiff, Wales on Tuesday. The revelation came following news that Princess Kate will not join Prince William at the 2023 Earthshot Prize Awards Ceremony in Singapore on Nov. 7 to look after Prince George, 10, Princess Charlotte, 8, and Prince Louis, 5, during an important exam week for George at school.

In a clip shared on TikTok by Matt Wilkinson of The Sun, Kate sat at a table of students and said, George is just at the beginning of being tested. He says, Mummy, I keep getting tested all the time. But when it gets to A-levels you feel like you're on it.

Related: Kate Middleton Flashes Taylor Swift's Signature Move and Prince William Hugs Host 'Like a Brother' in Wales

The comment came was Kates second reference to her eldest sons studies during her trip to Cardiff with William, which began with a stop at Grange Pavilion to meet members of the Windrush generation and young minority ethnic individuals driving positive change in Wales.

Chris Jackson/Getty Kate Middleton met students at Fitzalan High School in Wales on Oct. 3

During a chat with local children, the parents of three connected with a group of elementary school students. Gracie, 11, from Howardian Primary School, said Kate asked her what subjects she enjoyed. I said I like maths and like our teachers teaching us. And she said I could teach [Prince] George some maths!

While math is surely on the schedule, Prince George is many years away from A-levels, which are rigorous subject-based tests typically used to qualify for college in the U.K.

Related: See When Kate Middleton Unintentionally Named a Boy's Favorite Stuffed Animal  and Find Out If the Name Stuck!

During the busy visit to Fitzalan High School, William and Kate connected with sixth-form students (the American equivalent of 12th grade) pursuing both A-level and vocational studies, plus the English for Speakers of Other Language provision, and got to see some of their lessons. The royal couple traveled to Wales on Tuesday to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the HMT Empire Windrush's arrival in London, and the October start of Black History Month in the U.K.

Theyve shone a light on a community that has been written out of history. It is a light that cannot be extinguished. These elders will take this to their grave, Professor Uzo Iwobi exclusively tells PEOPLE about the excitement around having the Prince and Princess of Wales visit the elders at the Grange Pavilion.

Geoff Caddick - WPA Pool /Getty Kate Middleton and Prince William met members of the Windrush Cymru Elders in Wales on Oct. 3

They will never forget that one of the biggest leaders of their nation remembered them, traveled all this way and said thank you, adds Iwobi, who is the founder of Race Council Cymru and oversees the work of Windrush Cymru.

Prince William and Princess Kates latest outing marked their first joint appearance since it was confirmed that the Princess of Wales will not join her husband at the upcoming Earthshot Prize Awards ceremony. PEOPLE understands that Prince George has school exams that week, and his mother will be at home in Windsor to support him.

The news came after Prince William officially confirmed he would travel to Singapore for the special event during the Earthshot Prize Innovation Summit in New York City on Sept. 19.

TOBY MELVILLE/POOL/AFP via Getty Prince William and Kate Middleton visit to St David's Cathedral in Wales on Sept. 8, the first anniversary of Queen Elizabeth's death

Can't get enough of PEOPLE's Royals coverage? Sign up for our free Royals newsletter to get the latest updates on Kate Middleton, Meghan Markle and more!

Kate will break tradition when she misses the third annual awards ceremony, which she has attended for the last two years. William launched the Earthshot Prize in 2020 to promote impactful approaches to the world's most pressing environmental challenges, with plans to award the prizes until 2030.

The inaugural awards ceremony for the prestigious environmental prize was held in London in October 2021, followed by a second cycle in Boston in December 2022. Last year, Kate presented the Clean Our Air award on stage, and she recently joined William on a visit to Notpla, the sustainable packaging start-up and winner of the 2022 Earthshot Prize for "Build a Waste-Free World during their Sept. 8 visit to Wales.

Mike Coppola/Getty Kate Middleton and Prince William at the 2022 Earthshot Prize awards

Earlier that week, Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis headed back to the classroom at the Lambrook School in the Berkshire countryside. Though the siblings returned together for their second year at the prep school, Kate and William didnt release a back-to-school portrait to the public. That's because the Prince and Princess of Wales treat school as a private area of their children's live so they can grow up in as pressure-free an atmosphere as possible.

Last year, fans got a glimpse of the Wales family walking into preview day at Lambrook, where George, Charlotte and Louis enrolled as new pupils following the familys move from London to Windsor.

Jonathan Brady - Pool/Getty Images The Wales family attended a preview day at Lambrook School together in September 2022

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The Paramount Network show has filmed at multiple locations throughout its five seasons

Paramount+ Luke Grimes , Cole Hauser and Kevin Costner on the set of 'Yellowstone.'

When Taylor Sheridan introduced viewers to the world of Yellowstone, he sparked curiosity about everything regarding the show, including where it was filmed.

Most of the series' first three seasons were shot in Utah, not far from Yellowstone National Park. Elsewhere in the state, Park City, Ogden and Spanish Fork are all real-life locations where the Yellowstone cast portrayed their award-winning characters, including Kevin Costner.

In 2020, the filming of Yellowstone moved north to Montana to take advantage of a new tax program offered by the state, according to the Salt Lake City Tribune.

Apart from the financial aspect, it was also home to the real-life Chief Joseph Ranch, the setting for the Dutton familys ranch in the Paramount Network show. Enthusiastic fans can even stay at the ranch when cameras aren't rolling.

The relocation also prompted Yellowstone cast member Luke Grimes, who plays Kayce Dutton in the series, to move to Montana. As he told Cowboys & Indians Magazine in October 2022, First season, I never would've thought I would've ended up living here, but man, I'm in heaven.

So, where is Yellowstone filmed? Here's everything to know about where the drama shoots its scenic episodes.

Where is Yellowstone filmed?

paramount The Chief Joseph Ranch in Darby, Montana, where the Paramount Network show 'Yellowstone' is filmed.

Roughly 75 percent of the first three seasons of Yellowstone were filmed outdoors in Utah, only hours from Yellowstone National Park. In addition to Park City, Ogden and Spanish Fork, Yellowstone was also filmed in Heber City, Oakley, Kamas, Grantsville and Logan.

Speaking with Deseret News in December 2021, Moore said it "was the largest show that has ever come to the state of Utah.

Production moved to Montana for season 4, but the show continued to shoot outdoors at Chief Joseph Ranch. Yellowstone was filmed at other locations that are open to the public. For example, the interior scenes of Beths office are shot at the State Capitol Building in Helena, Montana.

There were more private settings, though. Scenes of the Broken Rock Indian Reservation were captured on the real-life Crow Indian Reservation, which is outside of Billings, Montana, and takes up 2 million acres. The shows production team asked the Crow Nation tribal chairman, Alvin "A.J." Not Afraid Jr., for permission to film before securing the spot.

Sheridan expressed his gratitude to Not Afraid at an event for the series premiere in 2018. "Thank you for allowing me to tell a story, to shoot on your land and for all the guidance and advise, thank you very much, he said, per Variety.

Is the Dutton Ranch real?

Paramount+ The main house at Chief Joseph Ranch in Darby, Montana, where 'Yellowstone' is filmed.

It might go by a different name, but Dutton Ranch is a real place in Montana. The Dutton familys 5,000-square-foot log house is a massive home on Chief Joseph Ranch in the town of Darby  and a real family lives and works there every day.

During a June 2022 cast interview for the show, Costner described the Bitterroot Valley, where Darby is located, as "historical" and shared that when the show started, Chief Joseph Ranch hadn't been discovered yet.

The actor felt like they "lucked out" with the eventual filming spot, saying, "They saw something that stuck, and so this ranch has just served as another character, might as well have a voice for itself."

According to its owners, it started with a "cold call." An anecdote on their website reads, "We did not have the ranch listed as a film location. We are humbled and honored that Paramount chose our ranch as the setting of this amazing series."

Can you stay at the Dutton Ranch in real life?

Paramount Network The inside of Chief Joseph Ranch's lodge in Montana, where the Paramount Network show 'Yellowstone' films, calling it the Dutton Ranch.

Fans of Yellowstone can travel to the Chief Joseph Ranch and stay for at least three nights in a cabin on the property  provided the show isnt filming.

Guests are welcome to stay longer with the option to rent out Lee Duttons Cabin for $1,400 per night for up to 4 guests (the cabin can sleep up to 8 for an extra charge). Meanwhile, Rips Cabin is $1,700 per night for up to 4 guests (and can sleep up to 8 for an extra charge). Each cabin has a full kitchen, grill, and washer and dryer for laundry.

As for booking a stay at the main house, the owners made it into their private family home when they bought it in 2012. That said, every reservation includes a tour of the ranch and Yellowstone sets.

If visitors want to drive by the ranch without spending the night, they are allowed to take a photo of the Dutton Ranch sign at the gate as long as production isn't happening.

Why did production move to Montana for seasons 4 and 5?

Paramount+ Cole Hauser as Rip Wheeler and Kelly Reilly as Beth Dutton filming 'Yellowstone.'

Paramount decided to move production of Yellowstone to Montana in large part so that the team could take advantage of a tax credit offered by the state. As reported by The Missoulian in November 2020, Montana passed a $10 million tax credit law the year prior.

Perhaps no one has benefitted from the switch as much as local business owners, who have seen an increase in sales and tourism since the show moved northward. In addition to the extra income generated by the shows presence, businesses and residents have been able to enjoy a behind-the-scenes look at what its like to film the show.

Cortney Bergeson, whose company TC Glass supplied production with tempered glass for windows, told the outlet that her team replaced the glass the show used three times. They pulled a guy through a window facing Brooks. Wed run up and replace it every time they broke it out. It was really cool, she said.

Bergeson added, It was fun to see all that. The whole crew was really awesome. We got to talk to all the actors. Everyone was really friendly."

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Read the original article on People.
Controversial Franklin mayoral candidate Gabrielle Hanson posted on social media Wednesday that she did not hire members of the Tennessee Active Club, an organization identified by the Southern Poverty Law Center as a white nationalist hate group, for security during Monday's candidate forum.

Hanson's comments were followed by a response from Franklin's Board of Mayor and Aldermen, which released its own public statement via email within hours of her post.

"We, the Board of Mayor and Aldermen, are deeply concerned and disturbed by the events that unfolded at Monday nights candidate forum for the upcoming city election," the board's statement reads. "Individuals identifying as neo-Nazis and self-admitted supporters of Gabrielle Hanson threatened both our citizens and members of the media during and after this important civic event."

The board's statement said it wouldn't "tolerate any form of hatred, intimidation, or violence directed at our residents, media representatives, or anyone else attending or participating in the democratic process," and it urged all candidates currently seeking office in Franklin, including Hanson, to "join us in denouncing the actions and organizations as well."

The statement ended with the names of the current Franklin board, including Hanson's opponent in the mayoral race, incumbent Ken Moore. She wasn't listed.

More: Why Franklin aldermen didn't act to censure mayoral candidate Gabrielle Hanson

In her post, Hanson said she wanted to set the record straight about what happened Monday.

"I want to make something very clear. I did not hire the group that showed up at the debate the other night, nor did I ask them to participate as security for the event. I want to be unequivocal on this matter," Hanson said in the statement posted to her Instagram story Wednesday afternoon.

"Furthermore, I want to state categorically that I am not, nor have I ever been associated with any white supremacy or Nazi-affiliated group."

Hanson explained that she's working as the "broker on Brad's (Lewis Country) store," and categorized her interactions with him as nothing but professional and courteous. Lewis Country Store came under fire earlier this summer after it was revealed that members of the Tennessee Active Club were using the gym above the store.

Media coverage focusing on the Tennessee Active Club's presence at the forum is "nothing more than a baseless hit piece meant to distract from the real issues at hand," Hanson wrote.

Tennessee Active Club also released statements about what happened Monday, noting that it was "absurd Gabrielle Hanson hired us. We do this for free at our own expense."

The group did not say whether Hanson asked them for help.

What's at stake: Franklin battles for its soul in mayor race pitting Gabrielle Hanson against Ken Moore

The Franklin mayoral race has become increasingly controversial in recent months, largely due to Hanson's comments and views, which have included unfounded theories about the motive behind Nashville's Covenant School shooting, multiple ethics complaints filed against her by residents in response to an email she sent to Nashville International Airport criticizing a Juneteenth donation and her admission to being arrested on a promoting prostitution charge out of Dallas in the 1990s.

Early voting began Wednesday and runs through Oct. 19. Election day is Oct. 24.

Reach reporter Craig Shoup by email at cshoup@gannett.com and on X @Craig_Shoup. To support his work, sign up for a digital subscription to www.tennessean.com.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: What did Franklin board, Hanson say about the Tennessee Active Club?
Former Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.) weighed in on the ousting of Rep. Kevin McCarthy , calling the eight Republicans who voted to remove McCarthy opportunists.

Eight GOP lawmakers joined Democrats Tuesday to vote against McCarthy in a historic first-time removal of a House Speaker.

In an interview with John Catsimatidis on the Cats & Cosby show, Gingrich warned House Republicans that the eight rogue members do not have party loyalty.

These are opportunists who are totally irresponsible, Gingrich said. All eight of these guys should get defeated in the next Republican primaries because theyre not really Republicans.

The Republicans who voted to end McCarthys Speakership had complained that he put a government-funding measure, known as a continuing resolution (CR), on the House floor Saturday that ended up winning more support from Democrats than Republicans. That bill was quickly passed by the House and Senate and prevented a shutdown.

But Gingrich pointed out the eight Republicans voted with every Democrat in the chamber to win the vote ending McCarthys Speakership Tuesday.

[For them] to have the hypocrisy to say they were mad at Kevin McCarthy because he had worked with the Democrats on the CR, while  the only hope they had for winning [last night] was to have all the Democrats vote with them, Gingrich said. They were quite happy to work with Democrats to defeat McCarthy.

The removal was spearheaded by Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.). Gingrich said part of Gaetzs motivation to remove McCarthy comes from just pure personal bitterness.

House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) and Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) have thrown their hats into the ring to become the next Speaker.

Gaetz said either of the congressmen would be a monumental upgrade from McCarthy.

Gingrich said the eight members who voted to remove McCarthy should sign a document saying they wouldnt file a motion to vacate again this term.

If they are not willing to pledge their loyalty now to the next Speaker, dont let them be part of picking him, Gingrich said.

Every House member would get a vote on the floor in a new election for Speaker.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Woman, 73, attacked by bear while walking near US-Canada border with husband and dog

A 73-year-old woman has been attacked by a bear while she was walking with her husband and her dog near the U.S.-Canada border.

The incident occurred at approximately 3 p.m. on Sunday afternoon when officials from Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks were notified that a woman had been attacked along the bank of Trail Creek a few miles west of the North Fork Road, officials said.

MORE: Department of Defense official charged with running dogfighting ring

The victim was on national forestland with her husband and dog when the bear emerged from thick brush and attacked her, authorities from Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks said. Her husband deployed bear spray and the bear moved away from the victim. They returned to their vehicle and drove to a location where they could call emergency services.

An air ambulance was immediately dispatched to the site of the attack, some 20 miles south of the U.S.-Canada border, and the woman who was attacked was flown by helicopter to Logan Health Medical Center in Kalispell, Montana -- about 50 miles south from where the bear attack occurred.

MORE: Teenager arrested after starting massive 28-acre fire when setting off fireworks with friends

FWP wardens and bear specialists are actively investigating the incident and monitoring the site along Trail Creek known as the Bubble ups where the creek flows underground before rising to the surface, officials said.

The site is currently closed while the investigation continues and authorities have not disclosed what kind of bear was involved in the attack.

MORE: Dump truck driver plummets hundreds of feet into quarry pit when vehicle slips off cliff

Montana is bear country. In fall, bears are active for longer periods as they consume more food in preparation for hibernation. This period overlaps with hunting season and other fall recreation activities, FWP said in a statement warning about similar attacks. Avoiding conflicts with bears is easier than dealing with conflicts.

Woman, 73, attacked by bear while walking near US-Canada border with husband and dog originally appeared on abcnews.go.com
Italian authorities were on Wednesday investigating the cause of a horrific bus crash near Venice that killed at least 21 people including two children.

A spokesperson for the Italian fire brigade told CNN that authorities had yet to find the cause of Tuesdays crash in Mestre that was described as an apocalyptic scene.

RAI reported that the 40-year-old bus driver, identified as Alberto Rizzotto, was among the dead, while 18 people were also injured.

Italys fire services said they would consider whether the buss battery may have caused the fire to spread more rapidly after it overheated.

According to the company website of the bus operator, the bus was electric-powered.

Flowers are seen on Wednesday at the site where a coach crashed off an overpass in Mestre, Italy. - Claudia Greco/Reuters

Local police work at the site of the bus crash on Wednesday. - Claudia Greco/Reuters

The provincial fire brigade commander, Mauro Lungo explained batteries experience critical issues when they overheat, CNN affiliate Sky TG24 reported Wednesday.

According to Lungo, concerns about the battery slowed down the rescue operation on Tuesday. Meanwhile the Venice public prosecutor has opened an investigation into the crash.

A representative for the prosecutors office told CNN the head prosecutor for the Venice municipality, Bruno Cherchi, is leading the investigation into the incident in Mestre.

Video recently delivered to investigators is being examined to determine if any other vehicles were involved in the incident or if the driver suffered a health issue, the spokesperson said.

The bus was traveling from Venice to nearby Marghera and was full of people returning home from work, Venice mayor Luigi Brugnaro told state media RAI.

Emergency crew members work at the scene after a bus accident near Venice. - Stefano Mazzola/Getty Images

Italy's fire sevices will consider whether the bus's electric battery played a role in the incident. - Stefano Mazzola/Getty Images

It completely went off the road, it flew off the bridge. It was a bus; it was a highway. We are in mourning, he added. Brugnaro described the scene as apocalyptic in a post on Facebook.

The accident occurred on the overpass of a road that leads from Mestre to Marghera and the A4 motorway, Italian media skytg24 reported.

For reasons that have yet to be determined, the bus broke through a wall of the overpass, falling between a warehouse and the tracks of the Mestre station below, according to skytg24.

Massimo Fiorese, the head of the company that operates the bus, said he had seen footage of the moments prior to the crash.

The video showed the single-decker bus slowing down and appearing almost stationary before crashing through the guardrail and toppling over, he told Italys Corriere della Sera newspaper, according to Reuters.

On Wednesday morning, the Italian Senate, which is the upper house of the parliament, held a minute of silence for the victims of the crash, its feed on X said.

The countrys president and prime minister expressed their condolences in the aftermath of the accident as did other world leaders.

I express my personal and the Governments deepest condolences for the serious accident that occurred in Mestre. Our thoughts go out to the victims and their family and friends, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni wrote on X.

French President Emmanuel Macron said thoughts this evening are with the Italian people, with the families and loved ones of the victims of the terrible tragedy in Venice in a post on X.

I am deeply saddened by the terrible accident of a bus in Mestre this evening. I offer my deepest condolences to the families and loved ones of the victims at this sad time. Im close to you, President of the European Council, Charles Michel, wrote on X.

For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com
United Auto Workers President Shawn Fain is scheduled to give an update Friday on the union's labor contract negotiations with Detroit's Big Three automakers, with some signs the sides are narrowing their differences as the strike inflicts an increasingly heavy financial toll.

Fain could call for additional strikes at Ford, General Motors and Stellantis or he could announce that progress has been made and halt the work stoppages. The union has so far limited the strike to about 25,000 workers at five vehicle assembly plants and 38 parts warehouses. Still, Fain has announced strike expansions on each of the past two Fridays.

Almost three weeks into the strike, there are rumblings in Michigan that the Big Three and the UAW are headed in the right direction. Both sides made meaningful progress during talks Wednesday, the Associated Press reported. A source with the UAW told CBS News that "active talks" are happening.

What automakers are offering

Ford said in a statement on its site that it increased its proposal to the union this week, offering a general wage increase of more than 20% over four years. Ford also said the company raised its retirement contributions and confirmed profit-sharing was offered to temporary workers.

GM, which will announce third-quarter earnings later this month, made its latest offer to the UAW on September 21, the details of which neither side has made public. The automaker's offer from September 14, however, included a 20% wage increase "over the life of the agreement" and cost-of-living adjustments.

GM on Wednesday announced it has lined up a line of credit of up to $6 billion in light of the possibility of a longer strike. The company said it is "being prudent in the face of uncertainty." GM also said it estimates the strike will cost the company about $200 million in lost production in the third quarter.

The most recent offer from Stellantis (the parent company of Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep and Ram) also includes a 20% wage increase through 2027 for full-time employees, and a 6% company match for retirement contributions.

Story continues

When it began

The UAW launched a coordinated strike last month when nearly 13,000 autoworkers walked off the job in Michigan, Missouri and Ohio. Since then, the automakers have furloughed or laid off thousands of non-union workers at plants in five states.

Ford expanded its layoffs to 350 workers at a transmission plant in Livonia, Michigan, and 50 workers at an axle plant in Sterling Heights, Michigan. Those workers were officially laid off Thursday, bringing Ford's total layoffs to 1,330, the company said in a statement.

"These are not lock outs," Ford said. "These layoffs are a consequence of the strike at Chicago Assembly Plant, because these two facilities must reduce production of parts that would normally be shipped to Chicago Assembly Plant."

So far, the strike has cost the auto industry about $3.9 billion, according to an estimate from Michigan-based consulting firm Anderson Economic Group. That includes $325 million in worker wages, $1.12 billion in losses for the automakers, $1.29 billion in losses for parts suppliers, and $1.2 billion in dealer and customer losses. The union has avoided strikes at large pickup truck and SUV factories, vehicles that are responsible for much of the automakers' profits.

 The Associated Press contributed to this report.
KANSAS CITY, Mo.  Jackson County wants to impose a local tax on online purchases to fund multiple projects across the county. But first the county will need voters approval.

Jackson County voters will find a question about a local use tax on the Nov. 7 ballot.

Parkville asks voters to approve local recreational marijuana tax

A use tax is similar to a sales tax. Simply, while the latter is imposed on retail sales and services, a use tax is applied when residents purchase goods and services from sellers outside the state.

That can mean purchases bought online, over the phone, through a catalog or via mail-order supply, according to the state. It doesnt apply if a Missouri resident buys from a Missouri-based retailer online. Missouri already has a 4.2% use tax statewide.

If approved, the Jackson County use tax would be the same as the total local sales tax rate. If the local sales tax were increased or decreased, the local use tax would also change.

According to the ballot question, the money raised from the use tax would finance road and bridge construction and renovations and repairs to the countys courthouses. It would also provide financial assistance to homeless people in the county.

Transit sales tax extension to go before Kansas City voters in November

But its been a bumpy ride to bring this use tax proposal to voters.

Jackson County nearly placed the question on the August ballot, but a Cass County judge ruled to remove it, according to the Kansas City Star.

County lawmakers passed the ordinance earlier this year to vote on the use tax, but Jackson County Executive Frank White never signed the ordinance.

The Star reports White didnt want to vote on the issue in August amid residents frustrations over higher property assessments. He also didnt want the ballot question to be so specific on how the county would spend the revenue.

Despite lacking Whites signature, the legislature clerk told election boards to put it up for a vote. Ultimately, the judge ordered to remove the measure from the August ballot.

Your Local Election Headquarters: Candidates, races and results on FOX4

Even still, the use tax didnt get on the November ballot without a fight. On July 10, Jackson County lawmakers once again passed the ordinance to put the question to voters. But White vetoed the ordinance this time.

At the legislatures July 31 meeting, lawmakers overrode Whites veto in a 6-3 vote, sending the measure to voters.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX 4 Kansas City WDAF-TV | News, Weather, Sports.
People walk on the west side of the Pentacrest past the changing leaves of trees around the Old Capitol Building, Wednesday, Oct. 12, 2022, on the University of Iowa campus in Iowa City, Iowa. In the distance at far left is City High School.

Yard signs have been placed throughout the corridor. Filing deadlines have come and gone. Early ballots are being sent out.

Election season is in full swing.

Johnson County voters will soon cast their ballots to determine local city council configurations, mayoral races and school board layouts in next month's election.

Heres what you need to know to vote this fall in Johnson County:

When is the election and where can I vote?

The general election is Tuesday, Nov. 7. All Johnson County residents of legal voting age are eligible for early voting or by mail but must request absentee ballots by Oct. 23.

Residents living in Iowa Citys District A will vote in a primary election featuring three city council candidates on Oct. 10. These are voters in precincts 2, 7-10, 12, 13, 26 and 27. The top two candidates in the three-person field will move on to the general election.

Polls will be open on Election Day from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.

More: Iowa City to hold primary election on Oct. 10 for District A council seat

To find your polling place, visit the county auditors website at https://gis.johnsoncountyiowa.gov/pollingplaces.

How do I register to vote? How can I update my information?

Johnson County residents with a valid Iowa drivers license can register to vote online.

All other individuals with licenses or IDs from outside of the state of Iowa must complete a paper form, either by printing it out, filling it out and returning it to the county auditors office or by visiting the auditors office between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m.

More: Congress dodged a government shutdown. Here are the winners and losers from a messy fight.

To register, a potential voter needs to fill out the following information on the registration form:

Full name, sex and date of birth.

Address where you live and address where you receive mail if it is different.

An ID number from an Iowa drivers license, a nonoperator ID number, or the last four digits of your Social Security number.

Previous voter registration information.

Political affiliation (No Party, Democratic, Republican, Green, Libertarian).

A signature and the date of the signature.

The pre-registration deadline is Oct. 23. Those hoping to register or update their registration information after the deadline must follow the states guidelines for Election Day voting.

Can I register to vote on Election Day?

Yes. Voters can register in person on Election Day at their designated polling place, though the county auditor recommends voters register or change their information by the pre-registration deadline, which is 15 days before Election Day.

On Election Day, unregistered voters should bring a form of ID and proof of residence, like a utility bill, paycheck, bank statement or other form proving residence.

Student IDs are acceptable forms of identification for student voters looking to get registered on Election Day, according to the Secretary of States guidelines.

More: We asked candidates in the District A primary three questions. Here's what they said.

How can I vote early in person or request an absentee ballot?

County residents can request absentee ballots until 5 p.m. on Oct. 23. Requests for absentee ballots cannot be done online and voters must make requests by printing out and returning an absentee form to the auditors office by hand or by mail or by receiving and returning a request form through the mail.

Voters must outline the following on the absentee request form for the Nov. 7 general election:

Name

Date of birth

Iowa residential address

Voter Verification Number, either an Iowa Driver's License or Non-Operator ID Number or a four-digit voter PIN located on the voter's Iowa Voter ID Card

The name or date of the election for which you are requesting an absentee ballot

Signature and date the form was completed

The deadline for voters requesting absentee ballots in Iowa Citys Oct. 10 primary has passed.

Voters in Johnson County can vote early in person at the auditors office beginning on Oct. 18, per state law, though ballots may not be ready at this time. Additional early voting information will be posted by the auditors office following the District A primary election on Oct. 10.

In-person early voting will be available until Nov. 6, the day before the general election.

The deadline to request an absentee satellite station is Oct. 9. Requests require 100 signatures.

Ryan Hansen covers local government and crime for the Press-Citizen. He can be reached at rhansen@press-citizen.com or on X, formerly known as Twitter, @ryanhansen01.

This article originally appeared on Iowa City Press-Citizen: Johnson County elections: How to vote in the local city and school elections
New York Attorney General Letitia James said Wednesday that Donald Trumps appearances at his business fraud trial were merely a political stunt but declared that justice would be served and that she would not be bullied by the former president.

Trump has spent the last three days in court as part of a $250 million lawsuit James filed against Trump, two of his sons and his business. The attorney general alleged Trump engaged in years of fraud by inflating the value of his assets to secure favorable loans and insurance deals. The former president has denied all wrongdoing and has regularly taken to social media to blast James, calling her corrupt and saying that the trial is rigged against him.

His appearances in court have been voluntary, but the former president has unleashed a series of bombastic claims that his presence in the courtroom has kept him from the campaign trail in his bid to secure the 2024 Republican presidential nomination.

Id rather be right now in Iowa, he told reporters Wednesday. Id rather be in New Hampshire or South Carolina or Ohio or a lot of other places.

But James said she believed the former president was making use of the courtroom to raise campaign funds and stoke the flames of his supporter base.

This case was brought simply because it was a case where individuals have engaged in a pattern and practice of fraud, she said. And I will not sit idly by and allow anyone to subvert the law. And lastly, I will not be bullied. The Donald Trump show is over. This was nothing more than a political stunt. A fundraising stop.

James: I will not be bullied, and so Mr. Trump is no longer here. The Donald Trump show is over. This was nothing more than a political stunt. pic.twitter.com/N5D5GKlmzI  Acyn (@Acyn) October 4, 2023

The former president has spent each day lashing out at those involved in the case, including James and a law clerk who works for the judge presiding over the case. Judge Arthur Engoron issued a limited gag order on Trump earlier this week after he used his Truth Social account to disparage the clerk, suggesting, without evidence, that she was romantically involved with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.).

Schumers girlfriend ... is running this case against me, Trump wrote in the post, using the clerks name but misspelling it. How disgraceful! This case should be dismissed immediately!!

Engoron said he had warned Trump just a day earlier about his posts, adding personal attacks on members of my court staff are unacceptable, inappropriate and I wont tolerate them in any circumstances.

James added Wednesday that Trumps comments about her and others were offensive and void of any facts.

What they were were comments that unfortunately fomented violence. Comments that I would describe as race-baiting, James said. Comments, unfortunately, that speak to the very bottom of our humanity.

Still, Trump continued his attacks against the attorney general on Wednesday.

Related...
WASHINGTON  As top House Republicans jockey to succeed ousted former Speaker Kevin McCarthy , R-Calif., a familiar question looms.

Can House Republicans get the 218 votes they need for a speaker?

It took McCarthy 15 historic rounds to finally claim the spot 10 months ago, and there's no clear frontrunner to replace him.

House Republicans will hold a closed-door candidate forum Tuesday to discuss potential nominees, but GOP lawmakers are already starting to split and line up behind different candidates including Majority Leader Rep. Steve Scalise, R-La., and Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, chair of the powerful House Judiciary Committee.

McCarthy's ouster, which has left the House paralyzed without a successor, leaves the next speaker with an enormous task: uniting the deeply fractured House GOP conference.

Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., speaks to reporters hours after he was ousted as Speaker of the House, Tuesday, Oct. 3, 2023, at the Capitol in Washington.

'People are mad'

One of the possible leadership changes would rearrange the chain of command in the House GOP conference.

Scalise, who is currently the No. 2 ranking House Republican, is eyeing moving up to the highest position as speaker. The Louisiana Republican formally announced his plans to pursue the speakership Wednesday, writing to colleagues, we all need to come together and pull in the same direction to get the country back on the right track.

At the same time, House Majority Whip Tom Emmer, R-Minn., the No. 3 ranking House Republican has endorsed Scalise's speaker bid while also looking to take Scalises spot as majority leader in the event Scalise prevails.

But the idea that leadership will all move up the totem pole after McCarthys ouster, is nonsense, according to Rep. Garret Graves, R-La., one of McCarthys top lieutenants.

Graves, who has ruled out running for leadership, said tensions are currently high within the GOP conference and has yet to back a specific candidate given the turmoil House Republicans have found themselves in.

Theres a lot of raw emotion in the conference. I think they made the right decision by pressing pause for a minute, Graves said, referencing a closed-door conference meeting after McCarthys ouster and the decision to adjourn until Tuesday. I think if we stayed in the room last night, and Im not exaggerating, I think it probably would have devolved into a little bit of physical altercation in there.

People are mad. And justifiably so, Graves added.

5 takeaways: 'Institution fell today.' McCarthy ousted as speaker by right-wing rebellion

House Majority Leader US Representative Steve Scalise, R-La., arrives for a meeting with a Texas delegation at the US Capitol in Washington, DC, on October 4, 2023.

GOP lawmakers keep their cards close

For Scalises part, the majority leader has already started to shore up support for his speakership bid.

Rep. Tony Gonzales, R-Texas, told reporters Wednesday, Steve Scalise has a lot of people who will walk through fire for the man.

At the same time, Jordan, who also announced his bid for the speakership Wednesday, is starting to build support from Rep.. Jim Banks, R-Ind., and his fellow Ohioan, Rep. Mike Carey, R-Ohio.

House Republicans need a leader who can unite the conference and build on the accomplishments of Kevin McCarthy, Carey said in a statement. Jim Jordan is a proven conservative fighter who can continue delivering results to America.

But in a display of the uncertainty surrounding House Republicans, most lawmakers leaving a weekly luncheon held by the Texas House GOP delegation are keeping their cards close to their chest.

Were keeping our powder dry, Rep. Keith Self, R-Texas., told USA TODAY Wednesday.

Rep. Brian Babbin, R-Texas., told reporters he thought Scalise and Jordan were cut out of the same cloth, and did not say which candidate he was leaning towards.

Theyd all be great speakers, Rep. Ronny Jackson, R-Texas., told USA TODAY. Jackson said he still has to talk to folks before making up his mind.

US Representative Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, speaks to members of the media at the US Capitol in Washington, DC, on October 4, 2023.

Finding a new speaker could be an arduous process

When House members return next week for the speaker election which is expected to take place next Wednesday, some lawmakers said it is entirely possible the House remains frozen in place without a speaker, given the uncertainty behind the next speaker and the divisions within the conference.

Rep. Patrick McHenry, R-N.C., who was a key McCarthy ally, is temporarily serving in a limited capacity as acting speaker of the House while lawmakers scramble to find a successor. Graves told reporters he warned McHenry to get comfortable in his new position.

I said You may want to get comfortable in your position of authority, Graves said. Because I think this could be a pretty arduous process trying to move forward. Theres a lot of raw emotions.

At least one thing House Republicans can agree on so far, it appears, is that they need to find consensus.

Everybodys in the mood right now to get stuff done and get behind a single person, Jackson said It probably wont happen right away. Well probably get through multiple rounds of voting but itll work itself out.

Rep. Garret Graves, R-La., talks on his cellphone as he stands in the entrance to the offices of the Speaker of the House on Capitol Hill, Wednesday, Oct. 4, 2023 in Washington.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Republicans scramble to find new House speaker who can get 218 votes
(NEXSTAR)  A solar eclipse will be visible from numerous U.S. states on Saturday, Oct. 14, a day highly anticipated by self-described eclipse chasers who have called the events life-changing, equating the sight to looking upon the eye of God.

Octobers eclipse is annular, meaning that the moon will be between the Earth and sun, but at or near its farthest distance from the Earth. That means the sun will create a bright ring effect around the moon.

Eclipse chasers avoid Texas, plan to travel south for total solar eclipse

A solar eclipse occurs when the moon blocks the light of the sun, darkening the sky for people on Earth who are in the shadows path (Credits: NASAs Goddard Space Flight Center)

You may not be an eclipse chaser, but if youre still curious how close you are to the path of annularity, the less-than-150-mile-wide track from which the ring of fire will be visible in October, take a look at the map below.

If youre outside of that relatively narrow stripe, you may not see the ring of fire, but can still enjoy a partial view of the phenomenon. The 80-90% range includes portions of California, Nevada, Oregon, Arizona, Utah, Wyoming, Colorado, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas and Idaho, for instance.

Moving a little further from the path of annularity, states with a 70-80% view include parts of Washington, Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Louisiana, Texas, Arkansas, California, and Arizona.

In the U.S., the annular eclipse will start at 9:13 a.m. PDT in Oregon and will last be visible in Texas at 12:03 p.m. CDT before moving on to Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, Honduras, Nicaragua and Panama, according to NASA.

Will you see the solar eclipse? NASA map shows path of totality across US in 2024

In 2024, U.S. residents will be treated to a total solar eclipse on April 8. Cities near the so-called path of totality, the relatively slender strip from which eclipse viewers will have the best view, are already bracing for the wave of visitors.

In Texas, some school districts have already decided to cancel classes, while others are planning to host special events for the students.

We are canceling classes because we are actually in the path of totality, Megan Hamilton, district communications specialist with Marble Falls ISD, told Nexstars KXAN in August. Were expecting people from all over the world to come to our small area. So we have to look at the resources that we have and how to best accommodate.

The dos and donts of watching the annular solar eclipse

The next annular eclipse will happen on Oct. 2, 2024, and will be visible from the Southeast Pacific and Southern America. The next total eclipse will happen Aug. 12, 2026, and will be visible from the Arctic, eastern Greenland, Iceland, and northern Spain.

How to watch a solar eclipse

Unless you are in full totality, the most important thing to remember is that you should shield your eyes when staring at the sun.

Viewing any part of the bright Sun through a camera lens, binoculars, or a telescope without a special-purpose solar filter secured over the front of the optics will instantly cause severe eye injury, NASA warns.

Photos: Final solar eclipse of 2022 takes bite out of the sun

Eclipse glasses, which are thousands of times darker than normal sunglasses, are one way of safely viewing an eclipse. If you pick up a pair before Oct. 14, make sure they are undamaged and comply with the ISO 12312-2 international standard.

An example of an eclipse projector made with a white sheet of paper, tape, scissors and aluminum foil. (Credit: NASA)

If glasses arent an option, you can try an indirect viewing method that allows you to see the eclipse without staring at the sun. One example would be to punch a hole in an index card and use that hole to project an image of the sun onto a nearby surface, making sure not to stare through the hole at the sun.

While moments of totality make it dark enough to momentarily remove eye protection during a total eclipse, NASA reminds skygazers that the same isnt true for an annular eclipse, during which the sun is partially visible.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to YourCentralValley.com.
The Rev. Wes Mullins never expected to leave Missouri after living there for a decade with his husband, working as a pastor and LGBTQ advocate. He served for years as a senior pastor at the Metropolitan Community Church of Greater St. Louis and performed the state's first legal gay marriage in June 2014.

He also sat on the board for two nonprofits. One provided affordable housing to people living with HIV/AIDS, and the other sought to create leadership opportunities for youth.

But in June, Mullins received a text from a friend  an old college roommate who since graduating from Lipscomb University swapped out Nashville for Norwalk and urged Mullins to make a similar move. Mullins, 43, said his friend joked about them being roommates again and sent a link to a job opening for Capital City Pride's first ever executive director role.

Capital City Pride Executive Director Wes Mullins stands for a portrait on Grand Avenue in the East Village on Thursday, Sept. 28, 2023, in Des Moines. He is the first executive director of the LGBTQ organization.

"We laughed. It's just funny," Mullins said. But after a closer look at the job, Mullins thought: "Actually, I might be interested in it," and applied.

Capital City Pride  which has long hosted Des Moines' pride parade and other LGBTQ events around the city  needed a leader, said Bartley Mullin, the organization's board secretary. Mullin said his colleagues on the board spent the last few years restructuring the organization and expanding their community events and outreach.

Mullin said Capital City Pride is mostly volunteer-run, and board members serve two-year terms. That turnover can be frustrating for the organization's business partners. It was time, he said, to create a permanent position such as an executive director role.

Mullin said Capital City Pride began the hiring process in May, casting a wide net and pulling in applicants from Iowa and neighboring states. Of the roughly 10 candidates, the board ultimately chose Mullins, who began his position last month.

Mullins spoke to the Des Moines Register. Here's what he had to say.

Note: Answers edited for clarity and length.

Des Moines Register: As Capital City Pride's first executive director, could you share more about what your role is and your vision?

Mullins: One of the most important reasons I was hired was to provide a consistent, steady voice and face for the community or to the community for Capital City Pride but also for all the relationships we have with the sponsors and with city leaders. There will be a single point of contact (with) me as the executive director because up until this time that's always just been a chair of the board. It's changed from year to year. It's a new person every time, and that was really difficult for all of our partners. A big part of my job is nurturing relationships and continuing to expand Capital City Pride's influence in the region.

Do you have any specific goals or is there anything that you hope to accomplish while you're looking ahead into this role?

I want to make sure that Capital City Pride is lifting up the voices that are most important in our region at this point. The attacks especially against trans people in our community are happening at a rate that is growing exponentially every year, and Capital City Pride has to stand up as a voice to say that this cannot continue.

Iowa has passed many laws impacting its LGBTQ community. There's the book ban and the ban on gender-affirming care for transgender minors and on transgender women and girls from competing in female sports. How do you see your role up against that backdrop?

One Iowa and Iowa Safe Schools are the primary political action groups in our community. We (Capital City Pride) primarily focus on building community (and) education, and my role is to use our community-building to support the work that One Iowa and Iowa Safe Schools are doing.  We will partner together with those organizations to make sure that we're showing up and supporting in whatever ways we can to produce change or at least to stop these things from continuing.

You're a longtime pastor and LGBTQ advocate, and you've spent decades working in nonprofits. What has been a defining moment in your career that has shaped your philosophy?

I have experienced firsthand the way in which virtually all attacks on the LGBTQ community come from people who are religious. I, myself, was encouraged to enter into and spent five years in ex-gay reparative therapy designed to force me to be straight. I was enrolled in those types of therapy from 16 to 21  basically, half of my high school career and all of my college career.

While that could've turned me away from all things religious, a series of events occurred in my life where I ended up finding progressive, supportive religious communities. That caused me to become an advocate for religious communities that make space for LGBTQ people and remind them they are OK and that God loves them.

How do you hope to carry this lesson forward and into your new role?

That's just an asset I bring to this role. I understand both the religious trauma and the ways in which we can either run from those types of experiences in our lives or seek to find healing. 

It was a major experience for me to work in three states to achieve gay marriage. That was in Oregon, where early on we achieved domestic partnership. Then in Colorado, I was part of a movement to get civil unions there. Then in Missouri, I was blessed (and) honored to be able to do the state's first legal same-sex marriage. That was a huge part of my work in LGBTQ advocacy for a long time because so much of our focus was on marriage.

Where that takes me now is recognizing that we probably put too much emphasis on marriage. Now we've really got to turn our attention to the real critical issues that define us as a community and what protections are necessary to ensure that all of us are free to thrive in all areas of our lives, not just in the ability to marry the person that we love.

F. Amanda Tugade covers social justice issues for the Des Moines Register. Email her at ftugade@dmreg.com or follow her on Twitter @writefelissa.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Des Moines' Capital City Pride hires its first ever executive director
LOS ANGELES  When California Gov. Gavin Newsom needed to fill the U.S. Senate seat of his late mentor Dianne Feinstein , he could have turned to a big-city mayor, a member of Congress or a powerful legislator.

Instead, he chose Laphonza Butler , a former union leader and Democratic insider who heads a national organization that raises money for women candidates who support abortion rights. She offered a familiar face who shares his vision for a progressive California. In choosing Butler, he also elevated someone who could become an important ally for a potential national campaign that many see in his future.

The 44-year-old Butler is a native of Magnolia, Mississippi and a graduate of Jackson State University.

Once she is sworn in, Butler will be the only Black woman in the Senate and the first openly LGBTQ+ California senator. That, alongside her background in the labor and women's rights movements, helps harden Newsoms ties to important national Democratic constituencies.

Laphonza Butler speaks during an event in Washington on June 23, 2023. California Gov. Gavin Newsom has named Butler to fill the U.S. Senate seat made vacant by Sen. Dianne Feinstein's death.

Speaking to reporters Monday in San Francisco, Newsom praised Butler's deep knowledge of the legislative process and said she was the kind of candidate he would build if I had to literally design from my imagination.

Shes the only choice, he added.

Few voters outside workaday Democratic politics would recognize her name, but Butler is well known inside the party apparatus. Her credentials include working for nearly two years with a consulting firm tied closely to the governor and founded by his top political lieutenants. She also served as a senior adviser to Kamala Harris's 2020 presidential campaign and headed Emilys List, the abortion rights group.

While Newsom could have sought a marquee name to fill the seat, a comfort level is important. Any governor might be a little hesitant about somebody with too many degrees of separation, said Claremont McKenna College political scientist Jack Pitney.

But Newsom's choice will not be universally welcome. A competitive race for Feinstein's seat is already underway among three prominent House Democrats, Reps. Katie Porter, Adam Schiff and Barbara Lee, who is Black. The governor has said he didn't want to tip the scales in the 2024 race by choosing among those candidates.

Butler has not said if she intends to run for a full term, a decision she must make by Dec. 8.

Newsom said he told Butler to "do what you think is best for you and the state of California, and you make that judgment completely independent of any expectations from me.

Her selection drew swift criticism from Republicans, who have long struggled in a liberal-leaning state where Democrats havent lost a statewide election since 2006.

The last thing we need are more union activists in government, tweeted GOP Assemblyman Bill Essayli.

Butler has yet to appear in public since the appointment was announced by Newsoms office Sunday. She is expected to be sworn in Tuesday in Washington by Harris, the last Black woman to serve in the Senate.

For women and girls, for workers and unions, for struggling parents waiting for our leaders to bring opportunity back to their homes, for all of California, Im ready to serve, she said in a statement.

Newsom faced intense pressure from Black political leaders and advocacy groups to appoint Lee to the seat after he pledged to name a Black woman should Feinstein be unable to finish her term. Though most of those groups praised Butler, their displeasure at Newsom for snubbing Lee is likely to simmer.

State Sen. Steven Bradford, vice chair of the California Legislative Black Caucus, said he was disappointed Newsom bypassed Lee, who is simply unmatched in her values, vision and lived experiences.

Aimee Allison, who founded She the People, a political advocacy network for women of color that also supported Lee, said in a statement she would be delighted by the prospect of multiple talented Black women running for the Senate in California and elsewhere.

Ballots for the March 5 primary will be mailed to voters in early February, leaving just a narrow window for Butler to raise money in a state where a statewide campaign can easily cost $20 million or more.

Butler, 44, comes from a working-class family. Her father, a small-business owner, died from a terminal illness when she was 16. Her mother worked as a classroom aide, a home care provider, a security guard and a bookkeeper while caring for Butler and her two siblings, the governor's office said.

She has never held public office.

Laphonza Butler speaks during a rally held by the Latino Victory Fund on Oct. 20, 2022, in Coral Gables, Fla. California Gov. Gavin Newsom has named Butler to fill the U.S. Senate seat made vacant by Sen. Dianne Feinstein's death.

Butler was elected president of the states largest labor union in the early 2010s, back when the nation was reeling from the Great Recession.

Laphonza had this ability to get to what was in peoples hearts, said Arnuflo De La Cruz, the unions current president who at the time was elected with Butler as the unions executive vice president. She could connect with members from completely different backgrounds in all places across the state.

That work culminated in 2016 when former Gov. Jerry Brown signed a law to raise the statewide minimum wage to $15 per hour. De La Cruz said Butler was the unions chief negotiator.

The ability to be effective in politics is maybe a little bit about perception but certainly a lot about strength and your ability to elect people or unseat them, De La Cruz said.

Democratic state Sen. Maria Elena Durazo, a former officer in the Los Angeles Federation of Labor, said Butler was committed to lifting women out of poverty.

She was very forceful in a way that was strategic. She didnt waste a lot of words just talking when she spoke, Durazo said. She was considered very powerful. She didnt abuse that power.

Butler left the labor movement for campaign consulting, joining a firm alongside top advisers to Newsom and Harris. She was a senior adviser on Harris's campaign for president, which started to much fanfare but fizzled as she struggled to raise money and hone her message.

Butler has also worked for corporate clients, including Airbnb and Uber.

Newsom, who was elected governor in 2018, has now chosen both of the states U.S. senators. The selection of Butler bears resemblance to the last time, when he tapped his close friend and confidant for the job, now-Sen. Alex Padilla.

At the time, Newsom was under pressure to select a Black woman to fill the seat of Harris, who is Black. His choice of Padilla, the states first Latino senator, rankled Black leadership in the state who saw the seat as their own.

___

Beam reported from Sacramento.

This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: MS native, JSU grad Laphonza Butler to fill Feinstein US Senate seat
NEW HAVEN, Mo.  Sixty-seven-year-old Danny J. Smith was known as Pastor Dan at St. Peters United Church of Christ in New Haven, Missouri. He was supposed to take the pulpit this past Sunday.

There were a lot of tears shed in our church yesterday morning, church member John Berger said.

Former Olathe student seriously injured in deadly chemical crash in Illinois

Church member Audrey Freitag added, He just fit into the whole community so well.

Pastor Dan was scheduled to preach Sunday in the small river town in Franklin County. Instead, some church members learned he was one of the five people who died Friday night traveling through Central Illinois when a chemical truck reportedly jackknifed and spilled anhydrous ammonia onto the road.

Preliminary coroner findings report exposure to the chemical as the likely cause of deaths when the victims drove by the crash. Berger saw the news reports, then soon learned Pastor Dan was among those who died.

I immediately called one of our church council members and advised them of the sad news, he said. Pastor Dan was a great guy, always wanting to get involved. He was great with our congregation. He did a great job with the kids.

Cancer survivor invites life-saving donor to be best man

Freitag said the pastor did so much for the church. The reverends name is still on the last church bulletin and the memory of his good work will remain, like his work with Berger in the Lions Club.

He liked to do it because he wanted to be with people, Berger said.

Pastor Dan modeled celebrating, Berger said, both his ministry inside the church and his life outside.

He loved to travel, Berger said. He had a Harley-Davidson. He liked to get on his bike and just take the road. He didnt know where the road was going to lead him, but he knew he would come back. Unfortunately, that trip, he was not on his motorcycle, but with the accident, he did not make it back.

The comfort I get is that God wanted him home, and we will have to go on, Frietag added.

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North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper signed a bill on Monday that requires age verification on pornographic websites.

The new law, which goes into effect Jan. 1, requires the websites to verify users in North Carolina are over the age of 18 through a commercially available database or another commercially reasonable method for age and identity verification, according to the bill. However, websites are not allowed to keep any of the identifying information used to gain access to the sites.

The measure also allows parents to sue the owners of those websites for allowing their children to view the material.

Texas, Virginia, Louisiana, Arkansas, Utah, Mississippi and Montana have passed similar laws, according to the N.C. Family Policy Council. But in August, a federal judge ruled that Texas law violates free speech restrictions that are banned by the First Amendment, Variety reported. The ruling was appealed by the Texas Attorney General.

When the laws went into effect, Pornhub, a website thats one of the most-visited websites in the world, saw its traffic drop by more than 80% in Louisiana. Users in Utah, Mississippi and Virginia were blocked from accessing the site, Politico reported.

How will it work?

Age verification in North Carolina hasnt been set up yet, but those who visit porn websites in states with similar laws are directed to a third-party site where they provide their government IDs, Wired reported.

Credit card information, face scans and online parental consent forms could also be used to verify ages, according to a briefing from the European Commission, where similar laws have been passed.

After a similar law went into effect in Virginia in July, most websites didnt adopt age verification methods, the Virginia Mercury reported.

If websites dont comply with the law, parents of minors who were allowed to view the content or anyone whose personal information was kept by the website can file civil suits against the companies for damages, according to the N.C. bill.

Free Speech Coalition Executive Director Alison Boden told the Mercury that a lot of pornographic websites arent based in the U.S., making it harder for them to be held accountable for breaking the law.

The actual legal jeopardy that an international company might face, especially since it would be like a private lawsuit from an individual, is not terribly high compared to what a U.S. company would face if sued by a person in Virginia, Boden said.

Why was the age verification law passed?

The age verification law passed as part of House Bill 8, which received overwhelming, bipartisan support. The bill, titled Various Statutory Changes, also includes new requirements about computer science education in middle and high schools and accreditation of schools.

The law is meant to protect children from the harmful effects of pornography, Sen. Amy Galey, an Alamance County Republican who introduced the proposal, said during a floor debate last month.

Moms and dads across the state of North Carolina are striving to protect their children from online predators in a number of different ways by monitoring their childs use, by putting parental controls on their electronics, Galey said. This will give them another important way where they can work to keep their children safe.

Exposure to pornography at a young age can lead to mental health issues, and encourage sexism and objectification, sexual violence and other negative outcomes, according to UNICEF.

North Carolinas law comes as more teens than ever are watching explicit content online.

A study from Common Sense Media, an advocacy organization that gives ratings to media and technology to decide whether theyre suitable for children, said nearly three in four teens between the ages of 13 and 17 reported watching porn online, and more than half reported seeing it before the age of 13.
(Bloomberg) -- PayPay Corp. is one of SoftBank Group Corp. founder Masayoshi Sons success stories, going from zero to more than 60 million users in five years. The payments app now seeks to keep its pace of double-digit growth with help from other SoftBank portfolio companies, according to its co-chief operating officer.

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Tokyo-based PayPay propelled itself to prominence in the countrys fragmented cashless payments landscape, thanks to aggressive subsidies and SoftBanks support in signing on merchants around Japan. It spent 10 billion ($67 million) in a cashback campaign in 10 days shortly after its 2018 debut, winning millions of users who crashed PayPays system multiple times.

Seen to be next in SoftBanks initial public offering pipeline, the startup now holds two-thirds share in QR-code payments in a country where cash remains king. A partnership with Japans Line messaging service, under SoftBanks telecom arm, would help PayPay win another 30 million users in the coming years, according to co-COO Masamichi Yasuda.

We want everyone with a smartphone to be using PayPay, Yasuda said in an interview. There will always be a group that feels uncomfortable about cashless payments, but thats the idea.

PayPay is one of the few fruitful initiatives from Sons strategy that encouraged portfolio companies to cooperate with one another. PayPay, in which SoftBank holds a majority stake through its telecom arm, holding companies and the second Vision Fund, initially adopted its payment technology from Indias Paytm in which the first Vision Fund invested in 2017.

The apps gross merchandise volume, a key metric for gauging performance, topped 10 trillion for the year ended March, growing 34% from a year ago. That is the pace of growth PayPay wants to maintain, Yasuda said. It will leverage its offerings, ranging from credit cards and insurance to stock-trading, to boost transactions and users, he said.

Story continues

PayPays growth has been bolstered by the Japanese governments push to encourage digital payments in a country that still prefers cash. Cashless payment accounted for about 36% of total consumer transactions in 2022, according to data from the economy ministry. While that amount lags behind its neighbors, the figures more than double what it was a decade ago.

SoftBanks telecom arm valued the startup at approximately 1 trillion during an internal transaction last year when PayPay acquired a stake in PayPay Card, according to calculations by Kirk Boodry, an analyst at Astris Advisory. If investors agree with that valuation, an IPO of the payments firm would be positive for SoftBank, analysts say.

Theyve done an incredibly good job with PayPay, because they were nowhere in fintech before that business kicked off, he said. And they managed to take a majority of that market.

Payments via QR code, a method widely used in China with WeChat Pay and Alipay, are gaining ground in Japan. Lower commission fees compared with those charged by credit card vendors continue to attract merchants.

PayPay is putting more focus on its financial health, however. The company now charges retailers a fee and reported its first-ever profit before accounting for interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization during the quarter ended in June.

The company wants to boost the average amount spent via PayPay on individual accounts, Yasuda said, declining to elaborate further. PayPay is also considering expanding into corporate accounts and may offer overseas usage via partnerships with local payment apps, he added.

A bid to extend PayPays reach would face stiff competition from Rakuten Group Inc., which offers an array of similar services including Rakuten Pay, credit card and brokerage services. The payments market is also increasingly crowded, while credit cards continue to dominate high-value transactions such as luxury purchases.

We are gradually shifting into a different stage of growth, Yasuda said. PayPay will continue to make investments, but, at the same time, we want profit-generation to become a sticky trend for us.

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Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., walking from chambers after being voted out as Speaker of the House on Tuesday on Capitol Hill in Washington.

The U.S. House voted Tuesday to remove Republican Kevin McCarthy from his job as speaker, a historic ouster started by a small band of hard-line conservatives but made possible by Democratic lawmakers.

The vote was 216 to 210 for a motion made by Florida Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz to remove McCarthy, of California. Only eight Republicans voted for the Gaetz motion, but Democrats gave the motion the necessary majority. It was the first such removal of a speaker in the history of the House.

Rep. Patrick McHenry, R-North Carolina, will serve as speaker pro tempore until the House chooses McCarthys replacement. McHenry was among the members who argued strongly Tuesday against removing McCarthy. Republicans are expected to spend the next week sorting out potential candidates to replace McCarthy, who said he wouldn't try to win the post again.

During the debate, some Republicans warned that the House would be paralyzed and dysfunctional if Gaetz was successful.

How Oklahoma lawmakers voted, are responding to ousting of Kevin McCarthy as speaker

Rep. Tom Cole, R-Moore, who led the debate in support of retaining McCarthy, said a small group of Republicans were willing to plunge this body into chaos and this country into uncertainty for reasons that only they really understand. I certainly dont.

Gaetz responded that the budget process McCarthy vowed to fix remained broken, with Congress in the familiar position of needing a stopgap measure to keep the government open and possibly a massive spending bill to follow.

I dont think voting against Kevin McCarthy is chaos, Gaetz said. I think $33 trillion in debt is chaos. I think that facing a $2.2 trillion annual deficit is chaos. I think that not passing single-subject spending bills is chaos. I think the fact that we have been governed in this country since the mid-'90s by continuing resolutions and omnibus (spending bills) is chaos.

McCarthy, 58, who has been in the House since 2007, needed 15 ballots to secure the speakership in January, after Republicans took control of the House with a slim majority.

More: Kevin McCarthy vote results: Speaker ousted after deal to avert government shutdown

Until the past week, McCarthy had been able to pacify the hard-right conservatives who extracted some promises from him during his effort to become speaker. But a handful of those conservatives rebelled when McCarthy agreed to let the House vote on a stopgap measure supported by Democrats to keep the government open on Sunday, after the federal fiscal year ended and funding expired. Congress has not passed any of the annual appropriations bills.

Gaetz said over the weekend that he would seek to remove McCarthy because of the continuing resolution.

Rep. Stephanie Bice, R-Oklahoma City, argued Tuesday that House Republicans had won some victories under McCarthys leadership on such issues as energy, spending and securing the southern border, though some have not been considered by the Democratic Senate. She called the move to remove McCarthy an unnecessary distraction.

Let me abundantly clear: Attempting to remove Speaker McCarthy will put this House in a stalemate and paralyze our ability to fight for our constituents and instead create a fight amongst one another, Bice said.

Who voted to remove Kevin McCarthy as speaker of the House?

All five Oklahoma members, all Republicans, backed McCarthy on Tuesday. Along with Gaetz, the Republicans voting for McCarthy's removal were Reps. Andy Biggs, of Arizona; Ken Buck, of Colorado; Tim Burchett, of Tennessee; Eli Crane, of Arizona; Bob Good, of Virginia; Nancy Mace, of South Carolina; and Matt Rosendale, of Montana.

Democratic lawmakers could have bailed out McCarthys speakership but instead ensured his departure.

House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries, of New York, issued a statement Tuesday noting that McCarthy, in seeking support to win the speakership in January, made a concession to the hard-line conservatives that led to his own ouster. That concession was that a single member could make a motion to remove the speaker.

Jeffries made clear Democrats had no reason to bail McCarthy out, saying Republicans had added extreme GOP provisions to the defense bill, backed out of their agreement on the debt ceiling and initiated an impeachment investigation of President Joe Biden.

Our responsibility as Members of Congress relates to the Constitution, the principle of good governance and the people we are privileged to serve. Nothing more, and nothing less, Jeffries said.

In that regard, House Democrats remain willing to find common ground on an enlightened path forward. Unfortunately, our extreme Republican colleagues have shown no willingness to do the same. It is now the responsibility of the GOP members to end the House Republican Civil War.

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Oklahoma lawmakers voted to keep Kevin McCarthy as speaker
Nathan Olsen said he wouldn't be happy until Antonyo Powell "was in the ground," his cousin testified.

Chester Stollings was the fourth witness on Wednesday's third day of Olsen's murder trial in Richland County Common Pleas Court.

Olsen, 41, is charged with aggravated murder, three counts of murder, discharge of a firearm in or near prohibited premises, improperly discharging a firearm at or into a habitation or school safety zone, felonious assault and improperly handling firearms in a motor vehicle.

Nathan Olsen listens to testimony during his murder trial in Judge Phillip Naumoff's courtroom. Olsen is charged in the homicide of Antonyo Powell.

Olsen is accused of shooting of Powell outside a house in the first block of Antibus Place on Oct. 22. He was not arrested until Jan. 10 in South Carolina.

According to Stollings, Olsen believed that Powell burglarized his home on Oct. 15, a week before the shooting. Stollings said he and Olsen often communicated by phone or Facebook Messenger.

Prosecutor Jodie Schumacher showed the jury a post that Olsen sent to his cousin on Oct. 20.

"This dude (Powell) has consumed my mind. I want to kill him, bad," Olsen wrote. "That's all I can think about."

Suspect's cousin did not think he would commit murder

Stollings said he believed Powell, if he committed the burglary, deserved a "good ass-whooping," but didn't expect the situation to go any further.

"I never thought he'd do that, like, ever," Stollings testified.

Stollings said Olsen was more upset that someone was in his house while his children were sleeping than about any items that were stolen.

Nathan Olsen listens to testimony during his murder trial in Judge Phillip Naumoff's courtroom. Olsen is charged in the homicide of Antonyo Powell.

Schumacher showed a screenshot of another exchange between Olsen and his cousin.

"It's (expletive) consuming me because I want him in the dirt," he wrote about Powell.

Some time after the shooting, Stollings said Olsen called him to look at an off-road motorcycle with mechanical problems.

He said he found it curious when Olsen showed up in a black Volkswagen, saying he was selling his guns. He also gave Stollings a box of ammunition.

In a subsequent phone call, Stollings said Olsen told him he was "somewhere safe" and was concerned police had seized the car in question. He reportedly told Stollings he thought gunshot residue might be in the vehicle.

"It definitely turned my gut, but he told me he was cleared of being a suspect," Stollings said.

He later changed his mind about his cousin and turned the ammunition over to Mansfield police.

"When they went and got him (in South Carolina), I knew something wasn't right," Stollings testified.

Olsen posted threats on Facebook Messenger

On cross-examination, defense attorney Aaron Schwartz asked Stollings if he thought Olsen was simply venting on Facebook.

"That's how I took it," he said.

"You did not take the threats seriously?" Schwartz asked.

Stollings said he did not.

The defense attorney continued.

"If you had thought for a millisecond Mr. Olsen was plotting a murder, you would have called the police?" Schwartz asked.

"Absolutely," Stollings replied.

The cousin said he found out about the fatal shooting the morning after it happened but still did not think Olsen was involved.

"I would have never thought he would shoot anyone," Stollings said.

The first witness of the day was Mansfield police Detective Larry Schacherer. He followed up on a thread prosecutors were putting together on the car involved in the shooting.

In going over the security video of the shooting with Assistant Prosecutor Lauryn Calderhead, Schacherer said the car had distinctive amber lights near the headlights, as well as a front license plate and round taillights.

The detective also reviewed body camera footage from police Officer Jacob Oblak, who responded to Olsen's residence in the 300 block of Hammond Avenue on Oct. 24, two days after the shooting, when someone fired shots into it.

Olsen's girlfriend arrived at the scene in a dark-colored car with a front license plate, amber lights on the front bumper and round taillights.

Schacherer said he tried to locate the vehicle the next day and found it parked in the 500 block of South Main Street.

Detective says Olsen's girlfriend fled from him in car

The detective said Olsen's girlfriend saw him and took off at a high rate of speed. Patrol officers responded and found the car at a building at Cline and Sturges avenues.

Police reported finding a Taurus 9mm handgun clipped to the driver's door. They also confiscated live rounds, a magazine and a holster.

On cross, Schwartz suggested the car was not unique at all, asking if it was uncommon for cars not to have front plates.

"It's hit and miss anymore," Schacherer said. "I wouldn't say it stands out."

The defense attorney also asked if amber lights and round taillights were exclusive to that make and model of car. Schacherer said they were not.

Schacherer also said he could not tell the make or model of the car involved in the shooting and could not see who was in the vehicle.

Nolan Robison, a forensic investigator in the Mansfield Police Department's crime lab, testified about testing the Taurus 9mm and a Smith & Wesson handgun recovered at the home of Olsen's mother. He said both were operable and were then sent to the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation for further testing.

Daniel Davison, a forensic scientist for BCI, said several areas in the black Volkswagen tested positive for gunshot residue.

On cross, Davison said he reviewed the data but did not handle the testing, adding he believed the exam was "conducted properly."

Joshua Barr, a forensic scientist assigned to BCI's firearms section, reviewed the two guns' tool-marking identifications. He said the Taurus 9mm did not match the bullet jacket and the Smith & Wesson was inconclusive.

"I can't say if it's identification or elimination," Barr said on direct examination.

The final witness of the day was Dr. Brian Casto, a deputy coroner and forensic pathologist with the Montgomery County Coroner's Office. He performed the autopsy on Powell.

Casto said there were seven wound paths on Powell's body and 13 wounds, indicating most of bullets exited his body.

Toward the end of the morning break, Judge Phil Naumoff dismissed a juror for an undisclosed reason. There still are 13 jurors, enough for one alternate.

When court adjourned, the judge told the jury the case could wrap up Friday.

mcaudill@gannett.com

419-521-7219

X (formerly Twitter): @MarkCau32059251

This article originally appeared on Mansfield News Journal: Mansfield man's cousin testifies about possible motive for murder
Jay Kitterman, now Consultant for the Culinary Institute at Lincoln Land Community College, Feb. 12, 2015.

The Chicago City Council is considering an ordinance that would end the tipped minimum wage, fundamentally changing the business model of every restaurant in the city. Under the current law, the tipped wage in Chicago (different from the rest of the state) is $9.48 an hour. No tipped employee in Chicago makes less than the prevailing Chicago minimum wage of $15.80. If the combination of $9.48 an hour plus tips does not meet or exceed $15.80 for any hour they work, the employer must make up the difference.

The Illinois Restaurant Association in their material states that the median full-service restaurant tipped worker makes $28.48 per hour in Illinois. The Association, primarily made up of Chicago restaurant owners, has traditionally opposed the elimination of the tipped minimum wage. On Sept. 20, the Citys Council Committee on Workforce Development signed off on a compromise agreed to by the Association to give Chicago restaurants five years to absorb a 66% increase in labor costs. Tipped restaurant workers will receive an 8% annual increase every July 1 starting next year through 2028. The measure goes to the full city council for a vote in early October.

It was the Associations contention that eliminating the tipped minimum wage would lead to job cuts in the restaurant business. They based their information on cities like San Francisco that have eliminated the tipped minimum wage and argue that for every $1 the minimum wage went up, the likelihood of a median-rated restaurant closing increased by 14%. They further argued that eliminating the tipped minimum wage would lead to widespread use of service charges in restaurants.

The Association surveyed 315 Chicago restaurants and 92% said menu prices would increase and 76% said they would have to decrease the number of tipped workers.

At this point, you may be asking about minimum wages and tip credit for the rest of the state. The federal minimum wage for all employees whether they receive tips or not is $7.25 an hour. The minimum wage in Illinois for 2023 is $13. Illinois law allows employers to claim a tip credit of 40% of the minimum wage. This means that Illinois employers may pay tipped employees an hourly wage as low as $7.80 an hour. As mentioned before, if this lower minimum wage plus tips the employee earns do not add up to $13, the employer must make up the difference. Now for a couple of definitions.

More: A good noodle, rich, well-made broth, slices of juicy meat make for a scrumptious soup

Tip pooling or tipping out: Many states, including Illinois, allow employers to require these. Employees subject to the pool have to chip in a portion of their tips that are divided among a group of employees. This group normally includes bussers, hosts, and bartenders. The employees must be able to keep at least the full minimum wage even with tip pooling.

Service charge: Many predict we will see more restaurant service charges if the tip credit is eliminated. A service charge/service fee is collected in exchange for a product or service. Typically, it is incurred at the time of the transaction and included in the bill. A service charge is not considered a tip. Many restaurants give at least part of the service charge to employees; it is the employers choice. Service charges have become common in the food service industry as many restaurants add them to the bill for reasons such as automatic gratuity for large parties, bottle service at a bar or nightclub, room service charges for a hotel restaurant, delivery fees for online deliveries, and banquet or catering fee.

Most consumers do not realize it, but restaurants are allowed to subtract a proportionate amount of an employees tip to cover the restaurants share of the credit card processing fee. For example, if the credit card company charges a 3% fee, the employer can legally reduce the employee's tips by 3%. This is a good reason to reward your hard-working restaurant server with a generous cash tip.

Many people ask me if tips are taxable. The answer is yes. Employees must keep a daily record of the cash tips they receive and report them to their employer. Tips reported to the employer by the employee are included on the employee's Form W-2, Wage and Tax Statement, for reporting on an individual tax return.

Restaurants need to file for tax purposes their total sales, charged sales, charged tips and total reported tips. Here is where it gets "dicey." This report is organized in such a way as to highlight any shortfall of reported tips below 8% of gross receipts. If it is below the 8% threshold there are potential negative consequences for the restaurant and tipped employees.

As consumers, we can expect to see a domino effect with similar legislation in more cities and states. Evanston, a suburb of Chicago, has announced they are looking at a similar law. The main proponent of the proposals is the One Fair Wage, a labor advocacy group backed by the Service Employees International Union. There are current initiatives in Washington D.C., Michigan, Boston, and New York. Seven states have eliminated the tip credit.

I, like most, have various opinions (not always positive) regarding the abundance of tip jars. I recently saw one that had the following note attached: Money is the root of all evil. Cleanse yourself!

I will keep you updated on the status of this issue.

Lincoln Land Community College offers credit programs in Culinary Arts, Hospitality Management, Baking/Pastry, and Value-Added Local Food, and non-credit cooking and food classes through LLCC Community Education.

Cooking or food questions? Email epicuriosity101@llcc.edu.

Jay Kitterman is a culinary and special events consultant and adjunct instructor at Lincoln Land Community College.

This article originally appeared on State Journal-Register: Chicago ordinance to end tipped minimum wage could ripple downstate
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. -- Local opposition to Indianas Economic Development Corp.'s LEAP project seems about as strong as some leaders' hopelessness that anything can be done to stop it.

The LEAP project would possibly pull up to 100 million gallons of water a day from Tippecanoe County and pipe it to Boone County in Indiana.

That didn't stop the West Lafayette City Council Monday from passing a resolution opposing the tapping of area resources to supply water to Lebanon, Ind., for the development of an economic district in Boone County some 40 miles away.

"Our passing of this resolution," said Council Member David Sanders, "doesn't stop the project. First thing is that, if no one expressed opposition, of course, it would go through, and there would be repercussions for the future."

The resolution against the Lebanon LEAP project -- which stands for Limitless Exploration Advanced Pace -- passed unanimously after a half dozen citizens also voiced their opposition to the possibility of losing millions of gallons of water for another Indiana community's benefit.

More: Negele, Deery commit to crafting legislation related to tapping of water resources

The state, the IEDC has explained, purchased land near the Wabash River aquifer with the hopes of extracting as much as 100 million gallons of water a day and piping it to Lebanon.

Lebanon, according to the IEDC, has the ideal location for a 9,000-acre for a megasite that could be a work site for 50,000 people working in advance manufacturing, mixed-use and corporate campuses.

Lebanon's water resources cannot supply 100 million gallons a day, a reality that brought the IEDC to Tippecanoe County.

"We're told that the project is of such-and-such of size," Sanders added, "if there is no opposition, no public discussion, no one is going to hold them to that size. I know that Mayor (Tony) Roswarski (of Lafayette) is very concerned about limiting the size of this pipeline, so, you know, it's for a dedicated use rather than just a free-flowing from the aquifer."

During discussion of the resolution, images of the Wabash River were projected on the council chamber's video screen. The photos, taken by Sanders on the morning of the Oct. 2 meeting, showed exposed dry areas of the Wabash River, not an issue, Sanders said, when water flow testing was conducted in June, "during the rainy season."

The banks of the Wabash River, a view captured from the Harrison Bridge between West Lafayette and Lafayette, draw in during drier months. Sanders took the photo on Oct. 2, 2023, the day the council passed a resolution opposing the LEAP project, which would pull as much as 100 million gallons of water a day from Tippecanoe County water sources.

Roswarski previously pinpointed when he first became concerned about the scope of the LEAP project.

We found out about this several several months ago, and had a quick meeting with the (Indiana Economic Development Corp.)," Roswarski said earlier this summer. We originally heard about 10 million (gallons a day), but then we heard it could go up as high as 100 million (gallons a day). When that number came out, we got a little bit more concerned.

Indiana state law dictates that the resources related to land belong to the owners of that land, so any water under the 9,000 acres would, by law, go to the purchaser.

I want to make clear to folks that we understand that we dont own the water," Roswarski told the Journal & Courier earlier. "The water in the aquifer, in Indiana law, if you own the land above, you have the right to tap the water. We understand that."

That reality didn't sit well with Cheryl Kirkpatrick, a West Lafayette resident who spoke Monday night during the public comment section of the city council meeting.

"I don't know anything about water," Kirkpatrick began, "this has nothing to do, that I'm going to talk about, about water. I have all these questions and not the answers for me. I want to know why Boone County got to sell 9,000 acres for $128 million. I want to know where did they get the $128 million to buy the land.

"Who owned the 9,000 acres? What was on the 9,000 acres? Why didn't the (IEDC) come to Tippecanoe County and buy 9,000 acres from us and we wouldn't have to build this 30-mile pipeline to Lebanon?"

Kirkpatrick said the project feels like a "done deal" when the IEDC has already spent millions of dollars purchasing acreage in Boone County.

"What would they do with the 9,000 acres if the deal falls through?" Kirkpatrick added.

Both Sanders and City Council President Peter Bunder noted that the "other side," representatives of the IEDC and the LEAP project, were not in attendance Monday to speak to the opposition or answer lingering questions.

"The other side doesn't come because they do not feel at all compelled to enter into this conversation because they've already had the conversation," Bunder said after the meeting adjourned. "We have our little oligarchies, everyone has theirs, so somewhere in Hamilton County four years ago made the brilliant idea that they would do this and they have done it.

"And so, it's like learning you aren't going to have a branch of (the Bureau of) Motor Vehicles anymore," Bunder cited as an example of the state making a decision without including local perspective, "and 'we're going to come up and tell you why you aren't going to have that branch anymore. So, we're not surprised."

The resolution to oppose the LEAP project, cosponsored by Sanders and Council Member James Blanco, was ultimately amended after another citizen, Jason Anderson, spoke during the public comment section asking that the council add the Teays River aquifer to the verbiage, which cited the Wabash River and its aquifer.

The Teays River, according to the Indiana Department of Conservation, enters Indiana in Jay County and runs northwest, crossing south of the Wabash River under Tippecanoe County.

This article originally appeared on Lafayette Journal & Courier: West Lafayette leaders pass resolution against tapping of county water
An out-of-state relative of 5-year-old Zoey Felix says her grief over the Topeka girl's violent death is accompanied by concern for the safety of Zoey's mother, 36-year-old Holly Jo Felix.

Strangers, one thought to be armed, were "trashing" the yard of Holly Felix's home in the block of 2200 S.E. Market, her cousin said.

Brandi Sutcliffe-Mcardle, of Fort Collins, Colorado, called a Capital-Journal reporter late Wednesday afternoon to share her concern.

Topeka police responded about 3:30 p.m. on a report that people the resident didn't know were causing a disturbance, said Gretchen Spiker, communications director for Topeka's city government.

Garbage could be seen strewn Wednesday evening across the driveway of a house in the block of 2200 S.E. Market, the home of Holly Jo Felix, the mother of 5-year-old Topeka homicide victim Zoey Felix.

"Officers did respond and resolve the disturbance," she said. "Transportation was arranged by TPD for the resident for the safety of all involved."

Two trash containers could be seen knocked over in front of the house afterward, with garbage strewn over the ground.

Extended family didn't know Zoey Felix was living in a tent

Zoey often roamed her neighborhood alone and unsupervised as she formerly lived with her parents and others at in the block of 2200 S.E. Market, neighbors told The Capital-Journal on Tuesday.

Holly Felix about two weeks ago expelled from that house a group that included Zoey; Ezequiel Felix-Guerrero, who was Zoey's father; Kaitlyn Cain, a teenager who was Holly Felix's daughter by another father; and Mickel Cherry, neighbors and relatives said. The group went to live in a campsite in southeast Topeka.

Zoey's father had legal custody of her, meaning Holly Felix couldn't keep him from taking her with him, Sutcliffe-Mcardle said.

On Tuesday, Topeka police said Zoey had been raped and killed a day earlier. Cherry, 25, was being held on a $2 million bond Thursday morning in the Shawnee County Jail in connection with rape and first-degree murder in the commission of a felony. Formal charges haven't been filed.

Cherry was also being held on a "hold for positive identification," jail records said.

Zoey's relatives in other states had no idea she was living in a tent, Sutcliffe-Mcardle said.

"None of us knew anything," she said. "Any one of us would have jumped at the chance to take this little girl in and provide her a home."

Sutcliffe-Mcardle said her brother, California resident Justin Leuty, has set up an account on the GoFundMe website seeking donations to help cover funeral costs.

"Zoey was a sweet, funny and goofy little girl who had a great smile and laugh that lit up the world," that page said.

It had received donations totaling $5,052 by Thursday morning and had a goal of bringing in $10,000.

"Justin just wants to do right by Zoey and honor her as the sweet, beautiful girl she was," Sutcliffe-Mcardle said.

'Put the hate aside' on social media, family member asks

Sutcliffe-Mcardle said she and Leuty are among nieces and nephews of Dave and Joann Leuty, residents of Nevada and the parents of Holly Felix and grandparents of Zoey.

Dave Leuty died in January and Joann Leuty is in poor health with respiratory problems, she said.

Holly Felix was born in Colorado and formerly lived in Colorado and Nevada, Sutcliffe-Mcardle said, adding that members of their extended family are "very close" to each other.

Sutcliffe-Mcardle said family members feel particularly concerned about the animosity being expressed on social media toward Holly Felix.

"I can't believe the amount of hate I'm seeing," she said. "Everyone's so judgmental. I wish people could put their hate aside and focus on the fact that we're all grieving for this little girl."

Contact Tim Hrenchir at threnchir@gannett.com or 785-213-5934.

This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Relative of slain 5-year-old Zoey Felix fears for her mother's safety
Delhi Township's Fire Department has a "baby box," a box designed to safetly and discreetly pass off unwated babies.

Two more Safe Haven Baby Boxes were installed in the Tri-State Wednesday, giving distressed mothers more options if theyre faced with having to surrender a child.

One box was installed at the Lebanon Fire Department, while another was placed at the Union Township Fire Department in Clermont County.

If it saves one child, that is a win for us in this community, Lebanon Fire Chief Ryan Dipzinski said.

These were the 10th boxes installed in Ohio. 170 have been installed across the country since the program started in 2016.

For subscribers: Should Ohioans be able to drop off unwanted babies in Safe Haven boxes?

Delhi Township's Fire Department has a "baby box," a box designed to safetly and discreetly pass off unwated babies. Once inside, a silent alarm alerts emergency responders who will get to the box within minutes.

How does a Safe Haven Baby Box work?

The baby boxes are temperature-controlled. When opened, an alarm is set alerting dispatchers and fire crews that the baby has been placed inside.

When the door shuts, alarms will go off that notify us at the fire station and dispatch center that something is in here, Dipzinski said.

Monica Kelsey, the founder and CEO of Safe Haven Baby Box, said responders get the alarm within 60 seconds and the baby is usually pulled from the box within two minutes.

This has always been where I started my life and I believe Ohio is going to be what really sets it apart from the rest of the country, Kelsey said.

Politics: Giving up newborns may become easier in Ohio

Delhi Township's Fire Department has a "baby box," a box designed to safetly and discreetly pass off unwated babies.

'You dont want to not have a box and need it'

No babies in Ohio have been surrendered using the boxes. One person at the event distributed flyers questioning the efficiency of the boxes and how the boxes could exploit mothers.

There were two toddlers at the event who were surrendered using the boxes in other areas.

You dont want to not have a box and need it, you would rather have a box and not need it, Kelsey said.

Ohio, Kentucky and Indiana abide by safe haven laws, meaning mothers who cant find a box can surrender babies at local police and fire stations.

'The last option a parent has left.' Why a baby box could be coming to your town

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Safe Haven Baby Boxes installed in Lebanon, Clermont County
A sixth-grade student was taken into custody after saying a bomb would go off at the school at the same time as the nationwide emergency alert test, North Carolina deputies say.

The bomb threat came in the morning of Oct. 4, the Columbus County Sheriffs Office said in a news release. A student at Central Middle School in Whiteville said the bomb would detonate during FEMAs emergency alert test scheduled for that day at 2:20 ET.

Students were evacuated from the middle schools buildings while deputies searched for a bomb, the sheriffs office said. Deputies found no devices, so students returned to class but were still dismissed before the emergency alert, the school said in an announcement.

You may get an emergency test message on your phone or TV on Wednesday. What to know

Car and bus dismissal took place before 2 p.m., with some after-school activities canceled, according to Central Middle School.

McClatchy News could not immediately reach the school for comment.

The student was taken into custody and later released, deputies said.

The threat came just two days after Whiteville City Schools and other school districts in North Carolina received bomb threats.

Emails were sent from a Gmail address with the same wording in all emails, the Watauga County Sheriffs Office said in an Oct. 2 news release. Known affected areas include Watauga, Iredell, Brunswick, Wilkes, Burke, Franklin and Columbus Counties.

No bombs were found at that time, either, deputies said.

Whiteville is 120 miles south of Raleigh.

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FILE PHOTO: A co-work robot made by South Korean firm Doosan Robotics is pictured at an unknown location in South Korea

By Joyce Lee and Scott Murdoch

SEOUL (Reuters) -Shares in South Korea's Doosan Robotics, whose robots can make coffee and pour beer, more than doubled from their initial public offering (IPO) price in their Seoul market debut on Thursday, amid pent-up demand for robotic stocks.

The company raised 421.2 billion won ($317 million) in South Korea's largest IPO this year, having priced the shares at 26,000 won each, the top of the price range flagged to investors.

Doosan Robotics shares opened at 59,100 won each, a jump of 127% on the IPO price, and rose to as much as 67,600 won in early trade before closing at 51,400 won. The wider market closed down 0.1%.

"Due to the recent high market interest in the robot sector, there is a risk of short-term stock price volatility," said Seo Jae-ho, analyst at DB Financial Investment.

Pent-up demand for robotics stocks have driven shares of smaller rival Rainbow Robotics up 312% year-to-date.

Doosan is a leading maker of so-called collaborative robots that work side-by-side with humans and are increasingly used for tasks in cafes and bars.

Doosan's solid trade debut is a rare bright spot for IPO debutants around the world recently, where many have been sold off immediately or struggled to stay above their issue price in the first few days.

South Korean companies have raised $1.7 billion in new proceeds during the first nine months of 2023, down from $12.7 billion the same period last year, according to LSEG data.

Battery maker LG Energy Solution in 2022 carried out the country's largest ever IPO when it raised $10.8 billion.

Upcoming IPOs include state-backed Seoul Guarantee Insurance Company with a forecasted valuation of up to 3.4 trillion won, battery materials maker Ecopro Materials, and HD Hyundai Global Service aiming to raise up to $1 billion in the first half of 2024.

ROBOT GROWTH

Investor demand for Doosan Robotic's IPO was strong in contrast to many recent IPOs, especially in major financial centres like Hong Kong, where the prospect of higher interest rates has soured the sentiment for share sales.

Story continues

The institutional portion of the deal was covered 272 times according to a Doosan Robotics filing, while retail shareholders bet South Korean market's largest deposit this year of 33.1 trillion won to take their full entitlement in the deal.

In 2022, Doosan Robotics' revenue was evenly distributed with North America, Europe and South Korea accounting for about 30% of sales each.

Despite competition with Japan's Fanuc and Denmark's Universal Robots, there is a large burgeoning market to penetrate due to population decreases, labour shortages, steep rise in labour costs and reshoring in many countries, said Yang Seung-yoon, analyst at Eugene Investment & Securities.

"It's good timing for Doosan Robotics to preempt the market by expanding sales and product lineup, as first-comers are likely to be entrenched considering compatibility with existing facilities," Yang said.

The global robot market is forecasted to grow from $966 million in 2022 to $2.157 billion in 2025, with an annual growth rate of about 36%, the company said citing analysis provider Markets and Markets.

(Reporting by Joyce Lee and Scott Murdoch; Editing by Jamie Freed and Michael Perry)
SAN FRANCISCO  The late Senator Dianne Feinstein was celebrated in a memorial service Thursday, held on the steps of San Francisco's City Hall where her remarkable political career began.

Security was high as invited attendees passed through a screening upon arrival before taking their seats in front of City Hall. There were also a number of street closures in effect around the building to accommodate the hundreds who were seated on Post Street for the memorial in addition to a wide security perimeter around the event.

ALSO READ: Sen. Dianne Feinstein and her legacy

Officials had planned to make the service open to the public with standing space in Civic Center Plaza, but announced early Wednesday evening that it would be a private event due to security concerns regarding the many dignitaries in attendance.

Adam Russell, a spokesperson for Feinstein's office, confirmed that the service would still be held outside, but noted the security perimeter would be too far back for the general public to see and hear.

UPDATE: Mourners pay respects to Sen. Dianne Feinstein at San Francisco City Hall

Feinstein was remembered by friends and colleagues as a pioneer whose political journey was marked by many firsts. Besides being the first president of San Francisco's Board of Supervisors and the city's first female mayor, Feinstein was the first woman elected to represent California in the U.S. Senate alongside Barbara Boxer in 1992.

Around 1,500 guests were invited to the private ceremony. Dozens of members of Congress flew into San Francisco to attend the service including Sen. Alex Padilla, who is now the senior senator from California, Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota, Congressman Adam Schiff and Congresswoman Zoe Lofgren among others. California Governor Gavin Newsom and his recent appointment to fill Feinstein's seat, Laphonza Butler, and former governor and Oakland mayor Jerry Brown were also in attendance.

Vice President Kamala Harris, Senate Majority Leader and New York Senator Chuck Schumer , Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi , San Francisco Mayor London Breed and Sen. Feinstein's granddaughter, Eileen Mariano were also in attendance and spoke at the memorial.

Mayor Breed was the first speaker, welcoming those gathered to San Francisco City Hall.

"Today, we honor the life of Senator Feinstein. That is her official title. It's how Californians and people all over the world knew her. But to us, to San Franciscans, she was Mayor Dianne Feinstein," Breed said before remembering how, as a 13-year-old French horn player at Benjamin Franklin School, she first met Feinstein.

"Over the years, we became Mayor Feinstein's band. Whenever there was an important event or activity, she chose us to perform. We played at City Hall and at the Super Bowl celebrations. We proudly wore our band sweaters that she bought for us and Mayor Feinstein always took the time to talk to us, to tell us how amazing we were and to remind us that we were her band," Breed said.

The mayor also spoke about how Feinstein provided an example of strong leadership for young women to follow.

"Dianne Feinstein showed us the meaning of San Francisco's motto, 'Gold in peace, iron in war.' She showed us a world where women lead, where we lift each other up so that girls like me could follow in her footsteps," Breed said.

A recorded message from President Joe Biden praised Feinstein for her character and toughness.

"She was always tough, prepared, rigorous, compassionate. She always served the people of California and our nation for the right reasons," Biden said.

After that message, Vice President Kamala Harris took the stage.

"Dianne Feinstein was an icon of California. She was an American patriot, a giant of the Senate, and a dear friend to Doug and me. She was also a student of history, a giftedand I'll add, very generousartist, and a passionate leader. Simply put, she was a forceShe was recognized around the world as a leader, a standard-bearer of America and of American values," Harris said. "Dianne diligently focused on the impacts on real people, not ideology; substance, not showmanship; results, not rhetoric."

Harris went on to laud Feinstein for her courage as a public servant and her fierce "defense of the Constitution and the security of the American people."

Harris also remembered the celebration in San Francisco after both Feinstein and Boxer were elected to the U.S. Senate on Nov. 3, 1993, recalling the night that she, "a young prosecutor in the Alameda County District Attorney's Office," left her Oakland home and drove across the Bay Bridge in her Toyota Corolla to witness that historic night.

"Diane, the women of America have come a long way. Our country has come a long way and you helped move the ball forward. Our nation salutes you, Diane," Harris said.

She also remembered how Feinstein welcomed her to the Senate in 2017.

"With one hand, she presented me with a glass of California Chardonnay, and with the other, a binder full of her draft bills," Harris said.

Sen. Chuck Schumer opened his comments with a memory about Feinstein's drive and tenacity, recalling how the senator decided against seeking medical attention after injuring her ankle during a morning walk the week of her signature Lake Tahoe Summit, an event aimed at preserving the lake for future generations.

"Years later, she looked back on that morning and remembered hearing a bone pop but chose to finish her day before even thinking about treatment. It turns out, it was a pretty significant fracture," remembered Schumer. "I asked how she got through the day, she only offered three words: 'I just did.'"

"There are many adjectives that rightly describe Dianne Feinstein: strong, unflappable, winning, fierce, practical, earnest," Schumer continued. "But one quality above all stands out in my mind and will forever set Dianne apart: integrity."

At some points of the service, the speakers were briefly drowned out by the Blue Angels flying overhead during their Fleet Week practice run. During her remarks that focused on her personal relationship with Feinstein as both a colleague and neighbor, Pelosi referred to the jets roaring above.

"It's what Dianne wants. That's what we get!" Pelosi said with a laugh.

Pelosi also showed her sense of humor when discussing the wisdom Feinstein would impart to co-workers.

"We all have gotten great advice from Dianne," Pelosi said. "But the most constant advice I ever got from her -- again and again -- was, 'Nancy, you don't always have to be the one going out on the attack. Let some other people do that from time to time. Why don't you do that?'"

The Speaker Emerita also spoke of Feinstein's impact in both San Francisco and Washington D.C.

"And she has a lasting legacy. From the cable cars, the breast cancer stamp to the assault-weapons ban to Team Tahoe...the list goes on and on," Pelosi said of her friend. "From the U.S. Capitol back to San Francisco, where Dianne Feinstein is our forever mayor."

Final respects were paid by Feinstein's granddaughter, Eileen Mariano, who listed the contributions Feinstein made to the city of San Francisco, the state of California, and the United States.

"My grandmother saved the cable car and rebuilt Pier 39, she supported her people during the HIV/AIDS epidemic," said Mariano. "She saved Joshua Tree, Death Valley and Lake Tahoe. And she spoke against torture and assault weapons."

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Physicist Lise Meitner with students (Sue Jones Swisher, Rosalie Hoyt and Danna Pearson McDonough) on the steps of the chemistry building at Bryn Mawr College. | Bryn Mawr College, Wikimedia Commons

The summer blockbuster Oppenheimer told the story of how the atomic bomb was built, but according to New York Times science reporter Katrina Miller, the movie left out a key player: Lise Meitner.

Meitner, the Madame Curie of Germany, as Albert Einstein referred to her, went unmentioned in the film, even though she worked closely with (Otto) Hahn and developed the theory of nuclear fission, Miller wrote for The New York Times. She was sometimes called the mother of the atomic bomb, but she rejected the label.

Born in Vienna in 1878, Meitner was the second woman to earn a Ph.D. in physics from the University of Vienna in 1905. Her career took her to Berlin, Germany, where she worked with Max Planck and Hahn. She became the first woman to be a full professor of physics at University of Berlin in 1922, according to the National Park Service.

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But when the Nazi regime started gaining power, she had to flee Germany. She eventually moved to Sweden and still corresponded with Hahn by mail to interpret findings for him, Miller reported for the Times.

Perhaps you can come up with some sort of fantastic explain, Hahn reportedly wrote to Miller. If there is anything you could propose that you could publish, then it would still in a way be work by the three of us! When the work in question was published, Meitners contribution was not named, per the Times.

While she was not named as a contributor on Hahns paper, she and her nephew, Otto Frisch, published a paper in 1939 in the journal Nature that explained the physics behind nuclear fission, coining the term itself, according to the Atomic Heritage Foundation.

Later in 1944, Hahn won a Nobel Prize in chemistry for work on nuclear fission, and though Meitner was nominated and was crucial to the development of nuclear fission, she did not win, Miller wrote for the Times.

Marissa Moss, author of The Woman Who Split the Atom, told Miller that the snub hurt Meitner and she thinks the combination of Meitners gender and Jewish heritage prevented her from winning.

Once the records of Nobel Prize deliberations became public for the 1946 physics prize, Elisabeth Crawford, Ruth Lewin Sime and Mark Walker published an analysis of the papers in Physics Today, saying her exclusion pointed toward four factors.

These factors included: The difficulty of evaluating an interdisciplinary discovery, a lack of expertise in theoretical physics, Swedens scientific and political isolation during the war, and a general failure of the evaluation committees to appreciate the extent to which German persecution of Jews skewed the published scientific record.

Meitner was nominated for the Nobel Prize 48 times by her colleagues, according to Doris A. Corradini, Katja Geiger and Brigitte Mazohl. There are many who think Meitner should have won the Nobel Prize.

Related

Though Meitner did not win the Nobel Prize, her work was significant to the understanding of what nuclear fission is.

Specifically, Meitner was the first to realize the amount of energy that was released and applied Einsteins E=mc2 equation to calculate the energy that was released, according to Stanford University.

It took the scientific community a long time to recognize the scientific achievements of Lise Meitner, an article published on the European Physical Society website reads. She did not share the Nobel Prize in chemistry for the discovery of fission with her colleague, Otto Hahn, in 1944. Today she is justly considered to be one of the most important physicists of the 20th century.

Though Meitner was invited to join the Manhattan Project, she refused to join: I will have nothing to do with a bomb, she said, per the National Park Service.

Meitner never won a Nobel Prize. Her tombstone reads A physicist who never lost her humanity, per Britannica.
The son of a Buc-ees co-founder faces 28 charges of invasive visual recordings after authorities said he placed hidden cameras in multiple homes, including his dads lake house, according to Texas news reports.

Mitchell Wasek, 28, was arrested Tuesday, Oct. 3, and released from jail on a $280,000 bond one hour later, KXAN reported. His father is Donald E. Wasek, co-founder of a beloved gas station and convenience store chain based in Texas.

McClatchy News requested comment from Buc-ees on Oct. 5 and was awaiting a response.

In court records obtained by the Austin American-Statesman, authorities said witnesses reported finding a hidden camera in the bathroom of the Waseks family lake home in May.

The witnesses took the camera with them, and on its memory card they found videos of themselves in the bathroom and bedroom in various states of undress, the newspaper reported.

The card also had videos of people in an Austin apartment and a Colorado home, according to the American-Statesman. The residences are owned by Mitchell Waseks parents.

Authorities found 68 videos of at least 13 people being filmed in eight different rooms from as far back as 2021, KVUE reported.

Men and women were seen using toilets, showering, changing clothes, and/or having sex, according to the affidavit obtained by KXAN.

Investigators also discovered Mitchell Wasek had purchased multiple spy cameras through Amazon, according to the American-Statesman.

No other Wasek family members were at the homes during the reported incidents, KXAN reported.

The case is being investigated by the Dallas Police Department and the Travis County Sheriffs Office, per KVUE.

If convicted, Mitchell Wasek will face up to two years in prison, KVUE reported.

Hidden cameras found in Starbucks bathrooms in NC tourist town, cops say. Man arrested

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Just days ahead of the Tennessee Public Charter School Commission's appeal hearing on Thursday for American Classical Academy Jackson-Madison, charter commission executive director Tess Stovall recommended that the school board's denial of the amended application be overturned.

Stovall expressed in the 27-page Review Committee report that the JMCSS Board of Education's denial of ACAJM "was contrary to the best interest of the students, the LEA, or the community."

The report contained the commission's procedural history, findings of fact, and analysis ahead of the Thursday appeal hearing that will decide the charter school's fate in Madison and Maury counties.

Sue Barnes and Ann Van der Linde hold up signs opposing American Classical Academy outside of the Jackson-Madison County Board of Education building before the start of the American Classical Academy Madison County Charter School Appeal Public Hearing on Thursday, September 15, 2022, in Jackson, Tenn. I think that the public school system is the best thing that the United States has going for it to carry on a democracy, separation of church and state, patriotism, everything to be a fine nation, Van der Linde said. And I dont like having public schools denigrated by anybody who thinks that we can do it better than you.

Amended application: Jackson-Madison school board denies amended application for American Classical Academy

Aca appeal meeeting: Charter school appeal meeting scheduled for Monday, state commission to have final say

Despite the Jackson-Madison County School Board denying the amended ACA application, the charter commission has the power to overturn such denial and possesses the final say.

When asked about the potential overturn of the board's denial, JMCSS Superintendent Marlon King noted that "providing varied learning options for families in Jackson-Madison County has been a hallmark for the Board and this administration."

Such options include Jackson Academic STEAM Academy, Community Montessori, Northeast Middle Academic Academy, and JCM-Early College High, all of which delve outside of the traditional model of public education.

ACA appeal hearing: State charter school commission hears pros, cons at ACA appeal hearing in Jackson

"While we do value diverse choices for families, we are resolute in our belief that American Classical Academy Madison (ACAM) fails to meet the standards set by the Tennessee Department of Educations application-scoring rubric. For these reasons, we stand by our Boards decision to deny the ACAM appeal and ask that the Tennessee Public Charter School Commission honor decisions made by our locally elected officials," King wrote in an email.

At the upcoming appeal hearing on Thursday, and as outlined by the Tennessee Department of Education's scoring rubric, the commission must find that the ACA application does, in fact, meet or exceed the standards in order to overturn the decision.

Along with a Jackson location, the commission will additionally address an appeal for American Classical Academy Maury (ACAM). In August, the Maury County Public Schools Board of Education also denied ACA's amended application, but unlike JMCSS's ruling, Stovall's recommendation was to uphold the denial in Maury County.

Distinguishing factors that differentiate the Maury and Madison recommendations include the identification of a school leader in Jackson-Madison County and the location where the school would be established, which is in the community of East Jackson.

Alex Spry, the proposed principal for ACAJM, was described by Stovall in the recommendation as having her "expertise and capacity to implement the proposed model," as evaluated during an interview with her.

At Thursday's appeal meeting, representatives from the American Classical Academy, both Madison and Maury applicants, will be permitted to share a statement. A subsequent statement from the Local Education Agency (LEA) and a culminating discussion of Stovall's recommendation will characterize Thursday's meeting.

Though set to take place in Nashville at 1 p.m., a link to watch it via live stream will become available prior to the meeting, according to the commission's Director of External Affairs Hayden Pendergrass.

Those who wish to speak during public comment must sign up to do so no later than Oct. 4 at 4 p.m. Both the link to the live stream and the public comment form can be accessed on the commission's website here.

This article originally appeared on Jackson Sun: State commission to recommend overturning Jackson-Madison ACA denial
Ryan Thoresen Carson was stabbed to death in an unprovoked attack in Brooklyn on Oct. 2, 2023. Carson is pictured here at the Mutual Aid Society in 2021. | Claire Donato

New York City police have announced the arrest of Brian Dowling in connection with the fatal stabbing of activist Ryan Thoresen Carson, 32, in Brooklyn on Oct. 2.

Carson was killed in an unprovoked attack in the early hours of the morning while walking home with his girlfriend and was pronounced dead at Kings County Hospital, per CBS. Security footage of the attack helped police identify Dowling, 18, as a person of interest.

Police executed a search warrant at Dowlings apartment, which is roughly 500 feet from the crime scene, per ABC 7. Police found the hoodie worn by the suspect in the video as well as a knife they are currently testing to confirm as the murder weapon.

Dowling is currently in police custody and is expected to appear in court Thursday afternoon to face a murder charge, according to ABC News.

Who was Ryan Carson?

Carson was a political organizer and advocate who also wrote poetry and was published in several literary journals.

Carson was a campaign organizer for the nonprofit New York Public Interest Research Group. According to the groups statement, he also worked in their community outreach program, as a project coordinator and as Senior Solid Waste Campaign Manager, advocating for the expansion of New Yorks bottle deposit laws.

Ryan was a beloved staffer, colleague and friend, and a creative, talented, relentless and upbeat advocate for students and the environment, the statement read. His engaging personality, hearty laugh and wide-ranging intelligence were keys to his success in advancing the causes he deeply cared about in his work and personal life.

Carson also helped establish NO OD NY, an organization that advocated for the creation of safe injection facilities to provide medical care and support to people struggling with addiction.

In 2021, he launched a GoFundMe to fundraise for a campaign where he and several others walked 350 miles across the state of New York to pressure then-Gov. Andrew Cuomo to establish supervised injection sites in the state.

Carson wrote an op-ed on New York Citys opioid crisis for the New York Daily News in 2021.

Family and friends gathered at a vigil honoring Carsons life on Monday. The New York Daily News reported that over 100 people were present, including Carsons parents.

Who killed Ryan Carson?

New York City police released security footage of the murder and isolated images of the suspect, now believed to be Brian Dowling.

WANTED FOR MURDER: On 10/2/23 @ 3:50 AM, at Malcolm X Blvd & Lafayette Ave in the confines of the 81st Precinct, the above individual stabbed the victim multiple times, causing his demise. Any info, please call the @NYPDTips at 800-577-TIPS. pic.twitter.com/bjjxI7XTZA  NYPD 81st Precinct (@NYPD81Pct) October 3, 2023

The suspect was wearing a dark hoodie and behaving erratically prior to the attack. The security footage shows the suspect kicking scooters on the sidewalk before approaching Carson and his girlfriend.

Carson can be seen in the video saying, Chill, chill, chill, and trying to back away from the suspect. Carson then tripped and the suspect stabbed him repeatedly, killing him.

An unidentified woman approached the couple and mentioned the name Brian. Police are looking to question her as well, according to ABC 7.

Dowling will likely remain in police custody until his appearance in court.

Ryan Carson turned his passion into purpose, New York City Mayor Eric Adams said on social media. He advocated tirelessly for others, and his giving spirit was a buoy to all. His murder is unthinkable, and the NYPD wont rest until we bring him to justice.
LAS VEGAS (KLAS)  Police in North Carolina arrested a man for a March homicide in Henderson after police recently identified him, according to the Henderson Police Department.

On March 19 at approximately 1:00 a.m., the City of Henderson Police and Fire Departments responded to the 1100 block of Center Street after reports of multiple gunshots being heard in the area, according to a release.

Police said multiple people were at the location for a party, with several allegedly carrying guns. Yelling was heard from the crowd and gunfire erupted, hitting two people, the release stated.

Police stated when officers arrived, they found a 23-year-old man suffering from multiple gunshot wounds and a 22-year-old man was pronounced dead at the scene.

One dead, one injured in Henderson shooting

In September, Kyrel Coleman, 18, was identified as a suspect. On Sept. 18, a warrant was approved for Colemans arrest for two counts of attempted murder, seven counts of discharging a firearm where a person may be injured, and one count of possession of a stolen vehicle, according to the release.

On Oct. 3, Coleman was taken into custody with the help of Henderson PD Investigators, the FBI CAT team, and the Sumter County Sheriffs Office in South Carolina.

Coleman was booked into the Sumter County Detention Center on the above charges, where he is pending extradition to Nevada.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KLAS.
LAS VEGAS (KLAS)  Duane Keffe D Davis made his first appearance in a Las Vegas courtroom Wednesday after being charged with murder in the shooting death of rapper Tupac Shakur .

Davis court appearance lasted less than two minutes because Davis did not have an attorney present. Watch the entire appearance in the video above.

He needs two weeks, he said, to be here, Davis told Judge Terra Jones.

Today was the scheduled arraignment but he cant be arraigned until he has a lawyer. Mr. Davis announced that he has retained a lawyer, Clark County District Attorney Steve Wolfson said following the court appearance. Mr. Faal couldnt be here today so Mr. Davis asked for a two-week continuance.

Wolfson said Davis has hired Edi Faal, a California lawyer, who told Nexstars KLAS he is helping Davis retain counsel.

Duane Keefe D Davis appears in Clark County District Court on Oct. 4, 2023. (KLAS)

Davis, 60, a self-described gang member, was arrested at his Henderson, Nevada, home on Friday, Sept. 29 after a grand jury indicted him on a charge of murder with the use of a deadly weapon with a gang enhancement.

Former detective talks who shot Tupac Shakur, murder cases ties to The Notorious B.I.G.

While Davis has been a suspect in the case for years, Las Vegas Metropolitan police said they lacked the evidence needed to make an arrest and a solid prosecutable case. That changed in 2018 when Davis, who was promoting his book, began doing interviews about the Sept. 7, 1996 night of Shakurs shooting. Shakur was struck by multiple bullets and died six days later.

Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Departments Lt. Jason Johansson said Davis own admissions about his involvement in the crime during those interviews, as well as witness statements, and a search of Davis home, provided the needed evidence.

Never-before-seen photos, videos released in Tupac Shakur murder case

Shakur was gunned down in a car on Flamingo Boulevard, just east of the Las Vegas Strip, by a person in a vehicle that pulled up alongside the vehicle with Shakur and record executive Suge Knight.

Tupac Shakur was sitting in the front passenger seat when he was shot on Sept. 6, 1996. (KLAS)

Davis, a front-seat passenger in the suspect vehicle, allegedly handed a gun to a backseat passenger who started firing. Davis is the only remaining person alive out of the four people who were allegedly in the shooters vehicle.

Police said the shooting was a retaliatory attack on Shakur, and Davis was the shot caller. The shooting followed a fight earlier in the evening when police said Shakurs group attacked Orlando Anderson, a member of a rival gang, and Davis nephew, who was a backseat passenger in the vehicle with Davis.

Davis is currently being held in the Clark County Detention Center without bail. The rescheduled arraignment is planned for Thursday, Oct. 19 at 9 a.m. local time.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to YourCentralValley.com.
A Russian missile strike killed at least 51 people, including a child, in a village near the eastern Ukrainian city of Kupiansk on Thursday, officials say, in one of the deadliest attacks against civilians since the conflict began.

Moscows forces targeted a cafe and a shop in Hroza, in the Kharkiv region, soon after midday local time, according to Ukrainian Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko.

Scenes emerged of emergency workers wading through dense rubble in the aftermath of the attack. Doctors are treating the six people injured by the strike.

Bodies of the deceased, including a 6-year-old boy, were removed from the destroyed buildings, said Oleh Synehubov, a regional military official. The bodies of 29 victims have been identified, the Ukrainian interior minister said. The other bodies were sent to facilities in the city of Kharkiv.

There were locals inside the store when the missile ripped through, Ukraines interior minister said, triggering a scale of devastation not seen since an attack on a railway station in Kramatorsk in early 2022 killed more than 60 people.

The attack in Hrova, pictured on Thursday, killed at least 51 people. - Vyacheslav Madiyevskyy/Reuters

A wake for a fallen Ukrainian soldier was being held at the village cafe when the missile struck, killing several members of the of soldiers family, Dmytro Chubenko, spokesperson for the Kharkiv Regional Prosecutors Office, told Ukrainian media outlet RBC.

The fallen Ukrainian soldier had previously been buried in the city of Dnipro, but his relatives wanted him to be reburied in the village where he was originally from, Chubenko said.

The wake was attended by the son of the deceased, who was also a soldier, he said. The son, along with his wife and mother, were in a cafe and were killed by a rocket, he added.

According to the latest death toll, the attack wiped out about one fifth of the village, which was home to 330 people.

There was a similar attack in the nearby town of Pervomaiske, when people were also saying goodbye to a fallen soldier, according Chubenko also said. His fellow soldiers were present then. Today, there were only civilians at the site of the attack.

Hroza was hit by an Iskander missile, according to Ukrainian officials. The Iskander is a ballistic missile with a relatively short range, that depending on configuration carries a warhead of between 500 and 700 kilograms.

It has been extensively used by the Russians against Ukraine, causing substantial civilian casualties.

Hroza is located about 40 kilometers from the frontlines of the war near Kupiansk, the city in Kharkiv that Russian forces seized early on in the war before losing it a year ago.

The Ukrainian military has since been trying to resist advances from Moscow. For Kyiv, the city is strategically important to prevent Russia from accessing the nearby Oskil River  where it is much easier to cross than further south.

Demonstrably brutal

Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov said the strike shows Kyiv needs more defense systems to protect our country from terror, amid fears of dwindling military aid from Western allies.

His comments came amid political upheaval in the US Congress, the lawmaking branch of government, and drained ammunition stocks among NATO countries, which threaten the flow of military aid to Kyiv.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said the attack was a demonstrably brutal Russian crime  a rocket attack on an ordinary grocery store, a completely deliberate terrorist attack.

Russian terror must be stopped. Anyone who helps Russia circumvent sanctions is a criminal. Everyone who still supports Russia is supporting evil, Zelensky said on the sidelines of a European leaders summit in Granada, in southern Spain.

Russia needs this and similar terrorist attacks for one thing only: to make its genocidal aggression the new normal for the whole world.

Zelensky sought reassurance from European leaders on Thursday, telling reporters Europes biggest challenge will be to preserve its unity in the face of Russias invasion.

Ukranian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal called the attack brutal and cynical.

Dozens of people were killed, including a child. It is impossible to describe this horror in words, he posted on Telegram.

We must stop the Russian terror so that enemy missiles and shells do not take any more lives or injure any more people. This can only be done in a coordinated and united manner, with the help and support of our partners, Shmyhal added.

The UNs humanitarian coordinator in Ukraine said images arriving from the scene of the attack are absolutely horrifying, accusing Russian forces of carrying out a war crime.

Our thoughts are also with the people of Ukraine, who had to witness today, once again, another barbaric consequence of Russias invasion, Denise Brown said.

Intentionally directing an attack against civilians or civilian objects is a war crime. Intentionally launching an attack knowing that it would be disproportionate is a war crime.

CNNs Lou Robinson, Sophie Tanno, Tim Lister and Byron Manley contributed reporting.

For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com
The US has sent roughly 1.1 million bullets seized from Iran last year to Ukraine, its military has said.

The US Central Command (Centcom), which oversees operations in the Middle East, says the rounds were confiscated from a ship bound for Yemen in December.

Ukraine's Western allies recently warned that their production lines were struggling to keep up with the rate at which Ukraine was using ammunition.

Centcom says the Iranian rounds were transferred to Ukraine on Monday.

It added the ammunition was 7.62mm calibre used in Soviet-era rifles and light machine-guns.

While the number is significant, it represents a small percentage of the hundreds of millions of rounds already shipped by allies to Ukraine.

The US has already provided more than 200 million bullets and grenades.

The Iranian munitions were originally seized by US naval forces from a stateless ship named MARWAN 1 on 9 December, it said.

The US government gained ownership of them in July through a process known as civil forfeiture, by which an asset can be seized if its owner is thought to be involved in criminal activity.

In this case, the claim was brought against Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, a branch of the Iranian armed forces tasked with preserving the country's government.

In a statement, Centcom said the US was "committed to working with our allies and partners to counter the flow of Iranian lethal aid in the region by all lawful means".

Iran backs the Houthi rebels in Yemen's ongoing civil war, but arms transfers to the group are barred under a 2015 resolution by the UN Security Council.

The civil war in Yemen began in 2014 when the Houthis took control of the capital Sanaa and removed the country's government.

The ousted government remains the internationally recognised authority in Yemen and is backed by a Saudi-led coalition of countries in the region as well as the US and the UK.

Since the second half of last year, Iran has also repeatedly been accused of supplying Russia with arms, most notably drones, for use in the war in Ukraine.

Oleksandr Vasiuk, a Ukrainian MP who co-chairs a committee on cooperation with the US, said the transfer "proves once again that the US is our strong ally".

"These seized weapons and ammunition could have been simply disposed of, but Washington understands how important it is for us to get help," he said.

After the recent political turbulence in the US, which is now directly affecting military aid for Ukraine, Kyiv is keen to celebrate any support package it receives.

While 1.1 million bullets are likely to be less pivotal than tanks or long-range missiles, every single one will be welcomed during a war of attrition.

For Ukraine, there is also a slight poetry in its soldiers firing Iranian bullets at a force that uses dozens of Iranian-made drones.

The transfer comes amid rising concern among Western allies over their continued ability to arm Kyiv.

On Monday at the Warsaw Security Forum, Adm Rob Bauer, the chairman of Nato's military committee, said that the "bottom of the barrel is now visible".

He said decades of underinvestment meant that, even at the start of the war, Nato countries' ammunition stocks had been half-full or even emptier.

He added that governments and arms manufacturers needed to "ramp up production in a much higher tempo".

Chart comparing overall funding commitments to Ukraine by various countries

"The just-in-time, just-enough economy we built together in 30 years in our liberal economies is fine for a lot of things - but not the armed forces when there is a war ongoing," he said.

UK Defence Minister James Heappey urged Nato allies to spend 2% of their national income on defence, a target agreed by the whole bloc but expected to be met this year by only 11 of its 31 members.

The transfer of the Iranian ammunition also comes as the Biden administration looks for alternative ways to provide assistance to Ukraine amid opposition from some in Congress.

Officials have been warning for weeks that the money currently allocated to Ukraine has been nearly exhausted, but pressure from members of the Republican right has so far prevented the House of Representatives from approving additional funds.

On Tuesday, some of the same members won a vote to unseat House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, a move which will delay any vote on further aid until after a replacement is installed, which will not happen until at least the middle of next week.

Even then, any future Speaker who brings a vote on the issue to the floor is almost certain to face similar opposition.
Long-established in the Business Services industry, SP Plus Corp (NASDAQ:SP) has enjoyed a stellar reputation. It has recently witnessed a daily gain of 46.7%, juxtaposed with a three-month change of 30.59%. However, fresh insights from the GF Score hint at potential headwinds. Notably, its diminished rankings in financial strength, growth, and valuation suggest that the company might not live up to its historical performance. Join us as we dive deep into these pivotal metrics to unravel the evolving narrative of SP Plus Corp.

SP Plus Corp (SP): A Deep Dive into Its Performance Potential

Understanding the GF Score

The GF Score is a stock performance ranking system developed by GuruFocus using five aspects of valuation, which has been found to be closely correlated to the long-term performances of stocks by backtesting from 2006 to 2021. The stocks with a higher GF Score generally generate higher returns than those with a lower GF Score. Therefore, when picking stocks, investors should invest in companies with high GF Scores. The GF Score ranges from 0 to 100, with 100 as the highest rank.

Based on the above method, GuruFocus assigned SP Plus Corp the GF Score of 67 out of 100, which signals poor future outperformance potential.

SP Plus Corp: A Snapshot of the Business

SP Plus Corp, with a market cap of $1.02 billion, provides parking management, ground transportation, and other ancillary services to commercial, institutional, and municipal clients in urban markets and airports across the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. Its services include a comprehensive set of on-site parking management and ground transportation services. In addition, the company also provides a range of ancillary services such as airport and municipal shuttle operations, valet services, taxi and livery dispatch services, and municipal meter revenue collection and enforcement services. Its reportable segments are Commercial and Aviation, with the majority of its revenue generated from the Commercial segment.

Story continues

SP Plus Corp (SP): A Deep Dive into Its Performance Potential

Financial Strength Analysis

SP Plus Corp's financial strength indicators present some concerning insights about the company's balance sheet health. The company's interest coverage ratio of 3.48 positions it worse than 80.28% of 796 companies in the Business Services industry. This ratio highlights potential challenges the company might face when handling its interest expenses on outstanding debt. The company's Altman Z-Score is just 2.19, which is below the safe threshold of 2.99. Although this does not imply immediate danger of financial distress, the stock may face some financial struggles if the Altman Z-score drops below 1.81.

Additionally, the company's low cash-to-debt ratio at 0.04 indicates a struggle in handling existing debt levels. The company's debt-to-equity ratio is 2.4, which is worse than 89.79% of 891 companies in the Business Services industry. A high debt-to-equity ratio suggests over-reliance on borrowing and vulnerability to market fluctuations. Additionally, the company's debt-to-Ebitda ratio is 5.01, which is above Joel Tillinghast's warning level of 4 and is worse than 80.73% of 794 companies in the Business Services industry. Tillinghast said in his book Big Money Think's Small: Biases, Blind Spots, and Smarter Investing that a high debt-to-Ebitda ratio can be a red flag unless tangible assets cover the debt.

Growth Prospects

A lack of significant growth is another area where SP Plus Corp seems to falter, as evidenced by the company's low Growth rank. The company's revenue has declined by -0.4 per year over the past three years, which underperforms worse than 64.37% of 974 companies in the Business Services industry. Stagnating revenues may pose concerns in a fast-evolving market. Lastly, SP Plus Corp predictability rank is just one star out of five, adding to investor uncertainty regarding revenue and earnings consistency.

SP Plus Corp (SP): A Deep Dive into Its Performance Potential

Conclusion

Given the company's financial strength, profitability, and growth metrics, the GF Score highlights the firm's unparalleled position for potential underperformance. While SP Plus Corp has shown impressive momentum, its financial strength and growth prospects raise concerns about its ability to sustain this performance. Investors should consider these factors when making investment decisions.

GuruFocus Premium members can find more companies with strong GF Scores using the following screener link: GF Score Screen

This article first appeared on GuruFocus.


Audiences watching Steven Spielbergs Jaws know a shark is coming by the infamous duh dun duh dun theme song. In reality, these massive sea creatures appear without an entrance song  as an angler in Australia recently learned the hard way.

Izzy Sesto was reeling in a massive tuna when a great white shark took hold of her catch and chomped its tail off, a video posted to her Facebook on Oct. 3 shows.

Its a big white, someone yelled in the video. Theres a big great white!

The video shows Sesto pulling the huge fish aboard with the help of other boaters.

I still got it! I still got it! Sesto shouted as the tuna flopped onto the deck of the boat. Oh my hearts kinda broken but pretty cool. Im happy but Im sad like I dont know what to feel.

Sesto is an avid fisher, according to her social media. But despite years of trying, she had yet to catch a barrel  a tuna weighing more than about 200 pounds  until her recent catch off of Cape Jaffa, she told 9News.

This big great whites come bit half my tuna off, and its my first tuna. Ive been targeting them for years, Sesto said in the video she shared. What a jerk.

After munching on the tuna tail, the great white circled the boat and starting biting at the boats motor, the video shows.

That is the most amazing experience of my life, Sesto said in the video.

Coolest video ever! one person commented on Sestos video.

What a Rad experience, another person wrote.

I would have died! a third person said.

Cape Jaffa is in Southern Australia, about 340 miles west of Melbourne.

See priceless moment massive sea creature with over 3,000 teeth approaches boater

Unusual clicking sounds lead divers to show of a lifetime. See creature encounter

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Wichita is well-known for three popular cuisines: Mexican, Vietnamese and Lebanese.

And over the next two weekends, three annual food-filled festivals will be serving up the cuisine of Mexico, Vietnam and Lebanon.

They are:

11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Saturday, Nomar Plaza, 204 E. 21st St. North

Saturday will mark the second installment of this big fiesta on Wichitas North End, which will feature Hispanic food, art, vendors and live music.

The event, a celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month, is put on by Empower, a nonprofit whose mission is to improve and promote Wichitas North End neighborhood and its businesses. Ariel Rodriguez, the executive director of Empower, said that this years event will be even more packed with food and activities than the 2022 inaugural installment.

Its going to be a whole lot bigger and better this year, he said. We listened to the people.

Saturdays free Vamos Nomar Fiesta will fill Nomar Plaza and 21st Street with food vendors, live music and more.

The hours for the party are extended this year: Instead of starting at 4 p.m., it will open at 11 a.m., and live music will start when the gates open. Also, the number of vendors is up from 30 last year to more than 60 this year, and of those, 40 will be food vendors selling things like tacos, churros, elote, empanadas, ice cream, coffee and more, Rodriguez said.

The free party also will include a car show set up around 21st Street, artists, cultural dancers and activities.

Last year, about 5,000 people attended the event, and Empower hopes to double that number this year, Rodriguez said.

3-10 p.m. Friday, 9 a.m.-11 p.m. Saturday, All Saints Church, 3205 E. Grand

This event, also in its second year, will feature shopping, karaoke, dragon and lion dancers, games and contests  but the big draw will be food. The party, put together by the church and by the owners of local boba shop Feng Cha, will have more than 40 local vendors serving more than 120 traditional Vietnamese street foods, snacks and drinks, including things like beef noodle soup, savory crepes, banh mi sandwiches, sticky rice dishes, vermicelli noodle dishes, fried bananas and more.

The church organizes the festival, and Kevin Nguyen from Feng Cha recruits the vendors. Last years inaugural event was so successful, the organizers decided to make it an annual party that will always happen on the first weekend in October. Nguyen said he anticipates the festival will continue to grow: He already has several vendors on a waiting list for next year.

Three of the vendors at the event  Feng Cha, Lu Ngoc Ian Fashions and Tung Food Truck  plan to donate 100% of their profits toward the churchs efforts to fund a $720,000 HVAC system for the All Saints school.

Admission is free, but the organizers advise that people bring cash to spend with the vendors as many do not accept credit cards.

4 to 8 p.m. Saturday (dine-in closes at 7 p.m.); noon to 7 p.m. Sunday (dine-in closes at 3 p.m.), St. George Orthodox Christian Cathedral, 7515 E. 13th St.

One of Wichitas biggest and most anticipated church dinners will happen next weekend  Saturday and Sunday Oct. 14 and 15  and as usual, it will offer full Lebanese dinners to both drive-up and dine-in patrons. The meals include salad, pita bread, cabbage rolls, kibba, ruz and yuknee  which is a Lebanese green bean, rice and tomato stew  and baklawa. Meals are $22 for adults, $15 for children 10 and under.

The 88th annual St. George Lebanese Dinner & Food Sale returns Saturday and Sunday for its 2023 installment.

The dinner, now in its 88th year, is the churchs biggest fundraiser, and it takes between 200 and 300 church volunteers to organize and cook for the event each year. In addition to the meals, the dinner also includes a popular Country Kitchen offering extra portions of things like kibba, grape leaves and baklawa as well as salad dressing and pita bread. People who attend also can take tours of the church.

Organizers made one big change this year, said Jennifer Sebits, one of the events co-chairs: They shortened the hours for dine-in service at the event. People just werent dining in during the later hours in years past, preferring to pick up meals in the drive-through instead.

Sebits had a couple of pieces of advice for this years attendees: They should come early if they want to shop at the popular Country Kitchen because items sell out fast, and they should stop at the baklawa sundae booth, which is returning after a long absence. It will be staffed by parish children, who will crush up baklawa and layer it with ice cream donated by Spangles.

Last year, the church served 5,128 people at the dinner. Tickets are available in advance at the church or at the event gates.

It takes 200-300 church volunteers to put together the annual St. George Lebanese Dinner & Food Sale.
Israel has quietly helped fuel Azerbaijans campaign to recapture Nagorno-Karabakh, supplying powerful weapons to the country ahead of its lightening offensive last month that brought the Armenian separatist enclave in its territory back under its control
Ukrainian officials say at least 51 civilians were killed in a Russian rocket strike on a village store and cafe in the eastern part of the country in one of the deadliest attacks in recent months
ROCKVILLE, Md., October 05, 2023--(BUSINESS WIRE)--A new brownfield solar project in Woburn, Massachusetts, is set to make a substantial impact on the City of Somerville by significantly offsetting its electricity costs and advancing its climate action goals. Standard Solar, a leader in the ownership, operation, funding and development of commercial and community solar assets, today announced the completion of a 4-megawatt (MW) solar array at the Woburn EPA Superfund site.

Standard Solar acquired the project from developer partner ECA Solar, a leader in commercial-scale solar development based in Massachusetts. The ground-mount project is divided into two arrays totaling 4 MW. The 3.35 MW Phase I is complete, and Phase II, .866 MW, is expected to be finished by the end of the year. Combined, these arrays are projected to yield approximately 5,200 megawatt-hours of energy on an annual basis. This output is equivalent to offsetting the greenhouse gas emissions produced by 823 gasoline-powered passenger vehicles driven for a year, providing electricity for 720 homes for one year and charging 449,822,970 smartphones.

"Standard Solar is honored to be a part of this transformative journey and is committed to bringing clean and sustainable energy to the heart of Massachusetts," said Harry Benson, Director of Business Development, Standard Solar. "We believe that the Industri-Plex project is a testament to the power of innovation, partnership and dedication to a greener future."

In 2022, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) approved a Reuse Work Plan for the 4-megawatt Solar Generating Facility, which is situated on the East-Central and East side of the Woburn Superfund site. This groundbreaking project is the result of a partnership between Standard Solar and ECA Solar.

"Standard Solar greatly appreciates and acknowledges the unwavering commitment of our partner, ECA Solar, in driving forward this impactful project," continued Benson. "Together, we are making a difference."

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A ribbon-cutting ceremony, held on October 4 in conjunction with ECA Solar, marked the beginning of a new chapter in the history of the Woburn Superfund site. This event, which included speakers Somerville Mayor Katjana Ballantyne; David Cash, Regional Administrator - EPA; Bonnie Heiple, Commissioner of the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP); and special guest Jan Schlichtmann, Environmental and Civil Justice Attorney, signifies the strength of the community and the potential for positive change, even in the face of adversity. The project partners are proud to have reached this milestone, culminating in years of hard work by many individuals and companies.

"ECA values its partnership with Standard Solar in completing this, and other, solar projects," said Todd Fryatt, founder and CEO of ECA Solar. "Were proud of the work we have accomplished at Industri-Plex together and are excited to see this project completed, bringing forward a bright future for this site and this community."

"This solar farm is the green economy in action, creating green jobs and providing solar credits to cover more than one-third of the electricity used by Somervilles municipal buildings and functions. For our community, this is more than just a cost savings, its an important step forward in our goal to be carbon net negative by 2050," said Mayor Ballantyne. "I cant thank Standard Solar and ECA Solar enough for the good work done here."

The Industri-Plex, a 245-acre plot of land, occupies a distinctive position in the industrial history of New England. Originating as a modest settlement in the 1600s and evolving into an industrial juggernaut during the 1800s, this location confronted numerous challenges. By the 1980s, it had garnered the dubious distinction of being ranked as the fifth-most polluted site in the nation. However, it is re-emerging as a beacon of hope for positive revitalization.

This is Standard Solars second project completed with ECA Solar and its sixth project in Massachusetts.

Editors note: Event photos here.

About Standard Solar

Standard Solar, a Brookfield Renewable company, is powering the nations energy transformation  channeling its project development capabilities, financial strength and technical expertise to deliver the benefits of solar and solar + storage to businesses and institutions, farms, governments, communities, and utilities. Building on nearly 20 years of sustainable growth and in-house and tax equity investment capital, Standard Solar is a national leader in developing, funding and long-term ownership and operation of commercial and community solar assets. Recognized as an established financial partner with immediate, deep resources, the company owns and operates more than 300 megawatts of solar across the United States. Standard Solar is based in Rockville, Md. Learn more at standardsolar.com, LinkedIn and Twitter: @StandardSolar.

For project acquisition and development inquiries, contact Harry Benson, Director of Project Development, 240-802-6012, harry.benson@standardsolar.com and on LinkedIn.

About ECA Solar

ECA Solar develops, engineers, installs, and operates large-scale solar facilities across the United States. ECA Solar takes an institutional approach to the solar energy industry. Our goal is to deploy the highest quality of solar power and energy storage projects to diversify the electric grid, while remaining risk averse and prioritizing safety. We value diversity and creativity to achieve the common goal of making solar energy more accessible to everyone. Were proud to have developed hundreds of acres of ground-mounted solar and over six million square feet of rooftop solar in seven states. For more information, please visit www.ecasolar.com.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20231005695663/en/

Contacts

Leah Wilkinson

Wilkinson + Associates for Standard Solar

703-907-0010

leah@wilkinson.associates
RICHMOND HILL, ON, Oct. 5, 2023 /CNW/ - In celebration of World Teachers Day, Staples Canada has announced the winners of its We Love Teachers contest. According to a recent survey conducted by Angus Reid, nearly all teachers spend out of pocket for classroom supplies, with a spend that ranges from $300 to $500. To help fill that gap, the contest recognizes teachers with supplies from Staples and gift card from Reitmans or RW&CO.

Staples Logo (CNW Group/Staples Canada ULC)

"Teachers are the heart of education, and we know how much they do for their students," said David Boone, CEO, Staples Canada. "That's why We Love Teachers is so important to us, it's our way of giving back, acknowledging all they do and celebrating their efforts. As a true partner, we're here to support educators not just when they're setting up their classrooms, but throughout the year."

Throughout the month of August, parents, students and fellow educators across Canada were encouraged to nominate a teacher in their community that's making an impact. The contest winners include:

Tamar Kabassakalian, Laval, Quebec

Leticia Bonnie, Chilliwack, British Columbia

Joey Ozamiz, Ottawa, Ontario

Victoria Baillie, East Gwillimbury, Ontario

Jehn Miller, High River, Alberta

Elaine Leung, Calgary, Alberta

Amanda Scanga, Paris, Ontario

These winners will receive $1,000 Staples gift card for their classroom, $500 Reitmans or RW&CO gift card, and a $100 Staples Canada gift card for themselves. The We Love Teachers contest was launched in 2022 and, to date, 21 educators have been recognized for their contributions to classrooms and communities.

Teacher Membership Program

As part of its greater program to support educators, the Staples Teacher Membership Program provides exclusive perks and competitive pricing on essential supplies for teachers year-round. The program is free to join and available to all staff, faculty and teachers at public and private K-12 schools, colleges and universities, as well as home educators. Benefits include:

Story continues

Exclusive Offers: Members receive discounts on supplies, tech and print and marketing services at Staples Print Services.

Service: Teachers will have access to one-on-one service with an account manager and have twice as long to return purchased items.

School Tools : Teachers can create and share their class-specific lists of school supplies with parents and students. Staples Canada will donate three per cent back to the school for every purchase made.

Perks: Every quarter, members receive free colour copies and photo prints, as well as annual appreciation gifts.

For more information or to join, visit staples.ca/teachermembership.

About Staples Canada

Staples Canada is The Working and Learning Company. The privately-owned company is committed to being a dynamic, inspiring partner to customers who visit its 300+ locations and staples.ca. The company has two brands which support business customers: Staples Preferred for small businesses and entrepreneurs, and Staples Professional for medium to large-sized enterprises, as well as seven Staples Studio co-working facilities across Canada. Through Solutionshop, Canadians can access a variety of pack and ship options, as well as a broad suite of business services. Staples is a proud partner of MAP through its Even the Odds campaign, which aims to tackle inequities in communities across Canada and helps make a future that's fair for everyone. Visit staples.ca for more information or engage with us at @StaplesCanada on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and TikTok.

SOURCE Staples Canada ULC

Cision

View original content to download multimedia: http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/October2023/05/c5987.html
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Societatea Transurbis Zalau acorda reducere la abonamente lunare pentru donatorii de sange

Donatorii de sange se pot prezenta la oricare din punctele de distribuire a abonamentelor, care apartin Societatii Transurbis, cu adeverinta eliberata de catre Centrul de Transfuzie Sanguina Salaj, pentru obtinerea [citeste mai departe]
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- The government is prepared to adopt the emergency ordinance regarding the new minimum wages in construction, agriculture and the food industry, prime minister Marcel Ciolacu wrote on Wednesday on Facebook."We agreed today, together with employers' associations and unions, in the Tripartite National

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- After X, Metas Facebook and Instagram as well as TikTok are under close scrutiny over potentially breaching the European Unions content moderation law, the Digital Services Act (DSA), for content related to the Israel-Hamas conflict, according to Politico. The European Commission on Thursday sent

- Numarul consilierilor scolar a crescut cu 50%, a afirmat joi ministrul Educatiei, Ligia Deca, care a reiterat ca noua Lege a invatamantului preuniversitar prevede o serie de reforme pentru educatia incluziva, informeaza AGERPRES . Daca nu vom avea incluziune in scoli, nu vom avea nici in societate,

- DevMin: Financial opportunities of today have never before existed in RomaniaMinister of Development, Public Works and Administration Adrian Vestea said in Focsani on Thursday, during a meeting with the mayors of the Vrancea County administrative territorial units, that the financial opportunities

- Emotie si noi obiective, la inceput de an scolar, pentru toti cei care sunt parte din lumea educatiei!Dragi copii,Scoala este un spatiu al invatarii si al prieteniei. Este, in aceeasi masura, locul in care se nasc visuri si obiective. Sa nu uitati ca primul pas spre implinirea lor este sa credeti

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Priscilla Chan, left, Dr. Shana Kelley, president of Chan Zuckerberg Biohub Chicago, and Gov. J.B. Pritzker, examine a model for researching skin, Oct. 5, 2023, in Chicago. (Vincent D. Johnson/Chicago Tribune)

Thursday morning in a gleaming laboratory in Fulton Market, Gov. J.B. Pritzker passed a microscope slide back and forth with Dr. Priscilla Chan. The pair stood out in dark business clothes among a cluster of lab coats, standing wide-eyed through a demonstration of how cells interact in the top few layers of human skin.

Chan, the wife of Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and the co-founder of the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, was on-site to celebrate the launch of the Chan Zuckerberg Chicago Biohub, a sprawling research space dedicated to studying inflammation on a cellular level.

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With a 10- to 15-year timeline for new projects, Chan and Zuckerberg are leaning toward lofty goals for the future of the CZIs second research hub. The foundation contributed $250 million to the hub, which has hired 50 employees locally so far.

Prior research into health issues involving inflammation has focused on the end stages of disease, Zuckerberg said in a video presented at Thursdays launch. The biohub will shift to studying the causes of inflammatory disease.

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Studying causes of inflammation could have implications for cancer, heart disease and autoimmune diseases, Pritzker said at Thursdays launch.

Priscilla Chan looks at a model for researching skin at the Chan Zuckerberg Biohub Chicago, Oct. 5, 2023. (Vincent D. Johnson/for the Chicago Tribune)

Sensors small enough to examine skin at the molecular level dont exist yet, Zuckerberg said by video  which is where the hub comes in.

Chan said Thursday that the hub, which brings together scientists and engineers from Northwestern University, the University of Chicago and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, will help scientists end disease as we know it.

To understand the code that keeps our bodies healthy, and understand the errors that cause disease, we need new tools, Chan said.

Fulton Labs, the 16-story research multiplex playing host to the biohub, is something of a miniature life sciences district in itself. The two-building campus also leases space to Charles River Laboratories and Portal Innovations.

The Chan Zuckerberg Biohub Chicago is seen at 400 N. Aberdeen St. in the Fulton Market district, in Chicago, Oct. 5, 2023. (Vincent D. Johnson/for the Chicago Tribune)

CZI announced the launch of the Chicago space in March, and construction began on the 16th floor of Fulton Labs in August. Until construction on the 30,000-square-foot space finishes in January 2024, cell research continues on the nineth floor.

The space will house a clean room, which limits the size and amount of microparticles in the air around experiments. It will also include four rooms dedicated to growing synthetic skin, cardiac skin, tumors and neurons for study, operations manager Juhi Naik said.

The first CZ Biohub opened in San Francisco in 2016 and focused on cell mapping. Research projects have included OpenCell, a searchable map of more than a thousand proteins found in the cell, as well as atlases of all the cells found in flies, mice, lemurs and humans.

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When Chan and Zuckerberg decided to create a larger network of hubs, they opened applications for a second host city  with the caveat that at least two research institutions nearby had to apply together.

Researchers at Northwestern, UChicago and UIUC came together to beat out 58 other applications, in a yearlong search process representing 172 institutions across 36 states. The trio of research universities already have a strong history of collaboration, which worked in their favor, said Stephen Quake, head of science at the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative.

Chan described Illinois as an incredible contributor to recent scientific innovation, citing recent ALS research at Northwestern studying how cells degenerate.

Priscilla Chan speaks at the Chan Zuckerberg Biohub Chicago on Oct. 5, 2023. (Vincent D. Johnson/for the Chicago Tribune)

State and local support for the hub also played a role in Chicagos selection, Chan said. Pritzker has committed $25 million in state capital funding, though actual research will be funded directly by the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative.

The other winning factor: Dr. Shana Kelley, who was tapped as CZ Biohub Chicago president. Kelley, who joined Northwestern as a chemistry and biomedical engineering professor in 2021, has spent decades working in biotechnology and is credited on more than 50 patents.

She works lightning fast, Chan said of Kelley.

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Half of human deaths annually can be attributed at least in part to inflammation, Kelley said. These fatal conditions include stroke and neurodegenerative disease.

Kelley hopes her teams research will yield tools to generate precise 3D images of how cells communicate with each other.

We really dont know what causes inflammation to shift into overdrive, Kelley said. We have to get at that if we want to prevent human disease.

Kelley said the team hopes to put Chicago on the map in biomedicine. Pritzker disagreed, saying the local biotech sphere has already been growing.

The governor hopes to be known for a legacy of innovation, citing investment in quantum engineering and financial incentives for experimental labs.

The biohub is a prime example of the growing nexus of partnerships  Pritzker said,  ... that are funding the next generation of economic vitality for communities across the state.
(Bloomberg) -- Taiwan will investigate whether Taiwanese firms helping Huawei Technologies Co. with chipmaking plants in China violated US sanctions, ramping up scrutiny of a company at the heart of Washington-Beijing tensions over technology.

Most Read from Bloomberg

Minister of Economic Affairs Wang Mei-hua told lawmakers Wednesday her agency has agreed to launch a probe into that unusual relationship. She was responding to a request by ruling Democratic Progressive Party lawmaker Lai Jui-lung during a legislative session that followed a Bloomberg News report this week identifying four firms working on chip plants backed by Huawei in China. Lai asked for a preliminary report on the probe within a month.

The local Central News Agency also cited an unidentified Economic Affairs ministry official saying its investment department will look into whether the firms are conducting their businesses in China within the scope of an original application approved by Taipei.

Several Taiwanese technology companies are helping Huawei build infrastructure for an under-the-radar network of chip plants across southern China, Bloomberg News reported, an unusual collaboration that risks inflaming sentiment on a democratic island grappling with Beijings growing belligerence.

They included a unit of Taiwanese chip material reseller Topco Scientific Co., Cica-Huntek Chemical Technology Taiwan Co., a subsidiary of Taipei-based L&K Engineering Co., and a subsidiary of construction specialist United Integrated Services Co., according to a Bloomberg News investigation.

Read more: Key Taiwan Tech Firms Helping Huawei With China Chip Plants

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The Taiwanese presence in Huaweis efforts could trigger a backlash given tense relations between the island and the Chinese Communist Party, which claims the territory as its own. The rocky relationship is a key issue in Taiwans presidential election in January.

The four firms are assisting with waste water and environmental projects, and these are not core technologies restricted by the Taiwanese government for China, Wang told lawmakers.

Its unusual, at a time when Beijing threatens military action over independence efforts, that members of the islands most important industry may be helping US-sanctioned Huawei develop semiconductors to effectively break an American blockade. Those sanctions were called into question after Huawei unveiled a smartphone in late August with an advanced made-in-China chip, spurring alarm in Washington and calls to completely cut off Huawei and its Shanghai-based chipmaker Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp.

US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo told a Senate Commerce Committee hearing Wednesday that reports of a chip breakthrough by Huawei are incredibly disturbing and emphasized that her department needs more ways to enforce its export-control regime.

Read more: Raimondo Says Huawei Chip Shows Need for Different Tools

Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek

2023 Bloomberg L.P.
The fresh newsletter for the International Community in Hungary - described by readers as a "Great read each week" - is now available for your interest and use via the link below.

You can see the new edition of the Xpat E-Magazine here:

https://xpatloop.com/newsletters/2023/5-october.html



First up, here's a friendly update about the popular annual Xpat Charity Party*:

You're warmly invited for fun, fundraising, food, drinks, dance, music + prizes!

Join HMA Fox + international guests on Saturday 4 November at Marriott.



* Early Bird Tickets are available for 3 more days to "Feel Good + Do Good":

Places are going fast, so it's best to grab yours now to avoid missing out!

Together we'll all be helping local children's charities + Food Bank Aid.



* Thanks to all partners involved, all's set for another amazing Bonfire Night in Budapest:

XpatLoop has held celebrations for Bonfire Night for over a decade. Not only have they been

some of the best parties in town, they also raised great amounts for a number of worthy causes.

- Paul Fox, UK Ambassador - tap on his name to a see a new exclusive interview.



Next up, as always you can see events happening these days below & in Xpat Calendar.

Also you'll find the latest News, Information & Inspiration, new Movies + fresh Specials.



We hope you like what's in it for you.

Best wishes from Team XpatLoop



Photo: Dancers at Xpat Charity Party 2022
Slovakia will temporarily reintroduce controls at the Hungarian border from Thursday, which will remain in force until at least October 14, the Bratislava government decided at its meeting on Wednesday.

The reintroduction of border control comes one day after the Czech Republic and Poland introduced similar measures at the Slovak border on Wednesday, followed by Austria.



The Slovak government said the restriction was necessary to curb illegal migration.



Illegal migrants, who use Slovakia mainly as a transit country, are mostly foreigners who cannot be deported due to administrative constraints and whose detention serve no purpose, and who will remain in the country if they cannot transit, the Slovak Interior Ministry said.



The number of illegal migrants arriving in Slovakia via the Western Balkan route started to increase noticeably in August last year.



Since the beginning of this year nearly 40,000 illegal migrants have entered Slovakia, 11 times more than in the same period of last year, the ministry added.



Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto responded to the Slovak move in a statement, which can be summed up in one word: Brussels, HVG writes.



"Brussels is entirely to blame for the intensification of migration pressure in Central Europe, because keeping mandatory resettlement quotas on the agenda attracts illegal immigrants like a magnet and supports the business model of people smugglers," he declared.
New Delhi: On this World Teachers' Day (October 5), an interesting trivia has come to light about director Vidhu Vinod Chopras upcoming drama '12th Fail' starring Vikrant Massey. For the critical role of a teacher in the film, Chopra has chosen a real-life professor and mentor, Vikas Divyakirti, who has guided countless students in their pursuit of clearing the Union Public Service Commission's entrance exam - including the real Manoj Sharma, whos life has inspired the film.

In the recently unveiled trailer of '12th Fail,' Vikas Divyakirti makes an impactful appearance, delivering a profound message to UPSC students. He emphasises that a students journey should not end with getting a position in the civil services but they should strive to bring meaning to that position.

Vikas Divyakirti is widely recognised and respected for mentoring students for the rigorous UPSC examination. Now, he joins a select group of individuals who have played themselves on the big screen.

Reflecting on his experience of portraying a professor on the silver screen, Vikas expresses his gratitude, stating, "This is a historic occasion. Perhaps for the first time, Hindi cinema has tried to touch the pulse of Hindi society at such a deep level. The story of Manoj Sharma, who became IPS despite once failing in 12th class, actually shakes every person who has accepted failure as his destiny in life. The film forces him to give himself another chance, to 'restart' his journey!"

12th FAIL

The trailer features Vikrant Massey in the lead and has glimpses of the protagonists journey from a small village in Chambal to the bustling nerve-centre of UPSC preparation in Delhi's Mukherjee Nagar. Based on a real story, the movie draws from the gritty struggles of millions of students who attempt the UPSC entrance exam. But at the same time, it goes beyond that one exam and encourages people to not lose heart in the face of failures, and to keep fighting.

'12th Fail', a film by Vidhu Vinod Chopra, is set to release worldwide on October 27, 2023 in Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, and Kannada.
New Delhi: If you are looking to start your own business that revolves around the urban consumer preferences, there is a profitable option that you can contemplate.

Wrought iron furniture lately has become a niche market that caters to people aspiring to elevate their standard of living. With the increasing purchasing power among the urban population and the robust demand for ornate designs, these furniture and furnishings are gaining more popularity.

The business of production of aesthetically and precisely crafted modular furniture aligns perfectly with the evolving preferences of consumers and could be a potential business venture for you.



According to the Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) Project Profile, the Wrought Iron Furniture will have the following cost

COST OF PROJECT For Wrought Iron Furniture

Land Rented/Owned

Building & Civil Work (2000 Sq Ft): Rs 4.13 lakh

Plant & Machinery: Rs 9.81 lakh

Furniture & Fixtures: Rs 1 lakh

Pre-operative Expenses -

Working Capital Requirement: Rs 8.87 lakh

Total: Rs 23.81 lakh



MEANS OF FINANCE For Wrought Iron Furniture

Own Contribution @10%: Rs 2.38 lakh

Term Loan: Rs 13.45 lakh

Workign Capital Finance: Rs 7.99 lakh

Total: Rs 23.81 lakh

According to the KVIC project report, you can expect a gross sales of Rs 70.88 lakh, Rs 92.93 lakh, Rs 108 crore, Rs 117 crore, and Rs 125 crore, in Ist Year, IInd Year, IIrd, Year, IVth Year And Vth year respectively.

KVIC has also suggested a net profit of Rs 5.14 lakh, Rs 8.65 lakh, Rs 12.16 lakh, Rs 13.57 lakh, and Rs 14.66 lakh in Ist Year, IInd Year, IIrd, Year, IVth Year And Vth year respectively.

(Disclaimer: This article is for sole information purpose and for readers' project identification. The earning calculator is also mostly based on assumptive figures to give an example of certain type as mentioned by KVIC previous estimates. The Zee News article does not intend to give any financial advice of any sorts. For initiating any venture, you must do your own due diligence and market research.)
Morena: Amid a verbal clash between the BJP-led Central government and the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) over the arrest of AAP's Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh by the Enforcement Directorate regarding the Delhi liquor policy case, Union Minister Narendra Singh Tomar stated that legal actions will be taken against those involved in corrupt practices. Addressing reporters, Tomar cautioned, "Legal procedures will be followed for those engaged in corruption. PM Modi has stated that neither will he indulge in corruption nor allow anyone else to do so. Dishonest individuals should be more cautious. The involvement of corruption has triggered actions by the CBI and ED. These agencies are actively countering corruption."

Second Prominent Arrest in Delhi Liquor Scam Case

The apprehension of Sanjay Singh marks the second high-profile arrest in the case following the previous detainment of former Delhi deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia. The federal agency conducted a raid at the residence of AAP leader Sanjay Singh on Wednesday morning in connection with the now-cancelled liquor excise policy in the national capital. This development closely followed the ED's search of premises linked to two close aides of Sanjay Singh in the same context.

The case relates to allegations that Singh and his associates were involved in the Delhi government's decision to grant licenses to liquor shops and vendors in 2020, resulting in financial losses to the state and a violation of anti-corruption laws.

AAP Plans Protest Against Singh's Arrest

AAP is set to organize a protest outside the BJP headquarters on Thursday to oppose the arrest of its Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh by the ED in connection with the Delhi liquor policy case.

Sanjay Singh's Arrest Unlawful: Kejriwal

The arrest prompted a strong reaction from Delhi Chief Minister and AAP national convenor Arvind Kejriwal. Kejriwal criticized the BJP-led Centre, stating that it showcased Prime Minister Narendra Modi's frustrations.

Furthermore, he announced that the ruling party in the national capital would challenge Singh's arrest through legal channels. Kejriwal, after visiting Singh's family at their Delhi residence, contested the Enforcement Directorate's actions, stating that nothing incriminating was found during the search, yet Singh was still arrested.

Alleging that PM Modi was deeply entrenched in corruption, Kejriwal emphasized that Singh had been vocal in exposing the alleged corruption of PM Modi. This, he claimed, was the reason behind Singh's suspension from the Rajya Sabha and subsequent arrest.

BJP Counters Opposition Claims On Corruption

Union Minister Meenakshi Lekhi defended the arrest of AAP leader Sanjay Singh in connection with the Delhi liquor policy case, asserting that it was part of a sustained effort towards realizing a 'Bhrashtachaar Mukt Bharat' (corruption-free India).

Lekhi emphasized that the PM Modi-led government took the pledge of 'Naa Khaunga, Na Khane Dunga' (will neither take bribes nor let others take it), contrasting it with the Opposition's alleged focus on promoting the interests of their respective families or political dynasties.

Delhi Excise Policy Case

The Delhi excise policy case pertains to allegations that the Arvind Kejriwal-led Delhi government's excise policy for 2021-22 enabled cartelization and favoured specific dealers who allegedly bribed for favourable treatmentan accusation strongly denied by the AAP.

So far, the ED has filed five chargesheets in the case, including against Delhi Deputy CM Manish Sisodia, who was arrested by the CBI on February 26 for his alleged involvement in the scandal.
New Delhi: Delhi's Rouse Avenue Court On Thursday sent Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader and Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh to remand till 10 October in connection with the now scrapped Delhi excise policy or liquor scam case. AAP MP was produced before the court after his arrest on Wednesday evening following a search operation conducted at his residence.

Meanwhile, Delhi Chief Minister and AAP Supremo Arvind Kejriwal condemned Singh's arrest stating, "The arrest of Sanjay Singh is completely illegal. This shows Modi ji's nervousness. They will arrest many more opposition leaders till the elections". Also, the AAP MP's arrest triggered sharp reactions from the leaders of the INDIA alliance.

The Aam Aadmi party has been protesting in several parts of India after the arrest of Sanjay Singh. AAP workers staged a protest in the national capital at the Aam Aadmi Party office and demanded his release. Several senior leaders of the Aam Aadmi Party including Atishi, and Reena Gupta raised slogans against the BJP and demanded the release of AAP leader Sanjay Singh.
New Delhi: The devastating cloud burst incident in Sikkim claimed 14 lives and hundreds remain missing including 22 army personnel. Over 3,000 tourists are feared to be stranded in different parts of the State. 12-14 workers working in the Teesta Stage 3 dam in Chungthang are still stranded in the tunnels of the dam.

In today's DNA, Zee News anchor Sourabh Raaj Jain analysed the connection between the earthquake in Nepal and the cloudburst in Sikkim that caused the flash floods in Lhonak lake.

Around 3 pm in October, a magnitude 6.2 earthquake struck Nepal, with its epicenter located just 5 kilometers below the surface. This seismic event had a significant impact on the Lhonak lake in Sikkim, causing it to shrink in size, leaving only one-third of its original area.

Subsequently, on October 3rd, at approximately half-past one, a cloud burst occurred over Lhonak lake in Sikkim. The lake was unable to contain the substantial amount of rainfall resulting from the burst, leading to a Glacial Lake Outburst Flood.

As a consequence of this flood, the lake burst open, releasing a massive volume of water. This sudden surge of water dramatically raised the water level of the Teesta River by 15 to 20 feet, causing widespread devastation in the region of Sikkim. The shrinking of the Lhonak lake was backed by the satellite images released by ISRO that show the reduction of the lake to one-third of its original area.
New Delhi: A flash flood triggered by a cloudburst over a lake in north Sikkim wreaked havoc in the state and neighbouring areas on Wednesday. A cloudburst over Lhonak Lake in north Sikkim caused a flash flood in the Teesta River basin, killing at least 10 civilians and leaving 80 others, including 22 army personnel, missing on Wednesday. The flood also stranded over 3,000 tourists and several workers in different parts of the state. The flood situation was aggravated by the release of water from Chungthang dam, which raised the water levels up to 15-20 feet high downstream. The dam is part of the Teesta Stage III hydroelectric project, where some workers were trapped in tunnels.

Here Are 10 Things To Know About Sikkim Flashfloods:

1. The flood damaged the road infrastructure extensively, collapsing 14 bridges and washing away parts of National Highway-10, the main link between Sikkim and the rest of the country.

2. A flood alert has been issued for North Bengal and Bangladesh through which the Teesta flows.

3. Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke to Chief Minister Prem Singh Tamang on Wednesday to take stock of the situation in the state and assured him of all possible support. "I pray for the safety and well-being of all those affected," Modi said on X.

4. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh also prayed for the well-being of the missing army personnel. The defence spokesperson said that one of the 23 army men who had gone missing in the morning was rescued later and his health condition was stable.

5. The Sikkim government declared the natural calamity as a disaster and said that all schools located in Mangan, Gangtok, Pakyong and Namchi districts will remain closed till October 8.

6. Rajeev Bhattacharya, a tourist from Kolkata who was on a trek from Gangtok towards Singtem, told PTI over phone: "We saw a huge wave of water rushing at great speed through the valley and mangled remains of structures being swept away. Luckily, my friends and I were on high ground and not affected by the flash flood. We are now making our way back to Gangtok."

7. Bodies, including that of a child, were fished out from the flood plains of the Teesta river at Golitar in Singtam by rescue personnel. Some 166 people have so far been rescued.

8. The rescue and relief operations are being carried out by the state government, the army, the BRO and other agencies. The communication network has been disrupted due to flooding and landslides.

9. Several towns, including Dikchu, Singtam and Rangpo located in the Teesta basin, have also been flooded with the upsurge in the river.

10. Meanwhile, all schools located in Mangan, Gangtok, Pakyong and Namchi districts will remain closed till October 8, the education department said.
Euronav's VLCC Antigone is a potential sales candidate to Frontline. (Photo: Euronav)

Current ownership of Euronav (NYSE: EURN), one of the worlds largest tanker shipping companies, calls to mind a marriage of convenience doomed to fail from the day of the nuptials.

On one hand, theres shipping tycoon John Fredriksen and his company Frontline (NYSE: FRO), with a combined 26% stake in Euronav and a focus on building scale in the tanker space. On the other is the Saverys familys CMB, owning 23% and intent on diversifying Euronav into other shipping segments and developing decarbonization technology.

Former Euronav CEO Hugo De Stoop attempted to serve as de facto marriage counselor to this odd couple until he resigned in May. The situation has since devolved into a strategic and structural deadlock, Euronav said Thursday, disclosing that divorce papers are now being written up.

The discussions are well advanced, confirmed Frontline in a separate statement.

Another shipowner heads for Wall Street exit

CMB plans to pay $18.43 per share to acquire the Euronav stakes owned by Frontline and Fredriksen, followed by a mandatory public offer at the same price to all other minority Euronav shareholders.

Jefferies analyst Omar Nokta expects Euronav would eventually be taken private, assuming the minorities do not hold out.

According to Stifel analyst Ben Nolan, While there are more steps from here to being taken private, we think at this stage the odds are north of 75%.

If so, Euronav would join a growing list of mostly large-cap shipowners that have exited Wall Street, following previous departures by Atlas (Seaspan), GasLog Partners, GasLog Ltd., Hoegh LNG Partners, Teekay LNG, Teekay Offshore and Seacor.

Frontline poised to buy 24 Euronav VLCCs

Nokta expects Fredriksens privately owned Euronav shares to be sold to Frontline, with aggregate Euronav share-sale proceeds of around $1 billion flowing to the public tanker company.

Frontline said it would use Euronav share-sale proceeds, together with long-term debt, to fund the purchase of 24 very large crude carriers (VLCCs) from Euronav for $2.35 billion, an average of $98 million per VLCC.

Story continues

The deal would be transformative to Frontlines fleet, making the company by far the largest publicly traded tanker owner.

According to Pareto Securities Head of Research Eirik Haavaldsen, Frontline is raising the stakes  and risks  sharply here, and will completely dwarf all publicly listed tanker competition. With Euronav gone from the stock exchanges, [trading] liquidity in Frontline shares will gain further pace  and pave the way for further NAV [net asset value] premiums.

Frontlines fleet capacity would surge by 58% to 19.7 million deadweight tons (DWT) from 12.5 million DWT currently. It would have 46 VLCCs, each with capacity of around 300,000 DWT; 25 Suezmaxes with capacity of around 157,000 DWT; and 18 LR2s/Aframaxes with capacity of 110,000 DWT (these vessels can carry either crude, as Aframaxes, or refined products, as LR2s).

Euronavs shares spiked up 17% on Thursday following news of the proposed offer price. Trading volume was extremely heavy, at over nine times the average. Frontlines shares rose 8% in over triple average volume.

Only 2 new VLCCs in 2024-2025

VLCCs transport crude oil on high-volume, long-haul trades such as the Middle East-to-Asia and U.S. Gulf-to-Asia routes. Frontlines exposure to the VLCC segment would more than double if the agreement is finalized.

Its timing couldnt be better from a vessel supply perspective.

Evercore ISI analyst Jon Chappell said in a research note on Monday: The on-the-water VLCC fleet currently totals 906 vessels, yet the delivery schedule for 2024 calls for just one new ship to be added to the fleet, with the present 2025 schedule totaling one new ship as well.

What does history suggest about the impact on rates from fleet growth of under 1%  0.1% to be exact  in consecutive years? It doesnt offer any insight at all because there has never been such a de minimis number of new deliveries to a major asset class over a two-year period. However, history does show that in prior periods of limited new capacity adds, tanker spot rates typically move higher.

Given the record-low outlook for incremental capacity in the coming years, spot rates should at worst have an elevated floor and at best have a launch pad to persistent strength.

Demand is far more elastic than supply and clearly there are risks on that front, not the least of which is a potential pending recession. But the tanker market has already taken the largest demand gut punch, in the form of nearly unprecedented OPEC+ production cuts, and is still producing cash flow-generative rates.

Barring a demand collapse, diminishing inventories and high oil prices will eventually require the taps to be reopened, and when that happens, there wont be many new ships to transport those cargoes. That set-up is good for VLCC utilization and very good for VLCC spot rates, said Chappell.

Click for more articles by Greg Miller

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The post Tanker shippings odd couple prepares for a divorce appeared first on FreightWaves.
New Delhi: A cloudburst over Lhonak Lake in North Sikkim on Wednesday caused a flash flood in the Teesta river basin, affecting more than 22,000 people and leaving 14 dead and 102 missing, including 22 army personnel, news agency PTI quoted officials as saying on Thursday. The Sikkim State Disaster Management Authority (SSDMA) said that 2,011 people have been rescued so far and 26 relief camps have been set up in the four affected districts. The state government is providing all necessary assistance and relief to the affected people, it said.

Chief Minister Prem Singh Tamang visited Singtam, one of the worst affected areas, and reviewed the situation. He also held an emergency meeting at the Singtam Community Centre and urged the people to stay alert and take shelter in safe locations.

He informed that he had spoken to Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the phone and sought necessary support from the Centre, especially for areas that need immediate intervention. The PM assured him of all possible help to the state, he said.

The cloudburst in Lhonak Lake resulted in a huge accumulation of water, which breached the Chungthang dam and destroyed the power infrastructure before flowing downstream in spate, flooding towns and villages.

The flood damaged 11 bridges, 277 houses, water pipelines and sewage lines in the state. Chungthang town was severely affected with 80 per cent of it submerged under water. The NH-10, the lifeline of the state, also sustained extensive damage at several places.

According to the SSDMA, seven people died in Pakyong district, four in Mangan and three in Gangtok. Among the 102 missing people, 59 are from Pakyong, including the army personnel. Twenty-two are missing in Gangtok, 16 in Mangan and five in Namchi. A total of 26 people were injured in the flood.

The Border Roads Organisation (BRO) was helping the state in the rescue operations in Chungthang and Mangan, where four critical bridges were damaged. Defence spokesperson Lt Col Mahendra Rawat said that more than 200 people were moved to safer areas by the BRO despite continuous heavy rainfall and extremely bad weather.

He also said that search and rescue operations for the missing army personnel were still on at Burdang near Singtam. He added that the families of the missing persons have been informed of the situation.
New Delhi: Amidst the upcoming sales being announced by online retailers like Flipkart, Amazon, Myntra and more, private sector lender ICICI Bank has launched its Festive Bonanza offer that will add to the shopping excitement among consumers.

ICICI Bank on Wednesday announced that its Festive Bonanza has exciting offers, discounts and cashbacks of upto Rs 26,000 for its customers who can avail of these benefits by purchasing various items from their favourite brands by using ICICI Banks credit/debit cards, internet banking, UPI via Rupay credit cards and Cardless EMI.

Customers can avail exciting offers and discounts during Flipkart Big Billion Days, Myntra Big Fashion Festival, Amazon Great Indian Festival and Tata Neu The Grand Sale. There will also be special offer of no-cost EMI on iPhone 15, said the bank.

The bank added that these offers are also available to the customers in the form of no-cost EMIs using the Banks credit/ debit cards.

"The Bank has curated the offers to cater to the various needs of the customers during the festive season, in various categories such as electronics, mobiles, fashion, jewellery, furniture, travel, dining and more and with a host of leading brands including iPhone, MakeMyTrip, Tata Neu, OnePlus, HP, Microsoft, Croma, Reliance Digital, LG, Sony, Samsung, Tanishq, Taj, Zomato and Swiggy," ICICI Bank said.

It added, "The Bank has partnered with Flipkart for The Big Billion Days sale (from October 8 to October 15), Myntra for Big Fashion Festival (from October 6 to October 19) and Amazon for its Great Indian Festival sale (around last week of October)."

The Bank said that it will also introduce special and attractive offers for its customers on retail loan products like home loan, auto loan and two wheeler loan shortly.
IndiGo on Thursday recommenced direct flights between Delhi and Hong Kong after the services were temporarily halted in early 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic, an airline official said. "This reinstatement aims to strengthen strategic ties, capitalising on the rich socio-cultural diversity between one of South Asia's largest economies and a vital business and travel hub in the Asia-Pacific region, an airline spokesperson said. These flights will serve both business and leisure travellers during the upcoming winter schedule, providing enhanced flight options and a seamless travel experience, said the official.

Vinay Malhotra, IndiGo's Head of Global Sales, said: In line with our strategy to enhance global connectivity and accessibility, we are excited to reintroduce flights from Delhi to Hong Kong, one of the world's most significant financial centres and commercial ports.

As the travel landscape evolves, we foresee a growing demand for varied international travel options. This reinstated route caters to such demand, offering travellers an increased accessibility to Hong Kong, and beyond.

"IndiGo is committed to delivering affordable, on-time, and hassle-free travel experiences across our extensive 6E network."

Recently, an IndiGo passenger was arrested for allegedly attempting to open the emergency door of a flight before take-off. However, he was later released on bail. Karnataka Police said that the incident had taken place on the Nagpur-Bengaluru Indigo flight 6E 6803 late at night when the flight crew was briefing passengers. The accused passenger, identified as Swapnil Holey was seated next to the emergency exit door, and tried to open it.

Bengaluru police detained him following a complaint by the airline staff. Police have booked him under IPC Section 336 for endangering the lives of others. He was given bail later. The airline staff had taken him to the Bengaluru Airport police station after the flight reached Bengaluru International Airport at midnight. The accused passenger had booked a ticket to Bangkok on October 1.
Bengaluru: Traffic disruptions are expected in Bengaluru as Pro-Kannada activist Vatal Nagaraj has announced a massive vehicle rally on Thursday, starting from Mysuru Bank Circle to Krishna Raja Sagara (KRS) Dam, to protest the release of Cauvery water to Tamil Nadu. The rally is scheduled to commence around 11 AM. The purpose of the rally is to bring attention to the Cauvery River water issue, which has strained relations between Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.

Nagaraj, a former MLA from Chamarajnagar, had stated earlier that approximately 20,000 two-wheelers and 2,000 four-wheelers will participate in the rally on Thursday. The route will cover Kengeri, Ramnagar, Channapatna, Maddur, Mandya, Srirangaptna, and Mysuru before concluding at the KRS dam.

Notably, Nagaraj previously led a Karnataka Bandh on September 29, observed throughout the state from 6:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., resulting in approximately 700 arrests. The strike led to the cancellation of 44 flights, the declaration of holidays in schools and colleges in several districts, and a halt in cab and auto services.

During the previous bandh, Nagaraj wore a black burqa to symbolize the lack of transparency from Karnataka Chief Minister Siddarmaiah regarding the Cauvery issue. He also carried an empty pot on his head as a gesture of protest.

Prior to the September 29 bandh, Bengaluru experienced a similar shutdown over the Cauvery water-sharing issue, organized by various farmer bodies, pro-Kannada outlets, and opposition parties.

What Is The Row Over Cauvery Water Sharing?

The Cauvery water issue revolves around the recent directive by the Cauvery Water Regulatory Committee (CWRC), mandating Karnataka to release 3,000 cusecs of Cauvery water at Biligundlu from September 28 to October 15, 2023, down from the earlier stipulation of 5,000 cusecs.

Farmer unions and pro-Kannada activists argue that Karnataka's reservoirs lack sufficient water, causing significant hardship for the state's residents, especially farmers in the Cauvery basin, who struggle due to inadequate water for irrigation. This scarcity is the primary reason for their protest.

Meanwhile, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramiah has stated that the state intends to challenge the Cauvery Water Management Authority's order in the Supreme Court, citing a shortage of water available for release to Tamil Nadu.
Ranchi: In a significant development, a special CBI court in Ranchi pronounced the sentencing for the Tara Shahdeo forced religious conversion case. Raqibul, also known as Ranjit Kohli, was sentenced to life imprisonment, while his mother, Kausar Rani, received a ten-year jail term in connection with the case. Furthermore, the special CBI court handed down a 15-year imprisonment to Mustaque Ahmed, a former High Court registrar accused of conspiracy, and imposed a fine of Rs 50,000 on each of the convicts.

National Shooter Tara Shahdeo forced conversion case | CBI court pronounces quantum of punishment for the convicted Raqibul aka Ranjit Kohli, sentences him to life imprisonment.



His mother Kaushar Rani has been pronounced ten years imprisonment. The then registrar of the High  ANI (@ANI) October 5, 2023

Tara Shahdeo, a national shooter at the forefront of this case, expressed gratitude for the court's decision. She emphasized that this justice was not only for her but a step towards ensuring that such actions would not go unpunished, instilling confidence in every daughter across the nation. Tara's struggle began as a case of domestic violence but evolved into a fight to prevent similar injustices against other girls. She hailed the judgment for encouraging people to openly address and combat such issues.

#WATCH | Ranchi, Jharkhand: National Shooter Tara Shahdeo says, "I want to thank the court and the CBI who served me justice. This justice is not just for me, every daughter in the country will gain trust that whoever does this to them will be punished. People who do this would pic.twitter.com/zBpgxOWocZ  ANI (@ANI) October 5, 2023

CBI Probe Into Tara Shahdeo Case

The CBI initiated proceedings in the Tara Shahdeo case in 2017, following her allegations of pressure to convert her religion against her husband and in-laws. Judge PK Sharma of the special CBI court delivered the sentencing nearly nine years after Tara Shahdeo, a national shooter, initially reported the suspected 'love jihad' incident.

The accused, including Ranjit Kohli alias Raqibul Hasan, Mushtaq Ahmed, and Kaushal Rani, were found guilty of assaulting Tara Shahdeo and conspiring to force her religious conversion. Their actions were proven as part of a premeditated conspiracy through the court's recent decision.

Following their conviction on September 30, the court took the convicts into judicial custody, sending them to Birsa Munda Central Jail Hotwar. Ranjit Singh Kohli, also known as Raqibul Hasan, was found guilty of multiple charges, including the repeated rape of Tara Shahdeo. Mushtaq Ahmed and Kaushal Rani were convicted for conspiring to repeatedly rape a woman and others.

During the hearing, CBI's senior public prosecutor, Priyanshu Singh, pushed for the harshest possible punishment, while the defence sought leniency in sentencing.

Fraudulent Marriage, Domestic Violence & Pressure For Religious Conversion

The incident traces back to the fraudulent marriage between Ranjit Kohli and Tara Shahdeo on July 7, 2014. Post-marriage, Tara faced assault and harassment, culminating in the registration of an FIR at Hindpiri police station. The court convicted the accused under various sections, including criminal conspiracy, conspiracy to repeatedly rape the same woman, hurting religious sentiments, assault, and coercion.

Tara, a professional shooter, married Ranjit Kumar Kohli in 2014, a man with influential connections. However, Tara later revealed the true identity of her husband, leading to a case that was initially deemed a 'Love Jihad' incident.

Apart from Raqibul alias Kohli, two others were accused in the case -Mushtaq Ahmed, a senior officer in the Jharkhand High Court, and Kohli's mother, Kaushal Rani. Ahmed was implicated for aiding Raqibul in changing his identity to Kohli.

The accused allegedly subjected Tara to mental and physical torture, pressuring her to convert to Islam and comply with certain religious practices. Tara's brave decision to seek help ultimately exposed the horrendous ordeal she endured, paving the way for justice to be served.
New Delhi: Rashmi Shukla is the latest appointee for the post of Director General of Police (DGP) in Maharashtra. She is one of the most senior IPS officers in the state, having joined the service in 1988. Shukla has a reputation of being a dynamic and proactive officer, who launched several initiatives like 'buddy cop' to enhance the safety and security of women and senior citizens in Pune, where she served as the Police Commissioner. She also headed the State Intelligence Department (SID), where she was responsible for gathering and analyzing intelligence inputs. She was shunted out from her SID post to a non-executive post of Civil Defence by the MVA government. She then opted for central deputation as ADG Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and was posted in Hyderabad till now.

Phone Tapping Controversies

The Bombay high court dismissed two unlawful cases of phone tapping against Shukla earlier this month. She was charged in the first FIR in Mumbai for tapping the phones of Sanjay Raut, a leader of Shiv Sena (UBT), and Eknath Khadse, a leader of Nationalist Congress Party, without permission. In the second FIR in Pune, she was alleged to have tapped the phones of Nana Patole, a leader of Congress, illegally.

She has also been alleged to have leaked a classified report that exposed a nexus between some police officers and middlemen who offered transfers and postings for money. The complaint said that she had leaked a confidential report that she had made in 2020 when she was the commissioner of SID. Shukla has denied any wrongdoing and has claimed that she acted in the interest of national security and public service.

A Challenging Role Ahead

Shukla will replace Rajnish Seth, another 1988-batch IPS officer, who has been appointed as the new Chairman of the Maharashtra Public Service Commission (MPSC). Seth was the acting DGP since July 2020, after Subodh Jaiswal went on central deputation. Shukla will have to deal with several challenges as the new DGP of Maharashtra, such as maintaining law and order, tackling crime and terrorism.

Shukla's appointment as the new DGP of Maharashtra has been welcomed by some sections of the society, who see her as an honest and competent officer. However, others have expressed doubts about her impartiality and integrity, given her past controversies and political affiliations. It remains to be seen how Shukla will perform in her new role and how she will balance the expectations and pressures from different quarters.
New Delhi: Aam Aadmi Party leader and Delhi Minister Atishi on Thursday lashed out at the Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP) over the arrest of AAP's Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in connection with the Delhi liquor policy case. She said that the BJP was resorting to political vendetta and harassment against AAP leaders who exposed their corruption. She challenged the BJP to show if they found any evidence of corruption or quit politics. "The ED searched every corner of Sanjay Singh's house for 8 hours yesterday but could not find any money. I want to challenge the BJP to show the public if they found even one rupee of corruption from Sanjay Singh's house or else quit politics." Atishi said at a press conference.

Sanjay Singh is the second high-profile arrest in the case after former Delhi deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia, who was also detained by the ED earlier. The ED raided the residence of AAP leader Sanjay Singh on Wednesday morning in relation to the cancelled liquor excise policy in the national capital. The ED also searched the premises of two close aides of Sanjay Singh in the same case.

"In Delhi, senior journalists were raided, the day before yesterday, TMC leaders who went to meet the Agriculture Minister were dragged out, yesterday Sanjay Singh's loud voice was also arrested, in 15 months they have not found one rupee of evidence. Did the ED find anything? Sanjay Singh was arrested only because he exposed the BJP's corruption in Parliament, he was first suspended from the Rajya Sabha," Atishi said.

Terming it as a fight to save the consitution, Atishi said, "Sanjay Singh is not afraid of these threats, that is why he goes to different corners of the country and exposes the corruption. How Modi ji is making his special friends rich. Because the BJP could not scare and threaten Sanjay Singh, they arrested him. The AAP party is not afraid of your jail threats. You have put Manish and Satyendra Jain in jail. Every worker has their last breath, we will fight to save the country's constitution. We are not afraid, we will fight to save the constitution."

The case relates to allegations that Singh and his associates were involved in the Delhi government's decision to grant licenses to liquor shops and vendors in 2020, resulting in financial losses to the state and a violation of anti-corruption laws.

So far, they have raided Sanjay Singh's house. I want to tell the ED to also go to his ancestral house, his bank locker, but they will not find a single penny of corruption. The BJP does not care about anything today, they only want to put their opponents in jail. Whoever raises their voice against the BJP will be arrested and silenced.
New Delhi: The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) is up in arms over the arrest of its Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh, who is accused of involvement in a corruption case related to the Delhi excise policy for 2021-22. On Thursday, more than 100 AAP workers were detained by the Delhi police as they staged a demonstration in central Delhi, near the AAP office at DDU Marg. They chanted anti-government slogans and demanded Singhs immediate release. The AAP workers have been protesting in several parts of India after Sanjay Singh was arrested on Wednesday.

Several prominent AAP leaders, such as Atishi Marlena and Reena Gupta, joined the protest and slammed the BJP for misusing the ED to silence the opposition. The party claims that the Enforcement Directorate (ED) targeted Singh for exposing the Adani Groups misdeeds in Parliament.

Delhi Chief Minister and AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal also condemned Singhs arrest and said that it was illegal and showed Modis nervousness. He warned that the BJP would arrest more opposition leaders before the elections.

The arrest of Singh also sparked outrage among the leaders of the INDIA alliance, who expressed their solidarity with the AAP. The AAP has announced that it will hold another protest outside the BJP headquarters on Thursday to oppose Singhs arrest.

Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann also criticized the BJP-led government for using the ED to intimidate its opponents. He said that it was Modis habit to scare through the ED.
New Delhi: Google recently introduced the new Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro smartphones, along with the Pixel Watch 2, at the Made by Google event on October 4, 2023. These smartphones are a bit pricey, approaching the cost of Apple's iPhone 15 non-pro models.

The Pixel 8 is expected to be priced at around Rs 75,999, while the Pixel 8 Pro will be around Rs 1,06,999. Both phones, along with cases from Google and its partners, will be available for purchase starting on October 12 through the Google Store and its retail partners.

If you're interested in buying a Pixel 8 or Pixel 8 Pro, Flipkart, the e-commerce website, is offering some bank offers. You can get a 10% instant discount on ICICI Bank credit cards and Axis Bank credit cards, with savings of up to Rs 1000 on your orders. Additionally, there's a 5% discount available on the Flipkart Axis Bank Credit Card.

There's also an exchange offer available for different brand smartphones, with exchange prices ranging from Rs 4000 to Rs 24,000.

Furthermore, you can take advantage of special prices for the new Pixel Watch 2 (Rs 19,999) and Pixel Buds (Rs 8,999). Their regular prices are Rs 39,990 and Rs 14,990, respectively.

Google is focusing on integrating AI more deeply into the Pixel 8 series to provide a personal and powerful experience.

Here are some of the key features of Google Pixel 8 and Google Pixel 8 Pro:

Display: The Pixel 8 features a 6.2-inch display that is 42% brighter than the Pixel 7.

Design: The phone boasts satin metal finishes, a polished glass back, and comes in Rose, Hazel, and Obsidian colors. There's also a new temperature sensor that allows you to quickly scan an object to get its temperature.

Camera: Both the Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro come with upgraded camera systems for stunning photo and video quality, along with powerful editing tools. The camera app has a redesigned interface for easy access to your favorite photo and video modes. The Pixel 8 Pro offers Pro Controls, allowing for more creative control of the camera settings.

Magic Editor in Google Photos: This new editing experience uses generative AI to enhance your photos, aligning them with the essence of the moment you captured.

Audio Magic Eraser: This feature helps reduce distracting sounds in your videos, such as wind or noisy crowds.

7 Years Of Updates Guarantee: Google Tensor G3, in conjunction with the Titan M2 security chip, enhances security and offers Face Unlock for secure access to banking and payment apps. Additionally, Google is providing seven years of software support, including OS upgrades, security updates, and regular feature updates, for both the Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro.
New Delhi: Microsoft India has taken a significant step towards strengthening language support by adding four new Indian languages to its Microsoft Translator. This development aims to enhance communication and accessibility in native languages, making it more inclusive and beneficial for a broader audience.

Expanded Language Portfolio

With the inclusion of Bhojpuri, Bodo, Dogri, and Kashmiri, Microsoft Translator now supports a total of 20 Indian languages. It can now translate Assamese, Bengali, Gujarati, Hindi, Kannada, Konkani, Maithili, Malayalam, Marathi, Nepali, Odia, Punjabi, Sindhi, Tamil, Telugu, and Urdu. This comprehensive coverage spans nearly 95% of India's population, bringing Microsoft closer to its goal of supporting all 22 official Indian languages.

Rajiv Kumar, managing director, India Development Center, Microsoft India said, We believe that technology should serve as a bridge, enabling everyone to reach their full potential. We are dedicated to creating solutions that enable accessibility and broaden the reach of technology and language as a medium to empower every individual on the planet. We are happy to introduce Bhojpuri, Bodo, Dogri, and Kashmiri on Microsoft Translator and move closer to our goal of supporting 22 official Indian languages. We stay committed to supporting Indias diverse languages and culture by leveraging the most advanced AI technology to drive the countrys growth and make access to technology more inclusive.

Unlocking Opportunities

The expansion of Microsoft Translator holds promising prospects for various sectors. It promises to enhance education and literacy by aiding comprehension in native languages, thereby improving communication in local governance and information dissemination. Local artisans and businesses stand to benefit by reaching a broader audience, opening up new economic opportunities. Importantly, this language support expansion contributes to preserving indigenous knowledge and cultural identity by bridging the gap to the mainstream.

Accessible Translation Solutions

Users can access the translation feature through various Microsoft platforms, including the Microsoft Translator app, Edge browser, Office 365, Bing Translator, and the Azure AI Translator API for businesses and developers. Notably, companies like Jio Haptik and Koo are already utilizing the Azure AI Translator API to provide multi-language support for their services.

Impacting Millions

This update is poised to make a substantial impact, benefiting approximately 61 million people. Bhojpuri, with a speaker base of around 51 million, is prevalent in eastern Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, and Jharkhand. Bodo, spoken by approximately 1.4 million people, finds its roots in Assam, Meghalaya, and neighboring Bangladesh. Dogri, spoken by 1.6 million individuals, has its presence in Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, and Punjab. Lastly, Kashmiri, with approximately 7 million speakers, is primarily spoken in Jammu and Kashmir and parts of neighboring Pakistan.

Bringing Deep Neural Networks to language translation

Microsoft has been using Deep Neural Networks to develop language models for translating and transliterating complex Indian languages. Deep Neural Networks are also sensitive to minor linguistic nuances such as gender (feminine, masculine, neutral), politeness level (slang, casual, written, formal), and word type (verb, noun, adjective). Microsoft continuously improves the translation models in line with tech advancements and usage, and releases newer, improved versions in a transparent manner.
Rationalstat LLC

Thailand Medical Device market is expected to reach US$ 11.4 billion by 2030, with an annual growth rate of more than 7.5%.

Wilmington, Delaware, Oct. 05, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Thailand Medical Device Market was valued at US$ 6.9 billion in 2023 and is expected to grow at a significant CAGR of over 7.5% over the forecast period of 2023-2030, according to the latest market report by RationalStat

Market Definition, Market Scope, and Report Overview

The medical device market in Thailand has been experiencing steady growth due to factors such as an aging population, increasing healthcare awareness, and advancements in medical technology. Moreover, Government initiatives to improve healthcare infrastructure and expand access to medical services contribute to the growth of the medical device market. Investments in hospitals, clinics, and healthcare facilities play a role in increasing the demand for medical devices.

According to a deep-dive market assessment by RationalStat, Thailand Medical Device market has been analyzed on the basis of market segments, including type, end user and geography/regions (including North Thailand, Eastern Thailand, Central Thailand, South Thailand) . The report also offers global and regional market sizing for the historical period of 2019-2022 and the forecast period of 2023-2030.

Market intelligence for the Thailand Medical Device market covers market sizes on the basis of market value (US$/EUR Million) and volume (Liters) by various products/services/equipment, demand assessment across the key regions, customer sentiments, price points, cost structures, margin analysis across the value chain, financial assessments, historical and forecast data, key developments across the industry, import-export data, trade overview, components market by leading companies, etc.

In addition, the long-term sector and products/services 10-year outlook and its implications on the Thailand Medical Device market. It also includes the industry's current state  Production Levels, Capacity Utilization, Tech quotient, etc. Key information will be manufacturing capacity by country, installed base, import volumes, market size, key players, market size, dynamics, market data, insights, etc.

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Thailand Medical Device Market: Segmental and Market Share Analysis

On the basis of product type, cardiac device segment is expected to hold major share of the Thailand medical device market due to the growing demand for minimally invasive cardiac procedures coupled with supportive government support.

Based on end user, hospitals are dominating the Thailand medical device market. Hospitals are the primary users of medical devices in Thailand. They require a wide range of medical devices for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation.





Report Synopsis

Report Metrics Details Base Year 2023 Forecast Period 2023-2030 Base Year Market Size US$ 6.9 billion Market Size Forecast US$ 11.4 billion Growth Rate 7.5% Key Market Drivers Increasing healthcare spending

Increasing demand for minimally invasive procedures

Government support

Medical tourism Companies Profiled Johnson & Johnson Co., Ltd.

Medtronic

GE Healthcare

Siemens Healthineers

Philips Healthcare

Terumo

Nipro Medical

Hoya Optics

Kawasumi Laboratories

Meditop Co., Ltd.

Infus Medical

M.E. Meditek Co., Ltd.

Emerald Nonwovens International

Eyebiz Laboratory among others.

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Competition Analysis and Market Structure

Prominent players adopt various strategies in order to reinforce their market share and gain a competitive edge over other competitors in the market. Mergers & and acquisitions, partnerships and collaborations, and product launches are some of the strategies followed by industry players. Some of the key developments in Thailands Medical Device market include,

In August 2023, US-based medical device manufacturer Bruker Corp announced that it would acquire PhenomeX a specialty cellular analysis company.

In Jan 2023, Amcor, a global leader in developing and producing responsible packaging solutions, today announced it has entered into an agreement to acquire Shanghai-based MDK. MDK generates annual sales of approximately US$ 50 million and is a leading provider of medical device packaging, a key priority growth segment for Amcor.

Some of the prominent players and suppliers operating and contributing significantly to the Thailand Medical Device market growth include Johnson & Johnson Co., Ltd., Medtronic, GE Healthcare, Siemens Healthineers, Philips Healthcare, Terumo, Nipro Medical, Hoya Optics, Kawasumi Laboratories, Meditop Co., Ltd., Infus Medical, M.E. Meditek Co., Ltd., Emerald Nonwovens International, and Eyebiz Laboratory, among others.

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RationalStat has segmented the Thailand Medical Device market based on type, end user, distribution channel, and region.

Thailand Medical Device Market Value (US$ Million), Volume (Liters), and Market Share (2019-2030) Analysis by Product Type Cardiac Devices Pacemakers Implants ICD Angioplasty Device Ophthalmic Devices Auxiliary Devices Hearing Aids Artificial Body Parts Others (Diagnostic, Surgical, Dental Equipment, etc.)

Thailand Medical Device Market Value (US$ Million), Volume (Liters), and Market Share (2019-2030) Analysis by End User Hospitals Clinics Others (Labs)

Thailand Medical Device Market Value (US$ Million), Volume (Liters), and Market Share (2019-2030) Analysis by Distribution Channel Direct Channels Indirect Channels Distributors Retailers

Thailand Medical Device Market Value (US$ Million), Volume (Liters), and Market Share (2019-2030) Analysis by Region Thailand Medical Device Market North Thailand Eastern Thailand Central Thailand South Thailand



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Key Questions Answered in the Medical Device Report:

What will be the market value of Thailand Medical Device market by 2030?

What is the market size of Thailand Medical Device market?

What are the market drivers of Thailand Medical Device market?

What are the key trends in Thailand Medical Device market?

Which is the leading region in Thailand Medical Device market?

What are the major companies operating in Thailand Medical Device market?

What are the market shares by key segments in Thailand Medical Device market?

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RationalStat has developed a state-of-the-art research methodology to crunch numbers and provide the best possible real-time insights to clients. We combine a varied range of industry experience, data analytics, and experts viewpoint to create a research methodology for market sizing and forecasting.

RationalStat combines a mix of secondary sources as well as primary research to assess the market size and develop a forecast. Key steps involved in accurately deriving the market numbers are:

Defining the problem by understanding the type of market and data required by the client.

Data gathering and collection through relevant paid databases, publicly available sources, company reports, annual reports, surveys, and interviews.

Formulating a hypothesis to create market numbers, forecasts, influencing factors, and their relevance.

Evaluating and analyzing the data by referring to data sources utilized and leveraged.

Validating, interpreting, and finalizing the data by combining the details gathered from primary and secondary sources with the help of experienced analysts.

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New Delhi: South Korean electronics major Samsung has announced its bumper festive sale during which customers can avail a host of offers and discounts on smartphones, TV, smartwatches, home appliances and more.

Samsung has said that during the Fab Grab Fest, consumers can get up to 45% off on select models of Galaxy Z series, S Series, A series, M series and F series smartphones.

"Consumers purchasing select models of Galaxy Tablets, accessories and wearables will get up to 41% off in addition to a cashback of up to 20% on credit and debit cards of Housing Development Finance Corporation (HDFC), Industrial Credit and Investment Corporation of India (ICICI) and other leading banks. The new range of Galaxy laptops can be purchased at up to 36% off during the Fab Grab Fest sale along with a cashback of up to 20% on credit and debit cards of leading banks," Samsung said.



There will be up to 54% off on Samsung TVs  select models of the flagship Neo QLED, QLED, OLED, 4K UHD TVs, The Freestyle projector. Additionally, consumers purchasing the 98-inch models of QLED and Neo QLED TVs will be able to get their hands on a free Galaxy S23 Ultra 5G smartphone. Consumers can also get free Samsung Soundbars (Q900A or S800B) on purchase of select OLED, QLED and UHD TV models. Offers do not end here. On purchase of select Neo QLED models, consumers will get a 50-inch The Serif TV absolutely free, the company said.

During the Fab Grab Fest sale, digital appliances like microwaves will be available at up to 34% off and select models of Samsungs Windfree air conditioners at up to 40%. Samsungs M8 Smart Monitor and G5 Gaming Monitor will be available at up to 58% off. Additionally, you can avail cashback of up to 27.5% with a maximum limit of INR 25000 on debit and credit cards of HDFC, ICICI and other leading banks.

Products Consumer Offer Highlight Models Smartphones Up to 45% off



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Galaxy Book3 Pro 360, Galaxy Book3 360, Galaxy Book3, Galaxy Book Go Tablets, Accessories & Wearables Up to 41% off



Galaxy Tab S9 Series, Galaxy Tab S9 FE, Galaxy Tab S9 FE+, Galaxy Tab S6 Lite (Wi-Fi), Galaxy Tab A8, Galaxy Watch6 Classic, Galaxy Watch6, Galaxy Buds FE, Galaxy Bud2 Pro TVs



Up to 54% off



Get Free Galaxy S23 Ultra, 50 Serif TV, or Soundbar (Q900A/S800B) on 98-inch TVs and select models of QLED and Neo-QLED TVs Neo-QLED, QLED, OLED, 4K UHD TVs, The Freestyle projector

Refrigerators



Up to 40% off



Get 10kg Top Loading Washing Machine worth INR 30000 for free on select models of Side-by-Side Refrigerators, and Galaxy S23 128GB version on purchasing French Door Refrigerator



301L Twin Cooling Plus Double Door Refrigerator Washing Machines Up to 37% off



Fully Automatic Washing Machines & Ecobubble Range of Washing Machines Microwaves



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(Purchased between October 1, 2023 November 14, 2023) Galaxy Z Fold5, Galaxy Z Flip5, Galaxy S23 Ultra, Galaxy S23+, Galaxy S23, Galaxy S23 FE 5G, Galaxy A54 5G, Galaxy A34 5G Bank Cashback



Up to 27.5% Cashback with Housing Development Finance Corporation (HDFC), Industrial Credit and Investment Corporation of India (ICICI), and other leading bank Debit and Credit Cards (Up to INR 25000) Samsung TVs and digital appliances, smartphones, tablets, wearables, and laptops

Other than the offers, consumers will also get up to 70% resale value with Assured Buyback, included free of cost with your purchase between October 1 to November 14, 2023 on select models of Galaxy Z series, S series and A series smartphones. Coming with a range of flagship devices, the latest range of products and easy financing options, the Fab Grab Fest guarantees consumers an unforgettable and premium shopping experience, Samsung added.
MOSCOW: Russian President Vladimir Putin has once again commended Prime Minister Narendra Modi, referring to him as a "very wise man" and applauding India's remarkable strides in development under PM Modi's leadership, as reported by Russia-based media RT. President Putin expressed optimism about future collaboration between Russia and India, particularly in the realms of financial security and the fight against cybercrime.

During an event, Putin was quoted in a video shared by the RT news platform saying, "We share very good political relations with Prime Minister Modi; he is a very wise man. And India has been making significant progress in development under his leadership. This aligns with the interests of both India and Russia in working towards this agenda."

WATCH Putin Praising PM Modi

Narendra Modi is a "very wise man"- Vladimir Putin



While praising the historically-friendly ties between the countries, the Russian President said India has been making "great strides in its development" under Modi's leadership.#Russia | #India | #VladimirPutin | pic.twitter.com/X1s9e12uSz  RT_India (@RT_India_news) October 4, 2023

These remarks closely follow the adoption of the New Delhi Declaration at the G20 Summit in India. Notably, the declaration advocated for establishing peace in the ongoing conflict in Ukraine without assigning blame to any specific party, marking a departure from the previous Bali Declaration.

Moscow welcomed the New Delhi Declaration, describing it as a "milestone," and commended the active role played by the Indian presidency in uniting G20 countries from the Global South.

Last month, President Putin also lauded PM Modi's efforts in promoting the Make in India program, stating that he was "doing the right thing." Speaking at the 8th Eastern Economic Forum (EEF), Putin acknowledged India's focus on the production and utilization of domestically made vehicles and expressed the view that emulating such initiatives would be beneficial.
Hroza: A Russian missile slammed into a cafe and grocery store in a village in northeastern Ukraine on Thursday, reducing the building to rubble and killing 51 people during a memorial service, Ukrainian officials said. Large piles of bricks and shattered metal and building materials remained where the cafe and shop were hit early in the afternoon in Hroza village in Kharkiv region.

The attack was the deadliest in the Kharkiv region since Russia's invasion more than 19 months ago, a regional official told public broadcaster Suspilne. It also appeared to be one of the biggest civilian death tolls in any single Russian strike. "This settlement has about 330 people," regional Governor Oleh Synehubov said on national television, compared to 500 before Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

"In fact, one-fifth of this village has died in a single terrorist attack." Synehubov said children were among the casualties as their families had remained in the village despite a war-time order to evacuate. The village was near the town of Kupiansk, recaptured by Ukrainian forces late last year and quite close one of the war's front lines.

Rescue workers made their way through mounds of debris and laid out bodies in a field next to a children's playground. Some were placed in white body bags and taken away. Others were barely covered by carpets or other materials, with hands awkwardly protruding. A spokesman for regional emergency services said on Telegram the search for survivors had been concluded with the death toll standing at 51 dead and six injured.

"We heard the explosion and then people said it happened in Hroza so we came because we knew my mother was here," Valeriia Herasymenko said as rescue efforts proceeded. "A memorial service was being held in the cafe."

MISSILE HITS DURING MEMORIAL SERVICE

Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko said local officials had been sitting down for a meal at the service when the missile struck.

"From every family, from every household, there were people present at this commemoration. This is a terrible tragedy," Klymenko told Ukrainian television.

Klymenko cited preliminary information that he said showed the attack was carried out with an Iskander ballistic missile.

He said the strike was clearly very targeted and that Ukrainian security services had launched an investigation into the matter.

"The terrorists deliberately carried out the attack during lunchtime, to ensure a maximum number of casualties," said Defence Minister Rustem Umerov.

"There were no military targets there. This is a heinous crime intended to scare Ukrainians."

President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, who was attending a summit with European leaders in Spain, said that "the Russian terror should be stopped".

"Now we are talking with European leaders, in particular, about strengthening our air defence, about strengthening our soldiers, about giving our country protection from terror," he said in a post on the Telegram messaging app.

Russia has frequently carried out air strikes since the start of its full-scale invasion in February 2022, and Ukraine has launched a counteroffensive in the south and east that it says is gradually making progress.

Moscow did not immediately comment on the events in Hroza. Moscow denies deliberately targeting civilians, but many have been killed in attacks that have hit residential areas as well as energy, defence, port, grain and other facilities.
While Harrisons Holdings (Malaysia) Berhad (KLSE:HARISON) shareholders are probably generally happy, the stock hasn't had particularly good run recently, with the share price falling 10% in the last quarter. But that scarcely detracts from the really solid long term returns generated by the company over five years. Indeed, the share price is up an impressive 125% in that time. So while it's never fun to see a share price fall, it's important to look at a longer time horizon. Of course, that doesn't necessarily mean it's cheap now.

With that in mind, it's worth seeing if the company's underlying fundamentals have been the driver of long term performance, or if there are some discrepancies.

View our latest analysis for Harrisons Holdings (Malaysia) Berhad

To paraphrase Benjamin Graham: Over the short term the market is a voting machine, but over the long term it's a weighing machine. One imperfect but simple way to consider how the market perception of a company has shifted is to compare the change in the earnings per share (EPS) with the share price movement.

Over half a decade, Harrisons Holdings (Malaysia) Berhad managed to grow its earnings per share at 28% a year. This EPS growth is higher than the 18% average annual increase in the share price. Therefore, it seems the market has become relatively pessimistic about the company. The reasonably low P/E ratio of 8.00 also suggests market apprehension.

The company's earnings per share (over time) is depicted in the image below (click to see the exact numbers).

This free interactive report on Harrisons Holdings (Malaysia) Berhad's earnings, revenue and cash flow is a great place to start, if you want to investigate the stock further.

What About Dividends?

When looking at investment returns, it is important to consider the difference between total shareholder return (TSR) and share price return. Whereas the share price return only reflects the change in the share price, the TSR includes the value of dividends (assuming they were reinvested) and the benefit of any discounted capital raising or spin-off. So for companies that pay a generous dividend, the TSR is often a lot higher than the share price return. In the case of Harrisons Holdings (Malaysia) Berhad, it has a TSR of 190% for the last 5 years. That exceeds its share price return that we previously mentioned. The dividends paid by the company have thusly boosted the total shareholder return.

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A Different Perspective

It's nice to see that Harrisons Holdings (Malaysia) Berhad shareholders have received a total shareholder return of 51% over the last year. Of course, that includes the dividend. That's better than the annualised return of 24% over half a decade, implying that the company is doing better recently. Given the share price momentum remains strong, it might be worth taking a closer look at the stock, lest you miss an opportunity. I find it very interesting to look at share price over the long term as a proxy for business performance. But to truly gain insight, we need to consider other information, too. Consider for instance, the ever-present spectre of investment risk. We've identified 1 warning sign with Harrisons Holdings (Malaysia) Berhad , and understanding them should be part of your investment process.

Of course, you might find a fantastic investment by looking elsewhere. So take a peek at this free list of companies we expect will grow earnings.

Please note, the market returns quoted in this article reflect the market weighted average returns of stocks that currently trade on 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.
The simplest way to invest in stocks is to buy exchange traded funds. But you can significantly boost your returns by picking above-average stocks. For example, the Spectrum Brands Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SPB) share price is up 86% in the last 1 year, clearly besting the market return of around 10% (not including dividends). If it can keep that out-performance up over the long term, investors will do very well! The longer term returns have not been as good, with the stock price only 26% higher than it was three years ago.

Let's take a look at the underlying fundamentals over the longer term, and see if they've been consistent with shareholders returns.

Check out our latest analysis for Spectrum Brands Holdings

Spectrum Brands Holdings wasn't profitable in the last twelve months, it is unlikely we'll see a strong correlation between its share price and its earnings per share (EPS). Arguably revenue is our next best option. Generally speaking, companies without profits are expected to grow revenue every year, and at a good clip. 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.

Spectrum Brands Holdings actually shrunk its revenue over the last year, with a reduction of 6.8%. The stock is up 86% in that time, a fine performance given the revenue drop. To us that means that there isn't a lot of correlation between the past revenue performance and the share price, but a closer look at analyst forecasts and the bottom line may well explain a lot.

You can see how earnings and revenue have changed over time in the image below (click on the chart to see the exact values).

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. If you are thinking of buying or selling Spectrum Brands Holdings stock, you should check out this free report showing analyst profit forecasts.

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What About Dividends?

It is important to consider the total shareholder return, as well as the share price return, for any given stock. The TSR 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. As it happens, Spectrum Brands Holdings' TSR for the last 1 year was 91%, which exceeds the share price return mentioned earlier. And there's no prize for guessing that the dividend payments largely explain the divergence!

A Different Perspective

We're pleased to report that Spectrum Brands Holdings shareholders have received a total shareholder return of 91% over one year. That's including the dividend. That gain is better than the annual TSR over five years, which is 5%. Therefore it seems like sentiment around the company has been positive lately. Given the share price momentum remains strong, it might be worth taking a closer look at the stock, lest you miss an opportunity. It's always interesting to track share price performance over the longer term. But to understand Spectrum Brands Holdings better, we need to consider many other factors. Like risks, for instance. Every company has them, and we've spotted 2 warning signs for Spectrum Brands Holdings (of which 1 is concerning!) you should know about.

Spectrum Brands Holdings is not the only stock insiders are buying. So take a peek at this free list of growing companies with insider buying.

Please note, the market returns quoted in this article reflect the market weighted average returns of stocks that currently trade on American exchanges.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.



This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.
Tired of the crazy train: Dave Ramsey tells a frustrated Michigan landlord to ditch his duplex and do this instead  3 ways to invest in real estate without the headaches of having tenants

If you ask Dave Ramsey, theres no room for dilly-dallying when it comes to real estate investments.

When a young Michigan landlord named Joe called into The Ramsey Show for advice about what to do with a duplex he no longer cares for, Dave Ramsey gave it to him straight.

Youre out, youre done, the personal finance expert said.

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Owning real estate for passive income is one of the biggest myths in investing  but here's how you can actually make it work

Joe bought the duplex with his girlfriend in the fall of 2020 for around $164,000. Theyve since lived in one of the units and rented out the other. Theyve done some renovations and they expect they could sell the property for around $200,000 or more.

Joe admitted he was tired of having tenants  and of living underneath them  but he remained uncertain about how to handle his investment. He asked Ramsey whether it made sense to keep the duplex as a rental property and use the income to live elsewhere.

I would sell the crap out of this thing, Ramsey responded during the episode.

Someday later, you may want to be a landlord again, but right now, youve had your trip on the crazy train and youre tired of the crazy train. Thats ok. Take a break from crazy. Go get you a house, he added.

If youre keen to invest in real estate, but like Joe, youre not sure if youre cut out for the landlord life, here are three other ways to get in on the action.

Real estate investment trusts

Investing in a real estate investment trust (REIT) is a way to profit from the real estate market without having to buy a physical property or deal with any landlord duties.

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Like giant landlords, REITs are publicly traded companies that own income-producing real estate like apartment buildings, shopping centers and office towers. They collect rent from tenants and pass that rent to shareholders in the form of regular dividend payments.

Generally, theyre described as high-return investments that provide solid dividends and the potential for moderate, long-term capital appreciation.

Also, as REITs are publicly traded, you can buy or sell shares any time and your investment can be as little or as large as you want  unlike buying a house, which usually requires a hefty down payment followed by a mortgage.

Real estate ETFs

Another easy way to invest in real estate without having to pick and choose which stocks to buy and sell, is through exchange-traded funds (ETFs). You can think of an ETF as a diversified portfolio of stocks.

As ETFs trade on major exchanges, theyre convenient to buy and sell. Some ETFs passively track an index, while others are actively managed. One thing to note is that they all charge a fee  referred to as the management expense ratio (MER)  in exchange for managing the fund.

The iShares U.S. Real Estate ETF (IYR), for example, gives investors targeted access to domestic real estate stocks and REITs. The fund is managed by BlackRock and currently holds 78 stocks with total net assets of $2.85 billion. Since the funds inception in June 2000, IYRs net asset value (NAV) has grown 8.47%. Its MER is 0.39%.

Read more: Super-rich Americans are snatching up prime real estate abroad as US housing slumps  but here's a sharp way to invest without having to move overseas

You can also check out the iShares Cohen & Steers REIT ETF (ICF), which tracks an index of U.S. REITs, with its top sectors being telecom towers, retail, data centers and multi-family residential. With 30 holdings and total net assets of $2.24 billion, this is another giant ETF that has produced total returns of 8.66% since its inception in January 2001.

Two other giants to consider are the Vanguard Real Estate ETF (VNQ) and the Real Estate Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLRE). Like all things investing, there are many options and its important to consider what best meets your needs and your financial goals.

Crowdfunding platforms

Crowdfunding refers to the practice of funding a project by raising small amounts of money from a large number of people. This can include real estate.

Through a crowdfunding platform, you can buy a percentage of physical real estate  from rental properties to commercial properties.

Some options are targeted at accredited investors, sometimes with higher minimum investments that can reach tens of thousands of dollars.

These platforms can also make real estate investing more accessible to the general public by simplifying the process and lowering the barrier to entry. Many platforms let you invest small sums, even as low as $100.

Sponsors of crowdfunded real estate deals usually charge fees to investors  typically in the range of 0.5% to 2.5% of whatever youve invested.

What to read next

Thanks to Jeff Bezos, you can now use $100 to cash in on prime real estate  without the headache of being a landlord. Here's how

Rich young Americans have lost confidence in the stock market  and are betting on these 3 assets instead. Get in now for strong long-term tailwinds

Rising prices are throwing off Americans' retirement plans  here's how to get your savings back on track

This article provides information only and should not be construed as advice. It is provided without warranty of any kind.
Tortilla Mexican Grill (LON:MEX) First Half 2023 Results

Key Financial Results

Revenue: UK32.7m (up 22% from 1H 2022).

Net loss: UK618.5k (down by 495% from UK156.5k profit in 1H 2022).

UK0.016 loss per share (down from UK0.004 profit in 1H 2022).

All figures shown in the chart above are for the trailing 12 month (TTM) period

Tortilla Mexican Grill Earnings Insights

Looking ahead, revenue is forecast to grow 14% p.a. on average during the next 3 years, compared to a 7.9% growth forecast for the Hospitality industry in the United Kingdom.

Performance of the British Hospitality industry.

The company's shares are down 12% from a week ago.

Risk Analysis

You should learn about the 1 warning sign we've spotted with Tortilla Mexican Grill.

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.
Total Quality Logistics is based in Union Township outside Cincinnati.

A federal judge in a long-running class action lawsuit has ruled that Cincinnati's Total Quality Logistics violated wage laws and must pay thousands of former employees for unpaid overtime.

The decision comes more than a year after a 13-day bench trial was held in early 2022 in a case that was originally filed in 2010. Some 4,500 former TQL workers  whether they worked a year or only a few weeks between 2008 and 2016  could wind up getting a check.

At issue was how the Cincinnati regions largest privately-held company classified hundreds of its freight brokers as exempt employees  essentially low-level managers ineligible for overtime pay. U.S. District Judge Michael Barrett ruled against the company on Sept. 26 saying the workers were entitled to overtime pay for hours that exceeded 40 per week.

Were happy for this outstanding decision  this is a win for the working people who put in so much time at the company, one of the lead plaintiffs attorneys Bruce Meizlish told The Enquirer.

The case is not over. The next phase is working out damages, and TQL could possibly challenge the judges decision, Meizlish said.

In a brief statement, TQL spokeswoman Julie Fulton told The Enquirer the case was still ongoing and the company would pursue all available legal options.

TQL, which touts itself as one of the nations largest freight-brokerage firms, arranges shipments of goods for food producers, manufacturers and other clients by booking shipments on outside companies fleets of trucks, jets and ships. Based in the Cincinnati suburb of Union Township, the company currently employs more than 9,000 workers and booked $8.8 billion in business last year.

The lawsuit describes the grind of legions of workers arranging TQL shipments as junior logistics account executives and trainees who were strongly encouraged to work sixty hours per week, work on Saturdays, attend after-hours training shifts and be able to receive calls on nights, weekends and holidays. Witnesses in the case testified the company churned through young employees with a 60% turnover rate.

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The lawsuits portrayal of workers experience stands in sharp contrast to the one that has landed on The Enquirers Top Workplaces for 14 years: TQL officials have said the company attracts "employees who thrive on challenge and love to win. Woven into this winner mentality is a strong thread of teamwork.

While TQL argued its workers in the case were exempt from overtime pay because they were largely performing administrative duties, Barrett ruled the companys case fell short for two reasons.

One, because a majority of the employees workload contributed toward the companys overall sales production  not management or general business operations, such as tax, finance, insurance, advertising, personnel management, employee benefits, computer network administration and other functions.

Secondly, the employees  who worked under close scrutiny, pitched services with sales scripts and whose decisions were regularly reviewed  werent given enough authority to be considered management.

About Total Quality Logistics:

Rank on Deloitte Cincinnati 100: No. 1

Revenues 2022: $8.8 billion

Employees: 9,000

Headquarters: Union Township, Clermont County

Website: www.tql.com

Founded: In 1997 by Ken Oaks

Total Quality Logistics founder Ken Oaks

For the latest on Cincinnati business, P&G, Kroger and Fifth Third Bank, follow @alexcoolidge on Twitter.

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Total Quality Logistics loses overtime case involving 4,500 workers
Key Insights

Significantly high institutional ownership implies Trident Royalties' stock price is sensitive to their trading actions

A total of 9 investors have a majority stake in the company with 52% ownership

Insiders have bought recently

Every investor in Trident Royalties Plc (LON:TRR) should be aware of the most powerful shareholder groups. With 51% stake, institutions possess the maximum shares in the company. That is, the group stands to benefit the most if the stock rises (or lose the most if there is a downturn).

Given the vast amount of money and research capacities at their disposal, institutional ownership tends to carry a lot of weight, especially with individual investors. Hence, having a considerable amount of institutional money invested in a company is often regarded as a desirable trait.

Let's delve deeper into each type of owner of Trident Royalties, beginning with the chart below.

See our latest analysis for Trident Royalties

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Trident Royalties?

Institutional investors commonly compare their own returns to the returns of a commonly followed index. So they generally do consider buying larger companies that are included in the relevant benchmark index.

We can see that Trident Royalties does have institutional investors; and they hold a good portion of the company's stock. This suggests some credibility amongst professional investors. But we can't rely on that fact alone since institutions make bad investments sometimes, just like everyone does. It is not uncommon to see a big share price drop if two large institutional investors try to sell out of a stock at the same time. So it is worth checking the past earnings trajectory of Trident Royalties, (below). Of course, keep in mind that there are other factors to consider, too.

Since institutional investors own more than half the issued stock, the board will likely have to pay attention to their preferences. It looks like hedge funds own 19% of Trident Royalties shares. That's interesting, because hedge funds can be quite active and activist. Many look for medium term catalysts that will drive the share price higher. The company's largest shareholder is Regal Partners Limited, with ownership of 11%. LIM Advisors Limited is the second largest shareholder owning 8.4% of common stock, and BlackRock, Inc. holds about 5.6% of the company stock.

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We also observed that the top 9 shareholders account for more than half of the share register, with a few smaller shareholders to balance the interests of the larger ones to a certain extent.

Researching institutional ownership is a good way to gauge and filter a stock's expected performance. The same can be achieved by studying analyst sentiments. There are a reasonable number of analysts covering the stock, so it might be useful to find out their aggregate view on the future.

Insider Ownership Of Trident Royalties

The definition of an insider can differ slightly between different countries, but members of the board of directors always count. Company management run the business, but the CEO will answer to the board, even if he or she is a member of it.

Insider ownership is positive when it signals leadership are thinking like the true owners of the company. However, high insider ownership can also give immense power to a small group within the company. This can be negative in some circumstances.

We can see that insiders own shares in Trident Royalties Plc. In their own names, insiders own UK3.9m worth of stock in the UK111m company. It is good to see some investment by insiders, but we usually like to see higher insider holdings. It might be worth checking if those insiders have been buying.

General Public Ownership

The general public-- including retail investors -- own 14% stake in the company, and hence can't easily be ignored. While this size of ownership may not be enough to sway a policy decision in their favour, they can still make a collective impact on company policies.

Private Equity Ownership

Private equity firms hold a 5.4% stake in Trident Royalties. This suggests they can be influential in key policy decisions. Some investors might be encouraged by this, since private equity are sometimes able to encourage strategies that help the market see the value in the company. Alternatively, those holders might be exiting the investment after taking it public.

Private Company Ownership

Our data indicates that Private Companies hold 6.9%, of the company's shares. It's hard to draw any conclusions from this fact alone, so its worth looking into who owns those private companies. Sometimes insiders or other related parties have an interest in shares in a public company through a separate private company.

Next Steps:

It's always worth thinking about the different groups who own shares in a company. But to understand Trident Royalties better, we need to consider many other factors. Like risks, for instance. Every company has them, and we've spotted 2 warning signs for Trident Royalties (of which 1 makes us a bit uncomfortable!) you should know about.

Ultimately the future is most important. You can access this free report on analyst forecasts for the company.

NB: Figures in this article are calculated using data from the last twelve months, which refer to the 12-month period ending on the last date of the month the financial statement is dated. This may not be consistent with full year annual report figures.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.



This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.
NEW YORK  A day after his words landed him in hot water in his New York fraud case, Donald Trump doubled down by brazenly ridiculing the presiding judge and the state attorney general in fierce tirades  and then he left town.

In bitter remarks to reporters on the third day of trial in the high-stakes case against his real estate empire, the former president on Wednesday disparaged AG Tish James outside the courtroom as an animal and state Supreme Court Judge Arthur Engoron as a pawn run by the Democrats.

They made up a fake case. Theyre fraudulent people. The judge already knows what hes gonna do, Trump charged. Hes a Democrat judge out of the clubhouses. Hes controlled, and its a shame.

Upon his arrival in the morning, Trump bitterly said of James and her case, You borrow money, you pay it back and you get sued by a political animal.

Trumps incendiary comments came after Engoron imposed a limited gag order Tuesday barring him from publicly mentioning his court staff upon learning hed disparaged his chief law clerk on Truth Social Tuesday morning and in a campaign email sent to millions.

Shortly after his final remarks of the day, James confirmed Trump had left the building. She said she wouldnt be bullied.

The Donald Trump show is over. This was nothing more than a political stunt, a fundraising stop, the AG said, describing his comments about her as offensive and baseless.

What they were were comments that unfortunately fomented violence  comments that I would describe as race-baiting. Comments, unfortunately, that appeal to the bottom of our humanity.

Trump, who wasnt expected to attend the trial, turned up for opening arguments Monday already declared a fraud by Engoron last week in a comprehensive ruling finding him and his sons and top executives liable for James chief claim. Engoron, who found Trump and his crew ballooned his net worth by up to $2.2 billion some years leading to his presidency to secure better loan and insurance terms illegally, also ordered the dissolution of his New York businesses.

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Trump attorneys filed a highly anticipated notice of appeal of the decision early Wednesday. If the appellate court upholds Engorons ruling, Trump is set to lose control of prized properties in his real estate portfolio, like his self-named Fifth Ave. skyscraper.

Inside the courtroom, tensions were high throughout the morning.

The ex-president was seen throwing his hands up and shaking his head in dismay as he followed testimony from his ex-accountant, Donald Bender, jotting down notes on Trump letterhead while hunched over the defense table and whispering to his attorney, Alina Habba.

The Trump Orgs former longtime accountant with Mazars was a crucial witness in Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Braggs 2022 case against Trumps company and former CFO Allen Weisselberg, leading to their convictions for tax fraud.

Bender testified in that case and maintained on his third day on the stand that his job was to compile information Trump gave him to assemble annual financial statements documenting his worth  not to audit the numbers provided.

Trumps team has argued any errors in the statements central to the AGs case were Benders responsibility to find. On Tuesday, Bender testified that he could hardly meet those obligations when they were not getting us all the documents.

During a particularly grueling line of questioning under cross-examination, Trump lawyer Jesus Suarez meticulously went line by line through records of Trump-owned properties values, skeptically asking Bender if he noticed anything amiss. Bender repeated the same line: Nothing came to my attention as part of my compilation procedures.

During the non-jury trial estimated to last through late December, the AGs office will ask Engoron to find Trump and his crew liable for six more claims, relating to the driving factors behind their fraud. James seeks to recover $250 million in ill gotten gains and to permanently bar Trump and his top execs from heading a New York business.

Trump is expected to return next month to take the witness stand. He told reporters before leaving the courthouse that the documents central to the AGs case were, in fact, inaccurate.

And, by the way, my financial documents are valued much less than my actual value, which nobody even knows, Trump said. They cant be a fraud because I gave them lower numbers.

The attorney generals case focuses much on Trumps exaggerations  but hes accused of low-balling values, too, for illegal cost-saving purposes.

Before he hit the road, Trump wanted to make one thing clear: His net worth is huge.

I didnt even need the loans because you see the kind of cash I have, Trump said. I have a lot of cash, a lot of everything.

_____
Director David Gordon Greens weirdly cautious reboot of the Exorcist franchise, the first of a planned trilogy, comes with the name The Exorcist: Believer. And we do, insofar as believing in money is concerned.

Green recently wrapped up his Halloween trilogy, which started well enough, and made a lot. The second one went sideways, not collapsing, but the finale, Halloween Kills landed with a profitable thud as one of the more cynical exercises in oh, whatever in recent commercial filmmaking.

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Can Green chart a different course with this trilogy? The Exorcist: Believer is the work of a talented, efficient mid-budget success story. There was a time when Green, whose career took a new path with the popularity of Pineapple Express in 2008, made tiny, idiosyncratic, unprofitable gems like George Washington and Snow Angels. I miss that David Gordon Green. I miss the eccentric assurance and enveloping sense of discovery of the earlier work. If he can somehow figure out, with the next two Exorcists, how to tap into that filmmaker again and make demonic possession more than a matter of hitting the marks and executing the jump scares (two or three excellent ones here, to be sure), then who knows? Maybe well get movies that live and breathe.

The premise here, as spun out by co-writers Green and Peter Sattler, gets off to a good start and indeed, The Exorcist: Believer is pretty solid stuff for an hour. The prologue, set in Haiti, puts photographer Victor Fielding (Leslie Odom Jr.) in a miserable situation: After a horrifying earthquake, well-staged for street-level chaos and with minimal digital effects, doctors inform Victor that he can choose to save the life of his mortally wounded pregnant wife, Sorenne (Tracey Graves), or that of their unborn daughter. Protect her, Sorenne says, with her dying breath.

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Thirteen years later, in a pleasant town in Georgia, Victor and daughter Angela (Lidya Jewett) live a careful, methodical, emotionally bonded life. One fateful day after school, Angela and her churchy pal Katherine (Olivia ONeill) venture into the woods, where they tra-la-la around with some spirit-conjuring and, for Angela, communing with her long-departed mother. Three days later, their parents out of their minds with panic, theyre found in a barn with no memory of where theyve been or what has happened. The audience knows, though, because the audience has likely seen the Exorcist: Believer poster: a conscious throwback to Linda Blairs demon face, this time with two possessed teenage girls instead of one.

Doubling the possession count, the movie zigzags to its finale, featuring various heartsick and distraught adults going up against the devil. The Exorcist: Believer throws in a Catholic priest for old times sake, but were dealing this time with a multidenominational crew of well-meaning amateurs. (Its like a book club gone wrong.) The adults include Victors sullen neighbor, a nurse and onetime Catholic novice, played by Ann Dowd; Katherines true-believer Baptist parents (Norbert Leo Butz and Jennifer Nettles); Victors Pentecostal friend Stuart (Danny McCarthy, longtime affiliate of Chicagos A Red Orchid Theatre); and, from the sidelines, more or less, Ellen Burstyn as Chris MacNeil, the mother of poor Regan of the 1973 Exorcist that started all this.

Burstyn hasnt done an Exorcist since director William Friedkins 1973 smash, and the way the storyline treats her return as Chris, you hope the payday was worth it. Shes welcome, to be sure, but shes treated as callously as Jamie Lee Curtiss character was in Halloween Kills. Many horror fans will likely roll with The Exorcist: Believer for a while; Green and his editor, Timothy Alverson, establish a nervous, abrupt cutting rhythm to both scenes of chaos and simple drop-the-kid-off-at-school moments. Green loves the slow zoom technique, very 70s, and a restlessly roving camera, so that youre never quite sure if what were watching is an establishing shot or the beginning of a full scene, or a fake-out. In some ways, in fact, this film feels as if it pre-dates The Exorcist by a year or two. The gore level isnt likely what many in the target audience are hoping to find here because, after all, they found it in the original.

Everyone has their own context for this material; I write this as someone who believes the original Friedkin film was influential, yes, and indisputably a clever lesson in how to secure an R rating for an X-level amount of solemn depravity. (It helps to have a lot of Catholic advisers on your demon possession horror movie.)

To millions the world over, Friedkins film was far more than that. Clearly, director Green had no interest in trying to match the freakish extremes of what we saw in 1973. We will likely see more those extremes with the next two in the reboot trilogy. The Exorcist: Believer feels adequate, which is to say, disappointing; it works for a while, and then around the midpoint it starts not working, and the gang-exorcism climax really isnt much of anything. As the films nominal lead, Odom Jr. appears to be stuck in neutral, underreacting in the guise of buried grief. A key supporting character, the root woman Dr. Beehibe (Okwui Okpokwasili), joins the fight against Satan when shes most needed  but the visual conception and Gordons staging of the exorcism itself falters. And if theres one thing die-hard fans of demonic possession want out of an Exorcist movie, its an exorcism worth its screen time.

In the years just before and just after the original 73 Exorcist, a vital handful of harsh, unsettling horror films went too far but justified every risk, miraculously, because of their style or, in some cases, a conscious lack of slickness. Night of the Living Dead, 1968. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, 1974. Suspiria, 1977. Those still mean something as screen horror. For millions, Friedkins film tops them all; inarguably, the special effects remain paragons of the pre-digital age. The Exorcist: Believer has its moments, but weve had a half-century of this stuff. And the filmmaker in charge has to show us something new; theres more to life, and moviegoing, than coasting on cherished memories of projectile vomiting and head-swiveling.

The Exorcist: Believer  2 stars (out of 4)

MPA rating: R (for some violent content, disturbing images, language and sexual references)

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Running time: 1:51

Now in theaters.

Michael Phillips is a Tribune critic.

mjphillips@chicagotribune.com

Twitter @phillipstribune
Former President Donald Trump sits between his lawyers Christopher Kise, left, and Alina Habba during his civil fraud trial at the State Supreme Court building in New York, Wednesday, Oct. 4, 2023. (Angela Weiss/Pool Photo via AP)

NEW YORK (AP)  During a recent Morning Joe discussion of another development in the four indictments of former President Donald Trump, NBC News reporter Ken Dilanian predicted, we are in for a real show next year.

MSNBC is not just counting on that to be true. The network is built around it.

The news outlet is hyper-focused on Trump's legal jeopardy, with a team of experts ready to dissect every ruling, every filing, every comment. The approach has seen success  even with some Republicans  with potential for more and the obvious questions of what happens when the bubble bursts.

MSNBC has pretty well-established themselves as the leading anti-Trump network, certainly of late, said Jon Klein, a former CNN president and news analyst. Once you've chosen your lane, you may as well go for it.

Certainly, the recipient of its attention has noticed.

In a late September post on Truth Social, Trump complained about one-sided and vicious coverage on NBC News and, particularly, MSNBC. He said they should be investigated for country-threatening treason and said MSNBCs endless coverage of Russia and other things amounted to a campaign contribution to Democrats.

The network would not make anyone available to talk about its strategy. MSNBC's prime-time viewership was up slightly over last year in the third quarter, while CNN and Fox News Channel saw double-digit declines, according to the Nielsen company. So far this year, Fox has averaged 2.18 million viewers, MSNBC 1.51 million and CNN 639,000.

Without making clear how many of its viewers are Republicans, MSNBC said its GOP audience increased 24% this spring, compared to 2022, and 37% in a middle America region that includes Ohio, Indiana, Michigan, Illinois and Iowa.

The rapid advancement of cord cutting has shrunk the number of available viewers for cable networks, and it's still uncertain where news streaming will settle. That makes it more important than ever for a network to identify a specific audience it wants to serve. Fox News has made billions of dollars through that strategy.

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Emphasizing one story to the near-exclusion of others has happened in spurts before, such as CNN's all-consuming attention to the missing Malaysia Airlines flight in 2014 and MSNBC during Trump's impeachments.

This story is unlikely to fade from the headlines anytime soon.

During the first day of Trump's civil trial in New York on fraud charges Monday, it was the lead story on each one of MSNBC's shows from 3 p.m. to midnight. Nicolle Wallace discussed it for a half hour in the afternoon, capped off with some caustic commentary from a regular analyst, former Missouri Sen. Claire McCaskill.

Joy Reid predicted the trial would completely shatter whatever remains of the myth of Trump as an extremely wealthy and successful businessman  you know, the original big lie.

Half of Jen Psaki's prime-time show was devoted to the topic, with former Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. and former New York U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara as guests. Rachel Maddow, as is her wont, took a circuitous route to the story, comparing former President Jimmy Carter's effort to eliminate the guinea worm with Trump's ex-presidency.

Donald Trump went to court today, and once again New York did not care, said Lawrence O'Donnell, who nonetheless made the story his chief topic.

It was par for the course on a day Trump's legal issues made headlines. While not all topics of cable news fascination merit the attention, that's not the case given the unprecedented nature of what a former president who is seeking that office again is facing, Klein said.

There's a need to explain complex legal maneuvers, and the better job you do of it, you're going to engender loyalty from your viewers, he said.

To that end, Ari Melber's 6 p.m. Eastern show, The Beat, is often the most-watched on MSNBC. The Emmy-winning NBC News legal analyst with a penchant for rap lyrics is a lawyer who specialized in First Amendment cases and brings a methodical, follow the facts style to the issues he addresses.

Like other MSNBC opinion hosts, he's hard on Trump. Yet Melber is respected enough as a lawyer that some figures in Trump world, like Peter Navarro and lawyer Joe Tacopina, have appeared on The Beat to tell their stories.

MSNBC has assembled a team of legal experts that has appeared throughout its lineup and gained trust through familiarity.

They include law professors Andrew Weissmann, former lead prosecutor in special counsel Robert Mueller's office, and Mary McCord, who worked at the Department of Justice and was an attorney for the District of Columbia for two decades. Together, they host the podcast, Prosecuting Donald Trump.

Chuck Rosenberg, who worked at the FBI and was acting administrator of the Drug Enforcement Administration at the end of the Obama administration, also hosts a podcast called The Oath.

Other regulars are Neal Katyal, a former acting solicitor general who frequently argued before the U.S. Supreme Court and co-authored the book, Impeach: The Case Against Donald Trump; Barbara McQuade, a former U.S. attorney in Michigan; and Joyce Vance, a former U.S. attorney in Alabama.

During a recent appearance, Weissmann worried that he was getting lost in the weeds discussing a judge's options to sanction Trump for speaking out on one of the cases against him.

You're in a safe space, Andrew, host Psaki said. This is a safe space for nerds.

It's all very reminiscent to Ariana Pekary, a former MSNBC producer. During the Trump impeachments, the network would leap on any morsel of news, sometimes blowing it out of proportion. Occasionally producers would leave the first segment of a show's rundown open until the last possible moment, recognizing something about Trump will probably come up, she said.

Ratings, available in 15-minute increments, proved it's what the audience wanted to see, she said.

She worried that it was becoming an obsession, and corrosive to the democracy, and said so publicly when she resigned in 2020.

It's probably wise as a business model, she said, but I think it's terribly unwise for the country.

To some extent, MSNBC has also benefitted from wheel-spinning at CNN, which is about to get its third chief executive in less than two years. Viewers have flocked away from CNN in alarming numbers.

During big moments in the story this year, when indictments were announced, MSNBC assembled its top team for special coverage, and the anchors lapsed into the kind of giddiness you'd see from children on Christmas morning.

The fine line you walk is in not overreaching, Klein said. There's enough in the actual facts that you don't have to gild the lily and go overboard. That's when they might risk turning off the independent-minded viewers who don't like Trump.

There's little chance these legal actions are going to be resolved anytime soon and, of course, there's still a presidential campaign ahead.

This is their time to make hay, Pekary said. The sun is shining on MSNBC with these indictments, and they're going to make the most of it.
(Bloomberg) -- Abu Dhabi wealth fund ADQ and Turkey are in talks to build a railway over Istanbuls Bosphorus strait as part of a planned trade corridor linking Europe to the Middle East and Asia, according to Turkish officials familiar with the matter.

Most Read from Bloomberg

The railway would cross the Yavuz Sultan Selim suspension bridge, one of the longest and widest of its kind in the world, built for $3 billion under Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to link the citys European and Asian sides.

It adds to a series of potential deals between Turkey and the United Arab Emirates, of which Abu Dhabi is the capital. The UAE pledged $51 billion in July to support Turkeys battered economy after Ankara and Arab Gulf states put aside years of animosity.

A UAE official, in a statement to Bloomberg, said they hoped bilateral trade with Turkey would double to $40 billion by 2030 and that key sectors for investment included energy, logistics, tourism and agriculture.

Turkeys Transport and Infrastructure Ministry declined to comment. ADQ, which has about $160 billion of assets, declined to comment.

With its strategic location straddling Europe and Asia while also controlling access to the Black Sea, Turkey is vying to become a crucial part of a trade corridor it hopes to eventually see between London and Beijing. Its aiming to link Gulf nations to its railway and highway network, the people said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

The railway could be followed by other infrastructure projects to support that ambition in future, they added.

Erdogan has accelerated efforts to convince Gulf States to back a $17 billion trade route from Iraqs port of Basra after the US and India last month agreed on a competing route with support from the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Israel, in response to Chinas growing influence across the energy-rich region.

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Once part of the ancient Silk Road, Turkey is also pushing for the construction of a transport corridor to Azerbaijan across southern Armenia or Iran to advance plans for a new trade route to Asia.

--With assistance from Ugur Yilmaz, Patrick Sykes and Abeer Abu Omar.

Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek

2023 Bloomberg L.P.
By Paul Sandle and Yadarisa Shabong

LONDON (Reuters) -Britain's media regulator on Thursday asked the country's antitrust authority to investigate U.S. tech giants Amazon and Microsoft's dominance of the UK cloud market.

Ofcom said it had identified features that made it more difficult for UK businesses to use multiple cloud suppliers.

Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Microsoft had a combined 70-80% share of Britain's public cloud infrastructure services market in 2022, Ofcom said. Google was their closest competitor with 5-10%.

Britain is not the only country looking into cloud computing; the U.S. Federal Trade Commission asked for information about the market in March, citing similar interest in the UK, France, Japan, The Netherlands and South Korea.

"The CMA (Competition and Markets Authority) will now conduct an independent investigation to decide whether there is an adverse effect on competition, and if so, whether it should take action or recommend others to take action," it said.

Amazon said it disagreed with Ofcom, whose findings were based on "a fundamental misconception of how the IT sector functions, and the services and discounts on offer".

"Any unwarranted intervention could lead to unintended harm to IT customers and competition," a spokesperson said.

But it said it would work constructively with the CMA.

Microsoft said it was committed to ensuring the UK cloud industry remained innovative and highly competitive. "We will engage constructively with the CMA," a Microsoft spokesperson said.

Dan Ridsdale, TMT director at research company Edison, said the dominance of AWS, Microsoft and to a lesser extent Google was replicated across every major economy other than China.

But Britain was the most advanced in addressing the issue, he said, and was now on a path to potentially taking action.

"Other jurisdictions are likely to follow suit and regulatory action of one form or another looks inevitable," he said.

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The French antitrust authority said in June that practices in the sector could potentially restrict competition, while the EU regulator is scrutinising Microsoft's cloud practices following a complaint by trade group Cloud Infrastructure Services Providers in Europe (CISPE) whose members include Amazon.

MICROSOFT-CMA HISTORY

The CMA and Microsoft have already clashed this year when the regulator blocked the company's $69 billion acquisition of games company Activision Blizzard.

A restructured deal found favour but the episode made clear the CMA's willingness to take on big tech.

Ofcom said in April it was worried about the practices of AWS and Microsoft because of their market positions in the cloud market, and planned to ask the competition regulator to investigate.

Reuters reported on Tuesday that Ofcom was expected to push for an antitrust investigation.

UK businesses told Ofcom they were concerned it was too difficult to switch or mix and match cloud providers.

"So, we're referring the market to the CMA for further scrutiny," Ofcom Director Fergal Farragher said.

The CMA welcomed the move, saying effective competition in the 7.5 billion pound ($9.1 billion) UK market was essential.

Google Vice President Amit Zavery said Ofcom's referral demonstrated the need to create an open cloud market with no vendor lock-in.

"UK government agencies, businesses, and consumers want to move easily across cloud platforms and choose which services best meet their needs," he said, adding Google would continue to allow its products to run on any cloud without penalty.

The CMA will complete its investigation by April 2025.

($1 = 0.8232 pounds)

(Reporting by Yadarisa Shabong in Bengaluru and Paul Sandle in London, additional reporting by Foo Yun Chee in Brussels; Editing by Mark Potter, Jan Harvey, Jacqueline Wong and Jane Merriman)
A Comprehensive Analysis of Bristol-Myers Squibb Co's Dividend History, Yield, Growth, and Future Prospects

Bristol-Myers Squibb Co (NYSE:BMY) recently announced a dividend of $0.57 per share, payable on 2023-11-01, with the ex-dividend date set for 2023-10-05. As investors eagerly anticipate this upcoming payment, it's also crucial to examine the company's dividend history, yield, and growth rates. Leveraging data from GuruFocus, we delve into Bristol-Myers Squibb Co's dividend performance and evaluate its sustainability.

Overview of Bristol-Myers Squibb Co

Bristol-Myers Squibb Co is a renowned pharmaceutical company that discovers, develops, and markets drugs for various therapeutic areas, including cardiovascular, cancer, and immune disorders. The firm is a leader in immuno-oncology, a key focus area. With nearly 70% of total sales derived from the U.S., Bristol-Myers Squibb Co relies heavily on the U.S. market compared to its peers.

Unveiling the Dividend Performance and Sustainability of Bristol-Myers Squibb Co (BMY)

Bristol-Myers Squibb Co's Dividend History

Bristol-Myers Squibb Co has consistently paid dividends since 1985, distributed quarterly. The company has increased its dividend each year since 1987, earning it the status of a dividend aristocrat, a title bestowed upon companies that have increased their dividend annually for at least the past 36 years.

Unveiling the Dividend Performance and Sustainability of Bristol-Myers Squibb Co (BMY)

Dissecting Bristol-Myers Squibb Co's Dividend Yield and Growth

Currently, Bristol-Myers Squibb Co boasts a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 3.96% and a 12-month forward dividend yield of 4.01%, indicating an expected increase in dividend payments over the next 12 months.

Over the past three years, the company's annual dividend growth rate was 9.20%, decreasing to 7.20% per year over a five-year horizon. Over the past decade, the annual dividends per share growth rate stands at 4.40%. Based on the dividend yield and five-year growth rate, the 5-year yield on cost of Bristol-Myers Squibb Co stock is approximately 5.61% today.

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Unveiling the Dividend Performance and Sustainability of Bristol-Myers Squibb Co (BMY)

Assessing Dividend Sustainability: Payout Ratio and Profitability

When evaluating the sustainability of a dividend, it's essential to consider the company's payout ratio. Bristol-Myers Squibb Co's dividend payout ratio is 0.60 as of 2023-06-30, suggesting the company retains a significant portion of its earnings for future growth and unexpected downturns. The company's profitability rank of 8 out of 10 indicates good profitability prospects, with net profit reported in 9 out of the past 10 years.

Growth Metrics and Future Outlook

Bristol-Myers Squibb Co's growth rank of 8 out of 10 suggests a solid growth trajectory relative to its competitors. The company's robust revenue per share and 3-year revenue growth rate of approximately 12.10% per year outperforms about 69.79% of global competitors, indicating a strong revenue model.

The company's 3-year EPS growth rate of approximately 13.60% per year outperforms about 53.37% of global competitors, showcasing its ability to grow earnings, a critical factor for sustaining dividends in the long run.

Conclusion

In conclusion, Bristol-Myers Squibb Co exhibits a commendable dividend performance backed by a consistent dividend payment record, promising growth rates, a sustainable payout ratio, and strong profitability and growth metrics. These factors collectively indicate a bright future for the company's dividends, making it an attractive prospect for dividend-focused investors.

GuruFocus Premium users can screen for high-dividend yield stocks using the High Dividend Yield Screener.

This article first appeared on GuruFocus.


A comprehensive look into Ennis Inc's dividend performance and what it means for investors

Ennis Inc (NYSE:EBF), a leading manufacturer and supplier of print products for the wholesale trade, recently announced a dividend of $0.25 per share, to be paid on 2023-11-03, with the ex-dividend date set for 2023-10-05. As investors anticipate this upcoming payment, it's crucial to examine Ennis Inc's dividend history, yield, and growth rates. Let's delve into the company's dividend performance and assess its sustainability using data from GuruFocus.

Ennis Inc: A Snapshot

Ennis Inc is a renowned provider of print products for the wholesale trade. Its diverse product portfolio includes business forms and supplies, commercial printing, eCommerce solutions, envelopes, labels, tags, advertising specialties, and packaging solutions.

Unveiling the Dividend Story of Ennis Inc: An Analysis of its History, Growth, and Sustainability

Ennis Inc's Dividend Journey

Ennis Inc has maintained a reliable dividend payment record since 1985, with dividends currently distributed on a quarterly basis. The company has increased its dividend each year since 2013, earning it the title of a dividend achiever. This distinction is reserved for companies that have consistently grown their dividends for at least a decade.

Unveiling the Dividend Story of Ennis Inc: An Analysis of its History, Growth, and Sustainability

Exploring Ennis Inc's Dividend Yield and Growth

Ennis Inc currently boasts a 12-month trailing dividend yield and a 12-month forward dividend yield of 4.70%. This indicates an expectation of stable dividend payments over the next 12 months.

Over the past three years, Ennis Inc's annual dividend growth rate was 3.60%, which increased to 4.70% per year over a five-year period. Over the past decade, the company's annual dividends per share growth rate stands at 6.70%. As of today, the 5-year yield on cost of Ennis Inc stock is approximately 5.91%.

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Unveiling the Dividend Story of Ennis Inc: An Analysis of its History, Growth, and Sustainability

Assessing Dividend Sustainability: Payout Ratio and Profitability

Ennis Inc's dividend payout ratio of 0.57 as of 2023-08-31 offers insights into the portion of earnings the company distributes as dividends. A lower ratio suggests that the company retains a significant part of its earnings, thereby ensuring the availability of funds for future growth and unexpected downturns. Furthermore, Ennis Inc's profitability rank of 7 out of 10 suggests good profitability prospects, with the company reporting net profit in 9 of the past 10 years.

Future Prospects: Growth Metrics

Ennis Inc's growth rank of 7 out of 10 suggests a promising growth trajectory relative to its competitors. However, Ennis Inc's 3-year revenue growth rate of -0.40% per year underperforms approximately 73.6% of global competitors. The company's 3-year EPS growth rate of 7.40% per year underperforms approximately 56.67% of global competitors. Lastly, Ennis Inc's 5-year EBITDA growth rate of 1.30% underperforms approximately 67.06% of global competitors.

Wrapping Up

Ennis Inc's consistent dividend payments, coupled with a commendable growth rate, make it an attractive option for dividend-focused investors. However, its underperformance in revenue and EPS growth relative to global competitors warrants a cautious approach. The sustainability of its dividends will largely depend on its ability to maintain profitability and improve growth metrics. Investors should monitor these factors closely while considering Ennis Inc as a potential investment.

GuruFocus Premium users can screen for high-dividend yield stocks using the High Dividend Yield Screener.

This article first appeared on GuruFocus.


Grupo Aeroportuario del Sureste SAB de CV (NYSE:ASR) has recently been in the spotlight, drawing interest from investors and financial analysts due to its robust financial stance. With shares currently priced at $179.36, Grupo Aeroportuario del Sureste SAB de CV has witnessed a daily loss of 26.01%, marked against a three-month change of -37.01%. A thorough analysis, underlined by the GF Score, suggests that Grupo Aeroportuario del Sureste SAB de CV is well-positioned for substantial growth in the near future.

Unveiling the Investment Potential of Grupo Aeroportuario del Sureste SAB de CV (ASR): A Comprehensive Analysis

Understanding the GF Score

The GF Score is a stock performance ranking system developed by GuruFocus using five aspects of valuation, which has been found to be closely correlated to the long-term performances of stocks by backtesting from 2006 to 2021. The stocks with a higher GF Score generally generate higher returns than those with a lower GF Score. Therefore, when picking stocks, investors should invest in companies with high GF Scores. The GF Score ranges from 0 to 100, with 100 as the highest rank.

Grupo Aeroportuario del Sureste SAB de CV has been assigned the following ranks:

Each one of these components is ranked and the ranks also have positive correlation with the long term performances of stocks. The GF score is calculated using the five key aspects of analysis. Through backtesting, we know that each of these key aspects has a different impact on the stock price performance. Thus, they are weighted differently when calculating the total score. With a high profitability rank and a slightly lower GF Value rank, GuruFocus assigned Grupo Aeroportuario del Sureste SAB de CV the GF Score of 97 out of 100, which signals the highest outperformance potential.

Overview of Grupo Aeroportuario del Sureste SAB de CV

Grupo Aeroportuario del Sureste SAB de CV operates airports in southeast Mexico. With a market cap of $5.38 billion and sales of $1.39 billion, the company has demonstrated a strong operating margin of 59.25%. The company's segments include Cancun; Aerostar; Airplan; Merida; Villahermosa; Holding and Services and other. It generates maximum revenue from the Cancun segment.

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Unveiling the Investment Potential of Grupo Aeroportuario del Sureste SAB de CV (ASR): A Comprehensive Analysis

Financial Strength Analysis

According to the Financial Strength rating, Grupo Aeroportuario del Sureste SAB de CV's robust balance sheet exhibits resilience against financial volatility, reflecting prudent management of capital structure.

The Interest Coverage ratio for Grupo Aeroportuario del Sureste SAB de CV stands impressively at 13, underscoring its strong capability to cover its interest obligations. This robust financial position resonates with the wisdom of legendary investor Benjamin Graham, who favored companies with an interest coverage ratio of at least 5.

With an Altman Z-Score of 5.48, Grupo Aeroportuario del Sureste SAB de CV exhibits a strong defense against financial distress, highlighting its robust financial stability.

With a favorable Debt-to-Revenue ratio of 0.5, Grupo Aeroportuario del Sureste SAB de CV's strategic handling of debt solidifies its financial health.

Profitability Rank Analysis

The Profitability Rank shows Grupo Aeroportuario del Sureste SAB de CV's impressive standing among its peers in generating profit.

Grupo Aeroportuario del Sureste SAB de CV Operating Margin has increased (15.02%) over the past five years, as shown by the following data: 2018: 50.48; 2019: 50.42; 2020: 25.95; 2021: 46.09; 2022: 58.06; .

Furthermore, Grupo Aeroportuario del Sureste SAB de CV's Gross Margin has seen a consistent rise over the past five years, as evidenced by the data: 2018: 51.13; 2019: 50.69; 2020: 26.54; 2021: 47.49; 2022: 57.83; . This trend underscores the company's growing proficiency in transforming revenue into profit.

The Piotroski F-Score confirms Grupo Aeroportuario del Sureste SAB de CV's solid financial situation based on Joseph Piotroski's nine-point scale, which measures a company's profitability, funding and operating efficiency.

Grupo Aeroportuario del Sureste SAB de CV's strong Predictability Rank of 3.0 stars out of five underscores its consistent operational performance, providing investors with increased confidence.

Growth Rank Analysis

Ranked highly in Growth, Grupo Aeroportuario del Sureste SAB de CV demonstrates a strong commitment to expanding its business.

The company's 3-Year Revenue Growth Rate is 14.6%, which outperforms better than 71.79% of 911 companies in the Transportation industry.

Moreover, Grupo Aeroportuario del Sureste SAB de CV has seen a robust increase in its earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) over the past few years. Specifically, the three-year growth rate stands at 17.1, and the rate over the past five years is 6.7. This trend accentuates the company's continued capability to drive growth.

Unveiling the Investment Potential of Grupo Aeroportuario del Sureste SAB de CV (ASR): A Comprehensive Analysis

Conclusion

Given the company's strong financial strength, profitability, and growth metrics, the GF Score highlights Grupo Aeroportuario del Sureste SAB de CV's unparalleled position for potential outperformance. This comprehensive analysis provides a solid foundation for investors seeking to make informed decisions about their portfolio.

GuruFocus Premium members can find more companies with strong GF Scores using the following screener link: GF Score Screen

This article first appeared on GuruFocus.


Permian Resources (NYSE:PR) experienced a daily loss of 6.25%, yet boasted a 3-month gain of 16.85%. With an Earnings Per Share (EPS) of 1.48, it's worth questioning if the stock is modestly undervalued. The valuation analysis that follows will provide a comprehensive answer to this question.

Introduction to Permian Resources Corp (NYSE:PR)

Permian Resources Corp is an independent oil and natural gas company. It is committed to generating outsized returns to stakeholders through the responsible acquisition, optimization, and development of oil and liquids-rich natural gas assets. The company's current stock price is $12.6, while its GF Value, an estimation of the stock's fair value, stands at $15.3. This comparison indicates that Permian Resources may be modestly undervalued.

Unveiling Permian Resources (PR)'s True Worth: A Comprehensive Guide

Understanding GF Value

The GF Value is a proprietary measure reflecting the intrinsic value of a stock. It is calculated based on historical multiples, a GuruFocus adjustment factor based on past returns and growth, and future business performance estimates. The GF Value Line provides an overview of the stock's ideal fair trading value. If the stock price is significantly above the GF Value Line, it is overvalued and its future return is likely to be poor. Conversely, if it is significantly below the GF Value Line, its future return will likely be higher.

According to GuruFocus' valuation method, Permian Resources (NYSE:PR) is believed to be modestly undervalued. The stock's fair value is estimated based on three key factors: historical multiples, an internal adjustment based on the company's past business growth, and analyst estimates of future business performance. At its current price of $12.6 per share, Permian Resources stock is believed to be modestly undervalued. As a result, the long-term return of its stock is likely to be higher than its business growth.

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Unveiling Permian Resources (PR)'s True Worth: A Comprehensive Guide

Link: These companies may deliver higher future returns at reduced risk.

Financial Strength of Permian Resources

Investing in companies with poor financial strength has a higher risk of permanent loss of capital. Thus, it is important to carefully review the financial strength of a company before deciding whether to buy its stock. Looking at the cash-to-debt ratio and interest coverage is a great starting point for understanding the financial strength of a company. Permian Resources has a cash-to-debt ratio of 0.01, which is worse than 95.61% of 1026 companies in the Oil & Gas industry. GuruFocus ranks the overall financial strength of Permian Resources at 4 out of 10, which indicates that the financial strength of Permian Resources is poor.

Unveiling Permian Resources (PR)'s True Worth: A Comprehensive Guide

Profitability and Growth of Permian Resources

Investing in profitable companies is less risky, especially if they demonstrate consistent profitability over the long term. Companies with high profit margins are generally safer investments than those with low profit margins. Permian Resources has been profitable 6 over the past 10 years. Over the past twelve months, the company had a revenue of $2.60 billion and Earnings Per Share (EPS) of $1.48. Its operating margin is 42.29%, which ranks better than 85.19% of 979 companies in the Oil & Gas industry. Overall, the profitability of Permian Resources is ranked 7 out of 10, which indicates fair profitability.

Growth is a critical factor in the valuation of a company. GuruFocus' research has found that growth is closely correlated with the long-term performance of a company's stock. If a company's business is growing, the company usually creates value for its shareholders, especially if the growth is profitable. Likewise, if a company's revenue and earnings are declining, the value of the company will decrease. Permian Resources's 3-year average revenue growth rate is better than 76.63% of 860 companies in the Oil & Gas industry. Permian Resources's 3-year average EBITDA growth rate is 31.8%, which ranks better than 70.1% of 826 companies in the Oil & Gas industry.

ROIC vs WACC

One can also evaluate a company's profitability by comparing its return on invested capital (ROIC) to its weighted average cost of capital (WACC). Return on invested capital (ROIC) measures how well a company generates cash flow relative to the capital it has invested in its business. The weighted average cost of capital (WACC) is the rate that a company is expected to pay on average to all its security holders to finance its assets. If the return on invested capital exceeds the weighted average cost of capital, the company is likely creating value for its shareholders. During the past 12 months, Permian Resources's ROIC is 12.64 while its WACC came in at 12.83.

Unveiling Permian Resources (PR)'s True Worth: A Comprehensive Guide

Conclusion

In summary, the stock of Permian Resources (NYSE:PR) is believed to be modestly undervalued. The company's financial condition is poor and its profitability is fair. Its growth ranks better than 70.1% of 826 companies in the Oil & Gas industry. To learn more about Permian Resources stock, you can check out its 30-Year Financials here.

To find out the high quality companies that may deliver above average returns, please check out GuruFocus High Quality Low Capex Screener.

This article first appeared on GuruFocus.


Understanding the Sustainability and Future Potential of Toll Brothers Inc's Dividends

Toll Brothers Inc (NYSE:TOL) recently announced a dividend of $0.21 per share, payable on 2023-10-20, with the ex-dividend date set for 2023-10-05. As investors look forward to this upcoming payment, the spotlight also shines on the company's dividend history, yield, and growth rates. Using the data from GuruFocus, let's deep dive into Toll Brothers Inc's dividend performance and assess its sustainability.

A Brief Introduction to Toll Brothers Inc

Toll Brothers Inc is the leading luxury homebuilder in the United States with an average sale price well above public competitors'. The company operates in over 60 markets across 24 states and caters to move-up, active-adult, and second-home buyers. Traditional homebuilding operations represent most of the company's revenue. Toll Brothers also builds luxury for-sale and for-rent properties in urban centers across the U.S. It has its headquarters in Horsham, Pennsylvania.

Unveiling Toll Brothers Inc's Dividend Prospects: A Comprehensive Analysis

Tracing Toll Brothers Inc's Dividend History

Toll Brothers Inc has maintained a consistent dividend payment record since 2017. Dividends are currently distributed on a quarterly basis. Below is a chart showing annual Dividends Per Share for tracking historical trends.

Unveiling Toll Brothers Inc's Dividend Prospects: A Comprehensive Analysis

Unpacking Toll Brothers Inc's Dividend Yield and Growth

As of today, Toll Brothers Inc currently has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 1.16% and a 12-month forward dividend yield of 1.17%. This suggests an expectation of increase dividend payments over the next 12 months.

Over the past three years, Toll Brothers Inc's annual dividend growth rate was 20.50%. Extended to a five-year horizon, this rate increased to 22.40% per year. Based on Toll Brothers Inc's dividend yield and five-year growth rate, the 5-year yield on cost of Toll Brothers Inc stock as of today is approximately 3.19%.

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Unveiling Toll Brothers Inc's Dividend Prospects: A Comprehensive Analysis

Assessing Dividend Sustainability: Payout Ratio and Profitability

To assess the sustainability of the dividend, one needs to evaluate the company's payout ratio. The dividend payout ratio provides insights into the portion of earnings the company distributes as dividends. A lower ratio suggests that the company retains a significant part of its earnings, thereby ensuring the availability of funds for future growth and unexpected downturns. As of 2023-07-31, Toll Brothers Inc's dividend payout ratio is 0.06.

Toll Brothers Inc's profitability rank, offers an understanding of the company's earnings prowess relative to its peers. GuruFocus ranks Toll Brothers Inc's profitability 10 out of 10 as of 2023-07-31, suggesting good profitability prospects. The company has reported positive net income for each of year over the past decade, further solidifying its high profitability.

Probing into Growth Metrics: The Future Outlook

To ensure the sustainability of dividends, a company must have robust growth metrics. Toll Brothers Inc's growth rank of 10 out of 10 suggests that the company's growth trajectory is good relative to its competitors.

Revenue is the lifeblood of any company, and Toll Brothers Inc's revenue per share, combined with the 3-year revenue growth rate, indicates a strong revenue model. Toll Brothers Inc's revenue has increased by approximately 20.90% per year on average, a rate that outperforms than approximately 79.21% of global competitors.

The company's 3-year EPS growth rate showcases its capability to grow its earnings, a critical component for sustaining dividends in the long run. During the past three years, Toll Brothers Inc's earnings increased by approximately 39.30% per year on average, a rate that outperforms than approximately 69.32% of global competitors.

Lastly, the company's 5-year EBITDA growth rate of 21.90%, which outperforms than approximately 61.76% of global competitors.

Conclusion: A Promising Dividend Prospect

In conclusion, Toll Brothers Inc's consistent dividend payments, impressive growth rate, low payout ratio, high profitability, and robust growth metrics make it a promising prospect for dividend investors. The company's strong financial performance and growth trajectory suggest a sustainable dividend policy in the foreseeable future. However, as with any investment, it's crucial to conduct thorough research and consider the company's overall financial health before making a decision.

GuruFocus Premium users can screen for high-dividend yield stocks using the High Dividend Yield Screener.

This article first appeared on GuruFocus.


(Reuters) - An updated rule curbing exports of U.S. chipmaking equipment to China is in the final stages of review, according to a government posting and a source, a sign the Biden administration is poised to soon tighten restrictions on Beijing.

Reuters exclusively reported on Monday that U.S. officials had warned China in recent weeks to expect rules restricting shipments of semiconductor equipment and advanced AI chips to China to be updated this month.

The updates would add restrictions and close loopholes in rules first unveiled on Oct. 7, 2022, sources say. Those rules angered Beijing and further strained relations with Washington.

A regulation titled, "Export controls to Semiconductor Manufacturing Items, Entity List Modifications," was posted on the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) website on Wednesday.

A person familiar with the matter, who requested anonymity, confirmed the posting refers to the expected restriction on sending chipmaking tools to China.

Export control rules are generally not posted by OMB until there is agreement between the Departments of State, Defense, Commerce and Energy on their content, former officials said.

An anticipated companion rule updating restrictions on exports of high-end chips used for artificial intelligence has yet to be posted by the government.

A source said the Biden administration is seeking to publish both rules simultaneously. A spokesperson for the U.S. Department of Commerce declined comment.

(Reporting by Karen Freifeld and Alexandra Alper; Editing by Anna Driver)
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - October 5, 2023) - US Critical Metals Corp. (CSE: USCM) (OTCQB: USCMF) (FSE: 0IU0) ("USCM" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that it has received approval of Bureau of Land Management ("BLM") to drill the northern basin of the Clayton Ridge Lithium Property ("Clayton Ridge" or the "Project") located in Esmeralda County, Nevada. This approval is the result of USCM reclaiming lands under the total permitted disturbance area permitted by the BLM of 5 acres.

The Company has engaged Falcon Drilling, Inc. ("Falcon Drilling") to test the five northern drill targets of the Project, as set forth in the map below (drill sites J-N). These drill targets have been designed to test rock chip anomalies to the north and potentially extend mineralization in that direction. It is anticipated the program will include an additional 500 to 1,000 meters of core drilling.





To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:

https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/8837/182961_f4963ef2c425d820_001full.jpg

The Company has completed approximately 1,000 meters of core drilling into the southern and central basins of Clayton Ridge (see Company's press release dated September 12, 2023). The core has been cut, logged and sent to American Assay Labs for assaying. The initial phase of the program consisted of 11 holes and was completed by Falcon Drilling. The second phase of drilling is expected to commence on or about October 15th, 2023.

USCM has the right to earn a 100% interest in the Project subject to completing the following, expected to be completed in 2023: (i) drilling 1,500 meters on the Project, (ii) paying US$75,000 in cash to the property vendors; and (iii) issuing 500,000 common shares of the Company to the property vendor. Upon completion of the foregoing conditions, USCM will acquire a 100% interest in Clayton Ridge.

Management Commentary

Mr. Darren Collins, Chief Executive Officer and Director of USCM, comments: "Our team has been very efficient in terms of exploring Clayton Ridge and completing the terms of the earn-in agreement. The reclaiming of lands through the BLM is a cost-effective method for us to test multiple basins within the Project area without the need to complete a Plan of Operations. With assay results pending on the southern and central basins and drilling panned to commence on the northern basin, we anticipate a fulsome series of results to share with investors during the remaining quarter of 2023."

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About Falcon Drilling, Inc.

Falcon Drilling has over 33 years of experience providing versatile and reliable diamond drilling services, which enabled them to expand worldwide. Their ability to mobilize globally has proven to their client base that they are a committed supplier of diamond drilling services. Falcon Drilling's experienced leadership team builds valued and lasting relationships with all clients and the communities in which they operate.

QP Statement

Robert J. Johansing, BSc (geology), MSc (economic geology), who is a qualified person as defined in National Instrument 43-101 - Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects (the "QP"), has reviewed and approved the scientific and technical information contained in this news release. Robert J. Johansing is a consultant for the Company.

Project Overview

The Project is a lithium claystone deposit located in Esmeralda County, Nevada on the east flank of the Clayton Valley, the only lithium producing region of the United States. The Project is located just 18 kilometers west of Goldfield, Nevada and roughly 17 km southeast of Silver Peak, Nevada, lying within a topographic swale between the Montezuma Range and Clayton Ridge. The Project is comprised of 180 unpatented lode mining claims, covering 3,600 acres, with easy driving access to all claims. The Property is one of several lithium projects in region. In addition to the only operating lithium producer in the US (Albemarle), the Clayton Valley and immediate surroundings host several lithium projects ranging from early- to late-stage exploration (including, but not limited to, Noram Lithium, Pure Energy, American Lithium, Ioneer Ltd., Century Lithium Corp. and Spearmint Resources).

About US Critical Metals Corp.

USCM is focused on mining projects that will further secure the US supply of critical metals and rare earth elements, which are essential to fueling the new age economy. Pursuant to option agreements with private Canadian and American companies, USCM's assets consist of four agreements, together providing USCM with the right to acquire interests in five discovery focused projects in the US. These projects include the Clayton Ridge Lithium Project located in Nevada, the Sheep Creek Rare Earth Project located in Montana, the Haynes Cobalt Project located in Idaho, the Lemhi Pass Rare Earth Project located in Idaho and the Long Canyon Uranium Project located in Idaho. A significant percentage of the world's critical metal and rare earth supply comes from nations with interests that are contrary to those of the US. USCM intends to explore and develop mineral resources with near- and long-term strategic value to the advancement of US interests.

For further information please contact:

Darren Collins

Chief Executive Officer and Director

US Critical Metals Corp.

Telephone: 1-786 633-1756

www.uscmcorp.com

Neither the Canadian Securities Exchange nor the Market Regulator (as that term is defined in the policies of the Canadian Securities Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Disclaimer for Forward-Looking Information

This news release contains certain information that may be deemed "forward-looking information" with respect to the Company within the meaning of applicable securities laws. Such forward-looking information involves known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the Company's actual results, performance or achievements, or developments in the industry to differ materially from the anticipated results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking information. Forward-looking information includes statements that are not historical facts and are generally, but not always, identified by the words "expects," "plans," "anticipates," "believes," "intends," "estimates," "projects," "potential" and similar expressions, or that events or conditions "will," "would," "may," "could" or "should" occur. Forward-looking information contained in this press release may include, without limitation, the expectation that the Company will acquire the Project in 2023, the expectation that the Company will commence drilling shortly; exploration plans and expected exploration and drilling results at the Project, results of operations, and the expected financial performance of the Company.

Although the Company believes the forward-looking information contained in this news release is reasonable based on information available on the date hereof, by its nature, forward-looking information involves assumptions and known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause our actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements, or other future events, to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking information.

Examples of such assumptions, risks and uncertainties include, without limitation, assumptions, risks and uncertainties associated with general economic conditions; the COVID-19 pandemic; adverse industry events; the receipt of required regulatory approvals and the timing of such approvals; that the Company maintains good relationships with the communities in which it operates or proposes to operate, future legislative and regulatory developments in the mining sector; the Company's ability to access sufficient capital from internal and external sources, and/or inability to access sufficient capital on favorable terms; mining industry and markets in Canada and generally; the ability of the Company to implement its business strategies; competition; the risk that any of the assumptions prove not to be valid or reliable, which could result in delays, or cessation in planned work, risks associated with the interpretation of data, the geology, grade and continuity of mineral deposits, the possibility that results will not be consistent with the Company's expectations, as well as other assumptions risks and uncertainties applicable to mineral exploration and development activities and to the Company, including as set forth in the Company's public disclosure documents filed on the SEDAR+ website at www.sedarplus.ca.

The forward-looking information contained in this press release represents the expectations of USCM as of the date of this press release and, accordingly, is subject to change after such date. Readers should not place undue importance on forward-looking information and should not rely upon this information as of any other date. While USCM may elect to, it does not undertake to update this information at any particular time except as required in accordance with applicable laws.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/182961
From left: Owen Wilson as Mobius and Tom Hiddleston as Loki in Season 2 of "Loki." The fate of the Time Variance Authority hangs in the balance and these two might just be its saviors. (Gareth Gatrell/Gareth Gatrell)

Just two years and three months after Loki first premiered on Disney+  a mere 27 months!  the Marvel series is back for a second season. If youre detecting sarcasm, theres the irony that a show about time has really stretched the boundaries of a reasonable gap between seasons.

Those more dedicated to the Marvel Cinematic Universe might not see it that way, but it feels like a blunder. The first season built so much momentum, with Tom Hiddlestons endlessly entertaining Loki, the Norse god of mischief, getting a taste of his own medicine down in the bowels of the Orwellian-sounding Time Variance Authority, before teaming up with Owen Wilsons laconic TVA agent Mobius M. Mobius to  honestly? Dont even recall.

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But the fate of the universe is at stake! And Jonathan Majors Kang, the agent of chaos also known as He Who Remains, is somehow at the root of it all.

Majors, you may recall, is in the midst of some real world problems of his own. Earlier this year, the actor was charged with assaulting and harassing his then-girlfriend, and the court case is ongoing. Hes also been accused of acting violently or abusively in other workplace settings. All of which casts a pall over his appearance here. Even his performance  primarily as one of the characters variants, a nutty professor type named Victor Timely  feels like something pulled from a bag of tricks left over from a Saturday morning cartoon, full of clunky choices and a halting delivery. We dont need him, a character says at one point. Maybe we never did. Its a line that works as commentary on Majors presence, as if the series were all but (unintentionally) acknowledging the obvious.

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From left: Ke Huy Quan, Wunmi Mosaku, Tom Hiddleston and Owen Wilson in Season 2 of "Loki." (Gareth Gatrell/Gareth Gatrell)

The six-episode season picks up where the story left off, with Loki running for his life through the halls of the TVA where hes pursued by Mobius, who doesnt seem to recognize the guy. Thats because Loki is time-slipping and were in the past, before he and Mobius became acquainted.

Finally, Loki gets Mobius to call off the dogs and listen. A war is coming, he warns. And it all comes down to He Who Remains.

Mobius: Is that what youre calling him or is that his name?

Loki: Thats how I was introduced.

Mobius: Pretty arrogant. Its like calling yourself Last Man Standing.

Wilson underplays everything, regardless of the project, and it works here to give the series some ballast. I especially like a quieter moment between the pair, sitting down for a slice of Key lime pie and considering their options. What show couldnt stand to pause things for a bit of pie?

Oscar winner Ke Huy Quan (Everything Everywhere All At Once) joins the cast as Ouroboros, nicknamed OB, who is the TVA equivalent of the I.T. department. Theres a clever bit where he, Loki and Mobius play around with ways  mid-time slippage  to resolve Lokis problem.

But they ultimately have bigger issues at hand, namely a battle for the soul of the TVA, which is on the verge of collapse. Entire timelines will vanish and people will die (a proposition more abstract than meaningful, despite many heartfelt speeches to the contrary) and there are considerable worries about the temporal loom, whatever that is. If you suddenly feel like youre failing a physics class, welcome to the club. But Quans a terrific addition to the cast, frantically running around the TVA shouting jargon and attempting to rig a fix. You half expect him to borrow a line from another franchise altogether: Im giving her all shes got, captain!

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Its probably best to approach Loki as pure action-adventure, never mind the story. (Spoiler: There is no story.) Its a series of set pieces, some better than others. When Loki and Mobius go to a movie premiere, the sight of Hiddleston looking dapper in a tux offers a flicker of the James Bond that he might have been.

They travel through different time branches (sparingly) and we get just the tiniest taste of them (Mobius really) noodling around during a sojourn to the Columbian Exposition in Chicago to gather up Victor Timely and bring him back to the TVA so that his aura can be scanned in order to get the blast doors open. Bravo to the ensemble for saying these lines with a straight face.

From left: Tom Hiddleston, Ke Huy Quan and Owen Wilson in Season 2 of "Loki." (Gareth Gatrell/Gareth Gatrell)

If theres a thematic thread to Loki I wish writer Eric Martin had pursued with some vigor, its this: The TVAs workers have all been kidnapped from their respective time branches, their memories wiped to better function as drones. Buried in there is maybe a critique of the heavy hand of capitalism, but the show moves on from it, lickety split. Nothing to see here, folks!

The retro-futuristic production design (from Kasra Farahani) is the shows calling card, with bulky computers, rotary phones, reel-to-reel machines and pneumatic tubes. Theres even an Automat at the TVA. Love that detail. Costume designer Christine Wada has dressed the TVAs office workers in a shirt-and-tie combo that features an endless collar that subtly extends on both sides to blend into the shoulder. Its a fascinating garment!

If emo Loki is a bit of a drag  Stop trying to be a hero, someone tells him, youre a villain. Youre good at it. Do that  Hiddleston gives the whole thing the patina of class. Even so, hes not given much character motivation. Loki apparently has feelings about the fate those many unseen people who exist on all those different time branches. Visually, those branches are represented on a large screen in the control center, looking like a diagram of veins and arteries.

Too bad theres no heart.

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Loki  2.5 stars (out of 4)

Where to watch: Disney+

Nina Metz is a Tribune critic

nmetz@chicagotribune.com
Long-established in the Telecommunication Services industry, VEON Ltd (NASDAQ:VEON) has enjoyed a stellar reputation. It has recently witnessed a daily gain of 5.59%, juxtaposed with a three-month change of 1.14%. However, fresh insights from the GF Score hint at potential headwinds. Notably, its diminished rankings in financial strength, growth, and valuation suggest that the company might not live up to its historical performance. Join us as we dive deep into these pivotal metrics to unravel the evolving narrative of VEON Ltd.

VEON Ltd (VEON): A Deep Dive into Its Performance Potential

Understanding the GF Score

The GF Score is a stock performance ranking system developed by GuruFocus using five aspects of valuation, which has been found to be closely correlated to the long-term performances of stocks by backtesting from 2006 to 2021. The stocks with a higher GF Score generally generate higher returns than those with a lower GF Score. Therefore, when picking stocks, investors should invest in companies with high GF Scores. The GF Score ranges from 0 to 100, with 100 as the highest rank.

Based on the above method, GuruFocus assigned VEON Ltd the GF Score of 64 out of 100, which signals poor future outperformance potential.

VEON Ltd: A Snapshot of Its Business

VEON Ltd is a global provider of connectivity and internet services. The company provides more than 210 million customers with voice, fixed broadband, data and digital services. Currently, the company offers services to customers in 10 countries: Russia, Pakistan, Algeria, Uzbekistan, Ukraine, Bangladesh, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Armenia and Georgia. The reportable segments currently consist of the following five segments: Pakistan, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Bangladesh and Uzbekistan. The company provides services under the Beeline, Kyivstar, banglalink, Jazz and Djezzy brands. The maximum revenue derives from Russia.

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VEON Ltd (VEON): A Deep Dive into Its Performance Potential

Financial Strength Breakdown

VEON Ltd's financial strength indicators present some concerning insights about the company's balance sheet health. VEON Ltd has an interest coverage ratio of 3.45, which positions it worse than 63.79% of 301 companies in the Telecommunication Services industry. This ratio highlights potential challenges the company might face when handling its interest expenses on outstanding debt. It's worth noting that the esteemed investor Benjamin Graham typically favored companies with an interest coverage ratio of at least five.

The company's Altman Z-Scoreis just 0.24, which is below the distress zone of 1.81. This suggests that the company may face financial distress over the next few years.

Additionally, the company's low cash-to-debt ratio at 0.46 indicates a struggle in handling existing debt levels.

The company's debt-to-equity ratio is 7.24, which is worse than 96.5% of 343 companies in the Telecommunication Services industry. A high debt-to-equity ratio suggests over-reliance on borrowing and vulnerability to market fluctuations.

Additionally, the company's debt-to-Ebitda ratio is 5.8, which is above Joel Tillinghast's warning level of 4 and is worse than 84.54% of 317 companies in the Telecommunication Services industry. Tillinghast said in his book Big Money Think's Small: Biases, Blind Spots, and Smarter Investing that a high debt-to-Ebitda ratio can be a red flag unless tangible assets cover the debt.

Profitability Breakdown

VEON Ltd's low Profitability rank can also raise warning signals.

Growth Prospects

A lack of significant growth is another area where VEON Ltd seems to falter, as evidenced by the company's low Growth rank.

The company's revenue has declined by -21.5 per year over the past three years, which underperforms worse than 94.1% of 373 companies in the Telecommunication Services industry. Stagnating revenues may pose concerns in a fast-evolving market.

Over the past five years, VEON Ltd has witnessed a decline in its earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA). The three-year growth rate is recorded at -16.5, while the five-year growth rate is at -11.4. These figures underscore potential challenges in the company's profitability.

Lastly, VEON Ltd predictability rank is just one star out of five, adding to investor uncertainty regarding revenue and earnings consistency.

VEON Ltd (VEON): A Deep Dive into Its Performance Potential

Conclusion

Given the company's financial strength, profitability, and growth metrics, the GF Score highlights the firm's unparalleled position for potential underperformance. While VEON Ltd has a history of strong performance, these indicators suggest that the company may face significant challenges in the future. Investors should consider these factors when making investment decisions.

GuruFocus Premium members can find more companies with strong GF Scores using the following screener link: GF Score Screen

This article first appeared on GuruFocus.


If you could live anywhere, where would it be?

If you want to rub elbows with some of the most successful people in the United States, Wyoming could be a good choice. Known as the Equality State because it was the first to give women the right to vote, Wyoming is home 3.47 billionaires per 1 million people. They have an average worth of $23.5 billion, according to research conducted by The Digital Project Manager.

Mars Inc. heir John Mars and Christy Walton, who married into the family that founded Walmart, both are from Wyoming.

Because of its sparse population, Wyoming has the highest concentration of billionaires, but if you're looking for the state with the most billionaires within its borders, head farther west to California. The state boasts 21 billionaires among its ranks.

New York has 14 billionaires from the top 100 richest Americans. It's home to wealthy people like Michael Bloomberg, who cofounded the financial information and media company Bloomberg LP and has a net worth of $96.3 billion.

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"The U.S. is home to some of the world's wealthiest and most successful people, so it's fascinating to see which states billionaires are making residence in," said Nuala Turner, editor of The Digital Project Manager. "It's interesting to note that despite Wyoming having the lowest population out of all the states, it comes out on top for homing some of the most successful people in the U.S."

Top 10 States Producing The Most Billionaires





State Population Number of billionaires from America's top 100 Billionaires per million people Average worth Wyoming 576,861 2 3.47 $23.5 billion Hawaii 1.5 million 3 2.06 $39.8 billion Nevada 3.1 million 4 1.29 $13 billion Oklahoma 4 million 3 0.76 $16.3 billion New Hampshire 1.4 million 1 0.73 $7.6 billion New York 2 million 14 0.69 $21.9 billion Arkansas 3 million 2 0.66 $57.3 billion Connecticut 3.6 million 2 0.55 $18.3 billion California 4 million 21 0.53 $21.9 billion Washington 7.7 million 4 0.52 $94.4 billion

Source: The Digital Project Manager

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Among the notable names and where they live is Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison, who has a net worth of $145.2 billion and resides in Hawaii; PeopleSoft and Workday Co-Founder David Duffield who lives in Nevada; oil company Continental Resources founder Harold Hamm, who calls Oklahoma home; and Rick Cohen, owner and executive chairman of C&S Wholesale Grocers, one of America's largest grocery wholesalers.

Arkansas counts billionaires Rob and Jim Walton, oldest and youngest sons of Walmart founder Sam Walton, among its residents, and Connecticut is home to hedge fund managers Ray Dalio and Steve Cohen.

The states with the fewest billionaire residents are Michigan, New Jersey and Tennessee.

"Although becoming a billionaire might seem like an unreachable goal, it can become a reality for some people," Turner said. "Great ways to improve your own success include having a long-term plan, taking calculated risks, focus, discipline and routine to enhance your likelihood of financial success."

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This article Where The 1% Roam: Unveiling The Swanky Stomping Grounds Of The Super Rich originally appeared on Benzinga.com

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 2023 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.
FALL RIVER  When Jeanine Plumer read the news that U.S. Ghost Adventures, the owners of the Lizzie Borden House, were claiming trademark infringement against neighboring cafe Miss Lizzies Coffee, she had to laugh at the irony.

U.S. Ghost Adventures, she said, has done that to all of us.

Plumer founded and owns Austin Ghost Tours, a company that has guided tourists through the spookier side of Austin, Texas, since 1996.

She is also in contact with many locally owned ghost tour operators who have grievances against U.S. Ghost Adventures and its owner, Lance Zaal. She and others allege that the company, which advertises ghost tours in 79 locations nationwide including Fall River, has moved into their cities, used similar names to existing businesses, infringed on trademarks, taken ideas from their businesses, and created confusion for customers by making it seem as if theyre connected  the same kind of accusations U.S. Ghost Adventures has made against Miss Lizzies Coffee.

Miss Lizzie's Coffee Shop recently opened at 242 Second St. in Fall River.

If thats not the pot calling the kettle black, I dont know what is," said Jarrod Riddle, a historian and owner of Spirit of Arizona Tours in Phoenix, who said he thinks U.S. Ghost Adventures guides may have copied stories from his tour. Theres no doubt about it that this guy is not original, between where he opens up a tour, what he calls a tour  this guy is not original.

Zaal did not respond to multiple attempts to contact him for this story via phone, text, and email.

Did Lizzie Borden use an alias? 5 facts you never knew about Fall River's infamous murders

Orlando: Causing customer confusion in the ghost tour business

Ting Rappa is the owner of American Ghost Adventures in Florida, a corporation she registered in 2010. Since then, the year-round business leads guests on tours of downtown Orlando and other communities in search of spirits  literally, in the case of her haunted pub crawls.

She said she met with Zaal in 2016 in Williamsburg, Virginia, where he lived and a business he founded, Innovation Works LLC, is headquartered.

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He proposed to me at that time the start of what he has now," Rappa said. He said he was looking to do some big things throughout the nation, and I think that Orlando would be a fantastic market.

Lance Zaal, the owner of Lizzie Borden House, is seen in the parlor room where Andrew Borden was slain with an axe in 1892, shortly after purchasing the property in 2021.

Rappa said that Zaal wanted to join her in American Ghost Adventures. According to a July 8, 2016, email sent by Zaal to Rappa provided to The Herald News, Zaal said he would like to become a partner with you.

I'm not very familiar with ghost hunts, and I don't want to mess with what you have going on there, but I do believe I can do some great things with you in Orlando, he wrote at the time.

Rappa said she asked Zaal whether a partnership meant she would have a piece of his businesses  she said he told her no, that he just wanted to be a partner in her tour business.

I said, 'That doesnt work for me. Im doing well on my own,' she said.

A tour of the Lizzie Borden House: Here's why Fall River's infamous legend will never die

According to incorporation records, a few months after their meeting, Zaal got into the ghost tour business in Williamsburg, founding Colonial Ghosts LLC in October 2016.

He liked the name American Ghost Adventures so much. The next thing I know, he names his company U.S. Ghost Adventures," Rappa said. U.S. Ghost Adventures was incorporated in 2020. "Not U.S. Ghost Tours, not U.S. something else, but mimicking mine almost 100 percent.

U.S. Ghost Adventures currently offers tours of downtown Orlando and pub crawls. The two companies tours start about a half-mile apart.

It causes confusion down here," Rappa said, adding that even Floridas state department itself confused the two companies, sending her paperwork intended for USGA. Thats how easily mistaken it is. Its so close.

Lance Zaal stands outside the Lizzie Borden House on Second Street in 2021 after closing a deal to buy the landmark museum.

'He mimics our name intentionally,' Austin Ghost Tours operator claims

Plumers company, Austin Ghost Tours, has filed paperwork with the state of Texas to do business as both "Austin Ghosts" and "Austin Ghost."

The first Google search result for Austin ghost tours is austinghosts.com  a website for U.S. Ghost Adventures. They also operate tours there under the name Austin Ghosts.

Plumer's company is at austinghosttours.com. This has caused considerable customer confusion, she said.

They meet where we meet. Go to the same locations that we go to," Plumer said. He mimics our name intentionally to confuse customers.

Movies, TV, books and more: 11 ways pop culture took a whack at the legend of Fall River's Lizzie Borden

An image from the website for Austin Ghost Tours, which is locally owned, takes a dig at national ghost tour chains.

U.S. Ghost Adventures and Austin Ghost Tours meet two blocks apart. One of the stops on the U.S. Ghost Adventures tour is the spot where Austin Ghost Tours meets.

In many cities where USGA operates, but not all, USGA uses similar names to tours that existed before it moved in. Providence Ghost Tours is locally owned since 2007; USGA owns Ghosts of Providence. Then theres Ghosts of Newport, locally owned since 2002, versus Newport Ghosts, USGA-owned. The owners of both local companies said they knew of the rival company, but had little or no contact with it.

Across the country, a representative from Haunted San Diego Ghost Tours, who declined to be named for this story, said USGAs San Diego Ghosts has made things difficult for the company and confusing for customers.

We've had instances of their customers showing up at our meeting locations, mistaking us for them, and vice versa, the representative said. Their lack of clear communication has resulted in misplaced calls from their customers seeking directions because they have no phone number on their site and the customer did not know what else to do.

Owner Olivia Pereira serves a customer at the new Miss Lizzie's Coffee Shop in Fall River.

Baltimore: 'He did to us exactly what hes accusing these other people of doing'

In the dispute over the Lizzie Borden service mark, The Herald News received a press release on Sept. 7 claiming that both Zaal and Miss Lizzies Coffee owner Joseph Pereira have cordially resolved the use of the of the Lizzie Borden name. The owner of Miss Lizzies coffee shop has agreed to change the name.

When a Herald News reporter contacted Pereira that day to verify the information, Pereira said he hadn't heard of any such agreement, was unaware of this press release, and hadn't agreed to change his coffee shops name. Pereira also said that Zaal was in the room with him, having traveled to Fall River to meet with him.

When the reporter asked to speak with Zaal about the press release, Pereira said Zaal declined to come to the phone.

A spokesperson for Interdependence Public Relations verified that Zaals company sent the press release.

'The ghosts are not happy': 2 Fall River businesses clash over use of Lizzie Borden name

Baltimore Ghost Tours, left, is a locally owned company. Baltimore Ghosts, right, is owned by U.S. Ghost Adventures. The owners of Baltimore Ghost Tours say the national chain has infringed upon their service-marked name.

But while Zaal has sought both informal deals and legal recourse from Miss Lizzies Coffee, one business owner who says she has been harmed by USGA has also tried both with no luck.

Melissa Rowell has been in business since 2007 as Baltimore Ghost Tours, with the website baltimoreghosttours.com. When USGA moved in a few years ago, it took the name Baltimore Ghosts with the website tourbaltimoreghosts.com.

Once we got wind that they were using our name, which is service-marked, we sent [Zaal] a letter through our lawyer that said, Hey, can you please change that to something a bit different? Rowell said.

Rowell provided legal documents from June 2021 from her attorney to Zaal, asking USGA to stop using their service-marked name and use another.

Our understanding is that in at least four other cities, you have recently started a business of providing historical haunted tours in that city, and have chosen for your name the same name of an already-established business in that city, Rowells attorneys wrote. It is clear that your business plan is to ride the coattails of an established business, confuse consumers into contacting you for a tour  and provide your own service.

Zaals lawyers responded by asserting that the companys service mark was merely generic. They declined to change the companys name, and added: My client strongly denies it is engaged in any predatory behavior.

Rowell said she can't do much else. The only reason we havent filed an infringement suit is that we cant afford it right now, Rowell said.

Both tours begin across the street from one another.

A Google search for Baltimore Ghost Tours also reveals that the Google Business listing  a tab on the right side of the search page including hours, website and reviews  has information from both companies merged. She said she has no control over this Google Business listing and suspects USGA does. She alleges that USGA has been replying to positive reviews from her customers and deleting her own replies.

Rowell  and many other tour operators contacted  said she has no problem with business competition. Thats fine. Just dont try to confuse people and deceive them, and make them think that your company is ours thats been around for 20 years. Thats all.

"He did to us exactly what hes accusing these other people of doing, which is using their trademark," Rowell said. Its very ironic, and its absolutely infuriating.

The Lizzie Borden House on Second Street in Fall River operates as a bed and breakfast, with house tours and ghost tours.

Salem tour operator: 'Nobody owns the history'

In a business where the product is supernatural folklore, it can be difficult to tell where stories originated.

Jarrod Riddle, of Spirit of Phoenix, said hes a historian whose tours are more based in true crime than the supernatural. He started his business in 2019, with USGA opening up in town a year or so later. He said hes done deep dives into dark chapters of local history that you would never find on a map."

And all of a sudden, thats two of [USGAs] stops, Riddle said.

Riddle said he has not taken a USGA tour to double-check if his stories are being used by the rival company. But he said he has seen tours at locations in downtown Phoenix that his tour uses, but which have no previously documented ghost hauntings or supernatural activity.

He said he gets along well with other tour operators, but is irritated by USGA.

Maybe Im taking it a little personally because Im a historian, but I just dont like someone coming into my city, trying to tell my citys story, and theyre not even from here," he said.

Giovanni Alabiso of the Haunted Footsteps Ghost Tour in Salem  the Witch City, where every autumn multiple ghost tours can be found sharing the same narrow streets  said the theft of intellectual property by rivals sometimes happens, and is difficult to prove.

Thats kind of everybody, though  that's not unique to [USGA], Alabiso said.

"The history is the history. Nobody owns the history, he said. But when they start telling personal stories that youre telling  when other companies start doing that, we start taking a little notice.

Alabiso said he and his guides have not had direct dealings with Zaals company, except to say several rival tour companies get along and have tried to start a tour association, but USGA had no interest in joining.

They dont want to be part of the community. They just want the almighty dollar.

Alabiso added: Im very happy that somebody opened up [Miss] Lizzies [Coffee], giving him a taste of his own medicine.

Dan Medeiros can be reached at dmedeiros@heraldnews.com. Support local journalism by purchasing a digital or print subscription to The Herald News today.

This article originally appeared on The Herald News: Lizzie Borden House owner trademark violation claim: Ghost tours react
WK Kellogg Co (KLG) is determined to take Frosted Flakes into the future.

On Monday, the company behind cereal brands such as Froot Loops, Mini-Wheats, and Rice Krispies split from Kellogg's snacking business  now known as Kellanova (K)  which makes Cheez-It crackers and Pop-Tarts among other treats.

The focus of the newly spun-off WK Kellogg Co will be on building up its cereal business after it had been deprioritized for years, according to CEO Gary Pilnick.

"Over the years, cereal has gotten investment, but it was more about maintaining the business not modernizing it," Pilnick told Yahoo Finance over the phone. "Now, everything we're going to be doing is in service of cereal. We're going to do things very, very differently, and we're confident we'll be able to drive substantial growth as we do it."

Nathaniel Donaker, 4, eats Kellogg's Frosted Flakes cereal at his home in Palo Alto, Calif., Thursday, April 28, 2011. (Paul Sakuma/AP Photo) (ASSOCIATED PRESS)

Kellogg searches for a new direction

The spin-off comes at a crossroads for the cereal industry, which is worth nearly $22 billion.

The cereal craze that took off during the pandemic has dwindled as consumers have started to push back on higher prices. While revenue has risen in recent years, volumes have stayed roughly flat, according to data from Statista.

Kellogg's Frosted Flakes trails behind General Mills' (GIS) Cheerios for the top spot in North American cereal brands, according to Zippia. There's still room for Kellogg to take market share, but the company faces competition from a few companies that, along with WK Kellogg, dominate the space: General Mills, Post (POST), and PepsiCo-owned (PEP) Quaker Oats.

But that hasn't deterred WK Kellogg. The CEO emphasized that the independent company is "now a 117-year-old startup" that can balance its legacy as well as future growth.

Founded in 1906 by William Keith Kellogg, whom the company is named after, the business got its start by selling toasted cornflakes that changed how people have eaten breakfast ever since.

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Kellogg was "the original entrepreneur," Pilnick said, pointing to the company's history of innovation. Kellogg was the first to market breakfast cereals by putting prizes inside cereal boxes, and his well-known signature is found on Kellogg's products and the WK Kellogg Co logo today.

Kellogg founder W.K. Kellogg holds the bridles of twin Arabian colts near Pomona, California, on Feb. 4, 1940. (Getty Images) (Bettmann via Getty Images)

While WK Kellogg Co's branding pays homage to the history, there are opportunities to modernize the business to fit the wants of today's consumers. And the company is looking at two time horizons to achieve that.

Kellogg plans to optimize its cereal business by moving five businesses under one umbrella in order to streamline operations. The businesses  tied to US retail, Canada, the Caribbean, food away from home, and Kashi and Bear Naked  previously operated separately.

"Think about just the power of one business, harmonizing different things that are different across that business but also scaling up big ideas," Pilnick added. "That was almost impossible before."

In the first three years, the company also aims to improve efficiency by investing $450 million to $500 million to update the company's supply chain and bring a "meaningful amount of profit and cash" for stakeholders.

"We can take a business that we believe will have a 9% EBITDA margin at the end of 2023 and drive it an additional 500 basis points over the next three years," he said.

That said, the company also continues to move past a nearly three-month-long strike among its factory workers in 2021 and a plant fire that same year at its Memphis location. Its five-year contract with union members is set to expire in 2026.

A person walks by a display of Kellogg's cereals, owned by Kellogg Company, in a store in Queens, New York City, Feb. 7, 2022. (Andrew Kelly/REUTERS) (Andrew Kelly / reuters)

Following that, the company plans to look "beyond cereal," Pilnick said, with potential mergers and acquisitions on the table. "We believe we'll be able to find M&A targets where we would be the natural parent," Pilnick added.

But Wall Street isn't yet sold on that strategy.

Morningstar analyst Erin Lash wrote that the business shouldn't be so quick to jump into other categories considering its stated need to focus on cereal.

"The firms aims to buoy its lackluster growth prospects through strategic tie-ups outside cereal in the medium to long term strikes us as perplexing, given this action runs counter to the stated benefits (enhanced focus on cereal) of the split with Kelloggs global snacking business (now named Kellanova)," Lash wrote in a note to clients. "We think such a move could prove value destructive if it extends the firm beyond its core competencies."

Since the spin-off was completed on Monday, WK Kellogg Co stock is down over 23% while Kellanova has fallen 3.5%. Just four analysts have initiated coverage of WK Kellogg so far.

Goldman Sachs initiated coverage with a Sell rating, citing potential hurdles in the near term.

"We see near-term margin expansion potential on favorable input costs," the analysts wrote. "We believe productivity programs are likely to be back-end weighted in FY26 and partially predicated on a manufacturing network rationalization that is currently impeded by the plant closure moratorium that it entered into with its unions in late 2021; this expires in 2026 when the contract is once again subject to renewal."

As for the market's reception so far, Pilnick is looking the other way.

"We don't run our business day to day watching the stock market," Pilnick said. "There's a unique opportunity here."



Brooke DiPalma is a reporter for Yahoo Finance. Follow her on Twitter at @BrookeDiPalma or email her at bdipalma@yahoofinance.com.

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(Bloomberg) -- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy met with European leaders to press for continued support against Russias invasion, amid concerns about the continued flow of US aid.

Most Read from Bloomberg

Zelenskiy kept fellow-leaders guessing about whether he would attend until the eve of a summit in Granada, Spain, because he sought concrete results from a trip, according to people familiar with his thinking. It was not clear to him whether allies were ready to deliver on concrete pledges, added the people who asked not to be named on a confidential issue.

Of course its a difficult election period for the United States, different voices, some of the voices are very strange, Zelenksiy told reporters on his arrival for the meeting of nearly 50 European leaders. Well speak about this today.

The US has stripped out funding for Ukraine in a short-term spending bill to avoid a government shutdown, at a critical stage for Kyivs counter-offensive. European backing for Ukraine faces a new challenge after Robert Fico, a candidate sympathetic to Russia, won Slovakias election Saturday.

US officials are doing their best to reassure allies that its support remains firm popular among most US voters.

American leadership is here to stay. Weve seen the United States take the important leadership role ever since Russia went into Ukraine, US ambassador to NATO Julianne Smith said in an interview on Bloomberg TV. This is an incredibly smart investment for the United States. By and large, I think most Americans fundamentally understand that.

Even so, there is a growing apprehension in Ukraines political circles that the infighting in Washington may disrupt the steady stream of economic aid.

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The longer the war lasts, the less readiness there will be to help Ukraine, Slovenian Prime Minister Robert Golob told reporters before the European Political Community summit. Thats why everyone is waiting for what the outcome will be before the winter. Time is running out.

Ahead of the gathering, Zelenskiy spoke to Ursula von der Leyen, the head of the European Commission, to discuss the meeting and restrictions on Ukrainian agriculture exports by some EU members, the people said.

Ukraine needs predictability, reliability in the direct budget support, von der Leyen said. Im very confident of support for Ukraine from the United States, what the United States is working on is the timing.

European Council President Charles Michel told Bloomberg Televisions Maria Tadeo that Biden reassured other leaders about the strength of the US commitment to Ukraine.

Its very important that on both sides of the Atlantic, together with other partners across the world, that we dont lose the spirit of solidarity, Michel said. Because whats stake is the multilateral order and whats at stake is our security in the future.

Kyiv has seen cracks in relations with Poland, its strongest supporter, over Warsaws unilateral ban on Ukrainian grain imports. Ukraine submitted a complaint to the World Trade Organization over the ban, while the government in Warsaw said it will no longer send military aid to Kyiv before walking back some of the remarks. Farmers are an important constituency for Polands ruling party, which is facing a tightly-contested parliamentary election on Oct. 15.

Challenges are piling up for Ukraine as winter nears. Its counteroffensive slowed over the past weeks, with soldiers fighting against deeply entrenched Russian forces with heavy casualties. The steady stream of refugees isnt helping the economy either as the central bank is burning through cash in order to prop up the freshly unpegged national currency.

The country is also preparing for renewed Russian attacks against its energy infrastructure once colder weather sets in. Meanwhile, cases of corruption in Ukraine are fueling concern among Kyivs allies.

Zelenskiy told Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni in Granada that his recent visit to Washington went well, and that it was important to keep the European Union united, in an exchange that was heard by reporters. EU leaders will hold a summit in Granada on Friday.

Ukraines key task is to strengthen air defense ahead of winter and discuss the freedom of navigation on the Black Sea as his country seeks to resume grain exports damaged by Russias naval blockade, Zelenskiy said on Telegram earlier.

Ukraine may run out of money to purchase weapons from US stockpiles within the next month and a half if the US doesnt approve a new defense package, Oleksandra Ustinova, the head of a parliamentary commission tracking foreign weapons supply and usage, said on local TV.

--With assistance from Richard Bravo, Kevin Whitelaw, Piotr Skolimowski, Milda Seputyte, Jan Bratanic and Natalia Drozdiak.

(Updates with quotes from US ambassador starting in fifth paragraph)

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Farmers and ranchers interested in preventing erosion, improving soil health, conserving water and wildlife, or making other natural resource conservation improvements to their property are encouraged to apply now for funding available from the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS). Those interested in receiving funding this year should sign up before Nov. 17, 2023.

NRCS accepts conservation program applications on a continuous basis but sets application cutoff dates as funding allows. According to NRCS Nebraska State Conservationist Rob Lawson, there are several options still available to producers for this year.

NRCS has a whole suite of conservation programs available to Nebraskas farmers and ranchers looking for assistance in improving and protecting the natural resources on their ag land. These programs provide funding on cropland and rangeland, as well as for establishing or enhancing wildlife habitat and wetlands. NRCS staff can help landowners and operators identify their options that best suit their operations needs, Lawson said.

Nebraska's two most popular conservation programs are the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) and the Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP). These programs provide financial incentives to landowners to install conservation practices that protect natural resources, resulting in cleaner air and water, healthy soil, and more wildlife habitat.

For applications to be considered eligible for IRA funding, applications need to include one or more core practices listed on the FY23 Climate-Smart Ag and Forestry (CSAF) Mitigation Activities List. Individuals interested in applying for these conservation programs may do so at any time, but applications need to be submitted by Nov. 17 to be considered for this years funding.

For more information about conservation programs and other assistance available, contact your local NRCS field office or visit nrcs.usda.gov/NE.
Anthony Deon Brown was a kid when people suggested he should become an artist when he grew up.

In middle school, he drew cartoon characters in other students notebooks. Brown was about 15 when hed come to downtown Fremont at night and notice blank walls on store buildings.

I want to paint these walls, hed think to himself. They need some energy. I want to fill them with color.

And he eventually did. Brown was in his early 20s when he painted the colorful mural of cartoon characters and a deer on the side of a building at Sixth Street and Park Avenue.

Besides this and other murals, Brown has painted murals in homes and commissioned paintings for families.

Now, a collection of Browns paintings is on display in the Dugan Gallery in the Fremont Area Art Association building at 92 W. Sixth St. In addition, photos from the Omaha Camera Club are on exhibit in the FAAA buildings Barbara Tellatin Gallery.

The public is invited to an artists reception for the shows from 5 to 7 p.m. Friday, Oct. 6 in the downtown gallery.

Browns exhibit features 19 acrylic paintings on canvas in a display hes titled, The Stoic. Painted in a realistic and highly detailed style, the artworks include some paintings of the Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius and others of colorful birds.

Looking back, Brown recalls how his journey as a professional artist began.

Brown was about 17 years old when he had a job delivering pizzas. Thats when a coworker asked him to paint a picture of a house  where her mother lived as a little girl  before the structure was torn down.

So he did.

The coworkers mom cried when she saw the picture and Brown was paid for his work. He then began the journey of finding ways to have his work become known.

He went to Benson, where hed heard about a community of people, who had group art shows. He took two paintings to a show. One painting featured a dove. The other was a small, graffiti piece.

Before the show started, a woman told Brown she loved his work and bought the dove painting.

Ive had great experience after great experience, selling artwork and making people happy and making work specifically for them, commissioned pieces  so much so that Ive continued until now its my career, he said.

Brown was living in downtown Fremont when hed visit businesses and chat. He talked with businesswoman Sandra Murray about creating commissioned pieces she could sell in her store, Fia and Belle. Brown said Murray got the idea for promoting his work, while providing a better way for people to see her business.

She suggested doing a mural and I came up with an idea, he said.

Brown painted that mural, which features a deer with pearls on its antlers and cartoon characters, including Betty Boop, Olive Oyl and Jessica Rabbit.

He later painted other murals on buildings in an alleyway, a block west of Main Street downtown. He began creating commissioned paintings for families.

Some of Browns paintings in the new FAAA exhibit feature birds.

When I was a kid, I was afraid of birds and it made me watch them, study them, be aware of them a lot, Brown said.

One day, he decided to start sketching and later painting pictures of them. He became intrigued by the technique of painting anything with fur or feathers. His realistic-style paintings include intricate details of feathers.

In one painting, a bird is perched on the silhouette of a bomb. Flowers spring from the birds breast and the bomb silhouette features depictions of flowers and sea life. Brown said the painting depicts an understanding that a person can have inner peace amid looming destruction. The silhouette also includes the picture of little bomb  a happy reminder of when hed watch his sister play a Bomberman video game.

Other paintings show birds with fruit or a colorful bird that appears to be part butterfly.

The Dugan Gallerys west wall features Browns paintings of Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius, a stoic philosopher.

Brown said the paintings can show how artists can become obsessed with an idea like stoicism and integrate that into their work. He noted an aspect of stoicism, which is to be a good human, only fearing the unfulfillment of ones potential.

Im just understanding my role as a creative (person) and the responsibility that I have  being as free as I am and blessed and allowed to live this life  what type of man I need to be, a better man, a more understanding person, he said.

Brown said he hopes viewers will appreciate the level of detail and symbolism in his paintings and find their own interpretation and appreciation for each piece.

The Omaha Camera Club exhibit features works by 12 photographers, said member Nikki McDonald of Papillion. The 36 images displayed include landscapes, architecture, wildlife, travel scenes and flowers.

McDonald said some photos are printed on canvas or metal. Others have been traditionally printed and matted and framed. Calendars, note cards and unframed, matted prints are available for purchase.

Club members range in age. Many are retired. Some are still working.

We have people who take most of their pictures with cell phones, McDonald said. We have people who have the most elaborate and sophisticated equipment you could imagine. Were all more in it for pleasure and enjoyment and a hobby and an avocation than professionally.

McDonalds photographic journey began years ago, when she formerly taught French at Duchesne Academy in Omaha. Every other summer, shed take a group of students to France, hauling along a camera and 10 to 12 rolls of film to get photos of them. She retired in 2011.

I didnt start taking photos for pleasure, personally, until digital cameras were introduced, she said. Once, I didnt have to worry about film and developing and the expense of it, I could start taking photos that were for pleasure.

Its something she does enjoy.

Through taking photos, I discovered I had an interest in art, McDonald said. I cant draw, but I think I have a good sense of composition and color and it helped me developed what I like and I enjoy doing it.
A familiar face to Fremont residents across many businesses, community endeavors, military veterans affairs and other activities is saying goodbye to the city after more than 19 years of dedicated community service and involvement.

Rich Oliva, who worked for many years as the director of security for Methodist Fremont Health, accepted a new job in Des Moines, Iowa, and recently began work there. Also a volunteer firefighter and an EMT during his time in Fremont, Oliva found ways to serve in any way he could, he said.

Oliva spoke with the Tribune on Wednesday, expressing his deep love of Fremont and how he will miss a city and community which he said is, great and that has a bright future ahead of it.

It is sad. I feel (Fremont) is a community large enough to offer you the things of the bigger city, but yet I have minimal concerns of my grandsons safety at the age of 10 riding his bicycle a mile to the YMCA and back home, Oliva said of Fremont. Youve got the opportunities and the support in a small town without the big city concerns as much. Fremont is a great community.

Oliva was most recently a member of the citys Local Option Review Team, but also had two unsuccessful bids for a Ward 4 seat on the Fremont City Council in 2012 and 2016.

Losing those two elections, Oliva explained, was in his opinion a message from God about his future.

The Lord didnt see it in my best interest at the time, evidently. I am a firm believer in, thank God, for prayers and the broken roads songs. There is a lot of truth in that. You dont always know why things work out the way they do in life, Oliva said. But, later, it makes sense.

The seven-year U.S. Navy veteran first relocated to Fremont with his family in 2004, and was deeply involved in many community activities, including working heavily with the Fremont Police Department, the Dodge County Sheriffs Office and the Fremont Public Schools on active shooter training and how to reunite students with family in the event an incident did occur. He also did regular CPR training classes and education.

I did a lot of stuff with Relay for Life, as well as the cancer fundraising poker run with my father. I was one of the first three hired as a (Fremont) paid reserve firefighter when they started that (program). I was a master mason with the Masonic Temple, Oliva noted.

His military background led Oliva to many different charitable efforts and organizations that serve veterans. He was a member of the Fremont Chapter 18 Disabled American Veterans as well as the state Sergeant Master at Arms for the Nebraska Disabled American Veterans. He also served on the board of directors of Javelan, a charity that provides free-of-cost service dogs to first responders and veterans in need.

Oliva resigned from the citys Local Option Review Team at the Sept. 26 meeting of the group, stating in a farewell email that he thanked former Fremont Mayor Scott Getzschman for appointing him to the committee and Mayor Joey Spellerberg for reappointing him to his seat on the committee.

I have really enjoyed the work we have done together. I feel we have made a positive impact for our community with our recommendations to the city council. I have also enjoyed learning all of your different views to the applications we have reviewed over the years, he said.

Oliva left his job at Methodist Fremont Health in November 2022 after his position was eliminated. He said his new job, which he has already started, is as manager of Safety and Security for UnityPoint Health in Des Moines. Oliva is living in Iowa during the week and commuting to his family in Fremont for the next four months before the entire family relocates permanently.

In his resignation notice to the Local Option Review Team, he said his new job entails, Oversight of all four of their hospitals Safety and Security Departments in Des Moines and Grinnell to include Iowa Methodist Medical Trauma Center, Iowa Lutheran Hospital, Methodist West Hospital and Grinnell Regional Medical Center.

It is a great opportunity for me and my family. My family will not be moving for a few months as I get set up and learn the community before buying a new home there. It will be sad leaving behind such a great community as Fremont after being here for 20 years, he wrote.

While in the U.S. Navy, Oliva attended Top Gun School as a trouble shooter/final checker for F-14 fighter jets and was deployed as part of Operation Desert Shield and Operation Desert Storm. He also worked as a paid firefighter, EMT and paramedic since 1992, including service in the Washington, D.C., area.

Olive was a member of the local emergency planning committee for Region 5/6 representing Dodge, Washington and Burt counties. He also served as a member of five committees of the Omaha Metropolitan Medical Response System, which represents 22 hospitals and 19 alternative care sites over seven counties and two states. A native of Geneva, he moved to Fremont in 2004.

Although he will still be around the community until the full relocation of his family, Oliva said he hopes those in Fremont know how grateful he was to be a part of the citys lifeblood for two decades.

Thanks for the opportunity for allowing me to be a part of it, and making an impact on the community. It is a great community, Oliva added. Ive seen a lot of great improvements over the last 20 years. (People) should keep a positive outlook and keep moving forward.
Three people died in a head-on crash in Nebraska's panhandle Tuesday morning, according to authorities.

Julie Sears, a 57-year-old woman from Santa Rosa, California, had been driving a Subaru Outback westbound on Nebraska 2 at around 9:45 a.m. Tuesday when she is thought to have crossed the center line and crashed into a semi truck several miles east of Alliance, according to the Nebraska State Patrol.

Sears  along with her parents, 82-year-old Gary Sears and 79-year-old Joan Sears, both of Hyannis  died at the scene of the crash in Box Butte County, the patrol said in a news release. All three had been riding in the Subaru.

The driver of the semi, 37-year-old Erich Rumple of Spencer, was treated for minor injuries at the scene, the patrol said in a news release.

The State Patrol's investigation into the crash is still ongoing.

Photos: Nebraska Athletic Director Trev Alberts talks about Memorial Stadium renovations
Migrants heading north line up to take a boat, in Bajo Chiquito, Darien province, Panama, Thursday, Oct. 5, 2023, after walking across the Darien Gap from Colombia. (Arnulfo Franco/AP)

WASHINGTON  The Biden administration is going to resume deporting migrants to Venezuela, two U.S. officials told The Associated Press on Thursday.

The process is expected to begin shortly, the officials said, though they did not provide specific details on when the flights would begin taking off. The officials were not authorized to publicly disclose details of the governments plan ahead of an official announcement and spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity.

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The news comes not long after the administration increased protected status for Venezuelans who arrive to the U.S. It reflects the larger strategy by President Joe Biden to not only provide expanded legal pathways for people arriving, but also to crack down on those who illegally cross into the country from Mexico.

Venezuela plunged into a political, economic and humanitarian crisis over the last decade, pushing at least 7.3 million people to migrate and making food and other necessities unaffordable for those who remain.

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The vast majority who fled settled in neighboring countries in Latin America, but many began coming to the United States in the last three years through the notoriously dangerous Darien Gap, a stretch of jungle in Panama.

Its the latest effort to deal with swelling numbers of migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border as the administration comes under increasing pressure from Republicans and mayors from the presidents own party to do more to slow migrant arrivals.

U.S. leaders were in Mexico this week to talk migration. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with his Mexican counterpart Alicia Barcena, as well as foreign ministers from Panama and Colombia, Wednesday. Talks were scheduled to continue Thursday, including a meeting between U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland and President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador.

Lopez Obrador said Thursday during his daily news briefing that Mexico has reiterated in talks its position that there should be investment to spur development in the countries that migrants leave.

The people dont abandon their towns because they want to, but rather out of necessity, the president said. He also criticized the Biden administrations announcement Wednesday that it waived 26 federal laws in South Texas to allow border wall construction. Lopez Obrador had previously praised Biden for not building more border wall during his presidency.

New York City Mayor Eric Adams, who is also dealing with a large influx of migrants, was traveling through Latin America to learn more about the paths migrants take to the U.S. and to spread a message about the realities of arriving in his city.

He was scheduled to meet with a nun running a migrant shelter in Mexico City Thursday morning before heading to the city of Puebla, source of many of the Mexican migrants who arrive in New York, to meet with migrants and community leaders there.

In a press conference late Wednesday night in Mexico City, Adams said he hoped to manage expectations of migrants setting out on their journeys, and to inform migrants that his city was at capacity after receiving around 120,000 migrants over the past year.

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He echoed a rising number of voices in calling for a larger global response to the increasing number of migrants to the U.S.

Its not sustainable, Adams said at the base of a basilica where people often pray before setting out on their journeys. The message of this not being sustainable cannot stay within the boundaries of New York City.  There is a global migration and it must have an international response.

Blinken and other top American officials are visiting Mexico to discuss shared security issues, foremost among them trafficking of the synthetic opioid fentanyl, but also arms trafficking and increasing migration.

In August, the U.S. Border Patrol made 181,509 arrests at the Mexican border, up 37% from July but little changed from August 2022 and well below the more than 220,000 in December, according to figures released in September.

The U.S. has tried to get Mexico and countries farther south to do more. In April, the U.S., Panama and Colombia announced a campaign to slow migration through the treacherous Darien Gap dividing Colombia and Panama. But migration through the jungle has only accelerated and is expected to approach some 500,000 people this year.

Janetsky contributed from Mexico City. Associated writer Fabiola Sanchez in Mexico City contributed to this report.
A Lewis-Palmer High School teacher raked in a $50,000 award Tuesday along with national recognition for his top-notch teaching in the skilled trades. The donation will help fund needed renovations to the schools trade facilities, allowing the program to reach more students.

Andrew Vrieze, an industrial design and construction teacher, is one of 25 people across the country to win the 2023 Harbor Freight Tools for Schools Prize for Teaching Excellence. The annual award dates back to 2017 and drives investment and understanding in skilled trades education at the high school level.

Trades are for all kids, Vrieze said. Trades were often for those who couldn't survive or do well in another class or were not going to college, but part of our success is we've made this program for all students.

During six periods of his day, Vrieze has Advanced Placement students with 4.0 GPAs as well as special-education students who work alongside paraprofessionals. In Vriezes workshop, all are welcome. Thats why he was recognized at a surprise Tuesday morning ceremony by representatives from Harbor Freight Tools.

Those representatives highlighted a portion of Vriezes application that especially stood out from the pack:

My philosophy or goal for all of my classes is to put as many experiences in front of my students as possible, Vriezes application excerpt reads. I love when their eyes get wide, or they get a little nervous when they see or try something for the first time. I love that hands-on learning is ingrained in almost everything that we do. I love the ah ha moments when my students realize what they are doing or how a machine works. I love building confidence in kids to use things that are sometimes scary at first.

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Lewis-Palmer High School will receive a $35,000 cut of the award money toward its skilled trades programs. The well-timed donation comes shortly after new Career Technical Education state standards ruled its current workspace unfit to accommodate more than five welding students at a time, meaning the spring semester program would have been cut by about 75%, Vrieze said.

Now the school can begin renovations or new spaces, perhaps with further help from interested community partners. Vrieze said hes interested in hearing input from local consultants on how the school might use its funds to transform its welding and woodwork workshops into state-of-the-art spaces. He hopes, too, to be able to expand to accommodate students from other nearby high schools, including those outside of the district.

With where we are at in our program, we need the help of this money in renovating some of our space and tools that have been here since the 80s, Vrieze said. Were definitely not at the top of the mountain yet. We still have a lot of work to go.

An outdoors enthusiast who will personally take home a $15,000 portion of the award, Vrieze said hell spend his cut on a camper to travel with his family, noting he doesnt sleep in tents on the ground quite as comfortably as he used to.

Harbor Freight awarded $1.5 million in total this year, with three Colorado teachers being honored. Vrieze is the only one in the Pikes Peak region. Twenty prize winners and five grand-prize winners were selected from more than 1,000 applicants following three rounds of judging by independent panels of experts.

Students here are so lucky to have an outstanding, prize-winning teacher and just honoring the trades because a lot of times people are like, Oh, its kind of a stigma. You should go to college, Scott Springer, an education adviser for Harbor Freight Tools for Schools, said during Tuesdays ceremony. Well, guess what? This is college. This is postsecondary; this is future career training. What you guys are learning, even if you dont go into this as a living, you are going to be better for it in your life.
PENROSE  A Colorado Springs-based funeral home in Penrose is under investigation after an investigation unveiled the improper storage of human remains on the property, according to the Fremont County Sheriffs Office.

Sheriffs office deputies received reports Tuesday of a "suspicious incident" at the Return to Nature Funeral Home off Werner Road in Penrose, 34 miles south of Colorado Springs, according to a Thursday afternoon announcement.

On Wednesday, investigators with the Sheriffs Office executed a search warrant alongside the Fremont County Coroners Office and the Colorado Department of Regulatory Agencies on the property and discovered human remains were improperly stored inside the business.

Several law enforcement agencies were on the scene Thursday as part of the investigation. The front door to the business and an air conditioning unit in the back of the building had been removed in an alleged forced entry by officials as part of the warrant execution.

James Glidewell, who works on the property behind the funeral home, said the business appeared to be vacant until two vehicles showed up in the parking lot in June.

"This place hasn't been a functioning business. The vehicles showed up a few months ago, and I've never seen anyone go in or out," Glidewell said.

Glidewell said he has smelled a foul odor behind the building for at least the past month.

"I'd randomly smell it, but I didn't think anything of it. I thought it was just roadkill or something like that," he said.

"Every time you'd drive by here, you'd smell it.

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According to officials, Fremont County Sheriff's Office and the Coroners Office are continuing the investigation in part with the Colorado Bureau of Investigation, The Department of Regulatory Agencies, the Colorado Department of Public Health and the FBI.

The county health department was part of the initial investigation, but is no longer involved due to the gravity of the situation, a person with the health department said.

Sheriff's officials are asking family of decedents who have used services from the Return to Nature Funeral Home to email 23-1941@fremontso.com detailing a contact number and time to call.

Additionally, individuals carrying potential information in reference to the investigation are being asked to email tips@fremontco.com.

The Return to Nature Funeral Home website was active Thursday morning, but the company's Facebook and X social media accounts appeared to be locked.

When the funeral home opened in 2017, The Gazette published an article about the new business. It has a location in Colorado Springs at 944 Elkton Drive, and had previous locations on East Platte Avenue and Las Animas Street.

Officials said more information will be available following a conference scheduled for Friday at 10 a.m.
Migrants live in tents along the Dan Ryan Expressway near 5100 S. Wentworth Avenue and outside a Chicago police station on Oct. 17, 2023. (Antonio Perez/Chicago Tribune)

Mayor Brandon Johnson announced Wednesday he will visit the southern U.S. border imminently, as city predictions that buses from Texas would spike to new heights were turning true.

In a post-City Council meeting news conference Wednesday afternoon, the mayor said Chicago was now expecting at least 14  and as many as 22  buses that day and delivered a promise: I am going to the border as soon as possible. He did not specify when.

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Earlier in the day, his deputy chief of staff, Cristina Pacione-Zayas, told the Tribune that city officials were making plans to send a delegation to the Texas border for a learning expedition as the number of asylum-seekers sent on chartered buses from southern border cities to Chicago reaches record levels.

Were trying to get out there pretty soon. Its imminent, because we really need to understand the process at the border. What the situation is. See it firsthand, Pacione-Zayas said.

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Immigration rates in border cities are up by the thousands, due to a combination of poverty, violence, immigration policy changes and word-of-mouth from migrants who have arrived in places like Chicago. El Paso Mayor Oscar Leeser said recently his city was at a breaking point and welcomed the buses carrying hundreds of migrants to northern sanctuary cities.

More than 17,000 migrants have arrived in Chicago since the first bus from Texas arrived in August 2022. As of Wednesday, there were over 9,000 migrants in city-run shelters, more than 2,300 sleeping at police stations as they wait for shelter openings and over 700 sleeping on the floor at OHare International Airport.

Pacione-Zayas said its unclear who or how many people would go on the expedition, but the goal of the trip is to speak with government and nonprofit leaders who are at the source of the busing.

City officials were still having internal conversations about the trip, Pacione-Zayas said, and it would likely be in the next few weeks.

I think we need to have some conversations about managing expectations in Chicago, Pacione-Zayas said. People need to also understand how things change radically with our change of seasons.

The mayors deputy chief of staff said she envisioned migrants coming off buses with wet shoes in the middle of December. She said its reckless to send people who have traversed multiple countries on foot  carrying the trauma from their long journey, and many with preexisting medical conditions.

Its a vision volunteers who help migrants say they witness regularly.

They arrive. Theyre starving. They dont have any clothes. The babies have dirty diapers, said Annie Gomberg, a lead volunteer organizer at the Austin District police station on the West Side.

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A week before his scheduled budget address, Johnson nodded to the tremendous sacrifice that Chicagoans were taking on for asylum-seekers. Johnsons budget must outline how the mayor plans to plug a $538 million deficit partially due to the rising migrant costs.

The mayor has not ruled out new revenue to account for the gap.

Johnson also addressed ongoing discord in Black communities, including on the West Side where he lives. During Wednesdays meeting, some Black public speakers interrupted and condemned him on Chicagos migrant response.

I know theres been a tremendous burden particularly on Black Chicago. I am fully aware of that. Yeah, I know where I live, Johnson said. Yeah, I know how many schools have been shut down in Austin. Mental health clinics. Administration after administration has taken away from Black people. Not mine.

He shot down unspecified critics who believed that Black residents feel shortchanged by migrant services.

When individuals say that Black folks want what migrants want, its not true. Its not, Johnson said. Comparing the conditions in which descendants of slaves have had to endure to migrants who are sleeping on floors, I question how much you actually care and love about Black people and understand their condition.

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Meanwhile, U.S. Rep. Jesus Chuy Garcia on Wednesday wrote a letter co-signed by 28 other elected officials in Illinois to President Joe Biden and Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, asking the administration to provide more federal resources to respond to the migrant crisis.

The letter urged the Biden administration to provide humanitarian parole and work permits, a better process of issuing green cards, flexible Federal Emergency Management Agency funding for shelter expenses and legal support services.

Chicago Tribunes Laura Rodriguez Presa contributed.
George Brauchler is the former district attorney for the 18th Judicial District. He also is an Owens Early Criminal Justice Fellow at the Common Sense Institute. He hosts The George Brauchler Show on 710KNUS Monday through Friday from 6 a.m. to 10 a.m. Follow him on Twitter: @GeorgeBrauchler.
Colorado Springs School District 11 is honoring the sacrifice of an alumnus who gave his life for his country more than 80 years ago.

During its Sept. 27 meeting, the districts board of education approved a resolution to designate Oct. 6 as Daniel T. Griffin Day.

Griffin, a 1928 graduate of Colorado Springs High School (now Palmer High School), is recognized as the first Coloradan to die in the Dec. 7, 1941, attack on Pearl Harbor that precipitated Americas involvement in World War II. He enlisted in the Navy on Oct. 6, 1930.

Colorado Springs School District 11 Board of Education expresses its sincere gratitude to Petty Officer Daniel T. Griffin for his service and sacrifice in defending our country, as well as to his family, the board stated.

Retired Navy Capt. Greg Thomas, who directs Doherty High Schools Navy Junior ROTC, suggested the resolution to board President Parth Melpakam, who floated the idea to the board during a work session.

It was an honor to read that resolution (at the meeting), and it passed unanimously, Melpakam said. So Oct. 6 is Daniel T. Griffin Day in the district, not only to elevate his service and sacrifice to this country, but also to bring attention to the thousands of young men and women who have sacrificed their lives.

In September, U.S. Rep. Doug Lamborn honored Griffin with a Congressional citation, which stated, in part, that he faithfully served his country, community, family, and Colorados 5th Congressional District.

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Griffin, who was born in Illinois but grew up in Colorado Springs, was 19 when he volunteered for naval service in 1930. In 1938, he graduated from flight school with a Patrol Bomber pilots license. He was transferred to Kaneohe Bay on Oahu  the same Hawaiian island as Pearl Harbor  in March 1941. The bay was one of the first areas attacked by Japanese forces on Dec. 7.

Petty Officer 1st Class Griffin was standing watch that morning and was reportedly one of the first service members to alert others of the impending attack. He swam out to his plane, which sat in the waters of the bay, to try to save it. But as he took off, the plane was strafed by machine gun fire and crashed.

Alive but badly burned, Griffin tried to swim to shore, but was shot and killed by enemy planes. He is considered one of the first  if not the first  American casualties of World War II.

Griffin was posthumously cited for his bravery and the USS Daniel T. Griffin, a destroyer escort, was commissioned in his honor in 1943.

Thomas and the Doherty NJROTC have spearheaded a number of efforts to honor Griffin. Since 2020, selected cadets have laid a Christmas wreath at Griffins gravesite at Evergreen Cemetery. The fallen sailor is prominently featured in the schools Hall of Honor, a large, two-wall mural celebrating the wartime contributions of several service members from Colorado Springs.

Thomas had planned to host members of Griffin's family and show them the mural, but the death of a relative precluded the visit. He and the family are trying to reschedule it for the spring.

There are a lot of people in Colorado Springs who dont know Petty Officer Griffins story and his place in history, Thomas said. Were doing what we can to try to change that.
The terrible chain of events began three years ago in Grand Junction when the Veterans Health Administration made a questionable referral for an elderly veteran named Ernest Griffiths Jr. to enter a private-sector nursing home for his dementia care.

It ended Feb. 25 with suspected felony neglect after a foot wound went untreated and sepsis swept through his 83-year-old body, killing him.

To this day, no one has been held accountable.

His death offers a disturbing look at the lack of consequences for nursing homes after deaths due to alleged negligence or substandard care. It also raises questions about how the Department of Veterans Affairs awards contracts to nursing homes in order to meet the rising need of aging veterans.

A Gazette investigation found that 13 of the 28 privately owned or community-based nursing homes in Colorado with VA contracts are rated substandard by another branch of the federal government. One in four have the lowest possible low rating.

Ona Griffiths knew none of that back in fall 2020. She only knew she needed help. The once jovial character she had married 47 years before, a man with a quick smile and corny joke at the ready, was slipping away from her, his once sharp mind increasingly clouded.

Her husband, known simply as Griff, no longer remembered familiar faces and often didnt know where he was. He would become agitated by his confusion, sometimes not sleeping for 36 hours straight.

That meant she didnt sleep, either, fearing what would happen if she didnt keep watch. The anxiety and a crush of helplessness were starting to take a toll on her health, as well. A family doctor and a social worker both gently suggested she find a long-term residential nursing home for her husband to keep him safe.

Its time, she was told.

Because her husband was a disabled veteran, his care could be paid for by the VA. He served as a stateside mechanic in the U.S. Air Force for nine years, enlisting in August 1957 and leaving in July 1966 as a staff sergeant, making him part of the Vietnam War era. He was eligible for full health care benefits because of a significant hearing loss thought to be tied to his work on aircraft engines.

So, Ona Griffiths turned to the VAs Western Colorado Health Care System. The VA, in turn, recommended three options, but only one had space and the ability to care for him, she said. On Oct. 19, 2020, her husband moved into Mantey Heights Rehabilitation and Care Center, an 88-bed, for-profit nursing home about 15 miles from their home in Fruita.

Mantey Heights is owned by Diversified Healthcare Trust, a publicly traded real-estate investment trust with headquarters in Massachusetts. It is managed by Utah-based Stellar Senior Living, which owns or operates 34 long-term residential and senior-living facilities across nine Western states. There are 12 in Colorado.

The bill for Ernest Griffiths care topped $9,000 a month, paid for by the VA, his wife said.

At first glance, Mantey Heights looked pleasant enough, she thought. She was unable to tour it because of pandemic restrictions. Still, she signed the admission papers with the promise that her husband would be looked after.

She had no reason to question the VAs recommendation. And, in truth, she felt she had no choice.

I figured they knew what they were doing, she said of VA, I trusted them.

Aging veterans

Nearly half, 48%, of veterans enrolled in VA benefits were 65 or older as of last year, according to the national VA office.

In the next 13 years, the number of VA enrollees 85 or older is expected to increase by 73%, rising from 544,000 to just more than 942,000, the VA said.

While the VA has its own nursing homes, known as community living centers, there are not enough beds to fill the need. Nationally, there are 134 VA-run nursing homes with a total of 16,664 beds. In Colorado, there are only two, in Grand Junction and Pueblo, with a total of 65 beds.

Another option is state-run nursing homes that have a contract with the VA but they, too, are limited in the number of beds. Nationally, there are 165 such facilities. In Colorado, there are five.

So, the VA looks to the private sector to help bridge the gap.

As of last year, it contracted with about 8,000 private or community-owned nursing homes nationwide to care for about 36,000 veterans.

Currently in Colorado, there are 28 such nursing homes with VA contracts, serving roughly 900 veterans. Most are for-profit with a small number of nonprofit or community-run.

A 2020 U.S. Government Accountability Office report found that private-sector and community-owned nursing homes were the fastest-growing segment among the three types of residential care for veterans between 2014 and 2018, rising 26%. That compares to 1% growth among state-owned facilities and a drop in use among VA-owned nursing homes during those years, the report said.

It is a trend expected to continue in coming years, with a projected 80% rise in contracts to private-sector and community-owned nursing homes and a 149% growth in cost between 2017 and 2037, according to the GAO report.

To win a VA contract, nursing homes must first apply and are then scrutinized based on a rating system developed by the federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, the VA said in an email to The Gazette. CMS is the federal agency within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services that oversees federally funded nursing homes.

The CMS tool rates facilities on a star system from one to five, with five stars being the highest. Three categories are combined to reach an overall rating: health inspections, staffing and quality measures. The latter looks at a combination of factors such as overall care, if a resident received a flu shot, if they are in pain, or if they are losing weight.

Violations and penalties against facilities are also included on the CMS website.

The VA said it uses the CMS tool to identify high-quality facilities, and that an emphasis is placed on contracting with and utilizing nursing homes with higher ratings. Ongoing performance is measured through the rating system as well as on-site interviews with veterans, a review of medical records and meetings with facility administrators, the VA said.

But The Gazette, using the same star-rating system, found that 13 of the 28  nearly half  of the Colorado nursing homes holding VA contracts are currently considered below average with ratings of one or two stars.

In fact, the most common rating within the 28 was the lowest possible, The Gazette found.

Seven were ranked a one, six were ranked two, four were ranked three, five were ranked four, and six were ranked five.

In addition, six Colorado facilities with VA contracts were separately flagged by CMS for potential issues related to abuse.

If the VA is sending vets to substandard care, that in itself is a scandal," said Robert Blancato, the national coordinator of the Washington-based Elder Justice Coalition.

21 calls to Adult Protective Services

The VA would love to see more private nursing homes rate higher to give our aging veteran population the care they deserve and need, the agency said in its emailed statement.

It added that it meets with contracted facilities regularly and will do so more frequently if problems arise. Facilities that fail to meet VA quality standards, including a review of veteran satisfaction and any relevant events, may be terminated from their partnership with the VA, the agency statement said.

Veterans would then be relocated to other VA-contracted nursing homes, where their quality of care and safety can be ensured, the email said.

Mantey Heights, which cares for about a dozen veterans, had an overall CMS rating of two stars as of Oct. 4: one star for health inspections, two stars for staffing and five stars for quality measures."

It is unclear how the quality measurement was determined, especially considering citations from May 2022 that included failure to bathe residents and failure to address wounds, according to CMS records and the ProPublica website Nursing Home Inspect.

Mantey Heights was issued nearly $133,000 in total federal fines between 2021 and 2022, according to CMS.

In addition, the nursing home paid a $540,000 civil fine in January 2023 for the unauthorized filing of claims, which it self-disclosed, according to the federal Office of Inspector General. No other details of that case were available.

And following Ernest Griffiths death, a police report, obtained by The Gazette, said that the states Adult Protective Services was called to Mantey Heights 21 times in the previous year. The nature or resolution of those calls was not disclosed, and the state agency declined to comment.

Evrett Benton, CEO of Stellar Senior Living, said in an interview that his company took over management of Mantey Heights in September 2021, describing it as one of the most difficult properties it had. He added that many of the problems cited predated his company taking over.

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Still, he said his company has worked to improve, replacing staff, pumping money into capital improvements, and working with authorities to correct violations.

Every day, we are getting better, he said.

Weight loss, unkempt appearance

On the evening of Feb. 14, Ona Griffiths got a call from Mantey Heights, saying that her husband had a sore on his foot and the staff wondered if it would be OK if a doctor checked it.

Of course, she replied, puzzled by the question. She had planned to visit for Valentines Day but wasnt feeling well and decided to skip it. She said there was nothing in the tone of the call to trigger alarm.

Griffiths had, however, become increasingly concerned at the level of basic care her husband was receiving. When she first signed the contract in 2020, she specifically asked about bathing him, because that was something she was unable to do at home.

She said she was assured the staff would do it.

After he was admitted, Griffiths could not visit him for months because of COVID. When she finally saw him, in spring 2021, she was horrified at his appearance. His hair and beard were long and straggly, his clothes filthy and he clearly was not bathed. When she confronted the staff, she said she was told there was nothing it could do if he didnt want to bathe.

I thought, 'isnt thats why he was in here? To take care of him?' Griffiths recalled.

She also worried that he was losing weight, maybe as much as 40 pounds in the two years he was there.

In January 2023, she met her husband at a local oral surgeons office to have some of his teeth pulled and was repulsed to see dried food caked into his hair and staining his clothes. Couldnt you have cleaned him up before you brought him? she asked the driver.

I didnt notice, she said the driver replied.

At one point, she said she complained to the VA about the conditions and was told she needed to take up any issues with the facility. I felt like they had washed their hands of him, she said.

Both the VA and leadership of the company that runs Mantey Heights told The Gazette they could not comment on a specific veterans care because of patient privacy laws.

The morning of Feb. 15, the next day, Griffiths got another call from Mantey Heights, this one more urgent. Her husband was being taken to Community Hospital in Grand Junction, because his foot had not improved. Confused, she asked what the doctor had found the night before. She said she was told the doctor never came, because she was out of town.

When Griffiths and her daughter arrived at the hospitals emergency room, her husband was curled in a fetal position, unresponsive. I thought he was dead, she said.

There was a large, oozing wound on his left ankle surrounded by scabs and sores from previous wounds. Your husband is very, very ill, the doctor warned her, adding that it was impossible that it happened overnight.

The last time Griffiths had visited her husband at Mantey Heights, he had been asleep with a blanket over his feet, so she does not know when the wound first appeared.

When Griffiths arrived at the hospital, a nurse called state Adult Protective Services to report suspected neglect. The caseworker called the Grand Junction Police Department. In the weeks that followed, both investigated. The states Department of Regulatory Agencies also reviewed the case.

Grand Junction police detective Zachary McCullough launched an investigation into suspected crimes against at-risk people and negligence resulting in death, both felonies.

He and an Adult Protective Services caseworker said in their internal reports that despite a standing order for weekly skin checks, it was unclear how often Griffiths received them.

A Mantey Heights worker told the Adult Protective Services caseworker that care at Mantey Heights had decreased in recent months.

The caseworker report said the story about why Griffiths was not seen by a doctor on Feb. 14 did not match what Ona Griffiths said she was told. An employee at Mantey Heights said it was probably because the weather was bad, not that the doctor was out of town. The caseworker wrote in her report that she checked with the Grand Junction National Weather Service office and on Feb. 14 it was cold but not storming.

The nursing home also allegedly dismissed the ER doctors assessment that Ernest Griffiths wound could not have become so serious overnight. The caseworker said in her report that she was told by Mantey Heights staff that ER doctors often became concerned over common geriatric things.

In her conclusion, the caseworker wrote she was able to find a preponderance of evidence to support the allegation of caretaker neglect. She further determined the allegation of caretaker neglect as substantiated at a severe level. 

In addition, she identified two employees as potentially culpable.

On Feb. 22 Griffiths was moved to a local hospice. There was nothing more that could be done. He died three days later. His death certificate listed the cause as complications of sepsis.

Five months later, on July 27, the Department of Regulatory Agencies sent a letter to Mantey Heights clearing it. After thorough review and discussion, it was determined that there were insufficient grounds to warrant the commencement of formal disciplinary proceedings as required by the provisions of Colorado law. Accordingly, the Board has dismissed the complaint, said the letter, which was included in the police report.

On Aug. 9, McCullough wrote in his case summation that while he presented his findings to the Colorado Attorney Generals Office, ultimately after reviewing all statements and evidence during this investigation, there is currently not enough evidence to charge any specific individual with a crime.

The case was then closed.

The outcome of the Adult Protective Services investigation is still pending, said Benton. The agency declined to comment, saying its cases are confidential.

Benton told The Gazette he is confident Adult Protective Services, like the other agencies, will clear Mantey Heights.

49 years together

Ernest Nigel Griffiths Jr. was buried March 9 in Section 7, Row O of the Veterans Memorial Cemetery of Western Colorado following a military funeral.

He was stationed in Alaska when he left the service in 1966. In his civilian life, he was an Alaska state trooper, worked for an armored car company, and eventually moved to the Alaska Department of Corrections, where he rose to assistant superintendent before he retired.

It was through his job at the armored-car company that he met a pretty 19-year-old named Ona Brewington, who worked in an accounting office. The women in the office all thought he was cute and made a bet on who could get a date with him. Ona won that bet and, four months later they were married on Feb. 7, 1974. The couple moved to Colorado in 1993.

His death came just a little over two weeks after the couples 49th wedding anniversary.

He was a father of five, a grandfather and a great-grandfather. Through the years, he and his wife were foster parents to 50 children, his wife said.

In the months since her husbands death, Ona Griffiths wrestles with the sadness but also the guilt. She wonders if she could have done more to save him, to be more vigilant.

There is also anger. She has hired Grand Junction lawyer Chadwick McGrady. It is awful commentary on the services provided when grossly negligent care leads to the wrongful death of our societys most vulnerable, he told The Gazette.

Griffiths said several staff members at Mantey Heights called her after her husbands death. We loved Griff. We would never have let anything happen to him, she said she was told, We did everything we could.

She hung up, seething.

There was no reason for him to die the way he did, Griffiths said recently at her home in Fruita, Someone had to have seen something and they did nothing.
China strives to cultivate skilled workforce by strengthening vocational training

Xinhua) 11:32, October 03, 2023

This combo photo taken on Sept. 18, 2023 shows a contestant taking part in a tea art event at the second Vocational Skills Competition held in north China's Tianjin Municipality. (Xinhua/Li Ran)

TIANJIN, Oct. 2 (Xinhua) -- From among hundreds of thousands of participants nationwide, 4,045 skilled individuals successfully qualified to compete at the second Vocational Skills Competition, recently held in north China's Tianjin Municipality.

Focusing on promoting the training, deployment, evaluation and incentive mechanism of skilled talents, the event has been regarded as the biggest and most high-profile comprehensive national vocational skills competition.

This year's edition featured a staggering 109 competitive events, covering 15 categories of national economic sectors, including manufacturing, information technology, transportation, construction, services and mining, among others.

Competitive events for new occupations and digital technologies, such as virtual reality (VR) engineering, and Internet of Things (IoT) installation and debugging, attracted wide attention.

In the VR engineering technology competition, participants were required to create a three-dimensional model of a fan within a stipulated timeframe.

"Participants can add their creativity and innovation during the process, making the model more diverse and functional," said Liu Yue, the chief judge of the event, who is also a professor at the School of Optics and Photonics, Beijing Institute of Technology.

"More than 200 vocational colleges nationwide have launched VR-related majors," Liu said, adding that VR is expected to better serve the real economy in the era of immersive internet.

This combo photo taken on Sept. 18, 2023 shows a contestant taking part in a dining service event at the second Vocational Skills Competition held in north China's Tianjin Municipality. (Xinhua/Li Ran)

Last year, the profession of "tidying-up expert" was officially included in the category of residential service personnel, making it one of the 158 newly added professions.

Luo Xin, an associate professor specializing in modern domestic service and management at Hubei Preschool Teachers College, participated in the domestic service competition.

"The 'tidying-up expert' is a new profession with high market demand. This year, the college celebrated its inaugural graduating class in this major, achieving a remarkable 100 percent employment rate for these graduates," Luo added.

"Behind the emergence of new professions is the support of new business formats, which reflect that China's economy is taking solid steps towards high-quality development. At the same time, it signifies new opportunities for development and fresh employment prospects, which are of great significance for enhancing the social recognition of professionals in these new occupations and promoting employment and entrepreneurship," said Li Zhanqiang, an official of the competition's executive committee.

According to the latest statistics released by the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, the number of skilled workers in China has exceeded 200 million, accounting for more than 26 percent of the national workforce, of whom over 60 million individuals are highly skilled.

(Web editor: Cai Hairuo, Sheng Chuyi)
MADISON, Wis.  A man illegally brought a loaded handgun into the Wisconsin Capitol, demanding to see Gov. Tony Evers, and returned at night with an assault rifle after posting bail, police said Thursday.

The man, who was shirtless and had a holstered handgun, approached the governors office on the first floor of the Capitol around 2 p.m. Wednesday, state Department of Administration spokesperson Tatyana Warrick said. The 43-year-old man said he would not leave until he saw Governor Evers so he could talk about domestic abuse towards men, Capitol police said in a bulletin sent to lawmakers and their staffs.

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Evers was not in the building at the time, Warrick said.

A Capitol police officer sits at a desk outside of a suite of rooms that includes the governors office, conference room and offices for the attorney general.

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The man was taken into custody for openly carrying a firearm in the Capitol, which is against the law, Warrick said. Weapons can be brought into the Capitol if they are concealed and the person has a valid permit. The man arrested did not have a concealed carry permit, Warrick said.

The man was booked into the Dane County Jail but later posted bail.

He returned to the outside of the Capitol shortly before 9 p.m., three hours after the building closed, with a loaded assault-style rifle and a collapsible police baton in his backpack, Warrick said. He again demanded to see the governor and was taken into custody.

The man said he did not own a vehicle and it is likely he has access to a large amount of weapons and is comfortable using them, police said in the bulletin sent to Capitol workers.

Capitol police named the suspect, but court records show that no charges have been filed as of midday Thursday. The Associated Press normally does not name suspects until they are charged and efforts are made to get comments from them, their lawyer or other representative.

Madison police reported Thursday that the man was taken into protective custody and taken to the hospital. A spokesperson for the police department did not return an email seeking additional details.

Capitol Police took control of the situation and so its over, Evers told reporters Thursday.

He declined to comment on what security changes may be enacted for him or the Capitol building.

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I never, ever talk about what my security detail does or what theyre planning on doing, Evers said. But anytime something like this happens, obviously they reevaluate.

The incident is just the latest in a series of violent threats against public officials.

Evers, a Democrat, was on a hit list of a gunman suspected of fatally shooting a retired county judge at his Wisconsin home in 2022. Others on that list included Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell. Whitmer was the target of a kidnapping plot in 2020.

Warrick said no immediate changes to security in the Capitol or for the governor were planned. The public has free access to the Capitol daily from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. There are no metal detectors.
An attorney representing the city of Britt has refused to supply documents regarding fired former Police Chief Mark Anderson after an open records request was filed on behalf of the Globe Gazette by the Iowa Freedom of Information Council in June.

Attorney Jaki K. Samuelson stated documents and discussions related to the termination are confidential personnel records and closed meeting discussions regarding the performance of a government employee are protected under Iowa Code Chapter 22.

Anderson was fired by the City Council on June 8. His termination came in the wake of Anderson filing complaints with the Iowa Civil Rights Commission and Equal Opportunity Commission in 2021 and eventually filing a discrimination lawsuit on May 12. City officials have denied the lawsuit was a factor in Anderson's firing.

Samuelson's response to the records request states:

"Former Chief Andersons employment was terminated based on a pattern of performance issues that occurred over a substantial period of time and that were brought to its attention by other officers in the Britt Police Department, law enforcement personnel in surrounding communities, and citizens. The performance issues were ongoing up to the time of the termination. The issues giving rise to the decision to terminate included: 1. unprofessional communications with other law enforcement, citizens, and on social media; 2. favoritism amongst the members of the department; and 3. overstepping his authority in a way that offended other law enforcement in Hancock County, resulting in complaints to City officials regarding his conduct and relationships with those entities."

Anderson's attorney did not respond to requests for comment as of Wednesday afternoon.

Anderson's lawsuit claims after he was hired in September 2017, he was added to a group chat which included Mayor Ryan Arndorfer and former Councilman Chad Luecht, who according to council minutes resigned in April. The petition states all involved are homosexual, and Anderson was using the group as support because he was going through a divorce.

The petition claims that in late 2017 and early 2018, Luecht and Andorfer began treating Anderson differently, sending him inappropriate and sexually graphic messages via the text group and Snapchat. Anderson allegedly told them he was not comfortable with the messages, but they did not stop.

Anderson married his husband, Austin, in September 2020. The suit alleges Arndorfer pressured Anderson to send him nude photos of the couple and told him, "We'd take Austin's nudes, but we'd rather have yours."

The mayor also allegedly suggested creating a nude calendar for the police department and wanted to include a photo of Austin. Arndorfer allegedly threatened to publicly reveal the contents of the group messages if Anderson did not comply. The petition claims Arndorfer also threatened to withhold resources from the police department if Anderson did not send nude photos.

On Jan. 13, 2020, Anderson told City Administrator Deb Sawyer about the group chat and what was going on. She then told Luecht to stop, which he did, but Arndorfer allegedly did not stop sending inappropriate messages via Snapchat after Sawyer told him to stop as well.

Anderson allegedly received another explicit message July 1, 2021. He did not respond to Arndorfer's message. Later in July, Anderson received a 1.5% pay raise while other members of the department received 6% raises.

The petition states at the Jan. 3, 2023, council meeting, Luecht chastised the police department and said he had no confidence in Anderson's ability as chief  a position Anderson had served in since October 2018.

The trial for Anderson's employment discrimination lawsuit has been scheduled for Nov. 13, 2024.

These 8 Republicans stood apart to remove Kevin McCarthy as House speaker Rep. Andy Biggs Rep. Ken Buck Rep. Tim Burchett Rep. Eli Crane Rep. Matt Gaetz Rep. Bob Good Rep. Nancy Mace Rep. Matt Rosendale
The League of Women Voters of North Iowa held the first of two scheduled forums in the race for Mason City Community School Board, in which four at-large seats are being sought by eight candidates.

Nancy Lund and Emily Bruns moderated on behalf of the League, posing questions to the candidates submitted by the audience. Candidates took turns answering the same questions.

Lund said it is the first time in recent memory the LWV has sponsored a forum for the Mason City school election. The number of attendees and questions submitted indicated the public was thoroughly engaged, with upwards of 150 residents in the audience.

The candidates are (in alphabetical order): Mason City resident Constance (Connie) Dianda; semi-retired registered nurse Kathleen (Kathy) Easley; semi-retired educator and incumbent board director Katherine (Katie) Koehler; social worker and library board member Jennifer Dorsey-Lee; community activist Megan (Meg) Markos; self-described "Mason City superfan" and "mom of a future Riverhawk" Madison Nelson; tax professional and conservative activist Ryan Schupick; and local businessman and organizer of the "Mason City Mohawk Save the Name" campaign Tom Stalker.

All eight candidates on the ballot were invited to participate in the forum, but Dianda's seat remained empty, although she was in the audience. When asked about her absence, Dianda said only that she plans to participate in the next forum, scheduled Oct. 17.

In light of recent state laws placing restrictions on materials available to students, the candidates were asked who should have ultimate control over curriculum.

Koehler, the lone incumbent, defended the board and the administration's actions. "It is state-driven, and we follow laws through policy. Public schools have to do that," Koehler said.

"Something that [most] people don't know is that standards are different from people my age, and I'm young, I'm 61," she said jokingly. "When we went to kindergarten, we took naps, we had snacks, we played at recess, we tied our shoes. Kids (today) in kindergarten write sentences, people. They read books. They are required (to) by standards, and when we say they're falling behind, I beg to differ."

Two of the candidates running are in their 20s: Markos and Schupick. Although neither graduated from Mason City schools, both said they make their homes in Mason City and are running to bring their unique perspective to the school board.

"I would be the first Gen-Z person to be elected to the school board," said Markos. "When I was going through high school, I faced a lot of the issues that our student population is facing right now. When the board talks about things like active shooter drills, vaping ... I went through that, so I think I can uniquely see from that perspective."

"I did go to Newman. I'd appreciate if you didn't hold that against me," said Schupick. "I did have one class with Mason City: driver's ed with Mr. DeFrance. ... I can proudly say that Mason City (schools) made me the driver I am today."

Schupick continued, "I would just absolutely love the opportunity to put on my fiduciary hat for the Mason City School Board and then, you know, go down to Des Moines and shake down the Legislature. ... Let's try to bring some more money back here."

Schupick also is running for the 3rd Ward seat on the Mason City Council, and said that if elected to both positions, he will serve on both.

Easley, asked about curriculum control, responded: "I think that we need to get back to the basics, curriculum being math, science and reading. Mason City is a great school, but we have dropped tremendously, and I don't believe it's because of the teachers. They aren't the problem. There's other problems. ... Course scores went down because we didn't have in-class teaching (during COVID), but that's the main issue, and we've got to keep plugging away at it."

Nelson, said, "It's an Iowan/Midwestern thing to not be boastful. But (we need to) be boastful about what makes our school great so that hopefully we can encourage more families to move here."

Addressing the issue of enrollment, Lee said, "I chose to stay in Mason City and raise my children here because I firmly believe it's a great place to grow up, and that's part of my reason for running for school board. At this time, the school board and the community need to be involved, we all need to work together to increase our enrollment numbers."

In the view of Marcia Pierson, a retired educator at Mason City schools who was in the audience Monday night, providing strong public education is one of the most important things a community can do.

"The way the public schools have been attacked by the Legislature by cutting of funds ... I am so against," she said, "and I am against book banning in all ways."

She plans on voting for Koehler, saying "she has done a great job and will continue to do a great job." Pierson also is endorsing Nelson and Markos.

In laying out his campaign, Stalker said, "I'm the son of a lifelong educator. I'm a 48-year resident of Mason City. I was a 1981 graduate of Mason City High School. I've been for 40 years a self-employed business owner in Mason City. ... I'm a grandfather of five, four at Jefferson Elementary that are fifth-generation MCCSD students. ... (My agenda) is to restore the Mohawk 100-year tradition, be approachable to students, teachers, staff and citizens, have more public interactions at board meetings, make the school environment a safe place, get the community involved in our schools, keep students in school and attract new students, support all booster clubs, random school visits, work with teachers and staff."

Settled or not, the issue of the Mohawk mascot clearly remains a sore spot for a number of concerned voters, like Mason City resident Sally Tripp, who graduated from Mason City in 1973.

Tripp sent her children to Mason City schools, and they in turn sent theirs. Tripp went to the homecoming parade to watch her grandsons J.P. Miles, who was a member of the homecoming court, and Max Tripp, who is a freshman and plays in the marching band.

I wish we were Mohawks still, but oh well, Tripp said. Thats the way it goes.

Mason City resident Jen Cooley posed a question to Stalker and his supporters in a letter to the editor that ran in the Globe Gazette on Tuesday, asking, Are you personally willing to fund a change back to the Mohawk name? I am not an expert on the cost this would entail, but I imagine it'd be extremely expensive. We're talking about all of the signs, scoreboards, uniforms, murals, etc. I certainly don't want my tax dollars paying for this revamping."

When the candidates were asked about their plan to ensure quality education for all students in light of our changing demographics and increased student diversity, Easley responded by saying, "It's very simple. It's treat all students the same, with respect. No matter race, religion, we treat them all the same. It's simple."

Markos disagreed, countering that, "Students can not learn if they don't feel safe or respected or seen, so making sure these needs are first met is very important to quality education for all students. I also would like to say that there's a difference between equality and equity. Treating everybody the exact same doesn't necessarily meet everyone's needs, so meeting with students on an individual level and assessing their needs is very important."

School election day is Tuesday, Nov. 7; polls are open from 7 a.m. until 8 p.m.

The Mason City Education Association, which represents teachers, will hold the second and final sponsored forum for the school board candidates from 6-8 p.m. Oct. 17. Doors open at 5:30 p.m.

The League of Women Voters is sponsoring a city council candidate forum from 7-9 p.m. Oct. 16 in the Mason City Room at the Mason City Public Library. The forum will follow a similar format with submitted questions answered by the individual candidates.

This story has been updated for clarity.
The Danville Museum of Fine Arts & History will highlight works from former students of the late Robert Marsh, a celebrated local artist and professor who taught at Averett University for more than 50 years.

The exhibit begins Sunday and will feature paintings from nearly 40 individuals who studied under Marsh. It comes just after a display of his work at the museum ended Sept. 17.

Its all these different artists hes affected, hes inspired, said Sonja Ingram, chief operating officer at the museum. I think people are going to love it.

A reception for the exhibit will be held from 3 to 5 p.m. that day and will be free and open to the public. After that, viewers will pay the $12 admission fee to the museum to see the display.

The exhibit will run through Dec. 22.

Most of the paintings come from Maryland, Tennessee, North Carolina, Delaware and other parts of Virginia, said Larry Wilburn, president of the museums board of directors.

Marsh, who died Oct. 12, 2022, at 78 after a brief illness, taught art at Averett from 1969 to 2022. He was well known as an artist locally, regionally and nationally, and his work was shown in galleries and museums across the country.

Artists who spoke to the Danville Register & Bee recalled Marsh as an inspiration, a skilled artist and an unpretentious man with a great sense of humor.

Hes the whole reason I went into art, said Yancey Smith, a 1971 Averett graduate. I was going to be a biology major, but Robert was so encouraging and supportive, that I chose art as a career path.

Though she raised children and owned a clothing store in Danville for years, Marshs influence and Smiths love of art never left her.

Im actually painting more now than I did when I was younger, said Smith, a Yanceyville, North Carolina, resident who has a studio in Milton, North Carolina.

Her piece, Green Close Pond, is an oil-on-canvas from a scene at her daughters home in Snowshill, England. She painted it this year, she said. Green Close Pond is the name of an estate.

Primarily a landscape painter, Smith praised Marshs skill and use of color in his work, describing him as the best draughtsman.

Hes just so accurate and it was so impressive, she said of Marshs art. I just loved his work. I still do.

Chuck Waddell, a Beaufort, South Carolina, resident who grew up in Danville, earned an art degree from Averett in 1984. He recalled Marsh as a patient mentor who was also funny and approachable.

He was just very good at kind of guiding you in the right direction to learn the next level of being an artist, said Waddell, whose work, Yes, I Am Still Smoking, will be on display.

Smith recalled Marshs sense of humor and his gentle way of critiquing a students work.

He had the best sense of humor, she said. He would tell you something that you were doing wrong in such a way that it never bothered you.

Marsh left his mark on everyone who took his classes, Waddell said.

Certainly, he had a huge influence, Waddell said. He was very easy-going, very approachable, a regular guy.

Waddells painting is his depiction of a black-and-white photograph of a woman smoking that he found online.

I thought about the fact that people that smoke are such a rare breed, but I liked her attitude, he said.

He used similar brush strokes for her hair and the cigarette smoke, he said. Marshs influence can be seen in the piece.

Its kind of in the same style of Robert Marsh, and of course he smoked, but I did not do the painting thinking of him, Waddell explained.

Wilburn, an adjunct music instructor at Averett, also has a work of his own that will be exhibited in the show. Titled Sunday Morning at Lake Lucerne, the acrylic-and-pencil piece was painted by Wilburn in 2018 after a visit to Switzerland a year or two earlier.

He took classes under Marsh for five or six years and is still participating in art courses, Wilburn said.

I was retired and my mother was an amateur painter, he said.

Other works featured include Young Girl, by Brenda Tatum, and Cormorant Fishing on the Li River, by William Aaron Sleeper.
Former Signature Room workers protest outside of the 875 North Michigan Avenue building on Oct. 4, 2023. (Eileen T. Meslar/Chicago Tribune)

The laid-off workers rallying outside the skyscraper formerly known as the John Hancock Center to demand pay and benefits Wednesday held up signs listing how many years they had worked at the Signature Room, the iconic Chicago restaurant that abruptly closed Sept. 28.

Bartender Jesus Abelars had the highest number. 46 anos, it read.

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No one hinted the 95th floor restaurant and its 96th floor lounge would close when Abelar worked there the night before layoffs blindsided about 130 workers last Thursday, he said. The news shocked him, and hes wondering how hell pay bills and go to the doctor.

For nearly five decades, he had made friends, joking with customers at his bar, where many loved his unmashed Old Town Old-Fashioned and seats were often full, he said. He hopes a new owner reopens the spot and rehires him and his colleagues.

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I miss it. I really miss it, he told the Tribune after the rally. I would like to come back. Im a professional bartender. Im not starting to learn.

The Unite Here Local 1 union that represents the workers filed a lawsuit Monday alleging employees werent given proper notice of the layoffs before the restaurant and lounge shuttered.

[ Union sues over Signature Room layoffs ]

The lawsuit accuses owners Infusion Management Group of violating the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act, which requires certain large employers to provide written notice of certain business closures or mass layoffs at least 60 days in advance. The company must pay the workers 60 days pay and benefits, it argues.

The companys owners, Rick Roman and Nick Pyknis, cited economic hardship related to the COVID-19 pandemic in a public statement announcing the unexpected closure. Infusion was awarded $4.4 million in Paycheck Protection Program loans in 2020 and 2021. Most of the money was for payroll and has since been forgiven, records show.

Former Signature Room workers protest outside of the 875 North Michigan Avenue building on Oct. 4, 2023. (Eileen T. Meslar/Chicago Tribune)

Unite Here Local 1 also filed a complaint with the Illinois Department of Labor Tuesday, a department spokesperson confirmed.

Roman and Pyknis could not be immediately reached for comment.

As workers described what the sudden closure meant to them, Local 1 President Karen Kent called the shutdown both illegal and immoral.

It is a disgrace. The callous disregard that they have shown these workers is a disgrace and it is shameful, Kent said. We are here today with one simple request: that the Signature Room follow the law. That they pay these workers what theyre owed.

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Kent said it was unclear how long it would take for the lawsuits to play out, but pledged to take every avenue in pursuing compensation. If a new operator opens in the high-rise restaurant, they should rehire the laid-off workers, she said.

Nina Hernandez worked at the restaurant for 18 years, she said. She got the job when her son was 4 months old and raised him by herself with the money she earned, she continued.

She saw the citys skyline change over the years she worked there. She was scheduled to work an early shift the day she found out via email that her workplace had closed.

[ Signature Room restaurant and lounge close after decades in former Hancock Center ]

I was completely hurt. We all were. It really hurt to be so blindsided, she said. They robbed us of the opportunity to say goodbye.

Carlos Aguinaga worked at the Signature Room for 25 years, he said in Spanish. He started as a dishwasher and worked his way up to cook, he said.

I love my job because we help people celebrate beautiful moments in their lives, Aguinaga said via a translator.

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The restaurants closure was shocking, he said.

Everything had seemed normal. The day before, I was placing food orders, and we were preparing for upcoming events, including a wedding, he continued.

Expand Autoplay Image 1 of 14 People dine in the Signature Room restaurant on the 95th floor of the John Hancock Center. The restaurant closed on Sept. 28, 2023. (Bill Hogan/Chicago Tribune)

When he got to work, Aguinagas key card didnt work. Then, he saw a notice announcing the closure on the door, he said. He worries about how hell pay for his daughters college, he said.

Afternoon Briefing Weekdays 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 >

It feels very sad and frustrating that the company turned their backs on us and treated us as if we mean nothing. Its very stressful to think about losing our health care coverage. Our bills and rent payments are still due. We had no time to save money, Aguinaga said.

Line cook Martin Torres sauteed, fried and prepped food at the restaurant, he told the Tribune after the rally. His best dish was the fish, he said.

He got into cooking after being involved with gangs as a younger man, he said. It took years to secure a job at a nicer restaurant such as the Signature Room, he added. He worked at the restaurant for five years. It made him proud, he said.

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Everything was pretty much taken from me, Torres said. I feel wrongly done. And not just for myself, but for my co-workers, especially the ones who have been here years and years. All they know is this place.

Torres wife told him not to worry about immediately finding a new job. He appreciates her trying to take the pressure off, he said. Still, hes already started to look for work, he added.
Construction of the Dan River Falls and riverfront park projects continue as planned, with both endeavors still expected to be complete in late 2024.

Work is being completed on schedule, which were thankful for, as we know not every developer can say the same right now, said Kendra Bishop, spokesperson for The Alexander Company in Madison, Wisconsin.

Construction of the $85 million project to convert the former White Mill building into commercial space and residential units started early this year.

So far, the interior of the 550,000-square-foot structure has about 75% of the following finished: protective openings, selective demolition, cutting and framing, wall installation in shafts and firewalls lead paint encapsulation, new concrete flooring and wall framing, Bishop said.

Also, mechanical and electrical rough-ins are about 10% finished, she said.

As for the buildings exterior, about 85% of site utilities, window-opening demolition and concrete repair is finished, she said. Window installation is about 50% complete, Bishop said.

Exterior painting should be done in roughly six months.

We expect that will be fully completed by early spring 2024, Bishop said.

As for when people can seek applications to move in one of Dan River Falls residential units, that will likely be in spring 2024, she said.

Rent for one-bedroom apartments is expected to range from $950 to $1,500 per month, while that for two-bedroom units will be from $1,100 to $1,680 per month, she said.

Three-bedroom units are expected to cost from $1,200 to $2,100 a month, Bishop said.

However, she pointed out that the rent prices are projections and are subject to change.

Just more than 20%  or 32  of the 150 apartments will be reserved for those earning up to 80% of the area median income, Bishop said.

The White Mill is being redeveloped into a multi-use project that will initially feature 147,000 square feet of commercial space and the apartments. Another 56 units are planned in a future phase.

The 150 apartments will be built on the top three floors of western two-thirds of the building and will include one-, two,- and three-bedroom units. Some will be loft style. The future apartments will be built on the top floors of the eastern one-third of the building.

The first floor and eastern one-third of the second floor will be reserved for commercial space, with the lower level of the building being converted into 219 interior parking spaces for tenants.

Construction of a riverfront park on four acres between the White Mill building and the King Memorial Bridge will also take place.

In addition, an easement over about 1.12 acres of land along the Dan River will allow for the extension of the Riverwalk Trail.

There are also plans to use the canal on the south side of the building as a whitewater feature, as well as plans to restore the bridge that spans the river from the north side of the White Mill to the former Long Mill site.

The Alexander Company and the Danville Industrial Development Authority signed a memorandum of understanding during a ceremony in May 2021 at the Danville Family YMCA across the Dan River from the White Mill.

Entering into the partnership under 424 Memorial Drive LLC  instead of having the Alexander Company buy the property outright  allows the use of historic tax credits for the project.

The IDA owns the White Mill property, but the authority agreed to admit the Alexander Company into the ownership structure as part of the memorandum of understanding.

Remaining work on the Dan River Falls project includes mechanical and electrical finish work, drywall, interior painting, doors and trim, cabinetry and other items, Bishop said.

Beyond that, we have ... other finish details that make an apartment home, as well as a bit of sitework, including paving, curb and gutters, landscaping, bridge repair and site lighting, she said.

There are no commercial leases yet, she said.

We anticipate commercial tenants will begin moving into the building towards the end of 2024, and understand that everyone is eagerly awaiting announcements to that end, Bishop said. I can say that weve received much interest from office users and restauranteurs.

As for the riverfront park, lots of infrastructure work is under way, including installation of stormwater pipes, said Danville Parks and Recreation Director Bill Sgrinia.

Also, the restroom structure is under construction and some work on access areas along the river front has been completed, he said.

In addition, work on footings for retaining walls has started.

Work on park features has not yet begun, Sgrinia said.

Mainly right now, everything has been groundwork, he said.

At the current rate, work on the riverfront park is expected to wrap up on time in late 2024.

Everything is on schedule right now, Sgrinia said.

All the good stuff, including the playground, retaining walls, splash area and other features, is yet to come, he said.

The $14 million endeavor broke ground in March. The park will be built on about 4 acres at Main Street and Memorial Drive between the White Mill site and King Memorial Bridge.

It will include a street-level entrance on its southeast side  from Main Street and Memorial Drive  with an artistic feature to lure visitors. Those entering the park would then step down to a water feature  an interactive fountain and spray pad.

That area drops down about 10 feet and leads to a circular lawn. Open green space makes up a large portion of the park, which also would feature a staging area that could be used for small performance events. There would be an elevated walkway/viewing pier stretching about 20 to 25 feet above the park and part of the Dan River.
Danville City Councilman Larry Campbell Jr., who was charged with driving while intoxicated in May, pleaded guilty Wednesday in Danville General District Court.

Campbell, 72, received a 60-day suspended sentence and must pay a $300 fine and $211 in court costs.

He must also attend the Virginia Alcohol Safety Action Program and undergo an ignition interlock restriction, said Danville Commonwealth Attorney Michael Newman. The restriction requires Campbell to blow into the device to verify that his blood alcohol content is below .02 before his vehicle starts.

Campbell Jr. was charged of first-offense driving while intoxicated stemming from an incident at about 2 p.m. May 6.

The charge occurred following a report from a concerned citizen in the 1900 block of South Boston Road.

Campbell was first elected to City Council in 2008, and his current term runs through the end of 2024.

Also, hes served as co-assistant pastor at Bible Way Cathedral Church since 1994, according to information from the city. He has also been active with several boards and organizations in the area.

Campbell is the son of the late local civil rights leader Apostle Lawrence Campbell Sr.

Campbell, 93, who co-founded Bibleway Cathedral with his wife, Gloria, and marched in Danville with King in 1963, died March 27.
Homeless people in desperate need of housing in the region can seek temporary shelter through a program recently started in the area by the Danville Redevelopment and Housing Authority.

The DRHA has received about $176,000 from the Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development to implement the Continuum of Care program.

That money will go toward a DRHA Rapid Rehousing program that is under the Continuum of Care, said Larissa Deedrich, executive director and CEO of the authority in Danville.

Its to get people off the street, Deedrich said Monday. This is the first step to helping them find secure housing.

The Continuum of Care program, newly administered by DRHA, is a federally appointed program that uses local housing and government agencies to provide rapid rehousing of homeless individuals and families.

DRHA is taking over administration of the Continuum of Care program from STEP Inc., in Franklin County, which previously was in charge of it.

Service areas under the program include Danville and Martinsville, as well as Pittsylvania, Henry, Patrick and Franklin counties. Agencies that work with the homeless population will be able to refer those seeking help to the DRHA resident services team.

They can be referred to House of Hope homeless shelter in Danville or a warming shelter in Martinsville or Franklin County, for example. Services also include rental assistance to prevent eviction.

Once families or individuals are referred to the Continuum of Care program, the first step is to get them housed and then help them through a selection of supportive services. The end goal of the program and services is to help homeless families and individuals to become fully self-sufficient.

Jude Swanson, executive director at House of Hope homeless shelter in Danville, said the rapid rehousing program is sorely needed and will be a huge step in helping our guests.

They [DRHA] are already working with one of our families and helping them get into a permanent housing situation, Swanson said.

Hopefully, those eligible for the program will not only be able to move into four walls and a roof, but receive case management, as well, Swanson said.

For the people it can help, it will be a big help, Swanson said of the program.

The House of Hopes womens shelter is almost full, with 14 guests that include three families, he said. The mens shelter is at half capacity, with nine guests, he said.

Usually, the mens shelter is busier than the womens shelter, which houses families, he said.

Weve had a larger amount of families looking for space, Swanson said. The high housing costs is finally catching up to people who have been struggling. At some point, its impossible to make ends meet.

Susan McCulloch, housing development division director for the city of Danville, said her office receives many calls from unhoused people in need of shelter and assistance.

Were very happy that its [Continuum of Care] is in DRHAs hands, McCulloch said.

DRHA does a great job connecting clients to housing and other resources, she said. Her office refers about three to five clients who are either homeless, in danger of becoming homeless or just looking for cheaper housing, to DRHA or other agencies per week.

Those clients include those close to being evicted or who are staying with family members and need help, she said.

To be able to refer them to DRHA is extremely helpful for both us as a community and, of course, for the clients who need assistance, McCulloch said. They do a wonderful job. Were always thankful to be working with them.

The housing authority has until June 30, 2024 to spend the money it received, Deedrich said. Shes not sure how many clients the funding will help, she said.

Its really hard to say how many well be able to serve, Deedrich said. Were just going to serve people until we run out of money.

DRHA will re-apply for more funding for the following two years after the money is spent, she said.

In July, the authority received a $50,000 grant from Sentara Health to start up a new program to help homeless people transition to permanent housing.
A one-time student tuition rebate and a pay increase for faculty, staff and graduate students were approved by the Virginia Tech Board of Visitors Wednesday.

With more money on the way from state government, the university board approved the measures during a special meeting.

All full-time, regular session students will receive a $275 rebate of their tuition payment, the university announced. For part-time students, the rebate is $15 per credit hour.

This comes after the university board approved a 4.9% tuition increase in the spring, promising then to revisit tuition once details of the state budget finished prolonged legislative debate.

Faculty and staff, as well as graduate assistants, will get 2% pay raises effective Dec. 10. Thats in addition to a 5% raise approved in June.

The extra 2% to university employees is part of the amended state budget that lawmakers agreed to in early September, said the school's Chief Operating Officer Amy Sebring.

The final state budget was very supportive of higher education and our state employee workforce, Sebring said. University leadership and the board felt it was important to focus the states additional investment in Virginia Tech directly on our faculty, staff, and students.

These changes are possible due to an additional $12.3 million from the state budget, university officials said: $9.2 million to minimize student costs, plus $3.1 million to reduce the amount of tuition revenue used for financial aid.

Theres also a one-time $20 rebate on the schools comprehensive fees, and a $19 to $32 rebate for students living and dining on campus.

This financial relief will be applied in spring 2024, a university announcement said. Students enrolled for only a portion of the year will receive prorated relief.

The most common undergraduate degrees awarded in Virginia The most common undergraduate degrees awarded in Virginia
Former Guilford County Schools Superintendent Maurice Mo Green announced on Wednesday that he will run for state superintendent of public instruction in 2024.

The role is currently held by Republican Catherine Truitt, who is eligible to run for another term if she chooses.

Green, a registered Democrat, plans to run in the Democratic primary.

After leading Guilford County Schools from 2008 to 2016, Green spent the next seven years heading the Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation, which is dedicated to improving the lives of North Carolinians through many initiatives.

He retired from that role in March.

Prior to that, Green served as Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools' general counsel, then chief operating officer.

In the news release, Green said that "listening before acting" would be a hallmark of how he would operate as state superintendent. He pointed to his "Mo Wants to Know districtwide listening tour in Guilford County and a statewide listening tour he conducted as director of the Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation in Winston-Salem.

There is much to celebrate about public education in North Carolina and its transformative power," Green said in the news release. "However, it is long past time for our state to truly fulfill its promise to each of its students  that no matter who you are, you will receive high-quality educational opportunities that will prepare you to be successful. We can make that happen if we invest fully in public education, ensure safe and secure learning environments for our students, enhance parent and community support and revere our educators.

Green has at least one expected rival for the Democratic nomination: C.R. "Katie" Eddings, a Lee County teacher and former assistant principal who also served in the Gulf War with the U.S. Air Force.
Logan Sea Pallister, the man accused of making threats to attack Helena High School in May 2022, appeared Thursday in Lewis and Clark County District Court before Judge Chris Abbott to set the date of his state trial for 9 a.m. April 15.

Pallister faces six charges of two felony counts of intimidation, one felony count of possession of explosives, felony possession of a silencer, misdemeanor assault and misdemeanor sexual assault. His bond was set for $750,000, according to court reports.

Pallister's court appointed defense attorney, Shenandoah Roath, told Abbott during Thursday's hearing a state-administered evaluation determined Pallister to be fit for trial.

A jury draw for the trial is set for March 25. The courthouse is directly across the street from the apartment building where Pallister lived.

Pallister was 23 when he was arrested at his residence on May 31, 2022, and authorities found eight firearms, including three semi-automatic rifles and five handguns. Some of the firearms found had threaded barrels and could be used with a silencer.

In his vehicle, they found possible homemade improvised explosive devices and materials used to make these devices. Authorities found an ammunition box and a homemade silencer in his vehicle as well.

Pallister told witnesses he idolized the April 20, 1999, Columbine High School shooting and talked of carrying out a mass shooting at Helena High School. Pallister told and showed a witness that he was making bombs to use in the school on May 30. He threatened to kill her if she told anyone, officials said.

Officers discovered photos of Pallister posted online holding weapons and wearing a black trench coat, similar to the Columbine shooters.

Pallister is also facing three federal charges, felony counts of attempted property damage by use of fire or explosives, possession of unregistered destructive devices, and possession of an unregistered silencer.

In an order filed Monday, Judge Brian Morris set a date for that trial of Oct. 31 in U.S. District Court of Montana in Great Falls.

The attempted property damage charge has a mandatory five years minimum to 20 years of imprisonment. Both the unregistered destructive devices and unregistered silencer charges come with 10 years of imprisonment. Each of the three charges carry with them a $250,000 fine and three years of supervised release.

Morris also noted in his order any plea agreement to the federal charges is due by Oct. 17.
The eighth annual Helena Sun Run is 10 a.m. Saturday at Central School, 402 N. Warren St.

The run aims to finish up fundraising for a 60-kilowatt solar array on Bryant Elementary School. To register, go to: https://bit.ly/48DQvOz.

Race Director Joel Harris said last year's race netted about $5,600 for the project, and that this year's goal is to raise $10,000.

"We're hoping the combined funds from last year and what will be contributed this year will be enough for the school to say, 'Let's go ahead,'" Harris said.

As of last week, he said about 40 adult racers have registered for the race.

"It's kind of low for this time of year," he said.

Harris said about 130 more adults need to register to meet this year's goal.

The funds raised by the event, through business contributions, pledges and registration fees, are packaged with a Universal System Benefits grant from NorthWestern Energy.

Children can run the race for free. Those interested can register up until the start of the event.

Previous Sun Runs have completed solar arrays at Lewis and Clark Library, the Holter Museum of Art, Carroll College, Central School and Jim Darcy Elementary.

This year, kids will have the added fun of the "Can you outrun the sun?" part of the 1-mile and 5K events. Youths who outrun the person in the goofy sun costume get their names announced and recognized after the race.

Also, the Montana Renewable Energy Association is back as a partner this year in hosting a "Green Energy Expo" during and after the run at Central School.

There will be tables hosted by local conservation and energy nonprofits and businesses with a ton of information about solar energy and how to complete projects at your own home.

"There are two good reasons to support this one," Harris said. "It's good to support renewable solar energy in our town. ... And it saves the school district money. More funds can be used for educational activities instead of utility bills."
Shareholders of the Original Montana Club Cooperative Association have given their board the authorization to sell all assets of the financially strapped historic downtown Helena landmark in order to stave off debt and to deal with a pending bankruptcy filing.

The vote Wednesday night in the sixth floor dining room was unanimous from the nearly 35 people present plus 17 proxies from among about 480 shareholders. On Aug. 22, members authorized its board to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in an effort to allow them to reorganize, negotiate with creditors and preserve the historic but financially strapped club in Helenas downtown.

This is imperative for us in general to move forward with new life for the building, said Mary Ahmann Hibbard, a board member who is also tasked as a Realtor with selling the Rathskeller bar in the basement of the building.

Members were told Wednesday, during a meeting that lasted slightly less than an hour, that the club has yet to file for bankruptcy protection.

The Montana Club Cooperative has been sued by the Montana Club Building Condominium Owners Association, which owns portions of the 31,381-square-foot Montana Club building at 24 W. 6th Ave., for nearly $500,000 in unpaid assessments and interest, which comes to about $700,000.

The 76-page lawsuit was filed Oct. 7, 2022, against the Original Montana Club Cooperative Association and others, seeking foreclosure. It claims the defendants failed to pay regular monthly dues and assessments for the condos minimum expenses. It asks, among many allegations, for the court to foreclose a lien for common expenses and find the cooperative in breach of contract.

The cooperative owns the Rathskeller, the second, third and sixth floors and an office on the first floor of the seven-story building.

Charles Robison, board president, said if the co-op were unsuccessful in selling assets or putting the money together, a court would take over.

The resolution passed Wednesday says the board is authorized to sell the assets, but not limited to real property, intellectual property, liquor license, furnishings or other property.

The board can withhold property of historical significance if it can be protected by donating it to a museum or other historical organization.

And the board does not have to accept an offer if it believes its not in the best interest of the Helena community or incompatible with the Montana Club.

The shareholders approved selling the Rathskeller in the basement for $600,000, putting approval of the sale to the discretion of the board. There have been 10 showings. The concessionaire could rent the liquor license from the club.

Members were told by Hibbard that the sales tag may be too steep.

It is a high price and if it was priced appropriately we would have probably had an offer, she said.

Hibbard said if the price were lowered it would not have covered the debt. She and Robison both said that even with the sale of the Rathskeller it would not necessarily put the group into a better financial condition.

The condition of the 1905 building was defended by shareholder Patty Dean, who said a 112-page feasibility study on the Montana Club was filed in late 2021.

This building's not falling apart, she said the report found. This building is in good condition for its age.

Shareholders spoke in support of the board and the pending resolution, which was then passed by a voice vote.

John Cech, president of Carroll College, called the club part of the soul of Helena.

To lose it would be a travesty, he said.

The Montana Club was founded in 1885 as local business people did not want outsiders to think of Helena as a mining camp. A seven-story building was built.

In 1903, a fire started on the sixth floor and the building burned to the ground, along with its valuable art collection. Members vowed to rebuild and the new building went up in 1905.

The Original Montana Club sold portions of the building and formed the condominium association in 1980. The fourth and fifth floors, and portions of the first floor, each belong to a separate owner.

In 2018, the Montana Club announced it would become a community cooperative and dissolve as a members-only social club. Board members have said there has been an increase of members of the public dining at the club. To see the menu, go to: https://montanaclub.coop/dinner-menu-1.

To view the Rathskeller, go to https://www.helenahometeam.com/property/rathskeller/
Summer adventure seekers in the year 2025 who manage to wander over to the newly opened Montana Historical Society's Montana Heritage Center will be treated to a sprawling trail through rugged Montana geography and equally rugged history.

For now, the museum and its massive addition that necessitated the decommissioning of a city street and about $104 million remains under construction.

The 66,000-square-foot addition on the building's north side is expected to be substantially completed in April or May 2024. A complete renovation of the original Veterans and Pioneers Memorial Building is anticipated to wrap up in early 2025.

Museum staff will then work with outside firms to design and install the more than 30,000 square feet of new exhibit space, expected to be completed in August or September of 2025.

Montana Historical Society Director Molly Kruckenberg said during the tour of the site on Sept. 22 that after about three years of construction, COVID-related cost increases and post-planning "enhancements to the project," the museum is aiming for a late summer 2025 opening.

Kruckenberg said one of her favorite features of the soon-to-be-christened Homeland Gallery, about 16,000 square feet of exhibition space, is its striking, northern-facing Italian stone-clad exterior wall.

"It's meant to evoke the big cliff faces, big mountain structures we have in Montana," she said. "It's actually meant to make you feel a little uncomfortable as you're walking in under the overhang. ... We want (visitors) to feel like they're coming up to a cliff face. We want them to see that window up there and wonder how they get there."

From the northern parking lot, expanded to include 90 additional parking spaces for a total of 445, visitors can enter the museum through that northern entrance under the "uncomfortable" overhang, or they can veer toward the western entrance through what will be called the Montana Habitats Trail.

"The trail is going to be landscaped to take you on a journey from eastern Montana as you start here, going through the rolling hills of central Montana and around through the mountains and trees of western Montana as you get to the west entrance of the building," Kruckenberg said. "Along that trail we'll use native plants, grasses and trees. We'll interpret those landscapes with signage. And we'll talk about the geology and geography of the state."

The trail will be open to the public even when the museum is closed.

The western entrance deposits visitors into the new Central Commons with direct access to a new cafe, museum store and the Homeland Gallery, where their journeys continue.

A river pattern will be laid into the flooring of the commons area to further evoke the sense of travel, with tributaries guiding visitors to different points of interest.

The rectangular Homeland Gallery will feature 6 feet of elevation gain from its entrance to that window Kruckenberg referenced on the north wall.

"And so it all kind of subconsciously reinforces that idea of a journey. So if you started from the north entrance and you've gone through that Habitats Trail and you've come in here through the river and you're going through the hall, you've got this whole journey back to the window," Kruckenberg said.

The Homeland Gallery, thanks mostly to a $25 million donation from Dennis and Phyllis Washington, will boast multimedia and technology enhancements to better tell its stories.

In total, the museum has raised as of Tuesday more than $57 million in donations. The museum is also the beneficiary of $5.5 million in 2007 state bonds, $37 million via the 2019 Montana Museums Act, and $3.2 million in 2021 Legislature appropriations from bed tax revenue.

"This building is going to last for many, many years," Dennis Washington said during a Tuesday news conference at the museum. "And I think of the thousands of people after we're all gone who will enjoy this building to study the history of this great state."

A full-size headframe replica will be erected in the gallery that visitors can climb aboard. It will shake slightly and a breeze will blow as visitors view archival film footage of descending into an underground Butte mine in the 1920s.

A homestead cabin will also be placed in the gallery and surrounded by homesteader and photographer Evelyn Cameron's pictures, which documented life in the West.

Some of the space will also be reserved for a hands-on children's gallery.

"Throughout our gallery spaces we are focusing on our artifacts because that's what we do here, collect those artifacts. We're using our stories, our photographs to tell Montana history in traditional ways," Kruckenberg said. "But we're also using a lot of modern technology in nontraditional ways to interact with our visitors."

The goal is immersion.

"Incredibly important that we're very authentic in the story we're telling, but using new and engaging ways, immersive ways, so that our visitors are engaged with history," she said. "Anyone who has 14- or 15-year-olds like I do at home, they want something that's a little different. They need to be engaged. We want people to walk through and go, 'wow, that was cool!,' and when they leave, they talk about it."

While the museum is referred to as Montana's museum, special considerations were made for the state's youth.

In addition to the children's gallery, the museum will incorporate new classroom space, something the original building did not have, allowing for teacher workshops and space for class field trips.

"It's really important for us," Kruckenberg said. "We do a lot of work with teachers and students and we expect to expand that in the future. We have never had classroom spaces."

At Tuesday's news conference, Gov. Greg Gianforte asked attendees, which included the Washingtons, for another $10 million in donations to establish an endowment fund to pay for travel and lodging for every seventh-grade student in the state to visit the museum in perpetuity.

The Washingtons reportedly contributed an additional $2 million to that effort.

"Only $8 million to go," Gianforte said.

Students and educators are not the only user group museum leadership included in the planning and design process.

"We've been working really since we started with this project three years ago with a tribal stakeholders group that has representatives from each of the sovereign nations in Montana to help with everything from the design of the building itself to the content of our exhibits and every part of it in between," Kruckenberg said.

That group requested at least two items that will eventually be incorporated into the final product, a pow wow-style arbor in front of the building's eastern entrance to be named the Sovereign Nations Arbor and a smudge room.

"Tribal members or anyone really who feels the need to smudge before encountering either particularly sacred or difficult objects or topics and our exhibits will have a space to do that," Kruckenberg said.

Once renovations are complete, the existing Veterans and Pioneers Memorial Building will boast a greatly expanded changing gallery that will host temporary and topical exhibits that rotate every six to eight months.

The last topical exhibit held at the old changing gallery was titled "Good Beer Here," a history of beer making in Montana, which was only on display for about six weeks before the COVID pandemic forced its closure.

Also in the renovated building, the public reference room will be relocated from the second and third floors to the first floor and greatly expanded.

"It will absolutely be an upgrade," Kruckenberg said, adding that the previous space for researchers did not even have grounded electrical outlets. "People couldn't plug in their laptops."

She said the new space for researchers will have "Wi-Fi now. It'll be a bigger, better space for our researchers that will also make it easier to access our collections."

"This is for folks who want to use all of our research collections, our books, our photographs, our archival materials," she said. "Once we're re-open, those collections will be back in their proper storage places and folks can come in and use them in that public reference room."

The behind-the-scenes upgrades that most visitors will never see will be some of the most important to the new museum.

Kruckenberg said a new heating, ventilation and cooling system designed by local engineering firm Cushing Terrell and driven by its own power plant in the basement will be able to be controlled digitally and remotely. It will also allow for climate control tailored to different areas of the museum, such as the painting storage or film archives.

"It's a massive improvement even if it's behind the scenes," she said, noting the previous HVAC system was installed in the 1950s.

A new high-density storage system was also being installed at the time of the tour.

The sophisticated system designed in-house will allow for proper storage of the museum's more than 60,000 artifacts, paintings and archival material.

"We've been waiting. We designed this about two years ago, and so to actually see it be installed is pretty darn cool," Kruckenberg said.

Other behind-the-scenes upgrades include a new, larger conservation lab, additional employee office space and an exhibit fabrication shop, complete with a massive CNC machine.

"In a normal time, we would design and fabricate our own exhibits, and we'll do that again in the future (using the CNC machine)," Kruckenberg said. "With this project because we are installing about 30,000 square feet of exhibits at once, we are working with exhibit design firms to help us with that process."

Despite the Montana Heritage Center's opening still about two years out, Kruckenberg and her staff's excitement is tangible.

"It doesn't have to be a stuffy old museum," she said. "We want it to be a vibrant and welcoming place. A place that people just feel like they can come in and enjoy themselves."
Chicago Police Board members Jorge Montes, left, who announced his resignation last month, and recently appointed board member Andreas Safakas greet each other at the start of a board meeting at police headquarters on June 15, 2023. (John J. Kim/Chicago Tribune)

The Chicago Police Board, the nine-person body that metes out discipline in the most serious cases of alleged misconduct by Chicago police officers, is in a state of flux.

No longer does the board have a say in who should be the superintendent of the Chicago Police Department, and the union representing rank-and-file CPD officers contends that officers facing disciplinary charges should be afforded the option to have their cases decided by a third-party arbitrator  a potential departure from 60 years of precedent.

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Now under the purview of the Community Commission for Public Safety and Accountability, a new civilian-staffed oversight body, the makeup of the board itself is rapidly changing.

Two new board members, Aja Carr-Favors and Andreas Safakas, were appointed earlier this year. The term of board president, Ghian Foreman, has ended. Another board member, Jorge Montes, publicly announced his resignation from the board last month after he took part in two interviews with the CCPSA.

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Ghian Foreman, whose term as Chicago Police Board president recently ended, speaks about the push by the Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 7 to remove pending disciplinary cases from the board's docket as Paula Wolff, board vice president, listens during a CPB meeting at police headquarters on Aug. 17, 2023. (John J. Kim/Chicago Tribune)

And last week, during the CCPSAs monthly meeting, the commission announced that it would not recommend retaining two other board members at the end of their terms, Mareile Cusack and Michael Eaddy.

All told, four of the boards nine seats  those once held by Foreman, Montes, Cusack and Eaddy  need to be filled. The CCPSA has submitted the names of six candidates for those positions to Mayor Brandon Johnson, and he has 60 days to make his four choices, which will require City Council approval.

The six nominees are:

 Rebecca Cook, the chair of the NAACPs West Side Branch Criminal Justice Committee. Cook previously has spoken in opposition to the CPDs use of a gang database, according to WTTW, and the CCPSA previously nominated her to sit on the police board in March, city records show.

 Debra Gittler, founder and executive director of ConTextos, an anti-violence organization in the South Loop that also operates in El Salvador.

 Oreal James, previously appointed by Gov. J.B. Pritzker to the states Prisoner Review Board, he resigned in 2022 after drawing heavy criticism for voting to parole two men convicted of killing CPD officers.

 Cathryn Crawford, a defense attorney for more than 25 years, including at the Lawndale Christian Legal Center. Like Cook, Crawford was also nominated for the police board in March. During a CCPSA meeting in the Albany Park neighborhood in May, Crawford urged that the next CPD superintendent eliminate the departments tactical and gang units that are notorious for acting with impunity and violating our citizens rights. She also called for an end to CPD foot chases and the creation of stronger mechanisms for officers to report misconduct among their colleagues.

 Kyle Cooper, a Chicago Police Board appeals officer.

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 Dr. Niama T. Malachi, founder of the Social Consult, an organization that, according to its website, offers management, leadership and other training courses.

Before the six nominees were announced, Foreman, the outgoing police board president, commended his soon-to-be-former colleagues.

Im really proud of the work that the police board has done, Foreman said during the CCPSA meetings public comment period. Im proud of the work that all of our members individually (have done). Doesnt mean that I always agree, we fight like family fights. And we dont always agree with each other, but we all come to it from a different perspective, right? We all come with it with our own individual biases, with our own perspectives. Were a really diverse group.

Foreman  who conceded he was not a regular attendee at church  concluded his comments with a quote from the Gospel of Matthew, urging the commissioners to be cautious in their choices for police board nominees.

Judge not, lest ye be judged, for the judgment that ye judged ye shall be judged, Foreman said. I want you to think about that carefully.

CCPSA Commissioner Yvette Loizon thanked Foreman for his 13 years on the police board and said the commission debated at length before settling on the six nominees.

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There were many people who applied to serve on the police board this time around and did not make our list of nominations, Loizon said. The decision on whose names were going to be submitted to the mayor and whose names were not going to get submitted was a very, very difficult one that we discussed and thought about and debated for quite some time.

Montes, who announced his resignation from the board last month, said he was the first sitting board member to reapply for his seat about a year ago, so I became the guinea pig.

The interview process was a slow churn, Montes said, and it became laborious and time-consuming and not what I signed up for.

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Montes, an attorney who was previously a spokesperson for the Illinois attorney generals office and served on the Prisoner Review Board for 16 years, also decried the CCPSAs decision to not nominate Eaddy and Cusack for reappointment.

There is something to be said for having institutional history of the board, and removing people that are very seasoned and have been on the board for a very long time is not healthy, Montes said. I understand their efforts to reform  Im all for it, by the way, we need a lot of reform, yes  but you dont throw the baby out with the bathwater, and thats what I think theyre doing.

Eaddy and Cusack did not respond to messages seeking comment.

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Members of the Chicago Police Board raise their hands in a show of approval for fellow members to attend its August meeting virtually at police headquarters on Aug. 17, 2023. (John J. Kim/Chicago Tribune)

Activists had sought for decades to change the citys often convoluted police discipline apparatus, but matters were codified in 2021 when the City Council created the CCPSA, a civilian-led body with oversight powers over the police board, CPD superintendent and the chief administrator of the Civilian Office of Police Accountability.

Meanwhile, the Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 7, which represents rank-and-file officers, detectives and retirees, sought earlier this year to remove 22 pending cases from the police boards docket and instead have them decided by a third party. That effort was spurred by an arbitrators award that found CPD officers have the right to have those cases tried behind closed doors. The police board denied the unions request though, and the arbitrators award cannot take effect without approval from the City Council.

Earlier this year, when the CCPSA was in the middle of finding finalists for the then-vacant CPD superintendent position, Commission President Anthony Driver Jr. stressed that the body would maintain political independence.

The consequences are the old Chicago Way, where weve seen time and time again where you have a very clout-heavy city, where people do favors for folks and people get positions through political influence, and it hasnt worked, Driver said in July. Our city has done this, has operated in the same way for decades, and we have not had good results.
Freedom isnt free. It surely was not for those who fought and died for Americas freedom in the beginning.

Following the Declaration of Independence in 1776, and through the eight brutal and bloody years of the Revolutionary War thereafter, winning and securing Americas freedom from a tyrannical foreign power was the cause for which genuine American patriots willingly and knowingly gave their lives.

While the American forces prevailed, the military success of George Washingtons beleaguered Continental Army might not have happened at all were it not for the vital assistance of Britains longtime rival, France.

Indeed, even though the historical parallel is not identical, it is unquestionable that the struggling democracy of Ukraine is now desperately and expertly fighting to be free from a tyrannical and brutal aggressor  one repeatedly and entirely motivated by delusional and demonic notions of conquest and empire building. Like France, the United States of America and our NATO allies are providing vital and indispensable assistance to Ukraine against Russia, the alliances longtime menacing rival.

What seems to be less well known is how inexpensive this existential fight for freedom, democracy and world order has been for the United States. While we dont know precisely how Congress will finally address every remaining budget issue, we do know that the FY 2023 U.S. budget totals about $6.4 trillion. We also know that the current defense budget amounts to about $832 billion, which is 13% of the total budget. And, finally, we know that since 2014, when Russia first invaded Ukraine, through Aug. 22, 2023, the United States has committed approximately $46 billion in security assistance to Ukraine, which is a little over 5% of the military budget for the most recent fiscal year, or about 0.7% of the overall $6.4 trillion federal budget for FY 2023.

Furthermore, we know that 15 of the European democracies allied in the defense of Ukraine spend a larger percentage of their GDP on Ukrainian defense than the United States does. The Russians are notoriously and consistently untruthful, but Western estimates are that as much as a third of the Russian economic output is being spent on the war.

In addition, while both sides are guarded about the casualties they have sustained over the last 19 months, estimates recently published in the New York Times reveal, that so far, in this cruel and devastating war, nearly 300,000 Russian troops have been killed or wounded, while Ukrainian casualties have been approximately 200,000. Certainly, those numbers will only rise as the Russians, awaiting the results of the 2024 U.S. election, will continue to obliterate the landscape, infrastructure, culture and people of Ukraine based on the belief that the United States will surely despair, embrace isolationism and abandon the will to support the fight for democracy and freedom in Ukraine and everywhere in the world.

We both recently had the opportunity to attend a wonderful and greatly informative lecture by former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch, sponsored by the Mansfield Center at the University of Montana. Among the ambassadors many insightful remarks, was the stark warning that unless the Russians are pushed out of Ukraine, bloodier and more expensive conflicts will continue to occur on the European continent and around the world.

The appeasement strategy that led directly to World War II could again lead to global destruction and devastation on a massive planetary scale if the free world weakens in this critical showdown with the maniacal leader of Russia. The minimal cost the U.S. is contributing to this fight for freedom will be multiplied many times over if the United States and our democratic allies dispense with our collective resolve and responsibility to preserve, protect, and defend our mutual freedom and way of life.

If we turn our backs on the people and the country of Ukraine now, we will forever and deeply regret it.
DECATUR  Woodford Homes began seeking funding in 2019 for a supportive housing development in Decatur for those with mental health and developmental disabilities.

On Thursday, community members got their first look at the 20-unit Carrie Lane Supportive Housing apartment complex which is set to open soon.

The complex is located on the city's north end at 1370 Carrie Lane.

Its considered permanent supportive housing, said Tim Macken, executive director of the Macon County Mental Health Board.

Each apartment is approximately 525-square-feet with a full kitchen, a bathroom and separate bedroom. The building will have an area for group activities and common space with offices, laundry and a lounge, as well as an outdoor patio area.

The tenants also will have 24-hour staff working with them on their daily independent living skills, according to Macken.

The Illinois Housing Development Authority identified the potential renters. The agency partnered with Heritage Behavioral Health Center in Decatur.

Our staff has done an amazing job of assessing and trying to determine who wants to come, said Mary Garrison, president and CEO of Heritage Behavioral Health Center.

The staff will be available for assistance and building skills.

The tenants can prepare their own meals and take care of themselves, Garrison said. But also they can engage in community meals in the kitchen area. The other piece of this is the socialization with the community.

The building required more than $5 million to complete, with the majority coming from Illinois Housing Development Authority. The remainder was provided by the local match requests by the city of Decatur, Friends of the Community Foundation of Macon County, the James Millikin Trust, and the Macon County Mental Health Board.

The three-acre site was donated by Terry and Cassie Landry.

In 2019, Macken worked with the late Ray Batman to bring Carrie Lane to the area, through the nonprofit organization Woodford Homes. The corporation has been building affordable housing in Macon County for low-income people with mental health and developmental disabilities for nearly 50 years.

Every time we have new supportive housing built, the demand for it continues to grow, Macken said. executive director of the Macon County Mental Health Board. There will be a continued need to add more units.

They have every right to beautiful homes and affordable housing that they can enjoy, Garrison said about the residents.

Although tenants still have several weeks before they can move in, the Decatur Regional Chamber of Commerce held a ribbon cutting ceremony Thursday afternoon allowing members of the public to view a few of the finished apartments. During the ceremony, Macken revealed a plaque hung near the entrance of Carrie Lane honoring Batman.

He spent his life trying to help people that were in more vulnerable positions, said Batmans widow, Missy Batman. We spent several evenings during the last few months of his life driving past this empty field. He was so excited about this.

7 of Decatur's most historic homes John H. Culver home Linn House Oglesby Mansion A.E. Staley Residence Eli Ulery house James Millikin Home Powers Mansion
TEUTOPOLIS  The vehicle and driver believed to have been involved in the Sept. 29 crash outside of Teutopolis that resulted in five deaths and multiple injuries has been identified, Illinois State Police announced Thursday.

Thank you to the communities of Montrose and Teutopolis, and everyone who provided information to ISP, State Police Director Brendan F. Kelly said in a news release. The information we received from the community has been instrumental in identifying the vehicle and driver believed to be involved in this case.

On Sept. 29, local law enforcement and other first responders were called to a crash that occurred at 8:42 p.m. at 19740 East U.S. Highway 40 in Effingham County.

A National Transportation Safety Board official said Sunday that a tanker truck was westbound on U.S. 40 when another vehicle tried to pass. The truck driver reacted by pulling to the right, causing the truck to leave the road and roll over.

The tank, carrying 7,500 gallons of ammonia, collided with a utility trailer parked off the road, and the tank was punctured by the trailers tow hitch, creating a 6-inch gash in the metal that allowed half of the tanks ammonia to gush out.

Nearly 500 residents were evacuated from northeastern parts of Teutopolis until around 8 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 30. U.S. 40 was closed between Effingham and Montrose.

The initial investigation showed that at approximately 8:35 p.m., a dark colored vehicle was traveling west through the intersection of U.S. 40 and Spring Creek Road in Montrose.

The investigation determined the vehicle continued traveling westbound through Teutopolis on U.S. Highway 40 and would have passed the semitruck tanker, the State Police stated in an earlier news release seeking the publics help identifying the vehicle.

Police issued a plea to neighbors and businesses for doorbell or security camera footage that may have captured video of the suspects vehicle before or after the incident.

The State Police continues to investigate the crash and is consulting with the Effingham County States Attorneys Office, the latest release said. No other information was released.
CHICAGO  Lee Zoldan remembers the 2017 attack on her downtown synagogue every time she walks in the building.

Those windows were broken. Nazi stickers were placed on those doors, the Chicago Loop Synagogue president recalled Tuesday. The windows were replaced. The stickers were removed. But the invisible scars remain.

Years later, the same hate and extremism that shook Zoldans congregation has only grown in Illinois, a new report by the Anti-Defamation League shows.

Antisemitic incidents and white supremacist propaganda doubled in Illinois last year, the watchdog groups Hate in the Prairie State report shows. Statewide hate crimes have risen 80% since 2020, it continued.

Hateful messages spreading via social media and divisive political rhetoric have helped prompt the rise, city and state officials and nonprofit leaders said during a news conference detailing the report at the downtown synagogue.

Hate has been mainstreamed, said ADL Midwest Director David Goldenberg. It requires a whole-of-society approach.

The recent rise might be in part fueled by higher rates of reporting, Goldenberg said.

I also think just more incidents are happening, he added.

A loss of civil discourse and an emerging emphasis on brash, bombastic political rhetoric have also contributed to the rise, he said.

The report detailed dozens of incidents targeting an array of minority groups and institutions across Illinois.

In July last year, a man shattered windows and wrote slurs at the UpRising Bakery in Lake in the Hills before an all-ages drag show, the report said. The attack ultimately led months later to the bakerys closing.

In November, swastikas were spray painted on 16 headstones at a historic Jewish cemetery in Waukegan. Two months later, a man threw a Molotov cocktail at a Peoria Planned Parenthood health center, causing an estimated $1 million in damage and forcing the center to close for months, the report continued.

Schools have faced bomb threats for sexual education classes, hospitals have been harassed for treating COVID-19 patients and elected officials have received phony writs of execution from suburbanites inspired by conspiracy theories, it said. The report also flagged exposed ties between some law enforcement and extremist groups, an increase in white supremacist propaganda distribution, reported antisemitism from the Chicago-based Nation of Islam and growing anti-government extremism.

The report offers a different view of the heartland state that prides itself on welcoming others, Chicago Urban League President Karen Freeman-Wilson said.

It is a story that is borne (out) by statistics and data, that we are not as open as welcoming, as willing to embrace people from different ethnicities, races, religions, faiths and sexual orientations as we purport to be, Freeman-Wilson said.

The news of heightened hate and extremism is sobering, said Paul Luu, CEO of the Chinese American Service League. The group supports victims after hate incidents and provides training to young people and workers, he said.

He praised the passage of a law signed by Gov. J.B. Pritzker in August that makes anyone in Illinois who shares personal identifiable information about another person to harm them civilly liable in court.

We cannot end hate by ignoring it, Luu said.

Social media plays a key role in enabling hate and extremism to widely and quickly spread, Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul said. Someone might be able to reach 20 people passing out hateful propaganda on a Chicago street corner, Raoul said.

But I post something online, theres already an algorithm out there to feed it to people who have already read hate speech, and itll reach thousands of people, he continued.

Raoul highlighted efforts to investigate social medias potential harm alongside other state attorneys general. His office secured a grant to train law enforcement to better report hate incidents and is working with federal authorities to investigate reported hate and extremism, he said.

It has also prosecuted several recent high-profile hate crimes, including threats made against former Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot and Cook County States Attorney Kim Foxx, he added.

When asked if incidents of hate and extremism have continued to rise this year, Goldenberg said the ADLs 2023 data has not yet been analyzed. However, the total number of incidents across the Midwest is on track to hit a new high mark, he added.

I can tell you also that we have seen increases in the number of hate crimes here in the city of Chicago. And I also think, to be critical, I dont think we put enough resources, Goldenberg said. CPD doesnt currently have the necessary resources to respond to these incidents and continue to track and monitor them.

Hate crimes doubled in Chicago in 2022, according to CPD data. The same police data set shows hate crimes have so far decreased since this year March.

CPD and the Chicago Commission on Human Relations plan to soon launch a pilot program that will create more opportunities to report hate crimes, commission chair Nancy Andrade said. The program will use trusted community groups to make it easier for people who may distrust authorities or need cultural and linguistic support to report incidents, Andrade said.

An ordinance proposed in the City Council by Ald. Debra Silverstein, 50th, in September seeks to overhaul Chicagos hate crime legal code. The legislation, now co-sponsored by all 50 aldermen, would add a wider definition for noncriminal hate incidents and facilitate more police reporting and training.

To further fight rising hate and extremism, the state should mandate hate crime reporting and training for law enforcement agencies, Goldenberg said. Social media platforms need to be held accountable, he added.

However, the trends leading to the increases have long been in motion and are leading to more extremism and hate across the country, he said.

There is no single solution to put this nasty genie back in the bottle Goldenberg said.

He urged people who experience hate incidents to report them at the groups website, ADL.org.

Photos: Pritzker Military Archives Center
Mental and behavioral health services are essential to our community and should be welcomed rather than dismissed. We are experiencing a mental health and substance abuse crisis in the U.S. that is affecting everyone. These issues are further compounded by poverty and lack of opportunity.

In Decatur, nearly 20% of our population lives in poverty, and our city's population has been steadily decreasing over the past several decades due to industry moving on and a lack of opportunity for well-paying employment. The least fortunate of our community are the ones who need the most help from behavioral health services, and are also the most vulnerable members of our community.

I believe that most of our citizens misunderstand these members of our community and would rather not acknowledge their existence; and if that is not bad enough, we have members of our community arguing for the removal (or out-of-sight existence) of one of the establishments in our community that helps people the most, Heritage Behavioral Health.

Heritage has been helping the most vulnerable members of our community for more than 60 years and should be appreciated and respected for all the help and support they have provided people over the last six decades.

I understand that people suffering from these issues might be poor, unbathed, and at times loud and unflattering; but they are in crisis and need help. Heritage provides that help, and to argue for their removal from downtown Decatur, rather than respect them for the services they provide our most vulnerable citizens is disgraceful.

Mark Rankin, Decatur
HICKORY  The City of Hickory presented the Business. Well Crafted. Legacy Award to Viewmont Animal Hospital on Sept. 30 during the companys anniversary celebration.

Presented by Mayor Hank Guess on behalf of the citys Business Development Committee (BDC), the Business. Well Crafted. Legacy Award recognizes Viewmont Animal Hospital for providing 60 years of caring veterinary service for Hickory community members and their pets.

Viewmont Animal Hospital was established by Dr. James D. Peeples on Sept. 27, 1963. The original site of the animal practice stood about 75 yards from Viewmont Animal Hospitals current location and served several uses before becoming home to the veterinary practice.

The original owner used the original building as a barn for his Shetland ponies. The building and adjacent property were later sold to Mt. Olive Lutheran Church. The church utilized the building as its activity center for meetings, Boy Scout clubhouse, and other church-related activities until it was sold to James and Luther Keller. The Keller brothers were builders. They renovated the building and leased it to Peeples for his veterinary practice. Two years later, Peeples purchased the property, and in 1970, had the previous clinic location built by Jack Sipe Construction Company.

Peeples was in solo mixed animal practice until July 1971, when Dr. Gary A. Pope, a new University of Georgia College of Veterinary Medicine graduate, joined Viewmont Animal Hospital. Peeples and Pope practiced large and small animal medicine for approximately 20 years. They discontinued practicing large animal medicine, and the veterinary practice exclusively became a small animal hospital. Peeples retired in September 2008 after 45 years of practice.

Viewmont Animal Hospital broke ground on its new location in 2015 and moved into the new building in April 2016. Currently, the veterinary team at Viewmont Animal Hospital includes owner Gary Pope and three associate doctors, Drs. Melody Heath, Katherine Frye and Valleri Reames.

A lot has changed in Hickory the past 60 years, but one thing is the same; Viewmont Animal Hospital is still open and helping animals, said Pope. We want to thank all of our loyal customers for their support over the past 60 years.

The Business Development Committee is proud to honor Viewmont Animal Hospital with the Business. Well Crafted. Legacy Award in recognition of its long history and solid reputation for providing quality care for animals, said City of Hickory Business and Community Development Manager Dave Leonetti. Celebrating 60 years of operation is quite the achievement, and we appreciate the many contributions that Viewmont Animal Hospital makes to our community.

For more information about the Business Development Committee and its Business. Well Crafted. Awards, contact Dave Leonetti at 828-261-2227 or via email at dleonetti@hickorync.gov.
The city of Hickory plans to continue its affordable housing program with the goal of building around 24 homes on city-owned lots.

Hickory Business Services Manager Dave Leonetti mentioned the goal during a presentation about the citys affordable housing programs and initiatives at Tuesdays Hickory City Council meeting.

In 2020, the city of Hickory started a program of building housing for low-to-moderate income households on city-owned land in the Ridgeview community.

The initiative began with two homes on city-owned lots, which were financed through a $300,000 loan from the Unifour Home Consortium. The consortium is a regional body which oversees affordable housing funds from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

The homes were reserved for individuals or families with incomes below 80% of the area median. The first two homes were sold in 2021.

The initial two-home project expanded to six additional lots. The city changed the approach for the second phase, selling the land to Charlotte developer JRN Development. JRN then built and sold the homes.

The six homes built by JRN were sold for between $155,000 and $168,000.

The partnership with JRN is ongoing.

The company currently has 10 homes under construction with the goal of finishing them by the end of the year and selling them in early 2024, Leonetti said.

He said the city is looking to continue the program on land the city already owns, as well as land the city is looking to purchase.

If we build what were thinking, well have about 24 (homes) and Habitat (for Humanity) also has five additional homes planned in that area, Leonetti said.
Since February this year, Fidesz has lost more than four hundred thousand sympathizers, its support among the entire adult population has dropped from 35 percent to 30 percent, reports HVG360, referring to the latest data from Median.

The governing parties can count on 46 percent of the sure voters who can choose, which would be a drop of 8 percentage points compared to their list result achieved in the 2022 parliamentary election.

The support of the parties among sure voters who can choose:

Fidesz-KDNP: 46 percent

Democratic Coalition: 12 percent

Our country: 10 percent

Two-Tailed Dog Party: 7 percent

Momentum: 6 percent

Jobbik: 5 percent

Peoples Party: 5 percent

Everyones Hungary: 3 percent

MSZP: 2 percent

During the Second Reform: 2 percent

LMP: 1 percent

Dialogue: 1 percent

Based on this, the DK is still the strongest party in the opposition, while Peter Jakabs Peoples Party may be around the entry threshold, even though Gabore Vona was only at 2 percent barely a month after the founding of the party.

The research also revealed that 34 percent of the respondents fell into the doesnt vote, dont know, other category, but among them, according to the current situation, the opposition may have more reserves. 36 percent of the adult population is affiliated with an opposition party, while 52 percent want a change of government. Compared to Fideszs support of 30 percent, measured among the voting age population, the camp of those loyal to the government amounts to 38 percent.
No one was injured but an older apartment building was damaged by fire Tuesday, Oct. 3.

According to the Concord Fire Department, a call came in at 3:55 p.m. reporting an apartment fire at 83 American Ave., NE.

Firefighters arrived on scene at 3:58 p.m. with heavy smoke and fire showing. They immediately deployed attack lines and began search and rescue. Within six minutes of the first unit arriving, the call was upgraded to a second alarm fire at 4:04 p.m. Firefighters were able to control the fire within 22 minutes, the fire department reported.

A total of 20 units and 39 firefighters responded to the scene. Concord Fire was assisted by Concord Police, Cabarrus County EMS and Kannapolis Fire.

The American Red Cross is providing aid to displaced families. There were no reported injuries. The cause of the fire is under investigation.
Chicago businessman James Weiss leaves the Dirksen U.S. Courthouse on June 15, 2023, after a jury convicted him of attempting to bribe two state legislators. (Antonio Perez/Chicago Tribune)

The now-convicted son-in-law of former Cook County Democratic boss Joseph Berrios was allegedly good friends with notorious mob hit man Frank The German Schweihs and once went to him for protection for his massage parlors being threatened by other gangsters.

Thats the story about James Weiss that was caught on a federal wiretap and revealed in a court filing late Wednesday, where prosecutors asked for a sentence of more than five years in prison for Weiss for his conviction earlier this year on bribery charges.

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Meanwhile, the Tribune has learned that a federal grand jury investigating Weiss alleged mob ties is interested in other longtime associates of the Outfits Grand Avenue crew.

Weiss attorneys have sought leniency, portraying him as a legitimate businessman who simply chose the wrong way to go about getting legislation passed that would help his sweepstakes gaming machine business.

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But in their filing, Assistant U.S. Attorneys Christine ONeill and Sean Franzblau revealed that Weiss brother was recorded telling someone Weiss had partnered up with a known long-time mob associate, identified as Individual B, after Weiss had reportedly gone to Schweihs for help.

Yeah, well, Jimmy and Frank were good friends, and some Russians were muscling Jimmy, but Frank was on the run, the brother, Joseph Weiss, told an unidentified person in a wiretapped call quoted in the filing. Frank was in hiding and Jimmy called Frank and  says, hey man, these guys just busted up my (expletive store). Scared the (expletive) out of the girls, this and that, you know, I need your help, where the (expletive) are you?

At the time, Schweihs had been charged in the landmark Family Secrets mob case and was on the run. According to the brothers story, The German told Weiss, Jim, Im underground right now  but Ill have someone call you right back.

Somebody called Jimmy and told him to go see Individual B, who straightened it all out, Joseph Weiss said, according to the transcript of the call.

Ever since then, theyre partners on everything, Joseph Weiss said. The problem is (Individual B)s like a gangster but hes an honest guy. If youre his friend, youre his friend.

Prosecutors called the description of Individual B as a gangster an apt one. In a separate undercover recording, Individual B admitted that James Weiss is with me, referencing their joint involvement with gaming machines, the filing stated.

Insofar as (James) Weiss seeks to portray himself as a community-minded and otherwise law-abiding individual, his long-time partnership with Individual B and his own brothers recording discussing his prior association with his good friend, mob killer Frank Schweihs, demonstrates otherwise, prosecutors wrote.

The filing also alleged that Individual Bs now-deceased girlfriend was a partner in one of James Weiss gambling businesses and received hundreds of thousands of dollars in payments from him.

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Schweihs, who according to authorities spent decades as a reputed enforcer for the mobs Grand Avenue street crew, died of cancer in 2008 while awaiting trial.

Frank "The German" Schweihs was considered feared muscle for the Chicago Outfit, being linked to several ambush hits during his career. (Tribune archive photo)

The filing came on the heels of a new indictment unsealed in U.S. District Court against Joseph Weiss, who was charged with lying to federal investigators about his brothers reputed mob ties, including his previous contacts with Schweihs and Individual B.

Joseph Weiss is scheduled to be arraigned on Oct. 13, two days after his brothers sentencing.

Reached by phone Wednesday, James Weiss attorney, Ilia Usharovich, said his client had no ties at all to Schweihs.

Jim denies ever speaking to Mr. Schweihs, ever meeting with Mr. Schweihs and ever doing business with Mr. Schweihs, Usharovich said.

The Tribune has previously reported that James Weiss sweepstakes company, V.S.S., was connected to a former Chicago police officer, John Adreani, through a complex web of corporations, many of which list the same address in a south suburban strip mall as their headquarters.

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Adreani was fired from the Chicago Police Department in 2015 for associating with a major drug trafficker after he was captured on a wiretap discussing gambling and drinking excursions and real estate ventures with him, according to Chicago Police Board records.

Adreani was not charged; however, his name came up several times during James Weiss trial.

Another one of Weiss business entities, Mac-T Retail LLC, which was formed in 2015, shares the same address in the 800 block of Sibley Boulevard in Dolton with V.S.S., state records show.

At least three companies that include Mac-T in their titles appear to be linked, according to state records. The first of them, Mac-T LLC, was organized by Anthony DeMarco of River Grove in 2014 and was also registered to the Sibley Boulevard address.

DeMarco originally incorporated Mac-T using an address of 723 W. Grand Ave. in Chicago, which is a single-room occupancy hotel in the same building that houses the Italian restaurant La Scarola and Richards Bar.

La Scarola was the scene of a 2012 lunch meeting with top Grand Avenue crew members that led to the FBI sting of hit man Steve Mandell, who was plotting, among other things, to kidnap, rob and murder a mobbed-up strip club owner.

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Richards is owned, on paper at least, by the sister of Robert Bobby Dominic, a reputed Outfit associate who, according to FBI and Chicago records, ran pornography and gambling interests for the Grand Avenue crew, which was headed by legendary mobster Joseph The Clown Lombardo.

Meanwhile, records obtained by the Tribune show the same federal grand jury looking into Weiss mob connections is also interested in Dominic.

The grand jury sent a subpoena to the Illinois Department of Insurance on July 28 seeking applications, communications and other records involving a state Comprehensive Health Insurance Plan in Dominics name, according to a copy of the subpoena received through an open records request.

Dominic has not been charged. He could not be reached for comment Thursday. A lawyer who represented him in a recent lawsuit filed by tenants of the Acacia single-room occupancy hotel declined to comment, saying he was barred by confidentiality agreements from discussing any of his clients.

James Weiss was convicted by a jury in June of seven counts of bribery, wire fraud, mail fraud and making false statements.

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The charges alleged Weiss then agreed to pay monthly $2,500 bribes to get language helping his sweepstakes business added to state gambling legislation, first to state Rep. Luis Arroyo and later to state Sen. Terry Link, who was a chief sponsor of the gambling bill in the Senate.

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Arroyo and Weiss didnt know that Link, a Vernon Hills Democrat, was cooperating with the FBI. Link, who is hoping for a break in his own federal tax conviction in exchange for his cooperation, testified over two days about his undercover role.

Arroyo, meanwhile, pleaded guilty to bribery for his role in the scheme but did not agree to cooperate with prosecutors. U.S. District Judge Steven Seeger sentenced Arroyo to nearly five years in prison last year, calling him a corruption superspreader.

James Weiss attorneys have asked Seeger for a sentence of under 27 months, arguing in a filing last week that the legislation Weiss wanted to pass was well-meaning and would have generated much-needed tax revenue on what are currently unregulated sweepstakes machines.

In asking for a 63-month prison term, prosecutors argued Weiss has been unrepentant about the damage his crimes have done to the public trust. They also wrote that while Weiss claimed he was trying to make ends meet for his family, in reality he was making substantial earnings and gambling $20,000 a week.

For someone like (Weiss), with financial stakes in a variety of different businesses, there always will be a way to make more money, prosecutors wrote. There always will be public officials who are willing to take a bribe to make (his) life easier.

jmeisner@chicagotribune.com
STATESVILLE  The EnergyUnited Foundation announced a $100,000 donation to Habitat for Humanity.

This grant, which will be equally distributed to the 16 Habitat for Humanity affiliates working across EnergyUniteds 19-county service area, will support the organizations vision to build a world where everyone has a decent place to live  bringing people together to build homes, communities and hope.

We are thrilled to partner with Habitat for Humanity to create lasting, meaningful change in so many communities, said Debra Citta, program coordinator for the EnergyUnited Foundation. This donation will support Habitat for Humanitys efforts to build affordable housing and offer financial education to families striving for homeownership.

The $100,000 grant will be distributed equally to the following affiliates: Alexander County HfH, HfH Cabarrus County, Caldwell County HfH, HfH Catawba Valley, HfH of Lexington Area, HfH of Davie County, HfH of Forsyth County, HfH of Gaston County, HfH of Greater Greensboro, HfH of the Charlotte Region, HfH of Lincoln County, Stanley County HfH, HfH of Randolph County, HfH of Rowan County, HfH of Stokes County and Hometown HfH (Wilkes, Yadkin).

We are very grateful to receive this generous donation from the EnergyUnited Foundation, said Matt Cooksey, board chair of Habitat for Humanity North Carolina. This donation will help us serve even more families in need, and together with key community partners like the EnergyUnited Foundation, we can create brighter futures and stronger communities.

The EnergyUnited Foundation is a voluntary, member-funded nonprofit organization supported by EnergyUniteds Operation Round-Up program. Nearly 85,000 EnergyUnited members choose to participate in the program by rounding up their electric bills each month.

The maximum monthly contribution for an individual member with one account is 99 cents. Each of these contributions are pooled together in a single fund managed by the EnergyUnited Foundation to support needy individuals, families, and essential nonprofit organizations that complete an application explaining the reason and purpose for their requested grant.
All Peoples Church of Jesus Christ

Worship at 11 a.m. Sunday at American Legion Post 172. Pastor: Prophet Roland Jordan. Sermon: Patience: You Dont Know Rev. Jordan But You Will Get to Know Him. Scriptures 1 James 1:1-10.

Ann Street United Methodist Church

335 Ann St., Concord. Pastor: Rev. Randy L. Wall. In person and Facebook Live worship at 11 a.m. Sermon: The Mission and Ministry of the Gideons. Scripture: Isaiah 55:11. Guest Speaker: Scott Thomas, Representative, Gideons International.

Bethpage United Methodist Church

109 Fellowship Ave. at West C Street, Kannapolis. 704-932-5296. Pastor: Rev. McKenzie Sefa. Christian Education at 9 a.m. Worship at 10 a.m.

Bogers Chapel United Methodist Church

1775 Flowes Store Road East, Concord. Pastor: Pastor Eric Shaver. 9 a.m. Sunday school. 10 a.m. Worship Service (In person. YouTube, or Facebook). Sermon Title: To Pray or To Prey. Open Reading: Psalm 19. Scripture Reading: Philippians 3:4-14.

Calvary Lutheran Church

950 Bradley St., Concord. 704-782-6923. Pastor: Rev. Debbie Frye. Outdoor in-person worship at 8:30 a.m. (Outdoor Chapel) and 11 a.m. (Traditional Worship with Childrens Church). Coffee/Cookie Social 9:30-11 a.m. Sunday School for all ages at 9:45 a.m. Childrens Area and Nursery available at all times. All services live-streamed and available anytime on the Calvary Lutheran Concord YouTube channel  easy access through our website http://www.clconcord.org or church app Calvary Lutheran Church  NC. All are welcome. Sermon Series: Is Your God Big Enough?

Center United Methodist Church

1119 Union St., S., Concord. Pastor: Rev. Brian Crady. Sunday School for In Betweens and young adults at 9 a.m. Worship at 10 a.m. Nursery is provided during the worship service. Website is www.centerumcconcord.org. Look forward to you joining us for our service! Sermon: Hardpacked Soil and Thieving Birds. Scripture: Mark 4:3-9, 14-15.

Cold Springs Global Methodist Church

2550 Cold Springs Road, Concord. Pastor: Rev. Cliff Wall. Worship at 10 a.m. on Sundays. Visit online at https://youtube.com/@coldspringschurchconcord. Sermon: Honestly. Scripture: Matthew 5:33-38.

Crossroads Church

220 George W. Liles Parkway, Concord. Pastor: Lowell McNaney. Live worship streamed on Facebook, Crossroads Concord Church app or mycrossroads.co website at 9:30 a.m. and 11:11 a.m.

Crown Pointe Baptist Church

703 Tennessee St., Kannapolis. Pastor: Rev. Doug Crawley. Sunday School at 9 a.m. Worship at 10 a.m. in the sanctuary, or view online at our Facebook page.

Eastside Missionary Baptist Church

199 Elgin Drive, Concord. Pastor: Rev. Stephen Burrow. In person services: Sunday School 9:30 a.m. Worship services 10:30 a.m. and 6 p.m. Recorded worship services and other information at EastsideMissionaryBaptist.org. You will be welcomed. Practice social distancing.

Epworth United Methodist Church

1030 Burrage Road, NE, Concord. Pastor: Rev. Dennis Marshall. Sunday School at 9 a.m., followed by worship at 10 a.m. We welcome all to join us in person, or you may livestream or watch the recorded service at our website at www.epworthnc.com.

Forest Hill United Methodist Church

265 Union St., N., Concord. Senior Pastor: Rev. Mandy Jones. Associate Pastor: Rev. Wes Judy. We are open for in-person worship. Contemporary worship, 9 a.m. Sunday School/small groups, 10 a.m. Traditional worship, 11 a.m. Both the contemporary and the traditional worship services will also be live-streamed at foresthillumc.org or facebook.com/foresthillumc, in case you dont feel like being here in person.

Harmony United Methodist Church

101 White St., NW, Concord. Pastor: Rev. Thad Brown. Sunday school is at 10 a.m. followed by our worship service in the sanctuary at 11 a.m. Sermon: To Whose Family Do You Belong? Scripture: I John 3:4-6, John 3:17; II Corinthians 5:21; I John 3:7-8; I John 3:9; Psalms 119:1-3; Romans 6:15-18; I John 3:10; I Peter 1:23-25; I Peter 2:1-3. We welcome you to join us in worship! Service is live on Facebook.com/HarmonyUnitedMethodistChurch and we welcome all who are unable to join us in person to worship with us online. For more information, you can call the pastors phone 704-791-2883 or the churchs phone 704-782-8237.

Jackson Park United Methodist Church

715 Mable Ave., Kannapolis. Pastor Laurie Knoespel. Adult Sunday School 9:30 a.m. Worship at 10:30 a.m. Nursery will be provided during worship service.

Kirkwood Presbyterian Church

900 Klondale Ave., Kannapolis. Pastor: Rev. Dennis B. Craft. Worship at 11 a.m. in church sanctuary on Sundays. No mask restrictions.

McGill Baptist Church

5300 Poplar Tent Road, Concord, in-person services. Pastor: Rev. Steve Ayers. McGill will stream a worship service Sunday at 10 a.m. on www.facebook.com/mcgillbaptistchurch/ and on YouTube. The services will be live and also available on recording afterwards. Nineteenth Sunday after Pentecost. Sermon: Passing Onward. Scripture: Exodus 20:1-4, 7-9, 12-20; Philippians 3:4b-14; Matthew 21:33-46.

Midway United Methodist Church

108 Bethpage Road, Kannapolis. Pastor: Rev. Craig Allen. Come join us on Sunday morning at 9 a.m. for Sunday School and 10:30 a.m. for worship. Our service is also livestreamed on the web at midwayunitedmethodistchurch.org or facebook.com/midwayUMC. Nineteenth Sunday after Pentecost. Sermon: Shalls and Shall Nots. First Reading: Psalm 19:7-11. Second Reading: Exodus 20:1-4, 7-9, 12-20. Suggested Hymns: TFWS 2164, Sanctuary; UMH 467, Trust and Obey.

Mt. Mitchell United Methodist Church

6001 Old Salisbury-Concord Road, Kannapolis. Pastor: Joel Locklear. Sunday School at 9:45 a.m. (Adult and children classes.) Worship at 11 a.m. in person or Facebook. Sermon: Pressing Towards the Goal. Scripture: Philippians 3:4-14.

Multiply Church Concord

150 Warren C. Coleman Blvd., N., Concord. Pastor: Rev. Douglas Witherup. 8:30 a.m. service held at 280 Concord Parkway, S., Suite 15, Concord. Services at 150 Warren C Coleman Blvd., N., are worship and sermon at 9:30 a.m. and worship and sermon at 11:15 a.m.

New Gilead Reformed Church, ECO

2400 Old Salisbury-Concord Road. 9:40 a.m., adult Bible study; 10 a.m., Sunday school; 11 a.m., worship in the sanctuary, also live on Facebook.

Oak Grove Baptist Church

200 Sims Parkway, Harrisburg. Pastor: Rev. Franklin D. Watkins. 10 a.m. In-Person Worship Service. Also available on Facebook Live and YouTube Live. Sermon: Responding to Gods Response by Rev. Dr. Alexander McDonald. Scripture: Psalm 34:1-8.

Second Presbyterian Church1578 Dale Earnhardt Blvd., Kannapolis. Pastor Sue Black, Minister. Rev. Aaron Price, Assistant Pastor. Sunday school at 10 a.m. Worship at 11 a.m. Sermon: Truth is Revealed. Scripture: Jonah Chapter 4.

St. Johns Reformed Church

901 N. Main St., Kannapolis. Pastor: Rev. Chris King. Sunday school for all ages, 9:30 a.m. Worship service, 10:30 a.m. Website, www.ourstjohns.org. Email/phone, ourstjohns@gmail.com and 704-932-3656. Sermon: What Prevents You From Following Jesus? Scripture: John 7:40-53.

Trinity United Church of Christ

38 Church St., Concord. Pastor: Rev. Nathan King. Worship at 11 a.m., in person or Facebook live. Website: commachurch.com.
While we digest the ousting of House Speaker Kevin McCarthy it might be informative to know that North Carolina was the first in the modern era to oust a Speaker. We can learn from that history.

The year was 1989. Since early in the 20th century Democrats had dominated state leadership, but in the 1988 elections former Republican congressman Jim Martin was elected to an unprecedented second term as governor. Republicans also gained legislative seats, electing 46 members, to Democrats 74.

Lincoln County freshman, Johnathan Rhyne was elected by Republicans as minority leader. The Democratic caucus re-nominated Liston Ramsey, from Madison County, for an unprecedented fourth two-year term. But seasoned observers knew there was grumbling over leadership.

Those who previously served in the House were upset that a gang of eight essentially determined what did or didnt pass. Individual members felt disrespected and ignored, especially by Speaker Ramseys top lieutenant, Billy Watkins, chair of the powerful Appropriations Committee. Watkins could be vindictive, dictatorial and disrespectful to anyone who disagreed. Several Democratic members met with Speaker Ramsey and demanded that Watkins be removed from power. He refused.

A small group of about 20 Democrats met to discuss how to remove Watkins, concluding the only way was to oust Ramsey. But the group, as they called themselves, didnt have support from enough other Democrats to vote him out and recognized they needed help from Republicans. Conditions were not nearly so partisan or polarized as now, so they speculated who in the GOP they could approach about overthrowing the Speaker.

Call it fate or whatever, but Democrat Joe Mavretic from Edgecombe County, volunteered that he had a personal relationship with Representative Rhyne and would be willing to probe whether a coalition might be possible.

Private discussions were begun. They readily acknowledged Ralph Waldo Emersons advice: If you shoot at a king, you must kill him. We can only imagine those deliberations.

Included in the twenty or so Democrats were names we know, like Sam Hunt, David Diamont, Pete Hasty, Harry Payne, Pryor Gibson, C. R. Edwards, Walter Jones, Jr., Joe Mavretic, Betty Wiser, Roy Cooper and Alex Warner. We know what they accomplished in later life, but in that moment they understood that failure would not only result in banishment to legislative purgatory, but also would impact their future personal and professional lives. They believed their cause was not only just, but necessary for the betterment of North Carolina.

Rhyne and Mavretic had developed strong bonds of trust and step by step helped build trust among their respective party members. Mavretic was chosen to be the speaker nominee. In addition to being a retired fighter pilot and Marine Colonel, he had attended the War College, studied political science and had been schooled in how to conduct a quiet campaign, something necessary to avoid killing the plan before they were ready to go public.

An elaborate strategy evolved. Some of their agreements sound like action movie plots. The group divided into cells and kept each other constantly informed of relevant happenings. At one point they each agreed not to take personal phone calls, having assistants, spouses or family answer and relay messages.

Mavretic personally went to Speaker Ramsey the day before the vote and informed him that they had the votes to oust him. On the day of the vote all the group met for lunch; just before the appointed time they walked onto the House floor and elected Josephus Mavretic to be the Speaker of the NC House.

I remember the reverberations that quickly spread over Raleigh and throughout the state. A new era had begun in our state legislature.

Heres my spin on six lessons that can be learned from the 1989 takeover:

1. We must reaffirm that every person has value and cannot or should not be diminished for any reason. Too many of the 120 House members didnt feel respected and heard.

2. Those in elected positions represent many others. Today, each member of the N.C. House is representing some 88,000, so disrespecting the representative also disrespects those they represent. That opposes every basic tenant of our founders beliefs.

3. We have become a state and nation of intractable factions. George Washington, in his farewell address, tried to warn us of the dangers of geographical sectionalism and political factionalism. You have in a common cause fought and triumphed together, he said. The independence and Liberty you possess are the work of joint counsels, and joint efforts, of common dangers, suffering and successes. Words worth heeding today.

4. We can get more accomplished working together than standing alone. Bipartisanship serves us all better.

5. Many political problems can be solved by term limits. The longer someone remains in power, the more susceptible they are to abuse that power. Our founders never envisioned career politicians, as too many have become.

6. The group of Democrats and Republicans in the N.C. House knew the possible consequences of what they were doing but were willing to take risks for the good of our state. There are times when you must act. Now is one of them.

The question now before us is whether we will meet the challenge.
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Over the past few weeks, England's Daily Mail has published several articles about the growing political unrest in South Africa and the rise of Julius Malema, head of the Economic Freedom Fighters, an expressly "Marxist-Leninist" party calling for "seizure of private property without compensation" and nationalization of the country's gold mines, banking institutions and other industries. Malema has declared his plans to "destroy South African capitalism" and turn the country into Cuba, which he describes as a "successful socialist state."

Malema follows the Marxist playbook, demonizing entire classes of South Africans  mostly white farmers  and calling for their deaths. Malema has been chanting "Kill the Boer" at his massive rallies, and his followers are listening; in 2023 alone, there have been 42 murders of white farmers in South Africa  more than one a week.

Malema also displays the personal hypocrisy typical of Marxists. A multimillionaire who lives in an exclusive community, he is married to a supermodel who dresses in designer fashions; their child attends an exclusive private school; Malema has a fleet of luxury European automobiles at his disposal, and he shops at the world's most expensive boutiques.

Despite his flagrant hypocrisy and overt calls for genocide, poor Black people in South Africa are flocking to Malema and his EFF. Malema's party currently holds 44 seats in the South African parliament, and he is predicted to become vice president of the country in the next election. Young people interviewed by the Daily Mail say the same things: They are poor. They are desperate. They will vote EFF because the country's economy is terrible and the other parties offer them nothing.

Alas, if Malema and the EFF gain control of South Africa, his supporters will be in for a rude awakening.

Those seeking a racially blind political and economic philosophy could find no more perfect example than Marxism. No matter where it has been tried, or by whom; regardless of the race or ethnicity or skin color of the leaders, subjects or victims, it has produced exactly the same results: economic collapse, famine, starvation, oppression, widespread imprisonment, human suffering and death on a massive scale:

 In Russia and the surrounding countries that comprised the former Soviet Union  at least 60 million people died due to famines, starvation, civil war, forced relocation, labor camps, imprisonment and execution.

 In Asia  between 40 million and 80 million Chinese died under Mao Zedong's communist regime in China, killed by starvation, forced labor or mass executions. The communist Khmer Rouge regime was responsible for the deaths of between 1.5 and 3 million Cambodians, who were killed by disease and starvation in forced labor camps and by widespread executions. In North Korea, another communist dictatorship, famine created by the country's Stalinist economic policies killed between 2.5 million and 3.5 million people in the mid-1990s.

 In Latin America  65 years of communism in Fidel Castro's Cuba has left the Caribbean nation economically devastated. Venezuela, once the wealthiest country in Latin America, has been destroyed by the socialist policies of Hugo Chavez and his successor, Nicolas Maduro; 76% of the country now lives in "extreme poverty." Nearly 8 million people have fled.

 In Africa  communist and socialist regimes in country after country  Angola, Ghana, Ethiopia, Tanzania, Zimbabwe  destroyed agricultural production, exacerbated poverty and lined the pockets of corrupt dictatorial leaders-for-life.

Historically, Marxists have exploited preexisting conditions  poverty, resentment, desperation  to drum up political support for their movements. Today, however, in the United States (and some western European countries), the leftists already in control of government are themselves creating the economic disasters that they believe will spur widespread support for Marxist-style regimes.

America has never really been fertile soil for leftist revolutionaries. Movements for unions and better labor conditions, activists for racial equality and other human rights issues, among others, have certainly had left-leaners among their leaders and in the rank-and-file. But Jacobin-style calls for a proletarian paradise have gotten little traction, not merely because the United States is a country where capitalism flourishes but because it is a country where entrepreneurial capitalism flourishes. The political liberty, economic freedom and individual ethics grounded in Judeo-Christian values produced a country where anyone  regardless of background, income, station in life  could come here, start a business and thrive.

But what we are facing now is the "climate change" grift for leftward drift. "Climate change" policy advocates call for the elimination of private property, single-family homes and ownership of transportation, massive reductions in agricultural and industrial capacity, the complete elimination of oil and gas, and unrestricted global migration from poor countries to wealthy ones, along with confiscatory taxation and mandatory wealth transfers. Oppressive regulation established by unelected and unaccountable bureaucrats will place de facto control of the production and distribution of all assets into the hands of a small group of self-appointed elites who  like all Marxists throughout history  will be exempt from the privations they impose on everyone else.

The objective is the destruction of western democracies  the nation-states that provide their identity and political stability, as well as their (largely) free-market economies.

Those who are seeking the "fundamental transformation" of the United States have figured out that a strong middle class and the existence of millions of small business owners provide an almost unbreachable bulwark against the Marxist takeover of America. The only way to achieve their aims is to thwart the possibility of owning one's own business; to make ownership of private property legally impossible or prohibitively expensive; to destroy the business owners within the middle and upper-middle classes and thereby destroy those classes themselves. That will collapse the U.S. economy and thrust millions into poverty from which there is little hope of escape.

That is the endgame. That is the climate in which Marxists thrive. That is the consequence that must be avoided at all costs.

(COMMENT, BELOW)

Laura Hollis is an attorney and academic. She resides in Indiana with her husband and their two children.


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Congress passed a temporary spending bill in the nick of time Saturday, averting a federal government shutdown for the next 45 days. But to secure support from the Republican conference, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy was forced to eliminate a provision that would have designated billions of dollars in additional military and other aid for Ukraine. Even with that concession, nearly half of House Republicans voted against the bill.

Backing for Ukraine's resistance to the Russian invasion remains strong in Congress as a whole, and McCarthy is expected soon to file separate legislation to provide more aid for Kyiv. But the isolationist caucus in the GOP is clearly growing. Last Thursday the House voted to approve $300 million in Ukraine aid, but more House Republicans voted no than voted yes. (McCarthy was ousted as speaker on Tuesday.)

Increasingly, an "America First" mindset dominates the Republican base. In an August CNN poll, 71 percent of Republicans surveyed opposed further assistance for Ukraine. To some commentators, the mounting GOP opposition to any involvement in the Ukraine war is simply a return to the norm. "A streak of belligerent isolationism has always been present within the party," Peter Juul wrote for The Liberal Patriot, a center-left newsletter. Jordan Tama, a professor at American University, observes in Foreign Policy that "an isolationist streak has existed within the Republican Party for more than a century, competing with a long-standing internationalist impulse."

It is certainly true that Republicans have gone through phases of wanting America to pull up the gangplank and shirk the responsibilities that come with being an economic and military superpower. But so have Democrats. Both parties have proven to be highly susceptible to the isolationist virus. They are likeliest to succumb to it when the other party controls the White House  and to rediscover the importance of active engagement on the global stage when the president is from their side of the aisle.

Again and again, this has been the pattern.

After Iraq invaded Kuwait in 1990, President George H. W. Bush declared "This will not stand" and assembled a 42-nation coalition to roll back Saddam Hussein's flagrantly illegal conquest. But when the time came for Congress to vote on authorizing the use of force, Democrats (future president Joe Biden among them) voted overwhelmingly against it.

Democrats had been more supportive two years earlier, when Bush sent troops to Panama to depose strongman Manuel Noriega after the killing of an unarmed US Marine. Yet even then, as The New York Times reported, "support from the Democrats was thin, and in some quarters nonexistent." Bush's decision was lambasted by senior members of the Democratic caucus, such as Representative Don Edwards of California, who called it "a trigger-happy" example of "our mindless, 100-year abuse of small Central American nations."

While Republicans had firmly endorsed US action overseas when it was ordered by Bush 41, they were far less supportive a few years later when a Democratic president, Bill Clinton, deployed troops to the Balkans as part of a NATO effort to halt the Serbian slaughter in Bosnia. Traditional GOP internationalists like Senators John McCain of Arizona and Bob Dole of Kansas upheld Clinton's policy, but hard-core Republican nationalists led by Patrick Buchanan insisted that America should wash its hands of Kosovo and leave the problem to the Europeans. "It is not our war," Buchanan fumed. "This is an ugly civil war inside Yugoslavia. We have no vital interests there." In May 2000, the Senate narrowly defeated legislation that would have forced Clinton to recall all US personnel from Kosovo  but a lopsided majority of Republicans supported such a withdrawal.

The 2011 military intervention in Libya that overthrew dictator Moammar Khadafy was ordered by Barack Obama, a Democrat  so it is not surprising that dozens of Republicans lined up to oppose it. A resolution by then-House Speaker John Boehner rebuking Clinton for having "failed to provide Congress with a compelling rationale ... for current activities regarding Libya" was backed by virtually the entire GOP conference.

Conversely, when President Ronald Reagan ordered an invasion of Grenada following a Marxist coup d'etat in 1983, it was Democrats  including six candidates for the 1984 Democratic presidential nomination  who deplored it. Tip O'Neill, the Democratic speaker of the House, condemned Reagan's actions as a "frightening" example of "gunboat diplomacy." Seven Democratic congressmen went so far as to introduce a resolution to impeach Reagan.

Yes, there is a rising tide of isolationism among conservatives and Republicans today, just as there was among liberals and Democrats during the Vietnam War and its aftermath. But in the ongoing tension between being the "world's policeman" and the old yearning to avoid "entangling alliances," where the parties stand at any given time is generally a reflection of who controls foreign affairs.

US support for Ukraine is the right course of action. But because the president is a Democrat, many Republicans think otherwise. They doubtless imagine that their opposition is motivated by pure principle. But if Biden were a Republican, the GOP would be a stronghold of support for Ukraine, and more and more Democrats would be calling for the aid to stop.

Jeff Jacoby is a columnist for The Boston Globe, from which this is reprinted with permission."
TEUTOPOLIS  State Rep. Adam Niemerg, R-Teutopolis, is seeking immediate action to improve safety in a construction zone along Interstate 70 from Effingham to Montrose.

Niemerg said in a press release Wednesday that he has sent a letter to Illinois Department of Transportation Secretary Omer Osman and Gov. J.B. Pritzker urging them to take action. Niemerg said he has been highlighting the problems at this construction zone since April and mentioned it during a news conference Saturday following a crash that resulted in a deadly anhydrous ammonia leak in Teutopolis the night before.

It is beyond frustrating to ask for help and to continue to be ignored," Niemerg said. "I want to be clear, the local IDOT staff has and is doing all they can. What they need is for the state to be more proactive and more involved. The local officials need help to maintain safer roadways and they are simply not getting the help they need.

Niemerg said people are dying and families are suffering thanks to the unsafe conditions at the construction zone. During the immediate aftermath of crashes on I-70, traffic is sometimes rerouted to nearby U.S. 40.

The latest deadly incident was a crash involving an anhydrous ammonia tanker that leaked Friday evening along U.S 40. This crash killed five people, injured multiple others, and forced parts of Teutopolis to be evacuated.

Niemerg said the public needs IDOT to come up with a solution and to take immediate action to improve safety in this construction zone.

"The incident involving an anhydrous ammonia tanker should not be ignored," Niemerg said. "We need action not words. It is my hope IDOT will take this latest accident seriously and make improving the safety of this construction zone the priority it needs to be.

How do people die in U.S. traffic collisions? How do people die in U.S. traffic collisions? Other vehicles cause the most traffic fatalities, but there are a surprising array of other causes Regional differences paint an unusual picture of national road safety The most common cause of fatal crashes in each state
CHICAGO  The mother of a 19-year-old Chicago woman who was found dead in 2017 in a freezer at a suburban hotel where she had attended a party has reached a settlement in her lawsuit against the hotel and others.

A settlement was reached in August, Cook County court records show, but it has not been entered on the court docket because attorneys for Kenneka Jenkins' mother have asked that the terms be sealed from the public, the Chicago Tribune reported.

A judge denied that request Tuesday but asked the mother's attorney to resubmit the request. A status hearing is scheduled for next week in the case, which had been set for a trial starting Oct. 16, court records show.

Attorneys for Jenkins' mother, Tereasa Martin, argued that the family's safety and privacy trumped any reason to require that the records be publicly filed.

"The widespread publicity of this case, including uncontrolled speculation and social media commentary has resulted in various threats made against various individuals in the case," including Martin, witnesses and the defendants, an attorney for Martin wrote in an unopposed motion to seal the settlement's terms.

The lawsuit was filed in December 2018 against Crowne Plaza Hotel in Rosemont, its security company and a restaurant that rented the walk-in freezer in which Jenkins was found dead. It alleged the defendants were negligent because they didn't secure the freezer or conduct a proper search following Jenkins' disappearance. The suit initially sought more than $50 million in damages.

Jenkins was found dead inside the freezer on Sept. 10, 2017, nearly 24 hours after she disappeared from a ninth-floor room at the Crowne Plaza where she had attended a party with as many as 30 other people.

The Cook County medical examiner's office found that she died from hypothermia and ruled her death an accident. Alcohol intoxication and the use of a drug for treating epilepsy and migraines were "significant contributing factors" in her death, the office said.

Surveillance videos released by police days later show Jenkins wandering alone through a kitchen area near the freezer not long after she disappeared.
MATTOON  People who grow things know the importance of nurturing their plants.

The Illinois Farm Bureau is using that same nurturing concept to address the shortage of agriculture educators in the state.

Rachel Probst, who is starting her second year as the agriculture teacher at Mattoon High School, is one of four agriculture teachers in Illinois selected to receive a grant from the farm bureau's IAA Foundation.

Probst applied for the grant program and was selected based on excellent efforts in the classroom, as well as strong short- and long- term personal and agriculture program goals.

Probst learned of her selection during a surprise announcement at the school by representatives of the Coles Farm Bureau and the Facilitating Coordination in Agricultural Education.

"This is everything a teacher could ask for," Probst said.

The grant amount will increase each year for five years as long as Probst remains active as an ag educator in the state, for a total of $10,000.

Its just one way to reinforce that we support ag educators, said Jennifer Smith, development manager for the IAA Foundation.
People from more than 100 countries, including, Amal Ahmed Abedl Rahman of Palestine, right, and her husband, Izzddin Al Zaghloul, raise their right hands as they take the oath to become U.S citizens on Dec. 7, 2022, as the U.S. District Court of the Northern District of Illinois hosts the largest ever naturalization ceremony for people becoming U.S. citizens at Wintrust Arena in Chicago. (Antonio Perez/Chicago Tribune)

Some bad ideas just wont die, and in todays political environment, the worse the idea, the longer its life expectancy. One of the more harebrained is ending birthright citizenship, which is meant to penalize children born on U.S. soil to immigrants who are here illegally. Long a far-right obsession, it is now more or less the orthodox position in the Republican Party.

In 2015, Donald Trump endorsed the idea, and so did several of his rivals. If elected in 2024, he vows to use an executive order to abolish birthright citizenship, which he somehow failed to do during his presidency. Vivek Ramaswamy echoes Trump on most issues, this one included. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis agrees. No one in the GOP presidential field seems inclined to rally opposition.

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But opposition is in order. Some ideas are grievously wrong in principle, and some would be a hot mess in practice. This one is both.

The 14th Amendment, adopted after the Civil War, says, All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States. It has long been understood to mean that anyone who emerges into life in this country automatically becomes an American  with the notable exception of children of foreign diplomats.

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Trump and others claim that the offspring of migrants here illegally dont actually qualify, because they are not subject to the jurisdiction of our government. But they are: Unlike foreign diplomats, they enjoy no immunity from U.S. laws.

The congressional debate offers little support for upending the status quo. At the time the 14th Amendment was proposed, when one opponent fretted that it would mandate citizenship for the children of Chinese immigrants, a senator who supported it confirmed his fear. Back then, Chinese immigrants were not allowed to become citizens.

Decades before the era of liberal judicial activism, the Supreme Court interpreted the 14th Amendment as enshrining birthright citizenship. In 1898, it ruled that Wong Kim Ark, who was born here to Chinese parents but barred from reentering the country under the Chinese Exclusion Act, was a U.S. citizen and therefore entitled to admission. It wasnt the last time the court has affirmed birthright citizenship.

To exclude the children of those here without authorization, youd need a constitutional amendment, which for now is about as likely as glaciers in the Grand Canyon. The advocates probably realize as much. But a Republican president could issue an executive order and then blame the Supreme Court for striking it down  and proceed to crusade for an amendment without fear of the consequences if it actually came to pass.

But it bears noting how disastrous those consequences would be. You cant deny birthright citizenship to the children of immigrants without denying it to all children born here. Right now, parents have a simple way to verify that their kids are citizens: a birth certificate. But under this plan, parents would first have to prove their own citizenship, which is not always easy.

Some Americans already have to bear the burden of proof, such as military service members whose kids are born overseas. Margaret Stock, a veteran immigration lawyer in Anchorage, Alaska, who handles such cases, notes that anyone seeking to qualify has to file a 15-page form and pay a fee of $1,170. Repealing birthright citizenship would be a new birth tax on every child born in America, she told me.

After paying it, families would pay a tax in patience. Here in Chicago, the typical time for processing these applications is nine months. In Nashville, its 17 months; in Phoenix, 21.5.

Those figures are for an agency that handles a few thousand such cases a year  not 3.66 million, which is how many births there are each year in the United States. A new army of federal employees would be needed to shuffle all the paper.

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While enduring these delays, parents wouldnt be able to get Social Security numbers, insurance coverage or passports for their babies or claim them as dependents on tax forms. The lives of many families  maybe yours  would hang in bureaucratic limbo.

And what would be accomplished? Only one thing: the denial of basic rights to infants who have done nothing wrong. Instead of being integrated into American society, the children of immigrants who are in the U.S. illegally would become a permanent underclass of stateless souls.

Anti-immigrant zealots may fantasize that these families will all pack up and leave. But men and women who trudged through jungles and crawled under concertina wire to find refuge here are not likely to give up so easily. If the adults stay, as millions do, why wouldnt their kids?

In the book of Genesis, we read of Esau, who gave up his birthright for a mess of pottage  a bowl of lentil stew. Abolishing birthright citizenship would be an even worse bargain.

Steve Chapman was a member of the Tribune Editorial Board from 1981 to 2021. His columns, exclusive to the Tribune, appear the first Thursday of every month. He can be reached at stephenjchapman@icloud.com.

Submit a letter, of no more than 400 words, to the editor here or email letters@chicagotribune.com.
THURSDAY, Oct. 5, 2023 (HealthDay News) -- In the United States, "conversion therapy for LGBTQ people has been widely condemned by major medical associations. Not only that, nearly half of the country has now banned the practice for minors.

But a new review of 16 investigations across six nations suggests conversion therapy is hardly a thing of the past.

On average, nearly one of every 10 LGBTQ individuals around the world say they have been exposed to the highly problematic practice at some point in their lives, researchers found.

Such practices include organized attempts to deter someone from adopting or expressing an LGBTQ identity or a gender identity that differs from [their] sex assigned at birth, explained study lead author Travis Salway. He is an assistant professor with the Simon Fraser University Centre for Gender and Sexual Health Equity, in Canada.

But the vast majority of research on conversion practices to date demonstrates limited to no effectiveness, and substantial risk of harm, including depression, anxiety and, in some cases, suicide, Salway added.

Nevertheless, after reviewing studies conducted in the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, Colombia and South Korea, Salway's team found conversion practices remain prevalent, with approximately 8% of LGBTQ people having been exposed in their lifetime.

That figure did vary considerably from country to country, rising to 13% in the United States, while falling to 7% across Canada. On average, 12% of transgender individuals said they had been subjected to the practice.

The findings were published online Oct. 4 in PLOS ONE.

We are disheartened to find that conversion practices remain prevalent, said Salway, despite the enactment of laws to ban these harmful practices, as well as health professional statements denouncing them.

State policies vary

Indeed, most major medication associations have come out against conversion therapy. In the United States, those include the American Medical Association, the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Psychiatric Association, the Gay and Lesbian Medical Association and the American Academy of Family Physicians.

Meanwhile, 22 states and Washington, D.C., have passed legislation banning conversion therapy for minors. Those states include California and New York. Another five states have partial bans on the books.

On the other hand, 19 states, including Texas, have no state law or policy limiting the practice. Three other states  including Florida  have bans that are blocked due to ongoing court battles, according to Family Equality.

The upshot: nearly 3 in 10 American LGBTQ youth between the ages of 13 and 17 reside in jurisdictions that permit the practice, according to the Family Equality Council.

One reason the practice has endured is that those bans cannot address the full scope of the problem, said Jason Cianciotto, vice president of communications and policy with Gay Men's Health Crisis in New York City.

Its been very important for states and localities to pass these laws, Cianciotto acknowledged. But one of the big holes is that the majority of these therapies are being provided by religious-based lay counselors, ministers and church elders who are not licensed therapists or practitioners, which means they havent gone to school to get a psychology degree or medical school to get a psychiatry degree. If they have any credentials at all, its from a ministerial school.

For the moment, theres little legislation can do to address this loophole, he noted.

These statewide bans would have included lay counselors if they could have, but they cant. And you combine that with the fact that people under the age of 18 have very few rights," Cianciotto added. "So, its very simple and easy for parents who have strong religious beliefs, and come from a homophobic place, to go somewhere and force their child to attend. And unless that child is being treated in a way that would meet the legal definition of abuse, theres really no recourse.

Personal journey

Cianciotto knows of what he speaks.

I was 13 years old when I was first taken to a Christian lay counselor, he recalled. What was I going to do? Do I have the wherewithal at 13 to know to call the police and say Im being abused here? Of course not.

Raised primarily by a mother who embraced fundamentalist Christianity, Cianciotto said there was no pretense about what was happening.

It was very clear that they were Christian counselors, he stressed. And religious dogma taught me that being gay was among the worst things you could do. And if I chose to be a homosexual I would live a lonely life and get AIDS and die.

Initially, Cianciotto played along with the process. I was a smart kid. So, I pretty quickly realized that the best way to stop going to this place is to just go along with it, and agree with everything that they said," he said. "Which I did.

But when Cianciotto turned 16, he was forced back into conversion therapy for upwards of three more years.

All the things I experienced then are very similar to what would be practiced today, meaning we would begin with a prayer," he said. "And the world view I was subjected to was based on their interpretation of the Bible.

College proved to be a turning point. There, he met other LGBTQ people and started to develop a sense of agency, Cianciotto said.

I realized I dont have to submit. I dont have to do whatever my mother or the church thought I should do. But then of course I was kicked out of my home. I had to couch surf with friends. It was not until my father and brothers and sisters got involved that I had a home again, he said.

Today I have the life that my mother and my church told me that I was never going to have, said Cianciotto, who recently celebrated the 20th anniversary of he and his husbands first date. I was very fortunate to have a couple of teachers in high school who helped me to see that a happy life is possible, who told me how valuable and special my life was, and how it was so worthwhile for me to fight and survive what I was going through, because when I get older I will thrive.

Even so, "conversion therapy left its mark, in the form of a lifelong struggle with depression, he added.

I look at my husband, who grew up in a supportive family. He was teased in school a little, but nothing compared to what I went through," Cianciotto said. "And I wonder what my life might have been like if conversion therapy had been a relic of the past, if these wounds hadnt happened in the first place, and my heart aches for all those people who are still going through this.

More information

There's more on conversion therapy at Family Equality.

SOURCES: Travis Salway, PhD, assistant professor, Simon Fraser University, Centre for Gender and Sexual Health Equity, British Columbia Centre for Disease Control, Canada; Jason Cianciotto, vice president of communications and policy, Gay Men's Health Crisis (GMHC), New York City; PLOS ONE, Oct. 4, 2023, online
North Carolina is celebrating Manufacturing Week through Saturday.

The state has the eighth-largest manufacturing economy in the United States as well as the largest manufacturing workforce in the Southeast, the N.C. Commerce Department said Wednesday.

In 2022, 95% of North Carolina exports consisted of $38.2 billion worth of manufactured products, including pharmaceuticals, chemicals, aerospace components, non-ferrous metals, semiconductors and textiles.

Also in 2022, manufacturing represented 68% of all new, relocation and expansion projects with more than 21,940 new jobs and investments exceeding $17.2 billion.

Altogether, more than 472,000 North Carolinians are employed in the manufacturing sector.
A frequent congressional critic of Wells Fargo & Co.  U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown of Ohio  has taken his latest concerns about the banks labor practices to its chief federal regulators.

Browns letter to the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and Federal Reserve Board carries considerable political weight since he is chairman of the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs.

The letter was sent to Michael Hsu, the agencys acting comptroller, and Federal Reserve Vice Chairman Michael Barr.

In a speech earlier this year, Hsu questioned the perspective, often held by members of the public and regulators alike, that the nations 10 largest banks such as are simply too big to fail.

Brown focused on Wells Fargo branch employees filing unfair labor practice charges with the National Labor Relations Board over the past 12 months. He said Wells Fargo employees who tried to report labor abuses reportedly faced retaliation from the company.

There are also open NRLB investigations on Wells Fargo affecting employees attempting union-organizing efforts across the country.

Recent allegations of unfair labor practices against Wells Fargo are yet another example of the banks pattern of repeatedly violating a range of federal and state laws, Brown said. Potential violations of federal labor law raise additional concerns about Wells Fargos continued inability to fix its longstanding problems and do right by its customers, investors and workers.

Since the fraudulent customer account scandal erupted in September 2016, Wells Fargo has been subject to a series of federal fines and consent orders that have added up to at least $11.5 billion. Brown has been very focal in his support of efforts by the federal Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and others.

Existing monetary penalties and growth restrictions have not been sufficient to prevent Wells Fargo from repeated consumer abuses, compliance failures and gross mismanagement, Brown said.

Meanwhile, the biggest shadow still hanging over Wells Fargo continues to be the Feds order, issued in February 2018, that prohibits the bank from increasing its total assets beyond the $1.93 trillion it had on Dec. 31, 2017.

Regulators should take stronger actions to change Wells Fargos culture of noncompliance and account for the troubling unfair labor practice allegations that could be the bellwether for broader safety and soundness and consumer compliance risks, Brown said.

Another example mentioned was the bank being ordered by the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration to pay $22 million to a fired Chicago area-based senior manager for violating the whistleblower protection provisions of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act for improper termination.

Brown also cited that Wells Fargo chief executive Charlie Scharf told the Senate committee that he would not remain neutral if Wells Fargo employees try to unionize.

Abusive labor conditions and retaliation against workers who attempt to communicate concerns raise red flags about management quality and can be indicators of greater risk to the institution and consumers, Brown said.
Seven women are facing prostitution charges in connection with massage parlors in the Triad, Gastonia, Union County, Charlotte and South Carolina, authorities say.

Since January, the Forsyth County Drug Task Force and U.S. Department of Homeland Security have investigated complaints about massage parlors operating in Winston-Salem residential neighborhoods, the task force said.

Investigators then linked eight other massage parlors to Li Huang, 49, of Rock Hill, S.C., and Chongmei Wei, 59, the task force said.

Those massage parlors were found in Gastonia, Indian Trail, Charlotte, Greensboro, Columbia, S.C., and Rock Hill, S.C., the task force said.

On Sept. 22, Huang was arrested in Rock Hill, the agency said. Investigators then executed searches at massage parlors in Winston-Salem, Gastonia, Indian Trail and Rock Hill.

Chongmei Wei, 59, has outstanding arrest warrants for promoting prostitution and continuing a criminal enterprise, the task force said.

Haiyan Chen, 52, of Mill Street in Winston-Salem, was charged with felony promoting prostitution, according to an arrest warrant.

Chen is accused of managing a massage parlor on Mill Street where money was exchanged for sexual services on May 1, the warrant said. Chen was scheduled to appear Thursday in Forsyth District Court.

Huang was charged with promoting prostitution for profits and continuing a criminal enterprise, another arrest warrant shows.

Huang is accused of operating a massage parlor on Mill Street in the citys southwestern section that offered sexual services on March 1 in exchange for money and profits, the warrant said.

Huang also is accused of engaging in a criminal enterprise by working with five or more people and being a supervisory organizer in which Huang obtained income and resources, the warrant said.

Huang, who was given a $15,000 bond, is scheduled to appear Oct. 12 in Forsyth District Court.

Zuying Liu, 60, of Monterey, Calif., was charged with misdemeanor solicitation of prostitution, according to an arrest warrant. Liu is accused of performing sex for money on Sept. 22, the warrant said.

Liu was given a $7,500 bond, the task force said. Liu is scheduled to appear Friday in Forsyth District Court.

Liling Liang, 59, of Lancaster, S.C., is charged with felony promoting prostitution and conspiracy to commit prostitution by the Greensboro Police Department, the task force said. Liang was given a $5,000 bond.

Liang is scheduled to appear Oct. 23 in Guilford District Court.

Quilan Shen, 57, of Greensboro, was charged with felony promoting prostitution by the Greensboro Police Department, the task force said. Shen was given a $5,000 bond.

Shen is scheduled to appear Oct. 23 in Guilford District Court.

Hsiang-Chai Lin, 56, of Indian Trail, was charged with misdemeanor solicitation of prostitution by the Union County Sheriffs Office, the task force said. Lin was given a $1,000 bond.

Lin is scheduled to appear Nov. 30 in Union District Court in Monroe.

Investigators with the Winston-Salem Police Department worked with the Union County Sheriffs Office, the Greensboro Police Department, the Rock Hill, S.C., Police Department, the S.C. Law Enforcement Division, Homeland Security investigators and the Gastonia Police Department, the task force said.
GREENSBORO  The expectations for the planned 2,100 employees of Toyota Battery Manufacturing of NC come down to two words  continuing improvement.

That is the overarching message applicants and about 200 new hires are being told as Toyota gears up for its $5.9 billion electric-vehicle battery plant in Liberty.

Its also the companywide mantra as the North Carolina plant is Toyotas first dedicated to EV and hybrid battery production.

As processes evolve, how batteries are produced will evolve, which means employees have to be adaptable in embracing new technologies, said Derrick Taylor, senior manager for the plants Center of Excellence training system.

We encourage employees to be innovative and to share their ideas for how to improve production.

When at full production, the plant will become the largest single economic-development project commitment in North Carolina history. First battery production is set for early 2025 with full production in 2027.

Toyota conducted a hiring overview Wednesday for Triad media outlets at its temporary training facility just off Gate City Boulevard in Greensboro. To apply for open positions, go to www.toyota.com/careers.

The goal was to get the word out to potential applicants about the rigors of the nearly four-hour assessment and hiring process termed as Day of Work, as well as raising awareness that a firm job offer would come within three days if they are the right fit.

Although most of the hiring and training will take place in the temporary Greensboro facility until the plant opens, Toyota human resources officials plan to conduct Day of Work type events in several Triad communities.

The hiring overview also was an acknowledgement of the challenges of trying to hire at least 350 employees by years end, and between 750 and 800 by early 2025 in a tight Triad job market with an ever-expanding number of advanced manufacturers.

Those include Avgol Americas Inc., Boom Supersonic, Deere & Co., Egger Wood Products, Honda and Honda Aircraft Co., Marshall Aerospace USA, Nucor Corp., ProKidney Corp., Renfro Corp., Siemens Mobility North America, Tex-Tech Industries, Vecoplan LLC and Ziehl-Abegg Inc.

All 200 new Toyota hires are from the Triad, including 60 for production and maintenance facility work, said Tim Stanton, the plants senior human resources manager. Another 42 new hires began a 10-day training class Wednesday.

The main hiring focus thus far has been on production assessment, machine operators, quality and internal logistics, maintenance assessment, and maintenance and facilities workers.

The starting hourly pay is $18 for logistics employees, $23 for production and quality employees and a range of $20.30 to $41.50 for maintenance and facilities employees.

For those who dont pass the assessment process, they can reapply after three months.

Balancing act

Stanton said its a balancing act between taking applicants previous work experiences and skills, and adjusting them to Toyotas standards.

Stanton said thats why Toyota puts so much emphasis on the Day of Work process, as well as a subsequent initial 10-day training period.

Applicants are assessed on what Toyota considers as five interview competencies of achievement motivation, adaptability, dependability, positive attitude and safety awareness.

Following an interview to evaluate which operational functions may be a good fit, applicants are presented with a hands-on battery production simulation and then go through a six-step process to measure their overall physical fitness that includes testing their finger-pinching strength.

We need to see how they process and their attention to detail, Stanton said.

The creation of these batteries is very critical because we want to make sure we have a very safe and reliable product for our customers.

If applicants making it through those steps, they are sent to an on-site medical facility that includes a drug test.

Because battery component production is done in a clean-room environment, those employees will be required to work in safety suits that Toyota will provide as a full set for a five-day workweek. Employees will have specific production jobs in an assembly line format.

Once we have them, we want to be able to fully utilize them, Taylor said.

Production scale

Employees will work in what will be 2 million square feet of space spread over three buildings.

Two 500,000-square-foot buildings are dedicated to hybrid electric vehicle battery production, while a 1-million-square-foot building will be focused on electric vehicle battery production.

There will be initially six battery production lines  four for hybrid electric vehicles and two for battery electric vehicles.

The Toyota subsidiary plans to build lithium-ion batteries at the plant for about 200,000 hybrid and electric vehicles annually.

Toyota plans to roll out 30 battery electric vehicle models by 2030.

The $2.1 billion expansion will feature two additional production buildings of an undetermined square footage size.

Toyota spokeswoman Emily Wilemon-Holland said that as buildings are completed, there will be a major hiring push.

Toyota has said it will make a new electric SUV at its Kentucky plant, also starting in 2025.

The manufacturer said the SUVs, the first produced in the U.S., will be powered by batteries from the Liberty plant.

Holland said that while the two production decisions were made independent of each other, we always expected that we would plan ahead for additional battery production as North Carolina becomes the production hub for North America.

We want to always provide a portfolio of options for customers. Some drivers arent ready for an EV, but we are seeing the trend moving in that direction and were acting as a result.
A 28-year-old Lincoln man died after he crashed into an SUV that had pulled into his path on North First Street early Wednesday morning, according to police.

Brian Ramirez David was riding his Suzuki motorcycle north on North First Street when 20-year-old Kendra Limon, who had been westbound on Nance Avenue in her Hyundai Santa Fe, started turning south onto First Street, police said in the crash report.

Limon crossed into David's path as she navigated the turn, colliding with the motorcyclist, who was wearing a helmet, Lincoln Police Investigator Chad Staley said in the report.

Lincoln Fire and Rescue crews took David to a local hospital, where he died of his injuries Wednesday despite life-saving efforts that included an emergency surgery, the police department said in a news release.

Neither drugs nor alcohol are suspected to have played a role in the crash, police said. Investigators also don't suspect Limon was driving distracted.

It's unclear if speed factored into the collision. A witness told police he couldn't tell how fast David had been riding in the moments before the crash, according to the report.

Police haven't cited Limon for her role in the crash, though Staley noted in the report that she failed to yield the right of way to David.

Limon had been stopped at a stop sign at the intersection of Nance Avenue and North First Street before crossing into David's path, according to the report.

Most dangerous cities in Nebraska Dangerous Cities in Nebraska 6. South Sioux City 5. Scottsbluff 4. North Platte 3. Lincoln 2. Grand Island 1. Omaha A note about the numbers
A 20-year-old woman who spurred a drug robbery in 2021 that resulted in a Lincoln man being killed in his home went to prison for it Thursday.

"Words will never be able to express how sorry I am to James and his family," a tearful Anna Feilen said first of James Shekie.

She said it hurts her every day knowing, that because of their actions, his kids have to grow up without a father. She hopes they can find forgiveness.

"I had no intentions of getting him hurt in any way," Feilen said.

Feilen was 17 when, early on Feb. 23, 2021, she and Marques Moten, a biological brother she hadn't known long, waited in a van outside Shekie's mobile home near North 20th and Superior streets as Deontae Rush kicked in his door to rob him of marijuana and money.

Soon after, they heard gunshots and a scream and drove away, only to pick up Rush soon after, empty-handed, at a nearby FedEx.

Lincoln police found Shekie dead a week later after being called to check on him because his door had been left open for three days in frigid weather.

Investigators quickly discovered phone records that tied Feilen, who until recently had been staying at Shekie's home, and Moten to a plan to rob him.

And about a week later, Rush was arrested in Chicago, where he'd fled.

Rush since has been found guilty at trial of first-degree murder for fatally shooting Shekie in a failed attempt to rob him of 4 pounds of marijuana. Lancaster County District Judge Kevin McManaman already has sentenced him to life, plus 25 to 35 years.

Last month, the same judge gave Moten 35 to 45 years in prison for conspiracy to commit the robbery, a charge to which he and Feilen both pleaded no contest.

On Thursday, it was Feilen's turn for sentencing.

Deputy Lancaster County Public Defender Matthew Meyerle said: "Certainly there's no question this is a tragic set of circumstances that bring us here today."

Tragic for Shekie's family, and tragic for Feilen and her family, he said.

Meyerle asked for a sentence that recognized her young age when it happened and her lesser culpability, saying there was evidence Feilen didn't want to go along for the robbery and had been pressured by the adults.

In the two and a half years since the crime, he said, she has done a significant amount of work to try to come to terms with the circumstances in which she found herself "and work toward building a more positive and productive future."

Deputy Lancaster County Attorney Eric Miller said he understood the court had to consider her age and lack of criminal history before this.

"But this was a serious offense. A man lost his life due to the actions of these three individuals," he said.

Miller said that while he has no knowledge that Feilen, Moten or Rush intended to kill Shekie, they did know what they were doing. And Feilen was the one who told Moten about the marijuana.

"This robbery doesn't happen without her," he said. "Without her involvement, Mr. Shekie would still be alive."

McManaman, the judge, told Feilen that at the end of the day, she was the person who knew about the marijuana and without her this wouldn't have happened.

It was a home invasion, he said, and she knew Rush had a gun. Such a situation is highly likely to result in someone being hurt, if not killed, McManaman said.

"And that's what happened," he said, sentencing Feilen to eight to 12 years. "It was a dangerous violent crime and you were a part of it."

In a hearing immediately after, McManaman sentenced Feilen's biological mother, Lisa Moten, to a year in jail, the max, on a misdemeanor child abuse charge for knowing about the planned robbery and letting the teen go along.

Remembering Lincoln's homicide victims of 2023 1. Julian A. Martinez 2. Rudy Requejo Jr. 3. Ronald Gonzalez Rivas 4. Christopher Karmazin 5. Damien Brave 6. Mark Kruger 7. James Baylor
A north-central Nebraska school district will pay a Lakota family $227,500 to settle a federal lawsuit brought after a school employee cut their children's hair without parental permission and against the family's religious beliefs.

Alice Johnson and Norma LeRoy, parents of two Cody-Kilgore elementary school students, sued the school district in 2021, with the help of the ACLU of Nebraska and the Harvard Law School Religious Freedom Clinic.

In our culture, we believe our hair is our essence. And although that part of my children has been taken from them, I am at peace knowing that school officials will never cut the hair of a child ever again and Native children will have access to a learning environment that will learn to understand and respect our culture," Johnson, a member of the Rosebud Sioux Tribe, said Wednesday. "Regardless of their religions or culture, every child in Nebraska deserves this.

In the lawsuit, the ACLU alleged the cutting of their childrens hair during lice checks at the school in 2020 had violated the familys Lakota beliefs and their right to be free of racial and religious discrimination and continued even after family members went to the school superintendent, then Adam Lambert, and explained that it violated Lakota tradition.

The lawsuit accused the school district of racial discrimination, saying they had an unwritten head-lice policy that applied only to Native students and it prevented the family from raising their children in accordance with the Lakota tradition.

The school district had argued that the case should be dismissed, saying their rights hadn't been violated because it was a neutral policy with a legitimate government interest that only incidentally burdened their religious beliefs and that they agreed to stop cutting their hair going forward.

In November 2021, a federal judge in Lincoln allowed the case to go forward against the school district, saying they had presented sufficient facts to support an inference that the unwritten policy had violated their right to exercise their religion freely.

But, Senior U.S. District Judge John Gerrard stopped short of finding that their actions violated the family's constitutional right to direct the religious upbringing of their children because the policy was, at least in part, rationally related to detecting and stopping the spread of head lice among students.

More than a year of negotiations followed and resulted in a consent decree entered Wednesday afternoon.

In the order signed by both sides and approved by Gerrard, the school district agreed to pay $227,500, or $56,875 each, to the parents and each of the children, which they will get when they turn 19.

In it, "the parties concur that affording equal protection of students' religious beliefs is essential to compliance with the US. Constitution" and federal law "and that this can best be achieved by a cooperative effort."

As part of the consent agreement, which will last five years, the district will implement a policy that prohibits school employees from cutting students hair without written consent from parents or guardians and will provide staff with cultural competency training that includes information on Native American cultures.

It will also ensure recognition of Native American Heritage Month, as well as Indigenous Peoples Day.

Rose Godinez, legal director of the ACLU of Nebraska, said while the consent decree doesn't reverse the harm experienced by the Johnson and LeRoy family, "it represents a significant step toward upholding the fundamental freedoms and cultural heritage of Indigenous communities across Nebraska."

She said the spiritual, cultural and emotional harm experienced by the Johnson-LeRoy family cannot be fully understood without placing it into the historical context of boarding schools, which separated Native American children from their families and tribes and denied them the rights of cultural and religious expression.

"History must not repeat itself," Godinez said. "This consent decree will ensure the School District provides a learning environment where students of different religious and cultural backgrounds are seen, and their differences are not only respected but acknowledged and honored.

In February, the family testified before the Nebraska Legislature in support of a bill to protect students right to wear their natural hair, protective hairstyles, headdresses and tribal regalia.

Gov. Jim Pillen signed those protections into law in early June.

Top Journal Star photos for October 2023
Paul Duggar is something of a professional when it comes to feeding giraffes at the Lincoln Childrens Zoo.

As part of the Independence Academy at Lincoln Public Schools, the 19-year-old works at the zoo a couple days out of the week, often helping hand out lettuce to zoo-goers to feed the giraffes.

So, when the annual Sensory Safari rolled around, Duggar was ready.

With his Super Mario Bros. T-shirt on, he extended leaves of lettuce out to the spotted animals, aiming for the giraffe named Mario.

He's been kind of a show off, Paul's father, John Duggar, said as the duo stopped at the giraffe deck.

This was the Duggars' first time attending the event, but they already have plans to return next year. Cheetah cubs, fur pelts and animal skulls were enough to convince the two to come back.

Oh, were loving it, John Duggar said.

They were just two of the more than 450 people who showed up at the zoo Wednesday morning for the Sensory Safari, created to give students, children and adults with visual or sensory impairments a special chance to explore the zoo.

The Lincoln Childrens Zoo has put on the Sensory Safari for more than 25 years in partnership with the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission, the Mary F. Tous Charitable Foundation and the Nebraska Center for the Education of Children who are Blind or Visually Impaired.

With stations scattered across the 10-acre zoo, visitors were able to not only see the 400 creatures the zoo is home to, but use all five senses to learn more about nature and animals.

From feeding goats to petting guinea pigs to holding snakes and touching skulls, a wide variety of opportunities were available Wednesday. Other booths featured taxidermy, nature sounds, Nebraska's plants, an armadillo and a fish tank.

This year, there were 18 booths set up, four more than last year, requiring dozens of volunteers.

Pam Buhrmann, who works in accounting at the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission, was among them. She has been volunteering at Sensory Safari for five years and loves the opportunity it brings to interact with children.

On Wednesday, she was in charge of the Smells of Nature station, allowing kids to sniff samples of smells on cotton balls in plastic tubes, like lavender, peppermint and strawberry. Skunk and fish are among the least popular scents, she said.

My favorite part is watching the kids and seeing how they react to all the smells, Buhrmann said. It's fun to do and the kids enjoy it.

Noah Keck, a teacher at the Nebraska Center for the Education of Children who are Blind or Visually Impaired, was back for his second year in a row with around 15 students.

We're just on an excursion, he said. We have a lot of different kids who come from a lot of different backgrounds and this is a place that's kind of close to everybody that we can get to be comfortable. Theres not a ton of people here. It's nice. It's a really relaxing environment.

One of the first stops Keck and his group made was at the penguin exhibit to watch the animals eat their daily dose of herring  a favorite activity of some of the students. From there, they caught a train ride and continued exploring.

We're trying to get out and about and see what goes on at the zoo, Keck said, and try out the different sensory experiences that are here.

John Chapo, the zoo's president emeritus, said the event is something hes really proud of and passionate about  something he wishes they were able to do daily.

We want the community to embrace this day, embrace how important it is for us to serve everyone to the best of our ability, Chapo said, choking up. We want our guests here today to feel as many senses as possible, and be just amazed by what they're experiencing.

Its just a very rich experience.

Photos: Lincoln Children's Zoo Photos: Lincoln Children's Zoo Photos: Lincoln Children's Zoo Photos: Lincoln Children's Zoo Photos: Lincoln Children's Zoo Photos: Lincoln Children's Zoo Photos: Lincoln Children's Zoo Photos: Lincoln Children's Zoo Photos: Lincoln Children's Zoo Photos: Lincoln Children's Zoo Photos: Lincoln Children's Zoo Photos: Lincoln Children's Zoo Photos: Lincoln Children's Zoo Photos: Lincoln Children's Zoo Photos: Lincoln Children's Zoo Photos: Lincoln Children's Zoo Photos: Lincoln Children's Zoo Photos: Lincoln Children's Zoo Photos: Lincoln Children's Zoo Photos: Lincoln Children's Zoo
A 58-year-old Lincoln man is in jail after he crashed into a stalled pickup truck in north Lincoln on Wednesday, injuring two men who had been trying to fix the pickup before walking away from the scene as police responded, authorities alleged.

Timothy Bridge was driving his Chevrolet pickup truck south on 56th Street near Morton Street, blocks north of Cornhusker Highway, when he crashed into a Toyota Tacoma in the outside lane of 56th Street at about 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, police said in a crash report.

Two men who had been working on the car  a 42-year-old and a 23-year-old, both from Lincoln  were taken by ambulance to a local hospital with suspected serious injuries, Lincoln Police Investigator Justin Feldhaus said in the crash report.

Their injuries aren't thought to be life-threatening, a police spokeswoman said Thursday.

Police found Bridge, who had walked away from the crash scene, a block east from where he allegedly left his pickup, Feldhaus said in the report.

The 58-year-old "appeared to be under the influence of alcohol," Feldhaus said. A breath test revealed his BAC was .165, more than double the legal limit, according to the report.

Police arrested Bridge on suspicion of leaving the scene of an injury crash, DUI with a prior conviction and reckless driving.

He spent the night at the Lancaster County jail.

What speed limit zones are the most likely to see fatalities? What speed limit zones are the most likely to see fatalities? Interstate, principal arterial Freeway and expressway, principal arterial Collector Local Minor arterial Principal arterial, other
U.S. Rep. Kevin McCarthy answers questions at the Capitol after being ousted as House speaker on Oct. 3, 2023, in Washington. (Win McNamee/Getty)

I am certainly no fan of now-former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy; however, his decision to put the country before his own ambitions and compromise with some Democrats to keep the government open and avoid a shutdown is commendable. Honestly, I thought that he wouldnt have the courage to do so, but he truly revealed himself to be a man more concerned with our country than his own power. He fully knew that the radical right would do all it could to oust him, but he still did the right thing.

It is unfortunate that so many Republicans prefer to keep themselves in power for their own personal agenda with disregard for the catastrophic results that would have adversely affected so many lives and livelihoods and threaten our countrys standing abroad. Shame on them. Bravo to McCarthy!

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 Carol Q. Van Durme, Chicago

McCarthy set himself up

Kevin McCarthy has received his just deserts.

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He made a deal with the devil, agreeing to outlandish demands made by the radical Republicans who wish to blow up the institution and render it impossible for the government to function.

He could not have secured the speakership in any other way due to the narrow margin with which Republicans control the U.S. House.

Why was there not a more decisive advantage for the House GOP in a year in which everything had seemed to be going its way? There are many reasons: The Republican Party does not accept the result of elections that it loses, and its official position as voiced by the party chairman is that the violent effort by Donald Trump fanatics to overturn the result of the 2020 presidential election is legitimate political discourse.

Add to that the ultraconservative U.S. Supreme Court overturning the half-century precedent established in the Roe v. Wade decision, and you have a recipe for popular outrage and election successes for the Democrats.

McCarthy was desperate to be speaker; thus, he surrendered a great deal of ammunition to the small radical element, which led him around by the nose. It should be a surprise to no one that the radicals turned on him, using the ammunition to bring about his ouster.

Was it all worth it?

 Oren Spiegler, Peters Township, Pennsylvania

Ousted for doing his job

U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy tried to appease the hard-right Freedom Caucus, of which his nemesis, Rep. Matt Gaetz, is a member, by launching an impeachment inquiry against President Joe Biden. The inquiry was launched despite House investigations that did not uncover even a hint of impropriety.

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It appears that there is no appeasing Gaetz and the Freedom Caucus, however. On Gaetzs motion, supported and applauded by the Freedom Caucus, McCarthy was ousted for doing his job to avoid a government shutdown.

 Ava Holly Berland, Chicago

Jim Jordan a poor choice

U.S. Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio has announced he will seek the speakers gavel for the House. This man has spewed more nonsense, led more unfounded investigations and shamelessly promoted the disgraced, twice-impeached and four-time indicted former president than any other MAGA member of Congress. He has shown repeatedly that every time he opens his mouth, what the bull left in the pasture is stuck to his teeth.

 Len Levy, Glenview

Oversight of CHA programs

A one-size-fits-all approach to federal housing programs does not work for disparate and diverse cities, towns and regions. Thats why the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Developments Moving to Work (MTW) program allows participating public housing authorities such as the Chicago Housing Authority to create innovative local housing programs that meet the unique needs of their local population.

CHA has been an MTW agency for more than 20 years, and these flexibilities are thoroughly interwoven into every aspect of the agency, including resident support services, investments in new affordable housing developments and the preservation of existing public housing.

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While the Tribunes recent article (Chicago Housing Authority could continue to redirect funds under controversial HUD program extension, Sept. 29) lists many CHA programs and services that would not exist without MTW flexibility, it incorrectly implies that MTW agencies receive less HUD oversight than their non-MTW counterparts.

All MTW participating public housing authorities are subject to the full range of HUD monitoring and oversight mechanisms, including financial audits and program compliance reviews. As a matter of transparency, MTW agencies are required to receive HUD approval of their annual plans, which are submitted after a public comment period.

Independent studies conducted by the Urban Institute and others have found that MTW agencies are responsible stewards of public dollars and house at least the same number of families as their non-MTW counterparts while also providing vital housing support services above that of non-MTW agencies. The MTW program has had a tremendous positive impact on our city.

 Tracey Scott, CEO, Chicago Housing Authority

Presence of father in families

Clarence Pages column on out-of-wedlock births was enlightening (To reduce the number of out-of-wedlock births: Strengthen families, Sept. 28). Any program that the government can put together in an effort to create more two-parent households should have an open-ended budget. Many Black and white folks believe that single-parent homes in the Black community have everything to do with poverty, lack of education, lack of opportunity, crime, etc. Few recognize that those same factors may also be responsible for the out-of-wedlock births.

Chicago Tribune Opinion Weekdays Read the latest editorials and commentary curated by the Tribune Opinion team. By submitting your email to receive this newsletter, you agree to our Subscriber Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy >

We have all read and heard of the studies. Two-parent homes lead to a higher standard of living. Children receive more effective parenting and are subjected to far less stressful events and circumstances when a father lives with his children. The presence of a father reduces the childs risk-taking behavior. Two-parent families simply provide more structure and security for the child.

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The absence of fathers in households provides so many a basis for blaming the struggles of the Black community almost entirely on the lack of a father figure in the home. Regardless of the reasons for the breakdown of the family unit, getting the family structure back together has to be primary. From reducing poverty, school dropout rates, crime and prejudice, so much can be improved with the presence of a father figure in the house. Reducing out-of-wedlock births can in fact be the silver bullet that may lead to so many more good things for the Black community.

 Terry Takash, Western Springs

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MOUNT PLEASANT  An event organized in large part by students aims to showcase Hispanic culture and provide information for community members.

A Hispanic Heritage Festival is scheduled to take place Saturday from 11 a.m to 5 p.m. at Case High School, 7345 Washington Ave.

The event is organized by the Case Latino Student Union and the Spanish Center of Racine.

It will include food trucks, vendors, live music and a lowrider exhibition. There will also be numerous agencies with information on resources like translation services, housing and college for students, families and community members.

I just want people to have fun, said student Laiza Esparza, Case Latino Student Union president. Theres something for everybody.

Case students started discussing the idea near the end of last school year. They wanted to do something to mark Hispanic Heritage Month, which runs from Sept. 15 to Oct. 15, and chose to host a festival.

The idea started small but has steadily grown in recent months. A few students met during summer to start planning the event and have figured out the details with advisors during the school year over the past month.

For club students and advisors, it is their first time organizing this type of event. The process has been stressful and challenging but also a fun learning experience.

Students initially felt anxious telling business owners about the event, and some didnt take them seriously, but the high schoolers kept at it.

Im 17, but youre going to have to take me seriously, Esparza said. Ive gotten more comfortable with that.

They have garnered significant community interest, with about 30 vendors planning to attend.

Rene Guzman, Case Latino Student Union advisor, said developing students professional skills was one of the goals of organizing the event, and he hopes they feel more confident planning similar events in the future.

A few days before the event, the students were nervous but looked forward to the festival.

We worked all summer for this, said student Pamela Romero, Case Latino Student Union vice president. Its really nice to get recognized and for all the people to be excited.

Organizers hope the festival will occur annually and that this year will be the first of many entertaining, informative events

We hope its something every year that our club can do so that the leaders and members can gain from planning an event and going through it all, and then for everybody in the community to have fun and to learn more about the Hispanic community, Esparza said.

Close Teen Outreach Program facilitators Semake Abdullah, from left, Savannah Davis and Makiah Bouchee helped register people during a Racine Unified Teen Outreach Program kickoff event Wednesday at the Caesar Chavez Community Center, 2221 Douglas Ave. For the 2023-24 school year, the program will be offered at five schools and four community centers. Arman Reed, with football, prepares to throw a ball while Maddox Vento, left, faces Tyquise Reed during a Racine Unified Teen Outreach Program kickoff event Wednesday at the Caesar Chavez Community Center, 2221 Douglas Ave. Jerome Lambert smiles with his son Jordy Lambert while playing basketball during a Racine Unified Teen Outreach Program kickoff event Wednesday at the Caesar Chavez Community Center, 2221 Douglas Ave. Jordy Lambert plays with a basketball during a Racine Unified Teen Outreach Program kickoff event Wednesday at the Caesar Chavez Community Center, 2221 Douglas Ave. David Foster, left, and Maddox Vento play football during a Racine Unified Teen Outreach Program kickoff event Wednesday. The program is starting its fourth year in October. Kimberly Rice, left, and Jerry Gomez help serve food during a Racine Unified Teen Outreach Program kickoff event Wednesday at the Caesar Chavez Community Center, 2221 Douglas Ave. Amelia Lambert prepares to shoot a basketball during a Racine Unified Teen Outreach Program kickoff event Wednesday at the Caesar Chavez Community Center, 2221 Douglas Ave. Alfred Lopez shoots a basketball during a Racine Unified Teen Outreach Program kickoff event Wednesday at the Caesar Chavez Community Center, 2221 Douglas Ave. Erianys De Jesus plays basketball during a Racine Unified Teen Outreach Program kickoff event Wednesday at the Caesar Chavez Community Center, 2221 Douglas Ave. Nine photos of RUSD's Teen Outreach Program kickoff event Energetic music blared from a DJ booth and fresh food was served Wednesday late afternoon during a Racine Unified Teen Outreach Program kickoff event. Teen Outreach Program facilitators Semake Abdullah, from left, Savannah Davis and Makiah Bouchee helped register people during a Racine Unified Teen Outreach Program kickoff event Wednesday at the Caesar Chavez Community Center, 2221 Douglas Ave. For the 2023-24 school year, the program will be offered at five schools and four community centers. Arman Reed, with football, prepares to throw a ball while Maddox Vento, left, faces Tyquise Reed during a Racine Unified Teen Outreach Program kickoff event Wednesday at the Caesar Chavez Community Center, 2221 Douglas Ave. Jerome Lambert smiles with his son Jordy Lambert while playing basketball during a Racine Unified Teen Outreach Program kickoff event Wednesday at the Caesar Chavez Community Center, 2221 Douglas Ave. Jordy Lambert plays with a basketball during a Racine Unified Teen Outreach Program kickoff event Wednesday at the Caesar Chavez Community Center, 2221 Douglas Ave. David Foster, left, and Maddox Vento play football during a Racine Unified Teen Outreach Program kickoff event Wednesday. The program is starting its fourth year in October. Kimberly Rice, left, and Jerry Gomez help serve food during a Racine Unified Teen Outreach Program kickoff event Wednesday at the Caesar Chavez Community Center, 2221 Douglas Ave. Amelia Lambert prepares to shoot a basketball during a Racine Unified Teen Outreach Program kickoff event Wednesday at the Caesar Chavez Community Center, 2221 Douglas Ave. Alfred Lopez shoots a basketball during a Racine Unified Teen Outreach Program kickoff event Wednesday at the Caesar Chavez Community Center, 2221 Douglas Ave. Erianys De Jesus plays basketball during a Racine Unified Teen Outreach Program kickoff event Wednesday at the Caesar Chavez Community Center, 2221 Douglas Ave.
Brandon Torres is no stranger to working with young children and working in live theater.

As the director of the musical Madagascar Jr. he gets to do both.

Torres, a day-care teacher at Here We Grow Academy, is already the veteran of 43 stage productions and was most recently seen on stage at the Rhode Center for the Arts playing Lumiere in Beauty and The Beast.

Now hes directing 41 young cast members  ranging in age from 8 to 18  for this musical.

The show is based on the popular 2005 DreamWorks animated film Madagascar, which Torres first saw as a young child himself.

I love this film, he said Monday night at the Downtown Kenosha theater. It brings me back to my childhood, when I would go to Blockbuster and get this film. Its fun and epic and flashy. And, for me, seeing talking animals when I was a kid was everything.

When he found out the Lakeside Players community theater troupe was staging the junior version of the Madagascar Broadway musical, he jumped at the chance to direct it.

I started making plans for the show last September already, he said.

Animals on the loose

The plot will be familiar to anyone who has seen the original animated film, which has since expanded to more films, TV specials, stage shows and video games: animal pals Alex the Lion, Marty the Zebra, Melman the Giraffe, Gloria the hip hip Hippo and some plotting penguins escape from the Central Park Zoo and find themselves stranded on the island of Madagascar, where they must adjust to living in the wild.

For Alex  who loves being King of the Urban Jungle at the zoo  being in the wild is a huge change, said Vera Nguyen, who plays the lion.

Hes always been the leader of the group, and he loves the zoo and the steak dinners he gets there, she said. But he learns that he loves his friends even more than he loves steak.

Nguyen, a freshman at Lakeview Technology Academy, loves being in theater for the chance to be expressive and the fun of meeting lots of new people.

She especially loves musicals, as does Damon Osborne, who plays Marty the Zebra.

A ninth-grader at St. Joseph Catholic Academy, Osborne has been involved with theater for several years. His on-stage credits include roles in the Lion King, Moana and Newsies. This is his second show with Lakeside Players.

This is a dream role for me, he said of the outgoing Marty. I like comedic characters, and I love to sing and act.

(Note: The roles of Alex and Marty, along with Melman and Gloria, have been double-cast, with two actors alternating in the roles.)

A love affair

When asked what he likes about community theater, Torres jumps in to amend the question: I dont just like it, I love theater, he said.

No matter how stressed I am, he added, I can come here and feel at home and feel like I am with my family.

Working on Madagascar Jr, he said, has been a party every day.

As for audience members, they, too, will be able to come here and enjoy the music and the story and the fun of this show.

The cast members, he said, have worked really hard and will strongly represent the youth in Kenosha. They are very excited to perform.

While the movies big moments are all in the stage show, Torres said we put our own spin on it, too. Its different from the fil, but thats what makes live theater so amazing.

He also promises some surprises in this show, including some new effects we havent done in this theater before.

A new sponsor

Lakeside Players President Lisa Conohan, who took on the leadership role in late summer, is thrilled that Jockey International is sponsoring this production.

Its the first time weve had a sponsor in more than 11 yars, she said Monday evening while helping the cast and crew get ready to run through the show. Its very exciting, and its fitting since this show is being performed in the theater named for former Jockey chairman and CEO Donna Wolf Steigerwaldt.

Conohan is looking forward to the troupes 50th anniversary season, which also includes productions of Blithe Spirit, A Charlie Brown Christmas, Avenue Q, The 39 Steps and the musical comedy Seussical.

This season, Conohan said Lakeside Players is working to increase community engagement, with events including October haunted tours, kids classes and winter variety shows.
Enjoy a look back at some of Mark Hertzberg's news photos from the page of The Journal Times during a career that has landed Hertzberg in the Wisconsin Newspaper Association Hall of Fame.
RACINE  The Racine Symphonys Fall Masterworks concert is 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 14.

The concert features guest artists Catherine Van Handel and Johanna Brahm.

Van Handel, principal bassoonist with the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, will perform Mozarts Concerto for Bassoon, described as music that exemplifies the Classical style period.

Pianist Brahm is featured on Ernest Blochs 1925 work Concerto Grosso.

Also on Saturdays program is the first suite of J.S. Bachs Orchestral Suites and Chicago Symphony Orchestra Composer-in-Residence Jessie Montgomerys Strum, described as a work chock full of dance rhythms and folk-inspired melodies.

General admission is $35 to the concert, which takes place at First Presbyterian Church, 716 College Ave.

After the concert, the symphony is hosting a reception with the groups Artistic Director Pasquale Laurino, Artist-in-Residence Catherine Van Handel and Executive Director Jonathan Winkle. Tickets are $25 and include appetizers, desserts and a glass of wine. Note: Reception tickets must be purchased by Thursday, Oct. 12.

To purchase tickets, go to racinesymphony.org or call 262-636-9285.
1. Yes. If KHA cant continue to run it, the city should step in. Its a necessary asset to the area.

2. Yes. The city already uses it as a warming and cooling center. It would be a smart move.

3. No. It may be in the citys interest to help subsidize insurance for the center, but nothing more.

4. No. The city doesnt need the added burden of staffing and insuring the center. Its a bad idea.

5. Unsure. It may be seem like a good idea, but other options should be explored as well.

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Migrants live in tents along the Dan Ryan Expressway near 5100 S. Wentworth Avenue and outside a Chicago police station on Oct. 17, 2023. (Antonio Perez/Chicago Tribune)

Mayor Brandon Johnsons administration is exploring unspecified backup plans should it not hit its goal of setting up tent base camps for new asylum-seekers before winter, a top deputy said Thursday while also pushing back at comments from Gov. J.B. Pritzker that more state funds for migrant services arent going to be made available anytime soon.

With winter fast approaching and temperatures expected to dip into the low 40s in the next few days, Johnsons deputy chief of staff Cristina Pacione-Zayas said the strategy announced one month ago to erect tent encampments throughout the city still has no start date and that no sites have been finalized because of the need to do our due diligence.

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Her comments came as Pritzker appeared to close the door on any more state money being allocated for migrant relief by state lawmakers, who are meeting later this month and next for their fall veto session.

It isnt as if were coming in with enormous surpluses, Pritzker told reporters Thursday. This is not something where we have hundreds of millions of dollars to support.

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Asked about the governors comments, Pacione-Zayas, a former state senator, responded: We have to continue to educate the General Assembly about this critical point that were in.

We have to go through the exercise, right? We have to identify whats already committed, and might be able to be directed, she said. We have to think outside of the box and be creative around this, and so I dont see the discussions (as) closed. I think that this needs to be ongoing. And as Ive said before, everyone has to do more.

Pacione-Zayas added that the mayors administration has begun meeting with individual state legislators and will ask the state to look for ways to shift existing budget allocations toward an additional migrant appropriation for Chicago, which has taken on the brunt of the new arrivals in Illinois.

Late Thursday, Illinois House Speaker Emanuel Chris Welch was spotted at City Hall and headed up toward the mayors office on the fifth floor.

Johnson and Pritzker also have sought assistance from the federal government, with both talking to White House officials last weekend and the governor writing a three-page letter to President Joe Biden to argue Washington needs to step up on the issue.

[ Mayor Brandon Johnson discusses moving migrants from police stations to base camps, warns of sacrifices to balance costs ]

Pacione-Zayas said that the cold weather expected in upcoming days poses a grave concern, though she said the mayors office remains hopeful it can put some stakes into the ground soon for the tent encampments.

The city aims to use those encampments to relocate people now staying in the citys two main airports, Chicago police station lobbies and other unsuitable places until spots open in the nearly two-dozen brick-and-mortar shelters the city is running.

Johnson rolled out the tent city proposal in early September, vowing to get it done before winter. But the mayor faced criticism from some aldermen and advocacy groups over his teams decision to bring in a controversial private security company to run the base camps.

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As far as the delay, I mean, welcome to government. This is how it kind of works, Pacione-Zayas said. As far as what our backup plan is, we are exploring what could be alternative large spaces with the state, with the county, so that if were not able to pop up this base camp in time for a significant drop, that we do have some alternatives. But everythings on the table.

She added that some of those backup sites are located outside of Chicago.

County officials confirmed Thursday they are helping with the search. At Johnsons request, Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle said she asked suburban municipalities to share some of the burden.

They were not prepared to make commitments unless they got resources to do it, Preckwinkle said during an interview with the Tribunes Editorial Board, though it was unclear when those conversations took place. Thats why we need money from the feds.

Preckwinkles chief of staff, Lanetta Haynes Turner, added: We have been very closely coordinating with the city to at least identify locations for housing both within the city of Chicago and, of course, if we are aware of locations, potentially in suburban Cook.

We have been, through our emergency management and real estate office, compiling a very detailed inventory of county facilities and other locations, Haynes Turner said. Were also planning to provide any locations that are within the city limits from some of our brokers.

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[ Mayor Brandon Johnson signs $29 million deal with private security firm for asylum-seeker base camps despite controversies ]

As of Thursday, more than 17,000 migrants have come to Chicago since August 2022, when the flow of buses from Texas and other southern border states first started. More than 10,100 are in city-run shelters, while another 2,400 are in Chicago police stations and 820 at the city airports. More than 11 buses were expected to arrive Thursday.

Pritzker, meanwhile, defended the states support for Chicago following a City Council hearing last week that saw multiple Johnson allies lash out at the governors administration and call for him to take on more of the burden. The state has appropriated roughly $330 million toward asylum-seekers since the first busload of migrants was sent by Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, but not all of that has gone directly to the city to cover its costs.

This is a challenge I think the city has been facing since the beginning. We dont do city planning at the state level. This is a question best directed to the city, Pritzker said Thursday when asked how his administration will brace for the next wave of new arrivals. As they have developed plans, and as theyve implemented them, weve been there in support.

Pacione-Zayas said Johnson is still planning a trip to the border to establish some order in how the buses are being sent to Chicago, but that no schedule has been set. The city is bracing for up to 25 buses a day this week.

Ultimately the goal is so that we have tighter coordination, she said.

She also rebutted criticism of Chicagos response to the migrant crisis and those who are calling on the city to turn away asylum-seekers.

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We are upholding our values. We are operationalizing our sanctuary city status. We are holding the line, Pacione-Zayas said. This is a welcoming state, so there would be some challenges that it would present if we were to shut our doors as well. I mean, were going to do this as long as we can. This is precisely why everyone must do more.

Preckwinkle, too, repeated the need for both federal and state money to respond to the crisis. The county has been providing health care services to migrants, a cost that has varied by month but currently stands at $2.2 million.

That care has run the gamut, officials said, from vaccinations, health care screenings, mental health services, treatment of wounds and infections, to maternal and infant care. Until February, the state was helping pick up some of the tab. With an expected influx of more buses and planes arriving in the coming months, county officials think that monthly cost will rise. Migrant patient volumes have increased 30% to 40% in recent weeks, Cook County Health CEO Israel Rocha said.

While she said she would continue to advocate for a federal solution, Preckwinkle said the state needs to step up as well, because $42.5 million barely covers the citys costs for a month, she said, describing the sum that the state recently announced in awards to local governments as a drop in the bucket.

ayin@chicagotribune.com

dpetrella@chicagotribune.com

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A year ago I wrote about some of the historic or memorable bridges that I have crossed or traveled to  including a few located near my home in western Wisconsin.

The topic was a hit with readers, as I heard from many who shared their own stories about their favorite bridges either here or abroad.

Bridges were back on my mind after my wife, Sherry, and I visited the Cedarburg area, which is home to the oldest existing covered bridge in Wisconsin.

The Cedarburg bridge  also known as the Red Bridge  is located three miles north of Cedarburg and was built in 1876 to handle traffic over Cedar Creek. The span is 120 feet long and 12 feet wide and was built with pine. The design was lattice truss with interlacing 3-by-10 inch planks held together by hardwood pins and floored with 3-inch planking, according to the Ozaukee County website.

The Wisconsin Historical Society says that there were once more than 40 covered bridges across Wisconsin, built in the days before heavy auto and vehicle traffic. A story from the Federal Highway Administration says there were once 12,000 covered bridges in the country, with 1,500 built in Pennsylvania  including a 5,960-foot bridge in Lancaster County. There are about 200 remaining today. Best estimates as to the number of covered bridges left in the country are about 1,000.

The reason for building covered bridges was to protect the wood trusses and decks from snow and rain, preventing decay and rot. An exposed wood bridge might last 20 years but a covered bridge could last 100 years.

Some say the cover also kept horses or cattle from being spooked by the waters underneath. The bridges also were gathering spots for meetings, parties, romantic rendezvous  some covered bridges were nicknamed kissing bridges  or sleeping locations for the less fortunate.

The heyday for covered bridge construction was between 1825 and 1875. The wood was eventually replaced by iron and steel, eliminating the need for a cover. And bridges also became wider as motorized traffic replaced the horse, cart and buggy.

The Cedarburg bridge was used for 85 years when it was replaced with a modern span in 1962. The bridge was left in place and now serves foot traffic as part of a park area.

There are some other covered bridges in Wisconsin, but they are not original highway bridges. Those with truss design  considered by some to be the determining factor to be called a covered bridge are:

Red Mill, Waupaca County, built in 1970

Smith Rapids, Price County, built in 1991

Springwater Volunteer, Waushara County, built in 1997

Stonefield Village, Grant County, built in 1962.

The Smith Rapids bridge can actually be driven across, as it is part of a Rustic Road.

Earlier this year we also visited another covered bridge in Amnicon Falls State Park near Superior. The Horton Covered Bridge is a bowstring bridge built in 1899 by Charles M. Horton, who established a business in La Crosse and also built bowstring bridges that crossed the Black River bottoms in the Van Loon Wildlife Area in La Crosse County. Five of those bridges remain.

The bridge in Amnicon carried traffic until it was moved to the park in 1930 to span the Amnicon River at the Lower Falls. Members of the Brule Civilian Conservation Corps added the roof in 1939. The roof was replaced in 1941 after it collapsed from heavy snows and again in 1971 when it was destroyed by a fire set by vandals.

The Cedarburg bridge will be preserved thanks to a vote in 1940 by the Ozaukee County Board, and its part of a beautiful park. The Horton bridge also is in good hands and is in a spectacular location.

Could there be more bridge stories in the future? You never know what I may cross.

Chris Hardie: Stories from the farm Columnist Chris Hardie shares his perspective on farming, life and living on the land.
Erika (Kalitta) Gilbertson, born May 22, 1930, in Magdeburg, Germany, died Oct. 2, 2023, at home in Winona.

She is survived by her husband of more than 68 years, Robert; son, Peter; and daughter, Julie (Rick) Lyons; two grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.

In 1953, Erika met her future husband in Berlin, Germany, where she was a political refugee from East Germany. They were married in 1955 and came to the U.S. shortly thereafter.

While Bob studied business administration, Erika studied interior design, eventually becoming an associate member of the American Society of Interior Designers. Unfortunately, due to health reasons she had to quit full-time work as a designer over 40 years ago. She then turned to designing and sewing most of her own clothes; doing oil and watercolor painting; over 30 needlework designs, framed or pillowed; in addition to raising the family and being the hostess with the mostess among a myriad of other things, all artistic.

Erika was also at the forefront of the Womans Equality Movement in the 1960s and continued her steadfast support the rest of her life.

Her family would like to thank Drs. Turner, Shepard and Ferris for their 46 years of help, and a special thanks to the Winona Health Hospice team for their wonderful support.

Per Erikas wish, there will be no public funeral, only a private graveside service for immediate family. She left us with these words, Ill see you on the other side of the mountain.
Karl Goldbeck was used to running into burning buildings. A 20-year veteran of the Onalaska Fire Department, he says he didnt think twice before risking his life in a dangerous situation. That all changed when he faced his own mortality last year.

While on a family vacation in Louisiana, Goldbeck was diagnosed with Guillain-Barre syndrome, a rare condition in which a persons immune system attacks the peripheral nerves. In one week, he went from experiencing tingling in his hands to being completely paralyzed and on a ventilator.

I experienced firsthand that if you dont have your health, you dont have anything. Mortality hits different now. I want to be here for a long time, said the husband and father of three sons.

Goldbeck, 50, spent 21 days in the neuro-ICU in New Orleans until a medical team was able to fly him home to Wisconsin, where he spent 2.5 months at Gundersen Health System on a ventilator, paralyzed and unable to speak. He communicated by blinking to indicate letters and spell words as his wife Pam recited the alphabet. Two blinks meant he wanted a kiss.

The day I came off the ventilator was the same day I started going to rehab. Thats when the hard work began, he said.

Goldbeck had to relearn how to walk, talk, eat and drink. All of that happened in inpatient rehab, a program that was founded 50 years earlier at Gundersen by Dr. Neal Taylor.

The now retired 90-year-old founding member of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at then-Gundersen Clinic recognized the importance of rehabilitation after an injury or illness. His brother died of polio at 23, and his brothers son was paralyzed with the disease at 9 months old.

In 1975, Taylor was quoted as saying, The team empowers our patients to be as independent as possible after an accident or illness has left them impaired. He described inpatient rehab as different from the rest of the hospital. In the other areas of the hospital, when you get sick, you expect to get waited on. In rehab, we expect people to wait on themselves.

When Goldbeck started rehab, he could only move his right arm slightly. With the help of his team, he progressed to using an electric wheelchair, walker, a walking stick and now can walk independently. He still has no feeling in his face, hands or feet, but doctors expect him to make a full recovery.

We didnt really look at what people lost, Taylor, who still lives in La Crosse, said during a recent interview. We looked at what they had left and how they could work with that to have a meaningful existence.

Taylors nephew, who contracted polio as a baby, now walks with crutches and develops orthopedic braces to help people heal and become stronger. And Goldbeck, who, due to his long illness, was forced to leave his work at a private equity firm, spends his time mentoring others who are recovering from illness or injury. And hes training for a 5K.

Stories like Karls get to the heart of why we do what we do, said Deb Head, an occupational therapist-turned program manager in inpatient rehab. We can have an impact on the lives of people whove been through really hard things.
Western Technical College will host its bi-annual collegewide open house from 4-7 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 11, at the La Crosse, Black River Falls, Independence, Mauston, Tomah and Viroqua locations.

Program and admissions information, facility tours, refreshments and door prizes will be available. The $30 application fee will be waived for those who apply during the open house, according to the Western press release.

At the La Crosse main campus, all activities will be in the Lunda Center, 319 N. Seventh St.

For more information about additional Western Technical College programs and services, call 608-785-9200 or visit the website at www.westerntc.edu.
UW-Madisons Engineering Centers Building is expected to reopen to most classes Monday after a three-week closure following a flooding incident.

The Engineering Centers Building, 1550 Engineering Drive, has been closed since Sept. 21, when a chilled water pipe on the top floor of the building burst and sent 55,000 gallons of water cascading down through all the buildings floors.

The second and third floors were affected the most, Cindy Torstveit, associate vice chancellor for UW-Madison Facilities Planning and Management, told the UW Systems Board of Regents on Thursday.

The cost of the damage is still being worked out with insurance companies, and it might be months before the full extent of the damage is known, UW-Madison Facilities and Planning Management spokesperson Lori Wilson said. What insurance will cover also remains unknown.

UW-Madison already has started reconstructing drywall and flooring within the building.

Based on our current progress, we are expecting to allow classes and normal operations to resume in the building, with the exception of impacted labs and offices and other areas where were still working on repairs and drying, this coming Monday, she said.

One of the labs most heavily affected was the Wisconsin Centers for Nanoscale Technologys Fabrication lab, which specializes in microelectronics such as microchips in cellphones and computers and nano-fabrication technology. Its located on the third floor of Engineering Centers.

The lab largely requires a clean room environment, which is a controlled space that limits the amount of airborne particles such as dust and microbes, Torstveit said. Research-grade air filters and significant pieces of equipment in the lab were damaged, potentially making the reconstruction process longer, she added.

Across the engineering campus, the three labs are used by about 135 principal investigators and their researchers from eight schools across campus, UW-Madisons website states. About $175 million in research done through the lab is supported by hundreds of grants.

Facilities staff are still concerned about a firewall located near the atrium, meant to protect the teaching and lab rooms from damage should a fire occur. Made of three layers of drywall, Torstveit said, that part of the building has taken longer to dry.

About 90% of the drying equipment has since been removed, she said.

In addition to evaluating the physical building for water damage and drying out drywall, UW-Madison facilities staff have needed to bring in professionals to determine the extent of damage to equipment within the building. Some primary investigators have lost smaller pieces of equipment, worth hundreds or thousand dollars, from water damage and could experience delays based on manufacturer shortages.
More than two dozen protestors carrying signs rally in Sugar Grove Tuesday to express their concerns about a plan for a 760-acre development at Interstate 88 and Route 47. (David Sharos/The Beacon-News)

A group of protesters Tuesday in Sugar Grove made their voices heard concerning Crown Community Developments conceptual plans for a 760-acre project at Interstate 88 and Route 47.

The Crown groups first proposal for the site was withdrawn back in 2019 after coming under fire for focusing too much on industrial development and warehouses.

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According to a press release this summer from a public relations firm representing Crown, the proposed new project would feature several components including a vibrant town center; multiple residential neighborhoods with a range of housing types; at least 200 acres of open space, including community parks and trails; and areas for retail, restaurants, community services, health care and e-commerce distribution or a data center.

A portion of the development that may include more industrial uses such as warehouses would be located north of Interstate 88 in Blackberry Township.

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Two community engagement meetings were held this summer designed to familiarize area residents with Crowns proposed plans for the site.

Jennifer Cowan, director of community development for Crown Community Development, at one of the community engagement sessions this summer called the new conceptual plan for the site a lot more balanced than the previous plan.

Our plan four years ago had a significant amount of distribution proposed. Our plan this time has cut that by 56%, so we are at this point looking at a cap of 3.5 million square feet as opposed to 8 million square feet proposed previously, Cowan said at an engagement session in June. Looking back, in withdrawing our previous application, we did not believe the previous plan was a balanced plan for the community.

Tuesdays protest brought out slightly more than two dozen participants who met outside the police station in Sugar Grove at 10 S. Municipal Drive.

Many of those at the protest held signs with messages against having warehouses in the development or allowing a tax increment financing district as part of the plan.

In a TIF district, as the development is built and the land grows in value, the property owner pays more taxes. The increase in taxes - not the taxes on the original value, but the increase - goes into a special fund called the increment. The money can be used on costs associated with the development in the TIF district.

Stephanie Hill of Sugar Grove said she was concerned about the amount of money that was going to be used to develop a warehouse in a very precious, sacred area.

This is a hidden gem and we dont support any of it. Im against the warehouse development, Hill said. If they can do maybe a hospital or something that is going to benefit the community on a larger scale that would be OK.

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Teri Frankiewicz, senior vice president and chief operating officer at Crown Community Development, said the group is moving slowly on the plan.

We know many Kaneland area residents are very interested in our plans for this site, which is why we are being as deliberate as we can to make this project a success for the viIlage of Sugar Grove, its residents and those in the surrounding area, Frankiewicz said in an email to The Beacon-News on Wednesday. The proposal is in the conceptual stage, and weve been welcoming input from area residents throughout the process.

She said that to date, the company has not filed anything with the village concerning the conceptual plan.

Sugar Grove Village President Jennifer Konen spoke earlier Tuesday about the protest and said she wasnt surprised there would be some public opposition, given the history of the project.

I think there is always going to be opposition to any development. Were seeing it in a lot of other area communities right now, whatever a community has got on their agenda, there is somebody opposed or a group, she said. Im not surprised. It is 760 acres and is a village changing based on the amount of land we are talking about.

I understand that, but for the rest that do want development in Sugar Grove, lets wait for the formal proposal to the village by the developer about the plan, she said.

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They might not get to proposal, Konen said. They might not like dealing with staff and some of the things the village might require. It might not work for the developer or this might not work for the village.

The protestors Tuesday included Sue Schultz, who said that despite living in Maple Park, she lives in the proposed development sites taxing area.

This will affect us because of the school and fire departments in that area will be affected as well, she said.

I believe the biggest issue for people is the TIF. We dont mind development as long as its something useful and for the people, she said. I feel the developer should bear all the cost.

Molly and Kevin Reimer of Elburn attend a protest rally in Sugar Grove Tuesday regarding Crown Community Developments plans for a 760-acre project at Interstate 88 and Route 47. (David Sharos/The Beacon-News)

Molly Reimer of Elburn said our property is less than a quarter of a mile from where the proposed warehouse development will be.

Were not against development, but we dont feel like this is right based on the proximity of residences and schools to the area. If they took out the warehouses, wed be more on board, she said.

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She said the TIF plan is particularly concerning to her.

The Kaneland school system tried to pass a referendum and failed, she said. Our schools are in need of upgrading and dont need money being siphoned off elsewhere.

David Sharos is a freelance reporter for The Beacon-News.
The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) reminds hunters to test their deer for chronic wasting disease (CWD) before eating venison, as advised by human health organizations.

The Wisconsin Department of Health Services (DHS), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the World Health Organization (WHO) all recommend against eating meat from deer that test positive for CWD.

Infected deer typically appear healthy for many months after contracting the disease, so DHS encourages testing for the disease regardless of the physical condition of the harvested deer, especially in areas prevalent with CWD (https://widnr.widen.net/s/zfn65sv7hp/cwdsamplingarea). To date, there have been no reported cases of CWD infection in humans.

CWD is a contagious, fatal neurological disease that affects the nervous system of deer, elk, moose and caribou. It belongs to the family of diseases known as transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs) or prion diseases.

Prions are misshaped proteins that can spread the disease through direct animal-to-animal contact or in the environment through bodily substances or the carcass parts of an infected deer. Prions are extremely resilient and capable of remaining in the soil for years, potentially infecting several deer from a single source.

The disease can have an incubation period of over a year, which means infected deer can appear healthy for months before showing signs of illness. When signs are visible, the common signs are drastic weight loss, drooped head and ears, loss of coordination, excessive salivation and reduced fear of humans.

How to test your deer

The DNR offers different options for hunters to test their deer for CWD. These choices are free and accessible to every hunter in the state. Hunters may choose from the following four options:

Self-service kiosks open 24/7: Kiosks contain supplies for hunters to drop off their deers head with five inches of neck attached for testing. This is a great option for antlerless deer or any deer that has already been skull-capped or caped out by a taxidermist.

In-person with cooperating partners: Meat processors and other businesses can collect the deer head for sampling later or remove the lymph nodes at the time of drop-off. This is a good option for hunters who intend to mount their deer. If your taxidermist is not a cooperator, ask for the caped-out head back so you can drop it off at a kiosk.

At-home via lymph node sampling: Hunters unable to stop by a kiosk or cooperator within a day or two of harvest may pick up a kit ahead of time. Hunters can extract the retropharyngeal lymph nodes using the provided instructions and return the lymph nodes to the DNR or a kiosk for testing.

By appointment with local DNR staff: This is a good option for hunters who want to have a European mount done. Hunters can contact their local wildlife management staff to schedule an in-person appointment.

Hunters may choose their preferred method and find the nearest accommodating location using the DNRs CWD sample mapping application at https://wi-dnr.maps.arcgis.com/apps/dashboards/c7093298e3be4550b83c69a360a20df3.

CWD testing, proper carcass disposal (https://dnr.wisconsin.gov/topic/wildlifehabitat/carcass) and following baiting and feed regulations (https://dnr.wisconsin.gov/topic/hunt/bait) are three important ways hunters can help slow the spread of CWD this season.

To learn more about CWD, visit the DNRs Chronic Wasting Disease webpage athttps://dnr.wisconsin.gov/topic/wildlifehabitat/cwd.

IN 65 PHOTOS: The historic Pabst brewery in downtown Milwaukee Former Pabst Brewing Co. Bottle House, 1125 N. 9th St., Milwaukee The Brewery District sign of the redeveloped former Pabst Brewing Co. complex at North 10th Street and West Juneau Avenue in downtown Milwaukee The Brewery District sign on the redeveloped former Pabst Brewing Co. campus Grand stairway in the circa-1882 former Pabst Brewing Co. Brew House, 1215 N. 10th St., Milwaukee Brewhouse Inn and Suites lobby at the former Pabst Brewing Co. Brew House, 1215 N. 10th St., Milwaukee Exterior view of Brewhouse Inn and Suites at former Pabst brewery in downtown Milwaukee Copper Pabst brew kettle and King Gambrinus stained glass window inside the former Pabst Brewing Co. Brew House, 1215 N. 10th St., Milwaukee Circa-1890s King Gambrinus stained glass window inside the former Pabst Brewing Co. Brew House, 1215 N. 10th St., Milwaukee Circular staircase inside the former Pabst Brewing Co. Brew House, 1215 N. 10th St., Milwaukee West-facing interior view of the circa-1882 Pabst Brewing Co. Brew House, 1215 N. 10th St. in downtown Milwaukee East-facing interior view of the circa-1882 Pabst Brewing Co. Brew House, 1215 N. 10th St. in downtown Milwaukee Pabst Brewing Co. Building 24 in The Brewery District, downtown Milwaukee Pabst Building 28 in The Brewery District, downtown Milwaukee Weathered statue of Captain Frederick Pabst at the former Pabst Brewing Co. brewery, downtown Milwaukee View of The Captain's Courtyard outdoor beer garden at Best Place on the former Pabst Brewing Co. campus in downtown Milwaukee Old World architecture at the former Pabst Brewing Co. brewery in downtown Milwaukee Sternewirt courtyard with Guest Center sign and King Gambrinus statue at Best Place, part of the historic Pabst Brewing Co. campus in downtown Milwaukee Exterior view of stained glass architectural detail on the circa-1880 General Offices building, 923 W. Juneau Ave., Milwaukee Detail view of King Gambrinus statue at Best Place at the Historic Pabst Brewery, 917 W. Juneau Ave. in downtown Milwaukee King Gambrinus statue at Best Place at the Historic Pabst Brewery, 917 W. Juneau Ave. in downtown Milwaukee Pabst Gambrinus stained glass window at Best Place at the Historic Pabst Brewery, 917 W. Juneau Ave. downtown Milwaukee Detail of the King Gambrinus Window in the former Pabst Brewing Co. Brew House, 1215 N. 10th St., in downtown Milwaukee Preserved vintage Pabst Brewing Co. signage at the former Pabst Brewing Co. complex in downtown Milwaukee Historic memorabilia on display at Best Place at the Historic Pabst Brewery, 917 W. Juneau Ave. in downtown Milwaukee Pabst skywalk and sign over West Juneau Avenue in downtown Milwaukee, linking the Malt House (left) and Brew House Street scene of the former Pabst Brewing Co. flagship Milwaukee brewery along West Juneau Avenue King Gambrinus statue at Best Place on the historic former Pabst Brewing Co. campus in downtown Milwaukee Pabst Brewing Co. logo detail at the history former Pabst brewery campus in downtown Milwaukee Pabst Brewing Co. Building 27, the circa-1880 General Offices building, 923 W. Juneau Ave., Milwaukee Old World architecture at the former Pabst Brewing Co. gift shop on the historic Pabst brewery campus in downtown Milwaukee Stained glass Pabst Breweries logo at the former Pabst Brewing Co. gift shop in downtown Milwaukee Stained glass window of monk tapping a beer barrel at the historic former Pabst Brewing Co. brewery in downtown Milwaukee Tavern-themed stained glass window at the historic Pabst Brewing Co. campus in downtown Milwaukee Reverse view of Pabst logo stained glass window in the former Pabst Brewing Co. General Office Building Christmas decor at Best Place in the historic former Pabst Brewing Co. campus in downtown Milwaukee German language wall mural in the former Sternewirt (Tap Room) guest tour center at the former Pabst brewery in downtown Milwaukee Vintage Pabst Blue Ribbon advertising signage at Best Place in the historic former Pabst brewery in downtown Milwaukee The Sternewirt (Tap Room) guest center at the historic Pabst Brewing Co. brewery in downtown Milwaukee Sternewirt (Tap Room) guest center at the historic Pabst Brewing Co. brewery in downtown Milwaukee Decorative roofline detail of the National Register-listed circa-1890 Pabst Brewing Co. Boiler House Vintage bar in The Great Hall inside the former Pabst Brewing Co. General Offices Building, 923 W. Juneau Ave., Milwaukee Interior view of the entryway to the circa-1880 Pabst Brewing Co. General Offices Building, 923 W. Juneau Ave., Milwaukee The Great Hall in the circa-1880 former Pabst Brewing Co. General Offices Building, 923 W. Juneau Ave., Milwaukee Reverse view of entryway stained glass window in the circa-1880 Pabst Brewing Co. General Offices Building, 923 W. Juneau Ave., Milwaukee Roofline ornamentation of the former Pabst Brewing Co. Bottle House, 1125 N. 9th St., Milwaukee Captain Frederick Pabst's desk in the 1880 General Offices Building, 923 W. Juneau Ave., Milwaukee Captain Frederick Pabst's Office at the former Pabst Brewing Co. General Offices, 923 W. Juneau Ave., Milwaukee The 42, former Pabst Brewing Co. Distribution Center, downtown Milwaukee Mixed use development ELEVEN25 at Pabst, 1125 N. 9th St., Milwaukee, in the former Pabst Bottle House Central Waters brewery on the former Pabst Brewing Co. campus Former Pabst Brewing Co. grain silos at The Brewery District, 1220 N. 11th St., Milwaukee International Business Machines (IBM) wall clock inside the former Pabst Brewing Co. General Offices Building, 923 W. Juneau Ave. Brewery District's Juneau Avenue streetscape on the former Pabst Brewing Co. campus in downtown Milwaukee Pabst bridge sign over Juneau Avenue in downtown Milwaukee View of The Brewery District along North 9th Street, including the former Pabst Bottle House Circa-1882 Pabst Brewing Co. Brew House, 1215 N. 10th St., Milwaukee Pabst bridge sign over Juneau Avenue in downtown Milwaukee Former Pabst Brewing Co. Malt House and Brew House, North 10th Street and West Juneau Avenue, Milwaukee Pabst Professional Center, 1036 W. Juneau Ave., Milwaukee Pabst Brewing Co. stained glass window inside The Great Hall, 923 W. Juneau Ave., Milwaukee Decorative weathervane atop the former Pabst Brewing Co. visitor center, 917 W. Juneau Ave., Milwaukee Former Pabst Brewing Co. 1890 Boiler House, 1243 N. 10th St., Milwaukee Former Pabst Brewing Co. Malt House, 1009 W. Juneau Ave., Milwaukee Decorative Pabst logo manhole cover at The Brewery District in downtown Milwaukee Pabst neon bridge sign, North 10th Street and West Juneau Avenue, Milwaukee
This article appears in the October 6, 2023 issue of Executive Intelligence Review.

[Print version of this article]

Weekly Dialogue with Helga Zepp-LaRouche

NATO War Hawks Move to Plan B: Lets End the Insanity!

Harley Schlanger: Hello and welcome to our weekly dialogue with Helga Zepp-LaRouche, founder and chairwoman of the Schiller Institute. Its Wednesday, Sept. 27, 2023. Im Harley Schlanger and Ill be your host. If you have questions or comments you can send them to questions@schillerinstitute.org.

Helga, theres been a growing recognition internationally, that the NATO-backed counteroffensive by Ukraine has not gone as planned. And as the casualties increase, there have been calls for a peaceful resolution through diplomacymore calls for thatas urged by four prominent Germans, for example, in a peace plan published Aug. 28. But there are also calls in the other direction, for an escalation. Londons The Economist magazine called for a rethink saying the West has to plan for a long struggle. And just yesterday, the British royal think tank Chatham House had a podcast, chiding the West for inadequate support, and called for a redoubling of efforts.

Now, some, such as Gilbert Doctorow, are describing this as NATOs Plan B, that is, an escalation, including the targeting of the Russian Black Sea Fleet in Crimea, which was hit twice over the weekend by missiles from the west. What are your thoughts about the direction this is heading? Are Washington and NATO committed to moving toward a Plan B?

Helga Zepp-LaRouche: That is very difficult to be 100% certain about, but unfortunately, all the signs are in the direction that that may be the case. I can only highlight the proposal you mentioned from these four GermansHorst Teltschik, former head of the Munich Security Conference and top diplomat at the time of the German reunification; Gen. Harald Kujat (ret.), former highest military figure in Germany, and Chairman of the NATO Military Committee; Peter Brandt, the son of [former German Chancellor] Willy Brandt; and Professor Hajo Funke. Their proposal made that choice very clear.

This was published [and is available in full elsewhere in this issue of EIRed.] at the end of August. It says that very soon NATO will be faced with a decision of either recognizing the fact that the military operation in Ukraine has failed and the counteroffensive of Ukraine also, and that leaves only two options: One, is immediate negotiations for a diplomatic solution, and secondly, an escalation which quickly may bring the world to the level of a nuclear catastrophe. The proposal is very detailed, very appropriate for how such peace negotiations could actually take place.

Now, I think that that is indeed the choice, and the article you mentioned [by Gilbert Doctorow], who is convinced that such a Plan B is already in motion, namely that the general gossip or line that, OK, Ukraine has lost, lets move on to the next confrontation with China over Taiwan, which apparently is the discussion in Washington and elsewhere, is not what is happening, but that indeed, we are seeing an escalation, where NATO is positioning itself to increasingly make the Black Sea an area of direct confrontation with Russia.

And the decision which is reported about the Biden administration, that they will provide the Ukrainian government with ATACMS missiles, which have a range of 300 km, and following that, the decision would [presumably] be made by the German government to send the Taurus cruise missiles which have a range of 500 km, therefore, both capable of being very far-reaching into Russian territory, Crimea, or whatever other areas behind the front lines.

That is where we seem to be. There were attacks on Sevastopol. And up to now, it seems that [German Chancellor Olof] Scholz is still hesitating to make the absolute commitment, but as things have gone for the last one and half years, the chance that he holds up and does not give permission for deployment of Taurus cruise missiles, Im not very confident at all. And it is a fact that these cruise missiles would be deployed, not one at a time, but it would probably be a whole group of them, which would mean that a supply line of continuous delivery of these Taurus missiles, which are produced in Bavaria, would be necessary, clearly making Germany a war party in the conflict. If then things escalate to that point, we could very quickly have direct military confrontation between NATO and Russia, involving Germany as a country of departure of these missiles.

So I think people had better wake up! This is going, in my view, completely wrong. I think the degree of mobilization of the population, of an awareness of how dangerously close we are to catastrophe is not there. Thats naturally due to massive propaganda campaigns and disinformation in the mainstream media. But I think we are on that path, and it is absolutely urgent that people really make their desire to be heard, that we absolutely need to have an immediate ceasefireas the Kujat-Teltschik-Funke-Brandt proposal is suggestingand that everybody must rally around that proposal, which in my view is the most accurate and most feasible proposal on the table.

Schlanger: And people can find that proposal on the Schiller Institute website, where we have a press release on the proposal for Ending the War with a Negotiated Peace.

Given the tense situation that has developed, especially after the attacks last weekend on the Russian Black Sea Fleet, most of the questions we have are on the Ukraine war. So let me start with one from regular viewer, Menashe, who writes about the Doctorow article on Plan B. He has several questions, but the one I think reflects a number of other questions weve gotten, is: How can the general public discern between reliable and unreliable sources of information? This was also sent to me by someone who asked, Can we believe what Seymour Hersh is writing? Of course, Seymour Hersh seems to be reflecting the same view as Doctorow. So, if you can answer those two questions.

Zepp-LaRouche: In a pre-war situation, which in part is already an actual war, but could become a pre-war to a large war situation, the disinformation, black propaganda, gray propaganda, is enormous, and so it is very difficult. I think one has to go by, first of all, the reputation of the source; one has to see if one can verify it, by checking it, seeing if there are other sources confirming the same thing, so its a very difficult thing. But since you mention the Seymour Hersh new article, I would say, use your own judgment. Because, first of all, just for the audienceSeymour Hersh wrote an article on the first anniversary of the Nord Stream bombing. And he had written an article Feb. 8 which created a complete bombshell, because he had attributed the blame for the Nord Stream sabotage squarely on Biden, personally.

And that article was extremely accurate in terms of detail, in terms of probability, and also facts. So naturally, there was a whole effort to counter that with the ridiculous [story] about a Ukrainian yacht Andromeda, which was a sailboat, that according to all military experts was completely incapable of launching such a very difficult sabotage in water 80 meters deep. A sailboat simply does not have the kind of pressure chamber for people to dive that deep, and a whole bunch of other improbable circumstances.

Now, Hersh has written a new article, which has new elements in it, and I must say theyre really hair-raising. He makes two arguments: One, that he has sources in the intelligence community in the United States who told him that it is as good as certain that Chancellor Scholz was told by Biden at the occasion of the Feb. 7, 2022 press conference in Washington, or before that, that they would go ahead with the elimination of the Nord Stream 2. Well, thats an accusation, but I think it is so severe, in terms of its implication, that if its true, then Scholz has completely violated his oath of office to prevent harm to the German people.

This amounts to cooperation with a terrorist attack, which is ruining the German economy to a degree which is only unfolding in this period, when Germany is being halved in terms of industry. As I said, its just an accusation, but it is so severe, that I think it does merit an independent investigation. That is what China is demanding, that is what Russia is demanding. Many countries of the Global South insist on itand it has not yet happened.

The second major new point in Hershs statement is the accusation that the threat that Biden delivered at that press conference on Feb. 7, 2022, when he said, if the Russians intervene militarily in Ukraine (this was two weeks before they actually did) then the Nord Stream pipeline would be destroyed.

Now, Hersh cites sources in the intelligence community in the United States who said that the decision to actually go ahead with the sabotage had nothing to do with the effort to prevent the war, because the war started about two weeks later, on Feb. 24, but the decision was not made then to do it. Instead the crew who was in charge of the operation was told that they should be on hold to carry out the sabotage on demand. And that was guided by the effort by the Biden administration to judge the potential blowback of such an operation.

Finally, they decided to do it, on Sept. 26, after everything had been in place already beforehand, in order to make sure that Germany, under pressure of the economic sanctions and the rising energy prices, would have no option to go back to the inexpensive gas deliveries by Russia, implying the danger that Germany would fall under the control of Russia, and that the United States subsequently would lose its dominant position in Europe.

Now, again, this is an accusation. But, think about it: If it was true that it had to be a war deterrenceand he also quotes [then Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs] Victoria Nuland, saying that they had repeated stern and firm discussions with the Germans to tell them not to go ahead with [construction of] the Nord Streamif its true that they were holding this decision for several months, and then decided to follow through with later, it changes the entire character of this conflict.

I remember quite vividly that was at a point when the demonstrations in eastern Germany and elsewhere were picking up on the demand to open Nord Stream 1 and 2, because the gas prices had become so incredibly high. And if that was then the answer to make sure that such demands would disappear from these demonstrations, I find this absolutely incredible. And given the fact that Hersh, in his article also goes to great length to detail the accurate revelations he had made in his career, and were published in The New York Times, The Washington Post and other so-called mainstream media, I think it does require an investigation.

The Chinese argument I think is also very valuable, because they say, if such an enormous incident of a terrorist attack on infrastructure is gotten away with, then no infrastructure in the world is safe. So there is a common, international interest to get to the bottom of this (theres no joke involved), but that that is really a very severe matter, and I really find it absolutely unbelievable that the German government could possibly have done this, and that the German Parliament is too cowardly to even investigate it; and that the German criminal authorities, the state attorneys office, that they would make themselves available to come up with a cover story.

Since this is the equivalent of 9/11 for Germany, and these are the kinds of developments which determine which way a country goes, this is not a light matter. This is touching upon the fundamental interest of Germany as a nation on the question of sovereignty, on the question of existence as an industrial state, so I can only say, we should really demand an impartial, objective investigation by everybody who has any reason to do so; and thats practically everybody.

Schlanger: We have a question from Dennis in Russia, which I think is related in part to the push for negotiations. He writes that the idea of a compromise would include concessions from Russia, but Russia is not going to return Crimea or the Donbass, and theyre concerned that theres been no international recognition of why the special military operation was launched. And so he asks, Rather than allowing the West to save face, what makes you think such compromise could happen?

Zepp-LaRouche: The only reason Im saying it is because there is no third option: Either you escalate the war, and that is what we are in the middle of, or you come to negotiations. It is the nature of diplomacy and negotiations that you have to find a compromise. The idea that history started on Feb. 24, 2022only a complete moron is sticking to it, and there are some in the mainstream media working as journalists, thats for sure.

It is an established fact that the entire history after the collapse of the Soviet Union has to be taken into account! The fact that Russia granted sovereignty to Ukraine in 1991 was based on the fact that Ukraine would remain a neutral country: Thats a fact which is completely neglected. Its not just the promises given to [Soviet leader Mikhail] Gorbachev, that NATO would move not one inch to the east of the German border. That has been dismissed by some, but there are also contemporary witnesses who have confirmed those promises. I think the 1991 decision by Russia to allow Ukraine to become a sovereign state was linked with the idea of neutrality! And that is also among the verifiable facts.

So I think there needs to be a review of the entire history, and it has to be objective. And then, I think the Minsk 2 formula is at least a reference point to which one should go back, because finally, the solution has to be one which takes care of the interests of everybody and that includes, emphatically, the population in Russia, the population in Ukraine, the population in Donbass, the population in Crimea; and I think referenda down the way will definitely have to be a part.

But I think the key thing is that if you realize we are really on the vergethat this is spinning out of control, which threatens to be the end of humanity: a ceasefire, unconditional negotiations, and then, the recognition on both sides that the alternative is that there will be nobody left to judge who was guilty and who was not guilty, should be a motivation to enter into diplomacy.

Now some people may think a military solution is the only way. I think such people exist on both sides. But this is like the door with a hinge that does not work! And this time, the outcome would be not anything for anybody, because nobody would be alive.

So the only idea how I think how we can get out of this, is there has to be a public demand. Germany unfortunately is sleepwalking into their own destruction. The people in the United States are too indifferent: They dont get whats going on, not anywhere sufficiently, and thats why I think the only possible voice which can make itself heard is the countries of the Global South, because if it comes to a nuclear war, they will be as dead as everybody else. And they are the big, new factor: They represent the absolutely vast majority of the human species, and I think we have to get a debate and pressure coming, not from the United States to the Global South, but the other way around.

Schlanger: Speaking of a view of history, the other big storyIve received many emails from Canadian supporters about the event which took place at the Canadian Parliament, where, in front of President Zelensky and Prime Minister Trudeau, a standing ovation, in fact, two standing ovations, were given to someone, described as a Canadian and Ukrainian war hero, who turned out to be a veteran of Ukraines 14th Division of the Galician Waffen SS: That is, a Nazi unit of Ukrainian volunteers who engaged in genocide against especially people from Poland.

Now, some wrote of their embarrassment that this could happen in Canada. Others said it showed a level of ignorance, not knowing who someone introduced as a Ukrainian fighting Russia in World War II, actually is. Who was fighting against Russia in World War II? It was the Nazis! And then, Trudeau today sort of issued an apology, not really, but he warned Canadians to be on the lookout for Russian disinformation.

Helga, what are your thoughts on this affair?

Zepp-LaRouche: Its very revealing, and in one sense, its good, because it shows very clearly that the demonization of Russia and the Russophobia, which has turned into an unbelievable hatred against everything Russian, is blinding a lot of people to such a degree, that just because somebody is anti-Russia, he is regarded as a hero!

Now, in this case, it turns out that it was a verifiable SS member, whom the Polish government is accusing of having been involved in killing of massive numbers of Polish people. There were also questions to the German government from a parliamentarian of The Left [party] on similar things in Ukraine, and the German government position was, We have no knowledge of.... We do not take these arguments that there is anti-Semitism or racism.... So theyre completely denying it!

Now, if Canada has a blind eye, if the German government has a blind eye, and the United States government has a blind eye, the British, for surethe question arises: what is it in the structure and in the make-up of these Western governments which makes it so easy, convenient for them to ignore these facts? Well, the answer is not so pleasant for these Western governments, because maybe there is an affinity between their goals and what these Nazi elements represent.

I think we are looking at the danger of fascism in the West, and I think anybody who is not falling for the propaganda will see that very clearly: That if we are not changing quickly, we are in absolute danger not only of repeating the mistake of World War I, by sleepwalking into a catastrophe, but also the horrors of the Second World War and a new fascism. It will not be the fascism as it was in Germany 80 or so years ago, but if you look at what the West is doing under the pretext of democracy and human rights, if you make an honest account of what these policies are, well, maybe this question of the Canadian incident will start a review of Western policyand that would be the best possible outcome.

Schlanger: Helga, heres a question from someone who describes herself as a concerned patriot. She asks:

How can singing Classical pieces in a chorus stop insane war-hawks from making war?

Zepp-LaRouche: Well, I dont think it will do that, because these war-hawks are war-hawks, and they have made their decision to be what they are.

The purpose of Classical music is to uplift the general population. We are right now in a situation where, the West as an entity, meaning the United States and Europe in particular, is in the biggest cultural crisis I can think of. Its a plunge into decadence, which makes the end of the Roman Empire pale by comparison. If you look at what is allowed under the flag of democracy and freedom and whatnot: the violenceI think there were 500 mass shootings in the United States so far this year, an unbelievably high number of deaths from these shootings. The suicide rate, the drug addiction, the violence of the drug gangs in the cities, the decay of infrastructure, the barbarism, portrayed in the way migrants are treated, both in the United States and in Europe around the Mediterranean: This is the downfall of the West! Dont kid yourself.

My late husband, Lyndon LaRouche, always used to say that a society which is not capable of Classical thinking any more, will not make it. Because with Classical music, you are appealing to that in the inner soul of the human being which is human, which is beautiful, which is creative, which is uplifting, which is lofty, which has all the ideas of humanity. And therefore, I think the only way how we can have any hope to get back on a track of peace and decency in the world order, is that we have to revive the Classical traditions in Western culture: Classical music is the absolute key, because it is the international language which is understood by everybody. I think that the lifting up of the human spirit is the absolutely unavoidable precondition for us to get out of this.

So its not the war-hawks, its the rest of the population which needs to be uplifted.

Schlanger: Well, with that, I have a final question for you, which you can use as a summary. Its from A.J.:

Can you see the end of this global conflict? What can ordinary people do to bring peace? Ive been sharing the truth, but its difficult to say if Im making friends or losing friends.

Zepp-LaRouche: Well, those you lose, under these circumstances, its better not to have them. And you will gain new ones.

Despite the extreme danger, we should not for one second forget it and downplay it, I think there is hope! For example, the Chinese government has just published yesterday a White Paper on their conception of a A Global Community of Shared Future: Chinas Proposals and Actions.

This conception, which has been used by Xi Jinping, going back to 2013, and which has been elaborated in various speeches and so forth, is now reflected by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which has produced an almost 40-page paper, which I have not yet totally read, but from what I have read, I can say, it is really very, very hopeful. It states emphatically that the idea of the new system consisting of such organizations as the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, the Belt and Road Initiative, the new economic system, is open to everybodyemphatically. It is not meant to replace the West, or to be in competition to the West, but is an invitation to all countries to work together for a shared future of humanity.

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National Meteorological Centre

I think that this document is very important, as it comes out so strongly from the Chinese at this moment of grave danger, because it makes geopolitics obviously a lie. Because geopolitics is based on the idea that you always will have to defend your interests against the interests of somebody else, and thats a bestial condition! Already several years ago, I made my New Years resolution, the calling for the absolute overcoming of geopolitics as a great evil.

What we have to do, is move to a new paradigm, where international relations will be among equal, sovereign states, where each state respects the sovereignty of the other, does not interfere in the internal affairs of the other country; and respects their different pathwaysdifferent cultures have different ideas of how they want to organize their state, and they should be permitted to do so.

The idea to bring democracy with cannons and aircraft carriers just has clearly not worked! Look at Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria, Libya. The tragedy of Libya, now suffering from this so-called natural catastrophe which was not a natural catastrophe. If NATO would not have bombed the dams, which were brought into good shape by [Libyas leader Muammar al-] Qaddafi and which were supposed to be restored and repaired, but on which work completely stopped since the killing of Qaddafi in 2011. I could go on for a very long time. The idea of interventionist wars has not worked!

We have to move to a system of respecting the sovereignty of each and all. And the idea of the dominance of one country? Thats over! That has been the big issue at the United Nations General Assembly, where many leaders from countries which are not that strong, nevertheless are saying that the idea that one country can push others around is over. They are demanding a new system of equal relations, of international relations based on the UN Charter, based on the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence. I have my own ideas: I have written Ten Principles for a New International Security and Development Architecture, which I really urge everybody to read and distribute and to talk about it, because we are at a branching point of human history, where either we can make that jump or we will not make it. So: Be happy and work with us.

Schlanger: Helga, I know Im speaking for many of our viewers in thanking you for joining us, again. In fact, theres an email from one of them, who said, to tell Helga, Thank you for your optimism. Hearing you each week lifts me off the floor and inspires me to try again to talk to my dead-headed friends. So with that, Helga, see you again next week.

Zepp-LaRouche: Till next weekand get active with us in the meantime!
This article appears in the October 6, 2023 issue of Executive Intelligence Review.

October 1982

The So-Called NATO Conventional Build-Up

[Print version of this article]

Editors Note: This article first appeared in EIR Vol. 9, No. 43, Nov. 9, 1982, p. 57.

Let us call things by their right names. The so-called Conventional Military Build-Up policy is purely and simply a build-up for colonialist wars against developing nations. In other words, NATO Out-Of-Area Deployment.

The argument made by the supporters of the conventional build-up policy is simple. They say: the existing strategic thermonuclear deterrent of the United States is enough to stop the Soviets. They say: stationing nuclear weapons in Western Europe is unnecessary, except for bargaining purposes. They say: the wars which are going to be fought during the 1980s will not be between the NATO and Warsaw Pact forces. The wars of the 1980s, they say, will be colonial wars, fought with conventional weapons, against the nations of Latin America, Africa, and Asia.

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Circle of Friedrich Bury Gen. Gerhard von Scharnhorst View full size

Mason Chamberlin Benjamin Franklin View full size

Louis Francois Lejeune Lazare Carnot

On military policy, we happen to agree with Niccolo Machiavelli, Oliver Cromwell, Lazare Carnot, Benjamin Franklin, and General Scharnhorst. In our opinion, this is one thing the Swiss do right: universal military training and a weapon of national defense in the trained citizens home. Such policies inspire second thoughts in the minds of ambitious aggressors and shatter the arrogant dreams of plotting tyrants, contributing to peace, and to true democracy.

That republican military policy is not what the backers of conventional build-up are proposing. Retired U.S. General Maxwell Taylor says it all quite plainly. The purpose of the conventional build-up is what Taylor calls population and raw materials wars.

Taylor may be evil, but he is not confused. He has a map of Africa, for example. As he describes this map, he intends to wipe out most of the population of black Africa, except for the population of Nigeria, which he generously recommends be reduced only by one-half.

If Taylors policies remind one of the Eastern European practices of Adolf Hitler, the resemblance is not accidental. Taylor, together with retired General William Westmoreland, is a spokesman for the Draper Funds Malthusian lobbying organization, the Population Crisis Committee. General William Draper, creator of the Fund, was earlier a leading booster of Hitlers rise to power in Germany, together with the family of Governor W. Averell Harriman and other blue-blooded luminaries of the New York American Museum of Natural History. What the Harriman family and Draper stated that they admired most about the Nazis was Hitlers racial purification policies. By adopted political pedigree, General Maxwell Taylor has turned himself into a neo-Nazi mass murderer.

This is the policy of the Club of Rome, of the World Wildlife Fund, of the blue-ribbon Committee for the Year 2000, of the Global 2000 Report and the Global Futures Report. This is also the population-policy side of the conditionalities policies of the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, and sundry allied institutions. It is also the policy of practice flowing out of the neo-Malthusians of the Nuclear Freeze Movement.

The alternative to the evil of the conventional build-up is the policy of Dr. Edward Teller presented to an audience at the Washington, D.C. Press Club Oct. 26: a combination of advanced military technologies and fulfilling the common aims of mankind, the economic development of the Third Worlds nations.

For 35 years, Dr. Teller emphasized, the world has lived under the balance of terror of nuclear warfare. With aid of advanced anti-missile technologies, he stated, we can eliminate that age of terror, and free mankind from the evil doctrine of mutually assured destruction orchestrated by the rabid neo-Malthusian, Robert Strange McNamara.

As we have been insisting since 1977, science has the knowledge to develop space-based beam-weapons, to destroy nuclear missiles in the stratosphere. Earlier this year, the U.S. National Democratic Policy Committee published a policy-design, stating the feasibility of developing and deploying such weapons, and also linking that policy to Third World technological development. Dr. Teller and U.S. Secretary of Defense Caspar Weinberger agree with such new military policy, along with a growing number of others.

Now is the time for the United States to resume the policy-outlooks for which it fought World War II. Let us join with Dr. Teller, and resolve to follow his lead, to bring to an end the age of mutually assured destruction.

If NATO were to continue the conventional build-up and related policies, which the faction of Lord Carrington has been pushing, the combination of savage weakening of the OECD [Organization for Economic Cooperation in Europe] economies and North-South population and raw materials wars, means almost certain nuclear warfare between the superpowers. Teller warned of this sort of danger and rightly so. Hence, we must insist, the overlap between the Malthusians of the nuclear-freeze and so-called peace movements is the greatest single cause of actual outbreak of general nuclear warfare over the period ahead.

The nuclear freeze and conventional build-up movements are not only evil, but apocalyptically imbecilic. Let the OECD nations come to their senses, before the recent drift into a post-industrial society puts us irreversibly on the slide down into nuclear apocalypse.

The EIR article was reprinted from the Nov. 1, 1982, issue of the U.S. newspaper, New Solidarity.
This article appears in the October 6, 2023 issue of Executive Intelligence Review.

Ending the War by a Negotiated Peace

Legitimate self-defense and the quest for a just

and lasting peace are not contradictory

Negotiating Proposal To End the War in Ukraine

[Print version of this article]

The following proposal was published Aug. 28, 2023 in Zeitgeschehen im Fokus (Current Events in Focus). EIR is reprinting it here with permission.

Since the beginning of the Russian war of aggression on February 24, 2022, Ukraine has been waging a legitimate war of defense in which its survival as a state, its national independence and security are at stake. This statement is true regardless of the democratic and rule of law situation and constitutional reality and also regardless of the wars much more complicated antecedents and its equally complicated global political backdrop.

However, the legitimacy of armed self-defense on the basis of Article 51 of the UN Charter does not release the government in Kyiv, and the states supporting it, from the obligationnot least vis-a-vis its own peopleto exercise restraint, not to overreact by increasing violence and destruction and to promote a political settlement on the basis of a just and lasting peace. Even during the warand especially during itconstant efforts to achieve a diplomatic solution must not let up.

This applies just as much to those states indirectly involved, including the Federal Republic of Germany, which is particularly obliged by the peace imperative of its Constitution. Moreover, on March 2, 2022, a few days after the start of the Russian attack, the Federal Government agreed to a resolution[fn_1] tabled by Ukraine and adopted by the United Nations General Assembly, calling for a peaceful settlement of the conflict between the Russian Federation and Ukraine through political dialogue, negotiations, mediation, and other peaceful means. On February 23, 2023, another UN resolution[fn_2] called on member states and international organizations to redouble their support for diplomatic efforts to achieve a comprehensive, just, and lasting peace in Ukraine. This commitment also applies to the Ukrainian government, which continues to reject negotiations with Russia.[fn_3]

Ukraine has so far resisted the Russian war of aggression thanks to comprehensive Western support. However, far-reaching decisions on the expenditures necessary to continue the war, contrary to all reason and despite the unachievable nature of the political goals, must not be left to the Ukrainian government alone. The constant ramping up of the war has already led to large numbers of Ukrainian casualties, both military and civilian, as well as to substantial destruction of infrastructure. The longer the war goes on, the more Ukraines casualties and destruction will increase and the more difficult it will be to achieve a just and lasting negotiated peace that also provides security for the states supporting Ukraine. There is already the potential for further escalation through foreseeable offensives by Russian forces, in the battle for Odesa and through the conflict that has broken out again over Ukrainian grain exports.

Since June 4, 2023, Ukrainian forces have been trying to break through the deeply layered Russian defensive positions and sever the land bridge between Russia and Crimea in order to cut off Russian forces from the logistics hub of Crimea. Ukrainian forces are losing large numbers of soldiers and (Western) armor in the fighting, without having achieved any sweeping success so far.

If the counteroffensive fails, it is to be expected that Ukraine will demand that Western soldiers follow Western weapons, as even the planned Western arms deliveries cannot compensate for the enormous losses of Ukrainian military personnel. Russia, on the other hand, has not yet deployed the mass of its active combat troops. It can therefore be assumed that after further Ukrainian losses in the counteroffensive, Russia will move to secure the annexed territories and thus achieve the goal of the special military operation.

Neither Side Can Win the War

It has been clear for some time that neither Russia nor Ukraine can win this war, as neither will achieve the political goals for which they are fighting. Ukraine cannot defeat Russia militarily, even with Western support in the form of arms and ammunition and the training of Ukrainian soldiers. Even the delivery of miracle weapons,[fn_4] which has been demanded by laymen time and again, will not be the hoped for game changer that could shift the strategic situation in Ukraines favor. At the same time, however, there is an increasing risk of even greater escalation, leading to a military conflict between NATO and Russia and the real danger of a nuclear war limited to the European continent, although the USA and Russia want to avoid it.[fn_5]

This eventuality should be averted, as it would be most of all in Ukraines interest to seek a ceasefire as soon as possible, opening the door to peace negotiations. It is equally in the interest of the European states which unconditionally support Ukraine but lack a discernible strategy. And due to the increasing attrition of the Ukrainian armed forces, the risk is growing that the war in Ukraine will escalate into a European war over Ukraine.

Ukraine is increasing this risk by launching an increasing number of attacks against Russias strategic infrastructure with Western support, like the one against the Engels nuclear strategic base near Saratov on December 26, 2022 or the Kerch Bridge.[fn_6] Moreover, the West might feel compelled to intervene actively to prevent a crushing Ukrainian defeat. There is a growing realization that this is a real danger. (Daily Telegraph: Ukraine and the West are facing a devastating defeat.)[fn_7]

Is It Possible To Negotiate with Putin?

So far there is no evidence that the political goal of the special military operation is to conquer and occupy the whole of Ukraine and that subsequently Russia is planning to attack NATO states. Nor is there any evidence that Russia and the USA are making preparations for this eventuality. From a military point of view, however, one cannot completely rule out the possibility that Russian forces intend to conquer areas west of the Dnieper, as they have not yet destroyed the bridges over the river, although this would be to their advantage in the current configuration. Putin vigorously refutes that he is pursuingas is often claimedthe imperialist goal of restoring the Soviet Union: Whoever does not miss the Soviet Union has no heart, whoever wants it back has no brain.[fn_8]

Putin was willing to negotiate with Ukraine and certainly still isbut always on the condition that the other sidethe American, Ukrainian and Western sidesalso want to negotiate. Putin has made several positive statements in this respect. For example, on the occasion of the declaration of partial mobilization on September 21, 2022, President Putin said:

This is what I would like to declare publicly for the first time. After the start of the special military operation, in particular after the Istanbul talks, Kyiv representatives voiced quite a positive response to our proposals.... But a peaceful settlement obviously did not suit the West, which is why, after certain compromises were coordinated, Kyiv was in effect ordered to wreck all these agreements.[fn_9]

Also September 30, 2022, in the declaration on the annexation of the four regions:

We call on the Kyiv regime to immediately cease fire and all hostilities; to end the war it unleashed back in 2014 and return to the negotiating table. We are ready for this, as we have said more than once.[fn_10]

On June 17, 2023, Putin told the African peace delegation:

We are open to a constructive dialogue with all those who want peace, based on the principles of justice and taking into account the legitimate interests of the different sides.[fn_11], [fn_12]

On this occasion, Putin demonstratively showed an initialed copy of the draft treaty from the Istanbul negotiations.

Die Welt wrote in a detailed editorial on June 23, 2023 that the Russian media also spoke of negotiations; one can assume that this was done with the approval of the Kremlin. The African initiative had been widely picked up and favorably commented on in Russian news coverage on the occasion of the Russia-Africa summit. The state news agency, RIA, published a commentary deploring the failure of the previous peace initiatives. Editor-in-chief Margarita Simonjan, who had previously called for tougher action by the Russian army, advocated a ceasefire and a demilitarized zone secured by UN peacekeepers. It was right to stop the bloodshed now, she said. Ukrainians should then vote in referendums to which country they want to belong. Do we need territories that do not want to live with us? I am not sure about that. For some reason it seems to me that the president doesnt need them either, Simonjan said.[fn_13]

The war could have been prevented,[fn_14] had the West accepted a neutral status for Ukrainewhich Zelensky was initially quite willing to dorenounced NATO membership, and enforced the Minsk II agreement on minority rights for the Russian-speaking population. The war could have ended in early April 2022 if the West had allowed the Istanbul negotiations to be concluded. It is now once again, and possibly for the last time, the responsibility of the collective West and especially the USA to set a course towards a ceasefire and peace negotiations.

It Is Imperative To Ward Off Danger

Imperial rivalries, national arrogance, and ignorance triggered the First World War, which has been called the seminal catastrophe of the 20th century. The Ukraine war must not become the seminal catastrophe of the 21st century! The increasing Europeanization of the conflict threatens to slide into a major war between Russia and NATO, which neither side wants and, in view of the acute threat of nuclear catastrophe in such a case, cannot possibly want. Therefore, it is urgent to stop the escalation before it develops a momentum of its own that escapes political control.

Now it is up to the European states and the European Union, whose global political weight is constantly being reduced in the war and by the war, to direct all their efforts toward the restoration of a stable peace on the continent and thus prevent a major European war. Averting this requires the commitment of leading European politicians, namely the French President and the German Chancellor[fn_15] in a joint effort and in coordination with the U.S. and Turkish Presidents, while there is still time and the point of no return, to which Jurgen Habermas has specifically referred, has not yet been passed.

Peace Is PossibleA Way Out of Danger

Positions of the Warring Parties

Ukraine:

 Negotiations only after the withdrawal of Russian troops from Ukrainian territory or after the liberation of all Russian occupied territories.

 Obligation on Russia to bear the costs of reconstruction.

 Condemnation of the Russian leadership responsible for the attack.

 NATO membership after the end of the war.

 Security guarantees by states designated by Ukraine.

Russia:

 Consolidated neutrality of Ukraineno NATO membership.

 No stationing of American and other NATO troops on Ukrainian territory.

 Recognition of the Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhia and Kherson regions as Russian territory.

 Ceilings on Ukrainian armed forces in general and for each armed force in particular.

 Arms control negotiations with the USA/NATO, in particular on verification mechanisms for NATOs Ballistic Missile Defense System/BMDS in Poland and Romania.

Both warring parties have set preconditions for the start of negotiations after Ukraines withdrawal from the Istanbul agreements, and the Ukrainian president has even issued a decree forbidding negotiations. Both sides have also made demands for the outcome of negotiations that are impossible to fulfill in this way. Therefore, it is essential that all preconditions for the start of negotiations are dropped. The Chinese position paper offers a reasonable approach. It calls on the parties to resume peace talks [...] resumption of negotiations.

The USA has an important role to play in bringing about negotiations and would have to pressure the Ukrainian president to negotiate. In addition, the USA (and NATO) must be prepared to engage in arms control negotiations, including confidence-building military measures.

Phase ICeasefire

To start the peace process, the UN Security Council should consider a draft resolution along the following lines and mandate further measures as outlined below:

1. The UN Security Council:

 shall adopt, in accordance with Article 24(1) of the UN Charter, a timetable and schedule for a ceasefire and for negotiations to end the Ukrainian war and restore peace, consistent with the primary responsibility assigned to it by its members for the maintenance of international peace and security,

 shall decide on a general and comprehensive ceasefire between the warring parties, Russia and Ukraine, with effect from Day X. The ceasefire shall be without exception and without limitation or special arrangements, irrespective of the deployment of the opposing armed forces and weapons systems. It shall be binding and implemented in a general and comprehensive manner,

 shall entrust a High Commissioner for Peace and Security in Ukraine with the political responsibility for the implementation of the timetable and schedule as well as all measures decided by the UN Security Council in this context,

 shall decide on the deployment of a UN peacekeeping force[fn_16] in accordance with Chapter VII of the UN Charter, tasked with observing and enforcing the ceasefire and the security and military measures agreed between the parties to the conflict.

2. The parties to the conflict shall cease all hostilities on the date determined by the UN Security Council (Day X).

3. No more weapons and ammunition shall be supplied to Ukraine from that date. Russia shall also cease supplying arms and ammunition to its forces in the territories occupied since February 24, 2022, and Crimea.

4. All irregular foreign forces, military advisors and intelligence personnel of both warring parties shall be withdrawn from Ukrainian territory by Day X + 10.

Phase IIPeace Negotiations

Peace negotiations shall begin on Day X + 15 under the chairmanship of the UN Secretary-General and/or the UN High Commissioner for Peace and Security in Ukraine at UN Headquarters in Geneva.

Both parties to the conflict shall reaffirm their determination to conduct the negotiations with the firm intention of ending the war and seeking a peaceful and lasting settlement of all issues in dispute. They shall take account of Russias letters to the United States and NATO of December 17, 2021, insofar as they are relevant to the bilateral negotiations, and Ukraines position paper for the negotiations of March 29, 2022, and build on the results of the Istanbul negotiations.

Elements of a negotiated settlement:

(a) The parties to the conflict

 would not consider each other as adversaries in the future and would undertake to return to the principles of equal and indivisible security,

 would undertake to renounce the threat and use of force,

 would undertake not to take any preparatory measures to wage war against the other party,

 would undertake to show transparency in their military planning and exercises and greater predictability in their military and political actions,

 would accept the deployment of a UN peacekeeping force on Ukrainian territory in a 50 km wide zone from the Russian border, including the regions of Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhia and Kherson within their administrative boundaries,

 would undertake to resolve all disputes without the use of force through the mediation of the United Nations High Commissioner or if necessary, by the guarantor states. The right of Ukraine to individual and collective self-defense under article 51 of the UN Charter would not be affected.

(b) Russia

 would withdraw its armed forces from the territory of Ukraine to the borders of 23 February 2022,

 would withdraw its armed forces on its own territory to no less than 50 km from the Ukrainian border, if they have been deployed to this zone since 24 February 2022.

(c) Ukraine

 would withdraw its armed forces from a zone no less than 50 km from the Russian border, including the regions of Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhia and Kherson,

 would declare as permanent its status as a neutral state and would not join any military alliance, including the North Atlantic Alliance. Ukraines sovereignty, territorial integrity and state independence would be guaranteed by corresponding pledges of guarantor powers.[fn_17] The guarantees would not apply to Crimea, and the regions of Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhia and Kherson within their former administrative borders,

 would renounce the development, possession, and deployment of nuclear weapons on its territory,

 would not allow the permanent or temporary deployment of the armed forces of a foreign power or its military infrastructure on its territory,

 would not permit exercises and maneuvers by foreign armed forces on its territory,

 would implement the agreed ceilings[fn_18] on Ukrainian armed forces within two years.

 The problems related to Crimea and Sevastopol would be negotiated bilaterally through diplomatic channels within 15 years and resolved by renouncing military force.

(e) The future status of the Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhia and Kherson regions would be mutually agreed in the negotiations. Russia would allow refugees to return. If the negotiating partners failed to reach an agreement on this issue, the United Nations High Commissioner for Peace and Security in Ukraine would hold a referendum within two years of the peace treaty coming into force, in which the population would decide on the future status. Ukrainian citizens who were permanent residents of these regions on 31.12.2021 would be eligible to participate. Russia and Ukraine would undertake to recognize the results of the referendum and implement them in their respective national legislations by the end of the year in which the referendum took place. For the population of regions that decided to remain within Ukraine, the Ukrainian government would incorporate into its constitution minority rights according to European standards and implement them by the end of the year in which the referendum took place (in accordance with the Minsk II Agreement).

(f) Guarantor states, which are members of the European Union, would promote Ukraines membership by supporting rule of law and democratic reforms.

(g) The reconstruction of the Ukrainian economy and infrastructure would be promoted through an international donor conference.

(h) Both Parties would participate in and constructively support a Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe in the CSCE format with the aim of establishing a European security and peace order. The conference would take place within one year of the entry into force of the Peace Treaty.

(i) The Treaty would enter into force as soon as both Parties and five guarantor states had signed the Treaty and, to the extent necessary, the parliaments of these states had approved it, and Ukraine had enshrined its status as a neutral, independent and non-aligned state (without the goal of NATO membership) by amending its constitution.[fn_19]

(k) Any delays would not justify either breaking the ceasefire or withdrawing from the agreements reached so far.

Phase III

A European Security and Peace Order

In the long term, only a European security and peace order can guarantee Ukraines security and freedom, in which Ukraine and Russia have their place. This European security architecture would ensure that Ukraines geostrategic position would no longer play a key role in the geopolitical rivalry between the United States and Russia. The way to achieve this is through a conference in the CSCE [Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe] format that builds on the great progress made in the Charter of Paris and develops it further, taking into account the current security and strategic framework.

Endnotes
This editorial appears in the October 6, 2023 issue of Executive Intelligence Review.

EDITORIAL

Its Again Time for the United States

To Declare Independence

[Print version of this editorial]

Sept. 30It is time again for the United States people to declare independence! Not independence from the world hegemon, as we did in 1776 against the British Empire, but from attempting to be the world hegemon through an Anglo-American alliance.

It is time to declare independence from being cowed by what you perceive to be popular opinion.

It is time to declare independence from the destructive monopoly that runs U.S. policy by polarizing people along a two-party axis, while the worst policies are roundly endorsed by the leadership of both parties. Because that duopoly leadership is so committed to maintaining its absolute unwillingness to consider Moscows legitimate security concernseven after months of a Ukrainian counteroffensive with no results besides death and destructionRussia may see no way to achieve peace outside of military victory.

In its publication, A Global Community of Shared Future: Chinas Proposals and Actions, [see excerpts below] released Sept. 26, China assesses the world this way:

Standing at a crossroads, humanity is faced with two opposing options. One is to revert to the Cold War mentality that deepens division and antagonism The other is to act for the common wellbeing of humanity. The tug of war between these two options will shape the future of humanity and our planet in a profound way.

Actions taken around the world can help decide the outcome of this choice. Will the Global Majority speak with its moral authority, not just as the center of world population, but as the locus of the greatest (and most needed) potential for growth, to demand an end to the pointless conflict? Will expanding discussions prompted by the peace proposal of four eminent Germans cause a change of heart among NATO countries?

What about the United States?

Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., is soon to announce that he will be running for President not as a Democrat, but as an independent. His choice to leave the Democratic Party could significantly increase the potential for independent candidatesand independent thinkingaround the country.

While Americans are eager to support independent campaignsGallup polling shows an increase in people identifying as independentsthe Anglo-American elites hate the idea of independent candidates, whether they run from within a party, as Donald Trump did in his campaign for President in 2016, and 2020, and is doing again in 2024, and as RFK, Jr. has so far been doing, or they run as total independents, as U.S. Senate candidate Diane Sare is doing from New York.

Trump is under a relentless, desperate legal attack to prevent his re-taking the White House. RFK, Jr. is campaigning without Secret Service protection and, up to now, under the threat that the Democratic National Committee would simply rig the nominating process to exclude him.

Sare shocked the country last year with her astounding success in achieving a petitioning goal, that had been increased threefold specifically to prevent independent candidates from being on the ballot. Her team of over a hundred volunteers got well more than the 45,000 signatures required for her 2022 U.S. Senate run in New York. She was the only candidate to do so.

Kennedys most important and useful stances are on the issues of war and peace.

Im speaking to you today, because the world is at a very similar crossroads to my uncles time, he told an audience in New Hampshire June 21, 2023. RFK, Jr. was speaking on Peace and Diplomacy in commemoration of the 60th anniversary of his uncle President John F. Kennedys famous American University Commencement Address on June 10, 1963, calling for joint action by the United States and the USSR for peace and development. In that speech, RFK, Jr. said:

Nuclear tensions are at an extreme and dangerous level. As in his [President Kennedys] time, we have a unique opportunity not only to defuse those tensions, but to take a radically different path, a path toward peace.

My uncles commitment to peace bore fruit in the Limited Test Ban Treaty of August 1963. But his assassination that November turned the nation down another path. His successors have launched one war after another, along with the ceaseless expansion of our military. Some call it the Forever War.

America used to identify herself as a peaceful nation. In fact, at our founding, the Framers of our Constitution said that democracy was inconsistent with an imperium abroad; that if we tried to make ourselves an imperial nation abroad, that we would turn into a surveillance state, a garrison state, a security state at home, and that we would also destroy our economy, as happens with every empire. John Quincy Adams spoke for all of [the Founders] when he said, America goes not abroad in search of monsters to destroy. Today  this forever war, which has so drained our nations vitality, now threatens to plunge the world into the unspeakable horror of nuclear Armageddon.

Nuclear powers must avert those confrontations which bring an adversary to a choice of either humiliating retreat or a nuclear war.

Will our efforts today, in conjunction with the Global Majoritys demands for peace, with Donald Trump and Robert Kennedys opposition to the threat of nuclear war that were inevitable in a dragged-out Ukraine conflict, and with calls for negotiations from within NATO nations, succeed in creating an Americanand globalculture capable of responding to the need to act now to drag the U.S. off the trajectory toward nuclear war with Russia, China, or both?

The answer is in our hands.
The Swedish Academy awarded this years Nobel Prize in Literature to a Norwegian known for considering lifes basic choices in his 40 years of work.

Sixty-four-year-old Jon Fosse was first published in the 1980s and became well known in the 1990s. His works include a play called Someone Is Going to Come which was performed to praise in Paris in 1999. Later, he wrote a series of books called the Septology, which he finished in 2021. The last part of Septology, called A New Name, was a finalist for the Booker Prize in 2022.

Fosse created plays, books and childrens books. He also worked on a translation of the Bible into Norwegian. He is known for writing in the Nynorsk language, which is understandable to all Norwegians. But it is used by only 10 percent of the nations 5.4 million people.

Swedish Academy member Anders Olsson said Fosses work has had a universal impact. The Academy also called his work innovative and noted his ability to give voice to the unsayable. The group explained that his books discuss lifes deepest feelings about things like life and death.

Fosse said he had been thinking he might be awarded the prize for the last 10 years, but he was still surprised to get the phone call on Thursday.

He told a Swedish broadcaster: Ive been part of the discussion for 10 years and haveprepared myself for 10 years that it could happen.

He told a Norwegian broadcaster he has no more prizes left to win. Everything will be downhill from now on. He noted that he started writing as a boy and his first work came out 40 years ago. I dont plan to compete with myself, he said. The writer added he will celebrate the prize calmly with his family.

Fosse said 1969 Nobel literature prize-winner Samuel Beckett of Ireland influenced his writing style. Beckett wrote the play Waiting for Godot.

Guy Puzey is a teacher of Scandinavian studies at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland. He called Fosses writing sparse and said his simple expressionstake on a lot deeper meaning

The Associated Press notes critics might call Fosse a safe choice for his highbrow writing only known to people in small literary circles.

The Academy has been criticized for being too centered on men from Northern Europe and North America. That includes criticism from Annie Ernaux, last years winner. Only 17 of 119 winners have been women.

Recent winners who have been popular writers include Mario Vargas Llosa of Peru, Kazuo Ishiguro of Japan, and Alice Munro of Canada. The Academy got a lot of attention for choosing American musician Bob Dylan in 2016.

Supporters say recent winners, including Dylan, show that the Nobel committee is interested in writers who are both popular and praised by critics.

Fosses publisher says his work has been translated into 40 languages and his plays have been produced over 1,000 times. And he is the fourth Norwegian to win the prize but the first since 1928.

Fosse will receive a gold medal and about $1 million at the Nobel prize award ceremony in Stockholm, Sweden, on December 10.

Im Dan Friedell.

Dan Friedell adapted this report for VOA Learning English from Associated Press, Reuters and other sources.

__________________________________________________

Words in This Story

translation n. a version of a written work that is in another language than the original

impact n. influence or an effect

sparse adj. less than might seem necessary; covering thinly

highbrow adj. interested only in serious things and not playful or funny

We want to hear from you. Do you have any other writers you believe deserve a Nobel prize?

Our comment policy is here.
The organization formerly known as Children's Hospital & Medical Center marked its 75th anniversary Tuesday by announcing its new name  Children's Nebraska.

Chanda Chacon, Children's president and CEO, said the new name better describes the organization as it is today and where it's situated.

"The name Children's Nebraska also expands the definition of who we are, even beyond a hospital and medical center, better reflecting the full scope of our mission to improve the life of every child through care, advocacy, research and education," she said at an event that drew hundreds of staff members. "Plus, it allows us to remain nimble and forward-looking as we continue to grow and serve."

The institution opened as Children's Memorial Hospital in 1948 after a campaign led by former Omaha World-Herald publisher Henry Doorly and Dr. C.W.M. Poynter, then dean of the University of Nebraska's medical school. Doorly was spurred by his wife, Margaret Doorly, who told her husband something needed to be done for Omaha children in need of health care after paying the $10 deposit a pair of parents needed before doctors would see their child. Thousands of groups and individuals gave to the project.

The hospital moved west in the early 1980s, added a specialty pediatric center in 2010 and opened the Hubbard Center for Children with an additional 100 beds in 2021.

In August, hospital officials and a local nonprofit group broke ground on the $110 million Behavioral Health & Wellness Center at Children's, which is slated to open in 2026 with 38 inpatient beds and a suite of other behavioral health care services. It will be situated on the hospital's campus west of 84th Street and West Dodge Road.

Sue and Jim Hamilton of Omaha have seen nearly four decades of the hospital's history unfold firsthand. The parents of eight biological and adopted children and foster parents to dozens of others, they have tapped many of its services over that time, beginning with son Christopher, now 39, who was diagnosed with cerebral palsy, and continuing with daughter Milly Ortiz, 15.

Sue Hamilton praised the health system's staff for the care they have provided the family over the years.

"You are where and to whom so many of us turn to when our kids need help," Hamilton said. "Your work makes our community healthier, safer and stronger."

Chacon said it's important for Children's to keep moving forward.

"Children and teens like Milly are counting on us." she said. "They are counting on us to improve and evolve and to anticipate future needs."

Our best Omaha staff photos & videos of September 2023
Omaha police have identified the man who was shot Tuesday by officers as Andrew L. Wright, 39, of Omaha.

Wright suffered multiple gunshot wounds, and was being treated Wednesday at the Nebraska Medical Center. He is expected to survive, Omaha police said.

Wright was injured Tuesday night when multiple Omaha police gang unit detectives fired their guns at him after stopping the car he was driving near 61st and Jaynes Streets, Omaha Deputy Police Chief Tom Shaffer said.

The officers were investigating a report to 911 that a man had pointed a gun at someone at 21st and Pinkney Streets about 20 minutes earlier, police said. They stopped the car Wright was driving because it matched the detailed description, and partial license plate number, given by a witness to the earlier incident, said Lt. Neal Bonacci, an Omaha police spokesman. Wright got out of the car after the officers stopped it, police said.

Police have not said why officers shot Wright. The shooting is being investigated by the Omaha Police Department Officer Involved Investigations Team, with the assistance of the Nebraska State Patrol and Douglas County Sheriffs Office.

Police said a gun was found on the ground near Wright. Asked whether Wright had pointed or fired a gun at the officers, Bonacci said that is still under investigation.

Officers body-worn cameras captured video of various aspects of the incident, according to police. Bonacci said police are still connecting the dots about what happened after Wright got out of the car. He said more will be known after interviews of the officers are completed.

The officers provided life-saving measures to Wright until Omaha Fire Department personnel arrived, according to a statement from the Omaha Police Departments public information office Wednesday.

The officers arrested a passenger from Wrights vehicle, whom police identified Wednesday as Alandus Warren, 45. Warren was booked on suspicion of possessing cocaine and marijuana.

The involved officers have been placed on paid administrative leave. Police have not yet released their names.

Nebraska law requires that a grand jury investigate whenever a person dies while being arrested or while in custody.
Bosley was a giant of a dog  a cross between a mastiff and a Rottweiler.

But he had a playful spirit, so it wasnt unusual that on a spring day in 2004 hed dash headlong into the sandpit lake near the Kappas family home.

The only remarkable detail of the otherwise routine trip to Buccaneer Bay, recalled owner Tom Kappas, was the bright green color of the water.

Algae, he and his wife figured.

Within an hour, Bosley was dead.

And within days, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had a scientist in Nebraska to investigate Bosleys death and that of another dog.

The scientist looked at the green yuck in the Cass County lake, Kappas recalled, and said, Oh thats not supposed to be here.

Toxic cyanobacteria  commonly referred to as toxic algae or blue-green algae.

Normally benign, cyanobacteria are common across the planet. But under the right conditions  as was the case in Buccaneer Bay that summer and dozens of Nebraska lakes since  cyanobacteria can release potentially lethal poisons. It is a growing concern in water bodies worldwide.

Toxic cyanobacteria can sicken and kill animals and in rare cases be fatal to people. It can make drinking water more costly to purify and the safety of eating the fish uncertain. Exposure can come from contact with the water or breathing airborne particles.

The 2004 incidents in Nebraska, along with similar ones in Iowa, Vermont and New York, were so jarring that the scientific community launched a new era of testing and research, said Jennifer Graham, the research hydrologist who represents the U.S. Geological Survey on a federal task force focused on the issue.

Scientists now have some answers.

They know that agricultural, urban and residential runoff is feeding the problem. They worry that human-caused climate change is supercharging it. But they lack enough data, Graham said, to answer a basic question: Is the increase real, or do we just have a heightened awareness of the problem?

For some Nebraskans, especially those on the more intensely farmed eastern side of the state, the answer seems clear.

When I was younger, none of this was going on, said Norfolk resident Neil Harrison, a 71-year-old lifelong Nebraska fisherman. Its obvious that somethings changed.

Case in point: Willow Creek Lake northwest of Norfolk. For years it has been one of the states most affected lakes. Since 2005, some summers have seen 10-14 weeks of unhealthy levels  based on current health standards.

So far this year alerts have been issued for seven weeks.

Determining whether outbreaks are on the rise is no small question, given the potential harm posed by routine toxic cyanobacteria outbreaks, said Jessica Corman, an associate professor and head of the aquatic ecology lab at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

On the one hand, we dont know enough to make strong statements about what is going to happen, Corman said. But on the other, we worry that once we do know enough, it will be too late. So the question is, What do you do?

Despite the political and economic hurdles, she said, the problem is easier to prevent than it is to clean up.

Toxic cyanobacteria thrive on warm, nutrient-rich water, especially the type of nutrients that find their way from farm fields and urbanized areas into waterways.

Global warming may be playing a role, scientists say, not just through rising temperatures, but through heavier rains that amplify runoff, erosion and flooding.

There are a lot of things we do know, Corman said. We know how to modify flooding, we know how to modify how much fertilizer we put on our lawns and fields.  It's just whether we have the political, social or economic will to do it.

In addition to the two dog deaths in 2004, toxic cyanobacteria made dozens of Nebraskans sick that summer at Pawnee Lake. According to a report by state regulators and University of Nebraska researchers, swimmers and skiers reported skin rashes, blisters, vomiting, headaches and diarrhea after a weekend at the lake.

With toxic outbreaks occurring routinely in Nebraska lakes, the state continues to receive reports of suspected, though unconfirmed, illnesses.

The Nebraska Regional Poison Center typically receives between four and 15 calls a year from people who suspect they've been affected by toxic algae, according to spokeswoman Angie Pasho.

The extent to which toxic cyanobacteria are making people ill is unknown because there is no mandatory reporting.

According to a recent federal study in which 16 states volunteered data, the CDC found that 117 people reported health effects from toxic cyanobacteria in 2021. Forty-eight dogs became ill and 18 died, according to the CDC. (Nebraska was not among the states providing data.)

Most Nebraska water bodies, including private lakes such as Buccaneer Bay and popular public reservoirs such as Omahas Zorinsky Lake, arent routinely tested.

In lakes that are tested, sampling may miss a problem. Blooms can move and quickly appear and disappear.

Nebraskas then Department of Environmental Quality acted quickly in 2004. Within two weeks, the state started testing lakes across Nebraska, issuing alerts when it detected harmful levels.

Even today, Nebraskas monitoring efforts remain ahead of a number of states. Some states dont proactively test, while others proactively test far fewer lakes.

Together with federal and local partners, NDEE tests about 50 public recreational lakes every week from May through September. (The state has more than 450 public lakes and ponds.) Over the years, it has tested more than 70 lakes and, at one point or another, at least 44 have tested above the level that is considered unhealthy.

Outbreaks dont appear to follow a pattern; some lakes have improved, while others have recently developed harmful levels. About a dozen appear to be chronically impacted, including Iron Horse Trail, Kirkmans Cove, Pawnee, Rockford, Swan Creek 5A and Willow Creek.

Experts say tackling ag and urban runoff is critical to reducing outbreaks.

Most of Nebraskas affected lakes are in agricultural areas. And for now, voluntary measures, largely funded through taxpayer-subsidized incentives, are the main tool for reducing ag runoff.

Farmers welcome the financial help provided by incentives but generally oppose mandates.

I dont think the hammer works as well as the carrot, said State Sen. Tom Brandt of Plymouth, a farmer who serves on the Natural Resources Committee. Farming is expensive, he said, and mandates would be difficult to enforce.

Many farmers are great stewards of the land, Brandt said.

Some farmers believe more needs to be done.

Fifth-generation farmer Graham Christensen in northeast Nebraska said legislative safeguards are needed to protect public health and hold industrial agriculture operations to higher standards.

Those safeguards need to be accompanied by resources  information and incentives  that enable farmers to adopt proven solutions, he said.

In places like Nebraska, the first step is acknowledging you have a problem, and our government hasnt even gotten to that yet, he said.

Nebraska is lucky when it comes to drinking water. Most of the state draws its drinking water from aquifers, which so far have proven immune to toxic cyanobacteria.

Only 60 miles east of the states border, the town of Maryville, Missouri, has proposed spending millions of dollars on a new water treatment plant because toxic cyanobacteria has contaminated the reservoir it relies on.

Its not all about ag. Lakeshore conditions, such as fertilized lawns and outdated septic tanks, contribute to problems as well.

Thats not news to Kappas. Outbreaks have become an annual occurrence at Buccaneer Bay, he said. Kappas said he has tried to persuade his neighbors to forgo their sandy beaches and green lawns. Nobody listens.

Everyone wants to have a green yard, he said. Well, OK fine, then you are going to suffer the consequences.
At least four people have been killed and more than 50 injured in two explosions in southern England this evening.

Bombs went off in two pubs packed with Saturday night revellers in the town of Guildford. Many of the victims were soldiers back from duty in Northern Ireland.

The first bomb exploded in the Horse and Groom pub just before 2030 BST, destroying the front of the building and shattering the windows of neighbouring shops.

A second bomb exploded half an hour later in the nearby Seven Stars. Most of the casualties were the result of the initial bomb, which went off without warning.

All pubs and two cinemas in the Surrey town have been shut down for fear of further attacks and police have sealed off the area.

David Howell, former Minister for Northern Ireland described his horror at the injuries caused by the bombs.

Im afraid I thought Id seen the last of this in Belfast. Its quite clear that we must hunt down the maniacs and the animals who would do this kind of thing, he said.

The most seriously injured have been transferred to St. Lukes Hospital in Guildford which is receiving blood plasma from London hospitals to treat casualties.

Surrey Ambulance Service is said to be stretched as crews struggle to cope with the large numbers of wounded.

Guildford is situated close to a number of garrison towns. Its night life is popular with soldiers who are part of the 6000 military personnel in the area.

Senior police officers say given the severity of the explosions and choice of targets, the attacks are likely to be the work of Irish terrorists, but no official confirmation has yet been given.

Special Branch are currently interviewing witnesses.

The republican bombing campaign has intensified on mainland Britain in the last two years. In March 1973 a bomb exploded at the Old Bailey killing one man and injuring 230.

This year 12 people died in February when a bomb exploded on a bus carrying servicemen and their families on the M62. In July, a woman was killed and 41 people hurt by a bomb at the Tower of London.

Courtesy BBC News

In context

The final death toll was five: Four soldiers, and a civilian. Sixty-five were injured.

In 1975 three men and a young woman were convicted of the bombings and given life sentences.

An appeal in 1977 was launched but rejected but in 1987 their case was reopened, after new evidence was presented.

On 18 October 1989 the convictions of the so-called Guildford Four were declared a gross miscarriage of justice and quashed by the Court of Appeal. They had spent 14 years in jail.

Three police officers were later charged with fabricating evidence in their investigation into the Guildford bombings, but the charges were dismissed.
In response to opinions fearing revitalization plans will destroy old districts, Chief Executive Ho Iat Seng finds these comments radical, local media has reported.

On the sidelines of the National Day Reception, the head of the government was asked whether he was satisfied with the proposals on old district revitalization presented by the six casino operators. He said he was satisfied, adding he was aware that each operator has a team focusing on non-gambling operations.

At the same event, he was also asked about his views on social opinions that fear revitalization projects may ultimately become jeopardization projects, which might damage or even destroy existing qualities or elements.

Ho strongly objected to these opinions, according to local media All About Macau, describing them as radical. He was cited as suspecting the press of having heard radical narratives, while the government sees these projects as revitalization.

He said the government is not demanding casino operators overhaul these districts. On the contrary, they are called to attract new leases or retain existing ones, so as to achieve revitalization.

On the matter of residency of Portuguese people in Macau, Ho said Macau and Lisbon have different views on eligibility, and communications are ongoing.

He said working visas for Portuguese people are unchanged.

Ho said a new law was enacted last year, facilitating the change in eligibility. The core point of discussion is whether all Portuguese people should receive a Macau ID immediately upon arriving in Macau for work and get permanent residency seven years after arrival, he was cited as saying by All About Macau.

Cash handout level retained; civil servant pay rise planned

All social welfare  including the cash handout  will remain unchanged next year, while civil servants will see a pay raise from Jan. 1 next year, Ho has disclosed.

The level of the cash handout will remain at MOP10,000.

He said the level of the pay raise for civil servants has not been determined yet, as he was awaiting the report from the civil servant salary review entity.

On the Northbound Travel for Macau Vehicles scheme, the head of the government said discussions are needed with Guangdong Province before making any changes.

With this said, although he has heard suggestions from society, he does not have the authority to implement any of them at his discretion.

On the economy, Secretary for Economy and Finance Lei Wai Nong said the citys casinos had attracted about MOP130 billion of gross gambling revenue (GGR) in the first nine months of the year. He hoped that all walks of life can work together to achieve more in the next three months.

Regarding international tourists, both Ho and Lei said casino operators should do more, adding that lack of flights is the core challenge.

Casinos will get a maximum of 5% tax waiver should they attract enough foreign tourists, but the government has so far not publicized any data. However, Lei said the government has received daily data from casinos.

Recently, the US Department of State has lowered Hong Kongs travel warning to second tier, but maintained that for Macau at the second most severe tier, noting that Macau has arbitrary enforcement of local laws.
The local cultural industry has started a petition calling for a meeting with the government to clarify grant guidelines.

Last week, certain industry practitioners claimed via social media that they had received notes from the Cultural Development Fund, which reminded them of the importance of staging appropriate content. Failure to do so may result in the revocation of approved grants.

Pursuant to the guidelines, the detail of such content includes but is not limited to, indecency, violence, pornography, obscenity, gambling, foul language, innuendo, and the violation of the rights of others.

The note reportedly stated the Fund had reminded grant recipients to cautiously and reasonably plan and organize subsidized activities or projects.

The guidelines concerned grants for the 2023 fiscal year, the applications for which ended in November 2022. The validity of this years grants was extended to the end of March next year, in consideration of constraints arising after post-Covid normalization.

Although the industry assumes this as a reminder after the saga that affected local online platform Manner Culture Enterprises Ltd., the industry was surprised, if not panicked, to see the reminder, fearing the government may have set itself up in a censorship trap.

In response, about 100 practitioners have signed a petition letter, calling for a meeting with the management of the Fund to better understand the Funds concerns over inappropriate content, and to explore how to protect members of the audience while maintaining creative freedom.

In addition, the practitioners said Macau already has an entity for the classification of publicly screened or performed works. They called for the Fund to respect the classification entity.

What the industry also finds important is that the portrayal of inappropriate content is not for encouragement purposes. On the contrary, they are included to explore social phenomena, cultural values and human experience.

Comments on social media have expressed fear humorously that works by Chow Yun Fat, Stephen Chow, Bruce Lee and Ang Lees Lust, Caution would fail to pass the screening for grants.

Audience members feeling disturbed

On the sidelines of the National Day Reception, Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture Elsie Ao Ieong was asked about the reminder and the petition. She said the reminder was prompted by some audience members who reported to the Fund they were feeling disturbed after viewing some subsidized performances.

Ao Ieong said the reminder was issued solely in response to the audiences opinions received by the Fund and that no additional restrictions have been implemented.

In response to questions about how the Fund defines inappropriate content, the senior official said the Fund does not encourage or desire projects filled entirely with foul language or indecent actions.

She said the Fund has not tightened its restrictions.

Provided that a piece of proposed work complies with laws, regulations and concerned guidelines, our attitude towards granting subsidies is quite broad, Ao Ieong said.

She also said there is no blacklist, emphasizing that the performances about which some audience members had expressed comments were not blacklisted.

Pursuant to item 21.3.2 of the guidelines, should any subsidized projects violate any restrictions stated therein and have their grants revoked, the beneficiaries will be included in a frozen list, and will be banned from applying for grants for a year.
China to firmly uphold UN-centered int'l system, says envoy

Xinhua) 15:37, October 03, 2023

UNITED NATIONS, Oct. 2 (Xinhua) -- A Chinese envoy said Monday that China will steadfastly support the international system centered around the United Nations.

"China works tirelessly to promote the building of a community with a shared future for mankind, and firmly upholds the UN-centered international system," Dai Bing, China's deputy permanent representative to the United Nations, told the opening of the main session of the Fifth Committee of the 78th UN General Assembly, which deals with internal UN administrative and budgetary matters.

The ambassador said that facing the ongoing global challenges, member states should work together to strengthen the role of the United Nations and "adhere to true multilateralism."

"Finance serves as the foundation of and an important element underpinning the UN governance," Dai said. "To maintain the role of the UN and deliver on their commitment to multilateralism, all member states must shoulder their responsibilities and fulfill their obligations."

He said that one major contributor still has long-time arrears, which is the main cause of the UN's liquidity crisis.

"Solving this problem requires addressing both the symptoms and root causes and avoiding reliance on short-term temporary measures," he said.

(Web editor: Cai Hairuo, Sheng Chuyi)
Police in New Delhi have arrested the editor of a news website and one of its administrators after raiding the homes of journalists working for the site, which has been critical of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Hindu nationalist-led government.

The arrests were made yesterday [Macau time] after some journalists associated with NewsClick were detained and their digital devices seized during extensive raids that were part of an investigation into whether it had received funds from China. NewsClick denied any financial misconduct.

Suman Nalwa, a police spokesperson, said the arrests were made under a wide-ranging anti-terrorism law. The government has used the law to stifle dissent and jail activists, journalists and critics of Modi, with some spending years in jail before going to trial. Those arrested are NewsClicks founder and editor, Prabir Purkayastha, and its human resources chief, Amit Chakravarty.

Nalwa said at least 46 people were questioned during the raids and their devices, including laptops and cellphones, and documents were taken away for examination.

They included current and former employees, freelance contributors and cartoonists.

NewsClick was founded in 2009 and is seen as a rare Indian news outlet willing to criticize Modi. It was also raided by Indian financial enforcement officials in 2021, after which a court blocked the authorities from taking any coercive measures against the website.

Indian authorities brought a case against the site and its journalists on Aug. 17, weeks after a New York Times report alleged that it had received funds from an American millionaire who had funded the spread of Chinese propaganda.

That same month, Indias junior minister for information and broadcasting, Anurag Thakur, accused NewsClick of spreading an anti-India agenda, citing the New York Times report, and of working with the opposition Indian National Congress party. Both NewsClick and the Congress party denied the accusations.

Media watchdogs including the Committee to Protect Journalists denounced the arrests and raids and said they were part of an intensifying crackdown on independent media under Modi.

This is the latest attack on press freedom in India. We urge the Indian government to immediately cease these actions, as journalists must be allowed to work without fear of intimidation or reprisal, Beh Lih Yi, CPJs Asia program coordinator, said in a statement.

The Editors Guild of India said it was worried that the intention of raids was to create a general atmosphere of intimidation under the shadow of draconian laws.

In February, authorities searched the BBCs New Delhi and Mumbai offices over accusations of tax evasion a few days after it broadcast a documentary in Britain that examined Modis role in anti-Muslim riots in 2002.

A number of other news organizations have also been investigated for financial impropriety under Modis government. Independent media in India battle censorship and harassment and often face arrests while doing their work.

Indias anti-terrorism law has stringent requirements for bail, which mean individuals often spend months, sometimes years, in custody without being found guilty. Successive Indian governments have invoked the law, but it has been used with increasing frequency in recent years.

Reporters Without Borders, an advocacy group for journalists, ranked India 161st in its press freedom rankings this year, writing that the situation has deteriorated from problematic to very bad.

Some independent Indian think tanks and international groups such as Amnesty International and Oxfam India have also been raided and had their access to funding blocked in recent years.

Journalist Abhisar Sharma, whose house was raided and his electronic devices seized, said he wont back down from doing his job.

Nothing to fear, Sharma wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter. And I will keep questioning people in power and particularly those who are afraid of simple questions.

The raids against NewsClick also drew criticism from Indias political opposition.

These are not the actions of a mother of democracy but of an insecure and autocratic state, opposition lawmaker Shashi Tharoor wrote on X. The government has disgraced itself and our democracy today. SHEIKH SAALIQ, NEW DELHI, MDT/AP
Under new arrangements, each single-plate vehicle from Macau will only be accepted for northbound travel at most three times per month, the government announced.

The new arrangements took effect Oct. 1. Current successful applications will follow existing regulations.

From the same date, all applications must be submitted on the Northbound Travel for Macau Vehicles app, which can be downloaded from iOS App Store and Google Play.

Applications will be accepted on first-come-first-served basis, between 30 days and 10 p.m. the day before departure date. As there are quotas, applications will stop being accepted once quotas are met. Residual quotas will be released afterwards.

The remaining new requirement is that new applications for departures in the same month will only be accepted after the departure of the most imminent booking within the same calendar month.

However, bookings for subsequent months will be accepted, despite complying with this use before new booking requirement.

The ban on applications due to dishonored bookings will also be tightened. Also, any unused successful booking will equate to the ban on application for departures within the same month. For example, an unused booking on Nov. 1 will mean the suspension of applications for that particular applicant for departures within the rest of November. AL
Prosecutors in Taiwan have indicted two leaders of the islands tiny Taiwan Peoples Communist Party on accusations they colluded with China in an effort to influence next years elections for executive leader and members of the legislative assembly.

Party Chairman Lin Te-wang and Vice Chairman Chen Chien-hsin were accused this week of violating the Anti-Infiltration Act and the Civil Servants Election and Recall Act after having accepted funds and other benefits from Chinas ruling Communist Party, the official Central News Agency said.

It wasnt clear whether the two men were in Taiwan when the indictments were issued.

Taiwan will elect a new executive leader and legislators in January, and Beijing is suspected of seeking to boost the chances of politicians favoring political unification between the sides through social media and the free press and by bankrolling candidates it favors.

DPPs William Lai, whose party strongly backs maintaining Taiwans current status of de-facto independence from China, is leading in most polls.

A one-time ranking member of the pro-unification opposition Nationalist Party, Lin founded the Taiwan Peoples Communist Party in 2017 and has maintained close ties with Chinas Taiwan Affairs Office, a Cabinet-level agency dedicated to pursuing Chinas unification agenda.

Lin failed twice in bids for local government council seats and staged protests against a visit by then-speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi last year, all allegedly funded by China, CNA reported. He also allegedly worked as an adviser to the local Taiwan Affairs Office in Chinas Shandong province, CNA said.

No word of the indictments appeared on the partys Facebook page and calls to its listed phone number in the southern city of Taiwan said it had been disconnected.

Chinas Taiwan Affairs Office condemned the indictments on Tuesday, accusing the ruling DPP of making unjustified moves against those who advocate peaceful reunification across the Taiwan Strait, and saying the actions were made with malicious intentions, Chinas official Xinhua News Agency reported.

In their pursuit of Taiwans formal independence, the DPP and unidentified separatist forces have abused the law to suppress those advocating unification with China, office spokesperson Zhu Fenglian said.

Such despicable acts will surely be strongly condemned and resolutely opposed by people on both sides of the Strait, Zhu was quoted as saying.

Despite close cultural and economic ties between the two sides, surveys show the vast majority of Taiwanese oppose accepting rule under Chinas authoritarian one-party system, which crushes all opposition and any form of criticism while maintaining an aggressive foreign policy toward the United States and other key Taiwanese allies.

The DPP and the Nationalists, also known as the KMT, dominate politics in Taiwan, and the local Communist Party has a miniscule influence on elections and public opinion in general, despite staging attention-getting demonstrations during polls or surrounding visits by foreign supporters of Taipei, such as Pelosi. MDT/AP
Three Filipino fishermen died in the disputed South China Sea after their boat was accidentally hit by a passing commercial vessel, the Philippine coast guard said yesterday.

The fishermens boat, F/B Dearyn, was moored in a fishing area in the high seas off the northwestern Philippines when it was hit before dawn on Monday by the passing vessel and capsized, killing its skipper and two crew members. Three other fishermen survived, the coast guard said without elaborating.

The three fishermen died due to possible head trauma from the collision and their bodies were brought back to shore by the surviving fishermen, a separate police report said.

There was no indication that the deadly accident was related to the long-simmering territorial disputes in the busy waterway.

Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. expressed sadness over the deaths of the fishermen and said a coast guard investigation was underway.

We assure the victims, their families, and everyone that we will exert every effort to hold accountable those who are responsible for this unfortunate maritime incident, Marcos said in a statement.

An initial assessment based on the surviving fishermens account and sea traffic at the time of the accident indicated that a crude oil tanker under the flag of the Marshall Islands may have hit the Filipino fishing boat, the coast guard said in a statement.

The Philippine coast guard said it would try to locate the oil tanker and its crew as part of the investigation. MDT/AP
OUTREACH TO IMMIGRANTS | MISSION TO ARIZONA

Men's clothes, baby clothes, women's wear with tags attached. Brand-new underwear straight from the store.

Piles and piles awaited the 20 volunteers who showed up this week at Beth Israel Center to sort clothing donations from the Madison community, bound for a shelter in Arizona that helps individuals and families fleeing violence, poverty or climate-fueled crises in their home countries.

The asylum seekers "are dropped off by Border Patrol and ICE" (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) at the shelter, called Casa Alitas, after they have spent time in detention and passed a "credible fear" interview  a screening process to determine whether the person has a well-founded fear of persecution based on their race, religion, nationality, political opinion or social group  said Judy Pierotti, a Beth Israel member. "There's up to 1,000 people a day dropped off there."

Pierotti, 79, and partner Ron Reeder left Tuesday on the 1,650-mile journey to Casa Alitas, pulling a U-Haul trailer packed with 36 large boxes of clothing and shoes.

"People were incredibly generous" in the clothing drive that was advertised around Madison, Pierotti said. "It was almost overwhelming," as volunteers spent nine hours Monday separating out the best of the donations, including brand-new garments and newly purchased packages of underwear and socks.

The team of volunteers included members of Beth Israel, Temple Beth El, friends and "half of my Monday exercise class," Pierotti said.

Pierotti and Reeder, 77, will spend three weeks at Casa Alitas providing whatever volunteer help is needed there, she said. Joining them each week will be a group of five different volunteers from Madison, including Beth Israel Rabbi Betsy Forester. All of the travelers are footing the bill for their own airfare, travel expenses and lodging in an Airbnb, Pierotti said.

How to help

Donations are tax-deductible and can be made online at bethisraelcenter.org. Checks can be mailed to: Beth Israel Center, 1460 Mound St., Madison, WI 53711. Please put "Casa Alitas Trip" in the subject line.

The asylum seekers who arrive at Casa Alitas generally stay only a few days, then join their sponsors in the U.S., who have agreed to pay for their transportation to a new community, she said.

"The majority of the families are coming from Central and South America, but there are people there coming from all over the world," including Russia, Pierotti said. "It's very difficult to pass that credible fear interview. All of these people have done that."

Pierotti previously volunteered at a center helping migrants in Tijuana, Mexico, she said. A Madison friend, Ruthanne Landsness, told her about Casa Alitas, where Landsness has volunteered for many years.

"The stories are heart-wrenching," Pierotti said. "When I was in Tijuana, my job was to take all the information that I got from people and create the credible fear interview  the who, what, when, where, how. And the stories are hideous  what these people are running from."

"My grandparents were immigrants and refugees from Europe" during World War II, she said. "Some of my family escaped Europe. Most of my family perished during the war. So I'm doing this because I'm Jewish. Because I want to save a life if I possibly can."

For the Casa Alitas effort, The Shoe Box in Black Earth "donated boxes and boxes of brand-new shoes for us to take," Pierotti said. "Fontana donated a box of brand new clothes, and U-Haul gave us the trailer for about one-third of the usual cost, plus all the free boxes we wanted."

So much clothing was donated in the drive that not all of it would fit in the trailer headed for Arizona. But Jewish Social Services and the Madison nonprofit Open Doors for Refugees also stopped by Beth Israel Center on Monday "and each took a carload" of donated clothing, including winter coats, she said. The remainder will be given to other charities.

The group is still accepting cash donations to help asylum seekers at Casa Alitas, Pierotti said.

For Pierotti's 75th birthday, her children established the Judith W. Pierotti Social Justice Fund at Beth Israel Center, and with any gifts to that account earmarked "Casa Alitas trip," "I will go to Target or Costco and buy clothes for the refugees when I get (to Tucson)," she said. "I can buy what exactly is needed at that time."
Greg Zelek says theres never been anything quite like this, and he might be right: a Miami-born concert organist playing Cuban folk songs on a Madison stage with Floridian musicians hes only just met.

But thats just the kind of musical adventure he wants to take the audience on with Greg Zelek y Amigos!, the 7:30 p.m. concert Zelek will headline Friday in Overture Hall.

Zelek, curator and principal organist of the Madison Symphony Orchestra, will often be seated at the Overture Hall organ, but also standing with a microphone at times  sharing stories of his boyhood in South Florida, where he learned piano at his Cuban grandfathers side, and of his trips to Spain in his early teens, when hed earn piles of tips by playing nostalgic Cuban music on the guitar in a bar.

Charismatic and energetic, Zelek already is well known among audiences for his mastery of the organ and his creative programming of the MSOs Overture Concert Organ series, plus the annual free Community Carol Sing he leads each holiday season. But Greg Zelek y Amigos!, which coincides with other Hispanic Heritage Month events at the Overture Center, stands out as his most personal performance yet.

The bilingual Zelek, 31, will narrate the evening in both Spanish and English.

I think Ive been here long enough that the audience trusts me, said Zelek, a graduate of the Juilliard School who switched to organ in his high school years and joined the MSO six years ago. We get over 1,000 people a night for organ concerts.

Inherited talents

The son of two lawyers, Zelek grew up with three siblings. His maternal grandfather, Aldo Castilla, was the most musical of the bunch until Greg came along.

My sisters would take (piano) lessons, and I would listen and then play what they were playing by ear, Zelek recalled. Its something youre born with, I think, and then its a matter of how much work you put into the art form. But I just had that ability to play by ear, and it was directly from my grandfather.

Aldo and his wife had emigrated from Cuba when Zeleks mother was 4 years old.

He never studied music, and couldnt read music, but he sang regularly on the radio in Cuba with his sister, Zelek said. In Miami, I used to play and sing all the time with him. My grandparents lived about an eight-minute drive from our home, and they would come over every evening.

Many of the songs his grandfather taught him made their way on to the program for Greg Zelek y Amigos!, including the Latin American standard Perfidia.

Wed sing them in harmony, he recalled.

At his grandfathers urging, Zeleks parents enrolled him in classical piano training. As a boy he took up guitar, too, learning the 10 chords he needed to accompany himself singing Cuban tunes if a piano was not available.

During his youth, Wed spend a month every year in this small town in the north of Spain, where we had relatives, Zelek said. I would play guitar and sing all the time there, often earning tips from strangers in the process. I have such great memories of that. No one there spoke a word of English, so my siblings and I really learned the language.

Proud connection

After his grandfather died, Zelek found connection with his Cuban heritage through his uncles, with whom he is also close. Theyve really been a part of my connection to my Cuban heritage in the past 10 years, he said.

Though Madison is now home for Zelek and his wife, Amanda Elfman (they married just this past July), on trips to Miami Elfman has noted how, deep down, so Cuban Zelek really is, he said.

I never really thought of it, Zelek said, but it was good to get that perspective  because I feel very proud of it. I feel very proud to be connected to that culture.

And thats why I felt sort of a responsibility to put this (concert program) together, he said. I had this idea for years. Its wonderful that its finally coming to fruition.

Hell open the show with Babalu, a song that every Cuban knows, he said.

I also wanted to incorporate other Latin American music, not just Cuban music, including works by the famed Argentine composer Astor Piazzola. I made an arrangement for organ of his Libertango that I think works quite well, he said.

Playing guitar with the group will be Alvaro Bermudez, Zeleks own guitar teacher from his youth.

If you go What: "Greg Zelek y Amigos!" Where: Overture Hall, Overture Center for the Arts, 201 State St. When: 7:30 p.m. Friday Tickets: $25 to $35. Other Hispanic Heritage Month events: Friday, Latinos Organizing for Understand and Development (LOUD) celebration with music and art, mainstage performance by Mariachi Herencia de Mexico; Oct. 19, cabaret show with Nicholas Rodriguez; Nov. 4, Free Kids in the Rotunda show featuring traditional Mexican dance by Danz Trad Website: overture.org/tickets-events/upcoming-events

When I thought of this program, I contacted him and said, Do you have any interest and do you know some other musicians?  and he said yes, Zelek said. The two will be joined by Cuban-American musicians Magela Herrera, flute; Yarelis Gandul, percussion; and Alex Hernandez, bass.

When you tell people youre combining this group with organ, no one knows what that looks like. I dont know what that looks like, Zelek said. Theres never been a situation when an ensemble like this has been put together. But (the other musicians) looked at the venue and said, This is going to be a great thing, to play in a place like Overture.

I think everyones extraordinarily excited, personally excited, to bring this music to Madison, he said. To share this music, to bring folks from Miami to my people here now in Madison is a very special thing.

Even Zeleks parents will be traveling from South Florida to hear the concert, he said.

Along with classical works such as Joaquin Rodrigos Fantasia para un gentilhombre, the musicians will play a number of folk tunes and standards. Until recently, I hadnt sung these songs since I was probably 12, but I remembered every word of them, Zelek said. I think theres nothing more beautiful than bringing your past into your present. I think that this program is an exact representation of that.

Photos: Gleam | Art in a New Light at Olbrich Gardens
A southern Wisconsin couple have both pleaded guilty to wire fraud and money laundering charges in a contractor fraud scheme that targeted homeowners in more than 16 Wisconsin counties.

Tyler Hansen, 52, and his wife, Jennifer Hansen, 43, pleaded guilty to the charges Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Madison.

Court documents allege that between October 2020 and September 2022, Tyler Hansen, of Fort Atkinson, operated a home improvement contracting business under multiple names based in Dane and Jefferson counties. He entered into contracts for projects including sunrooms, bathroom remodels, roofs, windows and doors with customers throughout Wisconsin, requiring 50% down payments at the time of signing, knowing he did not intend to follow through on the jobs. Names the business operated under included Windowsealed, Ecoview Windows of South Central Wisconsin and Windows Unlimited.

Once the down payment checks were deposited, the Hansens transferred the money to multiple personal accounts at Fort Community Credit Union to conceal the sources of the funds in an effort to make it harder for clients to receive refunds of their down payments, according to court documents.

As part of his plea agreement, Tyler admitted to lying and using customers' down payments for personal expenses.

In addition to full restitution payments for each fraud victim, the charges could result in prison time and hefty fines. The wire fraud charge comes with a maximum prison sentence of 20 years with three years of extended supervision, as well as a $250,000 fine and and a $100 special assessment. The money laundering charge carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release, a fine of $500,000 or twice the value of the money involved in the laundering, whichever is greater, and a $100 special assessment.

Jennifer Hansen will be sentenced at 1 p.m. Dec. 13. Tyler Hansen's sentencing hearing is set for 1 p.m. Dec. 19.

The charges against the Hansens followed a multi-agency investigation involving the FBI and the IRS.
Madison Area Technical College will be looking for a new leader as its current president, Jack Daniels, plans to retire at the end of the school year.

Daniels made the announcement at the colleges District Board meeting Wednesday. Hes led MATC, also known as Madison College, since 2013, when he succeeded Bettsey Barhorst. Daniels came to Wisconsin at a time when four other prominent higher education roles, including UW-Madisons chancellor and the Wisconsin Technical College System president, were undergoing turnover, prompting concerns about the stability of the states higher education systems.

Previously the president at Los Angeles Southwest College, one of Daniels most notable achievements included the creation of MATCs Goodman South campus on Madisons South Side, an area regarded as being underinvested in for years. He also helped guide the seven-location college through the COVID-19 pandemic, instituted a shared governance model and signed multiple transfer agreements with area schools to create pipelines for MATC students to easily take their next career steps, a news release from the college stated.

Its been a privilege to serve this community and this institution, Daniels said in a statement. Madison College stands head and shoulders above most and is exceptional in what it does and provides. And our faculty and staff understand, fully, our role in the community, and how we can best serve and have meaningful and lasting impact that changes lives.

A national search is expected to begin in the coming weeks.

Daniels is the second high-profile administrator at MATC to retire in the last year. Former provost, Turina Bakken, who was effectively second only to Daniels in administration as overseer of all academic programming, retired at the end of June after spending 25 years at the college.

Close Dr. Jack E. Daniels, III, president of Madison College, (left) and Dan Brown of the Ho-Chunk Nation, don hard hats Monday for the groundbreaking ceremony at the Madison College-Goodman South Campus. A crowd of 150 gathered before the Monday groundbreaking ceremony for the Madison College-Goodman South Campus. Alder Sheri Carter, District 14, said of the college facility, I think this is going to be the catalyst that brings us all together." On Monday, the groundbreaking ceremony for the Madison College-Goodman South Campus drew a large crowd. Jennifer Cheatham, superintendent of the Madison Metropolitan School District, speaks during the groundbreaking ceremony for the Madison College-Goodman South Campus in Madison. Supporters gathered Monday under a white tent on the former site of the state Department of Employee Trust Funds at South Park Street and Badger Road to break ground for Madison College-Goodman South Campus. Dan Brown, member of the Ho-Chunk Nation, speaks during the groundbreaking ceremony for the Madison College-Goodman South Campus in Madison. MATC officials say the south side campus will be ready for classes by the fall 2019 semester. Photos: Madison College-Goodman South Campus groundbreaking ceremony A groundbreaking ceremony for the Madison College-Goodman South Campus took place on Monday, drawing a crowd of 150 people. The 75,000-square-foot comprehensive Goodman South Campus being developed by MATC, also known as Madison College, will offer students job training and certificates, as well as all the classes needed for an associates degree and access to services to help them stay the course. Dr. Jack E. Daniels, III, president of Madison College, (left) and Dan Brown of the Ho-Chunk Nation, don hard hats Monday for the groundbreaking ceremony at the Madison College-Goodman South Campus. A crowd of 150 gathered before the Monday groundbreaking ceremony for the Madison College-Goodman South Campus. Alder Sheri Carter, District 14, said of the college facility, I think this is going to be the catalyst that brings us all together." On Monday, the groundbreaking ceremony for the Madison College-Goodman South Campus drew a large crowd. Jennifer Cheatham, superintendent of the Madison Metropolitan School District, speaks during the groundbreaking ceremony for the Madison College-Goodman South Campus in Madison. Supporters gathered Monday under a white tent on the former site of the state Department of Employee Trust Funds at South Park Street and Badger Road to break ground for Madison College-Goodman South Campus. Dan Brown, member of the Ho-Chunk Nation, speaks during the groundbreaking ceremony for the Madison College-Goodman South Campus in Madison. MATC officials say the south side campus will be ready for classes by the fall 2019 semester.
Mens clothes, baby clothes, womens wear with tags attached. Brand-new underwear straight from the store.

Piles and piles awaited the 20 volunteers who showed up this week at Beth Israel Center to sort clothing donations from the Madison community, bound for a shelter in Arizona that helps individuals and families fleeing violence, poverty or climate-fueled crises in their home countries.

The asylum seekers are dropped off by Border Patrol and ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) at the shelter, called Casa Alitas, after they have spent time in detention and passed a credible fear interview  a screening process to determine whether the person has a well-founded fear of persecution based on their race, religion, nationality, political opinion or social group  said Judy Pierotti, a Beth Israel member. Theres up to 1,000 people a day dropped off there.

Pierotti, 79, and partner Ron Reeder left Tuesday on the 1,650-mile journey to Casa Alitas, pulling a U-Haul trailer packed with 36 large boxes of clothing and shoes.

People were incredibly generous in the clothing drive that was advertised around Madison, Pierotti said. It was almost overwhelming, as volunteers spent nine hours Monday separating out the best of the donations, including brand-new garments and newly purchased packages of underwear and socks.

The team of volunteers included members of Beth Israel, Temple Beth El, friends and half of my Monday exercise class, Pierotti said.

Pierotti and Reeder, 77, will spend three weeks at Casa Alitas providing whatever volunteer help is needed there, she said. Joining them each week will be a group of five different volunteers from Madison, including Beth Israel Rabbi Betsy Forester. All of the travelers are footing the bill for their own airfare, travel expenses and lodging in an Airbnb, Pierotti said.

The asylum seekers who arrive at Casa Alitas generally stay only a few days, then join their sponsors in the U.S., who have agreed to pay for their transportation to a new community, she said.

The majority of the families are coming from Central and South America, but there are people there coming from all over the world, including Russia, Pierotti said. Its very difficult to pass that credible fear interview. All of these people have done that.

Pierotti previously volunteered at a center helping migrants in Tijuana, Mexico, she said. A Madison friend, Ruthanne Landsness, told her about Casa Alitas, where Landsness has volunteered for many years.

The stories are heart-wrenching, Pierotti said. When I was in Tijuana, my job was to take all the information that I got from people and create the credible fear interview  the who, what, when, where, how. And the stories are hideous  what these people are running from.

My grandparents were immigrants and refugees from Europe during World War II, she said. Some of my family escaped Europe. Most of my family perished during the war. So Im doing this because Im Jewish. Because I want to save a life if I possibly can.

For the Casa Alitas effort, The Shoe Box in Black Earth donated boxes and boxes of brand-new shoes for us to take, Pierotti said. Fontana donated a box of brand new clothes, and U-Haul gave us the trailer for about one-third of the usual cost, plus all the free boxes we wanted.

So much clothing was donated in the drive that not all of it would fit in the trailer headed for Arizona. But Jewish Social Services and the Madison nonprofit Open Doors for Refugees also stopped by Beth Israel Center on Monday and each took a carload of donated clothing, including winter coats, she said. The remainder will be given to other charities.

The group is still accepting cash donations to help asylum seekers at Casa Alitas, Pierotti said.

For Pierottis 75th birthday, her children established the Judith W. Pierotti Social Justice Fund at Beth Israel Center, and with any gifts to that account earmarked Casa Alitas trip, I will go to Target or Costco and buy clothes for the refugees when I get (to Tucson), she said. I can buy what exactly is needed at that time.

Americas reeling as flow of migrants reaches historic levels
When Ron DeSantis seemed to say during the last Republican presidential debate that he would support a federal ban on abortion at 15 weeks of pregnancy, some anti-abortion activists called it the news they had been waiting months to hear.

The president of Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, a leading anti-abortion advocacy group, issued a statement thanking DeSantis for his commitment to support minimum federal protections for babies.

But DeSantis' campaign insisted his comment, which was the candidate's most direct answer regarding an abortion ban, wasn't anything new. And millions of voters probably missed the moment entirely.

DeSantis pledge came during one of many chaotic exchanges on the debate stage, when Sen. Tim Scott  who has made a nationwide ban on abortion at 15 weeks a central focus of his campaign  shouted a question, asking if the Florida governor also would support it. In a bit of barely audible crosstalk, DeSantis responded: Yes, I will.

The exchange and the DeSantis campaign's response provided another example of the muddiness voters are encountering as they seek specific answers from Republicans regarding abortion policy. Since the Supreme Court last year overturned Roe v. Wade, the landmark ruling that established a federal right to abortion, candidates are being pressed  and sometimes stopping short of a straight answer  on whether states should decide laws governing the procedure, as the court's ruling allowed, or if the federal government should establish a standard law across all states. Some also are dodging questions about when they believe restrictions should occur and what exceptions, if any, should be allowed.

The variations on how far to go created a dust-up in the GOP presidential primary last month. Former President Donald Trump said during a TV interview that DeSantis made a terrible mistake by signing into law a ban on abortions in Florida at six weeks of pregnancy. Trump also said its probably better from a legal standpoint for abortion to be banned by individual states, rather than nationwide through federal action. The front-runner for the GOP nomination also said he would negotiate with Democrats on abortion legislation.

In states that hold elections in November, there has also been conflict among abortion opponents and accusations from Democrats that GOP candidates are trying to hide their true, extreme positions.

In Kentucky, where the state's strict anti-abortion law has been a major issue as Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear seeks a second term, Republican Daniel Cameron appeared to redefine his position on the law twice in two weeks. In Ohio, anti-abortion activists are at odds over messaging and campaign strategy as they try to defeat a constitutional amendment that would protect abortion access in Ohio.

And Democrats in Virginia are hammering Republican candidates for the House and Senate, saying they will pass an extreme abortion ban similar to those in neighboring states if the GOP wins full control of state government. Virginia, which currently has divided government, is the only state in the South that hasn't imposed new restrictions since Roe fell.

Virginia Republicans largely support Gov. Glenn Youngkins proposal that would prohibit the procedure at 15 weeks, with exceptions for rape, incest and the life of the mother, and they accuse Democrats of fear-mongering and telling lies. Republicans also have called out Democrats for not wanting to limit abortion at all, though many Democrats favor existing Virginia law, which allows elective abortions in the first and second trimesters.

Abortions in the third trimester are rare and typically occur because of a significant fetal abnormality, experts say.

Democrats say the GOP is suddenly moderating only because of recent election results and advice from pollsters.

Political momentum on abortion has shifted dramatically since last year's decision that overturned Roe v. Wade. Voters supported reproductive rights in all six states where a question was on the ballot last year, and Democrats have credited the fall of Roe for helping the party win big races in 2022, including control of the Senate.

Trump also has blamed some GOP midterm losses on how candidates handled the issue, acknowledging its political sensitivity. Speaking at the conservative Family Research Council last month he said that politically, it's a very tough decision for some people and very very hard on elections.

The former president nominated three Supreme Court justices who formed a new conservative majority to overturn Roe v. Wade. Looking ahead to the general election, he has tried to position himself as more moderate on abortion than his GOP rivals, who must win over the more conservative primary electorate if they hope to be the Republican nominee.

About half of Americans say abortions should be permitted up to 15 weeks of pregnancy, according to an Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll conducted in June. The poll also found that 73% of all U.S. adults believe abortion should be allowed up to six weeks of pregnancy. In that same poll, 56% of Republicans said abortion should be allowed in their state up to 6 weeks and 29% supported making the procedure legal up to 15 weeks.
HROZA, Ukraine  A Russian rocket blast turned a village cafe and store in eastern Ukraine into rubble Thursday, killing at least 51 civilians in one of the deadliest attacks in the war in months, according to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and other top officials in Kyiv.

About 60 people, including children, were in the cafe attending a wake when the missile hit, Ukrainian officials said.

Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin said Thursday that Russia successfully tested an experimental nuclear-powered cruise missile, while also warning that the countrys parliament could revoke its ratification of a treaty banning nuclear tests.

In a speech at a forum of foreign policy experts, Putin announced that Russia has effectively completed the development of the Burevestnik cruise missile and the Sarmat heavy intercontinental ballistic missile and will work on putting them into production.

Little is known about the Burevestnik, which was code-named Skyfall by NATO, and many Western experts have been skeptical about it, noting that a nuclear engine could be highly unreliable.

It is believed to be able to carry a nuclear warhead or a conventional one, and potentially could stay aloft for a much longer time than other missiles and cover much more distance, thanks to nuclear propulsion.

Zelenskyy denounced Thursday's strike as a "demonstrably brutal Russian crime" and "a completely deliberate act of terrorism."

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said the strike was "horrifying," and said it demonstrated why the United States is doing everything it can "to help the brave people of Ukraine to fight for their freedom, to fight for their democracy."

Hroza, which had a population of about 500 before the war, is in the northeastern Kharkiv region and was seized by Russia early in the war before being recaptured by Ukraine in September 2022. It's about 20 miles west of Kupiansk, a key focus of the Russian military effort. Zelenskyy visited the area Tuesday to meet with troops and inspect equipment supplied by the West.

On Thursday, Zelenskyy was at a summit of the European Political Community in Granada, Spain, where he asked for more Western support, saying that "Russian terror must be stopped."

"Russia needs this and similar terrorist attacks for only one thing: to make its genocidal aggression the new norm for the whole world," he said in a statement posted on his Telegram channel. "Now we are talking with European leaders, in particular, about strengthening our air defense, strengthening our soldiers, giving our country protection from terror. And we will respond to the terrorists."

"The key for us, especially before winter, is to strengthen air defense, and there is already a basis for new agreements with partners," he told the group, which was formed in the wake of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

Heeding Zelenskyy's plea, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said Germany will supply Ukraine with another Patriot missile air defense system as he expects Russia will again target crucial infrastructure and cities across Ukraine in the winter months.

"This is what is now needed the most," Scholz said after meeting Zelenskyy, according to the German news agency dpa.

Last winter, Russia targeted Ukraine's energy system and other vital infrastructure in a steady barrage of missile and drone attacks, triggering continuous power outages across the country.

Ukraine's power system has shown a high degree of resilience and flexibility, but there have been concerns that Russia will again ramp up its strikes on power facilities as winter draws nearer.

Zelenskyy noted that the Granada summit will also focus on "joint work for global food security and protection of freedom of navigation" in the Black Sea, where the Russian military has targeted Ukrainian ports after Moscow's withdrawal from a U.N.-sponsored grain deal designed to ensure safe grain exports from the invaded country's ports.

The U.K. Foreign Office cited intelligence suggesting that Russia may lay sea mines in the approach to Ukrainian ports to target civilian shipping and blame it on Ukraine.

"Russia almost certainly wants to avoid openly sinking civilian ships, instead falsely laying blame on Ukraine for any attacks against civilian vessels in the Black Sea," it said, adding that the U.K. was working with Ukraine to help improve the safety of shipping.

Speaking in Granada, Zelenskyy emphasized the need to preserve European unity in the face of Russian disinformation and to remain strong amid what he described as a "political storm" in the United States.

Asked if he was worried that support for Ukraine could falter in the U.S. Congress, the Ukrainian president stressed that his visit to Washington last month made him confident of strong backing by both the Biden administration and Congress.

Zelenskyy called for more air defense systems, more artillery weapons and shells, and more long-range missiles and drones for Ukrainian soldiers, as well as other forms of support and security guarantees to help protect Europe from potential aggression by Moscow.
WASHINGTON  For much of the world, China's Xinjiang region is notorious  a place where ethnic Uyghurs face forced labor and arbitrary detention.

However, a group of visiting foreign journalists was left with a decidedly different impression.

On a tour in late September sponsored by Beijing, the 22 journalists from 17 countries visited bazaars and chatted with residents over dates and watermelon slices. They later told state media they were impressed with the bustling economy, described the region as "full of cultural, religious and ethnic diversity," and denounced what they said were lies by Western media.

The trip is an example of what Washington sees as Beijing's growing efforts to reshape the global narrative on China. It's spending billions of dollars annually to do so.

In a first-of-its-kind report, the State Department last week laid out Beijing's tactics and techniques for molding public opinion, such as buying content, creating fake personas to spread its message and using repression to quash unfavorable accounts.

The Global Engagement Center, a State Department agency tasked with combating foreign propaganda and disinformation, released the 58-page report. It warned that Beijing's information campaign eventually could sway how decisions are made around the world and undermine U.S. interests.

"Unchecked, the (Chinese government's) information manipulation could in many parts of the world diminish freedom to express views critical of Beijing," said Jamie Rubin, who heads the center. He said Beijing's efforts could "transform the global information landscape and damage the security and stability of the United States, its friends, and partners."

"We don't want to see an Orwellian mix of fact and fiction in our world," he said. "That will destroy the secure world of rules and rights that the United States and much of the world relies upon."

China over the weekend slammed the report, calling it "in itself disinformation as it misrepresents facts and truth."

"In fact, it is the U.S. that invented the weaponizing of the global information space," the Chinese foreign ministry said. It called the State Department agency "a source of disinformation and the command center of 'perception warfare.'"

Liu Pengyu, spokesman for the Chinese Embassy in Washington, said the report was "just another tool to keep China down and buttress American hegemony."

Beijing argues that Western media have long held biases against China and at times demonized it. Chinese President Xi Jinping demanded that China tell its story to the world so Beijing would be trusted and respected.

U.S. government officials say Beijing is advancing its agenda through coercion and lies. In one case in the report, the Chinese government created a fake commentator named Yi Fan, whose pro-Beijing writings appeared in publications in Asia, Africa and Latin America.

In social media, Beijing deploys armies of bots, trolls and coordinated campaigns to suppress critical content and boost pro-Beijing messages, the report said. China-made phones sold overseas have been found to come with censorship capabilities.

A national security law in Hong Kong allowed authorities to prosecute those who live overseas but criticize Beijing's policy in the territory, according to the report. On Ukraine, Beijing cooperated with Moscow to amplify the Kremlin's false claims, it said.

In Xinjiang, Beijing brought in diplomats and foreign journalists on tightly orchestrated trips with minders in tow. The aim is to counter allegations that Beijing mistreated the country's 11 million ethnic Uyghurs through arbitrary detention and labor programs that send Uyghurs to work in factories far from their homes.

A United Nations report last year said Beijing's acts in Xinjiang might constitute crimes against humanity. The U.S. government went further, saying the actions constitute genocide against the Uyghurs, most of whom are Muslim.

On the latest such trip to Xinjiang, journalists praised Beijing's efforts in preserving the region's traditional culture, creating a harmonious and prosperous life for people of all ethnicities and religions, the party-run Global Times newspaper reported.

One Iranian journalist described the northwestern region as a beautiful Persian rug with different colors and patterns weaved together, according to China News, another state-run news agency.

Meanwhile, Beijing banned independent reporting in Xinjiang by Western journalists, and sought to silence criticism from Uyghurs overseas by threatening to punish their family members at home and deny them entry into China.

Potential impacts

While the State Department report focused on Beijing's global influence efforts outside the United States, its findings are similar to those documented in the U.S. by think tanks and advocacy groups.

Testifying before the Senate Intelligence Committee last week, Sarah Cook, a senior adviser for China, Hong Kong and Taiwan at Freedom House, said Beijing's disinformation campaign targeting the U.S. could sow discord and might influence election results, especially in districts with large Chinese American voters. They are more likely to be using WeChat, a popular Chinese-language messaging app heavily controlled by Beijing, she said.

Glenn Tiffert, who co-chairs a project on China's influence campaigns at the Hoover Institute, told the committee that the use of new technology, such as artificial intelligence, could allow Beijing to better interfere with U.S. elections.
THURSDAY-FRIDAY

Writers conference

The Writing Matters Conference is open to the public. Authors Ken Scholes and Michael Sowder will read and sign books from 2 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. on Thursday in CSIs Fine Arts Auditorium. The Favorite Poem Project, one of the students that submitted an original work, will present their favorite poem at 4 p.m. On Friday, author Michael Sowder will be presenting a reading at 11 a.m. to noon in the Fine Arts Theater. Author Ken Scholes will read from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m.

FRIDAY-SATURDAY

Oktoberfest

The ninth annual Twin Falls Oktoberfest is set for Friday (4 to 10 p.m.) and Saturday (11 a.m. to 10 p.m.) along Main Avenue between Gooding to Hansen streets. The celebration will include live music on two stages, food and drinks, sidewalk sales, a farmers market, food vendors, a wing-eating contest, a cornhole tournament and more. Oktoberfest has grown really big over the years, Kindsey Taylor, owner of the Brass Monkey, told the Times-News. Last years event attracted about 11,000 people over two days into the downtown area, she said.

FRIDAY

Live music

Local artist Brianne Lynn will perform from 7 to 9 p.m. at Milners Gate.

Elks Lodge dinner

The Snake River Elks Lodge #2807, 412 East 200 South, Jerome, offers dinner every Friday night from 6 to 8 p.m. This event is open to the public. The menu includes your choice of a New York steak grilled to order, or other entree. Cost is under $25/plate, and proceeds support local charitable projects. A full bar is also offered. See our website calendar for menu choices.

SATURDAY

Book reading

Come hear nationally-acclaimed author Maggie Tokuda-Hall read & discuss her book Love in the Library. at 10 a.m. at the Twin Falls Public Library.

Tokuda-Hall. Maggie will read and discuss her childrens picture book thats based on her grandparents experience in the Minidoka internment camp.

Love in the Library is the moving story of how Maggies grandparents, Tama and George, met and fell in love while they were in the Minidoka internment camp. It has been named a Best Picture Book of 2022 by Book Page, School Library Journal, Booklist, and Publishers Weekly. During her presentation, Maggie will talk about the historical context for the book and end with a Q&A. Her visit is made possible with help from the Twin Falls Public Library Foundation.

Oktoberfest dinner and auction

The 27th Annual Clover Christian School Oktoberfest Dinner & Auction is 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Clover Christian School, 3552 N 1825 East, Buhl. The event includes an authentic German meal served from 11 a.m. to 2 .pm. Live auction will start at 1 pm. Baked food/craft tent and childrens activities are available all day. All events are held outside.

Boulderfest 12

Boulderfest Citizen Competition is at 10 a.m. at Dierkes Lake. Registration opens 8 a.m. with athlete orientation at 9:30 a.m. The competition will run until 1 p.m. and a adopt-a-crag cleanup begins at 1 p.m. A park party runs from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. with games and food trucks.

Backyard Bronc Bash

Come join us for the 4th annual Backyard Bronc Bash hosted by Mitch and Jordan Pollock. It takes place at 3238 N 3250 E, Twin Falls. There will be Great bucking horses, cowboys, and music. Purchase tickets at www.squadup.com/events/2023-backyard-bronc-bash.

5K Parkrun

The free Canyon Rim Trail Park starts at 9 a.m. at the Twin Falls Visitors Center.

Live music

Bruce Folk will perform from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. at the Redhawk Gastropub, 330 Canyon Crest Dr.

Live music

Signal 99 will perform at Big Papas Grill & Live Music, 213 5th Ave S, Twin Falls, at 9 p.m. Door open at 8 p.m. Tickets are $10 in advance at https://shorturl.at/ansAR. You must be at least 21 years old to attend.

Canyon Rim Ruck Walk

The 10-mile walk hosted by the Southern Idaho Republican Women starts at 6 a.m. at the Twin Falls Visitor Center.

Outdoor sale

More than 50 vendors, including crafters, artisans and food trucks, will be at the Twin Falls City Park from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

SUNDAY

Cars & Coffee

The last Cars & Coffee of 2023 takes place at 8 a.m. at 2nd South Market in Twin Falls. If it has wheels, bring it down and hang out with other motorheads.

TUESDAY

Classic Movie Night

Join us at the Twin Falls Public Library at 6 p.m. for Classic Movie Night! Come learn about a different classic film each month, then watch it on our big screen. This months movie is a 1962 psychological horror starring Bette Davis.

Grief Education Group

The Grief Education Group held from 5 to 6:30 p.m. at Intermountain Homecare & Hospice, 1501 Hiland Ave., Suite Zl, offers emotional support, education about grieving, and an opportunity to become acquainted with others who have experienced the loss of a loved one. Groups are open to the community. There is no cost to attend. The last meeting will be Nov. 7.

WEDNESDAY

CSI Transfer Fair

Come to the CSI Transfer Fair at the Mini-Cassia College of Southern Idaho Center, 1600 Parke Ave., from 4 to 6 p.m. and plan for your future after CSI. If you want to continue your education, there will be universities from around the state there to help you get your questions answered and make sure you are going to a place you love. There will be free pizza, swag and students who attend will be entered for a chance to win a $500 CSI scholarship.
Missouri joins Idaho, will caucus in 2024

Idaho wont be the only state to caucus next year.

Republicans in Missouri will also have to attend a caucus to make their 2024 presidential picks after the two states' GOP-led Legislatures canceled their presidential primaries and then missed a deadline to reinstate them.

Presidential caucuses in both states are planned March 2, putting them near the front of the national presidential selection process. Both states would have been scheduled to hold March 12 primaries, had lawmakers not eliminated them.

Members of Idaho's Republican-led Legislature had talked about calling themselves into a special session to reinstate a primary but failed to agree on a proposal before Sunday's deadline, imposed by the Republican National Committee, for states to submit their 2024 presidential nominating plans.

Idaho lawmakers this year passed cost-saving legislation backed by Republican Secretary of State Phil McGrane that was intended to push the presidential primary to May 21 to coincide with other state primary elections. But the bill inadvertently canceled the March presidential primary without reinstating it at a later date.

A subsequent trailer bill to move to the primary from March to May was opposed by Idaho GOP Chairwoman Dorothy Moon and didnt make it to vote.

In another cost-saving move, Missouri lawmakers last year intentionally canceled the state's presidential primary as part of a broader elections bill backed by Republican Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft that also imposed photo identification requirements for voting.

Though leaders of the state Republican and Democratic parties both testified in favor of reinstating a presidential primary, lawmakers this year failed to pass legislation doing so.
As the summer comes to an end and we enter the autumn season, farmers continue to bring in this years harvest. The fruits of summers labor are being realized and we pray that producers can bring in another successful crop here in the Magic Valley and around the state.

It takes a lot of input and labor to produce a successful crop. Beyond the seed, water, and fertilizer, there is the equipment, pest controls, and, of course labor that is required. So many of our local businesses and industries provide these essential goods and services to the areas farms and ranches, and as a community we all benefit from their existence.

OUR VIEW: Happy harvest! Idahos farmers deserve thanks this time of year OUR VIEW: We have much to be thankful for in the Magic Valley. It begins and ends with agriculture.

But to continue to thrive and produce abundant harvests, Idaho farmers and ranchers need another fundamental resource that we cannot take for granted. It is land. Without fields of healthy soil, or rangelands with abundant forage, farming and ranching is impossible.

I have heard other elected officials say that Idaho has been discovered. We have been among the fastest-growing states in the nation for the past several years, with little to no slowing in sight. This will continue to put pressure on the farmland our communities enjoy and depend on today. This is why we need to provide landowners with additional resources and tools to preserve their farmland.

Quote I have heard other elected officials say that 'Idaho has been discovered.' ... This will continue to put pressure on the farmland our communities enjoy and depend on today.

At the end of this most recent legislative session, the Idaho Farm Bureau Federation presented House Bill 377 that introduced a concept called Idaho Agricultural Protection Areas. An IAPA is a voluntary land-use designation, that is voluntarily requested by an interested landowner and approved by the corresponding local unit of government.

The benefits of IAPAs would be as much for the local units of government as for the landowners. Clear communication from a landowner of their intention to continue farming their land helps planners and elected officials better prepare for growth. Our communities plan for a lot of things including housing, shopping, recreation, water, utilities, etc. We also need to continue to plan for agriculture.

I look forward to the Legislature exploring additional policies to give landowners further options when it comes to farmland conservation.

Agriculture is the backbone of our economy and state. It is important that we continue to plan for it.
TAIPEITaipei has said it will investigate if Taiwanese firms that helped Huawei build semiconductor factories violated US sanctions against the Chinese tech giant.

Huawei, a leader in 5G telecom equipment, has been at the center of the intensifying US-China rivalry over advanced tech in recent years.

The United States and its allies have curtailed its access to major markets and advanced techincluding chip making  over fears its products could allow China to spy on their networks.

Taiwans Minister of Economic Affairs Wang Mei-hua agreed on Wednesdayduring questioning by lawmakersto launch a probe into four tech firms that collaborated with Huawei on chip plants.

The four Taiwanese companies are helping Huawei develop an under-the-radar network of chip plants in China, Bloomberg reported this week.

The companies were identified by Bloomberg as Topco Scientific Co., L&K Engineering Co., United Integrated Services Co. and Cica-Huntek Chemical Technology Taiwan.

Taiwanwhich China claims as its territoryis a powerhouse for the design and production of semiconductors, the lifeblood of the modern global economy.
Energy Secretary Raphael Lotilla said Thursday he expects the Philippines energy transition to clean energy to entail costs and a longer period to implement.

Lotilla said ASEAN countries including the Philippines were working to address the climate transition from the energy sector.

We are all committed to do that, but they remain common concerns. One of them, of course, is that any transition is going to entail costs. And this means therefore additional cost not only for the developed countries, but even for developing countries like the Philippines, he said.

The energy chief said the additional costs were also a concern for other ASEAN countries. He urged the developed countries to help finance developing countries transition to low-carbon technologies.

He said most of the ASEAN countries were not the ones responsible for the climate emergency.

If there are to be additional costs, there should be no transfer of burden, and I have emphasized this in the past. I am glad that this is a concern common to ASEAN, he said.

He said Indonesia and Vietnam signed energy transition partnerships worth $20 billion and $15.5 billion, respectively.

Unfortunately, even with these two countries who have been ahead of coming up with agreements, the progress has been slow, and there remain changes and thats why the realization that the transition is going to be slower than expected, Lotilla said.

He said Indonesia was only able to establish a secretariat after one year of negotiations.

Lotilla earlier said a green transition for a developing country like the Philippines should be a just transition.

It must be a fair transition, and therefore we must avoid the burden of transferring climate transition to an already overburdened Philippine population, Lotilla said.

We have to take advantage of all sources of energy that are currently in place and to use that in a wise manner but at the same time be able to transition to a cleaner environment, he said.

He said additional power generation capacities should come from renewable and cleaner sources of energy, but coal would still be needed.

What does this mean for coal? Definitely, no way of denying we need them still but replace them in a trajectory that is clear, that over time they are going to be replaced, Lotilla said.

The growth in demand will be replaced by renewable energy and more efficient power plants and cleaner sources of energy, he said.

He said once the more variable, renewable energy is introduced to the grid, the more we need more balancing sources of power and storage systems.

He also said the Philippines should be open to all energy technologies including nuclear.
A Filipino drag queen was arrested Wednesday after a public outcry in the Catholic-majority country over the depiction of Jesus Christ reciting the Lords Prayer during a performance.

Amadeus Fernando Pagente, whose drag name is Pura Luka Vega, was widely accused of blasphemy and declared persona non grata by several local governments after a video of their July show was shared online.

Pagente has been charged with the offense of immoral doctrines, obscene publications and exhibitions, and indecent shows, according to a copy of the arrest warrant shared by Manila police.

Pagente told AFP from behind bars in the capital they had done nothing wrong and that their arrest highlighted the degree of homophobia in the Philippines.

The 33-year-old was accused of committing offensive acts that involved dancing, singing, and twerking to the religious song among partygoers in one of two criminal complaints filed by Christian groups.

Before their arrest, Pagente had defended the performance as art and argued, drag is not a crime.

Human Rights Watch senior researcher Carlos Conde said Pagentes arrest was an outrage.

No one should be arrested, let alone detained, for expressing themselves, Conde said, calling for the charges to be dropped.

Reyna Valmores of the LGBTQ alliance Bahaghari accused authorities of double standards for pursuing Pagente when straight performers had also mocked Jesus Christ.

We see that this is very much a form of abuse specifically against members of the LGBTQ plus community. We are no strangers to this, Valmores said.

The Philippines is a deeply conservative society. Nearly 80 percent of the population are Catholic and same-sex marriage, divorce, and abortion are outlawed.

Father Jerome Secillano, of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines, has described Pagentes performance as blasphemous and really disrespectful
New York

hit back at Donald Trump on Wednesday over his virulent attacks on the $250 million civil fraud suit she brought against him, saying she will not be bullied.

The Donald Trump show is over, James told reporters after the 77-year-old former president left court at the midpoint of Wednesdays proceedings.

Before leaving, Trump railed against James and complained that the rigged trial with a judge run by the Democrats was keeping him off the presidential campaign trail.

Id rather be in New Hampshire, South Carolina or Ohio or a lot of other places, Trump said.

But Im stuck here because I have a corrupt attorney general.

Responding to Trump, James said I will not be bullied and denounced his decision to attend the opening days of the trial as a political stunt, a fund-raising stunt.

James, who is African American, said Trumps personal attacks on her this week were offensive, they were baseless, they were void of any facts or of any evidence.

What they were, were comments that unfortunately fomented violence, comments that I would describe as race-baiting, comments unfortunately that appeal to the bottom of our humanity.

This case was brought simply because it was a case where individuals have engaged in a pattern and practice of fraud, James said. I will not sit idly by and allow anyone to subvert the law.

Trump also resumed his verbal volleys on Wednesday against Judge Arthur Engoron, a day after he was admonished from the bench.

The judge already knows what hes going to do, Trump said. Hes a Democrat.

Engoron imposed a partial gag order on Trump on Tuesday after the former president insulted one of the judges law clerks in a social media post.

Personal attacks on members of my court staff are unacceptable, Engoron said as Trump sat at the defense table flanked by his lawyers.

Consider this statement a gag order forbidding all parties from posting, emailing or speaking publicly about any of my staff, Engoron said.

The post was later deleted.

James has accused Trump, his sons Eric and Don Jr and other executives of colossally inflating the value of their real estate assets in order to receive more favorable bank loans and insurance terms.

Trump does not risk going to jail in the civil trial, but James is seeking $250 million in penalties and the removal of the former president and his sons from the management of the family empire, the Trump Organization.

Trump has denounced the business fraud charges as a sham intended to torpedo his bid to recapture the White House next year.

Engoron ruled last week that Trump, his sons and other executives lied to tax collectors, lenders and insurers for years in a scheme that exaggerated the value of their properties by $812 million to $2.2 billion between 2014 and 2021.

As a result, the judge revoked the business licenses that allowed the Trump Organization to operate some of its New York properties and asked the parties to propose receivers to manage the dissolution of the companies in question.

Trump filed a formal appeal against the ruling on Wednesday but the trial will continue.

Trump, the frontrunner for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, is facing legal battles on multiple fronts.

The twice-impeached former president faces federal charges for his efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election and for alleged mishandling of classified documents after he left the White House.

Trump has also been charged with racketeering in Georgia for trying to overturn the 2020 election results in the southern state. AFP
Granada, SpainEuropes quest to build a common geopolitical purpose brought four dozen of its leaders to Granada on Thursday, but its credibility suffered a blow when the Azerbaijani president stayed away.

Turkeys President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was also expected to skip the European Political Community summit, a loose grouping of European states inside and outside the EU and NATO.

But hopes that it would serve as a platform to calm tensions in the Caucasus, where Azerbaijani forces have captured Nagorno-Karabakh from ethnic Armenian rebels, were quickly dashed.

EU officials had hoped to host Azerbaijans President Ilham Aliyev and Armenias Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan at the event in what would have been the pairs first face-to-face meeting since the offensive.

But Aliyev has been angered by what he sees as French and German bias towards the Armenian position, and has refused to travel to the meeting.

Erdogans second absence in a row weakens the EPC as a way to deal with Ankara in a format other than the EU, to which Turkeys candidacy is frozen, said Sebastien Maillard of the Institute Jacques Delors.

Without Turkey and Azerbaijan, the political community becomes more narrowly European and seems more anti-Putin, give or take a few leaders, he said.

Without a Karabakh meeting, the agenda could flip to the migration crisis, he said, predicting that Britains Prime Minister Rishi Sunak would seize the opportunity, having kickstarted the UK election campaign this week.

An Azerbaijani official said Aliyev would not attend because of pro-Armenian statements by French officials and because Paris has said it plans to deliver military equipment to Yerevan.

The official said Aliyevs decision was also influenced by accusations made yesterday by EU Council President Charles Michel.

Michel, who has mediated several meetings between the foes in recent years, criticised Bakus use of military force.

The official also cited an anti-Azerbaijani atmosphere and said Baku had wanted the meeting to take place in Turkey, its ally, which had welcomed the successful Karabakh offensive.

In Yerevan, Pashinyan told his parliament on Wednesday that he would still travel to Spain, and expressed regret he would not be meeting Aliyev.

We were in a constructive and optimistic mood, because we thought that a turning point document could be signed, he said.

Until this morning the likelihood of this was very high.

At the previous EPC meeting in Chisinau in June, the Armenian and Azerbaijani leaders met around a table with Michel, Frances President Emmanuel Macron and German chancellor Olaf Scholz.

But the conflict has since taken a dramatic turn, at once making the European diplomatic outreach more important, with refugees flooding into Armenia, but also further poisoning relations between the foes.

After a lightning offensive by Azerbaijani forces last month, most of the 120,000-strong Armenian population fled the self-proclaimed republic of Nagorno-Karabakh, which is now to be dissolved.

Since the fall of the Russian Empire, this mountainous region has been part of Azerbaijan, but it unilaterally proclaimed its independence with the support of Armenia when the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991.

Ethnic Armenian separatists resisted Baku with the support of Yerevan for three decades, notably during the first Karabakh war from 1988 to 1994 and the second in 2020.

But the international community never recognized the self-proclaimed republic, and Azerbaijani troops have now regained control.

With the Caucasus conflict falling down the EPC agenda, Britains Sunak and his Italian counterpart Georgia Meloni, will push a plan for tough action on migration.

On Wednesday, the 27 EU members  which are also EPC countries  agreed on the outline of a migration reform package to go before the European Parliament to better share responsibility for undocumented arrivals.

But for Italy and non-EU member Britain, both facing arrivals by sea, the reform will not go far enough.

Levels of illegal migration to mainland Europe are the highest they have been in nearly a decade, Sunak said Wednesday.

With thousands of people dying at sea, propelled by people smugglers, the situation is both immoral and unsustainable. We cannot allow criminal gangs to decide who comes to Europes shores.

Number 10 said Sunak and Meloni would chair a side-meeting at the EPC and announce initiatives to discuss joint action against what it dubbed organised immigration crime.

Russias war against Ukraine will also be on the EPC agenda, with European powers under pressure to further increase support for Kyiv as a political crisis in Washington hurts the parallel US effort. AFP
China's Ministry of Commerce (MOC) on Wednesday expressed strong dissatisfaction over a decision by the European Commission to launch an anti-subsidy probe into Chinese electric passenger vehicles.

"This countervailing duty investigation from Europe is based only on subjective assumptions about so-called subsidies and threats of damage. It lacks sufficient evidence to support it and is inconsistent with relevant WTO rules, and China is strongly dissatisfied with this," an MOC spokesperson said.

The European side had required China to conduct consultations within a very short period of time but failed to provide "effective consultation materials," which hurt China's rights and interests, the spokesperson said.

China urges the European side to use trade remedy measures prudently by proceeding from the big picture of maintaining the stability of global industrial and supply chains and the China-EU comprehensive strategic partnership, the spokesperson said.

China also encourages deepened cooperation with Europe in the new energy industry, represented by electric vehicles, and the creation of a fair, non-discriminatory and predictable market environment for the common development of the China-EU electric vehicle industry, the spokesperson said.

"China will pay close attention to Europe's follow-up investigation procedures and firmly safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese companies," the spokesperson added.




Relatives of victims of a deadly bus crash in Italy began arriving in Venice from other countries Wednesday, looking to comfort injured loved ones or identify their dead.

Twenty-one people including a toddler were killed when the bus carrying tourists broke through a guardrail on an overpass Tuesday evening and plunged to the ground, before bursting into flames.

The bus was carrying tourists from Venices historic centre to a camping site.

Survivors at the Angelo di Mestre hospital are asking for information about their loved ones who were with them, said head of medicine Chiara Berti.

There were entire families, grandparents, grandchildren, spouses on board, she told reporters.

Moreno De Rossi, in charge of the psychological support team for the survivors, said it was a painful, very difficult moment, and there were officials on hand to help with translation.

The dead included nine Ukrainians, four Romanians and three Germans, according to the spokesperson for Venices mayor.

Two Portugese, one South African and one Croatian also died, as did the Italian driver, he told AFP.

The Croatian victim was a woman who had been honeymooning in Venice, while her newlywed husband was hospitalised, media reports said.

Fifteen people remain in hospital, 13 of whom have been identified as foreign nationals, the Veneto region said.

Ten of the 15 were in intensive care, it said.

 Flipped upside down 

Venice authorities have declared three days of mourning after the tragedy, which has sparked debate over the state of Italys crumbling infrastructure.

The bus flipped upside down, said Mauro Luongo, Venices fire brigade commander. The impact was terrible because it fell from over 10 metres (32 feet).

Emergency workers spent hours removing bodies from the charred, crushed wreckage, a scene described by Venice Mayor Luigi Brugnaro as apocalyptic.

Boubacar Toure, a 27-year-old from Gambia who had been working at a building site near the accident, told journalists he had been called over by the fire brigade to help with the rescue.

I pulled three or four people out, including a little girl, and also a dog. The driver was already dead, Toure said.

Nigerian welder Godstime Erheneden, 30, said he helped a woman who begged him in English to save her daughter.

I then saw a little girl who must have been two years old. She was unconscious, I fear dead. She is the same age as my son. Its like I lost him, he told the Corriere della Sera daily.

Italian media reported that two of the injured were German children  brothers aged seven and 13, whose parents were killed in the crash, and who have been hospitalised with fractures.

 Tragedy foretold 

Firefighters said the bus fell from an overpass straddling a railway line and linking the mainland Mestre and Marghera districts of Venice in northern Italy.

Footage from a roadside camera, passed to journalists by local sources, showed it travelling in the far-right lane.

Another bus obscures it from view for a few seconds before it is seen again, toppling slowly off the overpass.

The main hypothesis at the moment is that the bus driver may have fallen ill, said the president of the Veneto region, Luca Zaia.

But Domenico Musicco, head of an association for road accident victims, said it was a tragedy foretold.

The guardrail was designed for a country road, whereas here we needed new-generation equipment that could have prevented the bus from falling, he told AFP.

Italian road maintenance is poor. Too little is invested in road safety. It is estimated that 30 percent of accidents are down to that, he said.

Massimo Fiorese, director of the company that was operating the bus that crashed, told ANSA news agency the bus had only been put into service last year and was in perfect condition.

Iana Morgagni, a 23-year-old student living in Venice, said she had seen the police cars racing to the scene, and realised she had had a narrow escape.

I was late so I took the bus later than the one that crashed, she told AFP.

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni had earlier expressed her profound condolences, while several European leaders also sent messages of support.

In July 2018, a bus carrying a group of some 50 holidaymakers back to Naples fell off a viaduct near the city killing 40 people in all.
Companies and consumers looking for renewable and earth-friendly source of energy can soon avail of an alternative solar energy system with the advent of the state-of-the-art solar technology called Building Integrated Photo Voltaic (BIPV) System.

This after BIPV Korea recently signed a joined venture agreement with A.C.Ong Consulting Inc. to form BIPV Philippines and be the sole manufacturer and distributor of the revolutionary technology.

Developed by BIPV Korea/Sejong International Co. Ltd. in Chungcheongbuk-do, the BIPV System is composed of materials that integrate solar cells with building exterior such as roofs, exterior walls, and windows.

To address concerns of retrofitting the roofs and structural members of buildings to accommodate the heavy conventional solar panels and compromise structural integrity, the BIPV solar modules are thin and lightweight, making these less costly to install for all types of roofing.

We are growing our business under the philosophy of Buildings Generate Their Own Electricity with continuous research and development, and laying the foundation for the global market with partnerships with industries and entities specializing in BIPV, says BIPV Korea chief executive officer Kim Cheol Ho during his recent visit to the Philippines.

He added that as the new paradigm for renewable energy, BIPV is taking the lead with global partners in their drive for carbon neutrality as part of their environmental advocacy.

Another distinguishing system feature is its maximization of available space to harness as building facades can be placed with BIPV solar walls, giving standard and high-rise buildings more opportunities to utilize solar energy.

Mixing style with the durability of internationally certified construction-grade materials, the BIPV system makes solar energy a must-have for developing and ecologically-conservative cities. These qualities have earned the nod of the Korean government for fiscal incentives in 2020, and mainstream its use in buildings, homes, bus stations, and public structures in major cities in Korea.

A.C.Ong Consulting Inc. president and CEO Engr. Alden Ong expressed optimism on the potentials of BIPV Philippines, with the heightened awareness and preference for renewable energy country to lessen the carbon footprint and help avert global warming.

We have big plans in manufacturing BIPV technology with locally-sourced materials to make our products much more accessible and affordable for the local market, he added.

For more information, log on to www.bipvkorea.com.
PrimeWater Infrastructure Corp.s Leak Tagging App and Asset Registry and Performance Monitoring Software bagged awards during the 2023 Asian Technology Excellence Awards for web technology and software in utilities held in Bangkok, Thailand on Sept. 18, 2023.

PrimeWater was among the list of outstanding companies from all over Asia recognized by the prestigious body for their efficient service in improving water management through their advanced leak detection and asset management within pipeline networks.

We are honored to receive this recognition, and this drives us to further innovate so that we can continuously improve our services to our customers, Atty. Cezar Ong, vice president for joint venture operations, said in a news release on Wednesday.

The cloud-based application and software proved to bring convenience and accessibility to PrimeWaters operations as this enabled PrimeWater branches to act promptly on leakages that needed repair, resulting in the reduction of water losses or non-revenue water (NRW).

Over a year after the Leak Tagging App was developed in 2022, the company was able to repair at least 42,000 leaks which added 6.77 million liters per day of recovered volume supplying to more than 50,000 people in the areas where it was initially implemented.

The app is a digital tool that can help determine the real causes of leaks as well as locate the concentration of leaks in the water system.

The Asset Registry Software, on the other hand, is designed to record all the infrastructures including the pipelines and their conditions and operational settings to aid management in resolving day-to-day issues.

Water losses from leakages or broken meters or what is called non-revenue water (NRW) are indeed among the greatest challenges faced by water districts across the country; and we are proud that through our partnership with them, we are able to share our technology for the benefit of our served areas, Ernie Delco, technical audit group head for PrimeWater, said.

Since its partnerships with water districts across the country, NRW was at an average of 40 percent, as most of the pipelines were already old and leaky. As of December 2022, PrimeWater was able to reduce NRW to 28 percent or equivalent to 190 million liters per day of recovered volume, which means more water is made available for use to customers.

The digital approaches also reduce inefficiencies and help PrimeWater branches in constituting informed decisions on future projects based on the data collected by the software.
Aretha Ferrell-Benavides, who will be sworn in as Martinsvilles new city manager on Friday, has taken a long and winding road to her new job, accumulating nearly three decades of local government experience. She says she wants to have a positive impact in the community and looks forward making Martinsville her home.

Im from Texas and 29 years ago I was introduced to local government. Ive always wanted to me a city manager, I have a son who is a senior in college and is pursuing city government and my family has a history of serving in governmental positions, Ferrell-Benavides told the Martinsville Bulletin in an extended interview Monday. I fell in love with the East Coast, worked for a governor in Maryland, worked in federal government, worked in a number of cities; Chicago, Sunnyvale, and New Mexico.

She has been the city manager in Glenn Heights, Texas; Petersburg; and most recently in Duncanville, Texas.

I helped bring Petersburg out of a financial crisis and then I went back to Texas to be closer to my 96-year-old grandmother, said Ferrell-Benavides. She raised me.

The finances in Petersburg were spiraling downward when Ferrell-Benavides took the helm.

It was really out of control there with a declining fund balance. They wanted to revert to a town, had to cut the salary of the staff, there was repossession of equipment, just an amazingly difficult situation, Ferrell-Benavides said. They only had a 60[%] to 65% collection rate [of personal property and real estate taxes] and the S&P had dropped the citys credit rating.

Faced with the effects of the pandemic caused by COVID-19, Ferrell-Benavides found a way to turn lemons into lemonade by facilitating the conversion of a 200-acre shuttered chemical plant into a pharmaceutical manufacturing plant that helped supply the medicines and vaccines during the emergency.

Martinsville is far, far ahead of that, said Ferrell-Benavides. When you look at Petersburg and Martinsville, there are similar issues, but they are not really the same here and certainly not as severe.

With all of her success in Petersburg, her return to Texas was partially adversarial from the start. She was hired without the full support of the Duncanville City Council and within two years, her employment there was terminated.

I learned you never take anything for granted. It was heartbreaking how it occurred and it was sad for me, Ferrell-Benavides said. The one [person] that led the way for my dismissal was the one that had begged me to come. I had the support of others on council, police, fire, and the community. But if youre not trusting a person, then you need someone else. I respect the Duncanville City Council, but when youre at each others necks, you cant get anything done.

Ferrell-Benavides was the eighth city manager Duncanville has had in the past 11 years, and they are still in the process of seeking a replacement for Ferrell-Benavides, who left in March.

Ferrell-Benavides said she decided not to seek legal recourse against the city of Duncanville and accepted the councils decision to seek a new city manager.

Said Ferrell-Benavides: I wish them the best.

Vice Mayor Aaron Rawls said the process of seeking a new city manager for Martinsville opened his eyes to a commonality he found with many other qualified city managers across the country.

Its just not unusual to find a council changing directions and deciding they want a better fit to lead the charge, Rawls said. Thats what we believe weve found with Aretha.

Shes a very learned person and she brings a wide range of city management expertise and positive change. The city has been missing that, said Councilman Lawrence Mitchell. She also has a lot of community engagement experience, and that has been lacking in the past. She also will be an asset to the people in Henry County because of her expertise in engaging government and providing a wide range of government access. That goes a long way. We are a city in the county. Whats good for us is good for them.

I am welcoming Aretha with open arms and I hope our city residents will doe the same, said Councilwoman Tammy Pearson. Just as the new city council members and I have worked together to make new, impactful changes, I know the same will occur with Aretha. She has a successful track record of economic development, downtown revitalization and financial acumen to execute the councils short and long term plans and direction. This is a positive step forward for the city of Martinsville.

We are very excited to welcome Aretha to our community, said Mayor LC Jones. Her reputation has embodied a high level of integrity, transparency and professionalism throughout her career. I look forward to her implementing strategies from her experiences in economic development and city leadership.

Councilwoman Kathy Lawson agreed: She brings a wealth of knowledge, having worked with communities with similar changes, as we have. Her experience and vision will bring a new light in moving our city forward.

Rawls said the council members have made it a leadership principle to do whatever it takes to bring the most formidable talent to Martinsville.

Aretha is credited with stabilizing the dire financial circumstances in Petersburg, which is an impressive achievement, Rawls said. She is an experienced fiscal manager and brings tremendous economic development experience to our community. Shes exactly what we need.

Ferrell-Benavides replaces Leon Towarnicki, who retired in July with an annual salary of $148,466, according to public records.

Ferrell-Benavides contract with Martinsville, obtained by the Bulletin under a Virginia Freedom of Information Act request, will provide her with an annual salary of $175,000. Although it represents an increase compared to Towarnickis base compensation, it is still significantly less than the $250,000 she was paid in her previous city manager position in Duncanville.

Other benefits included in her contract with Martinsville include an annual benefits supplement of $7,000, participation in the Virginia Retirement System, $350 per month car allowance, a cellphone, and up to $10,000 in moving expenses.

Ferrell-Benavides said Martinsville has a long history of stability, diverse sources of revenue, and beautiful housing.

Although the city is landlocked, it has a great agreement with the county, said Ferrell-Benavides. We need to get people in the shops downtown and decide what that vision looks like. Its got to be vibrant.

Ferrell-Benavides said she was encouraged by the bones of Martinsville that include MiNet, the citys fiber internet and telecommunications service; its own electric department; and its own school district.

If we go through and look at the finances, there is a way to make it work. We need to move to more of a budget system with measurable outcomes and look at the story within the budget and not just the printout, Ferrell-Benavides said. Ill listen to the city, determine where we are with respect to revenue and expenses, and recommend adjustments that are in-line with where we want to go.

Ferrell-Benavides said as of Monday she had only met Martinsvilles human resources director and police chief, but looked forward to meeting the rest of the staff.

One of the things of having a history of people is learning where they were going before they left, said Ferrell-Benavides. Martinsville doesnt need a younger city manager to invent the wheel and thats not what I want to do. Whats impressed me the most is this city council that is powerful with its common vision in moving the city forward. This will really make a difference in the next year and two years.

Ferrell-Benavides said she felt from the start that Duncanville was a short term opportunity, and by contrast, Martinsville feels to her like a good fit for the longer term.

I didnt buy a house in the last city, but I see Martinsville as a place I will be for sometime, Ferrell-Benavides said. I want to get to know the city and be instrumental in its progress. I want to be where Im wanted and my talents are needed.
EDITORS NOTE: Church news will print weekly in Thursdays edition. Please email announcements at least one week in advance to news@mcdowellnews.com with church announcement in the subject line or call 828-437-2161 and leave a message.

UPCOMING EVENTS

SATURDAY, OCT. 7

RUMMAGE AND BAKE SALE

First United Methodist Church across from Marion Elementary School will have a giant rummage and bake sale in their fellowship hall on Saturday, Oct. 7, from 7 a.m. to noon. There will be lots of bargains on household items, furniture, toys, holiday decorations, sporting goods, books, clothes and more.

SPAGHETTI SUPPER

Thermal City United Methodist Church, 301 Thermal City Road in Union Mills, will be having a fundraiser Spaghetti Supper on Saturday, Oct. 7, from 4 p.m. until. Adults plates are $10, children plates are $5, and children 5 and younger eat free. Take-out plates will be available. Proceeds support the church.

SUNDAY, OCT. 22

Messy Church

First United Methodist Church across from Marion Elementary School invites everyone to Messy Church on Sunday, Oct. 22, at 5:30 p.m. in the fellowship hall. Messy Church is for all ages and includes worship, scripture, music, crafts, service projects, games, fellowship and a free meal. Everyone is welcome.

ONGOING EVENTS

First United Methodist Church, across from Marion Elementary School, invites everyone looking for a church family to Sunday school at 9:45 a.m. and worship at 11 a.m. The United Methodist Men continue to sell their peanuts for $5 a jar. Peanuts are available in regular, light salt, no salt and Cajun. To order, contact the church office at 652-7010. FUMC also administers an Emergency Fund on the first and third Wednesdays of every month from 10-11:30 a.m. This fund assists with electricity and heating needs, water bills and rent. Clients must meet certain requirements, and funds are paid directly to providers. Clients should come to the upper parking lot and enter the door near the church van.

Redeemed Freewill Baptist Church, of 5079 U.S. 221 South, hosts a youth program called The Sprouts from 7-8 p.m. every Wednesday until further notice. A meal and a Bible lesson will be provided. Parents are encouraged to bring their children to learn about the love of Jesus.

St. Matthews Lutheran Church, of 241 W. Court St., Marion, invites the community to watch the global film phenomenon The Chosen. Experience the Bible as vividly real each Wednesday at 7 p.m. until further notice. There will be refreshments and door prizes.

Chapel Hill Baptist Church, on U.S. 221 South, Marion, will have an all-you-can-eat breakfast on the second Saturday of each month from 7:30-10 a.m. for a donation.

Concord Methodist Church will have an all-you-can-eat breakfast on the second Saturday of each month from 7:30-10 a.m. This includes pancakes and take-outs. Adults are $7, children younger than 12 are $5. The church is on U.S. 221 North.

His Place Worship Center, 1423 U.S. 70 West in Marion, will host combined in-person and online meetings at 10 a.m. on the second Saturday of each month. Additional information about the Hickory Lighthouse, including links to the Zoom and Facebook Live meetings, are available at Hickory Aglows website and Facebook page: www.aglownet.org/hickorync and www.facebook.com/hickory.aglow. Interested persons may sign up on the website to receive a monthly email newsletter. Readers may receive related Facebook notifications by liking the Facebook page.

The Sharing Food Pantry Ministry of Cross United Methodist Church needs donations of coats, sweaters and blankets for families in the community who may be in need. Donations can be dropped off at 85 W. Cross St., just past Blue Ridge Terrace Apartments in Marion. For more information, call 828-460-9257 or 828-559-4047 and leave a message.

East Marion Baptist Church, of 660 Baldwin Ave., Marion, will host The Landing, a 12-step program for teens, every Wednesday from 6-7:30 p.m. For more information, email thelanding@embc.church.

North Cove Church of God will have a breakfast sale on every third Saturday of the month.

Living Waters Tabernacle of Old Fort is offering a worship service twice a month for college-aged adults called Encounter. The service will be the first and third Thursday of each month from 6:30-7:30 p.m. At each meeting, a new topic will be discussed with a guest speaker; live music will be played; and refreshments will be served. For more information, check out Living Waters Tabernacle of Old Fort on Facebook or email jakanjamison96@gmail.com. The church is at 344 Moffitt Hill Church Road in Old Fort.

Cross Mill United Methodist Church has a sharing food pantry for the community. The tiny food pantry is outside the church fellowship building, and is accessible 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The nonperishable food items are available for anyone in need. If you would like to donate items to this ministry, you may drop them off at the pantry box or call 460-9257 or 442-8098.

Greenlee Baptist Church, 5967 U.S. 70 West in Old Fort, offers Kids on a Mission each Sunday from 6-8 p.m. Newborns to seniors in high school are invited to join. The church also has a deaf ministry available. Interpreters will be provided for the worship services every Sunday at 10:55 a.m. For information, call the church office at 668-6075 between 10 a.m. and 1 p.m.

Cross Ties Cowboy Church meets every first Thursday at 2365 Bethlehem Road in Old Fort at 7 p.m. in the barn. For more information, call 828-925-2095.

Landmark Independent Baptist Church will host a meeting on alcohol and addiction awareness by Gene Sigmon the third Friday of each month at 6:30 p.m. The church is at 225 Huskins Branch Road in Marion. For more information, contact Sigmon at soundmind16@yahoo.com.

Peppers Creek Baptist Church will have a singing on the fourth Saturday of each month at 7 p.m. from January through October.

McDowell Childrens Ministry, a ministry for children of the community interested in participating in a life-changing program, meets twice monthly. For more information, call Daniel at 659-0095 during the day or at 738-0733 in the evenings.

Cross Mill Pentecostal Holiness Church has a soaking prayer and intercession meeting every Friday at 8 p.m. For information, call the Rev. Doug Beane-Hall at 442-6216.

Vision Baptist Church, at 1841 Fairview Road, Marion, is offering Extreme Teens (Club 411) on Wednesdays at 7 p.m. and Sundays at 10 a.m. Victorious Couples meet on Sundays at 10 a.m. Additional childrens and adult programs are also available.

First Presbyterian Church of Marion invites everyone to come out on Sundays at 11 a.m. for worship service. All are welcome.

Apostolic Restoration Ministries is a new church to the area. If anyone is interested in attending, call Tim Eller at 828-443-2050.
Cape Verdes Gross Domestic Product (GDP) grew by 3.4% year-on-year in the second quarter of this year, the National Statistics Institute (INE) announced on Wednesday October 4.

The rate that measures economic growth slowed down compared to the first quarter (8.4% year-on-year). The transport and storage sector was the one that boosted the economy the most, while the construction, trade and repair sectors slowed it down the most.

Calculating the average of the two quarters, the conclusion is that Cape Verdes GDP grew by 5.9% in the first half of the year, in line to meet the 5.7% growth forecast by the government for 2023.

In the same bulletin on quarterly national accounts, Cape Verdes INE announced today a revision to the annual rate of change in GDP, due to the publication of the final results of the 2020 Annual Accounts.

Thus, it is estimated that GDP will have grown by 5.6% in 2021 (instead of 6.4%) and 17.1% in 2022 (instead of 17%).
The World Bank has approved $125 million to support a five-year project of the Ministry of Sanitation and Water Resources (MSWR) to build the capacities of its environmental officers to prosecute sanitation offences in courts.

In 2015, the World Bank provided funds for the project to be piloted in the Greater Accra and Ashanti regions with $150 million over a five-year period.

The Programme Manager of the MSWR, Charlotte Akwaah Adjei Marfo, disclosed this at the end of a two-day workshop for 40 environmental officers drawn from two regions in the week-end.

She emphasized that enforcement of sanitation laws would go a long way to improve sanitation conditions in the country which would help prevent disasters such as floods, when it rained. The workshop for environmental officers drawn from the Upper West and East regions marked the take-off of the second phase of the project scheduled to end in 2024.

Some of the topics discussed at the workshop were the jurisdiction of the courts, code of ethics for the environmental health prosecutors, summary trial of cases, drafting of summons and charge sheets among others.

The project is in line with the governments strategy to achieve the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 6. The Regional Head of the Environmental Health and Sanitation Directorate, Freda Naah called on officers to take the workshop seriously since they would ensure the neatness of their communities.

Mrs Naah said prosecution of offenders had not been enforced over the years, hence we can see such things such as mountains of rubbish and choked gutters in our communities.
The Kenyan government has volunteered to lead a multinational mission in Haiti, but the decision has raised questions and criticism in the East African country, where critics consider it dangerous and unconstitutional.

On Monday October 2, the UN Security Council approved the operation in the impoverished Caribbean country, plagued by gang violence that controls most of the capital Port-au-Prince. For the past year, the Haitian government has been calling for a Mission to restore order. But its appeal for help has long gone unanswered by the international community, scalded by past experiences in the country.

An unexpected solution arrived in July 2023. Kenya said it was ready to send 1,000 police officers, an offer welcomed by the United States and other countries reluctant to send their own troops to this risky terrain. Mondays green light from the UN raised many questions in Kenya.

What is their mission in Haiti? asks Emiliano Kipkorir Tonui, a retired brigadier general who notably oversaw the deployment of Kenyan peacekeepers in Liberia, East Timor and the former Yugoslavia. Kenyans need to be informed. Leaders are accountable to the people, he declares.

The government has not yet presented its project to Parliament, as required by the Constitution before any troops are sent abroad. On Wednesday October 4, Parliament announced that it had summoned the Chief of Police, Japhet Koome, and the Minister of the Interior, Kithure Kindiki, to clarify the contours of this mission, described as unconstitutional by some legal experts.

President William Ruto called it a mission for humanity in a country he said had been ravaged by colonialism, and Foreign Minister Alfred Mutua said Kenya was doing Gods will by helping the descendants of African slaves in Haiti.
The UN Commission of Inquiry into atrocities in Ethiopia will not have its mandate renewed, due to a lack of support from the international community.

These investigators had warned on Wednesday October 4 that there is an enormous risk that human rights atrocities will continue in Ethiopia, since the peace agreement between the Tigrayan rebels and the Federal government was signed at the end of 2022. Ethiopian government spokesman did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The Commission was first mandated by the UN Human Rights Council at a special session in December 2021, at the request of the European Union. Its mandate was then renewed last year until mid-October. For several weeks now, NGOs have been calling on the international community to renew it once again, as atrocities continue despite the peace agreement signed last November, which put an end to two years of war.

In Geneva, all eyes were on the EU to see whether it would ask for the mandate to be renewed, which it did not. But on Tuesday October 2 in Addis Ababa, the EU and Ethiopia signed a framework cooperation document, the first step towards normalizing their relations, following two years of conflict in the north of the country, which had damaged them.

Its time to gradually normalize (our) relations and rebuild a mutually beneficial partnership, declared European Commissioner for International Partnerships Jutta Urpilainen as she signed a Multiannual Indicative Program (MIP) for cooperation with Ethiopian Finance Minister Ahmed Shide. This MIP, an envelope of 650 million euros for the period 2024-2027, was due to be signed in 2021, but its signature had been suspended, due to the conflict in the northern region of Tigray.
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When Hannah, a California marketing professional, showed up at her local emergency room in March 2023 for a pregnancy-related complication, she wasn't prepared for what happened next.

"I arrived at 2 p.m. and finally saw the obstetrics team at midnight," she recalled.

After an exam, doctors scheduled her for a procedure on the following day, but there wasn't a room available. "I ended up spending the night in a makeshift room in the lobby of the emergency room with a plastic sheet separating me from the rest of the people waiting for attention," Hannah said.

Unfortunately, this is not rare in U.S. emergency departments. Millions of people a day go to emergency rooms to seek care, but many, like Hannah, end up in a holding pattern due to overcrowding.

This is known as boarding, and experts say the problem is only getting worse.

"We are facing a national public health crisis," Dr. Aisha Terry, associate professor of emergency medicine at George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences in Washington, D.C., and ACEP's president-elect, said Tuesday.

Speaking at an ACEP press briefing, Terry said that "emergency departments are overflowing, emergency physicians are overwhelmed, and patient care is at risk."

Research consistently shows that boarding leads to worse outcomes, medical errors, privacy issues and in some cases, death, she said.

Some people spend weeks, even months, waiting to get a room in the hospital or be transferred to an outside facility.

"It's jaw-dropping when you think about the length of time that people are waiting in the emergency department since there is no space to care for them," Terry said.

Boarding has been an issue for decades, but stresses owing to the COVID-19 pandemic such as staffing shortages and an uptick in mental health conditions have made it much worse.

In a new ACEP poll of 2,164 U.S. adults, 44% of respondents said they or a loved one experienced long waits in emergency departments, with 16% waiting 13 or more hours before being admitted or transferred. Almost half of adults surveyed said they would delay emergency care if they knew they could face boarding.

In all, 42% said hospitals should be primarily responsible for improving the situation, while 17% said Congress should pass legislation addressing boarding. Sixteen percent said insurers should ease cumbersome prior-authorization policies that can result in days-long waits for transfer to a skilled nursing facility.

Nine in 10 respondents consider emergency medical services (EMS) essential, roughly the same percentage who said additional or supplemental government funding for essential services should be a priority.

The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus two percentage points.

One health care worker quoted in the ACEP's presentation to journalists said, "Last week our 22-bed emergency department had 35 boarders and an additional 20 patients in the waiting room. Longest boarding time this month was over 200 hours with averages around 70 hours per patient. In addition, we have patients who unfortunately have died in our waiting room while awaiting treatment. These deaths were entirely due to boarding."

Terry told reporters that resource and staff shortages can't be accepted as the new normal.

"We need action now to preserve the safety net for the lives we work every day to save," she said.

ACEP has suggested creating a regional dashboard of available beds that emergency departments can use when needing to place someone. In addition, reimbursement incentives for hospitals that transfer people to avoid extreme boarding could also make a difference, the group suggests.

Terry added that tuition reimbursement, stress relief programs and suicide prevention services need to be available for health care workers to help address the staff shortages. Laura Wooster, senior vice president of advocacy and external affairs at ACEP, agreed.

She added that some groups such as kids in mental health crises are disproportionately affected by staffing shortages and emergency room boarding situations.

Addressing the crisis starts with efforts to increase the number of beds available for these kids in the community, Wooster said. Mental health mobile crisis teams can also help reach these kids where they are, she added.

More information: Learn more about the boarding crisis at the American College of Emergency Physicians.

Copyright  2023 HealthDay. All rights reserved.
China and Brazil have successfully traded in their own currencies for the whole process of the transaction, marking a milestone in their bilateral trade relations, according to the Bank of China, a major Chinese lender.

The BOC said in a statement on Tuesday that it has recently helped Eldorado Brasil, a Brazilian paper pulp company, process the renminbi-based letter of credit discounting, which is a short-term credit facility provided by banks, and immediately covert it into Brazilian reais that are deposited in the companys account.

In August, the Brazilian company agreed with a Chinese importer to use the RMB to denominate their business contract and use the Chinese currency for trade settlement, according to the BOC.

The full process of RMB-based trade transaction involves using RMB for denomination, settlement and financing, and directly exchanging the RMB for reais. This took place for the first time in the China-Brazil trade history, the BOC said.

In April, China and Brazil reached a deal to trade in their own currencies, ditching the US dollar as an intermediary.

The BOC said it is helping Brazilian enterprises open offshore RMB settlement accounts, accept Chinese importers payment through RMB, and import machinery equipment from China by using the RMB.

It will continue to increase the Brazilian companies awareness and acceptance towards RMB, innovate and optimize business processes as well as enrich relevant products of RMB business, and let more Chinese and Brazilian partners to trade in their own currencies.




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

Credit: Unsplash/CC0 Public Domain

A study from Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago demonstrated that Botulinum toxin (Botox) injected in the pylorus (sphincter where the stomach exits into the small intestine) during endoscopy improves chronic nausea and vomiting in children who have a disorder of gut-brain interaction (DGBI). These debilitating symptoms not attributed to a defined illness have previously been called functional gastrointestinal disorders before the newer DGBI classification.

The study's findings point to a novel understanding of the condition's pathologypylorus that is failing to relax and allow food to effectively pass into the small intestine resulting in symptoms of nausea, vomiting, stomach fullness (early satiety), and bloating. Results were published in the Journal of Pediatric Gastroenterology & Nutrition.

"Our results suggest that chronic nausea and vomiting might be caused by pyloric dysfunction, rather than abnormal peristalsis, which is the rhythmic contraction and relaxation of digestive tract muscles needed to move foods and liquids through the gastrointestinal system," said lead author Peter Osgood, MD, gastroenterologist at Lurie Children's and Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine.

"This is a paradigm shift in our understanding of mechanistic pathology. Importantly, it opens the door to a more targeted use of Botox specifically in children who are found to have pyloric dysfunction during endoscopy, and for whom the current medications are not effective."

In the study that included 25 patients, Dr. Osgood and colleagues looked for evidence of abnormal peristalsis. They found that in the majority of patients, this process was normal. They also found that most patients responded favorably to pyloric Botox injection, even when they did not have delayed gastric emptying.

"Pyloric dysfunction has been underexplored in the context of chronic nausea and vomiting in children," said senior author John Fortunato, Jr, MD, Director of Neurointestinal and Motility Program at Lurie Children's and Professor of Pediatrics at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. "We are pursuing further research to better understand pyloric pathology and its response to Botox therapy. Our study is a promising first step toward offering much needed relief to children suffering from these challenging symptoms."

More information: Peter T. Osgood et al, Intrapyloric Botulinum Toxin Injection for Refractory Nausea and Vomiting in Pediatric Patients, Journal of Pediatric Gastroenterology & Nutrition (2023). DOI: 10.1097/MPG.0000000000003954 Journal information: Journal of Pediatric Gastroenterology & Nutrition
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Regents Professor D. Samba Reddy leads a team of pharmacology researchers that has made breakthrough discoveries in using CBD to treat and prevent hard-to-treat forms of epilepsy. Credit: Texas A&M Health

The emerging field of medical cannabinoids has experienced a breakthrough in epilepsy and seizure disorders. A team led by D. Samba Reddy, Ph.D., RPh, a Regents Professor in the Department of Neuroscience and Experimental Therapeutics at the Texas A&M University School of Medicine, has made progress in determining efficacy, safety and new applications of cannabinoid therapeutics. Reddy's work establishes a foundation for tailored and effective epilepsy treatments, offering hope to those facing its challenges.

The team's research on epilepsy has resulted in the publication of five key papers featured in the May 2023 issue of the journal Experimental Neurology.

"The medical cannabis research originated from the patient families and advocates in Colorado who have witnessed the positive effects of medical cannabis products," said Reddy, who is a founding director of the Texas A&M Health Institute of Pharmacology and Neurotherapeutics.

Comprehensive research endeavors led to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approving CBD for treating childhood epilepsy in 2018. However, Reddy says the exact functions of endocannabinoids, the spectrum effects and the mechanisms through which CBD counteracts seizures still require further investigation.

Breakthroughs for refractory epilepsy and prevention

The first of Reddy's five articles highlights the effectiveness of CBD and explores its distinct mechanisms that generate therapeutic benefits. By shedding light on the intricate pathways involving endocannabinoids, the article provides key insights on our understanding of cannabinoids in neurological disorders.

His second report explores the use of CBD in cases of refractory epilepsy, instilling hope for people grappling with difficult-to-treat seizures. It critically evaluates the efficacy and potential harms surrounding CBD therapy, presenting compelling evidence that supports its clinical utilization while outlining its limitations as a widespread treatment option.

The addition of CBD as a supplementary treatment can sustain seizure reduction for up to four years in children with specific genetic epilepsies. Although side effects are more prevalent when used in conjunction with clobazam, a standard antiseizure medication, CBD exhibits direct effects on seizure control, paving the way for advanced evaluation of cannabinoid-based therapies.

Global meta-analysis in genetic epilepsies

In the third article, a collaborative clinical assessment study published with University of Houston researcher Rajender Aparasu, Ph.D., Reddy and his team explored a comprehensive global meta-analysis of clinical trials, aiming to gauge the overall effectiveness and safety of CBD treatment in children with genetic epilepsies such as Dravet syndrome, Lennox-Gastaut syndrome, and Tuberous sclerosis complex.

The analysis revealed that CBD was effective in managing these genetic conditions, albeit with an increase in adverse events such as diarrhea, somnolence, sedation and potential drug interactions. The dosage of CBD and its co-therapy with clobazam significantly affect both its effectiveness and safety.

This diligent analysis of the contrast between clinical advantages and adverse effects provides a compelling case for including CBD in the arsenal of therapeutic options available to pediatric patients grappling with refractory epilepsy, Reddy says.

CBD's potential in epilepsy prevention

While CBD demonstrates robust antiseizure effects, its role in preventing epilepsy remains uncertain. Reddy, along with his trainees Robert Mbilinyi and Sreevidhya Ramakrishnan, conducted experiments to assess the preventive potential of CBD against epilepsy in adult kindling epileptogenic models.

Their findings, reported in the fourth Experimental Neurology article, unveiled CBD's capability as a preventive medicine against the development and persistence of chronic epilepsy. These landmark findings open new horizons for the proactive utilization of CBD in individuals at risk of developing epilepsy, potentially revolutionizing approaches to epilepsy prevention.

Optimizing seizure control with combination therapies

Reddy and his postdoctoral trainees Victoria Golub and Sreevidhya Ramakrishnan developed a new strategy to further optimize the use of CBD for better seizure control. Using the isobolographic technique, they scrutinized the effects of CBD when combined with other FDA-approved antiseizure medications.

In the fifth study, Reddy and his team revealed a remarkable synergistic protection against refractory focal seizures when CBD was combined with the neurosteroid ganaxolone and the benzodiazepine midazolam. The outcomes emphasizes the creative use of CBD in combination therapies, creating the path for expanded treatment possibilities and optimal approaches for managing refractory epilepsy in adults.

Unmet need for seizure control and curing epilepsy

People with known risk factors for epilepsy face a big problem: There aren't enough medications available to help control their seizures and prevent epilepsy. This means there is a great need for better medications to address this issue.

As the impact of Reddy's research continues to resonate within the CBD community and the epilepsy field as a whole, his recent papers mark a significant milestone in the ongoing quest to leverage CBD's potential for the betterment of patients' lives, emphasizing the crucial importance of continued research endeavors in this promising area of medicine.

"These publications are timely as they not only provide a concise summary of the current evidence for practicing neurologists, but also emphasize the need for future basic and translational research to improve outcomes in one-third of epilepsy patients who do not respond to medications," said Sandipan Pati, M.D., a neurologist and epileptologist at the Texas Comprehensive Epilepsy Program at UT McGovern Medical School in Houston, Texas.

Rama Maganti, M.D., a senior neurologist and professor of neurology, said, "Reddy brings the current evidence of CBD's antiseizure effects to the forefront through multiple articles. He and his group researched a large amount of data on efficacy of CBD as an antiseizure medication extracted from human trials and animal studies. The articles were exhaustive and represent almost all the data currently available.

Maganti, who is the director of clinical neurophysiology and fellowship director of Comprehensive Epilepsy Program and the EEG Lab at University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health in Madison, Wisconsin, continued, "While CBD is approved for seizures associated with developmental epileptic encephalopathies, in the real world, it is being increasingly used in patients with focal epilepsies, which are much more common and is often being used as an adjunctive medication. A few case series and small studies have shown its efficacy in patients with refractory epilepsy as well.

"Based on personal experience, in the real world, patients with focal epilepsy not only report improvements in seizures but also improvements in anxiety related to seizures. Reddy's work in experimental models strongly supports this notion as well."

The impact of research on CBD extends beyond epilepsy, holding implications for advancing the potential of cannabinoids in various neurological conditions, including chronic pain, traumatic brain injury, and post-traumatic disorders. CBD has multifaceted actions within the endocannabinoid system.

Current studies into the anti-inflammatory effects of CBD could have a significant impact, as chronic inflammation plays a pivotal role in seizure disorders and neurodegenerative conditions, including chronic behavior comorbidities. This research not only broadens understanding of CBD, but also offers promising avenues for the development of radical strategies targeting inflammation-associated neurological disorders.

"A familiar and FDA-approved product such as CBD has a lower regulatory threshold for approval of newer indications, as opposed to entirely new drugs with complex hurdles for approvals. This strategy cuts down the regulatory burden and time, and industry sponsors usually prefer this approach," said Mansoor Khan, Ph.D., RPh, Regents Professor and acting dean of the Texas A&M Irma Lerma Rangel School of Pharmacy.

"Reddy's expertise in epilepsy models can greatly aid in accelerating development, both in terms of safety and efficacy evaluations, and firmly establish 'proof-of-effectiveness' of CBD in clinically relevant experimental models. Reddy's recent papers on adult epileptogenic models are splendid examples of such studies," Khan continued.

The mechanisms through which CBD elicits its therapeutic effects still puzzles scientists. Unlocking this mystery is crucial for identifying biomarkers that can aid in patient selection and predict treatment response.

In addition, larger-scale clinical trials encompassing diverse patient populations would be helpful for widespread use of CBD, including its impact on disease progression and overall quality of life. These endeavors would open a new chapter for cannabinoids in neurology.

Addressing the need for public education

As CBD garners recognition as a major therapy, Reddy says it is crucial to provide accurate and evidence-based information to patients, policymakers and the health care community. Such communications can ensure that individuals who stand to benefit from these treatments can do so with confidence and well-founded knowledge.

"Collaborative efforts between researchers, clinicians and industry stakeholders are crucial to accelerate cannabinoid therapeutics. The establishment of research consortia and networks can foster greater collaboration, data sharing, and the exchange of expertise and resources. Such forums can accelerate the translation of ongoing research, ensuring that the benefits reach patients in a timely and efficient manner," Reddy said.

Patients can have a wide range of responsiveness to cannabis products, influenced by various factors. Pharmaceutical-grade CBD offers distinct advantages in terms of purity, consistency and accurate dosing. It has received federal approval for specific purposes, particularly in seizure control.

Medical cannabis, on the other hand, refers to cannabis extracts that contain a combination of cannabinoids. Hemp, as defined by the 2018 Farm Bill, refers to products containing less than 0.3 percent THC and is not approved for treating or preventing any specific diseases.

"As academic researchers, our team's goal is to provide patients and their families with scientific information that forms the foundation for the right use of medical CBD products," Reddy said.

More information: Doodipala Samba Reddy, Building evidence on therapeutic efficacy and innovative mechanisms of cannabinoids in neurological disorders, Experimental Neurology (2023). DOI: 10.1016/j.expneurol.2023.114390 Doodipala Samba Reddy, Therapeutic and clinical foundations of cannabidiol therapy for difficult-to-treat seizures in children and adults with refractory epilepsies, Experimental Neurology (2022). DOI: 10.1016/j.expneurol.2022.114237 Ashna Talwar et al, Clinical efficacy and safety of cannabidiol for pediatric refractory epilepsy indications: A systematic review and meta-analysis, Experimental Neurology (2022). DOI: 10.1016/j.expneurol.2022.114238 Doodipala Samba Reddy et al, Efficacy of the FDA-approved cannabidiol on the development and persistence of temporal lobe epilepsy and complex focal onset seizures, Experimental Neurology (2022). DOI: 10.1016/j.expneurol.2022.114240 Victoria Golub et al, Isobolographic analysis of adjunct antiseizure activity of the FDA-approved cannabidiol with neurosteroids and benzodiazepines in adult refractory focal onset epilepsy, Experimental Neurology (2022). DOI: 10.1016/j.expneurol.2022.114294 Journal information: Experimental Neurology
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Experimental design and rat IVSA cocaine model of addiction. a, Schematic of the study design. b, Timeline of the behavioral protocol. c, Individual differences in total number of cocaine rewards in self-administration (SA), PR and shock-paired (Shock) sessions for each rat. d, Mean AI scores in high and low AI rats. e, Mean number of cocaine rewards across each ShA and LgA IVSA session in high (n = 21) and low (n = 25) AI rats. f, Breakpoint analysis of high (n = 21) and low (n = 25) AI rats under ShA versus LgA (unpaired two-sided Students t-test with Bonferroni adjusted P = 0.0001; ShA versus LgA for high AI rats, t 41 = 4.525). g, Mean number of cocaine rewards when paired with electric footshock in high (n = 21) and low AI (n = 25) rats (P = 0.0003; unpaired two-sided Students t-test, t 44 = 3.936). Error bars in dg represent s.e.m. Credit: Nature Neuroscience (2023). DOI:10.1038/s41593-023-01452-y

Researchers at University of California San Diego School of Medicine and the Salk Institute for Biological Studies have created a unique, cell-by-cell atlas of the amygdala, a small structure deep within the brain that plays a crucial role in controlling emotional responses to drugs. The findings, published in Nature Neuroscience, helped the researchers identify a potential new treatment for cocaine addiction, a disease that is poorly understood at the molecular level and has virtually no approved pharmacological treatments.

"There are some drugs that can help treat other addictions, such as those to opioids or nicotine, but there are currently no safe and effective drugs approved for cocaine addictions," said co-senior author Francesca Telese, Ph.D., an associate professor in the Department of Psychiatry at UC San Diego School of Medicine. "These findings help address that problem and could also point to universal molecular mechanisms of addiction that we haven't understood until now."

Cocaine is a widely used illicit drug and addiction to cocaine is a major public health concern, associated with a rising number of overdose deaths and a high rate of relapse. Despite the threat cocaine addiction poses, not every person who uses cocaine develops an addiction. According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, an estimated 4.8 million people used cocaine in 2021, while only 1.4 million people had a cocaine use disorder.

"Some people use cocaine recreationally and never develop an addiction, while others are extremely susceptible to addiction after very little exposure to the drug or may relapse even after years of abstinence," said Telese "Our long-term goal is to understand why there are these inter-individual differences in drug addiction behavior."

The researchers studied brain samples from rats that had been allowed to self-administer cocaine for an extended period before being cut off from the drug for a period of abstinence. These samples were obtained from the cocaine brain bank at UC San Diego, established by study co-authors Abraham A. Palmer, Ph.D., and Olivier George, Ph.D., both professors in the Department of Psychiatry at UC San Diego School of Medicine.

"The cocaine brain bank is an exceptional resource and was invaluable for this study because it allowed us to study a cohort of rats with a large amount of genetic variety, which mimics the diversity we see in human populations," said Telese. "Further, using a model of cocaine addiction where rats administered the drug to themselves let us look at the connection between our molecular discoveries and actual addiction behaviors."

The team used single-cell sequencing to determine what genes were expressed in individual cells from the rats' amygdala, a part of the brain that is central to processing emotions and is highly active in people with addictions.

"Being able to look at individual amygdala cells from rats with different vulnerabilities to addiction was an asset for our study because we wanted to understand how specific cell populations of the amygdala contribute to addiction development," Telese added.

To make sense of the large amount of data generated through their sequencing experiments, Telese collaborated closely with bioinformatics expert and co-senior author Graham McVicker, Ph.D., an associate professor at the Salk Institute of Biological Studies and an assistant adjunct professor in the Department of Cellular & Molecular Medicine at UC San Diego School of Medicine. Jess Zhou, a UC San Diego graduate student working with McVicker, developed the bioinformatics workflow needed to assemble their sequencing data into a molecular atlas of the rat amygdala.

The results revealed never-before-seen connections between addiction behaviors and genes involved in energy metabolism.

"This tells us that energy metabolism may be playing a key role in the activity of neurons in the amygdala and that this effect could be contributing to addiction-like behaviors," said Telese. "This is a brand-new way of thinking about the molecular biology of cocaine addiction."

In addition to identifying molecular factors that influence cocaine addiction behaviors, the researchers were able to test a drug in the rats that helped reverse these behaviors by targeting an enzyme involved in both energy metabolism and signaling between neurons.

"The fact that we were able to link our findings at the cellular level to behaviors exhibited in the rats and were even able to modify these behaviors with a drug puts us one step closer to understanding the extremely complex mechanisms in the brain driving addiction and relapse," added Telese.

The researchers are now working on larger sample-size studies that can help determine how much of the effects they observed were based on preexisting genetics in the rats and how much were based on responses to extensive cocaine usage.

"This research suggests that preexisting genetics may play a much bigger role in addiction than we've previously understood," said Telese. "Unraveling these genetics will be key to improving personalized medicine for addictions. If we don't understand the risk of relapse in individual people, we can't fully understand the disease."

More information: Zhou, J.L. et al. Single-nucleus genomics in outbred rats with divergent cocaine addiction-like behaviors reveals changes in gene amygdala GABAergic inhibition. Nature Neuroscience (2023). DOI: 10.1038/s41593-023-01452-y www.nature.com/articles/s41593-023-01452-y Journal information: Nature Neuroscience
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They're being hailed as an effective way to lose weight, but diabetes drugs like Ozempic may come with a heightened risk of severe gastrointestinal problems.

That's according to new research from the University of British Columbia showing that medications known as GLP-1 agonistswhich includes brands like Wegovy, Ozempic, Rybelsus and Saxendaare associated with an increased risk of serious medical conditions including stomach paralysis, pancreatitis and bowel obstruction.

While previous studies highlighted some of these risks in patients with diabetes, this is the first large, population-level study to examine adverse gastrointestinal events in non-diabetic patients using the drugs specifically for weight loss. The findings were published in JAMA.

"Given the wide use of these drugs, these adverse events, although rare, must be considered by patients thinking about using them for weight loss," said first author Mohit Sodhi, a graduate of UBC's experimental medicine program and fourth year UBC medical student studying the adverse events of commonly prescribed medications.

"The risk calculus will differ depending on whether a patient is using these drugs for diabetes, obesity or just general weight loss. People who are otherwise healthy may be less willing to accept these potentially serious adverse events."

GLP-1 agonists were originally developed for managing type 2 diabetes, but exploded in popularity over the past decade as an off-label weight-loss tool, reaching approximately 40 million prescriptions in the U.S. in 2022.

It was only in 2021 that some forms of the medications were approved as a treatment for obesity. However, randomized clinical trials examining the efficacy of the medications for weight loss were not designed to capture rare gastrointestinal events due to their small sample sizes and short follow-up periods.

"There have been anecdotal reports of some patients using these drugs for weight loss and then presenting with repeated episodes of nausea and vomiting secondary to a condition referred to as gastroparesis," said senior author Dr. Mahyar Etminan, an epidemiologist and associate professor in the department of ophthalmology and visual sciences at the UBC faculty of medicine. "But until now, there hasn't been any data from large epidemiologic studies."

To help fill this knowledge gap, UBC researchers examined health insurance claim records for approximately 16 million U.S. patients and looked at people prescribed either semaglutide or liraglutide, two main GLP-1 agonists, between 2006 and 2020. They included patients with a recent history of obesity, and excluded those with diabetes or who had been prescribed another anti-diabetic drug.

The researchers analyzed the records to see how many patients developed one of four gastrointestinal conditions, and compared that rate to patients using another weight loss drug, bupropion-naltrexone. Compared to bupropion-naltrexone, GLP-1 agonists were associated with a:

9.09 times higher risk of pancreatitis , or inflammation of the pancreas, which can cause severe abdominal pain and, in some cases, require hospitalization and surgery.

, or inflammation of the pancreas, which can cause severe abdominal pain and, in some cases, require hospitalization and surgery. 4.22 times higher risk of bowel obstruction , whereby food is prevented from passing through the small or large intestine, resulting in symptoms like cramping, bloating, nausea and vomiting. Depending on the severity, surgery may be required.

, whereby food is prevented from passing through the small or large intestine, resulting in symptoms like cramping, bloating, nausea and vomiting. Depending on the severity, surgery may be required. 3.67 times higher risk of gastroparesis, or stomach paralysis, which limits the passage of food from the stomach to the small intestine and results in symptoms like vomiting, nausea and abdominal pain.

The study also found a higher incidence of biliary disease, a group of conditions affecting the gall bladder, but the difference was not found to be statistically significant.

The researchers say that although the events are rare, with millions around the world using the drugs, it could still lead to hundreds of thousands of people experiencing these conditions.

"These drugs are becoming increasingly accessible, and it is concerning that, in some cases, people can simply go online and order these kinds of medications when they may not have a full understanding of what could potentially happen. This goes directly against the mantra of informed consent," said Sodhi.

In the meantime, the researchers hope that regulatory agencies and drug makers will consider updating the warning labels for their products, which currently don't include the risk of gastroparesis.

"This is critical information for patients to know so they can seek timely medical attention and avoid serious consequences," said Sodhi.

More information: Risk of Gastrointestinal Adverse Events and Glucagon-Like Peptide-1 Receptor Agonists for Weight Loss, Journal of the American Medical Association (2023). DOI: 10.1001/jama.2023.19574 Journal information: Journal of the American Medical Association
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The Mercy health system plans to roll out a series of artificial intelligence-based tools in the coming months, in partnership with Microsoft.

Mercy, based in a St. Louis suburb, is the sixth largest Catholic health care provider in the country, operating in four states.

Its efforts are still in the early stages, but if they succeed, officials believe the technology could help patients navigate the health care system, reduce burden on medical staff and monitor for errors.

They aim to get a few programs up and running sometime next year, but officials are already looking at dozens of other potential uses for AI within the health system over the longer term.

Joe Kelly, Mercy's executive vice president and chief transformation and business development officer, said the health system is treading carefully, with an eye toward ethical considerations like data privacy. The health system is developing its own AI "code of conduct."

"We're not going to rush," Kelly said. "I think it's really important to make sure that we do have the right safeguards in place before we just deploy technology like this into the wild."

Dr. Lee Schwamm, professor of biomedical informatics and data sciences at Yale School of Medicine, said AI is already used in many parts of the U.S. health care system. Machine learning and automation are used widely in financial transactions.

"Conversational AI," often used in retail to monitor satisfaction during customer service calls, is beginning to spread into health care. Schwamm think's there is potential to use AI to write clinical notes, and to offer doctors suggestions of possible diagnoses that line up with patient symptoms.

People working on AI programs in health care, Schwamm said, need to ensure that there is human supervision of what the technology is doing or recommending. And they need to consider how transparent they are with patients.

"I think that the bigger question here is really not whether it's going to be part of health care. It's gonna be part of health care, just like it's part of everything else. The biggest question will be: Will you know it when you're interacting with it? And will you know when it has been used in your care?" Schwamm said.

One of the first programs Mercy plans to introduce is a chatbot where patients would be able to ask questions and get help understanding their lab results, which often hit patients' online medical portals before medical staff have a chance to reach out and explain what the findings mean, Kelly said. The program should be able to cut back on calls over basic questions, he said, and patients will always be able to reach out to medical staff for more discussion if they want to.

Another program will take patients' calls and schedule appointments. A third is an internal chatbot tool, where staff can find information about policies and procedures and answer HR-related questions.

Those first programs are just a few of the roughly 50 ideas Mercy leaders presented to Microsoft, as possible uses for AI in the health system.

Kelly said these tools aren't expected to come at the expense of jobs. In an industry struggling with staffing shortages, the hope is to reduce the time workers spend on tedious tasks, and give them more time to spend with patients.

It wouldn't be Mercy's first time adopting this type of technology. Kelly said that for about a year now, Mercy has a machine learning model that predicts roughly when a patient might be discharged, in hopes of preventing people from spending more time in the hospital than they need to.

In the past, when a doctor determined a patient was ready for discharge, a staff member would then begin calling around, looking for available space at a skilled nursing facility, rehabilitation hospital, or wherever the patient may go next. It may take an extra day or two to find an available slot, which means the patient stayed longer in the hospital than they wanted to, and the hospital would have one less available bed for new admissions.

Doctors always have the ability to overrule the technology, Kelly said, adding, "We don't want to have (AI) models performing patient care." But in some cases, the prediction model meant that staff could start calling facilities and say, "Hey, four-and-a-half days from now, I will have a patient in need of a slot,' Kelly said.

People working in this field are having conversations with regulators about appropriate safeguards, said Peter Lee, corporate vice president of research and incubations at Microsoft. They are also discussing how to mitigate potential biases that can be introduced by AI.

Kelly said the health system is taking a measured pace, despite the inclination to adopt AI tools soon.

"Health care has a massive staffing shortage, so there's a big desire to move quickly," he said. "But it's counterbalanced by the desire to do this the right way and protect patient safety and privacy."

Lee said he sees potential to use AI to cut back on the time health care workers normally spend on paperworkfrom clinical notes, to notes referring patients to specialists, and notes justifying that lab tests or prescriptions should be covered by insurance. It could also be used to inform doctors when there is a clinical trial that a patient could participate in.

He also thinks the technology can be used as a backstop, to check for errors.

"I'm a big believer in using AI as a second set of eyes," Lee said. "Just make sure that any errors, any biases are spotted, and that people are given a chance to rethink a decision or a calculation."

"Generative AI turns out to be incredibly good at reviewing, and evaluating, and critiquing, and spotting errors," Lee said.

One company that provides electronic medical record software, Epic, has an AI-based tool with Microsoft that helps doctors respond to patient emails more quickly. Lee said he's found that some patients sometimes like the AI-assisted letters more, because they can add empathetic flourishes that doctors may not have time to.

2023 STLtoday.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
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One treatment each of two psychedelic drugs lowered depression and anxiety and improved cognitive functioning in a sample of U.S. special operations forces veterans who sought care at a clinic in Mexico, according to a new analysis of the participants' charts.

The treatment included a combination of ibogaine hydrochloride, derived from the West African shrub iboga, and 5-MeO-DMT, a psychedelic substance secreted by the Colorado River toad. Both are designated as Schedule I drugs under the U.S. Controlled Substances Act.

In addition to relieving symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), the combined treatment also alleviated cognitive impairment linked to traumatic brain injurywhich stood out to the researchers from The Ohio State University who led the chart-review analysis. Many special operations forces veterans seeking treatment for complex psychiatric symptoms do not respond to more traditional therapies.

The study is published in the American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse.

"What sets this group apart from some other veterans and civilians is that often, they are exposed to repeated traumatic events as a routine part of their jobs. This build-up of exposure to these difficulties seems to produce a cluster of challenges that include traumatic brain injury, which we know in and of itself predisposes people to mental health problems," said lead author Alan Davis, associate professor and director of the Center for Psychedelic Drug Research and Education (CPDRE) in Ohio State's College of Social Work.

"So the fact that we saw that there were improvements in cognitive functioning linked to brain injury were probably the most striking results, because that's something we didn't predict and it's very new and novel in terms of how psychedelics might help in so many different domains."

Most of the veterans attending the clinic retreat program had been on active duty after 9/11 and reported seeking care for memory problems, brain injury, depression, anxiety, PTSD, sleep problems, anger and fatigue. Head injuries were reported by 86% of attendees, most of whom attributed memory problems, irritability, disordered sleep and ringing in the ears to those long-ago head traumas.

Eighty-six veterans completed pre-treatment questionnaires assessing a range of mental health symptoms as well as satisfaction with life, anger levels and suicidality. Each attendee received a single oral ibogaine hydrochloride dose, and on a separate day, at least three incremental inhalation doses adding up to 50 milligrams of 5-MeO-DMT, also commonly called Five or Bufo. Preparation and reflection sessions preceded and followed each treatment.

Overall, participants reported large improvements in self-reported PTSD symptoms, depression, anxiety, insomnia severity and anger, as well as a significant increase in satisfaction with life, from pre-treatment to the one-month follow-up, and sustained benefits at the three- and six-month follow-ups. Additional reported improvements that continued for six months included reductions in disability and post-concussive symptoms, and very large increases in psychological flexibility and cognitive functioning.

Davis said the improved cognitive functioning warrants more research into whether better thinking results from lowered mental health symptoms or biological changes to signaling in the brain, or a mixture of both types of effects. The researchers also noted that changes to psychological flexibilityone's capacity to act in ways that are consistent with their values regardless of whatever internal or external experience they might havehave been found in previous research to be connected to insightful and mystical psychedelic experiences.

"I think we're seeing a similar picture emerging here where the more one is psychologically flexible, the more likely it is that one's mental health symptoms will be reduced or ameliorated," Davis said.

Most attendees also reported moderate to strong desirable changes across a range of attitudes, behaviors and relationships. One month after treatment, almost half reported the psychedelic experience was the most spiritually significant (48.6%) or psychologically insightful (42.9%) of their lives, and 17.1% called it the most difficult or challenging experience in their life.

Davis and colleagues took a conservative approach to analyzing outcome data, building in an assumption that attendees who didn't complete all of the follow-up surveys may not have gotten the relief they had hoped for from the treatment. But they said finding that a population of veterans with complicated trauma histories can benefit from psychedelic therapy supports the importance of continuing to test psychedelic-assisted therapies in U.S. clinical trials.

Psilocybin-assisted therapy is currently being studied at Ohio State for the treatment of PTSD among military veterans.

Co-authors of the study include Yitong Xin and Nathan Sepeda of Ohio State and Lynnette Averill of Baylor College of Medicine and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.

More information: Alan Kooi Davis et al, Open-label study of consecutive ibogaine and 5-MeO-DMT assisted-therapy for trauma-exposed male Special Operations Forces Veterans: prospective data from a clinical program in Mexico, The American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse (2023). DOI: 10.1080/00952990.2023.2220874
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Kaplan Meier survival curve for the observation and implementation phases, overall, excluding cases lost to follow-up. Credit: The Lancet HIV (2023). DOI: 10.1016/S2352-3018(23)00182-0

A research project studying how best to implement "back to basics" clinical and laboratory care in public hospitals in three African countries has halved the number of deaths from HIV-linked meningitis. The results are reported in The Lancet HIV.

A joint European and African research partnership, the DREAMM project, worked with local health leaders and health care workers, empowering them to design and implement changes to routine care for patients with HIV-related central nervous system conditions: cryptococcal meningitis, tuberculous meningitis, bacterial meningitis and cerebral toxoplasmosis.

The DREAMM project aimed to ensure that all HIV patients with symptoms of meningitis or cerebral toxoplasmosis were diagnosed and treated rapidly and effectively.

Despite the roll-out of antiretroviral therapy, there are still over half a million HIV-related deaths annually in Africa, of which a third are caused by conditions like meningitis that attack the central nervous system. These conditions should be treatable, but lack of diagnosis, the correct drugs and training on how to use these safely mean that many are fatal.

Working collaboratively on the ground

The project consortium researchers worked with the local Ministries of Health and empowered local health leaders, including hospital staff, to put in place rapid diagnostic testing and to ensure that the WHO cryptococcal meningitis treatment guidelines for confirmed cases were followed. Diagnosis involved both bedside point-of-care tests carried out by clinical staff and more detailed laboratory tests.

The project was led by Dr. Angela Loyse, a global health expert based at St George's, University of London, and African health researchers. It involved public hospitals in Malawi, Tanzania and Cameroon.

"By performing diagnostic tests such as lumbar punctures, on admission, the hospitals could get a rapid diagnosis, and then start treatment while the patient was still in the emergency area. This meant that ward care could become more about monitoring than chasing diagnostics. We also had in-parallel lab testing for quality control and to determine diagnoses not immediately clear by the bedside," says Loyse, lead researcher and senior lecturer in infectious diseases at St George's, University of London.

'Communities of practice'

Local health care leaders provided trainingwith support from the St George's and Institut Pasteur teamsfor both frontline health care workers and laboratory technicians. The team set up "communities of practice" in each hospital, so experience could be shared between staff and ongoing support provided from health care leaders. Virtual ward rounds enabled doctors to discuss difficult cases with a mentorship community of senior doctors, laboratory experts and researchers online.

Dr. Cecilia Kanyama, an expert on HIV-related conditions, led the project in Lilongwe, Malawi. She said, "It was really encouraging to see the local leadership so involved and keen to take this on, particularly around the point of care testing. We were just facilitating, but there was excellent involvement of local key players, nurses and clinicians. That is really important to make this kind of intervention sustainable."

Before the training was provided and the new procedures put in place, the team followed the progress of patients presenting at the hospitals with symptoms of HIV-related meningitis, and found that within two weeks of admission to hospital, nearly half (49%) of these patients had died.

The new, co-designed procedures for dealing with HIV-related meningitis and cerebral toxoplasmosis were put into practice at each site for around 10 months, between January 2018 and March 2021.

Slashing deaths by half

The project recruited a total of 365 adults living with HIV who were admitted to hospital with a suspected first episode of CNS infection. Just under a quarter of these patients died (24%) within two weeks of admission, half the rate before the new procedures were put in place.

The researchers are now calling for the project to be urgently scaled up to reduce unnecessary deaths from HIV-related central nervous system infections. This is echoed by African health leaders on the ground.

Dr. Kanyama said, "Accessibility to point of care testing is really crucial and every hospital in Malawi should have it. Similarly with medication; tertiary level hospitals have it, but the district hospitals typically won't. We still have a very long way to go, but we've seen what is possible if these resources are made available."

"We've shown that optimizing the pathways for diagnosis and treatment of HIV-related central nervous system infections has a high potential to save lives, and that this is feasible in resource-limited settings. Access to essential tests and medicines in public facilities needs to be urgently ensured," says Loyse.

More information: Sayoki Mfinanga et al, Reduction in mortality from HIV-related CNS infections in routine care in Africa (DREAMM): a before-and-after, implementation study, The Lancet HIV (2023). DOI: 10.1016/S2352-3018(23)00182-0 Journal information: The Lancet HIV
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Scientists say the release of mosquitoes containing the Wolbachia bacteria has practically eliminated dengue fever cases in North Queensland.

Dr. Samson Ogunlade is a mathematician with James Cook University's Australian Institute of Tropical Health and Medicine. He said from October 2014 to February 2019, local authorities in Townsville released Wolbachia-infected Aedes aegypti mosquitosthe type of mosquitoes which are responsible for spreading denguearound the city.

"The hope was that they would spread the Wolbachia bacteria to other mosquitoes. Wolbachia changes mosquitoes so they are less able to transmit viruses like dengue, zika, chikungunya and yellow fever. This makes it harder for viruses to reproduce. Wolbachia also reduces the reproductive capabilities of the mosquito itself," said Dr. Ogunlade.

He said the new study developed a mathematical modeling framework to estimate the effectiveness of this intervention as well as the relative dengue transmission rates of Wolbachia-infected and wild-type mosquitoes. The work is published in the journal Scientific Reports.

"We found the likelihood of a human becoming infected with dengue, if bitten by a Wolbachia-infected mosquito, is about 5% of the risk if you are bitten by a mosquito from the wild-type population.

"In addition, the Townsville Wolbachia release program led to a 65% reduction in predicted dengue incidence during the release period and over 95% reduction in the 24 months that followed," said Dr. Ogunlade.

He said similar success had previously been reported in Cairns.

"JCU was a big part of this, with the public health entomology team, led by Professor Scott Ritchie, pivotal in the successful program," said Dr. Ogunlade.

He said the success was achieved despite a resurgence of dengue cases from 2015 to 2019 throughout the South-East Asia regionwhich is the source location of most international importations of dengue into Townsville.

More information: Samson T. Ogunlade et al, Quantifying the impact of Wolbachia releases on dengue infection in Townsville, Australia, Scientific Reports (2023). DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-42336-2
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As Streptococcus A cases continue to be prevalent in Queensland and internationally, a new nasal vaccine could provide long-term protection from the deadly bacteria.

Associate Professor Manisha Pandey, Professor Michael Good, and their team from Griffith University's Institute for Glycomics, are leading the development of a Strep A vaccine which is currently in Phase 1 clinical trials in Canada and quickly advancing to Phase 2 efficacy trials.

The team's new preclinical research shows an experimental liposome-based vaccine approach incorporating a conserved M-protein epitope from Strep A and an immunostimulatory glycolipid (3D(6-acyl) PHAD) administered via the nasal passage, can provide long-term mucosal protection against Strep A. The paper "A Glycolipidated-liposomal peptide vaccine confers long-term mucosal protection against Streptococcus pyogenes via IL-17, macrophages and neutrophils' has been published in Nature Communications.

Lead author Dr. Victoria Ozberk said studies have shown most pathogens enter or colonize via the soft tissue in the upper respiratory tract, which is essentially the highway to the rest of the body.

"This has the potential to be a world-first as there are currently no subunit vaccines that target the upper respiratory tract due to a lack of licensed immunostimulants suitable for human use," Dr. Ozberk said.

"We demonstrated that a liposomal mucosal vaccination strategy can induce robust local protective immunity."

Associate Professor Pandey said the team found PHAD plays an augmenting role in inducing enduring humoral and cellular immunity, which was evident for at least one-year post-vaccination.

"The longevity of immune response is a critical hallmark of successful vaccination and therefore the findings from this study are highly significant," she said.

Professor Good said, "In the future, this vaccine platform could pave the way for other mucosal pathogens."

Group A Streptococcus is a global human pathogen that leads to a wide range of infections from illnesses such as mild pharyngitis and impetigo to invasive diseases such as toxic shock syndrome, necrotising fasciitis, and cellulitis.

Professor Mark von Itzstein AO, Director of the Institute for Glycomics, welcomed these research findings.

"This platform provides a real shot at developing a new direction for vaccine discovery against significant infectious pathogens that cause serious and life-threatening diseases," he said.

Immunity to Strep A takes several years to develop, and currently, there is no vaccine available.

Moreover, repeated infections can lead to the post-streptococcal sequelae of rheumatic fever and rheumatic heart disease, for which the Australian Indigenous population bears the highest disease burden globally.

Strep A causes 700 million human infections each year and there are more than 500,000 deaths globally.

The team has developed a Strep A vaccine which is currently being tested in a human clinical trial in Canada.

More information: Victoria Ozberk et al, A Glycolipidated-liposomal peptide vaccine confers long-term mucosal protection against Streptococcus pyogenes via IL-17, macrophages and neutrophils, Nature Communications (2023). DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-41410-7 Journal information: Nature Communications
This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies . Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility:

Credit: Unsplash/CC0 Public Domain

A person's immune response to variants of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, depends on their previous exposureand differences in the focus of immune responses will help scientists understand how to optimize vaccines in the future to provide broad protection.

A new study has found that people differ in how vulnerable they are to different mutations in emerging variants of SARS-CoV-2.

This is because the variant of SARS-CoV-2 a person was first exposed to determines how well their immune system responds to different parts of the virus, and how protected they are against other variants.

It also means that the same COVID-19 vaccine might work differently for different people, depending on which variants of SARS-CoV-2 they have previously been exposed to and where their immune response has focused.

The discovery underlies the importance of continuing surveillance programs to detect the emergence of new variants, and to understand differences in immunity to SARS-CoV-2 across the population.

It will also be important for future vaccination strategies, which must consider both the virus variant a vaccine contains and how immune responses of the population may differ in their response to it.

"It was a surprise how much of a difference we saw in the focus of immune responses of different people to SARS-CoV-2. Their immune responses appear to target different specific regions of the virus, depending on which variant their body had encountered first," said Dr. Samuel Wilks at the University of Cambridge's Center for Pathogen Evolution in the Department of Zoology, first author of the report.

He added, "Our results mean that if the virus mutates in a specific region, some people's immune system will not recognize the virus as wellso it could make them ill, while others may still have good protection against it."

The research, published in the journal Science, involved a large-scale collaboration across ten research institutes including the University of Cambridge and produced a comprehensive snapshot of early global population immunity to COVID-19.

Researchers collected 207 serum samplesextracted from blood samplesfrom people who had either been infected naturally with one of the many previously circulating SARS-CoV-2 variants, or who had been vaccinated against SARS-CoV-2 with different numbers of doses of the Moderna vaccine.

They then analyzed the immunity these people had developed, and found significant differences between immune responses depending on which variant a person had been infected with first.

"These results give us a deep understanding of how we might optimize the design of COVID-19 booster vaccines in the future," said Professor Derek Smith, Director of the University of Cambridge's Center for Pathogen Evolution in the Department of Zoology, senior author of the report.

He added, "We want to know the key virus variants to use in vaccines to best protect people in the future."

The research used a technique called "antigenic cartography" to compare the similarity of different variants of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. This measures how well human antibodies, formed in response to infection with one virus, respond to infection with a variant of that virus. It shows whether the virus has changed enough to escape the human immune response and cause disease.

The resulting "antigenic map" shows the relationship between a wide selection of SARS-CoV-2 variants that have previously circulated. omicron variants are noticeably different from the otherswhich helps to explain why many people still succumbed to infection with omicron despite vaccination or previous infection with a different variant.

Immunity to COVID-19 can be acquired by having been infected with SARS-CoV-2 or by vaccination. Vaccines provide immunity without the risk from the disease or its complications. They work by activating the immune system so it will recognize and respond rapidly to exposure to SARS-CoV-2 and prevent it causing illness. But, like other viruses, the SARS-CoV-2 virus keeps mutating to try and escape human immunity.

During the first year of the pandemic, the main SARS-CoV-2 virus in circulation was the B.1 variant. Since then, multiple variants emerged that escaped pre-existing immunity, causing reinfections in people who had already had COVID.

"The study was an opportunity to really seefrom the first exposure to SARS-CoV-2 onwardswhat the basis of people's immunity is, and how this differs across the population," said Wilks.

More information: Samuel H. Wilks et al, Mapping SARS-CoV-2 antigenic relationships and serological responses, Science (2023). DOI: 10.1126/science.adj0070. www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.adj0070 Journal information: Science
Domestic cosmetic products have become staples in the daily beauty routine of Jia Yaxin, a 21-year-old university student in Beijing.

"For students and young women entering the workforce, the domestic beauty brands offer products that are not only reasonably priced but also with a good user experience," Jia said. "They have built a loyal customer base, and it seems like their growth is stable."

Jia is among a growing number of consumers who have taken a liking to Chinese homegrown beauty brands in recent years.

Statistics from global market research firm Euromonitor International showed that Chinese beauty brands, or C-beauty brands, have seen their sales grow 51 percent between 2017 and 2022, outperforming the overall beauty and personal care market's 42 percent growth in the same period.

"I learned about these products mainly through live-streaming sessions by social media influencers on platforms, such as Xiaohongshu, or Little Red Book, and Sina Weibo," said 21-year-old Qiu Ting, another avid consumer of Chinese homegrown cosmetics.

China's cosmetics industry has been highly influenced by social media and e-commerce platforms.

In 2022, the sales of domestic Chinese brands on Douyin, the Chinese version of TikTok, grew by 110 percent year on year. Live broadcast views of emerging brands, such as the beauty brand Perfect Diary, soared by 2,328 percent during the same period, according to a report released by Douyin.

In the international arena, Chinese beauty brands are also gaining popularity.

In the first half of this year, China's exports of cosmetics and personal care products reached 3.03 billion U.S. dollars, up 23.7 percent year on year, according to data from the General Administration of Customs.

Chinese cosmetic brand Florasis, known for its traditional Chinese aesthetics and savvy social media marketing, opened its official store on Amazon Japan in March 2021. Several products quickly sold out upon their debut, said the company's branding director Lin Zengsheng.

Through cross-border e-commerce sites and channels, Florasis has reached consumers in over 100 countries and regions, Lin said.

As the world's second-largest consumer market of cosmetics, China offers immense growth potential for domestic beauty brands.

Industry experts believe that the surging growth of domestic beauty brands can be attributed not solely to the impact of live streaming and short videos, but also to the ongoing enhancement of factors like technological advancements.

As one of the leading domestic beauty companies, Bloomage Biotech is actively expediting the conversion of its research endeavors into practical applications.

A laboratory specializing in the quality control of cosmetic ingredients, a collaborative effort between Bloomage Biotech and Shandong University, has gained recognition from the National Medical Products Administration.

In the continuously evolving and competitive cosmetics industry, Chinese consumers are increasingly raising their expectations for product quality, said Jia Haidong, senior R&D director of Shanghai Jahwa United Co., Ltd.

"Excellent design and quality control not only provide consumers with a better experience but also showcase brand strength and differentiation advantages," Jia added.

Wang Maochun, deputy head of China Chamber of Commerce for Import and Export of Medicines and Health Products, said Chinese cosmetics companies, relying on long-term accumulation and proactive innovation, have already begun to shine. "They have the capability to compete with overseas brands, gradually winning consumers' favor and expanding their market share."




Applause, hugs and high-fives followed a near-unanimous decision by the Missoula County Commissioners and Missoula City Council to acquire Marshall Mountain on Wednesday.

Both bodies voted jointly to expend $1 million each in Open Space Bond funding to purchase the 480-acre mountainside near East Missoula. The total estimated price for the site is pegged at $3.8 million.

I think that the time is now, said Ward 4 City Councilor Amber Sherrill from behind a laptop adorned with an I love public lands sticker in the shape of Montana. Land conservation is opportunistic and today is our opportunity.

Marshall Mountain closed as a private ski area in 2003. Since then, a trio of private landowners has taken over the three parcels that make up the mountain: The Conservation Fund, Five Valleys Land Trust and Izzy Dog, LLC. Now, Izzy Dog and FVLT are offering up their portions at below-market value in order for the city and county to keep the mountain in public ownership.

Its a wonderful way to spend our resources, said Rick Wishcamper, one of the four members of Izzy Dog. His group and the other landowners were repeatedly thanked Wednesday for their role in preserving Marshall Mountains access.

Public commenters and their elected officials voiced numerous benefits to publicly owning Marshall Mountain. Recreation, accessibility, habitat conservation and childcare opportunities all figured prominently in the discussion. Supporters of the purchase included three young recreationalists, Paralympic and Olympic athletes, as well as leaders in the fields of conservation and recreation from around Missoula County.

The best time to plant a tree is 20 years ago, said public commenter James Crosby in support. The second best time is today.

All three county commissioners, as well as nine out of 11 City Council members present Wednesday, voted in favor of using the bonds for Marshall Mountain. Despite the overwhelming advocacy for the purchase, a small minority of opponents also voiced concerns with the decision. Their main issue centered on rising property taxes and the future financial implications of the purchase.

Every one of you (elected officials) and everyone around this room, said opponent Bob Moore, should think about whos going to pay for this.

Conservative councilors Sandra Vasecka from Ward 6 and John Contos from Ward 5 voted no for the reasons outlined by Moore and a handful of other opponents to the project.

Following meetings this fall to hash out more details, acquisition is expected in early 2024.
Facing potential lawsuits by either the state or the taxpayers, Butte-Silver Bow commissioners would rather be sued by the state and administration of Gov. Greg Gianforte.

That was the majority sentiment Wednesday night when commissioners voted 8-2 to cut property taxes levied locally on behalf of the state.

Id rather be sued by the state than the taxpayers because I work for the taxpayers, said Commissioner Jim Fisher.

The move cuts state school equalization mills levied locally from 95 mills to 77.9 mills and slightly reduces state vo-tech mills. Savings on upcoming property tax bills will vary and the cuts here or in other counties could be nullified by the courts.

But if they stand, they would reduce the tax bill on a $100,000 house in Butte-Silver Bow by $23.36 and lower the tax bill on a $250,000 house by $58.39, officials say.

The Butte School District cautioned commissioners that the move could jeopardize a portion of its funding, and if does take a hit, it would likely ask taxpayers in Butte to make up the difference.

But Butte-Silver Bow officials, citing conversations with other counties and tax attorneys, said theyre confident school funding across Montana is locked in this year, and the state will have to cover any shortfall tied to the tax dispute.

Im not saying support it (the cuts) or not, but I would have gotten up here and fought tooth and nail if I thought any money would be taken from local schools over the next year, said J.P. Gallagher, Butte-Silver Bows chief executive.

The state sued Missoula County over the issue Monday and could sue Butte-Silver Bow and any other counties that reduce the state tax levies, meaning the matter is likely to play out and be resolved in the courts.

Fisher noted that before the vote.

I trust our district courts, I trust our Supreme Court and I think as long as weve got them deciding this issue, I think weve got a good chance of coming out on the better half of a bad situation, he said.

Directly or by inference, county officials and some commissioners blamed the controversy on the Republican governor and Republicans who control the Legislature. Both parties fought over property taxes in the last legislative session and have exchanged blame over higher assessments and fallout since then.

Montana has turned increasingly red in recent elections at the state and statewide levels but Butte remains a Democrat stronghold.

I just want to say that having the taxpayers pitted against public education is a dream scenario for that supermajority (of Republican legislators), said Commissioner Michele Shea. They love this. They are chaos agents. They did this intentionally.

The issue involves 95 mills the state collects and redistributes to different jurisdictions to level out school funding between richer and poorer counties. The Montana Department of Revenue told counties the maximum levy for statewide equalization remained at 95 mills this year.

But many counties contend that levying all 95 mills violates a state law limiting increases in local government tax collections. Under that law, they say, the state was only allowed to levy 77.89 mills for school equalization this year.

The state says the 95 mills have always been levied, and any excess revenue is banked and distributed when needed to equalize school funding. Its lawsuit filed Monday asks a judge to order all counties to impose the 95 mills.

Butte-Silver Bow officials say by the states own calculations, it can only levy 77.9 equalization mills this year. County Budget Director Danette Gleason says the state shared its calculations with a couple of counties, who shared it with others.

Although a Sept. 11 letter the state Department of Revenue sent to counties says the maximum remains at 95 mills, it says local governments may levy that amount. It does not say shall levy, Gleason said.

Gallagher said that given the conflicts, he felt obligated to put the matter before commissioners Wednesday night. The state could sue Butte-Silver Bow County if the cuts are made, he said, but not making could to lead to lawsuits from taxpayers claiming they have been overtaxed.

The dispute comes at a time when property taxes have soared in Montana because of increased home values. Residential property assessments increased by a median value of 45% in the recent statewide reappraisal. The median increase in Butte-Silver Bow was 35%.

If all counties lowered equalization mills to 77.89, it would reduce state revenue by nearly $80 million. The state is flush with cash, some counties say, so it can easily absorb the reduction without making any cuts to schools.

Butte-Silver Bow officials say the state is obligated to fund schools under formulas enacted into law in the last session, so it must cover any $80 million shortfall from property taxes this year or next.

Kevin Patrick, business manager for the Butte School District, said that is also his understating but it is not guaranteed.

Youre talking about an $80 million shortfall for this year, he told commissioners. If the state cant cover that or doesnt cover that, that is revenue we dont get.

If the state wins its lawsuit, Gleason said the county would probably have to send out new tax bills with the higher state levies at some point.
Theres an old saying that some people are so mean if theres no one else to fight, they fight with themselves. Thats exactly whats happening right now in Congress as the paper thin Republican House majority turns on itself in an ugly attempt by extreme right-wingers to oust Speaker Kevin McCarthy.

McCarthys big crime is that he supported a very short-term continuing resolution to keep the federal government funded last week. Some crime, eh? But because he passed it with votes from Democrats and didnt let the radical right-wingers burn down the government, the extremists want him gone.

Theyre led by none other than ethically-challenged Matt Gaetz, another nutball from Florida  a state which is particularly known these days for producing some of the whackiest politicians. They certainly dont have the market on nutty politicians cornered, however, especially when you consider Mad Matt Rosendale that Montanans sent to Congress.

Ironically, this incredible Republican leadership debacle is simply the GOP being bitten by its own mad dogs  the same ones they unleashed on the American public under Donald Trumps presidency and that continues to this day.

The old divide and conquer strategy has long been used by politicians of all stripes, but the GOP has taken it to new heights by basically applying their youre with us or youre against us standard to the entire US population.

How timely is it that while the House writhes with internal strife the former president who so willingly stoked those flames is now in court facing a $250 million fine and the potential loss of his New York properties and businesses over fraudulent practices and deceptive, highly over-stated claims of their worth. Funny that the guy who falsely claimed to write his Art of the Deal book is now being busted because it was really Art of the Steal.

Yet, far from stoically facing the consequences for his financial deceptions, the former guy has lashed out at every public official involved. Apparently, for someone who continues to flout his supposed popularity, any and every judge, prosecutor, attorney general, and lawyer in the nation, including those he appointed, is out to get him. Which is why he says they should all be recalled, disbarred, shot, or hung.

Like the savage infighting in the House, the very guy who used lies, hatred, and threats to turn Americans against each other now believes those same tactics are being used against him by none other than the entire judicial system. And like so many authoritarian wannabes, hes furious as his supposed power dissolves and his fantasy is shattered because no one is above the law means just that.

But while Trump turns slowly on the spit of his own devising, Speaker McCarthy faces a similar, albeit quicker, fate in Congress. Nor are the Democrats going to save him. As reported, Democrat Rep. Adam Schiff, whom McCarthy kicked off the Intelligence Committee, said: This is someone who voted to overturn the election. This is someone who reneged on the budget deal with the president. This is someone who betrays his word on pretty much a daily basis. Thats not someone we have to trust to run one of the most important institutions in the country.

Government by chaos has never been a good idea. Now that the GOP harvests the bitter fruit from the seeds of division and hatred they so purposefully sowed, perhaps theyll learn the wisdom of what goes around comes around  and realize that despite our differences of opinion, live and let live is a far better and more sane path to the future.

Update: The House voted to vacate McCarthy as Speaker and the GOP chaos continues.
Most wanted list

Donations of new or gently used copies of any of the top 10 titles are most appreciated. To date, the library has received 1,012 of the most wanted books.

Current BCPL top 10 holds

1. Tom Lake by Ann Patchett  7 holds

2. The Armor of Light by Ken Follett  6 holds

3. Counter Attack by Patricia Bradley  4 holds

4. Santa and Company by Fern Michaels  4 holds

5. Break of Day by Colleen Coble  3 holds

6. Bright Lights, Big Christmas by Mary Kay Andrews  3 holds

7. Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver  3 holds

8. The Ghost Illusion by Martin Kat  3 holds

9. Twas the Bite Before Christmas by David Rosenfelt  2 holds

10. 12 Months to Live by James Patterson -- 2 holds

Current New York Times bestsellers and NC Cardinal Consortium holds

1. The Last Devil to Die by Richard Osman  181 holds

2. Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros  290 holds

3. Holly by Stephen King  21 holds

4. Tom Lake by Ann Patchett  624 holds

5. Things We Left Behind by Lucy Score  45 holds

6. Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus  369 holds

7. Vince Flynn: Code Red by Kyle Flynn  137 holds

8. The Housemaid by Freida McFadden  268 holds

9. 23  Lies by James Patterson  195 holds

10. The Covenant of Water by Abraham Verghese  436 holds

Adult programming

The Bibliomaniacs subscription box for adults will be available on a first-come, first-served basis on Monday, Oct. 9, at all three Burke County Public Library locations. Adults only. Join us for the NC Civil Rights Trail marker dedication on Saturday, Oct. 14, at 11 a.m., at Slades Chapel AME Zion Church in Morganton. A reception will follow the presentation. This event is open to all ages. A Community Pumpkin Decorating Event for families will be on Saturday, Oct. 14, from 2-5 p.m., at the Valdese Public Library. This program is for all ages and pre-registration is required. There will be one pumpkin per family. For more information, call Danielle at 828-764-9269, or email danielle.townsend@burkenc.org.

Young adult programming

This week, YAS is getting spooky. Pre-register and join us on Monday, Oct. 9, at the Morganton Public Library at 5:30 p.m. for DIY Cemeterrariums (pre-registration is required to ensure enough materials). Tuesday, Oct. 10, at the Valdese Public Library at 6 p.m. is our first RPG & TCG Try Night! Tonight teens can come share and try out different RPGs and TCGs. Some materials are provided and teens are encouraged to bring any games they wish to share. Thursday, Oct. 12, at the C.B. Hildebrand Public Library at 4 p.m. is a DIY Knitted Pumpkins class. Pre-registration is required as supplies and space are limited. For more information or to pre-register, contact Lizzie at 828-764-9273 or by email at lizzie.whisnant@burkenc.org. All YAS programs are limited to middle and high school students unless otherwise noted.

Childrens programming

October is here, and we have some fantastic big events planned for your family!

A Community Pumpkin Decorating Event with Live Music will be held at the Valdese Public Library on Saturday, Oct. 14, from 2-5 p.m. Pre-registration is required for this event.

The C.B. Hildebrand Public Library will host a Family Fall Festival on Monday, Oct. 16, from 3-5 p.m. Find out about community resources that are available to your family, enjoy pony rides, the Chalk Zone, face painting, games, food and more!

On Oct. 30, from 5:30-7 p.m., the Morganton Public Library will host a Glow-in-the-Dark Party at the Foothills Higher Education Center in Morganton! We will have a DJ with live music, games and a craft. This event is for children fifth grade and younger.

You are also invited to come enjoy a Spooky Family Night at the Pizza Hut in Valdese from 4-6 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 12. There will be spooky stories, face painting, crafts and more! Food will not be provided.

Volunteer opportunities

Volunteers are needed at the Morganton Public Library to assist with landscape maintenance. We need some folks to help us keep our newly landscaped areas free of weeds and debris. If you would like to help call Library Director Jim Wilson at 764-9276 or email at jwilson@bcpls.org.

eBooks @ your library

There are 4,611 Burke County Public Library users registered to use the librarys digital collection available through the e-iNC consortium and NC Kids Digital Library. This digital collection includes eBooks, audiobooks, and streaming video available to Burke County Public Library cardholders. Apps are available for download for a variety of devices including Kindle, iPhone, and Android phones. Go to http://omc.overdrive.com to see the apps. To access the collection and download items go to http://e-inc.lib.overdrive.com and follow the instructions to set up an account. You will need to know your library card number and your PIN. Please contact the library if you need any assistance.

Find us on the web

Go to www.bcpls.org for a list of programs and events. Unless noted otherwise, all library programs are free. Some programs have pre-registration and age requirements.
Could exercise soon be a thing of the past with regards to losing weight? Well maybe, that is if a new study related to weight loss in mice is any indication. The pharmaceutical was developed in the US and it is meant to stimulate muscles and simulate exercise. Veuers Tony Spitz has the details.
The 2023 Montana Outdoor Recreation Summit Film Festival is coming to the Mother Lode Theatre from 7 to 9 p.m. Oct. 12.

This festival is set to captivate and inspire outdoor enthusiasts, adventurers, and film lovers alike. From gripping tales of mountain climbing in Bozeman to heartwarming stories of family legacy in the outdoors, these films showcase the indomitable spirit of adventure and the transformative power of nature.

"We are so excited to celebrate the outdoors through the lens of exceptional filmmakers, said Jocelyn Dodge, board president of the Butte Center for the Performing Arts. With the generous support of YETI and Aj Williams, we are delighted to bring a compelling selection of unique and inspiring films to Butte.

The lineup features a remarkable selection of films that capture the beauty, challenges, and one-of-a-kind experiences found outdoors. YETI has provided several films for the evening.

Maybe we arent all anglers, or cowboys or pro snowboarders. Most of us will never paddle the open Pacific Ocean or grapple with the responsibilities of being a parent and a sherpa. But we can all understand strife, loss, drive, family, accomplishment in the face of doubt and pursuing what makes us feel alive. These short films are those stories, our stories, said a YETI spokesperson.

Montana's own Aj Williams will be showcasing her film exploring accessibility in the outdoors. One in four people in the U.S. live with disabilities, which means that access to the outdoors is an issue that affects every community. Her film will feature stories of communities in western Montana who are bringing that notion to new heights as they ice climb through Hyalite Canyon, forge new paths on Columbia Fall's universally designed trail system and use research in new ways to make the outdoors accessible for all.

The night will also include the presentation of the onX Emerging Outdoor Community Award, which acknowledges the work of a Montana organization for improving or creating outdoor recreation opportunities in a lesser-known or underserved area of Montana.

Tickets are available for $10. For more details or to buy tickets, go to bit.ly/mtfife23.
The University of Montana Westerns Residence Life team is hosting a Trunk or Treat event Oct. 25 from 6-8 p.m. in the BARC parking lot on campus.

During this family-friendly event, Montana Western students, staff and faculty decorate their vehicles with different themes and hand out candy, a news release said Wednesday. Families in the community are invited to wear costumes and bring their children and grandchildren to walk through the event and enjoy the festivities.

For those interested in decorating a vehicle for the event, visit the Bulldog Life office in the lower level of the Student Union Building with your chosen theme. Candy donations are appreciated and can be dropped off at the Bulldog Life Office. Students who participate in this event will earn 300 Paw Prints points.

For more information, contact Bonita Bontrager at bonita.bontrager@umwestern.edu or 406-683-7520.
State lawmakers on Wednesday voted to not support an upcoming ballot initiative to give citizens power to convene grand juries and force prosecutions, which may still end up on the 2024 ballot.

Wednesdays legislative review is a new step in the ballot initiative process installed by lawmakers hoping to get more hands-on over election matters. The effect, however, is largely symbolic: Despite the Law and Justice Interim Committees 5-3 vote to not support the measure, the proposal known as Ballot Issue No. 8 has been deemed legally sufficient by the Attorney Generals Office. That sets the measure on course for a signature-gathering campaign to qualify for the general election ballot in 2024. The committees vote would simply appear on that petition to indicate it did not support the ballot issue.

Ballot Issue No. 8 would amend the state Constitution and create a process for citizens to assemble a citizens grand jury to pursue allegations brought by those citizens.

Earlier this year, the Montana Legislature already voted the measure down when it was presented then as House Bill 405. Its supporters are now taking the concept straight to the voters to enact by ballot initiative.

The Montana Citizens Council for Judicial Accountability, a group fueled by frustrations over repeated losses in court, proposed this constitutional amendment and new state laws that would allow citizens to assemble an 11-person grand jury to investigate allegations. It could then force prosecutors and judges to take up those cases or be subject to prosecution themselves.

The ballot issue at hand is only the constitutional change to create the threshold for empaneling a grand jury: Someone could bring a petition bearing the signatures equal to one-half of 1% of the registered voters in a county, plus 100 additional signatures, to trigger a citizen-led investigation.

The grand jury is the body of truth and power, inferior to no one but the Legislature itself, which is of course, We the People, Bart Crabtree, with the citizens council group, told lawmakers Wednesday. A grand jury, bottom line, is the peoples law enforcement and we the citizens of Montana have the fundamental state and constitutional right of access to a grand jury and its a tool available to every Montana citizen, or at least it should be.

In reality, opponents said Wednesday, a grand jurys role in the judicial system does not include the initiation of prosecution. Rather, grand juries review cases brought by prosecutors. In federal courts, grand juries can shut down a prosecution if they feel the evidence does not warrant an indictment, or approve the indictment and advance a prosecution.

In Montanas state district courts, criminal charges are typically handled without a grand jury process  prosecutors present a charging document to a judge who then may allow or reject the prosecution based on the evidence in that document.

The Montana County Attorneys Association in February pushed back against the citizens grand jury proposal, contending that a small number of people could force prosecutors to circumvent an individuals due process rights.

That is not a constitutional protection  that is an inquisition, Brian Thompson, representing Montana County Attorneys Association, told lawmakers in February. On Crabtrees claim of constitutional right to such a grand jury, Thompson then noted that no such right actually exists; hence the proposal to change the Constitution.

The prosecutors group likewise opposed the measure at Wednesdays meeting, while a handful of supporters testified that the proposal would allow citizens to take on local officials they deem corrupt.

I think its really important that We the People have access to exercise our constitutional right to empanel a citizens grand jury, Devon Decker, a supporter, testified. Its not going to be an agent of chaos. Its not designed that way. You dont just use a grand jury to investigate misdemeanors or if you have a vendetta against somebody. Its really to investigate felonies, capital or other infamous crimes.

The primary hitch lawmakers expressed Wednesday in weighing whether to support the bill was the threshold discrepancies between urban and rural counties. In Yellowstone County, for example, a petition would require 620 signatures, while Petroleum County, the states least populous, would require 102.

Sen. Keith Regier, R-Kalispell, supported the proposal. He disagreed the grand juries could be easily weaponized due to the signature requirement, but primarily focused his support on leaving the matter to voters in 2024.

I think finding those 102 people in Petroleum County, as rural and spread out as it is  thats a pretty heavy lift, Regier said.

Following Wednesdays hearing, the Secretary of States Office will begin preparing the final petition form to be used for signature gathering. In order to reach the 2024 general election ballot, Ballot Issue No. 8s supporters must obtain a number of signatures equal to 10% of the total number of votes cast in the last election for governor. In order to obtain a wider geographic consensus, that tally must include 10% of voters in each of 40 separate legislative House Districts.

The total number of votes cast in the last gubernatorial race was 603,587, more than any other race in the states history. The proposals supporters have until June 21, 2024 to gather those 60,000-plus signatures.

Seaborn Larson has worked for the Montana State News Bureau since 2020. His past work includes local crime and courts reporting at the Missoulian and Great Falls Tribune, and daily news reporting at the Daily Inter Lake in Kalispell.
After Meagan Koehler saw the video of her sons substitute German teacher yelling at students and walking out of the classroom, she was left with several questions  including how often does this happen in the Muscatine School District.

Koehler said the incident happened Monday. She learned of the incident from another parent. Her freshman son, Griffin Koehler, showed her the video he recorded of substitute Jennifer Nollette-Lofgren in class. He said that when the students did not know how to count in German she pointed a finger at a student and said You are stupid. Koehler then said that the teacher then said to Griffin Koehler Youre stupid, too! Youre all morons! At that point a student in the class began recording Lofgren on a cell phone.

I looked it up specifically for you guys, she said, after reciting the assistant principals extension and saying she was so willing to dial it. I looked it up and tomorrow I will be dialing it.

Later in the video she can be heard saying You act like you dont know crap. She then walked out of the classroom.

The allegation from her son, Koehler said, is this was not the first time Lofgren had yelled at the class in the week she had been there. The class is normally taught by Charlie Netzer, but he has been out since last week.

Koehler said the story continued when another teacher entered the room and when the students attempted to tell her what had happened, she said that she was not interested in their feedback. Another district employee later entered the room and told the class they were an embarrassment to the school and that classes like that are the reason why there is a substitute shortage, according to Griffin Koehler.

It was not appropriate, Meagan Koehler said. Im shocked. Im shocked and horrified at her callousness in this situation. No one should talk to someones children that way.

While saying the incident was bad enough, Koehler was even more troubled at the idea that the incident was then validated by two other district employees. She said it suggests a culture or a pattern of behavior.

Koehler spoke with high school principal Ryan Castle about the incident. While she said she had a good meeting with Castle, she also said Lofgren had come up to a secretary and said This is the woman I emailed you about last night. Her son is the problem. She said Castle had not heard of the incident, even though several staff members had been involved.

In a press release from the district, superintendent Clint Christopher acknowledged the district was made aware of the situation. He said Castle immediately responded to the parents and students in the class who had expressed concern. He also said the districts Human Resources Department had launched an investigation into the matter.

Given this is a personnel matter, the school district cannot share details of what may or may nor transpire with the employee in question, he said. As a school district we strive to provide all students and staff with a safe and supportive learning/working environment.

As a result of the incident, Koehler said, while she understands the district cant release details of disciplinary action, she would like to see the district address the situation and at least make a statement

Currently the school board is looking into the incident. School board president John Dabeet had not returned a phone call by press time.

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WEST LIBERTY  Eulenspiegel Puppet Theatre has been an established and well-loved part of the West Liberty community for many years. Now, residents will have the chance to learn about the theatres history from its very beginning.

Recently, theatre founder and local puppeteer Monica Leo released her memoir, Hand, Shadow, Rod. The book was published by Steve Semken at Ice Cube Press, and can be purchased at Brick Street Gallery, located at the corner of Third and Calhoun Streets.

Brick Street is inviting residents to come celebrate Leo's memoir with a book launch party on Friday, Oct. 6, from 5 to 7 p.m. During this event, guests can view Leos linoleum block prints, enjoy some snacks and wine, and hear a short section of the memoir read by Leo herself.

She said the idea to write a memoir first came about when she was at home during the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic.

The pandemic kind of gave us all a little more time on our hands, and Mary Swander  who is one of my best friends but also an incredibly gifted and much published author  decided to teach a Zoom memoir-writing class, Leo said. I thought well, what the hey, I might as well sign up for it. I got started, and I just kept on going.

Looking back on the process, Leo shared that shed had plenty of fun writing the memoir. This is far from the only thing she has written, having both puppet show stories and a series of columns for the Puppetry Journal, a national magazine specifically for puppeteers, under her belt.

Obviously your style is going to be a little different in something like this, and (Swander) is a really good teacher who teaches technique, Leo said.

Overall, while she did go into a bit of her childhood just to set the stage, Leo emphasized that the memoir is mainly focused on the story of Eulenspiegel Puppets, with that history stretching from the late 70s to present day.

The book features plenty of anecdotes as well as a reflection on how the Midwest, specifically Iowa, has changed in the time that Eulenspiegel has been around.

Its something I hadnt really thought about until I started writing about it, Leo said. You dont really realize it when youre living day by day, but when we started it was before industrial agriculture.

Leo said her favorite parts of the memoir include first two times that Eulenspiegel toured Germany, with the first taking place at a puppetry festival in 1987 before the Berlin Wall came down, with Eulenspiegel being the only Western puppet troop invited to that event. The second tour in Germany for Leo and her troop then happened not long after the countrys reunification.

It was really interesting to watch that whole transition from East to West, and I remembered a lot of things while writing about it that I hadnt really thought about in a long time, Leo said, adding she verified memory with good calendars and travel journals.

With the book now available to purchase, Leo said that she hopes people enjoy reading the theatres story. She also expressed her gratitude towards Semken and Ice Cube Press for publishing her.

(Eulenspiegel Puppet Theatre) had a lot of very different experiences and we had to turn on a dime a lot of times to keep it going, so I think it would be an interesting book for anyone whos trying to make a living as an artist of any kind or for anyone who is interested in the recent history of this country  particularly the Midwest  or who came from an immigrant family, Leo said.

Photos: Eulenspiegel Puppets preserve folk tradition, art and history 082318-qct-fea-puppets-001 082318-qct-fea-puppets-002 082318-qct-fea-puppets-003 082318-qct-fea-puppets-004 082318-qct-fea-puppets-005 082318-qct-fea-puppets-007 082318-qct-fea-puppets-008 082318-qct-fea-puppets-009 082318-qct-fea-puppets-010 082318-qct-fea-puppets-011 082318-qct-fea-puppets-012
China Development Bank (CDB), one of the country's policy banks, issued loans totaling more than 340 billion yuan (about 47.36 billion U.S. dollars) for the urban infrastructure sector in the first nine months of this year, providing strong support for the construction, renovation and intelligent upgrading of urban municipal and public facilities.

The CDB has integrated infrastructure, industrial facilities and supporting business service facilities to provide high-quality and efficient financial services for urban infrastructure construction.

It will step up support for urban infrastructure construction further in a market-based manner to help build livable, resilient and smart cities.
Sometimes the rescuer needs to be rescued.

A converted school bus carrying 12 dogs and puppies that were heading to Humane Pet Services LLC in Council Bluffs was in an accident recently around four hours away in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

It was super hot, said Marcella Peltz, owner of Humane Pet Services, and she didnt think the animals would survive the wait in their cages in the bus while she drove to the accident site. The air conditioning was no longer working because the front end was totaled.

Peltz called Animal Rescue of Iowa for help, and she was connected to AHeinz57 Pet Rescue and Transport in De Soto, Iowa, and to Last Hope Animal Rescue in Cedar Rapids.

They jumped into action to care for the animals until Peltz could arrive.

It was just kind of a group effort, Peltz said. I think I literally cried on the phone with them when they said, Yes, we are going to go get your dogs. I was so concerned they were going to overheat.

Peltz said none of the animals were harmed other than being shaken up a bit. Some have already found homes.

The dogs were coming from West Texas to be adopted in the Omaha-Council Bluffs area, where there is a much-higher demand for smaller dogs and puppies. Humane Pet Services also gets dogs from Missouri, Louisiana, Oklahoma, New Mexico and Mexico  usually about 30 a month that are transported among larger groups to the Midwest area by Dog Rescue R Us.

Peltz said she was supposed to connect with Dog Rescue R Us at 9 a.m. Saturday at the store. Instead, she didnt get back to her business until 1 a.m. Sunday. By the time she did the required paperwork and fed and watered the dogs, she didnt get home until 11 a.m.

I wanted to check everyone and make sure they were safe for the night, she said.

Peltz didnt realize until later that the incident last weekend marked the second anniversary of her rescue, which is modeled after pet stores in California that sell rescue dogs. In that span, shes found homes for more than 720 dogs and cats.

Its still small french fry numbers compared to some rescues, she said. People are starting to hear about us more. People have liked the more mom-and-pop feel.

Peltz said she steers more toward smaller dogs because shelters usually are full of bigger dogs, and she doesnt want to take away from that effort.

But she said shes a softy who has a hard time saying no to any special requests.

I am known as a champion adopter, she said. They will give me the harder-to-place ones.

More than 300 Samoyeds were seized from an Iowa puppy mill in 2018. Where are they now? niko samoyed tesla niko and tesla 2 .jpg lua shelby skyy stella samoyed samoyed cartier kevin thor Valkyrie Mishka samoyed lucy samoyed Ollie samoyed hudson boo everest meka henry samoyed kody kota apollo samoyed samoyed gus Olive juneau bodhi and phoebe fenix samoyed gus (williams) samoyeds juno and masey roo harper winston umka inara gracie samoyed Toshi samoyed juno diamond samoyed Ronan samoyed arya (hazel) Finley houston luka tina Lucy max and polar buddy izzy with water bowl.jpg Iowa Samoyed rescue Niko Iowa Samoyed Niko chasing a ball Iowa Samoyed rescue Lua Iowa Samoyed rescues Stella and Skyy Iowa Samoyed rescue Finley Iowa Samoyed rescue Thor Iowa Samoyed rescues Valkyrie and Mishka Iowa Samoyed rescue Lucy (now in Texas) Iowa Samoyed rescue Hudson Iowa Samoyed rescue Everest Iowa Samoyed rescue Kody sings Iowa Samoyed rescue Apollo Iowa Samoyed rescue Gus (Huling) Iowa Samoyed rescue Olive Iowa Samoyed rescue Juneau Iowa Samoyed rescue Juno Iowa Samoyed Rescue Masey Iowa Samoyed rescue Gus (Williams) gets the Zoomies Iowa Samoyed rescue Harper Iowa Samoyed rescue Winston Iowa Samoyed rescue Gracie Iowa Samoyed rescue Juno and pal Hana Iowa Samoyed Rescue Ronan Iowa Samoyed rescue Houston Iowa Samoyed rescue Izzy Iowa Samoyed rescue Kody
The federal government is suing an eastern Iowa restaurant, alleging that female employees faced extreme sexual harassment from managers and co-workers.

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission is suing Los Agaves Inc., which is the corporate owner of the Los Agaves Mexican Grill, 4882 Utica Ridge Rd., Davenport. The EEOC accuses the company of what it calls unlawful employment practices on the basis of sex and retaliation.

The lawsuit alleges that on July 5, 2023, the commission notified the restaurants owner that it had reasonable cause to believe the business had discriminated against certain workers by subjecting them to a hostile work environment on the basis of their gender.

The extreme nature of the harassment, combined with defendants repeated refusal to address the harassment, created working conditions so intolerable that the aggrieved individuals could not endure them, the EEOC claims.

The commission alleges it invited Los Agaves owner to participate in informal negotiations to address the situation but the owner did not respond.

Los Agaves owner, Ernesto Leon of Davenport, said Wednesday that he could not comment on the allegations. He said he hadnt been informed of the EEOCs concerns and his attorney is now looking into the matter.

This is going to be a big problem for our company because, I dont know, our sales or something could go down because of this, he said. So were going to try to sue them back. Thats what were doing right now.

The commission alleges that since at least August 2016, Los Agaves has subjected female workers to harassment that included repeated physical abuse and/or unwanted sexual comments.

According to the commission, employees of the Davenport restaurant exposed their genitals to female colleagues, grabbed womens bodies in a sexual manner, attempted to kiss them, propositioned them for sex, and subjected them to lewd and offensive jokes.

In addition, the commission claims, restaurant managers viewed pornography at the restaurant with the volume turned up.

The victims of the harassment allegedly reported the behavior to managers and to the owner who then refused to address the situation. In some cases, the commission alleges, the harassment worsened.

After one female employee reported harassment, a manager allegedly threatened to report her to immigration authorities. A few days after another woman reported sexual harassment to the restaurants owner, she was fired, the commission claims.

Other managers also responded to reports of harassment by attempting to threaten aggrieved individuals into silence, rather than address sexual hostility in the workplace, the lawsuit alleges. As a result of these intolerable working conditions and defendants refusal to address them, a number of aggrieved individuals were compelled to leave their employment.

The commission is seeking an injunction forbidding Los Agaves from engaging in any discriminatory employment practices or from retaliating against employees who object to such practices. The lawsuit also seeks a court order requiring the business to implement policies that guarantee equal employment opportunities for employees regardless of gender and which eradicate the effects of its past and present unlawful employment practices.

In addition, the EEOC is seeking punitive damages as well as a court order that would compensate the alleged victims of the harassment for any financial losses and for their pain, suffering, humiliation and inconvenience.

According to the companys website, Los Agaves operates three other restaurants in addition to the Davenport location. Two are in the Illinois Quad-Cities and one is located in Iowa City. The EEOCs allegations are specific to the Davenport restaurant.
Defense Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale has said that the final unit of Kenyan troops operating under the African Union Transition Mission in Somalia (ATMIS), will conclude their withdrawal by December 31, 2024.

Regarding the progress of the Somalia mission, CS Duale attributed the success in promoting regional stability to the African Union Transition Mission.

There is a semblance of a stable Government in Somalia today. The Somali Government has established and generated enough force and today you see the presence of Somalia at the forefront within Somali National Forces combating terror. That was not the case five or ten years ago, he said.

Duale, addressing a Senate plenary on Wednesday, assured the end of Al Shabaab in Somalia and the region.

I want to assure this house that the day for al Shabaab in Somalia and in our region is coming to an end.

In 2011, Kenya launched Operation Linda Nchi, entering Somalia with the objective of countering the al-Qaeda-affiliated al Shabaab Islamist group.

The decision was prompted by a series of border attacks and incursions by the militia group along the Kenya-Somalia border, posing a threat to Kenyas national security and interests.

To sustain the progress achieved by the Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) in Somalia, Kenya received invitations from the United Nations (UN) and the African Union (AU) to integrate its troops into the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) in November 2011.

The formal integration occurred on February 22, 2012, following the adoption of United Nations Security Council Resolution 2036 (2012).
Defense Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale has disclosed the financial assistance offered to the families of Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) officers who sacrifice their lives in the line of duty.

CS Duale, addressing a Senate plenary on Wednesday, responded to a query from Tana River Senator Danson Mungatana regarding the compensation amount provided to the relatives of deceased soldiers.

The Minister said the compensation amount varies depending on whether the officer was serving within Kenya or engaged in international missions.

If the officer is serving within Kenya, they receive Ksh 4 million, in addition to their pension, which includes a component known as Death Gratuity.

However, if the officer is serving in an international mission like in Somalia (ATMIS), the family not only receives Ksh. 4 million but also an additional $50,000 (approximately Ksh. 7.4 million).

If the officer is serving within our country, he immediately gets Ksh.4M; above his pension which has a component called Death Gratuity. If hes serving in ATMIS like in Somalia, apart from the Ksh.4M, the AU and UN give that family $50,000 (approx. Ksh.7.4M), Duale told the Senate.

The CS said the amount allocated under the KDF Death Gratuity is intended to aid surviving family members in covering immediate expenses and facilitating readjustment.

CS Duale emphasized that the support goes beyond financial compensation. The KDF has a comprehensive compensation policy that extends to injured personnel and their families, encompassing widows, orphans, dependents, and service personnel living with disabilities.

We have a very robust compensation policy within KDF, and families whove lost their loved ones are entitled to compensation package that includes financial support, which is promptly disbursed within two weeks, Duale said.
By the Presidential Communication Service

Kenya and the United States are finalizing a new trade agreement.

President William Ruto and his US counterpart, Joe Biden agreed to expedite the Strategic Trade and Investment Partnership agreement.

The agreement will increase trade and investment between the countries, boost manufacturing and create jobs.

President Biden said the US will work with Kenya and other nations in Africa to scale up investment in renewable energy and infrastructure as a way to provide opportunities for jobs and industrialization.

The two leaders also agreed to continue

collaborating closely on security, ending conflicts, and fighting terrorism in the Horn of Africa.

This will allow people in the region to enjoy peace and focus on economic engagement.

The two leaders had a telephone conversation on Tuesday evening.

President Biden thanked Kenya for accepting to lead the Multinational Security Support mission to Haiti and confirmed Americas support for the mission.

He also congratulated Kenya for a successful African Climate Summit.

Also discussed by the two presidents was the place of technology in development, the fight against corruption, and food security in Africa.
A Nairobi court has sentenced two social workers found guilty of child trafficking and neglect of duty at the Mama Lucy hospital.

Fred Leparan and Selina Adundo, who are former employees of the now-disbanded Nairobi Metropolitan Services(NMS) were charged with the offences of selling children from the health facility in Embakasi Central within Nairobi two years ago.

In 2021, the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) aired an expose in which the first accused, Fred Makallah Leparan, was caught selling a child who had been abandoned at the hospital for Sh300,000. Three children were transferred to the buyer who was a BBC undercover agent.

Fred was convicted on one count of conspiracy to commit a felony, namely trafficking in persons, three (3) counts of trafficking in persons, and three (3) counts of child neglect.

Selina Adundo was convicted on three (3) counts of child neglect. The court acquitted her on a count of conspiracy to commit a felony, namely trafficking, as well as three (3) counts of trafficking in persons.

On the count of neglecting official duties, Awuor was found guilty of failing to stop Makallah from trafficking the three children despite being aware that he was engaging in child theft.

On Wednesday, senior principal magistrate Esther Kimilu sentenced Fred to 35 years in jail.

He lacks empathy for them and was not remorseful. I sentence the first accused as follows, 3 years count in count of conspiracy to traffic children, count 2,3, and 4 to 30 years for trafficking three children and count 6 and 7 to two years for child negligence, Magistrate Kimilu ruled.

The court specified that Leparan will spend 25 years in confinement and an additional 10 years on probation under strict supervision.

Selina Adundo on the other hand received a 2-year non-custodial sentence or a fine of KSh300,000.

The court issued a warning that the two convicts should not be involved in any matters concerning children. Additionally, the judge ordered the release of the children for adoption.
Just weeks after Napas Cambria hotel, and a sister property in Sonoma County, were lost in an $80 million foreclosure, the hotels have a new owner.

Ohana Real Estate Investors, with an office in Redwood City, bought the two hotels from the bank that had taken them back after the default.

According to the amount of transfer tax paid to the Napa County Recorders office, the Napa Cambria property sold for $36.9 million on Sept. 28. A sale price for the Sonoma County property was not provided.

We believe in the longevity of the Napa and Sonoma markets as evidenced by our historical involvement in those areas, and as a result, were attracted by the opportunity to own these properties, said James Cole, asset management partner at Ohana Real Estate Investors.

This is a positive move for both (lodgings), said Michael Palmer, the area general manager for The Cambria Sonoma Wine Country and Cambria Napa Valley.

The Napa Cambria is located at 320 Soscol Ave. The Sonoma Cambria is located in Rohnert Park.

Im really excited about the opportunity to work with the Ohana Group especially knowing theyve got properties like the Harvest Inn, Alila and Montage," among others, Palmer said.

Ohana is a lender at Harvest Inn at 1 Main St. in St. Helena and was previously a lender on what is now Alila Napa Valley. Alila, formerly Las Alcobas, is located at 1915 Main St. in St. Helena.

The Montage Healdsburg includes 130 bungalow-style guest rooms and suites and Montage Residences Healdsburg is a collection of 40 home sites. Ohana developed the resort, opened it in 2020 and sold it the following year. Ohana maintains ownership of Montage Residences Healdsburg, according to the company.

According to its website, Ohana Real Estate Investors invests in high-quality real estate in desirable locations.

They're smart; they see the value of being in Napa Valley, said Palmer, who became the area general manager at the end of July. A Napa Valley hotel industry veteran, Palmer was the general manager at Napas Meritage Resort for its first 10 years after its 2006 opening.

This is a really positive move for our teams as well because (Ohana) has multiple properties, said Palmer. They are in a position where they have capital dollars to spend on these properties when and if needed.

Rick Swig, a Napa Valley hotel expert and the former owner of the Harvest Inn, said he was a bit surprised that Ohana would take on the Cambria brand.

Looking at their portfolio, this is out of context with the super-luxury properties they already work with, Swig said.

According to the Ohana website, the company's properties also include brands such as Ritz-Carlton, Four Seasons and Fairmont.

However, they seem to be very smart people, said Swig. Theyre looking at projects that have good locations and good destinations. And the Cambria properties are only two and three years old, he noted.

Cambria Napa Valley, with 90 rooms, opened in August 2021 after three years of construction. The 135-room Cambria Hotel Sonoma Wine Country opened in August 2020.

Both Cambria hotels were originally developed by Stratus Development of Irvine.

PHOTOS: 29th annual Suscol Intertribal Pow Wow
Restoration projects on two Napa historic buildings are slated to wrap up in 2024, according to their owners.

Here is a look at what the future holds for the former city Parks and Recreation building and the Thomas Earl House.

Historic Parks and Recreation building gets new life

According to Rob Moreira, who was awarded the opportunity to relocate the building back in 2016, the process of moving and restoring Napa's historic Parks and Recreation building from its longtime location at downtown West Street has been a long and challenging one  and not one he set out to take on.

His involvement in the homes preservation actually began when a friend from his childhood in St. Helena was looking to move back to the Napa area. He had asked Moreira if there were any places to rent that he knew of. Moreira scoured Craigslist looking for a spot, and ended up finding a beautiful 1926 Craftsman-style house on sale for just $10,000.

The catch? It had to be moved to a new lot within eight months.

So Moreira, along with his brother Rich and business partner Greg Alexander, found two side-by-side lots at 346 and 360 S. Jefferson St., and a seller who was willing to finance the land for him in order to preserve the historic property. Then, at the beginning of 2016, city representatives approached him, asking if he would take on the historic Parks and Recreation building, which was otherwise set to be torn down on May 1 to make room for an enlarged parking lot.

We didnt want to let that kind of heritage die, Moreira said.

The historic piece of the building is its second floor, which originally was built on First Street. At the time it was the home of Joe Migliavacca, son of Giacomo Migliavacca, who established Migliavacca Wine Co. in Napa in 1866. In 1869, he became the first Napan to receive a U.S. patent  fittingly, for his wine bottle-corking apparatus." Their family lived in the famous Migliavacca Mansion that still stands on Fourth Street downtown.

When the property was moved to West Street, a non-historic fist floor was added to the property, transforming it into what became the city parks department office.

While he never set out to get involved in buying and preserving historic buildings in Napa, Moreira said he actually ended up having a personal tie to the Parks and Recreation property.

I actually used to go to the Parks and Rec building all the time because my high school girlfriend's dad worked there, Moreira said. He had an office in our living room.

He explained that over the past eight years, the house has been completely modernized on the inside, while preserving its historic exterior. It now has an all-new roof structure, energy-efficient appliances and updated insulation.

The house is a modern house that feels brand-new but it has a soul; it's 100 years old, Moreira said.

This construction was needed to make the building livable, but much of the work has been delayed because of the unconventional way Moreira came to own it. According to Alexander, this project didnt follow the normal sequences for presenting a building plan and actually putting it into action.

Because the city wanted the property moved by May (2016) so that they could have the parking lot for BottleRock, we had to move the building and then work backward on the plan with the city, Alexander said.

Moreira and Alexander said the city has worked hard to accommodate their plans, but staff turnover since the initial purchase has caused some slowdowns on the unconventional project. Work on both properties on the lots are close to complete, though. The two said the biggest obstacle to finishing construction is getting approval for road improvements, which they expect will happen in the coming months. Once approved, theyll be able to get utilities set up and street beautification underway.

They hope that by the spring, both properties will be fully complete.

Thomas Earl House retreat center to open in fall 2024

Restoration of the 162-year-old Thomas Earl House also is moving forward, according to owner Marc Porat. He says the home, which will be transformed into a leadership retreat center over the next year, should be in operation by the fall of 2024.

Porat and his wife Claire Tomkins purchased the 1221 Seminary St. property, which is one of 16 in Napa County listed on the National Register of Historic Places, back in 2017. The following year he proposed a restoration that would include adding three structures and constructing a new frame for the home. Ultimately, the property would be repurposed as a leadership retreat center.

The rehabilitation project won City Council approval in 2020, but due to the COVID-19 pandemic and increasing material and labor costs, progress on the house has been slow.

However, Porat said his team is moving forward, and the groundwork  what he calls the hard stuff  of the renovation is done.

This year, before the rains come, were rushing to winterize it and make sure that everything below ground is done and ready to go, Porat said. Well start going vertical in the new year.

Come 2024, Porats team will be reconstructing the structure of the Thomas Earl House, but they had to get creative to make it durable.

Porat explained that when the house was built in 1861, it was considered the first concrete home to be constructed in Napa. However, it was constructed from an early poured concrete that was not cementitious, according to an assessment conducted by Napa Design Partners in October of 2017.

Porat said that because the house was made from masonry materials that were used before the invention of modern Portland cement, the chemistry of the concrete is weak. The earthquake of August 2014 left the home virtually unlivable.

The 2014 earthquake lifted the house and dropped it back down  all of the masonry stuff broke, Porat said. The historic fabric was literally hanging on this rubble with metal, handmade screws that were like three feet long. That was it. We were really scared one strong storm, or any earthquake over 5.0, would knock it over and it would turn into matchsticks.

After the quake, an emergency permit allowed the city to shore up the historic fabric, and it has been preserved for the nine years since. Porat and his team of architects and historians came up with a plan to build a new, safer foundation for the home while preserving its original exterior.

First, theyll put up a new frame, made out of steel and wood. The frame will be engineered so that the historic fabric can be overlaid and attached around it.

It will look exactly like the house in 1861, Porat said.

He added that during renovation, his team will restore some parts of the home that were lost or damaged over the generations, including a porch that once extended across the front of the home along the second story that had fallen off due to wear and tear.

In addition to reconstructing the original home, Porats team will also build three smaller cottages surrounding the villa on the 0.35-acre site. The property will serve as a gathering place, not just a single-family residence.

While the impetus for purchasing the home was to give him and his family had a place to visit in the Napa Valley, Porat explained that his plan for the space has evolved over the years. While he realized it wasnt financially viable to do such an elaborate restoration project just to maintain a family home, Juliana Inman, the original historian on the project and a former Napa vice mayor, suggested Porat run a boutique hotel on the site.

Ultimately, Porat decided that the property will serve as a bed-and-breakfast of sorts, but for companies leadership and professional development retreats.

It will be a place that's truly optimized for quiet thinking, as opposed to parties, for example, Porat said. ... These leadership offsites usually take place in large hotels, which are wonderful, but theres people all around, theres a lack of privacy, there's distractions. And the meeting facilities are not optimized for meeting.

The Thomas Earl property will have high-speed internet, offer quiet spaces as well as ones for gathering, and be specifically designed to host leadership conferences and retreats.

When the plan was first floated back in 2018, Porat and Tomkins faced some criticism from the community. Because the house is in the heart of a Napa historic district, some neighbors and community members worried the tourism-based space would detract from the neighborhood feel.

Others said that the addition of the three cottages, which will look more streamlined and modern than the Italianate-style villa, will distract from the original structure.

Nonetheless, council members in 2020 approved the plan, after recommendations from the city's cultural heritage and planning commissions. In 2019, then-Planning Commissioner Alex Myers said the age and unique construction of the Thomas Earl House risks driving up the cost of a single-family renovation beyond what most would-be restorers are willing to take on.

Planners decided that ultimately, Porats idea to run a leadership retreat center was an economically viable way to restore the home.

Currently, Porat is in talks with independent operators who know Napa Valley, and know how to run such spaces. Once an operator is selected, they will influence how and when the center opens. Porat hopes to welcome the centers first guests in fall of 2024.

In the meantime, once the historic fabric is re-attached to the property, it will be viewable to all Napans and visitors.

Anyone who has a love and appreciation for legacy architecture, it will immediately capture their attention, Porat said. There isnt much in America that is old  and old in America is mid-19th century. Its a resource for the city that is rare.
For the first time since their plan to build a new city in Solano County became public, representatives of California Forever went to a local government and asked for permission to do something.

For the billionaire city-builders, it was a big-time bust.

In a unanimous decision Tuesday evening, the City Council of Rio Vista  a delta town of 10,000 that would be the closest city to where the new metropolis would sprout from dry farmland  rejected the idea that it would allow the city's outside legal counsel to also represent California Forever, parent company of the developer, Flannery Associates.

The law firm of Kronick, Moskovitz, Tiedemann & Girard, which has provided legal counsel to Rio Vista since 2011  most small California cities hire outside firms rather than pay for their own legal departments  had asked the City Council for permission to also represent California Forever in its process of securing the water rights for the still unnamed, built-from-scratch city.

It was a resounding no.

While the vote was small potatoes in the context of a group that has spent $800 million on buying 50,000 acres and is determined to spend billions more to create America's next great city, it demonstrated the political obstacles that California Forever will need to clear as it tries to convince the majority of Solano County of the wisdom of a project that would transform a corner of the Bay Area still mostly made up of farms and small towns like Rio Vista.

In its request, the firm, KMTG, promised it would create a separation between lawyers working for the city of Rio Vista and those helping California Forever secure water rights for a new city that could become home to 100,000 residents or more.

KMTG attorney Olivia Clark said that if any conflict arose the firm would represent the city, and not the developer. She said KMTG's expertise in Solano County development issues, and water rights, could be a benefit to Rio Vista.

"We bring a lot of experience and institutional knowledge  that unique background will help both entities moving forward ... rather than California Forever finding some hotshot L.A. firm to phone it in," she said. "I think it's better to know your neighbor and know they have competent legal counsel representing them. ... What's the cliche? It's better to know your adversary than take a gamble."

In a memo on the topic, KMTG partner Mona Ebrahimi said there was "no present conflict between California Forever and Rio Vista" in terms of water rights, but she allowed that there might be down the road.

"The concern is that Rio Vista might oppose California Forever's efforts to orchestrate water supplies for future land-use projects and might oppose California Forever's efforts to obtain land-use approvals allowing such projects," she wrote.

Rio Vista relies on groundwater pumped from the Solano Subbasin of the Sacramento Valley Groundwater Basin. But if that resource is depleted, it could put the city in conflict with the water sources California Forever is looking toward, including the Sacramento River.

Neighbors were not persuaded by the law firm, and neither were elected officials.

After public comment in which all of a dozen or so Rio Vista residents urged the council to reject the idea, the five-member body quickly put the kibosh on the request.

Resident Kenny Paul said allowing the firm to represent both sides would "put the city in a bad position."

"We are not going to be able to stop Flannery, ultimately, but do we extend a hand to them in welcome or do we say, 'No thanks?'" Paul said. "The fact that they would go after the same counsel we have, who are experts in water rights fights, just speaks to their continued bad faith."

First renderings show what tech billionaires have in mind for their dream Solano County city The Silicon Valley billionaire-backed plan to build a 21st-century utopian city on Solano County farmland has a name and a website featuring the first renderings of what their dreamland might look like.

Resident Bill Mortimore said the law may be well-intentioned but that ultimately there will be conflict "when Flannery comes in and throws a half a billion on the table."

"Our legal representatives have good intentions, but money talks. I can picture a conflict arising and them walking in with a checkbook," he said.

Jeannie McCormack, a third-generation rancher who rejected Flannery's efforts to buy her family's 3,700-acre ranch, warned against the firm's request. She said California Forever's current legal representation  Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP  would provide plenty of legal firepower without also enlisting Rio Vista's lawyers.

"They have a very highfalutin and well-known legal firm ... they don't need anyone else," she said. "They will try to weaken Rio Vista and we won't know what their aims are because they are very closed-mouthed."

Former Solano County Supervisor and project opponent Duane Kromm said the vote was significant because KMTG is one of the few firms that knows Solano County water rights issues inside and out.

"There is a limited subset of law firms highly specialized in California water rights," he said.

He said the lopsided dynamic of the fight over the future of eastern Solano County would continue to test the small cities in the area.

"It's not David vs. Goliath," he said. "It's David vs. an aircraft carrier."

California Forever did not respond to a request for comment.

Boomers are hoarding all the houses Boomers are hoarding all the houses Boomers hold the largest share of real estate wealth They own more homes than a decade ago Nursing homes lose favor Boomers go on buying spree
Located at the eastern end of the maritime Silk Road, Fujian has given play to its unique strengths in the joint implementation of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and achieved fruitful results in building the core region of the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road, said an official of the southeastern province.

So far, a four-pronged corridor consisting of sea, land, air and cyberspace connectivity has taken shape in the province, Guo Ningning, vice governor of Fujian, told Xinhua in an interview.

A total of 317 enterprises and institutions have joined in a sea transportation network under the maritime Silk Road initiative, which has linked 131 ports in 43 countries and regions, according to the official.

The province has expanded the capacities of the China-Europe freight train service and adopted multimodal transport, including sea-rail transport, to link up the east and the west, said Guo.

In terms of air transport connectivity, 85 international flight routes have been opened in Fujian, leading to major cities across the globe, the official said, adding that the province has also launched remote sensing satellites and helped build a satellite data service center, providing maritime surveying and mapping services for BRI countries and regions.

Given its outstanding location advantage, Fujian is considered a vital link and corridor in BRI cooperation.

In the interview, Guo stressed the continuous expansion of Fujian's economic and trade cooperation with BRI countries and regions, saying that the province invested in nearly 1,400 projects in 95 BRI countries in the last decade.

The trade volume between Fujian and BRI countries totaled 4.4 trillion yuan (around 612.8 billion U.S. dollars) over the past ten years. In particular, the trade volume stood at 735.1 billion yuan in 2022, an increase of 142 percent from the figure in 2012.

Given that 80 percent of the 16 million overseas Chinese whose ancestral home is Fujian now live in Southeast Asia, the province considers the region key to its endeavors to build the core region of the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road, said the official.

ASEAN has become the largest trade partner of the province, its second-largest investment destination, and one of its major sources of foreign investment, according to Guo.

The Chinese end of the industrial parks project between China and Indonesia has attracted the presence of 620 trade enterprises that have moved in. Fujian-based enterprises, on the other hand, have launched 36 industrial projects in the Indonesian end of the project, said the official.

Guo also mentioned the province's efforts in securing closer people-to-people ties, saying that Juncao, a local technology using grass to grow mushrooms, has spread across the globe and helped people in developing countries shake off poverty.

Fujian Province has 124 sister cities across the globe, according to the official.

Considering the next step, the province plans to improve its integrated multidimensional transportation networks, speed up the construction of new types of infrastructure, and aggregate more resources and production factors from home and abroad, said Guo.

Fujian will continue to leverage its demonstration role as the core zone of the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road, push forward its high-level opening up, and contribute more to BRI cooperation and Chinese modernization, added the official.
Human Rights Watch (HRW) has urged governments involved in facilitating negotiations between Azerbaijan and Armenia to insist on specific commitments from the Azerbaijani president on respecting, protecting, and implementing the right to return of ethnic Armenians from Nagorno-Karabakh.

More than 100,000 ethnic Armenians, nearly the entire current population of the area, have fled in recent days, HRW wrote.

HRW emphasized that Azerbaijan's plan for the reintegration of the region and its people should detail how it will respect human rights, especially the rights of ethnic minorities. The organization called for the establishment of an international monitoring mission to oversee the implementation of these commitments.

Azerbaijans partners should insist on an international monitoring mission to report publicly on conditions facing ethnic Armenians who have remained in Nagorno-Karabakh, and to identify human rights violations, particularly those that would undermine ethnic Armenians right to return to their homes. Partner governments should also urge Azerbaijani authorities to take substantive steps to facilitate the right to return, either for short-term visits or for the longer-term.

Azerbaijans partners should send an unambiguous message to the countrys leadership that when it comes to the right to return, they will not accept hollow rhetoric and half measures, said Hugh Williamson, Europe and Central Asia director at Human Rights Watch. The fear and lack of trust on all sides make a sustained international presence essential for the right to return to be meaningful, not theoretical.

The European Council President, Charles Michel, has facilitated a series of talks between Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan. A meeting between the two leaders had been planned on the sidelines of the European Political Community (EPC) summit in Granada on October 5, 2023, with Michels participation together with French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz. On October 4, Azerbaijani media announced that Aliyev had refused to participate in the talks at the last minute, against the backdrop of the French foreign ministers October 3 visit to Armenia and other developments.

In possible future talks, European leaders should underscore the need for commitment to international rights monitoring and a comprehensive rights-compliant vision for the region that might encourage people to return. In an October 3 media interview, Michel urged Azerbaijan to show goodwill by engaging, while respecting international law, to protect the rights and security of the entire population that lives in Azerbaijan, including the Armenian population, the statement says.
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People walk at the newly expanded Butaro Level II Teaching Hospital in Burera District in northern Rwanda on Oct. 3, 2023. (Photo by Huang Wanqing/Xinhua)





A newly revamped hospital, constructed by the China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC), was officially commissioned Tuesday in Burera District in northern Rwanda.

The Butaro Level II Teaching Hospital, which was expanded from 150 beds to 256 beds, now features upgraded emergency, intensive care, imaging, and oncology facilities.

The hospital catered to a population of almost 350,000 before the renovation and expansion. With the hospital's capacity now increased, however, it will be better equipped to accommodate the growing population and function as a teaching facility for health professionals from the University of Global Health Equity and other schools.

Speaking at the event, Rwandan Minister of Health Sabin Nsanzimana said that the hospital would enable the local community to access healthcare without having to travel as far as Kigali, the capital of Rwanda, for medical care.

"As we build hospitals, we also ensure that we train doctors, nurses, engineers and others who will work in this beautiful infrastructure. We acquire the best and most advanced equipment to avoid transfers to Kigali for imaging, diagnosis, laboratory testing and medical treatment," he said. He further emphasized that the government would play a coordinating role and actively ensure that patients across Rwanda can access the best healthcare services.

"This is an important milestone in access to healthcare services because this hospital will treat more people and provide new services such as an emergency department, imaging and oncology services for children and adults. Moreover, the teaching aspect is coming to rural areas, which means that access to healthcare is not limited to urban settings," Nsanzimana told Xinhua at the event.

He commended the high-quality infrastructure and expressed appreciation for the architects and engineers who worked on the project, noting that the hospital represents a symbol of friendship and partnership.

Maurice Mugabowagahunde, governor of Northern Province, which exercises jurisdiction over Burera District, said that the hospital marks not only the culmination of two years of hard work and dedication but also symbolizes a new era in healthcare for the province. Mugabowagahunde expressed gratitude to the Chinese company responsible for building the hospital and praised the expansion of the facility, which now includes more space, additional services and more rooms to accommodate patients from the region and beyond.

Kong Lingshun, a representative from CCECC, hailed the Rwandan Ministry of Health and the Butaro Hospital team for their support during the construction phase. "We hope that we can continue to play a role in Rwanda's medical, health and livelihood projects, and we will continue to contribute to Rwanda's future development with reliable quality and guaranteed speed."
Wojciech Gerwel, the Secretary of State for the Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, on Wednesday handed over humanitarian aid to the Armenian authorities, dedicated to the refugees seeking shelter in Armenia due to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, and delivered an official statement at the Zvartnots International Airport of Yerevan, where the Armenian media representatives were gathered. The aforesaid statement reads as follows:

Today Poland is providing humanitarian aid to Armenia. We understand how difficult is the situation on the ground. We are observing with great concern over one hundred thousand Armenian refugees fleeing to Armenia from the Nagorno-Karabakh Region.

We see that the Armenian authorities have taken immediate steps to secure shelter, medical care and financial support. At the same time, the scale of this phenomenon is so enormous that other countries decided to help. We would like to show Polands support to Armenia in these difficult times.

Poland, in solidarity with the Armenians, who are exhausted and in need of immediate assistance, provides today in-kind assistance including 10 tons of food and 200 camp beds with duvets.

Moreover, in response to the appeal of the UNHCR Office in Yerevan on the urgent needs of refugees from Nagorno-Karabakh, Poland is contributing USD 200,000.

Our quick reaction should be also perceived as a gesture of friendship. Poland and Armenia have a long history of close relations and we could not leave our friends in need without providing a concrete help in this difficult time.

Poland has been already providing humanitarian assistance to people affected by conflict in Nagorno Karabah. In years 2021-2022 the Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs financed two years humanitarian project entitled Make Home not War focused on the reconstruction of houses and rehabilitation of people injured as a result of the conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh. The project was implemented in cooperation with Caritas Armenia with the budget of USD 220 000,00.

We have been also providing medical equipment and wheelchairs to medical facilities in Armenia. In 2020 we contributed 100 000 Swiss francs to International Red Cross actions in Nagorno Karabah.

I came here also to manifest that Poland supports Armenia in its democratic reforms and efforts to enhance its cooperation with the EU. Poland understands these aspirations and will support them. We will assist in this regard not only within the framework of bilateral cooperation, but also at the forum of the European Union.

The most important thing now is securing internal stability in Armenia, allowing the continuation of reforms and the peace process. We call for a reduction of tension and no further escalation of violence.

The basis for the continuation of the normalisation of relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan is the unquestionable territorial integrity of Armenia and Azerbaijan.

I would like to take this opportunity to once again confirm Polands support for internal stability in Armenia and wish a rapid overcoming of the current difficulties for a better and peaceful future.

Poland has always advocated for a peaceful settlement of the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict. There is no alternative to peace. We hope for a quick end of the conflict and signing of a peace agreement between Armenia and Azerbaijan.
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China on Wednesday delivered a joint statement on behalf of some 80 countries at the 54th session of the United Nations (UN) Human Rights Council, calling for better social security systems for the aged population.

Delivering the joint statement, Chen Xu, head of the Chinese Mission in Geneva, said that as population aging accelerates around the world, inadequacies in the social support systems are becoming more prominent, including sustainability of social security policy, regional disparity of old-age care and support, and age-based discrimination against older persons.

"The right to social security is of central importance in guaranteeing human dignity for all persons when they are faced with circumstances that deprive them of their capacity to fully realize their human rights", the joint statement said.

It stressed that everyone, including older persons, has the right to social security, so they can live in dignity and fully participate in society.

"The improvement of social security systems and the protection and promotion of the human rights of older persons need to be addressed in all countries," the joint statement added.

It called for countries to take concrete steps to address the barriers faced by older persons in terms of social security measures, so that no one is left behind.

It also advocated for countries to improve social security systems, enhance care and support service systems, and build accessible societies.

"We need to respect, protect and fulfill the human rights of older persons, to ensure them fulfilling lives with dignity," it concluded.
At Thursdays plenary session held in Strasbourg, France, the members of the European Parliament (MEPs) adopted a legally non-binding resolution that calls on the European Union (EU) to impose sanctions on Azerbaijan in connection with the events regarding Nagorno Karabakh, as well as to review the development of cooperation and reduce dependence on the import of Azerbaijani natural gas.

The resolution was adopted by 491 votes in favor, 9 against with 36 abstentions.

Resolutions of the European Parliament on foreign policy issues are not legally binding, but other European institutions must listen to the views of the MEPs.

In particular, the resolution states that the European Parliament calls on the EU and its member states to adopt targeted sanctions against the government officials in Azerbaijan responsible for multiple ceasefire violations and human rights abuses in Nagorno-Karabakh.

Also, the MEPs call on the high representative of the EU for foreign policy to suspend the negotiations on a renewed partnership agreement with Azerbaijan until the latter shows a sincere willingness to respect the rights and security of the Armenian population of Nagorno-Karabakh. Otherwise, the MEPs call on the EU and its member states to consider suspending the application of the visa facilitation agreement and reducing the level of cooperation with Azerbaijan in other domains.

The European Parliament considers it necessary for the EU to reduce its dependence on Azerbaijan's natural gas, and in case of deepening of tensions between Azerbaijan and Armenia, to completely suspend the import of oil and natural gas from Azerbaijan.

The MEPs call on the EU to work to provide international guarantees to ensure the safety of those Armenians who still live in Nagorno-Karabakh, as well as to restore full humanitarian access to the region and considerably increase humanitarian aid.

The European Parliament expresses disappointment regarding the organization of the work of the first UN mission that visited Karabakh, and calls for establishing an international presence in Nagorno-Karabakh under the auspices of the UN.

In the resolution, the MEPs slam the European Commission and the head of EU diplomacy, Josep Borrell, for ignoring the warning of the European Parliament about the negative development of the situation around Nagorno-Karabakh, as well as for the fact that their actions have not yet led to any positive results. The European Parliament called on the EU and its member states to immediately review the EU's diplomatic and security architecture in the South Caucasus.

The aforementioned resolution adds that the European Parliament reminds Azerbaijan that it bears full responsibility for the safety and well-being of the people of Nagorno-Karabakh, asks Azerbaijan to ensure the safety of the people of Nagorno-Karabakh in accordance with the UN Charter and relevant international conventions, principles of international law and human rights, and urges the authorities of Azerbaijan to ensure the safe return of Armenians to Nagorno-Karabakh.

Also, the MEPs called on Azerbaijan to release all Armenians, including politicians, who were arrested in Nagorno-Karabakh.
The Armenian Foreign Ministry has published a comment on the October 2 visit of the delegation led by the UN Resident Coordinator to Nagorno-Karabakh. Below is comment of the Foreign Ministry.

"Armenia received with deep concern and disappointment the information regarding the visit of the delegation led by the UN Resident Coordinator in Azerbaijan to Nagorno-Karabakh and the press release issued based on its "results".

The Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Armenia spoke about the issue on October 2 at the meeting with the heads of diplomatic missions accredited in the Republic of Armenia and representatives of international institutions held at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

First of all, it should be noted that the October 2nd visit of the delegation of the UN Resident Coordinator to Azerbaijan cannot be considered an inter-agency fact-finding mission and has nothing to do with the expectations of the Armenian side and the international community. Moreover, the visit of the delegation took place only when, because of ethnic cleansing, Nagorno-Karabakh was completely deprived of its native Armenian population. As an objective assessment, the UN delegation could only record the fact of the depopulation of Nagorno-Karabakh, witnessing how the people of Nagorno-Karabakh left behind their native places, the graves of their relatives and centuries-old cultural and religious heritage.

Let's remind that since the blocking of the Lachin Corridor, for months, the Armenian side has been involved with the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs and other units of the UN Secretariat, calling for the dispatch of a UN inter-agency fact-finding mission to Nagorno-Karabakh to assess the humanitarian and human rights situation that emerged as a result of the blockade of Nagorno-Karabakh and to respond to the humanitarian needs of the NK population. The issue was repeatedly raised during meetings with the UN Secretary General.

Many international human rights organizations, independent lawyers, genocide scholars expressed concern about the existential dangers facing the people of Nagorno-Karabakh, pointing out the risks of criminal crimes. The only humanitarian organization present in Nagorno-Karabakh, the International Committee of the Red Cross, expressed concern in its statement that it is unable to provide humanitarian assistance to the civilian population through the Lachin corridor. All these reports and assessments, which also showed a clear disregard for the UN commitment to "leave no one behind", showed the seriousness of the situation, which was, in fact, ignored by the UN.

The press release issued after the visit is extremely biased and does not reflect the situation on the ground. It does not have any reference to the numerous casualties and injuries caused by the large-scale attack by Azerbaijan, the targeting of civilian infrastructure, the blockade of the Lachin corridor for more than nine months and the resulting humanitarian crisis, the abduction of citizens by the Azerbaijani special services from the illegal checkpoint near the Hakari Bridge, and other facts known to international partners.

The visit of the UN Resident Coordinator's delegation to Azerbaijan was used by Azerbaijan to promote its propaganda perceptions and legitimize the large-scale attack on Nagorno-Karabakh and its consequences.

Armenia expects a clear response from the UN to ethnic cleansing in Nagorno-Karabakh, gross violations of fundamental human rights of the NK people and international humanitarian law, in accordance with the fundamental principles of international law and the UN Charter.